Mubarak Begum Mosque

# Mubarak Begum Mosque

## Abstract

The Mubarak Begum Mosque also known as Randi ki Masjid (Prostitute's Mosque) is a 19th-century historical red sandstone mosque belonging to the Mughal Empire located in Hauz Qazi, Shahjahanabad, Delhi, the Chawri Bazaar metro station in India. The mosque is also referred to as courtesan's (tawaif 's) mosque. On 19 July 2020, the central dome of the mosque collapsed due to heavy rainfall. It was reported that only a part of the dome was crashed down around 6:45 am. Currently the mosque is under the custody of Delhi Wakf Board.

## History

The mosque was built in the early decades of the 19th century in 1823 by a nautch girl called Mubarak Begum who also served as a tawaif in the Mughal court. The mosque was built during the Mughal era.

She was born into a poor Muslim family initially pursued her career as a dancing girl in Pune.

When East India Company was established in India, Britishers made it compulsory for army men to either come along with their wives, or marry native women temporarily. "No Indian families would've agreed, so these ladies were their only recourse." It was Delhi's first British resident, David Ochterlony (who was a two time British resident to Mughal emperor's court in Delhi in 1802 and in 1822), who married Mubarak Begum and built a mosque in her honour. "For the first time, a nautch girl, not royalty, had commissioned a mosque and so Randi ki Masjid became the informal name." After the death of Mubarak Begum in 1878, the control of the mosque was taken over by the British government. It is one of the three mosques to be constructed by women in medieval India.

## Structure

The mosque is built up of red sandstone and lakhori bricks as a two-storey structure. The upper floor consists of prayer chamber containing three domed compartments. It also comprises three red and white striped domes and three arched entrances under each dome. It was reported that the mosque was last repaired and maintained in 2016.


Rolling Thunder 2

# Rolling Thunder 2

## Abstract

Rolling Thunder 2 is a run and gun arcade game developed and released by Namco for the Namco System 2 hardware in 1991. The game is the sequel to 1986's Rolling Thunder, retaining the same gameplay of its predecessor but adding cooperative gameplay for two players and improved graphics. Unlike the original, which was based in 1968, Rolling Thunder 2 has a more contemporary setting to go with its more futuristic design, as well as an optionally playable female character. A port for the Sega Genesis was released the same year. Both the Mega Drive port and the original arcade game were released for the Wii Virtual Console on December 4, 2007 and October 27, 2009 respectively.On May 25, 2023 the arcade version of the game got ported as part of the Arcade archives series.

## Gameplay

Set in the 1990s, the Geldra organization, thought to have been eliminated during the first game, returns and is destroying several of the world's satellites in outer space. As in the original Rolling Thunder, the players must take control of a member of the WCPO's Rolling Thunder task force.

Two players can now play simultaneously, with Player 1 as female agent Leila and Player 2 as male agent Albatross. Even though they possess different external appearances, including different handguns, the two characters have identical abilities (much like Yūichirō Tomari and Sunday Chin from Namco's own Ordyne, which was released two years earlier and is also a Namco System 2 game). As with the original game, both Leila and Albatross can only take two physical hits from the enemies - and a hit from a bullet or other projectile such as a laser will result in an immediate death. Both are armed with a default pistol that has only limited ammunition; when bullets run out, their guns fire a slow "chaser" bullet instead. Players can also upgrade to a submachine gun (based on a Walther MP from the artwork) by entering marked doors - and when entering one of these marked doors, a counter appears indicating the number of remaining bullets left to be picked up, allowing one player to leave ammo for the other. Unlike in the original Rolling Thunder, pistol and machine gun ammunition is not carried over at the end of each level and players always start a new level with the minimum pistol rounds only.

The graphics are noticeably improved over the previous game and have a decidedly more futuristic look to go along with the game's modern setting; the game's main enemy characters, the Maskers, who were previously designed to look like hooded terrorists (or Foot Soldiers of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game) are now cyborgs. Likewise, the game has more varied stage designs, with the first four stages taking place in a seaside resort in Florida, and the last four in a pyramid in Egypt; both locations actually being camouflaged Geldra bases.

## Reception

The home version of Rolling Thunder 2 was well received. Its mostly highly positive review scores included 92% from Computer & Video Games, 23/25 from GamePro, 85% from Mean Machines, 90% from MegaTech, and, retrospectively, 8/10 from Sega-16. Reviews of the Virtual Console release were often more critical, including being rated 6/10 by GameSpot, 6.5/10 by IGN, and 8/10 by Nintendo Life.

Complex ranked Rolling Thunder 2 85th on their "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games" list.


The Big Lebowski

# The Big Lebowski

## Abstract

The Big Lebowski (/ l ə ˈ b aʊ s k i /) is a 1998 independent crime comedy film written, directed, produced and co-edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows the life of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity then learns that a millionaire, also named Jeffrey Lebowski (David Huddleston), was the intended victim. The millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is supposedly kidnapped and millionaire Lebowski commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the ransom money for the Dude and himself. Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jon Polito and Ben Gazzara also appear in supporting roles.

The film is loosely inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler. Joel Coen stated, "We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that's ultimately unimportant." The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a longtime collaborator of the Coen brothers.

The Big Lebowski received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Reviews have since become largely positive and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue and eclectic soundtrack. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

## Plot

In 1991, slacker and avid bowler Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski is attacked in his Los Angeles home by two enforcers for porn kingpin Jackie Treehorn, to whom a different Jeffrey Lebowski's wife owes money. One enforcer urinates on the Dude's rug before the two realize they have the wrong man and leave.

Consulting his bowling partners, Vietnam veteran Walter Sobchak and Donny Kerabatsos, the Dude visits wealthy philanthropist Jeffrey Lebowski ("the big Lebowski"), requesting compensation for the rug. Lebowski refuses but the Dude tricks his assistant Brandt into letting him take a similar rug from the mansion. Outside, he meets Bunny, Lebowski's trophy wife and her German nihilist friend Uli. Soon afterward, Bunny is apparently kidnapped and Lebowski hires The Dude to deliver a ransom. That night, another group of thugs ambushes the Dude, taking his replacement rug on behalf of Lebowski's daughter Maude, who has a sentimental attachment to it.

Convinced the kidnap was a ruse by Bunny, Walter fakes the ransom drop. He and the Dude return to the bowling alley, leaving the briefcase of money in the car trunk. While bowling, their car is stolen. The Dude is confronted by Lebowski, who has an envelope from the kidnappers containing a severed toe, supposedly Bunny's. Maude asks the Dude to help recover the money her father illegally withdrew from the family's charity foundation.

The police recover the Dude's car. The briefcase is missing but the Dude finds a clue: a sheet of homework signed by a teenager named Larry Sellers. The Dude and Walter visit Larry but get no information from him. Walter assumes a sports car in front of Larry's house was purchased with the ransom and smashes it. The car actually belongs to a neighbor, who smashes the Dude's car in return.

Jackie Treehorn's thugs abduct the Dude and bring him to the porn kingpin, who demands to know where Bunny is and what happened to his money. The Dude says Bunny faked her kidnapping and Larry has the money then passes out from a spiked drink Treehorn gave him. He is arrested while wandering deliriously in Malibu and evicted by the police chief. On his way home Bunny (whose toes are intact) drives by, unnoticed by the Dude.

Maude is waiting for the Dude at his home and has sex with him, wishing to become pregnant by a father with whom she will not have to interact. She tells the Dude that her father has no money of his own, his wealth came from her late mother.

The Dude and Walter confront Lebowski and find Bunny has returned, having gone out of town without telling anyone. Bunny's nihilist friends took the opportunity to blackmail Lebowski, who in turn, had tried to embezzle money from the family charity, blaming its disappearance on the blackmailers. The Dude believes the briefcase never contained any money. An enraged Walter suspects Lebowski is faking his paralysis and lifts him out of his wheelchair but his condition is real.

Walter and the Dude are bowling when a rival bowler, Jesus Quintana, interrupts them. Walter had previously stated that he could not bowl on Saturdays since he is shomer Shabbos. In a tirade, Quintana implies he does not believe Walter's excuse for not bowling on Saturday, threatens Walter and the Dude and storms out. Outside the bowling alley, the nihilists set fire to the Dude's car and demand the ransom money. Walter fights them off but Donny dies from a heart attack. Walter scatters Donny's ashes from a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean but they are blown back onto him and the Dude by an updraft. The Dude loses his temper and yells at Walter, who consoles him and the two go bowling.

At the bowling alley, the Dude encounters the Stranger, the movie's narrator, who sums up everything that happened in the film and states that while he "didn't like seeing Donny go", he remains inspired by the Dude and that Maude is pregnant with a "little Lebowski on the way."

## Cast

- Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski

- John Goodman as Walter Sobchak

- Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski

- Steve Buscemi as Donny Kerabatsos

- David Huddleston as Jeffrey "The Big" Lebowski

- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt

- Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski

- John Turturro as Jesus Quintana

- Sam Elliott as The Stranger

- David Thewlis as Knox Harrington

- Ben Gazzara as Jackie Treehorn

- Peter Stormare, Torsten Voges, and Flea as Uli Kunkel/Karl Hungus, Franz, and Kieffer, the nihilists

- Jon Polito as Da Fino

- Philip Moon and Mark Pellegrino as Treehorn's thugs

- Jimmie Dale Gilmore as Smokey

- Jack Kehler as Marty, The Dude's landlord

- Dom Irrera as Tony, the chauffeur

- Harry Bugin as Arthur Digby Sellers

- Jesse Flanagan as Larry Sellers

- Leon Russom as the Malibu Police Chief

- Warren Keith as Francis Donnelly, funeral director

- Marshall Manesh as Doctor

- Asia Carrera as Sherry, porn actress

- Aimee Mann as Franz's girlfriend

- Richard Gant and Christian Clemenson as cops

## Production

### Development

The Dude is mostly inspired by Jeff Dowd, an American film producer and political activist the Coen brothers met while they were trying to find distribution for their first feature, Blood Simple. Dowd had been a member of the Seattle Seven, liked to drink white Russians, and was known as "The Dude". The Dude was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline (now a member of the faculty at USC 's School of Cinematic Arts), a Vietnam War veteran who reportedly lived in a dump of an apartment and was proud of a little rug that "tied the room together". Exline knew Barry Sonnenfeld from New York University and Sonnenfeld introduced Exline to the Coen brothers while they were trying to raise money for Blood Simple. Exline became friends with the Coens and in 1989, told them many stories from his own life, including some about his actor-writer friend Lewis Abernathy (one of the inspirations for Walter), a fellow Vietnam vet who later became a private investigator and helped him track down and confront a high school kid who stole his car. As in the film, Exline's car was impounded by the Los Angeles Police Department and Abernathy found an 8th grader's homework under the passenger seat.

Exline also belonged to an amateur softball league but the Coens changed it to bowling in the film, because "it's a very social sport where you can sit around and drink and smoke while engaging in inane conversation". The Coens met filmmaker John Milius when they were in Los Angeles making Barton Fink and incorporated his love of guns and the military into the character of Walter. Milius introduced the Coen Brothers to one of his best friends, Jim Ganzer, who also served as a source for creating Jeff Bridges' character. Also known as the Dude, Ganzer and his gang, typical Malibu surfers, served as inspiration as well for Milius's film Big Wednesday.

Before David Huddleston was cast as "Big" Jeffrey Lebowski, the Coens considered Robert Duvall (who did not like the script), Anthony Hopkins (who was not interested in playing an American), Gene Hackman (who was taking a break from acting at the time), Jack Nicholson (who was not interested, he only wanted to portray Moses), Tommy Lee Jones (who was considered "too young"), Ned Beatty, Michael Caine, Bruce Dern, James Coburn, Charles Durning, Jackie Cooper, Fred Ward, Richard Mulligan, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, Lloyd Bridges, Paul Dooley, Pat Hingle, Jonathan Winters, Norman Mailer, George C. Scott, Jerry Falwell, Gore Vidal, Andy Griffith, William F. Buckley, and Ernest Borgnine. The Coens' top choice was Marlon Brando. Charlize Theron was considered for the role of Bunny Lebowski. David Cross auditioned for the role of Brandt.

According to Julianne Moore, the character of Maude was based on artist Carolee Schneemann, "who worked naked from a swing", and on Yoko Ono. The character of Jesus Quintana, a bowling opponent of The Dude's team, was inspired in part by a performance the Coens had seen John Turturro give in 1988 at the Public Theater in a play called Mi Puta Vida in which he played a pederast -type character, "so we thought, let's make Turturro a pederast. It'll be something he can really run with," Joel said in an interview.

The film's overall structure was influenced by the detective fiction of Raymond Chandler. Ethan said, "We wanted something that would generate a certain narrative feeling – like a modern Raymond Chandler story, and that's why it had to be set in Los Angeles... We wanted to have a narrative flow, a story that moves like a Chandler book through different parts of town and different social classes." The use of the Stranger's voice-over also came from Chandler as Joel remarked, "He is a little bit of an audience substitute. In the movie adaptation of Chandler it's the main character that speaks off-screen, but we didn't want to reproduce that though it obviously has echoes. It's as if someone was commenting on the plot from an all-seeing point of view. And at the same time rediscovering the old earthiness of a Mark Twain."

The significance of the bowling culture was, according to Joel, "important in reflecting that period at the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties. That suited the retro side of the movie, slightly anachronistic, which sent us back to a not-so-far-away era, but one that was well and truly gone nevertheless."

### Screenplay

The Coen Brothers wrote The Big Lebowski around the same time as Barton Fink. When the Coen brothers wanted to make it, John Goodman was filming episodes for Roseanne and Jeff Bridges was making the Walter Hill film Wild Bill. The Coens decided to make Fargo in the meantime. According to Ethan, "the movie was conceived as pivoting around that relationship between the Dude and Walter", which sprang from the scenes between Barton Fink and Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink. They also came up with the idea of setting the film in contemporary L.A., because the people who inspired the story lived in the area. When Pete Exline told them about the homework in a baggie incident, the Coens thought that that was very Raymond Chandler and decided to integrate elements of the author's fiction into their script. Joel Coen cites Robert Altman 's The Long Goodbye as a primary influence on their film, in the sense that The Big Lebowski "is just kind of informed by Chandler around the edges". When they started writing the script, the Coens wrote only 40 pages and then let it sit for a while before finishing it. This is a normal writing process for them, because they often "encounter a problem at a certain stage, we pass to another project, then we come back to the first script. That way we've already accumulated pieces for several future movies." In order to liven up a scene that they thought was too heavy on exposition, they added an "effete art-world hanger-on", known as Knox Harrington, late in the screenwriting process. In the original script, the Dude's car was a Chrysler LeBaron, as Dowd had once owned, but that car was not big enough to fit John Goodman so the Coens changed it to a Ford Torino.

### Pre-production

PolyGram and Working Title Films, which had funded Fargo, backed The Big Lebowski with a budget of $15 million. In casting the film, Joel remarked, "we tend to write both for people we know and have worked with, and some parts without knowing who's going to play the role. In The Big Lebowski we did write for John and Steve, but we didn't know who was getting the Jeff Bridges role." The Coens originally considered Mel Gibson for the role of The Dude, but he did not take the pitch too seriously. Bridges was hesitant to play the role as he was worried that would be a bad example for his daughters, but Jessie convinced him to take it after a meeting. In preparation for his role, Bridges met Dowd but actually "drew on myself a lot from back in the Sixties and Seventies. I lived in a little place like that and did drugs, although I think I was a little more creative than the Dude." The actor went into his own closet with the film's wardrobe person and picked out clothes that he had thought the Dude might wear. He wore his character's clothes home because most of them were his own. The actor also adopted the same physicality as Dowd, including the slouching and his ample belly. Originally, Goodman wanted a different kind of beard for Walter but the Coen brothers insisted on the "Gladiator" or what they called the "Chin Strap" and he thought it would go well with his flattop haircut.

For the film's look, the Coens wanted to avoid the usual retro 1960s clichés like lava lamps, Day-Glo posters, and Grateful Dead music and for it to be "consistent with the whole bowling thing, we wanted to keep the movie pretty bright and poppy", Joel said in an interview. For example, the star motif, featured predominantly throughout the film, started with the film's production designer Richard Heinrichs' design for the bowling alley. According to Joel, he "came up with the idea of just laying free-form neon stars on top of it and doing a similar free-form star thing on the interior". This carried over to the film's dream sequences. "Both dream sequences involve star patterns and are about lines radiating to a point. In the first dream sequence, the Dude gets knocked out and you see stars and they all coalesce into the overhead nightscape of L.A. The second dream sequence is an astral environment with a backdrop of stars", remembers Heinrichs. For Jackie Treehorn's Malibu beach house, he was inspired by late 1950s and early 1960s bachelor pad furniture. The Coen brothers told Heinrichs that they wanted Treehorn's beach party to be Inca -themed, with a "very Hollywood-looking party in which young, oiled-down, fairly aggressive men walk around with appetizers and drinks. So there's a very sacrificial quality to it."

Cinematographer Roger Deakins discussed the look of the film with the Coens during pre-production. They told him that they wanted some parts of the film to have a real and contemporary feeling and other parts, like the dream sequences, to have a very stylized look. Bill and Jacqui Landrum did all of the choreography for the film. For his dance sequence, Jack Kehler went through three three-hour rehearsals. The Coen brothers offered him three to four choices of classical music for him to pick from and he chose Modest Mussorgsky 's Pictures at an Exhibition. At each rehearsal, he went through each phase of the piece.

### Principal photography

Actual filming took place over an eleven-week period with location shooting in and around Los Angeles, including all of the bowling sequences at the Hollywood Star Lanes (for three weeks) and the Dude's Busby Berkeley dream sequences in a converted airplane hangar. According to Joel, the only time they ever directed Bridges "was when he would come over at the beginning of each scene and ask, 'Do you think the Dude burned one on the way over?' I'd reply 'Yes' usually, so Jeff would go over in the corner and start rubbing his eyes to get them bloodshot." Julianne Moore was sent the script while working on The Lost World: Jurassic Park. She worked only two weeks on the film, early and late during the production that went from January to April 1997, while Sam Elliott was only on set for two days and did many takes of his final speech.

Joel Coen said that Jeff Bridges was upset there was no playback monitor so Bridges made them get a playback monitor at the end of the second week of production.

The scenes in Jackie Treehorn's house were shot in the Sheats-Goldstein Residence, designed by John Lautner and built in 1963 in the Hollywood Hills.

Deakins described the look of the fantasy scenes as being very crisp, monochromatic, and highly lit in order to afford greater depth of focus. However, with the Dude's apartment, Deakins said, "it's kind of seedy and the light's pretty nasty" with a grittier look. The visual bridge between these two different looks was how he photographed the night scenes. Instead of adopting the usual blue moonlight or blue street lamp look, he used an orange sodium-light effect. The Coen brothers shot much of the film with wide-angle lens because, according to Joel, it made it easier to hold focus for a greater depth and it made camera movements more dynamic.

To achieve the point-of-view of a rolling bowling ball the Coen brothers mounted a camera "on something like a barbecue spit", according to Ethan, and then dollied it along the lane. The challenge for them was figuring out the relative speeds of the forward motion and the rotating motion. CGI was used to create the vantage point of the thumb hole in the bowling ball.

## Soundtrack

The original score was composed by Carter Burwell, a veteran of all the Coen Brothers ' films. While the Coens were writing the screenplay they had Kenny Rogers ' " Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) ", the Gipsy Kings ' cover of " Hotel California ", and several Creedence Clearwater Revival songs in mind. They asked T-Bone Burnett (who would later work with the Coens on O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Inside Llewyn Davis) to pick songs for the soundtrack of the film. They knew that they wanted different genres of music from different times but, as Joel remembers, "T-Bone even came up with some far-out Henry Mancini and Yma Sumac." Burnett was able to secure songs by Kenny Rogers and the Gipsy Kings and also added tracks by Captain Beefheart, Moondog and Bob Dylan 's " The Man in Me ". However, he had a tough time securing the rights to Townes Van Zandt 's cover of the Rolling Stones ' "Dead Flowers", which plays over the film's closing credits. Former Stones manager Allen Klein owned the rights to the song and wanted $150,000 for it. Burnett convinced Klein to watch an early cut of the film and remembers, "It got to the part where the Dude says, 'I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!' Klein stands up and says, 'That's it, you can have the song!' That was beautiful." Burnett was going to be credited on the film as "Music Supervisor", but asked his credit to be "Music Archivist" because he "hated the notion of being a supervisor; I wouldn't want anyone to think of me as management".

For Joel, "the original music, as with other elements of the movie, had to echo the retro sounds of the Sixties and early Seventies". Music defines each character. For example, Bob Nolan 's " Tumbling Tumbleweeds " was chosen for the Stranger at the time the Coens wrote the screenplay, as was Henry Mancini's " Lujon " by for Jackie Treehorn. "The German nihilists are accompanied by techno-pop and Jeff Bridges by Creedence. So there's a musical signature for each of them", remarked Ethan in an interview. The character Uli Kunkel was in the German electronic band Autobahn, an homage to the band Kraftwerk. The album cover of their record Nagelbett (bed of nails) is a parody of the Kraftwerk album cover for The Man-Machine and the group name Autobahn shares the name of a Kraftwerk song and album. In the lyrics the phrase "We believe in nothing" is repeated with electronic distortion. This is a reference to Autobahn's nihilism in the film.

## Reception

### Box office

The Big Lebowski received its world premiere at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 1998, at the 1,300-capacity Eccles Theater. It was also screened at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival before opening in the United States and Canada on March 6, 1998, in 1,207 theaters. It grossed $5.5 million on its opening weekend, finishing up with a gross of $18 million in the United States and Canada, just above its US$15 million budget. The film's worldwide gross outside of the US and Canada was $28.7 million, (including $2.6 million in the United Kingdom) bringing its worldwide gross to $46.7 million.

### Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 191 reviews, with an average score of 7.40/10. The website's critics consensus reads, " The Big Lebowski ' s shaggy dog story won't satisfy everybody, but those who abide will be treated to a rambling succession of comic delights, with Jeff Bridges' laconic performance really tying the movie together." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Many critics and audiences have likened the film to a modern Western, while many others dispute this, or liken it to a crime novel that revolves around mistaken identity plot devices. Peter Howell, in his review for the Toronto Star, wrote: "It's hard to believe that this is the work of a team that won an Oscar last year for the original screenplay of Fargo. There's a large amount of profanity in the movie, which seems a weak attempt to paper over dialogue gaps." Howell revised his opinion in a later review, and in 2011 stated that "it may just be my favourite Coen Bros. film."

Todd McCarthy in Variety magazine wrote: "One of the film's indisputable triumphs is its soundtrack, which mixes Carter Burwell's original score with classic pop tunes and some fabulous covers." USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and felt that the Dude was "too passive a hero to sustain interest," but that there was "enough startling brilliance here to suggest that, just like the Dude, those smarty-pants Coens will abide."

In his review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe praised the Coens and "their inspired, absurdist taste for weird, peculiar Americana – but a sort of neo-Americana that is entirely invented – the Coens have defined and mastered their own bizarre subgenre. No one does it like them and, it almost goes without saying, no one does it better."

Janet Maslin praised Bridges' performance in her review for The New York Times: "Mr. Bridges finds a role so right for him that he seems never to have been anywhere else. Watch this performance to see shambling executed with nonchalant grace and a seemingly out-to-lunch character played with fine comic flair." Andrew Sarris, in his review for the New York Observer, wrote: "The result is a lot of laughs and a feeling of awe toward the craftsmanship involved. I doubt that there'll be anything else like it the rest of this year." In a five star review for Empire, Ian Nathan wrote: "For those who delight in the Coens' divinely abstract take on reality, this is pure nirvana" and "in a perfect world all movies would be made by the Coen brothers." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as "weirdly engaging." In a 2010 review, he raised his original score to four stars out of four and added the film to his "Great Movies" canon.

However, Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote in the Chicago Reader: "To be sure, The Big Lebowski is packed with show-offy filmmaking and as a result is pretty entertaining. But insofar as it represents a moral position—and the Coens' relative styling of their figures invariably does—it's an elitist one, elevating salt-of-the-earth types like Bridges and Goodman... over everyone else in the movie." Dave Kehr, in his review for the Daily News, criticized the film's premise as a "tired idea, and it produces an episodic, unstrung film." The Guardian criticized the film as "a bunch of ideas shoveled into a bag and allowed to spill out at random. The film is infuriating, and will win no prizes. But it does have some terrific jokes."

## Legacy

Since its original release, The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic. Ardent fans of the film call themselves "achievers". Steve Palopoli wrote about the film's emerging cult status in July 2002. He first realized that the film had a cult following when he attended a midnight screening in 2000 at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles and witnessed people quoting dialogue from the film to each other. Soon after the article appeared, the programmer for a local midnight film series in Santa Cruz decided to screen The Big Lebowski and on the first weekend they had to turn away several hundred people. The theater held the film over for six weeks, which had never happened before.

An annual festival, Lebowski Fest, began in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, in 2002 with 150 fans showing up, and has since expanded to several other cities. The festival's main event each year is a night of unlimited bowling with various contests including costume, trivia, hardest- and farthest-traveled contests. Held over a weekend, events typically include a pre-fest party with bands the night before the bowling event as well as a day-long outdoor party with bands, vendor booths and games. Various celebrities from the film have attended some of the events, including Jeff Bridges who attended the Los Angeles event. The British equivalent, inspired by Lebowski Fest, is known as The Dude Abides and is held in London.

Dudeism, a religion devoted largely to spreading the philosophy and lifestyle of the film's main character, was founded in 2005. Also known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude (a name parody of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the organization has ordained over 220,000 "Dudeist Priests" all over the world via its website.

"The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom," published in 2012 by Wiley, is a collection of 18 essays by different writers analyzing the movie's philosophical themes of nihilism, war and politics, money and materialism, idealism and morality, and the Dude as the philosopher's hero who struggles to live the good life in spite of the challenges he endures.

Two species of African spider are named after the film and main character: Anelosimus biglebowski and Anelosimus dude, both described in 2006. Additionally, an extinct Permian conifer genus is named after the film in honor of its creators. The first species described within this genus in 2007 is based on 270-million-year-old plant fossils from Texas, and is called Lebowskia grandifolia.

Entertainment Weekly ranked it 8th on their Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years list. The film was also ranked No. 34 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films" and ranked No. 15 on the magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list. In addition, the magazine also ranked The Dude No. 14 in their "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years" poll. The film was also nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. The Big Lebowski was voted as the 10th best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years by a group of Los Angeles Times writers and editors with two criteria: "The movie had to communicate some inherent truth about the L.A. experience, and only one film per director was allowed on the list." Empire magazine ranked Walter Sobchak No. 49 and the Dude No. 7 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll. Roger Ebert added The Big Lebowski to his list of "Great Movies" in March 2010.

### Spin-off

The Coen brothers have stated that they will never make a sequel to The Big Lebowski. Nevertheless, John Turturro expressed interest in reprising his role as Jesus Quintana, and in 2014, he announced that he had requested permission to use the character. In August 2016, it was reported that Turturro would reprise his role as Jesus Quintana in The Jesus Rolls, a spin-off of The Big Lebowski, based on the 1974 French film Going Places, with Turturro starring, writing, and directing. It was released in 2020. The Coen brothers, although having granted Turturro the right to use the character, were not involved, and no other character from The Big Lebowski was featured in the film.

### Stella Artois commercial

On January 24, 2019, Jeff Bridges posted a 5-second clip on Twitter with the statement: "Can't be living in the past, man. Stay tuned" and showing Bridges as the Dude, walking through a room as a tumbleweed rolls by. The clip was a teaser trailer for an ad during Super Bowl LIII which featured Bridges reprising the role of The Dude for a Stella Artois commercial.

### Use as social and political analysis

The film has been used as a tool for analysis on a number of issues. In September 2008, Slate published an article that interpreted The Big Lebowski as a political critique. The center piece of this viewpoint was that Walter Sobchak is "a neocon," citing the film's references to then President George H. W. Bush and the first Gulf War. The article says Sobchak's aggressive and impulsive attitude, which always results in catastrophe, is an allegory of neoconservative foreign policy and its supposed consequences.

A journal article by Brian Wall, published in the feminist journal Camera Obscura, uses the film to explain Karl Marx 's commodity fetishism and the feminist consequences of sexual fetishism.

In That Rug Really Tied the Room Together, first published in 2001, Joseph Natoli argues that The Dude represents a counter narrative to the post- Reaganomic entrepreneurial rush for "return on investment" on display in such films as Jerry Maguire and Forrest Gump.

The movie has been used as a carnivalesque critique of society, as an analysis on war and ethics, as a narrative on mass communication and US militarism and other issues.

## Home media

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a "Collector's Edition" DVD on October 18, 2005, with extra features that included an "introduction by Mortimer Young", "Jeff Bridges' Photography", "Making of The Big Lebowski ", and "Production Notes". In addition, a limited-edition "Achiever's Edition Gift Set" also included The Big Lebowski Bowling Shammy Towel, four Collectible Coasters that included photographs and quotable lines from the film, and eight Exclusive Photo Cards from Jeff Bridges' personal collection.

A "10th Anniversary Edition" was released on September 9, 2008, and features all of the extras from the "Collector's Edition" and "The Dude's Life: Strikes and Gutters... Ups and Downs... The Dude Abides" theatrical trailer (from the first DVD release), "The Lebowski Fest: An Achiever's Story", "Flying Carpets and Bowling Pin Dreams: The Dream Sequences of the Dude", "Interactive Map", "Jeff Bridges Photo Book", and a "Photo Gallery". There are both a standard release and a Limited Edition which features "Bowling Ball Packaging" and is individually numbered.

A high-definition version of The Big Lebowski was released by Universal on HD DVD format on June 26, 2007. The film was released in Blu-ray format in Italy by Cecchi Gori.

On August 16, 2011, Universal Pictures released The Big Lebowski on Blu-ray. The limited-edition package includes a Jeff Bridges photo book, a ten-years-on retrospective, and an in-depth look at the annual Lebowski Fest. The film is also available in the Blu-ray Coen Brothers box set released in the UK; however, this version is region-free and will work in any Blu-ray player.

For the film's 20th Anniversary, Universal Pictures released a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version of the film, which was released on October 16, 2018.


1851 in Germany

# 1851 in Germany

## Abstract

Events from the year 1851 in Germany.

## Incumbents

- King of Bavaria – Maximilian II

- King of Hanover – Ernest Augustus till 18 November 1851 George V after 18 November 1851

- Ernest Augustus till 18 November 1851

- George V after 18 November 1851

- King of Prussia – Frederick William IV

- King of Saxony – Frederick Augustus II

## Events

- February 1 – Brandtaucher, the oldest surviving submersible craft, sinks during acceptance trials in the German port of Kiel, but the designer, Wilhelm Bauer, and the two crew escape successfully.

## Births

- March 24 – Friedrich von Scholtz, German general (d. 1927)

- April 1 – Bruno von Mudra, German general (d. 1931)

- May 7 – Adolf von Harnack, German Lutheran theologian, church historian (d. 1930)

- May 20 – Emile Berliner, German-born American telephone and recording pioneer (d. 1929)

- September 21 – Arthur Schuster, German-British physicist (d. 1934)

- November 27 – Friedrich Sixt von Armin, German general (d. 1936)

## Deaths

- January 10 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)

- January 21 – Albert Lortzing, German composer (b. 1801)

- February 18 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician (b. 1804)

- July 17 – Roger Sheaffe, British general (b. 1763)

- November 18- Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover (b. 1771)

- December 19 – Karl Drais, German inventor (b. 1785)


Richard von König-Warthausen

# Richard von König-Warthausen

## Abstract

Richard Karl Wilhelm von König-Warthausen also given as (Freiherr/Baron) Richard König von und zu Warthausen (6 February 1830 – 4 January 1911) was a German nobleman and ornithologist. His collections of eggs and birds were transferred to the museum of natural history in Stuttgart in 1955.

## Early life

Von König-Warthausen was born in Warthausen to Württemberg chamberlain Friedrich August Karl von König-Warthausen (1800-1889) and Pauline Lembke (1805-1872). After private tuition under Christian August von Landerer he went to grammar school in Ulm followed by studies at the University of Tübingen, the Forest Academy in Tharandt and the Agricultural Academy in Hohenheim.

## Career

He then began to manage the Warthausen estate and at the same time began to collect bird specimens and eggs. One of his early papers was on the eggs of domesticated birds published in 1854. In his enthusiasm he had reported second-hand claims of a freak chick found inside a hen and received criticism from several reputed ornithologists of the period. He however began to correspond to many of them and continued studies on the breeding biology of several species. In 1876 he wrote on abnormal coloration of eggs. He attended the second international ornithological congress at Budapest in 1891 as a representative of Württemberg. He collaborated with several other ornithologists including Ludwig Thienemann, J. H. Blasius, Eugen von Homeyer, Reichenbach, and Cabanis while his egg collections grew with contributions from others including Theodor von Heuglin who provided him eggs of some African species.

Some early bird protection legislations in Württemberg were due to his initiative. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tübingen and admitted fellow of the Leopoldina Academy (1898). For his supply of soldiers to the French army he received an Order of St. John and had been awarded an Iron Cross on a white ribbon. He was also made an honorary member of the Vereins für Vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg in 1898.

## Personal life

He married Elisabeth von Hügel (1838–1938), a daughter of Baron Karl Eugen von Hügel, in Hochberg in 1861 and they had five children. His niece Elise von König-Warthausen (1835–1921) became an animal rights activist.

### Legacy

His collections at the castle of Sommershausen consisting of 12,500 eggs, 340 birds and other natural history objects were donated to the State Museum of Natural History, Stuttgart in 1955.


Box Hill railway station, Wellington

# Box Hill railway station, Wellington

## Abstract

Box Hill railway station is one of eight stations on the Johnsonville Branch, a commuter branch railway north of Wellington in New Zealand 's North Island. It serves the suburbs of Khandallah and Te Kainga. It is the only station on the line to be set below street level, and one of four on the line which is on a curve. The station is usually called Box Hill, but was signed by Tranz Metro as Boxhill on their platform signage.

Electric multiple unit trains are operated under the Metlink brand through this station in both directions to Johnsonville (to the north) and Wellington (to the south).

## History

Box Hill is one of the more recent stations on the Johnsonville Branch, having been opened in 1956.

As part of the Johnsonville line upgrading in 2009–10, the Box Hill Station was closed for about two months from 3 May 2010 while the station platform was resurfaced and extended to the south.

## Services

Trains run in both directions through this station, departing at half-hourly intervals, supplemented by a 13/13/26 schedule at peak times on week days.

The nearest bus routes are #25 and #26 which pass through Khandallah Village.

## Facilities

This station has a single side platform and passenger shelter. Pedestrian access is from Cockayne Road, and from the north end of the platform to Box Hill by a footpath under the adjacent road overbridge. There is no dedicated station car park available.


No Rome

# No Rome

## Abstract

Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez, better known by his stage name No Rome, is a London -based Filipino musician from San Francisco del Monte. He is best known for his 2021 single " Spinning ", which featured Charli XCX and the 1975 and charted at No. 94 on the UK Singles Chart, though also cowrote the 1975's " TooTimeTooTimeTooTime ", which charted at No. 26.

## Life and career

### Early life

Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez grew up in the suburb of San Francisco del Monte within Manila. His father was a former DJ and his mother a church singer, while his younger sister Gabriel performed under the name Aunt Robert and his older brother Zeon under the name U-Pistol, short for Ulzzang Pistol. He grew up listening to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, and later electronic artists such as Björk and Aphex Twin. Growing up, he became interested in visual art after taking pictures with his father's camera, and spent extended periods on Flickr and later Tumblr, on the grounds that its contents were annotated with information for further research; he was later inspired to start writing after reading books of poems by artists such as Frank O'Hara and Robert Frost.

"When I was just starting, many people discouraged me, saying, ‘No, Rome, not in music; try something else.’ That stuck in my mind."

Gomez in October 2019

Gomez's first performances were as part of the band Rome and the Cats alongside his brother, who acted as his manager. He then adopted the stage name "No Rome", based on a common response to him stating that he was starting in the music industry, and with Zeon and Ethan Namoch founded Young Liquid Gang (YLG) in 2012, a collective of musicians, visual artists, photographers, managers, and graphic designers which ran until 2015. One of YLG's members, Leon Ordinario, met Gomez by chance at a McDonald's outside their college, and would later become the programmer and drummer for Gomez's live shows; another bandmate, Chris, would flash moving images on Gomez using a projector.

Gomez moved to London at the age of 18, after he was signed to Dirty Hit.

### Early releases, RIP Indo Hisashi, and Crying in the Prettiest Places

In 2013, he released the double A-side single "Dance With Me" / "United We Are"", followed by the EP Fantasy, both on Number Line Records. In 2014, he released "Heaven", a song inspired by recent bereavements, and in 2015, he released "Know U" on Mermaid Avenue, about being ghosted by inopportune partners, and the EP Hurry Home & Rest on Number Line Records. The following year, fed up of carting his MIDI controllers around on buses, he took a job at a call center, staying in post for seven months, and used the proceeds to purchase a digital audio workstation, gear, and private transportation. In January 2017, he released "Blue Jeans", a song about misinterpretation of his lyrics, and the following month he released "Seventeen" on Ryan Hemsworth 's Secret Songs label, a song about a friend's failed romance; Wave Racer would cover the song in June 2021.

Gomez then entered into correspondence with Samuel Burgess-Johnson and sent him his demos, who proceeded to share them with his flatmate Matty Healy, who invited him to London and signed him to his label Dirty Hit. In 2018, Healy and George Daniel produced Rome's third EP, RIP Indo Hisashi, which took its name from the Japanese painter Hisashi Indo, and featured "Narcissist", a collaboration with the 1975, who later adapted it for their own " TooTimeTooTimeTooTime ", which charted at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart. Healy and Daniel also produced Gomez's fourth EP, Crying in the Prettiest Places, the following year, which charted at No. 14 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

### "Spinning", It's All Smiles, and Blueboy Must Die

In January 2020, Gomez announced that he was working on Samantha's TV, a mixtape, which took its name from the character played by Scarlett Johansson in Her; following the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, he was trapped in the country, having visited with the intention of performing at that year's Wanderland Music and Arts Festival. After spending time at his parents' house, he moved to an apartment in Subic. While there, he aborted the mixtape, and started afresh; he told the Line of Best Fit in December 2021 that he found the lockdown conducive, as previously he had been " ADD -ing all over the place" and unable to focus.

In 2021, he, Charli XCX and the 1975 released "Spinning", which charted at No. 94 on the UK Singles Chart in March 2021; the following month, Forbes listed him on their Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 list, and the month after that, he and Chase Atlantic featured on Elio's "Hurts 2 Hate Somebody", which appeared on her remix album, "Elio and Friends: The Remixes". Later that year, Daniel and BJ Burton coproduced Rome's album It's All Smiles, which he named ironically due to its sad lyrics, and which he promoted with a zine comprising photographs taken by Gomez.

In May 2023, Gomez featured on the Salute song "Run Away With You", which featured on their EP Shield. Later that month, he released "Brother", which was inspired by " Plantasia " by Mort Garson and Rachel McKibbens ' "Letter From My Heart to My Brain", and in August 2023, he released "Deep Diving", a UK garage -inspired song also inspired by "Plantasia". On 8 September, he released the Kurisu-produced mixtape Blueboy Must Die, which had been delayed from 28 July 2023, and on 15 December 2023, he and Ocho the Bullet cowrote Josh Cullen 's "Get Right", which Gomez also coproduced.

### Critical reception

It's All Smiles received mixed reviews, and varying genre classifications, earning one out of five stars from the Guardian, four out of five stars from DIY Mag and a 7.1 from Pitchfork. The Guardian argued that Gomez's self-proclaimed genre, "shoegaze R&B," presented contradictory ideas about the role of vocals: Shoegaze is a genre in which "singers sink in quicksands of guitar", while R&B is a genre often dependent on the quality of the vocalist, and noted that his choice "to foreground his thin, trebly voice and treat it with endless effects more to hyperpop than anything else." They also described the album's "A Place Where Nobody Knows" and "Everything" as chillwave, and described the album as a " hyperpop headache". Pitchfork described the range of vocal styles presented in the record as "chameleonic," and called It's All Smiles, "solid pop with an experimental slant" that was "gratifying" and "ambitious" when cast against its pop counterparts, but ultimately "too safe." DIY Mag cited a "clear desire to mess with pop convention."

## Personal life and influences

Gomez spent a period misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, for which he took antipsychotic medication; he later wrote the It's All Smiles album track "Secret Beach" about his experiences.

In a December 2021 interview with Vice, he stated that It's All Smiles had been influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Nujabes, and the Avalanches, and a March 2022 edition of Out of Print noted that his influences spanned the Deftones, jungle producer Goldie, and the light art pioneers Jenny Holzer and Nam June Paik, and that his "ultimate musical hero" was Kim Gordon.

## Discography

### Studio albums

- It's All Smiles (2021)

### Mixtapes

- Blueboy Must Die (2023)

### Extended plays

- Fantasy (2013)

- Hurry Home & Rest (2015)

- RIP Indo Hisashi (2018)

- Crying in the Prettiest Places (2019)

- Some More Smiles (2022)

### Singles

- "Dance with Me" / "United We Are" (2013)

- "Heaven" (2014)

- "Know U" (2015)

- "Seventeen" (2017)

- "Blue Jeans" (2017)

- "Do It Again" (2018)

- "Seventeen" (re-release, 2018)

- "Saint Laurent" (2018)

- "Cashmoney" (2019)

- "Pink" (2019)

- "Talk Nice" (2019)

- "Trust3000" (featuring Dijon) (2019)

- "Hurry Home" (featuring Beabadoobee and Jay Som) (2020)

- "1:45AM" (featuring Bearface) (2020)

- " Spinning " (with the 1975 and Charli XCX) (2021)

- "When She Comes Around" (2021)

- "I Want U" (2021)

- "Brother" (2023)

- "Deep Diving" (2023)

#### Featured singles

- "Hurts 2 Hate Somebody" (Elio featuring Chase Atlantic and No Rome) (2021)

- "Shoegazing" (Misogi featuring No Rome) (2023)


Crofton Downs railway station

# Crofton Downs railway station

## Abstract

Crofton Downs railway station is one of eight stations on the Johnsonville Branch, a commuter branch railway north of Wellington in New Zealand ’s North Island. It serves the suburb of Crofton Downs. Its name is similar to the pre-1908 name for the different Ngaio station, Crofton.

Electric multiple unit trains are operated by Transdev under the Metlink brand through this station in both directions to Johnsonville (to the north) and Wellington (to the south). The station is one of four stations on the line located on a curve.

## History

Crofton Downs is the most recent station on the Johnsonville Branch, having been opened in 1963 to serve the then new suburb of Crofton Downs. Patronage of the station was light in its early years, not becoming popular until housing in the area was well developed.

## Services

Trains run in both directions through this station, departing at half-hourly intervals, supplemented by a 13/13/26 schedule at peak times on weekdays.

The 22 bus route connects the station to Johnsonville and Wellington.

## Facilities

This station has a single side platform, passenger shelter, and commuter car park. Behind the station is a Mitre 10 hardware store and customer car park.

In 2019/20 the GWRC planned to "renew" the Crofton Downs railway station.

## Footnotes


Marcus Armstrong

# Marcus Armstrong

## Abstract

Marcus John Armstrong (born 29 July 2000) is a New Zealand motor racing driver currently competing in the IndyCar series, driving the No. 11 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing. He competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship between 2020 and 2022, and was the 2019 Formula 3 runner-up. He was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy between 2017 and 2021.

Armstrong started single-seaters in 2014, and in the following year won his only single-seater title to date in the 2017 Italian F4 Championship whilst becoming runner-up in the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship. He stepped to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018, ending 5th. The championship merged into the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, and Armstrong became runner-up to teammate Robert Shwartzman. He was promoted to the 2020 Formula 2 Championship with ART Grand Prix but a difficult season saw him finish 13th. He also finished in the same position in the following year with DAMS, and came 13th again in the 2022 Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix before making the switch to IndyCar.

## Junior racing career

Born in Christchurch, Armstrong began karting in 2010, winning all his major titles in New Zealand from 2011 to 2014. He did not achieve much in international competitions, placing a highest of 12th during the Karting World Championship in the KF2 category in 2015. While still karting, Armstrong graduated to single seaters in 2014 in the 2014–15 season of New Zealand Formula Ford Championship, ending seventh in the standings. In an article by Motorsport.com, Armstrong was ranked third of the most exciting karting talents of 2016.

### Lower formulae

#### 2016

In November 2015, Armstrong tested a Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 car in 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 post-season test. In 2016, Armstrong once again diversified his karting with stints in BRDC British Formula 3 and the two Formula Renault 2.0 series. In the latter series, he competed as a guest driver during the final round at Estoril, and finished ninth and tenth.

#### 2017 Toyota Racing Series

In November 2016, Armstrong was among five drivers invited to join the Ferrari Driver Academy and was confirmed as a member the following month. That same month, he was confirmed to race in the 2017 Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition. Armstrong won the season opener on his debut, but retired in the third race due to a collision. His next would come at the third round in Hampton during the first race, but again failed to finish the third race after touching with Richard Verschoor. A further win and two second places in the final round saw Armstrong managed fourth in the championship.

#### Italian Formula 4

In February 2017, it was announced Armstrong would race in both the ADAC F4 and Italian F4 championships with Prema Powerteam. Armstrong had a relatively slow start to the season, scoring three third-places and two non-scoring finishes across the opening two rounds. The next round at Vallelunga saw Armstrong claim his maiden win of the year From then, Armstrong's form had been stellar, winning three more times including appearing on the podium at all races during the second Mugello round. In the Monza season finale, Armstrong finished second in the first race, which was enough to claim the title with two races to spare.

#### ADAC Formula 4

Armstrong partook in all races, as the races did not clash with his Italian F4 campaign. Armstrong had two non-scoring finishes in the first two rounds. However, he bounced back and took his first ADAC F4 win at the Red Bull Ring and two more podium finishes there. His podium streak continued towards Oscbersleben, scoring another win and a second place. Another win at the Nürburgring hauled him into championship contention, but eventually lost out to eventual champion and future F2 teammate Jüri Vips by a mere 4.5 points, and Armstrong settled as vice-champion.

### FIA Formula 3 Championship

#### 2018

For 2018, Armstrong returned to the Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition. Armstrong started his season in perfect fashion, taking third in the first race and winning the other two, though those wins would be the only one of the season. Armstrong continued his podium streak in Teretonga and Hampton, which increased his lead to 41 points. However, he only yielded one podium in the next five races, bringing the gap down to ten points over second-placed Robert Shwartzman and 23 points to Richard Verschoor. With four laps to go after a safety car restart, Armstrong had a mechanical failure whilst leading, and dropped to seventh at the flag. This was meant that Shwartzman and Verschoor dropped Armstrong to third in the championship, the former winning the championship. Overall, Armstrong lost the title by 15 points.

Armstrong continued his collaboration with Prema, graduating to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, alongside fellow Ferrari juniors Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou. He scored a podium in just his second race at Pau, and a second place during the second round at the Hungaroring. His first win came at the Norisring and also capitalised by claiming two more podiums during the round, which saw him take the lead of the standings. He continued his championship lead for the next two rounds, which yielded two podiums. In Silverstone, Armstrong struggled with tyre wear and lost the lead of the standings to Dan Ticktum. At Misano, Armstrong scored a second place in the first race, but did not score in the other two which included a retirement in the third race from pole due to being hit from behind. Armstrong earned his ninth and last podium at the Red Bull Ring, but a triple retirement in the final round at the Hockenheimring saw him drop from 3rd to 5th in the standings, scoring 260 points.

At the season ending Macau Grand Prix, Armstrong finished eighth on his Macau debut having finished in the same position during the qualification race.

#### 2019

In 2019 before his main campaign, Armstrong returned to the 2019 Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition. He started the season by taking podiums in all three races, He would take his first win at the only race at Teretonga. He took two wins in four races at Hampton Downs, which saw him take the lead of the championship from fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson. Armstrong had a suspension issue during the fourth round at Taupo, yet still won the final race during the round but lost the championship lead heading into the final round by five points to Lawson. In the first race during the final round, Armstrong beat Lawson in the first race, but ended the other two behind him. This meant that Lawson was the champion by ten points, and Armstrong ended the series as runner-up with 346 points and five wins.

Armstrong reunited with Prema Racing to contest the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship, partnering 2018 teammate Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala. In April 2019, Armstrong joined Nicolas Todt 's All Road Management scheme. In the first round in Barcelona, Armstrong qualified third. He finished in the same position having tried to challenge Shwartzman on the opening lap. In Race 2, Armstrong made a strong start to take fourth on the opening lap, and later passed Max Fewtrell for third. However, Armstrong would fall to fifth place at the end of the race. Armstrong qualified fifth in Paul Ricard, and had a strong Race 1 up till lap 16, where Armstrong collided and spun with Jake Hughes whilst fighting for second place. Hughes was out on the spot, but Armstrong managed to continue and finish sixth. Armstrong had bad luck in Race 2, where he stalled from starting third, but made a brilliant charge to take sixth place in the end.

At the Red Bull Ring, Armstrong topped practice and later took his first pole position of the year. He lost the lead to Renault junior Max Fewtrell and re-took it back later. However, him and Jüri Vips passed him which dropped Armstrong to third, and defended from teammate Daruvala to cling onto third and another podium. He later stated that "it was a lot more difficult to overtake than expected". From sixth in Race 2, Armstrong quickly moved up into second behind Shwartzman and kept him honest for most of the race. On the final lap, Armstrong overtook Shwartzman however the Russian clipped Armstrong which punctured the New Zealander's rear tyre and fell to 19th. In Silverstone, Armstrong qualified on the front row in second, but dropped two places at the start. He re-passed Renault junior Christian Lundgaard and pressured Daruvala for second place, but ultimately settled for third. In Race 2, Armstrong sat in seventh for most of the race until Daruvala and Pedro Piquet collided on the penultimate lap, and also overtook Lundgaard to snatch fourth. At the Hungaroring, Armstrong qualified lower down in 13th. He was unable to progress through the field easily, during the first race and managed to take eighth place and claim reverse pole for Race 2. He defended from Leonardo Pulcini at the start, but managed to take his first victory of the season, in a lights-to-flag manner. Heading into the summer break and the final three rounds of the season, Armstrong sat fourth in the standings with 98 points, 36 off leader Shwartzman.

Armstrong had his worst qualifying of the year in Spa-Francorchamps, securing only 19th. In Race 1, Armstrong was up to 11th by lap 6, and cruised to eighth position to once again take reverse pole for the next race. He once again took victory by winning Race 2 over Yuki Tsunoda, and he dedicated his win to Anthoine Hubert, who died in a crash the night before. In Monza, Armstrong qualified second, but was demoted to start seventh for driving unnecessarily slowly. In Race 1, Armstrong bolted to second at the end of the opening lap when Lundgaard and Lirim Zendeli, before taking the lead on lap 4 from Richard Verschoor. However ten laps later, he would succumb the lead to Shwartzman and Armstrong would finish in second place. Unfortunately, he was penalised twenty seconds for exceeding the minimum delta time during the race's first safety car period and dropped to 21st. A small collision with David Beckmann saw Armstrong drop back, but recovered to 14th and end the weekend without points. Topping practice at the final round in Sochi, Armstrong went on to qualify third. In Race 1, he moved into the lead into the first corner, but lost the lead to Niko Kari on lap 9 and two further positions a lap later. Despite that, he would re-pass Pulcini and Kari back before overtaking Shwartzman on the final lap to claim the win while Shwartzman clinched the title. In Race 2, Armstrong moved up to third on lap 5 when Pulcini and Hughes collided. He passed Piquet on lap 17 to take second in the final race of the year. His result meant he became vice-champion and overhauled Daruvala's tally by one point. Overall, Armstrong scored 158 points whilst claiming three victories, seven podiums, three poles (two reverse), and four fastest laps.

Armstrong returned to participate in the 2019 Macau Grand Prix. finishing eighth in the overall race having started seventeenth on the grid. Armstrong finished 17th in the qualification race, but recovered and claimed eighth place.

Armstrong was ranked seventh in Motorsport.com 's article of top 20 junior single-seater drivers in 2019.

### FIA Formula 2 Championship

#### 2020

On 28 November 2019, it was announced Armstrong would graduate to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART Grand Prix to partner F3 rival and Renault Sport Academy member Christian Lundgaard. Before his debut F2 season, he stated that he " massively privileged" and "really confident". In the delayed start of the season, he qualified 13th in the Austrian opening round. He pitted very early on lap 8 during the feature race and his gamble would pay off, as he ran in fourth place once all drivers had pitted. When Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher ahead encountered problems of their own, Armstrong capitalised on the opportunity and rushed to second placed podium on his debut. During the sprint race, he made a lightning start, picking up four places on the opening lap to move into third. He nearly overtook Louis Delétraz on lap 7, but suffered a mechanical issue on lap 14 and was forced to retire from the race. During the second Austrian round, he qualified 12th. He made progress in the feature race and made his way to seventh place. Starting second in the sprint race, he was passed by Lundgaard at the start and later by Schumacher on lap 12. But just two laps later, Schumacher had a problem with his fire extinguisher and Armstrong re-took third place and claimed his second and last podium of the season.

Following that however, Armstrong went pointless for the next six rounds. It started in Hungary, where he qualified in the top ten for the first time that year. He lost three places in the feature race, and his race worsened as he tried to avoid the slowing Lundgaard and tagged Artem Markelov, sending the Russian into the barriers. Armstrong suffered damage and peeled into the pits to retire. He made a rocket start in the sprint race, he was up to 14th by the first lap. Armstrong overtook more of his rivals and narrowly missed out on points, in ninth as he lost the final points-paying position to Zhou on the last lap. The next five rounds yielded little for Armstrong, and he would get mediocre results. During the ninth round in Mugello, until the feature race in Mugello, Armstrong qualified fourth his joint-best qualifying of the year. He made a decent start, passing Callum Ilott at the start, but was overtaken by Luca Ghiotto seconds later. Armstrong ran in sixth place before the safety car periods, which he avoided the chaos following the first restart. He managed to take his first points since Austria in ninth place. and fell out of the top ten in the standings. In the sprint race, Armstrong made a great start to seventh, but was overtaken by many rivals and eventually finished 11th.

In Russia, Armstrong started 14th and took another points finish, claiming ninth in the feature race. In the red-flagged sprint, he lost four positions whilst running tenth after making a careless error and running wide, which left him to finish 14th. He qualified fourth again in Bahrain. He moved past Ticktum at the start, and later passed Ilott for second despite being on the harder tyres. However, he would soon be behind Schumacher, and fell back to third. Following the pit stops, he lost positions to his rivals and eventually secured seventh. Starting second in the sprint race, he would be overtaken by Nikita Mazepin midway through the race, then later overtaken by both Charouz drivers. However, when Pedro Piquet had a mechanical issue, Armstrong went to finish fourth. He ended his season by finishing 11th and 14th in the final race. Overall, Armstrong ended 13th in the standings with 52 points compared to teammate Lundgaard's 149, his worst ever placing in a full-time series. He scored two podiums and five more points finishes.

#### 2021

For the 2021 season, Armstrong moved to DAMS to partner Roy Nissany. Having topped the final day of pre-season testing, while saying that "the intensity is really high". He qualified in 13th, and his sprint race 1 was relatively short as he suffered a power loss after just completing two laps. In Sprint Race 2, he had another unfortunate race. He impressively made his way up to sixth place by lap 13 but two laps later, the safety car was deployed due to a collision. He stayed out, and dispatched Bent Viscaal for second place during the restart. However, rivals on fresher tyres passed him and he eventually finished in tenth. In the feature race, Armstrong had a good beginning half of the race, as he was up to fourth by lap 8. He made a timely pit stop under the safety car and led the field. However, during the restart he dropped two places to Oscar Piastri and Richard Verschoor. He lost a few more places and capped off the race in fifth place. In Monaco, he qualified 14th and made up two places at the start of the first sprint. He inherited a place following Christian Lundgaard 's retirement. On the final lap, he made a divebomb on Jehan Daruvala into the penultimate corner, sending him up to tenth and giving him reverse pole for the second sprint. Unfortunately, Armstrong was forced to start from the pit lane due to a car problem. Further issues continued and he dropped out of the race on lap 3. In the feature race, whilst running tenth, he collided with Jüri Vips, the Estonian driver shoving him into the wall and capping off a miserable weekend for Armstrong.

In Baku, he qualified sixth and would start fifth in sprint race 1. He made up a position at the start on Ralph Boschung but was back in fifth after being overtaken by Dan Ticktum. He lost two positions on the penultimate lap to end seventh, and was nearly passed by Vips on the line. In the second sprint, Armstrong battled Bent Viscaal on lap 8 following a safety car restart, but misjudged his braking point due to cold tyres and slammed into the wall, ending his race. His feature race barely lasted half a lap, as he was sent into the wall due to being hit by Théo Pourchaire, which was ultimately caused by Ticktum. By that point, Armstrong had only 12 points to his name, and trailed teammate Nissany in the standings. In Silverstone, he again qualified 14th and made a storming start in the first sprint race, moving up to ninth and remaining there for the entire race. Starting second in the second sprint race, Armstrong could not find a way past eventual race winner Richard Verschoor throughout the 21-lap race but managed to claim his first F2 podium in slightly more than a year. He had an uneventful feature race, he finished 12th.

In Monza, he qualified 17th and had poor performances in the sprint races, he ended 11th and 15th in sprint 1 and sprint 2 respectively. In the feature race, he started on the hard tyres and it would pay off as he managed to overtake some rivals following a safety car restart to finish tenth, though he was later promoted to ninth due to Verschoor's disqualification. In Russia where the second sprint was cancelled, Armstrong qualified 11th, and finished both races in the same position.

The inaugural race in Jeddah, saw the New Zealander qualify ninth, giving him second for the first sprint race. He managed to overtake fellow Kiwi Liam Lawson into the first corner. Despite Lawson pressuring him on the final lap, Armstrong held on and won his first Formula 2 race. On his win, Armstrong stated that the win was "a reward for the work done by DAMS team during a difficult 2021 season". In the second sprint race however, his fortunes were reversed as he was hit from behind by Clément Novalak. In a shortened feature race, he secured points in eighth place. In Yas Marina, Armstrong finished sprint race 1 in tenth having started 11th, giving him reverse pole for the second time that year. He would be on course for his third podium of the season in the second sprint race, but had to retire due to an engine failure whilst leading the race. In the feature race, he went on the alternate strategy and overtook his rivals, which rewarded him with seventh in the end, despite attacking Ticktum in the dying minutes of the race. Armstrong once again ended his F2 campaign in 13th with 49 points, two podiums, five other points finishes while also beating teammate Nissany. Talking about the season in general, Armstrong admitted that “at times last year I felt like I was a bit blind," and that he didn't have the data to push for better results.

#### 2022

Having driven in the post-season test with them, Armstrong signed a deal to for Hitech Grand Prix during the 2022 season, partnering Jüri Vips. Shortly before the season, Armstrong commented that he "not going to give up" F1 seat and " not want to leave anything off the table in 2022".

For the opening Bahrain round, Armstrong qualified 13th and made up positions until his race was cut short on lap 3 when Jake Hughes thumped him at the back, sending Armstrong into a stall. He had a much better feature race, starting on the softs saw the Kiwi up to third by lap 11. A late safety car saw him jump Felipe Drugovich and cross the line in fifth place. In Jeddah, he qualified fourth, but was given his first ever top-3 start after Jack Doohan was disqualified. In the sprint race, Armstrong was engrossed in a tight battle with Vips but the Estonian driver won out. With just three laps to go, Armstrong again retired as he spun, with his engine unable to get going. In the feature race, he was passed by Liam Lawson at the end of the opening lap, before regaining it as Lawson had a problem in the pits. However, Armstrong would end in fifth place as he was overtaken by Jehan Daruvala and Hughes towards the end.

In Imola, he qualified ninth, giving him a second place start for the sprint race. He made a decent start to jump Logan Sargeant off the line, and never looked back to take his first win of the year and second overall ahead of both Prema cars, despite having no radio for the entire race. In the feature race, he finished in 16th after an early safety car ruined his alternate strategy. The Barcelona round saw him end tenth after starting 13th in the sprint race. Again on the alternate strategy in the feature race, Armstrong would exit the pits in tenth, but fought back and claim seventh, passing Théo Pourchaire on the last lap.

Armstrong qualified seventh in Monaco. Starting fourth in the sprint race, he was immediately in third when Hughes stalled. He would remain in the position for the remainder of the race and claim another podium. His feature race was uneventful, he ended seventh, giving his first double points finish in an F2 event and climbed to fourth in the standings. In Baku, he qualified fourth. In the sprint race, he avoided all the chaos and broke through with a P4 finish. In the feature race, Armstrong passed Dennis Hauger at the start then later on Lawson during the lap 5 safety car restart. Another safety car restart on lap 15 saw the Kiwi lock up and nosed into the back of teammate Vips on the restart, and was forced to pit due to damage. Armstrong would eventually finish the race in 12th place, in a race which would have been so much more for the Kiwi driver.

In Silverstone, he started 12th and made up positions to claim ninth, narrowly missing points. In the feature race, he did manage points however, finishing eighth after having a good start that saw him P9 at the end of the first lap. During the Red Bull Ring round, he qualified tenth, giving him reverse pole for the sprint race. He proceeded to dominate the sprint race, leading every lap to claim victory. In the feature race on a drying track, some of his rivals opted to start on wets while the Kiwi was the leading driver on slicks. At Turn 3, Armstrong ran wide to avoid Richard Verschoor but was hit by another rival, and came to a halt moments later.

In France, he qualified eighth. Lining up third for the sprint race, he jumped Lawson at the start but he was back down in third on lap 4. On lap 19, Armstrong made an unsuccessful overtake and collided with Daruvala which opened the door for Pourchaire, and the Frenchman forced him wide which dropped Armstrong to sixth. He was again forced off by Vips and he eventually finished in ninth, before being dropped to 14th for colliding with Daruvala. Once again in the feature race, his race finished on lap 1 as he was sent into a spin by David Beckmann, before being collected by Hauger. In Budapest, he took his first front row start in F2 by qualifying P2. Ending the sprint race in seventh, despite contact with Daruvala. In the feature race, he stormed into the lead passing polesitter Ayumu Iwasa before Turn 1. However, a slow pit stop saw him passed by Pourchaire and Iwasa towards the end. He would also be jumped by Enzo Fittipaldi. Drivers behind passed him on fresher tyres, and Armstrong had to settle with sixth place in the end.

In Spa-Francorchamps, he qualified 12th and made a brilliant start in the sprint race, passing five cars to take seventh place on the opening lap, and would finish in that position. In the feature race, he ended down in 13th after a penalty was given to him for forcing another driver off track. Zandvoort went better for him, he qualified ninth and started second for the sprint race. He was able to jump polesitter Clément Novalak and lead every remaining lap to claim his third win of the season. In the feature race, he made contact early on with Novalak while fighting over seventh but both came out unscathed. On the alternate strategy it was ruined when Marino Sato brought out the safety car, and Armstrong was not allowed to pit under safety car conditions. He pitted shortly after the safety car withdrew and he finished 14th.

In Monza, he qualified third. Armstrong initially finished sixth in the sprint race, but was given a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage off-track. He was up to second before the pit stops and pitted during the lap 8 safety car but entered beyond the pit lane entry bollard which earned a ten-second stop and go penalty, and was added by another of the same penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He eventually finished in 12th. Armstrong had an uneventful Abu Dhabi weekend, he quietly achieved points in the feature race with ninth place. Once again, Armstrong ended 13th in the standings, with 93 points.

### Macau Grand Prix (2023)

In November 2023, Armstrong returned to Formula 3 to the Macau Grand Prix with MP Motorsport. Ahead of the event, the Kiwi mentioned he had "unfinished business". He finished the main race in 18th place, behind both teammates Dennis Hauger and Mari Boya.

## Formula One

At the start of 2017 Armstrong became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He made his F1 test debut in January at the Fiorano, driving the 2018 Ferrari SF71H, stating that "the car was not too difficult to drive". He tested the same car at Fiorano in April, completing more than 200 km. Following his 2021 season, he and Ferrari parted ways. Speaking about his departure, the Kiwi said that " knew was a dead end".

## IndyCar

In October 2022, Armstrong tested an IndyCar car for the first time with Dale Coyne Racing at the Sebring International Raceway. Following the test, team boss Dale Coyne said that "he was a very good candidate" for Dale Coyne Racing, as the American-based team was intending to expand to three entries for the 2023 IndyCar Series.

### Chip Ganassi Racing (2023–present)

#### 2023 season

On 2 December 2022, it was announced that Chip Ganassi Racing signed Armstrong to drive the No. 11 entry (formerly the No. 48) on the road courses and street circuits in 2023. Despite entering the season as a rookie, he stated that he needed to "get on it straightaway", to experienced teammates Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Álex Palou. Armstrong finished his debut in St. Petersburg in a respectable 11th place, only three places behind his nearby teammate. In just his second race at Long Beach, Armstrong finished in eighth. From the sixth to ninth race, Armstrong would place in the top 10 bar one, achieving a high of seventh place at the 2023 Honda Indy Toronto which was his best finish of the year. He would only finish in the top 10 just once in the next four races he participated, finishing eighth during the Laguna Seca finale despite many collisions with other drivers. Overall, Armstrong ended the season 20th overall with 214 points, and was the Rookie Of The Year despite missing many races, which he described "a great bonus".

He then partook in his first oval test just after the season finale. Armstrong then completed the Indy Rookie Orientation Programme in October within 57 laps, paving the way for him to compete in the Indy 500 the following year.

#### 2024 season

Armstrong extended his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, becoming a full-time driver for the 2024 season. He picked up his first IndyCar podium with a third place finish at Detroit. In the 2024 Honda Indy Toronto race, he finished at the 5th place.

## FIA World Endurance Championship

In November 2022, Armstrong tested an endurance racing car for the first time, testing the LMP2 Alpine car at the Bahrain International Circuit.

## Personal life

Armstrong hosts a motorsport and food related podcast titled Screaming Meals with motorsport insurance salesman James Harvey Blair, Formula 2 driver Clément Novalak, and IndyCar driver Callum Ilott. Growing up Armstrong was a fan of 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.

## Karting record

## Racing record

### Racing career summary

As Armstrong was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. * Season still in progress.

### Complete Toyota Finance 86 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

As Armstrong was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

### Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete Toyota Racing Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

### Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

### American open-wheel racing results

#### IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)


Hanson Robotics

# Hanson Robotics

## Abstract

Hanson Robotics Limited is a Hong Kong -based engineering and robotics company founded by David Hanson, known for its development of human-like robots with artificial intelligence (AI) for consumer, entertainment, service, healthcare, and research applications. The robots include Albert HUBO, the first walking robot with human-like expressions; BINA48, an interactive humanoid robot bust; and Sophia, the world's first robot citizen. The company has 45 employees.

Hanson Robotics’ robots feature a patented spongy elastomer skin called Frubber that resembles human skin in its feel and flexibility. Underneath the Frubber are proprietary motor control systems by which the robots mimic human expressions.

## History

In 2013, the company moved from Texas to Hong Kong Science Park and planned to develop a robotics hub in Hong Kong.

In October 2016, the company was selected as one of nine companies to join the Disney Accelerator program.

## Humanoid robots

The company has focused on building robots that mimic the look of humans.

### Sophia

Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ most well-known robot, is regularly featured in news outlets, and receives a great deal of public interest. The company's latest creation made her debut at the 2016 South by Southwest (SXSW) show, with her interview by CNBC reaching a broad audience. Since then, she has become a global media personality, having conducted numerous press interviews and appeared on broadcast television shows including CBS 60 Minutes with Charlie Rose, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Good Morning Britain. She has also been a keynote and panel speaker at global conferences and events, including those hosted by ITU, United Nations.

Sophia was featured in AUDI's annual report and has graced the cover and centerfold of ELLE Magazine. Sophia is also the first United Nations Development Programme's first ever Innovation Champion, and the first non-human to be given any UN title. In 2018, Sophia won an Edison Award for Innovation in that competition's robotics category.

### Alice

Alice was developed in 2008 for MIRA Labs in Geneva, Switzerland. The female robot has an emotionally expressive face. She acts to serve cognitive robotics research at the University of Geneva and is part of the INDIGO cognitive robotics consortium, where Hanson Robotics is a founding member.

### Albert Einstein HUBO

Albert Einstein HUBO was, developed in November 2005 in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) HUBO group of Korea. Inspired by German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, the expressive walking humanoid featured Einstein's head on a HUBO robot body. KAIST built the walking body, and Hanson Robotics built the animatronic head and the face, which uses elastic polymer called Frubber.

The robot debuted at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in November 2005. Albert Einstein HUBO can perform realistic facial expressions and mimic Albert Einstein's voice via a voice synthesizer. The robot is currently at the University of California, San Diego at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

### BINA48

BINA48 (Breakthrough I ntelligence via Neural Architecture 48) is a humanoid robot who has a bust-like head and shoulders mounted on a frame, and can produce realistic facial appearance from 30 motors beneath her Frubber skin. She was released by Hanson in 2010. She is described as a “technological sketch” of a human being, commissioned by millionaire Martine Rothblatt to mimic the appearance of her spouse of over 35 years, Bina Rothblatt.

BINA48 includes a database with dozens of books which she is able to recite. BINA48 is currently stationed at the non-profit Terasem Movement Foundation, Inc.

### Han

Han debuted in 2015 at the Global Sources electronics fair in Hong Kong. The robot was designed to identify and replicate human expressions. He is able to detect people using an array of cameras and speech recognition technology, decipher their gender, age, and facial indications of emotion (i.e. happy or sad), and as such, Hanson Robotics has suggested the robot could be of use in hotels or customer service positions. Han is bald with masculine features. He possesses a British accent, and specializes in making humorous facial expressions.

### Jules

Jules debuted in 2006 at Wired Nextfest. Jules is a robot that has machine learning capabilities, face tracking, and facial recognition. His software was development by Hanson Robotics in collaboration with the Personality Forge AI Chatbot Platform, with Personality Forge founder and developer, Benji Adams, and AI developer Heather McKeen. Jules is described as having a "statistically perfect androgynous face". The robot currently resides at the University of West England in Bristol.

### Professor Einstein

Professor Einstein is Hanson Robotics’ first personal robot available to consumers. The robot was developed in 2016 and was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2017. The robot first became available for purchase to consumers in January 2017 after launching on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, and later became available on Amazon and at other popular retailers across the United States.

Professor Einstein is marketed as an educational tool to teach science, primarily to children ages 8–13. The robot can speak about science, tell jokes, and connect to Wifi to check the weather or access information on the internet. It has a corresponding app called the Stein-O-Matic that offers games, videos, and lessons. Motors allow it to walk, make different facial expressions, and an on-chest camera tracks faces.

### Philip K. Dick Android

Philip K. Dick Android was shown publicly for the first time in 2005 at Wired Nextfest. He was designed as an android portrait of the American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and was programmed to contain thousands of pages of the writings of the author, including journals and letters, into a Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) corpus and conversational system construct android.

In 2005, Hanson and team received an AAAI award for their "intelligent conversational portrait" of Philip K. Dick. In 2005, the original robot was lost on a plane headed for San Francisco and was never found.

In 2011, in collaboration with Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, Hanson Robotics developed and introduced a new version of the android. The android bust uses 36 servomotors to create facial expressions and has motion-tracking machine vision. Philip K. Dick Android is currently dedicated to research with the nonprofit Apollo Mind Initiative.

### Zeno

Zeno debuted in 2007 at Wired Nextfest. The robot could see, hear, and talk. Zeno featured more than 28 specialized motors, an agile body, and expressive face. Named for creator David Hanson's son Zeno and designed as a nod to Astro Boy, In 2012, an updated version of Zeno was released, which included Dynamixel RX-28 and RX-64 servos, plus a sensor suite comprising a gyro, accelerometer, compass, torque sensors, touch sensors, and temperature sensors, as well as more cartoon-like features.

### Joey Chaos

Joey Chaos was unveiled by Hanson Robotics at the 2007 RoboBusiness Conference and Expo in Boston, MA. The robot was created to study human-robot interaction and has camera eyes to track human faces and speech recognition software.

## Criticism

Hanson Robotics' humanoid robotics have been criticized by leading AI researchers. For example, Facebook's Yann LeCun has called Sophia a "puppet" and questioned the value of Sophia and similar robots, as well as the presentation of these robots as far more intelligent than what they truly are. Sophia being given citizenship in Saudi Arabia was further criticized, not only because of Sophia's lack of consciousness, but the difficulty of people achieving citizenship in that country despite actually living and working there for years.

## Awards

- Gold Medal, Edison Innovation Awards, 2018

- Winner of 2009 Italian Centro Nationale Riserche (CNR) Scholarship, 2008-2009

- Winner of TechTitan's Innovator of the Year award, 2007

- Winner of TX State Emerging Technology Award, 2007

- Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Best Design Triennial, December 2006

- UTA ARRI Innovation Award, February 2006

- 2005 AAAI award, First Place for Open Interaction (PKD Android)

- NIST ATP Award, “Highly meritorious” designation, 2004 (with funding pending the 2005 Congressional spending bill)

- World Technology Award, nominee and semifinalist: Best IT Hardware, 2004

- Themed Entertainment Association, Best Themed Display Award, First Place for the “World of Disney Themed Store” at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL, 1996

- Rhode Island School of Design Merit Award, 1992-1996

## Affiliations

- Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2000

- Member, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) since 2001

- Member, SPIE since 2001

- Member, Visual Sciences Society (VSS) since 2003