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Barack Hussein Obama

2012-04-06T18:58:10Z

ScottW:

{{Officeholder
|name=Barack Hussein Obama
|image=President Barack Obama.jpg
|party=[[Democratic Party]]
|spouse=[[Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama]]
|religion= Christian
|offices=
{{Officeholder/president
|country=the United States
|number=44th
|terms=January 20, 2009-Present
|vp=[[Joe Biden]]
|preceded=[[George W. Bush]]
|former=n
|succeeded=
}}
{{Officeholder/senator
|state=Illinois
|terms=January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
|preceded=Peter Fitzgerald
|former=y
|succeeded=[[Roland Burris]]
}}
}}

'''Barack Hussein Obama II''' also known by the alias '''Barry Soetoro''' during his time in [[Indonesia]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQPXVJuT2vY Barry Soetoro the muslim - YouTube]</ref><ref>[[Barack Obama's Muslim Heritage]]</ref> (born August 4, 1961 in [[Hawaii]]) was elected the 44th President of the [[United States]] and the controversial recipient of the 2009 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]]. Overcoming a short political career, Obama defeated [[Republican]] nominee [[John McCain]] for the presidency in 2008, campaigning on promises of "hope" and "change". In effect, that change has been an embrace of [[socialism]] and [[liberal]] policies. Barack Obama has been widely criticized by the American [[business]] community and others for his anti-business policies that are killing American jobs during a period of high unemployment.<ref>
*[http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2010/07/16/obamas-anti-business-policies-are-our-economic-katrina Obama's Anti-business Policies are our Economic Katrina]
*[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/619dvjlm.asp An Anti-Business President]
*[http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/08/small-businesses-are-not-hiring-why.html Small Businesses are not hiring. Why should they?]
*[http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/02/dear_mr_president_why_we_are_n.html Dear Mr. President: Why we are not hiring]
</ref> Trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] indicates that [[Obama administration]]'s response to the the failed American economy is more war and the creation of misleading [[economics|economic]] statistics.<ref>[http://www.opednews.com/articles/Washington-s-Response-to-a-by-paul-craig-roberts-110728-724.html Washington's response to the failed economy: More war]</ref>

Under President Obama's mismanagement of the economy, the United States Government's credit rating has, for the first time in its history, been downgraded from AAA to AA+, and [[poverty]]<ref>http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/pov09fig04.pdf</ref> has increased markedly. By and large his policies to combat the recession, unemployment, slow growth, the deficit, and expanding [[national debt]], have failed.<ref>"The vast majority (73%) of respondents reported the fiscal stimulus enacted in February 2009 has had no impact on employment to date. While 68% also believe a jobs bill, such as the one recently enacted into law, will have no impact on payrolls, 30% do believe it will boost payrolls moderately". ''Industry Survey'', National Association for Business Economics, April 2010, [http://www.nabe.com/press/ind1004.pdf p. 2 pdf].</ref> Also on the domestic front, Obama passed an expensive [[health care]] bill in 2009 with no [[bipartisan]] support and 34 Democrats dissenting.

Fatalities in Afghanistan have more than doubled under Obama's leadership then in the preceding eight years combined, according to the Congressional Research Service <ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41084.pdf (pg. 3 pdf)]</ref>. Against his own Defense Secretary's advice, Obama [[Libyan uprising 2011|attacked Libya]] - a possible violation of the [[War Powers Act]]. After he announced the killing of [[September 11th]] mastermind and terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]], the [[U.S. State Department]] warned of the increased risk to the lives and safety of Americans around the world.<ref>http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8273909</ref> Bin Laden's death had negligible long term impact on Obama's approval ratings, as seen in Gallup's daily poll.<ref>http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/gallup-daily-obama-job-approval.aspx</ref>

[[Gerald Celente]] one of America's finest trend forecasters, he predicted the fall of communism when liberals thought it would last forever and predicted the 2008 financial collapse when liberals thought everything was just fine. Calente says that if Barack Obama is reelected the economy will further crumble, leading to mass homelessness, food riots and turning our cities into disaster zones where kidnapping and ransom are the biggest industries. Real Americans, fed up with big government may revolt, but it at that point it may be too late. Around the world the situation will be even worse, with the "blackest of plagues" running rampant. <ref>http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/01/26/090126fa_fact_mcgrath</ref>
==Early life==
:''Main article : [[Early life and career of Barack Hussein Obama]]''
:''See also : [[Barack Obama's Muslim Heritage]]''
Obama claims to have been born in Hawaii to Stanley Ann Dunham and [[Barack Obama Sr.]] - who had married just six months prior - on August 4, 1961 in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. This story is likely a complete fabrication. After many leading conservatives including the leadership of this site and brilliant business man [[Donald Trump]] AKA "The Donald" called for Obama to release his birth certificate he did on April 27. However most experts have determined to be a fake and no legal body has determined its authenticity. Another [[American Hero]] Sheriff [[Joe Arpaio]] of Phoenix, AZ conducted a criminal investigation of the Obama's eligibility which found that the "birth certificate" was a fake. This means Obama is not actually president.
The couple divorced in 1964. Barack Obama Sr. was not a [[Natural born citizen|citizen of the United States]]. Dunham remarried Lolo Soetoro, an [[Indonesia]]n student. When Obama was six, Soetoro returned to Indonesia, and Dunham and Obama followed.<ref name="db mother">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-03/a-singular-woman-by-janny-scott-review-by-stacy-schiff/#|work=The Daily Beast|format=HTML|language=English|title=Dreams of His Mother|author=Stacy Schiff}}</ref> He spent four years in Indonesia before returning to Hawaii to be raised by his grandparents, Madelyn and WW2 veteran Stanley Armour Dunham. He would later attend Occidental College, [[Columbia University]] and then [[Harvard University]] for law school, where he would become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

==Illinois State Senate career==
[[File:O-2002-antiwar-rally-davidson.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Obama speaking at the October 2002 rally in Chicago organized by [[Carl Davidson]].<ref>Davidson is a longtime [[Mao]]ist and champion of the ''Thought of Mao Tse Tung.'' Davidson's anti-Trotskyite polemic, [http://www.wengewang.org/read.php?tid=10925 ''Left in Form, Right in Essence''] defends Maoist doctrine. Retrieved from 对当代托洛茨基主义的批判：英文论集百花齐放 - 中国文革研究网, March 15, 2010.</ref> ''"[H]e is a brutal man who butchers his own people,"'' nevertheless Obama opposed ''"dumb wars".'']]

In 1995 Obama openly sought and obtained the endorsement of the [[Marxist]] [[New Party]] in his quest to be elected to the Illinois State Senate.<ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7434 NEW PARTY (NP)], discoverthenetwork.org.</ref><ref>Rick Moran. [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/06/obamas_alliance_with_marxists.html Obama's Alliance with Marxists], ''American Thinker'', June 03, 2008.</ref> He became the [[Democrat]] nominee and ran unopposed to win the election. Obama entered the Illinois Senate promising change to a corrupt system. He mixed often radical votes with more pragmatic agreements. Possibly one of his most radical votes was against requiring medical care for aborted children who survive [[abortion|the procedure]] - in fact the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council ascribed him a 100% rating for his consistently pro-choice votes.<ref name="cbs illinois">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml|title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine For Critics|work=CBS|format=HTML|language=English|last=Clark|first=Amy S.|date=Jan. 17, 2007}}</ref> He was criticized for using the statehouse as a stepping stone for a more illustrious career: Steven J. Rauschenberger, a [[Republican]], said prior to Obama's election as president: “He is a very bright but very ambitious person who has always had his eyes on the prize, and it wasn’t Springfield. If he deserves to be president, it is not because he was a great legislator.”<ref name="nyt illinois">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd|last=Scott|first=Janny|format=HTML|language=English|date=July 30, 2007|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html}}</ref>

The statehouse was majority Republican, so the Senator was sometimes forced to compromise. He formed allegiances across party lines to pass [[campaign finance]] reform that banned most gifts by lobbyists, prohibited spending campaign money for legislators’ personal use and required electronic filing of campaign disclosure reports.<ref name="nyt illinois"/> Obama also helped pass a so-called “driving-while-black bill”, which required the police to collect data on the race of drivers they stopped as a way to monitor [[racial profiling]].<ref name="nyt illinois"/>

Obama established himself as a chief spokesperson in opposition to the [[War on Terror]] during an October 2002 rally at Federal Plaza in Chicago<ref>The rally was organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq (CAWI) later renamed Chicagoans Against War and Injustice. [http://www.noiraqwar-chicago.org/?page_id=2 About CAWI] by Carl Davidson, Nov 02 2006. Retrieved from Chicagoans Against War and Injustice, March 15, 2010.</ref> [[community organizing|organized]] by veteran [[Mao]]ist and webmaster of [[Progressives for Obama]],<ref>[http://www.linkedin.com/in/carldavidson Carl Davidson,] LinkedIn.com, retrieved March 13, 2010.</ref> [[Carl Davidson]].

===Radical foundation and connection to William Ayers===
{{main article|Radical roots of Barack Hussein Obama}}
In 1995 a cadre of like minded individuals gathered in the home of [[Weather Underground]] (WUO) [[terrorist]]s [[Bernardine Dohrn]] and [[William Ayers|William "Bill" Ayers]]. Dohrn,<ref>Georgie Anne Geyer and Keyes Beach "Cuba: School for U.S. Radicals", ''Chicago Daily News/Chicago Sun-Times'' five part series October 1970, excerpted in [http://foia.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/weather/weath1c.pdf FBI file Weather Underground Organization (Weatherman),] Part 1c pp. 5-7 pdf (113-115 in original). [http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/clandestine-agents-of-the-cuban-government-ayers-dohrn-myers/]</ref> along with Carl Davidson, are veterans of [[guerrilla warfare]] training in [[Cuba]] prior 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Ayers and Dohrn have taken credit for, and never denied, bombing the [[U.S. Capitol]], the [[Pentagon]] and the [[State Department]].

Ayers and Dohrn used their celebrity status among [[leftist]]s to launch Obama's career. Ayers, Dohrn and [[Jeff Jones]]<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106653 ''Obama's 'green jobs czar' worked with terror founder] Van Jones served on board of activist group where ex-Weatherman serves as top director'', By Aaron Klein, [[WorldNetDaily]], August 13, 2009.</ref> are authors of ''[[Bill_Ayers#Prairie_Fire_Organizing_Committee_and_Maoist_thought|Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-imperialism]],'' the title taken from ''The Sayings of Mao Zedong.''<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/]</ref> The book declares "we are [[communist]] men and women."<ref>Harvey Klehr, ''Far Left of Center: The American Radical Left Today'' (Transaction Books, New Brunswick, 1988), 109.</ref> Ayers later jokingly, publicly admitted to ghostwriting Obama's book, ''Dreams From My Father''<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/ayers_affirms_he_wrote_dreams.html</ref> and Obama was to appoint several openly avowed Maoists to prominent White House and Executive Branch positions.<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574487431322664964.html</ref>

==U.S. Senate career==
:''See also: [[Early_life_and_career_of_Barack_Hussein_Obama#U.S._Senate_.282004-2008.29|Barack Obama:U.S. Senate (2004-2008)]]''
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|left|Senator Barack Obama]]

Following a failed campaign for the U. S. House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004 against Republican candidate Jack Ryan. He won the seat after Chicago media outlets The Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV; together with candidate Jack Ryan's Republican Primary opponents, sought and obtained the release of the confidential and personally embarrassing records in his California divorce from actress Jeri Ryan, forcing him to end his campaign. Ryan was replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]]. Obama won over Keyes 70% to 27% in the general election. Obama spent very little time in the Senate - "frustrated by his lack of influence and what he called the 'glacial pace' ... [he began] running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors."<ref name="nyt senate">{{cite web|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times, Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role|author=Kate Zernike and Jeff Zelleny|date=March 9, 2008|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/us/politics/09obama.html}}</ref>

Obama frequently used the [[filibuster]] to obstruct the operations of government,<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303801_pf.html</ref> voted against the [[minimum wage]]<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.</ref><ref>[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref> and debt ceiling increases,<ref>http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/obama-once-opposed-debt-ceiling-hike/237129/</ref> and recieved more than $126,000 in campaign contributions from [[Fannie Mae]]. The ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked him the most liberal senator in 2007.<ref name="ranked">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-502163_162-3775451-502163.html|title=National Journal: Obama Most Liberal Senator In 2007|author=Brian Montopoli|date=January 31, 2008|work=CBS}}</ref>

==Presidential Election==
{{main article|Barack Hussein Obama 2008 Presidential campaign}}
Democrats began calling for an Obama candidacy after liberals lauded his 2004 [[Democratic National Convention]] speech.
===Campaign to be the Democratic nominee===
The race for the Democratic ticket originally seemed [[Hillary Clinton]]'s to lose, but was ultimately a close race between Clinton and Obama. Clinton would take a slim advantage in the popular vote, while Obama would carry significantly more states and territories. Obama's advantage with super-delegates over Clinton was about 2-to-1.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Superdelegate endorsements for Friday 6/6|work=Democratic Convention Watch|url=http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/06/superdelegate-endorsements-for-friday.html}}</ref> Obama was able to attract the support of [[liberals]] by pointing out that he had come out against the [[Iraq War]] "from the beginning" whereas Clinton had voted in favor of the war in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-31-democrats-debate_N.htm|title=Obama, Clinton stress differences on Iraq, issues|author=David Jackson|work=USA Today|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref>
===Campaign for the Presidency===
Obama campaigned against Senator [[John McCain]] in the general election. To the chagrin of Clinton supporters, he selected Senator [[Joe Biden]] to be his running mate, whereas McCain selected [[Governor]] of [[Alaska]] [[Sarah Palin]]. The Obama and Biden ticket would win the election, and Obama would become the nation's first [[African American]] president.

====Jeremiah Wright====
:''See also: [[Barack Obama and Liberation Theology]]''
One major dilemma that arose for Obama during his campaign was his connection to his preacher [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Obama and his wife (raised a Baptist) were members of the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776246/posts</ref> in Chicago, a chruch that embraced [[black liberation theology]] and its emphasis on empowering so-called "oppressed groups" against "establishment forces". This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays as ministers.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> Church pastor Jeremiah Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statement "G-d damn America," and in describing the September 11th attacks, "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: G-d Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]</ref> In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being [[anti-Semitic]]."

In April 2008, after 20 years in the church, candidate Obama made public statements poised to set him at odds with the man who conducted his wedding and baptized his children. With the negative publicity persisting, a month later Obama ended the friendship, left Wright's church, and blamed the media.<ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, May 31, 2008</ref> Obama claimed “It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace...", and distanced himself from Wright's sermons as "a bunch of rants that aren't grounded in the truth."<ref>USA TODAY, ''Obama breaks with former pastor, Candidate cites rants on U.S. role in terror, AIDS'', by Kathy Kiely and David Jackson [http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080430/1a_offlede30_dom.art.htm]</ref><ref>''Obama Says He Is Outraged By Wright's "Rants"''[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080430.htm]</ref>

==Presidential career==
{{main article|Obama administration}}
[[File:Obama and George H. W. Bush.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President Barack Obama meets with former President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office, Feb. 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).]]
Under Obama's stewardship the United States has suffered the largest [[Federal budget deficit|deficit]]s<ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10708/11-06-mbr.htm</ref><ref>http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/118xx/doc11873/NovemberMBR.pdf</ref> in history and a credit downgrade from the rating agency Standard & Poor. However, during the Obama Administration the national deficit has increased at a much lower rate than during the Bush Administration. Most observers attribute the deficits to increasing benefits and welfare paid out on account of the Recession he inherited and has failed to end along with decreasing tax receipts. Standard & Poor decided to downgrade U.S. government deby after the debt ceiling debate debacle, where Congressional leaders refused to pass a bill authorizing borrowing to pay for the budget they had passed with much debate and controversy earlier in the year. Cynics have argued that rhetoric directed at the rating agencies about the issuance of AAA ratings to junk real estate bonds spurred the downgrade as a form of retribution. Ironically, the investor scare led to the flocking of investors to the safe haven of the Treasury bonds which had been downgraded, resulting in lower interest rates. As there are very few AAA bond markets, investors will likely continue to buy U.S. government debt for the foreseeable future. <ref>http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/18/the-sp-outlook-and-obama/</ref> When his [[economic stimulus]] program was adopted unemployment rose and stagnated in the 10% range, <ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439172480870774.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</ref> leaving tens of millions without [[hope]] of finding a job.<ref>[http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS11300000&years_option=specific_years&include_graphs=true&to_month=1&from_month=2 United States Department of Labor], Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data extracted on: July 19, 2010 (4:31:11 PM).</ref>

Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen, writing in the [[Wall Street Journal]], noted, "Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship." The commentators also note Obama's approach to governance has encouraged radical leftists to pursue a similar strategy on his behalf. Mary Frances Berry, former head of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, acknowledged that the [[Obama administration]] has taken to polarizing America around the issue of race as a means of diverting attention from other issues, saying, "Having one's opponent [[race card|rebut charges of racism]] is far better than discussing [[Unemployment|joblessness]]."<ref>http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Mary_Frances_Berry_91E3D9D5-C40D-440C-9D48-1C50CBC60C87.html</ref> Caddell and Schoen, who worked for President Carter and Clinton, respectively, further stated, "Mr. Obama has also cynically [[class warfare|divided the country on class lines]]. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and [[corporation]]s behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda... President Obama's divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture."<ref>http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703700904575391553798363586.html</ref>

===Domestic policy===
====Popular bills====
Obama's first act of office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - effectively nullifying the [[Supreme Court]] case ''Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'', which ruled that Ledbetter had to have filed a pay [[discrimination]] suit within 180 days of the first time Ledbetter was payed less than her male peers;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/us/politics/30ledbetter-web.html|work=The New York Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation|author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg|date=January 29, 2009}}</ref> the law made corporations subject to suit within 180 days of each time the employee was unfairly paid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090213.html?=features|work=FindLaw|author=Joanna L. Grossman|date=Feb. 13, 2009|format=HTML|language=English|title=The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009}}</ref>

On January 2, 2011, Obama signed the James Zadroga [[9/11]] Healthcare and Compensation Act.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/02/obama-signs-zadroga-act-law/|publisher=New York Public Radio|title=Obama Signs Zadroga Act into Law|author=Fred Mogul|date=January 02, 2011|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> The act, which afforded 9/11 first responders who were sickened by the dust from the collapse of the [[World Trade Center]] health care and compensation, passed [[Congress]] after its sponsored agreed to scale down the pricing from 7.4 to 4.2 billion dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/22/zadroga-911-bill-passes-senate/|publisher=New York Public Radio|work=wNYC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Congress Approves 9/11 Health Bill|date=December 22, 2010}}</ref>

====Economic plan====
[[File:Keynes.jpg|thumbnail|right|190px|[[Barack Obama]] advocates the use of [[Keynesian economics|Keynesian economic concepts]] despite the fact that [[John Maynard Keynes]] was incompetent and a fraud.<ref>
*[http://centurean2.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/fabian-john-maynard-keynes-the-stealthy-enemy-of-human-freedom/ John Maynard Keynes the stealthy enemy of human freedom]
*[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-02-22/deathbed-of-keynesian-economics-will-be-in-u-k-matthew-lynn.html Deathbed of Keynesian Economics will be in the UK]
*[http://www.iwf.org/inkwell/show/23102.html Will the G8 Repudiate the Philosophy of Living Beyond Our Means?]
*[http://www.keynesatharvard.org/book/KeynesatHarvard-ch09.html KEYNES AT HARVARD Economic Deception as a Political Credo BY ZYGMUND DOBBS]
</ref> ]]
{{see also|Obamunism|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009}}
Critics of the Obama administration have coined the word "[[Obamunism]]" to describe Barack Obama's [[socialism|socialistic]] and "[[fascism]] light" [[economic planning]] policies.<ref>[[Benito Mussolini]] defined fascism as the wedding of state and corporate powers. Accordingly, trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] labels [[Obama administration corporate bailouts|Obama's corporate bailouts]] as being "fascism light" in nature.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/daily-intel/2009/07/20/obamunism-inc|work=The Big Money|publisher=WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC|format=HTML|language=English|title=Obamunism, Inc.|author=David Sessions|date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/gerald-celente-6944|author=Jim Blasingame|title=Is the government creating a bailout bubble?}}</ref> Obamunism can also refer to Obama's [[Obama administration fiscal policy|ruinous fiscal policies]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|reckless monetary policies]].<ref name="gerard">{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/120883-monetary-policynot-obama-s-stimulusis-what-needs-watching|title=Monetary Policy-Not Obama's Stimulus-Is What Needs Watching|author=Gerard Jackson|date=February 16, 2009|work=Seeking Alpha}}</ref><ref name="bam">{{cite web|work=New York Post|date=May 17, 2009|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/05172009/postopinion/editorials/bams_wise_words_169731.htm|title=BAM'S WISE WORDS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/|title=Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures|work=The Foundry|publisher=The Heritage Foundation|author=Conn Carroll|date=March 24th, 2009}}</ref> As seen in his own actions, Barack Obama instructed his advisors to find loopholes that would enable the president to act as a [[dictator]] by pushing through legislation and increases in spending without congressional authority.<ref>http://www.theblaze.com/stories/executive-dictatorship-obama-instructs-advisers-to-push-through-stimulus-projects-without-pesky-congressional-authorization/</ref>

[[Wall Street]] firms and banks that were bailed out were among Obama's biggest campaign supporters.<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638</ref> Therefore, the Obama administration bailouts of corrupt, unproductive, and reckless Wall Street firms was hardly surprising, and many argue that it was not helpful in making the United States economy more productive and prosperous by encouraging more risk taking through letting banks off with a slap on the wrist. Others argue that bailing out the banks kept credit flowing and prevented a much deeper recession and a total collapse of the financial system. The government will recoup some though not all of its capital infusions over time. A 2005 study found that government corporate bailouts are often done for mere political considerations and the economic resources allocated exhibit significantly worse economic performance than resources allocated using purely business considerations.<ref>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=676905</ref> Proponents of [[free market]] capitalism said Bernanke should not have bailed out failing firms and instead should have allowed free market capitalism to quickly recover as it did in the depression of 1920 without government intervention (free market capitalists assert that government intervention drags out economic recessions and depressions).<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI</ref>

Top trend forecaster [[Gerald Celente]] predicts that the corrupt economic policies of the Obama administration will lead to a second [[Great Depression|great depression]] (Celente predicted the 1987 US stock market crash, the dot.com crash, the US 2008/2009 recession, and the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s) and may lead to a "second [[American Revolution]]" (Celente predicted the [[Tea Party Movement|tax protests]] that are now occurring in America).<ref name="celente1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MMX3SKzrfU&feature=channel_page</ref><ref name="celente2">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9bfw1ebgw&feature=response_watch</ref> Celente also asserts that the costly and inefficient temporary short term methods that the Obama administration is using to alleviate economic problems in the short term (which is causing massive increases in [[Obama administration deficit spending]]) is only making matters worse and will not prevent the worse economic depression in United States history from occurring.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C8K7rWkGGw</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LBffdIW0XA&feature=response_watch</ref>

The Obama administration has been sharply criticized for [[Obama administration deficit spending|its massive deficit spending]] and [[Obama administration monetary policy|its reckless monetary policy]] via vast increases in the [[money supply]], although inflation under Bernanke has been below the historic mean.<ref name="gerard"/><ref name="bam"/><ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/24/bush-deficit-vs-obama-deficit-in-pictures/</ref> Celente predicts that if a "second American Revolution" occurs in a peaceful and productive manner, it may include a [[Third Party System|third party movement]] of governance that will advocate a more [[free market]] [[capitalism]] approach to the American economy and a more strict interpretation of the [[United States Constitution|United States constitution]] as far as the authors' [[original intent]].<ref name="celente1"/><ref name="celente2"/>

During what the [[White House]] billed as [[Recovery Summer]], one half million workers per week continued losing their jobs. His signature legislative achievement, [[ObamaCare]],has been found to be [[unconstitutional]]<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-13/u-s-health-care-law-requirement-thrown-out-by-judge.html</ref> by several judges and constitutional by others, and is credited as a major cause of uncertainty, high [[unemployment]],<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33220</ref> lagging job creation,<ref>http://blog.heritage.org/2010/08/05/it%E2%80%99s-official-medicare%E2%80%99s-finances-shadowed-by-uncertainty/</ref> and risk of a credit default crisis.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/28/AR2010032802353.html</ref><ref>http://www.thestreet.com/story/10703361/cramer-obamacare-will-topple-the-market.html</ref>

His 2012 Budget plan has been roundly criticized in the mainstream and liberal press as not a serious effort to deal with the nation's economic crisis.<ref>[http://republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=blogs.view&blog_id=1551d6f5-2ac9-4b8d-97ab-74def354024e Newspapers Call Out White House: ‘What Would That Path Be, Mr. President?’]</ref>

=====Healthcare=====
{{main article|Obamacare}}
On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The act had originated in the House of Representatives and passed September 17, 2009. The act was amended and passed the Senate prior to [[Democrat]] [[Ted Kennedy]]'s passing along party lines - just a filibuster-proof majority at 60-39. In what can be construed as a de facto rejection of the bill, [[Massachusetts]] voters elected a [[Republican]] candidate, [[Scott Brown]], who promised to vote against the bill,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/scott-brown-wins-massachusetts-senate-race.html|work=The Washington Post|author=Chris Cillizza|date=January 19, 2010|title=Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate special election race|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> but another Senate vote would not occur. Scott Brown was also an excellent campaigner and judged to be a better candidate than his rival, Martha Coakley. He has since achieved one of the most moderate senate voting records, likely to avoid the anger of his mostly liberal constituency. After Obama made a promise to issue an [[executive order]] that would ultimately prohibit the use of taxpayer subsidies to pay for [[abortion]] services,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/22/nation/la-na-healthcare-passage22-2010mar22/3|work=The Los Angeles Times|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes historic healthcare overhaul|date=March 22, 2010|author=Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook}}</ref> the [[House of Representatives]] would pass the bill as it left the Senate 219-212, with 34 Democrats and all other parties dissenting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-21/politics/health.care.main_1_health-care-entire-house-democratic-caucus-pre-existing-conditions?_s=PM:POLITICS|date=March 21, 2010|author=Alan Silverleib|work=CNN|format=HTML|language=English|title=House passes health care bill on 219-212 vote}}</ref>

Amongst other things, the act mandates that the population purchase health care coverage or face punitive tax measures, and on this basis has been constitutionally challenged in the federal courts, with mixed results (three courts have upheld the act, two have declared it unconstitutional); thus, the Act is likely destined for [[Supreme Court]] reviewal. Plans originally proposed involved instituting a universal public insurance program, that is, extending Medicare to everyone. The universal mandate included in the act was originally a conservative idea that was enacted in Massachusetts under Republican Mitt Romney. Its supporters note that having health insurance results in reduced costs in paying for treatment of uninsured and forcing people to take responsibility for their healthcare. Due to ethical constraints, doctors cannot deny care to poor patients, resulting in the hospital and the healthcare system at large bearing the cost.

====Gulf oil spill====
{{main article|Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster}}
President Obama authorized offshore oil drilling in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]<ref>[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0430/Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-imperils-Obama-s-offshore-drilling-plan Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan,] By Mark Clayton, ''Christian Science Monitor'', April 30, 2010.</ref> stating, "oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills"<ref>White House Press Release, [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a-discussion-jobs-and-economy-charlotte-north-carolina Remarks by the President in a Discussion on Jobs and the Economy in Charlotte, North Carolina,] Office of the Press Secretary, April 02, 2010. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov 3 May 2010.</ref> and was widely criticized for his mishandling of the "[[Gulf oil spill disaster|worst environmental disaster]] in US history."<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m4d29-Worst-environmental-disaster-in-US-history-Oil-slick-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-is-set-on-fire Worst environmental disaster in US history,] Maryann Tobin, ''Examiner'', April 29, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/the-oil-spill-is-obamas-fault/?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman Conscience of a Liberal: The Oil Spill Is Obama’s Fault,] Paul Krugman, ''New York Times'', April 30, 2010.</ref>

====Don't Ask Don't Tell====
{{main article|Don't Ask Don't Tell}}
Candidate Obama promised to repeal a policy that originated in the Clinton era that prohibited inquiries into military personnel's [[sexual orientation]] while also barring "out" [[homosexuals]] from serving in the military. [[Liberals]] expressed anger when time passed and no effort to repeal the law was seen;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/21/obama-to-delay-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/|work=The Washington Times|format=HTML|title=Obama to delay ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal|language=English|author=Rowan Scarborough|date=November 21, 2008}}</ref> in fact, Obama's [[justice department]], as part of their duty to defend all laws passed by any administration, filed a brief arguing against the [[Supreme Court]] granting a [[writ of certiorari]] to a gay soldier challenging the law (the writ was not granted). In response, the soldier, James Pietrangelo II, a former Army infantryman and lawyer, said, “[Obama's] a coward, a bigot and a pathological liar. This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people."<ref>{{cite web|work=Time Magazine|publisher=Time Inc.|format=HTML|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1903545,00.html?imw=Y|title=Dismay Over Obama's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Turnabout|author=Mark Thompson|date=Jun. 09, 2009}}</ref>

On December 15th, 2010, a bill was introduced in the [[House of Representatives]] to repeal the law - it passed a day later by a vote of 250-175;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml|title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 638|format=HTML|work=Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> it passed the Senate three days later 65-31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281|work=The U.S. Senate|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress - 2nd Session|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22nd.<ref name="g dadt">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/22/obama-repeals-dont-ask-dont-tell|work=The Guardian|format=HTML|language=English|title='Don't ask, don't tell' repealed as Obama signs landmark law|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>

The [[Pentagon]] itself could not immediately implement the repeal and questioned whether it would hurt combat readiness.<ref name="g dadt"/> Senator [[John McCain]], the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, opposed the bill, saying "It may be premature to make such a change at this time and in this manner, without further consideration of this report and further study of the issue by Congress – for of all the people we serve, one of our highest responsibilities is to the men and women of our armed services, especially those risking their lives in combat.”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/mccain-on-dont-ask-dont-tell-dont-rush/|title=McCain on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: Don’t Rush|date=December 2nd, 2010|format=HTML|author=David M. Herszenhorn|language=English|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Western Wall Obama.jpg|thumb|left|320px|At [[Western Wall]], Jerusalem, 2008.]]
As Senator, Obama was highly critical of President Bush and promised change. As President, Obama has tripled down in Afghanistan, widened the war into Pakistan, multiplied drone attacks, bombed Yemen and Somalia, and started an undeclared NATO war in Libya. On presidential war powers, surveillance questions, Guantanamo, detention policy and habeas corpus, Obama has similarly stayed the course, or expanded Bush's precedents. In a speech on May 19, 2011 Obama fully embraced the [[Bush Doctrine]] of preventative war.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-news-in-obamas-speech/2011/05/19/AF4dFN7G_story.html</ref>

<blockquote>
The New America Foundation, which tracks the strikes, has listed 23 raids since the beginning of April, 2011, all but one in Pakistan’s tribal regions of North and South Waziristan. A June 20 attack was reported in Kurram, an area north of North Waziristan along the Afghanistan border.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The drone program has become increasingly controversial as the Obama administration has expanded its use beyond the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Lethal missiles have been launched from unmanned aircraft in at least five countries in addition to Pakistan: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and, most recently, Somalia. The military’s Joint Special Operations Command used a drone last June to attack what officials said were two senior members of the Al Shabab militant group on the Somali coast. <ref> [http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2011/07/04/cia_halts_drone_launches_from_pakistan_base/] </ref>
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Obama is commendable when he says he wants to avoid war. His policies, however, favor war by destabilizing the Middle East making it extremely hostile and favoring radical Islam over America’s ally, Israel, and American interests in the region... The president has chosen a very dangerous path for every American and one that promises great difficulty for Israel. <ref> [http://www.thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2012/03/14/obamas-words-disguise-his-israel-foreign-policy-actions.html Obama's words disguise his Israel foreign policy actions.] </ref>
</blockquote>

====Commander-in-chief====
By Obama's third year as Commander-in-Chief, over 1200 American troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan - significantly more than the number who died during President [[George W. Bush]]'s term of office. And growing numbers of civilian contractors also have fallen. In the first half of 2010, 250 contractors reportedly died in Iraq and Afghanistan - more than the 235 military personnel who fell during the same period.<ref>http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/24/114662/what-price-war.html#ixzz1Nz07pg5O</ref>

=====National Defense=====
President Obama signed into U.S. law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), only after his administration successfully lobbied to remove language from the bill that would have protected American citizens from being detained indefinitely without trial.<ref>Aaron Dykes. [http://www.infowars.com/president-obamas-ndaa-signing-statement-i-have-the-power-to-detain-americans-but-i-wont/ Obama’s Signing Statement on NDAA: I have the power to detain Americans… but I won’t], Infowars.com, January 1, 2012. </ref> After the legislation cleared Congress, the ACLU commented that if President Obama signed the bill it "will damage both his legacy and American’s reputation for upholding the rule of law," while executive director of the ''Human Rights Watch'' blasted the President for being ‘on the wrong side of history,’ noting that "Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law."<ref>President Decides to Sign Ill-Conceived National Defense Authorization Act. [http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/14/us-refusal-veto-detainee-bill-historic-tragedy-rights US: Refusal to Veto Detainee Bill A Historic Tragedy for Rights], ''Human Rights Watch'', December 14, 2011. </ref><ref>[http://www.aclu.org/national-security/white-house-backs-away-defense-bill-veto-threat White House Backs Away from Defense Bill Veto Threat], ''[[ACLU]]'', December 14, 2011.</ref>

Section 1031 of the NDAA bill, which itself defines the entirety of the United States as a “battlefield,” allows American citizens to be snatched from the streets, carted off to a foreign detention camp and held indefinitely without trial. As reported by Infowars.com, the bill states that “any person who has committed a belligerent act” faces indefinite detention, but no trial or evidence has to be presented, the White House merely needs to make the accusation.<ref>Paul Joseph Watson. [http://www.infowars.com/obama-administration-demanded-power-to-indefinitely-detain-u-s-citizens/ Obama Administration Demanded Power To Indefinitely Detain U.S. Citizens], Infowars.com, December 12, 2011.</ref><ref>S.1867 [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c112:2:./temp/~c1122VN0Iv:e548990: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Engrossed in Senate [Passed Senate] - ES)], ''The Library of Congress'' THOMAS, 112th Congress (2011-2011), Accessed January 25, 2012.</ref><ref>Text of S.1867 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s1867/text?version=es&nid=t0:es:281 Sec. 1031. Affirmation of authority of the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force.], [[U.S. Congress]], ''OpenCongress.org'', (Accessed January 25, 2012).</ref>

=====Afghanistan=====
{{main article|Afghanistan War}}
Obama escalated troop strength<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/themes/strategy.html#ixzz1LhWNImZp|title=Obama's New Strategy (March '09)|author=George Packer, Seth Jones, David Kilcullen, Rory Stewart, Andrew Exum, Col. Andrew Bacevich (Ret.)|work=PBS|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> and defense costs in Afghanistan from $43.5 billion in George Bush's last year to $113.7 billion for 2011.<ref>Congressional Research Service, quoted in Gregory Anthony, ''What price war?''</ref> Adviser to General [[Stanley McChrystal]] David Kilcullen wrote, "One of the big strategic shifts is the use of language now which talks about Pakistan and Afghanistan as the same theater. Now we talked about Af-Pak long before the Obama administration came about, but the public use of that term, and the description of it as the Afghanistan-Pakistan campaign, sends a new message to people about how the administration is going to think about Afghanistan and Pakistan."<ref name="pbs"/> This became evident when, under the orders of Obama, a military SEALs team killed September 11th mastermind [[Osama bin Laden]] in Abottabad, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/05/commander-in-chief.html|title=Commander in Chief|author=Daniel Romano and Daniel Klaidman|date=May 05, 2011|work=Newsweek|publisher=The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

=====Guantanamo Bay=====
{{main article|Guantanamo Bay}}
One of Obama's campaign promises was that he would close the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - detainees would be flown to other countries while the ones awaiting trial would enter the American court system. Two days after taking office he signed an order directing the military to do so.<ref name="salon">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/25/obama_guantanamo_rhetoric|work=Salon|title=The Obama/Gitmo timeline|author=Natasha Lennard|format=HTML|language=English}}</ref> But, in November 2009 Obama admitted that his self imposed deadline of January 2010 would be missed, and in March 2011 the president went back on his campaign promise, signing an executive order to create a formal system of indefinite detention for the prisoners.<ref name="salon"/>

=====Mexico=====

In May 2012, President Obama promised Mexican President [[Felipe Calderon]] that his administration would assist Mexico in curbing drug cartel violence, which has led to 30,000 deaths in Mexico. "President Calderon and I . . . stand together against the drug cartels that have unleashed horrific violence in so many communities," Obama said on May 19. "Mexico can count on the United States as a full partner in this effort.

The ''[[Washington Post]]'' has reported however that White House officials stopped a requirement for gun dealers to report bulk sales of high-powered semiautomatic rifles commonly used by illegal drug cartels. [[Justice Department]] officials had asked for White House approval to require thousands of gun dealers along the border to report the purchases to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives. ATF investigators expected to get leads on suspected arms traffickers. Senior law enforcement sources said the proposal from the ATF was held up by then White House chief of staff [[Rahm Emanuel]].<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/17/AR2010121706598.html</ref> Gun dealers have been required for decades to report the sales of multiple handguns to the ATF.

=====Libya=====
{{main article|Libyan uprising 2011}}
In February 2011, the political unrest that had spread through the Arab world showed up as protests in Libya. Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi - dictator of Libya for 41 years - responded to the activism with a wave of violence.<ref name="nyt libya">{{cite web|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html|work=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Inc.|format=HTML|language=English|title=Libya — Protests and Revolt (2011)}}</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council]] voted unanimously to impose [[sanctions]], and later authorized all members to take action to protect civilians. Obama, acting without approval from Congress and at the beckoning of the [[United Nations]], directed American forces to take out Libya's air defense system.<ref name="nyt libya"/> Obama later said, "[I]f we waited one more day Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world."<ref>{{cite web|author=Barack Obama|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134935452/obamas-speech-on-libya-a-responsibility-to-act|title=Obama's Speech On Libya: 'A Responsibility To Act'|date=March 28, 2011|publisher=National Public Radio ([[NPR]])|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref> [[Alan J. Kuperman]] - writing an editorial for the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' - suggested this statement was false, writing, "[I]ntervention did not prevent genocide, because no such bloodbath was in the offing. To the contrary, by emboldening rebellion, US interference has prolonged Libya’s civil war and the resultant suffering of innocents."<ref name="kuperman">{{cite web|author=Alan J. Kuperman|work=The Boston Globe|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/bostonglobe/29418371_1_rebel-stronghold-civilians-rebel-positions|title=False pretense for war in Libya?|date=April 14, 2011}}</ref> Kuperman, a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas who authored a book called ''The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention'', further stated that the rebels had tricked the world into thinking a bloodbath was at hand and that Obama had lied to the American people in order to act on this theory.<ref name="kuperman"/>
<blockquote>
Gaddafi [never] threaten civilian massacre in Benghazi, as Obama alleged. The “no mercy’’ warning, of March 17, targeted rebels only, as reported by The New York Times, which noted that Libya’s leader promised amnesty for those “who throw their weapons away.’’ Khadafy even offered the rebels an escape route and open border to Egypt, to avoid a fight “to the bitter end.’’ <ref> [http://politicalcartel.org/2011/04/17/libya-and-the-obama-doctrine/ Libya and the “Obama Doctrine”.] </ref>
</blockquote>

However Gaddafi wrote to Obama:

<blockquote>
Gaddafi said he bore no ill will toward Obama. "We have been hurt more morally than physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you," he wrote. "Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaign." The letter, dated 5 April 2011 in Tripoli, is signed "Mu'aumer Qaddaffi, Leader of the Revolution".<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/06/gaddafi-obama-nato-libya?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487]</ref>
</blockquote>

Critics point out the only thing worse than starting a "stupid, unnecessary war" against a madman is losing it.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/271847/war-libya-dumb-and-dumber-victor-davis-hanson</ref>

=====Iraq=====
{{main article|Operation Iraqi Freedom}}
Obama campaigned on a promise to carry out [[George W. Bush]]'s timetable to end the War in Iraq, which has been completed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-17/middleeast/world_meast_iraq-troops-leave_1_1st-cavalry-division-camp-adder-troop-movements?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST|work=CNN|title=Obama: Last U.S. troops leave Iraq|date=December 17, 2011|language=English|format=HTML}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Political positions of Barack Obama]]
*[[Barack Obama and uncharitableness]]
*[[Barack Obama and abortion]]
*[[Essay:Born Outside the U.S.A.!]]
*[[Essay: The Special Interests Candidate]]
*[[Jobsgate]]
*[[Recovery Summer]]
*[[Lobbyists ties to the Obama administration]]
*[[New Party]]
*[[ObamaCare]]
*[[Obama doublespeak]]
*[[Obama inauguration]]
*[[Religion of Barack Hussein Obama]]
*[[The Honorable James David Manning]]
*[[Young Communist League]]

==External links==
*[http://www.antiobama.net/ Anti Obama.net]
*[http://www.dontvoteobama.net/ Don’t Vote For Obama.net]
*[http://nobamanetwork.com/ Nobama Network]
*[http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/ Audacity Of Hypocrisy]
*[http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/ The Real Barack Obama]
*[http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6130/ The New Cult of Personality]
*[http://www.survivingobamunism.com/index.html Surviving Obamunism T-shirts]
*[http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/ Barack Obama the Anti-Christ ?]
*[http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/06/23/che-obama-and-the-revolutionary-agenda/ Che, Obama, and the Revolutionary Agenda]
*[http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/fashion-shows/ Obama Laundry List of Lies]
*[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/09/americas-first-muslim-president/ GAFFNEY: America's first Muslim president?] Washington Times
*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-l-esposito/barack-obama-and-islam_b_212519.html Barack Obama and Islam.] by [[John L. Esposito]].
*[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78931 Democrat: Obama's grandma confirms Kenyan birth.]
*[http://www.ontheissues.org/barack_obama.htm Barack Obama on the issues.]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etWLwrvT2vo Obama = Kosher Puppet.] video on You Tube.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{USPresidents}}
{{2008 presidential candidates}}
[[Category: Barack Hussein Obama]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
[[Category:Obama Administration]]
[[category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:2012 Presidential Candidates]]
[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barack Hussein}}

Greek alphabet

2010-03-17T22:11:45Z

ScottW:

The '''Greek alphabet''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''Ελληνικό αλφάβητο'') is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">[http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm Greek Alphabet], Physlink. Retrieved November 26, 2008. </ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and [[Arabic alphabet]]s). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" />

==Main letters==
The Greek alphabet and its corresponding modern and classical pronunciations in the [[IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] are as follow:<ref name="alexandro">[http://www.geocities.com/alexandrosworld/Greek/Phonology.html Phonology], MY SECRET LIFE OF LANGUAGES. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="Smyth" /><ref>Modern pronunciations separated by a slash indicate a phonetic difference depending on the following vowel. On the left is the pronunciation before [e] and [i], on the right the pronunciation before [a], [o], or [u]. In the case of iota, the difference depends on if it is word initial before a vowel.</ref>

{| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;"
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||[[Alpha]] Αα [a] [a]||[[Beta]] Ββ [v] [b]||[[Gamma]] Γγ [ʝ]/[ɣ] [g]||[[Delta (letter)|Delta]] Δδ [ð] [d]||Epsilon Εε [e] [e]||Zeta Ζζ [z] [zd]/[z]||Eta Ηη [i] [ɛ]||Theta Θθ [θ] [tʰ]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Iota Ιι [i]/[j] [i]||Kappa Κκ [c]/[k] [k]||Lambda Λλ [l] [l]||[[Mu (Greek letter)|Mu]] Μμ [m] [m]||Nu Νν [n] [n]||Xi Ξξ [ks] [ks]||Omicron Οο [o] [o]||[[Pi]] Ππ [p] [p]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Rho Ρρ [ɾ] [r]||Sigma Σσς [s] [s]||Tau Ττ [t] [t]||Upsilon Υυ [i] [y]||Phi Φφ [f] [pʰ]||Chi Χχ [ç]/[χ] [kʰ]||Psi Ψψ [ps] [ps]||[[Omega]] Ωω [o] [ɔ]||
|}

Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]].<ref>[http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html Greek Miniscule Script], Biblaridion. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on if it occurs at the end of a word (ς).

Most of the letters are named after their models in the Phoenician alphabet – compare Semitic alef, bet, gimel to Greek alpha, beta, gamma. Zeta seems to have been named to better fit with beta, eta, and theta. The origins of phi, chi, and psi are debated, but their names were simply patterned off the other -i letters. Epsilon, omicron, upsilon, and omega are the only letters with distinctly Greek names, all with origins in the Byzantine Empire. Epsilon and upsilon where given the affix -psilon (ψιλόν, "simple")<ref name="quin">[http://www.quinapalus.com/gr0.1.html Lesson 1: The Greek Alphabet (capitals)], Quinapalus. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> in order to distinguish them, respectively, from the digraphs αι and οι, which by that time had come to be pronounced the same way.<ref name="Smyth">[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0007&layout=&query=toc&loc=1 Herbert Weir Smyth, ''A Greek Grammar for Colleges''], Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> Omicron ("small o") and omega ("great o")<ref name="quin" /> were named in order to distinguish them from each other, having also come to have the same pronunciation.<ref name="Smyth" />

==Pronunciation==
In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letter (or letter clusters) of their names in English. However, some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, so this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced [b], but is now pronounced [v].<ref>[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm Greek alphabet, pronunciation and language], Omniglot. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

Digraphs are formed to signify sounds not covered by the main alphabet (e.g., ντ for [d], μπ for [b], or ου for [u]), or to represent diphthongs (e.g., αυ for [af] and [av]).<ref name="alexandro" />

==Obsolete letters==
The original Greek alphabet included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html Non-Attic Letters], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek ([w]), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Digamma and qoppa were preserved in certain Western dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letters F and Q.<ref>[http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/LetterQ.htm The Letter Q], fonts.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Qoppa is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/numerals.html Numerals], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

==Other uses==
In the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]], the letters alpha and omega are used together as an appellation for [[God]], specifically in the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13).

Greek letters are also used in the names of fraternities and sororities, as well as [[Mathematical notation|mathematical symbols]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Greek alphabet| ]]
[[Category:Greece]]

Marx Brothers

2009-05-11T17:58:18Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029 Manfred Marx (1886 - 1886) - Find a Grave Memorial], Find a Grave. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

== Overview ==
Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Nightingales"),<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm Nightingales and Mascots], Marxology. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe Monkey Business (1931)], Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm Why a Duck?], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes Memorable quotes for Monkey Business (1931)], [[IMDB]]. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm Zeppo Marx], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography], Google Books. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time<ref>[http://www.filmsite.org/duck.html ''Duck Soup'' (1930)], filmsite.org. Retrieved January 18 2009.</ref>, although it opened to critical and commercial failure at the time of its release.

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

Marx Brothers

2009-05-11T17:57:39Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029 Manfred Marx (1886 - 1886) - Find a Grave Memorial], Find a Grave. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

== Overview ==
Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Nightingales"),<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm Nightingales and Mascots], Marxology. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe Monkey Business (1931)], Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm Why a Duck?], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes Memorable quotes for Monkey Business (1931)], [[IMDB]]. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm Zeppo Marx], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography], Google Books. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time<ref>[http://www.filmsite.org/duck.html ''Duck Soup'' (1930)] Retrieved January 18 2009.</ref>, although it opened to critical and commercial failure at the time of its release.

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

The Dark Side of the Moon

2009-01-15T02:49:11Z

ScottW: /* Track Listing */

'''''The Dark Side of the Moon''''' is a 1973 album by the British rock band [[Pink Floyd]]. It is one of the five best selling albums of all time,<ref>http://www.floydianslip.com/discs/dsotm.htm</ref> and spawned the classic rock radio staples ''Time'', ''Money'', and ''Brain Damage''. The album can be synched with ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in a manner that brings about many coincidences,<ref>http://www.ingsoc.com/waters/info/oz.html</ref> although various members of the band have stated that this itself is a coincidence.<ref>http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdarkside.html</ref>

==Track Listing==
All lyrics by Roger Waters:

#Breathe/Speak to Me
#On the Run
#Time
#The Great Gig in the Sky
#Money
#Us and Them
#Any Colour You Like
#Brain Damage
#Eclipse

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Dark Side of the Moon, The}}
[[Category:Albums]]

The Dark Side of the Moon

2009-01-15T02:48:14Z

ScottW: /* Track Listing */

'''''The Dark Side of the Moon''''' is a 1973 album by the British rock band [[Pink Floyd]]. It is one of the five best selling albums of all time,<ref>http://www.floydianslip.com/discs/dsotm.htm</ref> and spawned the classic rock radio staples ''Time'', ''Money'', and ''Brain Damage''. The album can be synched with ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in a manner that brings about many coincidences,<ref>http://www.ingsoc.com/waters/info/oz.html</ref> although various members of the band have stated that this itself is a coincidence.<ref>http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdarkside.html</ref>

==Track Listing==
All lyrics by Roger Waters:

#Breathe/Speak To Me
#On the Run
#Time
#The Great Gig in the Sky
#Money
#Us and Them
#Any Colour You Like
#Brain Damage
#Eclipse

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Dark Side of the Moon, The}}
[[Category:Albums]]

The closet

2009-01-15T02:40:20Z

ScottW: How long has this been like that?

'''The closet''', metaphorically speaking, is the place where homosexuals conduct their illicit [[sexual activity|sexual activities]]. Advocates sometimes speak of homosexuals being "confined" to the closet, due to "[[prejudice]]" against them.

Often there is pressure from other homosexuals to "come out of the closet".
[[category:Homosexuality]]

Bible Retranslation Project

2008-12-27T00:04:24Z

ScottW: slightly more accurate...?

The '''Bible Retranslation Project''' recognizes that a modern language changes and devolves quickly. There are several reasons for this, including attempts by non-believers to dilute and distort powerful religious concepts for political ends, the corrosive effect of cultural changes on language, and the impact of politics on the meaning of terminology. Terms that were clear and meaningful to one generation are often unclear and less meaningful to the next.

The rate of [[devolution of language]] may be increasing as communications increase. If a word inevitably alters its meaning after an approximate number of uses, then the time period for the change in meaning will shorten due to improved technology, just as the length of a [[sound bite]] likewise shortens. In the [[internet]] era, combating the effect of language degradation on the understanding of the [[Bible]] becomes more important.

As a first step to the Bible Retranslation Project, it is useful to identify modern terms having changing, unclear or altered meaning, which appear in important passages in translations of the Bible into the corresponding modern language:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Original Term
!English Translation
!Usage
!Lack of Clarity
!Real meaning
!Suggested Improvement
|-
|Greek λόγος transliteration:"logos"
|"word"
|"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 ([[NIV]])
|"Word" now means a short utterance of a single concept, which can include a vulgarity or a falsehood
|underlying logic or profound statement of the truth
|replace "Word" with "Truth"
|-
|הָֽאָדָם (note the definite article!)
|"Adam"
|Gen 2 &c.
|It's often transliterated into ''Adam'' rather than just kept as ''the man/person/human being''. The connotation needs to be that of humanity rather than maleness; anthropos rather than aner; homo rather than vir. I feel this loses the sense of הָֽאָדָם as an Everyman, a universal figure prototypical of humanity. One might note also that חַוָּה "Eve", whilst it is undoubtedly a name, needs the connotaion of life (חָֽי) to adequately convey meaning to a reader.
|
|The man/person/human being
|-
|
|"grace"
|"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16 ([[NIV]])
|"grace" has become a female name and a sports term to refer primarily to smoothness in style
|spiritual and majestic gift-giving
|replace some instances of "grace" with "generosity"
|-
|Tahhash
|''badger''
|Describing the skins used in the construction of the Tabernacle
|It's now thought that this is certainly not a badger (or not a ''Melis'' one)
|Possibly "Hirax", though I'm not up on the most recent theories on this. One for an expert, I think.
|
|-
|מִּשְׂרָה
|"government"
|"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. ... Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." Isaiah 9:6-7 ([[NIV]])
|"government" now means officials paid by mandatory taxes and accountable to a democratic vote
|spiritual kingdom
|replace "government" with "kingdom" - I dislike this - I don't think that monarchy metaphors are really as strong or as relevant as they used to be in the days of the ubiquity absolute rulers. Also "kingdom" is an area of land, I think we want something like "rulership"? Though that sounds a bit ugly.
|-
|
|"peace"
|"... [[Jesus]] came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!'" John 20:19 ([[NIV]])
|"peace" now means an absence of war
|an inner peace and lack of personal fear or anxiety
|replace "peace" with "tranquility" - but this then gives possible issues for verses like I Kings 20:18, which now reads ''And he said, Whether they be come out for tranquility, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.'' Perhaps we could keep "peace" for ''shalom'', and "tranquility" for ''eirene''? Except Jesus, saying "Peace be with you", is presumably using shalom alechem, or Aramaic cognate, which leads to some interesting issues of consistency.
|-
|Greek πλούσιος transliteration: "plousios": "wealthy, abounding in material resources"<ref>http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=4145</ref>
|"rich"
|"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:24)
|"rich" now refers simply to one with many possessions, and this verse is sometimes misunderstood to justify laziness or even socialism
|having a love of possession for its own sake; miserliness
|replace "rich" with "miserly" - but N.B. ''When the evening came, there came a '''miserly''' man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple''. It could work, though.
|-
|
|"kill"
|"Thou shalt not kill" Exodus 20.13 ([[KJV]])
|In Biblical times, as today, the bearing of arms to defend ones family and society was the hallmark of Judeo-Christian civilization. The commandment referred to unjustifiable homicides - murder and manslaughter - rather than advocating blanket pacifism, as many Leftists today interpret it.
|to murder or take up arms without sufficient justification
|replace "kill" with "commit murder" depending on the original text and the context - it'd not be sensible to use murder in the context of an animal doing it, for instance!
|-
|
|"meek"
|"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5 ([[KJV]])
|"meek" now means excessively mild, passive, pathetically submissive.
|showing humility before God
|replace "meek" with "God-fearing"
|-
|
|''Mahlon'' and ''Chilion'' (e.g.)
| Ruth 1:2 ''Mahlon'' and ''Chilion''
|The Hebrew forms mean nothing to a modern reader
|"Weak" and "Sick"
|I think we could afford to be bold and translate these names. Footnotes are a cowardly choice. If we had ''the name of his two sons were Feeble and Poorly'', it'd make much more of an impression.
|-
|
|"liberal"
|"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" Proverbs 11:25 ([[KJV]])
|"liberal" now means adhering to leftist or socialistic political or social doctrines
|showing generosity
|replace "liberal" with "generous", in line with most modern English versions
|-
|Greek ᾅδου transliteration: ''haidou'', "Hades"
|"depths"
|"No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." Matthew 11:23 ([[NIV]])
|"depths" is now understood to mean the ocean. "Hades" was used by Matthew to help Greeks comprehend Christianity's Hell. The LXX use "haidon" in Psalm 115 to translate the hebrew "dumah", so it's applicable to other concepts as well.
|Hell/depths of Hell
|replace "depths" with "Hell" - How then do we distinguish between haides and geenna (sticking to the Gk. for the moment)? Perhaps keep haides for the general realm of the dead, and geenna for a place of punishment? That seems to me to be the difference in nuance.
|}

[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible Versions]]

Bible Retranslation Project

2008-12-26T23:52:20Z

ScottW: correction

The '''Bible Retranslation Project''' recognizes that a modern language changes and devolves quickly. There are several reasons for this, including attempts by non-believers to dilute and distort powerful religious concepts for political ends, the corrosive effect of cultural changes on language, and the impact of politics on the meaning of terminology. Terms that were clear and meaningful to one generation are often unclear and less meaningful to the next.

The rate of [[devolution of language]] may be increasing as communications increase. If a word inevitably alters its meaning after an approximate number of uses, then the time period for the change in meaning will shorten due to improved technology, just as the length of a [[sound bite]] likewise shortens. In the [[internet]] era, combating the effect of language degradation on the understanding of the [[Bible]] becomes more important.

As a first step to the Bible Retranslation Project, it is useful to identify modern terms having changing, unclear or altered meaning, which appear in important passages in translations of the Bible into the corresponding modern language:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Original Term
!English Translation
!Usage
!Lack of Clarity
!Real meaning
!Suggested Improvement
|-
|Greek λόγος transliteration:"logos"
|"word"
|"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 ([[NIV]])
|"Word" now means a short utterance of a single concept, which can include a vulgarity or a falsehood
|underlying logic or profound statement of the truth
|replace "Word" with "Truth"
|-
|הָֽאָדָם (note the definite article!)
|"Adam"
|Gen 2 &c.
|It's often transliterated into ''Adam'' rather than just kept as ''the man/person/human being''. The connotation needs to be that of humanity rather than maleness; anthropos rather than aner; homo rather than vir. I feel this loses the sense of הָֽאָדָם as an Everyman, a universal figure prototypical of humanity. One might note also that חַוָּה "Eve", whilst it is undoubtedly a name, needs the connotaion of life (חָֽי) to adequately convey meaning to a reader.
|
|The man/person/human being
|-
|
|"grace"
|"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16 ([[NIV]])
|"grace" has become a female name and a sports term to refer primarily to smoothness in style
|spiritual and majestic gift-giving
|replace some instances of "grace" with "generosity"
|-
|Tahhash
|''badger''
|Describing the skins used in the construction of the Tabernacle
|It's now thought that this is certainly not a badger (or not a ''Melis'' one)
|Possibly "Hirax", though I'm not up on the most recent theories on this. One for an expert, I think.
|
|-
|מִּשְׂרָה
|"government"
|"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. ... Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." Isaiah 9:6-7 ([[NIV]])
|"government" now means officials paid by mandatory taxes and accountable to a democratic vote
|spiritual kingdom
|replace "government" with "kingdom" - I dislike this - I don't think that monarchy metaphors are really as strong or as relevant as they used to be in the days of the ubiquity absolute rulers. Also "kingdom" is an area of land, I think we want something like "rulership"? Though that sounds a bit ugly.
|-
|
|"peace"
|"... [[Jesus]] came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!'" John 20:19 ([[NIV]])
|"peace" now means an absence of war
|an inner peace and lack of personal fear or anxiety
|replace "peace" with "tranquility" - but this then gives possible issues for verses like I Kings 20:18, which now reads ''And he said, Whether they be come out for tranquility, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.'' Perhaps we could keep "peace" for ''shalom'', and "tranquility" for ''eirene''? Except Jesus, saying "Peace be with you", is presumably using shalom alechem, or Aramaic cognate, which leads to some interesting issues of consistency.
|-
|Greek πλούσιος transliteration: "plousios": "wealthy, abounding in material resources"<ref>http://www.searchgodsword.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=4145</ref>
|"rich"
|"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:24)
|"rich" now refers simply to one with many possessions, and this verse is sometimes misunderstood to justify laziness or even socialism
|having a love of possession for its own sake; miserliness
|replace "rich" with "miserly" - but N.B. ''When the evening came, there came a '''miserly''' man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple''. It could work, though.
|-
|
|"kill"
|"Thou shalt not kill" Exodus 20.13 ([[KJV]])
|In Biblical times, as today, the bearing of arms to defend ones family and society was the hallmark of Judeo-Christian civilization. The commandment referred to unjustifiable homicides - murder and manslaughter - rather than advocating blanket pacifism, as many Leftists today interpret it.
|to murder or take up arms without sufficient justification
|replace "kill" with "commit murder" depending on the original text and the context - it'd not be sensible to use murder in the context of an animal doing it, for instance!
|-
|
|"meek"
|"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5 ([[KJV]])
|"meek" now means excessively mild, passive, pathetically submissive.
|showing humility before God
|replace "meek" with "God-fearing"
|-
|
|''Mahlon'' and ''Chilion'' (e.g.)
| Ruth 1:2 ''Mahlon'' and ''Chilion''
|The Hebrew forms mean nothing to a modern reader
|"Weak" and "Sick"
|I think we could afford to be bold and translate these names. Footnotes are a cowardly choice. If we had ''the name of his two sons were Feeble and Poorly'', it'd make much more of an impression.
|-
|
|"liberal"
|"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" Proverbs 11:25 ([[KJV]])
|"liberal" now means adhering to leftist or socialistic political or social doctrines
|showing generosity
|replace "liberal" with "generous", in line with most modern English versions
|-
|Greek ᾅδου transliteration: ''hadou'', "Hades"
|"depths"
|"No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." Matthew 11:23 ([[NIV]])
|"depths" is now understood to mean the ocean. "Hades" was used by Matthew to help Greeks comprehend Christianity's Hell. The LXX use "haidon" in Psalm 115 to translate the hebrew "dumah", so it's applicable to other concepts as well.
|Hell/depths of Hell
|replace "depths" with "Hell" - How then do we distinguish between haides and geenna (sticking to the Gk. for the moment)? Perhaps keep haides for the general realm of the dead, and geenna for a place of punishment? That seems to me to be the difference in nuance.
|}

[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible Versions]]

Deafness

2008-12-25T23:44:16Z

ScottW: expanded on ASL and language

'''Deafness''' is the condition of not being able to hear. In the [[United States]], deaf people are entitled to certain government programs to help them due to the limitations imposed upon them by their disability. The legal definition of deafness in America is not absolute loss of hearing, but an inability to hear up to an acceptable level even with corrective devices.

Deafness can be a condition from birth or be caused be a later accident or illness. Loud noises can cause deafness or hearing loss.

In the United States and English Canada, American Sign Language (or ASL, Ameslan) is the most used sign language. There is a common misconception that ASL is simply signed English; it is in fact a natural language (as opposed to a conlag), and is not related. For example, ASL is not mutually intelligible with British Sign Language, which is the dominant sign language of England.

In the [[Bible]], [[Jesus]] cured the deaf and restored their hearing.

== See also ==

*[[American Medical Association]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Medicine]]

The Trouble With Tribbles

2008-12-24T23:55:10Z

ScottW: rewording

'''"The Trouble With Tribbles"''' is a second-season episode of ''[[Star Trek (original series)|Star Trek: The Original Series]]''.

==Plot summary==

The Federation wants to colonize Sherman's Planet with the aid of a grain hybrid called quadro-triticale. However, the Klingon Empire wishes to do the same, and there is a treaty stipulating that whoever can manage the planet best has claim over it. A Federation official abuses a high priority distress call to lure the USS ''Enterprise'' to Deep Space Station K7 as protection for the wheat, much to the ire of Captain Kirk. However, a Klingon ship arrives soon after, ostensibly to claim shore leave rights undere the terms of the treaty, and Kirk chooses to remain.

Meanwhile in the station bar, the merchant Cyrano Jones is selling tribbles, small furry animals whose trilling has "a tranquilizing effect on the human nervous system." Lt. Uhuru brings a free tribble back to the ship, and it spawns over a dozen more by the next day, the same size as itself. McCoy brings one to the lab to analyze it, and it spawns 10 more.

The trouble starts when a drunken Klingon soldier uses an encounter with tribbles (which shriek when near a Klingon) as a pretense to provoke a group of ''Enterprise'' crew members. Lt. Cmdr. Scott attacks the soldier, and the fight continues until security arrives. Kirk treats the incident mildly: he cancels shore leave for both ships and confines Scott and the other involved crew to quarters.

It would be unfair to the reader to give away the rest of the story, but the idea for tribbles is reminiscent of the Martian flat cats of ''The Rolling Stones'', a science fiction story by [[Robert Heinlein]].

[[category:Science Fiction]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]

Yes Minister

2008-12-23T00:06:54Z

ScottW: italics

'''''Yes Minister''''' is a [[British]] satirical television comedy about the workings of a fictional department of the British government; the Department of Administrative Affairs. Much of the humour is derived from the fact that Jim Hacker, despite being the Minister of the DAA is severely limited in his power; indeed, his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby insists that it is his job to run the Department, and Hacker's is only to provide a public face for it.

Through the course of three seasons of '''Yes Minister''', Hacker establishes himself in the DAA, and then in a Christmas episode "Party Games" succeeds in becoming the [[Prime Minister]], backed by Sir Humphrey and the Civil Service, who believe he will be easily manipulated. A sequel series, '''Yes, Prime Minister''' ran for a further two series.

==Characters==

===James "Jim" Hacker===
After backing the loser in a bid for the leadership of his party (it is deliberately ambiguous as to which one), James Hacker (Paul Eddington) is given the Department of Administrative Affairs after spending around seven years as Shadow Minister of Agriculture. Although considered around tenth highest in the Cabinet, it has a reputation for being a political graveyard, much like the Home Office. Hacker has never worked in government before, and is constantly surprised and frustrated that he holds little real power, and that regardless of his promises made in opposition, all policies tend towards maintaining the status quo thanks to the intervention of his Civil Servants. As the series goes on, he starts to become more politically skilled, and in a small number of episodes, succeeds in outwitting Sir Humphrey.
Hacker has an unfortunate tendency to say things that are open to other, unintended interpretations. He mentions once that "ministers... are chosen expressly because they know nothing."
Hacker can be seen as an exaggeration of the typical cabinet minister; he is initially concerned with doing what is right, but then avoids making any decision that can be seen as controversial in fear of losing votes. When asked whether, when he said he wanted to do something about local government, he meant "do" something or "appear to do" something, he hastily affirmed that he meant "appear to do".

===Sir Humphrey Appleby===
Just as Hacker is a caricature of a government minister, the Permanent Secretary of the DAA, Sir Humphrey (Nigel Hawthorne) is a satire of the civil servant. He is arrogant and elitist and considers it ''his'' job to run the department on a common ground, regardless of which party is in power or the minister's own policy. He is shown to have little understanding of the world outside his upper-class, grammar-school educated bubble, but believes that what is best for the Civil Service is honestly best for Britain. He constantly lampoons the fact that Hacker has an "inferior" education from London School of Economics (compared to his own degrees in Greek and Latin from Oxford) and generally talks down to Hacker (and often Bernard).
A lot of Sir Humphrey's humour comes from the euphemisms he uses when advising the Minister:
* "A controversial decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you votes.)''
* "A courageous decision, Minister" ''(That'll cost you the election.)''
* "Have you considered all of the implications?" ''(That's a bad idea.)''
Although Humphrey can be callous and overbearing, he is not without a form of respect towards Hacker and Bernard; in one episode he forces Hacker to protect Bernard from his mistakes, and occasionally helps Hacker to survive his ministerial career, usually in return for dropping a policy that Humphrey is against.

Sir Humphrey explained the roles of Bernard Wooley and himself to Jim Hacker in the first episode:
:'''Jim:''' Who else is in this department?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well briefly sir I am the Permanent Undersecretary of State known as the Permanent Secretary. Wooley here is your Principle Private Secretary. I too have a Principle Private Secretary, and he is the Principle Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, eighty-seven Undersecretaries and two hundred and nineteen assistant secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principle Private Secretaries are Plain Private Secretaries. The Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Undersecretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
:'''Jim:''' Can they all type?
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' None of us can type Minister, Mrs McKay types, she's the secretary

Sir Humphrey was big on verbosity:
:'''Hacker:''' When you give your evidence to the Think Tank, are you going to support my view that the civil service is overmanned and feather-bedded, or not? Yes or no? Straight answer!
:'''Sir Humphrey:''' Well Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one thing with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other as far as one can see, at this stage.

===Bernard Woolley===
Hacker's Private Secretary, Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds) is trusted by both Hacker (who is supposed to be loyal to) and Sir Humphrey (who he depends on for his future in the Civil Service). This means that both characters confide in him, and thus the audience. Bernard is shown to be extremely pedantic, pointing out the shortcomings in Sir Humphrey's and Hacker's metaphors. For example, when Hacker announced that the idea was to "cut through red tape with a sledgehammer" he points out that it is not possible to "cut" tape with a sledgehammer. Bernard often acts very childlike; when Humphrey insists that an inert compound is one that doesn't "ert", Bernard adds that it "wouldn't ert a fly". However, Humphrey considers him to be a "high flyer" and the novelisations of the series reveal that he eventually becomes head of the Civil Service itself.
Although sometimes ally of Humphrey, he also takes pleasure in conspiring with Hacker against him.

:'''Bernard''': But, you only need to know things on a need-to-know basis.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': I need to know ''everything''. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?
:'''Bernard''': So that means you need to know things even when you don't need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. If you don't need to know, you still need to know so that you know that there is no need to know.
:'''Sir Humphrey''': Yes!
:'''Bernard''': Good. That's very clear!

==Department of Administrative Affairs==
The (fictional) department that Hacker leads is the DAA, the Department of Administrative Affairs, whose job it is to help administer all the other departments and to reduce needless administration and red tape. Ironically, the idea of having a department whose sole purpose is to check up on other departments is itself needless administration. The DAA's unique purpose means that the programme can use ideas for episodes that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of various other ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Home Office.
The DAA was founded in 1964, when Sir Humphrey joined the department, but the forerunner of the department was founded by [[William Gladstone]] (so, presumably somewhere between 1868 and 1894).

==Portrayal of the British Government==
Within the programme, the elected officials and ministers are portrayed as being controlled almost exclusively by the civil servants, who have been in their posts for much longer as they are not elected. The Civil Service is portrayed as being hideously overstaffed and overpaid and resistant to change anything about itself. Virtually all of the [[civil servant]]s are upper-class with a grammar school/Oxford education but with little real understanding of the common people.
Politicians in general, and in particular the Cabinet, are portrayed as being relatively ignorant and reliant on their Civil Servants.

A running joke in the series in that the Foreign Office does not reflect the views of the British people, or even the government. At one point, after being told that the elaborate reception is to "show the Arab nations whose side we're on", Hacker replies that "this may come as a suprise to the Foreign Office, but you're supposed to be on '''our''' side. Later in the series, Hacker is told "they are on our side", and Hacker seeks clarification that he meant the Americans, adding that: "for a moment, I thought you meant the Foreign Office".

Former British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] commented that the portrayal of government was surprisingly accurate, and was a fan of the show even going so far as to write a script for the programme.

== External links ==
=== IMDB links to actors and characters ===
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001329/ Nigel Hawthorne] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030014/ Sir Humphrey Appleby])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0248844/ Paul Eddington] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030013/ James Hacker])
* [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0288621/ Derek Fowlds] ([http://us.imdb.com/character/ch0030015/ Bernard Woolley])

[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:Comedy]]
''Italic text''

Greek alphabet

2008-12-21T22:44:11Z

ScottW:

The '''Greek alphabet''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ελληνικό αλφάβητο) is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">[http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm Greek Alphabet], Physlink. Retrieved November 26, 2008. </ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and [[Arabic alphabet]]s). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" />

==Main letters==
The Greek alphabet and its corresponding modern and classical pronunciations in the [[IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] are as follow:<ref name="alexandro">[http://www.geocities.com/alexandrosworld/Greek/Phonology.html Phonology], MY SECRET LIFE OF LANGUAGES. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="Smyth" /><ref>Modern pronunciations separated by a slash indicate a phonetic difference depending on the following vowel. On the left is the pronunciation before [e] and [i], on the right the pronunciation before [a], [o], or [u]. In the case of iota, the difference depends on if it is word initial before a vowel.</ref>

{| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;"
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||[[Alpha]] Αα [a] [a]||[[Beta]] Ββ [v] [b]||[[Gamma]] Γγ [ʝ]/[ɣ] [g]||[[Delta (letter)|Delta]] Δδ [ð] [d]||Epsilon Εε [e] [e]||Zeta Ζζ [z] [zd]/[z]||Eta Ηη [i] [ɛ]||Theta Θθ [θ] [tʰ]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Iota Ιι [i]/[j] [i]||Kappa Κκ [c]/[k] [k]||Lambda Λλ [l] [l]||[[Mu (Greek letter)|Mu]] Μμ [m] [m]||Nu Νν [n] [n]||Xi Ξξ [ks] [ks]||Omicron Οο [o] [o]||[[Pi]] Ππ [p] [p]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Rho Ρρ [ɾ] [r]||Sigma Σσς [s] [s]||Tau Ττ [t] [t]||Upsilon Υυ [i] [y]||Phi Φφ [f] [pʰ]||Chi Χχ [ç]/[χ] [kʰ]||Psi Ψψ [ps] [ps]||[[Omega]] Ωω [o] [ɔ]||
|}

Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]].<ref>[http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html Greek Miniscule Script], Biblaridion. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on if it occurs at the end of a word (ς).

Most of the letters are named after their models in the Phoenician alphabet – compare Semitic alef, bet, gimel to Greek alpha, beta, gamma. Zeta seems to have been named to better fit with beta, eta, and theta. The origins of phi, chi, and psi are debated, but their names were simply patterned off the other -i letters. Epsilon, omicron, upsilon, and omega are the only letters with distinctly Greek names, all with origins in the Byzantine Empire. Epsilon and upsilon where given the affix -psilon (ψιλόν, "simple")<ref name="quin">[http://www.quinapalus.com/gr0.1.html Lesson 1: The Greek Alphabet (capitals)], Quinapalus. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> in order to distinguish them, respectively, from the digraphs αι and οι, which by that time had come to be pronounced the same way.<ref name="Smyth">[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0007&layout=&query=toc&loc=1 Herbert Weir Smyth, ''A Greek Grammar for Colleges''], Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> Omicron ("small o") and omega ("great o")<ref name="quin" /> were named in order to distinguish them from each other, having also come to have the same pronunciation.<ref name="Smyth" />

==Pronunciation==
In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letter (or letter clusters) of their names in English. However, some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, so this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced [b], but is now pronounced [v].<ref>[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm Greek alphabet, pronunciation and language], Omniglot. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

Digraphs are formed to signify sounds not covered by the main alphabet (e.g., ντ for [d], μπ for [b], or ου for [u]), or to represent diphthongs (e.g., αυ for [af] and [av]).<ref name="alexandro" />

==Obsolete letters==
The original Greek alphabet included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html Non-Attic Letters], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek ([w]), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Digamma and qoppa were preserved in certain Western dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letters F and Q.<ref>[http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/LetterQ.htm The Letter Q], fonts.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Qoppa is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/numerals.html Numerals], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

==Other uses==
In the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]], the letters alpha and omega are used together as an appellation for [[God]], specifically in the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13).

Greek letters are also used in the names of fraternities and sororities, as well as [[Mathematical notation|mathematical symbols]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Greek alphabet| ]]
[[Category:Greece]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-20T00:53:54Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029 Manfred Marx (1886 - 1886) - Find a Grave Memorial], Find a Grave. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

== Overview ==
Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Nightingales"),<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm Nightingales and Mascots], Marxology. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe Monkey Business (1931)], Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm Why a Duck?], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes Memorable quotes for Monkey Business (1931)], [[IMDB]]. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm Zeppo Marx], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography], Google Books. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

Video games

2008-12-20T00:50:04Z

ScottW: /* Various genres */ missed some

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as ''[[Mass Effect]]'' (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like ''Katamari Damacy''.

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series|''Breath of Fire'' series]] and the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games, in particular, use a god as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]'', ''[[Black and White]]'', ''Heaven and Hell'', ''[[Xenogears]]'', and ''[[Okami]]''.

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]''.<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*''[[Assassins Creed]]'' - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*''[[Age of Empires]]'' - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*''[[Call of Duty]]'' - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*''[[Civilization]]'' - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*''[[Donkey Kong]]'' - An early platform game in which [[Mario]] (then known as "Jumpman") tries to save his girlfriend Pauline from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many other successful video games.
*''[[Final Fantasy]]'' - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature over time.
*''[[Gears of War]]'' - Mankind has been annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*''[[Guitar Hero]]'' - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*''[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*''[[Harvest Moon]]'' - Farm life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*''[[Mass Effect]]'' - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*''[[Medal of Honor]]'' - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Multi-player fighting game which is famous for violence, blood, and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*''[[NHL]]'' series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*''[[Pac-Man]]'' - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*''[[Portal]]'' - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as ''Half-Life 2'' involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*''[[Resident Evil]]'' - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*''[[The Sims]]'' - A life simulator produced by EA.
*''[[Super Smash Brothers]]'' - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*''[[Soul Calibur]]'' - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*''[[Street Fighter]]'' - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*''[[Tomb Raider]]'' - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*''[[Pong]]'' - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Greek alphabet

2008-12-20T00:47:28Z

ScottW: proper references

The '''Greek alphabet''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ελληνικό αλφάβητο) is a set of [[alphabet|letters]] used to represent the written Greek language. Originating around the 9th century BC, it was based upon the Phoenician consonantal alphabet<ref name="physlink">[http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cfm Greek Alphabet], Physlink. Retrieved November 26, 2008. </ref> (which also gave rise to the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Arabic alphabets). The Greek alphabet was the first true alphabet, representing both consonants and vowels, each with their own individual symbol.<ref name="physlink" /> The [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] and [[Cyrillic alphabet]]s are largely based on Greek, with some modifications.<ref name="physlink" />

==Main letters==
The Greek alphabet and its corresponding modern and classical pronunciations in the [[IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] are as follow:<ref name="alexandro">[http://www.geocities.com/alexandrosworld/Greek/Phonology.html Phonology], MY SECRET LIFE OF LANGUAGES. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="Smyth" /><ref>Modern pronunciations separated by a slash indicate a phonetic difference depending on the following vowel. On the left is the pronunciation before [e] and [i], on the right the pronunciation before [a], [o], or [u]. In the case of iota, the difference depends on if it is word initial before a vowel.</ref>

{| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;"
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||[[Alpha]] Αα [a] [a]||[[Beta]] Ββ [v] [b]||[[Gamma]] Γγ [ʝ]/[ɣ] [g]||[[Delta (letter)|Delta]] Δδ [ð] [d]||Epsilon Εε [e] [e]||Zeta Ζζ [z] [zd]/[z]||Eta Ηη [i] [ɛ]||Theta Θθ [θ] [tʰ]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Iota Ιι [i]/[j] [i]||Kappa Κκ [c]/[k] [k]||Lambda Λλ [l] [l]||[[Mu (Greek letter)|Mu]] Μμ [m] [m]||Nu Νν [n] [n]||Xi Ξξ [ks] [ks]||Omicron Οο [o] [o]||[[Pi]] Ππ [p] [p]||
|-
|align="left"|'''Name''' '''Letter''' '''Modern''' '''Classical'''||Rho Ρρ [ɾ] [r]||Sigma Σσς [s] [s]||Tau Ττ [t] [t]||Upsilon Υυ [i] [y]||Phi Φφ [f] [pʰ]||Chi Χχ [ç]/[χ] [kʰ]||Psi Ψψ [ps] [ps]||[[Omega]] Ωω [o] [ɔ]||
|}

Originally Greek was only written with what are today considered capital letters. The lowercase letters are based on handwritten forms developed during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]].<ref>[http://biblaridion.blogspot.com/2005/08/greek-miniscule-script.html Greek Miniscule Script], Biblaridion. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> In the case of sigma, the lowercase form varies depending on if it occurs at the end of a word (ς).

Most of the letters are named after their models in the Phoenician alphabet – compare Semitic alef, bet, gimel to Greek alpha, beta, gamma. Zeta seems to have been named to better fit with beta, eta, and theta. The origins of phi, chi, and psi are debated, but their names were simply patterned off the other -i letters. Epsilon, omicron, upsilon, and omega are the only letters with distinctly Greek names, all with origins in the Byzantine Empire. Epsilon and upsilon where given the affix -psilon (ψιλόν, "simple")<ref name="quin">[http://www.quinapalus.com/gr0.1.html Lesson 1: The Greek Alphabet (capitals)], Quinapalus. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> in order to distinguish them, respectively, from the digraphs αι and οι, which by that time had come to be pronounced the same way.<ref name="Smyth">[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0007&layout=&query=toc&loc=1 Herbert Weir Smyth, ''A Greek Grammar for Colleges''], Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved November 27, 2008.</ref> Omicron ("small o") and omega ("great o")<ref name="quin" /> were named in order to distinguish them from each other, having also come to have the same pronunciation.<ref name="Smyth" />

==Pronunciation==
In many cases, the modern phonetic values of the letters match the pronunciation of the initial letter (or letter clusters) of their names in English. However, some letters have shifted in pronunciation since ancient times, so this is not always the case. For example, in Ancient Greek, the letter beta was pronounced [b], but is now pronounced [v].<ref>[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/greek.htm Greek alphabet, pronunciation and language], Omniglot. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

Digraphs are formed to signify sounds not covered by the main alphabet (e.g., ντ for [d], μπ for [b], or ου for [u]), or to represent diphthongs (e.g., αυ for [af] and [av]).<ref name="alexandro" />

==Obsolete letters==
The original Greek alphabet included the letters digamma<ref>Earlier known as "wau" (ϝαυ)</ref> (Ϝϝ), san (Ϻϻ), and qoppa (Ϙϙ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/nonattic.html Non-Attic Letters], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Digamma was dropped due to the loss of the sound it represented in Greek ([w]), and san and qoppa were dropped in favor of sigma and kappa. Digamma and qoppa were preserved in certain Western dialects, and eventually evolved into the Latin letters F and Q.<ref>[http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Articles/Letterseries/LetterQ.htm The Letter Q], fonts.com. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref> Qoppa is still used occasionally as a Greek numeral, albeit in a different form (Ϟϟ).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/numerals.html Numerals], Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Retrieved November 26, 2008.</ref>

==Other uses==
In the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]], the letters alpha and omega are used together as an appellation for [[God]], specifically in the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13).

Greek letters are also used in the names of fraternities and sororities, as well as [[Mathematical notation|mathematical symbols]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Greek alphabet| ]]
[[Category:Greece]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-20T00:27:17Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029 Manfred Marx (1886 - 1886) - Find a Grave Memorial], Find a Grave. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm Nightingales and Mascots], Marxology. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe Monkey Business (1931)], Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm Why a Duck?], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes Memorable quotes for Monkey Business (1931)], [[IMDB]]. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm Zeppo Marx], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography], Google Books. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-20T00:26:22Z

ScottW: refs

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029 Find a Grave - Manfred Marx], Find a Grave. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm Nightingales and Mascots], Marxology. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe Monkey Business (1931)], Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm Why a Duck?], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes Memorable quotes for Monkey Business (1931)], [[IMDB]]. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>[http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm Zeppo Marx], www.marx-brothers.org. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result The Marx Brothers: A Bio-Bibliography], Google Books. Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

User:ScottW

2008-12-19T23:45:50Z

ScottW:

"I’ve had a perfectly lovely evening. Unfortunately, it wasn’t this one."

User talk:ScottW

2008-12-19T23:44:16Z

ScottW: moved from user page

{{welcome}} [[User:Bugler|Bugler]] 08:31, 16 December 2008 (EST)

User:ScottW

2008-12-19T23:44:03Z

ScottW: moving to talk

Hi.

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:40:17Z

ScottW: /* References */ alphabetizing

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:39:20Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an [[Italy|Italian]] accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act: for example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:38:26Z

ScottW: damn parodist

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's stage persona was that of an [[Italy|Italian]] immigrant. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act. For example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:37:24Z

ScottW: cats, Chico

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico (pronounced "CHICK-o", not "CHEEK-o") affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger. Chico's stage persona was that of an [[Itali]]an immigrant. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act. For example, in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?"

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]
[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Groucho Marx

2008-12-19T23:31:49Z

ScottW: oops

'''Groucho Marx''', born '''Julius Henry Marx''' (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was a [[Jew]]ish-American [[vaudeville]] comedian. He is most famous for his appearances with his brothers Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo as the [[Marx Brothers]].

==Early life==
As a young [[Jew]] growing up in [[Manhattan]], Julius Marx and his four brothers — Leonard (Chico), Arthur (Harpo), Milton (Gummo), and Herbert (Zeppo) — followed their uncle's footsteps into [[vaudeville]]. Each brother developed a [[characteristic]] stage persona; for example, Groucho wore a greasepaint [[mustache]] and smoked a fat [[cigar]] in imitation of a college professor, while Harpo rarely said anything except through a [[horn]].

==Solo career==
Groucho went on to host the [[game show]] ''You Bet Your Life'' and appear on ''Dick Cavett''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Groucho}}
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]

Groucho Marx

2008-12-19T23:31:27Z

ScottW:

Groucho Marx

2008-12-19T23:30:43Z

ScottW: moving

'''Groucho Marx''', born '''Julius Henry Marx''' (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was a [[Jew]]ish-American [[vaudeville]] comedian. He is most famous for his appearances with his brothers Chico and Harpo as the "Three Marx Brothers".

==Early life==
As a young [[Jew]] growing up in [[Manhattan]], Julius Marx and his four brothers — Leonard (Chico), Arthur (Harpo), Milton (Gummo), and Herbert (Zeppo) — followed their uncle's footsteps into [[vaudeville]]. Each brother developed a [[characteristic]] stage persona; for example, Groucho wore a greasepaint [[mustache]] and smoked a fat [[cigar]] in imitation of a college professor, while Harpo rarely said anything except through a [[horn]].

==Solo career==
Groucho went on to host the [[game show]] ''You Bet Your Life'' and appear on ''Dick Cavett''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Groucho}}

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:29:29Z

ScottW: /* From vaudeville to film */ rewording

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo's straight-man did not fare as well. Audiences did not respond to his light touch, preferring more slapstick comedy. Zeppo had also grown bored with the role, and after the success of ''Duck Soup'', left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:28:00Z

ScottW:

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of ''Duck Soup'', Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:26:53Z

ScottW: /* From vaudeville to film */

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or on film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''Animal Crackers'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''Duck Soup'', which took potshots at the tin pot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of ''Duck Soup'', Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:26:13Z

ScottW: /* From vaudeville to film */

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or on film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''[[Animal Crackers]]'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''[[Duck Soup]]'', which took [[pot]]shots at the tinpot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of ''Duck Soup'', Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together on film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:25:50Z

ScottW: /* From vaudeville to film */

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or on film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''[[Animal Crackers]]'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''[[Duck Soup]]'', which took [[pot]]shots at the tinpot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of ''Duck Soup'', Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together in film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T23:25:34Z

ScottW: forked from Groucho Marx, and slightly reworked

The '''Marx Brothers''' were a successful sibling comedy act who appeared on [[Broadway]], in [[film]], and, toward the end of their careers, [[television]]. The most successful line up consisted of brothers [[Groucho Marx|Groucho]], [[Chico Marx|Chico]], [[Harpo Marx|Harpo]], and (sometimes) [[Zeppo Marx|Zeppo]]. A fifth brother, Gummo, took part in early stage shows, but later went into behind the scenes work before the act became famous. A sixth brother, Manfred, died a few months after his birth.<ref>http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12415029</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real name
! Stage name
|-
| Leonard Marx
| Chico
|-
| Julius Henry Marx
| Groucho
|-
| Milton Marx
| Gummo
|-
| Arthur<ref>Born "Adolph", having changed his name in 1911.</ref> Marx
| Harpo
|-
| Herbert Marx
| Zeppo
|-
|}

Originally the Marx Brothers were a singing group ("The Three Nightingales"),<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/mascots.htm</ref> but the act quickly became a variety show, with each brother taking part in comic sketches and/or showcasing his musical instrument of choice. As the act developed, the brothers created distinct stage personae, and in most instances would portray that persona regardless of their character in the play, sketch, or film in question.<ref>http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=86548&rss=mrqe</ref>

Groucho portrayed a cigar waggling conman with a greasepaint moustache and a natty black suit. His trademark was punning, which ranged from the simple to the ribald: "I'm gonna take you down and show you our cemetery. I've got a waiting list of fifty people down at that cemetery just dying to get in it."<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/whyaduck/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm</ref> He was also noted for socially satirical wordplay, as in the film ''Monkey Business'' (1931):
{{cquote|Madame Swempski: I don't like this innuendo.
Groucho: That's what I always say: love flies out the door when money comes innuendo.<ref>Groucho turns ''innuendo'' to "in your window". [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/quotes]</ref>}}

Harpo portrayed a clownish mute, and never spoke on either stage or on film. He usually dressed in a trench coat, top hat, and a bright red wig. He carried a bicycle horn, and would often sidle up to a person and have them hold his leg up. His name was derived from his harp playing, which had been a staple of their stage act (and later films).

Chico affected an Italian accent, and was usually paired as Harpo's partner. He competed in wordplay with Groucho and played piano, sometimes ending a glissando by "shooting" the last note with his index finger.

Zeppo played the group's straight man and occasional romantic lead,<ref>http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/zeppo.htm</ref> though on stage he understudied for Groucho, and was considered just as capable a comedian as his siblings. <ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=k64P_6iYpmUC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=zeppo+understudy+groucho&source=bl&ots=uQoGLAfa09&sig=ys2CDvkJYy1Qw339VywlwosZWgY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result</ref> Zeppo eventually left the group and ran a company that produced parts for the [[World War II|war]] effort.

==From vaudeville to film==
Beginning with 1929's ''The Cocoanuts'' and followed in 1930 with ''[[Animal Crackers]]'', the Marx Brothers took to the screen for a series of long-running and widely acclaimed musical comedies. Their 1933 ''[[Duck Soup]]'', which took [[pot]]shots at the tinpot [[dictatorship]]s of prewar [[Europe]], is frequently rated one of the greatest comedies of all time.{{fact}}

While Groucho, Harpo, and Chico's characters translated easily to the cinematic medium, Zeppo Marx's straight-man persona did not fare so well. Audiences didn't respond to Zeppo's light touch, preferring the more slapstick comedy of Groucho, Chico, and Harpo, and Zeppo grew bored with the role. After the success of ''Duck Soup'', Zeppo left the act for good.

The three Marx Brothers made a few more films with MGM, such as ''A Night at the Opera'' and ''A Day at the Races'', but the quality of their work began to falter, and the act was essentially defunct by the 1950s. The brothers made one last appearance together in film with cameos in Irwin Allen's ''The Story of Mankind''.

==Filmography==

*''Humor Risk'' (1921) (Believed lost)
*''The Cocoanuts'' (1929, Paramount)
*''Animal Crackers'' (1930, Paramount)
*''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Monkey Business'' (1931, Paramount)
*''Horse Feathers'' (1932, Paramount)
*''Duck Soup'' (1933, Paramount)
*''A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM)
*''A Day at the Races'' (1937, MGM)
*''Room Service'' (1938, RKO)
*''At the Circus'' (1939, MGM)
*''Go West'' (1940, MGM)
*''The Big Store'' (1941, MGM)
*''A Night in Casablanca'' (1946, United Artists)
*''Love Happy'' (1949, United Artists)
*''The Story of Mankind'' (1957, Warner Bros.)

== See also ==

*[[Charlie Chaplin]]
*[[Buster Keaton]]
*[[Laurel and Hardy]]

==References==
<references />

[[category:Vaudeville]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Groucho Marx

2008-12-19T23:18:56Z

ScottW: this is all true; template no longer needed

'''Groucho Marx''', born '''Julius Henry Marx''' (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was a [[Jew]]ish-American [[vaudeville]] comedian. He is most famous for his appearances with his brothers Chico and Harpo as the "Three Marx Brothers".

==Early life==
As a young [[Jew]] growing up in [[Manhattan]], Julius Marx and his four brothers — Leonard (Chico), Arthur (Harpo), Milton (Gummo), and Herbert (Zeppo) — followed their uncle's footsteps into [[vaudeville]]. Each brother developed a [[characteristic]] stage persona; for example, Groucho wore a greasepaint [[mustache]] and smoked a fat [[cigar]] in imitation of a college professor, while Harpo rarely said anything except through a [[horn]]. Chico's stage persona was that of an [[Itali]]an immigrant. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act. For example, at one point in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?".

==Solo career==
Groucho went on to host the [[game show]] ''You Bet Your Life'' and appear on ''Dick Cavett''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Groucho}}
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]

Groucho Marx

2008-12-19T23:17:42Z

ScottW: /* From vaudeville to film */ moving to Marx Brothers

{{Template:Vandalism2}}

'''Groucho Marx''', born '''Julius Henry Marx''' (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was a [[Jew]]ish-American [[vaudeville]] comedian. He is most famous for his appearances with his brothers Chico and Harpo as the "Three Marx Brothers".

==Early life==
As a young [[Jew]] growing up in [[Manhattan]], Julius Marx and his four brothers — Leonard (Chico), Arthur (Harpo), Milton (Gummo), and Herbert (Zeppo) — followed their uncle's footsteps into [[vaudeville]]. Each brother developed a [[characteristic]] stage persona; for example, Groucho wore a greasepaint [[mustache]] and smoked a fat [[cigar]] in imitation of a college professor, while Harpo rarely said anything except through a [[horn]]. Chico's stage persona was that of an [[Itali]]an immigrant. Chico's "ancestry" became a running gag in the Marx Brothers' act. For example, at one point in the film ''Animal Crackers'' Groucho turns to Chico and asks, "When did you become Italian?".

==Solo career==
Groucho went on to host the [[game show]] ''You Bet Your Life'' and appear on ''Dick Cavett''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Groucho}}
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Jewish People]]

Talk:Laurel and Hardy

2008-12-19T18:40:16Z

ScottW: no worries

For the comedy favourites honor roll, you might want to consider adding the Monty Python team. [[User:ETrundel|ETrundel]] 13:24, 19 December 2008 (EST)
:The "honor roll" appears to be a quotation. I'm not sure what it's doing there in the first place (though arguably it illustrates their notability). --[[User:ScottW|Scott]] 13:31, 19 December 2008 (EST)
::Yeah, it's a quotation. Wasn't paying attention, sorry! [[User:ETrundel|ETrundel]] 13:36, 19 December 2008 (EST)
:::No worries! --[[User:ScottW|Scott]] 13:40, 19 December 2008 (EST)

Canada

2008-12-19T18:37:56Z

ScottW: /* Cultural style */

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="2"|[[Image:Canada pol99.jpg|300px]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|''Canada''
|-
!align ="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Flag
!align ="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Flag of Canada.svg|50px|]]
|-
!align ="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|Arms
!align ="center" style="color: black; height: 30px; background: white no-repeat scroll top left;"|[[Image:Canada arms.png|48px|]]
|-
|-
|Capital
|[[Ottawa]]
|-
|Government
|[[Parliamentary Democracy]]/[[Federal]] [[Constitutional monarchy]]
|-
|Monarch
|[[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]
|-
|Official Languages
|[[English]] and [[French]]
|-
|Governor General
|Her Excellency the Right Honourable [[Michaëlle Jean]]
|-
|Prime Minister
|The Right Honourable [[Stephen Harper]]
|-
|Area
|3,854,085 sq mi 9,984,670 km2
|-
|Population (2007 estimate)
|32,907,500
|-
|GDP (2007 estimate)
|$1.105 trillion
|-
|GDP per capita (2007 estimate)
|$35,133
|-
|}
'''Canada''' is the largest country in [[North America]], and the second largest in the world behind [[Russia]]. It also has the longest coastline of any nation. Canada borders the [[United States]] to the south and northwest. Canada's motto, ''A Mari usque ad Mare'' (From sea to sea), is based on biblical scripture: "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth (Psalm 72:8)".<ref>[http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/arm2_e.cfm The Arms of Canada- Description]</ref>
==Etymology==
The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word "kanata", meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, two Huron youths directed [[Jacques Cartier]] to "kanata", their village. The village they referred to was Stadacona, the future site of Quebec City.<ref name="Canadian_Encylopedia">[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&ArticleId=A0001216 The Canadian Encyclopedia]</ref> By 1545, European books and maps began referring to this region as Canada.

The name ''Dominion of Canada'' was adopted during [[British North America Act|confederation]] in 1867, and kept until the [[Constitution Act]] of 1982, when "Canada" became the only legal name.

== History and the Constitution ==
[[Image:Supreme Court of Canada.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Supreme Court of Canada.]]
Canada was officially created by the signing of the British North America Act, which came into force on July 1, 1867. The BNA Act was an [[Act of Parliament|Act of the British Parliament]], and is also referred to as the Constitution Act of 1867. The first Prime Minister, [[John A Macdonald|Sir John A. Macdonald]], was a member of the Liberal-Conservative Party.
The BNA Act was later amended in 1982 by the Constitution Act of 1982. The Right Honourable [[Pierre Elliot Trudeau]], the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada at the time, also established the Canadian [[Charter of Rights and Freedoms]] as part of the Constitution Act. The Charter sets clear, fundamental freedoms for all Canadians. It has been cited in thousands of court challenges and is the fundamental legal document supporting the national legalization of same-sex marriages and the prevention of government intervention regarding abortion.

The Canadian national flag was officially adopted February 15, 1965; prior to that time and subsequent to Confederation in 1867, Canada used a variant of the Red Ensign, a British merchant flag, as its national flag. The Liberal government refused to hold a referendum on the subject; instead the public was invited to submit designs.<ref>[http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/df3_e.cfm Birth of the Canadian Flag]</ref> The introduction of the new flag was not without controversy.

In a memo from Diefenbaker’s personal files he wrote:
<blockquote>The Pearson flag is a meaningless Flag. There is no recognition of history; no indication of the existence of French and English Canada; the partnership of the races; no acknowledgement of history. It is a flag without a past, without history, without honour and without pride.” (Source – I Stand for Canada: The Story of the Maple Leaf Flag ).<ref>[http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/cultural/flag/national-flag-canada.html The Debate Over the Maple Leaf Flag]</ref></blockquote>

While the debate has been largely forgotten today, the Red Ensign can still be seen flying on some private homes and the debate does reemerge into the public domain occasionally. <ref>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070321.wxflag21/BNStory/National/ PM wants Red Ensign to fly at Vimy, sources say]</ref>

The Canadian national anthem, '[[O Canada]]', was written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier as a poem, to which music, composed by Calixa Lavallée, was later added, in 1880. The original was composed in French, and was first translated into English by Dr. Thomas Bedford Richardson of Toronto, Ontario, in 1906. However, it was not officially adopted as the national anthem until 1980.<ref>[http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/anthem_e.cfm National Anthem: O Canada]</ref> It is important to distinguish between 'O Canada', the national anthem, and 'God Save The Queen', which is the Royal anthem, played as a salute to Her Majesty [[Queen Elizabeth II]] as Queen of Canada.

== Provinces and Territories ==
[[Image:800px-Canada-satellite.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A satellite image of Canada.]]
At the time of Confederation, Canada was comprised of four provinces: Upper Canada (now Ontario), Lower Canada (now Québec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Since that time, six additional provinces have joined Canada or have been created. From west to east, the provinces are [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], [[Manitoba]], [[Ontario]], [[Québec]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Nova Scotia]], and [[Newfoundland|Newfoundland and Labrador]]. Newfoundland was the last province to join Canada, in 1949. The provinces all elect a single (unicameral) legislature, headed by Premier, who is selected the same way as the Prime Minister. A Lieutenant-Governor represents the Queen, similar to the Governor General.
Canada has three territories: the [[Yukon Territory]], the [[Northwest Territories]], and [[Nunavut]]. Territories have only have those powers delegated to them by the federal government

== Government ==
The government of Canada is split into two orders, federal and provincial, as outlined by the BNA Act. Each has very specific responsibilities, with some overlap. For instance, universal health care is mandated by the Federal Government, but it is administered by the Provincial Governments. Neither level has supremacy over the other. The Federal Government is run out of [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]]; the provincial governments are run out the ten provincial capitals.

The federal parliament is bicameral, including both a lower house - the [[Canadian House of Commons]] - and an upper house - the [[Canadian Senate]]. The parliamentary system is based on the British parliament. Members of Parliament represent specific geographical areas, generally chosen to have approximately equal population. A single member is elected from each on a [[first past the post]] system. The [[prime minister]] is usually the leader of the party with the most seats, though two or more parties may form a [[coalition]] to form a government.

The Senate is made up of sentors appointed for life by the prime minister (acting on behalf of the Governer General).

In almost all cases, Acts of Parliament are created in the House of Commons. After passing three readings in the House of Commons, the bill is passed to the Senate. The job of the Senate is to further debate the proposed legislation, before passing it to the Governor General for Royal Assent. The Governor General is the official representative of Her Majesty [[Queen Elizabeth II]], Queen of Canada. The Governor General is, in the absence of the Queen, Canada's Head of State, and the Commander-in-Chief of the [[Canadian Forces]]. The Prime Minister of Canada is the head of Government of Canada, acting as the Minister of the Crown, based on the British system.

All provincial legislatures are unicameral. The legislative process for provincial legislation is the same as for federal legislation, except that there is no Senate and the legislation is given royal assent by the provincial Lieutenants Governor, who represent the monarch at the provincial level.

From 1841 to 1844, the capital city of what would become Canada was located in [[Kingston|Kingston, Ontario]]. Subsequently the capital alternated between [[Toronto]] and [[Montreal]] until 1857, when the capital moved to [[Ottawa|Ottawa, Ontario]].

== Present Day ==
The 40th Canadian Federal General Election occurred on October 14, 2008.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/07/election-call.html "Vote set for Oct. 14"]</ref> Currently, the Prime Minister is The Right Honourable [[Stephen Harper]], a member of the [[Conservative Party of Canada]], while Her Excellency [[Michaëlle Jean]] is the Governor General. At present Canada is governed by a [[minority government]].

In 2005 the city of [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] was voted "the world's best place to live".<ref> [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4306936.stm Vancouver is "best place to live"]</ref>
Canada's population is increasingly urban, with 6 cities recording a population over 1 million ([[Toronto]], [[Montreal]], [[Vancouver]], [[Ottawa]]-Gatineau, [[Calgary]], [[Edmonton]]); these 6 cities represent over 45% of Canada's population. Canada is becoming an increasingly multicultural country, with most new immigrants settling in [[Toronto]], [[Montreal]] and [[Vancouver]]. [[Toronto]] is the world's most multicultural city, with 43% a member of a visible minority.<ref>http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=bb0fee45-b305-490a-b161-a21bcb1d7329&k=34160</ref>

== Public Health Care ==
In 1984, the Federal Government, under the leadership of the Liberals and The Right Honourable [[Pierre Trudeau|Pierre Elliot Trudeau]], enacted the Canada Health Act. This act was based on the five principles of "universality, accessibility, portability, comprehensiveness, and public administration"<ref>[http://www.fin.gc.ca/FEDPROV/hise.html History of Canada Health and Social Transfer]</ref>. This public health care system is run in partnership by Health Canada and provincial Ministries of Health, who both contribute tax revenues. The federal government sets policy, while the provinces are responsible for actual administration. In 1995, the Canada Health and Social Transfer was created to replace existing systems for the transferal of tax funding to the provinces to administer social programs. The rationale behind the system is to allow all Canadians equal access to equal treatment, regardless of socio-economic status.

In Canada health care is frequently listed as top issue in election campaigns and is both a topic of frequent debate and a point of pride for many Canadians, Tommy Douglas the founder of medicare was, for example, voted the "Greatest Canadian" on a CBC television programme in 2004 <ref>
http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/</ref>.

The current state of Canada's public health care system is gathering increasing media attention due to rising wait times. [[David Gratzer]] wrote:
<blockquote>... government researchers have provided the best data on the doctor shortage, noting, for example, that more than 1.5 million Ontarians (or 12 percent of that province’s population) can’t find family physicians. <ref>[http://city-journal.org/html/17_3_canadian_healthcare.html The Ugly Truth about Canadian Healthcare] </ref></blockquote>
Most of the blame for the current state of affairs has been placed on successive government mismanagement. This represents a failure of the federal government to properly regulate the level of service being offered in the provinces. People regularly have to wait between four and eight months for necessary surgeries depending on the nature of the surgery, and province of residence.{{fact}} The median wait time for an MRI across Canada is 10.3 weeks in 2006.<ref>http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=nr&id=753</ref> In fact, former Prime Minister [[Jean Chretien|Jean Chrétien]] campaigned on a promise to shut down private MRI clinics because it creates a two tier system, regardless of the demand for more facilities.

In recent years, there has been suggestion from some lobby groups that Canada should adopt a two-tier health care system, while others have expressed strong opposition to this idea, including the federal government under the Liberal Party. Some argue that Canada already does have a two-tier health care system as the very wealthy can go to the United States for treatment. The argument for allowing private health care is twofold. The first reason is that competition may improve the quality of products and services, while the increase in options will allow those with the means to access private health care and may relieve some of the burden off the public system. Critics argue that health is a right, and that everyone should have access to the same standard of care.

Recently, in [[Québec]], a provincial judge has ruled that private health care providers must be allowed to compete with the government-run health care system.

== Secession movements ==
There are separatist movements lobbying for independence from Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, and Québec. The only movement of real significance is in Québec, where the province has twice voted on whether or not to separate from Canada, once in 1980 and again in 1995; the vote in 1995 failed by just 1 percent. On November 27, 2006, the Federal Government passed a motion declaring Québec a nation "within a united Canada". <ref> http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Pub=hansard&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=1&DocId=2544166&File=0#OOB-1799206</ref>

== Culture ==
Due to its colonial past, Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[France|French]] cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture has been greatly influenced by United States' culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. Amidst this, Canadian culture has developed some unique characteristics, and many Canadian movies, authors, [[television]] shows, and musicians are equally popular in United States. Canadian culture has also been influenced by indigenous cultures, and by immigrant groups from around the world. It has the highest per capita immigration rate of any country in the world <ref>.http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080402/d080402a.htm </ref>

Canada has two federal official languages, French and English. The province of Quebec has French as an official language, New Brunswick both French and English, and all other provinces English (although in some parts of Ontario French has special status). The territory of Nunavut has Inuktitu and Innuinaqtun as official languages in addition to French and English, the North West territories has eleven official languages, and the Yukon recognises French and English.

Canada tends to reflect more liberal ideals than the United States. Two such examples are the legalizing of [[gay marriage]] in June, 2005<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/06/28/samesex050628.html CBC news article on passing of gay marriage law]</ref> and, in some regions, the decriminalization of medicinal [[marijuana]] and small amounts of other psychoactive substances.

Notable sports which are enjoyed throughout Canada include [[hockey]], [[curling]], [[lacrosse]], and [[football]]. Canada collected 18 medals in the Summer Olympics, more per capita than the United States but less than Australia. The country finished third overall in the Torino Winter Olympics, with a total of 24 medals, one less than the United States and 10 more than next-place [[Sweden]]. The next winter Olympics, to be held in 2010 will be held in Vancouver and Whistler.

==Religion==
For the total population, approximately 44% of the population of Canada is [[Catholicism|Catholic]], with a another 29% being [[Protestantism|Protestant]] (all denominations). However, while 16% of the total population has no religious affiliation (including atheists and agnostics), 20% of the population under 25 has declared no religion, congruent with the world-wide trend of increasing secularism in young demographics. <ref>Statistics Canada - Cat. No. 97F0022XCB2001002</ref> Other religions of significance in Canada include Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism.

== Taxation ==
The average tax rate in Canada is higher than in the United States. In 2003, Canada's tax burden equals about 33.8% of GDP placing it in the middle of the G7 countries, with Japan lowest at 25.3% and France highest at 43.4% <ref>[http://www.fin.gc.ca/activty/faq1e.html#Taxation Department of Finance Canada: FAQs]</ref>. The US rate is roughly 25.6%; this discrepancy is consistent with the differing levels of social services which the governments funds. Canada also has managed to run without a budget deficit for a number of years.

Equalization payments, worth 11.7 billion Canadian dollars are made by the federal government to the provinces from richer provinces (currently Alberta, Newfoundland<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2008/11/03/have-not.html]</ref>, and British Columbia) and the poorer provinces (Ontario, <ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/03/flaherty-ministers.html]</ref>, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) . This is to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.<ref>Budget 2007 [http://www.budget.gc.ca/2007/bp/bpc4e.html]</ref> These payments have not been without controversy as provinces begin to make more revenues from natural resources they do not want to give up the Equalization payments.

British Columbia has the lowest corporate tax rate in North America <ref>http://www.investbc.com/businessclimate.htm</ref>.

Canada also has a national sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5% on all purchases. Some provinces add an additional percentage in the form of a Provincial Sales Tax (PST), or a combined Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) combining GST and the Provincial Sales Tax. Based on actual income, and a number of other factors, the government will refund GST/HST to eligible tax payers in quarterly installments on the fifth of the month in July, October, January, and April.

==Cultural style==
Canadian culture puts stress on open-mindedness and tolerance of multiple viewpoints.<ref>See [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/features/cucanada.xml&source=EMC-exp_01102008 National Cultural Profiles, a guide from the London ''Telegraph'' to the thinking patterns of all the world's major cultures]</ref> Canadian opinion shows a strong sense of wanting to be independent of the U.S., although their economy, society, and culture closely resembles the U.S., and most Canadians live a short drive from the border. Canada is usually contrasted as a "cultural mosaic" to the United States's "melting pot".<ref>http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/canadian-cultural-mosaic-american-melting-pot</ref>

== Education ==
Education in Canada is the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments; curriculum and marking schemes are completely removed from the control of the federal government. Each province uses a different method of administering education, with variation in the number of years and the curriculum. Quebec, for example has five years of secondary school finishing at the equivalent of grade 11 followed by two years of CEGEP, while Ontario has two years of kindergarten. Most provinces have kidergarten beginning at age 5 through grade 12 (age 17) as part of the public system. Some provinces have standardised provincial exams at the end of secondary school and/or at other designated grades.

Several provinces have two publicly funded school systems: public and separate (e.g. Catholic). The constitution also guarantees education in one's first official language and, as such, all provinces and territories have both English and French language schooling. Additionally, private schools both religious and secular exist throughout the country. Alberta has an additional category, known as charter schools. Charter schools are schools that have been created in the community to surround a particular theme. They could be artistic, vocational, etc.

The Canadian grading scale markedly differs from the grading scale in the United States. In the US, a 59% or below earns you an F, a 60% nets a D-, and 80% a B. However, in Canadian universities, only 49% or below is an R, 60% will net a C+, and 80% is an A-. <ref>http://www.federal-realestate.com/info-schools/mcgill-university.html</ref>. Marking in Canadian universities, however, tends to be lower with grades over 90% extremely rare in the humanities and social sciences, and higher entrance marks required for those entering from American high schools.

In some Canadian secondary schools, the mark F is absent and substituted by R. A ranges from 100%-80%, B from 79%-70%, C from 69%-60%, D from 59%-50% and R is any mark less than 50%. However, as education is under provincial jurisdiction marking varies regionally and it is difficult to make generalisations across the board.

This may vary from province to province; it is also important to note that comparison of educational achievement requires more than a cursory observation of grading scales. Perhaps a better source of comparison is the Human Development Index, a measurement of literacy, education, life expectancy and standard of living. Using this scale, with Iceland at number one, Canada falls in at number four and the United States ranks at 12.

== Military ==
As of the most recent cabinet shuffle, Conservative MP Peter MacKay has assumed the role of Minister of National Defence.

The [[Canadian Forces]] is comprised of the Regular Force, the Reserve Force, and the Special Force (when so in service). The Regular and Reserve Forces employ over 62,000 and 25,000 members respectively. While the various branches wear distinctive elemental uniforms (DEU), the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force were amalgamated in 1968 into one common command structure <ref>http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about/index_e.asp</ref>.
The Canadian Forces are <ref>http://www.canadianally.com/ca/forces-cf-en.asp</ref>equipped with modern vehicles such as the Canadian-built LAV III, the German-built Leopard CII tanks and both the American-built CF-18 Hornet and CC-177 Globemaster III. The Canadian government spends about 17 billion Canadian dollars annually on defence<ref>[http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20072008/me-bd/part1/ME-030_e.asp http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/20072008/me-bd/part1/ME-030_e.asp]</ref>.

The Conservative government has continued the trend of increased defence spending initiated by the Liberals, and have also taken steps to decrease red-tape preventing the troops from having the necessary equipment to keep them safe and effective.

Over 3000 Canadian troops are currently deployed around the world, with over 2500 in [[Afghanistan]] where they are assisting in anti-terrorism & reconstruction operations, and another 500 are deployed to the Middle East where they are attached to a US-led coalition fleet and the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). These are prime examples of Canada's capability for interoperability with foreign military forces.
==Further reading==
* [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ ''The Dictionary of Canadian Biography''] (1966-2006), thousands of scholarly biographies of notables who died by 1930
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCESubjects&Params=A1 ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (2008)] reliable detailed encyclopedia, on-line free
* Artibise, Alan F. J., ed. ''Interdisciplinary Approaches to Canadian Society: A Guide to the Literature.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1990. 156 pp.
* Bickerton, James, and Alain Gagnon. ''Canadian Politics'' (2004) 584 pages, textbook
* Blore, Shawn. ''Frommer's Canada'' (2004) 828 pages travel guide
* Bumsted,J.M. ''The Peoples of Canada: A Pre-Confederation History''; and ''The Peoples of Canada: A Post-Confederation History.'' (2004). college textbook
* Campbell, Robert Malcolm et al. ''The Real Worlds of Canadian Politics: Cases in Process and Policy,'' (2004) 342 pages
* Conrad, Margaret, and Alvin Finkel. ''Canada: A National History.'' (2003), college textbook.
* Conrad, Margaret, and Alvin Finkel, eds. ''Foundations: Readings in Post-Confederation Canadian History.'' and ''Nation and Society: Readings in Post-Confederation Canadian History''. Pearson Longman, 2004. articles by scholars
* Creighton, Donald; ''A History of Canada: Dominion of the North'' 1958, 626 pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9444590 online edition], textbook
* Hallowell, Gerald, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian History'' (2004) 1650 short entries
* Desmond Morton. ''A Short History of Canada'' 5th ed (2001)
* ''National Atlas of Canada'' (1st ed. 1906; 2nd ed. 1915; 3rd ed. 1957; 4th ed. 1974; 6th ed. 1999 is electronic)
* Prentice, Alison ''et al''. ''Canadian Women: a history'' (1996, 2nd edition)
* Pryke, Kenneth G. and Walter C. Soderlund, eds. ''Profiles of Canada.'' Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003. 3rd edition.
* Riendeau, Roger. ''A Short History of Canada'' (2nd ed 2007)
* Toye, William, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature.'' Oxford U. Press, 1983. 843 pp.
* Westhues, Anne. '' Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives,'' 2003

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External Links ==
* [http://www.gc.ca/ Government of Canada]
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/ Parliament of Canada]
* [http://www.pch.gc.ca/ Department of Canadian Heritage]
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html CIA World Factbook:Canada]
* [http://www.forces.ca The Canadian Forces]

=== Political Party Websites (Major) ===
* [http://www.conservative.ca Conservative Party of Canada]
* [http://www.liberal.ca Liberal Party of Canada]
* [http://www.ndp.ca New Democratic Party of Canada]
* [http://www.blocquebecois.org Bloc Québécois]
* [http://www.greenparty.ca Green Party of Canada]

=== Political Party Websites (Minor) ===
* [http://http://www.fpnpoc.ca/ First Peoples National Party of Canada]
* [http://www.partyofalberta.org/ Party of Alberta]
* [http://www.progressivecanadian.org/ Progressive Canadian Party]
* [http://www.mlpc.ca/ Marxist-Leninist Party]
* [http://www.canadianactionparty.ca/ Canadian Action Party]
* [http://www.peoplespoliticalpower.ca/ People's Political Power Party]
* [http://www.animalalliance.ca/ Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party]
* [http://www.westernblockparty.com/ Western Bloc Party]
* [http://www.chp.ca/en/index.html Christian Heritage Party of Canada]

===Political Advocacy Websites===
*[http://www.canadadivided.com/ Canada Divided]
*[http://www.projectalberta.com/ Project Alberta]
*[http://onthefencefilms.com/video/twowomen.html Two Women]
*[http://www.westcan.org/ Western Canada Concept]

[[Category:Canada| ]]
[[Category:North American Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:Christian-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Canadian History]]

Talk:Laurel and Hardy

2008-12-19T18:33:12Z

ScottW: ps

Talk:Laurel and Hardy

2008-12-19T18:31:10Z

ScottW: honor roll

Video games

2008-12-19T18:29:59Z

ScottW: The Italics Strike Back

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as [[Mass Effect]] (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like "Katamari Damacy".

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series|''Breath of Fire'' series]] and the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games, in particular, use a god as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]'', ''[[Black and White]]'', ''Heaven and Hell'', ''[[Xenogears]]'', and ''[[Okami]]''.

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]''.<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*''[[Assassins Creed]]'' - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*''[[Age of Empires]]'' - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*''[[Call of Duty]]'' - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*''[[Civilization]]'' - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*''[[Donkey Kong]]'' - An early platform game in which [[Mario]] (then known as "Jumpman") tries to save his girlfriend Pauline from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many other successful video games.
*''[[Final Fantasy]]'' - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature over time.
*''[[Gears of War]]'' - Mankind has been annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*''[[Guitar Hero]]'' - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*''[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*''[[Harvest Moon]]'' - Farm life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*''[[Mass Effect]]'' - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*''[[Medal of Honor]]'' - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Multi-player fighting game which is famous for violence, blood, and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*''[[NHL]]'' series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*''[[Pac-Man]]'' - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*''[[Portal]]'' - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as ''Half-Life 2'' involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*''[[Resident Evil]]'' - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*''[[The Sims]]'' - A life simulator produced by EA.
*''[[Super Smash Brothers]]'' - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*''[[Soul Calibur]]'' - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*''[[Street Fighter]]'' - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*''[[Tomb Raider]]'' - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*''[[Pong]]'' - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Video games

2008-12-19T18:28:18Z

ScottW: /* Popular Video games */ revenge of italics and death to adverbs

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as [[Grand Theft Auto]] are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as [[Mass Effect]] (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like "Katamari Damacy".

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series|''Breath of Fire'' series]] and the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games, in particular, use a god as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]'', ''[[Black and White]]'', ''Heaven and Hell'', ''[[Xenogears]]'', and ''[[Okami]]''.

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]''.<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*''[[Assassins Creed]]'' - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*''[[Age of Empires]]'' - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*''[[Call of Duty]]'' - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*''[[Civilization]]'' - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*''[[Donkey Kong]]'' - An early platform game in which [[Mario]] (then known as "Jumpman") tries to save his girlfriend Pauline from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many other successful video games.
*''[[Final Fantasy]]'' - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature over time.
*''[[Gears of War]]'' - Mankind has been annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*''[[Guitar Hero]]'' - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*''[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*''[[Harvest Moon]]'' - Farm life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*''[[Mass Effect]]'' - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*''[[Medal of Honor]]'' - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Multi-player fighting game which is famous for violence, blood, and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*''[[NHL]]'' series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*''[[Pac-Man]]'' - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*''[[Portal]]'' - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as ''Half-Life 2'' involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*''[[Resident Evil]]'' - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*''[[The Sims]]'' - A life simulator produced by EA.
*''[[Super Smash Brothers]]'' - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*''[[Soul Calibur]]'' - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*''[[Street Fighter]]'' - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*''[[Tomb Raider]]'' - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*''[[Pong]]'' - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Video games

2008-12-19T18:22:34Z

ScottW: /* Faith in Video Games */ italics!

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as [[Grand Theft Auto]] are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as [[Mass Effect]] (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like "Katamari Damacy".

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series|''Breath of Fire'' series]] and the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games, in particular, use a god as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]'', ''[[Black and White]]'', ''Heaven and Hell'', ''[[Xenogears]]'', and ''[[Okami]]''.

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]''.<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*[[Assassins Creed]] - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*[[Age of Empires]] - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*[[Call of Duty]] - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*[[Civilization]] - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*[[Donkey Kong]] - An early platform game in which Jumpman tries to save his girlfriend from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Jumpman, who was renamed Mario, went on to star in many other extremely successful video games.
*[[Final Fantasy]] - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature oriented over time.
*[[Gears of War]] - Mankind has been utterly annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*[[Grand Theft Auto]] - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*[[Guitar Hero]] - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*Half-Life and Half-Life 2 - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*[[Harvest Moon]] - Farm Life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*[[The Legend of Zelda]] - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*[[Mass Effect]] - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*[[Medal of Honor]] - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Player-vs-player fighting game which is famous for extremely violent, bloody and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*[[NHL]] Series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*[[Pac-Man]] - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*[[Portal]] - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as Half-Life 2 involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*[[Resident Evil]] - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*[[The Sims]] - A light-hearted life simulator produced by EA.
*[[Super Smash Brothers]] - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*[[Soul Calibur]] - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*[[Street Fighter]] - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*[[Super Mario Bros.]] - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*[[Tomb Raider]] - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*[[Pong]] - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Video games

2008-12-19T18:20:07Z

ScottW: /* Sexuality */ italics

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as [[Grand Theft Auto]] are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as [[Mass Effect]] (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like "Katamari Damacy".

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series]] and the [[Shin Megami Tensei]] games, in particular, use God as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include Final Fantasy, [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]], [[Black and White]], ''Heaven and Hell'', [[Xenogears]], and [[Okami]].

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]].<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*[[Assassins Creed]] - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*[[Age of Empires]] - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*[[Call of Duty]] - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*[[Civilization]] - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*[[Donkey Kong]] - An early platform game in which Jumpman tries to save his girlfriend from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Jumpman, who was renamed Mario, went on to star in many other extremely successful video games.
*[[Final Fantasy]] - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature oriented over time.
*[[Gears of War]] - Mankind has been utterly annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*[[Grand Theft Auto]] - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*[[Guitar Hero]] - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*Half-Life and Half-Life 2 - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*[[Harvest Moon]] - Farm Life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*[[The Legend of Zelda]] - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*[[Mass Effect]] - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*[[Medal of Honor]] - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Player-vs-player fighting game which is famous for extremely violent, bloody and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*[[NHL]] Series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*[[Pac-Man]] - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*[[Portal]] - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as Half-Life 2 involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*[[Resident Evil]] - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*[[The Sims]] - A light-hearted life simulator produced by EA.
*[[Super Smash Brothers]] - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*[[Soul Calibur]] - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*[[Street Fighter]] - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*[[Super Mario Bros.]] - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*[[Tomb Raider]] - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*[[Pong]] - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Video games

2008-12-19T18:19:33Z

ScottW: /* Violence */ italics

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as [[Grand Theft Auto]] are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as [[Mass Effect]] (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like "Katamari Damacy".

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing this kind of material. Additionally, a large quantity games contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the [[Grand Theft Auto]] series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a minigame containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game [[Tomb Raider]] as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series]] and the [[Shin Megami Tensei]] games, in particular, use God as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include Final Fantasy, [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]], [[Black and White]], ''Heaven and Hell'', [[Xenogears]], and [[Okami]].

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]].<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*[[Assassins Creed]] - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*[[Age of Empires]] - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*[[Call of Duty]] - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*[[Civilization]] - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*[[Donkey Kong]] - An early platform game in which Jumpman tries to save his girlfriend from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Jumpman, who was renamed Mario, went on to star in many other extremely successful video games.
*[[Final Fantasy]] - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature oriented over time.
*[[Gears of War]] - Mankind has been utterly annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*[[Grand Theft Auto]] - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*[[Guitar Hero]] - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*Half-Life and Half-Life 2 - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*[[Harvest Moon]] - Farm Life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*[[The Legend of Zelda]] - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*[[Mass Effect]] - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*[[Medal of Honor]] - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Player-vs-player fighting game which is famous for extremely violent, bloody and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*[[NHL]] Series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*[[Pac-Man]] - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*[[Portal]] - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as Half-Life 2 involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*[[Resident Evil]] - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*[[The Sims]] - A light-hearted life simulator produced by EA.
*[[Super Smash Brothers]] - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*[[Soul Calibur]] - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*[[Street Fighter]] - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*[[Super Mario Bros.]] - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*[[Tomb Raider]] - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*[[Pong]] - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Laurel and Hardy

2008-12-19T18:17:58Z

ScottW: rewording, removing spanish name (why spanish and not, say, Serbian? It doesn't really make sense)

[[Image:L and H.jpg|left]]
'''Laurel and Hardy''' were a comedy duo consisting of [[Oliver Hardy|Oliver "Babe" Hardy]] (1892 - 1957) and [[Stan Laurel| Stanley "Stan" Laurel]] (1890 - 1965). Laurel and Hardy's partnership at the Hal Roach studio began in 1926.
[[Image:The thin one and the fat one.jpg|right|thumb|The thin one and the fat one.]]

''Any honor roll of comedy favorites would have to include them and also Woody Allen, Lucille Ball, [[Charlie Chaplin]], Bill Cosby, Fernandel, W. C. Fields, Louis de Funes, Bob Hope, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, the Marx Brothers, Toto and Mae West.''<ref>[http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/html/home1.html Laurel and Hardy - The Official Website]</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Charles Chaplin]]
*[[Jerry Lewis]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/index.html L&H Website]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001316/ Oliver Hardy]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491048/ Stan Laurel]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Actors]]

Charlie Chaplin

2008-12-19T18:13:47Z

ScottW: removing non-free image

Sir '''Charles Spencer Chaplin''' ([[London]], [[England]], 1889 - Vevey, [[Switzerland]], December 25, 1977) was an English actor, considered to be one of the pivotal stars of the silent film era. He is associated with the popular "Little Tramp" character; a man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk. His parents were music hall performers.

His first full-length film was ''The Kid'' (1921), possibly autobiographical. He was named Knight Commander of the [[British Empire]] in 1975. Chaplin composed about 500 melodies, including "Smile" and "This is My Song". <ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000122/bio Biography] </ref> Admirers included [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Marcel Proust]] and [[Sigmund Freud]].

{{cquote|
"All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl"

"I think a very great deal of myself. Everything is perfect or imperfect, according to myself. I am the perfect standard."
}}

'''Nickname:''' ''Charlie'' and ''Charlot''.

Chaplin was married four times and had a total of 11 children. He was 54 when he wed Oona O'Neill, his 4th wife; Oona was 18.

== Partial Actor Filmography ==
[[Image:Chaplin director.jpg|thumb|right|As director]]

* ''[[Making a Living]]'' (1914).
* ''[[Tango Tangles]]'' (1914)
* ''[[A Busy Day]]'' (1914)
* ''[[The Knockout]]'' (1914)
* ''[[A Night in the Show]]'' (1915)
* ''[[Burlesque on Carmen]]'' (1915)
* ''[[The Floorwalker]]'' (1916)
* ''[[The Fireman]]'' (1916)
* ''[[The Vagabond]]'' (1916)
* ''[[Easy Street]]'' (1917)
* ''[[A Dog's Life]]'' (1918)
* ''[[The Professor]]'' (1919)
* ''[[A Day's Pleasure]]'' (1919)
* ''[[The Kid]]'' (1921)
* ''[[Nice and Friendly]]'' (1922)
* ''[[The Pilgrim]]'' (1923)
* ''[[The Gold Rush]]'' (1925), feature
* ''[[The Circus]]'' (1928)
* ''[[City Lights]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Modern Times]]'' (1936)
* ''[[The Great Dictator]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Monsieur Verdoux]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Limelight]]'' (1952)
* ''[[A King in New York]]'' (1957)
* ''[[A Countess from Hong Kong]]'' (1967)

<center>
"''The endearing figure of his Little Tramp was instantly recognizable around the globe and brought laughter to millions. Still is. Still does''"

ANN DOUGLAS <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/chaplin.html The Time 100]
</ref> </center>

== See also ==
[[Image:Goodbye Charlie.jpg|thumb|Goodbye Charlie]]
*[[Jerry Lewis]]
*[[Hollywood]]
*[[Stan Laurel]]
*[[Silent film]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.chaplinmuseum.com/ Chaplin museum]
*[http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/infos Take part in our competition !]
*[http://silentgents.com/PChaplin.html Charles Chaplin Photo Galleries]

== References ==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Charles}}
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Cinema]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Directors]]

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T18:08:20Z

ScottW: /* Filmography */ contemporaries

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T18:06:34Z

ScottW: /* Filmography */

Marx Brothers

2008-12-19T18:06:12Z

ScottW: filmography