text:
New Life Movement

The New Life Movement was a government-led civic campaign in the 1930s Republic of China to promote cultural reform and Neo-Confucian social morality and to ultimately unite China under a centralised ideology following the emergence of ideological challenges to the status quo. Chiang Kai-shek as head of the government and the Chinese Nationalist Party launched the initiative on 19 February 1934 as part of an anti-Communist campaign, and soon enlarged the campaign to target the whole nation.

Chiang and his wife, Soong Mei-ling, who played a major role in the campaign, advocated a life guided by four virtues, lǐ (禮/礼, proper rite), yì (義/义, righteousness or justice), lián (廉, honesty and cleanness) and chǐ (恥/耻, shame; sense of right and wrong). The campaign proceeded with help of the Blue Shirts Society and the CC Clique within the Nationalist Party, and Christian missionaries in China.

Historical context
The New Life Movement was founded at a time when China, already weakened by Western imperialism, faced the threats of rising Japanese militarism, domestic factionalism and communism. The launch of the New Life Movement was set in the context of Chiangs' growing concern with corruption, and moral decadence that they blamed on foreign influences. Historian Colin Mackerras writes that "Corruption was an abiding feature of Chiang Kai-shek's rule" and that nepotism and bribery were rife among the bureaucracy. Chiang charged that "If we do not weed the present body of corruption, bribery, perfunctoriness, and ignorance, and establish instead a clean, effective administration, the day will soon come when the revolution will be started against us as we did the Manchus".

Chiang claimed that Chinese were "unbearably filthy", "hedonistic", "lazy", and physically and spiritually "decrepit", and thus leading lives that were "barbaric and devoid of reason." Chiang's political rival, Wang Jingwei described Chinese life as a life of "smoking," "sickness," "gambling," "filth," "ghosts" (i.e., superstition), and "indolence". Wang argued the fundamental psychological basis of such behaviour was "lackadaisicalness" (隨便主義, suibian zhuyi) and "self seekingness" (自理主義, zili zhuyi). He contended that "lackadaisicalness" led to lives without a sense of right or wrong, and hence with no distinctions or purpose. "Self-seekingness," he argued, led to the rejection of all outside interference with this kind of behaviour as encroachment on "freedom". There was no consideration for others and their rights, only of one's own comfort, inevitably obstructing social life and group solidarity.

In Chiang's mind, these concerns were compounded by the influx of foreign ideas following the New Culture Movement and May Fourth Movement which fostered Western concepts such as liberalism, pragmatism and nationalism as well as more radical ideas including Marxism respectively. The Movement attempted to counter such threats through a resurrection of traditional Chinese morality, which it held to more suitable to Chinese society to modern Western values. As such the Movement was based upon Confucianism, mixed with Christianity, nationalism and authoritarianism which have some similarities to fascism, which some saw as rejecting individualism and liberalism, while also opposing radical movements such as socialism and communism.

Soong Mei-ling called for a program of spiritual enlightenment. She wrote in Forum, an American magazine, in 1935, that "the mere accumulation of great wealth is not sufficient to enable China to resume her position as a great nation." There must be, she continued, "also revival of the spirit, since spiritual values transcend mere material riches. She played a major role both in launching the Movement and in representing its public face.

Soong Meiling insisted that while some puritanical Chinese politicians tried to co-opt the New Life Movement for their own ends, her husband made efforts to put an end to their activities. In her interview with Fulton Oursler, a famous American journalist who interviewed her in Shanghai regarding the Movement in August 1937, she stated that: "No. China would never take Fascism or any form of the totalitarian state. We can't ever be really regimented. Every Chinese is a personality. He will always think for himself. He has an ancient and magnificent culture, a sense of justice, a love of freedom. The New Life Movement has definitely rejected all forms of regimentation as being opposed to the principles of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and so betraying the people."

The New Life targeted the official, educated, and affluent classes in the belief that China's ills could be cured "by example and exhortation from above." This trickle-down philosophy of societal transformation neatly paralleled a Confucian belief: "The virtue of the gentleman is like wind; the virtue of the commoner is like grass. Let the wind blow over the grass and it is sure to bend." This concept of "salvation from within" was also purportedly on some level modeled on the Christian notion of changing the world by changing individuals.

Although Meiling acknowledged that the Blue Shirts were "stupid, overzealous, dizzy with success", she also stated that the government did not officially support most of their activities or condone their behavior. Several prominent figures within the KMT itself, however, also openly criticized the New Life Movement. Soong Chingling, Meiling's elder sister who long espoused socialist ideals in contrast with Meiling's more traditional Christian ones, dismissed the New Life Movement as a "pedantic" exercise that "gives nothing to the people" and that such profound emphasis on ancient Confucian ideals of proper behavior were largely impractical and ill-advised in a time when millions of Chinese families were still starving daily. She further argued that, "The aim of revolution is the material welfare of human beings...if that is not reached then there has been no revolution." Their essential differences, with Chingling focusing mostly on the Chinese people's considerable material necessities, and Meiling on what she saw as their people's lofty spiritual needs, contributed to the rift between the two once-close sisters, which eventually led to Chingling leaving the KMT entirely and joining the Communists.

The leading prominent liberal voice in the KMT, Hu Shih, stated that as "there is neither any panacea to save the country nor will there be any miracle cure to revive the nation", the problems that the Movement sought to address were indeed considerable and prevalent, but Chiang's methods of countering them were much less valid, and that the ROC should focus on renewing the material well-being of the Chinese people before trying to revive their so-called spirituality. According to Hu Shih, "When children were scouring rubbish dumps to find half a burnt-out coal, or a bit of filthy rag, how could you accuse them of dishonesty if they pocketed a lost item they had picked up? The first responsibility of the government is to make sure the average man can live a decent life…To teach them how to lead this so-called new life can only be the last thing."

James Gareth Endicott, who served as Meiling's New Life Movement adviser and had a close relationship with her, protested to Meiling about what he saw as the KMT's drift towards non-liberal ideologies, feeling that she was perhaps among the more reasonable members of the Nationalist government. Although Endicott supported some aspects of the Movement, he disagreed that it should be involved in the government. After she urged him to share his growing concerns with Chiang personally, Endicott brusquely told Chiang that if he failed to base the government's domestic policies on the needs of the people, including instituting agrarian reform, then revolutionary forces would eventually rise against him. Chiang replied that while he had plans for land reform, he could not carry them out "while there are so many Communists around to take advantage of it", ending their discussion after a heated exchange.

Chiang's original inception of the New Life Movement purportedly stemmed from his personal negative experiences in both the Soviet Union and in Communist parts of China, where he became repulsed by their harsh reality of class struggle. "The poor were told it was right to rob the rich; employees were encouraged to betray or even kill their employers; children were urged to denounce their parents. To Chiang, these 'struck at all the fundamental principles' of traditional Chinese ethics. He took it upon himself to resurrect the ethics of old China, in which loyalty and honour were essential."

Chiang Kai-shek used the Confucian and Methodist notion of self-cultivation and correct living for the Movement; to this end it prescribed proper etiquette on every aspect of daily life. He considered the New Life Movement a key part of the program to carry out the "principle of the people's livelihood" in Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People.

Doctrines and principal beliefs
Chiang Kai-shek's September 1934 speech stated that the New Life Movement aimed at the "promotion of a regular life guided by the four virtues," – 'Lǐ' (proper rite), Yì' (righteousness or justice), lián (honesty and cleanness) and chǐ (shame; sense of right and wrong). These virtues, he went on,
 * must be applied to ordinary life in the matter of food, clothing, shelter, and action. The four virtues are the essential principles for the promotion of morality. They form the major rules for dealing with men and human affairs, for cultivating oneself and for adjustment to one's surroundings. Whoever violates these rules is bound to fail, and a nation that neglects them will not survive."

Chiang later extended the four virtues to eight by the addition of "Promptness", "Precision," "Harmoniousness," and "Dignity". These elements were summarized in two basic forms: "cleanliness" and "discipline" and were viewed as the first step in achieving a "new life". People were encouraged to engage in modern polite behaviour, such as not to spit, urinate or sneeze in public. They were encouraged to adopt good table manners such as not making noises when eating. Nearly 100 such rules governed everyday life.

Influences on the Movement
The ideological strictness of the New Life Movement had many similarities with Neo-Confucianism, which had been the dominant moral philosophy of previous centuries. The New life Movement "four virtues" were taken from Confucian school of thought. Paul Linebarger had stated that the New Life Movement's "principles consist of a simple restatement of the cardinal Confucian personal virtues, interpreted to suit modern conditions."

The historian Lloyd Eastman saw Chiang's goal as unifying China under a singular ideology, a fascist one at that, with the resulting New Life Movement being a popularized or a "sloganized Confucianism". According to Keith Schoppa, the new set of beliefs was seen to be easy to execute, with four main virtues backed by 95 further sub-rules that regulated the everyday life of the regular Chinese citizen.

The Movement was also shaped by Chiang's Christianity. According to Elmer Clark, the new doctrine was "an ambitious moral and ethical enterprise which proposed nothing less than a Chinese renaissance, a complete reformation of the habits, customs and manners of one fourth of the human race, to bring them more in line with the accepted morals of Christian civilisation". Overlapping moral guidelines exist between Confucianism and Christianity. The 95 rules placed in the New Life movement often blur the lines between the influence of the two on the Movement, such as "do not gamble" or "be polite and courteous to women and children".

This Movement has also been accused of having a totalitarian element. Dirlik sees the movement as a "modern counterrevolution" opposed to an "anti-revolutionary conservatism" due to the fact that it instrumentalised traditional moral codes and societal constructs. Some historians regard this movement as imitating Nazism and regarded this movement as being a neo-nationalistic movement used to elevate Chiang's control of everyday lives. Frederic Wakeman suggested that the New Life Movement was "Confucian fascism". Other historians, however, have provided more positive or mixed reviews of the New Life Movement, noting that it was not without some positive benefits to Chinese society at the time, and have argued that while a flawed, overidealistic and puritanical movement, it was not necessarily a fascist one at its core.

Reception
Despite the grandiose goal of revitalising and revolutionising China, the New Life Movement ultimately ended in failure as both domestic and foreign reception remained paltry throughout the duration of the movement. The combination of the movement's inability to formulate a systematic ideology and the seeming banality of its concerns caused both Chinese and foreign commentators to ignore the significance of New Life ideology and intentions and instead to stress the more superficial aspects of the movement. Consequently, the movement was approached variously as a joke, or to those taking it more seriously, a shallow and antiquated regression to Chinese tradition when tradition had already proved incapable of solving China's problems. Historian Suzy Kim summarizes its failure as due to a "lack of cohesion."

The Movement's inability to formulate a systematic ideology and abstract code of ethics contrasted sharply with the promises of the Communists, who spoke sharply and to the point on taxation, distribution of land and the disposition of overlords. From the perspective of some impoverished Chinese citizens, the policies of Marxists were far more practical and coherent, leading to the lack of significance attributed to the New Life Movement. On a Western perspective, Chiang's complex code of ethics was far too abstract and lacking in action to be useful or pragmatic, perceived as being superficial and inordinately idealistic.

The lack of popular domestic reception is exacerbated by the behaviour of the Blue Shirts, a far-right fascist group that enforced the rules of the New Life Movement. Historian Sterling Seagrave writes "by 1936, the Blue Shirts were running amok, driven by excesses of zeal and brutality, giving the New Life Movement a bad name". The Literary Digest observed that year, 'Most likely to upset the teacups were Chiang's own civilian, anti-foreign, bombing, stabbing, shooting 'Blue Shirt' terrorists, who once useful, now unmanageable, have become something of a Frankenstein monster." The association of the violent and repressive behaviour of the Blue Shirts compounded the less than enthusiastic reception of the Movement, further attributing to it a negative reputation as well.

Other historians assert that the New Life Movement was not without its merits and positive values either, although they also concede it was not able to offset the KMT's painstaking struggle to resolve China's deep-rooted and complex socioeconomic problems.

According to Jonathan Fenby, "Many New Life rules were eminently sensible, such as those advocating healthy living, cleanliness, vaccination, and the killing of flies and mosquitoes. Compared to attempts to re-educate and dragoon the Chinese people by Chiang's Communist successor, the movement was positively benign. But, in a country with problems on the scale of those faced by China, the initiative was like the admonitions of a frustrated father wagging his finger at his unruly children. The message never reached the bulk of illiterate peasants, who were, in any case, more concerned with survival than with wearing their hats straight. Being told to eat in silence and go to bed early could only make the modern-minded urban elite regard the regime as a bunch of petty busybodies." Fenby also notes that modern-day China itself has also tried similar government-sponsored efforts to encourage the Chinese people to "behave better", citing the Public Morality Day of autumn 2003 as "a loud echo of the New Life movement."

Rana Mitter commented that, "Despite its anti-communism, it shared many values and assumptions with the CCP, with its stress on frugality and collective values. Yet it never had much success. While China suffered from a massive agricultural and fiscal crisis, prescriptions about clothes and orderly behaviour did not have much popular traction." He also asserted that contemporary China has consciously or not imitated many aspects of the New Life Movement in recent years, pointing to Chinese society, where points are given by local committees to residents who throw away their garbage and put out plants to decorate their houses. In the run-up to the Olympics, Beijing residents were told of a new 'morality evaluation index' which would give credit for 'displays of patriotism, large book collections, and balconies full of potted plants' and lower grades for 'alcohol abuse, noise complaints, pollution, or a violation of licences covering internet cafes and karaoke parlours'. Public toilets in tourist areas are also being upgraded and star-rated."

Jay Taylor argues that Chiang's motives for launching the New Life Movement were overall understandable given China's dire situation at the time, even if it did not achieve the results that many had hoped or imagined, nor did Chiang really seek to use the Movement itself to engage in imperialism, but to address legitimately overwhelming issues in Chinese society: "The values that the movement sought to inculcate were mostly simple neo-Confucian merits and traditional Japanese habits—frugality and conscience, simplicity, honesty, and even promptness, hygiene, and neatness. For critics, the disturbing aspect of the movement was its intention to "thoroughly militarize the lives of the citizens of the entire nation." Yet the purpose of this "complete militarization" was not to conquer other people but to cultivate "courage and swiftness, the endurance of suffering, a tolerance of hard work, especially the habit and ability of unified action." The aim was to say "farewell to yesterday's barbarian way of life, its disorderliness, lethargy, and depression." These were hardly objectionable goals, especially when framed in the innocent bromides of Confucius and Christ." He also notes that Chiang developed deep personal reservations regarding the Blue Shirts, having mused in a letter to the newspaper 'Dagongbao, "How would I differ from the Communists...if I were to imitate the so-called fascists...of Italy?" and by mid-1934, had become "thoroughly disillusioned with the organization". Unlike the Brown Shirts, who numbered two million and functioned as Hitler's private paramilitary around the same time period, the exclusive Blue Shirts had only about three hundred official members when it finally disbanded in 1938.

Federica Ferlanti notes that for all its shortcomings, the New Life Movement was nevertheless able to help rally considerable number of ordinary Chinese people to the anti-Japanese war effort, particularly urbanite Chinese women, who in one instance helped raise an "extraordinary amount of money during the New Life Movement Fifth Anniversary fund-raising campaign of 1939." She further states that "the involvement of civil servants through the New Life Movement wartime campaigns prevented the disintegration of society and administrative institutions under the impact of the war in the first phase of the conflict" and that in conclusion, "the complex network of New Life Movement organisations in the administrative structure helped stabilise the Nationalist state during the first years of the war, and the involvement of civil servants tempered the centrifugal drifting of the administrative institutions."

Implementations
The New Life Movement aimed to control Chinese lifestyles. Some measures and moral codes included: opposition to littering and spitting at random; opposition to opium use; opposition to conspicuous consumption; rejection of immoral entertainment in favour of artistic and athletic pursuits; courteous behaviour; saluting the flag. Chiang urged citizens to bathe with cold water, since the (supposed) Japanese habit of washing their faces with cold water was a sign of their military strength.

Chiang relied on government law enforcement to reinforce moral behaviour. Task forces were created in different regions to implement the movement, yet, in reports from some districts on the implementation, the movement was seen to be severely underfunded, understaffed and poorly understood by law enforcement officials.

The Blue Shirts were also instrumental in the implementation of the New Life movement. The neo-right wing group at first sought to correct the behaviour of those not following the four virtues and the further 95 rules placed. However, they soon turned to force to reinforce Chiang's ideals, giving bad publicity and views on the movement. The excessive violence used by the Blue Shirts encompassed the movement, leading to a reluctant public in following the new dogma in place by the KMT.

Historical evaluations
In the words of Soong Mei-ling's biographer, the New Life Movement was a "curious East-West ideological fusion of neo-Confucian precepts, thinly disguised, New Testament Christianity, YMCA-Style social activism, elements of Bushido—the samurai code—and European fascism, along with a generous dose of New England Puritanism." She concluded that, "In reality, the real and lasting impact of the New Life Movement on Chinese society was limited. Albeit noble, its battle against the immemorial ills of Chinese life—gambling, opium, debauchery, poverty, begging, robbery, filth, corruption, and indifference to the public good amounted to tilting at windmills. A mass movement that rejected popular initiative, New Life tried to imbue the public with a political consciousness while denying it a political voice." Arif Dirlik explains the Movement as motivated by the need to counter Communist success in both ideological appeal and political organization.

Historian Suzy Kim contrasts the New Life Movement with the later Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. While both movements had superficial similarities in terms of changing everyday behavior, "The New Life Movement sought to expand the power of the state and was instituted from the top down for the purposes of mobilizing people around its own agenda as a form of 'controlled popular mobilization,' whereas the Cultural Revolution was a bottom-up movement that periodically escaped control of the state[.]"

According to American professor and political scientist A. James Gregor, who disputes other historians' critical assessment of the Movement, "In effect, there was nothing in the New Life Movement that was specifically fascist. Certainly the Chinese Marxists did not so characterize it when it first manifested itself in early 1934. In fact, for a very long time Chinese Marxists did not identify 'fascism' in the political activities of the Kuomintang, even though as early as 1928 they conceived its suppression of Communist activities in China as part of a program of "White Terror." Encyclopedia Britannica briefly mentions the New Life Movement, describing it as neither a specifically reactionary nor a particularly successful sociopolitical movement, simply as "a program that sought to halt the spread of communism by teaching traditional Chinese values".

According to Hans van de Ven, "Although it is easy to lampoon the New Life Movement – as indeed it was at the time – it has had a long influence. Even today many schools and offices in China display 'civility certificates' in the same way that those in the West display hygiene and health and safety certifications. Today, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration has again imposed limits on entertainment allowances and continues to campaign against extravagance. New Life ideals have sufficiently broad appeal that their promotion bolsters the standing of those in power. He also points to the Hunan peasant revolution in 1927, in which former CCP leader Mao Zedong noted that "they [the peasantry] were eradicating the old China's vices of gambling, opium-smoking, vulgar opera performances, superstition, excessive feasting and banditry", through which Mao defended the use of extreme force to end what he saw as corrupt and harmful practices. Mao himself eventually implemented the 'Three Rules of Discipline' (obedience to orders, no confiscations of peasant property and the prompt surrender to higher authority of all things taken from landlords) and 'Eight Points of Attention' (politeness, honesty, courtesy to women and so on) in an effort to make Chinese soldiers aspire to higher standards of behavior.

Cultural references
Xinsheng Road, a major arterial road in Taipei is named after the movement.

References and further reading

 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.
 * "Americans and Ideological Reform: The New Life Movement," in, pp. 151– 174.

title: New Life Movement


text:
Talk:The Minibosses

Minibosses EP was recently changed from 1st album to 2nd album. The first one should be mentioned here as well if this is true. -- LGagnon

I would argue rather strongly that the sound of the Minibosses is far more metal than it is rock. - Augur

 * That is your opinion; you'd have to prove it to count it a fact. Might I add, metal is a form of rock. -- LGagnon 03:55, Jan 31, 2005 (UTC)

 * I never said it wasn't my opinion. I was simply saying that as the genres are currently perceived, prog metal and prog rock are not necessarilly identical. I think it would be prudent to add a link to progmetal so I'm going to do so. - Augur

 * i disagree on the metal concept. i consider them punk; granted, they're on the end of punk that's closest to thrash metal. they have a heavy punk sound, and if there's any sort of metal and/or prog elements, it stems from the music they cover, which for the most part translates very well to guitar-based music. - dethtoll

 * The reason I say its progmetal tho is that the bands music has all the technical features of metal. While you were right when you said that technical stuff isn't the only thing that makesm etal metal, but that instrumental sounds are important as well, it doesn't much matter. Minibosses may have punk guitar sounds, but if instruments determined genre, half of metal wouldnt even be metal. [please note: this post references AIM conversations and is more for the sake of the general debate, not as a response to dethtoll] - Augur

The offical website is no longer down, I removed the note saying that

would like to add that minibosses also cover music from pro wrestling now. -shawn phase

Fair use rationale for Image:Minibossesep.jpg
Image:Minibossesep.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 04:16, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

john lipfert is no longer a part of the band. apparently he has left and a new 2nd guitarist is now playing, i only know that his name is mike. will try and improve this later. 151.196.136.203 01:32, 11 July 2007 (UTC)shawn phase

someone should also add Robin Vining to the list of band members, he is the new bass player. (UTC)shawn phase —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.157.73.178 (talk)

Infobox
Someone with more knowledge than I about this group should add the proper infobox. Thee darcy (talk) 17:05, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
 * -I've added the basic info that's available in the article just to summarize. Thee darcy (talk) 16:10, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:The Minibosses


text:
List of black superheroes

This is a list of black superheroes that lists characters found in comic books and other media. The characters are superheroes depicted as black people.

Monumental Comics
Monumental Comics

DC Comics
Tanya Spears Power Girl II

Black Manta

Val-Zod Superman of Earth-2 (New 52)

Dark Horse Comics

 * A.Plexus was an ally of Nexus from Nexus: Executioner's Song #3

DC Comics

 * A.Cal Durham was Aquaman's ally who was turned into Waterbreather by Black Manta
 * A1Amber was an ally of Jericho trained by Adeline Kane Wilson and an operative of Searcher's Inc.
 * B.Chunk was a Flash ally
 * C.Conjura used backwards magic like Zatanna.
 * D.Crystallex becomes a living crystal and morphs. In stasis at S.T.A.R. Labs San Francisco.
 * E.Centaur was the protector of the Realm from the Wizardworld series in Warlord
 * F.FerAlyse was a feral denizen of Chicago's Netherworld
 * G.Glenn Gammeron is an intergalactic bounty hunter from Mi'ran and an ally of the Martian Manhunter
 * H.Gus Gray was a replacement loader for The Haunted Tank.
 * I.Healer Randolph was one of Tomahawk's Rangers, an ex-slave turned folk healer
 * J.Jackie Johnson was an ex-heavyweight boxing champion, and an amalgamation of Jackie Robinson and Joe Louis. He was a member of Sgt. Rock's Easy Company.
 * K.Jim Corrigan was an African-American police officer and an ally of Jimmy Olsen and Black Lightning
 * L.Jody was an ally of Tomahawk.
 * M.Machiste was a sometimes ally of the Warlord
 * N.Martin Ellis woke from coma in Justice League Quarterly #17 with powers of Tempest
 * O.Mister Bones was the DEO regional director
 * P.Mohammed Ibn Bornu was a North African warrior hero.
 * Q.Molo represented Africa.
 * R.Nu'Bia was a Wonder Woman ally
 * S.Percival Hazard was the leader of Squad K and grandson of Ulysses Hazard. He was last seen in Action Comics Annual #13 2008.
 * T.Philippus was an Amazon ally of Wonder Woman.
 * U.Seraph was a US government agent.
 * V.Scrap had magnetic powers
 * W.Sela was an Atlantean warrior woman 3,000 years ago
 * W1.Shondra Kinsolving was a doctor with telekinetic healing abilities and an ally of Batman.
 * X.Sojourner was a member of Artemis' HellEnders.
 * Y.The Solution was a Teen Titans tryout.
 * Z.Sonik (Superman/Batman ally from World's Finest)
 * A1.Ted & Terri Trapper were private detectives
 * A2.Tina Ames had the power of "Bio-Energy" and could become living energy.
 * A3.Wilson Forbes was a Daily Planet reporter.
 * A4.Wyldeheart was an ally of Damage
 * A5.Zeke had super strength.

Dell Comics

 * A.Lobo, two issue run

Dorkstorm Notes

 * A.Dr. Blink Superhero Shrink

Eclipse Comics Notes

 * A.Polestar was the acrobatic female member of the New Wave
 * B.Roboto (cyborg member of Team Youngblood from The DNAgents universe)
 * C.Sabre was one of the first graphic novels.
 * D.Strike inherited the power harness from Sgt. Strike

The Guardian Line Comics Notes

 * A.Code was a Spirit styled vigilante

Image Comics Notes

 * A.American Pi was a supersmart heroine

Marvel Comics

 * A.The Black Musketeers were allies of the Black Panther
 * B.Wes Cassady is a construction publisherer who was bitten by a radioactive rabbit.

Marvel Comics UK

 * A.Afrikaa was a superhuman ally of Black Panther
 * B.Doctor Crocodile was an ally of Captain Britain

MC2 Notes

 * A.Fred was Stark's bodyguard (Jim Rhodes)

Milestone Media

 * A.D-Struct was an ally of Hardware.
 * B.Technique was a female version of Hardware.
 * C.Buck Wild was a Luke Cage parody.

New Universe Comics

 * A.Mutator was revealed as African American in the final issue.

Vertigo Comics Notes

 * A.Chullo was an ex-cop and empowered by The Nazz

Wildstorm Comics

 * A.Dhalua Strong was the wife of Tom Strong
 * B.Tesla Strong was the daughter of Tom Strong

Movies

 * A.Character was never fully mentioned by this name in the film.

title: List of black superheroes


text:
200 Cigarettes

200 Cigarettes is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Risa Bramon Garcia and written by Shana Larsen. The film follows multiple characters in New York City on New Year's Eve 1981. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of brothers Ben and Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Angela Featherstone, Janeane Garofalo, Gaby Hoffmann, Kate Hudson, Courtney Love, Jay Mohr, Nicole Ari Parker, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci and Paul Rudd, with a cameo by Elvis Costello, as well as paintings by Sally Davies.

Plot
The film follows various plot arcs all occurring on New Year's Eve of 1981. Monica is throwing a big party and is desperately afraid no one will attend. Early on, the only arrival is her friend Hillary. As Monica tries to convince Hillary to stay, various other groupings are shown making their way to the celebration.

The plot follows these several characters as they spend New Year's Eve in New York City before eventually turning up at Monica's party. The party guests are:
 * Monica's cousin Val and her friend Stephie, who are from Ronkonkoma and who get lost in the seedy Alphabet City section of the borough and wander into a punk club where they meet Dave and Tom, who have a "package" they need to deliver.
 * Ditsy and awkward Cindy, who is on a dinner date with the paranoid Jack.
 * Lucy and her best friend Kevin, who are struggling with their mutual sexual tension. The film's title stems from the carton of cigarettes Lucy buys Kevin that night, a present on a holiday he loathes, which is also his birthday.
 * Kevin's feminist ex-girlfriend Ellie, who walks in on Kevin and Lucy making out in a restroom stall
 * A dim-witted and flirtatious bartender.
 * Competitive friends Bridget and Caitlyn who attempt to ditch Bridget's boyfriend Eric, who is also Monica's ex.
 * And an eccentric cab driver who takes them all around town throughout the evening in his disco-themed taxi.

Eventually, everyone finds their way to the party, although Monica has passed out after drowning her sorrows in alcohol. She wakes the next morning to find unrecognizable people on her floor, including Stephie, who tells her what a big hit her party was. Monica is thrilled, even though she missed it all, especially when she finds out that Elvis Costello showed up.

The final montage shows Polaroids of the party, narrated by the disco cabbie, mostly featuring the unlikely romances from the night and the unconscious Monica being propped up by her guests.

Release
The film received generally negative reviews and grossed $6.8 million in the United States.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an "rotten" approval rating of 30% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "[a] clumsy and scattered comedy with a poorly executed script". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "Generally unfavorable reviews".

Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "dismally unfunny" and questions "if any director could have surmounted the script's limitations" and of the acting performances he says "only Garofalo and Ben Affleck manage to project any wit that cracks through the prevailing humorlessness."

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave it a positive review, saying "200 Cigarettes doesn't have a bad scene or a false note. The picture is a succession of pointed little moments, nicely written by Shana Larsen and acted with comic assurance and sensitivity."

title: 200 Cigarettes


text:
The Standells

The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They recorded the 1966 hit "Dirty Water", written by their producer, Ed Cobb. (Ed Cobb also wrote "Tainted Love", a Gloria Jones song which became world famous when Soft Cell did a version of it.) "Dirty Water" is the anthem of several Boston sports teams and is played following every Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins home win.

History
The Standells band was formed in 1962 by lead vocalist and keyboard player Larry Tamblyn (born Lawrence Arnold Tamblyn, February 5, 1943), guitarist Tony Valentino (born Emilio Bellissimo, May 24, 1941), bass guitarist Jody Rich, and drummer Benny King (aka Hernandez). Tamblyn had previously been a solo performer, recording several 45 singles in the late 1950s and early 1960s including "Dearest", "Patty Ann", "This Is The Night", "My Bride To Be" and "Destiny" for Faro and Linda Records. He is the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn and the uncle of actor Amber Tamblyn.

The Standells band name was created by Larry Tamblyn, derived from standing around booking agents' offices trying to get work. In early 1962, drummer Benny King joined the group, and as "the Standels", their first major performance was in Honolulu at the Oasis Club. After several months, Rich and King departed. Tamblyn then assumed leadership of the group. He and Valentino re-formed the Standels, adding bass guitarist Gary Lane (September 18, 1938 – November 5, 2014) and drummer Gary Leeds, later known as Gary Walker of The Walker Brothers. Later that year, the band lengthened its name to "Larry Tamblyn & the Standels". In 1963 an extra "L" was added, and as "Larry Tamblyn and the Standells" the group made its first recording "You'll Be Mine Someday/Girl In My Heart" for Linda Records (released in 1964). In the latter part of the year, the band permanently shortened its name to "The Standells". After the Standells signed with Liberty in 1964, Leeds left the group, and was replaced by lead vocalist and drummer Dick Dodd. Dodd was a former Mouseketeer who had been the original drummer for The Bel-Airs, known for the surf rock song "Mr. Moto", and eventually became the singer who sang lead on all of the Standells hit songs.

In 1964, Liberty Records released three Standells singles and an album, The Standells in Person at P.J.s. The album was later re-issued as The Standells Live and Out of Sight. The band also appeared on The Munsters TV show, as themselves in the episode "Far Out Munsters," performing "Come On and Ringo" and a version of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand". In late 1964, they signed with Vee Jay and released two singles in 1965. Later in the year they signed with MGM for one single.

The group appeared in several low-budget films of the 1960s, including Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) and cult classic Riot on Sunset Strip (1967). The Standells performed incidental music in the 1963 Connie Francis movie Follow the Boys, which coincidentally co-starred Larry Tamblyn's brother, Russ Tamblyn. The Standells played the part of the fictional rock group the "Love Bugs" on the television sitcom Bing Crosby Show in the January 18, 1965, episode "Bugged by the Love Bugs". In addition to appearing in the aforementioned The Munsters episode as themselves, they also appeared performing an instrumental in the background in the March 29, 1965 Ben Casey series episode, "Three 'Lil Lambs." The band also performed the title song for the 1965 children's movie, Zebra in the Kitchen.

Some reports state that early versions of the band had a relatively clean image and performed only cover songs. However, early 1964 photos counter that notion, showing the Standells with long hair, making them one of the first American rock groups to adopt that style. In order to work in conservative nightclubs like P.J.'s, the group members were forced to cut their shaggy locks. Like the Beatles, early rock groups did mostly cover songs in nightclubs.

In 1965 the group – Dodd, Tamblyn, Valentino and Lane – signed with Capitol Records' label Tower, teaming up with producer Ed Cobb. Cobb wrote the group's most popular song, "Dirty Water", which the band recorded in late 1965. The song's references to the city of Boston are owed to Cobb's experiences with a mugger in Boston. The song also makes reference to the Boston Strangler and the dorm curfews for college women in those days.

"Dirty Water" reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts on June 11, 1966, No. 8 on the Cashbox charts on July 9, 1966, and No. 1 on the Record World charts. "Dirty Water" was on the WLS playlist for 17 total weeks, tied only by "California Dreamin'" for most weeks on that playlist during the 1960s. Though the song is credited solely to Cobb, band members Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn have claimed substantial material-of-fact song composition copyright contributions to it as well as contributing to its arrangement. Tamblyn has stated that Cobb's version was a "standard blues song", adding: "We took the song with the condition that we could arrange in any way we want; we added the guitar riff into it and all of the wonderful vocal asides like, 'I'm gonna tell you a story, It's all about my town, I'm going to tell you a big fat story'...that was all written by us."

According to critic Richie Unterberger,"'Dirty Water' [was] an archetypal garage rock hit with its Stones-ish riff, lecherous vocal, and combination of raunchy guitar and organ. While they never again reached the Top 40, they cut a number of strong, similar tunes in the 1966–1967 era that have belatedly been recognized as 1960s punk classics. 'Garage rock' may not have been a really accurate term for them in the first place, as the production on their best material was full and polished, with some imaginative touches of period psychedelia and pop." "Dirty Water" is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."

Dodd briefly left the Standells in early 1966, and was replaced by Dewey Martin, who became a member of Buffalo Springfield. Dodd returned to the group a few months later, as the "Dirty Water" song began to climb the charts. The band recorded additional songs for their first full studio album Dirty Water in April 1966. Another popular track on the album was "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White", which would later be recorded by Washington, D.C. hardcore band Minor Threat, New York City punk band The Cramps, and Swedish garage band The Nomads.

The follow-up studio album, Why Pick on Me — Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, was released in November 1966 and included the single "Why Pick on Me", which peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard chart. Gary Lane left the Standells in 1966, and was replaced by bass guitarist Dave Burke. John Fleck (born John William Fleckenstein in Los Angeles, August 2, 1946 – October 18, 2017), formerly of Love, soon replaced Burke in early 1967. The band then released their third album, The Hot Ones! In early 1967. It was simply a selection of popular songs that they covered. The band's fourth studio album, Try It, released in October 1967, contained the song "Riot on Sunset Strip", which had been released earlier in 1967 to support the soundtrack for the movie of the same name. The title track "Try It" was later recorded by Ohio Express and Cobra Killer. Picked by Billboard magazine to be the Standells' next hit, "Try It" was banned by Texas radio mogul Gordon McLendon, who deemed the record to have sexually suggestive lyrics. The Standells were asked by Art Linkletter to debate with McLendon on his House Party TV show in 1967. By most accounts, McLendon was handily defeated, but, by then, most radio stations had followed McLendon's lead and would not play the record. A third single released from this album, "Can't Help But Love You", would be the Standells last entry into the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 78, while also peaking at No. 9 in the Cashbox charts.

In 1968, Dick Dodd left the band to pursue a solo career. The Standells continued to perform with a varying line-up thereafter, briefly including guitarist Lowell George who went on to play with Little Feat.

Later reformations and versions of the band
In the 1980s, Dodd, Tamblyn and Valentino performed at a few shows with The Fleshtones. In 1984 the Standells played at the Club Lingerie on Sunset in Los Angeles and did some casino shows in Reno, Nevada. In the late 1980s, the Standells, with Tamblyn and Valentino, recorded and released an independent single featuring Tamblyn singing "60's Band" In 1999, the Standells, featuring Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn, along with bass player Peter Stuart, appeared at the Cavestomp festival in New York, and their performance was subsequently released as an album called Ban THIS!. As the title suggests, the Standells were thumbing their noses at McLendon. In 2000, bassist Gary Lane re-joined the Standells to perform at Las Vegas Grind. Between 2004 and 2007 the band was called upon to reform to make several appearances at major Boston sporting events. In 2006 the band sued Anheuser Busch for over $1 million after the company used "Dirty Water" in sports-related beer commercials without permission.

After a show at the Cannery Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas in May 2009, The Standells reformed with Tamblyn and former bassist John Fleck, along with guitarist Paul Downing and veteran drummer Greg Burnham. The group went on to make appearances at Los Angeles venues Amoeba Records, Echoplex and the Whisky a Go Go. In 2010 they toured in Europe, performing in several countries,including their first ever UK show at 229 The Venue in London on June 19, 2010. In late 2010, Downing was replaced by guitarist Adam Marsland. In 2011, the band decided to record their first new album in over 40 years. Through Kickstarter, the Standells raised money towards the cost of the album. Marsland left the group shortly thereafter. He was replaced by singer/guitarist Mark Adrian, a former member of the rock group. In March 2012, the Standells performed at the SXSW Festival.

In September 2012, Dick Dodd briefly rejoined the group, and they appeared at the Monterey Summer of Love "45 Years On" Festival that month. On August 9, 2013, they released a new album, Bump, on GRA Records. Dodd did not participate in the album. In June, Dodd again departed from the Standells for personal reasons. The group (without Dodd) headlined at the Satellite Club in Los Angeles, California, August 9, the Adams Ave. St. Fair, San Diego, California on September 28, and at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 5, 2013.

Dick Dodd died on November 29, 2013.

The Standells completed an extensive national tour from April 27 through May 21, 2014. It was their first major U.S. tour since the 1960s. The group performed in Parma, Italy, on July 5 for the Festival Beat, and returned to California for the Tiki Oasis on August 17, 2014.

Former band member, Gary Lane (Gary McMillan) died on November 5, 2014, from lung cancer aged 76.

John "Fleck" Fleckenstein died October 18, 2017, of complications of AML Leukemia. He was also a noted cinematographer.

On October 22, 2022, the Standells biography From Squeaky Clean to Dirty Water, written by Larry Tamblyn, was published by Bear Manor Media. On December 23, 2023, Larry Tamblyn was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame, introduced and officially inducted by his brother, actor Russ Tamblyn.

Boston connection
Despite the references to Boston and the Charles River in "Dirty Water," the Standells are not from Massachusetts. Tower Records producer Ed Cobb wrote the song after a visit to Boston, during which he was robbed on a bridge over the Charles River. None of the Standells had been to Boston before the song was released.

In 1997, "Dirty Water" was decreed the "official victory anthem" of the Red Sox, and is played after every home victory won by the Boston Red Sox. Also, in 1997 two Boston area music-related chain stores celebrated their joint 25th anniversary by assembling over 1500 guitarists, plus a handful of singers and drummers, to perform "Dirty Water" for over 76 minutes at the Hatch Shell adjacent to the Charles River. At short notice, at the invitation of the Red Sox, The Standells played "Dirty Water" before the second game of the 2004 World Series at Fenway Park. The band played at Fenway Park again in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the Standells performed the national anthem at the first game of the 2007 American League Division Series, also at Fenway Park.

In 2007, "Dirty Water, as sung by the Standells" was honored by official decree of The Massachusetts General Court. The song is now played not only at Red Sox games, but also those of the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins, and the Northeastern Huskies' hockey games. A book Love That Dirty Water: The Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem was published.

In April 2019, Liverpool F.C., a club in the English Premier League, began playing "Dirty Water" after home matches, due to the fact that the club is owned by Fenway Sports Group, the same owners as the Boston Red Sox.

title: The Standells


text:
Rue Morgue

Rue Morgue may refer to:

 * "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", a short story by Edgar Allan Poe
 * Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film), a 1932 film based on the story
 * Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971 film), a 1971 film
 * "Murders in the Rue Morgue", a song from 1981 Iron Maiden album Killers
 * The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986 film)
 * Rue Morgue (magazine), a horror magazine
 * Rue Morgue Radio, a radio offshoot of the magazine
 * Rue Morgue Festival of Fear, a Canadian horror convention

title: Rue Morgue


text:
Honda NSX

The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seater, rear mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car manufactured by Honda.

The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, for a 3.0 L V6 rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car. Honda, with the intention of meeting or exceeding the performance of the then V8 engine Ferrari range, committed to the project, aiming at both reliability and a lower price. The concept evolved and had its name changed to NS-X, which stood for "New", "Sportscar" "eXperimental", although the production model was launched as the NSX.

Gordon Murray, the designer of the McLaren F1 supercar, stated that he used the NSX as the inspiration after test driving many high-performance cars and finding that the NSX chassis performed the best. Murray found the design was "monumental" for sportscar design. He claimed the car could "easily" have handled more power and attempted to convince Honda to develop a more powerful engine, but Honda declined. This resulted in Murray developing his F1 with a BMW engine, but he was so fond of the NSX that he bought one for personal use - and drove it for 75000 km. Murray said the NSX was "dear to his heart".

First generation (NA1/2; 1990–2005)
The NSX was designed by a team led by Chief Designer Masahito Nakano and Executive Chief Engineer Shigeru Uehara. It benefited from advanced aerodynamics and styling inspired by the F-16 fighter jet cockpit as well as input, during the final development stages, from Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna.

The NSX was the first general production car to feature an all-aluminium semi-monocoque. It was powered by an all-aluminium 3.0 L V6 engine, which featured Honda's VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) system developed in the 1980s, a 5-speed manual transmission, or starting in 1994 the SportShift 4-speed automatic transmission, also known as F-Matic, which allows the option of conventional automatic shifting or manually shifting with a fingertip shift lever on the steering column.

The car was presented at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show. Production started in a purpose-made factory in Japan, for sale from 1990. It was originally available as a coupé, then, from 1995 onwards, as a targa top. It underwent a performance upgrade in 1997, which saw the arrival of a larger 3.2 L V6 engine, and a facelift in 2002 where the pop-up headlights were removed. The first-generation NSX was discontinued in 2005. North American models were sold as the Acura NSX.

Cars with the 3.0 L C30A engine are referred to as NA1 models, while the 3.2 L C32B engine cars are known as NA2 models.

Second generation (NC1; 2016–2022)

In December 2007, Acura announced plans to launch a NSX successor by 2010, based on the styling of the front V10-engined Acura ASCC (Advanced Sports Car Concept). Despite prototypes being tested for production, Honda announced, just one year later, that production plans had been canceled due to "poor economic conditions." Instead, in March 2010, Honda unveiled the HSV-010 GT that participated in the Japanese Super GT Championship. The HSV-010 GT never reached production as a street-legal car.

Reports that Honda was again developing a successor to the NSX re-emerged in April 2011. By December 2011, Honda officially announced a second-generation NSX concept, which was unveiled the following month at the 2012 North American International Auto Show as the Acura NSX Concept.

The production model was displayed three years later at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, for and was released for sale in 2016.

Although the original name was retained, this time it was defined as "New Sports eXperience". Unlike the first-generation NSX which was manufactured in Japan, the second-generation NSX was designed and engineered in Marysville, Ohio, at Honda's plant, led by Chief Engineer Ted Klaus.

The second-generation NSX has a hybrid electric powertrain, with a 3.5 L twin-turbocharged V6 engine and three electric motors, two of which form part of the SH-AWD (Super Handling-All Wheel Drive) drivetrain, altogether capable of 573 hp. The transmission is a 9-speed dual-clutch automatic. The car's body utilizes a space frame design, which is made from aluminum, ultra-high-strength steel, and other rigid and lightweight materials, some of which are the world's first applications.

The first production vehicle with VIN #001 was auctioned off by Barrett Jackson on 29 January 2016. NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick won the auction with a bid for US$1,200,000. The entire bid was donated to the charities Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground.

The first NSX rolled off the production line in Ohio on 27 May 2016 and Hendrick was there to drive it off. The first sales of the second-generation NSX in the US were registered in June 2016.

The NSX Type S was revealed on August 12, 2021, with an increase to 602 hp. The Type S is the last update before the November 2022 discontinuation. 300 units only of the NSX Type S were destined for the United States, with 30 units for Japan, and 15 units for Canada.

title: Honda NSX


text:
Half Baked

Half Baked is a 1998 American stoner comedy film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and Guillermo Díaz. The film was directed by Tamra Davis, co-written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan and produced by Robert Simonds. Half Baked received negative reviews but has since become a cult film.

Plot
Four lifelong stoners and friends (Thurgood, Scarface, Brian, and Kenny) live together in New York City. Thurgood, a janitor at a medical lab, orders some weed from Samson, the famous local dealer, and the four smoke it. When Kenny, a gentle kindergarten teacher, is out on a munchie run, he is arrested for accidentally killing a diabetic police horse called Buttercup by feeding it junk food. His friends are forced to raise $1 million to bail him out before the other prisoners take advantage of his gentle nature. While visiting Kenny in prison, Thurgood meets Mary Jane and pursues a romantic relationship, which is strained by his having to conceal his marijuana smoking from her, as she is adamantly anti-drug.

Thurgood gets asked one day by a scientist at the lab to get a pound of cannabis from storage and Thurgood freaks out when he realizes what the scientist had him get. The grateful scientist thanks Thurgood for the good deed by giving him some free weed. Thurgood brings it home and the three friends get high. Scarface gets the idea to have Thurgood steal medical marijuana from his work so that the three of them can sell it to raise money to free Kenny.

When the success of the friends' marijuana business grows enough to raise the ire of local drug lord Samson Simpson, Samson extorts them for $20,000 a week, while Mary Jane dumps Thurgood when she finds out he is dealing drugs. The friends plan a robbery of the medical laboratory to increase their earnings enough to both fend off Samson and free Kenny, but are arrested when they try to execute the plan.

Thurgood strikes a deal with the police to wear a wire to a meeting with Samson in exchange for freeing Kenny and dropping the charges against him and his friends. They meet with Samson, but their plan is exposed when the police detectives fail to arrive as backup since they are high. However, Thurgood and his friends are able to take out Samson's henchwomen, and Samson is taken out by the ghost of Jerry Garcia. The police detectives arrive soon after to arrest Samson and his henchwomen, while Thurgood and friends are released from police custody. Thurgood meets with Mary Jane to tell her he is giving up marijuana and wants to get back together. The film ends with their reuniting.

Cast

 * Dave Chappelle as Thurgood Jenkins/Sir Smoka Lot
 * Kevin Duhaney as Young Thurgood
 * Jim Breuer as Brian
 * James Cooper as Young Brian
 * Harland Williams as Kenny Davis
 * Michael Colton as Young Kenny
 * Guillermo Díaz as Scarface
 * Matthew Raposo as Young Scarface
 * Rachel True as Mary Jane Potman
 * Tommy Chong as Squirrel Master
 * Clarence Williams III as Samson Simpson
 * Laura Silverman as Jan
 * R.D. Reid as Scientist
 * Gregg Rogell and Kevin Brennan as Potheads

Co-writer Neal Brennan appears as an employee, while cameos include Jon Stewart as the enhancement smoker, Snoop Doggy Dogg as the scavenger smoker, Stephen Baldwin as the MacGyver smoker, Gladys O'Connor as the grandma smoker, Willie Nelson as the historian smoker, and Tracy Morgan as the V.J. Steven Wright makes an uncredited appearance, as do Janeane Garofalo and Bob Saget.

Production
Chappelle and Breuer shared a manager and had previously planned working together on the short-lived TV sitcom Buddies. In Spring 1996, both were working separately on marijuana-related film projects. Chappelle and Brennan's script was complete, so Breuer was asked to join their project.

The film was filmed in the Canadian city of Toronto in Summer 1997. Dirty Work was filming at the same time, and the cast and crew stayed in the same hotel. Bob Saget, who directed Dirty Work, filmed a short, uncredited cameo for Half Baked.

Chappelle asked Harrison Ford to do a cameo in the film but he declined.

Release
Half Baked hit theaters in the United States on January 16, 1998, earning $7,722,540 in its opening weekend, ranking at No. 6, and, by the end of its run, grossed $17,460,020.

Sequel
A direct-to-video sequel, Half Baked: Totally High, was released on April 16, 2024, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on direct-to-video format. The film was directed by Michael Tiddes, and stars Dexter Darden, Moses Storm, Ramona Young, David Koechner, Frankie Muniz, Ash Santos, and Joel Courtney. Rachel True reprises her role as Mary Jane while Harland Williams has a cameo in the boys' bathroom. The project was a joint-venture production between Universal 1440 Entertainment, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, and STX Entertainment.

Reception
Half Baked received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 28%, based on reviews from 25 critics. The website's consensus reads, "You'd have to be high to dig Half Baked's half baked production and scattershot sense of humor -- although maybe that was the point of this Dave Chapelle-led joint." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 16 out of 100 from critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".

Brendan Kelly of Variety wrote: "A couple of hash brownies short of a satisfying cinematic picnic, with far too few comic highs during the bigscreen reefer party."

Martin Musgrave of the Chicago Sun-Times said: "Half Baked is a stupid comedy that tries to be something better than it is while maintaining awareness of its own stupidity."

It has had several re-releases on DVD and is considered a cult classic.

title: Half Baked


text:
Tandem

Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.

The original use of the term in English was in tandem harness, which is used for two or more draft horses, or other draft animals, harnessed in a single line one behind another, as opposed to a pair, harnessed side by side, or a team of several pairs. The tandem harness allows additional animals to provide pulling power for a vehicle designed for a single animal.

The English word tandem derives from the Latin adverb tandem, meaning at length or finally. It is a word play, using the Latin phrase (referring to time, not position) for English "at length, lengthwise".

Tandem bicycles are named for their tandem seating, a more common arrangement than side-by-side "sociable" seating. Tandem can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects working together, not necessarily in line.

Automobiles
The Messerschmitt KR200 was an example of a very small automobile that used tandem seating. A tandem arrangement may also be used for cars parked in a residential garage.

Trucks
In heavy trucks tandem refers to two closely spaced axles. Legally defined by the distance between the axles (up to 2.5 m in the European Union, 40 – in the United States), mechanically there are many configurations. Either or both axles may be powered, and often interact with each other. In the United States, both axles are typically powered and equalized; in the European Union, one axle is typically unpowered, and can often be adjusted to load, and even raised off the ground, turning a tandem into a single-axle.

Aviation
The two seating configurations for trainer, night and all-weather interceptor or attack aircraft are pilot and instructor side by side or in tandem. Usually, the pilot is in front and the instructor behind. In attack helicopters, sometimes the pilot sits in back with the weapons operator in front for better view to aim weapons, as the Bell AH-1 Cobra was a tandem cockpit redesign which produced a much slimmer profile than the Bell UH-1 Iroquois on which it was based. Attack aircraft and all-weather interceptors often use a second crew member to operate avionics such as radar, or as a second pilot. Bombers such as the Convair B-58 Hustler seated three crew members in tandem. A common engineering adaptation is to lengthen the cockpit or fuselage to create a trainer with tandem seating from a single-seater aircraft.

Side-by-side seating
An alternative configuration is side-by-side seating, which is common in civil aircraft of all sizes, trainers and large military aircraft, but less so in high performance jets and gliders where drag reduction is paramount. The Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing XB-52 bombers used fighter-style tandem seating, but the final B-52 bomber series used a conventional side-by-side cockpit. The Grumman A-6 Intruder, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, Sukhoi Su-24, and the Sukhoi Su-34 are examples of combat aircraft that use this configuration. For training aircraft, it has the advantage that pilot and instructor can see each other's actions, allowing the pilot to learn from the instructor and the instructor to correct the student pilot. The tandem configuration has the advantage of being closer to the normal working environment that a fast jet pilot is likely to encounter.

In some cases, such as the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler, a two-place aircraft can be lengthened into a four-place aircraft. Also, a single seat cockpit can be redesigned into a side-by-side arrangement in the case of the Douglas A-1 Skyraider, TF-102 trainer or the Hawker Hunter training versions.

Animals
During mating among odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), a male uses claspers at the end of his abdomen to grab a female between the head and thorax, forming a tandem. The pair may take flight while in tandem.

title: Tandem


text:
Cramton Bowl

Cramton Bowl is a 25,000-seat stadium located in Montgomery, Alabama. Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a baseball stadium and has been home to Major League Baseball spring training and to minor league baseball. Today, however, its primary use is for American football.

It is the host of the annual Camellia Bowl for the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS); the FCS Kickoff, an annual season-opening game in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision; and of Montgomery's five high school squads. It was previously home to the former Blue–Gray Football Classic, a collegiate all-star game usually played on Christmas Day, the Alabama State Hornets football team, and hosted the first ever football game played under the lights in the South.

Stadium history
Cramton Bowl is named for Fred J. Cramton, a local businessman who donated the land on which the stadium is built. After a conversation with friends about the need for a baseball stadium, Cramton donated his sanitary landfill to the city so a facility could be constructed there. The city held the land for a time and then returned it, stating that Cramton's stadium idea was too big of a project for the city to undertake. Cramton then decided to take matters into his own hands; with the help of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Cramton raised $33,000 to build the sports venue.

Seating capacity was expanded in 1929 to 7,991. More additions were made in 1946, increasing the seating capacity to 12,000. East stands were added in 1962 bringing the seating capacity up to 24,000. After new renovations were completed in July 2011 the capacity was reduced to 21,000. The stadium's modern boundaries are Madison Avenue (north); Hall Street (east); Pelham Street (south); and buildings and Hilliard Street (west).

Baseball
The first baseball game played on the new field was in May 1922 between Auburn University and Vanderbilt University. Shortly after its completion in 1922, the Philadelphia Athletics decided to move their spring training operations from Eagle Pass, Texas to Montgomery. They used the facility for their 1923 and 1924 spring training and exhibition games before moving to a newer stadium in Fort Myers, Florida.

After the departure of the Philadelphia Athletics spring training, Minor League Baseball's newly formed Southeastern League placed a team in Montgomery which became known as the Montgomery Lions. The Lions played in Cramton Bowl from 1926 to 1930. There was no team from 1931 to 1936 due to problems within the Southeastern League and the ongoing negative economic effects of the Great Depression. The team returned for the 1937 season as the Montgomery Bombers and garnered their first major league baseball affiliation with the Cleveland Indians. The Indians pulled out for the 1938 season and were replaced by the Philadelphia Phillies. After one season the Phillies dropped their affiliation; the team became a co-op franchise and were renamed the Montgomery Rebels. In 1943, the Rebels would disband due to the manpower shortage caused by World War II. On July 11 of that year, the Chattanooga Lookouts moved their home games to Cramton Bowl to play out the rest of the season. The Lookouts managed to move back to Chattanooga and reverse the trend of declining attendance sometime later in the 1940s. The Rebels returned in 1946 through 1949 before moving to the newly constructed Paterson Field located just across the street.

The eighth and deciding game of the 1943 Negro World Series was held at the Cramton Bowl, with the Homestead Grays defeating the Birmingham Black Barons, 8-4.

Football
On September 23, 1927, Cramton Bowl became the site of the first game played "under the lights" in the South with Cloverdale taking on Pike Road High School. Former superintendent D. H. "Sarge" Caraker remembers fondly, "[We] used dishpans for reflectors and sent to California for the lamps. We drew 7,200 people from all over the South to see it."

College football
Cramton Bowl was host to all home games for Alabama State Hornets football prior to ASU's construction of an on-campus stadium in 2012 and was the host to all home games for the Faulkner University Eagles football team until 2012 when Faulkner University constructed its own facility. It was also home to the Turkey Day Classic and in 2009 hosted the inaugural HBCU All-star Bowl.

Cramton Bowl also provided a location for Alabama Crimson Tide football home games in the capital city. The Crimson Tide played home games at Cramton Bowl in the 1922 through 1932 seasons, in 1934, from 1944 through 1946 and again from 1951 through 1954. Alabama's all-time record at Cramton Bowl was 17 wins and 3 losses.

Cramton Bowl probably achieved its greatest fame as the home of the Blue–Gray Football Classic, an annual college football all-star game which was held there each December from 1938 until 2001.

Beginning in 2014, Cramton Bowl began hosting the Camellia Bowl, a college football bowl game which features teams from the Sun Belt Conference and Mid-American Conference.

In 2017, the stadium became the regular host of the FCS Kickoff, a season-opening Division I FCS game operated by ESPN and nationally televised on one of ESPN's networks.

In October 2020, Cramton Bowl was announced as the host stadium for the Montgomery Bowl, a college football bowl game played in December 2020.

High school football
Several area high schools call Cramton Bowl home including the Johnson Abernathy Graetz Jaguars, Percy Julian Phoenix, Park Crossing High School Thunderbirds, and Carver Wolverines. In July 2011, Cramton Bowl hosted the Alabama High School Athletic Association Alabama All-Stars Sports Week football game.

2011 renovations
By the start of the 21st century, Cramton Bowl was widely regarded as being functionally obsolete for major sporting events. The stadium's relatively small capacity was not a concern as much as its age and condition. The stadium was not well maintained for most of its history, and by the dawn of the new millennium, it was actually crumbling. These issues were factors, although not the predominant ones, in the Blue-Gray Game not being held in 2002 and its subsequent relocation in 2003 to Troy University's Veterans Memorial Stadium, about 50 miles (80 km) from Montgomery.

In mid-2010 the City of Montgomery approved a measure for a $10 million renovation and addition to Cramton Bowl. The renovations planned for Cramton Bowl were a unique mix of the old and the new. The old structure was revamped and updated with four entrances, a state-of-the-art press box, an aesthetically enhanced plaza area, and a "Walk of Fame," which celebrates Montgomery's sports history and houses various articles of historic sports memorabilia. Perhaps the most important and impressive addition was the 90,000 sqft multi-purpose sports facility. Demolition of the north end zone and press box began in late November 2010, which was phase one of the project. Phase two began in early January 2011 as crews removed an existing brick wall from the south end zone and dismantled the scoreboard to make way for the new multi-purpose sports facility. Work on the stadium was completed in 2011 while the new multi-purpose facility was finished in 2012.

title: Cramton Bowl


text:
Standalone software

Standalone software may refer to:

 * Computer programs that can work offline, i.e. does not necessarily require network connection to function
 * Software that is not a part of some bundled software
 * A program that run as a separate computer process, not an add-on of an existing process
 * Standalone program, a program that does not require operating system's services to run
 * A portable application, which can be run without the need for installation procedure
 * Stand-alone expansion pack, expansion packs that do not require the original game

title: Standalone software


text:
Bonhoeffer (surname)

Bonhoeffer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

 * Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), German pastor, theologian, spy, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church
 * Karl Bonhoeffer (1868–1948), German neuroscientist and physician
 * Klaus Bonhoeffer (1901–1945), German jurist and resistance fighter against the Nazi régime who was executed after the July 1944 plot to kill Hitler
 * Emmi Bonhoeffer (1905–1991), wife of anti-Hitler activist Klaus Bonhoeffer
 * Tobias Bonhoeffer (born 1960), German neurobiologist

title: Bonhoeffer (surname)


text:
Talk:John Lions

Oxford or Cambridge?
Chalmers' article says Cambridge. Salus' article says Oxford. Which was it? - David Gerard 22:52, May 24, 2004 (UTC)

It was Cambridge. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.53.251.2 (talk) 02:29, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Biographical links
http://www.unixica.com/html/other.html http://www.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/link9812/0139.html http://minnie.tuhs.org/pipermail/tuhs/2004-April/thread.html#944 http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/indices/a-tree/l/Lions:John.html - papers by Lions http://do.cse.unsw.edu.au/industry/JohnLions/ - UNSW site on Lions (bio, tributes)

- David Gerard 09:43, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on John Lions. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091016012136/http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/media.html to http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/media.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120213150930/http://www.computing.unsw.edu.au/JohnLionsAward to http://www.computing.unsw.edu.au/JohnLionsAward
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070208200348/http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/ to http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/JohnLions/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 07:31, 25 April 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:John Lions