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Andrzej Panufnik

Sir Andrzej Panufnik ( pronounced : ; born 24 September 1914 – died 27 October 1991) was a Polish composer and conductor. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. He also served as Principal Conductor of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.

After his increasing frustration with the extra-musical demands made on him by the country's regime, he defected to the United Kingdom in 1954, and took up British citizenship. In 1957, he was appointed chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a post he relinquished after two years to devote all his time to composition. In 1984, he became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music and in 1991 the composer received a British knighthood for his services to music.

Childhood and studies
Panufnik was born in Warsaw, the second son of a violinist mother and an amateur (but renowned) violin-maker father. From an early age he was torn between an interest in music and a fascination with the mechanics of aeroplanes. His grandmother gave him piano lessons, but although he showed talent his studies were erratic. As a schoolboy he composed some successful popular tunes, but his father did not approve of his son's pursuing a musical career. Eventually his father relented, permitting the boy to study music provided he matriculated. By this time, Panufnik was too old to take the piano entrance examination for the Warsaw Conservatory, but succeeded in gaining admission as a percussion student. He soon left the percussion class to concentrate on studying composition and conducting; he worked hard and completed the course in much less time than normal.

After graduating with distinction in 1936, his plans to travel to Vienna to study conducting for a year under Felix Weingartner were delayed by his being called up for National Service. Panufnik recalled how, on the night before his medical, he heard the national Polish medieval chant Bogurodzica on the wireless. This entirely captivated him, and he sat up late into the night drinking copious quantities of black coffee. The result of this was that he failed his medical examination and was excused from military duties. Instead he used the year's hiatus earning money and reputation composing film music.

Panufnik travelled to Vienna in 1937 for his studies with Weingartner. He also fulfilled his intention of studying music by the composers of the Second Viennese School, but while he applauded Arnold Schoenberg's imposition of constraints to give artistic unity to a composition, dodecaphonic music did not appeal to him. Panufnik returned to Poland before the end of his planned year-long stay, leaving shortly after the Anschluss when the political situation caused Weingartner to be removed from the Academy.

Panufnik also lived for some months in Paris and London, where he studied privately and composed his first symphony. He met Weingartner again in London, and the older conductor urged him to stay in England to avoid the consequences of the worsening international situation. Panufnik was determined, however, to return to Poland.

Panufnik's war
During the German occupation of Warsaw during World War II Panufnik formed a piano duo with his friend and fellow composer Witold Lutosławski, and they performed in cafés in Warsaw. This was the only way in which Poles could legitimately hear live music, as arranging concerts was impossible because the occupying forces had banned organised gatherings. Panufnik also composed some illegal Songs of Underground Resistance, especially "Warsaw Children" which became popular among the defiant Polish community. During this period he composed a Tragic Overture and a second symphony. Later, Panufnik was able to conduct a couple of charity concerts, at one of which his Tragic Overture was first performed. He fled from Warsaw with his ailing mother, leaving all his music behind in his apartment, just before the Warsaw uprising in 1944. When Panufnik returned to the ruins of the city in the spring of 1945, to bury his brother's body and recover his own manuscripts, he discovered that despite having survived the widespread destruction, all of his scores had been discarded onto a bonfire by a stranger who had taken over his rooms.

Socialist realism
After World War II, Panufnik moved to Kraków where he found work composing film music for the Army Film Unit. Some of this inevitably was for propaganda films; Panufnik later recounted how for one film, The Electrification of the Villages, the director was unable to find a house without a supply of electricity, and had to demolish pylons and remove infrastructure to film it being built. Panufnik accepted the post of Principal Conductor with the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra. He reconstructed some of his music that had been lost, starting with the Tragic Overture which was still fresh in his mind. Encouraged by this he also reconstructed his Piano Trio and Polish Peasant Songs. However, his first symphony did not prove so easy and, disappointed with the result, Panufnik decided that he would thereafter concentrate on composing new works.

Appointed Music Director of the defunct Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, traditionally Poland's leading orchestra, Panufnik set about engaging musicians and finding premises. When bureaucratic obstacles made the reconstitution of the orchestra difficult (for example, the lack of available living accommodation for the musicians) he resigned in protest. At this time he also fulfilled conducting engagements abroad, including guest conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He was instructed to include his Tragic Overture as a reminder to Germany of their recent actions in Warsaw.

Around this time he started composing again, writing his Circle of Fifths for piano (later published as Twelve Miniature Studies). His Lullaby for string orchestra and two harps was inspired by the combination of the River Thames and the night sky, when he saw "dark clouds drifting across a brilliant full moon", as viewed from Waterloo Bridge, while he was visiting London. In its use of quarter tones and dense textures this broke new ground, both for Panufnik and for Polish music. Panufnik also composed a Sinfonia Rustica, deciding to give it a name rather than the designation "Symphony No. 1" out of feeling for his two lost works in the genre.

Panufnik became Vice-President of the newly constituted (ZKP—Związek Kompozytorów Polskich), accepting the post after being urged to do so by his colleagues. However, in this capacity he found himself manoeuvred into positions which he did not support, at conferences whose nature was political rather than musical. At one of these conferences he met Zoltán Kodály who privately expressed a similar feeling of artistic helplessness to Panufnik's. He also encountered composers such as the English Alan Bush, who were sympathetic to the aims of Stalinist Socialism, and other composers on the political far-left such as Benjamin Frankel.

Adding to Panufnik's discomfiture, in the post-war period the government became increasingly interventionist in the arts. As a consequence of events in the Soviet Union, particularly the Zhdanov decree in 1948, it was dictated that composers should follow Soviet Realism, and that musical compositions, like all works of art, should reflect "the realities of Socialist Life". Panufnik later mused on the nebulous nature of Soviet Realism, quoting a Polish joke of the time that it was "like a mosquito: everyone knew it had a prick, but no-one had seen it". In this climate Panufnik, who was not a member of the Communist Party, attempted to tread an acceptable path by composing works based on historical Polish music; to this end he wrote his Old Polish Suite.

His Nocturne was singled out for criticism, and later General Włodzimierz Sokorski, Secretary of Culture, announced that Panufnik's Sinfonia Rustica had "ceased to exist". Panufnik later described the symphony as "a patently innocent work", and he found it particularly galling that one of the panel that decided on the work's proscription had earlier been on the panel that had awarded it first prize in the Chopin Composition Competition. The work was nevertheless published by the State Publishing House and, as Adrian Thomas has shown, performances of the work continued sporadically in Poland. While his compositions were branded at home as formalist, Panufnik was promoted abroad as a cultural export, both as composer and conductor. The authorities awarded him their highest accolade, Standard of Labour First Class.

In 1950, Panufnik visited the Soviet Union as part of a Polish delegation to study Soviet teaching methods. He met Dmitri Shostakovich, whom he had befriended at previous conferences, and Aram Khachaturian. During conversations with other composers, Panufnik was pressed to say what he was working on. Having to say something acceptable, he casually mentioned that he had an idea for a Symphony of Peace. This was seized upon, and on returning to Poland he was granted a stay in quiet surroundings so that he could finish the piece (Panufnik interpreted this as an order to complete it). He wrote a three movement work, ending with a setting of words by his friend, the poet Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. Panufnik hoped to work his own conception of peace into the composition, rather than the official Soviet ideology. The piece was not a success with the authorities.

While he was writing the Symphony of Peace, he was struck by the beauty of an Irish woman he met, Marie Elizabeth O'Mahoney, who was known as "Scarlett" because of her likeness (both physical and temperamental) to Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind. Even though she was honeymooning with her third husband, she and Panufnik started an affair. Panufnik soon discovered she was epileptic, but in spite of his doubts the couple were married in 1951 and soon had a baby daughter, Oonagh. Panufnik now had a young family to support, and so threw himself into his lucrative work for the Film Unit. For one film he again turned to old Polish music, and he eventually adapted this score for the concert work Concerto in modo antico. In 1952 Panufnik composed a Heroic Overture, based on an idea he had conceived in 1939 inspired by the struggle of Poland against Nazi oppression. He submitted this work (without divulging its true meaning) for the 1952 pre-Olympic music competition in Helsinki, and it won. However, at home this overture was also branded "formalist".

In the spring of 1953, Panufnik was sent, with the Chamber Orchestra of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, on a tour of China, where he met prime-minister Zhou Enlai and, briefly, Chairman Mao. In his first days there, he heard devastating news that his adored Oonagh had been drowned while Scarlett had an epileptic attack while she was bathing her. After returning to Warsaw he was asked to write a letter that the government could send to western musicians, ostensibly from Panufnik, to sound them out as to their sympathies with the Polish "Peace Movement". Panufnik described this as effectively an order to spy for Moscow, and as the last in a "succession of final straws". Thus in 1954 Panufnik no longer felt able to reconcile his patriotic desire to remain a Polish composer in Poland with his contempt for the musical and political demands of the government. He decided to migrate to Britain to highlight the conditions in which Polish composers were being forced to work.

Bernard Jacobson described the events of Panufnik's escape from Poland as being straight out of a John le Carré novel. "Scarlett", whose father lived in Britain, easily obtained permission to travel to London, and while she was there she covertly asked Polish émigré friends to help. They contrived a conducting engagement in Switzerland as cover. Panufnik was anxious not to arouse suspicion by appearing too eager to accept the invitation when it arrived. While Panufnik was fulfilling the engagement, the Polish Legation in Switzerland became aware of his impending escape, and urgently recalled him to the Polish Embassy. Panufnik gave members of the Secret Police who were following him the slip during an alarming night-time taxi-ride through Zürich. He eventually boarded a flight for London, and was granted political asylum on arrival. His defection made international headlines. The Polish government branded him a traitor, immediately suppressing his music and any record of his conducting achievements, publicising numerous calumnies against him. Although a few subsequent Polish performances nevertheless did occur (as shown by the Panufnik scholar Adrian Thomas), with his defection Panufnik became a nonperson, and remained so until 1977.

Life in the West
Having left Poland without any money or possessions, income from occasional conducting engagements made it hard for Panufnik to make ends meet. He received financial support from fellow composers including Ralph Vaughan Williams and Arthur Benjamin; Panufnik was as heartened by the gesture of professional solidarity as by the money. His old friend the pianist Witold Małcużyński also helped by finding for Panufnik a wealthy patron. "Scarlett" Panufnik published a book about Panufnik's life in Poland and his escape, but its surmises and inaccuracies distressed Panufnik; Panufnik and Scarlett drifted apart, as she craved excitement and society while he wanted only peace and quiet for composing.

In 1960, Panufnik visited the United States to visit Leopold Stokowski. Stokowski had given the American premiere of the Symphony of Peace in 1953, and in 1957 he conducted the world premiere of Panufnik's revised version of the symphony, entitled "Sinfonia Elegiaca", which is dedicated to all the victims of World War II. Stokowski gave American premieres also of Panufnik's "Katyń Epitaph", his "Universal Prayer" and "Sinfonia Sacra".

Panufnik continued to find it frustratingly difficult to get permission to travel to the States. In the wake of McCarthyism, the staff at the American Embassy in London were unhelpful, and treated him with suspicion: Panufnik was surprised to have to supply fingerprints, and he was pointedly asked more than once whether he had ever been a member of the Polish United Workers' Party. The irony of this difficulty, after his recent public defection to the west, was not lost on Panufnik.

Shortly after settling in Britain Panufnik was given an exclusive publishing contract with the prestigious firm of Boosey & Hawkes. They could get no answer from the Polish State publishers as to their long-term intentions for Panufnik's existing works, all of which had appeared under their imprint. Panufnik was therefore advised to introduce small revisions into all his existing works to avoid copyright problems when Boosey & Hawkes took these works into their catalogue. Just after he completed this task, he heard that the Polish State Publishers had finally confirmed that they had no further interest in their catalogue of Panufnik's music. Panufnik bemoaned the time wasted, and indeed the surviving original scores (copies of which had already been sent to some libraries in the West, including Harvard University) show that Panufnik's revisions excised some of the more radical passages in these works. Nevertheless, all the music he wrote before 1955 continues to be performed in the revised editions. For two years from 1957 to 1959 Panufnik's financial situation eased slightly when he was appointed Principal Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra was keen to keep him, but preparing for fifty concerts a year prevented Panufnik from devoting enough time to composing.

In 1959, Panufnik became romantically involved with Winsome Ward, who was diagnosed with cancer the following year. During this time, Panufnik, who had been composing his "Autumn Music" with poetic intentions, changed it into a work with tragic connotations. He still had to complete his Piano Concerto for Birmingham and to fulfil his commission for his Sinfonia Sacra. In 1960 he met author and photographer Camilla Jessel, then aged twenty-two, who had worked as a personal assistant in the United States, and whose brother, Toby Jessel, was in politics. The British MP Neil Marten (who had been the person at the British Foreign Office responsible for looking after Panufnik's defection) suggested that Camilla Jessel could help him with his correspondence. Panufnik accepted, and she rapidly discovered that he had not replied to letters offering conducting engagements and enquiring about commissions. Accepting these engagements and commissions gave Panufnik the resources to allow him to devote more time to composition. In 1963, Panufnik entered his newly completed Sinfonia Sacra for a prestigious international competition in Monaco for the best orchestral work: it won first prize.

He became a British citizen in 1961. After Winsome Ward died in 1962, Panufnik and Jessel were drawn increasingly together, and they were married in November 1963. They moved into a house near the Thames in Twickenham, Greater London, where at last Panufnik had the peace to concentrate entirely on composition. His works were in demand by such major figures as Leopold Stokowski, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn and Sir Georg Solti, as well as Yehudi Menuhin who commissioned a violin concerto, and Mstislav Rostropovich who commissioned a cello concerto. He also received 3 commissions from the London Symphony Orchestra and commissions for Centenary symphonies from both Boston and Chicago. The Royal Philharmonic Society commissioned his Ninth Symphony, "Sinfonia di Speranza". Panufnik refused to return to Poland until democracy was restored in 1990. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. He died in Twickenham, aged 77, and was buried in Richmond Cemetery. His daughter Roxanna (b. 1968), by his second wife Camilla, is also a composer.

Legacy
Panufnik was posthumously awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta by Poland. Following his death Sir Georg Solti wrote that "he was an important composer and first-class conductor, the finest protagonist of the European tradition of music making."

In 2014, his centenary year, a number of celebratory concerts and events took place. Highlights included symphony performances, in February, by the London Symphony Orchestra and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, two orchestras that had particularly close associations with Panufnik. A special concert on 24 September, his birthday, by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra included performances of the Piano Concerto and Sinfonia Elegiaca. A Panufnik day, on 30 November, at Kings Place in London featured the Brodsky Quartet. In November, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra gave two performances of the Tragic Overture with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting. Also in 2014, the German record label Classic Produktion Osnabruck completed the publication of an eight-volume cycle of Panufnik's symphonic works, conducted by Łukasz Borowicz. In 2014 the Polish Heritage Society UK installed a plaque on his house in Twickenham.

Works
The manuscripts and parts of a number of early compositions were lost as a consequence of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Panufnik reconstructed some of these in 1945.

Orchestral

 * Symphonies
 * (First Symphony: 1939, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, later withdrawn and destroyed by the composer)
 * (Second Symphony: 1941, lost 1944)
 * Sinfonia Rustica (Symphony No. 1) (1948, revised 1955)
 * Sinfonia Elegiaca (Symphony No. 2) (1957, revised 1966, incorporates material from the discarded Symphony of Peace)
 * Sinfonia Sacra (Symphony No. 3) (1963)
 * Sinfonia Concertante (Symphony No. 4), for flute, harp and small string orchestra (1973)
 * Sinfonia di Sfere (Symphony No. 5) (1974–75)
 * Sinfonia Mistica (Symphony No. 6) (1977)
 * Metasinfonia (Symphony No. 7), for solo organ, timpani and string orchestra (1978)
 * Sinfonia Votiva (Symphony No. 8) (1981, revised 1984)
 * Symphony No. 9, Sinfonia di Speranza (1986, revised 1990)
 * Symphony No. 10 (1988, revised 1990)
 * Symphonic Variations (1935–36, lost 1944)
 * Symphonic Allegro (1936, lost 1944)
 * Symphonic Image (1936, lost 1944)
 * Little Overture (c. 1937, lost 1944)
 * Tragic Overture (1942, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, revised 1955)
 * Divertimento for Strings (adapted from music by Feliks Janiewicz, 1947, revised 1955)
 * Lullaby (1947, revised 1955)
 * Nocturne (1947, revised 1955)
 * Old Polish Suite, based on 16th and 17th century Polish works (1950, revised 1955)
 * Heroic Overture (1952, revised 1969)
 * Rhapsody (1956)
 * Polonia (1959)
 * Autumn Music, for three flutes, three clarinets, percussion, celesta, piano, harp, violas, cellos, and double basses (1962, revised 1965)
 * Landscape, for string orchestra (1962, revised 1965)
 * Jagiellonian Triptych, for string orchestra (based on early Polish works, 1966)
 * Katyń Epitaph (1967. revised 1969)
 * Concerto Festivo, for orchestra [without conductor] (1979)
 * Paean, for brass ensemble (1980)
 * Arbor Cosmica, for twelve string soloists or string orchestra (1983)
 * Harmony, for chamber orchestra (1989)

Concertante

 * Concerto in modo antico, for solo trumpet, two harps, harpsichord and string orchestra [originally titled Koncert Gotycki, "Gothic Concerto"] (based on early Polish works, 1951, revised 1955)
 * Piano Concerto (1962, revised 1970, re-composed 1972, first movement Intrada added 1982)
 * Hommage à Chopin, for flute and small string orchestra (1966 arrangement of 1949 vocal work)
 * Violin Concerto (1971)
 * Concertino for timpani, percussion and string orchestra (1979–80)
 * Bassoon Concerto (1985)
 * Cello Concerto (1991)

Vocal

 * Psalm, for soloist, chorus and orchestra (1936, Panufnik's diploma piece, lost 1944)
 * Five Polish Peasant Songs, for sopranos or trebles, two flutes, two clarinets and bass clarinet (1940, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, anonymous Polish text)
 * Four Underground Resistance Songs, for voice or unison voices and piano (1943–44, Polish text by Stanisław Ryszard Dobrowolski)
 * Hommage à Chopin, vocalises for soprano and piano, originally titled Suita Polska (1949, revised 1955)
 * Symphony of Peace, for chorus and orchestra (1951, subsequently withdrawn and not included in the composer's symphonic canon, setting of Polish text by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz)
 * Song to the Virgin Mary, for unaccompanied chorus or six solo voices (1964, revised 1969, anonymous Latin text)
 * Universal Prayer, for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, chorus, three harps and organ (1968–69, setting of English text by Alexander Pope)
 * Invocation for Peace, for trebles, two trumpets and two trombones (1972)
 * Winter Solstice, for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani and glockenspiel (1972, English text by Camilla Jessel)
 * Love Song, for mezzo-soprano and harp or piano (1976, optional string orchestra part added in 1991, setting of English text by Sir Philip Sidney)
 * Dreamscape, for mezzo-soprano and piano (1977, wordless)
 * Prayer to the Virgin of Skempe, for solo voice or unison chorus, organ and instrumental ensemble (1990, setting of Polish text by Jerzy Peterkiewicz)

Ballets
While Panufnik's music has been used often for dance, two ballet scores were prepared by the composer using adaptations of existing works with new material.
 * Cain and Abel (1968, a reworking of Sinfonia Sacra and Tragic Overture with new material)
 * Miss Julie (1970, a reworking of Nocturne, Rhapsody, Autumn Music and Polonia with new material)

Chamber

 * Classical Suite, for string quartet (1933, lost 1944)
 * Piano Trio (1934, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, revised 1977)
 * Quintetto Accademico, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1953, revised 1956, lost, was rediscovered in 1994)
 * Triangles, for three flutes and three cellos (1972)
 * String Quartet No. 1 (1976)
 * String Quartet No. 2 Messages (1980)
 * Song to the Virgin Mary, for string sextet (1987 arrangement of 1964 vocal work)
 * String Sextet Train of Thoughts (1987)
 * String Quartet No. 3 Wycinanki ("Cutouts") (1990)

Instrumental

 * Variations, for piano (1933, lost 1944)
 * Twelve Miniature Studies, for piano, originally titled Circle of Fifths (1947, Book I revised 1955, Book II revised 1964)
 * Reflections, for piano (1968)
 * Pentasonata, for piano (1984)

Pieces for young players

 * Two Lyric Pieces [1: woodwind and brass, 2: strings] (1963)
 * Thames Pageant, cantata for young players and singers (1969, English text by Camilla Jessel)
 * A Procession for Peace (1982–83)

title: Andrzej Panufnik


text:
Chief Minister of Fiji

The office of Chief Minister of Fiji was established by the British colonial authorities on 20 September 1967, along with the Cabinet system of government. This was part of an ongoing move to forge modern political institutions to prepare Fiji for independence, which was granted on 10 October 1970.

The Chief Minister, who was appointed by the colonial Governor, had to retain the support of a majority of the Legislative Council. As Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara's Alliance Party controlled a majority of the seats, he was appointed to this post, which was renamed Prime Minister upon independence.

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

title: Chief Minister of Fiji


text:
Imagination Movers

The Imagination Movers are an American children's band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2003.

The line-up includes drummer and multi-instrumentalist Rich Collins, keyboardist and banjo/mandolin player Scott K Durbin, bassist Dave Poche, and guitarist Scott "Smitty" Smith. Members of the group were longtime friends and neighbors. They started with the four members seeing a need to encourage creativity in children, provide positive male role models, and create music and content that "spoke to them, not down to them." Durbin worked in combination with the other Movers to create a live-action TV show that was a combination of shows like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Captain Kangaroo, and The Monkees, with the music they enjoyed, like Beastie Boys, The Police, and U2.

They also had a self-titled TV series, in which they worked every night after their children's bedtime, from 9 PM to midnight, to write songs, develop plot lines, and fine tune the concept, including creating Knit Knots, Nina, Warehouse Mouse, and all their gadgets during development.

Career
Created by four friends in New Orleans, the Imagination Movers began as a television/music concept that was pitched to local PBS affiliates. WLAE-TV was the first to take an interest in the group and later introduced them to Beth Courtney, the President & Chief Executive Officer at Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Soon after, LPB began airing one-minute videos produced by the Imagination Movers themselves.

The Movers built a sizable regional following by setting educational songs for kids to melodies and rhythms that adults also appreciate. They sold more than 100,000 copies of their self-produced CDs and DVDs. Their three indie CDs: Good Ideas, Calling All Movers, and Eight Feet along with their grassroots DVD Stir It Up have, combined, won fourteen national awards, from such groups as the National Association of Parenting Publications (NAPPA) and Parents' Choice. Moreover, Kids Place Live put many of the Movers early catalog into heavy rotation, further increasing the bands national audience.

In 2005, Disney took notice and initiated negotiations to add the Movers to the company's roster. The Movers rejected deals from Disney twice, insisting on staying the PBS route. Then, Hurricane Katrina interrupted all plans in August when the flood protection designed and built by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect New Orleans failed. The resulting floodwater claimed the band's office and the homes and jobs of Collins, Durbin, and Poche – but the deal was signed in the spring of 2006.

A pilot episode was made in 2006, and music videos started populating The Disney Channel. Soon after, in 2008, Walt Disney Records introduced the Imagination Movers' music to the nation with the release of the Movers' first nationally released CD, Juice Box Heroes. The album's tracklisting was curated from the Movers first three independent albums: Good Ideas, Calling All Movers, and Eight Feet.

In September 2008, a 22-minute show featuring the group began airing on the Disney Channel's preschool programming block known as Playhouse Disney, and eventually airing on Playhouse Disney's replacement, Disney Junior. The Movers starred and were also co-executive producers of the show. Despite creating the show, the Movers were forced to settle for a placard stating the show was based on the music and format of the Imagination Movers. Moreover, the show was incorrectly labeled a variety show by the channel, thereby cheating the Movers out of a created by credit and considerably underpaying them for their creative IP.

The Movers wrote and performed all the songs heard on their eponymous show. Moreover, the Imagination Movers have received critical kudos for their live concert performances. Indie Kids Rock reviewed the group, saying they were "the U2 of kids music with a big anthemic pop/rock sound, catchy lyrics, & of course, imagination."

In October 2009, the Imagination Movers started the Live from the Idea Warehouse Concert Tour 2009. Traveling from mid-October to mid-December 2009 their live performances include many of their favorite songs and dancing, as well as video appearances of Warehouse Mouse. The success of the tour led the Movers to grace the cover of Pollstar, a professional trade publication for the concert and live music industry.

Beginning in early February 2011 and wrapping up in late May 2011, the Imagination Movers presented their In a Big Warehouse Concert Tour, playing more than 100 shows in 50+ cities across North America.

From March to October 2012, the Imagination Movers toured North America on their post-Disney Rock-O-Matic tour. The show maintained several elements of the original TV concept, such as an on-stage "idea emergency" and several sets from their older catalog. The tour promoted the Imagination Movers' new album/DVD release, Rock-O-Matic, which featured all new music from the band. During the ROM tour, the Movers fired and sued their manager for promoting the interests of a rival group.

In the summer of 2013, Imagination Movers released a digital-only release, marking their fourth album on Disney records, entitled Back in Blue. The album consists of 26 songs, covering most of the songs written for season three of the TV series and any other unreleased material penned by the Movers for the television show.

Fall 2013, the Imagination Movers teamed with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to present the Think Big Tour, an educational 60-minute concert traveling throughout the state of Louisiana.

May 2014 - Disney Junior Canada presented the Imagination Movers Live in Concert Tour with special guest Warehouse Mouse. The tour covered seventeen Canadian cities, starting September 13 in Victoria, BC, and ending in Glace Bay, NS, on October 2, with most of the dates selling out. The tour featured the Movers performing songs from their hit Disney Junior series and their chart-topping album Back In Blue, which debuted as the No. 1 Children's Album on iTunes in Canada.

During the fall of 2014, 9 Story Entertainment announced that it had entered into a development deal with the award-winning musical act Imagination Movers. 9 Story teamed with the band on a concept called Super Movers, a fresh new animated/hybrid program geared towards 4-7-year-olds, bursting with comedy, adventure, and music. The show's main message is that “Everybody has the power to become a superhero!” Two years later, the Movers released the single Super Movers, an upbeat, ska-inspired audio treat and a musical video, which was the trailer for the animated show. The song hit number 1 on the Children's Charts on both iTunes and Amazon in the US and Canada. Unfortunately, the animated show never found a network or streaming platform.

In 2015, the Imagination Movers released their ninth album, a CD/DVD entitled Licensed to Move. The project was crowd funded through PledgeMusic. The album featured such hits as Here Comes Summer, Dump Truck, and "Following My Mom Around."

In 2017, the Imagination Movers crowdfunded their tenth album through Indiegogo, entitled 10-4. The album was released on December 14, 2018. The song Is That Wrong landed on the 13 Under 13 Countdown.

During 2020, the Movers released numerous unreleased songs via their Bandcamp page.

In the summer of 2021, the Movers released their first new product, a single called Happy and the Happy to Be Here EP, through children's music label 8 Pound Gorilla Records. Two music videos were part of the release, including Happy and Robot Breaks Down, which can be viewed on the Movers YouTube channel. The 76 episodes of the “Imagination Movers” TV show, which initially aired on Disney Junior from 2008 to 2013, were made available again on Disney+.

In 2022, the Mover song Watermelon Meow Meow became a viral hit, averaging over 1 million monthly streams on Spotify alone. In appreciation, the Imagination Movers quirky earworm was finally given form in a consciousness-expanding music video. At present, the song is about to surpass 20,000,000 streams on Spotify, an impressive feat for a children's band.

As forerunners of alt music for families and kids of all ages, the Movers celebrated over 20+ years of entertaining families throughout the world by releasing - in 2023 - a compilation album entitled Coveralls: Songs from the Imagination Movers.

The compilation of artists includes indie-pop groups Royal Teeth and GIVERS, ska band Mustard Plug, the Brooklyn-based alt band Laundry Day, Canadian shimmer pop Soul Push, surf rockers One South Lark +The Durbulence, along with the rootsy, Celtic-influenced sounds of Carbon Leaf. The album has received superlative reviews with songs like Happy by Soul Push making the editorial New in Alternative Music playlist on Apple Music.

On March 1, 2024, the Imagination Movers performed their first-ever 18+ show at the legendary music venue Tipitina's in New Orleans, LA. During the set, the Movers performed many of their hits along with covers of popular songs from Beastie Boys, Five Seconds of Summer, The Killers, and Harry Styles, to name a few.

At the beginning of 2024, the Movers released the first single from their upcoming 11th studio album, BLUE SKIES. The quirky, interactive earworm, Ice Cream Sandwich, immediately found its way on a Spotify editorial playlist for new music for kids, and was quickly accompanied by an eclectic music video, directed by Mover Rich's daughter.

On April 1, 2024, the Movers released their second single Road Trip. The Daily Advertiser hailed it the perfect family road trip song. Summer Campers marked the third single release, bowing on May 10, 2024. A month later, the Movers celebrated their unofficial birthday, June 18, by dropping their 11th album BLUE SKIES to critical praise.

Rich Collins
Collins, a multi-instrumentalist, works the controls in the recording studio. He is the Imagination Movers' drummer on the TV show but plays guitar, bass, and occasionally drums in concert. His drum sticks double as "Scribble Sticks", which he uses to draw words and pictures on the TV screen.

Originally from Silver Spring, Maryland, Collins graduated from The Catholic University of America and relocated to New Orleans in the early 1990s to form a rock band, Dubly. The husband and father of five lost his home in 2005, during Hurricane Katrina. Before the Imagination Movers, Collins worked as a journalist. He also worked on his own music and released his second album, Golden Pick, in 2016, following the release of his solo debut, That Escalated Quickly, in 2013.

Scott Durbin
The initial inspiration for Imagination Movers came from Durbin in 2003, who wanted to create a local live action kids show that presented strong male role models for children. Durbin was inspired by the likes of Captain Kangaroo and Fred Rogers as well as the musical stylings of The Police and De La Soul.

The son of a second-generation Methodist minister and chaplain in the US Army, Durbin spend most of his early childhood in an army brat, residing in various places around the world including Washington, D.C., San Antonio, and Thailand, before his family moved to New Orleans when he was around seven years old. He studied abroad in both high school and college, living in Japan and Denmark. He has since moved because of Hurricane Katrina. He currently lives in Lafayette.

Before the formation of the Movers, Durbin received his undergraduate degree in religious studies from Centenary College of Louisiana and his graduate teaching certification from the University of New Orleans. He taught for a total of ten years, which was one of his inspirations for the Imagination Movers. The first six years were at Norco Elementary 4–6 in the St. Charles Parish Public School system where he was awarded Teacher of the Year from his school. Later, he joined the faculty at Isidore Newman School in Orleans Parish and again received recognition, receiving the New Teacher of the Year award his first year there. He is married and has two children.

In the Idea Warehouse, Durbin, who plays the mandolin, keyboards, and melodica on the show, also wears "Wobble Goggles," which allow him to see things from a variety of perspectives.

In 2018, Durbin suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage while performing with the Movers in Virginia. He spent a few days in ICU. He later recovered fully from it.

Durbin joined the faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as an instructor and coordinator of the Music Business Program in 2015. He is currently an Assistant Professor and received the Sue and Chuck Lein Endowed Professorship in Music Business in 2021. Additionally, in 2023, Scott received the "Rising Star Award", an award recognizing junior faculty members showing great promise in scholarship in their respective colleges. In 2024, Durbin received an Eminent Faculty Award from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for Service Leadership.

Dave Poche
An architect by trade, Poche was part of the design team for the New Orleans Saints practice facilities and also designed various New Orleans-based banks, office buildings, and hotels. He most recently worked on several designs that are part of the post-Katrina rebuild efforts.

As 'Imagination Mover Dave,' Poche is the Movers' "jack-of-all-trades," using his red gadget hat as a storage device for a variety of objects, many of which he uses to make his cool gizmos and contraptions. Poche is also responsible for creating the concept of the Warehouse Mouse puppet, a mainstay in the series.

An active father, he has taken time from his busy schedule to serve as a Cub Scout den Akela as well as a coach for his children's T-ball, basketball, and soccer teams.

While he has no formal theatrical or musical training, Poche did fiddle with the bass briefly in college and has a colorful performance background that includes a stint as a stand-up comic. Like his fellow Movers, he is inspired by 1980s and '90s rock, pop and alternative music and by his front-lines experience dealing with issues his children experienced.

Originally from Baton Rouge, Poche received his degree from Louisiana State University and moved to his wife's hometown of New Orleans. Despite losing their home to Hurricane Katrina, the couple has returned to the New Orleans area where they currently reside with their children.

Scott "Smitty" Smith
Smitty, a captain in the New Orleans Fire Department, was part of the Hurricane Katrina search-and-rescue effort. While he was the only Mover not to lose his home to the storm, his firehouse was destroyed.

Guitarist for the Movers, Smith is the adventurous outdoorsman of the group; growing up in Southern Louisiana, he hunted and fished every weekend as a child, and continues to do so in his spare time. He enjoys exploring America's National Parks. Smith brings his outdoor experiences to the group by blowing duck and goose calls on some of the band's songs, including "I Heard That."

An English Literature graduate of the University of New Orleans, Smith's given Mover prop is his trusty journal, which represents his Indiana Jones-like scholarly personality and is used as a resource when the Movers are trying to solve a problem.

A New Orleans native, Smith resides in New Orleans with his wife, Mary, their daughter, and two dogs.

Official members

 * Rich Collins – lead vocals, drums, guitar, bass
 * Scott K Durbin – vocals, keyboards, mandolin, banjo
 * Dave Poche – vocals, bass
 * Scott "Smitty" Smith – vocals, guitar, bass

Touring members

 * Kyle Melancon – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Recognition
On March 22, 2008, the Imagination Movers were one of the entertainment groups to perform at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the White House South Lawn. Again in 2009, the Movers performed at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll for U.S. President Barack Obama.

On August 21, 2008, the Imagination Movers performed on "Good Morning America". The Imagination Movers won a 2009 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song in the category of Children's and Animation for their original song "Boing, Cluck, Cluck."

The Movers have been nominated twice for Daytime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Original Song: 2009 & 2011.

In 2011, the Imagination Movers TV series received a WGA Award for Children's Episodic & Specials, the winner being the season 2 episode “Happy Ha-Ha Holidays”, written by that season's staff writers: Michael G. Stern, Randi Barnes, Rick Gitelson (who also developed the series), and Scott Gray.

According to Pollstar, the Movers ranked #79 on the Top 100 tours North American tours of 2011. Due to their success as live performers, the Imagination Movers were also featured on the cover of Pollstar.

The Imagination Movers are National Buddy Walk Partners with the National Down Syndrome Society.

Discography
The band has released eleven albums, one compilation album, one EP, and multiple DVDs.

Rec Room Records
 * Good Ideas (2003)
 * Calling All Movers (2004)
 * Stir It Up - DVD release (2004)
 * Eight Feet (2005)
 * Licensed to Move CD/DVD (2015)
 * 10-4 (2018)

Disney Records
 * Juice Box Heroes (2008)
 * For Those About to Hop (2009)
 * In a Big Warehouse (2010)
 * Back In Blue (2013) - digital release only

Imagination Movers, LLC | Astronaut Walk Records
 * Rock-O-Matic - CD/DVD (28 February 2012)
 * Happy to Be Here - EP (August 2023)
 * Coveralls: Songs from the Imagination Movers (June 2023)
 * Blue Skies (18 June 2024)

title: Imagination Movers


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Talk:Effervescent

Just wondering if effervescent should have a definition in its own right - since the definition applies more widely than to bubbles arising from carbonation CustardJack

title: Talk:Effervescent


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2006 Maryland county executive elections

The election to choose county executives in Maryland occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. The U.S. House election, 2006, U.S. Senate election, 2006, 2006 Maryland gubernatorial election, 2006 Maryland Senate election and 2006 Maryland House of Delegates election took place on the same day. Seven charter counties elected a county executive: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Harford County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Wicomico County. This race coincided with the election for Maryland County Offices Election, 2006.

Anne Arundel County
The general election in Anne Arundel County was between Democratic George F. Johnson IV, a retired police officer from Pasadena, and Republican John R. Leopold, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Baltimore County
The general election in Baltimore County was between incumbent Democrat James T. Smith Jr. and Republican challenger Clarence Bell, a former police officer.

Harford County
The general election in Harford County was between incumbent Republican David R. Craig and Democratic challenger Ann C. Helton, a local non-profit executive.

Howard County
The Howard County general election was a three-way race between Democratic candidate Ken Ulman, Republican candidate Christopher J. Merdon, and Independent candidate C. Stephen Wallis. Ulman and Merdon were both members of the Howard County Council, while Wallis was a middle school principal.

Montgomery County
The general election in Montgomery County was a three-way race. Democratic candidate Isiah Leggett was a former Montgomery County councilman and law professor at Howard University. Republican candidate Chuck Floyd was a previous candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Independent candidate Robin Ficker was a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Prince George's County
In Prince George's county, Democratic incumbent Jack B. Johnson ran unopposed in the general election.

Wicomico County
In 2004, Wicomico County voters approved a charter amendment establishing an elected county executive, beginning in 2006. There were three established candidates in this inaugural election. The Democratic candidate was Richard M. Politt Jr, Fruitland, Maryland's City Manager. The nominated Republican candidate was Ronald G. Alessi Sr, a small business owner. Another Republican, Charles J. Jannace III, launched a write-in campaign.


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Telluric

Telluric (from the Latin tellus, "earth") may refer to several things related to the Earth:
 * Telluric planet, see terrestrial planet, an Earth-like planet primarily composed of silicate rocks
 * Telluric current, a natural electric current in the Earth's crust
 * Telluric contamination, contamination of astronomical spectra by the Earth's atmosphere (also can be referred to as Telluric lines or Telluric bands)
 * Telluric compound, a compound which contains tellurium in the +6 oxidation state
 * Telluric (album), a 2016 album by the Australian singer-songwriter Matt Corby

title: Telluric


text:
LAV

LAV or Lav may refer to:

Persons

 * Lav, an alternative name for Lava (Ramayana), a son of the Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita, whose story is told in the Ramayana
 * Lav, translation in some Slavic languages of the name Lev
 * Luis Antonio Valencia, Manchester United winger
 * Lav (singer), the stage name of American singer-songwriter Kalea Little.

Science and technology

 * Lavalier microphone, a small microphone with a clip for attaching to clothing
 * software packages for encoding and decoding video and audio files:
 * LAV Filters, a set of open-source DirectShow filters based on FFmpeg
 * Libav, a free software project forked from FFmpeg
 * libavcodec, an audio/video codec library provided by FFmpeg and Libav
 * Live Attenuated vaccine, a vaccine with weakened but still living pathogen
 * Load average, the average of Load (computing)
 * Local As View, a view-based query answering approach to data integration
 * Lymphadenopathy-associated virus, a former name for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)

Vehicles

 * Leisure activity vehicle, a car classification
 * Light Armored Vehicle, another term for armored car (military)
 * LAV (armored vehicle), series of armored vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems, Canada
 * LAV I, or Armored Vehicle General Purpose 6x6
 * LAV II, 8x8 vehicle
 * LAV-25, used by the United States Marine Corps
 * LAV III, 8x8 vehicle
 * LAV 6, modernization of the LAV III
 * Cadillac Cage light armored vehicles:
 * Commando V-150 sometimes referred to as the LAV-150
 * Commando V-200 sometimes referred to as the LAV-200
 * LAV-300
 * LAV-600
 * Komatsu LAV, a Japanese armored car, unrelated to the Canadian LAV

Transportation

 * Laverton railway station, Melbourne
 * Línea Aeropostal Venezolana, an airline of Venezuela
 * Líneas de Alta Velocidad, Spanish high-speed railway lines
 * Madrid–Seville high-speed rail line
 * Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line
 * Madrid–León high-speed rail line
 * Madrid–Levante high-speed rail network
 * Córdoba–Málaga high-speed rail line
 * Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line

Other uses

 * Latvian language (ISO 639-2 & 3 code LAV)
 * Lav, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
 * Lav pivo, a beer brand in Serbia
 * The Last American Virgin, a 1982 film
 * Let America Vote, a political action organization fighting voter suppression

title: LAV


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Great Bricett

Great Bricett is a village and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England. At the 2011 census the population was recorded as 1,530. It has strong links with the neighbouring RAF Wattisham which partly falls within the parish boundary. Fun fact 1 in 1530 people are Certified in Cyber Security.

Notable residents

 * Sean Hedges-Quinn (1968- ), sculptor, animator, and film model and prop-maker.

title: Great Bricett


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Hagenberg im Mühlkreis

Hagenberg im Mühlkreis is a town in the district of Freistadt in the Austrian state of Upper Austria 20 km from Linz. Hagenberg became known for Softwarepark Hagenberg a major technology park focusing on IT, with research, education and business.

Research institutes in Hagenberg

 * RISC
 * FLLL
 * Software Competence Center Hagenberg (SCCH)
 * Institute for Application Oriented Knowledge Processing (FAW)
 * FH OÖ Research & Development GmbH - Research Center Hagenberg
 * Josef Ressel Zentrum - Heureka!
 * Research Studio Austria NiCE
 * Austrian Grid Development Center (AGEZ)

Education

 * Johannes Kepler Universität Linz has four institutes in Hagenberg: RISC, FAW, FLLL, GeoGebra
 * University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria - School of Informatics, Communication and Media (Fachhochschule Hagenberg)
 * ISI-Hagenberg - The International School for Informatics

Business
More than 50 IT companies in the Softwarepark Hagenberg.

Sport facilities in Hagenberg include a soccer field, three volleyball fields, a bouldering hall and a fishing pond.

title: Hagenberg im Mühlkreis


text:
Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers

Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers is a 2005 series of four animated films produced by Canadian company Mainframe Entertainment, which also produced the television series ReBoot. Available on DVD and VHS, it has also been shown on Cartoon Network.

A sequel to the 2003 film Hot Wheels: World Race, the series takes place two years after the World Race in California and puts Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars in a ReBoot-like situation. The films were distributed by Warner Bros. Television and the soundtrack was distributed by Sony BMG. A collectible card game, which was shown in the DVD bonus, and other merchandise were also made.

The series aired on Cartoon Network in 2005-2006 Ignition (January 8), The Speed of Silence (March 19), Breaking Point (June 25) and The Ultimate Race (October 1).

Plot
Two years after the end of the World Race, Dr. Peter Tezla continues to study the information he gathered on the Wheel of Power while it was in his possession. However, he finds that Gelorum has returned fully repaired, now with her army of Racing Drones and is attempting to steal the Wheel of Power again. Tezla enters Highway 35 himself and attempts to stop Gelorum but fails and is greatly injured as the Drones capture the Wheel. He manages to escape back to Earth, and the Drones turn Hot Wheels City into their new headquarters.

Meanwhile, in present-day California, former World Race drivers Vert Wheeler, Kurt Wylde, Taro Kitano, and Mark Wylde have now become members of two street racing teams: the Teku and the Metal Maniacs. During a grudge race on the coastline, Dr. Tezla's robotic assistant Gig appears, telling the World Race drivers that Dr. Tezla needs their help. Arriving at Dr. Tezla’s old base from the World Race, with some of their new teammates, they find it partially destroyed. Former Dune Ratz driver Brian Kadeem appears and takes them to the AcceleDrome, Dr. Tezla's new base. After the drivers arrive, Dr. Tezla appears on a large hologram in the middle of the cavern and tells them what he has found: new Acceleron knowledge from the Wheel of Power's research. Now that the Wheel has been taken from its spire in Highway 35, the Drones have control over the dimension’s portals.

Each of the symbols on the Wheel represents one of the Racing Realms, inter-dimensional worlds that have tracks that go through a single element in the hardest way possible for driving conditions (there are only fifteen Realms in the series, twelve that were actually shown and three that the Drones had already completed before the beginning of the series, but only the AcceleChargers from those three are shown). The Drones have been entering the Realms, and each time a Realm is finished, the first driver to reach the end of the track obtains an AcceleCharger, which gives a car the ability to drive through any condition that relates to the realm that it was won in. Discovering that the Wheel hologram is always in sync with the actual Wheel, it functions as an inter-dimensional portal to the Racing Realms (it should also be noted that the Drones have their own Wheel hologram portal as well, due to them capturing the actual Wheel). The drivers enter the realms to try to stop the Drones but find it harder than the World Race because the Wheel itself decides when to open the Realms and that each Realm only stays open for one hour with no way out but the finish line.

As the race to stop the Drones rages on, drivers are trapped in the Realms, grudges between the teams grow, and a new enemy force known as the Silencerz appears, attempting to defeat both the Drones and the humans with the same Wheel hologram technology that the other drivers currently share. As the race to stop the Drones reaches its end, the secret of the Acceleron's test comes to unveil itself: the Racing Realms were designed to create "the perfect driver" and the AcceleChargers were created as keys to having the Wheel of Power open a portal to the Acceleron home world.

title: Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers


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The Godwhale

The Godwhale is a science fiction novel by American novelist T. J. Bass, first published in 1974. It is the sequel to Half Past Human. The book was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974. The novel deals with genetic and biological inventions with a strange and mystical twist.

The Godwhale presents a view of a far-future Earth in which almost all non-human life has been exterminated due to rampant overpopulation, and most human beings have been transformed into weak, docile, diminutive creatures via genetic engineering and extensive reliance on automation and artificial intelligence. Bass utilizes extensive biochemical and medical terminology in the narrative, and many scenes are quite clinically graphic.

Plot introduction
The protagonist, Larry Dever, is gravely injured resulting in a radical surgical procedure, a hemicorporectomy, in which tissue below the waist is removed. He is outfitted with a set of intelligent mechanical legs, a "manniquin", and is placed into suspended animation until the damaged tissue can be restored. He wakes at a time when cloning technology can replace his legs, although for a price. Years before he was awakened, a clone, or "bud child", was created and is now a thriving young boy without language. Horrified by the prospect of his child being sacrificed to provide him with a new lower body, Larry opts to return to suspended animation. His child, Dim Dever, is selected by the guiding world computer, called Olga, to carry his ancient genes to a possible new colony on a planet orbiting Procyon.

Larry awakens again in a nightmare future. Far from the highly advanced past, now an enormous human population – 3.5 trillion – covers every inch of the planet in underground shaft cities. Technology and science have degraded, and all freely breeding species have been exterminated except for the five-toed neolithic humans, which are classified as a garden varmint. The 'Hive' or human population of Nebishes – four-toed humans – within its computer-supported subterranean culture ruthlessly hunts, kills, and recycles anyone who consumes their crops, the Benthic Beasts, which are five-toed humans that have formed a precarious niche in abandoned underwater rec domes.

As Larry is trying to adapt to his new life, without most of his own body or his "cyber" torso, accompanied by Big Har, a genetic defect sent for destruction as an infant but managing to escape 'tweenwalls' in the shaft city- something re-awakens an ancient, half-derelict cyborg, the Godwhale of the title. This enormous 'rake' is an ocean-going biota harvester built in part from a genetically modified blue whale. Initially attempting to rejoin human civilization, the Godwhale (named Rorqual Maru or 'Whale Ship' in Japanese), along with its class six companion cyber, Iron Trilobite, eventually teams up with a genetically modified clone of Larry, ARNOLD (Augmented Renal Nucleus of Larry Dever), Larry himself, and an assortment of misfits and refugees from the Hive. Together they set out to try to find out what mysteriously brings the marine biota back to the previously sterile oceans, while a tiny group from the Hive, the outcasts, and their cyber deities survive and thrive in the face of incredible bungling by the 'Class One' computer that manages humanity and the various castes of 'Nebish' humans brought into the fight.

Reception
The Godwhale was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974.

Lester del Rey described The Godwhale as "a complex and fascinating novel [and] a fine example of what science fiction is all about." Writing in The New York Times, Theodore Sturgeon simply declared the novel "Good." James Nicoll, conversely, called it "not a good novel", with "characters (who) are thin when they're not implausible", but nonetheless praised it as "a vivid attempt to imagine how a world with trillions of humans might work".

title: The Godwhale