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Michael McDonald (musician)

Michael H. McDonald (born February 12, 1952) is an American singer, keyboardist and songwriter known for his distinctive, soulful voice and as a member of Steely Dan (1973–1974), and the Doobie Brothers (1975–1982, 1987, 2019–present). McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It to the Streets." McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

McDonald's solo career consists of nine studio albums and a number of singles, including the 1982 hit "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)". During his career, McDonald has collaborated with a number of other artists, including James Ingram, David Cassidy, Van Halen, Patti LaBelle, Lee Ritenour, The Winans, Aretha Franklin, Toto, Grizzly Bear, Joni Mitchell, and Thundercat. He has also recorded for television and film soundtracks.

McDonald is the recipient of five Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doobie Brothers in 2020.

Early years
McDonald was born on February 12, 1952, into an Irish Catholic, Irish American family in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. McDonald attended McCluer High School, where he played in local bands, including Mike and the Majestics, Jerry Jay and the Sheratons, the Reeb-Toors/Younger Brothers and the Guild. In 1970, while playing with a band called Blue, he was discovered in an Illinois night club by RCA staff producer Rick Jarrard, who offered him a record contract and brought him to Los Angeles.

Steely Dan
McDonald became a member of Steely Dan's touring band in 1973, singing lead and backing vocals. As he recalled in a 2016 interview: "I literally threw my piano in the back of my Pinto and drove down to where they were rehearsing and auditioned. Remarkably I got the gig, not because of my keyboard playing but because I could sing all the high parts. I could tell that appealed to Donald (Fagen)—'cause I could sing like a girl." McDonald became one of the many in-studio adjunct members of the band, providing backing vocals on tracks for 1975's Katy Lied. He appeared on subsequent Steely Dan recordings, including 1976's The Royal Scam and 1977's Aja. He also played keyboards on some Steely Dan tracks.

McDonald continued to provide backing vocals for Steely Dan through their 1980 release, Gaucho. In 2006, he joined Steely Dan on the band's summer tour, both as the opening act and as part of the band.

The Doobie Brothers
McDonald was recruited by the Doobie Brothers in April 1975, initially as a temporary replacement for their lead vocalist Tom Johnston after he became ill during a national tour. McDonald's work with the band proved so successful that they decided to retain him as a full-time member.

As a member of the Doobie Brothers, McDonald sang lead vocals on some of the band's best-known songs, such as "Real Love", "Takin' It to the Streets", "Little Darling (I Need You)", "It Keeps You Runnin'", "Minute by Minute", and "What a Fool Believes" (which became a number-one single in the U.S. and earned him a 1980 Grammy Award for Song of the Year along with co-writer Kenny Loggins).

At the same time, McDonald appeared as a session vocalist and keyboardist for various artists, including Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, Jack Jones, Bonnie Raitt, the band Toto, and Kenny Loggins. McDonald co-wrote "You Belong to Me" with Carly Simon, which is on the Doobie Brothers' studio album Livin' on the Fault Line (1977).

McDonald has reunited as a guest performer with the Doobie Brothers several times since the band's initial dissolution in 1982. He reteamed with them for the track "Don't Say Goodbye" on the band's thirteenth studio album, World Gone Crazy (2010). In March 2014, he reunited with the band to record a new album featuring the greatest hits of their 40-plus-year career. This project was completed in conjunction with Sony Music Nashville. On the album, McDonald shares lead vocals with Sara Evans for "What a Fool Believes", the duo Love and Theft for "Takin' It to the Streets", and Amanda Sudano-Ramirez for "You Belong to Me." The album titled Southbound was released on November 4, 2014, as the Doobie Brothers' fourteenth studio album.

On November 5, 2014, McDonald and the Doobie Brothers were featured musical guests on the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards to celebrate the release of Southbound. They were joined by Hunter Hayes, Jennifer Nettles, and Hillary Scott in their performance of "Listen to the Music". At the end of the awards ceremony, they were also joined by host Brad Paisley for "Takin' It to the Streets".

Solo career
After the Doobie Brothers' first farewell tour, McDonald released his first solo studio album, If That's What It Takes, in 1982, on the Warner Bros. label. The album featured the hit singles "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" and "I Gotta Try", the latter co-written with Kenny Loggins, who also recorded it that same year for his fourth album High Adventure.

He continued to collaborate with other artists during this period. McDonald co-wrote Van Halen's top-20 hit "I'll Wait", from their biggest-selling album 1984. "Yah Mo B There", a duet with James Ingram, won the 27th Annual Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. In 1985, he released his second studio album No Lookin' Back, his first time co-producing an album. He also wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks and featured a minor hit with the title track, cowritten by Kenny Loggins. By June 1986, the album had met with little success, but McDonald then had a huge boost with the release of the single "Sweet Freedom", which appeared on the soundtrack to the Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines film Running Scared, and was McDonald's last top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The No Lookin' Back album was then re-released in some markets with the new hit single included, as well as a few songs remixed. The single "On My Own", a duet with Patti LaBelle, reached number one on the U.S. charts in 1986. Mid that year, he performed as a backing vocalist on the rock band Toto's studio album Fahrenheit, appearing on the hit single "I'll Be Over You" and its accompanying video. On August 22, 1986, McDonald appeared in an episode of The Young and the Restless. Later that year, he provided backing vocals on the Wang Chung song "A Fool and His Money" from their studio album Mosaic. In 1987, McDonald did a featured collaboration, titled "Love Has No Color", with gospel quartet the Winans from their studio album Decisions.

In 1990, McDonald released his third studio album, Take It to Heart, which featured a minor hit with the title track, co-written by Diane Warren. The following year, he joined the New York Rock and Soul Revue, put together by Steely Dan's lead vocalist Donald Fagen and featuring other artists such as Boz Scaggs and Phoebe Snow. In 1991, he released the single "Ever Changing Times", a duet with Aretha Franklin.

In 1999, McDonald recorded the song "Eyes of a Child", a comedic ballad written by Trey Parker, for the South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut soundtrack. It was also used at the ending credits for the movie. The same year, he sang backing vocals on the Warren Brothers' single "Better Man", from their studio album Beautiful Day in the Cold Cruel World. He also provided lead vocals for one of three studio tracks on Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert.

2000–present
In 2003, McDonald earned two Grammy nominations for his sixth studio album Motown, a tribute to the Motown sound. A year later, Motown Two was released. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated, "The album follows the same blueprint as the first record, offering highly polished, professionally produced, expertly performed interpretations of gems from the Motown vaults."

In 2000, McDonald, along with partners Chris Pelonis and actor Jeff Bridges, founded the independent recording label Ramp. On May 11, 2003, McDonald was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. McDonald recorded a duet with Ray Charles on Charles' final studio album Genius Loves Company (2004). In 2007, McDonald helped judge the sixth annual Independent Music Awards. In 2006, McDonald sang as a guest singer in the jazz quartet Fourplay from the studio album X, in a cover of Steve Winwood's song "My Love's Leavin'".

In 2008, McDonald released his studio album Soul Speak, which includes three new songs penned by McDonald, and covers of songs originally made famous by Dionne Warwick ("Walk On By"), Stevie Wonder ("Living for the City"), Van Morrison ("Into the Mystic"), Tyrone Davis ("Baby Can I Change My Mind"), and others. In 2009, McDonald along with the West Angeles COGIC Mass Choir, released the song "Storm Before the Calm" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day. McDonald also contributed an alternate lead vocal track for the 7-inch single "While You Wait for the Others", by the indie rock band Grizzly Bear.

In December 2009, McDonald donated his performance to Keep the Beat in Santa Barbara, California, where he played to a capacity crowd at the newly renovated Granada Theater. Harry Rabin, producer and head of Keep the Beat, an initiative of the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, produced the show, including two video productions, and worked with student choral groups from primary and secondary schools as well as a brass section so they could perform in the show with McDonald and his band.

In 2009, McDonald appeared on the satirical television sitcom 30 Rock as one of the benefit singers in the season finale episode "Kidney Now!". McDonald performed the national anthem before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl between the Boise State Broncos and TCU Horned Frogs at the University of Phoenix Stadium on January 4, 2010, in Glendale, Arizona. McDonald sang "Takin' It to the Streets" on the American Idol season nine finale, in 2010.

In 2010, McDonald teamed up again with Donald Fagen and Boz Scaggs, to form the Dukes of September. In June 2012, the supergroup performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to promote their tour. The group also played at Lincoln Center, a performance which was then broadcast as a PBS special and later released on DVD.

In 2013, McDonald settled a $500,000 breach-of-contract suit (out of court) with Warner Music over underpayment of royalties of online sales. In the summer of 2014, he co-headlined a U.S. tour with the rock band Toto. In 2017, McDonald was featured together with Kenny Loggins on Thundercat's single "Show You the Way", included on the latter's album Drunk. In June 2017, McDonald, Loggins and Thundercat performed the song together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In 2018, he appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "What the World Needs Now" on Barbra Streisand's thirty-sixth studio album Walls. In 2021, McDonald was featured on "The Best of Me", from Toad the Wet Sprocket's seventh studio album, Starting Now.

Personal life
McDonald has been married to singer Amy Holland since 1983. They have two children. He moved with his family to Santa Barbara, California, in the late 1990s, and later lived in Nashville.

Discography

 * Solo studio albums

 * If That's What It Takes (1982)
 * No Lookin' Back (1985)
 * Take It to Heart (1990)
 * Blink of an Eye (1993)
 * Blue Obsession (2000)
 * Motown (2003) (covers album)
 * Motown Two (2004) (covers album)
 * Soul Speak (2008) (covers album)
 * Wide Open (2017)

 * Christmas albums

 * In the Spirit: A Christmas Album (2001)
 * The Best of Michael McDonald: The Christmas Collection (2004)
 * Through the Many Winters, A Christmas Album (2005)
 * This Christmas (2009)
 * Season of Peace: The Christmas Collection (2018)

Touring band members

 * Michael McDonald – lead vocals, piano, rhythm guitar
 * Bernie Chiaravalle – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
 * Pat Coil – keyboards
 * Mark Douthit – saxophone, keyboards
 * Jacob Lowery – bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
 * Dan Needham – drums
 * Drea Rheneé – backing and co-lead vocals, tambourine
 * Amy Holland – vocals

Awards and honors
In May 2011, Michael McDonald was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

title: Michael McDonald (musician)


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Safmarine

Safmarine, short for South African Marine Corporation, and latterly South African Marine Container Lines, was a South African shipping line, established in 1946, which offered freight transport services with cargo liners and container ships. It was bought by Maersk Line in 1999, and was fully integrated into that company in 2020. It also operated passenger vessels and specialised cargo ships.

History
The company was founded in June 1946 by South African industrialists and American ship owners with three American wartime Victory ships. In 1950 it came under American control but in 1959, the Industrial Development Corporation helped finance its repurchase and returned it to South African control. It would sell its holding 1984.

Safmarine became widely known as a north–south trade and African specialist, represented in more than 130 countries throughout the world, and employing more than 1200 seafarers. Safmarine's container line was headquartered and registered in Antwerp, Belgium, from 1996, when it completed its acquisition of the Belgian container line CMBT, which in turn had been an outgrowth of Compagnie Maritime Belge.

In 1999, Safmarine was acquired by the Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, where Maersk Line chose to retain the Safmarine brand rather than integrating it wholly into Maersk Sealand. In 2002, Safmarine acquired Torm Lines. On October 3, 2011, it was decided that Safmarine would integrate its internal support and management functions into those of its sister company Maersk Line. In 2020 Safmarine was fully subsumed into Maersk Line.

Passenger services
Safmarine operated a passenger liner service between the United Kingdom and South Africa between 1965 and 1977 and again between 1984 and 1985.

1965 to 1977
Safmarine passenger operations had begun in 1965, when two Union-Castle Line ships used on the Southampton–Durban service, RMS Transvaal Castle and Pretoria Castle, were transferred to Safmarine to satisfy demands from the South African government. The ships were renamed S. A. Vaal and S. A. Oranje respectively, re-painted in Safmarine colours but continued on the same service as before. In 1969, both vessels were transferred from British to South African registry. During the 1970s the South African liner trade started to decline, mainly due to competition from the jet airplane and the rising success of the revolutionary new container ships, in carrying cargoes more efficiently and more economically than conventional, older vessels. Thus, in 1975 the S. A. Oranje and her Union-Castle sister RMS Edinburgh Castle were withdrawn and sold for scrapping. RMS Pendennis Castle was also withdrawn in June 1976, leaving S. A. Vaal to remain with Union-Castle's RMS Windsor Castle (1959), and the two smaller cargo/passenger mailships RMMV Good Hope Castle and RMMV Southampton Castle. In October 1977, both companies withdrew their passenger services and S. A. Vaal was sold to Carnival Cruise Lines, becoming their SS Festivale.

1984 to 1986
In 1984, Safmarine purchased the cruise ship MS Astor (1981) from the West German Hadag Cruise Lines. Following refit she was used to revive the Southampton–Cape Town service, also making cruises out of South Africa and the United Kingdom between liner voyages. However, in service the Astor was found not to have enough speed to maintain the liner schedule and Safmarine ordered a replacement ship based on the same design from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel, also to be named MS Astor. In preparation for the delivery of the new ship, the first Astor was sold to the East German Deutsche Seerederei via a West German intermediary, becoming MS Arkona. Ultimately the second Astor never entered service for Safmarine, as the company abandoned the liner service in 1986. The second Astor, still under construction at the time, was sold to Marlan Corporation in January 1986.

Victory Class
Safmarine purchased three Victory ships (Westbrook Victory, Westerly Victory, New Bern Victory ) from the US and, after modifications to convert them from war use to general dry cargo, they entered service in 1947. They were named Vergelegen, Morgenster and Constantia. These three ships enabled Safmarine to start a South Africa-based cargo enterprise. In 1961, their names were changed to South African Victory, South African Venture and South African Vanguard. In 1966, the prefix South African on all Safmarine's ships was changed to S.A. In the engine rooms there were two Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers supplying superheated steam to two Westinghouse turbines geared down to a single shaft, giving 6000 shp and a speed of 16 kn. For electrical power, two steam turbines drove DC generators.

Global Class
The next four sister ships to be brought into service were South African Trader, South African Pioneer, South African Transporter and South African Merchant. They were designed for carrying general dry cargo and had berths for twelve passengers. All were built in Scotland and entered service in the mid-1950s. Each ship had were two Yarrow water-tube boilers and two Parson type turbines geared down to a single shaft, giving approximately 7000 shp and a speed of 15 kn. For electrical power, three Ruston Hornsby diesel engines drove DC generators.

"S" Class
In 1961, South African Statesman, South African Seafarer, and South African Shipper joined the fleet. They were designed for carrying general dry cargo, and were built in Scotland in the 1950s for the Clan Line then the Springbok Shipping Co. These ships had a distinctive cowl top on the funnel and were fitted with Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers and three Parson type turbines geared down to a single shaft, giving approximately 10000 shp and a speed of 17 kn. Electrical power came from generators driven by three Ruston Hornsby diesel engines.

Refrigerated ships
Three refrigerated motor ships S.A. Langkloof, S.A. Zebediela, and S.A. Hexrivier were built to export temperature controlled fruit from South Africa to the UK and Europe. They were built in Dutch yards and entered service in early to mid-1960s. They were powered by an eight-cylinder MAN K8Z70/120 low speed two-stroke diesel engine developing approximately 9,600 BHP and a speed of 17 kn. For electrical power, four MAN diesel engines drove AC alternators.

Three further ships, S.A. Letaba, S.A. Tzaneen and S.A. Drakenstein were built in Scotland, entering service in the mid-1960s. They had the same hull design as the Dutch-built ships but used B&W engines at approximately 9,650 BHP.

Heavy lift ships
The following three sister ships were the heavy lift vessels in the Safmarine fleet, also for carrying general cargo. S.A. Van Der Stel, S.A. Weltevreden, and S.A. Nederburg were all built by a Dutch company, and entered service in the mid-1960s. The S.A. Van Der Stel could lift 250 tons with her own derricks and the other two could lift 125 tons. They were all powered by a six-cylinder MAN K6Z86/160 low-speed two-stroke diesel engine, developing approximately 14,000 BHP and a speed of 21 knots. For electrical power three MAN diesel engines drove AC alternators. These ships were modified in Japan in 1975/1976. An additional hold specially designed for containers approximately 100' long was added amidships. A new heavy lift derrick was added and loading points were added on deck for container mounting.

A further sister ship, S.A. Vergelegen was commissioned in 1969; she had a 250 Stulken heavy lift and the number 3/4 and 5/6 holds had been extended. She was last known as the Virgil prior to being decommissioned after 1987. S.A. Nederburg was decommissioned in 1987 after leaving Durban harbour via Australia to the Far East to be dismantled.

Alphen Class
These were the last of the dry cargo ships to be built in the 1960s for Safmarine. "S.A. Alphen" and "S.A. Huguenot" came into service in the mid-1960s, and later "S.A. Constantia", "S.A. Morgenster", and "S.A. Vergelegen" were built to the same design in Japan. S.A. Vergelegen was later modified in Germany with a Stulken derrick capable of lifting 250 tons. This class of vessel had the most pleasing lines of all the dry cargo ships built for the corporation. They were powered by a six-cylinder Sulzer 6RND90 two-stroke diesel engine developing 15,000 BHP giving them a speed of 21 knots. For electrical power two eight-cylinder and two six-cylinder MAN diesel engines drove AC alternators.

Container ships
Safmarine had eight of its newest dry cargo ships lengthened to carry a small number of containers. It was the time for Safmarine to get into the container business which was starting to change the way cargo was transported all around the world.

An order was placed with French ship building yards to build four large container ships with all the latest designs and technology that was available at that time. They were all completed between 1977 and 1978. They were named "S.A. Helderberg" "S.A. Sederberg" "S.A. Waterberg" and "S.A. Winterberg". These ships were fitted with two large diesel engines, two bow thrusters, stabilizers, and full airconditioning which included the engine control room. There also was luxury accommodation for ten passengers.

Early in their service, they were affectionately called "The Big Whites" because of their large size and gleaming white hulls that reflected the African sun, on their regular voyages to African ports. Their specifications were as follows: When the ships were built, they had Crepelle V16 diesel generators (which ran on diesel fuel) fitted which proved to be very unreliable. They were later on replaced with 6-cylinder Wartsila engines that ran on heavy fuel oil (bunker C) the same as the main engines.
 * Two Sulzer eight cylinder two-stroke diesel engines which are Type 8RND 90M
 * Maximum power: 49600 BHP
 * Length: 258.5 metres
 * Breath: 32.3 metres
 * Approx. Tonnage: 52,615 dwt
 * Container Capacity: 2450 TEU then later on increased to 2500 TEU.
 * Reefer Container Capacity: 892 TEU then later on increased to 1100 TEU.
 * Cruising speed: 19.5 knots.
 * Fuel consumption per 24 hours: 153 tons.

Shaft generators were fitted so that when running at cruising speed these generators produced a large amount of electrical energy, which made these ships more fuel efficient.

Safmarine was acquired by Maersk Line in 1999. Present Safmarine ships under Maersk include the N-Class Vessels (Safmarine Nile, Nuba, Nakuru etc.), K-Class vessels, M-Class vessels, and C-Class vessels.

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

title: Safmarine


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Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.

In the 1980s, Princess rose in prominence after American television series The Love Boat was set primarily on the Pacific Princess in its weekly episodes, and the brand has since continued to invoke its connection to the series.

1965–1973: Early years
Princess Cruises began in 1965, when founder Stanley McDonald chartered Canadian Pacific Limited's Alaska cruise ship Princess Patricia for Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles during a time when she would have usually been laid up for the winter. However, Princess Pat, as she was fondly called, had never been designed for tropical cruising, lacking air-conditioning, and Princess ended her charter in favor of a more purpose-built cruise ship Italia.

Princess, who marketed the ship as Princess Italia, but never officially renamed her, used the ship to inaugurate their Mexican Riviera cruises out of Los Angeles and did not receive the Princess logo on her funnel until 1967.

In 1969, Princess Italia was used on Alaskan cruises from San Francisco, but by 1973, the charter was canceled, and Italia returned to Europe on charter to Costa Cruise Line.

Princess's third charter ship was none other than Costa's Carla C. Originally, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique's SS Flandre, the ship had been purchased by Costa in the late 1960s and given a major rebuilding. Almost immediately after completion, the ship was chartered to Princess, and it was on board the ship, which was marketed as, but again not officially renamed, Princess Carla, that Jeraldine Saunders wrote the first chapters of her nonfiction book The Love Boats.

1974–1987: P&O acquires Princess
Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which by 1960 was the world's largest shipping company, with 320 oceangoing vessels, acquired Princess Cruise Lines in 1974 and their Spirit of London (originally to have been Norwegian Cruise Line's Seaward) was transferred to the Princess fleet, becoming the first Sun Princess. The two ships that were to be featured heavily in the television series The Love Boat were built in 1971 at Nordseewerke for Flagship Cruises and originally named the Sea Venture (for the original Sea Venture, the 1609 wreck of which resulted in the settlement of Bermuda) and Island Venture. In 1974, P&O purchased them for their Princess division, and they served as Island Princess and Pacific Princess respectively.

A part-time addition to the Princess fleet was the former Swedish transatlantic liner Kungsholm, purchased by P&O from Flagship Cruises in 1978, and then restyled and rebuilt in Bremen as Sea Princess. She was initially based in Australia as a P&O ship until 1981 when her role there was taken over by Oriana. After that, she alternated between P&O and Princess colours as she moved between fleets. Sea Princess returned to the P&O UK fleet permanently and in 1995 and was renamed MV Victoria to allow a then-new Princess ship to be named Sea Princess.

In 1981, Princess began calling at the cruise line's first private Caribbean destination, Palm Island in the Grenadines. The first P&O Princess Cruises purpose-built cruise ship was Royal Princess, christened by Princess Diana in 1984, she was the largest new British passenger ship in a decade, and one of the first, if not the first, ships to completely dispense with interior cabins. The ship served in P&O Cruises fleet as Artemis until 2011.

In 1986, P&O Princess Cruises acquired Tour Alaska, which operated on the Alaska Railroad. Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Princess Tours now operates ten luxury railcars with full-service scenic tours of Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) and can accommodate over 700 passengers per day. That same year, Princess unveiled Princess Bay, located at Saline Bay on the Caribbean island of Mayreau. Princess Bay was the cruise line's second private island resort, replacing Palm Island, and was marketed as "every castaway's first choice," primarily featured on the cruise line's Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but is now no longer a Princess private resort.

1988–1994: Sitmar acquisition, Princess Cays
P&O Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar Line in 1988 and transferred all of its major tonnage to Princess, including three cruise ships then under construction. Dawn Princess and Fair Princess were both ex-Cunard, and the former Sitmar Fairsky became Princess's Sky Princess. The first of the three new Sitmar ships came into the Princess brand in 1989 as Star Princess, the largest British exclusively cruising ship. Two 70,000 GT cruise ships designed originally by famed architect Renzo Piano entered service in 1990 as Crown Princess and Regal Princess, bringing Princess's fleet up to ten deluxe cruise ships. This greatly enlarged the Princess fleet by eventually adding six ships, making it a major competitor with the other Caribbean cruise lines.

Princess Cays
In 1991, Princess Cruises began developing their third ever Caribbean private resort named Princess Cays located on the southern tip of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The development was reported to cost $1.2 million and was unveiled in 1992, becoming an exclusive port of call for the cruise line's Western Caribbean itineraries. The private destination is also shared between sister brands, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line. The resort suffered from a fire in January 2019 that damaged several buildings along the south side of the island.

1995–1999: Record-breaking fleet modernization
In the early 1990s, Princess was operating a fleet of mostly second-hand ships, with the majority having been inherited from the Sitmar Cruises acquisition. The last purpose-built Princess new build had been the Royal Princess in 1984, and the 3 recent inherited new builds had all been designed for Sitmar Cruises. A new building project was commenced with the first new build debuting in 1995 with the Sun Princess as the lead vessel for the Sun-class. This was the first of four ships in the class, followed by the Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, and Ocean Princess. At the same time Princess began transferring some of its older ships to parent company P&O Cruises and their subsidiaries P&O Australia. The Dawn Princess left the fleet in 1993, Sea Princess in 1995, Golden Princess, 1996, Fair Princess in 1997, Island Princess in 1999.

Grand-class
Princess unveiled its first Grand-class vessel in 1998, the Grand Princess, which debuted on May 26, and was christened by Olivia de Havilland. At the time, the $450 million Fincantieri-built vessel was the largest passenger ship ever commissioned and completed. Two more ships in the class, Golden Princess and Star Princess, followed, pioneering the design that carried on through the following six vessels in the class, with the last ship delivered in 2008.

2000–2002: P&O Princess spun off
On October 23, 2000, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) spun-off its passenger division to form an independent company, P&O Princess Cruises. In 2001, Princess Cruises headquarters moved from Century City to Santa Clarita, near the Westfield Valencia Town Center.

With the debut of Golden Princess in North America in 2001, Sky Princess was deployed to Australia for P&O Cruises Australia in 2000 and replace ''Fair Princess. Sky Princess was transformed into Pacific Sky'' to become the sister brand's first modern-era cruise ship for the recently spun off P&O Cruises Australia. Star Princess commenced operations in March 2002 and became the first "mega-ship" to operate from the West Coast on a full-time basis. In June 2002, Crown Princess was transferred to P&O Princess' new start-up brand, A'Rosa Cruises, to be the only cruise ship in A'Rosa's fleet to help launch the brand.

In 2002 the Pacific Princess, famous as the ship from The Love Boat, left the Princess fleet after 27 years of service with the line, and last of the original Princess fleet.

Coral-class introduction
In 2002 and 2003 Princess debuted two panamax ships, the Coral Princess and Island Princess. Built to be the maximized sized ships to transit the Panama Canal, they were assigned for longer Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises. They would also incorporate the ship engineering trend of the time of having additional Gas-Turbine Engines. This was emphasized in the ships design with giant decorative faux turbines on each side of the funnel.

R-class ships acquisition
Princess eventually acquired two former Renaissance ships for the line starting in 2002. They were deployed for longer and more exotic destination cruises. The ships joining the fleet were Tahitian Princess, which was first based in Tahiti before being later renamed Ocean Princess, and Pacific Princess, reviving the famous name of the ship featured on The Love Boat.

2003–2009: Carnival acquires P&O Princess
P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation on April 17, 2003, to form the world's largest cruise operating company in a deal worth US$5.4 billion. As a result of the merger, Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess were integrated to form Carnival Corporation & plc, with a portfolio of eleven cruise ship brands. It is a dual-listed company, registered in both the United States and the United Kingdom, with the former P&O Princess Cruises being relisted as Carnival plc, more commonly known as Carnival UK, which holds executive control over Cunard Line and P&O Cruises. As an American-based company, executive control of Princess Cruises was transferred to Carnival's American operations, with the formation of the Holland America Group umbrella, which comprises Princess, Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, and P&O Cruises Australia.

In 2005, Princess swapped two ships between it and sister brand P&O. The Royal Princess, Princess Cruises first purpose-built ship, was transferred to P&O Cruises in April after 21 years of service with the line. Princess reacquired Sea Princess in May from P&O, which it had transferred over just two years prior.

On April 3, 2008, Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the United States dollar because of the recession, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their U.S.-based brands (Princess, Carnival Cruise Line, and Holland America Line) before the economic situation improved.

2010–2021: Royal-class, COVID-19 pandemic
In May 2010, Carnival Corporation & plc signed a contract with Fincantieri for the construction of two new 3,600-passenger ships, known as the Royal-class cruise ships, for Princess. At more than, the Royal-class vessels became the largest ships ever constructed for Princess. Named in honor of Princess's former vessels bearing the Royal name, Royal Princess entered service in 2013 and became Princess's flagship vessel; she was quickly followed by Regal Princess in 2014. In 2017, Princess further invested in China via the delivery of their third Royal-class ship, Majestic Princess, which was designed for the Chinese-speaking market and scheduled to homeport in Shanghai. Following the delivery of Sky Princess in October 2019, Princess received two more Royal-class ships (Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess) to complete the class in the fleet with six vessels.

COVID-19 outbreak
In 2020, Princess became the first major cruise line to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic after an outbreak onboard Diamond Princess in February led 712 of the 3,711 people on board to become infected. The ship's outbreak and quarantine in Yokohama elicited global criticism, both for Japan's handling of its mandated quarantine procedures at the time and for Princess after it was reported Princess had initially assumed there was only minimal risk and had only initiated the lowest-level protocols for any outbreaks prior to the quarantine. Subsequent large-scale outbreaks onboard several more Princess vessels, including Ruby Princess in Australia and Grand Princess in California, accelerated Princess's suspension of operations as the broader industry proceeded into the pandemic-induced hiatus.

Amid the operational pause in 2020, Princess parted ways with four ships in advance of their initially projected timelines after increased speculation about a sale surrounded the brand's oldest ships. This came after Carnival Corporation revealed its goals to reduce overall fleet tonnage in a bid to reduce costs. In September, Princess sold its remaining two Sun-class ships, Sun Princess and Sea Princess. Sun Princess was later acquired by Peace Boat to become its largest ship and subsequently renamed Pacific World. Sea Princess was acquired by Chinese start-up Sanya International Cruise Development and renamed ''Charming.  The following month, in October, Princess announced the official transfer of Golden Princess  and accelerated transfer of Star Princess to sister brand P&O Cruises Australia, marking the first two Grand''-class vessels to exit the fleet.

Post-pandemic recovery
Throughout the pause, Princess staffed all ships with skeleton crew who had been onboard for months longer than anticipated after the hiatus extended beyond original expectations. Princess resumed operations in July 2021 with a week-long voyage to Alaska from Seattle aboard Majestic Princess. In a bid to rebuild consumer confidence, all guests were required to have received a COVID-19 vaccine 14 days prior to departure. Rules were also enforced regarding the donning of face masks and social distancing, and capacity was reduced during the initial phase of the resumption. The success of the first voyages was followed by the resumption of service on seven additional vessels by the end of November 2021, with the whole fleet operating by the end of November 2022 after the reentry of Diamond Princess.

2022–present: Homeport expansion, Sphere-class
After the success of the initial phased rollout of its resumption in the United States and amid the lingering uncertainty surrounding international travel restrictions related to the pandemic, in March 2022, Princess announced it would redeploy several ships from their originally scheduled distant homeports back to those in the United States. As a part of the redeployment, Princess revealed it would also return to the Port of San Diego with Diamond Princess in September 2022 (later postponed to November 2022 as a result of "staffing challenges" ) after more than ten years away, and to the Port of Galveston in December 2022 with Ruby Princess after a six-year absence. Princess has since made further expansions in its commitment to the American market with the stationing of the larger Regal Princess in Galveston, beginning in fall 2023, and the introduction of Port Canaveral to its network with Caribbean Princess to mark Princess's debut at the port in November 2024.

Sphere-class
In July 2018, Princess signed a memorandum of agreement with Fincantieri for the construction of two new 175,000 GT ships to be primarily powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ships would become the largest vessels built in Italy and commissioned for Princess as well as the first in the fleet to run on LNG. The final contract was signed in March 2019, ushering in the development of the ships. Princess unveiled the names of the lead vessel and second ship as Sun Princess and Star Princess in September 2022 and May 2023, respectively, with both being the third ships in the fleet's history to bear their respective names.

Sun Princess made its debut in February 2024 after a short delay for additional technical work. Star Princess was also delayed and is now scheduled to sail beginning in September 2025.

Incidents
Princess Cruises was involved in litigation with General Electric in 1998 over consequential damages and lost profits resulting from a contract the two parties entered into. General Electric was to provide inspection and repair services upon the SS Sky Princess. Upon noticing surface rust on the turbine rotor, the vessel was brought ashore for cleaning and balancing, but good metal was unintentionally removed. This destabilized the rotor, forcing Princess Cruises to cancel two 10-day cruises while additional work was performed. Princess originally prevailed, being awarded nearly $4.6 million. On appeal, however, the judgement was reversed in favor of General Electric, and Princess Cruises only recovered the price of the contract, less than $232,000.

Ocean pollution
On August 26, 2013, the crew of Caribbean Princess deliberately discharged 4,227gallons of oil-contaminated waste off the southern coast of England. The discharge involved the illegal modification of the vessel's on-board pollution control systems, and was photographed by a newly hired engineer. When the ship subsequently berthed at Southampton, the engineer resigned his position and reported the discharge to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency. An investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) found that the practice had been taking place on Caribbean Princess and four other Princess ships – Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess, and Golden Princess – since 2005.

In December 2016, Princess agreed to plead guilty to seven felony charges and pay a $40 million penalty. The charges related to illegal discharges off the coasts of Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. As part of the agreement, cruise ships from eight Carnival companies, including Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, are required to operate for five years under a court-supervised environmental compliance plan with independent audits and a court-appointed monitor. The fine was the "largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution."

For violation of the probation terms of 2016, Carnival Corporation and Princess were ordered to pay an additional $20 million penalty in 2019. The new violations included discharging plastic into waters in the Bahamas, falsifying records, and interfering with court supervision.

COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, several ships from the cruise line became major clusters of infection of the disease, including Diamond Princess and Ruby Princess, spreading it around the world. By February, 712 cases had developed on Diamond Princess, of which 11 eventually died. This drew worldwide attention and led to several countries repatriating their citizens from the ship. Shortly before the disease was declared a pandemic, and with over 2700 passengers on board, Ruby Princess sailed into international waters despite a global increase of confirmed cases of COVID-19. By mid April, there were 852 confirmed cases among Australian passengers alone, and 21 deaths. The subsequent discharge of infected passengers into Australia worsened the national pandemic in the country and caused a humanitarian crisis. Other related incidents:

 * Sun Princess was not allowed to dock at a port in Madagascar on 13 February 2020 as it had visited Thailand, where there were cases of SARS-CoV-2, less than 14 days before. The ship docked at Réunion on 1 March, but passengers were met by a crowd of about 30 people who insisted that the passengers must be inspected for SARS-CoV-2, and tried to prevent them from leaving the port area. Missiles were thrown at passengers, and the police deployed tear gas.
 * A crew member on Grand Princess had transferred to Royal Princess fifteen days before, the CDC issued a "no-sail order" on 8 March 2020, due to COVID-19 infections, prompting Princess Cruises to cancel the ship's seven-day cruise to Mexico before it departed Los Angeles.
 * On 7 March, Regal Princess tested two crewmembers for SARS-CoV-2, and delayed docking at Port Everglades for almost a day while waiting for test results to come back.
 * A passenger on board contracted COVID-19 on the cruise and died, resulting in the ship being quarantined off the coast of San Francisco because of further infections.
 * On 20 March 2020, it was announced that three passengers and a crew member of Ruby Princess had tested positive for COVID-19. The ship had docked in Sydney Harbour, and the passengers had disembarked before the results came back positive. The ship had returned to Sydney with 1,100 crew members and 2,700 passengers, and 13 people that were sick were tested for the virus. On April 5, 2020, the New South Wales Police Force announced they had launched a criminal investigation into whether the operator of the Ruby Princess downplayed potential coronavirus cases before thousands of passengers disembarked in Sydney.
 * On 6 January 2021, Princess Cruises announced that it will cancel cruises through 14 May 2021.

The vast majority of all cruise lines's sailings were under suspension in late 2020. As of 6 January 2021, all Princess sailings were cancelled to at least 14 May 2021, according to an industry news item.

title: Princess Cruises


text:
That Lady (song)

"That Lady" is a song by the Isley Brothers, made famous in 1973 when it was reworked in a funk rock style. It was originally performed as "Who's That Lady?" in a classic R&B vocal style by the Isley Brothers in 1964, inspired by the Impressions.

In 1973, the core Isley Brothers vocal trio had recently expanded, picking up guitarist Ernie Isley, bassist Marvin Isley and keyboardist Chris Jasper to form their 3 + 3 configuration. Guitarist Jimi Hendrix had supported the Isley Brothers on tour in the mid-1960s, and Ernie Isley had been strongly influenced by Hendrix's playing methods. At the Los Angeles Record Plant in 1973 recording the new version of "That Lady", Ernie laid down a searing guitar line with heavy Hendrix-style sustain carrying a soft fuzz distortion. The recording project included other musicians on organ and congas to establish a funk/rock fusion sound. The song debuted at No.89 on the Hot 100 on July 14, 1973, as "Meet The Lady", then the title would appear as "Meet That Lady" for the next six weeks and "That Lady" for the remainder of the run.

"That Lady" became the Isley Brothers' first Top 10 pop single since 1969's "It's Your Thing", spending three weeks at No.6 on the pop chart and reaching No.2 on the US R&B Singles chart. The RIAA certified the single Gold in October 1973. It was also a cross-Atlantic hit for the group, reaching No.14 in the UK. With its prominent electric guitar line, "That Lady" helped establish Ernie Isley as a powerhouse performer.

In 2003, the song was ranked No.357 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Covers and samples
"That Lady" is sampled in "A Year and a Day," a section in the "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" suite on the 1989 Beastie Boys album Paul's Boutique.

Hip-hop versions of the song include "Who's That Lady" by The Get Funky Crew from their 1989 album Shake Them and "Who's That Lady" by Houston rapper 380 Dat Lady on her 1996 album A Day in the Life of 380 Vol. 1. "That Lady" is sampled in "Jus 1 Kiss (The Isley Bootleg)" by Basement Jaxx, which was released in 2001 and appeared on their 2005 greatest hits compilation The Singles.

In 2012, the song was performed and recorded by The Dukes of September as part of their live album at the Lincoln Center.

Re-recorded elements of "That Lady" are incorporated in "i", the lead single of Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song won the awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

In popular culture
In the late 1990s, the song was used in a series of commercials for Salon Selectives haircare products.

"That Lady" appears in the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, introducing Christina Applegate's character, the news anchor Veronica Corningstone, when she first arrives at the San Diego television station KVWN Channel 4.

Personnel

 * Ronald Isley – lead and backing vocals
 * Rudolph Isley – backing vocals
 * O'Kelly Isley Jr. – backing vocals
 * Ernie Isley – guitar, backing vocals
 * Marvin Isley – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Chris Jasper – piano, backing vocals
 * George Moreland – drums
 * Truman Thomas – organ
 * Rocky – congas

title: That Lady (song)


text:
Heves

Heves is a small town in eastern Hungary. About 100 km east of Budapest, Heves lies at the northern extreme of the Great Hungarian Plain, just south of the Mátra and Bükk hills and west of the Tisza River. Heves gave its name to Heves County, however it is not its seat and it is the fourth largest town in the county. The closest major city is Eger, which lies 40 km to the north. Heves is a significant transportation hub for the towns and agricultural areas of southern Heves County.

Demographics
Heves is home to approximately 11,000 residents. In addition to the ethnic Hungarian majority, there is a sizable Roma population.

Economy
The major sources of employment in Heves are agricultural and service-sector occupations.

Transport
Heves is served by a modern bus station near the centre of the town. The town is also served by a small train station 1 km from the town centre. Heves is located on a small train line (kis piros) that connects with major lines at Kál-Kápolna to the north and Kisújszállás to the south.

Education
Heves has a music school, a children's house and a high school (Eotvos Jozsef Kozepiskola). The high school is home to more than 1,000 students and is widely known for its police academy. Every year, the high school welcomes an English teacher from an English-speaking country to join the faculty for the school year.

Culture
The town welcomes an outdoor market every Wednesday and Saturday morning. Heves is well known for watermelons and hosts a watermelon festival each August.

Sights
The centre of the town is a scenic park with a chestnut-lined promenade, a gazebo, a fountain and numerous statues. A town museum and a 19th-century Catholic church stand at opposite ends of the park. A second museum (sakkmuzeum), one of the few chess museums in the world, is located not far from the park. Other recreational opportunities in Heves include a thermal bath, a community center that doubles as a theatre (kulturhaz) and the Aranykehely restaurant.

Other major civic institutions in Heves include a town hall, a town library and a folkart and handicraft cooperative.

Twin towns – sister cities
Heves is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇹 Breganze, Italy
 * 🇷🇴 Ciumani, Romania
 * 🇷🇴 Miercurea Ciuc, Romania
 * 🇵🇱 Sulejów, Poland
 * 🇸🇰 Tornaľa, Slovakia

Notable people

 * Lajos Hevesi (1843–1910), journalist and author
 * Antal Stevanecz (1861–1921), Slovene teacher and writer

title: Heves


text:
User talk:Bkkbrad

Welcome!

Hello,, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Where to ask a question, ask me on my talk page, or place  on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome! ,SqueakBox 20:32, Jun 4, 2005 (UTC)
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Save The Game!
Cool idea with the site. Anything you can do about the vandals? Kernow 01:32, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Just in case you didn't already know: http://www.savethegame.org/ has been vandalized by the Willy on Wheels vandal or someone imitating him. Chris Chittleborough 08:17, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

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Editing Brent Spiner
Instead of removing information that you don't know about, try inserting a tag, then wait to see if anybody can come up with the citation. EOBeav 18:54, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

Good point, Brad, I hadn't realized this person was running around posting that stuff. I've seen the "...delivered a pizza to..." post among characters in here. EOBeav 20:47, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

pagelinks.sql
As I said on meta, I did manage to build it, but rather than as a single table, I split it up into several dozen, and with storage engine MyISAM rather than InnoBD. The split wasn't too much of a problem for what I wanted to do, though I believe there's another storage engine to combine several separate tables, and have them behave to queries as if they were one. It was still horribly slow, though, and I haven't tried to do it since. I don't need it for most of the db processing I do, fortunately. Alai 17:04, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I tried that on some of the other imports, for the most recent set of dumps, and it does indeed seem much more efficient than the "disable keys" approach (I presume because it avoids creating unordered indexes that are later discarded anyway). The server parameters tweaks makes a significant difference too (though I have a mere 0.5G, tragically). Alai 12:36, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Transliteration
What is the correct english transliteration of the following thai word?: โจวทง

I can't speak thai, but a used an internet translator to translate both halves of the word and I got "Johow Tong". I saw that you added the thai version of the Daoji page, so I thought you might be able to help me out. (Ghostexorcist 22:02, 8 April 2007 (UTC))

 * Thanks a bunch. I needed it for my Zhou Tong (monk) article. I found the Thai version of his name online. (Ghostexorcist 01:26, 9 April 2007 (UTC))

CREW
Hi, I did some cleanup on the disambiguation page CREW, deleted a previous edit you had made, as explained on the talk page. Is my assumption correct that 'Concurrent Read Exclusive Write' and 'Crew (algorithm), matrix manipulation algorithm' are the same? If not, feel free to revert. Thanks

Ngaan and waa
I see you have added ไร่ to the article Rai (area) that I had created. I now also created the articles Ngaan and Waa, and invite you to add their interwiki links to the Thai Wikipedia. Kawp khun krap, Khon Krung Theb Chai. — SomeHuman 15 Apr2007 00:36 (UTC) Update: By your link from the 'rai', I found งาน and ตารางวา (of which the วา -wor wein, or sara aa- appears to correspond to the English transcription 'waa', so I wonder what ตาราง  stands for) and already put in the interwiki links to those. — SomeHuman 15 Apr2007 00:59 (UTC)
 * Thanks, both for your answer on my talk page and for the interwiki's on the Thai Wikipedia. Kind regards. — SomeHuman 15 Apr2007 14:46 (UTC)

Lijiang City
Hello, Bkkbrad. 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 mean "plump gold brother" and "plump gold sister" respectively. Being plump, in Naxi culture signifies beauty or good looks. This term is commonly used to address the people there. I went there last year and it was told that they did not like being called "sir' or "miss", as it suggests that they work in nightclubs or, even worse, brothels. Thank you!--Tdxiang (Talk) 13:31, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

RE: Edit summary
Thanks. I like to be a little witty to the vandals; it makes the work less monotonous. Besides, when they bait me like that, how could I not? :)  Dooms Day349  01:31, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Image:Conical_hat.jpg listed for deletion
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Gengis Khan map
Hello, the red zone is the starting zone of Gengis Khan conquests, and Delün Boldak is the main town of this area, then the main town of the empire.

Bonjour, la zone en rouge foncé est la zone de départ des conquêtes de Gengis Khan et Delün Boldak est la capitale de cette région, puis, par extension, celle de l'empire.

Have a nice day. Historicair —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.254.12.46 (talk) 19:05, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Articles for deletion nomination of All-ones vector
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ArbCom elections are now open!
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Ways to improve Nón lá
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title: User talk:Bkkbrad


text:
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (1996) is a science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, the first in a proposed Pastwatch series. The book's focus is the life and activities of explorer Christopher Columbus. Much of the action deals with a group of scientists from the future who travel back to the 15th century in order to change the pattern of European contact with the Americas. These alternate with chapters describing Columbus' career and his efforts to obtain backing to his project of travelling across the ocean - much of which can be considered as historical fiction.

Plot summary
Sometime in the future, humanity invents a series of machines to view past events. Tagiri is a researcher at Pastwatch, the organization in charge of these machines. Her special interest is in the colonization of the Caribbean and the life of Christopher Columbus. One day she accidentally discovers that the machines may be used to send information backwards in time (meaning the past is not unalterable). Unsure about what to do with this knowledge she is nonetheless put in charge of a project to explore it along with her husband Hassan. They are eventually joined by their daughter Diko.

A parallel narrative tells of Columbus' efforts to secure financial and political backing for his voyage across the Atlantic. Tagiri and other researchers note that Columbus had always yearned for greatness but that as a young man he had been determined to head east in a new Crusade to liberate from the Muslims the Holy Land as well as Constantinople, whose fall was a recent and painful event to Europeans of Columbus' generation. Columbus only changed his mind and decided to head west across the Atlantic after nearly drowning in a storm.

The mystery of exactly why Columbus changed his mind is solved by Diko. She uses a new, and more visually sensitive, version of the time viewer and discovers that after surviving the wreck Columbus received a vision directing him to head west to convert the people who lived on a previous undiscovered continent. The researchers realize that this vision is actually a hologram sent back in time by people from an alternate timeline in order to influence the direction of Columbus' life.

Realizing that someone has already changed the timeline they try to figure out what might have been different if Columbus had headed east instead of west. The answer is provided by Hunahpu, an Amerindian researcher with Pastwatch. He argues that in the original timeline, the Europeans exhausted themselves in the anti-Muslim crusade propagated by Columbus, and meanwhile across the ocean the Tlaxcalan Empire of Central America grew powerful enough to invade the weakened Europe, subjecting the continent to a harsh regime of human sacrifice. Eventually, the Tlaxcalans underwent an Industrial Revolution and developed advanced weapons which enabled them to conquer the entire world - still without changing their bloodthirsty religion for what must have been an extended period. In order to undo that atrocity, the Pastwatch's counterparts from the original timeline sent the hologram back to direct Columbus, the greatest man of his era, to head west. The European conquest of the Americas thereby neutralized the threat - but at the price of untold suffering for the Native Americans, trampled under the European conquest.

Tagiri and her team determine that they must change history so that neither timeline happens as it did. The urgency of doing so increases when it is revealed that Tagiri's world is an imminent accelerating ecological disaster, which threatens the very survival of humanity. Tagiri and the others reason that the ruthless plundering of the world's resources which led to the disaster was a continuation of the dynamic of ruthless European conquest of the Americas, and averting the one might avert the other as well. In any case, with the world on the brink of total disaster, there is little to lose in interfering with history and trying to change and improve it.

Tagiri's team use their machinery to send Diko, Hunahpu, and a Turkish researcher named Kemal, back in time in order to change history. Hunahpu and Diko appear years before Columbus' voyage in Central America and the Caribbean respectively. They use genetically-engineered viruses to spread immunity to Old World diseases and work to strengthen Indian society for the coming European contact, including by spreading a pseudo-Christian religion among them and outlawing human sacrifice. Hunahpu helps accelerate the development of a Central American empire to rival European powers. When Columbus arrives, Kemal sinks his ships, stranding the explorer and his men in the Caribbean. After overcoming prejudice, Columbus learns to live with the indigenous people and becomes a powerful political leader among the natives of the Caribbean and eventually oversees a political union with the Central American empire.

Diko becomes Columbus' lover and the two establish a strong, lasting loving relationship. After years of their knowing and trusting each other, Diko reveals to Columbus the truth about her origins and what she had done. When hearing about how his voyage of discovery would have led to the widespread killing and enslavement of the Indians, Columbus bursts out crying and thanks Diko for saving him from perpetrating such deeds.

By the sixteenth century, the people of Central America and the Caribbean are able to send ships across the Atlantic to meet the Europeans on more equal footing. Neither Europeans nor Native Americans are in a position to conquer the other, and they embark on reasonably peaceful relations.

A postscript describes the future of this new timeline as a utopian one and how archeologists in the 1950s discovered the skull of Kemal and found within it a set of small metal plates which contained a message from Tagiri and the Pastwatch program.

Future books
According to Card at his Hatrack River website, a second and third book, Pastwatch: The Flood and Pastwatch: The Garden of Eden were planned:

In a 1999 interview with CNN, Card confirmed that those stories would be part of a "Pastwatch series".

In 2010 Card stated in an interview that he would be writing a Pastwatch novel a year until the trilogy was completed. As of 2023, this has not occurred.

Critical View
Mark Winfield wrote: "Card opens up vast vistas of a history which might have been, a history in which centuries of harsh oppression of Native Americans (followed by the mass enslavement of blacks) might have been averted and more equitable relations between the two sides of the Atlantic established. (...) I am no expert on Mesoamerican history and culture. The alterations introduced in Western Hemisphere by the travelers from the future seem to me reasonably plausible, given the resources at these travelers' disposal - though an expert might pick holes in Card's scenario.(...) However, the final chapters, dealing with Columbus' belated return to Spain, seem in my humble opinion hopelessly idealistic.(...) The humane religion cooked up in the Caribbean by the time travelers could be considered a form of Christianity. But it is certainly not the Christianity practiced by the Catholic Church in 16th Century Europe. Which means that, from the Church's point of view, it is h-e-r-e-s-y, pure and simple. The 16th Century Catholic Church took a very dim view of heresy, the Spanish Church most of all. The Church established an institution charged with fighting heresy and stamping it out, the name of this institute: The Inquisition. (...) From the Church's point of view, the situation depicted by Card would inevitably be interpreted as "Columbus had become a heretic across the ocean, has come back with a heretic war fleet, and demands to establish on Spanish soil a heretic enclave where heresy could be openly practiced and from where it can be disseminated". Could the Spanish Crown have acceded smoothly and harmoniously to Columbus' request? Not likely. (...) Moreover, this is the very time when the Reformation was bubbling over in Germany. Inevitably, Columbus and his fellows would be regarded as the confederates of Luther. (...) This intervention from the future may have averted the European conquest of America, but it would not necessarily have created a peaceful and harmonious 16th Century. More likely, the European Wars of Religion would have gained a Transatlantic dimension".

Translations

 * "La Rédemption de Christophe Colomb", 1998, ISBN 2-84172-093-4
 * "Badacze czasu. Odkupienie Krzysztofa Kolumba", 1997, ISBN 83-7180-706-6
 * "Искупление Христофора Колумба", 1997, ISBN 5-300-01997-6
 * "La redención de Cristobal Colón", ISBN 84-406-8119-4
 * "Múltfigyelõk: Kolumbusz Kristóf feloldozása", 2004, ISBN 963-9557-22-6
 * "תצפית עבר: גאולתו של כריסטופר קולומבוס"


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Frank Foyston

Frank Corbett "Flash" Foyston (February 2, 1891 – January 19, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Foyston was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams three times: with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1914, the Seattle Metropolitans in 1917, and the Victoria Cougars in 1925. While with the Metropolitans, he twice led the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in goals. After his retirement from playing, Foyston became a minor league head coach. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Early career
Foyston was born in Minesing, Ontario, in 1891. From 1908 to 1910, he played for the Barrie Athletic Club in the OHA Jr. league. In 1908–09, he scored 17 goals in 6 games. In 1910–11, Foyston played for the Barrie Athletic Club in the OHA Sr. league and scored 14 goals in 6 games. The following season, he played for the Toronto Eaton's, scoring 15 goals in 6 games in the regular season and 5 goals in 4 games in the playoffs. At the end of the 1911–12 season the Eaton's challenged the Winnipeg Victorias for the Allan Cup, as amateur champions of Canada, but the Toronto club was defeated over two games by an aggregate score of 5–24 (4–8, 1–16), and Foyston went scoreless in the series.

Toronto Blueshirts
Foyston began his professional hockey career with the National Hockey Association's Toronto Blueshirts in 1912–13. In his first season with Toronto, he scored 8 goals in 16 games, and the Blueshirts finished fourth overall in the NHA standings. The following season, in 1913–14, he scored 16 goals in 19 regular season games, and one goal in two NHA playoff games against the Montreal Canadiens, to help the Blueshirts win the NHA championship and claim the Stanley Cup. In the 1914 Stanley Cup Finals against the PCHA's Victoria Aristocrats, Foyston scored two goals, including the series-clincher for Toronto. The following season, in 1914–15, Foyston had 13 goals and 9 assists in 20 games, and Toronto finished fourth in the league standings.

Seattle Metropolitans
At the beginning of the 1915–16 season, Foyston signed with the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans – along with his Toronto teammates Hap Holmes, Eddie Carpenter, Jack Walker, and Cully Wilson – where he would play for nine seasons, leading the league in goals twice. In his first season with Seattle, he had 13 points in 18 games. The following season, in 1916–17, he had 36 goals and 12 assists in 24 games. Seattle played in the 1917 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, and Foyston scored seven goals and added three assists to help the Metropolitans win the Stanley Cup in four games. It was the first time an American team had won the Stanley Cup. At the end of the season, Foyston was voted the "Champion All-Around Hockey Player" in the PCHA.

Foyston was conscripted into the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 2, 1918, as part of the First World War, however after a month he was released to join the Royal Flying Corps. However he did not serve overseas, and with the war over in November 1918 returned to hockey without missing much time.

In 1918–19, Foyston scored 15 goals in 18 regular season games, and three goals in two playoff games, as Seattle advanced to the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals against the Canadiens. Foyston scored nine goals in five games before the series was abandoned (with the teams tied at 2–2 in a best-of-five series format) due to the influenza epidemic. The Stanley Cup was not awarded that year. The following season, in 1919–20, Foyston scored 26 goals in 22 regular season games, and three goals in two playoff games, as Seattle advanced to the 1920 Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, he had six goals in five games.

Victoria and Detroit
Foyston played with Seattle until 1924. After the franchise folded, he signed with the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League. In 1924–25, he had 11 points in 27 regular season games, and two points in four playoff games. In the 1925 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, Foyston scored one goal in four games to help the Cougars become the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. He also played in the 1926 Stanley Cup Finals the following year with the Cougars, but had no points as the Cougars lost to the Montreal Maroons. The Victoria franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League's Detroit Cougars, and Foyston played for the team during the next two seasons.

Coaching
In 1928–29, Foyston was a player-coach for the Detroit Olympics of the Canadian Professional Hockey League. He had 24 points in 42 regular season games and led the team to a 27-10-5 record. His playing career ended after the season. In 1930–31, he coached the Syracuse Stars, and in 1931–32, he coached the Bronx Tigers. Foyston then became the first coach and general manager of the Seattle Seahawks of the North West Hockey League. In 1934–35, he led the Seahawks to a 20-9-3 record and a first-place finish, but the team lost in the playoffs.

Legacy and playing style
Foyston is one of 11 players who have won the Stanley Cup with three or more different franchises. Two of the other players who accomplished the same feat were teammates of Foyston on all three of his Stanley Cup wins: goaltender Hap Holmes and forward Jack Walker.

Foyston was a versatile forward capable of playing well at centre, left and right wing, and rover. He brought much speed to the game and was often referred to as either "Flash" or "Blonde Flash" in the newspapers due to his fleet-footedness combined with his fair-colored hair. Vancouver based newspaper The Province, in January 1921, claimed that Foyston "is a wonderful combination player, a good stickhandler and shoots a wicked puck" but added "on backchecking there are half a dozen players who outshine him."

In 1958 Foyston was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Foyston died in Seattle, Washington, in 1966. He is buried at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle.

title: Frank Foyston


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The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water is a 1997 novel by Anita Shreve. Half of the novel is historical fiction based on the Smuttynose Island murders, which took place in 1873.

The book was adapted for a film of the same name, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and released in 2000.

Plot summary
In March 1873, two Norwegian-born women who lived on the desolate Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, were brutally murdered. Maren Hontvedt, a sister of one of the victims, survived by hiding in a sea cave until dawn. The murdered women were her older sister Karen Christensen and Anethe Christensen, their sister-in-law. A man named Louis Wagner was tried and hanged for their murders, mostly on circumstantial evidence. His conviction has been argued about, as some people think he could not have done it.

More than a century later, Jean Janes, a magazine photographer working on a photo essay about the murders, returns to the Isles with her husband Thomas and five-year-old daughter. Thomas is an award-winning poet who has been struggling with alcoholism and not writing much. Hoping to have a small vacation, they travel on a boat skippered by Thomas' brother Rich, who has brought along his girlfriend Adaline.

Jean becomes immersed in the details of the 19th-century murders after discovering a purported memoir of Maren in the library. Gradually, tensions increase among the group on the sloop, with unspoken emotions surfacing. Jean begins to suspect an affair between Thomas and Adaline.

The novel is split into two parts: the present day, told from Jean's point of view and in the present tense; and 1873, told in first person from Maren's point of view, her "memoir".

Reception
Kirkus Reviews wrote "...Shreve (Resistance, 1995, etc.) deftly juxtaposes a strained modern marriage and a century-old double murder".

Adaptation
A film adaptation of the same name, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, was released in 2002. It starred Sean Penn, Catherine McCormack, Elizabeth Hurley and Sarah Polley.

title: The Weight of Water


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Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)

"Fight the Power" (sometimes titled as "Fight the Power (Part 1 and Part 2)") is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the first single off their landmark album, The Heat Is On. The song is notable for the usage of the word bullshit, which was censored during radio airplay.

Recording
The song was sparked in a 1975 recording session in which guitarist Ernie Isley, inspired by the news, wrote two songs: "Fight the Power" and an anti-poverty ballad titled "Harvest for the World". The group ended up recording both songs on the same day and eventually picked "Fight the Power" as the song to release first. "Harvest" would be featured on the album of the same name and would be released as the first single off that album.

The song was written almost fully by Ernie Isley with additional instrumental background composition by the band's keyboardist Chris Jasper. After playing the track on his guitar to his older brothers, Ronnie, Rudy, and O'Kelly, the vocal trio cut a unison lead vocal track in one take. Ernie was taken aback that Ron had uttered "bullshit". When asked why he said the word, Ron simply replied, "because it needed to be said" and "it's what people want to hear."

The song reflected a negative opinion of authority figures, a feeling shared by all the band members, which can explain the intensified vocalizing by Ron, Rudy, and Kelly. Later, the trio added in the background chant, "fight it!" to merge in with the brothers' vocal ad-libbing near the end. Though the track had a unison lead style, onstage during performances, Ron Isley would sing the majority of the song with his older brothers chipping in during some parts. As was with the majority of their recordings during the so-called 3+3 era, Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper had to share composition and lyrical credit with the other Isley members.

Release
The song was released in May 1975 and became one of the group's most popular recordings, reaching number 1 on the R&B singles chart and crossed over to the pop charts reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Due to its strong dance flavor, the song was played heavily at dance clubs helping the song to land at number 13 on Billboard's dance chart. "Fight the Power" gave the brothers their first song to peak in the top 20 on three different charts.

The success of the song also helped its album, The Heat Is On, reach number 1 on the pop chart. The song's lyric, "we gotta fight the powers that be", would be interpolated years later by rap group Public Enemy on their 1989 song of the same name. The intense style of the record would be repeated by the Isleys during other recordings including "Livin' in the Life", "Climbin' Up The Ladder" and "The Pride", which like "Fight the Power" before it, included a unison lead vocal by Ron, Rudy, and Kelly.

Uses in popular culture

 * The song was used in a 2015 TV commercial for Nespresso featuring George Clooney and Danny DeVito.
 * It was also used in the 1998 film Out of Sight, which stars Clooney and is coproduced by DeVito.
 * The song was used in the opening credits of the 2013 movie The Heat starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.

Personnel
Unless otherwise indicated, Information based on Original album Liner notes
 * Ronald Isley: lead vocals, background vocals
 * Rudolph Isley: background vocals
 * O'Kelly Isley, Jr.: background vocals
 * Ernie Isley: congas, electric guitar, drums
 * Marvin Isley: bass guitar
 * Chris Jasper: tambourine, clavinet keyboard, electric piano, ARP synthesizer

title: Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)


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Csongrád

Csongrád (Ciongrad; Conğrad Чонград, archaically also Црноград/Crnograd) is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary.

History
At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the Maros Valley was under Bulgarian control. The fortress was known as Chorniy Grad (Slavic term for 'black castle') and served as a Bulgarian-Slavic guard outpost. Later King Stephen (1000–1038) made the town a state administration center, giving its name to a county. It remained a county seat till the Mongol invasion of Hungary (1240–42). The town and fortress were badly damaged by the Mongols; king Béla IV subsequently transferred the county seat to Szeged in 1247. The move significantly affected Csongrád's recovery. It did not become a town again until 1920.

Main sights
The Main Square obtained its definitive shape in the first half of the 10th century, its streets are wide with many trees. The Main Street is lined by old plane trees.

The road running along the grammar school in Secessionist style leads to the old town. This part of the settlement, called Öregvár (meaning Old Castle), preserves the structure of a Hungarian fishing-village of the 18th century. The adobes and houses with puddle wall have thatched roofs, many of them are equipped inside with modern furniture. One building can be seen with original furniture (at Gyökér utca 1).

The Tisza has a sand-bank which looks like a seashore.

Another attraction of Csongrád is the backwater generated by the river control works (Holt-Tisza), which houses several water-birds. In the wood strip on the left bank of the Tisza are the uncovered ruins of a Benedictine monastery founded in the 11th century.

Tourism
The greatest attraction in Csongrád is the Tisza river bank. The river has a sandy beach and during summer hundreds of people come to bathe in the water. Csongrád has spas and some swimming pools as well, both indoor and outdoor.

Csongrád's museums include:
 * Csongrád's traditional style house
 * László Tari Museum
 * István Széchenyi Elementary School's collection of the region
 * Gallery of Csongrád
 * Művésztelep (Artists' park)

The permanent exhibition of the museum located in the center of the city awaits the visitors by presenting a material of town history. Less than hundred meters away from here the City Gallery can be found, where from time to time periodical exhibition of the Gallery the aquarelles of the painter-artist of Csongrád, János Piroska representing the brilliant technique of color-runout as light as air are shown.

There are several churches in Csongrád:
 * The Nagyboldogasszony (Holy Virgin) Church - situated in the main town square and built between 1762–69
 * Saint Rókus-church
 * Piroskavárosi Saint Joseph Church Franciscan Abbey

There are two main festivals in the summer time:
 * Csongrád Wine Festival, which is usually last for 3–4 days
 * Körös-Toroki Days which lasts for a week

Notable people

 * Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian writer
 * Geca Kon, Serbian publisher
 * Pál Maléter, military leader
 * Károly Csemegi, judge

Twin towns – sister cities
Csongrád is twinned with:

 * 🇷🇸 Bečej, Serbia
 * 🇵🇱 Bełchatów, Poland

 * 🇫🇷 Breuilaufa, France
 * 🇫🇷 Le Buis, France
 * 🇫🇷 Chamboret, France
 * 🇫🇷 Chaptelat, France
 * 🇫🇷 Nantiat, France
 * 🇫🇷 Nieul, France
 * 🇫🇮 Raisio, Finland
 * 🇫🇷 Saint-Jouvent, France
 * 🇫🇷 Thouron, France
 * 🇫🇷 Vaulry, France

Csongrád also cooperates with Berehove, Ukraine.

title: Csongrád