Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer, regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. His novel Don Quixote has been translated into over dialects. Don Quixote, a classic of Western literature, is sometimes considered both the first modern novel and the best work of fiction written. Cervantes' influence on the Spanish language has been so great that the language is called la lengua de Cervantes, he has been dubbed El príncipe de los ingenios. In 1569, in forced exile from Castile, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he worked as chamber assistant of a cardinal, he enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates. After five years of captivity, he was released on payment of a ransom by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order, he returned to his family in Madrid. In 1585, Cervantes published a pastoral novel, he worked as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada and as a tax collector for the government.
In 1597, discrepancies in his accounts for three years previous landed him in the Crown Jail of Seville. In 1605, Cervantes was in Valladolid when the immediate success of the first part of his Don Quixote, published in Madrid, signalled his return to the literary world. In 1607, he settled in Madrid, where he worked until his death. During the last nine years of his life, Cervantes solidified his reputation as a writer, publishing Novelas ejemplares in 1613, Viaje del Parnaso in 1614, Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses and the second part of Don Quixote in 1615, his last work, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, was published posthumously in 1617. It is assumed that Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, a Castilian city about 35 kilometres north-east from Madrid on 29 September 1547; the probable date of his birth was determined from records in the church register, given the tradition of naming a child after the feast day of his birth. He was baptized in Alcalá de Henares on 9 October 1547 at the parish church of Santa María la Mayor.
The register of baptisms records the following: On Sunday, the ninth day of the month of October, the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred forty and seven, son of Rodrigo Cervantes and his wife Leonor, was baptised. Witnesses, Baltasar Vázquez, I, who baptised him and signed this in my name. Bachelor Serrano, his father, was a barber-surgeon of Galician extraction from Córdoba, who set bones, performed blood-lettings, attended to "lesser medical needs". His paternal grandfather, Juan de Cervantes, was an influential lawyer who held several administrative positions, his uncle was mayor of Cabra for many years. His mother, Leonor de Cortinas, was a native of Arganda del Rey and the third daughter of a nobleman, who lost his fortune and had to sell his daughter into matrimony in 1543; this led to a awkward marriage and several affairs by Rodrigo. Leonor died on 19 October 1593. Miguel at birth was not surnamed Cervantes Saavedra, he adopted the "Saavedra" name as an adult. Little is known of Cervantes' early years.
It seems he spent much of his childhood moving from town to town with his family enrolling in The Imperial School, a Jesuit educational establishment for boys in Madrid. Court records show a poor household. While it has been speculated that he studied at the University of Salamanca, there is no evidence supporting it. Based on the high praise of the Jesuits in the Dialogue of the Dogs, there has been speculation that Cervantes studied with them, but again there is no evidence, his siblings were Andrés, Luisa, Rodrigo and Juan – the latter known because he is mentioned in his father's will. The reasons that forced Cervantes to leave Spain remain uncertain. Possible reasons include that he was a "student" of the same name, a "sword-wielding fugitive from justice", or fleeing from a royal warrant of arrest, for having wounded a certain Antonio de Sigura in a duel. Like many young Spanish men who wanted to further their careers, Cervantes left for Italy. In Rome, he focused his attention on Renaissance art and poetry – knowledge of Italian literature is discernible in his work.
He found "a powerful impetus to revive the contemporary world in light of its accomplishments". Thus, Cervantes' stay in Italy, as revealed in his works, might be in part a desire for a return to an earlier period of the Renaissance. By 1570, Cervantes had enlisted as a soldier in a regiment of the Spanish Navy Marines, Infantería de Marina, stationed in Naples a possession of the Spanish crown, he was there for about a year. In September 1571, Cervantes sailed on board the Marquesa, part of the galley fleet of the Holy League that, under the command of John of Austria, the illegitimate half brother of Spain's Phillip II, defeated the Ottoman fleet on 7 October 1571, in the Battle of Lepanto. Though taken with fever, Cervantes refused to stay below, he d
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The band's discography has grown to thirty-eight albums, including sixteen studio albums, twelve live albums, four EPs, seven compilations. Pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal, Iron Maiden achieved initial success during the early 1980s. After several line-up changes, the band went on to release a series of UK and US platinum and gold albums, including 1982's The Number of the Beast, 1983's Piece of Mind, 1984's Powerslave, 1985's live release Live After Death, 1986's Somewhere in Time and 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Since the return of lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith in 1999, the band have undergone a resurgence in popularity, with their 2010 studio offering, The Final Frontier, peaking at No. 1 in 28 countries and receiving widespread critical acclaim. Their sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, was released on 4 September 2015 to similar success.
Despite little radio or television support, Iron Maiden are considered one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, with The Sunday Times reporting in 2017 that the band have sold over 100 million copies of their albums worldwide. The band won the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement in 2002; as of October 2013, the band have played over 2000 live shows throughout their career. For over 35 years the band have been supported by their famous mascot, "Eddie", who has appeared on all of their album and single covers, as well as in their live shows. Iron Maiden were formed on Christmas Day, 25 December 1975 by bassist Steve Harris shortly after he left his previous group, Smiler. Harris attributed the band's name to a film adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, the title of which reminded him of the iron maiden torture device. After months of rehearsal, Iron Maiden made their debut at St. Nicks Hall in Poplar on 1 May 1976, before taking up a semi-residency at the Cart and Horses Pub in Maryland, Stratford.
The original line-up was short-lived, with vocalist Paul Day being the first casualty as, according to Harris, he lacked "energy or charisma on stage". He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock, a Kiss fan who used make-up and fake blood during live performances. Wilcock's friend, Dave Murray, was invited to join, much to the dismay of the band's guitarists Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance, their frustration led Harris to temporarily disband Iron Maiden in 1976, though the group reformed soon after with Murray as the sole guitarist. Harris and Murray remain the band's longest-standing members and have performed on all of their releases. Iron Maiden recruited yet another guitarist in 1977, Bob Sawyer, sacked for embarrassing the band on stage by pretending to play guitar with his teeth. Tension ensued again, causing a rift between Murray and Wilcock, who convinced Harris to fire Murray, as well as original drummer Ron Matthews. A new line-up was put together, including future Cutting Crew member Tony Moore on keyboards, Terry Wapram on guitar, drummer Barry Purkis.
A poor performance at the Bridgehouse, a pub located in Canning Town, in November 1977 was the line-up's first and only concert. Afterwards, Iron Maiden replaced him with Doug Sampson. At the same time, Moore was asked to leave as Harris decided that keyboards did not suit the band's sound. A few months Dennis Wilcock decided to leave Iron Maiden to form his own band, V1, Dave Murray was reinstated; as he preferred to be the band's sole guitarist, Wapram disapproved of Murray's return, was dismissed. Harris and Sampson spent the summer and autumn of 1978 rehearsing while they searched for a singer to complete the band's new line-up. A chance meeting at the Red Lion pub in Leytonstone in November 1978 evolved into a successful audition for vocalist Paul Di'Anno. Steve Harris stated, "There's sort of a quality in Paul's voice, a raspiness in his voice, or whatever you want to call it, that just gave it this great edge." At this time, Murray would act as their sole guitarist, with Harris commenting, "Davey was so good he could do a lot of it on his own.
The plan was always to get a second guitarist in, but finding one that could match Davey was difficult." On New Year's Eve 1978, Iron Maiden recorded a demo, consisting of four songs, at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge. Hoping that the recording would help them secure more gigs, the band presented a copy to Neal Kay managing a heavy metal club called "Bandwagon Heavy Metal Soundhouse", located in Kingsbury Circle, northwest London. Upon hearing the tape, Kay began playing the demo at the Bandwagon, one of the songs, "Prowler" went to No. 1 in the Soundhouse charts, which were published weekly in Sounds magazine. A copy was acquired by Rod Smallwood, who soon became the band's manager, and, as Iron Maiden's popularity increased, they released the demo on their own record label as The Soundhouse Tapes, named after the club. Featuring only three tracks all five thousand copies were sold out within weeks. In December 1979, the band secured a major record deal with EMI, asked Dave Murray's childhood friend, Adrian Smith of Urchin, to join the group as their second guitarist.
Due to his commitment to Urchin, Smith declined and Dennis Stratton was hired instead. Shortly afterwards, Doug Sampson left due to health issues, was replaced by ex-Samson drummer Clive Burr at Stratton's suggestion on 26 December 1979. Iron Maiden's first appearance on an album was on the Metal for Muthas compilation with two early versions of "Sanctuar
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire known as the Hispanic Monarchy and as the Catholic Monarchy, was one of the largest empires in history. From the late 15th century to the early 19th, Spain controlled a huge overseas territory in the New World and the Asian archipelago of the Philippines, what they called "The Indies", it included territories in Europe and Oceania. The Spanish Empire has been described as the first global empire in history, a description given to the Portuguese Empire, it was the world's most powerful empire during the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, reaching its maximum extension in the 18th century. The Spanish Empire was the first empire to be called "the empire on which the sun never sets". Castile became the dominant kingdom in Iberia because of its jurisdiction over the overseas empire in the Americas and the Philippines; the structure of empire was established under the Spanish Hapsburgs and under the Spanish Bourbon monarchs, the empire was brought under greater crown control and increased its revenues from the Indies.
The crown's authority in The Indies was enlarged by the papal grant of powers of patronage, giving it power in the religious sphere. An important element in the formation of Spain's empire was the dynastic union between Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, known as the Catholic Monarchs, which initiated political and social cohesion but not political unification. Iberian kingdoms retained their political identities, with particular administration and juridical configurations. Although the power of the Spanish sovereign as monarch varied from one territory to another, the monarch acted as such in a unitary manner over all the ruler's territories through a system of councils: the unity did not mean uniformity. In 1580, when Philip II of Spain succeeded to the throne of Portugal, he established the Council of Portugal, which oversaw Portugal and its empire and "preserv its own laws and monetary system, united only in sharing a common sovereign." The Iberian Union remained in place until in 1640, when Portugal overthrew Hapsburg rule and reestablished independence under the House of Braganza.
Under Philip II, rather than the Hapsburg empire, was identified as the most powerful nation in the world eclipsing France and England. Furthermore, despite attacks from other European states, Spain retained its position of dominance with apparent ease; the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis confirmed the inheritance of Philip II in Italy. Spain's claims to Naples and Sicily in southern Italy dated back to the Aragonese presence in the 15th century. Following the peace reached in 1559, there would be no Neapolitan revolts against Spanish rule until 1647; the Duchy of Milan formally remained part of the Holy Roman Empire but the title of Duke of Milan was given to the King of Spain. The death of the Ottoman emperor Suleiman the Magnificent in 1566 and the naval victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 gave Spain a claim to be the greatest power not just in Europe but in the world; the Spanish Empire in the Americas was formed after conquering large stretches of land, beginning with Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean Islands.
In the early 16th century, it conquered and incorporated the Aztec and Inca Empires, retaining indigenous elites loyal to the Spanish crown and converts to Christianity as intermediaries between their communities and royal government. After a short period of delegation of authority by the crown in the Americas, the crown asserted control over those territories and established the Council of the Indies to oversee rule there; some scholars consider the initial period of the Spanish conquest as marking the most egregious case of genocide in the history of mankind. The death toll may have reached some 70 million indigenous people in this period. However, other scholars believe the vast majority of indigenous deaths were due to the low immunological capacity of native populations to resist exogenous diseases. Many native tribes and their cultures were wiped out by the Spanish conquest and disease epidemics; the structure of governance of its overseas empire was reformed in the late 18th century by the Bourbon monarchs.
Although the crown attempted to keep its empire a closed economic system under Hapsburg rule, Spain was unable to supply the Indies with sufficient consumer goods to meet demand, so that foreign merchants from Genoa, England and The Netherlands dominated the trade, with silver from the mines of Peru and Mexico flowing to other parts of Europe. The merchant guild of Seville served as middlemen in the trade; the crown's trade monopoly was broken early in the seventeenth century, with the crown colluding with the merchant guild for fiscal reasons in circumventing the closed system. Spain was unable to defend the territories it claimed in the Americas, with the Dutch, the English, the French taking Caribbean islands, using them to engage in contraband trade with the Spanish populace in the Indies. In the seventeenth century, the diversion of silver revenue to pay for European consumer goods and the rising costs of defense of its empire meant that "tangible benefits of America to Spain were dwindling...at a moment when the costs of empire were climbing sharply."The Bourbon monarchy attempted to expand the possibilities for trade within the empire, by allowing commerce between all ports in the empire, took other measures to revive economic activity to the benefit of Spain.
The Bourbons had inherited "an empire invaded by
Mr. Big (American band)
Mr. Big is an American hard rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1988; the band was composed of Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey. They are noted for their musicianship, have scored a number of hits, their songs are marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies. Their hits include "To Be with You" and "Just Take My Heart". Mr. Big have remained active and popular for over two decades, despite internal conflicts and changing music trends, they broke up in 2002, but after requests from fans, they reunited in 2009. To date, Mr. Big have released the latest being Defying Gravity. In July 2017, the recording catalogue of their music, owned by Warner Music, was sold to Hong Kong-based Evolution Music Group; the band takes its name from the eponymous song by Free, which they covered on their 1993 album, Bump Ahead. After bass player Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's backing band in 1988, he began piecing together a new band with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label specialized in the shredding genre.
He recruited Eric Martin, of the rock-oriented Eric Martin Band and soul-leaning solo artist, soon thereafter added guitarist Gilbert and drummer Torpey. Gilbert was a well-respected guitarist who had released two albums with his Los Angeles-based band Racer X. Torpey came to California from Arizona, had recorded and toured with a number of high-profile artists, including Impellitteri, Stan Bush, Belinda Carlisle, Ted Nugent, The Knack, Jeff Paris; the newly formed band hired Herbie Herbert, the former manager of Journey and Santana, to be their manager. By 1989, they released their self-titled debut the same year; the record was a success in Japan. In June 1990, the group toured America as an opening act on Rush's Presto Tour. In August 1990, two songs, "Strike Like Lightning" and "Shadows", performed by Mr. Big, were released on the soundtrack album of the action film Navy SEALs. Mr. Big's second album, 1991's Lean Into It, was a major commercial breakthrough two ballads, "To Be with You" and "Just Take My Heart", as well as the song "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind".
The cover features a picture of the train in the Montparnasse derailment. They toured the UK in April and May 1991, again in 1992, releasing a live album, Mr. Big Live, in 1992. For three nights, they opened for Aerosmith at London's Wembley Arena. In 1993, another ballad, a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although it is said that the band contributed music to the soundtrack for the Sega Mega-CD release of The Amazing Spider-Man vs; the Kingpin, the songs featured Eric Martin with musicians hired by Sega. The band released Hey Man in 1996; the song "Take Cover" was included on the soundtrack to the cartoon series Mega Man. Although the band never replicated its earlier success in the US market, their popularity continued to soar in Japan and in much of Asia, they continued to sell out tours in the Asian market, resulting in a number of live releases for the Japanese market. Live At Budokan was one of those live releases intended for the Japanese market only.
By the time that album appeared, the group had been put on ice, as the individual band members became more engrossed in other projects. Gilbert left the band in 1999, reformed Racer X. Richie Kotzen, another Shrapnel artist and former guitarist for Poison, was brought in as a guitar player. Two studio albums were released by this lineup: Get Over It in 1999, Actual Size in 2001. Get Over It was released on September 1999 in Japan, yielded the single "Superfantastic," to a lukewarm audience response. Mr. Big performed a twenty-date tour of Japan, followed by a New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the Osaka Dome, in Osaka. Get Over It was released in the US in March 2000, followed by a short club stint at "Roxy", California. Several music videos for songs on Get Over It were recorded, however the director claimed rights to the music videos and they were never released. In 2001, Mr. Big released Actual Size in Asia; the CD sat on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine", the first single, went to number one.
The song was used as the ending theme for the anime series Hellsing. However, tension had developed between Sheehan and the other members when Sheehan began touring with Steve Vai. Martin and Torpey decided to write songs without Sheehan, only given credit for two songs on Actual Size. Martin and the others were upset with Sheehan's attitude during the recording of the Shine music video; this was when Torpey decided the only way to keep moving forward was to fire Sheehan. When Kotzen learned of the decision, he made the rest of the band have a meeting with Sheehan to join the dots, seeing as the reason he joined the band was to play and jam with Billy. Although Sheehan was upset that the other members had attempted to "fire" him from the band he created, he agreed to rejoin them, provided that that would be their farewell tour; the band toured and disbanded, in 2002. A near Mr. Big "one-off" reunion took place on May 13, 2008, in Los Angeles, at the House Of Blues, when Paul Gilbert was joined on stage by Pat Torpey, Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheeh
Celtic music
Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary to include everything from "trad" music to a wide range of hybrids. Celtic music means two things mainly. First, it is the music of the people. Secondly, it refers to. Many notable Celtic musicians such as Alan Stivell and Paddy Moloney claim that the different Celtic music genres have a lot in common; these following melodic practices may be used across the different variants of Celtic Music: It is common for the melodic line to move up and down the primary chords in many Celtic songs. There are a number of possible reasons for this: Melodic variation can be introduced. Melodic variation is used in Celtic music by the pipes and harp, it is easier to anticipate the direction that the melody will take, so that harmony either composed or improvised can be introduced: cliched cadences that are essential for impromptu harmony are more formed.
The wider tonal intervals in some songs make it possible for stress accents within the poetic line to be more in keeping with the local Celtic accent. Across just one Celtic group. By more than one Celtic language population belonging to different Celtic groups; these two latter usage patterns may be remnants of widespread melodic practices. The term Celtic music is applied to the music of Ireland and Scotland because both lands have produced well-known distinctive styles which have genuine commonality and clear mutual influences; the definition is further complicated by the fact that Irish independence has allowed Ireland to promote'Celtic' music as a Irish product. However, these are modern geographical references to a people who share a common Celtic ancestry and a common musical heritage; these styles are known because of the importance of Irish and Scottish people in the English speaking world in the United States, where they had a profound impact on American music bluegrass and country music.
The music of Wales, the Isle of Man, Galicia and Asturias and Portugal are considered Celtic music, the tradition being strong in Brittany, where Celtic festivals large and small take place throughout the year, in Wales, where the ancient eisteddfod tradition has been revived and flourishes. Additionally, the musics of ethnically Celtic peoples abroad are vibrant in Canada and the United States. In Canada the provinces of Atlantic Canada are known for being a home of Celtic music, most notably on the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island; the traditional music of Atlantic Canada is influenced by the Irish and Acadian ethnic makeup of much of the region's communities. In some parts of Atlantic Canada, such as Newfoundland, Celtic music is as or more popular than in the old country. Further, some older forms of Celtic music that are rare in Scotland and Ireland today, such as the practice of accompanying a fiddle with a piano, or the Gaelic spinning songs of Cape Breton remain common in the Maritimes.
Much of the music of this region is Celtic in nature, but originates in the local area and celebrates the sea, seafaring and other primary industries. In Celtic Music: A Complete Guide, June Skinner Sawyers acknowledges six Celtic nationalities divided into two groups according to their linguistic heritage; the Q-Celtic nationalities are the Irish and Manx peoples, while the P-Celtic groups are the Cornish and Welsh peoples. Musician Alan Stivell uses a similar dichotomy, between the Gaelic and the Brythonic branches, which differentiate "mostly by the extended range of Irish and Scottish melodies and the closed range of Breton and Welsh melodies, by the frequent use of the pure pentatonic scale in Gaelic music."There is tremendous variation between Celtic regions. Ireland, Scotland and Wales have living traditions of language and music, there has been a recent major revival of interest in Celtic heritage in Cornwall and the Isle of Man. Galicia has a Celtic language revival movement to revive the Q-Celtic Gallaic language used into Roman times.
Most of the Iberian Peninsula had a similar Celtic language in pre-Roman times. A Brythonic language was used in parts of Galicia and Asturias into early Medieval times brought by Britons fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasions via Brittany; the Romance language spoken in Galicia, Galician is related to the Portuguese language used in Brazil and Portugal. Galician music is claimed to be Celtic; the same is true of the music of Asturias and that of Northern Portugal. Breton artist Alan Stivell was one of the earliest musicians to use the word Celtic and Keltia in his marketing materials, starting in the early 1960s as part of the worldwide folk music revival of that era with the term catching on with other artists worldwide. Today, the genre is well established and diverse. There are musical genres and styles specific to each Celtic country, due in part to the influence of individual song traditions and the characteristics of specific languages: Celtic traditional music Irish Music Music of Scotland Strathspeys are specific to Highland Scotland, for example, it has been hypothesized that they mimic the rhythms of the Scot
Glinda the Good Witch
Glinda known as the Good Witch of the South, is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum in his Oz novels, she first appears in Baum's classic children's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, protector of Princess Ozma. Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz refers to Glinda as the Good Witch of the South. After the Wizard flies away in his balloon, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodman and Toto travel south to the land of the Quadlings to ask Glinda for her advice. In the well-known 1939 film version, Glinda is a composite character with the Witch of the North. Books call her a "Sorceress" rather than a "witch", though Baum's writings make clear that he did not view witches as inherently wicked or in league with the devil. In the books, Glinda is depicted as a beautiful young woman with long, rich red hair and blue eyes, wearing a pure white dress, she is much older than her appearance would suggest, but "knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived" - a fact, established in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by the Soldier With Green Whiskers.
She has ruled the Quadling Country since she overthrew the Wicked Witch of the South during the period when Ozma's grandfather was king of Oz. Glinda plays the most active role in finding and restoring Princess Ozma, the rightful heir, to the throne of Oz, the search for whom takes place in the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz, although Glinda had been searching for Ozma since the princess disappeared as a baby, it may well be that she did not overthrow the Wicked Witches of the East and West, despite being more powerful than they were, because she wanted all of Oz to be unified under its rightful ruler, first. After Ozma's ascent to the throne, Glinda continues to help the Princess of Oz shape the future of the Land of Oz as a whole, no longer confining her powers to guarding her Quadling Kingdom in the South alone. In addition to her vast knowledge of magic, Glinda employs various tools and instruments in her workshop; the Emerald City of Oz reveals that she owns a Great Book of Records that allows her to track everything that goes on in the world from the instant it happens.
Starting with The Road to Oz she trains the humbug Wizard in magic. Glinda lives in a palace near the southern border of the Quadling Country, attended by fifty beautiful maidens from each country of Oz, she employs a large army of female soldiers, with which she takes on General Jinjur's Army of Revolt, who had conquered the Emerald City in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Men are not prominent in Glinda's court. Glinda is protective of her subjects in the South, she creates walled, gated communities for the rabbits of Bunnybury and the paper dolls of Miss Cuttenclip, showing a personal interest in the concerns of not only the humanoid Quadlings, but the other inhabitants of her jurisdiction. In The Emerald City of Oz, when Ozma goes to consult Glinda about the security of her Ozian citizens, the Sorceress seals off all of Oz from the Great Outside World, making Oz invisible to the eyes of mortals flying overhead in airplanes and such. However, unlike Ozma, Glinda is willing to ignore strife and oppression in remote corners of Oz like Jinxland and the Skeezer territory as long as it does not threaten the Emerald City or innocent outsiders.
The readers are left with the sense that Glinda is experienced and seasoned to the point of knowing that there is not a magic cure for everything, that certain things cannot be changed or should not be changed for better or for worse. One of the more obscure facts about Glinda is that she created the Forbidden Fountain with the Waters of Oblivion, at the center of Oz, whose waters redeemed a former King of Oz, exceptionally cruel; this happened "many centuries ago" according to Ozma, it is this fountain that saves Oz from the invading Nome King and his allies in The Emerald City of Oz, by making them forget their nefarious intentions. Glinda made the Fountain at a point in Oz's history when the Land was unified under one of the members of the Royal Family of Oz, albeit a tyrannical king in this isolated incident, so she was able to intervene in a way that she could not when the country was divided between the Wizard and the Wicked Witches of the East and West et al. prior to Dorothy's arrival.
Most intriguingly, in The Emerald City of Oz, when the Nome King considers invading Oz, he is told by a minion, General Guph, that Glinda the Good's castle is located "at the north of the Emerald City," when it has been established that Glinda rules the South. Guph may have gotten his facts muddled, as none of the Nomes had been to Oz at that time, but it portends the depiction of Glinda as the Good Witch of the North rather than the South in the 1939 MGM film. General Guph tells the Nome King that Glinda "commands the spirits of the air,"; as mentioned above, he is not an expert on Oz, but this statement made by Guph once again foreshadows a much cinematic rendition of Glinda, in the film version of the Broadway musical The Wiz in which Glinda is responsible for the twister that brings Dorothy's house to Oz and sets all subsequent events into motion. Of all the characters in L. Frank Baum's Oz, Glinda is the most enigmatic. Despite being titled "Glinda the Good," she is not a one-dimensi
Primal Fear (band)
Primal Fear is a German power metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner. Sinner and Scheepers formed the band after Scheepers was not hired as Rob Halford's replacement in Judas Priest. Primal Fear was founded in October 1997 by singer Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner. Scheepers and Sinner have been constants in the heavy metal scene. Ralf Scheepers sang in the bands Tyran Pace, F. B. I. and the internationally successful band Gamma Ray. After a gig with his Judas Priest cover band Just Priest in which Mat Sinner and Tom Naumann helped out the idea arose to found Primal Fear, they signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast Records in late 1997. Their debut album Primal Fear was released in February 1998 and entered the German LP charts at place 48 thus making it one of the highest chart entries of a debut album in German metal; the same year they toured with metal veterans Running HammerFall. In July 1999, the 2nd album Jaws of Death was released. Shortly after its release guitarist Tom Naumann left the band due to health problems.
During the tour through Europe and Japan he was replaced by Alex Beyrodt. In January 2000, Henny Wolter joined the band as a permanent replacement. In early 2001, the third album Nuclear Fire was released. At the following world tour the band played in the US for the first time and were guests at the Metal Meltdown Festival and the Milwaukee Metalfest; the next album Black Sun was released on April 29, 2002 and entered the German LP charts at place 55. Halford-Guitarist Mike Chlasciak contributed the guitar solos for the songs "Fear" and "Armageddon"; the highlight of the following double-headliner tour with fellow band Rage was a gig at the Scala in London. The same year Henny Wolter was replaced by the returning Tom Naumann. With this line-up the band ended the Black Sun tour. In April–May 2003, the band participated in the "Metal Gods" tour together with Rob Halford, Testament and a few other bands and toured through the US and Canada. During the Tour drummer Klaus Sperling was replaced by Randy Black.
After the tour, Randy joined the band permanently. In February 2004, the 5th album Devil's Ground was released and entered the German LP charts at place 67. April of the same year the band started another world tour in which the band toured through Europe, the US and South America including one of the band's biggest hits "Metal Is Forever". Directly after the tour the band recorded their 6th album Seven Seals in Stuttgart, it was released in Fall of 2005 mixed by Mike Frazer in Vancouver. To promote the album the band went on Europe and Japan tour together with fellow Power Metal band Helloween. In July 2006, the band left Nuclear Blast Records and signed a long-term contract with Frontiers Records; as a "parting gift" Nuclear Blast released. In February 2007, during the recordings for the next album New Religion the band decided after long discussions about the future of the band that Henny Wolter will return as 2nd guitarist and Tom Naumann will leave the band; the album was finished under the direction of producer Mat Sinner and engineer and co-producer Charlie Bauerfeind and was mixed by Roland Prent in the Galaxy Studios in Belgium.
It was released in September 2007 and entered the German LP charts at place 60. They started their New Religion tour as co-headliner of the sold out ProgPower USA VIII festival in Atlanta, US. Afterwards they toured together with U. D. O. through Europe. They continued the tour in January 2008 due to the band's 10th birthday and once again toured through Europe. Early March 2008, the band announced that longtime guitarist Stefan Leibing had left the band because he wants to spend more time with his family and his business. On future releases and tours he will be replaced by an excellent Swedish guitar wizard Magnus Karlsson, who contributed 2 guitar solos for the New Religion album. In December 2008 the band entered the House of Music Studios to record their next album 16.6. They say that "the music includes a lot of the vibe of our first albums" and that "a new Primal Fear album always contained some new musical challenges, real surprises"; the Album was released on May 22 in Europe and June 9 in the US.
The Video for the song Six. The Album reached No. 46 on the German, No. 52 in No. 28 in the Japanese album charts. The band started their longest tour in South America, North America, Canada and Japan to promote their new album. A new live CD and DVD was recorded during every leg on the tour. In 2010 the band spent their longest time on the road in North America tour, followed by another European Tour in September–November 2010. On 8 July 2011, the band announced their next album Unbreakable; the album was released on January 20, 2012. The band toured extensively throughout 2012 in support of the album on the "Metal Nation" tour, of which the European leg included dates in Italy, Brazil, Chile and Bolivia among others; the band played several more shows in 2013. On 20 May 2013, it was announced on the band's official website that they would begin recording their next album the following day. On 4 October, Primal Fear announced their new album Delivering the Black, it was released on January 2014 by Frontiers Records.
On 11 August 2014, drummer Randy Black parted ways with the band due to "irreconcilable differences" between him and Ralf Scheepers. His last appearance was at the Summer Breeze festival in Germany, his departure became effective on 16 August. On 13 June 2015, the band announced that former U. D. O. Drummer Francesco Jovino would replace him alo
