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Virtual tour

A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of videos, still images or 360-degree images. It may also use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, text and floor map. It is distinguished from the use of live television to affect tele-tourism.

The phrase "virtual tour" is often used to describe a variety of videos and photographic-based media. Panorama indicates an unbroken view, since a panorama can be either a series of photographs or panning video footage. However, the phrases "panoramic tour" and "virtual tour" have mostly been associated with virtual tours created using still cameras. Such virtual tours are made up of a number of shots taken from a single vantage point. The camera and lens are rotated around what is known as a no parallax point (the exact point at the back of the lens where the light converges).

A video tour is a full motion video of a location. Unlike the virtual tour's static wrap-around feel, a video tour is a linear walk-through of a location. Using a video camera, the location is filmed at a walking pace while moving continuously from one point to another throughout the subject location. 3D virtual tours can be created using 3D reconstruction.

History
The origin of the term 'virtual tour' dates to 1994. The first example of a virtual tour was a museum visitor interpretive tour, consisting of 'walk-through' of a 3D reconstruction of Dudley Castle in England as it was in 1550. This consisted of a computer controlled laser disc based system designed by British-based engineer Colin Johnson.

One of the first users of a virtual tour was Queen Elizabeth II, when she officially opened the visitor centre in June 1994. Because the Queen's officials had requested titles, descriptions and instructions of all activities, the system was named and described as: "Virtual Tour, being a cross between Virtual Reality and Royal Tour." Details of the original project can be viewed online. The system was featured in a conference held by the British Museum in November 1994 and in a subsequent technical paper.

Capture
Virtual tours can be captured using omnidirectional cameras and/or with image stitching.

Video-based
With the expansion of video on the internet, video-based virtual tours are growing in popularity. Video cameras are used to pan and walk-through real subject properties. The benefit of this method is that the point of view is constantly changing throughout a pan. However, capturing high-quality video requires significantly more technical skill and equipment than taking digital still pictures. Video also eliminates viewer control of the tour. Therefore, the tour is the same for all viewers and subject is chosen by the videographer. Editing digital video requires proficiency with video editing software and has higher computer hardware requirements. Also, displaying video over the internet requires more bandwidth. Due to these difficulties, the task of creating video-based tours is often left to professionals.

Recently, different groups have been using Google's system to provide access to private areas, which were previously unavailable to the public.

Applications
Virtual tours are used extensively for universities, sport venues, real estate and hospitality industries. Virtual tours can allow a user to view an environment while online. Currently, a variety of industries use such technology to help market their services and product. Over the last few years, the quality and accessibility of virtual tours have improved considerably, with some websites allowing the user to navigate the tours by clicking on maps or integrated floor plans.

Web-based or online
For most business purposes, a virtual tour must be accessible from everywhere. The major solution is a web-based virtual tour. In addition, a rich and useful virtual tour is not just a series of panoramic pictures. A better experience can be obtained by viewing a variety of materials such as that obtained from videos, texts, and still pictures in an interactive web content. There are many ways to gather data in a mixed web content, such as using rich content builders or a Web content management system.

A study done by the PEW Research Group showed that more than 5 million Americans watched virtual tours every day in 2004. PEW's research data, which showed that Americans watching virtual tours rose from 54 million people in 2004 to 72 million people by August 2006, a two-year increase of 18 million.

Real estate
Virtual tours are very popular in the real estate industry. Several types of such tours exist, including simple options such as interactive floor plans, and more sophisticated options such as full-service virtual tours. An interactive floor plan shows photographs of a property with the aid of a floor plan and arrows to indicate where each photograph was taken. Clicking on arrows shows the user where the camera was and which way the camera was pointing. Full service virtual tours are usually created by a professional photographer who will visit the property being sold, take several photos, and run them through stitching software. Full service virtual tours are usually more expensive than interactive floor plans because of the expense of the photographer, higher-end equipment used, such as a digital SLR camera, and specialized software. Real estate virtual tours are typically linked to the listing in the Multiple Listing Service.

Historic preservation
3D virtual tour technology has been increasingly used in the documentation and preservation of historic properties that are at risk of being razed or undergoing restricted public access. 3D virtual models using standard file formats, such as the Object file (.obj) format, can be stored in digital archives for future academic research and exploration.

Hospitality
Virtual tours are also popular in the hospitality industry. Hotels are increasingly offering online tours on their websites, ranging from "360" stitched photos to professionally produced video tours. These tours are typically offered by hotels in an effort to increase booking revenue by providing online viewers with an immersive view of the property and its amenities.

Virtual walks
Virtual walk videos are documentary motion pictures shot as the camera continuously moves forward through an urban or natural area. The effect is to allow viewers to experience the sights they would see and the sounds they would hear were they actually traveling along a particular route at the same pace as the camera. Virtual walks based on real-world photography typically do not require the use of virtual reality goggles or headsets of the kind used by gamers.

In realistically simulating the experience of moving through space, virtual walks—or virtual runs or bicycle rides—differ from conventional travel videos, which typically consist of a sequence of mostly static camera setups along a particular route or within a given area. The advantage of the conventional travel video is that one or more narrators or on-screen guides can provide insights into the geographical, historical, political, military, cultural, geological, or architectural aspects of the area.

Virtual walks appeal to those who want to experience the sights and sounds of particular places in the country or the world, but who may not have the time or the financial or physical resources to actually travel there. They also appeal to treadmill or elliptical trainer users, for whom walking or running while watching these videos enhances the reality of the experience (and, at a minimum, reduce the boredom of the exercise).

Some feature-length narrative motion pictures have made use of the virtual walk technique for dramatic purposes. These include the opening sequences of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and Robert Altman's The Player, the famous tracking shot through the Copacabana in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark (which consists of a single 96-minute Steadicam take), and, more recently Alfonso Cuarón's long tracking shots in Gravity, and almost the entire narrative structure of Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárrito's Birdman.

Three-dimensional virtual tourism
3D virtual tourism is the realistic 3D geovisualisation of virtual environments, which allows the user to explore physical places  without physical travel. 3DVT typically creates a virtual tour that uses 3D models and 2D panoramic images, a sequence of hyperlinked still or video images, and image-based models of the real world, with additional elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text. As opposed to actual tourism, 3DVT is accessed on a smartphone or computer (typically over the Internet). It aims to evoke an experience of moving through the real place without actual travel.

Virtual tours can be especially useful for universities and real-estate operators who want to attract students, tenants, and buyers, while eliminating the cost of travel to numerous locations. For these applications, 3DVT can be designed and constructed from 3D interactive mapping technologies, such as Google Earth or Virtual Earth or X3D Earth.

Virtual tours allow tourists to explore destinations before they visit, and some flexible tours allow visitors to book accommodations.

title: Virtual tour


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Dawn Swann

Dawn Swann is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kara Tointon, who first appeared on 26 September 2005. It was reported on 26 March 2009 that Tointon and co-star Ricky Groves, who plays Garry Hobbs, would be written out of the soap and the character made her final appearance on 27 August 2009. Dawn has been described as a "tart with a heart" character. In 2007, the character was involved in a storyline where Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by Dr. May Wright (Amanda Drew) and Rob Minter (Stuart Laing); their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts.

Storylines
Dawn had a complicated start in life. Her father, Mike (Mark Wingett), deserted her when she was six. She left home at 16, disapproving of her mother Rosie Miller (Gerry Cowper) for her relationship with her partner Keith (David Spinx). In 2005, she reacquainted herself with Mike in France. She moves to Walford after Mike's property scam fails, and lives with Rosie. Claiming she needs money for a medical operation, she cons her neighbours into paying for her breast implants. Mike comes to Walford, and when his mother Nora (Pamela Cundell) dies, she leaves £5,000 to Rosie. Mike persuades Dawn to pose as Rosie to get the money, and tells Dawn they will start afresh in Spain, but he takes the money and leaves alone.

After a failed attempt at a modelling career, Dawn finds employment as a barmaid. Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) employs her in 2006, paying her to pose as his wife to impress business associates. During a function, she meets Rob Minter (Stuart Laing) and they begin dating. She knows he is separated but Rob ends their relationship when his wife May Wright (Amanda Drew) wants to give their marriage another chance. Dawn discovers she is pregnant with Rob's child and plans to have an abortion. May, who is unable to conceive, asks Dawn to sell her the baby for £19,000. Dawn agrees, taking extravagant gifts and money in the process, but never intends to give the baby to May, and when Rob rebuffs her advances, she again plans to have an abortion. In order to stop her, May forces Rob to reignite his affair with Dawn, their real plan being to take the baby after Dawn gives birth. Rob eventually cracks under the pressure of the deception, confessing May's plan. In revenge, Dawn tries to force a miscarriage, but is unsuccessful. Rob is forced to prioritise, and leaves May for Dawn. May plays numerous vengeful tricks on them, getting Rob sacked, restricting their money, and evicting them from their flat.

However, Rob and May team up again, and Rob proposes to Dawn, suggesting they move away. He takes her to an empty house where she is handcuffed to a bed and is held hostage while May plans to perform a caesarean section. Dawn escapes after attacking Rob and returns to Walford, but goes into labour on the London Underground, later giving birth to a girl, Summer. While Dawn recovers in hospital, May sneaks into her room and tries to abduct Summer but Dawn catches her. Despite Rob's pleas, Dawn refuses to take him back, and May is arrested while attempting to see Summer.

Dawn struggles with parenting initially, leaving the care of Summer to her family, unable to accept the responsibility of being a full-time mother. Her friend Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) proves a strong ally, helping Dawn care for Summer. She is happy to accept his help, but he decides to propose during a trip to Brighton, and she turns him down. Dawn also hit it off with a local shopkeeper named Matt. Garry walked in on them getting cosy in the hotel room, but Matt ran a mile when he realised Dawn had a baby. It soon transpires that local resident Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord) has also shown a romantic interest in Dawn; both men compete for her attention and she chooses Jase, devastating Garry. Jase proposes in June 2008 and she accepts; however, when Dawn starts favouring Summer over his son Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), whom she clashes with on many occasions, Jase postpones the wedding.

In the midst of their arguing, Dawn is shocked to discover that May has returned, having had psychiatric treatment. Jase has unwittingly been working for May under her pseudonym Jenny, part of her renewed plan to steal Summer. May breaks into the Millers' house, knocks Dawn's brother Mickey (Joe Swash) unconscious and locks Dawn in her bedroom, accusing her of being a bad mother. During a scuffle, Dawn breaks her ankle and May attempts to leave with Summer but Mickey intervenes. Devastated, May deliberately causes a gas explosion, killing herself. Mickey and Summer get out, but Dawn passes out from the smoke. She nearly perishes, but Keith enters the burning building and carries her to safety. At the hospital, Dawn thanks Keith for his heroics and they reconcile after she learns from him that May is dead.

While her ordeal with May is over at last, Dawn struggles to settle her financial future with Jase. This soon forces Jase to work for his former gang boss, Terry Bates (Nicholas Ball), in order to satisfy Dawn's monetary desires. When she discovers that Jase is involved with Terry's gang, Dawn makes no attempt to stop him - desperate as she is for money to finance her dream wedding. The situation climaxes on Dawn's hen night, when Jase is set up by Terry, who stabs him before he and his gang are eventually arrested. Jase later dies in hospital. Dawn, who has realised that materialistic things are unimportant, discovers Jase's death on the wedding day. Jay blames Dawn for his father's death and rejects her. Dawn is distraught and turns to Garry for support, offering sex to him in a moment of vulnerability, but he turns her down. Dawn nearly leaves Walford following Jase's funeral, but Garry convinces her to stay and so she moves in with him. Jay continues to antagonise Dawn, posting petrol soaked rags through her letter box. At first Dawn angrily confronts Jay, but her guilt fully emerges after Jay again states that she is the reason Jase worked for Terry and is therefore responsible for his death. Dawn eventually manages to convince Jay that she loved Jase and thinks of Jay as family, so they call a truce.

At some point, Garry again proposes to Dawn. She reacts unhappily as she is still distraught about Jase, and Garry is left downbeat by this. He later steals a car and flees. The police soon find the car abandoned by cliffs in Dover, prompting them to speculate that Garry has committed suicide. Dawn believes she is in love with Garry and declares this at his memorial service, only to be startled when he walks in. He gives her an ultimatum: be his girlfriend or he will leave Walford for good. Choosing the former, Dawn becomes his girlfriend and they agree to make plans for their wedding after dealing with Terry's trial for Jase's murder. She gives evidence and Terry is eventually found guilty, being sentenced to life imprisonment.

After finally getting justice for Jase's murder, Dawn starts her wedding plans with Garry. However, she embarks on an affair with his boss Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Their secret is soon discovered by Minty, and Dawn is unnerved when Minty promises to tell Garry unless she tells him quickly. Instead, she resolves to spare Garry's feelings and goes to stay with her mother for a while. When Dawn returns, she resumes her affair with Phil until he eventually ends their relationship. Minty again threatens to tell the truth when Garry suspects that Dawn doesn't love him. Garry and Dawn talk, and they announce their engagement at The Queen Vic. Just as Garry prepares to marry Dawn, however, Minty reveals her affair with Phil. Heartbroken, Garry punches Phil and then confronts Dawn for cheating on him with his boss. He then jilts Dawn, quits his job, and decides to leave Walford for good. Dawn is persuaded to go after him, and sees him sailing off at a canal. She runs alongside telling Garry that she loves him. Dawn is initially regretful when Garry states that he is leaving Walford anyway, but then surprises her by proposing that she and Summer come with him - thereby implying that he still loves her. Dawn agrees, and he lets her and Summer on the boat. As they sail out of Walford together, Garry and Dawn kiss while their observing friends say goodbye.

Creation
In June 2005, an official BBC press report announced the upcoming arrival of the character — Dawn Swann, a member of the Miller family: "Dawn Swann is Mickey Miller's (Joe Swash) sister. Aged 23, Dawn has been travelling for the last few years and is currently living in France where Mickey goes to see her. A real charmer with a touch of the Footballers' Wives about her, she oozes charisma and sex appeal." It was revealed that Dawn was to be played by actress Kara Tointon. Of her new role, Tointon said, "EastEnders is my dream job and I feel blessed with this opportunity. Dawn is sexy, independent and has this amazing wardrobe — I can't wait to start filming."

The character was introduced in September 2005, in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed on location in France. In the storyline, Mickey travelled to France to meet Dawn and discovered that she is living with their estranged father Mike — a conman who ultimately lets his family down and flees, resulting in Dawn's return to Walford. Upon moving to Walford, Dawn immediately conned the residents of Albert Square to fund her breast enhancements. As Dawn's breast size is bigger than Kara's, the actress is required to wear gel-filled padded bras and "chicken fillets".

Personality
Dawn has been described as the soap's "tart with a heart" character. Discussing her character, Tointon told the Sunday Mirror in October 2005, "I love playing Dawn. She's so flirty and confident — nothing fazes her and she knows how to flutter her eyelashes and make the men do whatever she wants." Tointon has suggested that she models her Dawn on model Jordan aka Katie Price. She said in 2008, "My character is so optimistic. She is a girl who believes in herself and says what she thinks. But sometimes I read the script and think, 'Oh no' - so I look at the way Jordan reacts to stuff. No matter how bad things get, nothing seems to be a problem for her - everything is positive. I’ve watched her on TV and thought, 'Good luck to you, that's how Dawn should be'. It would be great if Dawn was as successful as she is, though."

Love triangle and pregnancy
Dawn's first prominent storyline began airing in 2006, when she started dating a married man, Rob Minter (Stuart Laing), and fell pregnant with his baby. In a plot twist, Rob's wife, Dr May Wright (Amanda Drew), was unable to conceive, facilitating a storyline that saw her attempt to buy Dawn's unborn baby. Over Dawn's pregnancy, a series of events were aired in which Dawn was conned into believing that she and Rob had reunited, when he was really conspiring with May to get custody of the baby and prevent Dawn aborting it. Plots saw the character May grow increasing erratic and obsessed with the unborn child, until the climax in June 2007, when Dawn was kidnapped and held hostage by May and Rob, their intention being to give her a forced caesarean section and take the baby. The storyline received focus in the British media at the time, due to a reported last-minute rewrite of scripts. Originally, the storyline would have included a child abduction; however, due to the real-life suspected kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, the BBC removed the child abduction from the scripts. They commented, "It was felt any storyline that included child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers." Originally, it was intended for Dawn to give birth to a baby and then have the child snatched by May, leaving Dawn bereft. On-screen, May's plan to take Dawn's baby failed when Dawn had her arrested.

Relationship with Garry Hobbs and departure
An unrequited love storyline was featured in Dawn's narrative. Garry Hobbs, played by Ricky Groves, continuously attempted to woo Dawn, to no avail. In October 2008, Tointon revealed that she wanted to see Dawn and Garry unite as a couple: "Fingers crossed as I really enjoy working with Ricky Groves. My mum wants [them] to get together. And people come up to me on the street and they’re all rooting for [them]. I think Dawn is coming to realise that Garry has been the one rock who is always there."

In March 2009, it was announced that Tointon, along with Groves, had been axed from the show, as producers had decided not to renew her contract. Tointon said she was excited about her exit storylines, but was also reportedly upset by the axing, saying "I was heartbroken when they told me and I have to admit I did cry. I just have to dust myself down and get back out there. I've already told them that if they do plan to kill Dawn, I will refuse to close my eyes in the dying scenes." She said she felt sad for Dawn after hearing she would embark on an affair with Garry's boss, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), but understood that it was probably right for her contract to not be renewed, as she hadn't had many storylines in 2008, saying "you can only go as far as your storylines take you." Following the axing, executive producer Diederick Santer said, "Dawn and Garry have some fantastic stuff to come — this spring and summer sees their love truly put to the test — and they go with our thanks and very best wishes." After the exit was aired, Tointon said she did not think it was very good: "Well it was interesting on the boat. Well... it was better than leaving in a black cab. When I watched it, I didn't think it was very good. But I did my best." She later admitted that the show's producers were probably right to axe the character and she was getting annoyed that Dawn did not learn from her past mistakes.

In September 2012, Inside Soap named Dawn and Gary's exit as their number 4 happy ending, "When Dawn said she'd marry Gary, we suspected it was only because of a shared obsession with having a needless double in their names. (Frankly, she could do a lot better.) But off they chugged along the Grand Union Canal to a happy future — Garry and Dawn smiling, Summer cheerfully picking her nose. We'd like to think they're still together. But it's a long shot."

Reception
In June 2007, 80 people complained to the BBC following the airing of a storyline that saw a pregnant Dawn chained to a bed by Dr May Wright, with her intention being to give her a forced Caesarean section. It has been noted by the media that no specific warning about the content of the episode was given by the broadcaster; however, a continuity announcer said before the episode began, "Dramatic EastEnders now on BBC1 - it's misery for poor Dawn as mad May puts her evil plan into action."

A BBC spokesman said, "Last night's episode involving the characters Dawn, May, and Rob reached the climax that many viewers would have been anticipating. We are sorry if some people were offended by this drama unfolding, and will be addressing complaints fully in due course." It was stressed that of the typical 9 million viewers who watched EastEnders, only 80 people complained. However, The Guardian reported that 200 viewers complained, 183 complaints to the BBC and a further 12 to the media regulator, Ofcom. The episode garnered an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 42% share to BBC1.

For her role as Dawn, Tointon was nominated for "Best Actress" at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards. Tointon was awarded the "Sexiest Actress" in 2008 for her role as Dawn Swann; it was the second time she won the award. Tointon was also nominated for a National Television Award in 2007 for "most popular actress".

In 2009, Ruth Deller of entertainment website lowculture.co.uk, who runs a monthly feature of the most popular and unpopular soap opera characters, criticised Dawn, branding her as a 'spare part', also stating: "There is a fair bit of dead wood in Walford at the moment, and most of it is centred around Garry, Minty and their associates. Of all of those, Dawn serves the least purpose. With no family in the square and with Jay living with Billy rather than her, isn't it time she was sent away for some happy ending or other? If she can take Garry with her, so much the better." Upon Dawn's exit, Deller once again criticised her stating: "Thankfully, after several years of hanging around being spare parts (was Dawn ever anything other than a spare part?), Garry and Dawn departed this month in the least plausible exit scene ever."

In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Dawn 94th on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling her "gorgeous" and "the most beautiful woman ever to set foot in Walford" who had "some major storylines before sailing off into the sunset with Garry".

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

title: Dawn Swann


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Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Nickelodeon Animation Studio (also known as Nickelodeon Animation) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has created many original television programs for Nickelodeon, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Loud House, among various others. Since the 2010s, the studio has also produced its own series based on preexisting IP purchased by Paramount Global, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winx Club. In November 2019, Nickelodeon Animation Studio signed a multiple-year output deal for Netflix, which will include producing content, in both new and preexisting IP, for the streaming platform.

The studio was founded in 1990 under the name Games Productions Inc. A subsidiary called Games Animation was established in 1992. It oversaw the production of three animated programs for Nickelodeon: Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. In 1992, Nickelodeon began work on Games Animation's first fully in-house series, Rocko's Modern Life. Games Animation produced much of the network's mid-1990s output in partnership with other animation companies like Klasky Csupo. In 1998, the studio moved from Studio City, California to Burbank with the construction of a new facility. It was renamed Nickelodeon Animation Studio and later Nickelodeon Studios Burbank. In 1999, a second facility in New York City was opened, named Nickelodeon Animation Studio New York.

1990–1998: As Games Productions
The Nickelodeon Animation Studio's beginnings lie in the roots of the channel's Nicktoons endeavor. In 1990, Nickelodeon hired Vanessa Coffey as a creative consultant to develop Nicktoons, charging her with the quest of seeking out new characters and stories that would allow the channel a grand entrance into the animation business. The high cost of high-quality animation discouraged the network from developing weekly animated programming. Although most television networks at the time tended to go to large animation houses with proven track records to develop Saturday-morning series, often generally pre-sold characters from movies, toys or comics, Nickelodeon desired differently. Inspired by the early days of animation and the work of Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, Nickelodeon set out to find frustrated cartoonists swallowed up by the studio system. Nickelodeon president Geraldine Laybourne commissioned eight six-minute pilots at a cost of $100,000 each before selecting three. Seeking the most innovative talents in the field, the products of this artists' union – Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show – represented twelve years of budget-building toward that end. Coffey was hired as Nickelodeon's Executive Producer of Animation between the pilots and series production.

However, despite the best efforts, relations became strained with Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi. In fall 1992, the studio fired Kricfalusi. Coffey asserts that John was in breach of contract for not delivering on time, creating disturbing content and going over budget. Kricfalusi suspected the real reason was that the network was uncomfortable with more crude humor. Nickelodeon objected to most of his proposed plotlines and new characters—including George Liquor, an Archie Bunker-ish "All-American Male." After Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon missed several promised new-episode delivery and air dates, the network—which had purchased the rights to the Ren & Stimpy characters from Kricfalusi—negotiated a settlement with him. The creative tug of war was closely watched by both animators and the television industry and covered in the national press.

In response, Nickelodeon moved the series' production to its own studio, Games Productions Inc. According to Vanessa Coffey, "Nickelodeon had a corporation already set up called Games. They didn't want to spend money to open a new corporation, so they put [Nickelodeon's animation division] under Games." A subsidiary called Games Animation was established in 1992. The series was moved to Games and put under the creative supervision of Bob Camp, one of Kricfalusi's former writer-director partners. Nick's plan was to hire bright, young animators and let them do almost anything they want. Coffey soon stepped down as animation vice president for Nickelodeon, to pursue her own projects. She was replaced by Mary Harrington, a Nickelodeon producer who moved out from New York to help run the Nicktoons division that was a near-shambles after Kricfalusi was fired.

Games' initial duty was to continue producing The Ren & Stimpy Show after Nickelodeon dropped Spümcø and Kricfalusi from their duties on the show. At the time, Games was located in an office building in Studio City, California. Apart from The Ren & Stimpy Show, Nickelodeon's other Nicktoons were produced out-of-house at other studios (Jumbo Pictures and Klasky-Csupo), with oversight from the Games team.

In 1992, animator Joe Murray was approached by the studio with intentions of developing a new animated series for Nickelodeon. The series became Games Animation's first in-house production, Rocko's Modern Life, which premiered on the network in 1993. Games worked on the show for three years and employed over 70 people during the course of its run. Executives did not share space with the creative team. The show ended in 1996 as its creator Joe Murray wanted to spend more time with his family.

Following the end of Rocko, Games Animation produced the pilots for Hey Arnold!, The Angry Beavers, and CatDog, along with the former's first 26 episodes, and the second's first 13 episodes. The latter was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio along with the other two by this point forward.

1998–2009: As Nickelodeon Animation Studio
In 1996, Albie Hecht, then-president of Film and TV Entertainment for Nickelodeon, met with Nickelodeon artists for a brainstorming session on the elements of their ideal studio, and, with their feedback (and some inspiration from the fabled Willy Wonka chocolate factory), created "a playful, inspirational and cutting-edge lab which will hopefully give birth to the next generation of cartoon classics." He added, "For me, this building is the physical manifestation of a personal dream, which is that when people think of cartoons, they'll say Nicktoons." Nickelodeon and parent company Viacom threw a bash to celebrate the opening of the new Nicktoons animation studio on March 4, 1998. During the launch party, a gathering of union labor supporters formed a picket line to protest Nickelodeon's independent hiring practices outside the studio's iron gates.

Located at 231 West Olive Avenue in Burbank, California, the 72,000 sqft facility, designed by Los Angeles architecture firm AREA, houses 200–300 employees and up to five simultaneous productions. It also contains a miniature golf course (with a hole dedicated to Walt Disney), an indoor basketball course/screening room, an artists' gallery, a studio store, and a fountain that shoots green water into the air. The Nicktoons studio houses five, project driven production units. Each has its own color and design environment and includes a living room, writer's lounge, and storyboard conference room. The studio also has a Foley stage (for recording live sound effects), a post-production area, sound editing and mixing rooms and an upstairs loft area with skylights for colorists.

In September 1999, Nickelodeon opened a major new digital animation studio at 1633 Broadway in Manhattan. The New York studio primarily took over production of Nick Jr. animated properties. At the same time, the Los Angeles facility animated the intro for The Amanda Show.

It was reported in 2005 that the Burbank studio was up for sale; this was later corrected, as the owner of the building was selling it.

In mid-2006, Nickelodeon announced a collaboration with DreamWorks Animation to create shows based on DWA's films. The first DWA co-production was The Penguins of Madagascar, which would eventually premiere in November 2008 (followed by 2011's Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and 2013's Monsters vs. Aliens).

In 2007, Nick launched El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (the first Nicktoon created in Adobe Flash) and Tak and the Power of Juju (based on the video game series of the same name). Back at the Barnyard (a spinoff of the theatrical film Barnyard) was released that same year.

2009–2019: Studio collaborations and acquisitions
In 2009, Nickelodeon acquired the rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage Studios. In early 2011, Viacom bought 30 percent of the Italian studio Rainbow SpA, the creators of Winx Club. Following both purchases, Nickelodeon Animation Studio began to produce new content for both franchises: a continuation of Winx Club and a reboot series of TMNT. Since they were produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Nickelodeon refers to both continuations as official Nicktoons.

By 2013, Nickelodeon's deal with DreamWorks Animation had reached an end; according to Bob Schooley, Nickelodeon Animation expressed a desire to refocus on "more Nickish shows." Looking for original concepts, Nickelodeon Animation Studio created the Nickelodeon Animated Shorts Program, under which it would produce new animated shorts with the potential to turn into whole shows. A select few were greenlit and premiered within the following years.

In 2016, Nickelodeon's Burbank animation facility moved into a five-story glass structure that is part of a larger studio complex. The move was intended to bring animated productions currently produced elsewhere in Southern California under a single production facility. Because it houses both animated and live-action productions, the Burbank location has been renamed to simply "Nickelodeon Studios" (which is not to be confused with the original Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida, which closed in 2005). The studio also houses the Nickelodeon time capsule, first buried in Orlando, Florida in 1992 at the original Nickelodeon Studios and later at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort in 2006, which has moved to the new studio by the latter's closure and rebrand on June 1, 2016. The capsule is set to be opened on April 30, 2042. The new studio opened on January 11, 2017.

2019–present: Expanding brands
In October 2018, Brian Robbins became president of Nickelodeon. In November, he appointed Ramsey Ann Naito as head of animation at Nickelodeon; she was later promoted to president of Nickelodeon Animation Studio in 2020. In both roles, Naito reported to Robbins. Under Robbins' presidency, Nickelodeon began to focus more on expanding some its preexisting franchises. At Nickelodeon Animation Studio, this effort encompassed the first-ever SpongeBob spin-offs (Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show) and a CGI reboot of Rugrats. The studio also collaborated with corporate sibling CBS Eye Animation Productions to produce Star Trek: Prodigy. In 2021, Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon Animation dedicated to producing projects from the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise, was launched. In 2023, the studio signed a first-look deal for animated series and features with Lion Forge Entertainment.

title: Nickelodeon Animation Studio


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fluidtime

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was delete (anons discounted) · Katefan0(scribble) 04:34, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Fluidtime

 * Delete - Advert -"Providing people with dynamic, personalised schedule information about public services and private appointments" (from the website) - Tεx τ  urε  20:56, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete as per nom.  Dl yo ns 493   Ta lk   02:24, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Advert. Jayjg (talk) 17:55, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete seems to be advert. --JiFish(Talk/Contrib) 00:08, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

Unsigned anons

 * Keep but cleanly describe that it is a company, like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google 3 October 2005
 * Keep but change wording as to announce what it is (a company) and what it does (providing people with....) 12:20, 30 September 2005
 * Keep - the wording can be rephrased as much as needed, to better suit Wiki rules, but the service in itself is cool, works better and better, has been tested already in real life occasions like the Turin transport system in Italy, has a history, has been presented over Europe and US a few times already and has even been already mentioned or employed in various cross-pollinated interaction design projects presentations: it would be counterproductive and silly not to find a Wiki explanation.
 * Keep but change wording! 30 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep - Fluidtime was an academic research project in Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, which examined how time is becoming more dynamic and personal as communication technologies advance. While I agree the sentence above is very close to advertisement, I would suggest we change the wording so that the entry can describe more about its core concepts. I think its concepts are interesting and worth keeping as a Wikipedia entry.
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
Thomas Elmham

Thomas Elmham (1364 – in or after 1427 ) was an English chronicler.

Life
Thomas Elmham was probably born at North Elmham in Norfolk. He may have been the Thomas Elmham who was a scholar at King's Hall, Cambridge from 1389 to 1394. He became a Benedictine monk at Canterbury, and then joining the Cluniacs, was prior of Lenton Priory, near Nottingham; he was chaplain to Henry V, whom he may have accompanied to France in 1415, and may have been present at the Battle of Agincourt.

Works
Elmham wrote a history of the monastery of St. Augustine at Canterbury, which was edited by Charles Hardwick for the Rolls Series (1858); and a Liber metricus de Henrico V, edited by C. A. Cole in the Memorials of Henry V (1858). As well as this verse life of Henry V, Elmham himself says he wrote a prose biography of the king. The eighteenth-century editor of the Vita et Gesta Henrici V, Thomas Hearne, made a claim for Elmham's authorship of that biography but, in fact, it was written in the mid-1430s, long after Elmham's death. The attribution was rejected by the early twentieth century and the Vita et Gesta since then has gone by the designation of "Pseudo-Elmham" (this biography was the main source of the Vita Henrici Quinti by Tito Livio Frulovisi). In the early twentieth century, it was suggested instead that Elmham's prose life could be equated with the Gesta Henrici Quinti, which is the best authority for the life of Henry V from his accession to 1416. This work, sometimes referred to as the chaplain's life, and thought by some to have been written by Jean de Bordin, was first published for the English Historical Society by B. Williams (1850). However, the modern editors of the Gesta convincingly rejected this attribution to Elmham. In short, the prose life by Thomas Elmham is not known to survive.

Literature

 * C. L. Kingsford, "The Early Biographies of Henry V", English Historical Review, xxv (1910), pp. 58–92.
 * F. Taylor & J. S. Roskell ed., Gesta Henrici Quinti (Oxford, 1975), pp. xviii – xxiii and iid., "The Authorship and Purpose of the Gesta Henrici Quinti: I", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, liii (1970–71), pp. 428–464.

title: Thomas Elmham


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Seikilos II

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was DELETE.  Rob e  rt  19:45, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Seikilos_II
Hoax. Ex0pos 20:57, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

 * Delete A band's self-promotional hoax. See article's talk page.  - Ex0pos 21:02, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete; hoax. Unverifiable.  Unless a verifiable reference can be produced, and not just the band's web site.  This alleged 15th century musician is named after someone who wasn't even discovered until 1883. Antandrus  (talk) 22:00, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * delete hoax, nn band promo? Pete.Hurd 16:55, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cheap for a reason

 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was DELETE.  Rob e  rt  00:19, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Cheap for a reason
I believe this is a non-notable band with very little web presence (most google hits here seem to be accidental). I cannot find an allmusic listing, nor a band website. The article seems to be slightly biased to the negative, so I'm not sure its vanity... :) --best, kevin · · · Kzollman | Talk · · · 20:58, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * delete nn band. No AMG, no hint at WP:MUSIC. — brighterorange  (talk) 00:08, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
 * delete nn Pete.Hurd 16:53, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete nn and not a great deal of information User:Redconverse
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.


text:
User talk:Unisex hairbrush

Please note that you can still be blocked for vandalism, even if you use a different account. Stop adding nonsense to and blanking Wikipedia articles. Thank you. Exploding Boy 20:58, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Blocked
Your account has been blocked for vandalism. Your other accounts have been blocked as well. Any new accounts you create will be blocked. This first block will last for 24 hours. You are welcome to return and edit articles if you can abide by Wikipedia's guidelines and policies. If you persist in vandalising articles this block may become permanent. Exploding Boy 23:49, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Unisex hairbrush


text: User talk:82.16.83.32

title: User talk:82.16.83.32


text:
Nicolás Almagro

Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual champion in each occasion), as well as the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2013 (losing to David Ferrer after leading by two sets to love). Over his career, Almagro won thirteen singles titles, and he achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 in May 2011.

Following his retirement, Almagro began coaching American player Danielle Collins.

Personal life
Almagro married Rafi Lardín on 6 December 2015. They welcomed their first child, a boy, in 2017.

Juniors
Almagro reached as high as world No. 18 in the junior singles rankings in December 2003.

2005
Almagro won the gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games by defeating compatriot Guillermo García López in the final in Almería, Spain.

2006
In April 2006, Almagro won his maiden ATP tournament title, the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana (Valencia, Spain). Almagro was forced to come through the qualification rounds just to make this event, but that did not stop him from winning eight matches in a row, including three-set victories over former world number ones Juan Carlos Ferrero and Marat Safin.

After Valencia, Almagro went on an excellent run, reaching the semifinals of the Barcelona Open, before losing to Rafael Nadal, and followed that up by reaching the quarterfinals in Rome, where he lost to Roger Federer in three tight sets, 7–5 in the third round.

At Roland Garros 2006, he suffered a disappointing second-round loss to James Blake. The remainder of 2006 was uninspiring for Almagro. He did show signs of improving his hardcourt game by making a quarterfinal indoors in Lyon, and he also won matches at the Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Paris.

2007
Almagro won his second title on 15 April 2007 by defeating Potito Starace, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1, in Valencia for the second consecutive year. However, he lost in the second round of the French Open in five sets to Michaël Llodra, in what was perceived as another disappointing lapse in form. Still, his year contained highlights other than Valencia. He reached the semifinals of Buenos Aires, the finals of Båstad, and began to show promise on hard courts also, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and the third round of the US Open (losing to Davydenko).

2008
In 2008, Almagro won the third title of his career in Costa do Sauipe by defeating Carlos Moyá in a rollercoaster three-set battle. Two weeks later, Almagro followed that victory up with yet another in Acapulco, defeating David Nalbandian in the finals, 6–1, 7–6. With his fourth career title, Almagro rose to a career-best ranking of No. 21 in the world, winning 21 of 26 matches on clay in the season. He was at a career-best ranking of No. 17 in the world following the Masters Series in Rome.

He achieved his best Grand Slam result in June by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal, 1–6, 1–6, 1–6. During his run, he beat Boris Pašanski, Sebastián Decoud, tenth seed Andy Murray, and home-favourite Jérémy Chardy in straight sets. He hit more aces than any other player in the French Open that year (78).

2009
In January, Almagro participated in the 2009 Heineken Open, held in Auckland, New Zealand. The fourth seed at the event, Almagro received a bye into the second round, where he defeated Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan in three sets. This gained him entry into the quarterfinals, where he was defeated in straight sets by American Sam Querrey, sixth seed at the event.

At the Australian Open, Almagro won in the first round of the tournament for the first time, making it to the third round before losing to Gaël Monfils. At the 2009 Brasil Open, where Almagro was the defending champion and top seed, he lost in the quarterfinals to Frederico Gil in two tiebreak sets, 6–7, 6–7. At the Abierto Mexicano, Almagro successfully defended his 2008 win, defeating Monfils in the final, 6–4, 6–4.

Almagro's next tournament was the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, an ATP Masters Series event where he was seeded 19th. After receiving a bye into the second round, he was defeated by Taylor Dent in a third-set tiebreak.

At the French Open, he made it through to the third round, but lost to countryman, Fernando Verdasco in straight sets.

At Wimbledon, he reached the third round, but was stopped easily by recent French Open runner-up Robin Söderling. In the first round, he scraped his way through after trailing 7–6, 7–6, 5–4, 40–30 with Juan Mónaco serving on match point. In the second round, he led Karol Beck two sets to love, only to find himself again fighting in five sets to survive. Nicolas won by 6–4, 7–6, 3–6, 3–6, 7–5.

At the US Open, Almagro lost in the third round to fellow Spaniard Nadal. Before this, he defeated Belgian Steve Darcis in the first round, before getting past American Robby Ginepri in a 4 hr 15 min five-set match in the second round.

In the subsequent ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris, Almagro once again fell to Nadal. Despite having five match points and the opportunity to serve for the match in the third set, Almagro lost, 6–3, 6–7, 5–7.

2010
At the 2010 Australian Open, Almagro prevailed in long five-set matches to beat Xavier Malisse, (8–6 in the fifth set) and Benjamin Becker, (6–3 in the fifth set) in the first two rounds. In the third round, he beat Alejandro Falla with relative ease in three sets. In the fourth round, he was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in another five-set battle lasting over 4 hours. Almagro played the whole tournament with a broken left wrist, preventing him from exceeding 200 km/h when serving due to an altered ball-toss.

He was ousted in the opening round of the 2010 Copa Telmex tournament for the second straight year (losing to Gimeno Traver). He then entered the Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco as the two-time defending champion. He beat Dudi Sela and Richard Gasquet to reach the quarterfinals. However, he lost to in-form Juan Carlos Ferrero, 1–6, 7–5, 2–6, who was on a 12-match winning streak.

As for his performances in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, in Indian Wells Masters 1000, he reached the fourth round before retiring hurt against Andy Murray. At the Miami Masters 1000, he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. In the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 1000, he beat Simon Greul before falling to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. In the Rome Masters 1000, he beat Łukasz Kubot, but lost to Ivan Ljubičić in the second round. In the Madrid Masters 1000, he beat Victor Troicki, fourth seed Söderling, Mónaco, and Melzer to reach the semifinals of a Masters event for the first time. There, he was beaten by the previous year's finalist Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 2–6, 2–6.

In the 2010 French Open, seeded 19th, he beat Robin Haase in five sets. In the second round, he beat Steve Darcis in straight sets. After beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round, he managed to upset Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round in four sets, 6–1, 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. Almagro then bowed out in straight sets in the quarterfinals, losing a closely contested match against eventual champion Rafael Nadal, 6–7, 6–7, 4–6.

At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Almagro suffered a first-round exit to Italian Andreas Seppi, 6–7, 6–7, 2–6.

After this, Almagro traveled to his first clay-court tournament since Roland Garros, the 2010 Swedish Open. He defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6–4, 6–4, Croatian qualifier Franko Škugor, 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he defeated fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo, 6–1, 6–3, and then in the final he defeated home favourite, top seed, and defending champion Robin Söderling, 7–5, 3–6, 6–2, to snap a 17-month title drought dating back to February 2009 in Acapulco. Almagro then played in the 2010 International German Open, where he was stunned in the opening round by Uzbekistani Denis Istomin, 6–7, 6–7. After this, he appeared at the 2010 Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad as second seed. He won the tournament after defeating compatriot Marcel Granollers, 7–6, 3–6, 6–3, Swiss wildcard Michael Lammer, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, Frenchman Jérémy Chardy, 6–2, 7–6, and then another fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno Traver, 7–6, 3–6, 6–3. In the final, he defeated Richard Gasquet, 7–5, 6–1, to clinch the title.

At the 2010 US Open, Almagro beat Potito Starace and Guillermo García López, both in four sets, before losing to Sam Querrey in the third round in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6, 4–6.

2011
Almagro began his year at the 2011 Heineken Open in New Zealand. Seeded second, he received a bye into the second round. In his first match, he beat Victor Hănescu, 6–4, 7–6, to advance to the quarterfinals, where he won against Adrian Mannarino, 7–6, 6–7, 6–2, to advance to the semifinals, where he was defeated by David Nalbandian, 6–4, 6–2.

At the Australian Open, Almagro was seeded 14th. He defeated Stéphane Robert in the first round, 6–4, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5. He then battled through Igor Andreev in the second round, 7–5, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, saving three match points in the process and rallying from a 2–4 deficit in the fifth set. In the third round, he defeated 17th seed Ivan Ljubičić in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6, 6–3. In the fourth round, he was dismantled by world no. 3 and eventual champion Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 4–6, 0–6.

Almagro next entered the 2011 Brasil Open, where he had a bye in the first round. He easily cruised to the semifinals, and after a slow start, he defeated Juan Ignacio Chela, 1–6, 6–2, 6–4, to reach the final. He then won his eighth career title against Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6–3, 7–6.

His winning streak continued as he snatched his second consecutive title in as many weeks at the 2011 Copa Claro tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, defeating Juan Ignacio Chela, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, in the final. His hot streak stretched even further at the 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, making his third consecutive clay-court final. He beat Victor Hănescu, Filippo Volandri, Santiago Giraldo, and Thomaz Bellucci. He lost, however, to defending champion David Ferrer, 6–7, 7–6, 2–6.

Almagro then lost in the third round at both the Indian Wells (losing to Albert Montañés, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6) and at the Miami Open (losing to Florian Mayer, 1–6, 6–3, 1–6).

At Monte-Carlo, he beat Marcel Granollers, 6–3, 6–3, before prevailing in a marathon encounter against Máximo González, 6–7, 7–5, 7–6, saving a total of four match points (three consecutive match points when *0–40 on serve at *4–5 in the third set, and one match point in the third set tiebreak at *7–8). He then lost to Jürgen Melzer, 1–6, 4–6, in the third round.

Almagro then appeared at the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, where he notched a 7–5, 7–6 win over in-form compatriot Pablo Andújar. In the third round, he defeated Nikolay Davydenko, 7–6, 6–3, to enter the world's top 10 for the first time in his career. He followed this victory with a solid 6–3, 6–3 victory in the quarterfinals over a resurgent Juan Carlos Ferrero, who had just come back from a knee injury. In the semifinals, he lost to David Ferrer, 3–6, 4–6.

He lost at the Madrid Masters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 1–6, 3–6, in the first round, before making it to the third round at the Rome Masters and losing 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 to Robin Söderling. Almagro improved at the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, where he defeated Victor Hănescu, 6–7, 6–3, 6–3. In Hamburg, Almagro lost in the final, 4–6, 6–4, 4–6, to Gilles Simon.

Almagro played Julien Benneteau in the first round of the US Open, making many unforced errors and only managing to break once out of 13 chances. He lost 2–6, 4–6, 2–6.

2012
Almagro lost in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open to Tomáš Berdych. Afterwards, Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand after an incident in the match where Almagro hit Berdych with a ball.

In February, Almagro earned his 11th career title in São Paulo, defeating Filippo Volandri in the final. He also made the final in Buenos Aires, bowing to David Ferrer.

Almagro got his revenge at Indian Wells, where he beat and bageled Berdych in the fourth round to advance to the quarterfinals, where he met Novak Djokovic.

Almagro defended his title in Nice for his 12th career title, beating American Brian Baker in the final.

At the French Open, he defeated Paolo Lorenzi, in the first round, Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, Leonardo Mayer in the third round, and Janko Tipsarević in the fourth round to reach quarterfinals without losing a set. He lost his first set to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he ultimately lost, 6–7, 2–6, 3–6.

Almagro has yet to go past the third round at Wimbledon and is not known for his proficiency on grass. However, during the 2012 London Olympics, he made a surprising run to the quarterfinals without dropping a set, before losing 4–6, 1–6 to eventual champion Andy Murray.

Almagro reached the finals of the Swedish Open, losing again to Ferrer, 2–6, 2–6.

Almagro reached the semifinals of the German Tennis Championships in Hamburg, losing to Juan Mónaco, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6.

2013
Almagro reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where he played compatriot David Ferrer, whom he had never beaten in twelve previous meetings. Almagro led by two sets and served for a place in his first Grand Slam semifinal once in the third set and twice in the fourth, but was unable to manufacture a match point, and Ferrer eventually won, 4–6, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(4), 6–2. Almagro's next tournament was the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco. He reached the semifinals without dropping a set. However, he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

In Houston, Almagro was the top seed. He made it to the final, but was defeated by John Isner.

Almagro then reached the fourth round of the French Open where, for the second Grand Slam running, he lost after leading by two sets and a break against a compatriot, this time Tommy Robredo. Almagro led 7–6(5), 6–3, 4–1 but went on to lose the last three sets 4–6, 4–6, 4–6, despite also leading sets four and five by a break of serve.

At Wimbledon, Almagro was the 15th seed. He reached the third round, where he lost in straight sets to Jerzy Janowicz.

Almagro reached the semifinal stage of the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg, losing to Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

2014
Almagro pulled out of Sydney and the Australian Open because of a shoulder injury. He reached the Houston final, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco. The Spaniard won over Nicolas Mahut to reach the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

At the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, he defeated Martin Kližan and Fernando Verdasco, then snapped Nadal's 41-match winning streak. This marked his first victory over his dominant compatriot in 11 meetings. Santiago Giraldo defeated him in semifinals.

At Roland Garros, Nicolás was forced to retire in the first round against American Jack Sock due to a foot injury.

Almagro subsequently withdrew from both Wimbledon and the US Open due to the same injury.

2015
At the Australian Open, he lost to Kei Nishikori 6–4, 7–6(1), 6–2 in the first round.

2019
Almagro announced his retirement during the Murcia Open in April 2019, which would be his last professional tournament.

Playing style
Almagro's playing style fits that of an offensive baseliner. Almagro's groundstrokes, particularly on his favored backhand side, are very powerful. Almagro uses a very quick and compact service motion which helps his first serve often exceed speeds of 210 km/h. In addition to his powerful game, Almagro is also known for playing on the edge of his emotions, sometimes losing his temper on-court. Almagro is most proficient on clay courts, as evidenced by all his ATP finals being at clay court events. Almagro has had success on hard courts, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2013, and has also reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati (2007) and Miami (2010). However, he generally prefers to play on clay courts and tailors his schedule to play the majority of the clay court events on the ATP World Tour.

Equipment
Nicolás Almagro uses the Volkl V-Sense 10 Tour. He has been stringing with Luxilon Big Banger Original for years. In January 2016 Almagro signed with Joma for clothing and shoes.

Davis Cup
He has played seven Davis Cup ties, winning 8 of the 10 singles matches he has contested. All his wins have come on clay.

In 2008, he helped the Spanish Davis Cup team to win the title, winning two rubbers at the first round against Peru by beating Matías Silva 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–0 and Iván Miranda 6–2, 6 –3.

In the 2012 Davis Cup final, he lost to Tomáš Berdych and again to Radek Štěpánek in the fifth rubber, denying Spain a repeat win.

Singles
1Held as Hamburg Masters till 2008. 2Held as Madrid Masters till 2008.

title: Nicolás Almagro


text:
Talk:Seat of Wisdom

It seems beside the point to fix the spelling. --Wetman 20:59, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * If you never state what your point is, don't expect others to fix your secret problem that now seems imaginary! At least say what could be better (and why, if possible how), and/or preferably have a go at some improvement, otherwise stop bitching in the dark (pardon my language) - just a negative (re-)tagging without any constructive criticism on a young article that has already been improved is everything but a man (the contributor)'s 'wet dream'! (nothing personal, though, I rarely resist a word pun) Fastifex 10:57, 30 September 2005 (UTC).

Translation of "Sedes"
Sedes here seems to mean residence, as in the traditional 'family seat', rather than something that is sat upon such as a chair or throne. If so, would it be more meaningful to translate the title as 'Abode of Wisdom'? stanning 18:40, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:Seat of Wisdom


text:
Movies@

Movies@ Ltd. is a cinema chain in the Republic of Ireland. The company opened its first multiplex cinema at the Dundrum Town Centre on 1 October 2005, with 12 screens. Other sites include the Pavilions Centre, Swords (11 screens) which opened in mid November 2006, the Square in Tallaght in December 2021 and Gorey, Co. Wexford. A branch was proposed to be located in Salthill, County Galway (10 screens) in Autumn 2007, but has not yet opened.

The company bears some resemblance to the largest Irish cinema chain, the Ward Anderson group, in that it is a family owned business run by members of two families, in this case the O'Gorman family (who ran the Ormonde Cinema in Stillorgan) and the Spurling family who are also involved in rural cinemas, albeit having closed one (Enniscorthy) due to being in relative proximity to a Movies@ site.

title: Movies@


text:
Helikopter-Streichquartett

The Helikopter-Streichquartett (Helicopter String Quartet) is one of Karlheinz Stockhausen's best-known pieces, and one of the most complex to perform. It involves a string quartet, four helicopters with pilots, as well as audio and video equipment and technicians. It was first performed and recorded in 1995. Although performable as a self-sufficient piece, it also forms the third scene of the opera Mittwoch aus Licht ("Wednesday from Light").

History
The Helicopter Quartet was originally commissioned by Hans Landesmann of the Salzburger Festspiele in early 1991. Stockhausen's initial reaction was that he was not interested in writing a string quartet, but then one night he dreamed he was flying above four helicopters, each carrying a member of a string quartet; he could see into and through the transparent helicopters. He subsequently made some sketches and plans, but it was not until 1992–93 that he found the time to compose the quartet. By this time, he had had several more dreams concerning the piece, including one involving a swarm of bees and a violinist, about which Stockhausen said, "The buzzing made by lots of bees is a magic sound to me". The Arditti Quartet was to play the première. After Stockhausen finished his score, it was sent back to Landesmann for criticism. His reaction was positive, as was that of the Director of the Festspiele, Gerard Mortier. A long series of negotiations started with the Festspiele and the Austrian army, who were to lend the helicopters, as well as various TV channels who were airing the piece. In part because of protests by the Austrian Green Party, that it would be "absolutely impossible for Austrian air to be polluted by performing this Stockhausen", in the end the planned 1994 première had to be cancelled.

The first performances of the piece took place in Amsterdam on 26 June 1995, as part of the Holland Festival, with Alouette helicopters from the Royal Dutch Air Force display team, the Grasshoppers (aerobatic team). The performers were: first violinist Irvine Arditti and pilot Marco Oliver; second violinist Graeme Jennings and pilot Lieutenant Denis Jans; violist Garth Knox and pilot Lieutenant Robert de Lange; cellist Rohan de Saram and pilot Captain Erik Boekelman. There were three performances given, at the Westergasfabriek, after two test flights at the same location the day before, and several earlier at an airfield in Deelen for the purpose of trying out the microphones. Following these performances, Stockhausen revised the score, adding about three minutes of material near the end, just before the descent, increasing the overall duration from about 29 minutes to 32 minutes. Since its premiere, the Helicopter Quartet has been performed "fairly regularly" and has become "the most iconic piece of classical music from the 1990s", though it was not presented in its full context, as the third scene of Mittwoch aus Licht, until the opera's staged premiere in August 2012.

In 2001 Angelin Preljocaj choreographed this music for a modern dance work titled Helikopter.

Composition
The Licht cycle—as a whole and in all of its parts—is serially composed, being based upon a three-layered "superformula". This design principle is an extension of the series-based techniques Stockhausen developed at the beginning of the 1950s—a connection to which Stockhausen himself has repeatedly called attention in his theoretical explanations. The Quartet is based on a short portion of the Eve layer from the Wednesday segment of the superformula: D–F–G♭. After the initial ascent, there are three iterations of the three-voiced superformula, each time distributed among the four instruments, and each time with the Michael, Eve, and Lucifer lines in a different vertical arrangement. The superformula as a whole is successively transposed so that the Eve layer begins each time with the corresponding pitch from the "helicopter" segment: D–F–G♭. The durations of the three statements of the triple formula are also determined by the rhythms of the small "helicopter" segment.

More general traits found in the work are also characteristic of the serial fabric of Stockhausen's music. For example, the interpenetration of macro and micro dimensions, found in earlier compositions such as Kontakte, where Stockhausen compresses rhythm into pitch, or in Hymnen, where he slows down the sound of geese until they are revealed as the shouts of a football crowd. The violin tremolos here and also in Mittwoch's preceding scene, Orchester-Finalisten, invoke the sound of a buzzing mosquito, so "what the composer is also saying is that the mosquito is also a tiny helicopter", and the connection between the two is being made by the violin. Another is the way in which the scenic character of the Helicopter Quartet forms one of four "serial variants": The first and fourth scenes of the opera represent the idea of communication and cooperation, first when World Parliamentarians meet to debate the topic of love, and then when interplanetary delegates consider cosmic problems, while the second scene and this one revolve around the idea of community music making.

A third serial principle is the integration of distinct elements into a whole. This was expressed by Stockhausen in a text written in 1953: "Evidently, self-contemplation and the awareness of a universal, planned order exist today "more than ever". With this comes the desire to give the individual tone a very specific sense that transcends momentary saturation and the merely impulsive play of organization and combination; a sense, that is, of music as a representation of that comprehensive "global" structure in which everything is integrated."

In Licht generally this is seen in "scenic contexts that are not tied to a single, linear, teleological narrative, but as the compositional events in multi-dimensional, process-independent, run in folding, intersecting, or parallel layers and yet are held together by the principle of uniformity". In the Helicopter Quartet in particular this is manifested spatially, as the physical separation of the players from the audience and among themselves, circling in the sky in four different helicopters, is overcome through the use of audio-visual equipment, so that "only when transmitted via television screens and loudspeakers in the concert hall do the four-layered musical events fit together into a unified whole".

Performance practice
A performance requires: four helicopters, each equipped with a pilot and sound technician, television transmitter and three-channel sound transmitter, and an auditorium with four columns of televisions and loudspeakers, a sound projectionist with mixing desk, and a moderator (optional), as well as the members of the string quartet.

The piece focuses on Stockhausen's dreamed idea of a string quartet playing tremolos which blend so well with the timbres and the rhythms of the rotor blades that the helicopters sound like musical instruments. This is accomplished by using microphones placed so the helicopters may blend with the stringed instruments, with the instruments being heard as slightly louder than the blades.

The piece is played as follows: A moderator, who may be the sound projectionist, introduces the quartet, and then explains the technical aspects of the piece. The players then walk out, always being visible to the auditorium audience via the video cameras that follow them, until they have all arrived at and boarded their helicopters.

From the moment of takeoff until disembarkation the musicians and helicopters remain constantly in the view of the cameras, with video and audio (using three microphones in each helicopter) of each string player transmitted to his assigned group of television monitors in the auditorium. "The earth can be seen through the glass cockpit of the helicopter behind each player".

Then the piece begins. The helicopters circle at a radius of 6 km from the auditorium, changing altitude constantly to create the 'bounce' of the piece. All twelve incoming signals are controlled by the sound crew.

The descent lasts five minutes, with the decreasing sound of the rotor blades acting as a background as the quartet re-enter the hall. The moderator then takes questions and leads applause.

Press reviews
Writing for The New York Times, Alex Ross called the premiere a "memorable spectacle" citing the virtuoso performances by both the Arditti and the Grasshoppers. However, his review was mostly negative: "German experimentalism in its classic form has evidently run its course. Nothing illustrated its obsolescence more lucidly than the recent premiere at the Holland Festival of a Helicopter String Quartet by Karlheinz Stockhausen ... it was not, as Mr. Stockhausen claimed, important research into new sound materials, nor anything of consequence in purely musical terms. It was a grandiose absurdist entertainment, not unlike Christo's wrapping of the Reichstag back in Berlin."

Andrew Clements in The Guardian marveled at Stockhausen's logistical achievement: "The technological complexities of making such a thing work almost flawlessly are immense (a planned performance in Salzburg last year failed, literally and metaphorically, to get off the ground), and in the context of Stockhausen's achievement as a composer the Helicopter Quartet may not be hugely significant, but as a reminder of the sheer force of his creative personality and organisational ability it is a remarkable if impossibly bizarre achievement. And what it all has to do with the opera only time will reveal."

In his review for The Times, Paul Griffiths discusses how the piece comments on the chamber music mentality and hints that the piece has a richer life as a concept: "Helikopter-Streichquartett says things about quartet psychology the placing of oneself at risk, the trust that others will come in on time (isolated visually and aurally, the players could get directions only from a click-track heard on headphones) and the devotion to duty...this is a work that can be just as well imagined as experienced. Indeed, the Helikopter-Streichquartett of the imagination is probably to be preferred, since the one big disappointment of the Amsterdam performance was that one had so little sense of the musicians the Arditti Quartet being up aloft: the monitors just showed us four guys in cramped conditions, bowing away."

Marlise Simons, writing in The New York Times, provides a snapshot of multiple critical reactions in the Dutch press: The performance was widely reviewed in Dutch newspapers, which admired the flawless technical delivery but had less ear for the unusual sounds. The influential NRC-Handelsblad found "the hot-tempered music" from clattering aircraft disturbing and said the "noise of the rotorblades created tension" in the audience. But Yannis Anninos, a Greek composer who had flown from Athens to attend the concert, said the Helicopter Quartet was the "superb work of a genius."

Mr. Stockhausen said he had other performances in mind for the quartet. He was also asked if he thought it possible to raise an entire orchestra aloft in helicopters.

"Why not?" he said.

The CD
The first CD was created on request of the Arditti Quartet themselves, and includes both the world-première recording and a studio recording of a revised version, which adds some material composed after the world première. The studio recording was made by the WDR on 7 December 1996 in Kürten, using the Übertragungswagen, or mobile studio. They used four different rooms in the studio, with the helicopter sounds dubbed in, using Sony 24-track tape.

Discography

 * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Helikopter-Streichquartett: Uraufführung 1995 + Studioproduktion 1996. Arditti Quartet (Irvine Arditti, Graeme Jennings [world premiere] and David Alberman [studio recording of the revised score], violins; Garth Knox, viola; Rohan de Saram, cello); Grasshoppers (helicopter acrobatic team); Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical direction, recording supervision, sound projection, mix-down, and moderation [of the world premiere]. Stockhausen Complete Edition, Compact Disc 53 A-B (2 CDs). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 1999. Studio version also released on Montaigne Auvidis MO 782097 (CD).
 * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. Helikopter-Streichquartett. Arditti Quartet (Irvine Arditti and David Alberman, violins; Garth Knox, viola; Rohan de Saram, cello); Grasshoppers (helicopter acrobatic team, recording from the third Amsterdam performance, mixed in). Arditti Quartet Edition 35. Montaigne Auvidis MO 782097 (single CD). 32'00". Paris: Montaigne Auvidis, 1999.

Filmography

 * Helicopter String Quartet, a film by Frank Scheffer. Close-up: documentaireserie waarin Frank Scheffer zijn visie geeft op diverse 20e-eeuwse componisten. [S.l.]: AVRO. Televisie-opname, 1995.
 * German DVD release (German and English, DVD) Helicopter String Quartet. Frank Scheffer; Karlheinz Stockhausen. Kürten, Germany: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2006.
 * UK release: Helicopter String Quartet. Frank Scheffer; Ton van der Lee; Karlheinz Stockhausen. German. Videorecording: DVD video 1 videodisc (77 min.). London: 2008.
 * French DVD release. Helicopter String Quartet. Karlheinz Stockhausen; Frank Scheffer. Videorecording: DVD video (77 mins. [erroneously listed as 113 min. in publisher's catalogue]). [Paris]: Idéale Audience International, 2008.
 * Stockhausen: Helikopter Streichquartett (archive from 8 September 2012, accessed 13 March 2018). Sound Director: André Richard. a co-production with Red Bull & Salzburg Festival. Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images, 2003.

title: Helikopter-Streichquartett


text:
Talk:Sisebut

Title
Why “ Sisebur ” ??? It's Sis(e)buth or Sis(e)but(h)o in Spain and not Sisebur.

 * I see "Sisebur" also, attested in Google search, and we have no:Sisebur, but the Sisebut seems more common. Duja ► 07:29, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * But what is a reliable written source that uses it? Srnec 03:46, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I found a couple, but not sure about reliability, and often listed as an alternative to Sisebut, , . Duja ► 09:34, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sisebut


text:
Demi Miller

Demi Miller is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Shana Swash. She made her first appearance on 6 September 2004 and last appearance on 7 July 2006, when she was axed by EastEnders executive producer Kate Harwood.

Storylines
Demi arrives in Walford at the age of 13 and immediately becomes the focus of local gossip due to her pregnancy. She is feisty and likes to cause trouble with her twin brother Darren (Charlie G. Hawkins). Nearly two months after her arrival, Demi collapses in agony in the playground after her water breaks. Scared and alone, she begs Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) to help her. With Pauline's help, Demi gives birth to Aleesha Miller (Freya and Phoebe Coltman-West) on 29 October 2004. Later that evening, Aleesha's father and Demi's boyfriend Leo Taylor (Philip Dowling) arrives with his father Ray (Dorian Lough). Ray is extremely hostile, and Leo is told he is to have no further contact with Demi or Aleesha.

In May 2005, the Millers return to their former home while a rat problem in the square is being dealt with. Demi is reluctant, as it means she is likely to see Leo. Soon after their arrival, Demi takes Aleesha for a walk and sees Leo. They realise their split has been due to their parents meddling and denying contact between the two, and they reunite. Demi tells Leo that it is Aleesha's christening the following day. Despite appearing reluctant, Leo and his mother Trisha (Cathy Murphy) attend the christening, however, the service is interrupted by Ray, who viciously drags his wife and son away. Demi and Leo meet later that evening from their balconies. As the feud between the Millers and the Taylors escalate, Leo plans to run away, and begs Demi to come with him. Demi agrees, but Leo abandons her when she insists on taking Aleesha. Demi returns to Walford but is delighted when she meets Leo near the swings. Leo promises her he will secretly continue to see her.

When Leo's parents plan to take him to live in Scotland, Demi and Leo take Aleesha and run away. The young family then live in a squat, struggling to afford to survive. Demi realises that the only way to secure her daughter's safety is to send her back home. She phones Pauline and tells her to meet her at the church Aleesha was christened at, where she hands over her daughter in a tearful farewell. Leo begs Demi to let him sell drugs to make some money. Reluctantly, Demi agrees, and soon turns to heroin herself to numb the pain. Leo finds a poster of him and Demi, and realises their families are looking for them. Leo races back to the squat to tell Demi and finds her unconscious with the heroin by her side. Believing she'd killed herself; he overdoses on the remaining heroin just as Demi wakes up. Leo collapses in her arms just as Trisha and Demi's parents, Keith Miller (David Spinx) and Rosie Miller (Gerry Cowper) find them. Leo dies later in hospital in August 2005. Demi is reunited with her family and goes back into school. In October 2005, she celebrates Aleesha's first birthday, and she is also joined by her older half-sister, Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon).

Rosie plans to move away to the Cotswolds with Darren, Demi and Aleesha to take on a new job as a housekeeper and start a new life without Keith. Darren decides to stay in Walford, but Demi wants to raise Aleesha somewhere different from Albert Square. She leaves Walford with Rosie and Aleesha on 7 July 2006.

Creation and development
In August 2004, it was announced that a new family was to be introduced to EastEnders. Louise Berridge, the executive producer, commented: "I'm delighted to introduce the Miller family, who will be joining Mickey on Albert Square in September, but I warn you - this lot are trouble." She added: "Even the dog is dodgy. They're set to cause havoc all over the Square, and by the end of their first week the sparks will be flying - literally."

Lacey Turner also auditioned for the role of Demi before being cast as Stacey Slater.

It was announced in February 2006 that Swash and co-star Gerry Cowper had been axed from EastEnders by John Yorke. "Gerry and Shana have been enormous assets and go with our best wishes" said a spokesman, adding that there is a "massive" storyline had been planned for their exit.

Reception
In August 2005, a storyline aired in which Demi and her boyfriend Leo run away to a squat and start dealing drugs for money to feed their daughter. This results in Leo taking a fatal overdose of heroin, and therefore was described as "Shakespearean", with the story being compared to that of Romeo and Juliet. Swash stated that due to the age gap between her and Dowling, she was unhappy about kissing him, and said, "I didn't want to do it and I got really upset about it." The storyline was mainly praised by viewers and organisations such as The National Missing Persons Helpline (NMPH), with more than 70,000 calls being made. The charity's general manager went on to say, "We believe that EastEnders are showing a realistic portrayal of a missing teen. Callers to our dedicated Helpline are often in the most extreme of situations and face life or death decisions whilst away from the family home."

title: Demi Miller


text:
User:Hellyll

One of my favourite backgrounds can be seen above. Tiled, it can be used for an impressive effect.

title: User:Hellyll


text:
Rho, Lombardy

Rho (Rò; Rhaudum) is a town and comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 14 km northwest of Milan. The language spoken in Rho is Italian.

Geography
Rho is lapped by the river Olona and crossed by its tributaries Bozzente and Lura, nowadays partially cloaked inside the town.

At the north and east of the town, there is the road of national interest Strada statale 33 del Sempione, which in the past was crossing the town itself, in the current corso Europa. Rho is at the meeting point of railways linking Milan to Varese (Line S5) and Domodossola and Milan to Novara (Line S6).

In Passirana, it is based a meteo station, managed in cooperation with the Lombard Meteorological Center.

Frazioni
Inside the municipality of Rho are located seven frazioni:
 * Castellazzo: modest inhabited in the west part of the communal territory, close to the place where was situated a country manor house; nowadays it is located near the popular residential quarter of via Capuana
 * Biringhello: small village up north-west the town, beyond the Sempione road and bordering with Barbaiana of Lainate
 * Lucernate: popular southern neighbourhood, beyond the railway station, in the zone of resurgences
 * Mazzo: called also Mazzo Milanese or Mazzo di Rho, densely populated eastern hamlet, close to the Fiera di Milano.
 * Pantanedo: little hamlet, up east Mazzo, made just by an inhabited farm house and some industrial plants
 * Passirana: town located in the north part of the municipality, close to Arese
 * Terrazzano: big north-east hamlet, near the junction between A4 and A50 (tool-house of Terrazzano on the A50), it is near to Arese too.

Ancient times
Rho is one of the most ancient towns of Lombardy, originating during the Roman era. This was confirmed by excavations associated with building and road construction in 1876, 1890 and 1917. Additional research during the 20th century showed that the town had remarkable importance during the imperial age, when it was part of the XI Transpadanian region.

The current topography can be traced to a style of organization from ancient Roman centuriation: the most of the roads run parallel in east-west or north–south directions. The reference axis are the cardo (north–south, via Madonna and via Garibaldi) and the Decumano (east–west, via Matteotti and via Porta Ronca). These roads are crossing in piazza San Vittore, nowadays still the center of the town.

Further archeological researches confirmed the existence in Roman age of the Via Mediolanum-Verbannus, a road connecting Milan to the Lake Maggiore, passing through Legnano and Gallarate. Along this infrastructure Rho was placed at the 10th mile, the resting point for the army then. Ancient Romans redirected the flow of Olona in Lucernate, digging an artificial riverbed directed to Milan and running along the road. This was considered a fundamental solution to increase traffic on the road, as transport by water was a much easier solution to transport big amounts of goods.

The Christianization of the village took place in the 4th – 5th centuries. In the piazza San Vittore an ancient cemetery and a Christian chapel has been found; in the current via Belvedere were discovered Capuchin graves with engravings of alfa and omega.

Middle Age
The barbarian invasions caused a deep economical crisis in the zone, and the power passed to Lombards and then to Franks. During the Lombard reign, the village assumed in its own topography names existing still nowadays; Pomero for example, from the Latin Post Moerus, meaning out of the walls. Such origin is nevertheless not universally recognized: some texts related it to the presence in the place of several apple trees. In the same period it is conferred to Rho the appeal of Curtis, a particular form of organization in the feudal society.

Rho is first mentioned in a written document from January 9, 864 AD, a certificate of permutation by the notary Agatone, referred to the village simply as a bunch of houses under the name of Vicus Raudus, with a church entitled to Sant'Ambrogio and a rough castle. Other two parchments recalling Vicus Raudus are dated 871.

Around 1000 AD the town bloomed as a free commune and in 1004 Emperor Henry II, after the victory over the Lombards of King Arduin of Ivrea and his coronation as King of Italy, visited Rho, signing some documents; he accorded to Rodo the role of capopieve and instituted a weekly market, which takes place every Monday even nowadays. He also instituted a Court of Justice and dug a canal for irrigation, using the waters of Olona.

It dates back to 11th century also the half-legendary Giovanni de Raude, flagbearer of the Christian army during the First Crusade; he was the man hoisting the first Christian flag on the Jerusalem walls in the battle of July 15, 1099.

In 1160, Rho was razed to the ground by Frederick Barbarossa, as punishment for rebellion against the Holy Roman Empire; it was quickly rebuilt. Between 1130 and 1215 nine consuls from Rho are recorded in the Milanese state, some of them belonging to the family of Capitanei de Raude, residing in Rho since 1196.

According to a document filed in the Archive of the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan, around 1300 a first hospital was built in Rho; in 1481 its goods were bought by the Augustinians friars of Santa Maria del Pasquerio in Rho.

In 1305 the noble Cressone Crivelli tried with his soldiers to take possession of Rho and Nerviano, but he was defeated by the popular reaction. Eight years later the town was nonetheless conquered by Milan, who killed or imprisoned almost all the inhabitants.

Because of its water and fertile lands, in the 15th century many Milanese notables moved to Rho, building sumptuous palaces, mostly no longer existing. The noble presence was such that in Rho was instituted a Universitas nobilium dicti loci de Raude. Between the 16th and 17th century two new monasteries were built: by Agostinians and by Capuchins (on the road to Lucernate), both destroyed in the Napoleonic invasion.

Modern era
In 1511 the Landsknecht, commanded by Matteo Schinner, sacked Rho during their descent in Italy. Then the Spanish domination took place and in 1539 King Charles V granted the feud to Visconti family. In 1570 a plague epidemic took place in the population, already weakened by the Spanish oppression.

According to the chronicles of that time, on 24 April 1583 a painting of Pietà cried blood tears, event subsequently recognized as a miracle by the Catholic Church. Instead of the chapel where the painting was placed, a Sanctuary to the Lady of Sorrows was built, with the collaboration of several artists among the best of the region.

During the 17th century plague hit again the zone, and in 1663 the inhabitants erected in the current piazza San Vittore a Croce della peste (Cross of the plague), moved beside the parish church in 1928 and moved back to its original place seventy years later.

In 1928 a Royal Decree assigned to Rho the town of Passirana, previously part of the comune of Lainate; in 1932 Rho got the official title of Città.

On 10 October 1956 in the hamlet Terrazzano two drifters abducted about one hundred students and three teachers of the local primary school. During the police blitz, which took place after six hours, policemen mistakenly killed Sante Zennaro, who had heroically tried rescuing children negotiating with the kidnapper.

At the beginning of 21st century, the new exposition centre of Fiera di Milano was built inside an area for the 90% in the territory of Rho and for the remaining part in the township of Pero. Inaugurated in 2005, it was projected by the architect Massimiliano Fuksas and is constituted by eight pavilions for a total exposition surface of 345,000 m2 indoors and 60,000 m2 outdoors. In a closeby area took place the Expo 2015.

Name origin
One theory derives the name from the Campi Raudi where the Roman consul Caius Marius defeated the Cimbri. The name is presumably from the Celtic rhaudes 'field', or raud or rod 'river' (cf. Roddi and Roddino in the Province of Cuneo). Another postulates that the city was founded by expatriates from the Greek island of Rhodes.

The current name of Rho, with the "h" in the middle, was made official in 1932, but the town has had various other names. The first document mentioning Rho, in 846, calls it Vico Raudo, and it consists of a hamlet surrounded by cultivated lands. Vico is a group of houses in the country, while Raudo probably comes from the Latin Rhaudum, a rough castle existing there. Other names include: Rhode, Rodo, Raude, Raudo, Rhaudum; in 16th-17th century one common version was Aro, then Rò, Rhò and Rho.

In his Commentari sulle famiglie milanesi, Raffaele Fagnani imagines a Rhodian origin. This hypothesis is no longer tenable.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the municipality is the wheel with five spokes, crest of the Capitanei de Raude family, vassals of the dukes of Saxony and Bavaria. The five spokes are recalling five emperors: Henry the Fowler, Otto I, Otto II, Otto III and Henry II. In heraldry the wheel is a symbol of luck or victory, recalling the Latin saying: the powerful wheel crushed every opponent.

In the ancient Basilica of Aquileia there is a chapel named to Torriani family, where, between two coffins, stands the tombslab of Allegranza da Rho (14th century), wife of Corrado della Torre and mother of the patriarch Cassono della Torre. On the tombstone is engraved the crest of Rho, pictured as a shield with a wheel in the middle.

Culture
The new megacomplex of FieraMilano (Milan Fair) opened in 2005 and is located in Rho near the border with Pero.

Rail transport
Rho is served by two railway stations: Rho, in the city centre, and Rho Fiera Milano, located by the FieraMilano complex.

title: Rho, Lombardy


text: User talk:69.177.150.83

title: User talk:69.177.150.83


text:
The Birds (story)

"The Birds" is a horror story by the British writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree. The story is set in du Maurier's home county of Cornwall shortly after the end of the Second World War. A farmhand, his family and community come under lethal attack from flocks of birds.

The story was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds, released in 1963, the same year that The Apple Tree was reprinted as The Birds and Other Stories. In 2009, the Irish playwright Conor McPherson adapted the story for the stage at Dublin's Gate Theatre.

Plot
Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran, works part time for Mr Trigg at his farm on the Cornish coast. One day in early December, he notices unusually large flocks of birds behaving restlessly, and he muses that they have received a message that winter is coming.

That night the weather turns bitterly cold. Nat hears a bird insistently tapping on his bedroom window, and when he opens it half a dozen birds fly at his face and try to peck his eyes. Hearing his children screaming, he rushes into their room to find that they are being set upon by many more. Using a blanket as a weapon, he kills as many birds as he can. In the morning he clears up fifty dead robins, finches and other small birds. The others have left.

Nat tells his neighbours about the night's events but is not believed. As he walks to the beach to dispose of the dead birds, he realises that what appear to be whitecaps on the sea are actually tens of thousands of gulls riding the waves, apparently waiting. On the wireless, the BBC reports that birds have been massing all over Britain and that people are being attacked. Anticipating another assault, this time from the gulls, Nat boards up his cottage windows. The BBC announcer appears not to understand the severity of what is to come. By 3 o'clock the gulls have taken flight in vast numbers, darkening the sky.

Picking up his daughter from the school bus stop, Nat spots Mr Trigg who agrees to take her home in his car. Mr Trigg is unfazed by the official announcements and plans to shoot the birds for sport. Nat hurries home on foot. Just as he reaches the final field, the gulls descend and attack, tearing at his hands, wrists and neck. Bleeding, he manages to stumble in through his door as a gannet high above him folds its wings and drops like a stone.

Across the country massive flocks of birds gather, acting purposefully to force entry into buildings. A national emergency is declared, and people are told not to leave their homes. The news announcer states that the BBC will be going silent for the night and will resume broadcasting the next morning.

Nat brings the family into the kitchen for safety, from where they can hear the muffled sounds of birds pressed together on the window sills, trying to force an entry. During dinner, they hear the sound of naval guns, and of aeroplanes overhead, followed by the sound of planes crashing as birds fling themselves against the propellors. Eventually the assault dies down. Nat deduces that the birds attack only when the tide is coming in.

The next day, wireless broadcasts do not resume. The birds once again set upon the cottage, even forcing their way down the chimney. During a lull as the tide recedes, Nat and his family walk to Mr Trigg's farm to seek supplies. They pass piles of dead birds, with those still living peering at them from afar. Finding nobody alive at the farm, they gather supplies and return home. As the tide turns, the birds resume their assault. Nat listens to the sound of splintering wood as the hawks concentrate their attack on the doors. He smokes his last cigarette, then throws the empty pack into the fire and watches it burn.

Interpretation
One interpretation of the story suggests that it reflects the British experience during the Second World War, evoking anxieties about the government's failure to protect their citizens and intrusions into domestic spaces by aggressive interlopers.

Background
Du Maurier's inspiration for the story was the sight of a farmer being attacked by a flock of gulls as he ploughed a field.

Radio and TV dramatisations
The story has been dramatised for radio and TV on several occasions, including:
 * Episode 838 of Lux Radio Theatre (airing as an episode of the summer series Lux Summer Theatre) on 20 July 1953 with Herbert Marshall.
 * Episode 217 of radio's Escape on 10 July 1954 with Ben Wright and Virginia Gregg.
 * Episode 240 (final show in the series) of CBS-TV series Danger on 31 May 1955 with Michael Strong and Betty Lou Holland.
 * BBC Afternoon Theatre on 20 November 1974 with Howard Goorney, Chris Harris, and Elizabeth Boxer.
 * An adaptation by Melissa Murray, for BBC Radio 4's The Friday Play, first broadcast in May 2007.
 * A three-part BBC Radio 4 Extra adaptation, read by Charlie Barnecut, first broadcast 23 April 2008.

Streaming audio

 * The Birds on Lux Radio Theatre: 20 July 1953
 * The Birds on Escape: 10 July 1954

title: The Birds (story)