List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots
Assassination attempts and plots on the president of the United States have been numerous, ranging from the early 19th century to the present day. This article lists assassinations and assassination attempts on incumbent and former presidents and presidents-elect, but not on those who had not yet been elected president.
Four sitting presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865, by John Wilkes Booth), James A. Garfield (1881, by Charles J. Guiteau), William McKinley (1901, by Leon Czolgosz), and John F. Kennedy (1963, by Lee Harvey Oswald). Ronald Reagan (1981, by John Hinckley Jr.) is the only sitting U.S. president to have been injured in an assassination attempt. Theodore Roosevelt (1912, by John Schrank) and Donald Trump (2024, by Thomas Matthew Crooks) are the only two former presidents to be injured in an assassination attempt, both while campaigning for reelection. Roosevelt would go on to lose his reelection bid, while Trump won his.
In all of these cases, the attacker's weapon was a firearm, and all the subjects were male. Gerald Ford experienced two attempted assassinations with a woman as the assailant.
Many assassination attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, were motivated by a desire to change the policy of the American government. Not all such attacks, however, had political reasons. Many other attackers had questionable mental stability, and a few were judged legally insane. Historian James W. Clarke suggests that most assassination attempters have been sane and politically motivated, whereas the Department of Justice's legal manual claims that a large majority have been insane. Some assassins, especially mentally ill ones, acted solely on their own, whereas those pursuing political agendas have more often found supporting conspirators. Most assassination plotters were arrested and punished by execution or lengthy detention in a prison or insane asylum.
The fact that the successor of a removed president is the vice president, and all vice presidents since Andrew Johnson have shared the president's political party affiliation, may discourage such attacks, at least for policy reasons, even in times of partisan strife. The third person in line, the Speaker of the House, as outlined in the Presidential Succession Act, is often of the opposing party, however.
Threats of violence against the president are often made for rhetorical or humorous effect without serious intent, while "credibly" threatening the president of the United States has been a federal felony since 1917.
Presidents assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was the first U.S. president to be assassinated (though not the first to die in office). The assassination took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., at about 10:15 PM. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was a well-known actor and a Confederate sympathizer from Maryland; though he never joined the Confederate Army, he had contacts within the Confederate Secret Service. In 1864, Booth formulated a plan (very similar to one of Thomas N. Conrad previously authorized by the Confederacy) to kidnap Lincoln in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners. After attending an April 11, 1865 speech in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for Black people, Booth decided to assassinate the president instead. Learning that the president would be attending Ford's Theatre, Booth planned with co-conspirators to assassinate Lincoln at the theater. The conspiracy also included assassinating Vice President Andrew Johnson in Kirkwood House, where Johnson lived while Vice President, and Secretary of State William H. Seward at Seward's house. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln attended the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre. As the president sat in his state box in the balcony watching the play with his wife Mary and two guests, Major Henry Rathbone and Rathbone's fiancée Clara Harris, Booth entered from behind. He aimed a .44-caliber Derringer pistol at the back of Lincoln's head and fired, mortally wounding him. Rathbone momentarily grappled with Booth, but Booth stabbed him and escaped. An unconscious Lincoln was examined by doctors and taken across the street to the Petersen House. After remaining in a coma for nine hours, Lincoln died at 7:22 AM on April 15.
As he died, his breathing grew quieter, his face more calm. According to some accounts, at his last drawn breath, on the morning after the assassination, he smiled broadly and then expired. Historians, particularly author Lee Davis, have emphasized Lincoln's peaceful appearance when and after he died: "It was the first time in four years, probably, that a peaceful expression crossed his face." Field wrote in a letter to "The New York Times": "there was 'no apparent suffering, no convulsive action, no rattling of the throat...[only] a mere cessation of breathing'... I had never seen upon the President's face an expression more genial and pleasing." The president's secretary, John Hay, saw "a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features".
Beyond Lincoln's death, the plot failed: Seward was only wounded, and Johnson's would-be attacker did not follow through. After being on the run for 12 days, Booth was tracked down and found on April 26, 1865, by Union Army soldiers at a farm in Virginia, some south of Washington. After refusing to surrender, Booth was fatally shot by Union cavalryman Boston Corbett. Four other conspirators were later hanged for their roles in the conspiracy.
President Lincoln was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson on April 15, 1865.
James A. Garfield.
The assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, took place at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:20 AM on Saturday, July 2, 1881, less than four months after he took office. As the president was arriving at the train station, writer and lawyer Charles J. Guiteau shot him twice with a .442 Webley British Bull Dog revolver; one bullet grazed the president's shoulder, and the other pierced his back. For the next eleven weeks, Garfield endured the pain and suffering from having been shot, before dying on September 19, 1881, at 10:35 PM, of complications caused by iatrogenic infections, which were contracted by the doctors' relentless probing of his wound with unsterilized fingers and instruments. He had survived for a total of 79 days after being shot.
Guiteau was immediately arrested. After a highly publicized trial lasting from November 14, 1881, to January 25, 1882, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. A subsequent appeal was rejected, and he was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882, in the District of Columbia, two days before the first anniversary of the shooting. Guiteau was assessed during his trial and autopsy as mentally unbalanced or suffering from the effects of neurosyphilis. He claimed to have shot Garfield out of disappointment at being passed over for appointment as Ambassador to France. He attributed the president's victory in the election to a speech he wrote in support of Garfield.
President Garfield was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur on September 19, 1881.
William McKinley.
The assassination of United States president William McKinley took place at 4:07 PM on Friday, September 6, 1901, at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York. McKinley, attending the Pan-American Exposition, was shot twice in the abdomen at close range by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, who was armed with a .32-caliber Iver Johnson "Safety Automatic" revolver that was concealed underneath a handkerchief. The first bullet ricocheted off either a button or an award medal on McKinley's jacket and lodged in his sleeve; the second shot pierced his stomach. Although McKinley initially appeared to be recovering, his condition rapidly declined due to gangrene setting in around his wounds and he died on September 14, 1901, at 2:15 AM.
Members of the crowd, started by James Benjamin Parker, subdued and captured Czolgosz. Afterward, the 4th Brigade, National Guard Signal Corps, and police intervened, beating Czolgosz so severely it was initially thought he might not live to stand trial. On September 24, after a two-day trial, in which the defendant refused to defend himself, Czolgosz was convicted and later sentenced to death. He was executed by the electric chair in Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901. Czolgosz's actions were politically motivated, although it remains unclear what outcome, if any, he believed the shooting would yield.
Following President McKinley's assassination, Congress directed the Secret Service to protect the president of the United States as part of its mandate.
President William McKinley was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt on September 14, 1901.
John F. Kennedy.
The assassination of United States president John F. Kennedy took place at 12:30 PM on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, during a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine and American defector Lee Harvey Oswald (using a 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 38 rifle) from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. He was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head. Governor Connally was seriously wounded, and bystander James Tague received a minor facial injury from a small piece of curbstone that had fragmented after it was struck by one of the bullets. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was declared dead at 1:00 PM. Oswald was arrested and charged by the Dallas Police Department for the assassination of Kennedy and for the murder of Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit, who was shot dead in a residential neighborhood in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas just hours later. On Sunday, November 24, while being transferred from the city jail to the county jail, Oswald was fatally shot in the basement of Dallas Police Department Headquarters by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Ruby was convicted of Oswald's murder, albeit his conviction was later overturned on appeal. In 1967, Ruby died in prison while awaiting a new trial.
In September 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Kennedy and Tippit were both killed by Oswald, that Oswald had acted entirely alone in both murders, and that Ruby had acted alone in killing Oswald. Nonetheless, polls conducted from 1966 to 2004 found that up to 80% of Americans surveyed suspected that there was a plot or cover-up to kill President Kennedy. Conspiracy theories have persisted to the present day.
President John F. Kennedy was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 22, 1963.
Incumbent presidents wounded.
Ronald Reagan.
On March 30, 1981, as Ronald Reagan was returning to his limousine after speaking at the Washington Hilton hotel, would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr., fired six gunshots using a .22 caliber Röhm RG-14 revolver toward him, striking Reagan and three others. Reagan was seriously wounded by a bullet that ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit him in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding. Although "close to death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan was stabilized in the emergency room, and then underwent emergency exploratory surgery. He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11. Besides Reagan, White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. All three survived, but Brady suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled; Brady's death in 2014 was considered a homicide because it was ultimately caused by this injury.
Hinckley was immediately arrested, and later said he had wanted to kill Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster. He was deemed mentally ill and confined to an institution. Hinckley was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016, 35 years after the incident and 12 years after Reagan's death from pneumonia complicated by Alzheimer's disease.
Former presidents wounded.
Theodore Roosevelt.
Three-and-a-half years after he left office, Theodore Roosevelt ran in the 1912 presidential election as a member of the Bull Moose Party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 14, 1912, John Schrank, a saloon-keeper from New York who had been stalking him for weeks, shot Roosevelt once in the chest with a .38-caliber Colt Police Positive Special. The 50-page text of his campaign speech titled "", folded over twice in Roosevelt's breast pocket, and a metal glasses case slowed the bullet, saving his life. Schrank was immediately disarmed, captured, and might have been lynched had Roosevelt not shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed. Roosevelt assured the crowd he was all right, then ordered police to take charge of Schrank and to make sure no violence was done to him.
Roosevelt, as an experienced hunter and anatomist, correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung, and he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately. Instead, he delivered his scheduled speech with blood seeping into his shirt. He spoke for 84 minutes before completing his speech and accepting medical attention. His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Afterwards, probes and an x-ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt's chest muscle, but did not penetrate the pulmonary pleurae. Doctors concluded that it would be less dangerous to leave it in place than to attempt to remove it, and the bullet remained in Roosevelt's body for the remainder of his life. He spent two weeks recuperating before returning to the campaign trail. Despite his tenacity, Roosevelt ultimately lost his bid for reelection to the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson.
At Schrank's trial, the would-be assassin claimed that William McKinley had visited him in a dream and told him to avenge his assassination by killing Roosevelt. He was found legally insane and was institutionalized until his death in 1943.
Donald Trump.
On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, while he was a former president of the United States and the Republican Party's presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was shot by a bullet wounding his right ear while addressing a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Shortly after Trump began addressing the rally, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds with an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a building located around from the stage. Crooks also killed audience member Corey Comperatore and critically injured two other audience members. Crooks was shot and killed by the U.S. Secret Service's counter-sniper team. Video of the incident showed Trump clasping his right ear before taking cover on the floor of the podium, where he was shielded by Secret Service personnel. After agents helped him to his feet, Trump emerged with blood on his ear and face. He then either mouthed or shouted the words "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Photojournalist Evan Vucci of the Associated Press captured images of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist in the air, with an American flag in the background, which went viral on social media and were widely praised as iconic and historically significant. Trump was escorted off-stage and taken to a nearby hospital before being released in stable condition a few hours later. He won the election in November 2024.
As of August 2024[ [update]], an investigation by the FBI has been underway. Crooks's motivation remains unknown.
Other attacks, assassination attempts, and plots.
Gerald Ford.
The two assassination attempts on Gerald Ford in September 1975 are the only two known cases of women attempting to assassinate an American president.
Deaths rumored to have been assassinations.
Zachary Taylor.
On July 9, 1850, President Zachary Taylor died from an illness that was diagnosed as cholera morbus, which allegedly came after eating cherries and milk at a 4th of July celebration. Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners, and similar theories have persisted into the 21st century. In 1991 a neutron activation analysis conducted on samples of Taylor's remains found no evidence of poisonings due to insufficient levels of arsenic. Marxist political scientist Michael Parenti questions the traditional explanation for Taylor's death. Relying on interviews and reports by forensic pathologists, he argues that the procedure used to test for arsenic poisoning was fundamentally flawed.
Warren G. Harding.
In June 1923, President Warren G. Harding set out on a cross-country Voyage of Understanding, planning to meet with citizens and explain his policies. During this trip, he became the first president to visit Alaska, which was then a U.S. territory. Rumors of corruption in the Harding administration were beginning to circulate in Washington, D.C., by 1923, and Harding was profoundly shocked by a long message he received while in Alaska, apparently detailing illegal activities by his own cabinet that were allegedly unknown to him. At the end of July, while traveling south from Alaska through British Columbia, he developed what was thought to be a severe case of food poisoning. He gave the final speech of his life to a large crowd at the University of Washington Stadium (now Husky Stadium) at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. A scheduled speech in Portland, Oregon, was canceled. The president's train proceeded south to San Francisco. Upon arriving at the Palace Hotel, he developed pneumonia. Harding died in his hotel room of either a heart attack or a stroke at 7:35 PM on August 2, 1923. The formal announcement, printed in "The New York Times" of that day, stated: "A stroke of apoplexy was the cause of death." He had been ill exactly one week.
Naval physicians surmised that Harding had suffered a heart attack. The Hardings' personal medical advisor, homeopath and Surgeon General Charles E. Sawyer, disagreed with the diagnosis. His wife Florence Harding refused permission for an autopsy, which soon led to speculation that he had been the victim of a plot, possibly carried out by Florence, as he apparently had been unfaithful to her. Gaston Means, an amateur historian and gadfly, noted in his book "The Strange Death of President Harding" (1930) that the circumstances surrounding his death led to suspicions that he had been poisoned. A number of individuals attached to him, both personally and politically, would have welcomed Harding's death, as they would have been disgraced in association by Means' assertion of Harding's "imminent impeachment".
References.
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Bibliography.
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Junta (game)
Board game
Junta is a board game designed by Vincent Tsao, first published in 1978 by Creative Wargames Workshop and published, as of 1985, by West End Games. Players compete as the corrupt power elite families of a fictional parody of a stereotypical banana republic (specifically "Republica de los Bananas") trying to get as much money as possible into their Swiss bank accounts before the foreign aid money runs out. Fighting in the republic's capital during recurrent coup attempts encompasses most of the game's equipment, rules and playtime. This game-within-the-game is however actually tangential to the players' main goal.
The length of the game depends on how often coups are declared, but can often exceed six hours.
The game's title is taken from the Spanish term "Junta" that originally referred to the executive bodies that frequently came to power after a military coup in 20th century Latin America (the Spanish version is called "Golpe", which means coup d'état). In the game, the term refers to the players who declare "Rebel" at the beginning of the coup phase, and—if the coup is victorious—to the players who declare "pro-Junta" at the end of the coup phase to elect a new president.
Players.
The players of "Junta" represent corrupt and powerful Banana republic families. Although players are often executed or assassinated in the course of gameplay, the only real implication of a player's death is the loss of cash and Junta cards the player is carrying and a temporary inability to participate until the next turn, when another member of the family steps up to assume the responsibilities of the deceased. Each player is given a family token to underscore this permanent identity, although the token has no effect on game play. Cabinet positions, however, which are denoted by cards, are reassigned each turn.
Game play.
Each game turn represents a year, which takes place during seven stages represented on the board's "political track". The game ends when the President cannot draw eight bills from the foreign aid money at the beginning of a turn. This event is disguised by the blank bills placed at the bottom of the foreign aid deck and by the "used" bills which are placed under the blanks when spent as part of a card action. A typical game will have 9–11 rounds. The winner is the player who has the most money in their Swiss bank account at the end of the game. Money on one's person is irrelevant.
Each player not in exile has the ability to draw and play "Junta" cards, direct the votes he controls via cabinet positions, influence, and vote cards on the President and the budget votes, carry out the abilities listed on his influence cards and cabinet positions, command his troops during a coup, and manage his money. In all votes, each player commands one vote representing himself and whatever votes he can garner from influence or voting cards. The only exception is the Presidential election after a successful coup in which each "rebel" player commands one and only one vote.
Upkeep phase.
Junta cards are drawn and "El Presidente" is elected, if necessary. Each player's vote in the Chamber of Deputies as well as influence and vote cards are used. An "errata" later clarified that if a player declines a nomination votes may be recast with the exception of vote cards which are discarded. "El Presidente" retains this position until the event of assassination, a successful coup, or resignation. All three events have the effect of liquidating the President's assets and delivering the cash to the assassin or successor.
Cabinet phase.
"El Presidente" assigns cabinet positions to the other players. El Presidente cannot hold a cabinet position and must assign each other player at least one position. If fewer than seven players are playing, or if players are in exile, players may hold two positions, but no more than one Generalship. Each cabinet position (note: not each player) holds one vote in the Chamber of Deputies. Cabinet positions are as follows:
Budget phase.
El Presidente draws 8 bills from the foreign aid money deck. Bills come in denominations of 1, 2, or 3 million pesos in order of decreasing probability. Thus, the President may draw between 8 and 24 million pesos on a given turn. El Presidente then assigns the budget by declaring how much money each player is intended to receive. Only the President knows the amount drawn, but must reveal how much each other player is intended to be given. The budget is then voted on. If the budget fails the President keeps all the money, unless the Minister forces the budget to pass. Forcing the budget to pass has the effect of distributing the foreign aid money as if the budget had passed, consolidating the police units in the Chamber of Deputies, and making a coup justified that turn.
Assassination phase.
A round of assassinations takes place. First each player chooses his location using the location tiles in a secret yet binding fashion. Locations are as follows:
Then each player declares their assassinations. The Minister of Internal Security gets to use the secret police for one assassination and any player may order one with an assassination card. To declare an assassination, a player must name the player who is the target and the location at which the assassination will be attempted. Once all assassinations are declared, they are resolved in order. An assassination is successful if a player's location is guessed correctly, although some assassination cards require a successful dice roll as well and some cards may be used to thwart an assassination.
If multiple assassination attempts are declared against a single player, they are resolved in the order they were declared (a player cannot be killed more than once). An assassinated player discards their hand, turns over their cash to the assassin, and is inactive for the rest of the turn. Assassinations are transitive: if A assassinates B and B assassinates C, A gets both B and C's money. If players kill each other — A assassinates B and B assassinates A – then both players' money is discarded to the bottom of the foreign aid deck (under the blanks). The same holds true for larger mutual assassinations (A assassinates B, B assassinates C, C assassinates A). If all players die during the assassination phase, then the game ends with no winner.
Assassination attempts by the Minister's secret police may not take place at the Bank two turns in a row. After an assassination attempt has taken place at the Bank, an indicator on the board is changed to indicate that the "Bank is Safe" from the secret police for a turn. The "Bank is Safe" indicator does not affect assassin cards.
If the President has been assassinated, a new President is elected immediately after the last assassination has been resolved. Assassinated players may not take any action until the beginning of the next turn.
Banking phase.
A player who chose the Bank as his location and who escaped assassination may deposit or withdraw money from their Swiss bank account unless the budget failed. If the budget failed but was forced through by the Minister of Internal Security, the bank is closed for lunch until after the coup phase. If the budget failed altogether, leaving the President with the entire foreign aid, no banking may take place at all this turn.
Coup phase.
Coups are a tactical game within the game that may result in the replacement of the President and unfortunate players being sent to the firing squad. Which side a player supports is often unclear during a coup. A scheming player can benefit by concealing their true objectives to gain a favourable position to negotiate from. Others may find it easier simply being a turncoat.
Starting a coup.
To start a coup there must exist a coup excuse, which is kept track of by an indicator on the board. Coup excuses are as follows:
Also, any player who chose "Headquarters" as their location in the Location phase may start a coup without an excuse to do so.
If allowed, any player may start a coup, thus becoming "First Rebel", by playing a card to place units on the board, moving any unit or bombarding the presidential palace. If no player does this, no coup takes place. The risk a player takes in becoming the "First Rebel" is that the player might become the "only" rebel, and suffer reprisals in the wake of an unsuccessful coup.
Rebel phase.
The first phase of a coup is called the rebel phase. After the "First Rebel" has initiated the coup, all players in turn are given a chance to act. Any player who chooses to move or fire during the rebel phase becomes a "rebel". Players who refrain from acting in the rebel phase remain "loyalists".
Coup phases.
Following the rebel phase comes six coup phases. The players battle for control of five buildings, shown in red on the map, vital for the post-coup resolution. They are:
Although there officially are the two sides of "rebels" and "loyalists", in-faction fighting may take place as players change sides or seize opportunities of gaining a stronger position. Should a "loyalist" attack a Palace Guard unit, that player turns into a "rebel". A "rebel", however, cannot become a "loyalist".
The combat rules are fairly complex. Units first move, and then volleys can be fired between opposing units that are in the same area. The side that loses the most units from combat must retreat to an unoccupied adjacent area.
Coup victory.
After the end of the final coup phase, the players negotiate and must declare themselves either "Pro-President" or "Pro-Junta". A "rebel" may choose to be "Pro-President", and a "loyalist" may see reasons to become "Pro-Junta". The side controlling three or more of the vital buildings is victorious.
If the President prevails, any one "rebel" may be sent to the firing squad. In the case of a Junta victory, the "rebels" elect a new President. A "Pro-Junta" "loyalist" takes no part in the election. The "First Rebel" breaks a tied vote. The new President may then send any player, regardless of whether they were "rebel" or "loyalist", to be executed. An executed player discards their political cards and hands over their pocket money to the President.
Exile.
A player may go into exile during the Location phase by placing a location marker on one of the embassies on the map, to indicate the country to which the player fled. It is also possible to flee the republic during a coup, provided that the player controls an embassy with their forces.
A player in exile is safe from executions and assassinations, but is very limited in all but the social aspects of the game. A player may return from exile at any time, but normally the Minister of Internal Security may have the returning player executed by the secret police at will. It is only safe to return from exile when the President is dead, before a new one has been elected, during a coup provided that a friendly player controls the relevant embassy, or if the Minister's position is "frozen" (see below).
Brother-in-law.
A dead or exiled player may not use any of their family's cabinet positions. The President may control one such position through their "brother-in-law." Any other positions of dead or exiled players are considered "frozen".
Reception.
Aaron Allston reviewed "Junta" in "The Space Gamer" No. 33. Allston commented that "Overall, "Junta" is highly recommended to all gamers who enjoy backstabbing."
In the December 1993 edition of "Dragon" (Issue 200), Allen Varney gave "Junta" a thumbs up: "Do you like casual corruption, hilarious doubletalk, and soldiers who can’t shoot straight? We got them all. "Muy bien", I think!"
In Issue 25 of "Phoenix" (May–June 1980), Roger Musson found the map and counters "quite attractive", but thought the cards were too thin and likely to wear. Nonetheless, he found "Junta" "a very enjoyable game, well worth playing, and likely to appeal to a very wide range of players."
"Junta" was chosen for inclusion in the 2007 book "". Darren Watts commented, ""Junta" isn't one of the 100 greatest hobby games because of its rules and mechanics — they're good, each of them, but not brilliant. It's a great hobby game because it creates a mood and captures a theme brilliantly, and integrates every single design element to that cause. With its wonderful sense of comical menace, political instability, and institutionalized corruption, "Junta" is a hoot and a half to play."
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The Sentinel (2006 film)
2006 action thriller film directed by Clark Johnson
The Sentinel is a 2006 American political action thriller film directed by Clark Johnson about a veteran United States Secret Service special agent who is suspected of treason after an attempted assassination of the president reveals that someone within the Service is supplying information to the assassins.
The film stars Michael Douglas as the veteran agent, Kiefer Sutherland as his protégé, Eva Longoria as a rookie Secret Service agent, and Kim Basinger in the role of the First Lady. It is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by former Secret Service Agent Gerald Petievich. It was filmed in Washington, D.C., and in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Kleinburg, Ontario.
Plot.
Pete Garrison is a Secret Service agent and one of the personal bodyguards for FLOTUS Sarah Ballentine, with whom he is having an affair. He is one of the oldest and most experienced agents, having been involved in saving Ronald Reagan's life.
Garrison's close friend and fellow agent Charlie Merriweather is murdered. Garrison discovers from a reliable informant that the killing is linked to an assassination plot against the President. The intelligence reveals the existence of a mole with access to the President's security detail.
The Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division, led by Garrison's estranged friend and former protégé, David Breckinridge, with rookie partner Jill Marin, is investigating the plot. Breckinridge orders every agent to be subjected to a polygraph test.
Meanwhile, the mole discovers Garrison's discussion with the informant and his affair with the First Lady. He attempts to blackmail Garrison by luring him to a coffee shop, a known meeting point for a Colombian cartel. After delaying for some time, Garrison is subjected to the polygraph.
The agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division, William Montrose, randomly selects the president's means of transport with a coin toss. As the President and first lady visit Camp David, Garrison's informant calls, demanding his payment be made at a shopping mall food court.
Garrison goes to meet him, but disappears in the crowd, and an assassin tries to kill Garrison. Agents pursue the assassin, but he escapes. Simultaneously, the presidential helicopter is shot down by a surface-to-air missile outside of Camp David, though neither the POTUS nor his wife was aboard (owing to Montrose's coin "deciding" to use the motorcade instead).
Garrison failed the polygraph test owing to concealing his affair with the First Lady. Breckinridge confronts and interrogates him at home, pinning him as the prime suspect. The source of rancor between them surfaces: Breckinridge believes Garrison had an affair with his wife, causing the breakup of their marriage, which Garrison denies.
Garrison escapes capture and conducts his own investigation of the assassination plot. Trying to contact the informant who gave him the tip, he finds he has been killed. In pursuit, Breckinridge gets the drop on Garrison but is unable to kill him, despite having given other agents "shoot to kill" orders.
Using his contacts with sympathetic agents and family members, Garrison tracks down one of the assassins, whom he kills in a firefight. He searches his apartment, finding evidence showing the perpetrators are headed to Toronto to attack the president at a G8 summit. He leaves it in the apartment, telling Marin about it, but the evidence, including the assassin's body, were removed before the Secret Service arrived.
The FLOTUS discloses her affair with Garrison to Breckinridge, revealing why Garrison failed his polygraph test. Together in Toronto, Garrison and Breckinridge learn that the assassins are former KGB operatives hired to kill the president by a Colombian cartel. William Montrose, who was never polygraphed, is the mole and in charge of security at the summit.
The leader of the assassins blackmails Montrose into helping them, threatening his family. Emotionally torn, Montrose is instructed to jam Secret Service's radios, and leave the summit with the President via a specific route; the assassins will handle the rest.
On the night of the President's speech, Breckinridge and Garrison race to the summit. The assassins, posing as RCMP Emergency Response Team officers, the assassin corners several agents, Montrose and the President in a tunnel.
Montrose reveals his treason to the President and purposely steps in front of one of the assassins, who kills him. Garrison, Breckinridge, and Marin arrive, rescuing the President and the First Lady by killing the assassins. As they reach the ground level, Montrose's handler comes forward dressed as an RCMP officer to perform the killings personally. He takes Sarah hostage and aims his pistol at the President, but Garrison shoots him dead.
In spite of these events, Garrison is forced to take early retirement owing to the disclosure of his affair with the first lady, who looks on sadly from her window as he leaves the White House. He does, however, make peace with Breckinridge, who finally realizes that Garrison did not sleep with his wife and has a date with her that evening.
Cast.
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Spirit in the Sky
1969 song by Norman Greenbaum
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in December 1969 from his album "Spirit in the Sky". The single became a gold record in the United States, selling two million copies from 1969 to 1970, and reached No. 3 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 where it lasted for 15 weeks in the Top 100. "Billboard" ranked the record as the No. 22 song of 1970. It also climbed to No. 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970.
"Rolling Stone" ranked "Spirit in the Sky" No. 333 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Cover versions by Doctor and the Medics and Gareth Gates have also made the No. 1 spot in the UK. The song was voted one of the top ten one-hit wonders in a "Rolling Stone" reader's poll.
Original version by Norman Greenbaum.
"Spirit in the Sky" makes several religious references to Jesus, though Greenbaum himself is Jewish. In a 2006 interview with "The New York Times", Greenbaum told a reporter he was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner singing a gospel song on TV. Greenbaum said: "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes." Greenbaum had previously been a member of psychedelic jug band Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. When they split up, he won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen for Reprise Records. Jacobsen had previously worked with the Lovin' Spoonful.
Greenbaum first arranged the song for an acoustic jug band; then he tried a folk version and then a Delta blues style, but none of these were satisfactory. Under Jacobsen's direction, the song started to gel at Coast Recorders studio on Bush Street in San Francisco, with Jacobsen's chosen session players Russell DaShiell on guitar, Doug Killmer from the band Crowfoot on bass, and drummer Norman Mayell from the band Sopwith Camel. Greenbaum used a Fender Telecaster guitar with a fuzz-tone circuit built into the body to generate the song's characteristic guitar sound. Jacobsen finally brought in the Stovall Sisters (Joyce, Lillian, and Netta) from Oakland to support the song with gospel hand percussion and vocal stylings, joined by additional singers.
The resulting sound was an "oddly good and compelling" combination of boogie rock (of which genre the song is considered one of the first examples), blues, gospel and hard rock music, with loud drums, distorted electric guitar, clapping hands, and tambourines. Because of the song's length and lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but it was finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. "Spirit in the Sky" became a worldwide hit and was the best-selling single for the Reprise label. In his famous 1970 "Lennon Remembers" interview for "Rolling Stone", John Lennon stated that he liked the song. Music historian Simon Reynolds has referred to the sound of "Spirit in the Sky" as "proto-glam".
The song received criticism from some Christians for including the lines, "Never been a sinner/I've never sinned/I got a friend in Jesus", as most Christian views on sin state that "there is no one who has never sinned". Greenbaum had explained that because he was not a Christian, he had been unaware of that when he wrote the song. In an interview with "American Songwriter", he said, "I did flub it I guess, cause if I was a Christian and was writing from that mindset, I would have said, 'I've been a sinner' ... But since I didn't have that upbringing, it never occurred to me that it was wrong." While some Christian artists have recorded the song using Greenbaum's original lyrics, others have changed those lines, such as DC Talk, who instead sang, "You know I've been a sinner/We've all sinned".
Later albums and singles by Greenbaum were not embraced by the market. By the 1980s, Greenbaum had abandoned his music career and worked as a sous-chef and restaurant kitchen manager.
The song was reworked by Doctor and the Medics in June 1986, achieving chart success in the UK. This cover version was heard in the 1987 film "Maid to Order", catalyzing renewed media interest in the original song. The original version is heard in the films "Miami Blues" (1990), "Wayne's World 2" (1993), "Apollo 13" (1995), "Remember the Titans" (2000), "Ocean's Eleven" (2001), "The Sandlot 2" (2005), "Katie and Orbie", "Lovelace" (2013), "Suicide Squad", and "The Founder" (2016). Kellogg's cereal tapped the song for a television advertisement in 1997, and it was the highlight of a lengthy television commercial for Nike shoes in 2005. Greenbaum reflected on the song in 2011, saying, "It sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded. I've gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it's their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to 'Danny Boy'."
Charts.
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Doctor and the Medics version.
In June 1986, Doctor and the Medics reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with their version of "Spirit in the Sky", spending three weeks at the top. In New Zealand, the song reached No. 2 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, while in Canada, it peaked at No. 1 for a week and was the fifth-highest-selling single of 1986. The song has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).
Gareth Gates (with the Kumars) version.
"Spirit in the Sky" served as the first single from "Pop Idol" runner-up Gareth Gates's second studio album, "Go Your Own Way". The single was released on March 10, 2003, and was the official "Comic Relief" charity single for 2003. The song features guest vocals from the Kumars. The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Gates' fourth number-one single. Gates' version has been certified platinum by BPI in the UK.
Track listings.
UK CD1
UK CD2
UK cassette single
UK DVD single
Charts.
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Other versions.
A version by Dorothy Combs Morrison reached No. 99 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100 in October 1970, and No. 47 in Canada during November of that same year.
In popular culture.
Since the 1970s, Manchester United fans have used the song as the base for a chant to support George Best.
The campaign for opens with a cutscene featuring the song.
References.
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Blue Sky (song)
"Blue Sky" is a song by the American rock band The Allman Brothers Band from their third studio album, "Eat a Peach" (1972), released on Capricorn Records. The song was written and sung by guitarist Dickey Betts, who penned it about his girlfriend (and later wife), Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig. The track is also notable as one of guitarist Duane Allman's final recorded performances with the group. The band's two guitarists, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, alternate playing the song's lead: Allman's solo beginning 1:07 in, Betts joining in a shared melody line at 2:28, followed by Betts's solo at 2:37. The song is notably more country-inspired than many songs in the band's catalogue.
Background.
His debut as a vocalist for the band, Dickey Betts composed "Blue Sky" about his Indigenous Canadian girlfriend, Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig, whom he would later marry. The lyrics leave out any references to gender to make it nonspecific: "Once I got into the song I realized how nice it would be to keep the vernaculars—he and she—out and make it like you’re thinking of the spirit, like I was giving thanks for a beautiful day. I think that made it broader and more relatable to anyone and everyone," he later said. Betts initially wanted the band's lead vocalist, Gregg Allman, to sing the song, but guitarist Duane Allman encouraged him to sing it himself: "Man, this is your song and it sounds like you and you need to sing it." An embryonic version of the song can be found on the fan bootleg, "The Gatlinburg Tapes", a recording of the band jamming in April 1971 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
The song was one of Duane Allman's last recorded performances with the band. "As I mixed songs like "Blue Sky," I knew, of course, that I was listening to the last things that Duane ever played and there was just such a mix of beauty and sadness, knowing there's not going to be any more from him," said Johnny Sandlin.
Alternate versions.
While Duane Allman died before "Eat a Peach's" release, the band played the song live several times before and after the album's studio version was recorded. Only one of these performances, recorded live during a , has been released by the band; several bootleg recordings from other shows circulate. Two versions of "Blue Sky" were being performed as of 2012: An Allman Brothers take on the SUNY Stony Brook/Eat a Peach original (with Warren Haynes on lead vocals, though Gregg Allman does them sometimes), and an arrangement which evolved between 1973 and 2001 played by Dickey Betts and his band Great Southern.
Cover versions.
In 2018 singer and guitarist Frank Hannon released a cover of "Blue Sky" featuring Dickey Betts' son Duane Betts on guitar. Frank Hannon is the son-in-law of Dickey Betts. The cover album titled "From one place...to Another! Vol.1" reached #27 on Billboards Folk / Americana charts.
"Blue Sky" has been covered several times in the past including by Joan Baez on her 1975 album "Diamonds & Rust", also released as a single.
Notes.
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References.
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Sources.
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Norman Greenbaum
American singer-songwriter
Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his 1969–1970 hit song "Spirit in the Sky". The song makes Greenbaum one of the most famous and best-selling one-hit wonders of all time.
Early life.
Greenbaum was born in Malden, Massachusetts. He was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household and attended Hebrew school at Congregation Beth Israel. His initial interest in music was sparked by Southern blues music and the folk music that was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He performed with various bands in high school and studied music at Boston University for two years. In college he performed at local coffeehouses but eventually dropped out and moved to Los Angeles in 1965.
Career.
In the late 1960s, Norman Greenbaum was the leader and composer for Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band, which recorded the novelty hit "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago". The group's psychedelic approach was too eccentric for mainstream show business; the group's name suggested a novelty or comedy act incorporating music.
Greenbaum went solo as a folk artist and submitted an original song, "Spirit in the Sky", to Reprise Records. His demonstration recording was a simple folk rendition, with Greenbaum accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Reprise handed Greenbaum to staff producer Erik Jacobsen, who radically rearranged the song for a new recording session. The updated version now had pulsing electric guitar, gospel-styled backup singers, and an insistent rhythm accompanying Greenbaum, whose vocal was now double-tracked. Reprise released the record in late 1969, and it skyrocketed to #1 in almost all worldwide markets. It sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970, and received a gold disc from the RIAA. It has subsequently been used in many films, advertisements, and television shows.
Although "Spirit in the Sky" has a clear Christian theme, Greenbaum is Jewish, having grown up in an observant Orthodox Jewish household, although he no longer practices the religion. Greenbaum says he was inspired to write the song after watching a Christian-themed song performed by Porter Wagoner on television. Greenbaum also stated Western movies were a major inspiration for "Spirit in the Sky":
Norman Greenbaum: If you ask me what I based "Spirit in the Sky" on ... what did we grow up watching? Westerns! These mean and nasty varmints get shot and they wanted to die with their boots on. So to me that was spiritual, they wanted to die with their boots on.
Ray Shasho: So that was the trigger that got you to write the song?
Norman Greenbaum: Yes. The song itself was simple, when you're writing a song you keep it simple of course. It wasn't like a Christian song of praise it was just a simple song. I had to use Christianity because I had to use something. But more important it wasn't the Jesus part, it was the spirit in the sky. Funny enough ... I wanted to die with my boots on.
All of the accoutrements added to "Spirit in the Sky" in the recording studio made it impossible for Greenbaum to replicate the recording in live performances. His televised appearance on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" compelled the singer to synchronize his performance to a playback of the hit record.
Greenbaum's upbeat "Canned Ham" followed in 1970, and the record reached number 46 on the American charts and number 26 in the Canadian charts.
After the release in 1972 of his album "Petaluma" (named after his hometown in California), Greenbaum left the music business and returned to his dairy farm. He returned to the music industry as a manager and promoter in the mid-1980s.
Personal life.
Greenbaum has been a long-time resident of Santa Rosa, California. On March 28, 2015, he was seriously injured when a car, in which he was a passenger, made a left turn in the path of a motorcycle on Occidental Road, killing the motorcyclist and injuring the motorcycle passenger. Greenbaum has since gone back to performing.
References.
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Goodbye Blue Sky (Defiance)
"Goodbye Blue Sky" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American science fiction series "Defiance", and the series' seventh episode overall. It was aired on June 3, 2013. The episode was written by Anupam Nigam & Amanda Alpert Muscat and it was directed by Andy Wolk.
Plot.
Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) has another vision in which Sukar (Noah Danby) dies. After the vision she and Nolan (Grant Bowler) go to find Sukar and Irisa's vision is confirmed since Sukar was killed by a falling object from the sky. Irisa and Nolan, seeing the object, realize that it was part of an approaching razor rain storm, a storm that endangers Defiance. They have to inform everyone in town that the storm is not a simple one. Nolan returns to Defiance but Irisa stays back for Sukar's sinking ritual (his body will be consumed in an acid bath).
Sukar, right after they sink his body in the acid, rises fully healed and the Spirit Riders are confused because they do not know what happened. Sukar says that he is driven by God Irzu and he is on a mission but the other Irathients have doubts about it. He and Irisa return to Defiance, where Sukar starts collecting different objects for unknown reason. Irisa does not know what and why he is doing this, but she tries to help him.
Alak (Jesse Rath) and Cristie (Nicole Muñoz) discuss a bathing ceremony that Stahma (Jaime Murray) asked Christie to do with the family. Christie does not feel comfortable doing it and she argues about it with Alak. At the end, Alak agrees to talk to his parents and tell them that Christie will not join the ceremony.
Stahma goes to "Need/Want" bar to ask Kenya (Mia Kirshner) about her services for her son Alak before the wedding, so he will be prepared. She is concerned about it since humans and Castithans are very different. Kenya refuses politely and explains to Stahma that a human girl would not like her husband to be with a prostitute. While having a conversation over drinks, Stahma opens up to Kenya and the two of them end up in an intimate encounter.
In the meantime, Nicky (Fionnula Flanagan), not having any news from Birch, arrives at the McCawley home to find out what happened. Quentin (Justin Rain) reluctantly admits to his father Rafe (Graham Greene) that he killed Birch when Birch broke into their home and attacked him. He does not tell him though that he kept the artifact.
Nicky, suspecting that Birch is dead, tricks Rafe into revealing that Birch was killed when he broke into their home, but Rafe takes the blame to protect his son. In the meantime, Quentin has another "vision" of his brother Luke (Wesley French), who tells him that he should kill Nicky too because she knows everything, but Quentin refuses.
Meanwhile, Sukar finds all the items he needs and he and Irisa take over the radio station. Nolan gets there right after them thinking that Sukar wants to direct a falling Ark to Defiance. The falling Ark, if it impacts on Defiance, will destroy the city completely and everyone will die. He attempts to stop him by shooting him and throwing him from the Gateway Arch.
Irisa however, who does not believe that Sukar wanted to destroy Defiance, completes his task and activates the transmission. It is discovered that Sukar only wanted to change the direction of the falling Ark to save Defiance.
Doctor Yewll (Trenna Keating), while examining Sukar, finds out why Sukar "rose" and why he was healing so fast. It was not because of the God Irzu but because of little robots called nanites that were injected into his body by the razor rain object. Now that Defiance is safe, the nanites have gone dormant, and will no longer heal Sukar's injuries. Sukar survived the fall from the Arch, but he is paralyzed and in coma.
Feature music.
In the "Goodbye Blue Sky" we can hear the songs:
Reception.
Ratings.
In its original American broadcast, "Goodbye Blue Sky" was watched by 1.69 million; down 0.26 from the previous episode.
Reviews.
"Goodbye Blue Sky" received mediocre/positive reviews.
Rowan Kaiser from "The A.V. Club" gave a C grade to the episode saying that despite there were some cool moments and interesting ideas on it, it was not serving a larger purpose. "“Good Bye Blue Sky” isn't notably worse than several previous episodes of "Defiance", but it frustrated me much more than those did. There are some cool moments, some disjointed ones, a lot of interesting ideas, and a famous song covered at the end. I normally enjoy that. But my problem with this episode is that it doesn't serve a larger purpose."
Lisa Macklem from "Spoiler TV" stated that the episode is particularly well-written. "I really enjoyed the peeling away of more layers on the show this week. The episode did a good job in illustrating that the tensions don’t just occur between human and Votans – though it’s understandable that those relationships pose the most opportunity for misunderstanding."
Jim Garner from "TV Fanatic" rated the episode with 3/5. ""Defiance" this week didn't so much feature a single main story, but instead focused on three arcs. Sadly, this left it feeling like "Good Bye Blue Sky" was doing far too much in a short amount of time."
References.
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Qat (deity)
The principal god in the oral mythology of the Banks Islands, northern Vanuatu
Qat (or "Qet", "Kpwet", "Iqet", "Ikpwet" etc. – see below) is the principal god in the oral mythology of the Banks Islands, a small archipelago of northern Vanuatu, Melanesia.
Although Qat was never formally worshipped as a deity, the folklore of these once animist populations traditionally referred, and still does, to Qat as the spirit to whom we humans owe several elements of our culture: the world itself (in the form of the Torres and Banks archipelagoes); Night; Death; women; marriage rules and incest prohibition; as well as the "song language" in use throughout the area, locally known as "the language of Qat".
This mythological figure has connections with the god known as Tagaro in other parts of Vanuatu.
Name.
The deity is called "Qat" (pronounced ) in Mota, an Oceanic language which was first documented by Robert Codrington at the end of the 19th century.
The same hero is known under the same name in the languages of neighboring Banks Islands, albeit with different pronunciations (due to historical processes of sound change): "Qēt" in Löyöp, "Q̄et" in Volow, "Iqet" in Mwotlap, "Qet" in Lemerig, Vurës, and Mwesen, "Qo’" in Vera'a, "Qat" in Nume and Lakon, "Qāt" in Dorig, and "Qet" in Mwerlap. All these forms are derived from an ancestral name that can be reconstructed as "*ᵐbʷatu" in Proto-Torres–Banks – bearing etymological connections with secret societies of initiation, and to a ritual dance associated with ancestral spirits.
The neighboring Torres Islands have a mythological hero with a very similar history, yet give him names unrelated to the root "*ᵐbʷatu": "Mer̄avtit" in Hiw and "Merawehih" in Lo-Toga. In these two languages, the etymon appears to be "*marawasisi", probably a compound of "*marawa" "spider" (also the name of a spirit), with a second element that might be "*sisi" "to pierce".
Mythology.
In the Mota version, Qat was born when his Father, a stone, exploded. He has eleven brothers, all called "Tagaro" (Tagaro the Foolish, Tagaro the Wise, etc.), and a companion, "Marawa" , who takes the form of a spider as the name suggests.
Along with creating islands and covering them with plant and animal life, Qat made the first three pairs of men and women by carving them from dracaena wood and then playing drums to make them dance, bringing them to life through music. One story recounts how Marawa, envious of Qat's creations, carved his own figures and brought them to life, but then grew tired of them and buried them for a week. When he dug them up, they had rotted, and this is how death came to be.
When his brothers became tired of daylight, Qat created night and taught his brothers how to sleep. When they had slept enough he took a piece of red obsidian and sliced through Night, thus making Dawn.
One day Qat came upon a group of sky maidens who had taken off their wings to bathe. He quickly buried one pair of wings so that one girl, Vinmara, had to remain behind, and in time she became his wife, now called Ro-Lei. They lived together until one day Qat's mother reproached her daughter-in-law and made her cry. Ro-Lei's tears washed away the earth which covered her wings; she put them on and flew away. Qat shot an arrow with a rope tied to it into the roots of a great banyan tree in the sky and climbed after her into the sky world, but later as he climbed down with Ro-Lei, the root snapped and he plunged to his death, while she flew safely away.
In other versions of the story, Qat does not die but sails away in a canoe, promising to return one day.
Friedrich Ratzel, in "The History of Mankind, Vol. 1" (1896), provides another version of the story as follows:
"…among the Banks Islanders the supreme god, Qat, emerges from a stone, which was his mother; and then with the help of his companion, Marawa, creates the rest of the world. Marawa is invoked with Qat in all emergencies, and may easily be recognised as the legendary Maui of New Zealand and Hawaii. Qat was doomed to be slain, but succeeded in climbing a nutmeg-tree. He had hardly reached the top when, by the arts of his hostile brothers, the tree grew higher and higher, and became of such circumference that Qat could not have got down again, had not Marawa, seeing his friend's difficulty, blown to earth a thread, or a hair from his head."
Nowadays, the story of Qat which is most popular among the islanders of northern Vanuatu tells how Qat, in Vanua Lava, built his canoe with the help of the spider spirit Marawa; how the canoe was then stolen by Qat's eleven brothers, who sailed it to the nearby island of Gaua; and how they all had to defeat the giant of that island, Qasavara.
Access to some narratives.
The following archives, recorded by linguist A. François in the Torres and Banks Islands (Vanuatu), present various stories from the mythological cycle of Qat. Each reference features an audio recording, its transcription in the original language, and sometimes one or more translations:
Notes.
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Bahloo
Moon god in the native Australian mythology
In Gamilaraay mythology, Bahloo is a male spirit representing the moon. The most known tale about him is a story about the origin of death.
Myths.
Bahloo and the Daens
The most notable myth seeks to explain both man's mortality and the hatred between snakes and men, much as does the Judeo-Christian story of the Garden of Eden. In the tale, Bahloo takes his snakes (calling them his 'dogs') out for a walk at night. He comes upon a group of men and asks them to carry the snakes across a river for him. They were afraid, and refused, so he did it himself, with two snakes coiled around each arm and one around his neck. He threw a piece of bark on the water, which floated, and a stone, which sank. He declared that he was like the bark, always rising again, but that the men would be like the stone, and sink to the bottom when they were dead. The men, who had always feared the snakes, now hated them and killed them whenever they saw one. Bahloo always sent more, to remind the people that they had not done what he asked.
Bahloo and Wahn
One Aboriginal legend tells of how Bahloo was once a clever man who lived with Wahn, the Crow, and Buumayamayal, the fly catcher lizard, creating the babies of the world. One day, Wahn asks Bahloo, in addition to making new babies, that they resurrect the dead as well. Bahloo refused this request, making Wahn very upset. Upon seeing a large gum tree, Wahn asks to Bahloo climb the tree for grubs. He then breathed on the gum tree, causing it to grow into the sky. This is where Bahloo stayed, explaining why the Moon travels across the sky.
Bahloo and Yhi
During Bahloo’s travels, Yhi, the Sun, courts Bahloo, but he refused her advances. The myth says that this is why the Sun chased the Moon across the sky. Yhi threatened the spirits who held up the sky that if they let him escape down to Earth, she would plunge the world into darkness.
Nevertheless, Bahloo is sometimes seen walking on the Earth in Gamilaraay myth. He does so by disguising himself as the spirit emu, tricking the spirits and going back to Earth to once again reclaim his post of creating baby girls.
References.
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Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" is a song written by the English folk-rock singer and songwriter Sandy Denny.
History.
Denny recorded a first demo of the song in 1966. It was the second song she ever completed. She again recorded the song as a demo in 1967, singing and playing guitar on the track.
In 1967 she joined the folk band The Strawbs, and in 1968 she re-recorded the song, again with only her voice and guitar, for what became the Strawbs album "All Our Own Work", which was not released until 1973. (This version has the opening line "Across the purple sky...")
The American folk singer Judy Collins heard a tape of the original demo recording in 1968 and decided to cover the song. She recorded her version in New York City on August 26, 1968, at A&R Recording's 799 7th Avenue studio. She released her recording first as the B-side of her version of "Both Sides, Now", and then as the title track of her album "Who Knows Where the Time Goes", both released in 1968. Hers was the first commercially released recording of the song.
In 1968, Denny joined the folk-rock band Fairport Convention. She recorded the song on her second album with the band, the 1969 album "Unhalfbricking". This version had more of a rock influence, although it retained its tranquil and contemplative spirit, with Richard Thompson playing the delicate guitar licks (that are fed through the right audio channel on the track). The song became a signature song for both Denny and Fairport Convention, and was subsequently covered by many artists.
It was the last song Denny sang at her last ever performance, before she died at age 31.
Structure and lyric.
The song is a reflection in three verses on observed events ("Across the evening sky all the birds are leaving"). Denny writes that she does not count time ("Before the winter's fire, I will still be dreamin'; I have no thought of time") and in the last line of the short chorus asks rhetorically, "Who knows where the time goes?". The last verse includes the lines "I am not alone while my love is near me, I know it will be so until it's time to go.”
Cover versions.
Versions have been recorded by, among others, Eva Cassidy, Judy Collins, Nana Mouskouri, Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet, Deanna Kirk, Eddi Reader, Julianne Regan (with Fairport Convention), Kate Rusby, Nina Simone (on her 1970 live album "Black Gold"), Barbara Dickson, The Lasses, Heather Masse (on the radio program "A Prairie Home Companion"), Dez Mona, and Kate Wolf (on her 1983 live album "Give Yourself to Love").
Reception.
In 2007, the "Unhalfbricking" version was voted "Favourite Folk Track of All Time" by listeners of BBC Radio 2.
Rufus Wainwright called it "one of the saddest songs ever written"; Nina Simone called it a "lovely, lovely thing"; and Linda Thompson said "I don’t find it to be sad. Great music is always uplifting to me. She was so young when she wrote it but it pinpoints exactly the feelings I have now, at 71. It also resonated strongly with me when I was a teenager. Love and loss portrayed so sweetly. A song for all ages."
References.
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Latvian mythology

Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myths, for the most part, likely stem from Proto-Indo-European practices and the later folk traditions of the Latvian people and pre-Christian Baltic mythology.
Latvian mythology is used particularly as a tool for reconstructing and analysing the historical pagan beliefs and national identity of Latvia.
The minute details of most, if not all of these myths vary per region, and sometimes even per family.
History.
13th–18th century.
There are few reports of Baltic tribes, the ancestors of modern Latvians, and their mythology until Christianization in the 13th century. Since Christianization, there have been several reports related to local mythology including chronicles, travel reports, visitation records, Jesuit reports and other accounts of pagan practices. These reports are considered secondary sources by researchers because since the authors were not Latvian, they did not speak the local languages and often were biased. These materials are sometimes imprecise and contain errors, fabrications, and distortions stemming from a Christian world view. Despite this, they can often be verified using information from folklore.
18th – early 20th century.
Most folklore materials have been collected since the mid-19th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was assumed that Baltic tribes were originally one nation and thus had the same deities. Early authors tried to reconstruct a Latvian pantheon using data from neighboring regions. This trend was later also adopted by Latvian national romanticists. After the abolition of serfdom, a new national identity was forming and authors sought to prove that Baltic cultural traditions were as deep as those of other nations. It was hoped that a grand epic could be constructed using pieces preserved in folklore. It was also thought that the ancient religion, forgotten during 700 years of oppression, could be reconstructed. However, folklore sources proved insufficient for the task. Some attempted to reconstruct pantheons to be as impressive as in Greek mythology, which led to some deities being simply invented. Besides the assumption that deities of other Baltic peoples must be Latvian as well but were simply lost over time, many new deities were modeled after Greek and Roman deities. An example of the trend is the epic poem Lāčplēsis by Andrejs Pumpurs, which features a pantheon of Latvian and Prussian gods and some the author has invented himself. Similarly, works of Juris Alunāns and poet Miķelis Krogzemis feature pantheons of invented deities.
At the same time, some pagan rites were still practiced. And, as Christianity was seen as alien, attempts were made to recreate the ancient religion. The most successful of the neopagan movements was Dievturi, established in the late 1920s, which claims that ancient Latvians were monotheistic and the various mythological beings are all aspects of one God. While the notion of needing to remove alien influences to reconstruct Latvian traditions was preserved into later times, the attempts to create an Olympus-like pantheon of pseudo-gods eventually stopped as national romanticism was replaced by realism and came to be criticized in the first half of 20th century. It was also suspected that some of the folklore materials might have been falsified. The research of this time is characterised not only by skepticism but also with attempts to seek foreign influences.
1944–1970s.
After the Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944, research of mythology and especially religious concepts was banned in Latvia. Similarly, members of neopagan groups were persecuted as paganism was considered chauvinistic. Despite this, research was continued by Latvians in exile, who focused on the