The name synonymous with off road transportation for 50 years has proven its worth as an American classic. Years and years of unforgettable trips to the out back have given Rokon riders a lifetime of memories.
Trail-Breakers have climbed up high peaks including the Chilean Andes, gone through mud bogs where 4-wheelers never leave, traversed slippery snow fields and even provided safe passage for explorers through the treacherous Darien Gap. Users include the US Special Forces in Desert Storm, the US Forest Service, some 25 states Fish and Game officers, countless big game hunters, and even treasure seekers. They count on Trail-Breakers because they go anywhere and do it with unparalleled ROKON reliability.
Why? Each Trail-Breaker has patented dual wheel drive, a high ground clearance (15 in.) lightweight (208 lbs.) and wide tractor type tires (5.9×15).
Versatile? You bet. Mount pumps, generators, sidecars, gun boots and 50 other accessories. You can turn your Trail-Breaker into a plow horse or mountain goat. And they even float by virtue of hollow 15-inch aluminum drum wheels. Drum like in you can store up to 4.5 gallons of fuel or water in each wheel. Narrow enough to fit down a row crop or tight tree stands. Tough enough to climb over rocks, fallen trees or other obstacles.
How? Operate for up to 9 hours on one fill up of the almost 3 gallon tank and run its classic work horse four stroke Kohler engine where ever you need to Trail-Breaker is automatic and is operated by hands only. No shifting necessary with your feet. It’s balanced enough to climb steep slopes at speeds of only 0.5 mph. It will also carry two people aboard.
Reliable? Most Trail-Breakers ever built are still running. And the ones built today are even better because they have solid state ignition, sealed gear cases, improved frame design, better comfort and get this, they are now even quiet. The Trail-Breaker uses the Kohler 6 hp Command Engine assembled by Yamaha. ROKON has learned from a rich history of riding and listening to owners.
This lead us to incorporate changes that will make Trail-Breakers last even longer. Easy to repair and maintain. A simple thing like the same bearing appears 18 times on the machine. Standard American nuts, bolts and chain make repairs a cinch and easy for you to do the work. Parts are widely available and manuals easy to follow. After all, if you start simple and rugged, it should be easy to maintain.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Earthquake Los Angeles
A small undersea earthquake has struck off Santa Monica and was widely felt in the West Los Angeles area.
The U.S. Geological survey says the 3.6-magnitude temblor hit at 2:17 a.m. PDT Monday and was centered about four miles west of Redondo Beach at a depth of 8 miles.
The USGS website recorded hundreds of hits from respondents saying they felt the quake -- mainly people in oceanfront communities but some from central Los Angeles about 20 miles east.
A Santa Monica police spokesman said he felt a "very brief and mild jolt," but had not received any calls from the public.
Christopher Knight, a Scottsdale, Ariz., resident visiting in Marina del Ray, says the jolt lasted about a second. "It was very short shift from left to right."
Scientists say quakes of this magnitude, while often felt, are generally not strong enough to cause injury or damage
Distance from:
Manhattan Beach, CA - 5 km (3 miles) WSW (243 degrees)
Redondo Beach, CA - 7 km (5 miles) WNW (294 degrees)
El Segundo, CA - 8 km (5 miles) SW (225 degrees)
Los Angeles Civic Center, CA - 29 km (18 miles) SW (222 degrees)
The U.S. Geological survey says the 3.6-magnitude temblor hit at 2:17 a.m. PDT Monday and was centered about four miles west of Redondo Beach at a depth of 8 miles.
The USGS website recorded hundreds of hits from respondents saying they felt the quake -- mainly people in oceanfront communities but some from central Los Angeles about 20 miles east.
A Santa Monica police spokesman said he felt a "very brief and mild jolt," but had not received any calls from the public.
Christopher Knight, a Scottsdale, Ariz., resident visiting in Marina del Ray, says the jolt lasted about a second. "It was very short shift from left to right."
Scientists say quakes of this magnitude, while often felt, are generally not strong enough to cause injury or damage
Distance from:
Manhattan Beach, CA - 5 km (3 miles) WSW (243 degrees)
Redondo Beach, CA - 7 km (5 miles) WNW (294 degrees)
El Segundo, CA - 8 km (5 miles) SW (225 degrees)
Los Angeles Civic Center, CA - 29 km (18 miles) SW (222 degrees)
Ken Jeong
The MTV Movie Awards were not without their share of buzzworthy moments (ScarJo and Sandra Bullock, anyone?). But the most touching came from an unlikely source: star of The Hangover and Community, Ken Jeong. WTF?
When accepting the MTV Movie Award for “Best WTF Moment” at the award show on Sunday for a scene in The Hangover in which he emerges — nude — from the trunk of a car, Jeong added a moment of seriousness to a show. “Todd and Bradley Cooper … actually helped me through a really difficult time when my wife was going through breast cancer treatment,” said Jeong, tearing up. “The reason why I did this is that she taught me that life is short, and then don’t be afraid to take chances.”
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong, MD (born c. 1969), sometimes referred to as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician.
Early life and medical career
Jeong was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Korean immigrants Young and D.K. Jeong, who was a professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina for 35 years. Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Walter Hines Page High School, where he took part in the High IQ team, played violin in the orchestra, and was elected to student council. He graduated at 16 and his achievements earned him Greensboro’s Youth of the Year award.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University in 1990 and attained his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans while developing his stand-up comedy
Career in show business
His big break came when he won the Big Easy Laff-Off, of which NBC president Brandon Tartikoff and The Improv founder Budd Friedman were judges. They both urged Jeong to move to Los Angeles, and he began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory comedy clubs.
Jeong's background in theater and improv has led to several television appearances, including NBC's The Office, FOX's 'Til Death, HBO's Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ken made his feature film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up which proved to be his breakout performance as Dr. Kuni. Subsequently, he has appeared in Pineapple Express, King Argotron in Role Models, All About Steve, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Couples Retreat, and his role as Mr. Chow in The Hangover. He appeared in 2010's Furry Vengeance and will co-star in The Zookeeper, scheduled for 2011.
Jeong is a series regular as Señor Chang on NBC's sitcom Community.
Jeong is nominated for two 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Winning the award for Best WTF Moment as well as being nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for The Hangover.
Personal life
Jeong's wife, Tran Ho, is also a doctor. Together, they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey
When accepting the MTV Movie Award for “Best WTF Moment” at the award show on Sunday for a scene in The Hangover in which he emerges — nude — from the trunk of a car, Jeong added a moment of seriousness to a show. “Todd and Bradley Cooper … actually helped me through a really difficult time when my wife was going through breast cancer treatment,” said Jeong, tearing up. “The reason why I did this is that she taught me that life is short, and then don’t be afraid to take chances.”
Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong, MD (born c. 1969), sometimes referred to as "Dr. Ken," is an American comedian, actor, and physician.
Early life and medical career
Jeong was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Korean immigrants Young and D.K. Jeong, who was a professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina for 35 years. Jeong was raised in Greensboro and attended Walter Hines Page High School, where he took part in the High IQ team, played violin in the orchestra, and was elected to student council. He graduated at 16 and his achievements earned him Greensboro’s Youth of the Year award.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University in 1990 and attained his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans while developing his stand-up comedy
Career in show business
His big break came when he won the Big Easy Laff-Off, of which NBC president Brandon Tartikoff and The Improv founder Budd Friedman were judges. They both urged Jeong to move to Los Angeles, and he began performing regularly at the Improv and Laugh Factory comedy clubs.
Jeong's background in theater and improv has led to several television appearances, including NBC's The Office, FOX's 'Til Death, HBO's Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ken made his feature film debut as Dr. Kuni in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up which proved to be his breakout performance as Dr. Kuni. Subsequently, he has appeared in Pineapple Express, King Argotron in Role Models, All About Steve, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, Couples Retreat, and his role as Mr. Chow in The Hangover. He appeared in 2010's Furry Vengeance and will co-star in The Zookeeper, scheduled for 2011.
Jeong is a series regular as Señor Chang on NBC's sitcom Community.
Jeong is nominated for two 2010 MTV Movie Awards. Winning the award for Best WTF Moment as well as being nominated for MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for The Hangover.
Personal life
Jeong's wife, Tran Ho, is also a doctor. Together, they have twin daughters, Alexa and Zooey
Labels:
aziz ansari,
bradley cooper,
hangover,
ken jeong,
the hangover,
zach galifianakis
Obama Violated my Private Parts: Statement of a White House Representative!
Obama violated my private parts! This is the statement that keeps on circulating in the internet. An unnamed White House Representative allegedly cracked the joke saying… Obama violated my private parts! Hearing a statement- Obama violated my private parts – will remark a big issue to the US President.
There could be something more about the “Obama violated my private parts” statement as the speaker continued to go in detail elaborating the released statement.
President Barack Obama has not reaction yet in regards with the spreading intriguing statement of a White House Representative saying- Obama violated my private parts!
What is this statement? Who said this? This is a very hot issue today and many are wanting to know about the truth. Did Obama really Violated Someone’s Private Parts?
Find the truth about this statement in the updates of this blog, so keep an eye on this. Is this related to the Scandal Obama lately is accused of? Or, is this something politically related?
Well, we don’t want to judge now. Let the truth comes! Check this blog back for more updates about the Obama Violated My Private Parts.
the statement could may well be a prank too. There have been a lot of pranks on Google Search with previously one of them being Swastika sign coming up as being of the most popular searches on Google. And now, the alleged statemtn from the White House Representative turns out to be the most widely searched on the internet.
Okay, first… you should know that none of fracas’ private parts were violated by Obama. I haven’t exactly made it a secret that I’ve never been fond of the guy, but I don’t think he’d ever do that. I doubt he could anyway; I’ve seen the photo where the First Lady got caught being a little too loose with certain private information, but regardless of her claims, Fracskatchewan is still a bit farther away than that! So rest assured and don’t be worrying… Obama has not violated my private parts, I’m blogging about this because I happened to notice tonight, that this was on the list of search terms trending at the ‘volcanic’ stage.
Upon seeing this, fracas said to herself, “WTF, how does something like this end up in the top ten search terms on a Sunday night?” I wondered if something worldly happened while I was outside talking to my tomato progeny, or if perhaps maybe it was just that staff leading the latest tour group at the Whitehouse forgot to check ID’s, thus enabling Monica to sneak in…
There wasn’t much real help available. Every link I clicked just led me to a series of those smarmy sites with no real information on them, posting nothing but google trend terms to get traffic to come to their site and click their ads. Stupid fraccers. Don’t they know people would really want to get to the bottom of a story like this?
I was just about to give up, when another search led me to a directory of web listings for that term… and on that list I found my answer. I decided I had to share it with all of you, and save you the trouble of endless searching and ending up at those creepy splog and ad sites.
Barack Hussein Obama II (Listeni /bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/ bə-RAHK hoo-SAYN oh-BAH-mə; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he ran for United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Democratic primary and his prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009.
As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009. On October 8, 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In March 2010, he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, bringing about comprehensive health care reform.Chicago community organizer and Harvard Law School
After four years in New York City, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from US$70,000 ($141,564 in 2010) to US$400,000 ($735,648 in 2010). He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. He returned in August 2006 in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.
In late 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year, and president of the journal in his second year. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.
University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney
In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years—as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004—teaching constitutional law.
From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to Crain's Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.
From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and of the Joyce Foundation. He served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.
Political positions
During his Senate service, Obama had a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the American Conservative Union[ and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the Americans for Democratic Action.
In April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and opposed Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor. Obama said in 2007 that he supported universal health care in the United States. He has proposed rewarding teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.
Obama has supported eliminating taxes for senior citizens with incomes of under $50,000, and raising taxes on income over $250,000, on capital gains, and on dividends. He has also supported simplifying tax filings and removing loopholes.
As an environmental initiative, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system with no grandfathering to restrict carbon emissions and a ten year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.
In foreign affairs, Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's policies on Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.
In a March 2007 speech, Obama said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, without preconditions, but not ruling out military action. In August 2007, Obama remarked that "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan.
Obama stated in 2007 that he would enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars, stop investing in "unproven" missile defense systems, not weaponize space, "slow development of Future Combat Systems", and work towards eliminating all nuclear weapons. Obama favors ending development of new nuclear weapons, reducing the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, enacting a global ban on production of fissile material, and seeking negotiations with Russia to reduce the pressure on both sides for intercontinental ballistic missiles to be on high-alert status.
Obama has called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.
There could be something more about the “Obama violated my private parts” statement as the speaker continued to go in detail elaborating the released statement.
President Barack Obama has not reaction yet in regards with the spreading intriguing statement of a White House Representative saying- Obama violated my private parts!
What is this statement? Who said this? This is a very hot issue today and many are wanting to know about the truth. Did Obama really Violated Someone’s Private Parts?
Find the truth about this statement in the updates of this blog, so keep an eye on this. Is this related to the Scandal Obama lately is accused of? Or, is this something politically related?
Well, we don’t want to judge now. Let the truth comes! Check this blog back for more updates about the Obama Violated My Private Parts.
the statement could may well be a prank too. There have been a lot of pranks on Google Search with previously one of them being Swastika sign coming up as being of the most popular searches on Google. And now, the alleged statemtn from the White House Representative turns out to be the most widely searched on the internet.
Okay, first… you should know that none of fracas’ private parts were violated by Obama. I haven’t exactly made it a secret that I’ve never been fond of the guy, but I don’t think he’d ever do that. I doubt he could anyway; I’ve seen the photo where the First Lady got caught being a little too loose with certain private information, but regardless of her claims, Fracskatchewan is still a bit farther away than that! So rest assured and don’t be worrying… Obama has not violated my private parts, I’m blogging about this because I happened to notice tonight, that this was on the list of search terms trending at the ‘volcanic’ stage.
Upon seeing this, fracas said to herself, “WTF, how does something like this end up in the top ten search terms on a Sunday night?” I wondered if something worldly happened while I was outside talking to my tomato progeny, or if perhaps maybe it was just that staff leading the latest tour group at the Whitehouse forgot to check ID’s, thus enabling Monica to sneak in…
There wasn’t much real help available. Every link I clicked just led me to a series of those smarmy sites with no real information on them, posting nothing but google trend terms to get traffic to come to their site and click their ads. Stupid fraccers. Don’t they know people would really want to get to the bottom of a story like this?
I was just about to give up, when another search led me to a directory of web listings for that term… and on that list I found my answer. I decided I had to share it with all of you, and save you the trouble of endless searching and ending up at those creepy splog and ad sites.
Barack Hussein Obama II (Listeni /bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/ bə-RAHK hoo-SAYN oh-BAH-mə; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.
A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he ran for United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Democratic primary and his prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009.
As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009. On October 8, 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In March 2010, he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, bringing about comprehensive health care reform.Chicago community organizer and Harvard Law School
After four years in New York City, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen and its annual budget grew from US$70,000 ($141,564 in 2010) to US$400,000 ($735,648 in 2010). He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. He returned in August 2006 in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.
In late 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year, and president of the journal in his second year. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.
University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney
In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years—as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004—teaching constitutional law.
From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to Crain's Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.
From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and of the Joyce Foundation. He served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.
Political positions
During his Senate service, Obama had a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the American Conservative Union[ and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the Americans for Democratic Action.
In April 2005, Obama defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and opposed Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor. Obama said in 2007 that he supported universal health care in the United States. He has proposed rewarding teachers for performance from traditional merit pay systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the collective bargaining process.
Obama has supported eliminating taxes for senior citizens with incomes of under $50,000, and raising taxes on income over $250,000, on capital gains, and on dividends. He has also supported simplifying tax filings and removing loopholes.
As an environmental initiative, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system with no grandfathering to restrict carbon emissions and a ten year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.
In foreign affairs, Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's policies on Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.
In a March 2007 speech, Obama said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, without preconditions, but not ruling out military action. In August 2007, Obama remarked that "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan.
Obama stated in 2007 that he would enact budget cuts in the range of tens of billions of dollars, stop investing in "unproven" missile defense systems, not weaponize space, "slow development of Future Combat Systems", and work towards eliminating all nuclear weapons. Obama favors ending development of new nuclear weapons, reducing the current U.S. nuclear stockpile, enacting a global ban on production of fissile material, and seeking negotiations with Russia to reduce the pressure on both sides for intercontinental ballistic missiles to be on high-alert status.
Obama has called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.
This summer book giant Books-A-Million is teaming up with author Mary Pope Osborne for a summer reading contest. As a former fourth grade teacher and mother of two school age boys, I am a long time fan of Osborne's popular Magic Tree House series. Osborne's characters, Jack and Annie, travel through time to witness history. The stories are so well written and entertaining, the children have no idea they are also getting a lesson in history!
As for the contest, children can get a free Magic Tree House tote for reading six books. The winner of an essay contest will win a Crooked House. If you aren't familiar with the Crooked House playhouses for children, they are exactly what they sound like. The houses have been featured on Jon and Kate Plus Eight and Extreme Home Makeover.
Anything that makes a child pick up a book is a good thing. Teachers refer to a student's loss of skills over summer vacation as "summer slide". Research has shown that a child who reads over summer vacation can prevent the dreaded summer slide. Challenge your child to read every day so she can start school ready to learn something new instead of needing to re-learn last year's material. The Magic Tree House series is an easy sell to most kids...even in the summer.
Contest rules and applications are available inn Books-A-Million stores and online.
Crooked House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 23 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence
The action takes place in and near London in the autumn of 1947. Christie has said that this was one of her two favourites of her own works, the other being Ordeal by Innocence.
Explanation of the novel's title
The title is a reference to a nursery rhyme ("There Was a Crooked Man"), a common theme of Christie's.
Plot introduction
Three generations of the Anglo-Greek Leonides family live together in a large, seemingly crooked house, under the patriarchy of Aristide. He is an ageing millionaire who originally moved to England from Smyrna and, in the novel, spends his remaining days in the company of his second wife Brenda, fifty years his junior. After the old man is poisoned with his own eye medicine (eserine), his granddaughter Sophia tells her fiancé Charles Hayward, the story's first person narrator, that she can't marry him until the killer is apprehended; so, desperate for her hand in marriage, he begins his own investigation...
Plot summary
The first person narrator is Charles Hayward who, towards the end of the Second World War, occupies some post in Cairo. There he meets Sophia Leonides, a smart, successful young Englishwoman who works for the Foreign Office. They fall in love, but put off getting engaged until after the end of the war when they will be reunited in England.
Hayward returns home only to find an obituary in The Times: Sophia's grandfather, the wealthy entrepreneur Aristide Leonides, has died, aged 85. Due to the war, the whole family has been living with him in a sumptuous but ill-proportioned house called "Three Gables"–the 'crooked house' of the title. When the autopsy reveals that Aristide Leonides has been poisoned with his own eserine-based eye medicine via an insulin injection, Sophia tells Charles that she can't marry him until the matter is cleared up.
The obvious suspects are Brenda Leonides, Aristide's much younger second wife, and Laurence Brown, a conscientious objector who has been living in the house as private tutor to Eustace and Josephine, Sophia's younger brother and sister. Rumour has it that Brenda and Laurence have been carrying on an illicit love affair right under old Leonides's nose. All the family members hope these two prove to be the murderers because they despise Brenda as a gold digger and also hope to escape the scandal that a different outcome would bring. When police interviews fail to turn up a clear suspect, Charles agrees to help his father, an Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, investigate the crime. He becomes a house guest at Three Gables, hoping that someone might reveal a clue at an unguarded moment.
All the family members had motive and opportunity, none has an alibi, and everyone knew that Aristide's eye medicine was poisonous. Moreover, according to the will of record, they all stand to gain a healthy bequest from the old man's estate. Aside from this, the family members have little in common. Edith de Haviland, Aristide's unmarried sister-in-law, is a repressed, somewhat bitter woman who came to stay with him after his first wife's death in order to supervise his children's upbringing. Roger, the eldest son and always Aristide's favourite, is a failure as businessman and has steered the catering business bestowed to him by his father to the brink of bankruptcy; he longs to live a simple life somewhere far away. Roger's wife Clemency, a scientist with austere tastes, has never been able to enjoy the wealth offered by her husband's family. Philip, Roger's younger brother, has suffered all his life under his father's preference for Roger and retreated into a distant world of books and bygone historical epochs, spending all his waking hours in the library of the house. Philip's wife Magda is a modestly successful actress to whom everything, even a murder in the family, is a stage show in which she wants to play a leading part. Sixteen-year-old Eustace still suffers from the aftereffects of a mild case of polio, but otherwise is an average sort of boy. His twelve-year-old sister Josephine, on the other hand, is ugly, odd, precociously intelligent, and so obsessed with detective stories that she spies continually on the rest of the household, writing down her observations in a secret notebook.
Things get complicated when it is revealed that Leonides secretly redrafted his will to leave everything to Sophia because he believed that only she had the strength of character to assume his place as the head of the family. Next, Josephine–who has been bragging that she knows the killer's identity–is found lying in the yard, unconscious from a severe blow to the head from a marble doorstop. At this point, Charles discovers a cache of incriminating love letters from Brenda to Laurence, and the two are arrested. While they are in custody, however, the children's nanny dies after drinking a digitalis-laced cup of cocoa that had apparently been intended for Josephine, and the family realizes that the killer is still among them.
Charles, afraid for Josephine's life, tries in vain to induce her to tell him the murderer's name. Afterwards, Edith de Haviland invites the girl to come out with her in the car for an ice cream soda—then drives over a cliff. Both die instantly.
Back at Three Gables, Charles finds two letters from de Haviland: one is a suicide note for Chief Inspector Taverner confessing to the murders of Aristide, the nanny, and Josephine. The other letter, intended for Charles's eyes only, reveals the truth of the matter - Josephine is the murderer. As proof, de Haviland has enclosed the child's secret notebook, the first line of which reads "To-day I killed grandfather." It is revealed that she committed the murder simply because her grandfather wouldn't pay for her ballet lessons; she then revelled in all the attention she received afterwards and planned her own assault with the marble doorstop as a way of diverting attention. She poisoned Nannie for encouraging Magda to send her to Switzerland, and also because she despised her for calling her a 'silly little girl'. Edith discovered Josephine's notebook hidden in a dog kennel, and killed them both because she didn't want her to suffer when the police discovered the truth.
Characters in Crooked House
* Charles Hayward, fiancee to Sophia Leonides
* Sophia Leonides, daughter of Magda and Philip Leonides, granddaughter of Aristide
* Brenda Leonides, the spoiled young widow of Aristide Leonides
* Magda West, a glamorous stage actress
* Edith de Haviland, Sophia's elderly great-aunt
* Roger Leonides, son of Aristide
* Clemency Leonides, his wife, a scientist
* Philip Leonides, Magda's husband and Roger's brother
* Laurence Brown, teacher to Josephine and Eustace
* Josephine Leonides, Magda's 12-year-old daughter
* Eustace Leonides, her brother
Literary significance and reception
No review of this book appeared in the Times Literary Supplement.
Maurice Richardson, in the May 29, 1949 issue of The Observer gave a positive review in comparison to his opinion of Taken at the Flood the previous year: "Her forty-ninth book and one of her best seven. Poisoning of aged iniquitous anglicised Levantine millionaire. Nicely characterised family of suspects. Delicious red herrings. Infinite suspense and shocking surprise finish make up for slight looseness of texture.
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of March 12, 1949 said, "Chief Inspector Taverner of Scotland Yard was as brilliant as usual but barking up the wrong tree - as Agatha Christie demonstrates in a surprise ending which introduces a novel idea in murder mystery.
Robert Barnard: "'Pure pleasure' was how the author described the writing of this, which was long planned, and remained one of her favourites. As the title implies, this is a family murder – and a very odd family indeed. The solution, one of the classic ones, was anticipated (but much less effectively) in Margery Allingham's 'prentice work The White Cottage Mystery.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in four weekly 30-minute episodes which began broadcasting on February 29, 2008. It starred Rory Kinnear (Charles Hayward), Anna Maxwell Martin (Sophia Leonides), and Phil Davis (Chief Insp. Taverner). The radio play was dramatised by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Sam Hoyle. It was subsequently issued on CD. This version removed the character of Eustuse
As for the contest, children can get a free Magic Tree House tote for reading six books. The winner of an essay contest will win a Crooked House. If you aren't familiar with the Crooked House playhouses for children, they are exactly what they sound like. The houses have been featured on Jon and Kate Plus Eight and Extreme Home Makeover.
Anything that makes a child pick up a book is a good thing. Teachers refer to a student's loss of skills over summer vacation as "summer slide". Research has shown that a child who reads over summer vacation can prevent the dreaded summer slide. Challenge your child to read every day so she can start school ready to learn something new instead of needing to re-learn last year's material. The Magic Tree House series is an easy sell to most kids...even in the summer.
Contest rules and applications are available inn Books-A-Million stores and online.
Crooked House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on May 23 of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.50 and the UK edition at eight shillings and sixpence
The action takes place in and near London in the autumn of 1947. Christie has said that this was one of her two favourites of her own works, the other being Ordeal by Innocence.
Explanation of the novel's title
The title is a reference to a nursery rhyme ("There Was a Crooked Man"), a common theme of Christie's.
Plot introduction
Three generations of the Anglo-Greek Leonides family live together in a large, seemingly crooked house, under the patriarchy of Aristide. He is an ageing millionaire who originally moved to England from Smyrna and, in the novel, spends his remaining days in the company of his second wife Brenda, fifty years his junior. After the old man is poisoned with his own eye medicine (eserine), his granddaughter Sophia tells her fiancé Charles Hayward, the story's first person narrator, that she can't marry him until the killer is apprehended; so, desperate for her hand in marriage, he begins his own investigation...
Plot summary
The first person narrator is Charles Hayward who, towards the end of the Second World War, occupies some post in Cairo. There he meets Sophia Leonides, a smart, successful young Englishwoman who works for the Foreign Office. They fall in love, but put off getting engaged until after the end of the war when they will be reunited in England.
Hayward returns home only to find an obituary in The Times: Sophia's grandfather, the wealthy entrepreneur Aristide Leonides, has died, aged 85. Due to the war, the whole family has been living with him in a sumptuous but ill-proportioned house called "Three Gables"–the 'crooked house' of the title. When the autopsy reveals that Aristide Leonides has been poisoned with his own eserine-based eye medicine via an insulin injection, Sophia tells Charles that she can't marry him until the matter is cleared up.
The obvious suspects are Brenda Leonides, Aristide's much younger second wife, and Laurence Brown, a conscientious objector who has been living in the house as private tutor to Eustace and Josephine, Sophia's younger brother and sister. Rumour has it that Brenda and Laurence have been carrying on an illicit love affair right under old Leonides's nose. All the family members hope these two prove to be the murderers because they despise Brenda as a gold digger and also hope to escape the scandal that a different outcome would bring. When police interviews fail to turn up a clear suspect, Charles agrees to help his father, an Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, investigate the crime. He becomes a house guest at Three Gables, hoping that someone might reveal a clue at an unguarded moment.
All the family members had motive and opportunity, none has an alibi, and everyone knew that Aristide's eye medicine was poisonous. Moreover, according to the will of record, they all stand to gain a healthy bequest from the old man's estate. Aside from this, the family members have little in common. Edith de Haviland, Aristide's unmarried sister-in-law, is a repressed, somewhat bitter woman who came to stay with him after his first wife's death in order to supervise his children's upbringing. Roger, the eldest son and always Aristide's favourite, is a failure as businessman and has steered the catering business bestowed to him by his father to the brink of bankruptcy; he longs to live a simple life somewhere far away. Roger's wife Clemency, a scientist with austere tastes, has never been able to enjoy the wealth offered by her husband's family. Philip, Roger's younger brother, has suffered all his life under his father's preference for Roger and retreated into a distant world of books and bygone historical epochs, spending all his waking hours in the library of the house. Philip's wife Magda is a modestly successful actress to whom everything, even a murder in the family, is a stage show in which she wants to play a leading part. Sixteen-year-old Eustace still suffers from the aftereffects of a mild case of polio, but otherwise is an average sort of boy. His twelve-year-old sister Josephine, on the other hand, is ugly, odd, precociously intelligent, and so obsessed with detective stories that she spies continually on the rest of the household, writing down her observations in a secret notebook.
Things get complicated when it is revealed that Leonides secretly redrafted his will to leave everything to Sophia because he believed that only she had the strength of character to assume his place as the head of the family. Next, Josephine–who has been bragging that she knows the killer's identity–is found lying in the yard, unconscious from a severe blow to the head from a marble doorstop. At this point, Charles discovers a cache of incriminating love letters from Brenda to Laurence, and the two are arrested. While they are in custody, however, the children's nanny dies after drinking a digitalis-laced cup of cocoa that had apparently been intended for Josephine, and the family realizes that the killer is still among them.
Charles, afraid for Josephine's life, tries in vain to induce her to tell him the murderer's name. Afterwards, Edith de Haviland invites the girl to come out with her in the car for an ice cream soda—then drives over a cliff. Both die instantly.
Back at Three Gables, Charles finds two letters from de Haviland: one is a suicide note for Chief Inspector Taverner confessing to the murders of Aristide, the nanny, and Josephine. The other letter, intended for Charles's eyes only, reveals the truth of the matter - Josephine is the murderer. As proof, de Haviland has enclosed the child's secret notebook, the first line of which reads "To-day I killed grandfather." It is revealed that she committed the murder simply because her grandfather wouldn't pay for her ballet lessons; she then revelled in all the attention she received afterwards and planned her own assault with the marble doorstop as a way of diverting attention. She poisoned Nannie for encouraging Magda to send her to Switzerland, and also because she despised her for calling her a 'silly little girl'. Edith discovered Josephine's notebook hidden in a dog kennel, and killed them both because she didn't want her to suffer when the police discovered the truth.
Characters in Crooked House
* Charles Hayward, fiancee to Sophia Leonides
* Sophia Leonides, daughter of Magda and Philip Leonides, granddaughter of Aristide
* Brenda Leonides, the spoiled young widow of Aristide Leonides
* Magda West, a glamorous stage actress
* Edith de Haviland, Sophia's elderly great-aunt
* Roger Leonides, son of Aristide
* Clemency Leonides, his wife, a scientist
* Philip Leonides, Magda's husband and Roger's brother
* Laurence Brown, teacher to Josephine and Eustace
* Josephine Leonides, Magda's 12-year-old daughter
* Eustace Leonides, her brother
Literary significance and reception
No review of this book appeared in the Times Literary Supplement.
Maurice Richardson, in the May 29, 1949 issue of The Observer gave a positive review in comparison to his opinion of Taken at the Flood the previous year: "Her forty-ninth book and one of her best seven. Poisoning of aged iniquitous anglicised Levantine millionaire. Nicely characterised family of suspects. Delicious red herrings. Infinite suspense and shocking surprise finish make up for slight looseness of texture.
An unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of March 12, 1949 said, "Chief Inspector Taverner of Scotland Yard was as brilliant as usual but barking up the wrong tree - as Agatha Christie demonstrates in a surprise ending which introduces a novel idea in murder mystery.
Robert Barnard: "'Pure pleasure' was how the author described the writing of this, which was long planned, and remained one of her favourites. As the title implies, this is a family murder – and a very odd family indeed. The solution, one of the classic ones, was anticipated (but much less effectively) in Margery Allingham's 'prentice work The White Cottage Mystery.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in four weekly 30-minute episodes which began broadcasting on February 29, 2008. It starred Rory Kinnear (Charles Hayward), Anna Maxwell Martin (Sophia Leonides), and Phil Davis (Chief Insp. Taverner). The radio play was dramatised by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Sam Hoyle. It was subsequently issued on CD. This version removed the character of Eustuse
Discovery Cove
Discovery Cove is a theme park located at Orange County, Greater Orlando, Florida, United States. It is owned and operated by Sea World Parks & Entertainment. It is a theme park where you can interact with a variety of marine animals (particularly bottlenose dolphins, tropical fish, and rays), exotic birds and land mammals.
Discovery Cove has its “Trainer for a Day Package” that gives its guests the chance to schedule a reservation so that they can talk, touch, play and swim with the bottlenose dolphins. This package includes a 30-minute dolphin session, deep-water dolphin interaction, private photo sessions, ample time with the dolphin trainers and a behind the scenes tour. Isn’t that exciting? The 30-minute dolphin session is operated by Trained Dolphin Adventure Guides that will orient guests about the safety and information they have to learn about the dolphins before plunging into the dolphin pool. The lecture of the orientation is about how to use hand signals and positive reinforcement to persuade the dolphins to execute behaviors before partaking in a one-on-one swim. The deep-water dolphin interaction is between a single dolphin and a group of around eight people while the one-on-one swim lasts about 15 seconds.
Discovery Cove’s main attractions are: the Coral Reef where guests can utilize their park-provided snorkeling gear to watch and interact with thousands of tropical fish, including an underwater shark and barracuda tank located behind protective glass; the Stingray Tank where guests can swim after an orientation with Discovery Cove Adventure Guides; the free-flight aviary that contains over 250 tropical birds which guests can interact with. Some of the birds are parrots, toucans and over 30 other species of birds which are more or less exotic; and the Tropical River attraction runs straightforwardly through the aviary and encircles the park so that guests can float around the different scenes of Discovery Cove. It is adjacent to the heated freshwater resort pool.
Discovery Cove is also a theme park that is environment-friendly because instead of using polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware they used biodegradable food wares. The park is also planning to use materials that are organic and biodegradable (bamboo, vegetable-based starches, corn, sugar-cane fiber, etc.) for their food-service containers and tableware.
Discovery Cove entrance is all-inclusive. Meaning it is a package deal that includes food, drinks, equipment rentals, and a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. But there are other entrance alternatives given by the park. Those are: the dolphin-swim, non-dolphin-swim, and “Trainer for a Day” packages. To be able to be admitted in the park you should place a reservation first because it can only accommodate 1000 guests in a given period of time. Entrance to the park also includes all you can eat or drink at the restos and snack bars, including booze. Recently, the park launch a “Twilight Discovery” Program which includes gourmet dinner and drinks. Entrée choices can include salmon, mahi mahi, jambalaya, hamburgers, chicken fingers, pasta and roasted chicken, along with an assortment of sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Discovery Cove also gives their guests snorkeling equipment (mask, wetsuit/vest, snorkel) that they can keep. The entrance package also includes lockers, towels, sunscreen and beach chairs. There are also private cabanas available for rent.
Discovery Cove is a theme park in Greater Orlando, Florida, United States. Guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. The park is located adjacent to sister parks SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact with exotic birds, tropical fish, rays, and land mammals. It is operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group.
Dolphin swim
Discovery Cove offers the opportunity to schedule a reservation to “talk, touch, play and swim” with bottlenose dolphins. With the help of trained dolphin adventure guides, guests receive a safety orientation and information session to learn about the dolphins before moving to the dolphin pool. Guests are shown how to use hand signals and positive reinforcement to encourage the dolphins to perform behaviors before participating in a one-on-one swim. The “Trainer for a Day Package” includes the regular 30-minute dolphin session, adding deep-water dolphin interaction, private photo sessions, increased time with the dolphin trainers, and a behind the scenes tour. The dolphin interaction is between a single dolphin and a group of around eight people. The one-on-one swim is for about 15 seconds.
Attractions
Discovery Cove contains a coral reef, where guests can use their park-provided snorkeling equipment to observe and interact with thousands of tropical fish, including an underwater shark and barracuda tank located behind protective glass. Guests can also swim in the Stingray Tank, which features dozens of rays (up to 4-feet wide) that park visitors can interact with after an orientation with Discovery Cove adventure guides.
The park contains a free-flight aviary, which contains over 250 tropical birds to interact with and feed, including parrots, toucans, and over 30 other species of exotic birds. The heated Tropical River runs directly through the aviary and circles the park, allowing guests to float past an assortment of the Discovery Cove’s beaches, waterfalls, and rainforest landscape. The Tropical River runs adjacent to the park’s heated freshwater resort pool.
Conservation initiatives
In order to become more environmentally-sustainable, Busch Entertainment and Discovery Cove have made many efforts to become “green” by eliminating polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware and experimenting with biodegradable food wares. Discovery Cove plans to construct their food-service containers and tableware from materials that are organic and biodegradable, including bamboo, vegetable-based starches, corn, and sugar-cane fiber.[5]
Admission
Discovery Cove admission is all-inclusive, including food, drinks, equipment rentals, and a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Three different admission options are offered by the park, including the dolphin-swim, non-dolphin-swim, and “Trainer for a Day” packages. Reservations for Discovery Cove are required, and a maximum of 1000 guests can be present in the park at any one time. Admission to the park includes all you can eat or drink at the restaurants and snack bars, including alcoholic beverages. The park recently launched a program called "Twilight Discovery" that also includes a gourmet dinner and drinks. Entrée selections include salmon, mahi mahi, jambalaya, hamburgers, chicken fingers, pasta and roasted chicken, along with an assortment of sandwiches, salads, and desserts. All guests that enter Discovery Cove receive snorkeling equipment, which includes use of a mask and either a wetsuit or vest, as well as a snorkel that they get to keep.Lockers, towels, sunscreen, and beach chairs are also included in admission to the park. Private cabanas located throughout the park are also available for rent
Animal inventory
Atlantic & Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins Akai (M), Aries (M), Astra (F), CJ (M), Capricorn (M), Catalina (F), Cindy/Goofy (F), Clipper (F), Schooner (M), Copper (F), Coral (F), Dexter (M), Diego (M), Dixie (F), Dot (F), Hutch (M), Igy (M), Jenny (F), Kaylee (F), Latoya (F), Lester (M), Liko (M), Luna (F), Marea (F), Maui (F), Natalie (F), Nate (M), Penny (F), Rascal (M), Rose (F), Roxy (F), Sasha (F), Schooner (M), Stella (F), Thelma (F), Thelma's calf (?), Tyler (M), Yar (F), Yoko (F), Yoshe (M).
Discovery Cove has its “Trainer for a Day Package” that gives its guests the chance to schedule a reservation so that they can talk, touch, play and swim with the bottlenose dolphins. This package includes a 30-minute dolphin session, deep-water dolphin interaction, private photo sessions, ample time with the dolphin trainers and a behind the scenes tour. Isn’t that exciting? The 30-minute dolphin session is operated by Trained Dolphin Adventure Guides that will orient guests about the safety and information they have to learn about the dolphins before plunging into the dolphin pool. The lecture of the orientation is about how to use hand signals and positive reinforcement to persuade the dolphins to execute behaviors before partaking in a one-on-one swim. The deep-water dolphin interaction is between a single dolphin and a group of around eight people while the one-on-one swim lasts about 15 seconds.
Discovery Cove’s main attractions are: the Coral Reef where guests can utilize their park-provided snorkeling gear to watch and interact with thousands of tropical fish, including an underwater shark and barracuda tank located behind protective glass; the Stingray Tank where guests can swim after an orientation with Discovery Cove Adventure Guides; the free-flight aviary that contains over 250 tropical birds which guests can interact with. Some of the birds are parrots, toucans and over 30 other species of birds which are more or less exotic; and the Tropical River attraction runs straightforwardly through the aviary and encircles the park so that guests can float around the different scenes of Discovery Cove. It is adjacent to the heated freshwater resort pool.
Discovery Cove is also a theme park that is environment-friendly because instead of using polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware they used biodegradable food wares. The park is also planning to use materials that are organic and biodegradable (bamboo, vegetable-based starches, corn, sugar-cane fiber, etc.) for their food-service containers and tableware.
Discovery Cove entrance is all-inclusive. Meaning it is a package deal that includes food, drinks, equipment rentals, and a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. But there are other entrance alternatives given by the park. Those are: the dolphin-swim, non-dolphin-swim, and “Trainer for a Day” packages. To be able to be admitted in the park you should place a reservation first because it can only accommodate 1000 guests in a given period of time. Entrance to the park also includes all you can eat or drink at the restos and snack bars, including booze. Recently, the park launch a “Twilight Discovery” Program which includes gourmet dinner and drinks. Entrée choices can include salmon, mahi mahi, jambalaya, hamburgers, chicken fingers, pasta and roasted chicken, along with an assortment of sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Discovery Cove also gives their guests snorkeling equipment (mask, wetsuit/vest, snorkel) that they can keep. The entrance package also includes lockers, towels, sunscreen and beach chairs. There are also private cabanas available for rent.
Discovery Cove is a theme park in Greater Orlando, Florida, United States. Guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. The park is located adjacent to sister parks SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact with exotic birds, tropical fish, rays, and land mammals. It is operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group.
Dolphin swim
Discovery Cove offers the opportunity to schedule a reservation to “talk, touch, play and swim” with bottlenose dolphins. With the help of trained dolphin adventure guides, guests receive a safety orientation and information session to learn about the dolphins before moving to the dolphin pool. Guests are shown how to use hand signals and positive reinforcement to encourage the dolphins to perform behaviors before participating in a one-on-one swim. The “Trainer for a Day Package” includes the regular 30-minute dolphin session, adding deep-water dolphin interaction, private photo sessions, increased time with the dolphin trainers, and a behind the scenes tour. The dolphin interaction is between a single dolphin and a group of around eight people. The one-on-one swim is for about 15 seconds.
Attractions
Discovery Cove contains a coral reef, where guests can use their park-provided snorkeling equipment to observe and interact with thousands of tropical fish, including an underwater shark and barracuda tank located behind protective glass. Guests can also swim in the Stingray Tank, which features dozens of rays (up to 4-feet wide) that park visitors can interact with after an orientation with Discovery Cove adventure guides.
The park contains a free-flight aviary, which contains over 250 tropical birds to interact with and feed, including parrots, toucans, and over 30 other species of exotic birds. The heated Tropical River runs directly through the aviary and circles the park, allowing guests to float past an assortment of the Discovery Cove’s beaches, waterfalls, and rainforest landscape. The Tropical River runs adjacent to the park’s heated freshwater resort pool.
Conservation initiatives
In order to become more environmentally-sustainable, Busch Entertainment and Discovery Cove have made many efforts to become “green” by eliminating polystyrene foam and petrochemical-based plastic tableware and experimenting with biodegradable food wares. Discovery Cove plans to construct their food-service containers and tableware from materials that are organic and biodegradable, including bamboo, vegetable-based starches, corn, and sugar-cane fiber.[5]
Admission
Discovery Cove admission is all-inclusive, including food, drinks, equipment rentals, and a ticket to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Three different admission options are offered by the park, including the dolphin-swim, non-dolphin-swim, and “Trainer for a Day” packages. Reservations for Discovery Cove are required, and a maximum of 1000 guests can be present in the park at any one time. Admission to the park includes all you can eat or drink at the restaurants and snack bars, including alcoholic beverages. The park recently launched a program called "Twilight Discovery" that also includes a gourmet dinner and drinks. Entrée selections include salmon, mahi mahi, jambalaya, hamburgers, chicken fingers, pasta and roasted chicken, along with an assortment of sandwiches, salads, and desserts. All guests that enter Discovery Cove receive snorkeling equipment, which includes use of a mask and either a wetsuit or vest, as well as a snorkel that they get to keep.Lockers, towels, sunscreen, and beach chairs are also included in admission to the park. Private cabanas located throughout the park are also available for rent
Animal inventory
Atlantic & Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins Akai (M), Aries (M), Astra (F), CJ (M), Capricorn (M), Catalina (F), Cindy/Goofy (F), Clipper (F), Schooner (M), Copper (F), Coral (F), Dexter (M), Diego (M), Dixie (F), Dot (F), Hutch (M), Igy (M), Jenny (F), Kaylee (F), Latoya (F), Lester (M), Liko (M), Luna (F), Marea (F), Maui (F), Natalie (F), Nate (M), Penny (F), Rascal (M), Rose (F), Roxy (F), Sasha (F), Schooner (M), Stella (F), Thelma (F), Thelma's calf (?), Tyler (M), Yar (F), Yoko (F), Yoshe (M).
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Happy Feet
Happy Feet is a 2006 computer-animated comedy-drama film with music, directed and co-written by George Miller.
It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released in North America on November 17, 2006. It is the first animated feature film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with visual effects/design company Animal Logic.
Though primarily an animated film, Happy Feet does incorporate live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. The studio had hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was a possibility. However, Warner Bros., the film’s production company, was on too tight of a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D. Happy Feet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film was dedicated in memory of Nick Enright, Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green, and Steve Irwin.
Plot
Every penguin sings a unique song called a "heartsong" to attract a mate. If the female likes the male and his song, and if it completes the female's song, the two penguins mate. A penguin named Norma Jean sings the song "Kiss", whereupon a male penguin named Memphis sings "Heartbreak Hotel". Norma Jean chooses him as her mate. They couple and Norma Jean lays an egg. The egg is left with Memphis while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish. While the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis drops the egg, briefly exposing it to the freezing Antarctic temperatures. The resulting chick - the film's protagonist, Mumble (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) - has blue eyes, ever-lasting down feathers, and a terrible singing voice. However, Mumble has a talent that no other penguin has ever seen before: tap dancing. As a result, Mumble is ostracized, with only his mother and his best friend Gloria to turn to. One day Mumble wanders into a secluded area, where he is free to dance. Mumble is interrupted when Boss Skua and his posse Dino, Frankie, and Vinnie attempt to eat him. Mumble stalls by asking the leader of the pack about a yellow band that is attached to his right ankle. The Boss Skua tells Mumble that he had been abducted by "aliens". Mumble narrowly escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice.
Mumble grows into an adult (voiced by Elijah Wood), still half-covered in fluffy down. Mumble's class graduates, and although he has not graduated, he joins them on their first trip into the ocean. His class ends their day by partying on an iceberg. Mumble constantly interrupts their singing and is forced to enjoy the party on a small iceberg. Mumble dozes off and wakes to find himself alone. A leopard seal chases him off the iceberg, and the penguin finds himself far from his home. He finds some Adelie Penguins, small in stature, but fiercely loyal to those they call friends. He befriends a small group of bachelors who form a club called "the Amigos": the leader Ramon, the brothers Raul and Nestor, and twin brothers Rinaldo and Lombardo. The Amigos quickly embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their misfit group. Mumble's joy is cut short when he accidentally starts an avalanche and causes a hidden human excavator to tumble out from a glacier. Driven by curiosity, he sets out to find the "aliens" responsible for the machine. Mumble has a lot of questions, and the group suggests that he ask Lovelace a Rockhopper or Macaroni Crested Penguin who answers questions in exchange for stones and is known as the guru,as well as being the leader of the Adelie penguins. Big birds had earlier told Mumble that Lovelace had been captured and that's why is had yellow braces on his foot. Lovelace has six-pack plastic rings entangled around his neck which he uses them to project his guru image. When asked if the rings were from the aliens, Lovelace denies that aliens exists and that the plastic rings were bestowed upon him by mystic beings.
In Mumble's old home, it is mating season, and Gloria (voiced by Brittany Murphy) is the center of attention. Although she is surrounded by a large horde of suitors, none of their heartsongs interest her. Ramon tries to help Mumble by singing a Spanish version of "My Way". Gloria isn't fooled, however, for she knows Mumble can't sing. She notices Ramon behind Mumble and shoves him away to reveal the little penguin. Gloria becomes angry and turns her back on Mumble. As Mumble has no heartsong, Gloria continues towards the other males visibly distraught. As a last resort, Mumble tries to persuade her to sing along to his tapping rhythm. Because of her affection for him, she complies. As Mumble's beat speeds up, Gloria finds the chorus to her heartsong, and realizes it is "Boogie Wonderland". Overcome with happiness that they can now be mates, the pair begin dancing, along with the other penguins.
Noah the elder sees their lack of fish as punishment from the Great 'Guin for Mumble's dancing. Mumble tries to explain about the mysterious "aliens", and that they are the cause of the scarceness of fish, but only his mother and Gloria believe him. Noah exiles Mumble from the colony. Mumble vows that he will find the real cause of the famine. Mumble and the Amigos return to Lovelace only to find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses that he got stuck in the rings while swimming near the forbidden shores. He reveals that the forbidden shores are located past the land of elephant seals and beyond the blizzard country. Mumble, the Amigos and Lovelace start their journey. Gloria tries to come, but Mumble, fearing for her safety, drives her off by insulting her singing talents. They travel across vast territories till they reach the shore.
Mumble sees a boat and swims after it, leaving his friends behind. He ends up in a penguin exhibit at a marine park named Marine World. He tries to communicate with the "aliens" that surround him. When his pleas fail, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness after three months of confinement. Mumble starts dancing, and soon a large crowd gathers around the exhibit. He is released back into the wild, now with more adult feathers and a tracking device strapped to his back. He leads the humans to his native colony. The other penguins are skeptical at first, but when Gloria notices the tracking device, they realize that the “aliens” exist. Now convinced, the penguins (along with the once-stubborn elders) dance alongside Mumble in hopes of getting the humans' attention.
A research team arrives and film the penguins dancing. They bring this footage back to the human world, and a worldwide debate ensues. The world governments realize they are overfishing the Antarctic waters, and conclude that the penguins are trying to communicate that to them. Antarctic fishing is banned, and the fish population recovers. At this, the Emperor Penguins and the Amigos dance and celebrate their triumph. A dancing baby penguin seen at the end is implied to be the child of Mumble and Gloria.
In the credits, the characters reunite to dance for the final number, "The Song of the Heart."
Production
The animation in Happy Feet invested heavily in motion capture technology, with the dance scenes acted out by human dancers. The tap-dancing for Mumble in particular was provided by Savion Glover who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences. The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak.
Happy Feet needed an enormous group of computers, and Animal Logic worked with IBM to build a server farm with sufficient processing potential. The server farm used IBM BladeCenter framework and BladeCenter HS20 blade servers, which are extremely dense separate computer units each with two Intel Xeon processors. Rendering took up 17 million CPU hours over a nine month period. Happy Feet was partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer.
The film took four years to make. Ben Gunsberger, Lighting Supervisor and VFX Department Supervisor, says this was partly because they needed to build new infrastructure and tools.
An earlier cut of the film seems to have included a large subplot regarding aliens in the extraterrestrial sense, whose presence was made gradually more and more known throughout, and who were planning to siphon off the planet's resources gradually, placing the humans in the same light as the penguins . At the end, through the plight of the main character, their hand is stayed, and instead, first contact is made. This was chopped out during the last year of production, and has yet to see the light of day in a finished form, although concept art from these sequences were showcased at the Siggraph 2007 demonstration , and are available online, as well.
Music
Happy Feet is a jukebox musical, taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Two soundtrack albums were released for the film; one containing songs from and inspired by the film, and another featuring John Powell's instrumental score. They were released on October 31, 2006 and December 19, 2006, respectively.
Home media release
Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film where Mumble meets a blue whale and an albatross. The albatross was Steve Irwin's first voice role in the film before he voiced the elephant seal in the final cut. The scene was finished and included on the DVD in memory of Steve Irwin. This scene is done in Steve's classic documentary style, with the albatross telling the viewer all about the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment.
Video games
A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii.
Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed a Happy Feet mobile game for the Japan market.
Reception
Box office
The film opened at number one in the United States on its first weekend of release (November 17-November 19) grossing $41.6 million and beating Casino Royale for the top spot.Critical reviews
Happy Feet has received better than average reviews from film critics, and received a 74% "fresh" approval in the Rotten Tomatoes movie review aggregate site, with an 82% percent from the Top Critics.
Analysis
The film has also garnered, since its release, quite a bit of analysis and dissection from various places. Film critic Yar Habnegnal has written an essay, published in Forum on Contemporary Art and Society, that examines the themes of encroachment presented throughout the film, as well as various other subtexts and themes, such as religious hierarchy and interracial tensions.
Sequel
Happy Feet 2 is currently in production at Dr. D Studios. The estimated release date is November 18, 2011. Wood and Williams will reprise their roles for the sequel. But Murphy will not be able to reprise her role, due to her death. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt have reportedly signed on to provide voice work for the film also.
Environmental message
As things progress there is increasing emphasis on environmental problems in the Antarctic.
The film's denouement shows a group of researchers taking video of the colony of dancing emperor penguins, and the footage is broadcast globally. After many heated arguments this publicity generates considerable pressure to stop commercial overfishing of the Antarctic.
According to the director, George Miller, the environmental message was not a major part of the original script, but "In Australia, we're very, very aware of the ozone hole," he said, "and Antarctica is literally the canary in the coal mine for this stuff. So it sort of had to go in that direction." This influence led to a film with a more environmental tone. Miller said, "You can't tell a story about Antarctica and the penguins without giving that dimension." It remained number one for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box office feat matched only by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As of June 8, 2008, Happy Feet has grossed $198.0 million in the U.S. and $186.3 million overseas, making about $384.3 million dollars worldwide. Happy Feet was the third highest grossing animated film in the U.S. , behind Cars and Ice Age: The Meltdown. Happy Feet also being the third highest grossing animated film worldwide, behind Ice Age: The Meltdown and Cars. The film has been released in about 35 international territories at the close of 2006.
The production budget was $100 million
It was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released in North America on November 17, 2006. It is the first animated feature film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with visual effects/design company Animal Logic.
Though primarily an animated film, Happy Feet does incorporate live action humans in certain scenes. The film was simultaneously released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. The studio had hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was a possibility. However, Warner Bros., the film’s production company, was on too tight of a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D. Happy Feet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
The film was dedicated in memory of Nick Enright, Michael Jonson, Robby McNeilly Green, and Steve Irwin.
Plot
Every penguin sings a unique song called a "heartsong" to attract a mate. If the female likes the male and his song, and if it completes the female's song, the two penguins mate. A penguin named Norma Jean sings the song "Kiss", whereupon a male penguin named Memphis sings "Heartbreak Hotel". Norma Jean chooses him as her mate. They couple and Norma Jean lays an egg. The egg is left with Memphis while Norma Jean leaves with the other females to fish. While the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis drops the egg, briefly exposing it to the freezing Antarctic temperatures. The resulting chick - the film's protagonist, Mumble (voiced by Elizabeth Daily) - has blue eyes, ever-lasting down feathers, and a terrible singing voice. However, Mumble has a talent that no other penguin has ever seen before: tap dancing. As a result, Mumble is ostracized, with only his mother and his best friend Gloria to turn to. One day Mumble wanders into a secluded area, where he is free to dance. Mumble is interrupted when Boss Skua and his posse Dino, Frankie, and Vinnie attempt to eat him. Mumble stalls by asking the leader of the pack about a yellow band that is attached to his right ankle. The Boss Skua tells Mumble that he had been abducted by "aliens". Mumble narrowly escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice.
Mumble grows into an adult (voiced by Elijah Wood), still half-covered in fluffy down. Mumble's class graduates, and although he has not graduated, he joins them on their first trip into the ocean. His class ends their day by partying on an iceberg. Mumble constantly interrupts their singing and is forced to enjoy the party on a small iceberg. Mumble dozes off and wakes to find himself alone. A leopard seal chases him off the iceberg, and the penguin finds himself far from his home. He finds some Adelie Penguins, small in stature, but fiercely loyal to those they call friends. He befriends a small group of bachelors who form a club called "the Amigos": the leader Ramon, the brothers Raul and Nestor, and twin brothers Rinaldo and Lombardo. The Amigos quickly embrace Mumble's dance moves and assimilate him into their misfit group. Mumble's joy is cut short when he accidentally starts an avalanche and causes a hidden human excavator to tumble out from a glacier. Driven by curiosity, he sets out to find the "aliens" responsible for the machine. Mumble has a lot of questions, and the group suggests that he ask Lovelace a Rockhopper or Macaroni Crested Penguin who answers questions in exchange for stones and is known as the guru,as well as being the leader of the Adelie penguins. Big birds had earlier told Mumble that Lovelace had been captured and that's why is had yellow braces on his foot. Lovelace has six-pack plastic rings entangled around his neck which he uses them to project his guru image. When asked if the rings were from the aliens, Lovelace denies that aliens exists and that the plastic rings were bestowed upon him by mystic beings.
In Mumble's old home, it is mating season, and Gloria (voiced by Brittany Murphy) is the center of attention. Although she is surrounded by a large horde of suitors, none of their heartsongs interest her. Ramon tries to help Mumble by singing a Spanish version of "My Way". Gloria isn't fooled, however, for she knows Mumble can't sing. She notices Ramon behind Mumble and shoves him away to reveal the little penguin. Gloria becomes angry and turns her back on Mumble. As Mumble has no heartsong, Gloria continues towards the other males visibly distraught. As a last resort, Mumble tries to persuade her to sing along to his tapping rhythm. Because of her affection for him, she complies. As Mumble's beat speeds up, Gloria finds the chorus to her heartsong, and realizes it is "Boogie Wonderland". Overcome with happiness that they can now be mates, the pair begin dancing, along with the other penguins.
Noah the elder sees their lack of fish as punishment from the Great 'Guin for Mumble's dancing. Mumble tries to explain about the mysterious "aliens", and that they are the cause of the scarceness of fish, but only his mother and Gloria believe him. Noah exiles Mumble from the colony. Mumble vows that he will find the real cause of the famine. Mumble and the Amigos return to Lovelace only to find him being choked by the plastic rings. Lovelace confesses that he got stuck in the rings while swimming near the forbidden shores. He reveals that the forbidden shores are located past the land of elephant seals and beyond the blizzard country. Mumble, the Amigos and Lovelace start their journey. Gloria tries to come, but Mumble, fearing for her safety, drives her off by insulting her singing talents. They travel across vast territories till they reach the shore.
Mumble sees a boat and swims after it, leaving his friends behind. He ends up in a penguin exhibit at a marine park named Marine World. He tries to communicate with the "aliens" that surround him. When his pleas fail, Mumble nearly succumbs to madness after three months of confinement. Mumble starts dancing, and soon a large crowd gathers around the exhibit. He is released back into the wild, now with more adult feathers and a tracking device strapped to his back. He leads the humans to his native colony. The other penguins are skeptical at first, but when Gloria notices the tracking device, they realize that the “aliens” exist. Now convinced, the penguins (along with the once-stubborn elders) dance alongside Mumble in hopes of getting the humans' attention.
A research team arrives and film the penguins dancing. They bring this footage back to the human world, and a worldwide debate ensues. The world governments realize they are overfishing the Antarctic waters, and conclude that the penguins are trying to communicate that to them. Antarctic fishing is banned, and the fish population recovers. At this, the Emperor Penguins and the Amigos dance and celebrate their triumph. A dancing baby penguin seen at the end is implied to be the child of Mumble and Gloria.
In the credits, the characters reunite to dance for the final number, "The Song of the Heart."
Production
The animation in Happy Feet invested heavily in motion capture technology, with the dance scenes acted out by human dancers. The tap-dancing for Mumble in particular was provided by Savion Glover who was also co-choreographer for the dance sequences. The dancers went through "Penguin School" to learn how to move like a penguin, and also wore head apparatus to mimic a penguin's beak.
Happy Feet needed an enormous group of computers, and Animal Logic worked with IBM to build a server farm with sufficient processing potential. The server farm used IBM BladeCenter framework and BladeCenter HS20 blade servers, which are extremely dense separate computer units each with two Intel Xeon processors. Rendering took up 17 million CPU hours over a nine month period. Happy Feet was partially inspired by earlier documentaries such as the BBC's Life in the Freezer.
The film took four years to make. Ben Gunsberger, Lighting Supervisor and VFX Department Supervisor, says this was partly because they needed to build new infrastructure and tools.
An earlier cut of the film seems to have included a large subplot regarding aliens in the extraterrestrial sense, whose presence was made gradually more and more known throughout, and who were planning to siphon off the planet's resources gradually, placing the humans in the same light as the penguins . At the end, through the plight of the main character, their hand is stayed, and instead, first contact is made. This was chopped out during the last year of production, and has yet to see the light of day in a finished form, although concept art from these sequences were showcased at the Siggraph 2007 demonstration , and are available online, as well.
Music
Happy Feet is a jukebox musical, taking previously recorded songs and working them into the film's soundtrack to fit with the mood of the scene or character. Two soundtrack albums were released for the film; one containing songs from and inspired by the film, and another featuring John Powell's instrumental score. They were released on October 31, 2006 and December 19, 2006, respectively.
Home media release
Among the DVD's special features is a scene that was cut from the film where Mumble meets a blue whale and an albatross. The albatross was Steve Irwin's first voice role in the film before he voiced the elephant seal in the final cut. The scene was finished and included on the DVD in memory of Steve Irwin. This scene is done in Steve's classic documentary style, with the albatross telling the viewer all about the other characters in the scene, and the impact people are having on their environment.
Video games
A video game based on the film was developed by A2M and published by Midway Games. It has the same main cast as the film. It was released for the PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, GBA, NDS, and Wii.
Artificial Life, Inc. has also developed a Happy Feet mobile game for the Japan market.
Reception
Box office
The film opened at number one in the United States on its first weekend of release (November 17-November 19) grossing $41.6 million and beating Casino Royale for the top spot.Critical reviews
Happy Feet has received better than average reviews from film critics, and received a 74% "fresh" approval in the Rotten Tomatoes movie review aggregate site, with an 82% percent from the Top Critics.
Analysis
The film has also garnered, since its release, quite a bit of analysis and dissection from various places. Film critic Yar Habnegnal has written an essay, published in Forum on Contemporary Art and Society, that examines the themes of encroachment presented throughout the film, as well as various other subtexts and themes, such as religious hierarchy and interracial tensions.
Sequel
Happy Feet 2 is currently in production at Dr. D Studios. The estimated release date is November 18, 2011. Wood and Williams will reprise their roles for the sequel. But Murphy will not be able to reprise her role, due to her death. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt have reportedly signed on to provide voice work for the film also.
Environmental message
As things progress there is increasing emphasis on environmental problems in the Antarctic.
The film's denouement shows a group of researchers taking video of the colony of dancing emperor penguins, and the footage is broadcast globally. After many heated arguments this publicity generates considerable pressure to stop commercial overfishing of the Antarctic.
According to the director, George Miller, the environmental message was not a major part of the original script, but "In Australia, we're very, very aware of the ozone hole," he said, "and Antarctica is literally the canary in the coal mine for this stuff. So it sort of had to go in that direction." This influence led to a film with a more environmental tone. Miller said, "You can't tell a story about Antarctica and the penguins without giving that dimension." It remained number one for the Thanksgiving weekend, making $51.6 million over the five-day period. In total, the film was the top grosser for three weeks, a 2006 box office feat matched only by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. As of June 8, 2008, Happy Feet has grossed $198.0 million in the U.S. and $186.3 million overseas, making about $384.3 million dollars worldwide. Happy Feet was the third highest grossing animated film in the U.S. , behind Cars and Ice Age: The Meltdown. Happy Feet also being the third highest grossing animated film worldwide, behind Ice Age: The Meltdown and Cars. The film has been released in about 35 international territories at the close of 2006.
The production budget was $100 million
Iliza Shlesinger
Iliza Shlesinger is stand up female comedian who won the NBC`s Last comic stand season 6 show. Iliza was born on February 22, 1983, in Dallas Texas. Iliza graduated from the Emerson College.
Iliza was the member of the famous stand up comedy group White boy Comedy that bring her to the stage at Improv, Hollywood.
Iliza Shlesinger is the first stand up female comedian who won the Last Stand Comic show. Before that last tow seasons she won the elimination round twice. Currently she is hosting a show at TheStream.tv, named The Weakly News. Winning the Last Comic Stand show became her youngest female that won the title.
Iliza quickly gain the fame and her comedy style took her at the boom. Her TV worked includes her own half hour show at the Comedy Central by the name of Comedy Central Live at Gotham, included Showtime with Pauly Shore and Friends, The Soup and Chelsea Lately at E! And her latest NBC`s Last call.
Iliza is touring at colleges and the comedy clubs all over America. Touring dates are available at her official website. Her performance for the tropes at various locations and at the Just For Laugh festival at Montreal was significant.
Iliza Vie Shlesinger (born February 22, 1983) is an American comedian from Dallas, Texas, where she attended Greenhill School and participated on the school's Improv Team. She is a graduate of Emerson College. She was one of the most popular members of the "Whiteboy Comedy" group of stand-up comedians in Los Angeles which brought her to the stage at the Improv in Hollywood. She is the first female to win Last Comic Standing. She was twice selected by other comedians to compete in the head-to-head eliminations and won both times. She is host of The Weakly News on TheStream.tv
Shlesinger became the first female and also the youngest winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing in the series' sixth season. She appeared in The Last Comic Standing Tour.
Shlesinger performed with ComedySportz Dallas. She attended the University of Kansas for her freshman year. She then transferred to Emerson College in Boston and majored in Film. There she was a member of the campus' second favorite comedy sketch group, Jimmy’s Traveling All Stars and refined her writing and editing skills. After graduating college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up.
In 2007, Shlesinger won Myspace’s So You Think You're Funny contest and has been featured as the G4 network’s Myspace Girl of the Week. Her television credits include E! Network's Forbes Celebrity 100, TV Guide’s America’s Next Top Producer, Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, and History Channel’s History of a Joke. She has written for Heavy.com, had her own show on GOTV’s mobile network and currently hosts The Weakly News with Iliza and Alexis on TheStreamTV.
Iliza was the member of the famous stand up comedy group White boy Comedy that bring her to the stage at Improv, Hollywood.
Iliza Shlesinger is the first stand up female comedian who won the Last Stand Comic show. Before that last tow seasons she won the elimination round twice. Currently she is hosting a show at TheStream.tv, named The Weakly News. Winning the Last Comic Stand show became her youngest female that won the title.
Iliza quickly gain the fame and her comedy style took her at the boom. Her TV worked includes her own half hour show at the Comedy Central by the name of Comedy Central Live at Gotham, included Showtime with Pauly Shore and Friends, The Soup and Chelsea Lately at E! And her latest NBC`s Last call.
Iliza is touring at colleges and the comedy clubs all over America. Touring dates are available at her official website. Her performance for the tropes at various locations and at the Just For Laugh festival at Montreal was significant.
Iliza Vie Shlesinger (born February 22, 1983) is an American comedian from Dallas, Texas, where she attended Greenhill School and participated on the school's Improv Team. She is a graduate of Emerson College. She was one of the most popular members of the "Whiteboy Comedy" group of stand-up comedians in Los Angeles which brought her to the stage at the Improv in Hollywood. She is the first female to win Last Comic Standing. She was twice selected by other comedians to compete in the head-to-head eliminations and won both times. She is host of The Weakly News on TheStream.tv
Shlesinger became the first female and also the youngest winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing in the series' sixth season. She appeared in The Last Comic Standing Tour.
Shlesinger performed with ComedySportz Dallas. She attended the University of Kansas for her freshman year. She then transferred to Emerson College in Boston and majored in Film. There she was a member of the campus' second favorite comedy sketch group, Jimmy’s Traveling All Stars and refined her writing and editing skills. After graduating college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up.
In 2007, Shlesinger won Myspace’s So You Think You're Funny contest and has been featured as the G4 network’s Myspace Girl of the Week. Her television credits include E! Network's Forbes Celebrity 100, TV Guide’s America’s Next Top Producer, Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, and History Channel’s History of a Joke. She has written for Heavy.com, had her own show on GOTV’s mobile network and currently hosts The Weakly News with Iliza and Alexis on TheStreamTV.
Anamika Veeramani
June 4, 2010 -- Anamika Veeramani came to Washington, DC and walked away tonight with the 2010 National Spelling Bee Trophy. The 14 year old did her share of spelling this week and the win came with the word 'Stromuhr'. Cool under pressure this fierce competitor took home the extra large trophy and the title of winner for 2010.
"I'm really, really, happy -- this is one of the best moments of my life,'' Anamika Veeramani said to the media "It was pretty intense.''
This isn't just about the trophy, there is a serious prize purse involved as well savings bonds, scholarships and books. Of course there is the bragging rights after beating out the competition which has to be priceless, but the $30,000 top prize can't hurt either.
Those who competed in the 2010 National Spelling Bee were all winners by many standards. While we think we can spell anything most adults wouldn't have been able to spell half the words required by the kids.
"I'm really, really, happy -- this is one of the best moments of my life,'' Anamika Veeramani said to the media "It was pretty intense.''
This isn't just about the trophy, there is a serious prize purse involved as well savings bonds, scholarships and books. Of course there is the bragging rights after beating out the competition which has to be priceless, but the $30,000 top prize can't hurt either.
Those who competed in the 2010 National Spelling Bee were all winners by many standards. While we think we can spell anything most adults wouldn't have been able to spell half the words required by the kids.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Undertaker Died
Undertaker Died WWE? What Happened To The Undertaker? – Undertaker died? What happened to the Undertaker? Is the Undertaker dead?
These are the burning questions crossing the minds of wrestling fans this evening. On WWE Smackdown the idiot that they call General Manager Theodore Long explained that Undertaker was discovered in a “vegetative state” during this Memorial Day weekend. Apparently he was poisoned by someone *hint* Kane.
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965) is an American Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1990)
Calaway made his debut in 1984 in World Class Championship Wrestling under the ring name "Texas Red". He wrestled and lost his first match against Bruiser Brody. In 1988, after four years in the promotion, he left and joined the Continental Wrestling Association (which became the United States Wrestling Association after Jerry Jarrett merged CWA with WCCW), wrestling under several gimmicks. On April 1, 1989, he was booked to win his first professional wrestling title, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler, under the stage name "The Master of Pain". While performing as "The Punisher", Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989 when Eric Embry forfeited the title.
His first mainstream exposure was when he joined World Championship Wrestling in late 1989. While there, he was known as "Mean Mark" Callous and along with "Dangerous Dan" Spivey", wrestled as part of the Skyscrapers tag team, managed by Teddy Long. During his time in the Skyscrapers, he and Spivey were involved in a feud with the Road Warriors, but Spivey left before the feud came to an end.
As he went into singles competition, Calaway took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously and defeated Johnny Ace at Capital Combat and defeated Brian Pillman at the Clash of the Champions. In July 1990, he wrestled against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash, but lost when Luger pinned him after a clothesline. WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, after losing his last match to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting on September 1, 1990 at a live event.
During his stint in WCW, Calaway then briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Punisher Dice Morgan. After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1990–present)
Debut and various feuds (1990–1994)
Calaway made his WWF debut as "Cain The Undertaker" at a taping of WWF Superstars on November 19, 1990. The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Under this Deadman persona, he was impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calaway no-selling his opponents' attacks. Calaway made his official on-camera debut on November 22 at Survivor Series as a heel when he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar team, where he was simply called The Undertaker. Approximately one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. He also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Shortly after Survivor Series, "Cain" was dropped from his name, and he was called simply The Undertaker. It was at this time that The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer — a histrionic, ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn from which The Undertaker was said to draw mystical power from, reviving his strength during his matches. During his heel run, Undertaker would place his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers) in a bodybag and carry him to the back.
He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. The win was the first in his undefeated streak at the event. He began his first major feud with The Ultimate Warrior, when he attacked the Warrior and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of his manager, Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlour interview segment. After a year of battles with the Warrior, Randy Savage, Sid Justice, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hulk Hogan, he defeated Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series. WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan.
In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when The Undertaker stopped him, becoming a fan favorite for the first time. Then, The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII. He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, including Kamala, whom he faced and defeated in the first televised coffin match in WWF history at Survivor Series, and Giant Gonzales, whom he defeated by disqualification at WrestleMania IX and by pinfall at SummerSlam in a "Rest in Peace" match. In January 1994, he challenged WWF Champion Yokozuna to a casket match at the Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous wrestlers, winning the match. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return.professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Undertaker. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), currently wrestling on the SmackDown brand.
Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (which later became World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002) as The Undertaker in November of that year. Having remained with that company ever since, Calaway is currently the only full-time wrestler that made an appearance in the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, who is still with the company today.
The Undertaker has two contrasting gimmicks: the Deadman and the American Bad Ass. The specialty matches connected to The Undertaker (or more specifically, his "Deadman" persona) are the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the notorious Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. The Undertaker's kayfabe half-brother is Kane, whom he has teamed up with as the Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with an 18–0 record, which is the single longest undefeated Wrestlemania streak in WWE history. Calaway is an eight-time world champion: a four-time WWF/E Champion and three-time World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker, and a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion as Master of Pain. The Undertaker is also a one-time WWF Hardcore champion, and a seven-time world tag team champion: a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. The Undertaker was the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and became the first man to win the Rumble at number 30.
Return; feud with Mankind (1994–1997)
After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed the "Underfaker" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a rematch, another casket match. Throughout most of 1995, The Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole The Undertaker's urn, and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace and attacking the Undertaker. Later, The Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam. Several weeks later, The Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series.
The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask. At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, when Diesel interfered in the match to cost the Undertaker the championship. One month later, at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, The Undertaker came bursting from under the ring, dragging Diesel underneath, allowing Hart to get the victory. This feud culminated in a match between Diesel and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XII, in which The Undertaker was victorious.
His next feud commenced the very next night, when Mankind made his debut, interfering in The Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost The Undertaker several matches. The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying The Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" The Undertaker with the Mandible claw, giving him the win. After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match at In Your House: Buried Alive. The Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave, but after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other superstars, The Undertaker was ultimately "Buried Alive". After being buried alive, The Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft (6.1 m) above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though The Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape The Undertaker's clutches. The Undertaker then briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had become a thorn in his side since his arrival. At In Your House: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match. By the end of 1996, The Undertaker began a feud with Vader, culminating in a loss to Vader at the Royal Rumble after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé. After this loss, The Undertaker began to focus his attention on the WWF Championship.
Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998)
At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion. After the event, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin with The Undertaker, using the threat of revealing The Undertaker's "biggest secret". In the storyline, Bearer announced that The Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. The Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Bearer announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, The Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived.
His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship. The feud culminated at In Your House: Badd Blood, where The Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, The Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged The Undertaker to fights, but The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker and Kane then formed a brief partnership when Kane saved Undertaker from an attack by D-Generation X. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane betrayed The Undertaker and cost him the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened. After a two month hiatus, The Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV. The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, which The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire.
The Undertaker's feud with Mankind was renewed afterward, and they faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 ft (4.9 m) cell onto the Spanish announce table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious and finished the match by Tombstone Piledriving Mankind.
At Fully Loaded, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag champions lasted for only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of Raw is War. The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, The Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though The Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect. In September, the storyline continued, and The Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Vince McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, The Undertaker and Kane were booked in a Triple Threat match with Austin for his WWF Championship; McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam,[19] so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between the two brothers for the title, with Austin as the special guest referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit The Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and The Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker, and counted out both brothers. Finally, The Undertaker became a villain the next night on Raw is War for the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane.
After Survivor Series, The Undertaker returned his attention back to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, The Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to his symbol, raising it high into the arena. The Undertaker, however, lost the match after Kane interfered.
Ministry of Darkness (1999)
In January 1999, The Undertaker returned and formed the Ministry of Darkness, developing a more evil persona and explaining that he was taking orders from a "Higher Power." He often appeared in a black robe and sat on a throne. With the help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on various WWE superstars, which were meant to bring out the more evil side of superstars so as to recruit them into his Ministry. The Ministry eventually merged with The Corporation alliance to form the Corporate Ministry. During this time, The Undertaker was booked to defeat Austin for his third WWF Championship at Over the Edge with help from Shane McMahon, the special referee. Two weeks later, it was revealed on Raw is War that Vince McMahon had been The Undertaker's "Higher Power" all along. After The Undertaker dropped the WWF Championship back to Austin one night after King of the Ring, and lost a First Blood match at Fully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and the Corporate Ministry disbanded.
American Bad Ass/Big Evil (2000–2003)
The Undertaker took on a second persona during this portion of his WWF career. He abandoned the Gothic mortician-themed attire, his funeral dirge ring music, allusions to the supernatural, and the accompanying theatrics of his ring entrance. The Undertaker now took on the personality of a biker, riding to the ring on a motorcycle, and wearing sunglasses and bandanas to the ring. His ring music was now replaced with popular rock songs of the time, like Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" and Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which the name of The Undertaker's new gimmick originated), though it was accompanied by the characteristic opening bell gong of The Undertaker's original theme.
Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag title, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw is War. This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane ran from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask.
The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series. Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after Kurt switched places with his real life brother, Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker promised to make someone "famous" and did so when he chokeslamed Rikishi off the roof of the cell.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a shot at the title at No Way Out, facing Edge and Christian and then champions the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated almost the entire match but were not the winners. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0. He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After The Undertaker and Kane acquired the WWF Tag Title from Edge and Christian, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction dropped the title. With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title.
As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara.[28] At SummerSlam, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle (this would be the last time that The Undertaker and Kane would team up until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker became a villain once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his long hair short and called himself "Big Evil". At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to capture the WWF
Hardcore Championship.
The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble in 2002 when Maven eliminated him by dropkicking him from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. On an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock mentioned The Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble, angering The Undertaker. The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off at No Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8, and, as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son David Flair. Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter. A no disqualification stipulation was added to the match, and The Undertaker defeated Flair.
After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against the Undisputed Champion Triple H. The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. On the July 1 episode of Raw, The Undertaker turned into a fan favorite again after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match and raising Hardy's hand as a show of respect. The Undertaker, however, dropped the title at Vengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from Raw to SmackDown!, alongside former Raw talent Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. The Undertaker challenged Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that ended in a double-disqualification. Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion.
The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage, sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke. A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX Jones, however, was removed prior to the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.
Over the remainder of the year, he was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4 SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever.
The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed with The Big Show in a tag team known as The UnHoly Alliance, which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.
Return of the Deadman (2004–2007)
In the storyline leading up to WrestleMania XX, Kane was haunted by vignettes proclaiming The Undertaker's return. The first was during the Royal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him. At WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker, accompanied by Paul Bearer and in his "Deadman" persona, returned and defeated Kane. Three months later, Bearer was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz at the direction of Paul Heyman, who then took "control" of Undertaker. At The Great American Bash The Undertaker fought a handicap match against the Dudleys, with the stipulation that if he lost, Heyman would bury Bearer in cement. The Undertaker won but buried Bearer anyway, explaining that Bearer was merely a liability now and that he had no use for him anymore.
After defeating the Dudley Boyz, The Undertaker began a feud by challenging then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) to a title match at SummerSlam, which The Undertaker lost by disqualification. At No Mercy, The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first ever "Last Ride" match, although The Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. After a brief program with Heidenreich, The Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged JBL to a championship rematch at Armageddon in a Fatal Four-Way match, in which The Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference. The feud culminated in a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble, where The Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory.
Soon afterward, Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, in a storyline where Orton claimed that he would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. Even with help from his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy failed, and The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0. He returned for the June 16 episode of SmackDown! but lost to JBL, thanks to interference from Randy Orton. After The Great American Bash, The Undertaker became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, a position that JBL felt he should have. As part of the feud, on the following SmackDown!, The Undertaker lost a number one contender match against JBL, once again due to interference from Orton. With this, The Undertaker resumed his feud with Orton. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated The Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. The storyline intensified as the two taunted each other with caskets, leading to a casket match at No Mercy, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. When the charred casket was opened, however, The Undertaker had once again vanished. He returned at the Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket. The Undertaker returned to SmackDown! in early December to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon. After winning the match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling.
In early 2006 at the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker returned during Kurt Angle's celebration of his world title defense against Mark Henry on a horse drawn cart, signaling for a title shot. As part of their storyline feud, The Undertaker lost his match with Angle at No Way Out after a thirty minute bout. Undertaker cornered Angle after the match, and after a stare down, told Angle that he had his number and that he was not finished with him yet. The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on SmackDown! when Henry attacked The Undertaker from behind, costing him the title. This began an angle between the duo, as The Undertaker then challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania 22, and Henry, like Orton a year before him, vowed to end Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. The Undertaker defeated Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania, keeping his storyline undefeated streak alive. During a rematch on the next edition of SmackDown!, The Great Khali made his debut and assaulted The Undertaker, signaling the end of one storyline and the beginning of a new one.
The Undertaker was not heard from until the May 5 episode of SmackDown!, as Theodore Long delivered a challenge from The Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day. The Undertaker lost to Khali, and he did not appear again until the July 4 edition of SmackDown!, when he accepted Khali's challenge to a Punjabi Prison match at The Great American Bash.Khali, however, was removed from the match and was replaced by ECW Champion The Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory. In the storyline, Teddy Long replaced Khali with Big Show as punishment for an attack on The Undertaker shortly before the match. Khali was then challenged to a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam after interfering in The Undertaker's match with World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. Khali refused the challenge for SummerSlam, though Long made the match official for the August 18 episode of SmackDown! instead. The Undertaker won the match by striking Khali with the steel stairs, delivering several chair shots, and finishing him with a chokeslam.
The Undertaker's next match was with WWE United States Champion Mr. Kennedy at No Mercy but was disqualified in the match after he hit Kennedy with the championship belt. On the November 3 edition of SmackDown!, The Undertaker reunited with Kane to form the Brothers of Destruction for the first time in five years, defeating the reluctant opposition team of Mr. Kennedy and MVP, with whom Kane was feuding with at the time. As part of the storyline, Kennedy defeated The Undertaker in a First Blood match at Survivor Series after interference from MVP, but finally defeated Kennedy in a Last Ride match at Armageddon. The two continued to feud into 2007 as Kennedy cost The Undertaker two World Heavyweight Championship opportunities for a championship match at the Royal Rumble.
Third World Heavyweight Championship reign (2009–present)
After a four month absence, The Undertaker returned at SummerSlam in August by attacking CM Punk, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. At Breaking Point, The Undertaker faced Punk in a submission match. The Undertaker had originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold, but the match was restarted by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who ruled that the ban placed on the move by Vickie Guerrero was still in effect. Punk went on to win the match with his Anaconda Vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell, despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent of the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). On the September 25 episode of SmackDown, Theodore Long announced that the ban had now been officially lifted, after being released from a casket that The Undertaker had apparently placed him in. The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from Punk in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker went on to successfully defend the title against CM Punk in a rematch on SmackDown, in a fatal four way match at WWE Bragging Rights, and in a triple threat match at Survivor Series. He faced Batista at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the championship, and won when the match was restarted by Long, after Batista had originally won after utilising a low blow. He later retained the championship against Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble in January 2010.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, a pyrotechnics malfunction momentarily engulfed The Undertaker in flames during his ring entrance. He was able to continue with his scheduled match, with a burn on his chest that "looked like a bad sunburn" according to a WWE spokesman. He lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho after interference from Shawn Michaels. The following night, on Raw, Michaels claimed that he cost The Undertaker his championship because he wanted to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI, but The Undertaker had previously turned down his offer of a match. The Undertaker agreed to the match on the condition that Michaels' career was on the line. The match was later made into a no disqualification, no countout match as well. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Michaels in a "Streak vs. Career" match at WrestleMania XXVI, to extend his WrestleMania winning streak to 18–0 and force Michaels to retire. After the match, the Undertaker shook Michaels' hand as a sign of respect. After a hiatus, he returned to SmackDown on May 28, defeating Rey Mysterio. During the match, however, The Undertaker suffered a concussion, broken orbital bone and broken nose.
Personal life
He graduated from Waltrip High School in 1983, where he was a member of the basketball team. Calaway first married Jodi Lynn in 1989, and they had a son, Gunner, born in 1993, before the marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife Sara in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2000. The couple have two daughters together: Chasey (born on November 21, 2002) and Gracie (born on May 15, 2005).
As a wedding gift, Calaway had his wife's name tattooed onto his throat, and has said that it was most painful tattoo he has ever had. Undertaker has several other tattoos: a gravedigger, which he refers to as "Original Deadman", skulls, a castle, and a wizard. When talking about his body art, he has said that there is kind of a medieval thing going-on on his arms. He also has a dancing skeleton on the back of his neck and has a tattoo on his stomach that says BSK Pride.
Aside from wrestling, Calaway has many hobbies and interests. He collects Harley-Davidson and West Coast Choppers motorcycles and purchased his first brand new motorcycle after defeating Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series. Calaway has also had a custom motorcycle built for him by Jesse James, the founder of West Coast Choppers. He is a massive fan of Nick Cave and all his musical endeavors (The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds). He also enjoys listening to bands like ZZ Top, AC/DC, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Black Label Society. Other favorite music genres include country and blues. As an avid boxing fan, Calaway was also the person who carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. This was also confirmed by fellow wrestler Batista in a televised interview for the Philippine news program TV Patrol World. Calaway is also an avid mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship shows.
As The Undertaker had been absent from the WWE due to his 2007 arm injury, Calaway began getting into real estate with his partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado. The building, filled with upscale office space, is named "The Calahart", a portmanteau of their last names. Calaway has said that being a television star certainly helps him in the real estate business, and he was quoted saying "by no means does it seal the deal, but people do want to sit down and talk with you. It helps us get to meet a lot of people and know what we’re trying to get accomplished."[95] Calaway and his wife, Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs.
These are the burning questions crossing the minds of wrestling fans this evening. On WWE Smackdown the idiot that they call General Manager Theodore Long explained that Undertaker was discovered in a “vegetative state” during this Memorial Day weekend. Apparently he was poisoned by someone *hint* Kane.
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965) is an American Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1990)
Calaway made his debut in 1984 in World Class Championship Wrestling under the ring name "Texas Red". He wrestled and lost his first match against Bruiser Brody. In 1988, after four years in the promotion, he left and joined the Continental Wrestling Association (which became the United States Wrestling Association after Jerry Jarrett merged CWA with WCCW), wrestling under several gimmicks. On April 1, 1989, he was booked to win his first professional wrestling title, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler, under the stage name "The Master of Pain". While performing as "The Punisher", Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989 when Eric Embry forfeited the title.
His first mainstream exposure was when he joined World Championship Wrestling in late 1989. While there, he was known as "Mean Mark" Callous and along with "Dangerous Dan" Spivey", wrestled as part of the Skyscrapers tag team, managed by Teddy Long. During his time in the Skyscrapers, he and Spivey were involved in a feud with the Road Warriors, but Spivey left before the feud came to an end.
As he went into singles competition, Calaway took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously and defeated Johnny Ace at Capital Combat and defeated Brian Pillman at the Clash of the Champions. In July 1990, he wrestled against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash, but lost when Luger pinned him after a clothesline. WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, after losing his last match to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting on September 1, 1990 at a live event.
During his stint in WCW, Calaway then briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Punisher Dice Morgan. After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1990–present)
Debut and various feuds (1990–1994)
Calaway made his WWF debut as "Cain The Undertaker" at a taping of WWF Superstars on November 19, 1990. The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Under this Deadman persona, he was impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calaway no-selling his opponents' attacks. Calaway made his official on-camera debut on November 22 at Survivor Series as a heel when he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar team, where he was simply called The Undertaker. Approximately one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. He also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Shortly after Survivor Series, "Cain" was dropped from his name, and he was called simply The Undertaker. It was at this time that The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer — a histrionic, ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn from which The Undertaker was said to draw mystical power from, reviving his strength during his matches. During his heel run, Undertaker would place his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers) in a bodybag and carry him to the back.
He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. The win was the first in his undefeated streak at the event. He began his first major feud with The Ultimate Warrior, when he attacked the Warrior and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of his manager, Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlour interview segment. After a year of battles with the Warrior, Randy Savage, Sid Justice, Sgt. Slaughter, and Hulk Hogan, he defeated Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series. WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan.
In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when The Undertaker stopped him, becoming a fan favorite for the first time. Then, The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII. He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, including Kamala, whom he faced and defeated in the first televised coffin match in WWF history at Survivor Series, and Giant Gonzales, whom he defeated by disqualification at WrestleMania IX and by pinfall at SummerSlam in a "Rest in Peace" match. In January 1994, he challenged WWF Champion Yokozuna to a casket match at the Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous wrestlers, winning the match. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return.professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Undertaker. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), currently wrestling on the SmackDown brand.
Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, he joined the World Wrestling Federation (which later became World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002) as The Undertaker in November of that year. Having remained with that company ever since, Calaway is currently the only full-time wrestler that made an appearance in the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, who is still with the company today.
The Undertaker has two contrasting gimmicks: the Deadman and the American Bad Ass. The specialty matches connected to The Undertaker (or more specifically, his "Deadman" persona) are the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the notorious Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. The Undertaker's kayfabe half-brother is Kane, whom he has teamed up with as the Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with an 18–0 record, which is the single longest undefeated Wrestlemania streak in WWE history. Calaway is an eight-time world champion: a four-time WWF/E Champion and three-time World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker, and a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion as Master of Pain. The Undertaker is also a one-time WWF Hardcore champion, and a seven-time world tag team champion: a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. The Undertaker was the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and became the first man to win the Rumble at number 30.
Return; feud with Mankind (1994–1997)
After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed the "Underfaker" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a rematch, another casket match. Throughout most of 1995, The Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole The Undertaker's urn, and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace and attacking the Undertaker. Later, The Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam. Several weeks later, The Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series.
The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask. At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, when Diesel interfered in the match to cost the Undertaker the championship. One month later, at In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, The Undertaker came bursting from under the ring, dragging Diesel underneath, allowing Hart to get the victory. This feud culminated in a match between Diesel and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XII, in which The Undertaker was victorious.
His next feud commenced the very next night, when Mankind made his debut, interfering in The Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost The Undertaker several matches. The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying The Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" The Undertaker with the Mandible claw, giving him the win. After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match at In Your House: Buried Alive. The Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave, but after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other superstars, The Undertaker was ultimately "Buried Alive". After being buried alive, The Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft (6.1 m) above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though The Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape The Undertaker's clutches. The Undertaker then briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had become a thorn in his side since his arrival. At In Your House: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match. By the end of 1996, The Undertaker began a feud with Vader, culminating in a loss to Vader at the Royal Rumble after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé. After this loss, The Undertaker began to focus his attention on the WWF Championship.
Hell in a Cell; Brothers of Destruction (1997–1998)
At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion. After the event, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin with The Undertaker, using the threat of revealing The Undertaker's "biggest secret". In the storyline, Bearer announced that The Undertaker was a murderer, who as a child had burned down the family funeral home business (where Bearer worked), killing his parents and his younger half-brother. The Undertaker claimed there was no way for Bearer to have that information, but Bearer announced that he was told this by Undertaker's half-brother Kane, who was still alive but horribly burned and scarred. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized. Now, Kane was waiting for revenge after all these years. In defense, The Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly survived.
His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship. The feud culminated at In Your House: Badd Blood, where The Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, The Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged The Undertaker to fights, but The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker and Kane then formed a brief partnership when Kane saved Undertaker from an attack by D-Generation X. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane betrayed The Undertaker and cost him the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened. After a two month hiatus, The Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV. The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, which The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire.
The Undertaker's feud with Mankind was renewed afterward, and they faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 ft (4.9 m) cell onto the Spanish announce table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious and finished the match by Tombstone Piledriving Mankind.
At Fully Loaded, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag champions lasted for only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of Raw is War. The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, The Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though The Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect. In September, the storyline continued, and The Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Vince McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, The Undertaker and Kane were booked in a Triple Threat match with Austin for his WWF Championship; McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam,[19] so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between the two brothers for the title, with Austin as the special guest referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit The Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and The Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker, and counted out both brothers. Finally, The Undertaker became a villain the next night on Raw is War for the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane.
After Survivor Series, The Undertaker returned his attention back to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, The Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to his symbol, raising it high into the arena. The Undertaker, however, lost the match after Kane interfered.
Ministry of Darkness (1999)
In January 1999, The Undertaker returned and formed the Ministry of Darkness, developing a more evil persona and explaining that he was taking orders from a "Higher Power." He often appeared in a black robe and sat on a throne. With the help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on various WWE superstars, which were meant to bring out the more evil side of superstars so as to recruit them into his Ministry. The Ministry eventually merged with The Corporation alliance to form the Corporate Ministry. During this time, The Undertaker was booked to defeat Austin for his third WWF Championship at Over the Edge with help from Shane McMahon, the special referee. Two weeks later, it was revealed on Raw is War that Vince McMahon had been The Undertaker's "Higher Power" all along. After The Undertaker dropped the WWF Championship back to Austin one night after King of the Ring, and lost a First Blood match at Fully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and the Corporate Ministry disbanded.
American Bad Ass/Big Evil (2000–2003)
The Undertaker took on a second persona during this portion of his WWF career. He abandoned the Gothic mortician-themed attire, his funeral dirge ring music, allusions to the supernatural, and the accompanying theatrics of his ring entrance. The Undertaker now took on the personality of a biker, riding to the ring on a motorcycle, and wearing sunglasses and bandanas to the ring. His ring music was now replaced with popular rock songs of the time, like Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" and Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which the name of The Undertaker's new gimmick originated), though it was accompanied by the characteristic opening bell gong of The Undertaker's original theme.
Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag title, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw is War. This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane ran from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask.
The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series. Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after Kurt switched places with his real life brother, Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker promised to make someone "famous" and did so when he chokeslamed Rikishi off the roof of the cell.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a shot at the title at No Way Out, facing Edge and Christian and then champions the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated almost the entire match but were not the winners. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0. He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After The Undertaker and Kane acquired the WWF Tag Title from Edge and Christian, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction dropped the title. With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title.
As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara.[28] At SummerSlam, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle (this would be the last time that The Undertaker and Kane would team up until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker became a villain once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his long hair short and called himself "Big Evil". At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to capture the WWF
Hardcore Championship.
The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble in 2002 when Maven eliminated him by dropkicking him from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. On an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock mentioned The Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble, angering The Undertaker. The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off at No Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8, and, as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son David Flair. Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter. A no disqualification stipulation was added to the match, and The Undertaker defeated Flair.
After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against the Undisputed Champion Triple H. The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. On the July 1 episode of Raw, The Undertaker turned into a fan favorite again after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match and raising Hardy's hand as a show of respect. The Undertaker, however, dropped the title at Vengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from Raw to SmackDown!, alongside former Raw talent Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. The Undertaker challenged Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that ended in a double-disqualification. Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion.
The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage, sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke. A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX Jones, however, was removed prior to the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.
Over the remainder of the year, he was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4 SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever.
The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed with The Big Show in a tag team known as The UnHoly Alliance, which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.
Return of the Deadman (2004–2007)
In the storyline leading up to WrestleMania XX, Kane was haunted by vignettes proclaiming The Undertaker's return. The first was during the Royal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him. At WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker, accompanied by Paul Bearer and in his "Deadman" persona, returned and defeated Kane. Three months later, Bearer was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz at the direction of Paul Heyman, who then took "control" of Undertaker. At The Great American Bash The Undertaker fought a handicap match against the Dudleys, with the stipulation that if he lost, Heyman would bury Bearer in cement. The Undertaker won but buried Bearer anyway, explaining that Bearer was merely a liability now and that he had no use for him anymore.
After defeating the Dudley Boyz, The Undertaker began a feud by challenging then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) to a title match at SummerSlam, which The Undertaker lost by disqualification. At No Mercy, The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first ever "Last Ride" match, although The Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. After a brief program with Heidenreich, The Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged JBL to a championship rematch at Armageddon in a Fatal Four-Way match, in which The Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference. The feud culminated in a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble, where The Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory.
Soon afterward, Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, in a storyline where Orton claimed that he would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. Even with help from his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy failed, and The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0. He returned for the June 16 episode of SmackDown! but lost to JBL, thanks to interference from Randy Orton. After The Great American Bash, The Undertaker became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, a position that JBL felt he should have. As part of the feud, on the following SmackDown!, The Undertaker lost a number one contender match against JBL, once again due to interference from Orton. With this, The Undertaker resumed his feud with Orton. At SummerSlam, Orton defeated The Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. The storyline intensified as the two taunted each other with caskets, leading to a casket match at No Mercy, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. When the charred casket was opened, however, The Undertaker had once again vanished. He returned at the Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket. The Undertaker returned to SmackDown! in early December to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon. After winning the match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling.
In early 2006 at the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker returned during Kurt Angle's celebration of his world title defense against Mark Henry on a horse drawn cart, signaling for a title shot. As part of their storyline feud, The Undertaker lost his match with Angle at No Way Out after a thirty minute bout. Undertaker cornered Angle after the match, and after a stare down, told Angle that he had his number and that he was not finished with him yet. The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on SmackDown! when Henry attacked The Undertaker from behind, costing him the title. This began an angle between the duo, as The Undertaker then challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania 22, and Henry, like Orton a year before him, vowed to end Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. The Undertaker defeated Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania, keeping his storyline undefeated streak alive. During a rematch on the next edition of SmackDown!, The Great Khali made his debut and assaulted The Undertaker, signaling the end of one storyline and the beginning of a new one.
The Undertaker was not heard from until the May 5 episode of SmackDown!, as Theodore Long delivered a challenge from The Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day. The Undertaker lost to Khali, and he did not appear again until the July 4 edition of SmackDown!, when he accepted Khali's challenge to a Punjabi Prison match at The Great American Bash.Khali, however, was removed from the match and was replaced by ECW Champion The Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory. In the storyline, Teddy Long replaced Khali with Big Show as punishment for an attack on The Undertaker shortly before the match. Khali was then challenged to a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam after interfering in The Undertaker's match with World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. Khali refused the challenge for SummerSlam, though Long made the match official for the August 18 episode of SmackDown! instead. The Undertaker won the match by striking Khali with the steel stairs, delivering several chair shots, and finishing him with a chokeslam.
The Undertaker's next match was with WWE United States Champion Mr. Kennedy at No Mercy but was disqualified in the match after he hit Kennedy with the championship belt. On the November 3 edition of SmackDown!, The Undertaker reunited with Kane to form the Brothers of Destruction for the first time in five years, defeating the reluctant opposition team of Mr. Kennedy and MVP, with whom Kane was feuding with at the time. As part of the storyline, Kennedy defeated The Undertaker in a First Blood match at Survivor Series after interference from MVP, but finally defeated Kennedy in a Last Ride match at Armageddon. The two continued to feud into 2007 as Kennedy cost The Undertaker two World Heavyweight Championship opportunities for a championship match at the Royal Rumble.
Third World Heavyweight Championship reign (2009–present)
After a four month absence, The Undertaker returned at SummerSlam in August by attacking CM Punk, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. At Breaking Point, The Undertaker faced Punk in a submission match. The Undertaker had originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold, but the match was restarted by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who ruled that the ban placed on the move by Vickie Guerrero was still in effect. Punk went on to win the match with his Anaconda Vise when referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell, despite Undertaker never submitting (reminiscent of the Montreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in 1997). On the September 25 episode of SmackDown, Theodore Long announced that the ban had now been officially lifted, after being released from a casket that The Undertaker had apparently placed him in. The feud between the two continued and at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from Punk in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker went on to successfully defend the title against CM Punk in a rematch on SmackDown, in a fatal four way match at WWE Bragging Rights, and in a triple threat match at Survivor Series. He faced Batista at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the championship, and won when the match was restarted by Long, after Batista had originally won after utilising a low blow. He later retained the championship against Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble in January 2010.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, a pyrotechnics malfunction momentarily engulfed The Undertaker in flames during his ring entrance. He was able to continue with his scheduled match, with a burn on his chest that "looked like a bad sunburn" according to a WWE spokesman. He lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho after interference from Shawn Michaels. The following night, on Raw, Michaels claimed that he cost The Undertaker his championship because he wanted to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI, but The Undertaker had previously turned down his offer of a match. The Undertaker agreed to the match on the condition that Michaels' career was on the line. The match was later made into a no disqualification, no countout match as well. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Michaels in a "Streak vs. Career" match at WrestleMania XXVI, to extend his WrestleMania winning streak to 18–0 and force Michaels to retire. After the match, the Undertaker shook Michaels' hand as a sign of respect. After a hiatus, he returned to SmackDown on May 28, defeating Rey Mysterio. During the match, however, The Undertaker suffered a concussion, broken orbital bone and broken nose.
Personal life
He graduated from Waltrip High School in 1983, where he was a member of the basketball team. Calaway first married Jodi Lynn in 1989, and they had a son, Gunner, born in 1993, before the marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife Sara in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2000. The couple have two daughters together: Chasey (born on November 21, 2002) and Gracie (born on May 15, 2005).
As a wedding gift, Calaway had his wife's name tattooed onto his throat, and has said that it was most painful tattoo he has ever had. Undertaker has several other tattoos: a gravedigger, which he refers to as "Original Deadman", skulls, a castle, and a wizard. When talking about his body art, he has said that there is kind of a medieval thing going-on on his arms. He also has a dancing skeleton on the back of his neck and has a tattoo on his stomach that says BSK Pride.
Aside from wrestling, Calaway has many hobbies and interests. He collects Harley-Davidson and West Coast Choppers motorcycles and purchased his first brand new motorcycle after defeating Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series. Calaway has also had a custom motorcycle built for him by Jesse James, the founder of West Coast Choppers. He is a massive fan of Nick Cave and all his musical endeavors (The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds). He also enjoys listening to bands like ZZ Top, AC/DC, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Black Label Society. Other favorite music genres include country and blues. As an avid boxing fan, Calaway was also the person who carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. This was also confirmed by fellow wrestler Batista in a televised interview for the Philippine news program TV Patrol World. Calaway is also an avid mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship shows.
As The Undertaker had been absent from the WWE due to his 2007 arm injury, Calaway began getting into real estate with his partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado. The building, filled with upscale office space, is named "The Calahart", a portmanteau of their last names. Calaway has said that being a television star certainly helps him in the real estate business, and he was quoted saying "by no means does it seal the deal, but people do want to sit down and talk with you. It helps us get to meet a lot of people and know what we’re trying to get accomplished."[95] Calaway and his wife, Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs.
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