title: Eleanor of Provence

text: She had developed a love for the songs of the troubadours as a child and continued this interest into adulthood. She bought many romantic and historical books that included stories from ancient times to contemporary romances written in the period (13th century).


title: Eleanor of Provence

text: Eleanor is the protagonist of "The Queen From Provence", a historical romance by British novelist Jean Plaidy which was published in 1979. Eleanor is a main character in the novel "Four Sisters, All Queens" by author Sherry Jones, as well as the novels "The Sister Queens" by Sophie Perinot, and "My Fair Lady: A Story of Henry III's Lost Queen" by J. P. Reedman. She is also the subject of Norwegian Symphonic metal band Leave's Eyes in their song "Eleonore De Provence" from their album "Symphonies of the Night".


title: Eleanor of Provence

text: Eleanor and Henry had five children together. Eleanor seems to have been especially devoted to her eldest son, Edward; when he was deathly ill in 1246, she stayed with him at the abbey at Beaulieu in Hampshire for three weeks, long past the time allowed by monastic rules. She personally supervised Edward's upbringing and education. It was because of her influence that King Henry granted the duchy of Gascony to Edward in 1249. Her youngest child, Katherine, seems to have had a degenerative disease that rendered her deaf. When the little girl died at the age of three, both her royal parents suffered overwhelming grief. Eleanor possibly had four other sons who also died in childhood, but their existence is in doubt as there is no contemporary record of them.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: "If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in several other countries on international release in 1971.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: Lightfoot has cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics, saying they came to him as he was sitting in a vacant Toronto house one summer. At the request of his daughter Ingrid, he performs the lyrics with a slight change: The line "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack" is altered to "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that we lack." He has said in an interview that the difficulty with writing songs inspired by personal stories is that there is not always the emotional distance and clarity to make lyrical improvements such as the one his daughter suggested.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: The song was produced by Lenny Waronker and Joe Wissert at Sunwest Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with strings arranged by Nick DeCaro.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: According to Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon, the chorus of their song "Save a Prayer" was based on "If You Could Read My Mind".


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: This song first appeared on Lightfoot's 1970 album "Sit Down Young Stranger", later renamed "If You Could Read My Mind" following the song's success.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: On release, the song reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart and was his first recording to appear in the U.S., reaching No. 5 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart in February 1971. Later in the year, it reached No. 27 on the Australian singles chart and No. 30 on the United Kingdom's singles chart. The song also reached No. 1 for one week on the "Billboard" Easy Listening chart, and was the first of four Lightfoot releases to reach No. 1.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: In 1987, Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against Michael Masser, the composer of Whitney Houston's hit "The Greatest Love of All", alleging plagiarism of 24 bars of "If You Could Read My Mind"; the transitional section that begins "I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow" of the Masser song has the same melody as "I never thought I could act this way and I got to say that I just don't get it; I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back" of Lightfoot's song. Lightfoot has stated that he dropped the lawsuit when he felt it was having a negative effect on the singer Houston because the lawsuit was about the writer and not her. He also said that he did not want people to think that he had stolen his melody from Masser. The case was settled out of court, and Masser issued a public apology.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: The house music collective Stars on 54—consisting of Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez, and Ultra Naté—recorded a version of the song for the 1998 film "54", reaching No. 3 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart and Canada's "RPM" Singles Chart, as well as No. 6 in New Zealand and No. 10 in Spain. Australian music channel Max included this version of "If You Could Read My Mind" in its list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: Can't Stop the Pop called "If You Could Read My Mind" "one of the most mind-bogglingly brilliant cover versions of the ‘90s", adding that it "remains a deeply fabulous single" and "a proudly ‘90s homage to disco that is as uplifting and joyous as there could be – and can now be rightly enjoyed as a triumphant celebration of everything that 54 represents."


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: A music video was made to accompany the single release. It pays homage to aspects of the disco-era presented through a ‘90s lens. Amber and Ultra Naté performs in a room where every surface is covered in LED dancefloor tiles. Jocelyn Enriquez are swinging on a giant disco ball. In the end, the singers performs together on the stage in a night club, all three dressed in red outfits. In between these scenes, several clips from the movie "54" are shown.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: Many artists have covered "If You Could Read My Mind". Barbra Streisand recorded the song on her "Stoney End" LP of 1971. Olivia Newton-John covered the song on her debut 1971 album "If Not For You". Among the most notable versions is the 1980 cover by Viola Wills, which peaked at No. 2 for five weeks on the dance/disco charts with a dance version of the song and at No. 80 in Australia.


title: If You Could Read My Mind

text: Duane Steele reached No. 32 on the Canadian country charts with his version in 1998. Johnny Cash recorded a version of the song that was included in the posthumously released album "" (2006). Diana Krall covered the song as a duet on her "Wallflower" album in 2015. Filipina actress and singer, Rica Peralejo covered the song from the soundtrack album, "Pangarap Na Bituin" in 2007.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Pernille Mosegaard Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for FA Women's Super League club Chelsea and the Denmark national team. In September 2020, she became the world's most expensive female footballer following her transfer from VfL Wolfsburg to Chelsea, but the record was broken in September 2022 by Keira Walsh when she was signed to Barcelona .


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Harder, who is also known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy, won the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award in 2018 and 2020.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Harder played for Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken in her native Denmark's Elitedivisionen. Skovbakken had made Harder and her contemporary Sofie Junge Pedersen contracted players in April 2010, in recognition of their exceptional potential.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Harder chose Swedish club Linköpings FC for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in Scandinavia. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at relegation-bound Sunnanå SK.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: In the 2015 Damallsvenskan season, Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare () and Årets Allsvenska Spelare (). At the annual awards gala, she shared the stage with male winner Zlatan Ibrahimović and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world-class" by Swedish national coach Pia Sundhage. Harder was also voted Danish Football Player of the Year in 2015. In June 2016, Harder was among 30 local worthies to be named in a Wall of Fame by Linköping Municipality.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Harder enjoyed further success in the 2016 Damallsvenskan season, retaining the League Player of the Year award. Her 23 league goals secured the Top Goalscorer award and helped Linköping win the Damallsvenskan title. By now a transfer target for the biggest clubs in women's football, Harder's agent announced in November 2016 that she would be leaving Linköping for a new challenge.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg running from January 2017. In all four seasons with the team, Harder won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. She also played in two Champions League finals (2018 and 2020), losing both to Lyon.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: On 1 September 2020, Harder signed for Chelsea on a three-year contract for a world-record fee for a female footballer, reportedly in excess of £250,000. In the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-finals, she scored in both legs against her former club VfL Wolfsburg.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: At the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand, Harder was part of the Denmark team who won their group before losing 4–0 to eventual champions North Korea in the quarter-final. Still 16 years old, she contributed a hat-trick to a crushing 15–0 win over Georgia in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Harder scored further hat-tricks against Austria and Armenia in 2011 and Russia in 2013. She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013. With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: In October 2013, Harder won her 50th cap for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with Serbia. She scored Denmark's goal in the match. In March 2016, Harder was appointed captain of the national team.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: In 2017, she was named in national coach Nils Nielsen's Denmark squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She captained the team to the final and scored a goal in Denmark's 4–2 defeat by hosts the Netherlands. She was voted runner-up to Lieke Martens in the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award for 2016–17. On 16 September 2021, she became the record goalscorer of the Denmark national team, with her 66 goal in her 129 games. She was called up for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 and scored the only goal for denmark, but was eliminated with the national team in the group stage.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: Since May 2014, Harder has been in a relationship with current Chelsea teammate and Swedish international, Magdalena Eriksson.


title: Pernille Harder (footballer)

text: She and Magdalena Eriksson work with the charity Common Goal and pledged 1% of their salaries to help tackle social issues throughout football. The couple also both push for equality and LGBTQ+ rights in sport.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., better known by his stage name Berner (born October 27, 1983), is an American rapper and entrepreneur signed to Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment. He has released over 40 albums, several of which have charted on "Billboard"s "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" chart. As an entrepreneur, he's credited with the creation of multiple companies including "Cookies", and is heavily active in California-based cannabis trade market.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: A Sunset District native, Berner attended Galileo Academy of Science and Technology before dropping out. His mother was an office worker and his father was a chef at a Mexican restaurant on Fillmore Street. When Berner was 13, the family moved to Arizona, where his father planned to open a restaurant. During high school, Berner began battle rapping and in 2006 he released his first mixtape, "Dirty Sneakers...Plenty Ways to Get It".


title: Berner (rapper)

text: After forming his own label, Bern One Entertainment in 2007, Berner released his debut album, "Track Money & Pack Money", with Equipto. His first solo album, "Weekend at Bernie's" arrived in 2009, along with four other albums.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: In March 2012, Berner signed to Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. "Urban Farmer", Berner's first collection to be released on Taylor Gang Records, was released on October 2, 2012. In 2013, Berner embarked performed on the "Under the Influence of Music Tour" alongside Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, Trinidad Jame$ and Joey Bada$$. In 2015, Berner released "Contraband", a collaborative album with Cam'ron, as well as "Drought Season 3" with deceased rapper The Jacka. In 2016, Berner released the solo album "Hempire", also producing a 4/20 show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium with a lineup that included Cypress Hill, Juicy J, Dizzy Wright, J Boog, Kool John, and Berner.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: "Urban Farmer", another of Berner's albums, features Iamsu! from The HBK Gang on two tracks; and the Jacka, Rydah J. Klyde and San Quinn on "21 Gunz".


title: Berner (rapper)

text: Berner's single, "20 Lights" reached #95 in "Billboard"s 200 chart. It was released on January 6, 2015. "Best Thang Smokin" is the lead single in Berner's album "Hempire", released April 1, 2016.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: On May 4, 2019, he released a new album with one song featuring T3R Elemento star Kris Nava called El Chivo.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: Berner ran a cannabis club from age 18 to 25; after meeting Wiz Khalifa, the latter heard Berner's release with Equipto, and signed him under the Taylor Gang.


title: Berner (rapper)

text: Berner opened a clothing and lifestyle store in San Francisco called "Cookies", selling items such as lunch bags, duffle bags and "smell proof" backpacks. He is associated with the "Cookie Family" of marijuana geneticists, who produce strains common in California, such as "Girl Scout Cookies" and "Sunset Sherbet".


title: Berner (rapper)

text: In August 2022 Berner was the first cannabis executive to be featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine since it launched in 1917.


title: Cominform

text: The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (), commonly known as Cominform (), was a co-ordination body of Marxist-Leninist communist parties in Europe during the early Cold War that was formed in part as a replacement of the Communist International. The Cominform was dissolved during de-Stalinization in 1956.


title: Cominform

text: The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties was unofficially founded at a conference of Marxist–Leninist communist parties from across Europe in Szklarska Poręba, Poland in September 1947. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, called the conference in response to divergences among communist governments on whether or not to attend the Paris Conference on the Marshall Plan in July 1947. It was founded with nine members: the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian Communist Party, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the Hungarian Communist Party, the Polish Workers' Party, the Romanian Communist Party, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, the French Communist Party, and the Italian Communist Party. The organization was commonly known as Cominform, an abbreviated form of the Communist Information Bureau, itself a shortened version of the official name.


title: Cominform

text: Cominform was officially established on 5 October 1947 with the intended purpose of coordinating actions between European communist parties under the direction of the Soviet Union. Cominform was not intended to be a replacement or successor to the Comintern, the international organization that advocated world communism and dissolved in 1943, but was considered a type of successor. Cominform was not a world communist party and did not have subordinates or power, limiting itself to its newspaper, "For Lasting Peace, for People's Democracy!" published in several languages, and to one goal: "to organize an exchange of experience, and where necessary to coordinate the activity of the Communist parties, on the basis of mutual agreement." Cominform was to organize the propagation of communist interests and repel the expansion of anti-communism in the aftermath of World War II and the subsequent Cold War, dividing the world into imperialist and anti-imperialist factions. The French and Italian communist parties were specifically tasked by Cominform with the obstruction of the implementation of the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine in Western Europe. From a global standpoint the Cominform strived/ventured to unite the Communist parties against the copious policies which threatened to empower Western Europe to oppose communism, mainly through pinpointing/underlining the importance of national independence and peace. More important though was the fact that the Cominform had to remain small in size (Eurocentric Organization), in order to preserve its maneuverability and efficient centralisation, mainly due to the fact that it operated as a propaganda tool controlled by the International Communist movement to instruct and inform the leading members of the different national parties. Its members were communist parties and as such, would guarantee the safeguard the monolith of the communist movement. This explains why parties of East Germany, Albania as well as Greece, were not included (Greece was eventually included in the Marshall Plan).


title: Cominform

text: Cominform was initially located in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but after the Tito–Stalin split expelled Yugoslavia from the group in June 1948, the seat was moved to Bucharest, Romania. Officially, Yugoslavia was expelled for ""Titoism"" and anti-Sovietism, based on accusations of deviating from Marxism-Leninism. Yugoslavia was considered to be heretical for resisting Soviet dominance in its affairs and integration into Eastern Bloc as a Soviet satellite state. One of the most decisive factors that led to the expulsion of Yugoslavia was their commitment to supporting communist insurgents in the Greek Civil War, in violation of the "Percentages agreement" between the Soviet Union and United Kingdom, and their decision to station troops in Albania. The expulsion of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from Cominform initiated the "Informbiro" period in Yugoslavia's history. Cominform's newspaper was originally printed in Belgrade; it was moved to Bucharest after the expulsion of Yugoslavia. A vast array of articles was published, including some from the Canadian Communist Party.


title: Cominform

text: From 1950, Cominform became rapidly irrelevant after the victory of the People's Republic of China in the Chinese Civil War weakened Europe as the center of communism. Cominform, composed of entirely European parties, was rendered largely useless in Soviet influence over the international communist movement. No attempts were made to reorganize Cominform and its decline accelerated drastically after the death of Stalin in March 1953. Meanwhile, the Soviets had gradually replaced Cominform with more effective and specialized organizations to exert their influence, such the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) in 1949 and the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Cominform was officially dissolved on 17 April 1956 in a decision by the Central Committee of the CPSU, prompted by the Soviet rapprochement with Yugoslavia and the De-Stalinization process following the rise of Nikita Khrushchev as Stalin's successor.


title: Cominform

text: This founding meeting took place on 22-23 September 1947 in Jelenia Góra, Poland. Members present at the first meeting were Kardelj and Djilas for Yugoslavia, Chervenkov and Poptomov for Bulgaria, Gheorghiu-Dej and Anna Pauker for Romania, Farkas and Revai for Hungary, Gomułka and Minc for Poland, Zhdanov and Malenkov for the U.S.S.R., Duclos and Fajon for France, Slánský and Bašťovanský for Czechoslovakia, and Longo and Reale for Italy. Zhdanov was chairman, Gomulka was appointed vice-chairman. Gomulka's was given the task of making the first report, titled "On the interchange of experience and co-ordination", with the second being Zhdanov's report on the global status quo. In the report "On co-ordination", the key points, apart from Poland's evaluation, seem to be criticisms of the French and Italian communist parties after the emancipation, due to their missing the opportunity to seize power, contrary to the Eastern Europeans, who proved their political superiority by quickly dealing with the issue of ensuring their dominance on the government. The significance of this criticism is shown by the regret of the French and Italian representatives, accompanied by the following statement in the final resolution: "the need for interchange and voluntary co-ordination of action in the various parties is particularly keenly felt at the present time". Zhdanov's report has been of critical importance to the communist ideology. After mentioning the original disbandment of the Communist International in May 1943, Zhdanov pointed out the fact that "the present position of the communist parties had its shortcomings. [...] The need for mutual consultation and voluntary co-ordination had become particularly urgent at the present juncture". Reason to this, according to Zhdanov, can be found in the new global state, which has led to new tasks passed down to the communist parties of the new democratic states, as well as the "fraternal communist parties of France, Italy, Great Britain and other countries". Furthermore, given that the dissolution of the Comintern had been understood by some people as the subsequent elimination of all ties, "continued isolation may lead to a slackening of mutual understanding and at times even to serious blunders". The first part of Zhdanov's report was included in a published declaration, which designates the task of the communist parties as "taking into their hands the banner of defense of national independence and sovereignty of their countries". The following part, in combination with Gomulka's report, formed the preamble of the resolution, which underlined the following five key points; 1) that an Information Bureau should be established, which would consist of spokesmen of the nine participating communist parties, 2) that it should be assigned the task of interchanging information and coordination, if need be, 3) that the Bureau should consist of two delegates from each of the nine parties, 4) that the Bureau should produce a journal, which at first would be published every two weeks, and weekly after a while, 5) that the Bureau should be situated in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. But the two Western communist parties (the French and the Italian) were assigned with two tasks, which were; 1) to claim the leadership of their countries once again and prepare for a fierce fight, and 2) take necessary measures to ensure that the "American Policy" would not be implemented in Western Europe, whatever those measures were. Their ineffective policy had to be changed into a policy of strikes, mass-action and sabotage. The first general "attack" was launched in France on 18 November 1947, and in Italy on 12 November. Both turned out to be quite violent. But the wave of attacks ended by the end of the year, due to the fact that the workers had failed to carry out the communist instructions and the two communist parties were not willing to continue the fight. Strikes continued to be carried out sporadically, but without the support of the public.


title: Cominform

text: The second meeting occurred in Belgrade on 1 February 1948. During this meeting, a permanent editorial board was chosen for the newspaper "For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy!", which was first issued in Belgrade on 1 November 1947. This editorial board was under the leadership of Pavel Yudin. He was succeeded by Mark Mitin, after the Yugoslav expulsion.


title: Cominform

text: A third meeting occurred in Romania on 28 June 1948. This resulted in the expulsion of the Yugoslav Communist Party. It also led to the relocation of the Cominform's headquarters to Bucharest and initiated the great campaign of transforming the programs and cadres of the Eastern European communist parties. In a unanimous resolution, the eight communist parties agreed that the Yugoslavian communist party had "pursued an incorrect line on the main questions of home and foreign policy, a line appropriate only to nationalism, and which represented a departure from Marxism-Leninism". They approved the actions of the Russian communist party and condemned Yugoslavia's agricultural policy, which sidelined the class differentiation, "regarding the individual peasantry as a single entity and even asserting that the peasantry was the most stable foundation of their state" - a role meant for the proletariat. Since Yugoslavia refused to abide by the Cominform's discipline and ignored its criticism, they had receded from the "family of fraternal communist parties". Anything that Tito could have "infected" was meant to be eliminated. The decisive action against him had been agreed upon by the end of June. At the beginning of July, two of the communist parties, namely the Polish and the Bulgarian one, were summoned to reconsider their ideology. Gomułka, Kostov, Rajk, Markos and Xoxe immediately aroused suspicion. On 6 July 1948, a meeting of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party was set up to carry out a discussion about the considerable deviations of Gomułka. Zadawski and Zamborovski presented a "clear Marxist-Leninist analysis". The Plenum met again on 31 August – 3 September. Gomułka agreed to his wrongdoings and was replaced by Minc. Gomułka was arrested, set free then re-incarcerated. On 12–13 July 1948 the Central Committee of the Bulgarian communist party "unanimously declared that the leadership of our party has never doubted the leading role played by the Russian communist party and the Soviet Union in the democratic camp". They realised that they had not been vigilant enough towards the Yugoslav communist party. The month of June saw a new wave of retaliation against perceived supporters of Tito. On 10 June Koçi Xoxe was hanged in Albania and on 15 June, Rajk was arrested in Hungary. Another wave of attacks was carried out in the autumn of the same year, during which Rajk was hanged, Gomułka was arrested and Kostov's indictment was published. These attacks seem to have originated from the conflict between Tito and the Russians.


title: Cominform

text: Lastly, the fourth meeting was held in Hungary on 27 November 1949. Two reports were presented, which led to three resolutions. The Soviet delegate, Suslov, announced a report "on the Defence of Peace and the fight against warmongers", which urged the people of the Western countries to hinder any imperialist measures which were taken by the governments of said countries against the Eastern Block. Furthermore, Togliatti presented a report about the Working class and the tasks of the Communist and Workers parties. This resolution pinpointed the "particular attention which should be devoted to the mass of Catholic workers". Finally, the Romanian delegate, Gheorghiu-Dej, concluded that, as Tito's establishment had not been dealt with, it was the duty of the communist parties to strengthen the fight against it by making more noticeable the net of economic and diplomatic pressure and by urging Tito's opposition within Yugoslavia to start secret activity.


title: Cominform

text: The fortnightly journal "For a Lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy!" was published by the Cominform in Russian, French and English.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972 and has periodically reemerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Also a protest song against the Vietnam War, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has since become a Christmas standard, frequently recorded by other artists, appearing on compilation albums of seasonal music, and named in polls as a holiday favourite. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted tenth on the ITV television special "The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song".


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was the culmination of more than two years of peace activism undertaken by John Lennon and Yoko Ono that began with the bed-ins they convened in March and May 1969, the first of which took place during their honeymoon. The song's direct antecedent was an international multimedia campaign launched by the couple in December 1969 – at the height of the counterculture movement and its protests against America's involvement in the Vietnam War – that primarily consisted of renting billboard space in 12 major cities around the world for the display of black-and-white posters that declared "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko". Although a similar line had previously appeared in the 1968 anti-war songs "The War Is Over" by Phil Ochs and "The Unknown Soldier" by the Doors (which features the refrain "The war is over"), the use of "War is over" (minus the definite article) by Lennon and Ono may be coincidental; there is no evidence to confirm that they were acquainted with these earlier works, or if so whether they were influenced by them.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Recognising the accessibility and popular appeal that made his 1971 single "Imagine" a commercial success compared to the other songs he had released up to that point, Lennon concluded, "Now I understand what you have to do: Put your political message across with a little honey." He conceived "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" as a means of elaborating upon the themes of social unity and peaceful change enacted through personal accountability and empowerment that served as the basis of the earlier billboard campaign, trying to convey optimism while avoiding the sentimentality that he felt often characterised Christmas songs.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: From 1963 to 1969, the Beatles had issued special recordings at Christmas directly to members of their fan club. After the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon was the first former member to release an original Christmas song. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" would be followed by George Harrison's "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" (1974), Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" (1979) and Ringo Starr's album "I Wanna Be Santa Claus" (1999).


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: In late October 1971, with not much more than bare-bones melody and half-formed lyrics, Lennon recorded an acoustic guitar demo of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in his rooms at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, where he and Ono were living. Ono would receive co-writing credit, but the actual extent of her contribution at this initial stage is unclear since she did not participate in the demo, which was atypical of their collaborations. Another demo of the song was made in late October after the couple had taken an apartment in Greenwich Village. As with his previous two albums, "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine" (released in the US just several weeks prior), Lennon brought in Phil Spector to help produce. The first recording session was held on the evening of Thursday, 28 October, at the Record Plant studio. After the session musicians – some of whom had performed at one time or another as members of the Plastic Ono Band – laid down the basic instrumental backing and overdub tracks, Lennon and Ono added the main vocals. One of the four guitarists present filled in for Klaus Voormann on bass when his flight from Germany was delayed. Ono and the session musicians, including Voormann, recorded the single's B-side, "Listen, the Snow Is Falling", the following day. The Harlem Community Choir – featuring thirty children, most of them four to twelve years of age – came to the studio on the afternoon of 31 October, to record backing vocals for the counter-melody and sing-along chorus. Photographs for the original sleeve cover were also taken during that session by Iain Macmillan.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: The song begins with spoken Christmas greetings from Ono and Lennon to their children from previous marriages: Ono whispers, "Happy Christmas, Kyoko", then Lennon whispers, "Happy Christmas, Julian". Lyric sheets accompanying the compilation albums "Shaved Fish" (1975) and "The John Lennon Collection" (1982) erroneously transcribe this introduction as, "Happy Christmas, Yoko. Happy Christmas, John."


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: When Lennon first played his demo for Phil Spector, the producer remarked that the song's opening line, "So this is Christmas…", was rhythmically identical to the 1961 single "I Love How You Love Me" by the Paris Sisters, which Spector himself had produced. At the recording studio, Lennon instructed the guitarists to incorporate mandolin-style riffs similar to the ones heard in "Try Some, Buy Some", a single that Spector and George Harrison had produced in February 1971 for his wife, Ronnie Spector, formerly of the Ronettes. Spector also included percussion instruments of the sort he used on the 1963 album "A Christmas Gift for You".


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: In addition to these reappropriated elements, the chords and melodic structure of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" are similar to the traditional English ballad "Skewball", but with a different rhythmic meter, subsequent modulations and a wholly new and different chorus countermelody. The verses of the song are closest in structure to the 1963 rendition (titled "Stewball") by Peter, Paul and Mary.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Apple Records released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" in America on 1 December 1971 (Apple 1842). Issued in 7" single format on transparent green vinyl with a card-stock picture sleeve, the pressing bore two label variations, one of which displayed a sequence of five images that showed Lennon's face transforming into Ono's. This sequence was originally featured on the reverse cover of the exhibition catalogue for Ono's career retrospective "This Is Not Here", presented in October 1971 at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: A dispute between music publisher Northern Songs and Lennon over publishing rights delayed the release of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" in the UK until 24 November 1972 (Apple R 5870). The initial British run was issued in 7" single format on opaque green vinyl with the picture sleeve and variant label, but it sold out quickly and had to be repressed on standard black vinyl.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: The song's first album appearance was on "Shaved Fish", the only compilation of Lennon's solo recordings released during his lifetime. "Happy Xmas" was coupled there with part of a live version of "Give Peace a Chance", performed as the finale of Lennon and Ono's "One to One" benefit concert on 30 August 1972. Designed by Roy Kohara, the album cover is composed of illustrations by Michael Bryan representing each song on the album; for "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", the image shows an aeroplane dropping a Christmas ornament instead of a bomb.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Over the years, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has been reissued in a number of single formats by Capitol, Geffen and Parlophone, sometimes in conjunction with the release of albums collecting Lennon's work. It has also appeared on compilations of Christmas songs, notably those from the "Now That's What I Call Music!" series.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: A rough mix produced during the first recording session on 28 October 1971 was released in 1998 on the "John Lennon Anthology".


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: A music video for "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" appeared on "The John Lennon Video Collection", released on VHS in 1992, corresponding to the 1989 reissue of "The John Lennon Collection". It consisted of images from Lennon and Ono's 1969 "War is Over!" billboard campaign and candid photographs of the couple and their son Sean from the late 1970s, interspersed with a boys' choral ensemble singing along with the original Harlem Community Choir vocals.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: In 2003, a new video was created for the remastered 5.1 version of the song for the DVD "". This version is composed of documentary footage, mostly depicting children, from the Vietnam War, in addition to recent scenes from various conflicts in the Horn of Africa, the Bosnian War, the 11 September 2001 attack in New York City, and the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: On its US single debut in 1971, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" did not meet with much success. This was due to the single's late release, which resulted in limited airplay before Christmas, and a lack of promotion. The single peaked at number 36 on the "Cash Box" Top 100 Singles and number 28 on the "Record World" Singles Chart, and number 3 on the "Billboard" Christmas Singles chart. The single subsequently re-appeared on the "Billboard" Christmas charts in 1972, 1983, 1984, and 1985. The song appeared at number 32 on the "Billboard" Hot Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending 6 January 1996.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" enjoyed immediate success in Britain when issued there in November 1972. The song peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the listings compiled by "Melody Maker". Since then, it has re-entered the UK Singles Chart nine more times. The most notable of these instances occurred immediately following Lennon's death on 8 December 1980. The single peaked at number 2 – behind another reissued Lennon single, "Imagine" – and remained on the chart for nine weeks.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Between December 1972 and February 1973, the song entered the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Singapore.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: In 1985, Australian group the Incredible Penguins released a version of the song, which peaked at number 10 on the Australian singles chart in December 1985.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: In recent decades, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has gained a higher profile in the cultural mainstream due to an increasing proliferation of recordings by other musical artists, most having been recorded during the last twenty years. Among these, two have entered the "Billboard" charts, both of them in the same year. The first was released on 17 October 2006 by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan along with her album "Wintersong", which was the best-selling Christmas album of the year and a Grammy nominee. It features backing vocals from the Children's and Youth Choirs of the Music Outreach Program at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver, British Columbia. Entering the "Billboard" Adult Contemporary chart at number 22 on the week ending 9 December 2006, it climbed to a peak position of number 5, four weeks later. The second was released on 12 December 2006 by American rock band The Fray as a digital download. It debuted at number 50 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 41 on the Pop 100 in the week ending 31 December 2006, but stayed on the respective charts for only one more week.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Some of the earliest of the other versions of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" appear on holiday albums released by major pop singers, such as "I Still Believe in Santa Claus" (1990) by Andy Williams, "The Christmas Album" (1992) by Neil Diamond, and "A Very Special Season" (1994) by Diana Ross.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: Other notable recordings of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" include a 1991 version on the album "Standards" by The Alarm, a 1994 in-concert performance by Melissa Etheridge, a 1995 Brazilian version by Simone, the 2002 version by South African band Toxic Shame, the 2002 "Maybe This Christmas" version from Sense Field, Australian Singer Delta Goodrem was recorded this song as a b-side on her 5th single Predictable. The 2005 single release by Maroon 5, and a 2009 version by mash-up band Beatallica on the album "Winter Plunderband". On 13 December 2012, Sean Lennon performed the song with gospel singer Mavis Staples, Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco, and the Harlem Gospel Choir on the Comedy Central program "The Colbert Report". This version was made available for purchase on the music download site iTunes, and proceeds were donated to Hurricane Sandy disaster relief. During John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert Sheryl Crow, Aloe Blacc, and Peter Frampton performed the song with a children's chorus from The Stuttering Association for the Youth.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: On 14 December 2018, Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson recorded a version of the song featuring Lennon's son, Sean Ono Lennon. The three of them performed their cover on the 15 December 2018 episode of "Saturday Night Live", where Ronson and Cyrus were booked as the episode's musical guests. In November 2019 John Legend released a new version of the song, including string arrangements by Matt Jones which featured an improvised solo by violinist Scott Tixier. It reached number nine in the UK Singles Chart.The song was also covered in late 2019 by two VTubers Hime Tanaka and Hina Suzuki.


title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

text: A French version was recorded by René Simard & his little sister Nathalie entitled "Noël Des Enfants" from René's album 18 ans déjà.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933), New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). He was named the National League (NL)'s Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice, and was a member of one World Series championship team.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Born in Winters, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Hornsby played for several semi-professional and minor league teams. In 1915, he began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals and remained with the team for 12 seasons. During this period, Hornsby won his first MVP Award and the Cardinals won the 1926 World Series. After that season, he spent one season with the New York Giants and another with the Boston Braves before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Cubs for four years and won his second MVP Award before the team released him in 1932. Hornsby re-signed with the Cardinals in 1933, but was released partway through the season, effectively ending his career as a full-time player. He was picked up by the St. Louis Browns and remained there until his final season in 1937, though he made only 67 appearances for them as a player. From 1925 to 1937, Hornsby was intermittently a player-manager. After retiring as a player, he managed the Browns in 1952 and the Cincinnati Reds from 1952 to 1953.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby is regarded as one of the best hitters of all time. He had 2,930 hits and 301 home runs in his career; his career batting average of .358 is third only to Ty Cobb, at .366 and Oscar Charleston, at .364, in MLB history. He also won two Triple Crowns and batted .400 or more three times during his career. He is the only player to hit 40 home runs and bat .400 in the same year (1922). His batting average for the 1924 season was .424, a mark that no player has matched since. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942 and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby married three times, in 1918, 1924, and 1957, and had two children. Known as someone who was difficult to get along with, he was not well-liked by his fellow players. He never smoked, drank, or went to the movies, but frequently gambled on horse races during his career.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby was born in Winters, Texas, the last of Ed and Mary (Rogers) Hornsby's six children. Hornsby was two when his father died of unknown causes. Four years later, the surviving Hornsbys moved to Fort Worth, Texas, so Hornsby's brothers could get jobs in the meat packing industry to support the family.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby started playing baseball at a very young age; he once said, "I can't remember anything that happened before I had a baseball in my hand." He took a job with the Swift and Company meat industry plant as a messenger boy when he was 10, and he also served as a substitute infielder on its baseball team. By the age of 15, Hornsby was already playing for several semi-professional teams. He also played baseball for North Side High School until 10th grade, when he dropped out to take a full-time job at Swift. While he was in high school, Hornsby also played on the football team, alongside future College Football Hall of Famer Bo McMillin.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In 1914, Hornsby's older brother Everett, a minor league baseball player for many years, arranged for Rogers to get a tryout with the Texas League's Dallas Steers. He made the team, but was released two weeks later without appearing in a game. He then signed with the Hugo Scouts of the Class D Texas–Oklahoma League as their shortstop for $75 per month ($ today). The team folded a third of the way through the season, and Hornsby's contract was sold to the Denison Champions of the same league for $125 ($ today). Hornsby batted a combined .232 in 1914 and committed 45 errors in 113 games.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: The Denison team changed its name to the Railroaders and joined the Western Association in 1915, and raised Hornsby's salary to $90 per month ($ today). Hornsby's average improved to .277 in 119 games, but he made 58 errors. Nonetheless, his contributions helped the Railroaders win the Western Association pennant. At the end of the season a writer from "The Sporting News" said that Hornsby was one of about a dozen Western Association players to show any major league potential.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby came to the attention of the Major League St. Louis Cardinals during an exhibition series between that team and the Railroaders in spring training in 1915. Cardinals' manager Miller Huggins told his only scout, Bob Connery, to look for minor league players to fill the roster of their financially struggling National League team. In September, the Cardinals purchased Hornsby's contract from Denison and added him to their major league roster, although his only professional baseball experience had been in Class D. Hornsby's first game came on September 10, when he relieved Art Butler at shortstop in a 7–1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Three days later he started a game, and he got his first hit the next day against Rube Marquard of the Brooklyn Robins. Hornsby finished the season with a .246 average in 57 at-bats while the Cardinals finished in sixth place in the National League (NL). At only 19 years old, Hornsby was the fourth-youngest player in the NL that year.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: The Cardinals picked up Roy Corhan from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League to play at shortstop in 1916, making Hornsby one of three candidates for the position. Hornsby's great performance in spring training, a shoulder injury to Corhan, and poor hitting by Butler meant Hornsby was the starting shortstop on Opening Day. He had both runs batted in (RBIs) in the Cardinals' 2–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that day. On May 14, he hit his first major league home run against Jeff Pfeffer of Brooklyn. He rotated among infield positions before finally settling in at third base for much of the second half of the year. Late in the season, he missed 11 games with a sprained ankle. He finished 1916 with a .313 average, fourth in the NL, and he was one short of the league lead in triples with 15.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby returned to the shortstop position in 1917 after Corhan returned to San Francisco and Butler was released. After playing nearly every game throughout the first month of the season, Hornsby was called away from the team on May 29 after his brother William was shot and killed in a saloon. Rogers attended the funeral on June 1 and returned to the Cardinals on June 3, finishing the season without missing any more playing time. His batting statistics improved from the previous season; his .327 batting average was second in the league, and he led the league in triples (17), total bases (253), and slugging percentage (.484).


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Many baseball players were drafted to fight in World War I in 1918, but Hornsby was given a draft deferment because he was supporting his family. During the offseason, Miller Huggins, unhappy with the Cardinals' management, left the team to manage the New York Yankees. He was replaced by Jack Hendricks, who had managed the Indianapolis Indians to a pennant in the American Association the previous year. Hornsby lacked confidence in Hendricks's ability to run the Cardinals, and the two men developed animosity towards each other as a result of Hornsby's growing egotism and fondness for former manager Huggins. Under Hendricks, Hornsby's batting average dipped to .281. He had problems off the field too; on June 17, Hornsby hit St. Louis resident Frank G. Rowe with his Buick when Rowe stepped out in front of traffic to cross an intersection. Rowe sued Hornsby for $15,000 ($ today), but Hornsby eventually settled for a smaller, undisclosed amount, and the case was dismissed. He was still among the league leaders in triples and slugging percentage in 1918, but after the season ended with the Cardinals in last place, he announced that he would never play under Hendricks again. Partially due to Hornsby's complaints, Hendricks was fired after the season and replaced by Branch Rickey, then president of the Cardinals.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In 1919, after the Cardinals acquired shortstop Doc Lavan, Rickey tried converting Hornsby into a second baseman in spring training. Hornsby played third base for most of the year. His batting average was low at the beginning of the season but improved by June. At season's end, his average of .318 was second-highest in the league, and he also finished second in total bases and runs batted in.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In 1920, Rickey moved Hornsby to second base, where he remained for the rest of his career. He started the year with a 14-game hitting streak. On June 4, he had two triples and two RBIs as the Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs 5–1, a game that ended future Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander's 11-game winning streak. Hornsby finished the season with the first of seven batting titles by hitting .370, and he also led the league in on-base percentage (.431), slugging percentage (.559), hits (218), total bases (329), doubles (44), and RBIs (94).


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: The beginning of the live-ball era led to a spike in hitting productivity throughout the majors, which helped Hornsby to hit with increased power during the 1921 season. He hit .397 in 1921, and his 21 home runs were second in the league, more than twice his total in any previous season. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.639), runs scored (131), RBIs (126), doubles (44), and triples (18). The Cardinals held a special day in Hornsby's honor on September 30 before a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they presented Hornsby with multiple awards before the game, including a baseball autographed by President of the United States Warren G. Harding. The Cardinals beat the Pirates 12–4 that day as Hornsby hit a home run and had two doubles.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: By the 1922 season, Hornsby was considered a big star, having led the league in batting average, hits, doubles, and runs batted in multiple times. As a result, he sought a three-year contract for $25,000 per season. After negotiating with Cardinals management he settled for three years at $18,500 ($ today), which made him the highest-paid player in league history to that point. On August 5, Hornsby set a new NL record when he hit his 28th home run of the season, off Jimmy Ring of the Philadelphia Phillies. From August 13 through September 19, he had a 33-game hitting streak. Hornsby set National League records in 1922 with 42 home runs, 250 hits and a .722 slugging percentage (still the highest ever for players with 600+ at-bats). His .401 batting average was the highest in the National League since 1897. He won the first of his two Triple Crowns that year, and he led the league in RBIs (152), on-base percentage (.459), doubles (46), and runs scored (141). His 450 total bases in 1922 remain the National League single-season record. On defense, Hornsby led all second basemen in putouts, double plays, and fielding percentage.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: On May 8, 1923, Hornsby suffered an injury to his left knee in a game against the Phillies when he turned to make a throw. He returned 10 days later, but the injury lingered, and he was removed from a game against the Pirates on May 26 to be examined by Robert Hyland, the Cardinals' physician. Hyland had Hornsby's knee placed in a cast for two weeks, after which he returned to the Cardinals. During a game in August, Hornsby was on third base late in the game and threw up his hands in disgust in response to a sign flashed by Rickey; he had given the current batter the take sign, and Hornsby felt the batter should have hit the ball. After the game, he and Rickey fought in the clubhouse, but teammates quickly broke it up. Hornsby missed several games late in the year with injuries that the Cardinals (and Hyland) did not believe to be serious; as a result he was fined $500 ($ today) and suspended for the last five games of the year. However, Hornsby still won his fourth consecutive NL batting title with a batting average of .384. He also repeated as the leader in on-base percentage (.459) and slugging percentage (.627).


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby raised his average to .424 in 1924, which is the fourth-highest batting average in a single season in MLB history, and the live-ball era batting average record. He led the league with 89 walks, producing a .507 on-base percentage, a National League record for over 75 years. His slugging percentage of .696 again led the league, as did his 121 runs scored, 227 hits, and 43 doubles; he hit 25 home runs as well. That year, the NL reintroduced its Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Although Hornsby was expected to win the award, it went to Dazzy Vance instead. Cincinnati voter Jack Ryder left Hornsby's name off his ballot altogether because he believed Hornsby was an MVP on the stat sheet, but was not a team player. In 1962, the Baseball Writers' Association of America presented Hornsby with an award retroactively recognizing him as the 1924 MVP.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In 1925, Sam Breadon, the owner of the Cardinals, wished to replace Rickey as manager. Hornsby initially declined the job. After discovering that Rickey planned to sell his stock in the Cardinals if he was replaced as field manager, Hornsby agreed to take the job as long as Breadon would help him purchase the stock. Breadon agreed, and Hornsby became the Cardinals' player-manager. Hornsby finished the year with his second Triple Crown, when he combined a .403 batting average with 39 home runs and 143 RBIs in 138 games. He bested teammate Jim Bottomley in the batting title race by nearly 40 points. His 1925 batting average has not been matched by any National Leaguer since. That year, he won the MVP Award, receiving 73 out of 80 possible votes. His .756 slugging percentage and 1.245 on-base plus slugging set National League records that stood until broken by Barry Bonds in 2001. The Cardinals finished in fourth place in 1925, finishing one game over .500, though the team won 64 games and lost 51 under Hornsby. During the year, his wife Jeanette had a son, Billy.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby had an off-year offensively in 1926, as he hit only .317 with 11 home runs. Nonetheless, St. Louis won its first NL pennant. In the 1926 World Series, the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in a seven-game series; Hornsby tagged out Babe Ruth on a stolen base attempt, ending the Series and making the Cardinals world champions of baseball. It would also be the only time in Hornsby's long career that he would be part of a world champion. In the series, Hornsby batted .250, with one extra base hit and 4 RBIs. Years later, Hornsby said that his tag of Ruth was the biggest thrill of his career.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: During post-season negotiations for a new contract, Hornsby demanded $50,000 per year for three years. Breadon agreed to a one-year contract for $50,000 ($ today), with the stipulation that Hornsby stay away from the track. When Hornsby refused to give way, the Cardinals traded him to the New York Giants for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring on December 20, 1926. Indeed, Breadon had lost patience with Hornsby, even though he had led the Cardinals to their first undisputed world title. He had already arranged to send him to New York if contract talks fell through; later, Breadon said he so wanted to part ways with Hornsby that he was afraid Hornsby would call his bluff and take the one-year deal. The trade was briefly postponed as NL president John Heydler stated that Hornsby could not play for the Giants while he held stock in the Cardinals. Hornsby wanted $105 per share for his stock, a price Breadon was unwilling to pay. In early 1927, Hornsby was able to sell his shares at $105 each, enabling him to officially become a Giant.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby enjoyed a better season in 1927, as he hit .361 and led the league in runs scored (133), walks (86), and on-base percentage (.448). He was a player-coach, and managed the Giants for part of the year after John McGraw briefly stood down due to sinusitis. Hornsby's performance helped guide the Giants to a 92–62 win–loss record during the season, which was good enough for third place in the NL. McGraw was initially overjoyed to finally get Hornsby, having sought to trade for him at least as early as 1920. However, their relationship quickly soured due to Hornsby's overbearing personality. Additionally, his gambling problems at the race track and distrust of Giants' management annoyed team owner Charles Stoneham. During the offseason he was traded to the Boston Braves for Jimmy Welsh and Shanty Hogan.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: With the Boston Braves in 1928, Hornsby was again the league's most productive hitter; he won his seventh batting title with a .387 average, also leading the league in on-base percentage (.498), slugging percentage (.632), and walks (107). One month into the season, manager Jack Slattery resigned, and the Braves hired Hornsby to be his replacement. The Braves, however, lost 103 games and finished in seventh place out of eight teams in the NL. They were also struggling financially, and when the Chicago Cubs offered $200,000 ($ today) and five players for Hornsby, the Braves found the offer too good to pass up. Indeed, Hornsby was well aware of the Braves' financial struggles and actually encouraged Braves owner Emil Fuchs to trade him to Chicago.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby hit .380 for Chicago in 1929 while recording 39 home runs and a league-leading .679 slugging percentage. His 156 runs scored led the major leagues and is still the team record while his .380 batting average remains the highest for a Cub since 1895. He also collected another MVP award, and the Cubs won the NL pennant. However, they lost in the 1929 World Series to the Philadelphia Athletics in five games, as Hornsby batted .238 with one RBI. He also set a World Series record for strikeouts with eight.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: After the first two months of the 1930 season, Hornsby was batting .325 with two home runs. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals, Hornsby broke his ankle while advancing to third base. He did not return until August 19, and he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter for the rest of the season. With four games to go in the season, the Cubs fired manager Joe McCarthy, replacing him with Hornsby. Although there were longstanding rumors Hornsby had actively undermined McCarthy, Hornsby adamantly denied this; in fact, he and McCarthy were very close friends. Hornsby finished the year with a .308 batting average and two home runs.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: On April 24, 1931, Hornsby hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in a 10–6 victory over Pittsburgh. Hornsby played in 44 of the first 48 games, but after a disappointing performance he played himself only about half the time for the rest of the year. In 100 games, he had 90 RBIs, 37 doubles, and a batting average of .331. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.421) for the ninth time in his career. The team finished 84–70, 17 games back of the pennant-winning Cardinals, and four games back of the Giants.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby was bothered by boils on his feet during the start of the 1932 season, which kept him out of the lineup until May 29. Hornsby played right field from May 29 to June 10, appeared in two games as a pinch hitter, played third base from July 14 through July 18, and played one last game as a Cub when he pinch-hit on July 31.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Cubs president William Veeck Sr. had never liked the idea of Hornsby as a manager; indeed, he briefly resigned when principal owner William Wrigley, Jr. ousted McCarthy in his favor. Over the next year-and-a-half, Veeck grew increasingly dissatisfied with Hornsby, believing his autocratic managing style hurt team morale. Veeck was particularly angered when Hornsby disagreed with an umpire's call, but sent another player out to argue the call. That player was ejected from the game. Veeck believed Hornsby breached an unwritten rule of baseball which called for the manager to argue calls himself. On August 2, although the Cubs were in second place, Veeck fired Hornsby as manager and released him as a player. First baseman Charlie Grimm took over as manager for the rest of the season. Hornsby had played 19 games, batting .224 with one home run and seven RBIs. Although the Cubs advanced to the 1932 World Series, the players voted not to give Hornsby a share of money from the World Series.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby did not play for the rest of 1932, but the Cardinals signed him as a player on October 24 for the 1933 season. Breadon put aside his previous disputes with Hornsby and brought him back to St. Louis, knowing that Hornsby could still handle a bat. He played regularly at second base from April 25 through May 5 in what would be his last non-cameo appearances as a player. After May 5, the Cardinals used him mostly as a pinch hitter due to numerous foot and leg problems. On July 22, Hornsby got his final NL hit in a 9–5 loss to the Braves. Through July 23, Hornsby was batting .325 with two home runs and 21 RBIs. However, that day, the Cardinals waived him. By this time, the Cardinals were in fifth place and long out of the pennant race, and Breadon was concerned that Hornsby was no longer able to play regularly.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby was claimed by the last-place St. Louis Browns of the American League on July 26. The Browns immediately named him player-manager; Bill Killefer had just resigned as manager, and Browns owner Phil Ball wanted Hornsby as a replacement. It would be one of Ball's last acts before his death in October. Hornsby appeared in 11 games for the Browns. He had three hits, including a home run, in nine at-bats. The Browns finished in last place in the AL. That year, Hornsby began operating a baseball school in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which he ran on and off between 1933 and 1951 with various associates. He played in a total of 57 games in 1933.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In 1934, Hornsby appeared in 24 games, but started only two of them–one at third base, and the other in right field. In all of his other appearances, he was a pinch hitter. For the season, he batted .304 with one home run and 11 RBIs. The Browns improved on their previous season, finishing in sixth place out of eight teams in the AL.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby played in 10 games in the 1935 season, starting in four. From April 16 through April 21, he started at first base, and he started at third base on May 22. He finished the year with five hits and a .208 average, while the Browns slipped to seventh place. The regression came in part because Ball's estate, which was running the Browns pending a sale, refused to infuse badly-needed capital into the team. The Browns had to sell promising players in order to pay the bills–a pattern that would continue throughout Hornsby's tenure with the Browns.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby appeared in only two games with the team during the 1936 season. On May 31, his pinch-hit single in the ninth inning gave the Browns an 11–10 win over the Detroit Tigers. In his other appearance on June 9, he played first base in a 5–3 win over the Yankees. The Browns again finished in seventh place. After the season, Hornsby publicly decried his team's lack of talent. He also claimed Ball's estate made it difficult to enforce discipline.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In the winter of 1936, the Ball estate sold the Browns to Donald Lee Barnes, who retained Hornsby as manager on Rickey's advice. In 1937, Hornsby played in 20 games. On April 21, in his first game of the year, Hornsby hit the final home run of his career in a 15–10 victory over the Chicago White Sox. On July 5, he had the final hit of his career in a 15–4 loss in the second game of a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: On July 20, Hornsby appeared in what would be his final game, a 5–4 loss to the Yankees. A day later, Hornsby was fired as manager and released as a player by the Browns, who were in last place at the time of his release. Accounts differ on the circumstances that led to his ouster. According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Barnes had lost patience with Hornsby's compulsive gambling, and fired him after learning that Hornsby was actually placing horse racing bets during a game. However, according to biographer Charles C. Alexander, Hornsby won $35,000 ($ today) from betting on a race on July 15. When he tried to use $4,000 of this money to pay off a debt to Barnes, Barnes refused to accept it, since it had come from a bookmaker. Hornsby protested to Barnes, "The money is as good as the money you take from people in the loan-shark business. It's better than taking interest from widows and orphans". Barnes released him five days later. Hornsby finished the 1937 season with a .321 batting average and 18 hits in 20 games, and was the oldest player in the AL that season.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Following his release from the Browns, Hornsby was unable to retire because he had lost so much money gambling over the years. He signed as a player-coach with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1938 before leaving them to play for and manage the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association for the rest of the season. Hornsby then returned to the Orioles to manage them for 1939, but he did not return to the club following the season.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Halfway through 1940, he signed to manage the Oklahoma City Indians of the Texas League. Hornsby led them from last place to the Texas League playoffs, where they fell to the Houston Buffaloes in four games. Hornsby began 1941 managing the Indians once again, but he resigned in the middle of the season. In November, he became the general and field manager of the Fort Worth Cats, also of the Texas league. Fort Worth finished in third place and made the playoffs in 1942, but they were eliminated in the first round by the Shreveport Sports. The league decided to suspend operations for the duration of World War II in 1943.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: In February 1944, Hornsby signed as a player-manager with the Veracruz Blues of the Mexican League for the coming season. Hornsby won two games inserting himself as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, including one occasion in which he drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double. His tenure in Mexico ended after only nine days, however, owing to financial differences with team owner Jorge Pasquel. Hornsby announced:


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: I'm perfectly willing to keep my own agreements if the other fellow keeps his, but in this case it's hopeless. I found out that I'd even have to pay my expenses on road trips, and that's unheard of. The management finally consented to pay my expenses but there were many other matters to iron out. I finally gave up.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Following his return to the United States, Hornsby spent 1945 out of baseball, his first campaign out of the game in over three decades. There were rumors that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had informally blackballed him from the majors because of his persistent gambling. However, Hornsby had a long wait to get another major-league job even after Landis died in November 1944. He did some commentary for radio station WTMV in East St. Louis, Illinois, served as a spring-training hitting instructor for the Chicago White Sox in 1946 and the Cleveland Indians in 1947, and became a TV announcer for Chicago Cubs games in 1949.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby did not become a manager or coach again until 1950, when he was hired to manage the Texas League's Beaumont Roughnecks. He led the Roughnecks to the pennant, but they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Missions. The next year, in 1951, Hornsby managed the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. Under Hornsby's leadership, the Rainiers won the pennant.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: With Hornsby's success in Beaumont and Seattle, both of St. Louis' major-league teams offered him three-year contracts. He decided to return to the Browns, apparently believing there was a greater upside to rebuilding a perennial loser than there was to managing a perennial contender. The Browns' owner, Bill Veeck, was the son of former Cubs president William Veeck Sr. Hornsby was not well received by the players, however. He reportedly spoke to players only to criticize them. As the season wore on and the losses piled up, Hornsby's fuse became even shorter.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: On June 9, he was fired after a disagreement with Veeck over an incident against the Yankees the day before. During the game, a fan prevented Gil McDougald of the Yankees from catching a fly ball, and the umpire ruled that it was fan interference. Hornsby did not initially argue the call, coming out of the dugout only on orders from Veeck (when it was already too late to do anything about it). This led to Hornsby and the Browns parting ways. The Browns players were so happy about Hornsby's firing that they gave Veeck an engraved trophy to thank him.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: A little over a month later, on July 26, Hornsby was hired to replace Luke Sewell as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds went 27-23 for the rest of the season. However, late in a lackluster 1953 season, the Reds announced that he would not return for 1954. He resigned with eight games to go in the season; coach Buster Mills replaced him. He finished his MLB managerial career with a record of 701–812.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Following his dismissal from the Reds, Hornsby worked as a coach for the Cubs from 1958 to 1960 before becoming a scout and third base coach for the New York Mets in 1962. In 1963, Hornsby died of a heart attack. He was buried in Hornsby Bend Cemetery near Austin, Texas.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Baseball experts and sportswriters consider Hornsby to be one of the greatest hitters of all time. His lifetime batting average of .358 is only exceeded by Ty Cobb's career mark of .366, and Oscar Charleston's .364. He won seven batting titles in total, number three all-time at the time of his retirement, and a feat tied or exceeded by only five players (Cobb [11 or 12, depending on the source], Tony Gwynn [8], Honus Wagner [8], Rod Carew [7], and Stan Musial [7]). Hornsby led the National League in slugging percentage nine times, a record that still stands. He also hit more home runs, drove in more runs, and had a higher batting average than any other National League player during the 1920s, which makes him one of four players in baseball history (along with Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, and Albert Pujols) to win a decade "triple crown". He hit a career total of 301 home runs and was the first player to reach 300 while playing mostly in the National League. His 264 home runs as a second baseman was a major league record for that position until Joe Morgan surpassed him in 1984. Hornsby was also a very consistent hitter whether he was playing at home or on the road. His lifetime home batting average was .359, and his lifetime away batting average was .358. Ted Williams, who had the highest career batting average since Hornsby, said that Hornsby was the greatest hitter for power and average in baseball, and Frankie Frisch said of him, "He's the only guy I know who could hit .350 in the dark." Hornsby also holds second place on the unofficial major league record list of "consecutive games with two or more hits" with 13 games, two behind Count Campau, a nineteenth-century player who retired in 1894. Hornsby is only the second right-handed batter in history to hit over .400 three times and is considered, according to the "Los Angeles Times", to be the greatest right-handed hitter in history. He led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases every year from 1920 to 1925.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Rogers Hornsby was so respected as a hitter that once, when a rookie pitcher complained to umpire Bill Klem that he thought he had thrown Rogers a strike, Klem replied, "Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know."


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby was also renowned for his speed, and was considered to be the fastest player in the National League in his prime. He did not try to steal very often but used his speed to take extra bases. Between 1916 and 1927 Hornsby had 30 inside-the-park home runs, and he led the league with 17 triples in 1917 and 18 triples in 1921; he had 20 triples in 1920.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby never went to movies or read books, convinced that it would harm a batter's eyesight, and he never smoked or drank. He was notoriously difficult to get along with, a major reason he changed teams so frequently in the last decade of his career. He usually left due to falling out with the front office. Most of the players he managed did not like him due to his insistence that others follow his lifestyle, although some (like Woody English and Clint Courtney) did. As one contemporary writer put it, "Hornsby knew more about baseball and less about diplomacy than any player I knew." Hornsby never played cards, but he did bet frequently on horse races, and he lost more than he won. His compulsive gambling was often a factor in his dismissal from a team; by one account, he lost at least one managerial job for placing a bet during a game. He was forced to play in the minors well into his 40s to make up for losing so much money on bets that went sour. By most contemporary accounts, he was at least as mean and nasty as Cobb, who was known in his time for his aggressive attitude and dirty play.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942. In 1999, Hornsby was ranked ninth on "The Sporting News" list of Baseball's Greatest Players. Later that year, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2001, writer Bill James ranked him as the 22nd-greatest player and the third-greatest second baseman in baseball history, while at the same time documenting his unpopularity and his difficult personality. He is also tied for eighth overall with Stan Musial in wins above replacement for position players. Hornsby has also been recognized on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. In January 2014, the Cardinals announced Hornsby among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of 2014.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: On September 23, 1918, Hornsby married Sarah Elizabeth Martin, whom he had known since he played for the Denison Railroaders, in Philadelphia. They had a son, Rogers Hornsby, Jr., on November 15, 1920. Rogers Jr. died in a plane crash on December 23, 1949, near Savannah, Georgia.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: During 1922 he began seeing Jeanette Pennington Hine, who was married to an automobile-supply salesman named John Hine. On June 12, 1923, Hornsby divorced Sarah, and Hine divorced her spouse in 1923 as well; the two were married on February 28, 1924. As a result of the divorce, Sarah took custody of Rogers Jr.


title: Rogers Hornsby

text: Hornsby and Jeanette had a son, Billy, on June 2, 1925. Billy played baseball for several years in the minor leagues, but never reached the majors. Hornsby and Jeanette became estranged in December 1944, and Hornsby began seeing a woman named Bernadette Harris, whom he called his "personal good friend and secretary", in 1945. They lived together after 1948. Harris committed suicide by jumping out of a third-story window on September 7, 1953. Her suicide was attributed to depression. Following Jeanette's death on June 1, 1956, Hornsby married Marjorie Bernice Frederick Porter on January 27, 1957. They remained together until Hornsby's death in 1963.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: , often shortened to , and known in English as KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto. It takes place in the present day, in and around a neighborhood police station (kōban) in the downtown part of Tokyo, and revolves around the misadventures of middle-aged cop Kankichi Ryotsu.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: It was continuously serialized in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" for 40 years, from September 1976 to September 2016. Its 1,960 chapters were collected into 201 "tankōbon" volumes, making it the manga with the second-highest number of volumes for a single series. The manga has been adapted into an anime television series, produced by Studio Gallop and broadcast in Japan by Fuji TV, three theatrical animated films (by Tatsunoko and Gallop, respectively), two live-action movies, several stage adaptations, and a live-action television series. In addition, a short anime featuring characters from the series was produced to popularize the Paralympic sport of goalball, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics of 2020 (held in 2021).


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: As of 2016, the manga had over 156.5 million copies in circulation, making it the eighth best-selling manga series in history. In 2005, "Kochikame" won the Special Judges Award at the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award, as well as the 48th Seiun Award for Best Comic in 2017.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: The "KochiKame" plot involves Kankichi "Ryo-san" Ryotsu coming up with a money-making scheme by inventing a new gadget or capitalizing on a fad, achieving great success, calling on Keiichi Nakagawa's help as things turn sour, and finally losing it all as the fad runs out of steam or out of control. While the plots are gag-driven, much of the humor comes from the combination of mundane characters with those that are bizarrely out of place; such as Nakagawa who has wealth and Ai Asato who is a transsexual. What they have in common is everyone's lack of actual police work, most of which is never explained or rationalized in the slightest. (It is explained in "Jump" that Ryo-san is one of the best officers at catching criminals.) Nakagawa and Reiko Akimoto have special licenses (such as for wearing personal clothes instead of uniforms to work) from police headquarters because of their skills in linguistics.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: The plot consistently evolved with the times and most of the main characters do not really age, despite the fact that the series started in the 1970s and is later clearly set in the 2010s. However, some characters do age, like the grandchild of Buchao, who was a baby in the early volumes, but is now close to junior high, which the author has self-mocked in a few "look back" chapters/episodes. "KochiKame" has a broad audience, ranging from adolescent boys to middle-aged salarymen. Ryo-san's antics appeal to children who can laugh at an old buffoon, and to men fearing that they are becoming old buffoons themselves—and also because it often subtly mocks the latest fads and trends. The stories are generally innocent in content, and what little violence appears is comical, while the occasional risqué subjects are included strictly for laughs rather than to titillate. "KochiKame"s immense popularity has led to guest appearances in the strip by real-life Japanese celebrities such as Tetsuya Komuro.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: For creator Osamu Akimoto, "KochiKame" is an homage to the working-class people and districts of old Tokyo, and most chapters open with an elaborate full-page illustration of a Shitamachi (downtown) street scene, typically with old wooden buildings and boys playing in the streets.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: Written and illustrated by Osamu Akimoto, "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo" was continuously serialized in the "shōnen" manga anthology "Weekly Shōnen Jump" since September 21, 1976. Akimoto debuted the series under the pen name of "Tatsuhiko Yamadome", but changed to using his real name in 1978, when it reached its 100th chapter. Periodically the chapters were collected into "tankōbon" volumes by publisher Shueisha, the first released on July 9, 1977. The series ended on September 17, 2016, in the 42nd issue of the year, in commemoration of "KochiKame"s 40th anniversary. Its 200th "tankōbon" volume was published on the same day. Shueisha reprinted the issue that included the final chapter on December 31, 2016, marking the first time a "Weekly Shōnen Jump" issue has ever been reprinted. Akimoto created a new chapter of "Kochikame" for the 42nd issue of "Weekly Shōnen Jump" on September 16, 2017. On July 18, 2021, it was announced the manga would receive a 201st volume, which was released on October 4, 2021.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: From March 2017 to June 2019, Akimoto serialized a sequel in the "seinen" magazine "Ultra Jump". Titled , it is set in a "sentō" next to a police station in Shitamachi, Tokyo.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: Since "KochiKame"s inception in "Jump" in 1976, the series was not adapted into anime often, most likely because it would have been more suited for a live-action adaptation. The closest it could get when being adapted into anime was either in the form of commercials for certain products sold in Japan such as toys and snack foods as early as 1980, and a 30-minute animated film produced by Tatsunoko Production which was shown alongside an animated adaptation of Izumi Matsumoto's "Kimagure Orange Road" (another popular "Jump" manga from 1984) produced by Studio Pierrot at a "Shonen Jump Anime Festival" hosted by Shueisha in 1985. It was directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa, who, at the time, was renowned for his directorial work on Tatsunoko's other works such as "Speed Racer" and the "Time Bokan" franchise. It was issued on home video by Shueisha under the "Jump Video" imprint as a prize for winners of a contest that took place in several issues of "Weekly Shonen Jump" for the magazine's 20th anniversary in 1988. However, to this day only small images of footage from the film can be seen on the internet since the film was not released broadly.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: An anime television adaptation of "KochiKame" finally began airing on Fuji Television on June 16, 1996. Produced by Studio Gallop, it ran for eight years and 382 episodes before ending on December 19, 2004. Two animated theatrical films were also produced; on December 23, 1999, and on December 20, 2003.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: On September 18, 2016, an hour-long special by Studio Gallop aired on Fuji TV for the manga's 40th anniversary. features several voice actors reprising their roles from the previous series, as well as director Akira Shigeno.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: In summer of 2006, a dubbed Hindi version of "KochiKame" began airing on Hungama TV in India, and later on Disney XD India from 2011 to 2013.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: "KochiKame" has also had live-action film, a TV drama and stage adaptations. The movie was directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, starred Mitsuo Senda as Ryo-san and was released in 1977. A live-action TV series starring Katori Shingo as Ryo-san began airing on TBS on August 1, 2009. A second live-action movie, based on this TV series and titled "KochiKame - The Movie: Save The Kachidiki Bridge!", opened in Japan on August 6, 2011. Another play adaptation opened in September 2016 for the series' 40th anniversary and, like the others, it was directed, written by and stars Lasar Ishii as Ryo-san, who is also the voice actor for the character in anime adaptations.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the series received a 6-part crossover anthology novel with various characters from other series on September 17, 2016. Titled , the other series are "Girls und Panzer", "Osomatsu-san", "Haruchika", "Cheer Boys!!", "Sorcerous Stabber Orphen" and "Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de".


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: Ryotsu appears playable in the "Weekly Shōnen Jump" crossover fighting video games "Jump Super Stars", "Jump Ultimate Stars" and "J-Stars Victory VS". Other characters from the series appear in a non-playable capacity. "J-Stars Victory VS."s North American and European release (as "J-Stars Victory VS.+") marks the first official release of "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo" material in English-speaking territories. In addition, various toys and collectibles have been created, including some items that first appeared in the manga as creations of Ryo-san.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: Kameari Koen is an actual park in Tokyo's Katsushika ward. The police station is fictional, but it is modeled after a real one located on the north side of Kameari railway station. The manga has brought considerable fame to the neighborhood, and it draws sightseers from all over Japan to a (usually vacant) station in a nondescript residential neighborhood. There is only a vacant lot where the police station is actually supposed to be located.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: In February 2006, two life-size bronze statues of Ryo-san were erected at the north and south gates of Kameari Station. There is currently a trail of 14 statues in the area.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo"s serialization, several special events were held. Separate one-shots of the series were published in thirteen different Shueisha magazines between August and October 2006.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: As of 2016, "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo" had sold over 156.5million "tankōbon" copies; making it one of the best-selling manga series in history. With 200 volumes, the series held the Guinness World Record for "Most volumes published for a single manga series" from September 2016 to July 2021.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: In November 2014, readers of "Da Vinci" magazine voted "Kochikame" number 7 on a list of "Weekly Shōnen Jump"s greatest manga series of all time. "Kochikame" won the Special Judges Award at the 50th Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2005. Akimoto received the Special Prize at the 21st Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for the manga in 2017. "Kochikame" was awarded the 48th Seiun Award for the Best Comic in 2017.


title: KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

text: In 2005, TV Asahi named the anime number 36 on its list of the Top 100 Anime. Mike Toole of "Anime News Network" included "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo the Movie" at number 56 on The Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time, a list of "lesser-known, lesser-loved classics." He called it ""Kochikame" at its best, a zippy combination of daffy comedy and solid action set pieces," with one of the funniest false endings ever.


title: Alecto

text: According to Hesiod, Alecto was the daughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from Uranus when Cronus castrated him. She is the sister of Tisiphone and Megaera. These three Furies had snakes for hair and blood dripped from their eyes, while their wings were those of bats. Alecto's job as a Fury is castigating the moral crimes (such as anger) of humans, especially if they are against others.


title: Alecto

text: Alecto's function is similar to Nemesis, with the difference that Nemesis's function is to castigate crimes against the gods, not mortals. Her punishment for mortals was Madness.


title: Alecto

text: In Virgil's "Aeneid" (Book VII), Juno commanded the Fury Allecto (spelled with two l's) to prevent the Trojans from having their way with King Latinus by marriage or besiege Italian borders. Allecto's mission is to wreak havoc on the Trojans and cause their downfall through war. To do this, Allecto takes over the body of Queen Amata, who clamors for all of the Latin mothers to riot against the Trojans. She disguises herself as Juno's priestess Calybe and appears to Turnus in a dream persuading him to begin the war against the Trojans. Met with a mocking response from Turnus, Alecto abandons persuasion and attacks Turnus with a torch, causing his blood to "boil with the passion for war". Unsatisfied with her work in igniting the war, Allecto asks Juno if she can provoke more strife by drawing in bordering towns. Juno replies that she will manage the rest of the war herself: "You're roving far too freely, high on the heavens' winds, and the Father, king of steep Olympus, won't allow it. You must give way. Whatever struggle is still to come, I'll manage it myself."


title: Tutti frutti

text: Tutti frutti (from Italian "tutti i frutti", "all fruits"; also hyphenated tutti-frutti) is a colorful confectionery containing various chopped and usually candied fruits, or an artificial or natural flavouring simulating the combined flavour of many different fruits and vanilla, specially the pollica variant. It is most notable in Western countries outside of Italy in the form of ice cream.


title: Tutti frutti

text: Fruits used for tutti frutti ice cream include cherries, watermelon, raisins, and pineapple, often augmented with nuts. In the Netherlands, tutti-frutti (also "tutti frutti", "tuttifrutti") is a compote of dried fruits, served as a dessert or a side dish to a meat course. In Belgium, tutti-frutti is often seen as a dessert. Typically, it contains a combination of raisins, currants, apricots, prunes, dates, and figs.


title: Tutti frutti

text: In the United States, tutti frutti can also refer to fruits soaked in brandy or other spirits, or even to fruit fermented in a liquid containing sugar and yeast.


title: Tutti frutti

text: In Luxembourg, tutti fruitty refers to fruit salad, mainly pre-packaged, canned fruit salad from the supermarket.


title: Tutti frutti

text: Tutti frutti ice cream has been served for at least 160 years, as it appeared on the bill of fare for an 1860 dinner in England.


title: Tutti frutti

text: Recipes for tutti frutti ice cream were found in cookbooks of the late 19th century. A tutti frutti ice cream recipe was included in the 1874 cookbook "Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery" This recipe calls for actual tutti frutti and is not fancifully named. In the 1883 cookbook "The Chicago Herald Cooking School" there is also a tutti frutti ice cream recipe.


title: Tutti frutti

text: In 1888, one of the first gum flavors to be sold in a vending machine, created by the Adams New York Gum Company, was tutti frutti.


title: Tutti frutti

text: Many restaurant menus circa 1900 in the collection of the New York Public Library also list this variety of ice cream.


title: Tutti frutti

text: At least one early-20th-century American cookbook contains a suggestion that tutti frutti ice cream was popular in the United States. "The Italian Cookbook" contains a recipe for Tutti Frutti Ice and says, "This is not the tutti frutti ice cream as is known in America".


title: Tutti frutti

text: A 1928 cookbook, "Seven Hundred Sandwiches" by Florence A. Cowles (published in Boston), includes a recipe for a "Tutti Frutti Sandwich" with a spread made of whipped cream, dates, raisins, figs, walnuts, and sugar.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: A Bittersweet Life (; lit. "The Sweet Life") is a 2005 South Korean neo-noir action drama film written and directed by Kim Jee-woon. It stars Lee Byung-hun as Sun-woo, a hitman who becomes targeted by his boss after he spares the latter's cheating mistress.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: The film was released theatrically in South Korea on 1 April 2005. It opened on 265 screens throughout the country, and registered a total of 1,112,950 admissions by the end of its run. It was also screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. A 30 seconds longer director's cut was later released, featuring slight cutting and re-arrangement of scenes, swapping of music placement and some additional scenes that do not appear in the theatrical cut. The film received an unofficial Indian remake titled "Awarapan" in 2007.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Kim Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) is a high-ranking enforcer and loyal subordinate of crime boss Kang (Kim Yeong-cheol). The two share concerns over business tensions with Baek Dae-sik (Hwang Jung-min), a son from a rival family. Previously Sun-woo had beaten up Baek's men for overstaying their welcome at their nightclub. Kang, preparing to leave on a business trip, assigns Sun-woo to shadow his young mistress Hee-soo (Shin Min-ah), whom he fears is having an "affair" with another man.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: As Sun-woo performs his duty — following Hee-soo, and escorting her to a music recital - he becomes quietly enthralled by the girl's beauty as glimpses into his lonely, empty personal life become prevalent. When he does come to discover Hee-soo and her lover at her home, he beats up the man and prepares to inform Kang. However, he changes his mind and spares the two on the condition that they no longer see each other again, earning him Hee-soo's enmity.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Later, a man asks Sun-woo to apologize for beating up Baek's men, but he refuses. Agitated, he gets drunk in his apartment, and is kidnapped by Baek's henchmen. They prepare to kill him, but Kang saves him with a phone call. Kang, who has learned of his attempted cover-up of Hee-soo's affair, questions his motive, but he doesn't answer. Kang orders his men to torture Sun-woo, but gives him a chance to fix his mistake. Instead, Sun-woo escapes and vows revenge.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Sun-woo delivers Hee-soo a farewell gift, then attempts to buy a handgun. The deal goes bad and he ends up killing the arms dealers. This incurs a vendetta with the brother of one of the dealers, who goes to the nightclub he works at. Sun-woo lures Baek to an ice rink and kills him, getting injured in the process.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Undeterred, he arrives at the night club and kills his way in. Confronting Kang, Sun-woo vents over how badly he has been treated despite his years of loyalty. Receiving no justification, Sun-woo kills Kang. Baek's henchmen, who have been trailing Sun-woo, shoot at him and Kang's henchmen. Sun-woo emerges as the only survivor of the battle, just as the arms dealer's brother appears. Bleeding profusely, Sun-woo recalls watching Hee-soo's music recital. That was the only time he was seen smiling. The arms dealer's brother then executes him.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: The film ends with a continuation of an earlier scene, where Sun-woo looks out of a window at the city below him. After making sure he's alone, he begins to shadowbox his reflection in the glass, looking very happy.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: The film was screened out of competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. The film at the time had the highest price when its distribution rights were sold to Japan for .


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Critical reception was highly positive, with critics describing it as "organic, essential, beautifully staged and refreshingly realistic." Derek Elley from "Variety magazine" described the film as "a tour de force of noirish style and Korean ultra-violence that will have genre fans nailed to their seats."


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: Lee Byung-hun was praised for his acting ability with a critic from "Cinema Eye" saying that he "brings sheer excitement in his performance" and is "an angel dressed in vengeance." The critic also noted that "A Bittersweet Life" is "the best film of 2005." A critic from BeyondHollywood.com gave the film 4/5 stars. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 100%, with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 based on ten reviews.


title: A Bittersweet Life

text: In 2009, "Empire" named it third in a poll of the "20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)."