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Bound (1996 film)

Bound is a 1996 American erotic neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by the Wachowskis in their feature film directorial debut. Violet (Jennifer Tilly), who longs to escape her relationship with her mafioso boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), enters into a clandestine affair with alluring ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon), and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of Mafia money.

Bound was the first film directed by the Wachowskis, and they took inspiration from Billy Wilder to tell a noir story filled with sex and violence. Financed by Dino De Laurentiis, the film was made on a tight budget with the help of frugal crew members including cinematographer Bill Pope. The directors initially struggled to cast the lesbian characters of Violet and Corky before securing Tilly and Gershon. To choreograph the sex scenes, the directors employed sex educator Susie Bright as an ad hoc intimacy coordinator, and she also made a cameo appearance in the film.

Bound received several festival awards and positive reviews from film critics who praised the humor and style of the directors as well as the realistic portrayal of a lesbian relationship in a mainstream film. Detractors of the film found its plot superficial and criticized the violence as excessive.

Plot
Corky, a lesbian ex-con, is hired as a painter and plumber at an apartment building. She encounters Violet and Caesar, the couple who live next door to the apartment she is renovating. While Caesar is gone, Violet seduces Corky. They are interrupted by Caesar and Corky returns to work. When she leaves for the day, Violet follows Corky to her truck, and they have sex in Corky's apartment. The next morning, Violet tells Corky that Caesar is a money launderer for the Mafia and that they have been together for five years.

Later, Violet overhears Caesar and his mob associates torturing Shelly, a man who has been embezzling money from the business. Upset, she confides to Corky that she wants to make a new life for herself, but that she needs her help. Knowing that Caesar will bring the nearly $2 million that Shelly skimmed back to the apartment, the two women hatch a scheme to steal the money. Johnnie, the son of Mafia boss Gino Marzzone, kills Shelly, angering Caesar, who returns to the apartment with a bag of bloody money. Caesar washes, irons and hangs the money to dry.

Violet explains to Corky that Caesar and Johnnie hate each other, and that Gino and Johnnie will be coming to pick up the money from Caesar. Corky devises a plan: when Caesar has finished counting the money, he will shower to unwind. While he does, Violet will purposely drop a bottle of Glenlivet scotch that Gino prefers and tell Caesar that she is going to buy more. As she leaves the apartment, Corky will enter, steal the money from a briefcase, and leave. Violet will then return with the scotch and tell Caesar that she just saw Johnnie leave. Suspicious, Caesar will check the briefcase, find the money gone, and assume Johnnie has taken it. Corky and Violet think Caesar will be forced to flee because Gino will assume he has been robbed by Caesar, not Johnnie.

When Caesar finds the money gone, he realizes Gino will think he stole it if he runs and decides to retrieve the money from Johnnie. Panicking, Violet threatens to leave, but Caesar forces her to stay, suspecting she and Johnnie may have stolen the money and framed him. Corky waits next door with the money while Gino and Johnnie arrive. After Johnnie flirts with Violet and taunts him, Caesar pulls out a gun and tells Gino that his son stole the money. He kills Gino, Johnnie and Roy, Gino's bodyguard. Caesar tells Violet that they must find the money, dispose of the bodies and pretend Gino and Johnnie never arrived lest their mob associates discover their absence. Unable to find the money at Johnnie's apartment, Caesar telephones Mickey, a mob buddy, telling him that Gino has yet to arrive.

After discovering Corky and Violet stole the money, Caesar ties them up, threatens to torture them and demands to know where it is. When Mickey arrives at the apartment, Caesar makes a deal with Violet to help him stall. Violet calls their landline from Johnnie's cell phone and convinces Caesar to feign a conversation with Gino explaining that he and Johnnie are in the hospital after a car accident. The ruse fools Mickey, who leaves for the hospital. Corky tells Caesar she has hidden the money in the next-door apartment, and he goes to retrieve it. Violet escapes and calls Mickey, telling him that Caesar stole the money and forced her to keep quiet. Corky tries to stop Caesar from taking the money, but he assaults her. Violet arrives and holds Caesar at gunpoint; she informs him Mickey is coming and that he should run while he can. When Caesar refuses, Violet kills him.

Later, Mickey, who believes Violet's story, tells her that he will find Caesar. Mickey wants Violet to be his girlfriend, but she tells him that she needs a clean break—which she makes by driving off hand-in-hand with Corky.

Conception
Film producer Joel Silver has said that after working as scriptwriters on Assassins, the Wachowskis made Bound as an "audition piece" to prove that they knew what to do on a movie set. Conversely, Lana Wachowski has said Silver "made that up." The Wachowskis themselves claim they "decided simply to focus on making their own directorial debut." They had the idea to write a story about how one might see a woman on the street and make assumptions about her sexuality, but how those assumptions might be wrong. They wanted to play with stereotypes and make an entertaining film that contained sex and violence, because those are the kinds of films that they like to watch. Seeing film noir as a genre within which they could tell a contained story and twist conventions, they described Billy Wilder as a big influence.

When executives at some studios read the script, they told the Wachowskis that if they changed the character of Corky to that of a man, they would be interested. The siblings declined, saying "that movie's been made a million times, so we're really not interested in it." Dino De Laurentiis, the executive producer on Assassins, offered to finance Bound and his company produced it, giving them "free rein" with regard to the story. The film's budget was $6 million.

Casting
The Wachowskis struggled to cast the roles of Violet and Corky, seemingly because of the lesbian content of the film. Few actresses were interested. The part of Violet was expected to go to Linda Hamilton, and Jennifer Tilly read for the part of Corky. She loved the role and was looking forward to playing a character very different from previous parts in her career. When the part of Violet became available, and Gina Gershon came in to read for Corky, Tilly agreed that Gershon would make a better Corky. She realized that she identified with the character of Violet, a woman "underestimated by all the men around her" who has to "play the game". She describes it as the best role she had ever had. Gina Gershon suggested Joe Pantoliano to the Wachowskis for the part of Caesar. It was his first lead role in a film, and he describes it as his favorite.

Filming
Bound was filmed over a thirty-eight day period, in Santa Monica, California. The Wachowskis' original director of photography resigned, claiming that he could not film with the limited budget available, nor did he know anyone else who would be willing to work so cheaply. Subsequently, cinematographer Bill Pope was hired, who knew "a bunch of cheap guys" who would be willing to work within the budget. Pope was heavily involved in creating the visual noir style of the film. He and the Wachowskis drew inspiration from their love of comics and were particularly influenced by Frank Miller's neo-noir Sin City series. Pope's sound counterpart was sound director Dane Davis. In the scene where Corky and Violet plan the theft, he chose to give Corky a cat-like quality, by supplying a "swishing" sound each time she walked past the camera.

The Wachowskis asked Joe Pantoliano to watch John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and to focus on Humphrey Bogart's character in order to portray Caesar's paranoia. Gershon's role was influenced by James Dean, Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood. Both Gershon and Tilly were nervous about the sex scenes, and prepared for filming by drinking tequila.

Very little improvisation took place during the filming due to the directors' extensive planning and clear vision for the film. Despite their planning, the physical exchanges in the script caused some injuries. Barry Kivel was injured, when his head was banged against a toilet, in the scene where Shelly was violently beaten in Caesar's bathroom. Gina Gershon was also injured. In a scene between Corky and Caesar, near the end of the film, Gershon struck a gun from Pantoliano's hand so violently she required stitches.

Having Corky play a jaw harp was Gina Gershon's idea. The Wachowskis wanted to use "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra songs, but their song budget would not cover it.

Sex scenes
The sex scenes were choreographed by feminist writer and sex educator Susie Bright. The Wachowskis were fans of Bright and sent her a copy of the script with a letter asking her to be an extra in the film. Bright loved the script, particularly as it was about women unapologetically having and enjoying sex. Disappointed by the lack of description in the sex scenes, she offered to be a sex consultant for the film, and they accepted. The main sex scene, set in Corky's apartment, was filmed in one long shot. The Wachowskis believed that the continuous shot would be more realistic than several shots edited together. Although it was intended to be a closed set, there were actually many people present, moving the walls of the set in order to allow full movement of the camera around the actors.

Bright appeared as Jesse, the woman Corky tries to talk to in the bar. Comedian Margaret Smith played Jesse's girlfriend and the extras in the bar scene were Bright's friends—"real life San Francisco dykes".

Themes
The Wachowskis describe several themes present in Bound. They say that the film is about "the boxes people make of their lives", that it is not only gay people who "live in closets". They wanted to define all of Bound characters by the "sort of trap that they were making out of their lives". Violet is trapped in her life with Caesar, and in the first scene, Corky is literally inside Violet's closet, bound and gagged by Caesar. This scene is echoed later in the film when Violet says "I had this image of you inside of me..." This theme of being trapped is exacerbated by the claustrophobic feeling created by the fact that most of the film takes place in Violet and Casear's apartment, or the apartment next door where Corky is working.

Susie Bright described some of the specifically lesbian themes of the film. One is the concept of the hand as a sex organ, highlighted by lingering camera shots of Corky and Violet's hands. Another is the repeated use of water as a symbolic motif to represent women, present for example when Corky is retrieving Violet's earring from the sink. Bright describes it as a movie that is "wet" (feminine) as opposed to "hard" (masculine). She says the scene where Corky and Violet have their first conversation is full of "lesbian signs". She highlights the fact that Violet, away from Caesar, is wearing jeans and able to be less overtly feminine. Jennifer Tilly says that whenever Violet is talking to men, her voice becomes high-pitched and "girly"—making her seem vulnerable and ensuring she is taken care of. Joe Pantoliano agrees, saying that the result is that "everyone in the film wants to be with Violet". When she is with Corky, Violet can drop the act and talk at a more natural pitch. According to Bright, the more subtle lesbian themes of the film were noticed and appreciated at the LGBT film festival screenings.

Rating
Bound was rated by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) as R for "strong sexuality, violence and language." To achieve that rating, the directors had to cut part of the first sex scene between Corky and Violet. The MPAA were most concerned with the images of what Lana Wachowski called "hand-sex". It was rated R in Australia, R18 in New Zealand and 18 in the United Kingdom. In Canada it was rated as R in Manitoba and Ontario, 18 in Nova Scotia and 16+ in Quebec.

Distribution
The film premiered on August 31, 1996, at the Venice Film Festival and in September went on to play at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opened in U.S. theaters on October 4, 1996, distributed by Gramercy Pictures, showing in 261 theaters. It closed after three weeks. It opened in the United Kingdom on February 28, 1997.

Box office
Bound grossed $3,802,260 in the United States and $3,209,057 from other territories, for a worldwide total of $7,011,317. In its opening weekend, showing at 261 theaters, it earned $900,902, which was 23.7% of its total gross. According to Box Office Mojo, it ranked at 161 for all films released in the United States in 1996, and at 74 for R-rated films released that year. , its all-time ranking for LGBT-related films is 59.

Critical response
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a positive rating of 87% based on 67 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "Bound's more titillating elements attracted attention, but it's the stylish direction, solid performances, and entertaining neo-noir caper plot that make it worth a watch". Metacritic gave it a score of 61/100 based on 19 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews". The Wachowskis' direction was praised, being described as clever, sophisticated and stylish. Roger Ebert said that their skillful film making showed virtuosity and confidence. Marjorie Baumgarten writing for The Austin Chronicle called it an impressive debut saying that the Wachowskis have "style to burn". James Kendrick called it a darkly comical and stunning film, saying it signalled the arrival of the Wachowskis on the film scene. Detractors of the film included Todd McCarthy for Variety, who said that the directors had no sense of humor and lacked depth, that the film was pretentious, superficial and heavy-handed.

On the release of Bound, the Wachowskis were compared by many to the Coen Brothers. Rita Kempley for The Washington Post went so far as to call them "Coen Brothers clones". In particular, similarities were drawn between Bound and the Coen Brothers' first film, 1984 neo-noir Blood Simple. Bryant Frazer for Deep Focus called it an "obvious precursor". Critics noted resemblances to the films of Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock.

Janet Maslin for The New York Times said that the grisly violence in Bound would likely limit its audience and Ebert said that its shocking violence would offend some audiences. Some critics said that the violent behavior of the characters had no moral justification. Rita Kempley for The Washington Post called it "well-nigh unwatchable cruelty for its own sake". McCarthy, who called the central relationship between the two women unbelievable and unsympathetic, said "just because Violet and Corky fall for each other doesn't mean they somehow fall into a privileged state of grace in which vile behavior can be forgiven." Other critics were less concerned, calling the violence "comically excessive" and "Tarantino-like".

Bound was praised for being perhaps the first mainstream film to have a lesbian relationship at its heart without homosexuality being central to the plot. Despite the presence of "unapologetically gay" lead character Corky, it is not commonly considered a "lesbian movie". Emanuel Levy said that this is a weakness, that mainstream films with broadening storylines "do not necessarily represent a positive development in the making of gay and lesbian films" and that Bound has "little, if anything, to do with lesbian cinema". Jonathan Rosenbaum for the Chicago Reader called it a "welcome change" to have a lesbian couple as the main characters in a mainstream film. Sarah Warn for AfterEllen.com called Corky "the closest thing to a realistic and sympathetic butch lesbian we've seen in a mainstream movie". Barry Walters for the San Francisco Chronicle praised the film for showing gay characters that have an active sex life. The sex scenes, described as explicit and steamy, were admired for being tasteful, discreet and realistic. Warn called them "some of the best lesbian sex scenes to date in a mainstream movie".

The three lead actors were complimented for their performances. Ebert said that Gershon and Tilly were electric together, and Frazer said that he would have liked to have seen more of their love story. Some critics described their onscreen relationship as unbelievable and unsympathetic. Gershon was seen to have made a comeback after her role in the less well received 1995 film Showgirls. Tilly's performance was compared to her Academy Award-nominated part in Bullets Over Broadway. Pantoliano was described as "a lot of fun" and having the "trickiest scenes in the movie".

Accolades
Bound won the Grand Jury Award—Honorable Mention at the 1996 L.A. Outfest, and in the same year won an Honorable Mention at the Stockholm International Film Festival. At the 1997 Fantasporto festival in Portugal, the Wachowskis were awarded the International Fantasy Film Award for best film, and Jennifer Tilly picked up the award for best actress. Bound won the 1997 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding (wide-release) Film. The film was nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics.

Home media
Bound was released on Region 1 DVD on November 12, 1997, by Republic Pictures. It featured the original theatrical trailer and an audio commentary by the directors and stars. It was released on Region 2 DVD on August 25, 2003, by Pathé featuring original theatrical trailers, audio commentary by the directors and stars, cast and crew biographies and a production featurette. Its Region 4 DVD release, distributed by Reel and featuring an audio commentary, came on August 14, 2006. On March 15, 2024 The Criterion Collection announced that a 4K restoration supervised by cinematographer Bill Pope would be added to the collection on June 18, 2024. The restored film also re-credited the duo's names as The Wachowskis in the directing section and Lana and Lilly Wachowski in the executive producers section.

Legacy
Bound is often cited as one of the best films featuring lesbian characters.

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

title: Bound (1996 film)


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Talk:Understanding Oil

to the author of this article....wikipedia isn't the place for writing of this nature, however disinfopedia.org is. please consider posting it on that web site. Kingturtle 00:13 20 Jun 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Understanding Oil


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List of Slovenian mathematicians

This is a list of Slovenian mathematicians.

A

 * Anton Ambschel (1749–1821)

B

 * Vladimir Batagelj (1948–)
 * Franc Breckerfeld (1681–1744)
 * Silvo Breskvar (1902–1969)

F

 * Joannes Disma Floriantschitsch de Grienfeld (1691–1757)

G

 * Josip Globevnik (1945–)

H

 * Ferdinand Augustin Hallerstein (1703–1774)
 * Herman of Carinthia (c. 1100–c. 1160)
 * Franc Hočevar (1853–1919)

K

 * Sandi Klavžar (1962–)
 * Josip Križan (1841–1921)
 * France Križanič (1928–2002)
 * Klavdija Kutnar (1980–)

L

 * Ivo Lah (1896–1979)

M

 * Dragan Marušič (1953–)
 * Bojan Mohar (1956–)
 * Nežka Mramor–Kosta

P

 * Marko Petkovšek(1955–2023)
 * Tomaž Pisanski (1949–)
 * Josip Plemelj (1873–1967)

R

 * Janez Rakovec (1949–2008)
 * Dušan Repovš (1954–)

S

 * Jožef Stefan (1835–1893)

V

 * Jurij Vega (1754–1802)
 * Ivan Vidav (1918–2015)

Z

 * Egon Zakrajšek (1941–2002)

title: List of Slovenian mathematicians


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List of Slovene-language poets

Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in Slovene.

• : Fran Albreht (1889–1965)

• : Vera Albreht (1895–1971)

• : Anton Aškerc (1856–1912)

• : France Balantič (1921–1943)

• : Nevin Birsa (1947–2003)

• : Matej Bor (1913–1993)

• : Ivan Cankar (1876–1918)

• : Anica Černej (1900–1944)

• : Aleš Debeljak (1961–2016)

• : Karel Destovnik (1922–1944)

• : Pavel Golia (1887–1959)

• : Alojz Gradnik (1882–1968)

• : Niko Grafenauer (born 1940)

• : Simon Gregorčič (1844–1906)

• : Igo Gruden (1893–1948)

• : Paula Gruden (1921–2014)

• : Ivan Hribovšek (1923–1945)

• : Miran Jarc (1900–1942)

• : Urban Jarnik (1784–1844)

• : Jože Javoršek (1920–1990)

• : Simon Jenko (1835–1869)

• : Vida Jeraj (1860–1932)

• : Janoš Kardoš (1801–1875)

• : Dragotin Kette (1876–1899)

• : Mile Klopčič (1905–1984)

• : Edvard Kocbek (1904–1981)

• : Srečko Kosovel (1904–1926)

• : Taja Kramberger (born 1970)

• : Meta Kušar (born 1952)

• : Fran Levstik (1831–1887)

• : Rudolf Maister (1874–1934)

• : Svetlana Makarovič (born 1939)

• : Karel Mauser (1918–1977)

• : Janez Menart (1929–2004)

• : Ivan Minatti (1924–2012)

• : Josip Murn (1879–1901)

• : Anton Novačan (1887–1951)

• : Josip Osti (1945–2021)

• : Iztok Osojnik (born 1951)

• : Lili Novy (1885–1958)

• : Odon Peterka (1925–1945)

• : Anton Podbevšek (1898–1981)

• : Tone Polda (1917–1945)

• : France Prešeren (1800–1849)

• : Franček Rudolf (born 1944)

• : Tomaž Šalamun (born 1941)

• : Jakob Savinšek (1922–1961)

• : Tone Seliškar (1900–1969)

• : Jože Šerjak (1918–1945)

• : Anton Martin Slomšek (1800–1862)

• : Jože Snoj (born 1934)

• : Jožef Stefan (1835–1893)

• : Aleš Šteger (born 1973)

• : Josip Stritar (1836–1923)

• : Gregor Strniša (1929–1987)

• : Vladimir Truhlar (1919–1977)

• : Josipina Turnograjska (1833–1854)

• : Janez Vesel (1798–1884)

• : Anton Vodnik (1901–1965)

• : France Vodnik (1903–1986)

• : Valentin Vodnik (1758–1819)

• : Stanko Vraz (1810–1851)

• : Dane Zajc (1929–2005)

• : Katka Zupančič (1889–1967)

• : Oton Župančič (1878–1949)

title: List of Slovene-language poets


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Maracaibo

Maracaibo is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the second-largest city in Venezuela, after the national capital, Caracas, and the capital of the state of Zulia. The population of the city is approximately 2,658,355 with the metropolitan area estimated at 5,278,448. Maracaibo is nicknamed "The Beloved Land of the Sun" (La Tierra del Sol Amada).

Maracaibo is considered the economic center of western Venezuela, owing to the petroleum industry that developed in the shores of Lake Maracaibo. It is sometimes known as "The First City of Venezuela", for being the first city in Venezuela to adopt various types of public services, including electricity, as well as for being located in the shores of Lake Maracaibo, where the name of Venezuela allegedly originates.

Early indigenous settlements around the area were of Arawak and Carib origin. Maracaibo's founding date is disputed. There were failed attempts to found the city—in 1529, by Captain Ambrosio Ehinger, and in 1569, by Captain Alonso Pacheco. Founded in 1574 as Nueva Zamora de la Laguna de Maracaibo by Captain Pedro Maldonado, the city became a transshipment point for inland settlements after Gibraltar, at the head of the lake, had been destroyed by pirates in 1669. It was not until the first decades of the 17th century that the first town was settled. Petroleum was discovered in 1917, leading to a large increase in population from migration.

Maracaibo is served by La Chinita International Airport. The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge connects Maracaibo to the rest of the country.

Etymology
The name Maracaibo is said to derive from the brave cacique (indigenous chief) Mara, a young native who valiantly resisted the Spaniards and died fighting them.

Legend says that when Mara fell, the Coquivacoa shouted "Mara cayó!" ("Mara fell!"), thus originating the city name — although it would be strange for them to shout in Spanish. Other historians say that the first name of this land in the local language was "Maara-iwo" meaning "Place where serpents abound".

Foundation
The first indigenous settlements were of Arawak and Carib origin. Around the main group were the Añu tribe who built rows of stilt houses all over the northern riviera of Lake Maracaibo. The first Europeans arrived in 1499.

The city was founded three times: the first time was during the Klein-Venedig period (1528–1546), when the Welser bankers of Augsburg received a concession over Venezuela Province from Charles I of Spain. In August 1529, the German Ambrosius Ehinger made his first expedition to Lake Maracaibo, which was bitterly opposed by the indigenous Coquivacoa. After winning a series of bloody battles, he founded the settlement on 8 September 1529. Ehinger named the settlement New Nuremberg (Neu-Nürnberg) and the lake after the valiant chieftain Mara of the Coquivacoa, who had died in the fighting. The city was renamed Maracaibo after the Spanish took possession. The lack of activity in the zone made Nikolaus Federmann evacuate the village in 1535 and move its population to Santa Marta near the then capital of Venezuela Province, Santa Ana de Coro.

A second attempt by Captain Alonso Pacheco in 1569 suffered a brief setback when the city had to be evacuated in 1573 due to ferocious attacks by native local tribes. The European settlement returned a short while later, in 1574, however, for which it was re-founded by Captain Pedro Maldonado under Governor Diego de Mazariegos's command and assuming the name of Nueva Zamora de Maracaibo. "Nueva Zamora" comes from Mazariego's place of birth, Zamora, in Spain. Since its definite foundation, the town began to develop as a whole. It is based on the western side of Lake Maracaibo, the dominant feature of the oil-rich Maracaibo Basin. Favored by prevailing winds and a protected harbour, the city is located on the shores of the lake where the narrows, which eventually lead to the Gulf of Venezuela, first become pronounced.

Pirate attacks
The Dutch corsair Henrik de Gerard plundered Maracaibo in 1614, and in 1642 the city was attacked by the British pirate William Jackson. In 1667, l'Olonnais with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred pirates sacked Maracaibo and Gibraltar. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao, gemstones and more than 260,000 pieces of eight.

In March 1669, Henry Morgan sacked Maracaibo, which emptied when his fleet was first spied, and moved on to the Spanish settlement of Gibraltar on the inside of Lake Maracaibo in search of more treasure. A few weeks later, when he attempted to sail out of the lake, Morgan found an occupied fort blocking the inlet to the Caribbean, along with three Spanish ships. These were the Magdalena, the San Luis, and the Soledad. He destroyed the Magdalena and burned the San Luis by sending a dummy ship full of gunpowder to explode near them, after which the crew of the Soledad surrendered. By faking a landward attack on the fort, thereby convincing the Spanish governor to shift his cannon, he eluded their guns and escaped.

In June 1678, Michel de Grammont, the French commander of six ships and 700 men, captured Maracaibo then followed the plundering of several smaller towns as Gibraltar, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo.

Venezuelan Independence
In 1810, the province of Maracaibo did not join the First Republic of Venezuela and remained loyal to the Spanish crown. Maracaibo then held the seat of the Captaincy General of Venezuela.

In 1821, uprisings in favor of independence began to lead to warfare and hostility. The royalists, led by Francisco Tomás Morales, fought with the patriots, led by Rafael Urdaneta, to take back control over the province in the Juana de Ávila Battle, and Morales brought back Spanish rule in 1822 until he was defeated in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823, culminating Venezuela's struggle for independence.

Isolation period
For about 380 years, Maracaibo remained isolated and separated from the rest of the country. Transportation to the area was possible through the lake via boats and ferries. Commerce and culture flowed between Maracaibo and the Caribbean Sea, particularly the Dutch Antilles, Colombian coastal cities, Cuba, Hispaniola and later on Miami, New York and Hamburg.

This isolation from the rest of Venezuela was both a challenge and an advantage. The very nature of the city's location made for a population known for their independent thought and character. The history of this region is rife with stories about the creation of an independent and sovereign nation apart from Venezuela, a nation called La República Independiente del Zulia, 'the Independent Republic of Zulia', but this has never come to be.

Come the 20th century, cars, buses, and lorries, with their constant flow of manufactured goods and agricultural product to and from the city port, depended on ferry services between the city and the eastern shore which was poorly connected to the country's motorway system. Maracaibo and the Lake Maracaibo region's economy was more linked to Colombia and the Caribbean than to eastern Venezuela due to the natural route available through Lake Maracaibo then leading to the sea.

In January 1903, as the naval blockade of Venezuela continued during the negotiations with presidente Cipriano Castro, the German warship SMS Panther attempted to enter Lake Maracaibo, which was a center of German commercial activity. On 17 January, it exchanged fire with the settlement of Fort San Carlos, but withdrew after half an hour, as shallow waters prevented it getting close enough to the fort to be effective. The Venezuelans claimed this as a victory, and in response the German commander sent the SMS Vineta, with heavier weapons, to set an example. On 21 January, the Vineta bombarded the fort, setting fire to it and destroying it, with the death of 25 civilians in the nearby town.

In 1908, the Friesland, Gelderland and Jacob van Heemskerck were sent to patrol the Venezuelan coast during the second Castro crisis. Friesland guarded the entry way to Maracaibo.

Building of the bridge

The dictatorial regime of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 1950s set as a goal the construction of a bridge connecting the two lake shores. Various bridge projects for the spanning of the Lake Maracaibo narrows near the city were in the works. The general's government had decided that this "city of independent thought" should be more "connected" to the rest of the country.

Proposals for a bridge design that included rail transport and tourist facilities were seriously considered. The fall of the Pérez Jiménez regime on January 23, 1958, quickly led to a less elaborate design project that was approved and funded by a democratic and more financially responsible government.

The building of El Puente sobre el Lago de Maracaibo "General Rafael Urdaneta" ('General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge over Lake Maracaibo') named after the distinguished general and war of independence hero was opened to public traffic in 1962 connecting the city to its opposite shore neighbors and the rest of the country through a new system of highways. The project was completed on schedule in 40 months.

This bridge construction project was a remarkable feat. Built under very difficult conditions, when completed, it became the longest prestressed concrete bridge in the world. The structure is in constant use and remains today as the most important link between Maracaibo, along with much of the state of Zulia, and the rest of Venezuela.

Modern times
François de Pons, an agent to the French government in Caracas, provides some historical insight into the people of Maracaibo in his travel journal. The following excerpts describe the local population of Maracaibo:

 * "They perform coasting, or long voyages, with equal facility; and when all trade is suspended by the operations of war, they enter privateers. Bred up in the neighbourhood of the lake, they are mostly all expert swimmers and excellent divers. Their reputation stands equally high as soldiers. Those who do not enter into the sea service, form plantations, or assist in cultivating those that belong to their fathers. Nothing proves better their aptitude for this kind of occupation, than the immense flocks of cattle with which the savannas of Maracaybo [sic] are covered."

He also notes the appreciation of literature, the arts, education, and culture among the people of Maracaibo:

 * "But what confers the greatest honour on the inhabitants of Maracaibo, is their application to literature; in which, notwithstanding the wretched state of public education, they make considerable progress....They likewise acquired the art of elocution, and of writing their mother tongue with the greatest purity; in a word, they possessed all the qualities that characterise men of letters."

Maracaibo has become a large metropolitan city, comprising two municipalities: the municipality of Maracaibo proper, and the municipality of San Francisco, established in 1995, to the south. In recent years, due to political/economic and cultural reasons, many have moved to Maracaibo from rural areas and other cities (including Caracas).

Maracaibo also boasts one of the best universities in the country, the state university, La Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) is well renowned for its excellent law, medical and engineering schools as many other disciplines. Other universities and schools include Universidad Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín (URBE) and Universidad Rafael Urdaneta, with one of the country's leading psychology schools. However, recent political instability has led to the decline of the universidad.

The Diocese of Maracaibo (23 July 1965) was elevated to Archdiocese on 30 April 1966 by Pope Paulus VI. Maracaibo was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Since November 2000, its Archbishop has been Ubaldo Ramón Santana Sequera.

In 2019, power outages and widespread poverty caused a citywide wave of violence and looting, resulting in mass emigration, most of which was headed to the United States.

Economy
Zulia's main income comes from oil extraction and refining, agriculture (coffee, rice, maize, cassava, cocoa, sugar cane), livestock production, and mining (clay, limestone, coal and sand).

Geography
The municipality of Maracaibo is divided into 18 parishes as follows:

Districts
Venancio Pulgar · Idelfonso Vázquez · Coquivacoa · Barrio 18 de Octubre · Juana de Ávila · El Naranjal · San Jacinto (La Marina) · Mara Norte · La Trinidad · Las Tarabas · La Estrella · Maracaibo I · Maracaibo II · Lago Mar Beach · Antonio Borjas Romero · San Isidro · Francisco Eugenio Bustamante · San Rafael · Ziruma · San Miguel · Luis Hurtado Higuera · Manuel Dagnino · Cristo de Aranza · Cecilio Acosta · Cacique Mara · El Amparo · Raúl Leoni · Caracciolo Parra Pérez · Los Olivos · Chiquinquirá · Santa Lucía · Santa Rosa · Bolívar · Bella Vista · Historic zone of Maracaibo · El Saladillo · Isla Dorada

Climate
Maracaibo is one of the hottest cities in Venezuela and all of South America as well. The rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta gives the city a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) Attenuated only by the moderating influence of the lake; Maracaibo's average historical temperature is 29 C. In the past, the climate of the city, indeed all along the coast of Lake Maracaibo, was unhealthy due to the combination of high temperatures with high humidity. Today, control of plagues and the effects of urban development has largely eradicated these health problems. The registered high temperature of the city is 43.6 C, and the lowest is 18.8 C.

Colleges and universities
Several universities are based in the city:
 * Universidad del Zulia - (LUZ)
 * Nacional Experimental de la Fuerza Armada UNEFA
 * Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín - (URBE)
 * Universidad Rafael Urdaneta
 * Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta
 * Universidad Dr. José Gregorio Hernández
 * Universidad Bolivariano de Venezuela sede Zulia
 * Universidad Nacional Abierta (UNA) Centro Local Zulia

International schools

 * Escuela Bella Vista (American school)
 * Colegio Alemán de Maracaibo, formerly Colegio Alemán del Zulia (German school)

Sports
Due to the regionalistic nature of Marabinos, they strongly support their native teams. Maracaibo, and the rest of Zulia, are represented in baseball by the Águilas del Zulia, a Venezuelan winter league team that plays in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, and is based in the Estadio Luis Aparicio El Grande. The city's basketball team is Gaiteros del Zulia, which plays in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto de Venezuela. Its home is the 5.000-people Pedro Elías Belisario Aponte stadium. Other teams include the Unión Atlético Maracaibo and the Zulia FC in football, the Maracaibo Rugby Football Club and the Zulianos Rugby Club.

In the 2000 Little League World Series, the Sierra Maestra Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela defeated Bellaire Little League of Bellaire, Texas in the championship game of the 54th Little League World Series. The Coquivocoa Little League team from Maracaibo placed third in the 1974 Little League World Series.

Rugby in Venezuela was first played in Maracaibo, thanks to the influence of the English community based on the Zulia State

Team:
 * Baseball: Águilas del Zulia BBC.
 * Basketball: Gaiteros del Zulia
 * Soccer: Unión Atlético Maracaibo, Zulia FC
 * Rugby: Maracaibo Rugby Football Club "Oil Blacks", Zulianos Rugby Club

Culture
Culture in Maracaibo maintains strong Indigenous influences, from its gaitas, desserts, style, and other customs. Most major houses of advertising in Venezuela acknowledge how different the culture of Maracaibo is from that of Caracas. Studies of both prove, for example, that Caracas' leading soft drink brand is Coke, while in Maracaibo it is Pepsi. This has made many brands create special localized advertising of their products (including several Pepsi commercials spoken by local celebrities).

The Gaita is a style of Venezuelan folk music from Maracaibo. According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the "furro" instrument. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora (Venezuelan drum). Song themes range from humorous and love songs to protest songs.The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s. Famous gaita groups include Maracaibo 15, Gran Coquivacoa, Barrio Obrero, Cardenales del Éxito, Koquimba, Melody Gaita, Guaco, Estrellas del Zulia, Saladillo, and many others.

Museums, cultural centers and theaters

 * Zulia Contemporary Art Museum (MACZUL)
 * General Rafael Urdaneta Museum
 * "Balmiro León" Municipal Graphic Arts Museum
 * Maracaibo's Fine Arts Centre
 * Maracaibo's "Lía Bermúdez" Art Centre
 * Baralt Theatre
 * Museum of Gaita

Libraries

 * Public Library of Zulia
 * "Arturo Uslar Pietri" Public Library
 * "Dr. Pedro Alciro Barboza de la Torre" Library
 * "Simón Palmar" Public Library
 * Biblioteca Pública "Luís Guillermo Pineda Belloso" (De carácter público, bilingüe y circulante)
 * "Pedagógica" Specialized Public Library
 * "SEDINI" Specialized Public Library
 * "Dr. Nectario Andrade Labarca" Private Library

Notable people

 * Tito Abbo, Jr. - coffee trader, entrepreneur
 * Wilyer Abreu - baseball player
 * Teolindo Acosta - baseball player
 * José Andrés Martínez - professional MLS soccer player
 * Gustavo Aguado - musician, singer and leader of Guaco music band
 * Ricardo Aguirre - composer and singer
 * Daniel Alvarado - singer and actor
 * Wilson Álvarez - Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher
 * Ernesto Aparicio - former shortstop in Venezuelan League Baseball
 * Luis Aparicio - shortstop, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
 * Rafael Maria Baralt - diplomat, writer, philologist, historian
 * Huascar Barradas - flutist
 * Lionel Belasco - pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso recordings
 * Marisela Berti - actress, singer, show host and beauty queen
 * José Bracho - baseball pitcher
 * Silvino Bracho - baseball pitcher
 * Antonio Briñez - first manager to win a National Amateur Baseball championship to Venezuela
 * María Calcaño - poet
 * José Antonio Casanova - baseball player and team manager
 * Abel Castellano Jr. - jockey
 * Javier Castellano - jockey Eclipse Award 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Hall of Fame
 * Leopoldo Castillo - journalist. TV host
 * Gustavo Chacín - baseball player
 * Jackson Chourio - baseball player
 * Johana Clavel - cook and entrepreneur
 * Luis Contreras - baseball player
 * Gilberto Correa - TV host
 * David Cubillan - basketball player
 * Chiquinquirá Delgado - actress and TV host
 * Elías Díaz - MLB baseball player
 * Xabier Elorriaga- actor
 * Heraclio Fernández - pianist and composer
 * Lupita Ferrer - actress
 * Juan Fuenmayor - soccer player
 * Manuel Gogorza- military
 * Betulio González - boxer
 * Carlos González - baseball player
 * Geremi González - Major League Baseball player for several teams
 * Inés González Árraga - chemist and former political prisoner
 * Mariana González Parra - fencer
 * Ulises Hadjis- singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist
 * Alejandro Hernández - Internet comedian
 * Jonathan Herrera - baseball player
 * Wilmer Herrison - painter
 * Ender Inciarte - MLB baseball player
 * Ninibeth Leal - Miss Venezuela World 1991, Miss World 1991
 * Tulio Enrique León - blind organist, composer, and arranger
 * Sandy León - MLB baseball player
 * Carlos López Bustamante - journalist, known for his opposition to Juan Vicente Gómez
 * Eduardo López Bustamante - journalist, lawyer, and poet
 * Teresa López Bustamante - journalist, founder of the Catholic Venezuelan newspaper
 * Eduardo López Rivas - editor and journalist
 * Roberto Lückert León - Roman Catholic prelate
 * Betty Cecilia Lugo - Philanthropist
 * Julio Machado - Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Carlos Ramírez MacGregor - journalist, politician and writer
 * Domingo Marcucci - shipbuilder and shipowner in San Francisco, California
 * Ernesto Mayz Vallenilla - philosopher, rector of Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela)
 * Armando Molero - songwriter
 * Carlos Molina Tamayo - navy militar
 * Ricardo Montaner - Venezuelan musician
 * Carmen Maria Montiel - Miss Venezuela 1984, Miss Universe 1984 2nd runner-up
 * Carlos Caridad-Montero - film producer
 * Humberto Fernández Morán - research scientist, founded the Venezuelan scientific research institute
 * Lila Morillo - actress and singer
 * Francisco Ochoa - first President of the Universidad del Zulia
 * Rougned Odor - MLB baseball player
 * Gastón Parra Luzardo- Economist president of PDVSA in 2002
 * Gerardo Parra- MLB baseball player
 * Nestor Perez Luzardo- lawyer and singer
 * Felipe Pirela- singer
 * Nick Pocock - former cricketer, ex-captain of Hampshire County Cricket Club
 * Oswaldo Álvarez Paz - First elected Governor
 * L. Rafael Reif - electrical engineer and the 17th President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Graciela Rincón Calcaño - poet
 * Rafael Romero Sandrea - track and field athlete
 * Daniel Sarcos - Telemundo TV host
 * Jefferson Savarino - footballer
 * Monica Spear - Miss Venezuela 2004, Miss Universe 2005 4th runner-up, actress
 * Orlando Urdaneta - actor
 * Rafael Urdaneta - hero of the Latin American war for independence
 * Vivian Urdaneta - Miss Venezuela International 2000, Miss International 2000
 * Patricia Van Dalen - painter
 * Patricia Velásquez - actress and international top model
 * Leonardo Villalobos - actor and television personality

Twin towns – Sister cities
Maracaibo is twinned with:

 * 🇩🇪 Bremen, Germany
 * Durban, South Africa
 * 🇺🇸 Honolulu, United States
 * 🇺🇸 New Orleans, United States
 * Ploiești, Romania
 * 🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey

title: Maracaibo


text:
User talk:Menchi/Stardate 0.0002

Archives

 * See User talk:Menchi for present Talk.

 * 1) User talk:Menchi/Stardate 0.0001 (December 16, 2002 - June 18, 2003)
 * 2) "User talk:Menchi/Stardate 9.9999": Oops, running of out #, Starfleet must self-destruct. Guess we brainiacal superhumans should've learned that Insectoid Incident in the end of the the second millennium.
 * 1) "User talk:Menchi/Stardate 9.9999": Oops, running of out #, Starfleet must self-destruct. Guess we brainiacal superhumans should've learned that Insectoid Incident in the end of the the second millennium.

Ant's artwork
Bonsoir Menchi. Merci de ton commentaire. It really moved me. I am glad you are appreciating them :-) User:anthere (your talk page is 10 kb over what my browser can assume)

 * Cleaned it up, now that I know the myth of page oversizing and posing as nuisance is real. --Menchi 00:50 20 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Bonjour. :-) Ce n'est pas un mythe :-) C'est une réalité, mais nous ne devons pas être très nombreux à en être victimes. Je dois très fréquemment éditer les pages d'utilisateur plutot que les pages de discussions, en particulier Brion et Mav. Quand à la pompe, il est rare que je puisse y accéder.
 * I put two additional little buggies pict yesterday (I need to change the caption, these are damselflies not dragonflies). See User:Anthere/PictInsectes. A +

--

Adminship
Congratulations, you have just been made a sysop! You have volunteered for boring housekeeping activities which normal users sadly cannot participate in. Sysops basically can't do anything: They cannot delete pages arbitarily (only obvious junk like "jklasdfl,öasdf JOSH IS GAY"), they cannot protect pages in an edit war they are involved in, they cannot ban signed in users. What they can do is delete junk as it appears, ban anonymous vandals, remove pages that have been listed on Votes for deletion for more than a week, protect pages when asked to, and help keep the few protected pages there are, among them the precious Main Page, up to date.

Note that almost everything you can do can be undone, so don't be too worried about making mistakes. You will find more information at Administrators, please take a look before experimenting with your new powers. Drop me a message if there are any questions or if you want to stop being a sysop (could it be?). Have fun! --Eloquence 00:53 20 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * I'll try to help where and when I can. :-) --Menchi 04:19 20 Jun 2003 (UTC)

--

The map of China
Did you color Taiwan on the China map green? Can you also copy the big star over Beijing and transfer it onto Taipei? Thanks. --Jiang 05:01 21 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Yep, green for the trees of the Central Mountain Ranges. :-)
 * Sure, I'll make a star for Taipei too. Thanks for pointing that out. --Menchi 05:06 21 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * I just realized that green will be misunderstood by many Chinese and Taiwanese as a support of the Pan-Green Coalition. That's probably why you asked. I'll re-colour it to rice colour, as opposed to skin colour of the PRC. --Menchi 05:21 21 Jun 2003 (UTC)
 * No, that's not why I asked. I didn't think of that. Yeah...ROC Government websites have been turning quite green lately... Jiang 05:47 21 Jun 2003 (UTC)

---

Mohawk river name
Thank you for finding the Mohawk name for the Saint Lawrence River. I've always been curious. - Montréalais

 * Thought it'd be interesting to show that things have different names, each of which reflect on the philosophy and culture of the namer. --Menchi 22:37 21 Jun 2003 (UTC)

WP T-shirt design
Thanks for the suggestion. I will make the Thai phrase a little larger (I had no idea it was too small - it just looks like squiggles to me! :) -- Wapcaplet 12:05 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Welcome. --Menchi 12:22 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

--

Hawaii photo cm
Hi Menchi,

Thanks for the comments on my Hawaii photos. Can you try the Kauai 2.jpg again? I didn't link it properly the first time, but it's working for me now. Unless you mean from the Kauai entry - I only added the first one because I didn't want to overload the page with images.

-Aion 05:52 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * My reply on User talk:Aion.

 * Okay, I figured out the problem with my second upload (it was a Photoshop file - oops!). And to answer your questions, I'm not a professional photographer, they're just my vacation photos from one of those helicopter tours.

 * -Aion 08:04 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

-

Ant's ban sarcasm and the mistaken nationality
Menchi, you know that I was being sarcastic about Anthere, right? I have ZERO problem with her English language skills. I was mocking RK's position. --Dante Alighieri 20:49 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * No, I did not sense one bit of sarcasm at all, because your long history as a loyal Wikipedian who usually takes the side I consider right -- sometimes with real emotions (fine with me) -- makes me fail to see the sarcasm and irony that is apparently self-hatred, since yourself is similar in situation to Anther, i.e., a continental European by birth whose command of English is excellent and who loves Wikipedia. Your successful attempt at humour just sifted thru me easily like oversized rock pieces could. --Menchi 21:07 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * I just realized that I've confused you with Andre Engels, oddly, when I was in the washroom. Apparently, urination is the source of enlightenments due to the relief of pain.

 * Just replace "continental European" with "congenital human", and reverse the polarity of everything and add 0.444 times pi to it, then you got yourself a completely accurate assessment. --Menchi 22:54 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Hehe, Dante.. Andre.. they sound somewhat the same, I suppose. :) In any event, I've often found that I realize the perfect edit that I need to make on the Wikipedia IMMEDIATELY after I turn off my computer for the evening. Not quite l'esprit d'escalier, but I don't know the french phrase for "turned-off-your-computer-already-and-don't-want-to-turn-it-back-on-again wit". All that aside, I'm not exactly what you would call a continental European, what with my being Californian, but you already realized that. I still like to think I'm a loyal Wikipedian who usually takes the side of right, but who knows, I'm sure that there are many who would disagree (our good friend ChuckM for example). ;) --Dante Alighieri 03:31 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * I would think that you are a Wikipedian who deserves to be called as such. You were the person who noticed half a dozen Romanization redirects I made on the same title, as minor new edits. Many people hide minor edits. it shows a degree of care that you have for WP. --Menchi 05:23 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Incidentally, I just noticed you're a Star Trek fan. Take a look at Starship Enterprise and let me know what you think... I'd like to see more info on the different captains (as per my comments on the talk page). Got any stardates for us to use on the captain timeline? --Dante Alighieri 03:33 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Replied briefly in Talk:Starship Enterprise. --Menchi 05:23 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

---

Move page: not direct cut-&-paste
I see you have reverted my edits...How is a page supposed to be moved? --Jiang 00:41 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * Replied on User talk:Jiang at 00:42 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)
 * It was actually written before Jiang asked, hence the only 1-minute difference. --Menchi 05:23 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

-

Banning Ant
Thanks a lot for your kind words Menchi. You moved me again :-) Ant

 * Merely speaking the truth that needs to be said. --Menchi 18:23 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

-

Naming of the Hui
Personally I perfer Hui Chinese over Hui, but it isn't a major preference. There isn't any large political issue that I can see here. -- Roadrunner

 * --Go ahead with the change kt2 00:24 8 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Lengthy subheading
I made some adjustments at Abolition. Thanks for pointing that out, I must have been going too fast that time. - Hephaestos 07:57 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Welcome. We've all been going too fast sometimes. I do, often, as evident from my very strange sentences (fixed) on that Talk page. --Menchi 08:00 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Synod title punctuation
I fixed Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Thanks! Emperorbma 23:26 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Welcome. --Menchi 23:40 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Slurs
I noticed your work on jook-sing. Do you think it appropriate for inclusion on List of ethnic slurs? Also, are there any other terms that we are missing? My knowledge of Asian pejoratives is not as expansive as it might be. --Dante Alighieri 09:12 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Actually, Jiang recently touched it. I haven't yet, although I am about to add stuff to it (typed it up already in FrontPage and am copyediting it), in like half an hour. But that's beside the point. Oh .. wait, I think you're talking about my redirect. Ok, anyway, yes, Jook-sing is an unpleasant slur, but it's of an ethnicity toward members of itself. It's like being a French, and call your French neighbour "Jean-o-lalalala". But it's an ethnic slur nonetheless in my thinking.

 * Mmm... more? Chinese used to (during late-Qing Dynasty) call the foreigners "Ghosts" (鬼子 Guizi), especially the Japanese (Riben Guizi), and white people are "Ghosts from the Seas" (洋鬼子 Yang Guizi). It's because of their clothing and appearances seem like from beyond the world of living. Those are not used at all now, unless you happen to be trapped in some kinda time loop.

 * --Menchi 09:36 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Romanization
Hi Menchi, just a quick request for help. Chow Chow has Chinese characters without transliteration, is there any chance you could fix it? Many thanks and never mind if you don't have time. Regards -- sannse 09:46 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Sure thing. --Menchi 09:49 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Re: Defunct provinces and Guoyu Cidian
Thanx for your help on Chinese provinces. :) Kt2

 * Any time. --Menchi 05:12 8 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Re: Image copyrighted
Hello I checked except the picture seems to have been deleted from the internet database that i got it from. I guess you could delete the file for the time being and I'll find other pictures later on.

Thanks. -Colipon 20:18 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Replied on User talk:Colipon. --Menchi 20:24 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Pipe linking to avoid redirect
 An objection to A|B -> B at Asteroid

Dont change links so that they link to redirect pages, instead of actual articles. Pizza Puzzle

Reply on naming convention informing
Great thanks alot - Colipon 21:31 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Article request
If you don't mind please start an article on Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese version. Thanks, Colipon 21:39 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Try posting your request on zh:Wikipedia:&. --Menchi 21:45 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

External link placement
Hi Menchi - thanks for the comments on Gray Whale Ranch. I actually had the links as notes in the particular sections they referred to, but someone moved them all to the bottom. I was going to rename them, but I don't think they're all necessarily appropriate listed at the bottom (they are mostly just to confirm what I wrote, there isn't much additional info). Should I move some of them back to be notes on the sections? I will rename the ones that have additional information. - Aion 02:09 14 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * The method most Wikipedians do is to place virtually all external links in the == External link == section, be it general or specific. But not all Wikipedians agree with placing specific reference to the bottom collective section. However, one thing is clear and undisputed, general or at least semi-general ext-link go to the bottom section, where one should at least name the website or page (perhaps as simply as "Official site"). In addition, some suggest writers to Describe external links.

 * If the page has no additional info, you can place it in the == Reference == section if the info is really obscure. Otherwise, no reference is needed on the article page. Although, you are very welcome to place it in the Talk page. Others may find it interesting.

 * --Menchi 02:42 14 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Palo Duro Canyon cm
Hey, thanks for the kind words about Palo Duro Canyon. Looking over your talk page, it seems like you're a big booster -- I definitely appreciate it. Back into the fray! -- ESP 03:51 15 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Those I complimented deserve to hear that the quality of their works is recognized. When encountering what I consider to be good works, I try to take a minute to tell them that WP community appreciate their presence, especially those by newbies and photos Wikipedians personally took. If I see them persistently make good work or really gung ho, I nominate them for admin/sysop, if they aren't already. You're good and you should know that. --Menchi 04:14 15 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks! I was happy to see that Second Barbary War was listed as one of the featured new articles today (although I think First Barbary War is more interesting). Brag brag brag. -- ESP 05:43 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Keep up the good work. :-) --Menchi 14:53 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Move, and redir del
Deletions are not necessary if the destination is simply a redirect with no other history. Is leaving the comment "Page moved from Political divisions of Taiwan" sufficient? --Jiang

 * Yeah, that note is good. But actually, redirects do require deletions as well, because they are physically Wiki-pages like any other. But you don't have to record the hist for cases like this, where the deleted redirect has just a one-version hist -- which is indicated pretty clear in the Talk we had there. In any case, you don't have to record anything in the Talk about redir del / move. I don't see many admins doing it, but it's documentation. --Menchi 14:53 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Chinese River Dolphin POV
I put "only" into the phrase "lived a year" because otherwise it might imply that the dolphin went on living somewhere else after that year at the given location. I didn't mean to use only to imply that it should have lived longer, but only lived a year. Stupid English and it's multiple meanings! Can you come up with a good way to express that the animal died after a year without implying any lack of care on the part of the institution? --Dante Alighieri 00:23 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

P.S. Check my comments on Talk:Renminbi.

 * You added "only"?! Because I thought I did, as I was translating from several Chinese pages, which are frequently over-emotional and used words like "Alas!", "tragedy", "passing away sadly" and POV stuff like that, so I thought I unconsciously carried it over (because I find it a real tragedy as well). It wasn't a blatant POV that word, I only said that because I thought I did it. And I am not very lenient on myself, and apparently not a very good memory either!

 * So I clarified that point (a good point you raised) by just plainly say "died"!

 * --Menchi 00:43 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Nice work, it's perfectly clear now. BTW, I double checked and it was me who added "only". :) On another note, I found that "Giant Panda" of the rivers. Check Talk:Chinese River Dolphin. --Dante Alighieri 00:57 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Scientific name
Sorry about the posting on your user page - that was a little goof on my part. But now my comp isn't letting me cut and paste it onto here - could you go back into the history and do that? -Smack

 * Here:

 * Could you drop by talk:Scientific classification? -Smack 01:35 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Replied. --Menchi 01:56 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Multilingual on-line machine translation
Hi. E-mail me from http://www.faganfinder.com/site/contact.shtml so I can have your e-mail address. You seem like the sort of person who I should let preview something I'm working on :-) -Fagan

 * What Wikipedian username do you go by? And what have you done? There's no User:Fagan. --Menchi 18:06 25 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * I think I've got User:mfagan, but the few edits I've done I've neglected to login for them. Do I have be be a wikipediholic before you'll talk to me? ;-)

 * I thought you may be somebody I knew from here. I guess not. What is this "something [you're] working on". I'm not into guessing game unless I'm stuck on a tropical island. --Menchi 18:21 25 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * It's a tool that connects to online translators. I found you on the edits page of wiktionary's translation sources page.

 * Those are just random sites I came across (and apparently the Arabic translator-dictionary died the day after I added!) when I was translating some entries (just a dozen, actually).
 * And my infatuation with Wiktionary actually just died after those tiny edits. Not to re-flame again for at least another year. :-}
 * --Menchi 18:31 25 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Well if you don't want to see it, I'm not forcing you. I thought you might *want* to. And that site didn't die, it just goes offline sometimes

 * The translator connector idea sounds great. But I'm afraid all my mailboxes have a small limit, so you can't send the program to me. But if you give me a URL, it'd be easier for me to check it out later. --Menchi 18:40 25 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * it's online, I only need to send you the URL. but I'll just list in here anyway www.faganfinder.com/translate/ . Missing some of the features it will have, a lot of translation sources, documentation, etc., etc.

Sanya Image
Hi, I'm the person who posted re the Sanya image (Wiki booted me out of my log-in). Looking at the iamge history, it seems someone has removed it. I'll re-up load it again tonight. - David Stewart 03:09, 29 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Take your time. Someone, or at least the spirit, will always be lingering around the Pump. --Menchi 03:15, 29 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Cheers, I will. - David Stewart 03:22, 29 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Votes on Daniel C. Boyer
I just wanted to inform you that there is an actual vote going on at VfD regarding Daniel C. Boyer. MB 19:22, Jul 30, 2003 (UTC)

 * Alright. Voted. --Menchi 04:11, Jul 31, 2003 (UTC)

1911 EB ref mv to Talk
Why are you moving 1911 ref to talk? olivier 04:44, 31 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * I think it's Wikified and Wikipedized reasonably enough. I usually see that 1911 ref only on barely Wikified text with scanner-typos and all. You can move it back if you find it still still worthy of noting reader that. --Menchi 04:47, Jul 31, 2003 (UTC)

 * OK I see. I was just wondering whether there was a new trend to move all the 1911 refs to talk. I guess the article is decently de-1911-zed now. Thanks. olivier 05:01, 31 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Nisei versus Nitei
I'm afraid that I have little to contribute on this topic, as I don't speak Japanese. As far as I know, the children of Japanese immigrants have been called Nisei dating back at least to the early 20th century, if not back to Hawaii circa 1890. We can post the topic on the talk page if you're still interested, but I'm not the one to enlighten. Sorry. --ishu 21:38, 31 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * It's alright. The the topic has already been on the talk page: Talk:Nisei Japanese. --Menchi 21:42, Jul 31, 2003 (UTC)

Re: Test tube illustration
Hi, thanks for the compliment on my test tube drawing. Have you seen this tutorial? How to draw a diagram with Microsoft Word {I am always trying to recruit more amature illustrators} Theresa knott 22:52, 31 Jul 2003 (UTC)

 * Yep, seen it. I draw faster with digital graphic program, like Corel Paint Shop Pro, though. But you and your recruits are doing a great job with MS Word! --Menchi 23:02, Jul 31, 2003 (UTC)

Pemmican Proclamation
The Pemmican Proclamation was intended to hurt the trade of the North West Company. There's more information about it at Red River Colony. Trontonian

 * Thanks. --Menchi 01:37, Aug 1, 2003 (UTC)

 * You're welcome, but I was wrong. The proclamation was intended to conserve food, but the relationships between the Bay and the North West Company were so poor it led to violence. Sorry about the confusion. I fixed the article. Trontonian

 * Don't worry about it. Wiki tolerates non-malignant mistakes. --Menchi 01:41, Aug 1, 2003 (UTC)

And it's easy to get confused. Teaching Metis history has never been a Canadian priority. I saw an NFB cartoon short about the Red River Colony recently which portrayed them as unshaven thugs. La Voix des Mechif on APTN was an eye-opener to me. Trontonian

Image display
Dear Menchi, I see you did some minor work on my new listing for Guilhermina Suggia. Do you know why my image isn't being uploaded from the image list? Maybe you can help. I've only been on wiki for two days. Thanks, Paul

 * Replied on User talk:Pauldarby. --Menchi 01:24, Aug 4, 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the help - Paul

 * Welcome. --Menchi 01:31, Aug 4, 2003 (UTC)

The Attars of Iran
Menchi, Attar of Neishapour is different from Attar of Shiraz (whom many don't even know of), Shiraz and Neishapour are indeed seperate cities! However there is so little known of Attar of Shiraz that one may only say Hafez was his disciple! Thanks for the note!
 * Regards,
 * Alireza Hashemi

 * Anytime. --Menchi 01:05, Aug 6, 2003 (UTC)

Mintguy's adminship
Thank you for your support regarding my admin status. It is sincerely appreciated. Mintguy 22:18, 5 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Simply stated the truth. --Menchi 01:05, Aug 6, 2003 (UTC)

The Magic School Bus
Thanks :-), but I only combined the books and tv shows... er but thanks anyway :-p Evil saltine 13:34, 8 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Combining this, merging that! Those require patience, which is a virtue here. :-) --Menchi 20:03, Aug 8, 2003 (UTC)

Chinese provinces
Oh, I'm just doing that mainly out of convenience. I'm changing China to People's Republic of China (except for Fujian and defunt provinces)because that's what the current administration is under. It's inconsistent w/ our naming conventions to say that Beijing is one of four centrally administered municiplaities in China. It is one of four in the PRC, not all China. --Jiang 22:58, 9 Aug 2003 (UTC)

-

Image:Parliament3.jpg
Re Brilliant pictures - thanks very much!! :D - Montréalais 05:48, 11 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * That Ottawa River photo is no doubt the most poetic "painting" with an artistic composition in that list so far planned by the photographer himself (You can't count those Da Vinci photos there, the photographers didn't plan out the width, positions, distance, ... themselves). Very artistic is what it is. --Menchi 06:03, Aug 11, 2003 (UTC)

Kanji in Tomita
I'm terribly sorry about the Kanji in Isao Tomita. The thing is I don't have any foreign alphabet installed and it looks like (???) from my PC. As I know nothing about Kanji, I suggest you put the original characters there. Thanks for the advice. David 19:45, 11 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Don't worry about mistakes. It's easily to fix, at least this case :-p --Menchi 19:58, Aug 11, 2003 (UTC)

Retouched nostalgic Pump image
Thanks, I try :). ミハエル (MB) 03:32, Aug 12, 2003 (UTC)

 * Welcome. --Menchi 03:34, Aug 12, 2003 (UTC)

---_

Confederation
Hey, great minds think alike :) I think the confusion was partially because it said "latter," maybe that was a spelling mistake and it should have read "later" all along. I have heard the post-1867 people referred to as "fathers" as well, Smallwood for example being the "last Father of Confederation" (so far). "Founders" is an alternate term for the original Fathers, but I don't think I've ever heard it applied specifially to the post-Confederation fathers like Smallwood. The National Library's website considers them all Fathers, apparently . Adam Bishop 05:35, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Ah, actually, now that I look at that site more carefully, the "fathers" are indicated separately. So I don't really know what to call the others... Adam Bishop 05:52, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Hi, you cast a vote in the TEMP5 debate. The Temp5 proposal was voted down by 61.3% to 38.6%. We seem to be going around in circlces on the whole issue of the main page. A new vote is now taking place to clarify what exactly we want, namely
 * 1) Do we actually want to have a new page?
 * 2) If so when (immediately, after a pause, timed to the press release, etc)?
 * 3) What do people want on the front page and what do they want excluded?

As of now, the whole issue seems surrounded by complete confusion. This way, finally and definitively, we will know what we want and when we want it. So do please express your opinions. The vote is on the same page as the previous votes. FearÉIREANN 20:27, 13 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Voted and comment at Talk:Main Page/Layout design. This annotated voting system is more fun than drop-ballot type! :-) --Menchi 20:40, Aug 13, 2003 (UTC)

Deletion request explanation
Hey, how come you tossed my request to delete the Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici redirect page? I though I had a pretty good argument. You may not agree with it, but I wish you'd say so, and explained why, instead of deleting the request without any notice. Noel 06:45, 17 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * The Giovanni di Bicci de& entry I removed links to a non-existent or deleted "deâ€™ Medici", not "de’ Medici" you mentioned above. I don't know if you ever listed Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici "de’ Medici" on the VfD.
 * And I explained why I removed it in the summary "Del(eted)".
 * --Menchi 07:00, Aug 17, 2003 (UTC)

 * I don't know what you deleted, but the page I listed (here's my VfD entry again ) links to a real page, a Redirect page that is still there. Noel 07:50, 17 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * That may not be what you listed, but a non-existent/deleted page is what it's become: . --Menchi 08:15, Aug 17, 2003 (UTC)

 * Someone else must have edited the VfD page with some software that mangled the funny character. (I'm too tired to look at the log and figure out who it was.) I guess I should  put my original listing back? Noel 09:42, 17 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Sure. Maybe you should use URL link that cannot possible be altered accidentially or not. --Menchi 09:44, Aug 17, 2003 (UTC)

 * Hmm, good idea, but I'm not sure it will work, since people are editing the page source, not the displayed text. Still, worth a try. Thanks! Noel 09:58, 17 Aug 2003 (UTC)
 * Duhhh, I get it now - the way you did it, the funny character is encoded, not quoted literally. Yes, that should be impervious. (Sorry, been up way too long....) Noel 12:47, 17 Aug 2003 (UTC)

What's the Chinese translation of "Commonwealth of the Philippines"? --Samuel 08:09, 19 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Will answer on User talk:Menchi. WP is nagging about size ("WARNING: ..30 kb"); archiving. --Menchi 17:31, Aug 19, 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Menchi/Stardate 0.0002


text:
Talk:Same-sex marriage in the United States

Number of Same-Sex Couple Households Exceeded 1 Million in 2021
There were about 1.2 million same-sex couple households in the United States in 2021, according to recently released Census Bureau data. Roughly 710,000 of the same-sex couple households were married and about 500,000 were unmarried.

Two claims to being the "first" with no acknowledgement of the other
It appears that this page and the History of Same Sex Marriage in the United States page disagree on which same sex marriage was the "first," between Michael McConnell and Jack Baker's in 1971 and Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon's in 2004. Clearly either of the two could count as the "first" depending on some nuances, but it makes no sense to make the same claim for two different marriages on two different related pages. Am I missing something here? I can't see a discussion on either page about the discrepancy. Gold Broth (talk) 22:02, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

 * McConnell & Baker weren't married in San Francisco. — kwami (talk) 23:55, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

errors introduced in January 2015
This edit of 24 January 2015 introduced at least one error which is still present as of the 8 April 2024 version.

By my count, there are at least 4 errors that were introduced by way of deleting content without any apparent reason. One of the 4 data items that was deleted has subsequently been reinstated, in one case, the specific deleted data remains missing from the current revision, and in two cases, the phrase from which the data item was deleted is not present in the current revision, most likely because of the fact that the relevant data had been deleted. Fabrickator (talk) 00:47, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

 * Are you asking someone to fix it? If so, your count doesn't help us much if you don't tell us what it is. Which errors remain? — kwami (talk) 23:53, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

 * To be clear, you have given up. Evidently you think it's not worth your effort.  Fair enough. Fabrickator (talk) 07:15, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Seems a rather straightforward question. You seem to be deliberately obscuring your concern. Rather than making others redo whatever work you've done to identify errors, either specify them here or, better yet, address them yourself. -- Nat Gertler (talk) 13:52, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

PAGE ]]) 16:20, 15 April 2024 (UTC) PAGE ]]) 16:36, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * To me, it seems pretty funny that so far, nobody who has noticed this post has felt motivated to even take a look at the diff that I provided. My contribution has been to point out that the problem exists. It's not as though this is a puzzling problem, but I do find it perplexing that other editors would rather complain that I haven't precisely identified the problem than to even take a look.  I guess I shouldn't wonder that fairly blatant errors in WP go uncorrected for lengthy periods of time. Fabrickator (talk) 16:07, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * @Fabrickator I find it perplexing that you would rather complain about the errors here than to just fix them in the article. --Ahecht ([[User talk:Ahecht|TALK
 * @Ahecht Hmmmm... perhaps I'm trying to see how many people will object to my pointing out that a problem is present (which includes identifying the area where the problem is present) rather than take a couple of minutes to look at the details that I provided. Fabrickator (talk) 16:34, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * @Fabrickator We're all volunteers, why should we take a couple of minutes to re-do work that you've already done. WP:NOTMANDATORY. --Ahecht ([[User talk:Ahecht|TALK
 * @Ahecht I'm making a contribution by identifying a bona fide problem.  It's WP:NOTMANDATORY that I actually fix it. I will assure you that the errors I have identified are not subjective, nor what somebody would be likely to consider as inconsequential.
 * Some of the responses seem to find this approach to be vexatious, but I contend that it's constructive. To the extent that it's a "puzzle", it may be viewed as entertaining.  And at the same time, it's a data point that errors such as I have identified are introduced into Wikipedia and yet don't get corrected (at least one of them continues to persist).  But I am amused how other editors would rather object to my pointing out that an error exists (and doing so in the form of a puzzle) than to just take advantage of the opportunity to correct it. Fabrickator (talk) 17:06, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Treating other editors like your toys who must jump through the hoops you construct is not "constructive", it is deeply disrespectful to them. We are not here for your entertainment. If that's what you seek, I suggest there may be better spaces than Wikipedia in which to exercise this urge of yours. -- Nat Gertler (talk) 21:11, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry you feel that way, though I take exception to your characterization of it as "disrespectful". Fabrickator (talk) 02:26, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
 * "To be clear, you have given up." Yes, you were disrespecting the people you felt should be dancing for your pleasure for having failed to do so. The disrespect is neither hidden nor subtle. -- Nat Gertler (talk) 04:01, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
 * @Ahecht Thank you for your edit! ;-) Fabrickator (talk) 19:48, 15 April 2024

Here we are, just about ninety days after this issue was resolved, and i came back across this, with complaints that I had disrespected other editors. I will point out that I provided this link to the diff. The diff showed one change where some content was added as well as 4 places where some numbers were removed. It shouldn't have taken anyone more than a minute or two to be scratching their heads over the removal of those numbers. Of course, one might spend a few more minutes to figure out whether these portions of the text were still present in the article, nine years after the edits were made, without being corrected.

My perspective on this isn't "Hey, look here, we've got some content to fix", it's "Hey, look here, someone can go in and effectively vandalize an article (intentionally or otherwise), and it can be pretty blatant that something's wrong. We have this really massive amount of content, able to be edited by anybody who happens to come along, and either nobody noticed it or people did notice it, but couldn't be bothered to address it.  Of course I understand that it's nobody's responsibility.  Something as blatant as this seems to be a pretty isolated occurrence; on the other hand, with more subtle changes, it's less clear that they're harmful.  Regardless of whether this was intentional vandalism or not, content gets changed in ways which may be harmful and it's just random chance whether harmful changes get reverted.

If my approach bugged people, great! You were free to ignore it if you didn't care for the way the message was presented, but had I presented it in some other way, i.e. explicitly indicated what the problem was, it would just get fixed with no further discussion. If the "puzzle format" bothers you, nobody's forcing you to act on it, but it was effective at calling attention to something that seems to be a systemic problem. So I've made my point, it is hopefully an isolated incident, but it seems like there's really no way to know. Fabrickator (talk) 19:28, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

 * "If my approach bugged people, great!" If your goal is to bug people, hey, there's a great wide Internet for you to do so. You do not have to pick the volunteers at a free knowledge project to target. You made... what point? At what audience? The people on this page who are already fixing material? If you think there's a general problem, you think the talk page of some random page is the way to draw attention to it?? -- Nat Gertler (talk) 20:50, 16 July 2024 (UTC)


text:
List of developmental and minor sports leagues

This is a list of developmental and minor sports leagues, two concepts which are largely restricted to North American sports. Note that this does not include teams in leagues that include promotion and relegation.

Baseball
† MLB Partner Leagues
 * Minor League Baseball
 * International League (Class AAA)
 * Pacific Coast League (Class AAA)
 * Eastern League (Class AA)
 * Southern League (Class AA)
 * Texas League (Class AA)
 * Midwest League (Class A+)
 * Northwest League (Class A+)
 * South Atlantic League (Class A+)
 * California League (Class A)
 * Carolina League (Class A)
 * Florida State League (Class A)
 * Arizona Complex League (rookie)
 * Florida Complex League (rookie)
 * Dominican Summer League (rookie)
 * Off-season leagues
 * Arizona Fall League (off-season)
 * Colombian Professional Baseball League (off-season)
 * Dominican Winter Baseball League (off-season)
 * Mexican Pacific League (off-season)
 * Puerto Rico Baseball League (off-season)
 * Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (off-season)
 * Independent baseball leagues
 * American Association †
 * Atlantic League †
 * Empire League
 * Frontier League †
 * Mexican League
 * Pecos League
 * Pioneer League †
 * United Shore League

Basketball
Affiliated:
 * NBA G League
 * NBA Summer League

Independent:

Pro
 * National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
 * The Basketball League (TBL)
 * The Basketball Tournament (TBT)
 * Big3
 * Overtime Elite (OTE)

Semi-Pro
 * American Basketball Association (ABA)
 * Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
 * Central Basketball Association (CBA)
 * East Coast Basketball League (ECBL)
 * Florida Basketball Association (FBA)
 * Maximum Basketball League (MBL)
 * National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
 * North American Basketball League (NABL)
 * Premier Basketball League (PBL)

 * United Basketball League (UBL)
 * Universal Basketball Association (UBA)

American football
Outdoor:

High-level
 * United Football League

Low-level
 * Gridiron Developmental Football League
 * Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional
 * Rivals Professional Football League

Indoor:

High-level
 * Fan Controlled Football
 * Indoor Football League
 * National Arena League
 * Arena Football League

Mid-level
 * American Indoor Football

Low-level
 * American Arena League
 * Great Lakes Arena Football

Ice hockey
Professional:
 * American Hockey League (high-level)
 * ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League) (mid-level)
 * Federal Prospects Hockey League (low-level)
 * Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (low-level)
 * SPHL (formerly Southern Professional Hockey League) (low-level)

Juniors:
 * Canadian Hockey League (CHL; an umbrella organization)
 * Ontario Hockey League (Major junior)
 * Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (Major junior)
 * Western Hockey League (Major junior)
 * United States Hockey League (Tier I)

Association football (soccer)

 * United Soccer League
 * USL Championship (men's Division II)
 * USL Super League (women's Division II, planned to start in 2023)
 * USL League One (men's Division III)
 * MLS Next Pro (Division III)
 * National Independent Soccer Association (Division III)
 * United Women's Soccer (women's Division II)
 * Women's Premier Soccer League (women's Division II)

Indoor soccer

 * Major Arena Soccer League 2 (M2)

Auto racing

 * ARCA Menards Series
 * American Speed Association
 * CRA
 * Indy NXT
 * Pro Mazda Championship
 * NASCAR Pinty's Series (Canada)
 * NASCAR Peak Mexico Series (Mexico)
 * NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (Europe)
 * NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
 * NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
 * NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
 * NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
 * Michelin Pilot Challenge
 * GT4 America

Cricket

 * Minor League Cricket

Rugby union

 * Vodacom Cup (South Africa; now defunct. During the competition's existence, teams from Argentina and Namibia were occasionally included.)
 * Rugby Challenge (South Africa; successor to the Vodacom Cup. Includes the same Namibian team that occasionally featured in the Vodacom Cup.)

Baseball

 * Baseball Challenge League (Japan)
 * Eastern League (Japan)
 * Kansai Independent Baseball League (Japan, 2008-2013)
 * Shikoku-Kyūshū Island League (Japan)
 * Western League (Japan)
 * Popcorn League (Taiwan) (2014-present)

Basketball

 * National Basketball League (China)
 * Philippine Basketball League (Philippines, 1983-2011)
 * Liga Pilipinas (Philippines, 2008-2011)
 * PBA Developmental League (Philippines, 2011–present)
 * Filsports Basketball Association (Philippines, 2015-2016)
 * Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (Philippines, 2015-2016)
 * Pinoyliga (Philippines, 2017–present)
 * Community Basketball Association (Philippines, 2019–2020)
 * Sinag Liga Asya (Philippines, 2023–present)

Association football

 * Perserikatan (Indonesia) (1930–1994)
 * K3 League (South Korea) (2007–2019)
 * Manila Football League (Philippines, 1930-1967)
 * Manila Premier Football League (Philippines, 1997)
 * National Football League (Philippines, 1977-1991)
 * PFA Major Soccer Series (Philippines, 1967-1972)
 * Ang Liga (Philippines, 2003-present)
 * Filipino Premier League (Philippines, 2008)
 * United Football League (Philippines) (2009-2016)

Volleyball

 * Shakey's Super League (Philippines) (2022–present)
 * V-League (Philippines) (2022–present)

Motorsports

 * European Le Mans
 * GT4 European Series
 * GT4 France Cup

Association football (soccer)

 * National Premier Leagues (Australia)

Australian rules football

 * TAC Cup (Victoria)
 * South Australian National Football League (South Australia)
 * Victorian Football League (Victoria)
 * West Australian Football League (Western Australia)
 * North East Australian Football League (New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory & Australian Capital Territory)

Baseball

 * Darwin Baseball League (Northern Territory)
 * Greater Brisbane League (Queensland)
 * Illawarra Baseball League (New South Wales)
 * New South Wales Major League (New South Wales)

Basketball

 * Big V (Victoria)
 * NBL1 (Australia)
 * NBL1 Central (South Australia)
 * NBL1 East (New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory)
 * NBL1 North (Queensland and Northern Territory)
 * NBL1 South (Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia)
 * NBL1 West (Western Australia)

Ice hockey

 * East Coast Super League (New South Wales)

Rugby league

 * Melbourne Rugby League (Victoria)
 * New South Wales Cup (New South Wales)
 * Queensland Cup (Queensland)
 * S. G. Ball Cup (Australia)

Motorsports

 * Super2 Series
 * Super3 Series