Maus

Maus is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, serialized from 1980 to 1991. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. The work deploys postmodern techniques and represents Jews as mice and other Germans and Poles as cats and pigs. Critics have classified Maus as memoir, biography, history, fiction, autobiography, or a mix of genres. In 1992 it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

In the frame-tale timeline in the narrative present that begins in 1978 in New York City, Spiegelman talks with his father Vladek about his Holocaust experiences, gathering material for the Maus project he is preparing. In the narrative past, Spiegelman depicts these experiences, from the years leading up to World War II to his parents' liberation from the Nazi concentration camps. Much of the story revolves around Spiegelman's troubled relationship with his father, and the absence of his mother who committed suicide when he was 20. Her grief-stricken husband destroyed her written accounts of Auschwitz. The book uses a minimalist drawing style and displays innovation in its pacing, and structure, and page layouts.

Panzer VIII Maus

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus ("Mouse") was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built. Only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by the advancing Soviet forces.

These two prototypes – one with, one without turret – underwent trials in late 1944. The complete vehicle was 10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in) long, 3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in) wide and 3.63 metres (11.9 ft) high. Weighing 188 metric tons, the Maus's main armament was the Krupp-designed 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun, based on the 12.8 cm Pak 44 anti-tank field artillery piece also used in the casemate-type Jagdtiger tank destroyer, with a coaxial 75 mm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun. The 128 mm gun was powerful enough to destroy all Allied armored fighting vehicles then in service, some at ranges exceeding 3,500 metres (3,800 yd).

The principal problem in the design of the Maus was developing an engine and drivetrain which was powerful enough to propel the tank, yet small enough to fit inside it — as it was meant to use the same sort of "hybrid drive", using an internal-combustion engine to operate an electric generator to power its tracks with electric motor units, much as its Ferdinand Porsche-designed predecessors, the VK 3001 (P), VK 4501 (P), and Elefant had. The drive train was electrical, designed to provide a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) and a minimum speed of 1.5 kilometres per hour (0.93 mph). However, during actual field testing, the maximum speed achieved on hard surfaces was 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph) with full motor field, and by weakening the motor field to a minimum, a top speed of 22 kilometres per hour (14 mph) was achieved. The vehicle's weight made it unable to utilize most bridges, instead it was intended to ford to a depth of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) or submerge up to a depth of 8 metres (26 ft 3 in) and use a snorkel to cross rivers.

Maus (band)

Maus is a rock band from Iceland, formed in 1993. The band consists of Birgir Örn Steinarsson (Biggi) on vocals and guitar, Daníel Þorsteinsson (Danni) on drums, Eggert Gíslason on bass, and Páll Ragnar Pálsson (Palli) on guitar. Most of their songs are sung in Icelandic, though English versions of some songs have been released, as well as some original songs in English. The band was active releasewise from 1994 to 2004 but still continue to play live. They released five studio albums, a number of singles and a compilation that also featured one new song and an bonus cd featuring unreleased demo's and remixes. The band was very active with live performances in and outside their native country. Abroad their most noticeable gigs where at the CMJ, Summerstage and touring Denmark. While active the band appeared at every Iceland Airwaves music festival including the first one. They where a popular supporting band for foreign bands who would visit Iceland. Those included bands/artists as Coldplay, Blonde Redhead, Ash, Ian Brown, Keane, Modest Mouse, and Placebo. Furthermore, Roger O'Donnell from The Cure has appeared as a guest keyboardist on their album Lof Mér Að Falla Að Þínu Eyra.

XXL

XXL may refer to:

Film and television

Music

See also

XXL (Macedonian band)

XXL was a Macedonian girl pop group from Skopje who represented the Republic of Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "100% Te Ljubam" in Stockholm, Sweden. Versions of the song were recorded in both Macedonian and English. Author John Kennedy O'Connor suggests in his The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History that the appearance and choreography had been emphasised to the exclusion of the vocals, which contributed to the low score.

The group members were: Marija Nikolova, Ivona Džamtovska, Rosica Nikolovska and Verica Karanfilovska.

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XXL (French TV)

XXL is a television channel in France that is dedicated to pornography and erotica. Created in 1996 and transmitted by the AB Sat satellite, it was at the time the first French channel to broadcast pornography every evening. Nowadays, it is available on every cable and satellite distributor as an option channel. XXL starts its programming at 10:30 PM with either an erotic film, or a talk show, sometimes hosted by former pornographic film actresses. Starting at midnight, it broadcasts two pornographic films, of which the second is a repeat broadcast from the previous week. It broadcasts a gay movie every Tuesday and an amateur film every Wednesday. At the time of the debate on the protection of the minors with respect to the images in pornographic matter of 2002, the channel was strongly criticized because half of pornographic films on French television, were on this channel.

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