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Gremlins

Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows young man Billy Peltzer, who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures that transform into aggressive imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's town during Christmas Eve.

The film was the center of large merchandising campaigns and opts for black comedy, balanced against a Christmastime setting. Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, with the film being produced by Michael Finnell.

Gremlins was theatrically released on June 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. to critical and commercial success. However, it was heavily criticized for some of its more violent sequences. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating. It was followed by a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990).

Plot
Struggling inventor Randall Peltzer visits a Chinatown antique store, hoping to find a Christmas present for his son Billy. In it, Randall finds a small and furry creature called a mogwai (Cantonese:, 'devil'). The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell it to Randall, but his grandson secretly does, warning Randall to remember three important rules concerning the mogwai – do not expose the creature to light, especially sunlight, which will kill it; do not let it come in contact with water; and above all, never feed it after midnight.

In Randall’s hometown of Kingston Falls, Billy works at the local bank, but fears that his dog Barney will be put down by widowed miser Mrs. Deagle. His father returns and gives him the mogwai, now named “Gizmo", as a pet, as well as explaining the three rules. Gizmo is friendly and docile, but when Billy's friend, Pete Fountaine, accidentally spills water on Gizmo, five more mogwai spawn from him, a more mischievous sort led by the aggressive Stripe, named after the white mohawk-like tuft of fur on his head. Billy shows one of the mogwai to his former elementary school science teacher, Mr. Hanson, spawning another mogwai, whom Hanson experiments on. Back at home, Stripe and his fellow mogwai trick Billy into feeding them after midnight by severing the power cord on his alarm clock. They form cocoons, as does Hanson's mogwai, which soon hatch, emerging as destructive monsters called "gremlins", who attack Billy's mother, while Hanson is murdered by his gremlin.

Lynn and Billy are able to kill the gremlins, except for Stripe, who escapes to a local YMCA where he jumps into its swimming pool, spawning an army of gremlins that wreak havoc in Kingston Falls. Many people are injured or outright killed by the gremlins' rampage, including Mrs. Deagle. Billy rescues his girlfriend, Kate Beringer, and they hide in the bank where Kate reveals to Billy and Gizmo that when she was nine years old, her father went missing on Christmas Eve and did not come home on Christmas Day either; several days later, he was found dead in their chimney while dressed as Santa Claus. Planning to surprise her and her mother, he had accidentally slipped and broken his neck, killing him instantly, while climbing down the chimney. Still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Kate confesses this is how she lost her Christmas spirit.

Billy and Kate discover that the gremlins are watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the local theater. They set off a natural gas explosion, killing all the gremlins except for Stripe, who left to get more candy at a Montgomery Ward store across the street. As morning approaches, they follow Stripe into the department store, where he attempts to use a fountain to spawn more gremlins. Gizmo opens a nearby skylight, exposing Stripe to sunlight and killing him.

As the local news reports on the day's mysterious tragedies, Mr. Wing reclaims Gizmo at the Peltzer home. He scolds the family for their negligence and criticizes Western society for its carelessness with nature. However, as he turns to leave, Gizmo, having bonded with Billy, bids him goodbye. A touched Wing then concedes that Billy may be ready one day and, until then, Gizmo will be waiting.

Cast
The film features various cameos from crew members or guests. Steven Spielberg cameos as a man riding a recumbent bicycle; Jim McKrell plays Lew Landers; composer Jerry Goldsmith plays a man in a phone booth; Kenneth Tobey plays a smoking gas station attendant; and William Schallert plays Father Bartlett. Animator Chuck Jones plays Mr. Jones, Billy's drawing mentor; he would later create the title sequences for the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990).

Voices
Mogwai and Gremlin vocal effects were provided by Howie Mandel, Frank Welker, Brad Kesten (uncredited), Michael Winslow, Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Peter Cullen, Jim Cummings (uncredited), Sonny Melendrez (uncredited), Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, Michael Sheehan, and Joe Dante (uncredited).
 * Howie Mandel as Gizmo
 * Frank Welker and Michael Winslow as Stripe
 * Don Steele as Rockin' Ricky Rialto
 * Marvin Miller as Robby the Robot (uncredited)
 * Ilene Keys as Gizmo (singing, uncredited)

Background
Gremlins was produced at a time when combining horror and comedy was becoming increasingly popular. According to Professor Noël Carroll, Ghostbusters, released the same weekend as Gremlins, and the comic strip The Far Side also followed this trend. Carroll argued that there was now a new genre emphasizing sudden shifts between humorous and horrific scenes, drawing laughs with plot elements that have been traditionally used to scare.

The notion of gremlins was first conceived during the 1920s when mechanical failures in RAF aircraft were jokingly blamed on the small monsters. The term "gremlins" also entered popular culture as children's author and RAF pilot Roald Dahl published a book called The Gremlins in 1943, based on the mischievous creatures. Walt Disney considered making a film of it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon of the era, Falling Hare, has him battling a gremlin on an airplane. Joe Dante had read The Gremlins and said that the book was of some influence on his film. In 1983, Dante publicly distanced his work from earlier films, explaining, "Our gremlins are somewhat different—they're sort of green, and they have big mouths, and they smile a lot and they do incredibly, really nasty things to people and enjoy it all the while".

Development
The story of Gremlins was conceived by Chris Columbus. As Columbus explained, his inspiration came from his loft, when at night "what sounded like a platoon of mice would come out and to hear them skittering around in the blackness was really creepy". He then wrote the original screenplay as a spec script to show potential employers that he had writing abilities. The story was not actually intended to be filmed until Steven Spielberg took an interest in turning it into a film. As Spielberg explained, "It's one of the most original things I've come across in many years, which is why I bought it." Spielberg considered Tim Burton to direct the film after seeing his short film Frankenweenie.

After deciding to executive produce the film himself, Spielberg chose Dante as his director because of his experience with horror-comedy; Dante had previously directed The Howling (1981); however, in the time between The Howling and the offer to film Gremlins, he had experienced a lull in his career. Dante began doing storyboard work on the film while also working as a director on Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), a film on which Spielberg also served as a director. The film's producer was Michael Finnell, who had also worked on The Howling with Dante. Spielberg took the project to Warner Bros. and co-produced it through his own company, Amblin Entertainment.

Designer Chris Walas spoke on the creation of the initial concept of the creatures, “After reading the script, my first idea was to take the tarsier, a little primate, and give it cartoony proportions. I wanted the big eyes to make it cute. I showed it to Mike Finnell and Joe Dante and they asked for some tweaks, so I made the next one. This is more like a puppy. Big, floppy ears. It’s not based on any one dog in particular — just a Cocker Spaniel or something. Fortunately they did not go with it. These were the only two Mogwai I sculpted before the final one.”

The film's script went through a few drafts before a shooting script was finalized. The first version was much darker than the final film. Various scenes were cut, including one which portrayed Billy's mother dying in her struggle with the gremlins, with her head thrown down the stairs when Billy arrives. Dante later explained the scene made the film darker than the filmmakers wanted. There was also a scene where the gremlins ate Billy's dog and a scene where the gremlins attacked a McDonald's, eating customers instead of burgers. Also, instead of Stripe being a mogwai who becomes a gremlin, there was originally no mogwai named Stripe; rather, Gizmo was supposed to transform into Stripe the gremlin. Spielberg overruled this plot element as he felt Gizmo was cute and that audiences would want him to be present throughout the film.

The film mentions an urban legend in which Kate reveals in a speech that her father died at Christmas when he dressed as Santa Claus and broke his neck while climbing down the family's chimney. After the film was completed, studio executives insisted upon its removal, because they felt it was too ambiguous as to whether it was supposed to be funny or sad. Dante refused to take the scene out, saying it represented the film as a whole, which had a combination of horrific and comedic elements. Spielberg did not like the scene but, despite his creative control, he viewed Gremlins as Dante's project and allowed him to leave it in. A parody of this scene is featured in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

Casting
Phoebe Cates was cast as Kate, Billy's girlfriend, despite concerns that she was known for playing more risqué parts, such as Linda Barrett in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Spielberg urged the casting of the relatively unknown Zach Galligan as Billy because he saw chemistry between Galligan and Cates during auditions. Galligan later compared himself to Billy, saying he was a "geeky kid", and that being in the film "was really kind of a dream" given "what I get to do, what my character gets to do, blow up movie theatres", adding that he "got to work with great people". Spielberg commented when Galligan was testing with Cates that "he's in love with her already" and that was how Galligan won the part. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, and Judd Nelson also auditioned.

In contrast to Galligan, many of the supporting actors and actresses were better known. Veteran actor Glynn Turman portrayed the high school science teacher whose study of a newborn mogwai leads to his death after it forms a cocoon and emerges as a vicious gremlin. Dick Miller, who was a regular in Dante's films, was another experienced actor on the set, playing a World War II veteran who first refers to the creatures as gremlins. Rand was played by Hoyt Axton, who was always the filmmakers' preferred choice for the role even though it was widely contested by other actors. Axton's experience included acting as the father in The Black Stallion (1979), and he was also a country music singer-songwriter. After an introductory scene to Gremlins was cut, Axton's voice earned him the added role of the narrator to establish some context. Mr. Wing was played by Keye Luke, a renowned film actor, whose film career spanned half a century. Although in reality he was around 80 at the time of filming, and his character was very elderly, Luke's youthful appearance had to be covered by make-up.

Corey Feldman, who up to that time had primarily been in commercials, played Pete Fountaine, establishing his early credentials as a child actor; he previously met with Spielberg when he auditioned for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Polly Holliday, an actress best known for her role in Alice, played Mrs. Deagle. Dante considered the casting fortunate, as she was well-known, and he considered her to be talented. Two other well-known actors, Fast Times' Judge Reinhold and character actor Edward Andrews, received roles that were significantly reduced after the film was edited; they played Billy's superiors at the bank. Tom Hanks also read for Gerald.

Special effects
Some of the performances were shot on the Courthouse Square and Colonial Street sets of the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California (Mrs. Deagle's house was one such set as well as the opening street scenes in Chinatown, which were filmed on the Warner Bros. Studios backlot). This required fake snow; Dante also felt it was an atmosphere that would make the special effects more convincing.

An earlier attempt to use monkeys to interpret the gremlins was abandoned because the test monkey panicked when made to wear a gremlin head. Puppets and marionettes were used instead, so the actors worked alongside them in most scenes. Nevertheless, after the actors finished their work for good, a great deal of effort was spent finishing the effects.

Numerous small rubber puppets, some of which were mechanical, were used to portray Gizmo and the gremlins. They were designed by Chris Walas. There was more than one Gizmo puppet, and occasionally Galligan, when carrying one, would set him down off camera, and when Gizmo appeared again sitting on a surface it was actually a different puppet wired to the surface. These puppets had many limitations. The Gizmo puppets were particularly frustrating because they were smaller and thus broke down more. While Walas recommended making the mogwais larger to make their creation and functioning easier for the special effects team, Dante insisted on keeping their size small to enhance the cuteness of the creatures. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at him. This was included on a list that the crew created known to them as the "Horrible Things to do to Gizmo" list. Rob Bottin and John Dykstra were originally considered to do the special effects, Bottin was Dante's first choice; but he was busy working on Legend (1985).

Other effects required large mogwai faces and ears to be produced for close-ups, as the puppets were less capable of conveying emotion. Consequently, large props simulating food were needed for the close-ups in the scene in which the mogwai feast after midnight. An enlarged Gizmo puppet was also needed for the scene in which he multiplies. The new mogwai, who popped out of Gizmo's body as small, furry balls which then started to grow, were balloons and expanded as such. Walas had also created the exploding gremlin in the microwave by means of a balloon that was allowed to burst.

Howie Mandel provided the voice for Gizmo, and prolific voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice for Stripe. It was Welker who suggested Mandel perform in Gremlins. The puppets' lines were mostly invented by the voice actors, based on cues from the physical actions of the puppets, which were filmed before the voice work. When developing the voice for Gizmo, Mandel explained, "[Gizmo was] cute and naive, so, you know, I got in touch with that... I couldn't envision going any other way or do something different with it". The majority of the other gremlins' voices were performed by Michael Winslow and Peter Cullen, while the remaining voices were done by Mandel, Welker, Bob Bergen, Fred Newman, Jim Cummings, Sonny Melendrez, Mark Dodson, Bob Holt, Michael Sheehan, and even Dante himself.

Music
The film's score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who won a Saturn Award for Best Music for his efforts. The main score was composed with the objective of conveying "the mischievous humor and mounting suspense of Gremlins". Goldsmith also wrote Gizmo's song, which was hummed by Ilene Keys, a child actress and acquaintance of Goldsmith, rather than Mandel himself. Goldsmith also appears in the film, alongside Steven Spielberg, in the scene where Rand calls home from the salesman's convention.

The soundtrack album was released by Geffen Records as a specially priced 7 cut mini-album on LP and cassette (Goldsmith's music comprised all of side two) and reissued on compact disc in 1993 only in Germany.

 * 1) Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello (3:50)
 * 2) Make It Shine – Quarterflash (4:10)
 * 3) Out/Out – Peter Gabriel (7:00)
 * 4) The Gift (4:51)
 * 5) Gizmo (4:09)
 * 6) Mrs. Deagle (2:50)
 * 7) The Gremlin Rag (4:03)

"Gremlins...Mega Madness" was also released as a single, with "The Gremlin Rag" as its B-side (The USA release has Late For Work).

In 2011, Film Score Monthly issued a two-disc release of the soundtrack, with the complete score on disc one and the original soundtrack album on disc two (representing the latter's first North American CD issue); this was the label's final Jerry Goldsmith album. A CD release by Warner Archive Collection was released through WaterTower Music on October 10, 2015.

DISC ONE: The Film Score

 * 1) Fanfare in C (Max Steiner) / The Shop / The Little One 4:30
 * 2) Late for Work 1:46
 * 3) Mrs. Deagle / That Dog 2:22
 * 4) The Gift 1:45
 * 5) First Aid 2:17
 * 6) Spilt Water 3:02
 * 7) A New One 1:10
 * 8) The Lab / Old Times 2:35
 * 9) The Injection 2:56
 * 10) Snack Time / The Wrong Time 1:49
 * 11) The Box 1:24
 * 12) First Aid 1:39
 * 13) Disconnected / Hurry Home 1:03
 * 14) Kitchen Fight 4:06
 * 15) Dirty Linen 0:43
 * 16) The Pool 1:07
 * 17) The Plow / Special Delivery 1:16
 * 18) High Flyer 2:22
 * 19) Too Many Gremlins 2:06
 * 20) No Santa Claus 3:27
 * 21) After Theatre 1:39
 * 22) Theatre Escape / Stripe Is Loose / Toy Dept. / No Gizmo 4:36
 * 23) The Fountain / Stripe's Death 5:42
 * 24) Goodbye, Billy 2:56
 * 25) End Title / The Gremlin Rag 4:10
 * 26) Blues 2:17
 * 27) Mrs. Deagle [film version] 1:27
 * 28) God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen [traditional, arr. Alexander Courage] 1:12
 * 29) After Theatre [with "Silent Night"] 1:36
 * 30) After Theatre [without "Silent Night"] 1:36
 * 31) Rabbit Rampage [Milt Franklyn] 0:47
 * 32) The Gremlin Rag [full version] 3:35
 * 33) Gizmo's New Song 0:35
 * 34) Gizmo's Trumpet 0:30

Tracks 26–34 are listed as bonus tracks.

DISC TWO: 1984 Soundtrack Album
 * 1) Gremlins...Mega Madness – Michael Sembello 3:52
 * 2) Make It Shine – Quarterflash 4:11
 * 3) Out/Out – Peter Gabriel 7:02
 * 4) The Gift 4:58
 * 5) Gizmo 4:14
 * 6) Mrs. Deagle 2:54
 * 7) The Gremlin Rag 4:13

Box office
Financially, Gremlins was a success. Produced on an $11 million budget, it was more expensive than Spielberg had originally intended but still relatively cheap for its time. The trailer introduced the film to audiences by briefly explaining that Billy receives a strange creature as a Christmas present, by going over the three rules, and then coming out with the fact that the creatures transform into terrible monsters. This trailer showed little of either the mogwai or the gremlins. In contrast to this, other advertisements concentrated on Gizmo, overlooked the gremlins, and made the film look similar to Spielberg's earlier family film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).

Gremlins was released into North American theaters on June 8, 1984, the same day as Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters. Gremlins ranked second, with $12.5 million in its first weekend, $1.1 million less than Ghostbusters. By the end of its American screenings on November 29, it had grossed $148,168,459 domestically. This made it the fourth highest-grossing film of the year, behind Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In August 1984, it opened in Argentina and Spain, and in October it premiered in West Germany. Screenings began in Mexico, Australia, and much of the rest of Europe in December. Since Gremlins had an international audience, different versions of the film were made to overcome cultural barriers. Mandel learned to speak his few intelligible lines, such as "Bright light!", in various languages, including German. Regional music and humor were also incorporated into foreign-language versions. Dante credited this work as being one of the factors which helped to make Gremlins a worldwide success. However, many critics questioned the summer release date of the film in America, as the film takes place during the Christmas holiday season, causing them to comment that it should have had a Christmas release date instead.

In addition to this, there were also complaints from audiences about the violence depicted in the film. These complaints were particularly present in people who had brought their children to see the film, many of whom walked out of the theater before the film had ended. Dante admitted to reporters later that "the idea of taking a 4-year-old to see Gremlins, thinking it's going to be a cuddly, funny animal movie and then seeing that it turns into a horror picture, I think people were upset... They felt like they had been sold something family friendly and it wasn't entirely family friendly".

The film became available to audiences again when it was brought back to theaters on August 30, 1985. This additional release brought its gross up to $153,083,102, making it Warner Bros.’ most successful film at the time, a record that stood until Batman surpassed it in 1989.

By February 1985, the film had grossed $59.6 million internationally, including $17 million in Japan. It grossed a further $0.2 million in 2019, taking its worldwide gross to over $212.9 million.

Critical response
Roger Ebert approved of the film, awarding it three out of four and declaring it to not only be "fun", but also a "sly series of send-ups", effectively parodying many elemental film storylines. In his opinion, Gremlins did this partly through depictions of mysterious worlds (the shop in Chinatown) and tyrannical elderly women (Mrs. Deagle). Ebert also believed the rule in which a mogwai cannot eat after midnight was inspired by fairy tales, and that the final scenes parody classic horror films. He connected Kate's speech about her father with "the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes". Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half out of four, describing it as "a wickedly funny and slightly sick ride", and "a most original work. We're aware at every moment that someone is trying to entertain us. Playfulness abounds." Vincent Canby of The New York Times was mixed, writing that the film "is far more interested in showing off its knowledge of movie lore and making random jokes than in providing consistent entertainment. Unfortunately, it's funniest when being most nasty." Variety declared, "Make room for adorable 'Gremlins' dolls on the shelves and start counting the take for another calculated audience pleaser from the Steven Spielberg-Frank Marshall-Kathleen Kennedy team. But that's all that's here in this showy display of technical talent, otherwise nearly heedless of dramatic concerns." Leonard Maltin disapproved of the film, and his view was made clear in remarks he made on the television show Entertainment Tonight. He called the film "icky" and "gross". He later wrote that despite being set in a "picture-postcard town" and blending the feel of It's a Wonderful Life (a clip of which appears in Gremlins) with that of The Blob, the film is "negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem"; giving the film two out of four. Maltin later made a cameo appearance in Gremlins 2, repeating his criticisms of the original on film, as an in-joke, before being throttled by the creatures; he later gave the second film a more positive rating, three out of four.

While some critics criticized the film's depictions of violence and greed—such as death scenes, Kate's speech, and the gremlins' gluttony—for lacking comic value, scholar Charlotte Miller instead interpreted these as a satire of "some characteristics of Western civilization", suggesting that Westerners may take too much satisfaction from violence. Gremlins can also be interpreted as a statement against technology, in that some characters, such as Billy's father, are overly dependent on it. In contrast, Mr. Wing is shown to have a strong distaste for television. Kirkpatrick Sale also interpreted Gremlins as an anti-technology film in his book Rebels Against the Future. Another scholar suggested that the film is meant to express a number of observations of society by having the gremlin characters shift in what they are meant to represent. At different times, they are depicted as teenagers, the wealthy establishment, or fans of Disney films.

Another scholar drew a connection between the microwave scene and urban legends about pets dying in microwave ovens. He described the portrayal of this urban legend in the film as successful, but that meant it seemed terrible. This is indeed a scene that is thought of as being one of the film's most violent depictions; with even Roger Ebert expressing some fear in his review that the film might encourage children to try similar things with their pets. Catherine Lester casts doubt on whether any children actually did attempt this as a result of seeing the film. Situating Gremlins in the children's horror genre, she argues that child viewers are invited to identify with the gremlins themselves, whose rebellious behaviour may function as a source of subversive pleasure.

Colin Greenland reviewed Gremlins for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Two or three good jokes, three or four neat scenes, lots of detail, but overall, a manic melee of pyrotechnics that made random grabs for my sympathy and failed to hold my attention, A bit more coherent thought, and who knows, it might have been something good."

Gremlins has been criticized for more than its depictions of violence. One BBC critic wrote in 2000 that "The plot is thin and the pacing is askew". However, that critic also complimented the dark humour contrasted against the ideal Christmas setting. In 2002, another critic wrote that in hindsight, Gremlins has "corny special effects" and that the film will tend to appeal to children more so than to adults; he also said the acting was dull.

Despite the initial mixed criticism, Gremlins has continued to receive praise over the years and is considered by many critics to be one of the best films of 1984.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Whether you choose to see it as a statement on consumer culture or simply a special effects-heavy popcorn flick, Gremlins is a minor classic." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 70 based on 13 reviews.

Home media
Warner Home Video released Gremlins on VHS, CED Videodisc, and Beta in December, 1985. The film was released on DVD in 1997 in a bare bones presentation. It included both full screen and widescreen versions and the film's trailer. It was repackaged in August, 1999 with the same disc, but a different cover. On August 20, 2002, a "special edition" DVD was released, which featured cast and filmmakers' commentary and deleted scenes. A 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition was released on December 1, 2009. The film was again released on home video in 4K Ultra HD on October 1, 2019.

The film grossed $15.2 million in home sales on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Toys and collectibles
With its commercial themes, particularly the cuteness of the character Gizmo, Gremlins became the center of considerable merchandising. Due to this, it became part of a rising trend in film, which had received a boost from Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Manufacturers including LJN produced versions of Gizmo as dolls or stuffed animals, the latter of which became a popular high demand toy during the holiday season of 1984. Both Gizmo and the gremlins were mass-produced as action figures, and Topps printed trading cards based upon the film.

An interactive Gizmo Furby Friends toy was released in 1999.

A product placement deal with fast food chain Hardee's also led to a series of five book-and-cassette/45 records adaptations of the film's story. Starting in the early 2000s, companies such as Jun Planning and the National Entertainment Collectibles Association produced all-new Gremlins toys and collectibles. In 2017 Trick or Treat Studios began producing official Gremlins life-size puppets of Stripe and Gizmo. In May 2019, NECA unveiled their Christmas 2019 collectible, which features two Gremlins singing carols.

Novel
The screenplay was adapted into a novelization by George Gipe, published by Avon Books in June 1984. The novel offered an origin for mogwai and gremlins as a prologue. Supposedly, mogwai were created as gentle, contemplative creatures by a scientist on an alien world. However, it was discovered their physiology was unstable. The end result was only 1 in 10,000 mogwai would retain their sweet, loving demeanor. The rest would change into creatures the novel referred to as "mischievous". The minority mogwai (the 1 in 10,000) are immortal by human standards, though Gizmo explains to Stripe if he were to undergo the transformation himself, he would become like the others, "short lived and violent". This origin is unique to the novel but is referred to in the novelization of Gremlins 2 by David Bischoff. No definitive origin for mogwai or gremlins is given in either Gremlins film. The novelization contains a subplot that was cut from the original film, where the National Guard plans to neutralize the gremlins with fire hoses.

Action-oriented video games
Several officially licensed video games based on the film have been produced. One of the first was Gremlins, released by Atari, Inc. for their 2600 console.

Atari, Inc. released a completely different (and more technically advanced) game—also called Gremlins—for the Atari 5200 console and the Apple II, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatible computers. Although the Atari 5200 version went to manufacturing in 1984, the turmoil surrounding Jack Tramiel's takeover of Atari's consumer business resulted in it not being released until 1986.

In the 2000s, more games were released; Gremlins: Unleashed! was released on Game Boy Color in 2001. The game was about Gizmo trying to catch Stripe and thirty other gremlins, while the gremlins also try to turn Gizmo into a gremlin. Both Gizmo and Stripe are playable characters in the game.

In 2011 NECA, published a Gremlins game for the Wii and Nintendo DS called Gremlins Gizmo. This was developed by Pipeworks Software and was released on November 18, 2011.

A Gremlins Team Pack was released for Lego Dimensions on November 18, 2016. The pack includes minifigures of Gizmo and Stripe, a constructible polaroid camera and RC car, and grants access to an Adventure World and Battle Arena based on the film. Howie Mandel and Frank Welker reprise their respective roles as Gizmo and Stripe. Gizmo and Stripe are playable characters in the platform fighter MultiVersus.

Gremlins: The Adventure
At the time of the film's release, an interactive fiction game based on scenes from the film, entitled Gremlins: The Adventure (1985), was released for various home computers, including the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. The game was written by Brian Howarth for Adventure Soft and was text-based, with full-color illustrations on some formats.

Miscellaneous
In addition to this, Gremlins brand breakfast cereal was produced by Ralston concurrent to and for a few years after the first film was released in 1984. The front of the cereal box featured Gizmo, and inside were decals of the malevolent gremlins, including Stripe.

Sequels and prequel
After the commercial success it was followed by a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch in 1990.

In 2019, Warner Bros. successfully gained registered trademark of the name and the franchise. That same year, the studio's parent company WarnerMedia greenlit an animated series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai based on the property for its streaming service, Max. The series premiered on May 23, 2023. The series was renewed for a second season, titled Gremlins: The Wild Batch, which will be released in Fall 2024.

In January 2013, Vulture reported that Warner Bros. was negotiating with Amblin Entertainment to reboot the Gremlins franchise. Seth Grahame-Smith was tapped to produce, alongside David Katzenberg. In January 2015, Grahame-Smith stated that the project has been put on hold. In November 2015, Zach Galligan confirmed that the third film will be a sequel and not a reboot. In a December 2016 interview with Bleeding Cool, Galligan again spoke about a third film saying that "Warner Bros. definitely wants it, Chris Columbus wants to do it because he'd like to undo the Gremlins 2 thing as he wasn't thrilled with it, and Spielberg wants to." He claimed Gremlins 3 is being written by Carl Ellsworth. In an interview with /Film in 2017, a script was written by Chris Columbus. His script explored the idea that has been on the fan's mind for a long time: "if all the gremlins come from getting Gizmo wet and feeding his mogwai offspring after midnight, should Gizmo be eliminated?" He described his script as "twisted and dark". In November 2020, Columbus stated that CGI would not be used for the gremlins and that traditional puppets and animatronics would continue to be used.

Legacy
The film not only spawned the sequel and an advertisement for British Telecom, but is believed to have been the inspiration for several unrelated films about small monsters. These include Ghoulies, Troll, Hobgoblins, and Munchies.

In music, the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai are named after the film's creatures: as for the reason why the band chose this as their name, their guitarist, Stuart Braithwaite, has stated that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it". Welsh singer and songwriter Rod Thomas performs under the name Bright Light Bright Light, which is a direct quote from the film.

In November 18, 2016, both Gizmo and Stripe made their appearance in Lego Dimensions as playable characters in their own Team Pack. Many of the other in-game playable characters, such as Supergirl, hint not to give gremlins water or light. Gizmo and Stripe also each have their own unique abilities and vehicles; Gizmo having an radio-controlled car inspired by the toy car he piloted in the film's climax and Stripe having a camera-like gadget inspired by the ones manufactured by Polaroid Corporation, one of which Kate Beringer armed herself with during the gremlins' attack on her work place, Dorry's Tavern. Both Mandel and Welker reprise their roles as Gizmo and Stripe respectively.

In 2017, gremlins were featured in the animated film The Lego Batman Movie, with director Chris McKay explaining he loved the characters. The gremlins were among numerous villains from outside of the Batman franchise playing a role in the film, with many of the added antagonists owned by Warner Bros.

In February 2021, a Mountain Dew Zero Sugar ad featuring Zach Galligan as Billy Peltzer and Gizmo was released.

Also in 2021, a trio of Gremlins including Stripe appear in Space Jam: A New Legacy. They were shown running towards the site of the basketball game between the Tune Squad and the Goon Squad and can be seen cheering from on top of the blue Bronto-Crane from The Flintstones.

Both Gizmo and Stripe appear as playable characters in the 2022 fighting game MultiVersus, voiced by Daniel Ross.

Both Gizmo and The Brain Gremlin appear in the Teen Titans Go! episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary" as supporting characters.

title: Gremlins


text:
Symphony No. 94 (Haydn)

The Symphony No. 94 in G major (H. 1/94) is the second of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Surprise Symphony.

Composition and premiere
Haydn wrote the symphony in 1791 in London for a concert series he gave during the first of his visits to England (1791–1792). The premiere took place at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on March 23, 1792, with Haydn leading the orchestra seated at a fortepiano.

Scoring and length
The Surprise Symphony is scored for a Classical-era orchestra consisting of two each of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, plus timpani, and the usual string section consisting of violins (first and second), violas, cellos, and double basses. Performances of the Surprise Symphony last about 23 minutes.

Nickname
In Haydn's old age, his biographer Georg August Griesinger asked him whether he wrote this "surprise" to awaken the audience. Haydn replied: "No, but I was interested in surprising the public with something new, and in making a brilliant debut, so that my student Pleyel, who was at that time engaged by an orchestra in London (in 1792) and whose concerts had opened a week before mine, should not outdo me. The first Allegro of my symphony had already met with countless Bravos, but the enthusiasm reached its highest peak at the Andante with the Drum Stroke. Encore! Encore! sounded in every throat, and Pleyel himself complimented me on my idea."

The work was popular at its premiere. The Woodfall's Register critic wrote:"The third piece of Haydn was a new Overture [i.e. symphony], of very extraordinary merit. It was simple, profound, and sublime. The andante movement was particularly admired."The Morning Herald critic wrote: "The Room was crowded last night... A new composition from such a man as Haydn is a great event in the history of music. – His novelty of last night was a grand Overture, the subject of which was remarkably simple, but extended to vast complication, exquisitly [sic] modulated and striking in effect. Critical applause was fervid and abundant."

The symphony is still popular today, and is frequently performed and recorded.

Structure
Like all of Haydn's "London" symphonies, the work is in four movements, marked as follows:

The first movement has a lyrical introduction preceding a highly rhythmic main section in  time.

The second, "surprise", movement, is an andante theme and variations in time in the subdominant key of C major. The theme is in two eight-bar sections, each repeated. The repeat at the end of the first section is pianissimo with pizzicato in the lower strings to set up the surprise. Four variations of the theme follow, starting with embellishment in sixteenth notes by the first violins, moving to a stormy variation in C minor with trumpets and timpani, followed by solos for the first oboist and flautist, and concluding with a sweeping and lyrical forte repeat in triplets. In the coda section, the opening notes are stated once more, this time reharmonized with gently dissonant diminished seventh chords over a tonic pedal.

Haydn's music contains many jokes, and the Surprise Symphony includes probably the most famous of all: a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of the otherwise piano opening theme in the variation-form second movement. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic as if nothing has happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke. In German, the work is referred to as the Symphony mit dem Paukenschlag, or, with the kettledrum stroke.

The third movement is a minuet and trio, in ternary form in the tonic key (G major). The tempo, allegro molto (very quickly), is of note since it marks the historical shift away from the old minuet (which was played at a slower, danceable, tempo) toward the scherzo; by his last quartets Haydn had started marking his minuets presto.

The fourth movement is a characteristically rhythmic, energetic and propulsive Haydn finale. The movement is written in sonata rondo form with the opening bars appearing both at the beginning and in the middle of the development section. The stirring coda emphasizes the timpani.

Later uses
Toward the end of his active career Haydn wove the theme of the second movement into an aria of his oratorio The Seasons (1801), in which the bass soloist depicts a plowman whistling Haydn's tune as he works.

The same theme is also frequently adapted for the purpose of teaching musical beginners; see Papa Haydn.

The composer Charles Ives wrote a parody of the second movement in 1909, penning the words "Nice little easy sugar-plum sounds" under the opening notes. Ives was unhappy with concert audiences who unadventurously resisted difficult modern music—as is shown by other words in his parody: "Nice sweety silk bonnet melodies ... nice pretty perfumed sounds for the dress circle cushion chai[r] ears." Since the opening notes of Haydn's second movement are very simple, they were a suitable choice for Ives's purpose.

Donald Swann created a version of the Surprise Symphony 'with extra surprises' for the humorous Hoffnung Music Festival.

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

title: Symphony No. 94 (Haydn)


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Lifestyle disease

Lifestyle diseases can be defined as the diseases linked to the manner in which a person lives their life. These diseases are non-communicable, and can be caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating, alcohol, substance use disorders and smoking tobacco, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, obesity, type II diabetes and lung cancer. The diseases that appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer include Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney failure, osteoporosis, PCOD, stroke, depression, obesity and vascular dementia.

Concerns were raised in 2011 that lifestyle diseases could soon have an impact on the workforce and the cost of health care. Treating these non-communicable diseases can be expensive. It can be critical for the patient's health to receive primary prevention and identify early symptoms of these non-communicable diseases. These lifestyle diseases are expected to increase throughout the years if people do not improve their lifestyle choices.

Some commenters maintain a distinction between diseases of longevity and diseases of civilization or diseases of affluence. Certain diseases, such as diabetes, dental caries and asthma, appear at greater rates in young populations living in the "western" way; their increased incidence is not related to age, so the terms cannot accurately be used interchangeably for all diseases.

Tamer
Diet and lifestyle are major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many diseases. Substance use disorders, such as tobacco smoking, and excessive consumption of alcohol, and a lack of or too much exercise may also increase the risk of developing certain diseases, especially later in life.

In many Western countries, people began to consume more meat, dairy products, vegetable oils, tobacco, sugary foods, sugary beverages, and alcoholic beverages during the latter half of the 20th century. People also developed sedentary lifestyles and greater rates of obesity. Rates of colorectal, breast, prostate, endometrial and lung cancer started increasing after this dietary change. People in developing countries, whose diets still depend largely on low-sugar starchy foods with little meat or fat have lower rates of these cancers. Causes are not just from smoking tobacco and alcohol use. Adults can develop lifestyle diseases through behavioral factors that impact them. Behavioral factors including unemployment, unsafe life, poor social environment, working conditions, stress and home life can increase their risk of developing one of these non-communicable diseases.

Death statistics in Australia
Between 1995 and 2005, 813,000 Australians were hospitalized due to alcohol. In 2014, 11.2 million Australians were overweight or obese.

In 2013, there were 147,678 deaths within Australia mostly from lifestyle diseases. Smoking tobacco, alcohol use and other substances, violence, and unhealthy weight have impacted the Australians' death rate. The leading cause of death of Australian males was heart disease with 11,016 deaths, followed by lung cancer with 4,995 deaths, and chronic pulmonary disease killing 3,572. All these conditions were mainly attributed to smoking, excessive alcohol use or an unhealthy lifestyle. In 2013, coronary heart disease was the leading cause of death in 8,750 women, mainly as a result of their lifestyle. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease came second, affecting 7,277 females and thirdly, cerebrovascular disease, killing 6,368. These top three causes of deaths could be minimized through lifestyle changes within the Australian population.

The table shows the ages of people dying and the top five diseases for which they are dying.

Death statistics in the United States
In 1900, the top three causes of death in the United States were pneumonia/influenza, tuberculosis, and diarrhea/enteritis. Communicable diseases accounted for about 60 percent of all deaths. In 1900, heart disease and cancer were ranked number four and eight, respectively. Since the 1940s, the majority of deaths in the United States have resulted from heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. By the late 1990s, degenerative diseases accounted for more than 60 percent of all deaths.

Lifestyle diseases have their onset later in an individual's life; they appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer. This suggests that the life expectancy at birth of 49.24 years in 1900 was too short for degenerative diseases to occur, compared to a life expectancy at birth of 77.8 years in 2004. Also, survivorship to the age of 50 was 58.5% in 1900, and 93.7% in 2007.

Death statistics in India
According to a report published by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2017, 3 of the 5 leading individual causes of disease burden in India were non-communicable, with ischemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as the top two causes and stroke as the fifth leading cause. The range of disease burden or DALY rate among the states in 2016 was 9-fold for ischemic heart disease, 4-fold for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 6-fold for stroke, and 4-fold for diabetes across India. Of the total deaths from major disease groups, 62% of all deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases.

Prevention
Prevention of these non-communicable diseases involves remedies or activities that aim to reduce the likelihood of a disease or disorder affecting people. Lifestyle diseases are preventable for children if parents set them on the correct path, as early life decisions and influences can impact people later on in life. Lifestyle diseases can be prevented through reduction in smoking of tobacco. The Australian Government started by introducing plain packaging for all tobacco products and increasing the prices of tobacco production. Obesity can be prevented through a well-balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise. 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily or 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week can be the start of a new lifestyle change. Examples of moderate exercise include a brisk walk, swim, bicycle ride or it can also be everyday life activities like mowing the lawn or house cleaning. In addition, studies have suggested that early life exercise can reduce the risk of developing metabolic diseases in adulthood. All causes of lifestyle disease can be prevented through giving up smoking and other substances, reducing one's intake of alcohol, processed meats (like bacon and sausages), red meats (like pork, beef and lamb), fatty foods and by engaging in daily exercise. However, new studies also show preventive effects on recurrent respiratory tract infections in children through the intake of unprocessed food. Beef, green vegetables, and whole dairy can be beneficial because they are unprocessed compared to processed foods. Beef, unlike other types of red meat, can contribute to the health-promoting effects. Eating an excess amount of these foods can have an impact on one's health. Certain foods and activities such as smoking and drinking should be done in moderation.

title: Lifestyle disease


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User talk:Popebrak

Hello, and welcome.

Your History of the Peloponnesian War prompts these tips: (1) Start with a complete sentence, not with a dictionary-style definition; (2) Highlight the title word or title phrase at its first appearance, like this; (3) Italicize book titles, like this, or, if also highlighted, like this. Michael Hardy 01:08, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)

File:Fremont Lenin.jpg missing description details
Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as: is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors make better use of the image, and it will be more informative to readers.
 * File:Fremont Lenin.jpg

If you have any questions, please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Message delivered by Theo's Little Bot (opt-out) 16:00, 7 August 2013 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Fremont Lenin.jpg
 Thanks for uploading File:Fremont Lenin.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 15:03, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

title: User talk:Popebrak


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T. E. Dikty

Thaddeus Maxim Eugene (Ted) Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.

Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publishers as managing editor. With E. F. Bleiler he started the first "Best of the Year" science fiction anthologies, called The Best Science Fiction, which ran from 1949 until 1957.

In 1953, he married writer Julian May, whom he had met at a science fiction convention in Ohio. Both of them worked for Chicago-area publishers; in 1957 the two started Publication Associates, an editorial service which created books (from writing to completion of bound copies) for specialty children's publishers who sold primarily to the school and library markets: May did the writing, and Dikty served as designer and producer. In the early 1970s Dikty and partners started a small press, FAX Collector's Editions, which reprinted selected pulp-era (and earlier) SF stories and novels, and had some commercial success with reprints of work by Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian).

Starmont House and death
In 1976, after the family had moved to West Linn, Oregon, Dikty founded the specialty publisher Starmont House, which published non-fiction about the science fiction field. At the time of his death in 1991 at the age of 71, Dikty and May had moved to Mercer Island, Washington; his daughter, Barbara Dikty, had already been made president of Starmont House, Inc. by then.

In September 2013, he was posthumously named to the First Fandom Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the 71st World Science Fiction Convention.

The Best Science Fiction

 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1950 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1951 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1952 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1953 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1954 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954 (with Everett F. Bleiler)
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1955
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956
 * The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: Ninth Series (1958)

Others

 * Imagination Unlimited (with Everett F. Bleiler, 1952)
 * Every Boy's Book of Outer Space Stories (1960)
 * Great Science Fiction Stories About Mars (1966)
 * Great Science Fiction Stories About the Moon (1967)

title: T. E. Dikty


text:
List of geographic interiors

Coastal regions of a territory are often the most densely populated due to their greater economic productivity or colonial history. This leads to a contrast with the interior of the territory, which is (or was) sparsely populated. Examples include:
 * Australian Interior or Interior of Australia, a vast undefined area corresponding very approximately to land that is 200 km to 300 km and more from the coast.
 * British Columbia Interior, commonly called "The Interior", the inland areas of British Columbia, Canada, including but not limited to:
 * The Interior Plateau, official name of the parts of British Columbia between the Coast Mountains and the Columbia Mountains and the Canadian Rockies, and south of the Interior Mountains
 * The Columbia Plateau, Washington, USA, sometimes referred to as the "Interior Plateau"
 * The Alaska Interior, a largely wilderness area, encompassing most of the state
 * Interior Division, an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo
 * U.S. Interior Highlands, a mountainous region spanning eastern Oklahoma, western and northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, and the extreme southeast corner of Kansas
 * Interior Plains, a vast physiographic region that spreads across the Laurentian craton of North America

title: List of geographic interiors


text:
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29

Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (We thank you, God, we thank you), BWV29, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig in 1731 for Ratswechsel, the annual inauguration of a new town council, and first performed it on 27 August of that year. The cantata was part of a festive service in the Nikolaikirche. The cantata text by an unknown author includes in movement 2 the beginning of Psalm 75, and as the closing chorale the fifth stanza of Johann Gramann's "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren". Bach scored the work in eight movements for four vocal parts and a festive Baroque orchestra of three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, strings, an obbligato organ and basso continuo. The organ dominates the first movement Sinfonia which Bach derived from a Partita for violin. The full orchestra accompanies the first choral movement and plays with the voices in the closing chorale, while a sequence of three arias alternating with two recitatives is scored intimately.

Bach used the music from the choral movement for both the Gratias agimus tibi and Dona nobis pacem of his Mass in B minor.

History and words
Bach composed the cantata in 1731 for Ratswechsel, the inauguration of the new town council, which was celebrated annually in a festive service in the Nikolaikirche on the Monday following the feast day of St. Bartholomew (24 August). It was not a democratic election, but a "ceremonial transfer of office" of council members who were appointed. The service was not part of the liturgical year with cantata texts related to prescribed biblical epistle and gospel readings. For the same occasion, Bach had already written the cantata Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119, in his first year in Leipzig, 1723. For the Ratswechsel service, he could count on the entire council (his employer) listening, probably also civil servants and representatives of the Elector's administration for the region. The musicologist Klaus Hofmann notes: "It was an opportunity for Bach to show how sacred music was flourishing under his direction and to present himself as a composer."

The cantata text of Wir danken dir, Gott by an unknown author includes in movement 2 the first verse of Psalm 75 and as the closing chorale the fifth stanza of Johann Gramann's hymn of praise "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" (1540).

Bach first performed the cantata on 27 August 1731. In 1733, he adapted the music of the first choral movement with only minor changes for the Gratias agimus tibi of his Kyrie-Gloria Mass for the Dresden court, on a text expressing the same idea in Latin. According to Hofmann, the movement is based on an earlier lost composition.

Bach performed the cantata for Ratswechsel at least two more times, on 31 August 1739 and on 25 August 1749. He expanded the Missa of 1733 to his Mass in B minor and concluded his work by repeating the music as the Dona nobis pacem.

Scoring and structure
The cantata is structured in eight movements and takes about 28 minutes to perform. The instrumentation reflects the festive occasion for which it was written. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass) (B), a four-part choir, and a Baroque orchestra of three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl) (violin solo in movement 3), violas (Va), an obbligato organ (Org) and basso continuo (Bc). The autograph score is titled: "Bey der Rahts-Wahl / 1731. / Wir dancken dir, Gott, wir dancken dir. / à / 4 Voci. / 3 Trombe / Tamburi / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / e / Continuo / con Organo obligato / di / Joh.Seb:Bach.

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, and the abbreviations for voices and instruments the list of Bach cantatas. The time signature is provided using the symbol for common time (4/4). The timpani are listed with the trumpets because they always play together.

1
The cantata is one of few sacred Bach cantatas opened by an orchestral sinfonia. Another is the early Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12. The music is an arrangement of the prelude from Bach's Partita for violin, BWV 1006, which Bach had already revised for organ and strings in 1729 for the wedding cantata Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120a. In the cantata for Ratswechsel, the solo organ plays the original violin part "in virtuoso motoric writing", while the full orchestra adds an accompaniment.

2
The first vocal movement is a setting of verse 1 of Psalm 75, "Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, und verkündigen deine Wunder", translated in the King James version of the bible as "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare". In contrast to the virtuoso introduction, the chorus begins in motet style in grave stile antico. The bass begins in great simplicity a theme in even steps; the tenor starts imitating almost immediately, the alto a little later, then the soprano. A countersubject illustrates the telling of God's wonders, embellishing the words verkündigen ("declare") and Wunder ("wondrous works"). In the beginning only oboes and strings play colla parte with the voices, then a trumpet doubles the soprano. Developing further, two trumpets take part in the polyphony, and a climax is reached when the third trumpet and timpani enter. Hofmann comments that although the movement begins in old style, "Bach’s method of intensification (by means of which he gradually introduces trumpets and ultimately allows the theme to be heard in stretta) is thoroughly baroque.

3
"Halleluja, Stärk und Macht" (Alleluia, strength and power) is set as an aria for tenor. The voice, a solo violin and the continuo are equal partners.

4
A recitative for bass, "Gottlob! es geht uns wohl!" (Praise God! It is well for us!) mentions that God "holds his hand protectively and in blessing above the city".

5
The soprano aria is a prayer, "Gedenk an uns mit deiner Liebe" (Consider us with Your love)‘’ (‘Think of us with your love’) for "God’s future providence", described by Hofmann as "a musical display piece full of warmth and tenderness in a rocking siciliano rhythm. For long stretches in the vocal sections, Bach does without a continuo accompaniment (thus without the instrumental bass register) – a tactic that effectively contributes to creating a sonic impression of tenderness and charm".

6
A recitative for alto is a prayer for future protection, "Vergiß es ferner nicht, mit deiner Hand" (Do not forget later, with Your hand), concluded by a choral Amen in unison. The surprise is an interpretation of a line quoted from, "und alles Volk soll sagen: Amen!" (And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.).

7
The alto performs the last aria, "Halleluja, Stärk und Macht" (Hallelujah, power and might)‘’, repeating and reinforcing the thoughts of the first. The music repeats the main section of the tenor aria, now accompanied by the organ. This close connection within the structure of the work of both the theme (3 and 7) and the instrument (1 and 7) is unusual in Bach's cantatas.

8
In the closing chorale, "Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" (Glory, and praise with honor) the trumpets accentuate the ends of some lines of the fifth verse of Johann Gramann's "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren".

Recordings
The entries of the following table are taken from the Bach Cantatas Website.


text:
Sysmex XE-2100

The Sysmex XE-2100 is a haematology automated analyser, used to quickly perform full blood counts and reticulocyte counts. It is made by the Sysmex Corporation.

It can be run on its own, or connected to a blood film making and staining unit. Racks of blood go in on a tray on the right, and come out the left side. The racks hold ten 4.5 mL tubes, and have a notch so they can only go in one way.

As the tubes go through the machine, two are picked up and inverted five times to mix, the first one is sampled. They are put down again, the rack moves along one space and two more are picked up and mixed five times, this assures that each tube is inverted ten times before being sampled.

The caps are left on the tubes as they go through the machine. A piercer takes a sample through the rubber centre while the tube is upside down. EDTA (lavender) tubes are usually used, although citrate (blue top) tubes will also work (although the result must be corrected because of dilution).

Paediatric and oversized tubes can be put through manually via a sampler on the left-hand side of the machine.

Data from the XE-2100 can be viewed with a computer program.

Price
This machine can be purchased for around US$107,000

Principles of measurement
Blood is sampled and diluted, and moves through a tube thin enough that cells pass by one at a time. Characteristics about the cell are measured using lasers (fluorescence flow cytometry) or electrical impedance.

Because not everything about the cells can be measured at the same time, blood is separated into a number of different channels. In the XE-2100 there are five different channels: WBC/BASO, DIFF, IMI, RET and NRBC.

title: Sysmex XE-2100


text:
Fletcher Knebel

Fletcher Knebel (October 1, 1911 – February 26, 1993) was an American author of several popular works of political fiction.

Knebel was born in Dayton, Ohio, but relocated a number of times during his youth. He graduated from high school in Yonkers, New York, spent a year studying at the University of Paris and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio during 1934. Upon graduation, he received a job offer from the newspaper Coatesville Record of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He spent the next 20 years working for newspapers, eventually becoming the political columnist for Cowles Publications. Knebel served in the United States Navy during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant. From 1951 to 1964, he satirized national politics and government in a nationally published column named "Potomac Fever".

During 1960, he wrote a chapter on John F. Kennedy for the book Candidates 1960. This seemed to begin a passion for writing books, and he went on to write fifteen, most of them fiction, and all of them dealing with politics, intrigue and social upheaval. His best-known novel is Seven Days in May (1962, co-authored with Charles W. Bailey), about an attempted military coup in the United States. The book was a great success, reaching number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was made into a successful movie also named Seven Days in May during 1964. Knebel was married four times from 1935 to 1985. He committed suicide after a long bout with cancer, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, during 1993. He is the source of the quote: "Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."

title: Fletcher Knebel


text:
Super-G

Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event during the 1983 season and was added to the official schedule of the World Championships in 1987 and the Winter Olympics in 1988.

Much like downhill, a super-G course consists of widely set gates that racers must pass through. The course is set so that skiers must turn more than in downhill, though the speeds are still much higher than in giant slalom (hence the name). Each athlete only has one run to clock the best time. In the Olympics, super-G courses are usually set on the same slopes as the downhill, but with a lower starting point.

History
Super-G was run as a World Cup test event during the 1982 season, with two men's races and a women's race that did not count in the season standings.

Approved by the International Ski Federation (FIS) that summer, it was first officially run at the World Cup level in December 1982 at Val-d'Isère, France; the winner was Peter Müller of Switzerland. The first official women's super-G was run a month later in early January 1983, with consecutive events at Verbier, Switzerland. The first winner was Irene Epple of West Germany, and Cindy Nelson of the United States won the next day on a different course.

These were the only two races for women in super-G during the 1983 season; the men had three. The event was not universally embraced during its early years, which included a boycott by two-time defending overall champion Phil Mahre in December 1982.

For the first three seasons, super-G results were added into the giant slalom discipline for the season standings; it gained separate status for a crystal globe for the 1986 season with five events for both men and women; the first champions were Markus Wasmeier and Marina Kiehl, both of West Germany.

It was added to the World Championships in 1987, held at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Swiss skiers Pirmin Zurbriggen and Maria Walliser won gold medals to become the first world champions in the event. Super-G made its Olympic debut in 1988 in Calgary, where Franck Piccard of France and Sigrid Wolf of Austria took gold at Nakiska.

Men
Hermann Maier of Austria (nicknamed 'The Herminator') is widely regarded as the greatest male super-G racer, with 24 World Cup victories and five World Cup titles (1998–2001, 2004). He won the world championship in 1999 and an Olympic gold medal in 1998, three days after a crash in the downhill.

Maier's proficiency in super-G was attributed to his thorough course inspection and his aggressive course tactics; he opted for the most direct and dangerous line down the hill. A serious motorcycle accident in August 2001 nearly resulted in an amputation of his lower right leg and sidelined him for the 2002 season, including the 2002 Olympics. After his return to the World Cup circuit in January 2003, Maier won eight more World Cup super-G events and his fifth season title in 2004.

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway is second on the list with 17 wins in World Cup super-G races, Kjetil Jansrud third with his 13 wins. Svindal won Olympic gold in 2010 and his fifth season title in 2014

Pirmin Zurbriggen won four consecutive season titles (1987–90) and was the first world champion of this discipline in 1987.

Kjetil André Aamodt of Norway, a triple gold medalist in Olympic super-G races, winning in 1992, 2002 and 2006. Aamodt won five World Cup races and two world championship medals (silver and bronze) in the discipline.

Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg, a five-time overall World Cup champion, won nine World Cup super-G events. He won season titles in every discipline except super-G, where he was a runner-up three times. Girardelli was the silver medalist in the super-G at the 1987 World Championships and the 1992 Olympics.

Women
Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. leads with 28 World Cup victories in super-G and has won five season titles (2009–2012, 2015).

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland has won 22 World Cup races, five season titles (2014, 2016, 2021, 2023, 2024 ), and a Gold medal in the event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Katja Seizinger of Germany won five season titles in the 1990s, with 16 World Cup wins in the discipline.

Neither Vonn and Seizinger have won gold in the super-G at the Olympics (both won a bronze) while Gut-Behrami has. However all three of them have won a world title, Vonn in 2009, Gut-Behrami in 2021 and Seizinger in 1993.

Renate Götschl of Austria won 17 World Cup events in super-G, three season titles, and two medals (silver and bronze) in the world championships.

Course
The vertical drop for a Super-G course must be between 350 - 650 m for men, 350 - 600 m for women, and 250 - 450 m for children.

In the Olympic Winter Games, FIS World Ski Championships, and FIS World Cups, minimums are raised to 400 m for both men and women. Courses are normally at least 30 m in width, but sections with lower widths are permissible if the line and terrain before and after allow it. Higher widths can also be required if deemed necessary. Gates must be between 6 m and 8 m in width for open gates, and between 8 m and 12 m in width for vertical gates. The distance between turning poles of successive gates must be at least 25 m. The number of direction changes must be at least 7% of the course drop in meters (6% for Olympic Winter Games, FIS World Ski Championships and FIS World Cups).

Equipment
In an attempt to increase safety, the 2004 season saw the FIS impose minimum ski lengths for the super-G for the first time: to 205 cm for men and 200 cm for women. The minimum turning radius was increased to 45 m for the 2014 season.

World Cup podiums
Men

The following table contains the men's Super-G (from 2007 Super combined) World Cup podiums since the first edition in 1986.

Women

Super G at the major competitions
Men Women WOG - Winter Olympic Games, WCH - FIS World Ski Championships

title: Super-G