title: Bowel obstruction

text: Causes of bowel obstruction include adhesions, hernias, volvulus, endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease, appendicitis, tumors, diverticulitis, ischemic bowel, tuberculosis and intussusception. Small bowel obstructions are most often due to adhesions and hernias while large bowel obstructions are most often due to tumors and volvulus. The diagnosis may be made on plain X-rays; however, CT scan is more accurate. Ultrasound or MRI may help in the diagnosis of children or pregnant women.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: The condition may be treated conservatively or with surgery. Typically intravenous fluids are given, a tube is placed through the nose into the stomach to decompress the intestines, and pain medications are given. Antibiotics are often given. In small bowel obstruction about 25% require surgery. Complications may include sepsis, bowel ischemia and bowel perforation.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: About 3.2 million cases of bowel obstruction occurred in 2015 which resulted in 264,000 deaths. Both sexes are equally affected and the condition can occur at any age. Bowel obstruction has been documented throughout history, with cases detailed in the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC and by Hippocrates.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Depending on the level of obstruction, bowel obstruction can present with abdominal pain, swollen abdomen, abdominal distension, and constipation. Bowel obstruction may be complicated by dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities due to vomiting; respiratory compromise from pressure on the diaphragm by a distended abdomen, or aspiration of vomitus; bowel ischemia or perforation from prolonged distension or pressure from a foreign body.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: In small bowel obstruction, the pain tends to be colicky (cramping and intermittent) in nature, with spasms lasting a few minutes. The pain tends to be central and mid-abdominal. Vomiting may occur before constipation.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: In large bowel obstruction, the pain is felt lower in the abdomen and the spasms last longer. Constipation occurs earlier and vomiting may be less prominent. Proximal obstruction of the large bowel may present as small bowel obstruction.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: After abdominal surgery, the incidence of small bowel obstruction from any cause is 9%. In those where the cause of the obstruction was clear, adhesions are the single most common cause (more than half).


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Outlet obstruction is a sub-type of large bowel obstruction and refers to conditions affecting the anorectal region that obstruct defecation, specifically conditions of the pelvic floor and anal sphincters. Outlet obstruction can be classified into four groups.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: The main diagnostic tools are blood tests, X-rays of the abdomen, CT scanning, and ultrasound. If a mass is identified, biopsy may determine the nature of the mass.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Radiological signs of bowel obstruction include bowel distension and the presence of multiple (more than six) gas-fluid levels on supine and erect abdominal radiographs. Ultrasounds may be as useful as CT scanning to make the diagnosis.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Contrast enema or small bowel series or CT scan can be used to define the level of obstruction, whether the obstruction is partial or complete, and to help define the cause of the obstruction. The appearance of water-soluble contrast in the cecum on an abdominal radiograph within 24 hours of it being given by mouth predicts resolution of an adhesive small bowel obstruction with sensitivity of 97% and specificity of 96%.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Colonoscopy, small bowel investigation with ingested camera or push endoscopy, and laparoscopy are other diagnostic options.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Some causes of bowel obstruction may resolve spontaneously; many require operative treatment. In adults, frequently the surgical intervention and the treatment of the causative lesion are required. In malignant large bowel obstruction, endoscopically placed self-expanding metal stents may be used to temporarily relieve the obstruction as a bridge to surgery, or as palliation. Diagnosis of the type of bowel obstruction is normally conducted through initial plain radiograph of the abdomen, luminal contrast studies, computed tomography scan, or ultrasonography prior to determining the best type of treatment.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Further research is needed to find out if parenteral nutrition is of benefit to people with an inoperable blockage of the bowel caused by advanced cancer.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: In the management of small bowel obstructions, a commonly quoted surgical aphorism is: "never let the sun rise or set on small-bowel obstruction" because about 5.5% of small bowel obstructions are ultimately fatal if treatment is delayed. Improvements in radiological imaging of small bowel obstructions allow for confident distinction between simple obstructions, that can be treated conservatively, and obstructions that are surgical emergencies (volvulus, closed-loop obstructions, ischemic bowel, incarcerated hernias, etc.).


title: Bowel obstruction

text: A small flexible tube (nasogastric tube) may be inserted through the nose into the stomach to help decompress the dilated bowel. This tube is uncomfortable but relieves the abdominal cramps, distention, and vomiting. Intravenous therapy is utilized and the urine output is monitored with a catheter in the bladder.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Most people with SBO are initially managed conservatively because in many cases, the bowel will open up. Some adhesions loosen up and the obstruction resolves. The patient is examined several times a day, and X-ray images are made to ensure he or she is not getting clinically worse.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Conservative treatment involves insertion of a nasogastric tube, correction of dehydration and electrolyte abnormalities. Opioid pain relievers may be used for patients with severe pain. Antiemetics may be administered if the patient is vomiting. Adhesive obstructions often settle without surgery. If the obstruction is complete surgery is usually required.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Most patients improve with conservative care in 2–5 days. When the obstruction is cancer, surgery is the only treatment. Those with bowel resection or lysis of adhesions usually stay in the hospital a few more days until they can eat and walk.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Small bowel obstruction caused by Crohn's disease, peritoneal carcinomatosis, sclerosing peritonitis, radiation enteritis, and postpartum bowel obstruction are typically treated conservatively, i.e. without surgery.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: The prognosis for non-ischemic cases of SBO is good with mortality rates of 3–5%, while prognosis for SBO with ischemia is fair with mortality rates as high as 30%.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Cases of SBO related to cancer are more complicated and require additional intervention to address the malignancy, recurrence, and metastasis, and thus are associated with poorer prognosis.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: All cases of abdominal surgical intervention are associated with increased risk of future small-bowel obstructions. Statistics from U.S. healthcare report 18.1% re-admittance rate within 30 days for patients who undergo SBO surgery. More than 90% of patients also form adhesions after major abdominal surgery.


title: Bowel obstruction

text: Common consequences of these adhesions include small-bowel obstruction, chronic abdominal pain, pelvic pain, and infertility.


title: Seetha (actress)

text: Seetha is an Indian actress and producer known for her works predominantly in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu cinema films. She began her acting career in 1985 and was one of the mainstream heroines from 1985.


title: Seetha (actress)

text: Seetha is a film and TV actress and producer. She started acting from 1985 and continued up to 1991. She took a break from acting for sometime and started acting again from 2002. She entered the film industry with the Tamil film "Aan Paavam" in 1985. She acted mainly in Telugu and Tamil films and also acted in few Malayalam and Kannada films. She acted as a lead actress in earlier days and in supporting roles later in her career.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Ahmad Shah Qajar (; 21 January 1898 – 21 February 1930) was Shah of Persia (Iran) from 16 July 1909 to 15 December 1925, and the last ruling member of the Qajar dynasty.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Ahmad Shah was born in Tabriz on 21 January 1898 and ascended to the throne at the age of 12 after the removal of his father Mohammad-Ali Shah by the Parliament on 16 July 1909. Due to his young age, his uncle, Ali-Reza Khan, took charge of his affairs as Regent. Upon reaching his majority Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: On 16 July 1909, Mohammad Ali Shah was overthrown by rebels seeking to restore the 1906 Constitution. The rebels then convened the Grand Majles of 500 delegates from different backgrounds, which placed Ahmad Shah, Mohammad Ali's eleven-year-old son, on the Sun Throne.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: The Grand Majlis enacted many reforms. They abolished class representation and created five new seats in the Majlis for minorities: two seats for Armenians, and one seat each for Jews, Zoroastrians, and Assyrians. The Majles also democratized the electoral system, diminished the electoral dominance of Tehran, and even lowered the voting age from twenty-five to twenty.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Not much is known about Ahmad's early life before his succession to the throne. Due to his young age, his uncle, Ali Reza Khan Azod al-Molk, governed as regent.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Ahmad Shah was formally crowned on 21 July 1914, upon reaching his majority. He attempted to fix the damage done by his father by appointing the best ministers he could find. He was, however, an ineffective ruler who was faced with internal unrest and foreign intrusions, particularly by the British Empire and Russian Empire. Russian and British troops fought against the Ottoman Empire forces in Persia during World War I.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: The Second Majlis convened in November 1910 and just like the First Majlis, did not lead to any relevant accomplishment. The Majlis was rendered ineffective because the central government was weak and did not have enough influence to rein in the changes that it had proposed.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: In 1917, Britain used Persia as the springboard for an attack into Russia in an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the Russian Revolution of 1917. The newly born Soviet Union responded by annexing portions of northern Persia as buffer states much like its Tsarist predecessor. Marching on Tehran, the Soviets extracted ever more humiliating concessions from the Persian government – whose ministers Ahmad Shah was often unable to control. The weakness of the government in the face of such aggression by an atheist foreign power sparked seething anger among many traditional Persians – including the young Ruhollah Khomeini, who would later condemn both Communism and monarchy as treason against Persia's sovereignty and the laws of Islam.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: By 1920, the government had virtually lost all power outside the capital and Ahmad Shah had lost control of the situation. The Anglo-Persian Agreement, along with new political parties, further immobilized the country. The Moderates and Democrats often clashed, particularly when it came to minority rights and secularism. The debates between the two political parties led to violence and even assassinations.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: The weak economic state of Persia put Ahmad Shah and his government at the mercy of foreign influence; they had to obtain loans from the Imperial Bank of Persia. Furthermore, under the Anglo-Persian Agreement, Persia received only a small fraction of the income generated by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. On the other hand, the Red Army along with rebels and warlords ruled much of the countryside.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: On 21 February 1921, Ahmad Shah was pushed aside in a military coup by Colonel Reza Khan, Minister of War and commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, who subsequently seized the post of Prime Minister. During the coup, Reza Khan used three thousand men and only eighteen machine guns, a very bloodless coup that moved forward quickly. One of Khan's first actions was to rescind the unpopular Anglo-Persian Agreement. In addition, he signed the Russo-Persian Treaty of Friendship. This agreement canceled all previous treaties between the two countries and also gave Persia full and equal shipping rights in the Caspian Sea.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Stripped of all his remaining powers, Ahmad Shah went into exile with his family in 1923. Ahmad Shah's apparent lack of interest in attending to the affairs of the state and poor health had prompted him to leave Persia on an extended trip to Europe. He was formally deposed on 31 October 1925, when Reza Khan was proclaimed Shah by the Majlis, as Reza Shah Pahlavi. This terminated the Qajar dynasty.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: The coup of 1921 rendered Ahmad Shah politically weaker and less relevant. In 1923, Ahmad Shah left Persia for Europe for health reasons. Later, the formal termination of the Qajar dynasty by the Majles turned Ahmad Shah's 1923 European tour into exile.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Ahmad Shah died in 1930 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris, France, and was buried in his family crypt in Karbala, Iraq. His brother, former crown prince Mohammad Hassan Mirza, assured the continuation of the dynasty through his descendants. French publications at the time reported that his estate was worth some seventy-five million francs.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: Ahmad Shah Qajar married five times. His first wife was Lydia Jahanbani. He had four children, each by a different wife.


title: Ahmad Shah Qajar

text: He had 12 grandchildren, who respectively carry the last names Albertini, Faroughy, Panahi and Qajar (also spelled Kadjar).


title: Hypovolemia

text: Hypovolemia, also known as volume depletion or volume contraction, is a state of abnormally low extracellular fluid in the body. This may be due to either a loss of both salt and water or a decrease in blood volume. Hypovolemia refers to the loss of extracellular fluid and should not be confused with dehydration.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Hypovolemia is caused by a variety of events, but these can be simplified into two categories: those that are associated with kidney function and those that are not. The signs and symptoms of hypovolemia worsen as the amount of fluid lost increases. Immediately or shortly after mild fluid loss (from blood donation, diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding from trauma, etc.), one may experience headache, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, or thirst. Untreated hypovolemia or excessive and rapid losses of volume may lead to hypovolemic shock. Signs and symptoms of hypovolemic shock include increased heart rate, low blood pressure, pale or cold skin, and altered mental status. When these signs are seen, immediate action should be taken to restore the lost volume.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Early symptoms of hypovolemia include headache, fatigue, weakness, thirst, and dizziness. The more severe signs and symptoms are often associated with hypovolemic shock. These include oliguria, cyanosis, abdominal and chest pain, hypotension, tachycardia, cold hands and feet, and progressively altering mental status.


title: Hypovolemia

text: The signs and symptoms of hypovolemia are primarily due to the consequences of decreased circulating volume and a subsequent reduction in the amount of blood reaching the tissues of the body. In order to properly perform their functions, tissues require the oxygen transported in the blood. A decrease in circulating volume can lead to a decrease in bloodflow to the brain, resulting in headache and dizziness.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Baroreceptors in the body (primarily those located in the carotid sinuses and aortic arch) sense the reduction of circulating fluid and send signals to the brain to increase sympathetic response ("see also: baroreflex"). This sympathetic response is to release epinephrine and norepinephrine, which results in peripheral vasoconstriction (reducing size of blood vessels) in order to conserve the circulating fluids for organs vital to survival (i.e. brain and heart). Peripheral vasoconstriction accounts for the cold extremities (hands and feet), increased heart rate, increased cardiac output (and associated chest pain). Eventually, there will be less perfusion to the kidneys, resulting in decreased urine output.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Hypovolemia can be recognized by a fast heart rate, low blood pressure, and the absence of perfusion as assessed by skin signs (skin turning pale) and/or capillary refill on forehead, lips and nail beds. The patient may feel dizzy, faint, nauseated, or very thirsty. These signs are also characteristic of most types of shock.


title: Hypovolemia

text: In children, compensation can result in an artificially high blood pressure despite hypovolemia (a decrease in blood volume). Children typically are able to compensate (maintain blood pressure despite hypovolemia) for a longer period than adults, but deteriorate rapidly and severely once they are unable to compensate (decompensate). Consequently, any possibility of internal bleeding in children should be treated aggressively.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Signs of external bleeding should be assessed, noting that individuals can bleed internally without external blood loss or otherwise apparent signs.


title: Hypovolemia

text: There should be considered possible mechanisms of injury that may have caused internal bleeding, such as ruptured or bruised internal organs. If trained to do so and if the situation permits, there should be conducted a secondary survey and checked the chest and abdomen for pain, deformity, guarding, discoloration or swelling. Bleeding into the abdominal cavity can cause the classical bruising patterns of Grey Turner's sign (bruising along the sides) or Cullen's sign (around the navel).


title: Hypovolemia

text: Untreated hypovolemia can lead to shock (see also: hypovolemic shock). Most sources state that there are 4 stages of hypovolemia and subsequent shock; however, a number of other systems exist with as many as 6 stages.


title: Hypovolemia

text: The 4 stages are sometimes known as the "Tennis" staging of hypovolemic shock, as the stages of blood loss (under 15% of volume, 15–30% of volume, 30–40% of volume and above 40% of volume) mimic the scores in a game of tennis: 15, 15–30, 30–40 and 40. It is basically the same as used in classifying bleeding by blood loss.


title: Hypovolemia

text: The most important step in treatment of hypovolemic shock is to identify and control the source of bleeding.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Medical personnel should immediately supply emergency oxygen to increase efficiency of the patient's remaining blood supply. This intervention can be life-saving.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Also, the respiratory pump is especially important during hypovolemia as spontaneous breathing may help reduce the effect of this loss of blood pressure on stroke volume by increasing venous return.


title: Hypovolemia

text: The use of intravenous fluids (IVs) may help compensate for lost fluid volume, but IV fluids cannot carry oxygen the way blood does—however, researchers are developing blood substitutes that can. Infusing colloid or crystalloid IV fluids also dilutes clotting factors in the blood, increasing the risk of bleeding. Current best practice allow permissive hypotension in patients with hypovolemic shock, both avoid overly diluting clotting factors and avoid artificially raising blood pressure to a point where it "blows off" clots that have formed.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Fluid replacement is beneficial in hypovolemia of stage 2, and is necessary in stage 3 and 4. See also the discussion of shock and the importance of treating reversible shock while it can still be countered.


title: Hypovolemia

text: Vasopressors (such as dopamine and noradrenaline) should generally be avoided, as they may result in further tissue ischemia and don't correct the primary problem. Fluids are the preferred choice of therapy.


title: Hypovolemia

text: In cases where loss of blood volume is clearly attributable to bleeding (as opposed to, e.g., dehydration), most medical practitioners prefer the term "exsanguination" for its greater specificity and descriptiveness, with the effect that the latter term is now more common in the relevant context.


title: Hat

text: A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechanical features, such as visors, spikes, flaps, braces or beer holders shade into the broader category of headgear.


title: Hat

text: In the past, hats were an indicator of social status. In the military, hats may denote nationality, branch of service, rank or regiment. Police typically wear distinctive hats such as peaked caps or brimmed hats, such as those worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Some hats have a protective function. As examples, the hard hat protects construction workers' heads from injury by falling objects, a British police Custodian helmet protects the officer's head, a sun hat shades the face and shoulders from the sun, a cowboy hat protects against sun and rain and an ushanka fur hat with fold-down earflaps keeps the head and ears warm. Some hats are worn for ceremonial purposes, such as the mortarboard, which is worn (or carried) during university graduation ceremonies. Some hats are worn by members of a certain profession, such as the Toque worn by chefs, or the mitre worn by Christian bishops. Adherents of certain religions regularly wear hats, such as the turban worn by Sikhs, or the church hat that is worn as a headcovering by Christian women during prayer and worship.


title: Hat

text: While there are not many official records of hats before 3,000 BC, they probably were commonplace before that. The 27,000-to-30,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf figurine may depict a woman wearing a woven hat. One of the earliest known confirmed hats was worn by a Bronze Age man (nicknamed Ötzi) whose body (including his hat) was found frozen in a mountain between Austria and Italy, where he had been since around 3250 BC. He was found wearing a bearskin cap with a chin strap, made of several hides stitched together, essentially resembling a Russian fur hat without the flaps.


title: Hat

text: One of the first pictorial depictions of a hat appears in a tomb painting from Thebes, Egypt, which shows a man wearing a conical straw hat, dated to around 3200 BC. Hats were commonly worn in ancient Egypt. Many upper-class Egyptians shaved their heads, then covered it in a headdress intended to help them keep cool. Ancient Mesopotamians often wore conical hats or ones shaped somewhat like an inverted vase.


title: Hat

text: Other early hats include the Pileus, a simple skull-like cap; the Phrygian cap, worn by freed slaves in Greece and Rome (which became iconic in America during the Revolutionary War and the French Revolution, as a symbol of the struggle for liberty against the Monarchy); and the Greek petasos, the first known hat with a brim. Women wore veils, kerchiefs, hoods, caps and wimples.


title: Hat

text: Like Ötzi, the Tollund Man was preserved to the present day with a hat on, probably having died around 400 BC in a Danish bog, which mummified him. He wore a pointed cap made of sheepskin and wool, fastened under the chin by a hide thong.


title: Hat

text: St. Clement, the patron saint of felt hatmakers, is said to have discovered felt when he filled his sandals with flax fibers to protect his feet, around 800 AD.


title: Hat

text: In the Middle Ages, hats were a marker of social status and used to single out certain groups. The 1215 Fourth Council of the Lateran required that all Jews identify themselves by wearing the Judenhat ("Jewish hat"), marking them as targets for anti-Semitism. The hats were usually yellow and were either pointed or square.


title: Hat

text: In the Middle Ages, hats for women ranged from simple scarves to elaborate hennin, and denoted social status. Structured hats for women similar to those of male courtiers began to be worn in the late 16th century. The term 'milliner' comes from the Italian city of Milan, where the best quality hats were made in the 18th century. Millinery was traditionally a woman's occupation, with the milliner not only creating hats and bonnets but also choosing lace, trimmings and accessories to complete an outfit.


title: Hat

text: In the first half of the 19th century, women wore bonnets that gradually became larger, decorated with ribbons, flowers, feathers, and gauze trims. By the end of the century, many other styles were introduced, among them hats with wide brims and flat crowns, the flower pot and the toque. By the middle of the 1920s, when women began to cut their hair short, they chose hats that hugged the head like a helmet.


title: Hat

text: The tradition of wearing hats to horse racing events began at the Royal Ascot in Britain, which maintains a strict dress code. All guests in the Royal Enclosure must wear hats. This tradition was adopted at other horse racing events, such as the Kentucky Derby in the United States.


title: Hat

text: Extravagant hats were popular in the 1980s, and in the early 21st century, flamboyant hats made a comeback, with a new wave of competitive young milliners designing creations that include turban caps, trompe-l'œil-effect felt hats and tall headpieces made of human hair. Some new hat collections have been described as "wearable sculpture". Many pop stars, among them Lady Gaga, have commissioned hats as publicity stunts.


title: Hat

text: One of the most famous London hatters is James Lock & Co. of St James's Street. The shop claims to be the oldest operating hat shop in the world. Another was Sharp & Davis of 6 Fish Street Hill. In the late 20th century, museums credited London-based David Shilling with reinventing hats worldwide. Notable Belgian hat designers are Elvis Pompilio and Fabienne Delvigne (Royal warrant of appointment holder), whose hats are worn by European royals. Philip Treacy OBE is an Irish milliner whose hats have been commissioned by top designers and worn at royal weddings. In North America, the well-known cowboy-hat manufacturer Stetson made the headgear for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Texas Rangers. John Cavanagh was one of the notable American hatters. Italian hat maker Borsalino has covered the heads of Hollywood stars and the world's rich and famous.


title: Hat

text: The Philippi Collection is a collection of religious headgear assembled by a German entrepreneur, Dieter Philippi, located in Kirkel. The collection features over 500 hats, and is currently the world's largest collection of clerical, ecclesiastical and religious head coverings.


title: Hat

text: This is a short list of some common and iconic examples of hats. There is a longer version at List of hat styles.


title: Hat

text: Hat sizes are determined by measuring the circumference of a person's head about above the ears. Inches or centimeters may be used depending on the manufacturer. Felt hats can be stretched for a custom fit. Some hats, like hard hats and baseball caps, are adjustable. Cheaper hats come in "standard sizes", such as small, medium, large, extra large: the mapping of measured size to the various "standard sizes" varies from maker to maker and style to style, as can be seen by studying various catalogues, such as Hammacher Schlemmer.


title: Hat

text: Note that US hat size is a measurement of head diameter in inches. It can be computed from a measurement of circumference in centimeters by dividing by 8, because multiplying 2.54 (the number of centimeters per inch) by (the multiplier to give circumference from diameter) is almost exactly 8.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They primarily address the difficult economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, representing changes in the Italian psyche and conditions of everyday life, including poverty, oppression, injustice and desperation.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Italian neorealism came about as World War II ended and Benito Mussolini's government fell, causing the Italian film industry to lose its centre. Neorealism was a sign of cultural and social change in Italy. Its films presented contemporary stories and ideas and were often shot on location as the Cinecittà film studios had been damaged significantly during the war.


title: Italian neorealism

text: The neorealist style was developed by a circle of film critics that revolved around the magazine "Cinema", including:


title: Italian neorealism

text: Largely prevented from writing about politics (the editor-in-chief of the magazine was Vittorio Mussolini, son of Benito Mussolini), the critics attacked the "Telefoni Bianchi" ("white telephone") films that dominated the industry at the time. As a counter to the popular mainstream films, some critics felt that Italian cinema should turn to the realist writers from the turn of the 20th century.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Many of the filmmakers involved in neorealism developed their skills working on Calligrafismo films in the early 1940s (though the short-lived movement was markedly different from neorealism). Elements of neorealism are also found in the films of Alessandro Blasetti and the documentary-style films of Francesco De Robertis. Two of the most significant precursors of neorealism are Jean Renoir's "Toni" (1935) and Blasetti's "1860" (1934). Both Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni worked closely with Renoir.


title: Italian neorealism

text: In the spring of 1945, Mussolini was executed and Italy was liberated from German occupation. This period, known as the "Italian Spring," broke from old ways and fostered a more realistic approach to making films. Italian cinema went from utilizing elaborate studio sets to shooting on location in the countryside and city streets in a realist style.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Although the true beginning of neorealism has been widely contested by theorists and filmmakers, the first neorealist film is generally thought to be Visconti's "Ossessione", released in 1943, during the occupation. Neorealism became famous globally in 1946 with Roberto Rossellini's "Rome, Open City", when it won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival as the first major film produced in Italy after the war.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Italian neorealism rapidly declined in the early 1950s. Liberal and socialist parties were having difficulties presenting their message. The vision of the existing poverty and despair, presented by neorealist cinema, was demoralizing a nation anxious for prosperity and change. Additionally, the first positive effects of the Italian economic miracle periodsuch as gradual rises in income levelscaused the themes of neorealism to lose their relevance. As a consequence, most Italians favored the optimism shown in many American movies of the time. The views of the post-war Italian government of the time were also far from positive, and the remark of Giulio Andreotti, who was then a vice-minister in the De Gasperi cabinet, characterized the official view of the movement: Neorealism is "dirty laundry that shouldn't be washed and hung to dry in the open".


title: Italian neorealism

text: Italy's move from individual concern with neorealism to the tragic frailty of the human condition can be seen through Federico Fellini's films. His early works "La Strada" (1954) and "Il bidone" (1955) are transitional movies. The larger social concerns of humanity, treated by neorealists, gave way to the exploration of individuals. Their needs, their alienation from society and their tragic failure to communicate became the main focal point in the Italian films to follow in the 1960s. Similarly, Antonioni's "Red Desert" (1964) and "Blow-up" (1966) take the neorealist trappings and internalise them in the suffering and search for knowledge brought out by Italy's post-war economic and political climate.


title: Italian neorealism

text: In the early 1950s the neorealist torch was picked up by artists like Sicily's Bruno Caruso, whose work focused on the warehouses, shipyards and psychiatric wards of his native Palermo.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Neorealist films were generally filmed with nonprofessional actors, although in a number of cases, well-known actors were cast in leading roles, playing strongly against their normal character types in front of a background populated by local people rather than extras brought in for the film.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Neorealist films typically explore the conditions of the poor and the lower working class. Characters often exist within a simple social order where survival is the primary objective. Performances are mostly constructed from scenes of people performing fairly mundane and quotidian activities, devoid of the self-consciousness that amateur acting usually entails. Neorealist films often feature children in major roles, though their characters are frequently more observational than participatory.


title: Italian neorealism

text: "Open City" established several of the principles of neorealism, depicting clearly the struggle of normal Italian people to live from day to day under the extraordinary difficulties of the German occupation of Rome, consciously doing what they can to resist the occupation. The children play a key role in this, and their presence at the end of the film is indicative of their role in neorealism as a whole: as observers of the difficulties of today who hold the key to the future. Vittorio De Sica's 1948 film "Bicycle Thieves" is also representative of the genre, with non-professional actors, and a story that details the hardships of working-class life after the war.


title: Italian neorealism

text: In the period from 1944 to 1948, many neorealist filmmakers drifted away from pure neorealism. Some directors explored allegorical fantasy, such as de Sica's "Miracle in Milan", and historical spectacle, like "Senso" by Visconti. It was also the time period when a more upbeat neorealism emerged, which produced films that melded working-class characters with 1930s-style populist comedy, as seen in de Sica's "Umberto D".


title: Italian neorealism

text: At the height of neorealism, in 1948, Visconti adapted "I Malavoglia", a novel by Giovanni Verga, written during the 19th century realist verismo movement, bringing the story to a modern setting, which resulted in remarkably little change in either the plot or the tone. The resulting film, "The Earth Trembles", starred only nonprofessional actors and was filmed in the same village (Aci Trezza) in which the novel was set.


title: Italian neorealism

text: More contemporary theorists of Italian neorealism characterize it less as a consistent set of stylistic characteristics and more as the relationship between film practice and the social reality of post-war Italy. Millicent Marcus delineates the lack of consistent film styles of neorealist film. Peter Brunette and Marcia Landy both deconstruct the use of reworked cinematic forms in Rossellini's "Open City". Using psychoanalysis, Vincent Rocchio characterizes neorealist film as consistently engendering the structure of anxiety into the structure of the plot itself.


title: Italian neorealism

text: The period between 1943 and 1950 in the history of Italian cinema is dominated by the impact of neorealism, which is properly defined as a moment or a trend in Italian film rather than an actual school or group of theoretically motivated and like-minded directors and scriptwriters. Its impact nevertheless has been enormous not only on Italian film but also on French New Wave cinema, the Polish Film School, Brazilian Cinema Novo and ultimately on films all over the world. It also influenced film directors of India's Parallel Cinema movement, including Satyajit Ray (who directed the award-winning "Apu Trilogy") and Bimal Roy (who made "Do Bigha Zameen" [1953]), both heavily influenced by Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves" (1948).


title: Italian neorealism

text: Furthermore, as some critics have argued, the abandoning of the classical way of doing cinema and so the starting point of the French New Wave and the Modern Cinema can be found in the post-war Italian cinema and in the neorealism experiences. In particular,


title: Italian neorealism

text: this cinema seems to be constituted as a new subject of knowledge, which itself builds and develops. It produces a new world in which the main elements have not so many narrative functions as they have their own aesthetic value, related with the eye that is watching them and not with the action they are coming from.


title: Italian neorealism

text: Although "Umberto D." is considered the end of the neorealist period, later films such as Federico Fellini's "La Strada" (1954) and De Sica's 1960 film "Two Women" (for which Sophia Loren won the Oscar for Best Actress) are grouped with the genre. Director Pier Paolo Pasolini's first film, "Accattone" (1961), shows a strong neorealist influence. The Neorealist period is often simply referred to as "The Golden Age" of Italian cinema by critics, filmmakers and scholars.


title: Italian neorealism

text: The extent to which Italian neorealism was truly innovative continues to be debated among film historians. Despite its wide influence, some have argued that it was more a revival of earlier Italian creative works than a groundbreaking movement. Important forerunners of Italian neorealism include:


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a royal palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples of both the fort and of the town below are built of finely sculptured sandstone. The town lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (the Great Indian Desert) and has a population, including the residents of the fort, of about 78,000. It is the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer District. Jaisalmer was once the capital of Jaisalmer State.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer was founded by Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD. "Jaisalmer" means "the Hill Fort of Jaisal". Jaisalmer is sometimes called the "Golden City of India" because the yellow sandstone used throughout the architecture of both the fort and the town below, imbues both with a certain golden-yellow light.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer, being an arid desert region, is prone to extremes in terms of temperature. The temperature varies greatly from day to night in both summer and winter. The maximum summer temperature is around while the minimum is . The maximum winter temperature is usually around and the minimum is . The average rainfall is . Highest ever recorded temperature was ; the lowest ever recorded temperature being . Temperature of up to have been recorded near the international border close to Pakistan, but standard conditions of this temperature recording remain unverified.


title: Jaisalmer

text: According to the 2011 census, Jaisalmer had a population of 65,471. Around 90% of the population is Hindu, 8.20% is Muslim and the remaining are Sikhs, Christians and Jains.


title: Jaisalmer

text: The Government of India initiated departmental exploration for oil in 1955–56 in the Jaisalmer area. Oil India Limited discovered natural gas in 1988 in the Jaisalmer basin.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Musicians and dancers are also a major cultural export from Jaisalmer to the rest of the world. Manganiyar musicians have played the world over, and Queen Harish, the dancing desert drag queen, has toured the world over and has featured in international movies.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer is connected to the rest of Rajasthan by buses provided by Rajasthan State Transport Corporation as well as other private bus operators.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer Airport is located 17 kilometres southeast of Jaisalmer. Flights serve Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat and Jodhpur.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer railway station runs daily trains between Jaisalmer and Jaipur, through which it is connected to Delhi and other cities all over India. This station comes under Jodhpur (JU) division of the Northwestern Railway (NWR). Additionally, there exists a luxury tourist train known as Palace On Wheels, which covers the major tourist destinations of Rajasthan, including Jaisalmer.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Built in 1156 by the Bhati Rajput ruler Jaisal, Jaisalmer Fort, situated on Meru Hill and named as "Trikoot Garh" has been the scene of many battles. Its massive sandstone walls are a tiny lion colour during the day, turning to a magical honey-gold as the sun sets. The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray wrote a detective novel and later turned it into a film − "Sonar Kella" (The Golden Fortress) which was based on this fort. About a quarter of city's population still live inside the fort. The main attractions inside the fort are: Raj Mahal (Royal palace), Jain temples and the Laxminath temple.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer has been enriched by its Jain community, which has adorned the city with beautiful temples, notably the temples dedicated to the 16th Tirthankara, Shantinath, and 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanath.


title: Jaisalmer

text: There are seven Jain temples in total which are situated within the Jaisalmer fort built during the 12th and 15th centuries. Among these temples, the biggest is the "Paraswanath Temple"; the others are "Chandraprabhu temple", "Rishabdev temple", "Shitalnath Temple", "Kunthunath Temple", and "Shantinath Temple". Known for their exquisite work of art and architecture that was predominant in the medieval era the temples are built out of yellow sandstone and have intricate engravings on them.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Jaisalmer has some of the oldest libraries of India which contain rarest of the manuscripts and artefacts of Jain tradition. There are many pilgrimage centres around Jaisalmer such as Lodhruva (Lodarva), Amarsagar, Brahmsar and Pokharan.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Ramdevra a village in Jaisalmer is named after Baba Ramdevji, a Tanwar Rajput and a saint who took Samādhi in 1384 CE, at the age of 33 years. He is worshiped today by many social groups of India as Ishta-deva.


title: Jaisalmer

text: Desert Festival of Jaisalmer is the most awaited and famous cultural and colourful event of Rajasthan. Camel races, Turban-tying and Mr. Desert competitions are organised. It is held in the month of February every year. The festival showcases Rajasthani folk songs and dance and it is very attractive to foreign tourists. Gair and Fire dancers which are the major attraction of the Jaisalmer desert festival celebrations. This is the best time to visit Jaisalmer to witness performing arts like Kalbelia dances and folk songs and music.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand (born May 28, 1981) is a French-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist of the dream pop duo Beach House.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Legrand was born in Paris, France, the daughter of painter Olivier Legrand () and niece of the French composer Michel Legrand and vocalist Christiane Legrand of The Swingle Singers. She spent her early years in Paris until age six, when her family moved to the United States, first briefly living in Baltimore, Maryland, before relocating to rural Cecil County. The family subsequently moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Legrand spent her adolescent and teenage years. She is fluent in both French and English.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Legrand studied piano throughout her early life and adolescence, and, as a teenager, performed in a Led Zeppelin cover band. She graduated from the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1999, and subsequently attended Vassar College, where she majored in drama. After graduating in 2003, she relocated to Paris to study acting at the International Theatre School of Jacques Lecoq. After becoming "disenchanted with theater school" and more interested in songwriting and in musical artists such as Le Tigre and Yo La Tengo, she dropped out of the program and returned to the United States, settling in Baltimore.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: In 2004, Legrand met Baltimore native Alex Scally, and they quickly formed a two-piece band. Legrand often mentions how organically they work together, and how, in Scally, she found her "musical soulmate." The two have recorded eight studio albums as Beach House: "Beach House" (2006), "Devotion" (2008), "Teen Dream" (2010), "Bloom" (2012), "Depression Cherry" (2015), "Thank Your Lucky Stars" (2015), "7" (2018), and "Once Twice Melody" (2022).


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Legrand possesses a contralto vocal range. Some music outlets have compared her vocals to those of Nico and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Legrand and Scally write music anywhere between eight and 16 hours a day, and strive to create thoughtful music they feel strongly about. Legrand often emphasizes the honesty, thoughtfulness, and authenticity Beach House tries to get across in their music. Legrand laments the references to Beach House as being "wafty, wavy, floaty, dreamy," and insists on the band's loudness and all-encompassing soundscapes they create: "We "are" a loud band. OK, so it's not abrasive, but it's not soft."


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Legrand has said in interviews that she wishes audiences would focus on the craft of their songwriting; She commented, "what you're feeling is the craft, that everything is there with intention," as opposed to the individual sounds that surround "the real meat of it all...There's a lot of great sounds in music, but it's not gonna necessarily make you feel something." She is protective of the identity of the band and cautiously chooses how they expose themselves to their audience.


title: Victoria Legrand

text: Musically, she has cited The Cure, the Cocteau Twins, Gene Clark, Neil Young, and Courtney Love as influences.


title: Challengers (film)

text: Challengers is an upcoming American romantic sports comedy film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes. Its cast includes Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor.


title: Challengers (film)

text: The wife and coach of a famed tennis player in the middle of a losing streak signs him up for a Challenger event, where they discover he will compete against his wife's former lover.


title: Challengers (film)

text: It was announced in February 2022 that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had landed the film, which would see Luca Guadagnino direct and Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist cast to star. Zendaya will also serve as a producer on the film. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom serves as cinematographer. In a 2022 interview with Collider, Guadagnino cited Kuritzkes’ screenplay, Amy Pascal, and Zendaya as inspirations for making the film.


title: Challengers (film)

text: Principal photography began on May 3, 2022, in Boston, where a casting call took place for local residents to audition to play tennis players, general extras, and stand-ins.In preparation for her role, Zendaya spent three months training with pro-tennis player-turned-coach Brad Gilbert. Filming occurred in and around the Back Bay and East Boston neighborhoods. Filming wrapped on June 26, 2022. Guadagnino visited Zendaya on the set of "" in order to complete ADR for "Challengers". Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will compose the film's score, having previously worked with Guadagnino on "Bones and All".


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: The 2003 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on 28 May 2003 to decide the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. The match was contested by two Italian teams: Juventus and Milan. The match made history as it was the first time two clubs from Italy had faced each other in the final. It was also the second intra-national final of the competition, following the all-Spanish 2000 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Valencia three years earlier. Milan won the match via a penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 0–0 after extra time. It gave Milan their sixth success in the European Cup.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Juventus entered the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League as 2001–02 Serie A champions and so qualified for the group phase, Milan finished fourth so started off in the third qualifying round.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Juventus went into the Champions League Final as champions of Italy for the 27th time. Milan came third in the league, finishing with eleven fewer points than Juventus, but would win the 2002–03 Coppa Italia. The league games between the two teams in 2002–03 had each side winning their home fixture 2–1.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Milan won Group G of the first group round, a group that also included Bayern Munich, Lens and Deportivo La Coruña, advancing to the second group round where they won Group C. They defeated Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lokomotiv Moscow. They lost only two matches (Dortmund 1–0, and Real Madrid 3–1), and advanced to the quarter-finals where they met Ajax. The first leg was a draw (0–0) so the decisive match was the one at the San Siro which Milan won (3–2). In the semi-finals, they met local rivals Inter Milan. Both matches finished equal (0–0; 1–1), but Milan advanced on the away goals rule, despite both teams technically playing at home.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Juventus won Group E of the first group round, in which the other teams were Newcastle United, Dynamo Kyiv and Feyenoord. They finished second in Group D of the second group round, after Manchester United, due to their losses against the English side (2–1; 3–0) and against Basel (2–1), but they qualified to the quarter-finals where they eliminated Barcelona in extra-time (1–1; 2–1). In the semi-final, Juventus met Real Madrid; they lost the first match (2–1), but they won the second (3–1), key midfielder Pavel Nedved picked up a second yellow card which meant he was suspended for the final.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, was selected to host the match in December 2001, following a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Nyon, Switzerland, at the same time as Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville was selected to host the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. It was selected ahead of the likes of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis near Paris, and the Amsterdam Arena.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: It would be the first time the stadium had hosted a major European final, although it had been the venue for both the two-legged 1968 Intercontinental Cup between Manchester United and Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata, and the 1991 European Super Cup between Manchester United and Yugoslavian club Red Star Belgrade, which had been scheduled to be played over two legs, only for the Yugoslavian leg to be cancelled due to the wars in the country at the time.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: The stadium had recently undergone a major expansion; following the mandatory conversion to an all-seater venue as a result of the Taylor Report and ahead of England hosting UEFA Euro 1996, the stadium's North Stand was expanded to three tiers, with a capacity of 25,500 spectators. This was followed by the addition of second tiers to the East and West Stands, which brought the overall capacity of the stadium to 68,217.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: As has taken place for every Champions League final since 1997, a ceremonial handover of the European Champion Clubs' Cup from the holders to the host city took place on 3 April 2003. After receiving the trophy from a representative of holders Real Madrid in the ceremony at the Manchester Town Hall, UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner presented it to the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Roy Walters. Former Real Madrid players Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Amancio and Emilio Butragueño, as were Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, members of the club's 1968 European Cup Final team, and members of Liverpool and Manchester City's past European trophy-winning teams.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Also in April 2003, a 24-hour football match – named the "Starball Match" in reference to the logo of the UEFA Champions League – was played in Manchester's Albert Square. It was the second Starball Match, after the inaugural match was held in Glasgow ahead of the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final at Hampden Park. Over 1,000 players participated in the match, playing for sides named "Internazionale Manchester" and "Real Mancunian", in reference to Italian club Inter Milan and Spanish club Real Madrid. Internazionale Manchester won the match 252–162.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: After a brisk start, Milan had an Andriy Shevchenko goal ruled out after Rui Costa was deemed to have blocked Gianluigi Buffon's line of view from an offside position, although television replays showed that the Portuguese had moved out of Buffon's line of sight before the shot. Antonio Conte nearly scored for Juventus after coming on as a substitute in the second half, his header clattering against the post with Dida beaten. Andrea Pirlo also hit the bar for Milan. In the second half, both teams began to sit back and created few chances.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: Both Juventus and Milan had injuries to defenders, Juventus' Igor Tudor leaving early in the first half after pulling a muscle in his right thigh. In extra time, Roque Júnior limped out due to fatigue and injury; as they had made all three of their allowed substitutions, they had to play the rest of the game with 10 men.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: The penalty shoot-out has caused controversy among some fans as replays showed that Dida was in front of the goal line when saving penalties from David Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero. Buffon was also off his line when saving penalties from Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze. Shevchenko put away the final penalty to win the European Cup for Milan for the sixth time.


title: 2003 UEFA Champions League Final

text: The teams would again meet in a feature final several months later in the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana in the United States. The game again required penalties to determine the winners, this time, however, Juventus came out on top.


title: Sam Reich

text: Sam Reich ( ; born July 22, 1984) is an American CEO, businessman, and game show host. He is best known for his work with CollegeHumor (which as of 2020, he majority owns), the TV show "Adam Ruins Everything", as well as hosting the web series "Game Changer."


title: Sam Reich

text: Sam is the son of Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, and Clare Dalton, a retired law professor at Northeastern University. His brother, Adam Reich, is a sociology professor at Columbia University. He is of Jewish descent.


title: Sam Reich

text: In 2000, Reich dropped out of Buckingham Browne & Nichols High School as a result of clinical depression and in order to pursue acting. Shortly thereafter, he moved to New York and founded the comedy group Dutch West, which focused on making comedy videos for the internet. After being discovered by CollegeHumor in 2006, he was hired as Director of Original Content. He was then promoted to President of Original Content along with the premiere of "The CollegeHumor Show" on MTV in 2009.


title: Sam Reich

text: In 2014, Reich founded Big Breakfast, CollegeHumor's offshoot production company, and moved CollegeHumor's video team to Los Angeles. The company has since produced "Adam Ruins Everything" on TruTV; "Middle of the Night Show" on MTV; "Time Traveling Bong" on Comedy Central; "The Britishes" on DirecTV; "I Want My Phone Back" on Comcast's Watchable; and "Bad Internet" and "Rhett and Link's Buddy System" on YouTube Red.


title: Sam Reich

text: Reich is married to actress and writer Elaine Carroll, whom he met during summer camp in 2000. Together, they have collaborated on the web series "Very Mary-Kate" and "Precious Plum".


title: Sam Reich

text: With CollegeHumor, he has collaborated on music videos with "Weird Al" Yankovic and former United States First Lady Michelle Obama.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The 1993 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1992–93 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. It featured the two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, and the Western Conference playoff champion Phoenix Suns, winners of 62 games and led by regular season MVP Charles Barkley. The Bulls became the first team since the Boston Celtics of the 1960s to win three consecutive championship titles, clinching the "three-peat" with John Paxson's game-winning 3-pointer that gave them a 99–98 victory in Game 6.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: With two consecutive NBA championships, the Bulls aimed at an elusive 'three-peat'. No team had won a third consecutive NBA title since the Boston Celtics achieved a run of eight titles in a row from 1959 to 1966.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: In the offseason, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen played for the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, winning the gold medal. They entered the new season with little rest, but it did not stop both Jordan and Pippen from leading the Bulls to a 57–25 record, good for second in the Eastern Conference.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Chicago began its push for a 'three-peat' with back-to-back sweeps of the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers. But against the top-seeded New York Knicks, the Bulls fell behind 2–0, before winning the next two games in Chicago, tying the series. In a crucial Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, the Bulls stole a rare road victory, aided by an array of blocks on Charles Smith in the final seconds, before wrapping up the series in Game 6 at Chicago Stadium.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The Suns were a team on the rise, led by their All-Star point guard Kevin Johnson. Johnson arrived via trade in 1988, and propelled the Suns to two consecutive trips to the conference finals in his first two full seasons.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: In the 1992 offseason, the Suns made a blockbuster trade, acquiring Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang. They also hired Paul Westphal as head coach, unveiled new logos and uniforms, and moved to the brand new America West Arena from the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The Suns made the most of these moves, winning a franchise record 62 games. Barkley's efforts won him the MVP award. However, in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the Suns fell down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers, before rallying to defeat them in five games. In the second round the Suns defeated the San Antonio Spurs in six games, and were again pushed to a decisive game seven by the Seattle SuperSonics before ultimately winning the conference finals. For the Suns, it was their first NBA finals appearance since 1976 and second overall.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Phoenix displayed an introduction animation in the vein of Chicago's well-known intro animation, set to the same song, before the game, which was remarked upon by the commentators. Before the game, a moment of silence was observed in memory of New Jersey Nets guard Dražen Petrović, who had been killed in a car accident two days earlier. The Bulls led the game from start to finish, and were able to quell several rallies from the Suns throughout.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Both teams were locked in battle throughout the first half until Chicago took over in the 2nd quarter, shooting with a higher shooting percentage. In the second half, the Suns began to pressure the Bulls, but ran into trouble when Kevin Johnson fouled out, and Charles Barkley suffered an elbow injury. Late in the 4th quarter with time running out, it came down to a battle of determination. Scottie Pippen blocked Danny Ainge's 3-point attempt to seal the win and Phoenix became the first team to lose their home-court advantage twice in the first two games of the NBA Finals (the Orlando Magic did this two years later).


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The Phoenix Suns won Game 3 in triple overtime, 129–121. Suns Head Coach Paul Westphal became the only person to appear in two triple-overtime finals games: the first was the classic 1976 Game 5 contest against Boston as a player. His Suns also became the only team to appear in two triple-overtime finals games, the first of which they lost 126–128. Westphal made a surprising move that paid off, helping to get Kevin Johnson back on track after Johnson had two terrible performances in Games 1 and 2, by having him guard Michael Jordan. KJ played much better all-around basketball for the rest of the Finals.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Suns: Kevin Johnson 25, Dan Majerle 28, Charles Barkley 24, Mark West 11, Richard Dumas 17, Danny Ainge 10, Tom Chambers 12, Oliver Miller 2, Frank Johnson 0, Jerrod Mustaf 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Bulls: B. J. Armstrong 21, Michael Jordan 44, Scottie Pippen 26, Horace Grant 13, Bill Cartwright 8, Scott Williams 4, Trent Tucker 3, Stacey King 0, John Paxson 2, Darrell Walker 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: In Game 4, Michael Jordan was unstoppable, scoring 55 points at Chicago Stadium and making a tough driving layup late in the game while getting fouled. The Bulls won 111–105. Scott Williams, who like MJ played his college basketball at UNC for Dean Smith, joked afterwards about "being proud that the two former Tar Heels combined for 57 points."


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Suns: Charles Barkley 32, Dan Majerle 14, Kevin Johnson 19, Richard Dumas 17, Mark West 8, Tom Chambers 7, Danny Ainge 2, Oliver Miller 2, Frank Johnson 4


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Bulls: Michael Jordan 55, Scottie Pippen 14, Horace Grant 17, B. J. Armstrong 11, Bill Cartwright 3, John Paxson 6, Scott Williams 2, Stacey King 3, Rodney McCray 0, Darrell Walker 0, Trent Tucker 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Before Game 5, Charles Barkley told the press he had announced to his teammates that they needed to win to "Save the City", a reference to the riots anticipated in Chicago if the Bulls won the championship at home. Both Paul Westphal and Kevin Johnson later expressed amusement about Barkley taking credit for the line because Westphal had made a tongue-in-cheek comment to that effect in a pregame meeting.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Suns: Dan Majerle 11, Charles Barkley 24, Kevin Johnson 25, Mark West 5, Richard Dumas 25, Danny Ainge 8, Oliver Miller 8, Frank Johnson 2, Tom Chambers 0, Jerrod Mustaf 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Bulls: Michael Jordan 41, Scottie Pippen 22, Horace Grant 1, B. J. Armstrong 7, Bill Cartwright 2, John Paxson 12, Scott Williams 4, Stacey King 4, Will Perdue 0, Trent Tucker 5, Darrell Walker 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The Bulls got off to a good start in Game 6 but struggled in the fourth quarter, squandering a double-digit lead to trail 98–94. Michael Jordan made a layup to cut the lead to 2 points, and Dan Majerle's 30-foot three-pointer fell short on the Suns' next possession. Trailing 98–96 and playing a Game 7 on the road if they lost that day, Chicago ran a play that Phil Jackson called "Blind Pig" that had them increasing the play's "thrust" by bringing the ball from 3/4 back of the basket. Although Westphal's sole instruction on the play was for none of the players to double-team any of the Bulls (even Michael Jordan), Danny Ainge left John Paxson to try and either steal the ball or foul Horace Grant, who had missed all five of his shot attempts in the game and wasn't a good crunch-time free throw shooter. Grant saw Paxson alone 25 feet from the basket and fired a perfect pass, and Paxson then made a three pointer with 3.9 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 99–98 lead. Paxson's three-point field goal was the only score by any Bulls player other than Michael Jordan in the entire fourth quarter. The victory was secured by a last-second block from Grant on Kevin Johnson, thanks to Paxson's game-winning 3-point field goal.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Bulls: Michael Jordan 33, Scottie Pippen 23, B. J. Armstrong 18, Horace Grant 1, Bill Cartwright 2, John Paxson 8, Scott Williams 5, Trent Tucker 9, Stacey King 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Suns: Dan Majerle 21, Kevin Johnson 19, Charles Barkley 21, Richard Dumas 8, Mark West 4, Tom Chambers 12, Danny Ainge 9, Oliver Miller 4, Frank Johnson 0


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: Michael Jordan, who averaged a Finals-record 41.0 PPG during the six-game series, became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards. He joined Magic Johnson as the only other player to win the award three times. The NBA started awarding the Finals MVP in 1969.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: This series was aired on NBC with Marv Albert, Bob Costas (hosts), Mike Fratello, Magic Johnson (who missed Game 6 due to attending his brother's wedding), Quinn Buckner (analysts), Ahmad Rashad (Bulls sideline) and Hannah Storm (Suns sideline) (reporters) calling the action. After the series, Johnson soon left NBC and returned to the Lakers for various roles, while Fratello was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers as their head coach. Both were replaced by recently departed Orlando Magic head coach Matt Guokas. Albert and Fratello later reunited in 1999, this time calling NBA games on TNT, and would continue to do so for several more years.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The 1993 NBA championship documentary, "Three-Peat", marked the first time since 1982 that NBA Entertainment used film in on-court or off-court action, although most of it used videotape. It was narrated by Hal Douglas, who narrated the NBA Championship documentaries of 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: A month after the Bulls' third straight championship, Michael Jordan's father, James R. Jordan, Sr., was murdered. Distraught by the murder of his father, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball a few weeks before the 1993–94 NBA season began, citing a loss of desire to play basketball. Even without Jordan, the Bulls still managed to win 55 games behind the All-Star efforts of Scottie Pippen; however the loss of Jordan was steep to overcome, and following a controversial call that gave the New York Knicks a win in Game 5, the Bulls lost to Knicks in the conference semi-finals of the 1994 NBA Playoffs in Game 7. Jordan returned from retirement in March 1995, following a brief baseball career and made the 1995 NBA Playoffs, losing to the Orlando Magic in six games.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The Phoenix Suns finished with 56 wins in the 1993–94 season, but were eliminated from the playoffs by the Houston Rockets after leading 2–0 in the Western Conference semifinals. The following year, Phoenix took a commanding 3–1 lead against a sixth-Seeded Houston team only to lose again, losing Games 5 and 7 on their home court, the last of which was decided on a 3-pointer by Mario Elie and an ensuing free throw session. The Rockets went on to win both the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals. In a last-ditch attempt to win a championship, Barkley was soon traded to the Rockets in 1996 for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry and Chucky Brown. Despite forming a "Big Three" with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets failed to make the NBA Finals in Barkley's four seasons. The 1993 Finals was the only appearance of Charles Barkley's Hall of Fame career. This would be the last Finals appearance for the Suns until 2021, which they would also lose in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.


title: 1993 NBA Finals

text: The 1993 NBA Finals marked the only instance in the "Big Four" professional sports in which a Chicago team defeated a Phoenix/Arizona team in a playoff series. In the 2007 National League Division Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Chicago Cubs 3–0, while in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4–2.


title: Walk This Way

text: "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album "Toys in the Attic" (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s. In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in the 1970s, it also helped revitalize their career in the 1980s when it was covered by hip hop group Run-D.M.C. (in collaboration with Aerosmith) on their 1986 album "Raising Hell". This cover was a touchstone for the new musical subgenre of rap rock, or the melding of rock and hip hop. It became an international hit and won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Single in 1987 Soul Train Music Awards. Both versions are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.


title: Walk This Way

text: The song starts out with a two measure drum beat intro by Joey Kramer, followed by a guitar riff composed by Joe Perry. The song proceeds with the main riff, with Perry and Brad Whitford on guitar with Tom Hamilton on bass. The song continues with rapid fire lyrics by Steven Tyler.


title: Walk This Way

text: In December 1974, Aerosmith opened for the Guess Who in Honolulu. During the sound check, guitarist Joe Perry was "fooling around with riffs and thinking about the Meters," a group guitarist Jeff Beck had turned him on to. Loving "their riffy New Orleans funk, especially 'Cissy Strut' and 'People Say'", he asked the drummer "to lay down something flat with a groove on the drums." The guitar riff to what would become "Walk This Way" just "came off [his] hands." Needing a bridge, he


title: Walk This Way

text: When bandmate Steven Tyler heard Perry playing that riff he "ran out and sat behind the drums and [they] jammed." Tyler scatted "nonsensical words initially to feel where the lyrics should go before adding them later."


title: Walk This Way

text: When the group was halfway through recording "Toys in the Attic" in early 1975 at Record Plant in New York City, they found themselves stuck for material. They had written three or four songs for the album, having "to write the rest in the studio." They decided to give the song Perry had come up with in Hawaii a try, but it did not have lyrics or a title yet. Deciding to take a break from recording, band members and producer Jack Douglas went down to Times Square to see Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein". Returning to the studio, they were laughing about Marty Feldman telling Gene Wilder to follow him in the film, saying "walk this way" and limping. Douglas suggested this as a title for their song. But they still needed lyrics.


title: Walk This Way

text: At the hotel that night Tyler wrote lyrics for the song, but left them in the cab on the way to the studio next morning. He says: "I must have been stoned. All the blood drained out of my face, but no one believed me. They thought I never got around to writing them." Upset, he took a cassette tape with the instrumental track the band had recorded and a portable tape player with headphones and "disappeared into the stairwell." He "grabbed a few No. 2 pencils" but forgot to take paper. He wrote the lyrics on the wall at "the Record Plant's top floor and then down a few stairs of the back stairway." After "two or three hours" he "ran downstairs for a legal pad and ran back up and copied them down."


title: Walk This Way

text: Perry thought the "lyrics were so great," saying that Tyler, being a drummer, "likes to use words as a percussion element." He says:


title: Walk This Way

text: Perry always liked to wait until Tyler recorded his vocal so he "could weave around his vocal attack," but Tyler wanted Perry to record first for the same reason. After a "tug-of-war", Tyler's vocal was recorded first with Perry's guitar track overdubbed.


title: Walk This Way

text: The lyrics, which tell the story of a high school boy losing his virginity, are sung quite fast by Tyler, with heavy emphasis being placed on the rhyming lyrics (e.g., "so I took a big "chance" at the high school "dance"").


title: Walk This Way

text: Between the elaborately detailed verses, the chorus primarily consists of a repetition of "Walk this way, talk this way".


title: Walk This Way

text: Live in concert, Tyler often has the audience, combined with members of the band, sing "talk this way". There is also a lengthy guitar solo at the end of the song, and in concert, Tyler will often harmonize his voice to mimic the sounds of the guitar.


title: Walk This Way

text: "Cash Box" said that "Steve Tyler's vocal is aggressive, gritty and right on as he literally spits out a slew of lyrics while never losing clarity" and that "the music itself is hardboiled rock." In 2022, it was included in the list "The story of "NME" in 70 (mostly) seminal songs", at number 26.


title: Walk This Way

text: "Walk This Way" was one of two hit singles by the band to hit the Top 10 of the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the 1970s, the other one being a re-release of "Dream On". "Walk This Way", though, helped "Toys in the Attic" to be the bestselling Aerosmith album, and one of the most critically acclaimed. Aerosmith's version of "Walk This Way" often competes with "Sweet Emotion" and "Dream On" for the title of Aerosmith's signature song, being one of the band's most important, influential, and recognizable songs. The band rarely omits it from their concert setlist, still performing their classic version of the song to this day. The song has also long been a staple of rock radio, garnering regular airplay on mainstream rock, classic rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations. In 2009, it was named the eighth greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.


title: Walk This Way

text: Fee Waybill, Steve Lukather, Tim Bogert and Tommy Aldridge covered the song for the Aerosmith tribute album "Not the Same Old Song and Dance" (Eagle Records, 1999).


title: Walk This Way

text: Aerosmith reference lyrics from the song in "Legendary Child". The line "I took a chance at the high school dance never knowing wrong from right" references lyrics from the songs "Walk This Way" and "Adam's Apple" respectively. Both songs first appeared on the album "Toys in the Attic".


title: Walk This Way

text: In 1986, the hip hop group Run-DMC covered "Walk This Way", in collaboration with Aerosmith (with its leaders Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on vocals and guitars, respectively). While working on "Raising Hell", Rick Rubin pulled out "Toys in the Attic". At shows, Run-DMC had freestyled over the first few seconds of the song on a loop, not knowing what the full song sounded like, or even hearing the lyrics. While Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels had no idea who Aerosmith were at that time, Rubin suggested remaking the song. Neither Simmons nor McDaniels liked the idea, though Jam Master Jay was open to it. They didn't want the record to be released as a single even after recording with Tyler and Perry, and were shocked when it was played on both urban and rock radio stations. "I never even thought 'Walk This Way' would be a single," Rubin recalled. "Not that I didn't like it, but I didn't think in those terms." DMC called it "a beautiful thing" in a trailer for "Guitar Hero" (This later appeared in a scene from the 2011 film "The Smurfs"). This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the "Billboard" Hot 100 than the original, peaking at number 4, becoming Run-DMC's biggest hit. It was also one of the first big hip hop singles in the UK, peaking at number 8.


title: Walk This Way

text: The song marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as they had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years while Tyler battled addiction and Perry and Brad Whitford were out of the band. Their 1985 comeback album, "Done with Mirrors," had also not met commercial expectations. Aerosmith followed "Walk This Way" with multi-platinum albums and Top 40 hits, starting with "Permanent Vacation" and its hit "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" in 1987.


title: Walk This Way

text: In 2008, "Walk This Way" was ranked number 4 on VH1's ""100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop"". This version of the song is currently ranked as the 148th greatest song of all time, as well as the second best song of 1986, by Acclaimed Music.


title: Walk This Way

text: The chorus of Run-DMC's cover contains a pitch alternation that Aerosmith adopted in most future live performances. In collaborations, the other singer often says "talk this way" every alternate line of the chorus. This rap-style delivery may explain why the song worked so well as a hip hop song when it was covered eleven years later.


title: Walk This Way

text: The 1986 video for "Walk This Way" symbolically places a rock band and Run-DMC in a musical duel in neighbouring studios before Steven Tyler literally breaks through the wall that separates them. The video segues to the bands' joint performance on stage. The highly popular result was the first hip hop hybrid video played in heavy rotation on MTV and is regarded as a classic.


title: Walk This Way

text: The video was directed by Jon Small and filmed at the Park Theater in Union City, New Jersey. The theater has remained largely unchanged since the video was filmed. Visitors may notice two holes in the ceiling toward the front of the stage where a light fixture was meant to be installed for the shoot. Small had an office at 1775 Broadway, the same building where Run-DMC's label Profile Records were based: Profile's co-owner Steve Plotnicki approached Small about directing the video, as he had directed another video by a black act that had broken through into rotation onto the then predominantly white rock-oriented MTV, Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All". Small believed that for the video to break into heavy play on MTV, it had to feature Tyler and Perry: he developed the concept of the bands playing on either side of a wall that was subsequently breached. The video's budget was a modest $67,000.


title: Walk This Way

text: Aside from Tyler and Perry, none of the other rock musicians in the video are the Aerosmith members; instead, they were played by Roger Lane, J. D. Malo, and Matt Stelutto—respectively rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer of the largely unknown hair metal outfit Smashed Gladys. According to VH1's "Pop Up Video", Run-DMC could not afford to use the entire Aerosmith band, just Tyler and Perry. As only Tyler and Perry had traveled to record the cover, they were the only Aerosmith members to appear, even though the entire band was credited in some releases of the remake.


title: Walk This Way

text: According to journalist Geoff Edgers, Tyler and Perry were initially ambivalent about appearing in the video: when Small phoned Tyler to discuss the video concept, Tyler told him: "Just don't make fools of us... I don't want people laughing at us". Plotnicki described the atmosphere on set as "beyond chilly", whilst Smashed Gladys lead guitarist Bart Lewis was struck by the fact that interaction between the members of Aerosmith and Run-DMC was minimal. However, according to Edgers, the frosty relations did thaw as the shoot went on.


title: Walk This Way

text: The guitar that Perry is playing is a Guild X-100 Bladerunner. The Guild X100 Bladerunner was originally developed and patented by David Newell and Andrew Desrosiers of David Andrew Guitars. The patent was licensed to Guild Guitars for 17 years and reverted to public domain in 2006. During initial manufacture, Newell and Desrosiers worked directly with Guild craftsman to develop the final product. The guitar used in this video was one of these early issues.


title: Walk This Way

text: At the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show in January 2001, performers *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly joined Aerosmith onstage for an encore performance of "Walk This Way" with Spears and members of *NSYNC singing different parts of the second verse, Blige adding background harmony, and Nelly performing a rap towards the end of the song.


title: Walk This Way

text: DMC and Steve Tyler closed-out the July 2005 "Celebration of the Seas" event on Key Largo with a stage performance of "Walk This Way".


title: Walk This Way

text: In 2007, British girl groups Girls Aloud and Sugababes recorded a cover of "Walk This Way" as the official Comic Relief charity single. Their version was produced by American producer Dallas Austin, making it Girls Aloud's first single not to be produced by Xenomania. The track charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving Girls Aloud their third number 1 and Sugababes their fifth.


title: Walk This Way

text: The music video was a comic re-enactment of the Run-D.M.C. video. "Walk This Way" was promoted through numerous live appearances and has been included on tours by both Girls Aloud and Sugababes. Contemporary music critics criticised the cover version, but supported the single due to its fundraising nature.


title: Walk This Way

text: While the Run-D.M.C. cover is nearly identical to the original version, the Girls Aloud/Sugababes version has a few changes tweaked into the song; the additional line "Walk this way, you wanna talk this way" is added, the vocoder is added, the lyrics are moved around, and the beat is slightly sped up and realized on a drum machine to add a further dance-pop feel to the song.


title: Walk This Way

text: The idea of a Girls Aloud and Sugababes collaboration came from Comic Relief co-founder and trustee Richard Curtis. Several songs were possibilities, including Blur's "Girls & Boys" and Candi Staton's "You Got the Love", which was Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts' idea and favourite choice. "Walk This Way" is notably the first Girls Aloud single to date not to feature production from Brian Higgins and Xenomania, who have also worked with Sugababes. Girls Aloud and Sugababes launched the charity appeal on January 31. Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud said, "It's a fantastic song and hopefully will raise tons of money for people living in really difficult situations here and in Africa."


title: Walk This Way

text: Cheryl and Amelle perform the refrain, Kimberley and Nadine sang the first verse, Keisha and Heidi sang the second verse, and Sarah, Nicola, and Amelle rap in the middle eight.


title: Walk This Way

text: The single was released on March 12, 2007 on just one CD single format, which included a remix of the single and its music video. It was also available as a digital download.


title: Walk This Way

text: "Walk This Way" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1 on March 18, 2007 ― for the week ending date March 24, 2007. The following week, the single dropped to number 2; it was dethroned by another Comic Relief single, "I'm Gonna Roll (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers with Peter Kay and Matt Lucas. In its third week on the chart, "Walk This Way" dropped twelve places out of the top ten, placing itself at number 14.


title: Walk This Way

text: The music video premiered on The Box on February 2, 2007, and was shown on Channel 4's "Popworld" the following day. The video was filmed over three days in January 2007 – Sugababes on the first, Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh on the second, and Nadine Coyle and Sarah Harding on the third and final day. The video includes cameos from Davina McCall, Lily Cole, Stephen Mangan, Graham Norton, Ruby Wax and Natalie Cassidy.


title: Hymn

text: A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word "hymn" derives from Greek ("hymnos"), which means "a song of praise". A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist. The singing or composition of hymns is called hymnody. Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymn books. Hymns may or may not include instrumental accompaniment.


title: Hymn

text: Although most familiar to speakers of English in the context of Christianity, hymns are also a fixture of other world religions, especially on the Indian subcontinent ("stotras"). Hymns also survive from antiquity, especially from Egyptian and Greek cultures. Some of the oldest surviving examples of notated music are hymns with Greek texts.


title: Hymn

text: Ancient Eastern hymns include the Egyptian "Great Hymn to the Aten", composed by Pharaoh Akhenaten; the Hurrian "Hymn to Nikkal"; the "Rigveda", an Indian collection of Vedic hymns; hymns from the "Classic of Poetry" ("Shijing"), a collection of Chinese poems from 11th to 7th centuries BC; the "Gathas"—Avestan hymns believed to have been composed by Zoroaster; and the Biblical "Book of Psalms".


title: Hymn

text: The Western tradition of hymnody begins with the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek hymns, the oldest of which were written in the 7th century BC, praising deities of the ancient Greek religions. Surviving from the 3rd century BC is a collection of six literary hymns () by the Alexandrian poet Callimachus. The "Orphic hymns" are a collection of 87 short poems in Greek religion.


title: Hymn

text: Patristic writers began applying the term , or "hymnus" in Latin, to Christian songs of praise, and frequently used the word as a synonym for "psalm".


title: Hymn

text: Originally modelled on the Book of Psalms and other poetic passages (commonly referred to as "canticles") in the Scriptures, Christian hymns are generally directed as praise to the Christian God. Many refer to Jesus Christ either directly or indirectly.


title: Hymn

text: Since the earliest times, Christians have sung "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs", both in private devotions and in corporate worship. Non-scriptural hymns (i.e. not psalms or canticles) from the Early Church still sung today include 'Phos Hilaron', 'Sub tuum praesidium', and 'Te Deum'.


title: Hymn

text: One definition of a hymn is "...a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper's attitude toward God or God's purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it."


title: Hymn

text: Christian hymns are often written with special or seasonal themes and these are used on holy days such as Christmas, Easter and the Feast of All Saints, or during particular seasons such as Advent and Lent. Others are used to encourage reverence for the Bible or to celebrate Christian practices such as the eucharist or baptism. Some hymns praise or address individual saints, particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary; such hymns are particularly prevalent in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and to some extent High Church Anglicanism.


title: Hymn

text: A writer of hymns is known as a hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called "hymnody"; the same word is used for the collectivity of hymns belonging to a particular denomination or period (e.g. "nineteenth century Methodist hymnody" would mean the body of hymns written and/or used by Methodists in the 19th century). A collection of hymns is called a "hymnal, hymn book" or "hymnary". These may or may not include music; among the hymnals without printed music, some include names of hymn tunes suggested for use with each text, in case readers already know the tunes or would like to find them elsewhere. A student of hymnody is called a "hymnologist", and the scholarly study of hymns, hymnists and hymnody is hymnology. The music to which a hymn may be sung is a hymn tune.


title: Hymn

text: In many Evangelical churches, traditional songs are classified as hymns while more contemporary worship songs are not considered hymns. The reason for this distinction is unclear, but according to some it is due to the radical shift of style and devotional thinking that began with the Jesus movement and Jesus music. In recent years, Christian traditional hymns "have" seen a revival in some churches, usually more Reformed or Calvinistic in nature, as modern hymn writers such as Keith and Kristyn Getty and Sovereign Grace Music have reset old lyrics to new melodies, revised old hymns and republished them, or simply written a song in a hymn-like fashion such as "In Christ Alone".


title: Hymn

text: In ancient and medieval times, string instruments such as the harp, lyre and lute were used with psalms and hymns.


title: Hymn

text: Since there is a lack of musical notation in early writings, the actual musical forms in the early church can only be surmised. During the Middle Ages a rich hymnody developed in the form of Gregorian chant or plainsong. This type was sung in unison, in one of eight church modes, and most often by monastic choirs. While they were written originally in Latin, many have been translated; a familiar example is the 4th century "Of the Father's Heart Begotten" sung to the 11th century plainsong "Divinum Mysterium".


title: Hymn

text: Later hymnody in the Western church introduced four-part vocal harmony as the norm, adopting major and minor keys, and came to be led by organ and choir. It shares many elements with classical music.


title: Hymn

text: Today, except for choirs, more musically inclined congregations and "a cappella" congregations, hymns are typically sung in unison. In some cases complementary full settings for organ are also published, in others organists and other accompanists are expected to adapt the available setting, or extemporise one, on their instrument of choice.


title: Hymn

text: In traditional Anglican practice, hymns are sung (often accompanied by an organ) during the processional to the altar, during the receiving of communion, during the recessional, and sometimes at other points during the service. The Doxology is also sung after the tithes and offerings are brought up to the altar.


title: Hymn

text: Contemporary Christian worship, as often found in Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, may include the use of contemporary worship music played with electric guitars and the drum kit, sharing many elements with rock music.


title: Hymn

text: Other groups of Christians have historically excluded instrumental accompaniment, citing the absence of instruments in worship by the church in the first several centuries of its existence, and adhere to an unaccompanied "a cappella" congregational singing of hymns. These groups include the 'Brethren' (often both 'Open' and 'Exclusive'), the Churches of Christ, Mennonites, several Anabaptist-based denominations—such as the Apostolic Christian Church of America—Primitive Baptists, and certain Reformed churches, although during the last century or so, several of these, such as the Free Church of Scotland have abandoned this stance.


title: Hymn

text: Eastern Christianity (the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches) has a variety of ancient hymnographical traditions. In the Byzantine Rite, chant is used for all forms of liturgical worship: if it is not sung a cappella, the only accompaniment is usually an , or drone. Organs and other instruments were excluded from church use, although they were employed in imperial ceremonies. However, instruments are common in some other Oriental traditions. The Coptic tradition makes use of the cymbals and the triangle only. The Indian Orthodox (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) use the organ. The Tewahedo Churches use drums, cymbals and other instruments on certain occasions.


title: Hymn

text: Thomas Aquinas, in the introduction to his commentary on the Psalms, defined the Christian hymn thus: ""Hymnus est laus Dei cum cantico; canticum autem exultatio mentis de aeternis habita, prorumpens in vocem"." ("A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.")


title: Hymn

text: The Protestant Reformation resulted in two conflicting attitudes towards hymns. One approach, the regulative principle of worship, favoured by many Zwinglians, Calvinists and some radical reformers, considered anything that was not directly authorised by the Bible to be a novel and Catholic introduction to worship, which was to be rejected. All hymns that were not direct quotations from the Bible fell into this category. Such hymns were banned, along with any form of instrumental musical accompaniment, and organs were removed from churches. Instead of hymns, biblical psalms were chanted, most often without accompaniment, to very basic melodies. This was known as exclusive psalmody. Examples of this may still be found in various places, including in some of the Presbyterian churches of western Scotland.


title: Hymn

text: The other Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship, produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ"), and many others. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum.


title: Hymn

text: Count Zinzendorf, the Lutheran leader of the Moravian Church in the 18th century wrote some 2,000 hymns.


title: Hymn

text: The earlier English writers tended to paraphrase biblical texts, particularly Psalms; Isaac Watts followed this tradition, but is also credited as having written the first English hymn which was not a direct paraphrase of Scripture. Watts (1674–1748), whose father was an Elder of a dissenter congregation, complained at age 16, that when allowed only psalms to sing, the faithful could not even sing about their Lord, Christ Jesus. His father invited him to see what he could do about it; the result was Watts' first hymn, "Behold the glories of the Lamb".


title: Hymn

text: Found in few hymnals today, the hymn has eight stanzas in common meter and is based on Revelation 5:6, 8, 9, 10, 12.


title: Hymn

text: Relying heavily on Scripture, Watts wrote metered texts based on New Testament passages that brought the Christian faith into the songs of the church. Isaac Watts has been called "the father of English hymnody", but Erik Routley sees him more as "the liberator of English hymnody", because his hymns, and hymns like them, moved worshipers beyond singing only Old Testament psalms, inspiring congregations and revitalizing worship.


title: Hymn

text: Charles Wesley's hymns spread Methodist theology, not only within Methodism, but in most Protestant churches. He developed a new focus: expressing one's personal feelings in the relationship with God as well as the simple worship seen in older hymns.


title: Hymn

text: Wesley's contribution, along with the Second Great Awakening in America led to a new style called gospel, and a new explosion of sacred music writing with Fanny Crosby, Lina Sandell, Philip Bliss, Ira D. Sankey, and others who produced testimonial music for revivals, camp meetings, and evangelistic crusades. The tune style or form is technically designated "gospel songs" as distinct from hymns. Gospel songs generally include a refrain (or chorus) and usually (though not always) a faster tempo than the hymns. As examples of the distinction, "Amazing Grace" is a hymn (no refrain), but "How Great Thou Art" is a gospel song. During the 19th century, the gospel-song genre spread rapidly in Protestantism and to a lesser but still definite extent, in Roman Catholicism; the gospel-song genre is unknown in the worship "per se" by Eastern Orthodox churches, which rely exclusively on traditional chants (a type of hymn).


title: Hymn

text: The Methodist Revival of the 18th century created an explosion of hymn-writing in Welsh, which continued into the first half of the 19th century. The most prominent names among Welsh hymn-writers are William Williams Pantycelyn and Ann Griffiths. The second half of the 19th century witnessed an explosion of hymn tune composition and congregational four-part singing in Wales.


title: Hymn

text: Along with the more classical sacred music of composers ranging from Charpentier (19 "Hymns," H.53 - H.71) to Mozart to Monteverdi, the Catholic Church continued to produce many popular hymns such as Lead, Kindly Light, Silent Night, O Sacrament Most Holy, and Faith of Our Fathers.


title: Hymn

text: In some radical Protestant movements, their own sacred hymns completely replaced the written Bible. An example of this, the "Book of Life" (Russian: "Zhivotnaya kniga") is the name of all oral hymns of the Doukhobors, the Russian denomination, similar to western Quakers. "The Book of Life of the Doukhobors" (1909) is firstly printed hymnal containing songs, which to have been composed as an oral piece to be sung aloud.


title: Hymn

text: Many churches today use contemporary worship music which includes a range of styles often influenced by popular music. This often leads to some conflict between older and younger congregants (see contemporary worship). This is not new; the Christian pop music style began in the late 1960s and became very popular during the 1970s, as young hymnists sought ways in which to make the music of their religion relevant for their generation.