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Talk:Numa Pompilius

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 24 September 2020 and 11 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): MinervaNix. Peer reviewers: Jmoseley11, Berriesblue.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 05:29, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Which year?
On the List of Kings of Rome page it says Numa ruled until 674 BC, but on this page it says he died in 673 BC. Is this a dates mix-up or did he give up thr throne a year before he died?--

 * OCD sez 673, any 674s should be fixed to be consistent. (Not that it matters a whole lot, this person's life being more legend than fact...) Stan 21:29, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * The Roman new year was not on the same date as ours and so a Roman year (from the foundation of the city) overlaps with our years. As he may well never existed, as you say, it isn't that important but the same problem will apply to most dates of this period.Dejvid 12:14, 11 July 2005 (UTC)

 * This article offers its synthesized mythology, presented without sources, as if every assertion were history. It would take some tuning to bring this up to concert pitch. -Wetman 19:59, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Probably because it's based on ancient sources retelling what were already legends. — Laura Scudder ☎ 21:00, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Regia
Didn't his guy build the first Royal palace in Rome?--Amadscientist (talk) 00:35, 28 July 2008 (UTC) I think so because Romulus hasn't built any palace during his time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.203.23.192 (talk) 05:51, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Legendary
Uh, the article should point out that its entire content is later Roman legend written down more than 500 years after Numa's death. Livy and Plutarch were not critical historians and they built on a firm ground on long hallowed legend here. /Strausszek (talk) 08:10, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Inconsistent mythology
This article states "The painting depicts Romulus's wife Hersilia — the daughter of Titus Tatius, leader of the Sabines ..." However, according to the page Titus Tatius "He had one daughter Tatia, who married Numa Pompilius (Romulus's successor) ..."

So which is it (or did one woman have two names and two husbands)? Maybe myths are allowed inconsistency but Wikipedia articles should not be contradictory. If the story is known to have several versions then an explanatory note appears warranted.

Incomplete lists of other pages stating that Tatia was the daughter of Titus Tatius and maried Romulus's successor:

Numa Pompilius

Or that Hersilia was the daughter of Titus Tatius and Romulus's wife:

Jacques-Louis David

The Rape of the Sabine Women

Cross posted to discussions of listed articles Shythylacine (talk) 10:52, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Credited with addition of January and February to the Roman calendar?
A usually accurate TV quiz show said that Numa Pompilius is credited with adding the months of January and February to the Roman calendar. Is this true? If there are references supporting this situation, it would improve the article to add the fact to the article.--TGC55 (talk) 17:14, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

 * Plutarch goes into great detail about Numa's modifications to the Roman Calendar but in respect to your question I could only find this: "Many will have it, that it was Numa, also, who added the two months of January and February; for in the beginning they had had a year of ten months; as there are barbarians who count only three; the Arcadians, in Greece, had but four; the Acarnanians, six." - http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/numa_pom.html
 * 5.80.4.101 (talk) 18:24, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

 * Chapter 20, "The Ten Months' Year", of Censorinus' De Die Natali (On the Natal Day) has much information on the calendar, and is considered sound. Censorinus may have derived his work from a lost work of Suetonius; so the latter author's extant works might be looked at for valuable clues. Dhtwiki (talk) 10:27, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

Cunning and calculating
After just finishing reading a translation of Plutarch's Life of Numa, I don't see a portrayal of Numa as cunning and calculating. A google search of 'numa plutarch cunning' returns pages with copy-and-paste of this text. Plutarch does list Numa doing things to ensure his survival as a Sabine king among Romans but isn't cunning & calculating a stretch?

Or is this something in a different work of Plutarch? I'm no expert... 5.80.4.101 (talk) 18:29, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

Legendary
All the seven kings of Rome are described by historians as being « legendary », and this is pointed, for each of them, in their wikipedia page, because the informations we have about them are very scarce, sometimes contradictory, sometimes impossible to believe (miraculous feats). This denomination legendary is not specifically linked with one or several particular legends. It is sufficient to mention what is attributed to him, without pointing that it is to be found in legends, if one line before a link (which should not be suppressed) is made to the Roman mythology. Sapphorain (talk) 17:06, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

 * The "legends" would be Roman oral folk tales and often faulty personal histories of Roman aristocrats. The kings were probably not completely fictional, but it's now impossible to separate fact from fiction, especially when ascribing particular events to a particular reign. The term "legendary" might be a bit too strong. The term "traditional" might be substituted, but I'm not arguing for that change, especially if its use here is consistent with other articles on Roman kings. Dhtwiki (talk) 19:18, 10 February 2016 (UTC)

 * The information was have about Numa isn't scarce. We have a full biography about him from Plutarch for example, where he does mention legends now and then but identifies them as such and does an excellent job separating fact from fiction. Have you read the primary sources? If not, on what basis are you making all these claims about them? Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 20:22, 24 March 2016 (UTC)

 * The kings of Rome, from Romulus to Lucius Tarquinius Superbus are constantly referred to by modern historians as "The seven legendary kings of Rome". I have added one historical source explicitly citing Numa Pompilius as "the second legendary king of Rome" (The Galileo Project, Rice University, note [4]), but there are many others mentioning the "seven legendary kings" as, , , or mentioning one of of them as one of the seven legendary kings, . Now User:Perfect Orange Sphere has been repeatedly denying the correctness of the qualificative "legendary", and refers to Plutarch to claim that it should not be used (specifically for Numa Pompilius, as he doesn't even mention the other six kings: why?). But Plutarch lived more than half a millennium after the last king of Rome, and the claim that he did an "excellent job separating fact from fiction" is not at all convincing. What he does in fact is remarking that some parts are clearly not plausible. But he also notes at the beginning that ancient records might have been lost and that the records at his disposition might have been forged. Sapphorain (talk) 13:14, 28 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Ah, yeah, with that source it looks like you're right. Good work! Perfect Orange Sphere (talk) 00:37, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Well. In the future please make sure you are sufficiently informed on a subject before starting an edit war. Sapphorain (talk) 21:41, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Numa Pompilius


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Banya, Plovdiv Province

Banya (Баня ) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is in Karlovo Municipality, Plovdiv Province and is close to the town of Karlovo.

Spa resorts
The health resort village of Banya is in a large park at the foothills of the Sredna Gora mountain range, near the geographic centre of the country in the Rose Valley, between the Balkan and the Sredna Gora mountains. It is easily reachable by car, train, or bus. The beaches, swimming pools, sport complexes, balneological hotels and rehabilitation establishments in the town create wonderful conditions for pleasant summer holidays and tourism. The fans of the Bulgarian wines may sample the quality drinks produced by the famous “Rose Valley” winery.

Mineral springs
The remains of an ancient village proves that the town was used for hydrotherapy in ancient times. There are nine hydrothermal sources. There are plenty of mineral springs.

Boris III and his palace
The Banya Palace summerhouse of Boris III (r. 1918–1943) with its picturesque yard-garden, called by the locals “The Palace,” is in the town of Banya. In 1927 Tsar Boris III took a cure for rheumatism in the country house of the manufacturer I. Bagarov. Pleased at his stay, he decided to build up an estat. It was in a courtyard with luxurious verdure and was finished in 1929.

Transport

 * By airplane: Banya is 155 km from Sofia, 50 km from Plovdiv, 10 km from Karlovo, Hissar and Sopot. You can arrive to Sofia or to Plovdiv/Krumovo airport. Rides from the Sofia airport to Banya are 50 euro, from Plovdiv airport to Banya 25 euro.
 * By bus: There are many international buses to Plovdiv. From Plovdiv to Banya there are buses on every hour: 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 ... to 20:00 from the bus-station named "юг" (south). The buses are for direction Karlovo. It takes about an hour.
 * By train: There are trains from Plovdiv-Banya-Karlovo and back Karlovo-Banya-Plovdiv. Arrive at Plovdiv or Karlovo by bus or train and then take a train to Banya.

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

title: Banya, Plovdiv Province


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Ronald Hayman

Higham Ronald Hayman (4 May 1932 – 20 January 2019) was a British critic, dramatist, and writer who was best known as a biographer.

Early life
Ronald Hayman was born on May 4, 1932, in East Cliff Hotel in Bournemouth, England, a Jewish hotel which had been founded by his grandmother, Anne Morris. His mother, Sadie, was an administrator at the hotel while his father, John, was in a partnership running an antiques and jewellery business. He was educated at St Paul's School in London and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he earned a B.A. in 1954 and an M.A. in 1963. He served in the Royal Air Force for a one-year duty, from 1950 to 1951.

After reading English at Cambridge in 1954, Hayman lived in Germany for two years, mainly to write. He became involved in professional theatre after playing the lead in Love's Labour's Lost with English amateurs in Berlin. He then attended drama school and acted for three years in rep and on television.

Writing career
His first play, The End of an Uncle, was staged at Wimbledon in 1959. He made his debut as a director with Jean Genet's Deathwatch at the Arts Theatre in 1960 and in 1961 was awarded an ABC Television traineeship, which took him to Northampton for a year as assistant producer. He also directed Bertolt Brecht's In the Jungle of Cities and a stage adaptation of Robin Maugham's The Servant. Hayman directed at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Farnham, the Edinburgh Festival, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, and Guildford, and for Open Space. His one-man show with Max Adrian as George Bernard Shaw transferred to the West End and went on a world tour.

He was a regular contributor to the Arts page of The Times and to the New Review. He broadcast on arts programmes and lectured for the University of London Department of English Literature. In the 1970s, he lectured on Shakespeare and the traditions of English acting for the Tufts University of London program.

His 1995 play Playing the Wife is based on August Strindberg's second marriage to the Austrian Frida Uhl.

Works

 * John Arden (1968)
 * John Osborne (1968)
 * Techniques of Acting (1969)
 * Robert Bolt (1969)
 * Arnold Wesker (1970)
 * Harold Pinter (1970)
 * Samuel Beckett (1970)
 * John Whiting (1970)
 * Tolstoy (1970)
 * John Gielgud (1971)
 * Edward Albee (1971)
 * Arguing with Walt Whitman: An Essay on His Influence on Twentieth-Century American Verse (1971)
 * Arthur Miller (1972)
 * Playback (1973)
 * The Set-up: An Anatomy of the English Theatre Today (1973)
 * Playback II (1973)
 * The First Thrust: the Chichester Festival Theatre (1975)
 * Leavis (1976)
 * Eugène Ionesco (1976)
 * The Novel Today, 1967-1975 (1976)
 * Tom Stoppard (1977)
 * How to Read a Play (1977)
 * Artaud and After (1977)
 * De Sade: A Critical Biography (1978)
 * British Theatre since 1955: A Reassessment (1979)
 * Theatre and Anti-Theatre: New Movements Since Beckett  (1979)
 * Nietzsche: A Critical Life (1980)
 * Franz Kafka (1982)
 * Brecht (1983)
 * Bertolt Brecht: The Plays (1984)
 * Fassbinder: Film Maker (1984)
 * Gunter Grass (1985)
 * Secrets: Boyhood in a Jewish Hotel, 1932-1954 (1985)
 * Writing Against: A Biography of Sartre (1986)
 * My Cambridge (1986) editor
 * Sartre: A Life (1987)
 * Proust: A Biography (1990)
 * The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath (1992)
 * Tennessee Williams: Everyone Else is an Audience (1993)
 * Thomas Mann (1995)
 * Nietzsche (1997)
 * Hitler and Geli (1998)
 * A Life of Jung (2001)
 * Marquis De Sade: The Genius of Passion (2003)

title: Ronald Hayman


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Allouis

Allouis is a commune in the Cher department of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France.

Geography
An area of lakes, woods and farming comprising the village and several hamlets, situated in the valley of the river Yèvre, some 10 mi northwest of Bourges at the junction of the D20, D79 and the D122 roads.

Places of interest

 * The church of St. Germain, dating from the eleventh century.
 * A megalith, the “Pierre de Lu”.
 * Traces of a fifteenth-century fortified house.
 * The chapel of St.Jean.
 * The château les Fontaines.
 * The radio mast.

Transmission facility
Since 1939, the town of Allouis has housed the central transmitter station for long and short wave broadcasts of French national radio France Inter. In 1944, retreating German troops destroyed its four-latticed mast antenna system which was used in conjunction with the existing 900 kilowatt(kW) transmitter.

On 19 October 1952 a new long wave transmitter with an output of 250 kW was put into service at Allouis. It featured three special prism aerials, which were suspended between steel framework mastsat a height of 308 meters. Transmitting power was increased to 600 kW in 1957, to 1,000 kW in 1974 and to 2,000 kW in 1981. The system attains its full transmitting potential during daylight hours. The antenna system underwent extensive conversion in 1974. The prism aerials were removed and antenna masts were increased to a height of 350 meters. In addition, a second 350-meter high mast was built to provide better coverage within France. Since 1977, the Allouis transmitter also transmits standard time signals for AMDS. Wave frequencies are generated on the basis of an atomic clock located in the transmitter station and serves for calibration frequency purposes.

The radio channel France Inter discontinued the longwave transmitting (162 kHz) end of 2016.

title: Allouis


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Talk:Bonaventure

Two infoboxes
Someone added a philosopher infobox beneath the saint infobox. Do we want to keep both? Aristophanes68 (talk) 16:59, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I think no. It seems unnecessary and unwieldy to me. Keep the saint one, remove the philosopher one. There hasn't been much activity on this article in a serious way for a while, so I may just do this myself if no one objects in a few days. — AlekJDS talk 05:37, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

 * Yes. He is notable both as a saint and as a philosopher. The philosopher infobox is a quick, handy way to check out his stats as such. carl bunderson (talk) (contributions) 04:36, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

"Confusing section" template
I have added a template indicating that the Philosophy section of this article is confusing to readers. See the above discussion on this page under the section heading "Not written in encyclopedic style" for my thoughts on the problem. — AlekJDS talk 05:37, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

 * It seems clear enough to me; so what specifically do you want clarified? carl bunderson (talk) (contributions) 04:36, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Two dates for canonization
The top biographical section gives the date for canonization as 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV. The section "Feast day" repeats the year of canonization as 1482. The section "Theology and works" gives the date of canonization as 1484 by Pope Sixtus IV. I recommend someone investigate, correct the error(s), eliminate repetition, and add a detailed reference to the date settled on. Theo2amore (talk) 02:48, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Plagiarism
The entire philosophy section appears to be plagiarized from the sources cited at the end of each paragraph. According to Wikipedia's guidelines on plagiarism, the section should be erased, or rewritten to include paraphrase and quotations. 74.77.143.77 (talk) 23:44, 27 September 2014 (UTC) student
 * If you're referring to the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia entry or the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, both appear to be public domain. Mannanan51 (talk) 05:17, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

Name
Important info missing: Why was he sainted with the name Bonaventure when his real name was Johnny Fidanza? And wouldn't it be spelled Buonaventura since he was Italian (Papal States)? - Tangverse (talk) 05:33, 23 July 2015 (UTC)

'Life' section - why Roger Bacon?
The Life section refers extensively to people other than Bonaventure, but it's not clear why they are mentioned (their connection to his life). Can anyone knowledgable fix this? Eteb3 (talk) 12:51, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bonaventure


text:
Talk:Viken (region)

Wrong information about language development
Quote:

 * It was the middling part of Denmark-Norway during the "Viking Age", which is why Bokmal steadily became the national written language after Harald I of Norway.

Bokmål and Danish influence of language was far, far later than Harald Fairhair. I've removed this sentence. -- Egil 17:34, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Bogus information
For about 6 months, this article contained a lot of semi-bogus information provided by the banned user Kenneth Alan.--Wiglaf 22:02, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Spurious info about current use removed
I have removed the text inserted by Egil in this edit about the use of the term Viken having been revitalized in recent time. I don't believe this is the case (I live in Oslo). Anyway, if someone feels it to be so, this should be cited with a reliable source. __meco 07:39, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Víkin
Actually, the old norse name is Víkin. Viken is the modern bokmål and Swedish form of the area. --Oddeivind (talk) 10:40, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Viken?
I feel that the name is unrepresentative of the district, as the Norwegian word vik is a feminine noun, and is in definite form vika. The term Viken was made up by the historian Peter Andreas Munch, and we should change the name of the article.  07:49, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Viken (region)


text:
Davos Seaworth

Davos Seaworth, also known as the Onion Knight or Davos Shorthand, is a fictional character from the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American writer George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. He is a prominent point of view character in the novels.

Davos first appears in 1998's A Clash of Kings and later in A Storm of Swords (2000) and A Dance with Dragons (2011), serving as Stannis Baratheon's most trusted counselor. Davos comes from humble means and was a successful smuggler, who slipped through Targaryen loyalists' blockade to bring a shipful of much-needed supplies to Stannis and his starving forces defending the castle Storm's End during Robert's Rebellion. As appreciation for saving his men, Stannis raised him up as a knight and a vassal lord, but personally cut off the fingertips of Davos' left hand to punish for the criminal career of smuggling. Davos considers the treatments fair and is stubbornly loyal to Stannis but fears the growing influence of the Red Priestess, Melisandre. He forms a close fatherly relationship with Stannis' disfigured daughter Shireen.

Davos is portrayed by Irish actor Liam Cunningham in the HBO television adaptation.

Background
Davos is of low birth, being born to the life of a poor commoner in King's Landing's Flea Bottom. In his youth, he became one of the most infamous smugglers of the Seven Kingdoms, often piloting his black-sailed ship into harbors in the dead of night, and navigated treacherous shallows. He married a woman named Marya, with whom he had seven sons: Dale, Allard, Matthos, Maric, Devan, Stannis and Steffon.

At the time of Robert Baratheon's rebellion, Davos evaded the blockade of Shipbreaker Bay and smuggled a shipment of onions and salted fish into Storm's End to Stannis Baratheon and his men, who were starving under siege by Mace Tyrell and the Redwynes. The food that Davos brought allowed Stannis's men to hold on for almost a year until Eddard Stark arrived to relieve the siege. As a reward for this service, Stannis knighted Davos and awarded him nobility status with choice lands on Cape Wrath, for which Davos choose "Seaworth" as the name of his new house. However, also as a punishment for his years of criminal activity as a smuggler, Stannis personally "shortened" Davos's left hand, cutting off the first joint from each finger. Despite this, Davos found Stannis's ruling fair and just, and kept the bones of his severed fingertips in a pouch hung around his neck as a lucky charm.

Character
Davos is humble but very loyal to Stannis, due to the life and opportunities that Stannis' knighting him presented to Davos and his family, despite sometimes disagreeing with Stannis's methods. Davos is a devout believer in the Faith of the Seven, which puts him at odds with the Red Priestess, Melisandre, and the Queen's Men, who worship the eastern religion of R'hllor. Davos tries to always be honest with Stannis, speaking his mind instead of saying what Stannis wants to hear, which earns him Stannis' silent respect in return.

A Clash of Kings
Due to Joffrey Baratheon's illegitimacy, Stannis names himself heir to his brother King Robert Baratheon. Davos supports him, though he dislikes Stannis converting to R'hllor under the Red Priestess, Melisandre. Davos is sent to deliver letters declaring Queen Cersei's children were born of incest, so they cannot claim the Iron Throne. However Stannis receives little assistance from other noble lords.

Davos sails with Stannis to besiege Storm's End when Stannis's younger brother Renly has also declared himself king and tries to defeat and kill Stannis but is killed by a "shadow" birthed by Melisandre. The castellan of Storm's End, Ser Cortnay Penrose, refuses to surrender Storm's End. Davos advises attacking King's Landing before taking Storm's End, but Stannis fears that the stormlords will not follow him if he appears defeated. Davos personally escorts Melisandre, about whom he already has misgivings, into the caverns underneath Storm's End, where she births another "shadow" that assassinates Penrose and allows Stannis to claim Edric Storm, his illegitimate nephew via Robert.

Davos is given command of a ship at the Battle of the Blackwater, though he disagrees with their commander, Stannis's brother-in-law Ser Imry Florent. Tyrion Lannister, who is Iron Throne's acting Hand of the King in charge of defending King's Landing, traps Stannis' vanguard fleet with a river chain and destroys much of them with wildfire. Davos's four oldest sons are killed in the ambush, but Davos survives and is washed ashore on the seamounts known as the Spears of the Merling King, losing his "luck", and is eventually recovered by Stannis' men.

A Storm of Swords
Blaming Melisandre for the loss (due to Tyrion's use of wildfire and Melisandre's religious associations with fire), Davos plots to murder the priestess. However, Melisandre foresees it and Davos is imprisoned by Stannis' uncle-in-law Ser Axell Florent, who also threatens to kill Davos if he does not help Axell become Stannis's Hand of the King. Imprisoned with Davos is Stannis' Hand and uncle-in-law Lord Alester Florent, who was imprisoned for trying to negotiate with the Lannisters behind Stannis' back. Stannis releases Davos to hear his counsel on attacking Claw Isle, and Davos claims that it would be unjust to attack despite Lord Celtigar bending the knee to Joffrey, as its people are innocent and only following their Lord. Pleased by his honesty, Stannis names Davos Hand of the King. Davos then watches a ritual where Stannis uses blood leeched from Edric Storm to curse the three rival kings Joffrey Baratheon, Balon Greyjoy and Robb Stark. After Robb and Balon later die, Stannis and Melisandre consider sacrificing Edric to raise a rumored dragon sleeping under Dragonstone, despite Davos' objection. On hearing of Joffrey's death, Davos smuggles out Edric east to the Free Cities to protect him from Melisandre.

Learning to read, Davos comes across a plea for aid from the Night's Watch, and convinces Stannis to sail north and help defend the Wall against an invasion of wildlings fleeing the Others. Atter Stannis makes port at Eastwatch-at-the-Sea to reinforce Castle Black, Davos is sent to White Harbor to persuade Lord Wyman Manderly, the wealthiest and second most powerful Northern lord, to support Stannis' war effort.

A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons
After being abandoned by the Lyseni sellsail Salladhor Saan, the escortless Davos manages to arrive at White Harbor after a much troubled journey, and discovers that the Manderlys are hosting three members of House Frey, who previously betrayed House Starks at the Red Wedding and massacred unarmed northmen loyal to Robb Stark, including Lord Wyman's younger son Ser Wendel Manderly. Alone and disadvantaged, Davos nevertheless claims the North should support Stannis as he will give them vengeance, is imprisoned by Wyman. Wyman then sends word to King's Landing that he has executed Davos as a show of fealty, but in reality executed a criminal vaguely resembling Davos. Davos is kept imprisoned in the Wolf's Den but treated well, and is later released and taken to meet with Wyman in secrecy by Robett Glover, who is also Wyman's secret guest. Wyman apologizes to Davos for the earlier reception and explains that he cannot publicly defy the Lannisters while his only surviving son and heir Ser Wylis is a captive at Harrenhal, but the fake execution has worked and Wylis is being returned home. Wyman implies he plans to murder the three Freys, and reveals that many of the other Northern lords also wish to overthrow House Bolton, who has assumed control of the North after betraying House Stark, but dare not openly defy the Boltons unless a legitimate Stark heir can be found. Wyman also reveals to Davos that he has been harboring Wex Pyke, Theon Greyjoy's mute squire, who is a hidden witness to Ramsay Snow's sacking of Winterfell and secretly followed the fleeing Rickon Stark and Osha, and points out that Rickon is on the fabled cannibal island of Skagos. Wyman then tells Davos if he can successfully retrieve Rickon from Skagos, House Manderly will support Stannis' campaign.

TV adaptation
In the HBO series, Davos has the fingers taken from his right hand (as actor Liam Cunningham is left-handed). He references having multiple sons, but only one is seen or included in the story (Matthos).

Season 2
When Renly refuses to surrender to Stannis, Davos is ordered to sail with Melisandre beneath Storm's End. When they reach shore, Davos is horrified when Melisandre gives birth to a shadowy demon, who kills Renly. The stormlords bend the knee to Stannis, who plans to launch a naval attack on King's Landing and gives Davos command of the fleet. As the Baratheon fleet arrives in Blackwater Bay, a ship filled with wildfire is detonated in the middle of the fleet; Davos's ship is one of the closest, and he is thrown into the sea when his ship is destroyed.

Season 3
Davos is revealed to have survived by swimming to a rock, and is rescued by his friend, the pirate Salladhor Saan, who reveals that Matthos died during the Battle of the Blackwater. Grief-stricken by the death of his son, Davos blames Melisandre for Stannis's defeat and unsuccessfully tries to assassinate her before being thrown into the dungeons. During his captivity, Stannis's daughter Shireen discovers that Davos is illiterate and teaches him to read. Stannis eventually releases Davos, naming him as his hand. Soon after, Stannis and Melisandre plot to sacrifice Robert's bastard, Gendry, until Davos frees him and helps him escape Dragonstone. An enraged Stannis resolves to execute Davos, until Davos presents a letter from Castle Black warning of the White Walkers' return. Melisandre corroborates this and counsels Stannis that he will need Davos when the Long Night comes, thus prompting Stannis to pardon Davos.

Season 4
After Joffrey Baratheon's death, Stannis reprimands Davos for not being able to secure more men. Davos arranges a meeting with Tycho Nestoris, a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos, and persuades him to give their financial backing to Stannis instead. Davos uses the money to hire ships and sellswords and the Baratheon army travels to the Wall, defeating the wildling army besieging it.

Season 5
Davos accompanies the Baratheon forces on their march to Winterfell. During their march, Ramsay Bolton and his men infiltrate the camp and destroy their supplies. Davos is sent back to the Wall to ask for more supplies, unaware that Stannis plans to sacrifice Shireen to assure his victory. Lord Commander Jon Snow, though sympathetic, is unable to offer help. Soon after, Melisandre arrives at Castle Black, having fled in the aftermath of Shireen's sacrifice. Davos realises that Stannis has been defeated and Shireen is dead, though Melisandre does not reveal her role.

Season 6
Davos is the first to discover Jon Snow's body after his assassination, and barricades his body in a storeroom with the help of Jon's loyalists. After the wildlings imprison the mutineers who killed Jon, Davos persuades Melisandre to attempt a resurrection of Jon, which is ultimately successful. Jon's death releases him from his Night's Watch vows and he decides to gather allies to march with him on Winterfell. Davos accompanies him, and is able to convince the young Lady Lyanna Mormont to offer House Mormont's support, though few other houses do the same. During the army's march to Winterfell, Davos finds the remnants of a sacrificial pyre and the burnt remains of the wooden stag he had carved for Shireen as a gift and realises that she had been sacrificed by Melisandre. Davos initially keeps this revelation to himself, instead participating in the Stark loyalists' victory over the Bolton forces. After the battle has been won and Winterfell retaken, Davos confronts Melisandre. When Melisandre confesses to killing Shireen, Jon exiles her from the North and Davos threatens to execute her personally if she ever returns. Davos is later among the Northern and Vale lords who crown Jon as the King in the North.

Season 7
Jon receives an invitation from Daenerys Targaryen to come to Dragonstone to bend the knee. Though apprehensive, Jon decides to go to obtain access to Dragonstone's dragonglass mines, taking Davos with him. There, Davos supports Jon's claim that the White Walkers have returned, whilst almost accidentally revealing Jon's resurrection in the process. Daenerys is unconvinced, but permits them to mine the dragonglass as a gesture of goodwill. Daenerys's advisor Tyrion Lannister suggests that Jon go beyond the Wall to capture a wight, to present to Queen Cersei Lannister as evidence of the White Walkers.

Davos smuggles Tyrion into King's Landing to arrange a meeting between Cersei, Daenerys and Jon after their return, while Davos seeks out Gendry, who is hiding as a blacksmith in King's Landing. Despite being encouraged to conceal his identity, Gendry reveals his parentage to Jon, and is allowed to join Jon in the journey beyond the Wall. Davos travels with Jon and his party to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, staying at the castle while the others seek out a wight. Gendry returns in the evening, telling Davos that Jon and his allies are surrounded by the White Walkers and ordering a raven be sent to Dragonstone to request Daenerys's assistance. Daenerys arrives with her dragons to rescue Jon's allies, while Jon flees to Eastwatch on horseback. Davos joins Jon, Daenerys, and Sandor Clegane as they journey to King's Landing. There, they meet Queen Cersei, who is shocked by the wight captured by Jon. Cersei pledges her forces in the fight against the White Walkers, and Davos sails back to Winterfell with Jon, Daenerys, and their army.

Season 8
After arriving at Winterfell, Davos, Tyrion, and Lord Varys discuss the implications of Jon and Daenerys' budding romantic relationship. As the White Walkers approach Winterfell, Davos spends time with Tyrion, Podrick Payne, Brienne of Tarth, Ser Jaime Lannister, and Tormund Giantsbane. Shortly thereafter, the Walkers' army arrives and Melisandre returns to aid the Northern forces with her fire magic. Before Davos can threaten to execute her, Melisandre tells him she will be dead before dawn. Davos survives the Battle of Winterfell, during which he helps command the Northern army. As dawn breaks, Davos watches as Melisandre removes her enchanted necklace and fades to bones in the snow. In the aftermath, Davos celebrates with the survivors and joins Jon when he marches the bulk of the remaining allied army to face Cersei.

In the final episode of the series Davos accompanies Jon into the devastated city of King's Landing, intervening in a futile attempt to prevent the execution of Lannister prisoners by Grey Worm and the Unsullied. He is last seen as a member of King Bran's Small Council, tasked with the rebuilding of fleets and forts.

title: Davos Seaworth


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Bob Woolmer

Robert Andrew Woolmer (14 May 1948 – 18 March 2007) was an English cricket coach, cricketer, and a commentator. He played in 19 Test matches and six One Day Internationals for the England cricket team and later coached South Africa, Warwickshire and Pakistan. During his coaching career with South Africa, he led the team to being the winners of the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, the only ICC title the country has won till date.

On 18 March 2007, Woolmer died suddenly in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team's unexpected elimination at the hands of Ireland in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Shortly afterwards, Jamaican police announced that they were opening a murder investigation into Woolmer's death. In November 2007, a jury in Jamaica recorded an open verdict on Woolmer's death.

Early life
Woolmer was born in the Georgina McRobert Memorial Hospital across the road from the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, India on 14 May 1948. His father was the cricketer Clarence Woolmer, who represented United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in the Ranji Trophy. At the age of 10, Woolmer witnessed Hanif Mohammad scoring 499, setting a world record for the highest score in first-class cricket. Some 35 years later, Woolmer, as coach of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, was watching when the county's batsman Brian Lara passed that mark, setting a new record of 501 not out.

Woolmer went to school in Kent, first at Yardley Court in Tonbridge and then The Skinners' School in Royal Tunbridge Wells. When he was 15, Colin Page, the coach and captain of the Kent second XI, converted him from an off-spinner to a medium pace bowler.

Woolmer's first job was as a sales representative for ICI, and his first senior cricket was with the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club and with Kent's second XI.

Selection for Kent
In 1968, at the age of 20, Woolmer joined the Kent cricket staff and made his championship debut against Essex. His ability to move the ball about at medium-pace was ideally suited to one-day cricket at which he became a specialist. He won his county cap in 1969. Woolmer began his coaching career in South Africa in 1970–71 at the age of 22 and by 1975, when he made his Test debut, he had become a teacher of physical education at Holmewood House prep school in Kent as well as running his own cricket school – at the time one of the youngest cricket school owners anywhere.

Playing career
Woolmer played English county cricket for Kent, initially as an all-rounder. He graduated to Test cricket with England in 1975 again, at first, as an all-rounder, having taken a hat-trick for MCC against the touring Australian cricket team with his fast-medium bowling. But he was dropped after his first Test, only reappearing in the final match of the series at The Oval where he scored 149, batting at number five, then the slowest Test century for England against Australia. Further batting success followed over the next two seasons, including two further centuries against Australia in 1977. Rarely for an Englishman since the Second World War, all his Test centuries were made against Australia.

Woolmer was also a regular in England ODI cricket from 1972 to 1976. But Woolmer's international career stalled after he joined the World Series break-away group run by Kerry Packer. He continued to have success with Kent, helping them to win the County Championship and the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1978, winning the man of the match award in the final of the latter. But though he was recalled to the Test team for four matches in 1980 and 1981 after the World Series Cricket affair was over, he never recaptured the form of the mid-1970s. He also took part in the first rebel tour of South Africa of 1982, a move that effectively ended his international career.

Coaching career
Woolmer obtained his coaching qualification in 1968.

In South Africa
After retiring from first-class cricket in 1984, he emigrated to South Africa, where he coached cricket and hockey at high schools. He also became involved in the Avendale Cricket Club in Athlone, Cape Town. He preferred to join a 'coloured' club rather than a 'white' one in apartheid South Africa. He was an inspiration to Avendale and was instrumental in assisting the club to grow and be successful. Because of him, there is still an annual programme for a talented Avendale cricketer to spend a summer at Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire. Woolmer was the coach when South Africa won the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, and in the same year the country won gold in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

In England
He returned to England in 1987 to coach the second eleven at Kent. He went on to coach the Warwickshire County Cricket Club in 1991, the side winning the Natwest Trophy in 1993, and three out of four trophies contested the next year. He continued his success by leading Warwickshire to Natwest and County Championship success in 1995, before taking on the Post of South African National Coach.

Woolmer is thought to be the only person to have witnessed both Brian Lara's innings of 501 not out against Durham in 1994 and Hanif Mohammad's 499 in Karachi in 1958.

Coaching methods
Woolmer was known for his progressive coaching techniques. He is credited with having made the reverse sweep a more popular shot for batsmen in the 1990s, as well as being one of the first to use computer analysis, and trying to adapt the knowledge of goalkeepers to wicketkeepers in cricket. He later attracted attention at the 1999 World Cup by communicating with his captain Hansie Cronje with an earpiece during matches. The practice was later banned.

South Africa
He was appointed coach of South Africa in 1994. Initially his team performed poorly, losing all six matches on his first outing in Pakistan. However, in the next five years, South Africa won most of their Test (10 out of 15 series) and One Day International matches (73%). However, the side failed to win either the 1996 World Cup or the 1999 World Cup, despite having the highest ODI success rate among international teams in that However his greatest success as a coach was when his team won the inaugural Icc champions trophy (then called Wills international cup or ICC Knockouts trophy).

At the 1996 tournament on the Indian subcontinent, his team won all their preliminary group matches before succumbing to the West Indies in the quarter finals.

After this in 1998, South Africa won their first and to this day their only ICC tournament as they won the ICC Knockouts trophy held in Bangladesh. This was also the first team South Africa had played an ICC tournament final. Jacques Kallis was given the player of the tournament award in this tournament.

At the 1999 tournament, South Africa faced Australia in the final match of the Super Six round; Australia needed to win to qualify for the semifinals, whereas South Africa had already done so. Australia boasted a superior recent record in must-win matches against South Africa. Media speculation was focused on Woolmer's team being less adept at handling high pressure situations. In the 1997/98 Australian international season, Australia had lost all four of their qualifying matches against South Africa in a triangular tournament and conceded a 1–0 finals series lead, before recovering to take the series 2–1. The Super Six match saw Australia win the match in the last over, after Herschelle Gibbs dropped Australian captain Steve Waugh in a premature celebration of a catch. Waugh went on to score an unbeaten century and score the winning runs. The semifinal rematch saw a late Australian comeback culminate in a tie, when with match scores level, South African batsmen Lance Klusener and Allan Donald had a mix up, with Donald dropping his bat and being run out. As a result, South Africa were eliminated due to their inferior performance in the earlier matches, and Woolmer resigned.

Woolmer was a strong candidate to replace David Lloyd as coach of England in 1999 but wanted a break from cricket and was reluctant to lead England in a tour of South Africa so soon after having relinquished the South African coaching job.

Back to Warwickshire
He later returned to Warwickshire, and gained attention when he called for the removal of a life ban on South African captain Hansie Cronje for match-fixing. Woolmer spoke openly about Cronje and match fixing in an interview on the BBC TV programme "Panorama" in May 2001. He then worked for the International Cricket Council in helping with cricket development in countries where the sport was not well established.

Pakistan
He was appointed coach of the Pakistan team in 2004. This came after Javed Miandad was sacked when the Pakistanis conceded a 2–1 Test and 3–2 ODI series loss on home soil to arch rivals India, their first series win there in two decades. He was feted when his team reversed the result in early 2005 on their return tour to India, drawing the Tests 1–1 and winning the ODI series 4–2. In 2005 Pakistan beat England in a home series immediately after England had beaten the Australian team in England to secure the Ashes. In the home series against India that followed, Woolmer's side were victorious in the Test series, winning it 1–0; however, the side lost the ODI series that followed 4–1. Woolmer's side then beat Sri Lanka 2–0 in a 3 ODI series and achieved a 3rd consecutive Test series win with a 1–0 win in a 2 test series with Sri Lanka.

2006 ball-tampering row
In August 2006, on the eve of Pakistan's Twenty20 international against England in Bristol, Woolmer was forced to defend his reputation when it was claimed Pakistani players lifted the seam of the ball when he was in charge of the team. Former International Cricket Council match referee Barry Jarman alleged that during the 1997 triangular one-day tournament involving South Africa, Zimbabwe and India, a match ball, still in Jarman's possession, that was confiscated after just 16 overs showed evidence of tampering by Woolmer's team. Woolmer could not recall any such incident and he denied advocating ball-tampering. He also indicated that he contacted the match officials from that game who also could not recall any such incident.

Woolmer stated in 2006 that he believed that ball-tampering should be allowed in cricket and that a modification to existing laws should be made.

Death
On 18 March 2007 – the day after Pakistan were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup, and three days before their final game of the tournament – Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. The initial report was that Woolmer had died of a heart attack. On 22 March, Jamaican police confirmed that an investigation had been launched because of the circumstances of Woolmer's death, based on a report by pathologist Ere Seshaiah that Woolmer had died of asphyxia via manual strangulation. Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields led the investigation.

On 12 June 2007, Lucius Thomas, the commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, announced that the investigation had concluded that Woolmer had died of natural causes, and was not murdered as indicated by the earlier pathologist's report. Three independent pathologists' reports commissioned by the police had found that the initial conclusion of manual strangulation was incorrect, and toxicology tests found no evidence of poisoning. The findings of the pathologists, and of Metropolitan Police detectives who had visited Jamaica to assist with the investigation, were reported in the weeks leading up to the announcement, which was widely expected by the time it was made. Reports suggested that Woolmer suffered from health problems including an enlarged heart and diabetes, which may have contributed to his death.

On 6 November, coroner Patrick Murphy asked for further tests to be carried out on samples taken from Woolmer's body following discrepancies in the toxicology reports by forensic scientists from the Caribbean and the UK.

After hearing twenty-six days of evidence, the jury at the inquest returned an open verdict, refusing to rule out the controversial strangulation theory put forward by Ere Seshaiah.

In an interview with Fox News, former South African cricketer Clive Rice claimed that Woolmer was murdered by organised crime groups, saying "These mafia betting syndicates do not stop at anything and they do not care who gets in their way".

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has also gone on record stating that he "doubts that he died of natural causes" and speculated that Woolmer may have been about to reveal "some misgivings".

An article appearing in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues in 2010 suggested that there were links in the reporting of context surrounding Woolmer's death and Islamophobia in the British media.

Awards and honours

 * One of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1976
 * Woolmer Street near Green Park stadium in his hometown Kanpur is named in his honor
 * Posthumously honoured with the Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), a high ranking civil award of Pakistan, for his contribution to Pakistan cricket
 * Cricket academy named after Bob Woolmer in Lahore "Bob Woolmer National Indoor Cricket Academy Lahore"

title: Bob Woolmer


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Toyota FJ Cruiser

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a retro-styled mid-size SUV produced by Toyota between 2006 and 2022. Introduced as a concept car at the January 2003 North American International Auto Show, the FJ Cruiser was approved for production after positive consumer response and debuted at the January 2005 North American International Auto Show in final production form.

The FJ Cruiser was built by Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors in Hamura, Japan, between 2006 and 2022. The vehicle shares many structural underpinnings with the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. The FJ Cruiser entered the Japanese market on 4 December 2010, announced on 25 November in that year.

On 5 November 2013, Toyota USA announced the 2014 model year Trail Teams edition would be called the "Ultimate Edition" and that the 2014 model year would be the last for the FJ Cruiser in that market. It continued to be made for sale in other markets such as Australia until its export to that market was discontinued in August 2016. , it was still sold in markets such as Chile, the Middle East, the Philippines and Southern African Customs Union countries.

On 1 October 2022, Toyota announced that the FJ Cruiser would be discontinued in the Middle East by December 2022, along with a final edition model.

Design and development
By the time the production of the original FJ40 ended in 1984, Toyota had shifted towards increasing the size and luxury of the Land Cruiser line. The idea of a new FJ with rugged capabilities of the FJ40 originated in the mid-1990s with Toyota's product planner Dave Danzer and vice-president of sales and operations Yoshi Inaba.

Danzer worked secretly with Akio Toyoda to set up a special shop at the NUMMI plant to test the feasibility of a new FJ40 by combining Tacoma underpinnings with the bodies of Toyota Bandeirantes, an FJ40-based vehicle, which was still in production in Brazil (as a diesel model only) at the time; the Bandeirante was discontinued in 2001. Toyoda returned to Japan to join the board of directors giving a high level support to the project. Toyota's flagship design studio, Calty, was then brought in to deliver a fresh interpretation of the FJ40.

Offroad vehicle was known internally as Rugged Youth Utility (RYU) aimed at attracting young male buyers, a segment Toyota felt they were losing touch with at the time. Many takes on the RYU concept were created including the 2001 Rugged Sports Coupe concept before a retro style design created by 24-year-old designer Jin Won Kim was chosen as the final exterior concept, with William Chergosky designing the interior.

The FJ Cruiser concept debuted at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show in Voodoo Blue, which would become the signature color for the production FJ Cruiser. The bold styling was an immediate hit with the automotive press and general public despite competing with more exotic concepts like the Cadillac Sixteen and Dodge Tomahawk. By resurrecting design traits from the iconic FJ40, the FJ Cruiser was viewed as a new halo car for Toyota, much like the similarly retro-styled 2005 Mustang had been for Ford.

In mid-2004, Toyota began extensive off-road evaluations of the FJ platform by driving development mules on many of the most difficult trails in North America, including Moab, Utah, the Angeles National Forest, the Mojave Desert, and the Rubicon Trail. Despite each one-off mule costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the development team was determined to push the capabilities of the prototypes in order to deliver reliable offroad performance in the production model. Changes to the A-TRAC traction control system and suspension tuning came as a direct result of the prototype testing.

The exterior of the FJ concept remained largely unchanged when the final production model debuted at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show. However, chief production engineer Akio Nishimura had to significantly alter the amenities offered in Chergosky's interior concept to keep the price of the production FJ Cruiser reasonable. Unique interior touches like the gear shifter that doubled as a shovel handle, removable interior lights which doubled as flashlights, and flat-folding front seats were removed, though several concept items remained as factory options.

Exterior

The FJ Cruiser features a short wheelbase, stocky frame, and grille-headlight arrangement much like the original FJ40. Other throwback design cues include a nearly vertical windshield with three windshield wipers for maximum surface area coverage. The FJ Cruiser also featured the name "Toyota" spelled out across the grille instead of the corporate emblem which has been in use since 1990, another reference to the FJ40 and other older Toyota trucks. The FJ's body features rear-opening access doors that give a unique look to the SUV. Special high-strength steel was used to give the vehicle side impact protection without the need for a door pillar.

Interior
The interior of the FJ features many design elements focused on enhancing off-road practicality. All interior surfaces are covered with washable rubber materials to aid in fast cleanup after heavy outdoor use. The FJ also incorporates oversized controls to aid drivers with gloved hands. The three-gauge cluster (with compass, temperature, and inclinometer) as well as the 120V rear outlet were carried over from the FJ Cruiser concept vehicle as options on the final production model.

Specifications

At 183.9 in in length, the FJ Cruiser is a mid-size SUV offered by Toyota in North America, slotting between the smaller RAV4 and larger Highlander. Toyota sources many components from other vehicles to produce the FJ including shared engines and transmissions found in the Tacoma, Tundra and 4Runner as well as suspension components used in the Prado, Hilux, Tacoma, and 4Runner.

The 4x4 FJ Cruiser has 9.6 in of ground clearance, 34° approach and 30° departure angles, and a 27.4° breakover angle, with 8 in of front and 9 in of rear suspension travel. The FJ is also designed to drive through up to 27.5 in deep of water and has a 5000 lbs towing capacity for both 4x4 and 4x2 variants. On road, the FJ accelerates to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and has 0.69G of lateral grip tested with stock Bridgestone Dueler tires.

Chassis
Structurally, the FJ Cruiser incorporates a body on frame truck style design similar, but not identical to that of the two-door Prado platform. The FJ Cruiser uses a high-mounted, double wishbone front suspension and stabilizer bar, and a 4-link rear suspension with lateral rod with coil springs and stabilizer bar. The 120-series Land Cruiser Prado, Tacoma, 4Runner, and Hilux share the same suspension parts as the FJ Cruiser. The FJ Cruiser uses power-assisted four-piston front and two-piston rear ventilated disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA) and is also equipped with vehicle stability control (VSC) and a specialized traction control system known as "A-TRAC". The A-TRAC system applies braking to control wheels that have lost traction, mimicking the performance of a locking differential without the "binding" that can make steering difficult in normal locking differential setups.

Toyota made revisions to the engine bay's inner fender aprons due to some bulging and cracking issues with the 2007 and some early 2008 models. The bulges and cracks in the inner fenders were attributed to a Toyota design flaw through certain vehicle identification numbers. Toyota addressed the problem and has changed the design.

Powertrain

The FJ Cruiser uses the 4.0-liter 1GR-FE DOHC V6. For the 2007 to 2009 model years, the engine came with single variable valve timing (VVT-i) which produces 239 hp at 5200RPM, and 278 lbft of torque at 3,700RPM on 91 octane fuel. For the 2010 model year, the FJ Cruiser's engine gained Dual VVT-i technology which adjusts timing on both intake and exhaust camshafts resulting in 259 hp at 5600RPM, and 270 lbft on 87 octane, in addition to slightly improved fuel economy on 91 octane fuel. For model year 2011, these figures rose to 260 hp at 5600RPM, and 271 lbft. The 2011 onwards engine meets stringent LEV II/Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions certification. Both versions of the 1GR-FE engine run normally on 87 octane fuel though they produce less power thus Toyota recommends premium fuel for demanding situations such as towing, off-roading, and driving at high elevation.

Four-wheel drive models equipped with the RA61F manual transmission have a full-time 4WD system; it employs a center TORSEN differential, with a locking feature and distributes the engine's torque under most driving conditions. The TORSEN unit varies torque distribution as needed, based on steering angle and wheel slippage.

Rear-wheel drive models were available in some markets, only with automatic transmissions, and came standard with a limited-slip rear differential.
 * Five-speed A750E automatic transmission on rear-wheel drive models
 * Five-speed A750F automatic transmission with VF2A transfer case on part-time 4x4 models
 * Six-speed RA61F manual transmission with VF4B transfer case on full-time 4x4 models

Safety
Side curtain airbags for both rows and side torso airbags optional on 2007 models became standard on 2008 models. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the FJ Cruiser its Top Safety Pick accolade. The FJ Cruiser received a "good" overall rating in both the front and side impacts tests and also received the "good" rating in all 14 measured categories.

Markets
The FJ Cruiser was primarily developed for the North American market but has been sold in small numbers globally since its launch. On 25 November 2010, Toyota announced sales would begin in right-hand drive form for the Japanese market. Sales began on 4 December, replacing the outgoing Hilux Surf and selling alongside the Land Cruiser. Japanese-produced right-hand drive models have a different rear bumper to North American models with the license plate located on the bumper as opposed to under the tailgate door handle. In addition, right-hand drive versions have the side indicator markers located on the fender panels, rather than located on the side-view mirrors used for left-hand drive production FJ Cruisers. Sales of right-hand drive model began in Australia and New Zealand in 2011 available in only four-wheel drive with automatic transmission and a petrol engine.

Japanese market sales, never substantial to begin with, were halted in January 2018.

TRD Special Edition
For North America, in 2007 Toyota Racing Development (TRD) produced 3,200 units as limited production TRD Special Edition FJ Cruisers. This model was released with the body painted in a black diamond pearl color, and with a matching black roof to set itself apart from its standard, white-roofed counterparts. The special edition model included TRD cat-back exhaust system, TRD Bilstein offroad tuned shocks, rock rails, 16-inch alloy gun-metal gray finished TRD wheels with BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, and TRD badges. The TRD Special Edition also included mechanical changes to synchronize the locking differential with the active traction control (resulting in the rear differential no longer overriding the active traction). Early production 2006 FJ Cruisers had an issue that caused the rear differential to override the active traction control, except in the TRD Special Editions. However, by November 2006, Toyota had changed production to incorporate synchronization of the locking differential with active traction control on all FJ Cruisers.

In 2009, subsequent to Toyota releasing the Trail Teams Special Edition FJ Cruiser for the production year of 2008, Toyota created the TRD package. This package was available on FJ Cruisers with the iceberg white monotone exterior color scheme, similar to the 2008 Trail Teams Special Editions, except without the addition of blacked-out trim pieces. Even though this package was known as the "TRD package", it did not include the same or as many features as the TRD Special Edition. Some of the features with this package were the TRD alloy wheels in a silver finish with the BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, as well as TRD logos and graphics on the exterior. Also, the TRD package was only offered on units with two-wheel drive for the 2008 and 2009 model years. Since 2011, Toyota offered the TRD package on the iceberg white FJ Cruisers but opened the package availability to both two- and four-wheel drive models. In 2009, 2,400 units were produced with the TRD package.

Trail Teams Special Edition
Beginning with the 2008 model year, Toyota manufactured 3,200 units of specially equipped FJ Cruisers designated as the Trail Teams Special Edition, which featured many of the same TRD options included on the TRD Special Edition, including the same 16-inch alloy wheels (but in a black finish as opposed to the gun-metal grey finish of the TRD model). The Trail Teams Special Edition was also equipped with BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires, as well as TRD/Trail Teams Bilstein shocks, and other similar options found on the TRD model. The number of Trail Teams Special Edition FJ Cruisers produced per year are as follows: 3,200 units for 2008 (as stated above); 1,500 for 2010; 2,500 in 2011; 2,500 in 2012; 2,500 in 2013; and 2,500 in 2014. No Trail Teams models were produced in 2009. However, Toyota released a TRD Package for that model year and it was used on the same Iceberg White painted FJ Cruisers that were used for the 2008 Trail Teams Special Edition, (for more information, see the TRD Special Edition section.)

Over the years, small incremental changes have been made to the Trail Teams Special Edition FJ Cruisers, such as changing the TRD alloy wheels to beadlock style TRD wheels on later years, and the availability of Toyota's CRAWL control feature as part of the Trail Teams package (2013 and 2014 automatic transmission only). The CRAWL control had been previously used on other 4-wheel drive vehicles from Toyota and Lexus to enhance off-road capabilities. Each year, the Trail Teams Special Edition is painted in one distinct color and is the only FJ variant (besides the TRD Special Edition units) offered in a monotone color scheme, rather than the traditional two-tone FJ Cruiser with the standard white painted roof (excluding standard production FJ Cruisers with the "Iceberg White" body). The Trail Teams variants are also the only FJ models to have body trim pieces blacked out from the factory including the mirrors, door handles, bumper caps, etc. Special design details also carry over to the interior such as color matched fabric inserts on the seats for specific years and special Trail Teams badges.

2014 Trail Teams Ultimate Edition
Toyota announced that the 2014 model year would be the final production year of the FJ Cruiser for the U.S. Market, therefore to add uniqueness to the final version of the Trail Teams Special Edition, Toyota designated the final version to be the Trail Teams Ultimate Edition which features a few special upgrades. The 2014 Trail Teams Ultimate Edition FJ Cruiser comes in a Heritage Blue paint scheme (resembling an original FJ40 Land Cruiser factory paint color), and for the first time features a white grille bezel that again pays tribute to the iconic Land Cruiser FJ40. The remaining vehicle trim remains black, similar to previous versions of the Trail Teams Special Edition. While all of the Trail Teams FJ Cruisers feature a race-inspired TRD/Trail Teams off-road suspension designed by Bilstein, the Ultimate Edition features a new rear remote reservoir suspension. The suspension also raises the vehicle slightly taller than stock as to achieve a leveled stance. The Ultimate Edition is also equipped with a special 1/4-inch thick aluminum TRD skid plate, designed to help with the approach angle for the front of the vehicle and provide better protection while off-roading. Significant interior differences that are unique to the 2014 Trails Team Ultimate Edition include; the interior panel inserts are black rather than color matched to the exterior color of the vehicle, the radio bezel is silver, and a special "Ultimate Edition" dash plaque is affixed to the dash on the passenger side indicating the special edition is only "One of 2500." Additionally, the seating fabric inserts are color matched to coordinate with the Ultimate Edition's unique silver/black interior, rather than the exterior color as in previous years.

The Trail Teams Special Edition color schemes that have been released each year are as follows:

ARB Edition FJ Crawler
The FJ Crawler was first offered in 2007 (for the 2008 model year) and is the result of a collaboration between Dealer Services International (DSI), known for building high quality custom packages for new vehicle dealers, and ARB Corporation who have a long history building rugged off-road products for the Australian market. For participating Toyota new vehicle dealerships, the FJ Crawler could be special ordered for customers who were looking for a vehicle that is even more rugged and off-road ready than a standard Off-Road Package factory option would provide. The FJ Crawler package included an ARB Front Bull Bar Bumper, an Old Man Emu 3-inch suspension lift to support the added weight of the ARB bumper and to allow for the 17-inch Pro Comp wheels with either 33 or 35-inch off-roading tires. The FJ Crawler was able to be customized in many ways with many optional accessories to achieve the customers satisfaction. For example, the FJ Crawler could be ordered in any factory color for the current model year. The customer could choose from 3 different wheel choices, 3 different tire choices, and could even choose the exact springs and shocks used in the Old Man Emu suspension to achieve the desired ride/performance quality. There was also the option of adding accessories such as a Warn winch, IFP driving lights which would be mounted to the ARB bumper, a fog light kit for the ARB bumper, and an ARB roof rack for storing gear and other items. Other options included a cat-back exhaust system, a high flow intake, as well as side steps. Also, because of variances in aftermarket tire sizes, speedometer calibration was provided to ensure correct vehicle speed and mileage are recorded.

Slight changes have been made over the years to the FJ Crawler's options, and in recent years DSI offers new products for the FJ Crawler as well as their own Performance Package including Pro Comp 5" lift kits, 35-inch Pro Comp off-road tires, LRG or Pro Comp alloy wheels, Smittybilt original parts, and other custom accessories that are all selected by the buyer or dealer who orders the vehicle.

FJ-S Cruiser Concept
The FJ-S Cruiser Concept, debuted at the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV, is the creation of Toyota and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in an effort to create a new style of FJ Cruiser that from its looks, remains fairly similar, but is designed to be even more off-road ready than its standard FJ Cruiser counterparts. The FJ-S Cruiser Concept actually incorporates suspension components from the Baja Series Tacoma and has an upgraded chassis and body structure with the addition of an underbody "exoskeleton" to improve its off-road prowess. According to Toyota, the extra stiffness and strength provided by the exoskeleton creates a more suitable platform for the suspension modifications and wheel upgrades added, which include 60mm Bilstein racing shocks up front and 50mm Bilstein racing shocks with remote reservoirs in the rear which produce around 1.3 inches of lift over stock. Also, the FJ-S features all new TRD 17-inch wheels in a Midnight Black finish along with BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tires. TRD also added their new supercharger with a Twin Vortex System and a large air-to-water intercooler, which brings the engine output to 345 horsepower and $345 lbft$ of torque, which is 30% and 25% of increase over the standard FJ Cruiser model. The exterior of the FJ-S Cruiser Concept received other changes/upgrades including a front nudge bar and the rock rails used on other FJ Cruiser variants. The color Toyota chose for this model is the Quicksand color, but unlike other FJ variants, they kept the white roof as opposed to doing a monochromatic color scheme. The interior of the FJ-S debuted an all-new two-tone leather seating with the FJ-S logos on the seatbacks along with custom floor mats.

Not much information has been released as far as the chassis and body structure changes go, and Toyota hasn't announced what they plan on doing with the FJ-S Cruiser Concept in the future. So whether or not it goes into production in a later year or if it remains a concept car is uncertain. However, new releases from Toyota show that the TRD Bilstein shocks with remote reservoirs and TRD-tuned front spring suspension combination debuted on the FJ-S Cruiser Concept is the same one they used on the Trail Teams Ultimate Edition FJ Cruiser for 2014. Toyota also put the same newly designed TRD Midnight Black alloy wheels used on the FJ-S on the new TRD Pro Series 4Runner.

Japan
The "Final Edition" of the FJ Cruiser went on sale in Japan on 12 September 2017. Sales of the FJ Cruiser were discontinued there on 31 January 2018.

Middle East
The Toyota FJ Cruiser Final Edition was released in the Middle East in 2 October 2022. Production will be limited to just 1,000 units until the end of production in December 2022.

Reception

The FJ debuted to both criticism and acclaim from the automotive press. Critics appreciated Toyota's drive to bring such an aggressively styled and purpose driven vehicle to market at a time when the company was focused on more conservative designs. The FJ was universally praised for its off-road performance with many reviewers also appreciating its on road manners, functional interior, and styling that paid homage to the original FJ40. The off-road community widely embraced the new addition of another Toyota off-road vehicle and many different groups and forums were created specifically with the FJ Cruiser at their center.

Some reviewers took issue with the amount of body roll and low lateral grip performance though noting the suspension was designed to be soft with a long travel for off-road use.

The FJ Cruiser was also criticized for its styling which created large blindspots, smaller than average cargo capacity, and cramped rear seating that was difficult to access. Toyota attempted to improve the blind spot issues by offering a rear back up camera starting with the 2009 model year and changed the hinge mechanisms on the front seats allowing passengers easier entry and exit from the rear starting with the 2011 model.

Sales
Sales of the FJ Cruiser were strong in the initial years from the initial exuberance surrounding the unique retro styling and performance offered by the FJ. However sales took a sharp nosedive from a high of 56,225 units sold in North America in 2006 to less than 12,000 units by 2009. Critics blamed the declining sales on: (1) increased competition in the mid-size SUV segment; (2) poor fuel economy amidst rising gasoline prices; (3) environmental concerns; and (4) steep competition from the Jeep Wrangler. Toyota hoped to rectify these concerns with an updated engine optimized to run on regular unleaded instead of premium with a slight boost in fuel economy for the 2010 model year.

title: Toyota FJ Cruiser


text:
Belene

Belene (Белене ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov.

Location
Belene is located in Pleven Province - 60 km northeast of the regional centre of Pleven and near the town of Svishtov - 26 km. Other nearby towns are Nikopol - 37 km west of Belene and Levski to the south - 46 km.

Belene Municipality is located in the northern central part of the Danube Plain, on the northern state border of Bulgaria with Romania. The territory of the municipality is 285,046 decares (285 km²), of which 12,110 decares are the “settlements” fund. For its area it is one of the small municipalities in Bulgaria. It consists of six settlements - the municipal center of Belene and five villages - Dekov, Tatari, Petokladentsi, Kulina voda and Byala voda. The number of inhabitants in the Municipality accounts to 9891.

Climate
Belene has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) The winters are one of the coldest in Bulgaria but in the summer it gets very hot.

History

Five cultural layers have been found in over 20 Thracian mounds. The first ones date from the late Neolithic, continue through the Bronze and Copper Ages and are evidence of continuous life in these places. From the 4th century BC until the beginning of the 1st century BC the site was inhabited by the Thracian tribe Getae, also called Dimenzi.

It was the site of the Roman fort and customs station, Dimum, from the 1st century AD in the Roman province of Moesia. In the time of the first Roman Emperor Augustus the fortress was the most north-eastern point of Moesia on the frontier with the Thracian kingdom. From the beginning of the 2nd to end of 3rd century a cavalry regiment was stationed there and which probably rebuilt the fort. The site has been partially excavated and more than 60 m of the walls with the western gate.

The available data determine its origin in 1086, when part of the Paulician population after the suppression of the Thracian uprising left the surroundings of Plovdiv and settled near the destroyed and depopulated ancient Roman fortress Dimum (Dum).

In the Middle Ages the settlement was called Dunavgrad (Tunaburgos). Traces of a Slavic settlement and an earth fortification have been found in the vicinity of Belene. There is no summary information about the settlement for the period from the 5th to the 15th century.

The village is mentioned in Ottoman registers from 1479/80, at that time it was a Paulician village with 49 households. Later, the Paulicians from the village converted to Catholicism. About 18 names of the settlement are known from the history and legends. The most popular are: Dimum, Pavlikjansko Belene, Beljansko, Beleni. The Paulicians who settled in it profess one of the varieties of the Bogomilism. On the one hand, they oppose Christianity, and on the other, they do not want to accept Islam. In order to save and mitigate the Turkish atrocities from 1605 to 1620, the Paulicians were converted to the Catholic faith by the Bosnian Catholic missionary Bishop Petar Solinat. Despite its admission into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church, the population retains its language and nationality. The adoption of the Catholic faith has a beneficial effect on the development of Belene.

According to Lyubomir Miletich after the pogrom of the Chiprovtsi uprising in 1688, about 2,000 people from Belene moved to Wallachia to escape the Turkish atrocities. After a while, some of them return, but some have already mastered the Romanian language and customs. After the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation from 1877-1878, the Turks emigrated and Bulgarians from the Gabrovo, Elena, Tryavna and Tarnovo regions settled, leaving Belene with a purely Bulgarian population.

On 7 September 1964 Belene was proclaimed a city. Here was located the biggest labour camp in Bulgaria (Belene labour camp) after the BCP gained power in 1944. It was created on the island of Persin (also known as island Belene) on the Danube during the spring of 1949 with the intentions to put all the prisoners in the country.

Religion
The main confessions in the town are Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, with two Roman Catholic and one Orthodox church being present. The Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1860, the Eastern Orthodox Church of St George in 1874 and the Catholic Church of Saint Anthony of Padua was constructed in 1893.

Belene is the birthplace of Blessed Bishop Eugene Bosilkov (1900–1952), a martyr for the faith and beatified on March 15, 1998 in St. Peter's Basilica by Pope John Paul II In the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Sanctuary with a piece of the relics of Monsignor Bosilkov - a place of worship for believing Christians.

Belene was proclaimed a town in 1964, which is celebrated every year in the first week of September with a market and cultural events.

Economy
Although about 40% of construction worked and 80% of equipment deliveries for the first unit had been completed in 1991, construction was suspended owing to a lack of financial resources. In 2002, the Government decided to resume the Belene NPP Project and in 2005, the Council of Ministers issued a decision for construction of two 1000 MW units. However, the Council of Ministers decision about the Belene NPP Project was subsequently suspended in 2012. In 2018, the Minister of Energy was assigned to again explore possibilities for construction of the Belene NPP until it was interrupted in 1990 due to the severe economic crisis that followed the fall of communism in the country. There are plans to start construction again as a replacement for reactors 3 and 4 at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, which Bulgaria shut down as a condition for EU membership. The total capacity of the two reactors will be 2,000 MW.

In popular culture
Belene was the focal point for the feature documentary film The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories by Andrey Paounov The film features some of the town's characters, highlighting their daily plight of a nuclear plant of empty promises and a year-round mosquito epidemic.

Born in Belene

 * Eugene Bossilkov (1900 – 1952), member of the Passionist Congregation, Roman Catholic bishop of Nikopol and martyr in the Communist campaign in Bulgaria against religion
 * Mihail Borozenkov, adventurer
 * Karl Raev (1881 – 1967), catholic priest
 * Nikola Aleksiev (.... – 1964), first legislator from Belene

Lived in Belene

 * Damjan Talev (1911 – 1998), catholic priest
 * Petko Hristov (1950 – 2020) Roman Catholic bishop of Nikopol
 * Paolo Kortezi (born 1974), catholic priest, passionist

Died in Belene

 * Ilolito Agosto (1838 – 1893), Roman Catholic bishop of Nikopol
 * Alexander Girginov (1879 – 1953), politician
 * Dimitar Savov (1887 – 1951), politician
 * Ignat Badov (1919 – 2001), catholic priest, resurrectionist

Twin towns — sister cities
Belene is twinned with:

 * 🇫🇷 Belleville-sur-Loire, France
 * 🇹🇷 Devrek, Turkey
 * 🇭🇺 Hajdúsámson, Hungary
 * 🇨🇿 Lázně Bělohrad, Czech Republic
 * 🇷🇺 Obninsk, Russia
 * 🇷🇴 Popești-Leordeni, Romania
 * 🇮🇹 Vigonza, Italy

title: Belene


text:
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)

"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" is a song by American soul group the Temptations, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The single held the number one position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for two weeks in 1971, from March 28 to April 10. "Just My Imagination" also held the number one spot on the Billboard R&B Singles chart for three weeks, from February 27 to March 20 of that year.

Today, "Just My Imagination" is considered one of the Temptations' signature songs, and is notable for recalling the sound of the group's 1960s recordings. It is also the final Temptations single to feature founding members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. During the process of recording and releasing the single, Kendricks left the group to begin a solo career, while the ailing Williams was forced to retire from the act for health reasons. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine listed "Just My Imagination" as number 399 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time but exited after the 2021 update. The song was covered by the Rolling Stones on their Some Girls album in 1978.

Composition and lyrics
A full orchestral arrangement with strings and French horns adorning a bluesy rhythm track and bass line provides the instrumentals. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic notes that the song is narrated by a man who imagines a relationship with the woman he loves, is canny enough to realize that his daydreams are fiction, yet is overwhelmed by them. The lyrics capture his resignation to his fantasies. The song as a whole captures their full emotional effect on him. The first two verses establish the theme and explore the narrator's daydreams, in which he and the object of his affections are lovers preparing to be married, to "raise a family" and build "a cozy little home / out in the country / with two children, maybe three". In the bridge, the narrator prays that he will never lose her love to another, or he will "surely die". By introducing this doubt, the musical bridge simultaneously connects the movement from dream to reality, completed when the final lines shift from imagery to bald statement: "But in reality / she doesn't even know me". For Erlewine, "the Temptations' performance has a dream-like quality, quietly drifting through the singer's hopes and desires."

Origins
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, producer/composer Norman Whitfield and lyricist Barrett Strong crafted a string of "psychedelic soul" tracks for the Temptations. By 1970, the Temptations had released psychedelically influenced hits such as "Runaway Child, Running Wild", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", and the Grammy Award-winning "Cloud Nine". In a 1991 interview, Eddie Kendricks recalled that many of the Temptations' fans were "screaming bloody murder" after the group delved into psychedelia, and demanded a return to their original soul sound.

"Just My Imagination" was the result of one of the few times that Whitfield relented and produced a ballad as a single for the group. Whitfield and Strong wrote the song in 1969, but with the Temptations' psychedelic soul singles consistently keeping them in the US Top 20, Whitfield and Strong decided to shelve the composition and wait for the right time to record it. In late 1970, the Temptations' single "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)", a psychedelic soul song about world peace, failed to reach the Top 30, and Whitfield decided to record and release "Just My Imagination" as the next single. He approached Barrett Strong, and asked him to pull out "that song we were messing around with a year ago... because I'm going to record it today." Except for their late 1960s duets with Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Temptations had not released a single that was not based in psychedelia since "Please Return Your Love to Me" from The Temptations Wish It Would Rain in 1968.

Recording
Norman Whitfield began the recording of "Just My Imagination" by preparing the song's instrumental track. Whitfield arranged and recorded the non-orchestral elements of the instrumental with Motown's studio band, The Funk Brothers, who for this recording included Eddie Willis and Dennis Coffey on guitar, Jack Ashford on marimba, Jack Brokensha on timpani, Andrew Smith on drums, and Bob Babbitt on bass. Jerry Long, an arranger who had previous experience with scoring films in Paris, worked on the orchestral arrangement and conducted several members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in performing the horns and strings for the recording. The Temptations had heard the Funk Brothers' tracks and loved them, but were "totally knocked out", according to Otis Williams, when they heard "the finished record with all the strings".

The Temptations added their vocals at Motown's Hitsville USA headquarters. While all five Temptations usually sang lead on singles during the psychedelic soul era, "Just My Imagination" is primarily a showcase for Eddie Kendricks, who sang lead on such Temptations hits as "Get Ready," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," and "You're My Everything"; in fact, this is the only Temptations hit in which Dennis Edwards did not have a lead vocal during his entire tenure with the group. The Temptations remained at Hitsville overnight recording "Just My Imagination," and while the other four members went home at six o'clock in the morning, Kendricks remained in the studio, spending several additional hours recording takes for his lead vocal.

The song was recorded in the midst of a bitter feud between Kendricks and the Temptations' de facto leader, Otis Williams. Dissatisfied and frustrated with Williams' leadership, Kendricks began to withdraw from the group, and picked several fights with either Williams or his best friend, bass singer Melvin Franklin. When Kendricks told his friend ex-Temptation David Ruffin about his problems in the group, Ruffin convinced Kendricks that he should begin a solo career. After a final altercation during a November 1970 Copacabana engagement, both Kendricks and Williams agreed that it would be best for Kendricks to leave the group. By the time "Just My Imagination" was recorded, Williams and Kendricks were no longer on friendly speaking terms. Nevertheless, Williams was impressed by Kendricks' performance on the recording, and in his 1988 Temptations biography referred to "Just My Imagination" as "Eddie's finest moment".

Paul Williams, the Temptations' original lead singer and Kendricks' lifelong best friend, who sings the first line in the bridge ("Every night, on my knees, I pray..."), had suffered for three years from health problems related to alcoholism and sickle-cell disease. By the time "Just My Imagination" was cut, Paul Williams' contributions to the Temptations' recordings had been reduced, and the group had Otis Williams' old associate Richard Street lined up as Paul Williams' replacement. As for Kendricks, he was eventually replaced by Damon Harris, who would be featured in the group's 1972 hit "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

Release and reception
Motown released "Just My Imagination" as a single on their Gordy label on January 14, 1971, with the up-tempo psychedelic soul song "You Make Your Own Heaven and Hell Right Here on Earth", from the 1970 Psychedelic Shack LP, as the B-side. The Temptations performed "Just My Imagination" and "Get Ready" for their final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast live on January 31. On-screen, for "Get Ready" Kendricks stood several feet away from the other Temptations, and made little eye contact with them, and for ""Just My Imagination" sat on a separate piece of staging; Otis Williams later remarked that one could see the group was no longer a complete unit:

"But there was such a bittersweet feeling. Eddie had really changed. Paul was on his last legs. Watch the clip of us doing the song on Ed Sullivan we're not together. Eddie is off by himself. There was no more group. Sure enough, when we played the Copa that week, Eddie left between shows. He didn't come back."

Cash Box described the song as The Temptations' "softest single performance in recent time," stating that it is "exceptional material for markets that generally overlook the team's material."

On February 7, 1971, "Just My Imagination" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 71 and later number one on both the Hot 100 and the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles charts. It also became the group's first entry on the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number 33; the group would not return to that chart until 1984.

The single was included along with "Unite the World" on the Temptations' ninth regular studio album, Sky's the Limit, which included the final Temptations recordings to feature Eddie Kendricks. He began working on his solo album All By Myself shortly before officially leaving the group.

The intended follow-up to "Just My Imagination" was "Smiling Faces Sometimes", on which Kendricks sang lead. When Kendricks left, they released, instead, "I'm the Exception to the Rule", a song in the same vein (featuring Kendricks, Otis Williams and Edwards on lead) which follows "Just My Imagination" on the album. Unable to promote the song because they did not have anyone to do his parts in concert, the song failed miserably so the company pushed the "B-side" – the group's re-recording of "It's Summer", initially the B-side of "Ball of Confusion", at the last-minute, and Norman Whitfield had The Undisputed Truth record "Smiling Faces Sometimes", for whom it was a major hit. The Temptations and Norman Whitfield returned to psychedelic soul for their next album, Solid Rock, whose second single, "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", was written by Whitfield and Barrett Strong as an alleged criticism of both Kendricks and David Ruffin.

Personnel
The Temptations
 * Eddie Kendricks – lead vocals, first tenor
 * Paul Williams – solo on bridge, baritone
 * Dennis Edwards – first tenor
 * Otis Williams – second tenor
 * Melvin Franklin – bass vocals


text:
Matthew 1:13

Matthew 1:13 is the thirteenth verse of Matthew 1 of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verse is part of the section where the genealogy of Joseph, the father of Jesus, is listed. This verse covers the section somewhat after the Babylonian Captivity six generations before Jesus.

Content
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
 * And Zorobabel begat Abiud;
 * and Abiud begat Eliakim;
 * and Eliakim begat Azor;

The World English Bible translates the passage as:
 * Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud.
 * Abiud became the father of Eliakim.
 * Eliakim became the father of Azor.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 1:13.

Analysis
Zerubbabel is reported to have had a number of children, but no other source includes one named Abiud. The Eliakim listed is not to be confused with Jehoiakim, who is sometimes referred to as Eliakim. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus that appears in. For a full discussion of this issue see Genealogy of Jesus.

Those listed in this part of the genealogy lived in the period after the Babylonian captivity and six generation before Jesus. Traditionally Zerubbabel's period is believed to have started in 539 BC, while Azor, the last listed, is said to have died in 372 BC. This is a long period of time for just four people and many scholars feel an accurate list would be longer. Luke's genealogy has far more names covering this period. That this part of the genealogy is usually lacking in papponymic naming leads William F. Albright and C.S. Mann to speculate that over the generations the repeating and similar names were merged.

Of the people listed in this passage only Zerubbabel is well known. He plays an important role in the Book of Ezra and appears elsewhere in the Bible. It is at this point that the Old Testament histories conclude, and the other three figures listed here are only known from this genealogy. It is thus unknown where the rest of the genealogy comes from. As noted in Josephus, prominent Jewish families did keep detailed genealogical records, and the author of Matthew may have had access to some of these. Each local government also kept genealogical records to ensure proper rules of inheritance were followed.

In the opinion of Robert H. Gundry, the rest of the genealogy is a creative fiction by the author of Matthew to fill in the gap between the end of the Old Testament sources and Jesus' birth. He argues that the reason Abiud, Eliakim, and Azor are not known outside this passage is because the author of Matthew made them up. It is also Gundry's opinion that once the list moves away from the accepted genealogy of Jewish leaders, it is fabricated until it reaches the known territory of Joseph's grandfather. Gundry does not imagine that Matthew has made up the list entirely. The names listed do fit the period of history. Rather Gundry speculates that the author, who might have been copying the list of kings from the Old Testament, turned to that source for the names of Joseph's ancestors. Specifically, he purports that the names are all drawn from 1 Chronicles, but may have been modified to not make the copying obvious.

Abihu was one of the priests whose name means "son of Judah." Gundry speculates that the author of Matthew liked the meaning behind this name and so it was slightly modified to become Abiud. Eliezer succeeded Abihu and his name may have been changed to Eliakim by the author of Matthew, linking him to the Eliakim mentioned in Isaiah 22 and to Jehoiakim, a king that was left out of the earlier narrative. Azariah, another priest, may have had his name shortened to create the name Azor.

title: Matthew 1:13


text: User talk:82.108.170.101

title: User talk:82.108.170.101