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Balsam Grove, North Carolina

Balsam Grove is an unincorporated community located in Transylvania County, North Carolina within Pisgah National Forest and Nantahala National Forest.

The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute is located in Balsam Grove.

title: Balsam Grove, North Carolina


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The Assistant

The Assistant may refer to:

 * The Assistant (Walser novel) (German: Der Gehülfe), a 1908 novel by Robert Walser
 * The Assistant (novel), a 1957 novel by Bernard Malamud
 * The Assistant (TV series), a satirical reality series starring Andy Dick.
 * The Assistant (1982 film), a 1982 Czech film
 * The Assistant (1998 film), a 1998 film
 * The Assistant (2015 film), a 2015 film
 * The Assistant (2019 film), a 2019 film
 * The Assistant (2022 film), a 2022 Malaysian action film

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

title: The Assistant


text:
User:Monito

Monito is Spanish for "little monkey".

title: User:Monito


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Precancerous condition

A precancerous condition is a condition, tumor or lesion involving abnormal cells which are associated with an increased risk of developing into cancer. Clinically, precancerous conditions encompass a variety of abnormal tissues with an increased risk of developing into cancer. Some of the most common precancerous conditions include certain colon polyps, which can progress into colon cancer, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, which can progress into multiple myeloma or myelodysplastic syndrome. and cervical dysplasia, which can progress into cervical cancer. Bronchial premalignant lesions can progress to squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

Pathologically, precancerous tissue can range from benign neoplasias, which are tumors which don't invade neighboring normal tissues or spread to distant organs, to dysplasia, a collection of highly abnormal cells which, in some cases, has an increased risk of progressing to anaplasia and invasive cancer which is life-threatening. Sometimes, the term "precancer" is also used for carcinoma in situ, which is a noninvasive cancer that has not grown and spread to nearby tissue, unlike the invasive stage. As with other precancerous conditions, not all carcinoma in situ will become an invasive disease but is at risk of doing so.

Classification
The term precancerous or premalignant condition may refer to certain conditions, such as monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, or to certain lesions, such as colorectal adenoma (colon polyps), which have the potential to progress into cancer (see: Malignant transformation). Premalignant lesions are morphologically atypical tissue which appear abnormal when viewed under the microscope, and which are more likely to progress to cancer than normal tissue. Precancerous conditions and lesions affect a variety of organ systems, including the skin, oral cavity, stomach, colon, lung, and hematological system. Some authorities also refer to hereditary genetic conditions which predispose to developing cancer, such as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, as a precancerous condition, as individuals with these conditions have a much higher risk of developing cancer in certain organs.

Signs and symptoms
The signs and symptoms of precancerous conditions differ based on the organ affected. In many cases, individuals with precancerous conditions do not notice any symptoms. Precancerous conditions of the skin or oral cavity can appear as visible lesions without associated pain or discomfort, while precancerous conditions of the hematological system are typically asymptomatic, and in the case of monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, it may only rarely cause numbness and tingling in the hands and feet or difficulty with balance (see: peripheral neuropathy).

Causes
In most cases, many risk factors for precancerous conditions and lesions are the same risk factors that determines individuals vulnerable to a specific cancer. For example, individuals with cervical or anal infection with oncogenic, or cancer causing, strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) are at higher risk for cervical and anal cancers, as well as for cervical and anal dysplasia. Similarly, sun or especially UV exposure is an important risk factor for both actinic keratosis which can progress into melanomas as well as skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for premalignant (as well as malignant) lung lesions. Hereditary conditions that are risk factors to cancer can also be risk factors to premalignant lesions. However, in many cases, precancerous conditions or lesions can be sporadic and idiopathic in nature, meaning that they are not associated with a hereditary genetic risk factor to the particular cancer, nor with a direct causative agent or other identifiable cause.

Pathophysiology
The pathophysiology of precancerous lesions is thought to be similar to that of cancer, and also varies depending on the disease site and type of lesion. It is thought that cancer is always preceded by a clinically silent premalignant phase during which many oncogenic genetic and epigenetic alterations accumulate before it is truly malignant. The duration of this premalignant phase can vary from cancer to cancer, disease site to site and from individual to individual. Increasing evidence suggests that the evasion of the immune system occurs in premalignant lesions, and that the nature of the first immune response to these lesions may determine if they progress to cancer or regress to normal tissue.

Skin

 * actinic keratosis
 * Bowen's disease (intraepidermal carcinoma/squamous carcinoma in situ)
 * dyskeratosis congenita

Breast

 * ductal carcinoma in situ
 * lobular carcinoma in situ
 * Sclerosing adenosis
 * Small duct papilloma

Head and neck/oral

 * oral submucous fibrosis
 * erythroplakia
 * lichen planus (oral)
 * leukoplakia
 * proliferative verrucous leukoplakia
 * stomatitis nicotina

Gastrointestinal
 Respiratory
 * Barrett's esophagus
 * atrophic gastritis
 * colon polyp
 * Plummer-Vinson syndrome (sideropenic dysphagia)
 * hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer
 * Ulcerative colitis
 * Crohn's disease

 * Bronchial premalignant lesions

Gynecological

 * cervical dysplasia (cervical intraepithelial neoplasm, CIN)
 * vaginal intraepithelial neoplasm (VAIN)
 * anal dysplasia (also see: anal cancer)
 * lichen sclerosus
 * Bowen's disease (penile or vulvar)
 * erythroplasia of Queyrat

Urological

 * bladder carcinoma in situ

Hematological

 * monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance

title: Precancerous condition


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Abalistes stellatus

Abalistes stellatus is a member of the triggerfish family that occurs along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and along the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Environment
Abalistes stellatus lives primarily in mud and silt; however, on sloping ground it often is found some distance above the surface. It is generally found on deep coastal slopes. Adults may be found in estuaries, and juveniles of the species spend much of their pre-adult life there for protection. As a result of these varied habitats, adults range from 7–350 m in depth.

Biology
Abalistes stellatus grows to be about 60 cm in length. It has 25-27 dorsal rays (including spines) and 24-25 anal rays. As well its body is dark gray fading to olive and is covered in small white spots.

title: Abalistes stellatus


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Lunahuaná

Lunahuaná is a small town in the Cañete Province in Peru. The town lies about 187 km south of Lima in the Lunahuaná valley at the bank of Cañete River. Due to the unique landscape, Lunahuaná is a very popular destination for both Peruvians and foreign tourists. According to the 2017 census, there were 4,393 inhabitants.

Gastronomy
In Lunahuaná you can taste local dishes prepared in clay pots and wooden stoves such as: Shrimp (various styles), chola soup, duck with rice, tamales, chicharrones, adobo pork, carapulcra, pachamanca, guinea pigs and rabbits.

History
The history of Lunahuaná dates back to the origins of Peru. There is evidence that the first settlers arrived in this area between 6000 and 2000 BC However, it was during the expansion of the Inca Empire that Lunahuaná became the second largest city led by Pachacútec.

The name Lunahuaná might be derived from Quechua (runa man, mankind, wasi punishment). The Lunahuaná valley was the target of Inca conquests. First, the Guarco, or Huarco, settled in the valley. Due to the natural obstacles of the wild Cañete River the campaigns of the Inca took three to four years. Still today there are the ruins of the fortress Inka Wasi eight kilometers from the successful conquest. Tupac Yupanqui was part of these campaigns. Lunahuaná was officially founded in 1821 as a market town of Don José de San Martín.

Points of interest
In the center of the village there is a Catholic church, situated at the main square, which was built by the Order of the Franciscans in 1690. In 1972 the church was declared a historical monument.

The main attraction of Lunahuaná is the Cañete river. It is a popular destination for whitewater boat tours (rafting). Other popular activities include hiking, mountain biking, paragliding and fishing. Inka Wasi is situated about eight kilometers from Lunahuaná. The complex is divided into three sections, the area of the Inca (El barrio incaico), a religious center called Qullqa (Colcas, El barrio de las colcas religioso) and finally there is the palace of the Inca (El palacio del Inca).

In 2015, an official pisco trail started in Lunahuaná which is the first of its kind in the Lima Region. This trail adds to the other four official pisco trails located in Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. The trail includes five wineries approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur). The pisco trail first stops at the winery D’La Cruz (kilometer 33, Annex Jerome). This winery was first founded in 2002 by Johan De La Cruz Peña, its annual production is 13,000 liters of pisco. The next stop is Langla, located at kilometer 35.5, at the winery El Sol owned by Marco Martínez. It was founded in the early twentieth century and its annual production is 8,000 liters of pisco. The trail continues to Condoray, located at kilometer 39.5, where Jose Antonio Espinoza Peña continues the family tradition, started by his grandfather Benedicto Peña, in the winery Santa María, which dates back to 1929. This winery reaches a production of 50,000 liters per year. Winery de la Motta is next in the trail tour, located at kilometer 40.5. It was created in 2005 by Sergio De La Mota. Its production volume is around 20,000 liters.

The last stop in this pisco trail is the winery Viña Los Reyes at kilometer 41. It is the oldest winery in Lunahuaná since 1896 and is administered by Isabel Gonzales del Valle, widow of Domingo Alvarado Reyes. It produced 15,000 liters in 2014. All the wineries of this district, Cañete, have tasting rooms, the latest technologies, areas of accommodation and restaurants.

title: Lunahuaná


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Jerry Weintraub

Jerome Charles Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys.

He began his career as a talent agent, having managed relatively unknown singer John Denver in 1970, developing Denver's success through concerts, television specials, and film roles, including Oh, God! (1977). Weintraub has been credited with making "show business history" by being the first to organize and manage large arena concert tours for singers. Among the other performers whose tours he managed were Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Four Seasons, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Three Dog Night and The Carpenters.

Following his years as a concert promoter, he began producing films. Among them were director Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), Barry Levinson's Diner (1982), the films from The Karate Kid, as well as the remake Ocean's Eleven (2001), and its two sequels. Later, he was executive producer of HBO's series The Brink and HBO's Behind the Candelabra in 2013, which won an Emmy. In 2014, he won another Emmy as co-producer of Years of Living Dangerously, a television documentary about global warming. In 2011, HBO broadcast a television documentary about Weintraub's life, called His Way.

Early years
Weintraub was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in the Bronx, the son of Rose (née Bass) and Samuel Weintraub. His father was a gem dealer. While growing up, he worked as a theater usher and as a waiter in the Catskills.

After several years at MCA, where he first started work as a mailroom clerk, he left and formed his own personal management company. While at MCA, he was assistant to Lew Wasserman, whom he reportedly thought of as a father figure.

In the 1960s, he co-founded the vocal group The Doodletown Pipers. Among the acts that Weintraub managed at this time were Paul Anka, Shelley Berman, Pat Boone, Joey Bishop, The Four Seasons, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, and singer Jane Morgan, whom he would later marry.

Manager and concert promoter
Weintraub was the manager of singer and actor John Denver whom he signed in 1970. Weintraub first saw Denver performing at a small club in Greenwich Village and liked his easy, "mountaineer's" manner. Weintraub produced a dozen television music specials starring Denver, winning an Emmy for one of them. Later, he produced the film Oh, God! (1977), starring Denver and George Burns. After Denver became a major success as a singer, he bought Weintraub a Rolls-Royce as a thank you gift. Weintraub said, "I couldn't help thinking that it wasn't too long ago that neither of us had bus fare." Denver and Weintraub's professional relationship ended acrimoniously, however, he regretted not being reconciled with Denver before the singer's death.

In 1970, Weintraub convinced Elvis Presley and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, to do Presley's first national tour, something they had not considered, as Presley was by then a successful film star. The tour, with a modern sound system created for it, helped develop Weintraub's career as a concert promoter.

He next promoted a tour for Frank Sinatra in 1974, whom Weintraub first put in Madison Square Garden's boxing arena. For the previous six years, Sinatra had basically retired due to the failure of his last album. Weintraub convinced him to do a tour, which led to Sinatra's "transformation from saloon singer to stadium singer", wrote biographer Will Friedwald. "When Frank came out of retirement and started doing stadiums, he didn't know if he would draw," recalled guitarist Al Viola. "Weintraub deserves most of the credit (after Sinatra, that is) for pulling this off," says Friedwald.

Bob Dylan signed with Weintraub in 1978 after watching a Neil Diamond concert in Las Vegas, knowing that Weintraub managed the event. Dylan began a world tour beginning in Japan which continued through Europe and the US, performing 114 shows in front of two million people.

Biographer David Morrell writes, "We take this for granted now, but Weintraub's ability to organize these massive concerts made show-business history." Led Zeppelin manager, Peter Grant, recalls that Weintraub worked hard at putting on these large shows. "It was an event," Grant says. And "Jerry Weintraub loved it." Weintraub acknowledged his motivations: "When I believe in something, it's going to get done," he wrote in his autobiography.

Weintraub also managed or promoted concerts for such musical acts as Cuba Gooding Sr., the Main Ingredient, the Carpenters, the Moody Blues, and the Beach Boys.

Film and television producer
Weintraub's first film as a producer was Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). Until then, United Artists producer David Picker had dismissed the script and would not make the film. A short time later, Weintraub was hosting a party for John Denver in New York, and among the guests he invited was Altman, whom he admired but had never met. "Altman pulled Weintraub aside", recalled screenwriter, Joan Tewkesbury, "and over a shared joint", Altman told Weintraub about the script. After another meeting with Altman, Weintraub was hooked on the story. However, no studio wanted to work with Altman, telling Weintraub that the director was a "pain in the ass". Weintraub eventually managed to find investors and gave Altman the $2 million he needed to make the film.

Following Nashville, Weintraub's credits as producer over the next few years included Oh, God! (1977), September 30, 1955 (1978), Cruising (1980), All Night Long (1981), and Diner (1982).

The success of The Karate Kid (1984), led Kirk Kerkorian, then owner of MGM/UA, to appoint Weintraub as chairman and CEO of the neglected United Artists division, with Weintraub acquiring a minority stake, but clashes between the two men led to Weintraub's departure after five months. The Karate Kid had several sequels, all produced by Weintraub, The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and The Next Karate Kid (1994).

Weintraub formed Weintraub Entertainment Group (WEG) in February 1987 with $461 million in financing from Columbia Pictures, Cineplex Odeon and others. WEG also signed a 20-year distribution deal with Columbia, and planned to release seven or more movies per year. In 1990 WEG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Weintraub would then produce for Warner Bros. WEG also subsequently settled a suit brought against it by Columbia.

Weintraub's later films as producer were Happy New Year (1987), Pure Country (1992), The Specialist (1994), Vegas Vacation (1997), The Newton Boys (1998), The Avengers (1998), Soldier (1998), Nancy Drew (2007), The Karate Kid (2010), and the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven, for which he founded the company JW Productions. In addition to producing the sequels Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007), he appeared in all the Ocean's films. Weintraub had a small role in Vegas Vacation (1997) as "Gilly from Philly" a high roller casino gambler with two pals, and in The Firm (1993).

He was executive producer of HBO's series, The Brink, and HBO's Behind the Candelabra in 2013, an Emmy-winning drama about the last ten years in the life of pianist Liberace. In 2014, he also won an Emmy as co-producer of Years of Living Dangerously, a television documentary about global warming.

A television documentary film about Weintraub's life, called His Way, directed by Douglas McGrath, was broadcast on HBO in 2011. On a 2010 television appearance of The View, Weintraub made a handshake deal with Whoopi Goldberg to play the next God in a future Oh, God! sequel, should a favorable script become available. Weintraub had agreed to produce a new adaptation of The Legend of Tarzan for Warner Bros. which was released on July 1, 2016.

Philanthropy
Weintraub was a major contributor to many charities, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Music Center, the UCLA School of Dentistry and the Children's Museum of Los Angeles. In 1988, the American Friends of the Hebrew University gave Weintraub and his wife, Jane, the Scopus Award in gratitude for their support. He was also a major supporter of Chabad and was close with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

He also began doing charitable work to help stop the ongoing genocide taking place in Darfur in 2007. Weintraub, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, and Brad Pitt cofounded the nonprofit organization, Not On Our Watch, dedicated to preventing mass killings in Darfur and other areas of the world. They raised $9.3 million to aid their relief efforts.

Personal life
Weintraub was married twice. His first wife was Janice Greenberg, a dentist's daughter from his Bronx neighborhood who had been singer Julius La Rosa's secretary. They had a son, Michael.

Weintraub's second wife was singer and actress Jane Morgan, who was 13 years his senior. Their relationship went from professional to personal and the two were married in 1965 when she was 41 and he was 28. They adopted three daughters. The couple separated in the 1980s, but never divorced. For 20 years until his death, Weintraub had been living with his girlfriend and longtime companion, Susan Ekins.

Weintraub supported both political parties at various times in his life. However, it is widely noted that he was friends with both George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. He also had a strong spiritual side, which he once described to television host Larry King. He was a devotee of The Lubavitcher Rebbe and believed in his mystical powers.

Death
Weintraub died from cardiac arrest in Santa Barbara, California, on July 6, 2015, at the age of 77.

Following the announcement of his death, celebrities and friends paid tribute to Weintraub. "Jerry was an American original, who earned his success by the sheer force of his instinct, drive, and larger-than-life personality," said former president George H.W. Bush, a longtime friend. "He had a passion for life, and throughout the ups and downs of his prolific career it was clear just how much he loved show business."

"He was a force of nature," said actor and director Carl Reiner. Actor Don Cheadle wrote, "Jerry was to me equal parts Godfather, rainmaker, caretaker, PT Barnum and friend." George Clooney, star of the Ocean's movies, said that "in the coming days there will be tributes about our friend Jerry Weintraub. We'll laugh at his great stories, and applaud his accomplishments. And in the years to come, the stories and accomplishments will get better with age, just as Jerry would have wanted it. But not today. Today our friend died."

He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

 * As an actor

 * Thanks

Awards and honors
In 1986, the National Association of Theatre Owners named Weintraub the Producer of the Year. In 1991, he was named to the board of the Kennedy Center. Weintraub was one of the first independent film producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. 2012 he was honored with the Career Achievement Award of Zurich Film Festival.

title: Jerry Weintraub


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User talk:Robin Patterson/archive2004

[This is most of the material from 2004.]

re: VfD
Apology for the bars and lack of asterisks in my VfD Zeal defence. Thank you for the polite response and action. (The formatting DID look a bit out of line!) robinp 00:54, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * No problem! ;-) Davodd 05:11, Feb 24, 2004 (UTC)

New Zealand places
Hi, I've created a WikiProject for New Zealand Places.

Cheers.

Ben Arnold 04:23, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Maori
Hi Robin,

Perhaps your appeal for help on the Maori Wikipedia's Macron boilerplate might be better off in the Village Pump or the Reference Desk as I don't know how to add content outside the text box. (If you haven't put it there already of course...). Lisiate 21:21, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)
 * Sorted soon after, thanks - Robin

NZ/Philippine LGUs
I've seen your WikiProject New Zealand Places and it seems that the local government "units" aren't as strictly defined as in the Philippines'. On the other hand, New Zealand says that NZ does have defined local territorial units. I suggest that you guys decide how to represent the "series" of articles. The questions that remain unanswered in my WikiProject is basically what to name the articles. Sorry if I wasn't of much help. --seav 21:37, Apr 21, 2004 (UTC)

Fiji Coups of 1987
Hi Robin, Thank you for signing my talk page. It's good to hear from you. Yes, I agree, that's a sorry-looking stub at the moment. I didn't create the stub, only the empty link - but with the intention of writing a full-length article. Like you, I could write quite a lot about them from memory, but I have a perfectionist streak in me that tends to hold back until I've done the necessary research. I'm currently reading a book about the coups, and will be writing an article accordingly in the next few days/weeks. As you can see, I've been doing quite a bit of writing about Fiji; I have literally dozens of articles planned. I'm also writing a commentary on the Constitution of Fiji, and am currently bogged down in Chapter 7 - which I've been promising (on the Talk:Constitution of Fiji page for about two months now. It won't be long in coming now - but as I said, that perfectionist streak in me tends to wait until I have (a) the words in my mind about what to write, and (b) the mood to write. I think I need to loosen up a bit:-)

Anyway, stay tuned, and I'll write that article on the 1987 coups. Now that you've reminded me, I'll move it to the top of my priority list, so you'll see it sooner rather than later:-) David Cannon 11:21, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Maori User Pages
Hello again! Thank you SO much for creating a user page for me on the Maori Wikipedia. No, I had not noticed it until you drew my attention to it. Sometimes I overlook details-:) I hope to make a contribution to the Maori Wikipedia when my knowledge of the language has improved sufficiently.  (I began learning it a number of years back but it's been in, ah, suspended animation, if you could call it that, for quite a while. I fully intend to get back to it when I am able, however). Anyway, it was so good of you to think of me in that way! David Cannon 12:25, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Hi Robin! Thanks for the welcome to the Maori 'pedia, I'm glad to see it's getting some substantial traffic. Unfortunately I don't know the language at all; what happened is that we have an obsessive problem user who has a hobby of making accounts on all the Wikipedias using my handle, so Tim Starling set me up an account on all of them automatically. I can put a message to that effect on my user page if you think it would be helpful. - Hephaestos|§ 23:10, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I have made a trivial user page for myself at maori (mi:User:Maximus Rex), linking to my english user page. I am glad to see that there is activity there. Since I don't know maori, I am unlikely to do any substantial editing there. I wish you luck, and if you have any general wikipedia questions, don't hesitate to ask on my talk page. Maximus Rex 23:25, 27 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Counties in New Zealand
In your recent edit to County, you wrote the summary "New Zealand - plenty more detail if anyone wants it!" Yes of course! Wikipedians are a knowledge-hungry bunch. Now, if you got a ton more, you should start move most of what you've got about NZ counties from County to something like New Zealander county and leave a paragraph of summary in County. If we cram to much stuff on all 80 countries' counties in County, it'd be too full. Go ahead! --Menchi 04:19, 29 Apr 2004 (UTC)

List of sitcom writers
That kind of project makes my eyes glaze over ;o) I have a reference work here with such a list - a full list of such writers (not just sitcom, all comedy) - and the idea of prodding that into an edit box hardly speaks of fun.

So, my method will probably be to try and do ONE person justice every day, or every few days: a nice bio, making sure he/she gets a mention elsewhere when appropriate, that sort of thing.

At the moment I am still in the inital stages of Wikiholism, dreams, hearing words underlined, staying on the computer for over 12 hours a day... I am rather hoping this phase will pass and I'll sit down with a more productive, focused attitude. --bodnotbod 20:54, May 5, 2004 (UTC)

belated reply
Sorry about the delay, I only just saw your comments, April 15th re neutral POV on Maori issues. I don't expect to be contributing to the Maori Wikipedia, there is a huge gap between speaking the language (badly) and writing it. Chers ping 07:46, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

and I second that
Tena koe Robin, sorry for not replying to your message of May 11 on my talk page. I've been timing out over the past few days, trying to decide whether to quit wiki for good. Re Maori wiki, I feel the same as Ping, that there is a big diff between speaking te reo badly, and writing it.
 * Ouch, sorry for not signing that message Robin. Moriori 23:50, May 14, 2004 (UTC)

Exam candidate
Hey Robin, thanks for leaving me a note on my talk page. How did you find me? I only joined the Wikipedia a month ago or so, and haven't made a whole lot of edits. I'm supposed to be doing a US History paper now, so I'd better finish it. Homework is a bit harder when you start typing internal links into it... — Braaropolis | Talk 00:45, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

NZ local govt
Nice work on the local government section of the NZ page. :) Ben Arnold 08:25, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for the welcome, appreciated :-) Camipco 22:37, 27 May 2004 (UTC)

Thank you so much for your sympathy. I've been browbeaten ever since I came on this site, and I greatly appreciate your kindness and your suggestions. For the moment, however, I have more serious concerns than getting credit for past articles. Moriori has crossed a legal line, and I am also dealing with another equally bullying webmaster, so right now I'm busy fighting on two fronts. You can send me your suggestions and they would be greatly appreciated, but do not be offended if I don't use your information for some time to come. Thanks again. User: Felix F. Bruyns (added, 3 Jun 2004; moved next day to bottom of page for chronological clarity)

Hi Robin, thank you so much for letting me know how to get my previous anonymous edits attributed to my username. I had been scouring the help desk but had not located that piece of information yet. So, now I have been able to put in that request, thanks to you. I guarantee you I will duly pore over your Polynesian-related contributions as soon as I get a chance. Right now, I'm into tweaking the Caucasian and Alarodian languages... Pasquale 21:15, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Hi Robin,

Thanks for your welcome. No wonder Wikipedia receives the Best Community awards that is has. I feel glad to be a part of it.

Regards, FNN

Thanks For your welcome message!!! From User:Squash

Thanks for the welcome message. Yeah, that's a good point about the cricket grounds. I'll look for any existing ones at different names and set up redirects if I find any. --dmmaus 01:35, 2 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Strange Interwiki Link and more about Maori
Kia Ora, Robin! You're right, that link redirects. I decided that it would be best to keep all my "talk" together in one place, because I'm not omnipresent. I got the idea from User:Fuzzheado, who had a redirect link from his Meta page and explained to me how it worked when I asked. I have quite a lot of Wikipedia accounts (no, I don't speak all those languages, but can passively understand many of them (sorta!) in their written form, or with the aid of an electronic translator.

I have a number of Maori Books and am hoping to improve my knowledge of te reo to the point where I'll be able to contribute to the Maori Wikipedia.

By the way, it's great to hear from you again. David Cannon 22:26, 6 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Hello Robin. I was just having a look at the article, Maori in response to your recent edit and noticed again the paragraph on Maori and Lego/Denmark. I am not familiar with the incident, never heard of it until I read it here. But I wondered if it had been serious enough to include in this article? Or is there possible another, more "central" example of this issue? Cheers ping 08:03, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Kia ora Robin, I have been off-line for a couple of weeks and only just picked up your message; too late for Maori Language Week. However I will give the matter some thought although as I said before, my ability to write Maori is very rudimentary. I can speak it, sort of, not much more than formulaic phrases, but that's about it really. Ka ki te ano, ping 08:34, 3 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Prohibited from Maori Wikipedia
You're really not helping, you know. I now have an overwhelming urge to learn enough Maori to contribute. Wikiholism is a terrible thing. --   ALargeElk | Talk 08:45, 14 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
I thought I'd finally get around to thanking you for the greeting that you left when I first arrived! Having a good time so far, but there are a few things that are annoying. I may be passing through Wellington in Sept/Oct, so you may well get a beer out of me. Cheers, Noisy 22:59, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Could you be more specific?
I took a look at your message, and then at all the changes I've made (which are precious few so far), and I don't see anything that I've done so far that would qualify. All spelling changes have been minor, for example throught->throughout and humanities->humanity's (refering to the possessive, which was clear from the context already in place). So, could you be more specific?

Thanks,

Emeraldimp 03:11, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Better? :-P Thanks, though.  Just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed something! Emeraldimp 03:39, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for the welcome, Robin. And your enhancements to the Waitakere page - good work. Cheers - Ian Ford 01:38, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Adminship
Kia Ora, Robin! I have nominated you for adminship. To accept or (preferably not) decline the nomination, please click on the link. I think you're ideal for the position. David Cannon 01:58, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Green Username
You're very welcome, Mr. Patterson! Here are the tags for green text. Copy this:

Good luck! -- Merovingian ✍  Talk  16:13, Jul 29, 2004 (UTC)

Admins
Hi Robin! I would like to support you for adminship, but before I do, I wanted to ask about someone else who also is or was a sysop on the Maori Wikipedia. What's the situation with Perl over there these days? I would be interested in any comments you have about that situation. --Michael Snow 16:24, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the link, from the contributions it looks like Perl's activity over there has stopped. --Michael Snow 20:45, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Bruce Beetham Search
Kia Ora, Robin! I'm a little surprised that my reference to a yet-to-be-written article scored so high in your search. Hopefully the article itself, when written, will be as successful. I, too, was a very strong supporter of Bruce Beetham when he was in politics; I don't think the establishment was fair to him. My article will be as flattering as our NPOV policy will allow. David Cannon 23:07, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Sysop
Congratulations! Consensus has been reached on RfA, you are now an administrator. You should read the relevant policies and other pages linked to from the administrators' reading list before carrying out tasks like deletion, protection, banning users, and editing protected pages such as the Main Page. Most of what you do is easily reversible by other sysops, apart from page history merges and image deletion, so please be especially careful with those. You might find the new administrators' how-to guide helpful. Cheers! -- Cecropia | Talk 03:52, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Yeah, congratulations Robin! —Stormie 04:42, Aug 4, 2004 (UTC)
 * Congratulations! Noisy 10:14, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Woops, two have already beaten me to it! Anyway, congratulations, Robin!  I knew you'd make it!  BTW, I'm sorry I made the mistake the other day of writing on your user page instead of here.  I must have been half asleep-)  Once again, I'm so glad you've been appointed - you'll make a great sysop. David Cannon 10:44, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Somes Island
Hello, Zocky. I deliberately created a Somes Island page to cover the island that had no other name for about 120 years. You turned it into a redirect. Is it WP policy to name areas only by their most recent names? If it is, please direct me to a discussion of it. Then on that principle maybe you can push for the deletion of the "British Empire" page, for example. (You cut out the sentence about Somes Island that covered many decades of history that would have been quite significant in many people's lives.) Robin Patterson 11:41, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * It's not about policy, it's about duplication. The two articles were almost the same and one linked to the other, making it look like unintentional duplication. Sorry for cutting out the sentence, that wasn't intentional. No offence intended whatsoever.
 * Is there a lot of history about the island connected to its old name? If so, you could write an article about it at Somes Island and write about the island itself and its present state at Matiu/Somes Island. Until there's enough different text on both to have meaningful separate articles, it's probably best if both the island and its history are described at Matiu/Somes Island. Alternatively, you could write such stubs that would make the scope of both articles clear. Zocky 12:06, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Robin's reply at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Zocky#Somes_Island

Opinion on Timeline of New Zealand history ?
Robin, can you have a look at Timeline of New Zealand history when you get a chance? I think I've started this the wrong way. See the Talk page for how I think I should fix. Long term I'd like something like what Canada has. SimonLyall 09:21, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

2004 muck up
Hi there; thanks for the head's up. I think I've fixed it; all the anon editor did was add an entry of "October 23 - 2004 World Series starts." under predicted events. He then made a second edit very shortly thereafter which duplicated everything. Whether this was intentional or not I can't determine, but there is a known bug which causes this to happen out of the blue. Hope this helps. Cheers, -- Hadal 18:48, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Thank you for responding
Thank you for responding to my appeal on the Fundamental category. What if we transfer the thread of conversation to Category talk:Fundamental. I will alert the folks on the Main Page that we will pick up the conversation there. Ancheta Wis 01:42, 2 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Your note on my talk page (cje)
Thanks for your note; Yes it is THE Open University - that is, if you mean the Open University based in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom. However, I don't understand your comment on my deleting headings. I don't remember doing that - or perhaps I should say, I don't remember meaning to do that? Maybe I deleted something in error. Could you clarify?
 * --Cje 17:44, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC) --- (Robin has since answered on Chris's talk page) And Chris said "Got it! Thanks" --Cje 08:04, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Cheers
Thanks very much for the note. I appreciated the user page contribution, by the way. :)

I'm trying to work out what my earliest edits where - I thought they were something Australian. . . I'll do a bit of a trawl. I'll see what I can add as re Brisbane - I'll be making a concerted effort to improve wikipedia coverage at some stage in the indefinite future, and i'll see if i can dig up more material then.

Anyway, hope to see you round the place! Lacrimosus 12:08, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for the welcoming note you left on my talk page. It's good to be a part of the global Wikipedia community. - Walkiped 16:09, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)

World Citizens
Hi Robin. Great to have you added to the world citizens page. Feel free to edit it if you think things need to be changed at all. Yeah, I think now with two people at least, people could start trickling in. Best wishes to you, Brett. [[User:Brettz9|Brettz9 (talk)]] 16:31, 16 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the welcome
No worries - for quite a while I was too scared to do anything, but since I registered I've become another Wikiholic - I'm trying to get some support from the HeavenGames community to expand that article and write sections for more of the games. - Alphax 04:18, Sep 29, 2004 (UTC)

Mystery user on mi:
It's Node-ue. You might find this email interesting. Angela. 16:01, Oct 2, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for your comment on my Maori seats edit. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Maori grammar is almost non-existent - I can translate individual words, and steal phrases (see my mi: user page), but I need a lot more study before I can actually make articles. I intend to change that as quickly as possible, though - I'm trying to learn Maori properly, and composing basic Wikipedia articles seems to be a good way to do it. -- Vardion 11:44, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the expression of confidence. I'll see what I can do with regards the Maori Wikipedia - my contributions will probably be somewhat erratic, but I'll see if I can find things to do that don't exceed by grammatical ability. Perhaps a map of New Zealand with Maori placenames would be a place to start. I'll find something, though. -- Vardion 10:42, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for your comments. I'm afraid I may give up. I'm tired of talking to brick walls and dealing with bastards who just keep inserting POV stuff and winding back any changes that they don't like, without even attempting to discuss anything. I'm on the verge of leaving. Shorne 03:57, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Thanks (third time in a row)
Thanks for fixing the Alpha Centauri link in my games-watchlist! I'd be curious how you found my sort-of-watchlist in the first place? --Conti|✉

 * Same idea, thanks for the kind words. ;) Krupo 03:49, Oct 27, 2004 (UTC)

Niuean language
Hi Robin, thanks for your comment. I've replied on my Talk page. -- pne 04:58, 2 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the greets
Hi, thanks for the greetings! I'm sure we'll run into each another by and by, as there's a lot of NZ and the rest of the world still to cover. Ziggurat 09:37, Nov 6, 2004 (UTC)

Wikifriends
Hi Robin. I was just wondering why you added yourself to my friends list. Have we spoken or worked on the same pages and I wasn't paying attention? If not, how did you come across my user page? Nicholas 19:54, 6 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Stub Contest
Hi Robin - go for it with Tapanui if you like... and have a look at the difference I've made to the Coromandel Peninsula page! Grutness 11:20, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Nauruan Wikipedia/Wiktionary
Hi Robin, was it you who edited many of the nauruan articles and posted the warning about the incorrectness of the nauruan words there? Or is it now just a translation in Maori language...??? -- CdaMVvWgS 21:35, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Kia Or, Robin! Great to hear from you again. I'm so pleased to know that somebody - you - is doing his bit to ensure that the Pacific wikipedias get built! Every little bit helps. That reminds me that at some point I'll have to decide to get a little less busy on EN so that I can help out on the Maori one from time to time. I'll get around to it someday ... Have a great day:-) David Cannon 20:39, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Verifiability
Can you provide anything to support this claim? I'm not disbelieving you, I'm sure it's been used for a long time, but it would be great to find some evidence of it, in print or some sort of other record. — David Remahl 21:29, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

ROT13 before ROT13
Hi! Thanks for chipping in on ROT13 pre-Usenet. I don't suppose you know of a source we could use, the whole Verifiability think and all that? (I've put a note also at: Talk:ROT13) — Matt 21:38, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Arbitration Committee Election Get Out the Vote Effort
Hi Robin,

You helped me out with some tips about table editing before. Also, you asked me about joining a list of world citizens (I'm still thinking about that one.)

The list of world citizens is just the kind of thing that shows the diversity of opinions here on Wikipedia.

Its important that this diverse range of viewpoints be represented in the makeup of the Arbitration Committee, and I think the best way to make that happen is to help to increase voter turnout.

One of the technical people on this site, who goes by the name Danny, helped me to make a very convenient tag that makes it super easy to place this "get out the vote" banner on your user page:

If you support helping to increase voter turnout, please consider adding this tag to your user page, as a great many pages link to your user page.

Thanks in advance if you choose to help out. If there are any issues which prevent you from doing so, please let me know - I would be happy to make a custom version of this tag just for your page if that's what it takes for you to proudly display it.

If you choose to display this banner, please put the tag as near to the top as your aesthetic sense will permit. :)

Regards,

--DV 17:35, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

New feature to control campaign messages
Hi Robin,

Thank you for your earlier decision to support the "get out the vote" banner. It's been a resounding success, with users adding links to it at an astounding rate!

I'm writing to you now about a longer term issue that will affect not only the December Arbitration Committee Election, but all future elections on Wikipedia.

It seems that some folks are truly put upon when it comes to campaign messages, even to the point of not wanting other users to receive such messages.

I'm really not sure what to make of Administrators who are running for election, but don't want individual contributors to receive campaign related messages on their user talk pages - even if those users have explicitly requested to receive such messages.

I understand the desire not to politicize elections. But aren't voters wise enough to make their own decision to choose to receive such messages and make up their own minds?

I also respect privacy, and if users indicate they do not want campaign messages, there should be harsh sanctions for campaigners who ignore those wishes.

Please check out the proposal at Software and features, and vote to approve a new feature that allows users to control whether or not they receive campaign messages.

I'm hopeful that if users are allowed to explicitly declare their willingness to receive such messages, that others will not feel quite so offended.

If you'll support this effort, I think it will go a long ways towards increasing voter turnout in future elections.

Thanks in advance if you choose to help out.

Cheers,

--DV 12:04, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

P.S.: I've been impressed by the ability of the contributors on Wikipedia to find creative solutions to difficult issues, so if you have additional, creative ideas of your own, I would like to hear from you.

Article Licensing
Hi, I've started a drive to get users to multi-license all of their contributions that they've made to either (1) all U.S. state, county, and city articles or (2) all articles, using the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC-by-sa) v1.0 and v2.0 Licenses or into the public domain if they prefer. The CC-by-sa license is a true free documentation license that is similar to Wikipedia's license, the GFDL, but it allows other projects, such as WikiTravel, to use our articles. Since you are among the top 2000 Wikipedians by edits, I was wondering if you would be willing to multi-license all of your contributions or at minimum those on the geographic articles. Over 90% of people asked have agreed. For More Information:
 * Multi-Licensing FAQ - Lots of questions answered
 * Multi-Licensing Guide
 * Free the Rambot Articles Project

To allow us to track those users who muli-license their contributions, many users copy and paste the " " template into their user page, but there are other options at Template messages/User namespace. The following examples could also copied and pasted into your user page:

 * Option 1
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions, with the exception of my user pages, as described below:

OR
 * Option 2
 * I agree to multi-license all my contributions to any U.S. state, county, or city article as described below:

Or if you wanted to place your work into the public domain, you could replace " " with "  ". If you only prefer using the GFDL, I would like to know that too. Please let me know what you think at my talk page. It's important to know either way so no one keeps asking. -- Ram-Man (comment| talk)

Thanks
Thanks with your proofreading when the Civil Union stuff went down. It was a bit of a marathon effort for me. I wanted to get it all submitted and to get down to the party to hobnob with the rich and famous, so it helped to know someone else had looked over it. :) Ben Arnold 00:19, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Plimmerton suburb table
Thanks with the improvements to the suburb infotable at Plimmerton. I must admit I was flying totally blind when I made the table - I'd never done one before and was adapting what I'd seen on another table (Mountains, I think). Looks much easier to work out what goes where with the one you put in. So... where can I find "standard WP table syntax"? 13:32, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Robin Patterson/archive2004


text:
Echinacea angustifolia

Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of the Great Plains of central Canada and the central United States, with additional populations in surrounding regions.

E. angustifolia is a perennial herb with spindle-shaped taproots that are often branched. The stems and leaves are moderately to densely hairy. The plant produces flower heads each at the end of a long peduncle. Each flower head contains 8–21 pink or purple ray florets plus 80–250 orange disc florets.

Echinacea angustifolia blooms in late spring to mid-summer. Two subspecies are used by some botanists, but are regarded as illegitimate by Flora of North America (FNA) and Plants of the World Online (POWO):

 * Echinacea angustifolia subsp. angustifolia is native to central Canada and the central United States from Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the north to New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana in the south.
 * Echinacea angustifolia subsp. strigosa has a more limited range in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

Morphology
The word "Echinacea" is derived from the Greek word "echinos" which means sea urchin or hedgehog; a feature that can be observed in the flower head of the plant.

Echinacea angustifolia is about 10–50 cm in length.

The plant consists of white to pink or deep purple flower petals that characteristically wilt downwards, while the ray florets of the flower head range from green to red-brown in color. The leaves are dark green and can be oblong-lanceolate or elliptical in shape. The plant has pubescent stems with rhizomes present underground.

Reproduction and life cycle
The plant does not self pollinate and requires assistance from bee pollinators in the reproduction process. In Echinacea angustifolia there is greater success in pollination between mates that are at a closer proximity between one another. Echinacea angustifolia is an herbaceous perennial plant, producing flowers and living more than two years at a time. The plant is known to grow at a slow rate and is drought-resistant to help the plant survive in its temperate grassland habitat.

Chemistry

Greater root density is observed in Echinacea angustifolia growing in higher latitude, in turn, producing a greater quantity of polyphenols and alkylamides available in the root extract.

Although it is used in herbal medicine there is mixed consensus that it is effective or safe for treating disease.

Range and habitat
Echinacea angustifolia grows in the drier parts of the tallgrass prairie, the mixed grass prairie, and the shortgrass prairie in North America, in a range of soils from rocky to sandy-clay. It is recorded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS) as growing in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming. The FNA largely agrees with this, but do not record it in New York and PLANTS only records it in Monroe County, NY.

Cultivation
The wildflower gardening author Claude A. Barr regarded narrow-leaved purple coneflower as, "bold, spectacular, and beautiful." Though he did disagree with the common name, pointing out that it is more pink than purple in most cases. Though gravelly or stony soil is a preference of the plant in the wild, they survive in normal garden soil provided they are not crowded by other plants. Most often it is propagated by seed, but can also be grown from around 10 centimeter sections of taproot from younger plants. They are set upright under 2–3 centimeters of soil with controlled moisture to start new root and top growth.

title: Echinacea angustifolia


text:
Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Slovakia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times, debuting in. It had attempted to debut in, but did not pass through the qualifying round. In the first three finals that Slovakia participated in, it placed no better than 18th, which it achieved in. Due to poor results, Slovakia was relegated in and, and eventually withdrew in. The country returned in, although it withdrew again within four years, having failed to qualify for the final every year since its return.

Before participation
During the time of Czechoslovakia, Československá televize (ČST) is known to have broadcast a number of editions of the contest in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Karel Gott, one of the most popular Czechoslovakian artist, represented Austria in the 1968 contest, held in London, United Kingdom. Furthermore, the Prague Theatre of Illuminated Drawings from the Czech capital performed as interval act in the 1984 contest, held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Czechoslovakia was even a member of EBU for a short time before its dissolution in 1993.

Debut and first span of participation (1993–1998)
Slovakia had planned on entering the contest at the 1993 contest, but with the introduction of many new countries, a preliminary round was held to trim down the number of new entries. Kvalifikacija za Millstreet took place on 3 April 1993 and was hosted by Radiotelevizija Slovenija in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The competition featured seven countries competing for only three places in the final. Slovakia was represented by internally selected band Elán with "Amnestia na neveru" and came fourth in the contest, just one point away from qualification behind Croatia, and therefore had to wait another year before entering again. Despite the non-qualification for the event, STV did send a commentary team to Millstreet, Ireland and broadcast coverage of the contest on the broadcaster's main channel.

Slovakia made its first official appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 in Dublin, where the country was represented for the first time by Tublatanka with "Nekonečná pieseň". Slovakia's first attempt proved reasonably unsuccessful, with the band receiving points from just two countries; three points from Greece and a surprising twelve points from Malta placing the country nineteenth on the leaderboard. This was unfortunately not enough to guarantee a spot for Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, with the then EBU rules specifying that the bottom seven countries would be relegated the following year. STV then decided to not even broadcast the 1995 contest.

In 1996, Slovakia returned to the Eurovision Song Contest, with STV deciding to internally select their representative for the third time in a row. Ultimately, Marcel Palonder was internally selected to represent Slovakia in Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Kým nás máš". Due to the rising number of countries wishing to participate, in 1996 the EBU introduced an audio-only qualification round. Slovakia managed to qualify in seventeenth place in a field of twenty-nine and progressed to the final. Here, Slovakia achieved their best result to date, placing eighteenth with nineteen points. However, it was not enough to guarantee participation in the 1997 contest and Slovakia was, once again, relegated.

For the 1998 contest, which was held in Birmingham in the United Kingdom, STV selected their artist through the national final Bratislavská Lýra 1998 - a contest which held previously been held during the existence of Czechoslovakia but revived for the purpose of selecting Slovakia's artist for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event took place on 7 June 1997, in which Katarína Hasprová took victory and was hence selected by STV to represent the country at the 1998 contest. The broadcaster internally selected "Modlitba" to be sung by Hasprová. At the contest, Slovakia only managed to receive eight points - all of which came from Croatia. This was the country's last participation for a number of years.

First withdrawal (1999–2008)
Due to a poor average score, Slovakia was automatically excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 and would therefore not be eligible to participate until 2000. However, after being due to return, STV withdrew due to financial concerns. Throughout the early 2000s, the Eurovision project was mainly ignored by STV. After the first appearance of Slovakia's neighbour: the Czech Republic in, the program director of Slovenská Televízia (STV), Peter Lipták, stated on 11 May 2007 that STV would like to participate in the 2008 contest, but due to a lack of financial funds Slovakia did not make a return.

Second span of participation (2009–2012)
On 24 September 2008, STV announced their return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 after an eleven-year absence. The program director of STV Roman Lipták stated that the pressure from local artists was the driving force behind the country's return. Upon their return, STV organised a large-scale national final to select their entry. Eurosong 2009 consisted of six shows which commenced on 15 February 2009 and concluded with a final on 8 March 2009. The competition resulted in the selection of Slovak duo Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková with "Leť tmou". At the contest, the entry only received eight points and failed to qualify for the competition. For the 2010 contest, STV held the same national selection method, which resulted in the selection of Kristína with "Horehronie". Despite being a bookies and fan favourite, the song failed to qualify to the final - finishing in sixteenth place with twenty-four points.

Though STV originally stated that Slovakia would not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, it eventually did appear in Düsseldorf represented by the new national public broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), which had been created on 1 January 2011. On 18 February 2011, RTVS revealed their choice for Slovakia's 2011 entry. The song was "I'm Still Alive" and was performed by twin sisters Daniela and Veronika Nízlová, known as the pop duo TWiiNS. The sisters had prior experience at Eurovision as backing singers and dancers for Tereza Kerndlová, the Czech entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The 2011 entry was the first Slovak entry performed in English. TWiiNS eventually finished 13th in their semi-final, thereby not qualifying for the final. RTVS sent an entry to the contest in 2012, with a song that was selected internally. At a press conference on 7 March 2012, the Slovak entry for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest was announced as Max Jason Mai with the song "Don't Close Your Eyes". It was performed in the second semi-final, held on 24 May 2012 and did not qualify in the final, placing last with 22 points.

Second withdrawal (2013–present)
On 4 December 2012, RTVS announced its withdrawal from the 2013 contest, beginning an absence that has continued in every edition since. However, RTVS returned to Eurovision Young Dancers in 2015, with RTVS explaining that their return to Eurovision Young Dancers was in support of domestic production and promoted national culture at a European level. RTVS' PR manager, Juraj Kadáš, explained in April 2016 that Slovakia's absence from the contest since 2012 was not due to poor results, but rather the costs associated with participation. This was reiterated in May 2023 by Filip Púchovský from the PR department of RTVS, adding that if Slovakia were to return to the contest, their artist would likely have to fund themselves rather than by the broadcaster.

On 8 August 2023, the head of marketing communication at RTVS, Zuzana Vicelová, stated that the broadcaster was considering a return to the contest in 2025, following a restructuring of the broadcaster's financing model by the Slovak government, with the support of general director Ľuboš Machaj. The following month, Machaj declared that the broadcaster was actively working to secure the funding needed to participate in 2025. On 8 April 2024, RTVS announced that it would not return to the contest in 2025 due to budget cuts, putting any potential return in jeopardy.

Delegation members
The public broadcaster of each participating country in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.

Conductors
Between 1993 and 1998, Slovakia sent a native conductor to the contest every year the country took part until the orchestra was dropped by the EBU in 1999.

Commentators and spokespersons
For the show's broadcast on STV and RTVS, various commentators have provided commentary on the contest in the Slovak language. At the Eurovision Song Contest after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite each respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen. In 2011, Rádio FM began broadcasting the final of the contest, a broadcast which has continued every year (with the exception of 2022) since Slovakia's withdrawal in 2012.

title: Slovakia in the Eurovision Song Contest


text:
Deliberative opinion poll

A deliberative opinion poll, sometimes called a deliberative poll, is a form of opinion poll taken before and after significant deliberation. Professor James S. Fishkin of Stanford University first described the concept in 1988. The typical deliberative opinion poll takes a random, representative sample of citizens and engages them in deliberation on current issues or proposed policy changes through small-group discussions and conversations with competing experts to create more informed and reflective public opinion. Deliberative polls have been run around the world, including recent experiments to conduct discussions virtually in the United States, Hong Kong, Chile, Canada and Japan.

Process
The Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University described its process as:

 * 1) A random, representative sample is first polled on the issue(s)
 * 2) Members of the sample are invited to gather in order to discuss the issue(s) (online or in-person)
 * 3) Carefully balanced briefing materials are sent to the participants and are also made publicly available (along with other aspects of the deliberations).
 * 4) The participants talk to competing experts and political leaders, asking questions they develop in small group discussions with trained moderators.
 * 5) The sample is again polled (with a private questionnaire) on the original questions. The resulting changes in opinion represent the conclusions the public would likely reach, if they had opportunity to participate in the deliberative process. By measuring both before and after judgments, policymakers and the media have more insight into the process and its impacts on participants.

Fishkin argues that during deliberation, discussions should strive for political equality, where everyone's voice is given equal consideration. This can be achieved through discussions that:
 * are backed by reasonably truthful claims,
 * give space for arguments both for and against the proposal,
 * remain polite and listen to others,
 * focus on the merit of the arguments, and
 * cover a diverse array of perspectives from substantial portions of the population.

Logistically, deliberative opinion polls are very similar to other deliberative gatherings like citizens' assemblies. A couple areas where deliberative polling might differ is that a deliberative poll always has 100 to 200 participants, to ensure a statistically significant sample. In addition, deliberative polling emphasizes measuring opinion change after receiving new information and discussion rather than finding common areas of agreement or concrete policy proposals. The goal is to allow the researcher to get a reliable estimate of citizens' preferences both as-is and after an extensive process of deliberation about an issue. Experiments in online polling using an AI moderator have led study authors to conclude that the AI model tested was as effective as human moderators according to participant evaluations, allowing polls to be conducted more often at a reduced cost. While in-person deliberations should pay for childcare, venues, moderators, hotels, and stipends to achieve a representative sample, online deliberations seem to only need to offer increased bandwidth, technical support, newer devices and a smaller stipend to participants.

Online
In 2019, the Deliberative Democracy Lab and the Helena Group launched America in One Room, a deliberative poll of a representative sample of 526 Americans on various issues. Polling results found that in general voters seemed to move towards the center after their experience, with an effect lasting at least one year after the in-person gathering. Subsequent deliberative polls have been conducted online in groups of 10 using an AI moderator.

In person
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Fishkin's team selected a representative sample of the Chinese coastal township of Zeguo (pop. 120,000) in Wenling. Deliberative polling took place over a one- to three-day period after which recommendations were implemented. Most accounts found the pilot successful, leading to an expanded scope beyond public works projects to a process that determined the budget each year.

Between 1996 and 1998, Fishkin managed deliberative opinion polls for electric utilities in Texas as part of the state's integrated resource planning process. The participants underwent a significant shift in the percentage who agreed that it was worth higher costs to invest in energy efficiency and renewable resources. Those findings led to a higher renewable energy portfolio standard, shifting the utilities' focus toward energy efficiency and renewables, resulting in a relatively high percentage of wind power compared to other states.

On decision-makers
Deliberative polling can serve as important input mechanisms upstream in the policy making process. Fishkin does not advocate using deliberative polls for every public concern. For instance, crisis measures that demand instant decisions may not be appropriate. However, he advocates using it for most tasks, which could include the hiring of crisis managers.

Some, like Lafont, see voting where everyone can participate as more legitimate than random selection of decision-makers. Fishkin believes that once most skeptics experience a well-run deliberative process that they would find it more legitimate than elections. Both believe that legitimacy is improved if the public can see all the inputs (including briefing materials) that led to the decision, so that others can be included in the reasoning for and against to know whether their views were given a fair hearing. As both group dynamics and personalities of participants can play an important role in producing different outcomes of discussions, implementation is important for successful, legitimate deliberation.

On participants
Participants can come to learn and appreciate the circumstances and interests of competing arguments through extended discussions and deliberations. This can be achieved by:
 * 1) randomly assigning participants into small groups and
 * 2) having impartial moderators to ensure all the major arguments for and against major policy options are covered.

While participants become more engaged and knowledgeable, thoughtful conclusions are expected to emerge, leading to a better quality of public opinion. Fishkin has found that if people think their voice actually matters in the question at hand, then they'll study the material, ask tough questions and think for themselves with about 70% changing their minds in the process. Furthermore, it is also hoped that such poll can help increase deliberation among all members of the public. This led Fishkin and Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman to propose a national holiday called Deliberation Day to allow voters to gather in large and small groups to discuss political issues.

title: Deliberative opinion poll


text:
Hassan Evan Naseem

Hassan Evan Naseem (ހަސަން އީވާން ނަސީމް; 1984 – September 19, 2003), commonly referred to as Evan Naseem, is the person whose death became a lever for the current, open, political reform activities in the Maldives. He was serving a jail term at Maafushi Prison for drug offences when he was beaten to death by the National Security Service personnel of the Security unit during a riot which endangered the lives of the prison security personnel.

Early life
Evan attended Majeediyya School for his secondary education. He was jailed several times for drug offences and other related crimes.

Dispute between inmates
On September 19, 2003, inmates of Evan Naseem's cell crossed the partitions, on two occasions, to assault a person named Ali Didi who was detained in a different cell. This incident was reported to Maafushi Jail Office by the security unit in writing, along with two separate lists of people who crossed the partitions. Evan's name was not on either of the lists. Later the same day Evan's fellow inmates were throwing objects at other cells. The Officer-in-Charge of the Maafushi Jail Security Unit, Captain Adam Mohamed, exaggerated the matter to police headquarters at Malé. Adam Mohamed was given permission to remove the "troublemakers" from the cell (where Evan was) and to keep them handcuffed.

Later the same night a team of five security personnel came to Evan's cell with a list of people who were involved in assaulting Ali Didi and throwing objects at other cells. Though Evan's name was not on the list submitted earlier to Maafushi Jail Office, the new list included his name. As their names were read out, the men came out from the cell. When Evan's name was called out he refused to come out, saying he was not involved in any of the previous unrest or disputes. Upon his refusal one of the security personnel went into the cell and asked him to come out. He still refused to walk out and warned the security person not to come closer or touch him. The security man was attacked twice with a wooden plank as he went towards Evan. Soon after this incident, numerous members of the unit stormed into the cell. Evan then yieldingly walked out of the cell.

Death
After being removed from the cell, Evan was taken to a place called "Range" where he was kept separate from other inmates. There he was beaten up by 12 security personnel. He was beaten up with bare hands, wooden planks and riot batons. On various occasions he lost consciousness because of continuous beatings. When he no longer responded, he was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in the early morning of September 20, 2003. According to the medical reports he died on September 19, 2003, due to injuries sustained to his lungs. When his mother, Mariyam Manike, visited him in the hospital she noticed how sand was in his ears, and his eyes were soiled. After she noticed, she pulled the cover off his body and saw how he was beaten and tortured.

Unrest
Cellmates of Evan Naseem learned of his death the same day. This resulted in a protest which then lead to unrest in Maafushi Prison. To control this unrest NSS personnel at Maafushi shot several unarmed prisoners killing 3 and injuring 17 others.

News of the death of Evan broke out quickly in the capital city Malé. A large number of people gathered at his burial service. While people were at the cemetery, news of the shooting incident reached the already angry public. Civil unrest in Malé grew with this news. Several police stations were set on fire, government buildings were attacked, and government vehicles were set on fire or destroyed by the angry mob. The government controlled the unrest by around 2300hrs and declared a State of Emergency, for the first time in the country's history, in Malé and nearby islands. A curfew was imposed in Malé.

Investigation
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom established a presidential commission on September 20, 2003, to investigate the death of Evan Naseem and the shooting incident at Maafushi Prison. The findings of the commission were released to the public with the title "Report on the Death of Hassan Evan Naseem". However, several sections from the public report were omitted due to national security concerns. Chargers were pressed against 12 people, however 8 people were sentenced to death.

title: Hassan Evan Naseem


text:
User talk:Miri085

Pendekar Laut adalah antara karya terawal saudara Wan Yat Leung dari Hong Kong. Ia merupakan satu alih bahasa dari komik berbahasa mandrin bertajuk 'Tiger Shark'.

Secara ringkasnya Pendekar Laut berkisar mengenai usaha satu organisasi yang bergelar Sindeket Blue Dream untuk merubah dunia menjadi satu tempat yang lebih baik untuk diduki. Masalah timbul apabila cara yang diambil oleh Sindiket Blue Dream untuk mencapai cita - cita mereka tidak berpatutan dan menimbulkan tentangan dari beberapa pihak. Akibat obsesi untuk mengubah dunia kepada yang lebih baik, tanpa disedari oleh ketua Sindeket Blue Dream sebenarnya Sindiket Blue Dream ini lebih mengimpikan 'world domination'.

Komik ini terbit hanya untuk 144 keluaran. Di sepanjang hayat komik ini, ia telah dibahagikan kepada 3 bahagian utama yang dipanggil generasi. Pendekar Laut generasi I merangkumi episod 1-48, generasi II; 49-96, dan generasi III; 97-144.

Karektor utama komik ini adalah Pendekar Laut, Blue Dream, Orga, Jerung Raksasa, Penjejak Neraka, Harimau Bintang, dan Hitomi. Bermula dari watak - watak utama inilah bagaimana jalan cerita Pendekar Laut berkembang dan memukau ribuan pembaca di Malaysia dan jutaan lain di Hong Kong dari minggu ke minggu.

title: User talk:Miri085


text:
Richard Tarrant (politician)

Richard Edward Tarrant (born August 6, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Vermont in 2006, which he lost to U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders. Tarrant and his wife, Deborah, reside in Colchester, Vermont, where he works for his charitable foundation.

Early life
Tarrant was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in West Orange, New Jersey.

Tarrant initially went to Saint Bonaventure University and was a walk-on with the basketball team. He requested a scholarship but was denied. Tarrant then transferred to Saint Michael's College on a basketball scholarship and was a first-team All-American in his senior year. He led the Purple Knights to the Final Four of the 1965 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament, where they were defeated 93–70 by the University of Evansville, who had Jerry Sloan and Larry Humes, both All-Americans. In the consolation game of the same tournament, Tarrant played against Phil Jackson of North Dakota, who went on to fame as a player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the world champion Boston Celtics, but was cut before the first game of the season. Tarrant graduated from Saint Michael's in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then went to work for IBM in Burlington, Vermont, selling computer equipment in the northern part of the state.

Business career
In 1969, Tarrant and his business partners Robert Hoehl and, later, Paul Egerman founded Burlington Data Processing (BDP) with a Small Business Administration loan. The company changed its name to Interpretive Data System (IDS) and later to IDX Systems Corporation. BDP initially provided payroll and claims processing for physicians. By 2005, IDX had contracted with thousands of doctors' offices across the country, and provided computer technology for many of the United Kingdom's medical centers. Between 1995 and 2005, Tarrant was chairman of IDX's board. In 2006, General Electric bought IDX for $1.2 billion. Tarrant now lives in Colchester, Vermont, where he works for his charitable foundation.

Tarrant served as a member of the University of Vermont's Board of Trustees for several years and on the Saint Michael's College Board of Trustees. He donated funds to Saint Michael's for a new athletic center that was named in his parents' honor.

Philanthropy
Tarrant and his wife have created the Richard E. and Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation, which makes grants intended to enrich the quality of life in communities throughout Vermont. Its "primary areas of focus are basic human services, education and community-based grantmaking." In 2005, the Grantsmanship Center listed the foundation as one of the top 40 Vermont foundations in charitable giving. The foundation is prohibited from making any donations to pro-choice groups.

Most recently, Tarrant's foundation invested in the Milton public school system, providing monetary support for a pilot program ("Home School at School") that gave students an opportunity to learn at different paces.

In 2007, Tarrant's foundation gave $1 million toward the creation of a $1.8 million community center in Winooski, Vermont.

On December 18, 2018, the University of Vermont announced that Tarrant and his family had given $15 million for its new multi-purpose center, which will house the men's basketball team and be called the Tarrant Event Center. It is the second athletic-related facility that bears the Tarrant name in Vermont. In 1994, Tarrant donated $5 million toward the construction of St. Michael's College's student recreation center, which is named in honor of his parents.

2006 campaign for U.S. Senate
In 2005, Tarrant announced his candidacy for the US Senate seat vacated by the retirement of Independent Senator Jim Jeffords. On September 12, 2006, he won the Republican nomination, defeating US Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Parke and marijuana legalization activist Cris Ericson. Tarrant faced Independent Representative Bernie Sanders in the November general election. Sanders, who won the Democratic nomination but ran as an Independent, defeated Tarrant by 33 percentage points. The race proved to be the most expensive race in Vermont history with both candidates together spending close to $13 million. Tarrant spent roughly $7 million of his own money in the race and Sanders raised roughly $6.5 million and spent most of it. Tarrant's campaign was remarkable for its saturation of radio and television with a serial biography of the candidate and attack ads of Sanders.

title: Richard Tarrant (politician)


text:
Talk:Rising Stars (comics)

Ambiguous/misleading use of word
"The series explores how society may react to the advent of superpowers..."

Considering that grown-ups who follow the news are used to the word "superpower" referring to nations like the United States, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China, maybe this should be reworded. What it is talking about, I suppose ("I suppose," because I have not read the books or this article) is the appearance of humans with superpowers; i.e., superheroes or something like that.

Not if you read the first paragraph
Why comment if you admit you haven't read the article you're criticizing? The very first sentence of the article mentions that this is a comic book series. The second links to the Wikipedia entry of the comic book type of superpowers. 199.116.168.51 (talk) 23:40, 6 March 2017 (UTC)

Spin-offs

 * The is spin of Rising Stars: Untouchable, was ONE issue make ?: User:Brown Shoes22
 * but ONE issue yet-to-be-published !: User:Brown Shoes22
 * Yes, the three spin-offs are now covered in the spin-off section. Preppy (talk) 23:22, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Blatant Copyvio
This article was mostly a blatant copyvio of. Unfortunately, under Wikipedia copyright policies, the whole page must be reverted back to its last un-tainted version which was in November 2003. Ouch. --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 21:55, Jun 6, 2005 (UTC)

The "Story" section is an incoherent mess and needs a major rewrite.

I've done some cleanup of this section but it could still use more, especially if more detailed into on the plot is desired. --65.113.254.224 21:56, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Can we remove the "needs work" tag on the story section now? Solofire6 21:21, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Either-or
Is Jushua Kane/Sanctuary supposed to be a transvestite, or does he physically turn into a woman? I'm pretty sure that he actually transforms, but I can't find a citation... ---  Noclevername 21:40, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

The comic suggests that he's simply transgendered, but the novel seems to suggest an actual physical transformation. On page 188 of Ten Years After, it says "In a matter of moments, the iridescent woman following the Specials flying to their doom transcended the traditional physical definitions of gender, evolving into a higher form of androgyny." And again, on page 191, "He realized now that it had been wrong for him to keep his true inner nature and outer physicality secret." (Emphasis mine). --- Aki86

Heroes link
The link cited for the statement "Parallels have also been drawn between Rising Stars and the television series Heroes." doesn't actually support that contention. I do strongly agree with that notion, but the citation should be replaced by something relevant or deleted. There's not even a mention of Rising Stars on that page - the discussion is about Supreme Power. I suspect the article author was confused, but that interpretation would be OR. Preppy (talk) 23:22, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Agreed on every point. H3G3M0N (talk) 19:03, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Infobox: Artist info very outdated
Infobox only lists Keu Cha, Ken Lashley and Christian Zanier as Pencillers and Jason Gorder, John Livesay and Edwin Rosell as inkers. Full artist list according to and  is as follows: Pencillers: Keu Cha (1-2) Ken Lashley (3-13) Christian Zanier (3-11) Stuart Immonen (14) Brent Anderson (15-24)

Inkers: Jason Gorder (1-2) John Livesay (3-11) Edwin Rosell (3) Marlo Alquiza (4, 11-16 or 17) Victor Llamas (4) Alp Altiner (12) Danny K. Miki (13) Brent Anderson (17 or 18-24)

(GCD credits Brent Anderson as his own inker starting with issue #17, Comic Book DB still credits Marlo Alquiza for #17)--93.130.163.101 (talk) 16:37, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Rising Stars (comics)


text:
Irán Castillo

Irán Castillo Pinzón (born 4 January 1977) is a Mexican actress and singer.

Castillo began her career in the 1990s, after roles in telenovelas such as Agujetas de color de rosa, Confidente de Secundaria, and Preciosa. Subsequently, she appeared in telenovelas such as Soñadoras, Amar Otra Vez and Clase 406, as well as films like El Tigre de Santa Julia, La Segunda Noche and Cabeza de Buda. Also she is known as a singer for her single "Yo por el" (1997).

Biography
Castillo started her career at the age of 7 years doing commercials. She took acting classes with Martha Zabaleta and Pedro Damián at the age of 12, and then appeared in the soap opera Ángeles Blancos in 1989.

She has acted in 15 telenovelas (soap operas) in her career, including Agujetas de color de rosa made in 1994, Retrato de familia in 1996, Confidente de secundaria in 1996, Preciosa in 1998 and Soñadoras made in 1998; she also participated in El Club de Gaby and the series Qué chavas.

She began her career as a singer in the musical group Mosquitas Muertas in 1991. She later recorded songs featured in soap operas she starred in until she finally released her first album Tiempos Nuevos and the single "Yo Por El" in 1997 featuring rhythmical ballads.

Tatuada en tus besos is the title of the second and last album that she released in 1999. In the same year, she had success with her performance in the musical comedy Gypsy opposite Silvia Pinal.

Previously, she had acted in other plays such as Celos-Dije and Vaselina (Grease) taking the main role of Sandy. She also starred in Mexican films such as Que Vivan los Muertos and La Segunda Noche.

Castillo acted in a television soap opera titled Locura de Amor, playing Natalia, and managed to captivate the public, in spite of her short appearance on-screen. In 2001 Castillo made a special role in the telenovela Aventuras en el Tiempo.

In 2002 Castillo appeared in the soap opera Clase 406 and the film El Tigre de Santa Julia. In 2003 Castillo starred in Amar otra vez, in which she played the protagonist. This melodrama was released in January 2004 in the United States]and in May of the same year in Mexico. During the previous year, Castillo formed part of Alborada, a soap opera by Carla Estrada, as Catalina Escobar, sister of the protagonist role played by Lucero.

In 2006 Castillo was featured in two Mexican films: Amor Xtremo with a protagonist role, and Efectos Secundarios as Gabriela. In summer 2006, Castillo was invited to form part of the Mexican reality show Bailando por la Boda de Mis Sueños, with her partner Romeo. In September 2006, Castillo made a photoshoot for Max Magazine. Later in May, 2007 she made another photoshoot for H magazine, and also in July, Castillo appeared nude in H Extremo, which is the uncensored version of H.

During 2007, Castillo appeared in movies like Victorio, Viernes de Animas (released in 2011), and also on the TV series El Panteraand Mujeres Asesinas. In 2008, she appeared in Sabel, an animation movie, and Cabeza de Buda with Kuno Becker.

In 2009, Castillo returned to theaters in 12 mujeres en Pugna and Los 39 escalones. In 2010 she also appeared in the play El Mago de oz 2010 and the movies 31 Días and Morgana.

Recently, she starred in the TV series "Los Secretos de Lucía", that was filmed in Caracas, Venezuela. Also won the third place at the reality show "Bailando por un sueño". Nowadays she's releasing her brand new album "Amanecer", which marks her comeback in the music business after 14 years of her last record "Tatuada en tus besos". The first single "Sabes Que" was well received in the social media.

Albums

 * Tiempos Nuevos (1997)
 * Tatuada en tus besos (1999)
 * "Amanecer" (2014)

Singles
Tiempos Nuevos (1997)
 * Yo Por El
 * Locos De Amor
 * La Flor Del Paraíso

Tatuada en tus besos (1999)
 * Por Ti, Por Mi
 * Sola
 * No Vendrá
 * Di Que No
 * Y Pienso En Ti

Amanecer (2014)
 * Sabes Que
 * Libertad

TBA (2019)
 * De Repente

Others
 * Amandote from Confidente de Secundaria (1995)
 * Confidente De Secundaria from Confidente De Secundaria (1995)
 * Feliz Navidad from Estrellas de Navidad (1997)
 * Girando En El Tiempo from Preciosa (1998)

title: Irán Castillo


text:
Gary Gait

Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, he was named the Interim Commissioner of the United Women's Lacrosse League. He played collegiately for the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team and professionally in the indoor National Lacrosse League and the outdoor MLL, while representing Canada at the international level. Gait has been inducted into the United States Lacrosse National Hall of Fame and the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.

He was a four-time All-American for the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team from 1987-90 (including first-team honors from 1988 to 1990), and was on three NCAA championship-winning teams. He twice won the Lt. Raymond Enners Award, given to the most outstanding college lacrosse player, in 1988 and 1990. Gait holds the Syracuse career goals record at 192 and the single-season goals record at 70, an NCAA record until 2008. In 1997, the NCAA Lacrosse Committee named Gait, along with his twin brother and Syracuse teammate, Paul, to the 25th Anniversary Lacrosse team.

He played in the NLL for 17 years, winning Rookie of the Year in 1991, earning league MVP honors for five straight years, from 1995 to '99 and winning All-Pro honors each season. Gait led the league in points and goals seven times, won three league championships and finished his indoor career with 1,091 points, a league record at the time. Gait also played five seasons in MLL from 2001 to 2005, winning the league title three times and co-MVP honors in 2005. He helped Canada win the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship, the country's first world championship since 1978, by scoring four goals in the final against the United States.

Gary Gait is widely considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time. He and his brother are credited with popularizing behind-the-back passing and shooting. His signature move is the "Air Gait".

College career
Gary Gait and his twin brother Paul played lacrosse for the Syracuse Orange of Syracuse University from 1987 to 1990, where they set numerous records during their time there. Gait was named an All-American by the USILA four times — three times as a First Team selection and once as an Honorable Mention. Gary graduated as Syracuse University's all-time goal leader with 192 career goals. He led the Orange to three NCAA DI Championships and was named the NCAA Player of the Year in 1988 and 1990 and the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 1990.

The Gait twins are also widely known for popularizing innovative plays such as behind-the-back passes and shots and the "Air Gait," an acrobatic scoring move where they would jump from behind the goal crease and score a goal in mid-air by dunking the ball over the top goal crossbar and land on the opposite side of the crease. This move was later banned in NCAA play.

Detroit (1991–92)
Gait started playing in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (later the National Lacrosse League) in 1991. He was drafted by the Detroit Turbos who got both Gait brothers in a slightly controversial double-pick. In this season he won the MILL championship and was given the Rookie of the Year Award. He played with Detroit for one more season before him and his brother were both traded to the Philadelphia Wings in 1993. This trade was highly controversial as the Wings traded all of their draft picks to Detroit for the two players.

Philadelphia (1993–97)
Gait played five seasons on the Philadelphia Wings. Gait visited the championship his first four years on the Wings and won the title twice (1994 & 1995). He was voted league MVP in 1996 and 1997 and was crowned Championship MVP in 1995. Gait spent more time with the Wings than any other single NLL/MILL team and is where he is most remembered for playing. In 1995 Gary's brother Paul was traded to Rochester, separating the brothers until they played together on the Washington Power in 2001. Gary was traded to Baltimore for the 1998 season so he could play closer to his home.

Baltimore Thunder (1998–99)
Gait only played two seasons with the Baltimore Thunder. In Gait's first year on the team they went to the Championship which was a new best-of-3 style series. They were defeated two games to zero by his former Philadelphia Wings. Gait was still voted league MVP for the 1998 season for how much he helped Baltimore improve. In 1999, Baltimore went 8-4 in the regular season but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Rochester Knighthwaks. The Baltimore Thunder re-located to become the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000 and so Gary moved with the franchise.

Pittsburgh CrosseFire (2000)
In Pittsburgh's only season, they went 6-6 and missed the playoffs. This was the first time in Gait's NLL/MILL career that he missed the playoffs, he would only miss 3 times in his entire 18-season career. After a not-so-good first season the CrosseFire re-located to Washington, D.C. where they became the Washington Power.

Washington Power (2001-02)
In the two seasons the Washington Power existed, they made it to the playoffs. Gary was there for both of these season and so was his brother Paul, re-uniting them for the first time since 1994 when they both played in Philadelphia. In 2001, Washington lost in a semi-final game to Toronto with a final score of 10 to 9. In 2002, Washington beat Philadelphia in the quarter-finals 10–11 before having a rematch with Toronto in the semi-final where the Power was defeated 11–12. The Washington Power faced low attendance and as such re-located to Colorado where they became the Colorado Mammoth. As with the Thunder and CrosseFire, Gait moved along with the franchise as it re-located once again.

Colorado Mammoth (2003–05)
Gait played with the Colorado Mammoth for three seasons. In his first game of the 2006 season, Gary was honored by the Mammoth. On December 30, 2005, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, the Colorado Mammoth raised his jersey number (22) to the rafters, making him the second player in NLL history to have his number retired, after Buffalo's Darris Kilgour. They went to the playoffs all three seasons but never advanced to the championship. Gait announced his retirement following the 2005 season. He was then voted into the NLL Hall of Fame along with his brother, Paul. After retiring he became head coach of the Mammoth for 2006 & 2007, but he stepped down as head coach in August 2007 so he could pursue other interests.

Rochester Knighthawks (2009–11)
Gait returned to the NLL in 2009 when he joined the Rochester Knighthawks. During the 2009 season, Gary was named a reserve to the All-Star game. 2009 would also mark the last time Gary would visit the NLL playoffs as the Knighthawks missed the playoffs in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Following the 2011 season, Gary announced he was retiring from NLL play for good to pursue a career of lacrosse coaching.

Gary Gait had one of the most spectacular NLL careers of any player in league history. He has the second most career goals of any player with 635 and the highest goals per game average in league history with 3.207 goals per game. Gary is also tied with his brother for the most goals in one single game, 10. He had his number retired by Colorado and he is a member of the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.

MLL career
Gait played in Major League Lacrosse since its inception in 2001. He was a member of the Long Island Lizards. After the first season, Gait was traded to the Baltimore Bayhawks where he served as a player-coach for the next four years. In 2005, Gait won the Steinfeld Cup as a player-coach. He scored six goals in the Championship Game and was named MVP of that game as well as the season.

Gait initially retired from MLL play in 2005 but returned and signed with the Hamilton Nationals for their inaugural season in 2009.

WLA career
Gait, along with his brother, had outstanding seasons with the Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association. Gait won the Mike Kelly Memorial Trophy as most valuable player of the Mann Cup as a Shamrock in 1997, and shared the most valuable player award with his brother Paul in 1999.

Coaching career
In June 2005, Gait was named head coach of his former NLL team, the Colorado Mammoth. After a 10–6 season in which the Mammoth finished second in the Western Division, Gait led them to an overtime 18–17 win over Calgary and a 13–12 win over Arizona before shutting down the East Division champion Buffalo Bandits 16–9 in the Championship game. Gait became the first rookie head coach to win a championship since Tony Resch did it with the Philadelphia Wings in 1994, a team on which Gait played.

In August 2007, Gait stepped down after two seasons as head coach of the Mammoth and returned to his alma mater Syracuse University, becoming the second head coach in the history of the women's lacrosse program. Prior to this position, Gait had served as an assistant coach for the University of Maryland women's team for nine seasons.

On February 3, 2011, Gait was announced as a new assistant coach for the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse.

On June 6, 2021, Gait was named as head coach of the Syracuse Men's Lacrosse team, replacing John Desko.

International lacrosse career
Gait was a member of the Canadian National Team in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2004, and 2006. In that final year, he led Team Canada to a historic 15-10 victory over the United States in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship, his last ever international game. Gait scored four goals in the final quarter, marking a fairytale finish to his international playing career as the World title gave him every possible major lacrosse title (three NCAA championships at Syracuse in 1988, 1989, 1990; three NLL titles in 1991, 1994, 1995; three MLL titles in 2001, 2002, 2005; three Mann Cups in 1991, 1997, 1999; the Heritage Cup in 2004; and the International Lacrosse Federation World Championship in 2006).

Results of international play

 * 1990 – Finalist in the World Lacrosse Championship
 * 1994 – Third place at the World Lacrosse Championship
 * 1998 – Finalist in the World Lacrosse Championship
 * 2002 – Finalist in the Heritage Cup
 * 2004 – Winner of the Heritage Cup
 * 2006 – Winner of the World Lacrosse Championship

Club lacrosse career
Gait also played amateur lacrosse for the storied Mount Washington Lacrosse Club in the 1990s.

NLL
Reference:

Syracuse University

 * (a) 5th in NCAA single-season goals
 * (b) 12th in NCAA career goals

Records and awards
Gait set many NLL scoring records during his career.

Gait was named NLL MVP six times, including five consecutive seasons. Other than Gary Gait, only John Tavares (3 times) and Dhane Smith (2 times) have ever won the award more than once.

He was also given the NLL Sportsmanship Award twice, in 2004 (tie with Peter Lough) and 2005.

NLL Weekly and Monthly Awards:
 * Player of the Week (1994–2001) – 7 times
 * Overall Player of the Week (2002–present) – 6 times
 * Offensive Player of the Week (2002–present) – 3 times
 * Player of the Month – 6 times

Gait was named the MLL MVP his final season in 2005, sharing it with Mark Millon. That season he also led the league in goals and points with 42 goals and 21 assists for 63 points.

MLL Weekly Awards:
 * Offensive Player of the Week – 2 times

Gary along with his twin brother Paul Gait were inducted into their home province's highest honour in 2011. The BC Sports Hall of Fame will place the legendary brothers into its Hall on September 13, 2011, in a ceremony in Vancouver.

Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame
On June 18, 2022, Gary Gait was inducted into the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame as one of the eleven members of the inaugural class of inductees.

Personal life
Gait lives in Fayetteville, New York with his wife, Nicole, and their two children, Braedon and Taylor, who also played college lacrosse. Braedon played at Princeton. Taylor played under Gary at Syracuse from 2013-19.

title: Gary Gait