#richard mentor johnson

[generic-lab-assistant]

Historical figures stuff from requests (thank u all for your service :3)

[pranklinfierce]

I redownloaded Akinator and am quickly coming to the conclusion that people suck (not enough people tried to get WRK and Jane Pierce for the genie to guess them and I had to be the first person to submit Giuseppe Fiorelli)

[ukrfeminism]

A UK academic who has completed a project creating a Wikipedia page for a woman in every country in the world is calling for more women to contribute to the world’s largest encyclopedia.

Lucy Moore, an archaeologist and curator who also works as an unpaid carer, began the mammoth project in 2021 from her sofa in Leeds, completing it last week – “unsurprisingly, perhaps, I got really stuck on Vatican City”.

She has now written biographies of 532 women since 2019, when she first became a Wikipedia editor, including scientists, monarchs, activists, writers and women whose faces are well known but their stories are not, such as Sharbat Gula, the refugee with striking green eyes pictured in the famous Afghan Girl portrait from 1984.

Less than 20% of the biographies on English language Wikipedia are about women, although this is an improvement on 16% in 2014, when “a range of different editors started to get together and say, ‘Actually, we really need to change this’,” said Moore.

She began by making a table of UN member states and partially recognised UN states, such as Kosovo and Taiwan, and worked through the list based on who caught her eye.

She has now also written dozens of entries for women in autonomous regions such as Hong Kong, Zanzibar and Tibet, and those in overseas territories.

There were many women she had expected to find already had pages, such as Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson.

“She’s really interesting and I was really surprised no one had written about her before,” she said.

She tended to focus on women who share her interests, she said, such as poets, activists and coin specialists, known as numismatists, which is her own field.

“I find it really calming,” she said. “I can go and bury myself in something that is totally, totally different from my day to day.”

But it has not been easy. She said one of the issues was that Wikipedia required three reliable sources for each biography and, while there may have been a lot written on social media about some of the women, they may not have appeared in newspapers, especially in countries where women’s achievements are not taken seriously.

The reaction to her project has been positive, she said. “No one’s said anything nasty on Twitter, though I expect that will come.”

Moore points to the work of her fellow editor Jess Wade, who wrote a number of Wikipedia pages about female scientists, “and then another editor came along and nominated them all for deletion. It was really nasty.”

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She said there was some general criticism on social media that Wikipedia editors were “making (the gender balance) more of an issue than it actually is”.

“And I find that attitude really annoying, to be honest, because it’s men who say that primarily.”

She pointed to research from 2022 that found there were more Wikipedia entries about football and footballers than there were about women.

However, Moore added: “Some of the most prolific people who work to redress the gender balance on Wikipedia are men and I’m not sure they would all describe it as being a feminist, but that’s what they’re doing.”

Run as a non-profit, open-source encyclopedia that is free to use, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone but only a fifth of its 124,000 regularly active editors are women.

“We do need to get more women to edit, but it’s not just as simple as saying, ‘Hey, women, come and edit’, because we have so much more pressure on our time. There’s all these different studies that show that women have less time to devote to things of interest. And that’s before you even get on to being able to access sources, being able to access particular academic journal articles, which are paywalled.”

Class was also a factor in who contributes and appears on Wikipedia, as was access to education, especially in countries where women are not routinely educated.

“It just gets more and more systemic, the more you look at it,” she said.

Some of the women recognised by Moore

Julia Chinn (c. 1790 – July 1833) was an American plantation manager and enslaved woman of mixed race, who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson. She had two children with the plantation owner and congressman Johnson, who inherited her when his father died, though she would fulfil what at the time was considered the role of the wife of a politician. She was never freed.

Sharbat Gula (born c. 1972) is an Afghan woman who became internationally recognised as the 12-year-old subject in Afghan Girl, a 1984 portrait taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry that was later published on the cover of National Geographic. The portrait was shot at Nasir Bagh, Pakistan, where Gula was living as a refugee after fleeing the Soviet–Afghan war. Having raised a family in Pakistan for 35 years, Gula was deported to Afghanistan in 2017, later being granted asylum in Italy.

Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima (born 12 July 1963, in Bujumbura) is a human rights activist from Burundi. She is the chair and founder of the National Association for Support for HIV-Positive People with Aids (ANSS) and was the first person from the country to publicly admit they had HIV. Gapiya-Niyonzima won the World Food Program prize in 2003, in 2011 addressed the United Nations committee for HIV/Aids in New York and was selected as the Burundian Woman of Courage of the Year in 2012.

Ólafía Einarsdóttir (28 July 1924 – 19 December 2017) was an Icelandic archaeologist and historian, becoming the first Icelander to complete a degree in archaeology. She taught at the University of Copenhagen and published many works about Icelandic sagas and Viking history. Ólafía was awarded an honorary doctorate by the faculty of history and philosophy at the University of Iceland in 2009. The journal Ólafía, published by the Icelandic Association of Archaeologists since 2013, is named after her.

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

BUD POWELL, LA DESCENTE AUX ENFERS D’UN GÉNIE DU JAZZ ‘’I think he was a genius. When I was coming up, our prophet was Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker was the guy. But Bud Powell, his improvisations were definitely on a par with Charlie Parker. If you’re thinking of the bebop style, Bud Powell was supreme. In fact, some people put him above Charlie Parker.”

- Sonny Rollins

Né le 27 septembre 1924 à Harlem, Earl Rudolph ‘’Bud’’ Powell était le fils de William Powell Sr., un pianiste de stride, trompettiste et joueur de trombone, et de Pearl Young, une violoniste. Powell avait deux frères, William (né le 15 mars 1923) et Richard Bertram (né le 5 septembre 1931).

Powell était issu d’une famille musicale. e frère aîné de Powell, William, jouait de la trompette et du violon. Le plus jeune frère de Powell, Richie, était aussi un pianiste de bop réputé.

Powell, qui avait seulement cinq ans au moment de la mort de son père, avait été élevé par sa mère avec ses frères.

À l’âge de cinq ans, Bud avait commencé à apprendre le piano d’un professeur indien appelé Rawlins. Deux ans plus tard, il avait été initié à la musique classique en jouant à l’église et dans les chorales de son école.

Bud avait fait sa première apparition publique dans un party où il avait imité le pianiste Fats Waller. La première pièce de jazz que Powell avait interprétée était ‘’Carolina Stout’’ de James P. Johnson.

Au printemps 1940, à l’âge de quinze ans, Powell s’était joint au groupe de son frère, les Skeets Powell and Hill Jolly Swingers. C’est probablement à cette époque que Powell s’était lié d’amitié avec un autre pianiste, Allen Tinney. Entre 1940 et 1942, avec Tinney et un autre pianiste, Gerald Wiggins, Powell avait commencé à fréquenter les clubs de Harlem, où il avait lancé des défis à d’autres pianistes.

D’abord influencé par la musique classique, Powell avait commencé à étudier le jazz à l’âge de douze ans. Ses premières influences en jazz avaient été les pianistes Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk et Art Tatum.

Après avoir entendu Art Tatum à la radio, Powell avait tenté d’imiter sa technique.

Après avoir étudié à la Wendell Phillips Academy, où il avait pris des leçons avec le docteur John DeMarco, Powell avait fréquenté le Conservatoire de Musique de Chicago. En 1935, alors qu’il avait treize ans, la mère de Bud lui avait offert un piano. À l’époque, Bud étudiait la musique classique au New York Conservatory of Music.

En 1938, à l’âge de seulement quinze ans, Powell était entré à la Juilliard School of Music, où il avait étudié la composition, l’harmonie, le contrepoint et l’orchestration sous la direction de Lennie Tristano.

Après avoir décroché son diplôme, Powell avait continué d’étudier avec Tristano durant sept ans. CARRIÈRE PROFESSIONNELLE Dans sa jeunesse, Powell avait assisté à des concerts à l’Uptown House, un club situé près de chez de lui, où il allait souvent voir jouer Charlie Parker et Thelonious Monk.

Powell avait amorcé sa carrière professionnelle comme membre de l’orchestre d’Artie Shaw en 1940. C’est là qu’il avait rencontré Charlie Parker qui était rapidement devenu son mentor et l’avait invité à venir jouer avec son groupe. Powell était demeuré trois ans avec Parker avant de se joindre aux Jazz Messengers d’Art Blakey en 1941. Lorsque Monk avait rencontré Powell pour la première fois à l’automne 1942, il avait été tellement impressionné par le jeune pianiste qu’il avait décidé de le présenter à ses musiciens du Minton’s Playhouse. Monk, qui avait vite pris Powell sous son aile, avait d’ailleurs composé une pièce en son honneur intitulée ‘’In Walked Bud.’’ Mais si Monk avait tendance à se servir du piano comme instrument de percussion, Powell se servait plutôt du piano comme un instrument à vent et tentait d’imiter les saxophonistes et les trompettistes qu’il admirait. Son style était une combinaison de musique classique et d’improvisation.

Au printemps 1943, le contrebassiste Jimmy Butts avait proposé la candidature de Powell pour jouer dans le Sunset Royals Orchestra, un groupe de danse dirigé par Doc Wheeler. Powell s’était rapidement lié d’amitié avec un des trompettistes de l’orchestre, George Treadwell.

Entre l’été et l’automne de 1943, Treadwell, qui était conscient que le talent de Powell était sous-exploité, avait décidé de quitter les Sunset Royals pour former son propre groupe avec Powell. Le trompettiste Cootie Williams, qui dirigeait son propre orchestre de danse, avait vu le groupe de Treadwell à l’oeuvre, et avait décidé par la suite d’engager plusieurs de ses musiciens, dont Powell.

À la fin de l’année 1943, on avait proposé à Powell de jouer avec le quintet d’Oscar Pettiford et de Dizzy Gillespie, mais, comme le groupe se produisait dans un club de nuit, la mère de Bud avait décidé qu’il était préférable que son fils continue d’occuper un emploi plus stable dans l’orchestre de Williams.

La décision de la mère de Powell était tout à fait pertinente car l’année suivante, Powell avait participé à quelques sessions d’enregistrement avec Williams. L’une d’entre elles comprenait le premier enregistrement de l’histoire de la pièce ‘’Round Midnight’’ de Monk. Le contrat de Powell avec Williams avait pris fin à Philadelphie en janvier 1945. Après le concert, Powell se trouvait près de Broad Street Station lorsqu’il avait été arrêté dans un état d’intoxication avancé par la police du chemin de fer. Un des policiers l’avait d’ailleurs frappé durement à la tête après qu’il ait résisté à son arrestation. Remis aux constables de la ville, Powell avait été brièvement incarcéré.

Dix jours après sa libération, comme ses maux de tête ne démontraient aucun signe de ralentissement, Powell avait été admis à l’Hôpital Bellevue, avant d’être envoyé à l’hôpital psychiatrique de Pilgrim State situé à une soixantaine de milles plus loin, où il était demeuré durant deux mois et demi. Il est très probable que les coups que Powell avaient reçus à la tête avaient provoqué une commotion cérébrale et avaient été la cause de ses fréquents maux de tête et de ses problèmes de comportement au cours des années suivantes.

Après sa libération en avril 1945, Powell était aller jouer à Manhattan avec le batteur Sid Catlett et le saxophoniste ténor Don Byas. C’est alors qu’il avait été recruté par le contrebassiste John Kirby afin de prendre la place du pianiste Billy Kyle avec son groupe.

En 1945-46, Powell avait enregistré avec Frank Sololow, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro et Kenny Clarke. Le 6 mars 1947, Powell avait dirigé ce qui avait sans doute été son premier concert sous son nom à Harlem.

Powell étant reconnu pour son habileté à lire la musique et à exécuter des pièces au tempo rapide, Charlie Parker l’avait choisi comme pianiste en vue d’une session d’enregistrement qui devait avoir lieu le 8 mai 1947 avec un quintet composé de Miles Davis, Tommy Potter et Max Roach. C’était la seule fois de l’histoire où Powell et Parker participaient à la même session d’enregistrement.

La seule autre session d’enregistrement à laquelle Powell avait participé en 1947 avait eu lieu le 10 janvier dans le cadre d’un enregistrement avec son trio formé de Curly Russell et Max Roach. UNE SANTÉ MENTALE PRÉCAIRE Le 14 novembre 1947, Powell avait eu une altercation avec un client dans un bar de Harlem. Au cours de la bagarre, Powell avait été frappé par une bouteille au-dessus de l’oeil. Lorsque les employés de l’hôpital de Harlem avaient examiné Powell, ils l’avaient trouvé incohérent et turbulent. Ils l’avaient donc fait admettre à l’Hôpital Bellevue, où il avait déjà été soigné précédemment. À leur tour, les employés de l’Hôpital Bellevue n’avaient pas su quoi faire de Powell et l’avaient envoyé au Creedmoor State Hospital, où il avait été gardé durant onze mois.

Powell s’était assez bien adapté à son séjour à l’hôpital, même si lors d’examens psychiatriques il s’était plaint d’avoir été persécuté en raison de sa couleur. De février à avril 1948, Powell avait été soumis à une thérapie par électro-chocs après avoir appris que sa petite amie Mary Frances Barnes était enceinte. La thérapie n’ayant pas produit les résultats souhaités, les médecins de Powell lui avaient administré une seconde série de traitements en mai. Powell avait finalement été libéré en mai 1948. Le 1er juin, l’amie de coeur de Powell, Mary Frances, avait donné naissance à son seul enfant, une fille qui avait été baptisée sous le nom de Cecelia June Powell.

Après avoir été brièvement hospitalisé au début de l’année 1949 après avoir enfreint les conditions de sa libération, Powell avait fait quelques enregistrements durant les deux ou trois années suivantes (notamment avec Sonny Rollins et Fats Navarro), principalement sous étiquette Blue Note, Mercury, Norgran et Clef. Powell avait également enregistré pendant l’été pour le compte de deux producteurs indépendants avec son trio habituel composé de Max Roach et Curly Russell. Les huit ‘’masters’’ qui avaient résulté de ces enregistrements n’avaient été publiés qu’en 1950, après que les disques Roost aient racheté les ‘’masters’’ et les aient publiés sous forme de 78-tours. Le musicologue Guthrie Ramsey avait écrit qu’avec cette session "Powell proves himself the equal of any of the other beboppers in technique, versatility, and feeling."

Le 17 septembre 1949, Powell avait signé le premier contrat de sa carrière avec le producteur Norman Granz. Powell avait fait ses débuts à Carnegie Hall le soir de Noël de 1949 avec son trio. Participaient également au concert le saxophoniste ténor Stan Getz, la chanteuse Sarah Vaughan, le pianiste Lennie Tristano et Charlie Parker.

Parmi les musiciens qui avaient participé à la session d’août 1949 pour Blue Note, on remarquait Fats Navarro, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter et Roy Haynes. Au nombre des pièces interprétées par le groupe, on remarquait ‘’Bouncing with Bud’’ et ‘’Dance of the Infidels.’’ La session de 1951 mettait en vedette le trio de Powell avec ses acolytes Curley Russell et Max Roach. Parmi les pièces enregistrées, on relevait ‘’Parisian Thoroughtfare’’ et ’’Un Poco Loco’’ Cette dernière pièce avait été sélectionnée plus tard par le critique littéraire Harold Bloom dans sa liste des plus grandes oeuvres américaines du 20e siècle. Les musiciens Ray Brown, George Duvivier, Percy Heath, Max Roach, Curly Russell, Lloyd Trotman, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Osie Johnson, Buddy Rich et Art Taylor avaient participé aux sessions organisées par Norman Granz.

La rivalité de Powell avec Charlie Parker avait éventuellement semé la zizanie parmi les musiciens. La détérioration de la santé mentale et physique de Powell n’avait d’ailleurs guère contribué à alléger l’atmosphère.

Au cours des années 1950, Powell avait fait d’autres enregistrements pour Blue Note et Norman Granz, mais ceux-ci avaient dû être interrompus par un nouveau séjour en hôpital psychiatrique entre la fin de 1951 et le début de l’année 1953, après que le pianiste ait été arrêté pour possession d’héroïne en compagnie de Monk et de deux autres musiciens. Les quatre compères avaient été enfermés aux Tombs, un célèbre centre de détention. Powell avait d’ailleurs été de nouveau battu dans le cadre de son incarcération. Après avoir plaidé non coupable, Monk avait été condamné à soixante jours de prison. Quant à Powell, il avait été renvoyé à l’hôpital Bellevue, puis à Pilgrim, où il avait été déclaré mentalement inapte. Après une détention d’un mois, le directeur de Pilgrim avait recommandé que Powell soit gardé indéfiniment. Durant onze jours, Powell avait été soumis à une nouvelle thérapie par électro-chocs avant d’être finalement transféré à Creedmoor en août 1952.

Jugé incapable de gérer ses propres finances, Powell avait été placé sous la garde d’Oscar Goodstein, le propriétaire du Birdland, avec qui il avait signé un contrat de vingt semaines. Lorsque Powell ne jouait pas au Birdland, il avait des engagements à Philadelphie, à Washington ou à St. Louis. Jamais Powell n’avait été aussi occupé.

Le 9 mars 1953, Powell avait épousé Audrey Hill, une Californienne. Le mariage avait été arrangé par Goodstein, qui croyait sans doute que le fait d’être marié permettrait de rendre Powell plus stable et prévisible. Le couple ne s’était pas revu depuis que Powell avait été obtenu son congé de l’hôpital. Le mariage avait finalement été annulé en juillet.

En 1953, Powell avait enregistré pour Blue Note dans le cadre d’un trio avec George Duvivier et Art Taylor. La session comprenait l’enregistrement d’une composition de Powell intitulée ‘’Glass Enclosure’’, dont le titre était possiblement inspiré de son quasi-emprisonnement dans l’appartement de Goodstein. Le 15 mai de la même année, Powell avait participé au concert historique de Massey Hall à Toronto avec un quintet formé de Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus et Max Roach. Le concert avait été enregistré par Mingus qui l’avats mis en marché grâce à sa propre maison d’enregistrement, Debut Records, sous le titre de ‘’Jazz at Massey Hall.’’

De nouveau été arrêté le 14 juin 1954, Powell avait été accusé de possession d’héroïne. Le procès avait finalement eu lieu au début de 1955.

Bien que Powell ait obtenu son congé de l’hôpital, la qualité de son jeu avait été affectée par l’ingestion de Largactil, un médicament qu’il prenait pour soigner sa schizophrénie. Le 26 juin 1956, la vie de Powell avait été encore plus assombrie lorsque son frère Richie et le trompettiste Clifford Brown avaient été tués dans un accident automobile. Après avoir passé plusieurs mois à l’hôpital, Powell s’était installé à Paris en 1959 avec sa nouvelle compagne Altevia ‘’Buttercup’’ Edwards et son fils John. Powell avait rencontré Edwards, une femme mariée, après son emprisonnement en 1954. Le couple s’était installé avec l’enfant à l’Hôtel La Louisiane. C’est Altevia qui gérait les finances de Powell et s’assurait qu’il prenne ses médicaments. C’est donc en grande partie grâce à elle que Powell avait pu continuer de jouer et d’enregistrer.

En juin 1960, Powell avait été l’invité de Charles Mingus au Festival de jazz de Juan-les-Pins. En avril 1961, Powell avait participé à une brève tournée en Europe avec Thelonious Monk, notamment à Marseille, Milan, Bologne et Rome. Powell, qui n’avait pas encore enregistré pour une compagnie de disques européenne, avait collaboré avec le saxophoniste Cannonball Adderley pour une série de deux albums en décembre 1961. En février 1962, Powell avait décroché un contrat au Café Montmartre de Paris, qui venait de réouvrir ses portes. Prévu initialement pour deux semaines, le contrat de Powell avait été prolongé de cinq semaines supplémentaires à la demande du pianiste.  

En avril 1962, Powell, qui était de retour à Copenhague, avait reçu une offre d’une compagnie danoise qui lui avait fait enregistrer des classiques qu’il avait rarement joué en studio, notamment ‘’Straight No Chaser’’de Monk et ‘’Hot House’’, une pièce traditionnellement associée à Charlie Parker.

En décembre 1962, Powell, qui avait trop bu, avait été retrouvé complètement saoul dans les rues de Paris et avait été admis dans un hôpital local. Powell avait finalement été transféré dans l’aile psychiatrique de l’hôpital, avant d’être libéré grâce à l’intervention de son ami Francis Paudras.

En quatre mois, de février à juin 1963, Powell avait participé à plus de sessions d’enregistrements qu’il n’en avait fait en quatre ans. Powell avait fait des apparitions comme artiste invité dans deux de ces sessions. La première était dirigée par Dexter Gordon et la seconde par Dizzy Gillespie. DERNIÈRES ANNÉES En 1963, après avoir contracté la tuberculose, Powell avait été admis à l’hôpital de Paris. Powell ayant obtenu un contrat pour jouer au Birdland, il était de retour à New York le 16 août 1964. Neuf jours plus tard, il avait partagé la scène avec Horace Silver, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus et Thelonious Monk.

À l’époque, la qualité du jeu de Powell avait nettement décliné en raison de son alcoolisme. Lorsque Powell avait négligé de ses présenter le 11 octobre à un de ses concerts au Birdland, Goodstein avait décidé de le congédier.

Après des mois de découragement et de comportement erratique, Bud Powell avait été hospitalisé à New York à la suite de complications pulmonaires. Powell avait présenté son dernier concert le 1er mai 1965. Il avait été admis dans un hôpital psychiatrique à l’automne suivant.

Bud Powell est décédé le 31 mars 1966. Sa mort avait été attribuée aux effets conjugués de la tuberculose, de la malnutrition et de l’alcoolisme.

Plusieurs musiciens de jazz avaient rendu hommage à Powell. Dans son autobiographie, le trompettiste Miles Davis, qui avait un jour dit de Powell qu’il ne l’engagerait jamais dans son groupe parce qu’il était encore plus cinglé que lui, avait déclaré: "[He] was one of the few musicians I knew who could play, write, and read all kinds of music. Bud was a genius piano player – the best there was of all the bebop piano players." Le pianiste Bill Evans, qui avait toujours considéré Powell comme sa principale influence, lui avait rendu hommage en 1979 en déclarant: "If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself". De son côté, Herbie Hancock avait affirmé dans une entrevue au magazine DownBeat en 1966: "He was the foundation out of which stemmed the whole edifice of modern jazz piano". Le saxophoniste ténor Sonny Rollins avait également eu de bons mots pour Powell et avait commenté: ‘’I think he was a genius. When I was coming up, our prophet was Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker was the guy. But Bud Powell, his improvisations were definitely on a par with Charlie Parker. If you’re thinking of the bebop style, Bud Powell was supreme. In fact, some people put him above Charlie Parker.” Quant au pianiste Bill Cunliffe, il considérait Powell comme "the first pianist to take Charlie Parker's language and adapt it successfully to the piano."

En 1986, l’artiste Francis Paudras avait écrit un livre à propos de son amitié avec Powell. L’ouvrage a été traduit en 1997 sous le titre de ‘’Dance of the Infidels: A Portrait of Bud Powell.’’ Les souvenirs de Paudras avaient servi de base au film de Bertrand Tavernier, ‘’Round Midnight’’, qui était inspiré de la carrière de Powell et de Lester Young, et dans lequel le saxophoniste Dexter Gordon jouait le rôle d’un musicien en exil à Paris.

Bud Powell a influencé plusieurs jeunes pianistes au cours de sa carrière, plus particulièrement Horace Silver, Wynton Kelly, Andre Previn, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton et Chick Corea. Ce dernier avait d’ailleurs enregistré en 1997 un album entier consacré à Powell intitulé ‘’Remembering Bud Powell.’’ Grand innovateur, Powell avait été le premier pianiste à jouer des parties qui étaient initialement conçues pour des cuivres. Powell avait été mis en nomination à sept reprises pour un prix Grammy dans la catégorie de la meilleure performance instrumentale en solo. c-2023-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique.

[ausetkmt]

Her name was Julia Chinn, and her role in Richard Mentor Johnson’s life caused a furor when the Kentucky Democrat was chosen as Martin Van Buren’s running mate in 1836.

She was born enslaved and remained that way her entire life, even after she became Richard Mentor Johnson’s “bride.”

Johnson, a Kentucky congressman who eventually became the nation’s ninth vice president in 1837, couldn’t legally marry Julia Chinn. Instead the couple exchanged vows at a local church with a wedding celebration organized by the enslaved people at his family’s plantation in Great Crossing, according to Miriam Biskin, who wrote about Chinn decades ago.

Chinn died nearly four years before Johnson took office. But because of controversy over her, Johnson is the only vice president in American history who failed to receive enough electoral votes to be elected. The Senate voted him into office.

The couple’s story is complicated and fraught, historians say. As an enslaved woman, Chinn could not consent to a relationship, and there’s no record of how she regarded him. Though she wrote to Johnson during his lengthy absences from Kentucky, the letters didn’t survive.

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, who is working on a book about Chinn, wrote about the hurdles in a blog post for the Association of Black Women Historians.

“While doing my research, I was struck by how Julia had been erased from the history books,” wrote Myers, a history professor at Indiana University. “Nobody knew who she was. The truth is that Julia (and Richard) are both victims of legacies of enslavement, interracial sex, and silence around black women’s histories.”

Johnson’s life is far better documented.

He was elected as a Democrat to the state legislature in 1802 and to Congress in 1806. The folksy, handsome Kentuckian gained a reputation as a champion of the common man.

Back home in Great Crossing, he fathered a child with a local seamstress, but didn’t marry her when his parents objected, according to the biography “The Life and Times of Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky.” Then, in about 1811, Johnson, 31, turned to Chinn, 21, who had been enslaved at Blue Spring Plantation since childhood.

Johnson called Chinn “my bride.” His “great pleasure was to sit by the fireplace and listen to Julia as she played on the pianoforte,” Biskin wrote in her account.

The couple soon had two daughters, Imogene and Adaline. Johnson gave his daughters his last name and openly raised them as his children.

Johnson became a national hero during the War of 1812. At the Battle of the Thames in Canada, he led a horseback attack on the British and their Native American allies. He was shot five times but kept fighting. During the battle, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh was killed.

In 1819, “Colonel Dick” was elected to the U.S. Senate. When he was away in Washington for long periods, he left Chinn in charge of the 2,000-acre plantation and told his White employees that they should “act with the same propriety as if I were home.”

Chinn’s status was unique.

While enslaved women wore simple cotton dresses, Chinn’s wardrobe “included fancy dresses that turned heads when Richard hosted parties,” Christina Snyder wrote in her book “Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers & Slaves in the Age of Jackson.”

In 1825, Chinn and Johnson hosted the Marquis de Lafayette during his return to America.

In the mid-1820s, Johnson opened on his plantation the Choctaw Academy, a federally funded boarding school for Native Americans. He hired a local Baptist minister as director. Chinn ran the academy’s medical ward.

“Julia is as good as one half the physicians, where the complaint is not dangerous,” Johnson wrote in a letter. He paid the academy’s director extra to educate their daughters “for a future as free women.”

Johnson tried to advance his daughters in local society, and both would later marry White men. But when he spoke at a local July Fourth celebration, the Lexington Observer reported, prominent White citizens wouldn’t let Adaline sit with them in the pavilion. Johnson sent his daughter to his carriage, rushed through his speech and then angrily drove away.

When Johnson’s father died, he willed ownership of Chinn to his son. He never freed his common-law wife.

“Whatever power Chinn had was dependent on the will and the whims of a White man who legally owned her,” Snyder wrote.

Then, in 1833, Chinn died of cholera. It’s unclear where she is buried.

Johnson went on to even greater national prominence.

In 1836, President Andrew Jackson backed Vice President Martin Van Buren as his successor. At Jackson’s urging, Van Buren — a fancy dresser who had never fought in war — picked war hero Johnson as his running mate. Nobody knew how the Shawnees’ chief was slain in the War of 1812, but Johnson’s campaign slogan was, “Rumpsey, Dumpsey. Johnson Killed Tecumseh.”

Johnson’s relationship with Chinn became a campaign issue. Southern newspapers denounced him as “the great Amalgamationist.” A mocking cartoon showed a distraught Johnson with a hand over his face bewailing “the scurrilous attacks on the Mother of my Children.”

This political cartoon was a racist attack on Johnson because of his relationship with Julia Chinn. (Library of Congress)

Van Buren won the election, but Johnson’s 147 electoral votes were one short of what he needed to be elected. Virginia’s electors refused to vote for him. It was the only time Congress chose a vice president.

When Van Buren ran for reelection in 1840, Democrats declined to nominate Johnson at their Baltimore convention. It is the only time a party didn’t pick any vice-presidential candidate. The spelling-challenged Jackson warned that Johnson would be a “dead wait” on the ticket.

“Old Dick” still ended up being the leading choice and campaigned around the country wearing his trademark red vest. But Van Buren lost to Johnson’s former commanding officer, Gen. William Henry Harrison.

Johnson never remarried, but he reportedly had sexual relationships with other enslaved women who couldn’t consent to them.

The former vice president won a final election to the Kentucky legislature in 1850, but died a short time later at the age of 70.

His brothers laid claim to his estate at the expense of his surviving daughter, Imogene, who was married to a White man named Daniel Pence.

“At some point in the early twentieth century,” Myers wrote, “perhaps because of heightened fears of racism during the Jim Crow era, members of Imogene Johnson Pence’s line, already living as white people, chose to stop telling their children that they were descended from Richard Mentor Johnson … and his black wife. It wasn’t until the late 20th century that younger Pences, by then already in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, began discovering the truth of their heritage.”

[warningsine]

A UK academic who has completed a project creating a Wikipedia page for a woman in every country in the world is calling for more women to contribute to the world’s largest encyclopedia.

Lucy Moore, an archaeologist and curator who also works as an unpaid carer, began the mammoth project in 2021 from her sofa in Leeds, completing it last week – “unsurprisingly, perhaps, I got really stuck on Vatican City”.

She has now written biographies of 532 women since 2019, when she first became a Wikipedia editor, including scientists, monarchs, activists, writers and women whose faces are well known but their stories are not, such as Sharbat Gula, the refugee with striking green eyes pictured in the famous Afghan Girl portrait from 1984.

Less than 20% of the biographies on English language Wikipedia are about women, although this is an improvement on 16% in 2014, when “a range of different editors started to get together and say, ‘Actually, we really need to change this’,” said Moore.

She began by making a table of UN member states and partially recognised UN states, such as Kosovo and Taiwan, and worked through the list based on who caught her eye.

She has now also written dozens of entries for women in autonomous regions such as Hong Kong, Zanzibar and Tibet, and those in overseas territories.

There were many women she had expected to find already had pages, such as Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson.

“She’s really interesting and I was really surprised no one had written about her before,” she said.

She tended to focus on women who share her interests, she said, such as poets, activists and coin specialists, known as numismatists, which is her own field.

“I find it really calming,” she said. “I can go and bury myself in something that is totally, totally different from my day to day.”

But it has not been easy. She said one of the issues was that Wikipedia required three reliable sources for each biography and, while there may have been a lot written on social media about some of the women, they may not have appeared in newspapers, especially in countries where women’s achievements are not taken seriously.

The reaction to her project has been positive, she said. “No one’s said anything nasty on Twitter, though I expect that will come.”

Moore points to the work of her fellow editor Jess Wade, who wrote a number of Wikipedia pages about female scientists, “and then another editor came along and nominated them all for deletion. It was really nasty.”

She said there was some general criticism on social media that Wikipedia editors were “making (the gender balance) more of an issue than it actually is”.

“And I find that attitude really annoying, to be honest, because it’s men who say that primarily.”

She pointed to research from 2022 that found there were more Wikipedia entries about football and footballers than there were about women.

However, Moore added: “Some of the most prolific people who work to redress the gender balance on Wikipedia are men and I’m not sure they would all describe it as being a feminist, but that’s what they’re doing.”

Run as a non-profit, open-source encyclopedia that is free to use, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone but only a fifth of its 124,000 regularly active editors are women.

“We do need to get more women to edit, but it’s not just as simple as saying, ‘Hey, women, come and edit’, because we have so much more pressure on our time. There’s all these different studies that show that women have less time to devote to things of interest. And that’s before you even get on to being able to access sources, being able to access particular academic journal articles, which are paywalled.”

Class was also a factor in who contributes and appears on Wikipedia, as was access to education, especially in countries where women are not routinely educated.

“It just gets more and more systemic, the more you look at it,” she said.

Some of the women recognised by Moore

Julia Chinn (c. 1790 – July 1833) was an American plantation manager and enslaved woman of mixed race, who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson. She had two children with the plantation owner and congressman Johnson, who inherited her when his father died, though she would fulfil what at the time was considered the role of the wife of a politician. She was never freed.

Sharbat Gula (born c. 1972) is an Afghan woman who became internationally recognised as the 12-year-old subject in Afghan Girl, a 1984 portrait taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry that was later published on the cover of National Geographic. The portrait was shot at Nasir Bagh, Pakistan, where Gula was living as a refugee after fleeing the Soviet–Afghan war. Having raised a family in Pakistan for 35 years, Gula was deported to Afghanistan in 2017, later being granted asylum in Italy.

Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima (born 12 July 1963, in Bujumbura) is a human rights activist from Burundi. She is the chair and founder of the National Association for Support for HIV-Positive People with Aids (ANSS) and was the first person from the country to publicly admit they had HIV. Gapiya-Niyonzima won the World Food Program prize in 2003, in 2011 addressed the United Nations committee for HIV/Aids in New York and was selected as the Burundian Woman of Courage of the Year in 2012.

Ólafía Einarsdóttir (28 July 1924 – 19 December 2017) was an Icelandic archaeologist and historian, becoming the first Icelander to complete a degree in archaeology. She taught at the University of Copenhagen and published many works about Icelandic sagas and Viking history. Ólafía was awarded an honorary doctorate by the faculty of history and philosophy at the University of Iceland in 2009. The journal Ólafía, published by the Icelandic Association of Archaeologists since 2013, is named after her.

Gloria Meneses (1910 – 1996) was a Uruguayan performer and activist who lived openly from 1950 until her death as travesti – a term used in Latin America to designate people who were assigned male at birth and develop a feminine gender identity. Highly unusual in Latin America at the time, Meneses’ life has been widely honoured in films and exhibitions since her death in 1996.

[crimson-ace-reviews]

Not the Oldest, Just the Best: A Tommy Oliver Retrospective

On November 19th, 2022, Jason David Frank was found dead in Texas, the cause of death being ruled as a suicide. It obviously came as a shock to everyone, 90's kids and tokusatsu fans alike. He was a man of many talents, and he will be sincerely missed.

In addition to his career in the MMA, Jason David Frank was an TV icon back in the 90's, essentially becoming the main character in the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in spite of how limited his role was intended to be. He's reprized his role as Tommy Oliver countless times, has had multiple sets of powers, and is easily the most popular character in the entire Power Rangers franchise, for better or for worse.

But how did he get so popular? What was the appeal of this character that kept us wanting to see him again and again? I say we should take a little walk down memory lane and see how Tommy Oliver went from a pawn in one of Rita Repulsa's deadliest schemes to arguably one of the most iconic characters in tokusatsu history. This is going to be a pretty long retrospective, so I decided to split it up into five parts to make it easier. With that being said, It's Recappin' Time!

(Part 1: Green Up Your Act)

Tommy's first appearance was in the five-part Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers episode, “Green With Evil”, the very first multi-part episode in the franchise. He was introduced as a rival and potential equal to Jason, AKA, the original Red Ranger (Played by Austin St. John). The two's first interaction is during a “martial arts expo”. Yeah, they don't specify what kind of martial arts any of these characters practice, but come on, look at this.

Isn't this some cool martial arts stuff? I dare say it's even an “awesome display of martial arts”, like what the announcer says.

In all seriousness, Tommy was a participant in this expo, and was introduced as the hot new kid in town whose skills were no laughing matter. He went up in a karate sparring match against Jason, and the two were pretty evenly matched. It's a really good way to establish Tommy's prowess, as earlier episodes like “A Pressing Engagement” showed off how strong Jason was on his own. What I like about the first act of this episode is that it doesn't make Tommy too overpowered, since the match ends in a draw. Yeah, Jason was struggling to pull through, but at the same time, it shows that him and Tommy are equal in many ways. It also shows Tommy as a virtuous person, as when resident bullies Bulk and Skull (Played by Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy respectively) start bothering Kimberly, AKA, the original Pink Ranger (Played by Amy Jo Johnson), Tommy steps in and gets them to back off. Even though he seems like a hotshot, he's a good person at heart. Unsurprisingly, Kimberly falls for Tommy partially because of this, and the two make plans to hang out.

Unfortunately, Tommy's prowess in martial arts attracts the attention of the evil Rita Repulsa (Voiced by Barbara Goodson), who chooses him to be his brainwashed servant. After brainwashing Tommy, Rita grants him Ranger powers of his own thanks to having a lost Power Coin, the source of the other five Rangers' powers. Granted, it's never explained how she came into contact with the Coin, but it's hinted that she stole it from the Rangers' mentor, Zordon (Voiced by David Fielding).

Either way, Tommy becomes the Green Ranger, and proceeds to, for lack of a better work, ABSOLUTELY WRECK THE SHIT OUT OF THE OTHER RANGERS. Like, I can't understate how deadly of a threat Tommy was in his first episode alone. As soon as he gets the powers, Tommy breaks into the Rangers' Command Center, and just tears into all the wiring in all the control panels, even infecting Zordon's assistant robot, Alpha 5 (Voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), with a virus. Not only does this mean that the Rangers' communicators are offline, not only does this prevent them from teleporting to the Command Center and back, but because the technology in the Command Center is needed for Zordon to communicate with the Rangers through his time warp, the Rangers have pretty much lost all of their support. It doesn't help that Tommy manages to beat up all five Rangers with ease, even breaking into their Megazord just to throw them out. And this is all done with his bare hands, before Rita even gives him the Sword of Darkness.

This arc in general gives a lot for the Rangers to do. In addition to Kimberly trying to reach out to Tommy (unaware that he's the Green Ranger), you have moments like Zack, the original Black Ranger (Played by Walter Jones) taking charge when Jason is busy fighting Rita's general, Goldar (Voiced by Kerrigan Mahan), and Billy and Trini, the original Blue and Yellow Rangers (Played by David Yost and Thuy Trang respectively) working to repair the Command Center, with Billy's growing knowledge of Zordon's technology playing a big part in later seasons. You also have Jason struggling to find a way to best the Green Ranger, with the added irony that we know how hard it was for him to keep up with Tommy in civilian form early on. There's really tense scene where an unmorphed Jason tries to fight Tommy, and if it wasn't for the last-minute intervention of Billy teleporting him out, he would have died.

The conflict in this five-parter just keeps escalating. It starts off like a standard monster of the week plot with Tommy, only for Rita to use more tools and assets on her side to make things harder and harder for the Rangers. It all culminates in Part IV, where she uses a solar eclipse to drain the Megazord's power, while Tommy, Goldar, and a new enemy, Scorpina (Voiced by Wendee Lee), tear it apart and send the individual Zords plummeting into lava. Oh, and that's before Rita gives Tommy the Dragon Dagger, allowing him to summon the Dragonzord to attack the city.

Thankfully, Alpha manages to reestablish contact with Zordon, who finds a way to restore the damaged Zords, giving the Rangers an even playing field. Once the Dragonzord is subdued, Jason and Tommy have their final duel, and Jason destroys the Sword of Darkness, freeing Tommy from Rita's control. While hesitant to accept thanks to what he did, Tommy is offered a place on the team, and soon accepts, so the five-parter ends with Tommy being given his own communicator.

This arc is just fantastic from start to end. It was the kick in the pants Power Rangers needed to go from a typical monster of the week show to something with more story-driven episodes down the road. Tommy himself was also a welcome addition to the cast thanks to his friendship with Jason and eventually relationship with Kimberly.

I think now's a good time to talk about the Green Ranger's design. It's nothing short of amazing. I absolutely love the way the gold armor looks on him, as well as the gold armbands and the little speck of red on the helmet. There's also the Dragon Dagger, a dagger that doubles as a flute capable of playing a theme that's just as iconic as his design.

Of course, like the other Rangers, another suit was made for American scenes, and it's worth talking about for all the wrong reasons.

The armor for this suit is very flimsy, and you can tell when it's being used due to how cheap it looks. Supposedly, it was done so it would be easier for the actor to move around in, but don’t quote me on this.

Anyway, while Tommy still joined the team, there was a bit of a problem. His Sentai counterpart, Burai, wasn't able to go outside and fight with his teammates for too long for reasons that are way too complicated to explain, so long story short, the writers for Mighty Morphin' decided to work around that by always having Tommy be busy with something, usually karate practice. It honestly made it hard to really see him as part of the team initially with how distracted he seemed to get.

Of course, there were some exceptions to this, with a couple episodes focusing more on Tommy, like “The Spit Flower”, which focused on his friendship with Kimberly. A float Kimberly was working on to be in a parade to meant promote world peace is targeted by Rita (being the petty bitch she is), and after her Putties lay waste to the float design, it devastates her. Kudos to Amy Jo Johnson's performance in this scene. Generally, Tommy and Kimberly have some great interactions here, and their actors work well together. While the Rangers deal with Rita's new monster, Spit Flower, Tommy secretly works to repair the model used for Kimberly's float in order to surprise her when the Rangers watch it on TV. Overall, a pretty wholesome episode, and one that would further the romance between Tommy and Kimberly.

“Gung Ho!”, is an episode that focused on Tommy's growing friendship with Jason. In this episode, the two are training for the Team Ninja Finals, but keep butting heads. Trini says they need to “gung ho”, claiming it's Chinese for “work together”... a term which is wrong for several reasons as while the original term was taken from “gōnghé”, the shortened term for the Gōngyè Hézuòshè organizations established in China. But putting aside the misuse of a Chinese term in an episode of an American TV show adapting footage from a Japanese TV show, Bulk and Skull then show up Tommy and Jason with the two ninja competitors who are shown to be far better at being ninja thanks to being dressed up like stereotypical ninja straight out of Miami Connection.

As for Rita, her latest plan involves sending upgraded versions of the Putty Patrollers after the Rangers. These Putties are nearly indestructible, so Zordon sends Jason and Tommy to find the Thunder Slingers, new weapons that should be able to destroy them, while the other Rangers try and hold them off. Once they get near the Thunder Slingers, they struggle to beat the guardian of the weapons, Titanus, a new Zord themed after a brachiosaurus. Deciding to take Trini's advice, Jason and Tommy come up with a new plan. While Jason runs up the hill while wearing Tommy's Dragon Armor, Tommy borrows Jason's Power Sword to distract Titanus. The two pass, get the weapons, and once the Rangers use them to defeat the Super Putties, the Thunder Slingers are never used again. But hey, at least now they can get the help of Titanus when they need it. The episode ends with Jason and Tommy taking on Bulk and Skull's ninja in the competition in a very well choreographed fight scene. Overall, a pretty fun episode about teamwork.

Unfortunately, the writers of this show were running out of Green Ranger footage, and rather than kill him off like what happened with his Sentai counterpart, they decided to go a different route in the two-part episode, “The Green Candle”. A nervous Tommy's plans to ask Kimberly to a dance are interrupted when Rita's forces kidnap him, and Goldar gives him an ultimatum: Serve Rita and keep his powers, or permanently lose them, thanks to the titular Green Candle. While Tommy was under Rita's control, he touched this magic candle that connected it to his powers. Once the Candle burns out, Tommy's powers will be transferred to Rita. Why it took her this long to break it out is anyone's guess.

Being the only one who has been to Rita's base of operations before, Jason volunteers to break into the palace and take the Green Candle in order to save Tommy's powers. In spite of this, Tommy doesn't want Jason to take the risk when it's his powers that are on the line. It's interesting to see Tommy in this position where he doesn't want Jason to get hurt for his sake, as it implies that he could still have some guilt for his actions while he was brainwashed by Rita.

While the other Rangers set up a way for Jason to enter Rita's palace, one of her monsters, Cyclops, forces Tommy into action, even though he's all alone. Eventually, Zordon forces the Rangers to abort the mission, with Zack going in and pointing out that even if they get the candle, Tommy could still die. While the Rangers manage to defeat Cyclops, by that point, it's too late. The candle burns out, and the only way to stop Rita from getting Tommy's powers is if they're transferred to another Ranger, Jason. In spite of him losing his powers and being surrounded by the transformed Rangers, they all reassure Tommy that he will always be a Ranger. After losing his powers, Kimberly meets up with Tommy while he is training in the park, and after the two talk a little (with Tommy trying to reassure Kimberly that things will be okay without him), we get the first kiss in the history of the franchise. With his confidence renewed, Tommy asks Kimberly to go to the dance.

“The Green Candle” was a great episode, with a very personal conflict that didn't just rely on a monster Tommy had to punch, but a tiny object capable of stopping him from beating Rita forever. The ending where Tommy had to give up his powers is bittersweet, but we see him trying his best to keep himself busy to deal with the big change in his life. The kiss with Kimberly also serves as a great start to their budding relationship since she and Tommy first met at the start of “Green With Evil”. If this was the final appearance of Tommy in the franchise, I don't think I honestly would have minded, as it was executed brilliantly.

However, it wasn't the end for Tommy. Because of how popular the show was, this caused Saban Entertainment to commission Toei to film new footage with the Rangers and new monsters, after they had exhausted all the remaining footage from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. While Jason did get to use the Dragonzord and Dragon Dagger when needed for a few episodes, it wasn't long until the new footage paved the way for a return of an old friend.

The two-part episode, “Return of an Old Friend” features, what else, the return of Tommy. In this episode, Rita's latest monster, Dramole, helps Goldar steal the Dragon Dagger, and Goldar uses it to sic the Dragonzord on Angel Grove. In addition, Dramole helped to brainwash and kidnap the parents of the Rangers, and Goldar demands they give up their Power Coins in order to get their parents back. Goldar, being evil, lies about giving them back as soon he has the Power Coins, meaning the Rangers are now helpless to stop them.

However, Jason reveals they still have the Dragon Power Coin, as the first part ends with a dramatic reveal of Tommy that was kind of ruined by the opening crediting Jason David Frank as a guest star, in addition to me saying he returns in this episode. In the second part, Tommy is teleported to the Command Center and gets briefed on the situation. With the Green Ranger powers still being heavily drained, Zordon uses his own energy to jumpstart Tommy's powers, but not only does doing so nearly kill him, but there's a chance that the powers will run dry completely during a fight.

So yeah, this isn't exactly a triumphant return for Tommy as a Power Ranger, and his first fight in this episode will set the stage for the rest of his tenure as the Green Ranger. While he was able to take out the other five Rangers in the first part of “Green With Evil”, here, he struggles to keep up with Goldar and a group of Putty Patrollers. Tommy barely manages to get the Dragon Dagger and the other five Power Coins, and even then, it took a temporary power boost from Alpha. Afterwards, he's knocked unconscious just as he's teleported back to the Command Center.

While the other Rangers take on Dramole, it turns out that after being electrocuted by the force field set up by Goldar designed to protect the Power Coins, Tommy's powers were recharged once more. They're still temporary, but now, they're far more stable. After helping the Rangers defeat Dramole, Tommy is welcomed back into the team.

All and all, this was a pretty creative way to bring back Tommy. It still reintroduced the character and gave him back his powers, but the story made it clear that they weren't just going to ignore what the Green Candle did to him. Once the second season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers started, it became clear that it was only a matter of time until the Green Ranger powers were lost permanently.

The first major warning sign came in the three-part second season premiere, “The Mutiny”. When a new villain, Lord Zedd (Voiced by Robert Axelrod), usurps command from Rita and focuses his sights on Earth, Zordon gives the Rangers new Zords to fight his monsters with, but Tommy isn't able to access one for himself, as his powers are too weak to convert his old Zord into a Thunderzord like the others. The next sign came in “The Green Dream”, where Tommy wasn't even able to summon the Dragonzord to help the Rangers during a Megazord fight. The next few episodes have an underlying sense of dread to them, as it's established that the Green Ranger powers have almost run dry, not helped by the fact that Lord Zedd has been directly targeting Tommy to ensure he would lose his.

This all culminates in the two-part episode, “Green No More”. While Kimberly tries to comfort Tommy one day, an image of the latter appears, claiming to be from the future. All he can say is he's in the middle of “the final battle”, and that Tommy needs to remember to bring his communicator. The message rings true, as Zordon informs Tommy that he only has enough energy to morph into the Green Ranger one last time. Lord Zedd planned for this, sending the monster Turbanshell to draw Tommy out to morph one last time, only to transport him and steal the powers for himself. Part I ends with Lord Zedd using the siphoned Green Ranger powers to use for his own team of evil Power Rangers, and Tommy is cornered by Turbanshell, sweating heavily and very afraid.

In Part II, Goldar shows up to order Turbanshell somewhere else while he deals with Tommy himself. It makes sense, as not only has Goldar been a consistent threat to the Rangers, but the very first battle Tommy fought after getting the Green Ranger powers back involved Goldar. Rather than simply kill him now, Goldar takes the opportunity to mock the powerless Tommy by reminding him of how strong he used to be, all to further punctuate that Tommy's time as the Green Ranger is over. And right before he prepares to finish him off, Goldar tells Tommy that he wants to hear him say that Goldar is his superior. Tommy hesitates for a few seconds, before he defiantly tells Goldar that he is out of his mind. With a reinvigorated spirit, Tommy jumps into action against Goldar as his theme song, “Go Green Ranger”, plays, showing that whether he has the powers or not, Tommy will always be the Green Ranger.

During his last stand, Tommy manages to steal the device Goldar used to show Tommy footage of his old battles, and sends him away. Realizing it's a time device, he uses it to contact his past self and get his communicator, using it to teleport to Lord Zedd's hideout and smashes the Green Crystal powering Zedd's evil Rangers. While he gets enough energy for one more one more fight, after Turbanshell is defeated, Tommy's tenure as the Green Ranger officially ends.

Overall, this arc was a real highlight for Tommy as a character. The way his insecurities were explored was very compelling to watch, and seeing him save the day even after losing his powers was a triumphant sight, as was his realization that powers don't make the hero. While he would miss being a hero, just like at the end of “The Green Candle”, he's shown to be moving on. The very next episode, “Missing Green”, shows Tommy writing a letter to Jason letting him know that he doesn't blame him for not getting the Green Candle back in Season 1. This whole arc really showed Tommy growing as a person, showing that he wasn't the forgetful hothead we were first introduced to.

But because Tommy was easily the most marketable character in the show, and because Gosei Sentai Dairanger also had a Sixth Ranger, it was a no-brainer on Saban's part on how they could adapt this character.

(Part Two, A White to Behold)

After being absent for a whopping three episodes, Tommy returns in the two-part episode, “White Light”. After some secret keeping from Zordon and Alpha during the first part, they reveal the fruits of their efforts: A new White Ranger. And while it's well known by now that Tommy is the White Ranger, it was a pretty shocking twist for audiences thanks to the intrigue built up by the first part, in addition to the other characters introduced as potential allies to the Rangers. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was what was going through a lot of kids' heads back when “White Light” first aired.

The way that the White Ranger is introduced is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The way he's initially shown in a flash of white light and descends from above, giving him a bit of an otherworldly presence. It's a brilliant way to contrast the more sinister introduction the Green Ranger got in “Green With Evil”, where he was shrouded in smoke and was introduced with Rita's evil chanting.

While I personally prefer the Green Ranger's design, I still think the White Ranger's suit looks really damn sleek. I love the way the armor looks, and the gold goes perfectly with the white and black. He gives off the impression of a truly heroic figure.

Not only is Tommy presented with a talking sword named Saba in order to control his own Thunderzord, the White Tigerzord, but Zordon also declares that he will be the new leader of the team. This was most likely done for two reasons: One, it was obvious that Tommy was the most popular character in the show, and two, there were some behind the scenes issues with Austin St. John, Walter Jones, and Thuy Trang even before they all left the show out of protest for their unfair treatment and minimal pay, so this could have been the writers subtly trying to give less focus to Jason, Zack, and Trini to prepare for their actors walking off.

Tommy uses his new White Tigerzord to destroy Lord Zedd's latest monster, Nimrod, and afterwards, is welcomed back into the team. Also, Rita was freed from her dumpster prison for like a minute or two, but that wasn't really as important as it sounded. Overall, a pretty solid way to welcome Tommy back into the team.

The very next episode, “Two for One”, develops Tommy's relationship with Kimberly as the two go on a date. It's some pretty cute stuff, and Jason David Frank has some great chemistry with Amy Jo Johnson. The two even dance for a brief moment before they fend off some Putties. This episode also shows off the physical prowess of the White Ranger powers, as Tommy is able to take care of a monster, Pursehead, on his own, albeit with a little help from Saba.

Surprisingly, despite becoming the main character at this point, Tommy didn't get a lot of focus episodes for a while. I think this was mainly because of the aforementioned departures of Jason, Zack, and Trini's respective actors, so the main priority of the writers was focusing more on the introduction of their replacements, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha (Played by Steve Cardenas, Johnny Yong Bosch, and Karan Ashley respectively). Tommy still took charge of the team during the action, but he more or less got less focus than he did at the beginning of the season.

That changed after a while, as he got a three-part episode dedicated to focusing on him, “Return of the Green Ranger”. Rita (Who at this point, had returned and married Lord Zedd) summons the Wizard of Deception to help Lord Zedd in his plan to send the Rangers back in time, but she points out that with Tommy to lead them, the plan will only work if he's out of the picture. The Wizard sends a squadron of Putties to ambush Tommy, knocking him out so he can steal a lock of his long-ass 90's hair to create an evil clone of him. Uh... you know you could have just killed him while he was unconscious, right? I mean, yeah, the Wizard's initial attempt to brainwash Bulk and Skull into cutting it off for him, but if the Putties had already restrained him, what was stopping you from deep frying him with your magic while he was unconscious? I just think it would have made more sense if the Putties managed to cut off some of the hair during the heat of the battle, instead of a plan that would make this Wizard look like an idiot.

The clone, called Tom Oliver by most fans, tricks the Rangers into falling for the Wizard's trap, who sends them back to colonial Angel Grove, specifically around the late 18th century, as it's being invaded by British troops... even though California wasn't officially recognized as a state until around the mid-19th century, and before then, it was a Spanish colony. Also, this might be due to the fact that I'm a New England native, but I'm pretty sure the original American colonies were on the eastern coast, not the western coast, which the British never invaded. Did I mention that this episode was the result of Saban needing to cobble together another few episodes as a result of filming for the 1995 movie in Australia taking longer than expected?

While the Rangers are trapped in a historian's worst nightmare, Tommy is confronted by Tom, and we see that Tom serves as a way to show the audience how Tommy could have turned out if he stayed under Rita's influence back in Season 1, a cruel and bitter man who flaunts his superiority over others, eager to pick a fight with someone. Both Tommy and Tom morph, and while I'm not a fan of how complicated the setup is, I can't deny how awesome the fight between the Green Ranger and the White Ranger is. The action is fast-paced, and both of them get a lot of good blows in to the point where sparks fly from their punches.

After knocking out Tommy, the Wizard of Deception once again forgets to actually kill him and leaves him unconscious while ordering Tom to hijack the Dragonzord to attack Angel Grove with. Tommy eventually comes to, and he's noticeably exhausted from the fight, which Zordon explains is a result of the clone draining Tommy of his energy when the Wizard created Tom. It gets to the point where he can barely stagger up a flight of stairs, and while morphing should revitalize him, it'll only be temporary. Tommy morphs and summons the White Tigerzord to fight the Dragonzord with, and this is another impressive fight. Yeah, it's pretty short, but I'm surprised at how well the editors managed to blend the Zyuranger and Dairanger footage together. I question how the Tigerzord in Warrior Mode was able to lose to the Dragonzord when it's supposed to be stronger, but then again, the writers just established that Tommy isn't at 100% at the moment, so that could be a possible explanation.

Tommy is cornered by Tom and the Wizard, and when given the chance to surrender, Tommy tricks them into telling him what time period the other Rangers are in, stealing the Wizard's wand and traveling to rescue them before traveling back and killing the Wizard himself. Tom feels remorseful for being controlled by the Wizard. I guess it's meant to parallel how Tommy felt at the end of “Green With Evil”, but it doesn't work because unlike Tommy, Tom was born evil from the start. The two go back in time to deal with some mutant rat monsters they left in colonial Angel Grove (Which might sound like a big deal, but it really isn't), and afterwards, Tom decides to stay with the colonists. I'd question how this will affect history, but this isn't even the first or last time Mighty Morphin' will screw up the timeline, to say nothing about what would happen in future seasons like Time Force or Dino Charge.

Overall, while the actual fight between the Green and White Rangers was fun, this three-parter just wasn't that good. It dragged on, and once you learn that it was created to fill in a gap of episodes while the cast and crew were in Australia, it explains why there are so many plotholes. I'd still recommend at least checking out the scenes between Tommy and Tom to see how much the former has changed, but it's just a very forgettable episode that really didn't need to be three parts long.

Not long after this episode, Season 2 ended, and Season 3 kicked off with the destruction of the Thunderzords, forcing the Rangers to go on a quest to meet the creator of the Power Coins, Ninjor (Voiced by Kim Strauss). He gives them a new set of Zords, the Ninjazords. Tommy's Ninjazord was the Falconzord, which would actually play a bigger role in the season's story than the Dragonzord or Tigerzord.

It was mostly business as usual after the Rangers got their new Zords, until the two-part episode, “A Ranger Catastrophe”. Aisha takes in a stray cat, which is secretly one of Rita's newest minions. Why would Rita have a cat spy on the Rangers? Well, the cat is actually a girl in disguise, creatively named Kat (Played by Catherine Sutherland). She pretends to flirt with Tommy, only to lure him into a trap set by Rita, who is currently brainwashing her. After Tommy escapes, Rita turns Kat into a cat-themed monster called Catastrophe, who the Rangers easily defeat. While it seems like Kat is free, it's all a ruse that leads into the next episode, “Changing of the Zords”.

In that three-part episode, we see Kat is jealous of Tommy and Kimberly's relationship, though it's unclear how much of it is thanks to Rita's spell. Her next order is to steal one of the Rangers' Power Coins, as it's part of Rita and Zedd's plan to activate a new set of dormant Zords, the Shogunzords, which they need a Power Coin and the Ninjazord technology to use in order to reawaken them. While the Rangers are busy fighting Zedd and Rita's new footsoldiers, the Tengas, Kat steals Kimberly's Power Coin, which immediately weakens Kimberly, just like what happened with Tommy back in Season 2. Not long after stealing the Power Coin, Kat hijacks the Falconzord as well, while Ninjor is captured by Lord Zedd to be used as a power source for the new Zords. Also, did I mention that for some reason, without the Falconzord, the Rangers can't access the other Ninjazords?

We get a pretty interesting character moment showing how Tommy comprehends the defeat of the Rangers, showing his determination to keep fighting. In general, Tommy is very protective of Kim with everything that's happened, especially since Zordon revealed that because the new Power Coins are connected to the Rangers' life forces, Kimberly is in even more danger than Tommy was in Season 2. It gives Tommy a more personal stake in this conflict, and adds more drama to the story.

Eventually, the Rangers take back the Shogunzords from Zedd, giving them a small victory even though he still has Kimberly's Power Coin and Ninjor, while Kimberly (now in less danger since Alpha severed her physical connection to her Power Coin) has to draw from the other Rangers' powers in order to morph until they get her Coin back. Overall, a very important episode that furthers Season 3's story, and shows how much Tommy cares for Kimberly.

Long story short, over the course of the three-part episode “A Different Shade of Pink”, after the spell on her is broken, Kat takes back Kimberly's Power Coin, and when an opportunity to train for a major international gymnastics competition in Florida comes up, Kimberly transfers her Pink Ranger powers to Kat. Tommy admits that while he doesn't want to say goodbye to Kimberly, he still is willing to say goodbye in the hopes that they can make things work long-distance. While this arc does focus primarily on Kimberly and Kat, it's still worth watching as it's the last time we'll really focus on Tommy's relationship with Kimberly. Well, second to last, but trust me, we'll get there.

“Master Vile and the Metallic Armor” is another three-part episode that is focused more on the team's conflict with a new villain, Master Vile (Voiced by Simon Prescott) while trying to save Ninjor. It also has a really important moment for Tommy's character. Master Vile's plan is to obtain the powerful Zeo Crystal, which is protected by a force field that can only be bypassed by someone pure of heart. Tommy attempts to get the Crystal, and while it initially puts him in unimaginable pain as he's forced to relive the evil deeds he committed as the Green Ranger, the force field soon eases as it recognizes all the good he's done as the Green Ranger and the White Ranger, letting him get the Crystal. It's short, but it's a powerful scene that illustrates how far Tommy has come as a character.

Tommy's tenure as the White Ranger ends abruptly in “Rangers in Reverse”, as Master Vile casts a spell to reverse time and turn the Rangers into kids, meaning they can't use their powers. After Rita and Zedd destroy the Power Coins as well, the Rangers are forced to search for the fragments of the Zeo Crystal they scattered through time in order to get new powers. During his Zeo quest, Tommy also gets a half of a Native American arrowhead which will be important later on. Although the Zeo Crytsal is reassembled and time is restored, the villains ultimately get the last laugh as they set off a bomb that destroys the Command Center, truly signaling the end of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers... for about two months, then Power Rangers Zeo premiered, giving Tommy a new set of powers.

Also, Aisha was replaced by a new girl, Tanya (Played by Nakia Burrise) because of time travel stuff he wasn't part of, but it's not that important right now.

(Part Three, Red-Ey or Not, Here He Comes)

Power Rangers Zeo opens with the two-part episode, “A Zeo Beginning”. Even with the destruction of the Command Center, it turns out that Zordon and Alpha had a backup base of operations, the Power Chamber. Using the Zeo Crystal, they then create new Morphers, the Zeonizers, for the Rangers to use, albeit without Billy since the Crystal only has enough power for five Rangers, so Tanya steps up as Aisha's replacement. Like Rocky and Adam, Tommy is given a new color with the Zeo powers. In this case, he's Zeo Ranger V, Red.

I really like the designs of the Zeo suits, and Zeo Ranger V is no exception. I love the use of white and gold near the top, and the star helmet makes the suit stand out compared to the previous two animal forms.

Surprisingly, while he became the leader, Tommy didn't get as much focus as he did in Mighty Morphin', mostly due to the show trying to settle into the new status quo in addition to establishing Tanya as a character and the new villains, the Machine Empire. That changed in a seven-part arc focusing on Tommy's mental conflict. “There's No Business Like Snow Business” was a three-part episode that opened with one of the biggest flaws of Zeo as a whole: Kimberly writing a “Dear John” letter to Tommy, announcing she met someone else while in Florida, and that she's breaking off their relationship. Why would they have Kimberly dump Tommy offscreen without the dignity of an actual breakup? To set up a new romantic subplot with Kat, of course!

Yeah, this is where a lot of fans believed the Tommy focus got to be too much, as not only was the Tommy/Kat ship hard for viewers to get used to after how well-written Tommy's relationship with Kimberly was, but it was very easy for the writers to pair Kat up with someone else instead, like Billy, Rocky, Adam, or another side character entirely. It also didn't help that there were a lot of plans to confirm the two tied the knot, mainly both of Kat's planned cameos as Tommy's wife in Wild Force and Dino Thunder (although neither came to fruition), a hint at that happening in Ninja Steel when the two hold hands near the end of “Dimensions in Danger”, and this was all after the infamous Christmas special, “A Season to Remember”, which showed that Tommy and Kat got married and became grandparents in the future.

“Inner Spirit”, “Challenges”, “Found and Lost”, and “Brother, Can You Spare an Arrowhead?” is a four part story arc that follows up on the arrowhead half Tommy got at during his Zeo quest. After Tommy has a strange dream about the Rangers being defeated, which soon comes to pass as the Rangers fight the Machine Empire's newest soldier, Main Drain. Zordon and Billy reveal that they've been working on a new Zord for Tommy, the Red Battlezord. However, because of the technology syncing up with his brainwaves, all the stress of the past few episodes has gotten to Tommy, causing him to crash the Zord into the ground. With advice from the man who helped him on his Zeo quest, Sam Trueheart (Played by Frank Salsedo), Tommy soon musters up the calm state of mind needed to properly use the Red Battlezord. Over the course of the next few episodes, Tommy reunites with the person who had the second half of the arrowhead, his long lost brother, David (Played by Jason David Frank's late brother, Erik Frank). Although it's interesting to see Tommy learn more about his Native American heritage, this arc hasn't exactly aged well thanks to relying on a lot of stereotypical depictions of the culture that were prevalent in the 90's, specifically the whole “vision quest” and wise old man with magic powers connected to the land.

Later on, a new mysterious Ranger is introduced, the Gold Ranger. While there's some initial speculation on his identity, “Revelations of Gold” reveals him to be an alien with three distinct personalities known as Trey of Triforia (Played by triplets, Tom, Tim, and Ted DiFillippo). In order for the three personalities to reunite as one again, Trey needs to transfer his powers, and Tommy has an idea for a candidate: the former Red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, Jason. The powers don't last for long, as Jason's body soon starts to reject them, putting him in a similar position to Tommy when he was losing the Green Ranger powers, so eventually, he has to transfer them back to Trey in the finale of Zeo, “Good as Gold”. We also get a really nice scene where Tommy tries to comfort Jason after the final battle, citing his own experiences losing his powers. It's really interesting to see their positions flipped here, especially since Jason took failing Tommy hard back in “Missing Green”.

Generally, Zeo furthered Tommy's character into more of a leader who was more sure of himself and wasn't nearly as headstrong as he was back when he was the Green Ranger or White Ranger. While Tommy was already leader when he became the White Ranger, this was when his role as team leader was truly cemented in my opinion, and was one of the high points of his character. The next season would try to focus on this... with mixed results.

Tommy's next set of powers would come in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, the pilot to Power Rangers Turbo. After the Rangers defeat the Machine Empire, space pirate Divatox (Played by Hilary Shepard Turner) kidnaps an alien wizard named Larigot, along with Jason and Kimberly, in order to use them as sacrifices to awaken the demon Maligor. The Rangers give chase, albeit with new powers and Zords to replicate the magical key needed to enter the mystical island, turning the Zeo Rangers into the Turbo Rangers. Tommy, of course, stays the Red Ranger.

The Red Turbo Ranger suit is... okay. It doesn't really stand out other than the chrome lining on the helmet. I never really got the trapezoid emblem on the chest either.

While most of this movie is pretty boring, the climax is interesting because of how Jason and Kimberly are involved. Originally, they were the ones who had the closest ties with Tommy, and they were the ones who wanted to save him the most while he was under Rita's control. Now, Tommy has to step up and show how much he's grown as a hero in order to save the people who once saved him. After he does, he and Jason easily win a karate tournament to raise money for a local shelter, showing how far their teamwork has come.

In the actual Power Rangers Turbo show, Tommy was tested as a leader as soon as the fourth episode, “Shadow Rangers”. When the other four Rangers were cloned, Tommy tries to get guidance from the team's new mentor, Dimitria (Played by Carol Hoyt), but all she does is ask questions, showing she's less of a hands-on mentor than Zordon was. This forces Tommy to figure things out himself, part of the theme of this show's first half, growing up and learning to do things on your own.

Compared to his last three Ranger forms, Tommy's tenure as the Red Turbo Ranger would be short-lived, as he would transfer his powers to T.J. Johnson (Played by Selwyn Ward) in “Passing the Torch”. This was because Jason David Frank wanted out of the franchise after almost four years, and let's be honest, despite having nineteen episodes to build up to it, the actual transfer really could have been handled better. There's no real in-universe explanation as to why Tommy had to retire other than him supposedly being too old for the role, judging from Dimitria's statement at the end of “Passing the Torch”, and Tommy barely got to know T.J. before the latter became the new Red Turbo Ranger. It makes the whole transfer seem less impactful when compared to Kimberly transferring her powers to Kat in Mighty Morphin', and the fact that Adam, Tanya, and Kat were also written off for the same reason with just as little fanfare didn't help things at all.

Nevertheless, it seemed like Tommy's time as a Ranger was over, and it was for a few years, not counting a guest appearance in Wild Force. However, he would return for one more season as a regular down the line and prove that while he may be old, but he can still pull it off.

(Part Four, Black Into Action)

Tommy's major return to the franchise came in Power Rangers Dino Thunder's very first episode, the two-part “Day of the Dino”. Between the events of this season and Turbo, Tommy got a degree in paleontology and became a high school science teacher at Reefside High School. How he managed to get through all that in seven years is anyone's guess. Maybe Zordon put in a letter of recommendation for whatever university Tommy chose?

Here, Tommy is much more calm and composed, but he isn't afraid to snark if the situation calls for it, and he hasn't lost his martial arts prowess in the slightest. At the same time, this show established  a more intellectual side to him, which helps play into his backstory. While working with Dr. Anton Mercer (Played by Latham Gaines), Tommy attempted to try and fuse dinosaur DNA with technology, but the project soon got out of hand after Mercer tested it on himself, giving him an evil split personality, Mesogog. It's clear that Tommy has a lot of regret regarding what happened to the project he worked on, and is trying his best to stop it.

After his first day as a teacher, Tommy would be forced to supervise three of his students, Connor, Ethan, and Kira (Played by James Napier, Kevin Duhaney, and Emma Lahana respectively), during detention. He takes the three to a museum, but while he sends them off to do some investigating for a mission, he encounters a robotic T-Rex, and does what only Tommy Oliver could do: KICK IT IN THE FACE!

Goddamn it, I love this character.

While he fends off the robot, Connor, Ethan, and Kira accidentally stumble upon Tommy's underground lab where they find a trio of colorful gems which give them superpowers. These gems, appropriately called the Dino Gems, bond with the three, which is bad because that's what Mesogog wants to use in order to bring Earth back to the prehistoric era. The new recruits get the hang of being Rangers pretty quickly, but their first major challenge came earlier than expected when Tommy is kidnapped by Mesogog's forces at the end of the next episode, “Wave Goodbye”, with Mesogog intending to force Tommy to help him unlock the secrets of a mysterious stone.

In the next episode after that, “Legacy of Power” while trying to figure out where he is by having Ethan hack into his computer, the Rangers learn that Tommy used to be a Power Ranger after he alluded to it a few times earlier. While the episode is mostly a clip show to commemorate the franchise's 500th episode (the clips in question coming from a video log Tommy set up going over the history of the Power Rangers), we get a really strong scene at the end where he says he believes that Connor, Ethan, and Kira can protect the planet as a team, showing how much trust he has in the new generation.

The Rangers go and rescue Tommy in the very next episode, “Back in Black”, and when it seems like he's killed by one of Mesogog's generals, Zeltrax (Voiced by James Gaylyn), Tommy reveals that the stone Mesogog was so determined to use was actually a new, black Dino Gem. Tommy bonds with the Gem, and once again, becomes a Power Ranger.

And so Tommy morphs into his final Ranger form, the Black Dino Ranger. This is honestly my second favorite of Tommy's Ranger suits, the first being the Green Ranger suit. I love the way it has more of an armored look with the shoulderpads and the golden scales make him stand out compared to the other Dino Rangers. It probably wasn't the intention, but it almost looks like an evolution of the Green Ranger suit with how the gold is used.

So Tommy goes back to kicking ass and taking names as a Ranger, but he's more in a supportive role and not the leader outright. He does his best to mentor the Rangers and even connects a little with another one of his students, Trent (Played by Jeffrey Parazzo), showing how much he cares about the kids he's in charge of.

Of course, things would go south for Trent and the Rangers in the three-part episode “White Thunder”, as he accidentally discovers Mesogog's lair, and becomes the White Dino Ranger after finding a white Dino Gem. Like Tommy all the way back in “Green With Evil”, Trent isn't fully in control of his actions thanks to the Gem's influence, but would still go on to ABSOLUTELY WRECK THE SHIT OUT OF THE OTHER RANGERS. Not only does he beat the crap out of them, he steals two of the Rangers' Zords, the Dragozord and the Stegozord, and to top it all off, traps Tommy in an amber cocoon before he can tell the others who the White Dino Ranger really is. To make things worse, two episodes later, he's freed from the amber, but now he can't demorph.

This was something Jason David Frank had actually requested behind the scenes. He wanted to spend more time with his family and run his martial arts school back in America, as opposed to being in New Zealand to film the entire season. Therefore, the decision was made to keep Tommy morphed permanently so all Jason David Frank had to do was record some lines to dub over his suit actor's performance in post-production. So for the next ten episodes, Tommy stayed morphed, and not much really changed aside from that. He still stayed in a supportive role, but had to step back from the school scenes, and wasn't as involved with the action in some episodes. The only problem I really had with this was that they never really showed any downside to this. I guess if I had to write this subplot, I'd make it so Tommy has to conserve his energy in order to sustain himself instead of eating or drinking, sort of like what he had to do back when the Green Ranger powers were starting to run out. I think it would justify his absence from certain episodes better.

That being said, they still give Tommy focus here, and it leads to other cool moments. In the very first episode after he's freed from the amber, “Burning at Both Ends”, Tommy sees through a ploy from Trent giving him a new ATV as a way to show he turned a new leaf by asking Trent a false question about said ATV, because “they don't make twelve-stroke engines”. Another interesting moment comes in “Bully for Ethan”, where Kira helps him go through some old pictures, and we get to see a picture of the original six Power Rangers.

It's small, but it's a nice bit of fanservice, as is the picture of Tommy's ancestor seen in “Wild West Rangers”, the White Stranger.

They also focus more on why Zeltrax hates Tommy so much. It turns out that Zeltrax is actually an old friend of Tommy's, Terrance “Smitty” Smith, and Smitty hates Tommy thanks to Anton Mercer choosing him for a job instead of him, not knowing that his new boss, Mesogog, is actually Mercer. Not much really comes of this rivalry (it doesn't help that we barely know who Smitty is outside of flashbacks), but it's interesting to see Tommy try to reason with his old friend like what Jason did with him all those years ago, only to be forced to seemingly take him down by himself in “A Star is Torn”.

In “Disappearing Act”, the Rangers find a mysterious slime that manages to get Tommy to finally demorph... but now his Dino Gem's invisibility power is active 24/7. This leads us to the next episode, and one I can imagine Power Rangers fans have been waiting for me to talk about for a while now, “Fighting Spirit”. Using the black Dino Gem, they turn him back... but this sends him into a coma. While the Rangers head out to fight a new monster, Tommy starts to dream about fighting his old Ranger forms, Zeo Ranger V, the White Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, and the Green Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger.

The scenes in Tommy's mind have been interpreted in different ways, and here's my take on the conflict. Zeo Ranger V represents the leader Tommy has become over the years, being calm and courteous when he greets the veteran Ranger, and refusing to use any weapons in their fight. The White Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger represents Tommy's headstrong nature, being the most aggressive of the three, and at one point, shouts at Tommy to get up and keep fighting. And the Green Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger represents Tommy's sense of personal discipline, almost like a mixture of the first two, as while he is the most direct about wanting to fight Tommy, he is courteous enough to lend him the Dragon Dagger before the two fight. Compared to V's question about being able to keep up the good fight or White aggressively demanding he keep fighting, Green also gives Tommy the chance to give up, testing his spirit instead of his body. Even in the face of adversity, Tommy refuses to give up, revealing the three Rangers were testing him. Tommy gets his Dino Gem back, and beats Mesogog's newest monster on his own.

Afterwards, the Rangers keep up the good fight until Tommy, like the other Rangers, is stripped of his powers in “Thunder Struck” when they all use the combined power of their Dino Gems to defeat Mesogog (who had already been separated from Mercer) once and for all.

(Part Five, Always a Ranger)

Now that we've gone over most of Tommy's tenure as a Ranger, it's time to talk about the way he is seen as an icon, in and out of universe.

Tommy's first return since his retirement in Turbo was in Wild Force's iconic 10th anniversary special, “Forever Red”. In this episode, the Red Rangers from the past ten seasons of the franchise team up to stop the remnants of the Machine Empire from unleashing Lord Zedd's old Zord, Serpentera. While the Red Wild Force Ranger, Cole (Played by Rick Medina), is introduced to all the older Red Rangers, T.J. specifically introduces Tommy as “a legend”, and earlier, when Tommy is called over by another Red Ranger, Bulk and Skull (who were running a little club he was relaxing at), they seem very hesitant to disturb him.

Tommy's next major return after Dino Thunder was during the finale to Megaforce, “Legendary Battle”, the 20th anniversary special. Here, he led the army of Legendary Rangers to help the Megaforce Rangers deal with the rest of the Armada's forces, essentially serving as the representative of the veterans giving their approval to the new generation... as unearned as it was, given how poorly the anniversary aspect of Megaforce was handled, but I digress. Although to be fair, while I'm just as critical of Megaforce as everyone else is, Tommy telling the Megaforce Rangers that “They'll always be with them” was pretty heartwarming, and is a testament to how long the franchise has been going for.

And the final televised appearance of Tommy Oliver before Jason David Frank's death would be Ninja Steel's “Dimensions in Danger”, the 25th anniversary special. When several veteran Rangers go missing, the Ninja Steel Rangers are contacted by three other veterans, and they explain for this mission, they specifically mention needing Tommy's help, the current team of Rangers seem to hold him in high regard. Later on, when Tommy is the one to save all of the captured Rangers, and later uses the Falconzord to save the day.

Obviously, these three anniversary specials seem to hold Tommy in high regard, but why is that? How did Tommy get so popular that he essentially became the face of the franchise?

For one thing, I'd say it's the first impression he made. Like I mentioned earlier on, “Green With Evil” was a big deal, and even though Tommy was brainwashed, he still got to show off a lot, and most of it was before he even got the iconic Dragonzord. Power Rangers has always been about teamwork, that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but with Tommy, and pretty much every other Sixth Ranger after him, he stood out thanks to his more unique arsenal that put him on par with some of Rita's strongest monsters. He did just enough to shake up the cast during his first run as the Green Ranger, and let's be honest, he was pretty cool. Tommy was sort of like Batman or Wolverine, a hero who is recognized for being a total badass that kids love to see. I think that's why so many children wanted to see more of Tommy after “The Green Candle”.

At the same time, Tommy clearly had some depth to him. We saw him struggle to work together with Jason, he showed a level of dedication to making Kimberly happy while showing an artistic side to him, and when his Green Ranger powers were being drained in the first two seasons, he was put in a very vulnerable situation. This kind of drama made things more interesting to watch, and it made kids want to watch the show more to see what would happen to Tommy when Lord Zedd was personally targeting him in an effort to drain his powers entirely. Yeah, we know what happens now, but back in the 90's, kids didn't know if Tommy would get to stay a Power Ranger or not, which was what also made his debut as the White Ranger so shocking.

I think this was why Tommy was eventually promoted to Red Ranger in Zeo and Turbo, to solidify his role as leader of the team, although I do think the focus got a little out of hand in Zeo. Like I said, the romance subplot with Kat was very unnecessary in my opinion, and the four-parter with Tommy's Native American heritage coming right after a three-parter that set up his feelings for her really didn't help the perception that all he did was steal screentime from the other Rangers. I still feel like it got better in the first half of Turbo, as there was more focus given to the other Rangers before they all left, but I think more could have been done to place a greater emphasis on Tommy transferring his powers to T.J. instead of how rushed his exit was planned.

To me, I think Tommy was handled almost perfectly in Dino Thunder. Yes, there was a little bit of worshiping with him being built up as a legend in “Legacy of Power”, and yes, the whole thing with Zeltrax/Smitty was pretty pointless, but here, more emphasis was placed on his role as a close advisor to the team while there was plenty of focus given to the other four Dino Rangers. He was given the right amount of focus as a main character, but it wasn't enough that the other Rangers felt neglected by the writers.

Tommy Oliver is a character whose reputation precedes him for good reasons. He's been a huge part of the franchise ever since his introduction, has a surprising amount of depth to him, and he has essentially become the face of the franchise for years. I think that's one of the reasons why people were so shaken by Jason David Frank's death compared to other Ranger actors like Thuy Trang and Pua Magasiva. Generally, when we got the news that Jason David Frank died, it was like a huge part of the franchise died with him. It's hard to imagine what the franchise would have been like if Tommy wasn't so popular, but we can at least rest knowing that Jason David Frank and Tommy Oliver both played a huge part in getting the legacy of the Power Rangers started.

May the power protect you always, Mr. Frank.

[umbralwaves]

Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1796–1833), the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her the management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys on the grounds of the estate. This meant that Chinn, although enslaved herself, oversaw Blue Spring's slave labor force and had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely to have been consensual since she was never manumitted.

What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family—up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep limits: pews at the rear of the church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Johnson’s relationship with Chinn ruined his political career and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it—and Julia Chinn—behind closed doors.

[fineartsjournal]

213341 Art Studio IIIA ⋆ Week 3 - Crit Week and the Eternal Sleepiness

With group members Olivia, Bella and Stevee in attendance, we headed around the available gallery spaces for a little window shopping:

Eugene is our mentor, and we had a productive conversation with him.

ⓈⒾⓍ ⓇⓊⓁⒺⓈ ⒻⓄⓇ ⓂⒶⓀⒾⓃⒼ

(according to Richard Reddaway)

You should make it with your skills and knowledge, and with the materials and processes familiar to you.

It must interact with your body, made so that it can be worn, held, stood on, or something similar.

It may not be functional, apart from the function art has.

You should be imaginative in your design, even fantastical. What you make must be abstract, it must not represent anything already existing in the world.

Perhaps it will evoke something that has yet-to-be-seen.

Yet you and I can see the world through this thing - therefore it may have eye holes, and these must be two of circular and between 45mm (1 3/4") in diameter, and spaced 65mm (2 1/2") apart.

It's also worth acknowledging the sound-based side of Richard's works. Not because I'm drawing influence from them at the moment, but they sure do look cool.

Meanwhile with the group, we were all busy getting a grasp on the dimensions and requirements of eachother's works.

For such talks, we have a groupchat on Instagram, which is especially useful, as we've still not all been present in a room at the same time.

For my little Age of Empires project, I overhauled the Pop Concrète Bandcamp page I used last semester, now decked out with pixellated snippets taken from the in-game graphics.

I miss playing this game until I remember how frustrating and obtuse the in-game mechanics can be. With Age of Empires being classed as a real-time strategy game, I chose to swap the words around and name this project:

Time Isn't Real Strategy - a tongue-in-cheek observation on rose-tinted hindsight. Emotional past perception can't be trusted.

With this presentation being a small-scale catch-up on process more than anything, I kept a small scope, only making two songs total.

Audio was sampled from YouTube and compiled straight into Audacity. I even took a 'sword fighting' sound effect and combined it with the drums; which I sampled from Kirk Lightsey And Rudolph Johnson With The All Stars' Habiba.

Using audacity, I adjusted all the audio to be in the same tempo, and from there, I hooked up the SP-202. Recording had to be timed to EXACTLY the right intervals in order to loop properly; with plenty trial and error.

Mixing was tricky. Amplifying audio brought warmth and punch to the drum beats, but would create loud 'pops' that needed to be ironed out. I was only able to do this following the presentation.

The song was also in mono, to which I added a little stereo reverb so that it'd better fill the eardrums.

After a light dusting in extra in-game sound effects, it was finished.

Presentation, although discussed with Emma, was an afterthought. I added a QR code to the Bandcamp site, rehashed the 'sound player' graphic I used for the Pop Concrète stickers, as well as placing another screenshot from the game; choosing something that had a variety of in-game objects to jog the memory.

Come presentation day, I chucked the print onto a plinth and let the critique group go ham, interacting much how they did with Pop Concrète.

I should also add the Bandcamp link too, so you can listen for yourself!

CRITIQUE TIME, BABY.

People scanned in their own time. Had to step in and give a warning about the unmastered volume 'pops'. Couple heads bopping, some feet tapping.

Needed to be more inviting, QR codes "always look sketchy". At least with the QR code on a brick, it was silly enough that you don't take the risk seriously. On a piece of paper, "...anyone could do that"; "...feel like my bank account will be stolen..."

Different types of links... email? Stream? Non-labeled QR codes in a gallery setting? Generational divide in listening? Focus on breaking down barriers of suspicion.

Everyone was playing the music off their phones - but the intention was not to create cacophony this time - Gallery listening vs. personal listening -Listen to it in the gallery, download to listen later? Is your audience an individual on their own timeline or is it a group of people passing your work?

"Make it available to all, [so that] everyone can get a piece of their work..." "Why are you in Fine Arts and not studying Music?" -> With my art and presentation, I can "...define the difference."

"Unlocked memory..." Didnt recognise the sounds, seems familiar; "something about that property is evocative..." Two people recognised the source material: "...didnt realise I knew Age of Empires, I just remembered [sound effect video from game] as a kid..."

Dissemination - I might lose some engagement from a plinth presentation. Relational Aesthetics by Nicola Boreau. Post-production: Contemporary art draws from either the "computer programmer" and the "DJ" - people that draw from existing material and reform/recombine it.

For today's edition of the Plunderphonical Chronicle, we jump forward before jumping back. In 2010, Chuck Person - alias of Daniel Lopatin - released Eccojams Vol. 1, coinciding with cryptic video releases on his channel Sunsetcorp.

Internet music afficionados may call Eccojams the foundation to vaporwave, a (sadly flash-in-the-pan) genre of plunderphonics, characterised by slowed, echo-y 1980s pop, usually playing in its entirely with little modification.

Eccojams itself was a little more 'swaggy' with it, repeatedly looping small lyric segments of popular songs to re-frame their message. On track "B4" for example, the line "...there's nobody here..." from Chris De Burgh's Lady In Red is looped over and over; creating a familiarly un-familiar atmosphere.

For an example, I created my own 'eccojam'.

I took Yesterday Once More by the Carpenters, looped the line "...all my best memories, come back clearly to me..." and soaked it in delay effects. Given the nostalgia theme of this semester's output so far, it's quite fitting:

Of course, when it comes to Eccojams and the wider output of the vaporwave genre, we once again must attest that-

The late Robert Earl Davis Jr. was from the Houston hip-hop scene, characterized in the late 1980s by a slower sound compared to other hip-hop genres at the time.

Going by DJ Screw, he took it even slower. The tools of the trade were a turntable and E-mu SP 1200: a 1986 sampler that I omitted from my sampler timeline, but holds just as much influence as the MPC. Admire its dated, exorbitantly-expensive beauty.

Performing these slowed mixes, the listener would have more time to sit and reflect on the lyrics, upon which DJ Screw would scratch and loop certain lines for further emphasis.

Consumption of Codeine - taken in the form of lean - was on the rise at the time, and the mellowing effect of the drug was a contributor to the sound... and appeal.

An example of this is 3 minutes into Inside Looking Out, where Screw's record scratches allow the lyrics a chance to breathe, placing emphasis on certain lines through their repetition.

We now call this genre Chopped and Screwed, the forbearer genre to all things vapor and ecco; which still continues today in honor of DJ Screw's passing by codeine overdose.

From one skull-album-cover to another, and back to 2011 with Daniel Lopatin's - going by Oneohtrix Point Never - album Replica.

There are few pieces of music that I have played more than Replica, in fact, my coming-across of Replica last year was what kickstarted my interest with plunderphonics as a whole; and what continues to drive the ethos of my works; from style to concept.

As an album, it's a beat-less, brooding and largely atmospheric collection of synth progressions; that either play on their own or - and most alluringly - accompany a sample.

Weingarten, Christopher (October 2011). "Download: Oneohtrix Point Never’s Buzzing 'Replica’“. The Village Voice.

How Lopatin samples on this album is most interesting. He entirely sources from 1980s-90s TV adverts, cutting them down to a small fragment, and letting it repeat; as synth swells gradually build up to accompany it.

"I like this idea that I’m not actually a musician and that, instead, I’m kind of like Indiana Jones — an adventurer who is looking for old things that are meaningful. So, like, we don’t tend to think of television commercials and ephemera like that..."

The sample-work is jarring, too. At points you're left with nothing but a fuzzy sample playing over and over - not even as a groovy loop, but as if midway through a sentence.

"I categorized the sounds a few different ways, mostly by theme. One strain of infomercial [which I called], "The Middle Class Lie," appealed to me the most. Those had products that were supposed to make you feel wealthier than you actually are..."

Samples were taken from an archive website called Videomercials, from where Lopatin would buy a DVD compilation and quickly skim through.

Some moments are emphasized. The song "Remember" repeats its name, itself taken from a McDonald's ad. Lopatin's works regularly dabble with memory; so take it as instruction.

Replica is fascinating because it's nowhere. An advert sells you a potential experience, and while it can evoke a bygone time, the memories aren't lived. Replica sonically leans in to this discomfort, cutting away the legibility of each sample until all that's left is distinctly unnatural mush.

[radioeuroextasis]

George A. Johnson Jr. Feat. The Young Masters

George A. Johnson Jr. es el intérprete consumado con todos los talentos de un director de orquesta. George produce nueva música y dirige a la banda, como director, sobre cómo interpretar cada obra. Como director de orquesta, el trabajo de George es presentar a cada músico las partituras de su instrumento y la tonalidad de la canción, mientras que George tiene en sus partituras las notaciones de todos los instrumentos. Los directores de orquesta tienen un oído para lo que quieren escuchar y cómo se debe tocar la música. George es el autor de una gran obra de canciones. Gran parte de la música de George está inspirada en los maestros músicos con los que ha trabajado y ese cuerpo de trabajo está inspirado en sus enseñanzas. En este sentido, George es el estudiante de música. Elvin Jones y Art Blakey son dos de las personas que fueron mentores de este baterista de tercera generación. El maestro Johnson recuerda el mismo día en que Elvin Jones le ayudó a elegir su primer juego profesional de baterías. "He tocado con muchos de los mejores músicos de JAZZ del mundo, incluyendo; Grover Washington Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Charles Earland, Craig Handy, Milt Hinton, Shirley Scott, Wickliffe Gordon, Terrell Stafford y Sir Roland Hannah Jimmy Smith, Richard Holmes, Buster Williams, Ron Carter, Lou Donaldson, Cedar Walton, Lonnie Liston Smith, George Adams, Curtis Fuller, Johnny Hammond, Jimmy Merit, Jon Faddis, Gene Ammos y el gran McCoy Tyner. George sonríe mientras sigue hablando de Abdullah Ibraham. Abdullah Ibrahim es un pianista, saxofonista y violonchelista sudafricano, además de compositor y director de orquesta. Principalmente interpretando música gospel, jazz sudafricano y expandiéndolo al jazz moderno y estilos de música occidentales como el bebop, el post-bop y el folk. Ibrahim es la figura principal de la música de jazz del Cabo. Dentro del jazz, tiene una pasión particular por Thelonious Monk y Duke Ellington. Su extensa gira es la forma en que trabajó con George A. Johnson Jr., además de colaborar con orquestas clásicas en Europa. En realidad, George es el Gran Maestro del Jazz, un título que otros célebres músicos de jazz le han dado. Cuando George construye una banda para un concierto, busca a los músicos mejor entrenados y más talentosos con el más alto nivel de experiencia en conciertos, lo que le permite su propio talento como músico en la batería o como director. Al frente de una banda, George ofrece al público la más memorable de las actuaciones, añadiendo elogios al Gran Maestro del Jazz por sus conciertos. George A. Johnson Jr., escribió y produjo "The League of Extraordinary Musicians", que es un CD instrumental con muchos sentimientos y calidez. Read the full article

[verticalmomentum1]

On This Episode Of The Vertical Momentum Resiliency Podcast Host Richard Kaufman Veteran-Keynote speaker-Comeback Coach

In this insightful episode, we delve deep with Anik Singal into the critical topic of avoiding FTC sanctions in digital marketing. 🚀🔍💡

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My Hot 🥵 Take…

Anik, a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing guru, shares his expertise on navigating the complexities of FTC regulations to ensure your marketing strategies remain on the right side of the law. 📈👩‍⚖️

From understanding the basic principles 📚🤓 to implementing the best practices in your marketing campaigns, Anik provides valuable insights to protect your business from legal pitfalls. ⚖️🛡️

Whether you're a budding entrepreneur 🌱 or an established business owner 🏢, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you market responsibly and safely.

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[stevelevi]

Meet Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky, the Vice President under Martin Van Buren.

He had no problem with being Vice President. He used the office to publicize a tavern and spa on his Kentucky ranch where he spent most of his time as Vice President rather than Washington D. C.

He was married three times, all of his wives being slaves. When his second wife eloped with the man she preferred, he had her captured by slave hunters and then sold at auction.

He was, to quote a contemporary, “The most vulgar of all vulgar men in world.”

👉Learn more: https://bit.ly/3u6kL4V

SteveLevibooks #readersandwritersbookclub #authormasterminds #thrillers #Mysteries #crimebooks

[honeyleesblog]

July 1 Zodiac - Full Horoscope Personality

Despite the fact that his psyche is exceptionally dynamic, his life desires are not perfect. They are delicate individuals, frequently uncertain, attached to travel and change, with somewhat unobtrusive inclinations. Despite the fact that they can be smooth, they have a somewhat unfortunate disposition. Their heart is loaded up with natural goodness. They are not forceful by any stretch of the imagination, some of the time in any event, lacking fearlessness; nonetheless, his life is bountiful in acts of kindness. They can accomplish extraordinary things in an unassuming manner, without pushing others. They resemble a low rich mountain that bears noteworthy natural product, while the encompassing high mountains stay vain. They appreciate request and tidiness. They concentrate on regulation with energy and can become gifted legal advisors or brilliant analysts. Since they are pragmatic individuals, they can track down their direction throughout everyday life. They are persevering and economical. It happens that they like cash excessively and go all out to get it. As has been said, they are very dedicated, however the aftereffects of that work won't shock. Disregarding everything, gradually their understanding and moderation will permit them to understand their fantasies. Karma looks favorably upon them particularly in the second piece of their life. Their life frequently goes so that their kin are not kind to them, endangering them of mistaken assumptions. Being conceived today offers just a little opportunity for distinction. In any case, an individual brought into the world on this day will achieve more than his humble yet stable desires suggest. July 1 Zodiac - Full Horoscope Personality

  Assuming your birthday is July 1, your zodiac sign is Malignant growth July 1 - character and character character: independent, blameless, well-suited, short, inquisitive, clear cut; calling: craftsman, janitor, pediatrician tones: blue-green, dark, beige stone: goshenite creature: snail plant: dogwood fortunate numbers: 3,11,24,47,57,58 very fortunate number: 10 Occasions and Observances - July 1 Argentina: Day of the Compound Designer. Mexico: Architect's Day. Argentina: Draftsman's Day. Canada: Canada Day. Argentina: Antiquarian's Day. Global Day of Cooperatives, July 1 Joined Countries July 1 Big name Birthday. Who was conceived that very day as you? 1902: William Wyler, French-American producer, maker, and screenwriter (d. 1981). 1902: Fდ©lix Quesada, Spanish soccer player and mentor (d. 1959). 1902: Josep Lluდ­s Sert, Spanish engineer (d. 1983). 1903 - Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941). 1903: Beatrix Lehmann, English entertainer, producer and author (d. 1979). 1906: Jean Dieudonnდ©, French mathematician and scholarly (d. 1992). 1906: Estდ©e Lauder, American finance manager (d. 2004). 1907: Norman Pirie, English natural chemist and virologist (f. 1997). 1908: Luis Regueiro, Spanish soccer player (f. 1995). 1909: Juan Carlos Onetti, Uruguayan essayist (d. 1994). 1915: Willie Dixon, American blues artist, vocalist, guitarist and maker (d. 1992). 1915: Oscar Valicelli, Argentine entertainer (f. 1999). 1916: Olivia de Havilland, American entertainer. 1916: Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian stargazer and astrophysicist (d. 1985). 1917: დ?lvaro Domecq Dდ­ez, Spanish farmer and financial specialist (d. 2005). 1917: Richard A. Howard, American botanist (d. 2003). 1917: Humphry Osmond, English military and therapist (d. 2004). 1921: Gerard Debreu, American business analyst of French beginning, Nobel prize for financial aspects in 1983 (f. 2004). 1921: Seretse Khama, attorney, lawmaker and leader of Botswana somewhere in the range of 1966 and 1980 (d. 1980). 1924: Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer (d. 2013). 1925: Farley Granger, American entertainer and vocalist (d. 2011). 1926: Juan Jaime Cesio, Argentine military man, common freedoms dissident during the tyranny. 1926: Robert Fogel, American business analyst and student of history, 1993 Nobel Prize in financial matters (f. 2013). 1926: Hans Werner Henze, German arranger and instructor (d. 2012). 1926: Atilio Stampone, Argentine piano player and writer. 1928: Roberto Maidana, Argentine writer (f. 2007). 1929: Gerald M. Edelman, American scientist and immunologist, 1972 Nobel Prize victor in medication (d. 2014). 1930: Moustapha Akkad, Syrian movie producer and maker (d. 2005). 1931: Leslie Caron, French entertainer and artist. 1931: Seyni Kountchდ©, Nigerian President (d. 1987). 1933: Fდ©lix Ayo, Spanish violin player. 1934: Claude Berrდ­, French entertainer and movie producer and screenwriter (d. 2009). 1934: Jean Bog, English entertainer and screenwriter 1934: Sydney Pollack, American movie producer, entertainer and maker (d. 2008). 1935 - James Cotton, American blues harmonica player, vocalist and lyricist (d. 2017). 1935: David Prowse, English entertainer and muscle head. 1936: Syl Johnson, American vocalist, guitarist and maker. 1938: Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian woodwind player and author. 1939: Karen Dark, American entertainer, vocalist and screenwriter (d. 2013). 1939: Josდ© Antonio Marina, Spanish scholar. 1941: Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and natural chemist, 1994 Nobel Prize champ for medication or physiology (d. 2015). 1941: Myron Scholes, Canadian financial expert, 1993 Nobel Prize champ for financial matters. 1941: Twyla Tharp, American artist and choreographer. 1942: Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi military and lawmaker. 1942: Genevieve Bujold, Canadian entertainer. 1942: Andraდ© Hunch, American vocalist, lyricist, maker and minister (d. 2015). 1942: Mario Rapoport, Argentine financial expert, scholarly and teacher. 1944: Germდ¡n Dehesa, Mexican columnist, author and telecaster (d. 2010). 1944: Lew Rockwell, American author and lobbyist. 1944: Fernando Josდ© Salgueiro Maia, Portuguese military (d. 1992). 1945: Debbie Harry, American vocalist, lyricist and entertainer, of the band Blondie. 1946: Mick Aston, English paleologist and scholastic (d. 2013). 1946: Masaharu Sato, Japanese voice entertainer. 1947: Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese pilot. 1947: Malcolm Wicks, English intellectual and government official (d. 2012). 1948: John Portage, English artist, musician and guitarist, of the band Strawbs. 1949: John Farnham, Australian vocalist and musician. 1950: David Duke, extremist, essayist and American government official. 1951: Trevor Eve, English entertainer and maker 1951: Tom Kozelko, American b-ball player. 1951: Terrence Mann, American entertainer, vocalist and artist. 1951: Josდ© Nazabal, Spanish cyclist. 1951: Fred Schneider, American vocalist, musician and keyboardist, of the band The B-52's. 1951: Victor Willis, American vocalist, musician, piano player and entertainer, of the band Town Individuals. 1952: Dan Aykroyd, Canadian entertainer, screenwriter, maker and author. 1952: David Path, English oncologist and scholastic (d. 2007). 1953: Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese legal counselor and lawmaker, twelfth Head of the state of Malta. 1953: Jadranka Kosor, Croatian columnist and lawmaker, ninth Head of the state of Croatia. 1953: Jesდºs Marდ­a Sanz Iparraguirre, Spanish artist musician. 1955: Li Keqiang, Chinese business analyst and lawmaker, seventh head of his country. 1955: Marდ­a de los დ?ngeles Medrano, Argentine entertainer. 1956: Alfredo de დ?ngeli, Argentine country pioneer. 1956: Ernesto Sდ¡enz de Buruaga, Spanish columnist. 1957: Lisa Blount, American entertainer and maker (d. 2010). 1961: Kalpana Chawla, American space explorer of Indian beginning (d. 2003). 1961: Bastiდ¡n Bodenhდ¶fer, Chilean entertainer. 1961: Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist. 1961: Woman Di, English blue-blood and altruist (d. 1997). 1961: Carl Lewis, American competitor 1961: Michelle Wright, Canadian artist, musician and guitarist 1962: Andre Braugher, American entertainer and maker. 1963: Roddy Bottum, American artist and keyboardist, of the band Confidence No More. 1964: Bernard Laporte, rugby player, rugby trainer and French lawmaker. 1964: Cristina Cifuentes, Spanish lawmaker. 1965: Tito Beltrდ¡n, Chilean tenor. 1965: Harald Zwart, Norwegian chief and maker 1966: Rafael Simancas, Spanish lawmaker of German beginning. 1967: Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American entertainer and model. 1967: Marisa Monte, Brazilian artist, of the band Tribalistas. 1968: Jordi Molla, Spanish entertainer, chief and scriptwriter. 1971: Missy Elliott, artist, rapper, maker, artist and American entertainer. 1971: Cecilia Lueza, Argentine craftsman living in the US. 1971: Julianne Nicholson, American entertainer. 1972: Claire Forlani, English entertainer. 1972: Tetsu Inada, Japanese voice entertainer. 1972: Steffi Nerius, German lance hurler. 1974: Jefferson Pდ©rez, Ecuadorian walking sprinter. 1974: Octavi Pujades, Spanish entertainer. 1975: Sean Colson, American ball player and mentor. 1975: Ingrid Cruz, Chilean entertainer. 1975: Sufjan Stevens, American artist and vocalist lyricist. 1976: დ?ngel de Brito, Argentine TV host and columnist. 1976: Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer. 1976: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer. 1976: Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer. 1976: Justin Lo, Hong Kong artist, lyricist and entertainer. 1976: Thomas Sadoski, American entertainer. 1977: Tom Frager, Senegalese artist, lyricist and guitarist. 1977: Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player. 1977: Greg Pattillo, American flute player, of the Venture Threesome band. 1977: Verდ³nica Sდ¡nchez, Spanish entertainer. 1977: Liv Tyler, American entertainer and model. 1979: Forrest Griffin, American military craftsman and entertainer. 1980: Nelson Cruz, Dominican baseball player. 1982: Hilarie Burton, American entertainer. 1982: Carmella DeCesare, model and American warrior. 1982: Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player. 1982: Luciano Leguizamდ³n, Argentine footballer. 1983: Sherif Ekramy, Egyptian footballer. 1983: Marit Larsen, Norwegian artist, musician and keyboardist, of the band M2M. 1983: Leeteuk (Park Jung-soo), South Korean artist and entertainer, of the band Very Junior. 1983: Tanya Chisholm, American entertainer. 1983: Marდ­a Inდ©s Guerra, Mexican TV moderator and artist. 1984: Rafita Gomar Moreno, Spanish entertainer. 1984: Bracey Wright, American ball player. 1986: Agnez Mo, Indonesian artist, musician, maker and entertainer. 1986: Giovanni Moreno, Colombian footballer. 1988: Anderson Imperative da Silva, Brazilian soccer player. 1989: Kent Bazemore, American ball player. 1989:

[naturecoaster]

Live Oak Theatre Announces the Cast of Singin’ In the Rain, Jr.

Below is the cast of Live Oak Théâtre’s production of Singin’ in the Rain, Jr. Many of the roles are shared. Live Oak Theatre Announces the Cast of Singin’ In the Rain, Jr. Here is the cast list and when they are performing. - Purple Cast                                              Blue Cast - Sunday 5/7 2:30pm                                    Friday 5/5 7:30pm - Friday 5/12 7:30pm,                                    Saturday 5/13 2:30pm - Saturday 5/13 7:30pm                                Sunday 5/14 2:30pm - Saturday 5/20 2:30pm                                Friday 5/19 7:30pm - Sunday 5/21 2:30pm                                   Saturday 5/20 7:30pm - Elijah Torres…………….Don Lockwood………..Micah Rossiter - Rachel George…………..Kathy Seldon……..….Alannah Allocco - Titus Richards…………...Cosmo Brown………..Zeke Richards - Amber Marino…………….Lina Lamont………....Reese Monroe - Kaylee Umstead………….Dora Bailey…………..Abby DePriest - Micah Rossiter…….Broadway Melody Host…….Elijah Torres TAP dance ensemble - Micah Rossiter                                                        Elijah Torres - Alannah Allocco                                                      Rachel George - Zeke Richards                                                        Titus Richards - Reese Monroe                                                        Amber Marino - Madison Frassrand                                                 Madison Frassrand - Evelyn Mitten                                                          Evelyn Mitten - Leah Robitaille                                                        Leah Robitaille - Caitee Grace Gunn                                                Caitee Grace Gunn Both Casts - R.F Simpson- Leif Rasmussen - Dexter- Truman Rossiter - Roz- Noah King - Zelda- Natasha Berard - Ensemble- Cadence Dumala, Giada Falato, Leila Guerrios, Caitee Grace Gunn, - Helen Hernandez, Katie Johnson, Addie Ladoucer, Ava McKissock, Cecilia McKissock, - Nina McKissock, Evelyn Mitten, Maisie Munroe, Amelia Olejniczak, Tatiana Peach, - Laurel Rasmussen, Nick Ritenis, Leah Robitaille, Juliet Solecki, Adah Stephens, Chiara Partain, Nehemiah Torres, Aaron Trombley, Rowan Wilson For more information about the Live Oak Theatre Company, or to reserve seating or Flex passes, visit www.LiveOakTheatre.org,  or  email  boxoffice@liveoaktheatre.org , or call 352-593-0027. Visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LiveOakTheatre. About Singin’ in the Rain Jr. The "Greatest Movie Musical of All Time" is faithfully and lovingly adapted by Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green, from their original award-winning screenplay in Singin' in the Rain JR. Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue and a hit-parade score of Hollywood standards make Singin' in the Rain JR. a guaranteed good time for performers and audience members alike. Singin' in the Rain JR. has all the makings of a Tinseltown tabloid headline — the starlet, the leading man and a love affair that could change lives and make or break careers! In silent movies, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are a hot item, but behind the scenes, things aren't always as they appear on the big screen! Meanwhile, Lina's squeaky voice might be the end of her career in "talking pictures" without the help of a talented young actress to do the talking and singing for her. About the Acorn Theatre Acorn Theatre is Live Oak’s Youth Theatre program for students ages 8-18.   This performance class meets to rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00- 6:30. The class will run in 8-week periods with 6 performances at the end of each term.  The Acorn Theatre works together to produce and perform 3 shows each year as well as participate in Brooksville’s annual Tree Lighting.  The Acorn Theatre production team consists of rotating Directors/Instructors who are assisted by a team of apprentices in the areas of Stage Manager, Assistant Director, costumes, choreography, lighting, sound, music and set design.  Parent volunteers are always welcomed in these areas as well.  Acorn Theatre apprentices are chosen from regular performers of Live Oak who have “grown up” on our stage.  They assume leadership roles in the production and mentor the students of the Youth Theatre.   About Live Oak Theatre Company (LOT), Live Oak Theatre Company (LOT) is a not-for-profit 501 (C) (3) repertory company of local artists, located at the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for the Arts, 21030 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34601.  The Live Oak Theatre Company exists to enrich families, individuals, and the community by providing positive artistic experiences in the Performing Arts - including excellent, affordable, and edifying family friendly entertainment, performance, and educational opportunities for Theatre patrons and participants of all ages.  For more information about the Live Oak Theatre Company, including sponsorship and audition opportunities, go to www.LiveOakTheatre.org, email boxoffice@liveoaktheatre.org , or call 352-593-0027.   Visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LiveOakTheatre. Read the full article

[wutbju]

Lou Gutheil, age 74, passed away Monday, March 21, 2022 at his home following an illness.

Lou was born in Johnson City, NY a son of the late Louis J. Gutheil and the late Margaret Gutheil-Hartung. He was a self-proclaimed comedian who loved to play practical jokes. Lou was a true people person who loved to fellowship and mentor others in Scripture. He loved Southern Gospel music and enjoyed hosting bible studies in his home. He was also a former member of both the touring ensemble at Bob Jones University and the Southern Gospel group The Missourians. Lou’s passion was writing. He wrote for several nonprofit Christian ministries. Lou was innovative and dedicated to his work; always eager to learn new things and train his fellow staff. He was an avid Florida State Seminoles and Toronto Blue Jays fan and a member of North Conway Baptist Church.

In addition to his parents, Lou was predeceased by one sister, Cathy Gutheil-Jagger.

Survivors include his wife, Linda Gutheil of Conway, SC; two daughters, Kristin Richards (Stan) of Centerville, OH and Beth Cresswell (Mick) of Scotland; five grandchildren, Jordan Hanson (Jim), Matthew Shultz (Grace), Kevin Shultz (Bailey), David Cresswell, and Fiona Cresswell; one sister, Judy Ferris (Robert); one brother, David Gutheil (Heather); Linda’s two sons, David Andersen (Katie) and Bobby Andersen (Sandra); Linda’s two grandsons, Travis Andersen and Jonathon Andersen; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give a special thank you to the nurses and staff of Crescent Hospice for their loving care and support for Lou.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM Friday, April 1, 2022 at Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel with Dr. Jeff Gaskins officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

To view the service via livestream, please click the link below. https://vimeo.com/694930461

Memorials may be sent to Crescent Hospice, 1370 Browning Road, Suite 120, Columbia, SC 29210 or to Youth for Christ-Fayetteville, P.O. Box 43205, Fayetteville, NC 28309-3205 and Acts1:8 Mission Fund, North Conway Baptist Church, 1608 Sessions Street, Conway, SC 29520.

[fivedollarradio]

I love me a good lit world controversy, Apparently this guy said the unsayable or something.

My earliest influences, predictably, were Bukowski, Kerouac, and Hemingway. As a former jock, I was attracted to those guys and their strong, masculine writing right away. Being Hispanic, Junot Diaz, of course, was revelatory. You could write about fucked up Hispanic shit and white people would eat it up! If you’re out there, Junot, come back! Don’t let those angry ladies who begged you for blurbs run you out of the game. No seas pendejo. Would Yunior be such a little bitch…

Okay, back to the question. At Iowa, like everyone else, I got heavy into Carver, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, O’Connor, and all those MFA writers who were popular back then. My favorite writer, though, was my Iowa professor and mentor, Charles D’Ambrosio. I don’t know what Charlie is up to now, but he’s one of America’s greatest living writers.

I like all of those writers. It’s been trendy to trash Hemingway for a long time (and tiresome for a long time), but if you’re at all a fan of contemporary, minimalist, American fiction, you owe a great debt of that to him. I had a Bukowski phase, Kerouac maybe not so much. I don’t know. Maybe I’m a dude. This, however, is just true:

Most people were upper middle class or rich, which is always the case in elite institutions. Who even knows what an MFA is? Only people from certain demographics—rich and elite—are aware that you can go to writing school and get paid to fuck around and write; hell, I know a handful of kids who graduated from Iowa and then got another MFA or two. I was only made aware of the grift, at 23, because a buddy of mine decided he wanted to be a poet and clued me into the MFA game.

The rich, white people I met were cool, but rich, white people have changed a lot since then and are a lot less cool than they used to be…we’ll get to that later. Iowa did a good job sprinkling in some lower tier brutes like me to add some spice and color to the program, but it’s tough, since so few working-class, or even middle-class people, can entertain the idea of becoming a writer and living the attendant lifestyle.

I’m note exactly sure what lit twitter or whatever took offense to. I mean, grumble-grumble, “not woke, independent thinker bullshit,” yeah, that’s a big eye roll. If you haven’t figured it out by now, being “anti-woke” doesn’t make you an intellectual. Most times it makes you anything but. That said, the dude sounds like he has a major chip on his shoulder, but I doubt he’s the Antichrist.