title: Sharad Pawar

text: Early in his career, Pawar was regarded as a protégé of Yashwantrao Chavan, the most influential politician from Maharashtra at that time. At the young age of 27 in 1967, Pawar was nominated as the candidate for the Baramati constituency of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly over more established members by the undivided Congress Party. He won the election and represented the constituency on and off for decades. In 1969, when the Congress party split after the 1969 Indian presidential election he opted for the Congress(R) faction of prime minister Indira Gandhi along with his mentor Yashwantrao Chavan. As the MLA of Baramati in the early 1970s, he was instrumental in building percolation tanks during a severe drought in Maharashtra. Like most Congress party politicians from rural western Maharashtra, he was also heavily involved in the politics of the local cooperative sugar mills and other member run cooperatives societies. In early 1970s, the then chief minister Vasantrao Naik had been power for a long time and there was jockeying for succession among different factions of the state Congress party. At that time, looking to the future leadership of the party, Yashwantrao Chavan persuaded Naik to bring Pawar into his cabinet as state home affairs minister. Pawar continued as home affairs minister in the 1975-77 government of Shankarrao Chavan, who succeeded Naik as the chief minister.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, Congress party, under Indira Gandhi, lost power to the Janata Alliance. Taking responsibility for the loss of large number of seats in Maharashtra, chief minister Shankarrao Chavan resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Vasantdada Patil. Later in the year, the Congress party split, with Pawar's mentor, Yashwantrao Chavan joining one faction, Congress (U), and Indira Gandhi leading her own faction, Congress (I). Pawar himself joined Congress (U). In the state assembly elections held early in 1978, the two Congress parties ran separately but then formed an alliance to keep power under Vasantdada Patil and deny it to Janata Party which emerged as the biggest single party after the election, but without a majority. Pawar served as Minister of Industry and Labour in the Patil government.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In July 1978, Pawar broke away from the Congress (U) party to form a coalition government with the Janata Party. In the process, at the age of 38, he became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In the 1980 elections Congress (I) won the majority in the state assembly, and A.R. Antulay took over as chief minister. Pawar took over the Presidency of his Indian National Congress (Socialist) "Congress (S)" party in 1983. For the first time, he won the Lok Sabha election from the Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won the state assembly election of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to return to state politics, and resigned his Lok Sabha seat. "Congress (S)," won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly, and Pawar became the leader of the opposition of PDF coalition which included the BJP, PWP, and the Janata party.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: His return to Congress (I) in 1987 has been cited as a reason for the rise of the Shiv Sena at that time. Pawar had stated at the time, "the need to save the Congress Culture in Maharashtra", as his reason for returning to Congress. In June 1988, Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into his Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as the chief minister. Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress in the state. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 28 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to Congress. Congress fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly, winning 141 seats out of 288. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on 4 March 1990 with the support of 12 independent or unaffiliated members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).


title: Sharad Pawar

text: During the course of the 1991 election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as the party president. It was expected that the party president would become the prime minister in the event of a Congress victory. However, Pawar at that time had talked about the distinction between party president and prime minister. Also since the Congress contingent from Maharashtra was the largest, Pawar felt he had a legitimate claim for the post of prime minister. However, Pawar eventually decided not to enter the contest, and the Congress Parliamentary Party (party MPs) unanimously elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as their leader, and he was sworn in as prime minister on 21 June 1991. Rao named Pawar as defence minister. On 26 June 1991, Pawar took over that portfolio, and held it until March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik, stepped down after the disastrous handling of the Bombay riots, Rao asked Pawar to serve again as chief minister of the state. Pawar was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth term on 6 March 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts, on 12 March 1993. Pawar's response to the blasts attracted controversy. More than a decade later, Pawar admitted that he had "deliberately misled" people following the bombings, by saying that there were "13 and not 12" explosions, and had added the name of a Muslim-dominated locality to show that people from both communities had been affected. He attempted to justify this deception by claiming that it was a move to prevent communal riots, by falsely portraying that both Hindu and Muslim communities in the city had been affected adversely. He also admitted to lying about evidence recovered and misleading people into believing that it pointed to the Tamil Tigers as possible suspects.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 1993, the Deputy Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, G. R. Khairnar made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting criminals. Though Khairnar could not produce any evidence in support of his claims, it inevitably affected Pawar's popularity. Notable social worker Anna Hazare started a fast-unto-death to demand the expulsion of 12 officers of the Maharashtra state forest department who had been accused of corruption. The opposition parties accused Pawar's government of trying to shield the corrupt officers.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: The 1994 Gowari stampede occurred at Nagpur, during the winter session of the state assembly, and killed 114 people. Nagpur Police were trying to disperse almost 50,000 Gowari and Vanjari protesters using baton charges but the police created panic and triggered a stampede amongst protesters. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjari people in time. Though Pichad, accepting moral responsibility for the mishap, stepped down, this incident was another setback to Pawar's government.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: After 16 years of protest by the Namantar Andolan (Name-change Movement), the state government finally renamed Marathwada University as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University on 14 January 1994, the compromise new name being an expansion of the old name ("Namvistar") rather than a complete change of name ("Namanatar"). As chief minister, Pawar announced few developments in university departments.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: New elections to the Vidhan Sabha were held in 1995. The Shiv Sena-BJP coalition was leading Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. Shiv Sena-BJP won 138 seats while Congress retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi took over as chief minister on 14 March 1995. Until the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In the 1996 General elections, Pawar won the Baramati seat in the Lok Sabha and left the state assembly.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In June 1997, Pawar unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of President of the Indian National Congress. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Pawar not only won his constituency, Baramati, but also led Congress to a win by a large majority of Maharashtra Lok Sabha constituencies. Congress was aligned with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. The Congress party won 33 Lok Sabha seats outright, and the allied Republican Party of India won 4 more, for a total of 37 out of 48 in the state. Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in the 12th Lok Sabha.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 1999, after the 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to the 13th Lok Sabha were called, Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar demanded that the party needed to propose someone native-born as the prime ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress president. In response, the Congress working committee (CWC) expelled the trio for six years from the party. In response Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party in June 1999. Despite the falling out, the new party aligned with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra after the 1999 state assembly elections to prevent the Shiv Sena-BJP combine from returning to power. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics and Vilasrao Deshmukh of Congress was chosen as chief minister, with Chagan Bhujbal representing the NCP as deputy chief minister.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Pawar joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Minister of Agriculture. He retained his portfolio when the UPA coalition government was reelected in 2009. He faced several crisis and controversies during his tenure as Agriculture minister. Critics also point out that during his tenure as the minister agriculture, he spent time on cricket in his role as the president of BCCI than on his ministerial duties.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2007, the BJP asked for Pawar's resignation after alleging he was involved in a multi-crore Indian rupee (INR) scam involving wheat imports. In May 2007, a tender floated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procurement of wheat was cancelled when the lowest bid received was for US$263/ton. The government subsequently allowed private traders to purchase wheat directly from farmers that year resulting in a paucity of wheat to stock FCI granaries. By July 2007 the shortage at FCI was large enough to require import of wheat at a much higher price of 320–360 USD/ton. Taking advantage of this, traders who had domestically purchased wheat at 900 INR/ton earlier, were now offering the same to FCI at 1,300 INR/ton.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: As the Minister of Agriculture, Pawar was consistently accused of colluding in the extreme hike in prices of agricultural produce:


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Since the 1990s there had been a high number of farmer suicides in India: in excess of 10,000 per year, and totalling over 200,000 between 1997 and 2010. Pawar, as the agricultural minister, in 2006 had underplayed the rate of farmer suicide in India. However, he claimed at that time that his department was taking the necessary steps to reduce the numbers. His ministry initiated a series of government inquiries to look into the causes of farmers' suicides in 2012. In 2013 Pawar admitted that the suicides was a serious issue with many factors being responsible, and he said the government was increasing investment in agriculture and raising minimum prices of crops to increase farmers' income.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Even though the pesticide endosulfan has been banned, India is slow to phase it out. In spite of its known negative health effects, Pawar made a remark that endosulfan is not yet proved dangerous. This remark prompted activist Vandana Shiva to call him a corrupt minister.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2012, Pawar gave up the chairmanship of the Empowered Group of Ministers investigating the 2G spectrum case, days after his appointment by the prime minister, fearing that his association with the decision-making process would drag him into the 2G Spectrum controversy. In 2011, he also decided to resign from the committee that was reviewing the draft of the anti-corruption Lokpal bill after his inclusion in the committee was criticized by the anti-corruption campaigner, Anna Hazare.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In January 2012, Pawar announced that he would not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in order to make way for younger leadership. Pawar is at present a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was elected to the body in April 2014 for a six-year term. He lost his ministerial position when the BJP-led NDA defeated the ruling UPA government, in which Pawar was the minister of agriculture, in the general elections of 2014. Pawar's NCP also lost power in Maharashtra after the 2014 assembly elections. The BJP had won a plurality of seats in the new assembly and initially formed a minority government with the NCP. The BJP's estranged ally, the Shiv Sena later joined the BJP-led government, and that government then did not need the support of the NCP. In May 2017, Pawar ruled out being a candidate for the June 2017 Indian presidential election.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In the 2019 elections to the Lok Sabha, Pawar's NCP and the Congress party had a seat-sharing arrangement. Similarly, despite their differences, the BJP and Shiv Sena once again contested the elections together under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner. The election gave a landslide victory to Narendra Modi's BJP. Out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress party won only one seat in the state, whereas the NCP won five seats from its stronghold of western Maharashtra.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were soon followed by elections to the Vidhan Sabhaa in October 2019. Predictions for the state's ruling BJP–Shiv Sena alliance to win by a large margin led to a steady stream of defections from the NCP to the ruling alliance. Pawar was the star campaigner for the NCP-Congress alliance in the state.His campaigning during the assembly election was credited with helping not only the NCP but also the leaderless Congress party. Against predictions, the actual voting left the ruling alliance with fewer seats than in 2014. After the election, Pawar thought that his party would remain in opposition in the new assembly. However, differences between the Shiv Sena and the BJP led to a month of political drama, with Pawar and his family playing a pivotal roles. The drama ended with the NCP coming back into power on 28 November 2019, as part of a coalition between Shiv Sena, Congress, and the NCP, led by the Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, as the new chief minister of Maharashtra.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Pawar served as the president of Pune International Marathon Trust, which has hosted Pune International Marathon for last 22 years.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Early in his public career in 1972, Pawar founded "Vidya pratishthan" for serving the educational needs of the rural poor. The organisation now runs a number of schools at all levels, and colleges specialising in subjects such as information technology, and Biotechnology in Baramati and other locations. Pawar is associated with the "Hon. Sharad Pawar Public School," under the "Shree Gurudatta Education Society"; Sharad Pawar International School, Pune and the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, near Mumbai. Pawar is the current president of the century-old educational organisation Rayat Shikshan Sanstha.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 1992–93, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik made a statement that the state leader of Indian National Congress party and erstwhile-Chief Minister Pawar, had asked him to "go easy on Pappu Kalani", a well known criminal-turned-politician. Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, later concurred with these allegations. Further, Chief Minister Naik also alleged that it was possible that Kalani and Hitendra Thakur, another criminal-turned-politician from Virar, had been given tickets to contest election for the Maharashtra State Legislature at the behest of Pawar, who also put in a word for Naik with the police when the latter was arrested for his role in post-Demolition of the Babri Masjid riots in Mumbai.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Pawar is also alleged to have close links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim through Ibrahim's henchman Lakhan Singh based in the Middle East and close relationship with Shahid Balwa, also a suspect in the 2G spectrum case. These allegations were strengthened by the revelation about the involvement of Vinod Goenka, Balwa's business partner, in a controversial commercial project in Yerwada, Pune, which was being constructed under the same survey number as Pawar's family friend, Atul Chordia, had constructed the Panchshil Tech Park. BJP leader Eknath Khadse alleged that it was Balwa who had applied for environmental clearance for the two projects, a charge that Chordia refuted. Coincidentally, Chordia's Panchshil Pvt. Ltd. has Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, and her husband Sadanand as investors. The state government's decision to hand over a 3-acre plot of the Yerwada police station for "re-development" to Balwa was retracted following Balwa's arrest.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: For several years, confusion existed about the number of blasts in the 1993 Bombay Bombings, whether they were 12 or 13 in number. This was because Pawar, the then chief minister of Maharashtra, stated on television that day that there had been 13 blasts, and included a Muslim-dominated locality in the list. He later revealed that he had lied on purpose, and that there had been only 12 blasts, none of them in Muslim-dominated areas; he also confessed that he had attempted to mislead the public into believing that the blasts could be the work of the LTTE, a Sri Lankan militant organization, when in fact intelligence reports had already confirmed to him that Mumbai's Muslim underworld (known as the "D-Company," a reference to Dawood Ibrahim) were the perpetrators of the serial blasts.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: On 27 October 2007, the Bombay High Court served notices to institutions headed by Pawar, Ajit Pawar, and Sadanand Sule (Pawar's son-in-law), along with a corresponding notice served to the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) on why special privileges were given to Pawar and his family. This was done in consideration of Public Interest Litigation No. 148 of 2006, filed by Shamsunder Potare alleging that the said 2002 land allocations in Pune were illegal. The institutions and properties mentioned include:


title: Sharad Pawar

text: These allocations were allegedly made by NCP leader and minister Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar who was in charge of MKVDC at the time. Pawar was served a contempt of court notice on 1 May 2008 in connection with this case for issuing statements to the press even though the matter was "subjudice" at the time. Also in connection with the case, the respondents were directed not to create third-party interests in the property under dispute and to undertake any developments at their own risk.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2010, in the case of tax exemptions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Desai alleged that the state cabinet decided in January to impose the tax, before the year's IPL season started, but the decision was not implemented because of NCP chief Pawar's association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bombay High Court in August 2010 said there was "nothing on record" to show that the Union Minister influenced the Maharashtra government's decision to exempt Indian Premier League matches from entertainment tax.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2011, Pawar declared his assets to be worth as part of a mandatory disclosure, but his critics claimed that his wealth far exceeded the stated amount. In 2010, it was alleged that the Pawar family indirectly held a 16% stake in the City Corporation, which had bid for the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pawar and his family denied the allegations, but the bidders board of the IPL contradicted their claims.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2011, under investigation of the 2G spectrum case Nira Radia told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that agriculture minister Pawar may be controlling the controversial DB Realty. According to the reports, she also told the investigative agency that Pawar may have spoken with former telecom minister A. Raja about the allocation of spectrum and licence to Swan Telecom. Radia also said that she had no documentary proof to back up her allegations. Pawar has denied any link with former DB managing director Shahid Balwa who is now in CBI custody.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Pawar is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing the planned-city Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project. Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes. A nephew of his was chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) when the MKVDC signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed it to store water and build dams.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: After the 2010 Pune bombing of German Bakery, Pawar appeared to take the incident lightly. He said to the reporters, "It is not alright to arrive at a conclusion that the entire Pune city has been targeted. The place where the blast took place is an isolated area", adding "when I was Chief Minister, Mumbai saw 11 simultaneous blasts but everything returned to normal soon."


title: Sharad Pawar

text: Pawar was slapped by a youth named Harvinder Singh at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation centre while leaving the premises after attending a literary function on 24 November 2011. The attacker, who previously is said to have assaulted former telecom minister Sukh Ram, was later arrested.


title: Sharad Pawar

text: In 2018, Pawar asked party members to felicitate him with the pagadi (turban) of social reformer Mahatma Phule, instead of the usual Puneri Pagadi worn by peshwas (prime ministers) of the Maratha Empire. In response to criticism that he was trying to stir up anti-Brahmin sentiment and appeal to Dalits, Pawar said that he wasn't rejecting any section of society but honoring his idols Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Shahu Maharaj.


title: Numerical control

text: Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a piece of material (metal, plastic, wood, ceramic, or composite) to meet specifications by following coded programmed instructions and without a manual operator directly controlling the machining operation.


title: Numerical control

text: A CNC machine is a motorized maneuverable tool and often a motorized maneuverable platform, which are both controlled by a computer, according to specific input instructions. Instructions are delivered to a CNC machine in the form of a sequential program of machine control instructions such as G-code and M-code, and then executed. The program can be written by a person or, far more often, generated by graphical computer-aided design (CAD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. In the case of 3D printers, the part to be printed is "sliced" before the instructions (or the program) are generated. 3D printers also use G-Code.


title: Numerical control

text: CNC offers greatly increased productivity over non-computerized machining for repetitive production, where the machine must be manually controlled (e.g. using devices such as hand wheels or levers) or mechanically controlled by pre-fabricated pattern guides (see pantograph mill). However, these advantages come at significant cost in terms of both capital expenditure and job setup time. For some prototyping and small batch jobs, a good machine operator can have parts finished to a high standard whilst a cnc workflow is still in setup.


title: Numerical control

text: In modern CNC systems, the design of a mechanical part and its manufacturing program are highly automated. The part's mechanical dimensions are defined using CAD software and then translated into manufacturing directives by computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. The resulting directives are transformed (by "post processor" software) into the specific commands necessary for a particular machine to produce the component and then are loaded into the CNC machine.


title: Numerical control

text: Since any particular component might require the use of several different tools – drills, saws, etc. – modern machines often combine multiple tools into a single "cell". In other installations, several different machines are used with an external controller and human or robotic operators that move the component from machine to machine. In either case, the series of steps needed to produce any part is highly automated and produces a part that closely matches the original CAD drawing.


title: Numerical control

text: Motion is controlling multiple axes, normally at least two (X and Y), and a tool spindle that moves in the Z (depth). The position of the tool is driven by direct-drive stepper motors or servo motors to provide highly accurate movements, or in older designs, motors through a series of step-down gears. Open-loop control works as long as the forces are kept small enough and speeds are not too great. On commercial metalworking machines, closed-loop controls are standard and required to provide the accuracy, speed, and repeatability demanded.


title: Numerical control

text: As the controller hardware evolved, the mills themselves also evolved. One change has been to enclose the entire mechanism in a large box as a safety measure (with safety glass in the doors to permit the operator to monitor the machine's function), often with additional safety interlocks to ensure the operator is far enough from the working piece for safe operation. Most new CNC systems built today are 100% electronically controlled.


title: Numerical control

text: CNC-like systems are used for any process that can be described as movements and operations. These include laser cutting, welding, friction stir welding, ultrasonic welding, flame and plasma cutting, bending, spinning, hole-punching, pinning, gluing, fabric cutting, sewing, tape and fiber placement, routing, picking and placing, and sawing.


title: Numerical control

text: The first NC machines were built in the 1940s and 1950s, based on existing tools that were modified with motors that moved the tool or part to follow points fed into the system on punched tape. These early servomechanisms were rapidly augmented with analog and digital computers, creating the modern CNC machine tools that have revolutionized machining processes.


title: Numerical control

text: In CNC, a "crash" occurs when the machine moves in such a way that is harmful to the machine, tools, or parts being machined, sometimes resulting in bending or breakage of cutting tools, accessory clamps, vises, and fixtures, or causing damage to the machine itself by bending guide rails, breaking drive screws, or causing structural components to crack or deform under strain. A mild crash may not damage the machine or tools but may damage the part being machined so that it must be scrapped. Many CNC tools have no inherent sense of the absolute position of the table or tools when turned on. They must be manually "homed" or "zeroed" to have any reference to work from, and these limits are just for figuring out the location of the part to work with it and are no hard motion limit on the mechanism. It is often possible to drive the machine outside the physical bounds of its drive mechanism, resulting in a collision with itself or damage to the drive mechanism. Many machines implement control parameters limiting axis motion past a certain limit in addition to physical limit switches. However, these parameters can often be changed by the operator.


title: Numerical control

text: Many CNC tools also do not know anything about their working environment. Machines may have load sensing systems on spindle and axis drives, but some do not. They blindly follow the machining code provided and it is up to an operator to detect if a crash is either occurring or about to occur, and for the operator to manually abort the active process. Machines equipped with load sensors can stop axis or spindle movement in response to an overload condition, but this does not prevent a crash from occurring. It may only limit the damage resulting from the crash. Some crashes may not ever overload any axis or spindle drives.


title: Numerical control

text: If the drive system is weaker than the machine's structural integrity, then the drive system simply pushes against the obstruction, and the drive motors "slip in place". The machine tool may not detect the collision or the slipping, so for example the tool should now be at 210mm on the X-axis, but is, in fact, at 32mm where it hit the obstruction and kept slipping. All of the next tool motions will be off by −178mm on the X-axis, and all future motions are now invalid, which may result in further collisions with clamps, vises, or the machine itself. This is common in open-loop stepper systems but is not possible in closed-loop systems unless mechanical slippage between the motor and drive mechanism has occurred. Instead, in a closed-loop system, the machine will continue to attempt to move against the load until either the drive motor goes into an overload condition or a servo motor fails to get to the desired position.


title: Numerical control

text: Collision detection and avoidance are possible, through the use of absolute position sensors (optical encoder strips or disks) to verify that motion occurred, or torque sensors or power-draw sensors on the drive system to detect abnormal strain when the machine should just be moving and not cutting, but these are not a common component of most hobby CNC tools. Instead, most hobby CNC tools simply rely on the assumed accuracy of stepper motors that rotate a specific number of degrees in response to magnetic field changes. It is often assumed the stepper is perfectly accurate and never missteps, so tool position monitoring simply involves counting the number of pulses sent to the stepper over time. An alternate means of stepper position monitoring is usually not available, so crash or slip detection is not possible.


title: Numerical control

text: Commercial CNC metalworking machines use closed-loop feedback controls for axis movement. In a closed-loop system, the controller monitors the actual position of each axis with an absolute or incremental encoder. Proper control programming will reduce the possibility of a crash, but it is still up to the operator and programmer to ensure that the machine is operated safely. However, during the 2000s and 2010s, the software for machining simulation has been maturing rapidly, and it is no longer uncommon for the entire machine tool envelope (including all axes, spindles, chucks, turrets, tool holders, tailstocks, fixtures, clamps, and stock) to be modeled accurately with 3D solid models, which allows the simulation software to predict fairly accurately whether a cycle will involve a crash. Although such simulation is not new, its accuracy and market penetration are changing considerably because of computing advancements.


title: Numerical control

text: Within the numerical systems of CNC programming, the code generator can assume that the controlled mechanism is always perfectly accurate, or that precision tolerances are identical for all cutting or movement directions. This is not always a true condition of CNC tools. CNC tools with a large amount of mechanical backlash can still be highly precise if the drive or cutting mechanism is only driven to apply cutting force from one direction, and all driving systems are pressed tightly together in that one cutting direction. However, a CNC device with high backlash and a dull cutting tool can lead to cutter chatter and possible workpiece gouging. The backlash also affects the precision of some operations involving axis movement reversals during cutting, such as the milling of a circle, where axis motion is sinusoidal. However, this can be compensated for if the amount of backlash is precisely known by linear encoders or manual measurement.


title: Numerical control

text: The high backlash mechanism itself is not necessarily relied on to be repeatedly precise for the cutting process, but some other reference object or precision surface may be used to zero the mechanism, by tightly applying pressure against the reference and setting that as the zero references for all following CNC-encoded motions. This is similar to the manual machine tool method of clamping a micrometer onto a reference beam and adjusting the Vernier dial to zero using that object as the reference.


title: Numerical control

text: In numerical control systems, the position of the tool is defined by a set of instructions called the part program. Positioning control is handled using either an open-loop or a closed-loop system. In an open-loop system, communication takes place in one direction only: from the controller to the motor. In a closed-loop system, feedback is provided to the controller so that it can correct for errors in position, velocity, and acceleration, which can arise due to variations in load or temperature. Open-loop systems are generally cheaper but less accurate. Stepper motors can be used in both types of systems, while servo motors can only be used in closed systems.


title: Numerical control

text: The G & M code positions are all based on a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. This system is a typical plane often seen in mathematics when graphing. This system is required to map out the machine tool paths and any other kind of actions that need to happen in a specific coordinate. Absolute coordinates are what are generally used more commonly for machines and represent the (0,0,0) point on the plane. This point is set on the stock material to give a starting point or "home position" before starting the actual machining.


title: Numerical control

text: G-codes are used to command specific movements of the machine, such as machine moves or drilling functions. The majority of G-Code programs start with a percent (%) symbol on the first line, then followed by an "O" with a numerical name for the program (i.e. "O0001") on the second line, then another percent (%) symbol on the last line of the program. The format for a G-code is the letter G followed by two to three digits; for example G01. G-codes differ slightly between a mill and lathe application, for example:


title: Numerical control

text: [Code Miscellaneous Functions (M-Code)]. M-codes are miscellaneous machine commands that do not command axis motion. The format for an M-code is the letter M followed by two to three digits; for example:


title: Numerical control

text: G20 G40 G80 G90 G94 G54(Inch, Cutter Comp. Cancel, Deactivate all canned cycles, moves axes to machine coordinate, feed per min., origin coordinate system)


title: Numerical control

text: G02 X.75 Y-1.5625 I0.0 J0.0 (CW arc cut to X.75 Y-1.5625 with same radius origin as the previous arc)


title: Numerical control

text: Having the correct speeds and feeds in the program provides for a more efficient and smoother product run. Incorrect speeds and feeds will cause damage to the tool, machine spindle, and even the product. The quickest and simplest way to find these numbers would be to use a calculator that can be found online. A formula can also be used to calculate the proper speeds and feeds for a material. These values can be found online or in Machinery's Handbook.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Toyah Ann Willcox (born 18 May 1958) is an English musician, actress, and TV presenter. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Willcox has had eight top 40 singles, released over 20 albums, written two books, appeared in over 40 stage plays and 10 feature films, and voiced and presented numerous television shows.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Between 1977 and 1983, she fronted the band Toyah, before embarking on a solo career in the mid-1980s. At the 1982 BPI/Brit Awards, Toyah was nominated for British Breakthrough Act, and Best Female Solo Artist. Toyah was nominated a further two times in this category in 1983, and in 1984. Her hit singles include "It's a Mystery", "Thunder in the Mountains" and "I Want to Be Free".


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox was born on 18 May 1958 in Kings Heath, Birmingham. Her father Beric Willcox ran a successful joinery business and owned three factories. Her mother Barbara Joy, née Rollinson, was a professional dancer, with whom he fell in love after seeing her on stage in Weston-super-Mare with singing and comedy double act Flanagan and Allen, and married in 1949. Barbara had to give up her career after giving birth to Nicola (born 1950) and Kim (born 1953), Willcox's elder sister and brother, respectively.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox has suggested her first name could be in reference to Toyah, Texas or to a Native American word "toyah" meaning "water," although she notes her parents deny both origins.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox enjoyed a financially comfortable childhood, attending a private girls' school, but was bullied. Requiring physiotherapy for a spinal condition, she behaved violently towards her mother, to whom she was close. An absentee pupil and frequently rebellious, she sat O-levels a year late, owing to corrective surgery on her feet. She achieved one O-level pass, in music. Alienated by her background and surroundings, her rebellious behaviour led to her shunning male company and adopting an aggressive and flamboyant identity.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Her early interest in music, dance and acting, combined with her alienation, and her uncertainty regarding her sexuality, led Willcox to seek an outlet, initially in acting and then in music. She attended the Old Rep Drama School in Birmingham, paying privately because she was denied a grant, the assessor noting: "She has a lisp and isn't attractive." She began working as a dresser in local theatres, including The Alexandra, Birmingham, and the Birmingham Hippodrome. Because of her distinctive appearance and gaudily dyed hair, repertory actors referred to her as "The Bird of Paradise."


title: Toyah Willcox

text: A friend's suggestion that she should see the Sex Pistols led to her being attracted to the punk movement, but she resolved to do better, travelling to London to take up a career in acting and music.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: After appearing as an extra in a drama being made at the BBC Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, an opening came to take a role in "Glitter" (1976), a play in the BBC "Second City Firsts" series, alongside Noel Edmonds and Phil Daniels. Recommended to the play's director by a member of the wardrobe department because of her distinctive appearance and oddball character, Willcox was given the role of Sue, a girl who sang with the band Bilbo Baggins and who dreamed of appearing on "Top of the Pops". In the course of the 30-minute play, Willcox performed two songs she had co-written: "Floating Free" (an acoustic ballad, with Phil Daniels accompanying her on guitar) and "Dream Maker". The play was seen by Kate Nelligan and Maximilian Schell, who offered her work with the National Theatre in London, where she got the part of Emma in "Tales from the Vienna Woods", directed by Schell. The opening led to her relocating to London.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 1977, while playing Emma in "Tales from the Vienna Woods" at the National Theatre, Willcox, inspired by her role as a musician in "Glitter", fronted a band called Toyah which featured Joel Bogen on guitar, Mark Henry on bass, Steve Bray on drums, Peter Bush on keyboards, and herself on vocals. Having never considered herself a musician, she found herself fronting a successful band, although still uncertain about her own sexuality and repelled by her bandmates' antics with groupies.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Introduced by actor Ian Charleson to director Derek Jarman, Willcox was offered 'any part you want' in "Jubilee" (called "Down with the Queen" at the time). Plagued by budgetary issues, the film featured Willcox as the murderous 'Mad', as well as a number of other prominent figures from the punk scene. She went on to play 'Monkey' in the 1979 film of The Who's "Quadrophenia," having been introduced to director Franc Roddam through an association with John Lydon. Willcox demanded the part of Monkey from Roddam. She completed filming despite requiring medical attention for pneumonia.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: The possibility of a role in the Sex Pistols' film, "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" under director Russ Meyer having fallen through, Willcox went on to play Miranda in Jarman's film "The Tempest" which won her a nomination as Best Newcomer at the 1980 "Evening Standard" Awards. Continuing a stage career alongside film work, in 1979, on London's Royal Court Theatre stage, Willcox played Sharon in Nigel Williams' "Sugar and Spice", Tallulah in Stephen Poliakoff's "American Days" at the ICA, playing alongside Mel Smith, Antony Sher and Phil Daniels and taking a film role opposite Katharine Hepburn in the made-for-television film "The Corn Is Green", directed by George Cukor.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox found her dual careers as a musician and actress frequently in conflict, leading to confusion as to which role constituted a 'compartment' to put her into. Feeling her musical career was not taken as seriously as her acting, she nevertheless viewed her acting role as 'highbrow' and her musical career as 'lowbrow'.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox played Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre and was a guest vocalist in the anniversary concert of "The Rocky Horror Show" at the Royal Court Theatre. She had many television roles, including series such as "Quatermass" (1979) and "Minder". She starred opposite Laurence Olivier in "The Ebony Tower" (1984) and opposite the Who's Roger Daltrey in "" (1984). She also appeared on "Kavanagh QC" and "Secret Diary of a Call Girl". During the late 1980s and 1990s, Willcox forged ahead with a career as a stage performer. Notable credits include "Trafford Tanzi" (at the Mermaid Theatre, leading role), "Cabaret" (Sally Bowles), "Three Men on a Horse" (winner of an Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Comedy), and the UK tour of Arthur Smith's "Live Bed Show". In 1990, she played Costanza in the national tour of Amadeus.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Although she had presented the magazine series "Look! Hear!" for BBC Birmingham between 1979 and 1981, it was in the 1990s that Toyah's career as a TV presenter took off. She began by presenting arts programmes "First Night" and "Time Off" in 1993. By the mid to late 1990s, Toyah could be seen presenting items on shows such as "Watchdog:healthcheck, This Morning" and "The Heaven and Earth Show." She also worked on VH1 for three years, presenting "Toyah and Toyah" and "Chase" for the cable music station. Viewers could accompany Toyah to various locations worldwide during her tenure as a reporter on BBC travel shows such as "Holiday" and "Holiday- Fasten Your Seatbelts." In 1996, Toyah had the unique honour of simultaneously hosting both "Songs of Praise" on the BBC and "Good Sex Guide Late" on ITV. At the turn of the millennium, Toyah continued to work on "The Heaven and Earth Show" as a newspaper reviewer and also presented a series of "Whose Recipe Is It Anyway" on the Carlton Food Network and 40 episodes of "Beyond Medicine" on the Discovery Health Channel. As the noughties progressed, Toyah had stints presenting "Head2Head" and "Destination Lunch" on the Overseas Property TV channel, was a newspaper reviewer on Sky News, hosted various music programmes for Vintage TV and was a guest presenter on "Loose Women" in 2007.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 1999, she took the lead in the children's television series "Barmy Aunt Boomerang". She also provided the voices for the children's television programmes "Teletubbies" and "Brum". She has also appeared in the reality television series "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" and "I'm Famous and Frightened!". In December 2018, she won her heat of "Celebrity Mastermind".


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In the 2000s, Willcox had a busy schedule with theatre commitments, including appearing on stage in London's West End performing the title role of "Calamity Jane" (nominated for an "Evening Standard" Award for Best Musical) at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2003. In June 2008, Willcox appeared on "Living with the Dead" on Living to share her experiences of living in her haunted home. On 24 July 2008, Willcox appeared on UK ITV1's "This Morning" to discuss her role as a vampire in the rock musical "Vampires Rock". Toyah has also appeared in shows looking back on popular culture, including the "I'm a Celebrity" series, and various 'Top 100 favourite' shows. More recently, Willcox played Queen Ivannah in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the Lyceum in Sheffield for the 2009 Christmas season. In October 2009, she made a guest appearance in the BBC drama series "Casualty". Willcox has also been heard on radio, including the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". She is also played the widow Fantine in Focus on the Family radio theatre's version of "Les Misérables". In December 2006, she joined the radio drama series "Silver Street" on the BBC Asian Network as Siobhan Brady. In November 2017, she played Queen Elizabeth II in a theatre adaptation of Derek Jarman's film "Jubilee" at Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre. This production transferred to the Lyric Hammersmith for a London run in March 2018.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In recent years, there has been renewed interest in Toyah as a film actress, as she has appeared in a number of British films. These include: "Aaaaaaaah!", "Extremis", "Lies We Tell", "SwipeRight", "Hound", "Heckle" and "Invasion Planet Earth".


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In London, Willcox lived in a place called "Mayhem", a converted British Rail warehouse serving as a studio. It was here the band Toyah recorded their first demos. For the lack of proper bed she slept for a while in a "second-hand" coffin, reportedly used by the French Red Cross to transport victims of fatal accidents. Citing her role in "Quadrophenia" as a boost to her musical career, with growing audiences Toyah signed to Safari Records, releasing a debut single "Victims of the Riddle", which topped the UK Indie Charts. This was followed by the "Sheep Farming in Barnet" EP, produced by Steve James and Keith Hale. Initially released in Germany, in 1979 it was re-released as an LP, comprising the original six tracks, "Victims of the Riddle" A and B sides and three tracks that were previously unavailable on vinyl. Willcox's second album, "The Blue Meaning", went up to no. 40 in the UK Albums Chart in June 1980. By this time she is reported as announcing she had severed all ties with punk aesthetics.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In January 1981, the live album "Toyah! Toyah! Toyah!", recorded at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton the previous June, made it to the Top 30, backed up by a TV documentary "Toyah". By now the original band had broken up and a new lineup was in place, consisting of Phil Spalding, Nigel Glockler and Adrian Lee, only Joel Bogen remaining and Toyah. 1981 saw Willcox's strengthened presence in the charts with hits such as "Four from Toyah" EP (no. 4, February 1981, including "It's a Mystery"), the third studio album "Anthem" that went to no. 2 in May 1981 to be later certified platinum, "I Want to Be Free" (no. 8, June 1981), "Thunder in the Mountains" (no. 4, October 1981) and "Four More from Toyah" EP (no. 14, November 1981). She became one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs, which were also successful on an international level. At the end of the year Willcox won the "Smash Hits"' reader's poll in two categories: Best Female Singer and Most Fanciable Female (beating Kim Wilde to the second place). In 1981 she alone, according to Safari, sold in the UK more units than the whole of the Warner Bros. put together.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 1982 "The Changeling" album was released, produced by Steve Lillywhite, marking a turn for a more goth-tinged sound, it went up to no. 6 in the UK. "The Changeling" was followed in the same year by a double live album "". Also in 1982, Willcox appeared in "Urgh! A Music War", a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980, in which she performed "Danced". Three more of her singles, "Brave New World", "Ieya" and "Be Proud Be Loud (Be Heard)" charted in the Top 50.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: The making of "Love Is the Law" (1983) was the happiest period of her life, according to Willcox, combining work in the critically acclaimed stage play "Trafford Tanzi" and the film "The Ebony Tower" with Laurence Olivier with work on the album. By this time, though, her popularity started to decline: the album reached no. 28 (with singles "Rebel Run" and "The Vow" peaking at no. 24 and no. 50 respectively), and with a 1984 greatest hits compilation, released by K-tel and called confusingly "Toyah! Toyah! Toyah! All the Hits", failing to chart.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Toyah Willcox disbanded her group, signed a recording contract with Portrait Records, and in 1985 released the solo studio album "Minx", which contained several cover versions including Alice Cooper's "School's Out", as well as her own hit, "Don't Fall in Love (I Said)".


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox married British guitarist Robert Fripp, founding member of King Crimson, in Poole, Dorset on his 40th birthday (16 May 1986). Together they formed a new band, called Fripp Fripp on the initial tours, later changing its name to Sunday All Over the World which released the critically acclaimed album "Kneeling at the Shrine" (1991). She referred to Fripp as her 'soulmate'. That same year she also sang lead vocals on the track "Lion of Symmetry" by Tony Banks of Genesis. Her next solo studio album "Desire" (1987) was less successful although the single with her version of "Echo Beach" made it Top 50. Then in 1988 "Prostitute" came out, an album through which Willcox vented her frustrations which started to accumulate as a result of having made the transformation "from all-powerful artist to invisible woman" in the course of just one year of marriage. This experimental concept album, marking a considerable divergence from previous works, was released on E.G. Records. The attitude to "Prostitute", according to Willcox, in the UK and the US was radically different: "In the UK, when my management tried to sell it to the music reps, an awful lot got up and walked out of meetings; all male I hasten to add. In America, "Billboard" magazine said it was the dawning of a new era for me as a producer and that it was an antidote to Madonna. I started to receive mail from professors at eminent universities telling me they played the album at their lectures as an example of the new way of thinking coming from contemporary women." Robert Fripp joined his wife on her studio album "Ophelia's Shadow" (1991) which, along with "Dreamchild" (1994), received good reviews. In 1996 Willcox released "The Acoustic Album" on Aardvark Records, featuring strings from Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by Oliver Davis.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2001, Willcox was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Central England in recognition of her achievements in performing arts, media and broadcasting. The 2001 May issue of "Q" magazine named Willcox number 48 in their top 100 Greatest Women in Music poll, as voted for by readers of the magazine. She returned to music in 2002 with new material for a limited edition "Little Tears of Love" EP and a one-off preview concert at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. The same year she sold out eleven stadium gigs for the Here and Now tour. She continued to perform with her band, releasing a mini-album "Velvet Lined Shell" in 2003 on her own record label, Vertical Species Records, showcasing a darker, edgier direction. In 2004 she performed as part of The Best of the 80s tour in the UK alongside Nick Heyward, Curiosity Killed the Cat and Altered Images. A live DVD followed in 2005, the year that also saw two parts of "The Safari Records Singles Collection" being issued.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In May 2007, she collaborated with Bill Rieflin as the Humans for live dates in Estonia, to where she had been invited by the Estonian president. According to "The Northern Echo", that resulted "from reading one of her husband's emails". The invitation was for him to go but he was not keen, so Willcox accepted. Also in 2007, Willcox signed a new worldwide publishing deal with Zomba Music Group. She continued to write and record solo material with long-term collaborator Simon Darlow. On 29 October 2007, a new single "Latex Messiah (Viva la Rebel in You)", came out, followed by the "In the Court of the Crimson Queen" album, written and produced in collaboration with Darlow and released by Willow Recordings Ltd. on 15 September 2008. As part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year, she performed for the first time ever at the newly opened Liverpool Echo Arena and Conference Centre.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2009, a new version of "Vampires Rock" was created, called "Vampires Rock Christmas", and Willcox was back in her role as the Killer Queen, alongside the writer and one of the stars of the show, Steve Steinman. Willcox continued to perform with The Humans, featuring Bill Reiflin, Chris Wong and occasionally husband Robert Fripp. Described as "European experimental meets West Coast American grunge", the Humans recorded their debut studio album "We Are the Humans" in Seattle in 2008, released in Estonia in May 2009 to coincide with the band's return to play in front of the country's president. The album received a UK digital release in September 2009, along with a single "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". At the end of the year Willcox came seventh in a BBC series naming the "Queens of British Pop", as voted for by the British public. In 2010 Willcox with the Humans performed at the London's Roundhouse Haiti earthquake fundraiser concert. On 17 June 2011, Willcox commenced on a special from Sheep Farming to Anthem tour, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her breakthrough hit "It's a Mystery" and the platinum-selling album "Anthem", starting at the London's Leicester Square Theatre. The set included selections drawn exclusively from Toyah's first three albums, "Sheep Farming in Barnet" (1979), "The Blue Meaning" (1980) and "Anthem" (1981). Andi Fraggs, a British electronic musician, supported her on chosen dates.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: On 14 April 2012, Willcox launched the Changeling Resurrection 2012 tour at the Concorde 2 in Brighton to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her album "The Changeling" (1982). On 16 July 2012, Willcox performed a concert in her birthplace of Kings Heath, Birmingham, to celebrate being the first artist with a star on the King's Heath Walk of Fame. Andi Fraggs made a surprise appearance, duetting Willcox's 1981 hit single "Thunder in the Mountains". In 2013, Willcox released a deluxe edition of her 2008 album "In the Court of the Crimson Queen" and embarked on the tour revisiting the "Love Is the Law" (1983)-era material.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Willcox continued to tour both with her full band and also with an acoustic line-up for her "Up Close and Personal" shows.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2018, Willcox toured her #Toyah60 show, which marked her sixtieth birthday and fortieth year in music. This was accompanied by the release of her "Four from Toyah- Birthday Edition EP" of new material, which charted highly in the digital charts.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2019, Willcox charted at no. 74 in the UK album charts with a re-issue of her 2008 album "In the Court of the Crimson Queen". It also peaked at no. 22 on the Official Charts Company's sales chart and no. 7 in the independent chart. This was Willcox' first appearance in the British album charts since 'Minx' in 1985.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2020 the box set "Toyah Solo" was released, containing six solo albums with bonus material, one "Rare, Remixed and Revisited" CD, and a DVD with promo videos and interviews.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2020, following their acquisition of the Toyah Safari catalogue, Cherry Red Records began reissuing Toyah's early albums in deluxe 2CD/DVD and vinyl formats. Both "Sheep Farming in Barnet" and "Blue Meaning" have been reissued at the time of writing, both charting in the UK album charts and the independent charts.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: During the first UK lockdown of 2020, Toyah began broadcasting from her home across social media and YouTube. On Saturdays she answers fan questions and shares archive performances in "Toyah at Home" and co-hosts "Agony Aunts" alongside her husband Robert Fripp. However, it is her "Sunday Lunch" series with Fripp that has garnered the most notoriety, frequently going viral and racking up millions of hits on YouTube.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: She released "Posh Pop", her first solo studio album since 2008, on CD and vinyl via DMG on 27 August 2021, with the album featuring 10 tracks composed by Toyah and "Slave to the Rhythm" co-writer Simon Darlow. The album reached no. 22 in the charts.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Alongside Fripp, Toyah continued with their "Sunday Lunch" online series. Recent editions of Willcox and Fripp’s weekly covers series – which they launched amid COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 – have included their take on Slipknot's "Psychosocial", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", Rammstein's "Keine Lust", Foo Fighters' "All My Life", Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm" and Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name". On 12 August 2022, they released "Slave to the Rhythm" as a digital download and streaming single.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: Toyah will be joining Billy Idol on his UK live dates this October on The Roadside Tour 2022, alongside special guests, Killing Joke.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: She has been married since 1986 to musician Robert Fripp, founder and guitarist of the progressive rock group King Crimson. The couple have no children and have arranged their wills so as to leave their estates to the establishment of a musical educational trust for children.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 1987, Willcox was invited to make a speech at the Women of the Year ceremony in the presence of Diana, Princess of Wales, expressing her views on the subject of how being disabled incites creativity and craving for a fuller life experience.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In 2002, she became a prominent opponent of planned accommodation centres for asylum seekers near the Worcestershire village of Throckmorton, protesting together with more than one thousand villagers.


title: Toyah Willcox

text: In November 2007, Willcox took on the role of sponsoring the Black Country Urban Park for the People's £50 million Big Lottery Fund. In April 2008, she took part in the Great Walk to Beijing alongside other celebrities, to raise money for Olivia Newton-John's cancer charity.


title: The Blacklist (season 8)

text: The eighth season of the American crime thriller television series "The Blacklist" premiered on November 13, 2020 and ended on June 23, 2021.


title: The Blacklist (season 8)

text: The series was created by Jon Bokenkamp, and continues to be produced by Davis Entertainment, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television, and executive produced by Jon Bokenkamp, John Davis, John Eisendrath, John Fox and Joe Carnahan. This is the last season to star Megan Boone.


title: The Blacklist (season 8)

text: The eighth season follows Elizabeth Keen and her mother Katarina Rostova in their attempts to take down Reddington, who eventually kills Rostova. Elizabeth then goes on a vengeful crusade against Reddington, going rogue from the FBI and gathering her own resources and people to destroy him. She enters into an alliance with a powerful, dangerous criminal Neville Townsend, the author of Townsend's Directive. This alliance however, puts Elizabeth, Reddington, the FBI task force, and her attempts to discover more about her and Reddington's past in great jeopardy.


title: The Blacklist (season 8)

text: Production for the eighth season began in September 2020 with full safety protocols in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: The Blacklist (season 8)

text: Series creator Jon Bokenkamp announced in June 2021 to leave the series after eight seasons to move on new projects.


title: T-84

text: The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank (MBT), based on the Soviet T-80 MBT introduced in 1976, specifically the diesel engine version: T-80UD. The T-84 was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. Its high-performance opposed-piston engine makes it a fast tank, comparable to other modern MBTs with a power-to-weight ratio of about 26 horsepower per tonne (19 kW/t).


title: T-84

text: The T-84 Oplot is an advanced version incorporating an armoured ammunition compartment in a new turret bustle. Ten of these entered Ukrainian service in 2001. The T-84-120 Yatagan is a prototype model intended for export, mounting a 120 mm gun able to fire standard NATO ammunition and guided missiles.


title: T-84

text: After the adoption of the T-80 tank, the Soviets began improving its design. The disadvantages of the gas-turbine engine were readily apparent, and so several design projects were initiated to adopt a diesel alternative.


title: T-84

text: Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) began work in 1975 with a diesel 2V16 1500 hp engine on a T-80B chassis. This was designated the Ob. 219RD. Work wasn't completed until 1983. The design bureau at Omsk Transport Engineering Design Bureau developed a test bed, called the Ob. 644, powered by the V-46-6 of the T-72. Further work on these was not continued as the main focus at the time was on the gas turbine engine favored by Defence Minister Dmitry Ustinov.


title: T-84

text: In 1975, Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB) began work on the Object (Ob.) 278, a T-80 powered by a 6TD 1000 hp diesel engine developed for the improved T-64 and T-74. This quickly became outclassed by the Ob. 476, and so lost favor. The Ob. 478M was a more sophisticated model than the Ob. 478. Improvements included the Sistema fire control system, Shatter active protection system, and a 1,500 hp diesel engine. This too was abandoned as it was considered too costly.


title: T-84

text: After the death of Ustinov in 1984, the strength of the design bureau of the LKZ began to weaken and the Ministry of Defense started to think seriously about equipping the T-80 tanks with diesel engines.


title: T-84

text: In September 1985, the government approved the development start of a diesel-powered T-80U. Five prototypes of the Ob. 478B with the 6TD engine were produced by year's end. Prototypes of a less sophisticated model, called Ob. 478A, were built for comparison. The government approved production of the Ob. 478B in 1986. The Soviet Army noted problems with the tank, and full-scale production was delayed to make changes. The Soviet Army also opposed a plan to name the tank the T-84, as KMDB had originally envisioned, because it would draw attention to the fact that the Soviets were operating four tanks (T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-84) with more or less similar characteristics. The Central Committee settled the debate, siding with the Army. It was subsequently adopted into service as the T-80UD.


title: T-84

text: The T-80UD was first deployed to the 4th Guards Tank Division and the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. It was first publicly shown at the 1990 Moscow Victory Day Parade, then later in the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt.


title: T-84

text: KMDB developed a welded turret to replace cast turrets, which were no longer made in Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union. A T-80UD with this turret, Ob. 478BK, was completed in 1995. Ukraine delivered 175 Ob. 478BE to Pakistan by 1999. The Ob. 478D with Aynet fire control system and Buran night sight was trialed. Pilots of the Ob. 478DU and Ob. 478DU2 were also produced. One prototype appeared at International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) in 1995 as the "T-84 Supertank." An Ob. 478DM appeared at IDEX 1999 as the T-84M. The Ob. 478DU4 gave rise to the T-84 Oplot, which was marketed to Turkey. The 125 mm caliber gun was replaced with a 120 mm one able to fire NATO ammunition, and designated the T-84-120. This was marketed to Turkey as the Yatagan, and was trialed there in 2000.


title: T-84

text: The Ukrainian government eventually made good on its promise to buy the T-84 for the Ukrainian Army. Ten T-84Ms were delivered from 2001 to 2003. Ukraine was forced to sell off four of these to the United States when it struggled to finance the tanks.


title: T-84

text: The T-84's outstanding feature is a 26 hp/t power-to-weight ratio. It is also designed to perform well in hot climates, and includes an air-conditioned crew compartment (operating temperature range is claimed to be −40 to 55 °C).


title: T-84

text: The BM Oplot is a further development of the prior T-84 Oplot. The tank has a conventional layout with the driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the middle and engine at the rear, accommodating a crew of three.


title: T-84

text: The driver sitting in the centre is provided with a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the right. The commander on the right and the gunner on the left have single-piece hatches.


title: T-84

text: The tank has a length of 9.7 m (including the forward-facing gun), a width of 3.4 m without removable side skirts, and a height of 2.8 m. The combat weight of the tank is 51 tons.


title: T-84

text: The Oplot is armed with a smoothbore 125 mm KBA-3 cannon, a KT-7.62 (PKT) coaxial machine gun and a KT-12.7 anti-aircraft machine gun. The main gun is fed by a loading system equipped with conveyor, automatic loader, and control system. The ammunition includes high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG), armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) kinetic energy penetrator, and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT).


title: T-84

text: The main gun can also fire a laser guided missile against armoured ground vehicles and hovering helicopters within the range of 5,000m. The missile can be fired on the move against travelling targets. A tandem-charge warhead fitted on the missile can defeat targets equipped with explosive reactive armour (ERA) and advanced spaced armour.


title: T-84

text: The Oplot has 46 rounds of ammunition for the main gun, of which 28 rounds are placed in the automatic loader. Other ammunition types carried are 1,250 rounds for KT-7.62 machine gun, 450 rounds for KT-12.7 machine gun and 450 rounds for AKS Assault rifle.


title: T-84

text: The vehicle has three forward-facing periscopes in front of the driver's cupola. The centre periscope can be replaced with a night driving device.


title: T-84

text: The fire control system includes a gunner's day sight, PNK-6 commander's panoramic sighting system, PTT-2 thermal imaging sight, anti-aircraft sight and anti-aircraft machine gun control system. Detection range of targets for thermal sighting system is up to 8 km.


title: T-84

text: The advanced fire-control system enables the gunner or commander to lay and fire the main armament on the move. The stationary and moving targets can be hit with a high first round hit probability.


title: T-84

text: The protection system includes multilayer passive armour, Duplet explosive reactive armour, Zaslin Active Protection System, Varta optronic countermeasures system and other tank protection means.


title: T-84

text: Built-in new generation Duplet anti-tandem-charge warhead explosive reactive armour protects against APFSDS, high-explosive squash head (HESH or HEP) and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds.


title: T-84

text: Both sides of the driver's compartment are fitted with explosive reactive armour (ERA) panels for extended protection. The hull sides are hinged with large rubber skirts to withstand the attacks of man-portable anti-tank weapons. The modular ERA package can be easily replaced or upgraded as needed by future requirements.


title: T-84

text: Oplot features a Varta optronic countermeasures system for deceiving incoming missiles and anti-tank guided weapons. The system integrates laser warning sensors, infra-red jammer, and smoke or aerosol screen laying system. The optronic countermeasure system can:


title: T-84

text: Crew's collective protection system protects the crew and interior equipment against effects of nuclear explosions, radioactive substances, toxic agents, biological warfare agents, and detects and suppresses fires in the compartments of crew and power pack.


title: T-84

text: The Oplot tank can withstand an explosion of up to 10 kg trinitrotoluene (TNT) under the tank track and up to 4 kg TNT under the driver's compartment.


title: T-84

text: The vehicle has overpressure-type NBC protection system and can be fitted with track mine-clearing systems.


title: T-84

text: Due to the collapse of Soviet Union, the Malyshev Factory was no longer able to obtain ceramic armour modules from Russia and only the initial batch of T-84 were produced with such. Instead, later batches of T-84's composite armour is composed of special purpose rubber sandwiched between steel and alloy plates. The exact difference in performance between the new and prior armor is unknown and depends on the performance of dynamic armor.


title: T-84

text: BM Oplot is powered by a 6-cylinder turbocharged liquid-cooled engine, which delivers . It is improved and more environmentally friendly version of the prior diesel engine, used on the T-84 MBT. The tank could also be powered by a more powerful diesel, developing . Both engines could use diesel, jet engine fuel, petrol or any mixtures of them.


title: T-84

text: The engine provides a maximum on-road speed of and a range of with added fuel tanks. The tank is also equipped with a diesel-electric auxiliary power unit to supply power to onboard systems when the main engine is off.


title: T-84

text: BM Oplot is equipped with torsion bar suspension. Either side of the six dual rubber-tyred road wheels are provided with idler at forward, drive sprocket at the rear, and track support rollers.


title: T-84

text: The first, second and sixth road wheel stations are fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers. The tank can negotiate a gradient of 32° and side slope of 25°. Equally, the tank can ford a water depth of 5m using deep water fording equipment.


title: T-84

text: The first T-84 prototype vehicle rolled out in 1994, and in the same year it was decided to build several more vehicles. They were subjected to extensive company and army trials. After successful completion of the extensive trials programme in the late 1990s the T-84 entered service with the Ukrainian Army in 1999.


title: T-84

text: During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least one T-84U was deployed with the 3rd Ukrainian Tank Brigade in Donbas, near Barvinkove and Slovyansk. T-84 tanks were believed to be deployed with the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) in Donbas.


title: T-84

text: In March 2011, the Royal Thai Army placed an order for 49 T-84s to replace its fleet of aging M41A3 Walker Bulldog light tanks. In September 2011, the Malyshev Plant announced plans to produce the first batch of five Oplot-T tanks for the Thai Army by the end of the year. Under the contract, the Ukrainian company will make 49 tanks worth over US$200 million.


title: T-84

text: The government approved 7.155 billion baht to purchase the first 49 Oplot tanks to be assigned to several units: the 2nd Cavalry battalion (Royal Guard at Fort Chakrabongse, Prachinburi), the 4th Cavalry battalion (Royal Guard at Kiakkai, Bangkok), the 8th Cavalry battalion (Fort Suranari, Nakhon Ratchasima), and the 9th Cavalry battalion (Fort Ekathotsarot, Phitsanuloke).


title: T-84

text: In April 2017, it was reported that following the delayed deliveries from this tank, the Royal Thai Army was expected to decline the remainder of the sale and acquired the Chinese VT-4 main battle tank instead of the Ukrainian tank, due to the long term delivery schedule. The signed order for 49 units had to be completed by the month of January, 2017, it was reported that other deliveries may not be expected.


title: T-84

text: A 26 March 2018 press release by Ukroboronprom stated that the 2011 contract for supplying Oplot-T tanks to Thailand had successfully completed and that the last party of tanks had passed checks by the customers and would be sent to the buyer in the near future.


title: Mädchen Amick

text: Mädchen Elaina Amick ( ; born December 12, 1970) is an American actress and television director. She is known for her starring role as Shelly Johnson on the television series "Twin Peaks" (1990–1991), its prequel film "" (1992) and its revival television series "Twin Peaks: The Return" (2017). She was also a series regular on "Central Park West" (1995–1996), "Freddie" (2005–2006), and "Witches of East End" (2013–2014). In film, she had starring roles in "Sleepwalkers" (1992) and "Dream Lover" (1993). She currently portrays Alice Smith on The CW's drama television series "Riverdale" (2017–present).


title: Mädchen Amick

text: Mädchen Elaina Amick was born in Sparks, Nevada, a suburb of Reno, the daughter of Judy (née Ross), a medical office manager, and Bill Amick, a musician. Amick's parents are of partial German descent; the name "Mädchen", which means "girl" in German, was chosen by her parents because they wanted an unusual name. She is also of Norwegian, Swedish, English and Irish descent. As a young girl, Amick was encouraged by her parents to follow her creative instincts. She learned to play the piano, bass, violin and guitar and took lessons in tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance. In 1987, at the age of 16, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.


title: Mädchen Amick

text: After moving to Los Angeles, Amick began her career with guest roles on "" (1989) and "Baywatch" (1989). Amick got her first break when director David Lynch chose her to play waitress Shelly Johnson on the television series "Twin Peaks" (1990–1991). Amick's character endured physical abuse at the hands of her criminal husband, Leo, and was one of the most popular characters. Amick went on to work twice more with Lynch—reprising her role as Shelly in the prequel film "" (1992) and in seven episodes of the 2017 "Twin Peaks" revival series.


title: Mädchen Amick

text: In 1990, Amick was cast as Mandy in "Don't Tell Her It's Me" and portrayed Amy in Tobe Hooper's horror film "I'm Dangerous Tonight". In 1991, Amick was cast in "The Borrower". In 1992, Amick portrayed the heroine Tanya Robertson in the Stephen King horror movie "Sleepwalkers". The following year, she starred in the thriller film "Love, Cheat & Steal" (1993).


title: Mädchen Amick

text: In 1993, Amick was cast as Lena Mathers in the feature film "Dream Lover", a thriller in which she co-starred with James Spader. In 1995, she and Spader were reunited in the TV movie "The Courtyard." That same year, Amick appeared in the romantic comedy "French Exit". In 1996, Amick was cast in the science fiction thriller "Bombshell". Amick's return to network television came in the fall of 1995 with the much-publicized CBS primetime soap opera "Central Park West". In 1997, she appeared in the film "Wounded". In 1998, Amick costarred for one season in the reboot of "Fantasy Island" on ABC alongside Malcolm McDowell.


title: Mädchen Amick

text: After a decade of roles that failed to ignite the publicity "Twin Peaks" had, Amick gradually became a noticeable face in television with recurring roles on "Gilmore Girls", "ER", "Jake in Progress", and "Joey". In 2006, Amick was a regular in the sitcom "Freddie" which was subsequently cancelled.


title: Mädchen Amick

text: Amick guest-starred in a number of episodes of the serial thriller "Kidnapped" on NBC, playing a strange and deadly assassin. She also had a recurring role in the second season of "Dawson's Creek" as the lead character's substitute film studies teacher. In 2007, she had a lead role in the short-lived CBS musical series "Viva Laughlin".


title: Mädchen Amick

text: Amick had a recurring role in season 2 of "Gossip Girl" as Nate Archibald's "cougar" love interest, and she also appears in the second season of the Showtime series "Californication". In 2008, Amick starred as Christian Slater's wife on the NBC series "My Own Worst Enemy". In 2010, Amick played Danielle Marchetti on the FX series "Damages".


title: Mädchen Amick

text: In 2011 she appeared in the post-apocalyptic film "Priest". In 2013, Amick began starring in the Lifetime supernatural drama "Witches of East End" opposite Julia Ormond, Rachel Boston and Jenna Dewan. Amick's character Wendy Beauchamp was originally a guest star, but she became a permanent character after shooting the pilot episode. On August 6, 2015, Amick joined the cast of "" as a mother whose son is ailing. Since 2017, Amick has starred as Alice Cooper, Betty Cooper's mother, on the CW television series "Riverdale".


title: Mädchen Amick

text: Amick married then-boyfriend of 8 years David Alexis on December 16, 1995. Together they have two children: son Sylvester Time Amick-Alexis (born July 5, 1992) and daughter Mina Tobias Amick-Alexis (born September 2, 1993, and known professionally as simply Mina Tobias). Tobias, a musician, released her single "Freedom" in 2018, the music video for which pays homage to "Twin Peaks".


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 2020 American drama film directed by George C. Wolfe and written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, based on the 1982 play of the same name by August Wilson. The film stars Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts. Inspired by the career of Ma Rainey, an influential blues singer and the title character, the film dramatizes a turbulent recording session in 1920s Chicago.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Produced by Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf, the project was originally announced alongside Washington's "Fences" in 2013 as part of his ten-picture deal with HBO. The adaptation eventually moved to Netflix, and filming began in Pittsburgh in 2019. Boseman died during post-production in August 2020, making "Black Bottom" his final film appearance; the film is dedicated to his memory.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" began a limited theatrical release on November 25, 2020, before beginning to stream on Netflix on December 18. The film received universal acclaim. Critics lauded the performances of Davis, Boseman, and Turman as well as the costume design and production values. It was named as one of the ten best films of 2020 by the American Film Institute. The film received five nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Actor (for Boseman), Best Actress (for Davis), and won two awards: Makeup and Hairstyling and Costume Design. Additionally, the film received eight Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations and nine NAACP Image Award nominations, including Outstanding Motion Picture, with Davis and Boseman both winning lead acting awards. Davis and Boseman also won lead acting awards for their performances at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, making history as the first Black actors to win in leading categories in the same year; both received nominations at the Golden Globes, with Boseman posthumously winning Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Ma Rainey is a highly regarded, strong-willed blues singer who has recently been contracted by white producers. The story takes place on July 2, 1927, when a recording session is scheduled for Ma by her manager Irvin to take place at Paramount's Recording Studios in Chicago. Seasoned Georgia Jazz Band members Toledo, Cutler, and Slow Drag arrive on time without Ma which frustrates her producer, Mel Sturdyvant. They are soon joined by Levee Green, the band's overconfident trumpeter, who has shown Sturdyvant his original compositions in the hopes of breaking away from Ma and getting his own record deal. The rest of the band disapproves of this. Teased by the rest of the band about his ability to deal with white men, Levee relates how his mother was gang-raped by white men. His father exacted revenge on the assailants, killing four of them before being lynched and then burned.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Ma arrives an hour late with her lady friend, Dussie Mae, and her nephew, Sylvester. Immediately, she clashes with Sturdyvant and her manager Irvin, making numerous demands. Insulted that the Coca-Cola she requested has not been provided, Ma refuses to begin the recording session; assigning Slow Drag and Sylvester to get her one. Later, she insists to Sturdyvant that the opening words of the album be spoken by Sylvester, who has a pronounced stutter. As a result, the group has to do multiple takes of the song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom," much to everyone's frustration.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Ma confides to Cutler that her white bosses are only interested in her voice, and would otherwise regard her as "just a dog in the alley" which he understands and sympathizes with. Meanwhile, Levee and Dussie Mae have sex in the practice room before being interrupted by Slow Drag.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: The group finally manages to get through the first track after multiple takes, but discovers an equipment failure has caused it not to be recorded.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: The band blames Levee, who they think tripped over a wire while eyeing Dussie Mae, though it is revealed to have been damaged already. Their argument leads the religious Cutler to tell a story about a preacher he once knew who got stranded in a small town and was humiliated by a group of white men who tore up his Bible and forced him to dance. Levee brushes off the story; saying that if there was a God, he would care for black people, which He never has. Cutler attacks Levee in anger, leading Levee to pull out a knife in retaliation while still mocking Cutler and his beliefs.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: The group finally finishes recording, but Ma fires Levee soon afterward; believing his reckless ambition and uncompromising attitude to be detrimental to the band. Levee meets with Sturdyvant about his original songs, but discovers that he will only purchase the songs; insisting that there is no market for them. Levee suffers a mental breakdown and, after Toledo accidentally steps on his new shoes, Levee fatally stabs him in the back with the knife. Cutler and Slow Drag leave in horror as a regretful Levee cradles Toledo's corpse. Later, Sturdyvant records Levee's songs with a band consisting entirely of white musicians (supposedly Paul Whiteman's Orchestra).


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Denzel Washington initially had a deal with the television network HBO to produce nine of the playwright August Wilson's plays into films, with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" among them. By June 2019, the deal had been moved to Netflix. Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts had been cast in the film, with George C. Wolfe set to direct. In July 2019, Taylour Paige, Jonny Coyne, Jeremy Shamos, and Dusan Brown joined the cast of the film. Maxayn Lewis did most of Rainey's singing for Davis. Jeffrey Wright was originally expected to join the film.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Filming commenced on July 8, 2019 in Pittsburgh, with sets converted into 1927 Chicago, and wrapped on August 16, 2019.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: On August 28, 2020, Boseman died of colon cancer during post-production, making "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" his final film appearance. The film is dedicated to him.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: The film was theatrically released in select theaters on November 25, 2020, before beginning to stream on December 18, on Netflix. Netflix also released a 31-minute making-of documentary "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen" alongside the film. Upon its digital release to Netflix, the film was the most-watched item over its opening weekend.


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 301 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Framed by a pair of powerhouse performances, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" pays affectionate tribute to a blues legend — and Black culture at large." According to Metacritic, which compiled 46 reviews and calculated a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, the film received "universal acclaim".


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: For the "Los Angeles Times", Justin Chang wrote "Boseman, evincing the same integrity he clung to his entire career, refuses to soft-pedal the destination. He imparts to this seething, shattered man the gift of a broken soul, driven by anger and trauma, and makes him all the more human for it. His final moments of screen time are among his darkest, and also his finest." Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B" grade and praised Boseman and Davis's performances, saying: "All of this would be more concerning if "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" didn't turn on Wilson's crackling dialogue and a jazzy pace on par with the music. Above all, the movie amounts to a solid resurrection that doesn't muck up the bulk of what made the play click in the first place."


title: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)

text: Peter Travers, reviewing the film for ABC News, said: "Davis plays the real-life Ma Rainey, the Georgia singer dubbed the Mother of the Blues. Boseman invests body and soul into Levee, the hot-headed trumpeter who dares to lock horns with Ma in a shabby Chicago recording studio where they're paid to make music the way the white bosses want it. The time is 1927, but the bristling racial tensions feel as timely as ever."


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Larisa Romanovna Oleynik (; born June 7, 1981) is an American actress who became a teen idol in the 1990s.


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Born in Santa Clara and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, Oleynik began her career as a child actor, first appearing onstage as young Cosette in a national touring production of "Les Misérables" (1989–1991). She was subsequently cast in the titular role on the Nickelodeon sci-fi series "The Secret World of Alex Mack" from 1994 to 1998. She also began a film career, starring in an ensemble cast as Dawn Schafer in the film adaptation "The Baby-Sitters Club" (1995), and in a lead role in the teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999).


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Oleynik subsequently had a supporting role in the comedy "100 Girls" (2000), after which she starred opposite Nastassja Kinski and Scarlett Johansson in the period film "An American Rhapsody" (2001), and the independent drama "Bringing Rain" (2003). She later had supporting roles in "" (2011) and the horror film "Jessabelle" (2014). From 2010 to 2015, she had a recurring role as Cynthia Cosgrove on the AMC series "Mad Men", and a voice role as Icy on the Nickelodeon revival of "Winx Club" (2011–2015).


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Larisa Romanovna Oleynik was born in Santa Clara, California, to Lorraine (née Allen), a former nurse, and anesthesiologist Roman Oleynik. Her father was of Russian and Ukrainian ancestry, and she was raised in the Russian Orthodox faith. Oleynik was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from the Pinewood School in Los Altos, California, in 1999. As her acting career flourished, she would "divide her time between normal childhood experiences in Northern California and auditions in Los Angeles."


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: After the success in her role as Alex Mack, Oleynik decided to attend college, enrolling at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, which she later described "the best decision I’ve made".


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Oleynik began acting in a San Francisco production of "Les Misérables" in 1989 after seeing an audition ad in a newspaper when she was eight years old. She obtained two parts in the production (young Cosette and young Eponine), both with singing roles. After appearing in the musical, she was referred to an agent by her "Les Misérables" co-star, Rider Strong, and began to take formal acting lessons. "I remember being 10 years old and thinking, 'I want to be good at this'... It wasn’t about, 'I want to be on TV'. It was more looking around at the other kids and being like, 'I’m not good at sports, I’m not really smart. I think I could be good at this, though'."


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Her onscreen acting career began at age 12, in a 1993 episode of the television series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"; the same year she also appeared in the made-for-television film "River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keene", and provided the voice of young Odette in the animated feature film "The Swan Princess" (1994).


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Later in 1993, she was cast in the lead role of the series "The Secret World of Alex Mack" where she portrayed a teenage girl who receives telekinetic powers as the result of an accident. She won the role of Alex Mack over 400 other aspirants. The series ran on Nickelodeon from 1994 to 1998 and was one of the network's top three most watched shows, becoming quite a favorite among the child and teen audiences and turning Oleynik into a teen idol. During the show's heyday, children who met Oleynik (and were too young to understand special effects) would often ask her to "morph" for them. Rather than try to explain things, she would quickly glance around, then tell them "Not here – everybody would see!". Oleynik reprised the role in an "All That" sketch, although the name was changed to "Alex Sax". She later made an appearance in the 100th episode of the show.


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: In 1996, she made a cameo on the series "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" as a nurse at the beginning of the episode "Dance Fever". Also during her time on "The Secret World of Alex Mack", she played Dawn Schafer, one of the lead characters in the 1995 feature film "The Baby-Sitters Club" (1995), opposite Rachael Leigh Cook and Schuyler Fisk, appeared in several episodes of "Boy Meets World", wrote an advice column for "Tiger Beat" magazine, and was involved in Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" charity, "Hands Across Communication", "Surfrider Foundation" and the "Starlight Children's Foundation". She has also hosted the CableACE Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, YTV Achievement Awards, The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards as well as "The Big Help". She has commented that she stayed "grounded" during her period as a teen star, mainly through the help of a "strong network of people" that she was close to.


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: After "The Secret World of Alex Mack" ended its run, Oleynik had a starring role in the film "10 Things I Hate About You" as Bianca. The film was released in April 1999, and did fairly well at the box office, grossing a total of $38 million domestically. From 1998 to 2000, Oleynik appeared in twenty-one episodes of the NBC series "3rd Rock from the Sun" as Alissa Strudwick. During 2000, she also appeared in two independent films: "100 Girls" (opposite Emmanuelle Chriqui, Katherine Heigl and Jonathan Tucker) and "A Time for Dancing" (opposite Shiri Appleby); neither film received a theatrical release in the United States.


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Oleynik had a supporting role in the independent drama film "An American Rhapsody" (2001), opposite Nastassja Kinski and Scarlett Johansson, which follows a young woman whose parents are forced to leave her behind in Communist Hungary while they flee to the United States.


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: Oleynik had a supporting part in "Bringing Rain" (2003), a low-budget teen drama starring Adrian Grenier and Paz de la Huerta, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2005, she appeared as a guest star on the series "Malcolm in the Middle" as Reese's lesbian army buddy who develops a crush on his mother. Oleynik was cast in a supporting role in the series "Pepper Dennis", which began airing on The WB in April 2006, but was not picked up by The WB's successor The CW. The same year, she starred in the independent drama "Pope Dreams".


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: In March 2008, Oleynik guest-starred in episode 13 of "Aliens in America". In 2009, she provided audio commentary for the "10 Things I Hate About You" 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray. In March 2011, Oleynik started appearing in a recurring role on "Hawaii Five-0" as CIA analyst Jenna Kaye, until her character was later killed off. She was subsequently cast in the Ayn Rand adaptation "" (2012), as Cherryl Brooks, a store clerk who becomes acquainted with the protagonist, Dagny Taggart (portrayed by Samantha Mathis). John Tammy of "Forbes" praised it as a "must-see" film. Oleynik also guest-starred as Ken Cosgrove's girlfriend (and later wife) Cynthia Baxter in several episodes on the AMC television series "Mad Men".


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: In 2016, Oleynik starred in the one-woman show "I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti" at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. Beginning in 2017, Oleynik starred in the Off-Broadway musical comedy "Baghdaddy". In 2020, Oleynik starred in the Netflix family comedy series, "The Healing Powers of Dude".


title: Larisa Oleynik

text: In January 2013, she was granted a restraining order against a stalker who was so obsessed with her that he changed his last name to "Oleynik".


title: Succulent plant

text: In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word "succulent" comes from the Latin word "sucus", meaning "juice" or "sap".


title: Succulent plant

text: Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to 90–95%, such as "Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum" and "Mesembryanthemum barkleyii". Some definitions also include roots, thus geophytes that survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs may be regarded as succulents. The habitats of these water-preserving plants are often in areas with high temperatures and low rainfall, such as deserts, but succulents may be found even in alpine ecosystems growing in rocky soil. Succulents are characterized by their ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, which makes them equipped to survive in an ecosystem that contains scarce water sources.


title: Succulent plant

text: Succulents are not a taxonomic category, since the term describes only the attributes of a particular species; some species in a genus or family may be succulent, whereas others are less so or not at all. Many plant families have multiple succulent species found within them (more than 25 plant families). In some families, such as Aizoaceae, Cactaceae, and Crassulaceae, most species are succulents. In horticultural use, the term is sometimes used in a way that excludes plants that botanists would regard as succulents, such as cacti. Succulents are often grown as ornamental plants because of their striking and unusual appearance, as well as their ability to thrive with relatively minimal care.


title: Succulent plant

text: By definition, succulent plants are drought-resistant plants in which the leaves, stem, or roots have become more than usually fleshy by the development of water-storing tissue. Other sources exclude roots as in the definition "a plant with thick, fleshy and swollen stems and/or leaves, adapted to dry environments". The difference affects the relationship between succulents and "geophytes"–plants that survive unfavorable seasons as a resting bud on an underground organ. The underground organs, such as bulbs, corms, and tubers, are often fleshy with water-storing tissues. Thus if roots are included in the definition, many geophytes would be classed as succulents. Plants adapted to living in dry environments such as succulents, are termed "xerophytes". However, not all xerophytes are succulents, since there are other ways of adapting to a shortage of water, e.g., by developing small leaves which may roll up or having leathery rather than succulent leaves. Nor are all succulents xerophytes, as plants such as "Crassula helmsii" are both succulent and aquatic.