who played bobby byrd in get on up

Byrd was portrayed by actor Nelsan Ellis in the 2014 James Brown bio film Get on Up.[13]

Bobby Byrd

Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 â€“ September 12, 2007) was an American R&B/soul singer, songwriter, bandleader, talent scout, record producer, and musician, who played an integral and important part in the development of soul and funk music in association with James Brown. Byrd began his career in 1952 as member of the gospel group the Gospel Starlighters, who later changed their name to the Avons in 1953 and the Five Royals in 1954, before settling with the name the Flames in 1955 prior to Brown's joining the group; their agent later changed it to The Famous Flames. Byrd was the actual founder of The Flames and is credited with the discovery of James Brown.He also claims responsibility for writing most of James Brown's hits. As group founder, and one of the longest-serving members of the group, Byrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posthumously in 2012. Byrd was also a 1998 recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award. Byrd helped to inspire the musical aspirations of James Brown, who launched his career with Byrd.

Byrd was born in Toccoa, Georgia, to a religiously devout family, where they were respected members of the church congregation and active in their neighborhood there.[1] Byrd started being active in his local church choir with the group, the Zioneers, later making a name for himself as member of the Gospel Starlighters, which included his sister Sarah. At a time when church elders disapproved of secular singing, the band members would leave their home state and perform in South Carolina as the R&B group the Avons, eventually they left gospel behind and went on as the Avons. The original group consisted of Byrd, who played piano, organ and sang lead vocals; and Nafloyd Scott, Fred Pulliam and Doyle Oglesby.

In 1952 Bobby Byrd formed and sang with a gospel group called the Gospel Starlighters. During a friendly baseball match at a juvenile prison, he met a young James Brown who was serving time there on robbery charges. Byrd befriended him and arranged for Byrd's family to oversee Brown's parole.[2] This began a personal and professional association that lasted until 1973.

Although Byrd would eventually have over twenty years as a solo performer, it is his association with Brown for which he is chiefly remembered. Contrary to belief, the group had already changed its name to the Flames when Brown asked Byrd for a spot in the group, with Brown first settling as a drummer. Eventually Brown was driven to perform as lead singer, as he felt lead vocalists got more attention from women. Byrd recognized early that Brown was unique and that it would be impossible to control him: "I didn't need him in competition, I needed him with me, that's why I worked so hard to get him over to my group." [3] In 1956, Clint Brantley signed on as the group's manager. With Johnny Terry and Nash Knox on board, the group became "The Famous Flames" and won a deal with Ralph Bass' Federal label, which was a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King label, in February 1956. Their first record, "Please, Please, Please", which Byrd said he wrote with Johnny Terry, featured a lead vocal by James Brown and was issued with the billing, "James Brown and the Famous Flames", which did not go well with the rest of the group. After three sessions, the original Flames broke up. At the final session Byrd and Brown wrote the rhythm and blues dancer "Can't Be the Same", which was one of many collaborations with Brown for which Byrd failed to gain credit.[citation needed]

The Flames without Brown changed their name to Byrd's Drops of Joy. However, they found little success; when Brown approached them to reform the Flames they agreed. At this point, The Famous Flames ceased being a vocal/instrumental group, and became a straight vocal group, since Brown had begun to employ the old J.C. Davis outfit as his road band. Original Flames members Bobby Byrd and Johnny Terry returned, and new Flames members Bobby Bennett and Baby Lloyd Stallworth were added. Along with Brown, these four men comprised the longest-lasting lineup of The Famous Flames. Original Flames guitarist Nafloyd Scott also returned and was added to the band.The rest of the original Flames faded into obscurity.

With this lineup the group would have a series of hits between 1959 and 1964 and participated on many of the albums that helped to bring R&B to a crossover audience, including the landmark million-selling 1963 live album, Live at the Apollo. Byrd and the Famous Flames also performed together on a few episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show, made a brief appearance in the film, Ski Party and upstaged headliners The Rolling Stones on the landmark 1964 rock concert/motion picture, The T.A.M.I. Show. Byrd (and fellow Famous Flame Lloyd Stallworth) were credited as songwriters on the Flames hit, "Lost Someone," though Brown was the only member who sang on the recording. Its success led Brown to record more songs on his own but the majority of his early hits were as a member of the Famous Flames including songs such as "Try Me", "I'll Go Crazy", "Bewildered", "Think", "Baby, You're Right", "I Don't Mind", "Shout and Shimmy", and "Oh Baby, Don't You Weep". As was the case with some recordings, the Famous Flames were often not credited on album covers though ironically enough on recordings in which Brown appeared by himself, the group was credited, leaving fans to erroneously believe the Famous Flames were actually Brown's backing band, instead of the singing group that they actually were. The group continued performing together until 1968 when they left over monetary issues. The last Flames-associated recording to be released was the pre-funk soul hit, "Licking Stick - Licking Stick", to which Byrd contributed vocals without the other members, who had departed before Byrd did that summer.

After two years away, Byrd reunited with Brown in 1970. He hired, on the spot and without rehearsal, Bootsy Collins, Bootsy's brother Catfish, and their band to fill in for Brown's former band after they left him before a gig. After that performance, Byrd and Brown brought the band to a studio session where they recorded the seminal funk hit, "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", which Brown and Byrd co-wrote and shared lead vocals on, though the recording was issued as a James Brown solo recording.[citation needed]

When The Famous Flames were still together, Byrd and Brown co-formed the production company, Fair Deal, to distribute The Famous Flames' recordings – and Brown's own solo recordings – to mainstream markets after years solely on the rhythm and blues circuit. This led to both Byrd and Brown's signing solo deals with Smash Records. In 1964, Byrd recorded his first solo hit, "Baby, Baby, Baby" with Anna King. A year later he had a bigger R&B hit with "We Are in Love", which reached #14. Later in the late 1960s, as Byrd and Brown together began working under the yet-to-be-named genre of funk, Byrd had a hit with "I Need Help (I Can't Do It Alone)", a refrain later repeated in some of Brown's later hits.[citation needed]

In 1971, when Brown signed with Polydor Records, he and Byrd formed the label People Records, and issued several records by other artists, including Byrd himself, who recorded the funk hit, "I Know You Got Soul". Byrd appeared onstage with Brown from 1970 until leaving his band again in 1973 due to a combination of issues, including uncredited compositions on some Brown hits, Brown's issues with singer Vicki Anderson, whom Byrd eventually married and remained with until his death, and wanting to start a family with Anderson. Though he remained in contact with Brown following this final split, this departure ended Byrd's 21-year professional association with Brown, who now went by the nickname "Godfather of Soul", after composing the soundtrack to the film, Black Caesar. Without Byrd's help, however, Brown began struggling with production of the music on People and soon began experiencing financial troubles; Brown's recording success started dwindling as Brown's other band mates left for better opportunities.[citation needed]

In 1993, Byrd recorded a solo album, On the Move, on the German record Label, Soulciety Records. After a few more live performances, Byrd decided to retire in 1996, though he occasionally re-emerged sometimes with the assistance of Brown: following Brown's parole from drug and weapons charges in 1991, he hired Byrd to join him on stage for his pay-per-view 1992 concert. Byrd would occasionally perform with Brown in some venues. They would also collaborate on the song "Killing Is Out, School Is In" from Brown's final studio album, 2002's The Next Step. At his funeral in December 2006, Byrd sung "Sex Machine" with Brown's other band mates paying homage to his late estranged friend and former performing partner.

In 2003, a few years before his death, Bobby, his wife Vicki, and Famous Flames Bobby Bennett and Lloyd Stallworth, sued lead singer James Brown and Universal Music for non-payment of royalties, stating that monies that rightfully belong to them for numerous Famous Flames hits, and Byrd's hit "I Know You Got Soul", which was sampled by numerous rappers, including Eric B. & Rakim, were sent by Universal to James Brown instead, who allegedly kept them.[4][5] The suit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations having run out. However, rapper Jay-Z, who sampled Byrd's song "I'm Not to Blame" for his recording, "U Don't Know", on his 2001 multi million-selling The Blueprint, paid Byrd 65% of the royalties for the song, allowing Byrd and his family to secure a mortgage for their home, which was worth about $250,000.

After splitting from Brown in 1973, Byrd and Vicki Anderson, who left Brown's band at the same time as Byrd, got married.[6][7] Byrd had three children with his first wife Gail, in Toccoa, Georgia; two sons, Walda and Orrin Byrd, and one daughter, Ruthie Byrd. Lolita Freeman, and Dhevin Shellshear, were from another relationship. Byrd raised Anderson's daughter Carleen, sons Bartlett Anderson, James Byrd and Anthony Byrd, and shared a daughter, Keisha Byrd. The couple remained married throughout Byrd's lifetime. Though he had moved to Cincinnati after the Famous Flames signed with Federal/King, Byrd retained residences in Georgia and after leaving Brown, settled at Loganville for the remainder of his life.

Bobby Byrd died on September 12, 2007, of cancer; he was 73 years old.[8][9][10]

Numerous songs in hip hop music have sampled Byrd-associated songs such as "I Know You Got Soul", "Think (About It)", "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Soul Power", "Make It Funky" and "I'm Not to Blame". Byrd's music has had a lasting influence on numerous soul, R&B, and hip hop artists.

For years following his departure from Brown, several history revisionists[who?] have sometimes neglected to mention Byrd's impact in Brown's career even suggesting that Brown had started out as a solo artist when the record, "Please, Please, Please" was released in 1956. In truth, however, it was actually a recording by the Famous Flames. It was, in fact, Bobby Byrd and The Famous Flames who launched Brown's career, not the other way around. Indeed, the majority of Brown's early recordings between 1956 and 1962 were not solo recordings, but as a member of the Famous Flames, which made his 1986 solo induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame controversial, as his first official solo recording was the cover of the instrumental R&B standard, "Night Train". Though the late 1961 recording, "Lost Someone", was sung by Brown alone, the song was credited as a Famous Flames recording and featured Byrd and fellow Flames member Lloyd Stallworth as co-writers, and Byrd also played organ on the recording.[citation needed]

In addition, claims made by uninformed individuals such as pop music writers and critics that the Famous Flames were a "band" or were backup musicians are also incorrect. The Famous Flames were a vocal group. Brown's backing band was a separate group known as the James Brown Orchestra (later known as The J.B.s).[11]

The early songs, most of which Byrd participated with the exception of "Try Me", featured Byrd and contributed a great deal to establishing Brown's career before he finally became a full-fledged solo artist with the release of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" in 1965. Though Brown asserted himself as the full-fledged leader, he was still just a member of the Flames until that group left him in 1968. In addition, it was Byrd who later saved Brown's career numerous times, starting with him returning to the Famous Flames at Brown's request after the group's initial breakup in 1957, helping him to coach the re-formed group, re-joining them at that point, and later hiring Bootsy and Phelps Collins to back Brown up in 1970 and who co-produced the hit recording, "Sex Machine", later helping with other artists[who?] on People Records. In the Famous Flames' Rock & Roll Hall of Fame page, Byrd is regarded as "one of the more important auxiliary figures in the career of a major artist in music history."[12]

In October 2004 Bobby Byrd's songs "I Know You Got Soul" and "Hot Pants" were featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional radio station Master Sounds 98.3. In September 2005 his song "Try It Again" appeared on the soundtrack of Indigo Prophecy.'

In 1986 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame officials announced that James Brown would be included in a list of the first nine musicians to be inducted by the organization. Due to his contributions to the industry and his influence on the R&B, Soul, and Funk Music genres, it was only fitting that Brown would be part of this initial group. However, James Brown did not meet the Hall of Fame's criteria for induction at that time which required an artist to have released their first single as a solo artist at least 25 years prior to induction. Brown's first solo release in 1965 was only 21 years before, although Brown had been active in the industry and released songs as part of The Famous Flames prior to 1965. For Brown to be inducted by the organization in 1986, inclusion of the other members of The Famous Flames was required. It's unknown as to why this oversight occurred but it's been surmised that the organization felt Brown's solo work warranted his induction at the Hall of Fame's initial ceremonies.

Brown's inclusion as a solo artist without the other Flames members was met with criticism but was not amended until recently.[14] In late 2011, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame formed a special committee to discuss several pioneering groups they felt deserved to be inducted, but were initially excluded in error, due to the impact of their lead singers, who were incorrectly inducted as solo artists. This committee's decision led to the induction of The Famous Flames and its members. This was an amending gesture which did not require nomination or voting, under the premise that they should have been inducted with Brown back in 1986, since, according to Rock Hall CEO Terry Stewart, Brown's first solo recording missed the 25-year criterion for performing musicians. Byrd, Stallworth (c. 2001), and Terry had long been deceased by this point, and Bobby Bennett, the Flames' only surviving member, accepted the honor on behalf of the group in Cleveland, on April 14, 2012.[15][16][17] Less than one year after the induction, Bennett himself died on January 18, 2013.[18]

In 2015, Bobby Byrd was nominated for a second induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The J.B.'s, a group which he actually discovered in 1970 to replace the Original James Brown Band, who left Brown in 1970 (as the Famous Flames left him in 1968) due to salary disputes.[19]

Bobby Byrd has been recognized as one of the most important, yet unsung, founders of Funk music.


what are the two chambers of the california state legislation

The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members.[1] New legislators convene each new two-year session, to organize, in the Assembly and Senate Chambers, respectively, at noon on the first Monday in December following the election.[2] After the organizational meeting, both houses are in recess until the first Monday in January, except when the first Monday is January 1 or January 1 is a Sunday, in which case they meet the following Wednesday. Aside from the recess, the legislature is in session year-round.[3]

California State Legislature

The Democratic Party currently holds a supermajority in one of the chambers of the California Legislature. The state senate currently consists of 27 Democrats and 13 Republicans, and the Assembly consists of 53 Democrats, one seat short of a supermajority, 25 Republicans and two vacancies. Except for the period from 1995 to 1996, the Assembly has been in Democratic hands since the 1970 election (even while the governor's office has gone back and forth between Republicans and Democrats). The Senate has been in Democratic hands continuously since 1970.

Since California was given official statehood by the U.S. in September 9, 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850,[4] the state capital was variously San Jose (1850–1851), Vallejo (1852–1853) and Benicia (1853–1854), until Sacramento was finally selected in 1854.

The first Californian State House was originally a hotel in San Jose owned by businessman Pierre "Don Pedro" Sainsevain and his associates.[5]

The State Legislature currently meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

Members of the Assembly are elected from 80 districts and serve two-year terms. Members of the Senate are elected from 40 districts and serve four-year terms. Twenty Senate seats are up for election at each two-year election cycle.[1]

Term limits were initially established in 1990 following the passage of Proposition 140.[3] In June 2012, voters approved Proposition 28,[6] which limits legislators to a maximum of 12 years, without regard to whether they serve those years in the State Assembly or the State Senate. Legislators first elected on or before June 5, 2012 are restricted by the previous term limits, approved in 1990, which limited legislators to three terms in the State Assembly and two terms in the State Senate.

The proceedings of the California State Legislature are briefly summarized in regularly published journals, which show votes and who proposed or withdrew what.[7] Reports produced by California executive agencies, as well as the Legislature, were published in the Appendices to the Journals from 1849 to 1970.[8] Since the 1990s, the legislature has provided a live video feed for its sessions, and has been broadcast statewide on the California Channel and local Public-access television cable TV. Due to the expense and the obvious political downside, California did not keep verbatim records of actual speeches made by members of the Assembly and Senate until the video feed began. As a result, reconstructing legislative intent outside of an act's preamble is extremely difficult in California for legislation passed before the 1990s.

Since 1993, the Legislature has hosted a web/ftp site in one form or another. The current Website contains the text of all statutes, all bills, the text of all versions of the bills, all the committee analyses of bills, all the votes on bills in committee or on the floor, and veto messages from the Governor.[9] Before then, committees occasionally published reports for significant bills, but most bills were not important enough to justify the expense of printing and distributing a report to archives and law libraries across the state. For bills lacking such a formal committee report, the only way to discover legislative intent is to access the state archives in Sacramento and manually review the files of relevant legislators, legislative committees, and the Governor's Office from the relevant time period, in the hope of finding a statement of intent and evidence that the statement actually reflected the views of several of the legislators who voted for the bill (as opposed to just one).

The most sought-after legislative committee appointments are to banking, agriculture and insurance. These are sometimes called "juice" committees, because membership in these committees often aids the campaign fundraising efforts of the committee members, because powerful lobbying groups want to donate to members of these committees.[10]

A bill is a proposal to change, repeal, or add to existing state law. An Assembly Bill (AB) is one introduced in the Assembly; a Senate Bill (SB), in the Senate.

Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house. For example, AB 16 refers to the 16th bill introduced in the Assembly. The numbering starts afresh each session. There may be one or more "extraordinary" sessions. The bill numbering starts again for each of these. For example, the third bill introduced in the Assembly for the second extraordinary session is ABX2 3. The name of the author, the legislator who introduced the bill, becomes part of the title of the bill.

The legislative procedure, is divided into distinct stages:[11]


when did red solo cups become widely used

In the 1970s, Hulseman's son, Robert Leo Hulseman, came up with the now-ubiquitous red Solo cup. The red Solo cups are made of thick, molded polystyrene. They are known for being able to withstand drops, easily stackable, and disposable while price accessible. Their characteristic red color may conceal the drinking contents.[5]

Solo Cup Company

Solo Cup Company is an American manufacturer of disposable consumer products including beverage cups, disposable plates and bowls. Solo Cup Company is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and in 2006 had sales of $2.4 billion. On May 4, 2012, Solo Cup Company was acquired by Dart Container.[1][2][3]

Leo Hulseman, a former employee of the Dixie Co. in the 1930s, created the "Solo Cup", a paper cone he made at his home and sold to bottled-water companies. He founded the Solo Cup Company in 1936, and developed other products, like wax-coated cups and the plastic Cozy Cup. The wax-coated cups were added to its lineup in the 1950s, as fountain sodas gained popularity.[citation needed]

On March 1, 2004, Solo acquired Sweetheart Cup Company for $917.2 million, in part with public debt. Sweetheart was founded by Joseph Shapiro and his four brothers, emigrants from Russia. It became the largest consumer packaging company in the world and was sold several times before being acquired by Solo Cup. Following the acquisition, Solo Cup's finances suffered, and Standard & Poor's lowered their credit rating from B to CCC+.[6] In late 2006, Solo Cup was reported to be $1.1 billion in debt.[7]

In 2005, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City added a Solo Cup Traveler's Lid to its permanent collection.[8][9][10][11][12] The lid was featured because it symbolized innovation and progress in basic product design.[13][11][14][15]

Solo Cup Company closed its longstanding facility in Highland Park, Illinois, in December 2009 and relocated to Lake Forest, Illinois.

Leo Hulseman (1898–1989) was an active polo player. His wife, Dorothy Donahoe Hulseman (1900–1988), better known by her stage name Dora Hall, was a singer whose records were given away free of charge through Solo promotions. Leo Hulseman was also the founder and owner of Premore Inc. Premore was a television production company on the Culver Studios lot for many years in the 1970s and 1980s, and later moved to North Hollywood.[16] Premore produced children's TV shows including Tony the Pony (like the later Barney & Friends) and The Clifford Avenue Kids (like Our Gang). Other programs produced at the Premore facilities included Greystone's The Real West and Candid Camera.[citation needed] Premore's television studio stage, remote truck, and post production were used for Dora Hall's shows and rented for television specials and sports. Dora Hall was most noted for and seen on the Dora Hall TV Show (1979), and she played Rose On Broadway with Frank Sinatra Jr., Donald O'Connor and Scatman Crothers. She also had a TV  special called "Once Upon a Tour". Her songs are found on Premore and Cozy Records Labels.[17] Premore Inc. was closed in 1993, four years after the death of Leo Hulseman.

Robert Leo Hulseman, son of the founder Leo Hulseman and the creator of the iconic red solo cup, served as President. Hulseman died December 21, 2016.[2][3]

Current CEO Robert M. Korzenski took over from Robert Hulseman in August 2006. Korzenski had worked for Sweetheart Cups for over 10 years.[7]

Solo Cup customers include Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Così, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Publix, and Tim Hortons, as well as many universities.

The red plastic cups are notably used in American college and university games such as beer pong and flip cup.[18][19] This usage is referenced in Toby Keith's 2011 country music song "Red Solo Cup".[20] The red party cup outsells the blue variety by a wide margin.[19] In part because of its cultural significance, many other manufacturers now procure similar looking red cups.


where does the ruby throated hummingbird go in the winter

The ruby-throated hummingbird is migratory, spending most of the winter in southern Mexico and Central America,[8] as far south as extreme western Panama,[9] the West Indies, and southern Florida. During migration, some birds embark on a nonstop 900-mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean from Panama to Gulf Coast.[8] The bird breeds throughout the eastern United States, east of the 100th meridian, and in southern Canada, particularly Ontario, in eastern and mixed deciduous and broadleaved forest.[10][11] In winter, it is seen mostly in Mexico and southern Florida.

Ruby-throated hummingbird

The ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in Central America and migrates to Eastern North America for the summer to breed. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the Mississippi River in North America.

This hummingbird is from 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in) long and has an 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in) wingspan. Weight can range from 2 to 6 g (0.071 to 0.212 oz), with males averaging 3.4 g (0.12 oz) against the slightly larger female which averages 3.8 g (0.13 oz).[2][3] Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below, with near-black wings. Their bill, at up to 2 cm (0.79 in), is long, straight, and very slender. As in all hummingbirds, the toes and feet of this species are quite small, with a middle toe of around 0.6 cm (0.24 in) and a tarsus of approximately 0.4 cm (0.16 in). The ruby-throated hummingbird can only shuffle if it wants to move along a branch, though it can scratch its head and neck with its feet.[4][5]

The species is sexually dimorphic.[6] The adult male has a gorget (throat patch) of iridescent ruby red bordered narrowly with velvety black on the upper margin and a forked black tail with a faint violet sheen. The red iridescence is highly directional and appears dull black from many angles. The female has a notched tail with outer feathers banded in green, black, and white and a white throat that may be plain or lightly marked with dusky streaks or stipples. Males are smaller than females and have slightly shorter bills. Juvenile males resemble adult females, though usually with heavier throat markings.[7] The plumage is molted once a year, beginning in late summer.

The breeding habitat is throughout most of eastern North America and the Canadian prairies, in deciduous and pine forests and forest edges, orchards, and gardens. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or a tree. Of all hummingbirds in the United States, this species has the largest breeding range.[4]

During migration southward in autumn along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, older male and female birds were better prepared for long-distance flight than first-year birds by having higher body weights and larger fuel loads.[12]

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are solitary. Adults of this species are not social, other than during courtship (which lasts a few minutes); the female also cares for her offspring. Both males and females of any age are aggressive toward other hummingbirds. They may defend territories, such as a feeding territory, attacking and chasing other hummingbirds that enter.

As part of their spring migration, portions of the population fly from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico across the Gulf of Mexico, arriving first in Florida and Louisiana.[8] This feat is impressive, as a 800 km (500 mi), non-stop flight over water would seemingly require a caloric energy that far exceeds an adult hummingbird's body weight of 3 g (0.11 oz).[8] However, researchers discovered the tiny birds can double their fat mass in preparation for their Gulf crossing[13], then expend the entire calorie reserve from fat during the 20-hour non-stop crossing when food and water are unavailable.[8][14]

Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal, with heart rates up to 1260 beats per minute, breathing rate of about 250 breaths per minute even at rest, and oxygen consumption of about 4 ml oxygen/g/hour at rest.[15] During flight, hummingbird oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is approximately 10 times higher than that seen for elite human athletes.[8]

They feed frequently while active during the day. When temperatures drop, particularly on cold nights, they may conserve energy by entering hypothermic torpor.[8]

Hummingbirds have many skeletal and flight muscle adaptations which allow great agility in flight. Muscles make up 25–30% of their body weight, and they have long, blade-like wings that, unlike the wings of other birds, connect to the body only from the shoulder joint.[16] This adaptation allows the wing to rotate almost 180°, enabling the bird to fly not only forward but backward, and to hover in mid-air, flight capabilities that are similar to insects and unique among birds.[16]

Analysis of the main wing bone, the humerus, is thought to be specifically adapted for hovering flight. Hummingbirds have a relatively short humerus with proportionally massive deltoid-pectoral muscles which permit pronounced wing supination during upstroke when hovering.[17]

A hummingbird's ability to hover is due to its small mass, high wingbeat frequency and relatively large margin of mass-specific power available for flight. Several anatomical features contribute further, including proportionally massive major flight muscles (pectoralis major and supracoracoideus) and wing anatomy that enables the bird to leave its wings extended yet turned over (supine) during the upstroke. This generates lift that supports body weight and maneuvering.[18]

Hummingbirds achieve ability to support their weight and hover from wing beats creating lift on the downstroke of a wing flap and also on the upstroke in a ratio of 75%:25%, respectively, similarly to an insect.[18][19] Hummingbirds and insects gain lift during hovering partially through inversion of their cambered wings during an upstroke.[19] During hovering, hummingbird wings beat up to 80 times per second.[20]

Nectar from flowers and flowering trees, as well as small insects and spiders, are its main food. Although hummingbirds are well known to feed on nectar, small arthropods are an important source part of protein, minerals, and vitamins in the diet of adult hummingbirds. Hummingbirds show a slight preference for red, orange, and bright pink tubular flowers as nectar sources, though flowers not adapted to hummingbird pollination (e.g., willow catkins) are also visited.[9] Their diet may also occasionally include sugar-rich tree sap taken from sapsucker wells. The birds feed from flowers using a long, extendable tongue and catch insects on the wing or glean them from flowers, leaves, bark, and spiders' webs.

Young birds are fed insects for protein since nectar is an insufficient source of protein for the growing birds.[9]

As typical for their family, ruby-throated hummingbirds are thought to be polygynous. Polyandry and polygynandry may also occur. They do not form breeding pairs, with males departing immediately after the reproductive act and females providing all parental care.[21]

Males arrive at the breeding area in the spring and establish a territory before the females arrive. When the females return, males court females that enter their territory by performing courtship displays. They perform a "dive display" rising 2.45–3.1 m (8.0–10.2 ft) above and 1.52–1.82 m (5.0–6.0 ft) to each side of the female. If the female perches, the male begins flying in very rapid horizontal arcs less than 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in front of her. If the female is receptive to the male, she may give a call and assume a solicitous posture with her tail feathers cocked and her wings drooped.[citation needed]

The nest is usually constructed on a small, downward-sloping tree limb 3.1 to 12.2 m (10 to 40 ft) feet above the ground. Favored trees are usually deciduous, such as oak, hornbeam, birch, poplar or hackberry, although pines have also been used. Nests have even been found on loops of chain, wire, and extension cords.[4] The nest is composed of bud scales, with lichen on the exterior, bound with spider's silk, and lined with fibers such as plant down (often dandelion or thistle down) and animal hair. Most nests are well camouflaged. Old nests may be occupied for several seasons, but are repaired annually.[9] As in all known hummingbird species, the female alone constructs the nest and cares for the eggs and young.

Females lay two (with a range of 1 to 3) white eggs about 12.9 mm × 8.5 mm (0.51 in × 0.33 in) in size and produce one to two broods each summer.[4] They brood the chicks over a period of 12 to 14 days, by which point they are feathered and homeothermic. The female feeds the chicks from 1 to 3 times every hour by regurgitation, usually while the female continues hovering. When they are 18 to 22 days old, the young leave the nest and make their first flight.[9]

The oldest known ruby-throated hummingbird to be banded was 9 years and 1 month of age. Almost all hummingbirds of 7 years or more in age are females, with males rarely surviving past 5 years of age. Reasons for higher mortality in males may include loss of weight during the breeding season due to the high energetic demands of defending a territory followed by energetically costly migration.[8]

A variety of animals prey on hummingbirds given the opportunity. Due to their small size, hummingbirds are vulnerable even to passerine birds and other animals which generally feed on insects. On the other hand, only very swift predators can capture them and a free-flying adult hummingbird is too nimble for most predators. Chief among their predators are the smaller, swifter raptors like sharp-shinned hawks, merlins, American kestrels and Mississippi kites as well as domestic cats, loggerhead shrikes and even greater roadrunners, all of which are likely to ambush the hummingbird while it sits or sleeps on a perch or are distracted by breeding or foraging activities. Predatory lizards and bird-eating snakes may also prey on the species, especially on its tropical wintering grounds. Even large, predatory invertebrates have preyed on ruby-throated hummingbirds, including praying mantises (which have been seen to ambush adult hummingbirds at hummingbird feeders on more than one occasion), orb-weaver spiders, and green Darners. Blue jays are common predators of nests, as are several other corvids in addition to some icterids, bats, squirrels and chipmunks.[22][23][24][25]

The vocalizations of ruby-throated hummingbirds are rapid, squeaky chirps, which are used primarily for threats. For example, males may vocalize to warn another male that has entered his territory.

During the courtship displays, the male makes a rapid tik-tik tik-tik tik-tik sound with his wings.[26] The sound is produced both during the shuttle display, at each end of the side-to-side flight. Also, the sound is made during dive displays. A second, rather faint, repeated whining sound is sometimes produced with the outer tail-feathers during the dive, as the male flies over the female, spreading and shutting the tail as he does so.

Male ruby-throated hummingbird guarding his territory from the top of a tomato stake

Brooklyn Museum - Ruby-throated Humming Bird - John J. Audubon

Female ruby-throated hummingbird, North Carolina


who played ruth in its a wonderful life

Virginia Ann Patton (born June 25, 1925)[1] is an American retired businesswoman and former actress. After appearing in several films in the early 1940s, she was cast in her most well-known role as Ruth Dakin Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946). In 1949, Patton retired from acting, with her final film credit being The Lucky Stiff (1949).

Virginia Patton

Patton was born in Cleveland, Ohio[2][3] to Marie (née Cain) and Donald Patton. She was raised in her father's hometown of Portland, Oregon,[3] where her family relocated when she was an infant.[4]

She is a niece of World War II General George S. Patton.[5] Patton graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland, and then relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she attended the University of Southern California.[6]

While a student the University of Southern California, Patton began to audition for acting parts. She collaborated in plays with screenwriter William C. deMille while in college.[6] She had several insignificant film appearances before being cast in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as Ruth Dakin Bailey, the wife of George Bailey's younger brother Harry.

Although Capra did not know Patton personally, she read the role for him and he signed her to a contract. Patton later said that she was the only girl the famous director ever signed in his whole career. Patton still gives interviews about It's a Wonderful Life. With the death of Charles Lane in July 2007, Patton, Marian Carr, Carol Coombs, and Karolyn Grimes are the only credited actors in It's a Wonderful Life still alive.[citation needed]

She made only four films after It's a Wonderful Life, including her first lead in the B-Western Black Eagle (1948).[7] She appeared in the drama The Burning Cross (1946), a film about a World War II veteran who becomes embroiled with the Ku Klux Klan upon returning to his hometown.[8]

Patton has been married to Cruse W. Moss since 1949, and gave up acting in the late 1940s to concentrate on raising a family with her husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[7] She later attended the University of Michigan.[7]


instructions not included what did maggie die of

Julie and Renee threaten Valentín's director to bully him into revealing Valentín's location, who repeatedly claims he doesn't know where the father and daughter are. Eventually he relents and states that Valentín has woken up every day not knowing if it would be the last day he would see his daughter, but the details are not revealed on-screen. Julie finds Valentín and Maggie on the beach and has surprisingly dropped her attempts to gain custody. Instead, the three enjoy time together as a family in Acapulco while in a voice-over Valentín narrates how doctors can sometimes discover a heart defect for which there is no cure and which could kill the patient any time. As Valentín and Julie sit on the beach with Maggie falling asleep in Valentín's lap, Maggie peacefully passes away, which reveals that she, not Valentín, was the one with the heart defect.

Instructions Not Included

Instructions Not Included (original Spanish title: No se aceptan devoluciones, literally Returns not accepted) is a 2013 Mexican comedy-drama film co-written, directed by, and starring Eugenio Derbez.[2][3]

Valentín Bravo had always been a rather fearful child, afraid of everything from heights to spiders. His father, Juan "Johnny" Bravo, raised him trying to make him fearless by making a tarantula walk on Valentin and throwing him off a high oceanside cliff known as La Quebrada. When his father locked Valentín in a crypt at a cemetery, Valentín began to resent his father and ran away after stating that he no longer loves him.

Valentín grows up to be Acapulco's local playboy and sleeps with every tourist that crosses his path. One day a former fling named Julie shows up at his doorstep with a baby girl, claiming that she is his daughter. Julie leaves the baby with Valentín after asking him for cab fare, but she doesn't come back. After receiving a phone call from Julie in which she says she is not prepared to raise a child, Valentín races to the airport to try to return the baby to Julie but fails to catch up to her before she boards her flight to Los Angeles.

Valentín leaves Acapulco with the baby, Maggie, and hitchhikes across Mexico toward Tijuana. After being turned back at the US border, he crosses by being smuggled in a hidden compartment in a transport truck along with numerous other Mexicans. Going only by a single photo of Julie in which a Los Angeles hotel is visible in the background, Valentín visits the hotel to track down Julie. However, when Maggie wanders to a nearby pool, Valentín ends up jumping out of a hotel presidential suite into the pool 10 stories below, rescuing his daughter. A movie director witnesses this event and hires Valentín as a stuntman — a job which Valentín accepts since he believes it is the only way he can support Maggie.

An unlikely father figure, Valentín raises Maggie for six years, giving her a happy, fun, and carefree home. Meanwhile, he also establishes himself as one of Hollywood's top stuntmen to pay the bills, with Maggie acting as his on-set coach and translator as Valentín still doesn't know any English. As Valentín raises Maggie, she forces him to grow up too in his large fears, though he does it only for her own fun. Meanwhile, during a visit to the doctor in which he receives an injection, the doctor confides in Valentín — with Maggie out of earshot — that the treatments aren't working. To hide from Maggie the fact that her mother abandoned her, Valentín writes weekly letters to Maggie from her, detailing various adventures and feats around the world to explain her absence. But Maggie wishes to meet her mother, so Valentín goes to his director, and looks for an actress to play "Julie". Before the casting is complete, Valentín gets a call from Julie saying that she is in Los Angeles and wants to meet.

Julie, now in a relationship with a woman, tries to be a part of Maggie's life again, along with her girlfriend Renee who she lives with in New York, but after a tearful departure at the airport Julie realizes she doesn't want to just see Maggie during visits and holidays. She files for custody and cites Valentín's dangerous job and lack of English skills as reasons that he is unfit to raise Maggie. Valentín's sincerity and the story of his daring ten-story jump convince the judge that he has Maggie's best interest at heart, and he awards custody to Valentin as he is the only parent she has really known. Not backing down, Julie asks for a DNA test which proves Valentín isn't the father after all. Valentín ends up losing legal custody of Maggie, but they sneak away and decide to go back to Acapulco where he reunites with his friends, although he discovers that his father died a few years ago.

One year later, ValentÃn is seen walking down the beach, with a dog but without Julie, narrating that he now understands his father's motives in wanting to prepare him for the future and give him the courage to face his fears. The film concludes with a vision of Maggie playing in heaven with her grandfather.

Instructions Not Included grossed $7,846,426 from 347 theaters in its opening weekend in the United States,[2] making it the fifth highest-grossing film of the 2013 Labor Day weekend.[4] The film "shattered box office records" and became the "highest-grossing Spanish-language film to open in North America," and by the second weekend the number of theaters showing the film doubled. As of October 2014, the film had grossed $44,467,206 in North America, making it the highest-grossing Spanish-language film and the fourth highest-grossing foreign film all time in United States, along with grossing $99,067,206 worldwide.[1]

In Mexico, the movie has a record-breaking $11,500,000 from 2,755 screens on its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing opening for a Mexican film of all time, doubling the record set by El Crimen del Padre Amaro of $5,500,000. In the second week it got around $9,350,000 to retrieve the first place, accumulating around $27,000,000 and making itself the highest-grossing Mexican film of all time by breaking the records of 2013 film Nosotros los Nobles of $26,250.000.[citation needed]

At the end of 2013, Instructions Not Included ended with a sum of $46,103,013, consolidating as the third highest-grossing movie of the year in Mexico, just below Despicable Me 2 and Iron Man 3.[5]

Joe Leydon of Variety described Instructions Not Included as "sporadically amusing but unduly protracted."[3] He also wrote: "Derbez and Peralta develop a sweetly effective chemistry in their scenes togetherÂ ... Unfortunately, the supporting players are all too often encouraged to overplay, with decidedly mixed results."[3]

In 2016, a French remake of the film titled Two Is a Family (Demain Tout Commence) was released.[citation needed] The film was directed by Hugo Gélin and stars Omar Sy in the role originally played by Derbez.


what engine does call of duty run on

The IW engine is a game engine developed by Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games for the Call of Duty series. The engine was originally based on id Tech 3 as its core, since the engine itself is proprietary with inclusion of GtkRadiant by id Software. It has been used by Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software and Sledgehammer Games.

IW engine

The engine has been distinct from the id Tech 3 engine on which it is based since Call of Duty 2 in 2005. The engine's name was not publicized until IGN was told at the E3 2009 by the studio that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would run on the "IW 4.0 engine".[1] Development of the engine and the Call of Duty games has resulted in inclusion of advanced graphical features while maintaining an average of 60 frames per second on the consoles and PC.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released using version 3.0 of the engine. This game included features such as bullet penetration, improved AI, lighting engine upgrades, particle system enhancements and many more improvements. Treyarch began using an enhanced version of the IW 3.0 engine for Call of Duty: World at War.[2] Improvements were made to the physics model and dismemberment was added. Environments also featured more destructibility and could be set alight using the flamethrower.  The flamethrower featured propagating fire and it was able to burn skin and clothes realistically. Treyarch modified the engine for their James Bond title, 007: Quantum of Solace.[3]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released using the IW 4.0 engine, the only game to do so. The IW 4.0 engine featured texture streaming technology to create much higher environmental detail without sacrificing performance. Call of Duty: Black Ops was not based on IW 4.0; rather, Treyarch further enhanced the version of IW 3.0 they had used in their previous game. This version of the engine also featured streaming technology, lighting enhancements, and support for 3D imaging. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 utilizes an improved version of the IW 4.0 engine. Improvements on the engine allow better streaming technology which allows larger regions for the game while running at a minimum of 60 frames per second.  Further improvements to the audio and lighting engines have been made in this version.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was developed using a further iteration of the IW engine.[4] Texture blending has been improved due to a new technology called "reveal mapping" which compares tones between two textures and then blends them together. Also, there have been upgrades to the lighting engine which include HDR lighting, bounce lighting, self-shadowing, intersecting shadows and various other improvements. Call of Duty: Black Ops II takes advantage of DirectX 11 video cards on the Windows version of the game. The "zombie" mode has been moved to the multiplayer portion of the engine which will allow for much more variety within this part of the game.[5]
Black Ops II was released on November 13, 2012.

Call of Duty: Ghosts features an upgraded version of the IW 5.0 seen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It is unknown at this time whether or not any engine features have been taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Since the main developer is Infinity Ward they have returned to their original engine naming system and called this iteration IW6.[6] IW6 is compatible with next-gen systems such as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 so polygon counts, texture detail and overall graphical fidelity has been increased. IW6 is also compatible with Microsoft Windows, Wii U, PS3 and Xbox 360. The IW6 engine features technology from Pixar, SubD, which increases the level of detail of models as one gets closer to them. Mark Rubin has said about the HDR lighting "We used to paint it in and cover up the cracks, but now it's all real-time".[7] Ghosts uses Iris Adjust tech which allows the player to experience from a person's point of view how their eyes would react to changes in lighting conditions realistically. Other features include new animation systems, fluid dynamics, interactive smoke, displacement mapping and dynamic multiplayer maps. Ghosts was released on November 5, 2013. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare features an unknown version of the IW engine, as the majority of it has been re-written. Advanced Warfare features a new audio engine built from the ground up. Developer Sledgehammer said they have incorporated brand new animation, physics, rendering, lighting, motion capture and facial animation systems.[8]

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's IW 7.0 features weightlessness system, game physics improvement, improved AI and improved non-player characters behaviors.