title: The Magic Mountain

text: Mann gives a central role to music in this novel. People at the Berghof listen to "Der Lindenbaum" from the "Winterreise" played on a gramophone. This piece is full of mourning in the view of death and hints of an invitation to suicide. In the book's final scene, Castorp, now an ordinary soldier on Germany's western front in World War I, hums the song to himself as his unit advances in battle.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Mann uses the novel's main characters to introduce Castorp to the ideas and ideologies of his time. The author observed that the characters are all "exponents, representatives, and messengers of intellectual districts, principles, and worlds," hoping that he had not made them mere wandering allegories.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: According to the author, the protagonist is a questing knight, the "pure fool" looking for the Holy Grail in the tradition of Parzival. However, he remains pale and mediocre, representing a German bourgeois that is torn between conflicting influences – capable of the highest humanistic ideals, yet at the same time prone to both stubborn philistinism and radical ideologies. As usual, Mann chooses his protagonist's name carefully: "Hans" is a generic German first name, almost anonymous, but also refers to the fairy tale figure of "Hans im Glück" and the apostle St. John ("Johannes" in German), the favourite disciple of Jesus, who beholds the Revelation ("Offenbarung des Johannes" in German). Castorp is the name of a historically prominent family in Mann's hometown, Lübeck, which provided at least three generations of Mayors for the town in the era of the Renaissance. The "torp" is Danish, not unexpected on the German north coast. Castorp also refers to the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology, who were identified by the New Testament scholar Dennis MacDonald as models for the apostles James and John.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: In a way, Hans Castorp can be seen as the incorporation of the young Weimar Republic: Both humanism and radicalism, represented by Settembrini and Naphta, try to win his favour, but Castorp is unable to decide. His body temperature is a subtle metaphor for his lack of clarity: Following Schiller’s theory of fever, Castorp’s temperature is , which is neither healthy nor ill, but an intermediate point. Furthermore, the outside temperature in Castorp's residence is out of balance: it is either too warm or too cold and tends to extremes (e.g. snow in August), but never normal. According to Christian Kracht, "Hans Castorp experienced the elevation of his temperature as lifting him to an elevated state of being."


title: The Magic Mountain

text: The most pronounced instances of Thomas Mann's political conversion is in the "Schnee" chapter. Completed in June 1923, this chapter, which forms the philosophical heart of the novel, attempts to overcome apparent contrasts and find a compromise between Naphta's and Settembrini's positions. In the chapter "Humaniora", written in 1920, Castorp tells Behrens, in a discussion on medical matters, that an interest in life means an interest in death. In the "Schnee" chapter, Castorp comes to exactly the opposite conclusion. The basis for Castorp's contradiction can be found in the speech "", written in the previous year, in which Mann outlines his position with regards to precedence of life and humanity over death. Even though Castorp could not possibly have learnt from either Naphta or Settembrini the idea that the experience of death is ultimately that of life and leads to a new appreciation of humanity, Mann was determined from at least September 1922 onwards to make this message the main point of his novel. In a letter of 4 September 1922 to Arthur Schnitzler, Mann refers to "Von deutscher Republik", in which, he says, he is endeavouring to win the German middle classes over to the cause of the Republic and humanitarian concerns, and adds that his new-found passion for humanitarianism is closely related to the novel on which he is working. In the climax of the "Schnee" chapter, Castorp's vision is of the triumph of life, love and human concern over sickness and death. This realisation corresponds closely to Mann's key observation in "Von deutscher Republik". As if to dispel any lingering doubts, Mann makes the meaning absolutely clear in his "Tischrede in Amsterdam", held on 3 May 1924. Death stands for the ultra-conservative opponents of the Republic, while life embodies the supporters of democracy, the only way to guarantee a humanitarian future. The Schnee chapter was written in the first half of 1923 and the italicisation of the key sentence was probably requested by Mann when the book was set in print in 1924, as a message to the readers of the time, who, after years of hyper-inflation and political turmoil, not only expected but also desperately needed a positive direction to their lives, some words of wisdom which would give them hope.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Settembrini represents the active and positive ideal of the Enlightenment, of Humanism, democracy, tolerance and human rights. He often finds Castorp literally in the dark and switches on the light before their conversations. He compares himself to Prometheus of Greek mythology, who brought fire and enlightenment to Man. His own mentor Giosuè Carducci has even written a hymn to another lightbringer: Lucifer, "la forza vindice della ragione." His ethics are based on bourgeois values and labor. He tries to counter Castorp's morbid fascination with death and disease, warns him against the ill Madame Chauchat, and tries to demonstrate a positive outlook on life.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: His antagonist Naphta describes him as "Zivilisationsliterat", meaning cosmopolitan, un-German intellectuals. Mann originally constructed Settembrini as a caricature of the liberal-democratic novelist represented, for example, by his own brother Heinrich Mann. However, while the novel was being written, Mann himself became an outspoken supporter of the Weimar Republic, precipitated by the assassination of then German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau whom Mann deeply admired, which may explain why Settembrini, especially in the later chapters, becomes the "Sprachrohr des Autoren"; - the voice of the author.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Settembrini's antagonist Naphta was Jewish, but joined the Jesuits and became a Hegelian Marxist. The character was a parody of the philosopher Georg Lukács, who "plainly has not recognized himself in Naphta", wrote Mann in a 1949 letter.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Even here a change in Mann's political stance can be seen. In "Operationes spirituales", written towards the end of 1922, Naphta is termed a "revolutionary" and "socialist", but Settembrini sees Naphta's fantasies as emanating from an anti-humanitarian reactionary revolution ("Revolution des antihumanen Rückschlages"). In this chapter, the terrorism championed by Naphta is no longer, in Castorp's eyes, associated solely with the "Diktatur des Proletariats", but also with conservative Prussian militarism and Jesuitism. The association here between Naphta's advocacy of terrorism and two extremely conservative movements—Prussian militarism and Jesuitism—is a huge political shift for the novel. Terrorism, up till now exclusively the province of the communist revolution, is now suddenly also an instrument of reactionary conservatism. In a clear allusion on Mann's part to the assassination of Walther Rathenau, Naphta goes into the motivation of the revolutionary who killed Councillor of State August von Kotzebue in 1819 and concludes that it was not just the desire for freedom at stake here but also moral fanaticism and political outrage. That this is a direct reference to the death of Rathenau is borne out by the fact that in the first edition Mann refers to the shooting of Kotzebue, whereas he was in fact stabbed. Alerted to this mistake by Max Rieger, Mann replied on 1 September 1925 that he would rectify the error at the first opportunity. Mann changed the word "geschossen" to "erstochen" for future editions. For the 1924 readership, however, the association with Rathenau could not have been clearer.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Clawdia Chauchat represents erotic temptation, lust, and love, all in a degenerate, morbid, "Asiatic-flabby" form. She is one of the major reasons for Castorp's extended stay on the magic mountain. The female promise of sensual pleasure as hindrance to male zest for action imitates the themes from the Circe mythos and in the nymphs in Wagner's Venus Mountain. Chauchat's feline characteristics are noted often, her last name is derived from the French "chaud chat" (Eng., "hot cat"), and her first name includes the English "claw". (Her name may also be a reference to the Chauchat machine gun,


title: The Magic Mountain

text: a French weapon that saw significant use by the French and American forces during World War I.) ChaudChat could also be a play on words with Chaud (hot) and Chatte (female genitalia) in French slang.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Clawdia Chauchat leaves the Berghof for some time, but she returns with an impressive companion, Mynheer Peeperkorn, who suffers from a tropical disease.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Mynheer Peeperkorn, Clawdia Chauchat's new lover, enters the Berghof scenery rather late; but he is certainly one of the most commanding persons of the novel. His behavior and personality, with its flavour of importance, combined with obvious awkwardness and the strange inability "ever" to complete a statement, is reminiscent of certain figures in former novellas of the author (e.g. "Herr Klöterjahn" in Tristan) – figures, which are, on the one hand, "admired" because of their vital energy, and, on the other hand, "condemned" because of their naïveté. In total, this person represents the grotesqueness of a Dionysian character. The Greek god Dionysus is also important in Nietzschean philosophy, whose "The Birth of Tragedy" is the source of the title "The Magic Mountain".


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Mynheer Peeperkorn is used by the author to personify his rival, the influential German poet Gerhart Hauptmann, and even certain properties of Goethe (with whom Hauptmann often was compared).


title: The Magic Mountain

text: Joachim Ziemssen, Hans Castorp's cousin, is described as a young person representing the ideals of loyalty and faithfulness as an officer. As already mentioned, Dr. Behrens alludes to the pair as "Castor(p) and Pollux", the twin brothers of the Greek mythology. And in fact, there is some affinity between the two cousins, both in their love to Russian women (Clawdia Chauchat in the case of Hans Castorp, the female co-patient "Marusja" in the case of Joachim Ziemssen), and also in their ideals. But, in contrast to Hans Castorp, who is an assertive person on the Berghof scene, Joachim Ziemssen is rather shy, known to stand somehow outside of the community. He tries to escape from what he, unspokenly, feels to be a morbid atmosphere. After long discussions with his cousin, and in spite of being warned by Dr. Behrens, he returns to the "flatlands", where he fulfills his military duties for some time. But after a while, forced by deterioration of his lungs, he returns to the Berghof. It is, however, too late for a successful treatment of his illness, and he dies in the sanitarium. His death is described in a moving chapter of the novel, with the title "As a soldier, and a good one" ["(Ich sterbe) als Soldat und brav"], again a well-known citation from Goethe's "Faust".


title: The Magic Mountain

text: "The Magic Mountain" is mentioned in the film "The Wind Rises" (2013), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, by a German character named Hans Castorp.<br>


title: The Magic Mountain

text: In literature, it is mentioned in the novel "Norwegian Wood" written by Haruki Murakami, and some of its characters appear in "Tintin in the New World" by Frederic Tuten. Mention is also made in the nonfiction text "", by Ron Chernow.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: The novel is mentioned in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" episode "That's My Boy??" (season 3, episode 1). With all the mix-ups at the hospital between the Petries and the Peters, and each getting the other's stuff, Rob is trying to determine if he and Laura brought home the right baby, so he goes to check the baby's footprints, which he tells his neighbor are kept in "The Magic Mountain". "Huh?" says Jerry. "The book", says Rob. Jerry finds the footprints and reads the book's title, "Oh, Thomas Mann", and then they cover the kid's foot with blue ink.


title: The Magic Mountain

text: In 2017, Father John Misty released "Pure Comedy" along with the song "So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain". The song is comparable to the book, because the artist wanted to emphasize his change and his will to move on with his life, accepting his mortality.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra Cain (also known as Cassandra Wayne and Cassandra Wu-San) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandra Cain first appeared in "Batman" #567 (July 1999). The character is one of several who have assumed the role of Batgirl. Over the years, she has also assumed the code names of Black Bat and Orphan.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra's origin story presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. She was deprived of speech and human contact during her childhood as conditioning to become the world's greatest assassin. Consequently, Cassandra grew up to become an expert martial artist and developed an incredible ability to interpret body language to the point of reading complex thoughts, while simultaneously developing very limited social skills and remaining mute and illiterate.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra was the first Batgirl to star in her own ongoing "Batgirl" comic book series. She was replaced as Batgirl by Stephanie Brown in a 2009 storyline. She returned in late 2010, where she was shown working as an anonymous agent of Batman in Hong Kong before adopting the new moniker of Black Bat. The character was brought back to mainstream continuity after the company-wide reboot in "Batman & Robin Eternal", using the code name Orphan, previously used by her father, David Cain. The character's full history was restored in DC's 2021 "Infinite Frontier" relaunch.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: The character made her cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe film "Birds of Prey", portrayed by Ella Jay Basco.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra Cain first appeared in "Batman" #567 (July 1999), written by Kelley Puckett and penciled by Damion Scott (who are generally credited with her invention).


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In 2000, Cassandra became the first Batgirl to be featured in an eponymous ongoing comic book series.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: During the "" story arc in 2004, Batman relies heavily on Cassandra to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra took on the role of a villain by becoming the head of the League of Assassins following the "One Year Later" continuity jump, as established in "Robin" #150 (July 2006).


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In "Teen Titans" vol. 3 #44 (April 2007), it revealed that Cassandra battled Supergirl first, before attacking the Teen Titans with the Titans East.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra next appears on the roster of Titans East once again wearing the Batgirl costume. Cassandra remained in the role of a villain, under the command of Titans East's leader, Deathstroke.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In October 2007, DC announced that Cassandra would be taking up the Batgirl identity as a member of the Outsiders in the upcoming "Batman and the Outsiders" ongoing series to be written by Chuck Dixon, which appears to, or is hoped to, begin resolving the controversy.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In February 2008, Dan DiDio revealed during a convention panel that writer Adam Beechen would be writing a "new Batgirl" miniseries. Beechen himself said that the story would resolve the questions over Cassandra's behavior and will be a setup for new Batgirl adventures.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In July 2010, Cassandra appeared as one of the main characters in a short story written and drawn by Amanda Conner for "Wonder Woman" #600, where she helps Wonder Woman and Power Girl in a battle against Egg Fu.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After , it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie because she was acting under her mentor's orders, and she is now working as a codename-less vigilante.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In 2011, in Grant Morrison's "Batman Inc." series, it is revealed that Cassandra had taken up the name Black Bat.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: At C2E2 2011, it was confirmed that Cassandra would be appearing as a main character in Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins' mini-series "".


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After the New 52, Cassandra appeared in what appeared to be a variant timeline; however, at San Diego Comic-Con International 2015, James Tynion IV announced that Cassandra would be introduced into mainstream continuity in "Batman & Robin Eternal".


title: Cassandra Cain

text: February 4, 2020 was the debut of Cassandra Cain's first graphic novel, "Shadow of the Batgirl", written by Sarah Kuhn and illustrated by Nicole Goux.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra's birth and childhood are revealed in the "Batgirl" series. David Cain had sought a perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. He found a potential mother when he saw Sandra Wu-San fighting her sister Carolyn in a martial arts tournament. Believing that Sandra was holding back for Carolyn, Cain murdered Carolyn and lured Sandra into a trap, sparing her life in exchange for giving birth to his child and leaving that child for him to raise. She agreed. After the birth of Cassandra, Sandra set out to become Lady Shiva.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cain trained Cassandra from birth how to be an assassin. She was not taught to read or write; instead, reading body language was her only language. She was able to read people's movements and predict what they were going to do. When she was eight, Cain took her to kill a businessman. As the man died, she read what he was feeling, realized what she had done, and ran away from her father.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After that, her activities are, so far, a mystery, until she first appears during the "No Man's Land" story arc.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: During the "No Man's Land" storyline, after Gotham was leveled by an earthquake and isolated, Cassandra Cain saves Commissioner Gordon's life and gains Bruce Wayne's approval, and, eventually, becomes the new Batgirl.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Her father, David Cain, sends a video of Cassandra's first murder to Bruce Wayne (Batman) attempting to disrupt her status. However, Wayne continues to accept Cassandra after she takes several bullets to save the life of a hired assassin, proving her devotion to protecting human life.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Bruce Wayne sends Cassandra to Barbara Gordon, currently functioning as Oracle. Barbara says she prefers to live alone but since Cassandra is never home and doesn't talk, it is just like living alone. A telepath "rewires" Cassandra's brain so that she can think with words and use language, but these abilities come at some cost to her ability to read people's body language. As she had relied completely on this ability to fight, she is unable to effectively fight crime. Worried, Bruce Wayne takes away her costume and begins training her in defensive skills.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra soon discovers that the assassin Lady Shiva can read people like she used to be able to and asks Shiva to reteach her. Lady Shiva accepts on the condition that they would have a duel to the death a year later. As Cassandra would rather be "perfect for a year" instead of "mediocre for a lifetime", she accepts the offer. When the women fight in a year's time, Cassandra dies within minutes. Shiva then restarts her heart, realizing Cassandra had a death wish, so that they can have a real fight. In the subsequent fight, Cassandra beats Shiva but does not kill her.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Though not known for her private life, Cassandra does have a one-time romance with Conner Kent after meeting him on a cruise ship. He shares her first kiss, and she even visits him at his home in Smallville, though the relationship never becomes serious.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Later, Batgirl moves to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake (the third Robin) at Batman's suggestion and with his financial support. There, Deathstroke takes on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decides to let his daughter, Rose (the current Ravager), do the job instead. Cassandra beats Rose by playing on her emotions to leave her open for a critical strike, giving Deathstroke no choice but to get her medical attention.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: During this time, Cassandra starts developing a friendship with Brenda, the woman who owns the local coffee shop, and even a very short-lived relationship with a boy named Zero. Unfortunately, her friends are all killed in the Blüdhaven disaster.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra also goes undercover for Batman, as Kasumi, in the Justice League Elite, working under Sister Superior to track and eliminate metahuman threats to the population. She works with the Batman's old fellow Justice League members Green Arrow and the Flash, and forms a bond with Coldcast, who is the first Leaguer to whom she reveals her identity. Although he is subsequently accused of murder, she and the rest of the team soon realize that he has been manipulated by renegade Elite member Menagerie, who was himself being manipulated by the spirit of Manchester Black as he tried to drive his sister to destroy London. As the JLA falls, the Elite, united by the spirit of the deceased Manitou Raven, free Vera and vanquish Black, although the team disbands after this last mission.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra gathers evidence that indicates that Shiva could be her mother, and seeks her out to confirm this, rejoining the League of Assassins. After she is proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the "One Who Is All", the students of the League are split, half following Shiva, and the others Cassandra. In the following confrontation, Cassandra is mortally wounded by her "adoptive brother", the Mad Dog, while heroically saving one of the students under her leadership. Shiva revives Cassandra in a Lazarus Pit, then answers Cassandra's questions about her parentage. When Cassandra asked Shiva whether she was still killing, whether she would ever stop, Shiva says she was, and responds, "It's why I had you", so Cassandra agrees to fight her to the death once more.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After a closely matched battle, Cassandra manages to break Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appears ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleads with her not to do so. Instead, Cassandra impales Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Cassandra then abandons the identity of Batgirl and returns to her life as a wanderer.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Robin (Tim Drake) captures David Cain and brings him to the League of Assassins as ransom to free Cassandra, only to find that Cassandra is the new leader. Cassandra produces a gun and tells him to shoot Cain and join her league. Upon his refusal, she shoots Cain herself. Tim and Cassandra engage in a fight which ends when the platform they are fighting on explodes. By the time Tim comes back to the original location, Cassandra and Cain are gone and the ninjas' necks have been snapped. Tim had secretly recorded the conversation, clearing his name, but branding Cassandra as a murderer at the same time.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra next surfaces when she is hired by Dark Angel to kill Supergirl and attempts to do so by kidnapping Supergirl's friend, Captain Boomerang. Supergirl arrives at the League's Tibetan headquarters to confront Cassandra, where they fight. Cassandra uses swords that emit red sun energy which strips away Supergirl's powers. However, as Cassandra prepares to kill her, Supergirl mysteriously extrudes crystals from her body which injure Cassandra.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Later, Cassandra approaches Dodge, a wannabe superhero with teleportation powers, wanting him to steal a drug that gives humans metahuman strength in exchange for money. Cassandra (with an ally) plans to use the drug to create an army. She also makes another appearance where she murders the businessman who was producing that drug, who Robin has previously unsuccessfully attempted to bring to justice.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra is left behind while Batman, Robin, and Nightwing leave for their year-long trip and Harvey Dent is charged with protecting Gotham instead of her. Deathstroke approaches Cassandra and preys on her desire for a loving father as well as her feelings of abandonment. Apparently, Deathstroke manages to inject Cassandra with drugs, from a distance, that warped her mind allowing for him to manipulate her to his liking.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Having gained control of his daughter, Deathstroke recruits her into Titans East, where she resumes the role and costume of Batgirl.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: As a member of Titans East, she has a rematch with the Ravager and a brief confrontation with Robin, after which Robin injects Cassandra with a counter-serum (prepared in case Deathstroke regains control of his daughter), and she is apparently freed from Deathstroke's control and vows to kill Deathstroke to revenge herself.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: However, some time later, when she is working with the Teen Titans, Miss Martian comments that she is more in control of herself now. She faces Deathstroke, Match, and other former Titans East teammates, before being subdued by Risk. Soon after, Cyborg, Raven, and Duela Dent summon former Titans Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, and the Flash (Bart Allen), who join them against Deathstroke's team. Batgirl attempts to kill Deathstroke, but is stopped and knocked unconscious by Nightwing, who demands that Deathstroke face the courts. However, Deathstroke escapes from the Titans with the help of Inertia, and after the battle is over, Batgirl and Duela Dent both vanish without a word.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra retakes the Batgirl mantle to join the Outsiders at Batman's request. She moves into the team's apartment, but does not show much desire to socialize with her teammates. Batman also offers membership to Green Arrow, who is furious to learn that the former leader of the League of Assassins is on the team as well. While on a mission, Green Arrow and Batgirl battle one another and end up gaining an unusual sort of respect for each other. The team as a whole begins to slowly accept Batgirl into their ranks after she frees all of them from the Chinese military.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After the loss of their leader in the 2008 "Batman R.I.P." storyline, the Outsiders are left in disarray. Cassandra, believing that Batman brought her onto the team for just such a contingency, takes command of the group. Together, they undertake a search for the Batman.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After Batman is found, Cassandra moves into Wayne Manor, on the trail of father and Deathstroke. She uses the Batcave's computer to locate them but is attacked by Nightwing, who claims she cannot be trusted. Robin and Batman give her the benefit of the doubt.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Due to her research, Cassandra learns that David Cain and Deathstroke started up a school training Cassandra's "sisters". When Cassandra hears that the school's purpose was to "cripple the meta-hero community", she believes Oracle is about to be assassinated and rushes to her base of operations. She locates her father on a rooftop and engages in a one-on-one fight, eventually sending him over a ledge. When he loses his grip, she tries to save him but fails; he falls to another part of the rooftop. Batman, who had followed her, accepts her into the family again and says he will adopt her and make her his daughter.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: However, after Bruce Wayne's apparent death, Cassandra, apparently disillusioned, passes the cowl to her close friend, Stephanie Brown, then she leaves Gotham.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After , it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she has willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie because she was acting under her mentor's orders in the event of his death or disappearance, and gone undercover, using Tim Drake as a regular contact. Following Bruce Wayne's public announcement about his intention to create a global team of Batmen, Tim visits Cassandra in Hong Kong, where she has been acting as an codename-less vigilante. He attempts to persuade Cassandra to return to Gotham now that things have returned to normal, but she refuses, saying that Stephanie needs the Batgirl role more than she does. Just before departing, Tim gives Cassandra a copy of her old costume and tells her that if she chooses to stay and fight crime in Hong Kong, he hopes she will do it while wearing a Bat-symbol.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra takes Tim up on his offer, and joined up with Bruce's new group, now wearing a heavily modified costume that uses her original outfit as a base. She now uses the name of Black Bat, and among other activities brings down a heroin-smuggling operation in Hong Kong.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: After a new supervillain named the Architect destroys three Gotham bridges with the help of explosives smuggled from Hong Kong, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Cassandra, feeling guilty over her failure to stop the explosives from leaving China, returns to Gotham and partners with Red Robin, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne (the newest Robin) to bring the Architect to justice. During a stakeout at Oswald Cobblepot's nightclub, Cassandra is mocked and berated by Damian, who tells her that he is a better hero and that Bruce likely sent her to Hong Kong as a demotion. Despite Damian's hostility toward her, Cassandra ultimately saves his life after pulling him out of the club mere seconds before it is destroyed by a bomb. And after Dick discovers that the Architect plans to flood Gotham and kill thousands of civilians, Cassandra and Damian work together to dispose of the explosives that were supposed to sink the city. Once the Architect is defeated and captured, Cassandra decides to stay in Gotham rather than return to Hong Kong.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra later infiltrates a tournament for hired killers and rescues Red Robin, who had been captured and was about to be sexually assaulted by the half-sister of Ra's al Ghul. After rescuing Tim, Cassandra apparently kills him with a katana, thus winning the tournament for herself. But in fact, she has merely faked Red Robin's death in order to allow him to escape. The two then travel to Hong Kong in order to catch a 10-year-old assassin known as the Cricket, but are easily defeated. Just as Cassandra and Tim fall into unconsciousness, the Cricket vows to face them again someday, and tells them that he hopes they will put up a better fight next time.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In what might be a variant timeline, Cassandra is a member of Barbara Gordon's League of Batgirls, operating on the field under her leadership alongside fellow Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Tiffany Fox. Her father, David Cain, is portrayed as a character named the "Orphan", who raises Cassandra alone and forces her not to speak but to "listen" to body movements and react accordingly with deadly precision. She was intended to be a "gift" to the villain "Mother", to show her that child assassins can be manipulated through "the old ways" instead of through the use of drugs, but "Mother" rejected her and told Orphan never to do anything behind her back again. Although she is used by Mother to kill Miranda Row, mother of Batman's new ally Harper Row, at the conclusion of the storyline, Harper forgives Cassandra for her role in her mother's death, while Cassandra's own father David sacrifices himself to kill Mother by trapping her in her disintegrating fortress, refusing to allow her to torture others in the future. At the storyline's conclusion, Cassandra adopts her father's identity of Orphan to continue protecting others.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: As Orphan, Cassandra is later inducted into Batman and Batwoman's "boot camp" for young Gotham vigilantes. Orphan is known for being the best fighter on the team. She tries to fight the team's battles alone and is known for sneaking into Stephanie Brown's and Harper Row's apartments in the middle of the night. When Batman is attacked by the Colony, she tries to take them on by herself and is left injured and later sedated after leading the Colony into their base. Clayface helps Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, and the injured Orphan escape.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra was a part of the latest Outsiders team, alongside Batman, Black Lightning, Katana, and Signal.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In this anthology comic, Cassandra and Stephanie Brown fight the Hench Master in Bludhaven. At the end of the story, both she and Stephanie reclaim the Bat symbol and Cass's costume becomes very similar to her previous Batgirl costume. In "Infinite Frontier" #0, Barbara Gordon – now primarily operating as Oracle again – explains to Huntress that Stephanie and Cass share the Batgirl title, but that she reserves the right to occasionally suit up as Batgirl in future.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Like the rest of the Batman family, Cassandra has no superhuman powers. As a child, she received intensive training by her father, along with several other members of the League of Assassins, including Bronze Tiger, Merlyn the archer, and a series of instructors hired by her father, including Alpha. Upon taking the mantle of Batgirl, she was trained further by Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, and by Lady Shiva. She received supplementary instruction from Onyx. She is an amazing hand-to-hand combatant and is highly skilled in several martial arts, including Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, and Ninjutsu. She was also very briefly trained in detective methods by Tim Drake during their time in Blüdhaven.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra's superiority in combat results not just from her excellent physical condition, but from her cognitive functions (the result of her idiosyncratic upbringing) that enables extraordinary feats of coordination as well as perceiving minute changes in an opponent's movements and body language. In "Batgirl" #14 (May 2001), the writer, Kelley Puckett, places Cassandra in a position within the story in which her skills are analyzed by a group of government experts. The creative team reveals to the reader that the character has no metagene. Yet her genetic status was felt to be incompatible with her recorded abilities. One expert states, "Her individual moves are borderline human. It's her aggregate speed that's metahuman. Look—humans can throw a 100 miles-per-hour fastball, smash concrete blocks with their heads, and run 4.2 forties. What they can't do is all of that at once. It's not so much physical as... as mentally impossible. Too much to coordinate."


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Her upbringing using body language as her exclusive mode of communication also had the effect of enabling her to "read" minute changes in an opponent's expressions, breathing, muscles, joint position, and center of gravity which in turn allows her to see or "predict" an opponent's moves before they happen. It is possible this ability is only partially the result of her upbringing and that there is a genetic predisposition to it, since Lady Shiva, Cassandra's mother, is the only other martial artist known in the DC universe to have this ability. When a telepath "rewired" Cassandra's brain to allow her speech, this had the unintended consequence of blocking her ability to "predict" attacks, as though her ability to comprehend physical language was traded for her ability to speak and read. Eventually, Lady Shiva helped her to regain this ability, but how this was done is never revealed.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra also exhibits extraordinary resistance to pain. On more than one occasion, she has been described as "being able to take a bullet wound and not even bat an eye," due to additional training received as a child.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: As a side effect of her father's training, Cassandra's brain developed learning functions different from most. Having been brought up by Cain deliberately without speech, the communication centers of her brain learned body language instead of spoken or written language. Thus, she originally had as much trouble learning spoken and written language as a normal individual would have in learning body language. Although she was able to learn some very basic things ("no", "yes", "me") the same way a normal person can learn to recognize smiles and frowns, it took a telepath "rewiring" her brain to teach her to speak and understand English. Even then, she only spoke with extreme difficulty (very falteringly, short sentences with long pauses, frequently using the wrong words, etc.). In "Batgirl" #67 (October 2005), Oracle performed a number of tests on Cassandra, determining the severity of the problem: "The language centers of your brain are all over both hemispheres. Not centralized like with most people. When you try to read or write, your brain doesn't know how to keep it cohesive."


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In the 2008 "Batgirl" miniseries, the first issue delves into an explanation as to Cassandra's increased verbal and literary skills. It is explained that during the year in which Batman, Nightwing, and Robin were abroad, Cassandra and Alfred took it upon themselves to help develop the skills that she lacked due to her less than conventional childhood. By day, she took speech and ESL courses. The formal training aided her thought processes related to language and thus her verbalization improved rapidly.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra's costume as Batgirl is composed of black skin-tight leather. Her mask covers all of her head with the exception of the eyes, which are darkened, and symbolic stitches surround the mouth of the mask. Cassandra wears a yellow-rimmed black logo rather than the yellow bat version of the logo worn by Barbara. The costume was first created and worn by the Huntress in the early stages of "No Man's Land".


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Like the other members of the Bat-Clan, Cassandra's Batgirl also wears a yellow-pouched utility belt which contains grappling hooks, batarangs, mini-explosives, tracking devices, a hand-held computer, binoculars, PlastiCuffs, and smoke pellets. However, Cassandra rarely uses any of these devices.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: The costume displays slight variations in Titans East. The cape shows a yellow lining and Cassandra wears a "capsule" utility belt rather than pouches. In "Teen Titans" vol. 3 #43, the once hollow bat-symbol appears to have been filled in and her cape is once again completely black; a new line of stitching goes up the forehead of her cowl. This version of the costume apparently results from one artist's interpretation, as Cassandra's appearances elsewhere (i.e., "Supergirl" and "Batman and the Outsiders") show her wearing her standard Batgirl costume.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Her costume as Black Bat incorporates her former Batgirl costume, with some modifications. She now wears a domino mask and exposes the rest of her face and head. Her cape is now severely torn, looking ragged and almost smoke-like. Her hands are wrapped in bandages rather than her former scalloped bat-gloves.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: The costume she currently wears as Orphan consists of a form-fitting longsleeved black top, gloves, and full head mask; occasionally she has worn a variant with an attached hood and no mask. Her pants are looser and baggier in the thighs to allow greater flexibility with her acrobatics, and she wears knee-high black boots. The entire costume has yellow accents, with small armor plates in strategic areas on the torso and arms, and includes a yellow utility belt.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Critical reception of Cassandra's villainous turn in the "One Year Later" storyline was mixed. In general, the portrayal of Tim Drake was praised, whereas Cassandra's depiction was not. Upon being asked if Cassandra's characterization was editorially mandated, writer Adam Beechen stated, "When I came to the book, I was told that the first arc would deal with presenting Cassandra as a major new enemy for Robin. From there, I worked out the details of just how that would come about with our initial editor, Eddie Berganza, and then his successor, Peter Tomasi." In a follow-up interview, he clarified further, stating, "They didn't present me with a rationale as to why Cassandra was going to change, or a motivating factor. That was left for me to come up with and them to approve. And we did that. But as far as to why the editors and writers and whoever else made the decision decided that was a good direction, I honestly couldn't answer."


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In interviews and press conferences, Dan DiDio and others have stated that Cass will "be going back to basics", as in her early adventures before she was able to talk. Later, Geoff Johns was quoted as saying, "We will be addressing in "Teen Titans" exactly what the deal is with her. Is she a bad guy? How? Why? She was a completely different character before 'One Year Later,' so let’s find out what happened."


title: Cassandra Cain

text: According to "Wizard Magazine" #182, the storyline was "one of the most controversial changes to come out of DC's 'One Year Later' event", and "fans rose up in arms, organizing websites and letter-writing campaigns to protest the change." Dan Didio commented, "I'm glad to see there was a reaction created, it shows that people care about the character and want to see something happen with her."


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In the alternate timeline portrayed in the ""Titans Tomorrow"" storyline in "Teen Titans", Cassandra was mentioned as having been murdered by Duela Dent. Years later, Tim Drake (now the new Batman) killed Duela in retaliation.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In the timeline depicted in the sequel, "Titans Tomorrow... Today!", Cassandra is portrayed as the successor to the Batwoman mantle, and a member of Lex Luthor's Titans Army.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: A toddler version of Cassandra appears in several issues of "Tiny Titans". She is a friend of Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Cassandra makes a cameo appearance in issue #13 of the second "" tie-in comic. The issue focuses on the Phantom Stranger bringing together Robins from all time periods to help save Batman's life, because "Batman can always rely on Robin"; at the end of the comic, Stranger's sister Madame Xanadu remarks that had the Robins failed, "there is always Batgirl, too", revealing the four Batgirls (Cassie, Barbara Gordon, Bette Kane, and Stephanie Brown).


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In "", Cassandra appears as a member of the League of Batgirls alongside Stephanie Brown and a young African-American girl named Tiffany Fox (the daughter of Lucius Fox). Her friendship with Stephanie appears to have remained intact.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: In the "DC Comics Bombshells" universe, Cassandra is a Chinese heroine known as Black Bat. After the end of World War II, she returns to her home country to help rebuild and make life better for the young girls there.


title: Cassandra Cain

text: Most of the 2000 "Batgirl" ongoing series, as well as the 2008 miniseries, has been collected into trade paperbacks.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto Combined Statistical Area.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto is located in the Central Valley, south of Sacramento and north of Fresno. Distances from other places include: north of Merced, California, east of San Francisco, west of Yosemite National Park, and south of Stockton.


title: Modesto, California

text: The city is surrounded by rich farmland. Stanislaus County ranks sixth among California counties in farm production. It is home to Gallo Family Winery, the largest family-owned winery in the United States.


title: Modesto, California

text: Led by milk, almonds, chickens, walnuts, and corn silage, the county grossed nearly $3.1 billion in agricultural production in 2011. The farm-to-table movement plays a central role in Modesto living as in the Central Valley.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for 2011—which interviewed 1000 participants about their jobs, finances, physical health, emotional state of mind and communities — ranked Modesto 126 out of the 190 cities surveyed. In December 2009, "Forbes" ranked Modesto 48th out of 100 among "Best Bang-for-the-Buck Cities." In this ranking, Modesto ranked 8th in housing affordability and travel time, but it ranked 86th in job forecast growth and 99th in foreclosures.


title: Modesto, California

text: The City of Modesto was originally a stop on the railroad connecting Sacramento to Los Angeles. When Modesto was founded in 1870, it was to be named Ralston after financier William C. Ralston. Ralston's modesty prompted him to ask that another name be found, and the town was named Modesto in recognition of his modesty.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto's population exceeded 1,000 residents in 1884. With fields of grain, the nearby Tuolumne River for grain barges, and railroad traffic, the town grew. Irrigation water came from dams installed in the foothills, and irrigated fields of vegetables and fruit and nut trees flourished. By 1900, Modesto's population was more than 4,500. During World War II, the area provided canned goods, powdered milk, and eggs for the US armed forces and Allied forces. For the next few decades, Modesto's population grew about two percent per year to over 100,000 in 1980, and over 200,000 in 2001.


title: Modesto, California

text: The city's official motto, "Water Wealth Contentment Health," is emblazoned on the downtown Modesto Arch, which is featured in local photographs and postcards. The motto was selected in a contest held in 1911, with a $3 prize for the winner. (The original winning motto, "Nobody's got Modesto's goat", was later declined by town officials.) Modesto's motto is sometimes spoofed as "The land gets the water, the bankers get the wealth, the cows get contentment, and the farmers get the health."


title: Modesto, California

text: In 1885, Modesto enacted what is now considered to be the first zoning ordinance. The ordinance's primary goal was to keep out laundries (which were primarily Chinese run), out of the city. After an arrested man filed to contest the constitutionality of the ordinance, the case escalated to the California Supreme Court which found the law to be constitutional.


title: Modesto, California

text: In the late 1980s Modesto embarked on an update to the city's general plan pursuant to requirements of the State of California. The result was a comprehensive evaluation of alternative population and land use projections along with associated environmental impact analysis. Some of the environmental factors technically assessed were air quality, water quality, environmental noise, soil contamination and visual impacts.


title: Modesto, California

text: Much of the soils in Modesto are classified as part of the Hanford series: (HbpA) fine sandy loam, moderately deep over silt. These soils are well-drained, moderately coarse-textured soils derived from alluvium from granitic rock. The Hanford soils are important for the production of a wide variety of irrigated orchard, field, and truck crops.


title: Modesto, California

text: Vicinity watercourses include the Stanislaus River, the Tuolumne River and Dry Creek empties into the Tuolumne River. Area groundwater, which is the principal source of water supply in the city, has been historically impaired in a fashion that is spatially variable. Water from the nearby Modesto Reservoir is now used to augment city water. In various parts of the city and its perimeter the following water pollutants have occurred from time to time: nitrates, dibromochloromethane, volatile organics, salinity, total dissolved solids and other pesticides. Each of these contaminants is not present citywide.


title: Modesto, California

text: The EPA rates air quality in Modesto as a 23 on a scale to 100 (higher is better), making Modesto an unhealthy place to live for those with breathing difficulties. This is based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air. In May 2010, "Forbes" magazine, in association with the American Lung Association, indicated that Modesto was one of the top 25 most polluted cities in the U.S.


title: Modesto, California

text: As of the 2000s, downtown Modesto (DOMO) has new attractions including the Gallo Center for the Arts and the new Downtown Plaza adjacent to Modesto Centre Plaza. Downtown Modesto has lost the Hotel Covell, the art deco Strand Theatre, and the Sears building.


title: Modesto, California

text: The historic streets of 10th and 11th streets that were the original locations of the cruising featured in "American Graffiti" have been designated by the City of Modesto as the Historic Cruise Route. This is now a tourist walk with information about Modesto's music, car and Graffiti culture.


title: Modesto, California

text: In 2014, the Walk of Fame was launched on the Historic Cruise Route with markers celebrating classic legends like George Lucas, Gene Winfield, Bart Bartoni and others.


title: Modesto, California

text: Classic Community Murals was launched by Modesto magazine ModestoView and the Peer Recovery Art Center to create a series of large scale murals celebrating the Modesto Classic Graffiti heritage. Many of these are on the Cruise Route.


title: Modesto, California

text: New business incentives have been created to enhance facades, signage, and permitting. A promenade is being designed to create a special entertainment zone along the corridor between the Modesto Centre Plaza and the Gallo Center for the Arts and the adjacent core streets of 10th, 11th and J Streets.


title: Modesto, California

text: The city is located on the Tuolumne River and near the Stanislaus River. There is a small creek named Dry Creek, which is badly polluted by agricultural runoff and is adjacent to several parks. Rivers and lakes near Waterford are accessible for a kayak, or small motorboat, and there are several points of public access. This access was given as part of a government plan when hydroelectric power dams were installed upstream for flood control, irrigation, and electric power generation. The nearest large open seaport is the Port of Stockton, used for oceangoing ships that transport goods, particularly cement, fertilizer, and agricultural products, from California to overseas.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) under the Köppen climate classification. It has mild winters with moderate rainfall and long, hot, dry summers. Average January temperatures range from in the day to at night. Most of the rainfall occurs during the winter and the annual total is . The city does not have a full storm sewer system, and many streets flood during winter rain storms. Usually on average the weather does not go below 30°F and not above 103°F.


title: Modesto, California

text: Average July temperatures range from in the day to at night. During the summer months there can be multiple days in a row with high temperatures exceeding . This can pose health risks for people with weak constitutions or who ignore the dangers of heat stroke. Onshore breezes (known locally as the "delta breeze") moderate these high temperatures somewhat, with cooler air coming in after 8 or 9 pm on summer nights.


title: Modesto, California

text: The 2010 United States Census reported that Modesto had a population of 201,165. The population density was . The racial makeup of Modesto was 130,833 (65.0%) White, 8,396 (4.2%) African American, 2,494 (1.2%) Native American, 13,557 (6.7%) Asian (1.5% Filipino, 1.3% Asian Indian, 1.2% Cambodian, 0.7% Chinese, 0.6% Vietnamese, 0.5% Laotian, 0.2% Japanese, 0.2% Korean, 0.1% Hmong, 0.1% Pakistani), 1,924 (1.0%) Pacific Islander, 31,244 (15.5%) from other races, and 12,717 (6.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 71,381 persons (35.5%): 30.8% Mexican, 0.7% Puerto Rican, 0.6% Salvadoran, 0.5% Spaniard, 0.4% Spanish, 0.3% Nicaraguan, and 0.2% Guatemalan. Non-Hispanic Whites were 49.4% of the population in 2010, down from 83.1% in 1980.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Census reported that 198,210 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 1,189 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,766 (0.9%) were institutionalized.


title: Modesto, California

text: There were 69,107 households, out of which 27,152 (39.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 33,230 (48.1%) were married couples living together, 10,774 (15.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 4,904 (7.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 5,177 (7.5%) unmarried. 15,887 households (23.0%) were made up of individuals, and 6,221 (9.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87. There were 48,908 families (70.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.38.


title: Modesto, California

text: The population was spread out, with 54,012 people (26.8%) under the age of 18, 20,838 people (10.4%) aged 18 to 24, 53,116 people (26.4%) aged 25 to 44, 49,691 people (24.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 23,508 people (11.7%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.


title: Modesto, California

text: There were 75,044 housing units at an average density of , of which 39,422 (57.0%) were owner-occupied, and 29,685 (43.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.1%. 112,065 people (55.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 86,145 people (42.8%) lived in rental housing units.


title: Modesto, California

text: According to the 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $49,852, and the median income for a family was $56,629. Males had a median income of $47,473 versus $37,629 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,886. About 14.9% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.3% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.


title: Modesto, California

text: In September 2010, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released a study indicating that 32% of the population was obese vs. a statewide average obesity rate of 22.7%. Poverty was one of the factors listed as contributing to the high obesity rates.


title: Modesto, California

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 188,856 people, 64,959 households, and 46,640 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 67,179 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 69.6% White, 25.6% Hispanic or Latino, 4.0% African American, 1.2% Native American, 6.0% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander.


title: Modesto, California

text: There were 64,959 households, out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.36.


title: Modesto, California

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto has a large agricultural industry which is based on the fertile farmland surrounding the city. Modesto is home to the largest winery in the world: E & J Gallo Winery. The Gallo Glass Company, a company of Gallo Winery, is the largest wine bottle manufacturing company in the world. The company provides thousands of office and manufacturing jobs to Stanislaus County residents. Other major privately owned companies based in Modesto include Foster Farms Dairy, Royal Robbins, international award winner Fiscalini Cheese, Sciabica Olive Oil, Acme Construction, Aderholt Specialty, and 5.11 Tactical (formerly a part of Royal Robbins, a United States brand of clothing consisting of uniforms and tactical equipment for military). A cannery downtown produces food which is usually shipped to Sacramento and Fresno for transfer to rail or ship. Ceres has a few cereal and snack factories in the area. There are several small steelworking companies in Modesto. In mid-2008, a number of road projects were underway, with roads being constructed, repaved or repaired, at an estimated total cost of nearly $120 million.


title: Modesto, California

text: Rates of both violent crimes and property crimes are higher in Modesto than the state average. Of particular note is that Modesto ranks among the top car theft cities in the US. , Modesto ranked number 1 in car thefts per 100,000 people, although the city dropped to number 3 in 2013, behind Bakersfield and Fresno.In Modesto the crime rate is higher than 86% of California's cities.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Rockabilly genre of music originated in Modesto with the formation of Maddox Brothers & Rose on KTRB Radio in 1937. The "Hillbilly Boogie" sound, featuring the string slapping percussive sound by Fred Maddox, would become popular on a national scale and would later be the foundation for Rockabilly. Fred Maddox's bass is housed at the Experience Project Museum in Seattle, Washington.


title: Modesto, California

text: The city's annual Architectural Festival honors Modesto's history as a testing ground for mid-century modern architecture during the 1940s and 1950s. Modesto's mid-century buildings have been featured four times in Museum of Modern Art publications.


title: Modesto, California

text: Filmmaker George Lucas, who was born in Modesto, graduated from Thomas Downey High School in 1962 and attended Modesto Junior College, immortalized the city in his award-winning 1973 film "American Graffiti". Although it was not shot in Modesto, the film portrayed the spirit of cruising and friendship on Modesto's 10th and 11th Streets in 1962, and inspired a revival of interest in 1950s pop culture. Modesto celebrates Graffiti Summer annually and features the Historic Cruise Route and Walk of Fame of Graffiti Legends. Downtown Modesto features a series of Graffiti-themed and other cultural murals.


title: Modesto, California

text: Music festivals include SummerFest, the Downtown summer concert series, featuring Chris Isaak, Hootie & the Blowfish, The Doobie Brothers and Styx.


title: Modesto, California

text: X-Fest, deriving from its real name Xclamation Festival, was a 21 and over music festival in downtown Modesto. Starting in 2000, X-Fest has evolved into a large outdoor event stretching 15 blocks and featuring the world's largest disco which covers four blocks on its own. In 2008 X-Fest featured 50 bands and a crowd of 15,000 people. Much of the profits end up in local non-profit charities. Some business owners and citizens of Modesto complain of rowdy and often drunk Mardi Gras atmosphere exhibited at X-fest. The last X-fest occurred in Modesto in 2015.


title: Modesto, California

text: Summers are also marked by the revival of "American Graffiti", the 1973 film written and directed by Modesto native George Lucas. Lucas' film paid homage to teenage life in 1962 based on his own experiences growing up in the city of Modesto. The city has realized the importance of its connection to the award-winning film, and the city is preparing new tourist attractions and events to welcome "Graffiti" tourists. The Modesto Convention and Visitors bureau report that the leading request for information is "American Graffiti"-related. The annual festival, Graffiti Summer, celebrates this event and lasts the entire month of June, attracting thousands of visitors and car enthusiasts along with hundreds of classic and antique cars.


title: Modesto, California

text: Downtown Modesto has the Modesto Historic Cruise Route on 10th and 11th St, the Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame, and the Classic Community Mural series of large scale art celebrating the American Graffiti history.


title: Modesto, California

text: Downtown Modesto hosts a monthly Art Walk, with local artists displaying art for sale, artist demos, local gallery shows, in a multi-venue map self-guided tour.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Modesto Symphony Orchestra, which finds its home at the Gallo Center, held their first performance when Modesto had a population of 17,000 in 1931 and continues to be a staple in the community. Not to be outdone by the Symphony, MoBand (Modesto Band of Stanislaus County), established in 1919, is one of the oldest, continuously performing bands in the U.S. The group performs a free 6-week summer concert-in-the-park series with its 130 volunteer musicians.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto is also home to Townsend Opera, founded in 1983 by the late Modesto-born opera singer Buck Townsend, and Modesto Performing Arts, as well as the Gallo Center for the Arts. Modesto is also home to the area's leading professional ballet company, Central West Ballet.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Mexican culture and traditions are displayed by the Ballet Folklorico Group "Casa Cultural Tradiciones". Folklorico groups are often at Modesto events, sharing their culture with traditional dance and colorful attire.


title: Modesto, California

text: The MAMA, Modesto Area Music Awards are held each October. Local radio stations and promoters nominate local bands and voting happens online. There is a black tie ceremony and trophies are given to winners in multiple categories. A lifetime achievement award is also presented. The MAMA’s were created by Chris Murphy and Chris Ricci to support and encourage local musicians.


title: Modesto, California

text: The McHenry Mansion is a restored historic home located at Fifteenth and I Streets. The McHenry family built the house in 1883 after the patriarch of the family, Oramil McHenry, left twenty thousand dollars in his will. The mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1978.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Hawke Castle is a historic residence built in 1929. It was influenced by the Norman architecture, and is now the property of George Thayer Real Estate.


title: Modesto, California

text: or the Walter B. Wood House, was originally located at 814 Twelfth Street. The house was originally owned by Walter Wood and was constructed in 1884 in the Italianate style. The house has been removed from its original location, and modern renovation of the house has compromised its NRHP designation.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Robert Walton House was constructed in 1957, as a development of Frank Lloyd Wright's New York Usonian Exhibition House concept.


title: Modesto, California

text: The U. S. "El Viejo" Post Office is located on Twelfth and I Streets. Wall murals inside the post office were painted by Ray Boynton, a Work Projects Administration artist. The post office was listed in the NRHP in 1983.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Dry Creek Bridge, formerly on State Route 132, was recommended eligible for its design. The bridge is a major example of John B. Leonard's bridge designs.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot was constructed in 1915 in the Mission style at the corner of J and Ninth Streets. The City of Modesto was established as a town by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1870. The building has been restored and expanded as the City Transportation Center.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Modesto Nuts Minor League Baseball Club is a class A California League. The Nuts are the Single A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play 70 home games each season.


title: Modesto, California

text: Track and field competition includes the Modesto Relays named after meet director Tom Moore after his death. 30 world records were set at the meet held at Modesto Junior College.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto is governed under a council-manager system. The Mayor is elected at-large. The six members of the city council are elected from districts by the voters within the respective district.


title: Modesto, California

text: According to the city's most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $357,631,225 in Revenues, $1,826,668,511 in total assets, and $876,459,686 in total liabilities. The city has adopted a policy to achieve and maintain a General Fund reserve at 8% of the fund's total operating expenditures for fiscal year 2017–2018.


title: Modesto, California

text: At the end of the fiscal year, the General Fund balance was $26,745,582 or 22.5% of total General Fund expenditures.


title: Modesto, California

text: Residents of Modesto also participate in the Government of Stanislaus County and elections for Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors district 1 as well as the Sheriff-Coroner, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Clerk-Recorder. As of January 2013 these were represented by Supervisor William O'Brien, Sheriff-Coroner Adam Christianson, District Attorney Birgit Fladager, Assessor David Cogdill Sr., Auditor-Controller Lauren Klein, Treasurer-Tax Collector Gordon Ford, and Clerk-Recorder Lee Lundrigan.


title: Modesto, California

text: In the California State Senate, Modesto is split between , and . In the California State Assembly, Modesto is split between , and .


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto City Schools was established for students in the community in 1871. The current enrollment is approximately 32,000 students. The district operates 23 elementary schools (K-6), four junior high schools (7–8), seven comprehensive high schools (9–12), and an alternative education program that includes an opportunity and continuation school, independent study and adult evening high school. The seventh comprehensive high school, Joseph Gregori High School, was recently completed. Modesto's oldest high school, Modesto High School, also offers an International Baccalaureate program, and is the only high school in Stanislaus County accredited for this program. There are other elementary school districts within and adjacent to the limits of Modesto City Schools that feed into the high schools. They include Sylvan Union (serving the eastern portion of Modesto), Stanislaus Union, Hart-Ransom, Shilo and Paradise Elementary School Districts.


title: Modesto, California

text: As part of the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto television market, Modesto is primarily served by stations that are based mainly in Sacramento. They are listed below, with the city of license in bold:


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto station, east of downtown Modesto, is served by Amtrak "San Joaquin" intercity rail service. Future plans call for Altamont Corridor Express service at the Modesto Transportation Center by 2023, with California High-Speed Rail later serving the station as well.


title: Modesto, California

text: The large industrial region south and east of the city is served by the Modesto and Empire Traction Company, a short line railroad, with a web of industry tracks and many customers. At one time, Modesto was the operational center of the Tidewater Southern Railway, which had its main line down the center of Ninth Street, a major north–south street. A city ordinance passed by the city council kept electric power lines over this section of street activated long after the railroad had converted to steam power. In 2000, the last trains ran down Ninth Street. Now the railroad (owned by the Union Pacific Railroad since 1983) no longer passes through Modesto.


title: Modesto, California

text: The Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority operates local bus service and paratransit in Modesto, regional service in Stanislaus County, and commuter routes connecting to Bay Area Rapid Transit and Altamont Corridor Express stations.


title: Modesto, California

text: Modesto is served by the Modesto City-County Airport that lies east of California State Route 99 within the city limits. SkyWest Airlines (operating as United Express) provided air service to San Francisco International Airport, however commercial service stopped in June 2014. The airport is used for manufacturing and the shipping industries throughout California and the United States.


title: Modesto, California

text: California State Route 132 links the city to Interstate 580, providing commuter access to highways into the Bay Area. California State Route 108 connects to Oakdale, California and east to the foothills. The city has added many roundabouts in an effort to ease traffic congestion within the town with varying degrees of success.


title: Group B

text: Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar Championship alongside the more popular racing prototypes of Group C, Group B are commonly associated with the international rallying scene during 1982 to 1986 in popular culture, when they were the highest class used across rallying, including the World Rally Championship, regional and national championships.


title: Group B

text: The Group B regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and their era is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying. However, a series of major accidents, some fatal, were blamed on their outright speed with lack of crowd control at events. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA banned the group from competing in the WRC from the following season, dropped its prior plans to introduce Group S, and designated Group A as the top-line formula with engine limits of 2000 cc and 300 bhp.


title: Group B

text: In the following years, ex-rally Group B cars found a niche in the European Rallycross Championship until being dropped in 1993. By 1991 the World Sportscar Championship had moved on from Group B and C, with the GT championships formed in the nineties preferring other classes such as the new Group GT, The last cars were homologated in Group B in 1993, though the FIA made provisions for national championships and domestic racing until as late as 2011.


title: Group B

text: In 1982 the FISA restructured the production car category of Appendix J to consist of three new groups. The outgoing Group 1 and Group 2 were replaced with Group N and Group A for unmodified and modified production touring cars respectively. These cars had to have four seats (although the minimum size of the rear seats was small enough that some 2+2 cars could qualify) and be produced in large numbers. Their homologation requirement was 5000 units in a 12 month period between 1982 and 1992. From 1993 the requirement reduced to 2500 units.


title: Group B

text: Group B was for grand touring (GT) cars with a minimum two seats, redefined as sports grand touring cars in 1986. It combined and replaced Group 3 and Group 4, two grand touring groups already used in rallying, and the production-derived special builds of Group 5 used in circuit racing. Group 5 had never been permitted in the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers.


title: Group B

text: The number of cars required for homologation, 200, was just 4% of the other groups' requirement and half what was previously accepted in Group 4. As the homologation periods could be extended by producing only 10% of the initial requirement each subsequent year, 20 in Group B's case compared to 500 for A and N, the group made motorsport and the championships more accessible for car manufacturers before taking the group's technicalities and performance into account. 'Evolutions' could be included within the original homologation without needing to produce a new initial run, allowing manufacturers to tweak various aspects of their competing car within the requirement to produce only 20 'evolved' cars. Together, these homologation rules resulted in Group B 'homologation specials' (cars that were only produced to satisfy the group quota rather than for sales) extremely rare, if they continued to exist beyond presentation to FIA officials in the first place.


title: Group B

text: Group B could be used to homologate production sports cars which could not be homologated in Group N or A, because they did not have four seats or were not produced in large enough numbers (e.g. cars like the Ferrari 308, the Porsche 911, etc.). Further, the low production requirement encouraged manufacturers to use space frame chassis instead of bodyshells typically used in most series-production road cars.


title: Group B

text: Existing cars within Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4 homologation could be transferred to Group B, with many being automatically transferred by the FISA secretariat.


title: Group B

text: Group B had few specific rules outside those covering all groups in Article 252 and 253, which covered such things as safety cages or parts defining a car like windscreens or rear view mirrors. Article 256 covered the specific regulations for Group B with 5 paragraphs over half a page. The first two paragraphs covered the definition, (Sports) Grand Touring Cars (with a "minimum" of two seats), and the homologation requirements.


title: Group B

text: Fittings and modifications were inherited from those allowed in Group A. Rather than being restrictions, these covered those items (not) expected to be applied to a production car that would/wouldn't be expected on a competition car. Example include the removal of trims, soundproofing, HVAC systems, ignition systems or the reinforcing of chassis, tuning of engine and transmission parts etc.


title: Group B

text: Weight restrictions were applied on a scale in relation to the engine cylinder capacity. The minimum weight was 580 kg for engine below 1000 cc, to 1,300 kg for engines over 5,000 cc. The final specific rule applied to wheel sizes, which were similarly applied in a scale related to engine cylinder capacity.


title: Group B

text: Ultimately there were few restrictions on technology, design or materials permitted. For example fibreglass bodywork was used in the case of the Ford RS200, a car without a commercially available counterpart, though silhouette race cars using space frame chassis were still common even when consumer car equivalents were mass produced, for example in the case of the Peugeot 205 T16 or Lancia Delta S4.


title: Group B

text: The rules provided for manufacturers who wanted to compete in rallying with mid-engine and RWD or 4WD, but their RWD production models had been gradually replaced by FWD counterparts. By reducing the homologation minimum from 400 in Group 4 to 200, FISA enabled manufacturers to design specialised RWD or 4WD rally car homologation specials without the financial commitment of producing their production counterparts in such large numbers.


title: Group B

text: There were no restrictions on boost, resulting in the power output of the winning cars increasing from 250 hp in 1981, to there being at least two cars producing in excess of 500 by 1986, the final year of Group B in rally. Turbocharged engines weren't common in commercial cars and had only been introduced since the mid-1970s, but in the early and mid-1980s engineers learnt how to extract extraordinary amounts of power from turbo engines. Some Group B manufacturers went further, Peugeot for example, installed an F1-derived Turbo Lag system to their engine, although the technology was new and not very effective. Lancia twincharged their Delta S4, adding both a supercharger and turbocharger to their engine. When the Group N, A and B rules were decided, the weight/engine displacement restrictions were thought the only way to control speed. Nowadays, the power of turbo engines is limited by mandating a restrictor in the intake, and the Groups Rally hierarchy for example, each have limits on weight/engine power (kg/hp).


title: Group B

text: Within all the groups, there were 15 classes based on engine displacement with a 1.4 equivalence factor applied for forced induction engines. Each class had weight limits and wheel sizes. Notable classes for Group B were the 3000 cc class (2142.8 cc with turbo or supercharger), 960 kg minimum weight (Audi Quattro, Lancia 037); and 2500 cc (1785 cc), 890 kg (Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4).


title: Group B

text: The original Renault 5 Turbo had a 1.4 L engine so it was in the 2000 cc class. Renault later increased the size of the engine somewhat for the Turbo Maxi, so as to be able to fit larger tyres (at the expense of somewhat higher weight). The Ferrari 288 GTO and the Porsche 959 were in the 4000 cc (2857 cc), 1100 kg class, which would have probably become the normal class for track racing if Group B had seen much use there.


title: Group B

text: The existing Groups 1-4 were still permitted in the World Rally Championship during the first year of the new groups. Although some freshly homologated Group B cars were entered from the first round in Monte Carlo, no car from the group podiumed at any of the season's 12 rallies.


title: Group B

text: Although the Audi Quattro was still in essence a Group 4 car, it carried Hannu Mikkola to the driver's title in 1983. Lancia had designed a new car to Group B specifications, but the Lancia 037 still had rear wheel drive and was thus less stable than the Audi over different surfaces (generally the Lancia had the upper hand on tarmac, but the Audi remained superior on looser surfaces such as snow and gravel). Nevertheless, the 037 performed well enough for Lancia to capture the manufacturers title, which was generally considered more prestigious at the time, with a rally to spare. In fact, so low was Lancia's regard for the Drivers Championship, they did not enter a single car into the season finale RAC Rally, despite the fact that driver Walter Röhrl was still in the hunt for the title.


title: Group B

text: The low homologation requirements quickly attracted manufacturers to Group B. Opel replaced their production-derived Ascona with the Group B Manta 400, and Toyota built a new car based on their Celica. Like the Lancia 037, both cars were rear wheel drive, and while proving successful in national rallying in various countries, they were less so at the World Championship level, although Toyota won the 1983 Ivory Coast Rally after hiring Swedish desert driving specialist, the late Björn Waldegård.


title: Group B

text: In 1984, Audi beat Lancia for both the manufacturers' title and the drivers' title, the latter of which was won by Stig Blomqvist, but received an unexpected new competition midway through the year: Peugeot had joined the rallying scene with its Group B 205 T16. The T16 also had four wheel drive and was smaller and lighter than the Audi Quattro. At the wheel was the 1981 driver's champion Ari Vatanen, with future Ferrari Formula One team manager and FIA President Jean Todt overseeing the operation. A crash prevented the T16 from winning its first rally but the writing was on the wall for Audi.


title: Group B

text: Despite massive revisions to the Quattro, including a shorter wheelbase, Peugeot dominated the 1985 season. Although not without mishap: Vatanen plunged off the road in Argentina and was seriously injured when his seat mountings broke in the ensuing crash. Timo Salonen won the 1985 champion title with five wins.


title: Group B

text: Although the crash was a sign that Group B cars had already become dangerously quick (despite Vatanen having a consistent record of crashing out while leading), several new Group B cars entered the rallying world in 1985:


title: Group B

text: For the 1986 season, defending champion Timo Salonen had the new Evolution 2 version of Peugeot's 205 T16 with ex Toyota driver, Juha Kankkunen. Audi's new Sport Quattro S1 boasted over 600 hp (450 kW) and a huge snowplough-like front end. Lancia's Delta S4 would be in the hands of the Finnish prodigy Henri Toivonen and Markku Alén, and Ford was ready with its high tech RS200 with Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel.


title: Group B

text: On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of the Portuguese Rally near Sintra, Portuguese driver Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into the spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of the rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy.


title: Group B

text: Disaster struck again in early May at the Tour de Corse. Lancia's Toivonen was the championship favorite, and once the rally got underway he was the pace setter. Seven kilometres into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside. The car landed inverted with the fuel tanks ruptured by the impact. The combination of red hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and ruptured fuel tank ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth. Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto died in their seats. With no witnesses to the accident it was impossible to determine what caused the crash other than Toivonen had left the road at high speed. Some cite Toivonen's ill health at the time (he reportedly was suffering from flu); others suggest mechanical failure, or simply the difficulty of driving the car, although Toivonen had a career full of crashing out while leading rallies. Up until that stage he was leading the rally by a large margin, with no other driver challenging him.


title: Group B

text: The crash came a year after Lancia driver Attilio Bettega had crashed and died in his 037. While that fatality was largely blamed on the unforgiving Corsican scenery (and bad luck, as his co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot, was unharmed), Toivonen and Cresto's deaths, combined with the Portugal tragedy and televised accident of F1 driver Marc Surer in another RS200 which killed co-driver Michel Wyder, compelled the FIA to ban all Group B cars immediately for 1987. Audi decided to quit Group B entirely after the Corsica rally.


title: Group B

text: The final days of Group B were also controversial. The Peugeots were disqualified from the Rally Sanremo by the Italian scrutineers as the 'skirts' around the bottom of the car were found to be illegal. Peugeot immediately accused the Italians of favouring Lancia. Their case was strengthened at the next event, the RAC Rally, when the British scrutineers passed the Peugeots as legal in identical trim. FISA annulled the result of the Sanremo Rally eleven days after the final round in the United States. As a result, the championship title was passed from Lancia's Markku Alén to Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen. Timo Salonen had won another two rallies during the 1986 season and became the most successful group B era driver with a total of seven wins.


title: Group B

text: Although 1987 saw the end of Group B rally car development and their appearance on the world rally scene, they did not disappear. They were still permitted in regional championships providing they met the limit of 1600cc for four-wheel-drive or were homologated prior to 1984. Future FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was one privateer who contested rounds of the 1987 Middle East Rally Championship in an Audi Quattro A2 and Opel Manta 400. Independent teams would enter the European Championship too, though the limited options of permitted Group B cars were not as competitive or ubiquitous as newer Group A cars.


title: Group B

text: Porsche's 959 never entered a WRC event, although it did compete in the Middle East championship and won the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1986. Peugeot adapted their T16 to run in the Dakar Rally. Ari Vatanen won the event in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Improved Peugeot and Audi cars also competed in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. Walter Röhrl's S1 Rally car won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987 and set a new record at the time. Audi used their Group B experience to develop a production based racing car for the Trans-Am and IMSA GTO series in 1988 and 1989 respectively.


title: Group B

text: Many ex-rally cars found homes in European Rallycross events from the beginning of 1987 until the end of 1992. The MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200 became frequent entries in national championships. For 1993, the FIA replaced the Group B models in the European Rallycross Championship with prototypes that had to be based on existing Group A models.


title: Group B

text: As well as the cancellation of Group B, the tragedies of 1986 also brought about the scrapping of Group B's proposed replacement: Group S.


title: Group B

text: Group S rules would have limited car engine power to 300 hp (225 kW). To encourage innovative designs, ten examples of a car would have been required for homologation, rather than the 200 required for Group B. By the time of its cancellation, at least four Group S prototypes had been built: The Lancia ECV, the Toyota MR2-based 222D, the Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4 (a.k.a. Vauxhall Astra 4S) and the Lada Samara S-proto, and new cars were also planned by both Audi (the 002 Quattro) and Ford (a Group S modification of the RS200). The cancellation of Group S angered many rally insiders who believed the new specification to be safer than Group B and more exciting than Group A.


title: Group B

text: The Group S concept was revived by the FIA in 1997 as the World Rally Car specification, which persisted until 2021. WRC cars were limited to and required 2500 examples of a model but, unlike Group S, also had to share certain parts with their base production models.


title: Group B

text: From their introduction in 1982 Group B found a home in the World Endurance Championship, a new name for the World Sports Car Championship, though were secondary to the racing prototype Group C cars. The 1983 season had the first significant entry list including Porsche 930, BMW M1 and Ferrari 308 GTB LM vehicles. Porsche won the FIA GT Cup in 1983, handing it over to BMW in 1984 and 1985. From 1986 the championship retired Group B in favour of IMSA regulated cars and the championship became known as the World Sports-Prototype Championship the same year.


title: Group B

text: The Porsche 961 prototype, intended to be the basis for a Group B homologation, won the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1986 race but crashed and caught fire in 1987. The Ferrari 288 GTO was built and sold the minimum requirement of cars to the public, but never saw action in its category. The WSPC grids it was intended for was filled up by a batch of Group C cars (there would be no production sports car-based racers in European racing, including Le Mans, until 1993), but it saw limited use in an IMSA GTO race in 1989.


title: Group B

text: The era of Group B is often considered one of the most competitive and compelling periods in rallying. The combination of a lightweight chassis, sophisticated aerodynamics and massive amounts of horsepower resulted in the development of a class of cars whose performance has not yet been surpassed within their category, even three decades later. In reference to their dubious safety record, the class has also earned an unsavoury nickname among rally enthusiasts: "Killer B's". In contrast to this, many enthusiasts refer the Group B era as the Golden Age of Rallying.


title: Group B

text: Many racing video games feature Group B cars for the player to drive. The 2017 video game "Gran Turismo Sport" features a rally car category known as "Gr. B", an obvious homage to Group B. This particular category features predominantly fictional rally cars based on newer models, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Subaru WRX STI, although it does include the Pikes Peak version of the Audi Quattro. For the game's sequel, "Gran Turismo 7", an actual Group B car (the Peugeot 205) was added to the class.


title: Mary Astor

text: Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941).


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s. When talkies arrived, her voice was initially considered too masculine and she was off the screen for a year. After she appeared in a play with friend Florence Eldridge, film offers returned, and she resumed her career in sound pictures.


title: Mary Astor

text: In 1936, Astor's career was nearly destroyed by scandal. She had an affair with playwright George S. Kaufman and was branded an adulterous wife by her ex-husband during a custody fight over their daughter. Overcoming these stumbling blocks in her private life, she went on to greater film success, eventually winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of concert pianist Sandra Kovak in "The Great Lie" (1941).


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player through most of the 1940s and continued to work in film, television and on stage until her retirement in 1964. She authored five novels. Her autobiography was a bestseller, as was her later book, "A Life on Film", which was about her career.


title: Mary Astor

text: Director Lindsay Anderson wrote of Astor in 1990 that when "two or three who love the cinema are gathered together, the name of Mary Astor always comes up, and everybody agrees that she was an actress of special attraction, whose qualities of depth and reality always seemed to illuminate the parts she played."


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor was born in Quincy, Illinois, the only child of Otto Ludwig Langhanke (October 2, 1871 – February 3, 1943) and Helen Marie de Vasconcellos (April 19, 1881 – January 18, 1947). Both of her parents were teachers. Her German father emigrated to the United States from Berlin in 1891 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen; her American mother was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, and had Portuguese roots. They married on August 3, 1904, in Lyons, Kansas.


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor's father taught German at Quincy High School until the U.S. entered World War I. Later on, he took up light farming. Astor's mother, who had always wanted to be an actress, taught drama and elocution. Astor was home-schooled in academics and was taught to play the piano by her father, who insisted she practice daily. Her piano talents came in handy when she played piano in her films "The Great Lie" and "Meet Me in St. Louis".


title: Mary Astor

text: In 1919, Astor sent a photograph of herself to a beauty contest in "Motion Picture Magazine", becoming a semifinalist. When Astor was 15, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, with her father teaching German in public schools. Astor took drama lessons and appeared in various amateur stage productions. The following year, she sent another photograph to "Motion Picture Magazine", this time becoming a finalist and then runner-up in the national contest. Her father then moved the family to New York City, in order for his daughter to act in motion pictures. He managed her affairs from September 1920 to June 1930.


title: Mary Astor

text: A Manhattan photographer, Charles Albin, saw her photograph and asked the young girl with haunting eyes and long auburn hair whose nickname was "Rusty" to pose for him. The Albin photographs were seen by Harry Durant of Famous Players-Lasky and Astor was signed to a six-month contract with Paramount Pictures. Her name was changed to Mary Astor during a conference among Paramount Pictures chief Jesse Lasky, film producer Walter Wanger, and gossip columnist Louella Parsons.


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor's first screen test was directed by Lillian Gish, who was so impressed with her recitation of Shakespeare that she shot a thousand feet of her. She made her debut at age 14 in the 1921 film "Sentimental Tommy", but her small part in a dream sequence wound up on the cutting room floor. Paramount let her contract lapse. She then appeared in some movie shorts with sequences based on famous paintings. She received critical recognition for the 1921 two-reeler "The Beggar Maid". Her first feature-length movie was "John Smith" (1922), followed that same year by "The Man Who Played God". In 1923, she and her parents moved to Hollywood.


title: Mary Astor

text: After appearing in several larger roles at various studios, she was again signed by Paramount, this time to a one-year contract at $500 a week. After she appeared in several more movies, John Barrymore saw her photograph in a magazine and wanted her cast in his upcoming movie. On loan-out to Warner Bros., she starred with him in "Beau Brummel" (1924). The older actor wooed the young actress, but their relationship was severely constrained by Astor's parents' unwillingness to let the couple spend time alone together; Mary was only seventeen and legally underage. It was only after Barrymore convinced the Langhankes that his acting lessons required privacy that the couple managed to be alone at all. Their secret engagement ended largely because of the Langhankes' interference and Astor's inability to escape their heavy-handed authority, and because Barrymore became involved with Astor's fellow WAMPAS Baby Star Dolores Costello, whom he later married. In 1925, Astor's parents bought a Moorish style mansion with of land known as "Moorcrest" in the hills above Hollywood. The Langhankes not only lived lavishly off of Astor's earnings, but kept her a virtual prisoner inside Moorcrest. Moorcrest is known not only for its ornate style, but its place as the most lavish residence associated with the Krotona Colony, a utopian society founded by the Theosophical Society in 1912. Built by Marie Russak Hotchener, a Theosophist who had no formal architectural training, the house combines Moorish and Mission Revival styles and contains such Arts and Crafts features as art-glass windows (whose red lotus design Astor called "unfortunate"), and Batchelder tiles. Moorcrest, which has since undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation, remains standing. Before the Langhankes bought it, it was rented by Charlie Chaplin, whose tenure is memorialized by an art glass window featuring the Little Tramp.


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor's parents were not Theosophists, though the family was friendly with both Marie Hotchener and her husband Harry, prominent Theosophical Society members. Marie Hotchener negotiated Astor's right to a $5 a week allowance (at a time when she was making $2,500 a week) and the right to go to work unchaperoned by her mother. The following year when she was 19, Astor, fed up with her father's constant physical and psychological abuse as well as his control of her money, climbed from her second floor bedroom window and escaped to a hotel in Hollywood, as recounted in her memoirs. Hotchener facilitated her return by persuading Otto Langhanke to give Astor a savings account with $500 and the freedom to come and go as she pleased. Nevertheless, she did not gain control of her salary until she was 26 years old, at which point her parents sued her for financial support. Astor settled the case by agreeing to pay her parents $100 a month. Otto Langhanke put Moorcrest up for auction in the early 1930s, hoping to realize more than the $80,000 he had been offered for it; it sold for $25,000.


title: Mary Astor

text: Astor continued to appear in movies at various studios. When her Paramount contract ended in 1925, she was signed at Warner Bros. Among her assignments was another role with John Barrymore, this time in "Don Juan" (1926). She was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, along with Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Joan Crawford, Dolores del Río, Janet Gaynor, and Fay Wray. On loan to Fox Film Corporation, Astor starred in "Dressed to Kill" (1928), which received good reviews, and the sophisticated comedy "Dry Martini" (also 1928). She later said that, while working on the latter, she "absorbed and assumed something of the atmosphere and emotional climate of the picture." She said it offered "a new and exciting point of view; with its specious doctrine of self-indulgence, it rushed into the vacuum of my moral sense and captivated me completely." When her Warner Bros. contract ended, she signed a contract with Fox for $3,750 a week. In 1928, she married director Kenneth Hawks at her family home, Moorcrest. He gave her a Packard automobile as a wedding present and the couple moved into a home high up on Lookout Mountain in Los Angeles above Beverly Hills. As the film industry made the transition to talkies, Fox gave her a sound test, which she failed because the studio found her voice to be too deep. Though this result was probably due to early sound equipment and inexperienced technicians, the studio released her from her contract and she found herself out of work for eight months in 1929.