Faction (Planescape)

The Factions are fictional philosophically based power groups in the Planescape campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Background

While the Lady of Pain is considered the ultimate ruler of the planar metropolis called Sigil, "the City of Doors", the Factions perform virtually all the actual administrative and practical functions of the city. They are the ones the people look to for authority; the Lady only gives edicts or appears personally under rare circumstances. Each of the Factions is based around one particular belief system; many of the Factions' beliefs make them enemies where their other goals and actions might have made them allies. All Factions hold many secrets from non-members and even their own members, for the fewer know a secret the more secret it is (and these are secrets of power, either wielded or potentially gained by the Faction's adversaries).

There are fifteen Factions in total, per decree of the Lady of Pain; any additional factions emerging would be subject to her wrath (unless they destroy one of the current 15). At one point there were many more Factions, but after a war referred to as the Great Upheaval amongst the factions, the Lady of Pain decreed that they had two weeks to get the number down to 15 or she would kill them all. Interestingly the Free League membership swelled to over a million, compared to the 20,000 or so members present day.

The Dead (1987 film)

The Dead is a 1987 feature film directed by John Huston, starring his daughter Anjelica Huston. The Dead was the last film that Huston directed, and it was released posthumously.

It was adapted from the short story "The Dead" by James Joyce (from his short works collection Dubliners), and nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design.

The film takes place in Dublin in 1904 at an Epiphany party held by two elderly sisters. The story focuses attention on the academic Gabriel Conroy (Donal McCann) and his discovery of his wife Gretta's (Anjelica Huston) memory of a deceased lover.

Film adaptation

This film adaptation by John Huston's son Tony Huston can be considered a close adaptation of Joyce's short story, with some alterations made to the dialogue to aid the narrative for cinema audiences.

The most significant change to the story was the inclusion of a new character, a Mr Grace, who recites an eighth-century Middle Irish poem, "Donal Óg". The effect of this is to act as catalyst for the "Distant Music" that provokes the memories Gretta and Gabriel discuss at the end of the film.

James Joyce's The Dead

James Joyce's The Dead is a Broadway musical by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey based upon James Joyce's short story "The Dead".

Productions

The musical was originally presented Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, starting on October 1, 1999. The opening night cast included Blair Brown, Paddy Croft, Brian Davies, Daisy Eagan, Dashiell Eaves, Sally Ann Howes, John Kelly, Brooke Sunny Moriber, Marni Nixon, Alice Ripley, Emily Skinner, Stephen Spinella and Christopher Walken. Musical direction was by Charles Prince, with music co-ordination and percussion by Tom Partington. It transferred to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway on January 11, 2000, where it completed a run of 120 performances before closing on April 16, 2000.

The musical ran at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), from October 14, 2000 to November 12, 2000, with Faith Prince and Stephen Bogardus as Greta and Gabriel Conroy. The musical had played an earlier engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from July 11, 2000 to September 3, 2000.

Proud (surname)

Proud is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Pride

Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two meanings. With a negative connotation pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris. With a positive connotation, pride refers to a satisfied sense of attachment toward one's own or another's choices and actions, or toward a whole group of people, and is a product of praise, independent self-reflection, and a fulfilled feeling of belonging. Philosophers and social psychologists have noted that pride is a complex secondary emotion which requires the development of a sense of self and the mastery of relevant conceptual distinctions (e.g., that pride is distinct from happiness and joy) through language-based interaction with others. Some social psychologists identify it as linked to a signal of high social status. In contrast pride could also be defined as a disagreement with the truth. One definition of pride in the first sense comes from St. Augustine: "the love of one's own excellence". A similar definition comes from Meher Baba: "Pride is the specific feeling through which egoism manifests." In this sense, the opposite of pride is either humility or guilt; the latter in particular being a sense of one's own failure in contrast to Augustine's notion of excellence.

Proud (Britannia High song)

"Proud" is a song by Wayne Hector, Steve Mac and Andy Hill originally written and recorded for the British television drama series Britannia High. The song was later covered by Scottish singer Susan Boyle for her debut album I Dreamed a Dream.

In the ITV drama series the song is performed in episode 1.03 by the character Jez Tyler played by Matthew James Thomas. The song features on the 2008 Britannia High soundtrack album.

Writing and inspiration

The song was written specifically for the Britannia High television programme. The original inspiration was a teenager talking to a father that doesn't understand him. In an interview with HitQuarters Hector recounts how the writers composed the lyrics:

Susan Boyle version

"Proud" was covered by Scottish singer Susan Boyle for her debut 2009 album I Dreamed a Dream.

Despite being originally written about teenage-parent conflict, the song arguably found greater resonance when Boyle reinterpreted the song to suit her own real life feelings.

Flood (They Might Be Giants album)

Flood is the third studio album by Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in January 1990. Flood was the duo's first album on the major label Elektra Records. It generated three singles: "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", and the domestic promotional track "Twisting". The album is generally considered to be the band's definitive release, as it is their best-selling and most recognizable album. Despite minimal stylistic and instrumental differences from previous releases, Flood is distinguished by contributions from seasoned producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. John Linnell and John Flansburgh also took advantage of new equipment and recording techniques, including unconventional, home-recorded samples, which were programmed through Casio FZ-1 synthesizers. The album was recorded in New York City at Skyline Studios, which was better equipped than studios the band had worked in previously.

Promotion for Flood included television appearances, promotional videos, and an international tour. The album's mainstream promotion and success contributed to its status as the band's most well known album. Many fans, including young viewers of Tiny Toon Adventures, were first exposed to They Might Be Giants's music through Flood.