what was the amish guys name in kingpin

On a sales visit to a nearby bowling alley, Roy meets Ishmael Boorg. Roy tries to convince Ishmael to turn pro, with Roy acting as manager. Ishmael declines, explaining that he is from the local Amish community and that his bowling hobby is a secret. Roy then sees a poster in a bowling magazine advertising a $1Â million winner-take-all tournament in Reno, Nevada. Learning that Ishmael's family is about to lose their farm to the bank, Roy eventually convinces Ishmael's family to let him join Roy.

Kingpin (1996 film)

Kingpin is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly and written by Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan. Starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel and Bill Murray, it tells the story of an alcoholic ex-professional bowler (Harrelson) who becomes the manager for a promising Amish talent (Quaid). It was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[5] (as a stand-in for Scranton), Amish country, and Reno, Nevada.

Flashy young bowler Roy Munson wins the 1979 Iowa state bowling championship and leaves home to turn professional. In his professional bowling tour debut, he defeats established pro Ernie McCracken, who takes the loss poorly and seeks revenge. McCracken convinces Roy to join him in hustling a group of local amateur bowlers. When the amateurs become furious after realizing they are being conned, McCracken flees while Roy is brutally beaten and loses his hand when it is forced into the ball return, ending his career. Seventeen years later, Roy uses a prosthetic hand and is living in Scranton, Pennsylvania as an alcoholic, unsuccessful traveling salesman of bowling supplies. He is always behind on his rent and is constantly harassed by his landlady Mrs. Dumars, eventually being reduced to trade sexual favors with her for a break on his back rent.

Roy discovers that the childlike Ishmael is not aware of some of bowling's basic rules and skills. (His 270 average was because he was taught to bowl fifteen frames and not ten.) However, after some coaching, Ishmael improves. The duo earn money in various local tournaments and by hustling bowlers. Ishmael defeats a wealthy bowling enthusiast named Stanley Osmanski, but Stanley attacks the duo after discovering that the roll of cash Roy put up was fake. As the group flee Osmanski's mansion, his girlfriend Claudia, who had also been a victim of Osmanski's violence, joins them. Roy suspects Claudia has ulterior motives and is distracting Ishmael. After Roy gets in a fistfight with her, Ishmael flees. During his absence, Roy and Claudia drive on and end up back in Roy's hometown and at his childhood home, which has been abandoned ever since his father died years earlier. Roy then confesses to Claudia he never returned for his father's funeral out of shame for his failure as a pro bowler. They eventually find Ishmael and continue on to Reno.

In Reno, the group runs into McCracken, who is now a national bowling superstar. McCracken insults and makes fun of Roy and infuriates Ishmael, who attempts to punch McCracken but instead hits a wall and breaks his hand, leaving him unable to bowl. Later on, Claudia disappears with all of their money after being discovered by Stanley. Feeling distraught, Ishmael convinces Roy that they still have a chance to win $1 million if Roy bowls. Roy enters the tournament, rolling the ball with his prosthetic rubber hand. He wins his first several rounds, ending up in the televised finals against McCracken. During the final match, Ishmael's brother, who had been sent by the Boorg family, arrives and takes Ishmael back to Pennsylvania. When Roy realizes he is alone, he struggles and McCracken wins the tournament by one pin.

Afterwards, Roy has returned to his Pennsylvania apartment, and is seen pouring his liquor down the drain, when he is visited by Claudia, who explains she had disappeared with Stanley in Reno to keep him from hurting Roy and Ishmael. She made Stanley believe she was running away with McCracken and give McCracken payback off-screen, and confesses her love for Roy, offering him money Stanley earned from gambling on McCracken in the finals. Roy responds that he has already earned $500,000 in an endorsement deal for Trojan condoms based on his prosthetic rubber hand. Roy and Claudia visit Ishmael's family home. Ishmael's parents explain that Roy and Claudia told them about Ishmael's forbidden bowling career, but also about the moral strength and decency he showed during his travels. Roy tells them how Ishmael straightened out Roy and Claudia's lives, with Roy shown to have finally given up drinking. Roy pays off the Boorg family's debts with his endorsement check, and Roy and Claudia drive away together.

Professional baseball pitcher Roger Clemens appears in a cameo as the character Skidmark during the restaurant scene. Professional bowlers Parker Bohn III, Randy Pedersen and Mark Roth appear as opponents that Roy Munson defeats on his way to the final match in Reno against McCracken.

The film also features several musical acts. Jonathan Richman (who would play an even bigger musical role in the Farrelly brothers' next film There's Something About Mary) fronts the band performing in the restaurant scene, while Urge Overkill performs the national anthem at the tournament in Reno. In the film's final scene Blues Traveler perform their song "But Anyway" while dressed in traditional Amish clothing.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 50% approval rating based on 38 critics, with an average rating of 5.7 out of 10. The site's consensus, "Kingpin has its moments, but they're often offset by an eagerness to descend into vulgar mean-spiritedness."[6]

Roger Ebert had one of the more noteworthy positive reviews, giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars.[7] Gene Siskel also endorsed the film, putting it on his list of the ten best films for 1996.[8]

Nancy Gerstman mentioned the film as one of the nine most underrated films in the 1990s.[9]

The film is ranked #68 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".[10]
In 2018 Vulture.com listed it at #2 on a list of Woody Harrelson's best films.[11]

When released on DVD, Kingpin came in its original PG-13 theatrical version (113 minutes) and an extended, R-rated version (117 minutes). Both versions are available on the Blu-Ray disc issued by Paramount Pictures on October 14, 2014.

Lin Shaye attended a 1996 live airing of a Professional Bowlers Tour event in Wichita, Kansas, to both promote the film and present the winner (Jess Stayrook) with the winner's trophy and prize money. Stayrook defeated Butch Soper, who had won the first three matches.

Release date: 18 June 1996 on A&M Records


who played deacon palmer on king of queens

Victor L. Williams (born September 19, 1970) is an American actor best known as Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) best friend Deacon Palmer on The King of Queens. He has also appeared on several other hit TV shows, including Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, ER, New York Undercover, Girlfriends, Fringe and The Jamie Foxx Show.[1] In 2012, Williams was seen and heard as a pitchman for Verizon Fios television commercials.[2]

Victor Williams

Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Midwood High School, where he used his 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) height by playing power forward on the school basketball team. He went on to attend college at Binghamton University in Upstate New York. Then he received a Masters of Fine Arts degree in acting from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.[3]


when is season 2 of the returned coming out

The Returned is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Carlton Cuse as an adaptation of the 2012 French series Les Revenants, which was broadcast internationally as The Returned.
The American adapted series follows residents in a small town whose lives are disrupted when people who have been dead for many years begin reappearing. Cuse wrote the pilot episode and executive produced the series alongside Raelle Tucker. The series premiered on March 9, 2015[1] and was cancelled by A&E after one season, on June 15, 2015.[2]

The Returned (U.S. TV series)

In May 2013, it was revealed that an English-language adaptation of the 2012 series was being developed by Paul Abbott and FremantleMedia, with the working title They Came Back.[13] In September 2013, it was revealed that Abbott was no longer involved with the project, which A&E would develop.[14] In April 2014, A&E ordered 10 episodes for the first season.[15] On March 5, 2015, it was announced Netflix had acquired global rights to the show and would air it internationally each week, via its streaming service, following A&E's airing.[16]

The show, set in the fictional Cascades Mountains town of Caldwell,[17] in Caldwell County, Washington, is actually filmed in and around Squamish, British Columbia.[18]

The Returned has received mostly positive responses from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 66% approval rating, with a rating average of 7.6/10, based on reviews from 29 critics. The site's consensus states: "Though overshadowed by its superior source material, the US version of The Returned retains enough of the creep factor and character drama to appease fans of the genre."[19] Metacritic scored it 67 out of 100, based on 24 "generally favorable" reviews.[20]


did the steam engine lead to other inventions

In 1775 Watt formed an engine-building and engineering partnership with manufacturer Matthew Boulton. The partnership of Boulton & Watt became one of the most important businesses of the Industrial Revolution and served as a kind of creative technical centre for much of the British economy. The partners solved technical problems and spread the solutions to other companies. Similar firms did the same thing in other industries and were especially important in the machine tool industry. These interactions between companies were important because they reduced the amount of research time and expense that each business had to spend working with its own resources. The technological advances of the Industrial Revolution happened more quickly because firms often shared information, which they then could use to create new techniques or products.

Steam power during the Industrial Revolution

The steam engine was one of the most important technologies of the Industrial Revolution, although steam did not replace water power in importance in Britain until after the Industrial Revolution. From Englishman Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric engine, of 1712, through major developments by Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer James Watt, the steam engine began to be used in many industrial settings, not just in mining, where the first engines had been used to pump water from deep workings. Early mills had run successfully with water power, but by using a steam engine a factory could be located anywhere, not just close to water. Water power varied with the seasons and was not available at times due to freezing, floods and dry spells.

From mines to mills, steam engines found many uses in a variety of industries. The introduction of steam engines improved productivity and technology, and allowed the creation of smaller and better engines. After Richard Trevithick's development of the high-pressure engine, transport-applications became possible, and steam engines found their way into boats, railways, farms and road vehicles. Steam engines are an example of how changes brought by industrialization led to even more changes in other areas.

The development of the stationary steam engine was an essential early element of the Industrial Revolution, however it should be remembered that for most of the period of the Industrial Revolution the majority of industries still relied on wind and water power as well as horse and man-power for driving small machines.

The industrial use of steam power started with Thomas Savery in 1698. He constructed and patented in London the first engine, which he called the "Miner's Friend" since he intended it to pump water from mines. This machine used steam at 8 to 10 atmospheres (120–150 psi) and had no moving parts other than hand-operated valves. The steam once admitted into the cylinder was first condensed by an external cold water spray, thus creating a partial vacuum which drew water up through a pipe from a lower level; then valves were opened and closed and a fresh charge of steam applied directly on to the surface of the water now in the cylinder, forcing it up an outlet pipe discharging at higher level. The engine was used as a low-lift water pump in a few mines and numerous water works, but it was not a success since it was limited in pumping height and prone to boiler explosions.[1]

The first safe and successful steam power plant was introduced by Thomas Newcomen in 1712. Newcomen apparently conceived his machine quite independently of Savery, but as the latter had taken out a very wide-ranging patent, Newcomen and his associates were obliged to come to an arrangement with him, marketing the engine until 1733 under a joint patent.[2] Newcomen's engine appears to have been based on Papin's experiments carried out 30Â years earlier, and employed a piston and cylinder, one end of which was open to the atmosphere above the piston. Steam just above atmospheric pressure (all that the boiler could stand) was introduced into the lower half of the cylinder beneath the piston during the gravity-induced upstroke; the steam was then condensed by a jet of cold water injected into the steam space to produce a partial vacuum; the pressure differential between the atmosphere and the vacuum on either side of the piston displaced it downwards into the cylinder, raising the opposite end of a rocking beam to which was attached a gang of gravity-actuated reciprocating force pumps housed in the mineshaft. The engine's downward power stroke raised the pump, priming it and preparing the pumping stroke. At first the phases were controlled by hand, but within ten years an escapement mechanism had been devised worked by of a vertical plug tree suspended from the rocking beam which rendered the engine self-acting.

A number of Newcomen engines were successfully put to use in Britain for draining hitherto unworkable deep mines, with the engine on the surface; these were large machines, requiring a lot of capital to build, and produced about 5Â hp. They were extremely inefficient by modern standards, but when located where coal was cheap at pit heads, opened up a great expansion in coal mining by allowing mines to go deeper. Despite their disadvantages, Newcomen engines were reliable and easy to maintain and continued to be used in the coalfields until the early decades of the nineteenth century. By 1729, when Newcomen died, his engines had spread to France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Sweden. A total of 110 are known to have been built by 1733 when the joint patent expired, of which 14 were abroad. In the 1770s, the engineer John Smeaton built some very large examples and introduced a number of improvements. A total of 1,454 engines had been built by 1800.

A fundamental change in working principles was brought about by James Watt. With the close collaboration of Matthew Boulton, he had succeeded by 1778 in perfecting his steam engine which incorporated a series of radical improvements, notably, the use of a steam jacket around the cylinder to keep it at the temperature of the steam and, most importantly, a steam condenser chamber separate from the piston chamber. These improvements increased engine efficiency by a factor of about five, saving 75% on coal costs.

The Newcomen engine could not, at the time, be easily adapted to drive a rotating wheel, although Wasborough and Pickard did succeed in doing so in about 1780. However, by 1783 the more economical Watt steam engine had been fully developed into a double-acting rotative type with a centrifugal governor, parallel motion and flywheel which meant that it could be used to directly drive the rotary machinery of a factory or mill. Both of Watt's basic engine types were commercially very successful.

By 1800, the firm Boulton & Watt had constructed 496 engines, with 164 driving reciprocating pumps, 24 serving blast furnaces, and 308 powering mill machinery; most of the engines generated from 5 to 10 hp. An estimate of the total power that could be produced by all these engines was about 11,200 hp. This was still only a small fraction of the total power generated in Britain by waterwheels (120,000 hp) and by windmills (15,000 hp).[3] Newcomen and other steam engines generated at the same time about 24,000 hp.

The development of machine tools, such as the lathe, planing and shaping machines powered by these engines, enabled all the metal parts of the engines to be easily and accurately cut and in turn made it possible to build larger and more powerful engines.

In the early 19th century after the expiration of Watt's patent[citation needed], the steam engine underwent great increases in power due to the use of higher pressure steam which Watt had always avoided because of the danger of exploding boilers, which were in a very primitive state of development.

Until about 1800, the most common pattern of steam engine was the beam engine, built as an integral part of a stone or brick engine-house, but soon various patterns of self-contained portative engines (readily removable, but not on wheels) were developed, such as the table engine. Further decrease in size due to use of higher pressure came towards the end of the 18th Century when the Cornish engineer, Richard Trevithick and the American engineer, Oliver Evans, independently began to construct higher pressure (about 40 pounds per square inch (2.7Â atm)) engines which exhausted into the atmosphere. This allowed an engine and boiler to be combined into a single unit compact and light enough to be used on mobile road and rail locomotives and steam boats.

Trevithick was a man of versatile talents, and his activities were not confined to small applications. Trevithick developed his large Cornish boiler with an internal flue from about 1812. These were also employed when upgrading a number of Watt pumping engines, greatly increasing power and productivity; this led to the highly efficient large Cornish engines that continued to be built right up to the end of the 19th Century.

Due to the ever-increasing power demands of the 1800s, especially in manufacturing, innovations were made to existing steam engines and a number of entirely new steam engines were developed. Of these, few brought the high levels of horsepower and efficiency produced by the Corliss engine.[4] Named after its inventor, George Henry Corliss, this stationary steam engine was introduced to the world in 1849. The engine boasted a number of desired features, including fuel efficiency (lowering cost of fuel by a third or more), low maintenance costs, 30% higher rate of power production, high thermal efficiency, and the ability to operate under light, heavy, or varying loads while maintaining high velocity and constant speed.[5][6][7][8] While the engine was loosely based on existing steam engines keeping the simple piston-flywheel design, the majority of these features were brought about by the engine’s unique valves and valve gears. Unlike most engines employed during the era that were using mainly slide-valve gears, Corliss created his own system that used a wrist plate to control a number of different valves. Each cylinder was equipped with four valves, with exhaust and inlet valves at both ends of the cylinder.[9] Through a precisely tuned series of events opening and closing these valves, steam is admitted and released at a precise rate allowing for linear piston motion. This provided the engine’s most notable feature, the automatic variable cut-off mechanism.[10] This mechanism is what allowed the engine to function under varying loads without losing efficiency, stalling, or being damaged. Using a series of cam gears, which could adjust valve timing (essentially acting as a throttle), the engine’s speed and horsepower was adjusted. This proved extremely useful for most of the engine’s applications. In the textile industry, it allowed for production at much higher speeds while lowering the likelihood that threads would break.[6][11] In metallurgy, the extreme and abrupt variations of load experienced in rolling mills were also countered by the technology. These examples demonstrate that the Corliss engine was able to lead to much higher rates of production, while preventing costly damages to machinery and materials. It was referred to as “the most perfect regulation of speed.” [12]

Corliss kept a detailed record of the production, collective horsepower, and sales of his engines up until the patent expired.[12] He did this for a number of reasons, including tracking those who infringed on the patent rights, maintenance and upgrade details, and especially as data used to extend the patent. With this data, a more clear understanding of the engine’s influence is provided. By 1869, nearly 1200 engines had been sold, totaling 118,500 horsepower. Another estimated 60,000 horsepower was being utilized by engines that were created by manufacturers infringing on Corliss’s patent, bringing the total horsepower to roughly 180,000.[6] This relatively small number of engines produced 15% of the United States’ total 1.2 million horsepower.[13] The mean horsepower for all Corliss engines in 1870 was 100, while the mean for all steam engines (including Corliss engines) was 30. Some very large engines even allowed for applications as large as 1,400 horsepower. Many were convinced of the Corliss engine’s benefits, but adoption was slow due to patent protection. When Corliss was denied a patent extension in 1870, it became a prevalent model for stationary engines in the industrial sector.[6] By the end of the 19th century, the engine was already having a major influence on the manufacturing sector, where it made up only 10% of the sector’s engines, but produced 46% of the horsepower.[13] The engine also became a model of efficiency outside of the textile industry as it was used for pumping the waterways of Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1878 and by playing an essential role in the expansion of the railroad by allowing for very large-scale operations in rolling mills.[4][6] Many steam engines of the 19th century have been replaced, destroyed, or repurposed, but the longevity of the Corliss engine is apparent today in select distilleries where they are still used as a power source.[14]

Water power, the world's preceding supply of power, continued to be an essential power source even during the height of steam engine popularity.[15] The steam engine, however, provided many benefits that couldn’t be realized by relying solely on water power, allowing it to quickly become industrialised nations' dominant power source (rising from 5% to 80% of the total power in the US from 1838-1860).[16] While many consider the potential for an increase in power generated to be the dominant benefit (with the average horsepower of steam powered mills producing four times the power of water powered mills), others favor the potential for agglomeration.[17][18] Steam engines made it possible to easily work, produce, market, specialize, viably expand westward without having to worry about the less abundant presence of waterways, and live in communities that weren’t geographically isolated in proximity to rivers and streams.[6] Cities and towns were now built around factories where steam engines served as the foundation for the livelihood of many of the citizens. By promoting the agglomeration of individuals, local markets were established and often met with impressive success, cities quickly grew and were eventually urbanized, the quality of living increased as infrastructure was put in place, finer goods could be produced as acquisition of materials became less difficult and expensive, direct local competition led to higher degrees of specialization, and labor and capital were in rich supply.[5] In some counties where the establishments utilized steam power, population growths were even seen to increase.[19] These steam powered towns encouraged growth locally and on the national scale, further validating the economic importance of the steam engine.

This period of economic growth, which was ushered in by the introduction and adoption of the steamboat, was one of the greatest ever experienced in the United States. Around 1815, steamboats began to replace barges and flatboats in the transport of goods around the United States. Prior to the steamboat, rivers were generally only used in transporting goods from east to west, and from north to south as fighting the current was very difficult and often impossible.[20] Non-powered boats and rafts were assembled up-stream, would carry their cargo down stream, and would often be disassembled at the end of their journey; with their remains being used to construct homes and commercial buildings.

Following the advent of the steamboat, the United States saw an incredible growth in the transportation of goods and people, which was key in westward expansion. Prior to the steamboat, it could take between three and four months to make the passage from New Orleans to Louisville, averaging twenty miles a day.[20] With the steamboat this time was reduced drastically with trips ranging from twenty-five to thirty-five days. This was especially beneficial to farmers as their crops could now be transported elsewhere to be sold. The steamboat also allowed for increased specialization. Sugar and Cotton were shipped up north while goods like poultry, grain and pork were shipped south. Unfortunately, the steamboat also aided in the internal slave trade.[21]

With the steamboat came the need for an improved river system. The natural river system had features that either wasn't compatible with steamboat travel or was only available during certain months when rivers were higher. Some obstacles included rapids, sand bars, shallow waters and waterfalls. To overcome these natural obstacles, a network of canals, locks and dams were constructed. This increased demand for labor spurred tremendous job growth along the rivers.[22]

The economic benefits of the steamboat extended far beyond the construction of the ships themselves, and the goods they transported. These ships led directly to growth in the coal and insurance industries, along with creating demand for repair facilities along the rivers.[23] Additionally the demand for goods in general increased as the steamboat made transport to new destinations both wide reaching and efficient.

After the first steamboat was invented and achieved a number of successful trials, it was quickly adopted and led to an even quicker change in the way of water transport. In 1814, the city of New Orleans recorded 21 steamboat arrivals, but over the course of the following 20 years that number exploded to more than 1200. The steamboatâ€™s role as a major transportation source was secured.[24] The transport sector saw enormous growth following the steam engine's application, leading to major innovations in canals, steamboats, and railroads. The steamboat and canal system revolutionized trade of the United States. As the steamboats gained popularity, enthusiasm grew for the building of canals. In 1816, the US had only 100 miles of canals. This needed to change, however, as the potential increase in traded goods from east to west convinced many that canals were a necessary connection between the Mississippi-Ohio waterways with the Great Lakes.

The use of steam engines on railroads proved to be extraordinary in the fact that now you could have large amounts of goods and raw materials delivered to cities and factories alike. Trains could deliver these to places far away at a fraction of the cost traveling by wagon. Railroad tracks, which were already in use in mines and various other situations, became the new means of transportation after the first locomotive was invented.


monty python funniest joke in the world english translation

The German translation of the joke in the sketch is made of various meaningless, German-sounding nonce words, and so it does not have an English translation.

The Funniest Joke in the World

"The Funniest Joke in the World" is the title most frequently used for written references[citation needed] to a Monty Python's Flying Circus comedy sketch, which is also known by two other phrases that appear within it, "Joke Warfare" and "Killer Joke", the latter being the most commonly spoken title used to refer to it.[citation needed] The premise of the sketch is that the joke is so funny that anyone who reads or hears it promptly dies from laughter.

The sketch appeared in the first episode of the television show Monty Python's Flying Circus ("Whither Canada"), first shown on 5 October 1969.[1]

The sketch is framed in a documentary style, and opens with Ernest Scribbler (Michael Palin), a British "writer of jokes", creating the funniest joke in the world only to die laughing. His mother (Eric Idle) finds what she believes to be a suicide note, reads it and also immediately dies laughing. A brave Scotland Yard inspector (Graham Chapman) attempts to retrieve the joke, with the playing of very sombre music on gramophone records and the chanting of laments by fellow policemen to create a depressing mood. The inspector leaves the flat with the joke but also dies from laughter.

The British Army wish to determine "the military potential of the Killer Joke."[2] They test the joke on a rifleman (Terry Jones), who snickers and falls dead on the range. They then translate it into German, with each translator working on only one word of the joke for their own safety (one translator saw two words of the joke and had to be hospitalised). The German translation[note 1] is used for the first time on 8 July 1944 in the Ardennes, causing German soldiers to fall down dead from laughter:

Wenn ist das NunstÃ¼ck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput![2]

The German version is described as being "over 60,000 times as powerful as Britain's great pre-war joke"[2] (at this point a newsreel of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain appears on screen). The joke is then used in open warfare, with Tommies running through an open field amid artillery fire shouting the joke at the Germans, who die laughing in response. Afterward, a German field hospital is shown with uncontrollably laughing German soldiers in blood-stained bandages, being attended to by medics with stoppered ears.

In a subsequent scene, a British officer from the Joke Brigade (Palin) has been taken prisoner and is being interrogated by Gestapo officers. The British officer uses the joke to escape as his German captors die laughing, with one German officer (Cleese) uttering a Woody Woodpecker-style laugh before expiring.

The Germans attempt counter-jokes. For example, film is shown of Adolf Hitler supposedly saying "My dog has no nose," then a German soldier asking "How does he smell?", with Hitler replying "Awful!" Eventually their best "V-joke" (in reference to the V-1 flying bomb) is attempted on a radio broadcast: "Der ver zwei peanuts, valking down der strasse, und von vas assaulted...peanut."[2] Although the joke is followed triumphantly by the German anthem Deutschland über alles, the attack is ineffective.

The British joke is said to have been laid to rest when "Peace broke out" at the end of the war, and countries agree to a Joke Warfare ban at the Geneva Convention.[2] In 1950, the last copy of the joke is sealed under a monument in the Berkshire countryside bearing the inscription "To the Unknown Joke". Thus, the English version of the joke is never revealed to the audience.

The footage of Adolf Hitler is taken from Leni Riefenstahl's film Triumph of the Will. The section (about 34 minutes into the film) where Konstantin Hierl presents the Reich Labor Corps to Hitler is the source of the speech used for the joke. The first clip shows Hitler saying Inbesondere keiner mehr in Deutschland leben wird... ("In particular, no one will live in Germany anymore [without working for their country]"), subtitled "My dog has no nose". In the film, the camera cuts briefly away from Hitler; the punchline of the joke is the next shot that shows Hitler's face: "Awful". The original words are eure Schule, from "[The whole nation will go through] your school". "How does he smell?" is from a scene just before Hitler's speech; the original German is Wir sind des Reiches junge Mannschaft!, "We are the Reich's young men!"[3]

Robert W. Chambers's 1895 short story collection The King in Yellow has a recurring motif of a play (named "The King in Yellow") which causes all who read it to go mad.

Mark Twain's story "A Literary Nightmare" (also published as "Punch, Brothers, Punch!") tells of a jingle so catchy that, upon hearing it, the listener cannot stop repeating it until it is passed on to someone else.

The earliest known version referring to deadly jokes is in Lord Dunsany's 1916 story "The Three Infernal Jokes", published in the collection Tales of Wonder.[citation needed]

The 1943 war-time story "Nothing But Gingerbread Left", written decades before by science fiction writer Henry Kuttner, has a very close premise. Rather than a joke, a marching song (in German) is used as a weapon against the German soldiers. Engineered by American linguists, it is by design such a catchy song that the soldiers cannot stop singing it, and eventually they can think of nothing else. At the climax, Adolf Hitler is ready to deliver a critically important speech, but begins chanting the marching song.[4]

A story that ran for several weeks in the Sunday comics of Li'l Abner during 1967 concerned the creation of a joke, never actually revealed, that was so funny that anyone who heard it immediately died laughing. For safety reasons, government agents somehow decided to keep the joke hidden in the protective custody of Abner Yokum. Meanwhile, comedian Bob Hope learns of the existence of this "Funniest Joke in the World", but not about its deadly effects, and decides that he wants to recite it on his next television show. He procures the joke from Abner, and the government agents learn of this development too late to prevent him from reading it on national television. It turns out, however, that before Bob Hope obtained the joke from him, Abner had read the joke, not understood it, and substituted his own favourite joke. It is this joke that Bob Hope reads on the air, to no harmful effect whatsoever.[citation needed]

The sketch was later remade in a shorter version for the film And Now for Something Completely Different. It is also available on the CD-ROM video game version of the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.[citation needed]


when did the song wake me up come out

"Wake Me Up" is a song by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii, released as the lead single from his debut studio album True, released on CD and cassette by PRMD Music, Lava Records and Sony Music's Columbia Records on 17 June 2013. "Wake Me Up" was written by Avicii, Mike Einziger, and Aloe Blacc. American soul singer Aloe Blacc provides vocals for the track[2][3] and Mike Einziger of Incubus provides acoustic guitar. Avicii introduced "Wake Me Up!" for the first time live on stage at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The experimental rendering (it was accompanied by a live band with instruments and vocalists, including Blacc, Einziger and Incubus members Ben Kenney on bass and José Pasillas on drums)[4] reportedly confused and angered a section of the electronic dance festival community.[5][6] Subsequently, Avicii achieved critical and commercial success with the release of the single worldwide.

Wake Me Up (Avicii song)

"Wake Me Up" peaked at number one in much of Europe and charted well in various countries. The song has been described as a "summer anthem"[7] by Variance Magazine and, throughout the 2013 festival season, Avicii included it as part of the opening or closing sequence of his sets at EDC Las Vegas, EDC London, Tomorrowland, Creamfields, Electric Zoo and the iTunes Festival.[8] Due to the success of the song, Blacc later released an acoustic version of "Wake Me Up" in his solo EP Wake Me Up. It was also released as a promotional stand-alone single on Interscope Records, made available online for downloads via iTunes. A separate music video was also made. The Blacc single also charted in its own right in various charts.

In an interview with the Daily Star, Avicii, who had previously labelled "Wake Me Up!" as "a fun experiment" during an exclusive chat with MTV UK,[9] said: "I had a demo with Mac Davis singing, the guy who wrote some songs that were covered by Elvis Presley, but I needed another singer to do the parts. At the same time I was tipped off about doing another track with Aloe Blacc, and I started working on that track. When I was with Mike Einziger from Incubus, we came up with the chord progression and the melody for 'Wake Me Up!' but [with] no real lyrics. None of us [could] sing and we really needed to get that demo down and the only person I knew that lived in LA was Aloe, so I called him and he was free. Lyrics come really easy to him so he wrote them in a couple of hours and we finished the track."[2][10]

Aloe Blacc, who is not credited on the track, explained to The Huffington Post: "I started writing the lyrics at the top of 2013, travelling back from Switzerland. I started in hip hop music back in the 90s and I never expected to be singing and have an actual career as a musician, but I'm travelling all over the world and I thought 'Life is a dream, wake me up when it's all over'. I was invited to the studio with Avicii and Mike Einziger from Incubus, and when I got to the studio they had already come up with a chord progression of the song. I came in with the lyrics and I just developed the melody as I heard the chords, and we all thought it was something very strong. We finished the song that night as an acoustic version, then Avicii made the dance mix in a couple of days, and that's what we released to the world, and that was his release." Blacc later released an acoustic version[11] of the song which was included on his solo EP Wake Me Up. It was also released as a promotional stand-alone single by Interscope Records and made available online for download via iTunes. The single also charted in its right in various charts.

"Wake Me Up" is a folktronica song,[12][13] blending elements of EDM, soul and country music.[14] Musically, it is written in the key of B minor and runs at 124 beats per minute (BPM). It follows a chord progression of Bm/G/D/A â€“ Bm/G/D/F#.[15]

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, stating:

"As chart-friendly EDM continues to reach the furthest corners of the globe, staying ahead of the pack can prove a tricky task â€“ especially when more and more acts arrive on the scene turning out mixes with identikit build-ups, tired lyrics and uninspired breakdowns that newcomers to the arena lap up with excitement. Kudos to Avicii then, who has dared to try something a little different for his latest offering. "So wake me up when it's all over/ When I'm wiser and I'm older," featured artist Aloe Blacc sings over dialled-up, country-flecked guitar strums that sound like Mumford & Sons on speed. The jig-along chorus may conjure up images of Brits-on-tour, but to be honest, what summer anthem doesn't?".[16]

The single has peaked at number one in 22 countries to date, including Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Ireland,[17] the United Kingdom and several European countries, in addition to reaching the top 10 in six others. The song is also the most searched on the app Shazam with more than 23 million in February of 2018. [18]

The song debuted at number 42 on 24 June. On the next week, the song skyrocketed to number 2, behind "Blurred Lines". The number position became Avicii's highest charting song, beating "I Could Be the One" record which peaked at number four earlier in the year. It also beat Blacc's 2011 hit, "I Need a Dollar", which peaked at number 11. A week later, the song hit the top position, ending "Blurred Lines" eight-week reign. On its sixth week at the top, 12 August, the song became the longest-running number one by a Swedish act since Roxette's 1989 hit "The Look".[19]

"Wake Me Up" spent seven consecutive weeks at number one.[20]

"Wake Me Up!" has performed well in the North American music markets, having peaked in Canada and the United States at number two and number four, respectively.  In the United States, "Wake Me Up!" was kept off the top three by Katy Perry's "Roar", Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball", and Lorde's "Royals". It spent 21 weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, and 53 weeks overall, making it the first Dance/Electronic song to stay over a year on that chart. It also reached number one position in the 7 September 2013 issue of Billboard's Dance/Mix Show Airplay Chart.[21]  In Canada it was the second best-selling song of 2013 with 519,000 copies sold (523,000 for all versions combined).[22]  It is the first dance/electronic song to sell over 4 million copies in the U.S.,[23] and as of August 2015 it has sold over 4,060,000 copies.[24]

In July 2013, "Wake Me Up" entered at the number one on the UK Singles Chart, selling 88,000 copies in its first day [25] and 267,000 in its first week, becoming Britain's fastest-selling single of 2013.[26] Following three weeks at number one, "Wake Me Up" spent a further four consecutive weeks at number two, and a total of 11 consecutive weeks in the top ten. The single spent 32 consecutive weeks in the top 40, before exiting.[27] By October 2013, the single had sold over 1 million copies in the UK, becoming the 140th single to do so in UK chart history and the third single of 2013 to do so.[28] "Wake Me Up" was also the fifth most streamed track of 2013 in the UK.[29] The song also spent nine consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Dance Chart until being replaced by Avicii's next single "You Make Me".

Swiss singer Sebalter performed a version as his cover song choice during the Swiss national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

Glee's character Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) sang a slower version in the series season 5 on the episode "The Back-up Plan".

Croatian cello duo 2Cellos released a cover version on YouTube on 6 January 2015. As of June 2018, the video has been viewed over 35 million times.[30] It is included on their album Celloverse.

K-pop group Lunafly recorded a version of "Wake Me Up" in 2013.[31]

"Wake Me Up" is a playable song in Dance Dance Revolution A.

A lyric video to accompany the release of "Wake Me Up" was first released on YouTube 28 June 2013, at a total length of four minutes and thirty two seconds, and teaser clips for the official video were also released.

The official video for "Wake Me Up" was released a month after the lyric video on 29 July 2013. It was directed by celebrity photographer Mark Seliger & co-directed & edited by CB "Barney" Miller (former guitarist for 1980's pop band Miller Miller Miller & Sloan). It features two females: the older girl is Russian fashion model Kristina Romanova, and the younger girl is Laneya Grace. It depicts them and how they are different from the people in their village. One morning, Kristina gets up early and rides off on a horse to a nearby city. She notices a woman with the Avicii logo birthmark like the one on her lower arm. They meet others and then jump into a truck and are then shown to be attending an Avicii concert. The next morning, Kristina rides back on the horse to Laneya. The video ends with them walking down the highway and shots from the concert and the staring villagers from the beginning. The video includes product placement from Denim & Supply by Ralph Lauren and Sony Xperia Z smartphone. The video was shot in the Santa Clara River orange groves and in the town of Piru, California, west of Los Angeles, as well as Downtown LA. Avicii concert footage was from Miami.[32] As of June 2018, this video has been viewed on Avicii's official YouTube channel over 1.6 billion times,[33] making it the 34th most viewed video on the site. Avicii collaborated with the YouTube channel Yo Mama to produce the official music video for the single on his AVICII by AVICII album.[34]It was directed by Zachary James and Alex Negrete[35]

Digital download â€” remixes[36]

Digital download â€” remixes[37]

Digital download â€” remixes (part 2)[38][39]

Adapted from CD single and BMI website.[41][42]

*sales figures based on certification alone^shipments figures based on certification alonesales+streaming figures based on certification alone

On 30 September 2013, Blacc released his own acoustic version of the song. The track appeared in the Wake Me Up EP as track number two in the 5-track EP.

Blacc's version "Wake Me Up" was made available through the following formats:

"Wake Me Up (Acoustic)" by Aloe Blacc was released as a promotional stand-alone single on Interscope Records and made available online for downloads via iTunes.

"Wake Me Up" music video

In October 2013, Blacc released the music video for "Wake Me Up". Blacc collaborated with the immigrant rights group National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the ABC* Foundation's Healing Power of Music Initiative. The director is Alex Rivera. The cast were real life immigrant activists: Hareth Andrade Ayala (a Virginia leader in the immigrant youth movement working to stop her own father's deportation), Agustin Chiprez Alvarez (a Los Angeles day laborer), and Margarita Reyes (who was deported with her mother as a child despite being born in the US).[146][147]

On Aloe Blacc album

The track also appears on Aloe Blacc's full studio album Lift Your Spirit.

On compilation albums

"Wake Me Up" was covered in the style of country music 2013 by Canadian country singer Tebey featuring Canadian country band Emerson Drive.[157] This version was released to digital retailers via TebeyMusic on 27 November 2013 as the third single from the former's second studio album, Two (2014) before impacting radio in January 2014.[158][159] The song was released in the US on 28 January 2014 through The Talent Associates.[160] It has been well received by Canadian country radio, peaking at No. 5 on the Canada Country airplay chart. The song is also included on Tebey's 2016 EP, Old School.[161]

"Wake Me Up", as performed by Tebey and Emerson Drive, entered the Canadian Hot 100 at No. 63 for the week ending 1 February 2014.[162] It peaked at No. 56 for the week ending 29 March 2014, which position it held for one chart week.[163]

In the United Kingdom, the original release date was intended to be 8 September 2013.[166] In the absence of the original, a group called "Spark Productions" took advantage and released a cover version of it; this version reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart[167] before Avicii conceded to public demand and decided to release it early, with the Official Charts Company announcing on 15 July 2013 that it would be released that week.[168]

A cover of the song in Irish was uploaded onto YouTube on 9 August 2013, by an Irish Language College called 'ColÃ¡iste Lurgan'. The video received heavy publicity and popularity within Ireland from many news websites and the public. The video was a viral hit within the country and with Irish abroad, hitting a million views in one week.[169][170][171]

British band You Me at Six made a country version for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[172] James Shotwel commented that their cover "will be pulling at your heart strings all day long. The once fun-loving track has taken a turn for the melancholy, but it plays so well you'll hardly think twice about the change."[173]

In November 2013, British singer-songwriter Pixie Lott covered "Wake Me Up" live at the Pool Studios in London.[174]

Also in November 2013, Russian folk-metal band Russkaja covered "Wake Me Up" on their 2013 EP "Barada".[175]

In December 2013, The X Factor finalist Daniel Evans released a mellow Rhodes-based version on his YouTube channel. It was also released as part of his 2013 album, Wicked Game.

In January 2014, Scottish ensemble Red Hot Chilli Pipers performed an acoustic rendition with bagpipes on BBC Radio 1.[176][177]

Irish singer Derek Ryan did a Country and Irish version of the song in his 2014 album The Entertainer â€“ Live accompanied with a music video of footage from his performances.[178]
Swedish band, Dirty Loops, covered the song on their album Loopified.

Christian rock band Skillet began performing a shortened cover of the song at some of their live shows starting in 2015.

The Norwegian acoustic-pop supergroup Stavangerkameratene covered the song as a translated single called "Vekk meg opp" (Wake Me Up), released 11 March 2016.[179]

Jessica Mauboy covered the song on her 2016 album, The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series. It reached number 34 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.[180]

Performed by Gareth Malone's All Star Choir, the song was released as the official BBC Children in Need single for 2014.[181]

Choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone has previously had chart success after putting together non-singers and turning them into a cohesive choir. In 2011, he guided the Military Wives – a group of women with partners serving overseas in the army – to Christmas number one with the song "Wherever You Are". In 2012, in collaboration with Gary Barlow, Malone produced the song "Sing", as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, with the Commonwealth Band being joined by the Military Wives.

Malone was chosen to create the official Children in Need single for 2014, and his efforts were captured in a two-part series, Gareth Malone's All Star Choir, which aired on 3 November and 10 November. The BBC press release said that Malone would "bring together an array of untrained voices from the world of television sport and theatre" for the single.[182]

The celebrities that make up the All Star Choir are Margaret Alphonsi, Jo Brand, Radzi Chinyanganya, John Craven, Mel Giedroyc,  Nitin Ganatra, Larry Lamb, Alice Levine, Fabrice Muamba, Craig Revel Horwood, Linda Robson and Alison Steadman.

Gareth Malone went on numerous television and radio shows to promote the song, including some presented by celebrities who feature on the record. This included spots on Loose Women, Blue Peter, The One Show and Alice Levine's afternoon show on Radio 1.

CD Single (Decca)

Digital Download (Decca)

After its release on 9 November, the song was placed at number 1 on the midweek Official Chart Update on Radio 1, ahead of "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran and Cheryl's "I Don't Care", which was number one the previous weekend.[183]


where did red eye gravy get its name

Red-eye gravy's name comes from its distinct appearance. Prepared traditionally, with coffee and grease combined in the final step (see Preparation below), a heterogeneous mixture forms with the water-based coffee sinking to the bottom and the oil-based grease forming the top layer. In a round bowl the mixture looks much like a red human eye.[1] Use of red pepper enhances the redness of the appearance.

Red-eye gravy

Red-eye gravy is a thin sauce often seen in the cuisine of the Southern United States and associated with the country ham of that region. Other names for this sauce include poor man's gravy, bird-eye gravy, bottom sop, cedar gravy, and red ham gravy. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried (or sometimes baked) sausage, country ham, bacon, or other pork, sometimes mixed with black coffee. The same drippings, when mixed with flour, make the flavoring for Sawmill gravy. Red-eye gravy is often served over ham, cornbread, fried potatoes, grits, or biscuits.

A common practice is to dip the inner sides of a split biscuit into the gravy in order to add flavor and keep the biscuit from being too dry when a piece of country ham is added between the two halves, sometimes called the Southern "ham biscuit". (The Appalachian ham biscuit is simply a biscuit with country ham.) Another popular way to serve red-eye gravy, especially in parts of Alabama, is with mustard or ketchup mixed in with the gravy. Biscuits are then dipped in the gravy (often termed "sopped" in Southern English).

In Louisiana, Cajun cuisine-style gravy is made with a roast beef instead of ham. Black coffee is always used, and it is frequently a strongly brewed coffee substitute made from chicory. The gravy is ladled over the meat on a bed of rice, staining the rice a dark brown color. Often, French bread and some kind of beans are also served as a side, like butter beans, lima beans, or peas.

Another variation is to use water with a bit of butter and season with red (cayenne) pepper.[citation needed]

Less traditional preparation techniques do not always result in the "red eye" appearance, leading to folk legends surrounding the origin of the name. For instance, one story is that former United States President Andrew Jackson requested ham with gravy as red as his cook's eyes, which were bloodshot from drinking the night before,[2] or that the black coffee in the gravy will keep people awake.[3]

After a ham has been cooked, the grease is removed from the pan. Black coffee is then used to deglaze the pan. The coffee and grease are then poured into the same container in a one-to-one ratio.

Other recipes exist, using water instead of coffee, or adding coffee with grease still present in the pan. When the coffee is added to the grease in this manner, a homogeneous mixture may result that lacks the "red eye" appearance.

Florida Crackers referred to tomato gravy as red-eye gravy, and prepare it in much the same way by adding flour and tomatoes to bacon grease. This is served with fried catfish or other fish.


where was the movie open range shot at

The movie was filmed on location on the Stoney Indian Reserve in Alberta, Canada.[2] Clayton Lefthand of the Stoney Sioux First Nation worked as a film liaison.[citation needed]

Open Range (2003 film)

Open Range is a 2003 American western film directed and co-produced by Kevin Costner, starring Robert Duvall and Costner, with Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, and Michael Jeter appearing in supporting roles. The film was the final on-screen appearance of Jeter, who died before it was released, and the film was dedicated to Jeter's memory, as well as to Costner's parents, Bill and Sharon.

The film was a box office success and was critically favored.

In Montana in 1882, "Boss" Spearman is an open range cattleman, who, with hired hands Charley, Mose, and Button, is driving a herd cross country. Charley is a former soldier who fought in the Civil War and feels guilty over his past as a killer.

Boss sends Mose to the nearby town of Harmonville for supplies. The town is controlled by a ruthless Irish immigrant land baron, Denton Baxter, who hates open-rangers. Mose is badly beaten and jailed by the marshal, Poole. The only friendly inhabitant is Percy, a livery stable owner.

Boss and Charley become concerned when Mose does not return. They retrieve him from the jail but not before getting a warning from Baxter about free-grazing on his land. Mose's injuries are so severe that Boss and Charley take him to Doc Barlow. There they meet Sue Barlow. Charley is attracted immediately, but assumes that Sue is the doctor's wife.

After catching masked riders scouting their cattle, Boss and Charley sneak up on their campfire in the night, and disarm them. At the same time, another attack results in Mose's death. Button is badly injured and left for dead. Charley and Boss vow to avenge this injustice. They leave Button at the doctor's house and go into town, where they lock Poole in his own jail. Boss knocks him out with chloroform he has stolen from the doctor's office. The deputies are locked up as well.

Charley learns that Sue is the doctor's sister, not his wife. He declares his feelings for her, and she gives him a locket for luck. Charley leaves a note with Percy, in which he states that if he should die, money from the sale of his saddle and gear are to be used to buy Sue a new tea set, having accidentally destroyed her previous set during a "flashback" episode.

Boss and Charley are pitted against Baxter and his men. Charley shoots Butler, the gunman who shot Button and killed Mose. An intense gun battle erupts in the street, with Boss, Charley and Percy outnumbered before the townspeople begin to openly fight against Baxter. After an intense firefight, Baxter's men are dead and Baxter ends up wounded and alone, trapped in the jailhouse. Boss rushes to the jail, mortally wounding Baxter.

Sue's brother tends to the wounded townspeople and open-rangers. Charley speaks to Sue in private, telling her he must leave. She counters that she has a "big idea" about their future together and that she will wait for him to return. He does return, and proposes to Sue. Charley and Boss decide to give up the cattle business and settle down in Harmonville, taking over the saloon.

Kevin Costner grew up reading the western romance novels of Lauran Paine and Open Range is based on Paine's 1990 novel The Open Range Men. Screenwriter Craig Storper wanted to make a movie about "the evolution of violence in the West." Storper continues: "These characters don't seek violence... But the notion that it's sometimes necessary... is the Western's most fundamental ideal."[1]

Robert Duvall was the only actor that Costner had in mind for the role of Boss Spearman. Costner said that if Duvall had turned down the part, he might not have made the movie at all. Duvall accepted the role immediately, and Costner gave him top billing. Duvall got bucked off a horse and broke six ribs while practicing his riding for this role.[1]

Cinematographer J. Michael Muro, was hand-picked[citation needed] by director Kevin Costner for his work on Dances With Wolves.

Filming took place from June 17, 2002 to September 8, 2002.[3] Production spent over one million dollars to build a town from scratch because Costner didn't like any of the existing ones. This location was so far from civilization that they had to spend $40,000 to build a road to get there. Professional cowboys handled 225 head of cattle on the set.[1]

The film's US theatrical release was on August 11, 2003, and went on theatrical release in the UK on March 19, 2004.

Open Range was a success at the box office, making $14 million in its opening weekend in the U.S across 2,075 screens. Against a budget of $22 million it finished its theatrical run with $58.3 million in North America and $10 million from foreign markets for a total of $68.3 million worldwide.[4]

The film received mostly positive reviews, receiving a 79% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "an imperfect but deeply involving and beautifully made Western".[5] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, writing, "Duvall gives his best performance in ages" in a "tough, muscular, satisfying movie".[6]

In particular, the gun fighting scenes were intentionally filmed in giant wide shots and were praised for their intense realism by a number of critics and yet were the reason the film earned an R Rating. Kevin Carr of FilmThreat.com said on the gun action in Open Range: "After The Matrix redefined action in the late 1990s, every crummy action sequence tries to repeat the power of 'bullet time' often with little success. The action in Open Range is filmed real time, grabbing the audience and showing them that when this kind of stuff happens in real life, it happens faster than you think it would."[7] A review on Moviola stated that the film has "one of the most exciting final gunfights ever filmed".[8] IGN, USA Today, Total Film and Guns & Ammo all also say the shootout scene is one of the best of all time.[1]

The film won the 2004 Western Heritage Award, and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award, an MTV Movie Award (Diego Luna), a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award as well as a Taurus Award for stunt artist Chad Camilleri. It was #48 in TimeOut London's "The 50 greatest westerns" list.[9]


who was the first danish king to rule england

In 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard, already the king of Denmark and of Norway, overthrew King Æthelred the Unready of the House of Wessex. Sweyn had first invaded England in 1003 to avenge the death of his sister Gunhilde and many other Danes in the St. Brice's Day massacre, which had been ordered by Æthelred in 1002.

House of Knýtlinga

The Danish House of KnÃ½tlinga (English: "House of Cnut's Descendants") was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's father Sweyn Forkbeard, grandfather Harald Bluetooth, and sons Harthacnut, Harold Harefoot, and Svein Knutsson. It has also been called the House of Canute, the House of Denmark, the House of Gorm, or the Jelling dynasty.

In 1018 AD the House of Knýtlinga brought the crowns of Denmark and England together under a personal union. At the height of its power, in the years 1028–1030, the House reigned over Denmark, England and Norway. After the death of Cnut the Great's heirs within a decade of his own death and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the legacy of the Knýtlinga was largely lost to history.

The House of KnÃ½tlinga ruled the Kingdom of England from 1013 to 1014 and from 1016 to 1042.

Sweyn died in 1014 and Æthelred was restored. However, in 1015 Sweyn's son, Cnut the Great, invaded England. After Æthelred died in April 1016, his son Edmund Ironside briefly became king, but was forced to surrender half of England to Cnut. After Edmund died in November that same year, Cnut became king of all England.

Although Cnut was already married to Ælfgifu of Northampton, he married Æthelred's widow, Emma of Normandy. He ruled until his death in 1035. After his death another of Æthelred's sons, Alfred Aetheling, tried to retake the English throne, but he was betrayed and captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who supported Cnut's son, Harold Harefoot. Alfred was blinded, and died soon after.

Harold ruled until 1040, although his mother Ã†lfgifu may have ruled during part of his reign.[1] Harold initially shared England with his half brother Harthacnut, the son of Cnut and Emma. Harold ruled in Mercia and Northumbria, and Harthacnut ruled in Wessex. However Harthacnut was also king of Denmark (as Cnut III), and spent most of his time there, so that Harold was effectively sole ruler of England.

Harthacnut succeeded Harold as king of England (he is sometimes also known as Cnut II). He died two years later, and his half-brother Edward the Confessor became king. Edward was the son of Ã†thelred and Emma, and so with his succession to the throne the House of Wessex was restored.

Edward the Confessor ruled until 1066. His brother in law, Harold Godwinson—the son of Alfred's betrayer—became king, provoking the Norman conquest of England in the same year. Harold II was the last Anglo-Saxon king to rule over England.

In 1085â€“86 King Cnut IV of Denmark planned one last Danish invasion of England, but he was assassinated by Danish rebels before he could carry it out. This was the last time the Vikings attempted to attack Western Europe, and Cnut's death is regarded as the end of the Viking Age.

The parentage of Strut-Harald and Gunnhild Konungamóðir is disputed; both of them had issue. The existence of Gunhild of Wenden and Sigrid the Haughty is disputed, some details of their lives can be exchanged to each other or associated to another figures.


what happens at the end of northern lights

Lyra, Iorek, and Roger continue onwards to Svalbard, where Asriel has continued his Dust research in exile. He tells Lyra all he knows of Dust: that it has spawned parallel universes, it is somehow connected to death and misery, and that the Church believes it is the physical basis of sin. He plans to visit the other universes and destroy the source of Dust. Suddenly, he severs Roger from his dÃ¦mon, killing Roger but releasing an enormous amount of energy that tears a hole in the Northern Lights to a parallel universe, through which he walks. Because Asriel believes Dust is a force of evil, the devastated Lyra decides that perhaps it is really a force of good. Vowing to stop her father, she and Pantalaimon pass through the opening in the sky.

Northern Lights (novel)

Northern Lights (known as The Golden Compass in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published by Scholastic UK in 1995. Set in a parallel universe, it features the journey of Lyra Belacqua to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, Roger Parslow, and her imprisoned uncle, Lord Asriel, who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance known as "Dust".

Northern Lights  is the first book of a trilogy, His Dark Materials (1995 to 2000).[1] Alfred A. Knopf published the first US edition April 1996, entitled The Golden Compass.[1][3] Under that title it has been adapted as a 2007 feature film by Hollywood and as a companion video game.

Pullman won the 1995 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding British children's book.[4] For the 70th anniversary of the Medal, it was named one of the top ten winning works by a panel, composing the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite.[5] Northern Lights won the public vote from that shortlist and was thus named the all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" on 21 June 2007.

The novel is set in a world dominated by an international theocracy, the Magisterium (also commonly called "the Church"), which actively suppresses heresy. In this world, humans' souls naturally exist outside of their bodies in the form of sentient "dæmons", talking animal spirits that constantly accompany, aid, and comfort their humans. Children's dæmons can freely and instantaneously change their appearance into that of any real or mythical creature; once people reach puberty, however, their dæmons settle into one permanent form.

12-year-old Lyra Belacqua runs wild with her dÃ¦mon Pantalaimon around Jordan College, Oxford, under the guardianship of the college's Master. One day, she witnesses the Master poison wine intended for Lord Asriel, Lyra's rebellious and adventuring uncle. She warns Asriel not to drink the wine, then spies on his lecture about "Dust", mysterious elementary particles attracted to adults more than children. Asriel shows the college scholars images of a parallel universe seen through the Northern Lights amidst a concentration of Dust. The scholars agree to fund his controversial research, which is considered heretical by the oppressive Church.

Lyra's friend Roger goes missing, presumed kidnapped by mysterious child abductors called "Gobblers". Mrs Coulter, a charming socialite, adopts Lyra. Before Lyra leaves Jordan, the Master secretly entrusts her with an alethiometer, a strange truth-telling device, which she quickly learns to use intuitively. After several weeks, Lyra discovers that Coulter is the head of the Gobblers, or "General Oblation Board", a secret Church-funded project. Horrified, Lyra flees to the Gyptians, canal-faring nomads, many of whose children have also been abducted. They reveal to Lyra that Asriel and Coulter are her parents.

The Gyptians form an expedition to the Arctic with Lyra, where they believe the Gobblers are holding their children. They stop in Trollesund, where Lyra meets Iorek Byrnison, the dispossessed royal heir of the panserbjørne (armoured bears). Lyra uses her alethiometer to locate Iorek's missing armour; in return, he and his human aeronaut friend, Lee Scoresby, join her group. She also learns that Lord Asriel has been exiled, guarded by the panserbjørne on Svalbard. Trollesund's witch consul tells the Gyptians of a prophecy about Lyra which she must not know, and that the witch clans are choosing sides for an upcoming war.

The search party continues towards Bolvangar, the Gobbler research station. Guided by the alethiometer, Lyra detours at a village and discovers an abandoned child who has been cut from his dæmon and who soon dies. She realises the Gobblers are experimenting on children by severing the bond between human and dæmon, a soul-splitting process called intercision. Lyra and her companions are attacked by bounty hunters, and Lyra is captured and taken to Bolvangar, where she is briefly reunited with Roger before being sent to be separated from Pantalaimon. Just before this can occur, Coulter arrives and halts the intercision process. She tells Lyra that intercision prevents the onset of troubling adult emotions, though it has not yet been perfected.

Lyra activates Bolvangar's emergency alarm, sets the station on fire, and evacuates the children, where they are rescued by Scoresby, Iorek, the Gyptians, and the witch clan of Serafina Pekkala, who battle the station attendants as Lyra, Roger, and Iorek flee in Scoresby's hot air balloon. Lyra directs the witches to tow the balloon towards Asriel in Svalbard, but she falls out and is taken by the panserbjÃ¸rne to the castle of their usurping king, Iofur Raknison. She tricks Iofur into fighting Iorek, who arrives with the others to rescue Lyra. Iorek kills Iofur and regains his place as the rightful king.

All humans in Northern Lights, as well as witches, have a dæmon (pronounced "demon"), which is the physical manifestation of a person's "inner being", soul, or spirit. It takes the form of a creature (moth, bird, dog, monkey, snake, etc.) and is usually the opposite sex to its human counterpart. The dæmons of children have the ability to change form - from one creature to another - but towards the end of a child's puberty, their dæmon "settles" into a permanent form, which reflects the person's personality. When a person dies, the dæmon dies too. Armoured bears, cliff ghasts and other creatures do not have dæmons. An armoured bear's armour is his soul.

Left: God wielding the golden compasses, by William Blake. Right: Jesus as Geometer in a 13th-century medieval illuminated manuscript of unknown authorship.

During pre-publication of the novel, the prospective trilogy was known in Britain as The Golden Compasses, an allusion to God's poetic delineation of the world. The term is from a line in Milton's Paradise Lost,[6] where it denotes the drafting compass God used to establish and set a circular boundary of all creation:

Then staid the fervid wheels, and in his hand
He took the golden compasses, prepared
In God's eternal store, to circumscribe
This universe, and all created things:
One foot he centred, and the other turned
Round through the vast profundity obscure

— Book 7, lines 224–229

In the US, publisher Knopf had been calling the first book The Golden Compass (singular), which it mistakenly understood as a reference to Lyra's alethiometer (depicted on the front cover shown at the head of this article), because of the device's resemblance to a navigational compass. By the time Pullman had replaced The Golden Compasses with His Dark Materials as the name of the trilogy, the US publisher had become so attached to the original title that it insisted on publishing the first book as The Golden Compass rather than as Northern Lights, the title used in Britain and Australia.[6]

For Northern Lights Pullman won both the annual Carnegie Medal for British children's books[4] and the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a similar award that authors may not win twice.[7] Six books have won both awards in 45 years through 2011.[a]

In the US, The Golden Compass was named Booklist Editors Choice – Top of the List, Publishers Weekly Book of the Year, a Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book, and a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book.[citation needed]

Some critics have asserted that the trilogy and the movie portray the organised churches and religion negatively,[8][9] while others - notably Dr Rowan Williams, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury - have argued that Pullman's works should be included in religious-education courses.[10] Peter Hitchens views the series His Dark Materials as a direct rebuttal of The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.[11] Literary critic Alan Jacobs of Wheaton College in Illinois suggests that Pullman recasts the Narnia series, replacing a theist world-view with a Rousseauist one.[12]

A feature film adaptation of the novel, named The Golden Compass, was released in December 2007. The novel was adapted by Chris Weitz, who also directed the film. Dakota Blue Richards, in her film debut, played Lyra. The cast included Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Ian McKellen, Sam Elliott, Derek Jacobi, and Christopher Lee.

In 1996, Natasha Richardson narrated an audiobook version of Northern Lights. The trilogy, His Dark Materials, was abridged in a dramatisation by BBC Worldwide, published on 1 January 2003. It was also adapted unabridged and released by BBC Audiobooks, narrated by Philip Pullman. The cast includes Joanna Wyatt as Lyra, Alison Dowling as Mrs Coulter, Seán Barrett as Lord Asriel and Iorek Byrnison and Stephen Thorne as the Master and Farder Coram.

The National Theatre in London staged a two-part adaptation of the trilogy in 2003â€“2004.

A video game of the movie adaptation of the book, titled The Golden Compass, published by Sega and developed by Shiny Entertainment, was released 4 December 2007. Players assume the role of Lyra as she travels through the frozen wastes of the North in an attempt to rescue her friend kidnapped by a mysterious organisation known as the Gobblers. Travelling with her are an armoured polar bear and her dÃ¦mon Pantalaimon (Pan). Together, they must use a truth-telling alethiometer and other items to explore the land and fight their way through confrontations to help Lyra's friend. The Golden Compass features a mix of fighting and puzzle solving with three characters.[13]

In November 2015 BBC announced that it would be making a new 8-part TV series adaptation of the book series, with Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema producing.[14] Dafne Keen will play Lyra and Tom Hooper will direct, with Jack Thorne as writer.[15]