Look up regency (government) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A regent, from the Latin regens, "[one] reigning", or regency council is a person or group of persons selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated.^[1] The period of rule of a regent or regents is referred to as a regency.

In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons, but may also be elected to rule during the interregnum when the royal line has died out. This was the case in Finland and Hungary, where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I. In Iceland, the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944.

In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Lithuanian Roman Catholic Primate (the Archbishop of Vilnius) who served as the regent, termed the "interrex" (Latin: ruler "between kings" as in ancient Rome).

In the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or Capitani Reggenti, are elected semi-annually (they serve a six-month term) as joint heads of state and of government.

Occasionally, the term regent refers to positions lower than the ruler of a country. In the Dutch republic of the United Provinces, the members of the ruling class, not formally hereditary but de facto patricians, were known collectively as regenten (the Dutch plural for regent). In the Dutch East Indies, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized 'state' as a regentschap (see that term). Consequently, in the successor state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a bupati (local government official).

The term may be used in the governance of organisations. Some university managers in North America are called regents and a management board for a college or university may be titled the "Board of Regents". The term "regent" is also used for members of governing bodies of institutions, such as the national banks, in France and Belgium. Again in Belgium and France, (Régent in French, or in Dutch) Regent is the official title of a teacher in a lower secondary school (junior high school), who does not require a college degree but is trained in a specialized écôle normale (normal school). In the Philippines, specifically, the University of Santo Tomas, the Father Regent, who must be a Dominican priest and is often also a teacher, serves as the institution's spiritual head. They also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university.

Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Kedah.

See also[link]

• List of regents

Notes[link]

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Add N to (X) were a three-piece British band specializing in electronic music performed on analogue synthesizers, formed in London in 1994.

The original band members were Andrew Aveling, Barry Smith (aka Barry 7) and Ann Shenton. Steven Claydon replaced Aveling in 1997.

After several releases on small labels, they turned down offers from major labels and signed to large independent label Mute Records in 1998, and achieved a modest commercial success before splitting in 2003.

Several of their songs and video clips have been adult/sex-related; the video for "Metal Fingers in My Body" is an animated short featuring a woman having sex with a robot, and their video for "Plug Me In" is famous for featuring porn actresses playing with sex toys.

Biography[link]

In 1994 Andrew Aveling met Justin Anderson from Freaky Realistic^{[citation needed]} and together they started a band named Radix Couplment^{[citation needed]}. Andrew was dating Ann Shenton at this time^{[citation needed]} and got her involved on the project^{[citation needed]}. Andrew then asked his friend Barry (Former Radio Prague DJ Smith)^[1] if he too would be interested in joining^{[citation needed]}. They then spent some time gigging under this name before a fall out which led to Justin's departure from the band. There being only three remaining Andrew then renamed the group Add N to X^{[citation needed]}. They released Vero Electronics (1996) on the Blow Up label, and after did many other recordings for the next album.

They kept the name but placed brackets around the X due to legal reasons. They then enlisted Steven Claydon who remained with the group until its dissolution.

1997 saw the band twice awarded Single of the Week by the NME (for The Black Regent and King Wasp).^[1]

Second album On the Wires of Our Nerves was released in 1998, and was described as "like Stereolab/Suicide with a rocket shoved up their rectum".^[1] The album was played heavily by BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs on her show, The Breezeblock.^[1]

The group performed live regularly, often augmenting their core three-piece line up with either one or two acoustic drummers, and sometimes additional musicians playing extra synths and/or electric guitar.

They often utilized distinctive artwork for the videos and record sleeves, a fetishistic collage of sexual imagery with analogue electronic equipment, based in part on the movie and book Demon Seed

The band signed to Mute Records and released three more albums, Avant Hard, Add Insult to Injury, and Loud Like Nature. They also released the single Little Black Rocks In The Sun, which was issued on 10 inch hexagonal vinyl. Shenton was reportedly overwhelmed by the pressures of the Loud Like Nature tour, and either left the group or was fired.^{[citation needed]} In 2003 Smith and Claydon continued touring the United States without Shenton. The band broke up shortly thereafter. Barry Smith runs the Horseglue Records store and label with his partner Ethan Reid. Ann Shenton has formed a new group, Large Number. and record label White Label Music. Steven Claydon is now known for his artwork and in 2006 was included in a group show at Tate Modern.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Vero Electronics (January 1996) Blow Up
• On the Wires of Our Nerves (February 1998) Satellite
• Avant Hard (April 1999) Mute
• Add Insult to Injury (October 2000) Mute
• Loud Like Nature (October 2002) Mute

Singles[link]

References[link]

Notes[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2011)

• http://www.phinnweb.org/5HT/interviews/largenumber/
• http://www.connexionbizarre.net/all-numbers-great-andsmall-an-interview-with-ann-shenton
• http://www.kindamuzik.net/q_and_a/article.shtml?id=350
• http://www.sabotagetimes.com/music/ann-shenton-from-add-n-to-x-interviewed-on-stage-it-was-like-warfare/

External links[link]

• Official page Official website

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Ed the Sock is a puppet, created and voiced by Steven Kerzner, that became a Canadian television personality in the 1990s, best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed's Night Party, later renamed Ed & Red's Night Party.^[1] Ed the Sock has a scowl, a cigar sticking out of his mouth and a rough, gravelly voice.

History[link]

Early years[link]

Kerzner was a producer in the 1990s at Newton Cable,^[2] during this time the show went through several co-hosts which included Harland Williams, Eric Tunney and Tim Rykert. After Newton Cable was purchased by Rogers Cable in 1993, Kerzner was able to repackage the program for a wider cable audience with Ed the Sock as the star.

The new show attracted the interest of producer John Brunton, who took the program to CITY-TV. This show, co-hosted by "Humble" Howard Glassman (better known as half of the local radio morning show Humble & Fred), debuted on February 10, 1995, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. Brunton later departed the show after having some creative differences with Kerzner.

Kerzner was also a political aspirant, running unsuccessfully as a candidate for school trustee and for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the 1990 Ontario provincial election. A fiscal and foreign-policy conservative, Kerzner's political heroes at the time included Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. In recent years, however, he has offered left-of centre views, arguing in favour of rights for same-sex couples, care for the homeless and other causes. He has since stated in a 2009 interview that he is no longer a conservative.^[3]

Ed's Night Party and other projects[link]

Besides Ed's Night Party, which aired in countries around the world including the United States (late night on the G4 Network), Ed was a fixture on MuchMusic. The show was in the late-night slot because of its overt depictions of sexuality, primarily involving sexualized women and Ed's off-colour remarks. Among Ed's shows were Ed's Big Wham Bam, a weekly live two-hour program; and the annual Fromage, a program which featured and mocked the cheesiest music videos released in the year, which Ed began hosting in the late 1990s, following former host and Fromage creator, MuchMusic VJ Christopher Ward. Ed also hosted a popular but short-lived series in which he and guests watched and made fun of bad movies called Ed's Nite In.

Ed was joined on Ed's Night Party! by Liana K (Liana Kerzner, wife of Steven), a buxom and busty redhead who became Ed's first female co-host and his most popular one, and who also is featured in a pin-up calendar, which was offered on Ed's official website. For several years, Liana has been the senior producer and writer of all Ed's projects. With the addition of Liana as co-host, the show was renamed Ed & Red's Night Party.

Ed & Red's Night Party ended its CITY-TV run on August 31, 2008. Creator Steven Kerzner stated that, while the weekly TV show was ending, the character would likely live on in other projects that were already in the works.^[4]

Return to television[link]

After two years off the air, Ed returned to television on CHCH-TV Hamilton^[5][6] with a new show This Movie Sucks! which is similar to his old show on City-TV, Ed's Nite In. The show is once again co-hosted by Liana K and also features comedian Ron Sparks. In each two hour episode Ed has guests over to watch (and make fun of) a bad movie. This Movie Sucks! was named one of the five best television shows of 2010 by Toronto Entertainment^[7] and one of the three best new shows of 2010 by Excalibur Magazine.^[8][9] A third season of This Movie Sucks! is currently under production.

The series will be joined on CHCH-TV by another Ed-hosted series called I Hate Hollywood which was originally expected to air in September 2010,^[10] but was later rescheduled and is now scheduled to air Wednesday nights and weekends, beginning May 2, 2012. The show will feature Ed and Liana making fun of the latest celebrity gossip and news.^[11]

Inspirations[link]

Ed is based on two actual people, whose names remain undisclosed.

Some people contend that it inspired the creation of Ed's American counterpart Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog. The controversy dates back to 1997 when Ed agreed to appear on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The appearance was suddenly cancelled, and one to three months later, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog debuted.^[12][13] Ed afterwards expressed such resentment towards Triumph that NBC (the network that aired O'Brien's show) stated they "didn't want Ed anywhere near Triumph" when Conan visited Canada for a week of shows during February 2004.^[14]

Other appearances[link]

Aside from television, Ed has had some radio appearances^[15] and is a popular guest at numerous sci-fi conventions. Among his many appearances, he and Liana K hosted the first ever Constellation Awards in 2007.^[16] He also was an advice columnist for Faze Magazine in 2001 and 2002.^[17]

With other performers in the Toronto community, Ed is a sponsor of and will be appearing at a brand new convention called Futurecon, for New Year's Eve 2010.^[18]

Since June 23, 2011 both Ed and Liana have been hosting Ed & Red's Podcast for gwmp.tv.^[19]

FU Party[link]

Shortly before the start of the 2011 federal election, Ed announced his intention to run for the Prime Minister of Canada as head of the new "Fed-Up Party". The FU Party's stated goals include fighting apathy and stupidity in government.^[20] Throughout the campaign the "FU Party News Centre" posted links to various articles and videos trying to encourage people to vote and criticizing the political establishment, especially the government and re-election campaign of Stephen Harper. Around this time, Ed also started his own WordPress blog called "Nobody's Puppet!" where he elaborated his thoughts on politics but also on the media industry.

Ed declared victory for the FU Party on April 28, 2011, citing that he had successfully assailed apathy after the record turnout at advance polls, and because to him the "Orange Surge" showed that Canadians had learned that they have a choice. While not officially endorsing the New Democratic Party, Ed stated that the "NDP has become the FU vote" and as such withdrew from the race. While the election did grant the NDP a record number of seats in Parliament, actual voter turnout was not much higher than in 2008, which helped the governing Conservative Party to win the majority of seats.^[21] Ed stated he hopes the FU Party will continue to provide "smartass commentary for a dumbass political establishment." It should be noted that Fed-Up was purely a joke political party and was never registered with Elections Canada.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Ed the Sock on Twitter
• Ed the Sock's Blog
• FU Party Facebook Page
• FU Party News Centre
• Ed the Sock at the Internet Movie Database
• Anime North NORTH AMERICAN GUESTS OF HONOR (Ed the Sock and Liana K) descriptions