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Prodigy (comics)

Prodigy is a British comic book series created by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque, who respectively write and illustrate the first volume, and published by Image Comics. The title was announced near the end of 2018 as the second comic book collaboration between Mark Millar and Netflix, after the company acquired the Millarworld imprint of creator-owned titles in the summer of 2017, and to be adapted as a film exclusive to the streaming service, along with other of the imprint's comic book series. The first volume ran for six issues from December 2018 to June 2019, and a trade paperback collecting the series, subtitled The Evil Earth, was released the following month.

Two sequels followed: The Icarus Society (2022; illustrated by Matteo Buffagni) and Big Game (2023; illustrated by Pepe Larraz), with a further series, Slaves of Mars (2024; illustrated by Stefano Landini), to be published by Dark Horse Comics.

The Evil Earth
Edison Crane isn't content being the world's smartest man and most successful businessman – his brilliant mind needs to be constantly challenged. He's a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, a genius composer, an Olympic athlete, and an expert in the occult, and now international governments are calling on him to fix problems they just can't handle.

The Icarus Society
Edison Crane has always been the smartest man in the room. Now he's in a world he didn't even know existed with the Icarus Society, a secret society of super geniuses all richer than he is. Blackmailed into recovering an artefact on a mission they know is almost certain death, Edison and the richest man alive, Felix Koffka, must search for the lost city of Shangri-La, where the world's most evil people have been pulled for thousands of years.

Big Game
While excavating the remnants of the Royal Empire, a prehistoric galactic empire that considered Earth its capital, Edison Crane is recruited by "Bobbie Griffin", formerly the Batgirl of the DC Universe prior to its transmogrification into the Millarworld, who with the Chrononauts must face off against the Secret Lord of Earth and leader of the Fraternity of Super-Criminals Wesley Gibson, who aims to wipe out all the world's superhumans as his father had once done in 1986, as well as the Royal Empire, their fleet brought to the future by Mindy McCready.

Slaves of Mars
On March 21, 2024, Mark Millar announced that Prodigy: Slaves of Mars was set for publication from Dark Horse Comics in August 2024.

Netflix adaptation
In the summer of 2017, Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book publishing company Millarworld, and the next summer, announced that it had greenlit two series based on Jupiter's Legacy and American Jesus, and three films based on Empress, Huck and Sharkey the Bounty Hunter.

In June 2018, Mark Millar announced the release of The Magic Order, the first comic book series under the Millarworld imprint since Netflix acquired the publisher, and in November of the same year, announced Prodigy, one month before the release of the first issue, with both being considered to be adapted as an episodic series and a feature film respectively.

In March 2020, it was reported that the series will be adapted into a feature film, with Kaz Firpo and Ryan Firpo writing the script.

In March 2022, Millar confirmed the title would be the first major movie to come out on Netflix since the acquisition in 2017.

In November 2022, Miller and Matteo Buffagni announced via the synopsis for the finale of Prodigy: The Icarus Society that the volume would serve as the basis for the Prodigy feature film.

title: Prodigy (comics)


text:
User:Chad A. Woodburn

Born May 12, 1948 (3rd of Iyyar) to Fred & Loretta Woodburn in Long Beach, California.

Grew up in California, Illinois, Costa Rica, Ecuador (where parents were missionaries with HCJB in Quito), and Florida.

Married Virginia Neely July 19, 1969. Have four children: Heather, David, Jonathan and Valerie (twins).

Receive a B.A. from Florida Bible College, 1970; earned an M.Div. from Grace Theological Seminary, 1976.

• Pastored New Salem Church of the Brethren, Milford, Indiana (1972-76). • Started own business: Alan's Piano Tuning and Repair, Houston, Texas (1977-1979). • Pastored Alief Community Church, Houston, Texas (1979-1986). • Served as a missionary with Greater Europe Mission in Barcelona, Spain (1986-1993), teaching at the Spanish Bible Institute and Theological Seminary. • Taught and served as President of Florida Bible College, Kissimmee, Florida (1994-1995). • Pastored Faith Baptist Church, Kissimmee, Florida (1996-2003).

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

title: User:Chad A. Woodburn


text:
Point Calimere

Kodiakkarai also called Point Calimere or Cape Calimere, is a low headland of the Coromandel Coast, in the Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Cape is located about 9 km south of Vedaranyam in the delta region of the Cauvery River, and marks a nearly right-angle turn in the coastline. The antiquity of the area is evidenced by the Kodi Kuzhagar temple built during the Chola period, and a Chola lighthouse, which was destroyed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Kodiakkarai has been designated as a Ramsar site since August 2002. Point Calimere is also associated with the mythological Hindu epic, The Ramayana. The highest point of the cape, at an elevation of 4 m, is Ramarpatham, meaning "Rama's feet" in Tamil. A stone slab on the Cape bears the impressions of two feet and is said to be the place where Rama stood and reconnoitered Ravana's kingdom in Sri Lanka, which is 48 km to the south of the Point. It is also mentioned by Kalki in his historical novel Ponniyin Selvan.

Flora and Fauna
The forests of Kodiakkarai, also known the Vedaranyam forests, are one of the last remnants of the dry evergreen forests that were once typical of East Deccan dry evergreen forests ecoregion. The Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of 24.17 km2, was created on 13 June 1967. The sanctuary includes the cape and its three types of habitat: dry evergreen forests, mangrove forests, and wetlands. In 1988, the sanctuary was enlarged to include the Great Vedaranyam Swamp and the Talaignayar Reserve Forest, and renamed the Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, with a total area of 377 km2. Point Calimere is home to the endangered endemic Indian blackbuck and is one of the few known wintering locations of the spoon-billed sandpiper. It also holds large wintering populations of greater flamingos. The area is dotted with salt pans and these hold large crustacean populations that support the wintering bird life. Pesticide runoff from agricultural fields and shrimp farms has entered the ecosystem resulting in many species having high concentrations of DDT and HCH in their tissue.

Cultural Heritage
Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are located within the sanctuary:
 * Ramar Padam (literally: Ramas Footprint) located on the highest point of land in the sanctuary, is a small shrine containing the stone footprints of Lord Rama. Large numbers of Rama devotees gather here during the second week of April to celebrate Ram Navami Festival.
 * Kuzhagar Temple or Kodi Kuzhagar Temple (கோடிக் குழகர் கோயில்) (also called Amrithakadeswarar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, located in the town of Kodikkarai in Tamil Nadu, India. Kuzhagar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam. Kuzhagar temple is originally believed to have been built by the Cholas and it has several inscriptions dating back to the Chola period.
 * Navakodi Sitthar Aalayam is a temple in south of the Kodiakkarai village. The history of this temple is the wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvathy ammaal have been attended by lot many Sitthars at this location. Chola Emperor and Mannar Sarafoji were visited this temple.  A small village called "Kanakkar Madam" near this shrine was demolished by 1940s (around 80 years ago) and the people who were living there are relocated to Kodiakkarai village and they are still called as Kanakkarmadathiaar's family. A large congregation of devotees from all over Tamil Nadu state to come on special day of Amaavasai/Pournami to celebrate a special festival here every year. The greatest lord and the environment gives the peace like never ever feel.
 * Sanyasin Muniaswar Kovil is a shrine between the eastern bank of Muniappan Lake and Kodiakkarai Road visited by devotees on all auspicious occasions. On 20 March a special Puja is celebrated here.
 * Mattumunian Kovil is a small temple in the south of the sanctuary where people worship and offer prayers throughout the year. A major festival occurs here on the 3rd Friday of September.
 * Modi Mandapam is a shrine located near Ramar Padam where people of all castes worship. Hindu legend says that Lord Vedaraneswarer spends a night here with his consort during January - February. In the first week of March a major festival is held here.
 * Avulaiganni Dargah is the grave of a Muslim saint located near the road by Ramar Padam. His death anniversary is observed here at the end of November.
 * Shevrayan Kovil is a shrine to the deities Shevrayan and Soni located deep in the forests of the northern part of the sanctuary. A small village near this shrine was relocated outside the sanctuary after the creation of Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest. A large congregation of devotees from Arcothurai celebrate a special festival here in June/July.
 * Adivasi Colony is a community of Ambalakars living in huts of mud, coconut fronds and palmyrah leaves on the edge of Kodiakkarai village. Their traditional livelihood was the collection of non-timber forest products in the areas that are now the sanctuary. These practices are now prohibited but not fully eliminated. Many of these people catch fish and small prawns in the nearby mudflats and swamps. Some work as day labourers in the nearby salt pans. They have little interaction with other communities on the island.
 * Chola Lighthouse is the remains of a brick and mortar lighthouse near Point Calimerem. It is said to have been built by the Cholas more than a thousand years ago. This structure was badly damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami but can still be seen in the intertidal zone near the British lighthouse.
 * British Lighthouse is a 13 m tall operating lighthouse built by the British at the tip of Point Calemere in 1890 and can be seen 13 nmi at sea.
 *  Kodiakkarai Lighthouse is a 45 m tall modern aid to navigation located near Kodiakkarai Beach and is accessible to the public between 1500 - 1700hrs. This dominates the sanctuary and may be seen by seamen far at sea.

title: Point Calimere


text:
Category:Irish scientists

An inclusive list with Irish-born scientists who worked abroad, scientists who came to Ireland to work and Irish-born scientists who worked in Ireland. Engineers are also included.

title: Category:Irish scientists


text:
User:Chris Brown/Interwiki practice

I am starting this sub-page article so that I can relate my findings without having to include the whole of the findings when discussing InterWiki policy.

The issue of interwiki policy arose when I added interwiki (internal) links to Infosecpedia within the main text of two Wikipedia articles (information security and confidentiality).

External vs Interwiki

 * External - links of the form [URL]] and [URL description], examples:
 * - looks like
 * InterWiki - looks like InterWiki
 * Interwiki - links of the form Code:Pagename, examples:
 * InterWiki - looks like InterWiki
 * InterWiki - looks like InterWiki
 * InterWiki page on MeatBall - looks like InterWiki page on MeatBall

Wikified text vs Source note

 * Wikified text - words or phrases that themselves are some sort link, examples:
 * InterWiki - looks like InterWiki
 * InterWiki - looks like InterWiki
 * Source note - numbered pointers to the source of material or fact, examples:
 * - looks like

General background

 * InterWiki - The whole article
 * InterWiki - discussion of general interwiki concept
 * InterMap - discussion of mechanism that Wikipedia implements through its interwiki table

Use of interwiki

 * How_to_link_to_Wikimedia_projects - The article says, in part: Wikipedia encourages links to sister projects and interlanguage links when possible. However, links to sister projects should not be used excessively.
 * Help:Interwiki_linking - How to interwiki link, some policies are implied or loosely stated
 * Links - links to Wikipedia and Meta articles on the subject

Use of interwiki links in redirects

 * Soft_redirect - The special case of interwiki redirects. The first paragraph states, in part: Normal or "hard" redirects are undesirable ... because they cannot be undone without hand-crafting the correct URL and there are infinite loop security considerations.
 * Help:Redirect

Use of external links

 * Guide_to_writing_better_articles - The last paragraph of the section Standard appendicies states, in part: Don't use external links where we'll want Wikipedia links. Don't put in links ... to external URLs linking text that we will want articles on Wikipedia about. Put external links in an "External links" section at the end of the article. For example, if you're writing an article about Descartes and you know of a great article about rationalism online, don't link the word "rationalism" to that article. Simply wikify the word rationalism, and add an "External links" section with an external link to the source (perhaps in both articles).

Furthur reading

 * Tip_of_the_day_archive

Active discussions

 * Village_pump_(policy)
 * Village_pump_(policy)

Past discussions

 * Talk:Loop_quantum_gravity
 * Village_pump/May_2003_archive - a question on InterWiki use with no answer
 * Village_pump/January_2004_archive_4 - User:Angela says, in part: Interwiki redirects are generally considered a bad thing.

Reference

 * Interwiki map

title: User:Chris Brown/Interwiki practice


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/MožiÄk

MožiÄk
A short text in a Slavic language. I have no idea what it is about, machine translation doesn't give comprehensible results. Anyway, it has been on Pages needing translation for two weeks and it is going nowhere. Delete, I think. Sietse 16:23, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/MožiÄk


text:
Talk:System requirements

Template
Is there a template for Sys Requirements? It would be mighty nice if there is one--sin-man 03:47, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

System requirements for software tend to increase over time,

One should rephrase that to indicate that it is the software that puts inclreasingly more reuiqrements upon the hardware. Rene.bach@isb.admin.ch

Bias?
"Microsoft Internet Explorer is a frequent choice of software running on Microsoft Windows, which makes use of ActiveX controls, despite their vulnerabilities."

Should Internet vulnerabilities be mentioned in this article at all? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.150.113.26 (talk) 23:42, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Maximum performance?
I disagree with this statement: "...and a recommended set of requirements (for maximum performance)." In my experience recommended requirements are not the ones for maximum performance but the ones that make the program behave well (minimal wait times or latency, reasonable resolution, etc.). A system that exceeds the recommended requirements almost always runs a program more effectively than one that simply meets the recommended requirements, and thus "for maximum performance" is not the right parenthetical. --DeweyQ 03:46, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Major Expansion
Hi All! Considering the potential of this article it is important to expand it. I have started it and your welcome to contribute. It must not take long and you are requested to discuss changes here for a short while (while the Underconstruction template is on the page) to avoid edit-wars and conflicts. Please feel free to update/change/discuss the expansion once it is complete. You can leave a note on my talk page if you need me or think I have been fooling around longer than necessary. :) --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 00:06, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * This article is fast becoming a set of favorite edits of mine. The aim applied is to explain various aspects and componenets of the System requirements that software vendors define, and not just listing various SW reqs. --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 20:56, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Updates made

 * The article has been expanded a bit and divided into subheads. --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 00:19, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Almost complete. It now contains L2 heads like Minimum sys reqs, Maximum Sys reqs, hardware reqs, software reqs. Various components of each of the L2 heads are mention and explained as L3 sub-heads. I'll remove the underconstruction template once listed TO DOs are complete --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 20:56, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Some citations have been added along with a new L2 subhead for other requirements. I have removed the underconstruction template. Work that needs to be done is listed under ToDo. --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 18:52, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

To Do

 * Various components of system requirements need to be included. Would request everyone reading this to discuss things to be incuded here. --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 00:19, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Done!--20:56, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Need to find a way to remove the Examples subhead. Need to Copy-edit for spelling, grammar and style. Need to add sources and citations. Need to completely modify the related articles list. Not much, huh? --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 20:56, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Done! --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 10:47, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Per DeweyQ's suggestions below, need to find and update more citations. A few more related links are pending. Can examples of popular games (in Examples) be replaced with Microsoft Windows 3.x through Vista? Need to discuss and update. --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 18:55, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Great work
It is much easier for me to edit existing stuff than think about what needs to go here! :-) We have to be careful not to let this become original research, so some claims will need citations.  I have added one that I felt was particularly critical about Intel's popularity related to pure clock speed instead of throughput.  Thank you Vikas for the great work so far! --DeweyQ 13:41, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
 * With a closer look it does look like a critical original research. I was unable to find a citation for it. Although it's true, I know we can't put unsourced material. Can rephrasing help? --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 02:23, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks DeweyQ! I'll bear that in mind. I also wanted to ask you if it would be better to replace the examples of popular games with [Microsoft Windows] OSs 3.x through Vista? --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 18:48, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps the original authors thought games provided the best illustration of system requirements increasing over time since game authors tend to design on and then deploy to much higher-end systems. Windows XP has not changed its system requirements since 2001 (at least not substantially), but any game that came out in 2001 would have much lower requirements than a game that came out in 2006. Having said that, it would be more illustrative to show how the same game in a series has increased its requirements over a period of time.  A long-running franchise like Madden might serve this purpose. --DeweyQ 20:53, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Well may be the original authors thought that way. But it would be almost impossible to find the respective system requirements of each of the releases of a long running game. As for MS Windows, what I meant was with every release of a new MS Windows OS, the system requirements go up too, and the one for Vista was a real big leap. Moreover such information is still readily available and verifiable. What do you say? --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 02:14, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
 * We could put across a table to make the MS Windows sys. reqs. more readable! --Vikas Kumar Ojha Talk to me! 02:19, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Good so far. I'd be wary of making it too complex but more detail needed in some sections. Also, can I suggest that "Intel Pentium CPUs have enjoyed a considerable degree of popularity, and are often mentioned in this category" is a subjective judgement. It has implications that are not substantiated perhaps it should be removed?--Krayol (talk) 10:40, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Total 1337ness
It's great. ~  Flame vip  e  r  Who's a Peach? 16:16, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

What is a system?
This article shows a very limited understanding of a SYSTEM. There are much more elaborate processes for space systems requirements establishment and maintenance worked out since mid of last century. Modern space elements as ISS Shuttle etc. have software embedded in their subsystem suit. The software system approach incl. system requirements contents, useage and verification is not yet mature compaired with space programs. Therefore each one suffered a major delay due to software problems.- The article needs major re-work to cover all other systems or has to be re-named to Software Systems Requirements. Hjpospie 16:32, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

 * Hi. There are a view more of those articles like for example systems analysis, System integration, System programming, Systems architecture and Systems design that both have meaning in systems engineering and software engineering. In the ideal situation all of those article cover both aspects but that is not yet the case.

 * If you want to add content here, yoy can create a new section called for example "space systems requirements" and add the notable information you want to add. Good luck. - -- Mdd (talk) 20:03, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

 * For an article on 'System requirements' this seems to have a strong software focus. At the System level software isn't allocated yet. Starrymessenger (talk) 06:26, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

This article should be moved
The current article is not giving an general picture about Systems requirements in Engineering but focusses solely about computer systems requirements. So this article will be renamed to: The reason for moving this article is, that we want to create a more general systems requirements article, with covers And maybe even more specific fields - Mdd (talk) 18:52, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Computer systems requirements
 * or Systems requirements (Computer systems)
 * Systems requirements in computer systems
 * Systems requirements in systems engineering
 * Systems requirements in spacecraft systems

Agree - Title not specific enough. Perhaps needs "Software and Hardware" in title? Googling "System Requirements" brings back almost entirely articles related to this, so should should not get confused with Req. Analysis. --Krayol (talk) 10:47, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

 * Maybe I am mistaken. I presume that "System requirements" can refer to both
 * the list of requirements to build and or operate a system; and to
 * the process of determining the requirements to build or operate a system.
 * But maybe this second process is called Requirements analysis. - Mdd (talk) 21:15, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

 * "System requirements" are the results of a requirements analysis which is perforemed in several program phases (in space engineering):
 * Phase A: Feasibility
 * Phase B: Requirements definition.
 * At the moment is article is very limited considering only computer systems. This area is not so well elaborated as e.g. space systems and therefore re-work is urgently required.Hjpospie (talk) 16:30, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:System requirements


text:
Telefon (film)

Telefon is a 1977 spy film directed by Don Siegel and starring Charles Bronson, Lee Remick and Donald Pleasence. The screenplay by Peter Hyams and Stirling Silliphant is based on the 1975 novel by Walter Wager.

Plot
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union planted a number of long-term, deep-cover sleeper agents all over the United States, who were so thoroughly brainwashed that even they did not know they were agents. They can be activated only by a special code phrase, a line from the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" – followed by the agent's real first name. Their mission was to sabotage crucial parts of the civil and military infrastructure in the event of war.

More than 20 years pass, and the Cold War gradually gives way to détente. Nikolai Dalchimsky, a rogue KGB headquarters clerk, travels to America and takes with him the Telefon Book, which contains the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the sleeper agents. He starts activating them, one by one. American counterintelligence is thrown into confusion when seemingly-ordinary citizens start blowing up facilities that were once important but now have little, if any, value. The agents either commit suicide or die in the act itself.

The KGB does not dare tell its political leaders, much less the Americans, about its negligence in not deactivating the spy network. KGB Major Grigori Borzov, who was selected in part for his photographic memory, memorizes the contents of the only other copy of the Telefon Book and is sent to find and stop Dalchimsky quietly, before either side learns what is happening and possibly starts a war. Borzov is given the assistance of only a single agent, Barbara, who had been planted in America years before.

Eventually, Borzov realizes the method behind Dalchimsky's pattern of attacks: he has chosen the agents by the first letters of their American hometowns by "writing" his own name in sabotage across America. Borzov thus anticipates Dalchimsky's next chosen agent and kills Dalchimsky.

However, there are a number of twists. Barbara has orders from the KGB to assassinate Borzov once he succeeds to get rid of a dangerous loose end. In addition, she is a double agent and actually works for America. When she informs her American superior, Sandburg, he also tells her to kill Borzov so that she will retain the confidence of the KGB. However, Barbara has fallen in love with her would-be target. She informs Borzov, and together, they blackmail both sides into leaving them alone by holding the threat of the remaining Telefon agents over their heads.

Cast

 * Charles Bronson as Major Grigori Borzov
 * Lee Remick as Barbara
 * Donald Pleasence as Nikolai Dalchimsky
 * Tyne Daly as Dorothy Putterman
 * Alan Badel as Colonel Malchenko
 * Patrick Magee as General Strelsky
 * Sheree North as Marie Wills
 * Frank Marth as Harley Sandburg
 * Helen Page Camp as Emma Stark
 * Roy Jenson as Doug Stark
 * Jacqueline Scott as Mrs. Hassler
 * Ed Bakey as Carl Hassler
 * John Mitchum as Harry Bascom
 * Iggie Wolfington as Father Stuart Diller
 * Hank Brandt as William Enders
 * John Carter as Stroller
 * Burton Gilliam as Gas Station Attendant
 * Regis Cordic as Doctor
 * Carmen Zapata as Nurse
 * Kathleen O'Malley as Mrs Maloney
 * Åke Lindman as Lt. Alexandrov
 * Ansa Ikonen as Dalchimsky's Mother
 * George O. Petrie as Hotel Receptionist
 * Robert Phillips as 1st Highway Patrolman
 * Cliff Emmich as 2nd Highway Patrolman
 * Ville-Veikko Salminen as Russian Steward
 * James Nolan as Appliance Store Clerk
 * Derek Rydall as Mrs. Wills' Child
 * Michael Byrne as Soviet Military Officer (uncredited)

Development
MGM bought the film rights to the novel in October 1974. The novel was published in April 1975. The New York Times called the novel "a doozie of a thriller".

Peter Bellwood was the first writer. Then Peter Hyams wrote a script. Hyams says Dan Melnick then head of MGM told him he wanted Hyams to write and direct, but his last film Peeper had flopped and Hyams said "he knew there was no way he was going to let me direct it." They did like the script but brought in Richard Lester to direct. Hyams rewrote the script for Lester, who then left the project and Don Siegel came on board. Hyams would leave to make Capricorn One and Stirling Silliphant rewrote the script.

In August 1976 it was announced Don Siegel would direct and Charles Bronson would star. Siegel had directed Bronson in TV in the late 50s and said "I wanted to do this one because of Bronson. I think we would make a natural team."

Bronson's wife Jill Ireland often worked with her husband and Bronson said the female lead was "perfect for her" but he did not insist and Lee Remick was cast instead.

Filming
Principal photography began in January 1977.

Some of the film was shot in Finland, which doubled for Russia. A magazine in the Soviet Union ran an article critical of the film, claiming it aimed to stir up trouble and demonised the Russians. Don Siegel denied this saying the film was "pro Russia and pro peace."

"I have to face the fact the story is cockamamie at best," said Siegel. "So I've been particularly painstaking to give the movie a feeling of authenticity."

The city skyline depicting Houston, where part of the story line occurred, is actually that of Great Falls, Montana, where the majority of the film was shot. During filming, the crew had to order two truckloads of snow needed for one of the scenes, because the chinook winds in the area took away the snow they had. They were trucked from the mountains. Filming in downtown Great Falls was also included. The exploding building in one scene is actually the controlled demolition of the old Paris Gibson Junior High School. The explosion scene was filmed on February 20, 1977. The present day Paris Gibson square was undamaged, but the explosion started roof fires on a couple of nearby houses that were quickly extinguished by city firefighters hired by the movie company on stand by.

The Houston scenes were shot on a Hollywood backlot, while the interior of the Houston Hyatt Regency was portrayed by 5 Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California – the location which was also used in The Towering Inferno.

The scenes with fires and explosions at a rocket engine test site were filmed at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the mountains northwest of Los Angeles.

According to director Siegel, actress Lee Remick was terrified of Charles Bronson, and when asked to touch his face during a scene, responded, "I don't dare. He'll bite me!"

As parts of the film were shot in Finland, there are several cameo appearances by Finnish movie stars, most notably Ansa Ikonen.

Critical response
Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "Though there are action sequences in 'Telefon,' they are never sustained, and the screenplay only occasionally comes up with witty substitutes for the missing plausibility. However, to describe 'Telefon' as synthetic is to take it more seriously than it's taken by anyone connected with it." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called the film "pleasant escapism" with a story that "runs its interesting if predictable course until fadeout romantic clinch as the stars tell their respective employers to let them live in peace somewhere nice and idyllic, which by this time is really asking too much of audiences." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and wrote that it "is by no means a great picture — just solid action held together by a string of explosions. In other words, it's a good movie to eat popcorn by." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "a sleek diversion that hasn't much more to it than a routine TV movie." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post stated, "The real problem is that the filmmakers lay out this story blueprint so doggedly that the audience is invariably 25 pages of expository chitchat ahead of them. Following 'Telefon' is about as thrilling as being kept on hold for the better part of the day." Richard Combs of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "This dismal attempt to ring some changes in the spy genre—the protagonist is a KGB agent, his mission is to preserve East-West cordiality—is fatally undercut both by its surprisingly lukewarm plot and unengaged characters and by the fact that its updating is already out of date, Russian-American détente having sprung many leaks." James Monaco wrote that Telefon don't do much but play with paranoia.

"It was a typical Siegel film," Siegel said later. "It made absolutely no sense. I did the film because basically I'm a whore."

The film holds a score of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews.

Quentin Tarantino later wrote that "just because the premise is nutty doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, it’s far out enough that in the right hands, it could have been a stone gas. But those right hands definitely didn’t belong to old fart Siegel, who blew the picture’s chance for success by de-emphasizing the kooky elements and emphasizing the dull ones. Siegel not only wasted his time, he wasted the Stirling Silliphant and Peter Hyams (who should have directed) script."

title: Telefon (film)


text:
Zisa

Zisa may refer to:

 * Zisa (goddess), a goddess in Germanic paganism
 * Zisa, Palermo, a castle in Italy
 * Zisa Corona, corona on Venus

People with the surname

 * Alberto Zisa
 * Alessandro Zisa (born 1965), Italian curler
 * Ken Zisa, American politician

authors: Алексей Густов

title: Zisa


text:
Another Monty Python Record

Another Monty Python Record is the second album produced by the Monty Python comedy group, released in 1971. Dissatisfied with their monaural BBC debut album released the previous year, the group took full control of the follow-up, which would be the first release of a six-album deal with Charisma Records in the UK. Most of the material is from the second BBC series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, with a few newly written pieces. One track, "Stake Your Claim", is an English-language version of a sketch from the team's first German episode.

Background
The production, with its innovative use of stereo and sound effects, was handled by Terry Jones and Michael Palin and proved a technical challenge. According to Jones: "We had this horrendous time because we were recording in this rather hippy recording studio. We were very keen to use the stereo and everything, but what we hadn't realised was that the guy who was doing the recording, who I think was out of his head most of the time, had not been making any notes. We'd end up with tapes and tapes of material with no idea of where anything was on the tapes. That was a bitter experience."

The sleeve was designed by Terry Gilliam, from an idea by Terry Jones. Packaged as a classical music recording (Beethoven's "Symphony No. 2 in D Major"), the cover was defaced by the Pythons to serve as their own record jacket. (The "serious" liner notes on the back also bear a Pythonesque stamp: the biography of Beethoven quickly turns into a commentary on Beethoven's Wimbledon tennis debut.) Included with the original vinyl LP were three card inserts printed with detailed instructions, scripts and cut-out props for the "Be a Great Actor" sketch on side 2.

Due to the limitations of the vinyl format, the original 1971 UK release had many sketches edited down while others, such as "Communist Quiz" and "Penguin on the TV", were omitted altogether causing a re-sequencing of the "Royal Festival Hall Concert" and "Spam" sketches. This truncated version was used for all UK cassette releases until 1994. When the album was released in the US in 1972 to coincide with the US release of And Now for Something Completely Different, the full unedited version was used. This longer edit was used for all CD releases in both the UK and US.

As well as featuring a pared down track list, the original UK vinyl enjoyed two subtly different releases. Initial pressings were issued on the pink "famous Charisma label" (erroneously listing the release year as 1970) with subsequent pressings replacing this with the "Mad Hatter" label design (correcting the year to 1971). Both editions featured a trick continuous runout groove at the end of Side 1, where the sound of a record scratch is followed by Michael Palin's exclamation of "Sorry, squire! I scratched the record" repeated ad infinitum in the locked groove. This groove is farther away from the label than where a locked groove would normally be, so that turntables with automatic return don't ruin this gimmick.

The album marked the group's first chart success, reaching No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart.

A 7" single, the Pythons' first, combining Spam Song/The Concert (CB.192) was issued in the UK on 8 September 1972, almost a year after the album's release. Later pressings were issued in a picture sleeve featuring a still from the "Dirty Fork" sketch from And Now for Something Completely Different.

The 2006 CD reissue features four bonus tracks, although these date from the 1980 Contractual Obligation Album sessions.

The 2014 LP reissue by Virgin Records (both as a single disc and as part of the Monty Python's Total Rubbish boxset) contains the longer US version.

Side one

 * 1) Introductions
 * 2) Spanish Inquisition (Part 1)
 * 3) Gumby Cherry Orchard
 * 4) Contradiction
 * 5) Architect's Sketch
 * 6) Spanish Inquisition (Part 2)
 * 7) Royal Festival Hall Concert
 * 8) Ethel the Frog

Side two

 * 1) Death of Mary, Queen of Scots
 * 2) Spam
 * 3) Spanish Inquisition (Part 3)
 * 4) Comfy Chair
 * 5) Famous Person Quiz
 * 6) Be a Great Actor
 * 7) Neville Shunt
 * 8) Camp Judges
 * 9) Stake Your Claim
 * 10) Cannibalism
 * 11) Camp Judges (Part 2)
 * 12) Undertaker
 * 13) Spanish Inquisition (Part 4)

Side one

 * 1) Introductions
 * 2) Spanish Inquisition (Part 1)
 * 3) Communist Quiz
 * 4) Gumby Cherry Orchard
 * 5) Contradiction
 * 6) Architect's Sketch
 * 7) Spanish Inquisition (Part 2)
 * 8) Ethel the Frog

Side two

 * 1) Death of Mary, Queen of Scots
 * 2) Penguin on the TV
 * 3) Spanish Inquisition (Part 3)
 * 4) Comfy Chair
 * 5) Famous Person Quiz
 * 6) Be a Great Actor
 * 7) Neville Shunt
 * 8) Royal Festival Hall Concert
 * 9) Spam
 * 10) Camp Judges
 * 11) Stake Your Claim
 * 12) Cannibalism
 * 13) Camp Judges (Part 2)
 * 14) Undertaker
 * 15) Spanish Inquisition (Part 4)

2006 CD bonus tracks

 * 1) Treadmill Lager
 * 2) Bishop at Home
 * 3) Courtroom Sketch
 * 4) Freelance Undertaker

Personnel

 * Graham Chapman
 * John Cleese
 * Terry Gilliam
 * Eric Idle
 * Terry Jones
 * Michael Palin

Additional performers

 * Carol Cleveland
 * The Fred Tomlinson Singers

Music credits
The following is the list of musical works included on the album. They comprise a mixture of De Wolfe library music, self-penned Python songs and specially composed music by Fred Tomlinson.

 * 1) Trondheim Hammer Dance (Fred Tomlinson)
 * 2) Liberty Bell (John Philip Sousa, arr. A.W. Sheriff)
 * 3) Fanfare Opening (D. Laren)
 * 4) Formal Presentation (K. Papworth)
 * 5) Contesana Padawana (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
 * 6) Man of Power (J. Trombey)
 * 7) Gold Lame (K. Papworth)
 * 8) Southern Breeze (A. Mawer)
 * 9) Spam Song (Terry Jones, Michael Palin & Fred Tomlinson)
 * 10) Bahama Parakeet (A. Mawer)
 * 11) House of Fashion (Stanley Black)
 * 12) Circus Tumble (K. Papworth)
 * 13) Fanfare A (Major J Howe)
 * 14) Mystery Drums (P. Knight)
 * 15) Mystery Place (P. Knight)
 * 16) Ode to Edward (J. Trombey)
 * 17) In Step With Johann (R. Wale)
 * 18) Knees Up Mother Brown (Harris Weston & Bert Lee)

Distribution information

 * LP: (1971) Charisma CAS 1049 (UK)
 * Cassette: (1971) Charisma ZCCAS 1049 (UK)
 * LP: (1972) Charisma CAS 1049 (US, distributed by Buddah) (with different running-order and material)
 * LP: (1972) Philips 6369 913 (Aust) (with different running-order and material)
 * LP: (1975) Charisma CAS 1049 (UK, distributed by Phonogram)
 * Cassette: (1975) Charisma CASMC 1049 (UK, distributed by Phonogram)
 * LP: (1988) Charisma CHC 79 (UK, distributed by Virgin) (budget price)
 * CD: (1989) Charisma CASCD 1049 ("Another Monty Python CD") (UK, distributed by Virgin)
 * LP: (19**) Virgin MP501 (UK)
 * CD: (1994) Virgin VCCD 001 (UK) ("Another Monty Python CD" version 2, re-issue)
 * LP: (2014) Virgin Records MPYTHONLP2 (UK, US version of album) (Boxset Monty Python's Total Rubbish)

title: Another Monty Python Record


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Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly

Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly (12 January 1974 – 9 May 1997), styled The Hon. Thomas FitzGerald before 1976 and as Earl of Offaly between 1976 and 1997, was the only son of Maurice, Marquess of Kildare (now the 9th Duke of Leinster).

In May 1997, Lord Offaly was killed in a car accident in Ireland. He had been working as a chef at a number of restaurants in Cork. Following his death, a fund for dyslexics (the T.O.M. Fund) was established in his memory. He is buried in the churchyard of All Saints' Church, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire (formerly part of Berkshire).

title: Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly


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Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Solipsist

Solipsist
final (32/0/0) ending 16:29 14 December 2004 (UTC)

I don't think much needs to be said. Solipsist is a valuable contributor who frequents WP:FPC, and has contributed many great images to the project. Also, he's made lots of great article contributions. Hell, just read User:Solipsist/contrib. He has 3731 edits since 8 March 2004. J OHN C OLLISON [ Ludraman] 16:29, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the vote of confidence — I accept. -- Solipsist 22:50, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Support
 * 1) Nominator. J OHN C OLLISON [ Ludraman] 16:33, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) Not an admin?!?! Extreme support! [[User:Neutrality|Neutrality/talk]] 16:54, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) Andre ( talk )A| 17:13, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) [[User:MacGyverMagic|Mgm|(talk)]] 18:47, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 5) Support. - RedWordSmith 19:08, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) Tuf-Kat 19:10, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) Support - but aren't we all Solipsist's sock-puppets?-gadfium 21:13, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) Easy decision. Shane King 22:49, Dec 7, 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) Of course. --Lst27 ( t a l k )  23:29, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) I'd oppose based on the corny intellectual humor on his user page, but I've been guilty of similar offenses a few times. --Michael Snow 00:19, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) I personally find the userpage humor funny - but I'm weird like that. --Whosyourjudas (talk) 03:11, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) Seems level-headed and judicious. Wolfman 04:36, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) Support. - Taxman 04:56, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) Dangit, I thought you were an admin already! Johnleemk | Talk 12:21, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 15) BLANKFAZE  | (что??) 05:43, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 16) Support, seems to be well-liked. Everyking 07:05, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 17) Support. We could use more admins like Solipsist. [[User:Rhymeless|Rhymeless | (Methyl Remiss)]] 07:40, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) Hard working, intelligent, and plays along when I leave notes on his/her talk page asking whether I am a fictional creation in the universe Solipsist alone inhabits or Solipsist is a fictional creation in my solitary universe. Just the right combination of whimsy and wit to make an excellent admin -- Jwrosenzweig 15:17, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) (insert your favourite cliché here) -- Grunt 🇪🇺 15:47, 2004 Dec 9 (UTC)
 * 20) [[user:JonMoore|Jon, Conqueror of Men | (Talk!)]] 21:08, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) Support. ffirehorse 01:20, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) older ≠ wiser 03:10, Dec 10, 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) Support Is there a way we can make a list of these people who somehow keep going unnoticed? Solipsist is in my opinion one of the very best! Pedant 19:39, 2004 Dec 10 (UTC)
 * 24) Support. utcursch 07:19, Dec 11, 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) Looks good.  CryptoDerk 17:53, Dec 11, 2004 (UTC)
 * 26) I'll jump on the bandwagon here. --Slowking Man 22:59, Dec 11, 2004 (UTC)
 * 27) Arch, beam (structure), column, console. SWAdair | Talk  01:31, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 28) Fire Star 02:42, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 29) Kind of young account, but good work! --Improv 05:16, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Ooh, look, a bandwagon, I want on! But seriously, good work, has definately shown his worth. --fvw *  08:28, 2004 Dec 13 (UTC)
 * 1) Support, obviously. Pakaran (ark a pan) 15:49, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) Strong support. If nothing else, Solipsist has the craziest electronic signatures on all of Wikipedia!  Anyone who dons the virtual Groucho glasses while maintaining the integrity of this site is OK by me. - Lucky 6.9 21:27, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Oppose

Neutral

Comments

Questions for the candidate

A few generic questions to provide guidance for voters:
 * 1. What sysop chores, if any, would you anticipate helping with? (Please read the page about administrators and the administrators' reading list.)
 * I'll probably find it useful to be able to delete images (and workaround renaming them). I'm also likely to help out on admin assisted page moves since I've need it a couple of times myself, and of course routinely revert vandalism I come across.
 * 2. Of your articles or contributions to Wikipedia, are there any about which you are particularly pleased, and why?
 * Well as John Collinson says, I've been doing a fair amount of work finding and taking pictures for articles. I've helped expand the number of Featured pictures over the past few months (located and nominated some 10% of current FPs). I try to fill gaps in arts and architecture subjects and did a fair bit of the original categorisation of Category:Sculptors and Category:Painters. Of course I've a soft spot for Henry Moore, which I worked up to featured status. But I'm also quite pleased (and a little surprised) with the clean-up on slaughterhouse which I got a little carried away on after randomly landing on it one morning. Finally I have to confess to wasting the time of a few editors by introducing the Wiki-link Game.
 * 3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or do you feel other users have caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and will deal with it in the future?
 * Yes, I got into a near revert war with a much more established editor over the categorisation of various (non-)painters, notably Tracey Emin and Winston Churchill. I followed the dispute resolution process, but largely found it futile. Now with the benefit of more experience, I should probably have gone as far as a WP:RFC, but at the time I was happier to just walk away and leave categories alone in order to avoid too much Wiki-Stress.
 * I also responded to a plea for help on the Great Pie Fight a couple of weeks ago, but not soon enough to avoid loosing a good editor.


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Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary

Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary is a protected area in Tamil Nadu, South India, covering 21.47 km2 along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere at the southeastern tip of Nagapattinam District. It was created in 1967 for the conservation of the blackbuck and also hosts large congregations of waterbirds, especially greater flamingos. It has been classified as an Important Bird Area.

Geography
Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary forms the easternmost and most biologically diverse part of Ramsar Site no. 1210 which on 19 August 2002, was declared a place of international importance for the conservation of waterbirds and their wetlands habitats. This 385 km2 site comprises PCWBS, Panchanadikulam Wetland, Unsurveyed Salt swamp, Thalainayar Reserved Forest and Muthupet Mangroves. It is all part of the Great Vedaranyam Swamp, except the reserved forest.

The sanctuary is an island surrounded by the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Palk Straight to the south and swampy backwaters and salt pans to the west and north. Low sand dunes are located along the coast and along the western periphery with coastal plains, tidal mud-flats and shallow seasonal ponds in between. Sand dunes in the east are mostly now stabilised by Prosopis juliflora and the higher dunes in the west are stabilised by dense dry evergreen forests. The tallest dune in the sanctuary and the highest point of land in Nagapattinam District is 7 m. at the northwest corner of the sanctuary at Ramar Padam.

History

In the early years of the Sanctuary management was concentrated on prevention of poaching and provision of water to the wildlife. Poaching has been controlled but water supply is a continuing effort. In 1979 the first of several water troughs supplied from water barrels transported by bullock cart and open wells were built. Beginning in 2001–02 several perennial water holes supplied by pipe from bore wells and a large elevated water tank on the western edge of the sanctuary were built.

Several tree planting schemes to increase biodiversity have yielded poor results, with the exception of Casuarina equisetifolia. Current practice is to avoid new tree planting and concentrate on removal of the invasive Prosopis juliflora. An annual wildlife census has been conducted since 1991.

The Bombay Natural History Society has been conducting regular bird migration studies in the sanctuary since 1959. In 2007 it is building a new field station in Kodaikadu.

On 9 March 1998 a 45 m modern lighthouse near Kodaikorai Beach was commissioned.

In 1999 many speed breakers were installed on the Vedaranyam – Kodaikorai road which have effectively prevented the killing of wildlife by speeding vehicles. In 2004/05 nearly 100 boundary pillars were erected for boundary demarcation.

On 26 December 2004 a tsunami as high as 3 metres (10 ft) hit the Kodiyakarai coast of the sanctuary. Seawater flooded the entire sanctuary with four feet of water. The sanctuary escaped serious damage and the sanctuary, animals and birds largely survived the giant wave, but 5,525 people were killed in neighbouring parts of Nagapattinam District.

The documentary film Point Calimere – Little Kingdom by the Coast by Shekar Dattatri won the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) Vatavaran 2007 award in the Nature category.

Flora
This site is a mix of salt swamps, mangroves, backwaters, mudflats, grasslands and East Deccan dry evergreen forests. 364 of flowering plant species have been identified in the sanctuary of which 50% are herbs and the others are climbers, shrubs and trees. About 198 of these have medicinal properties. Manilkara hexandra, locally called Palai is the dominant dry evergreen species and an important food source for fruit eating birds. Middle canopy is dominated by the invasive Prosopis juliflora and the most abundant undergrowth is Memecylon umbellatum.

Fauna
This sanctuary is an area of high biodiversity, with 14 mammal species, 18 reptile species and nine amphibian species. The flagship species of the sanctuary is the blackbuck, one of the four antelope species in India and the most numerous large animal in the sanctuary. The population estimate of the blackbuck at Point Calimere more than doubled in thirty years, from 750–800 in 1967 to 1,908 in 1998/99. This isolated population of blackbuck probably survived unmolested throughout the centuries due to the locals' now declining belief that eating its meat causes leprosy. The predators of the blackbuck at Point Calimere are jackals, and sometimes village dogs. Competition for food is from domestic and feral cattle.

Other notable animals include: chital, golden jackal, bonnet monkey, wild boar, monitor lizard, short-nosed fruit bat, small Indian civet, Indian star tortoise, Indian grey mongoose, black-naped hare, jungle cat and feral horse. Marine species include the Bottlenose dolphin and olive ridley turtle. In 2002 a pair of Bryde's whale were found washed ashore near the sanctuary. One 10 ton 35-foot whale was successfully towed back to sea. This was the first successful rescue of a beached whale in Asia.

The sanctuary hosts the second largest congregation of migratory waterbirds in India, with a peak population in excess of 100,000, representing 103 species. Over 200,000 birds have been captured, studied, ringed and released during the course of several ornithological studies in the past several years.

In October these waterbirds arrive from Rann of Kutch, Eastern Siberia, Northern Russia, Central Asia and parts of Europe for their feeding season and start returning to those breeding places in January. These waterbirds include threatened species such as spot-billed pelican, Nordmann's greenshank, spoonbill sandpiper and black-necked stork. Near threatened species include black-headed ibis, Asian dowitcher, lesser flamingo, spoonbill, darter and painted stork.

Over 15 km2 of the best tropical dry evergreen forest in India are in the sanctuary. They harbour a large variety of resident and migratory landbirds. The most common of the 35 resident species are white-browed bulbul, brahminy kite, small green-billed malkoha, crow pheasant, rose-ringed parakeet, grey partridge, blue-tailed bee-eater and common iora.

Spotted and collared doves are common in the mangroves.

Threats
Major threats to the natural biodiversity and ecological balance of the sanctuary are: loss of habitat for waterbirds, soil and water salinisation by adjacent salt pans, spread of the invasive Prosopis juliflora, cattle grazing and scarcity of fresh water. Sanctuary staff conduct programs to alleviate all these issues.

Cultural heritage

Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are located within the sanctuary:
 * Ramar Padam (literally: Ramas Footprint) located on the highest point of land in the sanctuary, is a small shrine containing the stone footprints of Lord Rama. Large numbers of Rama devotees gather here during the second week of April to celebrate Ram Navami Festival.
 * Mattumunian Kovil is a small temple in the south of the sanctuary where people worship and offer prayers throughout the year. A major festival occurs here on the third Friday of September.
 * Avulaiganni Dargah is the grave of a Muslim saint located near the road by Ramar Padam. His death anniversary is celebrated in late November.
 * Shevrayan Kovil is a shrine to the deities Shevrayan and Soni located deep in the forests of the northern part of the sanctuary. A small village near this shrine was relocated outside the sanctuary after the creation of Kodaikarai Reserve Forest. A large congregation of devotees from Arcothurai celebrate a special festival in June and July.
 * Chola Lighthouse is the remains of a brick and mortar lighthouse near Point Calimere said to have been built by the Cholas more than a thousand years ago. This structure was badly damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami but can still be seen in the intertidal zone near the British lighthouse.


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Wind Dancer

Sofia Elizabeth Mantega, also known as Wind Dancer and formerly known as Renascence, is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. One of the student body in the Xavier Institute, she is a member of the New Mutants squad therein. Her first appearance was in New Mutants, vol. 2 #1. At the beginning of New Mutants vol. 2, she is 16 years old.

Early life
Sofia was born and lived most of her life in Caracas, Venezuela. While under the care of her uncle, Sofia's mother is killed in a riot. Her only Venezuelan adult relative, an uncle, is unable to support her in addition to his own children, so she is sent to her father, who had been previously unaware of her existence. The head of a major supermarket chain located in the United States, Walter Barrett is a cold, asocial man with no interest in a daughter. As such, he extracts from her a promise that she would learn English before school started, she would get good grades, and she would not use her mutant power, in exchange for which all her material wants would be provided for without question.

Over the next three weeks, she befriends her father's manservant Derek, learns English, and joins a local school, but despite her outgoing nature, she has difficulty fitting in and is unable to reconcile herself to her father's lack of affection for her. She ultimately acts out by skipping school and wrecking one of her father's stores with hurricane-force winds, making sure her actions are caught on a store security camera. Her father is incensed, less at the destruction of his store than by her exposing him as the father of a mutant, and considers leaving her in prison for 48 hours to punish her. Danielle Moonstar, having seen Sofía's vandalism on the news, steps in and offers her a place at the Xavier Institute.

Xavier Institute
Resident mischief maker Julian Keller (codenamed Hellion) finds himself instantly attracted to Mantega and begins courting her. She rejects him after he makes derogatory remarks about her roommate, the shy Laurie Collins (later known as Wallflower), but the attraction remains mutual, and despite herself Sofia later ends up flirting with Julian during a combat training exercise. Derek remains in touch, even quitting his job when her father objects to his seeing Sofia.

Sofia and Laurie are assigned to the New Mutants squad, along with a runaway from Japan named Surge, Laurie's love interest and former Reaver Elixir, strait-laced David Alleyne (Prodigy), and dangerous but well-intentioned Wither. Sofia is generally well-liked and is voted as "Most Outgoing" in the school's yearbook.

Prodigy rejects the offer to lead the New Mutants, so the position falls to Sofia. She becomes isolated and irritable when the group loses their first training exercise, which she blames on her failure to lead. Her command decisions weaken further when Wither is arrested for the accidental death of his father, and she briefly sides with the Hellions, Julian's squad, to break him free. After the New Mutants fight the Hellions over the incident, Prodigy talks her into letting Wither go, and she tries to convince him to lead the New Mutants. He insists that Sofía's emotionalism has its advantage in a leadership role, but agrees to be co-leader, to better mesh their strengths.

Thereafter, Sofia's temper eases again until the school dance, where she catches Laurie manipulating Prodigy to make her ex-boyfriend Elixir jealous. Alarmed by the rapid disintegration of the squad, she finds herself kissing Julian, and he pushes her to end the in-fighting since she is the one who sees the good in everyone - even him. She tries to do so by forcing everyone to get together for a camp-out on the X-Mansion grounds. While bickering and even fist-fighting break out, Sofia is able to eventually reconcile her teammates.

Sofia loses her powers along with 98% of the mutant population when the Scarlet Witch produces a reality-bending spell in an attempt to solve the human/mutant problem. Along with most of the de-powered students, she moves out of the mansion, planning to return to Venezuela with Derek. She leaves the school abruptly without giving Julian notice after she catches him callously denouncing Prodigy after the latter lost his powers.

New Warriors
For as-yet-unknown reasons, Sofia moves to New York City, where she lives alone and works as a waitress. She feels directionless in her new "normal" life and has nightmares about losing her powers. During the dream, Sofia enjoyed the pleasures of winged flight. Around this time, Sofia begins to receive strange messages from a group calling itself the New Warriors. The group sends a messenger whom Sofia recognizes as Barry, a young man she knew (and flirted with) from the restaurant she works in. Barry explains that he is a depowered mutant, and is actually her old friend from the Xavier Institute, Beak, whom she did not recognize because of his altered appearance post-M-Day. Beak transports Sofia into the secret base of the New Warriors, but she rejects their efforts to talk her into joining the group.

However, a battle between the New Warriors and a new Zodiac breaks out near the restaurant where Sofia works and she witnesses Cancer kill the New Warrior Longstrike. With the Warriors fighting a losing battle and a little boy caught in the crossfire, Sofia charges towards Cancer, providing enough distraction to give her friends the upper hand. While the superpowered individuals battle, Sofia tries to get the young boy to safety but is blasted from behind. At the hospital, doctors determine Sofia is suffering from burns, a concussion, and various other problems from the attack. During a comatose state, Sofia dreams she is meeting her mother in Heaven and once again bears angel-like wings.

Sofia makes headlines for her heroic deeds during the battle. She is expected to fully recover and has only lost her hair due to surgery. Upon her release from the hospital, Mantega reconsiders Night Thrasher's offer to join the team right as he is about to disband the group following the disastrous encounter with the Zodiac.

Renascence
Sofia's first mission as a New Warrior puts her and the team up against the Alphaclan, a villain team atop of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list. While Wondra says Sofia "held her own on her first mission", the team's efforts fall short until Night Thrasher intervenes.

Sofia takes on the codename Renascence while operating with the New Warriors. She continues to waitress at her job and lives off-base as to never be dependent on someone else ever again. After the New Warriors disband Sofia keeps the tech she had been given.

Krakoa
A long time later, Sofia somehow heard of the Mojoverse's new-found obsession with mutants and started live streaming and climbing the broadcasting charts. After making a poll with her followers, it was revealed the majority wanted to see her die, so she hired Adam X to execute her. Moments before her demise, she addressed the audience one last time: "Let's give the people what they want".

Upon seeing the proof of death, The Five proceeded with her resurrection, returning her powers in the process. After being reunited with Hellion and her other friends, she revealed to them that she had to let herself get killed in order to escape, but Spiral, Adam X and Shatterstar still needed rescuing.

Powers and abilities
As the mutant Wind Dancer, Sofia has the ability to control the movement of air, which included the ability to generate wind with intense force, lift and carry objects, fly and, more subtly, amplify small vibrations in the air - allowing her to hear faraway conversations.

She also uses her powers to create a "cutting" effect by refining the force of the wind. When at close range, she can also compress air into a person's ear to disrupt their middle ear's equilibrium thereby disturbing their balance.

As Renascence, she wore a suit equipped with six metal cybernetic tentacles that could discharge surges of electricity from its claws. She was also equipped with a personal force field that emits a golden aura.

Sofia has some athletic and martial arts skills due to her training as a New Mutant at Xavier's and the combat sessions with the New Warriors.

House of M
Wind Dancer is a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee in the House of M reality. During the House of M crossover (which later led to Decimation), Wind Dancer was shown as a S.H.I.E.L.D trainee, in the Hellions Squad, under Dani Moonstar's supervision, and involved in a rather intimate relationship with Scion (Julian's counterpart).

In this reality, she battled control against Wallflower's pheromones that manipulated the New Mutant Leadership Institute's students into fighting with the S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees to the death.

After Wallflower was killed and her influence severed, the surviving young mutants teamed up to attack Emperor Sunfire, who headed Project: Genesis, a plan to mutate baseline humans. Sunfire ordered their death, but reality was reverted before anything further happened.

title: Wind Dancer


text:
Ferrari 599

The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (internal code F141) is a grand tourer produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It served as the brand's front-engined, two-seat model, replacing the 575M Maranello in 2006 as a 2007 model, and was later replaced for the 2013 model year by the F12berlinetta.

Styled by Pininfarina under the direction of Jason Castriota, the 599 GTB debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in February 2006. The bodywork features optimized aerodynamics with distinct sail panels flanking the rear window, directing and maximizing air flow to a linear rear nolder.

The 599 is named for its total engine displacement 5999 cc, Gran Turismo Berlinetta nature, and the Fiorano Circuit test track used by Ferrari.

Drivetrain
The 5999 cc Tipo F140 C V12 engine utilised in the 599 produces a maximum power output of 620 PS between 7,600 rpm to 8,400 rpm, which made it the most powerful series production Ferrari road car at the time of its introduction. When introduced, the engine was one of the few engines whose output exceeded 100 hp per litre of displacement without the use of forced-induction such as supercharging or turbocharging. Its 608 Nm of torque produced at 5,600 rpm was also a record for Ferrari's GT cars at the time. Most of the modifications to the engine were done to allow it to fit in the 599's engine bay (the original version used in the Ferrari Enzo would be taller and would block forward vision due to its mid-mounted position construction).

A traditional 6-speed manual transmission was offered, as well as Ferrari's 6-speed automated manual paddle-shift transmission called "F1 SuperFast" which had a shift time of 100 milliseconds in the standard 599 or 85 milliseconds if equipped with the HGTE package. The 599 also saw the debut of Ferrari's new traction control system, F1-Trac. The vast majority of the 599 GTB's were equipped with the automated manual gearbox as opposed to the 6-speed manual gearbox. Only 30 examples were produced with a manual gearbox of which 20 were destined to the United States and 10 remained in Europe leading Ferrari to abandon the use of the manual transmission in its future GT cars. 599 GTB Fiorano was the last V12-engined Ferrari to be equipped with manual transmission.

Chassis
The 599 saw the use of an aluminium chassis for the first time in a Ferrari GT car, as opposed to the tubular steel chassis used in its predecessors. The new chassis results in more rigidity and contributes to the low dry weight of 1690 kg as compared to its predecessor, the 575M. The 599 boasts a longer wheelbase than its predecessor and the fuel tank is positioned at the rear in a mid mounted position for better weight distribution. Due to such measures, the 599 has a claimed power to weight ratio of 367 PS per tonne.

Aerodynamics
The 599 utilises an underbody spoiler and venturi tunnels that contribute to downforce. The arched C-pillars in a 'flying buttress' style also aid further in downforce by channeling the air around the rear section thus eliminating the need of a rear wing. The buttresses were initially a styling exercise by exterior designer Jason Castriota. Their aerodynamic effect was proven by Ferrari aerodynamicist Luca Caldirola with the wind tunnel testing. Due to this fact, the 599 generates a claimed 160 kg of downforce at 186 mph. The car also has functional brake cooling ducts on the front and rear body panels for improved brake cooling.

Suspension and brakes
The 599 utilises magnetorheological semi-active dampers along with its suspension coils. The dampers function by a liquid within the damper reservoir which when subject to magnetic field within the liquid chamber, changes its viscosity. The function of the liquid along with the reaction and stability control are controlled through a knob on the steering wheel. The 599 came with cast iron brakes as standard while the carbon-ceramic brakes (a technology that was scarcely utilised in road cars at the time) were available as an option. The rotors measured 398 mm at the front and 360 mm at the rear.

Interior
The 599 came with a luxurious leather trimmed interior. The driver's seat was positioned slightly towards the centre in order to provide a better driving position. The instrument cluster was a combination of analogue gauges and screens. The shift paddles could either be optioned in aluminium or in carbon fibre and were affixed to the steering column. The three spoke steering wheel housed controls for the car's electronic systems as well as a starter button. The interior has a glove box, storage space in the door panels and combination of simple dials and buttons for operating the stereo, climate control and air conditioning. The car has a rear shelf and a boot-lid providing adequate boot space.

Performance
Performance claimed by Ferrari.
 * 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds
 * 0-200 km/h in 11.1 seconds
 * Top speed: 330 km/h

599 HGTE
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE (HGTE being an abbreviation of Handling Gran Turismo Evoluzione) is an upgrade package for the 599 designed to improve the car's handling. It includes a modified set-up with stiffer springs and rear anti-roll bar as well as new calibration settings for the Delphi MagneRide magneto-rheological shock absorbers when the manettino is at its sportier settings. The ride height has also been lowered, resulting in a low centre of gravity. The package also includes optimised tyres featuring a compound that offers improved grip. The car's electronic systems were also changed. The gearbox's shift times were faster in high-performance settings, while new engine software provided improved response. The exhaust was modified to produce a more marked and thrilling sound under hard usage while still delivering the right comfort levels at cruising speed. The exterior and interior were upgraded with more carbon fibre components and the car also included new 20-inch wheels.

599 GTO
On 8 April 2010, Ferrari announced official details of the 599 GTO (for Gran Turismo Omologato). The car was a road-legal version of the 599XX track day car and at the time Ferrari claimed that the 599 GTO was their fastest ever road car, able to lap the Fiorano test circuit in 1 minute 24 seconds, one second faster than the Ferrari Enzo. Its engine generated a power output of 670 PS at 8,250 rpm and 620 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. The car has the multiple shift program for the gearbox from the 599XX along with the exhaust system. Ferrari claimed that the 599 GTO could accelerate from 0-62 mi/h in under 3.3 seconds and has a top speed of over 335 km/h. At 1605 kg, the 599 GTO weighs almost 100 kg less than the standard GTB. Production was limited to 599 cars. Of these, approximately 125 were produced for the United States market.

Ferrari has produced only two other models that used the GTO designation: the 1962 250 GTO and the 1984 288 GTO with the third being the 599 GTO. Unlike the previous GTOs however, the 599 GTO was not designed for homologation in any racing series.

599XX
At the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari unveiled the track-only iteration of the 599 GTB, dubbed the 599XX. Designed by Ferrari's Formula-one engineers, the car has many changes over the standard car in order to make it more nimble and responsive on a race track. Exterior enhancements included two winglets on the C-pillars for improved downforce, a vented bonnet for improved engine cooling, darkened lexan tail lamps, a carbon fibre 'ducktail' rear spoiler aiding further in downforce, a large rear diffuser for improved under body airflow, tow hooks at the front and rear, additional ducts for improved cooling, a minimalist race interior with racing bucket seats along with an LCD display behind the steering wheel replacing all analogue gauges equipped with a roll-cage and lexan sliding windows. The car also has two fans that were located in the trunk and worked to keep the car on the ground and stopped working at speeds up to 155 mph, a speed at which the car needed no additional downforce. With all such components, the car was reported to generate 280 kg of downforce at 124 mph and 630 kg of downforce at 186 mph. The air conditioning system was retained for added driver comfort. The car had nine traction and stability control modes, all controlled from the manettino dial on the steering wheel. The car was equipped with F1 inspired carbon ceramic brakes with crossed drilled rotors and a new race exhaust system. The rev limiter was raised to 9,000 rpm, with the engine rated at 730 PS at 9,000 rpm. Weight was reduced by reducing the weight of the engine components such as a new carbon fibre intake manifold and graphite coated pistons along with a lightweight crankshaft, as well as through the use of composite materials and the use of carbon fibre body parts. A new gearbox was introduced to cut overall gear change time to 60 milliseconds, holding the upward or downward shift paddle for longer resulted in multiple shifts that improved gearing time. The car also included 29/67 R19 front and 31/71 R19 rear racing slicks with 19 × 11J wheels at the front and 19 × 12J at the rear. The 599XX was capable of accelerating from 0–62 mph in 2.9 seconds and attained a top speed of 196 mph (redline limited top speed).

At the 2010 Beijing International Auto Show, Ferrari announced that the 599XX had completed the Nordschleife circuit at the Nürburgring in a time of 6 minutes and 58.16 seconds – the fastest time ever recorded for a production-derived sports car. This lap was later beaten by the Pagani Zonda R in June 2010, which had set a lap time of 6 minutes and 47.50 seconds.

599XX Evoluzione
On November 10, 2011, the first images of the 599XX Evoluzione surfaced, which had a radically restyled aero and exhaust package as well as electronic upgrades and Pirelli racing slicks. On 1 December 2011, Ferrari confirmed details for the 599XX Evoluzione in preparation for the 2011 Bologna Motor Show. The 599XX Evoluzione weighed 35 kg less than the standard 599XX and the engine had slightly improved peak power of 740 PS and 700 Nm of torque. One of the key features of the Evoluzione is its active rear wing which can adjust automatically to provide increased cornering performance.

SA Aperta
The roadster variant of the 599, the SA Aperta, was introduced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as a limited edition in honour of designers Sergio Pininfarina and Andrea Pininfarina, with the "SA" designation standing for both their names. The SA Aperta utilised the higher performance engine and gearbox from the 599 GTO and has a 10 mm lower ride height, thicker rear anti roll bar and recalibrated magnetic dampers. The SA Aperta also has a slightly raked windscreen as compared to the 599 GTB along with larger cooling ducts in the new front bumper and a rear bumper in body colour. The car has a removable soft top that was only intended for use in city driving and to protect the interior from rain. The boot-lid was made of aluminium while the C-pillars were made of carbon fibre and have a silver finish along with the windshield frame. The exhaust system was a modified version of the one used in the 599XX and the car has special 5-spoke wheels unique to the variant with a chromed finish along with a triple layer body paint. The interior was also redesigned and has a two-tone colour scheme and the car has sports seats as standard equipment. Only 80 examples were produced, honoring the 80th anniversary of Pininfarina and all were sold before the car was unveiled to the public.

599 GTB 60F1
In December 2011, Ferrari announced a special edition of the 599 GTB to celebrate 60 years of their wins in F1. From Froilán González's win at Silverstone in 1951 with the 375 F1, to Fernando Alonso's win at Silverstone in 2011 in the 150° Italia, Ferrari have been winning hundreds of F1 races. The car was based on the 599 HGTE chassis, that utilised stiff suspension, shorter springs and stiffer anti-roll bars. The new 20" diamond-finished forged alloy wheels and Scuderia Ferrari shields came on the body as standard. There were three choices of paint finishes to choose from:
 * The colours of the 375 F1 – darker and standing out more than Ferrari Rosso
 * The colours of the 150° Italia, with the Italian tricolore styled mini spoiler at the back and the white parts of the front spoiler on the body
 * Another version of the 150° Italia but without the white a-pillars.

The interior in the European version of the car has Sabelt bucket seats whereas the US version featured Recaro bucket seats, both being made from Alcantara.

P540 Superfast Aperta
The Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta is a one-off convertible sports car based on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. This car represents the second car in Ferrari's Special Project program.

Edward Walson commissioned the car in 2008, asking Ferrari to build a modern interpretation of the gold covered Carrozzeria Fantuzzi-bodied Ferrari 330 LMB built for the 1968 film Spirits of the Dead. The P540 was revealed to the public on 11 December 2009, but had been spotted in spy shots several months previous to this.

Designed by Pininfarina and built in Maranello, this car was designed to comply with international safety and homologation requirements. Using finite element analysis and carbon fibre, the car's chassis was stiffened for the conversion to a convertible body style. As it is based on the 599 GTB F1, many of the specifications of the P540 are similar to its donor car. Total time of development was 14 months.

Superamerica 45
The Ferrari Superamerica 45 is a one-off with a rotating targa hardtop based on the 599 GTB, that was commissioned to Ferrari by longtime Ferrari enthusiast and collector Peter Kalikow to commemorate his 45 years as a Ferrari client. Part of Ferrari's Special Project programme, it was designed at Centro Stile Ferrari and engineered in-house by Ferrari. The car made its public debut at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on 20 May 2011.

The carbon fibre hardtop roof incorporates a rear screen and rotates around a horizontal axis behind the cabin, a mechanism similar to that of the 2005 Ferrari Superamerica. The boot, also made from carbon fibre, has been redesigned to house the roof when open and to increase downforce at the rear of the car. As well as being finished in Blu Antille, other key visual features include a chromed front grille, body coloured wheels, carbon fibre panels and special burnished aluminum A-pillars, wing mirrors and door handles. The interior features a combination of Cuoio leather trim and Blu Scuro carbon fibre as well as a latest-generation touch-screen infotainment system.

599 GTZ Nibbio Zagato
The Zagato 599 GTZ Nibbio was introduced in 2007 by Zagato and was based on the Ferrari 599 GTB. It was limited to only nine units worldwide, seven of which were built with the F1 automated manual transmission and two with the 6-speed manual. Two of the ones with the F1 automated manual transmission are spyder. The manual coupe car, painted dark blue with a white top half, was listed for sale in December 2018 for US$1.495 million at Tomini Classics in Dubai. The design of the GTZ Nibbio is inspired by various coach built sports from the 1950's and 1960's.

SP30
The Ferrari SP30 is a one-off based on the 599 GTO and completed in 2013. It is the fifth project completed by Ferrari's special projects division and it includes elements from the 599XX and the F12 which was released a few months earlier. It was commissioned by Cheerag Arya, the owner of a petrochemical company. The car's VIN is ZFF70RDT7B0188026. The car was then seized by the government of Abu Dhabi and was exported to the USA where it still resides today.

Prototype
Motor Authority reported that Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was working on the development of a Ferrari model that would use alternative energy sources and which would be based on what Ferrari is doing in Formula 1, which uses Kinetic Energy Recovery System. The KERS was tested using a 599 as a test mule. The model was later revealed to be the LaFerrari.

Awards

 * Evo magazine named the 599 GTB as the Car of the Year for 2006.
 * Top Gear Magazine also named the 599 GTB as the Supercar of the Year 2006.

Successor
The successor to the 599 was announced on 29 February 2012, a few days prior to the Geneva Motor Show. Ferrari released a video featuring Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa driving the car at Ferrari's own test track, the Pista di Fiorano. The car, named the F12berlinetta, was officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on 6 March 2012.

title: Ferrari 599


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Surge (Marvel Comics)

Surge (Noriko "Nori" Ashida) is a superhero appearing in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a mutant, a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute, and a member of the former New Mutants squad. She maintained her powers post M-Day and was the leader of the New X-Men.

Publication history
Surge was created by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Keron Grant and first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #8 (January 2004).

Fictional character biography
Noriko Ashida was born in Japan. She was close to her brother, Keitaro, but she ran away from home after her powers manifested when she was thirteen years old; she claimed that her father "doesn't believe in mutants." How she came to the United States is unknown, but she ended up homeless on the streets of Salem Center, reduced to buying illegal drugs using stolen money. With no training or practice in the use of her powers, Noriko's body automatically absorbs all nearby electricity and, once fully charged, releases it in a storm of electrical bolts. Additionally, her acceleration ability forces her to speak so quickly that no one can understand her. Though she finds no treatment for most of these problems, the drugs sedate her body enough that she can control her outbursts of electrical power. Keeping herself regularly supplied proves impossible, however, and during a robbery, Noriko accidentally hits the young owner of a coffee shop with an electric bolt. A group of young mutants finds her and brings her back to the X-Mansion. There, Beast designs gauntlets that regulate her absorption of ambient electricity and discharge as required to prevent further mental overloads.

Nori becomes a student of the Xavier Institute and, when the school adopts a squad system, is assigned to the New Mutants squad led by Danielle Moonstar. She is forced to share a room with Dust; the two young women disagree upon the role of women and the Muslim traditions that Dust follows. Though initially hostile to the mutants who took her off the street - David Alleyne, Josh Foley, Sofia Mantega, and Laurie Collins - she soon comes to accept them as her friends.

David asks Emma Frost to remove a mental block in his mind inhibiting him from recalling all the information and skills he has acquired. David sees a possible future in which he becomes the world's foremost genius, marries Noriko, and leads to her death. Disturbed, David begins to avoid her. Annoyed at such treatment, Nori ultimately confronts David, which leads to the two becoming an active couple.

Noriko retains her powers after the events of House of M. With only 27 students retaining their powers, Emma Frost orders the depowered students and staff, including Nori's advisor Danielle Moonstar, to leave the institute. As it departs, one bus of depowered students is bombed by anti-mutant zealot Reverend William Stryker, killing all on board. Though depowered, David is not killed, and he and Nori further their romantic relationship. Most of the remaining students are organized into a melee fight to determine who would become a member of Emma Frost's X-Men-in-training. Nori is chosen by Frost to be the team's leader. Soon afterwards, Nori receives new, lighter, and more effective gauntlets from Forge.

Caught in an argument over the rescue of Cessily, Surge and Hellion are the only students that are not teleported to Limbo. Trance uses her powers to get a message to the two, informing them that the Institute students had been taken into Limbo by Belasco, and that Belasco killed David. Coordinating with O*N*E*, Surge and Hellion discover that Amanda Sefton has been expelled from Limbo and is in a coma in Germany. Surge becomes impulsive and angry at David's death, threatening the O*N*E* troopers when they attempt to block her from seeing Sefton, using her electrical powers to revive the sorceress despite the risks. At the behest of Lexington, Megaton's pilot, Surge and Hellion stop fighting demons and head for the castle. Surge leads the united Xavier Institute students against the demonic hordes, engaging the twisted sorcerer in single combat before Belasco is killed by Pixie and Darkchild. The institute is returned to Earth, at Santo's insistence.

After their return from Limbo, Surge finds out from X-23 the torture David went through in Limbo. In hopes of driving him away from the school and out of harm's way, Surge kisses Hellion in front of David and the other students. After confronting her of the incident, she insists that she doesn't love him anymore and pleads that he should leave the institute. This backfires, as David regains his memories of the knowledge he once had and copied up until he lost his power with the help of the Stepford Cuckoos. David decides to both stay at the Institute and end their relationship.

Following the dissolution of the X-Men, Surge runs to Colorado, seeking help from Dani Moonstar. Nori is overwhelmed by the pain she has endured as a New X-Man and doesn't know how to cope. Nori realizes that her fear of being hurt has affected her judgment and driven her actions over the past months. She later officially joins the X-Men based out of San Francisco: she is seen working on one of the street crime patrols.

Surge is later kidnapped along with Boom Boom and Hellion by the Leper Queen and her Sapien League. The Leper Queen injects her with a modified version of the Legacy Virus. X-Force rescues their friends after completing their mission. Elixir is able to cure Surge before she could destroy the UN.

We next see Surge defending the Golden Gate bridge during the 'Second Coming' event in which Bastion assaults the X-Men, who is in search of the 'Mutant Messiah' Hope Summers. Once again Nori is devastated when yet another teammate is injured during the initial Nimrod attack, destroying the hands of Hellion. Plunged into the waters of San Francisco Bay by Bastions last ditch attack, Nori witnesses Hope Summers emerge as the Mutant Messiah.

Powers and abilities
Surge absorbs electricity continuously, from sources like static in the air, electrical appliances, and outlets, often causing lights to flicker. She can't control the absorption, requiring her to wear specially designed gauntlets all the time to regulate it. Surge can discharge the energy through powerful lightning-like blasts or channel it into bursts of superhuman speed. If she absorbs too much energy, it causes mental overloads, making her speak too fast, scatter her thinking, and worsen her control over the blasts.

Her blue hair is not related to her mutation. According to Nori, it came in a bottle labeled "electric blue" (and, indeed, she debuted with black hair).

Personality
Very forthright and strong-minded, Nori often clashes with her peers and superiors, from nearly getting into a brawl with Hellion after he insulted Prodigy's baseline status post-M-Day, and challenging Cyclops' assertion that the students are safe at the institute (this taking place immediately after a series of devastating attacks by the Purifiers). Nori also considers herself a feminist, attacking Dust's choice of garb as a betrayal of women's rights when the two are roomed together.

Regardless, Nori is a loyal figure, dedicated to her friends and increasingly feeling the responsibilities placed upon her as the leader of the New X-Men. Surge was particularly incensed by Hellion's decision to rescue Mercury from the Faculty without backup, taking it upon herself to mold the team into an effective unit capable of defending the rest of the students. She has trouble welcoming X-23 back to the team after the latter's involvement in X-Force, possibly due to how the latter seemingly doesn't have to take responsibility for what she did as part of that team, in comparison to her own mounting responsibilities. Chris Yost has stated that, "Surge is the right candidate, because she wants it the least. And you'll see, it's taking a big toll on her. Being a leader when you're doing team sports and field day exercises is one thing, but leading when the stakes are life and death is another thing."

Earth-6160
During the "Ultimate Invasion" storyline, Maker visited Earth-6160 and started remaking it into his own image. Noriko Ashida was seen having recorded the footage of Hisako Ichiki using her powers. With her mobile phone not having been zapped by Mei Igarashi, Noriko uploads the footage a few days later.

Noriko talks with Kageyama about Hisako Ichiki who Kageyama formerly went to school with. After shocking a person who was a cheapskate, Norkio spits gum onto a poster of Emperor Sunfire and passes Mei Igarashi and Nico Minoru on the street.

House of M
Nori is a member of the Hellions in the House of M reality, a group of junior agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her father, a human terrorist, was separated from her at a young age. She was taken off the squad and replaced with Magic due to her father's involvement in their latest mission. She recruits help from some students from the New Mutant Leadership Institute, and they travel to Japan where they come across Project Genesis.

In other media

 * Surge appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Kokoro Kikuchi in the Japanese version and Stephanie Sheh in the English dub. This version's hair is naturally blue and is initially a student of Techno Isle’s International Academy. After briefly becoming romantically attracted to Hikaru Akatsuki, she leaves for the Xavier Institute with Wolverine to receive protection from Magneto.
 * Surge appears in X-Men: Destiny, voiced by Aileen Ong Casas.

title: Surge (Marvel Comics)


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Cheung Po Tsai

Cheung Po Tsai (born Cheung Po; 1783–1822) was a navy colonel of the Qing dynasty and a former pirate. "Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid". He was known to the Portuguese Navy as Quan Apon Chay during the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth.

Early life
Cheung Po was born in 1783. He was a son of a Tanka fisherman who lived in Xinhui of Jiangmen.

Piratical career
Around 1798, he was abducted at age 15 by the pirate Cheng I, who pressed him into piracy.

His natural talent helped him adapt to his unplanned new career and he rose through the ranks swiftly. Cheung Po Tsai was later adopted by Cheng I and Ching I Sao ; "wife of Cheng I"; married 1801) as their step-son, making him Cheng's legal heir.

Cheung Po Tsai's piracy mate and lieutenant was Cai Qian and the two worked together. Cai Qian had strong connections to the Western weapon dealers as his wife Lu Shi ("Mrs. Lu"), best known by her nickname Cai Qian Ma ("wife of Cai Qian"), was fluent in English and an expert in Western weaponry.

Rise to command
After Cheng I died suddenly in Vietnam on 16 November 1807, his widow Ching Shih acted quickly to solidify the partnership with her step-son Cheung Po Tsai. Their first success came when they were able to secure the loyalty of Cheng's relatives, who were leaders in the fleet. They became lovers within weeks.

As Ching Shih's second-in-command, Cheung Po Tsai was active along the Guangdong coastal area during the Qing dynasty. Their followers were said to have reached 50,000+ and his fleet said to have possessed 600 ships.

The tide began to turn in 1809. The authorities managed to discover that Cai Qian was docked in the coastal town of Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The new naval leaders, Wang Delu and Qiu Lianggong, blockaded him into the port and attacked, sinking Cai Qian's ship and killing him.

Battle of the Tiger's Mouth
In September and November 1809, Cheung Po Tsai's pirate fleet suffered a series of defeats inflicted by the Portuguese Navy at the Battle of the Tiger's Mouth.

Battle of Chek Lap Kok
On 20 April 1810 at Furongsha in Guangdong, Cheung Po Tsai formally delivered his fleet and weapons, which now numbered about 280 ships, 2,000 guns and over 25,000 men. The Portuguese claimed naught, while the governor of Guangdong accepted his surrender.

As Qing Naval Officer
Cheung and Ching accepted an amnesty offered by the Qing government, ending their career and allowed to keep the loot. Cheung Po Tsai reverted to his former name. Afterwards, he was capitulated to the Qing dynasty government and became a captain in the Qing's Guangdong navy, receiving the rank of navy colonel. He was given the command of a total of 30 ships, allowed to retain 30 private fleets, and an appointment in Penghu. He would spend the rest of his life helping the government to fight other pirates.

Cheung Po and Ching Shih were later married with Governor Bailing as witness.

Cheung Po would make future formal visits to the Leal Senado of Macau to meet several of the Portuguese officers who present at the fighting, among them was Gonçalves Carocha.

In 1813, Ching Shih gave birth to his son, Cheung Yu Lin. She would later have a daughter who was born at an unknown date.

Death
After Cheung Po died at sea in 1822 at age 39, his widow moved the family to Macau and there she opened a gambling house and was involved in the salt trade.

Legacy
Several places in Hong Kong are linked to Cheung Po Tsai:

 * Cheung Po Tsai Cave, on Cheung Chau island. It is a small natural cave, said to be the place where he stored his prizes. In addition, there are also Cheung Po Tsai Caves at Lamma Island, Tap Mun, Sai Wan, Chung Hom Kok, Chek Chau, Siu Kau Yi Chau and Longxue Island, Guangzhou.
 * Cheung Po Tsai built several temples dedicated to the goddess Tin Hau and seafaring activities on Ma Wan, Cheung Chau, and Stanley.

In popular culture

 * The 1973 Hong Kong action film The Pirate (大海盜) has Cheung Po Tsai as its lead character, he was portrayed by Ti Lung.
 * The 1983 Hong Kong action film Project A depicts a character based on Cheung Po Tsai. The lead villain, San Po (played by Dick Wei) is a pirate with similar characteristics. Project A's time period is a composite of several in Hong Kong's history.
 * The 1994 Hong Kong action film Once Upon a Time in China V has Cheung Po Tsai as one of the main villains opposing the protagonist Wong Fei-Hung. As the movie apocryphally takes place shortly after the Boxer Rebellion, however (over seventy years after Cheung Po Tsai had historically lived), Cheung is depicted in that movie as an extremely old man.
 * The movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End depicts a pirate named Sao Feng as a member of the Brethren Court. This character is based on Cheung Po Tsai, although the film was set many years before he lived. He is portrayed by actor Chow Yun-Fat.
 * In the anime One Piece, one of the characters, Scratchman Apoo, is influenced by Cheung Po Tsai.
 * The Aqua Luna junk ship is named after Cheung Po Tsai.
 * Tony Hung portrays Cheung Po Tsai in the 2015 Hong Kong television drama Captain of Destiny, a historical sci-fi series about a 21st-century police officer who meets Cheung Po Tsai after traveling back in time.
 * The urban legend of Cheung Po Tsai was one of the twelve legends referenced on the TVB series Our Unwinding Ethos.

title: Cheung Po Tsai


text:
Charles Trevelyan

Charles Trevelyan may refer to:

 * Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet (1807–1886), civil servant and Governor of Madras
 * Sir Charles Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet (1870–1958), Member of Parliament, grandson of Charles Edward Trevelyan

title: Charles Trevelyan