text:
Altinum

Altinum (in Altino, a frazione of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Veneti 15 km southeast of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers Dese, Zero and Sile. A flourishing port and trading centre during the Roman period, it was destroyed by Attila the Hun in 452. The town recovered, but was later abandoned when sea-borne sand began to cover it over. Its inhabitants moved to Torcello and other islands of the northern part of the lagoon.

Today Altinum is an archaeological area and has a national archaeological museum.

Pre-Roman Altinum
Altinum was a Venetic settlement. The earliest human presence in the area is dated to the 10th century BCE and is related to hunter gatherer groups. The earliest evidence of a settlement nucleus is dated from the mid-8th century to the mid-7th century BCE. In the 7th century BCE the settlement moved slightly to the northwest, in its historical location. A sacred area which is dated to the late 6th century BCE and developed in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE had votive offering objects from Greek, Magna Graecian, Etruscan and Celtic areas. This suggests that Altinum was the main port of the Veneti in the proto-historical age.

Archaeology indicates that in the late 6th/early 5th century BC, the Veneti had precocious contact with Celtic areas through the communication routes along the rivers Adige and Piave in the major centres in the plain of the River Po (Este and Padua and the Adriatic ports such as Atria, modern Adria, and Altinum). There was a trading relationship between high-ranking families. There was a degree of intermarriage. Some Celts settled in the region. Celtic gift and fashion objects appear in the burials of important families.

In the early 4th century BCE the Gauls invaded the plain of the Po as far as Verona. This led to a gradual ethnic mixing and loss of cultural identity, especially in the border areas of the Veneti; Verona in the west and the Lagoon of Venice and the Piave valley in the east. In some places there was at times a transition from the traditional practice of cremation to inhumation and the deposition of weapon in burials, which was an exception to Veneti funerary culture. An example of this was found in a cemetery in Altinum. Such evidence suggests that inter-ethnic relations went beyond just trade and that there were clusters of foreign settlers. Perhaps they were traders, workers and/or mercenaries.

Strabo gave indications of the social, economic and ritual importance of horses and horse breeding among the pre-Roman Veneti. He wrote that they bestowed attention on horse rearing “which, though now entirely abandoned, was formerly in great esteem among them, resulting from the ancient rage for breeding mules, which Homer thus mentions: “ From the [Ve]neti for forest mules renowned." It was here that Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, kept his stud of race-horses. And, in consequence, the [Veneti] horses were much esteemed in Greece, and their breed in great repute for a long period.” (Homer actually wrote “whence is the race of wild mules.” Iliad II. 857) Strabo also noted that the Veneti paid honour to Diomedes by sacrificing a white horse.

In Altinum there was a large number of horses buried in a sacrificial pit at the town's sanctuary and in the cemetery area to the north of the town. In the latter there were some thirty horses, whereas in other Veneti towns there were only a few, except for a cemetery exclusively devoted to some thirty horses to the south of Este. There burials are dated to the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Evidence of sacrifice at the sanctuary continues into the Roman imperial period. Here the remains of some twenty horses were found alongside those of bovines, sheep, goats and pigs. The ritual offerings were the heads or parts of hindlegs or tails which were disarticulated, skinned and fleshed. Sketches of headless horses or body parts confirm this animal's key role in religious cults.

Roman Altinum
Archaeological finds indicate that Altinum's perimeter was marked by waterways beyond which there were cemetery areas. The abundance of watercourses gives the picture of a town deeply tied to water which was characteristic of towns in the Veneto. The transformation of Altinum from a Veneti to a Roman town started with the reorganisation of its marshy environment through the regulation of its waters and the expansion of its canal network. The main work was the digging of the Silocello canal to link the River Sile (which was to the north of the town) to the channel which today is called Santa Maria and which flowed to the south of the town from the River Dese to the lagoon. The most important architectural finds are a town gate on the canal which marked the northern edge of the town, another public building which faced the canal which marked the southern edge of the town and a temple close to the Santa Maria channel which was restructured in a monumental form from a 5th-century BCE wooden structure. (See the "Port and canals" section for Altinum's canals)

In 225 BCE the Veneti and Romans established an alliance treaty in the run up of the Battle of Telamon between Rome and an alliance between the Insubres and Boii Gallic tribes of northern Italy and Gaesatae mercenaries. The foundation of the colony of Aquileia, in Celtic territory, as a fortress to protect northern Italy form invasions from the northeast and east was an important moment in the process of Romanisation of the Veneti and Altinum, which is traceable to the first half of the 2nd century BCE. Altinum came to be half way port and stopover between Ravenna and the new and important colony. Its port grew in size. This was also due to the Romans promoting sea trade in the upper Adriatic Sea

The process of Romanisation was in part driven by the presence of Roman, Latin and Italic merchants attracted to this port by lucrative trade. Inscriptions attest an early presence the Publicia, Barbia, Cossutia and Saufeia families in Aquileia and Virunum (modern Magdalensberg), a town in Noricum (in present-day Austria) where there was iron mining. These were families of equestrian rank (the Roman entrepreneurial class). They went to Aquileia from central Italy and from there they spread to the northern markets, including Altinum.

Sometime between 153 and 131 BCE the Via Annia was built. It connected Atria (modern Adria) to Aquileia. It passed through Patavium (Padua) and then it run close to the coast and passed through Altinum. In 131 BC the Via Popilia, which connected Ariminum (modern Rimini), Ravenna and Atria, was built. Thus, Altinum came to be connected overland to these important towns, facilitating the movement of goods. Again, its port increased in importance. Its inhabitants were granted Latin rights, a limited form of Roman citizenship, in 89 BCE and in the last decades of the Roman Republic, in 49 BCE, they acquired full Roman citizenship and were assigned to the Scaptia Roman tribe The town became a municipium, probably in 42-40 BCE.

Velleius Paterculus wrote than in the run up to the final civil war of the Roman Republic (32-30 BCE) between Octavian (later known as emperor Augustus) and Mark Antony, Gaius Asinius Pollio kept Venetia under Mark Antony's control for a long time with his seven legions and accomplished brilliant things near Altinum and other towns in the region. He then joined Mark Antony. This was in 42-40 BCE. Pollio Asinius was either the last governor or the Venetia region of Roman Italy or a member of a commission charged with distributing land to war veterans. With his legions he was able was able to give the towns in Venetia administrative autonomy by giving them the status of municipia without much trouble. It is likely that by saying that Asinius Pollio accomplished brilliant things ("magnis speciosisque rebus"), Velleius Paterculus was referring to Asinius allocating land to veterans near Altinum and Patavium and founding the colony of Iula Concordia (modern Oderzo) which Julius Caesar had probably planned but not accomplished.

Sometime between 31 and 12 BCE, Octavian established Ravenna's harbour as one of the home ports for his new navy. It became one of the main Roman military ports and this favoured Altinum as it increased the importance of the upper Adriatic Sea.

The town benefited from infrastructure commissioned by the emperor Claudius. In 46 CE he opened a branch of the Via Claudia Augusta from Altinum to Tridentum (today's Trento) in the Italian Alps. Drusus had started its construction in 15 AD. It connected Hostiglia (today's Ostiglia), on the River Po, to the "limes" at the Danube in southern Germany via Tridentum. Claudius also build a road along the coast which connected Altinum to Atria directly. He also extended the navigable route inside the Septem Maria lagoons, to Altinum with the construction of a further canal, the fossa Clodia, thus connecting it to Ravenna. Although this internal route only allowed navigation by smaller vessels, it guaranteed communication even through the worse weather. This enhanced Altinum's strategic and commercial importance as a hub for trade between the Mediterranean Sea, north-eastern Italy and beyond the Alps. During the civil wars which followed the death of the emperor Nero (see Year of the four emperors, 69 AD), Marcus Antonius Primus, who supported Vespasian's bid to depose Vitellius, advanced into Italy with his troops. Tacitus wrote that he occupied Aquileia and then he was "received with joy" at Opitergium (Oderzo) and Altinum and that a military contingent was left in Altinum in case of an attack by the fleet in Ravenna.

In 169, during the Marcomannic Wars (166-180 AD) the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were returning to Rome from the front in Pannonia. Lucius Verus was said to have been hit by apoplexy near Altinum. He got off his carriage bleeding and was taken to Altinum, where he died after three days of not been able to speak. Some modern scholars believe that he may have been a victim of the Antonine Plague.

By the 4th century CE Altinum became the seat of a bishopric. The first bishop was Heliodorus of Altino (died c. 410), He accompanied St Jerome in his first trip to the East. When he returned he became the bishop of Altinum and attended the 381 CE anti-Arian Council of Aquileia in that capacity. Saint Jerome wrote letters to Heliodorus and his nephew Nepotianus, a priest. In a consolatory letter written to Heliodorus when Nepotianus died in 396, he mentioned that Altinum had many churches and martyr shrines and that the Nepotianus presbytery was adorned with flowers of all types, twigs and vine leaves. The cathedral (built in by 381) had two entrances shaded by curtains. It had an altar, shiny floors, walls which were not covered by smoke and an ancillary space related to the sacristy. St Jerome described Altinum as "a populous centre whose buildings were close to each other and many hearths which darkened the air with thick smog." Today Altinum is no longer a residential diocese. It is listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.

The Apex of Altinum's flourishing period was from the 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE. Its size was comparable to that of Pompeii. A decrease in archaeological finds suggests that after this, Altinum, like the other towns in the Veneto region, begun to decline. However, it retained a prominent role.

The Codex Theodosianus (Theodosian Code), a compilation of Roman laws under the Christian emperors from 312 to the 430s commissioned was by Theodosius II and Valentinian III in 429 and published in 438, records sixteen laws that were issued by emperors in Altinum, especially between 364 and 399. It also provides evidence that emperors in the second half of the 4th century often stayed in this town and that the imperial chancellery regularly worked there between 364 and 406. An early 5th century revision of the Tabula Peutingeriana, an illustrated itinerarium of the Roman Empire, had a symbol depicting Altinum as a town with two towers, which represented it as an important and populous town.

Altinum and other towns and villages in the region were destroyed in 452 by Attila the Hun. According to the Chronicon Venetum et Gradense, the earliest Venetian chronicle, written by John the Deacon in the mid- 10th and early 11th century, refugees from Altinum fled to Torcello and other islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice. Some of the inhabitants of these islands moved the island group of Rivo alto, in the central part of the lagoon, 450–500 years later and contributed to the development of a new city, Venice. Thus, according to the tradition, which is still deeply ingrained, the origins of Venice are related to the destruction of Altinum by Attila, its demise and the refugees who fled from this town. The invasion of northern Italy by the Lombards in 568, which spared the lagoons of the north-western coast of Italy, which were under Byzantine influence, has also been held responsible for this demise. The implicit assumption is that this gave a final blow to the remnants of the town. However, archaeological investigations have disproved this notion. Although Attila's actions may well have further contributed to the decline of the town, Altinum overcame this and continued to exist for several centuries.

The features of the coast of north-eastern Italy were changing. The Altinum area slowly became covered by sand brought by the sea which turned into mud, starting from the Roman imperial period. Generally, the inland Roman towns, from Grado to Ravenna, were becoming less and less suited as ports. There was a shift from single ports controlled by the imperial authorities to peripheral ports in satellite areas along new river routes most probably controlled by new investors and ship owners. Trade moved these places. In the case of Altinum it moved to Torcello, which was on a fluvial channel through the lagoon which led to the open sea. Archaeological excavations in the inland towns and the lagoons have not revealed any sudden population movements and sharp population increases in the satellite ports or in Torcello as could be expected with an influx of refugees. The finds show that there was a gradual colonisation of the lagoons, a slow shift over centuries which had already started in the Roman days.

Besides the slowly developing troubles of the inland ports, the trend was also favoured by economic changes and new economic opportunities, such as fish farming and salt production. Agriculture played a secondary but fundamental role in favouring new stable settlements through intensive cultivation of limited land areas, which were probably uncultivated. If so, they could be used by military elites who had the means for productive and, above all, infrastructural investment. In Torcello, embankments were built to protect the island. Mooring facilities and warehouses were built to service sea trade. Calaon argues that archaeology shows that the bishop of Torcello, a landowning aristocrat, built his church in Torcello "not so much because he feared barbarian raids, but because he had made a strategic choice. He chose to place his see in a peripheral but flourishing district, perhaps one of the most populous of the whole countryside."

After the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire (conventional date 476 BCE), the Ostrogoths invaded Italy and established the Gothic Kingdom (493–553). The Byzantine emperor Justinian I (527-565) decided to annex Italy to the Byzantine Empire. This led to the Gothic War (535–554) between the Byzantines and the Ostrogoths, which was won by the former. Byzantine rule in northern Italy was short-lived as the Lombards invaded northern Italy (568-73) except for the lagoons of north-eastern coast of Italy. Altinum eventually came under the duchy of Treviso of the Kingdom of the Lombards (568–774).

Narses, the Byzantine military commander in Italy in the final stage of the Gothic War, managed to capture Vitale, the bishop of Altinum, which many years earlier had taken refuge in Aguntum in Noricum, near modern Lienz If there had been a partial withdrawal by Altinum's top clergy, this would have been during Gothic Wars.

Paul the Deacon, the Lombard historian, wrote that the bishop of Altinum took part in the synod of Marano (590) during the Schism of the Three Chapters (553-698).

A 590 letter the Byzantine commander in Altinum wrote to Childebert I, one of the kings of the Franks, attests that Altinum still had town walls.

The move of the bishop of Torcello is assigned to the 5th century or within the 7th century. However, it followed a long and tortuous course which ended for good in the early 11th century.

Mentions by ancient writers
Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial), the 1st century poet, wrote: "You banks of Altinum, that rival the rural beauties of Baiae, … and you, Aquileia … You shall be the haven and the resting-places of my old age, if my retirement be at my own disposal." Baiae was a popular seaside resort in the Bay of Naples which was very fashionable among rich Romans.

Strabo, the 1st century BCE geographer, gave a description of northern Italy and the Veneto, "The whole of this country is full of rivers and marshes, especially the district of the Veneti, which likewise experiences the tides of the sea. This is almost the only part of our sea [The Mediterranean] which is influenced in the same manner as the ocean, and, like it, has ebb and flood tides. In consequence most of the plain is covered with lagoons. The inhabitants have dug canals and dikes, after the manner of Lower Egypt, so that part of the country is drained and cultivated, and the rest is navigable. Some of their cities stand in the midst of water like islands, others are only partially surrounded. Such as lie above the marshes in the interior are situated on [navigable rivers] …. continually swelled by the rains and snows."

Strabo also described Ravenna and Altinum, "Situated in the marshes is the great [city of] Ravenna, built entirely on piles, and traversed by canals, which you cross by bridges or ferry-boats. At the full tides it is washed by a considerable quantity of sea-water, as well as by the river, and thus the sewage is carried off, and the air purified … It is a remarkable peculiarity of this place, that, though situated in the midst of a marsh, the air is perfectly innocuous … Another remarkable peculiarity is that of its vines, which, though growing in the marshes, make very quickly and yield a large amount of fruit, but perish in four or five years. Altinum stands likewise in the marshes, its situation being very similar to that of Ravenna."

In his description of the Veneto Region, Pliny the Elder, the 1st century BCE and CE naturalist, wrote that the River Sile flows from the hills of Treviso to Altinum. Regarding the River Po, he wrote, "There is no river known to receive a larger increase than this in so short a space; so much so indeed that it is impelled onwards by this vast body of water, and, invading the land, forms deep channels in its course: hence it is that, although a portion of its stream is drawn off by rivers and canals between Ravenna and Altinum, for a space of 120 [Roman] miles, still, at the spot where it discharges the vast body of its waters, it is said to form seven seas … and … “The next mouth [of the Po] … the [Etruscans] formerly made from Sagis, thus drawing the impetuous stream of the river across into the marshes of the Atriani, which they call the Seven Seas; and upon which is the noble port of Atria …” By invading the land Pliny meant floods. The seven seas (Septem Maria) was the series of lagoons which the emperor Clausius connected to Altinum (see above). Atria is now modern Adria.

Vitruvius, the 1st century BCE Roman architect, wrote about laying out the ground in marsh areas. “… if in marshes walls are laid out, and these marshes are along the sea, and they look towards the north or between the north and east, and these marshes are higher than the sea coast, they will seem to be reasonably laid out. For if dykes are cut, there is made an outlet of water to the beach; and when the sea is swollen by storms, there is an overflow into the marshes, which being stirred and moved about and mixed with sea salt, does not permit the various kind of marsh creatures to be born there: moreover, those which, by swimming from higher parts, arrive near the coast, are killed by the unfamiliar saltness. An instance of this may be found in the Gallic marshes which are round Altinum, Ravenna, Aquileia and other townships in like places which are nearest the marshes. For owing to these causes, they have an incredible salubrity.” This description fits the walls and canals system of Altinum.

In his Commentary on the Georgics of Virgil, Maurus Servius Honoratus, a grammarian (floruit late 4th century), wrote this about the lintres (small flat-bottomed boats): "Lintres: small river vessels. It is not without reason that [Virgil] remembers the lintres, because in most of Venetia, rich in rivers, every trade is carried out on lintres, such as in Ravenna and Altinum, where even hunting, fowling and the cultivation of the fields are carried out in the litres."

Grattius Faliscus (63 BC – 14 AD) a poet known for his Cynegeticon, a poem on hunting, wrote about types of woods to be used for hunting. He mentioned the pine wood and the broom from Altinum. Broom was used to make arrows.

Regarding the Pectine nigerrimi cockles, Pliny the Elder wrote, "the pectine, the biggest ones and among them those more black in the summer are the most  they are found at Mytilene, Tindari, Salona, Altinum …”

In his treatise on agriculture (De Re Rustica), Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (4-70 CE) wrote, “For this use it is better to procure cows from Altinum, which the people of the area call “Ceve”. They are short and produce a great abundance of milk, it is for this reason that this breed is bred ...” He also wrote that while previous generations of farmers considered sheep from Calabria, Apulia and Mileto to be the best, in his days ”the breed form Gallia [northern Italy] best is considered the most valuable one, especially the one from Altinum.”

Sheep grazing was important in the Roman days as people wore woollen clothes. Regarding white wool, Martial wrote, "Apulia is noted for fleeces of the first quality; Parma for those of the second. The sheep whose wool is of the third quality distinguishes Altinum." Tertullian 155 – c. 240? BCE) mentioned "... the sheep of Mileto, Selegas, Altinum, or those for which Tarentum or Baetica are renowned, because the nature of those places gives colour to the wool." The 301 Edict on Maximum Prices issued by the emperor Diocletian assigned the wool of Altinum a rather high price (200 denarii per pound). It also assigned a pay of 30 denarii per pound to the workers who made wool in Tarentum, Laodicea and Altinum.

Medieval history
By the 10th century, the area of Altinum was totally abandoned. The bishop of Altinum moved to the island of Torcello (see above). The bishops of Torcello stressed their Altinum lineage and retained the juridical title of bishop of Altinum for centuries. The monks of the monastery of Santo Stefano moved to the Tumba Leseda island (nowadays it is called La Salina) in the archipelago of the settlement of Ammiana in 900. They established the monastery of Santi Felice e Fortunato. Both settlements were in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice.

Documentation about the area in this period is scant and comes mostly from ecclesiastic institutions (the monasteries of Santi Felice e Fortunato and of San Giorgio Maggiore and the bishop of Torcello) or to families which owned land in the area (the Carbonara, Collalto, Marcello and Querini). A 1095 text attested the existence of an Altino Maiore and an Altino Pitulo, which indicates that there was still a village and that it may have split into two parts. The text also indicates that the churches of Santa Maria (the old cathedral), San Martino e Sant'Apollinare still existed.

In 1388 when the Republic of Venice annexed the Treviso area, which reached the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice, wealthy Venetians founded an agricultural village close to the shore and to the site of Altinum. It was named San Michele del Quarto after a small church which was four Roman miles from Altinum.

Despoliation of the town
After Altinum was abandoned there was a gradual despoliation of its buildings and cemetery stones for use as building materials in Torcello and other islands in the lagoon and in the future Venice because there was a lack of building materials in the lagoon. The 16th century humanists and subsequent antiquarians and scholars traced some of the stones from Altinum through the search of  inscriptions from the Roman age. In the second half of the 19th century Theodor Mommsen aimed at cataloguing the entire body of Latin epigraphy in Venice. Under the Altinum entry he collected and translated 181 inscriptions. Many were of uncertain provenance and only a small part is securely identifiable.

Archaeological and remote sensing studies
Archaeological studies started to develop mainly after the draining of this marsh area in the early 20th century. Altinum is the only large Roman town in Northern Italy and one of the few in Europe where medieval towns were not built on top of them. This makes archaeological research easier and allows remote sensing surveys to be carried out.

The finds of flint artefacts attributable to the sauveterrian culture have revealed the presence of hunter gatherer groups in 9500-6500 BCE. The wetland environment, which was rich in vegetation due to water courses  fed by melting ices and springs in the plain made up for the survival difficulties created by the hot and arid climate of the late  boreal age. The finds of shells and sea molluscs suggest the use of food resources of the coastal environment. In those days the Lagoon of Venice had not formed yet and the coastline was a few kilometres further inland than it is now. Human presence in the areas by the Adriatic coast continued in the subsequent millennia with late Mesolithic (6,500-5,500 BCE) hunter-gatherer groups.

An early Neolithic site of farmers and grazers with artefacts typical of the cultures of central-northern Italy of this time has been found in the nearby Tessera. In Altinum artefacts dating from the Neolithic to the early Copper Age have been found.

Starting from the mid-Bronze Age (1600 BCE), there was a colonisation of the plain of the River Po and central-eastern Veneto. A late Bronze Age (1300-1000 BCE) subapennine culture (1350-1150 BCE) site has been found to the northeast of Altinum. There have been finds dated to this period on the Siloncello canal very close to Altinum (to the northeast) and in the town. A settlement on sandy mounds close to the River Sile was abandoned in the early Bronze Age due to marine ingression.

Aegean pottery was found on the islands of Torcello and Mazzorbo. These were probably along a sea trade route form the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean to the Altinum area between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE. This route continued to be used in the Iron Age, as attested by the finds of Attic pottery in these two islands and other islands in the northern part of the Lagoon of Venice (San Tommaso dei Bognomi, San Giacomo in Paludo, Vignole and Sant'Erasmo).

A land path with a fort equipped with wooden elements has also been traced Ca’ Tron and Portegrandi, to the northeast of Altinum. It preceded the via Annia. It might have connected these two coastal centres to other coastal centres on the Adriatic Sea from the 11th century on and to the inland centres and the Alps via the rivers Sile and Piave.

For information related to Altinum's contacts with Celtic groups see the Pre-Roman Altinum section above.

Until the 1990s it was thought that the origins of Altinum were dated to the 7th century BCE. More recently, a burial attributable to the late Bronze Age was found. It was contemporary to other materials found in the nearby areas (by the River Zero, close to the coast of the lagoon and to the east). This has led to the hypothesis that the earliest protohistoric settlement nucleus was close to the Santa Maria channel (see below). The earliest trace of human activity in Altinum is datable to the first half of the 8th century BCE. It is a simple quarry for fictile materials similar to those found in other Veneti centres dated to a slightly earlier time. The quarry was later filled in by a settlement centred around a large building (13 m long and 6.75 m wide) with two internal asymmetric spans which must have supported a double pitched roof. Soon afterwards the narrower side was widened with a portico. It was active in the second half of the 8th century BCE and was abandoned in the first quarter of the 7th century BCE. It is one of the oldest attestations of square plan buildings in the Veneto. It is derived from housing and productive prototypes found in Treviso, Oderzo and Concordia Sagittaria. In the next phase, after a brief period of abandonment, the site seems to have changed to a workshop area. There was a wooden well connected to a small canal system and a small furnace until the mid-7th century BCE. Thus, the earliest evidence of a settlement nucleus is dated from the mid-8th century to the mid-7th century BCE. Then the area was briefly unused before it was devoted to a sacred area.

In the 7th century BCE the settlement moved slightly to the northwest, in its historical location. This is attested by aerial photography, stratigraphy and sample excavations below the ruins of the Roman town. It was on a man-made mound. Two sacred areas have been found in diametrically opposite locations to the north and to the south of the settlement. The first one was identified indirectly through the find of a fragment of an altar with an inscription dedicated to the god Belatukadro. The second one was found during the restructuring works of the museum area and was excavated  from  1997 to 2000. It is dated to the late 6th century BCE and developed in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Dedicative inscriptions in Venetic language and alphabet indicate that it was dedicated to Arno or Altinum, a god of the Veneti. Thus, the town was named after this god. It had a commercial role, the protection of the trade in local agricultural and manufacturing goods and horses and the imports from the Mediterranean Sea and form beyond the Alps. This is indicated by its location by the Santa Maria channel which connected it to the lagoon. Moreover, its votive deposits which had objects from Greece, Magna Graecia and the Etruscans in the plain of the River Po. Its function as an emporium is shown by inscriptions. These also show a male and military character due to the need to protect the traded goods. It was one of the main pre-Roman sanctuaries in the region.

In the 5th century BCE this sanctuary was a large outdoors space enclosed by a rectangular portico which had two symmetric cells at the centre of its short sides. Two large ash altars were found inside the courtyard and in parallel with the cells. The deposit pits with the sacrificial remains and the votive objects were found outside this area. The remains of many horses were found in a pit at the edge of the sanctuary. The sacred area progressively grew until Romanisation (2nd-1st century BCE). This denotes an increase in the number of pilgrims as the town's trade in the Adriatic Sea increased. In the second half of the 1st century BCE the sanctuary came to be devoted to the Roman god Jupiter and assumed the look of a sacred wood.

Stratigraphy related to the late Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age was found to the south-east of the town in the late 1990s and further out to the north-east, close to the River Sile, in 2005. In 2002 tombs datable to the late 6th- early 5th century BCE were found at the eastern edge of the town and to its north, by the River Zero. They were related to a cemetery investigated in the late 1970s. The pre-Roman cemetery area to the north of Altinum covered the whole of the northern strip which was later crossed by the northern tract of the Via Annia and the Roman period cemetery. It stretched to the left bank of the River Zero. This arrangement of cemetery areas at the edge of a town and separated by watercourses was typical of other pre-Roman Veneti towns, such as Este and Padua. It can be surmised that watercourses had a particular role in funerary ceremonies and represented a route from the town of the living to that of the dead and a transition to the afterlife.

In 1999-2002 ditches and cemetery areas were found in a section of the Via Annia to the south-west of Altinum. Their dating is problematic as the road was progressively widened until it reached a width of 12 m. In the area of the Via Claudia Augusta, to the north-west of the town, there were traces of ditches and small canals attributable to a late antiquity systematic parcelling out of land and maintenance interventions. Larger areas of land divisions were noted in the mentioned areas to the south-west which was linked to a network of ditches and canals. Similar traces were found to the south and further away from the town (5 km), close to the edge of the lagoon, within the current airport area, and to the north-east, at Portegrandi, close to the edge of the lagoon.

Excavations in the centre of the town in 1995-97 identified a large baths complex dated between the 1st and 3rd century. In the early 1990s an investigation of the layer below a town gate on a canal pushed back its dating, which was previously attributed to the Augustan period, to the first half of the 1st century BCE and brought to light the remains of an imposing foundation ceremony. The ancient bed of a navigable canal with moorings which was an extension of the Siloncello canal (see below) was discovered in the layers below the area of the Augustan period. It traced back the creation of a systematic hydraulic plan of remediation for the delicate ecosystem by the lagoon to the first half of the 1st century BCE.

A 2000 systematic excavation of the cemeteries found a more than 2000 tombs and an extraordinary number of funerary monuments, which makes Altinum a prime site for the study of funerary architecture and rituals in northern Italy in the Roman imperial period. The Augustan period was a period of big mausolea especially for those of the baldachin type which was derived from Aegean-Oriental models. Several sumptuous examples were found in the monumental cemetery by the Via Annia where the ruling elite started to build their grandiose burials in the last decades of the 1st century BCE. In the 1st century CE they were replaced by numerous funerary enclosures along both fronts of this cemetery. They were sometimes aligned close to each over a length of over 170 m with mausolea alternating with various types of funerary buildings and areas taken up only by tombs. Cylindrical and octagonal altars typical of Altinum's sculptural art were a recurrent decorative element in the enclosures. They were probably placed in pairs at their corners.

The southern tract of the Siloncello canal (see below) was blocked in the last decades of the 1st century CE to start the eastern expansion of the town. This is attested by the urban plan of the new Augustan neighbourhood.

In 2007 a team of geomorphologists from the University of Padua carried out a survey with visible and near-infrared (NIR) aerial photographs which were taken after a period of prolonged drought and developed a digital elevation model (DEM) to reconstruct the urban topography and the environmental setting of Altinum. NIR is highly sensitive to vegetation and crop marks highlight archaeological features.

The crops were suffering from drought and were highly sensitive to the subsurface presence of stones, bricks or compacted soil. They were in different stages of ripening due to differences in the amount of water in the soil. This created lighter crop marks which indicated stonework and revealed the outlines of buildings at least 40 cm below the surface. Darker marks indicated depressed features such as ditches and canals. To the south of the town centre there was a wide strip of riper crops which were growing above what used to be a canal. The survey covered an area of 100 hectares.

The map of the town was reconstructed in great detail, revealing the urban fabric and the waterways, the town walls and gates, the street network and previously unknown neighbourhoods and buildings, including monumental ones: the amphitheatre, the theatre, the odeon, and the forum, which are attributable to the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. The town was on top of a 2- to 3 m-high mound and in Roman times the lagoon shore probably reached the foot that mound. Altinum was probably partially surrounded by water. The researchers conclude that the results indicate a complex urban system "adapted to the peculiarity of the lagoon environment" and show that "the Romans successfully exploited the amphibious environment several centuries before the city of Venice started to emerge."

The map of Altinum which was reconstructed through remote sensing can be seen overlaid on Google Earth.

The political and administrative heart of the town was in the northernmost part. Here, besides the outlines of the forum, amphitheatre, theatre and odeon, the outlines of the capitolium (the temple of the Capitoline Triad) and the basilica were also identified in the 2007 remote sensing survey. The theatre had a length of 120 m and a radius of 60 m. It is dated between 40 and 20 BCE. It was one of the first ones in northern Italy and one of the first in a provincial town in the whole of Italy. The odeon was half its size. The amphitheatre was in the outskirts, to the north of the canal which marked the northern limit of the town. Its longer axis was 150 m and its size was similar to that of the Arena di Verona (which could host 30,000 people) and was larger than those of Padua and Aquileia.

Between 2012 and 2015 Ca' Foscari University of Venice carried out surveys in an area in the east of the town, where a 2000 a geophysical survey indicated an urban area, roads and a building with an apse which correspond to the area of the late Republic monumental town gate. In the 2007 survey it came out blurred. Between 1989 and 1990 there was a geophysical survey in this area and the one next to it to the east. A series of plinths along the main canal and a secondary canal which branches from it were identified. This tallies with some 1972 samplings on the eastern bank of the secondary canal which found the foundations of a brick quay resting on wooden piling and seven rectangular plinths related to a big building which is identified as a warehouse. This suggests that it was a commercial area.

In 2012 just under half of the area was surveyed. It focused on surface finds (at a depth of 20–30 cm). The area had been devoted to medicinal plants for years and had not been ploughed. It was on a marked mound. Pottery and architectural fragments, coins, fictile materials and other items were found. High concentrations of plaster, mosaic tesserae and architectural and stone fragments indicate that there were buildings. The 2014 campaign covered the rest of the area and used the same methods. Electromagnetic prospections detected three northeast–southwest parallel gravel roads with an average length of c. 7 m and a road perpendicular to them along the northern edge of the area, which was parallel to the canal which marks the northern end of the town. Another structure with the same orientation was detected in central area of the survey, but gravel was not detected and it might have been a canal.

The finds of some concentrations of glass leftovers and fragments of a crucible suggest that there were glassworks. This is an important find because it could confirm the hypothesis that Altinum had a role in glass production in the Roman days.

The port and the canals
The networks of ditches and canals discovered to the northwest, southwest and south of Altinum, the canals in the town and the canals which connected the town to the lagoon show that Altinum needed to both connect its port to the lagoon and to create a hydraulic system to manage the delicate hydraulic and environmental setting of the marshy area it was in. This shaped the geomorphology of the town. Vitruvius gave some indication of the management needs in marshy areas, including Altinum, and Strabo indicated that the town had a system of canals (see above). Altinum was successful in managing its often waterlogged marshy environment.

Altinum was crossed in the middle by a west–east main canal. An oblong semi-circular canal marked the northern limit of the central part of the town and a southern one marked the southern limit. These three canals reached the River Zero, to the west of the town. The Siloncello canal, which still exists, run in a northeast–southwest oblique straight line form the River Sile. It came close to the north-eastern edge of the town. A southward extension of this canal was connected to the three mentioned canals. It continued to south of the town and reached the Santa Maria canal, which still exists and runs south of the town from the River Dese to the lagoon at the Palude di Cona marsh and thus connected the port, which was to the east of the extension canal, to the lagoon. The Siloncello canal turns east at a right angle just before the town and then south, reaching the Palude di Cona slightly further east. Thus, the port could be reached through the Siloncello form the east and the Santa Maria form the west.

The Siloncello canal also continued eastwards and reached the River Sile, close to its mouth. At the time the River Piave must have flowed into the Sile. The Piave was a preferred route for the transport of wood from the forests of Cadore towards Altinum as attested by an inscription found in Feltre. Thus, this canal was of strategic importance for the supply of wood. The remains of a 192 m long mooring dock on the western bank of the Siloncello was found in 1930 a few hundreds of metres north of the town.

A fluvial dock area found between 1988 and 1993 on the west bank of a north–south canal that was aligned to the Siloncello canal. It had porticoed warehouses. The dock and the canal bed were below the urban structures of the Augustan period urban period. In this period the canal was filled in.

A monumental town gate was built following the model of urban gates with a central body and angular towers. It has been dated to the first half of the 1st century BCE. It was richly decorated. The central body with the gate had two towers at each side. The structure was flanked on both sides by two short wall tracts attached to the towers. It rested on strong pilings made with oak trunks. It was on the canal that marked the northern boundary of the town. The canal was crossed, perhaps through two arches, by the cardus maximus. This canal is now only a ditch. It was shown in a 16th-century map. It still had a considerable width, was visible and reached the River Zero in the late 19th century. It was the preferred route to take goods from the port to some presumed moorings at the northern border of the town and to the beginning of the Via Claudia Augusta.

In 1972 the foundation of a 16.3 m brick dock with fully curved arches linked to a large building were found close to the gate, on the eastern bank of a secondary canal which branched off the main one inside the urban area. Its materials are dated to the late 1st century BCE and the mid-1st century CE. The remains of an imposing complex of porticoed docks was found along the opposite bank of the canal in an electromagnetic survey. The results indicate that it stretched for an over 120 m angled course which seems to faithfully follow the morphology of the canal, whose width was around 10 m.

The foundations of another porticoed dock similarly linked to a large building were detected along the canal which marked the southern border of the town, whose bed was indicated by a considerable depression in the terrain in the mid-60s. It stretched eastwards immediately before the northern shoulder of the bridge which linked the Via Annia to the town. It is dated to the late Republic period. It was in a key position in the immediate vicinity of the southern entrance of the town and along a fluvial a route which started from the port and must have gone through the Santa Maria canal. This canal was connected to it. It was also liked to the Via Annia. From here goods could reach the inland markets overland via the Via Annia or by following a wide canal with wooden banks which flanked this road in the north.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
The "Venice and her Lagoon" UNESCO World Heritage Site was established in 1987. It includes the Altinum archaeological area.

title: Altinum


text:
Talk:Itachi

redirected to Akatsuki (Naruto) on the basis of he already exists there. Right now there hasn't been any consensus for a character page on Itachi. --Pentasyllabic 04:43, September 2, 2005 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Itachi


text:
Helicopter-based hunting in Fiordland

Helicopter hunting of deer has occurred in the Fiordland area of New Zealand since the 1960s. As long ago as the 1920s, introduced European deer plagued the Fiordland National Park to the detriment of the native New Zealand flora and fauna. The New Zealand government placed a bounty on the deer, paying local hunters for each animal removed from the park. With the market for venison and deerskin, by the 1960s this had proved a lucrative enough business for several hunters to invest in helicopters, to travel fast through the rugged landscape.

Deer populations plummeted as a result, and competition among hunters grew more fierce. Accusations of sabotage and the flouting of rules became common in this unregulated industry. Combined with a growing farm-raised deer industry, and the impact of by-kill due to 1080 poison, the helicopter hunting market declined steeply. However, its legacy lives on, as former hunting helicopters carry tourists and hunters into the New Zealand wilderness.

Methods of capture
One method of capturing feral deer involved flying beside the fleeing deer and casting a capture net over the deer. Immediately afterwards a crew member would jump from the helicopter and tie and place the deer into "livey bags" for carrying out to the waiting farmers.

History
European settlers imported red deer for sport into New Zealand and released them into the forests starting in 1851, along with many other introduced animals. The environment proved perfect for a population explosion, the result being widespread damage both to vegetation and to farmers' grazing. The New Zealand government, in order to solve the problem, paid deer cullers a bounty per deer-tail in an attempt to control deer numbers, starting in the 1930s. Until the early 1950s, the sale of deer hides recovered by the government hunters supposedly financed the wildlife culling operations. This ceased when the market collapsed. Then Germany began to purchase exported New Zealand venison, and the deer market hunting industry commenced.

Hunters used horses and jet boats to transport deer back to game depots for sale. The typical “kiwi bloke” “do-it-yourself” identity created and developed this self-made industry. (Compare "Southern man".) The next stage of development saw the introduction of helicopters, used for carrying deer back to awaiting trucks positioned at remote road ends, for couriering to the venison-processing factories. This was pioneered by Tim Wallis in 1965. The technique of shooting deer from helicopters with doors removed became perfected with thanks to Rex Forrester, a recognised New Zealand hunting and fishing specialist.

By 1970, more than sixty helicopters were being used for deer hunting and recovery. A two hundred deer kill count counted as a highly productive day, worth $17,000, though more crews averaged 100 kills. In 1973, venison prices soared further, resulting in increased illegal yet profitable helicopter hunts and reports of shootings, arson, sabotage, and fist fights. The RNZAF sent two Iroquis helicopters to prevent poaching and trespassing in what became known as the "Helicopter Wars" or "Deer Wars".

Methods of in air transport
The crew of the “flying hunter” helicopter consisted of 3 men: pilot, shooter and knife hand. A larger helicopter would support this “flying hunter” helicopter: the bigger machine would transport the shot deer, suspended by a hook, under that helicopter; and also supply fuel to the hunter-unit.

Hunters had their bases in remote wilderness areas, either in huts, or living on moored vessels in the Fiordland sounds, used as helicopter pads.

Turn to deer farming
With the strong demand for “organic venison” from a pure environment, and dwindling population of wild deer, some deer hunters saw advantages in starting deer farming. Initially they captured fawns, hand-raised them and domesticated them: the dawn of deer farming occurred in New Zealand in the 1970s. When compared to farming cattle or sheep, deer farming proved a more than viable operation - it had tax advantages too.

As the skills of the hunters increased, the deer became more elusive, the wild deer population declined, demand for breeding stock for deer farms grew, and live-deer prices rose to $3,500 per beast. This live deer hunting industry, unique to New Zealand, became a way of life and a specialised culture. Accidents, injuries, helicopter crashes and, over 80 fatalities occurred increasingly common, as the hunters were often untrained and untrained with firearms and tranquillisers, though lucrative returns kept the hunters returning despite the danger.

The New Zealand government intervened through legislation, policing and administration; the deer hunters considered this as harassment to their livelihood. There resulted in a difference in what the authorities and the deer hunters considered “fair play”. Changing tax laws, and deer farms breeding their own stock, bought about the end of this era. The deer repopulate the forest.

title: Helicopter-based hunting in Fiordland


text:
Template talk:SCOTUSCase/old

This is the first of several templates used to construct a Supreme Court of the U.S. decision summary box

Sample Usage: (Arguments may be blank if unknown) -- Is usually at start of article --

Note: Use this template ONLY if there is a numbered U.S. citation available on Findlaw such as 539 US 558. If you only have a Supreme Court number like 02-102, use {{SCOTUSRecentCase| instead.

First start with this template (Example usage of Lawrence v. Texas is used.) {{SCOTUSCase|Litigants=Lawrence v. Texas| ArgueDate=March 26| ArgueYear=2003| DecideDate=June 26| DecideYear=2003| FullName=John Geddes Lawrence and Tyron Garner v. Texas| USVol=539| USPage=558| Citation=123 S. Ct. 2472; 156 L. Ed. 2d 508; 2003 U.S. LEXIS 5013; 71 U.S.L.W. 4574; 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5559; 2003 Daily Journal DAR 7036; 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 427| Prior=Defendants convicted, Harris County Criminal Court at Law; affirmed, 41 S.W.3d 349 (Tex. Ct.App. 2001); review denied, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 04-17-02; certiorari granted, 537 U.S. 1044 (2002)| Subsequent=Complaint dismissed, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 9191 (Tex. App. Houston 14th Dist. Oct. 30, 2003)| Holding=A Texas law prohibiting homosexual sodomy violated the liberty under the Fourteenth Amendment of adults to             engage in private intimate conduct.}}

Next, get the Justices: {{SCOTUS 1994-2005}} Then describe the way they voted: {{SCOTUSOpinionStart}} {{SCOTUSMajority|Kennedy}} {{SCOTUSJoin|Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer}} {{SCOTUSConcurrence|O'Connor}} {{SCOTUSDissent|Scalia}} {{SCOTUSJoin|Rehnquist, Thomas}} {{SCOTUSDissent|Thomas}} {{SCOTUSOpinionEnd}} Followup with final template: {{SCOTUSLaws|U.S. Const. Amend. XIV; Tex. Penal Code § 21.06(a) (2003)}}

title: Template talk:SCOTUSCase/old


text:
Extreme points of Mexico

This is a list of the extreme coordinates of Mexico, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.
 * Easternmost point: 86° 42' 36" W longitude, southeast tip of Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.
 * Westernmost point: 118° 22' 00" W longitude, Roca Elefante at Isla de Guadalupe, in the Pacific Ocean.
 * Northernmost point: 32° 43' 06" N latitude Monumento 206, near Los Algodones, Baja California, at the United States border.
 * Southernmost point: 14° 32' 27" N latitude, mouth of Suchiate River, border with Guatemala, in Suchiate, Chiapas.

Elevation

 * Highest elevation point: Pico de Orizaba; (Volcán Citlaltépetl) 5636 m 19.03°N, -97.27°W
 * Lowest elevation point: Laguna Salada, Baja California at -10 m

Transportation

 * Northernmost airport: Mexicali International Airport in Mexicali Municipality, Baja California 32.63056°N, -115.24139°W
 * Southernmost airport: Tapachula International Airport in Tapachula Municipality, Chiapas 14.79444°N, -92.37°W
 * Westernmost airport: Tijuana International Airport in Tijuana Municipality, Baja California 32.54083°N, -116.97°W
 * Easternmost airport: Cancun International Airport in Benito Juárez Municipality, Quintana Roo 21.03667°N, -86.87694°W

title: Extreme points of Mexico


text:
Template talk:Infobox D&D module/Archive 1

Original text moved from Talk:List of Dungeons & Dragons modules

How about a standard info box to be included in each module page? I noted that several of our growing module pages do not contain the basic info like character levels, Campagin Settings or rules editions. See my examples below (where some data is bogus). Once we determine the basic format, we can make the info box a templete; instead of inline tables. By templetes, I mean something like this page

So comments? --Wendell

 * Well, I for one think it's a great idea. I'm a big proponent of infoboxes for articles on similar subject matters.  However, I was thinking of something that looked more like this, but it's the same basic idea.  Some of the advantages of templates are:
 * Only having to fill in parameters, not muck about in table syntax
 * Being able to make some fields optional, useful for when you don't have all the possible information
 * When you don't have some information that the template accepts, you can just leave it out and it renders the infobox without it, without any ugly "Missing" entries. But I agree, we should nail down the structure before template-izing it.

 * So far, I like what you have. I'd have wikilinks for all the modules in the series, though.  I'd like to hear what others have to say.  For example, I think Waza would like to weigh in on it.

 * Is there a WikiProject for D&D? I wonder if we have enough issues (such as this module infobox thing) to start one?  Would it even be worth it?  Hmmm... I started a WikiProject once, and that was a lot of work.  I don't relish doing it again right now.  But now that it is up and running, it's all pretty smooth. :-)  I guess this is something that should be brought up on the main Dungeons & Dragons Talk page?

 * Next, please sign your posts. I added your signature above, but please sign them yourself. You can do this with 3 or 4 tildes (  or ~ ). The latter is preferred since it also adds a timestamp. Peace. :-)   — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:30, August 30, 2005 (UTC)

I like the idea Wendell, and also Frecklefoots comments. The info box would be helpful and put some consistancy in the module articles.(I asume these are just examples as all the info is not accurate.) some of the hardest things might be deciding on some consistency of language to use withing some of the cells of the info box. Rules edition is one that could be tricky with the whole Basic - Expert - Advanced - 2nd Advanced - 3rd. The Differences between editions of Dungeons & Dragons is one article that has some good detailed info but is missing alot partcularly a simple summary.

As for a D&D project. I think the main article and lots of the major articles linked to it need a lot of work. There is lots of info there but it is not well organised or even particularly encyclopedic in style at many points. If a project could help clear this up it would be a good idea. My own knowledge is of AD&D from the early 80's to the (very) early 90's (I stopped playing a soon after 2nd Edition came out) and a little D&D Basic/Expert from early 80's. So I could be of only limited help in a project. I really came to the D&D article to get some info on the games current state without the commercial baggage and advertising hype of the manufacturors site. I found myself working on bits of this sub article because this was the bit that was familiar to me that needed some work. I find thats mostly what happens on Wikipedia, most of the articles are things I go to to find more info and find I have info I can add to the article. Waza 22:50, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

 * A project certainly would help to better organize, straighten up and build consistency in articles relating to D&D. Actually, I'm surprised that there isn't a D&D WikiProject already.  I know that WikiProjects have certainly helped Arcade games and computer and video games.  Like I said, I've started a project before, but it requires more time than I have right now.  But anyone can start one.  If you look around enough, you can find detailed instructions on how to do it.  Then all you'll have to do is advertise it on the main Dungeons & Dragons Talk page, and I'm sure you'd be inundated with dozens of willing participants. :-)

 * My D&D experience is from the mid- to late '80s as well. I stopped playing after I got married (my wife is more fun than D&D). ;-)   — Frecklefoot | Talk 23:31, August 30, 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks for all the feedback. First lets address info box technology and wiki stuff.
 * Fully agree, templetes are the way to structure the info box. I am not certain of all their capabilities, I usually just copy an example and modify it as needed.
 * Not certain about a D&D wikiproject. I do not have the experience, time, or enery to start one (now).  And the few D&D module pages we have does not need a full project.  We can decide here and now, and implement it.  I agree that the entire suite of D&D articles would benefit from a project, so I will consider such in November or so.
 * Not sure about the templete options to implement when you don't have some information that the template accepts, you can just leave it out and it renders the infobox without it, without any ugly missing entries. The examples I have seen did not implement that option.  For some data fields, like pictures, that seems wonderful, producing neat professional graphics.  For other data fields (author, data published, code, etc) I would want the ulgy reminder to force someone (or me) to look up that information.

 * Second, lets address info box content.
 * We all seem to agree on the basics of Title, Picture, Code, Character Levels, Campagin Level, Authors.
 * I agree that rules editions assumed for each module is tough to state simply (original D&D, 1st ADD, 2nd ADD, blue/red box Basic D&D, etc); but it seems important and often overlooked in manually free written pages. Hence the info box which forces something to be said about it.
 * Campaign setting seems important, and not too ambiguous. Grayhawk vs generic D&D seems the only pitfall.
 * I think we need to add published date to info box.
 * Plot or main "enemy" should be in the written article, not the info box. In fact, for the better modules, several paragraphs of description should be encourged, not limited to an info box.
 * How to capture "related modules"? If they are in an intended series that is an easy definition.  But otherwise, is it important to state and be precise in the definition of related?  What is related?  Intended to use the same player characters is an easy definition of related.  But what about the same NPCs?  Same location?  By those 2 suggestions, original T1-4 would be related to Return to Temple of Elemental Evil.  Sounds like something for detailed discussion in the article, not an info box.  Hence remove related modules?????
 * How many modules were actually re-printed in super modules? Not many I think, hence remove that section of the info box.
 * As far as reprints, I only know of G1, G2, G3, D1, D2, 23, Q1 reprinted as various combinations (G123, D12, GDQ1-7) and A1, A2, A3, A4 reprinted as A1-4. There was some mention of B1-9 being reprinted as a super set.  Sounds like something for the article, not an info box.  Hence remove related modules?????
 * With these recommendations, a bogus example is:

 * Its short and sweet. Wendell 00:49, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks for your idea Wendell and I like your summary form of discussion. As you have probably noticed I find it hard not to be verbose.

 * The new suggested info box is definately getting close (and may even be what) to go with.
 * agree with getting rid of the Supermodule but it may be worth keeping the Part of Series cell (and find a better name for it) The GDQ series is a good example where progress is not clear. Also some codes are not a series but have small series within then (eg I3, I4 & I5 form the Desert of Deloation series but are not connected with other I# modules.) How about Linked Modules as a cell title?
 * How about Intended Sequence or Intended Progression or just the data at the bottom? See latest example Wendell

 * A few ideas on lablels of cells:
 * Rules required instead of Rules Edition - as some modules require a particular supplement (eg BattleSystem) as well as a particular rules version or edition.
 * Author(s) instead of Authors
 * First Published instead of Date Published
 * - Waza 01:40, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Also, the final templete will be (should be) in wiki-pipe table format. Not this XHMTL or whatever.  Currently thinking the module progression should go at the bottom, spanning both columns, without the line break between Linked Modules and the actual data. Wendell 02:15, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Like the Linked Modules being at bottom. Can easily be left of were not required as links are probably only applicable to about 25% of modules - Waza 02:19, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Missed your suggestion you inserted in the middle of my last comment. Either of the alternate titles would be fine, but I kind of like the idea of no title, just put the codes at the bottom where appropriate.

 * Two more ideas for possible extra info in the box:
 * Item code. While TSR stopped using the module codes in the early/mid 90's each TSR product before and after still had an item codes. I am not familar with current products, but a quick hunt on TSR Archive and D&D Homepage seems that these numbers continue to today. While most players of the 80s and earlier are familar with the module code, the item number could be an invaluable unique reference for latter modules.
 * ISBN - These started appearing on modules around 1981 (including reprintings of older modules). This is useful if someone is trying to track down a secondhand copy.

 * - Waza 04:13, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

 * I've gotten a little lost in the rampant posts back and forth, but here's what I've remembered to bring up:
 * Optional parameters in templates: The computer and video games infobox uses optional parameters. I'm not sure how they work internally either (i.e. the template code), but if you leave out some information, it just doesn't render the row for the information at all.  This is very useful since sometimes the item isn't known (for video games, lots of parameters aren't known when the original article is written).  The line stays in the wikicode, so the information can easily be added if it is ever tracked down.
 * I find the italics distracting. I like the bold text as used in the The computer and video games infobox (and the arcade game infobox too, for that matter).
 * The infobox could use some color, much like the infoboxes I cited above do. I "linked modules" row should especially be a different color to call out it is a title for the row below (the colors used in the example at right are rather ugly--they can be changed, I just did it as an example).
 * Of course the final template will use the pipe syntax. :-)
 * This topic has gotten rather large. Shall we move it to a subpage? Peace.   — Frecklefoot | Talk 18:45, September 1, 2005 (UTC)

Overall I think the 3 of us are making good progress with nailing down a form for this box. I am itching to have it done so we can try some in articles. Having the box means it will be easy to start article stubs as a basis to be expanded in the future. In my experience people are more likely to add a little to an existing article even if a small stub, starting a new article seems to be a bit intimidating for some. - Waza 01:09, 2 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, putting this on a sub page is a good idea, anyone know how to do this?
 * Like the idea about different colours for different series, however this may conflict with the Infobox Project guidline which is trying to make a unique colour for each type of infobox. There does appear to be some debate on the Infobox talk page though.
 * If we do need to choose one colour, how about the orange that was used as a stripe across the top of many modules in the mid 80's like Image:Dungeonland.jpg or Image:H2-minesbloodstone.jpg?
 * I like the bold rather than the italic in the cell titles.
 * The colour in the cell titles doesn't do it for me, but it may just be that colour which looks Ok in the heading doesn't work there as it has too much contrast to the info cells.
 * Been trying to do a little research on infobox's, like how to make one. Looks like it will take a bit of work to absorb and test. If anyone else wants to read or get started on it - check Infobox and Infobox templates


text:
Ischiopagi

Ischiopagi comes from the Greek word ischio- meaning hip (ilium) and -pagus meaning fixed or united. It is the medical term used for conjoined twins (Class V) who are united at the pelvis. The twins are classically joined with the vertebral axis at 180°. The conjoined twins usually have four arms; two, three or four legs; and typically one external genitalia and anus.

It is mostly confused with pygopagus where the twins are joined dorsally at the buttocks facing away from each other, whereas ischiopagus twins are joined ventrally and caudally at the sacrum and coccyx. Parapagus is also similar to ischiopagus; however, parapagus twins are joined side-by-side whereas ischiopagus twins typically have spines connected at a 180° angle, facing away from one another.

Classification

 * Ischiopagus dipus: This is the rarest variety with the twins sharing two legs with no lower extremities on one side.
 * Ischiopagus tripus: These twins share three legs, the third leg is often two fused legs, or is non-functioning. The twins also usually share only one set of external genitalia.
 * Ischiopagus tetrapus/quadripus: This variety has the twins at a symmetrical continuous longitudinal axis with their area of union not broken anteriorly. The axes extends in a straight line but in opposite directions. The lower extremities are oriented at right angles to the axes of the thorax and the adjacent limbs near the union of the ischium belong to the opposite twin.

Embryology
During embryonic development, twins can form from the splitting of a single embryo (monozygotic) which forms identical twins or the twins can arise from separate oocytes in the same menstrual cycle (dizygotic) which forms fraternal twins. Although the latter is more frequent, monozygotic is the reason conjoined twins can develop. In monozygotic twinning for conjoined twins such as ischiopagi, the twins form by the splitting of a bi-laminar embryonic disc after the formation of the inner cell masses. Thus, making the twins occupy the same amnion which can lead to a conjoining of the twins as a result of the twins not separating properly during the twinning process. Separation occurring between the seventh and thirteenth days should result in a monochorionic, monoamniotic identical twins sharing a yolk sac. If separation of the twins occur in the later stages of development prior to the appearance of the primitive streak and axial orientation, then it can be predicted that conjoined twins will develop. The origin of exactly what goes wrong to produce ischiopagus or any conjoined twin is a result by either incomplete fission or double overlapping inducing centers on the same germ disc. Various studies suggest that mechanical disturbances such as shaking of the blastomeres, exposure of the embryo to cold or insufficient oxygen during the early process of cleavage, grafting organizer onto gastrula or half a gastrula together, or constricting the blastula or early gastrula can cause the incomplete separation of monozygotic twins. However, studies have shown that these disturbances must happen at critical times in the pregnancy for the conjoined twins to develop.

Complications
Conjoined twins are at high risk to being stillborn or dying shortly after birth. In some cases, a healthy twin and a parasitic twin are born. The parasitic twin has no hope for survival and dies and is then surgically separated from its twin. Depending upon how the twins are attached and what is shared among them, complications can arise from surgically separating the live twin from the dead twin. In Ischiopagus cases, the children share a pelvic region along with the gastrointestinal tract and genital region. Ischiopagus twins need reconstructive surgery for the genitals and gastrointestinal tract in order for normal bowel movements and reproductive possibilities in adulthood.

For the Ischiopagus twins that both survive from birth, complications and risks also arise. Usually if both twins survive labor, one twin will be healthy and strong, while the other is malnourished and weak. Thus, surgery would have to be planned in advance to understand the best option and how to keep both children alive during surgery as well as afterwards.

Treatment
Separation is the only treatment for Ischiopagus. The rarity of the condition as well as the challenge it presents in separating the twins has been difficult to understand. In recent years, with advancing medical technology, physicians have been able to successfully separate Ischiopagus twins. However, it depends on the organs shared, how closely joined the twins are, and what risks could rise from separating the twins during surgery. Since Ischiopagus twins usually share a gastrointestinal tract and other organs in the pelvic region, it takes months of planning to decide whether or not separation of the twins outweighs the complications and risks associated with surgery and reconstruction of organs. Surgery to separate conjoined twins has allowed surgeons to be able to study the mechanisms of embryogenesis as well as the physiological consequences of parabiosis.

Separating ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins usually leaves the twins with one leg each.

Prognosis
Depending upon what organs are shared among the twins and if they are surgically separable, usually only one of the twins makes it through the surgery or they both die due to complications either before or during the surgery. Now that successful surgery has been reported and more findings are becoming available due to research and pre-surgery evaluation, better surgery techniques and procedures will be available in the future to help increase the survival rate of ischiopagus twins as well as other conjoined twins.

Epidemiology
Ischiopagus is a rare anomaly occurring in about 1 in every 100,000 live births and occurring in 1 out of 10 conjoined twin births. Most Ischiopagus cases are common in the areas of India and Africa. Of the varieties of Ischiopagus twins, Ischiopagus Tetrapus is more prevalent, happening in 68.75% of all Ischiopagus cases. Ischiopagus Tripus occurs in 31.25% of cases while Ischiopagus Dipus occurs in only 6.25% of all Ischiopagus cases.

title: Ischiopagi


text:
Wikipedia:Template index/Standard boxes

This page describes standard box and diagram  templates used for specific subject matter items. They include right and left side, or lower article boxes, calendars, tables, grids and diagrams used in article expostion. The templates provide a consistent, clean format for the displayed information.

Infoboxes are described on the Infoboxes page.

Calendars
There are a number of templates used to construct calendars, either current or prospective.

 * Template:Calendar
 * Template:Calendar/month/link on

See also: Category:Calendar templates

Month templates

 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartSun
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartMon
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartTue
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartWed
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartThu
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartFri
 * Template:Calendar/isoMonthStartSat

Unit converters

 * Template:Dist – used for conversions between distance units. – Deprecated
 * Template:Convert

Useful elements for building diagrams

 * Template:Clade For making horizontal "Clades" or other tree-like structures

Games and Puzzles
The Computer and Video Games infobox templates are described on the Infoboxes page. Some templates were used only to generate article images and are not called from the article pages themselves.

 * Template:Chess diagram
 * Template:Goban
 * Template:Sudoku 9x9 grid – identifies other related Sudoku templates
 * Template:Xiangqi-position

Periodic Table
Some of the box entries of the Periodic Table are constructed using templates.
 * Template:Element cell, used by Periodic table (standard)
 * See for alternatives

Time converters

 * minute – parses time and produces the minutes part

U.S. Supreme Court
There are some templates used to provide a right-side index for Supreme Court cases, and some are used for the main article for the Supreme Court, such as allowing specific year index for members of the court, others are used to make formatting consistent

Court case box on right:
 * Template:SCOTUSCase

The following are used to construct Supreme Court Justice entries, as well as the entry for List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
 * Template:start U.S. Supreme Court composition
 * Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition court lifespan
 * Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition CJ
 * Specific years are inserted here, then
 * Template:end U.S. Supreme Court composition

And the specific years. All begin with "U.S. Supreme Court composition " followed by one year or a range of years:
 * 18th Century: Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition 1789–1792, 1792–1793, 1793–1795, 1795, 1796–1798, 1798–1799, 1799, 1799–1800, 1800
 * 19th Century: Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition 1801–1804, 1804–1806, 1807–1810, 1810–1811, 1811–1812, 1812–1823, 1823–1826, 1826–1828, 1828–1829, 1835, 1836–1837, 1837–1838 1838–1841, 1842–1843, 1843–1844, 1845–1846, 1846–1851, 1851–1852, 1853–1857, 1858–1860, 1860–1861, 1862–1863, 1863–1864, 1864–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1870, 1870–1872, 1873, 1874–1877, 1877–1880, 1881, 1882–1887, 1888, 1888–1889, 1890–1891, 1891–1892, 1892–1893, 1893, 1894–1895, 1896–1897, 1898–1902
 * 20th Century: Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition 1898–1902, 1902–1903, 1903–1906, 1906–1909, January–March 1910, March–July 1910, 1910, 1911, 1912–1914, 1914–1916, 1916–1921, 1921–1922, 1922, 1923–1925, 1925–1930, 1930, 1930–1932, 1932–1937, 1937–1938, 1938, 1939, 1940–1941, 1941–1942, 1943–1945, 1945–1946, 1946–1949, 1949–1953, 1953–1954, 1955–1956, 1956–1957, 1957–1958, 1958–1962, 1962–1965, 1965–1967, 1967–1969, 1969, 1970–1971, 1972–1975, 1975–1981, 1981–1986, 1986–1987, 1988–1990, 1990–1991, 1991–1993, 1993–1994, 1994–2005
 * 21st Century: Template:U.S. Supreme Court composition 2005–2006, 2006–2009, 2009–2010, 2010–present

title: Wikipedia:Template index/Standard boxes


text:
The Hucksters

The Hucksters is a 1947 American comedy drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr, her debut in an American film. The supporting cast includes Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner, Keenan Wynn, and Edward Arnold. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The movie is based on the novel The Hucksters by Frederic Wakeman Sr., a skewering of the post-World War II radio advertising industry with Gable's character alternating in pursuit of Kerr and Gardner.

Plot
The film revolves around Victor Norman (Clark Gable), a World War II veteran and radio advertising executive. Victor is in search of a job in his field after returning from the war. In an attempt to appear uninterested in finding work, he throws a few dollars out of his hotel window, leaving himself with only $50.

On his way to a job interview at the Kimberly Advertising Agency, Victor spends $35 on a hand-painted necktie to appear sincere. The interview is interrupted by a phone call from Evan Llewellyn Evans (Sydney Greenstreet), the demanding head of the agency's largest client, Beautee Soap. The call causes chaos, and Victor offers to recruit Mrs. Kay Dorrance (Deborah Kerr), a widow of noble British birth and the wife of a WWII U.S. general, for a Beautee Soap campaign targeting Manhattan socialites.

Victor manages to secure an appointment with Kay by pretending to represent the Charity League. During their meeting, he quickly charms her into agreeing to participate in the campaign. However, when they arrive at the photo shoot, the Beautee art director presents a concept featuring a provocative negligee. Victor insists on a more dignified approach and directs a portrait of Kay in an evening gown, surrounded by her children.

The next day, Victor and Mr. Kimberly are summoned to Beautee's offices, where they face Evans. He expresses his displeasure with the changed advertisement but is impressed when Victor plays the radio commercial he created overnight. Evans decides to hire Victor and instructs Kimberly to do so. Victor finds himself attracted to Kay, and they go on a double date with Mr. and Mrs. Kimberly. During the evening, Kimberly drunkenly confesses to starting the agency by betraying his mentor and stealing the Beautee Soap account.

At a nightclub, Victor encounters Jean Ogilvie (Ava Gardner), a torch singer and a former flame, causing tension between him and Kay. To make amends, Victor invites Kay for a romantic getaway in Connecticut. However, when they arrive, they discover the place has changed ownership, and they are assigned adjoining rooms with a connecting door. Upset by the circumstances, Kay leaves, feeling disappointed in Victor.

Evans summons Victor and Kimberly and reveals his desire for a new radio variety show featuring Buddy Hare (Keenan Wynn), a C-list comedian. Victor agrees to secure the deal with Hare's agent, Dave Lash (Edward Arnold), who will be leaving on an evening train. Before heading to the station, Victor visits Kay's house, but their conversation leaves them both unsettled. On the train, he meets Jean again and recruits her help to sign Hare at a lower price. Despite Lash realizing he's been tricked, he honors the deal.

In Hollywood, Victor and his team work on creating the radio show, but they exclude Hare due to his obnoxious behavior and tired jokes. Victor accepts a dinner invitation from Jean but realizes he's still in love with Kay when he returns to find her waiting outside his bungalow. They reconcile, and Victor envisions himself as the provider for Kay and her children.

However, a legal issue threatens the contract with Buddy Hare, and Victor uses cruel innuendo and implied blackmail against Lash to secure the deal. Regretting his actions, Victor feels remorse for his behavior. Back in New York, he presents the proposed show to Evans but realizes that he no longer wants to grovel for success. He confronts Evans, criticizes his behavior, and leaves the meeting.

Outside, Kay waits in her car, and Victor tells her that they will have to postpone marriage until he can regain his financial stability. Kay reassures him that money is not important, as long as he can sell things with dignity and taste. Victor throws his last bit of pocket money into the street, symbolizing their fresh start with nothing, but with a sense of neatness.

Cast

 * Clark Gable as Victor Albee Norman
 * Deborah Kerr as Kay Dorrance
 * Sydney Greenstreet as Evan Llewellyn Evans
 * Adolphe Menjou as Mr. Kimberly
 * Ava Gardner as Jean Ogilvie
 * Keenan Wynn as Buddy Hare
 * Edward Arnold as David Lash
 * Aubrey Mather as Mr. Glass
 * Richard Gaines as Cooke
 * Frank Albertson as Max Herman
 * Douglas Fowley as Georgie Gaver
 * Clinton Sundberg as Michael Michaelson
 * Gloria Holden as Mrs. Kimberly
 * Connie Gilchrist as Betty
 * Kathryn Card as Regina Kennedy
 * Lillian Bronson as Miss Hammer
 * Vera Marshe as Gloria
 * Ralph Bunker as Allison
 * Virginia Dale as Kimberly Receptionist
 * Jimmy Conlin as Blake
 * Gordon Richards as Conrad, Kimberly Butler

Production
Frederic Wakeman's novel The Hucksters (1946) spent 35 weeks in the top stratum of The New York Times Fiction bestseller list, aided perhaps by its raunchy, racy controversy. Life magazine called the book "last year's best-selling travesty" and even Clark Gable, who would eventually star in its film adaptation, said "It's filthy and it isn't entertainment." Life's and Gable's literary sensibilities to the contrary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer paid $200,000 for the motion picture rights before the novel was even published.

Screenwriter Luther Davis and the novel's adapters Edward Choderov and George Wells had "an extensive laundering job" to do to bring the project into compliance with Louis B. Mayer's tastes and the Hays Office's policies. They had to eliminate the graphic (for 1946) sexual scenes, and they changed the book's Mrs. Dorrance from a married woman into a war widow — so she and Vic "could live happily ever after." More problematic, though, was the portrayal of the talent agent David Lash, a pivotal character in the second half of the film. Lash was based on Jules Stein, the founder of talent agency MCA, and Lash's Hucksters protégé Freddie Callahan, who bore an undeniable physical resemblance to Lew Wasserman, Stein's protégé in 1946 who would eventually head MCA himself.

Even in 1947, there were "fears about reprisals from MCA" over the portrayals of Stein and Wasserman, and Vic avers on several occasions that "Dave Lash is an honest man" when the dispute arises over the Buddy Hare contract. The other problem was Lash/Stein's ethnicity: in the novel, Vic tells Lash people will call his honesty into question because he is a Jew; Davis removed all references to Lash's ethnicity and made him a kid who had been in trouble but had "gone straight" and succeeded.

Once the toned-down screenplay was finished and Clark Gable's comfort with it secured, producer Arthur Hornblow Jr. made his final casting decisions and "assembled an exceptional supporting cast" featuring Sidney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou and Edward Arnold, Keenan Wynn and the then "still-unknown Ava Gardner." MGM executives had selected The Hucksters as the debut Hollywood film for Kerr, who had drawn attention for her appearances in ten films in her native Britain since 1941, causing production to be "rushed by Louis B. Mayer, who wanted to release it the following August, trying to revive Gable's name after the flop of Adventure, his last film and launching Deborah's in Hollywood."

As the start of production neared, Ava Gardner grew nervous about appearing with Gable, an actor she had idolized since childhood. Hornblow asked Gable to call her, and he told her: "I'm supposed to talk you into doing this thing. But I'm not going to. I hated it when they did that to me. But I hope you change your mind, kid, I think it would be fun to work together." The two remained friends for the rest of Gable's life.

Gable also sought to make a nervous Kerr feel relaxed when shooting commenced. He sent her six dozen roses on the first day, and "the two hit it off beautifully from the beginning, on and off the set."

Director Jack Conway, an MGM regular with credits stretching back to the silent era, brought this, his penultimate film, in on Mayer's August 1947 timetable. His budget was $2.3 million.

Release
MGM used a "splash" approach on The Hucksters, opening in 350 theaters on July 17, 1947 before expanding to 1,000 theaters a week later, one of the widest releases of the time.

Critical reception
Although Louis B. Mayer had chosen carefully—and spent lavishly—on a property to launch Deborah Kerr and attempt to recoup Clark Gable's popularity after the poorly received Adventure, The Hucksters was not well received by contemporary critics.

Life magazine had excoriated the Wakeman novel, and its film reviewer commented: "The movie version of the famous attack on the advertising business fails to live up to its own ads" and called it "[a] cynically exaggerated study of big business and big advertising."

Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, wrote that it was simply too much Gable. "[U]nless you like Clark Gable very much, you are going to find him monotonous in this hour-and-fifty-five-minute film... [he] is off the screen for all of five minutes—maybe eight. The rest of the time, he's on." He liked Deborah Kerr rather more: "We could do with a little more of her. Not that her rather radiant passion for this well-tailored roughneck makes much sense, but Miss Kerr is a very soothing person and she elevates the tone of the film." He saved his biggest praise for Greenstreet and Menjou, calling their contributions "entertaining and fascinating."

Brog. of Variety was lukewarm: "Somehow Clark Gable just doesn't quite take hold of the huckster part in signal manner. Same goes for Deborah Kerr who is a shade prissy for her volatile romantic role." Like the Times, they were more enthusiastic about the supporting cast: "Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of the soap despot emerges as the performance of the picture, as does Keenan Wynn as the ham ex-burlesque candy butcher gone radio comic. Ava Gardner is thoroughly believable as the on-the-make songstress; Adolphe Menjou is the harassed head of the radio agency which caters to Evans' whilom ways because it's a $10 million account." Finally, there was an observation, politely put, that no doubt crossed the minds of many 1947 moviegoers: "Gable looks trim and fit but somehow a shade too mature for the capricious role of the huckster who talks his way into a $35,000 job [and] is a killer with the femmes...."

Gable's interaction with the two women in the story generated commentary. When it came to the romance between Vic and Kay, Life magazine stuck to its negative guns: "The love story is stupefyingly dull. Opposite the ladylike Deborah, Clark Gable's mannered virility seems embarrassing—something that never happened to him alongside such tough Tessies as Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow in his greater days." But others applauded Kerr and the pairing: The Hollywood Reporter called Kerr "a charming English star... a delightful personality in her American debut." The New York Herald-Tribune called the Gable-Kerr pairing "ideal", saying "she made an impressive bow on the U.S. screen."

Ava Gardner biographer Lee Server, pointing to the chemistry between Vic and his old flame Jean Ogilvie (Gable and Gardner): "proved to be a wonderful pairing, with an on-screen spark between them that revealed their genuine amusement and easy pleasure in each other's company."

Judgment about The Hucksters has mellowed over the years. Halliwell's Film Guide calls it "good topical entertainment which still entertains and gives a good impression of its period", also praising the performance of Greenstreet. The current New York Times capsule summary calls it "one of Clark Gable's best postwar films, as well as one of the finest Hollywood satires of the rarefied world of advertising."

The film rates 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer, based on 5 reviews.

Box office
The Hucksters opened at number one at the US box office, with a non-holiday record in New York City. It finished twelfth at the box office for 1947, earning $3,635,000 in the US and Canada and $810,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $412,000. Topping that list was another soldiers-come-home tale, The Best Years of Our Lives. Author Denise Mann suggests that Vic Norman's unsavory side might have held The Hucksters back: "Clark Gable's unheroic ad-man as post-war returning hero may have contributed to the smaller returns." It also "was a total failure in the foreign market, which in those days knew nothing about American advertising or commercial broadcasting."

Home media
The Hucksters was released on VHS. Its first DVD release was in August 2011 as part of the Warner Archive Collection.

title: The Hucksters


text: User talk:202.59.26.17

title: User talk:202.59.26.17


text:
Talk:Frank Eugene Hook

Untitled
Moved to full name because of ref in Seventy-sixth United States Congress. Psy guy (talk) 04:49, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Frank Eugene Hook


text:
Alejandro Machado

Alejandro José Machado (born April 26, 1982) is a former professional baseball infielder. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Career
In 2004 Machado hit a combined .306 with 30 stolen bases in a career-high 139 games with the Expos' Single-A Brevard and Double-A Harrisburg clubs. He posted a .399 on-base percentage between the two stops, and tied for the organization lead with his 30 steals, while ranking fourth in batting. Machado also hit five home runs with 45 RBI and 63 walks. The Boston Red Sox selected Machado in the Rule 5 draft from the Washington Nationals, Machado spent his first season at the Triple-A level with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2005, being honored with the PawSox Rookie-of-the-Year Award. He was among Pawtucket's most consistent players all season, and finished 10th in the International League with a .300 batting average. He also tied for the club-lead with 21 stolen bases and played tremendous defense at second base, shortstop, and even in the outfield.

The Red Sox added Machado to their roster on September 1. In ten games he posted a .200 batting average (1-for-5) with one double and four runs. His first major league run scored occurred during a strange turn of events when outfielder Gabe Kapler injured himself while running on what turned out to be a home run. After the game was halted to deal with Kapler's injury, Machado achieved his first major league run as a pinch-runner for the ailing Kapler.

He was signed by the Washington Nationals to a minor league deal in November 2006. During the 2006 Winter Meetings, Machado was taken by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule 5 draft. After spending most of 2007 on the major league disabled list, a trade was worked out to nullify the Rule 5 draft restrictions, enabling the Twins to assign Machado to the minor leagues for the 2008 season.

He attended the Twins' 2009 major league spring training camp but was sent to minor league camp on April 1, 2009.

Machado was signed to a minor league contract on January 5, 2010, by the New York Mets.

title: Alejandro Machado


text:
Until Tomorrow

Until Tomorrow is an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson. The series was produced in colour by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network in 1975. It was the second soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation, the first having been Class of '74. It is notable for having been made in Brisbane as opposed to Sydney or Melbourne, and was one of the few Australian soap operas produced for a daytime slot, screning at 2.30 pm in the afternoon in Sydney and 1.30pm in Melbourne.

Series synopsis
Until Tomorrow examined the activities of various residents of the suburban Vale Street. Storylines involved revenge plots, murder, affairs, and blindness. The cast included Ron Cadee as Bill Wainwright, the corner shop keeper; television personality Hazel Phillips as Marge Stewart, a "widowed gossip on the look out for a mate"; Kaye Stevenson, Muriel Watson, Sue Robinson, Babette Stephens, and Barry Otto.

Critical response
The Sun-Herald, TV writer Allen Glover, said that Until Tomorrow had "the edge over the American serials" in that "the characters are Australian – and believable". However TV critic for The Age, John Pinkney, was withering about the show:

"Former judge Jackson Kerridge (whose blindness has obliged him to vacate the Bench) is at his distinguished wit’s end about his two daughters. One girl, recently pushed downstairs by her husband, stands to lose her baby. Sharon, the other, is dating a dangerous criminal. As judges' offspring will, the latter lass works in a milk bar. Well, she doesn’t work, exactly. Amid glittering new props department equipment, she sits all day, chatting to the proprietor about her amorous problems. Perhaps because of the price of extras, no customers ever happen by. For the shopman, a 12-hour day of dragging discourse with listless Sharon is not enough. At knockoff time, he pops around to tell the judge that she is in moral danger. Meanwhile, an old dear named Daphne is writing a slanderous novel about the whole, genteel mess… Until Tomorrow is one of those rare programmes with which an audience can intimately relate. Most viewing mums will proudly know they could have written the simple-minded script themselves… Perhaps this cheaply semi-pdoruced serial will prove too bad to last. But then again, it could be with us for years; providing homebodies with crude instant rewards – and deepening malnutrition of the spirit."

Cast

 * Ron Cadee as Bill Wainwright
 * Hazel Phillips as Marge Stewart
 * Kaye Stevenson
 * Muriel Watson
 * Sue Robinson
 * Babette Stephens
 * Barry Otto as Trevor McKenzie
 * John Nash
 * Harry Scott

Broadcast
The series debuted in February 1975 and screened at 2.30 pm, opposite US serial General Hospital. It experienced low ratings and by July was moved to 11.30 am. It was cancelled after a run of 180 episodes with none of the current storylines concluded in the final episode.

Until Tomorrow was Reg Watson's first Australian soap opera. He went on to devise the more successful soap operas The Young Doctors (1976), The Restless Years (1977), Prisoner (1979), Sons and Daughters (1981), and  Neighbours (1985).

title: Until Tomorrow


text:
Talk:Kodo sawaki

Copyright holder posted on WP:CP stating that he posted this material; removing copyvio notice. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 04:52, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Kodo sawaki


text: User talk:69.145.4.234

title: User talk:69.145.4.234


text:
Tian Zhen

Tian Zhen (born 2 May 1966) is a Chinese rock singer from Beijing.

Early life
On May 2, 1966, Tian Zhen was born in Beijing to Dai Li and Tian Zhenhua. Both of her parents were members of the army — her father as a soldier, and her mother as a solo singer. Tian is the youngest of four children, with three elder brothers.

Tian is an alum of The Affiliated High School of Peking University.

Career
She has described Tina Turner as her favorite singer. Unlike her female Chinese vocalist predecessors, she writes and composes her own songs.

Tian is regarded as one of the three greatest female singers of her generation, along with Mao Amin and Na Ying. Tian's hits include Perseverance (执着), Cheers, Mate (干杯，朋友), What a big tree (好大一棵树), The girl from Ali Mountain (阿里山的姑娘), Night Stand (水姻缘), and Roses in the storms and rainbows (风雨彩虹铿锵玫瑰).

Personal life
Tian married her manager Zhang Weining. They have no children.

Tian suffered from thrombocytopenia, a serious blood disease around 2006.

Discography

 * 1984 Beautiful Bay (美丽的海湾; Měilì de Hǎiwān)
 * 1984 Nameless Little Flower (无名的小花; Wúmíng de Xiǎohuā)
 * 1984 Monica (莫尼卡; Mòníkǎ)
 * 1995 Perseverance (执着; Zhízhuó)
 * 1996 Self-titled Tian Zhen (田震;Tián Zhèn)
 * 1997 Let it Be (顺其自然; Shùn qí Zìrán)
 * 1998 Cheers, Mate (干杯，朋友; GānBēi PéngYǒu)
 * 2000 Shock (震撼; Zhènhàn)
 * 2001 Night Stand (水姻缘; Shuǐ yīnyuán)
 * 2005 38.5 °C
 * 2006 Thanks Tian (干杯，田震; Gānbēi, tiánzhèn)

Related artists/bands

 * Cui Jian
 * Dou Wei
 * Tang Dynasty (band)

title: Tian Zhen