title: Pono (digital music service)

text: In the wake of its launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2015, Pono received mixed reviews. Yahoo Tech's David Pogue conducted a blind test with 15 volunteers aged 17 to 55 comparing Pono Music downloads (FLAC format) played on a Pono Player with iTunes downloads (AAC format) played on an iPhone; he found that the participants did not prefer Pono. A subsequent (subjective, non-ABX) review in the "Stereophile" magazine, deemed the Pono Player's performance superior to more expensive components and players with the reviewer saying "I am pleased to report that CD rips sounded excellent through the player."


title: Shane Burgos

text: Shane Burgos (born March 19, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Burgos previously competed for Cage Fury Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos made his promotional debut on December 9, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 102 against Tiago Trator. He won the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos' next fight came at UFC 210 against Charles Rosa. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. Both participants were awarded "Fight of the Night" for their performance.


title: Shane Burgos

text: He then faced Godofredo Pepey on July 22, 2017 at UFC on Fox 25. He won the fight by unanimous decision with scores of 30–26 (twice) and 29–28.


title: Shane Burgos

text: On January 20, 2018 at UFC 220, Burgos fought Calvin Kattar. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round. Subsequently, both participants were awarded the "Fight of the Night" bonus. This resulted in Burgos first loss.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Next, Burgos faced Kurt Holobaugh on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230. He won the fight via submission in round one.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos next faced Cub Swanson on May 4, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 151. He won the fight via split decision.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos' next and final fight of his prevailing contract was with Makwan Amirkhani on November 2, 2019 at UFC 244. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.


title: Shane Burgos

text: On March 29, 2020, news surfaced that after entertaining offers from various organizations, Burgos signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos faced Josh Emmett on June 20, 2020 at . He lost the back-and-forth bout via unanimous decision. Subsequently, Burgos earned his third "Fight of the Night" bonus award.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos was expected to face Hakeem Dawodu on January 24, 2021 at UFC 257. However, Dawodu was forced to withdraw from the bout, citing a shoulder injury. In turn, Burgos was removed from the card as well.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos faced Edson Barboza on May 15, 2021 at UFC 262. Burgos lost the back-and-forth fight via knockout in the third round, experiencing a delayed reaction to being knocked out with a right cross. This fight earned Burgos the $75,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus award.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos faced Billy Quarantillo on November 6, 2021 at UFC 268. Burgos won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos faced Charles Jourdain July 16, 2022, at UFC on ABC 3. He won the back-and-forth fight via majority decision.


title: Shane Burgos

text: Following his fight with Jourdain, the last on his UFC contract, Burgos indicated he would test free agency. On August 15, 2022, Burgos announced he had signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).


title: Shane Burgos

text: Burgos was scheduled to face Marlon Moraes in his PFL debut on November 25, 2022 at PFL 10. However, Burgos withdrew from the bout due to an injury.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part of the state, at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers near the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range, Wenatchee lies on the western side of the Columbia River, across from the city of East Wenatchee. The Columbia River forms the boundary between Chelan and Douglas County. Wenatchee is the principal city of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Chelan and Douglas counties (total population around 110,884). However, the "Wenatchee Valley Area" generally refers to the land between Rocky Reach and Rock Island Dam on both banks of the Columbia, which includes East Wenatchee, Rock Island, and Malaga.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city was named for the nearby Wenatchi Indian tribe. The name is a Sahaptin word that means "river which comes [or whose source is] from canyons" or "robe of the rainbow". "Awenatchela" means "people at the source [of a river]". The city of Wenatchee shares its name with the Wenatchee River, Lake Wenatchee and the Wenatchee National Forest.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is referred to as the "Apple Capital of the World" due to the valley's many orchards. The city is also sometimes referred to as the "Buckle of the Power Belt of the Great Northwest". The "Power Belt of the Great Northwest" is a metaphor for the series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. Rock Island Dam is located nearest to the middle of this "belt", and so was labeled the "Buckle". This saying is printed at the top of every issue of Wenatchee's newspaper, "The Wenatchee World", but is no longer in common use elsewhere.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Archeological digs in nearby East Wenatchee have uncovered Clovis stone and bone tools dating back more than 11,000 years, indicating that people migrating during the last Ice Age spent time in the Wenatchee area. The Columbia River and nearby mountains and sagebrush steppes provided an ample supply of food. Clovis points are on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center and research findings are available through the "Wenatchee World".


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Several indigenous villages existed in the area prior to and during Anglo American exploration. The village Nikwikwi'estku was a fishing and gathering camp located in present-day downtown Wenatchee. In 1811, North West Company surveyor David Thompson encountered a group of Native American horsemen at Wenatchee and was invited into a village with huts, the largest measuring 209 feet long. Fur traders document friendly relations through the mid 19th century, even during the smallpox epidemic of 1817 and food shortages in 1841.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: During the Yakima War in 1856, US Army Colonel Wright intervened on a possible alliance between Yakama and Wenatchi tribes by removing the Wenatchi to Kittitas. The resulting march was estimated to include 1,000 horses and extend five miles long. A contingent stayed behind to fish at Wenatchapam Fishery in preparation for winter.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In 1863, Father Respari, a Catholic priest, began his missionary work with local Native Americans. He was followed some 20 years later by Father De Grassi, who built a log cabin on the Wenatchee River near the present town of Cashmere. Throughout the 19th century, other white settlers came to homestead the land.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee was platted in September 1888 and officially incorporated as a city on January 7, 1893. Frank and Belle Reeves founded "The Wenatchee Advance", the city's first newspaper, in 1891. The 1900 U.S. Census counted 451 residents.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Great Northern Railway completed its railroad line between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle in 1893. Its route through the Wenatchee Valley was significant to the development of this region. The railroad not only provided passenger travel to and from Wenatchee, but it provided for freight service for shipments of wheat, apples, and other products to out-of-state markets.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: By the early 20th century, the Wenatchee Commercial Club, now the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, was advertising the region as the "Home of the World's Best Apples." The tree fruit industry provided the economic backbone for the region for a century and still is an important source of revenue.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: On May 22, 1910, the Wenatchee free speech fight occurred when members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were arrested for speaking in the street in front of the local hall of the Socialist Party of America. The town had freed imprisoned IWW members by June; however, tensions resumed in September 1911 when police raided a house rented by six IWW men and arrested twenty-five migrant workers found carrying IWW literature. Again, the men were all quickly released.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In 1922, a Ku Klux Klan chapter of nearly 100 men demanded that black residents leave on threat of violence. By 1923 they hosted meetings of up to 400 members and burned a large cross above Fancher airfield in East Wenatchee. The Wenatchee chapter hosted the 1926 state Klan convention and marched in the Apple Blossom Parade. In the wave of anti-Filipino sentiment, Filipino immigrant workers were targeted by violence and deportation through the late 1920s.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and his copilot Hugh Herndon landed their airplane, named the "Miss Veedol", in the hills of East Wenatchee, and thus became the first aviators to fly nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. The 41-hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, won them the Harmon Trophy for the greatest achievement in flight of 1931. "Miss Veedol"s propeller is on display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In 1936, with the completion of Rock Island Dam, Wenatchee was protected from the summer flooding of the Columbia River, and the first of 14 hydroelectric projects on the Columbia began generating electric power. The reservoirs thus generated also made it possible to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In 1975, Stemilt Growers moved its headquarters from nearby Stemilt Hill to Olds Station, Wenatchee. The company grows, packs and ships tree fruit and would go on to become the largest fresh market sweet cherry shipper in the world.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Every year from the last week of April to the end of the first week of May, Wenatchee hosts the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival, which probably brings in the largest number of people Wenatchee sees annually, with the exception of migrant workers travelling for harvest. It features two relatively large parades: the Apple Blossom Youth Parade on the last Saturday in April and the Apple Blossom Grand Parade on the first Saturday in May, a food fair representing cuisine from around the world, and a traveling carnival.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Wenatchee child abuse prosecutions in Wenatchee, Washington, also known as the "Wenatchee Witch Hunt", that occurred in 1994 and 1995, are examples of the hysteria over child molestation in the 1980s and early 1990s.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In the early 1990s Wenatchee had a reputation as the "happy pill town" and "Happy Valley", with psychologist James Goodwin, "the Pied Piper of Prozac".


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: According to CNN's "Money Magazine", Wenatchee had the second fastest forecast real estate value growth in the country for June 2006–June 2007. In November 2018, USA Today listed Wenatchee as experiencing the 22nd highest employment growth in the country.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: On July 29, 2013, a large wildfire spreading over south of Wenatchee occurred, affecting over 40 nearby homes.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Riverfront Park Ice Arena closed its doors in July 2008, and Awaken Church was later opened at the site.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Wenatchee Valley also boasts one of only two aluminum smelters remaining in the Northwestern United States, at the Alcoa plant in Malaga. The plant announced in November 2015 that it would be shutting down operations on January 5, 2016. Other growing areas of the regional economy are tourism and information technology.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is located at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers in the Columbia Basin, just east of the foothills of the Cascade Range. Irrigation from the Columbia River and its tributaries allows for the large amount of agriculture in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city of Wenatchee is bordered by the Wenatchee River on the north, the Columbia River to the east, and the Wenatchee Mountains to the south and west. These ridges and peaks form a wall around the western and southern sides of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 31,925 people, 12,379 households, and 7,721 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,175 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.7% White, 0.4% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 17.3% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.4% of the population.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: There were 12,379 households, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.19.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The median age in the city was 35.2 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 23.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 27,856 people, 10,741 households, and 6,884 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,049.6 people per square mile (1,563.3/km). There were 11,486 housing units at an average density of 1,669.8 per square mile (644.6/km). The racial makeup of the city was 80.93% White, 0.39% African American, 1.13% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 13.99% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.52% of the population.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: There were 10,741 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.17.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The median income for a household in the city was $34,897, and the median income for a family was $45,982. Males had a median income of $35,245 versus $26,062 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,498. About 10.6% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Wenatchee post office contains an oil on canvas mural, "", painted in 1940 by Peggy Strong. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The WPA was the largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing individuals to carry out public works projects.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is home to many performing arts groups including the Wenatchee Valley Symphony, Wenatchee Big Band, Columbia Chorale, Wenatchee Valley Appleaires and The Apollo Club. Music Theater of Wenatchee, Stage Kids, and several other theatre companies offer stage productions year-round. Wenatchee also is home to Mariachi Huenachi, a much-celebrated mariachi program in the Wenatchee School District which performed at the US Capitol for National Hispanic Heritage Month in 2017. The group was featured in a 2018 TVW documentary.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Town Toyota Center has featured high school mariachi ensembles from across the region. Mariachi Sol De Mexico gives clinics to high school musicians and gives an evening concert sometimes featuring famous musical artists.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Wenatchee Valley Super Oval in East Wenatchee is a quarter-mile-long banked asphalt oval used for local racing.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In the fall of 2008, the Town Toyota Center was completed, and hosts some professional and junior professional sporting events, in addition to touring events and expositions, and the 2010 NAHL Pepsi Robertson Cup.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Wenatchee Valley and the surrounding areas provide an abundance of sports and recreational activities for any season. There are several facilities including the WRAC tennis club, an Olympic size swimming pool, an ice arena, several 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses, a 9-hole disc golf course, and countless baseball diamonds and soccer fields as well as two skateboard parks. There are many places to hike, fish and hunt for both birds and larger game. Boating and water recreation are also quite common. Many kayak, windsurf and water-ski on the Columbia. Whitewater rafting and inner-tubing is frequent on the Wenatchee River. In the winter, the mountains near Wenatchee provide great snowmobiling, sledding at Squilchuck State Park, as well as skiing and snowboarding at Mission Ridge (30 minutes drive) and Stevens Pass (1 hour and a half drive). Nordic skiing is available at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center, Leavenworth (25 minute drive), and the Methow Valley (1 hour and 45 minute drive).


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city also offers a large system of parks and paved trails known as the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail. The loop along both banks of the Columbia River is used by cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. A project to extend the eastern segment of the trail north to Lincoln Rock State Park was completed on July 9, 2015. An additional extension on the east side runs south to Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park. A short extension slated for completion in Fall 2017 is planned from the west end of the Odabashian bridge to the corner of Easy Street and the highway. In the winter, cross-country skiers and snowshoers also use the trail. The trail connects in the south at the historic Columbia River Bridge, also known as the pipeline bridge, and in the north at the Richard Odabashian Bridge. It passes through Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Much of the hillside areas surrounding the city of Wenatchee have been purchased by or have their rights held by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust which protects them as a natural resource and as a site for hiking in the foothills.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is within Chelan County, Washington, and is in the 12th Legislative District and 8th Congressional District of Washington.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Public safety in Wenatchee is provided by three law enforcement agencies (Wenatchee Police Department, Chelan County Sheriff's Office, and the Washington State Patrol), one fire department (Chelan County Fire District No. 1), and two private ambulance companies (Ballard Ambulance and Lifeline Ambulance). East Wenatchee Police and Douglas County Fire District No. 2 (East Wenatchee) also assist with police and fire protection services within the city through mutual aid agreements.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Public K-12 education in Wenatchee is provided by the Wenatchee School District, which also serves the communities of Malaga, Olds Station, South Wenatchee, Sunnyslope, and Wenatchee Heights. The city has seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school (Wenatchee High School). The School District also maintains Westside High School, an alternative high school, and the Valley Academy of Learning, which is an alternative education program where parents play the active role in education of their children.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: In 2006, the Wenatchee School District began offering students of Wenatchee High School and Westside High School the ability to take selected classes online at the Wenatchee Internet Academy. These classes employ use of Moodle and Blackboard software packages for managing the distance-learning program. All classes are designed by educators at Wenatchee High School and operated by local instructors within the Wenatchee School District.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city also has several private schools, most of which are religious: Children's Gate Montessori School, Cascade Christian Academy, The River Academy, St. Joseph Catholic School, and St. Paul's Lutheran School.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is also the home of the North Central Educational Service District, serving all of north-central Washington, and the Wenatchee Valley College, a two-year community college with its main campus in Wenatchee and a satellite campus in Omak, Washington. Its main campus has an average student population of 3500 of all ages. Wenatchee Valley College has one of the largest community college service areas in the State of Washington, covering more than .


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The Washington State University is represented in Wenatchee by the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, the North Central Washington Learning Center, and Chelan Co. Cooperative Extension.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city is served by U.S. Route 2 passing by in Sunnyslope, less than a mile north of city limits. U.S. Route 97 also passes north of the city, while State Route 28 passes through East Wenatchee just across the river.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Columbia River can be crossed by three bridges: the Richard Odabashian Bridge and the Senator George Sellar Bridge for motor vehicles, and the Old Wenatchee Bridge for pedestrians.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Transit services within Wenatchee is provided by Link Transit, which serves all of Chelan County and parts of Douglas County. Link Transit also runs commuter bus service from Wenatchee to many outlying communities in the region, including Leavenworth and Chelan. The agency adopted its first electric buses with batteries in 2014, running on three trolley routes in Wenatchee branded as "The Current".


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Columbia Station, the city's Amtrak station, is also served by intercity coach buses from Greyhound, the Washington State Department of Transportation's AppleLine, and Northwestern Trailways.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: The city is served by Pangborn Memorial Airport which is located about to the east, and supports commercial flights from Wenatchee to and from Seattle on Alaska Airlines.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: Wenatchee is in the major railroad line of the BNSF Railway (formerly Great Northern Railway) to Seattle. Wenatchee was once the eastern terminus of the Great Northern electric-driven train service (1928/1929–1956) on its New Cascade Tunnel route via the Chumstick Valley, which went all the way to Skykomish. There, steam locomotives or diesel locomotives replaced electric locomotives along this route, as well as having a maintenance base for the electric locomotives. Today, Amtrak's "Empire Builder" passenger train serves Wenatchee at Columbia Station. The Cascade and Columbia River short line freight railroad interfaces with BNSF in Wenatchee, and runs north to Okanogan and further north to Oroville.


title: Wenatchee, Washington

text: On August 6, 1974, a tank car belonging to Burlington Northern (now BNSF) exploded in the Appleyard Terminal in south Wenatchee, killing 2 people.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series "The Simpsons". He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender of Moe's Tavern, a Springfield bar frequented by Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Sam, Larry, and others.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Grouchy, lonely, miserable, and prone to violent outbursts, Moe is constantly down on his luck and has attempted suicide numerous times. Other running jokes featuring him include being prank called by Bart Simpson, running illegal activities from his bar, and having an ambiguous ethnic origin.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe is the owner and bartender of Moe's Tavern, frequented by Homer Simpson and other characters including Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Sam and Larry, and his most loyal customer, Barney Gumble. He is not a very good bartender, at one time expressing surprise that gin and tonic can be mixed together. The bar is noted for its depressing atmosphere and uncleanliness. The regular patrons of the tavern have been abandoned by Moe in several episodes in which he changes its target audience. The first of these was "Flaming Moe's", in the third season. As a running joke, Moe is sometimes seen engaging in unlicensed or illegal activities at the tavern, such as smuggling pandas and an orca in "Cape Feare" and "The Springfield Files", respectively. Particularly in earlier episodes, the Tavern was frequently prank called by Bart Simpson, who would ask for a gag name which when said by Moe would involve innuendo or insults (e.g., Mike Rotch/"My crotch", Homer Sexual/"homosexual", Ivana Tinkle/"I wanna tinkle", and Seymour Butz/"See more butts").


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe is portrayed with a generally disagreeable personality: he has a short, violent temper, a penurious nature, a crass and undiplomatic manner of speech, and a mood that rapidly vacillates between anger, indifference, and suicidal despair (the latter of which has become more apparent in later episodes of the show). He has an annual Christmas tradition of attempted suicide, but his attempts are comically unsuccessful (landing on a hot-air balloon after jumping out of a plane, for example), and he has already called the suicide hotline so many times that they've blocked his number.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: He is easily irritated, frequently threatening the patrons at his bar with a shotgun he keeps behind the counter. He is also gullible, and Bart's unending chain of successful prank calls to his bar are particularly infuriating to him, inevitably prompting a torrent of Red Deutsch-style threats of gruesome bodily harm in return.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: He also is, however, occasionally shown to have a sentimental and caring side to his personality, such as reading to sick children and the homeless, although he is secretive about such behavior. In his interactions with his various girlfriends, he has also shown genuine selflessness and kindness (as well as an unusual improvement in his disposition), although negative elements of his personality inevitably emerge and ruin things. He has also struck up genuine friendships with both of Homer's daughters which have remained in the following episodes. In "Thank God It's Doomsday", he asks for salvation, because "I've done stuff I ain't proud of. And the stuff I "am" proud of is disgusting."


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe has an almost non-existent love life due to his vulgarity towards women and his ugly appearance. Despite this, he has had a number of romantic experiences, including sleeping with his waitress Collette, dating a woman named Renee, and briefly enjoying the company of many women after he had plastic surgery. He also has a relationship and proposed to a dwarf named Maya, but Moe could not adjust to the difference in height, to the point where his ultimate plan to have his own leg bones shortened led Maya to leave him. He has long been infatuated with Marge Simpson, whom he usually calls "Midge", and has on occasion tried to win her away from Homer, although later episodes have shown him actively working to keep the two together. He has been romantically involved with Edna Krabappel as well as Marge's sister Selma Bouvier. Moe's romantic attractions have resulted in run-ins with the law; he has stalked Maude Flanders and other townspeople, he must register as a sex offender, and he has a restraining order placed upon him. At one point, he is seen on his way to a "V.D. clinic". Despite his disturbing approach, Moe has showed to be a caring and devoted lover. While dating Renee (and previously Edna), he wholeheartedly spoiled them with whatever they wanted and vowed to give up his bar and take them away from Springfield forever, even if it means losing his own money and doing illegal acts to make more money. When he thought he finally won Marge's heart, he promised to be "the best man she'd ever had".


title: Moe Szyslak

text: In "Pygmoelian", Moe and his three closest friends assess him as a gargoyle with cauliflower ears, lizard lips, little rat eyes, a caveman brow and fish snout, who is not pleasant to look at, listen to or be with.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: In "The Wayz We Were", Maya returns to Springfield, and she and Moe reconnect, but Moe's fear of commitment overpowers him. At Homer's suggestion, Moe proposes to Maya, which she accepts.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe's ethnic origins are a running gag in the show, changing constantly. The show's many conflicting stories as to Moe's heritage have been sent up in the tie-in book "The Book of Moe" (2008), where Moe is depicted in several different foreign national folk costumes and commenting on them, including Hungarian and Polish. From early in the series, Moe was depicted as a European immigrant to the United States. In "Much Apu About Nothing" (1996), Moe is depicted taking his United States citizenship test; previously, "Bart's Inner Child" (1993) had depicted Moe's own inner child chastising him for abandoning his native Italian accent. Later, in "Bart-Mangled Banner" (2004), he reveals himself to be Dutch; he claims his grandfather was Irish while visiting Ireland in "In the Name of the Grandfather" (2009); and in "Lisa Goes Gaga" (2012), Moe describes himself as "half monster, half Armenian." Moe is also hinted to be Armenian in "Judge Me Tender" (2010), claiming that Armenian Idol is his favorite show. As for indications, he was born in America, in "Homer the Heretic" (1992), Moe claims "I was born a snake handler and I'll die a snake handler" while in "Day of the Jackanapes" (2001) he claims to have been born in Indiana. Azaria has said he sees Moe as being from the Queens borough of New York City, and portrays him with a Queens accent.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Numerous conflicting versions of Moe's childhood have been depicted across the show. In "Radioactive Man" (1995), he is depicted as having been one of the original "Little Rascals", but was fired after killing the "original Alfalfa". However, charges were not pressed against him as the "original Alfalfa" was in fact an orphan owned by the studio. As Homer's boxing coach in "The Homer They Fall" (1996), he shows photographs from throughout his own boxing career, stating that his ugly appearance was the result of competing in the sport. Moe's college years are also depicted, in "Homer the Moe" (2001), which shows Moe as having attended "bar-tending school" at Swigmore University (a play on Skidmore College) before opening what became Moe's Tavern. In "Springfield Up" (2007), footage from a documentary called "Growing Up Springfield" shows an 8-year-old Moe claiming that his father was a circus freak. He was unsure which one but liked to think it was a little of all of them. This is further reinforced in "Sleeping With The Enemy" when he briefly asserts himself as a member of the Muntz family. After Nelson's father returns, blaming his absence on having been stolen away by the circus due to a peanut allergy disfiguring his face. Teenage Moe is shown again in "She Used to Be My Girl" (2004), where he is depicted working in the school cafeteria, given as his first job "since prison"; Marge is responsible for having him sent back there. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" (2006) depicts scenes set years prior to the series present in which Moe and schoolteacher Edna Krabappel are shown to have had a brief love affair. In "Them, Robot" (2012), a flashback scene depicts a young child being stomped on by an elephant, and his face then changes to Moe. In "King Leer" (2018), Moe's father Morty, and his siblings Marty and Minnie are introduced, and he is shown in flashbacks as a child in Springfield.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Much like Moe's ethnic origins, his full name is also treated inconsistently as a gag. In "Flaming Moe's" (1991), he is called Morris by his lover. In "The Springfield Connection" (1995), Homer refers to Moe by the Arabic "Moammar". In "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe" (2009), he suggests that he only changed his name to Moe when he purchased Moe's Tavern. His last name Szyslak is Polish in origin, and is written as Szyślak.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: The creator of "The Simpsons" Matt Groening based Moe on Louis "Red" Deutsch, who was made famous when he was repeatedly prank-called by two Jersey City residents. These prank calls were the inspiration for Bart Simpson's repeated prank calls to Moe, and Deutsch's often profane responses inspired Moe's violent temper. Comedian Rich Hall, an acquaintance of "The Simpsons" writer George Meyer, has stated that he believes further inspiration was drawn from himself and that Groening has verified this to him. Moe's surname "Szyslak" was revealed in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". Writers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein found the name in a phone book and gave it to Moe so that he would have the initials M.S., and hence be a suspect in the Burns shooting. Moe was designed by animator Dan Haskett and his facial appearance was modeled after a gorilla. Animator Mark Kirkland said that he often lets off-model drawings of Moe pass through production because the character is so ugly that no one will notice.


title: Moe Szyslak

text: Moe was the first voice Hank Azaria performed for the show. During the time of his audition, Azaria was doing a play in which he had the part of a drug dealer, basing his voice on actor Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon". He used the same voice in the audition and was told by Matt Groening and Sam Simon, who was directing him, to make it more gravelly like Deutsch's voice. Groening and Simon thought that it was perfect and took Azaria over to the Fox network recording studio. The result is Moe's pronounced New York accent. Before he had even seen a script, Azaria recorded several lines of dialogue as Moe for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening". Moe was originally voiced by Christopher Collins who recorded several lines as Moe which never aired. Azaria explained that he did not discover this fact for several years and that according to Groening, "that guy's" acting was fine but other staff and actors found him "a dick".


title: Moe Szyslak

text: In 2001 and 2003, Hank Azaria won Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for voicing Moe and various other characters.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: USS "Coral Sea" (CV/CVB/CVA-43), a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of the Coral Sea. She earned the affectionate nickname ""Ageless Warrior"" through her long career. Initially classified as an aircraft carrier with hull classification symbol CV-43, the contract to build the ship was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding of Newport News, Virginia, on 14 June 1943. She was reclassified as a "Large Aircraft Carrier" with hull classification symbol CVB-43 on 15 July 1943. Her keel was laid down on 10 July 1944 in Shipway 10. She was launched on 2 April 1946 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas C. Kinkaid and commissioned on 1 October 1947 with Captain A.P. Storrs III in command.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Before 8 May 1945, the aircraft carrier CVB-42 had been known as USS "Coral Sea"; after that date, CVB-42 was renamed in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the late President, and CVB-43 was named the "Coral Sea".


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" was one of the last U.S Navy carriers to be completed with a straight flight deck, with an angled flight deck added on during later modernizations. All subsequent newly built U.S Navy carriers have had the angled deck included as part of the ship's construction.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The ship promptly began a series of career milestones when, on 27 April 1948, two P2V-2 Neptunes, piloted by Commander Thomas D. Davies and Lieutenant Commander John P. Wheatley, made jet assisted takeoffs (JATO) from the carrier as she steamed off Norfolk, Virginia. This was the first carrier launchings of planes of this size and weight. The "Coral Sea" sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 June 1948 for a midshipmen cruise to the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and returned to Norfolk, Virginia 11 August.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: After an overhaul period, "Coral Sea" was again operating off the Virginia Capes. On 7 March 1949, a P2V-3C Neptune, piloted by Captain John T. Hayward of VC-5, was launched from the carrier with a 10,000-lb load of dummy bombs. The aircraft flew across the continent, dropped its load on the West Coast, and returned nonstop to land at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. The mission proved the concept of carrier-based atomic bomb attacks. Following training in the Caribbean, "Coral Sea" sailed 3 May 1949 for her first tour of duty in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet, returning 28 September.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 21 April 1950, the first carrier takeoff of an AJ-1 Savage heavy attack bomber was made from "Coral Sea" by Captain John T. Hayward of VC-5. The remainder of the pilots of the squadron completed carrier qualifications on board "Coral Sea" in this aircraft on 31 August, marking the introduction of this long-range atomic-attack bomber to carrier operations. At this time, she returned to the Mediterranean for duty with the Sixth Fleet from 9 September 1950 to 1 February 1951.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: An overhaul and local operations upon her return, as well as training with Air Group 17, prepared her for a return to the Mediterranean once more on 20 March 1951. As flagship for Commander, Carrier Division 6, she took part in a NATO Exercise, Beehive I. She returned to Norfolk, Virginia 6 October for local and Caribbean operations, next sailing for the Mediterranean on 19 April 1952. While on service with the Sixth Fleet, she visited Yugoslavia in September and carried Marshal Josip Broz Tito on a one-day cruise to observe carrier operations. The ship was reclassified as an "Attack Aircraft Carrier" with hull classification symbol CVA-43 on 1 October 1952 while still at sea and returned to Norfolk, Virginia, for overhaul 12 October.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" trained pilots in carrier operations off of the Virginia Capes and Naval Station Mayport, and in April 1953 the ship embarked the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives for a three-day cruise. On 26 April, she sailed for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean. This cruise was highlighted by a visit to Spain, and participation in NATO Exercise Black Wave with Deputy Secretary of Defense R. M. Kyes on board as an observer. Returning to Norfolk, Virginia, on 21 October, she carried out tests for the Bureau of Aeronautics and trained members of the Naval Reserve at Mayport, and Guantánamo Bay.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" returned to the Mediterranean from 7 July to 20 December 1954, and during this tour was visited by Spanish Generalissimo Francisco Franco as she lay off of Valencia. On her next tour of duty in the Mediterranean from 23 March to 29 September 1955, she called at Istanbul and participated in NATO exercises.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Sailing from Norfolk, Virginia 23 July 1956 for Mayport, Florida, to embark Carrier Air Group 10, "Coral Sea" continued on to the Mediterranean on her next tour. She participated in NATO exercises and received King Paul of Greece, and his consort, Friederike Luise Thyra of Hanover on board as visitors in October. During the Suez Crisis, "Coral Sea" evacuated American citizens from the troubled area and stood by off of Egypt until November.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" returned to Norfolk, Virginia 11 February 1957. She cleared that port on 26 February and visited Santos, Brazil; Valparaíso, Chile; and Balboa, Canal Zone, before arriving at Bremerton, Washington, on 15 April.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" was decommissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 24 May 1957 to receive a major conversion (SCB 110A), which included a longer angled deck canted 3 degrees more than the previous overhauls of her sister ships. As the centerline elevators were relocated to the starboard deck edge forward and aft of the island, "Coral Sea" became the first carrier to mount an elevator on the port quarter resembling the more efficient deck layout of the "Kitty Hawk"-class then under construction. Other improvements included new steam catapults, an enclosed hurricane bow, hull blisters, and removal of the armor belt and several anti-aircraft guns. Upon completion, she was recommissioned on 25 January 1960 and rejoined the fleet. During September 1960, she conducted training with her new air group along the West Coast, then sailed in September for a tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet in the Far East on her first WestPac (Western Pacific cruise). She recorded her 100,000th arrested landing in October 1961.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Installation of the Pilot Landing Aid Television (PLAT) system was completed on "Coral Sea" on 14 December 1961. She was the first carrier to have this system installed for operations use. Designed to provide a videotape of every landing, the system proved useful for instructional purposes and in the analysis of landing accidents, thereby making it an invaluable tool in the promotion of safety. By 1963, all attack carriers had been equipped with PLAT and plans were underway for installation in the CVSs and at shore stations.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August, "Coral Sea" departed on 7 December 1964 for duty with the Seventh Fleet. On 7 February 1965, her aircraft, along with those from and , conducted Operation Flaming Dart against the military barracks and staging areas near Đồng Hới in the southern sector of North Vietnam. The raids were in retaliation for a damaging Viet Cong attack on installations around Pleiku in South Vietnam. On 26 March, the Seventh Fleet units began their participation in Operation Rolling Thunder, a systematic bombing of military targets throughout North Vietnam. Pilots from "Coral Sea" struck island and coastal radar stations in the vicinity of Vinh. On 3 April Vietnam People's Air Force MiG-17s attacked aircraft from "Coral Sea" and "Hancock" in the first United States aerial combat of the Vietnam conflict. A "Coral Sea" RF-8 took the first photographs of a North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile site on 5 April. "Coral Sea" remained on deployment until returning home on 1 November 1965.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: In the summer of 1967, the city of San Francisco adopted the ship as "San Francisco's Own." This might seem ironic given the strong anti-military sentiment in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the fact that this occurred during the Summer of Love. Despite this, the city and the ship enjoyed a formal, official relationship. However, there were probably many times the crew did not enjoy the attitudes of Bay Area residents at all. The feeling was mutual. In July 1968, prior to a deployment to Vietnam, "Coral Sea" participated in the carrier trials of the US Navy's proposed new interceptor, the General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The ship continued to make WestPac/Vietnam deployments until 1975: 26 July 1967 to 6 April 1968; 7 September 1968 to 15 April 1969; 23 September 1969 to 1 July 1970; 12 November 1971 to 17 July 1972; 9 March 1973 to 8 November; and from 5 December 1974 to 2 July 1975. Operations by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps aircraft in Vietnam expanded significantly throughout April 1972 with a total of 4,833 Navy sorties in the south and 1,250 in the north. "Coral Sea", along with "Hancock", was on Yankee Station when the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive began. They were joined in early April by and . On 16 April 1972, their aircraft flew 57 sorties in the Haiphong area in support of U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress strikes on the Haiphong petroleum products storage area in an operation known as Freedom Porch.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: After refitting, from 1970 through to 1971, and during refresher training (REFTRA) down to San Diego, "Coral Sea" on her return trip to Alameda caught fire in the communications department. The fire spread so fast that Captain William H. Harris commanded that the carrier be placed just offshore between San Mateo and Santa Barbara in order to abandon ship if the fire could not be put under control. Several communications personnel were trapped, and Radiomen Bob Bilbo and Bill Larremore pulled many shipmates out of the burning and smoke-filled compartments. They received the Navy & Marine Corp Medal. L/Cpl Thomas P Howard Jr. of ships Mar/Det received a "Meritorious Mast" from Captain Harris as a result of his location and rescue of shipmates overcome by toxic smoke in security weapon space. An OBA was L/Cpl Howard's only breathing protection at the time.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Operation Pocket Money, the mining campaign against principal North Vietnamese ports, was launched 9 May 1972. Early that morning, an EC-121 aircraft took off from Da Nang Air Base to provide support for the mining operation. A short time later, "Kitty Hawk" launched 17 ordnance-delivering sorties against the Nam Định railroad siding as a diversionary air tactic. Poor weather, however, forced the planes to divert to secondary targets at Thanh and Phu Qui. "Coral Sea" launched three A-6A Intruders and six A-7E Corsair II aircraft loaded with naval mines and one EKA-3B Skywarrior in support of the mining operation directed against the outer approaches to Haiphong Harbor. The mining aircraft departed the vicinity of "Coral Sea" timed to execute the mining at precisely 09:00 local time to coincide with President Richard M. Nixon's public announcement in Washington that naval mines had been seeded. The Intruder flight led by the CAG, Commander Roger E. Sheets, was composed of Marine Corps aircraft from VMA-224 and headed for the inner channel. The Corsairs, led by Commander Leonard E. Giuliani and made up of aircraft from VA-94 and VA-22, were designated to mine the outer segment of the channel. Each aircraft carried four MK52-2 mines. Captain William R. Carr, USMC, the bombardier/navigator in the lead plane, established the critical attack azimuth and timed the naval mine releases. The first mine was dropped at 08:59 and the last of the field of 36 mines at 09:01. Twelve mines were placed in the inner harbor and the remaining 24 in the outer. All mines were set with 72-hour arming delays, thus permitting merchant ships time for departure or a change in destination consistent with the President's public warning. It was the beginning of a mining campaign that planted over 11,000 MK36 type destructor and 108 special Mk 52-2 mines over the next eight months. It is considered to have played a significant role in bringing about an eventual peace arrangement, particularly since it so hampered the enemy's ability to continue receiving war supplies.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: In 1971, widespread dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War led to an unusual action by at least 1000 crew members who formed the on-ship organization named Stop Our Ship (SOS) and signed a petition against the war. The petition stated that the signers "do not believe in the Vietnam War" and that "Coral Sea" "should not go to Vietnam".


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 6 November 1971, over 300 men from "Coral Sea" marched in an anti-war demonstration in San Francisco and on 12 November 1971 around 600-1200 protestors demonstrated outside of Naval Air Station Alameda to encourage sailors to not sail with the ship. Thirty-five men missed her departure after the Berkeley City Council and 10 churches offered sanctuary. While this number is not unusual for a ship this size, at least one military service member sought sanctuary.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The petition and demonstrations by the sailors of "Coral Sea" were part of a larger movement of anti-war protests by military service members. Earlier in 1971, about 400 servicemen in Saigon signed a petition against the war, and nine sailors in Hawaii took sanctuary in a church and missed the sailing of the . (In contrast, the "Coral Sea" crewmen did not want their protest "to be a thing like the "Constellation"" and therefore likely were not looking for sanctuary.) "These 'flattop revolts' expanded the next year, as sailors signed petitions or disrupted operations on "Kitty Hawk", , , , and . Sabotage on and prevented their scheduled port departures while aviators became increasingly concerned about their role in the bombing campaign and questioned the war openly."


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The Paris Peace Accords, ending hostilities in Vietnam, were signed on 23 January 1973, ending four years of talks. North Vietnam released nearly 600 American prisoners by 1 April 1973, and the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam on 27 January 1973. However, the war was not over for the Vietnamese. By spring 1975, the North was advancing on the South. "Coral Sea", , "Hancock", , and responded on 19 April 1975 to the waters off South Vietnam when North Vietnam overran two-thirds of South Vietnam. On 29–30 April 1975, Operation Frequent Wind was carried out by Seventh Fleet forces. Hundreds of U.S. personnel and Vietnamese were evacuated from Saigon to the ships of the Seventh Fleet lying off Vũng Tàu. South Vietnam surrendered to the North on 30 April 1975.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 12 to 14 May 1975, "Coral Sea" participated with other Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps forces in the Mayaguez incident, the recovery of the U.S. merchant ship SS "Mayaguez" and her 39 crew, illegally seized on 12 May in international waters by Khmer Rouge gunboats. Protective air strikes flown from the carrier against the Cambodian mainland naval and air installations as Air Force helicopters with 288 Marines from Battalion Landing Teams 2 and 9 were launched from U Tapao, Thailand, and landed at Koh Tang Island to rescue the "Mayaguez's" crew and secure the ship. Eighteen Marines, Airmen, and Navy corpsmen were lost in the action. For her action, "Coral Sea" was presented the Meritorious Unit Commendation on 6 July 1976. Meanwhile, she had been reclassified as a "Multi-Purpose Aircraft Carrier", returning to hull classification symbol CV-43, on 30 June 1975.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 4 November 1979, militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini (who had come to power following the overthrow of the Shah of Iran) seized the US Embassy in Tehran and held 63 Americans hostage. Thus began the Iran hostage crisis.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" relieved "Midway" in the northern part of the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Iran, on 5 February 1980. This operating area was nicknamed Gonzo Station by the men on the ships operating there, apparently because of its vicinity to Iran and the assumption that war with Iran was likely.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Later, along with and other ships in company, "Coral Sea" participated in Operation Evening Light, the unsuccessful and aborted rescue attempt of 24 April 1980. (Their aircraft played a supporting role.) The crew of "Coral Sea" and other ships in the company received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for their efforts. By the time the ship pulled into Subic Bay, the Philippines for a port call on 9 May 1980 the crew had spent 102 consecutive days at sea – mostly off the coast of Iran. (The Iran hostage crisis ended on 20 January 1981 when Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter as President of the United States and Iran released the Americans.)


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: At this time (1979–1981) the ship was commanded by Captain (later Admiral) Richard Dunleavy, who was to play a role in the Tailhook scandal, which forced him into retirement. However, while commanding "Coral Sea" he was considered an excellent commanding officer by his crew, who respected him greatly, even though they worked long, difficult hours under him and he could be a strict disciplinarian.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 10 June 1980, "Coral Sea" returned to her homeport of Alameda. Shortly after her return, the San Francisco Bay Area press reported the theft of a set of golden bear statues from the ship. These statues had been presented by the city of San Francisco after the city had adopted the ship as "San Francisco's Own." Two sailors from "Coral Sea" were caught with the statues after attempting to sell them, and the sailors were subsequently court-martialed and sentenced to prison. All of the statues were recovered in good shape.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The ship embarked on her final Western Pacific deployment on 20 August 1981. After making port calls at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay, the Philippines, she operated in the South China Sea. After a port call at Singapore, "Coral Sea" headed to the Indian Ocean where she relieved at Gonzo Station and operated with Royal Navy units in GonzoEx 2-81 (17–23 November).


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: The "Coral Sea" battle group, under Rear Admiral Tom Brown, was involved in exercises with the Royal Navy under Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward – who operated with as his flagship. During one exercise, Woodward was able to manoeuver "Glamorgan" into a position where he could have "sunk" "Coral Sea" with Exocet missiles. The result of this exercise played a part in the belief of Admiral Woodward that the British should sink the Argentine cruiser because of the fear of a similar situation arising between that ship and the British aircraft carriers and during the Falklands War.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: Later, "Coral Sea" participated in Exercise Bright Star 82, an exercise involving the defense of Egypt and the Suez Canal (4–9 December). Relieved on 17 December 1981 by , she departed Gonzo Station and called at Pattaya, Thailand after 98 consecutive days at sea. After departing Pattaya the ship called at Subic Bay and Hong Kong. "Coral Sea" then operated in the Sea of Japan before making a port call at Sasebo, Japan. After departing Japan "Coral Sea" made another port call at Subic Bay, then again at Pearl Harbor before steaming to California. The ship arrived at her home port of Alameda on 23 March 1982. "Coral Sea" then began upkeep, training, and operations off of California. In late July 1982, she served as a movie prop in the filming of portions of the motion picture "The Right Stuff".


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 25 March 1983, "Coral Sea", having been reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet, left Alameda for her new homeport of Norfolk. The Navy sent the ship on a six-month around-the-world cruise, with ports of call in five countries. "Coral Sea" was replaced on the west coast by .


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 1 March 1984, Carrier Air Wing 13 was established. The wing would make three deployments aboard "Coral Sea" from 1 October 1985 to 30 September 1989.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 11 April 1985, while on refresher training with her air wing in the Guantánamo Bay area, "Coral Sea" collided with the Ecuadorian tanker ship "Napo" and subsequently underwent two months of repairs at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. This resulted in the skipper along with 4 other officers being relieved of duty.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 13 October 1985, "Coral Sea" returned to the Mediterranean for her first Sixth Fleet deployment since 1957. Commanded by Captain Robert H. Ferguson, with CVW-13 embarked, it was also the first deployment of the new F/A-18 Hornet to the Mediterranean. The Hornets were assigned to VFA-131, VFA-132, VMFA-314 and VMFA-323 on "Coral Sea".


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 2 January 1986, EA-6B Prowlers from VAQ-135 reported aboard. The Squadron was called on a "No Notice Deployment" by The Joint Chiefs of Staff to augment CVW-13 with Electronic Countermeasures/Jamming Support.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 24 March 1986, Libyan Armed Forces units fired missiles at Sixth Fleet forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra after declaring international waters as their own. A missile (originating from an SA-5 missile site at Sirte) attack on CV-43's aircraft (Prowler/Hornet package) conducting a "Blue Darter" fell short and dropped into the Mediterranean. VFA-131 F/A-18's from "Coral Sea" and flew combat air patrols, protecting the carrier groups from Libyan aircraft. The Hornets were frequently called upon to intercept and challenge numerous MiG-23s, MiG-25s, Su-22s, and Mirages sent out by Libya to harass the fleet.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 5 April 1986, in response to the US show of force, the La Belle Discothèque in West Berlin, the Federal Republic of Germany was bombed, resulting in the death of one U.S. serviceman and many injured.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: On 15 April 1986, aircraft from "Coral Sea" and "America", as well as USAF F-111Fs from RAF Lakenheath in the UK, struck targets in Libya as part of "Operation El Dorado Canyon." The Hornets went into action for the first time, flying several ship-to-shore air strikes against Libyan shore installations that were harassing the fleet. During this action, the Hornets from "Coral Sea" attacked and destroyed the SA-5 missile site at Sirte which had been "painting" US aircraft on its radars. This was the combat debut for the Hornet, and incidentally marked the first combat use of the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile. The Hornets attacked the SAM sites in bad weather and at wave top heights. All of them returned without mishap.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: "Coral Sea" continued deployments to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean area throughout the remainder of the 1980s. In 1987, she developed the ""Coral Sea" configuration" in which two attack squadrons on board used a shared maintenance program, helping to streamline aircraft maintenance. On 19 April 1989, while operating in the Caribbean, the ship responded to a call for assistance from the battleship , due to an explosion in her number two gun turret in which 47 crew members were killed. The explosive ordnance disposal team from "Coral Sea" removed volatile powder charges from the ship's 16 inch (406 mm) guns. "Coral Sea" also dispatched a surgical team and medical supplies. Medevac and logistical support to "Iowa" were provided by "Coral Sea"'s deployed helicopter squadron HS-17 (Neptune's Raiders) flying the Sikorsky SH-3H, along with VC-8 flying the Sikorsky SH-3G aircraft from Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. She returned to Norfolk for the final time on 30 September 1989.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: After nearly 43 years of service, the "Coral Sea" was decommissioned on 26 April 1990. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register two days later. On 7 May 1993, she was sold for scrap, minus her electronics, weapons, and other usable equipment, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) to Seawitch Salvage of Baltimore. Scrapping was delayed by numerous financial, legal, and environmental issues. A series of articles by the "Baltimore Sun" about the problems involved with the scrapping of the "Coral Sea" and other navy vessels earned it the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting. At nearly 70,000 tons, "Coral Sea" was the largest vessel ever scrapped up to that date. The company attempted to sell the hulk to China for scrapping, but the Navy blocked the sale in court. The scrapping continued off and on for several years until finally completed on 8 September 2000.


title: USS Coral Sea (CV-43)

text: One of her anchors is now on display in the Battle of Coral Sea Memorial, Townsville, Australia. It was presented to the memorial on 8 May 1992, by the Commander of the 7th Fleet and former commanding officer of "Coral Sea", Vice Admiral Stanley R. Arthur. The other anchor is at the Citadel in Charleston SC.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Bohemia Interactive a.s. is a Czech video game developer and publisher based in Prague. The company focuses on creating military simulation games such as "" and the "ARMA" series. It is also known for having worked on a game conversion of the "DayZ" mod created for "ARMA 2".


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Founded by Marek Španěl in May 1999, the studio released its first game in 2001, a military shooter titled "", which received critical acclaim and brought recognition for the studio. Following "Operation Flashpoint" was a series of downturns, such as porting the game to Xbox, which led to financial losses and the development of a sequel later abandoned by the publisher Codemasters. The studio fell into financial troubles until the United States Marine Corps employed the studio to create simulation games to train soldiers. A new division called Bohemia Interactive Simulations was created, and later spun off and became a standalone business entity. Following Codemasters' decision of not supporting the studio, Bohemia Interactive decided to develop a spiritual successor to "Cold War Crisis" titled "". It was both a critical and financial success, spawning a number of sequels. Smaller projects such as "Take On Helicopters" were also released.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: In 2012, Dean Hall produced "DayZ" a mod for "ARMA 2", that prompted the studio to develop a standalone game. The same year saw the arrest of two employees of Bohemia, who were charged with espionage by Greece and jailed for 129 days. This event had significantly lowered team morale and forced the team to rename "ARMA 3"s setting to a fictional one. The company is working on several new projects, including making a survival game named "Vigor", releasing content patches for DayZ, and developing "Ylands", a sandbox game which was part of Bohemia Incubator, a platform for Bohemia Interactive to release small, experimental projects.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Bohemia Interactive founder Marek Španěl aspired to become a game developer in the 1980s, after his brother was convinced to buy a TI-99/4A computer. Španěl first worked as a salesman for a game distribution company and made a 3D hovercraft simulator "" for Atari Falcon in 1995, which sold 400 copies only. He, along with his brother, Ondřej Španěl, and business partner Slavomír Pavlíček, decided to develop a game in 1997, using the money given by his former employers. They formally founded Bohemia Interactive in May 1999.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: The team initially wanted to develop a shooter named "Rio Grande", which was described by Španěl as "a 3D clone of "River Raid"". However, the team did not see the potential of the project and shifted their focus to make an open world game. It then became "Poseidon", which was a first-person shooter with a heavy focus on realism. At that time, the team expanded significantly, from having only one full-time programmer, to having 12 full-time employees by the end of the game's development. According to Španěl, the entire development team was very enthusiastic about the game and was focused on creating a game that they "wanted to play", thus opting not to study the works of another development team. "Poseidon" suffered from an extended development cycle of over three years, causing some of its technologies to become outdated. Original publisher Interactive Magic was sold in 1999 and another publisher which signed the project later wanted to abandon it. The frequent changes of publishers caused uncertainties regarding the game's funding. Despite these development issues, "Poseidon" was successfully released in June 2001 under the official title "" by Codemasters to critical acclaim. It was shipped without any game-breaking bugs, and it became an international success, selling more than 500,000 copies in its first three months of release, as well as reaching a top position in retail sales chart across the world including US, UK, Germany and Australia. The team was satisfied with the game's release, with Španěl describing it as a dream coming true. Bohemia Interactive won Best Debut at the Game Developers Choice Awards, defeating strong opponents including Remedy Entertainment ("Max Payne").


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Following the release of "Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis", the team intended to continue updating the game with post-release content, develop a port for the Xbox console, and create a sequel. Projected to take only nine months to develop, the Xbox version (known as "") was released in 2005, four years after the game's initial release. The reason for the long development cycle stemmed from the team's unfamiliarity with the console's structure. With the release of a new generation of hardware including a new Xbox console, "Elite"s release did not gain its audience's attention. Sales were lackluster and the development suffered a huge financial loss. In 2005, the company also founded the Independent Developers Association (IDEA Games) with Black Element Software and Altar Games. The organization aimed at supporting other independent game development studios with services including marketing support and negotiation with publishers. Bohemia went on to acquire Black Element Software, Altar Games, and Centauri Production (a fourth IDEA Games member) in September 2010. Bohemia acquired the 25 staff members, technology, and facilities of the Slovak studio Cauldron in March 2014, integrating them with Bohemia Interactive Slovakia, which had been established in 2013.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: In 2020 THQ Nordic acquired the entire team of Bohemia Interactive Bratislava which ceased to exist and all people joined newly created Nine Rocks Games. Additionally, in late 2020 30 people from Bohemia Interactive Brno were acquired by THQ Nordic and they joined newly created Ashborne Games studio.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: The team started developing a sequel to "Operation Flashpoint", codenamed "Game 2", after they cancelled their open world Western-themed project, which was described as ""Flashpoint" in Western" by Španěl. The team had lots of ambition for "Game 2" and hoped that it would become a perfect game, thus the team began spending an excessive amount of time on small details, from doing 3D scanning of real-life weapons to modelling the player character's eyeball. However, in doing so some basics were neglected by the team, and many goals remained unattained due to the team's skill and technology status. As a result, the team constantly missed the deadlines set by publisher Codemasters. Codemasters was dissatisfied with the team's work and began looking for outside help. Bohemia disagreed with the search for outside assistance, and the two studios decided to part way with each other. With Codemasters no longer supporting the studio financially, Bohemia entered a series of financial troubles. In addition, Codemasters retained the rights to "Operation Flashpoint" preventing Bohemia from using the title in the future.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: In the early 2000s, the US Army began using a mod of the first "Operation Flashpoint", named "DARWARS Ambush!", to train soldiers. In financial distress, Bohemia capitalized on its use and made a small sum of money, saving the company from falling into immediate bankruptcy. Bohemia also set up a new division called Bohemia Interactive Simulations, specializing in creating military simulation games with its "Virtual Battle Space" titles for armies around the world to use. Meanwhile, the main studio, realizing that they should release a game as soon as possible, decided to rework on "Elite" engine and make a spiritual successor to "Cold War Crisis" called "Armored Assault", later renamed "". According to Španěl, the team hated the title. Bohemia decided to self-publish the game, and launched in an early access form. The game received high critical praise and great sales, sufficient to save the company.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: The development of a sequel to "ARMA" commenced afterward. The team decided to reuse some of its assets of "Game 2" for "ARMA 2", and did not hold unrealistic ambitions for the game. An Xbox 360 version was planned but was later scrapped after the team thought that its power was inferior to that of personal computers. During this period, Codemasters announced "", a game falling into competition with Bohemia's own "ARMA" titles, as it was marketed as the true successor to "Cold War Crisis". Španěl was not happy with how "Dragon Rising" is being marketed as a return to the "Operation Flashpoint" series despite being created without the involvement of Bohemia. The team became anxious, but found relief after viewing gameplay footage "Dragon Rising", which they considered to be subpar and "[did] not come even close to what they promised". "ARMA 2" was released in mid-2009 to high critical praise and high sales. The development team soon began work on an expansion titled "", though Codemasters took legal actions to force Bohemia to change its name due to its similarity with "Operation Flashpoint". In early 2010s, the company continued to develop expansions for "ARMA 2", and released smaller titles such as "Take On Helicopters".


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Following the release of "Operation Arrowhead", the company started development of a new "ARMA" game, this time set in the future. The game was titled "ARMA Futura", in which players fight aliens, and its direction once shifting to role-playing. All of these futuristic elements were later scrapped, and were remade into a more realistic setting. The title eventually became "ARMA 3". The Greek media reported in 2012 that two Czechs were arrested on the Greek island Lemnos, the setting for "ARMA 3" after being charged with espionage. This was later confirmed to be Martin Pezlar and Ivan Buchta, both of them employees at Bohemia Interactive. The main reason for their charge is that they took photos of military installations, which under Greek law threatened their national security. Charges were refuted, and both of them insisted that they were traveling the island for entertainment only. If convicted, the duo faced a 20-year sentence. This soon became a diplomatic concern, with Czech President Václav Klaus urging the Greek President to solve this issue with "special attention". Bohemia also made efforts by motivating its "ARMA" communities to petition to pressure Greece for the pair's release. During this period of time, team morale dropped. "" was released by the studio, but according to Španěl, "nobody at the studio really cared" because their friends were stranded in a foreign jail. Regardless, Pezlar and Buchta were held in prison for 129 days until the Greek government allowed them to be released on bail. After this incident, the team decided to rename "ARMA 3"s setting from Lemnos to a fictional island called "Altis". "Arma 3" was eventually released in August 2013 to positive critical reviews. Two mobile "ARMA" games, "ARMA Tactics" and "ARMA Mobile Ops", were released in 2013 and 2016 respectively. In January 2013 the investment company Riverside Co. bought Bohemia Interactive Simulations. While both companies share the engine technology due to the shared past they are now completely separate entities.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: In 2012, Dean Hall, an employee at Bohemia working on "ARMA 3", released a massively popular mod for "ARMA 2" named "DayZ", which includes zombies as the game's main enemies. Its popularity led to a resurgence in "ARMA 2"s sales, with registered players count being raised from 500,000 to one million. Impressed with the success of "DayZ", Bohemia appointed Hall to fully capitalize on it by leading the development of a standalone "DayZ" video game, which ensured that he would not be limited by the restraints of "ARMA 2". While the main goal is to transit the mod into an entirely new game, the team also intended to add more content such as base-building and improved crafting. Hall eventually left Bohemia in 2014, and the game remained in early access more than five years after its release in December 2013 with a final alpha release in December 2018.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: In November 2016, the company announced Bohemia Incubator, a platform for the development of experimental games. According to Bohemia Interactive, the incubator aimed at testing designs and concepts and getting the community involved in game development, as well as being the guidance of Bohemia's other technologies including its Enfusion engine and supporting services. Two titles were announced as part of the incubator. This includes "Ylands", a sandbox game, and "Argo", a free-to-play shooter without microtransactions released in June 2017. The company is also working on "Vigor", a survival game powered by Unreal Engine for the Xbox One.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: The company had announced a live stream for May 17 19:00 CEST, during the livestream they released ARMA Reforger calling it a "milestone on the long road to ARMA 4..." ARMA Reforger is a test bed for their new engine Enfusion. On the same livestream Bohemia announced that ARMA 4 is in development, but did not give a definitive release date.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Bohemia Interactive prides themselves on open communication with players. The company laid out road maps in an effort to offer details on some of their post-release content, such as in the case of "ARMA 3" and "DayZ". The company also sometimes let players to help out with game design process. It invited players to the Czech studio to help with the design of the first "Operation Flashpoint", and released several titles via early access, a way in which early build of a game is released for the community to test and play. Many of Bohemia Interactive games are moddable, a focus since the release of the "ARMA: Armed Assault". The company awarded players who create user-generated content with their games in 2009 during the BIS Community Awards and announced a modding competition called "Make ARMA Not War", in which modders must create mods that shift "ARMA" focus from war into anything else. Bohemia Interactive also took a stance against pirating with their DEGRADE technology, which would automatically create technical issues to pirated copies. For instance, in "Take On Helicopters", pirated copies' visuals would be extremely blurry, whereas copies bought legitimately would not suffer from the same issue. The team also bought a T-72 tank in order to express gratitude, stating: "A massive tanks goes out to everyone who has supported the studio and its games throughout the past 16 years".


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Bohemia Interactive also had a close relationship with International Committee of the Red Cross, in which they partnered together for a special award named Health Care in Danger Special Award at the Make Arma Not War competition, and Bohemia also promised to follow some of Red Cross' suggestions on how video games should handle war crimes.


title: Bohemia Interactive

text: Bohemia Interactive specializes in making simulation games with a focus on realism. They created the military simulation game "" in 2001, and followed it with an expansion called "". While Codemasters developed two "Operation Flashpoint" sequels, "" and "", the series was put on hiatus when Codemasters announced their plans to refocus on racing games. Meanwhile, Bohemia followed up their first game, "Cold War Crisis" with a spiritual successor called "", which was followed up by two sequels, "ARMA 2" and "ARMA 3", both of which have been critically acclaimed. The developer also had another simulation franchise called "Take On", which includes "Take On Helicopters", which allows players to play as a helicopter pilot, and "Take On Mars", in which players explore Mars. However, both titles are smaller in scope when compared with the "ARMA" franchise.


title: Guy Torry

text: Guy Torry (born January 12, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He is the younger brother of actor and comedian Joe Torry.


title: Guy Torry

text: Guy Torry was born in Fort Ord Military Base in California, where his father was stationed. He moved to St. Louis at about 5 years of age. He attended Southeast Missouri State University where fellow comedian and St. Louisan Cedric the Entertainer attended. While attending college, Torry developed his talent for comedy. After college, Guy eventually took his talents to Hollywood, where he took up comedy and acting.


title: Guy Torry

text: Guy Torry began his acting career around the age of 17. He made minor appearances on shows such as "Martin". From 1996 to 1997, 1998 to 1999 and 2000 to 2001, he portrays the role of Damon King of The WB sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show", In 1997, he became a regular cast member of UPN's short-lived sitcom "Good News". He eventually started touring all around the world doing stand-up comedy, with numerous sold-out events and standing ovations. He appeared on "Def Jam Comedy", which was another successful comedy show that featured his brother Joe as one of the hosts, as well as appearances on Comedy Central and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Also, he created and hosted a very successful weekly comedy show called "Phat Tuesdays", at one of America's most famous comedy hubs, "The Comedy Store". "Phat Tuesdays" formed in 1995 and lasted for 10 years. Guy Torry was also an original member of the "Kings of Comedy" in 1998, where he hosted for the first year. He could not continue the second year due to a starring role he landed on the UPN action-drama "The Strip" while replacing his brother Joe Torry on "The Jamie Foxx Show". He also wrote for other television series such as "Martin" and "Moesha" among others. He started breaking into films in the mid-1990s and since then has had parts in many films, including "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood", "Life", and "Trippin'". His most notable role was as a convict named Lamont in "American History X", who helped turn a young Nazi-skinhead's life around while in prison, and had a small part in the 2001 film "Pearl Harbor", playing a sailor assigned to the . In 2003 Torry's brother founded a film production company called MO Films, and Guy is slated to be an actor, writer, and producer of various projects from the company. He also works on "The Tony Scott Morning Show" along with host Tony Scott and Tammy Holland.


title: Guy Torry

text: His brother founded the Giving Back the Love Foundation in 1996 and ever since then Guy has been an avid supporter of the program. This foundation gives back to his hometown community (St. Louis) through youth and community programs. He also donated his time and sometimes money to other charity foundations of celebrity athletes such as: NFL Football players Terrell Owens, Marshall Faulk, Torrey and Terrence Holt, Ronald Curry, Andre Johnson, Ray Lewis, NBA Basketball players Shaquille O'Neal, Jim Jackson, Magic Johnson, Tarence Kinsey, Chris Webber, The NBA Entertainment League, and several other charities, including the Celebrity Cat Walk, Shoes For Africa, and the LA Union Rescue Mission for Thanksgiving and Christmas.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The Singing Revolution was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by an Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week after 10–11 June 1988, spontaneous mass evening singing demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. Later, all three countries joined the EU and NATO in 2004.


title: Singing Revolution

text: During World War II, the three Baltic states were incorporated into the Stalinist USSR after military occupation and annexation first in 1940 and then again in 1944. The new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced "glasnost" ("openness") and "perestroika" ("restructuring") in 1985, hoping to stimulate the failing Soviet economy and encourage productivity, particularly in the areas of consumer goods, the liberalisation of cooperative businesses, and growing the service economy. Glasnost rescinded limitations on political freedoms in the Soviet Union, which led to problems within the non-Russian nations occupied during World War II.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Hitherto unrecognised issues previously kept secret by the Moscow government were admitted to in public, causing dissatisfaction within the Baltic states. Combined with the war in Afghanistan and the nuclear fallout in Chernobyl, grievances were aired in a publicly explosive and politically decisive manner. Estonians were concerned about the demographic threat to their national identity posed by the influx of individuals from foreign ethnic groups to work on such large Soviet development projects as phosphate mining.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Access to Western émigré communities abroad and, particularly in Estonia, informal relations with Finland, and access to Finnish TV showing the Western lifestyle also contributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the Soviet system and provoked mass demonstrations as repression on dissidents, nationalists, religious communities, and ordinary consumers eased substantially towards the end of the 1980s.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Massive demonstrations against the Soviet regime began after widespread liberalisation of the regime failed to take into account national sensitivities. It was hoped by Moscow that the non-Russian nations would remain within the USSR despite the removal of restrictions on freedom of speech and national icons (such as the local pre-1940 flags). However, the situation deteriorated to such an extent that by 1989 there were campaigns aimed at freeing the nations from the Soviet Union altogether.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The Soviet government's plan to excavate phosphorite in the Lääne-Viru county with potentially catastrophic consequences for the environment and society was revealed in February 1987. That started the "Phosphorite War" public environmental campaign. The MRP-AEG group held the Hirvepark meeting in the Old Town of Tallinn at the anniversary of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 23 August 1987, demanding to disclose and condemn its secret protocol.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The "Five Patriotic Songs" series by Alo Mattiisen premiered at the Tartu Pop Festival in May 1988. In June the Old Town Festival was held in Tallinn, and after the official part of the festival, the participants moved to the Song Festival Grounds and started to sing patriotic songs together spontaneously. The Baltic Way, a human chain of two million people, spanned from Tallinn to Vilnius on 23 August 1989. Mattiisen's "Five Patriotic Songs" were performed again at the Rock Summer festival in Tallinn held on 26–28 August 1988. The Song of Estonia festival was held at the Song Festival Grounds on 11 September. Trivimi Velliste, Chairman of the Estonian Heritage Society, first voiced the public ambition to regain independence. The Supreme Soviet of Estonia issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration on 16 November.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The Singing Revolution lasted over four years, with various protests and acts of defiance. The revolution was led by three different groups: the Heritage Society, the Popular Front, and the National Independence Party. The Heritage Society, established in 1987, focused on spreading awareness about Estonia’s history to gather support for Estonia’s independence from the Soviets. The Popular Front, founded in 1988, wanted to reform Estonia into self-government within a loose confederation of the Soviet Union. The National Independence Party, established in 1988 as well, was more radical than the other two organizations and demanded complete independence from the Soviet Union.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In 1991, as the central government in Moscow and the Soviet Army attempted to stop the Estonian progress towards independence, the newly elected legislature of Estonia together with an elected grassroots parliament, Congress of Estonia, proclaimed the restoration of the independent state of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. Large groups of unarmed volunteers went to shield the parliament, radio and TV buildings from any attacks by Soviet troops. Through these actions Estonia regained its independence without any blood shed.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Independence was declared on the late evening of 20 August 1991, after an agreement between different political parties was reached. The next morning Soviet troops, according to Estonian TV, attempted to storm Tallinn TV Tower but were unsuccessful. The Communist hardliners' coup attempt failed amidst mass pro-democracy demonstrations in Moscow led by Boris Yeltsin.


title: Singing Revolution

text: On 22 August 1991, Iceland became the first nation to recognise the newly restored independence of Estonia. Today, a plaque commemorating this event is situated on the outside wall of the Foreign Ministry, which is on Islandi väljak 1, or "Iceland Square 1". The plaque reads; "The Republic of Iceland was the first to recognise, on 22 August 1991, the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia", in Estonian, Icelandic and English. Some other nations did not recognise the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union.


title: Singing Revolution

text: During the second half of the 1980s as Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika in the USSR, which rolled back restrictions to freedom in the Soviet Union, aversion to the Soviet regime had grown into the third Latvian National Awakening, which reached its peak in mid-1988.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In 1986, it became widely known to the public that the USSR was planning to build another hydroelectric power plant on Latvia's largest river Daugava, and that a decision had been made to build a metro in Riga. Both of these projects planned by Moscow could have led to the destruction of Latvia's landscape and cultural and historical heritage. In the press journalists urged the public to protest against these decisions. The public reacted immediately, and in response, the Environmental Protection Club was founded on 28 February 1987. During the second half of the 1980s, the Environmental Protection Club became one of the most influential mass movements in the region and began to make demands for the restoration of Latvia's independence.


title: Singing Revolution

text: On 14 June 1987, the anniversary of the 1941 deportations, the human rights group "Helsinki-86", which had been founded a year earlier, organized people to place flowers at the Freedom Monument (Latvia's symbol of independence, which was erected in 1935). This is widely cited as the beginning of the National Awakening. However, the Latvian Song and Dance Festival of 1985 also had been sometimes named as such for choirs requesting and performing the song "Gaismas pils" conducted by Haralds Mednis after the main event. The song, which speaks about the rebirth of a free Latvian nation, usually a staple of the festival, had been removed from the repertoire; the conductor, disliked by Soviet authorities, was sidelined at the closing concert. He was called from his seat by the choir and 'Gaismas pils' was performed, airing live on Riga Television.


title: Singing Revolution

text: On 1 and 2 June 1988, the Writers' Union held a congress during which the democratization of society, Latvia's economic sovereignty, the cessation of immigration from the USSR, the transformation of industry, and the protection of Latvian language rights were discussed by delegates. Over the course of this conference, for the first time in post-war Latvia, the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which had determined Latvia's fate after 1939, was publicly acknowledged.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The congress of the Writers' Union stirred up public opinion and provided an additional stimulus for the general process of national revival.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In the summer of 1988, two of the most important organizations of the revival period began to assemble themselves—the Latvian People's Front and the Latvian National Independence Movement (LNIM). Soon afterwards the more radically inclined Citizens' Congress called for complete non-compliance with the representatives of the Soviet regime. All of these organisations had a common goal: the restoration of democracy and independence. On 7 October 1988, there was a mass public demonstration, calling for Latvia's independence and the establishment of a regular judicial order. On 8 and 9 October the first congress of the Latvian People's Front was held. This organization, which attracted 200,000 members, became the main representative of the return to independence.


title: Singing Revolution

text: On 23 August 1989, the fiftieth anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the People's Fronts of all three Baltic countries held a huge demonstration of unity—the "Baltic Way". A long human "chain" from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius was assembled. This was a symbolic demonstration of the people's call for independence from the Soviet Union.


title: Singing Revolution

text: New elections to the Supreme Soviet took place on 18 March 1990, in which the supporters of independence gained a victory. On 4 May 1990, the new Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR adopted a motion, "Declaration of Independence", which called for the restoration of the inter-war Latvian state and the 1922 Constitution.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In January 1991, however, pro-communist political forces attempted to restore Soviet power. With the use of force, attempts were made to overthrow the new assembly. Latvian demonstrators managed to stop the Soviet troops from re-occupying strategic positions, and these events are known as the "Days of the Barricades".


title: Singing Revolution

text: On 19 August 1991, an unsuccessful attempt at a coup d'état took place in Moscow when a small group of prominent Soviet functionaries failed to regain power due to large pro-democracy demonstrations in Russia. This event resulted in Latvia swiftly moving toward independence. After the coup's failure, the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Republic announced on 21 August 1991, that the transition period to full independence declared on 4 May 1990 had come to an end. Therefore, Latvia was proclaimed a fully independent nation whose judicial foundation stemmed back to the statehood that existed before the occupation on 17 June 1940.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Between 1956 and 1987, open public resistance to the Soviet regime was rare. It became more persistent in the 1970s and 1980s. One example of this could be the Kaunas events of 1972. Many popular singers often used the poetry of nationalist poets such as Bernardas Brazdžionis or Justinas Marcinkevičius, as the lyrics of their songs. In 1987 the Rock March also promoted awareness of the issue among the people.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In 1987, various organisations (mainly environmental ones) were founded. On 3 June 1988, the Sąjūdis, a political and social movement, was established. Some initiators of this movement were active members of environmental organisations, established in 1987 (e. g. Zigmas Vaišvila, Gintaras Songaila). Initially, this organisation supported the regime, but in early autumn of the same year after Lithuania-wide growth, it became an opposing force to the CPL.


title: Singing Revolution

text: In response to this, Sąjūdis became a more centralised organisation. The active nationalist opposition (mostly the Lithuanian Liberty League) towards the regime culminated in various public protests. The most notorious of them took place on 28 October 1988, which ended up with violent dispersal. The resulting public anger caused resignations in the Communist Party of Lithuania (including the then-First Secretary of the party, Ringaudas Songaila, who served just over a year) and replaced them with more moderate members.


title: Singing Revolution

text: As the CPL leadership changed, it decided to return Vilnius Cathedral, formerly used as a museum of fine arts, to the Catholic community on 21 October 1988. The national anthem of Lithuania and the traditional national Tricolore were legalised in Lithuania on 18 November 1988, officially replacing the flag and the anthem of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. It was followed by the recognition of the Lithuanian language as a state language, what meant that it became the sole legal language on an institutional level. The latter change was instrumental in the removal of some officials (e. g. Nikolai Mitkin, who served as the Second Secretary of the CPL), but fueled tensions in Polish and Russian speaking communities.


title: Singing Revolution

text: It was followed by the gradual rebuilding of national symbols, which included erecting or restoring independence monuments throughout the country in late 1988 and 1989.


title: Singing Revolution

text: During 1989, various organisations (e. g. The Writers Union) split from the Soviet ones. Prior to the election of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union, Sąjūdis media became more restricted, but after the defeat of the CPL (it won just 6 seats of 42, other seats were won Sąjūdis supported candidates), restrictions were lifted. By the end of the year, the CPL gave up its power monopoly and agreed to hold free elections for Supreme Soviet of Lithuanian SSR in 1990, which it lost.


title: Singing Revolution

text: Five decades after Lithuania was occupied and incorporated into the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first republic to declare its independence from the USSR on 11 March 1990, while Estonia and Latvia declared Soviet rule to have been illegal from the start and since full restoration of independence was not yet feasible, started a period of transition towards independence, culminating with the failure of the August coup. For the same reason, almost all nations in the international community, except Iceland, hesitated to recognise independence for Lithuania until August 1991.


title: Singing Revolution

text: The Soviet military responded harshly. On 13 January 1991, fourteen non-violent protesters in Vilnius died and hundreds were injured defending the Vilnius Television Tower and the Parliament from Soviet assault troops and tanks. Lithuanians refer to the event as Bloody Sunday. The discipline and courage of its citizens - linking arms and singing in the face of tanks and armour-piercing bullets - avoided a much greater loss of life and showed the world that Lithuania's citizens were prepared to defend their national independence.


title: Singing Revolution

text: International governments began recognizing Lithuanian independence after the failure of the coup d'état in August 1991.


title: Legends of Runeterra

text: Legends of Runeterra (LoR is a 2020 digital collectible card game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by the physical collectible card game "", the developers sought to create a game within the same genre that significantly lowered the barrier to entry. Since its release in April 2020, the game has been free-to-play, and is monetised through purchasable cosmetics. The game is available for Microsoft Windows and mobile operating systems iOS and Android.


title: Legends of Runeterra

text: Like other collectible card games, players play one versus one to reduce their opponent's health to zero. Cards come in a variety of types and belong to one of ten regions—groups of cards with a similar gameplay identity. One significant feature is the game's combat pacing; unlike in other collectible card games, each player alternates between attacking and defending every turn.


title: Legends of Runeterra

text: Many characters from "League of Legends", a multiplayer online battle arena by Riot Games, feature in the game. The fictional universe of Runeterra, released by the developer through short stories, comic books, and an animated series, provides flavor and theming for the game's cards.


title: Legends of Runeterra

text: "Legends of Runeterra" has been well received by critics, who point to its generous progression systems, accessible gameplay, and high-quality visuals, and has won several industry awards.