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Blank cheque

A blank cheque or blank check in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and therefore subject to abuse, or in which a party is willing to consider any expense in the pursuance of their goals. The term carte blanche (lit. 'white card') is used in a similar way.

Literal meaning
Cheque writers are advised to specify the amount of the cheque before signing it. A blank cheque can be extremely expensive for the drawer who writes the cheque, because whoever obtains the cheque could write in any amount of money, and might be able to cash it (if the current account or checking account contains sufficient funds, and depending on the laws in the specific country). Under American law, a blank cheque is an example of an "" as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code's Article 3, Section 115 (a). Writing an amount in a blank cheque, without the authority of the signer, is an "alteration". It is legally equivalent to changing the numbers on a completed (non-blank) cheque.

In finance
A "blank cheque company" refers to a company in development that has no specific business plan, such as a special-purpose acquisition company.

In politics

 * On July 5, 1914, Germany gave Austria a "blank cheque" in handling its punishment of Serbia regarding the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne. It led to the start of the First World War. German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg told the Austrian ambassador in Berlin that the Austrian Emperor had the support of the German Kaiser:"Finally, as far as concerns Serbia, His Majesty, of course, cannot interfere in the dispute now going on between Austria- Hungary and that country, as it is a matter not within his competence. The Emperor Francis Joseph may, however, rest assured that His Majesty will faithfully stand by Austria-Hungary, as is required by the obligations of his alliance and of his ancient friendship."

 * In March 2003, Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, "effectively offered a blank cheque for war against Iraq", and would thus spend what it takes' to tackle Iraq's weapons of mass destruction".

In literature
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the term carte blanche in several of his Sherlock Holmes stories.

"Then, as to money?" "You have carte blanche." "Absolutely?" "I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph."
 * "A Scandal in Bohemia":

"I understand that you give me carte blanche to act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you place no limit on the sum I may draw." "I would give my fortune to have them back."
 * "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet":

title: Blank cheque


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Talk:Deep Blue (chess computer)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 15 January 2020 and 6 May 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): The Tanner B. Peer reviewers: Bobaylobor.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 19:11, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Down the Rabbit hole Due Weight
Is the fact that a youtube video was made about this really important to understand this event? Like, good for the guy who made it, but it seems somewhat out of place. Unless it leads to some larger discussion the match with Kasperov, I, at the moment, think it should be removed from the article. Argis113 (talk) 02:53, 15 November 2020 (UTC)

Agreed. This seems more like advertisement. It should be enough if the video author's own wiki page links to the Deep Blue article, should he have one. Ludens123 (talk) 21:22, 23 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Deleted. Also, you can just delete things like this yourself per WP:BRD. Rolf H Nelson (talk)

Reference for "In the opening book there were over 4,000 positions and 700,000 grandmaster games"?
The claim that Deep Blue contained 700,000 grandmaster games (back in the day!) sounded surprising to me, and does not have an explicit citation. Initially I was sceptical, but having looked through a bunch of the references to the article, I found a claim in the Hsu--Campbell "Deep Blue System Overview" (1995) paper (note date: this was presumably before the upgrade which got it beating Kasparov) that it had "an opening book created from a chess game database with 300,000 games". The paper does not seem to claim that they're grandmaster games, however if you're going to digitise games in 1995 then you may as well digitise grandmaster games, and note also that they are not claiming that all the games themselves are in the system, just that the 300,000 games were used to generate the opening book. Ultimately then, I am not suggesting that the claim is false, but I'd like to use this claim in a talk and I am a bit wary of citing it right now (I'll use the quote in the system overview pdf). Kevin Buzzard.

Easily too dump and unexperienced or even on low energy
Was the Prozessor too simple or even in Power Saving mode 2A00:20:3001:91E4:E8C3:6BCC:5765:A6C0 (talk) 23:07, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

Future direction worth mentioning?
I just noticed this article... It doesn't have direct bearing, but might be worth a mention regarding what direction things have taken since the time of Deep Blue... What direction that work has sent us. Bill Woodcock (talk) 12:37, 10 February 2022 (UTC)

Full circle on describing Deep Blue as an "expert system"
I restored the longstanding lede description of Deep Blue as a supercomputer instead of the unhelpful relatively recent change to characterize it as an expert system. Chess playing computers have occasionally been described as expert systems, but that isn't especially common. The expert system article does not mention Deep Blue or chess playing computers or even any games playing computers at all. The link to the expert systems page didn't help the reader learn anything about Deep Blue at all. By contrast, the supercomputer article does mention Deep Blue specifically. The lede is supposed to summarize the important points in the body of the article, but "expert system" was mentioned nowhere except the lede. Quale (talk) 06:48, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

 * You just created self-reflexive nonsense. "Deep Blue was a chess-playing supercomputer run on a unique purpose-built IBM supercomputer." A computer is the hardware. An expert system is the software.  Software runs on hardware.  Hardware doesn't run on hardware.  And hardware doesn't magically do anything without software.  And appeals to antiquity are just a logical fallacy, not a supporting argument.  Reverted. EVhotrodder (talk) 07:19, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Bug in 44th move
In the article it says on the 44th move in the first game of the second match there was a bug. The source is also talking about 1997, first game: "[...]referred to an incident that had occurred toward the end of the first game in their 1997 match with Kasparov". This is the first game of the 1997 match: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1070915

44. Rb1 is the only valid move in this position. There is no other move. Where is the bug? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.250.206.130 (talk) 08:04, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

It makes no sense to me that Kasparov would be surprised when Deep Blue played the only possible move in this poition. Like, There are no other legal moves, so why should Kasparov be surprised. This makes no sense at all, something is not right here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.250.206.130 (talk) 08:07, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
 * 44.Rb1 is in game 4 of the 1997 match. The 'bug' is 44...Rd1 in game 1 of that match. Your Chessgames.com link is game 4, not game 1. --IHTS (talk) 09:56, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

Software types of Compare
the remark " The opening book encapsulated more than 4,000 positions and 700,000 grandmaster games " sets foot on a big compare that is impossible for a human being. is there any REAL information about the REAL software used? how many moved where result of a giant COMPARE function and how many maove were realy CALCUlated... instead of "holding up to the light and look for that one open pinchhole" but then very, very, very(etc) quick and are references or links to those computer routines ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.149.83.125 (talk) 17:13, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

"The system derived its playing strength mainly from brute force computing power"
I don't get the trend of classifying everything that has Alpha Beta search as brute force. Sure there is a large search and the speed (averaged) of 200 M positions per seconds is impressive but it is negligible compared to the search space. There is a great deal of smart pruning, I wouldn't call it mainly brute force.

Sources: IBM’S DEEP BLUE CHESS GRANDMASTER CHIPS

Behind Deep Blue, Feng-hsiung Hsu

And related articles to 1. Pier4r (talk) 22:15, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 11 June 2023

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. Deep Blue (supercomputer) can be discussed separately. (closed by non-admin page mover) C LYDE TALK TO ME/STUFF DONE (please mention me on reply) 01:57, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

– Clear primary topic, by both page views and long term significance. Reviews of page views suggests the computer receives ten times the page views of all other Deep Blue's put together, and the long term significance of the others is negligible, while the long term significance of the computer - which revitalized optimism in the AI field - is significant. BilledMammal (talk) 10:57, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Deep Blue (chess computer) → Deep Blue
 * Deep Blue → Deep Blue (disambiguation)
 * Weak support as primary topic just based on my quick review of the rest of the disambiguation page, although surprisingly Deep Blue (great white shark) is pretty competitive in terms of |Deep_Blue_(great_white_shark) page views (even surpassing it one month). –CWenger ( ^ •  @ ) 14:46, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose The great white shark by the name of Deep Blue is not so obviously less notable that the computer is the primary topic by views or longterm significance. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 18:15, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose The page views are inconclusive even without considering Shades of blue. Walt Yoder (talk) 18:44, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * A note from the revision history: the chess computer was at until 2007, when a disambiguation page was created. Walt Yoder (talk) 18:44, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Oppose: It doesn't seem accurate that the computer receives ten times the page views; it is not much more than the shark. Maybe you can argue the computer is by far the most important in a more general sense of human knowledge, but while I agree it is the most important of the entries, I don't think it is so important in the history of the computing as to justify that. I also wonder if "Deep Blue (computer)" would be less of a mouthful and still sufficiently clear. Jmill1806 (talk) 23:23, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I would prefer Deep Blue (supercomputer), as that its predominant defining trait. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 10:59, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
 * https://wikinav.toolforge.org/?language=en&title=Deep_Blue indicates there were 458 or 418 incoming views of "Deep Blue" in May '23, and in turn 319 to the computer (~70% or ~76%), followed by a non-trivial amount of traffic to the shark and a few other topics. This kind of a ratio is typically not indicative of a conclusive primary topic by usage, but it's certainly possible to argue about it :) --Joy (talk) 14:29, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
 * That may be because the first Wikipedia result from search engines like Google and Bing for Deep Blue is the computer, not the dab page. BilledMammal (talk) 02:12, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Comment Reviewing all page results (I had not expected the shark to have a significant number of views) we see that in the past year the computer has received 70% more views than all other articles put together (263,426 views to 153,231), and 150% more views than the next most viewed article, the shark (263,426 to 106,120). I believe this meets the requirement of "much more likely than any other single topic, and more likely than all the other topics combined".
 * I also don't see any reasonable claim for the shark to have similar long term significance to the computer. This can be seen by search for sources; the shark has news coverage and passing mentions in a couple of scholarly sources, while the computer has hundreds of scholarly articles and books written solely on it. It can also be seen in how the sources describe the two; sources describe the computer as a technological milestone; sources have made no such claims of significance about the shark or, I would bet, any other topic on this list. BilledMammal (talk) 02:12, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
 * 150% more views is hardly a typical threshold to make something a primary topic. I would think more like 1000% more views or close to it. And dismissing "One of the largest great white sharks recorded" and an icon for shark conservation as a mere triviality indicates some bias towards the computer. I simply don't see an obvious primary topic here. Despite Deep Blue arguably being a bit more important, it's not enough to make it "obviously" the article that should take precedence. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 02:26, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
 * The threshold is "much more likely"; 150% more would appear to meet that. I'm also not seeing any claim that the shark is an icon for shark conversation; such a claim isn't included in the article and it isn't in any of the sources in the article. I would contrast that with the computer, which reliable sources regularly describe as a milestone and a major accomplishment, and I would also contrast that with the depth of coverage received in reliable sources; compared to the computer, the shark has received very little coverage. This tells us that sources accord the computer far greater significance; we should follow the sources. BilledMammal (talk) 03:07, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I was also surprised by the page-views for the shark. Clearly, no topic other than the chess computer could be the primary topic.  But, overall, I see the evidence as people viewing it as more "historical trivia" than "a transformational impact to computing".  (The separate issue of considering the primary topic separately for Deep Blue v. Deep blue is complicated, and I am happy to avoid commenting on it.) Walt Yoder (talk) 23:15, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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

title: Talk:Deep Blue (chess computer)


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Talk:Pope Severinus

Untitled
I'm new, and don't understand redirects yet. There is a reference to Severinus under Scientific classification but the dates around that person's name indicate it is not this Pope. Thus the Severinus page needs to become a stub instead of a redirect.

Done. Feel like writing the article on Petrus Severinus?  - Nunh-huh 03:54, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Conflict of sources
Here's one reason we need to use in-line citations more: there is a disagreement in the sources about the sequence of events, & the motivations, concerning the Ecthesis, Severinus, & the Exarch Isaac.

The story according to the Liber Pontificalis was that Maurice & Isaac were tasked with getting Severinus to sign the Ecthesis, & while doing so they looted the Lateran. (BTW, this is an unusual strategy to convince anyone to endorse a controversial document -- "Let's rob the Pope. That'll convince him to obey the Emperor & sign this document!") However, the LP is a biassed source who authors not infrequently get details, motivations, & the chronology of the papal reigns wrong. Although its version of the story should be mentioned, we need a reliable secondary source to help interpret it. Turning to Jeffrey Richards, the papal envoys were the only ones who dealt with the matter of papal approval of the Ecthesis: Maurice & Isaac plundered the Lateran out of simple greed (or because the central government was not providing sufficient funds to work with, which I gather was not unusual for the Exarchate), & Severinus made no decision on the document before his death.

Now we come to what the article says, & I was unable to identify its sources for the following. Before I made changes, not only did the article follow the account of the LP, it adds a synod where the Ecthesis was rejected. Richards dates this synod to the tenure of Severinus' successor, John IV. As for the sources used, the Catholic Encyclopedia article is only a short paragraph, & states Severinus professed "as in Christ there were two natures so also were there in Him two wills and two natural operations" -- on one hand implying that he rejected the Ecthesis, but on the other not saying that Severinus actually sent a response to Constantinople. (The Catholic Encyclopedia frequently fudges on facts to preserve the impression that its leaders were infallible, & above human imperfections -- & needs to be used with that POV in mind.) Maybe the article's version came from Maxwell-Stewart's book, but the reference points only to one page in that book. And perhaps that source was used in the same manner as Horace Mann's book below it -- to support statements unrelated to the central story -- so there is no way to know for certain where the account in this article came from. Which is why I may end up removing this version of events, & replacing it with an account based on what the LP states & Richard's interpretation. -- llywrch (talk) 19:59, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:Pope Severinus


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List of political metaphors

This is a list of common political metaphors.

Relating to the executive

 * eminence grise: literally, "grey man," from French. Colloquially, the power-behind-the-throne. An official close to the president or monarch who has so much power behind the scenes may double or serve as the monarch.
 * figurehead: a leader whose powers are entirely symbolic, such as a constitutional monarch.
 * puppet government: a government that is manipulated by a foreign power for its own interests.
 * star chamber: a secretive council or other group within a government that possesses the actual power, regardless of the government's overt form.

Relating to legislation

 * blank check legislation which is vaguely worded to the point where it can be widely exploited and abused.
 * grandfather clause that allows a piece of legislation not to apply to something old or incumbent.
 * poison pill a provision in an act or bill which defeats or undermines its initial purpose or makes it politically unacceptable.
 * pork barrel legislation or patronage: acts of government that blatantly favor powerful special interest groups.
 * rider that attaches something new or unrelated to an existing bill.
 * sunset clause to prevent legislation from being permanent.
 * a trigger law that will automatically "spring" into effect once some other variable occurs.

Relating to elections

 * character assassination: spreading (usually) manufactured stories about a candidate with the intent to destroy their reputation in the eyes of the public.
 * dark/black horse: a candidate who is largely ignored by opponents yet makes significant gains.
 * gerrymandering: reshaping district lines to include/exclude segments of voters that may help/hurt your chances of election.
 * landslide victory: a huge victory for one side.
 * muckraking: uncovering and publicizing scandalous information about a person or organization
 * mudslinging: harsh partisan insults exchanged between candidates.
 * parachute candidate / carpetbagger: a candidate who runs for election in an area which they are not a native resident or has no ties.
 * paper candidate: a candidate who puts no effort into their campaign and is essentially just a name on the ballot.
 * riding coattails: victories by local or state politicians because of the popularity of more powerful politicians.
 * sacrificial lamb: a candidate who is put forward to run for office, by their party or others, but who has no chance of winning.
 * stalking horse: a perceived front-runner candidate who unifies their opponents, usually within a single political party.
 * grassroots: a political movement driven by the constituents of a community.
 * astroturfing: formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior.
 * stooge: To mislead a candidate or campaigner, or to masquerade as a constituent interested in an issue being promoted.
 * Left and right wing: terms used to delineate the partisan divide between, on the left, change benefitting the working class, and, on the right, change benefitting the established order of privilege.

Relating to world politics

 * hard power: using military force against another country as form of punishment.
 * soft power: using economic and diplomatic sanctions against another country as a form of punishment.
 * soft tyranny: when a democratic government uses its power in a manner which diminishes the rights or power of the voters.
 * big stick diplomacy: using displays of military force against other countries to show dominance.

Relating to the issues

 * wedge issue: an issue which turns members of a party against each other.
 * third rail: an issue which is so controversial, pursuing it or even attempting to address it could end one's political career.
 * straw man: the practice of refuting an argument that is weaker than what one's opponent actually offers, or which they simply have not put forth at all. A type of logical fallacy.
 * sacred cow: an institution which few dare question, because it is so revered.

Others

 * body politic: a political community conceived as a physical body.
 * bread and circuses: satisfaction of shallow or immediate desires of the populace at the expense of good policy; also, the erosion of civic duty and the public life in a populace.
 * government in the sunshine: a government which keeps all its records and documents open and easily accessible by the public.
 * lame duck: a politician who has lost an election, or who is serving their last term in an office where the law limits the number of times they may succeed themselves, and is simply waiting for their term to expire.
 * melting pot: a society in which all outsiders assimilate to one social norm.
 * salad bowl: a society in which cultural groups retain their unique attributes (opposite of melting pot theory).
 * spin (public relations): a heavily biased portrayal of an event or situation.
 * turkeys voting for Christmas: Acting against one's own interests with no conceivable gain.
 * witch-hunt: a hysterical pursuit of political enemies.

title: List of political metaphors


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Kill Bill: Volume 2

Kill Bill: Volume 2 is a 2004 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the second part to Kill Bill, and stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who continues her campaign of revenge against the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader Bill (David Carradine), who tried to kill her and her unborn child.

Volume 2 is the second of two Kill Bill films produced simultaneously; the first, Volume 1, was released six months earlier. They were originally set for a single release, but the film, with a runtime of over four hours, was divided in two. Tarantino conceived Kill Bill as an homage to grindhouse cinema including martial arts films, samurai cinema, blaxploitation, and spaghetti westerns. Like its predecessor, Volume 2 received positive reviews. It grossed $152.2 million worldwide on a production budget of $30 million.

Plot
The pregnant Bride and her groom rehearse their wedding. Bill − the Bride's former lover, the father of her child, and the leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad − arrives unexpectedly and orders the Deadly Vipers to kill everyone at the wedding rehearsal. Bill shoots the Bride in the head, but she survives and swears revenge.

Four years later, the Bride, having already assassinated Deadly Vipers O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green, goes to the trailer of Bill's brother Budd, another Deadly Viper, planning to ambush him. Having been warned by Bill beforehand, he incapacitates her with a non-lethal shotgun blast of rock salt and sedates her. He calls Elle Driver, another former Deadly Viper, and arranges to sell her the Bride's unique sword for $1 million. He seals the Bride inside a coffin and buries her alive.

In a flashback to years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Pai refuses to teach his students; properly used, the attack is reputed to leave an opponent able to take only five steps before dying. Bill takes the Bride to Pai's temple for training. Pai ridicules and torments her during training, but she eventually gains his respect. In the present, the Bride uses Pai's techniques to escape from the coffin and claw her way to the surface.

Elle arrives at Budd's trailer and kills him with a black mamba hidden within the case full of money for the sword. She calls Bill and tells him that the Bride has killed Budd and that she has killed the Bride, using the Bride's real name: Beatrix Kiddo. As Elle exits the trailer, Beatrix ambushes her and they fight. Elle, who was also taught by Pai, taunts Beatrix by revealing that she killed Pai by poisoning his favorite meal in retribution for him plucking out her eye after she called him "a miserable old fool". Enraged, Beatrix plucks out Elle's remaining eye and leaves her screaming in the trailer with the black mamba.

In Acuña, Mexico, Beatrix meets a retired pimp, Esteban Vihaio, who helps her find Bill. She tracks him to his home, and discovers that their daughter B. B. is still alive, now four years old. Beatrix spends the evening with them. After she puts B. B. to bed, Bill shoots Beatrix with a dart containing truth serum and interrogates her. She explains that she left the Deadly Vipers when she discovered she was pregnant, in order to give B. B. a better life. Bill explains that he assumed she was dead; he ordered her assassination when he discovered she was alive and engaged to a "jerk" he assumed was the father of her child. The two begin to fight, but Beatrix traps Bill's sword in her scabbard and strikes him with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. Surprised that Pai taught her the attack, Bill reconciles with her, then falls dead as he walks away. Beatrix leaves with B. B. to start a new life.

Production
Kill Bill Volume 1 and Volume 2 were planned and produced as a single film. After editing began, producer Harvey Weinstein, who was known for pressuring filmmakers to shorten their films, suggested that Tarantino split the film in two. The decision was announced in July 2003.

Tarantino said he saved most of the Bride's character development for the second film: "As far as the first half is concerned, I didn't want to make her sympathetic. I wanted to make her scary." He said he "loves" the Bride and that he "killed himself to put her in a good place" for the ending.

Music
As with Tarantino's previous films, Kill Bill features an eclectic soundtrack comprising many musical genres. On the two soundtracks, music ranges from country music to selections from the Spaghetti Western film scores of Ennio Morricone. Bernard Herrmann's theme from the film Twisted Nerve is whistled by the menacing Elle Driver in the hospital scene. A brief, 15-second excerpt from the opening of the Ironside theme music by Quincy Jones is used as the Bride's revenge motif, which flares up with a red-tinged flashback whenever she is in the company of her next target. Instrumental tracks from Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei figure prominently, and after the success of Kill Bill they were frequently used in American TV commercials and at sporting events. The end credits are driven by the rock-and-roll version of "Malagueña Salerosa", a traditional Mexican song, performed by "Chingon", Robert Rodriguez's band.

Theatrical release
Kill Bill: Volume 2 was released in theaters on April 16, 2004. It was originally scheduled to be released on February 20, 2004, but was rescheduled. Variety posited that the delay was to coincide its theatrical release with Volume 1's release on DVD. In the United States and Canada, Volume 2 was released in 2,971 theaters and grossed $25.1 million on its opening weekend, ranking first at the box office and beating fellow opener The Punisher. Volume 2s opening weekend gross was higher than Volume 1s, and the equivalent success confirmed the studio's financial decision to split the film into two theatrical releases.

Volume 2 attracted more female theatergoers than Volume 1, with 60% of the audience being male and 56% of the audience being men between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Volume 2's opening weekend was the largest to date for Miramax Films aside from releases under its arm Dimension Films. The opening weekend was also the largest to date in the month of April for a film restricted in the United States to theatergoers 17 years old and up, besting Life's 1999 record. Volume 2s opening weekend was strengthened by the reception of Volume 1 in the previous year among audiences and critics, abundant publicity related to the splitting into two volumes, and the DVD release of Volume 1 in the week before Volume 2s theatrical release.

Outside of the United States and Canada, Volume 2 was released in 20 territories over the weekend of April 23, 2004. It grossed an estimated $17.7 million and ranked first at the international box office, ending an eight-week streak held by The Passion of the Christ. Volume 2 grossed a total of $66.2 million in the United States and Canada and $86 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $152.2 million.

Home media
In the United States, Volume 2 was released on DVD and VHS on August 10, 2004.

In a December 2005 interview, Tarantino addressed the lack of a special edition DVD for Kill Bill by stating "I've been holding off because I've been working on it for so long that I just wanted a year off from Kill Bill and then I'll do the big supplementary DVD package."

The United States does not have a DVD boxed set of Kill Bill, though box sets of the two separate volumes are available in other countries, such as France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Upon the DVD release of Volume 2 in the US, however, Best Buy did offer an exclusive box set slipcase to house the two individual releases together.

Both Volume 1 and Volume 2, were released in High Definition on Blu-ray on September 9, 2008, in the United States.

The Whole Bloody Affair
At the 2008 Provincetown International Film Festival, Tarantino announced that the original cut of Kill Bill, incorporating both films and an extended animation sequence, would be released in May 2009 as Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Screenings began on March 27, 2011, at the New Beverly Cinema.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Kill Bill: Volume 2 holds an approval rating of 84% based on 244 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Kill Bill: Volume 2 adds extra plot and dialogue to the action-heavy exploits of its predecessor, while still managing to deliver a suitably hard-hitting sequel." At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 83 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, a grade up from the "B+" earned by the previous film.

Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4, writing: "Put the two parts together, and Tarantino has made a masterful saga that celebrates the martial arts genre while kidding it, loving it, and transcending it. ... This is all one film, and now that we see it whole, it's greater than its two parts." In 2009, he named Kill Bill one of the 20 best films of the decade.

Accolades
Uma Thurman received a Golden Globe Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama nomination in 2005 for her role. David Carradine also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in the same year. Kill Bill: Volume 2 was placed in Empire Magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Films of All Time" at number 423 and the Bride was also ranked number 66 in Empire magazine's "100 Greatest Movie Characters".

Cancelled sequels
In April 2004, Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly that he was planning a sequel:

"Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my 'Dollars Trilogy'. I was going to do a new one every ten years. But I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age."

At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International, Tarantino stated that, after the completion of Grindhouse, he wanted to make two anime Kill Bill films: an origin story about Bill and his mentors, and another origin starring the Bride. Details emerged around 2007 about two possible sequels, Kill Bill: Volume 3 and Volume 4. According to the article, "the third film involves the revenge of two killers whose arms and eye were hacked by Uma Thurman in the first stories." The article adds that the "fourth installment of the popular kung fu action films concerns a cycle of reprisals and daughters who avenge their mother's deaths". In 2020, Vivica A. Fox, who portrayed Vernita Green in the first film, suggested original actress Ambrosia Kelley would reprise her role as the grown-up Nikki in the film, expressing interest in Zendaya being cast in the role if Kelley would be unable to return.

At the 2009 Morelia International Film Festival, Tarantino stated that he intended to make a third Kill Bill film. The same month, he stated that Kill Bill 3 would be his ninth film, and would be released in 2014. He said he wanted 10 years to pass after the Bride's last conflict, to give her and her daughter a period of peace.

In December 2012, Tarantino said there would "probably not" be a third film." However, in July 2019, Tarantino said that he and Thurman had talked again about a possible sequel, and added "If any of my movies were going to spring from my other movies, it would be a third Kill Bill." In December 2019, Tarantino said he had spoken to Thurman about an "interesting" idea for a new film: "It would be at least three years from now. It is definitely in the cards". In June 2021 Tarantino stated that the potential film would take place 20 years following the original volumes, and was excited about the possibility of Thurman and her daughter Maya Hawke playing the Bride and B.B. respectively. He also noted the possibility of Elle Driver, Sofie Fatale, and Gogo's twin sister Shiaki also appearing in the film. Later that month, Tarantino said that none of the potential sequels or prequels had come to fruition, due to his reluctance to take on more Kill Bill films following the fatigue he endured in the making of the first two volumes. In July 2023, Tarantino stated that a sequel would not be made.

title: Kill Bill: Volume 2


text:
Talk:Middle Temple

Untitled
I cut the statement "where barristers receive their training". I presume that was meant to refer to MT rather than the RCJ, but in either case it's not really true. Training is a fairly minor part of MT's activities. Markalexander100 03:52, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I have been a member of the MT since 1980 and I have no recollection of the provision of subsidised accommodation. Is there a source for this statement? --ukexpat 18:26, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Added - the MT website. Bencherlite 19:19, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Photos
I removed the photos request. Do we now have enough photos? - The Blackfriar 13:39, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Logical Contradiction
This page describes the Middle Temple as a "Royal Peculiar"; however, that wiki page says it is an extra-diocesan (but not Royal) Peculiar. I have no idea which is correct, but they can't both be. Could someone clarify and fix that? Thanks. Msalt (talk) 17:06, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The article Extra-parochial_area also refers to it as a Royal Peculiar. And obviously we want tne Inner_Temple article to correspond.Msalt (talk) 17:14, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Eminent Members and Benchers
I wonder whether this section is ripe for review?

It has become something of a disparate list of members and former members. Fame is a relative concept. A person who might be of note in one part of the world, might not be of note elsewhere. Where does the list logically stop?

I note that the article on Inner Temple adopts a far more restrained approach to the question of listing former members.

Do bare lists have any place on Wikipedia?

I am posting similar observations in the discussions pages of the other two Inns of Court.

Informed Owl (talk) 12:38, 1 February 2010 (UTC)Informed Owl

 * Correct that! I see that the page for Gray's Inn has a separate link to a page specifically listing former members.  Although the observation remains as to the use of such a page, is it perhaps an option for this article?

Informed Owl (talk) 12:41, 1 February 2010 (UTC)Informed Owl
 * That would tidy things up nicely; if a user is interested it's only a click away. --Old Moonraker (talk) 14:12, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

I have made the change. The list had become rather cumbersome and was in danger of dominating the article Informed Owl (talk) 15:05, 20 February 2010 (UTC)Informed Owl

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title: Talk:Middle Temple


text:
Talk:Arthur Middleton

Untitled
Was there another American Party? It appears that there was one around the time of the American Civil War and another in the 20th century, but I haven't been able to find any good reference of a 18th century party by that name. I suppose party in this article might not mean political party —Mulad 03:53, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Most likely it was party in the informal sense of "faction"; each colonial legislature had groups for and against independence, Middleton would have been in the "for" group. Deserves more in-depth investigation though; a specialized work on colonial Carolina would likely have a lot to say about all this. Stan 14:16, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Link to Project Gutenberg
I've removed the gutenberg author template from this page, as there is no evidence that the author linked to is the same Arthur Middleton. The Arthur Middleton mentioned at PG is the author of a short text in the form of a journal, titled The Forgotten Threshold. It appears to be from too late a date to be by this writer. (ie it appears to mention the ship Titanic) I have searched through multiple library catalogs and have not been able to find a record for this item. Andrew Sly 06:28, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I have added a piece about the relationship between Arthur Middleton Baldur von Schirach, the leader of the Hitler YouthGovernor ("Gauleiter" or "Reichsstatthalter") of the Reichsgau Vienna who was convicted of "crimes against humanity" at the Nuremberg Trials, through Baldur Von Schirach's mother Emma Middleton Lynah Tillou (1872 - 1944). Some of the details can be seen on the Wikipedia page but more information on the relationship and proof of the descent can be provided. I think that this is more relevant than his relationship by cousins twice removed to a Confederate General! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.104.173.66 (talk) 04:10, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

 * I dont see any relevance at all of this connection to Gauleiter Schirach who, while he grew up speaking English, had no other cultural ties to the USA and so no idea of the Declaration of Independence. /s/ lil schweinhundt jr 76.250.200.144 (talk) 08:33, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Middleton Place
I suppose this place is fairly famous as a location, esp its gardens; but it is NOT representative at all of the Middleton usual planations which instead of this small acreage of about 400 acres, were usually 2,000-10,000 acres in size and included about 12-13 different plantations. These were spread out among this larger family and so not at all, related to Arthur the Signer except esp Otranto originally belonging to his ancestors Arthur deceased - 1685 and passed then to Izard family and was further related then, to Arthur's wife Mary Izard (also qv Crowfield, Otranto, Oak, etc)

see : "Otranto" land grant to Edward & Arthur Middleton 1678 - 1,780 acres 1 Mary ( Smyth) Middleton b: ab 1655 d: 26 JUL 1700 + Arthur Middleton d: 1685 ancestor of Arthur Middleton d: 1787 "signer" + Ralph Izard b: ab 1650 d: 24 JAN 1709/10 2 Walter Izard b: 15 MAY 1692 d: 17 FEB 1749/50 + Mary Turgis 3 Walter Izard b: 13 MAR 1713/14 d: 1759 + Elizabeth Gibbes b: 1723 4 Mary Izard b: 31 JUL 1747 d: ab JUL 1814 + Arthur Middleton b: 26 JUN 1742 d: 1 JAN 1787

/s/ say si boan, bon chance 76.250.200.144 (talk) 08:43, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Prisoner of War
The article states that he was "exchanged" and then returned to S.C.  This is not correct. There was no exchange. He, along with other prisoners of war including two other signers of the Declaration of Independence, were rescued and smuggled out of Florida by a merchant named Francisco Xavier Sanchez who at great risk to his life rescued these men and then transported them on one of his ships back to S.C. Sanchez was recently recognized for this act by being officially designated by the Daughter's of the American Revolution as a Revolutionary War patriot. Since this is relatively new information it has not yet been included in any published book though it is mentioned on the websites of some newspapers and is in D.A.R. documents that have not yet been widely distributed. As soon as a source that Wiki would consider acceptable becomes available I will update this article accordingly. I personally think that more should be included in this article about his having been a P.O.W. and the rescue itself. It adds a significant dimension to the story of a historical person even if the article never mentions the name of the person responsible for his return. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.144.213.97 (talk) 20:52, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:Arthur Middleton


text:
T. Keith Glennan

Thomas Keith Glennan (September 8, 1905 – April 11, 1995) was the first Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, serving from August 19, 1958 to January 20, 1961.

Early career
Born in Enderlin, North Dakota, the son of Richard and Margaret Glennan, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and then earned a degree in electrical engineering from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University in 1927, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. Following graduation, he became associated with the newly developed sound motion picture industry, and later became assistant general service superintendent for Electrical Research Products Company, a subsidiary of Western Electric Company. During his career he was studio manager of Paramount Pictures, and Samuel Goldwyn Studios, and was briefly on the staff of Vega Aircraft Corporation.

Glennan joined the Columbia University Division of War Research in 1942, serving throughout World War II, first as Administrator and then as Director of the U.S. Navy's Underwater Sound Laboratories at New London, Connecticut. At the end of the war, Glennan became an executive of the Ansco Corp. in Binghamton, New York. From this position he was called to the presidency of the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio. During his administration, Case rose from a primarily local institution to rank with the top engineering schools in the United States. From October 1950 to November 1952, concurrent with his Case presidency, he served as a member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Administration
As NASA Administrator, Glennan presided over an organization that had absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, and three major research laboratories—Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory—and two small test facilities made up the core of the new NASA.

Within a short time after NASA's formal organization, Glennan incorporated several organizations involved in space exploration projects from other federal agencies into NASA to ensure that a viable scientific program of space exploration could be reasonably conducted over the long-term. He brought in part of the Naval Research Laboratory in NASA and created for its use the Goddard Space Flight Center.

He also incorporated several disparate satellite programs, two lunar probes, and the research effort to develop a million pound force (4.4 MN) thrust, single-chamber rocket engine from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) Advanced Research Projects Agency. In December 1958 Glennan also acquired control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology. In 1960, Glennan obtained the transfer to NASA of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, located at Huntsville, Alabama, and renamed it the Marshall Space Flight Center.

By mid-1960, Glennan had secured for NASA primacy in the federal government for the execution of all space activities except reconnaissance satellites, ballistic missiles, and a few other space-related projects, most of which were still in the study stage, that the Defense Department controlled.

Later career
Upon leaving NASA in January 1961, Glennan returned to the Case Institute of Technology, where he continued to serve as president until 1966. During this period he helped to negotiate the merger of Case with Western Reserve University, creating Case Western Reserve University. After his retirement in 1966, Glennan spent two years as president of Associated Universities, Inc., a Washington-based advocate for institutions of higher education.

A resident of Reston, Virginia for twenty years after his retirement, he moved to Mitchellville, Maryland in the late 1980s. He died at Collington Life Care Community in Mitchellville in April 1995, after a stroke. He was survived by his wife, Ruth (née Adams) Glennan.

title: T. Keith Glennan


text:
Goodman Ace

Goodman Ace (January 15, 1899 – March 25, 1982), born Goodman Aiskowitz, was an American humorist, radio writer and comedian, television writer, and magazine columnist.

His low-key, literate drollery and softly tart way of tweaking trends and pretenses made him one of the most sought-after writers in radio and television from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Early years
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Latvian Jewish immigrants Harry Aiskowitz, who worked as a haberdasher, and Anna Katzen, Ace grew up wanting to write, and as the editor of his high school newspaper, he took on his first nom de plume, Asa Goodman. Ace worked as a roller skating messenger for Montgomery Ward while he studied journalism at Kansas City Polytechnic Institute. He also wrote a weekly column called "The Dyspeptic" for the school's newspaper. After working at the post office and a local haberdashery to support his mother and sisters after his father's death, he became a reporter and columnist for the Kansas City Journal-Post.

Jane Epstein was his high school sweetheart. Jane wanted to attend the sold-out performance of Al Jolson in Kansas City; her boyfriends were unable to get tickets, but Ace had access to the concert via his press pass. The Jolson concert was the couple's first date; they married six months later, in 1922.

Radio aces
In 1930, Ace took on a second job reading the Sunday comics on radio station KMBC (anticipating the famous newspaper strike stunt, almost two decades later, by legendary New York mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia) and hosting a Friday night film review and gossip program called Ace Goes to the Movies. Ace was not initially a volunteer for the job. An editor at the Journal-Post had the idea that having an employee read the newspaper's comics on the air for children would increase circulation for the paper. Taking the job meant an extra $10 per week in one's paycheck, but none of the newsroom staff was interested. The editor, reasoning that since Ace's current assignment was covering local theater he would be the perfect man for the job, insisted he take it. Ace suggested a second radio show, this one dealing with films, thus collecting an additional $10 per week.

But one night the recorded fifteen-minute show scheduled to air after Ace's timeslot failed to feed. With an immediate need to fill fifteen minutes' more airtime and his wife having accompanied him to the station that night, Ace slipped into an impromptu chat about a bridge game the couple played the previous weekend and invited Jane to join the chat which soon enough included discussion of a local murder case in which a wife murdered her husband over an argument about bridge. Loaded with Goodman's wry wit and Jane's knack for malaprops ("Would you care to shoot a game of bridge, dear?"), the couple's surprise improvisation provoked a response enthusiastic enough to convince KMBC to hand them a regular fifteen-minute slot, creating and performing a "domestic comedy" of their own.

At first, the show that became known as Easy Aces centered around the couple's bridge playing, according to John Dunning in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998): "Ace was not wild about Jane's bridge game, on the air or off, and he kept picking at her until she lost her temper and threatened to quit. The show settled into a new niche, a more universally based domestic comedy revolving around Jane's improbable situations and her impossible turns of phrase."

Written by Goodman Ace, who cast himself as a harried real estate salesman and the exasperated but loving husband of the scatterbrained, malaprop-prone Jane ("You've got to take the bitter with the better"; "Time wounds all heels"), Easy Aces became a long-running serial comedy (1930–1945) and a low-keyed legend of old-time radio for its literate, unobtrusive, conversational style and the malaprops of the female half of the team. The show was never a rating blockbuster, but according to Dunning it "was always a favourite of Radio Row insiders. Like Fred Allen and Henry Morgan, Ace was considered an intelligent man's wit. His show limped along [but] . . . lasted across several formats for more than fifteen years and was one of radio's fondest memories." The radio show was popular enough to get to the big screen; in 1934, the couple signed with Educational Pictures for some two-reel comedies. Dumb Luck was released 18 January 1935, with Goodman and Jane playing their radio characters. While writing Easy Aces, Ace also wrote for other radio shows, earning $3,000 per week in this way.

During World War II, he participated in the selection of music for the War Department's Hit Kit songbook series as part of a carefully selected group of writers, composers, and show business personalities known collectively as the "Committee of 25".

In 1945, Ace signed on as one of the writers of The Danny Kaye Show. Previously he and Jane had been part of a series of celebrity guests who filled in for Kaye while he entertained the armed forces troops who were overseas. When Kaye moved his show from New York to Hollywood, Ace resigned. Whether writing for himself and Jane or for another performer, Ace's rating system of how well a script would do was based on the number of cigars he smoked while writing it. One cigar meant the show would do very well, while four cigars meant this program or episode was most likely hopeless. Ace was sued in 1940 because of the name he selected for a character. He used the first name of one of his staff coupled with the last name of another. Unknown to Ace, this resulted in the name of a real person who was publicly embarrassed by the use of his name on the show. He then began the practice of having those on the program use their own names for their characters.

In 1948, Ace created a new, half-hour version of the show, mr. ace and JANE; this expanded version, perhaps because a live studio audience detracted from its quiet style (a point made especially vivid by its audience-less, quiet audition show, and when new episodes expanded upon some of the old show's vintages), didn't last beyond a single season. And it fared no better on television. In 1956, both Ace and NBC thought seriously enough about another try for the television series to announce Ernie Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams would play the Aces in a pilot for the show; it is unknown whether the pilot took place.

The husband and wife team returned to network radio with the debut of NBC's Monitor; the Aces were announced as "Communicators" just after Dave Garroway's joining the show. They were also part of NBC Radio's Weekday, which was a Monday through Friday network offering aimed at women that premiered not long after Monitor. Ace branched out by writing commercials, featuring himself and Jane. The couple also voiced some commercials used on NBC's Startime, while other actors played the visual roles.

"Terrible Vaudeville" and You Are There
Ace needled television in a 1953 letter to Groucho Marx: "...TV—a clever contraction derived from the words Terrible Vaudeville. However, it is our latest medium—we call it a medium because nothing's well done." Nonetheless, he hadn't been averse to giving television a try.

Goodman and Jane Ace adapted Easy Aces to television in December 1949, with a fifteen-minute filmed version on the DuMont network (also syndicated in some areas through Ziv Television Programs) that ended in mid-June 1950, after airing Wednesday nights from 7:45–8:00 p.m. "As on radio," authors Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh wrote, "Ace was his witty, intelligent self, and his wife, Jane, was a charming bundle of malapropisms". The television show included Betty Garde as Jane Ace's friend, Dorothy. What it didn't include was an audience equal to the ones who kept Easy Aces on radio for all those years. The demise of the show also meant the demise of the Aces' career in front of a microphone or camera. Jane Ace retired almost completely; Goodman retired as a performer, becoming for the most part a writer from 1949 onward.

Ace did have a serious side, too, and he melded it to his sense of the absurd to create a radio show with the twist of taking listeners to re-created historical events described by actual CBS News reporters. The problem, as revealed by CBS historian Robert Metz (in CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye), was that Ace didn't get official credit for his creation for many years; a CBS executive vice president named Desmond Taylor gained the original credit for the show born on radio as CBS Was There and famed (especially on television, with future anchor Walter Cronkite narrating) for its introduction, which leapt into the American vernacular: "All things are as they were then, except you... are... there!"

"You Gentlemen, The Authors"
By this time, however, Ace began writing for other performers, including Milton Berle, Perry Como, Danny Kaye, Robert Q. Lewis, and Bob Newhart. He would be nominated for Emmy Awards twice during his term as Como's head writer, in 1956 and 1959. Ace rationalized his work by saying, "I'm not in television. I'm with Perry Como." Perhaps his best turn of writing in these years, however, was his collaboration with Frank Wilson on The Big Show, considered NBC's last-gasp attempt to keep classic radio alive. This 90-minute variety program was hosted by Tallulah Bankhead and featured a rotating cast that included some of America's and the world's greatest entertainers, including Fred Allen, Groucho Marx, Jimmy Durante, Joan Davis, Bob Hope, Louis Armstrong, George Jessel, Ethel Merman, José Ferrer, Ed Wynn, Lauritz Melchior, Ezio Pinza, Édith Piaf, Ginger Rogers, Ethel Barrymore, Phil Silvers, Benny Goodman, and Danny Thomas. The show was marked by Ace's wry style, adapted to Bankhead's diva-blunt style. Ace said years later that one of his secrets was isolating particular interests of the guests – for example, Ginger Rogers' passion for playing golf – and writing comic routines around those interests.

Ace fondly remembered working with Bankhead in later years. "'You gentlemen, the authors,' she would say", he once told author Robert Metz, "we gag writers felt pretty good about that." What he didn't necessarily feel good about, as he told radio interviewers Richard Lamparski and John Dunning two decades later, was the writers' non-mention in Bankhead's memoir recollection about The Big Show.

Ace had known Jack Benny since his Kansas City years. Radio historian Arthur Frank Wertheim recorded (in Radio Comedy) that, as a young newspaper reporter and columnist, Ace had written a witty gossip column that moved Benny himself to ask the young writer for some jokes for his stage act. Benny asked for more and paid Ace $50 for one packet of jokes. "Your jokes got lots of laughs", said the note Benny sent with the check. "If you have any more, send them along". According to Wertheim, Ace returned the check with a note: "Your check got lots of laughs. If you have any more, send them along". He ended up supplying Benny with gags "on the house" for years, Wertheim noted.

Benny was inadvertently responsible for a very funny exchange of letters between Ace and the owner of the Stork Club, Sherman Billingsley. Benny invited Ace to lunch at the Stork; when Ace got to the club, Benny had not yet arrived. The staff at the Stork Club did not recognize Ace and he received a very cool reception. When Benny finally did get to the Stork, he was told Ace didn't want to wait and left. Soon Billingsley's notes began to arrive in Ace's mailbox, inviting him to come to the club for the marvelous air conditioning. Ace wrote back that he was well aware of how cool it was at the Stork, having received the cold shoulder there. Billingsley's response was a gift—bow ties for Ace, whose reply was to ask Billingsley for some matching socks so he would be well-dressed when he was refused admittance again.

Ace wrote one screenplay, I Married a Woman, in 1957. Calling it the best thing he had ever written, but the worst thing he had ever seen after viewing the film, He never tried his hand at screenwriting again. When the couple's Miami hotel room was robbed in 1966, Ace managed to find humor in the situation.

Ace revealed in the mid-1960s that CBS once developed a kind of school for young comedy writers, with Ace himself "placed in charge of a group of six or seven young writers who wanted to make all that easy money", as he recalled in a later magazine column. All became television writers and two eventually became successful playwrights: George Axelrod (The Seven Year Itch) and Neil Simon (Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl).

The Saturday Reviewer
Ace became a regular columnist for Saturday Review (formerly The Saturday Review of Literature; he liked to suggest cause-and-effect in the magazine's name changing two weeks after his debut in its pages) in the early 1950s. At first, he focused—in what a publisher described (considering his parallel employment writing for television) as "nibbling the hand that feeds him"—on television criticism in his usual droll style; a collection of this criticism was published in 1955 as The Book of Little Knowledge: More Than You Want to Know About Television.

Later, Ace shifted to more broad contemporary concerns and called the column "Top of My Head"; these essays became as well-read as his old radio show had been, without being either too frivolous or too overbearing. Sometimes, they were gentle; sometimes, they were more tart, always they were without genuine malice. Often they included his beloved Jane, and they were strongly enough received to provoke two published collections, The Fine Art of Hypochondria; or, How Are You? and The Better of Goodman Ace.

As if suggesting that radio had never really left him, Ace assembled and published a collection of eight complete Easy Aces scripts, with new essays and comments from the Aces, as Ladies and Gentlemen – Easy Aces in 1970. He also held a small regular slot offering witty commentaries on New York station WPAT for a time, before going out over the full National Public Radio network during the 1970s.

Also around that time, two decades after the brief, unsuccessful television adaptation of Easy Aces, someone else was willing to give the concept a fresh television try: a number of the original Easy Aces radio scripts were adapted for the Canadian CTV Television Network show The Trouble with Tracy in 1970. However, though 130 episodes of this series were produced (all in 1970/71), and the show was re-run well into the 1980s on Canadian TV, The Trouble With Tracy was regarded as an almost unqualified disaster on a creative level. This had less to do with the scripts, however, and more with the incredible cheapness of the production. Seven episodes were filmed every five days on wobbly sets, with almost no time for rehearsal for either the actors or the technical crew—flubbed lines and bloopers sometimes ended up airing in finished episodes, because the show could not afford retakes. Ultimately, The Trouble With Tracy is often cited, especially in Canada, as the worst sitcom ever made. Note, though, that while Ace had a hand in the modern adaptation of the scripts, neither he nor Jane Ace appeared in it, and neither played any part in the actual production of the series.

Jane Ace died after a long illness in 1974, just days before what would have been their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Her husband's tribute to her in the 8 February 1975 issue ("Jane") provoked hundreds of letters from his regular readers and from the couple's old radio fans.

"...now alone at a funeral home...the questions...the softly spoken suggestions...repeated, and repeated... because ...because during all the arrangements, through my mind there ran a constant rerun, a line she spoke on radio...on the brotherhood of man ...in her casual, malapropian style ... "we are all cremated equal" ... they kept urging for an answer...a wooden casket? ... a metal casket? ...it's the name of their game ... a tisket a casket...and then transporting it to Kansas City, Mo. ...the plane ride..."smoking or non-smoking section?" somebody asked ... the non-thinking section was what I wanted....

"...a soft sprinkle of snow as we huddled around her...the first of the season, they told me ... lasted only through the short service ...snow stopped the instant the last words were spoken. He had the grace to celebrate her arrival with a handful of His confetti ..."

Death
Goodman Ace died eight years after his wife, in their New York City home in March 1982. The couple are interred together in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Raytown: a suburb of their native Kansas City.

"Mr. Ace", wrote The New York Times's obituarist, David Bird, "liked to scoff at ratings. He said that neither the writer nor a star alone could make or break a comedy show. It took, he said, a good time spot and teamwork. 'The whole thing has to be a kind of partnership—a marriage between writer and performer,' he explained, 'If there is no marriage—well you know what the brainchild has to be'."

The author of CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye, Robert Metz, recalled that, once, a relative of Ace's had wired him to say, "Send me $10,000 or I'll jump from the fourteenth floor of my building", and Ace was said to have wired back, "Jump from seven—I'll send $5,000."

When CBS fired Ace as the head of its "comedy workshop" in the late 1940s, according to Time, a sympathetic network vice president told him afterward, "I'll tell you a secret—we haven't got a man who understands comedy." Ace wryly replied, "I'll tell you a secret—that's no secret."

Ace offered his own epitaph when Saturday Review ran a poll asking well-known Americans to nominate members of a contemporary Hall of Fame. "I respectfully suggest the name of Goodman Ace...if he's still around", Ace replied. "If he isn't, I wouldn't dig him up just for this." The National Radio Hall of Fame respectfully ignored that suggestion, inducting Easy Aces in 1990.

Listen

 * Easy Aces and mr. ace and JANE episodes Old Time Radio-OTR
 * Mr. Ace and Jane Radio Shows at Internet Archives
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Hidalgo (film)

Hidalgo is a 2004 epic biographical western film based on the legend of the American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo. It recounts Hopkins' racing his horse in Arabia in 1891 against Bedouins riding pure-blooded Arabian horses. The movie was written by John Fusco and directed by Joe Johnston. It stars Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, and Omar Sharif.

Hidalgo was released by Buena Vista Pictures on March 5, 2004. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews and it underperformed at the box office, grossing $108 million against a budget of $100 million.

Plot
In 1890, Frank T. Hopkins and his mustang, Hidalgo, are part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, advertised as "the world's greatest endurance horse and rider." Hopkins is plagued by guilt for having carried a message to the 7th Cavalry Regiment authorizing the Wounded Knee Massacre of Lakota Sioux. He translates a futile request from another performer, Chief Eagle Horn, for Bill to help his nation’s mustangs that have been rounded up by the government to be eradicated.

Wealthy Sheikh Riyadh sends his attaché Aziz to challenge Hopkins and Hidalgo to enter the "Ocean of Fire": an annual 3,000-mile race across the Najd desert region. The Sheikh is custodian of the al-Khamsa line, considered the greatest distance horses in the world. Hopkins’ fellow performers raise his entrance fee, and he encounters unscrupulous English horse breeder Lady Anne Davenport. He meets Sheikh Riyadh, an admirer of the Wild West, who has promised his daughter Jazira as the fifth wife to the prince riding the Sheikh's horse Al-Hattal, should he win. The race begins, and Hopkins and Hidalgo face grueling conditions and contempt for an "infidel" riding an "impure" horse. Determined to live her own life, Jazira advises Hopkins on surviving in the desert, and they are discovered together in his tent. The Sheikh prepares to have Hopkins gelded as punishment, but his outcast nephew Katib raids the camp. The prince flees on Al-Hattal, while Katib kidnaps Jazira.

Hopkins rescues Jazira. Journeying back to camp, he reveals that his mother was Lakota Sioux, deepening his guilt over his role at Wounded Knee. Jazira compares his relationship to his heritage with her desire to avoid wearing the veil. Davenport bribes Hopkins to drop out of the race, but he declines. Unbeknownst to him, Davenport is in league with Katib; they plan to kill Hidalgo and steal Al-Hattal, allowing her mare to win the race and breed with the Sheikh’s horse.

After saving his opponent Sakr from quicksand, Hopkins is ambushed by Katib and falls into a trap, severely injuring Hidalgo, and is rescued by Sakr. Sakr is then shot, and Hopkins kills Katib. Hidalgo collapses, and Hopkins considers shooting him in mercy, but a vision of Lakota elders and his mother appears to him as he chants a prayer to Wakan Tanka.

The prince arrives and taunts Hopkins that the end of the race is in sight, and Hidalgo struggles upright. Riding bareback, Hopkins comes from behind to surpass Davenport's mare and the prince, winning the race. He befriends the Sheikh and bids farewell to an unveiled Jazira, who calls him by his Lakota name, Blue Child. Returning to the United States, Hopkins uses his winnings to buy the mustangs from the government, releasing them into the wild and freeing Hidalgo to join them. An epilogue reveals that Hopkins went on to reportedly win 400 long-distance races and was a supporter for wild mustangs until his death in 1951, while Hidalgo's descendants live free in the wilderness of Oklahoma.

Cast

 * Viggo Mortensen as Frank Hopkins, a noted long-distance rider.
 * Zuleikha Robinson as Jazira, determined daughter of the Sheikh.
 * Omar Sharif as Sheikh Riyadh, an insightful leader. He owns and breeds Arabian horses of the Al Khamsa bloodline.
 * Louise Lombard as Lady Anne Davenport, British aristocrat who bets her horse against Hopkins.
 * Adam Alexi-Malle as Aziz, emissary and the Sheikh's attaché.
 * Saïd Taghmaoui as Prince Bin Al Reeh, the Sheikh's chosen racer who wishes to marry Jazira by force.
 * Silas Carson as Katib, Jazira's cousin and leader of a group of brigands.
 * Harsh Nayyar as Yusef
 * J.K. Simmons as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody
 * Adoni Maropis as Sakr, a falconer and one of Hopkins' fellow racers.
 * Victor Talmadge as Rau Rasmussen
 * Peter Mensah as Jaffa, Jazira's personal guard.
 * Joshua Wolf Coleman as The Kurd
 * Franky Mwangi as Slave Boy
 * Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Chief Eagle Horn, a member of Hopkins' Lakota nation, performing with him in the Wild West Show.
 * Elizabeth Berridge as Annie Oakley
 * C. Thomas Howell as Preston Webb
 * Todd Kimsey as Corporal at Wounded Knee
 * Malcolm McDowell as Major Davenport
 * David Midthunder as Black Coyote

Production
Actor Viggo Mortensen, who is fluent in Spanish, voiced his own character (Frank Hopkins) in the Spanish dubs of the film.

Toys
Breyer Animal Creations produced a line of model horses inspired by the film.

Historical accuracy
The Native American historian Vine Deloria questioned Hopkins' claims of Lakota ancestry, as presented uncritically in the film.

But, Nakota filmmaker Angelique Midthunder said during the controversy that "the story of the half Indian who took his pinto mustang across the sea to race in the big desert has been told to children of the northern plains tribes for generations." Lakota elder Sonny Richards writes, "Kaiyuzeya Sunkanyanke (Frank Hopkins) was a South Dakota native and Lakota half-breed."

Based on Hopkins' account of his mixed-race ancestry, the movie production employed Lakota historians, medicine men, and tribal leaders as consultants to advise during every scene that represented their culture. Many of the Ghost Dancers who reenact the sacred ceremony of 1890 in Hidalgo had participated in the film Thunderheart (1992) and the mini-series Dreamkeeper, both written by Fusco. The screenwriter was adopted as an honorary relative of the Oglala Nation in a Hunkyapi ceremony (Making of Relatives) on September 3, 1989, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Because the Disney Corporation marketed the movie as a true story, some historians criticized the film both because of the legendary status of Hopkins' claims and for the film's divergence from his accounts. They contend that many of the events, especially the featured race, never took place. Historians of distance riding said that most of Hopkins' claims as depicted in the film, including the race, have been 'tall tales' or hoaxes.

The film says that descendants of the horse Hidalgo, for which the movie was named, live among the Gilbert Jones herd of Spanish Mustangs on Blackjack Mountain in Oklahoma. By Hopkins' original account, he decided to leave his horse in Arabia after the race.

In 2006, John Fusco, the screenwriter of Hidalgo, responded to criticism about the historical basis of the film. He had done research on Hopkins for years. He said that he used parts of Hopkins' 1891 desert memoirs (unpublished during the rider's lifetime) and "heightened the 'Based On' story to create an entertaining theatrical film." He held that the story of the man and his horse is true. Fusco offered quotes from surviving friends of Hopkins, notably former distance riders Walt and Edith Pyle, and Lt Col William Zimmerman, along with information found in horse history texts, as verification.

According to the Longriders Guild, the Saudi Arabian Government say officially that there has never been an "Ocean of Fire" race. Hopkins never named the event; he referred to it in his writings as an annual ceremonial ride in the region. According to the Arab historian Dr. Awad al-Badi, such a lengthy race was impossible. He said,

"There is no record or reference to Hopkins with or without his mustangs ever having set foot on Arabian soil. The idea of a historic long-distance Arab horse race is pure nonsense and flies against all reason. Such an event in Arabia any time in the past is impossible simply from a technical, logistical, cultural and geopolitical point of view. It has never been part of our rich traditions and equestrian heritage."

Horses
Several American Paint horses were used to portray Hidalgo. The actor Viggo Mortensen later bought RH Tecontender, one of the horses used in the film. The screenwriter John Fusco bought Oscar, the main stunt horse, and retired him at Red Road Farm, his American Indian horse conservancy. Another one was bought by a ranch near Toponas, Colorado.

Critical response
The movie received mixed reviews from mainstream critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 46% with an average rating of 5.5/10, based on reviews from 164 critics. The critical consensus reads, "The scenery looks great, but this overstuffed horse story contains too much cheese". Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 54/100 based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert offered a positive review of the film (three out of four stars), saying it's "Bold, exuberant and swashbuckling," the kind of fun, rip-snorting adventure film Hollywood rarely makes anymore. He added, "please ignore any tiresome scolds who complain that the movie is not really based on fact. Duh."

Box office
The film grossed approximately $18,829,435 on its opening weekend, peaking at #3 behind The Passion of the Christ and Starsky and Hutch in 3,065 theatres. It closed from theatres on July 22, 2004, with $67.3 million in North America, and $40.8 million internationally. The film made a worldwide total of $108.1 million.

Accolades
John Fusco won the Spur Award for Best Western Drama Script; although most of the plot of Hidalgo was not set in the American West, it featured an American cowboy figure.

title: Hidalgo (film)