title: Cetacean intelligence

text: In bottlenose dolphin studies by Wells in Sarasota, Florida, and Smolker in Shark Bay, Australia, females of a community are all linked either directly or through a mutual association in an overall social structure known as "fission-fusion". Groups of the strongest association are known as "bands", and their composition can remain stable over years. There is some genetic evidence that band members may be related, but these bands are not necessarily limited to a single matrilineal line. There is no evidence that bands compete with each other. In the same research areas, as well as in Moray Firth, Scotland, males form strong associations of two to three individuals, with a coefficient of association between 70 and 100. These groups of males are known as "alliances", and members often display synchronous behaviors such as respiration, jumping, and breaching. Alliance composition is stable on the order of tens of years, and may provide a benefit for the acquisition of females for mating.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The complex social strategies of marine mammals such as bottlenose dolphins, "provide interesting parallels" with the social strategies of elephants and chimpanzees.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Dolphins are known to engage in complex play behavior, which includes such things as producing stable underwater toroidal air-core vortex rings or "bubble rings". There are two main methods of bubble ring production: rapid puffing of a burst of air into the water and allowing it to rise to the surface, forming a ring; or swimming repeatedly in a circle and then stopping to inject air into the helical vortex currents thus formed. The dolphin will often then examine its creation visually and with sonar. They also appear to enjoy biting the vortex-rings they have created, so that they burst into many separate normal bubbles and then rise quickly to the surface. Certain whales are also known to produce bubble rings or bubble nets for the purpose of foraging. Many dolphin species also play by riding in waves, whether natural waves near the shoreline in a method akin to human "body-surfing", or within the waves induced by the bow of a moving boat in a behavior known as "bow riding".


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: There have been instances in captivity of various species of dolphin and porpoise helping and interacting across species, including helping beached whales. Also they have been known to live alongside resident (fish eating) orca whales for limited amounts of time.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Dolphins have also been known to aid human swimmers in need, and in at least one instance a distressed dolphin approached human divers seeking assistance.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Aside from having exhibited the ability to learn complex tricks, dolphins have also demonstrated the ability to produce creative responses. This was studied by Karen Pryor during the mid-1960s at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, and was published as "The Creative Porpoise: Training for Novel Behavior" in 1969. The two test subjects were two rough-toothed dolphins ("Steno bredanensis"), named Malia (a regular show performer at Sea Life Park) and Hou (a research subject at adjacent Oceanic Institute). The experiment tested when and whether the dolphins would identify that they were being rewarded (with fish) for originality in behavior and was very successful. However, since only two dolphins were involved in the experiment, the study is difficult to generalize.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Starting with the dolphin named Malia, the method of the experiment was to choose a particular behavior exhibited by her each day and reward each display of that behavior throughout the day's session. At the start of each new day Malia would present the prior day's behavior, but only when a new behavior was exhibited was a reward given. All behaviors exhibited were, at least for a time, known behaviors of dolphins. After approximately two weeks Malia apparently exhausted "normal" behaviors and began to repeat performances. This was not rewarded.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: According to Pryor, the dolphin became almost despondent. However, at the sixteenth session without novel behavior, the researchers were presented with a flip they had never seen before. This was reinforced. As related by Pryor, after the new display: "instead of offering that again she offered a tail swipe we'd never seen; we reinforced that. She began offering us all kinds of behavior that we hadn't seen in such a mad flurry that finally we could hardly choose what to throw fish at".


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The second test subject, Hou, took thirty-three sessions to reach the same stage. On each occasion the experiment was stopped when the variability of dolphin behavior became too complex to make further positive reinforcement meaningful.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The same experiment was repeated with humans, and it took the volunteers about the same length of time to figure out what was being asked of them. After an initial period of frustration or anger, the humans realised they were being rewarded for novel behavior. In dolphins this realisation produced excitement and more and more novel behaviorsin humans it mostly just produced relief.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Captive orcas have displayed responses indicating they get bored with activities. For instance, when Paul Spong worked with the orca Skana, he researched her visual skills. However, after performing favorably in the 72 trials per day, Skana suddenly began consistently getting every answer wrong. Spong concluded that a few fish were not enough motivation. He began playing music, which seemed to provide Skana with much more motivation.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, it has also been observed that the resident dolphins seem to show an awareness of the future. The dolphins are trained to keep their own tank clean by retrieving rubbish and bringing it to a keeper, to be rewarded with a fish. However, one dolphin, named Kelly, has apparently learned a way to get more fish, by hoarding the rubbish under a rock at the bottom of the pool and bringing it up one small piece at a time.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: , scientists have observed wild bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia using a basic tool. When searching for food on the sea floor, many of these dolphins were seen tearing off pieces of sponge and wrapping them around their rostra, presumably to prevent abrasions and facilitate digging.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: There is strong evidence that some specific whistles, called "signature whistles", are used by dolphins to identify and/or call each other; dolphins have been observed emitting both other specimens' signature whistles, and their own. A unique signature whistle develops quite early in a dolphin's life, and it appears to be created in imitation of the signature whistle of the dolphin's mother. Imitation of the signature whistle seems to occur only among the mother and its young, and among befriended adult males.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Xitco reported the ability of dolphins to eavesdrop passively on the active echolocative inspection of an object by another dolphin. Herman calls this effect the "acoustic flashlight" hypothesis, and may be related to findings by both Herman and Xitco on the comprehension of variations on the pointing gesture, including human pointing, dolphin postural pointing, and human gaze, in the sense of a redirection of another individual's attention, an ability which may require theory of mind.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The environment where dolphins live makes experiments much more expensive and complicated than for many other species; additionally, the fact that cetaceans can emit and hear sounds (which are believed to be their main means of communication) in a range of frequencies much wider than humans can means that sophisticated equipment, which was scarcely available in the past, is needed to record and analyse them. For example, clicks can contain significant energy in frequencies greater than 110 kHz (for comparison, it is unusual for a human to be able to hear sounds above 20 kHz), requiring that equipment have a sampling rates of at least 220 kHz; MHz-capable hardware is often used.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: In addition to the acoustic communication channel, the visual modality is also significant. The contrasting pigmentation of the body may be used, for example with "flashes" of the hypopigmented ventral area of some species, as can the production of bubble streams during signature whistling. Also, much of the synchronous and cooperative behaviors, as described in the Behavior section of this entry, as well as cooperative foraging methods, likely are managed at least partly by visual means.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Experiments have shown that they can learn human sign language and can use whistles for 2-way human–animal communication. Phoenix and Akeakamai, bottlenose dolphins, understood individual words and basic sentences like "touch the frisbee with your tail and then jump over it" (Herman, Richards, & Wolz 1984) . Phoenix learned whistles, and Akeakamai learned sign language. Both dolphins understood the significance of the ordering of tasks in a sentence.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: A study conducted by Jason Bruck of the University of Chicago showed that bottlenose dolphins can remember whistles of other dolphins they had lived with after 20 years of separation. Each dolphin has a unique whistle that functions like a name, allowing the marine mammals to keep close social bonds.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The new research shows that dolphins have the longest memory yet known in any species other than humans.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: Self-awareness, though not well defined scientifically, is believed to be the precursor to more advanced processes like meta-cognitive reasoning (thinking about thinking) that are typical of humans. Scientific research in this field has suggested that bottlenose dolphins, alongside elephants and great apes, possess self-awareness.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: The most widely used test for self-awareness in animals is the mirror test, developed by Gordon Gallup in the 1970s, in which a temporary dye is placed on an animal's body, and the animal is then presented with a mirror.


title: Cetacean intelligence

text: In 1995, Marten and Psarakos used television to test dolphin self-awareness. They showed dolphins real-time footage of themselves, recorded footage, and another dolphin. They concluded that their evidence suggested self-awareness rather than social behavior. While this particular study has not been repeated since then, dolphins have since passed the mirror test. However, some researchers have argued that evidence for self-awareness has not been convincingly demonstrated.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Jordan Staal (born September 10, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is regarded as a premier penalty-killer, both for his strong defensive skills and ability to score and set up shorthanded goals. In 2007, he became the youngest player (18 years and 153 days) to score a hat trick in league history.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal grew up playing minor hockey for the Thunder Bay Kings AAA organization. After his minor midget year, Staal was selected in the first round (2nd overall) by the Peterborough Petes. He was the second Staal in the NHL, after older brother Eric was drafted second overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. After a two-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career, in which he won a J. Ross Robertson Cup and appeared in the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes, Staal was drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL after being drafted and set several NHL records in his rookie season, including youngest player to score on a penalty shot, to score two shorthanded goals in one game, to score a hat trick and the most shorthanded goals by a rookie in one season. Staal was also a Calder Memorial Trophy nominee and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Among his former Penguins teammates, Staal was known as "Gronk." The nickname, a reference to a Marvel comic book supervillain, was given to him by former Penguins teammate Colby Armstrong, because of his strong on-ice presence. Staal won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Penguins in 2009, scoring two goals and an assist in the seven-game series against the Detroit Red Wings. One year prior, he lost the 2008 finals against the same Red Wings.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Jordan Staal is one of the four Staal brothers, whom have all played or are currently playing professional hockey in the NHL. The eldest, Eric, who is currently playing for the Florida Panthers, also played for (and captained) the Hurricanes until February 28, 2016. The youngest and fourth brother, Jared, made his NHL debut on April 25, 2013, on a line together with Jordan and Eric before retiring in 2017. The second-eldest, Marc, currently plays defence for the Florida Panthers.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Peterborough Petes for two seasons, beginning in 2004–05 after having been selected third overall in the 2004 OHL Priority Draft. In his second year with the club, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 28 goals and 68 points in 68 games before adding 16 points in the playoffs to help lead Peterborough to the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions. Earning a berth in the 2006 Memorial Cup, the Petes did not, however, make it past the round-robin. During the course of the 2005–06 season, Staal was also selected to play in the 2006 CHL Top Prospects Game.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Staal was ranked second among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, behind Erik Johnson of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. He went on to be drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, behind Johnson, who was selected by the St. Louis Blues. Jordan became the third among the four Staal brothers to be drafted into the NHL after his older brothers Marc and Eric, who was also selected second overall.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Penguins on October 2, 2006, and made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL in 2006–07 at the age of 18. He scored his first NHL goal on October 12, a shorthanded breakaway marker against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 6–5 win. Later that month, on October 21, Staal set a pair of NHL records with a two-goal effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition to becoming the youngest player to record a two-goal game since Bep Guidolin of the Boston Bruins did so at the age of 18 years and 12 days on December 21, 1943, Staal also scored both his goals on the penalty kill, becoming the youngest player to record two shorthanded goals in one game (surpassing Radek Dvořák of the Florida Panthers, who did so at 20 years and 278 days on December 12, 1997). Having scored his second shorthanded marker on a penalty shot, Staal additionally became the youngest player to score on a penalty shot, surpassing Nathan Horton, who scored with Florida at 18 years and 224 days on January 8, 2004.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Early in Staal's rookie season, however, there was still speculation that he would be returned to his junior team before playing his 10th game to avoid allowing him to accrue a full season under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement. Due to his strong play, however, particularly on the penalty-kill, the Penguins chose to keep him for the remainder of the season. Staal, along with fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin joined superstar Sidney Crosby, who had himself only entered his second NHL season, and goaltender Marc-André Fleury to form an effective young nucleus that revived the Penguins franchise.


title: Jordan Staal

text: In January 2007, Staal participated in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All-Star festivities, along with teammates Ryan Whitney and Malkin. Shortly thereafter, on February 10, 2007, Staal scored his first NHL career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs and set yet another NHL record by becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick at 18 years and 153 days. His first goal came at 19:22 in the first period, the second came at 3:32 in the second, and his third was the game winner, as he beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft stick-side at 3:54 in overtime. The previous mark had been held for over sixty years by Jack Hamilton, who achieved a four-goal game at 18 years and 185 days old with the Maple Leafs against the New York Rangers on December 4, 1943. Then, late in the season, on March 6, Staal scored his league-leading seventh shorthanded goal of the season to break the previous league record for shorthanded tallies by a rookie, set by Gerry Minor of the Vancouver Canucks in 1980–81 and matched by John Madden in 1999–2000. The goal cued a late third period comeback for the Penguins to win 5–4 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal completed his rookie season with 29 goals, second in rookie goal-scoring to teammate Malkin, and 42 points for a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination. The award was given to Malkin, while Staal finished third in voting, behind first runner-up Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche. Staal also joined Malkin and Stastny on the NHL All-Rookie Team.


title: Jordan Staal

text: The next season, in 2007–08, however, Staal's production suffered a setback, managing just 12 goals and 28 points. Regardless, he was an integral part of the Penguins' 2008 playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. Playing in the semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Staal briefly left the Penguins to attend his grandfather's funeral during the series, but returned for a two-goal game four effort, in which he cued a near-comeback in the third period to cut the Flyers lead to 3–2. The Penguins were eventually defeated 4–2, but managed to eliminate the Flyers the following game. As the Penguins made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1992, the last time they won the Stanley Cup, they were defeated in six games by the Red Wings. Staal contributed 6 goals and 1 assist during the playoff run.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Early in the 2008–09 season, the Penguins and Red Wings met for the first time since the Stanley Cup series on November 11, 2008. With the Penguins down by three goals in the third period, Staal notched his second career NHL hat trick to tie the game, then set up Ruslan Fedotenko's overtime winner to defeat the Red Wings 7–6. On December 2, 2008, he was named to the rotating position of alternate captain for the Penguins for the month of December. The following month, on January 8, 2009, the Penguins announced that they had extended Staal's contract through the 2012–13 season. Terms of the contract were for $16 million, payable as $3.5 million for the first two seasons, and then $4.5 million for the last two years, resulting in a $4 million salary cap hit. He completed the season bouncing back from the decreased production of his sophomore year with a career-high 27 assists and 49 points. On June 12, 2009, Staal and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2–1 at the Joe Louis Arena. Staal had two goals and an assist in the seven-game series, and scored a shorthanded goal that was a pivotal point in Game 4 of the series.


title: Jordan Staal

text: At the end of the regular season, Staal was named as one of the three finalists for the Selke Trophy along with Pavel Datsyuk and Ryan Kesler, awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the league. On April 30, 2010, Staal injured his right leg after his foot was sliced by Montreal Canadiens defenceman P. K. Subban's skate. He had to undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon on top of his big toe. During this injury, Staal ended up missing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Canadiens, the first game Staal had missed in a Penguins uniform since his rookie season – a streak of 358 consecutive games played including the playoffs.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal missed the entire first month of October, still recovering from foot surgery. Then, on November 1, just two days before he was to make his season debut, he was struck by a puck in practice, fracturing his hand and sidelining him again for surgery. Staal finally made his season debut at the NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2011.


title: Jordan Staal

text: On April 18, 2012, Staal registered his first playoff hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 10–3 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. He would finish the series with six goals as the Penguins lost to the Flyers in six games, their second consecutive first-round playoff exit.


title: Jordan Staal

text: On June 22, 2012, Staal was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and the Hurricanes' eighth overall pick at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (which the Penguins used to select Derrick Pouliot). On July 1, 2012, Staal signed a ten-year, $60 million extension with the Hurricanes. He had received exactly the same offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but declined it.


title: Jordan Staal

text: On September 23, 2014, Staal broke his right leg in a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres. In November 2016, Staal was diagnosed with a concussion. At the time of his injury, he had recorded five goals and nine points in 21 games.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal, along with Justin Faulk, was named co-captain of the Hurricanes, on October 5, 2017. At the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, Staal was named a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.


title: Jordan Staal

text: In December 2018, Staal was diagnosed with a concussion and was placed on long-term injury reserve (LTIR). At the time of his injury, he had recorded five goals and six assists in 27 games. He was activated from LTIR on February 23, 2019. During that season, the Hurricanes qualified for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs but lost in the Eastern Conference Final.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal made his international debut with Team Canada at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. Named to the team following the Penguins' first-round playoff defeat, he joined brother Eric to help Canada capture the gold medal by defeating Finland 4–2 in the final. In nine games, Staal contributed two assists.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Born the third of four boys in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Staal grew up playing ice hockey with his three brothers on an outdoor rink built by their father Henry. All of the Staal brothers have played in the NHL. Older brothers Eric, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003, and Marc, drafted by the New York Rangers in 2005, both play with Jordan in the NHL, while younger brother Jared was drafted in 2008 by the Phoenix Coyotes, has played 2 NHL games and is currently an assistant coach with OHA Edmonton of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. His cousin Jeff Heerema was drafted by the Hurricanes in the first round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Before becoming teammates in Carolina, Jordan and Eric have played together on one occasion prior, as part of Team Canada's 2007 World Championship gold medal-winning team, while also competing against each other in the NHL, including their high-profile matchup in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals. He has also met Marc's New York Rangers in the 2008 playoffs. Jordan has eliminated his brothers with the Penguins in both instances. Jordan has become the second brother to win a Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh 2009) behind older brother Eric (Carolina 2006).


title: Jordan Staal

text: In the summer of 2007, Jordan was arrested at Eric's bachelor party. Both were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process, while spending the night in jail. Jordan was also cited with underage drinking.


title: Jordan Staal

text: On June 22, 2012, Staal married longtime girlfriend Heather Dysievick. The couple has three daughters and a son. Their youngest daughter was delivered stillborn on February 22, 2018, a tragedy that made him miss three games.


title: Jordan Staal

text: Staal is a Christian. Staal has said, “Hockey was my identity. Sure, it pushed me to be the player I was, but it still left me empty. I made the NHL and won that Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh, fulfilling all the dreams I could ever think of, but I remember waking up a week later and realizing, ‘that’s it?’... Hockey is an unbelievable sport and something that has obviously been a big part of my life, but it's not all me; it's not something I live for. I live for God, and hockey is definitely something that I want to give God the glory for.”


title: MikroTik

text: MikroTik (officially SIA "Mikrotīkls") is a Latvian network equipment manufacturer. The company develops and sells wired and wireless network routers, network switches, access points, as well as operating systems and auxiliary software. The company was founded in 1996, and as of August 2019, the company website reported an estimated 280 employees. In 2021, with a value of EUR 1.24B, Mikrotik was the 3rd largest company in Latvia and the first private company to surpass EUR 1B value in Latvia.


title: MikroTik

text: MikroTik was founded in 1996 by John Tully and Arnis Riekstiņš in Riga, Latvia, developing networking software for x86 PC hardware that would develop into a product called RouterOS. The earliest versions of RouterOS were based on Linux 2.2. In 2002, MikroTik began producing their own networking-focused low-power single-board computers, branded RouterBoard, that ran RouterOS. These early SBCs could be expanded and/or used as components of other systems, but as time passed, this RouterBoard/RouterOS platform would develop into a full line network equipment.


title: MikroTik

text: Beginning in June 2021, a botnet composed of unprotected Mikrotik devices created huge volumes of application-layer traffic using HTTP pipelining, resulting in DDOS. The net was named Mēris (or Meris) by Qrator. Yandex reported attacks beginning August 4, 2021 (over 5 million requests per second) with a massive attack on 5 September 2021 reaching almost 22 million RPS (requests per second). Cloudflare acknowledged an attack at over 17 million RPS in July 2021.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Gex: Enter the Gecko is a 1998 platform game and the second installment of the "Gex" video game series, released in 1998 and 1999 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows, and Game Boy Color. Its protagonist, Gex, a TV-binging, wisecracking gecko, is voiced by Dana Gould in the North American version, Leslie Phillips in the European release, and Mitsuo Senda in the Japanese release. Gex seeks to collect three types of remotes to unlock different TVs in the overworld that aid in the fight against his arch-nemesis, Rez.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: After creating the original "Gex", which released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, PC, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation in 1995, developer Crystal Dynamics sought a sequel in the form of a 3D platform video game in the style of "Super Mario 64". The Gex model was rebuilt with this perspective in mind, and much of the game's humor was inspired by Fox's animated television series "The Simpsons", on which script writer Rob Cohen had previously worked as a writer. Hundreds of voice-overs were recorded for the character Gex, but hardware constraints forced the Nintendo 64 version of the game to include only around one hundred samples. The Nintendo 64 release, due to hardware limitations, features six fewer levels than its PlayStation counterpart, but the release also includes one exclusive level, "Gecques Cousteau".


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Critical reception of "Gex: Enter the Gecko" was mostly positive. Critics' main concerns centered on the game's camera, graphics, low-polygon enemies, and simplicity. The game was followed by 1999's "", which released on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: "Enter the Gecko", the first 3D platform game in the "Gex" franchise, allows the player to choose from three camera control options: automatic, semi-automatic, and manual. The player controls Gex (voiced by comedian Dana Gould in the North American release, Leslie Phillips in the European release, and Mitsuo Senda in the Japanese release), who has spent much of his time watching television. His dialogue consists of references to popular culture from the late 1980s and 1990s, usually spoken when he enters a level, attacks, dies, or collects items. Dialogue and scenes were heavily cut for the Nintendo 64 version due to hardware limitations.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Gex's move set includes a tail whip attack, a tail bounce, and a flying karate kick. His ability to climb certain walls and ceilings is a quality borrowed from the real-life gecko on which Gex is based. Gex may use his tail whip around levels to break small TV sets that contain different colored flies, which, when consumed, can add an extra health point, add an extra life, temporarily unlock additional moves, or mark a checkpoint in the level if the player runs out of health. Specific stages can require Gex to collect power-ups to move throughout the level or to just stay alive, as is the case with the outer space stages in which Gex must collect oxygen for his astronaut suit. While the majority of enemies can be defeated using Gex's move set, others can only be eliminated when Gex manipulates objects or machinery around him. For example, a dragon in a Kung Fu level early in the game can only be slain after Gex targets it with a cannon.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: TV sets in the game's hub world act as entry points to different stages, which parody popular culture, such as "Looney Tunes" and "Star Wars". Excluding bonus stages, each level has a set number of red remotes for Gex to collect along with silver remotes, which are awarded for collecting 120 collectibles or discovering a hidden secret. Red remotes can be collected after standing on the green button in front of in-world television screens after completing level-specific objectives, which can be completed in any order regardless of which one is chosen on the level screen. Collecting red remotes unlocks new areas in the hub world along with bonus and boss levels, which reward a gold remote upon completion. Collecting all remotes in every stage unlocks a special ending showcasing the game's concept art.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: The Nintendo 64 version features "Gecques Cousteau", a new level centered on the and played almost entirely underwater. Due to the console's cartridge storage limitations, six levels were removed, which include three secret levels ("Lava Daba Doo", "Texas Chainsaw Manicure", and "Mazed and Confused"), one normal level ("Poltergex"), and two bonus levels ("I Got the Reruns" and "Trouble in Uranus"). Other changes include fewer bonus levels, fewer quotes, and altered sound effects.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Following his victory over Rez in the Media Dimension, Gex has retired from the public eye and turned to solitude.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Two years later, his quiet life is soon turned upside down when one day he was watching television when all of a sudden, it goes blank and Rez's image begins flashing on the screen. Two government agents also appear and abduct Gex to their headquarters, in which Gex is interrogated. The agents explain that Rez has returned and they need his help in taking him down again. Gex refuses, saying that he has already saved the world once and that they should try to find someone else. When the agents make a fair negotiation for a huge sum of cash and gadgets, Gex tells them everything. He accepts the mission, to which he leaves the building and is then accosted by a female agent who introduces herself as Agent Xtra and wishes him good luck.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: After navigating numerous television channels in the Media Dimension, Gex finally confronts Rez and the two battle once again until Gex drops a huge television set on Rez severely weakening him. In desperation, Rez tells Gex through a television that he is his father. Gex merely turns the television off. Whether or not he believes Rez is unknown. In the final scene, Gex shares a hotel room with Nikki from the "Pandemonium" series.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: Following the modest success of 1995's "Gex" on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation, a sequel was soon in development. In early 1997, Crystal Dynamics announced that they were working on a 3D sequel to "Gex" in the style of "Super Mario 64". Crystal Dynamics originally wanted to relaunch the character with the technology available at the time. Rather than a grouping of polygons, Gex was built with a full skeletal system, with more bones than a real gecko, and a 'skin' stretched over-top to eliminate pop and tearing. This also allowed him to move his mouth along with the voiced dialogue.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: "The Simpsons", a series the developers were fond of, made for a noteworthy inspiration for the comedy set-ups based upon the show's style of humor. Rob Cohen, a writer from "The Simpsons", worked on the script for "Gex: Enter the Gecko", particularly Gex's one-liners. The end result of the idea gave Dana Gould over 700 voice-overs for "Gex", while giving the character different costumes in order to suit the mood of the levels. When the game was released for the Nintendo 64, over 500 voice-overs from the PC and PlayStation versions were cut out from the original version, giving the Nintendo 64 version roughly over 100 samples to work with for the purpose of the hardware's limitations at the time of development. When Gould was being interviewed for the game, he explained how "Gex" in the third dimension differed from other platform games at the time. Gould said "the character's natural God-given abilities lend themselves extremely well to designing 3D gameplay". Gould reprised the role of Gex in the game for the American market, although the British version featured the voice of Leslie Phillips instead.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: The designers put heavy emphasis on variety in the levels, in order to both give each world a different feel and help the player find their way around by creating recognizably unique landmarks.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: In mid-1997 Crystal Dynamics signed an agreement for Midway Games to publish the game for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64.


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: "Gex: Enter the Gecko" received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the PlayStation version 82%. The Nintendo 64 version received mostly mixed reviews. GameRankings gave the game 61%. Upon the PC version's initial release, "USA Today" gave the game "4 out of 5 stars!" "GamePro" acclaimed the game to be "A must-own for platform fans!" "Game.EXE" reviewer gave the game a 70% score and said that it lacked attention to detail and care. A "Game World Navigator" reviewer praised the graphics, noting that the backgrounds are detailed, but noticed that the monsters have few polygons. The reviewer complained about the bad behavior of the camera, and eventually concluded that the game is worth playing. Dmitriy Estrin, reviewer of a "Strana Igr" magazine, commented on the graphics, saying that the "developers skillfully managed the resources available to them", but he also noticed that the game had "too much simplicity in all aspects of the gameplay".


title: Gex: Enter the Gecko

text: "Next Generation" reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Crystal Dynamics has taken a bold, innovative step into the 3D platform genre with "Enter the Gecko" by providing humor, solid design, and clever enemies, but the gameplay still needs a little time to catch up".


title: Chris Barnett

text: Christopher James Barnett (born June 14, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.


title: Chris Barnett

text: Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his father was stationed as a United States Air Force captain. Around the age of four, the family returned to the United States and after bouncing around they settled in Georgia. Both of his parents are black belts in Taekwondo, and he started training the martial art around the age of five. Barnett went to Campbellsville University and University of South Florida and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree. At Campbellsville, Barnett competed in Wrestling on a scholarship and began training in Judo. Barnett received an invitation to try out mixed martial arts after showing his moves in a dance battle, and started training immediately.


title: Chris Barnett

text: Starting his professional career in 2009, Barnett fought primarily in Xtreme Fighting Championships and started 5–0 with four knockouts. He also fought in other notable Asian organizations, such as Rizin Fighting Federation, Road Fighting Championship, and Inoki Genome Federation.


title: Chris Barnett

text: After 12 years, Barnett finally got a call from the UFC to replace Askar Mozharov on short notice against Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 188 on May 22, 2021. He lost the bout by submission in the second round.


title: Chris Barnett

text: In September 2021, news surfaced that Barnett had tested positive for marijuana stemming from his UFC debut, and he was suspended for 4.5 months, becoming eligible to return on October 6, 2021.


title: Chris Barnett

text: In his next fight, Barnett fought Gian Villante in Villante's retirement fight at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021 in Madison Square Garden. He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round via spinning wheel kick and punches. The win earned him the "Performance of the Night" bonus award.


title: Chris Barnett

text: Barnett next faced Martin Buday at UFC Fight Night 206 on April 16, 2022. Barnett lost the fight via technical unanimous decision after being rendered unable to continue due to an unintentional elbow to the back of the head in the third round.


title: Chris Barnett

text: Barnett most recently faced Jake Collier on September 10, 2022 at UFC 279. At the weigh-ins, Barnett weighed in at 267.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the non-title heavyweight limit. Barnett was fined 20% of his purse, which will go to his opponent Collier. Barnett suffered a knockdown and heavy ground and pound in the first, however he rallied and won the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Chris Barnett

text: Barnett's wife died in May of 2022 after a battle with encephalitis. Barnett and his late wife have a daughter and a son.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: The Yellow Dragon ( is the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor of the center of the universe in Chinese religion and mythology.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: The Yellow Emperor or Yellow Deity was conceived by Fubao, who became pregnant after seeing a yellow ray of light turning around the Northern Dipper (in Chinese theology the principal symbol of God). Twenty-four months later, the Yellow Emperor was born and was associated with the color yellow because it is the color of the earth ("Dì" ), the material substance in which he incarnated.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: The Yellow Dragon is a part of "Wuxing" and the Four Symbols as the embodiment of the element of earth.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: According to legends, the Yellow Dragon already manifested hornless to Fuxi, emerging from the River Luo, and instructed him with the elements of writing. When he appeared before Fuxi, he filled a hole in the sky made by the monster Gonggong.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: The Yellow Emperor was said to have turned into the form of the Yellow Dragon at the end of his life to ascend to Heaven. Since the Chinese consider him to be their ancestor, they sometimes refer to themselves as "children of the dragon" (also see: Nine sons of the dragon). This legend also contributed towards the use of the Chinese dragon as a symbol of imperial power.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: In East Asian culture, the Yellow Dragon is the fifth symbol completing the Sixiang (Four Symbols). This deity is the center of the cosmos and it represents the element earth, the Chinese quintessence, as well as the changing of the seasons.


title: Yellow Dragon

text: The Yellow Dragon does not appear in Japanese mythology: the fifth element in the Japanese elemental system is the void, so there cannot be an animal representing it. However, some consider the "Ōryū" as the Japanese counterpart of the Yellow Dragon since they share some similarities.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur, commonly referred to as Víkingur or Víkingur Reykjavík (to distinguish them from Víkingur Ólafsvík) and internationally known as Vikingur F.C., is an Icelandic sports club based in the Fossvogur neighbourhood of Reykjavík. It is one of the oldest sports clubs in Iceland, founded on 21 April 1908.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: The football club has won six Championship titles, five First Division titles and four Cup titles. Víkingur operates other sports divisions including handball, tennis, table tennis, karate and skiing. All sports include both male and female teams.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Þorbjörn Þórðarson, who was the chairman of the Vikingur in the period of 1943–44, designed the original . In the foreground of Vikingur's original crest is a brownish 19th century leather ball framed with white badges and has red and black stripes in the background.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Facilities and home ground are located at Víkin since 1984 when a football pitch was first laid there. The club residence followed in 1988 and indoor facilities were built in 1991, significantly improving the overall facilities. Víkin is located in the district of Fossvogur (Háaleiti & Bústaðir), on the east side of Reykjavík.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: The sports venue was constructed in 2004 and completed in 2005. Víkingsvöllur holds around 2000 spectators.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: The youth training program at Víkin is notable for its contribution to the Iceland national senior and youth teams, providing in recent years players such as: Kári Árnason, Sölvi Ottesen, Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Aron Elís Þrándarson, Óttar Magnús Karlsson


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Víkingur Reykjavik was founded on the 21 April 1908 with the purpose of financing a ball purchase for a group of boys in a Reykjavik neighborhood to play football. The club's inaugural meeting, with 32 boys present, was held in the basement of Túngata 12 in Reykjavik.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: In the first 10 years of Vikingur's history, the team failed to win in only a single match. In that period Vikingur scored 58 goals and conceded 16. However, the team did not win a single title in that time due to them not yet having a regular senior side to play in the Icelandic Championship.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: The Viking's first match in the Championship took place on 9 June 1918 – when the team ensured a 5–0 victory over their rivals Valur. Two years later the club won its first Championship title. The second Championship title came in 1924.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: During the first 40 years of Vikingur's history, the club did not to have any actual club facilities.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Vikingur's first residence was a former "Iglo officers club" in Camp Tripoli at Suðurgata which the club took on lease in the years between 1946–50 by promises of being slotted an area of land south of University of Iceland at Vatnsmýri. The residence at Camp Tripoli proved to be a true lever for the club for a period of time, since in Víkingur's first decades, meetings were held in various places in Reykjavik and the club did not have any sporting facilities. Vikingur was later assigned an area of land in conjunction with Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur at Vatnsmýri.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Following the years at Suðurgata, Víkingur continued its search for a suitable club location since the given area at Vatnsmýri was considered too small for the club.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: In 1953, building constructions began for a new club house at Hæðargarður in the district of Bústaða- og smáíbúðahverfi Reykjavíkur, which at the time was being organized. However, despite the new club house, the club's working environment was poor as there were no sporting facilities or home pitch. Training continued to take place in various settings in Reykjavik.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Víkingur's first Icelandic Cup title in men's football came in the year 1971, when the team was victorious in the final over rivals UBK Kópavogur, 1–0.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: It wasn't until the year 1976 that Víkingur got assigned an area of land in Fossvogur and began to build up its residence and sporting facilities. In general, the main service area of the club is demarcated by Fossvogsdalur, Kringlumýrarbraut, Miklabraut and Reykjanesbraut.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Much work was done to prepare the grounds in Fossvogur during the years of 1981,1982 and 1983 when the Vikingur team clinched the first consecutive football Championship- and Super Cup titles in the club's history. A couple of years later, in 1984, footballers could start training at Víkin. Construction of the indoor facilities were completed in 1991, the same year as Víkingur retained its latest Championship title. Construction began in 2004 on the sports venue at Víkin and was inaugurated in 2005. Víkin seats around 1,200 spectators. In the 2015 season, the men's football team will take part in the UEFA Europa League, having reached the club's highest league position of 4th place since winning the Championship in 1991.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: After a period of struggle and re-organization at Víkin in the 2012 season, the Víkingur team won promotion to the football Championship.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Having regained their place in the football Championship in 2013, the team finished 4th place, achieving the club's highest league position since 1991.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Víkingur men's team played their first Europa League qualifiers since 1992, and admit a 2–3 defeat on aggregate against Slovenian team FC Koper.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Arnþór Ingi Kristinsson scored both of Víkingur's goals in the away clash against FC Koper. Ólafur Þórðarson parted ways with the club.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Only lacking the temporal difference to challenge for a spot in the Europa League qualification the team's fate was a mid-table finish.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Óttar Magnús Karlsson was the standout player in the team as he was chosen 'most promising player' in the league.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: The season turned sharply by Miloš Milojević surprise resignation from the gaffers position early in the season.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: This event cued the return to home of the then retired multiple championship winner and fans favourite Logi Ólafsson, who steered them to a safe mid-table finish.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Memorable for lively supporters match day experiences at Víkin, the 2018 early season performance was however highly affected by sloppy pitch conditions.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: Acclaimed Iceland International Sölvi Geir Ottesen made his return to Víkin - now alternatively known as the 'Homeground of Happiness'.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: At the end of the season Logi Ólafsson moved back into retirement passing the managerial position to his assistant and former International Arnar Gunnlaugsson.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: "Following players have represented Víkingur and either made at least 100 league appearances for the club, or made at least 10 appearances for their national team."


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: In the current squad, Halldór Smári is the most capped player for Víkingur with 301 matches followed by Dofri Snorrason with 186.


title: Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur

text: In celebration of the club's centennial anniversary in 2008, Vikingur supporters club held a competition for a new club anthem to be played at home games. The winning song, Vikingur – 100 years, or simply: Við viljum sigur í dag Víkingar! was composed and performed by Stefán Magnússon and Freyr Eyjólfsson


title: Chris Sievey

text: Christopher Mark Sievey (25 August 1955 – 21 June 2010) was an English musician, comedian and artist known for fronting the band the Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey, under the guise of Sidebottom, made regular appearances on North West television throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, even becoming a reporter for "Granada Reports". Later, he presented "Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in B/W" for the Manchester-based television station Channel M. Throughout his career, Sidebottom made appearances on radio stations such as Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5, alongside Mark and Lard.


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 1969, when he was 14, Sievey began writing and recording his own music, and by the age of 15 was playing in local bands. In 1971, he hitch-hiked to London with his brother, staging a sit-in at the Apple Records HQ, demanding to see one of The Beatles. When they were asked to leave they insisted on recording something, and were booked into the studio after playing a song to head of A&R Tony King. Sievey subsequently recorded several demos, which he sent to record companies, receiving many rejection letters which he later compiled into a book. Unable to get a deal, he set up his own Razz label in 1974.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey released two cassettes under his own name in 1975 and 1976 – "Girl in My Blue Jeans" and "All Sleeps Secrets".


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 1977 Sievey formed the Freshies, with various other musicians involved including Martin Jackson, Billy Duffy and former Nosebleeds bassist Rick Sarko. A string of singles and several cassettes were released between 1978 and 1983. Most of these were credited to the Freshies, but were occasionally listed as Chris Sievey & the Freshies. In 1981, Sievey played on "Some Boys" by Going Red?, the band formed by former Jilted John star Graham Fellows. The Freshies biggest UK hit was "I'm in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk", released initially on his own Razz label (RAZZ 10), it was reissued by the US giant MCA Records with a slightly different title ("I'm in Love with the Girl on a Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk") as there were objections about using the Virgin brand name. The record peaked at No 54. They had regional success in the Manchester area with "My Tape's Gone", "No Money" / "Oh Girl" and "Yellow Spot".


title: Chris Sievey

text: Radio 1, and in particular Mike Read gave the Freshies a lot of airplay, especially the MCA release. After the "success" of "I'm in Love with the Girl on the Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk", the group released further singles, "Wrap Up the Rockets" and "I Can't Get 'Bouncing Babies' by the Teardrop Explodes", and although commercially successful in the Manchester area, they failed to make the national charts. They released 2 further cassettes, ""Manchester Plays the Freshies"" and ""London Plays the Freshies"", these were both essentially radio interviews with local and national DJs and concert recordings from each city. Chris had written his first LP by this stage, "The Johnny Radar Story", which, for various legal and contractual complications, was never released on vinyl. There are master copies on cassette in circulation though (albeit, very few). In February of 1982, Sievey abandoned the quartet lineup of the Freshies, and reformed it as a duo with Barbara O'Donovan. The duo version of the Freshies released one single, "Fasten Your Seat Belts". In 1982, he released the mini-album "Denigration Now", his first work outside of the Freshies since 1976's "All Sleeps Secrets".


title: Chris Sievey

text: The following year he released a solo release, "Camouflage", with the A-side a song, and the B-side being computer programming.


title: Chris Sievey

text: The Frank Sidebottom character first appeared on an untitled 1984 EP by Chris Sievey & the Freshies, in a spoken-word track wherein Frank talks to Chris.


title: Chris Sievey

text: The character was instantly recognizable by his large spheroidal head, styled like an early Max Fleischer cartoon. This was initially made from papier-mâché, but later of fibreglass. In the documentary "Being Frank", Martin Sievey (Chris's brother) states this was made using plaster of Paris.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank, usually dressed in a 1950s-style sharp suit, was portrayed as an aspiring pop star from the small village of Timperley, near Altrincham. His character was cheerfully optimistic, enthusiastic, and seemingly oblivious to his own failings. Although supposedly 35 years old (the age always attributed to Frank irrespective of the passage of time), he still lived at home with his mother, to whom he made frequent references. His mother was apparently unaware of her son's popularity. Frank sometimes had a sidekick in the form of "Little Frank", a hand puppet who was otherwise a perfect copy of Frank.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Comedy character Mrs Merton started out as Frank's sidekick on his radio show "Radio Timperley", and the similarity of the characters is evident, exuding a sense of great ambition which belies a domestic lifestyle in the North of England. Sidebottom's former Oh Blimey Big Band members include Mark Radcliffe and Jon Ronson, and his driver was Chris Evans.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Immediately after creating the character, Sievey would record an in-character cover 'Material Boy<nowiki>', and send it to several major labels with the note "</nowiki>"I'm thinking of getting into showbiz. Do you have any pamphlets?"" EMI were interested and offered him an interview. Chris appeared in character as Frank, and was signed to their sub-label Regal Zonophone.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Zonophone released his third EP '"Frank's Sidebottom's Firm Favorites"' in August of 1985. He'd previously self released two EPs as Frank in 1985, titled '"Frank's Summer Special"' as well as an early version of 'Firm Favorites'. The EP reached 97 in the UK Charts on 31 August 1985 before dropping completely. In order to promote the EP, he made an appearance on the TV programme "'TX"' the first of many appearances on the ITV network.


title: Chris Sievey

text: His second Zonophone EP, '"Oh Blimey, It's Christmas"' charted slightly higher than the first, at number 87, before dropping off again. It was likely the failure of his third Zonophone EP, "Sci-Fi", that caused him to be dropped by the label. Afterwards he was signed to Marc Riley's In Tape label, on which he would release two albums and four EPs.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Despite the minimal chart success from these EPs, Frank had developed a cult following that allowed him to attract audiences upwards of 500 in Northern England and London. This act of extensively touring the country would develop Frank's status. Performances were often varied from straightforward stand-up comedy and featured novelty components such as tombola, and crowd interaction. Sometimes the show also included lectures. Contrasting with the alternative comedians of the time, Frank Sidebottom's comedy was family-friendly, if a little bizarre for some. This family friendly nature lead to Frank getting his own comic strip in the children's weekly comic "Oink!," which launched 1986.


title: Chris Sievey

text: His backing band, dubbed "'The Oh Blimey Band"' consisted of Mike Doherty on drums, Rick Sarko on guitar (both formerly of the Freshies), Patrick Gallagher on bass, and later, Jon Ronson on keyboards.


title: Chris Sievey

text: At the same time as touring, Frank would become a semi-regular cast member on the two final seasons of the ITV children's programme "No. 73", eventually being grandfathered into its spin off, "7T3".


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 1987, Frank released his first album, a spoken word cassette called '"Fantastic Tales"', released through his own 11:37 label. His first musical album, entitled "'5:9:88"', was released on vinyl by "In Tape" a year later. This album introduced the character Mrs Merton, portrayed by Caroline Aherne. Aherne continued to use the character as a comic persona, leading to her own TV show, launching the comedians TV career. Chris and the band, whilst disgruntled by the success of a character created for Frank now detached from Frank, did not resent it, with drummer Mike Doherty saying that while she had taken the characters name, she had crafted her own thing out of it.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank was perhaps most popular in the North West of England, where his success was caught up in that of the Madchester scene, and for a time was a regular on regional ITV station Granada, even featuring as a reporter on its regional news programme, "Granada Reports".


title: Chris Sievey

text: Along his frequent television appearances, the Frank Sidebottom character also made appearances on radio, on stations such as Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5, alongside Mark and Lard.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Jon Ronson first played with Frank's Oh Blimey Band in 1987, when their original keyboardist (Mark Radcliffe) was unable to make it to a gig at The Cricketers pub at Kennington Oval, London SE11. Ronson was social secretary at the Polytechnic of Central London and knew Mike Doherty as an agent. During the band introductions at the end of the show, Ronson noted a negative reaction to his presence, but found that his microphone had been almost completely muted, leaving him completely unheard by the audience. Despite this, one year later, he was offered a full time place in the band, which he accepted.


title: Chris Sievey

text: This same year Frank was included on the charity album "Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father", which featured other acts like Michelle Shocked, the Christians, Sonic Youth, Billy Bragg, Hue and Cry, the Fall and Wet Wet Wet. He later recorded "Flying" for another Beatles tribute album, "Revolution No. 9".


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 1989, Sievey re-arranged the Oh Blimey Band, introducing Richard Jones from the recently broken up local band the Desert Wolves on bass guitar, along with a new guitarist and saxophonist. Chris wanted to give the band a more professional sound, and booked a 30 date tour, the longest the band had ever undertook. This new lineup was a source of tension between the members, with Richard Jones and Jon Ronson taking a near instant disliking for each other.


title: Chris Sievey

text: The tour and its new sound were panned by audience members and critics alike, leading to Sievey abandoning the new line-up in 1990, instead choosing to perform solo from then on.


title: Chris Sievey

text: After this, Frank began to make semi-regular guest appearances on the final season of ITV programme and "No. 73" successor "Motormouth", as well as numerous appearances on Channel 4, including the British version of the game show "Remote Control" which was presented by Tony Wilson, where each week he would pose "Frank's Fantastic Question" to the contestants. The popularity of these appearances lead to him getting his own show on the network, "Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show", which lasted one season in 1992. Afterwards he migrated to "What's Up Doc?", where Sievey would not only portray Sidebottom, but also create the recurring segment "Life with the Amoebas". After the first two seasons, Sievey left the show.


title: Chris Sievey

text: As the 1990s reached their midpoint, the Frank character began to make fewer and fewer public appearances, before seemingly being retired. During this time, Sievey began working on a solo album entitled "Life in 74 Minutes", before abandoning it. In 2000 he began working in stop motion animation and became a regular crew member on Seasons 4 - 6 of "Bob the Builder", as well as a writer on the fourth season of "Pingu".


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 2003, Chris began working on a new album, entitled "Scilly Automatic". One track from this, "Lazy Rising More Slowly, Where R.U, Oh 'Chele'" was released on the 2019 outtakes and rarities compilation "Being Frank".


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank had faded into obscurity in the late 1990s, rarely appearing either on TV or making live appearances, but, a one-off performance at Manchester's Club Indigo Vs Manic Street Mania in December 2005 seemed to be the catalyst for a comeback.


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 2006, Frank reappeared in Greater Manchester on local television channel Channel M. His new show, "Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show in B/W", featured celebrity guests and animation. The first showing of each show was in black and white ("so you don't have to turn the colour down"), whilst subsequent repeats were shown in full colour. He also made five appearances on Iain Lee's programme on London's LBC as well as on numerous community radio stations such as Forever Manchester. Frank appeared as a test card shown late at night on Channel M, where he and Little Frank ramble on and sing songs whilst framed in a parody of the classic Test Card F. On 6 March 2007, in an episode of "the Podge and Rodge Show" on Ireland's RTÉ Two, he appeared in their 'Sham-Rock' talent section, performing a medley of songs by The Smiths. He received an overall score of 22 points from judges James Nesbitt and Glenda Gilson, putting him in first place for all the series' acts so far.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank starred in his own exhibition of drawings, animation and cardboard at London's Chelsea Space Gallery next to Tate Britain between 4 July and 4 August 2007. He also appeared at "Late" at Tate Britain on 3 August 2007.


title: Chris Sievey

text: He appeared in the Series 3 Christmas special of BBC Scotland's "VideoGaiden", performing "Christmas is Really Fantastic", and later appeared on the Series 3 Awards show, and the final web-exclusive episode ("Closedown"). Frank appeared briefly as a Manchester United fan in an advert for the "FIFA 10" video game in 2009.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank performed at Bloom Festival in 2007 and Kendal Calling in 2008. In late 2009 and early 2010 he supported John Cooper Clarke on a UK tour.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Frank's last professional appearance was at the Pyramid Arts Centre, Warrington on 4 June 2010. His last personal appearance was at the Salutation pub, Higher Chatham Street, Manchester on 11 June 2010 when he launched his World Cup single, "Three Shirts on the Line".


title: Chris Sievey

text: Following Sievey's death in June 2010, a social networking campaign was launched to gain Frank his first UK hit. "Guess Who's Been on Match of the Day" entered the charts at No. 66. In December 2010, Frank Sidebottom's 1986 song "Christmas Is Really Fantastic" was re-released in an attempt to become the Christmas number one.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey's earliest television appearance was on the children's television show "TX" with an in character interview as Frank Sidebottom, shortly following the release of his first Zonophone EP. The following year, Sievey guest starred on the sixth season of British Television series "No 73", after which he, portraying Frank, would become a regular cast member for its final two seasons. Sievey would be carried over to the show's short lived spin-off, "7T3", portraying Frank in two early episodes, then, a character called Reg in the later half. Reg is one of the few examples of Chris playing a character on television not related to Frank Sidebottom.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Three years following the end of "7T3", Frank became a regular cast member on the fourth, and final, season of the children's TV series "Motormouth." After "Motormouth"s cancellation, Frank was given his own show, titled "Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show," a television programme shown in 1992 featuring Chris Sievey as fictional character Frank Sidebottom. Guests included Caroline Aherne, Phil Cornwell, Midge Ure, Gerry Anderson, the Farm, Pop Will Eat Itself, Oceanic and Keith Chegwin. The show was produced by Dave Behrens for Yorkshire Television and was shown on ITV. The show only went on for one season. Following its conclusion, Sievey became a regular cast member on the first two seasons of "What's Up Doc?". On the show, as well playing Frank, Sievey would also portray Mr. Fantastico, removed after the first season, and Life with the Amoebas.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Frank's television appearances would lessen, not attaching himself as a regular cast of anything, but making occasional appearances.


title: Chris Sievey

text: After retiring the character of Frank Sidebottom, Sievey became prop designer and set dresser on the fourth season of stop motion animated series, "Bob the Builder". Chris remained a crew member until the show's sixth season, but continued to work on the series' specials until 2005. In 2003, he became a writer on "Fimbles", and then, in 2004, on the British revival of the Swiss stop motion programme "Pingu".


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 2006, Sievey revived the character of Frank Sidebottom with the short lived television series, "Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show". Throughout 2007, Frank made several television appearances, before releasing his final project, "Magical Timperley Tour", a short film featuring Frank touring 100 of his friends around the characters' home town of Timperley.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey was posthumously recognized with the special judges' award at the 2011 Chortle Awards. A publicly funded statue of Frank by Colin Spofforth was unveiled on 20 October 2013 at 11:37 in Timperley village, the timing a reference to one of the character's catchphrases.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey was diagnosed with cancer in May 2010, and died at Wythenshawe Hospital on 21 June 2010 at the age of 54 after collapsing at his home in Hale, Greater Manchester. Sievey left a daughter, Asher, and two sons: Stirling and Harry (1992–2017). After it was reported that Sievey had died virtually penniless and was facing a pauper's funeral provided by state grants, a grassroots movement on various social networking websites raised £6,500 in a matter of hours. The appeal closed on Monday 28 June with a final balance of £21,631.55 from 1,632 donations.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Sievey's funeral was held on 2 July 2010 at Altrincham Crematorium. The private service was attended by more than 200 members of his family, friends and former colleagues.


title: Chris Sievey

text: On 8 July 2010, over 5,000 fans of Frank Sidebottom gathered for a party at the Castlefield Arena in Manchester to celebrate Sievey's life. The acts included Badly Drawn Boy and surviving members of Frank's Oh Blimey Big Band who played in tribute.


title: Chris Sievey

text: From 1 March to 30 April 2019, Manchester Central Library held an exhibition "Bobbins: Frank Sidebottom and Chris Sievey", which featured never-before-seen items from Sievey’s archives, from puppets to home videos to personal artefacts. The exhibition covered both Frank Sidebottom as well as Sievey's other creative endeavours.


title: Chris Sievey

text: It was announced in April 2019 that GCHQ had cracked the hidden codes and messages that Sievey had left around the borders of his Frank Sidebottom books and recordings.


title: Chris Sievey

text: On the Led Zeppelin bootleg "Bonzo's Last Stand", the back of the album has text which states, "Produced by Frank Sidebottom." While an obvious reference to the character, it also is a joking reference to Led Zeppelin guitarist/founder Jimmy Page, who produced all of their albums. He stands off to the side and at the bottom of the back cover photo.


title: Chris Sievey

text: The 2014 film "Frank" was largely inspired by the Frank Sidebottom character, telling the story of a young wannabe musician who joins a group led by the enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender). The film was written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan, and was based on Ronson's experiences playing in Sievey's Oh Blimey Big Band. Although drawing from Ronson's memoir, the story is set in contemporary Ireland and America, and the Frank character combines elements of Sievey with Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart.


title: Chris Sievey

text: In 2014, a feature-length documentary about the life and art of Chris Sievey, entitled "Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story" was announced and was released in March 2019. It is directed by Steve Sullivan, and was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The film documents Sievey's entire life, including his band The Freshies and his creation of the Frank Sidebottom character, and features interviews with many of Chris Sievey's family and colleagues with exclusive access to Chris' own personal archive of home movies, diaries, notebooks, props and costumes.


title: Chris Sievey

text: Jon Ronson, who worked with Sievey, published "" in 2014, a memoir of his time in the Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band.


title: Chris Sievey

text: A biography of Chris Sievey was written by Manchester author Mick Middles, and was published in November 2014.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The National Council of the Slovak Republic (), abbreviated to "NR SR", is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation with seats distributed via Hagenbach-Bischoff quota every four years.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: Slovakia's parliament has been called the 'National Council' since 1 October 1992. From 1969 to 1992, its predecessor, the parliament of the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia, was called the Slovak National Council ().


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The National Council approves domestic legislation, constitutional laws, and the annual budget. Its consent is required to ratify international treaties, and is responsible for approving military operations. It also elects individuals to some positions in the executive and judiciary, as specified by law.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The parliament building is in Bratislava, Slovakia's capital, next to Bratislava Castle in Alexander Dubček Square.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic is Slovakia's sole constitutional and legislative body. It considers and approves the constitution, constitutional amendments, and other legislation. It approves the state budget. It elects some officials specified by law, as well as justices of the Constitutional Court and the prosecutor general. Prior to their ratification, the parliament also should approve all important international treaties. Moreover, it gives consent for dispatching of military forces outside of Slovakia's territory and for the presence of foreign military forces on the territory of the Slovak Republic.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The parliament may vote only if a majority of all its members (76) are present. To pass a decision, the approval of a simple majority of all MPs present is required. Almost all legal acts can be adopted by this relative majority. An absolute majority (76 votes) is required to pass a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet or its members, or to elect and recall the Council's speaker or the deputy speakers. A qualified majority of 3/5 of all deputies (at least 90 votes) is required for the adoption of a constitution or a constitutional statute.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The length of the bars underneath represents each party's electoral performance. The difference in the total width of the bars is due to the election threshold of 5%; this threshold prevents a varying number of small parties from entering the National Council (most notably, after the 1994 election).


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: Members of the parliament are elected directly for a 4-year term, under the proportional system. Although the suffrage is universal, only a citizen who has the right to vote, has attained 18 years of age and has permanent residency in the Slovak Republic is eligible to be elected. Similarly to the Netherlands and Israel, the whole country forms one multi-member constituency. The election threshold is 5%. Voters may indicate their preferences within the semi-open list. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2020.


title: National Council (Slovakia)

text: The main parliament building is situated next to the Bratislava Castle on the castle hill. The building is insufficiently large to accommodate all officials and representatives. This is because it was built during the Czechoslovak period as a building for the Federal Parliament, which usually met in Prague. The secondary parliament building, which was the main building until 1994, is situated next to the Trinitarian Church below the castle hill in Bratislava.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Agalychnis callidryas, commonly known as the red-eyed tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is native to forests from Central America to north-western South America. This species is known for its bright coloration, namely its vibrant green body with blue and yellow stripes on the side. It has a white underside, brightly red and orange colored feet, and is named after its distinctive bright red eyes.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: "Agalychnis callidryas" is an arboreal frog with long limbs and webbed toes. They mate and reproduce near ponds, and are therefore found in lowland wet areas found in tropical forests.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Like all the frogs in its genus, they are nocturnal and do most of their hunting for insects at night. The males of this species are smaller than the females, and they display non-random mating patterns which suggest female choice for specific types of male.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Despite its bright coloration, the red-eyed tree frog is not poisonous. Its bright coloration can thus be more attributed to camouflage amongst the greenery of the surrounding jungle, as well as the “startle reflex,” which it can use to dissuade predators. During the day, the frog uses its green back to camouflage amongst the leaves, this camouflage being its only defense. If disturbed, the frog flashes its bright red eyes, which may startle predators and allow the frog to escape.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Along with its visual appearance, phenotypic plasticity in hatching is another interesting feature of "A. callidryas". If faced with the vibrational cues associated with predators, "A. callidryas" embryos may hatch early and fall into the water to escape predation. This response is extremely specific, and mostly occurs only at vibrational patterns associated with predators. These frogs have a distinct temperature requirement and need a body of water to reproduce, and are thus only found in humid lowlands and rainforests of South and Central America.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: "Agalychnis callidryas" is an easily recognizable species due to its colorful appearance. In terms of size, males reach about 2 inches while females grow to 3 inches and are the larger of the two. Adult individuals are distinctively colored, with bright green bodies, light blue or cream colored bellies, and blue and yellow stripes along their sides. Their feet are bright orange and have suction cups which help them adhere to the bottom of leaves where they spend most of their time. Their skin is smooth with little to no bumps, another feature which helps the frog blend into their leafy surroundings. An impressive feature is their bright red colored eyes with vertical slits. They do not have a true eyelid, but rather a nictitating membrane that allows light to enter the eye so that they will awaken when predators are approaching.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: The frog's coloration is representative of “flash coloration.” Flash coloration describes when an organism displays certain colors at rest compared to when in motion. In the red-eyed tree frog’s case, the frog’s startling red eyes are hidden when its eyes are closed allowing it to blend in with leaves. When the frog is startled, it can flash its bright red eyes, orange webbed feet, and blue and yellow lateral stripes, which all serve the purpose of startling predators and allowing the frog time to escape. Although the frog is brightly colored, this does not confer toxicity or aposematism like it may in related tree frog species.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Though the main coloring of "Agalychnis callidryas" is consistent, there are some variations in morphs across the geographical range of the species. Red-eyed tree frogs have variation in the color of their side stripes, which in Costa Rica and Panama specifically includes blue, blue/red, orange and purple. There are several hypotheses for the reason behind the existence of these color morphs. One strong hypothesis is that the existence of orange and purple morphs in Costa Rica are caused by isolation by distance, because the orange and purple morphs were not genetically distinct groups. It is possible that color patterns have been affected by different selective pressures, and that the existence of some morphs are due to genetic drift.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: As a species of tree frog, "Agalychnis callidryas" has a claw shaped terminal phalanx. Other synapomorphies of this genus include the presence of a red hue on the iris and a golden reticulated palpebral membrane.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: "Agalychnis callidryas" is native to Central America, from northeastern Honduras to northern Colombia.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Its natural habitats include inland forests and wetlands, both tropical and mountainous areas where there is forest cover and water nearby. Ponds or bodies of water are essential in its reproduction so they are always found near these areas. The red-eyed tree frog is commonly found in tropical rainforests in the previously listed countries. The frog is primarily arboreal, and prefers hiding in canopy cover amongst leaves. "Agalychnis" "callidryas" require high humidity levels of at least 80%.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Adult red-eyed tree frogs are primarily carnivores, eating crickets, moths, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects. Occasionally, they also eat smaller amphibians. Tadpoles eat plants, algae, plankton, bacteria, and carrion. After metamorphosis, froglets begin consuming small insects like fruit flies and pinhead crickets. A study on carotenoids consumption has shown they play an important role in development, phenotype, and fecundity. There is a critical window after metamorphosis where carotenoids improve female growth rate and fecundity, and lead to a redder skin in both sexes. Carotenoids are important nutrients for wild red-eyed tree frogs and especially for captive red-eyed tree frogs, who sometimes suffer skin pigmentation degradation due to an inadequate diet.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Red-eyed tree frogs mate seasonally, specifically in the rainy season during the months of October to March. Males attract females by croaking and wrestle with each other in male-male competition in order to gain access to females for reproduction. Females latch on to the underside of a leaf using the suction cup like structures on their webbed feet, and the female must hold on to the leaf while males compete and wrestle nearby. The winning male and female will then participate in amplexus, and the female will lay eggs on the underside of the leaf as they are fertilized by the male. The eggs typically hatch within 6 to 7 days if left undisturbed. This process occurs above or very close to a body of water, because tadpoles which hatch from the eggs will drop into water from the leaf. Eggs will hatch early if their survival is threatened, in a process called phenotypic plasticity. The female chooses a leaf above a pond or large puddle on which to lay her clutch of roughly 40 eggs. Since oviposition generally occurs on both sides of a leaf, red-eyed tree frogs may fold the leaf to hide the eggs from predators. They also produce sticky jelly to glue the eggs together; this may protect the eggs from splitting and dehydration.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Following fertilization, females lay clutches of about 40 eggs, and can lay multiple clutches in a single night. Since the eggs are often adhered to a leaf above water, tadpoles fall into the water below as soon as they hatch. Eggs will usually hatch 6-8 days after they have been laid, with some variation depending on geography and risk assessment through vibration. Depending on environmental conditions, the tadpoles will then stay in the water for a few weeks or months. They will change to adult colors following metamorphosis, and live for about five years in the wild.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Red-eyed tree frog embryos use natural day and night light cycles as a signal for when to hatch, and tend to hatch just after nightfall. Red-eyed tree frog eggs may hatch early (exhibiting phenotypic plasticity) when a change in the environment signals a danger to their survival. Dragonflies, fish, and water beetles prey on the tadpoles. The tadpoles remain in the water from three weeks to several months, until they metamorphose into frogs. The time of metamorphosis depends on duration of larval stage, which varies depending on environment. After metamorphosis, the color of tadpoles' torsos changes from green to brown, and their eyes, which are initially yellow, turn into deep red without much side patterning. These changes mark maturity. The lifespan of red-eyed tree frogs is about five years.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Red-eyed tree frogs females are typically choosy about which males they mate with. Females will choose mates based on visual and auditory clues, mainly the male frogs’ croaking calls as well as their size and flank stripe. Females are likely to choose males with “local” flank stripes and call patterns, meaning that male frogs from nearby areas are selected for in mating. Call and stripe patterns are considered simultaneously by females in this situation.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Size plays a role in mate choice for red-eyed tree frogs as well. Often larger males are more successful in amplexus compared to smaller males. However, size-assortative mating also plays a role and larger females are more likely to pair with proportionally large males and vice versa for small females and males. This is so the male can successfully fertilize the female’s eggs during amplexus.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: During the mating season, the male frogs shake the branches where they are sitting to improve their chances of finding a mate by keeping rivals at bay. This is the first evidence that tree-dwelling vertebrates use vibration to communicate. When rainfall is at its highest, a male red-eyed tree frog calls "chack" to get the attention of the female. Females use the call, as well as color (specifically, the stripped sides) of the male frog, in order to find a possible mate. Both the call and color of the male frog show territorial display, and anti-predatory behavior. During amplexus, the female carries the male on her back for several hours during the oviposition process. Because of external egg fertilization, there is still risk of competition even after a female has selected a mate. There is not sperm priority in "Agalychnis callidryas," and so a single clutch of eggs may have been fertilized by multiple males"."


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Red-eyed tree frogs' embryos exhibit phenotypic plasticity, hatching early in response to disturbance to protect themselves. Though embryos are bred synchronously, they normally hatch after 6 to 10 days from oviposition without disturbance. However, a simultaneously early hatching in entire clutches is triggered when embryos are exposed to their predators or threatening environmental changes such as rainstorm and flood. Early hatching has also been linked with egg dehydration, hatching earlier in dry egg clutches than in wet ones.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Hatching early is an important defense to predators, but is also a risky strategy for embryos because early hatching increases predation risk in water. Therefore, to maximize the benefits of this strategy embryos must only hatch when they are truly at risk by a predator. Studies show that this strategy is multifaceted and a specific combination of vibrational pulse duration and inter-pulse intervals is needed in order for embryos to exhibit this response. This combination of pulse duration and inter-pulse intervals is thought to be specific to the embryo predators, thus ensuring the response only occurs when absolutely necessary to ensure survival.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: Predators are the major cause of this response. Since these frogs usually lay eggs on both the upper and the undersides of leaves above ponds, clutches need to protect themselves against arboreal, aerial and aquatic predators, such as snakes, dragonflies, fish, monkeys, and pathogenic fungi. When predators are close enough to produce detectable vibration, the embryos assess disturbance. After a few seconds, embryos vigorously hatch out into tadpoles and spread out to escape. Since eggs are usually laid above ponds, the response improves survival because tadpoles often fall into water on hatching. Hatching direction also has implications on embryo survival. Embryos often hatch and fall into the water, but hatching direction may also be influenced by light. A study found that A. callidryas embryos hatch towards light, suggesting they use light and dark as directional cues to determine hatching direction.


title: Agalychnis callidryas

text: As of 2016, the red-eyed tree frog is classified as being of least concern because while the population is decreasing, it is classified as least concerned because of its tolerance to habitat modification, wide distribution, and presumably large population. Though it is of least concern, the species faces challenges due to habitat loss from deforestation, residential development, and pollution.


title: Self-pollination

text: Self-pollination is a form of pollination in which pollen from the same plant arrives at the stigma of a flower (in flowering plants) or at the ovule (in gymnosperms). There are two types of self-pollination: in autogamy, pollen is transferred to the stigma of the same flower; in geitonogamy, pollen is transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower on the same flowering plant, or from microsporangium to ovule within a single (monoecious) gymnosperm. Some plants have mechanisms that ensure autogamy, such as flowers that do not open (cleistogamy), or stamens that move to come into contact with the stigma. The term selfing that is often used as a synonym, is not limited to self-pollination, but also applies to other types of self-fertilization.


title: Self-pollination

text: Few plants self-pollinate without the aid of pollen vectors (such as wind or insects). The mechanism is seen most often in some legumes such as peanuts. In another legume, soybeans, the flowers open and remain receptive to insect cross pollination during the day. If this is not accomplished, the flowers self-pollinate as they are closing. Among other plants that can self-pollinate are many kinds of orchids, peas, sunflowers and tridax. Most of the self-pollinating plants have small, relatively inconspicuous flowers that shed pollen directly onto the stigma, sometimes even before the bud opens. Self-pollinated plants expend less energy in the production of pollinator attractants and can grow in areas where the kinds of insects or other animals that might visit them are absent or very scarce—as in the Arctic or at high elevations.


title: Self-pollination

text: Self-pollination limits the variety of progeny and may depress plant vigor. However, self-pollination can be advantageous, allowing plants to spread beyond the range of suitable pollinators or produce offspring in areas where pollinator populations have been greatly reduced or are naturally variable.


title: Self-pollination

text: Pollination can also be accomplished by cross-pollination. Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen, by wind or animals such as insects and birds, from the anther to the stigma of flowers on separate plants.


title: Self-pollination

text: Both hermaphrodite and monoecious species have the potential for self-pollination leading to self-fertilization unless there is a mechanism to avoid it. 80% of all flowering plants are hermaphroditic, meaning they contain both sexes in the same flower, while 5 percent of plant species are monoecious. The remaining 15% would therefore be dioecious (each plant unisexual). Plants that self-pollinate include several types of orchids, and sunflowers. Dandelions are capable of self-pollination as well as cross-pollination.


title: Self-pollination

text: There are several advantages for self-pollinating flowers. Firstly, if a given genotype is well-suited for an environment, self-pollination helps to keep this trait stable in the species. Not being dependent on pollinating agents allows self-pollination to occur when bees and wind are nowhere to be found. Self-pollination or cross pollination can be an advantage when the number of flowers is small or they are widely spaced. During self-pollination, the pollen grains are not transmitted from one flower to another. As a result, there is less wastage of pollen. Also, self-pollinating plants do not depend on external carriers. They also cannot make changes in their characters and so the features of a species can be maintained with purity.


title: Self-pollination

text: Self-pollination also helps to preserve parental characters as the gametes from the same flower are evolved. It is not necessary for flowers to produce nectar, scent, or to be colourful in order to attract pollinators.


title: Self-pollination

text: The disadvantages of self-pollination come from a lack of variation that allows no adaptation to the changing environment or potential pathogen attack. Self-pollination can lead to inbreeding depression caused by expression of deleterious recessive mutations, or to the reduced health of the species, due to the breeding of related specimens. This is why many flowers that could potentially self-pollinate have a built-in mechanism to avoid it, or make it second choice at best. Genetic defects in self-pollinating plants cannot be eliminated by genetic recombination and offspring can only avoid inheriting the deleterious attributes through a chance mutation arising in a gamete.


title: Self-pollination

text: About 42% of flowering plants exhibit a mixed mating system in nature. In the most common kind of system, individual plants produce a single flower type and fruits may contain self-pollinated, out-crossed or a mixture of progeny types. Another mixed mating system is referred to as dimorphic cleistogamy. In this system a single plant produces both open, potentially out-crossed and closed, obligately self-pollinated cleistogamous flowers.


title: Self-pollination

text: The evolutionary shift from outcrossing to self-fertilization is one of the most common evolutionary transitions in plants. About 10-15% of flowering plants are predominantly self-fertilizing. A few well-studied examples of self-pollinating species are described below.


title: Self-pollination

text: Self-pollination in the slipper orchid "Paphiopedilum parishii" occurs when the anther changes from a solid to a liquid state and directly contacts the stigma surface without the aid of any pollinating agent.


title: Self-pollination

text: The tree-living orchid "Holcoglossum amesianum" has a type of self-pollination mechanism in which the bisexual flower turns its anther against gravity through 360° in order to insert pollen into its own stigma cavity—without the aid of any pollinating agent or medium. This type of self-pollination appears to be an adaptation to the windless, drought conditions that are present when flowering occurs, at a time when insects are scarce. Without pollinators for outcrossing, the necessity of ensuring reproductive success appears to outweigh potential adverse effects of inbreeding. Such an adaptation may be widespread among species in similar environments.


title: Self-pollination

text: Self-pollination in the Madagascan orchid "Bulbophyllum bicoloratum" occurs by virtue of a rostellum that may have regained its stigmatic function as part of the distal median stigmatic lobe.


title: Self-pollination

text: In the Chinese herb "Caulokaempferia coenobialis" a film of pollen is transported from the anther (pollen sacs) by an oily emulsion that slides sideways along the flower’s style and into the individual’s own stigma. The lateral flow of the film of pollen along the style appears to be due solely to the spreading properties of the oily emulsion and not to gravity. This strategy may have evolved to cope with a scarcity of pollinators in the extremely shady and humid habitats of "C. coenobialis".


title: Self-pollination

text: "Capsella rubella" (Red Shepard’s purse) is a self-pollinating species that became self-compatible 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, indicating that self-pollination is an evolutionary adaptation that can persist over many generations. Its out-crossing progenitor was identified as "Capsella grandiflora".


title: Self-pollination

text: "Arabidopsis thaliana" is a predominantly self-pollinating plant with an out-crossing rate in the wild estimated at less than 0.3%. A study suggested that self-pollination evolved roughly a million years ago or more.


title: Self-pollination

text: Meiosis followed by self-pollination produces little overall genetic variation. This raises the question of how meiosis in self-pollinating plants is adaptively maintained over extended periods (i.e. for roughly a million years or more, as in the case of "A. thaliana") in preference to a less complicated and less costly asexual ameiotic process for producing progeny. An adaptive benefit of meiosis that may explain its long-term maintenance in self-pollinating plants is efficient recombinational repair of DNA damage. This benefit can be realized at each generation (even when genetic variation is not produced).


title: Douglas Rain

text: Douglas James Rain (March 13, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor and narrator. Although primarily a stage actor, he is perhaps best known for his voicing of the HAL 9000 computer in the film "" (1968) and its sequel "" (1984).


title: Douglas Rain

text: Rain was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Mary, a nurse, and James Rain, a rail yard switchman, both from Glasgow, Scotland.


title: Douglas Rain

text: Rain graduated with a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1950, then studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England. He was a founding member of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1953 and was associated with it as an actor until 1998.


title: Douglas Rain

text: He performed a wide variety of theatrical roles, such as a production of "Henry V" staged in Stratford, Ontario, that was adapted for television in 1966. In 1972, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in "Vivat! Vivat Regina!"


title: Douglas Rain

text: Stanley Kubrick cast Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer for the film "" (1968) after hearing his narration of a short documentary titled "Universe" and later chose him as "the creepy voice of HAL". In the film, his voice was also sometimes processed with an electronic device called the Eltro information rate changer.


title: Douglas Rain

text: Rain reprised the role for the sequel "" (1984). He also briefly parodied it in Woody Allen's film "Sleeper," and in a sketch on "Second City Television" where Merv Griffin (played by Rick Moranis) takes his eponymous talk show into outer space.


title: Douglas Rain

text: Rain died on November 11, 2018, at the age of 90 at St. Mary's Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, Ontario of natural causes. He has three children and a grandchild.


title: College (The Sopranos)

text: "College" is the fifth episode of the first season of the HBO television drama series "The Sopranos", and originally aired on February 7, 1999. It was written by co-producer James Manos Jr. and series creator/executive producer David Chase and directed by Allen Coulter. The episode was ranked number 2 on "TV Guide"'s 2009 list of "100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time".


title: College (The Sopranos)

text: Tony takes Meadow on a trip to Maine to visit three colleges she is considering. During the drive, Tony is taken aback when she asks if he is "in the Mafia", and he denies it. When Meadow is skeptical, he admits that a portion of his income is from illegal gambling and other activities. Meadow admits that she took speed to study for her SATs but, when Tony reacts angrily, will not say where she got it. Both seem relieved by this mutual honesty on difficult topics.