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Al-Qamar
"But if they see a sign they turn away and say 'Continuous sorcery!'" A number of reports concerning this incident are contained in canonical hadith books, traced back to various Companions. According to those who downplay the miraculous, on the other hand, it foreshadows the inevitable Day of Judgment that will divide those who believe from those who disbelieve—those who are destined to Paradise and those who are destined to Hell. Because this Meccan sura’s primary theme centers around the fate of those who disbelieve, the symbolic use of the moon is meant to warn the disbelievers of their impending fate in the first verse, as “the hour draws near; the moon is split”. Additionally, the crescent moon acts as a vital symbol of Islam and thus, in this instance, may denote the importance of the emerging religion, as lunar cycles determine the structure of the Islamic calendar. Sura 54 is wholly Meccan, as its verses “demonstrate complex reference and demanding grammatical connections to surrounding verses”. Indeed, it is a mixture of exclamatory statements and rhetorical questions directed towards Muhammad, which is yet another reference to the sura’s Meccan nature. That God directly addresses Muhammad with personal pronouns, “you” and “your” and differentiates the unbelieving audience from His personal addresses to Muhammad with “they” and “them” strongly indicates that Islam was still in the development phase and that God did not yet have a particularized audience to address. Instead, God merely warns Muhammad of the possible responses that will result from his efforts to spread His message and the resultant punishment that He will inflict upon those who refuse to believe. Officially, this sura is believed to be the thirty-seventh sura revealed to Muhammad, as the Egyptian chronology indicates. Nöldeke, however, numbers this sura as the forty-ninth chronological sura. The difference in numerical order is, perhaps, due to the difference in Meccan and Medinan suras within each edition. For instance, the Egyptian chronology indicates that there are eighty-eight Meccan suras and twenty-six Medinan suras; whereas Noldeke’s chronology divides the Meccan period into three, with forty-eight in the first, twenty-one in the second, and twenty-one in the third in addition to twenty four Medinan suras. This sura clearly directs its message toward the unbelievers in Mecca. Indeed, it covers themes of rejection, truth, and punishment, all of which are addressed in stories of previous peoples. The stories of the people of Noah, the people of ‘Ad, the people of Thamud, the people of Lot, and the people of Pharaoh represent times during which a people refused to believe the word of the above messengers; consequently, they suffered God’s wrath. Each unit follows a similar pattern: first, God describes the peoples’ refusal to believe and the resultant punishment for refusing to accept His warnings. As Carl Ernst writes in "How to Read the Qur’an", suras from the middle to late Meccan period follow a “tripartite division,” in which one observes a “ring structure, beginning and ending with parallel sections” of divine praise, heavy threats for the unbelievers, and staunch affirmations of the revelation. These parts bookend a somewhat larger middle section, which is “typically a narrative of prophecy and struggle.” Thus, this Meccan sura seems to connect the early Meccan period with the later, as traces of the shorter, more affirmative suras can be found in particular verses, which resemble “powerful oath formulations” and generate fear in those who may not fully accept the Islamic faith. Within the parallel sections of the ring-like structure of this sura are narratives of the critical choices that Muhammad’s audience will face—whether to act as did the previous peoples and to reject Muhammad’s message and endure unbearable consequences, or to accept God as “the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy,” and to live eternally “among Gardens and rivers”. Such a choice acts as a testament to God’s omnipotence and utter omniscience. God,is all-knowing, as the sura both begins and ends with a warning that “everything is recorded” and “everything they do is noted in their records: every action, great or small is recorded”. The first eight verses distinctly refer to events on the Day of Judgment, especially the fates of the disbelievers on that “hard day”, with the exception of the splitting of the moon, since that was a still-unexplained celestial event witnessed by many of the Companions in or around Mecca, and the characteristic rejection of such miraculous events as sorcery by the unbelievers. The first verse in particular uses “the Hour" ("as-saa’a") to refer the end times and is in fact used in 46 instances throughout the Qur'an to make mention of the hour (likely a symbolic temporal period) when Allah will judge humankind and punish the unbelievers. This first section is marked by its apocryphal tone and its introduction of the themes of disbelief and failure to heed warnings, which echo through the remainder of the sura. The middle section of this Qur'anic sura, which Ernst marks from verse 9 to 42, relates to prior Hebrew and Arab oral traditions to remind the audience of previous instances where the word of Allah was not heeded and stern consequences resulted. The first of the five examples is the story of Noah, whose rejection by his own people is relatable to the situation Muhammad found himself in early in his prophetic career. According to the Qur'an, men referred to both Noah and Muhammad as crazy or "majnoon"—the same Arabic word is used in both of these references. There are four more examples of rejected prophets in the middle section of sura 54, wherein the stories of ‘Ad, Thamud, Lot, and Pharaoh are mentioned to reiterate the lesson that those who fail to heed Allah’s warnings through His messengers will be punished. (The stories of ‘Ad and Thamud come from Arab folklore and the Qur’an briefly describes the wrath that both of these peoples incurred because of their disbelief.) Take note that the five Hebrew/Arab stories are told in a manner that assumes the audience has a working knowledge of the myth prior to its telling in the Qur’an. Unlike the Old Testament, these stories are neither told in their entirety, nor are they told in a chronological narrative. Instead, key points of the story are mentioned in order to bring out an important faith-based lesson from the story, with the assumption that the audience already understands the underlying narrative. For example, the story of Pharaoh only takes up two verses in which there is only space to mention that a warning came to his people, they rejected the signs, and Allah “overcame them with the seizing of the Mighty, the Powerful.” Something else to note about this middle section is how many times the Qur'an references itself. In fact, it does so four times in the same context, at the end of the first four “disbeliever” examples. Each of these four lines (54:17,22,32,40) reads: “We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Qur’an: will anyone take heed?” Some versions interpret this line to say: “And certainly We have made the Qur’an easy to remember, but is there anyone who will mind?” The difference here is important because of the connotation of the Arabic word "dhikr", which can refer to lessons, the act of remembering, memorization, recalling, and many other meanings that come from the same root, which is used over 200 times in the Qur'an. This aya could be referring to the lessons of faith and morality and the ease with which they can be gleaned from the Qur'an, as a book. However, it could also be using the word "qur’an" here to refer to its more literal Arabic meaning—which is “recitation”—rather than referring to the book itself. There is no doubt that this is an occasion where the Qur'an is self-referential, but it is interesting that in other sections of the Qur'an (12:2, 15:1), the word "qur’an", itself, seems to refer to the word of Allah as it is recited, which includes vowels (thus clarifying much of the meaning). (It is important to note that the Qur'an in its earliest written forms lacked most vowels and the written consonants served as a reminder for those reciting the Qur'an.) Thus, the verse could mean that the suras are easily remembered because of their poetic and song-like form in their spoken versions: their rhyming schemes, cadences, and robust structure. According to the scripture, Allah then asks (rhetorically) who will take on the task of remembering or internalizing these words. The purpose of the middle section of this Sura, then, is to draw attention to examples from the past of unbelievers and their punishments, challenging the people of Muhammad’s time to finally heed and recognize Allah’s Prophet. The final section of the sura (54:43-55) returns to an apocryphal tone, warning of the evils that will befall the unbelievers in the end time. Again, “the Hour” is used twice in these final ayat to mention the Day of Judgment. At that time, those who are guilty are said to be dragged into the fires of Hell ("saqar"), as Allah knows that the fate every group of disbelievers is the same—their time is limited. The last section closes the “ring” by reverting the narrative back to the introductory section, wherein we read of visual images of the Day of Judgment. Plus, consistent with Ernst’s notions, the sura ends with a “flourishing” couplet that details the rewards of the “dutiful” in the afterlife, seated with “a most powerful king.” The constant repetition in this sura is particularly relevant, as it contributes to the overall development of God’s character. In his many rhetorical questions such as, “We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Qur’an: will anyone take heed?” and the final question directed towards Muhammad, “Are your disbelievers any better than these?” Firstly, the constant repetition of the Qur'anic lessons question establishes God as merciful and fair in his punishment, as He ensures that He gave the unbelievers full warning and clear direction; however, they chose not to follow His commands and are thus deserving of their respective punishments. As the sura ends, however, God asserts his ability to inflict punishment upon the disbelievers: “when We ordain something it happens at once, in the blink of an eye; We have destroyed the likes of you in the past. Will anyone take heed?”. With this final rhetorical question, God instead establishes the breadth of His power, as He highlights the utter immediacy with which He could rid the earth of the unbelievers. However, He ensures that His omnipotence will benefit the righteous, as they will live “secure in the presence of an all-powerful Sovereign”. It is narrated that Muhammad al-Baqir, when asked about verse [54:42]... but they rejected all Our signs..., replied that "signs refer to all the successors of the Prophets". . Al-Qamar Sūrat al-Qamar (, "The Moon") is the 54th sura of the Quran with 55 ayat. Some verses refer to the Splitting of the moon. "Qamar" (), meaning "'Moon" in Arabic, is also a common name among Muslims. "Al-Qamar", meaning "moon" in Arabic, is an important title for sura 54. The first verse is traditionally thought to refer to a miracle performed by the Prophet Muhammad in the Meccan phase of his career, in which he showed the moon split in two in response to a challenge from his opponents. The disbelieving response
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Keith Moon"
during the early 1960s. After playing with a local band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. Moon remained with the band during their rise to fame, and was quickly recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes, and drum fills. Throughout Moon's tenure with the Who his drum kit steadily grew in size, and along with Ginger Baker, Moon has been credited as one of the earliest rock drummers to regularly employ double bass drums in his setup. He occasionally collaborated with other musicians and later appeared in films, but considered playing in the Who his primary occupation and remained a member of the band until his death. In addition to his talent as a drummer, however, Moon developed a reputation for smashing his kit on stage and destroying hotel rooms on tour. He was fascinated by blowing up toilets with cherry bombs or dynamite, and by destroying television sets. Moon enjoyed touring and socialising, and became bored and restless when the Who were inactive. His 21st birthday party in Flint, Michigan, has been cited as a notorious example of decadent behaviour by rock groups. Moon suffered a number of setbacks during the 1970s, most notably the accidental death of chauffeur Neil Boland and the breakdown of his marriage. He became addicted to alcohol, particularly brandy and champagne, and acquired a reputation for decadence and dark humour; his nickname was "Moon the Loon." After moving to Los Angeles with personal assistant Peter "Dougal" Butler during the mid-1970s, Moon recorded his only solo album, the poorly received "Two Sides of the Moon". While touring with the Who, on several occasions he passed out on stage and was hospitalised. By their final tour with him in 1976, and particularly during production of "The Kids Are Alright" and "Who Are You", the drummer's deterioration was evident. Moon moved back to London in 1978, dying in September of that year from an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug intended to treat or prevent symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Keith John Moon was born to Alfred Charles (Alf) and Kathleen Winifred (Kit) Moon on 23 August 1946 at Central Middlesex Hospital in northwest London, and grew up in Wembley. He was hyperactive as a boy, with a restless imagination and a particular fondness for "The Goon Show" and music. Moon attended Alperton Secondary Modern School after failing his eleven plus exam, which precluded his attending a grammar school. His art teacher said in a report: "Retarded artistically. Idiotic in other respects". His music teacher wrote that Moon "has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off." Moon joined his local Sea Cadet Corps band at the age of twelve on the bugle, but found the instrument too difficult to learn and decided to take up drums instead. He was interested in practical jokes and home science kits, with a particular fondness for explosions. On his way home from school, Moon would often go to Macari's Music Studio on Ealing Road to practise on the drums there, learning his basic skills on the instrument. He left school at age fourteen, around Easter in 1961. Moon then enrolled at Harrow Technical College; this led to a job as a radio repairman, enabling him to buy his first drum kit. Moon took lessons from one of the loudest contemporary drummers, Screaming Lord Sutch's Carlo Little, at 10 shillings per lesson. Moon's early style was influenced by jazz, American surf music and rhythm and blues, exemplified by noted Los Angeles studio drummer Hal Blaine. His favourite musicians were jazz artists, particularly Gene Krupa (whose flamboyant style he subsequently copied). Moon also admired Elvis Presley's original drummer DJ Fontana, the Shadows' original drummer Tony Meehan and the Pretty Things' Viv Prince. He also enjoyed singing, with a particular interest in Motown. Moon idolised the Beach Boys; Roger Daltrey later said that given the opportunity, Moon would have left to play for the California band even at the peak of the Who's fame. During this time Moon joined his first serious band: the Escorts, replacing his best friend Gerry Evans. In December 1962 he joined the Beachcombers, a semi-professional London cover band playing hits by groups such as the Shadows. During his time in the group Moon incorporated theatrical tricks into his act, including "shooting" the group's lead singer with a starter pistol. The Beachcombers all had day jobs; Moon, who worked in the sales department at British Gypsum, had the keenest interest in turning professional. In April 1964, at age 17, he auditioned for the Who as a replacement for Doug Sandom. The Beachcombers continued as a local cover band after his departure. A commonly cited story of how Moon joined the Who is that he appeared at a show shortly after Sandom's departure, where a session drummer was used. Dressed in ginger clothes and with his hair dyed ginger (future bandmate Pete Townshend later described him as a "ginger vision"), he claimed to his would-be bandmates that he could play better; he played in the set's second half, nearly demolishing the drum kit in the process. In the words of the drummer, "they said go ahead, and I got behind this other guy's drums and did one song-'Road Runner.' I'd several drinks to get me courage up and when I got onstage I went arrgggGhhhh on the drums, broke the bass drum pedal and two skins, and got off. I figured that was it. I was scared to death. Afterwards I was sitting at the bar and Pete came over. He said: 'You ... come 'ere.' I said, mild as you please: 'Yes, yes?' And Roger, who was the spokesman then, said: 'What are you doing next Monday?' I said: 'Nothing.' I was working during the day, selling plaster. He said: 'You'll have to give up work ... there's this gig on Monday. If you want to come, we'll pick you up in the van.' I said: 'Right.' And that was it." Moon later claimed that he was never formally invited to join the Who permanently; when Ringo Starr asked how he had joined the band, he said he had "just been filling in for the last fifteen years." Moon's arrival in the Who changed the dynamics of the group. Sandom had generally been the peacemaker as Daltrey and Townshend feuded between themselves, but because of Moon's temperament the group now had four members frequently in conflict. "We used to fight regularly," remembered Moon in later years. "John [Entwistle] and I used to have fights – it wasn't very serious, it was more of an emotional spur-of-the moment thing." Moon also clashed with Daltrey and Townshend: "We really have absolutely nothing in common apart from music," he said in a later interview. Although Townshend described him as a "completely different person to anyone I've ever met," the pair had a rapport in the early years and enjoyed practical jokes and improvised comedy. Moon's drumming style affected the band's musical structure; although Entwistle initially found Moon's lack of conventional timekeeping problematic, it created an original sound. Moon was particularly fond of touring, since it was his only chance to regularly socialise with his bandmates, and was generally restless and bored when not playing live. This later carried over to other aspects of his life, as he acted them out (according to journalist and Who biographer Dave Marsh) "as if his life were one long tour." These antics earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon." Moon's style of drumming was considered unique by his bandmates, although they sometimes found his unconventional playing frustrating; Entwistle noted that he tended to play faster or slower according to his mood. "He wouldn't play across his kit," he later added. "He'd play zig-zag. That's why he had two sets of tom-toms. He'd move his arms forward like a skier." Daltrey said that Moon "just instinctively put drum fills in places that other people would never have thought of putting them." Who biographer John Atkins wrote that the group's early test sessions for Pye Records in 1964 show that "they seemed to have understood just how important was ... Moon's contribution." Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer Tony Fletcher suggesting that the timing on "Tommy" was "all over the place." Who producer Jon Astley said, "You didn't think he was keeping time, but he was." Early recordings of Moon's drumming sound tinny and disorganised; it was not until the recording of "Who's Next," with Glyn Johns' no-nonsense production techniques and the need to keep time to a synthesizer track, that he began developing more discipline in the studio. Fletcher considers the drumming on this album to be the best of Moon's career. Unlike contemporary rock drummers such as Ginger Baker and John Bonham, Moon hated drum solos and refused to play them in concert. At a Madison Square Garden show on 10 June 1974, Townshend and Entwistle decided to spontaneously stop playing during "Wasp Man" to listen to Moon's drum solo. Moon continued briefly and then stopped, shouting "Drum solos are boring!" However, in 1977, he made a guest appearance in a Led Zeppelin concert, joining John Bonham for his "Moby Dick" drum solo. The concert was bootlegged as "For Badgeholders Only". Although not an especially gifted vocalist, Moon was enthusiastic about singing and wanted to sing lead with the rest of the group. While the other three members handled most of the onstage vocals, Moon would attempt to sing backup (particularly on "I Can't Explain"). He provided humorous commentary during song announcements, although sound engineer Bob Pridden preferred to mute his vocal microphone on the mixing desk whenever possible. Moon's knack for making his bandmates laugh around the microphone led them to banish him from the studio when vocals were being recorded; this led to a game in which Moon would sneak in to join the singing. At the end of "Happy Jack," Townshend can be heard saying "I saw ya!" to Moon as he tries to sneak into the studio. The drummer's interest in surf music and his desire to sing lead spawned lead vocals on several early tracks, including "Bucket T" and "Barbara Ann" ("Ready Steady Who" EP, 1966) and high backing vocals on other songs, such as "Pictures of Lily." Moon's performance on "Bell Boy" ("Quadrophenia," 1973) saw him abandon "serious" vocal performances to sing in character, which gave him (in Fletcher's words) "full licence to live up to his reputation as a lecherous drunk"; it was "exactly the kind of performance the Who needed from him to bring them back down to earth." Moon composed "I Need You" (which he also sang), the instrumental "Cobwebs and Strange" (from the album "A Quick One," 1966), the single B-sides "In The City" (co-written with Entwistle) and "Girl's Eyes" (from "The Who Sell Out" sessions featured on "Thirty Years of Maximum R&B" and a 1995 re-release of "The Who Sell Out"), "Dogs Part Two" (1969), "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (1969) and "Waspman" (1972). Moon also co-composed "The Ox" (an instrumental from their debut album, "My Generation") with Townshend, Entwistle and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. The setting for "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (from "Tommy") was credited to Moon; the song was primarily written by Townshend and, although there is a misconception that Moon sings on it, the album version is Townshend's demo. The drummer produced the violin solo on "Baba O'Riley." Moon sat in on congas with East of Eden at the Lyceum, and afterwards suggested to violinist Dave Arbus that he play on the track. Moon played a four, then a five-piece drum kit during his early career. Throughout much of 1964 and 1965 his setups consisted of Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals. Moon began to endorse Premier Drums in late 1965, and he remained a loyal customer of the company. His first Premier kit was in red sparkle and featured two high toms. In 1966 he moved to an even larger kit, but without the customary hi-hat—at the time Moon preferred keeping backbeats with ride and crash cymbals. His new larger configuration was notable for the presence of two bass drums. Moon, along with Ginger Baker, has been credited as one of the early pioneers of double bass drumming in rock. Moon's Red Sparkle Premier setup from this time consisted of two bass drums, three mounted toms, two floor toms and a Ludwig Supraphonic 400 snare. His cymbals consisted of two Paiste Giant Beat crashes and one ride. This kit was not used at the Who's performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. From 1967 to 1969 Moon used the "Pictures of Lily" drum kit (named for its artwork), which had two bass drums, two floor toms and three mounted toms. In recognition of his loyalty to the company, Premier reissued the kit in 2006 as the "Spirit of Lily." By 1970 Moon had begun to use timbales, gongs and timpani, and these were included in his setup for the rest of his career. In 1973 Premier's marketing manager, Eddie Haynes, began consulting with Moon about specific requirements. At one point, Moon asked Premier to make a white kit with gold-plated fittings. When Haynes said that it would be prohibitively expensive, Moon replied: "Dear boy, do exactly as you feel it should be, but that's the way I want it." The kit was eventually fitted with copper fittings and later given to a young Zak Starkey. At an early show at the Railway Tavern in Harrow, Townshend smashed his guitar after accidentally breaking it. When the audience demanded he do it again, Moon kicked over his drum kit. Subsequent live sets culminated in what the band later described as "auto-destructive art," in which band members (particularly Moon and Townshend) elaborately destroyed their equipment. Moon developed a habit of kicking over his drums, claiming that he did so in exasperation at an audience's indifference. Townshend later said, "A set of skins is about $300 [then £96] and after every show he'd just go bang, bang, bang and then kick the whole thing over." In May 1966, Moon discovered that the Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston was visiting London. After the pair socialised for a few days, Moon and Entwistle brought Johnston to the set of "Ready Steady Go!", which made them late for a show with the Who that evening. During the finale of "My Generation," an altercation broke out on stage between Moon and Townshend which was reported on the front page of the "New Musical Express" the following week. Moon and Entwistle left the Who for a week (with Moon hoping to join the Animals or the Nashville Teens), but they changed their minds and returned. On the Who's early US package tour at the RKO Theatre in New York in March and April 1967 Moon performed five shows a day, kicking over his drum kit after every show. Later that year, during their appearance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", he bribed a stagehand to load gunpowder into one of his bass drums; the stagehand used about ten times the standard amount. During the finale of "My Generation," he kicked the drum off the riser and set off the charge. The intensity of the explosion singed Townshend's hair and embedded a piece of cymbal in Moon's arm. A clip of the incident became the opening scene for the film "The Kids Are Alright". Although Moon was known for kicking over his drum kit, Haynes claimed that it was done carefully and the kit rarely needed repairs. However, stands and foot pedals were frequently replaced; the drummer "would go through them like a knife through butter." While Moon generally said he was only interested in working with the Who, he participated in outside musical projects. In 1966 he worked with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, pianist Nicky Hopkins and future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones on the instrumental "Beck's Bolero," which was the B-side to "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and appeared on the album "Truth". Moon also played timpani on another track, a cover of Jerome Kern's "Ol' Man River." He was credited on the album as "You Know Who." Moon may have inspired the name for Led Zeppelin. When he briefly considered leaving the Who in 1966, he spoke with Entwistle and Page about forming a supergroup. Moon (or Entwistle) remarked that a particular suggestion had gone down like a "lead zeppelin" (a play on "lead balloon"). Although the supergroup was never formed, Page remembered the phrase and later adapted it as the name of his new band. The Beatles became friends with Moon, leading to occasional collaborations. In 1967, he contributed backing vocals to "All You Need Is Love." On 15 December 1969, Moon joined John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band for a live performance at the Lyceum Theatre in London for a UNICEF charity concert. In 1972 the performance was released as a companion disc to Lennon and Ono's album, "Some Time in New York City". Moon's friendship with Entwistle led to an appearance on "Smash Your Head Against the Wall", Entwistle's first solo album and the first by a member of the Who. Moon did not play drums on the album; Jerry Shirley did, with Moon providing percussion. "Rolling Stone's" John Hoegel appreciated Entwistle's decision not to let Moon drum, saying that it distanced his album from the familiar sound of the Who. Moon became involved in solo work when he moved to Los Angeles during the mid-1970s. In 1974, Track Records-MCA released a Moon solo single covering the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry, Baby" and "Teenage Idol." The next year he released his only solo album, entitled "Two Sides of the Moon". Although it featured Moon on vocals, he played drums on only three tracks; most of the drumming was left to others (including Ringo Starr, session musicians Curly Smith and Jim Keltner and actor-musician Miguel Ferrer). The album was received poorly by critics. "NME's" Roy Carr wrote, "Moonie, if you didn't have talent, I wouldn't care; but you have, which is why I'm not about to accept "Two Sides of the Moon"." Dave Marsh, reviewing the album in "Rolling Stone", wrote: "There isn't any legitimate reason for this album's existence." During one of his few televised solo drum performances (for ABC's "Wide World"), Moon played a five-minute drum solo dressed as a cat on transparent acrylic drums filled with water and goldfish. When asked by an audience member what would happen to the kit, he joked that "even the best drummers get hungry." His performance was not appreciated by animal lovers, several of whom called the station with complaints. In the 2007 documentary film, "", Daltrey and Townshend reminisced about Moon's talent for dressing as (and embodying) a variety of characters. They remembered his dream of getting out of music and becoming a Hollywood film actor, although Daltrey did not think Moon had the patience and work ethic required by a professional actor. Who manager Bill Curbishley agreed that Moon "wasn't disciplined enough to actually turn up or commit to doing the stuff." Nevertheless, the drummer landed several acting roles. His first was in 1971, a cameo in Frank Zappa's "200 Motels" as a nun afraid of dying from a drug overdose. Although it only took 13 days to film, fellow cast member Howard Kaylan remembers Moon spending off-camera time at the Kensington Garden Hotel bar instead of sleeping. Moon's next film role was J.D. Clover, drummer for the fictional Stray Cats at a holiday camp during the early days of British rock 'n' roll, in 1973's "That'll Be the Day". He reprised the role for the film's 1974 sequel, "Stardust", and played Uncle Ernie in Ken Russell's 1975 film adaptation of "Tommy". Moon's last film appearance was in 1978's "Sextette" with Starr and Alice Cooper. This was the last film to star Mae West. Moon led a destructive lifestyle. During the Who's early days he began taking amphetamines, and in a "New Musical Express" interview said his favourite food was "French Blues." He spent his share of the band's income quickly, and was a regular at London clubs such as the Speakeasy and the Bag O' Nails; the combination of pills and alcohol escalated into alcoholism and drug addiction later in his life. "[We] went through the same stages everybody goes through – the bloody drug corridor," he later reflected. "Drinking suited the group a lot better." According to Townshend, Moon began destroying hotel rooms when the Who stayed at the Berlin Hilton on tour in late 1966. In addition to hotel rooms, Moon destroyed friends' homes and even his own, throwing furniture from upper-storey windows and lighting fires. Andrew Neill and Matthew Kent estimated that his destruction of hotel toilets and plumbing cost as much as £300,000 ($500,000). These acts, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol, were Moon's way of demonstrating his eccentricity; he enjoyed shocking the public with them. Longtime friend and personal assistant Butler observed, "He was trying to make people laugh and be Mr Funny, he wanted people to love him and enjoy him, but he would go so far. Like a train ride you couldn't stop." In a limousine on the way to the airport Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying "I forgot something." At the hotel he ran back to his room, grabbed the television and threw it out the window into the swimming pool below. He then jumped back into the limo, saying "I nearly forgot." Fletcher argues that The Who's lengthy break between the end of their 1972 European tour and the beginning of the "Quadrophenia" sessions devastated Moon's health, as without the rigours of lengthy shows and regular touring that had previously kept him in shape, his hard-partying lifestyle took a greater toll on his body. He did not keep a drum kit or practise at Tara, and began to deteriorate physically as a result of his lifestyle. Around the same time he became a severe alcoholic, starting the day with drinks and changing from the "lovable boozer" he presented himself as to a "boorish drunk". David Puttnam recalled, "The drinking went from being a joke to being a problem. On "That'll Be the Day" it was social drinking. By the time "Stardust" came round it was hard drinking." Moon's favourite stunt was to flush powerful explosives down toilets. According to Fletcher, Moon's toilet pyrotechnics began in 1965 when he purchased a case of 500 cherry bombs. He moved from cherry bombs to M-80 fireworks to sticks of dynamite, which became his explosive of choice. "All that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable," Moon remembered. "I never realised dynamite was so powerful. I'd been used to penny bangers before." He quickly developed a reputation for destroying bathrooms and blowing up toilets. The destruction mesmerised him, and enhanced his public image as rock's premier hell-raiser. Tony Fletcher wrote that "no toilet in a hotel or changing room was safe" until Moon had exhausted his supply of explosives. Pete Townshend walked into the bathroom of Moon's hotel room and noticed the toilet had disappeared, with only the S-bend remaining. The drummer explained that since a cherry bomb was about to explode, he had thrown it down the loo and showed Townshend the case of cherry bombs. "And of course from that moment on," the guitarist remembered, "we got thrown out of every hotel we ever stayed in." Entwistle recalled being close to Moon on tour: "I suppose we were two of a kind"... We shared a room on the road and got up to no good." Consequently, both were often involved in blowing up toilets. In a 1981 "Los Angeles Times" interview he admitted, "A lot of times when Keith was blowing up toilets I was standing behind him with the matches." In Alabama, Moon and Entwistle loaded a toilet with cherry bombs after being denied room service. According to Entwistle, "That toilet was just dust all over the walls by the time we checked out. The management brought our suitcases down to the gig and said: 'Don't come back ... '" A hotel manager called Moon in his room and asked him to lower the volume on his cassette recorder because it made "too much noise." In response the drummer asked him up to his room, excused himself to go to the bathroom, put a lit stick of dynamite in the toilet and shut the bathroom door. Upon returning, he asked the manager to stay for a moment, as he wanted to explain something. Following the explosion, Moon turned the recorder back on and said, "That, dear boy, was noise. This is the 'Oo." On 23 August 1967, on tour opening for Herman's Hermits, Moon celebrated what he said was his 21st birthday (although it was thought at the time to be his 20th) at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. Entwistle later said, "He decided that if it was a publicised fact that it was his 21st birthday, he would be able to drink." The drummer immediately began drinking upon his arrival in Flint. The Who spent the afternoon visiting local radio stations with Nancy Lewis (then the band's publicist), and Moon posed for a photo outside the hotel in front of a "Happy Birthday Keith" sign put up by the hotel management. According to Lewis, Moon was drunk by the time the band went onstage at Atwood Stadium. Returning to the hotel, Moon started a food fight and soon cake began flying through the air. The drummer knocked out part of his front tooth; at the hospital, doctors could not give him an anaesthetic (due to his inebriation) before removing the remainder of the tooth. Back at the hotel a mêlée erupted; fire extinguishers were set off, guests (and objects) thrown into the swimming pool and a piano reportedly destroyed. The chaos ended only when police arrived with guns drawn. A furious Holiday Inn management presented the groups with a bill for $24,000, which was reportedly settled by Herman's Hermits tour manager Edd McCann. Townshend claimed that the Who were banned for life from all of the hotel's properties, but Fletcher wrote that they stayed at a Holiday Inn in Rochester, New York a week later. He also disputed a widely held belief that Moon drove a Lincoln Continental into the hotel's swimming pool, as claimed by the drummer in a 1972 "Rolling Stone" interview. Moon's lifestyle began to undermine his health and reliability. During the 1973 Quadrophenia tour, at the Who's debut US date at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Moon ingested a mixture of tranquillisers and brandy. During the concert, Moon passed out on his drum kit during "Won't Get Fooled Again." The band stopped playing, and a group of roadies carried Moon offstage. They gave him a shower and an injection of cortisone, sending him back onstage after a thirty-minute delay. Moon passed out again during "Magic Bus," and was again removed from the stage. The band continued without him for several songs before Townshend asked, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good?" A drummer in the audience, Scot Halpin, came up and played the rest of the show. During the opening date of the band's March 1976 US tour at the Boston Garden, Moon passed out over his drum kit after two numbers and the show was rescheduled. The next evening Moon systematically destroyed everything in his hotel room, cut himself doing so and passed out. He was discovered by manager Bill Curbishley, who took him to a hospital, telling him "I'm gonna get the doctor to get you nice and fit, so you're back within two days. Because I want to break your fucking jaw ... You have fucked this band around so many times and I'm not having it any more." Doctors told Curbishley that if he had not intervened, Moon would have bled to death. Marsh suggested that at this point Daltrey and Entwistle seriously considered firing Moon, but decided that doing so would make his life worse. Entwistle has said that Moon and the Who reached their live peak in 1975–76. At the end of the 1976 US tour in Miami that August, the drummer, delirious, was treated in Hollywood Memorial Hospital for eight days. The group was concerned that he would be unable to complete the last leg of the tour, which ended at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 21 October (Moon's last public show). During the band's recording sabbatical between 1976 and 1978, Moon gained a considerable amount of weight. By the time of the Who's invitation-only show at the Gaumont State Cinema on 15 December 1977 for "The Kids are Alright", Moon was visibly overweight and had difficulty sustaining a solid performance. After recording "Who Are You", Townshend refused to follow the album with a tour unless Moon stopped drinking, and said that if Moon's playing did not improve he would be fired. Daltrey later denied threatening to fire him, but said that by this time the drummer was out of control. Because the Who's early stage act relied on smashing instruments, and owing to Moon's enthusiasm for damaging hotels, the group were in debt for much of the 1960s; Entwistle estimated they lost about £150,000. Even when the group became relatively financially stable after "Tommy", Moon continued to rack up debts. He bought a number of cars and gadgets, and flirted with bankruptcy. Moon's recklessness with money reduced his profit from the group's 1975 UK tour to £47.35 (). Before the 1998 release of Tony Fletcher's "Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon", Moon's date of birth was presumed to be 23 August 1947. This erroneous date appeared in several otherwise-reliable sources, including the Townshend-authorised biography "Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who". The incorrect date had been supplied by Moon in interviews before it was corrected by Fletcher to 1946. Moon's first serious relationship was with Kim Kerrigan, whom he started dating in January 1965 after she saw the Who play at Le Disque a Go! Go! in Bournemouth. By the end of the year, she discovered she was pregnant; her parents, who were furious, met with the Moons to discuss their options and she moved into the Moon family home in Wembley. They were married on 17 March 1966 at Brent Registry Office, and their daughter Amanda was born on 12 July. The marriage (and child) were kept secret from the press until May 1968. Moon was occasionally violent towards Kim: "if we went out after I had Mandy," she later said, "if someone talked to me, he'd lose it. We'd go home and he'd start a fight with me." He loved Amanda, but his absences due to touring and fondness for practical jokes made their relationship uneasy when she was very young. "He had no idea how to be a father," Kim said. "He was too much of a child himself." From 1971 to 1975 Moon owned Tara, a home in Chertsey where he initially lived with his wife and daughter. The Moons entertained extravagantly at home, and owned a number of cars. Jack McCullogh, then working for Track Records (The Who's label), recalls Moon ordering him to purchase a milk float to store in the garage at Tara. In 1973 Kim, convinced that neither she nor anyone else could moderate Keith's behaviour, left her husband and took Amanda; she sued for divorce in 1975 and later married Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan. Marsh believes that Moon never truly recovered from the loss of his family. Butler agrees; despite his relationship with Annette Walter-Lax, he believes that Kim was the only woman Moon loved. McLagan commented that Moon "couldn't handle it." Moon would harass them with phone calls, and on one occasion before Kim sued for divorce, he invited McLagan for a drink at a Richmond pub and sent several "heavies" to break into McLagan's home on Fife Road and look for Kim, forcing her to hide in a walk-in closet. She died in a car accident in Austin, Texas, on 2 August 2006. In 1975 Moon began a relationship with Swedish model Annette Walter-Lax, who later said that Moon was "so sweet when he was sober, that I was just living with him in the hope that he would kick all this craziness." She begged Malibu neighbour Larry Hagman to check Moon into a clinic to dry out (as he had attempted to do before), but when doctors recorded Moon's chemical intake at breakfast – a bottle of champagne, Courvoisier and amphetamines – they concluded that there was no hope for his rehabilitation. Moon enjoyed being the life of the party. Bill Curbishley remembered that "he wouldn't walk into any room and just listen. He was an attention seeker and he had to have it." Early in the Who's career, Moon got to know the Beatles. He would join them at clubs, forming a particularly close friendship with Ringo Starr. Moon later became friends with Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band members Vivian Stanshall and "Legs" Larry Smith, and the trio would drink and play practical jokes together. Smith remembers one occasion where he and Moon tore apart a pair of trousers, with an accomplice later looking for one-legged trousers. In the early 1970s Moon helped Stanshall with his "Radio Flashes" radio show for BBC Radio 1, filling in for the vacationing John Peel (see Rawlinson End Radio Flashes). Subsequently, in 1973, Moon himself filled in for John Peel in "A Touch of the Moon", a series of four programmes produced by John Walters. Guitarist Joe Walsh enjoyed socialising with Moon. In an interview with "Guitar World" magazine, he recalled that the drummer "taught me how to break things." In 1974, Moon struck up a friendship with actor Oliver Reed while working on the film version of "Tommy". Although Reed matched Moon drink for drink, he appeared on set the next morning ready to perform; Moon, on the other hand, would cost several hours of filming time. Reed later said that Moon "showed me the way to insanity." Peter "Dougal" Butler began working for the Who in 1967, becoming Moon's personal assistant the following year to help him stay out of trouble. He remembers managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp saying, "We trust you with Keith but if you ever want any time off, for a holiday or some sort of rest, let us know and we'll pay for it." Butler never took them up on the offer. He followed Moon when the drummer relocated to Los Angeles, but felt that the drug culture prevalent at the time was bad for Moon: "My job was to have eyes in the back of my head." Townshend agreed, saying that by 1975 Butler had "no influence over him whatsoever." Although he was a loyal companion to Moon, the lifestyle eventually became too much for him; he phoned Curbishley, saying that they needed to move back to England or one of them might die. Butler quit in 1978, and later wrote of his experiences in a book entitled "Full Moon: The Amazing Rock and Roll Life of Keith Moon". On 4 January 1970 Moon accidentally killed his friend, driver and bodyguard, Neil Boland, outside the Red Lion pub in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Pub patrons had begun to attack his Bentley and Moon, drunk, began driving to escape them. During the fracas, he hit Boland. After an investigation, the coroner ruled Boland's death an accident and Moon received an absolute discharge after being charged with a number of offences. Those close to Moon said that he was haunted by Boland's death for the rest of his life. According to Pamela Des Barres, Moon had nightmares (which woke them both) about the incident and said he had no right to be alive. In mid-1978 Moon moved into Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place (later Curzon Square), Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, renting from Harry Nilsson. Cass Elliot had died there four years earlier, at the age of 32; Nilsson was concerned about letting the flat to Moon, believing it was cursed. Townshend disagreed, assuring him that "lightning wouldn't strike the same place twice". After moving in, Moon began a prescribed course of Heminevrin (clomethiazole, a sedative) to alleviate his alcohol withdrawal symptoms. He wanted to get sober, but due to his fear of psychiatric hospitals he wanted to do it at home. Clomethiazole is discouraged for unsupervised detoxification because of its addictive potential, its tendency to induce tolerance, and its risk of death when mixed with alcohol. The pills were prescribed by Geoffrey Dymond, a physician who was unaware of Moon's lifestyle. Dymond prescribed a bottle of 100 pills, instructing him to take one pill when he felt a craving for alcohol but not more than three pills per day. By September 1978 Moon was having difficulty playing the drums, according to roadie Dave "Cy" Langston. After seeing Moon in the studio trying to overdub drums for "The Kids Are Alright", he said, "After two or three hours, he got more and more sluggish, he could barely hold a drum stick." On 6 September, Moon and Walter-Lax were guests of Paul and Linda McCartney at a preview of a film, "The Buddy Holly Story". After dining with the McCartneys at Peppermint Park in Covent Garden, Moon and Walter-Lax returned to their flat. He watched a film ("The Abominable Dr. Phibes"), and asked Walter-Lax to cook him steak and eggs. When she objected, Moon replied, "If you don't like it, you can fuck off!" These were his last words. Moon then took 32 clomethiazole tablets. When Walter-Lax checked on him the following afternoon, she discovered he was dead. Curbishley phoned the flat at around 5 pm looking for Moon, and Dymond gave him the news. Curbishley told Townshend, who informed the rest of the band. Entwistle was giving an interview to French journalists when he was interrupted by a phone call with the news of Moon's death. Trying to tactfully and quickly end the interview, he broke down and wept when the journalist asked him about the Who's future plans. Moon's death came shortly after the release of "Who Are You". On the album cover, he is straddling a chair to hide his weight gain; the words "Not to be taken away" are on the back of the chair. Police determined that there were 32 clomethiazole pills in Moon's system. Six were digested, sufficient to cause his death; the other 26 were undigested when he died. Max Glatt, an authority on alcoholism, wrote in "The Sunday Times" that Moon should never have been given the drug. Moon was cremated on 13 September 1978 at Golders Green Crematorium in London, and his ashes were scattered in its Gardens of Remembrance. Townshend convinced Daltrey and Entwistle to carry on touring as The Who, although he later said that it was his means of coping with Moon's death and "completely irrational, bordering on insane". AllMusic's Bruce Eder said, "When Keith Moon died, the Who carried on and were far more competent and reliable musically, but that wasn't what sold rock records." In November 1978, Faces drummer Kenney Jones joined the Who. Townshend later said that Jones "was one of the few British drummers who could fill Keith's shoes"; Daltrey was less enthusiastic, saying that Jones "wasn't the right style". Keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who had rehearsed with Moon earlier in the year, joined the live band as an unofficial member. Jones left the Who in 1988, and drummer Simon Phillips (who praised Moon's ability to drum over the backing track of "Baba O'Riley") toured with the band the following year. Since 1996, the Who's drummer has been Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey, who had been given a drum kit by Moon (whom he called "Uncle Keith"). Starkey had previously toured in 1994 with Roger Daltrey. The London 2012 Summer Olympic Committee contacted Curbishley about Moon performing at the games, 34 years after his death. In an interview with "The Times" Curbishley quipped, "I emailed back saying Keith now resides in Golders Green Crematorium, having lived up to the Who's anthemic line 'I hope I die before I get old' ... If they have a round table, some glasses and candles, we might contact him." Moon's drumming has been praised by critics. Author Nick Talevski described him as "the greatest drummer in rock," adding that "he was to the drums what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar." Holly George-Warren, editor and author of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years", said: "With the death of Keith Moon in 1978, rock arguably lost its single greatest drummer." According to Eder, "Moon, with his manic, lunatic side, and his life of excessive drinking, partying, and other indulgences, probably represented the youthful, zany side of rock & roll, as well as its self-destructive side, better than anyone else on the planet." "The New Book of Rock Lists" ranked Moon No. 1 on its list of "50 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummers," and he was ranked No. 2 on the 2011 "Rolling Stone" "Best Drummers of All Time" readers' poll. In 2016, the same magazine ranked him No. 2 in their list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, behind John Bonham. Adam Budofsky, editor of "Drummer" magazine, said that Moon's performances on "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" "represent a perfect balance of technique and passion" and "there's been no drummer who's touched his unique slant on rock and rhythm since." Several rock drummers, including Neil Peart and Dave Grohl, have cited Moon as an influence. The Jam paid homage to Moon on the second single from their third album, "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"; the B-side of the single is a Who cover ("So Sad About Us"), and the back cover of the record has a photo of Moon's face. The Jam's single was released about a month after Moon's death. Animal, one of Jim Henson's Muppet characters, may have been based on Keith Moon due to their similar hair, eyebrows, personality and drumming style. Jazz drummer Elvin Jones praised Moon's work during "Underture", as integral to the song's effect. "God bless his beautiful heart ..." Ozzy Osbourne told "Sounds" a month after the drummer's death. "People will be talking about Keith Moon 'til they die, man. Someone somewhere will say, 'Remember Keith Moon?' Who will remember Joe Bloggs who got killed in a car crash? No one. He's dead, so what? He didn't do anything to talk of." Clem Burke of Blondie has said "Early on all I cared about was Keith Moon and the Who. When I was about eleven or twelve, my favourite part of drum lessons was the last ten minutes, when I'd get to sit at the drumset and play along to my favourite record. I'd bring in 'My Generation'. At the end of the song, the drums go nuts. 'My Generation' was a turning point for me because before that it was all the Charlie Watts and Ringo type of thing." In 1998 Tony Fletcher published a biography of Moon, "Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon", in the United Kingdom. The phrase "Dear Boy" became a catchphrase of Moon's when, influenced by Kit Lambert, he began affecting a pompous English accent. In 2000, the book was released in the US as "Moon (The Life and Death of a Rock Legend)". "Q Magazine" called the book "horrific and terrific reading", and "Record Collector" said it was "one of rock's great biographies." In 2008, English Heritage declined an application for Moon to be awarded a blue plaque. Speaking to "The Guardian", Christopher Frayling said they "decided that bad behaviour and overdosing on various substances wasn't a sufficient qualification." The UK's Heritage Foundation disagreed with the decision, presenting a plaque which was unveiled on 9 March 2009. Daltrey, Townshend, Robin Gibb and Moon's mother Kit were present at the ceremony. Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. His drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. He was posthumously inducted into the "Modern Drummer"
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Delos D. Harriman"
of his life, Harriman decides to clandestinely arrange to go to the Moon himself. Harriman meets two spacemen, Captain James (Mac) McIntyre and Engineer Charles (Charlie) Cummings, who are down on their luck and giving rocketship rides at county fairs. He secretly hires them and pays to have an old orbital ship purchased and upgraded for a flight to the Moon. To finance this, he liquidates his financial holdings without explanation. His actions cause his nieces and nephews to take him to court for a competency hearing. Harriman fails to show up for the hearing and joins the two spacemen as they prepare the ship at a secret desert location. A deputy marshal locates them, but is knocked out by Charlie Cummings. As he comes to he sees them making a hurried departure in the modified ship. The spacemen give the old man his last wish. He barely survives the trip, and dies shortly after landing. Charlie buries Harriman's space-suited body on the surface of the Moon and scrawls his epitaph on the tag from an oxygen bottle. It is Robert Louis Stevenson's "Requiem", which is inscribed on his own headstone in Samoa. <poem>Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie: Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will! This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.</poem> Charlie and Mac then abandon the ship and begin the thirty-mile trip to Luna City. In the later publication, "The Man Who Sold the Moon", Harriman is in his prime. Determined to carry out his vision of a private-venture rocket to the Moon, he buys, bullies, finagles, and deceives anyone who stands in his way. His partners, who respect his successes if not his methods, think of him as the last of the old robber barons, or perhaps the first of the new ones. At the end of that story, published later than its sequel, he is left behind as the first colonization team leaves for the Moon. Harriman is long married, but his marriage takes second place to his business. When raising money for his venture, he warns Mrs. Harriman that they may close down their extensive underground apartments (built for safety during the so-called "Crazy Years") and live only in the above ground parts of the house. He also warns her that she may have to relearn the art of running a house without servants. Heinlein's last novel, "To Sail Beyond the Sunset", consists of the memoirs of Maureen Johnson, mother of Lazarus Long, and thus includes considerable detail about the twentieth century of Lazarus's home timeline. We learn that Maureen was involved in Harriman's Moon project as the mistress of his partner George Strong, a director of Harriman's corporation, and a last-minute benefactor. While the character only appears in the three Heinlein works, the name "Harriman" appears throughout Heinlein's "Future History" stories, in the names of various foundations and trusts founded by the character. Heinlein's choice of the name 'Harriman' may be in reference, or very loosely inspired by, E.H. Harriman (the railroad baron) or Averell Harriman (businessman and diplomat). The Harriman family was particularly well-known at the time of Heinlein's writing, with Averill Harriman having held several high profile government positions during World War II. Delos D. Harriman Delos David Harriman, known as D.D. Harriman, is a character in the fiction of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein. He is an entrepreneurial businessman who masterminded
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Warren Moon"
the Oilers. Over his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named to nine Pro Bowls and made seven playoff appearances. Following ten seasons with the Oilers, he had brief multiple-year stints with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Chiefs before retiring at age 44. At the time of his retirement, Moon held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. He was less successful in the NFL postseason, never advancing beyond the division round of the playoffs, although he won five Grey Cups in the CFL. Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor. Born in Los Angeles, California, Moon was the middle child amongst six sisters. His father, Harold, was a laborer and died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old. His mother, Pat, was a nurse, and Warren learned to cook, sew, iron and housekeep to help take care of the family. He decided early on that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work the rest of the year to help the family. He chose to play football as a quarterback since he found that he could throw a football longer, harder, and straighter than anyone he knew. He enrolled at Alexander Hamilton High School, using the address of one of his mother's friends to gain the advantages of a better academic and athletic reputation than his neighborhood high school could offer. He had little playing time until his junior year, when he took over as varsity starting quarterback. In his senior season in 1973, they reached the city playoffs, and Moon was named to the all-city team. Moon attended two-year West Los Angeles College, and was a record-setting quarterback as a freshman in 1974, but only a handful of four-year colleges showed interest in signing him. Offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington in Seattle, however, was eager to sign the rifle-armed Moon. Adamant that he play quarterback, Moon considered himself to be perhaps a slightly above-average athlete who lacked either the size, speed, or strength to play other positions. Under new head coach Don James, Washington was in Moon's first two seasons as a starter, but as a senior in 1977, he led the Huskies to the Pac-8 title and a upset win in the Rose Bowl over Michigan. Moon was named the game's Most Valuable Player on the strength of two short touchdown runs and a third-quarter 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert "Spider" Gaines. Despite his collegiate success, Moon went unselected in the twelve-round NFL Draft. With no takers in the NFL, he turned to the Canadian Football League. Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, where he and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties and helped lead the Eskimos to a record five consecutive Grey Cup victories in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982. Moon won the offensive Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award in the 1980 and 1982 games, and became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards in 1982. In his final CFL season of 1983, he threw for a league record 5,648 yards and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. In his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led his team to victory in 9 of 10 postseason games. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Eskimos' Wall of Honour. In 2006, he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN. Moon's decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services, won by the Houston Oilers, led by Hugh Campbell, his head coach for his first five seasons in Edmonton. Gifford Nielsen—the starting quarterback in 1983—retired after Moon joined the team, stating that Moon becoming the starter was inevitable. Moon had a difficult adjustment period, but threw for a franchise-record 3,338 yards in his first season in 1984, but Campbell was just at the helm and did not finish the 1985 season. When new head coach Jerry Glanville found ways to best use Moon's strong arm in 1986, the team began having success. In the strike-marred 1987 season, the Oilers posted a record, their first winning season since 1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon passed for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Prior to the 1989 season, Moon signed a five-year, $10-million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at that time. In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), and tied Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game. The following year, he again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, he joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions. In 1992, Moon played only eleven games due to injuries, but the Oilers still managed to achieve a 10–6 record, including a victory over the Buffalo Bills, in the final game of the season. Two weeks later, the Oilers faced the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Aided by Moon's 222 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, Houston built up a halftime lead and increased it to when Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The Bills stormed back with five unanswered second-half touchdowns to take a lead with time running out in the final period. Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game at 38 and force overtime, but threw an interception in the extra period that set up Buffalo kicker Steve Christie's game-winning field goal. The Bills' rally from a 32-point deficit was the largest comeback victory in NFL history and is now known in NFL lore simply as the Comeback. Moon finished the game with 36 completions for 371 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His 36 completions was an NFL postseason record. The 1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon, but was his last with the team. Houston went and won the AFC Central division crown, but lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team had become the Tennessee Titans. He also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today. Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the season, where he passed for over 4,200 yards in each of his first two seasons, but missed half of the 1996 season with a broken collarbone. The Vikings' starting quarterback job was given to Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $3.8-million pay cut to serve as Johnson's backup. Moon then signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent, made the Pro Bowl, and was named Pro Bowl MVP. After a two-year stint in the Pacific Northwest, an aging Moon signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in 1999. He played in only three games in two years with the Chiefs and announced his retirement at age 44 in January 2001. Combining his NFL and CFL stats, Moon's numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals: 5,357 completions in 9,205 attempts for 70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns. Even if his Canadian Football League statistics are discounted, Moon's NFL career numbers are still exceptional: 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdown passes, 1,736 yards rushing, and 22 rushing touchdowns. Warren Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered (56) and most fumbles made (162), but this was surpassed by Brett Favre in 2010. Moon was in the top five all-time when he retired for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, and pass completions. Moon was named to 9 Pro Bowl games (1988–1995, 1997). He works as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks on both TV and radio. On radio, he is a play-by-play announcer with former Seattle Seahawks receiver Steve Raible. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming both the first Canadian Football Hall of Fame player, first undrafted quarterback, and first African-American quarterback honored; he was elected in his first year of eligibility. The Tennessee Titans retired his number at halftime on October 1, 2006 vs the Dallas Cowboys. Moon won his first Super Bowl ring in 2014 as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks. Moon has mentored Cam Newton, the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, alluding to their common experiences as prominent African-American quarterbacks. He was suspended indefinitely from his sportscaster position after he was sued, in December 2017, for sexual harassment. Warren Moon remains statistically one of the best players ever for the Oilers/Titans franchise. 's NFL off-season, Moon still held at least 37 Titans franchise records, including: Moon married Felicia Hendricks, whom he had known since they were 16 years old, in 1981. In 1994, a former Vikings cheerleader accused Moon of sexually harassing her and the case was settled out of court. In 1995, Moon was arrested after an incident with his wife at their home. Moon was acquitted after his wife testified that she initiated violence and that he was trying to restrain her. They divorced in 2001. They have four children together, including a daughter, Blair, who was a member of Tulane's women's volleyball team. Moon has been married to Mandy Ritter since 2005. Moon appeared in the film "Any Given Sunday" in a cameo role as a head coach from New York. In 2007, Moon was arrested for suspicion of DUI in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. The charges were reduced to first-degree negligent driving after Moon registered breath-alcohol levels below 0.07 at the police station. Moon pleaded guilty to the negligent driving charge, and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service. Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Profile (comics)"
committee strikes too soon and the plot reinvigurates a broken Moon Knight. In a later occasion, Moon Knight has leaned on the Profile for help in finding his sidekick-turned-enemy Midnight. The Profile has attempted to further curry favor with Marc Spector by giving him advice on how to win back his girlfriend Marlene. He also aided Moon Knight by providing information that terrified a SHIELD psychologist into approving Spector's registration as a superhero, but later he bailed one of the Whyos out of jail and the gang member was soon seen in the employ of Norman Osborn. During the "Dark Reign" storyline where he is brought by The Hood (in the presence of Norman Osborn) to help him in the hunting of Marc Spector. During the "Shadowland" storyline, Daredevil (who had just became the leader of the Hand) hires Profile to fight Moon Knight. He is assisted in this task by a second avatar of Khonshu. It turns out that the second avatar of Khonshu that's helping Profile is actually Moon Knight's brother Randall Spector in the alias of Shadow Knight. The Profile is able to divine people's backgrounds and identify character traits and preferences simply by looking at them. This allows him to accurately predict their reactions to a variety of situations. "Moon Knight" (Vol. 4) #4 suggested that he may be a mutant and confirms that he is not immune to his own powers. In an interview regarding Marvel's "Shadowland" crossover, writer Greg Hurwitz characterized the nature of the Profile's powers as that of "... a brilliant, on-the-spot psychologist who can profile anyone he looks at...". However, in the Heroic Age: Villains special, he was implied to perhaps indeed be a mutant with the ability "...to see anyone's needs, wants, and desires...". His true status has yet to be confirmed at this time. The Profile's power manifests as almost-psychedelic art and words surrounding a person, identifying their secrets, idiosyncrasies and other traits similar to a virtual-reality interface. His eyes seemed to be physically identifiable as "mutated" in his original appearance, but have since not been shown as such. Although his powers are useful against humans, mutants, science experiments, and technology-powered superheroes, the Profile's accuracy is seriously compromised by genuine supernatural influence, such as that of Moon Knight's patron Khonshu. When Marc Spector donned his Moon Knight vestments, The Profile was stricken with fear when looking at him, but could read him like a book when in his civilian attire/identity. Profile (comics) The Profile is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Charlie Huston and penciler David Finch, and first appeared in "Moon Knight" (Vol. 3) #2 (July 2006) in the second chapter of "The Bottom." In "The Bottom", The Profile has been hired by The New Committee to assist them in their plans to turn Moon Knight into their personal assassin. Detached and somewhat amoral, he seems dismissive of Moon Knight as a hero. His plan was
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Mythological anecdotes of Ganesha"
Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent. History about the birth of Ganesha are found in the later Puranas, composed from about 600 CE onwards. References to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Purnasa are considered to be later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries. While Ganesha is popularly considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths relate several different versions of his birth. These include versions in which he is created by Shiva, by Parvati, by Shiva and Parvati, or in a mysterious manner that is later discovered by Shiva and Parvati. The family includes his brother Skanda, kartikeya. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In North India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder brother while in the South, Ganesha is considered the first born. Prior to the emergence of Ganesha, Skanda had a long and glorious history as an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when his worship declined significantly in North India. The period of this decline is concurrent with the rise of Ganesha. Several stories relate episodes of sibling rivalry between Ganesha and Skanda and may reflect historical tensions between the respective sects. Once there was a competition between Ganesha and his brother as to see who could circumambulate the three worlds faster and hence win the fruit of knowledge. Skanda went off on a journey to cover the three worlds while Ganesha simply circumambulated his parents. When asked why he did so, he answered that his parents Shiva and Parvati constituted the three worlds and was thus given the fruit of knowledge. Hindu mythology presents many stories, which explain how Ganesha obtained his elephant or "gaja" head. Often, the origin of this particular attribute is to be found in the same anecdotes which tell about his birth. The stories also reveal the origins of the enormous popularity of his cult. Devotees sometimes interpret his elephant head as indicating intelligence, discriminative power, fidelity, or other attributes thought to be had by elephants. The large elephant ears are said to denote wisdom and the ability to listen to people who seek help. Ganesha was born from saint to protect parvati The most well-known story is probably the one taken from the "Shiva Purana". The goddess Parvati had started preparing for a bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed during her bath and since Nandi was not at Kailash to keep guard of the door, Parvati took the turmeric paste (for bathing) from her body and made a form of a boy and breathed life into him. This boy was instructed by Parvati to guard the door and to not let anyone in until she finished her bath. After Shiva had come out of his meditation, he wanted to go and see Parvati but found himself being stopped by this strange boy. Shiva tried to reason with the boy saying that he was Parvati's husband but the boy did not listen and was determined to not let Shiva enter until his mother Parvati finished her bath. The boy's behavior surprised Shiva. Sensing that this was no ordinary boy, the usually peaceful Shiva decided he would have to fight the boy and in his divine fury severed the boy's head with his Trishul thereby killing him instantly. When Parvati learned of this, she was so enraged and insulted that she decided to destroy the entire Creation. At her call, she summoned all of her ferocious multi-armed forms, the Yoginis arose from her body and threatened to destroy all. Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had his issues with this, and pleaded that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two conditions were met: one, that the boy be brought back to life, and two, that he be forever worshipped before all the other gods. Shiva, having cooled down by this time, agreed to Parvati’s conditions. He sent his Shiva-dutas out with orders to bring back the head of the first creature that is lying dead with its head facing North. The Shiva-dutas soon returned with the head of a strong and powerful elephant Gajasura which Lord Brahma placed onto boy's body. Breathing new life into him, he was declared as Gajanana and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods, and leader of all the ganas (classes of beings), Ganapati. Once, there existed an Asura (demon) with all the characteristics of an elephant, called Gajasura, who was undergoing a penitence (tapas). Shiva, satisfied by this austerity, decided to grant him, as a reward, whatever gift he desired. The demon wished that he could emanate fire continually from his own body so that no one could ever dare to approach him. The Lord granted him his request. Gajasura continued his penitence and Shiva, who appeared in front of him from time to time, asked him once again what he desired. The demon responded: "I desire that You inhabit my stomach." Shiva agreed. Parvati sought him everywhere without results. As a last recourse, she went to her brother Vishnu, asking him to find her husband. He, who knows everything, reassured her: "Don't worry, dear sister, your husband is Bhola Shankara and promptly grants to his devotees whatever they ask of him, without regard for the consequences; for this reason, I think he has gotten himself into some trouble. I will find out what has happened." Then Vishnu, the omniscient director of the cosmic game, staged a small comedy. He transformed Nandi (the bull of Shiva) into a dancing bull and conducted him in front of Gajasura, assuming, at the same time, the appearance of a flutist. The enchanting performance of the bull sent the demon into ecstasies, and he asked the flutist to tell him what he desired. The musical Vishnu responded: "Can you give me that which I ask?" Gajasura replied: "Who do you take me for? I can immediately give you whatever you ask." The flutist then said: "If that's so, liberate Shiva from your stomach." Gajasura understood then that this must have been no other than Vishnu himself, the only one who could have known that secret and he threw himself at his feet. Having agreed to liberate Shiva, Gajasura asks him for two last gifts: "I have been blessed by you with many gifts; my last requests are that everyone should remember me adoring my head and you should wear my skin." A lesser known story from the "Brahma Vaivarta Purana" narrates a different version of Ganesha's birth. On the insistence of Shiva, Parvati fasted for a year ("punyaka vrata") to propitiate Vishnu so that he would grant her a son. Vishnu, after the completion of the sacrifice, announced that he would incarnate himself as her son in every kalpa (eon). Accordingly, Ganesha was born to Parvati as a charming infant. This event was celebrated with great enthusiasm and all the gods were invited to take a look at the baby. However Shani (Saturn), the son of Surya, hesitated to look at the baby since Shani was cursed with the gaze of destruction. However Parvati insisted that he look at the baby, which Shani did, and immediately the infant's head fell off. Seeing Shiva and Parvati grief-stricken, Vishnu mounted on Garuda, his divine eagle, and rushed to the banks of the "Pushpa-Bhadra" river, from where he brought back the head of a young elephant. The head of the elephant was joined with the headless body of Parvati's son, thus reviving him. The infant was named Ganesha and all the Gods blessed Ganesha and wished Him power and prosperity. Another tale of Ganesha's birth relates to an incident in which Shiva slew Aditya(Lord sun), the son of a sage. Shiva restored life to the dead boy, but this could not pacify the outraged sage Kashyapa, who was one of the seven great Rishis. Kashyap cursed Shiva and declared that Shiva's son would lose his head. When this happened, the head of Indra's elephant was used to replace it. Still another tale states that on one occasion, Parvati's used bath-water was thrown into the Ganges, and this water was drunk by the elephant-headed Goddess Malini, who gave birth to a baby with four arms and five elephant heads. The river goddess Ganga claimed him as her son, but Shiva declared him to be Parvati's son, reduced his five heads to one and enthroned him as the "controller of obstacles" (Vignesha). There are various anecdotes which explain how Ganesha broke off one of his tusks. Devotees sometimes say that his single tusk indicates his ability to overcome all forms of dualism. In India, an elephant with one tusk is sometimes called a "Ganesh". In the first part of the epic poem "Mahabharata", it is written that the sage Vyasa () asked Ganesha to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed, but only on the condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, without pausing. The sage, in his turn, posed the condition that Ganesha would not only have to write, but would have to understand everything that he heard before writing it down. In this way, Vyasa might recuperate a bit from his continuous talking by simply reciting a difficult verse which Ganesha could not understand. The dictation began, but in the rush of writing Ganesha's feather pen broke. He broke off a tusk and used it as a pen so that the transcription could proceed without interruption, permitting him to keep his word. This is the single passage in which Ganesha appears in that epic. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the "Mahabharata", where the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote to an appendix. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is probably one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyasa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation to the text. Brown dates the story as 8th century CE, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900 CE but he maintains that it had not yet been added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also drew attention to the fact that a distinctive feature of Southern manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. One day, Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu, went to pay a visit to Shiva, but along the way he was blocked by Ganesha. Parashurama hurled himself at Ganesha with his axe and Ganesha (knowing that this axe was given to him by Shiva) allowed himself, out of respect for his father, to be struck and lost his tusk as a result. This story is heavily referenced in the 2017 game "", in which the protagonist goes on a quest to retrieve Ganesha's tusk. After coming back from the feast at Kubera's palace, Ganapati was riding on his mouse Dinka on the way home. It was a full moon that night. As he was riding, Dinka saw a snake and ran behind a bush. Ganapati fell to the ground and his stomach broke open. Ganapati started to put the food back in his stomach. The moon god saw him and started laughing loudly. Angered by this, Ganapati pronounced a curse on the moon god: "You shall be always black and never be seen by anyone". Frightened by the curse, the moon god started pleading for mercy. Ganapati said "Ok, but you shall be changing from new moon to full moon. Also if anyone sees the moon on my birthday, he or she shall not attain moksha (liberation)." The moon god kept quiet. After Ganapati had finished putting the food in his stomach, he took the snake and tied it around his belly. Then he continued going back home. There once took place a great competition between the Devas to decide who among them should be the head of the Gana (the troops of semi-gods at the service of Shiva). The competitors were required to circle the world as fast as possible and return to the Feet of Parvati. The gods took off, each on his or her own vehicle, and even Ganesha participated with enthusiasm in the race; but he was extremely heavy and was riding on Dinka, a mouse! Naturally, his pace was remarkably slow and this was a great disadvantage. He had not yet made much headway when there appeared before him the sage Narada (son of Brahma), who asked him where he was going. Ganesha was very annoyed and went into a rage because it was considered unlucky to encounter a solitary Brahmin just at the beginning of a voyage. Notwithstanding the fact that Narada was the greatest of Brahmins, son of Brahma himself, this was still a bad omen. Moreover, it wasn't considered a good sign to be asked where one was heading when one was already on the way to some destination; therefore, Ganesha felt doubly unfortunate. Nonetheless, the great Brahmin succeeded in calming his fury. Ganesha explained to him the motives for his sadness and his terrible desire to win. Narada consoled and exhorted him not to despair; he said that for a child, the whole world was embodied within the mother, so all Ganesha had to do was to circle his Parvati and he would defeat those who had more speed but less understanding. Ganesha returned to his mother, who asked him how he was able to finish the race so quickly. Ganesha told him of his encounter with Narada and of the Brahmin's counsel. Parvati, satisfied with this response, pronounced her son the winner and, from that moment on, he was acclaimed with the name of "Ganapati" (conductor of the celestial armies) and "Vinayaka" (lord of all beings). One anecdote, taken from the Purana, narrates that the treasurer of Svarga (paradise) and god of wealth, Kubera, went one day to Mount Kailash in order to receive the darshan (vision) of Shiva. Since he was extremely vain, he invited Shiva to a feast in his fabulous city, "Alakapuri", so that he could show off to him all of his wealth. Shiva smiled and said to him: "I cannot come, but you can invite my son Ganesha. But I warn you that he is a voracious eater." Unperturbed, Kubera felt confident that he could satisfy even the most insatiable appetite, like that of Ganesha, with his opulence. He took the little son of Shiva with him into his great city. There, he offered him a ceremonial bath and dressed him in sumptuous clothing. After these initial rites, the great banquet began. While the servants of Kubera were working themselves to the bone in order to bring the portions, the little Ganesha just continued to eat and eat and eat. His appetite did not decrease even after he had devoured the servings which were destined for the other guests. There was not even time to substitute one plate with another because Ganesha had already devoured everything, and with gestures of impatience, continued waiting for more food. Having devoured everything which had been prepared, Ganesha began eating the decorations, the tableware, the furniture, the chandelier. Terrified, Kubera prostrated himself in front of the little omnivorous one and supplicated him to spare him, at least, the rest of the palace. "I am hungry. If you don't give me something else to eat, I will eat you as well!", he said to Kubera. Desperate, Kubera rushed to mount Kailasa to ask Shiva to remedy the situation. The Lord then gave him a handful of roasted rice, saying that something as simple as a handful of roasted rice would satiate Ganesha, if it were offered with humility and love. Ganesha had swallowed up almost the entire city when Kubera finally arrived and humbly gave him the rice. With that, Ganesha was finally satisfied and calmed. Mythological anecdotes of Ganesha There are many anecdotes of Ganesha. Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. He is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of removing obstacles, the patron of arts
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Moon Tiger"
and is spending her last remaining moments in and out of consciousness thinking of writing a history of the world with her life as a blueprint. Her first, primordial recollections are of a father that died in World War I, and of the summer of 1920, when she was 10 and competing with her 11-year-old brother Gordon for fossils. Claudia and Gordon are, at times throughout their lives, rivals, lovers, and best friends to each other. When the two are in their late teens they begin an incestuous relationship and find it hard to relate to almost any other person their own age. Soon, however, their college careers and other events allow both to open up to the outside world, and look outward for companionship. At the outset of World War II, Gordon, a would-be economist, is sent to India, whereas Claudia sets aside her studies in history to become a war correspondent. Independent and enterprising, Claudia talks her way into a correspondent's post in Cairo, where she meets Tom Southern, a captain of an English armoured tank division, who sweeps her off her feet. Tom and Claudia fall in love during several long weekends together while he is on leave from the front. But their future together is never to materialize: shortly after their time together, the English are called to defend Egypt from Erwin Rommel's offensive at the First Battle of El Alamein, and Tom is declared missing. Later on, Claudia receives news that he has been killed. Shortly after Tom's death, Claudia finds out she is pregnant, and decides that she will have the child, even though she would have to raise it alone. It isn't to be: Claudia miscarries, and is never told whether the child she had carried was a boy or a girl. That uncertainty, along with her fear that Tom died a horrible and painful death, will haunt her for the rest of her life. After the War, Claudia and Gordon reunite, but the encounter is more friendly than passionate. Each of them has obviously been changed by the War, but they are both sparse on actual details during their conversations. Gordon marries a girl named Sylvia, whom Claudia finds insipid and boring. Claudia meanwhile met Jasper, a well connected young man with whom she goes on to have an on-and-off, rather stormy relationship, and one that Gordon openly disapproves of. In 1948 Claudia finds herself pregnant again, this time by Jasper, and while she has no intention of marrying him, she decides to have the child, Lisa. While Claudia loves Lisa, she finds she has little patience and time to care for a child, and so Lisa ultimately ends up being raised by her maternal and paternal grandmothers, who share her custody and dictate her upbringing. Not surprisingly, Lisa grows up sullen and indifferent to Claudia, and marries a respectable (boring) man at a young age. After reading an article Claudia has written condemning the Soviet invasion, a Hungarian functionary who becomes implicated in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution contacts Claudia out of the blue. Knowing that he will soon be imprisoned, the functionary decides to ask Claudia to make sure that his son Laszlo, who is in England at art college, does not attempt to return to Hungary. Claudia becomes a sort of surrogate mother to Laszlo, whom she grows to love and admire over the years, recognizing that he is drastically different from anyone else she knows: an open, painfully honest, sensitive, self-destructive artist. Claudia writes several popular history books, earning accolades from the public and occasional scorn from academic historians. She also briefly becomes a consultant for a movie based on her history of the Spanish invasion of Mexico, which leads to a personal scandal when she is in a car accident with the star of the movie, and the press suspects there is more to the relationship than just friendship. The event earns scorn from Jasper, who refuses to see her when she is in the hospital. Gordon, on the other hand, visits her to let her know that she is not alone. Later in life, Claudia decides to travel to Egypt alone but finds it much changed. Yet the desert brings back powerful memories of her intense love for Tom Southern and enduring pain at his death, a pain she is still unable to share with anyone else even after all the years that have passed. Shortly thereafter, Gordon dies, and leaves a gaping void in Claudia's life. A few years later, when she is diagnosed with cancer, and knowing her own death is imminent, she apologizes to Lisa for having been a cold and distant mother. Lisa accepts the apology, but is not sure how to feel about it: it is the most unlikely thing Claudia (who to Lisa seemed to revel in being an almost omnipotent figure) has ever done for Lisa. Soon after the War, Tom's sister Jennifer reads an article Claudia wrote about her experiences in Egypt, realizes she is the "C." Tom had often referred to in letters home, and mails Claudia his wartime diary. Soon before she dies, Claudia asks Laszlo to fetch Tom's diary for her. Reading over the short entries in Tom's diary, many of which refer to his love for her, Claudia allows herself to reflect on her grief for Tom, her sorrow at having been left behind, and the course her life might have taken had he survived. She comes to peace with the fact that she too will soon become a set of imperfect memories of those who knew her. The next day, Claudia dies. Moon Tiger Moon Tiger is a 1987 novel by Penelope Lively which spans the time before, during and after World War II. The novel won the 1987 Booker Prize. It is written from multiple points of view and moves backward and forward through time. It begins as the story of a woman who, on her deathbed, decides to write a history of
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Big moon peyotism"
soon spread all over the Indian Territory while its native people were searching for spiritual help. Peyotism at this point, was a spiritual path that was soon to be taken in Indian Territory. Around 1890, the Caddo, Deleware and Quapaw tribes became the first practitioners of peyote. Black Wolf, a practitioner from the Caddo tribe, brought the religion of little moon peyotism to the Osage people. Black Wolf had intrigued enough of the tribe that his peyote prayers and rituals had truth and value, so the people sent him to heal a sick person in their tribe. His prayers and rituals could not save their life, so peyotism was not being spread for a while. After the native people's dry spell towards peyotism, it returned to the Osage tribe around 1898 John Wilson, a Caddo-Delaware, also known as Moonhead, is credited with the birth of this religion around the year 1890. He was asked to build a Peyote altar to conduct Big Moon rituals for Tall Chief, the Quapaw chief. While Wilson was visiting Osage territory, an Osage man who had attended a Peyote meeting beforehand, had asked Wilson to share his new revelations about big moon peyotism and its rules with a group of Osage people. Wilson agreed and met with them. This religion was adopted by Witchita, Deleware, Quapaw, Shawnee, Oklahoma Seneca-Cayuga, but no tribe converted the Osage. The Osage are the only current practitioners in the religion to this day. The Chief of the Osage people, Black Dog, was left without a tribe because his was won over by the big moon peyotism worshippers. In the two weeks that John Wilson experimented with peyote for religious and spiritual reasons, he was repeatedly submerged in spirit into the sky, being shown essential figures in the sky that symbolized the events of Christ, along with positions of the Spiritual forces such as the moon, sun and fire and their relative positions. He was also shown the empty grave of Christ while in this estate. He states that peyote told him to forever take its "road" by continually consuming peyote, in order to reach a higher enlightenment. The Osage were the most significant converts to this religion. John Wilson was responsible for the Osage people becoming such believers and followers. Wilson was traveling to Anadarko, Oklahoma,Osage Nation). While traveling he visited with Tall Chief, who was the chief of the Quapaw tribe. Wilson was later convinced to bring the knowledge of his new religion to these people. After explaining his realization about how the mixed elements of Christian, Caddo, and Deleware religious symbols and linking the consumption of peyote with Caddo and Deleware rituals, was the efficient way to heaven. With the mass conversion of the Osage, a proper church for big moon peyotism was constructed. Previous to the ceremony, multiple ritual preparations are performed. At dawn the Roadmen, or the ceremony conductors, gather to collect their instruments and to perform some ceremonial prayers and singing. Then before noon, the peyote and ritual instruments are taken are taken to the church, where the sacred fire is lit by flint and steel, and the objects that hold ritual use are arranged on the cloth of the altar. After the rituals have taken place, the tribe members will rest for a meal at noon. The fire stays maintained for the whole afternoon. This is a prerequisite to the actual service. Traditionally, the service begins at dark. The attendees enter the church and their assigned seatings while a prayer is being shared by one of the roadmen, following with a statement of the purpose of the meeting. The only person who is allowed to speak and smoke at this time are the roadmen. After this, the passing of sage and peyote is arranged, and the meeting officially begins when the roadmen sing four different Starting Songs. After this, the Drum Chief is the next one to sing, who follows in a full round of drumming for each person. Next, the roadmen and the drum chief stand in the center of the altar while being given words of respect and love while being fanned. The fire plays a significant role in the ceremony, for it gets maintained throughout the ceremony by the Firemen. Towards the end, there comes time for some reflection and for anyone with any needs to come forward and ask for something. The Tobacco boss rolls another ceremonial cigarette, while a roadman offers a prayer to his participants. Water is offered to anyone who is thirsty after their spiritual experience. This ritual presumes in singing, with incorporated fanning of the fireman in need. The ceremony continues to stay like this until morning, where a ceremony called "greeting the sun" is taken place if it is a clear morning. When the ceremony is beginning to wrap up, each participant holds the ritual instruments, blessing themselves with it. After this, the attendees gather again for rounds of ceremonial singing until it hits noon. The attendees understand that when the fireman begins to sing the Dinner Songs, it is now time for them to wash up for a ceremonial dinner. After washing up and cleansing in cedar smoke, the guests re-enter the church and meet with family and guests that did not attend the ceremony. Big moon peyotism Big moon peyotism was introduced as a variant of the Peyote Religion in the 1880s that
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Death in a Tenured Position"
Harvard University. Although Janet is excited, many of her male colleagues seem to be dissatisfied with Janet's recent award. Soon after her award, Janet's old friend Kate Fansler comes to work at Harvard and is able to give support to her friend. While there Kate encounters her old friend Moon Mandelbaum, Janet's ex-husband, and meets other professors in the English Department. Kate learns through her new colleagues that Janet is not fitting in well at the university. In fact, many people find Janet to strange and unlikable. After an incident when Janet was found in a bathtub, presumably drunk, Janet becomes embarrassed and both Moon and Kate notice the change in her mood. As her friend, Kate hopes that this situation does not harm Janet's credibility at the university, although she finds that many of the professors no longer care for Janet. Although Kate defends Janet, it is no use. Many people ridicule Janet and seem to have no desire to get to know her better. One day while Kate is in her office, she received a phone call from Professor Clarkville (another member of the English department). Clarkville explained to Kate that he has found Janet dead in the men's restroom. Immediately the question is "Was Janet killed by a fellow professor"? Kate seemed skeptical of this idea because she knew that other than not being liked, no one had anything to gain from Janet's death. Kate decided that she is going to investigate this peculiar death. One of the first few pieces she learned is that Janet death was caused from cyanide and Janet's body was moved to the men's restroom after her death; but where and when she actually died is still a mystery to Kate and the police. Kate then visits Professor Clarkville to further discuss the situation. To her surprise, Clarkville explains that he did not know of Janet much before finding her in the men's restroom. He also says that he did not think that Janet should have come to Harvard. Immediately Kate becomes very leery of Clarkville and his confessions to Kate. Back at her office, Kate is contemplating all the different circumstances surrounding Janet's death. While she is working, she receives a phone call from Moon. Moon tells Kate he is in jail under the charges of murder for Janet's death but assures Kate he is not responsible for what happened. Moon reveals that he did have possession of cyanide long ago but tells Kate that it is locked away in a safe back in Minneapolis. Kate now has three suspects for Janet's death: Clarkville, Moon, and Luellen May (a fellow professor who found Janet passed out in the bathtub at a party). After a visit from Janet's brother and a tour of Janet's old apartment, Kate begins to put some ideas together about what really happened to Janet. Kate then visits with Clarkville once more to discuss his finding of Janet's body. In the meeting, Clarkville explains that the last time anyone had seen Janet alive was in the department meeting. During the meeting, Janet had become hysterical about an issue that caused a lot of tension in the room. Kate then gets Clarkville to admit to moving Janet's body to the men's room for her to be 'discovered'. Clarkville explains that he had originally found Janet in the chairman's office dead and decided to move her to a restroom (the men's room was the closest) and reported finding her there. Kate then is granted access to Janet's office at the university and finds a poem that she believes is the biggest clue to Janet's death. Kate finally rules that Janet's death was a suicide. She reveals that she stole the cyanide from Moon and after the amount of stress and tension she had endured at the university, she decided to end her own life. Kate Fansler Janet Mandelbaum Moon Mandelbaum Professor Clarkville John Cunningham Sylvia One of the major themes in the novel is feminism and discrimination against women. Carolyn Gold Heilbrun herself was a professor in the English department at Columbia and she says that she experienced many instances of discrimination during her career. The book itself shows Janet's own struggle with discrimination as a female professor. Heilbrun is notable for writing themes about feminism in her novels. This one shows feminism through her character Kate Fansler. Kate is a successful and independent professor and amateur detective. Kate can be found as the main character in other books by Heilbrun. There are fourteen other mystery novels in the Kate Fansler mystery series. Death in a Tenured Position Death in a Tenured Position, winner of the Nero Award, is a mystery novel that is part of the Kate Fansler series written by Carolyn Gold Heilbrun under the pen name Amanda
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Pink Moon"
Drake on vocals, acoustic guitar and a brief piano riff overdubbed onto the title track. Released two years before Drake's death in November 1974, at the age of twenty-six, the lyrical content of "Pink Moon" has often been attributed to Drake's ongoing battle with depression. The songs are shorter than on his previous albums, with a total album running time of just over twenty-eight minutes. "Pink Moon", like Drake's previous studio albums, did not sell well during his lifetime, but has since garnered significant critical acclaim. Nick Drake's first two albums with Island Records, "Five Leaves Left" (1969) and "Bryter Layter" (1971), had sold poorly, and combined with Drake's reluctance to perform live or engage in album promotion, Island was not confident of another album from Drake. Additionally, Drake had isolated himself in his London apartment and was suffering from depression. In 1971 he saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed antidepressants which he was reluctant to take due to the stigma associated with depression and his fears concerning the medication's interaction with marijuana, which he smoked regularly. Although critics often associate Drake's music, and especially the perceived melancholy of "Pink Moon", with his depression, Cally Calloman of Bryter Music, which manages Drake's estate, remembers it differently: "Nick was incapable of writing and recording while he was suffering from periods of depression. He was not depressed during the writing or recording of "Pink Moon" and was immensely proud of the album." After facing disappointment with various aspects of his first two albums, Drake sought a more organic sound with "Pink Moon". Drake appeared to have made a decision before recording his third album that it would be as plain as possible and free of the numerous guest musicians that had been employed on "Bryter Layter". In his autobiography Joe Boyd, producer of Drake's first two albums, remembered that as they were finishing the recording of "Bryter Layter" Drake had told him that he wanted to make his next record alone, and in his only interview, published in "Sounds" magazine in March 1971, Drake told interviewer Jerry Gilbert that "for the next [album] I had the idea of just doing something with John Wood, the engineer at Sound Techniques". After a brief hiatus in Spain spent at a villa belonging to Island Records' head, Chris Blackwell, Drake returned to London refreshed, and in October 1971 approached record engineer and producer John Wood. Wood had worked with Drake on his previous two albums and was one of the few people Drake felt he could trust. Wood has worked with other artists such as Fairport Convention, Cat Stevens, and Pink Floyd, and he often worked in partnership with record producer Joe Boyd. Boyd produced Drake's first two albums with Wood acting as sound engineer. Although Wood primarily focused on the engineering of an album, he often contributed as a producer. When Drake reached out to Wood in 1971 expressing his interest in recording another album, the ensuing process was significantly pared down compared to Drake's other two albums. The album was recorded at Sound Techniques studio in London in late October 1971 with just Drake and Wood present. The studio was booked during the day, so Drake and Wood arrived around 11:00 p.m. and simply and quietly recorded half the songs. The next night, they did the same. In only two late night sessions, with just his voice and acoustic guitar, Drake created what is considered by many to be one of the "most influential folk albums of all time". Contrary to popular legend that Drake dropped the album off in a plastic bag at Island Records' reception and then left without anyone realising, Drake delivered the master tapes of "Pink Moon" to Chris Blackwell at Island. In an interview for the Nick Drake fanzine "Pynk Moon" in 1996, Island's press officer David Sandison recalled that Drake's arrival at the record company had certainly not gone unnoticed, although there had been no indication that he was delivering them a new album: The tapes of the "Pink Moon" session also included Drake's recording of "Plaisir d'amour" (translated from French as "The Pleasure of Love"), a classical French love song written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. Although "Plaisir d'amour" was on the track listing of the "Pink Moon" master tape box as the first track of Side Two, when the tapes were presented they included a note in reference to the song which read, "Spare title – Do not use", so the song didn't make it onto the album. The recording was less than a minute long, featured guitar with no vocals, and was eventually included as a hidden track on UK editions of the Nick Drake compilation "A Treasury" (2004). Had "Plaisir d'amour" been included on the "Pink Moon" album, it would have been the only song on any of his albums that Nick Drake did not write himself. Keith Morris was the photographer who took Drake's photo for the cover of "Five Leaves Left" and he was commissioned to photograph Drake for the cover of "Pink Moon". However, the photos were not used as Drake's rapidly deteriorating appearance, hunched figure and blank expression were not considered good selling points. Island's creative director Annie Sullivan, who oversaw the shoot, recalled the difficulty in making a decision around the cover of the LP: "I remember going to talk to [Nick], and he just sat there, hunched up, and even though he didn't speak, I knew the album was called "Pink Moon", and I can't remember how he conveyed it, whether he wrote it down ... he wanted a pink moon. He couldn't tell me what he wanted, but I had 'pink moon' to go on." Island picked a piece of surrealist Dalí-esque art by Michael Trevithick, who was incidentally a friend of Drake's sister Gabrielle. Although Drake was not outspoken in his opinion on the cover art of "Pink Moon", many close to him felt that he approved. David Sandison stated that he found the original framed artwork for "Pink Moon" in among the debris of the basement room that Island later allocated to him as his office, and he took it home and hung it on the wall of his house for several years, before eventually presenting it to Drake's parents. An undated photo of Drake's music room at his parents' house in Tanworth-in-Arden shows what appears to be the artwork hanging on the wall. Island Records launched an unusual promotional campaign for the initial release of "Pink Moon". They spent the entire promotional budget on full-page advertisements in all major music magazines the month of the record's release. "Pink Moon" received more attention from the UK music press than Drake's first two albums had, but most critical reviews were still brief. Jerry Gilbert of "Sounds", who had conducted the only known interview with Drake the previous year and who had been his biggest champion up to this point, expressed his disappointment with the album and his frustration at Drake's apparent lack of motivation, saying, "The album consists entirely of Nick's guitar, voice and piano and features all the usual characteristics without ever matching up to "Bryter Layter". One has to accept that Nick's songs necessarily require further augmentation, for whilst his own accompaniments are good the songs are not sufficiently strong to stand up without any embroidery at all. 'Things Behind the Sun' makes it, so does 'Parasite' – but maybe it's time Mr. Drake stopped acting so mysteriously and started getting something properly organised for himself." In "Melody Maker" Mark Plummer appreciated the music, but was distracted by Drake's growing ascetic mythology: "His music is so personal and shyly presented both lyrically and in his confined guitar and piano playing that neither does nor doesn't come over ... The more you listen to Drake though, the more compelling his music becomes – but all the time it hides from you. On 'Things Behind the Sun', he sings to me, embarrassed and shy. Perhaps one should play his albums with the sound off and just look at the cover and make the music in your head reciting his words from inside the cover to your own rhythmic heart rhymes ... It could be that Nick Drake does not exist at all." Referring to Drake's recorded output, Fred Dellar noted in "Hi-Fi News & Record Review" that "the LPs hardly sell, thanks partly to Nick's reluctance to play promotional concerts and one is left with the feeling that his only ambition is to play the lead in the Howard Hughes story should anyone ever decide to make it as a musical. In the meantime, he employs his deliciously smokey voice in making these intimate, late-night sounds that I find myself playing time and time again." In the London edition of "Time Out" Al Clark observed that Drake "writes striking and evocative songs and always has done, but most of the magic is in the delivery: a smoky, palpitating voice, reminiscent of the jazzier Donovan, gliding wistful words over the chord changes and creating moments of perfect stillness". Clark stated that "several of the more substantial songs are very lovely", but concluded presciently, "Sadly, and despite Island's efforts to rectify the situation, Nick Drake is likely to remain in the shadows, the private troubadour of those who have been fortunate enough to catch an earful of his exquisite 3am introversions". By the time of the album's reissues on compact disc in the 1990s and 2000s, Drake's fame and critical standing had improved considerably, and legacy reviews of the album were overwhelmingly favourable. Martin Aston of "Q" noted in 1990 that "the mood is even more remote [than Drake's first two albums] with – finally – a defeated strain in both throat and words, but several of his most elegant melodies". John Harris's review of the 2000 reissue in the same magazine was more positive still, claiming that "many hold up "Pink Moon" as Nick Drake's best album" and saying, "The motivation of success had evaporated and Drake made a record so singular and uncompromising that, superficially, it beggars belief ... The truth is that "Pink Moon"s excellence shines through, irrespective of the endless speculation [regarding Drake's state of mind during the making of the record and subsequent death]. Few records have ever sounded so intimate, or embodied the eternal human ailment known as Melancholy with such grace and assurance." In "Mojo" Rob Chapman claimed that ""Pink Moon" is his masterpiece and the Robert Johnson comparisons are fully deserved". Critic and author Ian MacDonald, a contemporary of Drake's at Cambridge University, stated in "Uncut" that "what remains clear is that this is one of the premium singer-songwriter albums, nearly every one of its 11 tracks a timeless classic". "Rolling Stone"s Anthony DeCurtis observed that "by the time of these sessions, Drake had retreated so deeply into his own internal world that it is difficult to say what the songs are 'about'. His lyrics are so compressed as to be kind of folkloric haikus, almost childishly simple in their structure and elemental in their imagery. His voice conveys, in its moans and breathy whispers, an alluring sensuality, but he sings as if he were viewing his life from a great, unbridgeable distance. That element of detachment is chilling. To reinforce it, messages of isolation gradually float to the surface of the songs' spare, eloquent melodies." Three years later in the same magazine James Hunter said of the 2003 North American reissue, "The album unleashes a dramatic starkness and some breathtakingly pretty music". AllMusic's Ned Raggett wrote in his retrospective review that ""Pink Moon" more than anything else is the record that made Drake the cult figure he remains. Specifically, "Pink Moon" is the bleakest of [all his records]; that the likes of Belle and Sebastian are fans of Drake may be clear enough, but it's doubtful they could ever achieve the calm, focused anguish of this album, as harrowing as it is attractive ... Drake's elegant melancholia avoiding sounding pretentious in the least thanks to his continued embrace of simple, tender vocalizing. Meanwhile, the sheer majesty of his guitar playing – consider the opening notes of 'Road' or 'Parasite' – makes for a breathless wonder to behold." Reviewing "Pink Moon" as part of the 2014 box set "Tuck Box", Jayson Greene of "Pitchfork" noted, "A 'pink moon' is a baleful symbol, a sign of impending death or calamity ... On paper, this sentiment reads like vindictive rage, but on record, it sounds contemplative. Drake's voice never conveyed palpable anger or sadness; he had a slight, gentle voice and upper-class accent, the product of his upbringing, clipped and clean, and his guitar, as always, rang out with a crystalline purity. His music is so consoling that the darkness at its heart is not always accessible. It's almost impossible to hear the emotional abandon in "Pink Moon", then, without the taste of his first two albums lingering on your mouth. It's only then that the bone-dry resonance of the guitars registers as slightly alarming, and the backdrop of silence suggests both the purity of Drake's vision and also something darker: like someone who has dropped out of the world, mumbling prophecies ... There is a stillness to Nick Drake's music that bewitches anyone who gets near enough, and "Pink Moon" is its purest expression. It remains the Nick Drake record most people begin with, and for good reason." In 2003, the album was ranked number 320 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2012, that ranking was revised to number 321. In the UK "Pink Moon" was placed at number 48 in the "Melody Maker" "All Time Top 100 Albums" in 2000, and at number 126 in "Uncut"s "200 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2016. The first notable cover versions of Nick Drake songs were released in 1992, when Lucinda Williams covered "Which Will" on her album "Sweet Old World", and alternative rock band Sebadoh covered "Pink Moon" on their EP "Sebadoh vs Helmet". On 11 November 1999 Volkswagen announced that it was debuting, for the first time, a television advertisement on the internet. The campaign, named "Milky Way", featured the Volkswagen Cabriolet with the title track of "Pink Moon" as the soundtrack. Ron Lawner, Chief Creative Officer of Arnold Communications stated in the press release, "The song is very special. It's an old song by a guy named Nick Drake. It's called 'Pink Moon' and is actually a very good introduction to Nick Drake if you're not familiar with him. It's very transporting. And to us seemed very fitting for a beautiful drive in the country on a very special night." The Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and filmed by Lance Acord, led to a large increase in record sales, and a number-five placing for "Pink Moon" in Amazon.com's sales chart. The VW and "Pink Moon" pairing marked a new step in advertising. Bethany Klein, a professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Central England states, "The role of 'Pink Moon' in the success of "Milky Way" was interesting, in that it both added to the artistry of the commercial and was also protected by the visual artistry of the spot: because the ad 'worked' (it was an aesthetic success) the usual negative discourse surrounding the use of popular music in advertising was, if not stopped, at least reduced and accompanied by positive appraisals ... The linking together of the ad being a 'watershed' and being 'nicely done' is no coincidence; it is because the ad is so well executed and so aesthetically successful that the industry and the public reassessed the use of music in advertising around this example." In 2001, Volkswagen honored the music and advertising pairings they had made over the years by giving all new Volkswagen Cabrio buyers a compilation CD which featured "Pink Moon" as the first track. U.S. sales of Nick Drake's Pink Moon album rose from 6,000 copies, prior to the song's use in the Cabrio commercial, to 74,000 copies in 2000, according to Palm, which distributes Drake's music through Hannibal Records. As of 2004 it has sold 329,000 copies in United States. All songs written and composed by Nick Drake. All personnel credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Pink Moon Pink Moon is the third and final studio album by the English folk musician Nick Drake, released in the UK by Island Records on 25 February 1972. It was the only one of Drake's studio albums to be released in North America during his lifetime: the only previous release there had been a 1971 compilation simply entitled "Nick Drake" featuring tracks from both his first two albums, which were not released in
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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Uta-awase
the pastimes of the Heian court. The items matched might be , , sweet flag or iris roots, flowers, or poems. The last took on new seriousness at the end of the ninth century with the , the source of over fifty poems in the Kokinshū. The twenty-eight line diary of the devotes two of its lines to the musical accompaniments, gagaku and saibara, and four to the costumes worn by the former emperor, other participants and the attendants who carried in the , the trays with low miniature "sand-bar beach" coastal landscapes used in "mono-awase". At the end of the contest, the poems were arranged around the "suhama", those about mist being placed in the hills, those on the bush-warbler upon a blossoming bough, those on the cuckoo upon sprigs of unohana, and the remainder onto braziers hanging from miniature cormorant-fishing boats. Elements common to "uta-awase" were a sponsor; two sides of , the Left and the Right, the former having precedence, and usually the poets; a series of in which a poem from each side was matched; a who declared or , and might add ; and the provision of , whether handed out at the beginning or distributed in advance. In general, anything that might introduce a discordant tone was avoided, while the evolving rules were 'largely prohibitive rather than prescriptive', admissible vocabulary largely limited to that of the Kokinshū, with words from the Man'yōshū liable to be judged archaism. Use of a phrase such as "harugasumi", 'in the spring haze', when the topic was the autumnal 'first geese' could provoke much hilarity. The number of rounds varied by the occasion; of 1201 was the longest of all recorded "uta-awase". The judge was usually a poet of renown. During the "Teijiin Poetry Contest" the former emperor served as judge, and when one of his own offerings was matched against a superior poem by Ki no Tsurayuki, commented 'how can an imperial poem lose?', awarding himself a draw. Fujiwara Shunzei served as judge some twenty-one times. During the of 1192, he awarded victory to a poem with the line 'fields of grass', observing its reference to a previous work and commenting 'it is shocking for anyone to write poetry without knowing "Genji". Judging another contest he wrote how, upon recital, there must be 'allure ("en") and profundity (yūgen) ... an aura of its own that hovers about the poem much as a veil of haze among cherry blossoms, the belling of a stag before the autumn moon, the scent of springtime in the plum blossom, or the autumn rain in the crimson leaves upon the peak'. are illustrated records of actual poetry contests or depictions of imaginary contests such as between the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. The fourteenth-century depicts a group of craftsmen who held a poetry contest in emulation of those of the nobility. With a sutra transcriber as judge, a physician, blacksmith, sword polisher, shrine maiden and fisherman competed against a master of Yin and Yang, court carpenter, founder, gambler and merchant, each composing two poems on the themes of the moon and love. , practised by the likes of poet-priest Saigyō, was a development in which the contestant 'played a kind of poetic chess with himself', selecting the topics, writing all the poems, and submitting the results to a judge for comment. is a satirical work of the early fifteenth century in which the Twelve Animals of the Zodiac hold a poetry competition on the themes of the moon and love; other animals headed by a stag and a badger gate-crash the gathering and the badger causes so much outrage that he barely escapes alive; disgraced, he retreats to a cave where he writes poems with a brush made of his own hair. Uta-awase , poetry contests or "waka" matches, are a distinctive feature of the Japanese literary landscape from the Heian period. Significant to the development of Japanese poetics, the origin of group composition such as "renga", and a stimulus to approaching "waka" as a unified sequence and not only as individual units, the lasting importance of the poetic output of these occasions may be measured also from their contribution to the imperial anthologies: 92
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Ice (Johnson novel)"
of water ice at that location. (Observation data from the 1994 unmanned spacecraft "Clementine" has indicated the existence of subsurface water ice mixed with lunar soil, as confirmed by "Lunar Prospector" and subsequent missions, but exposed water ice on the moon's surface has not been recognized by the scientific community.) There the crew tests an experimental heavy Lunar rover, launched to their location earlier by a Saturn 1B and delivered to the Moon using a stand-alone LM descent stage called the "LM Truck." (Both of these vehicles might have been actually used on the Moon, according to Johnson, had not Project Apollo been cut short.) All goes well until the astronauts are ready to lift off to return to the orbiting Apollo CSM. Unfortunately, their LM ascent engine fails to fire. Repeated attempts to restart that engine—the only part of the LM system without a backup—all end in failure. Finding themselves stranded, the mission commander and LM pilot say goodbye to their wives. The commander peremptorily orders his CM pilot, in orbit around the Moon, to return home. He and the LM pilot then abandon the LM and strike out on their own, driving their rover to the limit of its remaining driving range "to see what we can see." In their last message to Earth, they ask their colleague and Capsule Communicator to help their returning crewmate understand that he must not blame himself for their deaths. Before their oxygen runs out entirely, they find a vast and incredible Out-of-place artifact that might save their lives - or kill them. It is an ancient, abandoned, but fully functioning Lunar base - which they find immediately before the last seconds of their air run out. The base contains technology far beyond the reach of human science and engineering, best exemplified in the "war room" that they find immediately upon entry. This leads the two men to argue whether extrasolar visitors built it. LM Pilot Charlie Shepherd, a fundamentalist Christian, refuses to admit the possibility, because the Bible contains no warrant for it. Both men agree, however, that whoever the base builders are (or were) would be able to conquer Earth easily, had they chosen to attack—though why they never did attack remains a mystery. The two men soon find EVA suits that are one-third again as tall as human EVA suits are. Shortly thereafter, they find many members of the base crew—dead of various acts of violence, and in at least one case, a suicide. The suicide's living quarters contains multiple artworks depicting various scenes of torture, indicating that the base builders were a thoroughly evil people whose mania for causing suffering is incomprehensible. Subsequently, Mission Commander Gary Lucas vanishes into an apparent journey into the past—specifically to the builders' home world. His friend, left on the base, searches it in vain for his friend, not realizing that his friend has entered a machine that can simulate events stored in its historical memory, based on input from a base-wide and planet-wide surveillance system. Shepherd finds a means of sustenance, and then finds a hangar—which turns out to be empty. Angered and desperate, Shepherd activates all the base' systems in the war room, except for one system that refuses to activate. In the process, he activates the base computer system, which regards him as non-human and starts broadcasting a distress signal to Earth. That signal will turn out to be the salvation of the two astronauts—because Congress, on the point of cancelling Project Apollo completely, reverses itself and authorizes Apollo 20 in direct response to the signal, which clearly is coming "from the Marlow Basin." They cannot read the message, but—at least subconsciously—they realize that its activation after the men of Apollo 19 were supposed to have died cannot be coincidental. Gary Lucas has many perilous adventures in the "home world" simulation, which he accepts as entirely real. They begin with his rescue of a woman being assaulted, and continue with his capture by men bent on offering him as a human sacrifice and by his rescue by the woman's husband and brother-in-law. In gratitude, Lucas offers to join the workforce that is now applying the finishing touches to a vast granary that his hosts have been building and stocking. Meanwhile, Shepherd tries again to activate the last war-room system—and realizes, too late, that he has in fact started a self-destruct sequence. One by one, various base systems—gravity, climate control, and ultimately the food dispensary—begin to shut down. Lucas is injured during the storehouse construction project and, after the householders have an apparent argument concerning him, is given a sedative. He awakes to find himself in an empty house and steps outside in time to hear the roar of an onrushing wall of water, which lifts the storehouse off its foundations (incredibly, without damaging it) and threatens to sweep Lucas to his death. But then Lucas finds himself back on the base, in time to watch its crew destroy one another in mutiny, mayhem, murder, human sacrifice, and the eventual suicide of the base commander, who is the crew's last survivor. Following this, Lucas experiences an attack of vertigo. In fact the simulator machine has run its program, sounds three piercing alarm tones, and ejects him into the waiting arms of Shepherd just as the crew of "Apollo 20" arrive to rescue them. That rescue is just in time—because after "Apollo 20" completes trans-Earth injection, the self-destruct sequence runs its course, and the base destroys itself, apparently in a thermonuclear detonation. Back on Earth, the mission commander studies the Bible—and realizes that he actually witnessed the Noachic Flood and even ate at Noah's table. Also, the base builders never attacked Earth, because they were from Earth originally—from Antediluvian Earth. He and Shepherd further realize that God has entrusted him with a warning, which he must convey to anyone who will listen. The novel ends when it shifts to somewhere on the surface of Mars, where another base similar to the one found on the Moon, ominously activates by itself. History of Project Apollo, Bible history (specifically of Noah and the Great Flood that bears his name), speculation on the nature of Antediluvian civilization, the utility of prayer, and the Providential nature of God. "Ice" highlights the Christianity of many Apollo astronauts (one of them wrote the foreword to this work). It touches on several themes at once: the history of Project Apollo, how the nation would have handled what would have been an appallingly demoralizing disaster, the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation of the earth in modern or ancient times, and speculation about the Flood. "Ice" attracted little notice beyond the Christian readership to which Johnson directed it, and it is now out-of-print. She had intended a sequel to this novel, titled "Fire", based on a similar encounter on the planet Mars. But at last report, the publisher canceled that project. "Ice" was a finalist for the Christy Award for the best futuristic Christian novel of 2002. It lost to "Time Lottery". The other finalist in the category was "The Fifth Man", a novel about a fictional mission to Mars. In various scenes, this novel re-creates an entire J-mission profile, including a launch sequence for an equally fictional "Apollo 20" mission flown with the stated objective of reclaiming the astronauts' remains using the Skylab Rescue CSM for the mission, rather than leave dead astronauts' bodies in space, something that has never happened in the history of manned spaceflight. (The Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 capsules returned their cosmonauts' bodies to Earth while Challenger and Columbia disintegrated, leaving scattered remains.) Johnson clearly demonstrates extensive knowledge of Project Apollo mission hardware and systems, from the Saturn V down to the EVA suits that Apollo astronauts wore. A number of actual persons appear in fictional scenes, including CBS News Managing Editor Walter Cronkite, Flight Director Gene Kranz, and astronauts Jim Lovell, James Irwin and Donald K. Slayton. The novel references the precision landing made by astronaut Pete Conrad during "Apollo 12" and to the nearly disastrous "Apollo 13". (It also features a foreword from astronaut Charles Duke and a cover painting by astronaut Alan Bean.) In addition, "Ice" lays out a theory of how the Moon came to be the pockmarked, meteor-scarred body that we know today and of how the Biblical Flood took place. Ice (Johnson novel) Ice is a Christian science fiction novel
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"The Great Merchant"
discovering a talent in business and commerce, she later became one of the most successful female merchants on the island. When Jeju was struck by a deadly famine in 1795 (the 19th year of King Jeongjo, Kim sold all her assets and donated approximately 90% of her money (approximated to be in today's currency) to save millions of lives. Kim was later praised by numerous scholars and philosophers, which was notable given her background as a gisaeng and the fact that she saved the people of Jeju Island, a place that was considered a place of exile at the time. Kim's heroic deeds were documented in "Jeongjo Sillok" (""The Annals of King Jeongjo"") in 1796, and was even featured as a folktale called "Mandeok-jeon" (""The Story of Man-deok""). In 1978, a memorial was created for Kim Man-deok on Jeju Island, and annually Jeju Island presents the "Man-deok Award" to two outstanding women in philanthropy. The drama features Kim's life and achievements, along with her ongoing rivalry with fellow merchants during the Joseon Dynasty. Kim Man-deok was born into the noble class—her mother was a haenyeo of Jeju Island; her father was a high-ranking government official who met Kim's mother during the time he was exiled on Jeju Island. Kim's biological mother, Yi Eun Hong, does not tell her father, Kim Eung Ryul, about her pregnancy, as he and his clan could be punished by execution for inappropriate conduct during his exile. At birth, Kim is named Yi Hong. Her mother dies soon after her birth, leaving her daughter a flute that would one day help her reconnect to her father. Kim is adopted by Madame Kim, a former palace lady, but who is known to Kim as "Hal-mae" (translated as "Granny"). Managing a training center in Hanyang for orphaned children, Hal-mae teaches the children marketplace skills and trades necessary for them to become successful in the future. During her time with the training center, Kim meets Jung Hong Soo, the son of high-ranking politician, Lord Jung Do-woong. Ill-fated circumstances causes Granny, Dong Ah, and Kim (who is now 12 years old) to run for their lives, forcing them to leave Hanyang and head to Jeju Island. In the process, they find the need to separate but agree to meet in Jeju. Kim is the first to arrive on Jeju Island. Dong Ah finds her, but the two are soon in trouble and they find themselves jailed after an altercation with young Kang Yoo-ji, the later Foreman of West Gate Market Brokers. To keep Dong Ah from undergoing torture, Kim is tricked into agreeing to become the foster daughter of the head gisaeng on Jeju Island. Rather than leave Kim, Dong Ah agrees to become her servant and protector. Seven years later, Hal-mae finally arrives on Jeju Island and is reunited with Kim and Dong Ah. While Hal-mae tries to get Kim removed from the gisaeng registry, she finds that Kim's gisaeng foster mother and the Assistant Magistrate killed Yi Eun Hong, Kim's mother. To avoid public exposure of their misdeeds, they plot to frame Hal-mae and Kim as if the two were trying to escape the island. Hal-mae learns of the plot and in the process of finding Kim, the two are "caught". Hal-mae is confined in jail, while Kim is sent to the transitory wards (or quarantine camp) for epidemics as punishment. After being rescued from the camp, Kim begins to take care of those in the camp who are suffering from illness. During this time, Kim's father visits the island and discovers the birth of his daughter. Although he cannot publicly acknowledge her as his daughter, he gives her written documentation of her birth registry and bestows upon her the name, Kim Man-deok. Later, Kim reestablishes East Gate Market Brokers,going into the business of importing and exporting goods between Jeju Island and the Korean mainland, and begins the process of restoring business ethics in Jeju. Kim's former childhood friend, Oh Moon-seon feels a sense of inferiority and underhandedly competes with her as head of West Gate Market Brokers. Man-deok's high standards and business ethics cause her business to thrive, while Madame Oh's jealousy and resentment of Kim, as well as her greed for wealth and power, eventually lead to her demise. Transcending her lowly status as a gisaeng, as well as the restraints of her birthplace (Jeju Island was considered to be a remote place of exile during that time period), Kim Man-deok becomes the most successful female merchant of the Joseon Dynasty and one of the richest people on Jeju Island. A severe famine strikes Jeju Island in 1795, obliterating one-third of its population. Man-deok sells all her assets to help feed the starving people of her island, saving countless lives. In 1796, Kim travels to Hanyang (modern day, Seoul) to meet King Jeongjo, who bestows upon her the honorary title and position, Female Physician of the Palace Dispensary, as reward for her benevolous deeds. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells the abalone divers to leave West Gate Market Brokers and removes Kang Yoo-ji as Foreman. She will give Lord Jung Do-woong 50% of the silk store's income because they botched up the abalone contract. Kim Man-deok returns the jade ring, a symbol of friendship, to Moon-seon, saying thought Moon-seon would change from the time she manipulated Hwasoon, Daebang Kang's wife, to get him kicked out. Jeju island receives news that the tribute ship bound for Hanyang capsized, the goods were buried at sea, and the ship was being repaired at Gangjin, but the whole island will be in trouble if they don't send the goods in time for the royal wedding and the new Queen's coronation. The Magistrate gathers the goods again. Although West Gate is the only market broker with a ship, Man-deok proposes that East Gate Market Brokers enter the open bidding to win the tribute goods transport contract and lease a private merchant ship with full disclosure of operating expenses and precise profit sharing. Yoo-ji plans for the ship he owns to get the contract, so he puts pressure on merchants to not deal with East Gate, which pleases Moon-seon. Having no luck renting a ship, Man-deok hears of a gambling addict, a Captain Hwang, who has lost all ships but one. She rents his ship for 50 nyangs and has him sign a letter of intent; she agrees to give him 200 nyangs for deposit the next day. Hwang's ship is in Haenam and he needs money to bring it to Jeju. Moon-seon decides to appeal to Lord Jung for help in regaining commercial dominance. The gamblers beat Hwang. Moon-seon gives them the Man-deok's jade ring to show Man-deok when she comes looking for Hwang. Jung Hong-soo joins the Board of Punishments as Assistant Section Chief. The doctor advises Madam Oh that wearing a girdle is making the fetus weak and suggests she stop wearing it, but she is non-committal. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells Kim Man-deok that she bought Captain Hwang's ship. Man-deok threatens to turn Hwang over to the authorities for violating contract. Moon-seon tells Kang Yoo-ji of East Gate Market Brokers' plan to bring back Hwang's ship. To obtain a ship for sailing to Haenam, Dong-ah promises a merchant that he'll double his offer and use the merchant's ships to transport tribute goods. At the dock Yoo-ji attacks East Gate's staff and Man-deok discovers that Yoo-ji shoots and arrow into Dong-ah's arm. Yoo-ji threatens to take the company from Moon-seon not to play him again, as she knew Man-deok would be at the docks when she sent him. He is determined to get Man-deok back and bring down East Gate. Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo and Granny reprimand Man-deok for sending Dong-ah and Deok-pal to find a ship before consulting the Senior Foreman. He plans to return Hwang's ship lease contract because the bid for the tribute goods transport contract was too difficult for East Gate, on top of the new medical bills. Man-deok is convinced that East Gate needs the tribute goods transport contract to build strength and security. She vows to go to Haenam even if no one else will do so, regardless of Granny's warning that she was once framed for trying to leave the island. When Dong-ah hears her commitment and persuades Senior Foreman Go to let the staff go to Haenam. Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool reports the plans to Moon-seon, who orders him to make the trip and prevent East Gate from getting the ship. When he discovers that Man-deok has dressed as a sailor, he insists that she travel with the crew composed of Dong-ah, Mangwan, Yoo Bong, Deok-pal, Pan-sool and herself. Moon-seon finds out that Man-deok is on board. Senior Foreman Go and Granny realize that Man-deok violated her departure prohibition order and make up a ruse that Man-deok is away from the East Gate compound on an errand to collect medicinal herbs. Chok-sae promises her famous millet wine for buttering up a certain Skipper Jang in Haenam. When the staff of East Gate arrive, the crew refuse to give up the ship because they were not paid by Hwang. Man-deok negotiates the crew's pay out of Hwang's rental fee that would be provided every time Hwang's ship was chosen as the tribute transport vessel if they get the transport contract. Chok-sae's millet wine persuades Jang. Pan-sool sabotages a ship line, but Dong-ah sees him on board. While sailing back to Jeju, Jang realizes that Man-deok is a woman pretending to be a sailor. He is angry about the bad luck of having a woman on board. The sabotaged rope gives way and wooden rigging hits Jang on the head. Later Dong-ah catches Pan-sool in saying that the rope snapped, but Pan-sool could not have seen what caused the rigging to fall. Jang is blinded by the accident, but he still captains the ship to Jeju by letting Man-deok and the East Gate staff be his eyes. Man-deok apologizes for dressing as a sailor and is willing to leave the ship by canoe if her presence still aggravates him. Knowing that Man-deok is on board, Moon-seon tricks Yoo-ji into asking Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu to inspect the ship immediately upon arrival in order to reveal Man-deok's attempted escape. As the ship nears Jeju, Dong-ah sees government officials waiting at the dock. Kang Yoo-ji discovers that Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu is not merely inspecting the ship, but searching for Kim Man-deok on board; however, he does not discover her. Dong-ah tells Granny that Man-deok was left at Woodo. He informs her of his suspicions that Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool cut the rigging line, but Granny does not want him to suspect someone without proof. Moon-seon invites Granny to work for West Gate, but Granny refuses. Moon-seon warns that anyone who refuses her will pay dearly for it. Madam Oh Moon-seon rebukes Pan-sool for his failure, but he begs for another chance. His next mission is to make Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo turn against Granny and stop listening to her, as she outshines him as the person who makes East Gate Shipping Company successful. Pan-sool tells Senior Foreman Go that people say Granny is more capable than him and reminds him of the way Kang Kye-man was mocked for being in Granny's shadows in Hanyang. When Granny informs Senior Foreman Go that she made a sale of deer antlers, he says that the product was spoken for by another merchant. She admits her mistake, but he instructs her to confer with him before making decisions in the future. When Pan-sool mentions Moon-seon's talk of Granny as the real authority of East Gate, Granny advises to not listen to the cunning, manipulative girl. Pan-sool convinces Senior Foreman Go that East Gate must win the tribute goods transport contract without Granny's help. They want to lower the crew's wages to enter a more competitive bid and still make a profit. The sailors are angry that the company is reneging on the money promised by Man-deok to repay their six months' wages owed by Captain Hwang. When Granny brings food for the crew, a sailor recognizes her from Samgae Docks in Hanyang. Senior Foreman Go admonishes her for not asking permission before preparing food. The crew threatens Man-deok that they will report her to the authorities for fraud if she breaks their agreement since the Foremen would forfeit the bid if they refuse to lower their wages. When Man-deok asks Senior Foreman Go to honor her promises made to the crew, she asks for authority to make adjustments that would leave no one short changed, but Senior Foreman Go won't make concessions. East Gate will bid at 98,000 nyangs. The cost of renting the ship is 37,000 nyangs, equal to the labor cost. The only way to submit a competitive bid is to pay the crew nothing. Granny advises Man-deok to let the Foremen handle the bid. At the last minute Man-deok suggests an idea to Senior Foreman Go, saying both sides must make concession. He gives her authority to negotiate and requires her to get everyone's signature in order to bid on the contract. Man-deok asks the ship's crew to become partners with East Gate for the transport contract, which would require three years of their labor, but equal sharing in earnings. The Magistrate the contract submitted by West Gate Market Brokers and Man-deok's new contract submitted by East Gate. He finds both companies equally qualified and awards the contract with the lowest bid. West Gate bids at 67,000 nyangs, even though it is a 100,000 nyang job, which means they'll get no profits. East Gate bids at 60,000 nyangs and wins the contract. When East Gate is accused by West Gate of fraud, Man-deok reveals that the oarsmen won't be paid a wage because they are business partners, not hired hands. Lord Jung Do-woong is humiliated by East Gate winning the contract and finds Moon-seon is of no use to him. Anticipating his rejection, she finds loan shark Mu Maeng-dal who made a loan to Hwang with the new tribute ship as collateral. Under her instruction, Mu goes to East Gate to collect on the money owed by Hwang and offers East Gate to buy the 300,000-nyang ship for 150,000 nyangs to cover the 100,000- nyang loan and 50,000 nyangs interest; he offers to loan money to East Gate. Man-deok realizes that the interest on Hwang's loan is exorbitant. Unbeknownst to East Gate, Moon-seon promises to pay Mu the remaining 150,000 nyangs for the ship. Senior Foreman Go agrees to buy the ship, and Granny has Dong-ah follow Mu. Moon-seon visits Lord Jung to discuss former palace matron Madam Kim who discovered that Lord Jung had tampered with the King's food. Lord Jung thought Kang Kye-man had gotten her killed twenty years ago, but Moon-seon knows that Madam Kim now works for East Gate. Myo Hyang tells Moon-seon that anyone selling Jeju black cows on the black market will get in big trouble because the black cows are sacred for consumption only by the royal family and the hides are only for use at royal funerals. Madam Oh Moon-seon tells Lord Jung Do-woong that she will plant black cow hid on East Gate Market Brokers' transport vessel. She wants Lord Jung to make sure that Man-deok's father, Kim Eung-ryul, inspects the vessel and finds the contraband. Moon-seon tells Kang Yoo-ji to sneak the black cow hide onto East Gate's ship, implicating East Gate Market Brokers but not hurting his "precious Man-deok." Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool helps Yoo-ji by convincing East Gate's watchmen to take a nap while he watches the ship. A watchman who was away to relieve his bladder sees Pan-sool and Yoo-ji. Jung Hong-soo sees Moon-seon leaving his father's office and tells him it does not look good for him to repeatedly visit with merchants. At Hanyang Harbor Inspector Kim discovers the black cow hide hidden under boxes of tangerines. Lord Jung orders an investigation on suspected illegal trade and tampering with the King's food. Hong-soo questions why the tribute transport vessel would be used for illegal trade and suspects a conspiracy against the company running the vessel, since the tribute goods transport service is lucrative and the ship was not guarded by state guards. He recommends investigating only the limited people who had resources to acquire the contraband. Inspector Kim vows that the Bureau of Commerce Control will interrogate the smugglers and the attempt against the royal family. Hong-soo suspects his father is involved in assigning Inspector Kim to the investigation. Assistant Magistrate Choi Nam-gu arrests both foremen of East Gate and tortures Senior Foreman Go Seok-joo. A black cow rancher is interrogated and admits to releasing black cow goods without permission from the Magistrate's office because a man claiming to be the senior foreman of East Gate said it was urgent and promised to bring the release order later. Man-deok appeals to the Magistrate to stop the torture and investigate because Senior Foreman Go would never get involved in illegal trading and only a few have access to black cows, a rare commodity. Senior Foreman Go apologizes to Granny for his lack of prudence and asks her to take care of East Gate. Man-deok talks with the rancher. He couldn't see the man in the dark who requested the black cow products, and he won't provide her a description of him. Junior Foreman Kim Pan-sool is released by the Magistrate and brings East Gate news that Senior Foreman Go will be exiled. Granny and Man-deok decide to investigate Pan-sool's whereabouts the night the before the ship departed. On Moon-seon's orders, Mu Maeng-dal goes to East Gate to collect repayment of his loan. He shows the loan agreement that left open the date for repayment and orders the staff to leave the property since Senior Chairman Go is in custody and unable to make his payment. News spreads of Senior Foreman Go's death. Granny demands that Mu allow them to have proper mourning observance by bringing his body back to East Gate. Moon-seon pays her respects and invites Granny and Man-deok to work for her. Man-deok rebuffs Moon-seon's friendship. Moon-seon overhears how fond the island's people are of Man-deok. During the funeral procession, Pan-sool sneaks into Man-deok's quarters and steals the paper that proves she is Inspector Kim's daughter. The inspector sees Pan-sool. Moon-seon spreads a rumor that Inspector Kim rushed to Jeju when he found out East Gate was in trouble. She wants the islanders to think that East Gate used powerful connections to get contracts. She assigns the gisaeng Yoha to tell Assistant Magistrate Choi, who tries to intimidate the inspector. Mu takes East Gate's merchandise to the market for liquidation and orders them to leave the compound. He refuses to extend the loan to Man-deok. Granny gives Pan-sool the task of finding new jobs for the staff. When the staff member admits that he saw Pan-sool letting men on the ship with goods, he follows Moon-seon's orders and fingers Yoo-ji. Confronted by Man-deok, Yoo-ji confirms his role. He suggests that she has lost her home, so she should let him take care of her, but she rebuffs him. Kang vows that wherever she goes will end up like East Gate. The Great Merchant The Great Merchant (; lit. Merchant Kim Man-deok) is a 2010 South Korean historical drama starring Lee Mi-yeon, Han Jae-suk, Park Sol-mi, Ha Seok-jin, and Go Doo-shim. It aired on KBS1 from March 6 to June 13, 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:40 for 30 episodes. The series follows the life of Kim Man-deok (1739-1812). Kim was born on Jeju Island. Adopted by the head of a gisaeng house at the age of 12, she became a government gisaeng
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Fiasco (novel)"
time Lem was emigrating from Poland due to the introduction of martial law. Lem stated that this was the only occasion he wrote something upon publisher's request, accepting an advance for a nonexistent novel. At a base on Saturn's moon Titan, a young spaceship pilot Parvis sets out in a strider (a mecha-like machine) to find several missing people, among them Pirx (the spaceman appearing in Lem's "Tales of Pirx the Pilot"). Parvis ventures to the dangerous geyser region, where the others were lost. Unfortunately, he suffers an accident. Seeing no way to get out of the machine and return to safety, he triggers a built-in cryogenic device. An expedition is sent to a distant star in order to make first contact with a civilization that may have been detected. It is set more than a century after the prologue, when a starship is built in Titan's orbit. This future society is described as globally unified and peaceful with high regard for success. During starship preparations, the geyser region is cleared, and the frozen bodies are discovered. They are exhumed and taken aboard, to be awakened, if possible, during the voyage. However, only one of them can be revived (or more precisely, pieced together from the organs of several of them) with a high likelihood of success. The identity of the man is unclear; it has been narrowed to two men (whose last names begin with 'P'). It is never revealed whether he is in fact Pirx or Parvis (and he seems to have amnesia). In his new life, he adopts the name Tempe. The explorer spaceship "Eurydika" (Eurydice) first travels to a black hole near the Beta Harpiae to perform maneuvers to minimize the effects of time dilation. Before closing on the event horizon, the Eurydice launches the "Hermes", a smaller explorer ship, which continues on to Beta Harpiae. Closing in on the planet Quinta which exhibits signs of harboring intelligent life, the crew of the Hermes attempts to establish contact with the denizens of the planet, who, contrary to the expectations of the mission's crewmen, are strangely unwilling to communicate. The crew reaches the conclusion that there is a Cold War-like state on the planet's surface, halting the locals' industrial development. They try to force the aliens to engage contact by means of an event impossible to hide by the aliens' governments: staging the implosion of their moon. Surprisingly, just before impact, several of the deployed rockets are destroyed by missiles of the Quintans, undermining the symmetry of the implosion which causes fragments of the moon to be thrown clear, some impacting the planet's surface. However, even this cataclysm does not drive the locals to open up to their alien visitors, so the crewmen deploy a device working as a giant lens or laser, capable of displaying images (but also concentrating beams to the point of being a powerful weapon) and following a suggestion by Tempe, show the Quintans a "fairy tale" by projecting a cartoon onto Quinta's clouds. At last, the Quintans contact the "Hermes" and make arrangements for a meeting. The humans do not trust the Quintans, so to gauge the Quintans' intentions they send a smaller replica of the "Hermes" — which is destroyed shortly before landing. The humans retaliate by firing their laser on the ice ring around the planet, shattering it and sending chunks falling on the planet. Finally, the Quintans are forced to receive an 'ambassador', who is again Tempe; the Quintans are warned that the projecting device will be used to destroy the planet if the man should fail to report back his continued safety. After landing, Tempe discovers that there is no trace of anyone at the landing site. After investigating a peculiar structure nearby, he scouts around and finds a strange-looking mound, which he opens with a small shovel. To his horror, he notices that in his distracted state he has allowed the allotted time to run out without signaling his crewmates above. As the planet is engulfed by fiery destruction at the hands of those who were sent to establish contact with its denizens, Tempe finally realizes what the Quintans are: the mounds. However, he has no time to share his discovery with the others. The book is the fourth in Lem's series of pessimistic first contact scenarios, after "Eden", "Solaris" and" The Invincible". It deals with the Fermi paradox and the concept of otherness. Lem describes an alien species that is much more 'alien' than those imagined by most other science fiction authors. He is also critical of human nature, describing how the crew's desire to force contact by any means makes the failure of the mission inevitable. According to critic Paul Delany: Fiasco (novel) Fiasco () is a science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem,
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Ottawa Fringe Festival"
Arts Court to provide refreshment and a location for mingling with the artists. Most Fringe performances are plays, and most last an hour or less. Since 2009, a limited number of 90-minute spots have been available. The content of the plays varies since acceptance to the festival is by lottery, and the shows are not juried. Because Ottawa is a bilingual city, both English and French productions are presented at the Fringe, though a small number of productions in past years have been bilingual. Each patron must purchase a $3 Fringe Pin, which grants entry for the duration of the festival. Most performances are ticketed events, and require the purchase of a ticket on top of the Fringe Pin. Visitors aren't permitted entrance to ticketed performance unless their wearing a Fringe Pin. Tickets generally cost $12. For those attending multiple shows, discounted admission is available in the form of five- and ten-show passes, for $45 and $99 respectively. In keeping with the core mandate of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, one hundred percent of the proceeds from ticket sales go to the performers. The Fringe seeks to minimize its impact on the artistic decisions of its performers. Thus the festival allocates its limited stage time by lottery, with a certain percentage put aside for local, Canadian, and international troupes. Each winning troupe will get to perform its show in the same venue at different times, from a little after noon to midnight, over several days. The rotation of time slots helps to even out the audience-dampening effects of performing late at night or when most people are at work. Since anyone able to meet an application fee can apply to perform at the Fringe, and berths are awarded by lottery, the quality of the shows can vary widely. The Ottawa Fringe has spawned at least one international success. Ottawa playwright and actor Pierre Brault's one person show, "Blood on the Moon," tells of the trial, (perhaps wrongful) conviction, and execution of Patrick J. Whelan for D'Arcy McGee's murder. After its successful Fringe run, Brault performed "Blood on the Moon" at the National Arts Centre, toured the show across Canada, and even brought it to Ireland. Ottawa Fringe Festival The Ottawa Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Ottawa. The festival was inaugurated in 1997. The festival takes place for ten days each June. Performances are held indoors
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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Solarquest
ran a successful Kickstarter campaign (Nov. 8 - Dec. 25, 2016) to fund his new release of SolarQuest, expected to enter production in 2017. This "Deluxe Edition" will include more up-to-date astronomical data, a magnetic Fuel Tank Card (preventing the accidental movement of its metal markers), modernized graphics, and enhanced gameplay. Players travel through the solar system acquiring properties, charging rent, and building fuel stations within individual planetary systems. The winner is the player who builds the greatest financial empire and "survives the perils of space travel to become the last player on the board," according to the 1986 "SolarQuest" rules. A journey around the Sun encompasses: Players roll dice and travel along a blue flight path from planet to planet. There are also Red Shift cards directing players to specific destinations (e.g. Advance to Mars). Players can buy planets and moons, and trade with one another to acquire monopolies. They can also build fuel stations on these bodies, and charge fees for refueling. Each planet has a deed card with instructions on rent and fuel costs. Research labs and space docks are similar to the utilities in "Monopoly". Federation stations cannot be owned, but offer an opportunity to collect cash and purchase spare fuel stations. There are also 16 black dots, representing planets' gravity, and 17 blue dots, representing floating in space. Altogether, the board has a total of 91 spaces (compared to "Monopoly"'s 40). The color groups are: Players have to watch their fuel level carefully since getting stranded with no way to refuel means the loss of the game. Fuel is only used when leaving a planet or moon. According to the rules, "This occurs because the ship must escape the gravitational pull of the planet or moon." Thus, fuel is not used when leaving a manmade satellite or an empty space. It is always good to have spare fuel stations on hand. If a player runs out of fuel after landing on a planet that has no fuel station, he can force the sale of the property, build a fuel station, and replenish his fuel tank. A suggested variation is that players who are close enough to each other can fire lasers. A roll of doubles damages the ship, allowing the aggressor to charge for repairs. A roll of double sixes completely destroys the opposing ship, knocking them out of the game. A Red Shift card is drawn when a player rolls doubles. These are similar to the Chance or Community Chest cards in "Monopoly". The 36 Red Shift cards consist of: The rules also provide for an "Advanced Play" variant known as "Strategic Solarquest" in which Red Shift cards are only drawn if double sixes are rolled. If another set of doubles is rolled (e.g. 1-1, 2-2, etc.) the player collects 100 federons, moves the number of spaces corresponding to the pips on the dice, and then has the option of either landing on that space or "bypassing" it and rolling again. Bypassing it means that the player does not pay rent, expend fuel when leaving the space, or do the other usual things associated with landing; instead, he continues his turn, rolling the dice and moving again from the bypassed space. Lasers can be fired when bypassing. In "Strategic Solarquest", the players' mobility is diminished because most Red Shift cards cause the player to jump around the board to a different location. This can be good or bad – good, if the player is trying to continue orbiting a planet, buying up properties; bad, if the player ends up paying high rents because he is stuck in orbit around a planet whose moons are mostly owned by another player. "Solarquest" is a relatively complex game, with 48 properties available for purchase (compared to "Monopoly"'s 28), and the additional considerations of fuel and lasers. The player's path is not as linear as in "Monopoly", since it is possible to continue travelling around a planet for several orbits before finally escaping its gravity. Still, the basic concepts are the same, and experience shows it is easy to learn for anyone who has played "Monopoly". Like "Monopoly", this game can theoretically go on indefinitely as cash accumulates and it becomes difficult to force bankruptcy. "SolarQuest" was first published by Valen Brost Game Company in 1985, and then by Golden/Western Publishing Company in 1987 with minor rule revisions. For instance, in the 1985 edition, refueling on earth cost $25 per hydron; the 1987 rules provided, "If you land on Earth you may also refuel for free as a welcome home gift from the Federation." Another example is that the 1985 rules allowed the player to collect $500 for passing on Earth and $1,000 for landing on Earth; the 1987 rules provided that "Every time you land on or pass Earth you collect $500 Federons from the bank." In 1994, the game and puzzle division of Western Publishing was purchased by Hasbro (parent company of Parker Brothers, the makers of Monopoly) who were then controlling 80% of the U.S. board game market, and they chose to market a Star Wars Monopoly edition instead of SolarQuest. The Monopoly brand was thus strengthened, while SolarQuest was effectively blocked from the board game market. In 1995, Universal Games released an "Apollo 13" edition featuring artwork from the 1995 Universal Pictures film "Apollo 13". Some differences between the 1995 edition and earlier versions include: A highly simplified spinoff was published in 1997 by Valen Brost Game Co called "Spaceopoly". This game has secret mission cards, similar to "Risk", specifying an assignment that the player can complete to win the game. The rules contain quirky provisions; for example, the last sentence of the rule on laser battles reads: "If an opponent fires a laser at your ship and rolls 12 (i.e., double sixes), your ship is totally disabled and you are out of the game. Your attacker wins all of your money and property. Exception: If you hold the 'Invented a new force field' mission card you survive the attack and automatically win the game!" No computerized versions have been authorized for development by Valen Brost. Solarquest SolarQuest is a space-age real estate trading board game published in 1985 and developed by Valen Brost, who conceived the idea in 1976. The game is patterned after "Monopoly", but it replaces pewter tokens with rocket ships and hotels with metallic fuel stations. Players travel around the sun acquiring monopolies of planets, moons, and man-made space structures. They seek to knock their opponents out of the game through bankruptcy, as well as optional laser blasts and dwindling
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Warriors: Omen of the Stars"
part of a prophecy, have special powers. The arc's themes deal with forbidden love and the effect that being different can have on relationships. Though the "Warriors" series has appeared on the "New York Times" Bestseller List, none of the novels in "Warriors: Omen of the Stars" has won a significant literary award. In the United States, hardcover and e-book formats for "The Fourth Apprentice" were published on 24 November 2009, "Fading Echoes" on 6 April 2010, "Night Whispers" on 23 November 2010, "Sign of the Moon" on 5 April 2011, "The Forgotten Warrior" on 22 November 2011, and "The Last Hope" on 3 April 2012. The first four books were also released on those days in an audiobook format, read by Kathleen McInerney. Paperback editions of each were released on 21 December 2010, 5 April 2011, 27 December 2011, 3 April 2012, 26 December 2012, and 2 April 2013, respectively. Release in Canada generally preceded release in the United States by a few days. "The Fourth Apprentice" was released in hardcover on 24 November 2009 (same as the United States) and paperback on 13 December 2010. "Fading Echoes" was released in hardcover on 15 May 2010 and paperback on 5 April 2011. "Night Whispers" was released in hardcover on 19 November 2010 and paperback on 19 December 2011. "Sign of the Moon" was released in hardcover on 5 April 2011 (same as the United States) and paperback on 26 March 2012. "The Forgotten Warrior" was released in hardcover on 22 November 2011 (same as the United States) and 13 December 2012. "The Last Hope" was released in hardcover on 26 March 2012 and in paperback on 25 March 2013. "The Fourth Apprentice" takes place approximately six months after the end of "Sunrise", during the summer, when the four Clans are suffering due to a drought. In ThunderClan, sisters Dovekit and Ivykit become apprentices with Lionblaze as Dovepaw's mentor and Cinderheart as Ivypaw's. While out in the forest, Dovepaw speaks of seeing brown animals (beavers) up the river building a dam, causing the drought, but no other cat believes her. Lionblaze realizes that Dovepaw is one of the Three foretold in the prophecy "There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws", of which he and his brother Jayfeather are also a part. They each have a special power, and he realizes that Dovepaw's is the ability to see and hear things very far away, i.e., clairvoyance. Lionblaze plans to travel up the stream and find a way to unblock it and bring the water back, a journey that would include a patrol from each Clan, and ThunderClan leader Firestar agrees, sending Lionblaze and Dovepaw to represent ThunderClan. After an initial failed attack on the beaver dam, in which RiverClan warrior Rippletail is killed, the patrol succeeds in destroying the dam with the help of a few housecats encountered during their journey. Meanwhile, back in ThunderClan, when the warrior Poppyfrost secretly leaves camp to visit the Moonpool, a sacred location for the Clans' medicine cats, ThunderClan medicine cat Jayfeather follows her there. Upon arriving at the Moonpool, Jayfeather is attacked by his half-brother, WindClan warrior Breezepelt, who had also followed Poppyfrost to the Moonpool. The spirit of another cat, unknown to Jayfeather (Brokenstar), aids Breezepelt in the attack, but the spirit of Poppyfrost's sister Honeyfern comes to Jayfeather's aid and chases them away. Jayfeather tells Lionblaze about the tom that aided Breezepelt, and Lionblaze confesses to meeting Tigerstar, the antagonist from the original "Warriors" series, in his dreams in the past. They realize that Breezepelt must have been recruited by Tigerstar to help fight in a war between StarClan and the Dark Forest. The spirit of Hawkfrost, Tigerstar's son, begins to visit Ivypaw in her dreams and teaches her battle moves, pretending he is from StarClan. Ivypaw, still jealous that Dovepaw is keeping secrets from her, decides not to tell anyone about Hawkfrost's training. The spirit of Tigerstar tells Ivypaw that giving a strip of territory to ShadowClan to avoid future conflicts has endangered ThunderClan. Ivypaw believes Tigerstar and tells Firestar that she had a dream from StarClan of ShadowClan invading because they believe that Firestar is too weak to keep his own territory. Firestar and the senior warriors decide to attack ShadowClan preemptively. During the battle, Lionblaze accidentally kills ShadowClan deputy Russetfur after she takes Firestar's seventh life. Jayfeather discovers upon unintentionally entering Ivypaw's dream that Ivypaw and Tigerheart are receiving training from the cats in the Dark Forest. Lionblaze and Cinderheart decide to do an early border patrol and run into ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice Flametail, who is angry with Lionblaze for killing Russetfur in "Fading Echoes". Dovepaw later uses her power to listen in on Lionblaze and Jayfeather, who are discussing Ivypaw's training in the Dark Forest, then confronts Ivypaw about this. Ivypaw denies that it is wrong. Dovepaw wants to try to stop her from going, but Jayfeather tells her to leave Ivypaw alone for the time being. Blackstar, leader of ShadowClan, asks Flametail and his mentor, Littlecloud, whether StarClan sent them a sign regarding the battle or not. When they reveal that there was no sign, Blackstar asks Littlecloud to go to the Moonpool to speak with StarClan. When Flametail arrives at the Moonpool, the spirit of Raggedstar, a former ShadowClan leader, tells him that ShadowClan must stand alone and not trust any allies. In the Dark Forest, Ivypaw overhears Tigerstar telling Tigerheart during a training session that if Tigerheart cannot beat those "ThunderClan weaklings", he is nothing. Ivypaw, realizing that Tigerstar lied to her, flees. She then agrees to act as a spy on the Dark Forest for Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw. Flametail falls through the ice on the frozen lake while playing a game with other apprentices and begins to drown. Jayfeather attempts to save Flametail until the spirit of Rock, an ancient cat from before the Clans, appears and tells Jayfeather that it is Flametail's time to die. Jayfeather lets go of Flametail, who drowns. Jayfeather, Dovewing, Foxleap, and Squirrelflight visit the Tribe of Rushing Water when Jayfeather receives a dream from the ancient cat Rock, who insists he go to the mountains without telling him the purpose. While there, Jayfeather is sent back in time as his previous incarnation, Jay's Wing, to convince the Tribe's ancestors to stay in the mountains after journeying from the lake at Jayfeather/Jay's Wing's urging in "Long Shadows". Realizing that the ancient Tribe has not yet gained a connection with their ancestors' spirits, he appoints the Tribe's first Teller of the Pointed Stones (also called Stoneteller, a role similar to Clan leader and medicine cat combined). He appoints Half Moon, then returns to the present day, where he appoints Crag Where Eagles Nest as the Stoneteller of modern times to resolve a crisis due to the current Stoneteller dying of old age without a successor. New ThunderClan apprentices Cherrypaw and Molepaw have a run-in with a fox, but an unknown cat saves them. Lionblaze investigates, finding Sol, a loner first introduced in "Eclipse" who previously predicted an eclipse that briefly convinced ShadowClan to lose faith in StarClan. Sol says that he saved the apprentices and is welcomed by some, but not trusted by others. When Sol disappears, Dovewing and Ivypool follow him into the tunnels and discover that he is trying to cause a battle between ThunderClan and WindClan. While Dovewing and Ivypool are spying on Sol and WindClan in the tunnels, WindClan warrior Owlwhisker almost discovers them, but Hollyleaf, who had not died in the tunnel collapse in "Sunrise" and instead lived in the tunnels in self-imposed exile, leads them to safety. Before she can re-enter the tunnels, Lionblaze arrives and convinces her to return to ThunderClan. Dovewing and Ivypool reveal that Sol is planning an attack on ThunderClan and that Hollyleaf actually saved the apprentices from the fox. In preparation, Hollyleaf teaches ThunderClan battle skills useful in the tunnels. When WindClan attacks through the tunnels, ThunderClan repels the attack, being more experienced in underground combat due to Hollyleaf's training. Jayfeather receives a prophecy informing him that there is actually a fourth cat in the prophecy. Jayfeather believes it may be Mothwing, medicine cat of RiverClan, divisions in StarClan and the medicine cats, due to the accusation that Jayfeather murdered Flametail in "Night Whispers", makes it difficult to speak to Mothwing. Jayfeather is granted safe passage, however, and Mothwing shows him a reed that has been smoldering for days, even after heavy rainfall. Jayfeather takes this as an omen to find the spirit of Flametail, although the divisions in StarClan make it difficult. When he finds Flametail, he convinces Flametail to reveal the truth: that he had drowned and was not killed by Jayfeather. This revelation resolves the divisions among the medicine cats, who then unite StarClan in preparation for the final battle with the Dark Forest. Former ThunderClan leader Bluestar tells Jayfeather that the fourth cat is Firestar. The final battle between the Clans and the Dark Forest then begins, with both StarClan and Dark Forest cats taking on corporeal forms. It's not long before the battle begins spin out of control. The battle ends when Firestar kills Tigerstar's spirit, but he dies immediately afterward and loses his last life. Reviews for the series were generally positive. A reviewer for "Booklist" suggested that fans of the series would enjoy "The Fourth Apprentice" and called Dovepaw a "reluctant heroine". A reviewer for "Horn Book Guide" praised the dramatic adventures and fight scenes. It was also noted that "Fading Echoes" explores how having special abilities can affect relationships. A reviewer for "Booklist" called "Sign of the Moon" a "bridge book", but praised Hunter for the quality of the novel and allowing readers to "get to know a few of the multitudinous cast" better. One criticism of the series came from both Beth L. Meister and Kitty Flynn writing for "Horn Book Guide", who noted in multiple reviews for books in the series that new readers would have difficulty getting into the story due to the amount of required background information and numerous characters. However, they rated all six books four out of a six-point scale in which a rating of one is the highest. Meister also commented that themes often revolve around forbidden interClan romances. Warriors: Omen of the Stars Warriors: Omen of the Stars is the fourth arc in the "Warriors" juvenile fantasy novel series about Feral cats who live in clans. It comprises six novels published by HarperCollins from 2009 to 2012: "The Fourth Apprentice", "Fading Echoes", "Night Whispers", "Sign of the Moon", "The Forgotten Warrior", and "The Last Hope". The novels were written by Erin Hunter, a pseudonym that refers to authors Kate Cary,
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"Radar Men from the Moon"
the Moon Menace. The odd naming choice of the serial's main hero, "Commando Cody," was possibly an attempt by Republic to make young audiences think they were seeing another adventure of Commander Corry, the hero of the popular ABC TV and radio series "Space Patrol" (1950–1955). There is, however, no surviving evidence that this was a consideration by anyone at Republic. Commando Cody (George Wallace) is a civilian researcher and inventor with a number of employees. He uses a streamlined helmet and a sonic-powered rocket backpack attached to a leather flying jacket. Cody also uses a rocket ship capable of reaching the Moon. When the U. S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious force that can wipe out entire military bases and industrial complexes, Cody surmises (correctly) that the Earth is coming under attack from our own Moon. He then flies his rocket ship there and confronts the Moon's dictator, Retik (Roy Barcroft), who boldly announces his plans to both conquer Earth and then move the Moon's entire population here using spaceships. During the next 11 serial chapters, Cody, now back on Earth, and his associates Joan (Aline Towne), Ted (William Bakewell) and Dick (Gayle Kellogg) battle an elusive lunar agent named Krog (Peter Brocco) and his gang of human henchmen led by Graber (Clayton Moore) and Daly (Bob Stevenson), who use Lunarium-powered ray cannons to disrupt defense forces and weaken public morale. After a second trip to the Moon, in which he captures a sample ray cannon for duplication in his lab, Cody tracks Retik's minions to their hideout where Krog is killed by one of his own devices, and Graber and Daly subsequently die in an over-the-cliff car chase. Retik flies to Earth to take personal charge of his collapsing operations but is blasted out of the sky by one of his own ray weapons. "Radar Men from the Moon" was budgeted at $172,840, although the final negative cost was $185,702 (a $12,862, or 7.4%, overspend); it was the most expensive Republic serial of 1952. It was filmed between October 17 and November 6, 1951 under the working title "Planet Men from Mars"; the serial's production number was 1932. However those numbers are interpreted, in practice the budget for this serial was so tight that a stunt double was not always used for lead actor George Wallace. His nose was broken by accident while filming an energetic fight scene with actor Clayton Moore. Wallace was also suspended in mid-air, lying on a board with the rocket suit's jacket closed around it, in front of a rear projection screen for the in-studio shot flying sequences. Wallace performed his own stunt flying take-offs by jumping onto a springboard that would send him up and over the camera rig set-up. This serial is heavily padded with rocket-suit effects footage first filmed for the earlier "King of the Rocket Men", to which some believe this was a pseudo-sequel. A repainted Juggernaut vehicle from the much-earlier "Undersea Kingdom" serial is also reused here as Retik's lunar tank. All spaceship footage was filmed new for the serial. "Radar Men from the Moon" shows outer space as brightly lit and the characters walking on the Moon in normal Earth gravity and daylight without pressure suits. His laboratory building is actually a Republic Pictures office building with a prop "Cody Laboratories" sign. Two different aerodynamic helmets were used with the Commando Cody rocket backpack, with the lighter weight version being used only in the stunt sequences; the single-hinged visors of both helmets were always getting stuck open or closed. "Radar Men from the Moon"'s official release date is January 9, 1952, although this is actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to U. S. film exchanges. Republic's next new serial, "Zombies of the Stratosphere", which also used some of the Cody flying suit and spaceship footage seen here, followed in the summer and began as a sequel to "Radar Men": for unspecified reasons, Republic changed the character names of Cody and Joan at the last minute. In between these two serials, Republic had begun filming on its first attempt at a TV series, "", but stopped production of that after the first three episodes were filmed to begin work on "Zombies of the Stratosphere". After that serial was finished, Republic resumed filming of 9 more episodes of the Cody TV series, but then, after it was completed, released it also as a theatrical serial instead of to TV. This serial was re-released on September 30, 1957 between Republic's re-releases of the similar "Zorro's Black Whip" and "Son of Zorro". Previously, the final original Republic serial was "King of the Carnival" released two years earlier in 1955. "Radar Men from the Moon" was one of 26 Republic serials syndicated for television in 1966 as 100 minute TV feature films under their Century 66 package marketing name; the title given the TV-movie was "Retik the Moon Menace". In 1979 Firesign Theatre used segments of this and other serials in their made-for-TV parody comedy movie, "J-Men Forever". In 1989 the serial regained notoriety as the first shorts shown by the cult series "Mystery Science Theater 3000". The first eight-and-a-half chapters of this Commando Cody serial were lampooned before their main feature-of-the-week (only half of the ninth installment was shown, with the in-show excuse being "the film broke"). In his 1984 book "In the Nick of Time" author William C. Cline dismissed the serial as a "quickie". Because of a failure to renew copyright, "Radar Men" lapsed into the Public Domain in 1979. Radar Men from the Moon Radar Men from the Moon is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcroft as the evil Retik, the Ruler of the Moon. The director was Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by the Lydecker brothers. This serial recycles the
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when was the last time anyone was on the moon
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"New Moon on Monday"
not chart well in Australia and Scandinavia, territories where its predecessor, "Union of the Snake", had been a big hit. This trend was reversed with the next single, "The Reflex", which became a worldwide number-one hit. In a retrospective review, "New Moon on Monday" was praised by Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco, who wrote: "The music holds the unusual lyrics together by wedding effervescent verse melodies that bounce high and low to a triumphant-sounding chorus with a rousing feel." The music video for "New Moon on Monday" was filmed by director Brian Grant during the morning of December 7, 1983, in the village of Noyers in France. It has a loosely sketched storyline in which the band appear as members of an underground rebellion called "La Luna" (the name is one of the few connections between the video's content and the song lyrics), organizing a revolt against a modern (1980s-era computers are used) oppressive militaristic regime, apparently in France. "We set out to make a little movie," recalled Grant. "I'm not sure we succeeded." He was not the first choice to shoot the video, as Russell Mulcahy, director of many of the band's other videos, was unavailable. Several versions of this video exist. The longest is a 17-minute "movie version" which includes an extended introduction before the song starts (including a scene of dialogue between Simon Le Bon and the story's female lead, played by Patricia Barzyk, winner of the Miss France title in 1980; a brief snippet of "Union of the Snake" is also heard on a radio), and is set to an extended remix of the song. A shorter version, with a spoken French-dialogue intro, was originally submitted to MTV, who then later requested an even shorter version without the prologue. Yet another version was produced for the "Dancing on the Valentine" video collection, showing blue-lit scenes of the band members in front of a full-moon backdrop. All but one of the versions were included as easter eggs on the 2004 DVD compilation "Greatest". Both Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes say this is the band's least favourite video. "Everybody ... hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together," Taylor wrote in his memoirs. "Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays [it]." He recalls that they were miserable since their Christmas holiday had been cut short to shoot the video, and spent most of the day on the dark and cold set drinking, to the point that he was "half cut" by the time the last scenes were shot. "It's one of the few times I've seen Nick dance." "New Moon on Monday" was backed with a remix of the instrumental "Tiger Tiger" done by Ian Little. The original version of the instrumental was found on the "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" album. The release was rounded out by an extended version of the title track. Aside from the single, "New Moon on Monday" appears on: Albums: Videos: Duran Duran are: Other: New Moon on Monday "New Moon on Monday" is the tenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 23 January 1984 in the United Kingdom. The second single to be taken from the band's third album "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" (1983), the song was another success, reaching the top-ten on both the UK and US charts. On 11 February 1984, the single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and on 17 March, it reached number ten on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, after entering on 14 January 1984 at number
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