Ragdoll physics

In computer physics engines, ragdoll physics is a type of procedural animation that is often used as a replacement for traditional static death animations in video games and animated films.

Introduction

Early video games used manually created animations for characters' death sequences. This had the advantage of low CPU utilization, as the data needed to animate a "dying" character was chosen from a set number of pre-drawn frames. As computers increased in power, it became possible to do limited real-time physical simulations. A ragdoll is therefore a collection of multiple rigid bodies (each of which is ordinarily tied to a bone in the graphics engine's skeletal animation system) tied together by a system of constraints that restrict how the bones may move relative to each other. When the character dies, their body begins to collapse to the ground, honouring these restrictions on each of the joints' motion, which often looks more realistic.

The term ragdoll comes from the problem that the articulated systems, due to the limits of the solvers used, tend to have little or zero joint/skeletal muscle stiffness, leading to a character collapsing much like a toy rag doll, often into comically improbable or compromising positions.

Ragdoll

The Ragdoll is a cat breed with blue eyes and a distinct colorpoint coat. It is a large and muscular semi-longhair cat with a soft and silky coat. Developed by American breeder Ann Baker, it is best known for its docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature. The name "Ragdoll" is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up. Particularly popular in both the United Kingdom and the breed's native United States, ragdoll cats often are known as "dog-like cats" or "puppy-like cats" due to behaviors such as their tendency to follow people around, their ease at being physically handled, and their relative lack of aggression toward other pets.

History

In the 1960s, a regular non-pedigreed white domestic longhaired cat named Josephine produced several litters of typical cats. Josephine was of a Persian/Angora type and had litters sired by several unknown male Birman or Burmese-like cats, one of which had the Siamese point coloration. Josephine later produced kittens with a docile, placid temperament, affectionate nature, and a tendency to go limp and relaxed when picked up. When a subsequent litter produced more of the same, Baker purchased several kittens from the owner who lived behind her, and believing she had something special, set out to create what is now known as the Ragdoll. The breed was selectively bred over many years for desirable traits, such as large size, gentle demeanor, and a tendency to go limp when picked up, as well as the striking pointed coloration.

Ragdoll (film)

Ragdoll is a 1999 American horror film directed by Ted Nicolaou. The film was later edited into a thirty-minute short entitled Voodoo Doll for the horror anthology Devil Dolls.

Plot

A teenage rapper uses his Grandmother's ancient voodoo (magic of the killing kind) to help him in his revenge against those responsible for her death. However, he will learn that there is a deadly price to be paid for calling upon the dark spirit that has possessed a ragdoll and turned it into a murderous demon.

Cast

Production

The film was originally announced in 1992, but it did not begin pre-production until 1999.Charles Band stated that rumors that Paramount had shut down production of the film were untrue; he chose not to shoot the film, as he felt that it needed more time to develop.

Bravo 2

Bravo 2 was a television channel in the UK, that originally launched as Player on 2 March 2006. It was originally a spin-off of Challenge. On 28 September 2006, Player was rebranded as Bravo 2, and became a sister channel of Bravo.

On 15 September 2010, BSkyB announced that it will close Bravo 2 as well as sister channels Bravo and Channel One. The Bravo channels closed on 1 January 2011, with the most popular programmes moved to the other Sky channels. The last image seen on Bravo 2 was the Bravo 2 logo with the words "Bravo 2 doesn't do regret".

Programming

The channel's programming consisted of gambling and sport-related programmes. The ident for Player was the same as that of its original late night slot on Challenge, except with yellow colouring and without the famous club.

As Player, they added exclusive coverage of the FIA GT Championship to its portfolio of sports events. The channel also carried a limited amount of Serie A matches under the production of Bravo.

Bravo 2 also showed programs from their sister channel Bravo such as The Unit, Street Crime UK and The Real Football Factories.

Player (band)

Player is an American rock band that made their mark during the late 1970s. The group scored a few US Hot 100 hits, three of which went into the Top 40; two of those single releases went Top 10, including the No. 1 hit "Baby Come Back", written by group members Peter Beckett and J.C. Crowley.

Career

Player first came together in Los Angeles, California. The original members included Peter Beckett (lead vocals, guitar), John Charles "J.C." Crowley (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ronn Moss (bass, vocals), and John Friesen (drums).

Beckett, a transplanted Englishman, had been in a group called Skyband with Australian Steve Kipner (who had also played with the Australian band Tin Tin). After Skyband broke up in 1975, Beckett was in Los Angeles and met Crowley at a party. He and Crowley teamed up in a new band called Riff Raff, which soon changed its name to Bandana and released a single, "Jukebox Saturday Night", on Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter's Haven label. Steve Kipner and former Grass Roots guitarist Reed Kailing were also members of Riff Raff/Bandana, but Kipner was gone before the single's recording and Kailing was aced out after its release, though some of the Bandana tracks with Kailing's playing and co-writing later appeared on Player's debut.

Player (political)

A political player is a participant in politics who has or is perceived to have influence or power, although usually on a smaller level than a global power elite. The phrase may refer to an individual who is a candidate or elected or appointed official, but more commonly refers to someone who is not in office but still wields power or influence, such as a lobbyist, a fundraiser or contributor, a whistleblower, a political consultant, a labor union or labor leader, a corporation, or even an entire industry. More recently, with the rise of the Internet, web-based groups such as Moveon.org and online organizations, like ActBlue, have become political players as well.

References

Glorious! (stage comedy)

Glorious! is a stage comedy by Peter Quilter, telling the story of Florence Foster Jenkins.

The show premiered in London's West End in 2005, starring Maureen Lipman and receiving a Laurence Olivier Award nomination as Best New Comedy.

It has since played more than twenty countries around the world and has been translated into 16 languages.