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Game of Thrones is an American fantasy television series produced by the HBO cable network. It is based on the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R.R. Martin who serves as a producer, creative consultant and scriptwriter on the television series. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss created the television series and serve as executive producers, showrunners and the main writers.
To date, the series consists of three transmitted seasons comprising thirty episodes in total. A fourth season made up of an additional ten episodes has been shot and is now broadcasting. Two further seasons have been commissioned,[1] taking the show up to a sixth year.
Production of the series is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, mainly at the Paint Hall Studios. It is the largest and most expensive television production ever mounted in Northern Ireland. Filming for the series has also been conducted in Malta, Iceland, Croatia and Morocco.
Production history
See the production timeline for a more detailed history of the show's development and production.
David Benioff was sent a collection of the first four novels in the series (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords and A Feast for Crows) by George R.R. Martin's agent. Initially sceptical of the fantasy genre, Benioff became a big fan of the books and invited his friend D.B. Weiss to develop the project with him for a screen adaptation. They initially considered a movie adaption, but realized this would mean losing most of the plot and characters from the books. Instead, they began working on an adaptation for television. They met with George R.R. Martin and spent several hours discussing the project. Martin was impressed with their enthusiasm and that they had already worked out the resolutions to several key mysteries in the books. He agreed with them that the series was a good fit for the cable company HBO, which Martin was already a big fan of.
HBO agreed to option the project in 2007 and active development of a pilot script began. However, this was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. In October 2008 HBO exercised its option to buy the rights to the series and ordered a pilot episode a few weeks later. Casting announcements were made throughout 2009, with Peter Dinklage the first actor formally announced for the series. The pilot episode was filmed in Northern Ireland and Morocco in October and November 2009.
HBO officially greenlit the series on 2 March 2010. Filming of Season 1 began on 23 July, with Malta replacing Morocco for overseas filming. Several actors from the pilot were recast, requiring the re-filming of most of the first episode. The season wrapped filming on 15 December. HBO later confirmed that the first season had a budget of $60 million. The first season aired on HBO on 17 April-19 June 2011, garnering critical acclaim and steadily rising ratings. HBO confirmed after the transmission of the first episode that a second season had been commissioned.
Production of Season 2 began on 25 July 2011 and wrapped on 12 December. Malta was dropped as a filming location, replaced by Croatia, whilst additional filming took place in Iceland. The budget for Season 2 was 15% higher than Season 1, necessitated by the addition more ambitious effects sequences and the use of CGI creatures such as direwolves and dragons. The second season aired from 1 April to 3 June 2012, garnering additional critical acclaim and increased ratings. By the end of the second season, the show had become the third-most-successful series in HBO's history, behind only The Sopranos and True Blood. In addition, the DVD and Blu-ray set of Season 1 was released just prior to transmission of Season 2 and immediately became HBO's fastest-selling media release in its history.
Production of Season 3 began on 10 July 2012 and wrapped on 24 November. Morocco was added to the filming roster alongside Croatia, Iceland and Northern Ireland, with the complexities of filming requiring the addition of a third filming unit to the existing two. An additional scene was shot in Los Angeles for safety reasons, meaning that Season 3 was filmed in five separate countries on three continents. The season aired from 31 March to 2 June 2013. The penultimate episode The Rains of Castamere won widespread critical acclaim for its shock twist ending. By the end of the season the show had supplanted True Blood as the second-most successful HBO show in the United States and The Sopranos as its most successful series worldwide.
Production of Season 4 began on 8 July 2013 and concluded on 21 November. Production was more focused this season, with only two units used and filming restricted to Northern Ireland, Iceland and Croatia. This was to allow more of the budget to be concentrated on several major action and effects sequences late in the season.
A fifth season is anticipated, but will not be formally confirmed until after the fourth season begins transmission.
Future seasons, and catching up with the books
The initial plan
It is generally projected that the TV series will last seven or eight seasons, but no one is entirely sure.
As of 2014, five books have been published in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and author George R.R. Martin has predicted that there will be two more (though he is struggling not to let the final book run long, in which case it would have to be split, for a total of eight books).
The third novel, A Storm of Swords, was so long that it pushed the limits of how large a published book could physically be without pages falling out. Because the third novel was so long, the production team realized it would be impossible to condense it all into a single season, so the decision was made to adapt its contents across two seasons. While Season 3 ends with the Red Wedding, this actually happened in the middle of the third novel (similar to how Renly Baratheon suddenly died in the middle of Season 2). Jon Snow returned to Castle Black by the middle of the third novel. Daenerys Targaryen had not yet reached Meereen by the middle of the third novel. A few characters did advance further than this in Season 3, i.e. Bran Stark actually passed north of the Wall at the end of the third novel (he had so few chapters in the entire book that the TV producers didn't want to space it out for two full seasons).
As a result, while there are projected to be seven novels, splitting the third novel into two seasons should mean that the TV series will end with Season 8.
Even so the producers have never been sure about this, and often simply gave the figure of "seven or eight" seasons.
Seasons 5 and 6: Intercutting the fourth and fifth novels
What was originally planned as the fourth novel was even longer than the third novel, so Martin split it into two novels: A Feast for Crows (the fourth book) and A Dance with Dragons (the fifth book). The fourth and fifth books occur during a simultaneous timeframe: all of the chapters set in the Seven Kingdoms were moved to the fourth book, while all chapters set outside of the Seven Kingdoms (at the Wall or across the Narrow Sea in Essos) were moved to the fifth book. Though of course, despite splitting them because as one book they would have been longer than the third novel, Martin kept making additions to the fourth and fifth novels during the writing process, so both are nearly as long as the third novel.
It would be odd to spend an entire season with one set of characters while the rest do not appear, then reverse this in the subsequent season. So the TV series's plan is that Seasons 5 and 6 will be intercut to chronological present events in the order that they happened. This is comparable to how J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers actually consisted of two halves: the first half entirely follows Aragorn since the end of the first novel, then the second half backs up in time to follow only Frodo's perspective, but during the same timeframe since the end of the first novel. Peter Jackson's movie adaptation, however, chose to simply intercut between the two storylines to show events in the chronological order in which they occurred.
Thus "Season 5" will consist of the first half of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, and then "Season 6" will adapt the second half of A Feast for Crows intercut with the second half of A Dance with Dragons. The combined result will be the same: "two books worth of material" will be adapted by "Seasons 5 and 6", but simply, Season 5 will cover the first half of both books, Season 6 the second halves of both. David Benioff has also commented that while it was relatively easy to end Season 3 with the Red Wedding, and Season 4 with the actual ending of the third novel...Season 5 doesn't really have a clear "climax", because it will end in the middle of the storylines from the fourth and fifth novels.
How many seasons?
Given that there are currently five novels, and the third was split into two seasons, there is currently enough print material to adapt through the end of Season 6. Even so, Martin has told producers Benioff & Weiss the general outline of how the final two books are going to progress (so if a bolt of lightning strikes Martin, they'd still be able to finish according to Martin's general plan).
After Season 3 ended, there was considerable discussion about the future of the TV series, particularly the question what would happen if the TV series began to outpace the novels.
Soon before Season 4 began, in early March 2014 executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss made several comments that they actually felt Season 4 was the "midway point" of the TV series, which would probably last seven seasons. On March 11, 2014, they said in Entertainment Weekly:
- "It feels like this is the midpoint for us...If we're going to go seven seasons, which is the plan, Season 4 is right down the middle, the pivot point...I would say it's the goal we've had from the beginning...It was our unstated goal, because to start on a show and say your goal is seven seasons is the height of lunacy. Once we got to the point where we felt like we're going to be able to tell this tale to its conclusion, that became [an even clearer] goal. Seven gods, seven kingdoms, seven seasons. It feels right to us."[2]
Even so, Benioff and Weiss had earlier used the figure of eight seasons, because the third novel was split into two seasons. Making seven seasons would short one of the later novels.
Moreover, George R.R. Martin originally planned the entire story of the A Song of Ice and Fire series to be a trilogy of books, but during the writing process the story massively expanded. He knew by the time that the first book, A Game of Thrones, was released that it would have to be far longer.
Martin's originally planned trilogy would consist of three novels: A Game of Thrones, A Dance with Dragons, and The Winds of Winter. He had to split to subsequently split these into different novels. The storylines originally planned for "Book 1: A Game of Thrones" were split across three novels: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. Thus the ending of the third novel is actually the climax which was supposed to conclude "Book 1" of the original trilogy.
Originally, George R.R. Martin even planned to emphasize how much of a break this was by making a five year time-jump between the end of A Storm of Swords (the finale of Season 4) and the beginning of the next novel (Season 5), though he later abandoned the time jump because he felt it was irresistible so show what actually happened immediately afterwards.
However, because the third novel was split across two seasons, the finale of "Season 4" is what actually adapts the ending of the third novel, the climactic ending of the originally planned "Book 1".
Put another way, if the entire story can be divided into three classical "Act" breaks, they would be:
Act I:
- A Game of Thrones - adapted as "Season 1" of the TV series
- A Clash of Kings - adapted as "Season 2"
- A Storm of Swords, Part 1 of 2 (ending with the Red Wedding) - adapted as "Season 3"
- A Storm of Swords, Part 2 of 2 - adapted as "Season 4"
Act II:
- A Feast for Crows - first half adapted in Season 5, second half in Season 6
- A Dance with Dragons - second half adapted in Season 5, second half in Season 6
Act III:
- The Winds of Winter - adapted as Season 7?
- A Dream of Spring - adapted as Season 8?
"The second half of the third novel" (adapted as "Season 4" of the TV series), is therefore not the "midway" point of the story, but the end of "Act 1 of 3".
Catching up with the books
Benioff & Weiss, as well as George R.R. Martin himself, then provided comments for the April 2014 issue of Vanity Fair (which was released about two weeks after Benioff and Weiss said in Entertainment Weekly that there might be only seven seasons).
Contradicting his statements made at the same time in EW that "we're going for seven seasons, it's been our goal since the beginning", Benioff instead repeated that the production team wasn't sure if the TVseries would last "seven or eight" seasons.
- "If we're a series and we're four seasons, five seasons in, and it's indefinite as to how long it's gonna go, then I don't think there's as much pressure as far as, the end is coming, the end is nigh. So, for us, whether it ends up being seven or eight, it's right around there. I think we've always felt — we just completed the fourth season — this is the midpoint. And we're coming around the bend right now."[3]
George R.R. Martin himself, in the same issue of Vanity Fair, addressed the major and related question which is frequently asked: what will happen if the TV series outpaces the remaining books? What if Martin cannot finish the next novel (the sixth, The Winds of Winter) before Season 7 has to enter production?
Martin stated that while he is trying to focus on writing the remaining novels, he is opposed to rushing them to finish to match the TV series, given that he wants his novels to stand the test of time for decades, like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Thus while Martin is hurrying, he has accepted that it a real possibility that he cannot finish the next two novels in the four years between Season 4 and Season 8.
Martin also made two major points:
First: If the producers of the TV series are worried that they will outpace his books...why would they decrease the length of the TV series from eight to seven seasons? This would mean that material from the fifth (and current) book would have to be condensed, and ultimately, they'd use up all printed material even sooner. So if they don't want to outpace the books (for fear that they would lack direction), why would they rush to finish the TV series in only seven seasons? It makes more sense to try for eight seasons.
Second: For that matter, the fourth and fifth novels were nearly as long as the third novel. They form "Act 2 of 3" for the overall story, when it took the TV series four seasons to tell the story of "Act 1 of 3". Martin's suggestion is therefore that instead of making two TV seasons out of books four and five, why not simply spread out the material more to make three seasons out of it? In this case, they would have enough print material to sustain through Season 7, before having to worry about adapting his final two, unpublished books. This would not mean they would have to pad out the material: on the contrary, a large amount of material from the books is cut for time from the TV series adaptation. Similar to splitting the third novel across Season 3 and Season 4, if they split the fourth and fifth novels across Seasons 5, 6, and 7, it would not only forestall outpacing the printed books, but also make for a more cohesive story that doesn't require drastic condensations. In this case, expanding to make yet another season, the TV series could potentially run for nine seasons.
In Martin's own words:
"The season that's about to debut covers the second half of the third book. The third book [A Storm of Swords] was so long that it had to be split into two. But there are two more books beyond that, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. A Dance with Dragons is itself a book that's as big as A Storm of Swords. So there's potentially three more seasons there, between Feast and Dance, if they split into two the way they did [with Storm]. Now, Feast and Dance take place simultaneously. So you can't do Feast and then Dance the way I did. You can combine them and do it chronologically. And it's my hope that they'll do it that way and then, long before they catch up with me, I'll have published The Winds of Winter, which'll give me another couple years. It might be tight on the last book, A Dream of Spring, as they juggernaut forward.[4]
Martin went on to suggest that anything is possible and if worse comes to worst, if the TV series doesn't want to outpace the books, they might simply take a year off the way Breaking Bad or Mad Men have done. Nor would this need to be a year with no actual new content: HBO could make a prequel miniseries or TV movie adapting other time periods in the history of Westeros, then return to the main "Game of Thrones" TV series after he has released the final two books.
It is entirely possible that HBO might make prequel projects based on the events of Robert's Rebellion (featuring young Eddard Stark and setting up the events of the main series), or going even further back to adapt Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel series set ninety years before the main series, which detail the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall ("Dunk") and Prince Aegon V Targaryen ("Egg") - Aegon V being the younger brother of Maester Aemon. Martin even pointed out that his recent novella The Princess and the Queen, detailing the devastating civil war known as "The Dance of the Dragons" fought between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon II, would be an interesting project to adapt.[5]
Subsequently, Martin half-jokingly told The Hollywood Reporter on March 19th, 2014, that the TV series might even need a major theatrical movie to serve as an ending, because the CGI budget would be massive. Or that HBO might consider making, Tales of Dunk and Egg theatrical movies, because they are relatively episodic and stand-alone novellas (or maybe just as TV-movies):
- It all depends on how long the main series runs...Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10? The books get bigger and bigger (in scope). It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know."[6]
Martin was then, however, interviewed by The Wall Street Journal a few days later on March 21st, 2014. He responded to the speculation his comments in The Hollywood Reporter had caused, which seemed to contradict Benioff and Weiss leaning more towards seven than eight seasons. The interview asked about his comments that the TV series could simply make up to nine seasons, by expanding the current remaining books instead of outpacing the ones he hasn't finished yet, or that it might even need a movie to finish:
- Question: "There's been recent talk about a Game of Thrones movie to finish the series."
- George R.R. Martin: "Yes, I got in trouble for that." [laughs]
- Question: "What happened?"
- Martin: "This is all pie-in-the-sky stuff. People are asking me how the series is going to end. Is it going to be seven seasons? Is it going to be 10 seasons? Are there going to be movies? We talked about all these possibilities. But right now we have four seasons. That's all that's been ordered. HBO has not ordered Season 5, so we certainly don't know about Season 7, Season 10, or any movies. But there's a lot of possibilities that are being kicked around, and it all depends on so many things. Will our ratings continue to go up? Will the show continue to be popular? Sometimes shows fall off. Sometimes people change. Executives change or something, and the new guy doesn't love the show. You don't know anything. I worked in Hollywood from 1985 to 1995, and the one thing I learned is nobody knows anything and it's a day-to-day process. So right now we're enjoying Season 4 and we're hoping we'll get an order for Season 5 within a month or so, and then we'll do that one. And then we'll see where that leads.[7]
- As George R.R. Martin himself has pointed out, no one is entirely sure how long the series will run, because even shows that are very popular in their fourth season might get very low ratings in their sixth season and get abruptly cancelled. The future is unknown. HBO only actually orders the series one season at a time, so while the production team is beginning to work on Season 5 (as of early 2014) it hasn't been officially ordered yet. Nothing is guaranteed for years in advance, and HBO might cancel it later.
- No matter how many seasons Game of Thrones has, HBO as well as Benioff and Weiss have tentatively said that they are willing to subsequently make prequel projects focusing on other events from centuries' worth of Westeros's history. Specifically, they might want to adapt the Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel novellas set ninety years before the main series. Martin has pointed out that they might want to adapt other prequels such as the great Targaryen civil war known as "The Dance of the Dragons" (featuring large amounts of dragon versus dragon combat), or they might even want to make a flashback prequel project about Robert's Rebellion, showing Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully as young teenagers, and setting up the events of the main series.
- HBO and the production team have pointed out that they cannot possibly make prequel projects at the same time as the main series, there simply isn't enough time to focus on it and ensure high quality, particularly when they physically cannot produce more than ten episodes of the main series a season. This is similar to the reason why, after book three was split into twenty episodes instead of ten, the two halves aired as two separate seasons, instead of a single massive season of twenty episodes produced in a single year - that would have been physically impossible.
- No one is exactly sure what format such a prequel project would take: a short TV series, a miniseries, a made-for-TV-movie, or even a theatrical movie. The Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel novellas are episodic, so each one could either be a short miniseries or TV movie, released as an ongoing series across several years.
Outpacing the books:
- Because the third novel was so long, it was split in half and adapted as two seasons: Season 3 and Season 4. With seven projected books in total, with two left unpublished, this means that the TV series may continue up to Season 8.
- It is a very bold prediction to guarantee even seven seasons, and around the Season 4 premiere, Benioff and Weiss began leaning more towards saying they think it will run seven seasons, though when pressed they said "seven or eight".
- George R.R. Martin does not want to rush the final books out, lowering their quality, just to match the release of the TV series's final seasons.
- Martin is in extensive discussions with HBO, as well as Benioff and Weiss, that a possible solution might be to simply adapt the fourth and fifth novels as three seasons, instead of two, similar to how they adapted the third novel as two seasons. Given the extreme length of the novels this doesn't mean they would have to invent filler, but actually that they wouldn't have to condense as much material.
- Thus the series could run for anywhere between seven to nine seasons, depending on what the production team feels they are capable of, and far more importantly, if the TV series continues to be the highest rated series airing on HBO and winning the network major awards. If Season 6 has a sudden and massive drop in ratings, HBO may force the production team to make Season 7 the final one.
- Martin has suggested - as pure speculation - that apart from expanding books four and five into three seasons worth of material, HBO might want to simply take a year off from the main series and instead produce one of the prequel projects before, instead of after, the main series ends.
- HBO is indeed interested in making prequel projects, even after the main series ends.
With 250 speaking roles, almost 90 of them named, the cast was the largest ever assembled for the debut season of a HBO project. The cast grew even larger in the second and third seasons.
The cast includes Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, Richard Madden as Robb Stark, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, Aidan Gillen as Petyr Baelish, Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy, Conleth Hill as Varys, Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane, Jerome Flynn as Bronn, John Bradley-West as Samwell Tarly, Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont, James Cosmo as Jeor Mormont, Sibel Kekilli as Shae and Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo. The cast is also notable for including a number of teenage and child actors in prominent roles: Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark, Art Parkinson as Rickon Stark and Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon.
Jennifer Ehle was initially cast as Catelyn Stark, but after filming the pilot HBO decided to recast the role with Michelle Fairley. No further details have been given for the reason behind this decision, except that it was amicable. In a similar manner, Tamzin Merchant was initially cast as Daenerys Targaryen, but after filming the pilot she was replaced by newcomer Emilia Clarke.
For the second season, a number of new characters were introduced, including Stephen Dillane as Lord Stannis Baratheon, Carice van Houten as Melisandre, Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth, Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell and Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton.
For the third season, the cast was further swelled with additions, including Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell, Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully, Clive Russell as Brynden Tully, Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder and Mackenzie Crook as Orell.
The series is set on a world where the seasons can last for years at a time. The main setting is the continent of Westeros, which was home to seven feuding kingdoms until they were united by the Targaryen family using dragons some three centuries ago. The dragons died out and the Targaryen Mad King was unseated in a civil war led by Lords Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark, seventeen years before the series opens. Robert has ruled as King ever since, but when the series opens his rule is increasingly undermined by other factions. At the same time, two surviving Targaryen children, having grown to adulthood in exile on the eastern continent of Essos, are now planning to return and retake the Iron Throne, and to this end are seeking a military alliance with other factions.
As both civil war and an external invasion threaten Westeros, another danger arises in the lands to the far north, beyond the vast Wall that forms the realm's northern border, where a supernatural threat believed to be mythical seems to be stirring after millennia of sleep. The only defence lies with the Night's Watch, an under-manned, under-funded order of soldiers once held in honor but now used as a dumping ground for criminals and exiles.
The Great Houses
Westeros is ruled by nine noble houses, who in turn command hundreds of lesser vassal houses. Each of the Great Houses rules a large region and commands significant armies and power in their own right. A list of the Great Houses and some of their more significant vassals follows:
- House Baratheon of Storm's End: rulers of the Stormlands and, since the civil war, the whole of Westeros. Led by King Robert Baratheon and his brothers, Stannis and Renly.
- House Stark of Winterfell: rulers of the North, the largest region of the continent. Led by Lord Eddard Stark.
- House Bolton of the Dreadfort: vassals of the Starks who rule over the eastern lands of the North. Noted for their love of flaying people alive. Led by Lord Roose Bolton.
- House Umber of the Last Hearth: vassals of the Starks who rule over the lands between Winterfell and the Wall. Led by Lord Greatjon Umber.
- House Karstark of Karhold: vassals of the Starks who rule over the north-eastern lands of the North. Led by Lord Rickard Karstark.
- House Glover of Deepwood Motte: vassals of the Starks who rule over the north-western lands of the North. Led by Lord Galbart Glover.
- House Mormont of Bear Island: vassals of the Starks who rule over Bear Island. Led by Lady Maege Mormont.
- House Reed of Greywater Watch: vassals of the Starks who rule over the southern-most parts of the North. Led by Lord Howland Reed.
- House Lannister of Casterly Rock: rulers of the Westerlands. Richest house in Westeros. Led by Lord Tywin Lannister.
- House Clegane of Clegane's Keep: a house of landed knights in the service of the Lannisters. Led by Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain.
- House Arryn of the Eyrie: rulers of the Vale of Arryn. A house noted for its chivalry. Led by the young Lord Robin Arryn.
- House Tyrell of Highgarden: rulers of the Reach, a vast, fertile region in the south of Westeros. The most populous region of the continent and able to field the largest armies. Led by Lord Mace Tyrell.
- House Tully of Riverrun: rulers of the Riverlands, the well-traveled central region of the continent. Led by Lord Hoster Tully.
- House Frey of the Twins: vassals of the Tullys who hold the only major crossing of the Green Fork of the Trident. Noted for their large numbers and tendency to always pick the winning side. Led by the ancient Lord Walder Frey.
- House Bracken of Stone Hedge: loyal vassals of the Tullys, noted for their prickly relationship with their neighbours, the Blackwoods. Led by Lord Jonos Bracken.
- House Greyjoy of Pyke: rulers of the Iron Islands off the west coast of the continent. The ironborn are fierce and independently-minded, but a recent attempt to rebel against the Iron Throne was defeated. Led by Lord Balon Greyjoy.
- House Martell of Sunspear: rulers of Dorne, the southern-most region of the continent. Separated from the rest of Westeros by extensive mountains and a sea, the Dornish mostly keep to themselves. Led by Prince Doran Martell.
- House Targaryen: the former rulers of Westeros before Robert's Rebellion. The family is now destroyed and its survivors are exiles in the far east, searching for support to retake their birthright. Led by Viserys Targaryen, the Beggar King.
This list of characters describes their location and status as of the first episode of the series.
House Stark
- Main article: House Stark
- Sean Bean as Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell.
- Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark, originally of House Tully.
- Richard Madden as Robb Stark, Eddard's eldest son and heir.
- Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Eddard's eldest daughter.
- Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, Eddard's youngest daughter.
- Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark, Eddard's middle son.
- Art Parkinson as Rickon Stark, Eddard's youngest son.
- Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son by an unknown mother.
- Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark, Eddard's younger brother, First Ranger of the Night's Watch.
Retainers at Winterfell
- Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy, a ward and hostage for his rebellious father's good behavior.
- Ron Donachie as Ser Rodrik Cassel, master of arms.
- Jamie Sives as Jory Cassel, Rodrik's nephew, captain of the guards.
- Phil Dixon as Tomard, a guardsman.
- Graham Charles as Varly, a guardsman.
- Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin, a maester of the Citadel.
- Kristian Nairn as Hodor, a simple stableboy.
- Margaret John as Old Nan, a retired servant and Hodor's great-grandmother.
- Susan Brown as Septa Mordane, a religious tutor and governess to Arya and Sansa.
- Esme Bianco as Ros, a prostitute working in Winterfell's outlying town.
Vassals and allies of House Stark
- Clive Mantle as Lord Greatjon Umber, Lord of Last Hearth, a loyal vassal of House Stark.
- Mark Coney as Lord Galbart Glover, Lord of Deepwood Motte, a vassal of House Stark.
- Steven Blount (Season 1)/John Stahl (Season 2) as Lord Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold, a vassal and distant kinsman of House Stark.
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed, the son and heir of Lord Howland Reed, one of Eddard Stark's closest friends and allies.
- Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, Jojen's older sister.
House Bolton and retainers
- Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort, a vassal of Eddard Stark.
- Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Snow, Lord Roose's bastard son.
- Noah Taylor as Locke, a vassal and hunter in Lord Bolton's service.
- Charlotte Hope as Myranda, a prostitute at the Dreadfort.
House Lannister
- Main article: House Lannister
- Charles Dance as Lord Tywin Lannister, the widowed patriarch of House Lannister and father of Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion.
- Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, twin sister of Jaime, mother of Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister, a knight of the Kingsguard, twin brother of Cersei.
- Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Cersei and Jaime's younger brother, called the Imp for his size.
- Ian Gelder as Ser Kevan Lannister, Lord Tywin's younger brother and closest adviser.
- Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister, Ser Kevan's son, a squire to King Robert.
- Karl Davies as Alton Lannister, a distant cousin of the main branch of the family.
Vassals and allies of House Lannister
- Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne, a squire, a member of one of the Lannisters' vassal families.
- Fintan McKeown as Ser Amory Lorch, a loyal vassal and retainer of House Lannister.
- Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane, Prince Joffrey's bodyguard and sworn sword, long in the service of House Lannister.
- Conan Stevens (Season 1)/Ian Whyte (Season 2)/Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Season 4) as Ser Gregor Clegane, Sandor Clegane's brother and the most feared knight in Westeros, known as 'Lord Tywin's Mad Dog'.
- Anthony Morris as the Tickler, a noted interrogator and torturer in the service of Ser Gregor Clegane.
- Vinnie McCabe as Lord Leo Lefford, a Lannister bannerman.
House Baratheon
- Main article: House Baratheon
- Mark Addy as King Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms.
- Jack Gleeson as Prince Joffrey Baratheon, King Robert's eldest son and heir.
- Aimee Richardson as Myrcella Baratheon, King Robert's eldest daughter.
- Callum Wharry as Tommen Baratheon, King Robert's youngest son.
- Gethin Anthony as Lord Renly Baratheon, King Robert's youngest brother, Lord of Storm's End.
- Stephen Dillane as Lord Stannis Baratheon, King Robert's middle brother, Lord of Dragonstone.
- Tara Fitzgerald as Lady Selyse Baratheon, Lord Stannis's wife, originally of House Florent.
- Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon, Lord Stannis's daughter and only child.
Vassals and allies of House Baratheon
- Carice van Houten as Melisandre, Lord Stannis's adviser, a red priestess.
- Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth, a former smuggler, now Lord Stannis' most loyal vassal.
- Kerr Logan as Matthos Seaworth, Ser Davos's son.
- Oliver Ford Davies as Maester Cressen, Lord Stannis's maester.
- Lucian Msamati as Salladhor Saan, a freesail in Stannis's employ.
- Gordon Mahn as Ser Imry Florent, a knight sworn to Stannis's service.
- Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, a fierce warrior from the Stormlands.
- Robert Sterne as the Royal Steward, a courtier in the service of Robert Baratheon in King's Landing.
- Rhodri Hosking as Mycah, son of a butcher in King Robert's retinue.
House Arryn and retainers
- Main article: House Arryn
- Sir John Standing as Lord Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie and the King's Hand.
- Kate Dickie as Lady Lysa Arryn, originally of House Tully, Catelyn Stark's sister.
- Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn, Lord Jon's only surviving son and heir.
- Brendan McCormack as Ser Vardis Egen, the captain of the Eyrie's household guards.
- Ciaran Birmingham as Mord, the Eyrie's chief gaoler.
- Jefferson Hall as Ser Hugh of the Vale, Lord Jon's former squire.
- Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce, one of the Arryns' most stalwart vassals and supporters.
- Paola Dionisotti as Lady Anya Waynwood, one of the Arryns' vassals.
- Alisdair Simpson as Ser Donnel Waynwood, the Knight of the Gate.
House Tyrell and retainers
- Main article: House Tyrell
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and the Reach. The son of Olenna Redwyne and the father of Loras and Margaery.
- Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell, Lord Renly Baratheon's former squire and a famous tourney knight.
- Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell, Loras's sister.
- Dame Diana Rigg as Olenna Redwyne, nicknamed the Queen of Thorns, the mother of Mace, grandmother of Loras and Margaery and matriarch of the family.
House Greyjoy and retainers
- Main article: House Greyjoy
- Patrick Malahide as Lord Balon Greyjoy, Lord of Pyke, father of Theon Greyjoy.
- Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy, the only daughter of Lord Balon.
- Forbes KB as Lorren, a noted raider and reaver in the service of House Greyjoy.
- Ralph Ineson as Dagmer, a noted raider, reaver and ship captain in the service of House Greyjoy.
House Tully and retainers
- Main article: House Tully
- Tobias Menzies as Ser Edmure Tully, the son and heir of the ailing Lord Hoster Tully and the brother of Lady Catelyn Stark.
- Clive Russell as Ser Brynden Tully, Lord Hoster's younger brother, a famous knight known as "The Blackfish".
- Gerry O'Brien as Lord Jonos Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge, a vassal of House Tully.
- Kevin Keenan as Kurleket, a man-at-arms to House Bracken, a vassal of House Tully.
- Ryan McKenna as Ser Willis Wode, a sworn sword of House Whent, a vassal of House Tully.
House Frey and retainers
- David Bradley as Lord Walder Frey, Lord of the Twins, an old and prickly vassal of House Tully, past ninety years of age.
- Kelly Long as Joyeuse Erenford, Walder Frey's newest wife.
- Tim Plester as "Black Walder" Frey, the great-grandson of Walder Frey and a noted warrior with a hot temper.
- Alexandra Dowling as Roslin Frey, one of Lord Frey's youngest daughters.
- Elizabeth Webster as Fat Walda Frey, one of Lord Frey's granddaughters.
House Martell and retainers
- Main article: House Martell
- Pedro Pascal as Prince Oberyn Martell, popularly known as the Red Viper. The younger brother of the ruling Prince Doran Martell of Dorne.
- Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand, Oberyn's paramour and mother to several of his children.
- Daniel Rabin as Lord Blackmont, a senior vassal of the Martells.
In the Riverlands
- Main article: Riverlands
- Susie Kelly as Masha Heddle, the innkeeper of the Crossroads Inn.
- Jerome Flynn as Bronn, a sellsword met at the Crossroads Inn.
- Emun Elliott as Marillion, a singer and troubadour met at the Crossroads Inn.
- Sibel Kekilli as Shae, a camp-follower and prostitute attached to the Lannister army.
- Mark Lewis Jones as Shagga, a warrior clan chief from the Mountains of the Moon.
- Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr, a battlefield doctor.
- Paul Kealyn as Weasel, a worker at Harrenhal.
- Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr, a red priest, warrior, famed drinker and friend of King Robert.
- Philip McGinley as Anguy, an exceptionally-skilled archer.
- Anton Lesser as Qyburn, a disgraced maester.
In King's Landing
- Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish, the Master of Coin on the king's small council.
- Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle, the master of wisdom on the king's small council.
- Conleth Hill as Varys, the Master of Whisperers on the king's small council.
- Ian McElhinney as Lord Commander Barristan Selmy, the head of the Kingsguard.
- Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant, a knight of the Kingsguard.
- James Doran as Ser Mandon Moore, a knight of the Kingsguard.
- Wilko Johnson as Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's headsman and executioner.
- David Michael Scott (Season 1)/Richard Dormer (Season 3) as Lord Beric Dondarrion, a young lord and popular tourney knight.
- Dominic Carter as Commander Janos Slynt, the commander of the City Watch.
- Miltos Yerolemou as Syrio Forel, a master swordsman from Braavos.
- Andrew Wilde as Tobho Mott, a master armorer and smith.
- Joe Dempsie as Gendry, Mott's apprentice.
- Antonia Christophers as Mhaegen, a prostitute.
- Sahara Knite as Armeca, a prostitute.
- Emily Diamond as a prostitute.
- Josephine Gillan as Marei, a prostitute.
- Will Tudor as Olyvar, a male prostitute and spy.
- Pixie Le Knot as Kayla, a prostitute and contortionist.
- Eros Vlahos as Lommy Greenhands, a dyer's apprentice.
- Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, a baker's apprentice.
- Andy Beckwith as Rorge, a street criminal imprisoned in the Red Keep.
- Gerard Jordan as Biter, a street criminal imprisoned in the Red Keep.
- Hugo Culverhouse as a stableboy in the Red Keep.
- Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar, a prisoner in the Red Keep.
- Roy Dotrice as Wisdom Hallyne, the head of the Alchemists' Guild.
- Simon Fisher-Becker as the High Septon, the head of the Faith of the Seven.
- Tony Way as Ser Dontos Hollard, a knight in service to the crown.
- Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, a representative of the Iron Bank of Braavos to the Iron Throne.
In the Night's Watch
- Main article: Night's Watch
- James Cosmo as Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, commander of the Night's Watch.
- Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne, in charge of training new recruits.
- Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon, Lord Mormont's closest adviser.
- Brian Fortune as Bowen Marsh, the First Steward of the Watch.
- Dennis McKeever as Othell Yarwyck, the First Builder of the Watch.
- Jeffrey O'Brien as Ser Jaremy Rykker, an officer in the rangers.
- Francis Magee as Yoren, a recruiter for the Watch.
- John Bradley-West as Samwell Tarly, a nobleman's son, a fresh recruit to the Wall.
- Josef Altin as Pypar, a fresh recruit to the Watch, a former actor.
- Mark Stanley as Grenn, a fresh recruit to the Watch.
- Luke McEwan as Rast, a fresh recruit to the Watch, arrested for rape.
- Rob Ostlere as Ser Waymar Royce, a newcomer to the Watch, a skilled knight.
- Dermot Keaney as Gared, an experienced ranger.
- Bronson Webb as Will, an experienced ranger and scout.
- Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett, a squire, noted for his pessimistic sense of humor.
- Simon Armstrong as Qhorin Halfhand, an elite scout from the Shadow Tower and one of the Watch's most respected rangers.
- Burn Gorman as Karl, a ranger.
- Natalia Tena as Osha, a wildling warrior-woman.
- Stephen Don as Stiv, a former member of the Watch who has turned his cloak.
- Robert Pugh as Craster, a wildling whose keep provides a safehaven for rangers of the Watch.
- Hannah Murray as Gilly, one of Craster's daughters.
- Rose Leslie as Ygritte, a wildling warrior-woman in the service of Mance Rayder.
- Edward Dogliani as Lord of Bones, a famed wildling warrior and leader of men, a fierce enemy of the Night's Watch.
- Mackenzie Crook as Orell, a sinister wildling with unnatural powers.
- Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane, a charismatic wildling leader.
- Ciarán Hinds as Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, the leader of all the wildlings by acclamation.
- Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr, the Magnar of Thenn.
In Pentos and Vaes Dothrak
- Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, an exiled Targaryen claimant to the Iron Throne.
- Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Viserys's younger sister.
- Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont, a knight of Westeros, exiled by Lord Eddard Stark.
- Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki.
- Roger Allam as Illyrio Mopatis, a magister of the Free City of Pentos.
- Dar Salim as Qotho, one of Drogo's bloodriders.
- Ivailo Dimitrov as Mago, a Dothraki warrior.
- Elyes Gabel as Rakharo, a Dothraki warrior in Daenerys's service as a bodyguard.
- Steven Cole as Kovarro, a Dothraki warrior.
- Amrita Acharia as Irri, a handmaiden gifted to Daenerys.
- Roxanne McKee as Doreah, a servant and adviser gifted to Daenerys.
- Sarita Piotrowski as Jhiqui, a handmaiden gifted to Daenerys.
- Rania Zouari as a Pentoshi servant in Illyrio's manse.
- Simon Lowe as a wineseller in Vaes Dothrak.
In Lhazar
- Mia Soteriou as Mirri Maz Duur, a healer of the Lhazareen people.
In Qarth
- Nonso Anozie as Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a merchant lord of Qarth.
- Ian Hanmore as Pyat Pree, a warlock of Qarth.
- Laura Pradelska as Quaithe, a priestess of the Shadow Lands resident in Qarth.
- Nicholas Blane as the Spice King, the leader of the spice merchants of Qarth.
In Astapor and Yunkai
- Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, a slave and translator working in the city of Astapor.
- Dan Hildebrand as Kraznys mo Nakloz, a slave-trader and immensely rich merchant in Astapor.
- Ramon Tikaram as Prendahl na Ghezn, a mercenary commander.
- Ed Skrein (Season 3)/Michiel Huisman (Season 4) as Daario Naharis, a charismatic mercenary.
- Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm, a warrior-eunuch of the Unsullied.
In Meereen
- Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq, a lord of Meereen.
- David Benioff - writer/executive producer.
- D.B. Weiss - writer/executive producer.
- George R.R. Martin - writer/executive producer.
- Guymon Cassidy - executive producer.
- Carolyn Strauss - executive producer.
- Ralph Vincinaza - executive producer.
- Vincent Gerardis - executive producer.
- Frank Doelger - producer.
- Mark Huffam - producer
- Thomas McCarthy - director (pilot).
- Sean Bobbitt - director of photography.
- Sean Guest - 1st assistant director.
- Tatiana S. Riegel - editor.
- Gemma Jackson - production designer.
- Michele Clapton - costume designer.
- Marisa Clayton - digital post-production.
- Julia Frey - production supervisor/location scout (pilot).
- Robert Stromberg - VFX supervisor (pilot).
- Ramin Djawadi - music (series).
- Buster Reeves - stunt work (pilot).
- Corvus Corax - music (Winterfell feast scene).
- Nina Gold - London casting director.
- Amy Berman & Carrie Frazier - Los Angeles casting directors.
- Michelle Taylor Spellman - Los Angeles casting associate.
- Kerry Barden & Paul Schnee - New York casting directors.
- Allison Estrin - New York casting associate.
- David Benioff & D.B. Weiss: episodes 1-3, 5, 7, 9-12, 15, 17-18, 20-21, 23-24, 26, 28-31, 33, 35, 37-40.
- Bryan Cogman: episodes 4, 13, 25, 34 and 36.
- Jane Espenson: episode 6.
- George R.R. Martin: episodes 8, 19, 27 and 32.
- Vanessa Taylor: episode 14, 16 and 22.
- Thomas McCarthy: pilot episode (unscreened).
- Tim Van Patten: episodes 1-2.
- Brian Kirk: episodes 3-5.
- Daniel Minahan: episodes 6-8, 21-22.
- Alan Taylor: episodes 9-12, 18 & 20.
- Alik Sakharov: episodes 13, 26, 36-37.
- David Petrarca: episodes 14-15.
- David Nutter: episodes 16-17, 29-30.
- Neil Marshall: episodes 19 & 39.
- David Benioff: episodes 23 & 31.
- Alex Graves: episodes 24-25, 32-33, 38 & 40.
- Michelle MacLaren: episodes 27-28, 34-35.
Filming locations
Northern Ireland
- The Paint Hall Studios in Belfast is being used for all primary interior sets.
- Location filming for the prologue and the discovery of the direwolf cubs took place at Tollymore Forest Park near Newcastle in County Down.
- Location filming for some exteriors near Winterfell, including the execution in Season 1 Episode 1 of Will, who fled the Night's Watch, took place at Cairncastle in County Antrim.
- Location filming for some courtyard scenes at Winterfell, including Tommen and Bran's practice bout, took place at Castle Ward in County Down.
- The Clanranald Trust's 'Combat International' team have confirmed they will be taking part in the production for some scenes that will be filmed at a castle in Scotland. Doune Castle, used for some scenes in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is being used for some scenes involving guardsmen displaying the livery of House Lannister, suggesting that it will be used to depict the courtyard of Winterfell. Filming of the pilot began at Doune Castle on 24 October.
Morocco (pilot only)
- Morocco was used for the filming of the scenes involving Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen in Pentos. Some of the castle sets constructed for the movie Kingdom of Heaven were also reused for the project.
- Atlas Studios and some other locations at Ouarzazate are the primary locations where filming took place in Morocco.
Filming dates
- The pilot was originally expected to be filmed between 12 October and 6 November 2009, but there was a two-week delay in pre-production. A read-through of the script was held on 12 October 2009. Production and on-location rehearsals began on 24 October. Filming commenced on 26 October and concluded on 19 November.
- Scenes at Doune Castle were filmed on 26–27 October 2009 and are believed to include the Winterfell feast to celebrate King Robert's visit. Some filming was also done in the courtyard.
- The prologue was filmed on 29 October 2009 at Tollymore Forest Park.
- Filming at Cairncastle took place on 2 November 2009, including the scene of Gared's execution and finding the dead direwolf in the snow.
- Filming of the scene between Ros, Tyrion and Jaime in King's Landing was filmed on or prior to 3 November 2009, possibly at the Paint Hall studios.
- Filming at Castle Ward took place on 5 November 2009, including the scenes of Tommen and Bran sparring and Sandor and Joffrey insulting Rodrik and Robb.
- The UK filming bloc was expected to last for 18 days, suggesting that it would finish around 12 November 2009. George R.R. Martin confirmed on his blog that after this date production would move to Morocco for the remainder of the shoot.
- Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding was filmed on 16 November 2009.
- Production of the rest of Season 1, including reshoots on the pilot, commenced on 23 July 2010 and ran through 18 December 2010. Filming took place in Northern Ireland and Malta.
- Production of Season 2 ran from 25 July 2011 to 12 December 2011. Filming took place in Northern Ireland, Iceland and Croatia (replacing Malta).
- Production of Season 3 ran from 10 July to 24 November 2012, with Morocco added to the filming roster. An additional scene was also shot in Los Angeles, meaning that filming for Season 3 took place in five countries and on three continents.
- Production of Season 4 ran from 8 July to 21 November 2013. Filming took place in Northern Ireland, Iceland and Croatia, with Morocco dropped. Filming in Iceland was expanded to encompass locations in the south of Westeros as well as beyond the Wall, and took place earlier in the schedule to allow for more filming time.
External links
- Winter is Coming - a blog dedicated to covering all developments on the production as they happen.
- Westeros.org - a subset of the Westeros.org website which covers developments on the series.
- Game of Thrones Tour Belfast - A tour of filming locations in Belfast Northern Ireland.
- Game of Thrones on Wikipedia
- Game of Thrones on A Wiki of Ice and Fire
- ↑ The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly, March 11th, 2014]
- ↑ Vanity Fair, April 2014
- ↑ Vanity Fair, April 2014.
- ↑ Vanity Fair, "George R.R. Martin Has a Detailed Plan For Keeping the Game of Thrones TV Show From Catching Up To Him.
- ↑ Multiple 'Game of Thrones' Movies Eyed by George R.R. Martin
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, George R.R. Martin interview, March 21st, 2014.


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White + Green
African heishi beads // 24 karat gold-dipped discs // gently stretch to fit over wrist
Each bracelet was handmade by a Congolese refugee who has been resettled in Richmond, Virginia after spending decades in refugee camps in Rwanda. Join us in welcoming them and supporting them on their journey to rebuild their lives here in the US.
Small 6.25 inches, Medium 6.75 inches, Large 7.25 inches.

subset: commoncrawl


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Congrats to Stephanie & Junior from Virginia, today's Zoosk couple of-the-day!
"My name is Stephanie. I met my husband Junior on Zoosk. Our first date was July 5, 2010. We have been together since we met. We were engaged after Christmas. Our wedding was September 17, 2011. We had both tried other dating sites and found your site to have a better quality of people to meet. I am so happy that I joined Zoosk. It has been a pleasure." —Stephanie & Junior from Richlands, Virginia
Have you met someone on Zoosk too? Submit your success story and photo to success [at] zoosk [dot] com and we'll share your news!
Zoosk dating | Zoosk on Facebook | Zoosk on Twitter | Zoosk on YouTube


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The Dixie Chicks aren't afraid of mixing art and politics.
The Texas-based trio kicked off their DCX MMXVI World Tour on on Wednesday in Cincinnati and they've got a new political foe: Donald Trump.
The Dixie Chicks performed their 1999 hit "Goodbye Earl" against a backdrop that showed Trump with devil horns and a comical mustache and goatee.
Natalie Maines is no stranger to political controversy. In 2003, she slammed George W. Bush for his plans to invade Iraq.
Maines also took aim at Trump back in January with with a seemingly playful tweet:
She expressed her grievances with his former Republican primary opponent, Ted Cruz, tweeting:
When Maines learned of Cruz's naturalized citizenship (he was actually born in Canada), she followed up:
Maines is well aware that her political commentary can have ramifications. Ten years after her infamous Bush comments in 2003, the singer told Rolling Stone, "I joke that I have PTSD, but there's probably truth in that joke."
But she doesn't regret speaking out in the first place.
U.S. & World
"It all put an ugly light on people that I was kind of happily naive to," she said. "But when I was going through it, I really didn't feel like it was affecting me. I was in fight mode and battle mode, and I felt, you know, I was right, and free to say what I want to say."
Dixie Chicks Cover Beyonc's Daddy Lessons During Manchester Concert


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This job posting is no longer active
Company Overview
Calling the adventurers ready to join a company that's pushing the limits of nanotechnology to keep the digital revolution rolling. At KLA, we're making technology advancements that are bigger—and tinier—than the world has ever seen.
Who are we? We research, develop, and manufacture the world's most advanced inspection and measurement equipment for the semiconductor and nanoelectronics industries. We enable the digital age by pushing the boundaries of technology, creating tools capable of finding defects smaller than a wavelength of visible light. We create smarter processes so that technology leaders can manufacture high-performance chips—the kind in that phone in your pocket, the tablet on your desk and nearly every electronic device you own—faster and better. We're passionate about creating solutions that drive progress and help people do what wouldn't be possible without us. The future is calling. Will you answer?
The Global Customer Organization (GCO) is our field based, customer facing organization consisting of Sales, Marketing, Applications, Finance, Human Resources, Facilities & IT. They partner closely with our customers to provide a comprehensive portfolio of products, services, software, and expertise, to help them manage yield throughout their fabrication process—from research and development to final volume production.
Responsibilities of this group include maintaining strategic client relationships, identifying and closing sales opportunities, ensuring our products meet performance capabilities & expectations, providing critical solutions for improved yield performance, and collecting requirements for future products by understanding customer processes and technology trends. This diverse and dynamic team partners with KLA's service organization and factory divisions to help ensure alignment between customer needs and corporate offering to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.
Replacement of Uchida-san who is moving to JSS.
Will take Accont Manager role for one of key customer in Japan SBU2.
Will work together to take over Uchida-san's current job.
Started learnings in June,20 and take ownership from July,20 under support from me (Arai)


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I'm not sure that an even ratio is exactly necessary. An even number, I can see as being potentially desirable.
if your ok with cross gender roleplay I can fit you in Paladin.
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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
Email: email@example.com
Erotica/Romance writer. Sipper of pumpkin coffee near a warm fire. I've been publishing online since 2011, and now have tons of titles available, ranging from straight up erotic romance to fantasy erotica. Please take a look at my catalog, especially the bundles, in order to get the best price available. I write in straight romance to fantasy with erotic elements. Looking forward to entertaining for years to come.


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Table of contents
Cabal Hall?
First came shock, then came anger, and now, questions...The UVA Board of Visitors' decision to sack beloved President Theresa Sullivan two years into a planned five-year term sent shockwaves through the university community and has many wondering if UVA's being run like the school Jefferson envisioned or if it could have more in common with Goldman Sachs.
Rural pleasures
Plenty of space, lots of natural light, and five acres sound nice, but will buyers of this Ivy home be up a creek? Nah, just right next to one.
Eyes on the sky
Big things are happening in Crozet, and for lovers of sunsets, wine and mountain views, the arrival of a skybar promises good times. Dish has the scoop.
Conservation conundrum
If you're feeling good that you swapped incandescent lightbulbs for fluorescents, or bought a hybrid car, you may not like Clive Thompson's message: the more we conserve, the more we use. So what is the answer to saving the planet?
On the cover: (a 40-page issue)
Darden School's Saunders Hall; UVA President Theresa Sullivan and Rector Helen Dragas. Photos by Hawes Spencer


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- Editor-in-Chief: Yi-Hau Chen, Stijn Vansteelandt, Michael J. Daniels, Marie Davidian (Executive Editor)
- Latest Issue: Volume 76 Issue 3 (September 2020)
- Copyright:
- Current Issue
- All Issues
- Early View articles
- View the journal on Wiley Online Library
- Subscribe to Journal
Published on behalf of the International Biometric Society, Biometrics emphasizes the role of statistics and mathematics in the biosciences. Its objectives are to promote and extend the use of statistical and mathematical methods in the principal disciplines of biosciences by reporting on the development and application of these methods. A centerpiece of most Biometrics articles is scientific application that sets scientific or policy objectives, motivates methods development, and demonstrates the operations of new methods.


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Blendover Episode Three
With Special Guest, Andrew Sorcini
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
What did you think of this episode? Have any questions? Suggestions?
LET US KNOW: Tweet Us | Give Us A Facialbook | Shoot Us Some Hate Mail
Or comment below!
- Unlocking Phones Now Illegal
- Aaron Swartz
- Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
- Superman Lives
BlendoveR is a fun, hard-hitting pod-cast where rules are regularly thrown out the window in favor of honest, open commentating with frank, and brutal, opinions. Presented by Greg Davies (cGt2099 from The-TrukstoP.com), and Terr Ciavarra (Media Nox from medianox.bandcamp.com), we try to make the focus of the show touch on world news, music, social events, movies, politics, books, and technology innovations, but, more often than not, we stray on to any topic that presents itself or wanders off onto its own tangent.
Unlocking Phones Now Illegal
Arbitrary rulings illustrate fundamental brokenness of the DMCA
FULL TEXT: Library of Congress 37 CFR Part 201 Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies
LinkedIn: Thomas K. Billington
The Most Ridiculous Law of 2013 (So Far): It Is Now a Crime to Unlock Your Smartphone
The same week the US makes unlocking phones illegal, Canada proposes legislation to make carriers unlock phones
Starting Jan. 26, Unlocking a Smartphone Will Be Illegal
Unlocking new cell phones to become illegal on Saturday
Unlocking Your Smartphone Is Now Illegal
Wikipedia: James H. Billington
Aaron Swartz
Concerns Raised About Aaron Swartz's Prosecution And The Wikileaks Connection
Prosecutor Dismisses Charges Against Aaron Swartz
Was Wikileaks the Root of Aaron Swartz's Problems?
Westboro Baptist Is Officially Terrified Of Anonymous
Wikileaks claims Aaron Swartz was an ally and possible source, implying this may have been cause of Secret Service targeting
WikiLeaks reveals association with Aaron Swartz
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Abrams is best bet to revive Star Wars franchise
Disney Confirms J.J. Abrams For 'Star Wars: Episode VII'; Read What Abrams, George Lucas & Kathleen Kennedy Had To Say
J.J. Abrams Still On Board To Produce Star Trek III
J.J. Abrams Takes The Directing Reins On Star Wars: Episode VII
J.J Abrams To Direct Star Wars Ep. VII
Star Wars is being kick-started with dynamite J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode VII
Superman Lives
The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?
You Can Help Fund The Death Of Superman Lives Documentary On Kickstarter
Music Featured:
- "First of May" by Jonathan Coulton – from the EP Smoking Monkey


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Friday, December 26, 2014
Lenny LeBlanc - I Dance (w/ Lyrics)
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wildmanne39/Wild Man
United States
Ubuntu Forums Profile
Ask Ubuntu Profile
Launchpad Profile
About Me
I am a husband, father and grandfather of four. I live in Texas in the United States. I love spending time with my family and enjoy going to Church where I was licensed as a minister, I did out reach programs like hospital Chaplain, nursing home and prison ministry before I moved out of State.
I first used a computer in 1987 when I was in college where I received a bachelor's degree in Sociology. My first computer was a Tandy, it did not even have a hard drive just a floppy drive, and it ran dos.
I am a veteran of the Armed Forces where I served mainly over seas, I supervised 15 people and was responsible for maintaining 135 pieces of equipment.
I first started trying to use linux around the year 2002, but I did not have much luck at first then I came across OpenSuSe and was able to install and use it. A few years later I found Ubuntu and I have never used any other distribution since, except for testing purposes in virtualbox.
The help I received in the Ubuntu Forums and the ease of use of Ubuntu is what kept me using Ubuntu all these years.
My wife and I own and run a small vending machine business.
Nomination for IRC Council
I would like to formally announce that I am running for IRC Council.
IRC Contributions
I have been on irc since March of 2012 and I have had OP's in #ubuntuforums since 2012-06-29.
In the past I've kept to only a few channels, three of which are private channels and have been very active in #ubuntuforums and #ubuntu-news. I will be joining more if I am elected to the IRC Council and I plan to help with wireless issues in the #ubuntu and #networking channels as time permits.
Ubuntu Contributions
I began using the Ubuntu Forums for help with issues like wireless and boot problems. I loved the community so much that when my schedule changed and allowed me the time to help others I started learning as much as I could so I would be able to help new people resolve issues so they will be able to keep using Ubuntu.
I have helped family and friends install and use Ubuntu on their computers for about 9 years now.
I started out contributing in New to Ubuntu and General Sections of the forum but I have found a home on 2011 with some great people in wireless and networking. That is where I do most of my contributing now, seven years later and I still help out there when time permits.
I also test the development version of Ubuntu and report bugs.
I created a wiki for setting up the cube and compiz in 2011.
On 2011-10-7 I became an Ubuntu Member through forum contributions and I would like to thank the many people that supported my application for membership.
On 2012-06-29 I became a staff member on the Ubuntu Forums; my duties include upholding the Forums Code of Conduct, removing spam, moving threads, watching for posts that need moderation, merging threads and sending pm's to forum members when necessary.
On 2016-11-16 I became a supermoderator while I continue with the same duties that I mentioned as a staff member. I have additional duties of helping other staff members with such things as giving advice, recommendations and guidance, answering their questions when I can. I am presently training to become an Admin on the Ubuntu Forums which duies include changing user names, disabling accounts and helping people get back into their original accounts that they have been locked out of.
I also have an account on Ask Ubuntu where I have almost 6300 reputation right now. I answer questions regarding wireless issues and help clean up and maintain the site by reviewing first answers and questions, voting to open and close questions and reporting duplicates and poor quality answers or questions.
In 2012 I wrote a wireless script for gathering information to help diagnose wireless issues. It is now hosted on the Ubuntu Forums Council github account and today it is used in many forums. It is also posted on Ask Ubuntu here and has helped thousands of people get their wireless issues fixed over the years. I still help test it and maintain it though I have a friend by the name of krytarik that is the person that writes all the code for the script these days.
Since March of 2017 I have taken over the Ubuntu Forums Facebook and Twitter Accounts, all Messages and tweets are managed by me.
On 2017-08-20 I was extended the honor of Ubuntu Membership Board Member where I will be working with a team to determine applicants qualifications for Ubuntu Membership.
I am currently helping publish the Ubuntu News Letter and co-admin of the mailing lists for the Ubuntu News Letter and the Ubuntu News Team.
Interests and Hobbies
Besides spending time with my family I enjoy working with computers and Ubuntu and when I have the time riding cycles.
To be a friendly and helpful member of the Ubuntu Forums, and render assistance where needed.
Also to convert as many people as I can to Ubuntu, provide help when needed to them and have as much fun as I can while doing it.
To work with the Ubuntu Community in a broader sense by helping on boards where needed and to get more into development testing.
As an Ubuntu Membership Board member I plan to bring up for discussion the decline in new Ubuntu Member Applicants and hopefully as a team we can find a solution that will lead to more people applying for Ubuntu Membership.
To be elected to the IRC Council where I can contribute to making the IRC Ubuntu Community an even better place than it already is by building good will through out the entire IRC Community. I will serve the entire community's needs equally.
If you would like to support me in my nomination to the IRC Council please leave your comments here, you have to login to edit the wiki to leave your comment, if you cannot edit it yourself send me a pm on the forum or find me on IRC in #ubuntuforums and I will add what you have written.
As a long time supporter of ubuntuforums I have long been aware of Wild Man. He has demonstrated extensive knowledge of the operating system and always forthright in sharing his abilities at all levels. I have observed that he is just in his directives, rendering opinions as required to resolve conflicts and adverse situations; with aplomb and consideration for the feelings of all parties.
In my opinion wildmanne39 will be and is a significant contribution to any endeavor and will be a welcome addition to the IRC Council; exercising his great people skills. -- Bashing-om
Wild Man (who goes by wildemanne39 in his nomination for IRC Council because of a frustrating problem with using his preferred user name as a Forum Super-Mod) has been a dedicated member of the Ubuntu Forums -- as a user and as a member of the Ubuntu Forums Staff -- and an advocate for Ubuntu for many years. He epitomizes the spirit of both Ubuntu the philosophy and Ubuntu the product. He understands the commitment, dedication and sustained contribution to Ubuntu and the community required of those who seek to become members of the IRC Council.
Wild Man takes on so many tasks, projects and responsibilities for the Ubuntu Forums that he is ideal for the IRC Council.
Wild Man is level-headed, rational and possesses good decision-making skills. Those qualities would serve the IRC Council very well. I highly recommend his selection and fully expect that he will be a valuable asset! -- QIII
Wild Man, aka wildemanne39, has my whole hearted support in his IRC Council application. I have worked with him on the Ubuntu Forums, both as a moderator and as Supermoderator for a few years now and his leadership skills, kindheartedness and overall dedication to the greater Ubuntu community have always been present. His knowledge and kindness are present in each of his posts and he is also very active in IRC channels offering help and building a bigger and stronger community. -- slickymaster
Wild Man, a.k.a. wildmanne39, has a soundly-deserved reputation as a helper with wireless and other technical issues on the Ubuntu Forums, being willing to persist where others might give up. As a fellow forum moderator, I have found him helpful and supportive on those occasions when it's not immediately clear which is the best way to proceed with an issue. Not only that, but Wild Man has shown that he himself is more than willing to listen to others' opinions before proceeding.
Wild Man (wildmanne39) has my unqualified support for his nomination to the IRC Council. -- irihapeti
Wild Man is a great guy who do a great job as Ubuntu Forum staff. It's good to have one on the IRC Council that have humour, self control and discipline. -- artificial-intelligence
Wildmanne39 has a good overall grasp of the Ubuntu community's various activities and this qualifies him to make informed decisions regarding IRC Council decisions. -- Frogs Hair
wildmanne39 or Wild Man or, as I prefer to call him, Larry, has been, for many years, a recognized expert in networking and wireless and several other subjects at Ubuntu Forums and also Ask Ubuntu.
Far more than simply knowing the steps to help users solve problems, he is consistent. If he answers a post, he is diligent about replying to further steps promptly. He is sensitive and patient with users who may not be proficient English speakers.
He is quite remarkable in his ability to see the probable real problem that underlies the sometimes baffling original post. In my opinion, these qualities uniquely qualify Larry for the IRC Council. I urge his early confirmation. -- chili555
Since I have joined Ubuntu Forums until this very moment, I've met (in the virtual digital world) many people but there are few special and unique people I can't forget and perhaps I'm still around because of them. One of the nicest persons is wildmanne39 and I highly recommend to recognize and depend on people like him to make Ubuntu Community better. We need to understand Ubuntu is powerful not because of the system itself but because of the community around it. Build better community and improve it, our system will get better. It's not the other way, trust me. Thank you wildmanne39 for everything you've done and still doing. -- amjjawad
An outstanding record of helping the ubuntu community, the perfect match for IRC Council. -- lotuspsychje
Wildmenne39 is extremely qualified and I highly recommend him for IRC Council. -- oldfred
wildmanne39 (last edited 2019-12-09 23:12:52 by wildmanne39)


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September 14, 2020


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Who wants to win a Sex on the Beach scented Scandle candle? It's the the perfect summer scent, and in case you missed my Scandle review, this baby is not only a candle but it also doubles up as an essential oil massage lotion (when melted)!
All you have to do to enter to win is comment below with your favorite way to pamper yourself. One winner will be randomly selected and announced on June 6th. Good Luck!
Want to enter this contest more than once? If you join VBR's Facebook fan page, follow VBR on Twitter or re-tweet this giveaway, you get to enter twice!
Good Luck!
Update: Winner of the Scandle is Kelly! Congrats!
(winner was selected using random.org)
About Sunny (Sunny's Profile)Longtime vegan, hardcore compassionate beauty junkie, serious cake aficionado, and lover of all things floofy and sparkly! If there's something in particular you'd like me to review, drop me a line at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Google +.
Filed in: giveaway • vegan household goods
Comments (27)
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Pedidures and a (vegan) cheesecake 🙂
CalGel Nails and a hot bubble bath.
Another way to indulge for me is a bubble bath with LUSH bath bombs and lighting up a Soy Candle by Phebes. 🙂
I'm a massage therapist in training so I love to go and get massaged as a way to pamper myself.
These things look neat! I pamper myself by taking a warm bath with a LUSH bath bomb
I follow you on Twitter (@noteasy2begreen)!
My idea of pampering is to go on a long, solitary walk in the wood, come back for a sunny afternoon shower, and then dry off in the sun with a good book and a purring kitty. (Doesn't happen too often!)
I also am lucky enough to have a best friend who is a massage therapist, so it's nice every once and awhile I'll step out on a limb & ask her to give me a massage. (And of course, she so kindly obliges. :))
I like to take a nice, long bubble bath and then lay out on the beach for a couple of hours with some good music and a book.
I like to take a bubble bath and read while I'm in the tub. That only happens a few times a year, but it's great when it does!
I have 3 year old & a 17 week old. I never get time for myself.
I never get chances to pamper myself. The closest I get is about a 30min. shower on the weekends. Otherwise it is about a 10min. shower. I really need to start pampering myself though.
My favorite — quick & easy — way to pamper myself is with a nice hot bath using globs of Dr. Bronner's Lavender soap. Just thinking about that wonderful smell can almost relax me. A manipedi done by someone other than myself is also a wonderful way to get pampered imho 🙂
I like to make myself miso soup!
I like to rest, meditate while I'm listening to Tibetan music!
When its cold I LOVE to take naps with my 3 fur kids. They are instant heaters and so cuddly!
Whoa! This looks totally radical. Hook a sister up! Hehe
i love just to spend time relaxing lying in bed while hearing peaceful music.
I don't know if this qualifies as pampering, but I like to massage the bottoms of my feet with tennis balls. It is the closest thing to a foot massage I've felt. You just roll the ball around under your whole foot, putting as much or as little pressure as you like. Be careful not to fall though, if you try it. 🙂
Oh, I follow you on Twitter. 🙂
Getting my hair cut.
I like to take a blanket, picnic lunch, & good book to the park. Reading out in the sun and fresh air is just heavenly!
i rock the bi-weekly spa pedicure!
Following you on FB and Twitter. 🙂
I like to get my nails done every now and then. 🙂
I like to get massages once a month!


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Rossburg, Ohio........The Sprint Car portion of the Eldora Speedway "4-Crown Nationals" has always been known for unpredictably and Saturday night was just the latest chapter, as Chris Windom avoided disaster and capitalized on the opportunity to win for the first time at the vaunted high-banked oval. The Canton, Illinois 22-year old only led one lap, but it was good enough for the win.
After Dave Darland, who was second in points coming in, had issues forcing him to use a back-up car and start from the tail, series point-leader Bryan Clauson began from the pole as front-row mate Daron Clayton jumped to the early lead. He led comfortably over the first half of the race as Clauson lost a couple spots after contact with the wall, and Jac Haudenschild did the same while running third.
A restart on lap 15 saw Clayton leading Chase Stockon, Brady Bacon, Clauson and Tracy Hines, but as Clauson looked under Bacon for third on the restart, Bacon banged the cushion and swapped ends, flipping through turn-two. He walked away. Under red, the race took a few more turns as Robert Ballou, who was slated to restart seventh, pitted with a flat right-rear tire. Just a moment later, second-running Chase Stockon came to the pits and retired with engine issues.
A ten-lap run saw the leaders enter traffic, with Hines ascending to track down Clayton for the lead. The duo saw the five-to-go signal just as Clayton slid under a slower car entering turn-one. He banged the cushion much the way Bacon did, sending him into a flip in turn-two, as well. He emerged unscathed, but his misfortune handed the lead to ProSource "Fast Qualifier" Hines.
On the restart, Hines led a charging Windom, who appeared faster and readied for a slide-job. He never got close enough, as Hines took the white flag comfortably in command until he too encountered problems, this time getting into the turn-four wall and flipping with the checkered flag in sight. Hines was unhurt but narrowly missed his third win of the year and 46th of his career, which would have tied him with Jack Hewitt and Darland for second all-time.
Windom survived the final lap with a good restart and no mistakes to take his first win of the year in the Jeff Walker Racing-owned, Jeff's Jam-It-In Storage - Hoosier Tire #11 Maxim/Claxton.
"I don't even know what to say. It was a crazy night. Really, the last two years have been pretty up-and-down for me, but I think (car owner) Jeff (Walker) and me have settled back into something nice here. He's given me a great car, and we just haven't been able to finish it off until tonight. I just was trying to be conservative with all the crashes those guys had ahead of us. I thought I could get a little bit closer to Tracy before I slid him, and he actually ended up getting away from me a little, so I was far enough back on the last lap to miss him when he crashed. It's just great to finally get a win at Eldora," Windom said.
Haudenschild wound up second in the Simon Racing - USI #22 Maxim/Claxton, while Darland completed an amazing drive to rebound from starting 24th with a podium finish, easily winning the "Larry Rice High Performance Award" in the Phillips Motorsports - Racer's Advantage #71P DRC/Foxco.
Clauson, aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing - Chevy Performance #20 Beast/Kistler, held on to fourth and his point lead, which is two points heading into next Saturday's "City of Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals" at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway. Ballou also put on a show, using the final 16 laps to move from 21st to fifth in the Rossie Feed & Grain - Butlerbuilt #12 Maxim/Ott.
AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: September 21, 2013 – Rossburg, Ohio – Eldora Speedway – 32nd "4-Crown Nationals"
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Tracy Hines, 4, Hines-15.088; 2. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-15.341; 3. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-15.414; 4. Dave Darland, 71p, Phillips-15.431; 5. Jac Haudenschild, 22s, Simon-15.489; 6. Daron Clayton, 35, Byram-15.528; 7. Justin Grant, 27a, Elson-15.583; 8. Bryan Clauson, 20, Stewart/Curb-Agajanian-15.608; 9. Jerry Coons Jr., 10E. Edison-15.617; 10. Chris Windom, 11, Walker-15.619; 11. Jon Stanbrough, 66, Tate/Wade-15.656; 12. Robert Ballou, 12x, Ballou-15.669; 13. Matt Westfall, 54, Best Performance-15.732; 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. 17RW, Dutcher/RW/Tri-Star-15.736; 15. Kyle Cummins, 21x, Pollock-15.739; 16. Dallas Hewitt, 2m, Marshall-15.777; 17. Scotty Weir, 18, Keen-15.779; 18. Wes McIntyre, 83, McIntyre-15.816; 19. Gary Taylor, 40, Hery-15.841; 20. Bill Rose, 6, Rose-15.908; 21. Mike Brecht, 9x, SC-15.929; 22. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.021; 23. Jarett Andretti, 18a, Andretti-16.112; 24. Logan Jarrett, 29, Jarrett-16.202; 25. Luke Hall, 9N, Nelson-16.247; 26. Tyler Courtney, 23c, Courtney-16.279; 27. Tim Hunter, 5m, Walters-16.281; 28. Nick Drake, 55, Cline-16.329; 29. Mike Miller, 82, Miller-16.366; 30. Aaron Farney, 15F, Farney-16.386; 31. Adam Cruea, 83x, Cruea-16.520; 32. Brandon Whited, 15, French-16.548; 33. Derek Hastings, 32m, Marshall-16.957; 34. Mike Galajda, 2x, Galajda-17.214; 35. Toby Alfrey, 5a, Alfrey-17.577; 36. Mitch Wissmiller, 1w, Wissmiller-NT.
FIRST HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Hines, 2. Brecht, 3. Westfall, 4. Haudenschild, 5. Hastings, 6. Weir, 7. Miller, 8. Coons, 9. Hall. 2:11.83
SECOND HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Clayton, 2. Windom ,3. Bacon, 4. Thomas, 5. McIntyre, 6. Farney, 7. Courtney, 8. Galajda, 9. Leary. NT
THIRD HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Taylor, 2. Stockon, 3. Stanbrough, 4. Cummins, 5. Andretti, 6. Cruea, 7. Hunter, 8. Alfrey, 9. Grant. 2:14.41
FOURTH HEAT : (8 laps) 1. Ballou, 2. Rose, 3. Clauson, 4. Drake, 5. Hewitt, 6. Jarrett, 7. Whited, 8. Darland. NT
SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Hewitt, 2. Darland, 3. Hall, 4. Grant, 5. Andretti, 6. McIntyre, 7. Leary, 8. Miller, 9. Cruea, 10. Whited, 11. Farney, 12. Hunter, 13. Courtney, 14. Jarrett, 15. Alfrey, 16. Galajda, 17. Hastings, 18. Coons. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. Dave Darland, 4. Bryan Clauson, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Jon Stanbrough, 7. Gary Taylor, 8. Justin Grant, 9. Kevin Thomas Jr., 10. Jarett Andretti, 11. Mike Brecht, 12. Wes McIntyre, 13. Kyle Cummins, 14. Bill Rose, 15. Matt Westfall, 16. Luke Hall, 17. C.J. Leary, 18. Nick Drake, 19. Tyler Courtney, 20. Tracy Hines, 21. Daron Clayton, 22. Mike Miller, 23. Chase Stockon, 24. Brady Bacon, 25. Dallas Hewitt,
**Bacon flipped on lap 15 of the feature. Clayton flipped on lap 25 of the feature. Hines flipped on the 30th lap of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-24 Clayton, Laps 25-29 Hines, Lap 30 Windom.
NEW AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT POINTS: 1-Clauson-1,634, 2-Darland-1,632, 3-Bacon-1,543, 4-Thomas-1,435, 5-Stockon-1,416, 6-Hines-1,318, 7-Ballou-1,287, 8-Windom-1,045, 9-Hunter Schuerenberg-1,000, 10-Shane Cottle-952.
NEXT AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT RACE: September 28 – Lawrenceburg (IN) Speedway


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I'm trying to find a way to selectively disable qTranslate - I would like to be able to show certain static content on my site in 4 languages, but to then only have a single language (and a simplified editor) for posts and also custom post types.
I would also need to disable the output on selective pages in the front-end, so that I can show all the language content on the same page, at the same time.
Is there a way to have the plugin load on demand?


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President Obama renewed his plea for gun control Monday on the heels of a "60 Minutes" interview featuring the families of Newtown. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
With the families of children killed in last year's Newtown school shooting looking on, President Barack Obama on Monday made an emotional plea for Americans to urge Congress to pass new gun control measures.
"We all have to stand up," Obama said in a speech in Hartford, Conn., where he flew to try and maintain faltering momentum for a package of new gun laws the Senate could take up this week. "If you want the people you send to Washington to have just an iota of courage that the educators at Sandy Hook showed when danger arrived on their doorstep, then we'll all have to stand up."
As Obama was speaking -- and the crowd was chanting, "we want a vote" -- the Senate's top Republican announced he would join a GOP filibuster of gun control legislation and oppose allowing a Democratic gun control bill to come to the Senate floor for debate
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell did leave the door open to allowing a gun control compromise bill to come to the floor, but his office said in a statement that he will oppose the version of the legislation that Reid outlined before the Senate's just-concluded two week recess.
Eleven parents and spouses of Newtown victims were set to board Air Force One to fly to Washington after the speech, where they'll spend three days lobbying Congress to pass the new gun safety laws.
The Senate is poised to start debating and voting on gun laws as early as this week.
But after weeks of negotiations, the gun bill is a much less ambitious proposal than what Obama and Vice President Joe Biden first pushed for in the days after Newtown, where 20 schoolchildren and 6 adults were killed.
Legislation proposed in the wake of the shooting included a renewal of a lapsed assault weapons ban and measures to limit high capacity magazines. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has pledged that the upper chamber will vote on those measures, but both are likely doomed to fail.
Now, lawmakers are fighting over expanding background checks to cover most gun sales. Under current law, Americans can buy firearms at a gun show or online without getting a background check.
"We have to tell Congress its time to require a background check for anyone who wants to buy a gun so people who are dangerous to themselves and others cannot get their hands on a gun," Obama said Monday.
Senators are still negotiating a compromise proposal on background checks, and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is in talks with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia to try and find a bipartisan agreement.
But with the upper chamber set to begin debating gun control soon, they're running out of time.
This story was originally published on Mon Apr 8, 2013 5:57 PM EDT


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The latest installment of the "Iron City Rocks" podcast (web site) features an interview with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). The podcast is now available for streaming using the audio player below.
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's long-talked-about "Unblackened" DVD, which was previously scheduled to be filmed in late August at The Mayan in Los Angeles, California, and was then pushed back to January, will now be shot on Wednesday, March 6 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles at 8:00 p.m. The set is expected to contain intimate versions of some of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's most popular songs, as well as songs from mainman Zakk Wylde's solo album "Book Of Shadows" and his Southern rock band PRIDE & GLORY. The show will feature Wylde on guitar and piano, alongside the members of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, as well as a four-piece string section, pedal steel, and special guests.The concert will be broadcast live exclusively on AXS TV. A CD/DVD will be released later this year.
"This is something we haven't done yet, and we wanted to give our fans something new," said Wylde. "You can take a song that you've played thousands of times and rearrange it, and all of a sudden it's something totally fresh. The attitude of the songs doesn't change when we play them acoustically — the tunes are gritty regardless."
"We're gonna do the whole thing with a four-piece string section, a pedal steel guy, and I'm gonna have some of my musician buddies sit in on some of the songs and stuff like that," Wylde said a few months ago. "We're gonna have two solid weeks of rehearsal and then we're gonna knock this thing out. [It will be an] acoustic/electric type of thing. Kinda like how the Christmas record is or like how we did 'The Song Remains Not The Same' where you've got an acoustic and then you can put a rippin' solo something. So I'll still have the Marshalls going with the acoustic stuff. It'd be almost kinda like if PINK FLOYD was doing an unplugged thing and they did 'Comfortably Numb' but Dave [Gilmour] will be sitting down but he'll still rip that solo out. It'll still be electric and then we'll have the string section behind it and the whole band and it'll be killer."
Interview (audio):


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Why do some people seem to have a natural gift for public speaking and others seem nervous or unorganized? How does one become a great speaker in the beauty industry? According to Bonnie Bonadeo and Alejandra Crisafulli, founders of Naked Audience Productions, the key component is authenticity.
In their three-day Stages workshop seminar, attendees delve deep into what captivates an audience—whether you're engaging them in a classroom as an educator, on a stage as a platform artist, or in an auditorium as an industry leader, authentic communication is key.
"Although there is preparation involved in presenting your talent—training stylists, selling products, marketing a brand, or inspirational speaking—mastering the art of authentic communication means honing in on the real story of you," says Bonadeo, "and why you chose to teach and challenge people to learn the skills you have—this is how you connect with an audience."
The workshop begins with a discussion of what makes you a brand—not just the company you work for, but your personal skill set and story, and how to incorporate those skills into an engaging presentation—regardless if you're selling a product or coaching a classroom on a technique for the salon (content speaker), or selling yourself and your story (inspirational speaker).
"Think of speakers who have inspired you," Bonadeo says. "It was never about the products they were talking about or what they were wearing. It was their ability to lead you to a place you didn't know you wanted to go but were completely inspired to be there. Some students think Stages is going to teach the skills to prepare and present a presentation.
But what ends up happening is we teach them a little bit about themselves."
Students dissect their own stories—confronting "ugly truths" that may inhibit them when they get on a stage—a key component of connecting with an audience.
This is where Crisafulli comes in. She is a life and business coach who works with students on discovering their own truths and fears, and replacing them with a sense of awareness and ownership.
"In the beauty industry, where we give so much of ourselves for our clients at the salon or the stylists in our training session, it can be easy to forget what really makes up who we are—the human side of a presentation," Crisafulli says. "Connecting with our own emotions can take us to a whole new level of tapping into our passion to engage our audience."
Connection Through Emotional Intellegence
Day two begins with what it takes to be a good leader. What are the characteristics of those who inspire us to be better? There are three "domains" those traits fall into: intelligence, technical skills or emotional intelligence. A group exercise demonstrates that nearly all of the powerful characteristics fall under emotional intelligence: honest, team player, compassionate, connects well with others, motivating.
What does this mean? Powerful leaders are in touch with their emotions. They effectively deal with, rather than store away, the triggers that have the ability to "hijack" and trigger memotional responses when we're at our most vulnerable—on a stage.
"We are emotional beings, we were built to feel, yet we tend to store those emotions away," Crisafulli says. "When we feel confronted or we believe we are being made wrong, it triggers an emotion and sometimes we start reacting when we're in this 'hijacked' state." Strong leaders and presenters know how to recover from a "hijack" to become "emotionally intelligent."
Authentic Selling
Crisafulli and Bonadeo delve into the five components of what makes a good presentation. It begins with a solid opening—your name, role, story and intention; relevancy—how your audience can connect with you; body—where the information is delivered; call to action—the pitch; and the close, tie up loose ends. Where does your personal story tie into it? Where does your personal brand shine? Everywhere.
The day's session ends by discussing the sales pitch—how to avoid sounding like a sales person, and instead creating your personal call to action; be it, "invest in these products," "try my way of blow drying," or "refer your friends," and how to work your pitch into your presentation in a way that won't make your audience shut down.
The homework for the evening is to watch Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's Stroke of Insight presentation from the TED conference series. TED brings together fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. Stages students are challenged to create their own 10-minute TED presentation, to share with the class—tying in everything learned throughout the workshop.
On day three, when students share their TED presentation, the educators and class evaluates the presentations based on the five components and, of course, authenticity.
Following the workshop, each student is sent a video recording of their final presentations, and given a one hour coaching session phone call with Bonadeo and Crisafulli.
"Though educators and platform artists share the biggest and broadest message in the beauty industry," Bonadeo says, "the truth is, if you're a salon owner or stylist you're still interacting with an audience every day. In that small space—the client is your audience and your station is your stage. Being an effective communicator, discovering yourself, your brand and your message is critical."
Alison's Overview
"The Stages workshop opened my eyes to becoming a more powerful presenter—whether you're trying to show someone a color or cutting technique, or explaining how social media can boost your business, it's all about connecting with your audience on an authentic level. Students leave the workshop feeling exhausted, yet empowered. For some, they uncover fears that have inhibited them while on a stage. For others, who may have thought they were powerful public speakers to begin with, it was about saying goodbye to the 'act' or 'performer' and learning to be more authentic."
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These two buildings on a busy street corner in a town outside Worcester look sturdy enough in this 1969 photo, but they were about to fall victim to the voracious appetite for driving that marked the years after World War II: They were being turned into a parking lot.
Many who value the architecture of these downtown buildings would consider it a shame. Though the street fa�ades of the first two buildings are unremarkable, look at the top of these buildings, and at the imposing columns of the building far left of the photo. The neoclassical decoration was typical of an era many years before folks began to consider tearing them down.
New buildings in 1969 would have a far different look, but no such building would grace this corner. Instead, the disappearance of these two buildings would serve to show off their columned sister to greater advantage, though she did not escape some modern — and less architecturally significant — additions.
Though the tearing down of these two buildings to make parking spaces might have caused a sigh or two, signs of downtown prosperity could be considered a positive for this manufacturing town that, like many, had endured a familiar fate, that of watching its major industries move south, taking jobs and revenue with them.
Hint: This town might justifiably take as its motto the welcoming invitation, "Take a seat."
— Melissa McKeon
Check out tomorrow's Telegram & Gazette for the answer.


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Serving refined contemporary creole cuisine since 2003
Soups and Salads
Contact & Info
About us
Welcome to Restaurant Cypress. We are a family owned and operated business that offers a modernized version of Louisiana's famous creole cuisine, in a carefully crafted setting that is conducive to a casual yet elegant dining experience. Our establishment is
open for dinner only
and feel free to
call us for reservations
Our succulent desserts will be verbalized to you at the table, and please do not hesitate to ask for our wine list and nightly specials. We offer gift certificates and accommodations for private parties as well. Please
contact us
for more details.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Saturday, 5pm till.


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Here is another WNTW video. In this video you will see the swatches of the Inglot eyeshadows I showed you in my Black Friday haul video. I will also show two new hair products that I purchased from Naturalista Cosmetics and my new Butter London polishes. The video starts off with my new darling shoes from Dsw.
Thanks for watching and for your support of my blog and youtube channel throughout 2011.
I hope to get my 2011 "It List" completed by the end of the day.....maybe :-)