text:
The Shins

The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Mercer, alongside Yuuki Matthews (bass, keyboards), Mark Watrous (guitar, keyboards, lap steel), Patti King (keyboards), and Jon Sortland (drums). They are based in Portland, Oregon.

The band was formed by Mercer as a side project to Flake Music, who were active from 1992 to 1999. Flake Music released two 7-inch singles and a full-length album, When You Land Here It's Time to Return, on Omnibus Records and were touring with Modest Mouse when the Shins became signed to Sub Pop Records. The Shins' first two records, Oh, Inverted World (2001) and Chutes Too Narrow (2003), performed well commercially and received critical acclaim. The single "New Slang" brought the band to mainstream attention when it was featured in the 2004 film Garden State. Consequently, the band's third album, Wincing the Night Away (2007), was a major success for the group, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 and earning a Grammy Award nomination.

Following this, the Shins signed to Columbia Records and Mercer parted ways with the entire original lineup, deeming it "an aesthetic decision". Following a near five-year hiatus, Port of Morrow, the band's fourth studio album, was released in 2012. Their fifth album, Heartworms, was released in March 2017.

Early years (1996–2000)
The Shins was formed in 1996 by James Mercer, a member of the band Flake Music in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Flake Music (formerly known simply as Flake) consisted of members guitarist/vocalist James Mercer, drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Martin Crandall, and bassist Neal Langford. The group began in 1992 and released a string of singles and an album, When You Land Here, It's Time to Return, which was well received. The band toured with Modest Mouse and Califone. Mercer formed the Shins for a change of pace and enlisted Sandoval on drums. When asked what it was that began his interest in music, Mercer said "... it got me out of my shell and gave me a social life." They began performing as a duo alongside Cibo Matto and the American Analog Set. Mercer became the band's primary songwriter, and consequently, "the group developed a more focused, crafted sound than Flake Music's charming, if somewhat rambling, collaborative style." His focus on percussive guitar playing still led friends to compare his demos as too similar to Flake, and he focused on taking the music in a different direction. Unlike Flake, Mercer was the band's sole lyricist, and songs were built from his initial structure. The group added Scared of Chaka's Dave Hernandez and Ron Skrasek to complete their lineup, but the two musicians left before the end of the decade to pursue their work with Scared of Chaka. By 1999, Flake Music disbanded and Neal Langford joined the Shins.

The Shins issued their first release — the 7" single Nature Bears a Vacuum — in 1998 via Omnibus Records. Following the completion of their debut single release, "When I Goose-Step", the Shins embarked on a tour with Modest Mouse. Mercer became a "hermit" crafting what would become the group's debut album, and became depressed with his life in Albuquerque. Friends of the band, including Zeke Howard from Love As Laughter and Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse sent record labels cassette demos of the band's songs. Mercer sent a demo to Sub Pop Records in Seattle, Washington, and label co-founder Jonathan Poneman caught a concert in San Francisco while the band was on tour with Modest Mouse. He offered the band a one-off single deal, and the Shins' second single, "New Slang", was included as part of their Single-of-the-Month series, issuing a 7" single to fan club members in February 2001. Positive press for "New Slang" made the group's debut album one of the most anticipated indie rock albums of 2001, and Sub Pop signed the band in full. "Before you knew it, my whole life was upside down: I got signed, I quit my job, I moved out of town, the big relationship I'd had for five years ended. All of a sudden my whole life was up in smoke", recalled Mercer.

Debut and growing popularity (2001–03)
The band's debut LP, Oh, Inverted World (2001), was released in June 2001, with a compact disc version following the next month. Much of the album was recorded prior to the Sub Pop deal in Mercer's basement. The album received critical acclaim and solidified the band as one of indie rock's definitive artists, while also placing Albuquerque on the musical map with Oh, Inverted World's "gloriously skewed pop and [how it is] dripping with yearning, whimsy and brittle innocence." The album helped re-establish Sub Pop Records as a dominant force in the independent community; the label had been without a marquee artist for many of the prior years. The group spent the rest of the year touring with acts such as Preston School of Industry and Red House Painters. "New Slang" proved to be a "stealth hit", helping Oh, Inverted World move over 100,000 copies within two years, considered remarkable for an independent label; Sub Pop had hoped the record would sell 10,000 copies. Mercer was positive in licensing the song to a variety of media, confirming to The New York Times that he received more money from touring and licensing than record sales. The song was featured in a McDonald's advert that aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics, which led to criticism from several corners, among those independent music fans and the band's own hometown alt weekly.

The royalties Mercer earned from the commercial allowed him to purchase a home and relocate to Portland, Oregon, where the group built a basement studio and recorded their second album, Chutes Too Narrow (2003). During this period, the group replaced Langford on bass with Dave Hernandez (from Scared of Chaka). Having cut ties with a bad relationship and a bad job, Mercer felt his songwriting reflected a broader perspective as a result. Although recording in the basement was less than pleasant, the band found it "cheaper than a real studio". The home was broken into at one point, and thieves stole the master tapes for Oh, Inverted World. The album was released in October 2003 to critical acclaim, appearing on numerous music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. It also became their first album to chart, peaking at number 86 on the Billboard 200.

Mainstream success (2004–07)
"New Slang" was repurposed when it was prominently featured in the film Garden State (2004). In a scene from the film, Sam (portrayed by Natalie Portman) tells Andrew Largeman (played by director Zach Braff) that the song "will change your life." The song "changed everything" for the group, causing their first two albums to sell more than twice what they had sold prior to the film's debut. "Almost overnight, the Shins became indie-rock icons," wrote Robert Levine of Spin. The band extended their tour in support of the song and its popularity. "We saw a change in our audience. By the time we were done touring for Chutes Too Narrow, there was this new interest", said Mercer. "We toured again almost as the soundtrack to that movie, and colleges were all of a sudden interested in us playing on their campuses. We wanted to consummate the new relationship by touring and having a relationship with them. I mean, it just kept growing!" This additional exposure helped Oh, Inverted World move 500,000 units in the United States. Fans of the group had mixed reactions at their newfound success; some regarded their unknown nature as an integral part of their appeal. The band also appeared in season four, episode 17 of Gilmore Girls while Rory and Paris are on spring break in Florida.

Mercer began writing the band's third record in late 2005, employing ideas and riff fragments collected over the band's various tours. Suffering from insomnia, he would often wake up in the middle of the night and piece together songs in his home studio until dawn. For their third album, the group for the first time turned to an outside producer: Joe Chiccarelli, who produced Frank Zappa. Inspired primarily by a painful breakup and the group's newfound success, the album was initially set to be released in the summer of 2006. It was later pushed back to fall, and finally released in January 2007. Wincing the Night Away represented a major jump for the Shins in terms of commercial success: the album peaked at number two (in comparison to its predecessors' peak of number 86), setting a record for Sub Pop. It moved over 100,000 copies in its opening week, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album. Following the success of the album, The Shins left their longtime label, Sub Pop, for Mercer's own label, Aural Apothecary.

Hiatus and one-man band (2008–13)
Having worked on The Shins for nearly a decade, Mercer felt exhausted and ready to quit the band. "Mainly I was tired of being right in the middle and everything sort of revolving around me, including the friendship dynamics-slash-bandmate dynamics and the creative aspect", Mercer explained in 2012. Noting that the band had never been bigger, some aspects of the limelight made him uncomfortable. Mercer was approached by Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) around this same period regarding a possible collaboration on a new project, which became Broken Bells. Enjoying the fresh approach with Broken Bells in regard to meeting new musicians, Mercer desired to continue that feeling. Mercer parted ways with longtime bandmates Dave Hernandez, Martin Crandall and Jesse Sandoval, terming it "an aesthetic decision". Sandoval instead told The Portland Mercury he was "unequivocally fired" from the group by Mercer. Mercer would later relate that his decision was "tremendously difficult", but instead wished to view it as a new phase.

Working with Burton on Broken Bells helped Mercer overcome fears of collaboration, which in turn influenced the rotating "cast of characters" that grouped together around him to record Port of Morrow, which became the Shins' fourth album upon its March 2012 release. Mercer returned to The Shins as the only original member. "I always loved these auteurs who presented themselves as bands", Mercer later explained, referencing Neutral Milk Hotel and Lilys as examples, which led to him feeling as though he could pursue something similar, allowing the concept of The Shins to carry on. Producer Greg Kurstin had a particular influence on Port of Morrow, encouraging Mercer to experiment in the studio. Mercer began touring with an all new backing band, including fellow songwriters Jessica Dobson and Richard Swift, Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer, and Yuuki Matthews from the Crystal Skulls. Port of Morrow debuted at number three on US charts, and lead single "Simple Song" represented the band's best chart performance, peaking within the top 10 on the Alternative Songs chart.

Recent events (2014–present)
In 2014, The Shins recorded and released a new song, "So Now What", for the soundtrack of Wish I Was Here (directed by Zach Braff of Garden State). Mercer noted to Billboard that he was immensely proud of how the track came out: "I think it's one of the best things I've ever done." That November, a reissue of Flake Music's first album, When You Land Here It's Time to Return, was released.

In 2016, the group recorded a cover of the Beatles' "The Word" for the Netflix show Beat Bugs. During this time, Mercer was at work on the band's fifth album, which he felt was closer in sound to the Shins' earlier work than Port of Morrow: "I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I've used historically for the band." The group announced their new album, Heartworms, in January; it was released on March 10, 2017. In January 2018, they released The Worm's Heart, an album which reimagined their previous album Heartworms.

Former band member Swift died on July 3, 2018. He was admitted to the hospital in June for hepatitis.

On September 24, 2020, the band released a new single titled "The Great Divide".

In April 2021, a 20th anniversary reissue of Oh, Inverted World was announced for release on June 11, 2021. The reissue was remastered by Bob Ludwig, with Mercer serving as an assistant. A "21st birthday" tour of North America was announced in May 2022, where The Shins played Oh Inverted World in its entirety.

Former bassist Neal Langford, who played on Oh Inverted World and in Flake Music with Mercer, died on July 21, 2023, at the age of 50. Mercer announced his death on July 27, describing him in a post to social media as "one of the best friends I've ever had".

Musical style and influences
Mercer described the Shins as a "pop project" from the beginning. The group were inspired by any and all music that they discovered. "Everything we listen to [...] makes its way in somehow, but we've been inspired by a bunch of bands who basically just keep reinventing the same thing", said Mercer. The group received comparisons to the "pop revivalists" at the Elephant 6 Recording Collective early in their career, such as The Apples in Stereo, whilst Mercer's vivid, often surrealist lyrics and infectious melodies drew comparisons to the songwriting style of Robert Pollard from Guided by Voices. Rolling Stone credited the band with bringing "the pop traditions of 1960s pop bands—groups like the Zombies, and the Beach Boys—to a new generation of music fans."

Members

 * Current
 * James Mercer – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass (1996–present)
 * Yuuki Matthews – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2011–present)
 * Mark Watrous – guitar, keyboards, lap steel, backing vocals (2012–present)
 * Jon Sortland – drums, backing vocals (2016–present)
 * Patti King – keyboards, backing vocals (2016–present)
 * Former
 * Jesse Sandoval – drums, percussion (1996–2009)
 * Martin Crandall – keyboards, backing vocals (1998–2009), bass (1998–2000, 2003–2009)
 * Dave Hernandez – bass, guitar, backing vocals (1998–2000, 2003–2009)
 * Neal Langford – bass (2000–2003; died 2023)
 * Eric Johnson – guitar, keyboards, piano, banjo, backing vocals (2007–2011)
 * Ron Lewis – bass (2009–2011)
 * Joe Plummer – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2009–2016)
 * Jessica Dobson – guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2011–2013)
 * Richard Swift – keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizers, bass, guitar, percussion, drone box, backing vocals (2011–2016; died 2018)
 * Casey Foubert – guitar (2016–2018)

Discography

 * Studio albums
 * Oh, Inverted World (2001)
 * Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
 * Wincing the Night Away (2007)
 * Port of Morrow (2012)
 * Heartworms (2017)

 * Remix albums
 * The Worm's Heart (2018)

 * Extended plays
 * Nature Bears a Vacuum (1999)
 * Live Session EP (iTunes Exclusive) (2007)
 * Port of Morrow Acoustic EP (2012)

Awards and nominations

 * Nominated: (2008) Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for Wincing the Night Away

title: The Shins


text:
2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election

The 2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004. The general election was between the Democratic incumbent Mike Easley and the Republican nominee Patrick J. Ballantine. Easley won by 56% to 43%, winning his second term as governor. This is the last time a Democrat was elected governor of North Carolina by double digits.

Democratic
Mike Easley was first elected as governor in 2000 and opted to run for a second term. He faced opposition in the Democratic primary from Rickey Kipfer, a former corporate manager from Lee County. Kipfer campaigned on a platform of abolishing North Carolina's personal income tax and exploring potential natural gas resources in the state. He envisioned the state replacing income tax revenue with revenue from natural gas exploration. Kipfer also proposed a system similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund as a means of distributing potential natural gas revenues to citizens in North Carolina.

Easley's campaign manager stated that they did not consider Kipfer as serious competition. Easley did not campaign against Kipfer.

Mike Easley won the primary comfortably with over 85% of the vote.

Declared

 * Mike Easley, incumbent governor
 * Rickey Kipfer, businessman

Declared

 * Patrick J. Ballantine, Minority Leader of the North Carolina Senate (1999-2004)
 * Dan Barett, attorney and Davie County Commissioner
 * Bill Cobey, Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party (1999-2003) and U.S. Representative from NC-04 (1985-1987)
 * George Little, insurance executive
 * Fern Shubert, state senator (2003-2005)
 * Richard Vinroot, Mayor of Charlotte (1991-1995), nominee for governor in 2000 and candidate for governor in 1996

Withdrawn

 * Timothy Cook, chemist (running for lieutenant governor)

Declined

 * James Cain, former president of the Carolina Hurricanes
 * I. Beverly Lake Jr., Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2001-2006)

Results
[[File:2004 North Carolina gubernatorial Republican primary county map.svg|thumb|200px|Primary results by county: Ballantine

{{legend|#400202|Ballantine—81-90%}}

{{legend|#6d0404|Ballantine—71-80%}}

{{legend|#a70808|Ballantine—61-70%}}

{{legend|#d60f0f|Ballantine—51-60%}}

{{legend|#ff0000|Ballantine—41-50%}}

{{legend|#f29b8a|Ballantine—31-40%}}

{{legend|#f8dbd5|Ballantine—21-30%}} Vinroot

{{legend|#f2f26c|Vinroot—41-50%}}

{{legend|#f2f2a0|Vinroot—31-40%}}

{{legend|#f8f8cc|Vinroot—21-30%}} Cobey

{{legend|#006400|Cobey—51-60%}}

{{legend|#59d622|Cobey—41-50%}}

{{legend|#90ee90|Cobey—31-40%}} Barrett

{{legend|#154bef|Barrett—51-60%}}

{{legend|#a1ffff|Barrett—21-30%}} Shubert

{{legend|#e97c11|Shubert—31-40%}} Little

{{legend|#af00ee|Little—51-60%}} ]]

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Cleveland (largest town: Shelby)
 * Polk (Largest city: Tryon)
 * Rutherford (Largest city: Forest City)
 * Surry (Largest city: Mount Airy)
 * Mecklenburg (Largest city: Charlotte)
 * Alleghany (largest town: Sparta)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Currituck (largest town: Moyock)
 * Johnston (largest town: Clayton)

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


text:
Correction tape

Correction tape is an alternative to correction fluid used to correct mistakes during typing, or, in some forms, handwriting. One side of the tape, which is placed against the area to cover, is coated in a white, opaque masking material. Pressure applied to the other side of the tape transfers this material to the paper. Unlike correction fluid, the covered area can be written on it immediately after applying. As it is solid, correction tape is not subject to misuse as an inhalant, unlike most correction fluids.

Types
Correction tape is sold in short spools for hand use, or as long rolls to be used in typewriters, which apply sudden pressure when a key is struck, and can therefore apply the masking material in exactly the same shape and position as the erroneous character. Some versions of correction tape are sold in separate dispensers that are used to roll the tape onto paper directly, sometimes known as a correction mouse. The correction tapes can come in different variety of colours and designs in the current market. The materials of the tapes also varies, from having a paper-based tape that breaks easily to polyester film-based tapes that is more durable. The mechanism of the tapes differs too; the gear or the belt mechanism.

title: Correction tape


text:
Correction fluid

A correction fluid is an opaque, usually white fluid applied to paper to mask errors in text. Once dried, it can be handwritten or handdrawen upon. It is typically packaged in small bottles, with lids attached to brushes (or triangular pieces of foam) that dip into the fluid. The brush applies the fluid to the paper.

Before the invention of word processors, correction fluid greatly facilitated the production of typewritten documents. One of the first forms of correction fluid was invented in 1956 by American secretary Bette Nesmith Graham, founder of Liquid Paper. With the advent of colored paper stocks for office use, manufacturers began producing their fluids in various matching colors, particularly reds, blues and yellows.

Composition

The exact composition of correction fluid varies between manufacturers, but most fluids are composed of an opacifying agent, a solvent (or thinner) and an adulterant 'fragrance' to discourage abuse. The opacifying agent can be composed of a mixture of titanium dioxide, latex, and other polymer resins.

Thinner originally contained toluene, which was banned due to its toxicity. Later, it contained 1,1,1-trichloroethane, a skin irritant now widely banned under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, and then the slightly safer trichloroethylene. Thinners currently used with correction fluid include bromopropane. Because it contains organic solvents (volatile organic compounds), unused correction fluid thickens over time as volatile solvents escape into the air. It can become too thick to use, and sometimes completely solidifies. Therefore, some manufacturers also sell bottles of solvent as "thinner", a few drops of which will return the correction fluid to its original liquid state. To avoid the inconveniences of organic solvents (safety and availability), some brands of fluid are water-based. However, those have the disadvantages of a longer drying time, and incompatibility with some inks (which will soak through them).

Abuse as an inhalant
Organic solvents are psychoactive when sufficient amounts are inhaled. Such solvents are common inhalants for adolescents due, in part, to the fact that they are inexpensive in comparison to other recreational drugs. Use of correction fluid as an inhalant can cause the heart to beat rapidly and irregularly, which can cause death. An unpleasant smell is added to some brands in order to deter abusers. Companies have worked closely with authorities in order to ensure that all the warnings are duly mentioned on packaging (card and product labels) to inform parents and younger users of the risks associated with inhaling or drinking the fluid. India has imposed a ban on the retail sale of bottled nail polish remover and bottled correction fluid, but permits its sale in devices that provide a small amount of the chemical in a container that dispenses it in a controlled way. The Ministry of Education also banned its use in schools in 2017. The manufacturer is required to affix a warning regarding the possible adverse effects on health if the material is inhaled.

Manufacturing process
Stainless steel tanks are used to hold 3,000 gal or more. Specialists must consider the mixer and temperature control system carefully, and also the formula instructions, the correct types, and the amounts of raw materials at specified times by using computer controls. This process consists of 3 methods: firstly, compounding the batch; secondly, quality control check; and thirdly, filling and packing.

Compounding the batch
In the first phase, water will be filled into the main batch tank. The suspending agents and some of the ingredients will be added in this phase. Mixing is implemented at low rate for adequate dispersion. During the mixing, there is no air added into the mixture.

In the second phase, pigment is in the process. It will be added in suitable amount into the water. Mixing is implemented at very high rate in this process which is different from the first phase. In the mixing process, when the particle is small enough, it will be added into the main batch.

In the final phase, the resin and other necessary ingredients will be added such as colorants and preservatives.

Quality control check
In the process of checking the quality, specialists will check in the lab for physical and chemical characteristics such as pH determination, viscosity checks, appearance and odor evaluations.

In case of mistake such as the ingredients are not enough for making correction fluid, this problem will be solved by adding more ingredients. When this process is finished, the correction fluid will be pumped to a holding tank waiting for filling the correction fluid in the next method.

Filling and packaging
Firstly, the filling process depends on the different package of each product. The filling line and the filling heads holding play a vital role in this process. The empty bottles will be in the conveyor belt and move continuously waiting for injecting correction fluid in each bottle.

Secondly, when the filling process is finished, it comes to the packing process. All the filled bottles will be moved to the capping machine to sort the caps and tighten them.

Finally, these bottles will be put into the box for shipping to the sellers and customers.

Notable brands
Correction fluid is commonly referred to by the leading brand names as genericized. These brands include:
 * Cello (Correct-X)
 * Kores
 * Liquid Paper
 * Presto! by Pentel
 * Snopake
 * Tipp-Ex
 * Wite-Out

Synonyms by region

 * "Liquid paper", "snopake" and "white-out" are used as general terms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and some countries in the former USSR.
 * "Tipp-Ex" is used in most countries in Western Europe, Israel, South Africa and Indonesia.
 * Blanco is used in France and Greece, bianchetto in Italy.
 * Twink is the leading brand, and colloquial term, for correction fluid in New Zealand.
 * In the English-speaking Caribbean the term "white-paper paste" and "white-out" are used.
 * In Latin America, "liquid paper" (or just "liquid") is also the colloquial term over the formal Spanish term, corrector.
 * In Brazil, "liquid paper" is also the colloquial term over the formal Portuguese term, corretivo.
 * In Thailand, the term ลิควิด has also become a commonly-used term over น้ำยาลบคำผิด.
 * "Korektor" is used in Serbia and Poland.
 * In Slovenia the term "edigs" is used (after the most common manufacturer)
 * In Philippines the terms "snopake" or "liquid paper" are the common terms, both after common brands available there. "Liquid eraser" is also a common term.
 * The terms замазка, корректор and белила (rarely) are used in Russia.
 * In India and Pakistan the term "whitener" is common.
 * In Turkey the term "daksil" (from "daktilo silgisi": typewriter eraser) is the most frequently used.

title: Correction fluid


text:
Careware

Careware (also called charityware, helpware, or goodware) is software licensed in a way that benefits a charity. Some careware is distributed free, and the author suggests that some payment be made to either a nominated charity, or a charity of the user's choice. Commercial careware, on the other hand, includes a levy for charity on top of the distribution charge. Careware can also involve a barter of some kind, or even a pledge to be kind to strangers.

Overview
The term "charityware" was credited to Canadian developer Roedy Green in a 1988 issue of 2600 Magazine. One of the first known uses of the term "careware" appeared in Dr. Dobb's Journal in Al Stevens' C Programming Column in about 1991. Stevens was developing a user interface library and publishing the source code in monthly installments. To distribute code to readers, Stevens suggested they send him an addressed stamped mailer with a blank diskette. He copied the code onto the diskette and returned it. He also suggested that to express their appreciation they include a dollar, which he would donate to the local food bank in Brevard County, Florida. Stevens named this distribution method "careware."

Paul Lutus's careware idea involves no monetary exchange - instead it involves a request for the user to "stop complaining for a while and make the world a better place."

For example, the vim text editor is free software but includes a request from its author, Bram Moolenaar, that users donate to ICCF Holland for work to help AIDS victims in Uganda. Vim's Charityware license has been declared by Richard Stallman to be GPL-compatible. Another current example is MJ's CD Archiver, a file archiver for Microsoft Windows/Linux/Mac OS X. The suggested charity is NACEF, a US-registered charity for China's Project Hope.

A close variation of careware is donationware, which has a narrower definition than careware.

Non-commercial examples

 * FireFTP
 * KiXtart
 * Peazip
 * Vim (text editor)
 * Windows Live Messenger (through "i'm" initiative)

Commercial examples

 * Product Red

title: Careware


text:
User:LionKimbro

Lion Kimbro: http://taoriver.net/

Star Community: http://star-community.org/

CommunityWiki: http://communitywiki.org/

I'd like to add: My non-text (diagram, pictures, ...) contributions are also released to the public in the same way.

title: User:LionKimbro


text:
Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Alt

Backup of original version of page.

First, an important note for everyone to remember:

A few Wikipedians have gotten together to make some suggestions about how we might organize data in these articles. These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the below guidelines may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles! -

Title
WikiProject Tree of Life

Scope
This WikiProject aims primarily to present the taxonomy of all living species (and maybe some extinct ones as well) in a tree structure. This is a particularly ambitious WikiProject, as there are millions of them.

Parentage
The parent of this WikiProject is the WikiProject Biology. The grandparent of this WikiProject is the WikiProject Science.

Descendant Wikiprojects

 * WikiProject Birds
 * WikiProject Dog breeds
 * WikiProject Cetaceans

Similar Wikiprojects
The similar WikiProject is the WikiProject Conservation worldwide.

Participants

 * Eclecticology
 * --KQ (intermittently, when something has been dumbed down enough to be legible to the unwashed masses)
 * Magnus Manske
 * maveric149
 * Pierre Abbat
 * Ram-Man
 * Dan Koehl
 * Stephen Gilbert (interested in working on dinosaurs; I'm also one of the unwashed masses.)
 * Trevor Dykes (I'll try. My main interest is Mesozoic mammals and the like.  I do wash, but I'm strictly an amateur.)
 * LDan
 * WormRunner (earthworms, some other invertebrates and some plants)
 * Hadal Currently focusing on fish but will write about anything with a heartbeat.
 * User:seglea I have some specialist knowledge on birds, rodents and primates (which need a lot of work), but I have ready access to the technical literature and am willing to turn an amateur hand to most taxa.
 * UtherSRG General cleanup.

See talk:Solanales for the original expression of this idea.

Structure
There is an article called Tree of life, but since that is a disambiguation page, the real root of the Tree of Life is evolutionary tree. There shall be articles for all taxa of ranks domain, kingdom, phylum or division, class, order, family, and genus. There may be articles for intermediate taxa. Articles for species are generally not needed, but may be put for salient species such as Amorphophallus titanum.

Each taxon of a rank from genus to phylum/division, inclusive, shall have the following sections:
 * The following struck-out text (except for problems and references) no longer applies due to discussion on Talk:Hominid. Now a table will contain taxonomic information.

 * Placement: This is a list of the taxa of which this is a subtaxon.
 * Synonyms and common names: If this taxon is also known by another name, such as Gramineae for Poaceae, that is noted here. Also the common name, if any (grasses, in this case).
 * References: This is a list of references used in compiling the article, primarily those used for the children. If the reference is hardcopy, the date of publication shall be listed; if online, the date it was checked.
 * Text: Description of the taxon including distinguishing characters, how members of the taxon are used, ecology, etc. If the scientific name is also the common name of the same organism, the entire common-name article goes here. Anything about the taxon not covered by the other sections is fair game, including pictures (see Testudines).
 * Children: These are subtaxa of the taxon. If the children are anything genus or above, they are links.
 * Problems: I'm not quite sure what this is for.

These, except the text, may be placed in a table (see example below), right-justified at the top of the text. In this case, a picture, if any, is placed below the common name and above the placement. If the page is about a species, the "Children" section is replaced with a Binomial name section (see Bald eagle for an example).

If a taxon has a single child, they may be on the same page with a redirect from the other. For instance, since Ginkgo is the only genus in Ginkgophyta, Ginkgophyta, Ginkgoales, and Ginkgoaceae all redirect to Ginkgo. Similarly Cuscuta is the only genus in Cuscutaceae (and the common name dodder redirects there too).

If a taxon is also the common name for the same organism, the text should go above the placement, as in Hippopotamus. If the common name covers more than the taxon, as in octopus, that shall be noted.

If a taxon is a homonym of a word that is not the name of an organism, it or the non-organism shall be distinguished. For instance, Rubiaceae has links to the genera Alberta (plant) and Augusta (plant) to avoid confusion with the places Alberta and Augusta.

If a taxon is a homonym of the common name of a different organism, they may be placed on the same page with a horizontal rule between them. See nasturtium for an example.

Criteria for inclusion
At what level is it worth having a separate Wikipedia entry for a particular species? Any level you like. If we try to do individual entries for all species, we will be at it for a long time! The simplest (and probably best) rule is to have no rule: if you have the time and energy to write up some particularly obscure subspecies that most people have never even heard of, go to it!

As a general guideline, though, it's best to combine separate species into a single entry whenever it seems likely that there won't be enough text to make more than a short, unsatisfying stub otherwise. If the entry grows large enough to deserve splitting, that can always be done later.

A useful heuristic is to create articles in a "downwards" order, that is, family articles first, then genus, then species. If you find that information is getting thin, or the family/genus is really small, just leave the species info inline in the family or genus article, don't try to force it down any further. (An exception to this is monotypic families or genera; create a species article then redirect family and genus names to it.)

What about extinct species? At the very least, we should include species that have become extinct within historical times—i.e., within the last 5000 years or so. There seems no obvious reason to exclude any species.

It is important to link articles up and down at least, so that, say, a family article, like shrike, links back to order passerine, and down to species accounts if they exist.

Names and titles:
In general, use the formal common name for page titles.

 * Peregrine Falcon not Falco peregrinus

Sometimes exceptions need to be made; some individual creatures (usually newly discovered ones) do not yet have a formal common name. Some distinct groups are known only by their scientific name. Dicruridae, for example, is a much better title than monarch flycatchers, flycatchers, fantails, drongos and the Magpie-lark. Also note that ONLY ornithologists have taken to officially formalizing common names. Therefore it is not just newly discovered species that "do not yet have a formal common name", but all species that are not birds. Common names differ by language and geographic location and are therefore not always appropriate for article titles.

The name of a bird species is always capitalised. This signals to the reader that we are indicating a particular, exact species. The phrase "in Australia there are many Common Starlings" indicates a large number of Sturnus vulgaris. In contrast, the phrase "in Australia there are many common starlings" indicates several different types of starling.

When you create a new entry for a species, make sure it is correctly capitalised for the relevant group and always create a redirect in the alternative form.

Summary of naming guidelines common names:

 * The name of a particular bird species is always capitalised: Common Blackbird, Western Marsh Harrier. Cetaceans are also capitalised.
 * The name of a group of species is not capitalised: thrush family, kingfishers, turtle doves, marsh harriers.
 * The hyphenated part of a species name is not usually capitalised: Red-winged Blackbird, Black-faced Butcherbird, Splendid Fairy-wren.
 * Alternative names should be mentioned where appropriate; with bold type in the opening line of the entry if they are in wide use, elsewhere in the article (with or without the bold type) if they are less-used. This is usually a matter for individual judgement.

Summary of naming guidelines: scientific names:

 * Orders, families and other taxa above genus level are written with an initial capital and in roman (not italic) text. The taxon descriptor is also always capitalized when it precedes the taxon name, but not when it stands alone: "bats belong to a class of their own — the Class Chiroptera"; "the genera of rats and mice are included in the Family Muridae and the Order Rodentia.
 * The names of genera are always italicised and capitalised: Turdus, Falco, Anas.
 * Species names are never capitalised, even when derived from a proper noun. They are always italicised, and always preceded by either the genus name or an abbreviation of it: Alcedo pusilla or A. pusilla, Cisticola juncidis or C. juncidis. Thus juncides by itself would have no meaning (there could be several species of very different organisms with that name.

Taxonomy and references
This is likely to be the single most difficult part of the project. Not only does taxonomy vary significantly from one authority to another, but it is in a state of constant change. There is no single authority to rely on; no one list can claim to be the list.

Hierarchy Definition
No classification of the Tree of Life has been defined. See this example on dividing a topic into a hierarchy.

General Strategy and Discussion forum

 * /General
 * /Strategy

Potentially Useful References

 * www.itis.usda.gov (often incomplete, occasional misspellings, birds are idiosyncratic)
 * NCBI database
 * L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com (Comprehensive genus lists)
 * The Tree Of Life Web Project
 * Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
 * Vertebrata - Japanese language, but the structure's fine and the names are in Sciencese!)
 * Biosis Index to Organism Names
 * uBio classification - classifications fairly deep and up to date, generally following standard form though not always among basal groups
 * Systema naturae - Does not always give single breakdowns for groups, which is sometimes confusing but can be very useful
 * FishBase - Huge database giving basic info on thousands of fish.
 * Animal Diversity Web from the University of Michigan - Very informative

Template
What colors to make the HTML table backgrounds

Note that darkgray is spelt with an a, while lightgrey is spelt with an e, thanks to a quirk in the HTML standard. Changing these will work on some browsers, but not all.

-

Sample taxoboxes (plants)
Divisions Nonvascular plants Bryophyta - mosses . . Vascular plants Seedless Psilophyta - whisk ferns . . Seeded Gymnosperms Coniferophyta - conifers . . Angiosperms Magnoliophyta - flowering plants . . Ref. source-abbrev page-name yyyy-mm-dd

Level: Plantae
(example from Plant)

Page contents:

Synonyms and common names
Where found.

Text
Whatever you want to say.

Children
(actually, this is pretty much covered in the taxobox; if you decide to include it, add comments to the entries.)

Problems
Here we can note deviations from what the writer has accepted as a standard. In Solanales I show two families that my source did not show as belonging here. One it placed in another order; the other was not even in its data base. (from Talk:Solanales)

Level: Division
Classes Liliopsida (monocots) Magnoliopsida (dicots) . . Ref. source-abbrev page-name yyyy-mm-dd

(example from Flowering_plant)

-

Level: Class
Orders Subclass Asteridae &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Asterales (sunflowers) - 1 family &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Callitrichales - 2 families . . Subclass Caryophyllidae &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Caryophyllales - 12 families . . Ref. source-abbrev page-name yyyy-mm-dd

(example from Magnoliopsida)

-

Level: Order
Families Acanthaceae . . Ref. Uni-Ham 52efam 2002-09-06

(example from Scrophulariales)

-

Level: Family
Genera Agalinis Raf. -- false foxglove . . and about 200 more. Ref. source-abbrev page-name yyyy-mm-dd

(example from Scrophulariaceae)

-

Level: Genus
Species Tradescantia bracteata Small ex Britt. . . Ref. source-abbrev page-name yyyy-mm-dd

(example from Spiderwort)

-

Level: Species
Binomial name Fraxinus americana L.  * Some botanists include the Oleaceae in the order Lamiales.

(example from White_ash)

This box also shows a comment on the botany; on this level the info should not be included in the text, but the taxobox needs it.

de:Wikipedia:WikiProjekt Lebewesen fr:Wikipédia:Projet, Arbre de la Vie

title: Wikipedia:WikiProject Tree of Life/Alt


text:
The Corean Chronicles

The Corean Chronicles is a fantasy series of books by the author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. As of 2011, it consists of:

 *  Legacies (2002)
 * Darknesses (2003)
 * Scepters (2004)
 * Alector's Choice (2005)
 * Cadmian's Choice (2006)
 * Soarer's Choice (2006)
 * The Lord-Protector's Daughter (2008)
 * Lady-Protector (2011)

Plot and background
The current books in the series comprise two trilogies in different time frames of the same world, with significant ties to each other. The first three books are set in a time frame roughly a thousand years after the events in the later three books.

The first trilogy introduces the world of Corus as a world that used to be ruled by a great civilization, that spanned the entire continent. However, a magical disaster caused its fall, ending a golden age. In the books, Corus is full of countries fighting for superiority, humans struggling to survive, and strange animals that are a product of and dependent on the life force-derived magic of the world. Additionally, there are rarely seen creatures – Soarers and Sanders – that are entities of pure life force. The fall of the civilization caused much to have been forgotten, but some few of the people of Corus still command magical powers, referred to as Talent. With that power comes the cost of having the lords of the world trying to gain influence over and control of Talent wielders. Among the denizens of Corus, these special features of the world are commonly referred to with phrases such as Talent magic, Talent wielders, and Talent creatures, among others.

The second trilogy, returning to the era of the lost civilization, introduces the civilization's caretaker minority, the Alectors, who are human-like entities that exist on Corus, "linked" to their former worlds with pure life-force. While the first trilogy portrays these beings as evil – for indeed they are not natives of Corus – the later books portray the Alectors through their own point of view. Paradoxically, humans are not native to Corus either. (They are ancient genetic creations of the Alectors.) The Alectors consider regular humans (commonly referred to as steers, Landers, Indigens) inferior. Alectors are by nature, Talent wielders. Fusing their powers with technical knowledge, they are the ones that have created the infrastructure and glory of civilization that is later lost.

Place names are used frequently and complexly, however, a full map of Corus is included in each book – readers are advised to check it often.

Legacies
Legacies begins during the childhood of the main character, Alucius. His father is killed in action while serving in the Militia, leaving his grandparents and mother to raise him on the family Nightsheep farm in the small country of The Iron Valleys. When older, he himself is conscripted into the Militia to fight off the impending invasion by the western super-power, Madrien. During a pitched battle, he is captured and enslaved into the armies of the monarch of Madrien, the Material. After many months of combat against other nations, he discovers how to free himself from the magical collars that control the slave armies, and frees a company of others who then flee back to the Iron Valleys, and freedom.

Parallels to The Saga of Recluce
The Corean Chronicles deal with many of the same issues as The Saga of Recluce, in a similarly detailed world. There are small differences in how the magic works with a less clearly defined good and evil magic. Also, wild nature magic has become a strong component.

The Alectors
On Acorus, the Duarchs, a pair of joint rulers, oversee the remaining Alectors from their seats of power in the cities of Elcien and Ludar. The Duarchs report only to the Archon, the ruler of all Alectors, who resides on whichever planet houses the Master Scepter, a mechanism on which most Alector technology depends. At the time of these stories, both the Archon and the Master Scepter reside on Ifryn. Because they have equal power and because their superior is so far away, the Duarchs intrigue against each other, co-opting various lesser Alectors into these schemes. Strict rules govern what Alectors may do, and the punishment for violating these rules is generally death (with the offender's life force painfully stripped from him by a scourge-like device). For this reason, the schemes are complex, designed to maximize advantage while minimizing actions likely to require overt response. Within this framework, accidents, usually fatal, occur regularly. Generally speaking, such struggles violate the tenets of The Views of the Highest a set of teachings that forms the basis of the Alectors' ethical framework. As a framework, it contains many ideas derived from sound ethics, but places the Alectors firmly in a stewardship role over their subjects, in some sense like the attitudes of Victorian England.

When a world has a sufficiency of life-force, Alectors transfer to it in larger numbers. Their activities generally overwhelm the world's ability to sustain them, and they eventually drain the world entirely. For this reason, among the projects Alectors normally launch from a new world is the location and establishment of their presence on yet another world (or worlds) to which they can move when they must. As of this story, the world of Ifryn has established two such colonies – Acorus, and a rival Efra.

Individuals of the subject races (steers) occasionally manifest Talent. The Alectors are jealous of their supposed monopoly on this array of powers, and usually destroy any steer who demonstrates signs of Talent. Steers that survive do so either because no Alector notices them, because they are powerful enough to destroy Alectors that attempt to destroy them (very rare), or because they are employed in some Alector plot or other. Involvement in Alector machinations, either willingly or otherwise, generally only delays destruction. Even if the steer's faction wins, when he is no longer useful the Alectors of his faction will destroy him. The most powerful steers can rival an Alector in Talent, but usually lack formal training and are therefore generally overmatched. Among steers, Talent is at least partially heritable.

The Ancients
Acorus was once inhabited by a race variously called the Ancients or the Soarers. They are wispy, fairy-like creatures usually surrounded by an amber-green glow (generally visible only to the Talented), the Soarers are few in number and appear only infrequently. They also live off the life force of Acorus, so the Alectors' activities threaten their survival. They oppose the Alectors within the limits of their numbers and their powers, but the use of their powers, and corresponding use of the Alectors' powers in opposition, simply makes the situation worse. Their species is actually made up of two very dissimilar "genders" the intelligent, talented but weak Soarers, and the strong but unintelligent Sanders that have the ability to drain life force.

Certain Alectors can link themselves directly to the world where they reside. This process disconnects them from the Master Scepter and the network of Tables, changes the nature of their Talent, and even appearance. Most other Alectors regard such individuals as little better than talented steers, but they can survive massive disruptions of the Table network that kill Alectors still connected to the Master Scepter through it.

Powers of the Talented
All Alectors and a few of their subjects (landers, or steers) possess a psionic potential called Talent. The degree of Talent varies among individuals. Alectors receive formal training in the use of their Talent, to the limits of their ability. Talent occasionally strengthens in later life. Specific noted powers include:

Detection of Talent
Everyone with Talent can generally see Talent in other objects. The ability manifests as a perceived glow or aura surrounding the object. The color represents the nature of the talent. Talent mechanisms generally produce a black or silver glow, while individuals glow according to the nature of their talent and the power of it. The natives of Acorus, called Ancients, have a yellowish-green aura, while many Alectors have a purplish-pink aura, and talented steers have a deeper green aura shading to black. The Talented can often sense whether someone is truthful, and can sometimes read an individual's emotional state. Individuals whose auras bear reddish streaks usually cause trouble sooner or later; they lack control of their baser impulses.

Talent probes, essentially "feelers" or tendrils of invisible Talent can be used to examine areas beyond normal Talent detection, to manipulate the life force energy embedded or contained in objects, or to draw upon Talent energy from an open source, such as a Table or a ley line.

Empathic Projection
Alectors and talented steers can use their talent to project feelings to help in the persuasion or domination of others. This ability sees much use by both Alectors and talented steers to help them reassure, persuade or command usually less-Talented others. Rarely, it has been used to try to force another to perform an action against their will.

Shields
Alectors, and occasionally powerful landers, can form defensive shields that can block detection of their Talent (except at close range) and feelings, turn aside hostile physical and Talent attacks, create barriers to prevent the movement of others or even crush them. Usually a more powerful individual can eventually pierce such shields, but as this is time-consuming and exhausting, it may leave the attacker vulnerable to counter-attack from other sources.

Piercing
Somewhat related to shields, some Alectors can form what they see as points or wedges of Talent, and can direct these against the shields of another Alector in advance of or as part of an attack. This amounts to a Talent vs. Talent competition; the individual whose Talent shields are weaker loses.

Invisibility
Highly Talented Alectors can bend light around themselves, producing a form of invisibility. Others with Talent and training can detect them if they have reason to suspect their presence, but do not do so automatically.

Talent locks
A Talent lock employs life force to create a secure condition on a door or container. Safe passage requires removal of such a lock by a similarly Talented individual (who normally replaces it).

Infuse life-force
Alectors with the aptitude and training become Engineers, and they can infuse life force into crystals of various sorts. These crystals form the basis of Alector technology, and extend what may be done with Talent. Objects infused with life-force are exceptionally durable (lasting for thousands of years), but they draw on the life-force base of the world in small measure, limiting the quantity that may be safely produced. For this reasons, only the structures and property of the Alectors are generally so treated.

Aiming
Extremely Talented landers seem able to use their Talent to "will" projectiles such as bullets or Talent energy to strike their target. Such projectiles are normally far more accurate. In addition, they can be imbued with a "charge" of life force that can disrupt the life force of the target and pierce Talent shields. Alectors hit by such bullets may be severely injured or (more often) killed immediately. Wild translations, the unfortunate result of using certain Alector technology incorrectly, also die when hit by such bullets; they contain more life-force and usually explode or immolate when they die.

Wild translations
Interplanetary travel, as from Ifryn to Acorus, carries additional hazards. If too few attempt it, the translation corridors become balky, so that only those of great Talent can pass. If too many attempt it, the corridors become porous, occasionally decanting travelers midway to their destination, a fatal mishap. Even with the corridor operating properly, individuals may fail to translate correctly, due to weakness of Talent, accident, or sabotage. These unfortunates become Wild Translations, creatures tied directly to life-force and usually of some monstrous form of another. Alectors commonly seek out and destroy such creatures when they appear, for they are very dangerous. Wild translations often appear in the vicinity of a table, but can appear miles away. A Talented individual can sometimes sense a change before a Wild Translation materializes. Occasionally, the life-force of an individual splits into several creatures, when this happens, all appear at once. Wild translations are not intelligent.

Shadow-matching
Alectors with very important responsibilities are shadow-matched to hierarchically superior Alectors. For example, the Duarchs of a colony are shadow-matched to the Archon who rules all Alectors. Shadow-matching prevents the matched individual from disobeying orders and compels him to act in the best interests of another individual, even to the point of being unable to consider ideas that conflict with these interests. The shadow-matched individual retains free will in other areas, and is aware of the constraints on his behavior. A shadow-matched individual may possess additional reserves of talent tied to the shadow-match conditions; anything that breaks these conditions generally dissipates this reserve. The example contained in the stories is that of the Duarches, dual rulers of Acorus. These men possessed enormous reserves of Talent, but when they learned that the Master Scepter would go to Efra and not to Acorus, their shadow-match conditioning broke, and their reserves of Talent dissipated. This event weakened the rulers considerably, and strengthened lesser but ambitions Alectors seeking power for themselves.

Soaring
The Ancients were also called Soarers for their common appearance in the air. When connected to the world life force web, especially the ley lines, talented humans such as Alucius (Scepters) and Mykella (Lady-Protector) could also soar (levitate).

Alector technology
Most Alector technology revolves around the artificial manipulation of life force, sometimes referred to as Talent energy. At least one Alector Engineer makes comments strongly suggesting that Alector technology has been in slow decline for thousands of years.

The Master Scepter
The Master Scepter ties all Alectors to their world. Even Alectors born on other worlds are tied through the Master Scepter. This link grants Alectors greatly increased lifespans, the ability to manipulate Talent to various degrees, and changes their appearance – Alectors on other worlds are very pale skinned and have very dark hair. (Hair and skin color are recurring distinguishing characteristics in Modesitt novels). These Alectors are also quite tall, and their physical height is often proportionate to their Talent energy. The Duarchs and Archon, the most Talented Alectors, are around three meters (ten feet) tall. Alectors linked to the Master Scepter, but existing on other worlds disintegrate when they die, leaving behind little beyond a fine ash. When a world which hosts the Master Scepter is exhausted of most life force (to the point that it cannot support Alectors), the Archon, leader of the Alectors, moves the Master Scepter to a new world. Modesitt does not discuss the specifics of this process, but it creates instability in the Table networks, causing tables to release energies that kill those nearby.

The Dual Scepters
The Dual Scepters form part of the power network on Acorus. Modesitt implies that these powerful devices are closely connected to the Master Scepter, and are the first devices Alectors bring to a new world. They form the basis of the Table network. Individuals, such as Engineers, with sufficient training and skill may exploit the scepters to create other effects. The matriarchy of Madrien, in the later books, employed one of the scepters to project a kind of gem through which every male soldier could be killed or tortured. Male soldiers wore a collar controlled by their superiors that could interfere with their life force; all of these collars were connected to the gem and the scepter.

Tables
Early in their rule, Talented Alector engineers establish a network of tables. These black slabs, composed of many small energy storage crystals, establish a grid. The relative geometry of table placement affects the stability of such a grid, which somewhat limits table placement. Once established, Tables may not be removed or moved. Attempts to tamper with them generally cause Talent explosions, which are normally fatal for those in the vicinity. The planet of Acorus possesses a web, or mesh, of life force lines (compare to ley lines) that intersect in various places. Places where three or more such intersections occur are suitable locations for Tables, since they draw on this life force parasitically.

Talented individuals may employ a Table to travel to any other Table within a few seconds. During the travel interval the traveler perceives a series of tubes or conduits with colored markers. Each color designates a destination. Talent and skill partially control this; it is possible for a more Talented Alector to leave later and arrive earlier than a less talented Alector.

A subclass of Alectors known as Recorders of Deeds maintain and operate the Tables. They know the secrets of their operation, and generally do not share these with anyone outside their profession (but there have been exceptions {Dainyl} ). Talented individuals trained by Recorders can learn to perceive the psionic mechanisms that operate the Tables; using these controls, the Table may be employed to scan other parts of Acorus (even into the recent past) and may be temporarily or permanently deactivated. Recorders may also create "limbs" of Talent that they may use to attack others, but care is important, for any error may cause a Talent explosion. Recorders can also monitor the network, the operating status of other tables and of the grid, and can usually discern who is traveling and when they will arrive. It is very difficult to damage a Table (they have survived the complete collapse of the building housing them), but the effects of doing so are usually catastrophic. If sufficient Tables fail, the entire grid can collapse, so Alectors usually investigate and correct Table problems quickly.

Eternastone/Life Force imbued materials
Alectors could bind life force into various materials. Such materials possessed great durability (lasting in some cases thousands of years after the end of the Alector occupation). Eternastone, a building material used for roads and official buildings, is one example of this. Alector garments so treated could turn aside bullets (doubtless such garments were created so that Alectors might permit their Cadmians – armed forces recruited from locals – to have firearms).

Light sources
Alector residences and official buildings were commonly lit by steady burning torches that exploited small amounts of life force to create light. Although not particularly greedy of life force, such devices were reserved to Alectors only, at least during the earliest portions of their reign.

Talent creatures
Alectors have, or had, the ability to create life from life force. At the time of their occupation of Acorus, they seem limited in the forms available: there are Sandoxen, large beasts of burden, and Pteridons, reptilian fliers used by the Alector airforce, the Myrmidons. If other forms exist, these are not widely used. Talent creatures tend to explode into flames if sufficiently damaged; this usually incinerates anyone in the vicinity. Pteridons are tied to specific living Alectors (their Myrimdon pilots); they may be easily reassigned if their pilot dies, but are reassigned only with great effort if their pilot still lives.

Skylances
The main weapons of mounted Myrmidons, skylances draw on either their stored life-force (enough for one or two firings) or the lifeforce of the pteridon being ridden to emit a stream of blue fire. For security reasons, the design of the skylance, which is a sealed unit, precludes its use without a pteridon. Since a pteridon is tied to a living Alector, this limits the ability of ambitious Alectors to employ these dangerous weapons in rebellion. This is a design decision, and not a limitation on Alector technology generally. Pteridons will retrieve and protect their designated skylance when not in use, or if their pilot has been killed.

Lightcutters
Essentially a laser, the lightcutter draws life energy stored in an attached crystal and focuses it into a beam that may be used as a tool, or offensively. A sufficiently Talented Alector can turn aside such beams with his Talent shields, or sometimes even turn them back on the attacker. Because they draw life force, and because ambitious Alectors could use them in rebellion, lightcutters are normally found only in hand held, pistol sized models. Towards the end of the reign of Alectors on Acorus, much more powerful versions existed; these or their plans were brought from Ifryn. Loyal Alectors made their destruction a priority, as their monstrous life force requirements threatened the long-term future of all life on Acorus. While such weapons are deadly, they are also vulnerable. A Talented Alector can sense their presence, and the energy flow present when they operate. At close range, he can isolate and attack the control crystals; the failure of such crystals usually causes an explosion that frees all the stored life force, and sometimes creates a vacuum that drains anyone nearby of their life force.

Crystal spear thrower
The crystal spear thrower played a role in the first three novels; it was mentioned obliquely in the prequel trilogy. The engineer who constructed it stated that only one such device might operate in the world at a time. Considering that Alector heavy weapons draw greedily on the planetary life force, one presumes that operating more than one such device would send Acorus hurtling towards a possibly fatal life force deficit, but this is never explicitly stated. A complex mechanism of crystals and wiring, the spear thrower fuses sand (shoveled into a hopper) into glassy flechettes that it hurls from a barrel-like "formulator." The engineer simply points this at the target. The device can reduce even stony hills to gravel in short order; it was derived from equipment used to cut passes through high land formations in the process of road building.

Internal chronology
The first Alectors reached Corus almost five thousand years prior to Alector's Choice.

Modesitt has said there is no definitive chronology for the books; he has stated that The Lord Protector's Daughter takes place roughly 200 to 300 years after Soarer's Choice, and 1,000 to 1,500 years before Legacies.

title: The Corean Chronicles


text:
Asymmetric

Asymmetric may refer to:
 * Asymmetry in geometry, chemistry, and physics

Computing

 * Asymmetric cryptography, in public-key cryptography
 * Asymmetric digital subscriber line, Internet connectivity
 * Asymmetric multiprocessing, in computer architecture

Other

 * Asymmetric relation, in set theory
 * Asymmetric synthesis, in organic synthesis
 * Asymmetric warfare, in modern war
 * Asymmetric Publications, a video game company
 * Asymmetry (Mallory Knox album), 2014
 * Asymmetry (Karnivool album)
 * Asymmetry (population ethics)
 * Asymmetry (novel), a 2018 novel by Lisa Halliday

title: Asymmetric


text:
Charles Erwin Wilson

Charles Erwin Wilson (July 18, 1890 – September 26, 1961) was an American engineer and businessman who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he was previously the president and chief executive officer of General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.

Early life and career
Wilson was born in Minerva, Ohio, the son of Thomas E. and Rosalind (née Unkefer) Wilson. After earning a degree in electrical engineering from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1909, he joined the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, where eventually he supervised the engineering of automobile electrical equipment, and during World War I, the development of dynamotors and radio generators for the Army and Navy. Wilson married Jessie Ann Curtis on September 11, 1912. They had five children.

General Motors career
In 1919, Wilson became chief engineer and sales manager of Remy Electric, a General Motors subsidiary. By January 1941 he was the president of General Motors. During World War II, Wilson directed the company's huge defense production effort, which earned him a Medal for Merit in 1946. He was still the CEO of General Motors when Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953.

Confirmation
Wilson's nomination sparked a controversy that erupted during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee, based on his large share ownership in General Motors. Reluctant to sell the stock, valued at the time at more than $2.5 million (or about $24 million in 2018), Wilson agreed to do so under committee pressure. During the hearings, when asked if he could make a decision as Secretary of Defense that would be adverse to the interests of General Motors, Wilson answered affirmatively. But he added that he could not conceive of such a situation "because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa." That statement has frequently been misquoted as "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." Although Wilson tried for years to correct the misquote, he was reported at the time of his retirement in 1957 to have accepted the popular impression.

Wilson was finally confirmed as Secretary of Defense by a Senate vote of 77 to 6 and began his duties in the Pentagon.

Tenure
Both Wilson and Eisenhower entered office committed to reorganizing the US Department of Defense. They succeeded in securing from Congress approval in June 1953 of Reorganization Plan No. 6, which made changes in OSD, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chain of command. Wilson welcomed the reorganization plan, which became effective on June 30, 1953, as facilitating more efficient management of the Department of Defense. He considered the assistant secretaries as his "vice presidents" and tried to manage the Pentagon like an industrial corporation. Wilson took advantage of the reorganization to decentralize administration, giving the service secretaries more responsibility and importance. In his first annual report, he noted that the service secretaries were his principal assistants; decentralizing operational responsibility to them would make for effective exercise of civilian authority throughout the Department of Defense. In July 1954, to complement the 1953 reorganization, Wilson issued a directive to the JCS, the most important provision of which stated that "the Joint Staff work of each of the Chiefs of Staff shall take priority over all other duties," their tasks as chiefs of individual services. The directive also clarified the role of the JCS chairman and his authority over the Joint Staff while making clear that assignment of major tasks to the Joint Staff was the prerogative of the full JCS.

Internal reorganization was only one of several major changes during Wilson's tenure, the most important being the "New Look" defense concept. Eisenhower had criticized Truman's policies during the 1952 campaign, arguing that they were reactive rather than positive and that they forced the United States to compete with the Soviet Union on the latter's terms. Eisenhower entered office with strong convictions about the need to reorient the nation's security policy by maintaining a staunch defense while decreasing government expenditures and balancing the budget.

The president inaugurated planning for the New Look in July 1953 by asking the incoming members of the JCS (Admiral Arthur W. Radford, chairman; General Matthew B. Ridgway, Army chief of staff; General Nathan F. Twining, Air Force chief of staff; and Admiral Robert B. Carney, chief of naval operations) to prepare a paper on overall defense policy. Although the JCS paper did not recommend any fundamental changes, the National Security Council in October 1953 adopted a key tenet of the New Look that a large-scale limited war or a general war would likely be fought with nuclear weapons. Eisenhower formally presented the New Look in his State of the Union message in January 1954, and Wilson helped to explain it. More defense for less money was possible, he said (or as he sometimes phrased it, "More bang for the buck"). With new weapons and techniques and ready reserves of troops and material, the United States could support capable military forces within budget allocations that Congress was willing to provide.

The major features of the New Look included greater reliance on nuclear weapons, using the advantage the United States had over the Soviet Union in such weapons; elevation of strategic air power, the major means to deliver nuclear weapons, to a more important position (not an expansion in the number of Air Force aircraft but rather development and production of better equipment); reductions of conventional ground forces, based both on reliance on strategic and tactical nuclear weapons and the expectation that US allies would provide ground troops for their own defense; an expanded program of continental defense, which, along with strategic air power, would serve as a principal ingredient of the New Look's deterrence program; and modernization and enlargement of reserve forces, enhancing the military manpower base while reducing active duty forces.

Although the Eisenhower administration generally adhered to the New Look throughout Wilson's term, the policy remained controversial. Some critics maintained that it made impossible the fighting of a limited non-nuclear war. The Army and the Navy felt that the increased emphasis on air power and nuclear weapons represented a repudiation the concept of "balanced forces" in which individual service programs were balanced against overall requirements. Implicit in the policy was rejection of the idea that a general war or a crisis with the USSR was imminent (to occur when the Soviets achieved offensive nuclear capability against the United States). Wilson pointed out frequently that defense policy should be long-term and not based on short-term projections of Soviet-American relations. "Military expenditures," he observed, "must be adequate, but not so great that they will become an intolerable burden which will harm the social and economic fabric of our country. True security cannot be founded on arms and arms alone."

Wilson worked hard to reduce the defense budget, which meant some immediate cutbacks in fiscal year 1953 funds and a concerted effort to economize in subsequent years. Total obligational authority approved by Congress during Wilson's tenure decreased significantly at first and then began to creep back up, but it remained lower than the Truman administration's last budgets, inflated because of the Korean War. The TOA for FY 1953, Truman's final Defense budget, was $44.2 billion. TOA in subsequent fiscal years was: 1954, $30.4 billion; 1955, $33.7 billion; 1956, $33.06 billion; 1957, $39.7 billion; and 1958, $41.1 billion. Especially after 1954, when the Democratic Party regained control of Congress, the Wilson-Eisenhower effort to curb defense expenditures provoked growing criticism. The Air Force, even though the New Look enhanced its role, opposed the decision to cut back from the Truman goal of 143 wings, and its congressional supporters tried repeatedly, sometimes successfully, to appropriate more money for air power than the administration wanted. The other services, especially the Army, objected to force reductions ordained by the New Look. Both General Ridgway, who retired as Army chief of staff in June 1955, and his successor, General Maxwell D. Taylor, believed that the Army was receiving too small a share of the military budget.

Its standing threatened by the New Look, the Army questioned the wisdom of reliance on "massive retaliation" and strategic air power to the neglect of other force elements. Wilson reportedly observed that the United States "can't afford to fight limited wars. We can only afford to fight a big war, and if there is one, that is the kind it will be." However, by 1955 the Army and, later that decade, the Navy, departed from their emphasis on preparation for total war by urging the need to prepare for limited war, non-global conflicts restricted in geographical area, force size, and weapons although tactical nuclear weapons were not ruled out. Generals Ridgway and Taylor stressed the need to have a variety of forces available and equipped to fight different kinds of war from a local non-nuclear war to a global strategic nuclear conflict. They rejected the notion that limited wars would occur only in less-developed areas and argued that such conflicts might occur in NATO as well.

The Army received indirect support from such critics of massive retaliation as Bernard Brodie, William W. Kaufmann, and Henry A. Kissinger, who noted that the United States and the Soviet Union had or were acquiring the power to destroy each other with strategic nuclear weapons, thus precluding their rational use in response to a limited attack. Taylor, concluding that the Soviet Union and the United States had achieved mutual nuclear deterrence, believed that limited-war forces would play an active role in future conflicts and that atomic retaliatory forces would play a passive role. The Army moved into missile and space programs in an effort to preserve for itself a part in planning for and fighting a nuclear war, but in the late 1950s, it continued to push for adoption of a new national security policy acknowledging the primacy of limited war. While the Eisenhower administration did not adopt the Army's position, by the time that Wilson left office, it had accepted both the need to prepare for limited war and the idea that deterrence of a direct attack on US interests required "sufficient," rather than "superior," retaliatory capability.

Increased competition among the services resulting from the New Look compelled Wilson to deal with the perennially troublesome question of service roles and missions, complicated by the introduction of new weapons, especially missiles. He noted in his semi-annual report at the end of FY 1956 that the services, which had eight categories of guided missiles available for various tasks, could not agree on their respective roles and missions in relation to these and other planned missile systems. Also at issue were aircraft types for the individual services and Air Force tactical support for the Army. To address those and other nagging questions, Wilson issued two important documents. The former, a memorandum to members of the Armed Forces Policy Council on November 26, 1956, dealt with five points of contention. First, Wilson limited the Army to small aircraft with specifically defined functions within combat zones. On the matter of airlift adequacy, which the Army questioned, the secretary declared current Air Force practices acceptable. As to air defense, the Army received responsibility for point defense of specified geographical areas, vital installations, and cities; the Air Force became responsible for area defense and the interception of enemy attacks away from individual vital installations; and the Navy could maintain ship-based air defense weapon systems. Wilson assigned to the Air Force primary responsibility for tactical support for the Army, although the Army could use surface-to-surface missiles for close support of its field operations. Finally, the secretary gave the Air Force sole authority to operate land-based intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) systems and the Navy the same responsibility for ship-based IRBMs. He enjoined the Army from planning operational employment of missiles with ranges beyond 200 mi.

On March 18, 1957, Wilson issued a directive to clarify his earlier decisions on the Army-Air Force use of aircraft for tactical purposes. He made no major changes from the previous division of responsibility but provided a more detailed and specific listing of those functional areas for which the Army could procure its own aircraft and those for which it would rely on the Air Force.

Although Wilson found it necessary to clarify service roles and missions, he did not press for extensive further unification of the armed forces. He established in February 1956 an office of special assistant to the Secretary of Defense for guided missiles but made few other changes after implementation of Reorganization Plan No. 6 in 1953. When asked in 1957 about persistent demands for further unification, Wilson responded, "It's an oversimplification in the false hope that you could thus wash out the problems if you put the people all in the same uniform and that then they wouldn't disagree over what should be done. Of course, they would."

Wilson, a folksy, honest, and outspoken man, sometimes got into trouble because of casual remarks. In January 1957, for example, he referred to enlistees in the National Guard during the Korean War as "draft dodgers." That caused a storm of protest and even brought a rebuke from Eisenhower, who said he thought Wilson had made "a very... unwise statement, without stopping to think what it meant." On another occasion, Wilson jokingly referred to the White House as a "dung hill," generating further controversy.

Wilson indicated his intention to retire from office shortly after the start of the second Eisenhower term and left on October 8, 1957. Eisenhower noted when Wilson stepped down that under him, "the strength of our security forces has not only been maintained but has been significantly increased" and that he had managed the Defense Department "in a manner consistent with the requirements of a strong, healthy national economy."

On October 9, 1957, Eisenhower presented Wilson with the Medal of Freedom.

Human experimentation
While serving as Secretary of Defense, Wilson enacted stronger rules against human medical experimentation. The 1953 Wilson Memo led the armed services to adopt the Nuremberg Code. Patients would have to provide written, informed consent.

Wilson wrote, "By reason of the basic medical responsibility in connection with the development of defense of all types against atomic, biological and/or chemical warfare agents, Armed Services personnel and/or civilians on duty at installations engaged in such research shall be permitted to actively participate in all phases of the program."

Jonathan Moreno and Susan Lederer wrote in a 1996 issue of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal that the Wilson Memo remained classified until 1975, limiting its availability to researchers. They found the Air Force and Army tried to implement the rules but found spotty compliance in actual Pentagon research.

'Dynamic Programming'
Mathematician Richard Bellman states in his biography that Wilson disliked the word "research" and recounts in his biography his origin of the term "dynamic programming"--

“I spent the Fall quarter (of 1950) at RAND. My first task was to find a name for multistage decision processes. An interesting question is, Where did the name, dynamic programming, come from? The 1950s were not good years for mathematical research. We had a very interesting gentleman in Washington named Wilson. He was Secretary of Defense, and he actually had a pathological fear and hatred of the word research. I’m not using the term lightly; I’m using it precisely. His face would suffuse, he would turn red, and he would get violent if people used the term research in his presence. You can imagine how he felt, then, about the term mathematical. The RAND Corporation was employed by the Air Force, and the Air Force had Wilson as its boss, essentially. Hence, I felt I had to do something to shield Wilson and the Air Force from the fact that I was really doing mathematics inside the RAND Corporation. What title, what name, could I choose? In the first place I was interested in planning, in decision making, in thinking. But planning, is not a good word for various reasons. I decided therefore to use the word “programming”. I wanted to get across the idea that this was dynamic, this was multistage, this was time-varying. I thought, let’s kill two birds with one stone. Let’s take a word that has an absolutely precise meaning, namely dynamic, in the classical physical sense. It also has a very interesting property as an adjective, and that it’s impossible to use the word dynamic in a pejorative sense. Try thinking of some combination that will possibly give it a pejorative meaning. It’s impossible. Thus, I thought dynamic programming was a good name. It was something not even a Congressman could object to. So I used it as an umbrella for my activities.”

Later life and death
After he left the Pentagon, Wilson returned to Michigan, where he devoted his time to business and family affairs. He died in Norwood, Louisiana, and was interred at the Acacia Park Cemetery, a Masonic cemetery in Beverly Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

Nickname
Charles Erwin Wilson should not be confused with Charles Edward Wilson, who was the CEO of General Electric and served President Truman as the director of the Office of Defense Mobilization. The two were respectively nicknamed "Engine Charlie" and "Electric Charlie" so that they could be more easily distinguished.

title: Charles Erwin Wilson


text:
User talk:Vince~enwiki

Hi, welcome to Wikipedia, glad to have your help! Anyway, I thought your edits on environmental vandalism were good, but I wanted to help. Is the term primarily used by the environmental movement? It seems a little point-of-view; if the term is primarily used by one side in a debate, then the views of the other side should probably be presented as well, as per NPOV. Please let me know how this goes. Yours, Meelar 22:53, 27 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Category:Wikipedians in New Zealand
Hi, You might want to consider adding User NZ res to the top of your user page, which will add you to this category automatically and also add a nice graphic. Onco_p53 08:30, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Wood Preservation
Please review the changes that I have to the article Timber treatment. --Lumber Jack 17:40, 4. Jul 2006 (CEST)

AfD nomination of Environmental vandalism
An editor has nominated one or more articles which you have created or worked on, for deletion. The nominated article is Environmental vandalism. We appreciate your contributions, but the nominator doesn't believe that the article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in his/her nomination (see also Notability and "What Wikipedia is not").

Your opinions on whether the article meets inclusion criteria and what should be done with the article are welcome; please participate in the discussion(s) by adding your comments to Articles for deletion/Environmental vandalism. Please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes ( ~ ).

You may also edit the article during the discussion to improve it but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion debate.

Please note: This is an automatic notification by a bot. I have nothing to do with this article or the deletion nomination, and can't do anything about it. --Erwin85Bot (talk) 01:04, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Wikimania 2014
Hi!

My name is Victor and I'm a storyteller and video producer for the Wikimedia Foundation. I'll be looking to capture stories about Wikimedians at Wikimania in London in a week. Here is an example of the kind of thing that I'm aiming to do. I saw that you're attending Wikimania and I was wondering if you might have some time to talk about what do you on Wikimedia projects. Anyway let me know if you are interested, I'll be at Wikimania from the 6th-10th of August and would need maybe 30 minutes of your time. I can answer any questions you may have. I’m best reached at vgrigas(at)wikimedia.org

Thanks!

Vgrigas (talk) 16:40, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Vince. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Vince~enwiki that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name. If you think you might own all of the accounts with this name and this message is in error, please visit Special:MergeAccount to check and attach all of your accounts to prevent them from being renamed.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 03:32, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 20:16, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Vince~enwiki


text:
Talk:Drew Barrymore

It needs to be added that she's a scab
What the title says. Articles on celebrities include their scandals, oftentimes showing up within hours of breaking. Yet this has curiously been left out of her article, despite the fact that it's old news.

It leads me to believe that the exclusion of this controversy is in fact being intentionally done. If that's the case it's extremely disappointing and alarming. This site is supposed to have integrity. 63.155.55.221 (talk) 00:58, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

 * Seconded 2600:1702:4100:42F0:312A:951D:638B:E118 (talk) 11:58, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

 * Read the article folks, Ms. Barrymore's recent action that has some characterizing her as a union strikebreaker - aka as a "scab" - has not been left out of the article - read the second paragraph in the 2020s section of the article, the paragraph that starts with "In September 2023, Barrymore crossed a WGA picket line to continue her syndicated TV talk show". Regardless of how people might feel about Ms. Barrymore's decision, Wikipedia articles about living people must rely on what reliable sources state about her action. For instance, social media posts might characterize what she has done as "scabby" but they're self-published personal opinions and, as such, are not considered a published/reliable/editorially-supervised source. Shearonink (talk) 15:56, 15 September 2023 (UTC)
 * The verb tense should be changed to basic past tense in this section. The future-in-the-past tense of "would apologize" and "would delete" is awkwardly and incorrectly-used. She simply "apologized" and "deleted." 2600:1700:5531:3810:D21:99DB:C403:B873 (talk) 17:18, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for noticing that - done. Shearonink (talk) 23:22, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
 * If you are referring to the lead, we would need reliable sources that claimed she was a scab. Do you have any reliable sources where the article's writer claimed she is one?  --Super Goku V (talk) 11:14, 16 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Reliable Source? Open a dictionary, there's your source.
 * Scab
 * skăb, n.
 * An employee who continues work while others are on strike.
 * What more of a source do you need beyond the meaning of the word and her saying "I'm continuing to work" while the union is on strike?? 209.216.100.15 (talk) 17:32, 17 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Read the trades. Or the NY Times. Or CNN, People, even the NY Post...the subject of this article issued an update today. This discussion about using the word "scab" to describe her past action has become irrelevant. Shearonink (talk) 20:54, 17 September 2023 (UTC)
 * So add that she is a prior scab/acab wannabe until (appropriate) backlash, including protests from WGA strikers? KeepItAccurate1.2 (talk) 22:08, 17 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is edited by consensus. Present editorial consensus is against characterizing the subject of this article as a "scab". Describing her in such terms is a POV/personal opinion, violates WP:BLPSTYLE and is obviously WP:CONTENTIOUS. We may all have our own opinions about what the subject has done or not done, but Wikipedia is an encyclopedia compiled from reliable sources, not someone's personal blog. The controversy is already discussed at length in the article. If anyone disagrees, consider opening up a WP:Rfc. Shearonink (talk) 03:18, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is edited by consensus. Present editorial consensus is against characterizing the subject of this article as a "scab". Describing her in such terms is a POV/personal opinion, violates WP:BLPSTYLE and is obviously WP:CONTENTIOUS. We may all have our own opinions about what the subject has done or not done, but Wikipedia is an encyclopedia compiled from reliable sources, not someone's personal blog. The controversy is already discussed at length in the article. If anyone disagrees, consider opening up a WP:Rfc. Shearonink (talk) 03:18, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

I would also commend the attention of the anonymous editors above to MOS:LABEL, which says we generally avoid using judgemental terms, at least not in Wikipedia's voice. Now, if someone prominent (like Fran Drescher) calls her a scab for this, that can be put in there, in quotes with attribution. But only then. Daniel Case (talk) 04:33, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree, - MOS:LABEL/WP:CONTENTIOUS is the applicable guideline here. Though I have seen people using the term on various social media platforms, I haven't seen union leaders/prominent Hollywood pundits being quoted in the trades using the descriptor under discussion here. Shearonink (talk) 15:35, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I doubt that Drescher will, actually. Union leadership usually tries to stay above that; the person you call a scab might have enough friends to tip a later election against you. Daniel Case (talk) 20:57, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

Stalkers
Is it worthwhile to mention the recent incident where a man rushed the stage and tried to so *something* to Drew Barrymore? It was a notable incident, but I am not sure if it is worth mentioning on her official page. I am sure that as a celebrity she has lots of weirdos obsessed with her -- letters, presents, videos -- but for one to make it that far? Scary. datagod (talk) 🍁 05:26, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Drew Barrymore


text:
Sala

Sala or SALA may refer to:

Europe

 * Sala, the historical name of the river IJssel and home of the Salii Franks
 * Sala (Estonian island), one of the Uhtju islands
 * Sala Baganza, a municipality in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
 * Sala Bolognese, a municipality in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
 * Sala Consilina, a municipality in Campania, Italy
 * Sala Municipality, Latvia, a municipality in Latvia
 * Sala, Sala Parish, a village in Latvia, an administrative centre of Sala municipality
 * Šaľa, Slovakia, a city in Slovakia
 * Sala Municipality, Sweden, a municipality in Sweden
 * Sala, Sweden, a city in Sweden, seat of Sala Municipality
 * Sala Parish (disambiguation), parishes (socken) in Sweden

Africa

 * Salé (Sala), Morocco
 * Sala, an ancient city at Rabat, Morocco
 * Sala, Houet, a village in Satiri Department, Houet Province, Burkina Faso
 * Sala, Ziro, a village in Ziro Province, Burkina Faso
 * Sala Colonia, a Phoenician and Roman colony whose ruins are located in present-day Chellah, Morocco
 * Sala River, the Roman name for the Bou Regreg

Asia

 * Şələ, Azerbaijan
 * Sala, Cambodia, village in Cambodia
 * Sala, Iran, village in Kurdistan Province, Iran
 * Sala, Cabuyao, barangay in the Philippines
 * Sala, Lampang, village and sub district in northern Thailand
 * Sala (Lydia), ancient town of Lydia, now in modern Turkey

Buildings

 * Śālā, any hall, house, shed or covered space in Indian architecture; also a school (salai, calai)
 * Sala (Thai architecture), an open pavilion in the architecture of Thailand
 * Sala Polivalentă (disambiguation)
 * Sala Regia (disambiguation)
 * Sala Stadium, stadium in Ashkelon, Israel
 * Šaľa Stadium, stadium in Šaľa, Slovakia

Other

 * Cesare Sala, an Italian coachbuilder based in Milan
 * Sala (name), a given name and surname
 * South Australian Living Artists Festival, visual arts festival known as SALA
 * Sal tree (Pali and Sanskrit "sāla")
 * Salak (Salacca zalacca, translated from Thai as "sala"), a tree and its fruit, native to southeast Asia

title: Sala


text: Template:Västmanland County

title: Template:Västmanland County


text:
HMS Essex

HMS Essex may refer to one of these ships of the British Royal Navy named after the county of Essex:

 * English ship Essex (1653), a 60-gun ship launched by the Commonwealth of England in 1653 and renamed HMS Essex in 1660; captured by the Dutch in 1666.
 * HMS Essex (1679), a 70-gun third-rate ship launched in 1679 and wrecked at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759
 * HMS Essex (1760), a 64-gun third-rate ship launched in 1760 and sold in 1799
 * HMS Essex (1814), an American sailing frigate originally named USS Essex, captured by the British in 1814, used as a prison ship from 1823, and sold in 1837
 * HMS Essex (1901), an armoured cruiser launched in 1901 and sold in 1921

title: HMS Essex