SIGABA

# SIGABA

## Abstract

In the history of cryptography, the ECM Mark II was a cipher machine used by the United States for message encryption from World War II until the 1950s. The machine was also known as the SIGABA or Converter M-134 by the Army, or CSP-888/889 by the Navy, and a modified Navy version was termed the CSP-2900.

Like many machines of the era it used an electromechanical system of rotors to encipher messages, but with a number of security improvements over previous designs. No successful cryptanalysis of the machine during its service lifetime is publicly known.

## History

It was clear to US cryptographers well before World War II that the single-stepping mechanical motion of rotor machines (e.g. the Hebern machine) could be exploited by attackers. In the case of the famous Enigma machine, these attacks were supposed to be upset by moving the rotors to random locations at the start of each new message. This, however, proved not to be secure enough, and German Enigma messages were frequently broken by cryptanalysis during World War II.

William Friedman, director of the US Army 's Signals Intelligence Service, devised a system to correct for this attack by truly randomizing the motion of the rotors. His modification consisted of a paper tape reader from a teletype machine attached to a small device with metal "feelers" positioned to pass electricity through the holes. When a letter was pressed on the keyboard the signal would be sent through the rotors as it was in the Enigma, producing an encrypted version. In addition, the current would also flow through the paper tape attachment, and any holes in the tape at its current location would cause the corresponding rotor to turn, and then advance the paper tape one position. In comparison, the Enigma rotated its rotors one position with each key press, a much less random movement. The resulting design went into limited production as the M-134 Converter, and its message settings included the position of the tape and the settings of a plugboard that indicated which line of holes on the tape controlled which rotors. However, there were problems using fragile paper tapes under field conditions.

Friedman's associate, Frank Rowlett, then came up with a different way to advance the rotors, using another set of rotors. In Rowlett's design, each rotor must be constructed such that between one and four output signals were generated, advancing one or more of the rotors (rotors normally have one output for every input). There was little money for encryption development in the US before the war, so Friedman and Rowlett built a series of "add on" devices called the SIGGOO (or M-229) that were used with the existing M-134s in place of the paper tape reader. These were external boxes containing a three rotor setup in which five of the inputs were live, as if someone had pressed five keys at the same time on an Enigma, and the outputs were "gathered up" into five groups as well — that is all the letters from A to E would be wired together for instance. That way the five signals on the input side would be randomized through the rotors, and come out the far side with power in one of five lines. Now the movement of the rotors could be controlled with a day code, and the paper tape was eliminated. They referred to the combination of machines as the M-134-C.

In 1935 they showed their work to Joseph Wenger, a cryptographer in the OP-20-G section of the U.S. Navy. He found little interest for it in the Navy until early 1937, when he showed it to Commander Laurance Safford, Friedman's counterpart in the Office of Naval Intelligence. He immediately saw the potential of the machine, and he and Commander Seiler then added a number of features to make the machine easier to build, resulting in the Electric Code Machine Mark II (or ECM Mark II), which the navy then produced as the CSP-889 (or 888).

Oddly, the Army was unaware of either the changes or the mass production of the system, but were "let in" on the secret in early 1940. In 1941 the Army and Navy joined in a joint cryptographic system, based on the machine. The Army then started using it as the SIGABA. Just over 10,000 machines were built.

On 26 June 1942, the Army and Navy agreed not to allow SIGABA machines to be placed in foreign territory except where armed American personnel were able to protect the machine. The SIGABA would be made available to another Allied country only if personnel of that country were denied direct access to the machine or its operation by an American liaison officer who would operate it.

## Description

SIGABA was similar to the Enigma in basic theory, in that it used a series of rotors to encipher every character of the plaintext into a different character of ciphertext. Unlike Enigma's three rotors however, the SIGABA included fifteen, and did not use a reflecting rotor.

The SIGABA had three banks of five rotors each; the action of two of the banks controlled the stepping of the third.

- The main bank of five rotors was termed the cipher rotors (Army) or alphabet maze (Navy) and each rotor had 26 contacts. This assembly acted similarly to other rotor machines, such as the Enigma; when a plaintext letter was entered, a signal would enter one side of the bank and exit the other, denoting the ciphertext letter. Unlike the Enigma, there was no reflector.

- The second bank of five rotors was termed the control rotors or stepping maze. These were also 26-contact rotors. The control rotors received four signals at each step. After passing through the control rotors, the outputs were divided into ten groups of various sizes, ranging from 1–6 wires. Each group corresponded to an input wire for the next bank of rotors.

- The third bank of rotors was called the index rotors. These rotors were smaller, with only ten contacts, and did not step during the encryption. After travelling though the index rotors, one to four of five output lines would have power. These then turned the cypher rotors.

The SIGABA advanced one or more of its main rotors in a complex, pseudorandom fashion. This meant that attacks which could break other rotor machines with simpler stepping (for example, Enigma) were made much more complex. Even with the plaintext in hand, there were so many potential inputs to the encryption that it was difficult to work out the settings.

On the downside, the SIGABA was also large, heavy, expensive, difficult to operate, mechanically complex, and fragile. It was nowhere near as practical a device as the Enigma, which was smaller and lighter than the radios with which it was used. It found widespread use in the radio rooms of US Navy ships, but as a result of these practical problems the SIGABA simply couldn't be used in the field. In most theatres other systems were used instead, especially for tactical communications. One of the most famous was the use of Navajo code talkers for tactical field communications in the Pacific Theater. In other theatres, less secure, but smaller, lighter, and sturdier machines were used, such as the M-209. SIGABA, impressive as it was, was overkill for tactical communications. This said, new speculative evidence emerged more recently that the M-209 code was broken by German cryptanalysts during World War II.

## Operation

Because SIGABA did not have a reflector, a 26+ pole switch was needed to change the signal paths through the alphabet maze between the encryption and decryption modes. The long “controller” switch was mounted vertically, with its knob on the top of the housing. See image. It had five positions, O, P, R, E and D. Besides encrypt (E) and decrypt (D), it had a plain text position (P) that printed whatever was typed on the output tape, and a reset position (R) that was used to set the rotors and to zeroize the machine. The O position turned the machine off. The P setting was used to print the indicators and date/time groups on the output tape. It was the only mode that printed numbers. No printing took place in the R setting, but digit keys were active to increment rotors.

During encryption, the Z key was connected to the X key and the space bar produced a Z input to the alphabet maze. A Z was printed as a space on decryption. The reader was expected to understand that a word like “xebra” in a decrypted message was actually “zebra.” The printer automatically added a space between each group of five characters during encryption.

The SIGABA was zeroized when all the index rotors read zero in their low order digit and all the alphabet and code rotors were set to the letter O. Each rotor had a cam that caused the rotor to stop in the proper position during the zeroize process.

SIGABA's rotors were all housed in a removable frame held in place by four thumb screws. This allowed the most sensitive elements of the machine to be stored in more secure safes and to be quickly thrown overboard or otherwise destroyed if capture was threatened. It also allowed a machine to quickly switch between networks that used different rotor orders. Messages had two 5- character indicators, an exterior indicator that specified the system being used and the security classification and an interior indicator that determined the initial settings of the code and alphabet rotors. The key list included separate index rotor settings for each security classification. This prevented lower classification messages from being used as cribs to attack higher classification messages.

The Navy and Army had different procedures for the interior indicator. Both started by zeroizing the machine and having the operator select a random 5-character string for each new message. This was then encrypted to produce the interior indicator. Army key lists included an initial setting for the rotors that was used to encrypt the random string. The Navy operators used the keyboard to increment the code rotors until they matched the random character string. The alphabet rotor would move during this process and their final position was the internal indicator. In case of joint operations, the Army procedures were followed.

The key lists included a “26-30” check string. After the rotors were reordered according to the current key, the operator would zeroize the machine, encrypt 25 characters and then encrypt “AAAAA”. The ciphertext resulting from the five A's had to match the check string. The manual warned that typographical errors were possible in key lists and that a four character match should be accepted.

The manual also gave suggestions on how to generate random strings for creating indicators. These included using playing cards and poker chips, to selecting characters from cipher texts and using the SIGABA itself as a random character generator.

## Security

Although the SIGABA was extremely secure, the US continued to upgrade its capability throughout the war, for fear of the Axis cryptanalytic ability to break SIGABA's code. When the German's ENIGMA messages and Japan's Type B Cipher Machine were broken, the messages were closely scrutinized for signs that Axis forces were able to read the US cryptography codes. Axis prisoners of war (POWs) were also interrogated with the goal of finding evidence that US cryptography had been broken. However, neither the Germans nor the Japanese were making any progress in breaking the SIGABA code. A decrypted JN-A-20 message, dated 24 January 1942, sent from the naval attaché in Berlin to vice chief of Japanese Naval General Staff in Tokyo stated that "joint Jap-German cryptanalytical efforts" to be "highly satisfactory", since the "German have exhibited commendable ingenuity and recently experienced some success on English Navy systems", but are "encountering difficulty in establishing successful techniques of attack on 'enemy' code setup". In another decrypted JN-A-20 message, the Germans admitted that their progress in breaking US communications was unsatisfactory. The Japanese also admitted in their own communications that they had made no real progress against the American cipher system. In September 1944, when the Allies were advancing steadily on the Western front, the war diary of the German Signal Intelligence Group recorded: "U.S. 5-letter traffic: Work discontinued as unprofitable at this time".

SIGABA systems were closely guarded at all times, with separate safes for the system base and the code-wheel assembly, but there was one incident where a unit was lost for a time. On February 3, 1945, a truck carrying a SIGABA system in three safes was stolen while its guards were visiting a brothel in recently liberated Colmar, France. General Eisenhower ordered an extensive search, which finally discovered the safes six weeks later in a nearby river.

## Interoperability with Allied counterparts

The need for cooperation among US, British, and Canadian forces in carrying out joint military operations against Axis forces gave rise to the need for a cipher system that could be used by all Allied forces. This functionality was achieved in three different ways. Firstly, the ECM Adapter (CSP 1000), which could be retrofitted on Allied cipher machines, was produced at the Washington Naval Yard ECM Repair Shop. A total of 3,500 adapters were produced. The second method was to adapt the SIGABA for interoperation with a modified British machine, the Typex. The common machine was known as the Combined Cipher Machine (CCM), and was used from November 1943. Because of the high cost of production, only 631 CCMs were made. The third way was the most common and most cost-effective. It was the "X" Adapter manufactured by the Teletype Corporation in Chicago. A total of 4,500 of these adapters were installed at depot-level maintenance facilities.


Personal mobility

# Personal mobility

## Abstract

In Universal Personal Telecommunications (UPT), personal mobility is the ability of a user to access telecommunication services at any UPT terminal on the basis of a personal identifier, and the capability of the network to provide those services in accord with the user's service profile.

Personal mobility involves the network's capability to locate the terminal associated with the user for the purposes of addressing, routing, and charging the user for calls. "Access" is intended to convey the concepts of both originating and terminating services. Management of the service profile by the user is not part of personal mobility. The personal mobility aspects of personal communications are based on the UPT number.


The Monster of Phantom Lake

# The Monster of Phantom Lake

## Abstract

The Monster of Phantom Lake is an independent comedy released on March 9, 2006. It is a modern 1950s style, Cold War era, B-grade "drive-in" movie in the style of The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, Monster from the Ocean Floor, or The Horror of Party Beach. Written, directed and edited by Christopher R. Mihm, the film was shot on digital video in and around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The entire film was made for less than $10,000. The film stars Minnesota & Wisconsin based actors with the director taking a small part. Monster of Phantom Lake has spawned a series of subsequent films including It Came from Another World (10 May 2007), Cave Women on Mars (12 April 2008), Terror from Beneath the Earth (2009), Destination Outer Space (2010), Attack of the Moon Zombies (2011), House of Ghosts (2012), The Giant Spider (2013), and The Late Night Double Feature (2014). The films are all connected to each other, sharing common fictional locations or characters (and actors) or both, forming what the creators call "The Mihmiverse".

## Plot synopsis

Phantom Lake, a serene lake in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, has long been a dumping ground of various and sundry companies, looking to eliminate their waste products, including atomic waste. It is patrolled by the Canoe Cops, a duo of police officers, who have not yet noticed anything strange in the water. The lake also sports a lush forest surrounding it, a forest which is home to a World War II vet, Michael Kaiser. Driven to insanity by the events of the war, he murdered his wife and fled to the woods, always on the watch for his enemies, the Germans.

Kaiser, while trailing two of the dumpers, falls into the lake, directly in the area they've been dumping atomic waste. His body is transformed into that of a monster.. The Monster of Phantom Lake. He soon begins hunting two groups of campers. One of those groups include five teenagers who have just graduated from high school. The other includes a scientist, Professor Jackson, and his graduate student, Stephanie Yates. One person after another falls victim to his deathly hugs, until only three survive.

With the help of his great scientific mind - and his trusty pipe - Professor Jackson concludes they can destroy the monster in only one way. It must be prevented from reaching the water from which it was created. And only one person can do it, a girl who just happens to be the spitting image of Kaiser's late wife.

## Cast and crew

- Josh Craig as Professor Jackson

- Leigha Horton as Stephanie Yates

- Deanne McDonald as Elizabeth

- Brad Tracy as George

- Lindsey Holmes as Penny

- Justen Overlander as Jonathan

- Rachel Grubb as Amy

- Mike Cook as Gustav

- M. Scott Taulman as Sven

- Dustin Booth as Toady Man

- Christopher R. Mihm as Gruff Man

- Mike Mason as Lobo

- Michael Kaiser as The Monster

## Screenings and festivals

The Monster of Phantom Lake was accepted to and screened at the 2006 Faux Film Festival, the 3rd Annual Flint Film Festival, the first ever Twin Cities Underground Film Festival, the Audience Choice Awards Monthly Independent Film Festival, the 2006 Independents' Film Festival (IFF) Showcase, the 5th Annual ShockerFest International Film Festival, the Underexposed Film Festival and the It Came From Lake Michigan Independent Film Festival.

The world premiere was held at The Heights theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on March 9, 2006, with a repeat engagement on May 17, 2006, owing to popular demand. The film has screened dozens of times in different cities across the U.S., from Oakland, California, to Syracuse, New York (and many points in between). The film held its drive-in debut at the Hi-Way 18 Outdoor Theatre in Jefferson, Wisconsin, on September 1, 2006.

The film has won repeated awards at the Big Dam Film Festival, a series of festivals taking place in 2007.

On April 12, 2008, the film was shown after "Cave Women on Mars" at The Heights theater, with special "pop up trivia" added.

## Reception

In his review for Dread Central, Jon Condit rated the film as 3 stars from five.

## Sources

- The Monster of Phantom Lake at AllMovie

- The official site of the films or Christopher R. Mihm

- The Little Movie That Could

- City Pages Review

- The official website of Leigha Horton


C. J. Stroud

# C. J. Stroud

## Abstract

Coleridge Bernard " C. J. " Stroud IV (born October 3, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He is the best Texans QB of all time. No one knows where the J comes from in his name. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he holds several school records, including most passing yards in a single game with 573, as well as being the first player to throw for six touchdowns three times. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022 and was selected by the Texans second overall in the 2023 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he led the Texans to a division title and playoff victory en route to winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

## Early life

Stroud was born on October 3, 2001, in Rancho Cucamonga, California, the youngest of four children. In 2016, his father, Coleridge Bernard Stroud III, received a 38-years-to-life sentence after pleading guilty to kidnapping, carjacking and robbery in connection with a drug-related incident under California's three-strikes law. As of 2023, his father has been incarcerated since Stroud was in middle school, and is serving his sentence in Folsom State Prison near Sacramento. The incarceration sent the Stroud family into severe financial debt; they lived in a small apartment above a storage facility as Stroud entered Rancho Cucamonga High School.

As a senior, he was the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin offensive player of the year after passing for 3,878 yards and 47 touchdowns. In 2019, he was the MVP of the Elite 11. Stroud was selected to play in the 2020 All-American Bowl. Initially considered a 3-star recruit, Stroud finished high school as the third-highest rated quarterback of his class. He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.

Stroud has been friends with Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young since the two went to high schools located in Southern California. The two continued their friendship in college, and ultimately were selected with the first two picks in the 2023 NFL draft.

## College career

### 2020 season

Stroud spent his true freshman year at Ohio State redshirting as a backup to Justin Fields. He played just eight snaps in 2020, throwing no passes, but did score a 48-yard rushing touchdown against Michigan State. He also played one snap in the 2021 Sugar Bowl against Clemson after Fields took a hard hit to the ribs.

### 2021 season

Stroud was named the starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman following the departure of Fields to the 2021 NFL draft. He was chosen over freshmen Kyle McCord, Quinn Ewers, and fellow redshirt freshman Jack Miller III. Coach Ryan Day credited his decision-making, leadership skills, and accuracy as the reasons that he earned the starting spot.

Stroud started every game for the Buckeyes aside from a Week 4 game against Akron in order to rest a shoulder injury he sustained in the season opener. Over the season, he earned first-team All-Big Ten Honors; was named the Big 10 quarterback of the year; won Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times; was a finalist for both the Davey O'Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy; and became the only quarterback in Ohio State history to throw five touchdowns against a Big Ten competitor four times in one season. He led the team to a 10–2 record in the regular season, with losses to Oregon and bitter rival Michigan. The loss to Michigan cost Ohio State the chance to play in the Big Ten Championship. Ohio State bounced back from this disappointment at the Rose Bowl; coming back from a 14-point deficit against Utah to win 48–45. Stroud broke both school and Rose Bowl records with 573 yards thrown in the Rose Bowl; he also tied a school record and set a Rose Bowl record with six touchdown passes. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.

### 2022 season

Following a successful 2021 season, Stroud entered 2022 as one of the best players in college football, as well as the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. On October 8, 2022, Stroud threw six touchdown passes against Michigan State, setting a conference record for “most six passing touchdown games in a career” (with 3), and passed Justin Fields to move to second place on the Ohio State career passing touchdowns list. Stroud and the Buckeyes once again came up short against rival Michigan in their annual meeting, this time losing at home in Columbus 45–23. Despite the loss, the Buckeyes were selected as the fourth and final team for the College Football Playoff. In the Peach Bowl semifinal against the top-seeded Georgia Bulldogs, Stroud had a strong performance, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns, but the Buckeyes lost 42–41, ending their season. At the conclusion of the regular season, he again was named a finalist for the Heisman trophy for his season. He finished third in the voting behind winner Caleb Williams from USC and Max Duggan from TCU. On January 16, 2023, Stroud announced that he would forgo his remaining two years of college eligibility and enter the 2023 NFL draft.

## Professional career

### 2023 season

Stroud was selected by the Houston Texans with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on April 27, 2023. Being second overall, Stroud became the highest drafted quarterback in Ohio State's history.

On September 10, 2023, Stroud made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, where he threw for 242 yards in the 25–9 loss. During Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts, Stroud threw his first two NFL touchdowns, one to Nico Collins and the other to Tank Dell, and finished with 384 passing yards in the 31–20 loss. Stroud's 384 yards are the second-most in a single game by a Texans rookie quarterback. The following week, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stroud finished 20-of-30 for 280 yards with two touchdowns as the Texans won 37–17. He also joined Cam Newton and Justin Herbert as the only players in NFL history to put up at least 900 passing yards in their first three games. Stroud was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for September, finishing the month with 78 completions on 121 attempts with 906 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

In Week 5, Stroud threw his 177th pass attempt without an interception, breaking the previous NFL record set by Dak Prescott for the most pass attempts without an interception to begin a career in NFL history in a 21–19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The streak ended the following week against the New Orleans Saints at 191 attempts; Saints linebacker Zack Baun intercepted the pass but had the ball punched out by wide receiver Nico Collins with offensive tackle Tytus Howard recovering the ball for the Texans. In Week 8, Stroud faced his friend and fellow top draft pick Bryce Young for the first time in the NFL. Young came out on top in a defensive battle, 15–13. Stroud threw for 140 yards and had his first rushing touchdown in the loss. In Week 9, Stroud passed for 470 yards, breaking the single-game passing yard record for a rookie quarterback that was previously set by Andrew Luck in 2012. Stroud also passed for five touchdowns, during a 39–37 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game also marked just the third time in NFL history a quarterback has thrown for at least 470 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, joining Y.A. Tittle and Ben Roethlisberger.

In Week 14 against the New York Jets, Stroud suffered a concussion during the fourth quarter as the Texans lost 30–6. After a two-game absence, Stroud made his return in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, completing 24 of 32 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown in a 26–3 victory. In a win-or-go-home situation against the Colts, Stroud completed 20 of 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns in a 23–19 win, clinching the Texans' first playoff berth since 2019. During this game, Stroud became just the fifth quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 4,000 yards in their rookie season. Stroud also became the third player in league history to lead the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and touchdown/interception ratio (4.6) in the same season, joining Tom Brady in 2007 and Joe Montana in 1989. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

In his playoff debut against the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round, Stroud tied the rookie record for most passing touchdowns in a playoff game and became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game in league history as the Texans won 45–14. Stroud finished the game completing 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns, and a near-perfect passer rating of 157.2. In the Divisional round against the top-seeded Ravens in a rematch of Week 1, Stroud was held in check, completing 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and a 72.2 rating as the Texans lost, 34–10.

## NFL career statistics

### NFL records

- Youngest starting quarterback to win a playoff game: 22 years 3 months 10 days

- Most passing attempts without an interception to start a career: 191 (2023)

- Most games with at least 350 passing yards by a rookie: 3 (tied) (2023)

- Most passing yards in a single game by a rookie: 470 (November 5, 2023, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

- Most passing touchdowns in a single game by a rookie: 5 (tied) (November 5, 2023, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

#### Texans franchise records

- Most passing yards in a rookie season: 4,108 (2023)

- Most passing touchdowns in a rookie season: 23 (2023)

- Most passing completions in a rookie season: 319 (2023)

- Most passing attempts in a rookie season: 499 (2023)

## Personal life

Stroud is the son of Coleridge and Kimberly Stroud. He has two older brothers and one older sister. He is a Christian.


The Mother (2003 film)

# The Mother (2003 film)

## Abstract

The Mother is a 2003 British drama film directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi. It stars Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Peter Vaughan, Steven Mackintosh, and Cathryn Bradshaw.

The film had its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight section.

## Plot

May is a woman from Northern England. Her life has been constrained by the expectations of society and her husband. When her husband dies during a visit to their adult children in London, she has a chance to start again and pursue her love of drawing.

May is quiet but when her son Bobby tries to make her sit down and have a cup of tea she refuses, saying she might never get up and that she won't become invisible like all the neighbouring grandmothers and widows. May returns to London with Bobby to the horror of Helen, Bobby's wife.

May initiates a sexual affair with Darren, a warm and attractive younger man who is renovating Bobby and Helen's house and who is also her daughter Paula's boyfriend. Paula says he is a sweet man but weak. He has a wife and autistic son but lives in his van outside their house. Darren appears to share May's interest in art and the unlikely pair form an understanding.

May moves from Bobby's house to Paula's and discovers Paula is having therapy because her mother didn't cuddle her enough. At a writing group organised by Paula, May writes a short account of being a depressed mother of two young children. It is a very public explanation, perhaps, for her lack of affection. Paula introduces her mother to Bruce, a man near May's age. Paula wants her mother to find out if Darren will leave his wife and what he thinks of her. May agrees, but can only avoid Paula's later questions.

Paula stumbles upon a sketchbook filled with May's drawings of a naked man and a woman performing fellatio on him. She surmises the man is Darren, and shows the sketches to Bobby. He says it must be a fantasy but Paula suspects her mother is having an affair with Darren, and is angry.

After sex with May, Darren helps himself to medication in Helen's bathroom cabinet without caring what they are. May offers to pay for him to travel, with her, but then seeing his reluctant response says, 'what a silly idea'.

Paula invites her mother and Bruce on a double date with herself and Darren. May leaves when Paula makes a show of kissing Darren, and Bruce pursues her. He takes her home and rapes her. May goes to Paula's but finds no comfort as Paula is pleased to think her mother and Bruce were probably intimate. Paula tells May that she has given Darren an ultimatum to leave his wife by the following day, and, expecting that he will, tells May that she must leave.

Bobby tells Darren he must finish the conservatory or leave as he has a deadline and wants to sell the house. Darren is disillusioned and frustrated by his life and his lack of autonomy and fights with May, seeking to assert himself by making May perform fellatio on him. May wants to please Darren but is reluctant because he is being rough and aggressive. Things only become worse when May reveals that the financial "help" she had earlier promised him would be a plane ticket, to allow them to travel together, rather than cash as he had been anticipating. Darren loses his temper and insults her, before proceeding to smash up the conservatory he had been working on for Bobby.

Later, Paula tells her mother that what might make her feel better would be to hit her. May agrees and Paula punches May in the face, calling her a whοrе. They visit Bobby's house where Helen is showing an estate agent round, and Darren is busy repairing the conservatory with Bobby. May has a black eye that she explains as an argument and says she 'got the message', before saying goodbye to everyone, refusing a lift to the station and preferring to leave alone.

May returns home, but only long enough to collect her passport, before walking away with her suitcase, sketchbooks and passport in hand.

## Cast

- Anne Reid as May, Bobby and Paula's mother, Toots' widow

- Daniel Craig as Darren, Bobby's friend and Paula's lover, a skilled carpenter

- Peter Vaughan as Toots, May's husband and Bobby and Paula's father

- Danira Gović as Au Pair

- Steven Mackintosh as Bobby, son of May and Toots, and brother to Paula

- Cathryn Bradshaw as Paula, daughter of May and Toots, and sister to Bobby

- Anna Wilson-Jones as Helen, Bobby's wife

- Oliver Ford Davies as Bruce, an older man, May's date

- Harry Michell as Harry, Bobby and Helen's son

- Rosie Michell as Rosie, Bobby and Helen's daughter

## Production

Anne Reid revealed that she was so anxious at the prospect of filming sex scenes with Daniel Craig that on the night before the scenes were to be filmed, she got drunk and then burst into tears. Said Reid, "I rang my son and I was weeping and he said, ‘Look Mum, it’s a great part, if you’re inhibited it’s not going to work so just go for it'".

## Critical reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Mother has a score of 78% based on 91 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, "Reid gives a fearless, realistic performance in depicting an older woman's sexual blossoming." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 based on 27 reviews.

Stephen Holden of The New York Times called Reid "achingly believable" and said Craig brings an "undertone of volatile macho arrogance seething below a cultivated surface". Holden opined The Mother is better than Roger Michell's two best-known films, Notting Hill and Changing Lanes, and that "screenwriter Hanif Kureishi's even-handed view of the characters' frustrations and fantasies is infused with an unwavering Chekhovian compassion". With its centring on an older woman and a younger man, the film also received comparisons to Rainer Werner Fassbinder 's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four and praised the performances of Reid, Craig, and Bradshaw. He concluded, "By the end, ' The Mother ' has told us all we need to know about the characters, except how to feel about them. It shows how people play a role and grow comfortable with it, and how that role is confused with the real person inside. And then it shows the person inside, frightened and pitiful and fighting for survival. I have a lot of questions about what happens in this movie. I am intended to."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was more critical. Though he lauded Reid and Craig's performances as well as the film's opening sequence, he called the film a "contrived and self-important drama". The film's third act was also criticised as descending into melodrama.

Filmmaker John Waters named the film one of the ten best of 2004.

## Awards and honours

### Wins

- 2004 London Critics Circle Film Awards

### Nominations

- 2004 BAFTA Awards

- 2004 British Independent Film Award - Anne Reid

- 2004 Cinemanila International Film Festival

- European Film Awards

- 2004 London Critics Circle Film Awards

- 2004 Shanghai International Film Festival

## Home media

Sony Home Entertainment released The Mother on DVD on October 12, 2004. The release includes a commentary track by director Roger Michell and producer Kevin Loader.


The Big Sick

# The Big Sick

## Abstract

The Big Sick is a 2017 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Gordon and Nanjiani wrote the film based on their relationship; it follows an interracial couple who must deal with cultural differences after Emily (Kazan) becomes ill.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017. It began a limited theatrical release on June 23, 2017, by Amazon Studios and Lionsgate, before going wide on July 14, 2017. One of the most acclaimed films of 2017, it was chosen by American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. With a budget of $5 million, it grossed $56 million worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing independent films of 2017.

## Plot

Kumail is an Uber driver and struggling stand-up comedian in Chicago. His parents are first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, who live in the suburbs. One evening, after performing at the local comedy club, Kumail sleeps with a graduate student from the University of Chicago named Emily. He drives her home and they agree not to meet again.

Kumail visits his family over the weekend, where his mother tries to set him up for an arranged marriage. Kumail is not interested but plays along. Meanwhile, Kumail and Emily continue hooking up and eventually start dating. Emily confesses to him her past divorce, then reveals she feels strongly about him. Kumail, however, dodges any requests to meet her parents. When she discovers that he has been seeing other women for potential marriage, she breaks up with him.

Although heartbroken, Kumail moves on, focusing on stand-up and securing an audition for the Montreal Comedy Festival. One night, he is informed that Emily has been admitted to the hospital. He goes to drive her home, but is pressured by doctors into giving permission to place Emily into an induced coma for treatment. Kumail signs the medical release, then informs Emily's parents in North Carolina.

Terry and Beth arrive the next day. They are hostile to Kumail for his break-up with Emily, but Terry allows Kumail to continue visiting. Emily undergoes surgery for a rapidly spreading infection, but fails to stabilize. Doctors are unable to diagnose her illness, and Beth ponders moving her to a better hospital.

Distracted with Emily's condition, Kumail ignores his parents' continued demands about marriage. He tells them about Emily and they refuse to speak with him. Meanwhile, Emily's infection grows unchecked. Kumail learns that she could die, causing him to fail his Montreal audition.

The next morning, Emily's health suddenly improves and she is brought out of the coma. Terry and Beth, who have grown to like Kumail during this time, ask him to visit. Emily is diagnosed with a rare adult-onset Still's disease. She will fully recover but has lower inhibitions, and rebuffs Kumail when he arrives to see her. At a party celebrating her recovery, Kumail asks Emily to get back together, but she refuses.

Emily later watches a video of Kumail's Montreal audition. She realizes the extent of his efforts to keep seeing her despite family pressure, and visits him at the local theater. Kumail informs her that he is moving to New York City to pursue stand-up. Emily is disappointed but wishes him luck.

Kumail starts to patch his relationship with his family before leaving Chicago. In NYC, he performs at a local club and is heckled, albeit encouragingly, by a female audience member. He turns to see that it is Emily, and she hints that she is there to meet him. End credits show his marriage with Emily, in which he reconciled with his parents.

## Cast

- Kumail Nanjiani as a fictionalized version of himself, an aspiring stand-up comic

- Zoe Kazan as Emily Gardner, Kumail's girlfriend. She is a fictionalized version of Kumail's wife Emily V. Gordon

- Holly Hunter as Beth Gardner, Emily's mother

- Ray Romano as Terry Gardner, Emily's father

- Anupam Kher as Azmat Nanjiani, Kumail's father

- Zenobia Shroff as Sharmeen Nanjiani, Kumail's mother

- Adeel Akhtar as Naveed Nanjiani, Kumail's brother

- Bo Burnham as CJ, a stand-up comic and Kumail's friend

- Aidy Bryant as Mary, a stand-up comic and Kumail's friend

- Kurt Braunohler as Chris, a stand-up comic and Kumail's friend and roommate

- Vella Lovell as Khadija, a woman Kumail's parents set him up with

- Jeremy Shamos as Bob Dalavan, a talent agent

- David Alan Grier as Andy Dodd, the owner of the Playground Stadium and MC for its comedy shows

- Ed Herbstman as Sam Highsmith, a stand-up comic who is not liked by the others

- Shenaz Treasurywala as Fatima Nanjiani, Kumail's sister-in-law

- Rebecca Naomi Jones as Jesse

- Kuhoo Verma as Zubeida

- Mitra Jouhari as Yazmin

- Celeste Arias as Denise

- Jeff Blumenkrantz as Dr. Wright

- Linda Emond as Dr. Cunningham

- Susham Bedi as Tina, Khadija's mother

- Rahul Bedi as Farhan, Khadija's father

## Production

### Development

In December 2015, it was announced Kumail Nanjiani would star in the film from a screenplay written by him and wife Emily V. Gordon, while Judd Apatow would produce alongside Barry Mendel, under their Apatow Productions banner, while FilmNation Entertainment would finance the film. Michael Andrews composed the film's score.

### Casting

In February 2016, Zoe Kazan joined the cast, along with Holly Hunter and Ray Romano in April 2016. Unlike many of the other portrayals in The Big Sick, Romano's and Hunter's roles in the film were not modeled after Emily V. Gordon 's actual parents. Instead, Hunter said that she never contacted or spoke with Gordon's mother before playing the part, as she wanted to "feel my own freedom with the character". In May 2016, Aidy Bryant, Bo Burnham, Adeel Akhtar and Kurt Braunohler also joined the cast of the film. David Alan Grier was cast in The Big Sick after he met with Gordon when she was a writer for The Carmichael Show. Grier's role was part of a larger subplot that was ultimately cut from the film's release.

Anupam Kher 's casting in the film was reported in June 2016. He was directly contacted by Kumail Nanjiani, as Nanjiani's father had recommended Kher play the role. According to Kher, his character's last scene in the film was the first scene he had filmed for the production. The Big Sick marks Kher's 500th appearance in a feature film.

### Writing

The screenplay for The Big Sick is written by Emily V. Gordon and her husband Kumail Nanjiani and is loosely based on the real-life courtship between them before their marriage in 2007. According to Nanjiani, the idea to make a script about them was first inspired by the film's eventual co-producer Judd Apatow when the two met while appearing in a 2012 episode of the You Made It Weird podcast. Developed over the course of three years, the script has been called semi-autobiographical because, in addition to the two lead characters modeled after them, many of the events occurring during Gordon and Nanjiani's relationship are noted as being portrayed to an extent in the film.

Though not part of the original script, a real-life incident involving Holly Hunter heckling an unnamed player during a US Open tennis match inspired a similar scene in the film where Nanjiani's character is heckled during one of his stand-up sets.

### Filming

Principal photography began on May 11, 2016.

## Release

The Big Sick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017. Shortly after, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film, after bids from Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Focus Features and Paramount Pictures. The $12 million acquisition marked the second-largest deal of the 2017 festival. Lionsgate partnered with Amazon on the U.S. release, and spent around $20 million on marketing the film. It also screened at South by Southwest on March 16, 2017, where it won an Audience Award in the category Festival Favorites. The film began a limited release on June 23, 2017, before going wide on July 14, 2017.

## Controversy

There was backlash against the movie due to South Asian women being portrayed as stereotypical and undesirable. Also, Vella Lovell, a half White and Black actress who is not of South Asian descent, played a Pakistani love interest with a strained accent.

In 2021, Kumail Nanjiani said, "Our movie was the first one in a long time where there were multiple Desi female characters, and the first few you see are reduced...People wanted to see themselves. It's something I completely regret. I would not do it that way now."

## Reception

### Box office

The Big Sick grossed $42.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $13.4 million in other territories, for a total gross of $56.2 million.

In the film's limited opening weekend, it made $421,577 from five theaters (a per-theater gross of $84,315, the best of 2017 until Lady Bird in November), finishing 17th at the box office. The film expanded to 2,597 theaters on July 14, 2017, and was projected to gross $9–11 million over the weekend. It grossed $7.6 million over the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office. On July 25, the film crossed $26 million, becoming the second highest-grossing independent film of 2017.

### Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 303 reviews, with an average rating of 8.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Funny, heartfelt, and intelligent, The Big Sick uses its appealing leads and cross-cultural themes to prove the standard romcom formula still has some fresh angles left to explore." It was rated as Rotten Tomatoes' #1 summer movie of 2017. On Metacritic, the film received an average score of 86 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

In a review for the Toronto Star, Peter Howell gave The Big Sick four stars out of four, praising the film as "hilarious and heartbreaking", as well as applauding the performances of the entire cast. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film: "It is funny and smart and wise and silly, it is romantic and sweet and just cynical enough, and it is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in a long time." The Big Sick was also selected as an "NYT Critic's Pick" by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times. In her review, Dargis praised Michael Showalter 's direction and the screenplay by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani for "revitalizing an often moribund subgenre with a true story of love, death and the everyday comedy of being a 21st-century American."

While praising the lead performances, Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph wrote a mixed review for The Big Sick. Collin contends that director Showalter "never comes close to dampening down its leading couple's inextinguishable appeal." In a negative review for The New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote that the film "suffers from an excess of pleasantness, and this very pleasantness thins out its substance, blands out its tone, weakens its comedy."

### Accolades

According to a poll conducted by AwardsDaily in July 2017, polling one hundred critics, The Big Sick was voted the second best film of 2017 so far, behind Get Out.


The Mutilator

# The Mutilator

## Abstract

The Mutilator (originally titled Fall Break) is a 1984 American slasher film written, directed and produced by Buddy Cooper, and co-directed by John S. Douglass. The plot follows a group of college students who travel to an island property during fall break and are stalked and murdered by one of the students' fathers.

## Plot

A mother prepares a cake for her husband Big Ed’s birthday. In the adjacent room, their son Ed attempts to clean his father’s hunting rifle to surprise him but accidentally fires it. The bullet passes through the wall, striking and killing Ed’s mother. Upon returning home, Big Ed discovers his wife's body, causing him to suffer a break from reality and beat a terrified Ed.

Years later, Ed, now in college, is asked by his father to close up the family's beachfront condominium in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, primarily used by the latter as something of a clubhouse for himself and his hunting partners. Ed's friends, Linda, Mike, Ralph, Sue, and Pam, eager for something to do over fall break, accompany him. Unbeknownst to the group, Big Ed is waiting for them in the basement of the condominium and plans to kill his son. Ed and his friends soon arrive.

Over the course of the night, Big Ed murders Ed's friends one by one, drowning Linda in the pool, cutting Mike open with a boat motor, decapitating a police officer, impaling Ralph with a flounder gig, and gutting Sue with a large fishing gaff, storing their bodies in the condominium's basement.

When Ed and Pam stumble upon the remains of Big Ed's victims, they notice him approaching and hide. Ed is ultimately found by his father, who stabs him in the leg but is unable to kill him. Pam intervenes, stabbing Big Ed. Big Ed attacks the two again, but Pam is able to start the car and use it to drive him into a concrete wall, cutting him in half.

As Big Ed lies dying, police arrive on the scene, and a deputy has his leg cut off by Big Ed before he succumbs to his injuries. The movie ends with Ed and Pam at the hospital, seemingly recovering from their ordeal.

## Cast

- Matt Mitler as Ed Jr. Trace Cooper as Young Ed Jr.

- Trace Cooper as Young Ed Jr.

- Ruth Martinez as Pam

- Bill Hitchcock as Ralph

- Connie Rogers as Sue

- Frances Raines as Linda

- Morey Lampley as Mike

- Jack Chatham as Ed Sr.

- Bennie Moore as Cop

- Pamela Weddle Cooper as Mother

- John Bode as Deputy at Wall

## Release

The film was originally titled Fall Break. According to writer and co-director Cooper, the MPAA originally wanted to assign the film an X-rating, which the filmmakers rejected due to its association with pornography. Contemporaneous newspaper reports show that The Mutilator screened in Raleigh, North Carolina, as Fall Break beginning January 6, 1984. By October 5, 1984 the title had changed to The Mutilator, opening under that title in Newport News, Virginia. In January 1985, the film opened in New York City, but when the distributor tried to book screenings in middle American theaters, they were unable to secure advertising or screenings because it did not have an R-rating. At this point, Cooper relented and edited the film to the MPAA's specifications. It was re-released theatrically later in the year in Los Angeles on September 27, 1985.

### Critical response

Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film upon its theatrical release, deeming it "a dull, amateurish shocker whose most striking characteristic is its complete lack of any ideas, good or otherwise." Variety called it "a boring horror film, designed strictly for fans of explicit gore."

Jeremy Wheeler of AllMovie praised The Mutilator's level of gore but criticized every other aspect of it, noting, "With effects echoing early Tom Savini, the killings in The Mutilator are not only gratuitous, but sickeningly ingenious in that blood-red sort of way. It hearkens back to a time when the real stars of horror cinema were the effects, with each kill representing a new creative challenge for the makeup maestros. Yes, the acting is horrible and no, it does nothing to further the genre, but those should be the last reasons to catch this flick."

Similar sentiments are shared by Hysteria Lives! Oh, the Horror! stated that, despite the amateurishness of the production, The Mutilator is "one of those slashers that works despite itself," and "falls right in line with other slashers who unwittingly mix inanity and violence in a manner that impossibly works." TV Guide awarded the film one out of five stars, noting that the performances are "all substandard, even for this sort of trash."

In a retrospective, Chris Coffel of Bloody Disgusting praised the film, writing, " The Mutilator contains all the classic slasher tropes. A group of horny, drunk college kids head out for a booze filled weekend of sex. Instead of a cabin in the woods, they go to a condo on a beach. Despite this, the film has something very fresh and original to it." Film scholar Jim Harper notes in his book Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies, "Although not a gore classic, The Mutilator is bloodthirsty enough to keep gorehounds happy, and just interesting enough to keep hold of viewers through the slow parts."

### Home media

The Mutilator was released in 1985 on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc by Vestron Video in both R-rated and unrated versions.

VIPCO released the film on DVD in the United Kingdom, although cut by seven seconds, and Dragon Entertainment released the film uncut in Germany. Director Buddy Cooper has stated that these releases are unauthorized.

Arrow Video announced that they would release the film on Blu-ray in both the U.K. and the U.S. on September 29, 2015, which would have marked the first legitimate high definition release in both territories. In November 2015, the company announced they had delayed the release after they found a fully uncut 35 mm print of the film held at the U.S. Library of Congress. It was released on February 16, 2016.

## Sequel

On December 23, 2021, it was revealed a sequel is in development and filming ended in June 2022.

## Sources


River Valley High School attack

# River Valley High School attack

## Abstract

On 19 July 2021, a thirteen-year old Secondary One male student named Ethan Hun Zhe Kai (Chinese: 韩喆凯; pinyin: Hán Zhékǎi) was struck to death with a combat fire fighting axe at River Valley High School in Boon Lay, Singapore, in an incident which was reportedly unprecedented in the history of Singapore. The killer was a sixteen-year-old Secondary Four male student, who was arrested for Ethan's murder shortly afterwards. The boy was initially charged with murdering Ethan; his charge was eventually reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and he was thus sentenced to jail for 16 years on 1 December 2023.

## Attack and aftermath

On July 14, 2021,the perpeturator took the axe and a knife to school in a badminton racquet bag, which he hid under a sink in the toilet, but failed to follow through with his plan. He tried again on July 19, 2021 where the attack occurred between 11:16 a.m. and 11:44 a.m. local time at a fourth floor toilet in River Valley High School. A group of students encountered the attacker — a sixteen-year-old Secondary Four student — outside the toilet at 11:35 a.m. with a combat fire fighting axe. When the attacker asked them to call the police as he wanted the police to shoot him dead, the students retreated to their classroom and instated a lockdown drill. The attacker then went to a classroom to make the same request, upon which the second group also instated a lockdown. Both groups alerted their teachers.

A teacher confronted the attacker and requested that the fire fighting axe be placed on the floor. The attacker complied with the instruction and was escorted to a meeting room. The victim — a thirteen-year-old, Secondary One male student — was then found dead inside the toilet, having suffered multiple slash wounds allegedly caused by the axe. The victim, who was originally not named due to a gag order, was later identified as Ethan Hun Zhe Kai as the gag order was lifted by the High Court at his parents’ request.

Hun's attacker was subsequently arrested by the Singapore Police Force. The entire school was placed into lockdown until around 3:30 p.m. As the following day was Hari Raya Haji, a public holiday, students returned to the school on 21 July. In the days following the attack, counselling was provided for nearly 540 students and teachers, while personnel from the Ministry of Education took over some classes.

## Perpetrator

According to a statement released by the Singapore Police Force several hours after the incident, preliminary investigations revealed that Hun and his killer are not known to each other." It was also revealed that the perpetrator had previously attempted suicide twice two years before in 2019 and had been remanded in the Institute of Mental Health. He is alleged to have procured the axe used in the attack online. According to Strait Times, he bought a tomahawk axe from a store on March 6, bought a Cold Steel Trench Hawk axe measuring 50cm by 22cm and a sharpener from a second store on March 17, and bought a Morakniv bushcraft stainless steel knife measuring 23.5cm by 4cm from a third store in April that year. According to Channel 8 News, the boy had simply wanted to attack the first person to enter the toilet, and Hun became the first and only victim of the boy before his arrest.

The Secondary Four student, who cannot be named due to Singaporean law on account of his age, was charged with murder on 20 July and remanded at the Complex Medical Centre within Changi Prison for psychiatric evaluation. As a minor, he is protected by the Children and Young Persons Act and cannot be sentenced to death if found guilty of the murder of Hun, but he would be sentenced to life imprisonment instead. Criminal lawyer Peter Fernando was assigned to defend the boy in his trial.

On 10 August, a fresh court order was issued to extend the suspect's period of psychiatric remand by another two weeks. By then, Fernando had been replaced by Diana Ngiam and Sunil Sudheesan. The boy was allowed a phone call with his family three days later. He was further remanded on 24 August 2021 for seven days, even though he had completed his psychiatric evaluations. On 31 August, his case was adjourned to 19 October. No date for his trial was scheduled at present. It was also revealed the suspect had been allowed to meet his family, and that he would be transferred to Changi Prison.

On 30 December 2022, it was reported that the boy remained in remand pending trial, and under the arrangements made between the prison authorities and the boy's lawyer Sunil Sudheesan, the teenager had taken his O-levels as a private candidate while behind bars in November 2022. His case was expected to be heard on 25 January 2023.

On 24 February 2023, as the student (who turned 18 in January) was suffering from clinical depression at the time of the incident, the murder charge against him was reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an offence which was punishable by life imprisonment or up to twenty years in prison, in addition to caning.

## Trial

The perpetrator of the school attack, who stood trial before the High Court, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide on 1 December 2023, with the prosecution seeking a sentence of 12 to 16 years' imprisonment, while the defence sought a sentence of five years' imprisonment.

The parents of Ethan Hun, Hun Yew Kwong and Sng Hui Ching, requested for the gag order to be lifted as they wanted their son to be remembered by his name. The defence did not object to their request, and the High Court judge granted their request. Hun's parents also reportedly wrote to the trial judge that they had forgiven their son's killer.

On the same date, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng sentenced the killer to 16 years in prison. Justice Hoo stated that the crime itself carried a "chilling degree" of premeditation, cold logic and planning, and it was "without precedent" that a murder took place within a school environment where a student should feel safe inside, and she stated that regardless of the severity of the perpetrator's psychiatric condition, depression cannot become a "licence to kill or harm others". Ruling that the killer should be held "highly culpable" for the vicious killing of Hun, she agreed with the prosecution to sentence the convict to 16 years behind bars, which was the highest proposed sentence submitted by the prosecution. The jail term was backdated to the date of the convict's arrest on 19 July 2021.

## Appeal

On 1 July 2024, the River Valley High School killer, who was then 19, filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against his jail term, seeking to reduce the sentence to between eight to ten years' imprisonment. Defence lawyer Sunil Sudheesan argued that his client's mental problems and the mitigating factors of the case should warrant him a jail term lower than the 16 years imposed by the High Court, although the prosecution urged the appellate court to uphold the 16-year jail term as the perpetrator still bore significant responsibility despite his psychiatric condition, since he himself did not seek help earlier to address his condition and had consumed the contents of graphic violence that aggravated his tendency to violence.

## Responses

According to local newspaper The Straits Times, the attack was unprecedented in the history of Singapore. Both Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing wrote on Facebook that they were "shocked", while the Ministry of Education and River Valley High School said that they were "deeply saddened" by the incident. President Halimah Yacob opined that "parents, schools and our society are ill-equipped to deal with this situation." Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said that it was "difficult to even describe the true extent of their (the victim's parents') grief". Several other Cabinet members and local religious leaders also publicly commented on the attack.

The attack sparked concerns over mental health in Singapore. Member of Parliament Patrick Tay questioned the decision to return students to school a day after the attack. Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing defended his decision and replied that the ministry had decided that it was better for the students to grieve together than alone at home. Students were allowed to stay home if they chose.

In a Ministerial Statement, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing announced on 27 July the removal of Common Last Topics from the GCE N, O and A-Levels, and some topics from the final year examinations "to help ease stress". Measures were also put in place, including having all teachers equipped with enhanced mental health literacy, boosting the number of teacher-counsellors from 700 in 2021 to more than 1,000 several years later, recruiting more school counsellors or redeploying teachers to these roles, resuming CCAs at the secondary and pre-university level due to vaccinations, and dedicating more time to check on students' well-being. Measures to strengthen schools' security will be undertaken without eroding trust in the community. A buddy system was later proposed to be implemented in schools.


The Myth of the American Sleepover

# The Myth of the American Sleepover

## Abstract

The Myth of the American Sleepover is a 2010 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2010, and was released in the United States on July 22, 2011, by IFC Films.

## Plot

Four young people navigate through suburban Detroit, in search of love and adventure on the last weekend of summer vacation.

## Cast

- Claire Sloma as Maggie

- Marlon Morton as Rob Salvati

- Amanda Bauer as Claudia

- Brett Jacobsen as Scott Holland

- Nikita Ramsey as Ady Abbey

- Jade Ramsey as Anna Abbey

- Annette DeNoyer as Beth

- Wyatt McCallum as Marcus

- Mary Wardell as Jen Holland

- Douglas Diedrich as Steven

- Dane Jones as Emma

- Shayla Curran as Janelle Ramsey

- Drew Machak as Andy

- Christopher Simon as Sean Barber

- Madi Ortiz as the Grocery Store Girl

- Amy Seimetz as Julie

## Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 81% score based on 48 reviews with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Somber and sweet, The Myth of the American Sleepover authentically evokes adolescence -- and all of the awkwardness and heartbreak that comes with it."


The Ring (2002 film)

# The Ring (2002 film)

## Abstract

The Ring is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger. Starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, and Brian Cox, the film focuses on Rachel Keller (Watts), a journalist who discovers a cursed videotape that causes its viewers to die seven days later. It is a remake of Hideo Nakata 's 1998 film Ring, based on the 1991 novel by Koji Suzuki.

The Ring was theatrically released in the United States on October 18, 2002, by DreamWorks Pictures. It was a box-office success, grossing $249.3 million worldwide on a $48 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing horror remakes of all time. The Ring received mixed-to-positive reviews, with critics in particular praising the atmosphere and visuals, Bojan Bazelli 's cinematography, Verbinski's direction and the performances of the cast (particularly Watts). At the 29th Saturn Awards, the film won in two categories: Best Horror Film and Best Actress (for Watts).

The film is the first installment of the American Ring series, and is followed by The Ring Two (2005) and Rings (2017). The success of The Ring inspired American remakes of several other Asian and Japanese horror films, including The Grudge (2004) and Dark Water (2005).

## Plot

Teenage girls Katie and Becca discuss an urban legend about a cursed videotape that causes whoever views it to die in one week. That night, Katie, who viewed it one week ago, is killed by an unseen force.

At Katie's funeral, her mother asks her sister Rachel, a Seattle-based journalist, to investigate her daughter's death. Rachel discovers that Katie's friends all died in bizarre accidents at the same time as Katie's death. Rachel visits the Shelter Mountain Inn, where Katie and her friends saw the tape. She finds and views the tape; it contains strange and frightening imagery. She then receives a phone call from an unknown caller who whispers, "Seven days". Though initially skeptical, Rachel quickly begins to experience supernatural occurrences linked to the tape.

Rachel recruits the help of her video analyst ex-husband Noah. He views the tape and Rachel makes him a copy. She identifies a woman on the tape: horse breeder Anna Morgan, who committed suicide after some of her horses drowned themselves off Moesko Island. Rachel and Noah's 8-year-old son Aidan watches the tape. Aidan also possesses supernatural abilities, which he uses to help with Rachel's investigation.

Rachel heads for Moesko Island to speak to Anna's widower Richard, while Noah travels to Gale Psychiatric Hospital to view Anna's medical files. Rachel discovers that Anna had adopted a girl, Samara, who possessed the ability to psychically etch images onto objects and into people's minds, tormenting her parents and their horses. Noah finds a psychiatric file on Samara that mentions a terrifying video record last seen by Richard.

Returning to the Morgan home, Rachel finds a fake birth certificate proving that Samara is not the biological child of Richard and Anna. She also discovers the missing video, in which Samara explains her powers during a therapy session. Richard insists that Samara is evil and commits suicide by electrocuting himself. Noah and Rachel find a loft in the barn, which the Morgans used to isolate Samara from themselves and the outside world. There is an image of a tree behind the wallpaper; Rachel recognizes it as a tree at the Shelter Mountain Inn.

They return to Shelter Mountain Inn, led to a well beneath the floorboards. Rachel falls inside and experiences a vision of Anna dumping Samara into the well, where she survived for one week. Samara's body surfaces from the water. After Rachel is rescued, they arrange a proper burial for Samara.

Back home, Aidan warns Rachel that it was a mistake to help Samara. Rachel realizes that Noah's week is up; Samara's ghost crawls out of his TV screen and kills him. Initially unable to deduce why she was spared, Rachel realizes that the tape seen by Noah was a copy she had created. Rachel saves Aidan by having him make another copy to show someone else. Aidan asks what will happen to the person who views the copy, to which Rachel does not answer.

## Cast

- Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller

- Martin Henderson as Noah Clay

- David Dorfman as Aidan Keller

- Daveigh Chase as Samara Morgan

- Brian Cox as Richard Morgan

- Shannon Cochran as Anna Morgan

- Jane Alexander as Dr. Grasnik

- Lindsay Frost as Ruth Embry

- Amber Tamblyn as Katherine "Katie" Embry

- Rachael Bella as Rebecca "Becca" Kotler

- Richard Lineback as Innkeeper

- Pauley Perrette as Beth

- Sara Rue as Babysitter

- Sasha Barrese as Girl Teen #1

- Tess Hall as Girl Teen #2

- Adam Brody as Kellen

- Michael Spound as Dave Embry

- Chris Cooper as a child murderer (cut from film)

- Joe Chrest as Dr. Scott (uncredited)

- Maury Ginsberg as a video store clerk (DVD deleted scenes) (uncredited)

## Production

### Development and casting

The Ring went into production without a completed script. Ehren Kruger wrote three drafts of the screenplay before Scott Frank came on to do an uncredited re-write. Gore Verbinski was initially inspired to do a remake of Ring after Walter F. Parkes sent him a VHS copy of the Japanese film, which he described as "intriguing", "pulp" and " avant-garde ".The original WGA-approved credits listed Hiroshi Takahashi (writer of the original 1998 screenplay for Ring) but his name is absent from the final print.

Several high-profile actresses were offered the lead role, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Connelly and Kate Beckinsale. Verbinski admitted to not wanting to cast " big stars " as he wanted his film to be "discovered" and described the wave of harsh criticism from hardcore fans of the original Japanese film as "inevitable", although he expressed desire for them to find the remake equally compelling. He also sought to retain the minimalism prevalent throughout Ring and set it in Seattle, due to its "wet and isolated" atmosphere.

### Filming

The Ring was filmed in 2001, primarily in the State of Washington in numerous locations, including Seattle, Port Townsend, Whidbey Island, Bellingham, Monroe and Stanwood. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport, Oregon, was also used as a filming location, as well as Oregon's Columbia River Gorge.

Chris Cooper played a murderer in two scenes meant to bookend the film, but was ultimately cut.

The film's cinematography, director of which was Bojan Bazelli, is marked for its soft lighting and grey blue-green color. Shot on film, the production is notable for achieving its color correction in-camera using 81EF and one of two green filters, thereby committing to the film's visual style early, not relying on digital grading in the edit. The soft lighting was achieved by "diffusing the fill sources enough to match " through the use of up to three layers of shades, HMIs and CTB, and set up to create as little shadow as possible to "subconsciously alter the viewer's sense of perception and add a heightened sense of ambiguity."

### Title

As with the original Japanese film Ring, the title of The Ring can be interpreted as referring to the telephone call which warns those who watched the cursed tape that they will die in seven days, as well as to the view of the ring of light seen from the bottom of the well where Samara was left to die.

## Score

The film features an original score composed by Hans Zimmer (who would later collaborate on Verbinski's other works). The soundtrack release did not coincide with the film's original 2002 theatrical run. It was released in 2005, accompanying The Ring ' s 2005 sequel in an album that combined music from both the first and second film. The soundtrack contains a few themes associated with the characters, moods and locations, including multiple uses of the Dies irae theme. The score makes use of string instruments, pianos and synthesizers.

All music is composed by Hans Zimmer, Henning Lohner and Martin Tillman

## Release and reception

### Marketing

To advertise The Ring, many promotional websites were formed featuring characters and places in the film. The video from the cursed videotape was played in late-night programming over the summer of 2002 without any reference to the film. Physical VHS copies were also randomly distributed outside of movie theaters by placing the tapes on the windshields of people's cars.

### Box office

The Ring opened theatrically on October 18, 2002 in the United States, on 1,981 screens, and grossed $15,015,393 during its opening weekend. The film went on to become a sleeper hit, leading DreamWorks to expand its release to 700 additional theaters. It ultimately grossed $129,128,133 in the United States. In Japan, the film earned $8.3 million in the first two weeks of its release. Worldwide, The Ring grossed a total of $249,348,933.

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 210 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "With little gore and a lot of creepy visuals, The Ring gets under your skin, thanks to director Gore Verbinski's haunting sense of atmosphere and an impassioned performance from Naomi Watts". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave The Ring an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

On Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper gave the film "Thumbs Up" and said it was very gripping and scary despite some minor unanswered questions. Roger Ebert gave the film "Thumbs Down" and felt it was boring and "borderline ridiculous"; he also disliked the extended, detailed ending. Jeremy Conrad from IGN praised The Ring for its atmospheric set up and cinematography, and said that "there are disturbing images... but the film doesn't really rely on gore to deliver the scares". Film Threat ' s Jim Agnew called it dark, disturbing and original.

Despite the praise given to the direction, some criticized the lack of character development. Jonathan Rosenaum from the Chicago Reader said that the film was "an utter waste of Watts... perhaps because the script didn't bother to give her a character", whereas William Arnold from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer disagreed, claiming that she projects intelligence, determination and resourcefulness in the film. Several critics, like Miami Herald ' s Rene Rodriguez and USA Today ' s Claudia Puig, found themselves confused and thought "for all the time spends explaining, it still doesn't make much sense".

## Legacy

The success of The Ring paved the way for American remakes of several other Asian and Japanese horror films, including The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2005), Shutter and The Eye (both 2008).

The Ring ranked number 20 on the cable channel Bravo 's list of The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. Bloody Disgusting ranked it sixth in their list of the "Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade", with the article saying that " The Ring was not only the first American 'J-horror' remake out of the gate; it also still stands as the best".

## Sequels

A sequel, titled The Ring Two, was released on March 18, 2005. A short film, titled Rings, was also released in 2005, and is set between The Ring and The Ring Two. A third installment, also titled Rings, was released on February 3, 2017.


Brass Knuckles (film)

# Brass Knuckles (film)

## Abstract

Brass Knuckles is a surviving 1927 synchronized sound crime film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Monte Blue, Betty Bronson and William Russell. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process. The film was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures.

## Cast

- Monte Blue - Zac Harrison

- Betty Bronson - June Curry

- William Russell - 'Brass Knuckles' Lamont

- George E. Stone - Velvet Smith(*Georgie Stone)

- Paul Panzer - Sergeant Peters

- Jack Curtis - Murphy

## Preservation status

- This film survives, like several late Warner Brothers and First National silents, in the Italian archive Cineteca Italiana, Milan. Its trailer is held in the Library of Congress collection.


# Espérance de Tunis–Étoile du Sahel rivalry

## Abstract

The Tunisian Classico is the name given to matches between Espérance de Tunis and Étoile du Sahel football clubs from Tunis and Sousse, Tunisia.

## History

Called in Tunisia Clasico on the model of the Spanish El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is one of the most important rivalries in Tunisian football. They are considered the most crowned titles in Tunisia, with a total of 102 titles, 17 of which are continental titles. The two teams met for the first time in the 1944–45. Their first match ended in a 0–0 draw. Since then, they have played their matches regularly, with the exception of the 1961–62 season, when Étoile du Sahel was disbanded. The two teams met in the Tunisian Cup final five times. The first was in 1957 and ended with the victory of Espérance de Tunis, For the first time two teams from Tunisia have met in a continental competition in the group stage of the 2005 CAF Champions League and in both matches they ended in a draw, the two teams were both champions and runners-up in the same season seventeen times, including five consecutive times between 1999–2000 and 2003–04.

## All-time head-to-head results

## Shared player history

### Players who have played for both clubs

- Imed Ben Younes (Étoile du Sahel 1995–98, Espérance de Tunis 2003)

- Chamseddine Dhaouadi (Étoile du Sahel 2011–12, Espérance de Tunis 2013–20)

- Mejdi Traoui (Étoile du Sahel 2002–08, Espérance de Tunis 2010–14)

- Franck Kom (Étoile du Sahel 2011–16, Espérance de Tunis 2017–19)

- José Clayton (Étoile du Sahel 1995–98, Espérance de Tunis 2001–05)

- Kandia Traoré (Espérance de Tunis 2001, Étoile du Sahel 2002, 2004–05)

- Amine Ltaïef (Espérance de Tunis 2000–02 & 2005–09, Étoile du Sahel 2011–13)

- Karim Aouadhi (Espérance de Tunis 2012–14, Étoile du Sahel 2018–19)

- Riadh Jelassi (Étoile du Sahel 1995–2000, Espérance de Tunis 2001–04)

- Hamdi Nagguez (Étoile du Sahel 2013–18, Espérance de Tunis 2020–21)

- Mootez Zaddem (Étoile du Sahel 2021–22, Espérance de Tunis 2022– present)

- Youssef Abdelli (Espérance de Tunis 2020 & 2024– present, Étoile du Sahel 2023–24)

- Hamza Jelassi (Étoile du Sahel 2023–24, Espérance de Tunis 2024– present)

- Fedi Ben Choug (Espérance de Tunis 2019–22, Étoile du Sahel 2024– present)

- Houssem Dagdoug (Espérance de Tunis 2022–23, Étoile du Sahel 2024– present)

### Coaches who managed both clubs

- Roger Lemerre (Espérance de Tunis 1983–84, Étoile du Sahel 2013–14 & 2018–19 & 2021–2022)

- Michel Decastel (Espérance de Tunis 2001–03, Étoile du Sahel 2008)

- Faouzi Benzarti (Étoile du Sahel 1986–87, 1991–92, 2006–07, 2012, 2014–17, 2019 & 2023, Espérance de Tunis 1993–94, 2003, 2007, 2008–10, 2017)

## Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 results

The tables list the place each team took in each of the seasons.


The Night Shift (film)

# The Night Shift (film)

## Abstract

The Night Shift is a 2011 American zombie comedy film directed and written by Thomas Smith. It stars Khristian Fulmer as a cemetery watchman who must contend with undead residents and paranormal occurrences.

## Plot

A night watchman at the local cemetery deals with zombies and other residents who refuse to be still. Along with his skeleton sidekick Herbie and boss Claire, he must confront a hostile takeover from a rival cemetery, a werewolf, and Adremalech, a powerful demon.

## Cast

- Khristian Fulmer as Rue Morgan

- Erin Lilley as Claire Rennfield

- Soren Odom as Herbie

- Jordan Woodall as Curly

- Jonathan Pruitt as Capt. Roderick Blake

- Don Bloom as Doc

- Andrew Crider as Adremalech

- Brendon Cooke as Wolfman

## Production

The film was shot in Mobile, Alabama from May to June 2010. Director Smith self-financed the film; the budget was approximately $10,000. Smith's influences include Steven Spielberg and 1950s-era B movies. It was based on a short film of the same name directed by Smith.

## Release

R Squared Films released The Night Shift on DVD on October 25, 2011.

## Reception

Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News called it "charming and fun" and recommended it to fans of horror spoofs. Vance Garrett of Independent Film Reviews called it "a fun and engaging Sunday afternoon diversion that is more than suitable for family viewing."


Bogdan Bojić

# Bogdan Bojić

## Abstract

Bogdan Bojić (born 3 March 1999) is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for Sutjeska of the Montenegrin Basketball League.

## Playing career

In July 2020, Bojić signed for a Bosnian team Sloboda Tuzla.


Universal Basic Guys

# Universal Basic Guys

## Abstract

Universal Basic Guys is an American adult animated sitcom created by Adam and Craig Malamut that premiered on September 8, 2024 on Fox. The show centers around a group of Pennsylvania factory workers who are enrolled in a Universal Basic Income pilot program when their jobs are taken over by AI-powered robots, and left with a monthly income and a lot of free time to get into trouble.

## Cast and characters

- Adam Malamut as Mark Hoagies

- Craig Malamut as Hank Hoagies, Mark's younger brother

- Talia Genevieve as Tammy, Mark's wife who is a nurse

- Fred Armisen as David, one of the neighbors

- Ally Maki as Andrea

## Production

### Development

In November 2022, it was announced that Game of Zones creators and executive producer Adam and Craig Malamut were set up on an animated series on Fox, called Universal Basic Guys/The Hoagie Bros. The series is produced by Leith Hill Productions, Fox Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, with Bento Box Entertainment providing the animation. In May 2024, the series was retitled to Universal Basic Guys and renewed for a second season ahead of its debut in the fall. Dan Lagana serves as an executive producer and the showrunner for the first season while Rob Rosell is an executive producer and the showrunner for the second season.

### Casting

On July 25, 2024, at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Adam Malamut, Talia Genevieve, Fred Armisen, and Ally Maki were cast in starring roles.

## Broadcast

The series premiered on September 8, 2024 on Fox.


Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque

# Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque

## Abstract

Nizamuddin Markaz, also called Banglewali Masjid, is a mosque located in Nizamuddin West in South Delhi, India. It is the birthplace and global centre of the Tablighi Jamaat, the missionary and reformist movement started by Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi in 1926.

Since 2015, frictions developed within the group over the leadership of the organisation, and factions have developed. The mosque continues to serve as the headquarters of the Nizamuddin faction of Tablighi Jamaat.

## Building

The New York Times describes the Markaz as "a tall, white, modern building towering over the Nizamuddin West neighborhood". It is said to be a centre of the neighbourhood's economy, with money changers, guesthouses, travel agencies and gift shops surrounding it and catering to the missionaries that visit the Markaz.

The building is six stories high, and is capable of housing about 2,000 people. It is adjacent to the Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station, with which it shares a wall. The famous Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia shrine is close by.

There is a Madrasa along with the Markaz Masjid named Kashiful Uloom.

Typical gatherings at the Markaz host 2,000–4,000 people. During the day, the large halls in the building are used for prayers and sermons. At night, they are used as sleeping quarters for 200–300 people on each floor.

## History

### Early history

The Banglewali Masjid (Bungalow Mosque) was built in Nizamuddin by Mirza Ilahi Baksh, a relative of the last Mughal emperor, sometime after 1857. Maulana Muhammad Ismail, the father of Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi, established a madrasa in its premises under the name Kashif ul-Uloom. It is said that he used to go out and invite people to come to the mosque and, on one occasion, he happened to bring Meos from Mewat who were in Delhi as labourers. Noticing that they were not schooled in proper practice of prayer, he decided to teach it to them, which was the beginning of the madrasa.

After the death of Maulana Ismail and his elder son, MaulanaMuhammad Ilyas took up the task of teaching at the madrasa. He too was concerned with educating the Meos of Mewat. Noticing that his own direct teaching would be inadequate to the task, in time, he evolved the practices of tabligh that now form the foundation of Tablighi Jamaat. They involved turning ordinary Muslims into preachers. Training them in the preaching work became the main activity of the madrasa, gradually turning the Banglewali Masjid into a markaz (centre or headquarters). Ilyas also set up an organisational network for his fledgling organisation bringing men of influence to gather in the mosque. By the end of Ilyas's life, Tablighi Jamaat emerged as a national organisation with transnational potential.

### Transnational centre

Under Ilyas's son and successor, Muhammad Yusuf Kandhlawi (1917–1965), the Tablighi Jamaat expanded worldwide and became a transnational organisation. The Nizamuddin Markaz became the world headquarters (Aalami Markaz). According to a commentator, it is "the heart circulating blood through the body" for the Tablighi Jamaat organisation. It is the place where people are trained for missionary work, worldwide tours are organised and information to the entire worldwide network is distributed.

After Yusuf Kandhlawi's sudden death, the senior members chose Inamul Hasan Kandhlawi (1918–1995), a close relative of Maulana Ilyas, as the third amir. After the 30-year leadership of Inamul Hasan, during which the movement grew to its present size, an executive council (shura) was established to share the responsibilities of leadership.

### Recent developments

According to scholar Zacharias Pieri, the final decision-making responsibility fell on two men within the shura: Zubair ul-Hasan Kandhlawi and Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi. After Zubair ul-Hasan's death in 2014, Maulana Saad assumed the leadership of the council and the movement. According to The Milli Gazette, the senior members of the Tablighi Jamaat from around the world met at the Pakistan regional markaz at Raiwind in 2015 and resolved that the organisation would be governed by a shura. Raiwind amir Muhammad Abdul Wahhab who was a member of the original shura backed this effort. Kandhlawi did not accept the recommendations of the meeting, causing a split in the organisation.

The friction led to division of the Tablighi Jamaat leadership into two groups, the first being led by Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi at the Nizamuddin Markaz, while the other being led by Ibrahim Dewla, Ahmed Laat and others at Nerul Markaz, Navi Mumbai in India. The Raiwind Markaz in Pakistan is part of the latter group and has become the "de facto base" of the shura group.

### COVID-19 pandemic

The mosque organised a large congregation in March 2020, from 13 to 15 March, participants got stuck in the Markaz Building due to the sudden and surprise announcement of nationwide lockdown in India by the government. Although prior information was furnished with the Nizamiddin Police station, and parallel functions were also held near the same dates (belonging to other religions), some right wing media outlets made a big propaganda of this event as reason for Corona spread in the state.


Universal Basic Guys


Richard Amerike

# Richard Amerike

## Abstract

Richard ap Meryk (or ap Meurig), anglicised to Richard Amerike (or Ameryk) (c. 1440–1503) was a British merchant, royal customs officer and later, sheriff of Bristol. Several claims have been made for Amerike by popular writers of the late twentieth century. One was that he was the major funder of the voyage of exploration launched from Bristol by the Venetian John Cabot in 1497, and that Amerike was the owner of Cabot's ship, the Matthew. The other claim revived a theory first proposed in 1908 by a Bristolian scholar and amateur historian, Alfred Hudd. Hudd's theory, greatly elaborated by later writers, suggested that the continental name America was derived from Amerike's surname in gratitude for his sponsorship of Cabot's successful discovery expedition to 'the new World'. However, neither claim is backed up by hard evidence, and the consensus view is that America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer.

## Biography

"Amerike" is an anglicised spelling of the Welsh name ap Meurig, ap Meuric or ap Meryk, which means "son of Meurig". It was, however, only one of the many different ways that the customs officer's name was rendered, even in official documents. The "Amerike" version was noted by some modern historians because it looked like "America" and because this was how his name was spelled on a tomb brass created for his daughter in 1538.

Ap Meryk's place and date of birth are unknown. One modern author suggests that Richard Amerike was born in 1445 at Meryk Court, Weston under Penyard, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. He may have been born earlier than this, since one of Amerike's daughters, Joan, was married to a future lawyer, John Broke, by April 1479. While there were certainly Merricks in and around Weston under Penyard, Richard Amerike's genealogy and connection to Merrick Court have not been verified. The only contemporary document to refer to his background states that he was from Chepstow, a town in Monmouthshire, Wales.

Little is known of the first thirty years of Ap Meryk's life. His wife, married at an unknown date, was called Lucy. The latter part of Amerike's adult life was spent in, or near, Bristol. This was one of the largest ports of medieval England. Amerike prospered as a merchant and, after 1485, as a gentleman and an officer of the Crown. He is first found in Bristol customs accounts in 1472, trading in Irish fish. The published customs accounts of 1479–1480 show him continuing to trade to Ireland, but also participating in Bristol's valuable trade with Portugal and Bordeaux. In other years he also traded to Spain. Amerike was a burgess of Bristol by at least the mid-1470s. Becoming a burgess would have both admitted him as a freeman of the city and marked him as a member of its political elite. By this time he was sufficiently wealthy to lend £50 towards the ransom from Breton pirates of a great-nephew of William Canynges. A Bristol tax return of 1484 records that his household servants included an Icelander. He was also buying land. By the early 1490s Amerike's main landed estate, acquired by purchase, seems to have been in Long Ashton on the Somerset side of the River Avon.

When Amerike traded as a merchant, he would have used a distinctive merchant's mark to identify his goods. Unfortunately when Amerike shipped on the Trinity of Bristol for a voyage to Andalucia in 1480 the purser, whose private accounts survive, failed to record the mark of Amerike, or indeed of any other merchant shipping. The mark associated with Amerike in modern times belongs to a different man, living a century later.

In 1485 Richard Amerike was appointed to the customs service in Bristol's neighbouring port of Bridgwater, with the post of controller of customs. This should have meant that he dwelled within the confines of the port (which included Minehead and Combwich), but whether he did so is unknown. In September 1486 Amerike became one of the customs officials in Bristol, holding the post of King's Customs Officer, known as a "Customer", from 1486 until December 1502. During his period of office he was several times accused of malpractice, including false accounting, and was obliged to pay a substantial sum of money to the King, Henry VII, for his pardon. As a customs officer Amerike could not hold high civic office since this was forbidden by Statute but at the first election after he had ceased to be Customer, he was appointed as one of the city's two sheriffs. He died in post, probably around December 1503, and was replaced as sheriff by Robert Thorne. Amerike's precise date of death and place of burial are unknown. His heirs were his daughters, only one of whom is known. Joan (or Jane) Broke (née Amerike) (d. 1538) lies beside her husband, John Broke, in the church of St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. Their tomb brass names Richard Amerike as her father, and once included the arms of both Broke and Amerike. This is now missing. Some two centuries after the armorial scutcheon disappeared, the arms of Amerike were described as "paly of six, or and azure, on a fess gules, three mullets argent".

## Richard Amerike and John Cabot

Popular interest in Amerike centres on his association with the Venetian explorer Zuan (Giovanni) Caboto, better known as John Cabot. Under the authority of King Henry VII of England John Cabot led three voyages of discovery from Bristol in search of new lands and a route to the supposed riches of the East. The first expedition, of 1496, was abortive. The second, in 1497, was the famous expedition in the Matthew of Bristol, which found 'new land' that Cabot thought was part of Asia but was probably the modern Newfoundland. The outcome of the third voyage of 1498 is unclear, and the subject of much speculation. It has always been thought that funding for the voyages came from Bristol merchants. This made sense, since under the terms of Cabot's letters patent from Henry VII, which gave him his authority, all trade from any new lands discovered was to pass through Bristol. However, no list of sponsors has ever been found, and the only proven funding, in amounts insufficient for a voyage, came from the London branch of the Florentine banking house of the Bardi and, in 1498, from Henry VII. Other names have been suggested.

The idea that Richard Amerike was an important supporter of Cabot gained currency in the late 20th century among popular historians, as did the notion that Amerike was owner and main funder of the Matthew, Cabot's ship of 1497. Evan Jones and Margaret Condon, of the University of Bristol 's 'Cabot Project' have found no documentary evidence for any of this. Indeed, they suggest that Ap Meryk may have been hostile to Cabot because the terms of the explorer's royal patent would have made it difficult for the port's customs officers to profit from any trade established to new lands. This may explain why the customs officers created problems for the explorer by refusing to pay the initial instalment of the pension he was granted in December 1497, despite the existence of an order from the King stating that this should happen.

Richard Amerike did have one important responsibility towards John Cabot. Amerike, and his fellow customs officer, Arthur Kemys, were the paymasters for the pension of £20 a year granted by Henry VII to John Cabot on 13 December 1497. Cabot's grant specified that he was to be paid out of revenues arising from the customs dues payable to the Crown on goods exported and imported in the port of Bristol by way of merchandise. Amerike and Kemys were responsible for collecting those revenues and accounting for them to the Exchequer at Westminster. Local payment in Bristol made a lot of sense for the explorer and, provided all the documentation was in order, Amerike and Kemys would then be able to claim the payment to Cabot as a legitimate expense when they accounted for their revenues in the Exchequer at the end of the accounting year. In the mid-1890s Edward Scott, a 'Keeper' or senior archivist at the British Museum, and from 1891 Keeper of the Muniments in Westminster Abbey, discovered a stray Exchequer document that showed this process and two years-worth of pension payments to Cabot by Amerike and his colleague in 1497–1499. In 1897 the document was published in transcript and facsimile by Scott and the Bristol antiquarian Alfred Hudd. Kemys and 'Richard ap Meryke' or 'a Meryk' are named at the head of every section of the account. The 'Cabot Roll' remains an important discovery for the history of John Cabot.

## Theory of the naming of America

In 1908, the local Bristol antiquarian Alfred Hudd first proposed the theory that the word America had evolved from Amerike or ap Meryk. Hudd proposed his theory in a paper which was read at 21 May 1908 meeting of the Clifton Antiquarian Club, and which appeared in Volume 7 of the club's Proceedings. Hudd's speculation has found support from more than one 21st century author, who expanded Hudd's argument with speculations about the voyages of the Matthew and later trade with the Eastern seaboard, which Amerike is known to have had financial interests in. It is proposed that as a main investor, Amerike's name would have been noted on ships' rutters or working charts, indicating the locations where his cargo had been traded. It is further supposed that such secret documents could have been seized by Spanish explorers when a British voyage was mysteriously lost during the same period that Amerigo Vespucci was mapping the coast of Brazil -this information later reaching Waldseemüller. However, this cannot be verifiably proved unless original documents come to light. The consensus view continues to be that America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer.

Amerike's coat of arms is coincidentally also reminiscent of the modern Flag of the United States (Stars and Stripes).