title: Grebe

text: The fossil record of grebes is incomplete; there are no transitional forms between more conventional birds and the highly derived grebes known from fossils, or at least none that can be placed in the relationships of the group with any certainty. The enigmatic waterbird genus "Juncitarsus", however, may be close to a common ancestor of flamingos and grebes.


title: Grebe

text: The Early Cretaceous (Berriasian, around 143 mya) genus "Eurolimnornis" from NW Romania was initially believed to be a grebe. If it is indeed related to this lineage, it must represent a most basal form, as it almost certainly predates any grebe-flamingo split. On the other hand, the single bone fragment assigned to this taxon is not very diagnostic and may not be of a bird at all.


title: Grebe

text: "Telmatornis" from the Navesink Formation – also Late Cretaceous – is traditionally allied with the Charadriiformes and/or Gruiformes. However, a cladistic analysis of the forelimb skeleton found it highly similar to the great crested grebe and unlike the painted buttonquail (now known to be a basal charadriiform lineage), the black-necked stilt (a more advanced charadriiform), or the limpkin (a member of the Grui suborder of Gruiformes), namely in that its dorsal condyle of the humerus was not angled at 20°–30° away from long axis of the humerus. The analysis did not result in a phylogenetic pattern but rather grouped some birds with similar wing shapes together while others stood separate. It is thus unknown whether this apparent similarity to grebes represents an evolutionary relationship, or whether "Telmatornis" simply had a wing similar to that of grebes and moved it like they do.


title: Grebe

text: True grebes suddenly appear in the fossil record in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene, around 23–25 mya. While there are a few prehistoric genera that are now completely extinct; "Thiornis" (Late Miocene –? Early Pliocene of Libros, Spain) and "Pliolymbus" (Late Pliocene of WC USA – Early? Pleistocene of Chapala, Mexico) date from a time when most if not all extant genera were already present. Because grebes are evolutionarily isolated and they only started to appear in the Northern Hemisphere fossil record in the Early Miocene, they are likely to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere.


title: Grebe

text: To date there is no complete phylogeny of grebes based on molecular work. However there are comprehensive morphological work from Fjeldså (2004) and Ksepka et al. (2015) that has been done on the grebe genera.


title: Grebe

text: Compiled from the following websites: Extinct species assignment follows the Mikko's Phylogeny Archive and Paleofile.com websites. and subspecies names from "English Names of Birds".


title: Grebe

text: Grebes are a nearly cosmopolitan clade of waterbirds, found on every continent except Antarctica. They are absent from the Arctic circle and arid environments. They have successfully colonized and radiated into islands such as Madagascar and New Zealand. Some species such as the eared grebe ("Podiceps nigricollis") and great crested grebe ("P. cristatus") are found in multiple continents with regional subspecies or populations. A few species like the Junin grebe ("P. taczanowskii") and the recently extinct Atitlan grebe ("Podilymbus gigas") are lake endemics. During the warmer or breeding seasons, many species of grebes in the northern hemisphere reside in a variety of freshwater habitats like lakes and marshes. Once winter arrives many will migrate to marine environments usually along the coastlines. The species is most prevalent in the New World with almost half of the world's species living in this part of the world.


title: Grebe

text: The feeding ecology of grebes is diverse within the group. Larger species such as those in the genus "Aechmophorus" have spear-like bills to catch mid-depth fish while smaller species such as those in the genera "Tachybaptus" and "Podilymbus" tend to be short and stout with a preference for catching small aquatic invertebrates. There are much more species of grebes that predate on aquatic invertebrates, with only a handful of large-bodied piscivores. The aforementioned "Aechmophorus"is the most piscivorous of the grebes. Closely related species that overlap in their often avoid interspecific competition by having prey preferences and adaptations for it. In areas where there is just as a single species, they tend to have more generalized bill with more open preferences to different prey sources.


title: Grebe

text: Grebes are perhaps best known for their elaborate courtship displays. Most species perform a duet together and many have their own synchronized rituals. Some like those species in the genus "Podiceps" do the iconic "penguin dance" where the male and female stand upright, breast posturing out and run along the water's surface. A similar ritual in other species is the "weed dance" in which both partners hold pieces of aquatic vegetation in their bills and positioned upright towards each other. Similarily there is the "weed rush" in which partners would swim towards each other, necks stretched out with weeds in their bill, and just before colliding do posture themselves upright and then swim in parallel. In the smaller and basal genera like "Tachybaptus" and "Podilymbus" there is some form of incorporation of aquatic vegetation in their courtship, but it is not as elaborate as the more derived and larger species. It has been hypothesized that such courtship displays between mates originated from intraspecific aggression that evolved in a way it strengthen pair bonds. Once these courtship rituals are completed, both partners would solicit copulation towards each other and would mount on these floating platforms of vegetation. Sometimes they become nests, although often they build a more well structured platform. Females lay two to seven eggs and incubation can last nearly a month. Chicks of the nest hatch asynchronously and once the whole nest has hatched, do the chicks begin to climb on one of their parent's backs. Both parents take care of rearing their young, and the duration of care is longer than those of waterfowl. This enables a greater success rate of survival for the chicks. One parent would dive while the other would watch the young on the surface.


title: Candy cigarette

text: Candy cigarettes are a candy introduced in the late 19th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper and packaged and branded so as to resemble cigarettes. Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper, allowing the user to blow into the cigarette and produce a cloud of sugar that imitates smoke, which comes out of the other end.


title: Candy cigarette

text: Candy cigarettes' place on the market has long been controversial because many critics believe the candy desensitizes children, leading them to become smokers later in life. Candy cigarettes can also serve as a way to market cigarettes to children, as many candy cigarettes have branding nearly identical to cigarette brands. Because of this, the selling of candy cigarettes has been banned in several countries even though they continue to be manufactured and consumed in many parts of the world. However, many manufacturers now describe their products as "candy sticks", "bubble gum", or simply "candy".


title: Candy cigarette

text: Tobacco companies and candy cigarette manufacturers have cooperated to make candy cigarettes. Tobacco companies have allowed candy cigarette companies to use their branding; Brown & Williamson has gone as far as to send copies of its labels to candy cigarette companies. After the criticized candy cigarettes for "trying to lure youngsters into the smoking habit", tobacco companies began to distance themselves from candy cigarettes, although trademark infringement lawsuits against candy cigarette manufacturers have been rare.


title: Candy cigarette

text: A 1990 study found that sixth graders who ate candy cigarettes were twice as likely to smoke cigarettes than those who did not eat candy cigarettes. A 2007 study surveyed 25,887 adults and found that "[c]andy cigarette consumption was reported by 88% of both current and former smokers and 78% of never smokers", a statistically significant difference that the authors suggested indicates a connection between candy cigarette consumption as a child and smoking as an adult.


title: Candy cigarette

text: In America it was reported erroneously in 2010 that the Family Smoking and Prevention Control Act bans candy cigarettes. However, the rule bans any form of added flavoring in tobacco cigarettes other than menthol. It does not regulate the candy industry. Popeye Cigarettes marketed using the Popeye character were sold for a while and had red tips (to look like a lit cigarette) before being renamed candy sticks and being manufactured without the red tip. Most candy cigarettes continue to be manufactured in the United States, with the largest maker of candy cigarettes, World Confections Inc, being based in New Jersey.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: Asanuma was assassinated with a "wakizashi", a traditional short sword, by a far-right ultranationalist Otoya Yamaguchi while speaking in a televised political debate in Tokyo. His violent death was seen in graphic detail on national television by millions of Japanese, causing widespread public shock and outrage, although far-right groups celebrated his death and considered Yamaguchi a martyr after his suicide while in custody.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: Asanuma was born on the island of Miyake-jima, a remote volcanic island that is administratively part of Tokyo, on 27 December 1898. His mother died during his birth, leaving him to be raised by his father, who later died of cancer, leaving Asanuma an orphan. After completing high school, Asanuma entered Waseda University, graduating in 1923. While still in college, Asanuma joined the newly formed Farmer-Labor Party and took part in various forms of leftist activism. Among other activities, he founded the "Builders League," which studied the works of English socialists, worked for Russian famine relief, and protested against military-related research being conducted at Waseda. In 1924, Asanuma left the Farmer-Labor Party after the party became divided into three different factions and became involved in tenant organizing and the Labor-Farmer movement.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: In 1926, Asanuma was one of the main founders of the Japan Labour-Farmer Party, as part of his efforts to link urban labor movements with rural peasant's movements. In 1929, Asanuma began running for Tokyo City Council, representing Fukagawa ward, but was not elected until 1933. In 1936, Asanuma was elected to the National Diet of Japan for the first time as a member of the newly-formed Social Masses Party, which merged into the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in 1940. Asanuma would serve in the Diet for a total of 20 years.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: As a member of the Diet, Asanuma pivoted from his earlier anti-imperialist views and became a vocal supporter of Japan's "holy war" in East Asia, claiming that it was necessary to "liberate" Asia from the forces of western imperialism. He even led the drive to censure Saitō Takao and expel him from the Social Masses Party following the latter's anti-war speech on the floor of the Diet in 1940. However, Asanuma himself decided not to run for reelection in 1942, following his failure to secure a "recommendation" from the Imperial Rule Assistance Association. In the immediate aftermath of Japan's defeat in World War II, Asanuma was one of the founders of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), and would eventually rise to become its secretary-general (1955-1960) and eventually, party chairman (1960). As a politician, Asanuma cultivated an "everyman" image. He lived modestly in public housing his entire life, and was particularly popular among ordinary laborers, small shopkeepers, and other members of the working class.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: In contrast to his pro-war stance during World War II, in the postwar period, Asanuma spearheaded the JSP's staunch opposition to revising Article 9 of Japan's postwar constitution and remilitarizing Japan. However, historian Andrew Gordon argues that Asanuma was consistent in his antipathy to western imperialism and a desire for Asia to chart its own course in world affairs.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: In 1959, Asanuma was widely criticized for an incident in which he visited the People's Republic of China and called American imperialism "the shared enemy of China and Japan" during a speech in front of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. When he returned from this trip he wore a Mao suit while disembarking from a plane in Japan, sparking criticism even from Socialist leaders. At this time, Japan, its ally the United States, and many other countries recognized the Republic of China as the legitimate government of China. Under Asanuma's leadership, the JSP played a leading role in the massive Anpo protests against revision of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in 1960, which also led to the resignation of prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, angering rightists and ultranationalists who supported the treaty.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: On 12 October 1960, Asanuma was assassinated by 17-year-old Otoya Yamaguchi, a right-wing ultranationalist, during a televised political debate ahead of upcoming elections for the House of Representatives. While Asanuma spoke from the lectern at Tokyo's Hibiya Hall, Yamaguchi rushed onstage and ran his wakizashi (a traditional samurai short sword) through Asanuma's ribs on the left side, fatally wounding him. Japanese television company NHK was videorecording the debate for later transmission and the tape of Asanuma's assassination was shown many times to millions of viewers. The photograph of Asanuma's assassination won its photographer Yasushi Nagao both the Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo of the Year.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: Yamaguchi was captured at the scene of the crime, and a few weeks afterwards committed suicide by hanging while in police custody.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: Asanuma was modest and hardworking and had earned respect from fellow lawmakers across the political spectrum. His assassination truly shocked Japan's political establishment. Shortly after his death, conservative prime minister erstwhile electoral rival Hayato Ikeda captured the mood of his fellow lawmakers when he gave a heartfelt eulogy for Asanuma on the floor of the Diet. Commemorating Asanuma as a "speech-giving everyman" ("enzetsu hyakushō"), Ikeda declared:


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: According to reportage at the time, Ikeda's short speech was met with thunderous applause and left many lawmakers in tears.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: The Japan Socialist Party had been an unhappy marriage between far left socialists, centrist socialists, and right socialists, who had been forced together in order to oppose the consolidation of conservative parties into the Liberal Democratic Party in 1955. Asanuma was a charismatic figure who had been able to hold many of these mutually antagonistic factions together through the force of his personality. Under Asanuma's leadership, the party had won an increasing amount of seats in the Diet in every election over the latter half of the 1950s and seemed to be gathering momentum.


title: Inejirō Asanuma

text: Asanuma's untimely death deprived the party of his adroit leadership, and thrust Saburō Eda into the leadership role instead. A centrist, Eda rapidly took the party in a more centrist direction, far faster than the left socialists were ready to accept. This led to growing infighting within the party, and drastically damaged its ability to present a cohesive message to the public. Over the rest of the 1960s and going forward, the number of seats the Socialists held in the Diet continued to decline until the party's extinction in 1996.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Gandhi Ashram) is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi who lived at Sabarmati (Gujarat) and Sevagram (Wardha, Maharashtra) when he was not travelling across India or in prison. He lived in Sabarmati or Wardha for a total of twelve years with his wife Kasturba Gandhi and followers, including Vinoba Bhave. The Bhagavad Gita was recited here daily as part of the Ashram schedule.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: It was from here that Gandhi led the Dandi march also known as the Salt Satyagraha on 12 March 1930. In recognition of the significant influence that this march had on the Indian independence movement, the Indian government has established the ashram as a national monument.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: Gandhiji's India ashram was originally established at the Kocharab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai, a barrister and friend of Gandhi, on 25 May 1915. At that time the ashram was called the Satyagraha Ashram. But Gandhi wanted to carry out various activities such as farming and animal husbandry, in addition to other pursuits which called for the need of a much larger area of usable land. So two years later, on 17 June 1917, the ashram was relocated to an area of thirty-six acres on the banks of the river Sabarmati, and it came to be known as the Sabarmati Ashram.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: It is believed that this is one of the ancient ashram sites of Dadhichi Rishi who had donated his bones for a righteous war. His main ashram lies in Naimisharanya, near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The Sabarmati ashram is sited between a prison and a crematorium, and Gandhi believed that a satyagrahi has invariably to go to either place. Mohandas Gandhi said, "This is the right place for our activities to carry on the search for truth and develop fearlessness, for on one side are the iron bolts of the foreigners, and on the other the thunderbolts of Mother Nature."


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: While at the ashram, Gandhi formed a tertiary school that focused on manual labour, agriculture and literacy, in order to advance his efforts for the nation's self-sufficiency. It was also from here that on 12 March 1930, Gandhi marched to Dandi, 241 miles from the ashram, with 78 companions in protest at the British Salt Law, which increased the taxes on Indian salt in an effort to promote sales of British salt in India. It was this march and the subsequent illegal production of salt (Gandhi boiled up some salty mud in seawater) that spurred hundreds of thousands across India to join in the illegal production, buying or selling of salt. This mass act of civil disobedience in turn led to the imprisoning of some 60,000 by the British Raj over the following three weeks. Subsequently, the government seized the ashram. Gandhi later asked the Government to give it back but they were unwilling. By 22 July 1933 he had already decided to disband the ashram, which had become a deserted place after the detention of so many. Then local citizens decided to preserve it. On 12 March 1930 Gandhi had vowed that he would not return to the ashram until India had gained independence and Gandhi did not come back to Sabarmati ashram. Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: The ashram now has a museum, the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya. This had originally been located in Hridaya Kunj, Gandhi's own cottage in the ashram. Then in 1963, having been designed by the architect Charles Correa, the museum was built. The Sangrahalaya was then re-located into the well-designed and well-furnished museum building and was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India on 10 May 1963. Memorial activities could then continue.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: Many buildings in the Ashram have names. There is a rich history of Gandhi's naming practices. At least some of the names of the buildings in the ashram, such as Nandini, and Rustom Block date back to the nineteen twenties, as is evident in a letter Gandhi wrote to Chhaganlal Joshi, the Ashram‘s new manager after Maganlal Gandhi‘s death in April 1928.


title: Sabarmati Ashram

text: With prior appointment from The Secretary, Gandhi Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, a walking tour can be organised. This 90-minute guided tour starts with a slide show and ends at the Library. The tour visits the following places:


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970, and their first on Reprise Records. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Working titles for the album included "Reverberation", "Add Some Music", and "The Fading Rock Group Revival". The recording sessions began in January 1969, and, after a year-long search for a new record contract, completed in July 1970. In contrast to "20/20", the record featured a strong group presence with significant writing contributions from all band members. About four dozen songs were written for the album, and the label rejected numerous revisions of its track listing before the band presented enough formidable material deemed satisfactory for release. It includes "This Whole World", one of Brian Wilson's most complex songs, "Forever", regarded as among Dennis Wilson's finest, and "Cool, Cool Water", a song that originated from the band's "Smile" sessions.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Fans generally consider "Sunflower" to be the Beach Boys' finest post-"Pet Sounds" album. It has appeared in several critics' and listeners' polls for the best albums of all time, including "Rolling Stone's" "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003). The track "All I Wanna Do" was later cited as one of the earliest examples of dream pop and chillwave. Many "Sunflower" outtakes and leftover songs later appeared on subsequent Beach Boys releases, including the follow-up "Surf's Up" (1971) and the compilation "Feel Flows" (2021).


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: The Beach Boys were at their lowest popularity in the late 1960s, and their cultural standing was especially worsened by their public image, which remained incongruous with the "heavier" music of their peers. Released by Capitol Records in February 1969, the band's newest album "20/20" sold better than their previous, "Friends" (1968). However, they remained encumbered by an enormous debt that had been partly the result of two disastrous tours in 1968. Recording sessions for their next album began in January 1969 and were produced by the Beach Boys collectively and by Brian Wilson and Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, and Dennis Wilson individually. Throughout the year, they recorded about four dozen studio tracks, with working titles for the new album including "Reverberation", "Sun Flower", and "Add Some Music".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: On April 12, the Beach Boys filed suit against Capitol for unpaid royalties and production duties in the amount of $2 million (equivalent to $ in ). In a press statement for this news, they also announced that they would be reviving their Brother Records imprint. On April 16, Capitol A&R director Karl Engemaan drafted a letter to band manager Nick Grillo indicating that the group and label were still interested in renewing their contract. Engemaan asked the group to be ready to deliver the new album (then known under the working titles "The Fading Rock Group Revival" or "Reverberation") by May 1. Only seven of the ten tracks were completed by the deadline, and so the album was not delivered.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In 1969, Brian was increasingly known for his reclusiveness and eccentric behavior, which affected his reputation within the music industry. Grillo struggled to find another major label interested in signing the group, as he remembered, "Brian was notorious at that point" and label executives found the band too risky to sign. Since the Beach Boys' remained highly popular in the UK, Grillo attempted to secure a foreign, worldwide contract with a European company. During the first half of 1969, the Beach Boys continued to tour and increasingly engaged in benefit concerts held at hospitals and penitentiaries.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: On May 27, three days before the group embarked on a four-week tour of the UK and Europe, Brian told the music press that the group's funds were depleted to the point that they were considering filing for bankruptcy at the end of the year, which "Disc & Music Echo" called "stunning news" and a "tremendous shock on the American pop scene". In response, Grillo told reporters that Brian's comments were untrue and that he was "just putting you on". Brian said he hoped that the success of a forthcoming single, "Break Away", would mend the band's financial issues. He wrote the song with his father and ex-band manager Murry Wilson. It was released on June 16 with the B-side "Celebrate the News", a Dennis song, and peaked at number 63 in the US and number 6 in the UK. During that summer, Brian focused his attention on launching the Radiant Radish, a health food store in West Hollywood.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: From May 30 to June 30, the Beach Boys toured with Paul Revere & the Raiders and Joe Hicks. Their Capitol contract expired on June 30 with one more album still due, after which the label deleted the Beach Boys' catalog from print, effectively cutting off their royalty flow. Studio recording resumed sporadically from July to October amid numerous promotional appearances.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: The Beach Boys expected that, since they were considered a "legendary band" by this point, many other labels would approach them with contractual offers, but few did. Throughout June, the group met with the Berlin-based company Deutsche Grammophon, who were keen to sign the band, but Brian's remarks in the press ultimately thwarted the contract negotiations. Polydor, Deutsche's American affiliate, also refused to sign the group because the company did not like the band's music or the members personally. CBS and MGM also rejected the band.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In August, the Manson Family committed the Tate–LaBianca murders. According to Jon Parks, the band's tour manager, it was widely suspected in the Hollywood community that Charles Manson was responsible for the murders, and it had been known that Manson had been involved with the Beach Boys, causing the band to be viewed as pariahs for a time. That same month, Carl, Dennis, Mike Love, and Jardine sought a permanent replacement for Johnston. They approached Carl's brother-in-law Billy Hinsche, who declined the offer to focus on his college studies. In late 1969 (either reported as occurring in August or November), Murry Wilson sold the Sea of Tunes publishing company (including the rights to the majority of Brian's songs) to A&M Records' publishing division for $700,000 ($ in ).


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: According to music historian Keith Badman, a breakthrough with Warner Bros. Records inspired "an immense sense of optimism" and a "remarkable amount of new material" recorded in November 1969. He stated that the group, "including a temporarily rejuvenated Brian", prepared material with "as many songwriting collaborators as possible" as they regarded "the forthcoming album as a make-or-break disc." On November 18, Warner executive Mo Ostin agreed to sign the band to their subsidiary Reprise Records. This deal was brokered by Van Dyke Parks, a former collaborator of Brian's who was then employed as a multimedia executive at Warner Music Group. The contract dealt by Reprise stipulated Brian's proactive involvement with the band in all albums. Another part of the deal was to revive Brother Records.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Shortly before signing with Reprise, the group accumulated enough material for a new album, now titled "Sun Flower", and assembled a provisional 14-song acetate for the label. This collection was rejected. Warner Bros. executive Dave Berson remembered: "It seemed like an amazing thing to do, to say to the Beach Boys, 'This is not the kind of an album we want to pay for.' Contractually, we didn't have any right to reject albums." The project was then renamed "Add Some Music" with the subheading "An Album Offering from the Beach Boys".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: From November 25 to December 7, the band embarked on their seventh and final annual Thanksgiving tour of the US. Badman called it "a dismal farewell" to the decade, "with audience members struggling to reach even a couple of hundred at some shows", forcing most of the dates to be cancelled. In November, the Manson family were apprehended by police for the Tate–LaBianca murders, and the family's former connections with Dennis and the Beach Boys became the subject of media attention.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In February 1970, the band submitted a version of "Add Some Music", but were once again rejected. The company felt that the proposed LP was not strong enough, although they decided to issue two of its tracks as a single, and asked the band to write and record a new batch of songs. From February to June, the group worked on overdubbing and rerecording some of their new material. Another revision was rejected in late May. The album's last two songs were finished in July: "Cool, Cool Water" and "It's About Time". After a July 21 overdubbing session for "Cool, Cool Water" with synthesizer player Bernie Krause, the third and final master of "Sunflower" was delivered to Warner.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Slip On Through" was written and sung by Dennis. Brian recalled, "It was a really dynamic song. Dennis, I was very proud of, because he really rocked and rolled on that one. Dennis did really interesting energetic things on that."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "This Whole World" was written by Brian, who said it was "inspired by my love of the world, how I love people, and how people should be free." Carl sings lead vocals while Brian sings in the background; their voices were double-tracked, as was common practice for many of their recordings. Brian's wife Marilyn and her sister Diane Rovell also contributed backing vocals. Brian later produced a version of the song for their group American Spring on the 1972 album "Spring". As a solo artist, he returned to the song again for the album "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" (1995).


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Add Some Music to Your Day" is a song with lyrics that are a celebration of music and its ubiquitous presence in daily life. It was written by Brian, Mike Love, and their friend Joe Knott, who was not a professional songwriter. Biographer Peter Ames Carlin wrote that the song was a "pop-folk tune" that "seemed like a perfect statement of purpose to lead off the band's second decade, given the tune's shared, round-robin style lead vocal, full background harmonies, and a plainspoken lyric".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Got to Know the Woman" is an R&B song by Dennis that featured backing vocals from female session singers. White noted it was "one of the few Beach Boys songs that could honestly be called funky, its tinkly Dixieland piano a perfect foil for the coarse frivolity of the verses, which contain a boorish come-on to the object of one's lowest bump-and-grind fantasies.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Deirdre" was written by Bruce Johnston with the exception of a minor lyric contribution from Brian. Johnston said that Wilson had very little to do with the song and gave him 50% of the credit as a favor. The song was named after the sister of one of Johnston's ex-girlfriends and was described by White as "a stroll-tempo devotional to an idealized, red-haired goddess; its stippled use of flutes plus the spacey filtering and compression techniques in the vocal mixes giving the track a celestial grandeur." In 1994, the song was sampled in the video game "EarthBound".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "It's About Time" is an autobiographical rock song about the pitfalls of stardom and fame. It was written by Dennis, Carl, Jardine, and outside writer Bob Burchman. Jardine said: "'It's About Time'" was Carl, Dennis and I ["sic"]. That's a good one. I like that production. That was mostly Dennis, and I just helped with the lyrics. Dennis and Carl did the track." White wrote: "The Santana-like Latin pivot of its percussion gave the song a nice tension, and the personal renewal described by the song's central character triggers a driving guitar break that makes his second chance seem both plausible and thrilling. And undidactic commentary on rock indulgence and self-redemption, it was also a wishful scenario regarding both Brian and Dennis Wilson's sporadic personal troubles."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Tears in the Morning", written by Johnston, is a melodramatic song with strings, horns, and accordions. He performed the song during the group's live performances without accompaniment from his bandmates. A "Disc & Echo" writer reviewed of a concert in December 1970, "I must admit, it went down a storm, as the song benefited from the simple piano-voice presentation. But if you'd seen the expressions and heard the mutterings of the others in the group as they were ordered off-stage, it looked decidedly as though Bruce could find himself in the doghouse!"


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "All I Wanna Do" is a reverb-heavy B. Wilson–Love song that was originally attempted during the sessions for "Friends". Retrospective commentators note the song as one of the earliest examples of chillwave, a microgenre that emerged in the 2000s. Discussing the song in 1995, Brian expressed: "That was one of those songs that had a nice chord pattern, but I think it was a boring song, and I thought it wasn't done right. I thought it should have been softer, with boxed guitars."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Forever" was written by Dennis and his friend Gregg Jakobson. Brian praised the song as "the most harmonically beautiful thing I've ever heard. It's a rock and roll prayer." Love wrote that it "was Dennis's most acclaimed ballad, as it captured the raw emotion and bluesy sensibility that he brought to his vocals."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Our Sweet Love" is a reworking of a "Friends" outtake, "Our New Home". Brian commented: "I wrote that for Carl. After I wrote it I said, 'Hey, he could sing this good' so I gave it to Carl." According to Jardine, Brian refused to complete the song: "'Our Sweet Love' was one we finished with Brian. He just didn't want to finish it. So we kind of helped. We became completers of ideas."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "At My Window" is a song by Brian and Jardine about the birds in Brian's backyard. It evolved from a rendition of "Raspberry, Strawberries", a Wilt Holt composition that was recorded by the Kingston Trio. The lyrics were written by Jardine. He commented: "That was probably one of my first efforts at involving the other guys. ... I have this dim recollection of writing it and Bruce singing it and Brian trying to speak French in it. It had a nice tone to it. We had an accordion player come in and play some beautiful things on it."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Cool, Cool Water" evolved from the "Smile" track "Love to Say Dada" and was initially attempted during the 1967 sessions for "Smiley Smile" and "Wild Honey". Lenny Waronker, then an A&R executive at Warner Music Group, heard the unfinished tape, and convinced Wilson to finish the track for "Sunflower". Waronker was so impressed with the song's inspired simplicity, that he noted, "If I ever get the opportunity to produce Brian, I'd encourage him to do something that combined the vividness of 'Good Vibrations' with the non-commercial gentleness of 'Cool, Cool Water.'" Wilson later said: "In 'Cool, Cool Water' there's a chant I wish we hadn't used. It fits all right, but there's just something I don't think is quite right with it."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Around three dozen songs were left off "Sunflower". Each member of the band, including Brian, wrote numerous songs for the album. Brian alone had about a full-length album's worth of material that he had written by himself or with collaborators. Among these, "Where Is She?" is a Brian song that, according to band archivist Alan Boyd, resembles the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home". He said: "It's one of those times that the band's engineer Steve Desper recalls Brian simply getting an idea and he built this song from the ground up." "Take a Load Off Your Feet (Pete)", written by Brian and Jardine with schoolfriend Gary Winfrey, was included on the band's next album "Surf's Up" (1971). "Loop de Loop", written by Brian, Carl, and Jardine, evolved from "Sail Plane Song", a "20/20" outtake. In 1998, Jardine completed the song for the "Endless Harmony Soundtrack". That compilation also included "Soulful Old Man Sunshine", a collaboration between Brian and Rick Henn, former leader of the Sunrays.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Lady" was written by Dennis and featured a string arrangement by keyboardist Daryl Dragon. The song was later considered for "Surf's Up" but passed for inclusion. Instead, in December 1970, Wilson released it as the B-side of the "Sound of Free" single, credited to "Dennis Wilson & Rumbo". "Good Time" was a collaboration between Brian and Jardine. In 1972, American Spring recorded versions of "Lady" (with the new title "Fallin' in Love") and "Good Time", the latter with new vocals overdubbed onto the Beach Boys' original backing track, for their album "Spring". In 1977, the original "Sunflower" version of "Good Time" was placed on "The Beach Boys Love You". In 1981, "San Miguel", a collaboration between Dennis and Gregg Jakobson, was released for the compilation "Ten Years of Harmony". Jardine's "Susie Cincinnati" was released as the B-side of the "Add Some Music to Your Day" single and as a track on the 1976 album "15 Big Ones".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "I Just Got My Pay" contains a reworked melody from the 1964 outtake "All Dressed Up for School". "I'm Going Your Way" is a Dennis song about picking up hitchhikers and the sexual intercourse that might follow. "Carnival" (aka "Over the Waves") is a wordless vocal rendition of the standard "When You Are in Love (It's the Loveliest Night of the Year)". Also recorded was "When Girls Get Together" (released on the 1980 album "Keepin' the Summer Alive"), "Games Two Can Play" (released on the 1993 box set ""), "Back Home" (a version different from the one released on "15 Big Ones"), a rehearsal of the "Wild Honey" song "Let the Wind Blow" (a song that was added to the band's setlists in this era), a solo piano demo of "Til I Die" with no vocals (later completed for "Surf's Up"), and a keyboard-only version of the Beatles' "You Never Give Me Your Money".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: The picture of the band on the front sleeve, featuring all six group members, was taken on the golf course at Dean Martin's Hidden Valley Ranch near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California. His son Ricci Martin, a friend of the band, took the photograph, also featuring Brian's daughter Wendy, Al's first son Matthew, Mike's children Hayleigh and Christian, and Carl's son Jonah. The inner gatefold spread on the original vinyl LP featured a series of photographs taken by designer/photographer Ed Thrasher at the Warner Bros. studio backlot.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: On February 23, 1970, "Add Some Music to Your Day" (B-side "Susie Cincinnati") was issued as lead single. Reprise was so excited about the record that they convinced retailers to carry more copies of it than that of any other artist on their roster ever. This made it the fastest-selling 45rpm record in the label's history. In March, Love was hospitalized after a three-week fast in which he ate only water, fruit juice, and yogurt – per the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Brian replaced Love on the road during this period. He remembered: "When Mike Love was sick, I went with the group up to Seattle and Vancouver and the Northwest for some appearances. I was scared for a few minutes in the first show—it had been a while since I was in front of so many people. But after it started to cook I really got with it. It was the best three days of my life, I guess."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In April, "Add Some Music to Your Day" peaked at number 64 in the US during a five-week stay. DJs generally refused to play the song on the radio. According to band promoter Fred Vail, WFIL program director Jay Cook refused to play the song even after "telling me how great the Beach Boys are and how great Brian is." On April 17, the regular touring band, with Love, embarked on their first major tour of the year: a four-week trek of New Zealand and Australia. Supporting musicians for this tour included bassist Ed Carter and keyboardist Daryl Dragon. Murry Wilson also accompanied the group for this tour. Australian magazine "Go Set" reported that the band's next album was titled "Cool Water" and that Emerald Films would be creating a color film documentary of the tour, produced by the BBC's Steve Turner.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: None of the album's other singles charted in the US or UK. Due to the poor response to the lead single, Warner suggested that the band refrain from calling the new album "Add Some Music". In late June, Brian told "Melody Maker" that he was thinking about composing the soundtrack to an Andy Warhol film about a "gay surfer". On June 29, the second single "Slip On Through" (B-side "This Whole World") was issued in the US. Love wrote in his 2016 memoir that "Warner/Reprise was adrift on how to position "Sunflower"" and that the band had "thought about shortening [our] name to 'Beach' but concluded that was even worse."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: On August 31, 1970, "Sunflower" was released in the US by Brother/Reprise. At the time, Brian told "Rolling Stone": "I think we threw away at least one good song on ["Sunflower"]. Overall the record is good but it doesn't please me as much as I wish. ... But all in all, with some good airplay, the record should do very well." The album became the Beach Boys' worst-selling to date, reaching number 151 on US record charts during a four-week stay. Its failure was attributed partly to the fact that FM rock radio DJs considered the songs too conventional for their playlists. Biographer David Leaf wrote that the sales numbers were greatly disappointing for the Beach Boys, and that Brian was especially affected: "That, on top of the old, unhealed scars, was a hurt he didn't really begin to get over until 1976."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In the UK, "Sunflower" was released in November 1970, on Stateside Records, and peaked at number 29. A British trade magazine reported: "The album has been out less than one week, and it already is indicated to be their most popular recording in history, according to EMI Records." However, the album continued to sell poorly. Two more US singles, "Tears in the Morning" (B-side "It's About Time") and "Cool, Cool Water" (B-side "Forever"), followed on October 21, 1970, and March 1971, respectively. The former was released in November 1970 as their only UK single.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Despite its poor sales, "Sunflower" received considerable critical acclaim in the US and the UK. In his review for "Rolling Stone", Jim Miller called it "without doubt the best Beach Boys album in recent memory, a stylistically coherent "tour de force"", but mused: "It makes one wonder though whether anyone still listens to their music, or could give a shit about it." Following Miller's review, several other American magazines published favorable assessments, but as Badman writes, "The damage done by their non-appearance at [the] Monterey [Pop Festival] in 1967 seem[ed] irreversible among rock's opinion-formers."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "The Village Voice"s Robert Christgau said that as a coming-of-age record from the Beach Boys, "Sunflower" is "far more satisfying, I suspect, than "Smile" ever would have been". He added that the "same medium-honest sensibility" and Southern California ethos of their 1960s music remains, "only now they sing about broken marriages and the pleasure of life. Still a lot of fun too." In the English music press, the album was favorably compared by many critics to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Fans generally regard "Sunflower" as the Beach Boys' finest post-"Pet Sounds" album. "Pitchfork"s Hefner Macauley deemed "Sunflower" "perhaps the strongest album they released post-"Pet Sounds"", while Chris Holmes of "Popdose" declared that "it stands as the definitive post-"Pet Sounds" Beach Boys album". "Paste"s Brian Chidester wrote that the album "was, in many respects, their "Abbey Road"—a lush production that signaled an end to the 1960s, the decade that gave them creative flight." Music theorist Daniel Harrison referred to "Sunflower" as the end of an experimental songwriting and production epoch for the group, one that had begun with 1967's "Smiley Smile".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In his 2016 memoir, Love acknowledged that "Sunflower" was "damn good ... I also know that we have fans who cherish that album like none other." Wilson biographer Christian Matijas-Mecca stated that the album was the band's best effort since "Pet Sounds" and said that it "demonstrated, more than any other Beach Boys album before or since, that the six members could work democratically and deliver songs of real depth." Writing in "The Beach Boys and the California Myth" (1978), David Leaf summarized the work as "the first album that could come close to "Pet Sounds" on a production level, partly the result of studio engineer Steve Desper's fine work. The Beach Boys' harmonies were present in a way they hadn't been since "Summer Days..." and it was probably the truest group effort ever in that it was a showcase for all the individuals in the band." Peter Ames Carlin summarized:


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: "Sunflower" was voted number 380 in "Rolling Stone's" "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (2003), number 66 in "The Guardian"'s "100 Best Albums Ever" (1997), and number 449 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums" (2000). In his review of the album's 2000 remaster, Keith Phipps from "The A.V. Club" said that "Sunflower" "features one of The Beach Boys' most coherent and lovely selections of music", with the best songs penned by Brian. "The A.V. Club"s Noel Murray wrote that the album could be interpreted as the band's response to "the wave of 'sunshine pop' and 'bubblegum' acts that had emerged over the previous couple of years, showing that no one could write and record slick, melodic, harmony-drenched songs quite like The Beach Boys."


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Among the band members, Bruce Johnston later named "Sunflower" his favorite Beach Boys album. In the 1970s, he considered it to be the last true Beach Boys album because it was the last to feature Brian's input and active involvement. He nonetheless regretted the inclusion of his two songs, saying that "Tears in the Morning" was "too pop" and that "I wish I hadn't recorded ['Deirdre'] with the group." Conversely, Brian said that "Deirdre" was "one of my very favorites" and that "Tears in the Morning" was "lovely". For the album's 2000 liner notes, it was written that he "attributes the staying power of "Sunflower" ... to the 'spiritual love' of the music".


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: Midway through the recording of "Sunflower", the band assembled an album for Capitol with some tracks that were later placed on "Sunflower". It had the working title of "Reverberation". Although a master tape (dated June 19, 1970) of songs was put together, this album was never released. Instead, they fulfilled their contract with the May 1970 album "Live in London". All of the following tracks have seen an official release in later years.


title: Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)

text: In 2021, expanded editions of "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up" were packaged within "Feel Flows", a box set that includes session highlights, outtakes, and alternate mixes drawn from the two albums.


title: All Hail the King

text: All Hail the King is a 2014 American direct-to-video short film featuring the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Trevor Slattery, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. It is a follow up and spin-off of "Iron Man 3" (2013), and is the fifth Marvel One-Shot short film set in the MCU, sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The film is written and directed by Drew Pearce, and stars Ben Kingsley as Slattery, alongside Scoot McNairy, Lester Speight, and Sam Rockwell. In "All Hail the King", a documentary filmmaker (McNairy) interviews the infamous fake terrorist Trevor Slattery while in jail.


title: All Hail the King

text: Development for a One-Shot centered on Slattery began during production of "Iron Man 3", with Pearce eventually conceiving an idea contingent on Kingsley willing to reprising his role from "Iron Man 3", who was enthused to do so after reading the script. Filming occurred in Los Angeles over three days, with Pearce later flying to Canada to film Rockwell's cameo as Justin Hammer, reprising the role from "Iron Man 2" (2010).


title: All Hail the King

text: "All Hail the King" was released digitally and on the home media release of "" (2013) in February 2014 and was positively received. The story of Slattery, the Mandarin, and the Ten Rings is continued in the film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021).


title: All Hail the King

text: Trevor Slattery, an inmate at Seagate Prison, is living with his own personal "butler" Herman, and other inmates acting as his fan club and protection. Slattery is interviewed by documentary filmmaker Jackson Norriss, who wishes to chronicle the events of the Mandarin situation. Norriss, trying to learn more about Slattery personally, recounts his past from his first casting as a child as well as his starring in the failed CBS pilot "Caged Heat". Norriss eventually informs Slattery that his portrayal has angered some people, including the actual Ten Rings terrorist group, which Slattery did not know existed. Norriss tells him the history of the Mandarin and the terrorist group, before revealing that he is actually a member of the group. He then pulls out a gun and kills the guards and Herman before telling Slattery the real reason for the interview is to break him out of prison so he can meet the actual leader of the Ten Rings. Hearing this, Slattery still has no idea of the full ramifications of his posing as the Mandarin.


title: All Hail the King

text: Additionally, Matt Gerald portrays White Power Dave; Crystal the Monkey portrays the bar monkey; and Allen Maldonado portrays Fletcher Heggs, who has a tattoo of a chess piece on his face as a nod to the comics, where he is a minor character going by "Knight".


title: All Hail the King

text: Drew Pearce, the co-screenwriter of "Iron Man 3", and producer Stephen Broussard had the idea for the short "All Hail the King" during the production of "Iron Man 3", to provide "a fresh take" on the Mandarin character. Marvel Studios and consultant Joss Whedon were positive about the short, reliant on Ben Kingsley's involvement. Kingsley was on board after reading the script, with Pearce believing he wanted to return because he enjoyed portraying Slattery. In October 2013, Kingsley said he was working on a secret project with Marvel involving "many members of the crew that were involved in "Iron Man 3"." This was later revealed to be the short, written and directed by Pearce. "Iron Man 3" originally had Slattery dying in the film, so the One-Shot would have been a prequel exploring part of his past life. During the editing of "Iron Man 3", when it was changed to have Slattery live, Pearce was less enthused about the short being a prequel since they "inevitably lack a sense of drama" and felt continuing Slattery's journey after the events of the film was "more exciting" since "you don't know what's going to happen".


title: All Hail the King

text: "Iron Man 3" director Shane Black felt Marvel "saw so many negative things" surrounding the Mandarin's portrayal, that the short was created as "an apology to fans who were so angry". Though some of the dialogue is written in response to critics of "Iron Man 3"s Mandarin portrayal, the story was written simply as an extension of the Ten Rings and Mandarin storyline featured throughout the "Iron Man" films. Pearce wrote the short to be ambiguous enough that the storyline could be further explored in future films or television series. On the Ten Rings, Pearce stated that he found the group to be a "very powerful" part of the MCU due to their introduction in the universe's first film, and noted that producer Kevin Feige was excited to see a member of the organization be "genuinely vicious". Because of this, Pearce worked to make the action in the short "real and brutal" to juxtapose the more comedic tone leading up to it, which he felt would increase the humor of Kingsley's Slattery anyway given that the character "does not respond to anything the same way any other right minded human being" should. Speaking about adding easter eggs and nods to the comics, Pearce noted that him adding them to the script did not necessarily mean that they were a part of Marvel's bigger plan for the MCU, and said that he enjoyed "stuff[ing] it full of MCU" and waiting to see if "some of it sticks and some of it remains just a kind of charming nod." The name "Caged Heat" was previously used by Marvel as the working title for "Iron Man 3".


title: All Hail the King

text: "All Hail the King" was filmed over three days in Los Angeles, including at a "disused women's prison" in the east side of Los Angeles. Pearce believed the production was "unbelievably lucky" to align their shooting schedule with Kingsley's, who had been working on a number of different projects. Two production units were utilized in order to capture the footage for the main short and the "Caged Heat" material. Both Marvel and Sam Rockwell were "on board" for a cameo appearance, but Rockwell was unable to do it due to working on "Poltergeist" (2015). However, during post-production of that film, Rockwell read the script for the short and called Pearce, saying that he was happy to participate if his scenes could be shot in Toronto during one of his breaks. Pearce went to Canada, and filmed Rockwell on a set that was painted to match the Los Angeles shoot, saying "Rockwell came in and just nailed it".


title: All Hail the King

text: Music for the short was composed by Brian Tyler, with the "Caged Heat" scenes composed by 1980s TV-music icon Mike Post. The main-on-end title sequence, which was created by Perception, was inspired by "Dr. No", "Charade", and "Iron Monkey", as well as other kung fu exploitation films.


title: All Hail the King

text: "All Hail the King" was released on the digital download release of "" on February 4, 2014, and on February 25 for the Blu-ray release. It was included on the bonus-disc of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection" box set, which includes all of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the other Marvel One-Shots. The collection features audio commentary by Pearce and Kingsley, and was released on December 8, 2015. "All Hail the King" was made available on Disney+ on August 27, 2021, ahead of the release of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" which introduces the actual leader of the Ten Rings.


title: All Hail the King

text: "IGN"s Cliff Wheatley gave "All Hail the King" a 9.4 out of 10. He said that it's "a return to the loveable personality of the hapless Trevor and a step forward for the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has its twists that should satisfy both lovers and haters of Trevor Slattery. But it's the approach that Pearce takes with the material, from the kung-fu movie style credit sequences to the light-hearted tone that takes a sudden and jarring turn. Kingsley once again shines in the role of Slattery, aloof and ignorant, but more than happy to slide back into Mandarin mode if it will please his adoring fans. Pearce does go for some of the same jokes from "Iron Man 3" in a sort of referential way, but it's nothing too damaging."


title: All Hail the King

text: Devin Faraci of "Birth.Movies.Death" called it "another excellent short film from the folks at Marvel Studios", which he felt deserved to be shown in theaters rather than just released on home media. He felt that the character of Slattery "was used the perfect amount in "Iron Man Three", and giving him more screen time here, in a side project, feels the right way to return to him. Kingsley is having a blast, delivering plenty of wonderful jokes and sinking right into the clueless, egocentric character who represents all of our worst stereotypes of actors." Faraci praised the "Caged Heat" sequence, as well as Rockwell's cameo, and positively stated on the Mandarin reveal, "rather than a retcon this feels like an expansion, a pulling back of the curtain to reveal more of the picture." Conversely, Andrew Wheeler of Comics Alliance criticized the short's presentation of homosexuality, given it was Marvel Studios' first attempt to bring LGBT concepts into the MCU. Brennan Klein at "Screen Rant" called it "a purely comic short that plays like a sketch from "Saturday Night Live"".


title: All Hail the King

text: The film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" explores plot elements from the One-Shot, such as the reveal of the actual leader of the Ten Rings, Wenwu, with Kingsley reprising his role as Slattery in the film. "Shang-Chi" director Destin Daniel Cretton said they wanted "to be true to" the One-Shot in the film, adding that "including that storyline in this movie I think was not only just really fun, I think it's essential to hear [Slattery] admit how ridiculous that whole situation was".


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: The Album is the only studio album by American hip hop group The Firm. It was released on October 21, 1997 by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The project was created by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters, who came up with the idea of forming a hip hop supergroup. The original line-up included Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown and Cormega who were all featured on the song "Affirmative Action" from Nas' album "It Was Written" (1996). However, Cormega later left the group due to artistic differences between him and Nas, as well as contract disagreements with Stoute. He was replaced by Nature prior to recording of the album. "The Album" is a concept album that revolves around the themes of mafia and "gangsta" lifestyle. The songs on the album were mainly produced by Dr. Dre, Chris "The Glove" Taylor and Trackmasters (as Poke and Tone), and feature guest vocals from Pretty Boy, Wizard, Canibus, Dawn Robinson, Noreaga and Half-a-Mill.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: "The Album" received mixed reviews from the music critics, who criticized its mainstream pop-oriented sound rather than the members' previous styles. In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 and also topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It also charted in other countries, such as Canada, France and the United Kingdom. "The Album" sold 147,000 copies in the debut week and has sold over 925,000 copies in the United States and was certified gold in Canada. Two singles were released from the album, with "Firm Biz" peaking at number twelve on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart. Although the album's second single "Phone Tap" failed to chart, it remained the group signature song.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: Prior to the formation of The Firm, future members and affiliates of the group were at transitional stages of their careers. Following the acclaim of his landmark debut album "Illmatic" (1994), Queensbridge-based emcee Nas decided to concentrate his efforts in a mainstream direction. Despite its significant impact on hip hop at the time, "Illmatic" did not experience the larger sales of most major releases of the day, due in part to Nas' shy personality and withdrawal from promoting the record. Nas began to make appearances on other artists' work, including "Fast Life" on Kool G Rap's "4,5,6" and "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." (1995). Nas began to dub himself as Nas Escobar on these guest appearances. Meanwhile, his excessive spending habits had left him with little money, as Nas had to ask for a loan to purchase clothes to wear to the 1995 Source Awards. The success of fellow East Coast act The Notorious B.I.G. at the awards show sent a message to Nas to change his commercial approach, resulting in his hiring of Steve "The Commissioner" Stoute as manager. While "Illmatic" attained gold status, Stoute convinced Nas to aim his efforts in a more commercial direction for his second album, after which Nas enlisted production team the Trackmasters, who were known for their mainstream success at the time.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based female rapper Foxy Brown was brought to the attention of the Trackmasters, who were working on LL Cool J's "Mr. Smith" (1995). After impressing the production team with an on-stage freestyle rap, she earned a guest appearance on "Mr. Smith", contributing a verse to the remix of "I Shot Ya". Throughout 1995 and 1996, Brown appeared on several platinum and gold singles, including Jay-Z's "Ain't No Nigga" and the remix of Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High". Her appearances sparked a recording company bidding war in early 1996, leading to her signing to Def Jam Recordings. The success of "I Shot Ya" prompted her inclusion, along with rappers AZ and Cormega, in collaborating with Nas on the song "Affirmative Action" for his second studio album, "It Was Written" (1996). The collaboration came in the wake of the critical success of AZ's debut album "Doe or Die" (1995). He initially garnered attention with his appearance on Nas' "Life's a Bitch" (1993). Cormega, whose rapping career had been put on hold due to his incarceration during the early 1990s, was referenced by Nas on "One Love" (1994), and was released from jail in 1995.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: Working with the Trackmasters as producers, Brown released her solo debut "Ill Na Na" (1996), which became a chart success and sold over two million copies.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: In an interview AZ personally picked "Firm Biz", "Phone Tap" and "Throw Your Guns" as his favorites songs on the album.


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: In an interview, Dr. Dre gave a reason why the album was a failure. "When we were doing that record, it was a lot of problems in the studio. I only spent maybe four days in the studio with the artists and we're supposed to do a record with them for days. The all album. Nas was cool. He came in and did his thing. Foxy missed like 5 airplanes to getting to the studio. She's in here like 1 hour so we got to work with her 1 hour. That's the reason why that record wasn't successful as we planned".


title: The Album (The Firm album)

text: According to critic Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews, the title of the album, as well as the group's name, was inspired by John Grisham's 1991 legal thriller-novel "The Firm" and the 1993 film adaption of the same name. While it was issued under the title "The Album", writers and music critics have referred to the album with such titles as "The Firm", "Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present the Firm: The Album", and "The Firm — The Album", or "The Firm: The Album".


title: Mischling

text: Since the Nazis were unable to find a racial definition of a "Jew", they instead relied on one's ancestors' religious backgrounds to determine whether someone was of "German or related blood" ("Aryan") or a "Jew" ("non-Aryan"). Thus, the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 defined a "full Jew" ("Istjude" or "Volljude" in Nazi terminology) as a person – regardless of religious affiliation or self-identification – who had at least three grandparents who had been enrolled with a Jewish congregation or were married to a Jewish spouse. A person with two Jewish grandparents was also legally "Jewish" (so-called "Geltungsjude", roughly speaking, in or "to be deemed/reckoned as a Jew") if that person met any of these racial conditions created by Nazis:


title: Mischling

text: A person who did not belong to any of these categorical conditions, but had two Jewish grandparents was classified as a Jewish "Mischling" of the first degree according to the racial constructs implemented by Nazis. A person with only one Jewish grandparent was classified as a "Mischling" of the second degree.


title: Mischling

text: Following the Nuremberg Laws, in November 1935 the Citizenship Law gained its first amendment stating that Jews were to be stripped of all civic rights including that of voting. Within the amendment the Law for the Defense of German Blood and Honor took effect, defining various forbidden marriage scenarios for Mischling specifically. Nazis claimed that it was acceptable for Mischling of the first degree to marry “full Jews” in turn becoming Jewish as well as marry other Mischling. However, according to this so-called Law it was inadmissible for Mischling to marry Germans and mix “races”. Hitler’s goal of this amendment was to have as many Mischling as possible become a “full Jew” through marriage. A month later a second amendment was added to the Citizenship Law on December 21, 1935, which continued the persecution against Jews by removing “full Jews” or Mischling from professions such as those in the education, health, and civic departments.


title: Mischling

text: According to the 1939 Reich census, there were about 72,000 "Mischlinge" of the 1st degree, ~39,000 of the 2nd degree, and potentially tens of thousands at higher degrees, which went unrecorded as those people were considered Aryans by the Reich.


title: Mischling

text: According to historian Bryan Mark Rigg, up to 160,000 soldiers who were one-quarter, one-half, and even fully Jewish served in the German armed forces during World War II. This included several generals, admirals, and at least one field marshal: Erhard Milch.


title: Mischling

text: Soon after the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, the Nazi government promulgated several antisemitic statutes, including the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on 7 April 1933. Using this law, the regime aimed to dismiss—along with all politically-suspect persons such as social democrats, socialists, communists, and many liberals of all religions—all "non-Aryans" from all government positions in society, including public educators, and those practicing medicine in state hospitals.


title: Mischling

text: As a result, the term "non-Aryan" had to be defined in a way that was compatible with Nazi ideology. Under the "First Racial Definition" supplementary decree of 11 April, issued to clarify portions of the act passed four days prior, a "non-Aryan" ("e.g." a Jew) was defined as one who had at least one Jewish parent or grandparent. Later, German citizens with only one Jewish grandparent were defined by the Nuremberg Laws as "Mischling" of the second degree. Their employment restrictions remained, but they were permitted to marry non-Jewish and non-"Mischling" Germans, and were not imprisoned. This distinction was not applied to non-German citizens.


title: Mischling

text: According to the philosophy of Nazi antisemitism, Jewry was considered a group of people bound by close, genetic (blood) ties who formed an ethnic unit that one could neither join nor secede from. Early 20th-century books on Nordicism such as Madison Grant's "The Passing of the Great Race", had a profound effect on Hitler's antisemitism. He was convinced that the Nordic Race/Culture constituted a superior branch of humanity, and viewed International Jewry as a parasitic and inferior race, determined to corrupt and exterminate both Nordic peoples and their culture through "Rassenschande" ("racial pollution") and cultural corruption.


title: Mischling

text: Hitler declared that Marxism was constructed by International Jewry, with the aim of Bolshevising the earth, ultimately allowing Jewry to dominate/exterminate the Aryan race. With this in mind, Hitler viewed Russia as a nation of "Untermenschen" ("subhumans" or 'Inferiors") dominated by their Judaic masters, which posed the gravest threat to both Germany and Europe as a whole.


title: Mischling

text: The Nazis defined Jewishness as partly genetic, but did not always use formal genetic tests or physiognomic (facial) features to determine one's status (although the Nazis talked a lot about physiognomy as a racial characteristic). In practice, records concerning the religious affiliation(s) of one's grandparents were often the deciding factor (mostly christening records and membership registers of Jewish congregations).


title: Mischling

text: Nonetheless, reclassification procedures of "Mischling" were conducted within society. These requests for reclassification (e.g., Jew to "Mischling" of 1st degree, "Mischling" of 1st degree to 2nd degree, etc.) or Aryanization (see German Blood Certificate) were rarely given, as each had to be personally reviewed and concurred by Adolf Hitler. Once approved by the Nazi party chancellery and Hitler, it was recognized throughout the Nazi community as an act of grace ("Gnadenakt"). Other de facto reclassifications, lacking any official document, were privileges accorded by high-ranking Nazis to certain artists and other experts by way of special protection.


title: Mischling

text: The second way of reclassification was through a declaratory judgment in court. Usually, the discriminated person took the action, questioning their descent from the Jewish-classified man until then regarded as their biological (grand)father. Paternity suits aiming for reclassification () appeared mostly with deceased, divorced, or illegitimate (grand)fathers. They usually sought to change the discriminated litigant's status from Jewish-classified to "Mischling" of first degree, or from "Mischling" of first degree to second degree. The numbers of such suits soared whenever the Nazi government imposed new discriminations and persecutions (such as the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, Kristallnacht in 1938, and the systematic deportations of Jewish Germans and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent to concentration camps in 1941).


title: Mischling

text: The process was humiliating for the (grand)mothers who had to declare in court that they had committed adultery. The petitions were successful in the majority of cases. The high success rate recorded was a result of several factors. First, there was no risk in paternity suits since litigant classification cannot be downgraded. Consequently, lawyers were willing to represent litigants, though it was common practice to refuse hopeless cases. Some lawyers even specialized in this type of procedure. Second, usually, all the family members cooperated; including the sometimes still-living disputed (grand)father. Likely alternative fathers were often named, who either appeared themselves in court confirming their likely fatherhood, or who were already dead but were known as good friends, neighbors, or subtenants of the (grand)mother. Third, the obligatory and humiliating body examinations of those under suspicion were skewed by stereotypical Jewish perceptions. Expert witnesses would search for allegedly Jewish facial features, as conceived and understood by anti-Semites. If the doubted (grand)father was already dead, emigrated, or deported (as after 1941), the examination searched for these supposedly "Jewish" features in the physiognomy of the descendant (child). Since anti-Semitic clichés on Jewish outward appearance were so stereotyped, the average litigant did not show features clearly indicating their Jewish descent, so they often documented ambiguous results as medical evidence. Fourth, the judges tended to believe the accounts of the (grand)mothers, alternative fathers, doubted fathers, and other witnesses who had endured such public humiliation. They were not recorded for earlier perjuring, and judges would declare the prior paternity annulled, ensuring the status improvement for the litigant.


title: Mischling

text: The Schutzstaffel (SS) used a more stringent standard. In order to join, a candidate had to prove (presumably through baptismal records) that all direct ancestors born since 1750 were not Jewish, or they would have to apply for a German Blood Certificate instead. When the stresses of World War II made it impracticable to confirm the ancestry of officer candidates, the extended proof of ancestry regulation was diminished to the standard laws requiring certified evidence of non-Judaism within two generations.


title: Mischling

text: In the 19th century, many Jewish Germans converted to Christianity; most of them becoming Protestants rather than Catholics. Two-thirds of the German population were Protestant until 1938, when the Anschluss annexation of Austria to Germany added six million Catholics. The addition of 3.25 million Catholic Czechoslovaks of German ethnicity (Sudeten Germans) increased the percentage of Roman Catholics in Greater Germany to 41% (approximately 32.5 million vs. 45.5 million Protestants or 57%) in a 1939 population estimated at 79 million. One percent of the population was Jewish.


title: Mischling

text: German converts from Judaism typically adopted whichever Christian denomination was most dominant in their community. Therefore, about 80% of the Gentile Germans persecuted as Jews according to the Nuremberg Laws were affiliated with one of the 28 regionally-delineated Protestant church bodies. In 1933, approximately 77% of German Gentiles with Jewish ancestry were Protestant. In the 1939 census, however, the percentage dropped to 66%. This is due to the annexation of several areas in 1938, including Vienna and Prague, both of which have relatively large and well-established Catholic populations of Jewish descent. Converts to Christianity and their descendants had often married Christians with no recent Jewish ancestry.


title: Mischling

text: As a result, by the time the Nazis came to power, many Protestants and Roman Catholics in Germany had some traceable Jewish ancestry (usually traced back by the Nazi authorities for two generations), so that the majority of 1st- or 2nd-degree "Mischlinge" were Protestant, yet many were Catholics. A considerable number of German Gentiles with Jewish ancestry were irreligionists.


title: Mischling

text: Lutherans with Jewish ancestry were largely in northwestern and northern Germany, Evangelical Protestants of Jewish descent in Central Germany (Berlin and its southwestern environs) and the country's east. Catholics with Jewish ancestry lived mostly in Western and Southern Germany, Austria and what is now the Czech Republic.


title: Mischling

text: On 20 July 1933, initiated by the actor Gustav Friedrich, Christian Germans of Jewish descent founded a self-help organisation, initially named "Reich Federation of Christian-German Citizens of non-Aryan or not of purely Aryan descent" (). The federation first counted only 4,500 members. In October 1934, the name was shortened to "Reich association of non-Aryan Christians" (). In 1935, members of the federation elected the known literary historian their new president. Under his direction the federation's journal was improved and the number of members rose to 80,000 by 1936. In September 1936, the federation was renamed the more confident "St Paul's Covenant Union of non-Aryan Christians" () after the famous Jewish convert to Christianity Paul the Apostle.


title: Mischling

text: In January 1937, the Nazi government forbade that organisation, allowing a new successor organisation named the "1937 Association of Provisional Reich Citizens of not purely German-blooded Descent" (). This name cited the insecure legal status of "Mischlinge", who had been assigned the revocable status of preliminary Reich's citizens by the Nuremberg Laws, while Jewish-classified Germans had become second-class state citizens ("Staatsbürger") by these laws. The 1937 Association was prohibited from accepting state citizens as members—like Spiero—with three or four grandparents, who had been enrolled in a Jewish congregation. Thus that new association had lost its most prominent leaders and faded, having become an organisation solely for "Mischlinge". The "1937 Association" was compulsorily dissolved in 1939.


title: Mischling

text: Pastor Heinrich Grüber and some enthusiasts started a new effort in 1936 to found an organisation to help Protestants of Jewish descent ("Mischlinge" and their (grand)parents, of whom at least one was classified as non-Aryan), but went completely neglected by the then official Protestant church bodies in Germany (see Protestants of Jewish descent).


title: Mischling

text: After the war some "Mischlinge" founded the still-existing "Notgemeinschaft der durch die Nürnberger Gesetze Betroffenen" (Emergency association of those affected by the Nuremberg Laws).


title: Mischling

text: Those who were considered "Mischlinge" were generally restricted in their options of partners and marriage. "Mischlinge" of first degree generally needed permission to marry, and usually only to other "Mischlinge" or Jewish-classified persons; however, a marriage to a Jewish-classified person would re-categorize the "Mischling" as "Geltungsjude" (Full Jew). After 1942, marriage permissions were generally not granted any more—arguably due to the war—without further notice. "Mischlinge" of second degree did not need permission to marry a spouse classified as Aryan; however, marriage with "Mischlinge" of any degree was unwelcome. The reasoning behind this was that a "Mischling" marrying an Aryan would produce a child with an acceptably low amount of Jewish heritage, but a "Mischling" marrying a "Mischling" would just produce another "Mischling".


title: Mischling

text: 1st-degree "Mischlinge", more so than those of 2nd-degree, had restricted access to higher education and were generally forbidden from attending such schools in 1942. As for vocations, most jobs in the public sphere—such as journalism, teaching, performing arts, government positions, politics etc.—were inaccessible to "Mischlinge". Exceptions were granted for some prominent persons and those who acquired the necessary German blood certificates.


title: Mischling

text: Organization Todt served as a civil and military-based engineering program that was named after its founder, Fritz Todt. This group became notorious for utilizing forced labor to develop large-scaled constructional projects throughout Germany and Nazi-occupied territories. Beginning in the autumn of 1944, between 10,000 and 20,000 half-Jews ("Mischlinge") and persons related to Jews by a so-called mixed marriage were recruited into special units of the Organisation Todt.


title: Mischling

text: While the classifications of "Mischling" also applied in occupied Western and Central Europe, and were well-documented for the Netherlands and Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia, this was not the case in Eastern Europe. Persons who would have been deemed Jewish "Mischlinge", in the East were classified as Jews in German-annexed Poland (Danzig-West Prussia, Warthegau, etc.), German-occupied Poland (General Government), German-occupied parts of the Soviet Union, and the German-occupied Soviet-annexed Baltic/Eastern Polish territories. Consequently, an unknown number of Christians of recent Jewish background from Poland and other occupied territories, primarily Catholics or Eastern Orthodox in this case, were killed as "Jewish" in the Holocaust.


title: Max Julien

text: Maxwell Julien Banks (July 12, 1933 – January 1, 2022), better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, sculptor, and clothes designer best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film "The Mack". Julien also appeared in "Def Jam's How to Be a Player" and he guest starred on TV shows such as "The Mod Squad", "," and "One on One".


title: Max Julien

text: He began his career on the stage on New York City's Off-Broadway circuit including roles in Joseph Papp's "Shakespeare-In-The-Park". Moving westward to Hollywood, he landed co-starring roles with Jack Nicholson in "Psych-Out" and Candice Bergen in Columbia's box-office hit film "Getting Straight". While spending time in Rome, Italy, he wrote and directed a documentary called "Trestevre", then wrote the screenplay for, and subsequently co-produced, Warner Brothers's blaxploitation classic "Cleopatra Jones," which starred actress Tamara Dobson in the title role as a narcotics agent who was as skilled in martial arts as she was with firearms. Julien refused to participate in the sequel, "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold," which led to his being credited instead with the film's story and script both being "based on characters created by Max Julien".


title: Max Julien

text: For his performance in 1968's "Up Tight!", "New York Times" movie critic Judith Crist stated that Julien was, "a standout in a standout cast." Raoul Gripenwaldt from "The Santa Monica Evening Outlook" wrote, "Max Julien's portrayal of Johnny Wells in Paramount's "Uptight" could very well result in an Academy Award." "The Hollywood Reporter" chimed in, "Max Julien creates a memorable piece of reality." As a reward, Julien was invited to Europe to discuss film possibilities.


title: Max Julien

text: Julien was born in Washington, DC on July 12, 1933. He crossed through the Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi at Howard University on the December 4, 1954.


title: Max Julien

text: Julien was in a live-in relationship with actress Vonetta McGee from 1974 to 1977. McGee appeared with him in the 1974 western action film "Thomasine & Bushrod", which was intended as a counterpart to the 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde". He married Arabella Chavers in 1991. The couple resided in Los Angeles. He died there on January 1, 2022, at the age of 88. Along with his wife, he is survived by a daughter.


title: Rope dart

text: The rope dart or rope javelin (), is one of the flexible weapons in Chinese martial arts. Other weapons in this family include the meteor hammer, flying claws, Fei Tou flying weight, and chain whip. Although the flexible weapons share similar movements, each weapon has its own specific techniques.


title: Rope dart

text: The rope dart is a long rope (usually ) with a metal dart attached to one end. This was a weapon from ancient times, which allows the user to throw the dart out at a long-range target and use the rope to pull it back. The rope dart can be used for twining, binding, circling, hitting, piercing, tightening, slashing and other techniques.


title: Rope dart

text: Rope dart play consists of twining, shooting, and retrieval. Twining and shooting can be done from any joint such as foot, knee, elbow, and neck. The rope is anchored on one hand and played primarily with the other hand.


title: Rope dart

text: Skillful use of the rope dart can easily trick an opponent because the dart can shoot out very suddenly, from a person beyond immediate reach.


title: Rope dart

text: Just like the chain whip, excellent hand-eye coordination is a must for the practitioner to use this weapon well. In some Wushu training regimens, the chain whip and Changquan are prerequisites for learning the rope dart.


title: Rope dart

text: A variation of this weapon is the meteor hammer, which has a blunt weight on the end of the rope. It was used in a similar fashion to the rope dart, and many of the techniques are the same. Another variation is Fei Tou flying weight, which is heavier than rope dart, made of a heavy conical weight on the end of a long rope. Like the rope dart it can be shot out at the opponent, but it is somewhat better suited to bludgeoning swings like the meteor hammer.


title: Rope dart

text: The earliest known reference to the rope dart as a distinct weapon from the meteor hammer or flying claw is a drawing in a 19th century book about street vendors in Beijing. The context and items in this drawing as well as photographs from the early 20th century of similar content suggest these rope darts are intended for use in performance art. These early versions are shown with bamboo tubes that function as a sliding handle.


title: Rope dart

text: The dart is made of a hard material, usually iron or steel. It can be of variable weight depending on the users preference, and can be variable in shape (conical, triangular prism, pentagonal prism).


title: Rope dart

text: The rope is attached to the final ring. Traditionally, the rope was constructed from Chinese rope and covered with wax to minimize friction. In modern times, the rope is often made of a softer synthetic material and covered with talc powder or some other substance to reduce friction.


title: Rope dart

text: There is at least one flag attached near, or onto the dart head itself to conceal the dart during play and to add control. Additional flags can be attached to the side rings to slow down the dart and increase control.


title: Rope dart

text: While relatively new, rope dart is used in the object manipulation scenes due to its impressive performances. Because of this, there have been modifications to the original design. Some rope darts have been created to be set alight. A section of fireproof chain between the dart or meteor head and the rope attaches it securely and Kevlar wicks form the flammable head. Other rope darts have heads filled with LED lights. Both of these can be performed in the dark, adding excitement and mystery.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: Kusunoki was born in Tokyo on December 22, 1999. She became interested in entertainment at an early age; when she was three years old, she began taking piano lessons. She was also a member of her school's brass band during her junior high school years, and a member of a light music club during her high school years. She was also the student council president of her junior high school.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: During her second year of junior high school, she became interested in anime. She particularly liked the series "Kobato", and the portrayal of the lead character by Kana Hanazawa. This inspired her to become a voice actress. She decided to participate in an audition held by the agency Sony Music Artists. Because she felt that it would be difficult to pass the voice acting audition unless she had more experience, she instead auditioned as a singer. She ended up receiving the special prize at the competition.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: Kusunoki made her debut as a voice actress in 2017, playing a background role in the anime series "Eromanga Sensei". In June 2017, she was cast in her first main role as Kirara in the mobile game "Kirara Fantasia". In 2018, she was cast as Hazuki Kagimura, the protagonist of the anime series "Märchen Mädchen". She played the role of Llenn in the anime series "Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online", for which she also sings the ending theme "To see the future". In the same year, she also became a part of Konami's media mix project called BandMeshi"♪" (), with her voicing the guitarist Yokaze Tsuyuri. Later that year, she was cast as Setsuna Yūki in the "Love Live!" multimedia franchise. In 2019, she played the role of Melida Angel in the anime television series "Assassins Pride"; she also performed the series' ending theme .


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: In 2020, Kusunoki made her debut as a solo artist under Sacra Music. Her first EP, "Hamidashimono", is the ending theme of "The Misfit of Demon King Academy".


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: In 2021, Kusunoki was diagnosed with a congenital disorder that caused her to have a tendency to feel pain and numbness when performing dance and other strenuous activities that involve large movements. Because of this, Kusunoki had refrained from any activities that involve large movements in both her solo activities and any performances she participated in.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: In 2022, it was confirmed that Kusunoki has been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. "Love Live!" official website also announced she would retire from voicing Setsuna Yūki and Nana Nakagawa on March 31, 2023.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: Refer to "Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club" for songs related to Love live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club multimedia franchise.


title: Tomori Kusunoki

text: Refer to "Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club" for events related to Love live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club multimedia franchise.


title: Urbino

text: Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: "Urbìn") is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect. It hosts the University of Urbino, founded in 1506, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino. Its best-known architectural piece is the Palazzo Ducale, rebuilt by Luciano Laurana.


title: Urbino

text: The city lies in a hilly region, at the foothills of the Northern Apennines and the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. It is within the southern area of Montefeltro, an area classified as medium-high seismic risk. In the database of earthquakes developed by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, nearly 65 seismic events have affected the town of Urbino between 26 March 1511 and 26 March 1998. They include 24 April 1741, when the shocks were stronger than VIII on the Mercalli intensity scale, with an epicenter in Fabriano (where it reached 6.08 on the moment magnitude scale).


title: Urbino

text: The originally modest Roman town of Urbinum Mataurense ("the little city on the river Mataurus") became an important strategic stronghold during the Gothic Wars of the 6th century. In 538, it was captured from the Ostrogoths by the Byzantine general Belisarius, and is frequently mentioned by the historian Procopius.


title: Urbino

text: Pepin the Short (King of the Franks) presented Urbino to the Papacy in 754–56. Its commune later had some independence until around 1200, when it came into the possession of the House of Montefeltro. These noblemen had no direct authority over the commune; however, they could pressure it to elect them to the position of "podestà". Bonconte di Montefeltro obtained this title in 1213: Urbino's population rebelled and formed an alliance with the independent commune of Rimini (1228), finally regaining independence in 1234. Eventually, though, the Montefeltro noblemen took control once more, and held it until 1508. In the struggles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, when factions supported either the Papacy or the Holy Roman Empire respectively, the 13th and 14th century Montefeltro lords of Urbino were leaders of the Ghibellines of the Marche and in the Romagna region.


title: Urbino

text: The most famous member of the Montefeltro family, Federico da Montefeltro, ruled as Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. He was a very successful condottiere, a skillful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature. He rose to power in 1444 as the son of Guidantonio, after a conspiracy and the murder of the legitimate heir Oddantonio, hated for his "unbridled lust" and excessive taxes.


title: Urbino

text: Federico began a reorganization of the state, which also included a restructuring of the city according to a modern conception - comfortable, efficient and beautiful.


title: Urbino

text: At his court, Piero della Francesca wrote on the science of perspective, Francesco di Giorgio Martini wrote his "Trattato di architettura" ("Treatise on Architecture") and Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi, wrote his poetical account of the chief artists of his time. Federico's brilliant court, according to the descriptions in Baldassare Castiglione's "Il Cortegiano" ("The Book of the Courtier", published in 1528), set standards of what would characterize a modern European "gentleman" for centuries to come.


title: Urbino

text: Cesare Borgia dispossessed Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and Elisabetta Gonzaga in 1502, with the complicity of his father, Pope Alexander VI. After the attempt of Pope Leo X to appoint a young Medici as duke, thwarted by the early death of Lorenzo II de Medici in 1519, Urbino was part of the Papal States, under the dynasty of the dukes Della Rovere (1508–1631). They moved the court to the city of Pesaro in 1523 and Urbino began a slow decline that would continue until the last decades of the seventeenth century.


title: Urbino

text: In 1626, Pope Urban VIII definitively incorporated the Duchy into the papal dominions, the gift of the last Della Rovere duke, in retirement after the assassination of his heir, to be governed by the archbishop. The state was ruled thereafter by a papal legate, generally belonging to high ecclesiastical hierarchy. Following the annexation of the duchy by the Papal States, the rich artistic heritage (including furniture) of the Ducal Palace went to form, for the most part, the dowry of the last direct descendant of the Della Rovere, Vittoria della Rovere, who married Ferdinand II de Medici. These works went on to form the core of the future Uffizi Gallery. Among the works that went to Florence is the diptych of the Dukes of Urbino by Piero della Francesca. Other works of the Ducal Palace were brought to Rome, such as the Barberini Ex Tables of Fra Carnevale and the famous library, absorbed entirely by the Vatican Library in 1657.


title: Urbino

text: The eighteenth century opened with the election to the papacy (1701) of Cardinal Giovan Francesco Albani Urbino, under the name of Clement XI. This was a windfall for the city and was its last great era, especially in terms of arts and culture, thanks to funding by Pope Albani and his family. Major renovation of several buildings, churches and monasteries took place; such as Palazzo Albani, part of the façade of the Town Hall, the Archbishop's Palace, the Chapel Albani (inside the convent of St. Francis), Saint Joseph's Oratory, and the internal structure of the churches of San Francesco, San Domenico and Saint Augustine. In addition, due to the patronage of the Pope and of his family, the Duomo di Urbino received many improvements (like the new altar) as did other religious institutions in the city. From July 1717 to November 1718 Urbino hosted the court of James Stuart the exiled pretender to the British throne, who had the strong backing of the Papacy.


title: Urbino

text: This new age of splendor for the city ended with the death of Clement XI in 1721, placing the city in a long decline that has continued to the present day. After the Pope's death, the Albani family remained the main patron of the most significant works until the first half of the nineteenth century.


title: Urbino

text: In 1789, the collapse of the Cathedral dome following a massive earthquake led to the total renovation of the church.


title: Urbino

text: Between 1797 and 1800 the city was occupied by French troops, like much of northern and central Italy. During the French occupation Urbino and its territory suffered from the acquisitions of important works of art by the French, which were moved to Paris or Milan, in the nascent galleries of the Louvre and Brera. This event was a further cause of the impoverished local artistic heritage, already tried by the loss of the works following the devolution of the duchy in the seventeenth century.


title: Urbino

text: The century opened with the consecration in 1809 of the new Duomo di Urbino, as designed by the architect Giuseppe Valadier, who restored the city's Montefeltro-era buildings, such as the old Seminary, adjacent to the church of St. Sergius, now partly occupied by the Hotel Raffaello.


title: Urbino

text: Following the construction of the New Palace of Alban (1831), designed by architect Peter Ghinelli, which gave rise to the present Piazza della Repubblica that went on to form the first part of the future Corso Garibaldi, the city experienced a number of urban improvements designed to change the face of the city. From the construction of the Sanzio theater (1845–53) came the final realization of Corso Garibaldi, with a covered walkway on the downhill side to that ensure theater-goers were sheltered from rain and snow on their walk to the Piazza della Repubblica, with construction that lasted until the early part of the twentieth century. In addition, another important change was the destruction, in 1868, of a part of the walls to create a customs barrier, called Porta Nuova or barrier Margherita (in honor of Princess Margaret of Savoy), which was necessitated by a new road that ran along a stretch of the walls and was connected to Corso Garibaldi. This resulted in a new urban layout with the large spit of land below the Doge's Palace incorporated into the city, called the Pincio.


title: Urbino

text: These urban transformations brought about a change in access to the city. Instead of passing through narrow, winding streets, through the gates of the walls, now one could enter through the Porta Nuova in an easier and convenient way to arrive in the present Piazza della Repubblica and the Palazzo Ducale (the city center).


title: Urbino

text: This urban renewal reflected many of the ideas of Fulvio Corboli but its design was largely done by the architect Vincenzo Ghinelli.