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A Night in Tunisia. A Night in Tunisia is a musical composition written by American trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in 1942.[2] He wrote it while he was playing with the Benny Carter band. It has become a jazz standard. It is also known as Interlude,[3] and with lyrics by Raymond Leveen was recorded by Sarah Vaughan in 1944.[4][5] Gillespie called the tune Interlude and said some genius decided to call it A Night in Tunisia. He said the tune was composed at the piano at Kellys Stables in New York. He gave Frank Paparelli co-writer credit in compensation for some unrelated transcription work, but Paparelli had nothing to do with the song.[6] A Night in Tunisia was one of the signature pieces of Gillespies bebop big band, and he also played it with his small groups. In January 2004, The Recording Academy added the 1946 Victor recording by Gillespie to the Grammy Hall of Fame.[7] On the album A Night at Birdland Vol. 1, Art Blakey introduced his 1954 cover version with this statement: At this time wed like to play a tune [that] was written by the famous Dizzy Gillespie. I feel rather close to this tune because I was right there when he composed it in Texas on the bottom of a garbage can. The audience laughs, but Blakey responds, Seriously. The liner notes say, The sanitation department can take a low bow. Jon Hendricks wrote the now-standard lyrics for the tune, which he performed with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and which were also sung by Ella Fitzgerald. However, Hendricks wrote a new lyric in 1982, Another Night in Tunisia, which was sung by The Manhattan Transfer on their 1985 Vocalese album, and by Bobby McFerrin on his 1986 album Spontaneous Inventions.[8][9] The complex ostinato bass line in the A section is notable for avoiding the standard walking bass pattern of straight quarter notes, and the use of oscillating half-step-up/half-step-down chord changes (using the Sub V, a tritone substitute chord for the dominant chord) gives the song a unique, mysterious feeling. The B section is notable for having an unresolved minor II-V, since the chord progression of the B section is taken from the B section of the standard Alone Together, causing the V chord to lead back into the Sub V of the A section.
Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic (/ˈɡælɪk/, GAL-ik; endonym: Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ⓘ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish.[3] It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century.[4] Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.[5][6] In the 2011 census of Scotland, 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population, three years and older) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, there is a language revival, and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses.[7] In the 2022 census of Scotland, it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic,[8] or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it.[9] Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census, 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census.[10][11] There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia, with historic communities in other parts of North America, including North Carolina and Glengarry County, Ontario having largely disappeared.[12] Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig.[13] With the passing of the Scottish Languages Act 2025, Gaelic, alongside Scots, has become an official language of Scotland.[14]
S&P 400. The S&P MidCap 400 Index, more commonly known as the S&P 400, is a stock market index from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index serves as a gauge for the U.S. mid-cap equities sector and is the most widely followed mid-cap index. It is part of the S&P 1500, which also includes the S&P 500 for larger U.S. based companies, and the S&P 600 for smaller companies, though all three indices include a handful of foreign stocks that trade on the U.S. stock exchanges. To be included in the index, a stock must have a total market capitalization that ranges from $8 billion to $22.7 billion.[4] These market cap eligibility criteria are for addition to an index, not for continued membership. As a result, an index constituent that appears to violate criteria for addition to that index is not removed unless ongoing conditions warrant an index change.[4] Additionally, same as S&P 500 and S&P 600, there is a financial viability requirement. Companies must have positive as-reported earnings over the most recent quarter, as well as over the most recent four quarters (summed together). As of 31 December 2024[update], the median market cap was $7.0 billion with the market cap of the largest company in the index at nearly $23.4 billion and the smallest company at $1.56 billion. The indexs market cap covers about 5 percent of the total US stock market.
Ichijinsha. Ichijinsha Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社一迅社, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Ichijinsha) is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA whose main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and moved from merely editing to now being a publishing company. In December 2001, a publishing company was formed named Issaisha which started the shōjo manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum. In March 2005, Studio DNA and Issaisha merged into the current Ichijinsha company.[1] In October 2016, Ichijinsha was acquired by Kodansha and became its wholly owned subsidiary.[2]
Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic (/ˈɡælɪk/, GAL-ik; endonym: Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ⓘ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish.[3] It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into the 17th century.[4] Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.[5][6] In the 2011 census of Scotland, 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population, three years and older) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, there is a language revival, and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses.[7] In the 2022 census of Scotland, it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic,[8] or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it.[9] Outside of Scotland, a dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census, 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census.[10][11] There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia, with historic communities in other parts of North America, including North Carolina and Glengarry County, Ontario having largely disappeared.[12] Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig.[13] With the passing of the Scottish Languages Act 2025, Gaelic, alongside Scots, has become an official language of Scotland.[14]
Enix. Enix Corporation[a] was a Japanese multimedia publisher which handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting to branch into real estate management. Beginning in 1982, Enix began publishing video games. Three notable early collaborators were designers Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura, and composer Koichi Sugiyama; all worked on the 1986 role playing video game (RPG) Dragon Quest for the Family Computer. Dragon Quest was one of the earliest successful RPGs for consoles, spawning a franchise of the same name which remains Enixs best-known product. They would gain notoriety as a publisher for several studios and their properties including tri-Ace, Tose, Chunsoft and Quintet. It also founded the Gangan Comics imprint family, and created international subsidiaries or partnerships related to technology development, publishing, and education. In the early 2000s, due to rising game development costs, Enix entered discussions about merging with Square, a rival company known for the Final Fantasy franchise. The merger eventually went ahead in 2003 forming Square Enix, with Enix as the surviving corporate entity. Enix was founded under the name Eidansha Boshu Service Center on September 22, 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima.[1] An architect-turned-business entrepreneur, Fukushima initially founded Eidansha as a publishing company focused on advertising tabloids for real estate.[3]: 77–81 On February 5, 1980, Eidansha Boshu created a wholly owned subsidiary Eidansya Fudousan for the purpose of specializing in real estate trading and brokerage, being renamed Eidansha Systems the following year.[4] It was based in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[1] During 1982 Eidansha Boshu made an unsuccessful attempt to become a nationwide chain. Fukushima decided to invest his capital into the emerging video game market; during this period on August 30, Eidansya Fudousan was renamed Enix Corporation.[5][3]: 77–81 The name Enix was a play on both the mythological Phoenix, and the early computer ENIAC.[3]: 77–81 [6] Seeking game proposals, Fukushima organized a competition dubbed the Enix Game Hobby Program Contest in both computer and manga magazines, offering a prize of ¥1 million (US$10,000) for a game prototype which could be published by Enix.[3]: 77–81 [7] Among the winners were Yuji Horii, then a writer for Weekly Shōnen Jump, with the sports game Love Match Tennis;[8] designer Koichi Nakamura with the puzzle game Door Door;[7] and self-trained programmer Kazuro Morita with the simulation video game Moritas Battlefield.[9] During the next few years, Enix would publish titles for both the PC market and the fledgling Japanese console market.[10][3]: 77–81 Using his royalties, Morita established the developer Random House and developed several PC and console titles including the Moritas Shogi series.[9][11] In collaboration with Nakamuras new company Chunsoft, Horii notably created the adventure game The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983), then during discussions around a port of the game to the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) Horii and Nakamura decided to develop a role-playing video game (RPG) for the platform.[3]: 84–89
Home appliance. A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance,[1] is a machine which assists in household functions[2] such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to home appliance is tied to the definition of appliance as an instrument or device designed for a particular use or function.[3] Collins English Dictionary defines home appliance as: devices or machines, usually electrical, that are in your home and which you use to do jobs such as cleaning or cooking.[4] The broad usage allows for nearly any device intended for domestic use to be a home appliance, including consumer electronics as well as stoves,[5] refrigerators, toasters[5] and air conditioners. The development of self-contained electric and gas-powered appliances, an American innovation, emerged in the early 20th century. This evolution is linked to the decline of full-time domestic servants and desire to reduce household chores, allowing for more leisure time[citation needed]. Early appliances included washing machines, water heaters, refrigerators, and sewing machines. The industry saw significant growth post-World War II, with the introduction of dishwashers and clothes dryers. By the 1980s, the appliance industry was booming, leading to mergers and antitrust legislation. The US National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 mandated a 25% reduction in energy consumption every five years. By the 1990s, five companies dominated over 90% of the market. Major appliances, often called white goods, include items like refrigerators and washing machines, while small appliances encompass items such as toasters and coffee makers.[6] Product design shifted in the 1960s, embracing new materials and colors. Consumer electronics, often referred to as brown goods, include items like TVs and computers.[7] There is a growing trend towards home automation and internet-connected appliances. Recycling of home appliances involves dismantling and recovering materials.
George Braziller. George Braziller (February 12, 1916[1] – March 16, 2017)[2] was an American book publisher and the founder of George Braziller, Inc., a firm known for its literary and artistic books and its publication of foreign authors.[3] Braziller was first employed as a shipping clerk,[4] during the Great Depression. In 1941, George and Marsha Braziller founded the Book Find Club,[5] which was smaller than the Book of the Month Club but exceedingly successful, with a reputation for seriousness of purpose.[3] They then began the Seven Arts Book Society in 1951 and in 1955 they began to publish their own books.[5] The Braziller publishing firm is located at 277 Broadway, Suite 708,[6] in Manhattan, New York City. When Braziller travelled to Europe in the late 1950s, he was in Paris during the May 1958 crisis in France brought about by the Algerian War of Independence.[a] Henri Allegs book La Question, an autobiographical account of imprisonment and torture in Algiers, which Braziller brought back from that trip and published in English-language translation,[7] was his firms first big success in the United States, with an introduction written by Jean-Paul Sartre.[8] While I was there, a book came out [La Question]. I got the book, took it back to America, got a hold of Richard Howard to translate it, brought the book out overnight, and we sold 10,000 copies.[verification needed] Just like that we became famous. Those were really exciting times in Paris. I remember youd go to the corner café, and there were artists like Max Ernst, Giacometti, Calder, and then the writers, poets, playwrights, dramatists like Camus, Michaux, Ionesco, Dürrenmatt ... Those were the early years, when you would say only in America could you start a book club with only 25 bucks and move it up to 100,000 members and then start a publishing house. — George Braziller, Brooklyn Rail interview.[4] In 2011, George Braziller retired at the age of 95. His son Michael Braziller of Persea Books,[9] became publisher and editorial director while Georges elder son Joel Braziller became secretary-treasurer and director of permissions. With a small team they maintain the Braziller tradition with new series and a rich backlist.[5]
New York Stock Exchange. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed The Big Board)[4] is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization,[5][6][7] exceeding $25 trillion in July 2024.[8] The NYSE is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, an American holding company that it also lists (ticker symbol ICE). Previously, it was part of NYSE Euronext (NYX), which was formed by the NYSEs 2007 merger with Euronext.[9] According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2022, approximately 58% of American adults reported having money invested in the stock market, either through individual stocks, mutual funds, or retirement accounts.[10] The earliest recorded organization of securities trading in New York among brokers directly dealing with each other can be traced to the Buttonwood Agreement. Previously, securities exchange had been intermediated by the auctioneers, who also conducted more mundane auctions of commodities such as wheat and tobacco.[11] On May 17, 1792, twenty-four brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, which set a floor commission rate charged to clients and bound the signers to give preference to the other signers in securities sales. The earliest securities traded were mostly governmental securities such as War Bonds from the Revolutionary War and First Bank of the United States stock,[11] although Bank of New York stock was a non-governmental security traded in the early days.[12] The Bank of North America, along with the First Bank of the United States and the Bank of New York, were the first shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange.[13] In 1817, the stockbrokers of New York, operating under the Buttonwood Agreement, instituted new reforms and reorganized. After sending a delegation to Philadelphia to observe the organization of their board of brokers, restrictions on manipulative trading were adopted, as well as formal organs of governance.[11] After re-forming as the New York Stock and Exchange Board, the broker organization began renting out space exclusively for securities trading, which previously had been taking place at the Tontine Coffee House. Several locations were used between 1817 and 1865, when the present location was adopted.[11] The invention of the electrical telegraph consolidated markets and New Yorks market rose to dominance over Philadelphia after weathering some market panics better than other alternatives.[11] The Open Board of Stock Brokers was established in 1864 as a competitor to the NYSE. With 354 members, the Open Board of Stock Brokers rivaled the NYSE in membership (which had 533) because it used a more modern, continuous trading system superior to the NYSEs twice-daily call sessions. The Open Board of Stock Brokers merged with the NYSE in 1869. Robert Wright of Bloomberg writes that the merger increased the NYSEs members as well as trading volume, as several dozen regional exchanges were also competing with the NYSE for customers. Buyers, sellers and dealers all wanted to complete transactions as quickly and cheaply as technologically possible and that meant finding the markets with the most trading, or the greatest liquidity in todays parlance. Minimizing competition was essential to keep a large number of orders flowing, and the merger helped the NYSE maintain its reputation for providing superior liquidity.[14] The Civil War greatly stimulated speculative securities trading in New York. By 1869, membership had to be capped, and has been sporadically increased since. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw rapid growth in securities trading.[15]
For Beginners. For Beginners LLC is a publishing company based in Danbury, Connecticut, that publishes the For Beginners graphic nonfiction series of documentary comic books on complex topics, covering an array of subjects on the college level. Meant to appeal to students and non-readers, as well as people who wish to broaden their knowledge without attending a university, the series has sold more than a million copies.[citation needed] The For Beginners series was launched in the mid-1970s, but became out of print and often unavailable after the 2001 death of co-founder and publisher Glenn Thompson.[2] In 2007, a consortium of investors revived the series, reprinted back issues, and promised to publish between six and nine new issues each year.[citation needed] The current publisher is Dawn Reshen-Doty. The company began as Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, a London, England-based publisher founded in 1974[2] by Glenn Thompson, his then-wife Sian Williams, Richard Appignanesi, Lisa Appignanesi, John Berger, Arnold Wesker, and Chris Searle. A publishing cooperative, the founders of Writers and Readers shared the work and the profits. (The Cooperative also operated a London bookshop at 144 Camden High Street until the mid-1980s.[citation needed]) The For Beginners series has its origins in two Spanish-language books, Cuba para principiantes (1960) and Marx para principiantes (1972) by the Mexican political cartoonist and writer Rius, pocket books that put their content over in a humorous comic book way but with a serious underlying purpose.[citation needed] An English-language version of the first book was published in 1970 by Leviathan Press of San Francisco and Pathfinder Press of New York, with no particularly great impact.[citation needed] However, when Richard Appignanesi published (and translated) the first English edition of Marx for Beginners (1976), it was soon clear that the collective had a hit on their hands.[3][4] With a successful format identified, further For Beginners titles soon began to appear. The lines most enduring titles, all published during this period, were Marx for Beginners (1976), Lenin for Beginners (1977), Freud for Beginners (1979), Einstein for Beginners (1979), and Darwin for Beginners (1982).[5] In the early 1980s, questions of control arose after some members of the cooperative sold U.S. rights to part of the For Beginners series to Pantheon Books. The cooperative officially disbanded in 1984.[citation needed]
Dizzy Gillespie. John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (/ɡɪˈlɛspi/ ghil-ESP-ee; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer.[2] He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge[3] but adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic complexity previously unheard in jazz. His combination of musicianship, showmanship, and wit made him a leading popularizer of the new music called bebop. His beret and horn-rimmed spectacles, scat singing, bent horn, pouched cheeks, and light-hearted personality have made him an enduring icon.[2] In the 1940s, Gillespie, with Charlie Parker, became a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.[4] He taught and influenced many other musicians, including trumpeters Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan,[5] Chuck Mangione,[6] and balladeer Johnny Hartman.[7] He pioneered Afro-Cuban jazz and won several Grammy Awards.[8] Scott Yanow wrote: Dizzy Gillespies contributions to jazz were huge. One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Gillespie was such a complex player that his contemporaries ended up being similar to those of Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead, and it was not until Jon Faddiss emergence in the 1970s that Dizzys style was successfully recreated [....] Gillespie is remembered, by both critics and fans alike, as one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time.[9] The youngest of nine children of Lottie and James Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie was born in Cheraw, South Carolina.[10] His father was a local bandleader,[11] so instruments were made available to the children. Gillespie started to play the piano at the age of four.[12] Gillespies father died when he was only ten years old. He taught himself how to play the trombone as well as the trumpet by the age of twelve. From the night he heard his idol, Roy Eldridge, on the radio, he dreamed of becoming a jazz musician.[13]
Guardian First Book Award. The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by The Guardian newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspaper had sponsored from 1965.[1] The Guardian First Book Award was discontinued in 2016, with the 2015 awards being the last.[2] The newspaper determined to change its book award after 1998, and during that year also hired Claire Armitstead as literary editor. At the inaugural First Book Award ceremony in 1999, she said that she was informed of the change, details to be arranged, by the head of the marketing department during her second week on the job. By the time we left the room we had decided on two key things. We would make it a first book award, and we would involve reading groups in the judging process. This was going to be the peoples prize.[1] About the opening of the prize to nonfiction she had said in August, readers do not segregate their reading into fiction or non-fiction, so neither should we.[3] There was no restriction on genre; for example, both poetry and travel would be included in principle,[1] and so would self-published autobiographies.[3] For the first rendition, 140 books were submitted, including a lot of nonfiction strongest by far in a hybrid of travel-writing and reportage; weak in science and biography. Experts led by Armitstead selected a longlist of 11 and Borders in Glasgow, London, Brighton and Leeds hosted reading groups that considered one book a week, September to November, and selected a shortlist of six. A panel of eight judges including two Guardian editors chose the winner.[3] The newspaper called it the first time the ordinary reading public have been involved in the selection of a major literary prize. In the event, the 1999 reading groups selected a shortlist including six novels, and all four groups favoured the novel Ghostwritten by David Mitchell. Their second favourite was one of the travelogue and reporting hybrids, by Philip Gourevitch of The New Yorker.[4] The judges chose the latter, We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families —a horrifying but humane account of the Rwandan genocide, its causes and consequences, the newspaper called it in August.[3] The prize was worth £10,000 to the winner. Eligible titles were published in English, and in the UK within the calendar year.[5]
Vertex. Vertex, vertices or vertexes may refer to:
Vortex (disambiguation). A vortex is a dynamic phenomenon of fluids. Vortex may also refer to:
Hymenaea courbaril. Hymenaea courbaril, the courbaril or West Indian locust,[3] is a hardwood tree common in the Caribbean and Central and South America. As lumber it is frequently used to make furniture, flooring, and decoration. Its hard fruit pods have an edible dry pulp surrounding the seeds. Its sap, called animé, is used for incense, perfume, and varnish. Hymenaea courbaril is commonly known as the jatobá,[4] courbaril,[5] West Indian locust,[6][5] Brazilian copal, and amami-gum.[6] When used as flooring the tree is commonly referred to as Brazilian cherry or South American cherry because of the reddish color of the wood it yields—its wood is in fact much redder than that of the cherry tree. However, it is not a member of Prunus but instead a legume of the family Fabaceae.[4] In the regions to which the tree is indigenous it is known as stinking toe, old mans toe, and stinktoe[7] due to the strong cheese-like odor of the edible pulp in its seed pods.[8][9] Its fruit, also known as locust, was a major food for indigenous peoples. Those who eat it do not consider the odor unpleasant. The pulp, in spite of its somewhat disagreeable odor, has a sweet taste; is consumed raw; may be dried and transformed into powder to be incorporated into cookies, crackers, and soups; and may be mixed with water to prepare a drink called atole. The pulp inside the hard shells appears like miniature soluble fibers that dissolve easily in water or milk, which it thickens. Some add sugar to it for more sweetness. If consumed raw it tends to stick inside the mouth like dry dust. It is one of the richest vegetable foods known because of its high concentrations of starches and proteins.[10] It is further an excellent concentrated feed for animals.
Wing. A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the benefit of lift with the air resistance of a given wing shape, as it flies. Aerodynamics is the study of wing performance in air. Equivalent foils that move through water are found on hydrofoil power vessels and foiling sailboats that lift out of the water at speed and on submarines that use diving planes to point the boat upwards or downwards, while running submerged. Hydrodynamics is the study of foil performance in water. The word wing from the Old Norse vængr[1] for many centuries referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle). But in recent centuries the words meaning has extended to include lift producing appendages of insects, bats, pterosaurs, boomerangs, some sail boats and aircraft, or the airfoil on a race car.[2] The design and analysis of the wings of aircraft is one of the principal applications of the science of aerodynamics, which is a branch of fluid mechanics. The properties of the airflow around any moving object can be found by solving the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid dynamics. Except for simple geometries, these equations are difficult to solve.[3] Simpler explanations can be given. For a wing to produce lift, it must be oriented at a suitable angle of attack relative to the flow of air past the wing. When this occurs, the wing deflects the airflow downwards, turning the air as it passes the wing. Since the wing exerts a force on the air to change its direction, the air must exert a force on the wing, equal in size but opposite in direction. This force arises from different air pressures that exist on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing.[4][5][6]
Heroines Run the Show. Heroines Run the Show: The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task (Japanese: ヒロインたるもの！～嫌われヒロインと内緒のお仕事～, Hepburn: Hiroin Tarumono! Kiraware Hiroin to Naisho no Oshigoto) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Lay-duce. It is based on the song Heroine Tarumono!, part of the Kokuhaku Jikkō Iinkai: Renai Series Vocaloid song project by HoneyWorks.[1] The series aired from April to June 2022. A manga adaptation was illustrated by Ruia Shimakage published by Futabasha on June 16, 2022. After leaving her rural hometown to pursue a career in track & field by enrolling in Tokyos Sakuragaoka High School, Hiyori Suzumi becomes manager-in-training for the high school idol duo LIP×LIP, who happen to be her classmates. Hijinks ensue as she tries to balance track, schoolwork, making new friends, and working in secret to manage LIP×LIP. The anime project was announced on August 28, 2021. It is produced by Lay-duce and directed by Noriko Hashimoto, with Yoshimi Narita overseeing the series scripts, Kaori Ishii designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, and Moe Hyūga composing the music. The series aired from April 7 to June 23, 2022, on Tokyo MX, BS Fuji, MBS, and AT-X.[2][7] The opening theme song is Julietta by the in-story group LIP×LIP, while the ending theme song is Tokyo Sunny Party by Inori Minase, Ayane Sakura, and Saori Hayami.[4][8] Crunchyroll streamed the series.[9]
Dublin. Dublin[A] is the capital and largest city of Ireland.[12][13] Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin is the largest city by population on the island of Ireland; at the 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while the city including suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500.[6][14][15] Various definitions of a metropolitan Greater Dublin Area exist. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century,[16] followed by the Vikings. As the Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Irelands principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.[16] Dublin expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixth largest in Western Europe after the Acts of Union in 1800.[17] Following independence in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, renamed Ireland in 1937. As of 2018[update], Dublin was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha minus, which placed it among the top thirty cities in the world.[18][19] The name Dublin comes from the Middle Irish Du(i)blind (literally Blackpool),[20] from dubh [d̪ˠuβˠ] black, dark and linn [l̠ʲin̠ʲ(dʲ)] pool. This evolved into the Early Modern Irish form Du(i)bhlinn,[20] which was pronounced Duílinn [ˈd̪ˠiːlʲin̠ʲ] in the local dialect. The name refers to a dark tidal pool on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle, where the River Poddle entered the Liffey. The Middle Irish pronunciation is preserved in the names for the city in other languages such as Old English Difelin, Old Norse Dyflin, modern Icelandic Dyflinn and modern Manx Divlyn as well as Welsh Dulyn and Breton Dulenn. Other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicised as Devlin,[21] Divlin[22] and Difflin.[23] Variations on the name are also found in traditionally Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh (the black pool), which is part of Loch Linnhe.
Lists of anime. Anime (Japanese: アニメ, IPA: [aꜜɲime] ⓘ) is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. However, outside of Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to the animation produced exclusively in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, anime is generally described as all animated works in Japan, regardless of style, type or origin. These lists of anime serve to provide an organized and methodological approach for finding related content about anime topics. These lists are not all inclusive, each list contains works that are representative of the genre.
Tribeca Enterprises. Tribeca Enterprises (former Tribeca Productions) is an American film and television production company co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca, which is where the company got its name.[1] The company was founded in 1989 at the beginning of a revival of interest in the film production community in filming in New York City.[2] Before the 1990s, it made more economic sense for production companies to film urban scenes in cities, including Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver in Canada. Since the founding of Tribeca Productions, other production facilities have moved into various neighborhoods in New York City, and filming there and in the streets has again become commonplace. In 2003, De Niro, Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff moved the company, and changed the name into Tribeca Enterprises, which organizes the Tribeca Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival International, Tribeca Cinemas, and Tribeca Films.[3]
Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth,[4][5] is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which it developed.[2] They are connected through their use of the English language and cultural and historical ties. The chief institutions of the association are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental relations, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member nations.[6] Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.[7] The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference,[8] and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. In 1949, the London Declaration allowed India to remain in the Commonwealth as a republic, marking a significant evolution of the association.[9][10] The Head of the Commonwealth is Charles III. He is king of 15 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 36 other members are republics, and five others have different monarchs. Although he became head upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, the position is not technically hereditary.[11] Commonwealth citizens enjoy benefits in some member countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, and Commonwealth countries are represented to one another by high commissions rather than embassies. Member states have no legal obligations to one another, though various economic, judicial and military arrangements exist between countries. The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,[12] as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.
The Guardian. The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian and changed its name in 1959,[5] followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, The Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited.[6] The trust was created in 1936 to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference.[7] The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.[7] It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK.[8][9] The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015.[10][11] Since 2018, the papers main newsprint sections have been published in tabloid format. As of July 2021[update], its print edition had a daily circulation of 105,134.[4] The newspaper is available online; it lists UK, US (founded in 2011), Australian (founded in 2013), European, and International editions,[12] and its website has sections for World, Europe, US, Americas, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Africa, New Zealand,[13] Inequality, and Global development. It is published Monday-Saturday, though from 1993 to 2025, The Observer served as its Sunday sister paper. The papers readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion.[14][15] In an Ipsos MORI research poll in September 2018 designed to interrogate the publics trust of specific titles online, The Guardian scored highest for digital-content news, with 84% of readers agreeing that they trust what [they] see in it.[16] A December 2018 report of a poll by the Publishers Audience Measurement Company stated that the papers print edition was found to be the most trusted in the UK in the period from October 2017 to September 2018. It was also reported to be the most-read of the UKs quality newsbrands, including digital editions; other quality brands included The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, and the i. While The Guardians print circulation is in decline, the report indicated that news from The Guardian, including that reported online, reaches more than 23 million UK adults each month.[17] Chief among the notable scoops obtained by the paper was the 2011 News International phone-hacking scandal—and in particular the hacking of the murdered English teenager Milly Dowlers phone.[18] The investigation led to the closure of the News of the World, the UKs best-selling Sunday newspaper and one of the highest-circulation newspapers in history.[19] In June 2013, The Guardian broke news of the secret collection by the Obama administration of Verizon telephone records,[20] and subsequently revealed the existence of the surveillance program PRISM after knowledge of it was leaked to the paper by the whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.[21] In 2016, The Guardian led an investigation into the Panama Papers, exposing then–Prime Minister David Camerons links to offshore bank accounts. It has been named newspaper of the year four times at the annual British Press Awards, most recently in 2023.[22]
Kármán vortex street. In fluid dynamics, a Kármán vortex street (or a von Kármán vortex street) is a repeating pattern of swirling vortices, caused by a process known as vortex shedding, which is responsible for the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid around blunt bodies.[1] It is named after the engineer and fluid dynamicist Theodore von Kármán,[2] and is responsible for such phenomena as the singing of suspended telephone or power lines and the vibration of a car antenna at certain speeds. Mathematical modeling of von Kármán vortex street can be performed using different techniques including but not limited to solving the full Navier-Stokes equations with k-epsilon, SST, k-omega and Reynolds stress, and large eddy simulation (LES) turbulence models,[3][4] by numerically solving some dynamic equations such as the Ginzburg–Landau equation,[5][6][7] or by use of a bicomplex variable.[8] A vortex street forms only at a certain range of flow velocities, specified by a range of Reynolds numbers (Re), typically above a limiting Re value of about 90. The (global) Reynolds number for a flow is a measure of the ratio of inertial to viscous forces in the flow of a fluid around a body or in a channel, and may be defined as a nondimensional parameter of the global speed of the whole fluid flow: R e L = U L ν 0 {\displaystyle \mathrm {Re} _{L}={\frac {UL}{\nu _{0}}}} where: For common flows (which can usually be considered as incompressible or isothermal), the kinematic viscosity is everywhere uniform over all the flow field and constant in time, so there is no choice on the viscosity parameter, which becomes naturally the kinematic viscosity of the fluid being considered at the temperature being considered. On the other hand, the reference length is always an arbitrary parameter, so particular attention should be put when comparing flows around different obstacles or in channels of different shapes: the global Reynolds numbers should be referred to the same reference length. This is actually the reason for which the most precise sources for airfoil and channel flow data specify the reference length at the Reynolds number. The reference length can vary depending on the analysis to be performed: for a body with circle sections such as circular cylinders or spheres, one usually chooses the diameter; for an airfoil, a generic non-circular cylinder or a bluff body or a revolution body like a fuselage or a submarine, it is usually the profile chord or the profile thickness, or some other given widths that are in fact stable design inputs; for flow channels usually the hydraulic diameter about which the fluid is flowing.
List of fantasy authors. This is a list of fantasy authors, authors known for writing works of fantasy, fantasy literature, or related genres of magic realism, horror fiction, science fantasy. Many of the authors are known for work outside the fantasy genres.
Fantasy podcast. A fantasy podcast is a podcast related to or discussing the fantasy genre, which usually focuses on the magical, supernatural, mythical, or folkloric. Fantasy stories are set in fictional universes or fantasy worlds that are often reminiscent of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Despite having a fictional setting, fantasy stories can contain or reference locations, events, or people from the real world. Characters in these stories often encounter fictional creatures such as dwarves, elves, dragons, and fairies. Common types of fantasy podcasts are audio dramas, narrated short stories, role-playing games, or discussions and reviews of fantasy topics such as fantasy films, books, games, and other media. The intended audience of a fantasy podcast can vary from young children to adults. Fantasy podcasts emerged from storytelling and the creation of the radio. Fantasy podcasts have often been adapted into television programs, graphic novels, and comics. Fantasy podcasts are a subgenre of fiction podcasts and are distinguished from science fiction podcasts and horror podcasts by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these subgenres regularly overlap. As of 2021, The longest running fantasy podcast is PodCastle, which has been actively releasing content since 2007.[1] The most common subgenre of fantasy podcasts is high fantasy, however, other subgenres include urban fantasy, modern fantasy, and dark fantasy.[2][3] The content of fantasy podcasts often overlaps with science fiction podcasts. These two genres are often grouped together under the label science fiction and fantasy podcasts, which is sometimes shortened to sci-fi/fantasy podcasts or simply SFF.[4][5] Some examples of podcasts that cover both science fiction and fantasy topics include SFF Yeah!, The SFF Audio Podcast, and Sword & Laser.[6] Two of the longest running science fiction and fantasy podcasts, as of 2021, are Sword and Laser and the Clarkesworld Magazine podcast, which have both been regularly releasing episodes since 2008.[7][8] The Two Princes is a popular audio drama style LGBT fantasy podcast.[9][10] Other fantasy podcasts include Carcerem and Roommate From Hell.[11][12] Aja Romano, for Vox, compiled a list of seven fantasy audio drama podcast that included Kalila Stormfires Economical Magick Services, The Magical History of Knox County, Victoriocity, The Alexandria Archives, Love and Luck, Alba Salix, and Supernatural Sexuality with Dr Seabrooke.[13] Other fantasy audio dramas or audio fiction podcasts include Inn Between, The Once and Future Nerd, The Penumbra Podcast, and The Prickwillow Papers.[2]
Film festival. A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online.[1] Films may be of recent date and depending upon the festivals focus, can include international and/or domestic releases. Some film festivals focus on a specific format of film, such as documentary, or runtime, such as short film festivals, or genre, such as horror films, category of filmmakers, such as women, production country/region or subject matter. Film festivals can be competitive or non-competitive, and are often regarded within the film industry as launchpads for new filmmakers and indie films, as well as boosters for established filmmakers and studio productions. The films are either invited by festival curators, or selected by festival programmers from submissions made by the filmmakers, film producers, production companies, sales agents or distributors. Audiences have the opportunity to watch in festivals films premiering months before their commercial release, or films that may not benefit from a wide release and would otherwise be hard to find.[2] The oldest film festival in the world is the Venice Film Festival.[3] The most prestigious film festivals in the world, known as the Big Five, are (listed chronologically according to the date of foundation): Venice, Cannes, Berlin (the original Big Three), Toronto, and Sundance. Other major festivals include Karlovy Vary, Locarno, San Sebastián, SXSW, Telluride, Tribeca, and the three largest and most prestigious genre festivals, Sitges, Fantasia and Fantastic Fest.[4][5][6][7] The Venice Film Festival in Italy began in 1932 and is the oldest film festival still running.[3]
Amine. In chemistry, amines (/əˈmiːn, ˈæmiːn/,[1][2] UK also /ˈeɪmiːn/[3]) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds.[4] Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups.[5] The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of electrons. Amines can also exist as hetero cyclic compounds. Aniline ( C 6 H 7 N {\displaystyle {\ce {C6H7N}}} ) is the simplest aromatic amine, consisting of a benzene ring bonded to an amino (– NH 2 {\displaystyle {\ce {NH2}}} ) group.[6][7] Amines are classified into three types: primary (1°), secondary (2°), and tertiary (3°) amines. Primary amines (1°) contain one alkyl or aryl substituent and have the general formula RNH 2 {\displaystyle {\ce {RNH2}}} . Secondary amines (2°) have two alkyl or aryl groups attached to the nitrogen atom, with the general formula R 2 NH {\displaystyle {\ce {R2NH}}} . Tertiary amines (3°) contain three substituent groups bonded to the nitrogen atom, and are represented by the formula R 3 N {\displaystyle {\ce {R3N}}} .[8] The functional group −NH2 present in primary amines is called the amino group.[9] Amines can be classified according to the nature and number of substituents on nitrogen. Aliphatic amines contain only H and alkyl substituents. Aromatic amines have the nitrogen atom connected to an aromatic ring.
Fantasy film. Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction films and horror films, although the genres do overlap.[1] Fantasy films often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, escapism, and the extraordinary.[2] Several sub-categories of fantasy films can be identified, although the delineations between these subgenres, much as in fantasy literature, are somewhat fluid. The most common fantasy subgenres depicted in movies are high fantasy and sword and sorcery.[according to whom?] Both categories typically employ quasi-medieval settings, wizards, magical creatures and other elements commonly associated with fantasy stories. High fantasy films tend to feature a more richly developed fantasy world, and may also be more character-oriented or thematically complex. Often, they feature a hero of humble origins and a clear distinction between good and evil set against each other in an epic struggle. Many scholars cite J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings novel as the prototypical modern example of high fantasy in literature, and the recent Peter Jackson film adaptation of the books is a good example of the high fantasy subgenre on the silver screen.
Fantasy magazine. A fantasy fiction magazine, or fantasy magazine, is a magazine which publishes primarily fantasy fiction. Not generally included in the category are magazines for children with stories about such characters as Santa Claus. Also not included are adult magazines about sexual fantasy. Many fantasy magazines, in addition to fiction, have other features such as art, cartoons, reviews, or letters from readers. Some fantasy magazines also publish science fiction and horror fiction, so there is not always a clear distinction between a fantasy magazine and a science fiction magazine. For example, Fantastic magazine published almost exclusively science fiction for much of its run.
British people. Modern ethnicities British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits,[22] are the citizens and diaspora of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.[23][24][25] British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, British or Britons can refer to the Ancient Britons, the Celtic-speaking inhabitants of Great Britain during the Iron Age, whose descendants formed the major part of the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, Bretons[24] and considerable proportions of English people.[26][27] It also refers to those British subjects born in parts of the former British Empire that are now independent countries who settled in the United Kingdom prior to 1973.[28] Though early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity.[29] The notion of Britishness and a shared British identity was forged during the 18th century and early 19th century when Britain engaged in several global conflicts with France, and developed further during the Victorian era.[29][30] The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a particular sense of nationhood and belonging in Great Britain;[29] Britishness became superimposed on much older identities, of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resists notions of a homogenised British identity.[31] Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by Unionists.[32] Modern Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic groups that settled in Great Britain in and before the 11th century: Prehistoric, Brittonic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Normans.[33] The progressive political unification of the British Isles facilitated migration, cultural and linguistic exchange, and intermarriage between the peoples of England, Scotland and Wales during the late Middle Ages, early modern period and beyond.[34][35] Since 1922 and earlier, there has been immigration to the United Kingdom by people from what is now the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, mainland Europe and elsewhere; they and their descendants are mostly British citizens, with some assuming a British, dual or hyphenated identity.[36] This includes the groups Black British and Asian British people, which together constitute around 10% of the British population.[37]
Fantasy literature. Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults. Fantasy is considered a genre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these may overlap. Historically, most works of fantasy were in written form, but since the 1960s, a growing segment of the genre has taken the form of fantasy films, fantasy television programs, graphic novels, video games, music and art. Many fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents also attract an adult audience. Examples include Alices Adventures in Wonderland, the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Hobbit. Stories involving magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken forms before the advent of printed literature. Classical mythology is replete with fantastical stories and characters, the best known (and perhaps the most relevant to modern fantasy) being the works of Homer (Greek) and Virgil (Roman).[1]
Speculative fiction. Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings.[1][2] This catch-all genre includes, but is not limited to: fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, superhero, paranormal and supernatural horror, alternate history, magical realism, slipstream, weird fiction, utopia and dystopia, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. In other words, the genre presents individuals, events, or places beyond the ordinary real world.[3] The term speculative fiction has been used for works of literature, film, television, drama, video games, radio, and hybrid media.[1] The umbrella genre of speculative fiction is characterized by a lesser degree of adherence to plausible depictions of individuals, events, or places, while the umbrella genre of realistic fiction (partly crossing over with literary realism) is characterized by a greater degree of adherence to such depictions. For instance, speculative fiction may depict an entirely imaginary universe or one in which the laws of nature do not strictly apply (often the subgenre of fantasy). Alternatively, the genre depicts actual historical moments, except that they have concluded in an entirely imaginary way or been followed by major imaginary events (i.e., the subgenre of alternative history). As another alternative, the genre depicts impossible technology or technology that defies current scientific understanding or capabilities (i.e., the subgenre of science fiction).
List of alternate history fiction. This is a list of alternate history fiction, sorted primarily by type and then chronologically. Sequels not written by Piper and mainly written by John F. Carr:
Norman Taurog. Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter.[1] From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931), becoming the youngest person to win the award for eight and a half decades until Damien Chazelle won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Vincent Price. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Taurog has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1600 Vine Street. Norman Taurog was born February 23, 1899, in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish parents Arthur Jack Taurog and Anita (originally Annie) Taurog (née Goldsmith). His fathers naturalization records claim that Arthur was born in the Russian Empire in 1872 or 1873 and naturalized as a minor, while his mother was from New York. Later census records claimed that Arthurs parents were from Germany, and Anitas were from England. The couple were married in Chicago in 1896. Norman became a child performer on the stage at an early age, making his movie debut at the age of 13 in the short film Tangled Relations, produced by Thomas Inces studios. In the eight years until his next screen credit, he worked in theater, mostly off-Broadway.
Original video animation. Original video animation (Japanese: オリジナル・ビデオ・アニメーション, Hepburn: orijinaru bideo animēshon), abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA series may be broadcast for promotional purposes. OVA titles were originally made available on VHS, later becoming more popular on LaserDisc and eventually DVD.[1] Starting in 2008, the term OAD (original animation DVD)[2][3] began to refer to DVD releases published bundled with their source-material manga. Like anime made for television broadcast, OVAs are divided into episodes. OVA media (tapes, laserdiscs or DVDs) usually contain just one episode each. Episode length varies from title to title: each episode may run from a few minutes to two hours or more. An OVA series can run anywhere from a single episode to dozens of episodes in length. Many anime series first appeared as OVAs, and later grew to become television series or movies.[examples needed] Producers sometimes make other OVA releases as sequels, side stories, music-video collections, or bonus episodes that continue existing as television series or films.[examples needed] The consumer base of OVSs constitutes of mainly males. Bandai Visual said in a 2004 news release (for their new OVAs aimed at women) that about 50% of the customers who had bought their anime DVDs in the past fell into the category of 25 to 40-year-old men, with only 13% of purchasers women, even with all ages included.[4] (However, these statistics cover Bandai Visual anime DVDs in general.) Nikkei Business Publications also said in a news-release that mainly 25 to 40-year-old adults bought anime DVDs.[5] Some OVAs based on television series (and especially those based on manga) may provide closure to the plot – closure not present in the original series.[examples needed]
Retrofuturism. Retrofuturism (adjective retrofuturistic or retrofuture) is a movement in the creative arts emphasizing and harking back to depictions of the future as produced in earlier eras. If futurism is an artistic movement anticipating upcoming technological advancements, retrofuturism is the remembering of that anticipation.[1] Characterized by a blend of old-fashioned retro styles with futuristic technology, retrofuturism explores the themes of tension between past and future, and between the alienating and empowering effects of technology. Primarily reflected in artistic creations and modified technologies that realize the imagined artifacts of its parallel reality, retrofuturism can be seen as an animating perspective on the world.[2] Retro-futurism became very popular and trendy in early 2020s in terms of culture, transport, architecture, entertainment etc.[3][4] The word retrofuturism is formed by the addition of the prefix retro from the Latin language, which gives the meaning of backwards to the word future, a word also originating from Latin. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early use of the term appears in a Bloomingdales advertisement in a 1983 issue of The New York Times. The ad talks of jewellery that is silverized steel and sleek grey linked for a retro-futuristic look. In an example more related to retrofuturism as an exploration of past visions of the future, the term appears in the form of “retro-futurist” in a 1984 review of the film Brazil in The New Yorker.[5] Critic Pauline Kael writes, [Terry Gilliam] presents a retro-futurist fantasy.[6] Retrofuturism builds on ideas of futurism, but the latter term functions differently in several different contexts. In avant-garde artistic, literary and design circles, futurism is a long-standing and well-established term.[citation needed] But in its more popular form, futurism (sometimes referred to as futurology) is an early optimism that focused on the past and was rooted in the nineteenth century, an early-twentieth-century golden age that continued long into the 1960s Space Age.[7]
Tommy Kelly (actor). Thomas Francis Kelly[1] (April 6, 1925 – January 26, 2016), professionally known as Tommy Kelly, was an American child actor. He played the title role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1938 based on Mark Twains novel of the same name. Kelly was born in the Bronx, the son of Nora and Michael Kelly, a fireman, in humble circumstances.[2] He had twelve siblings.[3] Kellys grandparents, all four, were from Ireland.[3] He began his acting career at the age of twelve when he was selected to play Tom Sawyer in the 1938 movie The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the first Technicolor adaption of Mark Twains classic 1876 novel.[2] Approximately 25,000 boys had auditioned for that role and it is said that famous producer David O. Selznick handpicked Kelly for the role.[4] Despite Kellys earning good critical reviews for his performance, the film was only a poor financial success. He also played the lead role in Pecks Bad Boy with the Circus later that year as Bill Peck.[5] In 1939, Tommy Kelly had a small but memorable part in Gone with the Wind as the boy crying in a band playing Dixie in Atlanta while the death lists are given out. He played the notable supporting role of Willie in Archie Mayos musical film They Shall Have Music (1939) followed by a leading role as a young cadet in the B movie Military Academy (1940). As he reached adulthood, Kellys roles in movies were minor and he was often uncredited.[6] He appeared in The Magnificent Yankee[7] in 1950, which turned out to be his last of 19 films before ending his acting career.[6] As with many other stars, the war years found Tommy in the U.S. Army; he served in the infantry rather than the USO, as did some other child stars. After his Hollywood days, Tommy Kelly earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State. He worked as a high school teacher and counselor in Culver City and later as an administrator in the Orange County, Florida school system. He worked in Liberia as an administrator for the Peace Corps towards the end of the 1960s.[4] He afterwards served as superintendent of international schools in Liberia and Venezuela.[8] He eventually returned to the United States and worked in an important position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington.[9] Ever conscious of the value of education, in his thesis he focused, among other things, on the relative advantages of children who were educated in U.S. military dependent schools abroad. Dr. Kelly served as an International Relations Advisor in the International Organization Affairs (IOA) unit of the Office of International Cooperation and Development (OICD) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he prepared positions for the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, with personal responsibility for OECD, and United States delegations to the governing boards of United Nations Organizations concerned with Food and Agriculture, a position he held until his retirement from federal service.[citation needed]
Alternate history. Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory,[1] althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history.[2][3][4][5] As conjecture based upon historical fact, alternate history stories propose what if? scenarios about pivotal events in human history, and present outcomes very different from the historical record. Some alternate histories are considered a subgenre of science fiction, or historical fiction. Since the 1950s, as a subgenre of science fiction, some alternative history stories have featured the tropes of time travel between histories, the psychic awareness of the existence of an alternative universe by the inhabitants of a given universe, and time travel that divides history into various timestreams.[6] Often described as a subgenre of science fiction, alternative history is a genre of fiction wherein the author speculates upon how the course of history might have been altered if a particular historical event had an outcome different from the real life outcome.[2] An alternate history requires three conditions: (i) A point of divergence from the historical record, before the time in which the author is writing; (ii) A change that would alter known history; and (iii) An examination of the ramifications of that alteration to history.[7] Occasionally, some types of genre fiction are misidentified as alternative history, specifically science fiction stories set in a time that was the future for the writer, but now is the past for the reader, such as the novels 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Arthur C. Clarke, 1984 (1949) by George Orwell and the movie 2012 (2009) because the authors did not alter the real history of the past when they wrote the stories.[7] Similar to the genre of alternative history, there is also the genre of secret history - which can be either fictional or non-fictional - which documents events that might have occurred in history, but which had no effect upon the recorded historical outcome.[7][8] Alternative history also is thematically related to, but distinct from, counterfactual history, which is a form of historiography that explores historical events in an extrapolated timeline in which key historical events either did not occur or had an outcome different from the historical record, in order to understand what did happen.[9][10] The earliest example of alternate (or counterfactual) history is found in Livys Ab Urbe Condita Libri (book IX, sections 17–19). Livy contemplated an alternative 4th century BC in which Alexander the Great had survived to attack Europe as he had planned; asking, What would have been the results for Rome if she had been engaged in a war with Alexander?[11][12][13] Livy concluded that the Romans would likely have defeated Alexander.[11][14][15] An even earlier possibility is Herodotuss Histories, which contains speculative material.[16]
Jackie Moran. John E. Moran (January 26, 1923 – September 20, 1990) was an American movie actor who, from 1936 to 1946, appeared in over 30 films, primarily in teenage roles.[1] A native of Mattoon, Illinois, Moran first sang in a church choir. He was discovered by Mary Pickford[1] who convinced his mother, a concert singer and father, an attorney, to take him to Hollywood for a screen test in 1935. Billed as Jackie Moran, he was subsequently cast in a number of substantial supporting roles. He became known with the 1938 release of David O. Selznicks production The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.[1] The 93-minute big-budget Technicolor film presented Moran as Huckleberry Finn to Tommy Kellys Tom Sawyer. Jackie Moran received critical praise for his natural acting style. Jackie Moran went on to star in several youth-oriented films for low-budget and poverty-row studios, such as Republic and Monogram. His most frequent co-star was the one-year-younger Marcia Mae Jones, who appeared with him in 11 films, also including Tom Sawyer, where Jones had the relatively minor part of Tom Sawyers cousin Mary. They also played supporting roles in the Deanna Durbin vehicle Mad About Music. They played in four Monogram tributes to life in idealized pre-World War II rural America, 1938s Barefoot Boy, and in 1940, Tomboy, Haunted House and The Old Swimmin Hole. The trio of 1940 films were directed by Robert F. McGowan, the former director of Our Gang. Most of Jackie and Marcia Maes remaining five films cast them in major supporting roles. Their final entry, after a two-year break, was the 1943 Republic musical Nobodys Darling, one of the early films helmed by Anthony Mann. Moran appeared in a cameo in Gone with the Wind (1939), where he played the son of Dr. Meade, furious about his brothers death as a soldier, and wanting to join the Confederate Army so he can kill all those Yankees. Jackie had a co-starring role with Buster Crabbe in Universals 12-chapter serial Buck Rogers in which he was third-billed as Bucks young friend, Buddy Wade. Jackies next 1939 release was the Hardy Family-like Everybodys Hobby, while the last, Spirit of Culver, a remake of 1932s military-school film Tom Brown of Culver, teamed him with two former top child stars Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew. Jackie Moran did not serve in the military during the war[why?] and continued to act in movies, including one final appearance in Selznicks Since You Went Away (1944), where he played a grocers son who exchanges bashful glances with Shirley Temple.
May Robson. Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born America-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she is remembered for the dozens of films she appeared in during the 1930s, when she was in her 70s. Robson was the earliest-born person, and the first Australian to be nominated for an Academy Award (for her leading role in Lady for a Day in 1933).[1][2] Mary Jeanette Robison was born 19 April 1858 at Moama,[a] in the Colony of New South Wales,[8][b] in what she described as the Australian bush.[9] She was the fourth child of Julia, née Schlesinger (or Schelesinger) and Henry Robison;[3][10] her siblings were Williams, James and Adelaide.[8] Henry Robison was born in Penrith, Cumberland, England[11] and lived in Liverpool.[12] He served 24 years in the foreign trade of the British Merchant Navy as a mate and a sea captain.[9][11] He retired at half-pay due to his poor health[9] and travelled with Julia Robison to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1853 on the SS Great Britain.[13] By April 1855, he was a watchmaker, jeweller, silversmith and ornamental hairworker in Melbourne.[12] According to Robson, her parents both suffered from phthisis pulmonalis, and moved to the bush for their health.[9] Henry bought a large brick mansion in Moama, New South Wales in August 1857 and opened the Prince of Wales Hotel. From there, he co-operated Robison & Stivens, coach proprietors for the Bendigo-Moama-Deniliquin service.[6] The hotel was Robsons first home.[8] Henry died in Moama Maidens Punt on 27 January 1860.[7][c]
Wally Wood. Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981)[1] was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comicss titles such as Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, and MAD Magazine from its inception in 1952 until 1964, as well as for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and work for Warren Publishings Creepy. He drew a few early issues of Marvels Daredevil and established the title characters distinctive red costume. Wood created and owned the long-running characters Sally Forth and Cannon. He wrote, drew, and self-published two of the three graphic novels of his magnum opus, The Wizard King trilogy, about Odkin son of Odkin before his (Wood’s) death by suicide. Much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood; some people call him Wally Wood, a name he disliked.[2] Within the comics community, he was also known as Woody, a name he sometimes used as a signature. In addition to Woods hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas – advertising; packaging and product illustrations; gag cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated comic strips; and trading cards, including work on Toppss landmark Mars Attacks set.
David O. Selznick. David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902 – June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive[2] who produced Gone with the Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. He also won the Irving Thalberg Award at the 12th Academy Awards, Hollywoods top honor for a producer, in recognition of his shepherding Gone with the Wind through a long and troubled production and into a record-breaking blockbuster. The son and son-in-law of movie moguls Lewis J. Selznick and Louis B. Mayer, Selznick served as head of production at R.K.O. Radio Pictures and went on to become one of the first independent movie producers. His first wife was Mayers daughter Irene Selznick, who became a highly successful Broadway producer after their divorce, and his second wife was Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Jones. Selznick was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence Anna (née Sachs) and Lewis J. Selznick, a silent film producer and distributor of Jewish origin.[3] His father was born in the Russian Empire in 1870.[4] David had three siblings, including his brother Myron, also a film producer and later a talent agent. David Selznick added the O to distinguish himself from an uncle with the same name, and because he thought it had flair.[5] The O stands for nothing, and he never had his name legally changed to incorporate it.[6] He studied at Columbia University in New York City and started training as an apprentice for his father[7] until the elders bankruptcy in 1923. In 1926, Selznick moved to Hollywood,[7] and with the help of his fathers connections, he gained a job as an assistant story editor at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He left MGM for Paramount Pictures in 1928, where he worked until 1931. While at Paramount he married Irene Gladys Mayer, daughter of MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer.
Hieronymus Bosch. Hieronymus Bosch (/haɪˈrɒnɪməs bɒʃ, bɔːʃ, bɔːs/;[1][2][3][4] Dutch: [ɦijeːˈroːnimʏz ˈbɔs] ⓘ;[a] born Jheronimus van Aken[5] [jeːˈroːnimʏs fɑn ˈaːkə(n)];[b] c. 1450 – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oak wood, mainly contains fantastic illustrations of religious concepts and narratives.[6] Within his lifetime, his work was collected in the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain, and widely copied, especially his macabre and nightmarish depictions of hell. Little is known of Boschs life, though there are some records. He spent most of it in the town of s-Hertogenbosch, where he was born in his grandfathers house. The roots of his forefathers are in Nijmegen and Aachen (which is visible in his surname: Van Aken). His pessimistic fantastical style cast a wide influence on northern art of the 16th century, with Pieter Bruegel the Elder being his best-known follower. Today, Bosch is seen as a highly individualistic painter with deep insight into humanitys desires and deepest fears. Attribution has been especially difficult; today only about 25 paintings are confidently given to his hand[7] along with eight drawings. About another half-dozen paintings are confidently attributed to his workshop. His most acclaimed works consist of three triptych altarpieces, particularly The Garden of Earthly Delights. Hieronymus Boschs first name was originally Jheronimus (or Joen,[8] respectively the Latin and Middle Dutch form of the name Jerome), and he signed a number of his paintings as Jheronimus Bosch.[9] The surname Bosch derives from his birthplace, s-Hertogenbosch (Dukes forest), which, in Holland, is commonly called Den Bosch (the forest).[10] Little is known of Boschs life or training. He left behind no letters or diaries, and known references to him have been taken from brief mentions in the municipal records of s-Hertogenbosch, and in the account books of the local religious confraternity, the order of the Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady. Nothing is known of his personality, nor of his thoughts on the meaning of his art. Boschs date of birth has not been determined with certainty. It is estimated at c. 1450, on the basis of a hand-drawn portrait (which may be a self-portrait) made shortly before his death in 1516. The drawing shows the artist at an advanced age, probably in his late sixties.[11]
Robert De Niro. Robert Anthony De Niro (/də ˈnɪəroʊ/ də NEER-roh, Italian: [de ˈniːro]; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation.[a] De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for eight BAFTA Awards and four Emmy Awards. He was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2011, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Honorary Palme dOr in 2025. De Niro studied acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory, and Lee Strasbergs Actors Studio. He went on to earn two Academy Awards, his first for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Vito Corleone in the crime drama The Godfather Part II (1974) followed by Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in the biopic drama Raging Bull (1980). He was further Oscar-nominated for his roles in Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Awakenings (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). De Niro is known for his dramatic roles in Mean Streets (1973), 1900 (1976), The King of Comedy (1982), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), The Mission (1986), Angel Heart (1987), The Untouchables (1987), Goodfellas (1990), This Boys Life (1993), Heat (1995), Casino (1995), Jackie Brown (1997), Ronin (1998), Joker (2019), and The Irishman (2019) as well as his comedic roles in Midnight Run (1988), Wag the Dog (1997), Analyze This (1999), the Meet the Parents films (2000–2010), and The Intern (2015). He directed and acted in both the crime drama A Bronx Tale (1993) and the spy film The Good Shepherd (2006). On television, he portrayed Bernie Madoff in the HBO film The Wizard of Lies (2017). De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal founded the film and television production company TriBeCa Productions in 1989, which has produced several films alongside his own. Also with Rosenthal, he founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002. Many of De Niros films are considered classics of American cinema. Six of De Niros films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant as of 2023.[6] Five films were listed on the AFIs 100 greatest American films of all time.
The Garden of Earthly Delights. The Garden of Earthly Delights (Dutch: De tuin der lusten, lit. The garden of lusts) is the modern title[a] given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old.[1] Boschs religious beliefs are unknown, but interpretations of the work typically assume it is a warning against the perils of temptation. The outer panels place the work on the Third Day of Creation. The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptychs central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of the paradise lost. He painted three large triptychs (the others are The Last Judgment of c. 1482 and The Haywain Triptych of c. 1516) that can be read from left to right and in which each panel was essential to the meaning of the whole. Each of these three works presents distinct yet linked themes addressing history and faith. Triptychs from this period were generally intended to be read sequentially, the left and right panels often portraying Eden and the Last Judgment respectively, while the main subject was contained in the centerpiece.[2] It is not known whether The Garden was intended as an altarpiece, but the general view is that the extreme subject matter of the inner center and right panels make it unlikely that it was planned for a church or monastery.[3] It has been housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain since 1939. When the triptychs wings are closed, the design of the outer panels becomes visible. Rendered in a green–gray grisaille,[5] these panels lack colour, probably because most Netherlandish triptychs were thus painted, but possibly indicating that the painting reflects a time before the creation of the sun and moon, which were formed, according to Christian theology, to give light to the earth.[6] The typical grisaille blandness of Netherlandish altarpieces served to highlight the splendid color inside.[7]
Gaylord DuBois. Gaylord McIlvaine Du Bois[1] (/duːˈbwɑː/; sometimes written DuBois;[2] August 24, 1899 – October 20, 1993)[3] was an American writer of comic book stories and comic strips, as well as Big Little Books and juvenile adventure novels. Du Bois wrote Tarzan for Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 until 1971, and wrote over 3,000 comics stories over his career. An avid outdoorsman, Du Bois had a true affinity for writing stories with natural settings. His forte was in Westerns, as well as jungle comics and animal reality comics. He created many original second features for Western Publishing (e.g., Captain Venture: Beneath the Sea, Leopard Girl, Two Against the Jungle, etc.), but most of his work for the company was in writing stories with licensed characters. Among the various genres for which he wrote comic book scripts, most were of the outdoor adventure variety, particularly Westerns, including Red Ryder Comics (for which he wrote Little Beaver text pages, The Fighting Yanks WWII feature, and, particularly, the Kyotee Kids Western series, 31 scripts, the first being sent to his editor 12/23/1946, the last being sent 3/19/1949, that ran from about issue #43 ending with #72; Du Bois had previously been one of the ghostwriters for the Red Ryder newspaper comic strip drawn by Fred Harman. Before its format change to all-new Red Ryder material, Red Ryder Comics featured Red Ryder newspaper strip reprints. He also wrote stories for Gene Autry Comics, Roy Rogers Comics (1944-1956, 1959-1960, all of the first run in the Four Color Comics series, and, under its own numbering, Roy Rogers Comics #1 through about #108, and approximately #134 through #143), Zane Greys King of the Royal Mounted (Du Bois had previously been one of the ghost-writers for the King of the Royal Mounted newspaper comic strip drawn by illustrator Jim Gary), Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, Bat Masterson (adapting Bat Masterson (TV series)), Tales of Wells Fargo / Man from Wells Fargo, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rebel, Bonanza and Hotel de Paree Sundance. Gaylord Du Bois also wrote comic book script adaptations of Zane Greys western novels for the Dell Four Color Series Zane Greys issues, which achieved its own numbering with #27 as Zane Greys Stories of the West. Du Bois wrote the first issue. In total, he wrote 31 of the series 39 issues. Du Bois excelled writing animals: he wrote the entire run of The Lone Rangers Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver, the entire run of National Velvet under both the Dell and Gold Key imprints, the first 9 issues of Roy Rogers Trigger, sixty issues of Lassie, plus nine Lassie issues of March of Comics, the last issue of Gene Autrys Champion, as well as the animal adventure back-up features Bullet the dog, Lotor the raccoon, Yukon King the dog, Grey Wolf, Blaze the horse, et al.. He also adapted Owd Bob for Four Color Comics #729.
Frank Frazetta. Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta /frəˈzɛtə/; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010)[1][2] was an American artist known for themes of fantasy and science fiction, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is often referred to as the Godfather of fantasy art, and one of the most renowned illustrators of the 20th century. He was also the subject of a 2003 documentary Painting with Fire. Frazetta was inducted into the comic book industrys Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and was awarded a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Born Frank Frazzetta in Sheepshead Bay, New York, located in Brooklyn.[3] Frazetta removed one z from his last name early in his career to make his name seem less clumsy.[1] The only boy in a family with three sisters, he spent much time with his grandmother, who began encouraging him in art when he was two years old. In 2010, a month before his death, he recalled that: When I drew something, she would be the one to say it was wonderful and would give me a penny to keep going. Sometimes I had nothing left to draw on but toilet paper. As I got older, I started drawing some pretty wild things for my age. I remember the teachers were always mesmerized by what I was doing, so it was hard to learn anything from them. So I went to art school when I was a little kid, and even there the teachers were flipping out.[4]
Steve Ditko. Stephen John Ditko[1][2] (/ˈdɪtkoʊ/; November 2, 1927 – c. June 29, 2018) was an American comic book artist best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man, introducing the characters signature red and yellow design. Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960. During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee. Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the Doctor Strange feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel. He continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics, including a revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating The Question, The Creeper, Shade, the Changing Man, Nightshade, and Hawk and Dove. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rands philosophy of Objectivism. Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work.
Elfquest. Elfquest (or ElfQuest) is a comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978,[1] and still owned by them. It is a fantasy story about a community of elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and coexist on a primitive Earth-like planet with two moons. Several published volumes of prose fiction also share the same setting. Elfquest was one of the first comic book series to have a planned conclusion. Over the years Elfquest has been self-published by the Pinis through their own company Warp Graphics, then Marvel Comics,[1] then the Pinis again, more recently DC Comics, and, since 2013, Dark Horse Comics.[2] All issues of Elfquest published prior to 2014 are available online for free.[3] The first Elfquest story, Fire and Flight, appeared in February 1978[1] in the underground comic book Fantasy Quarterly, published by Lansing, Michigan-based IPS (Independent Publishers Syndicate). That company closed after publishing the first issue of Elfquest.[1] Sandwiched between the two parts of the Elfquest story was a brief story written by T. Casey Brennan and illustrated by Cerebus the Aardvark creator Dave Sim titled Doorway to the Gods. The quality of the publication was disappointing to Wendy and Richard Pini. The interior was printed on newsprint, and the cover was printed, in a limited color palette, on only slightly heavier, uncoated paper stock. The poor quality of this publication convinced the Pinis that they could produce a higher quality publication on their own.[4] After borrowing money in order to start WaRP Graphics, the Pinis started publishing with Elfquest #2. It was printed magazine-size with glossy full-color covers and a character portrait print on the back cover by Wendy, a format that continued throughout the series entire run. This story continued the Elfquest tale started in Fantasy Quarterly. Later, the Pinis company WaRP Graphics reprinted the story from Fantasy Quarterly as Elfquest #1 with a new front cover and full-color portrait print for the rear cover. This series was one of the early successes that marked the establishment of a phase in underground comics in which a new genre of alternative independent comic books emerged that were closer in content to mainstream comics. Elfquest was also one of the first comic book series that had a prearranged conclusion. It was highly praised for its innovative themes. The fact that a female artist/writer (Wendy Pini) was the creative principal of the series was also notable. The original series – generally referred to as The Original Quest or OQ – ran for 20 magazine-size issues (spanning about seven to eight years in terms of the main storyline), released three times a year.[5] Color compilations followed, published by the Donning Company under its Starblaze imprint as Books 1-4. Two more series were published in a reduced comic book-size format, but still in black and white: Siege at Blue Mountain (8 issues) and Kings of the Broken Wheel (9 issues), later collected and published in color by Warp Graphics under its Father Tree Press imprint as part of a second edition of the graphic novels as Books 5-8. The stories take place three years after the original quest.
Sligo (disambiguation). Sligo is a town in Ireland. Sligo may also refer to:
Art. Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around works utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience,[1] generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, technical proficiency, or beauty.[2][3][4] There is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes art,[5][6][7] and its interpretation has varied greatly throughout history and across cultures. In the Western tradition, the three classical branches of visual art are painting, sculpture, and architecture.[8] Theatre, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature, music, film and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of the arts.[2][9] Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. The nature of art and related concepts, such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.[10] The resulting artworks are studied in the professional fields of art criticism and the history of art. In the perspective of the history of art,[11] artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early prehistoric art to contemporary art; however, some theorists think that the typical concept of artistic works does not fit well outside modern Western societies.[12] One early sense of the definition of art is closely related to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to skill or craft, as associated with words such as artisan. English words derived from this meaning include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology.
Museo del Prado. The Museo del Prado (/ˈprɑːdoʊ/ PRAH-doh; Spanish pronunciation: [muˈseo ðel ˈpɾaðo]), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish royal collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. The numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez, are some of the highlights of the collection. Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museums fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now one of the largest outside of Italy. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to many other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the main buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder were in storage.[4] The Prado was ranked as the 16th most-visited museum in the list of most-visited art museums in the world in 2020.[5] The Prado and the nearby Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Museo Reina Sofía form Madrids Golden Triangle of Art along the Paseo del Prado, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021.
Sligo Town Hall. Sligo Town Hall (Irish: Halla Baile Shligigh) is a municipal building in Quay Street, Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland. The building accommodated the offices of Sligo Borough Council until 2014. Sligo Corporation resolved to commission a town hall in 1825: however, that scheme collapsed and for many years the corporation continued to rent an office for its meetings. In 1860, the corporation asked the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, George Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle, to support an application an HM Treasury for a contribution to the cost,[1] with the balance being financed by public subscription.[2] The site the corporation selected was occupied by an old fort which dated back to 1646,[3][4] although archaeologists have suggested that it may have originally been the site of Sligo Castle which dated back to 1245.[5] The foundation stone for the new building was laid by the mayor, William Abbott Woods, on 12 October 1865.[6] It was designed by William Hague in the Lombard Romanesque style, built by Crowe Brothers in rubble masonry with ashlar stone dressings at a cost of £6,863, and was opened for business in time for the a meeting of the council in July 1872.[7] Because of the very high standard of workmanship and associated cost over-runs, the building was not entirely complete until 1874.[8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto Quay Street. The central bay featured an entrance, which was slightly projected forward, involving a round headed doorway flanked by colonnettes supporting an architrave and a keystone. The other bays on the ground floor and all bays on the first floor were fenestrated by round headed windows with architraves and alternating sandstone and limestone voussoirs.[9] At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and a central three-stage tower with a round headed window in the first stage, clock faces in the second stage, and a belfry in the third stage, all surmounted by a pyramid-shaped roof with louvre dormers and octagonal-shaped iron cresting. The clock tower was built by a local contractor, Patrick Morris, and paid for by the Harbour Commissioners, on the basis that it gave them a good view of shipping entering and leaving the port.[10] The clock was designed and manufactured by James and Francis Nelson and installed in 1877.[11] Internally, the principal room was the assembly hall on the first floor which was 75.5 feet (23.0 m) long and 33 feet (10 m) wide.[8]
New York City. New York, often called New York City (NYC),[b] is the most populous city in the United States. It is located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the worlds largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with its respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance[13] and commerce, culture, technology,[14] entertainment and media, academics and scientific output,[15] the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy.[16][17][18][19][20] With an estimated population in July 2024 of 8,478,072, distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2),[5] the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States.[6][7] New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the countrys second-most populous city.[21] Over 20.1 million people live in New York Citys metropolitan statistical area[22] and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, both the largest in the U.S. New York City is one of the worlds most populous megacities.[23] The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. An estimated 800 languages are spoken in New York City,[24][25][26] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.[27][28] The New York City metropolitan region is home to the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world, approximately 5.9 million as of 2023. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York,[29] before being permanently renamed New York in 1674. Following independence from Great Britain, the city was the national capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790.[30] The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan, New York City has been called both the worlds premier financial and fintech center[31][32] and the most economically powerful city in the world.[33] As of 2022[update], the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a gross metropolitan product of over US$2.16 trillion.[11] The New York metropolitan areas economy is larger than all but nine countries. Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system, New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion.[34] The city is home to the worlds two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. New York City is an established haven for global investors.[35] As of 2025[update], New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates[36] and has by a wide margin the highest residential rents of any American city.[37] Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world.[38] New York City is home to the highest number of billionaires,[39] individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$30 million),[40] and millionaires of any city in the world by a significant margin.[41]
Connacht. Connacht, also spelled Connaught (/ˈkɒnɔːt, ˈkɒnə(x)t/,[5][6][7] Irish: Connachta [ˈkʊn̪ˠəxt̪ˠə] or Cúige Chonnacht [ˌkuːɟə ˈxʊn̪ˠəxt̪ˠ]), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhna). Between the reigns of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) and his descendant, Aedh mac Ruaidri Ó Conchobair (reigned 1228–33), it became a kingdom under the rule of the Uí Briúin Aí dynasty, whose ruling sept adopted the surname Ua Conchobair. At its greatest extent, it incorporated the often independent Kingdom of Breifne, as well as vassalage from the lordships of western Mide and west Leinster. Two of its greatest kings, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156) and his son Ruaidri Ua Conchobair (c. 1115–1198) greatly expanded the kingdoms dominance, so much so that both became High King of Ireland. The Kingdom of Connacht collapsed in the 1230s because of civil war within the royal dynasty, which enabled widespread Hiberno-Norman settlement under Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught, and his successors. The Norman colony in Connacht shrank from c. 1300 to c. 1360, with events such as the 1307 battle of Ahascragh (see Donnchad Muimnech Ó Cellaigh), the 1316 Second Battle of Athenry and the murder in June 1333 of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster, all leading to Gaelic resurgence and colonial withdrawal to towns such as Ballinrobe, Loughrea, Athenry, and Galway. Well into the 16th century, kingdoms such as Uí Maine and Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe remained beyond English control, while many Norman families such as de Burgh, de Bermingham, de Exeter, de Staunton, became entirely Gaelicised. Only in the late 1500s, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, was Connacht shired into its present counties. Connachts population was 1,418,859 in 1841.[8] Then came the Great Famine of the 1840s, which began a 120-year decline to under 400,000. The province has a population of just under 590,000 according to the preliminary results of the 2022 census.[9]
Provinces of Ireland. There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, meaning fifth part, suggests that there were once five, and at times Meath has been considered to be the fifth province. In the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delimitation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the English administration of James I. The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities. In modern Irish, the word for province is cúige (pl. cúigí). The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish cóiced (pl. cóiceda) which literally meant a fifth.[1] This term appears in 8th-century law texts such as Miadslechta and in the legendary tales of the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the Pentarchy.[1] MacNeill enumerates the five earliest fifths mentioned, these comprising the kingdoms of Ulster, Connacht, Munster, Tara (North Leinster) and Dinn Riogh (South Leinster), located on the Barrow. The earliest hero tales name the Boyne as the dividing boundary between Ulster and Leinster, indicating that no province representative of Meath or Brega was yet in existence. The kings of Tara and Dinn Riogh were said to derive from the same lineage, which ruled all the Laigin.[2] In the 12th century Lebor na Cert (Book of Rights), the term means province, seemingly having lost its fractional meaning with seven cúigeadh listed.[1] Similarly this seems to be the case in regards to titles with the Annals of Ulster using the term rex in Chóicid (king of the fifth/province) for certain overkings.[1] The earliest recorded mention of the major division of Ireland is in the Ulster Cycle of legends, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge.[3][4] The Táin is set during the reign of Conchobar Mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is believed to have happened in the 1st century.[5] In this period Ireland is said to have been divided into five independent over-kingdoms, or cuigeadh whose rí (kings) were of equal rank, not subject to a central monarchy.[3][1][5][6] Pseudo-historians called this era Aimser na Coicedach, which has been translated as: Time of the Pentarchs;[3] Time of the Five Fifths;[5] and Time of the provincial kings.[6] It was also described as the Pentarchy.[3][4] The five provinces that made up the Pentarchy where:[3][4][5]
Oliver Twist (1982 Australian film). Oliver Twist is a 1982 Australian 72-minute made-for-television animated film from Burbank Films Australia, a part of the studios series of adaptations of Charles Dickens works made from 1982 through 1985.[2] It was originally broadcast in 1982[3][4][better source needed] through Nine Network Australia. The film is based on Charles Dickens classic 1838 English novel, Oliver Twist, and was adapted by John Palmer. It was produced by George Stephenson and directed by Richard Slapczynski.[5] A second live-action, made-for-television title under the same name was produced in the same year.[6] All copyright in this film is currently owned by HS Holding Corporation[7] who controls the licensing of this film. Different companies, including the American GoodTimes Entertainment and Digiview Entertainment, distributed the film for home video around the globe.
Computing platform. A computing platform, digital platform,[1] or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the summation of the required components comprise the computing platform. Sometimes, the most relevant layer for a specific software is called a computing platform in itself to facilitate the communication, referring to the whole using only one of its attributes – i.e. using a metonymy. For example, in a single computer system, this would be the computers architecture, operating system (OS), and runtime libraries.[2] In the case of an application program or a computer video game, the most relevant layer is the operating system, so it can be called a platform itself (hence the term cross-platform for software that can be executed on multiple OSes, in this context). In a multi-computer system, such as in the case of offloading processing, it would encompass both the host computers hardware, operating system (OS), and runtime libraries along with other computers utilized for processing that are accessed via application programming interfaces or a web browser. As long as it is a required component for the program code to execute, it is part of the computing platform. Platforms may also include: Some architectures have multiple layers, with each layer acting as a platform for the one above it. In general, a component only has to be adapted to the layer immediately beneath it. For instance, a Java program has to be written to use the Java virtual machine (JVM) and associated libraries as a platform but does not have to be adapted to run on the Windows, Linux or Macintosh OS platforms. However, the JVM, the layer beneath the application, does have to be built separately for each OS.[8]
Don Schlitz. Donald Allen Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American songwriter who has written more than twenty number one hits on the country music charts. He is best known for his song The Gambler (Kenny Rogers), and as the co-writer of Forever and Ever, Amen (Randy Travis), and When You Say Nothing at All (Keith Whitley and Alison Krauss & Union Station). For his songwriting efforts, Schlitz has earned two Grammy Awards, and four ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year awards. Schlitz has been inducted in to four different halls of fame: the national Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame,[2] and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. On August 30, 2022, he was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.[3][4] Schlitz first hit as a songwriter was Kenny Rogerss The Gambler, which became a crossover country hit upon its release in 1978, later becoming one of Rogerss signature songs.[5] In 2018, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.[6] Since then, Schlitz has written numerous country songs and penned several hits for other country artists. Among his biggest hits are two Number One songs which he co-wrote with Paul Overstreet, Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis and When You Say Nothing at All by Keith Whitley. He has 24 number 1 hits on the Country Charts.[7] United States President George H. W. Bush also commissioned Schlitz to write a theme song for his Points of Light program.[5] This song, Point of Light, was a No. 3 country hit for Randy Travis in 1991.
Madrid. Madrid (/məˈdrid/ ⓘ mə-DREED; Spanish: [maˈðɾið] ⓘ)[n. 1] is the capital and most populous municipality of Spain. Madrid has almost 3.3 million[10] inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.8 million.[11] It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), second only to Berlin, Germany,[12] and its metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU.[2][13][14] The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area.[15] Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at about 650 m (2,130 ft) above mean sea level. The capital city of both Spain and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid,[16] it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country.[17] The primitive core of Madrid, a walled military outpost, dates back to the late 9th century, under the Emirate of Córdoba. Conquered by Christians in 1083 or 1085, it consolidated in the Late Middle Ages as a sizeable town of the Crown of Castile. The development of Madrid as an administrative centre was fostered after 1561, as it became the permanent seat of the court of the Hispanic Monarchy. The following centuries were characterized by the reinforcement of Madrids status within the framework of a centralized form of state-building.[18] The Madrid urban agglomeration has the second-largest GDP in the European Union.[19] Madrid is ranked as an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.[20] The metropolitan area hosts major Spanish companies such as Telefónica, Iberia, BBVA and FCC.[21] It concentrates the bulk of banking operations in Spain and it is the Spanish-speaking city generating the largest number of webpages.[21] Madrid houses the headquarters of UN Tourism, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). Pursuant to the standardizing role of the Royal Spanish Academy, Madrid is a centre for Spanish linguistic prescriptivism.[22] Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR,[23] ARCO,[24] SIMO TCI[25] and the Madrid Fashion Week.[26] Madrid is home to football clubs Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Its landmarks include the Plaza Mayor; the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building containing some of Spains historical archives; many national museums;[27] and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which complements the holdings of the other two museums.[28] The mayor is José Luis Martínez-Almeida from the Peoples Party.[29]
Ken Ludwig. Ken Ludwig is an American playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had eight productions in Londons West End and six productions on Broadway, and his 34 plays and musicals have been staged throughout the United Kingdom and the United States. He has been nominated for and won several awards including the Tony, the Olivier and the Drama Desk Awards. Ken Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania. His father, Jacob S. Ludwig, was a doctor, and his mother, Louise Rabiner Ludwig, was a former Broadway chorus girl.[1] Ludwig was educated at York Suburban Senior High School, York PA. He received a BA in Music Theory and Composition from Haverford College, where he also studied Shakespeare with Ralph Sargent. At Harvard University, he studied music with Leonard Bernstein. He received his JD from Harvard Law School and an LLM from Cambridge University (Trinity College). Ken Ludwigs first hit play, Lend Me a Tenor, was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the West End in London in 1986 and on Broadway in 1989. The comedy was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Play, and won two. A revival of Lend Me a Tenor opened on Broadway in 2010, starring Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia and Jan Maxwell. It was nominated for three Tony Awards. His second Broadway and West End production, Crazy for You, is an original musical drawing from the catalogue of George and Ira Gershwin. It opened at the Shubert Theatre (Broadway) in 1992 and ran for over five years in New York. A simultaneous production ran for three years at the Prince Edward Theatre in London from 1993. Crazy for You won the Tony Award, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, LA Drama Critics Circle, and Helen Hayes and Laurence Olivier Awards as Best Musical. The show has been revived twice on the West End, in 2011 and 2023. It was staged in 2017 for a one-night-only concert performance at Lincoln Center.
SETA Corporation. SETA Corporation[a] was a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Kōtō, Tokyo.[1] It was founded on October 1, 1985 and dissolved on February 9, 2009.[2] A branch was located in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3] SETA developed and published games for various gaming platforms since the original NES and the Super NES. It produced games primarily in Japan, but also in North America, focusing on golf and puzzles. SETA is commonly recognized for developing a variety of custom hardware to enhance games for Nintendo consoles, including enhancement chips, a modem, and a bio sensor. It created development tools for Nintendos consoles.[4] SETA also developed the Aleck 64 arcade system, based on the Nintendo 64 console.[5] Additionally, SETA assisted in the production of the SSV arcade system, collaborating with Sammy and Visco. In 1999, Aruze became the parent company.[6] SETA withdrew from the game business in 2004 after releasing Legend of Golfer on the GameCube. The company announced its closure in December 2008 due to Japans declining economic conditions.[2] SETA officially closed on January 23, 2009, with Aruze absorbing the companys assets. It was subsequently liquidated at the Tokyo District Court on May 25, 2009. The Aleck 64 is an arcade system board based on the Nintendo 64, designed by SETA in cooperation with Nintendo, and sold exclusively in Japan from 1998 to 2003.[19] It essentially consists of a Nintendo 64 board retrofitted with sound capabilities that were standard for arcade games of the time.[20] Nintendo and SETA began working on their agreement for the board in 1996, aiming to replicate the business model that Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment had established with the Namco System 11, facilitating conversions of arcade games.[21]
New South Wales. New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city.[7] In December 2024[update], the population of New South Wales was over 8.5 million,[2] making it Australias most populous state. Almost two-thirds of the states population, 5.3 million, live in the Greater Sydney area.[7] The Colony of New South Wales was founded as a British penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825. The colony then also included the island territories of Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the colonys area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became the various states and territories of Australia. The Swan River Colony (later called the Colony of Western Australia) was never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island became a federal territory, as have the areas now known as the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory. The original inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement, there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region.[8]
Irish language. Irish (Standard Irish: Gaeilge), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic (/ˈɡeɪlɪk/ ⓘ GAY-lik),[b] is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family that belongs to the Goidelic languages and further to Insular Celtic, and is indigenous to the island of Ireland.[10] It was the majority of the populations first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism. Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Irelands Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Irelands population lived in 2022.[11] The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within the education system.[11] Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968.[11] In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland, 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it.[12] From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming some knowledge of the language.[13] For most of recorded Irish history, Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people, who took it with them to other regions, such as Scotland and the Isle of Man, where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx. It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada, with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890.[14] On the island of Newfoundland, a unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century.
Arthur P. Jacobs. Arthur P. Jacobs (March 7, 1922 – June 27, 1973) was an American film producer. Prior to being a producer, he worked in various studios and was a press agent. Beginning in 1963 until his death, he was responsible for film productions such as the Planet of the Apes series, Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Play It Again, Sam and Tom Sawyer through his company APJAC Productions. Arthur P. Jacobs was born to a Jewish family[1] in Los Angeles. He lost his father in a car accident in 1940 and his mother to cancer in 1959. Jacobs majored in cinema at the University of Southern California in 1942. Starting as a courier at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1943, he was promoted to their publicity department before being lured to Warner Bros. as a publicist in 1946. In 1947, he left Warners to open his own public relations office, and in 1956 he formed The Arthur P. Jacobs Co., Inc. Among his clients were Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe.[2] In 1963, Jacobs formed the feature film production company APJAC Productions,[2] which released its first film, What a Way to Go! through 20th Century-Fox the following year. Jacobs had been able to secure financing for the project on the strength of Fox contract star Monroes agreement to star in it, but her death in 1962 forced Jacobs to replace her with Shirley MacLaine. What a Way to Go! became one of Foxs highest-grossing releases of 1964, earning Jacobs enough credibility for the studio to finance Doctor Dolittle, ultimately a much-maligned movie that failed both critically and commercially upon its release in 1967. Planet of the Apes, however, became a box office hit in 1968 and spawned four sequels. That same year he married actress Natalie Trundy, who would play various characters in all four sequels.[2] At the same time, Jacobss APJAC merged with Jerome Hellman Productions and produced the musical Goodbye, Mr Chips for Jacobss former employer, MGM.[3] Despite being cheaper and less troublesome to produce than Dr. Dolittle, it, too, went mostly unnoticed at the box office.[4]
Broadway theatre. Broadway theatre,[nb 1] or Broadway, is a theatre genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.[1][2] Broadway and Londons West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world.[3] While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square. Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself: the Broadway Theatre, Palace Theatre, and Winter Garden Theatre. The rest are located on the numbered cross streets, extending from the Nederlander Theatre one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street, and Vivian Beaumont Theater, at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist, the term Broadway theatre is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people. Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway, regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seats are called off-off-Broadway, a term that can also apply to non-commercial, avant-garde, or productions held outside of traditional theater venues.[4] The Theater District is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City. According to The Broadway League, shows on Broadway sold approximately US$1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022–2023 and the 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each.[5] Most Broadway shows are musicals. Historian Martin Shefter argues that Broadway musicals, culminating in the productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein, became enormously influential forms of American popular culture and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world.[6]
Don Taylor (American filmmaker). Donald Ritchie Taylor (December 13, 1920 – December 29, 1998) was an American actor and film director.[1] He co-starred in 1940s and 1950s classics, including the 1948 film noir The Naked City, Battleground, Father of the Bride, Fathers Little Dividend and Stalag 17. He later turned to directing films such as Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Tom Sawyer (1973), Echoes of a Summer (1976), and Damien - Omen II (1978). The son of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Taylor, Donald Ritchie Taylor[2][3] was born in Freeport, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1920.[4] (Another source says that he was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Freeport, Pa.)[2] He studied speech and drama at Penn State University and hitchhiked to Hollywood in 1942. He was signed as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in small roles. Drafted into the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, he appeared in the Air Forces Winged Victory Broadway play[5] and movie (1944), credited as Cpl. Don Taylor. After discharge from the AAF, Taylor was cast in a lead role as the young detective, Jimmy Halloran, working alongside veteran homicide detective Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) in Universals 1948 screen version of The Naked City, which was notable for being filmed entirely on location in New York. Taylor was later part of the ensemble cast in MGMs classic World War II drama Battleground (1949). He then appeared as the husband of Elizabeth Taylor in the comedies Father of the Bride (1950) and its sequel Fathers Little Dividend (1951), starring Spencer Tracy. Another memorable role was Vern Cowboy Blithe in Flying Leathernecks (1951). In 1952, Taylor played a soldier bringing his Japanese war-bride back to small-town America in Japanese War Bride. In 1953, Taylor had a key role as the escaping prisoner Lt. Dunbar in Billy Wilders Stalag 17. His last major film role came in Ill Cry Tomorrow (1955). From the late 1950s through the 1980s, Taylor turned to directing movies and TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the short-lived Steve Canyon, starring Dean Fredericks, and Rod Serlings Night Gallery. One of his memorable efforts, in 1973, was the musical film Tom Sawyer,[6] which boasted a Sherman Brothers song score. Other films that Taylor directed are Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Echoes of a Summer (1976), The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (also 1976), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) starring Burt Lancaster, Damien - Omen II (1978) with William Holden, and The Final Countdown (1980) with Kirk Douglas. Taylor occasionally performed both acting and directing roles simultaneously, as he did for episodes of the TV detective series Burkes Law.
Musical theatre. Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the light opera works of Jacques Offenbach in France, Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and the works of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by Edwardian musical comedies, which emerged in Britain, and the musical theatre works of American creators like George M. Cohan at the turn of the 20th century. The Princess Theatre musicals (1915–1918) were artistic steps forward beyond the revues and other frothy entertainments of the early 20th century and led to such groundbreaking works as Show Boat (1927), Of Thee I Sing (1931) and Oklahoma! (1943). Some of the best-known musicals through the decades that followed include My Fair Lady (1956), The Fantasticks (1960), Hair (1967), A Chorus Line (1975), Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), Rent (1996), Wicked (2003) and Hamilton (2015). Musicals are performed around the world. They may be presented in large venues, such as big-budget Broadway or West End productions in New York City or London. Alternatively, musicals may be staged in smaller venues, such as off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, regional theatre, fringe theatre, or community theatre productions, or on tour. Musicals are often presented by amateur and school groups in churches, schools and other performance spaces. In addition to the United States and Britain, there are vibrant musical theatre scenes in continental Europe, Asia, Australasia, Canada and Latin America. Since the 20th century, the book musical has been defined as a musical play where songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals and which is able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter.[2][3] The three main components of a book musical are its music, lyrics and book. The book or script of a musical refers to the story, character development and dramatic structure, including the spoken dialogue and stage directions, but it can also refer to the dialogue and lyrics together, which are sometimes referred to as the libretto (Italian for small book). The music and lyrics together form the score of a musical and include songs, incidental music and musical scenes, which are theatrical sequence[s] set to music, often combining song with spoken dialogue.[4] The interpretation of a musical is the responsibility of its creative team, which includes a director, a musical director, usually a choreographer and sometimes an orchestrator. A musicals production is also creatively characterized by technical aspects, such as set design, costumes, stage properties (props), lighting and sound. The creative team, designs and interpretations generally change from the original production to succeeding productions. Some production elements, however, may be retained from the original production, for example, Bob Fosses choreography in Chicago.
Richard M. Sherman. Richard Morton Sherman (June 12, 1928 – May 25, 2024) was an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, The Sherman Brothers were responsible for more motion picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history.[1] Some of the Sherman Brothers best known songs were incorporated into live action and animation musical films including Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Snoopy Come Home, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Slipper and the Rose, and Charlottes Web. Their best known work is Its a Small World, written for the theme park attraction of the same name. According to Time, it may be the most publicly performed song in history.[2][3] Richard Morton Sherman was born on June 12, 1928, in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants, Rosa (Dancis) and Al Sherman.[4][5][6][7] Sherman and his older brother Robert eventually followed in their songwriting fathers footsteps to form a long-lasting songwriting partnership.[8]
University of Dublin. The University of Dublin (Irish: Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a public research university located in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I who issued a royal charter for Trinity College Dublin in her role as the mother of a university, making it Irelands oldest operating university. It is also one of the extant seven ancient universities of Great Britain and Ireland[a] and is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College, which is its sole constituent college. Originally established to consolidate the rule of the Tudor dynasty in Ireland, the University of Dublin has historic ties with the universities of both Oxford and Cambridge, and has maintained an academic partnership with them since 1636.[11][12][13][14] As only one constituent college was ever established, the designations Trinity College Dublin and University of Dublin are usually synonymous in practice. It is a member of the Irish Universities Association (IUA), Universities Ireland, the League of European Research Universities (LERU), and the Coimbra Group. The university is headed by the Provost, under the supervision of a Chancellor and six Pro-Chancellors. The University of Dublin was modelled on the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge as a collegiate university, Trinity College being named by Queen Elizabeth I as the mater universitatis (mother of the university). The founding charter also conferred a general power on the college to make provision for university functions to be carried out. So, for example, the charter while naming the first provost of the college, the first fellows (in place of many) and the first scholars, in addition named The 1st Baron Burghley to be the first chancellor of the university. No other college has ever been established, and Trinity remains the sole constituent college of the university. The project of establishing another college within the university was seriously considered on at least two occasions, but the required finance or endowment was never available.
Frank Capra Jr.. Frank Warner Capra (March 20, 1934 – December 19, 2007), known as Frank Capra Jr., was an American film and television producer. He was one of the three children of film director Frank Capra and his second wife, Lucille Warner. His own sons, Frank Capra III and Jonathan Capra, are assistant directors. At the time of his death, Capra Jr. was president of EUE/Screen Gems studio, which he had helped to found in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the mid-1980s, and a member of the North Carolina Film Council. Capra Jr. died on December 19, 2007, aged 73, at a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Robert B. Sherman. Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter. Best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman, they, known as Sherman brothers, produced more motion picture song scores than any other songwriting team in film history.[1] Some of their songs were incorporated into live action and animation musical films including Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Slipper and the Rose, and Charlottes Web. Their best-known work is Its a Small World (After All) possibly the most-performed song (in public) in history.[2][3] Robert Bernard Sherman was born on December 19, 1925, in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants Rosa (Dancis) and Al Sherman.[citation needed] Al Sherman, a songwriter, paid for his sons hospital delivery costs with a royalty check that arrived that day for the song Save Your Sorrow. His brother and songwriting partner, Richard, was born in 1928. Shermans father was a well-known Tin Pan Alley songwriter.[4] In his youth, Sherman excelled in violin, piano, painting and poetry. Following seven years of cross-country moves, the Shermans settled down in Beverly Hills, California. Some of the primary schools Sherman attended in Manhattan included PS 241 and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and in California, the El Rodeo School.[5] At Beverly Hills High School, Sherman wrote and produced radio and stage programs for which he won much acclaim. At age 16, Sherman wrote Armistice and Dedication Day, a stage play showing how American life was changed following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The play yielded thousands of dollars for war bonds and earned a special citation from the War Department.[6][7] In 1943, Sherman obtained permission from his parents to join the army at age 17.[8] Sherman was awarded the Purple Heart medal after being shot in the knee on April 12, 1945, an injury which forced him to walk with a cane for the rest of his life.[9] On April 29, 1945, Sherman was among the first soldiers who entered the Dachau concentration camp.[10][11][12] Other medals received by Sherman for service in the war were the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, two Battle Stars for his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, an American Campaign Medal, a World War II Victory Medal, and a Good Conduct Medal, and several Army Weapons Qualifications badges.[6]
Charles Dickens. Charles John Huffam Dickens (/ˈdɪkɪnz/ ⓘ; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literatures best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.[1] His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.[2][3] Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John was incarcerated in a debtors prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigorously for childrens rights, education and other social reforms. Dickenss literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, a publishing phenomenon—thanks largely to the introduction of the character Sam Weller in the fourth episode—that sparked Pickwick merchandise and spin-offs. Within a few years, Dickens had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most of them published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication.[4][5] Cliffhanger endings in his serial publications kept readers in suspense.[6] The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audiences reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback.[5] For example, when his wifes chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her own disabilities, Dickens improved the character with positive features.[7] His plots were carefully constructed and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives.[8] Masses of the illiterate poor would individually pay a halfpenny to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.[9] His 1843 novella A Christmas Carol remains especially popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every creative medium. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1853 novel Bleak House, a satire on the judicial system, helped support a reformist movement that culminated in the 1870s legal reform in England. A Tale of Two Cities (1859; set in London and Paris) is regarded as his best-known work of historical fiction. The most famous celebrity of his era, he undertook, in response to public demand, a series of public reading tours in the later part of his career.[10] The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social or working conditions, or comically repulsive characters.[11][12]
Comedy (drama). Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.[1] For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy ending. In the Middle Ages, the term expanded to include narrative poems with happy endings and a lighter tone. In this sense Dante used the term in the title of his poem, the Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia). The phenomena connected with laughter and that which provokes it have been carefully investigated by psychologists. The predominating characteristics are incongruity or contrast in the object, and shock or emotional seizure on the part of the subject. It has also been held that the feeling of superiority is an essential factor: thus Thomas Hobbes speaks of laughter as a sudden glory. Modern investigators have paid much attention to the origin both of laughter and of smiling, as well as the development of the play instinct and its emotional expression. Much comedy contains variations on the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and the effect of opposite expectations, but there are many recognized genres of comedy. Satire and political satire use ironic comedy used to portray persons or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of humor.[citation needed] Parody borrows the form of some popular genre, artwork, or text but uses certain ironic changes to critique that form from within (though not necessarily in a condemning way). Screwball comedy derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters. Black comedy is defined by dark humor that makes light of so-called dark or evil elements in human nature. Similarly scatological humor, sexual humor, and race humor create comedy by violating social conventions or taboos in comedic ways. A comedy of manners typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. Romantic comedy is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms, and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love.
Nintendo Entertainment System. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on July 15, 1983, as the Family Computer (Famicom),[note 1] and released as the redesigned NES in test markets in the United States on October 18, 1985, followed by a nationwide launch on September 27, 1986. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s under various names. As a third-generation console, it mainly competed with Segas Master System. The Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, called for a simple, cheap console that could run arcade games on cartridges. The Famicom was designed by Masayuki Uemura, with its controller design reused from Nintendos portable Game & Watch hardware. The Western model was redesigned by Lance Barr and Don James to resemble a video cassette recorder. Nintendo released add-ons such as the NES Zapper, a light gun for shooting games, and R.O.B, a toy robot. The NES is regarded as one of the most influential gaming consoles. It helped revitalize the American gaming industry following the video game crash of 1983, and pioneered a now-standard business model of licensing third-party developers to produce and distribute games.[12] Several games released for the NES, including Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), Metroid (1986), and Mega Man (1987), became major franchises.
Australia. Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands.[N 6] It has a total area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world and the largest in Oceania. Australia is the worlds flattest and driest inhabited continent.[17] It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from Southeast Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period.[18][19][20] By the time of British settlement, Aboriginal Australians spoke 250 distinct languages and had one of the oldest living cultures in the world.[21] Australias written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of the coastline in the 17th century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales. By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986.[22] Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories. Its population of almost 28 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[23] Canberra is the nations capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney and Melbourne, both with a population of more than five million.[23] Australias culture is diverse, and the country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world. It has a highly developed economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally. Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the countrys economy. It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.[24] Australia is a middle power, and has the worlds thirteenth-highest military expenditure. It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20; the OECD; the World Trade Organization; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; the Pacific Islands Forum; the Pacific Community; the Commonwealth of Nations; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS, AUKUS, and the Five Eyes. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States.[25]
Comedy (disambiguation). Comedy is a genre of literary works that have happy endings, in contrast to tragedies that have unhappy endings. Comedy may also refer to:
Dublin City University. Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU; Irish: Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath[1]) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin in 1975, it enrolled its first students in 1980, and was elevated to university status (along with the NIHE Limerick, now the University of Limerick) in September 1989 by statute. In September 2016, DCU completed the process of incorporating four other Dublin-based educational institutions: the Church of Ireland College of Education, All Hallows College, Mater Dei Institute of Education and St Patricks College.[2] As of 2025, the university has 20,377 students and over 110,000 alumni. There were 1,690 staff in 2019. Notable members of the academic staff included the late former Taoiseach, John Bruton and thinking Guru Edward De Bono. Bruton accepted a position as Adjunct Faculty Member in the School of Law and Government in early 2004 and De Bono accepted an adjunct Professorship in the university in mid-2005. The founding president of the institution was Danny OHare, who retired in 1999 after 22 years service. After a period of administration by an acting president, Albert Pratt, Ferdinand von Prondzynski was appointed and continued as president for a full ten-year term, which ended in July 2010. Brian MacCraith was appointed next and was succeeded in 2020 by the current president, Daire Keogh.[3]
Technological University Dublin. Technological University Dublin (Irish: Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin[6] is Irelands first technological university. It was established on 1 January 2019,[7][8][9] with a history going back to 1887 through the amalgamated Dublin Institute of Technology which progressed from the first technical education institution in Ireland, the City of Dublin Technical Schools.[10] It is the second-largest third-level institution in Ireland, with a student population of 28,500.[7] The university was formed by the amalgamation of three existing institutes of technology in the Dublin area – Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, and Institute of Technology, Tallaght, taking over all functions and operations of these institutions.[11][4] It is the eighth university in Ireland, and the fourth in County Dublin.[12] The university asserts an entrepreneurial ethos and industry-focused approach, with extensive collaboration with industry for research and teaching.[4][13][14] The flagship campus is in Grangegorman, Dublin, with two other long-term campuses, in Tallaght and Blanchardstown, and remaining legacy sites at Bolton Street and Aungier Street.[15] TU Dublin has approximately 2,700 full-time staff. Dr Deirdre Lillis became President of the university in January 2025.[2] TU Dublin has its origins in the City of Dublin Technical Schools, with a Technical College founded at Kevin Street in 1887 by poet, songwriter and novelist Arnold Felix Graves.[16][17] In 1978, with the formal amalgamation of the College of Technology, Kevin Street, and five other specialised colleges in Dublin under a federalised arrangement, the Dublin Institute of Technology was formed.[18]
Hadrians Villa. Hadrians Villa (Italian: Villa Adriana; Latin: Villa Hadriana) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the ruins and archaeological remains of a large villa complex built around AD 120 by Roman emperor Hadrian near Tivoli outside Rome. It is the most imposing and complex Roman villa known. The complex contains over 30 monumental and scenic buildings arranged on a series of artificial esplanades at different heights and surrounded by gardens decorated with water basins and nymphaea (fountains). The whole complex covers an area of at least a square kilometre, an area larger than the city of Pompeii. In addition to the villas impressive layout, many of the buildings are considered masterpieces of Roman architecture, making use of striking curved shapes enabled by extensive use of concrete. They were ingenious for the complex symmetry of their ground plans and are considered unrivalled until the arrival of Baroque architecture in the 17th century, initiated by Borromini, who used Hadrians Villa for inspiration.[1] The site, much of which is still unexcavated, is owned by the Republic of Italy and has been managed since 2014 by the Polo Museale del Lazio. The villa was constructed near Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Emperor Hadrian during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD. Hadrian is said to have disliked the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat.[citation needed] It was traditional for the Roman emperor to have constructed a villa as a place to relax from everyday life. Previous emperors and Romans with wealth had also constructed villas (e.g. Villa of Trajan). Though emperors villas were supposed to be a place of rest and leisure, there is some evidence of Hadrian conducting official duty from the villa in the form of an inscription of an official letter sent from the villa in the summer of 125 AD.[2] The picturesque landscape around Tibur had made the area a popular choice for villas and rural retreats. It was reputed to have been popular with people from the Spanish peninsula who were residents in the city of Rome.[citation needed] This may have contributed to Hadrians choice of the property: although born in Rome, his parents came from Spain and he may have become familiar with the area during his early life. There may have also been a connection through his wife Vibia Sabina (83–136/137), who was the niece of the Emperor Trajan. Sabinas family held large land holdings and it is speculated the Tibur property may have been one of them. A villa from the Republican era formed the basis for Hadrians establishment.[citation needed]. Hadrian began construction on the villa early in his career as emperor, though brick stamp evidence shows us that construction of the villa was ongoing.[3]
H2O (disambiguation). H2O is the chemical formula for water, which means that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms. H2O or H2O may also refer to:
Theatre of ancient Greece. A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 500 BC), comedy (490 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres emerged there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies. Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the theatre of ancient Greece, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. The word τραγῳδία, tragodia, from which the word tragedy is derived, is a compound of two Greek words: τράγος, tragos or goat and ᾠδή, ode meaning song, from ἀείδειν, aeidein, to sing.[1] This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancient Dionysian cults. It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility rituals became the basis for tragedy and comedy.[2]
Sydney. Sydney (/ˈsɪdni/ ⓘ SID-nee) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 km (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and south-west.[5] Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as Sydneysiders.[6] The estimated population in June 2024 was 5,557,233,[1] which is about 66% of the states population.[7] The citys nicknames include the Emerald City and the Harbour City.[8] There is evidence that Aboriginal Australians inhabited the Greater Sydney region at least 30,000 years ago, and their engravings and cultural sites are common. The traditional custodians of the land on which modern Sydney stands are the clans of the Darug, Dharawal and Eora.[9] During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, James Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay. In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia.[10] After World War II, Sydney experienced mass migration and by 2021 over 40 per cent of the population was born overseas. Foreign countries of birth with the greatest representation are mainland China, India, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and the Philippines.[11] Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world,[12][13] Sydney frequently ranks in the top ten most liveable cities.[14][15][16] It is classified as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world.[17][18] Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity,[19] Sydney has an advanced market economy with strengths in education, finance, manufacturing and tourism.[20][21] The University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales are ranked 18th and 19th in the world respectively.[22] Sydney has hosted major international sporting events such as the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, and the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup Final. The city is among the top fifteen most-visited,[23] with millions of tourists coming each year to see the citys landmarks.[24] The city has over 1,000,000 ha (2,500,000 acres) of nature reserves and parks,[25] and its notable natural features include Sydney Harbour and Royal National Park. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House are major tourist attractions. Central Station is the hub of Sydneys suburban train, metro and light rail networks and longer-distance services. The main passenger airport serving the city is Kingsford Smith Airport, one of the worlds oldest continually operating airports.[26]
Preferred IUPAC name. In chemical nomenclature, a preferred IUPAC name (PIN) is a unique name, assigned to a chemical substance and preferred among all possible names generated by IUPAC nomenclature. The preferred IUPAC nomenclature provides a set of rules for choosing between multiple possibilities in situations where it is important to decide on a unique name. It is intended for use in legal and regulatory situations.[1] Preferred IUPAC names are applicable only for organic compounds, to which the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) has the definition as compounds which contain at least a single carbon atom but no alkali, alkaline earth or transition metals and can be named by the nomenclature of organic compounds[2] (see below). Rules for the remaining organic and inorganic compounds are still under development.[3] The concept of PINs is defined in the introductory chapter and chapter 5 of the Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013 (freely accessible),[4] which replace two former publications: the Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, 1979 (the Blue Book) and A Guide to IUPAC Nomenclature of Organic Compounds, Recommendations 1993. The full draft version of the PIN recommendations (Preferred names in the nomenclature of organic compounds, Draft of 7 October 2004) is also available.[5][6] A preferred IUPAC name or PIN is a name that is preferred among two or more IUPAC names. An IUPAC name is a systematic name that meets the recommended IUPAC rules. IUPAC names include retained names. A general IUPAC name is any IUPAC name that is not a preferred IUPAC name. A retained name is a traditional or otherwise often used name, usually a trivial name, that may be used in IUPAC nomenclature.[7] Since systematic names often are not human-readable a PIN may be a retained name. Both PINs and retained names have to be chosen (and established by IUPAC) explicitly, unlike other IUPAC names, which automatically arise from IUPAC nomenclatural rules. Thus, the PIN is sometimes the retained name (e.g., phenol and acetic acid, instead of benzenol and ethanoic acid), while in other cases, the systematic name was chosen over a very common retained name (e.g., propan-2-one, instead of acetone). A preselected name is a preferred name chosen among two or more names for parent hydrides or other parent structures that do not contain carbon (inorganic parents). Preselected names are used in the nomenclature of organic compounds as the basis for PINs for organic derivatives. They are needed for derivatives of organic compounds that do not contain carbon themselves.[7] A preselected name is not necessarily a PIN in inorganic chemical nomenclature.
BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award. The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award is an annual award, first introduced in 1978 and presented in honor of Michael Balcon, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts charity. The award was originally named the Michael Balcon Award but was renamed to its current title in 2006. The inaugural recipient of the award was the special visual effects team from the 1978 film Superman and has been presented every year except 2021 and 2022. In 2020, the award was originally awarded to Noel Clarke but was later rescinded due to numerous allegations of sexual misconduct.[1]
Water (disambiguation). Water is a chemical substance with the formula H2O. A detailed description of the physical and chemical properties of water is at properties of water. Water may also refer to:
Max Schreck. Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck[1] (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936),[2][3][4] known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film Nosferatu (1922). Max Schreck was born in Berlin-Friedenau, on 6 September 1879. Six years later, his father bought a house in the independent rural community of Friedenau, then part of the district of Teltow. He was baptized at St. Matthews Church in Berlin.[5] Schrecks father did not approve of his sons ever-growing enthusiasm for theatre. His mother provided the boy with money, which he secretly used for acting lessons, although only after the death of his father did he attend drama school. After graduating, he travelled briefly across the country with poet and dramatist Demetrius Schrutz. Schreck had engagements in Mulhouse, Meseritz, Speyer, Rudolstadt, Erfurt and Weissenfels, and his first extended stay at The Gera Theatre. Greater engagements followed, especially in Frankfurt am Main. From there, he went to Berlin for Max Reinhardt and the Munich Kammerspiele for Otto Falckenberg.
Latin. Latin (lingua Latina or Latinum[I]) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy.[1] Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. It has greatly influenced many languages, including English, having contributed many words to the English lexicon, particularly after the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest. Latin roots appear frequently in the technical vocabulary used by fields such as theology, the sciences, medicine, and law. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had evolved into standardized Classical Latin. Vulgar Latin refers to the less prestigious colloquial registers, attested in inscriptions and some literary works such as those of the comic playwrights Plautus and Terence[2] and the author Petronius. While often called a dead language,[3] Latin did not undergo language death. Between the 6th and 9th centuries, natural language change in the vernacular Latin of different regions evolved into distinct Romance languages. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Latin remained the common language of international communication, science, scholarship and academia in Europe into the early 19th century, by which time modern languages had supplanted it in common academic and political usage. Late Latin is the literary form of the language from the 3rd century AD onward. No longer spoken as a native language, Medieval Latin was used across Western and Catholic Europe during the Middle Ages as a working and literary language from the 9th century to the Renaissance, which then developed a classicizing form, called Renaissance Latin. This was the basis for Neo-Latin, which evolved during the early modern period. Latin was taught to be written and spoken at least until the late seventeenth century, when spoken skills began to erode; Contemporary Latin is generally studied to be read rather than spoken. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the official language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Latin grammar is highly fusional, with classes of inflections for case, number, person, gender, tense, mood, voice, and aspect. The Latin alphabet is directly derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets.
British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, /ˈbæftə/[2]) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual award ceremonies, BAFTA has an international programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures, and mentoring schemes in the United Kingdom and the United States. BAFTAs annual film awards ceremony, the British Academy Film Awards, has been held since 1949, while its annual television awards ceremony, the British Academy Television Awards, has been held since 1955. Their third ceremony, the British Academy Games Awards, was first presented in 2004. BAFTA started out as the British Film Academy, founded in 1947 by a group of directors: David Lean, Alexander Korda, Roger Manvell, Laurence Olivier, Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Michael Balcon, Carol Reed, and other major figures of the British film industry.[3][4] David Lean was the founding chairman.[5] The first Film Awards ceremony took place in May 1949, honouring the films The Best Years of Our Lives, Odd Man Out and The World Is Rich.
Dihydrogen monoxide parody. The dihydrogen monoxide parody is a parody that involves referring to water by its unfamiliar chemical systematic name dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO, or the chemical formula H2O) and describing some properties of water in a particularly concerning manner — such as the ability to accelerate corrosion (rust) and cause suffocation (drowning) — for the purpose of encouraging alarmism among the audience to often incite a moral panic calling for water to be banned, regulated strictly or labeled as a hazardous chemical. Occasionally, reports also reference its widespread contamination of rivers or municipal water supplies. The parody has also involved other uncommon chemical nomenclatures for water such as hydrogen hydroxide, dihydrogen oxide and hydric acid, used in many prank shows to scare people into thinking that it is a lethal or corrosive substance. The motivation behind the parody is to play into chemophobia, and to demonstrate how exaggerated analysis, information overload and a lack of scientific literacy can lead to misplaced fears. In 1983 on April Fools Day, an edition of the Durand Express, a weekly newspaper in Durand, Michigan, reported that dihydrogen oxide had been found in the citys water pipes, and warned that it was fatal if inhaled, and could produce blistering vapors.[1]
Sony Pictures Animation. Sony Pictures Animation Inc. (also referred to as Sony Animation Studios and abbreviated to SPA) is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainments Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio is based in Los Angeles, California. Most of the studios films either theatrical or streaming-service exclusive are distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Columbia Pictures, while direct-to-video releases are released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The studio has produced 30 feature films, the first being Open Season, which was released on September 29, 2006, and the most recent being Fixed, which was released on August 13, 2025; their upcoming slate of films includes Goat on February 13, 2026, Buds on March 12, 2027, and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on June 25, 2027. In 2001, Sony Pictures considered selling off its visual effects facility Sony Pictures Imageworks but after failing to find a suitable buyer, having been impressed with the CGI sequences of Stuart Little 2 and seeing the box office successes of DreamWorks Animations Shrek and Disney/Pixars Monsters, Inc., SPI was reconfigured to become an animation studio. Astro Boy, which had been in development at Sony since 1997 as a live-action film, was set to be SPIs first all-CGI film, but never made it to fruition.[4] On May 9, 2002, Sony Pictures Animation was established to develop characters, stories and movies with SPI taking over the digital production while maintaining its visual effects production.[5] Meanwhile, SPI produced two short films, the Academy Award-winning The ChubbChubbs! and Early Bloomer, as a result of testing its strengths and weaknesses in producing all-CGI animation.[6] Before the establishment of SPA, Columbia Pictures distributed a few animated films from 1959 to 2002 that were produced by outside studios, including 1001 Arabian Nights, The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, Hey There, Its Yogi Bear!, The Man Called Flintstone, Jack and the Beanstalk, American Pop, Heavy Metal, Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Eight Crazy Nights.
Kim Newman. Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer.[1] He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Brownings Dracula at the age of eleven – and alternative history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and the BSFA award. Kim Newman was born 31 July 1959 in Brixton, London, the son of Bryan Michael Newman and Julia Christen Newman, both potters.[1][2] His sister, Sasha, was born in 1961, and their mother died in 2003.[1] Newman attended a progressive kindergarten and a primary school in Brixton, and then Huish Episcopal County Primary School in Langport, Somerset.[1] In 1966 the family moved to Aller, Somerset.[1] He was educated at Dr. Morgans Grammar School for Boys in Bridgwater.[1][3] While he attended, the school merged with two others to become Haygrove Comprehensive.[1] He graduated from the University of Sussex with an English degree in 1980 and set a short story, Angel Down, Sussex (1999) in the area.[1] Newman acted in school plays and with the Bridgwater Youth Theatre.[1] Early in his career, Newman was a journalist for the magazines City Limits and Knave. Newmans first two books were the non-fiction Ghastly Beyond Belief: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of Quotations (1985), co-written with his friend Neil Gaiman, a light-hearted tribute to entertainingly bad prose in fantastic fiction and Nightmare Movies: A Critical History of the Horror Film, 1968–88 (1988) is a serious history of horror films. An expanded edition, an update of his overview of post-1968 genre cinema, was published in 2011. Nightmare Movies was followed by Wild West Movies: Or How the West Was Found, Won, Lost, Lied About, Filmed and Forgotten (1990) and Millennium Movies: End of the World Cinema (1999). Newmans non-fiction also includes the BFI Companion to Horror (1996). Newman and Stephen Jones jointly edited Horror: 100 Best Books, the 1988 horror volume in Xanadus 100 Best series and Horror: Another 100 Best Books, a 2005 sequel from Carroll & Graf, U.S. publisher of the series. The books comprise 100 essays by 100 horror writers about 100 horror books and both won the annual Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction.[4]
Chemical nomenclature. Chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). IUPAC Nomenclature ensures that each compound (and its various isomers) have only one formally accepted name known as the systematic IUPAC name. However, some compounds may have alternative names that are also accepted, known as the preferred IUPAC name which is generally taken from the common name of that compound. Preferably, the name should also represent the structure or chemistry of a compound. For example, the main constituent of white vinegar is CH3COOH, which is commonly called acetic acid and is also its recommended IUPAC name, but its formal, systematic IUPAC name is ethanoic acid. The IUPACs rules for naming organic and inorganic compounds are contained in two publications, known as the Blue Book[1][2] and the Red Book,[3] respectively. A third publication, known as the Green Book,[4] recommends the use of symbols for physical quantities (in association with the IUPAP), while a fourth, the Gold Book,[5] defines many technical terms used in chemistry. Similar compendia exist for biochemistry[6] (the White Book, in association with the IUBMB), analytical chemistry[7] (the Orange Book), macromolecular chemistry[8] (the Purple Book), and clinical chemistry[9] (the Silver Book). These color books are supplemented by specific recommendations published periodically in the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry. The main purpose of chemical nomenclature is to disambiguate the spoken or written names of chemical compounds: each name should refer to one compound. Secondarily, each compound should have only one name, although in some cases some alternative names are accepted.
Bijin-ga. Bijin-ga (美人画, beautiful person picture) is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women (bijin) in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre. Kōjien defines bijin-ga as a picture that simply emphasizes the beauty of women,[1] and the Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art defines it as depiction of the beauty of a womans appearance.[2] On the other hand, Gendai Nihon Bijin-ga Zenshū Meisaku-sen I defines bijin-ga as pictures that explore the inner beauty of women.[3] For this reason, the essence of bijin-ga cannot always be expressed only through the depiction of a bijin, a woman aligning with the beauty image. In fact, in ukiyo-e bijin-ga, it was not considered important that the picture resemble the facial features of the model, and the depiction of women in ukiyo-e bijin-ga is stylized rather than an attempt to create a realistic image;[4] For example, throughout the Edo period (1603–1867), married women had a custom of shaving their eyebrows (hikimayu), but in bijin-ga, there was a rule to draw the eyebrows for married women. Ukiyo-e itself is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that was produced in Japan from the 17th century to the 19th century. The prints were very popular amongst the Japanese merchants and the middle class of the time. From the Edo period to the Meiji period (1868–1912), the technical evolution of ukiyo-e processes increased, with the accuracy of carving and printing and the vividness of colors used developing through the introduction of new printing processes and synthetic dyes. This technical development can also be seen in ukiyo-e bijin-ga, and many painters of bijin-ga contributed to the evolution of ukiyo-e techniques and styles, with the aim of maximizing the realistic expression of a real beauty living in the artists time period.[5]
Shukuba. Shukuba (宿場) were staging post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shuku-eki (宿駅). These stage stations, or stage station towns (宿場町, shukuba-machi) developed around them, were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation.[1] They were created based on policies for the transportation of goods by horseback that were developed during the Nara and Heian periods. These stations were first established by Tokugawa Ieyasu shortly after the end of the Battle of Sekigahara. The first stations were developed along the Tōkaidō (followed by stations on the Nakasendō and other routes). In 1601, the first of the Tōkaidōs fifty-three stations were developed, stretching from Shinagawa-juku in Edo to Ōtsu-juku in Ōmi Province. Not all the post stations were built at the same time, however, as the last one was built in 1624. The lodgings in the post stations were established for use by public officials and, when there were not enough lodgings, nearby towns were also put into use. The post stations toiyaba, honjin and sub-honjin were all saved for the public officials. It was hard to receive a profit as the proprietor of these places, but the shōgun provided help in the form of various permits, rice collection and simple money lending, making it possible for the establishments to stay open. The hatago, retail stores, tea houses, etc., which were designed for general travelers, were able to build a profit. Ai no shuku were intermediate post stations; though they were unofficial resting spots, they had many of the same facilities. Generally speaking, as the Meiji period arrived and brought along the spread of rail transport, the number of travelers visiting these post stations greatly declined, as did the prosperity of the post stations.
Nosferatu. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens) is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife (Greta Schröder) of his estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) and brings the plague to their town. Nosferatu was produced by Prana Film and is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stokers 1897 novel Dracula. Various names and other details were changed from the novel, including Count Dracula being renamed Count Orlok. Although those changes are often represented as a defense against copyright infringement accusations,[3] the original German intertitles acknowledged Dracula as the source. Film historian David Kalat states in his commentary track that since the film was a low-budget film made by Germans for German audiences... setting it in Germany with German-named characters makes the story more tangible and immediate for German-speaking viewers.[4] Even with several details altered, Stokers widow sued over the adaptations copyright violation, and a court ruling ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed.[5] However, several prints of Nosferatu survived,[1] and the film came to be regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema and the horror genre.[6][7] Critic and historian Kim Newman declared it as a film that set the template for the genre of horror film.[8] In 1838, in the fictional German town of Wisburg,[1][9] Thomas Hutter is sent to Transylvania by his employer, the eccentric estate agent Herr Knock, to visit a new client, Count Orlok, who is planning on buying a house across from Hutters own residence. As Hutter studies the route on a map, Knock secretly studies a mysterious correspondence in cabalistic symbols. While embarking on his journey, Hutter stops at an inn in which the locals are terrified by the mere mention of Orloks name. In his room, he finds a book about vampires, which he initially scoffs at but puts in his baggage.
Kyonan. Kyonan (鋸南町, Kyonan-machi) is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 November 2020[update], the town had an estimated population of 7,409 in 3543 households and a population density of 160 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 45.16 square kilometres (17.44 sq mi). Kyonan is located in southwestern Bōsō Peninsula, about 60 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and 60 to 70 kilometers from central Tokyo. Facing the Tokyo Bay coast, the inland mountainous area is part of the Bōsō Hill Range. At the southern end is Nishigasaki, which juts out into the Uraga Channel. The coastline is rugged and has fishing ports such as Yasuda and Katsuyama. There are also many islands and reefs. The town extends approximately 10.75 kilometers east to west by 7.3 kilometers north and south. The coastal portion of the town is within the boundaries of the Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park. Chiba Prefecture Kyonan has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kyonan is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1804 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.4 °C.[2] Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Kyonan has declined by more than half over the past 70 years.
Count Orlok. Count Orlok (German: Graf Orlok; Romanian: Contele Orlok; Hungarian: Orlok gróf) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stokers Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive vampire descended from Belial, who leaves his homeland of Transylvania to spread the plague in the idyllic city of Wisborg in Biedermeier-period Germany, only to find death at the hands of a self-sacrificing woman. Count Orlok would reappear in remakes, played by Klaus Kinski, Doug Jones and Bill Skarsgård, as well as in comic book adaptations and sequels. He is also a character in SpongeBob SquarePants, debuting in the season 2 episode Graveyard Shift. Orloks distinct appearance, which is closer to that of vampires of Eastern European folklore than to traditional depictions of Dracula, influenced numerous later vampire designs, including those of Salems Lot, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Blade film franchise, typically in order to distance the creatures from their more conventionally humanized or charming counterparts. As Nosferatu is an unauthorized and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stokers 1897 novel Dracula, character names were changed in an attempt to avoid accusations of copyright infringement, including changing Count Draculas name to Count Orlok which, according to historian Matei Cazacu, derives from the Romanian vârcolac,[1] while David Annwn Jones links it phonetically to the Hungarian ordog. Jones also notes how orlok is an archaic form of the Dutch oorlog, meaning war.[2] Alternative spellings have included Orlock, Orlac and Orloc.[3] The character is nevertheless referred to as Nosferatu in the films publicity material and in director F. W. Murnaus annotated copy of the script.[4] The character is referred to as Dracula in some rereleases of the film.[5] In Werner Herzogs 1979 remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre, the character names revert to those used in the original novel,[6] while the 2023 and 2024 remakes maintain the names used in the original 1922 film. In the 1988 sequel to the 1979 film, Vampire in Venice, the character is referred to as Nosferatu.
Tōkaidō (road). The Tōkaidō road (東海道, Tōkaidō; [to̞ːka̠ido̞ː]), which roughly means eastern sea route, was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the de facto capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the routes name.[2] The Tōkaidō was first used in ancient times as a route from Kyoto to central Honshu before the Edo period.[3] Most of the travel was on foot, as wheeled carts were almost nonexistent, and heavy cargo was usually sent by boat. Members of the higher class, however, traveled by kago. Women were forbidden from travelling alone and had to be accompanied by men. Other restrictions were also put in place for travelers, but, while severe penalties existed for various travel regulations, most seem not to have been enforced. [citation needed] Captain Sherard Osborn, who traveled part of the road in around 1858, noted that: The social status of a person is indicated by the manner in which he travels. The daimyo and people of the upper-class travel in norimono, which are roomy enough to allow for a fair amount of ease, and are comfortably furnished. The sides can be opened or closed at will, as a protection against the weather. The length of the pole proclaims the rank of the passenger; if a nobleman, a long pole borne by five or six men at each end; a person of lower rank, a shorter pole and only four carriers. If the occupant is a prince of the royal family, the pole rests on the palms of the hands, otherwise it is borne on the shoulders. Humble individuals have to be satisfied with a kago carried by two porters, which entails a very cramped position. In steep mountain regions everyone, whatever their rank, is obliged to use a kago. The lords of the various manors are compelled by the authorities to maintain these places of refreshment for travelers; they are vastly superior to the caravanserais of the East, and relays of horses or porters are always ready at these post-houses, and must do all work at a regular fixed charge, ridiculously small according to English notions. Another and still more onerous duty falls on these establishments, and that is the responsibility of forwarding all Imperial dispatches between the two capitals, or from Yedo to any part of the Empire. Runners are consequently ever ready to execute this task.[4]
Awa Province (Chiba). Awa Province (安房国, Awa no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [aꜜ.wa (no kɯ.ɲi)][1]) was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture.[2] It lies on the tip of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Bōshū (房州) or Anshū (安州). Awa Province in Shikoku phonetically has the same name, but is written with different kanji (阿波国). Awa is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō.[2] Under the Engishiki classification system, Awa was ranked as a middle country (中国) and a far country (遠国). Awa was originally one of four districts of Kazusa Province. It was well-known to the Imperial Court in Nara period Japan for its bountiful seafoods, and is mentioned in Nara period records as having supplied fish to the Court as early as the reign of the semi-legendary Emperor Keikō. On May 2, 718 the district of Awa was elevated into status to a full province. On December 10, 741 it was merged back into Kazusa, but regained its independent status in 757. The exact location of the capital of the new province is not known, but is believed to have been somewhere within the borders of the modern city of Minamibōsō, Chiba; however, the Kokubun-ji was located in what is now the city of Tateyama, Chiba as is the Ichinomiya (Awa Shrine) of the province. During the Heian period, the province was divided into numerous shōen controlled by local samurai clans. These clans sided with Minamoto no Yoritomo in the Genpei War. The history of the province in the Kamakura period is uncertain, but it came under the control of the Yūki clan and the Uesugi clan in the early Muromachi period. However, by the Sengoku period, the Satomi clan had gained control over much of Awa, Kazusa and Shimōsa provinces. The Satomi sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara, but after being implicated in the political intrigues of Ōkubo Tadachika in 1614, were forced to surrender their domains for Kurayoshi Domain in Hōki Province, Awa became tenryō territory administered by various hatamoto aside from five small domains created at various times in the Edo period (three of which survived to the Meiji Restoration), with an additional two domains created at the start of the Meiji period. The entire province had an assessed revenue of 95,736 koku. The various domains and tenryo territories were transformed into short-lived prefectures in July 1871 by the abolition of the han system, and the entire territory of Awa Province became part of the new Chiba Prefecture on June 15, 1873.

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