1.
Lincoln, Nebraska
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Lincoln is the capital of the U. S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 92.81 square miles with a population of 277,348 in 2015 and it is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 72nd-largest in the United States. The statistical area is home to 345,478 people, making it the 105th-largest combined statistical area in the United States, the city was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster on the wild salt marshes of what was to become Lancaster County. In 1867, the village of Lancaster became Nebraskas state capital and was renamed Lincoln, bertram G. Goodhue designed state capitol building was completed in 1932 and is the second tallest capitol in the United States. As the city is the seat of government for the state of Nebraska, the state, the University of Nebraska was founded in Lincoln in 1867. The university is the largest in Nebraska with 25,006 students enrolled and is the citys third-largest employer, other primary employers fall within the service and manufacturing industries, including a growing high-tech sector. The region makes up a part of what is known as the greater Midwest Silicon Prairie, designated as a refugee-friendly city by the U. S. Department of State in the 1970s, the city was the twelfth-largest resettlement site per capita in the United States by 2000. Refugee Vietnamese, Karen, Sudanese, and Yazidi people have resettled in the city. Lincoln Public Schools during the year of 2016–17 provided support for approximately 3,200 students from 118 countries. Prior to the westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass. Plains Indians, descendants of peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in. The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River, an occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s. Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859, the village was sited on the east bank of Salt Creek. The first settlers were attracted to the due to the abundance of salt. Once J. Sterling Morton developed his salt mines in Kansas, Captain W. T. Donovan, a former steamer captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. In the fall of 1859, the settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Captain Donovan, after the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders began to inhabit the area. The first plat was dated August 6,1864, by the close of 1868, Lancaster had a population of approximately 500 people
2.
Brigham Young University
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Brigham Young University is a private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. Approximately 99 percent of the students are members of the LDS Church, many students either delay enrollment or take a hiatus from their studies to serve as Mormon missionaries. An education at BYU is also less expensive than at similar private universities, BYU offers a variety of academic programs, including liberal arts, engineering, agriculture, management, physical and mathematical sciences, nursing, and law. The university is organized into 11 colleges or schools at its main Provo campus, with certain colleges. The universitys primary focus is on education, but it also has 68 masters and 25 doctoral degree programs. BYUs athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the BYU Cougars. Their college football team is an NCAA Division I Independent, while their other teams compete in either the West Coast Conference or Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. BYUs sports teams have won a total of fourteen national championships, on October 16,1875, Brigham Young, then president of the LDS Church, personally purchased the Lewis Building after previously hinting that a school would be built in Draper, Utah, in 1867. Hence, October 16,1875, is held as BYUs founding date. The school broke off from the University of Deseret and became Brigham Young Academy, warren Dusenberry served as interim principal of the school for several months until April 1876 when Brigham Youngs choice for principal arrived—a German immigrant named Karl Maeser. Under Maesers direction the school educated many luminaries including future U. S. Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland, the school, however, did not become a university until the end of Benjamin Cluffs term at the helm of the institution. At that time, the school was still privately supported by members of the community and was not absorbed and sponsored officially by the LDS Church until July 18,1896. A series of odd managerial decisions by Cluff led to his demotion, however, in his last official act, he proposed to the Board that the Academy be named Brigham Young University. The suggestion received an amount of opposition, with many members of the Board saying that the school wasnt large enough to be a university. One opponent to the decision, Anthon H. Lund, later said, in 1903 Brigham Young Academy was dissolved, and was replaced by two institutions, Brigham Young High School, and Brigham Young University. The Board elected George H. Brimhall as the new President of BYU and he had not received a high school education until he was forty. Nevertheless, he was an excellent orator and organizer, under his tenure in 1904 the new Brigham Young University bought 17 acres of land from Provo called Temple Hill. After some controversy among locals over BYUs purchase of property, construction began in 1909 on the first building on the current campus
3.
Bachelor's degree
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A bachelors degree or baccalaureate is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to seven years. In some institutions and educational systems, some bachelors degrees can only be taken as graduate or postgraduate degrees after a first degree has been completed. The term bachelor in the 12th century referred to a knight bachelor, by the end of the 13th century, it was also used by junior members of guilds or universities. By folk etymology or wordplay, the word came to be associated with bacca lauri in reference to laurels being awarded for academic success or honours. An honours degree generally requires an academic standard than a pass degree. In most African countries, the university systems follow the model of their former colonizing power, for example, the Nigerian university system is similar to the British system, while the Ivorian system is akin to the French. The degree is typically identical to the program of Frances universities, bachelors degree programs cover most of the fields in Algerian universities, except some fields, such as Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science. Bachelors degrees at the University of Botswana normally take four years, the system draws on both British and American models. Degrees are classified as First Class, Second Class Division One, Second Class Division Two and Third as in English degrees, but without being described as honours. The main degrees are named by British tradition, but in recent years there have been a numbers of degrees named after specific subjects, such as Bachelor of Library, in Morocco, a bachelors degree is referred to as al-ʾijāzah. The course of study takes three years, which are divided into two cycles. The first cycle comprises the first, or propaedeutic, year, after successfully completing their first two years, students can pursue either theoretical specialization or professional specialization. The second cycle is one long, after whose completion students receive the licence détudes fondamentales or the licence professionnelle. This academic degree system was introduced in September 2003, University admission is extremely competitive, with attendant advantages and disadvantages. Nonetheless, it takes four to five years to complete a bachelors degree, in cases of poor performance, the time limit is double the standard amount of time. For example, one may not study for more than 10 years for a five-year course, students are normally asked to leave if they must take longer. B. Arch. and other specialized undergraduate degrees, such as B. Eng, Science undergraduate degrees may require six months or a semester dedicated to SIWES but it is usually mandatory for all engineering degrees. A semester for project work/thesis is required, not excluding course work, the classifications of degrees, first-class, second-class, third-class and a pass
4.
Master's degree
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A masters degree normally requires previous study at the bachelors level, either as a separate degree or as part of an integrated course. The original meaning of the degree was thus that someone who had been admitted to the rank of master in one university should be admitted to the same rank in other universities. This gradually became formalised as the licentia docendi, initially, the Bachelor of Arts was awarded for the study of the trivium and the Master of Arts for the study of the quadrivium. The nineteenth century saw an expansion in the variety of masters degrees offered. By 1861 this had been adopted throughout Scotland as well as by Cambridge and Durham in England, when the Philadelphia College of Surgeons was established in 1870, it too conferred the Master of Surgery, the same as that in Europe. In the United States, the first masters degrees were awarded at Harvard University soon after its foundation, at Harvard the 1700 regulations required that candidates for the masters degree had to pass a public examination, but by 1835 this was awarded Oxbridge-style 3 years after the BA. In Scotland, Edinburgh maintained separate BA and MA degrees until the mid nineteenth century, in Scotland all the statutes of the Universities which enforced conditions on the grant of degrees were a dead letter. Probably the most important masters degree introduced in the 19th century was the Master of Science, at the University of Michigan this was introduced in two forms in 1858, in course, first awarded in 1859, and on examination, first awarded in 1862. The in course MS was last awarded in 1876, in Britain, however, the degree took a while longer to arrive. The same two degrees, again omitting the masters, were awarded at Edinburgh, despite the MA being the undergraduate degree for Arts in Scotland. In 1862, a Royal Commission suggested that Durham should award masters degrees in theology and science and this scheme would appear to have then been quietly dropped, with Oxford going on to award BAs and MAs in science. The Master of Science degree was introduced in Britain in 1878 at Durham. At the Victoria University both the MA and MSc followed the lead of Durhams MA in requiring an examination for those with an ordinary bachelors degree. The Bologna declaration in 1999 started the Bologna Process, leading to the creation of the European Higher Education Area, as the process continued, descriptors were introduced for all three levels in 2004, and ECTS credit guidelines were developed. This led to questions as to the status of the masters degrees. In 1903, the London Daily News criticised the practice of Oxford and Cambridge, calling their MAs the most stupendous of academic frauds, in 1900, Dartmouth College introduced the Master of Commercial Science, first awarded in 1902. This was the first masters degree in business, the forerunner of the modern MBA, the idea quickly crossed the Atlantic, with Manchester establishing a Faculty of Commerce, awarding Bachelor and Master of Commerce degrees, in 1903. Over the first half of the century the masters degrees for honours graduates vanished as honours degrees became the standard undergraduate qualification in the UK
5.
Fantasy
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Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other elements as a main plot element, theme. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds, in popular culture, the fantasy genre is predominantly of the medievalist form. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy works by many writers, artists, filmmakers. Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other studies, cultural studies, comparative literature, history. The identifying trait of fantasy is the reliance on imagination to create narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent. This differs from realistic fiction in that whereas realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, an author applies his or her imagination to come up with characters, plots, and settings that are impossible in reality. Fantasy has often compared with science fiction and horror because they are the major categories of speculative fiction. Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements, a science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seeming possible through logical scientific and/or technological extrapolation, whereas fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible. The imagined elements of fantasy do not need an explanation to be narratively functional. Authors have to rely on the suspension of disbelief, an acceptance of the unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment. Despite both genres heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable, horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists. Beginning perhaps with the earliest written documents, mythic and other elements that would come to define fantasy. MacDonald was an influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The other major fantasy author of this era was William Morris, lord Dunsany established the genres popularity in both the novel and the short story form. Many popular mainstream authors also began to write fantasy at this time, including H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Indeed, juvenile fantasy was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, intended for children, though works for adults only verged on fantasy. Political and social trends can affect a societys reception towards fantasy, in the early 20th century, the New Culture Movements enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature
6.
Science fiction
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Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a literature of ideas. Science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a range of subgenres and themes. Author and editor Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying science fiction is what we point to when we say it, a definition echoed by author Mark C. Glassy, who argues that the definition of science fiction is like the definition of pornography, you do not know what it is, in 1970 or 1971William Atheling Jr. According to science fiction writer Robert A, rod Serlings definition is fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible, Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures. Science fiction elements include, A time setting in the future, in alternative timelines, a spatial setting or scenes in outer space, on other worlds, or on subterranean earth. Characters that include aliens, mutants, androids, or humanoid robots, futuristic or plausible technology such as ray guns, teleportation machines, and humanoid computers. Scientific principles that are new or that contradict accepted physical laws, for time travel, wormholes. New and different political or social systems, e. g. utopian, dystopian, post-scarcity, paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, telekinesis Other universes or dimensions and travel between them. A product of the budding Age of Reason and the development of science itself. Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Keplers work the first science fiction story and it depicts a journey to the Moon and how the Earths motion is seen from there. Later, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story about a flight to the moon, more examples appeared throughout the 19th century. Wells The War of the Worlds describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians using tripod fighting machines equipped with advanced weaponry and it is a seminal depiction of an alien invasion of Earth. In the late 19th century, the scientific romance was used in Britain to describe much of this fiction. This produced additional offshoots, such as the 1884 novella Flatland, the term would continue to be used into the early 20th century for writers such as Olaf Stapledon. In the early 20th century, pulp magazines helped develop a new generation of mainly American SF writers, influenced by Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories magazine. In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars, the first of his series of Barsoom novels, situated on Mars
7.
The Stormlight Archive
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The Stormlight Archive is an ongoing epic fantasy series written by American author Brandon Sanderson. Planned as the first of ten books, The Way of Kings was published on August 31,2010, the release of the second book, Words of Radiance, was delayed until March 2014, due to Sandersons commitment to writing the final book of The Wheel of Time. From June to August 2010, Tor Books published sample chapters from The Way of Kings on its official website, in its first week of release, The Way of Kings was #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list. In subsequent weeks the book was #11, #20, and #25, however, after completing the first draft of A Memory of Light, Sanderson revealed the book would be pushed back to a 2014 release, almost four years after the first book. Ten books are planned in the series, broken down two sets of five books each. Sanderson describes the story arc of the second set of five book as a sequel to the first set. The Stormlight Archive novella Edgedancer was released in Arcanum Unbounded, The Cosmere Collection in November 2016, much of the Way of Kings takes place within the nations of Alethkar and Jah Keved. Both of these nations divide their people into classes, primarily based on the color of their eyes and those with dark eye colors are mostly peasants. Those with light eye colors are the nobles and generally more educated ruling class, within these classes, there are further class distinctions known as nahn and dahn. For the nahn, they range from slaves in the 10th nahn to full citizens with the right to travel in the 2nd, the 1st dahn is composed of the king and his family. Any person above 4th dahn is a Brightlord/Brightlady, owners of swaths of property, servants, estates, the Knights Radiant originated through spren copying the abilities which the heralds obtained through their Honorblades. The Knights Radiant gained their power through spren by creating a bond to them, the bond gives the spren sentience, while giving the human surgebinding abilities. Two examples are Sylphrena, an Honorspren, that shares a bond with Kaladin, giving him the power to Surgebind, and Shallan, who created a bond with Pattern, a Liespren to Soulcast. The Knights Radiant lived by their orders Five Ideals, the First Ideal being the same for every order, Life before death, strength before weakness, the other four ideals are different for each order. Towards the end of The Way of Kings, Kaladin utters the Second Ideal for the Order of Windrunners, I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. Near the end of Words of Radiance, Kaladin whispers the Third Ideal for the Order of Windrunners, I will protect even those I hate, Windrunners - Manipulate the surges of Adhesion and Gravitation. Skybreakers - Manipulate the surges of Gravitation and Division, dustbringers/Releasers - Manipulate the surges of Division and Abrasion. Edgedancers - Manipulate the surges of Abrasion and Progression, truthwatchers - Manipulate the surges of Progression and Illumination
8.
Robert Jordan
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James Oliver Rigney, Jr. better known by his pen name Robert Jordan, was an American author of epic fantasy. He is best known for the Wheel of Time series, which comprises 14 books and he is one of several writers to have written original Conan the Barbarian novels, his are highly acclaimed to this day. Rigney also wrote fiction under his pseudonym Reagan ONeal, a western as Jackson OReilly. Additionally, he ghostwrote an international thriller that is believed to have been written by someone else. Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina and he served two tours in Vietnam with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with V and oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel, where he received a degree in physics. He was a buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool. He described himself as a High Church Episcopalian and received more than once a week. He lived with his wife, Harriet McDougal, who works as an editor in a house built in 1797. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and announce that he intended to have a long and he began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma, Jordan died at approximately 2,45 p. m. EDT on September 16,2007, and his funeral service was held on Wednesday, September 19,2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston, South Carolina. The Wheel of Time Conan the Barbarian Conan the Invincible Conan the Defender Conan the Unconquered Conan the Triumphant Conan the Magnificent Conan the Destroyer Conan the Victorious Robert Jordan
9.
The Reckoners
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The Reckoners is a trilogy of young adult fantasy novels written by American author Brandon Sanderson. The series consists of Steelheart, Firefight, and Calamity and these powers have impelled most of them to prey upon or enslave the rest of humanity, causing the collapse of traditional governments. One young man orphaned by a High Epic joins an underground resistance movement. They all have different types of powers and weaknesses, with no apparent rhyme or reason, dubbed Epics, these super-humans took to crime. Existing government proved incapable of controlling the Epics, the most powerful of which replaced government authority. Ten years ago, an eight-year-old Chicago native boy named David Charleston was orphaned when the High Epic Steelheart murdered his father while fighting a rival Epic, Deathpoint, in a bank. The sole survivor of the carnage, David has now come of age in what is known as Newcago. He finds the Reckoners, an group led by Professor Jonathan Phaedrus with the common goal of killing as many Epics as possible. They decide to admit him into their group when they discover he has witnessed Steelhearts weakness, Steelheart has turned most all of Newcago into steel with his power and his lieutenant Nightwielder keeps it in eternal darkness by hiding the Sun. The mortal citizenry live mostly underground and work at factory jobs. The United States, and other parts of the world, were changed forever when a burst in the sky known as Calamity gave normal people superhuman powers and these people came to be known to humanity as Epics. The story is told through the perspective of David, a teenager living in Newcago. Newcago is ruled by the extremely powerful Epic named Steelheart, who has created a society run by other powerful Epics, Newcago is also shrouded in darkness by Steelhearts lieutenant, Nightwielder. Davids father was killed by Steelheart around the time of the collapse, when David was eight, he and his father were at a bank which was attacked by an Epic named Deathpoint who had the power to skeletonise people by pointing at them. Half the bank was killed when Steelheart came in and Deathpoint started to argue with him, during this time, Davids father grabbed one of the dead guards guns and prepared himself to kill Deathpoint, believing that Steelheart was a hero. When his father shot Deathpoint, the bullet grazed Steelhearts cheek, enraged, Steelheart killed Davids father and then proceeded to destroy the bank. David crawled into one of the vaults, which saved him from falling debris. Later, David was recovered by rescue workers, but ran away scared, near the start of the book, David makes contact with The Reckoners when he interferes with one of their missions
10.
Epic fantasy
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High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, defined either by its setting in a fictional universe or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, and plot. The term high fantasy was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, High Fantasy, High fantasy is defined as fantasy set in an alternative, fictional world, rather than the real, or primary world. The secondary world is usually consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements. The romances of William Morris, such as The Well at the Worlds End, the works of J. R. R. Tolkien—especially The Lord of the Rings—are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy. Stephen R. Donaldsons The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is another example of a fantasy series. Many high fantasy stories are told from the viewpoint of one main hero, often, much of the plot revolves around his or her heritage or mysterious nature. In many novels the hero is an orphan or unusual sibling and he or she begins the story young, if not as an actual child. In other works the hero is a completely developed individual with a unique character, the hero often begins as a childlike figure, but matures rapidly, experiencing a huge gain in fighting/problem-solving abilities along the way. The plot of the story depicts the heros fight against the evil forces as a Bildungsroman. In many books there is a knowing, mystical mentor/teacher and this character is often a formidable wizard or warrior, who provides the main character with advice and help. In some books, there is also a mysterious Dark Lord, often obsessed with taking over the world and this character is an evil wizard or sorcerer, or sometimes a kind of god or demon. This character commands an army and a group of highly feared servants. In some works the villain may have had a predecessor/s who might have been superior or inferior to them, the progress of the story leads to the character learning the nature of the unknown forces against him, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The good versus evil fighting against each other is a concept in high fantasy. Indeed, the importance of the concepts of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. Many early video game developers played Dungeons and Dragons in their free time, some developers were influenced by its pre-made worlds instead, the most popular of which were high fantasy settings. As a result, one game series such as Warcraft are included in the high fantasy
11.
English literature
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However, until the early 19th century, it only deals with the literature of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It does not include literature written in the languages of Britain. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years, the earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible as well as the Great Vowel Shift. Through the influence of the British Empire, the English language has spread around the world since the 17th century. 450, after the withdrawal of the Romans, and ending soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. These works include such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works. In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English, from the 9th century, that chronicle the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The poem Battle of Maldon also deals with history and this is a work of uncertain date, celebrating the Battle of Maldon of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion. Oral tradition was strong in early English culture and most literary works were written to be performed. Epic poems were popular, and some, including Beowulf, have survived to the present day. Beowulf is the most famous work in Old English, and has achieved national status in England. The only surviving manuscript is the Nowell Codex, the date of which is debated. Beowulf is the title, and its composition is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known, and it is also one of the earliest recorded examples of sustained poetry in a Germanic language. The poem, The Dream of the Rood, was inscribed upon the Ruthwell Cross, Two Old English poems from the late 10th century are The Wanderer and The Seafarer. Classical antiquity was not forgotten in Anglo-Saxon England, and several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts, the longest is King Alfreds 9th-century translation of Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the form of the Anglo-Saxon language became less common. Under the influence of the new aristocracy, French became the language of courts, parliament
12.
Dan Wells (author)
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Daniel Andrew Dan Wells is an American horror and science fiction author. A Utah native, he resides in North Salt Lake, Utah. Wells wrote his first stories based on the Choose Your Own Adventure series when he was in second grade and he followed up with several novellas, a serial and a series of comic books when he was in high school. He finished his first serious novel when he was 22 and he is a graduate of Brigham Young University, with a bachelors degree in English, emphasizing writing and editing. He is the brother of author Robison Wells, Wells is best known as the author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, a horror novel published in the United States by Tor Books. It has been released in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and he also is one of the four authors who contribute to the podcast Writing Excuses. In 2011, Wells was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and his novella, The Butcher of Khardov, received a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2014. First trilogy I Am Not a Serial Killer Mr. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
13.
Howard Tayler
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Howard V. Tayler is the award-winning creator of the webcomic Schlock Mercenary. He worked as a missionary for the LDS Church, then graduated from Brigham Young University. Using his degree in composition, he started an independent record label. While working at Novell, Tayler began online publication of Schlock Mercenary and he quit his job at Novell several years later in order to work on the webcomic full-time. Schlock Mercenary has been nominated multiple times and won the Web Cartoonists Choice Awards in two different categories, and the webcomic has been nominated four times for a Hugo Award, the podcast has been nominated for a Hugo Award in 2011,2012 and has won in 2013. In 1985 he moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University, after studying there for two years, he volunteered to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before returning to BYU to finish a bachelors degree in Music Composition. Tayler co-founded an independent record label called Sanctus Records, which was aimed primarily at an LDS market, Tayler also worked for Novell as a project manager, where he co-authored a guide to administering GroupWise. In 2000, he began publishing his webcomic, Schlock Mercenary, four years later, Tayler left his job as product line manager at Novell in order to work full-time on the webcomic. By 2009, he was able to make enough from the sales of the books and other merchandise to make ends meet. He has been a guest of honor at many conventions, including Balticon, CONduit, LepreCon, and Life. His wife, Sandra, is also a published author, in March 2000, Tayler coauthored with Ross Phillips and Tay Kratzer the guidebook Administering GroupWise 5.5, written to assist system administrators in managing Novells GroupWise. Since its debut on June 12,2000 the comic has updated daily, begun to support its author, Tayler also produces Writing Excuses, along with novelist Mary Robinette Kowal, best-selling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson and horror author Dan Wells. Along with best-selling fantasy author Tracy Hickman and his son, Curtis, he illustrated and published XDM and he won WCCA Outstanding Science Fiction Comic in 2004, and was nominated for the same award in 2005 and 2007. He was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for Schlock Mercenary four times, The Body Politic, The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse, Massively Parallel, tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
14.
High fantasy
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High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, defined either by its setting in a fictional universe or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, and plot. The term high fantasy was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, High Fantasy, High fantasy is defined as fantasy set in an alternative, fictional world, rather than the real, or primary world. The secondary world is usually consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements. The romances of William Morris, such as The Well at the Worlds End, the works of J. R. R. Tolkien—especially The Lord of the Rings—are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy. Stephen R. Donaldsons The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is another example of a fantasy series. Many high fantasy stories are told from the viewpoint of one main hero, often, much of the plot revolves around his or her heritage or mysterious nature. In many novels the hero is an orphan or unusual sibling and he or she begins the story young, if not as an actual child. In other works the hero is a completely developed individual with a unique character, the hero often begins as a childlike figure, but matures rapidly, experiencing a huge gain in fighting/problem-solving abilities along the way. The plot of the story depicts the heros fight against the evil forces as a Bildungsroman. In many books there is a knowing, mystical mentor/teacher and this character is often a formidable wizard or warrior, who provides the main character with advice and help. In some books, there is also a mysterious Dark Lord, often obsessed with taking over the world and this character is an evil wizard or sorcerer, or sometimes a kind of god or demon. This character commands an army and a group of highly feared servants. In some works the villain may have had a predecessor/s who might have been superior or inferior to them, the progress of the story leads to the character learning the nature of the unknown forces against him, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The good versus evil fighting against each other is a concept in high fantasy. Indeed, the importance of the concepts of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. Many early video game developers played Dungeons and Dragons in their free time, some developers were influenced by its pre-made worlds instead, the most popular of which were high fantasy settings. As a result, one game series such as Warcraft are included in the high fantasy
15.
Biochemistry
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Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. By controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and the flow of energy through metabolism. Biochemistry is closely related to biology, the study of the molecular mechanisms by which genetic information encoded in DNA is able to result in the processes of life. Depending on the definition of the terms used, molecular biology can be thought of as a branch of biochemistry, or biochemistry as a tool with which to investigate. The chemistry of the cell depends on the reactions of smaller molecules. These can be inorganic, for water and metal ions, or organic, for example the amino acids. The mechanisms by which cells harness energy from their environment via chemical reactions are known as metabolism, the findings of biochemistry are applied primarily in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. In medicine, biochemists investigate the causes and cures of diseases, in nutrition, they study how to maintain health and study the effects of nutritional deficiencies. In agriculture, biochemists investigate soil and fertilizers, and try to discover ways to improve crop cultivation, crop storage and pest control. However, biochemistry as a scientific discipline has its beginning sometime in the 19th century, or a little earlier. Gowland Hopkins on enzymes and the nature of biochemistry. The term biochemistry itself is derived from a combination of biology, the German chemist Carl Neuberg however is often cited to have coined the word in 1903, while some credited it to Franz Hofmeister. Then, in 1828, Friedrich Wöhler published a paper on the synthesis of urea and these techniques allowed for the discovery and detailed analysis of many molecules and metabolic pathways of the cell, such as glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. Another significant historic event in biochemistry is the discovery of the gene and this part of biochemistry is often called molecular biology. In the 1950s, James D. Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, in 1958, George Beadle and Edward Tatum received the Nobel Prize for work in fungi showing that one gene produces one enzyme. In 1988, Colin Pitchfork was the first person convicted of murder with DNA evidence, mello received the 2006 Nobel Prize for discovering the role of RNA interference, in the silencing of gene expression. Around two dozen of the 92 naturally occurring elements are essential to various kinds of biological life. Most rare elements on Earth are not needed by life, while a few common ones are not used, most organisms share element needs, but there are a few differences between plants and animals
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Missionary (LDS Church)
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Mormon missionaries may serve on a full- or part-time basis, depending on the assignment, and are organized geographically into missions. The mission assignment could be to any one of the 418 missions organized worldwide, the LDS Church is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, reporting that it had over 74,000 full-time missionaries worldwide at the end of 2015. Most full-time Mormon missionaries are young men and women in their late teens and early twenties. Missionaries are often assigned to serve far from their homes, including in other countries, many missionaries learn a new language at a missionary training center as part of their assignment. Missions typically last two years for males,18 months for females, and 6 to 18 months for older couples, the LDS Church strongly encourages, but does not require, missionary service for young men. All Mormon missionaries serve voluntarily and do not receive a salary for their work, many Latter-day Saints save money during their teenage years to cover their mission expenses. Throughout the churchs history, over one million missionaries have been sent on missions, LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball said, Every young man should fill a mission. Completing a mission is described as a rite of passage for a young Latter-day Saint. The phrase the best two years of my life is a common cliché among returned missionaries when describing their experience, hinckley had suggested that a mission is not to be a rite of passage, this cultural aspect remains. With the usual starting age of 18–20, a provides a clear event or marker for the traditional age of adulthood. Young men between the ages of 18 and 25 who meet standards of worthiness are strongly encouraged to consider a two-year and this expectation is based in part on the New Testament passage Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Prior to the announcement, some held that male missionaries may be 18 years old because of educational or military requirements. It was also announced that women may serve beginning at age 19 instead of 21. In 2007, approximately 30% of all 19-year-old LDS men became Mormon missionaries, from LDS families that are active in the church, in cases where an immediate family member dies, the missionary has the choice to travel home for the funeral or to remain on the mission. Missionaries can be sent home for violating rules, and occasionally missionaries choose to go home for health or various other reasons. However, the vast majority of serve the whole two-year or eighteen-month terms. As of 2007, 80% of all Mormon missionaries were young, single men, 13% were young single women, women who would like to serve a mission must meet the same standards of worthiness and be at least 19 years old. Women generally serve as missionaries for 18 months, married retired couples, on the other hand, are encouraged to serve missions, but their length of service may vary from 6 to 36 months depending on their circumstances and means
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations, according to the church, it has over 70,000 missionaries and a membership of over 15 million. It is ranked by the National Council of Churches as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States and it is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Adherents, often referred to as Latter-day Saints, or, less formally, Mormons, view faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement as fundamental principles of their religion. The church has a canon which includes four scriptural texts, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants. The current president is Thomas S. Monson, individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives. The president heads a hierarchical structure with various levels reaching down to local congregations, Bishops, drawn from the laity, lead local congregations. Male members, after reaching age 12, may be ordained to the priesthood, Women do not hold positions within the priesthood, but do occupy leadership roles in some church auxiliary organizations. Both men and women may serve as missionaries, and the church maintains a large missionary program which proselytizes, faithful members adhere to church laws of sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in tithing. The LDS Church was formally organized by Joseph Smith on April 6,1830, Smith intended to establish the New Jerusalem in North America, called Zion. In 1831, the moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri. However, in 1833, Missouri settlers brutally expelled the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County, the Kirtland era ended in 1838, after a financial scandal rocked the church and caused widespread defections. Smith regrouped with the church in Far West, Missouri. Believing the Saints to be in insurrection, the Missouri governor ordered that the Saints be exterminated or driven from the State, in 1839, the Saints converted a swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River into Nauvoo, Illinois, which became the churchs new headquarters. Nauvoo grew rapidly as missionaries sent to Europe and elsewhere gained new converts who then flooded into Nauvoo, meanwhile, Smith introduced polygamy to his closest associates. He also established ceremonies, which he stated the Lord had revealed to him, to allow people to become gods in the afterlife. He also introduced the church to an accounting of his First Vision. This vision would come to be regarded by the LDS Church as the most important event in history since the resurrection of Jesus
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South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
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Provo, Utah
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Provo /ˈproʊvoʊ/ is the third-largest city in the U. S. state of Utah, located 43 miles south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and it lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. With a population at the 2010 census of 112,488, Provo is the city in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area. It is the third-largest metropolitan area in Utah after Salt Lake City, the city is the location of Brigham Young University, a private higher education institution, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Provo also has the largest Missionary Training Center for the LDS Church, the city is a focus area for technology development in Utah, with several billion dollar startups operating in Provo. Provo was the city in the United States to work with Google Fiber. The citys Peaks Ice Arena was a venue for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, Sundance Resort is located 13 miles northeast at Provo Canyon. In 2015, Provo was cited among the Best Small And Medium-Size Cities For Jobs, and Utah County, in 2013, Forbes ranked Provo the No.2 city on its list of Best Places for Business and Careers. Provo was ranked first for community optimism, first for volunteerism and its metropolitan area was projected to have the greatest population increase in the 2010 United States Census. The area was originally called Timpanogots and was inhabited by the Timpanogos and it was the largest and most settled area in modern-day Utah. The ample food from the Provo River made the Timpanogos a peaceful people, the area also served as the traditional meeting place for the Ute and Shoshone tribes and as a spot to worship their creator. Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a Spanish Franciscan missionary-explorer, is considered the first European explorer to have visited the area and he was guided by two Timpanogos Utes, whom he called Silvestre and Joaquin. Escalante chronicled this first European exploration across the Great Basin desert, the Europeans did not build a permanent settlement, but traded with the Timpanogos whom they called Lagunas or Come Pescado. In 1847, the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, at first, they were friendly with the Mormons. But, as relations deteriorated with the Shoshoni and Utes because of land claims and stealing of livestock by the Indians, tensions rose. Because of the stolen goods of settlers by the Utes, Brigham Young gave a small militia orders to take such measures as would put a final end to their depredations in future. ”This ended in what is known as the Battle Creek Massacre, in modern-day Pleasant Grove. The Mormons continued pushing into Timpanog lands, in 1849,33 Mormon families from Salt Lake City established Fort Utah. In 1850, Brigham Young sent an army from Salt Lake to drive out the Timpanogos in what is called the Provo War, the ruthlessness of the Mormon invaders angered the Timpanog, which contributed to the Walker War and Black Hawk War
