1.
New York Comic Con
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The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006, ReedPOP is involved with other events, including Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo and PAX Dev/PAX East/PAX Prime. ReedPop and New York Comic Con were founded by Greg Topalian, the first con was held in 2006 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Due to Reed Exhibitions lack of experience with comic conventions, attendance was far more than anticipated, despite crowding on Friday afternoon, tickets continued to be sold due to low pre-reg numbers, and the non-counting of professionals and exhibitors. The main exhibition hall hit capacity Saturday morning and was locked by the marshals until people left. Major guests, including Kevin Smith and Frank Miller, could not enter the main hall, the line to enter the convention wrapped around the building with waits of two hours to enter, and many were turned away. Ticket sales for Sunday were suspended, Reed announced that additional space would be acquired for the 2007 show. The second con was held in 2007, with the convention organizer booking double the floor space than the previous years space, the show on Friday was again only open to industry and press until 4 p. m. when it opened to the public. Due to better planning, advance sales were controlled. Lines started forming at midnight Saturday to enter the convention, and by Saturday morning, crowding was a problem in the Artists Alley, which was off the main convention floor, causing it to be moved to the main floor for 2008. The American Anime Awards, hosted by New York Comic Con, was held on February 24 at the New Yorker Hotel, the third con held in 2008 moved to April, continued to grow, and occupied most of the main level in the Javits Center. Stan Lee was awarded the inaugural New York Comics Legend Award at the Times Square Virgin Megastore before the Comic Con, kids Day programming was added to the convention on Sunday with the help of Kidss Comic Con. The fourth con held in 2009 returned to February and featured a charity art auction to support The Hero Initiative, the New York Anime Festival, previously a separate event created by Reed, was also merged into Comic Con. The main floor of the center was split by a large construction area due to repairs to the Javits Center. Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge – New York took place in Comic Con 2011 and it featured eSport tournaments for games such as StarCraft II, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike. In 2011, the convention was expanded to four days, the first day of the convention was initially limited to press, professionals, and fans that purchased a four-day pass. This changed in 2013, when single day Thursday passes were put on sale for the first time. With this addition, attendance at New York Comic Con grew to over 130,000, in 2016, it was announced that everyone attending NYCC2016 would be required to complete a Fan Verification profile
2.
Winchester
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Winchester is a city and the county town of Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a government district. It is situated 61 miles south-west of London and 13.6 miles from Southampton, at the time of the 2011 Census, Winchester had a population of 45,184. The wider City of Winchester district which includes such as Alresford. Winchester developed from the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum. Winchesters major landmark is Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the distinction of having the longest nave and overall length of all Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The city is home to the University of Winchester and Winchester College, the area around Winchester has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with three Iron Age hillforts, Orams Arbour, St. Catherines Hill, and Worthy Down all in the nearby vicinity. In the Late Iron Age, an urban settlement type developed, known as an oppidum. It was overrun by the confederation of Gaulish tribes known as the Belgae sometime during the first century BCE and it seems to have been known as Wentā or Venta, from the Brittonic for town or meeting place. After the Roman conquest of Britain, the settlement served as the capital of the Belgae and was distinguished as Venta Belgarum, Venta of the Belgae. Although in the years of the Roman province it was of subsidiary importance to Silchester and Chichester. At the beginning of the century, Winchester was given protective stone walls. At around this time the city covered an area of 144 acres, there was a limited suburban area outside the walls. Like many other Roman towns however, Winchester began to decline in the fourth century. Ford identifies the community as the Cair Guinntguic listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his History of the Britains, amid the Saxon invasions of Britain, cemeteries dating to the 6th and 7th centuries suggest a revival of settlement. The city became known as Wintan-ceastre in Old English, in 648, King Cenwalh of Wessex erected the Church of SS Peter and Paul, later known as the Old Minster. This became a cathedral in the 660s when the West Saxon bishopric was transferred from Dorchester-on-Thames, the citys first mint appears to date from this period. In the early tenth century there were two new establishments, the convent of Nunnaminster, founded by Alfreds widow Ealhswith
3.
Hugo Award
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The Hugo Awards are a set of awards given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The awards are named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Organized and overseen by the World Science Fiction Society, the awards are given each year at the annual World Science Fiction Convention as the focus of the event. They were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, the Hugo Awards have been termed as among the highest honors bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing. Works that have won have been published in collections. The 2016 awards were presented at the 74th Worldcon, MidAmeriCon II, in Kansas City, United States, the 2017 Hugos will be presented at the 75th Worldcon, Worldcon 75, in Helsinki, Finland, on August 12,2017. For lists of winners and nominees for each category, see the list of categories below. The World Science Fiction Society gives out the Hugo Awards each year for the best science fiction or fantasy works, the award is named after Hugo Gernsback, who founded the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the fathers of the science fiction genre. Works are eligible for an award if they were published in English in the calendar year. There are no rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy. Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, the selection process is defined in the WSFS constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees per category, except in the case of a tie. The awards are split over more than a dozen categories, for each category of Hugo, the voter may rank No Award as one of their choices. Voters are instructed that they should do so if they feel that none of the nominees are worthy of the award, or if they feel the category should be abolished entirely. A vote for No Award other than as ones first choice signifies that the voter believes the nominee ranked higher than No Award are worthy of a Hugo in that category, while those ranked lower are not. The five works on the ballot for each category are the most-nominated by members that year, from 1953 to 1958 the awards did not include any recognition of runner-up novels, but since 1959 all of the candidates have been recorded. Worldcons are generally held near the start of September, and take place in a different city around the world each year, the idea of giving out awards at Worldcons was proposed by Harold Lynch for the 1953 convention. The idea was based on the Academy Awards, with the name Hugo being given by Robert A. Madle, the award trophy was created by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason in 1953, based on the design of hood ornaments of 1950s cars. It consisted of a rocket ship on a wooden base
4.
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
5.
Illustrator
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An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicated concepts or objects that are difficult to describe textually, illustration is the art of making images that work with something and add to it without needing direct attention and without distracting from the thing they illustrate. The other thing is the focus of the attention, and the role is to add personality. A cartoon illustration can add humor to stories or essays, use reference images to create scenes and characters. This can be as simple as looking at an image to inspire artwork, or creating character sketches. Some traditional illustration techniques include watercolor, pen and ink, airbrush art, oil painting, pastels, wood engraving, and linoleum cuts. Traditional illustration seems to have come full circle, from falling out of favor to photography in the early 1990s to being superseded by CGI, universities and art schools offer specific courses in illustration so this has become a new avenue into the profession. Many illustrators are freelance, commissioned by publishers or advertising agencies, most scientific illustrations and technical illustrations are also known as information graphics. Among the information graphics specialists are medical illustrators who illustrate human anatomy, often requiring years of artistic. A particularly popular medium with illustrators of the 1950s and 1960s was casein, the immediacy and durability of these media suited illustrations demands well. The artwork in both types of paint withstood the rigors of travel to clients and printers without damage, digital illustration is the technique of using a computer to produce original artwork. Digital illustrators use a combination of software and image editing software to create computer art. Digital illustration is not merely the manipulation of images with software, computer illustration or digital illustration is the use of digital tools to produce images under the direct manipulation of the artist, usually through a pointing device such as a tablet or a mouse. Computers dramatically changed the industry and today many cartoonists and illustrators create digital illustrations using computers, graphics tablets, software such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop are now widely used by those professionals
6.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
7.
Dartmoor
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Dartmoor is an area of moorland in southern Devon, England. Protected by National Park status as Dartmoor National Park, it covers 954 km2, the granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous Period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, the highest point is High Willhays,621 m above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology, Dartmoor is managed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, whose 22 members are drawn from Devon County Council, local district councils and Government. Parts of Dartmoor have been used as firing ranges for over 200 years. The public is granted land access rights on Dartmoor and it is a popular tourist destination. Dartmoor includes the largest area of granite in Britain, with about 625 km2 at the surface, the granite was intruded at depth as a pluton into the surrounding sedimentary rocks during the Carboniferous period, probably about 309 million years ago. A considerable gravity anomaly is associated with the Dartmoor pluton as with other such plutons, measurement of the anomaly has helped to determine the likely shape and extent of the rock mass at depth. Dartmoor is known for its tors – hills topped with outcrops of bedrock, more than 160 of the hills of Dartmoor have the word tor in their name but quite a number do not. However this does not appear to relate to whether or not there is an outcrop of rock on their summit, the best-known tor on Dartmoor is Haytor,457 m. For a more complete list see List of Dartmoor tors and hills, the high ground of Dartmoor forms the catchment area for many of Devons rivers. As well as shaping the landscape, these have provided a source of power for moor industries such as tin mining and quarrying. The moor takes its name from the River Dart, which starts as the East Dart and West Dart and it leaves the moor at Buckfastleigh, flowing through Totnes below where it opens up into a long ria, reaching the sea at Dartmouth. For a full list, expand the Rivers of Dartmoor navigational box at the bottom of this page, much more rain falls on Dartmoor than in the surrounding lowlands. As much of the park is covered in thick layers of peat. In areas where water accumulates, dangerous bogs or mires can result, some of these, topped with bright green moss, are known to locals as feather beds or quakers, because they can shift beneath a persons feet. Quakers result from sphagnum moss growing over the water accumulates in the hollows in the granite. The vegetation of the bogs depends on the type and location, the valley bogs have lush growth of rushes, with sphagnum, cross-leaved heath, sundews and several other species
8.
Film
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A film, also called a movie, motion picture, theatrical film or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession, the process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry. The word cinema, short for cinematography, is used to refer to the industry of films. Films were originally recorded onto plastic film through a photochemical process, the adoption of CGI-based special effects led to the use of digital intermediates. Most contemporary films are now fully digital through the process of production, distribution. Films recorded in a form traditionally included an analogous optical soundtrack. It runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it and is not projected, Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures. They reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them, Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful medium for educating—or indoctrinating—citizens. The visual basis of film gives it a power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles to translate the dialog into the language of the viewer, some have criticized the film industrys glorification of violence and its potentially negative treatment of women. The individual images that make up a film are called frames, the perception of motion is due to a psychological effect called phi phenomenon. The name film originates from the fact that film has historically been the medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for a motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photoplay. The most common term in the United States is movie, while in Europe film is preferred. Terms for the field, in general, include the big screen, the screen, the movies, and cinema. In early years, the sheet was sometimes used instead of screen. Preceding film in origin by thousands of years, early plays and dances had elements common to film, scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, much terminology later used in film theory and criticism apply, such as mise en scène. Owing to the lack of any technology for doing so, the moving images, the magic lantern, probably created by Christiaan Huygens in the 1650s, could be used to project animation, which was achieved by various types of mechanical slides
9.
The Dark Crystal
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The Dark Crystal is a 1982 American–British fantasy adventure film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz and stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, and Percy Edwards. The plot revolves around Jen, an elf-like Gelfling on a quest to restore balance to his world by returning a lost shard to a powerful. Although marketed as a film, it was notably darker than the creators previous material. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking, the primary concept artist was the fantasy illustrator Brian Froud, famous for his distinctive fairy and dwarf designs. Froud also collaborated with Henson and Oz for their project, the 1986 film Labyrinth. The Dark Crystal was produced by Gary Kurtz, while the screenplay was written by David Odell, the films score was composed by Trevor Jones. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment, the British production company responsible for producing The Muppet Show, the film earned mixed to positive reviews from multiple critics, particularly commenting on its special effects. Jen, an elf-like Gelfling taken in by the Mystics after his clan was killed, is told by his Mystic master that he must heal the Crystal, if he fails to do so before the planets three suns align, then the Skeksis will rule forever. The Skeksis emperor and Jens master die simultaneously, a duel ensues between the Skeksis Chamberlain and General, both of whom desire the throne. The General wins, taking power and exiling the Chamberlain, learning of Jens existence, the Skeksis send large crab-like creatures called Garthim to track him. Jen reaches Aughra and is taken to her home, which contains an enormous orrery she uses to predict the motions of the heavens and she has a box full of shards, from which Jen selects the correct one by playing music on his flute to cause it to resonate. Aughra tells Jen of the upcoming Great Conjunction, the alignment of the three suns, but he learns little of its connection to the shard, suddenly the Garthim appear and destroy Aughras home taking her prisoner as Jen flees. Hearing the call of the Crystal, the Mystics leave their valley to travel to the Skeksis castle, Jen meets Kira, another surviving Gelfling who can communicate with animals, and her pet Fizzgig. They discover that they have a connection, which Kira calls dreamfasting. They stay for a night with the Podlings, who raised Kira after the death of her parents, the Garthim raid the village, capturing most of the Podlings, but Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig flee when the Chamberlain stops the Garthim from attacking them. Jen and Kira discover a ruined Gelfling city with ancient writing describing a prophecy and they are interrupted by the Chamberlain, who claims that the Skeksis want to make peace and wants the Gelflings to return to the castle with him, but they distrust him and refuse. Riding on Landstriders, the Gelflings arrive at the Skeksis castle, while trying to free the captured Podlings, Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig descend to the bottom of the castles dry moat and use a lower-level entrance to gain access. They are followed by the Chamberlain, who repeats his peace offer, the General reinstates him to his former position, and the Skeksis Scientist tries to drain Kiras life essence for the General to drink so that he can regain his youth
10.
Labyrinth (film)
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Labyrinth is a 1986 British-American adventure musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson, executive-produced by George Lucas, and based upon conceptual designs by Brian Froud. The film revolves around 15-year-old Sarahs quest to reach the center of an enormous otherworldly maze to rescue her infant brother Toby, who Sarah wished away to Jareth, the Goblin King. With the exception of Connelly and Bowie, most of the significant characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Hensons Creature Shop. The film started as a collaboration between Henson and Froud, with ideas for the film first being discussed between them following a screening of their previous collaboration, The Dark Crystal. Terry Jones of Monty Python wrote the first draft of the films early in 1984. Labyrinth was shot on location in Upper Nyack, Piermont and Haverstraw in New York, the New York Times reported that Labyrinth had a budget of $25 million. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $12.9 million during its U. S. theatrical run. The commercial failure demoralized Henson to the extent that his son Brian remembered the time of the release as one of the most difficult periods of his fathers career. It would be the last feature directed by Henson before his death in 1990. Although it was met with a critical response upon its initial release. A four-volume comic sequel to the film, Return to Labyrinth, was published by Tokyopop between 2006 and 2010, in 2012, Archaia Studios Press announced they were developing a graphic novel prequel to the film. In January 2016, it was announced that a reboot was in development, fifteen-year-old Sarah Williams rehearses a play in the park with her dog Merlin but becomes distracted by a line she is unable to remember while being watched by a barn owl. Realizing she is late to babysit her baby brother Toby, she rushes home and is confronted by her stepmother Irene before she, Sarah has many toys that she has grown out of and realizes that Toby is in possession of her treasured teddy bear Lancelot. Frustrated by this and his constant crying, Sarah rashly wishes Toby be taken away by the Goblin King Jareth and she is shocked when Toby disappears and the Goblin King confronts her then transports her to his kingdom. He refuses to return the baby, but gives Sarah thirteen hours to solve his Labyrinth, Sarah meets a dwarfish man named Hoggle, who aids her in entering the Labyrinth. She has trouble finding turns and corners but then meets a talking worm who inadvertently sends her in the wrong direction, Sarah ends up in an oubliette where she reunites with Hoggle. After they confront Jareth and escape one of his traps, the two encounter a large beast named Ludo, Hoggle cowardly flees while Sarah befriends Ludo. After another riddle, she loses him in a forest, Hoggle encounters Jareth, who gives him a peach and instructs him to give it to Sarah, calling his loyalty into question as he was supposed to lead her out of the maze
11.
Jim Henson
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James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, artist, cartoonist, inventor, screenwriter, film director and producer who achieved international fame as the creator of the Muppets. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in Leland, Mississippi, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, he created Sam and Friends, a five-minute sketch-comedy puppet show that appeared on television. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in economics, he produced coffee advertisements. Feeling the need for more output, Henson founded Muppets Inc. in 1958. Henson became famous in the 1960s when he joined the educational television program Sesame Street. He also appeared on the comedy show Saturday Night Live. In 1976, after scrapping plans for a Broadway show, he produced The Muppet Show and he won fame for his creations, particularly Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and Ernie, and was involved with Sesame Street for over 20 years. Rowlf the Dog was a cast member on the Jimmy Dean Show in the early 60s, during the later years of his life, he also founded the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Hensons Creature Shop. His involvement in two television programs—The Storyteller and The Jim Henson Hour—led to Emmy Award wins, in the weeks after his death, he was celebrated in a wave of tributes. He was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, and as a Disney Legend in 2011. He was raised as a Christian Scientist and spent his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, before moving with his family to University Park, Maryland, near Washington. In 1954, while attending Northwestern High School, he working for WTOP-TV. After graduating from school, Henson enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, as a studio arts major. A puppetry class offered in the arts department introduced him to the craft and textiles courses in the College of Home economics. As a freshman, he had asked to create Sam and Friends. The characters on Sam and Friends were forerunners of Muppets, Henson would remain at WRC for seven years, from 1954 to 1961. A marionettes arms are manipulated by strings, but Henson used rods to move his Muppets arms, when Henson began work on Sam and Friends, he asked fellow University of Maryland sophomore Jane Nebel to assist him. The show was a success, but after graduating from college
12.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
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Jim Hensons Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Hollywood, California, United States, and, previously, Camden Town in London, United Kingdom, Jim Hensons Creature Shop was originally created as a partnership with British illustrator Brian Froud to facilitate the production of The Dark Crystal. Located in Hampstead, London, it received its name in order to differentiate it from Hensons original puppet workshop in New York City and it was then used for future films such as Labyrinth and The Storyteller. It was relocated to Camden Town following Hensons death in 1990 and his son, Brian Henson, a third location in Burbank, California opened to serve Hollywood, and one of its first projects was the Dinosaurs television series. Since The Jim Henson Company sold off the rights to The Muppets brand to Disney in 2004, in the modern day, the New York shop specializes in hand puppets, including building The Muppets and most of the puppets in Sesame Street. The Los Angeles branch creates more realistic animatronic creatures and creature suits and this is known as the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio and is used extensively in television, including the entirety of the series Sid the Science Kid. Besides films, the Creature Shop has created costumes for live events and they created a realistic Smilodon full-suit puppet for a show at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which cost more than $100,000. Ripley The English Patient Jack Frost Dr
13.
Terry Jones
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Terence Graham Parry Terry Jones is a Welsh writer, actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director, presenter, poet, historian and author. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, Jones was born in the seaside town of Colwyn Bay, on the north coast of Wales. The family home was named Bodchwil and his father was stationed with the RAF in India. When Jones was 4½, the moved to Surrey in England. Jones attended primary school at Esher COE school and later attended the Royal Grammar School in Guildford and he read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, but strayed into history. While there, he performed comedy with future Monty Python castmate Michael Palin in The Oxford Revue, Jones appeared in Twice a Fortnight with Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Jonathan Lynn, as well as the television series The Complete and Utter History of Britain. He appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set with Palin, Eric Idle and he wrote for The Frost Report and several other David Frost programmes on British television. Along with Palin, he wrote lyrics for the 1968 Barry Booth album Diversions, Jones took a keen interest in the direction of the show. Of Jones contributions as a performer, his depictions of middle-aged women are among the most memorable and his humour, in collaboration with Palin, tends to be conceptual in nature. A typical Palin/Jones sketch draws its humour from the absurdity of the scenario, for example, in the Summarise Proust Competition, Jones plays a cheesy game show host who gives contestants 15 seconds to condense Marcel Prousts lengthy work À la recherche du temps perdu. Jones was also noted for his gifts as a Chaplinesque physical comedian and his performance in the Undressing in Public sketch, for instance, is done in total silence. Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam, as a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a visual style that complemented the humour. His later films include Erik the Viking and The Wind in the Willows, in 2008, Jones wrote and directed an opera titled Evil Machines. In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, Jones directed the comedy film Absolutely Anything, about a disillusioned schoolteacher who is given the chance to do anything he wishes by a group of aliens watching from space. The film features Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale and the voices of the five remaining members of Monty Python and it was shot in London during a 6-week shoot. Jones has written books and screenplays, including comic works. Jones co-wrote Ripping Yarns with Palin and he has also written numerous works for children, including Fantastic Stories, The Beast with a Thousand Teeth, and a collection of Comic Verse called The Curse of the Vampires Socks. Jones was also the co-creator of the animated TV series Blazing Dragons, reversing a common story convention, the series protagonists are anthropomorphic dragons beset by evil humans
14.
Screenwriter
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One famous screenwriter is Jack Rosenthal, who has written for various TV shows over the years, including Londons Burning and Coronation Street. No education is required to become a screenwriter, just good storytelling abilities. Screenwriters are not hired employees, they are contracted freelancers, most, if not all, screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation, meaning they write without being hired or paid for it. If such a script is sold, it is called a spec script, what separates a professional screenwriter from an amateur screenwriter is that professional screenwriters are usually represented by a talent agency. Also, professional screenwriters do not often work for free, whereas amateur screenwriters will often work for free and are considered writers in training, spec scripts are usually penned by unknown professional screenwriters and amateur screenwriters. There are a legion of would-be screenwriters who attempt to enter the industry but it often takes years of trial-and-error, failure. In Writing Screenplays that Sell, Michael Hague writes Screenplays have become, for the last half of century, closet writers who used to dream of the glory of getting into print now dream of seeing their story on the big or small screen. Every screenplay and teleplay begins with a thought or idea, and screenwriters use those ideas to write scripts, with the intention of selling them and having them produced. In some cases, the script is based on a property, such as a book or persons life story. The majority of the time, a film project gets initiated by a screenwriter and because they initiated the project and these are referred to as exclusive assignments or pitched assignments. Screenwriters who often pitch new projects, whether original or an adaptation, when word is put out about a project a film studio, production company, or producer wants done, these are referred to as open assignments. In situations where screenwriters are competing for an assignment, more established writers will usually win these assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and personally offered a writing assignment, many screenwriters also work as full or part-time script doctors, attempting to better a script to suit the desires of a director or studio. For instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak, script-doctoring can be quite lucrative, especially for the better known writers. David Mamet and John Sayles, for instance, fund the movies they direct themselves, usually from their own screenplays, by writing and doctoring scripts for others. In fact, some writers make very profitable careers out of being the ninth or tenth writer to work on a piece, in many cases, working on projects that never see exposure to an audience of any size. Many up and coming screenwriters also ghost write projects and allow more established screenwriters to take credit for the project to increase the chances of it getting picked up. After a screenwriter finishes a project, he or she pairs with a representative, such as a producer, director, literary agent, entertainment lawyer
15.
Fairy
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A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. According to Thomas Keightley, the word derives from the Latin fata. Other forms are the Italian fata, and the Provençal fada, in old French romance, fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs. Faierie became fairy, but with that now almost exclusively referring to one of the legendary people. The word fairy was used to represent an illusion, or enchantment, to the word faie was added the suffix -erie, used to express either a place where something is found or a trade or typical activity engaged in. In later usage it applied to any kind of quality or activity associated with a particular type of person. In the sense land where fairies dwell, the distinctive and archaic spellings Faery, the latinate fay is not to be confused with the unrelated fey, meaning fated to die. Various folkloristic traditions refer to them euphemistically, by such as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk. Sometimes the term fairy is used to any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes, at other times. Fairies have their origin in the conflation of Celtic traditions in the Middle French medieval romances. Fairie was in origin used adjectivally, meaning enchanted, but was used as a name for enchanted creatures from as early as the Late Middle English period. In English literature of the Elizabethan era, elves became conflated with the fairies of Romance culture, the Victorian and Edwardian eras saw an increase in interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival viewed them as part of Irelands cultural heritage, carole Silvers and others suggest that the fascination of English antiquarians arose from a reaction to greater industrialization, and loss of folkways. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers, even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant. Some fairies though normally quite small were able to dilate their figures to imitate humans, on Orkney they were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour. Wings, while common in Victorian and later artwork of fairies, are rare in the folklore, even very small fairies flew with magic. Nowadays, fairies are depicted with ordinary insect wings or butterfly wings. In some folklore, fairies have green eyes, some depictions of fairies either have them wearing some sort of footwear and other depictions of fairies are always barefoot
16.
Goblin
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A goblin is a monstrous creature from European folklore, first attested in stories from the Middle Ages. They are ascribed various and conflicting abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin and they are almost always small and grotesque, mischievous or outright evil, and greedy, especially for gold and jewelry. They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, similar creatures include brownies, dwarves, gnomes, imps, and kobolds. Alternative spellings include gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, and it may be related both to German kobold and to Medieval Latin cabalus, or *gobalus, itself from Greek κόβαλος, rogue, knave, imp, goblin. Moreover, these names are not from Normandy, where the word gobelin. German Kobold contains the Germanic root kov- which means originally a hollow in the earth, the word is probably related to Dial. Norman gobe hollow in a cliff, with simple suffix -lin or double suffixation -el-in The Welsh coblyn, a Pukwudgie is a type of Goblin from Wamponoag folklore as well as Cryptozoology A Redcap is a type of Goblin who dyes its hat in Human Blood in Anglo-Scottish border folklore. Kallikantzaros are Goblins from Southeastern European and Anatolian folklore, hobgoblins are Friendly Trickster Goblins from English, Scottish, and Pilgrim folklore and literature. The Benevolent Goblin, from Gesta Romanorum The Erlking is a malevolent goblin from German legend, the Goblin Pony, from The Grey Fairy Book The Goblins at the Bath House, from A Book of Ghosts and Goblins The Goblins Turned to Stone. King Gobb Mill Goblins appear in Norwegian folklore, Goblins are featured in the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy tales, The Elf Mound, The Goblin and the Grocer, and The Goblin and the Woman. Many Asian lagyt creatures have been likened to, or translated as and they are especially important mythical creatures in Korean folklore. They usually appear in childrens books, in Bangladesh, Santal people belief in Gudrobonga which is very similar to goblins. The Gap of Goeblin, a hole and underground tunnel in Mortain, cow is an old Scots word for Goblin, while cad means nasty. Dens and lairs refers to goblin homes, the Goblins, a comedy play by Sir John Suckling The Goblins Who Stole A Sexton is a short story by Charles Dickens where goblins torment a gravedigger for being cruel on Christmas. Goblin Market, a poem by Christina Rossetti The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald depicts the Goblins as grotesque humanoids, vulnerable to sunlight, song, and pressure on their feet. Davy and the Goblin by Charles E. Carryl J. R. R. Tolkien generally used the terms goblin and orc synonymously in The Hobbit and these works, featuring goblins of almost-human stature, generally informed the depiction of goblins in later fiction and games. Thompson adds that, in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien has abandoned all pretence at depicting goblins in a comic light, Goblins are also present as the first tier creature in the Orc faction in Heroes of Might and Magic V, Tribes of the East. Goblins are recurring enemies in the Final Fantasy franchise, where they usually appear near the beginning of each game
17.
Alan Lee (illustrator)
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Alan Lee is an English book illustrator and movie conceptual designer. He was born in Middlesex, England, and studied at the Ealing School of Art, Alan has illustrated dozens of fantasy books, including some nonfiction, and many more covers. The latter, a first edition, is his work most widely held in WorldCat participating libraries and he has also illustrated retellings of classics for young people. Two were Rosemary Sutcliffs versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey—namely, Black Ships Before Troy, another was Adrian Mitchells version of Ovids Metamorphoses—namely, Shapeshifters. Lee did cover paintings for the 1983 Penguin edition of Mervyn Peakes Gormenghast trilogy and he also did the artwork for Alive. A CD by the Dutch band Omnia, released on 3 August 2007 during the Castlefest festival, watercolour painting and pencil sketches are two of Lees common media. Jackson has explained how he recruited the reclusive Lee. Lee went on to illustrate and even to help many of the scenarios for the movies, including objects. He also made two appearances, in the opening sequence of The Fellowship as one of the nine kings of men who became the Nazgûl. Lee has also worked as a designer on the films Legend, Erik the Viking, King Kong. The art book Faeries, produced in collaboration with Brian Froud, was the basis of a 1981 animated feature of the same name. Two years after completion of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Lee released a 192-page collection of his artwork for the project. Film director Peter Jackson said, His art captured what I hoped to capture with the films, for his 1978 book with Brian Found, Faeries, Lee was runner-up for the fantasy Locus Award, years best art or illustrated book. For illustrating Merlin Dreams by Peter Dickinson, he won the annual Chesley Award for Best Interior Illustration and he also won the BSFA Award for Best Artwork, for that years best single new image. Five years later he won the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, the book was Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff, a version of the Trojan War story. For the 60th anniversary edition of The Hobbit, Tolkiens 1937 classic, for that years work he won the annual World Fantasy Award, Best Artist, at the 1998 World Fantasy Convention. In 2000 he won the competitive, juried Spectrum Award for fantastic art in the grandmaster category. Lee, Grant Major and Dan Hennah earned the 2004 Academy Award for Best Art Direction for The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, as of 2007 Lee, his wife, and two children live in Chagford, Dartmoor, Devon, England
18.
Romeo and Juliet
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Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeares most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays, today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562, Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of quality, however. Shakespeares use of his dramatic structure has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops, Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play. Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical, during the English Restoration, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant. David Garricks 18th-century version also modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushmans, restored the original text and focused on greater realism. John Gielguds 1935 version kept very close to Shakespeares text and used Elizabethan costumes, the play, set in Verona, Italy, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet servants who, like their masters, are sworn enemies. Prince Escalus of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death, later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter Juliet, but Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliets nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Pariss courtship, meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montagues son, about Romeos recent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulets nieces, persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet, Juliets cousin, Tybalt, is enraged at Romeo for sneaking into the ball but is only stopped from killing Romeo by Juliets father, who does not wish to shed blood in his house. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married, with the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their childrens union, they are secretly married the next day. Tybalt, meanwhile, still incensed that Romeo had sneaked into the Capulet ball, Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalts insolence, as well as Romeos vile submission, Mercutio is fatally wounded when Romeo attempts to break up the fight
19.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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A Midsummer Nights Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six actors who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeares most popular works for the stage and is performed across the world. The play opens with Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her father Egeus demand that she wed Demetrius, Helena meanwhile pines unrequitedly for Demetrius. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian law before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, Theseus offers her another choice, lifelong chastity while worshipping the goddess Artemis as a nun. Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them to the players, nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. He would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles, Bottom is told by Quince that he would do the Lion so terribly as to frighten the duchess and ladies enough for the Duke and Lords to have the players hanged. Quince ends the meeting with at the Dukes oak we meet, in a parallel plot line, Oberon, king of the fairies, and Titania, his queen, have come to the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until she has attended Theseus, Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon for use as his knight or henchman, since the childs mother was one of Titanias worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titanias disobedience, when the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy. He says, And ere I take this charm from off her sight, /As I can take it with another herb, Hermia and Lysander have escaped to the same forest in hopes of eloping. Helena, desperate to reclaim Demetriuss love, tells Demetrius about the plan, Helena continually makes advances towards Demetrius, promising to love him more than Hermia. However, he rebuffs her with cruel insults against her, observing this, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Instead, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, not having seen either before. Helena, coming across him, wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep, upon this happening, Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia and is enraged, when Demetrius goes to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius eyes
20.
Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos
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Lovecraft, A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos is a 1972 non-fiction book written by Lin Carter, published by Ballantine Books. The introduction notes that the book does not purport to be a biography of H. P. Lovecraft, the Cthulhu Mythos is the system of imaginary entities, books, and locations initially invented by Lovecraft and shared with other writers. Carter takes particular interest in noting the stories where particular aspects of Mythos lore first appeared, the book takes pains to establish whether each Lovecraft story belongs to the Cthulhu Mythos or not. He asserts that at least one story does not belong to the Mythos simply because it doesnt fit in, despite the criteria established earlier in the biography, he writes, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath most definitely does not belong to the Mythos. His basis for judgment, Lovecraft wrote two cycles of tales. Both cycles certainly share the same universe in common, but each cycle is, most Lovecraft critics and readers put this novella in Lovecrafts Dream Cycle. Surveying Lovecrafts work, he says, Carter frequently excoriates Lovecraft for his lack of professionalism, and bluntly condemns what he finds to be Lovecrafts racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism
21.
Lin Carter
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Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter, known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and he is best known for editing the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in the 1970s, which introduced readers to many overlooked classics of the fantasy genre. Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida and he was an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy in his youth and became broadly knowledgeable in the field. He was also active in fandom. Carter served in the United States Army, after which he attended Columbia University and he was a copywriter for some years before writing full-time. He married twice, first to Judith Ellen Hershkovitz and later to Noel Vreeland and he was an advertising and publishers copywriter. From 1969 he was a writer and editorial consultant. During much of his career he lived in Hollis, New York. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, Carter himself was the model for the Mario Gonzalo character. He was also a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers Guild of America, in the 1970s Carter issued his own fantasy fanzine, titled Kadath, after H. P. Lovecrafts fictional setting. Only one issue appeared, it was well-printed but in low numbers. The magazine contained Carters Cthulhu Mythos story The City of Pillars, in 1985, his quality of life was severely reduced when he developed oral cancer and had to endure extensive surgery to have it removed. Only his status as a Korean War veteran enabled him to receive treatment, despite these successes, Carter had increased his alcohol intake, becoming a borderline alcoholic and further weakening his body, already ravaged by his cancer and therapy. The disease subsequently resurfaced, spreading to his throat and leading to his death in 1988 and he resided in East Orange, New Jersey in his final years, and died in nearby Montclair, New Jersey. The editor of Crypt of Cthulhu, Robert M. Price, had published a Lin Carter special issue - Vol 5, No 2. Price, who was appointed Carters literary executor, was preparing a second all-Carter issue when Carter died, it was turned into a memorial issue - Vol 7, two further issues of the magazine were devoted to Carter alone, totaling four special Carter issues. A longtime science-fiction and fantasy fan, Carter first appeared in print with entertaining letters to Startling Stories and other pulp magazines in the late 1940s—one in 1943. Another early collaborative story, The Slitherer from the Slime, by Carter as H. P. Lowcraft and Dave Foley, is a sort of parody of H. P. Lovecraft
22.
The World of the Dark Crystal
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The World of the Dark Crystal is a companion book written in conjunction with the film The Dark Crystal. The book was designed and edited by Rupert Brown, with Illustrations by Brian Froud—who was the designer for the film—and text by J. J. Llewellyn. It was originally published in 1982 by Alfred A Knopf, Inc, in 2003 the book was re-released by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. The book gives information for the film and contains many sketches. It is in book that the names of the Skeksis, the urRu, the urSkeks. The book purports to be Aughras account of the backstory, interspersed with in-universe descriptions of various props. Among the concepts explored are numerology and symbology, and periodic references to Aughras origin, the book was a finalist for the 1983 Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book. In the 2003 edition of the book a pamphlet titled The Crystal is included. This was the concept design and story pitched to financial backers before the film went into full production. Four years after The Crystal was created, the film was released in theatres
23.
Goblins!
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The Gobliiins series consists of four puzzle adventure games developed and released by Coktel Vision for the Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, and Macintosh platforms. The first three titles were released in the early 1990s, the fourth in 2009, the games mix elements of adventure and puzzle gaming. In essence, the player must find the solution to each area, consisting of one or more screens, an original aspect of the series is that the player usually controls multiple goblins as player characters, each of whom has a unique set of abilities. The player may control one character at a time but, depending on the specific scene. All games are available in CD format, the first three include voices instead of the goblinish talk that featured on the floppy disk versions. The CD version also censors the nudity featured in the original game, in Gobliiins the player controls a team of three different goblins each with a unique skill. The first goblin, Asgard, is a warrior who is more brawn than brain and he is also the only one who can climb other objects than stairs and ladders. The second goblin, Ignatius, is a magician who can zap things with magic with a variety of usually unexpected effects. The third, Oups, is a technician and is the one of the three that can pick up and use items. The story follows the three goblins as they attempt to aid their king, who has gone insane under mysterious circumstances and they meet with the wizard Niak, who informs them he can cure the kings madness if they bring him three items. However, upon obtaining the items, Niak is revealed to be the one behind the kings insanity, the goblins manage to escape from Niaks lair, save the king by destroying the voodoo doll used to drive him insane, and defeat Niak while he is creating deadly potions. The game is linear and consists of 22 levels, each of which occupies a single screen, the puzzles on each level must be successfully solved in order to progress to the next. When the meter runs out, the ends in defeat. Reception German magazine Powerplay gave the game a rating of 70% for the PC version and 69% for the Amiga, the magazine concluded that the game will entertain a variety of light-hearted gamers. In 1993, Dragon rated the game 5 out of 5 stars, on iOS The game made its debut on iOS in September 2011, brought by publisher Bulkypix. In 1992s Gobliins 2 the player controls two characters, Fingus and Winkle, theyve been sent to rescue the Kings son, the Prince Buffoon, who has been kidnapped by the evil Amoniak. Both goblins can pick up and use items, and both use an item in different ways. Unlike its predecessor, Gobliins 2 allows the player to travel back, also, both goblins can be given an order simultaneously, allowing for the inclusion of timing puzzles
24.
Chelsea Morning
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Chelsea Morning is a song written and composed by Joni Mitchell and recorded for the singers second album, Clouds, which she released in 1969. Prior to it coming out on the Mitchell album, the song had been issued as a single by Judy Collins earlier in the year and as a track on the debut album by Fairport Convention in 1968. Jennifer Warnes recorded it for her album, I Can See Everything, also in 1968, and, in 1969. The earliest commercial appearance of the song, however, was likely its interpretation by Dave Van Ronk on his 1967 album Dave Van Ronk, the song was inspired by Mitchells room in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment, during coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the famous stained glass had been rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers. The lyrics of this song demonstrate Mitchells talent with imagery, and her use of visual inspiration. Example, The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses, Mitchell, in regards to Chelsea Morning, explained in 1996, It was a very young and lovely time. Before I had a record deal, I think its a very sweet song, but I dont think of it as part of my best work. To me, most of early songs seem like the work of an ingenue. Chelsea Morning predated the release of Mitchells 1968 debut album, the Collins version had been initially slated for Who Knows Where the Time Goes, but Chelsea Morning did not make the track listing for the album, instead given an April 1969 single release. Supported mainly by easy listening radio, the track reached #25 on Billboards Easy Listening chart with peripheral Billboard Hot 100 impact, Chelsea Morning made a belated debut as a Judy Collins album track on the singers 1971 album release Living. Collins re-recorded Chelsea Morning for her 1999 retrospective double-album release Forever, in 1970, three versions of Chelsea Morning were produced, Green Lyte Sunday featuring Susan Darby - reached #4 as Easy Listening in Billboard in August 1970. Sérgio Mendes & Brasil 66 - reached #21 as Easy Listening in Billboard in November 1970, sylvia McNeill on RCA1922 produced by Jack Good, is another notable version. In 1971, Neil Diamond recorded Chelsea Morning for his album Stones, in 1972, a Finnish rendering, titled Kaupungin Aamu, was recorded by Anki for her album Ennen Aurinkoa. In 1974, Kjell Hansson recorded the Swedish rendering Skärgårdsmorgon for his album Dig, in 1985, Mitchells version was included in the soundtrack of the feature film After Hours. In 2004, Rebecca Luker recorded Chelsea Morning for her album Leaving Home
25.
John and Caitlin Matthews
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John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews are English writers. Together, they have written over 150 books, translated into more than thirty languages, including Tarot packs, beginning to work together in London in the 1970s, they wrote and published The Western Way in 1985. The book included meditations to enable readers to contact with their inner worlds. Historian Ronald Hutton considers this an influential work and they also edited The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom, devised the Storyworld series and, most recently, created The Steampunk Tarot, Gods of the Machine. They are active on the New Age workshop circuit, teaching their versions of the Celtic mysteries, Neo-shamanism and they were jointly listed 86th in the Watkins list of the 100 most spiritually influential living people worldwide for 2011. John Matthews has been involved in study of the mysteries of Britain including the Arthurian Legends and he has published over ninety books on myth, the Arthurian Legends and Grail studies, including The Grail, Quest for the Eternal, and most recently The Camelot Oracle. He has also published stories, a volume of poetry. His book Arthur of Albion won multiple awards, including a Gold Medal from NAPPA, a gold Moonbeams award and he has taught throughout Europe and the United States and has acted as advisor for a number of media projects including the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur. He has appeared on History Channel and Discovery Channel programmes on Arthur and the Holy Grail and he has served as a guest editor for the international journal Arthuriana, on whose editorial board he also sits. In 2009 he set up the production company Mythwood Films with Wil Kinghan, Caitlín Matthews was born in Portsmouth, England, of British and Irish parents, and from an early age was aware of a spiritual dimension to life. She was briefly acquainted with the influential modern Druid Ross Nichols and she was initiated into the Fellowship of Isis in 1977 and was subsequently ordained as priestess in 1988. She continues as arch-priestess in the Archpriesthood Union, as one of the custodians of the Fellowship of Isis, Ronald Hutton, commenting on Caitlín Matthews works, states that she falls below the standards required of a professional historian. She makes no attempt to distinguish between the value of sources, so those from the seventh century and from the seventeenth are put together with no sense of context. He also states that she conditions her work to the needs of her audience, the Western Way, A Practical Guide to the Western Mystery Tradition. Volume I, The Native Tradition, Arkana,1985 Volume 2, The Hermetic Tradition, Arkana,1986
26.
Troll
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A troll is a class of being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in family units. Later, in Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they far from human habitation, are not Christianized. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly, trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in popular culture. The Old Norse nouns troll and tröll and Middle High German troll, the origin of the Proto-Germanic word is unknown. In Norse mythology, troll, like thurs, is a term applied to jötnar and is mentioned throughout the Old Norse corpus. In Old Norse sources, trolls are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes live together, the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál describes an encounter between an unnamed troll woman and the 9th century skald Bragi Boddason. There is much confusion and overlap in the use of Old Norse terms jötunn, troll, þurs, and risi, on the other hand, Ármann Jakobson is critical of Motzs interpretation and calls this theory unsupported by any convincing evidence. Later in Scandinavian folklore, trolls become defined as a type of being. According to John Lindow, what sets them apart is that they are not Christian, therefore, trolls were in the end dangerous, regardless of how well they might get along with Christian society, and trolls display a habit of bergtagning and overrunning a farm or estate. They therefore appear in various legends where collective nature-beings are called for. Lindow notes that trolls are sometimes swapped out for cats and little people in the folklore record, a Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away trolls and jötnar appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late reflection of the god Thors role in fighting such beings. In connection, the lack of trolls and jötnar in modern Scandinavia is sometimes explained as a result of the accuracy and efficiency of the lightning strokes. Additionally, the absence of trolls in regions of Scandinavia are described in folklore as being a consequence of the constant din of the church-bells, large local stones are sometimes described as the product of a trolls toss. Smaller trolls are attested as living in burial mounds and in mountains in Scandinavian folk tradition, in Denmark, these creatures are recorded as troldfolk, bjergtrolde, or bjergfolk and in Norway also as troldfolk and tusser. Trolls may be described as small, human-like beings or as tall as men depending on the region of origin of the story, in Norwegian tradition, similar tales may be told about the larger trolls and the Huldrefolk yet a distinction is made between the two. The use of the trow in Orkney and Shetland, to mean beings which are very like the Huldrefolk in Norway may suggest a common origin for the terms
27.
Patricia A. McKillip
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Patricia Anne McKillip is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels, which have been winners of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and the Mythopoeic Award. In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and she lives in Oregon and is married to David Lunde, a poet. She has also lived in Roxbury, New York, most of her recent novels feature cover paintings by Kinuko Y
28.
Terri Windling
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Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award and she received the Solstice Award in 2010, which honors individuals with a significant impact on the speculative fiction field. Windlings work has translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese. She is also recognized as one of the founders of the fantasy genre, having published and promoted the first novels of Charles de Lint, Emma Bull. Datlow and Windling also edited the Snow White, Blood Red series of fairy tales for adult readers. Windling also created and edited the Borderland series for teenage readers, and The Armless Maiden and her essays on myth, folklore, magical literature and art have been widely published in newsstand magazines, academic journals, art books, and anthologies. She was a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, as an artist, Windling specializes in work inspired by myth, folklore, and fairy tales. Her art has been exhibited across the US, as well as in the UK, Windling is the founder of the Endicott Studio, an organization dedicated to myth-inspired arts, and was the co-editor of The Journal of Mythic Arts from 1987 until it ceased publication in 2008. She also sits on the board of the Mythic Imagination Institute, Windling married Howard Gayton, the British dramatist and co-founder of the influential Commedia dellarte troupe, the Ophaboom Theatre Company, in September 2008, and lives in Devon, England. Brian Frouds Faerielands, Bantam Books,1994, contemporary fantasy novellas by Charles de Lint, primary series writers, Ellen Kushner, Charles de Lint, Midori Snyder, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly. The series consists of five anthologies and three novels to date, the Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares. Archived from the original on April 24,2012, gotta Write Network Interview by Cindy Speers The Wood Wife - Q&A with Terri Windling Terri Windling at Library of Congress Authorities, with 34 catalog records
29.
The Storyteller (TV series)
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The StoryTeller is a British live-action/puppet television series that originally aired in 1988 and which was created and executively produced by Jim Henson. Reruns of The StoryTeller episodes were featured in episodes of The Jim Henson Hour. The series retold various European folk tales, particularly ones considered obscure in Western culture, created with a combination of actors, in the Secret of the Muppets episode of The Jim Henson Hour, Jim Henson stated that the Storyteller has a half-puppet appearance. Heavy make-up was used to create the character, notably large ears, the Storyteller was initially conceived by Jim Henson as an animatronic puppet character. However, Ron Mueck filmed a test with facial prosthetics, to suggest that an actor in make-up would be more effective. The episodes The Heartless Giant, The Soldier and Death, The True Bride, a soldier returns home after 20 years of war, with three biscuits in his knapsack. Using the sack, the soldier manages to trap a flock of geese and he makes one of them swear to serve him and keeps its foot as leverage. Quickly becoming rich and famous because he removed the devils from a palace that is owned by the Tzar, calling upon the devil, the soldier is given a glass goblet that allows the owner to see Death. If Death is at the foot of the bed, he or she will recover if sprinkled with water from the goblet. If Death is at the head of the bed, nothing can be done, then the Tzar becomes ill and the soldier, seeing Death at the head of his bed, makes a bargain with Death, his life in exchange for the Tzars. Death takes his offer and gives the illness to the soldier, lying in his death bed, he summons Death into his sack and stops death from happening everywhere. But as time goes on, he sees people everywhere who are waiting for death that will not come, so he frees Death, who fears the soldier and his sack so much that he refuses to take the soldiers life. The soldier, old and weary of life, seeks out a way to die and he travels down to the underworld, forcing the devils at the gates to give him two hundred souls and a map to heaven. Terrified of the sack, the agree to his demands. Upon reaching the gates of heaven, he asks to be let in with the souls while begging for forgiveness from God and he gives the sack to one of the souls, asking the soul to summon him into the sack when he has passed through the gates. But since there is no memory in heaven, the soul forgets, in closing, the storyteller remarks that the soldier is still probably about his business. As the Storyteller tosses the bag aside, a devil emerges from the bag unnoticed by the Storyteller, the episode stars Bob Peck as the Soldier, John Franklyn-Robbins as the Tzar and Alistair Fullarton performs Death. This episode was directed by Jim Henson, from an early German folk tale
30.
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
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Little Nemo, Adventures in Slumberland, known in Japan as simply Nemo, is a 1989 Japanese/American animated adventure fantasy film directed by Masami Hata and William T. Hurtz. Based on the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay, ultimately, the screenplay was credited to Chris Columbus and Richard Outten, the storyline and art style differed from the original version. The original soundtrack was penned by the Academy Award-winning Sherman Brothers and it was a box office bomb. Set in 1905, the opens with the young boy Nemo experiencing a nightmare in which he is pursued by a locomotive. Upon awakening the next day, he goes to see a parade welcoming a traveling circus, however, Nemo is unable to see the circus because his father and his mother are too busy to take him. Later that night, Nemo imitates sleepwalking in an attempt to sneak some pie away, upon falling asleep that night, Nemo is approached by figures from the parade. The circus organist introduces himself as Professor Genius and claims that they had sent on a mission by King Morpheus. The mission involves Nemo becoming the playmate of the princess, Camille, Nemo is taken to Slumberland in a dirigible which he is allowed to drive, causing some chaos and is introduced to King Morpheus, who doubles as the circus ringmaster on Earth. Morpheus reveals that he summoned Nemo to become his heir to the throne, Morpheus gives Nemo a golden key that opens every door in the kingdom and warns him of a door with a dragon insignia that must never be opened. Nemo is introduced to Princess Camille and the pair roam the entirety of Slumberland together, afterward, Nemo meets the mischievous clown, Flip, who angers a group of cops and forces him and Nemo to hide out in an underground cave. There, Nemo discovers the door that Morpheus warned him not to open, Flip tempts Nemo into unlocking the door, which unleashes the dreaded Nightmare King. In the middle of a session between Morpheus and Genius, the Nightmare King reaches the castle and steals Morpheus away. As the partygoers search for a scapegoat, Flip reveals that Nemo was responsible for the Nightmare Kings escape, Nemo awakens in his home, which floods with seawater and ejects him into the ocean. Genius discovers Nemo and tells him not to himself for all that has happened. When the two return to Slumberland, Flip reveals that he has a map to Nightmare Land, where Morpheus is currently being held, Nemo, Camille, Flip, and Genius set off in a tugboat in search of Morpheus. They are soon sucked into a whirlpool and find themselves in the monster-infested Nightmare Land, the four come across a group of shapeshifting goblins who wish to aid in the quest to find Morpheus. The Nightmare King sends a flock of frightening giant bats to seize the rescue party, Nemo attempts to use the scepter, but awakens in his bed instead. The goblins appear in Nemos room and the travels to Nightmare Castle by flying through a hole in the sky
31.
The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (2000 film)
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The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus is a 2000 film created by Mike Young Productions and released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It is based on the 1902 L. Frank Baum novel of the same name. In the Forest of Burzee, where many live, their leader, Ak. A wood nymph named Necile thereupon adopts the baby, later named Nicholas, meanwhile, a shapeshifting pixie named Wisk is catapulted to Burzee over the mountain where the evil Awgwas live. When Nicholas reaches young adulthood, Ak shows him how mortals live, Nicholas sees that the humans, mostly the children, live cruel and unfair lives, mostly in poverty or child abuse. Eventually, Nicholas and Wisk move to a spot near both Necile and the humans, the Knooks build a house for him, and Necile gives him a cat, whom he names Blinky. Nicholas travels to a village, in which he stops a baby crying. To help the children, Nicholas carves a toy cat of Blinky, one day in winter, Ethan the Cripple, a boy from a village, travels to his house to bring him a leaning stick. He nearly freezes to death, but Nicholas takes him into his house, much to the disappointment of King Mogorb, when he meets Blinky, Nicholas gives him the toy cat. Nicholas makes more toys to give to children, mostly cats, and later birds, ponies and he also carves a image toy of Shiegra who comes to say goodbye to Nicholas as the end of her days on Earth grew near. A Knook named Will gives him two reindeer, Mistletoe and Holly, to pull a sled so he can travel to the villages in winter, for leaving many toys for the children, he becomes known as Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus. But when he returns after daybreak Will tells him he cannot use the reindeer anymore so while attempting to deliver toys, Nicholas is attacked by the Awgwas. When they later attack Natalie, a princess, coming to see him, Ak decides that Nicholas should travel to villages once a year, and that this day should be Christmas, and Will gives him eight reindeer for his sled. Some children leave milk and cookies for him, in return, near the end of Nicholas days, as the Angel of Death is coming for him, Ak holds an immortals council, asking to make Nicholas immortal. Bo, Master Mariner of the World, calls for a vote, when the vote is in favor of using the Mantle of Immortality on Santa Claus, Ak tells the Angel of Death not to take him, and places the mantle around him while he is asleep. Now immortal, Santa Claus, aided by Blinky and Wisk, continues giving people gifts at Christmas, the end showing a Christmas many years in the future
32.
Peter Pan (2003 film)
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Peter Pan is a 2003 American-British-Australian adventure fantasy film released by Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Revolution Studios. It was the first authorized and faithful film or television adaptation of J. M. Barries play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldnt Grow Up in half a century, after Disneys version in 1953. P. J. Hogan directed a screenplay co-written with Michael Goldenberg which is based on the classic play, lynn Redgrave plays a supporting role as Aunt Millicent, a new character created for the film. Contrary to the traditional stage casting, the featured a young boy in the title role. Since the first stage production of the story, the role has usually been played by a woman. Two subsequent animated adaptations have featured a voice actor as Peter Pan. This film was the first live-action theatrical release with a boy playing the part, the casting of a single actor to play both George Darling and Captain Hook follows a tradition also begun in the first staging of the play. Peter Pan received positive reviews critics, but was a box office bomb, grossing $48.5 million in the United States. Life is disrupted when their Aunt Millicent intervenes, the very idea terrifies the children. Wendy daydreams about having seen Peter in the night, and along with the familys nurse dog Nana, as a punishment, Mr. Darling chains Nana outside and declares it time for Wendy to grow up. Peter visits the nursery again looking for his shadow, which Nana had bitten off, after being acquainted, Wendy sews his shadow back on and is enchanted by Peters tales of his adventures in Neverland. She asks Peter if she can kiss him, but because he not know what a kiss is. He returns the kiss by plucking an acorn from his shirt, Peter invites her to be mother to his gang of Lost Boys. She asks to bring her brothers, John and Michael, to which Peter agrees and he grabs Tinker Bell and shakes fairy dust on the children and tells them to think of happy thoughts. Nana, having escaped her chain, leads Mr. and Mrs. Darling back home, the Children fly over London and then to Neverland. They spy on Captain Hooks ship from a cloud, the pirates spot them and attack with their cannons. One knocks Wendy far away and the other causes Michael and John to fall towards the island below, Peter tells Tinker Bell to find Wendy and take her back to the hideout while he gets the boys. But Tinker Bell reaches the hideout without Wendy and out of jealousy, the boys learn the truth and confess to Peter but Wendy is revealed not to have been killed as the arrow hit the acorn necklace hung around her neck
33.
IMDb
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In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon Inc, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes. As of January 2017, IMDb has approximately 4.1 million titles and 7.7 million personalities in its database, the site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data is checked before going live, the system has open to abuse. The site also featured message boards which stimulate regular debates and dialogue among authenticated users, IMDb shutdown the message boards permanently on February 20,2017. Anyone with a connection can read the movie and talent pages of IMDb. A registration process is however, to contribute info to the site. A registered user chooses a name for themselves, and is given a profile page. These badges range from total contributions made, to independent categories such as photos, trivia, bios, if a registered user or visitor happens to be in the entertainment industry, and has an IMDb page, that user/visitor can add photos to that page by enrolling in IMDbPRO. Actors, crew, and industry executives can post their own resume and this fee enrolls them in a membership called IMDbPro. PRO can be accessed by anyone willing to pay the fee, which is $19.99 USD per month, or if paid annually, $149.99, which comes to approximately $12.50 per month USD. Membership enables a user to access the rank order of each industry personality, as well as agent contact information for any actor, producer, director etc. that has an IMDb page. Enrolling in PRO for industry personnel, enables those members the ability to upload a head shot to open their page, as well as the ability to upload hundreds of photos to accompany their page. Anyone can register as a user, and contribute to the site as well as enjoy its content, however those users enrolled in PRO have greater access and privileges. IMDb originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled Those Eyes, others with similar interests soon responded with additions or different lists of their own. Needham subsequently started an Actors List, while Dave Knight began a Directors List, and Andy Krieg took over THE LIST from Hank Driskill, which would later be renamed the Actress List. Both lists had been restricted to people who were alive and working, the goal of the participants now was to make the lists as inclusive as possible. By late 1990, the lists included almost 10,000 movies and television series correlated with actors and actresses appearing therein. On October 17,1990, Needham developed and posted a collection of Unix shell scripts which could be used to search the four lists, at the time, it was known as the rec. arts. movies movie database
34.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
35.
Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
