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Wilbur Smith

Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries.

He gained a film contract with his first published novel, When the Lion Feeds, which encouraged him to become a full-time writer. He went on to write three long chronicles of the South African experience, which became best-sellers. He acknowledged his publisher Charles Pick's advice to "write about what you know best"; his work focuses on southern African ways of life, with emphasis on hunting, mining, romance, and conflict.

By the time of his death in 2021, he had published 49 books. They have sold at least 140 million copies, 24 million of them in Italy (by 2014).

Early life
Smith was born in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, (now Zambia), as was his younger sister Adrienne, to Elfreda (née Lawrence, 1913 – ) and Herbert James Smith. He was named after the aviator Wilbur Wright. His father was a metal worker who opened a sheet metal factory and then created a 25,000 acre cattle ranch on the banks of the Kafue River near Mazabuka, by buying up a number of separate farms. "My father was a tough man", said Smith. "He was used to working with his hands and had massively developed arms from cutting metal. He was a boxer, a hunter, very much a man's man. I don't think he ever read a book in his life, including mine".

As a baby, Smith was sick with cerebral malaria for ten days but made a full recovery. Together with his younger sister he spent the first years of his life on his parents' cattle ranch, comprising 10000 ha of forest, hills and savanna. On the ranch his companions were the sons of the ranch workers, small black boys with the same interests and preoccupations as Smith. With his companions he ranged through the bush, hiking, hunting, and trapping birds and small mammals. His mother loved books, read to him every night and later gave him novels of escape and excitement, which piqued his interest in fiction; however, his father dissuaded him from pursuing writing.

Education
Smith attended boarding school at Cordwalles Preparatory School in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). While in Natal, he continued to be an avid reader and had the good fortune to have an English master who made him his protégé and would discuss the books Smith had read that week. Unlike Smith's father and many others, the English master made it clear to Smith that being a bookworm was praiseworthy, rather than something to be ashamed of, and let Smith know that his writings showed great promise. He tutored Smith on how to achieve dramatic effects, to develop characters, and to keep a story moving forward.

For high school Smith attended Michaelhouse, a boarding school situated in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. He felt that he never "fitted in" with the people, goals and interests of the other students at Michaelhouse, but he did start a school newspaper for which he wrote the entire content, except for the sports pages. His weekly satirical column became mildly famous and was circulated as far afield as The Wykeham Collegiate and St Anne's.

Accountant
Smith wanted to become a journalist, writing about social conditions in South Africa, but his father's advice to "get a real job" prompted him to become a tax accountant (chartered accountant).

"My father was a colonialist and I followed what he said until I was in my 20s and learned to think for myself", he said. "I didn't want to perpetuate injustices so I left Rhodesia in the time of Ian Smith."

He attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Cape Province (now Eastern Cape), Union of South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1954. During the university holidays he worked in the gold mines and over the 1953–54 break with his friend Hillary Currey on a fishing boat based out of Walvis Bay and whalers. The next year, believing he was tough enough after having worked on a fishing boat, he took a Christmas vacation job on a whaling factory ship. He lasted four weeks. Following graduation, he joined the Goodyear Tires and Rubber Co in Port Elizabeth, where he worked until 1958. After selling their ranch his parents had retired to Kloof near Durban in South Africa. Unfortunately some bad investments forced Smith’s father to return to work. In partnership with his son he established in Salisbury the sheet metal manufacturing business of H. J. Smith and Son Ltd. However, the business ran into financial difficulties forcing Smith, who was by now 25 and divorced to take a job in 1963 as a tax assessor at the Inland Revenue Service in Salisbury.

First novels
With spare time in the evening and access to plenty of pens and paper through his job at the Inland Revenue Service, Smith turned back to his love of writing. In April 1963, he sold his first story, "On Flinder’s Face", under the pen name Steven Lawrence to Argosy magazine for £70, twice his monthly salary. After a number of further acceptances, he wrote his first novel, The Gods First Make Mad, but received 20 rejections. Reviewing what he had written, Smith could see that he had a novel of 180,000 words: it was too long, badly written, had too many characters, and tried to express opinions on everything from politics and racial tension to women. Dejected he returned to work as an accountant.

When he was 27 years old he received a telegram from his agent in London, Ursula Winant enquiring as to progress on his new novel. Encouraged by her expectation that he would be writing another novel, the urge to write once again overwhelmed him. He commenced work his next novel: "I wrote about my own father and my darling mother. I wove into the story chunks of early African history. I wrote about black people and white. I wrote about hunting and gold mining and carousing and women. I wrote about love and loving and hating. In short I wrote about all the things I knew well and loved better. I left out all the immature philosophies and radical politics and rebellious posturing that had been the backbone of the first novel. I even came up with a catching title, When the Lion Feeds." When the Lion Feeds tells the stories of two young men, twins Sean and Garrick Courtney. The characters' surname was a tribute to Smith's grandfather, Courtney Smith, who had been a transport rider during the Witwatersrand gold rush in the late 1880s, had commanded a Maxim gun team during the Zulu Wars. He had also hunted elephant both as sport and to provide meat for his family. Courtney Smith had a magnificent moustache and could tell wonderful stories that had helped inspire his grandson.

After reading the manuscript Smith's agent rang Charles Pick, the deputy managing director of William Heinemann and convinced him to look at the novel. She also asked for an advance of £500, a guaranteed initial print run of 5,000 copies, and that it be published before Christmas. Impressed after just the first chapter, over the weekend Pick gave it to the company’s sales director Tim Manderson, who agreed that it should be published. Pick rang Winant and offered an advance of £1,000, with an initial print run of 10,000 copies. By the publication date Heinemanns had increased the print run to 20,000.

The book went on to sell well around the world (except in South Africa, where it was banned). Charles Pick later became Smith's mentor and agent.

In 2012, Smith said When the Lion Feeds remained his favourite because it was his first to be published. Film rights were bought by Stanley Baker but no movie resulted. However, the money enabled Smith to quit his job in the South African taxation office, calculating he had enough to not have to work for two years.

"I hired a caravan, parked it in the mountains, and wrote the second book', he said. 'I knew it was sort of a watershed. I was 30 years of age, single again, and I could take the chance.'"

Smith's second published novel was The Dark of the Sun (1965), a tale about mercenaries during the Congo Crisis. Film rights were sold to George Englund and MGM and it was filmed in 1968 starring Rod Taylor.

Smith did not originally envision the Courtney family from When the Lion Feeds would become a series, but he returned to them for The Sound of Thunder (1966), taking the lead characters up to after the Second Boer War. At the time he was writing The Sound of Thunder in a caravan in the Inyanga mountains in November 1965 Ian Smith unilaterally declared Rhodesian independence. The resulting political violence forced Smith to return to the relative safety of Salisbury where he continued working on the novel during the day, while serving at night as a member of the reserve of the Rhodesian British South Africa Police. "I would get called out and have to get bodies of children from pit lavatories after they had been killed with pangas (machetes)", he recalled. As Smith didn’t share Ian Smith's views, he moved with his now pregnant second wife to Onrus River near Hermanus in South Africa.

Shout at the Devil (1968) was a World War I adventure tale which would be filmed in 1976. It was followed by Gold Mine (1970), an adventure tale about the gold mining industry set in contemporary South Africa, based on a real-life flooding of a gold mine near Johannesburg in 1968.

The Diamond Hunters (1971) was set in contemporary West Africa, later filmed as The Kingfisher Caper (1975). Around this time, Smith also wrote an original screenplay, The Last Lion (1971) which was filmed in South Africa with Jack Hawkins; it was not a success.

The Sunbird
Smith admitted to being tempted by movie money at this stage of his career but deliberately wrote something that was a complete change of pace, The Sunbird (1972). "It was a very important book for me in my development as a writer because at that stage I was starting to become enchanted by the lure of Hollywood. There had been some movies made of my books and I thought 'whoa, what a way to go… All that money!' and I thought 'hold on—am I a scriptwriter or am I a real writer?' Writing a book that could never be filmed was my declaration of independence. I made it so diffuse, with different ages and brought characters back as different entities. It was a complex book, it gave me a great deal of pleasure but that was the inspiration—to break free."

Eagle in the Sky (1974) was more typical fare, as was The Eye of the Tiger (1975). Film rights for both were bought by Michael Klinger who was unable to turn them into movies; however, Klinger did produce films of Gold (1974) and Shout at the Devil (1976).

Cry Wolf (1976) was a return to historical novels, set during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. He then returned to the Courtney family of his first novel with A Sparrow Falls (1977), set during and after World War I. Hungry as the Sea (1978) and Wild Justice (1979) were contemporary stories—the latter was his first best seller in the USA.

Move to Pan Macmillan
He embarked on a new series of historical novels, centering around the fictitious Ballantyne family, who helped colonise Rhodesia: A Falcon Flies (1980), Men of Men (1981), The Angels Weep (1982) and The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (1984). The Burning Shore (1985) saw him return to the Courtney family, from World War I onwards. He called this a "breakthrough" book for him "because the female lead kicked the arse of all the males in the book."

In 1985, following publication of The Burning Shore, Charles Pick retired from Heinemann. As Smith did not want to lose Pick’s input and needed someone to oversee his contract and develop his readership, he asked Pick to become his literary agent. Pick agreed, setting up in business as Charles Pick Consultancy. Pick secured a better contract for Smith, which involved Smith moving to Pan Macmillan, who had previously only been his paperback publisher.

Smith stayed with the Courtney family for Power of the Sword (1986) (up to World War II), Rage (1987) (the post-war period up until the Sharpeville massacre), A Time to Die (1989) (the war in Mozambique) and Golden Fox (1990) (the Angola War).

Elephant Song (1991) was a more contemporary tale, but then he kicked off a new cycle of novels set in Ancient Egypt: River God (1993) and The Seventh Scroll (1995). He returned to the Courtneys for Birds of Prey (1997) and Monsoon (1999), then published another Ancient Egyptian story, Warlock (2001).

Blue Horizon (2003) was a historical Courtney tale and The Triumph of the Sun (2005) had the Courtneys meet the Ballantynes. The Quest (2007) was in Ancient Egypt then Assegai (2009) had the Courtneys. Those in Peril (2011) was contemporary, as was Vicious Circle (2013). Desert God (2014) brought Smith back to Ancient Egypt.

Later career: Move to HarperCollins and using co-writers
In December 2012, Smith left Pan Macmillan, moving to HarperCollins. As part of his new six book deal, Smith wrote select novels with co-writers (listed below), in addition to writing books on his own. In a press release Smith said: "For the past few years my fans have made it very clear that they would like to read my novels and revisit my family of characters faster than I can write them. For them, I am willing to make a change to my working methods so the stories in my head can reach the page more frequently."

The first of the co-written novels was Golden Lion (2015), a Courtney novel. Predator (2016) was contemporary. Pharaoh (2016) brought him back to Ancient Egypt. In 2021 Picadilly Press published two books for young readers by Wilbur Smith, co-written with Chris Wakling – Cloudburst and Thunderbolt.

Move to Bonnier Zaffre
In 2017 Smith moved again, this time joining Bonnier Zaffre, which gave them language rights to eight new books, together with the English language rights to 34 of Smith’s backlist titles. His new publisher announced at the time of the signing that they would continue the existing release schedule, instigated by HarperCollins, of two titles per year with a number of co-authors, including Corban Addison, David Churchill, Tom Harper and Imogen Robertson.

In 2018, he published his autobiography On Leopard Rock.

Awards
In 2002, the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities granted Smith the Inaugural Sport Shooting Ambassador Award.

Personal life
Smith was working for his father when he married his first wife, Anne Rennie, a secretary, in a Presbyterian Church on 5 July 1957 in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. "We got on well in the bedroom but not outside it", Smith said. "On our honeymoon, I thought: "What have I got myself into?" but resigned myself to it." There were two children from this marriage, a son, Shaun, was born on 21 May 1958, and then a daughter, Christian. The marriage ended in 1962.

After being introduced at a party in Salisbury, Smith married his second wife Jewell Slabbart on 28 August 1964. They had a son, Lawrence, following the publication of Smith’s first novel (When the Lion Feeds, 1964). "Everyone looked down on me, including her", he told one interviewer. "We didn't know anything about mutual respect or working together towards a goal—she thought I was useless." This marriage also ended in divorce. Smith later said "On honeymoon I realized I didn't know her [his second wife] well... By the time we divorced, I felt as if I'd been in two car smashes."

Smith then met a young divorcée named Danielle Thomas, who had been born in the same town and had read all of his books, and thought they were wonderful. They married in 1971. Smith later said "she manipulated me. I was making a lot of money and she spent it by the wheelbarrow load... she had intercepted letters from my children. She destroyed my relationship with them because she had a son from a previous marriage and wanted him to be the dauphin."

Smith dedicated his books to her until she died from brain cancer in 1999, following a six-year illness. Smith said: "The first part of our marriage was great. The last part was hell. Suddenly I was living with a different person. They chopped out half Danielle's brain and her personality changed. She became very difficult. I found it very, very hard to spend a lot of time with her because her moods would flick back and forth. She'd say, 'Why am I dying and you are well? It's unfair.' I'd say, 'Look, life isn't fair.' But when she passed away, I was sitting next to her, holding her hand as she took her last breath."

He met his fourth wife, a Tajik woman named Mokhiniso Rakhimova, in a WHSmith bookstore in London on 18 January 2000. The two fell in love and married in Cape Town in May 2000. She was a law student studying at Moscow University and younger than him by 39 years. On their relationship, Smith said:

"It really was love at first sight—and now she's got the best English teacher in the world. Of course people ask about the age gap, but I just say, 'What's 39 years?' Sure, she's young enough to be my daughter, so what?"

When Smith married Danielle Thomas, he cut off contact with his son Shaun and daughter Christian. He was also estranged from his son Lawrence. "My relationship with their mothers broke down and because of what the law was they went with their mothers and were imbued with their mothers' morality in life and they were not my people any more", he said. "They didn't work. They didn't behave in a way I like. I'm quite a selfish person. I'm worried about my life and the people who are really important to me." He became close to Danielle's son from a previous relationship, Dieter Schmidt, and adopted him. Smith and Shaun subsequently reconciled. In 2002, he and Schmidt wound up in court in a dispute over assets and they became estranged. Smith: "'What I do, and I know it's a mistake but I just can't help myself, is I get into a relationship and I just want to give that person everything... I'm overgenerous. Then if they turn on me, I cut them off, it's finished. I'm not the easiest guy in the world, I can tell you, but if you are onside with me you can have everything, I'll lay down my life for you, you can go and help yourself to the bank account virtually. But if you let me down, then bye-bye-blackbird.'"

Smith’s father had owned a Tiger Moth during the period when the family was cattle ranching. Smith followed in his footsteps gaining a private pilot's licence in the mid-to-late 1960s, which allowed him to fly all over Africa. However after a bad experience he gave up piloting in 1974. He had homes in London, Bishopscourt in Cape Town, Switzerland and Malta.

After having visited it for a number of years, he purchased 27 acre of land at the southern end of the island of Cerf in the Seychelles in 1989. After developing the property over a number of years to include three houses, boats, emergency generators and desalination plants, he sold it in 2001 together with three motorboats.

Death
Smith died unexpectedly on 13 November 2021 at his Cape Town home; he was 88. His website announced that "He leaves behind him a treasure-trove of novels, as well as completed and yet to be published co-authored books and outlines for future stories."

Courtney
The Courtney series used to be divided into three parts; however, it can now be split into five parts, each of which follows a particular era of the Courtney family.

In chronological order it goes the Third, First, Fourth, Fifth then the Second Sequence. However, this is a slight generalization, so in fact the book sequence is as follows, with publication dates in parentheses:
 * 1) Birds of Prey 1660s (1997) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
 * 2) Golden Lion 1670s (2015) - with Giles Kristian (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 3) Monsoon 1690s (1999) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
 * 4) The Tiger's Prey 1700s (2017) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 5) Blue Horizon 1730s (2003) (Birds of Prey series - original trilogy)
 * 6) Ghost Fire 1754 (2019) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 7) Storm Tide 1774 (2022) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 8) Nemesis 1794/1806 (2023) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 9) Warrior King 1820 (2024) - with Tom Harper (Birds of Prey extended series)
 * 10) When the Lion Feeds 1860s–1890s (1964) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
 * 11) The Triumph of the Sun 1880s (2005) (Triumph of the Sun series)
 * 12) King of Kings 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson) (Triumph of the Sun series)
 * 13) Fire on the Horizon 1899 (2024) (with Imogen Robertson) (Triumph of the Sun series)
 * 14) The Sound of Thunder 1899–1906 (1966) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
 * 15) Assegai 1906–1918 (2009) (Assegai series)
 * 16) The Burning Shore 1917–1920 (1985) (The Burning Shore Series)
 * 17) War Cry 1918–1939 (2017) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
 * 18) A Sparrow Falls 1918–1925 (1977) (When the Lion Feeds Series)
 * 19) Power of the Sword 1931–1948 (1986) (The Burning Shore series)
 * 20) Courtney's War 1939 (2018) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
 * 21) Legacy of War After WWII (2021) (with David Churchill) (Assegai series)
 * 22) Rage 1950s and 1960s (1987) (The Burning Shore series)
 * 23) Golden Fox 1969–1979 (1990) (The Burning Shore series)
 * 24) A Time to Die 1987 (1989) (The Burning Shore series)

Ballantyne
The 'original' Ballantyne Novel series chronicles the lives of the Ballantyne family, from the 1860s through the 1980s, against a background of the history of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Three further novels were published between 2005 and 2024 (Triumph of the Sun series), which combine the Ballantyne narrative with that of Smith's other family saga, The Courtney Novels. An eighth novel was published in 2020, which is a prequel to the original series.

The books are set in the following time periods:
 * 1) Call of the Raven Early 1800s (2020) (with Corban Addison)
 * 2) A Falcon Flies 1860 (1980)
 * 3) Men of Men 1870s–1890s (1981)
 * 4) The Triumph of the Sun 1884 (2005)
 * 5) King of Kings 1887 (2019) (with Imogen Robertson)
 * 6) Fire on the Horizon 1899 (2024) (with Imogen Robertson)
 * 7) The Angels Weep 1st part 1890s, 2nd part 1977 (1982)
 * 8) The Leopard Hunts in Darkness 1980s (1984)

Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egypt series is an historical fiction series based in large part on Pharaoh Memnon's time, addressing both his story and that of his mother Lostris through the eyes of his mother's slave Taita, and mixing in elements of the Hyksos' domination and eventual overthrow.

* The Seventh Scroll is set in modern times but reflects the other books in the series via archaeological discoveries.
 * 1) River God (1993)
 * 2) The Seventh Scroll (1995)*
 * 3) Warlock (2001)
 * 4) The Quest (2007)
 * 5) Desert God (2014)
 * 6) Pharaoh (2016)
 * 7) The New Kingdom (2021) (with Mark Chadbourn)
 * 8) Titans of War (2022) (with Mark Chadbourn)
 * 9) Testament (2023) (with Mark Chadbourn)

Influences
As a child, Smith enjoyed reading Biggles books and Just William (1922), as well as the works of John Buchan, C. S. Forester and H. Rider Haggard. Other authors he admired include Lawrence Durrell, Robert Graves, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck.

"I always think I am from the 17th century", said Smith. "I have no interest in technology, or to rush, rush, rush through life. I like to take time to smell the roses and the buffalo dung."

He said he has tried to live by the advice of Charles Pick, his first publisher: "He said, 'Write only about those things you know well.' Since then I have written only about Africa... He said, 'Do not write for your publishers or for your imagined readers. Write only for yourself.' This was something that I had learned for myself. Charles merely confirmed it for me. Now, when I sit down to write the first page of a novel, I never give a thought to who will eventually read it. He said, 'Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written.' Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word. I write my books while other aspiring authors are talking theirs away. He said, 'Dedicate yourself to your calling, but read widely and look at the world around you, travel and live your life to the full, so that you will always have something fresh to write about.' It was advice I have taken very much to heart. I have made it part of my personal philosophy. When it is time to play, I play very hard. I travel and hunt and scuba dive and climb mountains and try to follow the advice of Rudyard Kipling; 'Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run.' When it is time to write, I write with all my heart and all my mind."

Criticism
Although many respected historians and authentic news letters endorse Smith's work, some critics have accused it of not having been thoroughly researched. One of Smith's main critics, Martin Hall, asserts in his article in the Journal of Southern African Studies that the novels present biased, illiberal views against African nationalism. Other critics claim that misogynistic, homophobic, and racist assumptions as well as political agendas are present in these novels.

Filmography
Several of Smith's novels have been turned into movies and TV shows,including: In 1976 Smith said "At first I didn't have complete control over the screenplay when my novels were turned into films. Now I tell the producer and director that they either use my screenplay or else there is no movie. That saves a lot of time."
 * The Dark of the Sun (1965), filmed as The Mercenaries (1968) starring Rod Taylor, Jim Brown and Yvette Mimieux
 * Gold Mine (1970), filmed as Gold (1974) starring Roger Moore and Susannah York
 * The Diamond Hunters (1971), filmed as The Kingfisher Caper (1975) and as the TV series The Diamond Hunters (2001) starring Roy Scheider and Alyssa Milano
 * Shout at the Devil (1968), filmed as Shout at the Devil (1976) starring Roger Moore, Lee Marvin and Barbara Parkins
 * Wild Justice (1979), filmed as Wild Justice but was released to video under the title Covert Assassin (1993) starring Roy Scheider
 * The Burning Shore (1985), filmed as Burning Shore (1991) starring Isabelle Gélinas, Derek de Lint and Jason Connery
 * River God (1993) and The Seventh Scroll (1995), filmed as The Seventh Scroll TV miniseries (1999) starring Roy Scheider, Jeff Fahey and Karina Lombard

title: Wilbur Smith


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Talk:Eurovision Song Contest 1985

Question
Does the 'Adelaide' here refer to a person or a band?--Chuq 06:25, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

What Lill Lindfors said
I see she's quoted here as saying "...Norway has been last on so many times...". I must say I've always heard it as "...Norway has been last song so many times...". I'm not gonna change it, as who can be sure really, it could be either...but my version kinda makes more sense.... Draggleduck (talk) 05:49, 13 March 2010 (UTC)

Tone
Most of the article, especially the intro paragraph, doesn't follow style guidelines and seems to read almost as a blog of the event rather than an encyclopedia. --Robinr22 (talk) 15:19, 9 January 2012 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Eurovision Song Contest 1985


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User:Sj/gemsofwriting

Interstitial life
William Poundstone: Prisoner's Dilemma
 * Approval of Raymond M. Smullyan ("one of the most fascinating and informative books I have read in years"), Douglas Hofstadter ("Once again, Poundstone has pulled together, in a beautifully idiosyncratic fashion, several profound themes from diverse areas of life"), Ian Stewart ("from poker via the Bomb to the amoral but seductive doctrine of preventive war"), and Andrew Hodges, of the NYTBR.

Bernard Bailyn: To Begin the World Anew: The Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders
 * "His subjects are the nation's founders, whom he believes to be idealists as much as realists. As usual, Bailyn's ebullient if nuanced admiration for the Framers carries the reader along. Characteristically, he emphasizes how the Framers' provincialism allowed them to spring free of European modes of thought to create something genuinely new... uses pictures to reveal the different aspirations and bearing of the British and founding gentry... One comes away with a rounded appreciation of the founders' limitations, failures and moral failings as well as their extraordinary achievements."

title: User:Sj/gemsofwriting


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User:Starsong

Hello, fellow Wikipedians! I'm a senior physics major and new contributor. My writing will probably cluster around the sciences, but I really enjoy editing/sectioning fixer-upper articles too. Over the years I've also studied film, philosophy, general literature, languages, and human sexuality.

If you find a major error in something I've written, please fix it right away and let me know on my talk page.

title: User:Starsong


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Bel canto (disambiguation)

Bel canto is an opera term that literally means "beautiful singing".

Bel Canto may also refer to:
 * Bel Canto (novel), a novel by Ann Patchett
 * Bel canto (opera), a 2015 opera by Jimmy López, based on Patchett's novel
 * Bel Canto (film), a 2018 hostage drama film based on Patchett's novel
 * Bel Canto (band), a Norwegian pop/electronica band
 * Bel Canto (restaurant), a restaurant chain

title: Bel canto (disambiguation)


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Procatalepsis

Procatalepsis, also called prolepsis or prebuttal, is a figure of speech in which the speaker raises an objection to their own argument and then immediately answers it. By doing so, the speaker hopes to strengthen the argument by dealing with possible counterarguments before the audience can raise them.

In rhetoric, anticipating future responses and answering possible objections sets up one's argument for a strong defense. The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism states that there are three distinct theoretical uses of prolepsis: argumentation, literary discussion, and conjunction with narratological analyses of the order of events.

In argumentation, procatalepsis is used to answer the opponent's possible objections before they can be made. In literary discussion, procatalepsis is used as a figure of speech in which a description is used before it is strictly applicable. Sayings such as "I'm a dead man" exemplify the suggestion of a state that has not yet occurred. In narratological analyses, prolepsis can be used with the order of events and presentation of events in texts. That refers to the study of narrative in respect to "flashforwards" in which a future event serves as an interruption of the present time of the text.

Example: ""It is difficult to see how a pilot boat could be completely immune to capsizing or plunging, but pilot boat design criteria must meet the needs of the industry and pilotage authorities.""

As a linguistic phenomenon found in both classic and current languages, prolepsis is described as the construction whereby the subject of a subordinate clause occurs by anticipation as an object in the main clause. Although that definition is strictly technical as used in linguistics, it has also been used to describe the more general phenomenon of objects or phrases appearing earlier than intended or expected.

Other examples in rhetoric and argument
Procatalepsis as a rhetorical technique is also related to and used in other forms and techniques. A hypophora is described as a figure of speech in which a speaker raises a question then immediately answers it. Since these questions are often raised as possible dissenting opinions or audience objections, the hypophora can be said to be a use of procatalepsis.

The straw man argument, an informal fallacy in which one misrepresents an opposing argument in order to further one's own, can serve as an example of misused procatalepsis. In this fallacy, the rhetor misconstrues the words, arguments, or views of an opponent, most often on purpose, to facilitate rebuttal or create a false impression on the audience. This, in effect, creates a "straw man" against which the rhetor will then defend and strengthen his or her argument.

The correct use of procatalepsis is still an effective tactic in an argument, since it allows the rhetor to answer opponents before they have a chance to raise the counterargument themselves. This "inoculation" can be subtle, but also signaled rather obviously (e.g., "Now, my opponent might argue that X. But, as you can see, Y"). The unique benefit to this more overt approach is twofold: The rhetor successfully replies to an opposing argument or audience objection, but also builds a sort of trust and authority with the audience. Then, if the opponent does in fact bring up the argument that the rhetor anticipated, the rhetor appears to be correct not only in the subject matter of the argument but in the general course of the argument itself.

Inoculation
Procatalepsis is linked to the rhetorical term inoculation. The Encyclopedia of Communication Theory describes this rhetorical technique in relation to its medical definition: introducing small doses of viruses to the body in order to build up immunization. In rhetoric, the small dose of the threat parallels to the awareness of the opposing argument that is used to build up one's argument by defense in prolepsis. William McGuire proposed the Inoculation Theory in 1964 to challenge attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that make an argument more resistant when exposed to counter views in weakened, small doses. Persuasion research in the 1950s found that providing two sides of an issue created a greater resistance to later arguments. This is closely related to the rhetorical use of procatalepsis as an opposing argument to defend the intended view of the argument.

Inoculation and procatalepsis are both present in certain courtroom situations, as described in the Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. An attorney may set up their defense by disclaiming the negative views or classifications of the accused as untrue: "The prosecutor will call Ms. Jones evil, a bad mother, and a poor member of society, but these labels are not true. I will prove to you their inaccuracy." When the prosecutor asserts an attack on Ms. Jones' character, the jury is already prepared and expecting to hear it and they may question or even discount these accusations. The goal is not to overwhelm the audience members with anticipation or the opposing view of the argument, but rather to use the inverse argument to one's advantage through strategic rhetoric.

title: Procatalepsis


text:
Shade's Children

Shade's Children is a young adult science fiction novel by Garth Nix. It was first published in Australia in 1997 by HarperCollins.

Background
Shade's Children takes place in a not-so-distant future where evil Overlords have ruled for fifteen years due to a catastrophic "Change" which caused all people over the age of fourteen to simply disappear. Since then, the children have been rounded up and placed in prison-like dorms. No child may live past their fourteenth birthday (known as a "Sad Birthday"), when they are taken to the Meat Factory and their muscles, brain, and other organs are harvested to create creatures. These creatures are servants of the Overlords, and as such both fight in the Overlords' ceremonial territorial battles and hunt for the rare escapees who have managed to remove the tracer implanted in their wrist. There is only one exception to this rule: some young women are kept for "breeding" to maintain the supply of children, until a suggested maximum age of eighteen.

Escape is rare, based both on courage and ability. These teens are gifted, however, with "Change Talents" (side effects of the Change that are unique to each individual and generally fall into the category of psychic powers.) These talents are also dependent on Change Radiation, a mysterious field distributed by Change Projectors. This radiation allows the Overlords to control the weather and warp certain physical laws, which is critical for some creatures such as the Wingers, which would otherwise be too heavy to fly. The strength of the field is greatly weakened by water.

Several teams of escapees recruited by Shade live in a beached submarine, near a sewer pipe that allows access to an extensive sewer system. Shade is the only "adult" to have survived the Change. This, however, is mitigated by the fact that he is merely the uploaded consciousness of a real human scientist - a Dr. Robert Ingman. Shade knows that he is an uploaded consciousness and thus continually questions his humanity.

Plot summary
A boy nicknamed Gold-Eye, a fifteen-year-old, was born near the time of the Change. He was physically affected by the Change radiation and his eyes, including his pupils, are a bright golden color. He has a very special talent known as being able to see in the "soon to be now." He is also unusual in that he managed to escape and elude the Trackers and Myrmidons for a time. Yet as the story begins, he is finally trapped by the Myrmidons, and prepares to kill himself to prevent his organs from being harvested. This turns out to be unnecessary as he is saved by a team of strangers who stun the Myrmidons with a flashbang grenade and lift him to safety. These strangers are a team of Shade's Children, and after the group eludes some Ferrets by hiding in a tall building, he accompanies them back to the Submarine, Shade's Children's hideout.

Gold-Eye joins Shade's Children, and is soon sent off on his first mission with the team that saved him: Ella, Ninde, and Drum. Each team member is unique, and has Change abilities that correspond somewhat to their personality.

This mission is a critical one: to retrieve the equipment and data from Shade's abandoned laboratory on the university campus in the Department of Abstract Computing, including a device that measures Change radiation. It is also one of the most dangerous missions: All of the teams who have previously attempted this retrieval have been killed or captured in the process. Ella's team is successful, even when the Overlord Black Banner surrounds and invades the building, alerted by Leamington, a pre-Change artificial intelligence who calls the police on detection of the intruders. Leamington is notably different from Shade in that he is an artificial intelligence as opposed to an uploaded consciousness.

After resting at the Sub, Shade unveils the reward created with the recovered data: metal crowns called Deceptors which scramble the sensory input of the Overlords' creatures, effectively making a human wearer invisible and non-olfactive to them as long as the power supply is maintained. It also is later revealed that scent trails are equally scrambled, although footprints are not. With this sudden new advantage and information, Shade is more curious about the method of distribution of Change radiation and sends Ella's team on a newer, even more dangerous mission: to steal a Change Projector from Fort Robertson, the stronghold of the Overlord named Red Diamond. This mission is not successful: on entry, the team discovers that the stronghold stretches underground, allowing for the unforeseen presence of creatures. The team's Deceptors run out prematurely as they discover a Myrmidon barracks, and they escape with a conch-shaped Overlord device called a Thinker, but without Drum who, having been winded, stays behind to fight. It is presumed by the rest of the team that he is killed.

On return to the Sub, however, Gold-Eye has a vision in which he sees Drum being stored temporarily in the Meat Factory, indicating that Drum is still alive. The group presents the device to Shade, who appreciates the Overlord device Ninde took from Fort Robertson but refuses a request to rescue Drum, as the Meat Factory is one of the most heavily guarded Overlord facilities.

The team, led by Ella, defies Shade's orders and infiltrates the Meat Factory, successfully rescuing Drum. They then leave cautiously, using the Deceptors to mask their trail. While resting among the branches of a large tree, Ninde telepathically detects an Overlord. The detection proves not only to be hard mentally on her since the Overlord is of human or greater intelligence, but also emotionally hard: Ninde discovers that the Overlords are essentially human. Despite the difficulty, she discovers that the Overlord may know something about "a mind in a machine" -a dangerous thing for them, since Shade - a machine intelligence- is their leader and benefactor. They continue, to discover on reaching the Submarine that it has been invaded by an Overlord, Red Diamond, and that all of the people inside have been killed or captured. Fortunately, Shade had realized long before that the Sub was not a permanent base, and established multiple supply caches throughout the city in case a team was stranded in the field or the Sub was taken. True to their training, the team heads immediately to the nearest cache - to discover Shade, who escaped, apparently by chance, while testing a mobile robotic body for himself based around the Thinker. Shade's escape is doubly fortuitous in that the Overlord used an electromagnetic pulse weapon to disable the Submarine; had he been within range of the weapon, he would have been incapacitated.

Despite the loss of all of Shade's Children except for Ella's team, the meeting is a good one: Shade has discovered how to defeat the Overlords. Examining and measuring Change radiation, he had discovered that all known Change Projectors were actually redistributors of Change radiation from a single source, a so-called Grand Projector. Were this projector destroyed, all creatures would cease to function, and the Overlords would likely be removed whence they came. Having discovered the source of the Change Radiation - at Mount Silverstone - they set out with Deceptors to find and destroy the source, which would hopefully bring reality back to normal.

But soon the team is betrayed by Shade, who had made a deal with the Overlords. Desiring a body with which to survive the Overlords' destruction (since the Thinker is also a product of the Change), he betrayed the children, bartering them and the knowledge of their Change talents in exchange for Overlord body technology (his Thinker is destroyed by an Overlord later). Gold-Eye and Ninde are taken prisoner. Ella and Drum, managing to escape, climb to the top of Mount Silverstone, meet a hologram of Shade, who though having been physically destroyed, is spread through the Overlords' computer systems. His original personality had been attempting to manifest itself, such as when Shade was speaking to Gold-Eye and Ninde about their fate at the hands of the Overlords, or when Shade was inwardly arguing with himself. However, it only managed to when the Thinker was destroyed. He guides them to the Grand Projector, when, about to disable it, they hear an Overlord approaching. Ella, desperate, destroys the Thinker which regulates the Grand Projector, causing it to overload. This has the positive effect of disabling all Overlord creatures and removing the Overlords, but exposes Ella and Drum to lethal amounts of Change radiation, killing them. The burst of Change radiation, while not lethal where Ninde and Gold-Eye are (they are being executed by an Overlord), enables them to respectively read the minds of thousands of newly freed children, and see a distant future, at which time he and Ninde are the parents of two children named for Ella and Drum. Ninde sends this "soon to be now" to Ella and Drum through her Change Talent, and those thoughts are the last things that they see.

Shade
Shade was originally named Robert Ingman, who somehow managed to upload his consciousness into the machines and systems in his lair at a time before the Change occurred. He serves as a mentor to his Children, and sends them on missions for supplies and information. After transferring himself to the Thinker, Robert develops multiple personalities and one of these, "Shade", becomes so obsessed with gaining a human body that he does not care how many children must die or be captured for him to get one. His true personality, "Robert", tries to reason with Shade, but is usually over-ridden. While the Shade personality is obsessed with gaining a physical body, the true Robert attempts to proclaim his status as the original Robert Ingman personality, rather than the evil Thinker form. Once the Thinker is destroyed, the original Robert attempts to right the wrongs he has done to the children, regardless of the personal cost: his existence.

Ella
Ella, the leader of her group, is resourceful and strong but cold and withdrawn emotionally. Her Change Talent is the ability to summon or "conjure" inanimate objects of limited mass at will, usually weapons. This is how she escaped the Overlords' dormitories, conjuring a razor blade to cut a tracking device out of her wrist. She seems closest to Drum, and there is evidence of a romantic attachment to him, but his permanent emasculation by steroids prevents any sexual relationship. Ninde once remarks sarcastically, "Sure! And Ella will care about someone other than Drum!"

Ninde
Ninde is somewhat childish and watches many pre-Change movies to escape from her reality to that older world, into which she would probably be integrated well—she is emotional, dramatic, and attractive. Her Change Talent is telepathy: she can read minds within a limited level of complexity (she can't comfortably read human minds or Overlord minds) and distance, and tends to chew her knuckles when concentrating. She develops a romantic relationship with Gold-Eye over the course of the novel. After the Change was reversed, she studied to become a doctor.

Drum
Drum is an embodiment of physical strength and is described as having to use special clothing on account of his size (he is much bulkier than the average teenager), but has been emasculated by steroids given to him by the Overlords since he was to become a Myrmidon. Unfortunately for him, the steroids stopped him from going through puberty. His Change Talent is telekinesis, limited by mass.

Gold-Eye
Gold-Eye is constantly nervous and moving, still paranoid from his life spent constantly eluding the Trackers and Myrmidons that hunted him. His Change Talent is, unusually, not under his control, but comes to him in the form of visions of the future that he calls the "soon-to-be-now". Gold-Eye's English, both written and spoken, is bad after his years alone—he has not spoken to another human for some time as of the beginning of the novel, since his older brother Petar (probably a corruption of "Peter") and his brother's friend Jemmie are recaptured before the story begins. Gold-Eye is attracted to Ninde. At the end of the story, he has a vision showing that he and Ninde will have two children, named after Ella and Drum.

Minor characters
Lost on a fossicking mission around a month before the novel begins, Alen's sleeping body is discovered by Ella's team as they infiltrate the Meat Factory to rescue Drum, who was caught while covering Ella and the rest of her team's retreat on a previous mission. Ninde is in favor of rescuing him, but Ella makes the difficult decision to leave him behind. Brat is a former operative of Shade and friend to Ella, who was captured by the Overlords around two years (according to Shade) before the start of the novel. When Stelo's team captures a Winger and, later, Shade vivisects it, this Winger is revealed to be Brat upon the removal of one particular device. Drum, a witness to the vivisection, kills him out of mercy almost immediately after this is revealed. Lisa was the leader of one of Shade's teams until nine years before the novel begins, when her entire team is lost attempting the university mission later accomplished by Ella's team. She was dedicated to Shade and his cause, much like Ella, and is furious when her teammate Sal suggests leaving the Sub rather than tackling the dangerous mission. Mac was one of the oldest of Shade's Children when Ella first arrived at the Sub. At one point, his team retrieved hardware for Shade's computer. He was lost on the university mission two years before the book began. Rick and his team were sent to the university prior to Ella's team. They were expected to return the day before Ella and her team began it. However, Rick is severely injured during the mission and never returns. Sam is supposedly captured at least nine years before the novel begins, after leaving the Sub in anger at Shade's ruthlessness. He is used in one of the elite Myrmidon guards that belong to no particular Overlord, which are ordered to drown Gold-Eye and Ninde near the end of the book. When the Change Projector is destroyed, the device controlling his brain is disabled, giving him a few moments of humanity during which he recites a small poem in English and tells Gold-Eye that he was once Sam Allen; after this, he falls into the water and dies due to the lack of Projector radiation energy. Sim shows all of Shade's new recruits round the Sub, and seems to have some authority over the other children. He picks up on Gold-Eye's lack of sexual knowledge, and points him towards the relevant lessons. Stelo is the leader of one of the other teams and - initially - the target of Ninde's flirtation, despite no apparent attraction on his part and Shade's attempts to discourage Ninde. On orders from Shade, his team sets out to capture a Winger. Stelo pretends to be injured as part of this trap. The Winger they successfully catch is later revealed to be Brat. Following the mission in question, Stelo requires medical attention, having been scratched. Stelo and Marg survived the attack on the sub after Marg saw one of Shade's robots leaving and they decide to follow it. Stelo is shown carrying his dead teammate Peter and traveling with Marg through the sewer system. They encounter one of Shade's rat robots. Stelo begins to yell at the robot, and hits it, angry at Shade for a perceived betrayal. Shade then orders the rat robot to self-destruct.
 * Alen
 * Brat
 * Lisa
 * Mac
 * Rick
 * Sam Allen
 * Sim
 * Stelo

The Overlords
The Overlords are evil beings from another dimension. They appear human but are subtly different. They view all life other than themselves as utterly worthless, referring repeatedly to humans as animals. As such, they have no moral problems with harvesting children's bodies to construct their creatures, for no purpose other than sadistic enjoyment of gladiatorial violence between the creatures.

They do not normally use audible speech to communicate, though they are capable of it. Instead, they subvocalize, using their technology to carry their speech among them. When they subvocalize, their throat muscles twitch noticeably.

There are three female and four male Overlords.

The Overlords disdain combat and never enter hand-to-hand combat themselves, but have a variety of technologically advanced weapons. Two are used by Overlords during the book: a "fusion lance:" a tube-shaped, laser-like ranged weapon, and an undescribed electromagnetic pulse weapon. The first Overlord featured. He wears black, spiked armour with a horned helmet. In conjunction with Red Diamond he plans to capture deceptor technology for use in battle. He expresses an interest in harvesting Gold Eye's abilities. A highly aggressive male Overlord who wears a red armour and a fire-like cloak. He is greasy, fat, and balding. He is also attempting to capture deceptor technology for his use in battle. Very little is mentioned about Blue Star. Blue Star is the fourth male Overlord. Apparently the oldest of the Overlords, Gold Claw, a female Overlord, is also quite arrogant. An attractive female who wears mirrored armour, Silver Sun is very intelligent and sadistic. Her teeth are filed to points and she can speak English. When torturing Gold Eye and Ninde she explains that she lived among the humans for years as an infiltrator to prepare the way for the Change, and as such has the most familiarity with humans. An old male, Grey Crescent was asleep when Ninde and Gold-Eye were brought to see the Overlords. Emerald Crown, who dresses in flexible green metal armour and a crown of emerald spikes, is female.
 * Black Banner
 * Red Diamond
 * Blue Star
 * Gold Claw
 * Silver Sun
 * Gray Crescent
 * Emerald Crown

List of creatures

The Overlords' creatures are numerous and vicious predators of several homogenous types. They are reasonably intelligent, being able to strategize and fear risks. This intelligence is particularly evident in the more advanced creations, such as the Myrmidons, which have a simple language. All of the creatures are created using human organs and body parts processed in the Meat Factory, and are heavily specialized for their purpose to the detriment of other attributes. Some creatures use amulet-shaped devices called "mind-calls" which allow for telepathic communication with fellow creatures or Overlords. Most, if not all, of the creature types have weaknesses or aversions exploited by the main characters.

 * Drones

Drones are the Overlord's workers: although they do not have enhanced senses or any defense, these workers who maintain and run the Meat Factory (and presumably other Overlord facilities) are super-strong; they lift Drum without strain. They are only found in Overlord installations, where there are invariably others nearby to defend them. A standard size of Drone groups is not mentioned in the book, although when Ella, Ninde, and Gold-Eye infiltrated the Meat Factory, they met a pair of them together.
 * Ferrets

Ferrets are similar to their real-life counterparts in appearance, but are notedly larger, more intelligent, and have hollow fangs with which to partially exsanguinate their victims. They are nocturnal, and seem to act merely as hunters of escapees rather than also fighting for the Overlords. They are mentioned to have great strength. Ferrets also have an affinity for underground locales, are afraid of heights, and hate water. They operate in "fangs" of five, and make hissing noises to communicate.
 * Myrmidons

Myrmidons, unlike some of the other creatures, are humanoid: Larger than most, (the teens from which they are made are given steroids) these creatures are always seen wearing full armour and usually carry a mêlée weapon or a net gun, used to capture escapees. They have barrel chests, long arms, spade-shaped hands, and six fingers. They use fist-sized glowing globes called witchlights for light, and are mentioned as using "battle sprayers" that spray acid. They are the shock troops of the Overlords and the primary fighting units. The Myrmidons have a language for battlefield communication known as Battlespeech. They appear in "maniples" of seven.
 * Myrmidon Masters

A Myrmidon Master is a larger, more intelligent Myrmidon which commands other Myrmidons. In the field, they are second in command only to a visiting Overlord. Myrmidon Masters are not generally seen in groups with other Myrmidon Masters, but rather among groups of the lesser Myrmidons.
 * Screamers

Although no Screamers are ever seen in the book, they are heard - their scream is so loud as to be able to deafen and daze people far away from it. They are also the primary method of alarm for sleeping Myrmidons - only a Screamer can wake a Myrmidon quickly. They do not travel in groups. It is mentioned that when a human is close to the screamer while it screams it can peel away the skin on the insides of their ears.
 * Trackers

Trackers are the scouts of Overlord forces - their noses, ears, and eyes are larger than normal and further enhanced with Overlord cyborg technology. They travel in "trios" of three, using whistling noises to indicate their status. They wear leather armor and do not fight unless attacked. At the beginning of the novel, one of the Trackers the team fights is a "Senior Tracker."
 * Watchwards

No Watchwards are ever seen in the book, but they are mentioned several times. Drum, in his video recording, mentions having strangled one to escape the Training Ground. Ninde mentions that there are no Watchwards guarding the Meat Factory, and when the burglar alarm in Shade's old lab is set off, a "vaguely human creature" with a mind-call is mentioned as having received the alarm. Watchwards are most likely sentries and guards in the Dorms and other Overlord installations.
 * Wingers

Wingers are flying creatures resembling humanoid bats. They have no nose, and their lower jaw is extended for enhanced killing ability. As with the other creatures, a mind control unit is kept near its brain, which forbids human thoughts and speech (although speech becomes difficult anyway due to the repositioning of the mouth). When one Winger has this removed, it recognizes Ella and pleads for death. Wingers use Change energy anti-gravity boosters to help them fly, since they are theoretically too heavy to fly. There are also special, vehicle-sized Wingers used as the personal flying mounts of Overlords. Normal Wingers appear in "flights" of nine.

Main themes
The book is about survival at all costs against a seemingly invincible foe. Shade's increasing lack of humanity is a constant threat to the reader and characters in the book. Ninde and Gold-Eye's growing relationship throughout the story is a touching account of love against adversity. In contrast to this, Drum and Ella are more serious about the situation they are in. However, they are constantly supporting each other and provide comfort at the end of the novel. Ella is a strong leader, yet her respect for her teammates, especially Ninde, grows considerably during the book's events. One interesting literary device are the interludes between the chapters. They add to the book's depth, provide the readers with extra information and sometimes reveal events elsewhere. For instance, when the Sub is attacked by creatures, the interlude is part of the training session for creature attacks. All interludes are taken from Shade's computer archive.

The book also touches on the idea of humans being the lesser race. Interaction with the Overlords finds them considering humans as animals, bred for their amusement and violent battles, lesser in mind and speech.

Awards
Shade's Children was a short-list nominee for the 1997 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel but lost to Catherine Jinks' Eye to Eye and Isobelle Carmody's Greylands. It is also an ALA Notable Book. The book won the 1998 Golden Duck Award.

Release details

 * 1997, USA, HarperCollins (ISBN 0-06-027324-0), Pub date September ? 1997, hardback (First edition)
 * 1998, USA, Eos (ISBN 0-06-447196-9), Pub date October ? 1998, paperback
 * 1999, USA, Rebound by Sagebrush (ISBN 0-613-10529-X), Pub date ? October 1999, hardback (library edition)
 * 2006, USA, HarperCollins Children's Books (ISBN 0-00-723212-8), Pub date August 7, 2006, hardback
 * 2006, UK, HarperCollins, Pub date August 7, 2006, hardback

title: Shade's Children


text:
Synonymia

In rhetoric, synonymia (Greek: syn, "alike" + onoma, "name") is the use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a given subject or term. It is a kind of repetition that adds emotional force or intellectual clarity. Synonymia often occurs in parallel fashion.

Example

 * The tribune Marullus taunts the Roman populace in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar for their fickleness, calling the people several different pejorative names: "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"

title: Synonymia


text:
Talk:Sichuan pepper

Revised page
Based on talk page topics and missing citations on the page itself, I've significantly revised the Sichuan pepper page. I focused on streamlining and corroborating text using citations from Chinese researchers and cooks (+ other Asian regions as appropriate), but as I'm neither an accomplished cook nor someone who grew up around Sichuan cuisine it would be ideal to have a more expert review of the page. Mozby (talk) 17:47, 16 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Amazing job on the citations. I also really enjoyed your oped. HAlcibiades979 (talk) 22:53, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Seconded -- incredible to read about your energy and the philosophy behind your editing. Inspiring!  -- Michael Scott Cuthbert (talk) 23:37, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
 * It is the constant effort of all us us who see things here and say, “hey, I could do better than that” that produces the continuous improvement that makes Wikipedia such a valuable resource. I also clicked through from your NY Times piece which was really compelling. Thanks! Ray Trygstad (talk) 03:31, 24 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your article. I am an amateur compared to you, and have stuck to article of which I have firsthand knowledge, but I also cherish the feeling of setting the record straight. Mfrphoto (talk) 08:26, 24 October 2020 (UTC)
 * I enjoyed it too.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:48, 24 October 2020 (UTC)

Not sure what happened
After reading the NYT op-ed, I was rather disappointed with article's current state. Curiosity struck, and I seem to have been mislead. The original article from Mozby's rewrite in 2020 (see diff) is much better than the current one.

I'm not sure how/why this article has deteriorated, but the fundamental structure has been altered to misplace citations everywhere. For example, see my recent change, where a citation has been moved far from its target sentence. Practically all mention of Korean and Indonesian uses have been removed.

Admittedly, this should not be much of a chore to fix back up, but very strange indeed. I suppose this is the result of traffic from the NYT article to the WP one?  Aza24  (talk)   21:19, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sichuan pepper


text:
Bossa nova (disambiguation)

Bossa nova is a style of music.

Bossa Nova or Bossanova may also refer to:

 * Bossa Nova (dance), a dance form associated with the music

Film and TV

 * Bossa Nova (film), a 2000 film
 * Bossa Nova (1964 film), a 1964 film

Music

 * Bossanova (band), a Canadian band

Albums

 * Bossa Nova (Shorty Rogers album), 1962
 * Bossa Nova (Ramsey Lewis album), 1962
 * Bossa Nova (Bola Sete album), 1962
 * Bossa Nova: New Brazilian Jazz, 1962
 * Bossa Nova (Eddie Harris album), 1963
 * Bossa Nova U.S.A. (jazz album) Australian album by Dave Brubeck Quartet, 1963
 * Bossanova (Pixies album), 1990
 * Bossa Nova 2001 (pop album) Japanese album by Pizzicato Five, 1993
 * Bossanova Swap Meet, Atomic Swing, 1994
 * Bossa Nova (John Pizzarelli album), 2004

Songs

 * "Bossanova", by Quincy Jones
 * "Bossanova" by Laibach
 * "Bossanova" by Estopa
 * "Bossanova Jazz"	by Lionel Hampton
 * "Nova Bossanova"	by Glaxo Babies

Companies

 * Bossa Nova Robotics, an American robotics startup

title: Bossa nova (disambiguation)


text:
115 (number)

115 (one hundred [and] fifteen) is the natural number following 114 and preceding 116.

In mathematics
115 has a square sum of divisors:
 * $$\sigma(115)=1+5+23+115=144=12^2.$$

There are 115 different rooted trees with exactly eight nodes, 115 inequivalent ways of placing six rooks on a 6 × 6 chess board in such a way that no two of the rooks attack each other, and 115 solutions to the stamp folding problem for a strip of seven stamps.

115 is also a heptagonal pyramidal number. The 115th Woodall number,
 * $$115\cdot 2^{115}-1=4\;776\;913\;109\;852\;041\;418\;248\;056\;622\;882\;488\;319,$$

is a prime number. 115 is the sum of the first five heptagonal numbers.

title: 115 (number)


text:
User:Thorsett

Stephen Thorsett
I'm an astrophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. My research interests include compact objects of all types (neutron stars, white dwarfs, black holes). I'm mostly an observational radio astronomer, using radio telescopes like the Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array, and Arecibo, but I also work on x-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. I'm involved, for example, in the GLAST gamma-ray telescope project and the NuSTAR x-ray telescope.

[My external homepage]

title: User:Thorsett


text:
116 (number)

116 (one hundred [and] sixteen) is the natural number following 115 and preceding 117.

In mathematics
116 is a noncototient, meaning that there is no solution to the equation $m − φ(m) = n$, where $φ$ stands for Euler's totient function.

116! + 1 is a factorial prime.

There are 116 ternary Lyndon words of length six, and 116 irreducible polynomials of degree six over a three-element field, which form the basis of a free Lie algebra of dimension 116.

There are 116 different ways of partitioning the numbers from 1 through 5 into subsets in such a way that, for every k, the union of the first k subsets is a consecutive sequence of integers.

There are 116 different 6×6 Costas arrays.

title: 116 (number)


text:
Sawed-off shotgun

A sawed-off shotgun (also called a scattergun, sawn-off shotgun, short-barrelled shotgun, shorty, or boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under 18 in—and often a pistol grip instead of a longer shoulder stock. Despite the colloquial term, barrels do not, strictly speaking, have to be shortened with a saw. Barrels can be manufactured at shorter lengths as an alternative to traditional, longer barrels. This makes them easier to transport and conceal due to their smaller profile and lighter weight. The design also makes the weapon more portable when maneuvering in confined spaces and for that reason law enforcement and military personnel find it useful in close-quarters combat scenarios. As a result of the shorter barrel length, any shotgun with a tubular magazine will have a reduction in its magazine capacity.

In the 1930s, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada mandated that a permit be required to own these firearms. They are subject to legal restrictions depending upon jurisdiction. They are used by military forces and police agencies worldwide.

Description
Compared to a standard shotgun, the sawn-off shotgun has a shorter effective range, due to a lower muzzle velocity; however, its reduced length makes it easier to maneuver and conceal. Powerful and compact, the weapon is especially suitable for use in small spaces, such as close-quarters combat in a military context. Military vehicle crews use short-barrelled combat shotguns as ancillary weapons. In urban combat zones, military entry teams often use entry shotguns when breaching and entering doorways.

Many jurisdictions have a minimum legal length for shotgun barrels to make these more concealable shotguns unavailable for criminal purposes. Many gun makers in the U.S. have not offered sawn-off shotguns to the public since 1934, when shotguns with barrel lengths of under 18 inches were restricted, although they had previously been sold. To abide by NFA regulations, anyone may complete a Form 1 "making" form, and purchase and have approved the US$200 tax stamp for the shotgun in question, in order to legally reduce its barrel length to less than 18 inches by cutting the barrel or replacing it with a shorter one.

A sawn-off shotgun is often an unofficial modification of a standard shotgun. In countries where handguns are more costly or difficult to obtain, criminals can convert legally purchased or stolen shotguns into concealable weapons.

The term is often applied to illegal weapons that are created by cutting off the barrel of a standard shotgun. The barrel of a shotgun without a tube magazine can be cut to any length; pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns usually have a tube magazine attached to the underside of the barrel which limits the practical minimum barrel length to about the length of the magazine tube, unless it also is modified, technically much more challenging than shortening the barrel. Repeating-fire shotguns with box magazines do not lose shell capacity when sawn off, but they are far less common than those with tubular magazines. Shotguns manufactured with barrels under the legal minimum length frequently fall into special categories.

Legal restrictions
Many nations have placed legal restrictions on sawn-off shotguns. The following are the restrictions for specific nations. Although not listed here, they are also subject to laws governing guns in general.

Australia
In the state of Victoria a shotgun may not have its barrel shortened so as to change the category under which that shotgun would be classified. In some states, any alteration to the length of the barrel requires permission from the Chief Commissioner of Police.

Canada
Short-barrelled, manually operated shotguns (non-semi-automatics) are non-restricted as long as the barrel remains unmodified from the original factory length. There is no legal minimum for shotgun barrels as long as they are not handguns; shotguns with barrels as short as 8.5 inches are available in Canada.

The act of reducing the length of the barrel of a shotgun to less than 457 mm (18 inches) by sawing, cutting, or "otherwise", by anyone other than a recognized gun manufacturer, is prohibited.

Czech Republic
Short-barrelled shotguns are universally category B weapons and therefore require a shall-issue permit and Gun license (zbrojní průkaz), including the self defense category.

Germany
In Germany, the possession of a sawn-off shotgun is legal with a firearms license (Waffenbesitzkarte), just like any other firearm. Restrictions only apply to pump-action shotguns, which require a minimum barrel length of 45 cm and a minimum overall length of 90 cm to be legal. Other shotguns may be of any length. If the barrel length is less than 30 cm or the overall length is less than 60 cm, the firearm is considered a handgun, and treated accordingly under the law.

Ireland
Shortening the barrel of a shotgun or rifle results in a presumptive five-year minimum sentence of imprisonment upon conviction for a first offence, and a mandatory five-year sentence for second or subsequent offences.

Russia
On 13 December 1996, president of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin signed the federal law No. 150, which entered into force on 1 July 1997. In accordance with this law, possession of any firearm with a barrel length of less than 500 mm and an overall length of less than 800 mm (incl. sawn-off rifles and sawn-off shotguns) was prohibited. As a result, since 1 July 1997, sawn-off shotguns and sawn-off rifles were banned on the territory of the Russian Federation and they had to be handed over to government law enforcement agencies for destruction.

United Kingdom
Within the United Kingdom, side by side, over-under, bolt-action and lever-action shotguns are required to conform to the specification of a 24-inch minimum barrel length if held on a shotgun certificate. If held on a firearms certificate, the applicant having demonstrated 'good reason' for possession, they must comply with the standard configuration of 12-inch minimum barrel length, 24-inch minimum overall length, in common with other Section 1 firearms.

Shotguns held on a shotgun certificate must either have no magazine, or a non-removable magazine capable of holding no more than two rounds. Shotguns held on firearms certificates are not subject to any magazine restrictions.

Semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns, whether held on shotgun or firearms certificates, are always required to comply with the specification of 24-inch minimum barrel length, 40-inch minimum overall length.

Muzzleloading firearms held on firearms certificates are exempt from any restrictions on barrel and overall length. A smoothbore muzzleloader held on a shotgun certificate would be subject to the standard 24-inch minimum barrel length specification.

USSR
Changing the length of the barrel of a firearm was not prohibited. It was possible to buy, sell or own old smooth-bore hunting shotguns with already shortened barrels (if the barrel length is at least 500 mm). Owners were allowed to shorten the buttstock or barrel of their hunting shotgun or rifle if they do it in a gun workshop. It was allowed to re-equip shotguns with pistol grip and detachable buttstock. Firearms with a barrel length of less than 500 mm were illegal and had to be confiscated.

United States
Under the National Firearms Act (NFA), it is illegal for a private citizen to possess a sawn-off modern smokeless powder shotgun (a shotgun with a barrel length shorter than 18 in or a minimum overall length of the weapon, total, including the 18-inch minimum barrel, of under 26 in) (under U.S.C. Title II), without a tax-paid registration from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, requiring a background check and either a $200 or $5 tax for every transfer, depending upon the specific manufacturing circumstances of the particular sawn-off modern shotgun being transferred. Gun trusts have become an increasingly popular means of registering SBSs with the BATFE. Short-barrelled muzzleloading blackpowder shotguns are not illegal under federal law, and require no tax-stamped permit, although they may be illegal under state law. As with all NFA regulated firearms, a new tax stamp must be purchased before every transfer. Inter-state transfers must be facilitated through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) while intrastate transfers may be between two persons.

In the US, shotguns originally manufactured without shoulder stocks (and thus not legally shotguns), with a total length under 26 inches, are classified as an "Any Other Weapon" by the BATFE and have a $5 transfer tax, if they are manufactured by a maker possessing the appropriate Class 2 Special Occupational Taxpayer Federal Firearms License. In order to convert an existing shoulder-stocked shotgun to a short-barrelled shotgun or an existing pistol-grip-only shotgun to an "Any Other Weapon", a private citizen must pay the standard $200 NFA tax.

Police and military use

Historical military use of sawn-off shotguns includes use as a primary weapon for Confederate cavalry during the American Civil War. These muzzle-loaded weapons were used primarily for close-range combat and to supplement the availability of more traditional short-range weapons such as the saber or carbine. The availability of the source weapons and the ability to use a single ball, shot, or a mix of both as the situation required were reasons why they were initially desired by those establishing Confederate cavalry units. They were replaced over time as more conventional arms became available and as the tactical use of cavalry shifted towards use as mounted infantry.

In modern usage, minimum length and barrel length restrictions only apply to civilian use; military and police departments may issue short-barrelled shotguns, and major manufacturers offer special models with barrels in the range of 10 to 14 in as riot shotguns or combat shotguns for use in areas with restricted space. These are generally referred to as "entry shotguns", because they are often used for forcing entry into buildings, where the short easy handling is more important than the increased ammunition capacity of a longer shotgun. Breaching rounds provide another use for very short shotguns. These rounds are usually made of sintered powdered metal, but a normal buckshot or bird shot round will also work. A shotgun is used for breaching by placing the gun next to a door lock (0 to 2 inches away, 0 to 5 cm), and firing at a 45 degrees downward angle through the door between the lock or latch and the door frame. The impact of the projectile(s) opens a hole through the door, removing the latch or locking bolt. When through the door, the shot or sintered metal disperses quickly, and because it was aimed downwards, the risk of harming occupants on the other side of the breached door is minimized. Breaching guns used by police and the military may have barrels as short as 10 in, and they often have only a pistol grip rather than a full butt stock. Some models use a special cup-like muzzle extension to further minimize the risk of debris injuring the shooter. Because few rounds are fired, any sporting shotgun with a 3-round capacity could be shortened and used as a capable breaching shotgun.

Barrel length and shot spread
It is a common misconception that shortening the length of a shotgun barrel itself significantly affects the pattern or spread of the pellets; this only becomes true when the barrel is reduced to less than 50% of a typical length. A standard-length barrel (e.g. 30 inch) is this long to move the center of gravity of the firearm away from the body and give it an ergonomic heft, and in order for the barrel to extend out into the shooter's field of vision right up to the target, as well as to make the weapon safer, as it is difficult to inadvertently point a long gun at one's own body. The pattern is primarily affected by the type of cartridge fired and the choke, or constriction normally found at the muzzle of a shotgun barrel.

The primary reason that the pattern is altered is because cutting off the end of the barrel removes the choke, which generally only extends about 2 inch inward from the muzzle. This results in a cylinder bore, which causes the widest spread generally found in shotgun barrels (see choke for more information on the impact of chokes, shotgun shell for information on spreader loads, and details on shot patterning for other relevant information). However, many qualified gunsmiths can re-tap and reinstall the choke in the shortened barrel.

Civilian use
A sawn-off shotgun with exposed, manually cocked hammers and dual triggers is known as a lupara ("wolf-shot") in Italy and, while associated with organized crime, was originally used by Sicilian farmers and shepherds to protect their vineyards and flocks of animals. In rural areas of North India, where it is seen as a weapon of authority and prestige, it is known as a dunali, literally meaning "two pipes". It is especially common in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

The light weight of short-barrelled shotguns, particularly in configurations that lack substantial stocks, leads some users to use short "minishells" with lower shot and powder loading for comfortable casual use.

Criminal use
In the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, where handguns are not easily obtainable, the sawn-off shotgun was a common weapon in armed robberies during and shortly after the 1960s, and it is this use that most people associate with the weapon that is used in such a way to rob a bank.

The American bank robber Clyde Barrow modified his Browning A-5 shotgun by cutting the barrel down to the same length as the magazine tube, and shortening the stock by 5 to 6 inches (125 to 150 mm) to make it more concealable. A small, 10 - 12 in strap was attached to both ends of the butt of the gun, and was looped around his shoulder, concealing the gun between his arm and chest under his jacket in the manner of a shoulder holster. The gun was drawn up quickly and fired from the shoulder under which it was carried. Barrow dubbed it the "Whippit", as he was able to "whip it" out easily.

Randy Weaver, a central actor in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, agreed to sell two sawed-off shotguns to an undercover ATF agent in 1989.

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre, had sawn off their Savage Arms 67H pump action shotgun and Stevens 311D double barrel shotgun in the months prior to conceal it under their duster coats on the day of the massacre.

Derived uses
Familiarity with descriptions and images of sawed-off shotguns via crime reports in the public media has led to "sawed-off" or "sawn-off" being used sometimes colloquially as "small or stripped version of"; such as the Sawn-Off Daimler (SOD).

title: Sawed-off shotgun


text:
Bus stop (disambiguation)

A bus stop is a place, other than a terminal, established for buses to pick up and drop off passengers

Bus Stop may also refer to:

Culture

 * Bus Stop (play), a 1955 play by William Inge
 * The Bus Stop 《車站》, a 1983 Chinese-language play by Gao Xingjian

Film

 * Bus Stop (1956 film), a 1956 film, loosely based on the 1955 play by William Inge, with Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray
 * Bus Stop (1982 film), the 1982 retelling of the original 1955 play starring Tim Matheson
 * Bus Stop (2012 film), a 2012 Telugu Indian film directed by Maruthi
 * Bus Stop (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi Indian film directed by Sameer Joshi

TV

 * Bus Stop (TV series), a 1961-62 television series
 * Bus Stop (2000 TV series), a 2000 Japanese series starring Naoko Iijima

Music

 * Bus Stop (band), a 1998 band known for a version of "Kung Fu Fighting"
 * Bus Stop (album), a 1966 album by The Hollies
 * Bus Stop, a popular line dance style of the 1970s

Songs

 * "Bus Stop" (song), a 1966 single by The Hollies
 * "The Bus Stop Song", a 1956 single by The Four Lads, used as the intro song for the 1956 film Bus Stop
 * "(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop", a 1975 single by Fatback Band, also known as "Do the Bus Stop"

title: Bus stop (disambiguation)