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Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize Awarded by the Audience

This Prize Awarded by the Audience - Cultura is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival since 1989.

The prize was known as Alph-Art du public from 1989 to 2003, the Prix du public from 2004 to 2006, in 2008 and 2009 the Essentiel FNAC-SNCF, since it was sponsored by the retailer Fnac and railway authority SNCF, in 2010 and 2010 the Fauve Fnac SNCF - Prix du Public and in 2012 Prix de la BD Fnac. At the end of 2018, the prize is "interrupted" because of the lack of sponsor.

The winner is in bold, the (long) list of nominees follows. No prize was awarded in 1999 or 2007

1980s

 * 1989: Le Grand Pouvoir du Chninkel by Grzegorz Rosiński and Jean Van Hamme, Casterman

1990s

 * 1990: Broussaille (bande dessinée): La Nuit du chat by Frank Pé and Bom (comics), Dupuis
 * 1991: Les Compagnons du crépuscule: tome 3, Le Dernier Chant des Malaterre by François Bourgeon, Casterman
 * 1992: Peter Pan: Londres by Régis Loisel, Vents d'Ouest
 * 1993: Théodore Poussin: Un passager porté disparu by Frank Le Gall, Dupuis
 * 1994: Jeux pour mourir by Jacques Tardi, Casterman
 * 1995: Peter Pan: Tempête by Régis Loisel, Vents d'Ouest
 * 1996: Thorgal: La Couronne d'Ogotaï by Grzegorz Rosiński and Jean Van Hamme, Le Lombard
 * 1997: Blake and Mortimer: L’affaire Francis Blake by Ted Benoit and Jean Van Hamme, after Edgar Pierre Jacobs, Dargaud
 * 1998: Le Cycle de Cyann: Six Saisons sur Ilo by François Bourgeon and Claude Lacroix, Casterman
 * (1999: no award in this category)

2000s

 * 2000: Le Vent dans les saules (bande dessinée) part 3 by Michel Plessix, Delcourt
 * 2001: Les Bidochon part 17 by Christian Binet, Fluide Glacial
 * 2002: Le Cri du peuple (bande dessinée): Les canons du 18 mars by Jacques Tardi, after Jean Vautrin, Casterman
 * 2003: Titeuf: La loi du préau by Zep, Glénat
 * Bouncer (bande dessinée): La pitié des bourreaux by François Boucq and Alexandro Jodorowsky, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Carnets d'orient: La guerre fantôme by Jacques Ferrandez, Casterman
 * Le Cri du peuple (bande dessinée): L'espoir assassiné by Jacques Tardi, after Jean Vautrin, Casterman
 * Édika: Peurs bleues by Édika, Fluide Glacial
 * John Doe: London Pepperoni by Alain Henriet and Baloo (cartoonist), Delcourt
 * Kookaburra Universe: Le secret du sniper by G. E. Ranne (Ange), Crisse, Nicolas Mitric and Christian Patrick, Soleil
 * Largo Winch: Shadow by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, Dupuis
 * Manhattan Beach 1957 part 1 by Hermann and Yves Huppen (Yves H.), Le Lombard
 * Le Nouveau Jean-Claude: Pizza mon amour by Jean-Louis Tripp and Tronchet, Albin Michel
 * Peter Pan (bande dessinée): Crochet by Régis Loisel, Vents d'Ouest
 * Phenomenum: Opus 0 by Jérémie Kaminka and Marc Védrines, Glénat
 * Plume aux vents: Ni dieu ni diable by André Juillard and Patrick Cothias, Dargaud
 * Le Retour à la terre: La vraie vie by Jean-Yves Ferri and Emmanuel Larcenet, Dargaud
 * Le Scorpion: La croix de pierre by Enrico Marini and Stephen Desberg, Dargaud
 * The Technopriests: Halkattrazz, l'étoile des bourreaux by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Zoran Janjetov, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Thorgal: Le barbare by Rosinski and Van Hamme, Le Lombard
 * Torso by Marc Andreyko and Brian Michael Bendis, Semic
 * Trolls de Troy: Trolls dans la brume by Scotch Arleston and Jean-Louis Mourier, Soleil
 * XIII: Lâchez les chiens by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, Dargaud
 * 2004: Blacksad: Arctic nation by Juanjo Guarnido and Juan Diaz Canales, Dargaud
 * 100 Bullets part 1 by Eduardo Risso and Brian Azzarello, Semic
 * 20th Century Boys part 10 by Naoki Urasawa, Marvel
 * 32 décembre by Enki Bilal, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Bouncer (bande dessinée): La justice des serpents by François Boucq and Alejandro Jodorowsky, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Golden City: Le Dossier Harrison by Nicolas Malfin and Daniel Pecqueur, Delcourt
 * Ordinary Victories part 1 Emmanuel Larcenet, Dargaud
 * Là-bas by Anne Sibran and Tronchet, Dupuis
 * Mister George part 1 by Hugues Labiano, Rodolphe (comics) and Serge Le Tendre, Le Lombard
 * Pyongyang by Guy Delisle, L'Association
 * Quartier lointain part 2 by Jirô Taniguchi, Casterman
 * Sambre (bande dessinée): Maudit soit le fruit de ses entrailles by Yslaire, Glénat
 * W.E.S.T.: La Chute de Babylone by Christian Rossi and Xavier Dorison, Dargaud
 * 2005: Le sang des Valentines by Christian De Metter and Catel Muller, Casterman
 * Une aventure extraordinaire de Vincent van Gogh: La ligne de front by Emmanuel Larcenet, Dargaud
 * Shamo (Coq de combat) by Izo Hashimoto and Akio Tanaka, Delcourt
 * La Malle Sanderson by Jean-Claude Götting, Delcourt
 * Jeremiah: Et si un jour la Terre... by Hermann, Dupuis
 * Je veux le prince charmant by Hélène Bruller, Albin Michel
 * Lou! by Julien Neel, Glénat
 * Louis Riel by Chester Brown, Casterman
 * Lucky Luke: La belle province by Laurent Gerra and Achdé, Dargaud
 * Playback by Ted Benoît and François Ayroles, Denoël Graphic
 * Poulet aux prunes by Marjane Satrapi, L'Association
 * Say Hello to Black Jack by Shūhō Satō, Glénat
 * Thorgal: Kriss de Valnor (bande dessinée) by Grzegorz Rosinski and Jean Van Hamme, Le Lombard
 * Le Tour de valse by Rubén Pellejero and Denis Lapière, Dupuis
 * 2006: ''Les Mauvaises Gens by Étienne Davodeau, Delcourt
 * L'Aigle sans orteils by Christian Lax, Dupuis
 * Blacksad: Âme rouge by Juanjo Guarnido and Juan Diaz Canales, Dargaud
 * Bouncer (bande dessinée): La vengeance du manchot by François Boucq and Alexandro Jodorowsky, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Le chat du rabbin: Le Paradis terrestre by Joann Sfar, Dargaud
 * Cour royale by Martin Veyron and Jean-Marc Rochette, Albin Michel
 * Sam and Twitch: Squelettes by Marc Andreyko, Steve Niles and Paul Lee, Delcourt
 * Kinky & Cosy: C’est encore loin? by Nix (comics), Le Lombard
 * Largo Winch: Le prix de l’argent by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, Dupuis
 * Nana part 11 by Ai Yazawa, Ataka-Delcourt
 * Naruto part 20 by Masashi Kishimoto, Kana
 * Période glaciaire by Nicolas de Crécy, Futuropolis
 * Le Petit Bleu de la côte ouest by Jacques Tardi, Les Humanoïdes Associés
 * Roy et al. by Ralf König, Glénat
 * Terre de rêves by Jiro Taniguchi, Casterman
 * (2007: no award in this category)
 * 2008: Kiki de Montparnasse by Catel Muller and José-Louis Bocquet, Casterman
 * 2009: Mon gras et moi by Miss Gally, Delcourt

2010s
(No prize awarded in 2019)
 * 2010: Paul (bande dessinée), tome 6: Paul à Québec by Michel Rabagliati, La Pastèque
 * 2011: Blue Is the Warmest Color (Le bleu est une couleur chaude) by Jul Maroh, Glénat
 * 2012: Portugal by Cyril Pedrosa, Dupuis
 * 2013: Tu mourras moins bête..., tome 2: Quoi de neuf, docteur Moustache ? by Marion Montaigne, Ankama
 * 2014: Mauvais Genre (bande dessinée) by Chloé Cruchaudet, Delcourt
 * 2015: The Old Geezers, t. 1 : Ceux qui restent by Paul Cauuet and Wilfrid Lupano, Dargaud
 * 2016: Cher pays de notre enfance : Enquête sur les années de plomb de la Ve république by Étienne Davodeau and Benoît Collombat, Futuropolis
 * 2017: L'Homme qui tua Lucky Luke by Matthieu Bonhomme, Dargaud
 * 2018: Dans la combi de Thomas Pesquet by Marion Montaigne, Dargaud

2020's

 * 2020: Saison des roses by Chloé Wary, Éditions FLBLB
 * 2021: Anaïs Nin, sur la mer des mensonges by Léonie Bischoff, Casterman


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Leipzig Trade Fair

The Leipzig Trade Fair (Leipziger Messe) is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became one of the most important trade fairs of Comecon and was traditionally a meeting place for businessmen and politicians from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Since 1996, the fair has taken place on the Leipzig fairgrounds, located about 7 km north of the city centre.

Early history
The history of the Leipzig fairs goes back to the Middle Ages. A fair held at Leipzig is first mentioned in 1165. Otto the Rich, Margrave of Meissen presented the Leipzig fairs under protection. No other fair was allowed within a circle of a mile (7.5 km) away (Bannmeile).

In 1268, Margrave Theodoric of Landsberg assured all merchants travelers to Leipzig full protection for person and goods, even if their sovereign was at feud with him. This led to the settlement of numerous merchants in Leipzig. Trade goods now included herring, cloth, wine, and pepper.

15th century to 18th century
Two annual fairs established in Leipzig, at Jubilate (third sunday after Easter) and Michaelis (29th of September). Frederick II of Saxony imparted in 1458 the privilege for a third fair in Leipzig, the New Year's Fair. German emperor Frederick III confirmed this fair in 1466 and 1469 by imperial privileges.

In 1497, Maximilian I (from 1508 Emperor) confirmed all three Leipzig fairs (New Year, Jubilate, Michaelis) again and provided his seigneurial protection, including a ban of establishing more fairs in the neighboring dioceses of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Meissen, Merseburg and Naumburg.

In 1507 Maximilian I banned any fairs within a 15-mile radius around Leipzig, which further increased the marketplace importance. The privilege also confirmed the staple right and extended the protection for the merchants on their way to the Leipzig fairs. Towns like Halle, Naumburg, Erfurt, and Magdeburg were now disadvantaged as marketplaces.

In 1523, the Augsburg merchant family Welser built a big house with shops at the Markt 8 (today's Barthels Hof), the rival Fuggers had factories as well.

In 1678–87, an exchange was built (Alte Handelsbörse, Naschmarkt, destroyed in 1943, rebuilt).

In the 18th century, Leipzig became the centre for trade with Russian, Polish and English goods. It was called 'the marketplace of all Europe'.

Modern era
The importance of the fair, which drew merchants from across Europe, was the impetus for the construction of one of Europe's most significant Moorish Revival buildings, the 1855 Leipzig synagogue by architect Otto Simonson.

In 1895, the first commercial sample fair was held in Leipzig, dominated by exhibitors presenting samples of their goods. Between 1893 and 1938 a number of fair-houses (Messe-Häuser) were built in the center of Leipzig. They normally contained several interconnected courtyards with shops, storage areas, and living space (Mädlerpassage, Petershof, Handelshof, Specks Hof, Drei Könige etc.) Leipzig became the main German fair for books and consumer goods. The fair's MM symbol was designed by Erich Gruner in 1917.

In 1920 the technical fairground was opened in the southeast of the town, between Reudnitz and the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. It included 19 pavilions in 1940. Today this site is called Alte Messe Leipzig.

In 1937, Leipzig was renamed Reichsmessestadt Leipzig (Imperial Trade Fair City Leipzig) by the Nazis.

Between the wars, the Ring-Messehaus and the Messehaus Bugra were built. During World War II, the area of the technical fair was used for military production and partly destroyed by bombs.

In 1946, the first postwar fair ('Peace fair') took place. When the GDR joined the RGW (Comecon) in 1950, the fair was used to present the production of East Germany's Warsaw Pact neighbours - not only to each other, but also to nations of the capitalist West. The technical fairground was rebuilt and contained more than 20 pavilions.

The fair played an important role in Cold War diplomacy between East Germany and the Western states, as it facilitated delegations from numerous major NATO powers, including the United States and United Kingdom. The Leipzig Trade Fair, during the period 1949 to 1989, served both propagandistic and economic functions in its attempts to organise visits from Western nations. Trade was instrumental to the SED's plans for East German recognition, with increased trade relations between the GDR and Westerners believed to be the key to Western governments re-evaluating East Germany's international status as a mere occupation zone the Soviets were yet to leave. British delegations, often from the UK Labour Party and associated groups, were frequent during the late 1950s and early 1960s and included a variety of prominent politicians, including Anthony Greenwood, Ian Mikardo, and Clement Davies: many of those who attended would go on to campaign for official recognition of the German Democratic Republic until the early 1970s.

The fair also played an important role in international politics during the crisis over the erection of the Berlin Wall. In August 1961, Willy Brandt (then Mayor of Berlin) called for an international boycott of the fair and a host of other East German functions in response to the Wall going up, which illustrates how the Leipzig Trade Fair was of great importance to the Cold War struggles over the legitimacy and recognition of the East German state.

The Leipzig Fair today
In 1996, a new trade fair ground was opened. The Congress Center Leipzig was also opened, built after designs by Gerkan, Marg and Partners. The old trade fair ground is used for shops, events, supermarkets, and figure skating events, although many areas are empty and unused. Today, the most important fairs are the Leipziger Buchmesse, PaintExpo and the Auto Mobil International.

General facts
The new Leipzig Trade Fair was built between 1995 and April 1996. The new fairground consists of six halls: five exhibition halls, which have a size of 20,000 m², and the world's largest levitated glass hall, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects. The fairground has about 14,000 parking spaces and is accessible by tram, train, bus, or car.

Company facts
Leipziger Messe GmbH was founded after the reunification of Germany on 13 June 1996. It is owned equally by Saxony and the city of Leipzig. The firm employs about 400 people, working in the parent company CCL and its subsidiaries. There are two people leading the Leipziger Messe GmbH: the CEO is Mr. Martin Buhl-Wagner and the CTO is Mr. Markus Geisenberger. The subsidiaries are:
 * FAIRNET (booth construction)
 * Leipziger Messe Gastveranstaltungen (event organization)
 * LMI Leipziger Messe International (international trade fair organization)
 * MaxicoM (bringing foreign companies to Germany)
 * fairgoumet (gastronomical services)

Leipziger Messe GmbH also has about 22 departments abroad, most of which are autonomous.

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

title: Leipzig Trade Fair


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Douglas Byng

Douglas Coy Byng (17 March 1893 – 24 August 1987) was an English comic singer and songwriter in West End theatre, revue and cabaret. Billed as "Bawdy but British", Byng was famous for his female impersonations. His songs are full of sexual innuendo and double entendres. Due to the prejudices of the law and of the public at that time, Byng was a closeted gay performer. To have been out, would have been social and professional suicide. He was noted for his camp performances in the music halls and in cabaret. Byng made a large number of recordings, many of which have been transferred to CD. Byng was also a noted pantomime dame and appeared in over 30 pantomimes.

Early life
Byng was born on 17 March 1893 in Basford, Nottinghamshire. His father was a bank manager and his mother (whose maiden name was Coy) was a former school teacher. They did not encourage his early theatrical leanings, and when he was ten, they sent him to live in Germany with his elder brother, who owned a lace factory there. Byng studied music and German, but following the trade of his brother he concentrated on fashion. After his return to Britain, he worked for the costume designer Charles Alias in London.

In 1914 Byng answered an advertisement for a light comedian for a seaside concert party and made his first appearance on stage at Hastings. At the age of 21, playing a middle-aged diplomat, he toured more than a hundred towns in the musical comedy The Girl in the Taxi. He continued his theatre work throughout the war, playing character parts in touring comedies and eventually achieving a juvenile lead in 1920.

Between the wars
In the 1920s he took to pantomime, playing the Grand Vizier in Aladdin at the London Palladium in 1921, and in 1924 creating the first of his many pantomime dames as Eliza in Dick Whittington and His Cat at the New Theatre Oxford. In 1925 Byng appeared at the London Pavilion in C. B. Cochran's revue On with the Dance, written by Noël Coward. Byng remained with Cochran for five years in a succession of revues. During this period he opened his own nightclub, The Kinde Dragon, off St Martin's Lane in central London, where he first performed the cabaret drag songs for which he is best remembered, described by the critic Sheridan Morley as "a curious mixture of sophistication, schoolboy humour and double entendre." An example is his Mexican Minnie:
 * Come where the heat from the sun's burning rays Gets you so gaga you tear off your stays! I'm Mexican Minnie, all jolly and ginny I loll in the mountains all day. Though I'm well off the map, I'm just covered in slap, Luring brigands to come and play ha'penny nap. But they get very reckless, and will stay to breakfast Then go off refusing to pay. I say, "Well you can go, "I'm sick of the gang, so "You shan't see my tango today!"

Byng's skill in performance was said to vanquish prudery, but in reality his material was never crude. His famous numbers included: "Sex Appeal Sarah", "Milly the Messy Old Mermaid" and "The Lass who Leaned against the Tower of Pisa". His "Doris, the Goddess of Wind" was revived in Alan Bennett's 2010 play The Habit of Art. He continually tested the patience of the BBC in debating which of his double entendres he would be allowed to speak or sing. He claimed that the rudest joke that he was allowed - because it was not understood - was one in which Nell Gwynne said to King Charles, who enjoyed dancing: "If you must dance, stick the maypole up yourself and dance around it."

In 1931 Byng appeared in cabaret at the Club Lido, in New York, and had a great success. He pursued his career of revue, cabaret and pantomime in London throughout the 1930s, and was the first cabaret artiste to have his name in neon lights in the West End. By the 1930s, Byng's recordings of songs like "I'm Millie, a Messy Old Mermaid", sold well. In the Cole Porter revue Hi Diddle Diddle (1934), he was also the first to sing the celebrated song "Miss Otis Regrets". In 1938 he played his favourite role in a musical, Prince Zorpan, in an adaptation of Emmerich Kálmán's Maritza. Byng wrote all his own words for the piece and also some extra music. In one scene he impersonated a lady violinist, singing "I'm the pest of Budapest that turned the Danube so blue" in which The Times said he shone intensely.

During the Second World War, Byng was busy in musicals and variety, as well as cabaret and entertaining the troops. Afterwards he appeared in more comedies and farces, the best remembered being Georges Feydeau's Hotel Paradiso in 1956 with Alec Guinness at the Winter Garden Theatre in London, reprised in a 1966 film version in which he also appeared. He also turned up sporadically on television, notably in Alan Melville's series Before the Fringe in the 1960s when he sang, or rather recited, some of the old revue songs.

Later years
Byng never really retired from the stage and was working in his late eighties. His career was revived when he made a guest appearance on the BBC's Parkinson show in 1977 with Carol Channing.

In the last years of his life he briefly teamed up with another veteran variety artiste, Billy Milton, in the touring revue Those Thirties Memories, directed by Patrick Newley. He made his last appearance in 1987 in a one-man show at the National Theatre in London at the age of 93. He also wrote an autobiography, As You Were (1970). He features prominently in Patrick Newley's autobiographical memoir The Krays and Bette Davis (2005).

Byng finally moved to Denville Hall, the Actors' Charitable Trust home in Northwood, Middlesex, England. He composed his own epitaph:
 * So here you are, old Douglas, a derelict at last. Before your eyes what visions rise of your vermilion past. Mad revelry beneath the stars, hot clasping by the lake. You need not sigh, you can't deny, you've had your bit of cake.

He died on 24 August 1987 aged 94. His ashes were scattered outside his former home in Arundel Terrace, Brighton. A Brighton bus is named after him.

title: Douglas Byng


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Bay of All Saints

The Bay of All Saints (Baía de Todos os Santos), also known as All Saints' Bay and Todos os Santos Bay, is the principal bay of the Brazilian state of Bahia, to which it gave its name. It sits on the eastern coast of Brazil, surrounding part of Bahia's capital Salvador and opening to the Atlantic Ocean. It covers 1223 km2, making it the largest bay in Brazil.

Farol da Barra (Barra Lighthouse), on the site of a historic fort, stands at the entrance of the bay. The Bay of All Saints is shallow along much of its area with an average depth of 9.8 m. The Paraguaçu River travels 500 km to empty into the bay and the coastal lowlands of the Reconcavo Basin are at its mouth. It contains 91 islands, the largest being Itaparica Island at its entrance. Other important islands include the Ilha dos Frades, ilha de Maré, ilha de Bom Jesus, and the small Ilha do Medo.

History
The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci was the first European to visit the bay, during his second expedition to the Americas. He entered the bay on All Saints' Day (November 1), 1501. He named the Bay of the Holy Savior of All the Saints after the date and his parish church in Florence, San Salvatore di Ognissanti. Initially, the bay, its principal settlement, and the captaincy around it all shared the same name, but they were eventually distinguished, the state becoming simply Bahia, the bay becoming the Bay of All Saints, and the city becoming first Bahia and now (usually) Salvador.

In 1501, one year after the arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet in Porto Seguro, Gaspar de Lemos arrived at the Bay of All Saints and sailed most of the Bahia coast. The first European to disembark in Morro de São Paulo was Martim Afonso de Sousa in 1531, while he was leading an expedition charged with exploring the coast of the new continent.

Salvador was a major slave port for the sugarcane fields of Brazil by the early 18th century. In the whaling days, it was also a popular spot, since the bay was a mating ground for whales.

The northeast shore of the Bay of All Saints is home to Brazil's first active oil fields. The municipality of São Francisco do Conde, at the north of the bay, remains a port that serves the oil refineries at Mataripe. The bay is dredged from the port to the Atlantic Ocean to remain open to shipping.

title: Bay of All Saints


text: User talk:156.110.47.90

title: User talk:156.110.47.90


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Xbox network

The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox LIVE, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original Xbox console on November 15, 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the system's launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. This same version is also used with Xbox Series X and Series S. This service, in addition to a Microsoft account, is the account for Xbox ecosystem; accounts can store games and other content.

The service was extended in 2007 across the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, now defunct, which made most aspects of the system available on Windows computers. The Xbox app is now used to cross over the Xbox ecosystem into PC gaming, in addition to handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Play Anywhere initiative. Microsoft's former mobile operating system, Windows Phone, included full Xbox Live functionality until it was discontinued. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15, 2010, and original Xbox Games are now only playable online through Insignia, an unofficial Xbox Live replacement service, or through local area network (LAN) tunneling applications.

Xbox network service is available as both a free service and a subscription-based service known as Xbox Game Pass Core. In 2021, Microsoft renamed Xbox Live as simply the "Xbox network" to cover all of its services related to Xbox, and began slowly phasing out all "Live" branding until it was fully removed in 2023.

Availability
The Xbox network is available in 42 countries.

 * 🇦🇷 Argentina*
 * 🇦🇺 Australia
 * 🇦🇹 Austria
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * 🇨🇱 Chile*
 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇨🇴 Colombia*
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark
 * 🇫🇮 Finland
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * 🇭🇰 Hong Kong
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary
 * 🇮🇳 India
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland
 * 🇮🇱 Israel
 * 🇮🇹 Italy
 * 🇯🇵 Japan
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand
 * 🇳🇴 Norway
 * 🇵🇱 Poland
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal
 * 🇷🇺 Russia*
 * 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia*
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea
 * 🇪🇸 Spain
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey
 * 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates*
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 United States

'*' = Country where Xbox network and Store are officially available, but the Store is in Global currency USD, not in local currency.

Users from other countries are not officially supported, although it is possible for them to access Xbox network if they provide an address located in a country where Xbox network is officially available. The country selected during account creation affects the payment options, content, and services available to the user. Previously, users were unable to change their account region, but in October 2012, Microsoft introduced an account migration tool as a pilot project, which allows the user to change their region and maintain their Xbox network profile. Subscriptions, such as that for Xbox Music, cannot be transferred with this method.

On May 18, 2011, Microsoft announced that it planned to launch Xbox network in the Middle East within the next twelve months, but it never occurred during that time period. However, on October 20, 2012, Microsoft officially announced the service will be launching in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in three days time. On November 4, Microsoft announced that the service would be launched on November 29 in Argentina and Israel. The service also appeared in the following month in Slovakia and Turkey. The service was launched in China in late 2014.

Launch with the original Xbox
As Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Sega had made an attempt to capitalize on the ever-growing online gaming scene when it launched the Dreamcast video game console in 1999, including online support as standard, with the SegaNet service in North America and Dreamarena in Europe. Nevertheless, due to lack of widespread broadband adoption at the time, the Dreamcast shipped with only a dial-up modem while a later-released broadband adapter was neither widely supported nor widely available. Downloadable content was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection and the size limitations of a memory card. The PlayStation 2 did not initially ship with built-in networking capabilities.

Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the Dreamcast had failed. The company determined that intense online gaming required the throughput of a broadband connection and the storage space of a hard disk drive, and thus these features would be vital to the new platform. This would allow not only for significant downloadable content, such as new levels, maps, weapons, challenges and characters, to be downloaded quickly and stored, but also would make it possible to standardize bandwidth intensive features such as voice communication. Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates both had a vision of making premium download content and add-ons that would attract many new customers. Based on this reasoning, the console included a standard Ethernet port (10/100) in order to provide connectivity to common broadband networks, but did not include a modem or any dial-up support, and its online service was designed to support broadband users only. Critics scoffed at it, citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century.

When the Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live was finally given a name at E3 2002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety. Sound-dampened booths and broadband-connected Xbox consoles—featuring an early version of Unreal Championship—demonstrated the service on the show floor. The Epic title was one of the flagship titles for the service, which was slated for a debut on November 15, 2002, marking the anniversary of the Xbox launch. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003. Utilizing the required broadband bandwidth, Xbox Live featured a unified gaming "Friends List", as well as a single identity across all titles (regardless of the publisher), and standardized voice chat with a headset and communication, a feature that was still in its infancy.

Leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of beta testers to improve the service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta testers were given Re-Volt! (which was never released officially) and NFL Fever 2003 to beta test. Once beta testing concluded, Microsoft sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card, a headset carrying case, and a beta tester t-shirt with the slogan "I've got great hands". When the service debuted, it lacked much of the functionality that later titles included, but Xbox Live grew and evolved on the Xbox and many aspects of the service were included with the Xbox 360 console out of the box, rather than through a later update. Microsoft granted Live-related patent that gives Xbox 360 users access to watch other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live.

The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox console featured a trademark luminescent orange-gold bar underneath the Xbox header. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Brute Force sported a Live "bubble" design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal orange-gold Live bar. By the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a limited form of Xbox Live "awareness". In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users. In July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users.

Subsequent growth
On November 15, 2007, Microsoft celebrated Xbox Live's 5th anniversary by offering its then over 8 million subscribers the title Carcassonne free of charge and awarding gamers who had subscribed to Live since its inception 500 free Microsoft Points. Due to intermittent service interruptions during late December 2007 and early January 2008, Microsoft promised to offer a free Xbox Live Arcade game to all Xbox Live users as compensation, in an open letter to all Xbox Live members from Marc Whitten, Xbox LIVE General Manager. Increased demand from Xbox 360 purchasers (the largest number of new user sign-ups in the history of Xbox Live) was given as the reason for the downtime. On January 18, 2008, Microsoft announced Undertow would be offered free to both Gold and Free members for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation.

On November 12, 2009, Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, announced that November 10, 2009, the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 marked the busiest day ever on Xbox Live, with over two million active users simultaneously.

On February 5, 2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members. On the same day, Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live's Major Nelson, announced on his blog that Xbox Live support for the original Xbox would be discontinued on April 15, 2010, including online play through backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 and all downloadable content for original Xbox games.

In August 2010, Microsoft announced an increase to the cost of Xbox Live Gold in several countries by 20%, for the first time since its inception. The basic service was also renamed. Prior to October 2010, the free service was known as Xbox Live Silver.

It was announced on June 10, 2011, that the service is going to be fully integrated into Microsoft's Windows 8.

In October 2011, Microsoft announced live streaming cable television with various providers.

In February 2013, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, shared that Xbox Live members now number 46 million, up 15 percent from a year ago, during the Dive into Media conference in Southern California.

In June 2014, Microsoft retracted the Xbox Live Gold requirements to access streaming media apps (including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Internet Explorer, Skype, and others), though various rental or subscription fees may still apply.

On December 25, 2014, both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered network disruption after a denial-of-service attack. Functionality was restored on December 28, with some users experiencing difficulties in the days that followed. A group called, "The Phantom Squad" has threatened to disrupt the Xbox Live network through a denial-of-service attack on December 25, 2015.

In 2019, the Official Xbox Magazine revealed that Xbox Live would be made cross platform, and will serve Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch.

Microsoft added Xbox Live Gold to its Xbox Game Pass program as part of a new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier in April 2019.

Rebranding
On January 22, 2021, Microsoft planned to increase the prices for the Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, as follows: by $1 for the monthly subscription ($10.99 from $9.99), by $5 for the 3-month subscription ($29.99 from $24.99), by $20 for the 6-month subscription ($59.99 from $39.99), and by $60 (double the price) for the 12-month subscription ($119.99 from $59.99). However, the 6-month and 12-month subscription price increases would not affect existing subscribers when they resubscribed at the same level, nor those already subscribed through the Xbox Games Pass Ultimate program. However, after complaints from the Xbox community, Microsoft made an announcement on the same day that they revoked their decision, and that they would not increase the prices of any of the subscriptions, thus they would remain the same as they were.

Microsoft officially announced that they would be branding Xbox Live as "Xbox network" in March 2021 as to cover all the services related to Xbox and not just Xbox Live. Xbox Live Gold would remain the same name and to distinguish the subscription program from the set of services. Microsoft also stated that with this, it will eliminate the requirement to have Xbox Live Gold to play free-to-play games on Xbox consoles.

By January 2021, Microsoft reported that there were more than 100 million Xbox users (including those through the Xbox Game Pass subscription).

Gamertag
A gamertag is the universal name for a player's username on the Xbox network. A gamertag is a unique identifier, and can include numbers, letters, and spaces. Gamertags can be changed using an Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, or Xbox 360 console (first time is free, all other changes afterwards are charged), while the Xbox 360 supports eight Xbox network-enabled profiles per memory unit and thirty-two profiles on the hard drive.

A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new gamertag, or confirming that a gamertag exists. Using a valid gamertag, any player can be found and messaged from within the network. There are also several websites which allow users of gamertags to upload photos and information about themselves.

Gamertags also contain avatar images (or "gamer pictures"), with the stock images sometimes associated with certain games or game characters. On Xbox 360, individual gamerpics are available, but they are usually bundled into packs. It is also possible to take "Public" pictures (which are shown to all that view a profile, unless the user has a different "personal" picture set) which can be taken of avatars while using the avatar editor. On Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, players are able to upload custom images of their choice through the Xbox app, subject to Xbox approval.

Users were formerly forbidden to use strings such as gay or refer to homosexuality in any way in their gamertag or profile due to it being considered "content of a sexual nature", even if the string occurs in a legitimate surname. Incidents where a woman was suspended from the service for identifying herself as a lesbian, and an incident where a male user was suspended for using his surname "Gaywood" in his username attracted controversy. In February 2009, Xbox Live Lead Program Manager for Enforcement Stephen Toulouse clarified the service's policy on sexual identification, stating that "Expression of any sexual orientation [...] is not allowed in Gamertags" but that the company is "examining how we can provide it in a way that won't get misused". Changes announced in March 2010 permit Xbox Live members to express sexual orientation in their gamertags and profiles.

Gamerscore
The Gamerscore (G) is an achievements point accumulation system that reflects the number of achievements accumulated by a user on Xbox through the displaying of the number of points accumulated. These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches and other various in game challenges.

Initially, retail Xbox 360 games offered up to 1,000G spread over a variable number of Achievements, while each Xbox Live Arcade title contained 12 Achievements totaling 200G. On February 1, 2007, Microsoft announced on their Gamerscore Blog some new policies that developers must follow related to Gamerscore and Achievements in future releases. All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in the base game; the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points, but anything added later must be free. Game developers also now have the option of adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every quarter after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points). Xbox Live Arcade titles also allowed players to obtain Gamerscore, initially up to 200 Gamerscore with additional points up to 50 Gamerscore via downloadable content (for a total of 250 points), but some XBLA games now contain up to 400 Gamerscore without DLC.

On March 25, 2008, Microsoft cracked down on "Gamerscore cheaters" (those who used external tools to artificially inflate their Gamerscore), and reduced their Gamerscores to zero without the option to recover the scores that had been "earned", and branded the player by denoting on their Gamertag that they were a "Cheater".

The development of the Gamerscore system had created a new niche in the internet economy. Many websites have been created to provide gamers with tips and tricks for getting achievement points. Some sites are solely devoted to these achievement guides, and some blogs provide gaming guides in addition to their other content.

On March 13, 2014, Ray Cox IV or "Stallion83" became the first player in history to reach 1 million Gamerscore.

Gamecard
The Gamecard is an information panel used to summarize one's user profile on Microsoft's Xbox network. The pieces of information on a Gamercard include:
 * Gamertag
 * Gamer picture (avatar)
 * Reputation (only shown on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S if the viewed player is constantly violating the Community Standards)
 * Gamerscore
 * Gamer Zone (Xbox 360 only)
 * Recent games played

A player's Gamercard can be viewed via the guide, the Xbox app, or online through Xbox.com.

Similarly, Mac OS X users were able to download widgets that display their Xbox Live Gamercard within Mac OS X's Dashboard. These can be downloaded onto any Mac with OS X 10.4 or higher via Apple's widget download page.

On Xbox 360, there were four Gamer Zones; Recreation is for casual gamers, Family is for family-friendly gamers (without profanity, etc.), Pro is for competitive gamers who enjoy a challenge, and Underground is for no-holds-barred gaming where anything goes (as long as it does not violate the Xbox Live Terms of Use). However, in practice these gamer zones were displayed only on the Gamercard of the player, and did not tend to affect the gameplay experience or the matching of players in online games.

TrueSkill
TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking system which was first implemented as part of the Xbox 360's Live service. Developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge (United Kingdom), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in over 150 titles for the Xbox 360 and was used in the Games for Windows – Live game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. It uses a mathematical model of uncertainty to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as Elo. For example, a new player joining million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20 games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities.

When matchmaking, the system attempts to match individuals based on their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every match as competitive as possible.

In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design, players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games. However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its own individual TrueSkill rating. To provide less competitive games, the system supports unranked Player Matches, which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the TrueSkill rating.

Microsoft Store
The Microsoft Store is the current digital marketplace for the Xbox ecosystem starting in 2017 for the Xbox One. It is available on consoles and on Xbox's website (as well as its own website), offering games from across all of Xbox's generations, in addition to movies, television shows, and multiple apps available as streaming services for music or television.

Xbox 360 stores
Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) is a unified storefront for the Xbox 360 which offers both free and premium content for download including Xbox Live Arcade titles, Xbox indie games, original Xbox games, Xbox 360 game demos, game expansion material (e.g. extra maps, vehicles, songs), trailers, gamer pictures and themes, television shows, music videos, movie rentals, Apps and games and more.

On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced Microsoft Movies & TV (Microsoft Films & TV in other supported countries) (formerly Xbox Video Marketplace, Xbox Video and Zune Video), an exclusive video store accessible through the Xbox 360. Launched in the United States on November 22, 2006, the first anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch, the service allows users in the United States to download high-definition and standard-definition television shows for purchase and movies for rental onto an Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips, content is not currently available for streaming, and must be downloaded. Movies are available for rental from the Video Marketplace. They expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24 hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first. Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1 surround audio and are encoded using VC-1 for video at 720p, with a bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s. Television content is offered from MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Turner Broadcasting and CBS; and movie content is Warner Bros., Paramount and Disney, along with other publishers.

Xbox Play Anywhere
Originally called Live Anywhere, Play Anywhere is a cross-platform service allowing owners of Xbox and Windows games the ability to use said games on either operating system. Under the scheme, supported games purchased digitally on Microsoft Store for Xbox One can also be downloaded on a Windows 10 PC (running Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later) through Microsoft Store using the same Microsoft account at no additional charge, and vice versa. The scheme also promotes the ability to synchronize save data, achievements, and downloadable content between Windows 10 and Xbox One versions of a game.

Microsoft announced in March 2019 that it would be providing Xbox Live SDKs for iOS and Android mobile devices, allowing developers on those platforms to integrate most services of the Xbox network into their applications and games. Microsoft also stated that they were looking to bring this functionality to the Nintendo Switch, anticipating this to be a post-launch feature for the Switch port of Cuphead.

History
Play Anywhere was originally released as Live Anywhere as a cross-platform initiative to bring the Xbox network to a wide variety of Microsoft platforms and devices, including Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows (XP SP2/SP3, Vista and 7), Windows Phone, and Zune. Microsoft's Chris Early said of Live Anywhere in 2006 that "it [was] a long-term project expected to be rolled out over several years". While a concept service for mobile devices was demonstrated at E3 2006 and CES 2006 on a Motorola Q mobile phone, it never released.

On February 15, 2010, Microsoft announced its new mobile operating system, Windows Phone. With Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile 10, Microsoft integrated full Xbox Live functionality. Windows Phone has since been discontinued.

At E3 2016 on June 14, 2016, Play Anywhere was announced, rebranding Live Anywhere, and releasing on September 13, 2016.

Xbox Game Pass Core
Xbox Game Pass Core, formerly Xbox Live Gold, is a paid subscription service for the Xbox network. Signing up for the Xbox network is free, but a recurring subscription fee is required to access online multiplayer for non-free games. Features that require a Game Pass Core subscription also include game recording and media sharing. Similarly, ordinary Xbox network members can download and access the Twitch live streaming application, but in order to broadcast gameplay of one's own, a Game Pass core subscription is necessary. While initially requiring the paid subscription, free-to-play titles, as well as the party chat feature on Xbox consoles, no longer need a subscription to play as of April 2021. Subscribers are allocated storage space on Xbox servers for storing files, and are granted early or exclusive access to betas, and special offers.

On September 14, 2023, Xbox Live Gold was replaced by Xbox Game Pass Core. It carries the same subscription benefits as Xbox Live Gold, but Games with Gold had been discontinued and replaced with a limited selection of games from Xbox Game Pass, with 36 that had been launched and more will be added occasionally.

Games with Gold
Games with Gold was a program in which digital downloads of games were offered at no charge to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Games with Gold initially launched with the Xbox 360 in July 2013, while Xbox One games were added in June 2014. After October 2022, Games with Gold no longer offered Xbox 360 games, with Microsoft stating that they "have reached the limit of our ability to bring Xbox 360 games to the catalogue". Games downloaded through the program on Xbox 360 were free to own with no further restrictions. Xbox One Games with Gold titles required an active Gold subscription in order to use, and became locked and unplayable if the subscription lapsed. As of November 2015, all Games with Gold titles for Xbox 360 were backwards compatible on Xbox One. The service was discontinued on September 14, 2023 as part of the Xbox network rebranding and focusing on a base-level Game Pass tier.

Programs
The "Game with Fame" initiative was Microsoft's way to connect Xbox Live members with celebrities and game developers. Notable participants of "Game with Fame" include Shia LaBeouf, Jack Black, Rihanna, Velvet Revolver, Victoria Justice, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scissor Sisters, Paramore, Korn, OK Go, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Dream Theater, Linkin Park, Green Day and Insane Clown Posse.

"Xbox Ambassadors" are Xbox network members selected by Microsoft who have proven themselves to be helpful towards others, and are willing to assist new Xbox users and answer their questions. As of March 2009, there are ambassadors representing 18 countries in more than 30 languages.

"Xbox Rewards" was a promotion designed to provide gamers incentives to play on the Xbox network by subsidizing achievement points earned with actual rewards. Gamers were required to register for specific challenges which, if successfully completed, would yield a challenge-specific reward.

Microsoft Rewards is a current promotion providing Xbox network members with Reward Points (not to be confused with the defunct Microsoft Points) when they achieve Game Pass goals, buy something on the Marketplace, etc.

"Xbox Live Labs" was a program found in the community section and was available from March 10 to 27, 2011 for members in the United States. If a player chose to participate, they were rewarded with avatar items and 3 zero-point achievements.

Metamessage was a show which aimed to answer questions sent in by viewers on anything related to the world of Xbox. The show ran for four series and was released every other Saturday. The show was driven entirely by user-generated questions. To ensure the volume of questions remained high, fans could contact the show in a variety of ways, including sending questions to the Metamessage Gamertag over Xbox LIVE, writing an email, or using social network websites.

Security
Microsoft implements a number of different security measures on its Xbox network service. One of these takes the form of a proactive security check that assures that only unmodified machines may access their service. On May 17, 2007, Microsoft banned consoles with modified firmware from Xbox Live. A Microsoft representative indicated that the action was taken to assure "the integrity of the service and protect our partners and users.". According to Microsoft, consoles with firmware of unknown origin, quality or intent were banned permanently from the Xbox network.

It has been discovered that pretexting has been used to impersonate an Xbox network user for sabotage. Microsoft subsequently implemented greater security to decrease the service's susceptibility to social engineering.

In early November 2009 Microsoft banned approximately 1 million consoles with modified firmware from Xbox Live.

In October 2011, users of Xbox Live reported having unauthorized access to their Xbox Live accounts, with Microsoft points subsequently being used and/or bought to purchase various in-game items for FIFA 12. Microsoft responded to such incidents by restricting access to the account for 25 days while the fraud team investigated. Both EA and Microsoft denied the existence of a wider security breach.

On December 25, 2014, both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered network disruption after a denial-of-service attack. Functionality was restored on December 28, with some users experiencing difficulties in the days that followed.

First-generation Xbox Live shutdown
Xbox Live for the original Xbox was discontinued by Microsoft on April 15, 2010, encouraging gamers to upgrade to the Xbox 360. Through loopholes and flaws, however, users were still able to play after the provided time and date Microsoft announced the shutdown. Users could continue interacting in the network; new users, however, could not enter the system. Notably, 14 users played Halo 2 until May 11, 2010. Though official Xbox Live service has been discontinued for the original Xbox, tunneling software exists, allowing original Xbox users to play system link games such as Halo 2 with other people from around the world, much like Xbox Live.

The "Noble 14"
The Noble 14 were a band of users who continued to play Halo 2 until May 11, 2010, 26 days after the service was officially discontinued by Microsoft. The users would play custom games together, with all attempting to stay on for as long as possible. An Xbox spokesperson made a statement regarding the Noble 14, "A small band of a committed few, engaged in a battle against insurmountable odds. It's not Noble team from Halo: Reach, it's the final, passionate few who are still playing Halo 2. We wish them the best in their battle against time." The last 12 users were offered Halo: Reach Beta Codes by GamesRadar.com, as well as having their Xbox Live memberships extended by Microsoft. Eventually "Agent Windex" and "Apache N4SIR" were the final two users on the service, however two days after the third user "Lord Odysseus11" was disconnected by an internet drop, user Agent Windex was booted on May 10, stating "Good job Apache, you're the last one." The next day, May 11, Apache N4SIR was booted offline after many hours since Agent Windex was disconnected. He stated that he wanted to play 15 hours, 14 for each member, then one final hour for the community.

Revenue
Bloomberg has estimated that Xbox network likely generated over $1 billion in revenue in the 2010 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2010.

authors: Димитрий Улянов Иванов

title: Xbox network


text:
Talk:The Omen

Analysis
The analysis section of this article is quite bloated, and only tangentially deals with The Omen. It seems to double as a religion vs. secularism screed. It should be pared down. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.83.76.224 (talk) 12:07, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:The Omen


text:
User talk:Helldjinn~enwiki

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions
Hi. Just letting you know that I'm currently working on this translation. Psp 20:19, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Translation completed and waiting for review. Psp 23:22, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Unreferenced BLPs
Hello Helldjinn! Thank you for your contributions. I am a bot alerting you that 1 of the articles that you created  is an  Unreferenced Biography of a Living Person. Please note that all biographies of living persons must be sourced. If you were to add reliable, secondary sources to this article, it would greatly help us with the current Category:All_unreferenced_BLPs article backlog. Once the article is adequately referenced, please remove the unreferencedBLP tag. Here is the article:

Thanks!--DASHBot (talk) 19:47, 2 January 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira -

Your account will be renamed
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Renamed
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ArbCom elections are now open!
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Proposed deletion of Dream Country

The article Dream Country has been proposed for deletion  because of the following concern:
 * No sources fails WP:NOTE

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on |the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion.  SabreBD  (talk ) 20:03, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

title: User talk:Helldjinn~enwiki


text:
User talk:MardukZero

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia! Hope you like it here, and stick around.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * To sign your posts (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type ~~~ (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~~~~ (4 tildes).
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Talk:Will & Grace
I responded to your edit. Mike H 08:40, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC)

Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito
Can I ask where you found that Lilith's hat was named 'John Harry' and not 'Joe Harry' ? It's been a while since I played the game, but I was pretty sure it was the latter. -Seventh Holy Scripture 23:15, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

Hmm, you're right. In the game fanbook and the game it's "Joe Harry" or "Joe-kun", but on the anime series OST the track name is "John Harry." It looks like a discrepancy between the two. -Seventh Holy Scripture 21:08, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

In Japanese, the same kanji can have several different pronounciations, which is awesome for puns but often confusing. The kanji 旅人 can be read "tabibito" (by far the most common), "tabinin" or "ryojin", so that's the source of the mistake. In this case, the romaji "Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito" is printed on some official materials, so I know that's correct.

http://muchan.org/stuff/DSC00167.jpg (sorry for poor readability) -Seventh Holy Scripture 04:13, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:MardukZero


text:
Yellow Cab Ambassador

Ambassador was an automobile produced by the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois, U.S., between 1921 and 1925.

History
Initially sold for use as a taxicab, the Model D-1 was introduced as a "drive-yourself" model in 1924.

Yellow Cab introduced the "Ambassador" in 1921 and "explained that this car was being made up to order". The Ambassador was available as a 4-passenger sport or 7-passenger touring for US$4,500, as well as a Berlin limousine or sedan for $6,500. All featured a 136 in wheelbase and a special 6-cylinder Continental L-head (Flathead engine) engine.

In 1925 Yellow Cab was taken over by General Motors. John D. Hertz remained as president and the Ambassador D-1 model became the "Hertz". Apart from a larger engine in 1927, production continued with little change until 1928. Most were sedans, although other body styles were available.

title: Yellow Cab Ambassador


text:
Agustín Barrios

Agustín Pío Barrios (also known as Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga—Agustin spelled backward—Mangoré; May 5, 1885 – August 7, 1944) was a Paraguayan virtuoso classical guitarist and composer, largely regarded as one of the greatest performers and most prolific composers for the guitar.

Birthplace
It has been generally accepted that Barrios was born in San Juan Bautista, Paraguay, although the baptismal document in the book of registries in the cathedral of that city does not give his place of birth and several biographers and authorities present evidence that he was actually born in nearby Villa Florida, Misiones, on the Tebicuary River, 30 km to the north; Barrios' diplomatic papers, found in 2019, give "Missiones" [sic] as the place of birth.

Early life
As a child, Barrios developed a love of music and literature, two arts that were very important to his family. Barrios would eventually speak two languages (Spanish and Guarani), and read three others (English, French, and German).

Barrios began to show an interest in musical instruments, particularly the guitar, before he reached his teens. He went to Asunción in 1900, at the age of fifteen, to attend Colegio Nacional de Asunción, thus becoming one of the youngest university students in Paraguayan history. Apart from his studies in the music department, Barrios was highly appreciated by members of the mathematics, journalism and literature departments. He was a skilled graphic artist and worked for a time in the Agricultura bank and the Paraguayan Naval office.

After leaving the Colegio Nacional, Barrios dedicated his life to music, poetry, and travel. He composed more than 100 original works and arranged another 200 works of other composers. Barrios made several friends during his many trips across South America. He was known for giving his friends and fans signed copies of his poems. As a consequence, there are several versions of his poetical works that have surfaced across the Americas. Many current collectors warn potential buyers to be careful when they come across a work reportedly autographed by Barrios because of known forgeries.

Career
Barrios was famed for his phenomenal performances, both live and on gramophone recordings. Eye-witness testimony from Lope Texera in Caracas Venezuela on April 18, 1932, declared that Barrios was "superior to Segovia whom I saw in London last year". Barrios has been credited as the first classical guitarist to make recordings, in 1909/10, but the earliest known recording were by guitarists Luis and Simon Ramirez, onto cylinders, for the "Viuda de Aramburo" label, in Madrid, between 1897 and 1901. Barrios sometimes performed in concert in traditional Paraguayan dress (he was partly of Guaraní origin), beginning in 1932 using the pseudonym of Nitsuga Mangoré ('Nitsuga' being Agustín spelled backwards, and 'Mangoré' being the name of a cacique of the South American indigenous group Timbú).

His works were largely late-Romantic in character, despite his having lived well into the twentieth century. Many of them are also adaptations of, or are influenced by, South American and Central American folk music. Many of them are considered virtuosic.

The Johann Sebastian Bach-inspired La Catedral, from 1921, is widely considered to be Barrios' magnum opus, even winning the approval of Andrés Segovia, who said "In 1921 in Buenos Aires, I played at the hall La Argentina noted for its good acoustics for guitar, where Barrios had concertized just weeks before me. He was presented to me by his secretary Elbio Trapani. At my invitation Barrios visited me at the hotel and played for me upon my very own guitar several of his compositions among which the one that really impressed me was a magnificent concert piece The Cathedral whose first movement is an andante, like an introduction and prelude, and a second very virtuosic piece which is ideal for the repertory of any concert guitarist. Barrios had promised to send me immediately a copy of the work (I had ten days remaining before continuing my journey) but I never received a copy." However, it is equally possible that Segovia did receive the score and chose not to play it, either out of distaste for Barrios' folk-based music or professional jealousy (because Barrios was more of a composer than he was).

Later life and death
After touring Europe in 1934-35, Barrios performed in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Several writers have suggested that Barrios revisited Mexico in 1939, but his immigration file with the Mexican government did not include an entry for him or his wife Gloria that year. He fulfilled his dream to reach the United States after getting an entry visa at the US Embassy in Maracaibo Venezuela on December 23, 1936. Ship passenger lists reveal that Barrios and his wife travelled as diplomats and arrived in Puerto Rico, a US territory, in January 1937.

He reportedly suffered a myocardial infarction in front of the US Embassy in Guatemala City on October 27, 1939, after it was discovered that he was travelling with phony diplomatic papers issued by his lifetime friend and Patron Tomas Salomoni. Having recently been in Germany, at the lead-in to the Second World War, Barrios was never again able to use his diplomatic connections. He was sent an invitation to leave Guatemala because of his political leanings. He accepted the invitation of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, then President of El Salvador, to move to El Salvador and take up a position in the Conservatory and Declamation Rafael Olmedo.

He was never to leave El Salvador. Past biographers suggested that, on August 7, 1944, he suffered a second myocardial infarction which caused his death, but this is still undetermined. A forensic physician has suggested that his death was more likely due to poisoning. At the time, Barrios' wife was carrying on an open affair with the Italian coffee plantation owner Pasquale Cosarelli, who was also residing in the Barrios household. Cosarelli was soon to marry Barrios' widow, and had both the motive and the chemicals to carry out the murder. Barrios was buried at Cementerio de Los Ilustres, having been carried there in the hottest week of the year on the shoulders of his students. In the hours after his death, his handwritten scores were stolen by his students along with his scrapbooks.

Twelve "Mangoreanos"
During his career, Barrios taught his patrons Luis Pasquet, Martin Borda Pagola, Dionisio Basualdo, Bautista and Lalyta Almiron, and Raul Borges. Following his extensive travels in Brazil, while he was an active performer and beginning in 1940, he wrote his guitar method to provide guitar instruction after arriving in El Salvador to selected students, mostly of Salvadoran nationality. They were known as the Twelve Mangoreanos:

Luis Mario Samayoa ( -1969), Benjamín Cisneros ( -1987), Rubén Urquilla ( -1993), René Cortés-Andrino ( -1995), Mario Cardona Lazo ( -1999), Jesús Quiroa ( -2001), Jose Cándido Morales ( -2002), Julio Cortés-Andrino ( -2006), Cecilio Orellana ( -2007), Roberto Bracamontes ( -2007), Víctor Urrutia ( -2010) and Elena Valdivieso. Jose Cándido Morales and Roberto Bracamonte were the only ones to learn from Barrios as live-in students in the Barrios home, which functioned as a boarding house. After Barrios' death, Morales remained the keeper of Barrios' legacy, technique and late works.

Folk music
The folk music of Paraguay (including the polca paraguaya and vals) provided the young Barrios with his first introduction to music. In 1898, Barrios was formally introduced to the classical guitar repertoire by Gustavo Sosa Escalada. At that time, Barrios may have already composed works for the guitar, and also performed pieces written by his other composers, such as La Chinita and La Perezosa. Under the influence of his new teacher, Barrios went on to perform and study the works of Tárrega, Viñas, Sor and Aguado. Sosa Escalada was so impressed with his new pupil that he convinced Barrios's parents to let him move to Asunción to continue his education. Having already surpassed the technical and performing abilities of most guitarists, Barrios began seriously to compose around 1905.

Among the folkloric influences, Barrios is known to have played such popular Paraguayan works as "Campamento Cerro León", "Londón Carapé", "Guyrá campana", "Mamá Cumandá". As an example, "Guyrá campana" is very interesting, since some of the material can be heard in parts of Barrios' recording of "Caazapá — Aire Popular Paraguayo". Though "Guyrá campana" is traditional music, many maintain that it is very closely related to guitarist Carlos Talavera (from Caazapá), whom Barrios knew. There are various versions of "Guyrá campana" (it is also known as "Pájaro campana") e.g. for Paraguayan harp (Félix Pérez Cardozo ); in some versions, the birdsong imitations can be very clearly heard.

Composer
Barrios's compositions can be divided into three basic categories: folkloric, imitative and religious. Barrios paid tribute to the music and people of his native land by composing pieces modeled after folk songs from South America and Central America. Implementing the compositional style and techniques of the Baroque and Romantic periods was another side to his craftsmanship. Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios (Alms for the Love of God) is an example of a religiously-inspired work.

Discography

 * Agustin Barrios: The Complete Guitar Recordings 1913–1942 – 3-CD set transferred and digitally remastered from 78-rpm gramophone recordings from Atlanta, Odeon, Artigas labels and some of Barrios' personal home recordings.
 * Agustín Barrios: Complete Music for Solo Guitar – a 6-CD-box released by Brilliant Classics in 2010

Works
Over 300 of Barrios' compositions and arrangements survive. John Williams, former student of Andres Segovia, said of Barrios: "As a guitarist/composer, Barrios is the best of the lot, regardless of era. His music is better formed, it's more poetic, it's more everything! And it's more of all those things in a timeless way."

Outstanding pieces in his repertoire include:

 * Abrí la Puerta Mi China
 * Aconquija (Aire de Quena)
 * Aire de Zamba
 * Aire Popular Paraguayo
 * Aires Andaluces
 * Aires Criollos
 * Aires Mudéjares (fragment)
 * Aire Sureño (fragment)
 * Allegro Sinfónico
 * Altair
 * A Mi Madre-serenata
 * Arabescos
 * Armonías de América
 * Barcarola in D "Júlia Florida" (1938)
 * Bicho Feo
 * Canción de la Hilandera
 * Capricho Español
 * Suite "La catedral" (Preludio—Andante religioso—Allegro solemne) (1921)
 * Chôro da Saudade
 * Confesión (Confissao de Amor)
 * Contemplación
 * Córdoba
 * Cueca (Danza Chilena)
 * Danza en Re Menor
 * Danza Guaraní
 * Danza Paraguaya no.1
 * Danza Paraguaya no.2 'Jha, che valle'
 * Danza Paraguaya (duet version)
 * Diana Guaraní
 * Dinora
 * Divagación en Imitación al Violín
 * Divagaciones Criollas
 * Don Perez Freire
 * El Sueño de la Muñequita
 * Escala y Preludio
 * Estilo Uruguayo
 * Estilo
 * Estudio de Concierto No.1 in A major
 * Estudio de Concierto No.2 in A major
 * Estudio del Ligado in A major
 * Estudio del Ligado in D minor
 * Estudio en Arpegio
 * Estudio en Si Menor (solo and duet)
 * Estudio en Sol Menor
 * Estudio Inconcluso
 * Estudio No. 3
 * Estudio No. 6
 * Estudio Para Ambas Manos
 * Estudio Vals
 * Fabiniana
 * Gavota al Estilo Antiguo
 * Habanera
 * Humoresque
 * Invocación a Mi Madre
 * Jha, Che Valle
 * Julia Florida
 * Junto a tu Corazón
 * Jota
 * La Bananita (tango)
 * La Samaritana
 * Las Abejas
 * Leyenda de España
 * Leyenda Guarani
 * Una limosnita por amor de Dios (or "El ultimo trémolo" or "El último canto")
 * London Carapé
 * Luz Mala
 * Mabelita
 * Madrecita
 * Madrigal Gavota
 * Maxixe
 * Mazurka Apasionata
 * Medallón Antiguo
 * Milonga
 * Minuet in A major
 * Minuet in A major
 * Minuet in B major
 * Minuet in C major
 * Minuet in C minor
 * Minuet in E major
 * Oración (Oración de la Tarde)
 * Oración por Todos
 * Pepita
 * Pericón in F
 * Pericón in G
 * Preludio Op. 5, No. 1
 * Preludio in E major
 * Preludio in A minor
 * Preludio in C major
 * Preludio in C minor
 * Preludio in D minor
 * Preludio in E minor
 * Romanza en Imitación al Violoncello (Página d¹ Album, Fuegos Fátuos)
 * Sargento Cabral
 * Sarita
 * Serenata Morisca
 * Un sueño en la floresta
 * Tango No. 1
 * Tango No. 2
 * Tarantella (Recuerdos de Nápoles)
 * Tua Imagem
 * Vals de Primavera
 * Vals Op. 8, No. 1 (Junto a tu Corazon)
 * Vals Op. 8, No. 2
 * Vals Op. 8, No. 3
 * Vals Op. 8, No. 4
 * Vals Tropical
 * Variaciones sobre un Tema de Tárrega
 * Variaciones sobre el Punto Guanacasteco
 * Vidalita con variaciones in A minor
 * Vidalita in D minor
 * Villancico de Navidad
 * Zapateado Caribe (trio)

He also wrote a couple of poems:
 * Mi Guitarra
 * El Bohemio

Instruments
While in Paraguay, Barrios had access only to instruments of limited quality. However, soon after his arrival in Buenos Aires in 1910, he was exposed to, and played, the finest instruments of his time for the remainder of his career. Barrios normally traveled with two guitars, and had several modified with the addition of a 20th fret. He is documented by photograph to have played the instruments of Spanish luthiers Manuel Ramirez, José Ramírez I, Enrique García, Francisco Simplicio, Domingo Esteso, Enrique Sanfeliu and Ricardo Sanchis Nacher, Brazilian maker Di Giorgio, and in print by Uruguayan maker Rodolfo Camacho.

Film
On August 21, 2015, the film Mangoré – For the Love of Art was released in Asunción, based loosely on the life of Agustin Barrios, with a script and direction by the Chilean filmmaker Luis R. Vera. The guitarist was played by the Mexican actor Damián Alcázar and the Paraguayan actor Celso Franco, star of 7 Boxes. The music in the soundtrack was played by the Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas. The concert scenes were filmed using a guitar by Mexican guitar maker Federico Sheppard.

Biography

 * Agustín Pío Barrios. Archivo Paraguayo de la Música Centro Cultural de la República – El Cabildo, Asunción, Paraguay
 * Mario Serio, Le incisioni discografiche di Agustin Barrios
 * Luis Szarán, Barrios Agustín (Mangoré), Diccionario de la Música en el Paraguay
 * Pagina Cultural del Paraguay: Breve Recordación a Mangoré. Agustín Pío Barrios
 * Agustín Barrios Mangoré: The Folkloric, Imitative, and the Religious Influence Behind His Compositions – a review essay by Johnna Jeong

Other

 * Guitar of Barrios
 * Agustin Barrios International Guitar Competition (Nuoro, Italy)
 * Augustín Barrios recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
 * Augustín Barrios recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

title: Agustín Barrios


text:
Talk:Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

= Page Title = I just renamed the article from Encyclopedia to Encyclopaedia. According to the publisher's web site, the title contains the extra 'a'. -- Dominus 14:33, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Good call!--JStripes 01:24, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

 * That is the GB publisher. Prices are in GB pounds.  My paper edition has it without the extra "a".  Bubba73 (talk), 19:48, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Well, my books are first editions without the "a". Newer printed editions have the "a".  Bubba73 (talk), 19:54, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Ever try ordering directly from them? Crazy nuts send you a brown lunch bag wrapped in packing string. It looks like something the unabomber would send. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.111.251.229 (talk) 06:02, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

buy
Do anyone know where I could order/buy these books from? I'd like the books, the printed editions, and I can't find them on any site (for instance, amazon.com and the like) whatsoever. Even on the homepage I can't find an option for ordering printed editions, only the electronic editions or CDs which are far inferior. — DeclinedShadow (talk) 01:51, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't think they are in print anymore. You can find used copies from the places that sell used books and on eBay. Also, www.bookfinder.com will probably find used copies available. Bubba73 (talk), 01:59, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Still sold in the UK at chess events, various copies on amazon.co.uk as I check now. If you require new then it's also possible to buy them direct from http://www.sahovski.com/products/eco/index.php SunCreator (talk) 14:20, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Importance?
I changed this from High importance to Low importance. My rationale is that I think that Top and High importance articles are ones that are more important for the general reader to read. ECO is important to chess players, but not so important to general readers. The more chess-player oriented an article is, the lower importance as far as Wikipedia is concerned. Bubba73 (talk), 00:22, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

 * I disagree entirely. ECO is important to most chess players. It's far more likely to be of interest then the multitude of chess player bio's that are rated high. The traffic stats show this is the case. http://stats.grok.se/en/200902/Encyclopaedia%20of%20Chess%20Openings http://stats.grok.se/en/200902/Andrei%20Sokolov http://stats.grok.se/en/200902/Akiba%20Rubinstein etc. So not only is ECO high it's higher then many of the other highs. So mid would be inappropriate. SunCreator (talk) 14:10, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Maybe we could bring this discussion to WP:CHESS to broaden the debate ? SyG (talk) 19:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

 * I rated Lucena position, Philidor position and several other articles (mostly articles that I made substantial contributions to) as "Low" importance because I think they are specialized and are very important to chess players but not that important to a general encyclopedia. If this was WikiChess.org, I'd rate them (and ECO) "High".  Bubba73 (talk), 15:39, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Well, actually Lucena and Philidor are both rated Mid importance. I rated Lucena as Mid, someone else rated Philidor as Mid.  Bubba73 (talk), 15:42, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

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Credits for sections
The only ECO volume I have is the much criticized 3rd edition of Volume B, which does not credit individual editors for the various subsections, merely listing them on the copyright page. Not sure if we should include all the credits in the article. MaxBrowne2 (talk) 02:33, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings


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Majuli

Mājuli or Majuli is a large river island located in Assam, India. It is formed by the Brahmaputra River to the south and east, the Subansiri River to the west and an anabranch of the Brahmaputra River called Kherkutia Xuti to the North.

The island is inhabited by members of the Mising, Deori and Sonowal Kachari tribes and is a hub of Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture. It's reachable by ferry from Jorhat, about 250 kilometers northeast of Guwahati.

Due to regular flooding in the rainy season and frequent changes in the river, the island experiences significant erosion. From its 18th century size of 1,300 km2, by 2014, the remaining land mass has shrunk to 352 km2.

It was the first island in the country to become a governmental district in 2016, and since 2004 Majuli is on the UNESCO Tentative List for nomination as a World Heritage Site.

Largest river island
Majuli is the world's largest (inland) river island, according to Guinness World Records. However, the Encyclopædia Britannica cites Bananal Island in Brazil as the largest in the world.

The dispute stems from the Araguaia River that forms Bananal Island either splitting into two separate rivers that later rejoin, or remaining one river that forms an island in its middle.

History
The island was a long and slender piece of land, located between two parallel rivers, the Brahmaputra to the north and the Burhidihing to the south, where they converged at a place called Lakhu. Originally, it bore the name Ratnapur and served as the capital of the mighty Sutiya kingdom. In the years between 1661 and 1696, a series of earthquakes in the 17th century set the stage for a massive flood in 1750, which reshaped the region. This flood caused the Brahmaputra to change course, resulting in the formation of Majuli island.

The Ahom king Pratap Singha built a rampart on Majuli called Meragarh in the first half of the 17th century. Lakshmi Singha (Ahom king who reigned from 1769-1780), wrote a grant in 1776 referring to "Majuli pradesh" and its Kamalabari Satra, Agnichapori, Gajala Satra, and the Tuni River. During the Moamaria rebellion, the island was controlled by Howha, a Moamaria rebel leader.

The Burhi Dihing's confluence moved east by 190 km. The southern channel became the Burhi Xuti, and the northern channel turned into the Luit Xuti. Over time, the Luit Xuti diminished, becoming the Kerkota Xuti, while the Burhi Xuti expanded to become the main Brahmaputra River.

Majuli has been Assamese civilization's cultural hub since the 16th century, connected to the visit of Srimanta Sankardeva, a 16th-century social reformer. Sankardeva, a pioneer of the neo-Vaishnavite movement, preached Vaishnavism and established monasteries called satras on the island.

Majuli became a major hub of Vaishnavism with the establishment of satras. It was under British rule until India gained independence in 1947 and is the world's largest river island..

Over the last 200 years Majuli has shrunk in size as the river surrounding it has grown. In the 1790s, the island covered an area of 1,300 km2. It had an area of 1255 km2 at the beginning of the 20th century, but, having lost significantly to erosion, it covers only 352 km2 as of 2014.

Population
The population of Majuli is comprised of the scheduled tribes and castes as well as the non-tribal caste Hindu Assamese. The indigenous communities include members of the Mising (majority), Deori, Kaibarta, and the Sonowal Kachari tribes who immigrated from Arunachal Pradesh to Majuli centuries ago. The non-tribal caste Hindu Assamese communities include Koch, Kalita, Ahom, Sutiya, and Jogi. Languages spoken are Mising, Assamese, and Deori. The island has 144 villages with a population of over 150,000 and a density of 300 individuals per square km.

A ferry service connecting Majuli to Jorhat operates six times daily. Night buses run from Guwahati to Majuli via Lakhimpur. Despite challenges, modernization has reached the island with the establishment of medical centers and schools. Housing has also transitioned from traditional bamboo and mud structures to concrete ones.

Festivals
The Ali aye ligang festival, celebrated in mid-February for five days, is a grand event starting on the second Wednesday and ending on the first Wednesday of the Falgun month. Local dishes like purang apin (packed boiled rice), apong (rice beer), and various pork, fish, and chicken dishes are served. The traditional Mising dance called Gumrag Soman is performed in every village to worship Donyi polo (mother sun and father moon) for a good harvest.

In upper Majuli, the majority of Christians in the Mising tribe celebrate Christmas, centered in the village of Jengraimukh. For the last half millennium, Majuli has been the cultural center and cradle of Assamese civilization. The satras safeguard ancient artifacts like weapons, utensils, jewelry, and culturally significant items. Traditional pottery is crafted using clay and fired in driftwood kilns, following the methods of the ancient Harappan Civilization. These ancient cultural practices and dance forms remain largely intact, despite pressure from modernizing forces. The hand-loom work of these tribes enjoys international acclaim.

The three-day long Raas Mahotsav festival, portraying Krishna's life, involves virtually everyone on the island. People from afar, even expatriates, come to celebrate. The satras have mastered various art and craft traditions, some of which are exclusive to this region. For instance, mask-making is a craft found in Natun Samuguri Satra, and Kamalabari Satra is renowned for crafting exceptional boats.

Neo-Vaishnavite Satras
Majuli has long been the center of Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture, which started in the 15th century under the guidance of the Assamese saint Srimanta Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva. Many of the satras built by Sankardeva still stand, reflecting the vibrant Assamese culture. Sankardeva sought refuge in Majuli, spending time in Belguri in West Majuli, where the historic Manikanchan Sanjog event took place when he met Madhavdeva for the first time. The first satra in Majuli was established in Belguri by Sankardeva, leading to the creation of 65 satras in total. However, today, only 22 of the original 65 are still active. Out of the 665 original satras in Assam, 65 were located in Majuli.

The main surviving Satras (Satra) are:
 * Dakhinpat Satra: Founded by Banamalidev, it's known for celebrating Raasleela, now recognized as one of Assam's National Festivals.
 * Garamur Satra: Garamur Satra, founded by Lakshmikantadeva, consists of two parts: Garamur Bor Satra and Garamur Saru Satra. They celebrate the traditional Raasleela with grandeur at the end of autumn and house ancient weapons known as "Bartop" or cannons.
 * Auniati Satra: Founded by Niranjan Pathakdeva, this satra is renowned for "Paalnaam" and Apsara Dances, as well as its extensive collection of ancient Assamese artifacts, utensils, jewelry, and handicrafts. It has 125 disciples and over 700,000 global followers.
 * Kamalabari Satra: The Kamalabari Satra, founded by Bedulapadma Ata, is a centre of art, cultural, literature and classical studies on the island. Its branch the Uttar Kamalabari Satra has performed cultural programmes of the Satria Art all around the country and abroad.
 * Narashingha Satra: In the year of 1746 Shri Shri Alengi Narasingha Satra was established by Ahom King Promottra Singha.
 * Benegenaati Satra: It is a reliquary of antiques of cultural importance and an advanced centre of performing art. Muraridev, the grandson of Sankaradeva's stepmother was the founder of the Satra. The royal raiment belongs to the Ahom king Swargadeo Godadhar Singha, is made of gold. Also preserved is the royal umbrella made in gold.
 * Shamaguri Satra: The satra is famous for the mask making in India.
 * Bihimpur satra Satra: These satras hold the treasures of "Borgeet," Matiakhara, and Satriya Dances, including various forms like Jumora Dance, Chali Dance, Notua Dance, Nande Vringee, Sutradhar, Ozapali, Apsara Dance, Satria Krishna Dance, and Dasavater Dance, all propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva. They've also become a center for spiritual purification (shuddhi) in Northeast India, thanks to the efforts of Pitambar Deva Goswami.

Literature
Neo-Vaishnavi preacher Madhavdev met his guru Shankar Dev, the founder of neo-Vaishnavism, on the island which is termed the "Manikanchan Sanjog". Madhavdev and his mentor enriched Assamese literature by writing, among other works, Nam Ghosa, Borgeet and Bhatima. Following the footsteps of the Vaishnavi leaders, temples (Satras) encouraged the writing of plays and devotional songs.

Majuli also gave birth to a host of literary luminaries that includes well-renowned writers like Dhruba Jyoti Borah, poet and critic Rajib Borah, bilingual critic and writer Bhaskar Jyoti Nath, Juri Borah Borgohain, Deba Bhusan Borah, historian Dambarudhar Nath, novelist Gobin Khound, and poet Danny Gam.

The second Assamese newspaper Asom Bilasini was published from Majuli from 1871 onwards.

Ecology

Majul is a wetland, serves as a habitat for various rare and endangered avian species, particularly migratory birds that visit during the winter. Notable species include the greater adjutant stork, pelican, Siberian crane, and whistling teal. After dark, wild geese and ducks take flight to distant destinations. The island remains relatively pollution-free due to the absence of industrial activity and consistent rainfall.

However, Majuli faces a significant threat from extensive soil erosion along its banks. Large embankments built in nearby towns upstream to prevent monsoon-season erosion have had unintended consequences. The turbulent Brahmaputra River now erodes much of the island. Reports indicate that by 1853, Majuli's total area was 1,150 km², and roughly 33% of this landmass eroded in the latter half of the 20th century. Since 1991, more than 35 villages have been washed away, and surveys predict that Majuli may cease to exist within the next 15-20 years.

To save the island, the Union Government of India has sanctioned ₹ 2.50 billion (US$55 million) for the protection of the island. The water resource department & The Brahmaputra Board have been struggling to solve the erosion problem of this island for the last three decades but without much success. Recently it was suggested that only a four-lane highway protected by concrete mat along the southern boundary of Majuli and the excavation of river bed of the Brahmaputra River can solve the problem. The project also includes two flood gates for the Kherkatia Suti which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra River Restoration Project is yet to be implemented by the government. However, a nomination has been sent to UNESCO for the declaration of Mājuli as a World Heritage Site.

Local environmental activist Jadav Payeng has planted a 550-hectare forest, known as Molai Forest to combat erosion on the island. Much of the island was barren sandbars that were vulnerable to erosion, but thanks to Payeng's afforestation, has become a lush forest. The forest has become a habitat for animals including elephants, tigers, deer, and vultures.

Industries
The main industry is agriculture, with paddy (unmilled) rice being the chief crop. Mājuli has a rich and diverse agricultural tradition, with as many as 100 varieties of rice grown. Fishing is also among the main industry after agriculture. Among the fascinating arrays of rice produced are the Komal Saul, a unique type that can be eaten after immersing the grains in warm water for 15 minutes and usually eaten as a breakfast cereal; the bao dhan, that grows underwater and is harvested after ten months; and the bora saul, a sticky brown rice used to make the traditional cake with fish is known as pitha. Fishing, dairying, pottery, handloom and boat-making are other important economic activities.

Handloom is a major occupation among the distaff population of the villages. Although largely a non-commercial occupation, it keeps many of the inhabitants occupied. Weaving is exquisite and intricate with the use of a variety of colours and textures of cotton and silk, especially Muga silk. On 4 November 2017, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched 647 schemes with a total financial outlay of Rs. 246 million to boost Majuli's development.

Education sector
There are following higher learning institutions:
 * Majuli University of Culture
 * Majuli College Kamalabari
 * Jengraimukh College, Jengraimukh
 * Ujani Majuli Kherkatia College,Nayabazar,Majuli
 * Rangachahi College
 * Pub Majuli College, Bongoan
 * Garamur college, Garamur

Tourism sector
Mājuli is 20 km from Jorhat. One can take the bus or a hired taxi to the Nimati Steamer Ghat from where ferry services ply. The distance takes over three hours to cover, with three bus rides and two ferry rides.

On the north bank is the river Subansiri and on the south bank, the mighty Brahmaputra has exited the island from the mainland. Lakhimpur town is to the north and Golaghat is to its southwest. The town of Sibsagar is on the southeast and Jorhat is to the south. On the extreme east is Dibrugarh District.

 * The Vaishnava Satras founded by Sankardeva
 * The colourful culture of the tribes
 * Migratory birds
 * The Ali-ai-ligang festival in Feb–March
 * Pottery making
 * Mask making
 * Paal Namm festival in the end of winter
 * Folgu Utsav (Holi)
 * Madhya Majuli
 * Namoni Majuli
 * Ujoni Majuli
 * Homespun masks crafts
 * Porag Utsav
 * Handmade Mekhla Chadar

Birdwatching
The southern part of the island is a bird lover's paradise. The best time to visit is between November and March as the weather and wildlife view is satisfactory. There are some locales for birdwatching:
 * The southeast of the island
 * The southwest of the island
 * The northern part
 * Sakuli Beel, near Kamalabari
 * Magurmari Beel, Dakhinpaat Satra
 * Verki Beel, near Kamalabari

Transport sector
Majuli Port has a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry service with 2 low draft vessels operated on National Waterway 2 (NW2) by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAR) with capacity of 200 passenger, 4 cars and 2 trucks. Foundation stone has been laid on 18 February 2021 for the two-lane bridge on the Brahmaputra between Majuli (North Bank) and Jorhat (South Bank) that will connect Neematighat (on Jorhat side) and Kamalabari (on Majuli side).

title: Majuli