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International Hotel (San Francisco)

The International Hotel, often referred to locally as the I-Hotel, was a low-income single-room-occupancy residential hotel in San Francisco, California's Manilatown. It was home to many Asian Americans, specifically a large Filipino American population. Around 1954, the I-Hotel also famously housed in its basement Enrico Banduccci's original "hungry i" nightclub. During the late 60s, real estate corporations proposed plans to demolish the hotel, which would necessitate displacing all of the I-Hotel's elderly tenants.

In response, housing activists, students, community members, and tenants united to protest and resist eviction. All the tenants were evicted on August 4, 1977 and the hotel was demolished in 1981. After the site was purchased by the International Hotel Senior Housing Inc., it was rebuilt and opened in 2005. It now shares spaces with St. Mary's School and Manilatown Center.

Residential hotel
The I-Hotel, originally established as a luxury location for travelers in 1854, relocated to Kearny Street in 1873 and was rebuilt in 1907 after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. During the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of seasonal Asian laborers came to reside at the I-Hotel. The communities and building around the I-Hotel grew into a 10-block Filipino American enclave along Kearny Street known as Manilatown, the Manilatown section of San Francisco. During the 1960s, residents were able to rent a room in the hotel for less than $50 a month.

Urban renewal
During the urban renewal and redevelopment movement of the mid-1960s, the International Hotel was targeted for demolition. This "urban renewal" that occurred in response to the end of World War II had destroyed the heart of the Fillmore District, San Francisco, and hundreds of homes and thousands of residents were displaced due to the city's plans to expand the downtown business sector.

In 1968, Milton Meyer & Co., a real-estate company, issued eviction notices to the I-Hotel tenants, with plans to demolish and replace the I-Hotel with a parking garage. This demolition would happen concurrently with the destruction of ten blocks of low-cost housing, restaurants, barber shops, markets, clubs and other Filipino community businesses.

In October 1973, the Thailand-based Four Seas Investment Corporation bought the I-Hotel with the similar intentions to replace it with more profitable building or structure.

Resistance and eviction
For years after the first eviction notices were served in 1968, many individuals were involved in the long fight that took place on the streets, in courtrooms, and in the everyday lives of the I-Hotel Manilatown residents.

In 1969, tenants and activists successfully negotiated an extended lease from Milton Meyer & Co. To finance this lease, Asian American art workshops Kearny Street Workshop and Jackson Street Gallery, as well as other rent-paying cultural organizations and businesses such as Everybody's Bookstore, moved into the basement of the I-Hotel. However, in 1974, tenants received eviction notices from Four Seas Investment Corporation, forcing community organizers to revise their plans to resist eviction.

Community poet and historian Al Robles played a key role in organizing the broad coalition of protesters, as did International Hotel Tenant Association chairperson Emil deGuzman and tenants Wahat Tampao and Felix Ayson. Ed Lee volunteered for the cause by working through the terms of various anti-eviction agreements as an attorney for the Asian Legal Caucus. Asian American student activists from nearby University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University also joined the protests, volunteering to repair and repaint the I-Hotel so that it remained habitable for tenants even as the Four Seas Investment Corporation failed to maintain basic utilities.

Controversial Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones also became involved in the fight for the I-Hotel. After Jones was appointed as Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission, the Housing Authority voted to acquire the building using $1.3 million in federal funds and then to turn it over to tenants rights groups.

When a court rejected that plan and ordered evictions in January 1977, the Peoples Temple provided two thousand of the five thousand people that surrounded the building, barricaded the doors and chanted "No, no, no evictions!" Sheriff Richard Hongisto, a political ally of Jones, refused to execute the eviction order, which resulted in Hongisto being held in contempt of court and serving five days in his own jail.

In the early morning of August 4, 1977, 400 San Francisco riot police began to physically remove tenants from homes despite the 3,000 protesters attempting to surround and barricade the I-Hotel. Within six hours, all 55 remaining tenants had been evicted. In total, 197 tenants were evicted.

International Hotel Manilatown Center
In 1994, real estate company Pan-Magna sold the I-Hotel land to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. Subsequently, an $8.3 million grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development was awarded to facilitate development of low-income housing. The Chinatown Community Development Center was chosen to steward this grant.

In 2003, construction began on the new I-Hotel, and the building was completed on August 26, 2005. The new building contains 105 apartments of senior housing. A lottery was held to determine priority for occupancy, with the remaining living residents of the original I-Hotel given priority.

Occupancy started in October 2005, and the new building also contains a ground-floor community center and a historical display commemorating the original I-Hotel. Additionally, a new mural on the site of the new building by Johanna Poethig features Robles, Etta Moon, Bill Sorro, and other tenant activists, commemorating their struggle to preserve affordable housing in San Francisco.

Depictions in popular culture

 * Street Music (1981) is a film about a fictional eviction of a similar hotel in the Tenderloin.
 * The hotel and its elderly Filipino tenants were in a scene in the 1982 indie film Chan Is Missing by Wayne Wang.
 * The Fall of the I-Hotel (1983) is a documentary written and directed by Curtis Choy that chronicles the fight for the I-Hotel and its tenants' eviction. The documentary is narrated by Al Robles.
 * The Manilatown Series (2005) is a series of documentaries and short films written and directed by Curtis Choy that traces the eventual rebuilding of the I-Hotel.
 * I Hotel (2010), a book by Karen Tei Yamashita, uses the I-Hotel as a setting for many of the ten interconnected novellas that comprise the novel.
 * "Save the I-Hotel," a short story in author Lysley Tenorio's collection Monstress (2012), features a manong's memories of the I-Hotel prior to eviction.
 * Remember the I-Hotel, a play based on Lysley Tenorio's "Save the I-Hotel," was presented by the American Conservatory Theater in November 2015.
 * In the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of Barney Miller entitled "Eviction", the plot was loosely based on the events that transpired in the hotel.

title: International Hotel (San Francisco)


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Religion and drugs

Many religions have expressed positions on what is acceptable to consume as a means of intoxication for spiritual, pleasure, or medicinal purposes. Psychoactive substances may also play a significant part in the development of religion and religious views as well as in rituals.

The most common drugs in the historical religions are cannabis and alcohol.

Neolithic
In the book Inside the Neolithic Mind, the authors, archaeologists David Lewis-Williams and David Pearce argue that hallucinogenic drugs formed the basis of neolithic religion and rock art.

Ancient Greece
Some scholars have suggested that Ancient Greek mystery religions employed entheogens, such as the ergot-spiked Kykeon central to the Eleusinian Mysteries, which contained LSD-like compounds to induce a trance or dream state. Research conducted by John R. Hale, Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, Jeffrey P. Chanton and Henry A. Spiller suggests that the prophecies of the Delphic Oracle were uttered by Priestesses under the influence of ethylene gas exuded from the ground.

Ancient Mesoamerica
Archaeological, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic data show that Mesoamerican cultures used psychedelic substances in therapeutic and religious rituals. The ancient Aztecs used a variety of entheogenic plants and animals within their society, including ololiuqui (Rivea corymbosa), teonanácatl (Psilocybe spp.), and peyotl (Lophophora williamsii). Goals for the usage of entheogenics by the Maya were spiritual healing, wisdom gain, and religious ceremonies. The effects of psychedelic plants during religious rituals is believed to have had an impact on the development and creation of statues, and sacred images.

Soma
Hinduism has a history of psychedelic usage going back to the Vedic period. The oldest scriptures of Hinduism Rigveda (1500 BCE), mentions ritualistic consumption of a divine psychedelic known as soma. There are many theories about the recipe of Soma. Non-Indian researchers have proposed candidates including Amanita muscaria, Psilocybe cubensis, Peganum harmala and Ephedra sinica. According to recent philological and archaeological studies, and in addition, direct preparation instructions confirm in the Rig Vedic Hymns (Vedic period) Ancient Soma most likely consisted of Poppy, Phaedra/Ephedra and Cannabis.

In the Vedas, the same word soma is used for the drink, the plant, and its deity. Drinking soma produces immortality (Amrita, Rigveda 8.48.3). Indra and Agni are portrayed as consuming soma in copious quantities. In the vedic mythology, Indra drank large amounts of soma while fighting the serpent demon Vritra. The consumption of soma by human beings is well attested in Vedic ritual.

The Rigveda (8.48.3) says:

Ralph T.H. Griffith translates this as:

Cannabis
The plant Cannabis is also mentioned in the Atharvaveda-Samhita (1200 BCE) and Puranas (c. 200 BCE) as one of the ive of the holy plants.

The Atharvaveda 11.6.15:

'भङ्ग' (bhang) refers to the cannabis plant.

Datura
The hallucinogenic Datura plant has also been used in Ayurvedic contexts and are often used to adorn the Lingam in many Shiva temples and festivals like Navarathri. The plant goes through a detoxification process to remove the psychoactive elements when utilized in standard Ayurveda practice. In the Vamana Purana, it is mentioned that the Datura flower appeared from the chest of Shiva and offering it the will remove evil, suffering and wrongdoings. There are also Sadhus who are worshipers of Shiva and sometimes smoke the leaves and seeds of Datura plant, though is done with caution because it can be poisonous and cause very vivid hallucinations (delirium).

Buddhism
In Buddhism the Right View (' / ') can also be translated as "right perspective", "right outlook" or "right understanding", is the right way of looking at life, nature, and the world as they really are for us. It is to understand how our reality works. It acts as the reasoning with which someone starts practicing the path. It explains the reasons for our human existence, suffering, sickness, aging, death, the existence of greed, hatred, and delusion. Right view gives direction and efficacy to the other seven path factors. It begins with concepts and propositional knowledge, but through the practice of right concentration, it gradually becomes transmuted into wisdom, which can eradicate the fetters of the mind. An understanding of right view will inspire the person to lead a virtuous life in line with right view. In the Pāli and Chinese canons, it is explained thus:

Right livelihood
Right livelihood (samyag-ājīva / sammā-ājīva). This means that practitioners ought not to engage in trades or occupations which, either directly or indirectly, result in harm for other living beings. In the Chinese and Pali Canon, it is explained thus:

"And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This is called right livelihood."

More concretely today interpretations include "work and career need to be integrated into life as a Buddhist," it is also an ethical livelihood, "wealth obtained through rightful means" (Bhikku Basnagoda Rahula) – that means being honest and ethical in business dealings, not to cheat, lie or steal. As people are spending most of their time at work, it's important to assess how our work affects our mind and heart. So important questions include "How can work become meaningful? How can it be a support, not a hindrance, to spiritual practice a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?"

The five types of businesses that should not be undertaken:

 * 1) Business in weapons: trading in all kinds of weapons and instruments for killing.
 * 2) Business in human beings: slave trading, prostitution, or the buying and selling of children or adults.
 * 3) Business in meat: "meat" refers to the bodies of beings after they are killed. This includes breeding animals for slaughter.
 * 4) Business in intoxicants: manufacturing or selling intoxicating drinks or addictive drugs.
 * 5) Business in poison: producing or trading in any kind of poison or a toxic product designed to kill.

The fifth precept
According to the fifth precept of the Pancasila, Buddhists are meant to refrain from any quantity of "fermented or distilled beverages" which would prevent mindfulness or cause heedlessness. In the Pali Tipitaka the precept is explicitly concerned with alcoholic beverages:

"I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness."

However, caffeine and tea are permitted, even encouraged for monks of most traditions, as it is believed to promote wakefulness.

Generally speaking, the vast majority of Buddhists and Buddhist sects denounce and have historically frowned upon the use of any intoxicants by an individual who has taken the five precepts. Most Buddhists view the use and abuse of intoxicants to be a hindrance in the development of an enlightened mind. However, there are a few historical and doctrinal exceptions.

Vajrayana
Many modern Buddhist schools have strongly discouraged the use of psychoactive drugs of any kind; however, they may not be prohibited in all circumstances in all traditions. Some denominations of tantric or esoteric Buddhism especially exemplify the latter, often with the principle skillful means:

Alcohol
For example, as part of the ganachakra tsok ritual (as well as Homa, abhisheka and sometimes drubchen) some Tibetan Buddhists and Bönpos have been known to ingest small amounts of grain alcohol (called amrit or amrita) as an offering. If a member is an alcoholic, or for some other reason does not wish to partake in the drinking of the alcoholic offering, then he or she may dip a finger in the alcohol and then flick it three times as part of the ceremony.

Amrita is also possibly the same as, or at least in some sense a conceptual derivative of the ancient Hindu soma (the latter historians often equate with Amanita muscaria or other Amanita psychoactive fungi). Crowley (1996) states:

"Undoubtedly, the striking parallels between "The legend about Chakdor" and the Hindu legend of the origin of soma show that the Buddhist amrita and the Hindu soma were at one time understood to be identical. Moreover, the principal property of amrita is, to this day, perceived by Buddhists as being a species of inebriation, however symbolically this inebriation may be interpreted. Why else would beer (Tibetan chhang, "barley beer") be used by yogins as a symbolic substitute for amrita [Ardussi]? Conversely, why else would the term bDud.rTsi be used as a poetic synonym for beer?

Conversely, in Tibetan and Sherpa lore there is a story about a monk who came across a woman who told him that he must either:
 * a. kill her goat,
 * b. sleep with her, or
 * c. drink a mug of beer.
 * d. All of the above.

The monk thought to himself, "well, surely if I kill the goat then I will be causing great suffering since a living being will die. If I sleep with the woman then I will have broken another great vow of a monk and will surely be lost to the ways of the world. Lastly, if I drink the beer then perhaps no great harm will come and I will only be intoxicated for a while, and most importantly I will only be hurting myself." (In the context of the story this instance is of particular importance to him because monks in the Mahayana and Vajrayana try to bring all sentient beings to enlightenment as part of their goal.)

So the monk drank the mug of beer and then he became very drunk. In his drunkenness he proceeded to kill the goat and sleep with the woman, breaking all three vows and, at least in his eyes, doing much harm in the world. The lesson of this story is meant to be that, at least according to the cultures from which it delineates, alcohol causes one to break all of one's vows, in a sense that one could say it is the cause of all other harmful deeds.

The Vajrayana teacher Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoche has said that as part of the five precepts which a layperson takes upon taking refuge, that although they must refrain from taking intoxicants, they may drink enough so as they do not become drunk. Bhikkus and Bhikkunis (monks and nuns, respectively), on the other hand, who have taken the ten vows as part of taking refuge and becoming ordained, cannot imbibe any amount of alcohol or other drugs, other than pharmaceuticals taken as medicine.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, is known as teetotaler and non-smoker.

Hallucinogens
There is some evidence regarding the use of deliriant Datura seeds (known as candabija) in Dharmic rituals associated with many tantras – namely the Vajramahabhairava, Samputa, Mahakala, Guhyasamaja, Tara and Krsnayamari tantras – as well as cannabis and other entheogens in minority Vajrayana sanghas. Ronald M Davidson says that in Indian Vajrayana, Datura was:

"'employed as a narcotic paste or as wood in a fire ceremony and could be easily absorbed through the skin or the lungs. The seeds of this powerful narcotic, termed 'passion seeds' (candabija), are the strongest elements and contain the alkaloids hyoscine, hyoscyamine, and atropine in forms that survive burning or boiling. In even moderate doses, datura can render a person virtually immobile with severe belladonna-like hallucinations.'"

In the Profound Summarizing Notes on the Path Presented as the Three Continua, a Sakya Lamdre text, by Jamyang Khyentse Wangchuk (1524–1568), the use of Datura in combination with other substances, is prescribed as part of a meditation practice meant to establish that "All the phenomena included in apparent existence, samsara and nirvana, are not established outside of one's mind."

Ian Baker writes that Tibetan terma literature such as the Vima Nyingtik describes "various concoctions of mind altering substances, including datura and oleander, which can be formed into pills or placed directly in the eyes to induce visions and illuminate hidden contents of the psyche."

A book titled Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (2002), details the history of Buddhism and the use of psychedelic drugs, and includes essays by modern Buddhist teachers on the topic.

Zen
Zen Buddhism is known for stressing the precepts. In Japan, however, where Zen flourished historically, there are a number of examples of misconduct on the part of monks and laypeople alike. This often involved the use of alcohol, as sake drinking has and continues to be a well known aspect of Japanese culture.

The Japanese Zen monk and abbot, shakuhachi player and poet Ikkyu was known for his unconventional take on Zen Buddhism: His style of expressing dharma is sometimes deemed "Red Thread Zen" or "Crazy Cloud Zen" for its unorthodox characteristics. Ikkyu is considered both a heretic and saint in the Rinzai Zen tradition, and was known for his derogatory poetry, open alcoholism and for frequenting the services of prostitutes in brothels. He personally found no conflict between his lifestyle and Buddhism.

There are several koans (Zen riddles) referencing the drinking of sake (rice wine); for instance Mumonkan's tenth koan titled Seizei Is Utterly Destitute:

'Seizei said to Sozan, "Seizei is utterly destitute. Will you give him support?" Sozan called out: "Seizei!" Seizei responded, "Yes sir?!" Sozan said, "You have finished three cups of the finest wine in China, and still you say you have not yet moistened your lips!"'

Another monk, Gudo, is mentioned in a koan called Finding a Diamond on a Muddy Road buying a gallon of sake.

Judaism
Judaism maintains that people do not own their bodies – they belong to God. As a result, Jews are not permitted to harm, mutilate, destroy or take risks with their bodies, life or health with activities such as taking life-threatening drugs. For these reasons, rabbis generally prohibit the use of drugs except in controlled medical situations. Even without a risk to life or health, addictive drugs are discouraged due to their negative social effects.

When issues of physical, mental, and social harm are not present, it is debated whether drugs can have any positive spiritual value. According to Rabbi Walter Wurzburger, "Proximity to God cannot be reached by putting oneself into a trance either through physical or chemical means".

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan suggested that some medieval kabbalists may have used some psychedelic drugs. Indeed, one can find in Kabbalistic medical manuals cryptic references to the hidden powers of mandrake, harmal and other psychoactive plants, though the exact usage of these powers is hard to decipher. Some kabbalists, including Isaac of Acco and Abraham Abulafia, mention a method of "philosophical meditation", which involves drinking a cup of "strong wine of Avicenna", which would induce a trance and would help the adept to ponder over difficult philosophical questions. The exact recipe of this wine remains unknown; Avicenna refers in his works to the effects of opium and datura extracts.

According to Aryeh Kaplan, some have translated kaneh-bosem (קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם), an ingredient in the holy anointing oil, as cannabis. However, the term kaneh-bosem literally translates to "sweet cane" (an association that is difficult to make with cannabis), and most lexicographers, botanists, and biblical commentators translate it as "calamus" (Acorus calamus), a species known throughout the Middle East for its fragrance since the mid-2nd millennium BCE.

Use of alcohol in moderation is an accepted part of Judaism. The Hebrew Bible states that "wine gladdens man's heart", and a single cup of wine is drunk for common rituals such as kiddush (though grape juice may be used instead). Nevertheless, excessive use of alcohol is condemned. Prayer and priestly service are forbidden while intoxicated, and numerous Biblical figures met their downfall through drunkenness. The Talmud states that wine received its Hebrew name (whose sound somewhat resembles a howl) because it "brings lament to the world". The holiday of Purim is exceptional in that on this date drunkenness is encouraged in some communities, in commemoration of the drunkenness which plays a significant role in the Book of Esther.

In Hasidic Judaism alcohol consumption is more common, especially at communal religious events like the farbrengen or tisch, where alcohol often accompanies singing and Torah study. If the drinking is moderate, for the purpose of Divine service, and done together with other chassidim, it is considered useful for expanding the mind and providing enthusiasm in the service of God. Nevertheless, excessive consumption is still discouraged; for example, the Lubavitcher Rebbe forbade his Chassidim under the age of 40 to consume more than 4 small shots of hard liqueurs.

The use of nicotine is well known in Hasidic communities. Stories are told about miracles and spiritual journeys performed by the Baal Shem Tov and other Tzaddikim with the help of their smoking pipe. Hasidim valued smoking both as part of their general goal to raise the spiritual "sparks" that are allegedly present in base physical phenomena, and for the practical goal of experiencing better concentration while under its influence. Nevertheless, since the health impacts of smoking have become understood by modern medicine, there has been a strong movement to discourage and prohibit smoking.

Caffeine use is accepted in Judaism, and played a significant role in the spread of nighttime rituals such as Tikkun Chatzot. Nevertheless, there was initially some opposition from rabbis who were concerned that nighttime gatherings or the coffeehouse atmosphere could lead to illicit behavior.

Christianity
Many Christian denominations disapprove of the use of most illicit drugs. Many denominations permit the moderate use of socially and legally acceptable drugs like alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. Some Christian denominations permit smoking tobacco, while others disapprove of it. Many orthodox or protestant denominations do not have any official stance on drug use, while other Christian denominations (e.g. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses) discourage or prohibit the use of any of these substances.

In the Eucharist, wine represents (or among Christians who believe in some form of Real Presence, like the Catholic, Lutheran and Orthodox churches, actually is) the blood of Christ. Lutherans believe in the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, that the body and blood of Christ are "truly and substantially present in, with and under the forms." of the consecrated bread and wine (the elements), so that communicants orally eat and drink the holy body and blood of Christ Himself as well as the bread and wine (cf. Augsburg Confession, Article 10) in this Sacrament. The Lutheran doctrine of the Real Presence is more accurately and formally known as "the Sacramental Union". It has been inaccurately called "consubstantiation", a term which is specifically rejected by most Lutheran churches and theologians.

On the other hand, some Protestant Christian denominations, such as Baptists and Methodists associated with the temperance movement, encourage or require teetotalism, as well as abstinence from cultivating and using tobacco. In some Protestant denominations, grape juice or non-alcoholic wine is used in place of wine in the administration of Holy Communion.

Conservative Anabaptist denominations, such as the Dunkard Brethren Church, teach: "Members of the Dunkard Brethren Church shall abstain from the use of intoxicating or addictive substances, such as narcotics, nicotine, marijuana, or alcoholic beverages (except as directed by a physician). Using, raising, manufacturing, buying or selling them by Christians is inconsistent with the Christian lifestyle and testimony. Members of the Dunkard Brethren Church who do so should be counseled in love and forbearance. If they manifest an unwilling or arbitrary spirit, they subject themselves to the discipline of the church, even to expulsion in extreme cases. We implore members to accept the advice and counsel of the church and abstain from all of the above. Since members are to be examples to the world (Romans 14:20-21) indulgence in any of these activities disqualifies then for Church or Sunday School work or as delegates to District or General Conference."

The best-known Western prohibition against alcohol happened in the United States in the 1920s, where concerned prohibitionists were worried about its dangerous side effects. However, the demand for alcohol remained and criminals stepped in and created the supply. The consequences of organized crime and the popular demand for alcohol led to alcohol being legalized again.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is supportive of scientific medicine. It promotes eradication of illicit drug use and promotes abstinence against tobacco and alcohol., and promotes a measured and balanced approach to use of both medicinal drugs as well as natural remedies (which it neither discourages or prohibits), promotes the control of medicines that may be abused, and promotes vaccination and immunization.

Islam
Alcohol, or just wine (in the views of some), are considered haram (unlawful).

The Muslim-majority nations of Turkey and Egypt were instrumental in banning opium, cocaine, and cannabis when the League of Nations committed to the 1925 International Convention relating to opium and other drugs (later the 1934 Dangerous Drugs Act). The primary goal was to ban opium and cocaine, but cannabis was added to the list, and it remained there largely unnoticed due to the much more heated debate over opium and cocaine. The 1925 Act has been the foundation upon which every subsequent policy in the United Nations has been founded.

There are no prohibitions in Islam on alcohol for scientific, industrial or automotive use and cannabis is generally permitted for medicinal purposes.

In spite of these restrictions on substance use, the recreational use of cannabis still occurs widely throughout many Muslim nations.

Baháʼí Faith
Followers of the Baháʼí Faith are forbidden to drink alcohol or to take drugs, unless prescribed by doctors. Accordingly, the sale and trafficking of such substances is also forbidden. Smoking is discouraged but not prohibited.

Rastafari movement
Many Rastafari believe cannabis, which they call "ganja", "the herb", or "Kaya", is a sacred gift of Jah. It may be used for spiritual purposes to commune with God, but should not be used profanely. The use of other drugs, however, including alcohol, is frowned upon. Many believe that the wine Jesus/Iyesus drank was not an alcoholic beverage, but simply the juice of grapes or other fruits.

While some Rastafari suggest that the Hebrew Bible may refer to marijuana, it is generally held by academics specializing in the lexicography of the text that cannabis is not documented or mentioned. Some popular writers have argued that there is evidence for religious use of cannabis in the Hebrew Bible, although this hypothesis and some of the specific case studies (e.g., John Allegro in relation to Qumran, 1970) have been "widely dismissed as erroneous" (Merlin, 2003). The primary advocate of a religious use of cannabis plant in early Judaism was Sula Benet (1967), who claimed that the plant kaneh bosm קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the holy anointing oil of the Book of Exodus, was in fact cannabis, although lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by Michael Zohary (1985), Hans Arne Jensen (2004) and James A. Duke (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either Acorus calamus or Cymbopogon citratus.

Groundation
A "groundation" (also spelled "grounation") or "binghi" is a holy day; the name "binghi" is derived from "Nyabinghi" (literally "Nya" meaning "black" and "Binghi" meaning "victory"). Binghis are marked by much dancing, singing, feasting, and the smoking of "ganja", and can last for several days.

Bible verses which Rastas believe justify cannabis use
...thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

Genesis 3.18

...eat every herb of the land.

Exodus 10:12

Better is a dinner of herb where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

Proverbs 15:17

Beliefs about other drugs
According to many Rastas, the illegality of cannabis in many nations is evidence of persecution of Rastafari. They are not surprised that it is illegal, viewing Cannabis as a powerful substance that opens people's minds to the truth – something the Babylon system, they reason, clearly does not want. Cannabis use is contrasted with the use of alcohol and other drugs, which they feel destroy the mind.

Native American religion
The Native American Church (NAC) is a syncretic Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and elements of Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. It is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States (except Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians), Canada (specifically First Nations people in Saskatchewan and Alberta), and Mexico, with an estimated 250,000 adherents as of the late twentieth century.

Thelema
Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass in 1913 while travelling in Moscow, Russia. The structure is similar to the Mass of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, communicating the principles of Crowley's Thelema. It is the central rite of Ordo Templi Orientis and its ecclesiastical arm, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.

The ceremony calls for five officers: a Priest, a Priestess, a Deacon, and two adult acolytes, called "the Children". The end of the ritual culminates in the consummation of the eucharist, consisting of a goblet of wine and a Cake of Light, after which the congregant proclaims "There is no part of me that is not of the gods!"

title: Religion and drugs


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West Island (disambiguation)

West Island may refer to:

 * Australia
 * West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands
 * West Island (Lacepede Islands)
 * West Island (South Australia), an island south of the Fleurieu Peninsula
 * West Island Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia
 * West Island Encounter Bay Aquatic Reserve, a protected area in South Australia
 * West Island, Torres Strait, Queensland

 * Canada
 * West Island, unofficial name for part of Montreal

 * India
 * West Island (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) a protected wildlife island in the Bay of Bengal among Andaman and Nicobar Islands

 * New Zealand
 * West Island, one of the Three Kings Islands, 55 kilometres (34 mi) northwest of Cape Reinga
 * West Island, a humorous nickname for Australia used in New Zealand

 * USA
 * West Island (California), an island on the San Joaquin River that is north of Antioch, California.
 * West Island (Massachusetts), an island in Buzzards Bay.
 * West Island (Rhode Island), an island in Newport County.

title: West Island (disambiguation)


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Talk:Closed platform

adding link to newspaper interview
could someone please add the link to http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/15/web-freedom-threat-google-brin and reference/footnote it to the mention of Facebook being a walled garden in the article. dont know how to do this, thanks. Ryu (talk) 14:36, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

iTunes and iPod
I added the bit about iTunes and iPod, I hope nobody minds.. I know Wikipedia is about saying things in good faith but how can you say something positive about a walled garden? Another example of a walled garden is Sprint's Cellphone WAP service, where developers were only allowed to debug their WAP sites through Sprint Cellphones (paying with their own purchased minutes). Sprint could have offered a cellphone emulator, but didn't. I was at the NYSIA panel about the future of Cellphone services in New York, and witnessed a Sales representative of Sprint giving a 20 question quiz delivered as a sales pitch and subsequently boo'd off stage after This and telling the developers that there was no developer's kit for the cellphones, that everyone would have to work through the service. The Walled Garden reference should point back to what a walled garden is - a garden with high walls that keep people in from getting out and people outside from getting in. This is why I referenced this term as a method of creating a monopoly or a way to secure a system or environment (like with a firewall). In good faith you could see it as a process that businesses use to cash in on a special service, like MTV offers to advertisers selling viewers of MTV as a valuable commodity. MTV in this sense is a walled garden, as are every Television station. In a sense, Patents and Copyrights can be used to protect artists and inventors from infringement, but major corporations hold patents and copyrights of their employees to keep the competitors out.. It's this exclusivity that attracts investors, which is the primary reason technologies are patented. The methods that businesses use to corner a market are too numerous to mention, but the process is much the same.. The Walled Garden approach is just one of the many methods.. --Rofthorax 05:56, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

I don't think iTunes/iPod is a walled garden. This is a popular misconception. Perhaps it's more true to say the iTunes Music Store creates this environment, but iTunes can just as easily be used with MP3 files or anything else a user rips off a CD in MP3 or AAC unprotected format. These MP3 files can also be used with other players. And iTunes functions just as well as a computer player, it's not just for an iPod. Perhaps an update to more accurately reflect that the only walled thing is the store and its relationship with the iPod.

Small change: "A walled garden, with regards to media content" changed to "with regard to..." It's non-standard to use "in/with regards to" but you can say, "As regards your loan application...." Amiwikij (talk) 16:49, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

No sources in list of walled gardens
The list of "Walled Gardens" has no sources at all. Does anyone know of any notable people claiming that all these technologies are "walled gardens"? David Delony (talk) 00:20, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Origin
While the term might have been popularized by Engadget podcast, et al., I think it was a trade term that was used (even if not among popular culture) before Engadget podcast started. And the article mentions that its history might go back a thousand years. So it would probably be better to tone down the Engadget references a bit.

Also, per the "what good can you say?"... A few businesses at least have thought walled gardens might be a good idea, otherwise they wouldn't have done it. In terms of any possible benefit to consumers... maybe it might be remotely conceivable that customers's telecom service would be lower priced because of the exclusivity agreements? (eg. similar to the Preferred provider organization rationale). I don't know... --Interiot 08:21, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I cannot in any claim credit for having popularized this term, it's been around in the tech world for years and most definitely predates any usage on the Engadget Podcast.PeterRojas 04:00, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Battle.net 2.0
With the introduction of network DRM beginning with World of Warcraft, and being forced to use network DRM with Starcraft 2 (battle.net not LAN) would Battle.net 2.0 be considered a walled garden? --Thespam 22:51, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Walled gardens only in Wikis?
The concept of "walled gardens" and "orphan pages" in regards to information resources, shouldn't only be attributed to wikis, articles, or Wikipedia. Isn't this concept a common pitfall of websites in general that are not made to be navigable, especially those that rely on searches too much? I've seen many websites that exhibit these pitfalls. I think this should be generalized to talk about "walled gardens" and "orphan pages" in regards to best practices on the Web in general. Is there any reliable literature on this topic outside of Wikipedia? --71.193.24.251 (talk) 00:49, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

Is Facebook Really a 'Walled Garden'?
Should Facebook still be included as an example of a 'walled garden'? Content providers can chose whether to make their content open to all or not, rather than the platform provider. If Facebook is a 'walled garden' then so is an Intranet - and I don't think this is how the term is perceived. Rather a 'walled garden is defined by the platform provider, surely?

Note there are clearly issues about privacy related to Facebook, but this needs to be decoupled from its misplaced (IMO) characterisation as a walled garden.

I propose deleted Facebook from the list of examples. I'd welcome comments before I do this. Note having read the article again I would also question the definition: "More generally, a "walled garden" refers to a closed or exclusive set of information services provided for users." I suggest replacing this with:

"More generally, a "walled garden" refers to a closed or exclusive set of information services which the platform provider restricts in order to gain competitive advantage".

I think this acknowledges the negative connotations of the term whilst excluding uses in which content providers explicitly chopse to restrict access to content. lisbk (talk) 16:00, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Au contraire, Facebook is the paradigmatic walled garden, together with Apple; and that's not directly related to privacy but for the fact that privacy concerns are caused by Facebook being a walled garden. The problem is not that content is not published to the internet in general (although sometimes the term is used with that meaning); it's that its users couldn't get it out of the system if they wanted.
 * For an information provider, being walled garden means at first that it places restrictions in interoperability because information can't be easily get out of the system, since it doesn't provide an open export format; and second, the system operator reserves the right to decide which services can their clients build on it, and to ban anything they don'like (which is precisely the definition you suggest). AFAIK Facebook exhibits both these properties. Diego (talk) 17:32, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for the response. There are ways of exporting content from Facebook, including those provided by Facebook and by third parties (eg Facebookexport). However surely this is also true to Twitter - which has blocked third parties from exporting structured content (e.g. they instructed TwapperKeeper to remove the XML/Excel export recently). If you're saying that the walled garden aspect isn't to do with the access control (which I agree) but with the lack of ability to export appropriate structured content, the article should provide additional examples. Note I'm happy to discuss this here (and elsewhere) in order to seek consensus).

Note in light of your comments would you agree with the following proposed definition:

"More generally, a "walled garden" refers to a closed or exclusive set of information services which the platform provider restricts access to creation, viewing or export of content, in order to gain competitive advantage".

^ Communist fallacy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 187.57.174.90 (talk) 01:51, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

lisbk (talk)

Kindle
Whoever says the Kindle is a walled garden device has never used one. Here's how you use a kindle: Step One: plug it into your computer. Step Two: transfer text files from computer to Kindle. Step Three: conveniently read text files on a pocket-sized device with an ergonomic screen. The text files could be absolutely anything. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.28.91.176 (talk) 22:18, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

--KINDLE SUCKS. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2804:14C:4183:51F:D845:19B9:7634:105B (talk) 17:56, 29 June 2016 (UTC)

Walled garden in media
Walled garden in media is different than closed platform. A closed platform is about technological lock ins. A horticultural walled garden is about creating the conditions for particular plants to thrive, the media one is about creating conditions for particular ideas to thrive. There are walled gardens of fraudulent web pages linked to each other to give the appearance of legitimacy (e.g. the product's web page links to fake trade magazine web page and fake blogs by happy customers, dig in and you'll see a common parent company or whatever). A discussion about walled garden in media can include things like 'search bubbles' and the Facebook 'fake news' scandal of 2016.

I think the media concept could be merged with the short horticultural page and 'walled garden media' could redirect there, they deal with fundamentally the same ideas: blocking something out, encouraging something within. Aach (talk) 18:13, 28 November 2016 (UTC)

AOL example is off base.
While AOL may be the best example of a Walled Garden that has ever existed, the example seems to be way off base.

When people were just learning about the internet, millions of people joined AOL and thought that because they were "online" they were on the internet, but they were not. In fact they were on AOL's website which was a rich Walled Garden that provided a wide variety of services. They were able to access that walled garden via either dial-up modem or an actual real ISP. At the time it was common for people to receive two or three free AOL CDs in the mail every week so it required no thought and no knowledge to get the ball rolling. Loosely speaking, AOL users were kind of the butt of the joke among "real internet" users, which is largely what caused the quick collapse of AOL membership. There were no proud exAOL users.

The beautifully tended AOL Walled Garden, was an online service provider (OSP), and for example, was an email provider, a news provider, an entertainment provider (music, movies, porn), health information, a BBS service, and social media with active discussion groups and so forth. ...Anything anybody could want!

Similar to Google Gmail, their email was not true email when emailing somebody within the Walled Garden. For example when a Gmail user "emails" another Gmail user, one is simply calling up a Google website and depositing your message there, —while the one receiving that Gmail calls up the same website to pick up that Gmail. Same-same with AOL.

The article says that AOL preferentially offered sponsored content to users, and CBS paid to provide sports content, ABC paid to provide news, etc, and that this was all highly profitable may be true, but that is talking about something else. While the terms: Walled Garden, and Proprietary, Anti-competitive, and Monopoly are often interrelated, they are not synonyms. --Doug Bashford 2607:FB91:7905:9C86:D801:40FF:FE2B:D43B (talk) 02:27, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Closed platform


text: Talk:Brazilian literature

title: Talk:Brazilian literature


text:
Talk:Koichi Sugiyama

Article improvements
Mr. Sugiyama is such a underated video game composer, I would like to write a more detailed article about Mr. Sugiyama it is just I need correct sources. I can not really find anything on him in english that has something like a time line, if I could only have someone to please translate some of Mr. Sugiyama's official website I could write a nice article from his beginning to present and future. Alus 1:00, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Picture
Here is a picture of him composing an orchestra with the London Philharmonic Orchestra http://www.icheg.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Koichi-Sugiyama.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Zymyne (talk • contribs) 20:19, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

I added his photo as default picture. SimpsonsMan1234 (talk) 10:39, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Political Activites
This section was a mess, so I cleaned it up and made some clarifications. I also added citation requests to two of the items that carried no sources. One item however, I struck, but only because my Japanese is very weak and I can't figure out what the reference article is referring to (and thus what Mr. Sugiyama's actual involvement was, if any). Evidently, he was a signatory to something and is loosely connected to a politician in Japan, but the original text that was added to this wiki article is unclear:

"Also in 2010, Imuki Fujii and Kosuke Nishimura and accused then-premier Yukio Hatoyama for "Public Offices Election Law violation" suspicion, Sugiyama is the one linked the name in the signature. "

--Ndtronerud (talk) 23:51, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Eight Things left to cite
Anyone have a reference for the games that don’t have a reference? Judgesurreal777 (talk) 06:19, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
 * All of the Dragon Quest games can be easily cited to their respective ending credits, if not a soundtrack. But I don't think I've ever seen them for Derby Stallion 64 and Backgammon. ~ Dissident93 (talk) 19:39, 23 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Perhaps, but I haven’t found a reference with their ending credits anywhere... also, does that mean you think we should cut those other random games if no source can be found? Judgesurreal777 (talk) 20:56, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Inaccurate and misleading use of political science terms in current lead
The repeated watering down of my additions to the lead made by user Dissident93 are frankly bizarre, and I shouldn't have to be defending objectivity in favor of subjectivity on wikipedia, but here we are.

In both of my additions, I merely summarized the material in the "Political activities and beliefs" section of the article. I worded things, maybe admittedly provocatively in my first edit, but my most recent edit is nothing but clear, concise, and objective. This is a major section of the article and I see no reason why it should not be referenced in the lead.

Both times, Dissident93 reduced my additions to "Sugiyama is also a political activist whose conservative/nationalistic views have been met with criticism.", with conservative in the first edit and nationalistic in the second. This is a blatant use of the passive voice, surely meant to try and tone down the political character of Sugiyama's actions, and barely even has a place in mass media journalism, let alone wikipedia.

First, Sugiyama is not a "political activist", so much as he is someone who has engaged in political activism. There is no citation for this being a major aspect of his public life. Which is why my additions were particular about making statements that were supported by the evidence as presented in the article.

Second, the association of war crime denial with conservativism and nationalism is undoubtedly a willful misrepresentation of what Sugiyama has said in public and what he has supported. War crime denial is roundly regarded as politically extreme, it isn't a standard aspect of either political conservatism or nationalism, really, war crime denial is not even unique to conservatism or nationalism. These words have meaning and to use these broad terms simply because they may contain war crime denial in extremist ideology is obfuscating at best and apologism of the ugly aspects of extremist ideology within broader political movements at worst. David Duke's lead article doesn't go out of its way to not say that he is a Holocaust denier, Michael Jackson's lead article has a whole paragraph on the child sexual abuse scandals even though the allegations against him were never definitively proven, so, why is Sugiyama exempt from being identified for doing what he has done, publicly and seemingly without reservation?

Thirdly, Dissident93 has repeatedly failed to identify who these mysterious groups or individuals who have been meeting Sugiyama's political views with criticism. They should cite these publicly available critiques made of Sugiyama in order to make that statement in such a prominent position in the article. Or, they should just drop that shameful use of the passive voice and stick to an objective description of the facts. Wikipedia should be clear, concise, and factual. If someone denies war crimes in public, the encyclopedia entry on them can and should simply say that they are a war crime denier due to them having denied war crimes vocally in public. That is what this article has citations for, after all.

At the very least I would expect someone blatantly trying to sanitize the lead article of this entry on Wikipedia wanting to say something about why it's not fair to tarnish Sugiyama's legacy, because if this was about emotional attachment to the music in his games, fine, that makes sense, it makes for bad judgement calls on wikipedia in a way that I think is unequivocally politically motivated censorship, but at least it makes sense. And, honestly, don't even try to argue that it's fine to leave out of the lead because it's in the article, again, it's about a quarter of the body of the article already and it's what Sugiyama has chosen to make himself known as, I am not tarnishing anyone's legacy here. But it's insulting to hide behind the seemingly emotionally disaffected motivation to make the article shorter. That's spineless. It's one single sentence. It's relevant information about a public figure that I would say that most people would want to know about someone if they are curious enough to access their wikipedia page. Far less morally repugnant things are in the leads of other public figures, and in the digital age, I think we all have a right to ease of access to information like this. You can like his music, even love it, frankly, I love the music in Dragon Quest. But it is a disservice to fans to make this information about Sugiyama any more obscured than it should be. People have a right to know about this, upfront. And don't even bother trying to say "well everyone should just read the whole article." They won't, we all know it.

So, go ahead and trim down my addition to the lead if it really is brevity or conciseness that you want, but do so without obscuring the important information. The lead should summarize the article well and it isn't complete without a summary of an entire quarter of the article. No oversimplifications or misrepresentations. Use the correct political science terms in good faith. No phantom meetings of criticism. Summarize the major section of the article that in the current iteration of this article is not at all communicated let alone summarized.

--Thenewjay777 (talk) 08:46, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

Dissident93, I thought I would let you know that as of this [|this edit], I approve of the current state of the lead of the article.

My disagreement with the state of the lead was not exactly that the lead didn't include enough information, but that it didn't include enough signifiers as to the nature of the content in the article, and then, later, when we got into a bit of an edit war, enough unambiguous signifiers. A lead does not have to be a list of sins for a controversial figure, but I would say that it is essential that, if one were to read the lead and then subsequently read the article, there should not be any content in the article that would be a shock to the reader. That, to me, would signify that the lead had been written in a way which attempted to obscure relevant or controversial information from anyone who was not willing to investigate thoroughly. Yes, it would be ideal if everyone could do their due diligence when learning and ensure we have investigated everything to the best of our ability, but, well, that's not necessarily why people consume wikipedia in the first place. One can only blame users for using something incorrectly for so long before it becomes absurd to not just make the thing in a way that accomplishes your objectives without demanding users follow unspoken rules or demands.

It matters very much, I think, to draw attention to war crime denial, in this age of mass disinformation, misdirection, and historical revisionism. Ideologically, I find his views absolutely abominable, I still play and love Dragon Quest games and can even acknowledge Sugiyama's skill and craft, but it can be very isolating to consider how few people outside of Japan probably know about it, or even care. So I think it's very important to make these conversations more visible. At any rate, again, it's probably the only thing I agree with war crime deniers on—they can be public with their views all they like and I won't stop them from associating with it. Reasonable people will continue seeing it for what it is.

At any rate, Dissident93, I hope that this part of the lead will not change, you are obviously much more active on wikipedia than me, so I hope that you having done this yourself means you have taken my criticisms to heart and acknowledge the intent of my contributions or, at least, you were willing to compromise and you're tired of the back and forth. So I hope to see this change be carried through into the future. Well, I mean, unless Sugiyama were to do an about face and publicly disavow his past views strongly enough to warrant a shift in the degree to which those views can be attributable to him. Stranger things have happened!

2604:3D09:CF80:A000:2C45:6D7E:9C1F:C71C (talk) 18:28, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Koichi Sugiyama


text:
User talk:RHaworth/Archive to 2005 October

Linac
Dear Roger, Need your help.... Talk:Linac Need to make Linac which stands for Linear Accelerator to Linear particle accelerator

Thanks for all your help! Scott Fisher, A newbie! -- Scottfisher 04:27, 2005 July 19

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Scottfisher Hi Roger, Leaving for California, See you in two weeks! Long drive, vacation be back August 3..... Again, thanks for your help.
 * . KFOG plays the hits!

Steve Winwood
Roger, Me again....Sorry What does Wikipedia do with people that complain about someone? I notice I'm not the only one..... User talk:Pigsonthewing Caio~ scottfisher
 * You don't make it easy for me. I assume your question was "please comment on a recent edit to Steve Winwood by Pigsonthewing in which he removed a link to . The edit summary says "rm. cut'n'paste fan site". I assume the flying pig means that he considers the site to have little original content, merely material cut and pasted from elsewhere. I would reject linking to this site on the grounds that its design is apalling: it includes enormous pictures - remember that some browsers do not automatically scale pictures. It contains too wide a variety of font sizes, mostly too big. It contains too much in capitals.
 * The best procedure is to put the link in Talk:Steve Winwood and ask other editors to vote on whether it should be in the main article. -- RHaworth 13:57, 2005 July 20 (UTC)

UK-geo-stubs
Are now a confusion of local ones and country ones, eg. …

Crown dependency stubs
Hi Roger - just thought you'd like to know that - although it won't quite get to the usually required number of stubs - there's now a separate UK-crown-geo-stub and for the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Sadly there were nowhere near enough stubs for two separate categories - even with me creating about ten new Isle of Man stubs! - but at least they're separated from the UK stubs now. Grutness...  wha?  08:07, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

SPN, etc.
Roger,

Made it to California...Five days driving... Through the southern USA.

Interesting sites through the desert. Do a search on wikipedia on Meteor Crater.... Cool place in Arizona! Added new page from here in San Jose, Paleoparadoxia I took the picture... Also, saw your talk on SNS, and I did take the aerial pictures with a collegue of mine Paul Holik he is a pilot, But will explain, and chat more when I get back to Tennesssee, I fly back Sunday, and my wife and 13 Year old son stay here for two more weeks visiting her elderly parents. Charlie Horack works at SNS and I'm surprised she just deleted all the work we've done.

Caio, Scott

PS: You need to help me copyright or whatever all my contributed pictures, next week or week after.

 * Please add new stuff at the end of this talk page, not the top. I did a double-take when I saw you writing up fossils - then I read on and saw the connection. I was amused, surprised and relieved to find that you know the person who vandalised SNS. I will leave the two of you to fight it out. Likewise, amused and surprised that you really did go up in a plane. Image tagging is not difficult - just copy and paste  into each image description - I would do it for you but it looks more credible if the tag matches the edit history! -- RHaworth 04:14:14, 2005-07-28 (UTC)

 * Scott in the plane taking pictures

Hello again Roger, With all your wisdom I need your help as I see an Error that needs correcting on the bottom of ,Appalachian Mountains. Seems like there was a problem there before as I studied the history... Maybe to many characters or something? Hope you are doing fine, as I am back home. Weather in the bay area of Northern California is the best! Regards... User:Scottfisher

DISREGARD ABOVE OLD FRIEND, I guess I magically fixed it! Still learning...Hope I made someone happy..

Albert - ouch
Roger, me again.... when you become an Admin, Please get rid of this one, Thanks in advance. X Warning. -- Scotty 23:15 EST. 8/10/05. Especially while there are backlogs on WP:PUI and WP:CP (which includes one of yours in case you had not noticed). -- RHaworth 04:08:33, 2005-08-11 (UTC) Except that since Image:SNS RF ion Source.jpg was taken by a Govt employee inside a Govt installation, should not the tag be PD-USGov-DOE ? I dunno what has happened with Image:Spheres.jpg and Image:Repo von Guericke hemispheres.jpg. My tools tell me that they are perfectly valid JPEG files - they just happen to be nothing but white pixels! Check them on your machine and try yet again. -- RHaworth 04:36:04, 2005-08-11 (UTC)
 * Yes. Makes me feel uncomfortable just looking at it. How did you find it - or perhaps I better not ask. But it does have a PD-self tag on it placed there by the uploader (unlike ) - so why should I touch it?
 * >In response: I noticed at the bottom of User:Scottfisher, [Category:User-created public domain images] has been added to the page and I was most curious last night to see what this was. As I reviewed the pictures I saw it. Must be european? I understand your feelings.
 * I see now that you have tagged at least one image - well done.
 * >In response:Yes only because this image is a non-corrected size, and I'm still wondering how to label the others without too much work of correcting the size. I guess I'll have to put into the uploaded Image then reload them to the pages, and resize accordingly so not to screw up the page.
 * >See below.
 * >In response: I would think so....I'll mention it to Miss Charlie, but I know she is busy.
 * >In response: Yes I tried loading them yesterday, and for some reason they did not come out. I tried it again and same thing, I will try it later and attempt to load them up. Not sure why it did this.

Image tags
[From above] - non-corrected size, work of correcting the size, etc. What on earth are you talking about? I will say this very slowly: Are you beginning to understand? I am not going to tag any more of your pictues - tags should be placed by the uploader so that the shows that the uploader was also the tagger. -- RHaworth 18:31:24, 2005-08-11 (UTC)
 * Image copyright tags such as are placed as text in an image descriptor page such as this or this. The copyright tag does not appear in the article where the image is used.
 * Images can be uploaded any size you like - Wiki (not your browser) will scale them to the required size without you having to do anything - like this: [[Image:SNS_033.jpg|24px]] [[Image:SNS_033.jpg|36px]] [[Image:SNS_033.jpg|48px]] [[Image:SNS_033.jpg|72px]]

>Understand and I beleive most are tagged now. Thanks for the template or whatever its called.

Amarna letters
To be honest, I'm not at all sure what that fellow's on about. I don't know if it's original research or a translation (or, if it was his translation, would that be original research?) User:Llywrch seems pretty knowledgable about this stuff, maybe he can help sort it out? --Briangotts (talk) 13:41, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi Roger, I saw your note about that article. I just noticed this contributor's work yesterday, but didn't add to your comments about Amarna Letters Dictionary Global, No. 1 for the simple reason I thought you argued your case very clearly & persuasively: these contributions belong either at Wikibooks or Wikisource. (ISTR seeing at Wikisource transcriptions of Hittite texts, which is why I mention it.) If this fellow would log in & use his account here on Wikipedia, we could explain this point & educate him there; but his practice of editting anonymously prevents that.

 * As the quality of his work, I really can't offer a solid opinion about it, except that it doesn't obviously betray itself as the work of a crank. (Although I am surprised at his lack of skill with computers in this day & age.)

 * While I'm not happy with this solution, maybe the best thing to do would be to go ahead & move these articles over to Wikibooks or Wikisource, & leave a note what was done, & that the original material will be deleted. (See Transwiki log, which appears to indicate that this is the policy. If that seems too harsh, tell him what's going to happen first -- & that he can continue to work on these articles over there just as before. I'm going to be out of town (& away from Wikipedia) for the weekend starting tomorrow, so if you'd like my support or help I probably won't be available until Monday. -- llywrch 20:39, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

 * Update: some of his related work has been listed on VfD. See Votes for deletion/Amarna Letters EA 19(Tushratta). And no, I wasn't the one who started this ball rolling. -- llywrch 23:35, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

Rob Vincent
Why did you remove the speedy tag from Rob Vincent? I do not see anything in that article as it stands that looks like a claim of notability to me. Also it appears that you used the admin rollback tool. As I understand it, this is only supposed to be for vandalism. My addition of the speedy tag was in good faith, and in no way vandalism, even if you disagree with it. I have been fairly active on new page patrol and on VfD, and I was active in the debates on the creation of WP:CSD criterion A7. I created nn-bio. I have also been consistant in advocating strict application of the CSD, not favoring speedy tags on undesireable articles that do not quite meet the criteria. I have made this point several times on VfU and VfD. So I don't think my speedy tags should be looked on as vandalism, although there is always room to debate any edit. DES (talk) 15:51, 24 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Sorry about using rollback - I agree - I should have reverted with an edit summary. I think (and point me at the appropriate bit of the manual if I am wrong) that an article under VfD consideration should not be also tagged for speedy. As a non-sysop you can still:
 * close the VfD debate with and  at top and bottom
 * replace the VfD tag on the article with.
 * If Rob Vincent had been thus I would have deleted it willingly. -- RHaworth 16:11:05, 2005-08-24 (UTC)

 * I belive you are incorrect. I have rather frequently added speedy tags to articles on VfD, and fairly often experienced admins have reacted to such articles by speedying them. OTOH, I have been strongly advised by several admins, at least one a beauracrat, not to close any VfD as a non-admin unless the result was a clear keep. I am going to re-add the tag to the article DES (talk) 16:17, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

 * OK. I shall watch what experienced admins are doing. -- RHaworth 16:22:39, 2005-08-24 (UTC)

A minor template problem
Maybe you can help me. Its a template problem. This one has been bugging me for a while now. If you go to Pottsville, Pennsylvania On the right you will see a template with no flag. Really there is no flag for this city, Is it possible to eliminate it and center the seal? Oh well....Have to run and look at the Flux capacitor

Much Thanks.... Scotty

 * Options:
 * Find a flag somewhere - since you do copyvios so happily, this should be no problem
 * Find a template that does not include a flag. Template:US City infobox is only used by 110 cities - how do other cities do things
 * Create a new template - and use it in at least three cities straight away - just to 'fix' it in place
 * Change the Pottsville article to, save the article - edit the result. I do not recommend this - templates are a good idea.
 * -- RHaworth 19:03:01, 2005-08-25 (UTC)

Note, mainly to self: Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp. suggests that Scotties uploads of old postcards are not copyvios. Use {{PD-art}}. -- RHaworth 19:03:01, 2005-08-25 (UTC)
 * Interesting about Corel Scott 15:47:20, 2005-08-27 (UTC)

 * I chose number two above, with the template example link you provided. It'll have to be later though. Looks like it may take some time to substitute, and make sure it works correctly. Going to make it a weekend project.
 * Cool...
 * As for the copyvios they really are old post cards I use to get years ago in the five and dime when I was a kid. Not sure if you know what that is by five and dime...Holy cow, I can not believe wikipedia, They had the link to five and dime, Wikipedia amazes me. LOL
 * You don't see five and dimes around anymore. They use to be in all the downtowns. Most have gone out of business due to the malls. That is why I feel it is important to capture the moment here on Wikipedia, If you know what I mean.
 * Catch up with you later...and I'll get on that. Much Thanks again for your time.... Scotty

Well I attempted to substitute a new template and no luck. Better leave it alone for now. Those symbols really scare me. LOL Scares me
 * Good Saturday Morning Roger,

It's not hurting anything just bugging me, LOL I'll go back at another time and attempt it again. Thanks Scott 15:47:20, 2005-08-27 (UTC)

Franciszek Honiok
Fair enough, I wasn't really sure what to do with it. A redirect can't hurt. --qviri 06:14, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Scarface references in south park
Could you close the vfd and delete this page? The VFD technically has two more days but all users have voted to delete. Thanks. freestylefrappe 04:43, August 28, 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks again. freestylefrappe 01:31, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

Category:Women composers
Not sure how I missed this, I must have been out of town or something. To answer your question posted on the recently closed cfd, yes this category was discussed here and the following listings, as part of a gender specific topic on Cfd. The result was to merge back to their prespective specialty categories. I am writing this to you, because you showed interest in the deletion/recreation and Radiant!'s attempt to get it re-deleted. Whether or not someone feels it should be recreated, should not out weigh the consensus of the community. I do personally believe that it is biased to seperate men and women in non-gender specific job roles, however it has no bearing on my feelings about users recreating items after the community has decided to delete them, especially if they had knowledge of such and ignored it. I am not speaking of you, I am just letting you know the history, as like I said you showed an interest. I am closing the current Cfd as no consensus (no change)/keep. However I think it will the topic will be raised again. Please do not take this in the wrong manner, I am just informing you. Thanks. ∞ Who ? ¿ ? 00:42, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

Michael McAnnis and the Armarna letters
Hey, dunno how you spotted Michael and contacted him. But thanks, great. He's left some excited stuff on my page, all full of the discoveries he's made. I've said thanks but we want you to get your stuff downloaded if you need it. I've told him I'll delete it after seven days so he has to pull his socks up. Thanks again. --Tony Sidaway Talk 03:58, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

greetings
when were category:user dzl and category:user dzl-N deleted? they were/are linked to templates whose deletion vote that hasn't closed yet. thankz, McVonn 03:54, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

about Cross-Strait Relations
hi, roger. Cross-Taiwan-Strait relation is not a usually used name, there are two hyphens, and the plural word "relations" should be used, i do not think english users would try this name, and chinese (or any other language) users can follow the interwiki from that version of wikipedia, so i do not feel that we should keep this page, even though it is now just a redirect. --roc (talk) 10:55:17, 2005-09-03 (UTC)
 * I have no feelings. Re-instate the speedy tag if you want - I will not touch it. But see below. -- RHaworth 18:02:36, 2005-09-03 (UTC)

Weissenburg im Bayern
You removed the delete tag and claim it a "totally valid" redirect.

I don't see the point in having redirects for every imaginable spelling or grammar error. -- Ikar.us 13:18:44, 2005-09-03 (UTC)

 * I don't see the point …. I agree - I could have created a redirect from Weißenburg im Bayern but did not. (Weißenburg in Bayern exists already.) But when a redirect has been created by a move, it is far less effort to leave the redirect than waste effort (as we are doing now) on removing it. In this case the version with im scores a few Google hits so I say keep. But as for "Cross-Strait Relations" above - do what you like. (I saw that the "in Bayern" one allegedly links back to the "im Bayern" title. I assume this is a database glitch.) -- RHaworth 18:09:56, 2005-09-03 (UTC)

Mark Wingett and other odd vandalism
Hi. I see you've spotted the odd vandal I've been dealing with. He first came to my attention through Families (TV series), but also makes incorrect edits to various Simpsons articles. At least hi sedit of Familes lets me know his latest IP, and I can sift through User contributions checking his edits: see this one! , particularly where Murray Lindsay takes you! The JPS 17:36, 7 September 2005 (UTC)


text:
Abdal (disambiguation)

Abdal is a rank of forty Sufi saints in Islamic metaphysics and mysticism.

Abdal may also refer to:

Places

 * Abdal, Azerbaijan, a village in the Agdam District of Azerbaijan
 * Abdal, Punjab, a village in Amritsar Dist. of Indian state of Punjab
 * Abdal, Gurdaspur, Punjab, a village in Gurdaspur Dist. of Indian state of Punjab
 * Abdal, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran
 * Abdal, Nebraska, a ghost town in the United States

Other uses

 * Abdal (caste), a Muslim community found in North India
 * Abdals (ethnic group in West Asia), an ethnic group in Turkey, Syria, and the Balkans
 * Qara Shemsi Abdal (1828–1886), a 19th-century Ottoman poet
 * Äynu people of Xinjiang region, China
 * Äynu language, the language of the Äynu
 * Hephthalites were sometimes referred to as Abdals

title: Abdal (disambiguation)


text:
Live to Tell

"Live to Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album, True Blue (1986). The song was composed by Patrick Leonard as an instrumental for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire, but Paramount rejected it. Leonard then presented the track to Madonna, who decided to use it for At Close Range, a film starring her then-husband Sean Penn. Madonna wrote the lyrics, co-composed the melodies and co-produced it with Leonard. "Live to Tell" was released as True Blue's lead single in 1986, by Sire Records; afterwards, it was included on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Something to Remember (1995), and Celebration (2009). A pop ballad, the song includes instrumentation from guitars, keyboards, drums and a synthesizer, while the lyrics deal with deceit, mistrust and childhood scars; Madonna also recalled in an interview that she thought about her relationship with her parents while writing the lyrics.

Upon release, the song was acclaimed by music critics, who frequently referred to it as one of her best ballads. It was also commercially successful, becoming Madonna's third number one in the US Billboard Hot 100, and her first number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The music video, directed by James Foley, shows the singer in a more demure, toned down appearance, inspired by actresses such as Grace Kelly, intercut with clips from the movie. "Live to Tell" was included on four of Madonna's concert tours. The performance at 2006's Confessions Tour caused controversy as it had the singer hanging from a mirrored cross simulating a crucifixion; religious groups condemned the number as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church. Madonna responded saying that her main intention with the performance was to bring attention to the millions of children dying in Africa. "Live to Tell" has been covered by a handful of artists, particularly for tribute albums.

Background and release
In 1985, after Madonna concluded The Virgin Tour, she approached producers Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray and asked them to write some songs with her and produce her third studio album, True Blue (1986). The first songs Madonna and Leonard worked on for the album were "Love Makes The World Go Round" and "Live to Tell". This last one was composed as an instrumental by Leonard for the score of Paramount's film Fire with Fire. Leonard recalled, "My managers represented the guy who was directing [the film]; it was his first film. I saw a little piece [of the film], and I had the script. I wrote a theme and I said, 'what if I could get Madonna to write the lyrics for it?'". Paramount, however, rejected the track, believing it was inappropriate for the film, and that Leonard was incapable of creating a proper score; afterwards, Leonard presented the instrumental to Madonna, who decided to use it for At Close Range, the new film starring her then-husband Sean Penn.

Madonna wrote all the lyrics, added some melodies, and composed the bridge. She recorded a demo of the song on a cassette and presented it to the film's director James Foley, who listened to it, liked it and enlisted Leonard to compose the film's score, as suggested by the singer. At the same time, Leonard was working with Michael Jackson on some transcriptions for his album Bad (1987), when he received a phone call from Penn asking him to come to Foley's home. When the producer got there, he was asked by Penn who would sing the track, since it was written from a man's perspective. He decided to use Madonna, and used the vocals from the demo for the final version, adding some backup drums only. Of why he chose to use the demo's vocals, Leonard explained: "it was so innocent and so shy. It's as naive, as raw as can be and that's part of what gave it all its charm". In a 1986 interview, Madonna further added that the mood on the song was inspired by a different facet of her image makeover and her desire to focus on something different. In the United States, "Live to Tell" was released on March 26, 1986, almost three months before True Blue, released on June 30. In Europe, it was released on April 14. Afterwards, it was included on Madonna's compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), Something to Remember (1995), and Celebration (2009).

Composition
"Live to Tell" is a pop ballad whose background instrumentation features a keyboard, a synthesizer, a funk guitar and a mix of synthesized and real drumming. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., the song's written in the key of F major, set in common time, and moves at a moderate tempo of 112 beats per minute. It begins with an instrumental introduction, performed by a synthesizer with the bass pedals set on D minor, before the key suddenly changes to its relative major, F. Madonna's vocal range spans almost one octave from F3 to D4. As she begins to sing the first verse, the bass pedal changes to C major, then back to F during the chorus, and back to D minor during the closure. This process is repeated during the second verse and chorus, which abruptly ends in a silence with only the "low and lifeless" sound of the synthesizer, set in D minor. Madonna then starts to sing the bridge "If I ran away, I'd never have the strength" between the tonal keys of D and F, closing with the repetition of the chorus until the song gradually fades out.

Lyrically, "Live to Tell" portrays the complexity of deceit and mistrust; According to authors Freya Jarman-Ivens and Santiago Fouz-Hernández, in Madonna's Drowned Worlds (2004), it is about "childhood scars", and counts with an "extreme" emotional pitch. On another note, Boston.com's Scott Kearnan added that it's about "bearing the burden of some enigmatic secret and coping with a painful past", while Nick Levine from Digital Spy argued that it was about child abuse. Dave Marsh wrote on The Heart of Rock & Soul that the archetype of songs like "Live to Tell" is The Platters' "The Great Pretender" (1965). In an interview about the song, Madonna herself revealed the lyrics talk about "my relationship with my parents and the lying that went on. The song is about being strong, and questioning whether you can be that strong but ultimately surviving".

Critical reception
Upon release, "Live to Tell" was acclaimed by music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, for Allmusic, called it a "tremendous" ballad that "rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover"; from the same website, Stewart Mason deemed it "unlike anything Madonna had recorded up to that point", and said it proved "[she]'s a genuinely talented singer [...] one of her all-time strongest vocal performances". Jim Farber, from Entertainment Weekly, referred to it as "her best ballad to date". Adam Sexton wrote in Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search Of The Meaning Of The World's Most Famous Woman, that "Live to Tell" made a "provocative companion" to "Papa Don't Preach", True Blue's second single; "[Madonna] appropriately measured the safety of silence against the urge to unburden herself". Sexton also complimented the production, saying that the "music itself suggests a threatened annihilation, a fact that makes it more haunting". Allen Metz and Carol Benson, authors of The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary, felt it "expanded" the singer's musical horizons; they added that "Live to Tell" was a "compelling" track, in which Madonna sings with "moving conviction". J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, was pleased with the track, denoting it as a "vehicle of growth" for the artist. Rolling Stone's Davitt Sigerson was not impressed and dismissed it as a "'Both Sides Now' rewrite".

Writing for PopMatters, Peter Piatkowski said it was a "simultaneously cold and emotional" song, filled with "maturity and ambition", as well as a "very deliberate effort to present Madonna as a mature and serious artist". On her review of True Blue for Yahoo!, Stacy Mannion classified "Live to Tell" as a "powerful [...] strange, but beautiful" ballad with a "bluesy feel". Erika Wexler from Spin, described it as "dark and moody, dense with dramatic mystery", and highlighted the way in which the singer "very theatrically conveys a dreamy fatalism". According to Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani, the song was "not only a brave first single, but a statement in and of itself. ['Live to Tell'] rewrote the rules of what a lead single could sound like". While reviewing The Immaculate Collection on its 25th anniversary, People's Drew Mackie said it was "easily one of Madonna’s better ballads". For Edna Gundersen from USA Today, it's a "moody heart-tugger" that "may be her best song ever". On his review of Something to Remember, J. D. Considine, for The Baltimore Sun, noted that "[Madonna] does it all through phrasing, pushing ahead of the accompaniment at some points and dragging behind the beat at others to reflect the character's emotional turmoil". For Stereogum, Tom Breihan noted that "as a singer, Madonna has never been a powerhouse like Whitney Houston, but she’s a communicator. She speaks volumes with tone and phrasing [...] ['Live to Tell'] takes the sound of big mid-’80s pop and somehow makes it intimate". Cash Box called it a "restrained yet emotionally powerful ballad."

Retrospective reviews towards "Live to Tell" have been largely positive, and it is now considered one of Madonna's best songs. For Parade, Samuel R. Murrian considered it to be the singer's "finest, most emotional ballad" that has "her strongest-ever lyrics", as well her third best song. Jude Rogers, from The Guardian, named it her ninth greatest song, highlighting its lyrics and referring to it as "the best thing Madonna’s done in cinema, despite the mediocrity of the film that it’s from". For Glamour's Christopher Rosa it's Madonna's sixth best; "a melodramatic shot of emotion that highlights her signature throaty vocals". Andrew Unterberger for Billboard, and Chuck Arnold for Entertainment Weekly, placed it at number 18 and 17 of their rankings of Madonna's singles, respectively; the former named it "the first truly great Madonna ballad", while according to the latter, it found her "displaying greater depth and maturity than ever before". Scott Kearnan considered "Live to Tell" Madonna's 21st best single and wrote: "With 'Crazy for You', [Madonna] proved she could nail a hit ballad: for teenage girls to slow dance to at prom. But 'Live to Tell' broadened her appeal with adult audiences". Sal Cinquemani deemed it the artist's fifth best: "[Her] first and, arguably, most dramatic reinvention was scored by this spare and haunting ballad", that also includes one of her "richest" vocal performances.

Chart performance
On April 12, 1986, Billboard reported that "Live to Tell" was one of the most added songs on radio stations, which gave it an "outstanding" debut on the Hot 100 at number 49. One week later, it debuted at number 28 on both the Hot Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 Airplay charts. On May 10, it was reported that "Live to Tell" was the single with the most airplay in reporting radio stations, 229 out of 230; seven days later, it became Madonna's seventh consecutive top-five single. On June 7, "Live to Tell" reached the top of the Hot 100, becoming Madonna's third chart-topper; it spent one week in this position. "Live to Tell" was Madonna's third number-one in less than 18 months, as well as her second one taken from a movie, following "Crazy for You". The song also became a crossover success, topping the Hot Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks. On Billboard's Top Pop Singles and Top Dance Sales Singles year-end charts, "Live to Tell" peaked at number 35 and 37, respectively. On the year-end Adult Contemporary chart, the song was ranked at number 12. In Canada, the single debuted at number 79 of the RPM singles chart, the week of April 12, 1986. Eventually, "Live to Tell" peaked at number one the week of May 24. It was ranked at the second position of the 1986 RPM Singles year-end chart.

In the United Kingdom, the single debuted at number 10 on the Singles Chart on April 26, eventually peaking at number two behind Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus"; it remained in the chart for a total of 12 weeks. One month later, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 331,000 copies. According to Music Week magazine, over 271,897 copies of the single have been sold in the United Kingdom as of 2008. "Live to Tell" also saw success throughout Europe: it reached the first position in Italy and Greece; in Ireland and Norway, the single peaked at number two; in Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands, "Live to Tell" reached the third position of the charts. In France, the single reached the chart's sixth position, and was certified silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique for shipment of 250,000 copies. In New Zealand and Australia, the song peaked at number 7 and 6, respectively.

Music video
The music video for "Live to Tell" was directed by James Foley and used as a publicity campaign for At Close Range; it alternates shots of Madonna singing alone in a darkened room with scenes from the movie that, according to Jeremy G. Butler in Television: critical methods and applications (2002), indicate the conflict Sean Penn's character goes through and feels. After having starred in the film Shanghai Surprise, Madonna decided to tone down her appearance, inspired by actresses such as Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot, and held this look for the music video. Her make-up was "heavy but very tasteful"; her hair "elegant", shoulder-length, wavy and golden blond; her clothes consisted of a simple, "demure" 1930s-style floral dress. It was her first music video to not feature dance routine, but a "tinge of real-world storytelling", showing her as a narrator.

Jeffrey F. Keuss, author of Your Neighbor's Hymnal: What Popular Music Teaches Us about Faith, Hope, and Love (2011), wrote that "there is something in that loneliness [from the video] that makes it feel like the most authentic thing [Madonna] has ever done", comparing the shots of her singing alone to Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc, and the cover artwork for Sinéad O'Connor's second studio album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). Butler added that, through her singing, Madonna appears to speak to Penn's character, addressing his problems directly like the chorus of a classical tragedy. Peter Piatkowski gave a positive review of the clip, describing it as "gorgeous and stylish", feeling it "matched the song’s intense moodiness". Tom Breihan said it was the only video in which the singer "gives as much screen time to a mustachioed Christopher Walken as it does to [herself]", and that it displayed one of her "many image reinventions". It was considered Madonna's 17th best music video by Samuel R. Murrian, and can be found on the 2009 video compilation Celebration: The Video Collection.

Live performances and controversy
Madonna has performed "Live to Tell" on four of her concert tours: Who's That Girl (1987), Blond Ambition (1990), Confessions (2006), and Celebration (2023—2024). On the first one, she sang the song standing motionless in a single spotlight, dressed in a black ensemble with tassels, golden tips and ribbing, designed by Marlene Stewart. For the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn noted that the artist sang "with a delicate, embracing feeling that few of even her biggest fans would have imagined possible five years ago". Two different performances can be found on the videos Who's That Girl: Live in Japan, filmed in Tokyo on June, and Ciao Italia: Live from Italy, filmed in Turin on September.

For the Blond Ambition World Tour, it was performed in a medley with "Oh Father" from Like a Prayer (1989), and given a Catholic theme: the stage was set up to resemble a cathedral with votive candles, while Madonna wore black vestments and sang knelt down in a prie-dieu. On his review of the Uniondale concert, Jon Pareles from The New York Times praised the singer's "throaty" vocals during the number. Three different performances can be found in Blond Ambition Japan Tour 90, taped in Yokohama, Blond Ambition World Tour Live, taped in Nice, and in the documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare.

On the Confessions Tour, Madonna sang "Live to Tell" hanging from a mirrored cross, simulating a crucifixion; her outfit consisted of purple pants, a red blouse and a crown of thorns. The screen behind her showed a running tally of the number 12,000,000, and "dire" statistics about children dying of AIDS in Africa. The number generated a negative reaction from religious groups: German prosecutors in Düsseldorf threatened to sue the singer for blasphemy, while the performance done at Rome's Olympic Stadium —located near the Vatican— was condemned as an act of hostility toward the Roman Catholic Church. A spokesperson for the Catholic Church in England and Wales said believers would be offended by the number; "the crucifixion is at the heart of the story of God becoming man and suffering to redeem us. To use it as a stage prop is a banal perversion of that magnificent event". Madonna stood by the number, claiming that Jesus wouldn't be mad at "the message I’m trying to send", and elaborated in a statement: "There is a segment in my show where three of my dancers 'confess' or share harrowing experiences from their childhood that they ultimately overcame. My 'confession' follows and takes place on a Crucifix that I ultimately come down from. This is not a mocking of the church. It is no different than a person wearing a Cross or 'Taking Up the Cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing.

My specific intent is to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day, and are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can. The song ends with a quote from the Bible's Book of Matthew: 'For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me and God replied, 'Whatever you did for the least of my brothers... you did it to me.'

Please do not pass judgment without seeing my show". Despite the controversy, critical reception towards the number ranged from lukewarm to negative; Leslie Gray Streeter, from The Palm Beach Post, who gave the overall concert a positive review, opined that it "slowed down, in an unsatisfying way" in "preachy" performances such as "Live to Tell". Writing for The Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot opined that "now that everyone from Kanye West to Madonna way back in the '80s has flirted with this particular brand of sacrilege, crucifixion just isn't what it used to be in the Shock and Awe department". The staff from The Philadelphia Inquirer panned the number for being "disappointingly static" and a "most desperate attempt to shock". The performance from the August 15–16 London concerts was included on the singer's live album The Confessions Tour (2007).

In The Celebration Tour, Madonna sang the song from a floating box as images of people who died of HIV/AIDS appeared on the backdrop screens, these included Keith Haring, Herb Ritts, and Freddie Mercury. The performance began with a dancer collapsing before the singer, who proceeds to cover him "tenderly" with a trenchcoat. The number was named one of the best moments of the concert by Billboard's Joe Lynch. In the last show of the tour, held at Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, the singer added several brazilian artists who died in the HIV/AIDS pandemic, such as singers Cazuza and Renato Russo. This performance in Brazil generated several criticisms from conservative and homophobic politicians in Brazil.

Covers
In 1992, American guitarist Bill Frisell covered "Live to Tell" in his fourth album, Have a Little Faith. Six years later Blonde Ambition released an EP with 6 different hi-NRG remixes of the single. New wave band Berlin covered "Live to Tell" for 1999's Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 1; during an interview with CNN, the band's lead vocalist Terri Nunn explained that "[Madonna]'s influenced a lot of people [...] maybe not me, because I'm not a fan. But a lot of bands are", adding that "Live to Tell" is the only song from Madonna that she "would touch". Italian singer Lucrezia made an uptempo dance version of the song that was remixed by David Morales; it peaked at number two for two weeks on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play and included in the 2001 album Logic Pride, Vol. 4. Canadian jazz singer Carol Welsman recorded "Live to Tell" for her eponymous 2007 album. Other covers of the song on tribute albums include Semi Moore on The Material Girl: A Tribute to Madonna (2000); an instrumental version on The String Quartet Tribute to Madonna (2002); a folk version by Winter Flowers on 2007's Through the Wilderness, and a hi-NRG version by Melissa Totten on her 2008 album Forever Madonna. Tori Amos has also performed the song on many tours throughout her career. American darkwave band Ego Likeness released a cover of the track in 2023.

Track listing and formats

 * US / Canada / Germany / UK 7" single
 * 1) "Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
 * 2) "Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49

 * US / Canada / Germany / UK 12" Maxi-Single
 * 1) "Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
 * 2) "Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
 * 3) "Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49

 * Germany / UK Reissue CD Maxi-Single (1995)
 * 1) "Live to Tell" (LP Version) – 5:49
 * 2) "Live to Tell" (7" Edit) – 4:37
 * 3) "Live to Tell" (Instrumental) – 5:49

Credits and personnel

 * Madonna – lyrics, producer, vocals
 * Bruce Gaitsch – guitar
 * Patrick Leonard – drum programming, keyboard, producer
 * Jonathan Moffett – drums
 * Michael Verdick – audio mixing, engineer
 * Herb Ritts – photography
 * Jeri McManus – design

Credits adapted from the album and 12" single liner notes.

title: Live to Tell