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. (June 2010)

A typical throbber animation, as seen on many websites when performing a blocking action.

A throbber is a graphic found in a graphical user interface of a computer program (especially a web browser) that animates to show the user that the program is performing an action (such as downloading a web page).

Typical characteristics[link]

Usually the throbber is found on the right side of a program's toolbar or menu bar. The form the throbber takes varies, but it is common for it to be the logo of the program it is part of. Most of the time the throbber is a still image (known as its resting frame), but when the program is performing an action the throbber begins to animate in a loop to let the user know that the program is busy and has not frozen. Once the action is complete, the throbber returns to its resting frame. Normally, it is possible for the user to continue interacting with the program while the throbber is animating (one such possibility may be to press a stop button to cancel the action that the program is doing). Often, clicking on the throbber itself will go to the program's website.

History[link]

One of the early (if not the earliest) uses of a throbber was in the NCSA Mosaic web browser of the early 1990s, which featured an NCSA logo that animated when Mosaic was downloading a web page. As the user could still interact with the program, the pointer remained normal (and not a busy symbol, such as an hourglass); therefore, the throbber provided a visual indication that the program was performing an action. Clicking on the throbber would stop the page loading; later web browsers added a separate Stop button for this purpose. An Easter egg was implemented that replaces the throbber with an image of the rotating head of Tom Magliery when browsing his home page.^[1] This Easter egg appears with any web site whose URL contains the substring "~mag/".

Netscape, which soon overtook Mosaic as the market-leading web browser, also featured a throbber. In version 1.0 of Netscape, this took the form of a big blue "N" (Netscape's logo at the time). The animation depicted the "N" expanding and contracting, thus explaining why these animations became known as throbbers. When Netscape unveiled its new logo (a different "N" on top of a hill), they held a competition to find an animation for it. The winning design (featuring the new-look "N" in a meteor shower) became very well known and almost became an unofficial symbol of the World Wide Web. Later, Internet Explorer's blue "e" enjoyed similar status, though it was only used as a throbber in early versions of the browser.

The IBM WebExplorer offered a webpage the opportunity to change the look and the animation of the throbber by using a proprietary HTML code.^[2] The use of web frames, a feature introduced later, leads WebExplorer to confusion on modern pages due to the way this feature was implemented.

The Arena web browser has a command line option to change the throbber with a local file.^[3]

Initially, throbbers tended to be quite large, but they reduced in size along with the size of toolbar buttons as graphical user interfaces developed. Their usefulness declined somewhat as most operating systems introduced a different pointer to indicate "working in background", and they are no longer included in all web browsers (Opera currently does not use one, for example). Furthermore, even web browsers that do use them, such as Mozilla Firefox, depict images less elaborate than their predecessors.

Often browsers shipped with ISP CDs, or those customized according to co-branding agreements, have a custom throbber. For example the version of Internet Explorer included with AOL disks has an AOL throbber instead of the standard "e".

Spinning wheel[link]

Throbbers saw a resurgence with client side applications (such as Ajax Web applications) where an application within the web browser would wait for some operation to complete. Most of these throbbers were known as a "spinning wheel", which typically consist of 8, 10, or 12 part-radial lines or discs arranged in a circle, as if on a clock face, highlighted in turn as if a wave is moving clockwise around the circle.

In text user interfaces, the spinning wheel is commonly replaced by a spinning bar, a fixed-width character which is cycled between |/-\ forms in order to create an animation effect. Unlike graphical activity indicators, the spinning bar is commonly combined with progress displays, since the lower resolution of character-based progress bars requires a separate indication of activity. This use dates from early versions of the UNIX operating system and DR DOS utilities in the 1980s.

See also[link]

Look up throbber in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Throbbers

• Splash screen

References[link]

Depiction of a jester by William Merritt Chase

A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, or prankster was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment, typically for a European monarch. Jesters are thought to have typically worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their hats were especially distinctive; often made of cloth, they were floppy with three points, each of which had a jingle bell at the end. The three points of the hat represent donkey's ears and nose and tail worn by jesters in earlier times. Other things distinctive about the jester were his laughter and his mock sceptre, known as a "bauble" or marotte.

Political significance[link]

The Royal Shakespeare Company provides historical context for the role of the fool:

In ancient times courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or jesters, who sometimes dressed as other servants were dressed, but generally wore a motley (i.e. parti-coloured) coat, hood with ass's (i.e. donkey) ears or a red-flannel coxcomb and bells. Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558-1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead to a fool being whipped, as Lear threatens to whip his fool.^[1]

One may conceptualize fools in two camps: those of the natural fool type and those of the licensed fool type. Whereas the natural fool was seen as innately nit-witted, moronic, or mad, the licensed fool was given leeway by permission of the court. In other words, both were excused, to some extent, for their behavior, the first because he "couldn't help it," and the second by decree.

Distinction was made between fools and clowns, or country bumpkins. The fool's status was one of privilege within a royal or noble household. His folly could be regarded as the raving of a madman but was often deemed to be divinely inspired. The 'natural' fool was touched by God. Much to Gonerill's annoyance, Lear's 'all-licensed' Fool enjoys a privileged status. His characteristic idiom suggests he is a 'natural' fool, not an artificial one, though his perceptiveness and wit show that he is far from being an idiot, however 'touched' he might be.^[1]

Scholar David Carlyon has cast doubt on the "daring political jester", calling historical tales "apocryphal", and concluding that "popular culture embraces a sentimental image of the clown; writers reproduce that sentimentality in the jester, and academics in the Trickster," but it "falters as analysis."^[2]

Jesters could also give bad news to the King that no-one else would dare deliver. The best example of this is in 1340, when the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the English. Phillippe VI's jester told him the English sailors "don't even have the guts to jump into the water like our brave French."^[3]

English royal court jesters[link]

17th-century engraving of Will Sommers, Henry VIII's jester

Many courts throughout English royal history employed entertainers and most had professional fools, sometimes called licensed fools. Entertainment included music, juggling, clowning, and the telling of riddles. Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will Sommers.

During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I of England, William Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed with his theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later called the King's Men). Clowns and jesters were featured in Shakespeare's plays, and the company's expert on jesting was Robert Armin, author of the book Fooled upon Foole. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste the jester is described as "wise enough to play the fool."

James VI of Scotland was originally very lazy about reading things before signing them. His jester, George Buchanan (1506–82) tricked him into abdicating in favour of George for 15 days. James got the point.^[4]

King James also employed a jester called Archibald Armstrong. During his lifetime Armstrong was given great honours at court. He was eventually thrown out of the King's employment when he over-reached himself and insulted too many influential people. Even after his disgrace, books telling of his jests were sold in London streets. He held some influence at court still in the reign of Charles I and estates of land in Ireland. Charles later employed a jester called Jeffrey Hudson who was very popular and loyal. Jeffrey Hudson had the title of Royal Dwarf because he was short of stature. One of his jests was to be presented hidden in a giant pie from which he would leap out. Hudson fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War. A third jester associated with Charles I was called Muckle John.

End of tradition[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

The tradition of court jesters came to an end in Britain when Charles I was overthrown in the Civil War. As a Puritan Christian republic, England under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell had no place for such things as jesters. English theatre also suffered and a good many actors and entertainers relocated to Ireland where things were little better (see Irish theatre).^{[citation needed]}

After the Restoration, Charles II did not reinstate the tradition of the court jester, but he did greatly patronize the theatre and proto-music hall entertainments, especially favouring the work of Thomas Killigrew. Though Killigrew was not officially a jester, Samuel Pepys in his famous diary does call Killigrew "The King's fool and jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty" (12 February 1668). The last British nobles to keep jesters were the Queen Mother's family, the Bowes-Lyons.

In the 18th century, jesters had died out except in Russia, Spain and Germany.

In France and Italy, travelling groups of jesters performed plays featuring stylized characters in a form of theatre called the commedia dell'arte. A version of this passed into British folk tradition in the form of a puppet show Punch and Judy. In France the tradition of the court jester ended with the French Revolution.

In years as late as 1968, however, the Canada Council awarded a $3,500 grant to Joachim Foikis of Vancouver "to revive the ancient and time-honoured tradition of town fool".^[5][6]

Other countries[link]

Stańczyk by Jan Matejko
The jester is the only person at a 1514 royal ball troubled by the news that the Russians have captured Smolensk.

Poland's most famous court jester was Stańczyk, whose jokes were usually related to political matters, and who later became a historical symbol for Poles.^[7][8]

In the 21st century, the jester is still seen at medieval-style fayres and pageants.

In 2004 English Heritage appointed Nigel Roder ("Kester the Jester") as the State Jester for England, the first since Muckle John 355 years previously.^[9] However following an objection by the National Guild of Jesters, English Heritage accepted they were not authorised to grant such a title.^[10] Roder was succeeded as "Heritage jester" by Pete Cooper ("Peterkin the Fool").^[11]

In Germany, Till Eulenspiegel is a folkloric hero dating back to medieval times and ruling each year over Fasching or Carnival time, mocking politicians and public figures of power and authority with political satire like a modern day court jester. He holds a mirror to make us aware of our times (Zeitgeist), and his sceptre or marotte is the symbol of his absolute and supreme rule.

In 17th century Spain dwarves, often with other deformities, were employed as buffoons to entertain the king and his family especially the children. In Velázquez's painting Las Meninas two dwarves are included: Mari Bárbola a female dwarf from Germany with hydrocephalus, and Nicolasito Portusato from Italy. Mari Bárbola can also be seen in a later portrait of princess Margarita Teresa in mourning by Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo. There are other paintings by Velázquez which include court dwarves such as Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf.

Tonga was the first royal court to appoint a court jester in modern times; Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the King of Tonga, appointed JD Bogdanoff to that role in 1999.^[12] He was later embroiled in a financial scandal.^[13]

Shakespearean jesters[link]

The jester as a symbol[link]

Jester in Niepołomice, Poland.

The root of the word "fool" is from the Latin follis, which means "bag of wind" or that which contains air or breath.

Fool in Tarot[link]

In Tarot, "The Fool" is the first card of the Major Arcana. The tarot depiction of the Fool includes a man (or less often, a woman) juggling unconcernedly or otherwise distracted, with a dog (sometimes cat) at his heels. The fool is in the act of unknowingly walking off the edge of a cliff, precipice or other high place. Another Tarot character is Death. In the Middle Ages, Death is often shown in Jester's garb because "The last laugh is reserved for death." Also, Death humbles everyone just as jesters make fun of everyone regardless of standing.

Fool in literature[link]

In literature, the jester is symbolic of common sense and of honesty, notably in King Lear, the court jester is a character used for insight and advice on the part of the monarch, taking advantage of his license to mock and speak freely to dispense frank observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing irony as a "greater" man could dispense the same advice and find himself being detained in the dungeons or even executed. Only as the lowliest member of the court can the jester be the monarch's most useful adviser.

Author Alan Gordon also writes about jesters as advisers to the king, who actually make up a super-secret spy ring that try to keep peace and control the leaders of different countries. The Fool's Guild of these novels is portrayed as a mockery to the church, and they refer to Jesus Christ as "Their Savior, The First Fool

Modern usage[link]

Buffoon[link]

In similar vein, buffoon is a term for someone who provides amusement through inappropriate appearance and/or behavior.^[14]

Originally the term was used to describe a ridiculous but amusing person. The term is now frequently used in a derogatory sense to describe someone considered foolish, or someone displaying inappropriately vulgar, bumbling or ridiculous behavior that is a source of general amusement.

The term may originate from the old Italian "buffare", meaning to puff out one's cheeks.

Villains[link]

In the popular comic by DC Comics, as well as three Batman movies (1966, 1989 and The Dark Knight) and the TV series, The Joker is the supervillain nemesis of Batman. The Joker's sometimes-girlfriend, Harley Quinn, is also a jester.

Marvel also had a character named The Jester who would use little toys that were made into weapons by the Tinkerer, such as a doll/bomb or a yo-yo/grenade. His most common enemy is Daredevil.^[15]

Also, the main antagonist in Final Fantasy VI, Kefka Palazzo has a jester-like appearance and attitude; as do the main villains in the video games Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Persona 2 and Super Paper Mario. In the Legend of Kyrandia computer game trilogy, an allegedly regicidal court jester named Malcolm is both the villain of the first game and the hero of the third. Also In Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, Cicero takes on the role of a Jester, exhibiting strange and erratic behavior.

Sports[link]

In the UK a Jester might refer to an Ultimate Frisbee Player based in Leicester. The 'Jesters' have been a successful team in the UK since 1992.

See also[link]

Comedy portal

• Basil Fool for Christ
• Bouffon
• Clown society
• Foolishness for Christ
• Fools Guild, California "jester" themed entertainment troupe
• Harlequin
• King Momo
• List of jesters
• Master of the Revels
• Jim "Jester" Root
• Skomorokh
• The Queen's Fool (novel)
• Triboulet
• Trickster

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jesters

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Billington, Sandra A Social History of the Fool, 1984
• Doran, John A History of Court Fools, 1858
• Hyers, M. Conrad, The Spirituality of Comedy: comic heroism in a tragic world 1996 Transaction Publishers ISBN 1-56000-218-2
• Otto, Beatrice K., “Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World,” Chicago University Press, 2001
• Patterson, James; Gross, Andrew, The Jester, Boston, MA : Little, Brown and Co., 2003. ISBN 0-316-14787-7
• Welsford, Enid: The Fool : His Social and Literary History (out of print) (1935 + subsequent reprints): ISBN 1-299-14274-5

Further reading[link]

• Robins, Elizabeth, "Mischief in the Middle Ages", The Atlantic Monthly, v.48, n.285, July 1881, pp. 1–8.

External links[link]

Look up buffoon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Fooling Around the World (A history of the court jester)
• Foolish Clothing: Depictions of Jesters and Fools in the Middle Ages and Renaissance What 14th-16th century jesters wore and carried, as seen in illustrations and museum collections.
• UK National Guild of Jesters site
• Costume (Jester Hat), ca. 1890-1920, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collection Database

John Digweed
Background information
Birth name	John Digweed
Born	(1967-01-01) 1 January 1967 (age 45)
Origin	Hastings, England, United Kingdom
Genres	House, Progressive House
Occupations	Disc jockey Record producer Record Label Owner
Years active	1989 – present
Labels	Bedrock Records Global Underground Renaissance
Associated acts	Sasha & John Digweed, Bedrock
Website	http://www.johndigweed.com/

John Digweed (born John Digweed^[1] on 1 January 1967 in Hastings, England) is an English DJ, record producer and actor.^[2]

Biography[link]

John Digweed began DJing at age 15.^{[citation needed]} His breakthrough came in 1993 when he got a gig at the Renaissance Club in Mansfield after fellow DJ Alexander Coe (aka Sasha) heard his demo.

Digweed is known for promoting the progressive house sound that became popular in Europe and North America in the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing several popular mix compilations on labels like Renaissance and Global Underground. He started the record label Bedrock Records to further promote the music he was playing at the time. In addition to starting the Bedrock imprint, he and friend Nick Muir produce under the Bedrock alias. In his sets, Digweed is noted^{[citation needed]} for adopting tracks with new and different styles.

Between 2000 and 2005, John Digweed promoted his "Bedrock" sound with monthly club nights for members and newcomers to the electronic music scene. He played Thursday nights at Heaven in London and Friday nights at a smaller club night at The Beach in Brighton. These nights featured numerous guest DJs including Danny Howells, Phil Thompson, Hernan Cattaneo, and Chris Fortier. As Digweed's international schedule increased, these events drew to a close, although occasional reunions are still held at Heaven. Digweed celebrated 10 years of his Bedrock club night at Matter, London on 10 October 2008 with a near on 10-hour set.

Digweed has enjoyed popularity throughout North America in addition to Europe. Digweed, as well as Sasha, established a monthly residency at the now defunct New York club Twilo, which proved a key location for the American electronic music scene. The residency began in 1996 with a lukewarm reception but grew into one of the most popular club nights in New York City by the end of its run in 2001. Sasha and Digweed DJ'd at Twilo on the last Friday of every month, playing sets that lasted between 8 and 12 hours. In early 2001, Sasha suffered an ear injury and was unable to play for their last 4 dates until Twilo was closed by the New York City.^{[citation needed]} Digweed continued to play the time slot by himself until May 6, 2001 when Twilo was raided by the NYPD and subsequently forced to close down.

Digweed DJed as himself in the Greg Harrison's 2000 movie Groove, which tells the story of an all-night rave in San Francisco.

In early 2002, Digweed underwent a six week country-wide tour of the United States with Sasha and Jimmy Van M called Delta Heavy. Promotion of the tour was done by Clear Channel and attendance reached 85,000.^{[citation needed]} The tour took place in a variety of venues but was completely self-reliant from a technical point of view. Sound, lights, and visual setups were brought along to every gig of the tour. Also in 2002, Digweed created the soundtrack to the film Stark Raving Mad.

From September 2000 to January 2011, Digweed hosted a weekly two-hour radio show on Kiss 100 in the UK, in which Digweed played the first hour of music and a guest DJ played the second hour. Beginning in September 2006, John Digweed's show was available on all 3 Kiss radio stations. By that time, the show's name became Transitions, which was also the name of a four-volume series of mix albums by Digweed released every six months during 2006-2008. In January 2011, "Transitions" aired for the last time on Kiss 100.^[3] The show continues to be broadcast online.

2008 saw Digweed and Sasha reuniting for a Spring Club Tour that once again featured performances all over North America. Also in 2008, Digweed's music is to be featured in the film movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.

In 2010, he was voted the number 29 DJ in DJ Mag's annual Top 100 vote. He has been featured in the top 10 from 1998–2008 and was voted number one DJ in 2001.^[4]

John is the brother of 19 times World Clay Shooting Champion George Digweed MBE.^{[5][not in citation given]}

Discography[link]

Compilation albums[link]

• 1994: Journeys by DJ Volume 4: Silky Mix (Music Unites)
• 1994: Sasha & John Digweed - Renaissance: The Mix Collection (Renaissance)
• 1995: Renaissance: The Mix Collection Part 2 (Renaissance)
• 1996: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure (Ministry of Sound)
• 1997: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure 2 (Ministry of Sound)
• 1997: The Winning Ticket (Jackpot)
• 1998: Global Underground 006: Sydney (Boxed)
• 1999: Bedrock (INCredible)
• 1999: Sasha & John Digweed - Northern Exposure: Expeditions (INCredible)
• 1999: Global Underground 014: Hong Kong (Boxed)
• 2000: Sasha & John Digweed - Communicate (INCredible) (Billboard 200 #149)
• 2001: Global Underground 019: Los Angeles (Boxed)
• 2002: MMII (Bedrock Records) (Billboard Top Electronic Albums #7)
• 2003: Stark Raving Mad (Thrive Records) (Billboard Electronic #9)
• 2004: Layered Sounds (Bedrock Records)
• 2005: fabric 20 (fabric) (Billboard Electronic #13)
• 2005: Choice – A Collection of Classics (Azuli Records)
• 2005: Layered Sounds 2 (Bedrock Records)
• 2006: Transitions (Renaissance) (Billboard Electronic #16)
• 2007: Transitions Vol. 2 (Renaissance)
• 2007: Transitions Vol. 3 (Renaissance)
• 2008: Transitions Vol. 4 (Renaissance)
• 2008: Bedrock 10: Past Present Future (Bedrock Records)
• 2009: Bedrock Eleven (Bedrock Records)
• 2010: Structures (Bedrock Records)
• 2010: Bedrock Twelve (Bedrock Records)
• 2011: Structures Two (Bedrock Records)
• 2012: Live in Cordoba (Bedrock Records)

Singles[link]

• 1993: Bedrock - "For What You Dream Of" (Stress Records) (UK #25)
• 1997: Bedrock - "Set in Stone" / "Forbidden Zone" (Stress Records) (UK #71)
• 1999: Bedrock - "Heaven Scent" (Bedrock Records) (UK #35)
• 2000: Bedrock - "Voices" (Bedrock Records) (UK #44)
• 2001: Bedrock - "Beautiful Strange" (Bedrock Records)
• 2002: Bedrock - "Emerald" (Bedrock Records)
• 2003: Bedrock - "Forge" (Bedrock Breaks)
• 2005: Bedrock - "Santiago" (Bedrock Records)
• 2006: Bedrock - "Warung Beach" (Bedrock Records)
• 2007: John Digweed - "Gridlock" (Renaissance)
• 2009: John Digweed & Nick Muir - "Tangent" (Bedrock Records)
• 2010: John Digweed & Nick Muir - "Satellite / Meteor" (Bedrock Records)
• 2010: John Digweed & Nick Muir - "Satellite / Meteor (Remixes)" (Bedrock Records)

DVD[link]

• Sasha & John Digweed present Delta Heavy (System Recordings)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Bedrock Records
• John Digweed discography at Discogs
• (French) Interview John Digweed - Actualites Electroniques
• (English) Interview John Digweed - Actualites Electroniques
• 10 years of Bedrock Interview by Laptoprockers
• John Digweed Transitions - Official Tracklistings - 2006 to Now
• John Digweed Transitions - Archive - 2000 to Now - Streaming & Downloads
• John Digweed Essential Mix 2010