Plaxton

Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough.  Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. Since 2019, the maker is currently owned by Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer.

History

Beginnings
The business was founded as a joinery workshop, and expanded into building contracting. As a building contractor, Plaxtons built a number of notable buildings in Scarborough. Soon after World War I Plaxtons diversified and began to build charabanc bodies on Ford Model T chassis. Of more importance at the time was the construction of automobile bodywork. This included bodywork for Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam and Daimler, but principally for Crossley car chassis. This activity continued through the 1920s, but the depression of 1929-1933 created difficulties for manufacture of luxury automobiles. As a result, the manufacture of charabanc, and later coach bodies became more important through the late 1920s and early 1930s. Customers during this time tended to be local to the Scarborough area, Scarborough being a popular seaside resort.

Coaches of the 1930s
By 1936 the company felt justified in constructing a large new manufacturing facility in Seamer Road, Scarborough. This allowed increased production, and Plaxtons became popular with many independent operators throughout Northern England. Many of these operators purchased their vehicles through independent dealers, rather than directly from the factory. In this regard, Plaxton's sales were through Lancashire Motor Traders Ltd of Manchester and Arlington Motor Co Ltd of London. The company became known as FW Plaxton & Son by 1937, as the founder's son, also named Frederick William joined the company at the age of 18. FW Plaxton junior was to be known as Eric to avoid confusion with his father.

Plaxtons built a number of different coach designs through the 1930s, until settling on a distinctive house style. The style typically consisted of a very rounded front profile at the windscreen area with side windows that sloped backwards at the front, were upright at the centre, and sloped forward at the back. Bodywork for the Bedford WTB chassis was particularly distinctive, sloping severally from the bottom of the front wheel arch to the roofline, leaving the "bullnose" radiator grille protruding. The rear also sloped prominently. The WTB chassis was very popular choice for operators at that time, together with the Dodge RBF and SBF. Leyland and AEC chassis were also popular for larger coaches, notably the Leyland Tiger and AEC Regal.

On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, coach production halted and the factory was turned into a munitions factory under the control of the Ministry of Aircraft Production. Many records from the early years were lost when an incendiary bomb set fire to the Seamer Road factory in 1943, causing much damage. As the factory was under control of the Ministry of Works, production continued in the open air whilst a replacement was constructed. Some adjacent land was loaned by a market gardener who subsequently joined the board years later.

1950s
Production restarted at the end of 1945, and in 1951 the business was registered for the first time as a private company, Plaxtons (Scarborough) Limited.

Two new models were exhibited at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show, with names instead of model codes for the first time. The Envoy was for traditional front-engined chassis, and featured a full-front cab with a vee-pattern windscreen, and aluminium trim across the lower part of the radiator grill extending around squared-off front corners to the wheel arches. The Crusader, which could be built on the traditional front-engined chassis or the new underfloor-engined chassis, had a more upright front profile, with curved glass panels at the windscreen corners, and in most cases an enlarged side window with sloping pillars between this and the entrance. With the front-engined chassis, the Crusader employed the Envoy's front trim. Both the Envoy and Crusader were produced to the new maximum dimensions of  by , and many examples were originally fitted with rear wheel spats.

The Envoy was short-lived, perhaps partly because of the obsolescence of most of the chassis types for which it was intended, while the Crusader was rapidly overtaken by a further new underfloor-engined model – the Venturer. The Venturer combined the front of the Crusader with more restrained and conservative styling, and proved so popular that it was not long before a version was produced for front-engined chassis (mostly lightweight Bedfords and Commers) with a rather more raked frontal appearance. By the time the Mark II version appeared at the 1952 show, the Venturer was Plaxton's standard model.

The Venturer II had a common front profile for all models, together with a standard dash panel featuring a four-part radiator grille with a central cross within an oval outline which also embraced the headlamps. A rear-end revision marked the launch of the Venturer III in 1954, and the following year a version was produced for underfloor-engined chassis with the entrance ahead of the front axle. This required a return to a more vertical front profile, and meant that there were now three variants of the Venturer – front engined, underfloor-engined with a centre entrance and underfloor-engined with a front entrance. This three-variant approach, established with the Venturer, continued throughout the life of the succeeding Consort model and into the Embassy era, although the relative importance of the three versions varied significantly over the years.

The Consort was first shown at the 1956 Commercial Motor Show. It was a development of the Venturer, but in place of the previous oval the four-part grill was now enclosed by a near-trapezoidal outline (though actually hexagonal), wider at the top than the bottom, with the headlamps outside. Trim was revised to be much squarer in outline, featuring ribbed brightwork, and the curved rear quarter lights, first standardised on the Venturer III, were now incorporated into the main window line. However, a year later the Consort II was announced, re-introducing the oval grill outline of the Venturer – but now surrounding a plainer grill with chrome flash across the middle - while the trim lines so recently squared up were softened once again. The evident popularity of the oval- shaped grill then ensured its survival as a Plaxton hallmark for many years to come.

In 1957 the founder of the company, FW Plaxton Senior, died, and was succeeded as Chairman by his son Frederick Junior, though known as Eric.

In 1958, Plaxtons were approached by Sheffield United Tours (SUT) with a requirement for a new crisper design of coach body. The result was the first Panorama body. The main feature of the Panorama design was the large, fixed rectangular side windows. A vertical front from the contemporary Consort II design was used, with the door ahead of the front axle. The 1958 Panorama was entered into the British and the Nice coach rallies, winning top awards at both events. The first six Panoramas, designated "Panorama Pioneer" by SUT, were built on AEC Reliance chassis and seated 36 passengers.

The production version of the Panorama, with 41 seats as standard, was introduced at the 1958 Commercial Motor Show, as an addition to the existing range, available in one form only – on underfloor-engined chassis with the entrance ahead of the front axle. In common with the new Consort III and IV, it had a new silver-effect dished oval grill with a chrome flash through the middle, and a curved windscreen with a central division. The original Panorama's short window immediately behind the entrance door was removed and encapsulated into the first bay, and the difference in level between the waistline and the rear window was accommodated by a stylish "kick-up" at the rear. The design then received minor modifications over the next two years.

Consort IV variants with the entrance further back, together with the smaller Consort III, were able to use a windscreen with even greater curvature, but it was the Panorama which was the trend-setter, becoming a strong influence on the development of British coach styling for years to come.

1960s and 1970s

Plaxton became a public company in January 1961.

For the 1961 coaching season the Consort IV evolved into the Embassy, the main change being that the windows now tapered inwards towards the roof rather than being vertical. At the same time a new version of the Panorama was created, using the same shell as the Embassy but with fewer window pillars.

The new Panorama boasted a completely new front, featuring a slight peak overhang above the windscreen (which was now optionally undivided), a small grill at the bottom of the front panel, and for the first time double headlights. Embassy bodies on underfloor-engined chassis shared some or all of these features, depending on the entrance position. However, because the standard offering in the underfloor-engined sector was now the Panorama, most Embassy bodies were built on lightweight front-engined chassis - particularly the Thames 570E and Bedford SB. In this form, with the entrance behind the front axle, the Embassy retained the dished oval grill and wrap-around windscreen of the Consort IV. The rear of both Panorama and Embassy comprised a two-piece curved glass window that wrapped around to meet the rearmost side pillars, and the lights were contained in a single unit with a fin-like top rather like the rear of the Ford Anglia 105E saloon.

 versions of both models were introduced, on Leyland Leopard and AEC Reliance chassis, as soon as legislation allowed, and were  wide. The first 36-foot coach in Britain was a Panorama delivered to SUT in 1961. However, while the extra length gave a real boost to the Panorama's appearance – with the falling roofline making the vehicle look even longer than it actually was – the extension of the Embassy by two additional window bays was less satisfactory. So much so that when a "multi-windowed" Embassy II, in the livery of Bloomfields Coaches of London, appeared on the newly introduced Bedford VAL 36-foot chassis at the 1962 Commercial Motor Show, the reaction was so negative than no more of this type were built.

Alongside the Bloomfields VAL on the Plaxton stand was a further revised Panorama. This was an altogether much larger looking vehicle than before, with deeper windows all round, the waistline curvature radically reduced to a point where it was almost straight, a new rear window interchangeable with the windscreen, and a reduction in the number of window pillars on 36-foot versions. Because of the adverse reaction to the "multi-windowed" Embassy, from 1963 all 36-foot Plaxton coach bodies used the new Panorama shell, with windows of large size whether fixed or opening, although, as previously, the Panorama name was restricted to underfloor-engined coaches with fixed glazing and entrance ahead of the front axle. Of the non-Panoramas, by far the most popular model was the new production body on the Bedford VAL chassis, which retained the large oval grill because of the front-mounted radiator, and was simply named Val.

The Embassy name was now being used for what were effectively two separate models. For underfloor-engined chassis there was a 36-foot body using the Panorama shell (built mainly for the Wallace Arnold Group), and for  and shorter front-engined chassis the original short-windowed body was updated with a pronounced reverse-rake peak over the windscreen as the Embassy II. For the 1964 season the latter was substantially redesigned as the Embassy III, catching up in several respects with the development of the Panorama, but introducing a new near-rectangular grill which signalled the beginning of the end for the familiar Plaxton oval.

The Plaxton coach range which appeared at the 1964 Commercial Motor Show had been extensively revised with assistance from the Ogle design consultancy. Waistrails were virtually straight, and rooflines distinctly shallower. On the new Panorama (later to become Panorama I), a wide chrome trim band wrapped around the front and encompassed the first window bay on either side. The trim then swept upwards to the roof line and neatly terminated on the air scoop at the roof line. The window pillar on the first bay was noticeably thicker than the others and gave the impression of size that managed to enhance the appearance of the whole vehicle. The front grill was revised and basically split in two horizontally. Twin headlights were on each side of a panel that contained ventilation louvres at the top with the lower part being the actual grill that spanned the width of the vehicle. This grill was to become standard with little change until the Supreme IV of 1978. Again a bit of a Plaxton that was instantly recognisable and a familiar sight throughout Britain. The rear featured two large 9" circular rear lights each side arranged vertically, and the entrance door was now the forward in-swinging type.

For the first time the Panorama was offered on all chassis types, including Ford R226 and Bedford VAL, looking particularly well-suited to the latter, where the chrome trim on the first window bay harmonised with the twin steering axles below. There was even a Panorama for the Bedford SB and Ford Thames 570E, although here the thickened window pillar was absent, and the chrome trim did not extend across the front of the vehicle.

In addition to the Panoramas, a more basic series of models was offered, with windows of similar size, but with simpler trim and top sliding vent windows instead of forced air vents. Initially these were built on Bedford and Ford chassis only and named variously as Val, Vam (on the new Bedford VAM chassis) or Embassy IV. However, when the Panorama was renamed Panorama I for the 1967 season, the less expensive "bread and butter" models became available on all chassis types as the Panorama II. The Panorama I in particular sold extremely well.

The Panorama cab was used in 1967 on a government commission of seven Bedford SB3 chassis mobile cinema units. With the height of these units being nearly  the roof of the cab opens up into a very unusual looking perspex dome extension, somewhat altering the usual sleek lines of Plaxton's Panorama. One of the seven units still remains in preservation, having been restored as a vintage mobile cinema.

Plaxton launched a new design - the Panorama Elite - at the 1968 Commercial Motor Show in London. This essentially set the basic design of British coaches for the next 14 years. The design was stylish, with long sleek lines and gentle curve in the vertical plane. The windows were gasket glazed and the glass gently curved in the vertical plane to suit the body curve. The rear again used the large soup plate lights of the Panorama I, and the front grill was also from the Panorama I.

The Panorama II was still available until 1970 with a large batch built for Midland Red.

The interior of The new Panorama Elite was to the usual high standard that everyone had come to expect from a leading coachbuilder like Plaxton. It made more use of laminate than before but this was tastefully specified & well balanced. The interior skirt panels, racks and front cabinet made extensive use of this easily worked & easy to maintain material. The analogue clock in the front dome was flanked either side by small square controllable air vents. The dashboard was improved and made use of a panel of rocker switches in front of the driver with each switch designation lighting for night time operation. Previous dashboards hid the switches in places inaccessible whilst moving. Ventilation was again improved though using the same design of moulded air output & light assembly as the final version of the Panorama I. The racks were trimmed with laminate instead of using vinyl like material from the previous design.

The first major update of the Panorama Elite was unveiled at the 1970 Commercial Motor Show in London. The changes though relatively subtle were very relevant to a product that had so far enjoyed wide acclaim and sale.

The Panorama Elite II range built on the success of the Panorama I and Panorama Elite. The front grill was squared up although it still used the same twin headlight layout. The first bay on the near side was tidied up so the top of the window was in line with all the other side windows. Parcel racks were redesigned so the supply of fresh air and light output was more readily available. The service units were now mounted front to back instead of side to side and were much slimmer to maximise on headroom when leaving the seats. Crash padding was provided along the inner side of the racks in the form of black PVC squares filled with padding. The dashboard was again improved as was the front cabinet. The rear of the vehicle still used the soup plates from the previous range.

The Panorama Elite III was the last in the Elite series. Improvements continued to the basic Elite design; this included rear lighting, rear emergency door and subtle changes to the front grill. The rear emergency door was brought about by changes in legislation and did improve the offside appearance of the Elite, however some early Mark IIIs were completed with front emergency doors. The rear lights abandoned the soup plates in favour of tall lozenge shaped lights and the name badges were re-located from between the side bright metal strips at the back to the front just behind the front door.

All three marques of the Elite range were available with bus grant specification front doors and interiors, although this option was late for Panorama Elite and only a few built. It was however a very popular option for the Mark II and Mark III. To complement this destination blinds were also available in both the front grille and on the roof or front dome for front radiator chassis. This became known as "the Bristol Dome" due to the popularity of orders from the National Bus Company for coaches on Bristol RELH and REMH chassis.

The major competitor for the Panorama Elite III was the Duple Dominant launched at the 1972 Commercial Motor Show in London. The Duple was of all steel design and built at Duple's Blackpool factory. The Dominant had many of the design cues of the Panorama Elite and that could be because the managing director at that time was an ex Plaxton employee. The Dominant sold well but never caught up with the Elite. The mere fact that at the 1972 Commercial Motor Show only one Dominant was available due to a long strike at the Blackpool factory couldn't have helped much. The launch of the Dominant was at Lake Garda in Italy and was Duple's most important launch for years.

By the time the final version of the Panorama Elite III was built around 6,000 of the Elite series bodies had been produced.

Development of a new coach range to supersede the Panorama Elite commenced in 1974 and was to be called Panorama Supreme, however the Panorama part was dropped in favour of simple Supreme. This series of bodies was to have a long development process as both the factory and work force wasn't equipped for all-steel production at this stage.

At first the Supreme was designed to replace the ageing Panorama IV that was produced on the Bedford VAS and SB chassis for up to 41 passengers. The design for that coach went back to the Embassy body developed in the early 1960s. It had been re-vamped in the early 1970s and given an upright front and rear like the Elite III. Being front engined it had a centre door and still retained the Panorama I–style square cornered flat glass windows.

The Supreme was to herald (nearly) all steel construction. Wood fillets still held the panels in place and in some areas wood was sandwiched in "U" shaped steel. It would be 1978 before true all-steel construction was achieved.

Some early Mark III Supremes were all-metal. The body number of the all-metal versions had the final letters AM standing for "all-metal". Many of the AM bodies were exported to the Netherlands and Denmark, a fact supported by the 1977 Supreme brochure and the 1982 centenary book Plaxtons The Great British Coachbuilders.

There was to be six marques of Supreme (Seven including Mini Supreme). Development was protracted as the builder was careful not to compromise their market leading position. Supreme I was a 29-seat coach on a Bedford VAS chassis with a standard Plaxton in-swing door located behind the front axle. Supreme II was on the 35 seat Bristol LHS chassis powered by a Leyland 400 series engine. The door located forward of the front axle in the usual place. Supreme III was the first full size coach although there seemed to be some development confusion and the actual marque of the initial standard length coaches is not clear however most of the late P and earlier R-reg bodies seemed to be the Mark III. There were no identifying numbers added to the badging.

As styling development commenced it was realised that to design another coach to match the success of the Panorama Elite series was to be a challenge. Looking at the existing range of Panorama Elite III it was decided to use the Elite's most striking feature, notably the size of the windows and the curves that departed in every direction. The front of the coach was to follow closely with Elite by using the same double headlights with a panel between them (although the centre panel depended on the chassis requirements). The slats again horizontal but were fewer in number and thicker. The sides of the grill were squared up and were of stainless steel and not aluminium. A chrome bumper with  over-riders at the bottom with two steps to allow access to the windscreen. Pantograph wipers with speed control were added. The dome was slatted on the early models but was not popular so was removed and simplified from Supreme IV. The side profile again had angles going in all directions although the main change to the side was that the windows curved into the cant rail almost like the Mercedes-Benz O302 bodies. The effect was to catch the light and highlighted the whole coach at roof level. The rear was like Panorama Elite with vertical lozenge shaped lights but the units themselves were slightly bigger, squared, more definite.

The interior had been updated with a new dashboard and a driver's locker, non-reflective laminates and a re-designed front cabinet. The lift up roof vents and light clusters containing the speakers were almost like those of the final Panorama Elite III. Some very early Supremes had wood interior domes like Panorama Elite however this was changed from wood surrounding the clock to having ABS mouldings in black. The ceiling was of laminate that was bordered by chrome trim.

The racks though went through several important stages before the final design that would see Supreme through to the series.

Rack design on Panorama Elite, II and III contained window demisters. Those racks were joined to the cant rail and laminate was used as trim to connect the window edge to the rack. On Supreme the first versions used the same technique but the racks were swaddled in crash protection on each side of the passenger service unit that was fitted front to back. The service unit used were the same as the Panorama Elite, two controllable vents and a reading light with a rocker switch. The cushioning had a four pointed star engraved into it at intervals. From the Mark III the racks had flatter sides that had no connection to the cant rail. The demisters were located on the edge of the rack within a laminate strip. The PVC or maybe ABS material that coated the underneath of the rack was usually black. This was the final design of rack and saw Supreme through to the end of the series. Those racks used flatter service units with eyeball vents and a flat lens on the reading light.

The Supreme Mark IV was introduced to the market at the International Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in 1978. The main update was that construction was now all steel, frontal design was completely different from the past 14 years. The headlights were now rectangular and mounted above each other with side lights and indicators in the same cluster. The grill was not so prominent and various options were available as a package. So now the range consisted of Supreme IV, Supreme IV Express and Supreme IV GT. The GT option ushered in a distinctive grill design with a smart dual chrome flash, tinted windows and better sound system and soft trim to the ceiling to name a few "standard" extras.

Supreme V had a completely different rear design showing the styling of the next range that was probably under development. Tall heavily featured light clusters that were tinted to look dark were fitted vertically between the boot lid. The rear window was a one piece design. The seat backs were no longer visible from outside the coach.
The rear nearside had been tidied by removing the smaller windows. The improvements were also copied onto the high floor Viewmaster model with the exception of the shallow rear window.

The Supreme was also manufactured as a semi-integral on a DAF chassis. Around 20 were built. They were rear engined and the rear panel design was different from the Supreme V as it has vents and had odd shaped moulding around the rear window. As a semi-integral the body was required to support the full weight as there were no chassis members to support the body. Opening the side lockers luggage could be piled in one side and extracted from the other as nothing was in the way so it was very cutting edge technology. It is said that 2 of these survive today. The bulk of the 20 were exported, mainly to the Netherlands, the left hand drive version had a tapered front to meet Dutch swept turning-circle requirements.

Final Supreme offering was the Supreme VI. This model was the least successful Supreme being an option for one season alongside the Supreme V. The panoramic windows had been replaced by a higher window line that was better suited to the long distance market. Around 100 were built. The actual idea of the high window design was possibly in reaction to the Duple Dominant III that had shallow trapezoidal windows like an Austin Princess headlight of the mid-1970s.

The Supreme series like the Panorama I and Panorama Elite were simply a success from the outset winning many orders from small, national, and some international operators. It entered most fleets in large multiples. The export market was addressed with left hand drive versions, some modified for the Dutch market and at least one was built on Deutz chassis. The dynamic approach of Plaxtons relationship with their customers requirements was a huge factor in the success of the Supreme.

The Paramount era

By the end of the 1970s, the British coach scene was dominated by two similar vehicles - the Plaxton Supreme and the Duple Dominant. In the early 1980s coach services over 30 miles were deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and there was an increasing attempt by some operators to compete with the railways and airlines for express and intercity travel. As a result, there was a move away from light-weight chassis by Bedford and Ford to heavier-duty chassis from Leyland and Volvo, and an emphasis on improved comfort and amenities. There was also a growing interest from operators in imports from Europe due to their stylish eye-catching designs that attracted passengers. In particular, designs from Neoplan and Van Hool received much attention.

In response, Plaxton returned to Ogle Design to create a new look for their coach products. The result was the Plaxton Paramount, which appeared at the 1982 British Motor Show. The Paramount was a squarer design than the Supreme, with cleaner lines, a flatter roof line and a distinctive "feature window" just behind the front wheelarch. The use of the "feature window" was a return to a trump card played by the Ogle-inspired Panorama/Panorama I first seen in 1964. From there the waistline sloped down to meet the deeper windscreen. Initially there were two versions, the Paramount 3200 (available in 8, 10, 11 and 12-metre lengths) and the high-floor Paramount 3500 (available in 11 and 12 metre lengths) to replace the successful Viewmaster. Around 30% of Mark I Paramounts were the 3500 high-floor option, a greater proportion than had been anticipated. The rear of both versions were similar to Supreme V and VI but all else was new.

In 1984 the design was adapted to produce the Paramount 4000 double-decker coach, initially built on Neoplan underframes. The design later appeared on chassis by Volvo, Scania and DAF.

The Paramount II launched for the 1985 season brought a tidier frontal appearance. (See the picture with the Paramount 4000) Gone was the black plastic moulding below the windscreen and the "hole" like appearance of the centre of the grille between the lights. The rectangular headlights were retained within a bright silver like surround. Other modifications included deeper parcel racks that were capable of supporting air conditioning. A tweed like material was used to cover the interior skirt and a large part of the racks.

A "low driver" option was available for the 3200. This was useful for touring however the driver lost the commanding view of the road ahead. The driver sat low in the body so the passengers have a better view ahead. The windscreen from the 3500 was used on this version of the 3200, the headlights being lower to the road than usual.

1986 saw the final and most elegant version of Paramount, the Mark III. According to brochures it was even stronger than the Paramount II. The sloping front window was gone and in its place a stepped front window that formed the first bay. In the glass Plaxton's "castle" logo was etched, the rear window contained a blind like decal at the base with a castle badge in the centre. The dashboard consisted of a moulded cabinet, ceasing the use of wood and formica of earlier versions of Plaxton coaches since the Panorama's. In the centre of the black finished cabinet was a large castle logo. Airline-style locker doors were now available on the parcel racks to further give a sleek appearance like a 747.

In 1989 Plaxton responded to a request from the privatised National Express for a further version of Paramount III to be leased to its contractors by a joint venture of Plaxton, National Westminster Bank and National Express. The Paramount Expressliner was created from the Mark III Paramount on a Volvo chassis and was tailored to National Express' specific requirements which included a closed back with the double N logo etched into the fibre glass rear moulding. This period of coach design seemed to introduce the windowless rear as a design feature for most coaches.

Henlys and a new beginning

The mid-1980s brought difficult times for Plaxton. A decline in orders due to the economic climate was compounded by management and production problems. The seasonal nature of coach production made recruiting difficult. In March 1987, Plaxton was taken over by Kirkby Bus & Coach, who were Plaxton's largest dealer. Kirkby soon invested in modernising the Scarborough factory and addressed some industrial relations problems. Kirkby also marketed the Hungarian Ikarus buses in the United Kingdom.

In 1989, Plaxtons bought Henlys, a company that included 34 motor dealers and Coleman Milne, makers of hearses and limousines. The name of the company was changed to Plaxton Group plc.

In July 1989, Plaxton bought the manufacturing rights for the coach products of its main domestic competitor, Duple for £4 million. This included the jigs for the Duple 320 and the Duple 425 integral. Duple Services Ltd., the spares and repair business, was also purchased. The 320 was re-worked by Plaxtons at Scarborough later in 1989 and 25 were built and sold as the Plaxton 321. Many components from the Paramount were used both internally and externally. Identifying traits being the squared up wheel arches and Paramount side mouldings. The 321 was around £6,000 cheaper than a comparable Paramount 3200 III and was only available from the Kirkby dealership. A Plaxton version of the higher floor Duple 340 was considered but none were built. A modified version of the Duple 425 integral design was introduced in 1991 and was briefly built in France by Carrosserie Lorraine as the Plaxton 425.

Carrosserie Lorraine was a subsidiary of Iveco assembling Iveco 315 and 370 coaches for the French domestic market, but it was purchased by Plaxton in 1989 subject to a 3 year deal with Iveco to continue that arrangement.  Sales of the Iveco-Lorraine had never been high (totalling only around 660 between 1981 and 1992) and Plaxton's efforts to expand the business by offering Lorraine coaches in the UK market were frustrated by the early 1990s recession.  One batch of ten Iveco 315 Lorraine midicoaches was sold in the UK in 1990-92, and only twelve Plaxton 425 integrals were built at the French plant in 1991-92. The Carrosserie Lorraine factory closed in March 1992 when the three-year deal with Iveco expired.

The Dennis Dart, released in 1989, had been a runaway success, so in 1991 the Plaxton Pointer midibus was announced, this was quite a utilitarian, square body. This was followed by the Plaxton Verde, which Plaxton hoped would match the success of its smaller sister, but it failed to capture the market quite as much as the Pointer, and it was clear that the bus industry wasn't buying 12m single-deckers in as large numbers any more. Later that year new coach bodies, the Plaxton Premiere and Plaxton Excalibur, were launched.

In May 1992, after a management shake-up, the company was renamed Henlys Group.

Henlys pursued a strategy of diversification and expansion through the 1990s. The established bus bodybuilder Northern Counties was bought in 1995 for £10 million. The UK bus and coach manufacturing business, trading under the Plaxton brand, continued to produce a range of bus and coach bodywork. It also owned one of the largest UK coach dealers, Kirkby, and provided after-sales services to coach and bus operators.

In August 2000, Henlys entered a joint venture with Mayflower Corporation, owners of the Dennis and Alexander brands. The joint venture, known as TransBus International, included only the United Kingdom bus manufacturing operations of both companies, including Plaxton and Northern Counties. Henlys held a 30% stake in the joint venture, which employed 3,300 employees at seven locations. The traditional brands of Alexander, Dennis and Plaxton were replaced by TransBus International.

Independent again
On 31 March 2004, TransBus International was put into administration. On 17 May 2004, the Plaxton business was sold in a management buyout and resumed trading as Plaxton Limited.

Plaxton employed almost 300 people at its main coach plant in Scarborough and a further 59 at its facility in Anston, which builds small buses and coaches such as the Beaver and Cheetah.

In May 2005, Plaxton announced its return to the service bus market, launching the Centro, a low-floor single-deck vehicle initially to be offered on VDL SB120 chassis, in 10.7 m length, with the first bus completed in February 2006. The Centro is now available on the VDL SB180, VDL SB200, MAN 14.220 and Volvo B7RLE chassis, with 10.2 m and 12 m lengths also offered.

The company also revealed the Primo, a 28-seat low-floor minibus, in September 2005. This 7.9 m long vehicle is powered by the Cummins ISBe Euro III engine, mounted transversely at the rear. The Primo frame is assembled in Hungary by Enterprise Bus, effectively a conventional chassis in most respects but one which extends up to cantrail level, before being shipped to Scarborough for completion.

Purchase by Alexander Dennis
In May 2007, Plaxton was purchased by Alexander Dennis, effectively recreating the TransBus International business. But as of late 2008, the Centro bodywork remained in production alongside Alexander Dennis's Enviro200 Dart and Enviro300.

In 2008, the new Plaxton Elite was launched at Birmingham Euro Bus Expo and by 2011 had delivered 100 Elites. Originally based on the Volvo B12B chassis, it was later developed to suit the Volvo B9R and B13R chassis.

Products

Current

Coaches
Cheetah XL minicoach
Elite luxury coach
Elite i inter-deck coach
Leopard entry-level coach
Panorama double-decker coach
Panther mid-spec coach
Panther Cub short-wheelbase coach
Panther LE low-entry intercity service coach

Buses
Since the end of production of the Centro, Primo and Pronto, Plaxton do not currently produce any of their own-branded buses. However, the Plaxton factory at Scarborough does currently produce Enviro200 MMC and Enviro400 MMC buses for parent company Alexander Dennis.

Past
(All coach bodies unless noted)

Type A
D Series
Type F (full fronted)
Type J (half cab)
K Series
L Series
M Series
Q2
Envoy
Venturer I, II, III
Crusader Mk I, Mk II
Consort Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV
Highway - (single deck bus)
Panorama
Embassy I, II, III, IV
Panorama I and Panorama II
Panorama Elite, Elite Express
Panorama Elite II, Elite Express II
Panorama Elite III, Elite Express III
Panorama IV (For Bedford SB and VAS)
Derwent, Derwent II (single deck bus)
Supreme I, II, III, IV, V, VI (1st version of Supreme for *Bristol LHS & Bedford PJK was to be known as Panorama Supreme)
Viewmaster (Britain's first 3.5M coach)
Bustler - (single deck bus)
Paramount 3200, 3500, 4000, Mk I, Mk II, Mk III including low driving position option

Plaxton Expressliner (Paramount III for National Express)
Derwent 3000 - (single deck bus)
Plaxton 321 (1989 version of the Duple 320 after takeover)
Plaxton 425 (post-takeover version of the Duple 425 built by French subsidiary, Carrosserie Lorraine)
Verde - for rear engined Dennis Lance, Volvo B10B and Scania N113 single-deck bus chassis
Excalibur - for Volvo B10M and Volvo B12T chassis
Premiere 320, 350 - for Volvo B10M, Scania K93, Dennis Javelin chassis amongst others
Prima - for Volvo B7R, DAF SB3000 chassis
Prestige - left hand drive product sold to France and Italy on Volvo B12R
Prestige - single-deck bus based on remodelled Northern Counties design
President - double-deck bus
Beaver / Beaver 2 / Beaver 3 - minibus for Mercedes-Benz van chassis
Pointer / Pointer 2 - for Dennis Dart/Dart SLF and Volvo B6/B6LE chassis
Paragon - for Volvo B10M, B12M and B12B, Dennis R-Series, MAN 18.310 and Irisbus EuroRider
Profile (10m and 12m) - for Volvo B7R and Dennis Javelin chassis
Primo / Primo 2 - midibus based on the frame of Enterprise Bus Plasma
Centro - for VDL SB120, VDL SB200, MAN 12.240, MAN 14.220 and Volvo B7RLE single-deck bus chassis
Cheetah (8.5m) - for Mercedes-Benz Vario van chassis

See also

Henlys Group
:Category:Plaxton buses

References

Brown, Stewart J (2007). Plaxton 100 Years: A Centenary of Innovation 1907 - 2007. Ian Allan.
Townsin, Alan (Editor) (1982). Plaxtons The Great British Coach Builders. Transport Publishing Company.

Image links

External links

Company website
Plaxton Body Styles 1946-1960 (John Kaye SCT'61)
Plaxton Body Styles 1960-1975 - Lightweights (John Kaye SCT'61)
Plaxton Body Styles 1960-1975 - Heavyweights (John Kaye SCT'61)
Classic Connections Plaxton Photo Album

Category:Alexander Dennis
Category:Bus manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Category:British brands
Category:Companies based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of England
Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1907
Category:1907 establishments in England
Category:2007 mergers and acquisitions


Apo Avedissian

Apo Avedissian (born 24 July 1990  in Baghdad, Iraq ) is an Iraqi-born Armenian-American artist, often working in film-making, writing, photography, and painting.

Avedissian’s writing portfolio most notably includes the autobiographical book “Thirteen in Baghdad,” detailing his life as a teenager in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq War.

Personal life

Avedissian started his path into the world of photography and his documentary style videography at the age of thirteen, at the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War. Born to Armenian parents, both of whom were children of Armenian Genocide survivors, he immigrated to the United States in 2005. He's fluent in Arabic, Armenian, and English - and often uses all three in his artwork.

Artwork

His most recent short-film "Armenia & Artsakh - A Bird's Eye View ," which has reached over 100,000 combined views, in addition to the previous short-film “Obsessive Possessive - An Experience,” helped in bringing the total to 500,000 combined views.
As of 2019, he has released 1-minute-long painting videos, and as of the year's first six months, those videos have already amassed over 500,000 combined views.

Influencers
Avedissian cites graffiti artists Retna and Shepard Fairey as the two artists he follows closely the most.

Activism

Avedissian's teen years being spent in war and his grandparents' survival from the genocide put an immense load on his upbringing.
Avedissian’s work often includes tributes and a push for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, including starting the Twitter #ArmenianGenocide campaign the week prior to April 24th, 2011. Using his blog's popularity to reach bigger accounts, and trending it after the involvement of and assistance from popular accounts like Kim Kardashian’s
, the hashtag has been trending yearly on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, since.

Avedissian visited Armenia in 2018, right after the 2018 Armenian revolution, and documented his trip via drone footage, which are all featured in his "Armenia & Artsakh - A Bird's Eye View" short.

References

External links
Apo Avedissian Official website

__INDEX__

Category:1990 births
Category:Living people
Category:Iraqi Armenians
Category:American people of Armenian descent
Category:Iraqi emigrants to the United States


John Grin's Christmas

John Grin's Christmas is a 1986 television film directed by and starring Robert Guillaume.  It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.  It is also Guillaume's directorial debut.

Plot

Cast
Robert Guillaume as John Grin
Ted Lange as Ghost of Christmas Present
Roscoe Lee Browne as Ghost of Christmas Past
Alfonso Ribeiro as Rocky
Candy Brown as Mrs. Oliver
Kevin Guillaume (Robert's real-life son) as Sam Oliver
Geoffrey Holder as Ghost of Christmas Future
Robert O'Ree as Mr. Hodges
Jackie Richardson as Mrs. Alcott

Production
The film was shot in Toronto.

References

External links

Category:1986 television films
Category:1980s Christmas films
Category:English-language films
Category:Films based on A Christmas Carol
Category:ABC Movie of the Week
Category:Television programmes based on A Christmas Carol
Category:American films
Category:American Christmas films
Category:American television films
Category:Christmas television films
Category:Directorial debut films
Category:Films shot in Toronto
Category:Films shot in Ontario


Vasaparken, Gothenburg

Vasaparken is a park in Vasastaden, Gothenburg, Sweden.

The University of Gothenburg's main building is located on the northern part of the park.

Category:Parks in Gothenburg


Phoenix Cricket Club

Phoenix Cricket Club is a Dublin-based club that currently fields six men's teams, two women's teams, youth teams (for both sexes) in five age bands and an over 40s "Taverners" team.

History
Phoenix CC is the oldest cricket club in Ireland, founded in 1830, by John Parnell, the father of Charles Stewart Parnell. The younger Parnell, famous for bringing Irish home rule to the forefront of the political agenda, was a member for a short time. It was founded about five years before Dublin University Cricket Club

The club has been based in Dublin's Phoenix Park for nearly its entire history, apart from 1835–1853. During those years, Phoenix played their home games in fields near the current site of the Grand Canal, by Upper Baggot Street. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1970s, Phoenix was the dominant club in Leinster cricket.

Early years
Prior to 1834, the club members met and practised in the Phoenix Park, but in 1835 the club moved out of the Park and played in matches in the open fields south of the canal.

Two of the prestigious early members of the club, Lord Dunloe and Lord Clonbrock, were also on the 1833 members list at the MCC. Together with V.E. Alcock, they were mainly responsible for the club expanding and developing over its first 20 years until it reached its zenith as the "Premier Club of Ireland," a contemporaneous description by the newspapers. All the founder-members were later given "Life Membership" in recognition of their service to the club.

In February 1853, the club relocated to the Phoenix Park. As the club continued to prosper, the membership increased each year and 20 to 25 matches were played annually. However, in 1846 the road through the Phoenix Park was widened and the club had to move again. A new ground in an adjacent area was recommended, and in view of the expense already incurred by the Club the move was financed by the "Board of Works," at a cost of £73 and Phoenix has been at its present ground since 1847.

International cricket
The first Irish tour to North America was in 1879. Of the thirteen games played against the Philadelphia cricket club, ten were won, two were drawn and one was lost. South Africa made its second visit to Ireland in 1901. At this time, a dispute arose over the method of selecting the Irish team, and as a result, two of the leading Dublin clubs withdrew their names from selection, as did the Northern clubs. The Irish team eventually selected had ten Phoenix men and Bill Harrington of Leinster. (Though Leinster was a party to the dispute, Harrington was also a member of the County Kildare Club, which had kept out of the dispute). Disputes were no uncommon at the time, a few years earlier six Phoenix men had withdrawn from an Irish team because of insufficient Phoenix representation.

By 1902, the quarrel over selecting the Irish team was over, and a squad was selected to play a trial match at the Phoenix ground in May, 1902. This was selected for a short tour in England. The first match was against W. G. Grace's London County side, and the Irish team won. The third match was at Oxford, with the Irish team losing by 62 runs. The last match was against Cambridge, and Ireland won by 58 runs.

Leinster Senior League
The Leinster Senior League was formed in 1919 and, while Phoenix had a considerably reduced membership due to the Troubles, the Phoenix team was still up to par. The subconscious policy of being a club for officers and gentlemen still persisted, while the practice of electing a captain on a match-to-match basis continued up until 1932 when W. R. Allen became the first captain appointed for a whole season.

Centenary celebrations
The Phoenix centenary was celebrated without too much pomp and fuss with a match against R. H. Lambert's selected XI, though the game was rain-affected.

Later years
The years from 1950–1970 were without the glory of the previous years due to an aging team. Despite 2 cups in the 1950s, the next decade was without a major trophy during the whole of that decade.

In the latter part of the 1960s one of the most cohesive and formidable teams in the history of Leinster cricket began to emerge. After 22 years, Phoenix won the John Player Senior cup in 1973. In 1974 the team won the inaugural Wiggins Teape League and the following year accomplished the Grand Slam winning all three of Leinster senior trophies. For an entire decade the Phoenix 1st XI  fielded no more than fifteen players during which time it won:

1973: John Player Senior Cup

1974: Wiggins Teape Competition

1975: Leinster Senior League / John Player Senior Cup / Wiggins Teape Competition

1976: John Player Senior Cup

1977: John Player Senior Cup

1978: Leinster Senior League / John Player Senior Cup

1979: Leinster Senior League / John Player Senior Cup

By 1980, when Phoenix C.C. celebrated its 150 years jubilee, the club fielded 4 teams in Leinster men's cricket, 2 schoolboys XI's (under 13's and under 15's) and 2 Ladies XI's.

In the early years of the 21st century, Phoenix C.C. has looked to the challenge of fostering the endless fascination and joy of cricket in a new generation of players, to follow in the tradition and the legacy of Ireland's oldest cricket club. Fans are affectionately known as 'The Flamers'. In recent years they've adopted a reworded version of 'Eternal Flame' by The Bangles as a club anthem.

Honours
Irish Senior Cup: 1
1986
Leinster Senior League: 15
1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1936, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987
Leinster Senior Cup: 15
1937, 1938, 1939, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982

Coaching
Each year the club runs a coaching programme for people at every ability level. Coaching occurs every weekday with the juniors in the afternoon and the adults in the evening. Other members and coaches from across the various teams also help in the training.

Stadium
The Phoenix ground has a pavilion, a square, full nets facilities, a bar, dressing room areas and car parking.

External links
Phoenix Cricket Club official Web site
 Irish cricket official web site

Category:1830 establishments in Ireland
Category:Cricket clubs established in 1830
Category:Cricket clubs in County Dublin
Category:Leinster Senior League (cricket) teams
Category:Phoenix Park
Category:Sports clubs in Dublin (city)


WCCV-TV

WCCV-TV, virtual channel 54 (UHF digital channel 35), is a religious independent television station licensed to Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The station is owned by the Asociacion Evangelistica Cristo Viene, Inc.

History as WCCV-TV
WCCV-TV began operations in 1982 as WATX-TV, and was an Independent station with local programming. It was owned by Bay Industries. In 1984, WATX-TV, became a satellite of WSJU channel 18, later in 1987, to WRWR-TV, Cinema 30. On January 7, 1988, Televangelist Yiye Avila bought WATX-TV for $40,000; the sale was completed on August 25, 1988. In 1989, WATX-TV changed its callsign to WCCV-TV and became a religious network known as La Cadena del Milagro.

As WVSN
WVSN channel 68 began operations on March 12, 1984, and was the first Independent television station that broadcast music videos from the 60s, 70s & 80s based in Humacao. WVSN was owned by Radio Voz, until its closure on August 6, 1986. On October 30, 1986, WVSN resumed broadcasting, operating under the station general manager, Tito Atiles Natal, and was broadcasting music videos and local programming. In the 1990s, Yiye Avila, bought WVSN for $20,000 and became a repeater of WCCV-TV, La Cadena del Milagro.

Broadcasting

Satellite and translator stations
WCCV-TV can be seen across Puerto Rico on the following stations:

W30ED-D 30 (virtual channel 44.1) in Guayama (formerly W44CS-D 44)
W13DI-D 13 (virtual channel 54.1) in Yauco
W16DX-D 16 (virtual channel 54.1) in Aguada (formerly W49CZ-D 49)
WVSN 23 (virtual channel 68.1) in Humacao

These stations are owned by La Cadena del Milagro, Inc.

Digital television
WCCV-TV's digital signal is multiplexed:

On February 17, 2009, WCCV-TV signed off its analog signal and completed its move to digital.

References

External links
La Cadena del Milagro
 (outdated records - station already displaced to new RF channel)
 (outdated records - station already displaced to new RF channel)

 (up to date, compared to TV Query above)
 (up to date, compared to TV Query above)

Category:Television channels and stations established in 1982
CCV-TV
Category:1982 establishments in Puerto Rico
Category:Religious television stations in the United States


Verneuil-sur-Igneraie

Verneuil-sur-Igneraie is a commune in the Indre department in central France.

Population

See also
Communes of the Indre department

References
 INSEE commune file

Category:Communes of Indre


István Nagy (footballer, born 1986)

István Nagy (born 16 May 1986) is a Hungarian football player who currently plays for Paksi SE.

References
Profile at HLSZ

Category:1986 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Dunaújváros
Category:Hungarian footballers
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Dunaújváros FC players
Category:Paksi FC players
Category:BFC Siófok players
Category:Szolnoki MÁV FC footballers
Category:Nemzeti Bajnokság I players
Category:Nemzeti Bajnokság II players


Panchavalli

Panchavalli is a village near Hunsur in Mysore district of Karnataka state in India.

Location
Panchavalli is located on Mysore – Virajpet road after Hunsur town and before Thithimathi town.

Post Office
There is a post office at Panchavalli.  The pin code is 571105.

Demographics
Panchavalli village has a population of 2,009 people.  There are a total of 445 houses. The literacy rate is 65%. Female literacy is only 57%.

Administration
The village has a council called Panchayath headed by a Sarpanch.

References

Category:Villages in Mysore district


Mordella crassipes

Mordella crassipes is a species of beetle in the genus Mordella of the family Mordellidae, which is part of the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. It was discovered in 1891.

References

Category:Beetles described in 1891
crassipes


Tommy Mörth

Tommy Jan Mörth (born July 16, 1959) is an ice hockey player who played for the Swedish national team. He won a bronze medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

Category:1959 births
Category:Living people
Category:Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics
Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden
Category:Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
Category:Swedish ice hockey players
Category:Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Category:Medalists at the 1984 Winter Olympics
Category:Djurgårdens IF Hockey players


Static library

In computer science, a static library or statically-linked library is a set of routines, external functions and variables which are resolved in a caller at compile-time and copied into a target application by a compiler, linker, or binder, producing an object file and a stand-alone executable. This executable and the process of compiling it are both known as a static build of the program. Historically, libraries could only be static.  Static libraries are either merged with other static libraries and object files during building/linking to form a single executable or loaded at run-time into the address space of their corresponding executable at a static memory offset determined at compile-time/link-time.

Advantages and disadvantages
There are several advantages to statically linking libraries with an executable instead of dynamically linking them. The most significant advantage is that the application can be certain that all its libraries are present and that they are the correct version. This avoids dependency problems, known colloquially as DLL Hell or more generally dependency hell. Static linking can also allow the application to be contained in a single executable file, simplifying distribution and installation.

With static linking, it is enough to include those parts of the library that are directly and indirectly referenced by the target executable (or target library). With dynamic libraries, the entire library is loaded, as it is not known in advance which functions will be invoked by applications. Whether this advantage is significant in practice depends on the structure of the library.

In static linking, the size of the executable becomes greater than in dynamic linking, as the library code is stored within the executable rather than in separate files.  But if library files are counted as part of the application then the total size will be similar, or even smaller if the compiler eliminates the unused symbols.

Environment specific
On Microsoft Windows it is common to include the library files an application needs with the application. On Unix-like systems this is less common as package management systems can be used to ensure the correct library files are available. This allows the library files to be shared between many applications leading to space savings. It also allows the library to be updated to fix bugs and security flaws without updating the applications that use the library. In practice, many executables (especially those targeting Microsoft Windows) use both static and dynamic libraries.

Linking and loading
Any static library function can call a function or procedure in another static library. The linker and loader handle this the same way as for kinds of other object files. Static library files may be linked at run time by a linking loader (e.g., the X11 module loader). However, whether such a process can be called static linking is controversial.

Creating static libraries in C/C++
Static libraries can be easily created in C or in C++. These two languages provide storage-class specifiers for indicating external or internal linkage, in addition to providing other features. To create such a library, the exported functions/procedures and other objects variables must be specified for external linkage (i.e. by not using the C static keyword). Static library filenames usually have a ".a" extension on Unix-like systems and ".lib" on Microsoft Windows.

For example, to create an archive named libclass.a from files class1.o, class2.o, class3.o, the following command would be used:
 ar rcs libclass.a class1.o class2.o class3.o
to compile a program that depends on class1.o, class2.o, and class3.o one could do:
 cc main.c libclass.a
or (if libclass.a is placed in standard library path, like /usr/local/lib)
 cc main.c -lclass
or (during linking)
 ld ... main.o -lclass ...
instead of:
 cc main.c class1.o class2.o class3.o

See also
Library (computing)
Linker (computing)
Loader (computing)
Shared library
Dynamic-link library (DLL, .dll)
External variable
Object file
Prebinding

References

Category:Computer libraries


Chum Saeng Songkhram

Chum Saeng Songkhram () is a subdistrict in the Bang Rakam District of Phitsanulok Province, Thailand.

Geography
Chum Saeng Songkhram lies within the Yom Basin, which is part of the Chao Phraya Watershed.

Administration
The following is a list of the subdistrict's muban, which roughly correspond to the villages:

Domestic dog breed
Chum Saeng Songkhram is origin of Thai dog breed Thai Bangkaew Dog or just called Bang Kaew, a spitz-type dog.

References

Category:Tambon of Phitsanulok Province
Category:Populated places in Phitsanulok Province


Papagaio

Papagaio () is a Brazilian steakhouse style restaurant, with three locations around Israel.

History
Papagaio, which opened their first location in Tel Aviv in 1997, is a Brazilian steakhouse, which has since expanded to three locations around Israel.

Restaurants
Their best known option is an all-you-can-eat meal which for a set price includes a salad, bread and unlimited meats. Although the menu varies from day to day, most days provide at least 10-12 different types of meat to choose from. A series of waiters go from table to table with the different selections of meat, allowing diners to try every type for one flat price.

Papagaio also offers a meat sampler.

Locations
As of November 2018 there are two locations around Israel:

 Jerusalem
 Herzliya

There used to be locations also in Eilat, Haifa, and Tel Aviv.

Kashrut
Both locations are certified kosher - the Jerusalem location is certified L’Mehadrin by the Orthodox Union  and the Herzliya location is under the Rabbanut.

See also
 Israeli cuisine
 List of restaurants in Israel

References

Category:Food and drink companies of Israel
Category:Restaurant chains in Israel


Zhu Yilong

Zhu Yilong (, born 16 April 1988) is a Chinese actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series Love Three Lives (2014), The Shaw Eleven Lang (2016), Border Town Prodigal (2016), Guardian (2018) and The Story of Minglan (2018).

Early life
Zhu Yilong was born in Wuhan, Hubei Province. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy with a bachelor's degree in performance in 2010.

Career

2008–2013: Beginnings
In 2008, Zhu debuted in the TV film Zai Sheng Yuan as an assassin. He went on to act in several TV films over the following years; such as The Snatched Bride, Blood-Colored Deep Mansion, Curse of the Blood Jade and Terror Eyes.
One of his most notable roles in his earlier career is Zhu Changxun in the Da Ming Pin Fei film series; as well as General Junshi in Legend of the Daming Palace. He also portrayed a national hero in the war drama Fanjingshan Story, and played the male lead in the wuxia film Ci Fei and romance comedy film Love Retake.

2014–2017:Rising popularity
In 2014, Zhu first gained recognition for his performance in the period romance drama Love Three Lives, which won him the "Most Anticipated Actor" award at the Asian Influence Awards Oriental Ceremony. In 2015, he gained increased recognition after starring as Ying Ji in the hit historical drama The Legend of Mi Yue.

In 2016, Zhu starred in wuxia drama The Shaw Eleven Lang, based on the novel of the same name by Gu Long. He played the main antagonist, Lian Chengbi. Zhu's performance earned him the Best Supporting Actor award at TVS Award Ceremony. Zhu starred in another adaptation of Gu Long's novel, playing the protagonist in Border Town Prodigal. He received positive reviews for his performance and his popularity rose significantly afterwards.

In 2017, Zhu starred alongside Ady An in the romantic comedy drama Royal Sister Returns. The same year, he starred alongside Aaron Kwok and Zhao Liying in the spy thriller film Eternal Wave.

2018–present: Breakthrough

In 2018, Zhu starred alongside Bai Yu in the science fiction mystery web drama Guardian, where he played three roles. The series developed a cult following online, leading to a surge in popularity for Zhu. He won the Popular Actor award at the 2018 Weibo Movie Awards Ceremony. Forbes China listed him under their 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list which consisted of 30 influential people under 30 years old who have had a substantial effect in their fields. He then starred in the historical drama The Story of Minglan produced by Daylight Entertainment. He received positive reviews for his role as wealthy gentleman who is the female lead's first love, and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award at the Magnolia Awards for his performance.

In 2019, Zhu appeared in CCTV New Year's Gala for the first time, performing the song and dance item "Youth Rave It Up". starred in the workplace romance drama My True Friend as an interior designer, and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award at the Asian Television Awards. The same year, he was nominated for the Most Promising Actor award at the China Movie Channel (CCTV-6) M List for his role as a soldier in the film My People, My Country. For his performance in various works, Zhu was awarded the Best Actor in the Emerald Category at the 6th The Actors of China Award Ceremony. That year, Zhu ranked 17th on Forbes China Celebrity 100 list.

In 2020, Zhu will play Wu Xie in the upcoming adaptation of Daomu Biji. He will also star in the modern romance drama To Dear Myself opposite Liu Shishi.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Music video

Discography

Bibliography

Other activities
In 2018, Zhu was named the ambassador for the China-Australia Tourism Promotion.

In 2018, Zhu was named the ambassador for the inaugural Hainan Island International Film Festival.

In 2019, Zhu had his wax figure of himself (dressed as Qi Heng of The Story of Minglan) displayed at Madam Tussauds Hong Kong. His second wax figure was displayed at Madam Tussauds Shanghai the same year.

In 2019, Zhu was appointed the WWF Ambassador for Global Wildlife Crime Campaign to call on public to reduce the demand for ivory and other endangered species’ products.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1988 births
Category:21st-century Chinese male actors
Category:Living people
Category:Chinese male film actors
Category:Chinese male television actors
Category:Male actors from Wuhan
Category:Beijing Film Academy alumni


Howard E. Haber

Howard Eli Haber (born 3 February 1952 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American physicist, specializing in theoretical elementary particle physics.

Howard Haber received in 1973 his bachelor's degree and master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and received in 1978 his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He was a postdoc at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1978 to 1980 and at the University of Pennsylvania from 1980 to 1982. He joined the faculty of the physics department and the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he became an associate professor in 1989 and a full professor in 1990 (continuing to the present). From 1982 to the present he has been a visiting physicist with the Theory Group at SLAC.

From 1985 to 1988 Haber held an Outstanding Junior Investigator Award from DOE. In 1993 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2009 he received a Humboldt Research Award, with which he was a visiting professor at the University of Bonn.

His research deals with the physics of the Higgs boson and also possible Standard Model extensions such as the low-energy sector of supersymmetry theory, which he considers fundamental for the study of physics beyond the Standard Model.

In 2017 he, together with three collaborators, received the Sakurai Prize for, according to the laudation, "instrumental contributions to the theory of the properties, reactions, and signatures of the Higgs boson".

Selected publications
 with John F. Gunion, Gordon L. Kane, Sally Dawson: The Higgs Hunter's Guide, Addison Wesley 1990, Westview Press 2000, CRC Press 2018

References

External links
 UCSC Homepage, Howard E. Haber

Category:20th-century American physicists
Category:21st-century American physicists
Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Category:University of Michigan alumni
Category:University of California, Santa Cruz faculty
Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society
Category:J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics recipients
Category:1952 births
Category:Living people
Category:MIT Department of Physics alumni


Yantic Woolen Company Mill

The Yantic Woolen Company Mill, also known as the Hale Company Mill, is a mill complex located at the junction of Chapel Hill and Yantic Roads in northwestern Norwich, Connecticut. Built in 1865, the stone mill is a well-preserved example of mid-19th century textile mill architecture, and was the major economic force in the village of Yantic, where it stands. The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 25, 1996.

Description and history
Sandwiched between the Yantic River and the limited-access highway carrying Connecticut Route 2, the mill is connected to the river by Yantic Road. Its main building is a large 4-1/2 story ashlar stone structure with a five-story square tower at its center. The tower was originally capped by an octagonal belfry, which has not survived. The main mill is connected to a series of smaller buildings, also stone. The mill was powered by water delivered from the river via a stone headrace that ran from a dam (no longer standing) about  to the northwest.

The mill complex dates to 1865, when it was built by E. Winslow Williams on the site of an older mill, built by his father, which had been destroyed by fire. The mill was the economic engine of Yantic well into the 20th century, with textile production ending in 1989.  It originally produced flannel, employing 150 workers at its peak output. The village that surrounds the mill has been reduced in size, with the owner's house and tracts of worker housing demolished to make way for the construction of Connecticut Route 2.

See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut

References

Category:Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1865
Category:Buildings and structures in Norwich, Connecticut
Category:Woollen mills
Category:Textile mills in the United States
Category:National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut


Lee Paul Sieg

Lee Paul Sieg (October 7, 1879 – October 8, 1963) was president of the University of Washington from 1934 to 1946.

Sieg was born in  Marshalltown, Iowa.  Sieg received his masters in physics in 1901 and his doctorate in philosophy in 1910 from the University of Iowa. Prior to his arrival at the University of Washington in 1934, he served as the Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.

As university president, he oversaw the University of Washington during World War II. The war froze much of the school's physical expansion, but after the war the university launched a $31.5 million building binge to accommodate the influx of new students. Prior to Sieg's retirement, the university opened its school of dentistry in 1945.  The medical school opened in October 1946.

To the great credit of Sieg and his administration, the University of Washington was particularly responsive to the plight of its Nisei students during the months leading up to the internment of Japanese Americans.

Sieg died in 1963 in Seattle, Washington.

References

Category:1879 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:People from Marshalltown, Iowa
Category:Presidents of the University of Washington
Category:University of Iowa alumni


Aeroflot accidents and incidents

Founded in 1923, Aeroflot, the flag carrier and largest airline of Russia (and formerly the Soviet Union) (formerly the world's largest airline), has had a high number of fatal crashes, most occurring during the Soviet era. According to the Aircraft Crashes Record Office, 8,231 passengers have died in Aeroflot crashes, about five times more than any other airline (all of which were far smaller). From 1946 to 1989, the carrier was involved in 721 incidents. However, from 1995 to 2017, the carrier was involved in 10 incidents. In 2013, AirlineRatings.com reported that five of the ten aircraft models involved in the highest numbers of fatal accidents were old Soviet models.

Following is a list of accidents and incidents Aeroflot experienced all through its history.

1930s–40s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s
 On 21 September 2001, Ilyushin Il-86 (RA-86074) landed gear-up at Dubai Airport due to pilot error; all 322 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was written off. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled Moscow-Dubai passenger service as Flight 521.
 On 30 June 2008, Tupolev Tu-154M (RA-85667) suffered an uncontained engine failure on takeoff from Pulkovo Airport; all 112 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was written off. The aircraft was parked at Pulkovo Airport where it was broken up in August 2009.
 On 14 September 2008, Aeroflot Flight 821 operated by Aeroflot-Nord in a service agreement with Aeroflot as its subsidiary, crashed on approach to Perm Airport, Russia due to pilot error. All 88 people on board; including 6 crew members  and 82 passengers, were killed in the crash.
 On 3 June 2009, Boeing 737-500 (VP-BXM) suffered severe damage by a hailstorm while on approach to Simferopol en route from Moscow. The aircraft was written off and stored at Simferopol (with engines removed) where it was last seen in August 2011.

2010s
 On 3 June 2014, Ilyushin Il-96 RA-96010 was damaged beyond economical repair in a fire while parked at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow.
 On 3 January 2017, Airbus A321 VP-BES overran the runway on landing at Khrabrovo Airport, causing the nosegear to collapse; the aircraft, operating a Moscow–Kaliningrad service as Flight 1008, suffered minor damage.
On 5 May 2019, Sukhoi Superjet 100 RA-89098 operating a Moscow-Murmansk service as Flight 1492 suffered an in-flight emergency and subsequently caught fire during an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo International Airport, where it burned out. 41 of the 78 people on board were reported dead.

See also
 Transport in the Soviet Union

References

Category:Lists of aviation accidents and incidents
Category:Airlines of Russia accidents and incidents
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union


King's Quest IV

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella is a graphic adventure game developed and released by Sierra On-Line for the MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST computers in 1988. The player takes on the role of Princess Rosella, daughter of King Graham of Daventry (King's Quest I and King's Quest II) and the twin sister of Gwydion/Alexander (King's Quest III), who must save her father and a good fairy and destroy an evil witch. Critically acclaimed, it was one of the first PC games to support a sound card.

Gameplay
King's Quest IV uses the Adventure Game Interpreter (AGI) and Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI) systems. This is the only chapter in the King's Quest series where the action takes place in real-time and within the allotted time limit, as the events of the game cover about 24 hours. Some activities must be completed during the day, while other puzzles can be solved only at night (the nightfall in the game happens either at 9 pm or at a certain point in the plot). The overall high difficulty of King's Quest III was toned down in King's Quest IV.

Plot
Picking up immediately where King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human left off, as King Graham tosses his children his adventure's cap, he suffers a massive heart attack and is left on his death bed. The devastated Princess Rosella is contacted via the Magic Mirror by the good fairy Genesta in the faraway land of Tamir who reveals the existence of a magic fruit that can heal King Graham in exchange for Rosella helping Genesta. Rosella agrees and is teleported to the fairy kingdom of Tamir. The realm's ruler, Queen Genesta, reveals that her archenemy, the evil fairy Lolotte, has stolen her talisman without which Genesta will die in twenty-four hours. Additionally, without the talisman, Genesta lacks the power to return Rosella to Daventry. Rosella agrees to undertake a quest for both the talisman and the magic fruit and goes out undercover, dressed as a peasant girl.

Rosella manages to find the fruit, traversing a dangerous underground passage and swamp, but is captured in Queen Lolotte's perilous mountains and imprisoned in her castle. The witch demands that Rosella undertake three tasks for her in order for Rosella to earn her freedom and a big reward. Rosella reluctantly agrees and captures a unicorn, steals the golden hen and recovers Pandora's Box for Lolotte who intends to use the items to increase her evil power and influence. Lolotte reveals that her hideous and deformed son Edgar has fallen in love with Rosella and she intends for them to marry, trapping Rosella and condemning King Graham and Genesta to death. However, a sympathetic Edgar helps Rosella escape and she slays Lolotte with Cupid's bow. Rosella recovers the talisman, the hen and Pandora's Box and rescues the unicorn. In order to keep Pandora's Box from being used for evil again, Rosella returns it to its tomb and seals the entrance so no one else can ever enter.

Rosella returns the talisman and the hen to Genesta, saving her life. As a reward for his help and kindness, Genesta transforms Edgar into a handsome young man, but Rosella rejects Edgar's marriage proposal though she expresses hope that they will meet again someday. Rosella is teleported back to Daventry where the fruit heals King Graham to the joy of his family.

Although Rosella's primary quest is to retrieve the magic fruit needed to save King Graham, it is possible to return to Daventry without completing this task, but this leads to a tragic alternate ending to the game where Rosella returns to Daventry in time to witness her father passing away instead of saving his life. A second alternate ending exists where if Rosella is caught after escaping from her room, she will be forced to marry Edgar and spend the rest of her life in Tamir. Winning the game will not resolve all storylines, although that will be the goal in the sequels.

Development and release
With the SCI engine, Sierra dropped disk-based copy protection schemes in favor of requiring the user to enter a word from the manual, as the new-generation games were designed primarily to be installed and run from a hard disk. King's Quest IV was the first commercially released game for IBM PC compatibles to support sound cards instead of only the standard built-in speaker. In addition to the familiar PC speaker and Tandy sound, it could utilize AdLib , Disney Sound Source, IBM Music Feature Card, or Roland boards. The new SCI engine allowed the game's designers to incorporate an orchestrated musical score along with more complex sound effects, a previously unattainable feat. To ensure an immersive soundtrack, composer William Goldstein was hired to write the game's musical score, totaling over 75 short music pieces.

The series' author Roberta Williams wrote in the notes to the King's Quest Collection Series, "Before King's Quest IV was released, word leaked out that Graham would have a heart attack and might die. Fans were upset enough to write in, asking to save Graham. I wanted King's Quest IV to have some pressure applied to you: a timed game, taking place over a 24-hour period, so you roam around during the day and eventually it turns to night. I don't remember other games using the same scenes at night; it looked creepy." With a female protagonist and more colorful graphics than in her earlier games, she attempted to appeal more specifically to female demographics. As the game's aspect that satisfied her most, she said: "I like the heroine, Rosella. I guess because she's a part of me that's coming out. I really identified with her. Sometimes she's delicate, but she's strong, knows what she wants, she's not afraid to do what she has to do. She's courageous. It was fun for me to do a female character."

The game was simultaneously produced and published in the AGI and SCI engines. The AGI engine was used in all earlier Sierra adventure games, the SCI in all later ones. SCI supported higher-resolution graphics (320×200 resolution versus 160×200), more sophisticated animation, mouse, and sound card support. Some older features like CGA composite mode and PCjr support were removed. Memory requirements for SCI games were thus double those of AGI games (512 kB vs 256k). The new engine was designed for then-current IBM-compatible hardware (i.e. 8–16 MHz 286 or 386 machines with EGA or VGA graphics and a hard disk) and ran poorly on older 8086 computers. The game was previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show on June 4, 1988.

King's Quest IV was the only native-mode SCI game to also have an AGI version (some games originally made with the AGI engine like the original King's Quest were released in updated SCI versions). This was done mostly as a fall-back measure because the SCI engine was new and unproven, and also for the large existing user base of 8086 machines. However, only a quite small number of copies were sold. It was discontinued within a few months of the game's August 1988 release. The two games are identical in gameplay, except that the SCI version was updated with some additional parser responses. The AGI version 2.0 contains the "beam me" Easter egg, which transported Rosella to a Star Trek-esque room with all of the development team present (this Easter egg is not present in any SCI version). A version identical to the AGI version was released on the Apple IIGS with improved music and effects (over the MS-DOS AGI counterpart); the IIGS port does not use the SCI engine for performance reasons.

Reception
King's Quest IV sold 100,000 copies in its first two weeks. According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the King's Quest series surpassed 3.8 million units by the end of March 1996. By November 2000, PC Data reported that King's Quest IVs sales in the United States alone had reached between 300,000 and 400,000 units. GameSpot's staff wrote that the game "marked a dramatic increase in the series' commercial success".

King's Quest IV was very well received by the trade press, including being awarded review scores of 309/400 from ACE, 79% from Amiga Action, 81% from Amiga Computing, 85% from Commodore User, 91% from Computer & Video Games, 85% from CU Amiga, 9/10 from Datormagazin, 90% from The Games Machine (Italia), 13/15 from Tilt, and 79% from Zzap!. It was also selected as "Best Adventure Game of 1988" by the Software Publishers Association.

Scorpia of Computer Gaming World reviewed King's Quest IV, noting the beautiful graphics, but also mentioning the game ran slowly if the screen contained animations. She described the game's puzzles as "uneven", but considered the presentation as cinematic in quality. David Stanton of Compute! praised the graphics and sound of the IBM PC version, including its support of VGA and sound cards such as AdLib and Roland MT-32, and concluded that "King's Quest IV sets a gaming standard others will be hard-pressed to match, much less surpass," describing the game's soundtrack as "40 minutes of the best sound available on any computer disk anywhere." Page 6s John Sweeney wrote the game was "undoubtedly excellent", but personally he preferred King's Quest III.

In 2009, Atomic named King's Quest IV one of the "50 Games to Play Before You Die". The magazine's Ben Hardwidge called it "a classic". IGN's Kosta Andreadis wrote in 2014, "The Perils of Rosella stands the test of time despite its shortcomings (and you can buy it on GOG.com), for above all providing a memorable and at times thrilling adventure, on top of being one of the first games to ever feature both a female protagonist as well as sound card support."

References

External links

 King's Quest IV at the Sierra Chest

Category:1988 video games
Category:Adventure games
Category:Point-and-click adventure games
Category:1980s interactive fiction
Category:Amiga games
Category:Apple IIGS games
Category:Atari ST games
Category:DOS games
Category:King's Quest
Category:Sierra Entertainment games
Category:ScummVM supported games
Category:Video games featuring female antagonists
Category:Video games featuring female protagonists
Category:Video games developed in the United States
Category:Witchcraft in video games
Category:Games commercially released with DOSBox
Category:Fantasy video games


Comedy Bang! Bang!

Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio) is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009. Popularly known as America's Podcast, it is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, creating and hosting the Comedy Bang! Bang! TV series, as well as for co-founding the weekly Comedy Death-Ray stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Hollywood.

Comedy Death-Ray Radio was formerly broadcast from Southern California's Indie 103 studios, but since the summer of 2010 has been broadcast as part of the Earwolf comedy podcasting network, being recorded in studios owned by the company.

Many notable people in the world of comedy, music, television and film have appeared on the podcast, including Paul F. Tompkins, Lauren Lapkus, Jason Mantzoukas, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Aimee Mann, Jon Hamm, Aziz Ansari, Adam Scott, Patton Oswalt, Seth Rogen, Thomas Lennon, Zach Galifianakis, Ben Stiller, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, St. Vincent, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, James Adomian, Harris Wittels, Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, Nick Kroll, Loudon Wainwright III, Matt Besser, Kevin Nealon, and Andy Daly.

Comedy Bang! Bang! was also a television series on IFC hosted by Scott Aukerman and featuring in different seasons bandleaders "Weird Al" Yankovic, Reggie Watts and Kid Cudi.

History
Comedy Death-Ray Radio first aired May 1, 2009, after Aukerman gained permission from Indie 103 to conduct a "one-month tryout". The first episode's guests were Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon. During occasions when Aukerman has been unable to host, Paul F. Tompkins, Chris Hardwick, Jimmy Pardo or Jerry Minor (in character as "Cyberthug") have guest hosted. Although normally produced in Los Angeles, the show has also been taped in Vancouver, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Austin.

Name change
On the May 15, 2011 "Two-year Anniversary" podcast, Aukerman announced that the show's name was changing to Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast. He went on to say that the show had evolved a great deal in its first two years, and he credited his wife Kulap Vilaysack with coming up with the new name.

Red Hot Chili Peppers parody
In episode 204 (which aired on March 4, 2013), "The Pepper Men," guests Jon Daly and Zach Galifianakis professed their love for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both claimed to be "huge Pepper Men" and had written a song in tribute to the band titled "Abracadabralifornia", which Daly sang using his best Anthony Kiedis imitation.

On January 29, 2014, a very official-looking website called www.RHCP2014.com appeared online claiming to have the brand-new Chili Peppers song, "Abracadabralifornia". The song even featured a layout for the band's upcoming Super Bowl appearance, complete with sponsors' logos. Various people through websites including Twitter and Facebook at first were fooled by the song, although many quickly realized that it was a parody. The song was written and performed by Daly and musician Cyrus Ghahremani. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith Tweeted his approval of the song.

Format and features
The podcast begins with a theme song composed and performed by Reggie Watts, followed by the reading of a listener-submitted catchphrase, one of which will eventually replace the show's original catchphrase, “What’s up, hot dog?”

The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests with comedy songs and occasionally game segments. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode. The show's most frequent guest Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, directors Garry Marshall and Werner Herzog, actor John C. Reilly, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, actor Alan Thicke, actor Danny Glover, Cake Bosss Buddy Valastro; other frequent guests such as James Adomian has played public television personality Huell Howser, Jesse Ventura, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Hitchens, actor Gary Busey, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, politician Bernie Sanders and food critic Merrill Shindler.

For the first few months of the program, comedian Doug Benson would semi-regularly call the program and give several "8 Words or Less Movie Reviews".

Occasionally the podcast is taped with a live audience, usually at comedy shows or at festival events.

In the last third of the show, Aukerman and his guests will often play one of several improv-style games. The following games have recently been played:"Would You Rather?", in which the guests are presented with two typically absurd scenarios; following a brief question-and-answer session with answers made up on the spot by Aukerman, the contestants are asked to choose one of the options, with points given after each round.
 "Riddle Me This", in which one person comes up with a question that is the setup for a joke. An example would be "What's brown and is often spotted near a fast-food restaurant?". The other contestants then come up with answers and vote whose answer was the funniest."Freestyle Rap Battle/Contest", in which the guests take turns performing a freestyle rap."What Am I Thinking?", in which two guests (or Scott) count down together from three and attempt to use word association to say the same word.

The following games have been played on the podcast in the past, but not recently:"Jukebox Jury", in which Scott and the guests rate songs sent in by listeners as either "mustard" or "pants", although the meanings of the ratings is unknown."Alive or Dead", in which Scott gives the guests the name of a celebrity and they must determine if that celebrity is alive or dead. The people in question are usually alive but their fictional deaths are described in a humorous way."Who Said It?", in which guests name the person to whom a given quote is attributed."Hollywood Facts", in which Scott and guests list fake celebrity gossip news. This game has largely been discontinued, however the game's theme music is regularly played when guest Andy Samberg appears on the podcast because Samberg recorded it.

Occasionally, guests will present their own features on the show. Examples include:"Harris' Foam/Phone Corner", in which Harris Wittels recited jokes, text-messaged to himself, which were deemed unworthy of his stand-up performances, and was ridiculed for his efforts."New No-Nos", in which Paul Rust makes up new rules for life and the world; which he refers to as New No-Nos. Nearly every new rule is a ridiculous idea that can already be accomplished without consequence."The Solo Bolo Olympic Song Challenge"''', in which Ben Schwartz and Scott sing a myriad of different songs, jingles, and show-tunes, with minimal regard to pitch and rhythm. They ostensibly  attempt to seamlessly transition between songs that have some sort of connection to one another. These connections can include being by the same artist, including the same word, or in many cases, having absolutely no relation.

Episodes

Reception
"Often strange, consistently hilarious, always unpredictable." – Entertainment Weekly"One of the 10 Best Comedy Podcasts Of The Moment...never strays far from a laugh." – Rolling StoneGQ has praised the show, calling it "one of the preeminent places to hear not only the stalwarts of stand-up... but also lesser known comics, like Natasha Leggero, Chelsea Peretti, and Brett Gelman."The A.V. Club says "The guests are routinely top-notch, the show has a de facto company of ace improvisers enlivening each episode, and Scott Aukerman is a gleefully indulgent host", also saying "For comedy fans, Comedy Bang Bang is essential listening." It frequently appears in the Podmass column, highlighting the best podcasts of each week, and the website named Comedy Bang! Bang! the best podcast of 2013.

"It’s perhaps the easiest show to single out as a juggernaut; the podcast is ten years in with over 600 episodes, a testament to creator Scott Aukerman’s unparalleled collaboration prowess." — Vulture

See alsoComedy Death-Ray''

Footnotes

 The "Closing Up the Plugbag" closing theme (the Ken Marino, Steve Agee & Casey Wilson version used from 2012 to 2015) features a growing number of ending tags by Adam Pally, Brendon Small and Paul F. Tompkins.

 The current "Closing Up the Plugbag" theme is sung by Ben Schwartz & Horatio Sanz and features a growing number of ending tags by various guests.

References

External links

Comedy Bang Bang at iTunes
Comedy Bang Bang at Twitter
Comedy Death-Ray at Indie 103

Category:Comedy and humor podcasts
Category:Audio podcasts
Category:Earwolf
Category:2009 podcast debuts