title: Indiana Loves

text:
The Indiana Loves were an expansion franchise of TeamTennis that competed only during the 1983 season. The team's owner abandoned it just prior to the start of the season, and it was operated by the league, playing all its matches on the road.

Team history
On November 23, 1982, William H. Bereman, owner of the original Indiana Loves, announced that he had founded an expansion franchise of the same name that would begin play in TeamTennis in 1983. The new franchise expanded the size of the league to 10 teams with eight expected to return from the 1982 season and the previously announced expansion franchise in Atlanta. At the press conference announcing the revival of the Loves, TeamTennis president Larry King said that there would be two more expansion franchises to be located on the East Coast announced within the next 30 days. Reflecting on Bereman's ownership of the original Loves, King said, "Indiana was a good tennis team before, and we expect that under Bill's tutelage, it will be again." The Loves were to play a 14-match regular-season schedule in July 1983. The team planned to play its seven home matches at the 8,000-seat Indianapolis Sports Center near Downtown Indianapolis. TeamTennis required Bereman to sign a US$87,500 letter of credit before the start of the season.

Just days before the scheduled start of the season, TeamTennis announced that the Loves had not signed the required letter of credit and would not play any matches in Indianapolis. Instead, the league would operate the team, and it would only play on the road. This was necessary in order to meet scheduling obligations. The Loves would play a seven-match schedule, visiting each of the other seven teams in the league once. The other seven teams would play seven home matches (one against each of the other teams) and six road matches, visiting each team except the Loves once. The day after the announcement by TeamTennis, Bereman said that he pulled out of the league, because the quality of players did not live up to promises. "When it came to the end, and we had to decide to go or not go, I felt there were just not enough promotable players in the league you could sell tickets for," Bereman said. He added that if he had allowed the Loves' season to take place, it would be "stealing from the fans and the sponsors. We could have gone this year, and we'd have made a profit. But we'd have never sold season tickets in years to come." Bereman said that he had already repaid the US$90,000 of corporate sponsorships he raised, and refund checks would be mailed to the team's 640 season-ticket holders. Bereman said that he had lost about US$15,000 during the brief period he operated the Loves.

In light of Bereman's decision not to field a team, TeamTennis decided before the season that no matter what record the Loves posted, they would be placed last among the eight teams in the standings. The players were paid a salary instead of being eligible for prize money based on their performance. However, their matches counted in the records of the other seven teams. The Loves' first match was a loss to the eventual 1983 champion Chicago Fyre on July 20. Player-coach Syd Ball said, "It's unfortunate we can't play any home matches. But we knew before we hit a ball in Chicago what the situation was. We accepted the fact we won't share in the prize money. We're looking at it as a good workout session that will stand us in good stead in any tournaments coming up. We have a compact little program. We haven't had any wins yet, but we had a super tiebreaker against Dallas. We just like spoiling everybody else's record."

The Loves finished the 1983 season with a record of just 1 win against 6 losses. TeamTennis contracted the franchise following the season.

Roster
The Indiana Loves' roster for the 1983 season was
  Syd Ball, player-coach
  Stacy Margolin
  John McCurdy
  Kim Shaefer

See also

 World TeamTennis
 Indiana Loves (1974–1978)

References

External links
 Official World TeamTennis Website

Defunct World TeamTennis teams
Tennis in Indiana
1982 establishments in Indiana
1983 disestablishments in Indiana


title: James Blackmon Jr.

text:
James Blackmon Jr. (born April 25, 1995) is an American basketball player who last played for Pınar Karşıyaka of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.

High school career
Blackmon played three years  at Bishop Luers High School and his senior year at Marion High School. In his senior season, he averaged 33.4 points and 4.2 three-pointers (47%), and broke his father's school record by scoring 54 points in a game. He ranks #9 on Indiana's all-time scoring list. He was ranked the 20th best player in the class by ESPN and was recruited heavily by Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State. He originally committed to Indiana before his freshman season, but reopened his recruitment before his senior season. His final verbal commitment to Indiana was televised live on ESPNU. He scored 13 points in the McDonald's All-American Game and won the three-point contest. He also scored 23 in the Jordan Brand Classic. He finished third in Indiana Mr. Basketball voting, behind Trey Lyles and Trevon Bluiett.

College career

Freshman year
During Indiana's five-game preseason Canada trip, Blackmon led the team in scoring with 18.8 points, despite focusing mainly on his defense. As a freshman, he earned the starting spot in the backcourt alongside Yogi Ferrell. He averaged 15.7 points per game, the sixth best average for any freshman in the country. He ranked second on the team in both scoring and rebounding (5.3). Blackmon was a prolific three-point shooter, breaking Eric Gordon's Indiana freshman record with 77 three-point field goals made. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a unanimous spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice.

Sophomore year

Blackmon Jr. had a strong first two months, setting career-highs in field goal percentage (.480) and three-point field goal percentage (.463), until a right knee injury ended his season.  Blackmon underwent surgery in January 2016, his second knee surgery in a span of just six months – he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his other knee before the season.   He finished his sophomore campaign averaging 15.8 points in just thirteen total games.  Indiana went 15–3 in the Big Ten season in his absence, winning an outright league title in the process.

Junior year

On November 14, 2016, Blackmon Jr. was named National Player of the Week by NBCSports.com and Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. He averaged 17.3 points per game on a team that went 19–16. After the end of his junior year, he decided to enter the 2017 NBA draft.

College statistics

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15
| style="text-align:left;"| Indiana
| 33 || 33 || 30.0 || .420 || .387 || .806 || 5.3 || 1.5 || 0.6 || .1 || 15.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16
| style="text-align:left;"| Indiana
| 13 || 12 || 24.5 || .480 || .463 || .852 || 4.2 || 1.7 || 1.2 || .4 || 15.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17
| style="text-align:left;"| Indiana
| 30 || 30 || 30.5 || .477 || .423 || .837 || 4.8 || 1.9 || .7 || .0 ||  '''17.0
|-
| align="center" colspan="2"| Career
| 76 || 75 || 29.3 || .452 || .415 || .824 || 4.9 || 1.7 || 0.8 || .1 || 16.3
|-

Source:

Professional career
Blackmon signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers on June 23, 2017. After some successful performances with the team during the 2017 NBA Summer League, he signed a training camp contract with them on August 30 that same year. He was waived in the preseason on October 14, 2017.

On January 26, 2018, Blackmon was traded by the Delaware 87ers to the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Shannon Brown and Cameron Oliver.

He signed with VL Pesaro of the Lega Basket Serie A on August 6, 2018.

On July 19, 2019, he has signed with Aquila Basket Trento of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).

On October 23, 2020, short after the beginning of the season, he signed a one year contract with Beşiktaş in the Turkish League and Basketball Champions League.

On July 8, 2021, he has signed with Pınar Karşıyaka of the Turkish Super League (BSL).

Family
Blackmon's father, James Blackmon Sr., was drafted into the NBA after an outstanding career at Kentucky. . He now coaches at Marion. His father is of African-American descent, while his mother Sailaja is of Indian descent. Blackmon has two brothers: Vijay, who was a walk-on for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball basketball team, and now is a member of the Lindenwood University men's basketball team, and Jalen, who plays for Grand Canyon University.

References

External links
Indiana Hoosiers bio

1995 births
Living people
21st-century African-American sportspeople
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
American sportspeople of Indian descent
Aquila Basket Trento players
Basketball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana
Beşiktaş men's basketball players
Delaware 87ers players
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players
Karşıyaka basketball players
Lega Basket Serie A players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Marion, Indiana
Shooting guards
Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players
Wisconsin Herd players


title: Michelangelo di Pietro

text:
Michelangelo di Pietro, also Michelangelo di Pietro Membrini and Master of the Lathrop Tondo, (active 1490–1520) was an Italian painter. His exact dates of birth and death are not known.

The artist was previously only known as the Master of the Lathrop Tondo, until the works could be attributed to Michelangelo di Pietro in 1985. His works are characterized by an enameled, metallic finish and a decorative, linear Florentine School style. There is now approximately thirty paintings that have been attributed to him. He is known to have worked in and around Lucca. Apparent influences include Domenico Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. The parish church of Santa Maria Assunta houses a fifteenth-century altarpiece painted by Michelangelo di Pietro.

References

Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
15th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
16th-century Italian painters


The 2014 UCI Juniors Track World Championships was the 11th annual Junior World Championship for track cycling held at the Gwangmyeong Velodrome in Gwangmyeong, South Korea from 8 to 12 August 2014.

Medals were won across 19 disciplines.

Medal summary

Notes
 Held on a 333m track. Team sprint records are only kept for 250m tracks.

Medals table

References

External links

2014 UCI Junior World Track Cycling Championships trackcyclingnews.com
Track Cycling - 2014 World Junior Championships (change the event to get more detailed results) the-sports.org

UCI Juniors Track World Championships
Uci Juniors Track World Championships, 2014
Track cycling
Sport in Seoul
International cycle races hosted by South Korea


title: Microgen

text:
Microgen () is Russia's largest producer of immunobiological products, one of the three largest pharmaceutical companies in Russia.

According to the Russian Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova, Microgen is of strategic importance for Russia's national security.

History

The Scientific and Production Association Microgen was established in May 2003 as a result of the merger of state-owned enterprises producing medical immunobiological products and other medical drugs. Following a decision of the Russian Government, the association was created "to provide for the country's needs for preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic immunobiological preparations".

In 2006, Microgen started shipping its combined vaccines against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis B, as well as against tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis B (DTP-Hep B, Hepatitis-Td).

In 2010, Microgen began production of an improved formula for dry live influenza vaccine "Ultravak".

In 2011, the company received the first samples of bacteriophage preparation against the pathogen Acinetobacter, which is the causative agent of a large number of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections and is resistant to antibiotics. Microgen started testing a new anti-tick vaccine for children. In 2011, Microgen supplied more than 60 million doses of vaccines to the various regions of Russia, including BCG (tuberculosis), Grippol, DTP (diphtheria, tetanus), measles and rubella, as well as more than 12 million doses of influenza vaccine.

In 2012, Microgen began preparations for the transition to the International Standards of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (GMP). In the same year, the company delivered more than two million packages of bacteriophages and 19 million doses of influenza vaccine.

In 2013, in addition to the existing vaccine against avian influenza (strain H5N1), Microgen initiated the development of pre-pandemic "Chinese flu" vaccine (strain H7N9). Peter Kanygin, formerly Head of a Rostec structure, was appointed as the director-general of the company. The association's net income has reached 1 bln. rubel.

In March 2014 the company announced the development of a new generation of vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis based on continuous cell lines. In April 2014, Microgen announced the launch of clinical trials of the new combined penta-vaccine aDTB-HepB-Hib (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae).

Structure and management

Microgen is a Russian state company. Because of the special status of the company, its work is controlled personally by the Prime Minister of Russia.

General Director – Peter Kanygin.

In 2014, Microgen united nine operating companies located in 9 cities across Russia. Its major production sites are located in Stavropol, Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod ("ImBio"), Moscow, Tomsk ("Virion"), Perm ("Biomed") and Ufa ("Immunopreparat").

The company has a staff of more than 6,000 people.

Since March 1, 2019, the sole executive body of NPO Microgen JSC has been Nacimbio JSC. In 2021, the Rostec State Corporation transferred 100% of the shares of NPO Microgen to the Nacimbio holding

Production

The company produces more than 70% of the total Russian immunobiological products, including two of the four vaccines against A/H1N1. Microgen also has a monopoly on the production of a number of other vaccines. In 2013, the company controlled 23% of the Russian market of medicines from donated blood plasma. The company supplies 70% of vaccines and toxoids included in the National Immunisation Calendar of Russia.

Microgen produces a range of over 120 immunobiological products: vaccines, sera, specific and polyvalent immunoglobulins, nutrient medium, allergens, probiotics etc. Of these, 60 products are included in the Russian list of vital and essential medicines.

Microgen is the only enterprise in Russia producing bacteriophages on an industrial scale.

Its medical drugs and products are exported to Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Mexico, Mongolia, Vietnam and India.

Research

The company is developing more than 15 products, including a new version of influenza vaccine, tissue culture vaccines against varicella, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, combined vaccines DTP-HepB-Hib, HepB-aDTP-Hib and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) and complex preparations of bacteriophages, etc.

Microgen is involved in several international research projects, including the WHO program to combat smallpox, measles, rubella, tuberculosis, avian influenza, etc.

Since 2013, Microgen has been involved in the development of a new drug for the treatment of leukaemia and other antitumor drugs.

In 2014, the company announced the launch of clinical trials of the drug "Relatoks" (botulinum toxin type A – haemagglutinin complex) in paediatric neurology

The research projects of the company involve over 130 PhD Candidates and more than 30 Doctors of Science.

Microgen is among the ten most innovative companies in Russia, according to RBC Group ratings.

Finance

The company's 2013 revenue amounted to RUB 7.6 bln., net profit - RUB 1 bln. In 2012, the company was the fifth largest in terms of revenue among all Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers.

On the basis of 2012 results, the DSM Group analysts estimated the company's overall turnover at RUB 5.1 bln. One of the company's branches ("Virion", Tomsk) in 2013 supplied RUB 950 mln. worth of products.

In 2012 the company completed 43 State contracts, totalling more than RUB 1.8 bln.

In 2011, revenues from exports reached RUB 500 mln.

The same year, Microgen has spent close to RUB 2 bln. of its own funds on the construction of 2 pharmaceutical plants and a laboratory. By 2018 the company plans to spend RUB 17 bln. on the modernisation of its production processes.

In 2014, Russia's VTB Bank extended a credit line for the FSUE SPA Microgen to the amount of RUB 2 bln., for a period of 3 years.

The company is state-owned, but does not receive subsidies from the State budget.

References

2003 establishments in Russia
Manufacturing companies based in Moscow
Vaccine producers
Federal State Unitary Enterprises of Russia
Rostec
Pharmaceutical companies of Russia


title: 1-Aminoethanol

text:
1-Aminoethanol is an organic compound with the formula CHCH(NH)OH.  It is classified as an alkanolamine.  Specifically, it is a structural isomer of 2-aminoethanol (ethanolamine).  These two compounds differ in the position of the amino group. Since the central carbon atom in 1-aminoethanol has four different substituents, the compound has two stereoisomers.  Unlike 2-aminoethanol, which is of considerable importance in commerce, 1-aminoethanol is not encountered as a pure material and is mainly of theoretical interest.

1-Aminoethanol exists in a solution of acetaldehyde and aqueous ammonia.

1-Aminoethanol is suggested as intermediate in Strecker reaction of alanine synthesis.

1-Aminoethanol was first prepared in 1833 by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner; its empirical formula was first determined by the German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1835.  The structure of 1-aminoethanol remained unproven until 1877, when the German-Italian chemist Robert Schiff showed that the structure was CHCH(OH)NH.

References

Primary alcohols
Amines


The 1992 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 6–8, 1992 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers, led by head coach Alan LeForce, won their fourth Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1992 NCAA tournament.

Format
All of the conference's eight members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

* Overtime game

See also
List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions

References

Tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Basketball competitions in Asheville, North Carolina
College sports tournaments in North Carolina
College basketball in North Carolina


title: Keppel Island, Singapore

text:
Keppel Island is a small private island located in the precinct of HarbourFront in Bukit Merah, Singapore. The island is largely flat, situated in northern part of Keppel Bay, between Singapore's main island and the island of Sentosa.

Keppel Island is connected to Singapore's main island by the 250 m long cable stayed Keppel Bay Bridge, which opened in 2008. Keppel Bay Bridge also carries the lines for electricity, water, and other services to the island.

History
The island became prosperous in mid-19th century thanks to the development of the Keppel Harbour. Keppel Island was used for shipbuilding and ship repair operations by Keppel Shipyard until 2000.

The island was previously known as Pulau Hantu, which means "Ghost Island" in Malay. In 1983, the company that owned the island changed the name to Keppel Island. As the previous name was deemed to be disagreeable for some and Pulau Hantu being the name of another island in Singapore, the government allowed the change.

The island was part of a waterfront luxury development effort in 2008, and it was thereafter connected to the mainland via the construction of the Keppel Bay Bridge.

Today, Keppel Island houses high-end restaurants and a marina for yachts.

References

Islands of Singapore
Private islands of Asia


title: Cheongju KB Stars

text:
Cheongju KB Stars () is a South Korean professional basketball club playing the Women's Korean Basketball League.

Honours

WKBL Championship
 Winners (2): 2018–19, 2021–22
 Runners-up (6): 2002 (winter), 2006 (summer), 2011–12, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21

WKBL Regular Season
 Winners (4): 2002 (winter), 2006 (summer), 2018–19, 2021–22
 Runners-up (5): 2004 (winter), 2005 (summer), 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21

External links
 Official website

Basketball teams established in 1963
Basketball teams in South Korea
Women's basketball teams in South Korea
Women's Korean Basketball League teams
Sport in North Chungcheong Province
1963 establishments in South Korea


title: National Van Lines

text:
National Van Lines, Inc. is a privately held American moving and relocation company based in Broadview, Illinois with agents in 48 states and service partners around the world. The company’s services include residential and commercial moving and storage domestically and internationally. National Van Lines has been designated a Pro Mover company by the American Moving & Storage Association.

History
The company was begun in 1929 by F.J. McKee, who originally used a single wagon to deliver ice and coal to Chicago-area customers. He eventually branched out his business, moving vaudeville sets for acting troupes as well as individual acts, including Charlie Chaplin. McKee had a fleet of moving trucks.

McKee’s son, F.L. McKee, took over the business in 1931, and the company was incorporated in 1934. By 1945, the company was one of only five operators designated to service the entire United States. McKee’s daughter, Maureen Beal, became CEO when he died in 1993 at the age of 91. The company experienced 20% growth every year for five consecutive years when Beal took over.

Overview

National Van Lines employs over 140 people in its Broadview headquarters. The company serves an average of 20,000 customers per year and its trucks log approximately 8.5 million miles a year performing residential and commercial moves.

Under CEO Maureen Beal, National Van Lines grew from $45 million in revenue when she took over in 1993 to $105 million in 2013. A breast cancer survivor, Beal is a strong advocate for women’s health issues as well as women entrepreneurs. She serves on the board of directors of the American Moving & Storage Association, is a Benedictine University trustee and is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. Maureen Beal retired as National Van Lines Chairman & CEO December 2019.

Tim Helenthal assumed the company's Chairman & CEO position January 2020, after serving seven years as the company’s President & COO. Starting with National Van Lines 26 years earlier, he was vice president of agency services for sister company, National Forwarding Co., and manager of that company’s Total Quality Assurance Program. When Helenthal started as a one-man department at National Van Lines, roughly 20 people worked in his division. During his 18 years in that sector, the division grew to nearly 70 employees. Throughout his tenure, National Van Lines has set (and broken) sales records; one division even tripled its sales.

Recognition
 From 2010 to 2013, the Chicago Tribune named National Van Lines as one of the "Top 100 Workplaces" in the Chicago area.
 On June 21, 2011, the Chicago Tribune reported that the company changed its structure to become an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP-owned) entity.
 Crain’s Chicago Business magazine named National Van Lines one of the top 10 woman-owned businesses in Illinois in 2012.
 The Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois rates National Van Lines as an A+ Accredited Business.

Charity work
National Van Lines supports Robert Wyland, a world-renowned artist who is devoted to environmental conservation. The company has joined with the Wyland Foundation to provide educational outreach tours, as well as public art, to families across the United States and Canada. The company also partnered with the Wyland Foundation to bring the Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience to students across the U.S. and Mexico. The Experience features a theater and interactive stations that educate students on the impact humans have on various watershed habitats.

The company is also an active participant in the Windy City Rubber Ducky Derby, raising funds for Special Olympics Illinois as well as serving as long-time supporters for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

In 2015, National Van Lines teamed up with Move For Hunger, a non-profit organization that partners with the relocation industry to reduce food waste and fight hunger.

References

External links

Van Leasing

Truck rental
1929 establishments in Illinois
Moving companies of the United States
Transport companies established in 1929
Companies based in Cook County, Illinois


title: The Strain (disambiguation)

text:
The Strain is a 2009 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

The Strain may also refer to:

The Strain (TV series) based on the novel
The Strain Comic Book Series by Dark Horse Comics, also based on the novel

See also
Strain (disambiguation)


The 1991 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 1–3, 1991 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers, led by head coach Alan LeForce, won their third Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1991 NCAA tournament.

Format
Seven of the conference's eight members participated in the tournament (Marshall was ineligible). Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

* Overtime game

See also
List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions

References

Tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Basketball competitions in Asheville, North Carolina
College sports tournaments in North Carolina
College basketball in North Carolina


title: Paul Schilling

text:
Paul Schilling is a retired American ice hockey player and coach who led Brown for four seasons in the mid-1970s. He replaced Richard Toomey who was a teammate of his on the US National Team in 1971.

Head coaching record

References

External links

American ice hockey coaches
American men's ice hockey forwards
Army Black Knights men's ice hockey players
Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players
Brown Bears men's ice hockey coaches
Ice hockey coaches from New York (state)
Living people
People from Clinton, Oneida County, New York
Sportspeople from Oneida County, New York
Year of birth missing (living people)
Ice hockey players from New York (state)


title: Shadow Realms

text:
Shadow Realms is a cancelled action role-playing video game previously under development by BioWare's Austin studio.  The game was set to be published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and was scheduled for release in 2015. On February 9, 2015, BioWare Austin announced that the development on Shadow Realms would not continue.

Plot

Set in both modern day Earth and the parallel world of Embra, Heroes possessing magical powers wake up and are pulled into a dark realm and centuries old battle. They take part in adventures, facing off against an array of creatures in a war against the Shadow Legions, to save all of humanity.

The backstory for the game states that hidden pathways that exist between Earth and Embra have been crossed by only a few in all history. Arcane energy flows through the magical world of Embra from its molten core. Those born with the talent to harness this power can perform feats that reshape reality. Long before humans ever walked the Earth, cultures fueled by magic rose to greatness and fell to ruin on Embra over its millennia of history, destroying once grand civilizations and their achievements. Towering monuments and mystic relics that are preserved forever by arcane energies serve as legacies for these vanished people.

The Radiant Empires are the first great nations in Embra's long past to break their world's cycle of self-destruction. These diverse cultures joined together five thousand years ago to preserve themselves and their world in a spirit of cooperation and goodwill. Their alliance has been marked by unity, prosperity and significant advancements in mystic knowledge. The greatest of these discoveries was the revelation that Embra was not alone, but that another world much like it, but with an extremely weak flow of magic, Earth, was in existence.

When human civilization was still in its infancy, Embra's boldest explorers bravely crossed the barrier between the two worlds, and quickly realized that humanity's reactions towards them could be unpredictable and violent. Alongside this, Earth's weak flow of magical power made it uninhabitable to them.

Unfortunately, they had far greater concerns back home. After millennia spent in unchallenged peace and prosperity, the pacifist scholars and artists of the Radiant Empires were no match for the arrival of an enemy that knew only war. Though much about them remained shrouded in mystery, these foul invaders - the Shadow Legions - drove the Radiant Empires from their strongholds and toppled their cities. The citizens of the Radiant Empires knew their entire way of life was doomed without an army to defend it. As a result, they turned to their only hope: Earth.

A fraction of Earth's population, those modern society regards as urban legends, has always been able to wield magic, but the flow of magical energy on Earth is so poor that few ever suspect their potential. On Embra, the command of arcane force is infinite and the Radiant Empires have recruited strong young men and women to fight the Shadow Legions for almost a hundred years. Embra's magical human warriors channel power in many ways. Guns are one of Earth's only inventions that still function on Embra.

After decades of hard-won victories that pushed back the Shadow Legions, humanity and the Radiant Empires thought the long war was almost over. They were wrong. The enemy has returned, assisted by new allies: cunning beings called the Shadowlords. These foes have proved themselves to be extremely strong and hard to beat. As yet, no one knows where the Shadowlords came from, or why they remained hidden until now, but one thing is clear: if they conquer Embra, Earth will be next.

Gameplay
Shadow Realms was designed as an episodic four-versus-one action role-playing game. Players would choose from six classes: Warrior, Assassin, Wizard, Cleric, Ranger, Warlock, or play against the Heroes as the Shadowlord. Each class featured special attacks, abilities, and strengths.

The game featured co-operative, third-person missions in an evolving world. Episodes would release frequently, adding new elements to the game. Players would also decide their paths through the story. Character and combat customization options progressed a Hero or Shadowlord to a player's style. This included guns, axes, and fireballs. Players could also mix abilities regardless of their class.

Four-player teams combated a fifth-player Shadowlord who controlled creatures, set traps, and changed the environment. Shadowlords remained unseen until they possessed a monster, cast a spell, or chose to reveal themselves.

Development
Shadow Realms was first announced at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. At the event, BioWare released a live-action trailer entitled You've Been Chosen, and more trailers have followed since then.

Further information was revealed at Gamescom 2014, with the first gameplay video also being shown.

Shadow Realms was being developed by BioWare's Austin studio and was to have run on DICE's Frostbite 3 engine so that it may target Windows XP users. It was only being developed for Microsoft Windows, but BioWare Austin's general manager Jeff Hickman stated that the game may have been released on consoles if it was successful on PC and fans called for it.

The game's official website features developer blogs about the game, as well as a sign-up form for its closed alpha program.

In January 2015, sources suggested that the game was postponed and rebooted because of the failures of multiplayer video games such as the 2013 reboot of Command & Conquer and Dawngate. Sources also suggested that the game was to be released in 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. But on February 9, 2015, BioWare announced the game's cancellation to work on content for Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Reception and legacy
Shadow Realms received positive pre-release reception, with reviewers praising the game's customization options, tactics, and mix of magic and weapons in combat.

The game inspired a spiritual successor called Breach created by former developers of the studio, but that game was also cancelled shortly after its early access release on Steam.

References

Action role-playing video games
Asymmetrical multiplayer video games
BioWare games
Cancelled Windows games
Cooperative video games
Electronic Arts games
Frostbite (game engine) games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Video games developed in the United States


title: Ice Bucket Challenge

text:
The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease or Lou Gehrig's disease) and encourage donations to research. The challenge was co-founded by Pat Quinn and Pete Frates; it went viral on social media during July–August 2014. In the United States, many people participated for the ALS Association, and in the United Kingdom, many people participated for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, although some individuals opted to donate their money from the Ice Bucket Challenge to other organizations.

The challenge encourages nominated participants to be filmed having a bucket of ice water poured on their heads and then nominating others to do the same. A common stipulation is that nominated participants have 24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation.

On August 1, 2015, a group of ALS organizations in the United States, including the ALS Association, Les Turner ALS Foundation, and ALS Therapy Development Institute, re-introduced the Ice Bucket Challenge for 2015 to raise further funds with the intention of establishing it as an annual occurrence. It failed to raise the same viral attention as the 2014 event, which raised over $115M worldwide for the disease. However some people—including celebrities and various government officials around the world—have followed through with the intention of a yearly event by continuing to perform the challenge again each subsequent summer.

History

Predecessors
From 1991 to early 2014, a challenge of unknown origin often called the "Cold Water Challenge" became popular on social media in areas of the Northern United States and Northern Norway. The task usually involved the option of either donating money to cancer research or having to jump into cold water. In Norway the penalty for refusal could also be having to purchase alcoholic drinks for others. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ice Bucket Challenge was begun by professional golfers as means to support various pet charities.

One version of the challenge, which took place in Salem, Indiana, as early as May 15, 2014, involved dousing participants with cold water and then donating to a charity, for example a local child diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. In another version, the Auckland Division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand was the beneficiary. As with similar challenges, it was usually filmed so footage can be shared online.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation popularized the "Cold Water Challenge" in early 2014 to raise funds as an unsanctioned spin-off of the polar plunge most widely used by Special Olympics as a fundraiser.

On May 20, 2014, the Washington Township, New Jersey, fire department posted a video on YouTube participating in the "Cold Water Challenge" with fire hoses. Participating members of the department were subsequently punished for using fire department equipment without permission.

Soon after, the challenge was brought to mainstream audiences when television anchor Matt Lauer did what was called "the Ice Bucket Challenge" on July 15, 2014, on NBC's The Today Show at Greg Norman's challenge. Lauer was raising money for the Hospice of Palm Beach County.

Shifting focus to ALS

In the Summer 2015 edition of the ALS Association's internet magazine "Visions" (page 5) says that "It all started in Florida with a golfer named Chris Kennedy. When Kennedy took the challenge in mid-July last year, the then little-known stunt was not tied to a specific charity. Kennedy thought taking the challenge might bring some cheer to a family member with ALS, Anthony Senerchia." Next, Kennedy nominated Senerchia's wife. Soon, news of the stunt traveled to Pat Quinn, of Yonkers, NY, according to "Visions". Within two weeks, word then reached Quinn's friend Pete Frates and he took the challenge, making him the fourth person to complete the challenge for ALS. During a Boston TV interview on September 2, 2019, Frates' father implied that his family knew so much about the disease, that "he felt like he was the Nostradamus of ALS".
The challenge first received increased media attention in the United States on June 30, 2014, when personalities of the Golf Channel program Morning Drive televised the social-media phenomenon, and performed a live, on-air Ice Bucket Challenge.

On the same day, golfer Chris Kennedy did the challenge, then challenged his cousin Jeanette Senerchia of Pelham, New York, whose husband, Anthony, had ALS for 11 years. Kennedy's challenge was the first documented instance of the challenge being connected with ALS. At this time, the challenge was not connected directly with ALS. Participants would donate to a charity of their choice.

Pat Quinn, who was friends on Facebook with the Senerchias, encouraged his friends to take the challenge, and soon after, Pete Frates began posting about the challenge on Twitter. Frates was awarded the Stephen Heywood Patients Today Award in 2012 for his fundraising and advocacy work. Frates' Boston College and sporting connections became an initial focus of the challenge and strengthened its focus on ALS. Both Quinn and Frates did the challenge in support of the ALS Therapy Development Institute. After its initial start with Pete Frates, a minor league baseball player diagnosed with the disease in 2012, the movement went viral in the Boston area which showed a much higher number of posts than any other area of the United States.

In his video, Stephen Hawking declined to perform the challenge due to pneumonia the year before; however, his three children took the challenge for him.

The President of the United States, Barack Obama, was challenged by Ethel Kennedy as well as by businessman and future successor to the Presidency Donald Trump but declined, opting to contribute to the campaign with a donation of $100. Justin Bieber LeBron James, and "Weird Al" Yankovic also challenged President Obama after completing the Ice Bucket Challenge. Hirohiko Araki, creator of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, created a YouTube channel and uploaded only one video, which was an Ice Bucket Challenge video. Former President George W. Bush completed the challenge and nominated fellow former President Bill Clinton. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, was challenged by both Alex Salmond and Russell Brand, but also declined in favor of a donation.

Peter Frates died on December 9, 2019, at his home in Beverly, Massachusetts, at the age of 34.

The Challenge's success
The Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $220M worldwide. Its combination of competitiveness, social media pressure, online narcissism, and low barriers to entry led to more than 2.4 million tagged videos circulating Facebook. Even though 40–50% of the new donors were likely to make one-time gifts only, the Challenge instigated large numbers of people, videos, and donations. The challenge also benefited from a unique balance of mass interest and individual identification. In using social media as its platform, it accessed many people worldwide; in having its participants individually identify potential candidates – calling them out by "tagging" them – it felt personal. Furthermore, the videos were often entertaining. The average participants kept their videos under a minute, requiring limited commitment from any viewers. Another concept the Challenge benefited from was its ripple effect, inspiring features for articles, such as The Guardians "10 More of the Best Celebrity Takes on the Ice Bucket Challenge." Despite its marketing success, critics suggested that the ease of repeating the challenge's spiel do not increase awareness of what the disease actually does and who it is so harmful to.

The success of the challenge prompted the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which also raises funds to combat ALS, to discontinue its long-running annual telethon, the MDA Show of Strength, after the 2014 edition, stating that the Ice Bucket Challenge prompted the MDA to reevaluate how it can connect with the public.

In 2017, Frates published a book about the Ice Bucket Challenge detailing his own experience with ALS as well as his involvement in the social movement. Half of the proceeds will go to the Frates family.

Revivals

2015
On August 1, 2015, a group of ALS organizations in the United States, including the ALS Association, relaunched the Ice Bucket Challenge for 2015. The group said they intended to rerun the campaign "this August, and every August, until there's a cure (for ALS)."  "We have to finish what started last summer: every August until there's a cure," said Barb Newhouse, President and CEO of the ALS Association.

The 2015 campaign received the support of Major League Baseball, with each club due to organise its own branch of the Challenge and then nominate another franchise, along with two other local organizations or personalities, to participate in the Challenge.  "We are so thrilled and grateful to have every Major League Baseball team supporting us this year," commented Frates.

Celebrity participants in the 2015 challenge included Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker who took the challenge while wearing a "Free Brady" T-shirt (calling for the lifting of the suspension given to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots over Deflategate), Bieber once again, actor Hugh Jackman (belatedly in early September 2015) and actress Renee Zellweger who, in response to criticisms of the challenge for wasting water in drought conditions, used water from a drinking trough in a horse stables while standing in the trough to ensure every last drop was recycled back into its original source. President Barack Obama also received another nomination, this time by former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason (himself diagnosed with ALS).  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, despite having done the challenge in 2014, turned down his 2015 nomination from Boston mayor Marty Walsh, labelling Walsh "a clown" and suggesting that Boston "get a new mayor."

In the UK, the MND Association declined to revive the challenge. "We felt we raised a significant amount of money and awareness last summer. While people might be keen to do it again, we wouldn't say please do it again," said Chris James, the Association's director of external affairs.  Instead, the Association ran a "Last Summer" campaign commemorating the efforts of the public with the challenge, including the testimonies of those with ALS. Despite the reluctance of the MND Association, the cast of soap opera Hollyoaks nonetheless performed the challenge, nominating the cast of another soap, Casualty. Eddie Redmayne, having been nominated by Zellweger, also accepted the challenge for a second year, filming his video in London and nominating Charlie Cox, who did his 2015 challenge in New York. An attempt at the world record for the largest number of people simultaneously performing the challenge took place September 6, 2015, in Tewkesbury as part of a fundraiser for child bereavement charity Winton's Wish. In the event, the world record of 428 remained untouched but a new UK record of 248 people was set. TV presenter Eamonn Holmes performed the challenge in early October on This Morning after announcing he would do so while hosting the Pride of Britain Awards a few days earlier.

By early October, it was reported that the 2015 challenge had raised $500,000 as compared with the $115 million raised by the 2014 challenge.  The final figure was reported by the ALS Association in mid-October as being $1,000,000, with a survey by health analysts Treato showing that only 14% of donors from 2014 donated again in 2015.

2016–2019
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce performed the challenge in 2016, nominating his colleague Michael McCormack, the Minister for Small Business. Fellow Australian MP Adam Marshall also performed the challenge.  A new variant on the challenge this year, the "What's In Your Bucket?" challenge, featured the replacement of the ice cubes with other substances, including tomato ketchup, spaghetti, pickles, beer, baby powder, coffee, and sand.  A further attempt on the world record for the largest mass Ice Bucket Challenge in Buffalo, New York drew 650 participants, 71 short of the existing record of 721.

Charlie Baker, governor of Massachusetts, formalized the annual challenge by signing a bill declaring the first week of August each year to be Ice Bucket Challenge Week.  MND South Australia held an Ice Bucket Challenge campaign in February (during the Southern hemispheric summer)  Pete Frates' family joined with the Beverly Police Department to hold an Ice Bucket Challenge event on August 27 in which family members and officers took part. In 2016, the Motor Neurone Disease New Zealand Association Inc (later to become the Motor Neurone Disease New Zealand Charitable Trust) promoted the ice-bucket challenge which raised NZ$35,000.

In June 2018 in Seoul, South Korea the Challenge raised funds to build Korea's first dedicated hospital for ALS patients.  The Empire City Casino in Yonkers announced it would hold a Challenge event for the fifth year running. Political participants this year included Massachusetts State Senator Joan Lovely.

A fifth anniversary commemorative mass Ice Bucket Challenge was held at Copley Square in Boston, Massachusetts, with Frates and state governor Charlie Baker in attendance. ALS Canada's staff's annual commemorative performance of the Ice Bucket Challenge also reached its fifth year  to end the Ice Bucket Challenge.

2020 onwards
The 2021 and 2022 annual Yonkers Ice Bucket Challenge events were dedicated to the memory of Pat Quinn. with the latter held on July 31 (in spite of the "Every August ..." slogan).  By this point the Empire City Casino had held an Ice Bucket Challenge event every year since 2015 except 2020 on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rules

Within 24 hours of being challenged, participants have to record a video of themselves in continuous footage. First, they are to announce their acceptance of the challenge, followed by pouring ice into a bucket of water. Then, the bucket is to be lifted and poured over the participant's head.
Then the participant can nominate a minimum of three other people to participate in the challenge.

Whether people choose to donate, perform the challenge, or do both varies.

In one version of the challenge, the participant was expected to donate $10 if they poured the ice water over their head or donate $100 if they did not. In another version, dumping the ice water over the participant's head was done in lieu of any donation, which  led to some criticisms of the challenge being a form of "slacktivism". Many participants donated $100 in addition to doing the challenge.

Impact

Awareness
In mid-2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, particularly in the United States, with people, celebrities, politicians and athletes posting videos of themselves online and on TV participating in the event. According to The New York Times, people shared more than 1.2 million videos on Facebook between June 1 and August 13 and mentioned the phenomenon more than 2.2 million times on Twitter between July 29 and August 17. At its peak, the challenge generated more than 70,000 tweets per day with hashtags such as #IceBucketChallenge, #ALSIceBucketChallenge, and #StrikeOutALS. Mashable called the phenomenon "the Harlem Shake of the summer".

Prior to the challenge, public awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was relatively limited; the ALS Association stated that prior to the challenge going viral only half of Americans had heard of the disease, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease", after baseball player Lou Gehrig, who publicly revealed his diagnosis in 1939. After the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media, public awareness and charitable donations to ALS charities soared. Hits to the English Wikipedia's article on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis grew from an average of 163,300 views per month to 2.89 million views in August 2014, and similar increases occurred in the Spanish and German Wikipedias.

Donations
Within weeks of the challenge going viral, The New York Times reported that the ALS Association had received $41.8 million in donations from more than 739,000 new donors from July 29 until August 21, more than double the $19.4 million the association received during the year that ended January 31, 2013. On August 29, the ALS Association announced that their total donations since July 29 had exceeded $100 million. The ALS Association is just one of several ALS-related charities that have benefited from the challenge:

While the Ice Bucket Challenge raised much in donations, studies show that the majority of participants did not actually donate. In the UK, one in every six people participated, but only ten percent of the participants donated, according to the Charities Aid Foundation. The percentage was higher in the U.S., but the majority still did not donate.

In July 2015, the Huffington Post reported on the ALS Association's summary of how the funds raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge were distributed.  By percentage, 67% of all funds (about $77 million) went to research, 20% to patient and community services, 9% to public and professional education, 2% to additional fundraising, and 2% to external processing fees.

Research
On July 25, 2016, the ALS Association announced that, thanks in part to donations from the Ice Bucket Challenge, the University of Massachusetts Medical School has identified a third gene that is a cause for the disease. Project MinE, a global gene sequencing effort to identify genetic drivers of ALS, received $1 million from the challenge, allowing them to broaden the scope of their research to include new sources in new parts of the world. Having identified the link between the gene, NEK1, and ALS will allow for a new targeted gene for therapy development, as well as focused drug development.

Influences
Several other challenges have been created and publicised as a result of the publicity of the Ice Bucket Challenge. The My Tree Challenge is an activity launched in Kerala which consists of planting a tree sapling and challenging others to do so. The My Tree Challenge was preceded by a Book List Challenge, started by Facebook users, where users post a list of books that they have read and liked the most. The Rice Bucket Challenge, that started in India in late August 2014 and later spread to other South Asian nations, was also partly a response to the Ice Bucket Challenge's wastefulness of water. The "Pie In The Eye Challenge" challenges the nominated person to receive a pie in the face.  One particular occurrence of this, the late 2016 Waitress Pie Challenge, was initiated by the cast of the musical Waitress to raise awareness of breast cancer. The Milk Bucket Challenge in which milk is poured over the nominated person, was organised in August 2015 by English dairy farmers to raise awareness of their financial plight. The Rubble Bucket Challenge, started by Jordanian comedian Mohammed Darwaza, involves dumping a bucket of sand and rocks over one's head. This challenge was further popularized by Palestinian journalist Aymal al Aloul, and aims to increase awareness of Gazans who have lost their homes in the ongoing conflict with Israel. The Love Bucket Challenge, started by Kerala newspaper Malayala Manorama encourages people to fill a bucket with items to donate to orphanages. The Kaapi Challenge uses coffee, and is a challenge done primarily by the Chennai Super Kings to commemorate the 375th anniversary of the city of Chennai.

Criticism
A number of criticisms arose relating to the campaign, accusing it of being self-congratulatory, focusing primarily on fun rather than donating money to charity, and substituting a trivial activity for more genuine involvement in charitable activities. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Willard Foxton described the challenge as "a middle-class wet T-shirt contest for armchair clicktivists", and the Evening Standard Magazine said that "it has become less about raising funds and all about showing off your star-pulling power".

On August 28, 2014, it was reported that the ALS Association had filed an application to trademark the term "ice bucket challenge", but the application was retracted amid criticism a day later.

Importance of the cause
William MacAskill, vice-president of Giving What We Can, an organization that advocates for people to engage in more effective altruism, was critical of the Ice Bucket Challenge, citing two chief objections. First, he claimed that the Ice Bucket Challenge resulted in "funding cannibalism": "for every $1 we raise, 50¢ would have been donated anyway". Relatedly, MacAskill claimed that the challenge encouraged moral licensing, whereby people who engage in one act they consider good may feel more licensed to engage in bad behavior. MacAskill's piece was met with considerable critical push-back, and he published a follow-up a few days later suggesting an Ice Bucket Challenge for causes he considered more important and cost-effective to support. Citing research from GiveWell, MacAskill gave the example of donating to the Against Malaria Foundation to end malaria. MacAskill's pieces were cited in Forbes, Nonprofit Quarterly, and Boston Review.

Julia Belluz at Vox.com wrote a piece with similar criticisms, linking to MacAskill's piece. Belluz noted that funding for diseases was often not proportional to the number of deaths caused by the diseases. She also noted that donating to developing world health causes could provide much greater healthcare value than donating for the treatment of rare diseases, an observation that is common in the effective altruism movement.

In the BBC's More or Less podcast, economist Tim Harford discussed the Ice Bucket Challenge and how to select the best charities, referencing work by GiveWell. He himself participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, donating to the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. Ben Carter and Keith Moore wrote an article for the BBC News drawing on the arguments made in the podcast.

Use of donated funds
Retired professional wrestler Lance Storm declined the challenge despite being nominated twice, and posted a note on his official website stating that most of the money that is donated goes towards promotional and advertising of the ALS Association while the remaining amount (at most 25% of what is donated) "is going into the pockets of Big Pharma", which is already doing ALS research and is therefore inflating their already-high profits. Storm went on to comment that it would be better to actually help someone with ALS and donate money directly to ALS patients. The ALS Association responded to similar criticisms by saying that 79% of their annual budget went toward programs in the past year.

Members of the pro-life movement, such as Lila Rose of Live Action, criticised donations to the ALS Association, because it uses embryonic stem cells in its ALS research. Related organisations such as the Family Research Council suggested that people participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge instead donate money to Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center, Mayo Clinic, and the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, all three of which run clinical trials with adult stem cells, rather than embryonic ones. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, with its 113 schools also recommended individuals participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge to donate to such groups, but not to the ALS Association "saying the group's funding of embryonic stem cell research is 'in direct conflict with Catholic teaching'."

PETA criticized the ALS Association's Ice Bucket Challenge, saying that money raised through the fundraiser would be used to fund "archaic and painful tests on animals." Russell Simmons,  Pamela Anderson, and Grimes, among other celebrities, also criticized the ALS Association's fundraiser for its support of animal testing. Anderson wrote on her Facebook page, "Trying to cure human diseases by relying on outdated and ineffective animal experiments isn't only cruel – it's a grave disservice to people who desperately need cures."

Focus on the stunt rather than donations
American stunt performer and TV personality Steve-O questioned the campaign, suggesting that celebrities' videos generally did not share donation information for ALS charities, and that the initial $15 million in funds was insignificant, given the star power of the celebrities participating. He noted that, of the videos he viewed, only Charlie Sheen and Bill Gates mentioned that the point is to donate money. A similar criticism was made by Jacob Davidson in Time Magazine and by Arielle Pardes in Vice.

Health risks
On August 22, 2014, Dr. Brian O'Neill, a physician at the Detroit Medical Center, warned that the challenge may have adverse health effects on participants, including potentially inducing a vagal response which might, for example, lead to unconsciousness in people taking blood pressure medications. A number of participants have sustained injuries, and at least one death has been indirectly linked to the challenge, as a result of injuries sustained unrelated to the dumping of ice water, with another death thought to be caused by a variation on the challenge, jumping feet first into ice water.

"Michael's Story" poster
"Michael's Story" was a campaign poster from the UK MND Association's summer 2015 "Last Summer" first anniversary campaign which featured Michael Smith. He had not taken part in the Ice Bucket Challenge and was subsequently diagnosed with motor neurone disease.  This caused controversy, with some critics saying that the poster was implying that Smith had deserved his illness for his previous non-participation. The claims were strongly refuted by the Association and by Smith himself.

Waste of water

Meteorologist Jason Samenow estimated that during the peak of the movement's popularity in 2014, the equivalent of 5,000,000 gallons of water would have been used for the challenge. This calculation assumes that the average of one 4-gallon bucket of water was used per video for the 1.2 million challenge videos which were posted during that time.

In January 2014, Governor Jerry Brown declared California to be in a drought state of emergency. This state of emergency was still in place as the Ice Bucket Challenge became most popular, and many local news stations in California took to criticizing the Challenge's unnecessary waste of water. Also at the time in China, various regions (including the important crop-producing Henan province) experienced months of extreme drought during the summer of 2014.  On August 22, 2014, citizens of Henan stood together to protest the challenge, with signs that said "Henan, please say 'NO' to Ice Bucket Challenge."

To prevent wasting drinkable water, many performed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by using natural water sources. Carole King performed the challenge using creek water that was immediately returned to the creek, and the Killer Clown, a YouTube personality, performed the challenge using rainwater. In response to the criticisms in California, some Californians performed the challenge by using dirt instead of water.

Some ALS organizations, such as the ALS Therapy Development Institute, has published guidelines for the Ice Bucket Challenge to minimize water usage through alternatives, like "filling the bucket with socks."

See also
 Book bucket challenge
 Mannequin Challenge
 Winter swimming

References

External links

 Video: Interview Pat Quinn on subject "Hype", for MOTI Museum
 ALS Association page
 Ice Bucket Challenge: Celebrity Participants and Nominees graph
 Ice Bucket Challenge World Record Attempt in India

2010s fads and trends
Projects established in 2014
Challenges
Health-related fundraisers
Internet memes introduced in 2014
Viral videos
Articles containing video clips
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Ice
Internet memes
Webby Award winners


title: Busan BNK Sum

text:
Busan BNK Sum () is a South Korean professional basketball club playing in the Women's Korean Basketball League.

Honours

WKBL Championship
 Winners (1): 2004 (winter)
 Runners-up (2): 2010–11, 2022–23

WKBL Regular Season
 Runners-up (3): 2005 (winter), 2011–12, 2022–23

External links
Official website

Basketball teams established in 2000
Basketball teams in South Korea
Women's basketball teams in South Korea
Women's Korean Basketball League teams
Sport in Incheon
Sport in Gyeonggi Province
Sport in Busan
2000 establishments in South Korea


title: Digital Bolex

text:
Digital Bolex was a partnership between Cinemeridian, Inc. and Ienso Canada, an engineering company, to develop the Digital Bolex D16 digital cinema camera. Development was funded via  a successful Kickstarter in March 2012, raising $262,661.

On June 27, 2016, the company announced on its website that it would no longer be producing cameras as of that month, and would shut down its online store on June 30, 2016.

Company profile

Digital Bolex is headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles and Toronto, Canada. Cameras were designed and manufactured in Canada.

Name

In 2012, Cinemeridian licensed the named Bolex from Bolex International, the Swiss camera company that created the first consumer 16mm film camera, the H16, in 1927. The name Bolex is derived from that of its inventor, Jacques Bogopolsky. The Digital Bolex D16 is named after the H16.

History (2011–present)

The Digital Bolex was initially developed as a side project of CEO Joseph Rubinstein's LA-based photo booth company Polite in Public. Rubinstein wanted to develop a video booth that would require a raw-capable video camera under $10,000. He decided to start a new company to pursue the endeavor in early 2011, and partnered with Canadian design firm Ienso in summer of 2011 to produce the first prototype camera.

In Fall of 2011, Rubinstein hired USC grad and filmmaker Elle Schneider to co-develop the camera. Both film school graduates, Schneider and Rubinstein collaborated on a short film entitled One Small Step to test their prototype. The film premiered at the Short Film Corner of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Digital Bolex announced its camera at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival where it had a trade show booth. Unable to announce the licensing of the Bolex name before the event, they are listed in the festival catalog as Cinemeridian.

Kickstarter

Rubinstein and Schneider announced their collaboration with Bolex via the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform on March 12, 2012. Billed "the first affordable digital cinema camera", the project came to the attention of notable film bloggers Philip Bloom and Stu Maschwitz, and by the campaign's second day the $100,000 goal had been met. Within the first 48 hours the campaign exceeded $250,000 and the limited run of 100 cameras had been sold. Rubinstein and Schneider have said they purposely limited the number of cameras to 100 in order to avoid the manufacturing delays that had plagued other runaway crowdfunding successes.

As of December 2012, the Digital Bolex was one of the top 50 Kickstarter campaigns of all time, alongside the Oculus Rift, Double Fine Adventure, and Pebble watch, all of which were profiled by CNN Money for their late deliveries. The Digital Bolex had an original estimated delivery date of August 2012, and cameras began to ship in December 2013.

The Digital Bolex received a large amount of press in print and on the web during and after its launch, including stories by Mashable, Engadget, PBS, CNET, Vice and Intel's The Creator's Project, and Wired. With 440 backers and $262,661 raised, the Digital Bolex Kickstarter had an unusually high average pledge of $597, nearly twice the average pledge of similar Kickstarter project Oculus Rift ($256 average pledge) and four times the average pledge of the Ouya game console ($136). With 77 backers pledging $2,500 each, the Digital Bolex may have the highest median pledge of any Kickstarter project.

End of production June 2016
On June 27, 2016, the company announced on its website that it would no longer be producing cameras as of that month, and would shut down its online store on June 30, 2016. After the company made the announcement the remaining 50 to 60 cameras sold out in just two days. Digital Bolex founder Joe Rubinstein has said there is a possibility for the product to be relaunched but it would require new investment.

Products

D16 cinema camera

The Digital Bolex camera was the second camera to feature Adobe's CinemaDNG open RAW file format after the Swedish-made Ikonoskop which debuted in 2008. Both cameras use a Kodak-designed CCD sensor. The Digital Bolex D16 shoots raw still frames per second instead of a traditional video stream. In addition to its raw capabilities, the camera is notable for its Super 16mm sized sensor, allowing the usage of vintage 16mm lenses with no crop, and its unique crank wheel encoder. The Digital Bolex is the only digital cinema camera with a native C mount, a nod to the original Bolex 16mm film cameras.

The Digital Bolex was the first-announced camera aimed at the consumer market to offer a 2K recording resolution, however competitor Blackmagic Design started shipping its Blackmagic Cinema Camera (announced a month later at the 2012 National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas) in December 2012, one year before the Digital Bolex began to ship.

D16M monochrome

At the 2014 National Association of Broadcasters convention, Digital Bolex announced it would begin selling a monochrome cinema camera, the D16M.

The D16M is one of a few dedicated monochromatic cinema cameras developed in the last few years. Other monochrome cameras have been created by RED, Leica, and Ikonoskop. The first units shipped in July 2014.

Kish/Bolex Series 1 primes

Digital Bolex released its first series of lenses online in September 2014.

Digital Bolex in use

The Digital Bolex has been used in mainstream film and television, including Netflix series Hemlock Grove, Fox series Glee, a Kelly Rowland music video directed by Spike Lee, and an Airbnb commercial directed by Bombay Beach filmmaker Alma Har'el.

Rubinstein, Schneider, and the Digital Bolex are subjects in the documentary Beyond the Bolex, a biographical film about Bolex founder Jacques Bogopolsky (later anglicized to Bolsey), directed by his great-grand daughter Alyssa Bolsey.

See also
 16 mm film
 CinemaDNG

References

External links
 Official Website
 Digital Bolex Kickstarter Campaign

Digital cameras
Movie camera manufacturers
Kickstarter-funded products
Products introduced in 2013
Manufacturing companies based in Los Angeles
Manufacturing companies based in Toronto
Companies based in Ontario
Digital movie cameras
Cinematography
Lens manufacturers


The 1990 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 2–4, 1990 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers, led by head coach Les Robinson, won their second Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1990 NCAA tournament.

Format
All of the conference's eight members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

See also
List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions

References

Tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Basketball competitions in Asheville, North Carolina
College sports tournaments in North Carolina
College basketball in North Carolina


title: Pat O'Leary

text:
Pat O'Leary is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played at club level for Hull FC.

References

External links
Search for "O'Leary" at rugbyleagueproject.org
Search for "OLeary" at rugbyleagueproject.org
 (archived by web.archive.org) Stats → PastPlayers → O at hullfc.com
 (archived by web.archive.org) Statistics at hullfc.com
Search for "Pat O'Leary" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

Living people
English rugby league players
Hull F.C. players
Hull Kingston Rovers players
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)


title: Blame It on Me (George Ezra song)

text:
"Blame It on Me" is a song by British singer-songwriter George Ezra. It was released as the fourth single from his debut studio album, Wanted on Voyage (2014). The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on 11 August 2014 through Columbia Records. It debuted at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, marking Ezra's second consecutive top 10 hit.

Background
Ezra explained the song to InStyle. "I wrote it when I was 18 and had just moved to Bristol. I was saddled with student loans, and I realised there were so many opportunities to play music, so unless I got busy, I could only blame myself."

Music video
An official lyric video to accompany the release of "Blame It on Me" was issued on 20 June 2014, with Ezra holding an old-fashioned TV with the lyrics appearing on it; at the same time, he is sitting on the seat of a dunk tank while several tennis balls are thrown towards it from off-screen. At the end of the bridge, a ball hits the button and Ezra falls into the water. He then holds the TV above his head for a while, whilst his face is barely visible. As the song ends, tennis balls are thrown towards the TV, which finally falls out of Ezra's hands and into the water. The video then ends with him laughing.

The official music video was directed by Rob Brandon. It was first released onto YouTube on 12 August 2014 at a total length of three minutes and forty-four seconds. The video begins with a Ford pickup full of criminals driving past Ezra, who is carrying his guitar in its case, and a Japanese man. The man asks Ezra in Japanese "Are you sure you want to follow the yellow brick road?" and then walks away without Ezra giving a response. The rest of the video features Ezra having a very bad day, including his guitar case blowing open and the instrument falling out into the road before being run over by a police car; getting tackled by a rugby team; hit with a sucker dart fired from a toy pistol by a child, defecated on by a bird and winding up in the middle of a gunfight between police officers and the aforementioned criminals. As some signs from the industrial estate featuring on the video reveal, the video was shot in the Bellvitge area of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat near Barcelona and in the Poblenou district of the Catalan capital. The video has over 66 million views as of August 2022.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

2014 singles
2014 songs
George Ezra songs
Columbia Records singles
Songs written by Joel Pott
Songs written by George Ezra
Song recordings produced by Cam Blackwood


title: NPO Molniya Molniya-1

text:
The Molniya-1 is a six-seater utility aircraft designed and built in Russia during the 1990s.

Design and development
The Molniya-1 six-seat aircraft is a three surface design with a forward balanced canard surface and a square section fuselage with a Vedeneyev M14P nine cylinder radial engine in the rear. Twin booms carry fins with balanced and trim tabbed rudders and a high set tailplane, similarly tabbed and balanced.

It was intended to cover a wide range of tasks including touring, cargo/mail carrying, business flights, aerial photography, patrol and air ambulance services. The three-surface configuration was intended to provide improved safety and fuel efficiency over conventional types, with the rear-mounted engine lowering cabin noise and vibration. It flew for the first time on 18 December 1992.

A Westernised version with a  Continental TSIO-550-B flat six engine and another, the Moliniya-3 with an Allison 250 turboprop, were proposed.  More broadly, the company were considering a number of larger types based on the three surface configuration.

Operational history
In 1993 the design received a gold medal at the Eureka-93 World Inventors, Scientific Research and Know-How Salon in Brussels. It was demonstrated at the Le Bourget aero show in 1995. Only two Moliniyas had been built by about 2000.

Specifications (Molniya-1)

References

Three-surface aircraft


title: G. Malcolm Brown

text:
George Malcolm Brown, OC (July 16, 1916 – May 19, 1977) was a Canadian physician.

He was born in Campbellford, Ontario, and was educated at Queen's University and Oxford University. Brown served in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in Europe. He was a professor of medicine at Queen's from 1951 to 1965. He served as president of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1956 to 1958 and of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada from 1962 to 1964. He was a committee member of the Medical Research Council of Canada from 1953 to 1965 and served as its first full-time president from 1965 to 1977.

He was named to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2000. The G. Malcolm Brown Memorial Fund was established in his memory to promote health science research in Canada.

References

1916 births
1977 deaths
Canadian military doctors
Physicians from Ontario
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
Alumni of the University of Oxford
20th-century Canadian physicians
Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Officers of the Order of Canada


title: Bumi

text:
Bumi may refer to:

 Bumi River of Papua New Guinea
 Bumi Hills, a group of hills and a resort in Zimbabwe
 Bumi Thomas, a British-Nigerian musician
 Bumi Resources, a mining company of Indonesia
 Asia Resource Minerals, formerly known as Bumi plc, an international mining group
 The name of two characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra

See also
 Bhumi (disambiguation)
 Bhoomi (disambiguation)
 Buumi, a royal title in several pre-colonial kingdoms of Senegal
 Boomi, New South Wales, a town in Australia
 Boomi River


title: Bucheon Hana 1Q

text:
Bucheon Hana 1Q () is a South Korean women's professional basketball club based in Bucheon. They play in the Women's Korean Basketball League.

Honours

WKBL Championship
 Winners (4): 1999 (winter), 2000 (summer), 2001 (summer), 2002 (winter)
 Runners-up (1): 1998 (summer)

WKBL Regular Season
 Winners (4): 1999 (winter), 2000 (summer), 2001 (winter), 2001 (summer)
 Runners-up (3): 1998 (summer), 2002 (winter), 2003 (summer)

References

External links
 Official website

Basketball teams established in 1998
1998 establishments in South Korea
Basketball teams in South Korea
Women's basketball teams in South Korea
Women's Korean Basketball League teams
Sport in Gyeonggi Province


title: Randy Rushing

text:
Randal Kevin Rushing (born September 9, 1963) is an American Republican politician. He is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 78th District, being first elected in 2011.

Rushing resides in Decatur, Mississippi.

References

1963 births
Living people
People from Carthage, Mississippi
Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives
21st-century American politicians


The 1989 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 3–5, 1989 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The East Tennessee State Buccaneers, led by head coach Les Robinson, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1989 NCAA tournament.

Format
All of the conference's eight members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

See also
List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions

References

Tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Basketball competitions in Asheville, North Carolina
College sports tournaments in North Carolina
College basketball in North Carolina


title: James Herrington

text:
James Herrington (June 6, 1824 – July 7, 1890) was an American politician from Pennsylvania. Coming with his family to Illinois at a young age, he joined a Chicago printing house to support his family. He apprenticed under Long John Wentworth and became a prominent Democrat upon his return to Geneva. He served seven consecutive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives and was once a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. When the office was created in 1887, Herrington became the first Mayor of Geneva.

Biography
James Herrington was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania on June 6, 1824. His father would become one of the founders of Kane County, Illinois. Herrington moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois in 1833. The next year, his father sold the property and purchased a claim west in what is now Geneva, Illinois.

In 1839, his father died, so Herrington moved back to Chicago to apprentice in the printer's trade. He worked in the Chicago Democrat offices for seven years under future Mayor of Chicago and U.S. Representative Long John Wentworth, who became a mentor. Herrington returned to Geneva in 1849, where he was elected Kane County Clerk. He served in this position for eight years, dealing in real estate and publishing on the side. He bought a farm in Blackberry Township in 1863.

Herrington was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1872 as a Democrat. His views on corporate personhood proved popular with his district. He for twelve years in the lower house, finally defeated by Thomas O'Donnell in 1884. Herrington then returned to Geneva. He supported Carter Harrison, Sr.'s campaign for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 1885; the nomination instead went to William Ralls Morrison. Herrington served one last term in the Illinois House from 1886 to 1888.

Herrington was elected the first Mayor of Geneva in 1887, shortly after the town authorized the position. However, he resigned a few months later due to a conflict with the city council over saloon licenses. In 1888, the Democratic Party nominated Herrington to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, but he was defeated in his strongly Republican district.

Herrington married Mary A. Blodgett on January 14, 1850. They had ten children, nine surviving to adulthood. Herrington died on July 7, 1890. He had been suffering from paralysis for the last year, which worsened a few weeks before his death. His death was front-page news on the Chicago Inter Ocean.

References

1824 births
1890 deaths
Mayors of places in Illinois
Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Politicians from Chicago
People from Geneva, Illinois
People from Mercer County, Pennsylvania
19th-century American politicians


title: Mallard Bay, Oklahoma

text:
Mallard Bay is an unincorporated community in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The elevation is 607 feet.

References

Unincorporated communities in Oklahoma
Unincorporated communities in Wagoner County, Oklahoma
Populated places within the Cherokee Nation reservation


title: Pellegrino di Giovanni

text:
Pellegrino di Giovanni, also Pellegrino di Giovanni di Antonio, (died 1435) was an Italian painter. His exact dates of birth and death are not known.

Pellegrino di Giovanni di Antonio was born in Perugia, which he is known to have worked in and around. He became treasurer of the local painter's guild in 1428. He was considered one of the leading painters in Perugia during this period, and executed commissions for the wealthy merchant Nicola di Giovanni di Benedetto di Giovanni. After his death in 1435 his workshop passed to his pupil Mariano d’Antonio.

Works
 a panel depicting St. Michael in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is attributed to him
 a panel depicting The Virgin and Child with angels in the Victoria and Albert Museum is attributed to him
 a panel (1427) for San Francesco al Prato (lost)
 work carried out for the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Misericordia in 1434 (lost)
 a panel (1435) for Giovanni di Martino Bontempi for the Cappella degli Angeli of San Domenico (lost)

References

Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
14th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
15th-century Italian painters


title: Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds

text:
Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds () is a professional basketball club in the Women's Korean Basketball League in South Korea.

Honours

WKBL Championship
 Winners (8): 2002 (summer), 2005 (summer), 2007 (winter), 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
 Runners-up (6): 1999 (summer), 2000 (winter), 2000 (summer), 2001 (summer), 2006 (winter), 2013–14

WKBL Regular Season
 Winners (6): 2007 (winter), 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
 Runners-up (9): 1999 (summer), 2000 (winter), 2000 (summer), 2001 (summer), 2002 (summer), 2006 (winter), 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15

References

External links
 Official website

Basketball teams established in 1986
Basketball teams in South Korea
Women's basketball teams in South Korea
Women's Korean Basketball League teams
Sport in Incheon
1986 establishments in South Korea


title: Gate of Heaven Cemetery (disambiguation)

text:
Gate of Heaven Cemetery may refer to:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Silver Spring, Maryland)
Gate of Heaven Cemetery (East Hanover, New Jersey)
Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)


title: Aisha Falode

text:
Aisha Falode is a sports journalist in Nigeria. She is also the President of Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL).

Afterwards when Raymond Dokpesi was planning his own broadcasting station now known as the African Independent Television (AIT) that she became involved. This later led her to acquire a graduate degree in Mass Communications. Prior this she also worked briefly with NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunication Limited) and again with the Graduate Telephone Operators Scheme of the then NITEL.

Her success story as a sports journalist stems from her involvement in both sports and radio broadcasting.

In January 2017, she was inaugurated by Nigeria Football Federation as the head of Nigeria Women Football League, the body that organizes Aiteo Cup and Nigeria Women Premier League.

References

External links
I love Jean trousers and T-shirts – Falode

Living people
Nigerian television journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Yoruba women journalists
Nigerian women journalists
Women television journalists
21st-century Nigerian women


title: A Portrait

text:
A Portrait may refer to:

 A Portrait (Voice of the Beehive album)
 A Portrait (John Denver album)

See also
 Portrait (disambiguation)


title: Üstün Bilgi

text:
Üstün Bilgi (born 30 May 1988) is a Turkish footballer who plays as a forward for TFF Third League club Kepez Spor Futbol.

References

External links

 goal.com

1988 births
Footballers from Bursa
Living people
Turkish men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Bursaspor footballers
Kayseri Erciyesspor footballers
Denizlispor footballers
Altınordu F.K. players
Bandırmaspor footballers
Fethiyespor footballers
Bayrampaşa SK footballers
Süper Lig players
TFF First League players
TFF Second League players
TFF Third League players


The 1988 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 4–6, 1988 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The Chattanooga Mocs, led by head coach Mack McCarthy, won their fourth Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1988 NCAA tournament.

Format
The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament consisted of three rounds.

Bracket

See also
List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions

References

Tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Basketball competitions in Asheville, North Carolina
College sports tournaments in North Carolina
College basketball in North Carolina


title: 1995 Davis Cup World Group

text:
The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 1995. The first-round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group qualifying round, and the winners progressed to the quarterfinals and were guaranteed a World Group spot for 1996.

Sweden were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the semifinals.

The United States won the title, defeating Russia in the final, 3–2. The final was held at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from 1 to 3 December. It was the US team's 31st Davis Cup title overall.

Participating teams

Draw

First round

United States vs. France

Italy vs. Czech Republic

Denmark vs. Sweden

Austria vs. Spain

South Africa vs. Australia

Belgium vs. Russia

Switzerland vs. Netherlands

Germany vs. Croatia

Quarterfinals

Italy vs. United States

Sweden vs. Austria

Russia vs. South Africa

Netherlands vs. Germany

Semifinals

United States vs. Sweden

Russia vs. Germany

Final

Russia vs. United States

References

External links
Davis Cup official website

World Group
Davis Cup World Group
Davis Cup


title: Our Lady of Pellevoisin

text:
Our Lady of Pellevoisin () is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary which refers to a series of Marian apparitions in Pellevoisin, in the province of Berry, in the department of Indre,  France. Pellevoisin is west of Châteauroux in the Catholic Archdiocese of Bourges.

In 1876, a domestic servant, Estelle Faguette, reported receiving a series of fifteen apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and recovered from a serious illness, tuberculosis. A distinctive feature of Faguette's apparitions was her claim that the Virgin wished her devotees to wear a Scapular of the Sacred Heart.

Following authorization by the Archbishop of Bourges in 1877, Faguette's bedroom was transformed into an oratory. Pellevoisin rapidly became a place of pilgrimage, the shrine of Our Lady of Pellevoisin. Pope Leo XIII encouraged the pilgrimages by approving indulgences to pilgrims, and also approved related devotions to Our Lady.

In 1983, Archbishop Paul Vignancour of Bourges formally declared Faguette's cure to be inexplicable in the light of medical science and that her recovery could rightly be regarded as a miracle by Catholics.

Estelle Faguette

Estelle Faguette was born 12 September 1843 at Saint-Memmie near Châlons-sur-Marne and joined the Children of Mary at the age of 14. She entered an order of Augustinian nursing sisters, but left while still a novice. She tripped and fell on a staircase; although the sprain seemed trivial at first, two weeks later, her leg was immobilised and doctors considered amputation. On 15 September 1863, Faguette reluctantly accepted that she could not pursue the life of a nursing sister and returned to her parents’ home.

The apparitions
At the time of the apparitions, Pellevoisin was the commercial centre for around a thousand citizens under the authority of the village mayor, Comte de la Rochefoucauld. His wife, Marie-Luce de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel, employed Estelle Faguette as a domestic servant and nursemaid at their residence near Pellevoisin, the Château de Poiriers-Montbel. A woman of fragile health, after numerous years in service, Faguette was dying of tuberculosis at the age of 33.

With childlike faith, Faguette composed a letter to the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she asked for a cure. The letter was laid at the feet of a statue of the Virgin in Montbel, the summer chateau of the Rochefoucaulds, about 3 km from Pellevoisin.

In February 1876, the Countess had to travel to Paris but arranged for accommodation to be made available for Faguette in a house close to the parish church in Pellevoisin. Unable to consume anything except liquids, Faguette received the sacrament of extreme unction. On 14 February, her physician judged that she had only hours left to live.

During the night of that same day, Faguette reported experiencing the presence of the Virgin Mary for the first time, who told her that she must suffer for five more days in honour of the five wounds of Christ. At the end of the five days, Faguette would die or be cured; and if she lived, she would obliged to make known ‘Mary’s glory’.

On each of the following four nights the Blessed Virgin again appeared to Faguette. On Tuesday, she said: 'If my son grants you life, it will be a blessing for you.' On Wednesday, she said, 'I am all-merciful and the mistress of my Son. Your good deed, fervent prayers and little letter have touched my motherly heart'.

On Friday night, Mary did not come and stand at the foot of the bed, as on the previous nights, but drew close to her. She showed Faguette the plaque which she must have placed as a thanksgiving, bearing the words: 'I called upon Mary in the depths of my misery. She obtained for me, from her Son, my complete cure.' The plaque was not plain white, but had a golden rose on each corner, and at the top, a heart on fire, crowned with roses, pierced by a sword. Indeed, on Saturday, Faguette was cured when she received Holy Communion. Immediately she was able to eat and drink normally, and within a few days, she resumed domestic and gardening duties with no sign of fatigue.

The next three apparitions occurred on three consecutive days in July, Saturday 1st - Monday 3rd. 'My son's heart is so full of love that he will not refuse my demands. I have chosen this particular place for the conversion of sinners. I would like you to remain very peaceful about this!'

The Blessed Virgin returned in September (Saturday 9, Sunday 10, Friday 15). On 9 September, the lady drew attention to a small scapular she was wearing. Faguette had seen it there before, as plain white cloth, but on this day it bore the red image of a heart. 'This devotion pleases me', Mary said, and then, 'It is here that I shall be honoured'. The lady next appeared on 15 September, speaking of her concern for the Catholic Church in France.

Three further visions followed in November (Wednesday 1, All Saints' Day; Sunday 5; Saturday 11). On 11 November, Faguette set about making a replica of the scapular which she had seen the lady wearing. On that day's apparition, the Virgin told Faguette 'You have been working for me'.

The final and culminating vision took place on Friday 8 December 1876, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

I have many graces in store for those who wear this scapular with trust in me. These graces are my Son's; I bring them from His Heart; he will refuse me nothing. The lady asked her to show the scapular to the local bishop and ask his assistance in promoting it.

Faguette died in Pellevoisin on 23 August 1929, a few weeks short of her 87th birthday.

Response of Catholic authorities
Initial enquiries were carried out by Charles-Amable de la Tour d'Auvergne, Archbishop of Bourges.

On 30 April 1876, with the permission of the archbishop, she had an ex voto plaque of thanksgiving placed in the parish church. On December 8, her bedroom was transformed into an oratory. A few days later, the archbishop received her for an interview and granted permission for her to make and distribute copies of the Scapular of the Sacred Heart.

In 1877, the archbishop set up an enquiry and interviewed 56 persons who knew Faguette; apart from one who preferred not to comment, all spoke favourably. A second enquiry was conducted in December 1878, with similar results.

A confraternity of the All-Merciful Mother was erected on 28 July 1877. No explicit mention was made of Pellevoisin in connection with its approval (but there was reference to Margaret Mary Alacoque, a nun who had received visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). Its statutes were approved on August 27.

In 1892, Pope Leo XIII offered two signs of favour to the shrine: awarding a candle, and declaring certain indulgences for pilgrims who visited it. On 8 May 1894, he raised the confraternity to the status of 'honorary Archconfraternity' and, on 12 May 1896, to 'effective Archconfraternity'. The Pope received Estelle Faguette in audiences on 30 January and 17–18 February 1900, during which he agreed that the relevant Vatican department, the Congregation of Rites, should consider authorising use of the Scapular of the Sacred Heart. Formal recognition was given on 4 April 1900.

In 1893, Archbishop Boyer invited the Dominican Friars to establish a monastery in a house close to her oratory.

In April 1897, Pierre-Paul Servonnet became Archbishop of Bourges. The same year, on 14 October, he renewed permissions given by his predecessors for information about the shrine to be published. In 1899, following numerous petitions from France and Canada, he opened a third canonical enquiry, which again found her to be a credible witness.

On 16 April 1903, Madame de la Rochefoucauld, who still had administrative rights over the property containing the oratory, closed it to the public. The annual pilgrimage still took place on 9 September 1903 with a crowd gathering at the railings of the property; 40 police officers attended. On 19 July 1905, Archbishop Servonnet issued an order that crowds must not gather in front of the oratory.

On 17 October 1915, Pope Benedict XV commented that Our Lady had chosen Pellevoisin as a privileged place to dispense her graces.

On 22 December 1922, the Congregation of Rites authorised a votive Mass of Our Lady of Pellevoisin to be celebrated on 9 September in the parish church and adjoining monastery.

On 7 June 1936, by the hand of Cardinal Pacelli (who later became Pope Pius XII), Pius XI sent a painting of Our Lady of Pellevoisin as a gift to the Dominican community.

On 7 December 1981, Archbishop Paul Vignancour established a medical commission to examine the apparently miraculous cure. On 6 September 1982, having received its report that the cure was still inexplicable in the light of current medical science, Vignacour established a theological commission to consider whether this cure might appropriately be called 'miraculous'. On 4 September 1983, while speaking at the annual pilgrimage to Pellevoisin, he announced the commission's findings that the cure had a 'miraculous character'. That was formally confirmed, in writing, on 8 September.

On 19 September 1984, an Imprimatur was granted for a novena to Our Lady of Pellevoisin.

Current Marian shrine

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pellevoisin was under the care of the Dominican friars for 105 years from 1895, but since 1998, it has been served by friars and sisters of the Community of Saint John. A community of contemplative sisters form the Monastery of the Merciful Mother, and the friars form the Priory of Saint Mary Magdalen. The main spiritual activities are daily Mass at 11:30, a weekend celebrating God's mercy around the Second Sunday of Easter each year (Divine Mercy Sunday in the Roman Catholic Church) and the annual pilgrimage on the last weekend in August. Pilgrimages by groups and individuals are welcome throughout the year.

Notes

References

External links
 The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pellevoisin – Official website
 Photo gallery of a pilgrimage to Pellevoisin

Titles of Mary
Pellevoisin


title: Asan Woori Bank Woori Won

text:
Asan Woori Bank Woori Won () is a South Korean professional basketball club based in Asan that competes in the Women's Korean Basketball League. They are the most successful team in the league with 12 championship titles.

Honours

WKBL Championship
 Winners (12): 2003 (winter), 2003 (summer), 2005 (winter), 2006 (winter), 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2022–23
 Runners-up (4): 1999 (winter), 2001 (winter), 2005 (summer), 2021–22

WKBL Regular Season
 Winners (14): 1999 (winter), 2003 (winter), 2005 (winter), 2005 (summer), 2006 (winter), 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23
 Runners-up (3): 2007 (winter), 2018–19, 2021–22

References

External links
 Official website

Basketball teams established in 1958
Basketball teams in South Korea
Women's basketball teams in South Korea
Women's Korean Basketball League teams
Sport in South Chungcheong Province
Asan
1958 establishments in South Korea