1.
Clone trooper
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Clone troopers are fictional soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Clone troopers are genetically modified humans cloned from bounty hunter Jango Fett, under the command of the Jedi Order, clone troopers fight for the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, which takes its name from the troopers. At the end of the Wars, they are forced by a surgically implanted inhibitor chip to carry out Order 66, after the conversion of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, clone troopers become known as the stormtroopers and are eventually phased out in favor of recruits. During development of The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially conceived of a planet of clones that caused the Clone Wars mentioned in A New Hope, the armored troopers in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith are computer-generated images voiced by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango. Younger clones were played by Bodie Taylor and Daniel Logan, who played the younger Boba, unhelmeted clones were played by both Morrison and Taylor, who wore bodysuits to isolate their heads, and some clone troopers featured a blend of the actors features. In the animated The Clone Wars film and television series, adult clone troopers are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, George Lucas later came up with the alternate concept of an army of clone shock troops from a remote planet used by the Republic in the war that followed. Lucas intended for the trilogy to depict the evolution of the galaxys fighting forces. Clone troopers were designed to strongly suggest the evolution into the Empires stormtrooper army. Concept artist Jay Shuster said of the design, It follows the formula for a lot of the prequel trilogy. Take something pre-conceived in the trilogy and de-generate it. Initial concept models implied that the first generation armor was thicker and bulkier than stormtrooper armor, Lucas expressed a desire for individualized trooper armor from the beginning of art development for Revenge of the Sith. Several variations were largely dictated by environmental needs, but others were influenced of the 2003 Clone Wars animated series and the desert stormtroopers of A New Hope. In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, all troopers are computer-generated images and are voiced by Temuera Morrison. Taylor was filmed multiple times and composited to fill out crowded shots set in Tipoca City, Commander Cody, seen in armor without his helmet in Revenge of the Sith, was played by Morrison. He wore a blue bodysuit and only footage of his head was used for Cody, like Morrison, Taylor also played armored and unhelmeted clones in Revenge of the Sith, wearing a blue bodysuit that isolated his head. Some clone troopers were entirely digital and featured a blend of Morrisons. The armor was match-animated to the actors bodies, the clone troopers are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars and its related animated television series of the same name. Each clone was voiced individually, with all the lines for the episode recorded at one time before moving to another character
2.
Stormtrooper (Star Wars)
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A stormtrooper is a fictional soldier in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. In The Force Awakens, the upgraded stormtroopers serve the First Order, under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his commanders, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux, the order of battle of the Stormtrooper Corps is unspecified in the Star Wars universe. They are shown in collective groups of varying organizational sizes ranging from squads to legions and for some, their armor and training are modified for special operations and environments. Introduced in Star Wars, the Imperial stormtroopers serve as the army of the Galactic Empire, establishing Imperial authority and putting down any revolts. In the prequel film Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, in Star Wars, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Chancellor Palpatine orders them to slay their Jedi generals in the Great Jedi Purge. As established in Star Wars, The Force Awakens, after Palpatines death the stormtroopers continue to serve under the factions that broke apart from the Empire, with redesigned armor, they eventually serve under the leadership of the First Order. In this film, it is established that an undisclosed number of stormtroopers were conscripted as young children, given serial numbers for names. Stormtrooper FN-2187, later known as Finn, plans his escape when his resistance to this conditioning puts him in line to be reprogrammed, Star Wars Legends expanded universe media such as games and comics feature a number of specialized stormtrooper units. The Marvel-produced comics of the late 1970s and early 1980s featured Shadow Troopers, others, such as the Beach Troopers, are for comical effect. Appearing only briefly in Lego Star Wars II, The Original Trilogy, they are clad in a Speedo, in Lego Star Wars, The Complete Saga, they also wear life jackets. Shadowtroopers appear in Star Wars Jedi Knight II, Jedi Outcast wearing black armour made from a lightsaber-resistant metal called cortosis and this armour has a green synthetic gem set into the breastplate which gives the wearer Force powers. Their armour can also render them invisible, with only a small area of blue discoloration giving them away. They use this ability to lie in wait and ambush the enemy, most often the games protagonist and these troopers also possess the invisible feature and use this tactic to ambush their enemies, but only if stormtrooper officers call out for support. Disloyalty or failures were heavily punished and individualism was discouraged, command structure was sacred and this meant Imperial Stormtroopers lacked improvisation and were highly ineffective when cut off from command, but also allowed the best trained soldiers who prefer death over retreat. First Order Stormtroopers are regularly put through mental indoctrination and propaganda programs, to make sure that they remain fanatically loyal, being taken from their families at birth, these soldiers are not even given individual names for themselves but merely serial numbers, such as FN-2187. Based on conceptual drawings by Ralph McQuarrie, Liz Moore and Nick Pemberton sculpted designs for the helmet, Muir, who was also responsible for sculpting the Darth Vader costume, worked out of the Art Department at Elstree Studios. The suit was molded and initially cast in plaster, with Muir sharpening the detail at the plaster stage, the plaster casts were then remolded and cast in fiberglass to use as the tools for the vacuum forming process. The suits were produced in house by Tashy Baines, the resident vacuum former, as Shepperton Design Studios had already been used to vacuum form the helmets, the fiberglass molds for the armor were then sent to them for vacuum forming the suits
3.
Sith
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The Sith is an organization of preternaturally-gifted warriors in the fictional Star Wars universe. They are depicted as an ancient monastic and academic kraterocratic organization whose origin date back to c.6,000 BBY, the Sith Order mostly consists of those characterized by their desire to seize power through physical or supernatural force, social maneuvering and political cunning. Sith believed in conflict as a catalyst for growth, and as a tool to purge the unworthy and their culture was one based upon fear, dishonesty, and betrayal. The Sith are the primary wielders of the side of the Force. Within the space setting of Star Wars, the Sith are an affiliation of warriors who cultivate a legacy of forbidden martial arts in pursuit of individual power. Their schemes are key to the plot of the Star Wars films. Frequently opposed by their ancient forebears, the Jedi, the Sith have also been stymied at crucial junctures by internal frictions, the notion that the Sith’s cruel philosophy is ultimately self-defeating on both a personal and institutional level is a running theme within Star Wars media. The Sith philosophy lionizes greed, lust, selfishness and the attainment of power regardless of the cost to others, Sith believed in strength and also encouraged anyone with the power to do so, to rise up. Both Sith and Jedi alike may draw on the Force to achieve a variety of superhuman feats, however, in keeping with their egoistical doctrine, the Sith use these powers for their benefit alone, often to manipulate and destroy others. The Sith are key antagonists within the Star Wars universe, and are enslaved to their own self-serving desires, amoral, sadistic, vindictive, violent, the origin, agenda, abilities and philosophy of the Sith are intertwined with their relationship to the Force. With proper training, the Force may be called upon by rare individuals capable of sensing or touching it to achieve feats such as telekinesis, precognition. Not all psychological states are conducive to employing the Force, discipline is required, however, both quietude and focused, intense passion alike can be effective. The Sith originate in a group of Force-sensitive warriors who discovered efficaciousness of passion as a tool to draw on the Force many centuries prior to the events of the first Star Wars film, fully embracing this approach, they became defined by it. The warrior who would become the first Sith was apparently a member of an older martial order of Force-sensitive sapient beings in the Star Wars universe. The Jedi served as a knightly order within the Galactic Republic. The Jedi creed mirrored their method of utilizing the Force, and Jedi doctrine favored states of serenity, detachment, compassion, when certain members of the Jedi Order began to experiment with passion as an alternative, controversy emerged. The Jedi establishment saw these innovations as a threat to the ethos of the Jedi, opening members to the seduction of aggrandizement, eventually, this controversy led to a sectarian conflict in which the heterodox Jedi were defeated and exiled. In exile, the dissident Jedi was free to explore the relationship between passion and the Force and his investigations led them to conclude that the martial and ethical disciplines of the Jedi establishment were foolish and misguided
4.
Bounty hunter
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A bounty hunter is a person who captures fugitives and criminals for a monetary reward. The term bounty hunting is now not often used or liked by many in the due to its historical context. While bounty hunters may be skiptracers as well, bounty hunting is a civil matter, when undertaking arrest warrants, agents may wear bullet-resistant vests, badges and other clothing branded with BAIL ENFORCEMENT AGENT, or similar titles. Many agents also use two-way radios to communicate each other. Many agents arm themselves with firearms, or, sometimes, with lethal weapons, such as tasers, batons. In the United States, the National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents is the association representing this industry. If the fugitive eludes bail, the bondsman, not the bounty hunter, is responsible for 100% of the bail amount. This is a way of ensuring clients arrive at trial, as of 2003, bounty hunters claimed to catch 31,500 bail jumpers per year, about 90% of people who jump bail. Bounty hunters have varying levels of authority in their duties with regard to their targets depending on which states they operate in, barring restrictions applicable state by state, a bounty hunter may enter the fugitives private property without a warrant in order to execute a re-arrest. A bounty hunter cannot, however, enter the property of other than the fugitive without a warrant or the owners permission. In some states, bounty hunters do not undergo any formal training, in other states, however, they are held to varying standards of training and license. This may have been accurate at the time the decision was reached, as of 2012 Nebraska and Maine in addition to the aforementioned Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin prohibited surety bail bonds. Another three states, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, as well as the District of Columbia heavily restrict bounty hunting, some of the more advanced schools offer specialized training in the area of tactical firearms to prepare BEAs for conducting dangerous recovery operations. Illinois abolished commercial bail, so it has no bail bondsmen, Kentucky prohibits bounty hunting in any form. Only a peace officer may make an arrest on a warrant that is issued in NCIC and this is because the state does not have a system of bail bondsmen. Earlier in state history, it was allowed, louisiana requires bounty hunters to wear clothing identifying them as one. As of 2012 Maine prohibited surety bail bonds, as of 2012 Nebraska prohibited commercial bail bonds. A Nevada bounty hunter is referred to as an enforcement agent or bail enforcement solicitor
5.
Star Wars
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Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of characters a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars and it was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed-to-negative reactions, a sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars, The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards and have been successes, with a combined box office revenue of over $7.5 billion. Spin-off films include Star Wars, The Clone Wars and Rogue One, Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the Most successful film merchandising franchise. In 2015, the value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $42 billion. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and earned the rights to all subsequent Star Wars films. Walt Disney Studios owns digital distribution rights to all the Star Wars films, the events depicted in the Star Wars franchise take place in an unnamed fictional galaxy at an undetermined point in the distant past. Many species of creatures are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a single galactic government. In the prequel trilogy, this is depicted in the form of the Galactic Republic, at the end of the trilogy and throughout the original trilogy. Preceding and during the trilogy, this government is the New Republic. One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the Force and it is described in the first produced film as an energy field created by all living things surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together. While the Force can be used for good, known as the side, it also has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression. The sequel trilogy introduces the Knights of Ren, an order of practitioners of the side of the Force aligned with the First Order. The first film in the series, Star Wars, was released on May 25,1977 and this was followed by two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21,1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25,1983
6.
Lucasfilm
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LLC is an American film and television production company based in the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, California. The studio is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound and computer animation for film. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California, the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 at a valuation of $4.06 billion. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971, and incorporated as Lucasfilm Ltd. on September 12,1977, on July 8,2005, Lucasfilms marketing, online, and licensing units moved into the new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in the Presidio in San Francisco. It shares the complex with Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm had planned an expansion at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, but shelved the plan in 2012 due to opposition from neighbors. However, it plans to expand elsewhere. Skywalker Sound remains the only Lucasfilm division based at Skywalker Ranch, in January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large-scale blockbuster films and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features. She would in June 2013 and is now chairperson of Lucasfilm, on September 5,2012, Micheline Chau, who served as president and COO of Lucasfilm for two decades, announced that she was retiring. With her departure, senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions will report directly to Kathleen Kennedy, Chau was credited with keeping the Lucasfilm and Star Wars brands strong, especially through animation spin-offs and licensing initiatives. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, on October 30,2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock. Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, became president of Lucasfilm, additionally she serves as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disneys global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy serves as producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas originally announced as serving as creative consultant, the company also announced the future release of new Star Wars films, starting with Star Wars, The Force Awakens in 2015. Disney also acquired Lucasfilms portfolio of entertainment technologies, the intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. Star Wars merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014, starting with Star Wars Rebels, certain products will be co-branded with the Disney brand, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4,2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, on December 18,2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. was reincorporated as Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, and on December 21,2012, the deal was announced to be completed, in April 2013, the development arm of the LucasArts division was closed down and most of its staff was laid off. However, LucasArts remained open with a staff of fewer than ten employees so it could retain its function as a video game licensor. On May 6,2013, Disney announced a deal with Electronic Arts to produce Star Wars games for the core gaming market
7.
The Walt Disney Company
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The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue. Disney was founded on October 16,1923 – by brothers Walt Disney, the company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing. In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its studio, Walt Disney Studios. Disneys other three divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6,1991, Mickey Mouse, an early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, is a primary symbol and mascot for Disney. In early 1923, Kansas City, Missouri, animator Walt Disney created a film entitled Alices Wonderland. After the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, Disney moved to Hollywood to join his brother, Walt and Roy Disney formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio that same year. More animated films followed after Alice, in January 1926, with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brothers Studios name was changed to the Walt Disney Studio. The distributor owned Oswald, so Disney only made a few hundred dollars, Disney completed 26 Oswald shorts before losing the contract in February 1928, due to a legal loophole, when Winklers husband Charles Mintz took over their distribution company. After failing to take over the Disney Studio, Mintz hired away four of Disneys primary animators to start his own animation studio, Snappy Comedies. In 1928, to recover from the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney came up with the idea of a character named Mortimer while on a train headed to California. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse and starred in several Disney produced films, ub Iwerks refined Disneys initial design of Mickey Mouse. Disneys first sound film Steamboat Willie, a cartoon starring Mickey, was released on November 18,1928 through Pat Powers distribution company and it was the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon released, but the third to be created, behind Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho. Disney used Pat Powers Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forests Phonofilm system, Steamboat Willie premiered at B. S. Mosss Colony Theater in New York City, now The Broadway Theatre. Disneys Plane Crazy and The Galloping Gaucho were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks, Disney continued to produce cartoons with Mickey Mouse and other characters, and began the Silly Symphonies series with Columbia Pictures signing on as Symphonies distributor in August 1929
8.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
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LLC is an American film and television production company based in the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, California. The studio is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound and computer animation for film. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California, the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 at a valuation of $4.06 billion. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971, and incorporated as Lucasfilm Ltd. on September 12,1977, on July 8,2005, Lucasfilms marketing, online, and licensing units moved into the new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in the Presidio in San Francisco. It shares the complex with Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm had planned an expansion at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, but shelved the plan in 2012 due to opposition from neighbors. However, it plans to expand elsewhere. Skywalker Sound remains the only Lucasfilm division based at Skywalker Ranch, in January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large-scale blockbuster films and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features. She would in June 2013 and is now chairperson of Lucasfilm, on September 5,2012, Micheline Chau, who served as president and COO of Lucasfilm for two decades, announced that she was retiring. With her departure, senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions will report directly to Kathleen Kennedy, Chau was credited with keeping the Lucasfilm and Star Wars brands strong, especially through animation spin-offs and licensing initiatives. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, on October 30,2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock. Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, became president of Lucasfilm, additionally she serves as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disneys global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy serves as producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas originally announced as serving as creative consultant, the company also announced the future release of new Star Wars films, starting with Star Wars, The Force Awakens in 2015. Disney also acquired Lucasfilms portfolio of entertainment technologies, the intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. Star Wars merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014, starting with Star Wars Rebels, certain products will be co-branded with the Disney brand, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4,2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, on December 18,2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. was reincorporated as Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, and on December 21,2012, the deal was announced to be completed, in April 2013, the development arm of the LucasArts division was closed down and most of its staff was laid off. However, LucasArts remained open with a staff of fewer than ten employees so it could retain its function as a video game licensor. On May 6,2013, Disney announced a deal with Electronic Arts to produce Star Wars games for the core gaming market
9.
Fan Expo Canada
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Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995 by Hobby Star Marketing Inc and it includes distinctly branded sections, including GX and SFX, and formerly CNAnime. It is an event typically held the weekend before Labour Day during the summer at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and is now owned by Informa. The convention is the largest of its kind in Canada and among the largest in world, in 2013, Fan Expo Canadas parent company Hobby Star Marketing was acquired by Informa Canada Inc, which now organizes the event. Traditional events include screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, like most comic book conventions, Fan Expo Canada features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as studios and TV networks, as well as comic book dealers. Fan Expo Canada also includes a large area, as well as an Artists Alley where comic book artists can sign autographs. In recent years, Fan Expo Canada has become one of the few events that provides selling exclusive products to attendees, the vast majority of the exclusives offered at Fan Expo Canada are licensed properties of popular movie, comic book and related characters. Two longtime Fan Expo attendees were married in front of a audience of thousands of fans on the afternoon of August 24. There was also a proposal of marriage took place between two attendees on the afternoon of August 26. The engaged couple credited Fan Expo Canada’s Nerd Speed Dating event from the year in finding one another. Some attractions at Fan Expo Canada have become standard from year to year due to their continued popularity, some of these attractions include the aforementioned Speed Dating, Steampunk activities, Web series presentations, Star Wars sessions provided by the 501st Legion, Lolita fashion and others. Capacity attendance at Fan Expo Canada in 2005 has raised crowding issues, concerns have been that the event is possibly too big for the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, even though they have moved to the largest halls in the facility. The 2010 event left thousands of standing outside as capacity became an issue. Eventually they announced that they would be staying open an hour to try to accommodate the lines. Due to additional space, more staff, a new ticketing system, expanded hours. In recent years, HSM has cleaned up their organization and become more respectful to attendees of their fan-based events, public relations employees at Hobby Star also contacted as many of the fans who had expressed their dissatisfaction, gathering feedback on the convention and expressing personal apologies
10.
Yahoo! GeoCities
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GeoCities is a web hosting service, currently available only in Japan. It was founded in November 1994 by David Bohnett and John Rezner, on January 28,1999, GeoCities was acquired by Yahoo. at that time it was the third-most visited website on the World Wide Web. In its original form, site users selected a city in which to place their web pages, shortly after its acquisition by Yahoo. this practice was abandoned in favor of using the Yahoo. member names in the URLs. In April 2009, approximately ten years after Yahoo. bought GeoCities, there were at least 38 million user-built pages on GeoCities before it was shut down. The GeoCities Japan version of the service is still available, in 1996, GeoCities had 29 neighborhoods, which had groupings of content created by the homesteaders. By 1999, GeoCities had additional neighborhoods and refocused existing neighborhoods, in 1999, GeoCities had an online commercial presence with GeoCities Marketplace. It included the GeoStore, which sold GeoCities-branded merchandise, users cashed in GeoPoints in the store. Prior to the takeover by Yahoo, GeoCities had a Japanese subsidiary, GeoCities Japan. GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in the Nihonbashi area of Chūō, as of February 10,2016, GeoCities Japan is still online, with no signs of upcoming closure. Its member sites are accessible, and it is still accepting new account registrations. The company created its own Web directory, organized thematically in six neighborhoods, the neighborhoods included Colosseum, Hollywood, RodeoDrive, SunsetStrip, WallStreet, and WestHollywood. In mid-1995, the decided to offer users the ability to develop free home pages within those neighborhoods. During the sign-up process, new members chose to which neighborhood they wanted to belong and this neighborhood became part of the members Web address along with a sequentially assigned street address number to make the URL unique. Chat, bulletin boards, and other elements of community were added soon after, on July 5,1995 GeoCities added additional cities, including CapitolHill, Paris, SiliconValley, and Tokyo. By December 1995, the company, which now had a total of 14 neighborhoods, was signing up thousands of Homesteaders a day and getting over six million monthly page views. The company decided to focus on building membership and community, and on December 15,1995, at that point GeoCities was headquartered at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. By December 1996 it was headquartered on the floor of 1918 Main Street in Santa Monica. Over time, many companies, including Yahoo, invested extensively in GeoCities and, with the introduction of paid premium services, the site continued to grow
11.
Death Star
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The Death Star refers to any of several fictional mobile space stations and galactic superweapons appearing in the Star Wars science-fiction franchise created by George Lucas. The first Death Star was stated to be over 100 km in diameter with a volume of 7,240,000 cubic kilometers and it was crewed by an estimated 1.7 million military personnel and 400,000 droids. Its superweapon delivered enough energies on an equivalent to all the energy released by the Sun in an entire week. The second Death Star was significantly larger and technologically advanced than its predecessor. Both versions of these dwarf planet-sized fortresses were designed for power projection capabilities. George Lucas gave the task of designing a Death Star to concept artist and spaceship modeler Colin Cantwell. As it would have taken a week of work just to fill and sand and refill this depression, Lucas liked the idea, and the Death Star model was created by John Stears. The buzzing sound counting down to the Death Star firing its superlaser comes from the Flash Gordon serials, portraying an incomplete yet powerful space station posed a problem for Industrial Light & Magics modelmakers for Return of the Jedi. Only the front side of the 137-centimeter model was completed, both Death Stars were depicted by a combination of complete and sectional models and matte paintings. The Death Star explosions featured in the edition of A New Hope and in Return of the Jedi are rendered with a Praxis effect. These are depictions of the Death Star and other weapons of mass destruction within the Star Wars canon. The original Death Stars completed form appears in Star Wars, the film opens with Princess Leia transporting the stations schematics to the Rebel Alliance to aid them in destroying the Death Star. Later, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are pulled aboard the station by a tractor beam, as they make their escape, Obi-Wan dies fighting Darth Vader, enabling the others to flee the station. Later, Luke returns as part of a force to attack its only weak point. The Death Star plans are a central plot-point in the 2016 film Rogue One, the anthology film Rogue One, focuses on a band of Rebels stealing the plans for the first Death Star prior to the events of A New Hope. The Death Star project was overseen by Orson Krennic, the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military, Grand Moff Tarkin assumes control over the Death Star while Krennic investigates security breaches in the design project. It is subsequently revealed that Galen discreetly sabotaged the design by building a vulnerability into the reactor and this is the same vulnerability that Luke Skywalker takes advantage of during the events of A New Hope. After the Death Star plans are stolen from the Scarif vault Tarkin fires the Death Star laser on the base killing Krennic as well as Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor
12.
Shriners
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Shriners International, also commonly known as The Shriners, is a society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA. It is an appendant body to Freemasonry, Shriners International company describes itself as a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. There are approximately 350,000 members from 195 temples in the U. S. Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the Republic of Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Australia. The organization is best known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children that it administers, the organization was previously known as Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine or Shriners North America. The name was changed in 2010 across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, in 1870, there were several thousand Masons in Manhattan, many of whom lunched at the Knickerbocker Cottage at a special table on the second floor. There, the idea of a new fraternity for Masons stressing fun, walter M. Fleming, M. D. and William J. Florence took the idea seriously enough to act upon it. Florence, an actor, while on tour in Marseille, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of a staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society, Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming, Fleming took the ideas supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Fleming created the ritual, emblem and costumes, Florence and Fleming were initiated August 13,1870, and initiated 11 other men on June 16,1871. The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples, the first Temple established was Mecca Temple, established at the New York City Masonic Hall on September 26,1872. In 1875, there were only 43 Shriners in the organization, in an effort to spur membership, at the June 6,1876 meeting of Mecca Temple, the Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America was created. Fleming was elected the first Imperial Potentate, after some other reworking, by 1878 there were 425 members in 13 temples in eight states, and by 1888, there were 7,210 members in 48 temples in the United States and Canada. By the Imperial Session held in Washington, D. C. in 1900, by 1938 there were about 340,000 members in the United States. That year Life published photographs of its rites for the first time, despite its Orientalist theme, the Shrine is a mens fraternity, not connected to either Arab culture or Islam. Its only religious requirement is indirect, all Shriners must be Masons, until 2000, before being eligible for membership in the Shrine, a Mason had to complete either the Scottish Rite or York Rite systems, but now any Master Mason can join. While there are plenty of activities for Shriners and their wives, there are two organizations tied to the Shrine that are for only, The Ladies Oriental Shrine
13.
Rose Parade
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The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Parade presented by Honda, is part of Americas New Year Celebration held in Pasadena, California each year on New Years Day. The parade includes flower-covered floats, marching bands, and equestrian units and is followed by the Rose Bowl college football game and it is produced by the nonprofit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. It is seen by millions more on television worldwide in more than 100 international territories and countries, the Rose Bowl is a college football game that was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of staging the parade. Since 2011, the parade has been sponsored by Honda, accordingly, the company has the parades first float, which like all floats, follows the parades theme. The 2017 parade featured 44 floats,19 equestrian units with approximately 400 horses, the Grand Marshals of the parade were Greg Louganis, Janet Evans and Allyson Felix. Members of Pasadenas Valley Hunt Club first staged the parade in 1890, since then the parade has been held in Pasadena every New Years Day, except when January 1 falls on a Sunday. In that case, it is held on the subsequent Monday and this exception was instituted in 1893, as organizers did not wish to disturb horses hitched outside Sunday church services. Many of the members of the Valley Hunt Club were former residents of the American East and Midwest and they wished to showcase their new California homes mild winter weather. At a club meeting, Professor Charles F, holder announced, In New York, people are buried in the snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear, lets hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise. So the club organized horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers, followed by foot races, polo matches, upon seeing the scores of flowers on display, the professor decided to suggest the name Tournament of Roses. Over the next few founding years, marching bands and motorized floats were added, by 1895, the event was too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle, hence the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association was formed. Activities soon included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations, and an odd novelty race between a camel and an elephant, soon reviewing stands were built along the parade route and newspapers in Eastern Seaboard cities started to take notice of the event. Tournament House is the given the former home where the organization is headquartered. The first associated football game was played on January 1,1902, originally titled the Tournament East-West football game, it is considered to be the first Rose Bowl. The next game was not played until New Years Day 1916, the game derives its modern name from Rose Bowl Stadium, which was built for the 1923 game. In 2002 and 2006, the Granddaddy of em all was not held the day as the parade. Not all fans were pleased with the change, some thought the atmosphere, once the BCS title game was separated from the host bowl, it no longer affected the date of the Rose Bowl Game
14.
Pasadena, California
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Pasadena /ˌpæsəˈdiːnə/ is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of 2013, the population of Pasadena was 139,731. Pasadena is the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County, Pasadena was incorporated on June 19,1886, becoming one of the first cities be incorporated in what is now Los Angeles County, the only one being incorporated earlier being its namesake. It is one of the cultural centers of the San Gabriel Valley. The city is known for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game, the original inhabitants of Pasadena and surrounding areas were members of the Native American Hahamog-na tribe, a branch of the Tongva Nation. They spoke the Tongva language and had lived in the Los Angeles Basin for thousands of years, Tongva dwellings lined the Arroyo Seco in present day Pasadena and south to where it joins the Los Angeles River and along other natural waterways in the city. The native people lived in thatched, dome-shape lodges and they lived on a diet of acorn meal, seeds and herbs, venison, and other small animals. They traded for fish with the coastal Tongva. They made cooking vessels from steatite soapstone from Catalina Island, the trail has been in continuous use for thousands of years. An arm of the trail is still in use in what is now known as Salvia Canyon. When the Spanish occupied the Los Angeles Basin they built the San Gabriel Mission and renamed the local Tongva people Gabrielino Indians, today, several bands of Tongva people live in the Los Angeles area. The Rancho comprised the lands of todays communities of Pasadena, Altadena, before the annexation of California in 1848, the last of the Mexican owners was Manuel Garfias who retained title to the property after statehood in 1850. Garfias sold sections of the property to the first Anglo settlers to come into the area, Dr. Benjamin Eaton, the father of Fred Eaton, much of the property was purchased by Benjamin Wilson, who established his Lake Vineyard property in the vicinity. Wilson, known as Don Benito to the local Indians, also owned the Rancho Jurupa and was mayor of Los Angeles and he was the grandfather of WWII General George S. Patton, Jr. and the namesake of Mount Wilson. Berry was an asthmatic and claimed that he had his best three nights sleep at Rancho San Pascual, to keep the find a secret, Berry code-named the area Muscat after the grape that Wilson grew. To raise funds to bring the company of people to San Pascual, Berry formed the Southern California Orange and Citrus Growers Association and sold stock in it. The newcomers were able to purchase a portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31,1874. As a gesture of good will, Wilson added 2,000 acres of then-useless highland property, at the time, the Indiana Colony was a narrow strip of land between the Arroyo Seco and Fair Oaks Avenue
15.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
16.
George Lucas
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George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as the founder of Lucasfilm and he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm, before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Upon graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with fellow filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas wrote and directed THX1138, based on his earlier student short Electronic Labyrinth, THX1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was the film, American Graffiti, inspired by his teen years in early 1960s Modesto, California, the film was critically and commercially successful, and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Following the first Star Wars film, Lucas produced and co-wrote the following installments in the trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, along with Steven Spielberg, Lucas co-created and wrote the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade. Lucas also produced and/or wrote a variety of films through Lucasfilm in the 1980s and 1990s, Lucas also returned to directing with the Star Wars prequel trilogy, consisting of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. He later collaborated on the story for the Indiana Jones sequel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, five of Lucass seven features are among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Lucas is one of the American film industrys most financially successful filmmakers, Lucas is considered a significant figure in the New Hollywood era. Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, California, the son of Dorothy Ellinore Lucas and George Walton Lucas and he is of German, Swiss-German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch and French descent. Growing up, Lucas had a passion for cars and motor racing, on June 12,1962, while driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina, another driver broadsided him, flipping over his car, nearly killing him, causing him to lose interest in racing as a career. He attended Modesto Junior College, where he studied anthropology, sociology and he also began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming car races. At this time, Lucas and his friend John Plummer became interested in Canyon Cinema, screenings of underground, avant-garde 16 mm filmmakers like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, and Bruce Conner. Lucas and Plummer also saw classic European films of the time, including Jean-Luc Godards Breathless, François Truffauts Jules et Jim, thats when George really started exploring, Plummer said. Through his interest in racing, Lucas met renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler, another race enthusiast. Wexler, later to work with Lucas on several occasions, was impressed by Lucas talent, George had a very good eye, and he thought visually, he recalled. Lucas then transferred to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, USC was one of the earliest universities to have a school devoted to motion picture film. During the years at USC, Lucas shared a room with Randal Kleiser. Along with classmates such as Walter Murch, Hal Barwood, and John Milius and he also became good friends with fellow acclaimed student filmmaker and future Indiana Jones collaborator, Steven Spielberg
17.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
18.
Timothy Zahn
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Timothy Zahn is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known for the Thrawn series of Star Wars novels, Zahns novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo Award. At the time, Zahn was writing what would become known as the Thrawn trilogy, in turn, West End released sourcebooks for Zahns three novels from 1992-1994. Zahn also wrote the young adult Dragonback series and the popular Conquerors trilogy
19.
Survivor's Quest
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Survivors Quest is a novel set in the Star Wars expanded universe, published by Del Rey on February 1,2004. Written by Timothy Zahn, it is a sequel to Zahns 1998 Star Wars novel Vision of the Future, Survivors Quest is set in 22 ABY, three years after the events of Vision of the Future and three years before those of Vector Prime. Karrdes people had earlier picked up an urgent transmission, addressed to Luke, before the message could be passed on, however, it had been stolen by a member of Karrdes own organisation, one Dean Jinzler. Fearing that the message might be connected with the unknown menace Parck. There, they learn that the message had in fact come from Chiss Aristocra Chaformbintrano, the Chiss have found the remains of the pioneering Jedi expedition, Outbound Flight Project, which had been mercilessly destroyed by Grand Admiral Thrawn many years previous. As they voyage on the Chaf Envoy deeper into Chiss space, into a cluster of stars known as the Redoubt, Luke. Occurrences of sabotage and theft only serve to deepen their suspicions, on top of that, Mara begins to feel torn between her duty to the New Republic and her troubled respect for the Empire. The expedition reaches its destination, the remains of the Dreadnaughts that made up the Outbound Flight project, not only are the ships fairly intact, but Mara can sense life. There are survivors, possibly hundreds of them, suddenly, everything comes together in a whirlwind of events. Luke, Mara, the Chiss, the Imperials, and the survivors now must work together against the Vagaari if any of them are to come out alive. They manage to defeat the Vagaari, who in turn sabotage the Chaf Envoy, the Vagaari then head back through the Redoubt to attack the Chiss command center, leaving Luke, Mara, and the others practically stranded. Following the welcome discovery of a Delta-Twelve Skysprite, however, Luke and they catch up to it and make their way aboard. They find out that the main Vagaari colony ship is actually a starfighter carrier that is beginning to overwhelm Chiss defenses, using a fake signal, Luke and Mara trick the Vagaari into believing the Dreadnaught to be a friendly ship. However, Luke and Mara use the Dreadnaught under their control after a showdown with a droideka, the survivors are entrusted into the care of the Empire of the Hand, and Luke and Mara finally have time to settle down and enjoy their marriage. Lucasfilm and Del Rey planned Survivors Quest as a Luke/Mara parallel to Tatooine Ghost, during the outline process, Zahn got the idea to connect the novel to Outbound Flight, another Star Wars novel he was writing about a doomed space expedition. Fools Bargain is a novella written by Zahn in conjunction with Survivors Quest. Set before the events of that novel, it tells the backstory of a 501st Legion stormtrooper, the novella was first released electronically on February 3,2004, and later published in the paperback edition of Survivors Quest on December 28,2004. Survivors Quest on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki Timothy Zahn, Survivors Questions, archived from the original on June 9,2008
20.
Jedi
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The Jedi /ˈdʒɛˌdaɪ/ are the main protagonists in the Star Wars universe. They are depicted as an ancient monastic and academic meritocratic organization whose origin dates back to c.25,000 BBY. The Jedi Order mostly consists of polymaths, teachers, philosophers, scientists, engineers, physicians, diplomats and warriors, by serving others, the Jedi give of themselves through acts of charity, citizenship, and volunteerism. A Jedis ideology and strict way of life as a challenge to live up to is a recurring theme in the Star Wars universe. Their traditional weapon is the lightsaber, a device which generates a blade-like plasma controlled by a crystal, the fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement, Jediism. As depicted in the canon, the Jedi study and utilize the Force, in order to help, like their counterparts, the Sith, their main weapon is the lightsaber. By training the mind and the body the Jedi seek to improve themselves by gaining unfettered access to the Force while also seeking to improve those individuals, the film Rogue One suggests that it relates to the planet Jedha, source of the kyber crystals used in lightsabers. George Lucas acknowledged Jedi concepts have been inspired by many sources, the work of the mythologist Joseph Campbell, especially his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, directly influenced Lucas, and was what drove him to create the modern myth of Star Wars. The Lost Twenty was the given to a group of Jedi Masters—numbering twenty in total—who left the Jedi Order throughout its history. The first twelve of these ‘Lost Twenty’ left the Jedi Order before the Third Great Schism, these twelve Masters later became Dark Jedi who eventually founded the first Sith Empire. In the years preceding the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Dooku left the Jedi Order as a result of differences with his fellow Jedi, to commemorate these former Jedi, memorial statue busts were displayed at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The prequel films depict the Jedi in their prime, dealing with the presence of the dark side of the Force and determined to fight their mortal enemies. Once corrupted, Vader helps Palpatine hunt down and destroy all of the Jedi, leaving very few left, such as Jedi Masters Yoda. The first person to be issued this order was Clone Commander Cody, Darth Vader led Operation, Knightfall against the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion while the rest of the clone army around the galaxy carried out Order 66. Palpatine convinced the people of the Republic that Jedi were corrupted warmongers responsible for prolonging the Clone Wars, Darth Vader continued to hunt and execute surviving Jedi by the thousands during the first 10 years of the Empires history. The Jedi are first introduced in the 1977 motion picture Star Wars as an order of monks who serve as the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. Obi-Wan Kenobi explains that the Galactic Empire had all but exterminated the Jedi some twenty years before the events of the film, Darth Vader is also established as the Jedis main enemy. By the end of the film, Luke is on the path to becoming a Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, ends with Luke redeeming Vader and helping to destroy the Empire, thus fulfilling his destiny as a Jedi
21.
Hasbro
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/ˈhæzbroʊ/ is an American multinational toy and board game company. Hasbro is the third largest toy maker in the world with revenues of approximately $4.45 billion, Hasbro acquired the trademarks and products of Kenner, Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, among others. Among its toy and game products are the iconic Monopoly board game, Joe figurine, Furby electronic stuffed animal, Transformers mechanical toys and My Little Pony. The Hasbro brand also spawned TV shows, such as Family Game Night on the Discovery Family network, the corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The majority of its products are manufactured in East Asia, in 1923, three brothers named Herman, Hillel and Henry Hassenfeld founded Hassenfeld Brothers, a company selling textile remnants, in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the next two decades, the company expanded to produce pencil cases and school supplies, in 1926, Hassenfeld Brothers was incorporated, with Hillel leaving for another textile business while Henry took charge of the corporation. With cost of rising and their pencil supplier making pencil cases. In the 1940s, Hassenfeld Brothers produced doctor and nurse kits, its first toys, with Hillels death in 1943, Henry Hassenfeld became CEO while his son, Merrill, became president. The company entered the fields during World War II to support its toy line. Hassenfeld Brothers first toy hit was Mr. Potato Head, which the company purchased from George Lerner in 1952, the toy was a smash success. In 1954, the became a Disney major licensee. In 1960, Henry died and Merrill took over the parent company and his older brother Harold ran the pencil-making business, Hassenfeld Brothers expanded to Canada with Hassenfeld Brothers Ltd. in 1961. The company was approached in 1963 to license a toy based on The Lieutenant, instead, in 1964, Hassenfeld Brothers produced the G. I. Joe toy, which they termed an action figure in order to market the toy to boys who wouldnt want to play with dolls, Joe accounted for two-thirds of Hassenfelds sales. Having previously sold toys under the Hasbro trade name, the company shortened its name to Hasbro Industries in 1968, with the unpopular Vietnam War at its height in 1969, Hasbro redesigned GI Joe to be less militaristic and more adventure oriented. Its promotional efforts included the catchphrase Boy Oh Boy and its A Hasbro Toy. in television commercials and print ads. Also in 1969 Hasbro bought Burt Claster Enterprises, which produced Romper Room and had just begun a Romper Room toy line, a month-long teamsters strike and far eastern supplier troubles caused the company to have a $1 million loss for the year. By 1975, the company had ended the nursery chain, Hasbro also entered the cookware field with the Galloping Gourmet line based on a contemporary television cooking show
22.
Dorling Kindersley
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Dorling Kindersley is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%, DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi and Toronto. Dorling Kindersley was founded as a company by Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley in London in 1974. DK Inc. began publishing in the United States in 1991, in 1999 it overestimated the market for Star Wars books and was left with millions of unsold copies, resulting in crippling debt. As a direct result, DK was taken over the year by the Pearson PLC media company and made part of Penguin Group. DK has continued to sell Star Wars books after the takeover, in 2013 Bertelsmann and Pearson Completed a merger to form Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann owns 53% and Pearson 47% of the company, penguins trade publishing activity continued to include DK under the newly formed Penguin Random House. Dorling Kindersley publishes a range of titles internationally for adults and children, most of the companys books are produced by teams of editors and designers who work with freelance writers and illustrators. Some are endorsed by imprimaturs, well-known and respected such as the British Medical Association, the Royal Horticultural Society. Some DK books apparently produced by celebrity authors such as Carol Vorderman are actually ghostwritten by the companys own writers and editors, BradyGames is a publishing company in the United States operating as a DK imprint, which specializes in video game strategy guides, covering multiple video game platforms. It published their first strategy guide in November 1993 as a division of MacMillan Computer Publishing, in 1998, Simon & Schuster divested BradyGames as part of its educational division to Pearson PLC. BradyGames has grown to publish roughly 90-100 guides per year, on 1 June 2015, BradyGames merged with Prima Games, and future strategy guides made by the publishing company will be published under the Prima Games label. During the 1990s, the company published educational videos and a range of educational CD-ROMs under the brand DK Multimedia. During the late 1990s CD-ROMs were rebranded as DK Interactive Learning to reflect an emphasis toward the educational sector. The DK Online section of the business transferred into development work on the anglicised version of the Pearson Education KnowledgeBox product. In December 2010 DK opened an app store, selling digital versions of some of its books as well as products from other publishers, DK commenced publishing books aimed at teens with the release of Heads Up Psychology in May 2014 and further titles following every two to three months. Infographics, sidebars, and photos both create a visual layout and underscore the concepts discussed
23.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005 video game)
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Star Wars, Battlefront II is a 2005 first- and third-person shooter video game based on the Star Wars film franchise. Developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts it is a sequel to 2004s Star Wars, Battlefront and the second game in the Battlefront series. The game was released in PAL regions on October 31,2005, on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox platforms and it was later updated to be backwards compatible for the Xbox 360. It was also released on the PlayStation Store on October 20,2009, the PSP version was developed by Savage Entertainment. The game features new vehicles, characters, game mechanics, maps, gameplay additions over Battlefront include the use of Jedi, additional game modes such as hero assault, and objective-based space battles. Battlefront II was well received, with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions scoring in the mid 80s at aggregators GameRankings, the PC version scored slightly lower at both sites, scoring a 76. 60% at GameRankings and 78 at Metacritic. The PSP version was the worst received, scoring 70. 93% at GameRankings and 69 at Metacritic, reviewers generally praised the narrative-based story, however, some felt that the upgrades from the original were not enough to merit the price. Like the original game, it was a commercial success, GameSpy Technology scheduled a shut-down across all titles using the service for May 31,2014, which included Star Wars, Battlefront II for PC, PS2, and Xbox. Electronic Arts announced it would extend support for Battlefront II until June 30,2014, the extended support ended on July 25,2014, taking all GameSpy online video games across all platforms offline. The Windows version was added to a list of supported games on GameRanger on May 31,2014, Battlefront II is fundamentally similar to its predecessor, albeit with the addition of new gameplay mechanics. The general objective in most missions is to eliminate the enemy faction, players have the ability to choose between six classes during gameplay. Four class types are common to all factions, infantry, heavy weapon, in addition to the four standard classes, each faction has two unique classes which unlock by scoring a predetermined number of points. Battlefront II also features heroes - a special class that allows the player to control characters from the Star Wars universe. Heroes serve as a bonus to players, and are unlocked by meeting certain criteria, differences between Battlefront II and its predecessor include the ability to sprint and the ability to roll forwards. In addition to utilizing heroes in conquest matches, the game featured a hero assault mode in which heroes were pitted against villains in a team deathmatch format. There are a total of 18 missions, four of which are optional space missions, the PSP version of Battlefront II does not feature the Rise of the Empire campaign. Instead it features three single-player Challenge modes, Imperial Enforcer, Rogue Assassin, and Rebel Raider, in Imperial Enforcer the player is sent to eliminate indigenous species on several given planets, such as Gungans on Naboo and Ewoks on Endor. Rogue Assassin requires the player to eliminate all Imperial officers on a given sets of planets, bonus points are awarded for any other kills
24.
The Empire Strikes Back
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The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay, with George Lucas writing the films story, the film is set three years after Star Wars. The Galactic Empire, under the leadership of the villainous Darth Vader and the Emperor, is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker, while Vader chases a small band of Lukes friends—Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, and others—across the galaxy, Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda. When Vader captures Lukes friends, Luke must decide whether to complete his training and become a full Jedi Knight or to confront Vader, following a difficult production, The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21,1980. The film ranks #3 on Empires 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time and it became the highest-grossing film of 1980 and, to date, has earned more than $538 million worldwide from its original run and several re-releases. When adjusted for inflation, it is the sequel of all time. The film was followed by a sequel, titled Return of the Jedi, in 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance has been driven from their base on Yavin IV by the Galactic Empire. The Rebels, led by Princess Leia, have set up their new base on the ice planet Hoth, the Imperial fleet, led by Darth Vader, continues to hunt for the Rebels’ new base by dispatching probe droids across the galaxy. While investigating a meteor strike, Luke Skywalker is injured and captured by a wampa. He manages to escape from its cave with his lightsaber, the ghost of his late mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, instructs him to go to the Dagobah system to train under Jedi Master Yoda. He is found by Han Solo, who kills his tauntaun, Han and Luke make it through the night and are rescued by a search party. On patrol, Han and Chewbacca discover the meteor Luke had planned to investigate is actually a probe droid, the Empire launches a large-scale attack, using AT-AT Walkers to capture the base. Despite heavy resistance, the Walkers destroy the shield generator. Han and Leia escape on the Millennium Falcon with C-3PO and Chewbacca and they hide in an asteroid field, where Han and Leia grow closer, and eventually, kiss. Vader summons bounty hunters, including the notorious Boba Fett, to assist in finding the Falcon, Luke, meanwhile, escapes with R2-D2 in his X-wing fighter and crash-lands on the swamp planet Dagobah. He meets a creature who is revealed to be Yoda, after conferring with Obi-Wans spirit. Yoda trains Luke as a Jedi and raises his sunken ship from the swamp with the power of the Force, after evading the Empire, Han sets a course for Cloud City, a floating colony in the skies of the gas giant planet Bespin
25.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
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The film is set during the three-year time period between the films Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The Clone Wars served as an introduction to the series of the same name. The film received reviews from critics, and grossed $68.3 million worldwide against an $8.5 million budget. During the Clone Wars, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a small Republic clone army against the Separatist droid army on the planet Christophsis. Awaiting reinforcements, the two Jedi greet a shuttle carrying the young Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who insists that she has been assigned by Jedi Master Yoda to serve as Anakins Padawan. Anakin begrudgingly accepts Ahsokas apprenticeship, and the two succeed in deactivating the Separatists energy field while Obi-Wan stalls the droid army commander, allowing a Republic victory, following the battle, Yoda arrives and informs the Jedi that crime lord Jabba the Hutts son Rotta has been kidnapped. Anakin and Ahsoka are tasked with retrieving the Huttlet, while Obi-Wan is sent to Tatooine to negotiate with Jabba over a treaty between the Hutts and the Republic. The Jedi manage to escape the trap along with R2-D2 and hijack a transport with which they travel to Tatooine. Obi-Wan, alerted by Anakin, arrives on Teth and defeats Ventress in a lightsaber duel, meanwhile, Senator Padmé Amidala, Anakins secret wife, learns of Anakins mission and fears for his safety. She decides to contact Jabbas uncle Ziro in Coruscant, the Hutt refuses to cooperate, apparently believing that it is the Jedi who are responsible for the situation. Padmé is discovered and detained, but a call by C-3PO enables her to summon a squadron of clone troopers. Upon their arrival on Tatooine, Anakin and Ahsoka are shot down by MagnaGuards, Anakin devises a ruse to confront Dooku while carrying a decoy Rotta, leaving Ahsoka to take the real Rotta to Jabbas palace. While Anakin fights off Dooku, Ahsoka is ambushed by the MagnaGuards, the two deliver Rotta safely to Jabba, who nonetheless orders the Jedis execution for their supposed attempt to kidnap him. However, Padmé contacts Jabba in time and reveals Ziro and the Separatists responsibility for the kidnapping, acknowledging the Jedis heroism and allowing the Republic to have Ziro punished for his betrayal, Jabba agrees to the Republic treaty while Anakin and Ahsoka are retrieved by Obi-Wan and Yoda. George Lucas had the idea for a film after viewing some of the footage of the early episodes on the big screen. Those first few episodes, originally planned for release on television, were woven together to form the theatrical release. The story of the kidnapped Hutt was inspired by the Sonny Chiba samurai film titled Shogun’s Shadow, Lucas described the film was almost an afterthought. Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, said of the decision, Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk software to animate both the film and the series using the Maya 3D modeling program to create highly detailed worlds, characters and creatures
26.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)
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The series debuted on the US version of Cartoon Network on October 3,2008. Each episode has a time of 22 minutes to fill a half-hour time slot. In 2007, Star Wars creator George Lucas stated there will be at least 100 episodes produced, dave Filoni is the supervising director of the series. There is also a comic, depicting story-snippets between the single episodes. The first trailer for the series was released on the official Star Wars website on May 8,2007, the series was launched with an animated feature film, which was released in theaters on August 15,2008. Season 2 ended on April 30,2010, Season 3 premiered on September 17,2010, with the complete second season releasing on Blu-ray Disc and DVD October 26,2010. Season 4 premiered on September 16,2011 with the Complete Season 3 on Blu-ray Disc, the fourth season was released for Blu-ray Disc and DVD release on October 23,2012. Season 5 premiered on September 29,2012 with a new slot of 9,30 A. M. Season 5 and the series in the Collectors Edition Box set were both released in October 15,2013. On March 11,2013, Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars, super RTL, a German TV network, began airing the episodes on February 15,2014. The sixth-season episodes were available in the U. S. for streaming on Netflix, along with the entirety of the series. A project known as The Clone Wars Legacy adapted unproduced story arcs into other formats beginning in August 2014. After viewing some of the footage of the early episodes on a big screen. Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, and Samuel L. Jackson reprised their roles as Count Dooku, C-3PO, Season 1 shows a wide variety of battles and adventures with Grievous and Dooku as the lead antagonists. Many of the episodes are stand-alone, but a common thread throughout the season is that the Republic, in Season 2, the Sith resort to hiring bounty hunters and mercenaries to steal objects and intel or to assassinate targets for them. Meanwhile, the Jedi lead the Republic forces in an assault on the battle droid manufacturing facility. The first half of both Season 3 and Season 4 are diplomatic in nature, Season 3, in particular, has many stories that take away from the battlefield. How different races and planets are affected by the war are shown
27.
Captain Rex
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He is a clone trooper of the Grand Army of the Republic, cloned from bounty hunter Jango Fett, and serves the Galactic Republic under the command of Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. Since his introduction in The Clone Wars, he has appeared in the 2014 Star Wars Rebels television series and in comics, novels. Like all clone troopers in The Clone Wars and Rebels, Rex is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He is physically distinguished from other clone troopers by his blond hair. He is described as a reliable and exemplary soldier, considered by Anakin to be his first-in-command. Rex is characterized as believing it his duty to not only carry out orders but also to protect the men under his command, initial development for The Clone Wars film chose Alpha-17, featured in Star Wars, Republic, to be the primary clone trooper character. However, Lucas felt this too much alliteration with the existing principle cast. Rex was developed as the personality to which the troopers around him aspired and featured in story arcs exploring his character development. Rex became a favorite among fans, consistently placing in fan polls, initial development for The Clone Wars film chose Alpha-17, featured in the Star Wars, Republic comic, to be the principal clone trooper character. The name Rex was chosen by Lucas, previously, Captain Rex was the error-prone rookie droid pilot RX-24 of Star Tours, who in turn replaced the initial concept of an unpredictable and risk-taking Clone Wars veteran. Voice actor Dee Bradley Baker voices all the clone trooper characters in The Clone Wars, to differentiate the characters, Baker considered the personality traits of every clone, choosing one or two adjectives for each, and recorded each character separately. To aid with the performance, Baker and supervising director Dave Filoni developed a clone triangle that arranged the characters by personality. In April 2011, he hinted that the two stories were possibly connected and remarked, A lot of people say they want to know more about her. He fights as a soldier of the Grand Army of the Republic in numerous campaigns of the Clone Wars against the Separatist battle droid army. As a clone trooper, he was cloned on Kamino from bounty hunter Jango Fett and ages at an accelerated rate, in a season four story arc, the 501st Legion is temporarily led by Jedi General Pong Krell. Despite growing discontent in the ranks and calls for dissent from Fives, however, Rex supports a mission led by Fives that is expressly forbidden by Krell but saves numerous clone trooper lives. After orders causes the 501st Legion and another battalion to attack one another, Rex leads the troopers to arrest Krell. Rex is also involved in a six story arc centering on a conspiracy regarding the clone troopers
28.
Star Wars expanded universe
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The Star Wars expanded universe is a collective term for all Star Wars fictional material produced by Lucasfilm or officially licensed by it. This restructuring left the Star Wars theatrical films, the Clone Wars animated film, a number of works have subsequently been produced, including the Rebels animated TV series, the 2015 film The Force Awakens, and multiple novels and comic book series. Fosters 1978 novel Splinter of the Minds Eye was commissioned by Lucas as the basis for a potential sequel to Star Wars should the film prove unsuccessful. A Star Wars comic book series from Marvel Comics ran from April 1977 to May 1986, former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter credited the titles strong sales for saving Marvel financially in 1977 and 1978. Marvels Star Wars series was one of the top selling titles in 1979 and 1980. The material was used as a resource by some novelists that followed, StarWars. com wrote in 2014 that the novel jumpstarted a publishing program that endures to this day and formalized the Expanded Universe. It introduced, among others, the popular characters Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade and this so-called Thrawn trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing the Star Wars franchise. In The Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski suggests that this renewed interest was a factor in Lucass decision to create the prequel trilogy. Around this same time, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and launched a number of series set after the film trilogy. In 1999, Star Wars book publishing moved from Bantam Spectra to Del Rey Books, New Jedi Order, set 25 to 30 years after the original films, introduced a new threat, the Yuuzhan Vong, a powerful alien race attempting to invade and conquer the entire galaxy. The bulk of Expanded Universe storytelling explores the time period after Return of the Jedi, subsequent novels and comics were set before, concurrent with, and after the events of these works. In 2004, USA Today reported that over 1,100 Star Wars titles had been published, including novels, comics, non-fiction, then-president of Lucas Licensing, Howard Roffman, estimated that there were more than 65 million Star Wars books in print. He said, The books are a way of extending the fantasy of Star Wars, the movies have had a really profound effect on a couple of generations. Star Wars has become a cultural touchpoint, and our fans are avidly interested in exploring more stories, the animated television series Star Wars, The Clone Wars ran from 2008 to 2014 and was set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, in October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion. In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded the Expanded Universe material as Star Wars Legends, the companys focus would be shifted towards a restructured Star Wars canon based on new material. The announcement called these works the immovable objects of Star Wars history and it was also made clear that a planned Star Wars sequel trilogy, and subsequent works developed within the restructured canon, would not be based on Legends material but could possibly draw from it. Lucas had previously used the character Aayla Secura, introduced in 2000 in the Star Wars, Republic comic book series, in Attack of the Clones
29.
Adelaide
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Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. In June 2016, Adelaide had a resident population of 1,326,354 million. South Australia, with a total of 1, the demonym Adelaidean is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 94 to 104 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, Colonel William Light, one of Adelaides founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Lights design set out Adelaide in a layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares. Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth—until the Second World War, it was Australias third-largest city and it has been noted for early examples of religious freedom, a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties. It has been known as the City of Churches since the mid-19th century, as South Australias seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street. Today, Adelaide is noted for its festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist Intelligence Units Worlds Most Liveable Cities index in 2010,2011,2012 and 2015. It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011,2012 and 2013, prior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation. Kaurna culture and language was almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the European settlement of South Australia in 1836, however, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture. South Australia was officially proclaimed as a new British colony on 28 December 1836, the event is commemorated in South Australia as Proclamation Day. The site of the capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light. Adelaide was established as a colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution. Wakefields idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen
30.
Parade
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A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind. In Britain the term parade is usually reserved for military parades or other occasions where participants march in formation. In the Canadian Forces the term also has less formal connotations. Protest demonstrations can also take the form of a parade, the parade float got its name because the first floats were decorated barges that were towed along canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the shore. Floats were occasionally propelled from within by concealed oarsmen, but the practice was abandoned because of the incidence of drowning when the lightweight. Strikingly, among the first uses of grounded floats — towed by horses — was a ceremony in memory of recently drowned parade oarsmen, today, parade floats are traditionally pulled by motor vehicles or are powered themselves. A grand marshal is a title given to an individual by the organizing committee of a periodic parade event. Similar to guests of honor at fan conventions, a marshal is selected on any basis relevant to the theme or nature of the parade. Multiple grand marshals may often be designated for an iteration of the parade, some parades, such as pride parades, may select a Community Grand Marshal or other designations alongside a Grand Marshal to lead the front or other parts of the parade. Since the advent of technology, it became possible for aircraft. A flypast is a parade of anything from one to dozens of aircraft. They are particularly common in the United Kingdom, where they are associated with Royal occasions. Similarly, for ships, there may be a sail-past of, the longest parade in the world is the Hanover Schützenfest that takes place in Hanover every year during the Schützenfest. The parade is 12 kilometres long with more than 12,000 participants from all over the world, among more than 100 bands and around 70 floats
31.
Make-A-Wish Foundation
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The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that arranges experiences described as wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. In order to qualify for a wish, the child must be between the ages of 3 and 17 years at the time of referral and it is the childs physician that ultimately decides if a child is eligible. The national headquarters and founding chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation are in Phoenix, the organization grants wishes through its 62 chapters located throughout the US. Make-A-Wish also operates in 45 other countries around the world through 38 affiliate offices, the President and CEO of Make-A-Wish America is David A. Williams. In the spring of 1980, 7-year-old Christopher James Greicius was being treated for leukemia and he aspired to be a police officer. U. S. Customs Officer Tommy Austin befriended Chris and worked with officers at the Arizona Department of Public Safety to plan an experience to lift Greicius spirits. Chris spent the day as an officer, rode in a police helicopter, received a custom-tailored police uniform. Greicius died soon after, but his wish became inspiration for the Make-A-Wish wish-granting organization, professional wrestler John Cena holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual, with over 500 wishes. Singer Justin Bieber has volunteered in over 250 wishes, National Womens Collegiate Fraternity Chi Omega has raised over $14 million for Make-A-Wish since 2001. All medical information is considered confidential and is not discussed with outside parties unless it is required for the wish and the child’s parent or guardian have given their consent. A child with a medical condition who has reached the age of 2½ and is under the age of 18 at the time of referral, is potentially eligible for a wish. After a child is referred, the treating physician must determine whether the child is medically eligible for a wish. In addition, a child cannot have received a wish from another wish-granting organization, each Make-A-Wish chapter follows specific policies and guidelines for granting a child’s wish. Make-A-Wish works closely with the wish child’s physician and family to determine the most appropriate time to grant the wish, keeping in mind the child’s treatment protocol or other concerns. Most wish requests fall into five categories, I wish to go, I wish to be, I wish to meet, I wish to have, National Board of Directors, The National Board of Directors helps chart Make-A-Wish’s course. They contribute a vast array of experience and skills that help maintain Make-A-Wish’s status as the nation’s largest wish-granting organization, the board determines the mission and vision, evaluates and supports the president and chief executive officer and protects Make-A-Wish’s assets. The board enhances Make-A-Wish’s public standing, ensures accountability, maintains legal integrity, senior Leadership Team, This team is composed of Make-A-Wish’s top-level management. Each member is a National Office leader in disciplines that include wish-granting, fundraising, legal, brand advancement, the president and CEO guides the strategic plan in areas such as board development, talent development, fundraising, and corporate relations
32.
Monash Children's Hospital
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Monash Children’s Hospital is a network of Victorian paediatric healthcare services across Monash Medical Centre, Dandenong Hospital and Casey Hospital. It’s one of Australia’s leading providers of integrated health services, with more than 30 specialist services and programs. Monash Children’s Hospital is part of Monash Health, Victoria’s largest healthcare service, the hospital includes Victoria’s largest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and provides leading paediatric services in Rehabilitation, Oncology, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, and Palliative Care. It is also the Victorian Referral Centre for many low-volume and high-complex cases and its services are linked to an adult service, allowing the hospital to provide transition-of-care as children grow older and move to an adult service
33.
Mulga snake
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Pseudechis australis, commonly known as the king brown snake or mulga snake, or Pilbara cobra, is a species of venomous snake found in Australia. It is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world, despite one of its common names, king brown, it is a species in the genus Pseudechis, known as the black snake genus. The species was first described by John Edward Gray in 1842, the species was long regarded as monotypic, but several new taxa have recently been described from within P. australis. Two new species and a new genus have been described within this complex by Raymond Hoser, Pailsus pailsei, from near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and Pailsus rossignolii, Hoser later also resurrected Pailsus weigeli. These descriptions were initially received with due to the low level of evidence provided in the original descriptions. The most recent published study suggested the existence of four smaller species associated with P. australis from northern Australia and New Guinea. Mulga snakes are large, venomous snakes growing up to 2.5 to 3.0 m in length in the largest specimens, although 1.5 m is a more typical length for an average adult. It is exceeded in length among venomous snakes only by the Asiatic king cobra, some species of African mambas, genus Lachesis of the American neotropics, and the Australian taipan. A good-sized adult mulga snake of 2 to 2.5 m length can weigh 3 to 6 kg, mulga snakes are robust, with a wide head and smooth snout. The mulga snake venom consists of myotoxins, the LD50 is 2.38 mg/kg subcutaneous. Its venom is not particularly toxic to mice, but it is produced in huge quantities, the average tiger snake produces around 10–40 mg when milked. By comparison, a king brown snake may deliver 150 mg in one bite. Venomous snakes normally only attack humans when disturbed, mulga snakes have, however, been noted to bite people who were asleep at the time. Mulga snakes occur in most states of Australia except for Victoria and Tasmania and its range includes all of the Northern Territory, most parts of Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. It may also be found in the parts of the Australian Capital Territory. They are not found in rainforests, female mulga snakes produce a clutch of around 8–20 eggs, which may be laid in a disused burrow or beneath a log or rock. There is no care for the eggs once they have been laid. Eggs take about 2–3 months to hatch, after time the newly hatched snakes must care for themselves
34.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
35.
Walt Disney World
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The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida. The resort is the destination of Disneys worldwide corporate enterprise. Opened on October 1,1971, Walt Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world, the resort is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was initially operated by Walt Disney World Company, Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex, in 1971, followed by Epcot in 1982, Disneys Hollywood Studios in 1989, and the most recent, Disneys Animal Kingdom in 1998. Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the Florida Project, as it was known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of rides. Walt Disneys original plans called for the inclusion of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Walt Disney died on December 15,1966, before construction began, without Disney spearheading the construction, the company created a resort similar to Disneyland, abandoning experimental concepts for a planned community. In 1959, Walt Disney Productions began looking for land to house a second resort to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955. Market surveys at the revealed that only 5% of Disneylands visitors came from east of the Mississippi River. Additionally, Walt Disney disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, Walt Disney flew over a potential site in Orlando, Florida – one of many – in November 1963. To avoid a burst of land speculation, Walt Disney World Company used various dummy corporations to acquire 30,500 acres of land, in May 1965, some of these major land transactions were recorded a few miles southwest of Orlando in Osceola County. In addition, two tracts totaling $1. Some are now memorialized on a window above Main Street, U. S. A. in Magic Kingdom, the smaller parcels of land acquired were called outs. They were 5-acre lots platted in 1912 by the Munger Land Company, most of the owners in the 1960s were happy to get rid of the land, which was mostly swamp at the time. Another issue was the rights to the land, which were owned by Tufts University. Without the transfer of rights, Tufts could come in at any time. Eventually, Disneys team negotiated a deal with Tufts to buy the rights for $15,000. Working strictly in secrecy, real estate agents unaware of their clients identity began making offers to landowners in April 1964 in parts of southwest Orange and northwest Osceola counties
36.
Star Wars Weekends
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Star Wars Weekends was a festival held annually at the Disneys Hollywood Studios theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort. Many original Disney characters also appeared dressed as Star Wars characters, such as Jedi Mickey, Minnie as Leia, Donald as a stormtrooper, Goofy as Darth Vader, the festival began in 1997 and had been held in 2000,2001, and annually from 2003 until 2015. In November 2015, Disney discontinued the event due to construction of a Star Wars themed-land, Jedi Training Academy — Live show at the Rebels stage. Based on the teachings and practices of the fictional Jedi Knights from the Star Wars films, each participant is given a lightsaber replica and Jedi robes and is taught a routine set of swordfighting moves. Symphony in the Stars — A large-scale fireworks show complemented with John Williams original music, voice, Star Wars Parade — features the 501st Legion and the Rebel Alliance parading in Stormtrooper costumes, along with numerous other Star Wars characters. Snig and Ooplas Hyperspace Hoopla — Live show also at the stage in front of the Sorcerers Hat and it is a dance-off show featuring Star Wars characters competing in groups against each other in a dance competition. It originally was held at the Rebels Stage from 2008-2010, the show has retired in 2014. In one 2013 show, Emperor Palpatine hijacked the show and renamed it Emperor Palpatines Hyperspace Hoopla, behind the Force — A live show at the Premier Theater hosted by Ashley Eckstein. Guests are given a behind-the-scenes making of the Clone Wars series, obi-Wan & Beyond — A live 30-minute talk show at the Theater for the Stars hosted by James Arnold Taylor. Taylor demonstrates nearly 150 voices that he provides for famous Hollywood stars who arent available for projects as well as characters for television shows, animated films and video games. Carbon Freeze Me — Interactive attraction located at ABC Sound Studio, where guests are able to have their face scanned and reproduced in a prism of carbonite, Jedi Training Academy originally was a part of Star Wars Weekend and only took place during it. However, in October 2006 it began appearing as a show at Disneyland. In 2008, the Walt Disney World version began operating year-round, most appearances are in preset locations in front of themed backdrops but some characters freely roam the parks and pose for photos with guests as well. Star Wars Celebration Star Tours Star Tours—The Adventures Continue Official website List of Actors and Characters
37.
Free Comic Book Day
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Free Comic Book Day, taking place on the first Saturday of May, is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California brainstormed the event in his Big Picture column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine, free Comic Book Day started in 2002 and is coordinated by the industrys single large distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. However, not all events have corresponded with the release of a film based on a comic book, in 2004 it was held in July, but it was moved back to the first Saturday in May the following year and has been held on that day ever since. However, retailers do not receive the issues for free, they pay 12–50 cents per copy for the comics they give away during the event, in addition to comic books, some stores also give away other merchandise, such as mini posters and other movie tie-in memorabilia
38.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
39.
Minor League Baseball
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All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the organization known as Minor League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with each other and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur every other year, several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada. The earliest professional baseball association, the National Association of 1871 to 1875 and this system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, and financially unsound clubs often failed in midseason. This problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a membership which excluded less competitive. Professional clubs outside the National League responded by forming regional associations of their own, there was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games for a championship pennant, the first minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization and it also, along with the National League and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league, teams in the National League and the American Association could only reserve players who had been paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid merely $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues, over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement. Eventually, the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly, in the late 1890s, the Western League run by the fiery Ban Johnson decided to challenge the National Leagues position. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5,1901, in response to the National–American battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short. The purpose of the NA at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved, several did not sign the agreement and continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, in 1903, the conflict between the American and National Leagues ended in the National Agreement of 1903. The NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the National
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Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
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National Collegiate Athletic Association
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Division I Mens Basketball Tournament and this revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States. In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships, generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently, the term Division I-AAA was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all, in 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University, as other sports emerged, notably football and basketball, many of these same concepts and standards were adopted. Football, in particular, began to emerge as a marquee sport, the IAAUS was officially established on March 31,1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910. For several years, the NCAA was a group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, a series of crises brought the NCAA to a crossroads after World War II. The Sanity Code – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, postseason football games were multiplying with little control, and member schools were increasingly concerned about how the new medium of television would affect football attendance. The complexity of problems and the growth in membership and championships demonstrated the need for full-time professional leadership. Walter Byers, previously an executive assistant, was named executive director in 1951. Byers wasted no time placing his stamp on the Association, as college athletics grew, the scope of the nations athletics programs diverged, forcing the NCAA to create a structure that recognized varying levels of emphasis. In 1973, the Associations membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions – I, II, and III, five years later in 1978, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in football. Until the 1980s, the association did not offer womens athletics, instead, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, with nearly 1000 member schools, governed womens collegiate sports in the United States
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Arena Football League
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The Arena Football League is a professional indoor American football league in the United States. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America, after the Canadian Football League and the National Football League. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Foster, an executive of the United States Football League. From 2000 to 2009, the AFL had its own developmental league, the AFL played 22 seasons from 1987 to 2008, internal issues caused the league to cancel its 2009 season, though the af2 did play. Later that year both the AFL and af2 were dissolved and reorganized as a new corporation comprising teams from both leagues, and the AFL returned in 2010, the Arena Football League has its headquarters in Las Vegas. The leagues average attendance since returning in 2010 has been approximately 9,500. After the 2016 season, continuing a pattern of contraction over recent seasons. Jim Foster, a manager with the National Football League. While at the game, he wrote his idea on a 9 x 12 envelope, with sketches of the field and he presented the idea to a few friends at the NFL offices, where he received praise and encouragement for his concept. After solidifying the rules and a plan, and supplemented with sketches by a professional artist. He reached an agreement with NBC for a test game, plans for arena football were put on hold in 1982 as the United States Football League was launched. Foster left the NFL to accept a position in the USFL and he eventually became executive vice-president with the Chicago Blitz, where he returned to his concept of arena football. In 1983, he began organizing the test game in his time from his job with the Blitz. By 1985, the USFL had ceased operations and he began devoting all his time to arena football. The test game was played in Rockford, Illinois, April 27,1986 at the Rockford MetroCentre, interest was high enough following the initial test game that Foster decided to put on a second, showcase, game. The second game was held on February 27,1987 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago with a budget of $20,000, Foster also invited ESPN to send a film crew to the game, a highlights package aired on SportsCenter. Following the successes of his games, Foster moved ahead with his idea for arena football. He founded the Arena Football League with four teams, the Pittsburgh Gladiators, Denver Dynamite, Washington Commandos, Foster appointed legendary Darrel Mouse Davis, godfather of the run and shoot and modern pro offenses, as executive director of football operations
