title: The Simpsons Ride

text: Now sitting on their couch, the family is relieved to be back home. Suddenly, Kang and Kodos turn the house into Krusty's "Death Drop" ride while saying that all rides must end near a gift shop. Riders are then dropped with the Simpsons from the sky, encountering various "Simpsons" characters along the way. Riders crash back at the entrance to Krustyland, where Bob prepares to kill them with a buzz saw. However, the couch the Simpsons are sitting on crushes and presumably kills him, followed by the Simpsons landing on top of it and Bob. Maggie appears and ends the ride by pushing down a large Krusty head sign directly over the Simpsons. The vehicle calmly lowers back down while mist, fire, and smoke effects spray. Homer enthusiastically yells that he wants to ride again. Krusty then appears on the TV screen in the loading room and remarks, "Well, that's our ride. Hey, what does this do?" For the Orlando attraction, Krusty is sitting in a control room and pushes an emergency button on a control panel, causing the vehicle to vibrate and ending the ride. In the Hollywood version, Krusty also takes a picture of the guests. After the gullwing doors on the car lift up, guests can exit the ride.


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: The ride features more than 24 regular characters from "The Simpsons" and features the voices of the regular cast members, as well as Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor and Kelsey Grammer. Harry Shearer, however, decided not to participate in the ride supposedly due to scheduling and availability conflicts as the cast recordings were scheduled during the production break between seasons, where voice actors would have time off. None of his characters have vocal parts and many of them do not appear in the ride at all. In homage to the "Back to the Future" ride that it has replaced, "The Simpsons" Ride's queue video features a brief animated cameo from Doc Brown who is voiced by Christopher Lloyd.


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: In October 2007, gift shops modeled after the Kwik-E-Mart were built, replacing the Back To The Future: The Store gift shop at Universal Studios Florida and the Time Travelers Depot gift shop at Universal Studios Hollywood. The stores sell "Simpsons"-related merchandise. Carts were opened near the stores which sell Squishees, (which are "The Simpsons"<nowiki>'</nowiki> parody of 7-Eleven's Slurpees.)


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: At Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, the park converted much of the World Expo and some of the Upper Lot in Universal Studios Hollywood into one based on Springfield. The new area includes some iconic landmarks from "The Simpsons" such as Krusty Burger, Frying Dutchman, Luigi's Pizza, Lard Lad Donuts, Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck, Moe's Tavern, The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop and a Duff Brewery. The park also added one amusement ride named "Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl", a Dumbo-esque spinning ride where patrons drive flying saucers around Kodos' head and attack Springfield residents.


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: "The Simpsons" Ride was well received by fans after it opened. Seth Kubersky of "Orlando Weekly" described the ride as "a more than worthy successor" to . Brady MacDonald of the "Los Angeles Times" described the ride as "visually stunning" and said it "truly delivers — with loads of in-jokes and satire for serious fanatics and tons of thrills and fun for casual fans." Elise Thompson of the LAist said "the ride is a total blast, with plenty of laughs as well as thrills."


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: Jay Cridlin of the "St. Petersburg Times" wrote that "the ride is packed with more original, funny material than you'd expect to see in a sitcom, much less a theme park." However, he admitted that the ride was "a little discombobulating".


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: The Universal Studios Florida version of the ride hosted its one millionth rider on 14 July 2008, reaching the milestone faster than any other attraction in the resort. The ride was named the best new attraction of 2008 by the website Themeparkinsider.com.


title: The Simpsons Ride

text: On June 13, 2008, guests in one ride vehicle were sprayed with a nontoxic substance described as a "derivative of vegetable oil". No injuries were reported, and the guests were given a change of clothes and allowed to shower at the property. The park identified the source of the oil but were not able to determine the cause of the incident, and the unaffected ride vehicles remained open.


title: Shatranj

text: Shatranj (; ; from Middle Persian "chatrang" ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as it was introduced to Europe by contacts in Muslim Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and in Sicily in the 10th century.


title: Shatranj

text: The Persian word "shatranj" ultimately derives from Sanskrit (; "") ("catuḥ": "four"; "anga": "arm"), referring to the game of the same name: Chaturanga. In Middle Persian the word appears as "chatrang", with the 'u' lost due to syncope and the 'a' lost to apocope, such as in the title of the text "Mâdayân î chatrang" ("Book of Chess") from the 7th century AD. In Persian folk etymology, a Persian text refers to Shah Ardashir I, who ruled from 224 to 241, as a master of the game:


title: Shatranj

text: "By the help of Providence, Ardeshir became more victorious and warlike than all, on the polo and the riding-ground, at Chatrang and Vine-Artakhshir, and in several other arts."


title: Shatranj

text: However, "Karnamak" contains many fables and legends, and this only establishes the popularity of chatrang at the time of its composition.


title: Shatranj

text: During the reign of the later Sassanid king Khosrau I (531–579), a gift from an Indian king (possibly a Maukhari Dynasty king of Kannauj) included a chess game with sixteen pieces of emerald and sixteen of ruby (green vs. red). The game came with a challenge which was successfully resolved by Khosrau's courtiers. This incident, originally referred to in the "Mâdayân î chatrang" (c. 620 AD), is also mentioned in Ferdowsi's Shahnama (c. 1010).


title: Shatranj

text: The rules of chaturanga seen in India today have enormous variation, but all involve four branches ("anga"s) of the army: the horse (knight), the elephant (bishop), the chariot (rook) and the foot soldier (pawn), played on an 8×8 board. Shatranj adapted much of the same rules as chaturanga, and also the basic 16-piece structure. There is also a larger 10×11 board derivative; the 14th-century Tamerlane chess, or "shatranj kamil" (perfect chess), with a slightly different piece structure.


title: Shatranj

text: In some later variants the darker squares were engraved. The game spread Westwards after the Islamic conquest of Persia and a considerable body of literature on game tactics and strategy was produced from the 8th century onwards.


title: Shatranj

text: In early Indian chaturanga ( 500–700), the king could be and this ended the game. Persian shatranj (c. 700–800) introduced the idea of warning that the king was under attack (announcing check in modern terminology). This was done to avoid the early and accidental end of a game. Later the Persians added the additional rule that a king could not be moved into check or left in check. As a result, the king could not be captured, and checkmate was the only decisive way of ending a game.


title: Shatranj

text: With the spread of Islam, chess diffused into the Maghreb and then to Andalusian Spain. During the Islamic conquest of India (c. 12th century), some forms came back to India as well, as evidenced in the North Indian term "māt" (mate, derivative from Persian "māt") or the Bengali "borey" (pawn, presumed derived from the Arabic "baidaq"). Over the following centuries, chess became popular in Europe, eventually giving rise to modern chess.


title: Shatranj

text: The initial setup in shatranj was essentially the same as in modern chess; however, the position of the white shah (king), on the right or left side was not fixed. Either the arrangement as in modern chess or as shown in the diagram were possible. In either case, the white and black shāh would be on the same file (but not always in modern India). The game was played with these pieces:


title: Shatranj

text: Pieces are shown on the diagrams and recorded in the notation using the equivalent modern symbols, as in the table above. In modern descriptions of shatranj, the names king, rook, knight and pawn are commonly used for shah, rukh, faras, and baidaq.


title: Shatranj

text: There were also other differences compared to modern chess: Castling was not allowed (it was invented much later). Stalemating the opposing king resulted in a win for the player delivering stalemate. Capturing all one's opponent's pieces apart from the king (baring the king) was a win, unless the opponent could capture the last piece on their next move, which was considered a draw in most places in the Islamic world (except for Medina, where it was a win).


title: Shatranj

text: The possible movements of the main shatranj pieces, excluding that of the king and pawn, are complementary to one another, and without any omission or redundancy occupy all available squares with respect to the central position of a 5x5 grid, as shown in the figure to the right.


title: Shatranj

text: Three books written in Pahlavi, "Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan", "Khosrow and ridag", and "Wizārišn ī čhatrang" ("Treatise on Chess"), also known as the "Chatrang Nama" ("Book of Chess"), all mention "chatrang". In "Kār-nāmak" it is said that Ardashīr "with the help of the gods became more victorious and experienced than all others in polo, horsemanship, chess, backgammon, and other arts," and in the small treatise on "Khosrow and ridag", the latter declares that he is superior to his comrades in chess, backgammon, and "hašt pāy". Bozorgmehr, the author of "Wizārišn ī čhatrang", describes how the game of chess was sent as a test to Khosrow I (r. 531-79) by the "king of the Hindus Dēvsarm" with the envoy Takhtarītūs and how the test was answered by the vizier Bozorgmehr, who in his turn invented the game Backgammon as a test for the Hindus. These three Middle Persian sources do not give any certain indication of the date when chess was introduced into Persia. The mentions of chess in "Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan" and "Khosrow and ridag" are simply conventional and may easily represent late Sasanian or even post-Sasanian redactions. According to Touraj Daryaee, "Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan" is from 6th century. "Wizārišn ī čhatrang" was written in the 6th century.


title: Shatranj

text: During the Islamic Golden Age, many works on shatranj were written, recording for the first time the analysis of opening moves, game problems, the knight's tour, and many more subjects common in modern chess books. Many of these manuscripts are missing, but their content is known due to compilation work done by the later authors.


title: Shatranj

text: The earliest listing of works on chess is in the "Fihrist", a general bibliography produced in 377 AH (988 AD) by Ibn al-Nadim. It includes an entire section on the topic of chess, listing:


title: Shatranj

text: There is a passage referring to chess in a work said to be by al-Hasan al-Basri, a philosopher from Basra who died in 728 AD. The attribution of authorship is dubious, however.


title: Shatranj

text: Al-Adli as well as As-Suli introduced classifications of players by their playing strength. Both of them specify five classes of players:


title: Shatranj

text: To determine a player's class, a series or match would be undertaken with a player of a known class without odds. If the player won 7 or more games out of 10, he belonged to a higher class.


title: Shatranj

text: During the reign of the Arab caliphs, shatranj players of highest class were called "aliyat" or grandees. There were only a few players in this category including:


title: Shatranj

text: Openings in shatranj were usually called taʿbīya (pl. taʿbīyāt), in Arabic, which can be translated as "battle array". Due to slow piece development in shatranj, the exact sequence of moves was relatively unimportant. Instead players aimed to reach a specific position, tabiya, mostly ignoring the play of their opponent.


title: Shatranj

text: The works of al-Adli and as-Suli contain collections of tabiyat. Tabiyat were usually given as position on a half-board with some comments about them. The concrete sequence of moves to reach them was not specified. In his book Al-Lajlaj analyzed some tabiya in detail. He started his analysis from some given opening, for example "Double Mujannah" or "Mujannah–Mashaikhi", and then continued up to move 40, giving numerous variations.


title: Shatranj

text: Both al-Adli and as-Suli provided estimation of piece values in their books on shatranj. They used a monetary system to specify piece values. For example, as-Suli gives piece values in dirhem, the currency in use in his time:


title: Shatranj

text: Persian chess masters composed many shatranj problems. Such shatranj problems were called manṣūba (pl. manṣūbāt), . This word can be translated from Arabic as "arrangement", "position" or "situation". Mansubat were typically composed in such a way that a win could be achieved as a sequence of checks. One's own king was usually threatened by immediate checkmate.


title: Shatranj

text: One Mansuba is the "Dilaram Problem" (see diagram). Black threatens immediate checkmate by 1...Ra2#, Ra8#, or either Rb4#. But White can win with a two-rook sacrifice:


title: Shatranj

text: Note that the alfil (♗) moves two squares diagonally, jumping over intermediate pieces; this allows it to jump over the white knight to deliver the discovered check from the second rook with 2.Bf5+. It was said that a nobleman (playing White) wagered his wife Dilārām on a chess game and this position arose. She appealed "Sacrifice your two Rooks, and not me."


title: Charles Tillman

text: Charles Anthony Tillman (born February 23, 1981), nicknamed Peanut, is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman played 12 years for the Bears, helping them reach Super Bowl XLI, and also played one year with the Carolina Panthers, making Super Bowl 50 with the team, although he had been placed on injured reserve earlier in the season. He was selected to two Pro Bowls and was the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2013. He was known for his cover skills as well as his ability to force fumbles by stripping or "punching" the ball away from players, with his well-timed punch of the ball commonly known as the "Peanut Punch".


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman was born in Chicago, Illinois, but spent a majority of his youth traveling around the world. His father, Donald Tillman Jr., a sergeant in the United States Army, was frequently stationed in different locations, ranging from United States to Germany. Tillman attended eleven different schools during his youth, but eventually graduated from Copperas Cove High School in Texas. During his time at the school, Tillman was a two-time All-District 8-5A and all-area team selection. The Austin American-Statesman and All-State Class 5A honorable mention named him to the Super Cen-Tex team


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he played for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team from 1999 to 2002. He started for all four years as a left cornerback after being a wide receiver in high school. His Ragin' Cajuns teammates included future Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.


title: Charles Tillman

text: The Chicago Bears selected Tillman in the second round (35th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft. He was the sixth cornerback drafted in 2003.


title: Charles Tillman

text: On August 1, 2003, the Chicago Bears signed Tillman to a five-year, $4.32 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2.05 million. Throughout training camp, Tillman competed to be a starting cornerback against Jerry Azumah. Head coach Dick Jauron named Tillman the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind R. W. McQuarters and Jerry Azumah.


title: Charles Tillman

text: He made his professional regular season debut in the Chicago Bears' season-opener at the San Francisco 49ers and made three solo tackles and forced the first fumble of his career during a 49–7 loss. Tillman forced a fumble by Jimmy Williams during a punt return by Williams in the fourth quarter that was eventually recovered by Chicago Bears' long snapper Patrick Mannelly. On October 5, Tillman earned his first career start after he supplanted Jerry Azumah for the role. He made six solo tackles and deflected a pass as the Bears defeated the Oakland Raiders 24–21 to earn their first victory of the season. In Week 8, Tillman made eight solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception during a 24–16 victory against the Detroit Lions. Tillman intercepted a pass by Lions' quarterback, that was originally intended for wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim, and returned it for a 32-yard gain during the second quarter. On November 13, Tillman collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo), deflected two passes, and intercepted a pass by Marc Bulger in the Bears' 23–21 loss against the St. Louis Rams in Week 11. The following week, he made six solo tackles and made his first career sack as the Bears defeated the Denver Broncos 19–10 in Week 12. In a Week 15 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Tillman recorded an interception in the final minute of the game, where he snatched the ball away from Randy Moss in the endzone and prevented the Vikings from taking the lead and won the game for the Bears 13-10. Tillman completed his rookie campaign with a total of 83 combined tackles (76 solo), eight pass deflections, four interceptions, and one sack in 16 games and 13 starts. On December 29, the Bears fired Dick Jauron after they finished the 2003 NFL season with a 7–9 record.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Head coach Lovie Smith named Tillman and R. W. McQuarters the starting cornerbacks to begin the 2004 NFL season. On September 19, 2004, Tillman collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 21–10 victory at the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. Tillman sustained a knee injury and was sidelined for the next eight games (Weeks 3–11). He finished the 2004 NFL season with 39 combined tackles (32 solo), five pass deflections, and one forced fumble in eight games and seven starts.


title: Charles Tillman

text: In 2005, Tillman and Nathan Vasher were named the starting cornerback duo to begin the regular season. On October 30, 2005, Tillman recorded seven combined tackles (six solo), deflected two passes, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown during a 19–13 overtime victory at the Detroit Lions in Week 8. Tillman intercepted a pass by Lions' quarterback Jeff Garcia, that was intended for wide receiver Mike Williams, and returned it for a 22-yard touchdown to help the Bears defeat the Lions in overtime. On December 11, 2005, Tillman recorded eight combined tackles (five solo), deflected a pass, and made a season-high two forced fumbles during a 21–9 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. Tillman forced a fumble by Verron Haynes and Cedrick Wilson during the game. Tillman was inactive as a healthy scratch for the Bears' Week 17 loss at the Minnesota Vikings. He finished the season with 93 combined tackles (82 solo), 11 pass deflections, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, one sack, and one touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts.


title: Charles Tillman

text: The Chicago Bears finished atop the NFC North with an 11–5 record in 2005, earning a first round bye. On January 15, 2006, Tillman started his first career playoff game and recorded six solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Bears lost 29–21 against the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Divisional Round. His efforts helped the Bears establish the league's best defense in 2005.


title: Charles Tillman

text: In 2006, Tillman was the Bears' leading tackler among defensive backs, recording eighty tackles. He also intercepted five passes (tying for a team high with Ricky Manning Jr.) and forced one fumble. One of the low notes for his season came when he missed the team's final games due to a back injury. Tillman was involved in a notable incident with Plaxico Burress before a prime-time game against the New York Giants. Days before the game, Giants' receiver Plaxico Burress claimed that the Bears' secondary was "average" and "very beatable". Tillman responded by holding Burress to only eleven yards and even intercepting a pass during the game. Many Bears' fans believe that Tillman should have been voted to the 2007 Pro Bowl, as he recorded more interceptions and tackles than DeAngelo Hall and Ronde Barber. Tillman helped the Bears reach Super Bowl XLI, but lost 29–17 to the Indianapolis Colts. Tillman had 11 tackles in the losing effort.


title: Charles Tillman

text: The Bears signed Tillman to a six-year deal on July 24, 2007. On December 8, 2007, Tillman was nominated as finalist for the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players who have performed extensive charity work.


title: Charles Tillman

text: On November 22, 2009, during a "Sunday Night Football" game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Tillman forced three fumbles in one game, two of which were recovered by the Bears.


title: Charles Tillman

text: During the 2009 season, Tillman recorded two interceptions, including one that was returned for a defensive touchdown. He recorded six forced fumbles, the second-most in the League. During a Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 28, 2009, Tillman collided with Bears safety Craig Steltz while attempting to tackle Visanthe Shiancoe. The impact of the collision cracked some of Tillman's ribs and bruised one of his lungs. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, and released two days later. After the 2011 NFL season, Tillman was voted to his first Pro Bowl.


title: Charles Tillman

text: In Week 5 of the 2012 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tillman passed free safety Mike Brown by setting the Bears franchise record for the most defensive touchdowns in a career with 8 when he returned a Blaine Gabbert interception for a touchdown. Tillman is tied with Donnell Woolford for the most interceptions by a cornerback in team history, trailing only safeties Gary Fencik and Richie Petitbon. He also has forced 36 fumbles, which is the most by a defensive back in the league since 2003.


title: Charles Tillman

text: On November 4, 2012, Tillman forced four fumbles against the Tennessee Titans offense, the most in a game by a single player in league history since the stat began being tracked in 1991. Tillman was considered by various sources as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, competing with Houston Texans defensive end J. J. Watt. Tillman was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl on December 26, making him the first Bears defensive back to be named to back-to-back Pro Bowls since Mark Carrier. He was later named to his first All-Pro team, placed on the first-team. Tillman finished the season with ten forced fumbles, which led the league, and his three interceptions returned for touchdowns is tied for the lead league with St. Louis Rams' Janoris Jenkins.


title: Charles Tillman

text: In the 2013 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tillman recorded two interceptions, the second time in his career he had two picks, after 2006 against the New England Patriots. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 10, Tillman tore his right triceps, and was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, and could return by the playoffs. However, on December 16, Bears head coach Marc Trestman reported that Tillman will miss the entire season, playoffs included. Tillman concluded 2013 with 52.5 tackles, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. In February 2014, the NFL awarded Tillman the Walter Payton Man of the Year to acknowledge his charitable efforts and community outreach programs.


title: Charles Tillman

text: The Bears signed Tillman to a one-year contract extension in the 2014 offseason. Tillman suffered his second consecutive season-ending injury during a week 2 match-up against the San Francisco 49ers, when he re-injured his right triceps. Tillman leads the Bears in career defensive touchdown returns (9) and also owns the record for the most career interceptions (36) among all Bears' cornerbacks.


title: Charles Tillman

text: On April 9, 2015, Tillman signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers. Tillman recorded his first interception for the Panthers against Andrew Luck during the Panthers 29–26 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He recorded his first forced fumble for the Panthers during their 37–29 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Tillman left Carolina's regular season finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a knee injury. MRIs confirmed on January 3 that Tillman suffered a torn ACL and missed the remainder of the season. On February 7, 2016, Tillman's Panthers played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.


title: Charles Tillman

text: On July 18, 2016, after 13 seasons in the NFL, Tillman announced his retirement from football via a three-minute YouTube video. He signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire with the Chicago Bears on July 22.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman has expressed interest in working in law enforcement. In September 2017, the "Chicago Tribune" reported that he was training with federal agents at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Tillman previously trained with law enforcement officers while playing in the NFL during the offseason. He gained the qualification a day before his 37th birthday.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman often makes appearances on Fox Chicago Sports shows. He also organizes, runs, and advocates numerous charitable functions. Tillman's Aunt Renee nicknamed him "Peanut", since his body resembled the shape of a peanut during infancy. Safety Mike Brown spread the nickname after meeting Tillman during his rookie year. He and his wife, Jackie, have three daughters and a son. In November 2012, Tillman stated that he might miss the Bears game against the Houston Texans in case his wife went into labor, but ended up playing the entire game. On November 13, Tillman and his wife had their third daughter.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman's Cornerstone Foundation mission is to help improve the lives of critically and chronically ill children throughout Chicago. Tillman created the foundation after his second-youngest daughter was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, which resulted in a heart transplant.


title: Charles Tillman

text: Tillman has worked with United Services Automobile Association (USAA) as part of the insurance company's "Thank You" campaign, highlighting cooperation between the NFL and the military services.


title: Charles Tillman

text: In September 2019, Tillman rowed across Lake Michigan to raise awareness and nearly $200,000 for childhood cancer.


title: Millerism

text: The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller, who in 1831 first shared publicly his belief that the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would occur in roughly the year 1843–1844. Coming during the Second Great Awakening, his teachings were spread widely and grew in popularity, which led to the event known as the Great Disappointment.


title: Millerism

text: Miller was a prosperous farmer, a Baptist lay preacher, and student of the Bible living in northeastern New York. He spent years of intensive study of symbolic meaning of the prophecies of Daniel, especially Daniel 8:14 (Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed), the 2,300-day prophecy.


title: Millerism

text: Miller believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary represented the Earth's destruction by fire at Christ's Second Coming. Using the year-day method of prophetic interpretation, Miller became convinced that the 2,300-day period started in 457 BC with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem by Artaxerxes I of Persia. Simple calculation then indicated that this period would end about 1843. In September 1822, Miller formally stated his conclusions in a twenty-point document, including article 15, "I believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near, even at the door, even within twenty-one years,—on or before 1843." This document remained private for many years.


title: Millerism

text: Miller did eventually share his views, first to a few friends privately and later to some ministerial acquaintances. Initially he was disappointed at the lack of response from those he spoke to. "To my astonishment, I found very few who listened with any interest. Occasionally, one would see the force of the evidence, but the great majority passed it by as an idle tale."


title: Millerism

text: Miller states that he began his public lecturing in the village of Dresden, Washington County, New York, some 16 miles from his home, on "the first Sabbath in August 1833." However, as Sylvester Bliss points out, "The printed article from which this is copied was written in 1845. By an examination of his correspondence, it appears that he must have begun to lecture in August 1831. So that this date is a mistake of the printer or an error in Mr. Miller's memory."


title: Millerism

text: In 1832, Miller submitted a series of sixteen articles to the "Vermont Telegraph"—a Baptist paper. The first of these was published on May 15, and Miller writes of the public's response, "I began to be flooded with letters of inquiry respecting my views, and visitors flocked to converse with me on the subject." In 1834, unable to personally comply with many of the urgent requests for information and the invitations to travel and preach that he received, Miller published a synopsis of his teachings in a "little tract of 64 pages." These he "...scattered, the most of them gratuitously, sending them in reply to letters of inquiry and to places which I could not visit."


title: Millerism

text: From 1840 onward, Millerism was transformed from an "obscure, regional movement into a national campaign." The key figure in this transformation was Joshua Vaughan Himes—the pastor of Chardon Street Chapel in Boston, and an able and experienced publisher. Though Himes did not fully accept Miller's ideas until 1842, he established the fortnightly paper "Signs of the Times" to publicize them. The first edition was published on February 28, 1840, with Himes as editor. It continues to be published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a monthly evangelistic magazine under the same name.


title: Millerism

text: Periodical literature played an important part in the rapid and widespread dissemination of Millerite beliefs. "From first to last the power of the press, in this particular form, was one of the foremost factors in the success of this now vigorous, expanding movement." In addition to the "Signs of the Times" based in Boston, Millerite papers were published in numerous cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Rochester, Cleveland, and Montreal, Quebec. There were at least 48 Millerite periodicals that circulated in the period leading up to the Great Disappointment. The majority of these, however, were quite short-lived—often a new paper was started whenever a Millerite evangelistic campaign entered a new area.


title: Millerism

text: As well as publications based on geography, the Millerites issued various papers targeting different groups. "The Advent Message to the Daughters of Zion" focused on female readers, and was first published in May 1844. "The Advent Shield" was a more academically orientated paper published in Boston and edited by Joshua Vaughan Himes, Sylvester Bliss, and Apollos Hale. Its announced purpose was to "defend the doctrine from the attacks of the enemies, to exhibit the unscriptural position of the opponents, and furnish the truth to those who were ready to receive it." While only three issues were produced: in May 1844, January 1845, and a final issue in April 1845; it was the largest of the Millerite papers, the first two issues each having 144 pages, and the final having 250.


title: Millerism

text: As the various dates of Christ's predicted return approached, Millerite publishing went into high gear. In May 1843, 21,000 copies of the various Millerite papers were published for distribution each week. In New York alone, in the five-month period ending April 1843, 600,000 copies of various publications were distributed. In December 1843, Himes proposed the publication of one million tracts, while in May 1844, he announced that five million copies of Millerite publications had been distributed up to that time.


title: Millerism

text: A researcher examined the geographical distribution of correspondents to the Millerite periodical "Signs of the Times" from 1840 to 1847. Out of a total of 615 correspondents, she found that the 131 correspondents from New York state provided the largest group. Vermont provided another 107, with New England (excluding Vermont) accounting for a further 279. Outside of these areas, representation was sparse: 23 in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland combined; just 65 from the west—including 20 from Ohio; and only 10 from the Southern states.


title: Millerism

text: While it seems then, that the vast majority of Miller’s followers were of local origin, his message was not limited to his local area—nor even to the United States. Miller preached across the border in Canada’s Eastern Townships on at least three occasions: in 1835, 1838 and 1840. He made a number of converts there and gained the support of some of the local clergy. At least five Millerite papers were published in Canada: the "Faithful Watchman"—published in Sherbrooke from January 1843; the influential "Voice of Elijah", published in Montreal from June 1843; the short-lived "Hope of the Church" in St. Thomas in 1844; "Behold, He Cometh" in Hamilton, and the "Bridegroom's Herald" in Toronto, both from mid-1844.


title: Millerism

text: Many travellers or emigrants to the United States who had heard the Second Advent message there returned to their home districts to preach. From 1841, Millerite evangelists appeared in Great Britain, also, though he never travelled there himself. In addition to the nearly $1,000 that Miller and Himes spent supplying literature to enquirers and evangelists in Great Britain, "there is evidence that [in Liverpool, Bristol, and other ports] local Millerite pioneers borrowed copies of Miller's works and Adventist magazines from visiting American sea captains and merchants."


title: Millerism

text: As well as utilizing imported American literature, two Millerite papers were published locally in Great Britain: the "Second Advent Harbinger" in Bristol, and the "British Midnight Cry" in Liverpool.


title: Millerism

text: The Millerite message entered Australia through the Canadian paper "Voice of Elijah". Thomas Playford, living in Adelaide, was converted thus. Playford spread the Millerite message in Australia, even publishing a book of his sermons: "Discourses on the Second Advent of Jesus Christ". Playford’s preaching apparently resulted in a number of converts.


title: Millerism

text: An English Millerite, James William Bonham, apparently sent copies of "The Midnight Cry" to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), though no record remains of their effect.


title: Millerism

text: In a similar manner, converts were made in Norway and Chile. A letter published in "The Midnight Cry" of October 12, 1843, from a Mrs O. S. Burnham of Kaloa, The Sandwich Islands, (now Hawaii) stated that she and her husband had accepted the Millerite message and were worshipping with a small company of believers.


title: Millerism

text: Despite the urging of his supporters, Miller never personally set an exact date for the expected Second Advent. However, in response to their urgings he did narrow the time-period to sometime in the year 1843, stating: "My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844" March 21, 1844 passed without incident, and the majority of Millerites maintained their faith. On March 25, Miller wrote to Himes, "I am still looking for the Dear Savior…. The time, as I have calculated it, is now filled up; and I expect every moment to see the Savior descend from heaven. I have now nothing to look for but this glorious hope."


title: Millerism

text: As George R. Knight states, the movement's survival was a result of the fact that, "the Millerite leaders had been ‘soft’ on the time... They allowed for the possibility of small errors in their calculations and even in some of their historic dates." In fact, on February 28, Miller himself had written, "If Christ comes, as we expect, we will sing the song of victory soon; if not, we will watch, and pray, and preach until he comes, for soon our time, and all prophetic days, will have been filled."


title: Millerism

text: Further discussion and study resulted in the brief adoption of a new date—April 18, 1844, one based on the Karaite Jewish calendar (as opposed to the Rabbinic calendar). Like the previous date, April 18 passed without Christ's return. More study led the Millerites to believe that they had entered the "tarrying time"—a time of waiting after which Christ would finally return. This belief sustained the Millerites through the months of May to July 1844. As Knight notes however, this period represented a "flatness in Millerite evangelism," when even the Millerite preachers must have experienced diminished certainty.


title: Millerism

text: In August 1844 at a camp-meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, everything changed when Samuel S. Snow presented a message of earth-shattering proportions—what became known as the "seventh-month" message or the "true midnight cry." In a complex discussion based on scriptural typology, Snow presented his conclusion (still based on the 2,300-day prophecy in Daniel 8:14), that Christ would return on, "the tenth day of the seventh month of the present year, 1844."


title: Millerism

text: Again using the calendar of the Karaite Jews, this date was determined to be October 22, 1844. This "seventh month message" "spread with a rapidity unparalleled in the Millerite experience" amongst the general population. The situation caught many of the established leaders—including Himes and Miller himself, by surprise. Knight reports that, "There is no evidence that any of the foremost Millerite preachers accepted this grass-roots development until late September. Most did not accept it until early October."


title: Millerism

text: October 22, 1844, the day Jesus was expected to return, ended like any other day to the disappointment of the Millerites. Both Millerite leaders and followers were left generally bewildered and disillusioned. Responses varied: some Millerites continued to look daily for Christ’s return, others predicted different dates—among them April, July, and October 1845. Some theorized that the world had entered the seventh millennium, the "Great Sabbath", and that, therefore, the saved should not work.


title: Millerism

text: Others acted as children, basing their belief on Jesus’ words in Mark 10:15, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." O. J. D. Pickands used Revelation 14:14–16 to teach that Christ was now sitting on a white cloud, and must be prayed down. Some simply gave up their beliefs and attempted to rebuild their lives.


title: Millerism

text: Some members rejoined their previous denominations, while a substantial number became Shakers. Hundreds joined the Shakers, who believed that Christ had already appeared for the second time in the person of Mother Ann Lee. The "Advents'" impact was greatest on the Shaker villages at Union Village and Whitewater, Ohio, Harvard, Massachusetts, and Canterbury, New Hampshire. Some remained Shakers for the rest of their lives; others left after a short time.


title: Millerism

text: In the confusion that followed the Great Disappointment it seemed that almost every Millerite had an opinion—all of them different. Miller said that in one week he received sixteen different papers advocating different views, all claiming to be Advent papers. Much of the responsibility for this proliferation of viewpoints must be shouldered by Miller, whose Rules of Biblical Interpretation outlined a method of biblical study that encouraged each person to read the Bible and to "do theology" for themselves.


title: Millerism

text: By mid-1845, doctrinal lines amongst the various Millerite groups began to solidify, emphasizing their differences—a process Knight terms "sect building." During this time three main Millerite groups formed, in addition to those who had simply given up their beliefs.


title: Millerism

text: The first major division of the Millerite groups who had not completely given up their belief in Christ’s Second Advent were those who accepted a shut-door theology. This belief was popularized by Joseph Turner and was based on that key Millerite passage: Matthew 25:1–13—the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The shut door mentioned in verses 11–12 was interpreted as the "close of probation". As Knight explains, "After the door was shut, there would be no additional salvation. The wise virgins (true believers) would be in the kingdom, while the foolish virgins and all others would be on the outside."


title: Millerism

text: The belief became a major issue upon the publication in January 1845, of an article by Apollos Hale and Turner in "The Advent Mirror". This article tied the shut-door concept to October 22, 1844, teaching that the work of general salvation was finished at that date—Christ came spiritually as the Bridegroom, the wise virgins had entered into the wedding feast, and the door was then shut on all others. This first group is commonly known as either the "shut-door" or "spiritualizer" group.


title: Millerism

text: The widespread acceptance of the "shut-door" belief lost ground as doubts were raised about the significance of the October 22, 1844, date—if nothing happened on that date, then there could be no shut door. The opposition to these "shut-door" beliefs was led by Joshua Vaughan Himes and make up the second post-'Great Disappointment' group. This faction soon gained the upper hand, even converting Miller to their point of view. On March 20, 1845, the "Morning Watch" published a call by Himes for a conference. The Albany Conference was to have three purposes:


title: Millerism

text: Notably, the stated purpose of the conference was not to debate controversial doctrines. In fact the invitation was extended only to those Adventists who "still adhere to the original faith." The Shut-door Adventists and others who had developed new doctrines were therefore explicitly excluded. The biggest draw card was to be the presence of Miller. In fact Himes wrote to Miller on March 27, 1845, saying, "all depends upon your being there."


title: Millerism

text: The Albany Conference began on April 29, 1845, and was to be, "one of the most significant Adventist meetings in the history of post-October 1844 Adventism." The delegates to the Albany Conference– including prominent Millerite leaders such as Miller, Himes. Elon Galusha, Josiah Litch, and Sylvester Bliss; accomplished three main tasks:


title: Millerism

text: The Albany Conference group of Millerites formed the Evangelical Adventists out of which rose the Advent Christian Church. The Albany Conference Statement with its narrowing of beliefs was unacceptable to many. Millerism had been founded on Miller's open, non-restrictive approach to Bible study--"It was the freedom to discover new truths that had drawn so many Christians and Freewill Baptists to the movement. The new restrictive definitions charted a course that was unacceptable to many who had joined the movement."


title: Millerism

text: The third major post-disappointment Millerite group also claimed—like the Hale and Turner led group—that the October 22 date was correct. Rather than Christ returning invisibly however, they came to view the event that took place on October 22, 1844, as having been quite different. The theology of this third group appears to have had its beginnings as early as October 23, 1844—the day after the Great Disappointment. On that day, during a prayer session with a group of Advent believers, Hiram Edson became convinced that "light would be given" and their "disappointment explained."


title: Millerism

text: Some years later, Edson reported on his experiences following that meeting: "While passing through a large field I was stopped about midway of the field. Heaven seemed open to my view, and I saw distinctly and clearly that instead of our High Priest coming out of the Most Holy of the heavenly sanctuary to come to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month, at the end of the 2300 days, that He for the first time entered on that day the second apartment of that sanctuary; and that He had a work to perform in the Most Holy before coming to this earth in His Second Coming. That he came to the marriage at that time; in other words, to the Ancient of days to receive a kingdom, dominion, and glory; and we must wait for his return from the wedding."


title: Millerism

text: Edson's experience led him into an extended study on the topic with O. R. L. Crosier and F. B. Hahn. They came to the conclusion that "the sanctuary to be cleansed in Daniel 8:14 was not the earth or the church, but the sanctuary in heaven." Therefore, the October 22 date marked not the Second Coming of Christ, but rather a heavenly event. This is the basis for the later Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the Investigative Judgement. An article written by O. R. L. Crosier titled "To All Who Are waiting for Redemption, the Following is Addressed" summarising their insights, was published in the March 1845 edition of the "Day-Dawn". A more comprehensive article – also by O. R. L. Crosier and titled "The Law of Moses" was published in the "Day-Star" of February 7, 1846. It is out of this third Millerite group that the Seventh-day Adventist Church arose.


title: Millerism

text: The Millerites originally had adherents across denominational lines, especially from Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and Campbellite churches, forming distinct denominations only after the Great Disappointment. They were united by a belief in the imminent return of Jesus Christ—the Second Advent. After the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844, discussion of beliefs began to fragment the once united Millerites. Dunton points out that there were four main divisive doctrines being discussed by Millerites around the time of the Albany Conference:


title: Millerism

text: The Bible Student movement had connections at the very beginning (in the early 2nd half of 19th century) with the Millerite movement. Charles Taze Russell later stated that "I confess indebtedness to Adventists as well as to other denominations". In light of this, the Bible Student Movement was influenced by Adventists roots, but did not emerge from the Millerism movement.


title: Millerism

text: Followers of the Baháʼí Faith also credit Miller's analysis of the time of Christ's return. See also Day-year principle for a more complete review of how William Miller's analysis of the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8 matches the Baháʼí understanding. Baháʼís believe that, although William Miller's understanding of the location and method of Christ's return was not accurate, his calculation of the timing was entirely correct.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra.


title: Alpine tundra

text: The high elevation causes an adverse climate, which is too cold and windy to support tree growth. Alpine tundra transitions to sub-alpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as "Krummholz". With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by adiabatic cooling of air, and is similar to polar climate.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine tundra occurs at high enough altitude at any latitude. Portions of montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregions worldwide include alpine tundra. Large regions of alpine tundra occur in the North American Cordillera and parts of the northern Appalachian Mountains in North America, the Alps and Pyrenees of Europe, the Himalaya and Karakoram of Asia, the Andes of South America, the Eastern Rift mountains of Africa, and the South Island of New Zealand.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine tundra occupies high-mountain summits, slopes, and ridges above timberline. Aspect plays a role as well; the treeline often occurs at higher elevations on warmer equator-facing slopes. Because the alpine zone is present only on mountains, much of the landscape is rugged and broken, with rocky, snowcapped peaks, cliffs, and talus slopes, but also contains areas of gently rolling to almost flat topography.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Averaging over many locations and local microclimates, the treeline rises when moving 1 degree south from 70 to 50°N, and per degree from 50 to 30°N. Between 30°N and 20°S, the treeline is roughly constant, between .


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine climate is the average weather (climate) for the alpine tundra. The climate becomes colder at high elevations—this characteristic is described by the lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 10 °C per km (5.5 °F per 1000 ft) of elevation or altitude. Therefore, moving up on a mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers (45 miles or 0.75° of latitude) towards the pole. This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors such as proximity to oceans can drastically modify the climate.


title: Alpine tundra

text: In the alpine tundra, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowpack, or associated lack of available moisture). Typical high-elevation growing seasons range from 45 to 90 days, with average summer temperatures near . Growing season temperatures frequently fall below freezing, and frost occurs throughout the growing season in many areas. Precipitation occurs mainly as winter snow, but soil water availability is highly variable with season, location, and topography. For example, snowfields commonly accumulate on the lee sides of ridges while ridgelines may remain nearly snow free due to redistribution by wind. Some alpine habitats may be up to 70% snow free in winter. High winds are common in alpine ecosystems, and can cause significant soil erosion and be physically and physiologically detrimental to plants. Also, wind coupled with high solar radiation can promote extremely high rates of evaporation and transpiration.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Climatologist Wladimir Köppen demonstrated a relationship between the Arctic and Antarctic tree lines and the 10 °C summer isotherm; i.e., places where the average temperature in the warmest calendar month of the year is below 10 °C cannot support forests. See Köppen climate classification for more information.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Otto Nordenskjöld theorized that winter conditions also play a role: His formula is "W" = 9 − 0.1 "C", where "W" is the average temperature in the warmest month and "C" the average of the coldest month, both in degrees Celsius (this would mean, for example, that if a particular location had an average temperature of in its coldest month, the warmest month would need to average or higher for trees to be able to survive there).


title: Alpine tundra

text: In 1947, Holdridge improved on these schemes, by defining biotemperature: the mean annual temperature, where all temperatures below 0 °C are treated as 0 °C (because it makes no difference to plant life, being dormant). If the mean biotemperature is between , Holdridge quantifies the climate as alpine.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Since the habitat of alpine vegetation is subject to intense radiation, wind, cold, snow, and ice, it grows close to the ground and consists mainly of perennial grasses, sedges, and forbs. Perennial herbs (including grasses, sedges, and low woody or semi-woody shrubs) dominate the alpine landscape; they have much more root and rhizome biomass than that of shoots, leaves, and flowers. The roots and rhizomes not only function in water and nutrient absorption but also play a very important role in over-winter carbohydrate storage. Annual plants are rare in this ecosystem and usually are only a few inches tall, with weak root systems. Other common plant life-forms include prostrate shrubs; tussock-forming graminoids; cushion plants; and cryptogams, such as bryophytes and lichens.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Relative to lower elevation areas in the same region, alpine regions have a high rate of endemism and a high diversity of plant species. This taxonomic diversity can be attributed to geographical isolation, climate changes, glaciation, microhabitat differentiation, and different histories of migration or evolution or both. These phenomena contribute to plant diversity by introducing new flora and favoring adaptations, both of new species and the dispersal of pre-existing species.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Plants have adapted to the harsh alpine environment. Cushion plants, looking like ground-hugging clumps of moss, escape the strong winds blowing a few inches above them. Many flowering plants of the alpine tundra have dense hairs on stems and leaves to provide wind protection or red-colored pigments capable of converting the sun's light rays into heat. Some plants take two or more years to form flower buds, which survive the winter below the surface and then open and produce fruit with seeds in the few weeks of summer.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine areas are unique because of the severity and complexity of their environmental conditions. Very small changes in topography – as small as 1 foot (0.3 m) or less – may mean the difference between a windswept area or an area of snow accumulation, changing the potential productivity and plant community drastically. Between these extremes of drought versus saturation, several intermediate environments may exist all within a few yards of each other, depending on topography, substrate, and climate. Alpine vegetation generally occurs in a mosaic of small patches with widely differing environmental conditions. Vegetation types vary from cushion and rosette plants on the ridges and in the rock crannies; to herbaceous and grassy vegetation along the slopes; dwarf shrubs with grasses and forbs below the melting snowdrifts; and sedges, grasses, low shrubs, and mosses in the bogs and along the brooks.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Alpine meadows form where sediments from the weathering of rocks has produced soils well-developed enough to support grasses and sedges. Non-flowering lichens cling to rocks and soil. Their enclosed algal cells can photosynthesize at any temperature above , and the outer fungal layers can absorb more than their own weight in water. The adaptations for survival of drying winds and cold may make tundra vegetation seem very hardy, but in some respects the tundra is very fragile. Repeated footsteps often destroy tundra plants, allowing exposed soil to blow away; recovery may take hundreds of years.


title: Alpine tundra

text: Because alpine tundra is located in various widely separated regions of the Earth, there is no animal species common to all areas of alpine tundra. Some animals of alpine tundra environments include the kea, marmot, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, chinchilla, Himalayan tahr, yak, snow leopard, and pika.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: Noah Vonleh (born August 24, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: Vonleh attended Haverhill High School in Haverhill, Massachusetts, before transferring to New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire, in 2011. As a junior in 2011–12, he averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game. As a senior in 2012–13, he averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists per game, going on to earn McDonald’s All-American honors.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On November 10, 2012, Vonleh signed a letter of intent to play for Indiana University, turning down offers from Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, and Ohio State, among others. Upon committing to Indiana he said, "Their academics are good, they're the No. 1 team in the country and they've got another great class coming in next year."


title: Noah Vonleh

text: In his lone season at Indiana, Vonleh was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. In 30 games (29 starts), he averaged 11.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 26.5 minutes per game.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On April 3, 2014, Vonleh declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On June 26, 2014, Vonleh was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. On July 25, 2014, he signed with the Hornets. On September 2, 2014, he underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia and was ruled out for six to eight weeks. After making just four appearances for the Hornets to start the 2014–15 season, he was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League on December 28, 2014. He was recalled three days later. On April 12, 2015, he had a season-best game with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons. Three days later in Charlotte's season finale, Vonleh had another 12-rebound game against the Toronto Raptors.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On June 24, 2015, Vonleh was traded, along with Gerald Henderson, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Nicolas Batum. On November 15, 2015, he registered his first career start in a game against his former team, the Charlotte Hornets. In just under 24 minutes of action, he recorded nine points and six rebounds. On January 23, 2016, he scored a season-high 11 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. In late March, Vonleh was replaced in the starting lineup by Maurice Harkless.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: In his 47 games prior to center Jusuf Nurkić joining the Trail Blazers in a trade in February 2017, Vonleh averaged just 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. With Nurkić in the lineup, Vonleh began to thrive after the All-Star Break, averaging 6.7 points on 57.5% shooting and 7.2 rebounds in the final 26 games of the season. Vonleh recorded four double-doubles in that span, and netted his first game-winner as Portland topped the San Antonio Spurs at the buzzer on April 10. He had 11 double-digit rebounding performances during the season, with six coming in March and April, culminating in a career-high 19-rebound game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the regular season finale.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On November 20, 2017, Vonleh had a season-best game with 11 points and 18 rebounds in a 100–92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On February 8, 2018, Vonleh was traded, along with cash considerations, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Milovan Raković.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On July 24, 2018, Vonleh signed with the New York Knicks. On January 25, 2019, he had a career-high 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 109–99 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On November 27, 2020, Vonleh signed with the Chicago Bulls. He was waived by the Bulls on December 14.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On February 8, 2021, Vonleh signed with the Brooklyn Nets. He played four games for the Nets before being waived.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: On August 2, 2022, Vonleh signed with the Boston Celtics on a 1-year contract. On October 15, 2022, reports confirmed Vonleh secured a Celtics roster spot for the 2022 regular season.


title: Noah Vonleh

text: Vonleh is the son of Samuel Vonleh and Renell Kumeh, and has two siblings Aaronette Vonleh and Samnell Vonleh. His paternal great-grandfather, Chief Blahsue Vonleh, was Paramount Chief of the Doe Clan, Nimba County, Liberia from 1920 until his death in 1947.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded as a minor league prospect by the Seattle Mariners, Varitek played his entire 15-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Red Sox. A three-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner at catcher, as well as a Silver Slugger Award winner, Varitek was part of both the 2004 World Series and 2007 World Series Championship teams, and was viewed widely as one of the team's leaders. In December 2004 he was named the captain of the Red Sox, only their fourth captain since 1923. He was a switch-hitter.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek is one of only three players, along with pitcher Ed Vosberg and outfielder Michael Conforto, to have played in the Little League World Series, College World Series, and Major League World Series. He additionally participated in Olympic Baseball and the World Baseball Classic. His Lake Brantley High School baseball team won the Florida State Championship his senior year in 1990 and was named the number one high school baseball team in the nation by a "USA Today" poll. Varitek caught an MLB-record four no-hitters, a record which was later tied by Carlos Ruiz.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek played in the 1984 Little League World Series, leading his Altamonte Springs, Florida, team to victory in the United States Championship bracket in a 4–2 victory over Southport, Indiana.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek was Lake Brantley High School's third baseman and relief catcher. Brantley's first line catcher was Jerry Thurston, himself a pro prospect. In 1990, the Patriots won the state championship.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek attended Georgia Tech, where he helped lead the Yellow Jackets baseball team to the 1994 College World Series title game, along with future Red Sox teammates Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton (they lost to the University of Oklahoma). In 1994, he received the "Baseball America" College Player of the Year Award, and won the Dick Howser Trophy for National Collegiate Player of the Year. Varitek graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in management and is the only Tech baseball player to have his number (33) retired.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In 1991 and 1993, Varitek played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) for the Hyannis Mets. In 1993, he hit .371 for Hyannis, won the league batting title, and was named the league's MVP. In 2002, he was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame. Varitek was a member of the U.S. national baseball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics.


title: Jason Varitek

text: He was drafted 21st overall in the first round by the Minnesota Twins in 1993, but opted to return for his senior year of college. Following graduation, Varitek signed with agent Scott Boras and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the amateur draft, with the 14th pick overall. A pioneer of the loopholes in the draft process, Varitek signed with the St. Paul Saints in the independent Northern League before agreeing to terms with the Mariners, and consequently did not enter the Mariners' minor league system until . When he finally did join the franchise, Varitek was sent to the AA affiliate Port City Roosters where he first met pitcher and longtime teammate Derek Lowe. He was traded with Lowe to the Red Sox during the season in return for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb, often cited as one of the best trades in the Red Sox's favor in recent history.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek was called up for a single game on September 24, 1997, collecting a single in his only at bat. During the 1998 season, Varitek split time with incumbent catcher Scott Hatteberg, playing in 86 games. Varitek showed signs of things to come in the season, and with a strong spring training the following season, Varitek earned the starting catcher position.


title: Jason Varitek

text: The year was a breakout season for the catcher. Varitek played in 144 games, hitting for a .269 average, with 20 home runs and 76 RBIs. Varitek went 5–21 with 3 RBI in the 1999 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians and 4–20 with 1 RBI in the ALCS against the New York Yankees. During the ALDS, he set a postseason record by scoring five runs in a single game.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Looking forward to building more success from the year before, the 2000 season was a disappointment offensively, producing a .248 average with only 10 home runs and 65 RBI, as the Red Sox failed to qualify for post-season play. Prior to the season, Varitek signed a three-year, $14.9 million contract with Boston. Varitek went on a hitting hot streak, having a .310 average at one point and on May 20, 2001, he homered three times in a single game before a broken left elbow injury sidelined the catcher for nearly the rest of the season, as Varitek dove to catch a foul ball on June 7. The play went on to be a top Web Gem for the month of July 2001. Varitek finished the season with a .293 average, seven home runs, and 25 RBI in 51 games played.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek returned to the Red Sox lineup full-time in the season. The return did not go smoothly, however, as Varitek struggled to find himself at the plate. Despite not reaching his full offensive potential, pitchers and coaches alike began to notice how much Varitek's preparation and knowledge of the game was helping the pitchers. His study habits and extra hours of work with pitchers would soon become his defining attribute. Varitek and the Red Sox entered the season with a renewed fire to reach the playoffs after missing in the previous three years. Varitek instantly became a leader in the clubhouse which management tried to portray as working class, featuring new faces such as Kevin Millar, David Ortiz, Bill Mueller, and Todd Walker along with original players Trot Nixon and Lou Merloni. The 2003 season was Varitek's best to date and he earned his first All-Star selection after the fans voted him in with the All-Star Final Vote. He was hitting .296 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI going into the All-Star break and finished the season off with a solid .273 average, 25 home runs and 85 RBI, all career highs. The Red Sox earned a Wild Card berth and their first playoff appearance since 1999, before losing the 2003 ALCS to the Yankees.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In , Varitek compiled a career-high .296 batting average with 18 home runs and 73 RBI. During a nationally televised game on July 24, Varitek shoved his glove into the face of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and gestured towards pitcher Bronson Arroyo, causing a bench-clearing brawl. Though he was ejected (along with Rodriguez) from the game following the incident, the Red Sox, spurred on by the fight, came from behind to win 11–10. It is also sometimes regarded as the turning point in the Red Sox' season, as they posted MLB's best record after the melee. Boston culminated the season with its first World Series championship in 86 years, after being the first MLB team to overcome a three games to none deficit, doing so in the ALCS against the Yankees. Varitek went 3-for-4 in the crucial Game 6 (the "Bloody Sock game" of the ALCS which Boston won 4-2.


title: Jason Varitek

text: At the end of the year, Varitek became a free agent and signed a four-year, $40-million contract with the Red Sox.


title: Jason Varitek

text: After Varitek's re-signing the Red Sox appointed him team captain, only the fourth Red Sox player so honored since 1923, following Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx (–), Carl Yastrzemski ( and –) and Jim Rice (–). At the time, Varitek was one of just three captains in MLB (the others were Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees and Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox). Varitek remained captain until his retirement before the 2012 season. Varitek wore a "C" patch on his uniform, making him the first player to do so in a World Series.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In , Varitek won his first Gold Glove Award, his first Silver Slugger, and his second All-Star selection.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In , Varitek represented the United States in the World Baseball Classic, playing in three games. He made the most of his playing time, hitting a grand slam against Team Canada allowing Team USA to narrow an 8–2 lead down to 8–6. Team Canada, however, kept the lead in the upset victory.


title: Jason Varitek

text: On July 18, 2006, Varitek played his 991st game at catcher for the Boston Red Sox, breaking Carlton Fisk's club record. That game was a home game vs. Kansas City, during which Varitek's achievement was recognized before the bottom of the fifth inning (after the game was official and couldn't be cancelled due to weather). Varitek received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd at Fenway Park for a few moments before play resumed. On July 31, 2006, Varitek was injured rounding the bases in a 9–8 victory over the Cleveland Indians (his 1,000th career game as catcher), but said he believed the initial injury to the knee occurred while he was blocking home plate to make the tag against the Angels Mike Napoli on July 29, 2006. He had surgery on August 3, 2006, to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. Varitek returned to the Red Sox lineup on September 4, following a short rehabilitation assignment in Pawtucket.


title: Jason Varitek

text: On September 19, 2006, Varitek was honored during a pre-game ceremony as the first Red Sox catcher to catch 1,000 games. He was presented with a special award by Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, who held the Boston club record with 990 career games caught before Varitek surpassed it. Varitek caught his 1,000th game on July 31 and by the evening of the ceremony had appeared in 1,009 games behind the plate. That same night, Varitek also received the 2006 Red Sox Heart and Hustle Award from the local chapter of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, which is presented to a player exemplifying the values, tradition, and spirit of the game of baseball.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In 2007, Varitek and the Red Sox returned to the World Series, winning for the second time in four years. During the season, Varitek recorded his 1,000th career hit. On May 19, 2008, he caught Jon Lester's no-hitter, giving him a Major League record of having caught four separate no-hitters in his career.


title: Jason Varitek

text: In honor of being captain, Varitek released Captain Cabernet, a charity wine with proceeds benefiting Pitching In For Kids and Children's Hospital Boston.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Reports in the "Boston Globe" suggested that his agent, Scott Boras, was using New York Yankee catcher Jorge Posada's four-year, $52.4 million deal as a benchmark for negotiations. On February 6, 2009, Varitek signed a new one-year deal with the Red Sox worth $5 million with a $5 million club option, or a $3 million player option, for 2010.


title: Jason Varitek

text: During the 2009 season, Varitek's numbers were similar to his dismal 2008 season, with slightly more home runs (14), doubles (24) and runs batted in (51), and a higher slugging percentage (.390) despite a lower batting average (.209) and fewer at bats (425). He eventually became the backup catcher when the Red Sox acquired All-Star Victor Martinez on the July 31 trade deadline.


title: Jason Varitek

text: On December 2, 2010, Sports Illustrated reported that Varitek signed a one-year, $2 million deal to stay with the Red Sox for the 2011 season. The deal was finalized on December 10. With the addition of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Varitek usually came off the bench during the 2011 season, playing in 68 games, hitting .221 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI, with a .300 on-base percentage.


title: Jason Varitek

text: After the 2011 season, Varitek became a free agent once again, and was offered a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training, by the Red Sox. On March 1, 2012, at Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, Varitek officially announced his retirement.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Ryan Lavarnway, fellow catcher and teammate of Varitek in 2011, listed the Boston veteran as his favorite player growing up. "Varitek has set the gold standard for the position, catching four no-hitters and winning two World Series. He’s a true professional in handling a pitching staff and is something I’d like to become as my career progresses."


title: Jason Varitek

text: On September 27, 2012, then-Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington announced that Varitek had been named special assistant to the general manager. In that role, Cherington said Varitek would be involved in areas such as "major league personnel decisions, evaluations, and mentorship and instruction of young players." His role by March 2018 was "Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations". After not appearing in the team's front-office directory during the 2019 season, in 2020 he was listed as "Special Assistant / Catching Coach". On November 20, 2020, Varitek was named to a uniformed coaching role, that of game planning coordinator, on the coaching staff of manager Alex Cora. His title was changed to Player Information Coach prior to the start of the 2021 season.


title: Jason Varitek

text: Varitek has three daughters from his previous marriage: Ally, Kendall and Caroline. He and his first wife, Karen Mullinax, divorced in 2008. He married Catherine Panagiotopoulos on November 26, 2011, and their first child, Liv, was born on May 26, 2012. They reside in Hingham, Massachusetts.


title: Megasthenes

text: Megasthenes ( ; , c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book "Indica", which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructed from literary fragments found in later authors that quoted his work. Megasthenes was the first person from the Western world to leave a written description of India.


title: Megasthenes

text: While Megasthenes's account of India has survived in the later works, little is known about him as a person. He spent time at the court of Sibyrtius, who was a satrap of Arachosia under Antigonus I and then Seleucus I. Megasthenes was then an ambassador for Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator and to the court of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra (modern Patna). Dating for his journey to the Mauryan court is uncertain; Seleucus I reigned from 305–281 BCE for the loose range of years that Megasthenes' mission might have begun.


title: Megasthenes

text: Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador of Seleucus I Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya. Arrian explains that Megasthenes lived in Arachosia, with the satrap Sibyrtius, from where he visited India:


title: Megasthenes

text: Megasthenes visited India sometime during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The exact dates of his visit to India, and the duration of his stay in India are not certain. The dates of Megasthenes' visit or visits to India is uncertain and disputed among scholars. A.B. Bosworth argued for an early date pre-Seleucus. This is contested by Stoneman and others who argue for a date following the Mauryan-Seleucid settlement of c. 303 BCE. Arrian claims that Megasthenes met Porus; this implies that Megasthenes accompanied Alexander the Great during the Macedonian invasion of India.


title: Megasthenes

text: Megasthenes visited the Mauryan capital Pataliputra, but it is not certain which other parts of India he visited. He appears to have passed through the Punjab region in north-western India, as he provides a detailed account of the rivers in this area. He must have then traveled to Pataliputra along the Yamuna and the Ganga rivers.


title: Megasthenes

text: He then compiled information about India in the form of "Indica", a document which is now a lost work. It partially survives in form of quotations by later writers.


title: Megasthenes

text: Other Greek envoys to the Indian court are known after Megasthenes: Deimachus as ambassador to Bindusara, and Dionysius, as ambassador to Ashoka.


title: Megasthenes

text: Among the ancient writers, Arrian (2nd century CE) is the only one who speaks favorably of Megasthenes. Diodorus (1st century BCE) quotes Megasthenes while omitting some parts of his narratives. Other writers explicitly criticize Megasthenes:


title: Megasthenes

text: Modern scholars such as E. A. Schwanbeck, B. C. J. Timmer, and Truesdell Sparhawk Brown, have characterized Megasthenes as a generally reliable source of Indian history. Schwanbeck finds faults only with Megasthenes's description of the gods worshipped in India. Brown is more critical of Megasthenes, but notes that Megasthenes visited only a small part of India, and must have relied on others for his observations: some of these observations seem to be erroneous, but others cannot be ignored by modern researchers. Thus, although he was often misled by the erroneous information provided by others, his work remained the principal source of information about India to subsequent writers.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: Hands All Over is the third studio album by the American pop rock band Maroon 5 which features guest appearances from American country band Lady Antebellum and singer Christina Aguilera. Produced by veteran producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album was released by A&M Octone Records on September 15, 2010, and debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200. The standard edition of the album includes three singles: "Misery", "Give a Little More" and "Never Gonna Leave This Bed".


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: On July 12, 2011, the band re-released the album to include their summer hit and the fourth single "Moves like Jagger".


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: The band began writing the songs from the third album, after winding down from a world tour in support of their second album "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". Several months later, the band received a phone call from Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had heard the band were beginning to write a new album, and expressed an interest in producing it. In a press release on their official website, the album is described as "a killer hybrid of rock, pop, funk and R&B."


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: In an interview with "Rolling Stone", the band revealed they spent two months writing and recording their third album with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange in his recording studio in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Lead singer Adam Levine, spoke about the experience of working with Lange: "He worked me harder than anyone ever has," [...] "I would come in with a finished song, and he'd say, 'That's a good start. Now strip it down to the drums and start over.' The coolest thing about him is that not only has he been a huge, legendary producer, but he also is a legit, serious writer."


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: "Rolling Stone" has said that the resulting disc is the band's brightest-sounding and poppiest yet and that it delivers Lange's mix of catchy hooks and punchy rhythms. Levine has also said about the album: "Our first record was a reflection of my love for Stevie Wonder. With the second I kept going back and forth between Prince and The Police. But there was no one on my mind for this album. It's just great pop." In a separate interview, however, Levine said that the album was influenced by Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye. The album artwork was revealed on July 1, 2010. The cover photo for the album was taken by 19-year-old photographer Rosie Hardy, who also serves as the model in the photo. Hardy took the photo herself in just under an hour, in her own bedroom from the town of Buxton, United Kingdom.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: A web series titled "Palm Trees & Power Lines", was released in three parts: "Part 1" on August 23, "Part 2" on October 11, and "Part 3" on December 3, 2010, respectively. The series follows the band's journey on their 2010 promotional tour and performing with songs from the album.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: "Hands All Over" received a weighted score of 63 out of 100 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 10 reviews from music critics.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic rated the album very highly with 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that: "Some of the cuts may not sink their hooks in immediately, but track for track "Hands All Over" is Maroon 5's best album, capturing their character and craft in a cool, sleek package". Bill Lamb from About.com was also positive, awarding it with 4 stars (out of 5), saying: "For their third studio album Maroon 5 add a bit more rock and it looks good on them. There is a loosening up in sound here while keeping the infectious hooks that have always been a major part of the group's appeal. Don't go looking for exceptional depth, but in a period in which mainstream pop sounds are ruling the charts again, Maroon 5 provide a good lesson in exactly how to make a solid pop album".


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: The IGN review rated "Hands All Over" seven-stars out of ten, claiming that the album is "programmed to hit all the bases: dance-y tracks, pop anthems, quasi-ballads. Almost every song on this record could be a single...Even though it's formulaic and delivers no surprises, fans of Maroon 5 should find exactly what they are looking for from this record." Jakob Dorof from "Slant Magazines" review was mixed saying, "It adds a few more gems to the band's growing cache of incredible pop singles and overlooked deep cuts, Hands All Over makes some decent contributions to what could wind up being Maroon 5's true redemption: a damn fine greatest hits record." The "Los Angeles Times" review says that: ""Hands All Over" reveals less about who frontman Adam Levine is than did Maroon 5's previous records; too often the songs cleave to opaque generalities". Hugh Montgomery in "The Observer" wrote that 'Jaunty funk-pop and blustery arena balladry remain the order of the day, while Adam Levine's falsetto whine still proffers all the emotional gravitas of a mosquito'.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: Jody Rosen of "Rolling Stone" claimed, "at the helm, the dozen songs on "Hands All Over" are models of craftsmanship and efficiency ..." Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music noticed that "The rude guitar sleaze of Hands All Over, or the cocky glam-stomp in Stutter's verses show a band who are really at their best when they play pop music like the sleazy rockers they clearly are." "The Boston Globe" review felt that "This is lead singer Adam Levine's show. Thus, the band's success lives and dies with his delivery. That delivery remains technically sound, though as a whole, the band underwhelms here". The "Now" review also felt that "It's an accomplished record for singer Adam Levine and his faceless group, even if the whole affair sometimes sounds clinical in its approach". The Yahoo! Music UK review was mixed, saying that "It's hard to imagine how Hands All Over could have been any more underwhelming. In truth the only exceptional thing about it is just how average it is". The "Entertainment Weekly" review concluded that "Hands, competent and studio-sleek as it is, too often begs for a fresher muse.


title: Hands All Over (album)

text: On the "Billboard" 200, the album debuted at number two, which despite a high placement sold a relatively weak 142,000 copies, compared to their previous effort, which debuted at number-one with 429,000 copies. In the second week, it dropped to #9. In November 2010, the album was certified Gold by RIAA, denoting a sales of at least 500,000 copies in the United States. In an interview with "Billboard", Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine expressed some frustration in the lackluster sales of the "Hands All Over", saying a new album may be coming sooner than was originally planned. "Of course we could have liked it to have done better so far," Valentine told "Billboard", "It hasn't sold at the pace that our previous records did." The lack of response to the latest record has the band thinking about recording another album sooner than they originally planned, but according to Valentine "that may not be a bad thing". However, on the week of September 24, 2011, the album returned to the top 10 for the first time since its second week on the chart last October, climbing from number 23 to number 7 with 29,000 copies sold. This was spurred on by a four-day $6.99 sale price in the iTunes Store as well as the success of "Moves like Jagger", and represented the album's best sales frame since its second chart week and highest rank since its debut. The album was certified platinum on January 9, 2012 and as of April 2012 it has sold 1,079,000 copies in the United States.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: Far Cry is a 2008 English-language German action film loosely adapted from the video game of the same name. The film is directed by Uwe Boll and stars Til Schweiger. It was a major box-office bomb and received negative reviews.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: In a remote jungle at nighttime, a mercenary squad is shown tracking down several escaped test subjects, only to be slaughtered by a lone mutant. Their employer, Dr. Krieger, is informed about the event and is asked to stop his research, Krieger refusing to do so. The film then skips to Valerie Cardinal, an American journalist who is secretly receiving information about the events and the truth about Krieger's research by an informant. She agrees to meet with him in person on a remote South Asian island to receive the rest.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: To get to the island, Valerie hires skipper Jack Carver, a retired special forces operative, to take her to the island. During the trip, she reveals to Jack that her informant is her uncle, Max, who she claims served with Jack; Jack denies having ever known him. Jack's boat reaches the island. However, it turns out that Krieger's mercenaries caught Max and forced him to reveal the meeting location. Valerie is captured and the boat is destroyed, though Jack manages to escape. Jack steals a gun from a nearby guard after knocking him out and rescues Valerie. He insists that they leave the island, though Valerie refuses to leave without Max.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: They hijack a mercenary vehicle and proceed to their main compound, where they are captured once again. Jack is locked in an empty cell with a former member of the cooking staff. While they attempt to escape, Valerie is forced to have dinner with Krieger, who orders the mercenaries to unleash Max (who has been transformed into a mutant) on Jack and the cook when he sees them on camera trying to escape. After a brief fight, Jack manages to convince Max to reject Krieger's programming. Max then assaults the mercenaries and releases the other mutants.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: The mutants, enraged by what Kreiger did to them, attempt to kill all of the humans on the island. After taking heavy casualties, half of the surviving mercenaries realize Krieger is insane, abandon him, and team up with Jack to escape the island. The other half of the mercenaries remain loyal to Krieger and attempt to help him regain control. The two sides begin to fight each other and the mutants at the same time.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: As the battle goes on, Max is shot and killed by Krieger's sadistic female second-in-command Katia, while the mercenaries are quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered by the mutants. This leaves only Krieger, Katia, Jack, Valerie, and the cook alive. While trying to find Valerie, Jack is surprised by Katia, who tries to kill him as well. After dealing with her, he finds Valerie and tells her the truth of what happened to Max. The cook, Jack, and Valerie hijack a boat at the docks. When Krieger shows up, expecting to find a boat to get off the island, he finds none waiting for him. He turns around and screams as the screen fades to black.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: The film ends with Jack in a relationship with Valerie, having obtained a new boat so he can continue to work as a skipper; he also hires the cook to join his crew. Valerie, who turns out to be an undercover CIA agent, continues her work for the agency while traveling with Jack.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: Uwe Boll gained the rights to a "Far Cry" movie from Crytek, purportedly before the game was released. In an October 2006 interview, Uwe Boll said that production on "Far Cry" would begin in May 2007. The film was released on the second of October, 2008, in Germany.


title: Far Cry (film)

text: "Far Cry" received negative reviews with most critics saying it does the games no justice. IGN gave the film a 3 out of 10 and said "Perhaps one day game companies will learn to be more particular about the directors they choose to realize their products on the big screen. Fans of the game, and fans of movies in general, would be wise to avoid this one at all costs. Unless, of course, your purpose is to mock."


title: Far Cry (film)

text: In 2013 "Variety" reported that Ubisoft was developing another "Far Cry" film (based on the video game "Far Cry 3") along with a "Watch Dogs" and "Raving Rabbids" film, this time, produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures.


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: Risk-aware consensual kink (RACK, also risk-accepted consensual kink) is an acronym used by some of the BDSM community to describe a philosophical view that is generally permissive of certain risky sexual behaviors, as long as the participants are fully aware of the risks. This is often viewed in contrast to safe, sane, and consensual which generally holds that only activities that are considered safe, sane, and consensual are permitted.


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: While "Safe, sane and consensual" (SSC) attempts to describe and differentiate BDSM from abuse in ways that are easy for the non-BDSM public to comprehend, RACK differs from it in that it acknowledges that nothing is ever 100% inherently safe. By acknowledging that what may be safe or sane to one person may not be considered the same to another, the RACK philosophy tends to be more inclusive of activities that others may consider as edgeplay. There is no "safe" or "not safe" within RACK, only "safer" and "less safe."


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: RACK can also be described as a mindset which pays more attention to perhaps unexpected consequences of BDSM play. Its theory revolves around reasoned, ex-ante commitment, including the possible consequences of riskier play. In contrast, SSC revolves around the end results of play, or the ex-post. It tries to minimize any potential harm despite the risks BDSM players might be willing to partake in. Both philosophies aim to minimize foreseeable harm, but RACK puts more emphasis on individual commitment to possible risk, beforehand, while SSC tries to minimize total harm foreseeable over the longer term. Thus, RACK adherents stress the value of individual prior consent to even risky fun, while the SSC contingent counters that people often do not choose as freely as they seem, they might behave irrationally at times, and so the consequences of rash individual choice perhaps ought to be mitigated from the start.


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: RACK was coined in reaction to dissatisfaction within the BDSM community regarding SSC. According to David Stein, the man who coined "Safe, Sane, and Consensual S/M" for New York's Gay Male S/M Activists organization, SSC was only intended to be put forward as a minimum standard for ethically defensible S/M play, to establish a distinction between play between loving S/M partners and the public perception of sadomasochism which would be more accurately described as abusive behavior. Over time, as the phrase started spreading through the larger community and appeared on bumper stickers and T-shirts, people started to associate "safe" with "risk-free," diluting the message. "Instead of asking people to think about what it means to do S/M ethically, and to make the hard choices that are sometimes necessary (if only between what's right and what's right now), many organizations today act as if these issues have all been settled, assuring us that sadistic or masochistic behavior not deemed SSC isn't S/M at all but something else — abuse, usually, or domestic violence or poor self-esteem."


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: In 1999, Gary Switch posted to The Eulenspiegel Society's USENET list "TES-Friends" proposing the term RACK out of a desire to form a more accurate portrayal of the type of play that many engage in. Noting that nothing is truly 100% safe, not even crossing the street, Switch compared BDSM to the sport of mountain climbing. In both, risk is an essential part of the thrill, and that risk is minimized through study, training, technique, and practice.


title: Risk-aware consensual kink

text: Not all members of the BDSM community adhere to one principle to the exclusion of the other. Some people subscribe to both mottos, using SSC as a description of the activities to any member of the general public, while using RACK as a description of the activities within members of a community. Still others define their own terms, the term PRICK (Personal Responsibility, Informed Consensual Kink) in particular emphasizes the concept of taking personal responsibility for your actions, as well as an informed analysis of the risks. In some "old-guard" circles the term "Committed Compassionate Consensual" is circulated.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: Charles Francis Adams Sr. (August 18, 1807 – November 21, 1886) was an American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat. As United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War, Adams was crucial to Union efforts to prevent British recognition of the Confederate States of America and maintain European neutrality to the utmost extent. Adams also featured in national and state politics before and after the Civil War.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: Adams was the patriarch of one of the United States's most prominent political families: his father and grandfather were Presidents John Quincy Adams and John Adams, about whom he wrote a major biography. He had seven children, including John Quincy II, Charles Jr., Henry, and Brooks.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: Adams served two terms in the Massachusetts State Senate before helping to found the abolitionist Free Soil Party in 1848; he was the party's vice-presidential candidate in the election of 1848 on a ticket with former president Martin Van Buren. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1858 and re-elected in 1860.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: During the Civil War, Adams served as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom under Abraham Lincoln, where he played a key role in keeping the British government neutral and not diplomatically recognizing the Confederacy. After the War, he became alienated from the Republican Party and was successively a Liberal Republican, Anti-Mason, and Democrat. In 1876, he was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: Adams became an overseer of Harvard University and built the Stone Library at Peacefield, the Adams' family home which is now part of the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts, to honor his father.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: Adams was born in Boston on August 18, 1807, and he was one of three sons and a daughter born to John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) and Louisa Catherine Johnson (1775–1852). His older brothers were George Washington Adams (1801–1829) and John Adams II (1803–1834). His sister, Louisa, was born in 1811 but died in 1812 while the family was in Russia. He was named in part after Francis Dana.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: He attended Boston Latin School and Harvard College, where he graduated in 1825. He then studied law with Daniel Webster, attained admission to the bar, and practiced in Boston. He wrote numerous reviews of works about American and British history for the "North American Review".


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: During the presidency of John Quincy Adams (1825–1829), Charles and his brothers John and George were all rivals for the same woman, their cousin Mary Catherine Hellen, who lived with the Adams family after the death of her parents. In 1828, John married Mary in a White House ceremony, and both Charles and George declined to attend.


title: Charles Francis Adams Sr.

text: In 1840, Adams was elected to three one-year terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and he served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1843 to 1845. In 1846, he purchased and became editor of the "Boston Whig" newspaper. In 1848, he was the unsuccessful nominee of the Free Soil Party for Vice President of the United States, running on a ticket with former president Martin Van Buren as the presidential nominee.