Let me ask you a question. If you haven’t listened to Kyuss, are you even a QotSA fan?
I suppose it is possible. Some people can be Peter Gabriel fans without being Genesis fans, or Ozzy Osbourne fans without being Black Sabbath fans, or Audioslave fans without being fans of Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. And I am pretty sure that there are Foo Fighters fans out there who are not fans of Nirvana -- probably because Foo Fighters are a way better band than Nirvana.
Yeah, I said it. Come at me.
Nothing like an unpopular opinion to separate the feral from the tame.
But QotSA without Kyuss? I can’t see it. Maybe I am biased because I just love the low desert sound. Heavy riffs, lots of fuzz, and earthquake-inducing bass are my jam. That’s why I love Self-Titled so much and why I feel 18 A.D. is chronically underappreciated as a song, and it is an absolute crime that they don’t play it live.
I know I am not alone in this. Kyuss were a genre defining band that created what we now call Stoner Rock. Bands like Valley of the Sun, King Buffalo, Truckfighters, Stonerror, Sleep, Clutch, Mother Engine, Mondo Generator, Duel, and Fu Manchu all continue to write and perform Stoner Rock today. If you haven’t taken a dive into this scene, I totally envy the fact that you get to experience this music for the first time.
Today we are going to check out a great Stoner Rock band that you just gotta listen to. They have more fuzz than a five day backwoods fishing trip. They have bigger jams than Smucker’s, Welch’s, and Kraft combined. They will make your one-hitter hit a home run. You are gonna want to roll down the windows of your low riding caddy and drive all night through the desert.
Yep, you are in for a treat. This week’s band is ALL THEM WITCHES.
About Them
You are familiar with the Hero’s journey, right? That is the literary trope where our protagonists leave their comfortable little world, are mentored through a series of increasing challenges, find themselves at a low point, overcome obstacles, and return home greater and wiser than before?
As with every story of heroes, our group of adventurers from Nashville Tennessee went on a truly epic journey. Drummer Robby Staebler had just arrived in Nashville from Portland, Oregon and was looking for some buds to start a band. He had rolled up at his new home in the back of a moving van, because his mom had decided that he was just not good enough to ride up front. His dad was conspicuously absent. After meeting a sketchy male role model with a Smashmouth-esque chinstrap beard, he was forced by this would-be academic to enslave a small animal. He then ran away from home to engage in a series of escalating gladiatorial fights for money.
Wait. Shit. That is the plot of Pokemon Emerald, not the story of All Them Witches. Damn free emulators. Such a massive time sink.
Mudkip for the win. You are damn right I’m bringing back that meme.
Where was I? I kinda got distracted there. Oh yeah. Robby Staebler was looking for a band. He met guitarist Ben McLeod in a bar (remember when we could meet people in bars?) and then met aspiring drama student Charles Michael Parks Jr. when he took a job at “a corporate hippie store”. Parks Jr. turned those theatre aspirations into being a great frontman and bass player. The band rounded out their membership with Allan Van Cleave, a friend of Staebler, on keys. All Them Witches took the inspiration for their name from the set-prop book entitled All of Them Witches in the 1968 Roman Polanski Spawn-of-Satan movie Rosemary’s Baby.
Let’s get something else out of the way: Yes, I said Nashville Tennesee. The Buckle of the Bible Belt. The Protestant Vatican. The Athens of the South. The Hot Chicken Capital. Yes, the self-proclaimed Music City is perennially associated with Country music, Gospel music and, to a lesser extent, contemporary Christian Rock. There is a Jazz scene. There are active Barbershop groups. The city is the home of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Hee Haw was shot there. It is a city that, until a few decades ago, still had strong ties to the Confederacy.
How the hell did a Stoner Rock band start there?
Quickly, that’s how.
The band were officially formed in February of 2012 and released their first album, Our Mother Electricity, on December 6th, 2012. Being from Nashville, the album was of course released on the German heavy psych label Elektrohasch Schallplatten. So just so we’re clear: Stoner Rock was born in the California Desert and then adopted by a band from Tennessee and released on a German label. I just have one question: Where the fuck is Carmen Sandiego?
To be fair, All Them Witches characterized their debut sound as being ‘psychedelta rock’...which kinda sounds like a knock off version of an X-Man. The album is full of heavy jams. Listeners can expect to hear the influence of the blues mixed with deep fuzz and highly compressed vocals. Until it Unwinds is over eight minutes of rolling swagger that will have you thinking about 50 Million Year Trip. Heavy/Like a Witch has some definite Stone Temple Pilots vibes and is a great opener. The true standout on the album is The Urn, a dark and twisted fable that is really the antithesis of everything one associates with music in the Bible Belt. The album was a declaration of war on everything cheery and pleasant to be found in the Music City, and a bold statement from a band finding its feet.
The band were not entirely happy with the production on Our Mother Electricity. In order to assert themselves, they went ultra low-tech. The released the Extra Pleasant EP in July of 2013. It was recorded on a 4-track cassette tape using only two microphones. Production-wise, it is a step back - but when you listen to it on headphones, you can appreciate the raw talent. It is a weird low-fi follow up and almost like listening to a debut rather than the first album. Listening to this EP is like hearing a Pink Floyd cover band’s first original songs that have been mashed up with Clutch and recorded on an iPhone 4. Even with those limitations, tracks like Sludger will stay with you and are worth your time.
While their first two releases had some modest success, All Them Witches really did not get widespread acclaim until the release of their second full album, Lightning at the Door, in late 2013. Every band that has ever released anything on Bandcamp wants to experience the kind of underground word-of-mouth sensation that this album generated. The album is part-concept, part-thematic and has narrative threads that tie it together (e.g. the two tracks The Marriage of Coyote Woman and The Death of Coyote Woman - clearly, not a happy ending for the titular character). If you loved Songs for the Deaf and Rated R, then this is the album that you are going to want to start with as an introduction to the band. It has some amazing tracks - Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird and When God Comes Back are great on their own - but it is best experienced as a complete album. Do yourself a favor: Find a great set of headphones and listen to it front to back. You’ll thank me.
How do you follow up a concept album that gives you unforeseen popularity and access to a broader audience? Do you, say, create a dark follow-up to it, and find the title for that album in a lyric from a hidden track?
Who the fuck would make a weird choice like that?
All Them Witches took a different route and decided to instead channel their inner Beck. The Effervescent EP came out in June of 2014. There are only two songs, each clocking in at about 25 minutes long. Side A is Effervescent and Side B is Tnecsevreffe. The EP is a Rorschach blot of instrumental music in multiple movements that channels incredible musicality and allows you to superimpose your own meaning on it. It is like listening to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin have a baby, if that baby was raised listening to coyotes howl and instrumental Kyuss tracks all mashed together on one continuous loop. Fans of the German band Mother Engine will hear definite parallels. The weird thing about Effervescent is its length: it is hard to think of it as an EP, because it is 50 minutes of music. But it has only two tracks, so it can’t really be an album...can it?
Yes, before you start in on me, I know about Sleep’s Dopesmoker. That 2003 one-song album may also have influenced our boys from the Hee Haw city.
So after playing around with longer and more intricate multiple-movement songs, it is no surprise that All Them Witches dropped a 57 minute ‘EP’ in 2015. A Sweet Release hit the airwaves on April 20. Yep, 4/20. No, that was not a coincidence. No, I’m not going to explain that to you. If you gotta ask, you’ll never know. Yes, if anyone doubted at all that this band was a Stoner Rock band, fuck all y’all, the release date is proof. Tracks on the EP range in length from almost 2 and a half minutes to over 24 minutes. It is a spacey, laid-back jam that is at times hypnotic and far-reaching, and equally urgent and immersive.
I’m not saying that you need to be high to appreciate this EP. I’m just saying that listening to Interstate Bleach Party and Howdy Hoodee Slank in the right…mood ...can make you see the color Octarine.
Lightning at the Door and Effervescent cemented All Them Witches as true underground masters of Stoner Rock. 2015’s Dying Surfer Meets His Maker saw them broaden their musical scope and refine their sound. The album (yes, it is an album this time) leans heavily into the Blues with layers of grunge and psychedelia and celtic strings and even harmonicas. (Side note: the last time I heard harmonicas used in Stoner Rock was never. So good on them. I will say this: the hook brings you back.) All these influences were mixed in one big bowl and smoked out the top of a giant bong for full effect. It is at the same time a more technical and more mellow album. Stand out tracks on the album are the hard hitting Dirt Preachers and El Centro and This is Where it Falls Apart.
All Them Witches found themselves touring the small club circuit and then playing bigger and bigger stages. They got invited to festivals like Bonnaroo and were greeted by enthusiastic fans (and clouds of fragrant haze). There is nothing like performing live to hone a band’s edge. By the time Sleeping Through the War dropped in 2017, the boys had been together, touring and recording, for five years. The album is tightly crafted by a tight band. There are even guest vocalists to add texture and harmony to the songs. Less mellow than its predecessor, the album roars right from the opening track - Bulls - through to the closing track, Guess I’ll Go Live On The Internet. 3-5-7 is probably one of the best Stoner Rock tracks you will come across. And when you recognize the tonal mirroring of Am I Going Up with Alabaster, you feel smarter than you actually are. Lots of albums have made me bang my head; very few have made me stop and recognize the musical structure that underpins the melody. That is Tool-level composition right there. Long story short: this is an album put out by a band in its prime and it does not disappoint.
If you remember what happened in English class, what follows the apotheosis for the main character is the falling action or denouement. All Them Witches had peaked with Sleeping Through the War and had nowhere to go but down. The 2018 Lost and Found EP was four (comparatively) short covers and remixes that seemed more like leftovers than an actual meal. Sure, leftovers can be tasty, but All Them Witches fans were used to getting new and better breakfasts, luncheons and dinners and instead got last Tuesday’s reheated bean burrito. Which is fine, if you dig burritos, but it is still not as good as a nice, juicy steak.
Goddam, is anyone else craving a meal? Why is it so smoky in here, and why do I want to eat burritos and Doritos?
Hehe. Dorito. Burrito.
Fuck. I need to focus. Moving on.
Any fan of the band could tell that something was up, and that Lost and Found was at best a B-Side. It soon became evident that something really was up. Keyboardist (and part-time violinist) Allan Van Cleave was out of the band. This left a gigantic Ray Manzarek-esque hole in the band’s sound. The breakup was not a good one, and left some scars.
Van Cleave was replaced by Jonathan Draper, and the band released the album ATW in Sept of 2018. Sonically, the album is sound, but seems to lack the spark of greatness that was in everything prior to Lost and Found. The technical skills are there - Draper knows his way around a keyboard, and that is clearly evident on Fishbelly 86 Onions - but it kinda (IMHO) sounds more like an amazing All Them Witches cover album than an actual effort by the band. It is kinda like Bryan Cranston dressing up in a Walter White mask. It is super close to previous efforts but just not the same, somehow. 1st vs. 2nd is a jam and so is Diamond, and the album has an unrelenting energy, but it is just a bit off the mark.
The band must have felt something similar. Draper was turfed from the group just a month after ATW dropped. Instead of trying to recreate the four member sound that had anchored them since John Cusak and Amanda Peet’s landmark film, they decided to choose a new direction entirely.
When bands shuffle their lineup, it tends to be adding members (like our very own ancient monarchs) or replacing members. Very few bands successfully delete members. Well, OK, that band from Liverpool did successfully delete Stuart Sutcliffe from its lineup and they went on to do alright. Genesis made a successful transition from a 4-piece to a 3-piece when Peter Gabriel left. Oasis got 100% better when Liam Gallagher and his ego both quit. But losing an integral part of your sound - and the keyboards were central in so many songs - would be a tough transition. The band’s fanbase-not-so secretly worried that the lack of keyboardist would spell the end. Thankfully, we were wrong.
All Them Witches took that leap. Digging into their nomenclature and lore, they released a single as a three-piece band on Halloween of 2019. 1X1 is an angry, powerful Stoner Rock jam with a video that is an homage to Jesus Christ Pose. It is a Kyuss-meets-Tool-meets-Led Zeppelin-at-a-Black-Sabbath-concert song that made everyone simultaneously applaud and exhale.
They were back.
The new LP Nothing as the Ideal just dropped on September 4th, 2020. It is a leaner, meaner iteration of the band that seems to have lost no momentum. Everything resonates with power. Saturnine and Iron Jaw evokes Tony Iommi riffage. The Children of Coyote Women is a direct callback to the album Lightning at the Door. 41 is a thumping tune and Enemy of my Enemy is a relentless sonic attack. But most importantly, we get to see All Them Witches evolve as a band but hang on to the core of their sound.
You’re never going to hear this band on your local top 40 radio station. You might catch them on College radio, if the DJ is cool enough. Like most great music nowadays, you have to go looking to find it. But when you do find it, what an amazing experience it can be.
So now you have completed your Hero’s Journey (Twist! It turns out that YOU were the hero all along!) According to the trope, you are now older and wiser because you have ventured out of your comfortable little world.
Now prove me right, hero. Go listen and awaken your inner stoner. And bring me some goddamn Doritos. Cool Ranch for the win.
Links to QOTSA
Josh has included All Them Witches on The Alligator Hour and is known to be a fan of the band.
A recent review of Nothing as the Ideal stated that Charles Michael Parks Jr.’s voice was “Fantastic...like a bassier Josh Homme”.
More importantly, All Them Witches are a Stoner Rock band...and Josh literally invented the genre. It is clear that while the band has grown and evolved and are taking themselves to new places, their music has been inspired by that downtuned, low desert Kyuss groove.
Their Music
Until it Unwinds
Heavy/Like a Witch
The Urn
Extra Pleasant EP
The Marriage of Coyote Woman
Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird
When God Comes Back -- Live and badass
Effervescent
Interstate Bleach Party
Howdy Hoodee Slank
Dirt Preachers -- Live in 2016
El Centro
This is Where it Falls Apart
Bulls
3-5-7
Fishbelly 86 Onions
1st vs. 2nd
Diamond
Under Pressure -- yes, that song.
Open Passageways
Diamond
1X1
The Children of Coyote Woman
Enemy of my Enemy
Show Them Some Love
/AllThemWitches
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
Screaming Trees
Sound City Players
Iggy Pop
Mastodon
The Strokes
Radiohead

Found this place while going out to eat. Malloy may be gone, but he is certainly not forgotten.

https://quantisnow.com/insight/4509340
​
MONTREAL, May 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX:PYR) (NASDAQ:PYR) (FRA: 8PY), a high-tech company (hereinafter referred to as the "Company" or "PyroGenesis"), that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions which are geared to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), is pleased to announce today its financial and operational results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2023.
"The Company remains intensely focused on its goal of demonstrating its expertise and capturing greater market share across the broad industrial decarbonization landscape, and more specifically around the refined strategic verticals that the company introduced in Q4, namely Energy Transition & Emissions Reduction, Commodity Security & Optimization, and Waste Remediation," said Mr. P. Peter Pascali, CEO and President of PyroGenesis.
"Our backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts remains strong, at $30.6 million. Our belief in both our strategy and our technology has never been stronger, and the expanding interest from customers throughout the world and in fast-moving industries speaks not just to our potential, but to our immediate future," continued Mr. Pascali. "Our recent relationship with the New Zealand Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants – who have made PyroGenesis' SPARC™ waste destruction system central to their efforts to safely reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout New Zealand – and the rapidly developing interest within the additive manufacturing industry for our metal powders, as noted in our Outlook, are to us the ultimate expressions of this belief."
"The industrial world is changing, and while our quarterly revenues may fluctuate in this continued period of inflationary and logistical pressures, our customer-ready solutions will only gain more visibility as heavy industry races to meet decarbonization goals or maintain a competitive advantage," Mr. Pascali added.
The information below represents important highlights from the past quarter, followed by an outline of the company's strategy and outlook for the next quarter.
Q1 Production Highlights
In Q1 2023, PyroGenesis focused on advancing its updated business strategy that was first outlined in the Company's 2022 fourth quarter and year-end results.
As noted, as the variety of uses for the Company's core technologies has expanded, and industry interest has increased, the Company is concentrating its solution ecosystem under three verticals that align with economic drivers that are key to global heavy industry:
Energy Transition & Emission Reduction:

• fuel switching, utilizing the Company's electric-powered plasma torches and biogas upgrading technology to help heavy industry reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Commodity Security & Optimization:

• recovery of viable metals, and optimization of production to increase output, to maximize raw materials and improve availability of critical minerals.

Waste Remediation:

• safe destruction of hazardous materials, and the recovery and valorization of underlying substances such as chemicals and minerals.

Within each vertical the Company offers several solutions at different stages to commercialization.
📷
The information below represents highlights from the past quarter for each of the above verticals, followed by an outline of the company's strategy, and key developments that will impact the subsequent quarters.
Waste Remediation

• In January, the Company signed a contract to provide the Company's SPARCTM hazardous refrigerant waste destruction system to an advanced materials entity in New Zealand.

The purchasing entity was subsequently revealed in February to be The Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants, who will use PyroGenesis' SPARCTM system as the core technology for New Zealand's national hazardous refrigerant collection and destruction initiative. The SPARCTM system will be managed and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trust, for use by the Zealand government-accredited product stewardship programme known as Cool-Safe, run by the Trust. Cool-Safe, also previously known as the Recovery Trust or RECOVERY, has been managing refrigerant gas collection and destruction in New Zealand since 1993. Cool-Safe's mission is to be a significant factor in the government of New Zealand's stated goal to reduce synthetic refrigerant greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 by at least 35%. This will be achieved by implementing their own 90% reduction target for hazardous refrigerants.
Up until now any of the refrigerants collected by Cool-Safe for safe destruction have had to be shipped to Australia. With the purchase of the SPARCTM system, New Zealand will have its own on-shore destruction capabilities. With the shift from voluntary to regulated handling of these waste streams in New Zealand, scheduled for 2024, combined with the relaunch and marketing of the Cool-Safe initiative, the collection and safe disposal of hazardous refrigerants in New Zealand is anticipated to be widespread, and the organization had indicated to PyroGenesis that they may require additional SPARCTM systems as the initiative grows.

• In March, the Company received an order for three (3) waste-destructing plasma torches from the US Navy's shipbuilder, Newport News Shipbuilding

The three plasma torches ordered are for the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the largest and most technologically advanced warship ever built1, valued at approximately $13 billion. The plasma torches are to be used in PyroGenesis' proprietary Plasma Arc Waste Destruction System ("PAWDS") that the Company previously built and delivered to the US Navy.
As noted in the Q&A portion of the 2022 fiscal year end financial results conference call, the order was for plasma torches alone, and included none of the large ancillary equipment such as power supplies that comprise a significant portion of an entire PAWDS system.
Commodity Security & Optimization

• In January, the Company announced that, further to its press releases dated September 21, 2022 and November 2, 2022, all of the findings and recommendations made by a global aerospace company as part of their on-site audit of PyroGenesis' NexGen™ metal powder production facility, had been successfully completed and accepted.

With that approval and acceptance, PyroGenesis' moved to the next and final step in a two-year long supplier qualification process: to provide sample titanium metal powder for verification and confirmation of their chemical and mechanical properties.
As noted at the time by Massimo Dattilo, VP PyroGenesis Additive, the Client "is a very discerning aerospace company with some of the most stringent and demanding standards", and PyroGenesis "are very proud to have gained their confidence and to be moving forward to the final phase".

• In February, the Company provided an update on its Gen3 PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor (QRR) pilot plant (the "Gen3 PUREVAP ™ Pilot Plant" or the "Pilot Plant") project.

The updated confirmed that process testing referred to in the press release dated January 19th, 2023 from the client HPQ Silicon, is moving forward as expected and represents, in PyroGenesis' management's opinion, a key development in the overall project. The tests were geared to not only confirm that the technology works as expected, but also to give input into the subsequent engineering study which will be geared to determining amongst other things, the actual number of systems required for commercialization and the profitability of each.
The PUREVAP™ process is an innovative patented process that will enable the one-step conversion of quartz (SiO2) into high-purity silicon (Si) at reduced costs, energy input and carbon footprint that will propagate its considerable renewable energy potential. PyoGenesis is the engineering and development producer, but also, as part of the terms of the contract with HPQ, PyroGenesis benefits from a royalty payment representing 10% of the Client's sales, with set minimums.
The Client, HPQ Silicon Inc. (TSX-V: HPQ) is an advanced materials engineering provider that offers sustainable silica (Si02) and silicon (Si) solutions. Based in Quebec, HPQ Silicon is developing a unique portfolio of value-added silicon products sought after by electric vehicle and battery manufacturers, among other industries.

• In March, the Company announced that, further to its press release dated July 18, 2022, the Company was expanding its European strategy team for its PyroGenesis Additive division, by retaining Mr. Olivier Dubois as the Company's Principal Advisor for European Operations and Sales. Mr. Dubois is well known to the Company from his time at Aubert & Duval as VP Business Unit Metal Powders.

As part of his contract with PyroGenesis Additive, Mr. Dubois will support broadening the Company's global strategy, with an initial goal to help structure the Company's plan for establishing European operations.
Energy Transition & Emission Reduction

• In January, the Company announced that it had signed an initial energy transition contract with a major European multinational chemical, oil, and gas conglomerate to assess the applicability of PyroGenesis' electric plasma torches for use in the Client's chemical production process.

The agreement outlined initial steps for supporting the Client's energy-transition goals, with the first step being a computational fluid dynamics ("CFD") study to gather initial data to evaluate the use of plasma in chemical production boilers. Depending on the results, the Client indicated that it may proceed to a live experimental validation study within their facilities, using PyroGenesis' plasma torches, as per a separate to-be-negotiated agreement.

• In January, the Company announced it had signed, through Pyro Green-Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of PyroGenesis, an emissions reduction contract with a North American lithium-ion batter recycler.

The contract was for the delivery of a system to decontaminate the dust generated during the battery recycling process, resulting in highly effective destruction of airborne contaminants with minimal energy use, reduced operating costs, and environmental impact.

• In January, the Company provided an update on its iron ore pelletization torch business line.

The update indicated the successful completion and delivery of four (4) 1-MW plasma torch systems to a major international iron ore producer, Client B (the "Client"), for use in the Client's iron ore pelletization furnaces – a key upstream process in the steelmaking industry that traditionally relies on fossil-fuel burners. With the completion of this delivery, Client B now has all the necessary components related to the Company's plasma torch systems on site at one of their key integrated iron ore mining and processing locations, allowing for the installation and trials (also known as site acceptance testing or "SAT") to then proceed at the Client's discretion.
The Company also reported that the value of the contract had increased by approximately $500,000 as a result of additional modifications requested by the Client during manufacturing, with total value of the project now exceeding $6.5 million
The update also confirmed that the previously announced contract and planned trials of its plasma torch system with another very large global iron ore client, Client A, continued to advance, as the Client informed PyroGenesis that, despite the Client's own operational delays, all objectives remain the same, and the trials will be going ahead as designed. That client has already received the contracted plasma system from PyroGenesis in advance of the trials.
Q1 Operational Highlights

• In February, the Company announced the return of Mr. Alan Curleigh as Chair of the board of directors. Mr. Curleigh previously was Chair of the Company's board until his departure in 2019 after a 9-year tenure.

With Mr. Curleigh's return, Mr. P. Peter Pascali stepped down as Chair of PyroGenesis to pursue his regular duties as CEO, President and Director of PyroGenesis. The Board now has eight directors, of which 6 are independent directors.

• In March, the Company announced the hiring and appointment of Mr. Mark Paterson as General Counsel.
  
• In March, the Company announced that, further to its press release dated July 18, 2022, the Company was expanding its European strategy team for its PyroGenesis Additive division, by retaining Mr. Olivier Dubois as the Company's Principal Advisor for European Operations and Sales.
  

Q1 Financial Highlights

• In February, the Company announced the withdrawal of financing after the Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF"), the securities regulatory authority in the Province of Québec, had issued an order suspending the private placement of units previously announced by PyroGenesis on February 14, 2023 for a period of 15 days – based on concerns from the AMF that PyroGenesis did not satisfy all of the requirements necessary to complete the financing under the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions, namely that PyroGenesis will not have available funds to meet its business objectives and liquidity requirements for a period of 12 months. As such, PyroGenesis and its investment banking partner Cormark Securities Inc. agreed that they will not proceed with the financing.
  
• In March, the Company announced the closure of a $5 million non-brokered private placement. The Company indicated it intended to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement for working capital and general corporate purposes.
  

OUTLOOK
Consistent with the Company's past practice, and in view of the early stage of market adoption of our core lines of business, we are not providing specific revenue or net income (loss) guidance for 2023. However, numerous events have occurred that allow for a partial window into the remainder of 2023.
Overall Strategy
PyroGenesis provides technology solutions to heavy industry that leverage off of the Company's proprietary position and expertise in ultra-high temperature processes. The Company has evolved from its early roots of being a specialty-engineering firm to being a provider of a robust technology eco-system for heavy industry that helps address key strategic goals.
The Company believes its strategy to be timely, as multiple heavy industries are committing to major carbon and waste reduction targets at the same time as many governments are increasingly funding environmental technologies and infrastructure projects – all while both are making efforts to ensure the availability of critical minerals during the coming decades of increased output demand.
While there can be no guarantee, the Company believes this evolution of its strategy beyond a greenhouse gas emission reduction emphasis, to an expanded focus that encapsulates the key verticals listed above, both improves the Company's chances for success while also providing a clearer picture of how the Company's wide array of offerings work in tandem to support heavy industry goals.
PyroGenesis' market opportunity remains large, as major industries such as aluminum, steelmaking, manufacturing, and government require factory-ready, technology-based solutions to help steer through the paradoxical landscape of increasing demand and tightening regulations and material availability.
As more of the Company's offerings reach full commercialization, PyroGenesis will remain focused on attracting influential customers in broad markets, and ensuring that operating expenses are controlled to achieve profitable growth.
For the remainder of 2023, we will continue to sharpen our focus on our strategy that structures our solution ecosystem under the three verticals noted previously: energy transition & emission reduction; commodity security & optimization; and waste remediation. Some key developments to that end, include:
Enhanced Sales and Marketing
Against the backdrop of this strategy, the Company is increasing sales, marketing, and R&D efforts in-line – and in some cases ahead of – the growth curve for industrial change related to greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
Some initial marketing efforts can be seen with the development of promotional videos and video presentations that are currently in use by the Company's New Zealand-based waste destruction client Cool-Safe, who has embarked on a promotional road-show to introduce their nation-wide hazardous synthetic waste reduction program to industry and consumers. PyroGenesis has partnered with the Client on this roadshow, as the events feature prominently a showcase of the SPARCTM waste destruction technology that is central to the initiative. An introductory video made for that promotional tour can be viewed online, and other material that has been developed by the Company and is in use will be made available to the general public at a later date.
The Company intends to develop additional visual material along these lines for the Company's other verticals, throughout 2023.
Separately, the Company's involvement with key industry trade shows has ramped up with the Spring season, with attendance at shows for additive manufacturing and aluminum production already secured and more scheduled.
Upcoming milestones which are expected to confirm the validity of our strategies, are as follows:
Business Line Developments: Near Term (0 – 3 months)
Financial
Payments for Outstanding Major Receivables: The Company was notified that Radian Oil and Gas Services Company has commenced transfer of the US$1.5 million (approximately CA$2 million) against the outstanding receivable of approximately US$9.5 million under the Company's existing CA$25million+ Drosrite™ contract. As previously announced, PyroGenesis agreed to a strategic extension of the payment plan, by the customer and its end-customer, geared to better align the pressures on the end-user's operating cash flows created by increased business opportunities.
Innovation Grants: The Company has applied for grants tailored to technology innovation and/or carbon reduction, and expects to have results regarding these applications.
Commodity Security & Optimization
Negotiations for Multiple Metal Powder Orders: concurrent negotiations are underway with several companies for commercial orders of the Company's metal powders, which are expected to be in excess of $1million.
Product Qualification Process for Global Aerospace Firm: Based on information flow between the Company and the Client, the Company believes that the previously announced 2-year long qualification process to approve the Company's titanium metal powers for use by a global aerospace firm and their suppliers, will conclude in the near term.
Energy Transition & Emission Reduction
Plasma Torch Order: The Company is in advanced discussions with an international entity, whereby a plasma torch contract, if signed, will be between CDN$3-$4million.
Iron Ore Pelletization Torch Trials: In April 2023, the commissioning of the plasma torch systems, for use in Client B's pelletization furnaces, was underway, with the Company's engineers onsite at the Client's iron ore facility. The commissioning process includes installation, start-up, and site acceptance testing (SAT). "Client B" is the customer to whom the Company previously announced that it had shipped four 1 MW plasma torch systems for use in Client B's iron ore pelletization furnaces, for trials toward potentially replacing fossil-fuel burners with plasma torches in the Client's furnaces.
Business Line Developments: Mid Term (4 – 6 months)
Energy Transition & Emission Reduction
Pyro Green-Gas: The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary is expected to sign a contract with a value of approximately between CDN$10-$15 million.
Please note that projects or potential projects previously announced that do not appear in the above summary updates should not be considered as at risk. Noteworthy developments can occur at any time based on project stages, and the information presented above is a reflection of information on hand.
Financial Summary
Revenues
PyroGenesis recorded revenue of $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2023 ("Q1, 2023"), representing a decrease of $1.6 million compared with $4.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2022 ("Q1, 2022"),
Revenues recorded in Q1 2023 were generated primarily from:
(i)PUREVAP™ related sales of $527,600 (2022 Q1 - $441,605) (ii)DROSRITE™ related sales of $90,226 (2022 Q1 - $900,079) (iii)Support services related to systems supplied to the US Navy $352,103 (2022 Q1 - $745,260) (iv)Torch related sales of $1,170,748 (2022 Q1 - $1,041,709) (v)Refrigerant destruction (SPARC™) related sales of $67,847 (2022 Q1 – $0) (vi)Biogas upgrading & pollution controls of $32,895 (2022 Q1 - $990,045) (vii)Other sales and services $350,203 (2022 Q1 - $88,064)
Q1, 2023 revenues decreased by $1.6 million, mainly as a result of:
(i)DROSRITE™ related sales decreased by $0.8 million due to continued customer delays in funding for the construction of the onsite facility, (ii)Support services related to systems supplied for the US Navy decreased by $0.4 million due to remaining project milestones mainly related to inspection, packaging and shipment of the equipment to our customer in order to move forward with installation and commission, (iii)Biogas upgrading and pollution controls related sales decreased by $1.0 million of which $0.6 million is due to clients requiring additional modifications prior to installation and commissioning, as well as continuous testing to achieve desired results and $0.4 million due to the Company's Italian subsidiary and a customer who both agreed on the final acceptance of a contract which resulted in the reversal of costs and profits in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts, (iv)Other sales and services increased by $0.3 million due to an increase in sales related to spare parts required by our customers.
As of May 15, 2023, revenue expected to be recognized in the future related to backlog of signed and/or awarded contracts is $30.6 million. Revenue will be recognized as the Company satisfies its performance obligations under long-term contracts, which is expected to occur over a maximum period of approximately 3 years.
Cost of Sales and Services and Gross Margins
Cost of sales and services was $2.1 million in Q1 2023, representing a decrease of $1.1 million compared with $3.2 million in Q1 2022, primarily due to a decrease of $0.6 million in subcontracting attributed to additional work being completed in-house and a decrease in direct materials of $0.5 million due to lower levels of material required based on the decrease in product and service-related revenues.
The gross margin for Q1, 2023 was $0.5 million or 20.3% of revenue compared to a gross margin of $1.1 million or 25% of revenue for Q1 2022, the decrease in gross margin was mainly attributable to the impact on foreign exchange charge on materials of $0.2 million and the reversal of costs and profits in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts due to the agreed upon final acceptance prior to final completion of $0.4 million.
The amortization of intangible assets for Q1, 2023 was $0.2 million compared to $0.2 million for Q1, 2022. This expense relates mainly to the intangible assets in connection with the Pyro Green-Gas acquisition, patents and deferred development costs. These expenses are non-cash items and the intangible assets will be amortized over the expected useful lives.
As a result of the type of contracts being executed, the nature of the project activity, as well as the composition of the cost of sales and services, as the mix between labour, materials and subcontracts may be significantly different. In addition, due to the nature of these long-term contracts, the Company has not necessarily passed on to the customer, the increased cost of sales which was attributable to inflation, if any. The costs and sales and services are in line with management's expectations and with the nature of the revenue.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Included within Selling, General and Administrative expenses ("SG&A") are costs associated with corporate administration, business development, project proposals, operations administration, investor relations and employee training.
SG&A expenses for Q1, 2023 were $7.6 million, representing an increase of 35% compared to $5.6 million for Q1, 2022. The increase is mainly a result of employee compensation increasing to $2.6 million mainly caused by additional headcount.
Share-based compensation expense decreased by $0.7 million, which is a non-cash item and relates mainly to a Q4 2021, and 2022 grants not repeated in 2023. Professional fees are $1.2 million which increased by $0.6 million, due to additional legal fees, consulting services, public listing expenses and patent expenses. Other expenses were favorable by $0.2 million due to a net reduction of insurance expenses, taxes, interest and bank charges. The expected credit loss & bad debt increased to $1.4 million is Q1 2023, and is due to an increase in the allowance for expected credit loss increase of $0.8 million and to the write-off of the accounts receivable related to the Company's Italian subsidiary subsequent to both parties agreeing on the final acceptance of the contract prior to final completion.
Share-based payments expenses as explained above, are non-cash expenses and are directly impacted by the vesting structure of the stock option plan whereby options vest between 10% and up to 100% on the grant date and may require an immediate recognition of that cost.
Depreciation on Property and Equipment
The depreciation on property and equipment increased to $0.2 million in Q1 2023, compared with $0.1 in Q1 2022. The expense is comparable to the same quarter last year and the increase is primarily due to the nature and useful lives of the property and equipment being depreciated.
Research and Development ("R&D") Expenses
During the three-months ended March 31, 2023, the Company incurred $0.3 million of R&D costs on internal projects, a decrease of 33% as compared with $0.5 million in Q1 2022. The decrease in Q1 2023 is primarily related to a decrease in employee compensation, subcontracting, and materials and equipment, offset by the increase in other expenses of $0.2 million related to equipment rentals.
In addition to internally funded R&D projects, the Company also incurred R&D expenditures during the execution of client funded projects. These expenses are eligible for Scientific Research and Experimental Development ("SR&ED") tax credits. SR&ED tax credits on client funded projects are applied against cost of sales and services (see "Cost of Sales" above).
Financial Expenses
Finance expense (income) for Q1 2023 totaled $0.9 million as compared with an expense of $0.2 million for Q1 2022, representing a favorable variation of $1.1 million year-over-year. The decrease in finance expenses in Q1 2023, is primarily due to the revaluation of balance due on business combination due to the Company's Italian subsidiary and a customer who both agreed on the final acceptance of a contract, prior to final completion. As a result, the contract did not attain the pre-determined milestone in connection with the balance due on business combination, and a reversal of the liability was recorded.
Strategic Investments
During the three-months ended March 31, 2023, the adjustment to fair market value of strategic investments for Q1 2023 resulted in a gain of $0.3 million compared to a gain in the amount of $1.2 million in Q1 2022. The decrease in gain is attributable to the variation of the market value of the common shares and warrants owned by the Company of HPQ Silicon Inc.
Comprehensive Loss
The comprehensive loss for Q1 2023 of $6.2 million compared to a loss of $4.1 million, in Q1 2022, represents a variation of $2.1 million, and is primarily attributable to the factors described above, which have been summarized as follows:

• a decrease in product and service-related revenue of $1.6 million arising in Q1 2023,
• a decrease in cost of sales and services of $1.1 million, primarily due to a decrease in subcontracting, direct materials and foreign exchange charge on materials, offset by the increase in employee compensation and manufacturing overhead,
• an increase in SG&A expenses of $1.9 million arising in Q1 2023, was primarily due to an increase in employee compensation, professional fees, travel, depreciation in property and equipment, foreign exchange charge on materials, and the allowance for credit loss of $0.8 million and write-off of $0.6 million which is offset by a decrease in several non-significant expenses,
• a decrease in share-based expenses of $0.7 million
• a decrease in R&D expenses of $0.2 million primarily due to a decrease in employee compensation, subcontracting, material and equipment and an increase in investment tax credits and other expenses,
• a decrease in finance costs (income), net of $1.1 million in Q1 2023 primarily due to the revaluation of balance due on business combination,
• a decrease in changes in fair market value of strategic investments of $0.9 million,
• a decrease in income taxes of $0.06 million in Q1 2023.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
As at March 31, 2023, the Company had cash of $1.9 million, included in the net working capital of $0.8 million. Certain working capital items such as billings in excess of costs and profits on uncompleted contracts do not represent a direct outflow of cash. The Company expects that with its cash, liquidity position, the proceeds available from the strategic investment and access to capital markets it will be able to finance its operations for the foreseeable future.
The Company's term loan balance at March 31, 2023 was $389,857, and varied only slightly since December 31, 2022. The increase from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, was mainly attributable to the additional proceeds received on the Economic Development Agency of Canada loan, which is interest free and will remain so, until the balance is paid over the 60-month period ending March 2029. The average interest expense on the other term loans was 7.2% in the period. The Company does not expect changes to the structure of term loans in the next twelve-month period. The Company maintained two credit facilities which bear interest at variable rates ranging between 7% and 8% at March 31, 2023. The Company expects to reimburse a portion of the credit facilities during 2023, and extend the due date of the remaining balance, while maintaining the similar conditions.

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I pay for pacer. Here's the new filing as of 4/28.
Let's see those "highly informed" opinions.

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023 @ 10:52 a.m. Pacific Time, Governor Inslee signed into law E2SHB 1143, SHB 1240, and SSB 5078, in that order. Effective immediately, “assault weapon” (AW) sales to most individuals are prohibited in the state — subject to the terms of any potential future injunction — and buyers might have trouble completing a prior AW-related order undergoing a mandatory waiting period (see Sen. Dhingra’s floor statement for clarification).

Court cases to follow

Washington State AWB litigation

FEDERAL, NSSF+AERO: Banta v. Ferguson (2:23-cv-00112). SUBSCRIBE (RSS)

• Filings: 5/4/23: MOTION FOR PRELIM. INJUNCTION 4/25/23: INITIAL FILING
• Venue: District Court, E.D. Washington
• Judge: Hon. Mary K. Dimke, appointed by President Joe Biden.
• Plaintiffs: Amanda Banta; Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop, Inc.; Aero Precision, LLC; National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
• Counsel: Corr Cronin LLP; Clement & Murphy, PLLC (pro hac vice).
• Notes: Counsel Paul Clement (pro hac vice) successfully argued Bruen at the US Supreme Court last year. Judge Dimke is also assigned to Brumback v. Ferguson (1:22-cv-03093), related to WA's 2022 magazine sales ban.

FEDERAL, SAF+FPC: Hartford v. Ferguson (3:23-cv-05364). SUBSCRIBE (RSS)

• Filings: 5/4/23: MOTION FOR PRELIM. INJUNCTION 4/25/23: INITIAL FILING
• Venue: District Court, W.D. Washington
• Judge: Hon. Robert Jensen Bryan, appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
• Plaintiffs: Lawrence Hartford; Douglas Mitchell; Brett Bass; Sporting Systems Vancouver, Inc.; Second Amendment Foundation, Inc.; and Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc.
• Counsel: Ard Law Group PLLC

STATE, SMF+GUARDIAN ARMS: Guardian Arms, LLC v. Inslee.

• Filings: 4/25/23: MOTION FOR TRO 4/25/23: PETITION FOR TRO + INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
• Venue: Grant County District Court (source)
• Notes: There was a hearing on Friday, May 12 @ 2:30 p.m. on the above motion. This case has been moved to Thurston County (Olympia) for further proceedings (source). Read SMF’s announcements here and here.

Illinois AWB Litigation

• FEDERAL (LEAD CASE): Barnett v. Raoul (3:23-cv-00209)
  • 5/4/23: ORDER TO STAY INJUNCTION 5/2/23: MOTION TO STAY INJUNCTION 4/28/23: PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED 1/24/23: INITIAL FILING SUBSCRIBE (RSS)
• FEDERAL: Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois v. Pritzker (3:23-cv-00215) SUBSCRIBE (RSS)
• FEDERAL: Harrel v. Raoul (3:23-cv-00141) SUBSCRIBE (RSS)
• FEDERAL: Langley v. Kelly (3:23-cv-00192)
• STATE: State Appellate Court 2-1 Decision, IL Supreme Court Appeal
• 7TH CIRCUIT JUSTICE BARRETT EMERGENCY APPLICATION: 5/17/23 SCOTUS DENIES INJUNCTION REQUEST

Other important cases (active)

• FEDERAL: Challenge to WA's SB 5078 Firearm Industry Public Nuisance law, NSSF v. Ferguson (2:23-cv-00113)
• FEDERAL: California’s AWB, Miller v. Bonta (3:19-cv-01537) (aka Miller v. Becerra). A ruling by Judge Benitez should be released soon™. The court is widely anticipated to rule that California's AWB is unconstitutional, following the 2022 US Supreme Court Bruen decision.
• OR STATE COURT: Arnold v. Brown. Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Raschio has blocked implementation of Measure 114 throughout the state pending further litigation. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER INITIAL FILING
• FEDERAL: Washington State Magazine Ban, Brumback v. Ferguson (1:22-cv-03093)
• WA STATE COURT: HB1705/80% ban challenge in Stevens County Superior Court: SMF v. Inslee

If you come across an important court case, post it in the comments and I’ll add it to this list.

WA constitutional case law background

Policy research is an interest of mine, and in the lead up to today's signing I have been studying and trying to making sense of Washington’s state constitutional right to bear arms. Codified as Art. I, § 24 (enacted in 1889), it reads:

ARTICLE I SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this Section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.

The WA Supreme Court has surprisingly decided many policy matters involving the above right, even relatively recently. The (lower) state courts hearing arguments and deciding on injunctions and AWB reversals are forced to rely on these decisions as precedent, with Bruen as a cherry on top.

Key case law relevant to WA (NOTE: all decided pre-Bruen)

• WA constitution offers more individual protections than 2A. The Washington Constitution’s right to bear arms guarantees a broader right than what the United States Constitution protects.^1,2
• WA constitution protects traditional, common self-defense firearms. The Washington Supreme Court recently ruled that the state constitution’s right to bear arms “protects instruments that are designed as weapons traditionally or commonly used by law-abiding citizens for the lawful purpose of self-defense. […] A weapon does not need to be designed for military use to be traditionally or commonly used for self-defense.”³
• Narrowly-tailored “reasonable regulation” permissible. The state’s right to bear arms is nevertheless subject to reasonable regulation by the state under its police power.⁴ Any regulation must be reasonably necessary to protect the public safety, health, morals, or general welfare and must be substantially related to the legitimate ends sought.⁵ “A law is a reasonable regulation if it promotes public safety, health, or welfare and bears a reasonable and substantial relation to accomplishing the purpose pursued.”⁶
• State must balance the public benefit with deprivation of rights. The state must balance the public benefit from the regulation against the degree to which it frustrates the purpose of the constitutional provision.⁷
• Equal treatment under the law. Under the equal protection clause of the Washington state constitution, “persons similarly situated with respect to the legitimate purpose of the law must receive like treatment.”⁸
• Legislature’s laws are presumptively constitutional. A statute is presumed constitutional, and the party challenging it has the burden of proving that it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt.⁹
• The usual “standing” limitations with a twist. A party may challenge the constitutionality of a statute only as applied to the party, and may not challenge it on the ground that the statute might be unconstitutional as applied to someone else.¹⁰ As possession currently remains lawful, this reduces the average person’s ability to sue the state in court.
• Injunction: Demonstrating irreparable harm. Under the Winter test, a plaintiff in Federal court must satisfy each element for injunctive relief: (1) a likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a likelihood of irreparable injury in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) that a balancing of the hardships weighs in plaintiff’s favor; and (4) that a preliminary injunction will advance the public interest.¹¹ State courts follow a looser standard.¹²

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al. v. Bruen (2022)

The 2022 US Supreme Court Bruen decision has eliminated the ability of a court to balance the severity of a firearm restriction with the governmental interest. Bruen says that:

“When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s unqualified command.”

Other helpful resources

• Text of SHB 1240: WA Assault Weapons Sales Ban. Read the full text of Washington’s AWB!
• RCW > Title 9 > Chapter 9.41: Firearms and Dangerous Weapons
• Justia WA Supreme Court decisions
• Washington State Court Rules of Evidence
• Pending WA Attorney General’s Opinions
• Casetext.com
• Cite.Case.Law
• CourtListener
• Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
• Get an RSS Reader and follow along

I am a policy researcher not a lawyer. This post is not legal advice. Thanks for reading!

SOURCES AND FOOTNOTES

¹ State v. Rupe, 101 Wn.2d 664, 706, 683 P.2d 571 (1984). Established that if a state provision is facially broader than the federal provision, the case will be analyzed under the Washington Constitution. FWIW the WA Supreme Court was under the assumption at the time that the phrase “a well regulated militia” limited the scope of the 2nd Amendment, but WA Supreme Court has quoted this case since Heller.
² State v. Spencer 75 Wash. App. 118, 876 P.2d 939 (1994). Appellate court ruling often cited in WA Supreme Court cases. In short, the Gunwall test determines whether the state constitutional right is more protective by looking directly to the text, highlighting any differences, bringing in historical context and prior state laws, and asking whether or not this right as it exists in our state constitution rises to a unique interest.
³ City of Seattle v. Evans, 184 Wash. 2d 856 (2015). The language in this relatively recent WA Supreme Court case protects commonly used weapons in the present tense, not just what traditionally existed in 1889. One estimate suggests US consumers own around 393 million firearms, both legal and illegal, with nearly 20 million “AR-15 style” firearms as of May 2018. NPR last week called the AR-15 “the bestselling rifle in the U.S.” Take this data with a grain of salt, it doesn’t even include all the sales in WA over the past few months.
⁴ State v. Rupe, 101 Wash. 2d 664, 706, 683 P.2d 571 (1984).
⁵ Second Amendment Found. v. Renton, 35 Wn. App. 583, 586, 668 P.2d 596 (1983). The court upheld an ordinance that prohibited the carrying of firearms in places where alcoholic beverages are dispensed by the drink, concluding that the law was narrowly drawn because it prevented the carrying of firearms only in bars.
⁶ Duckworth v. City of Bonney Lake, 91 Wn.2d 19, 27, 586 P.2d 860 (1978)
⁷ City of Seattle v. Montana, 129 Wn.2d 583, 593, 919 P.2d 1218 (1996).
⁸ State v. Schaaf, 109 Wn.2d 1, 17, 743 P.2d 240 (1987). A “strict scrutiny” review applies when a classification affects a suspect class (such as race, alienage, or national origin) or a fundamental right. Schaaf, 109 Wn.2d at 17-18. “’Under the strict scrutiny test, a law may be upheld only if it is shown to be necessary to accomplish a compelling state interest.’” See also Westerman v. Cary, 125 Wn.2d 277, 294-95, 892 P.2d 1067 (1994).
⁹ State v. Maciolek, 101 Wn.2d 259, 263, 676 P.2d 996 (1984).
¹⁰ Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U.S. 601, 610, 93 S. Ct. 2908, 37 L. Ed. 2d 830 (1973). This decision is referenced in many cases in the Washington courts.
¹¹ Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. at 20; M.R. v. Dreyfus, 697 F.3d 706, 725 (9th Cir. 2012)
¹² Washington State Court Rules: CR 65

A committee of equity security holders is a small group of shareholders formed to represent all shareholders of a corporation or partnership that is a debtor in a bankruptcy case. ... Any info on them from the band of brothers....
1 Michael Connell 13068 Caminito Mar Villa Del Mar, CA 92014 917-714-4821 [email protected]
2 Kenneth S. Grossman 18 Norfolk Rd. Great Neck, NY 11020 516-993-2604 [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
3 AC Choudhury 907 Sea Shell Dr. Mesquite, TX 75149 972-816-3989 [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
4 Adam Gui 1750 W Ogden #4106 Naperville, IL 60567 646-736-2567 [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
5 HZ Investments LLC 650 Halstead Ave. Mamaroneck, NY 10543
https://cases.stretto.com/public/x228/12086/PLEADINGS/1208604142380000000071.pdf

As a fan of both Resident Evil and The New Order, I keep thinking about how the RE timeline would fit with The TNO timeline and with the release of both RE4 Remake and the latest TNO fix, I've decided to cook a timeline of the Resident Evil franchise within The TNO Universe
1963: Umbrella Corporation is founded by Creighton Abrams, Ozwell E. Spencer, Edward Ashford, and James Marcus to siphon VX Research from Zentralafrika
1967: The Progenitor virus, discovered in by OFN troops in Congo, is brought to Umbrella's labs in America for further study.
1969: Remnants of the Italian Fascist Party form the terrorist group "Il Veltro" after being driven underground by the new Democratic government, operating from Reich colonies in The Balkans.
1970: French & OFN troops invade Burgundy, discover human experimentation on unexplainable levels. Reichsfuhrer Albert Speer denies any German involvement in these atrocities.
1971: With heavy Congress lobbying, Umbrella takes over former Burgundian facilities despite French protests. Reich nearly threatens war over this deal.
1973: Former Falangist General Osmund Saddler takes over small Castillan Town during the height of the Iberian Civil War, remains missing since then.
1978: The Arklay Laboratory is built on the outskirts of Raccoon City, holding research from Central Africa & Burgundy.
1980: Specimen codenamed "Régénérateur" escapes Umbrella facility in Southern Burgundy (now known as Eastern France), remains missing. Last spotted near Midi-Pyrenees.
1983: The T-virus is developed by Umbrella as a biological weapon, though some speculate prototypes having been made since the 1960s.
1986: "The Congo-Omsk Affair". Journalist uncovers Umbrella bioweapons being used in Siberia during the 1970s and 80s.
1988: Umbrella establishes Commercial division to sell Pharmaceutical products as PR move in response to The Congo-Omsk Affair
1991: "Herbe Vert" is sold in pharmaceuticals all over the world by Umbella's Commercial division. Other brands like "Herbe Jaune" in use to treat soldiers in battlefield.
1998: Elite task force S.T.A.R.S. investigates a series of murders in the Arklay Mountains. Agents Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield investigate a series of bizarre deaths in the Spencer Mansion located inside the mountains.
September 1998: The T-virus outbreak occurs in Raccoon City, leading to it being nuked by OFN Command. Jill Valentine battles Nemesis while police officer Leon Kennedy & Claire Redfield seeks to escape the city.
1999: OFN forms "TerraSave" in the aftermath of The Raccoon City incident, led by Director Barry Burton. Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance is the enforcement arm of TerraSave.
2000: Centrist NPP Candidate wins US Presidential Election in the aftermath of The Raccoon City incident, with revelations about Agent Albert Wesker being a descendant of Nazi researchers in Africa as the "October Surprise"
2002: BSAA agent Bruce McGivern and Chinese agent Fong Ling investigate a viral outbreak on a luxury cruise ship heading from Madagascar.
2004: Il Veltro launches bioterrorist attacks on Mediterranean Sphere cities. Chris Redfield and Italian troops launch major offensives against Il Veltro.
2005: Secret Service Agent Leon S. Kennedy investigates the disappearance of the President's daughter in Spain
2007: Agent Leon Kennedy & TerraSave contractor Claire Redfield tries to stop a zombie infection in Cologneland Airport from spreading to the rest of The German Reich during major US-Reich trade negotiations.
2009: Agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar investigate a remnant of Nazi soldiers attacking towns in Congo and uncover the origins of the Progenitor virus.
2012: Agents Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Ada Wong fight to prevent a global bioterrorist attack that began in Guangdong. Sherry Birkin and Jake [REDACTED] uncover the effects of bioweapons usage in Siberia.
2015: Claire Redfield heads TerraSave in the aftermath of The Guangdong Incident, replacing Director Burton.
2017: Ethan Winters searches for his missing wife and encounters the Baker family in Louisiana.
2022: BSAA Agent Ethan Winters once again finds himself in a fight for survival in a mysterious Balkan village occupied by various human & superhuman opponents.

1599 book ban
In 1599, the Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift and the Bishop of London Richard Bancroft, whose offices had the function of licensing books for publication in England, issued a decree banning verse satire. The decree, now known as the Bishops' Ban of 1599, ordered the burning of certain volumes of satire by John Marston, Thomas Middleton, Joseph Hall, and others; it also required histories and plays to be specially approved by a member of the Queen's Privy Council, and it prohibited the future printing of satire in verse.[138]
​
The motives for the ban are obscure, particularly since some of the books banned had been licensed by the same authorities less than a year earlier. Various scholars have argued that the target was obscenity, libel, or sedition. It seems likely that lingering anxiety about the Martin Marprelate controversy, in which the bishops themselves had employed satirists, played a role; both Thomas Nashe and Gabriel Harvey, two of the key figures in that controversy, suffered a complete ban on all their works. In the event, though, the ban was little enforced, even by the licensing authority itself.
​
21st-century polemics
In 2005, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy caused global protests by offended Muslims and violent attacks with many fatalities in the Near East. It was not the first case of Muslim protests against criticism in the form of satire, but the Western world was surprised by the hostility of the reaction: Any country's flag in which a newspaper chose to publish the parodies was being burnt in a Near East country, then embassies were attacked, killing 139 people in mainly four countries; politicians throughout Europe agreed that satire was an aspect of the freedom of speech, and therefore to be a protected means of dialogue. Iran threatened to start an International Holocaust Cartoon Competition, which was immediately responded to by Jews with an Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest.
​
In 2006 British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen released Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, a "mockumentary" that satirized everyone, from high society to frat boys. The film was criticized by many. Although Baron Cohen is Jewish, some complained that it was antisemitic, and the government of Kazakhstan boycotted the film. The film itself had been a reaction to a longer quarrel between the government and the comedian.
​
In 2008, popular South African cartoonist and satirist Jonathan Shapiro (who is published under the pen name Zapiro) came under fire for depicting then-president of the ANC Jacob Zuma in the act of undressing in preparation for the implied rape of 'Lady Justice' which is held down by Zuma loyalists.[139] The cartoon was drawn in response to Zuma's efforts to duck corruption charges, and the controversy was heightened by the fact that Zuma was himself acquitted of rape in May 2006. In February 2009, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, viewed by some opposition parties as the mouthpiece of the governing ANC,[140] shelved a satirical TV show created by Shapiro,[141] and in May 2009 the broadcaster pulled a documentary about political satire (featuring Shapiro among others) for the second time, hours before scheduled broadcast.[142] Apartheid South Africa also had a long history of censorship.
​
On December 29, 2009, Samsung sued Mike Breen, and the Korea Times for $1 million, claiming criminal defamation over a satirical column published on Christmas Day, 2009.[143][144]
​
On April 29, 2015, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) requested Kent Police investigate the BBC, claiming that comments made about Party leader Nigel Farage by a panelist on the comedy show Have I Got News For You might hinder his chances of success in the general election (which would take place a week later), and claimed the BBC breached the Representation of the People Act.[145] Kent Police rebuffed the request to open an investigation, and the BBC released a statement, "Britain has a proud tradition of satire, and everyone knows that the contributors on Have I Got News for You regularly make jokes at the expense of politicians of all parties."[145]
​
Satirical prophecy
Satire is occasionally prophetic: the jokes precede actual events.[146][147] Among the eminent examples are:
​
The 1784 presaging of modern daylight saving time, later actually proposed in 1907. While an American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin anonymously published a letter in 1784 suggesting that Parisians economise on candles by arising earlier to use morning sunlight.[148]
In the 1920s, an English cartoonist imagined a laughable thing for the time: a hotel for cars. He drew a multi-story car park.[147]
The second episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, which debuted in 1969, featured a sketch entitled "The Mouse Problem" (meant to satirize contemporary media exposés on homosexuality), which depicted a cultural phenomenon similar to some aspects of the modern furry fandom (which did not become widespread until the 1980s, over a decade after the sketch was first aired).
The comedy film Americathon, released in 1979 and set in the United States of 1998, predicted a number of trends and events that would eventually unfold in the near future, including an American debt crisis, Chinese capitalism, the fall of the Soviet Union, terrorism aimed at the civilian population, a presidential sex scandal, and the popularity of reality shows.
In January 2001, a satirical news article in The Onion, entitled "Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over"[149] had newly elected President George Bush vowing to "develop new and expensive weapons technologies" and to "engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years". Furthermore, he would "bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession". This prophesied the Iraq War, the Bush tax cuts, and the Great Recession.
In 1975, the first episode of Saturday Night Live included an ad for a triple blade razor called the Triple-Trac; in 2001, Gillette introduced the Mach3. In 2004, The Onion satirized Schick and Gillette's marketing of ever-increasingly multi-blade razors with a mock article proclaiming Gillette will now introduce a five-blade razor.[150] In 2006, Gillette released the Gillette Fusion, a five-blade razor.
After the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, The Onion ran an article with the headline "U.S. Soothes Upset Netanyahu With Shipment Of Ballistic Missiles". Sure enough, reports broke the next day of the Obama administration offering military upgrades to Israel in the wake of the deal.[151]
In July 2016, The Simpsons released the most recent in a string of satirical references to a potential Donald Trump presidency (although the first was made back in a 2000 episode.) Other media sources, including the popular film Back to the Future Part II have also made similar satirical references.[152]
Satire celebration
In June 2019, Punocracy, Nigeria's foremost satire platform organised a nationwide writing competition for youth in the country with the objective to make satire a widely accepted and understood tool of socio-political commentary.[153] Some of the entries addressed issues like gender violence, political corruption, religious hypocrisy, internet fraud, educational decay and so on.[154] The group also declared November 9 as World Satire Day with the idea of "trying to fight against the ills in the society not by ammunition but by humour, sarcasm etcetera".[155]
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See also
Cringe comedy
Culture jamming
Freedom of the press
List of satirists and satires
Mockumentary
News satire
Onomasti komodein
Parody religion
Stupidedia
Satiric misspellings
Satires (disambiguation)
Notes
The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, the censors of the press, issued Orders to the Stationers' Company on June 1 and 4, 1599, prohibiting the further printing of satires—the so-called 'Bishop's Ban'.[85][page needed]
References
Citations
Elliott 2004.
Frye, Northrup (1957). Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP. p. 222. ISBN 0-691-06004-5.
Claridge, Claudia (2010) Hyperbole in English: A Corpus-based Study of Exaggeration p.257
Kharpertian, Theodore D (1990), "Thomas Pynchon and Postmodern American Satire", in Kharpertian (ed.), A hand to turn the time: the Menippean satires of Thomas Pynchon, pp. 25–7, ISBN 9780838633618
Branham 1997, p. xxiv.
Ullman, BL (1913), "Satura and Satire", Classical Philology, 8 (2): 172–194, doi:10.1086/359771, JSTOR 262450, The Renaissance confusion of the two origins encouraged a satire more aggressive than that of its Roman forebearers
Antonia Szabari (2009) Less Rightly Said: Scandals and Readers in Sixteenth-Century France p.2
"Forecast". Galaxy Science Fiction. June 1968. p. 113.
Corum 2002, p. 175.
"Ig", Improbable
Rosenberg, Harold (1960), "Community, Values, Comedy", Commentary, The American Jewish Committee, 30: 155, the oldest form of social study is comedy... If the comedian, from Aristophanes to Joyce, does not solve sociology's problem of "the participant observer", he does demonstrate his objectivity by capturing behavior in its most intimate aspects yet in its widest typicality. Comic irony sets whole cultures side by side in a multiple exposure (e.g., Don Quixote, Ulysses), causing valuation to spring out of the recital of facts alone, in contrast to the hidden editorializing of tongue-in-cheek ideologists.
Deloria, Vine (1969), "Indian humor", Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, p. 146, Irony and satire provide much keener insights into a group's collective psyche and values than do years of [conventional] research as quoted in Ryan, Allan J (1999), The trickster shift: humour and irony in contemporary native art, p. 9, ISBN 9780774807043
Nash, Roderick Frazier (1970), "21. The New Humor", The Call of the Wild: 1900–1916, p. 203, Humor is one of the best indicators of popular thought. To ask what strikes a period as funny is to probe its deepest values and tastes.
Babcock, Barbara A. (1984), "Arrange Me Into Disorder: Fragments and Reflections on Ritual Clowning", in MacAloon (ed.), Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle. Also collected as Babcock, Barbara A Grimes (1996), Ronald, L (ed.), Readings in ritual studies, p. 5, Harold Rosenberg has asserted that sociology needs to bring comedy into the foreground, including "an awareness of the comedy of sociology with its disguises", and, like Burke and Duncan, he has argued that comedy provides "the radical effect of self- knowledge which the anthropological bias excludes.
Coppola, Jo (1958), "An Angry Young Magazine ...", The Realist (1), Good comedy is social criticism—although you might find that hard to believe if all you ever saw were some of the so-called clowns of videoland.... Comedy is dying today because criticism is on its deathbed... because telecasters, frightened by the threats and pressure of sponsors, blacklists and viewers, helped introduce conformity to this age... In such a climate, comedy cannot flourish. For comedy is, after all, a look at ourselves, not as we pretend to be when we look in the mirror of our imagination, but as we really are. Look at the comedy of any age and you will know volumes about that period and its people which neither historian nor anthropologist can tell you.
Coppola, Jo (December 12, 1958). Comedy on Television. Commonweal. p. 288.
Willi, Andreas (2003), The Languages of Aristophanes: Aspects of Linguistic Variation in Classical Attic Greek, Oxford University Press, pp. 1–2, ISBN 9780199262649
Ehrenberg, Victor (1962), The people of Aristophanes: a sociology of old Attic comedy, p. 39
Bevere, Antonio and Cerri, Augusto (2006) Il Diritto di informazione e i diritti della persona pp.265–6 quotation:
nella storia della nostra cultura, la satira ha realizzato il bisogno popolare di irridere e dissacrare il gotha politico ed economico, le cui reazioni punitive non sono certo state condizionate da critiche estetiche, ma dalla tolleranza o intolleranza caratterizzanti in quel momento storico la società e i suoi governanti. (...) la reale esistenza della satira in una società deriva, (...) dal margine di tolleranza espresso dai poteri punitivi dello Stato.
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Amy Wiese Forbes (2010) The Satiric Decade: Satire and the Rise of Republicanism in France, 1830–1840 p.xv, quotation:
a critical public discourse (...) Satire rose the daunting question of what role public opinion would play in government. (...) satirists criticized government activities, exposed ambiguities, and forced administrators to clarify or establish policies. Not surprisingly, heated public controversy surrounded satiric commentary, resulting in an outright ban on political satire in 1835 (...) Government officials cracked down on their humorous public criticism that challenged state authority through both its form and content. Satire had been a political resource in France for a long time, but the anxious political context of the July Monarchy had unlocked its political power. Satire also taught lessons in democracy. It fit into the July Monarchy's tense political context as a voice in favor of public political debate. Satiric expression took place in the public sphere and spoke from a position of public opinion-that is, from a position of the nation’s expressing a political voice and making claims on its government representatives and leadership. Beyond mere entertainment, satire's humor appealed to and exercised public opinion, drawing audiences into new practices of representative government.
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Knight, Charles A. (2004) Literature of Satire p.254
Test (1991) p.9 quotation:
A surprising variety of societies have allowed certain persons the freedom to mock other individuals and social institutions in rituals. From the earliest times the same freedom has been claimed by and granted to social groups at certain times of the year, as can be seen in such festivals as the Saturnalia, the Feast of Fools, Carnival, and similar folk festivals in India, nineteenth-century Newfoundland, and the ancient Mediterranean world.
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Test (1991) pp.8–9
Cazeneuve (1957) p.244-5 quotation:
Ils constituent donc pour la tribu un moyen de donner une satisfaction symbolique aux tendances anti-sociales. Les Zunis, précisément parce qu'ils sont un peuple apollinien [où la règle prédomine], avaient besoin de cette soupape de sûreté. Les Koyemshis représentent ce que M. Caillois nomme le « Sacré de transgression ».
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Durand (1984) p.106 quotation:
Déjà Cazeneuve (2) [Les dieux dansent à Cibola] avait mis auparavant en relief, dans la Société « apollinienne » des Zuñi, l'institution et le symbolisme saturnal des clowns Koyemshis, véritable soupape de sûreté « dionysienne ».
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Yatsko, V, Russian folk funny stories
Corum (2002) p.163
David Worcester (1968) The Art of Satire p.16
Müller, Rolf Arnold (1973). Komik und Satire (in German). Zürich: Juris-Verlag. p. 92. ISBN 978-3-260-03570-8.
"What Is Horatian Satire?". wiseGEEK.
"Satire Terms". nku.edu.
Sharma, Raja (2011). "Comedy" in New Light-Literary Studies.
Patricia, Green. "The Golden Age of Satire: Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift" (PDF).
"What Is Juvenalian Satire?". wiseGEEK.
"Satire Examples and Definition". Literary Devices.
"Satire in Literature: Definition, Types & Examples". Education Portal.
Fo (1990) p.9 quotation:
Nella storia del teatro si ritrova sempre questo conflitto in cui si scontrano impegno e disimpegno ... grottesco, satirico e lazzo con sfottò. E spesso vince lo sfotto. tanto amato dal potere. Quando si dice che il potere ama la satira
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Eastman, Max (1936), "IV. Degrees of Biting", Enjoyment of Laughter, pp. 236–43
Fo, Dario; Lorch, Jennifer (1997), Dario Fo, p. 128, ISBN 9780719038488, In other writings Fo makes an important distinction between sfottò and satire.
Fo (1990) pp.2–3
... Una caricatura che, è ovvio, risulta del tutto bonaria, del tutto epidermica, che indica, come dicevo prima, soltanto la parte più esteriore del loro carattere, i tic la cui messa in risalto non lede assolutamente l'operato, l'ideologia, la morale e la dimensione culturale di questi personaggi. ... ricordando che i politici provano un enorme piacere nel sentirsi presi in giro; è quasi un premio che si elargisce loro, nel momento stesso in cui li si sceglie per essere sottoposti alla caricatura, a quella caricatura. ... Di fatto questa è una forma di comicità che non si può chiamare satira, ma solo sfottò. ... Pensa quanti pretesti satirici si offrirebbero se solo quei comici del "Biberon" volessero prendere in esame il modo in cui questi personaggi gestiscono il potere e lo mantengono, o si decidessero a gettare l'occhio sulle vere magagne di questa gente, le loro violenze più o meno mascherate, le loro arroganze e soprattutto le loro ipocrisie. ...un teatro cabaret capostipite: il Bagaglino, un teatro romano che, già vent'anni fa, si metteva in una bella chiave politica dichiaratamente di estrema destra, destra spudoratamente reazionaria, scopertamente fascista. Nelle pieghe del gruppo del Bagaglino e del suo lavoro c'era sempre la caricatura feroce dell'operaio, del sindacalista, del comunista, dell'uomo di sinistra, e una caricatura bonacciona invece, e ammiccante, accattivante, degli uomini e della cultura al potere
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Fo (1990) quotation:
L'ironia fatta sui tic, sulla caricatura dei connotati più o meno grotteschi dei politici presi di mira, dei loro eventuali difetti fisici, della loro particolare pronuncia, dei loro vezzi, del loro modo di vestire, del loro modo di camminare, delle frasi tipiche che vanno ripetendo. ...[lo sfottò è] una chiave buffonesca molto antica, che viene di lontano, quella di giocherellare con gli attributi esteriori e non toccare mai il problema di fondo di una critica seria che è l'analisi messa in grottesco del comportamento, la valutazione ironica della posizione, dell'ideologia del personaggio.
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[page needed]
Arroyo, José Luís Blas; Casanova, Mónica Velando (2006), Discurso y sociedad: contribuciones al estudio de la lengua en..., 1, pp. 303–4, ISBN 9788480215381
Morson, Gary Saul (1988), Boundaries of Genre, p. 114, ISBN 9780810108110, second, that parodies can be, as Bakhtin observes, "shallow" as well as "deep" (Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics, 160), which is to say, directed at superficial as well as fundamental faults of the original. [...] the distinction between shallow and deep [...] [is] helpful in understanding the complex ways in which parodies are used. For instance, shallow parody is sometimes used to pay an author an indirect compliment. The opposite of damning with faint praise, this parody with faint criticism may be designed to show that no more fundamental criticism could be made.
Luttazzi, Daniele (2005), Matrix, IT, archived from the original on December 25, 2005, Dario Fo disse a Satyricon: —La satira vera si vede dalla reazione che suscita.
Luttazzi, Daniele (October 2003), Fracassi, Federica; Guerriero, Jacopo (eds.), "State a casa a fare i compiti" (interview), Nazione Indiana (in Italian), Lo sfottò è reazionario. Non cambia le carte in tavola, anzi, rende simpatica la persona presa di mira. La Russa, oggi, è quel personaggio simpatico, con la voce cavernosa, il doppiatore dei Simpson di cui Fiorello fa l’imitazione. Nessuno ricorda più il La Russa picchiatore fascista. Nessuno ricorda gli atti fascisti e reazionari di questo governo in televisione.
Kremer, S Lillian (2003), Holocaust Literature: Agosín to Lentin, p. 100, ISBN 9780415929837
Lipman, Stephen ‘Steve’ (1991), Laughter in hell: the use of humour during the Holocaust, Northvale, NJ: J Aronson, p. 40
Clark (1991) pp.116–8 quotation:
...religion, politics, and sexuality are the primary stuff of literary satire. Among these sacret targets, matters costive and defecatory play an important part. ... from the earliest times, satirists have utilized scatological and bathroom humor. Aristophanes, always livid and nearly scandalous in his religious, political, and sexual references...
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Clark, John R; Motto, Anna Lydia (1973), Satire–that blasted art, p. 20
Clark, John R; Motto, Anna Lydia (1980), "Menippeans & Their Satire: Concerning Monstrous Leamed Old Dogs and Hippocentaurs", Scholia Satyrica, 6 (3/4): 45, [Chapple's book Soviet satire of the twenties]... classifying the very topics his satirists satirized: housing, food, and fuel supplies, poverty, inflation, "hooliganism", public services, religion, stereotypes of nationals (the Englishman, German, &c), &c. Yet the truth of the matter is that no satirist worth his salt (Petronius, Chaucer, Rabelais, Swift, Leskov, Grass) ever avoids man's habits and living standards, or scants those delicate desiderata: religion, politics, and sex.
Ferdie Addis (2012) Qual è il tuo "tallone da killer"? p.20
Hodgart (2009) ch 2 The topics of satire: politics p.33
The most pressing of the problems that face us when we close the book or leave the theatre are ultimately political ones; and so politics is the pre-eminent topic of satire. ...to some degree public affairs vex every man, if he pays taxes, does military service or even objects to the way his neighbour is behaving. There is no escape from politics where more than a dozen people are living together.
There is an essential connection between satire and politics in the widest sense: satire is not only the commonest form of political literature, but, insofar as it tries to influence public behaviours, it is the most political part of all literature.
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BRAINY QUOTES
SATIRE
Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die.
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Voltaire
Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.
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Molly Ivins
Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.
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James Thurber
The satirist who writes nothing but satire should write but little - or it will seem that his satire springs rather from his own caustic nature than from the sins of the world in which he lives.
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Anthony Trollope
Praise undeserved, is satire in disguise.
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Alexander Pope
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Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous, when you think about it.
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Lenny Bruce
Satire doesn't effect change.
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P. J. O'Rourke
I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel - it's vulgar.
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Molly Ivins
Rush Limbaugh's pathetic abuse of logic, his absurd pomposity, his relentless self-promotion, his ridiculous ego - now those, friends, are appropriate targets for satire.
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Molly Ivins
Satire is a weapon, and it can be quite cruel.
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Molly Ivins
You can't debate satire. Either you get it or you don't.
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Michael Moore
It's a great time to be doing political satire when the world is on a knife edge.
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John Oliver
When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel - it's vulgar.
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Molly Ivins
Status is always ripe for satire, status is always good for comedy.
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Stephen Colbert
I started off at the Second City in Chicago... It's an improvisational theater that ostensibly does social and political satire, but when I was there, we generally didn't. We did character work, and we did just the silliest things we could think of. We weren't all that concerned with, you know, changing the world through mime.
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Stephen Colbert
I'm a satirist, so I've got boxing gloves on if the person is worthy of satire. But I'm not an assassin. If that ever happens, it's only because something happened during the interview that got me going, and then I had to translate my feelings to the mouth of the character.
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Stephen Colbert
I have never knowingly, I swear to God, written satire. The word connotes exaggeration of the foibles of mankind. To me, mankind just has foibles. You don't have to push it!
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Tom Wolfe
We never dealt with satire or suggestive material. Although some of our films were broad parodies or burlesques of popular dramatic themes, there was no conscious attempt at being either sarcastic or offensive.
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Stan Laurel
If you're going to give people 20 minutes of news satire, you've also got to give them Tiffani-Amber Thiessen or you're going to have rioting in the streets.
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Jon Stewart
The satirist who writes nothing but satire should write but little - or it will seem that his satire springs rather from his own caustic nature than from the sins of the world in which he lives.
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Anthony Trollope
When I started performing, there was no Internet; I didn't really have anything to copy. I kind of had to just make up what I thought burlesque was, based on photographs of Sally Rand or whatever.
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Dita Von Teese
The difference between burlesque and the newspapers is that the former never pretended to be performing a public service by exposure.
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I. F. Stone
You know what my earliest memories are? Going from one burlesque town to another. My father was in burlesque.
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Alan Alda
Every one of my products - my lingerie, my perfume, and everything that I do beauty-related with regard to building my burlesque shows - is just me.
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Dita Von Teese
The silent film has a lot of meanings. The first part of the film is comic. It represents the burlesque feel of those silent films. But I think that the second part of the film is full of tenderness and emotion.
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Pedro Almodovar
Me personally, I want to entertain people above all. When you look back at burlesque in history and the real golden age of burlesque, those entertainers were there to entertain, and there wasn't usually some big political message behind what they were doing.
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Dita Von Teese
Bip is the romantic and burlesque hero for our time. Bip is a modern-day Don Quixote.
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Marcel Marceau
In the early '90s, it was grunge; everybody was fully clothed. Alanis Morissette was one of the biggest artists in the world, never wore makeup, wearing Doc Marten boots, and then the Spice Girls turn up, and suddenly it all looks a bit burlesque; suddenly they're the biggest band in the world.
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Caitlin Moran
I don't think there is such a thing as being too raunchy when it comes to the art form of burlesque.
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Christina Aguilera
Objectivity is almost a choice you make. As a burlesque performer, I didn't choose to be objectified.
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Esme Bianco
Burlesque girls were alchemists. They were steel-tough performers who were willing to use kitchens as dressing rooms, haul their costume bags through the snow, and go into debt over fake diamonds, all for the five minutes onstage when they were goddesses.
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Molly Crabapple
I was performing in this burlesque group, and we would go to dance rehearsals every day. You'd use every part of your body. Even though some of it is slow, it takes a lot of muscle to be able to dip down and come back up.
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Carmen Electra
Burlesque dancing didn't solve all my post-divorce problems, but what it did do was force me to court myself for a little while.
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Emily V. Gordon
Some of the pictures I must say every now and then I just think are going to be funny. When it gets that much, you might as well just pull out all the stops and make it more of a burlesque.
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Martin Mull
The human comedy is always tragic, but since its ingredients are always the same - dupe, fox, straight, like burlesque skits - the repetition through the ages is comedy.
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Dawn Powell
I've always had a love affair with New York City, and I've threatened to get an apartment there one day. But it just made sense for me to set 'Burlesque' on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. It's a place I know intimately well and love, and I think there's a great story to be told with L.A.
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Steve Antin