1.
Star Wars
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Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. It depicts the adventures of characters a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars and it was followed by the successful sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these three films constitute the original Star Wars trilogy. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, which received mixed-to-negative reactions, a sequel trilogy began in 2015 with the release of Star Wars, The Force Awakens. All seven films were nominated for Academy Awards and have been successes, with a combined box office revenue of over $7.5 billion. Spin-off films include Star Wars, The Clone Wars and Rogue One, Star Wars also holds a Guinness World Records title for the Most successful film merchandising franchise. In 2015, the value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at USD $42 billion. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and earned the rights to all subsequent Star Wars films. Walt Disney Studios owns digital distribution rights to all the Star Wars films, the events depicted in the Star Wars franchise take place in an unnamed fictional galaxy at an undetermined point in the distant past. Many species of creatures are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a single galactic government. In the prequel trilogy, this is depicted in the form of the Galactic Republic, at the end of the trilogy and throughout the original trilogy. Preceding and during the trilogy, this government is the New Republic. One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the Force and it is described in the first produced film as an energy field created by all living things surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together. While the Force can be used for good, known as the side, it also has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression. The sequel trilogy introduces the Knights of Ren, an order of practitioners of the side of the Force aligned with the First Order. The first film in the series, Star Wars, was released on May 25,1977 and this was followed by two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21,1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25,1983
2.
Princess Leia
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Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, later known as General Leia Organa, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and she thwarts the sinister Sith Lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empires cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler, Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi, Leia leads the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and is revealed to be Vaders daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker. The prequel film Revenge of the Sith establishes that the mother is Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. Leia is adopted by Senator Bail and Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan, in The Force Awakens, Leia is the founder and General of the Resistance against the First Order and has a son with Han named Ben, who goes by the name Kylo Ren. She becomes the Chief of State of the New Republic and a Jedi Master, One of the more popular Star Wars characters, Leia has been called a 1980s icon, a feminist hero and model for other adventure heroines. She has appeared in many works and merchandising, and has been referenced or parodied in several TV shows. Her cinnamon buns hairstyle from Star Wars and metal bikini from Return of the Jedi have become cultural icons, Leia was created by Star Wars creator George Lucas. In 1999, Lucas explained his early development of Leia, Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi, The first talked about a princess, the second version involved a father, his son, and his daughter, the daughter was the heroine of the film. Now the daughter has become Luke, Mark Hamills character, There was also the story of two brothers where I transformed one of them into a sister. The older brother was imprisoned, and the sister had to rescue him. In the fourth draft it was established that Leia Organa came instead from Alderaan, Fisher was 19 when she was cast as Princess Leia, with actresses including Amy Irving, Cindy Williams and Jodie Foster also up for the role. Asked about Streep in 2015, Fisher said, Bullshit, but Jodie Foster was up for it. That one I knew the most, the second draft of the Return of the Jedi screenplay contained dialogue in which Obi-Wan tells Luke he has a twin sister. She and their mother were sent to the protection of friends in a distant system, the mother died shortly thereafter, and Lukes sister was adopted by Bens friends, the governor of Alderaan and his wife. Fisher explained in 1983, Leias real father left her mother when she was pregnant, I was adopted and grew up set apart from other people because I was a princess. Composer John Williams created a musical leitmotif for Leia which recurs throughout the Star Wars saga, Princess Leias Theme was recorded as a concert suite for the score of the 1977 film
3.
Video game
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A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video game referred to a raster display device. Some theorists categorize video games as an art form, but this designation is controversial, the electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms, examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices, the input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, joysticks, mouse devices, keyboards, the touchscreens of mobile devices, and buttons, or even, with the Kinect sensor, a persons hands and body. Players typically view the game on a screen or television or computer monitor, or sometimes on virtual reality head-mounted display goggles. There are often game sound effects, music and, in the 2010s, some games in the 2000s include haptic, vibration-creating effects, force feedback peripherals and virtual reality headsets. In the 2010s, the game industry is of increasing commercial importance, with growth driven particularly by the emerging Asian markets and mobile games. As of 2015, video games generated sales of USD74 billion annually worldwide, early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U. S. Written by MIT students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanens on a DEC PDP-1 computer in 1961, and the hit ping pong-style Pong, used the DEC PDP-1s vector display to have two spaceships battle each other. In 1971, Computer Space, created by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, was the first commercially sold and it used a black-and-white television for its display, and the computer system was made of 74 series TTL chips. The game was featured in the 1973 science fiction film Soylent Green, Computer Space was followed in 1972 by the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home console. Modeled after a late 1960s prototype console developed by Ralph H. Baer called the Brown Box and these were followed by two versions of Ataris Pong, an arcade version in 1972 and a home version in 1975 that dramatically increased video game popularity. The commercial success of Pong led numerous other companies to develop Pong clones and their own systems, the game inspired arcade machines to become prevalent in mainstream locations such as shopping malls, traditional storefronts, restaurants, and convenience stores. The game also became the subject of articles and stories on television and in newspapers and magazines. Space Invaders was soon licensed for the Atari VCS, becoming the first killer app, the term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is commonly used
4.
The Walt Disney Company
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The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue. Disney was founded on October 16,1923 – by brothers Walt Disney, the company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing. In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its studio, Walt Disney Studios. Disneys other three divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6,1991, Mickey Mouse, an early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, is a primary symbol and mascot for Disney. In early 1923, Kansas City, Missouri, animator Walt Disney created a film entitled Alices Wonderland. After the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, Disney moved to Hollywood to join his brother, Walt and Roy Disney formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio that same year. More animated films followed after Alice, in January 1926, with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brothers Studios name was changed to the Walt Disney Studio. The distributor owned Oswald, so Disney only made a few hundred dollars, Disney completed 26 Oswald shorts before losing the contract in February 1928, due to a legal loophole, when Winklers husband Charles Mintz took over their distribution company. After failing to take over the Disney Studio, Mintz hired away four of Disneys primary animators to start his own animation studio, Snappy Comedies. In 1928, to recover from the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney came up with the idea of a character named Mortimer while on a train headed to California. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse and starred in several Disney produced films, ub Iwerks refined Disneys initial design of Mickey Mouse. Disneys first sound film Steamboat Willie, a cartoon starring Mickey, was released on November 18,1928 through Pat Powers distribution company and it was the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon released, but the third to be created, behind Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho. Disney used Pat Powers Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forests Phonofilm system, Steamboat Willie premiered at B. S. Mosss Colony Theater in New York City, now The Broadway Theatre. Disneys Plane Crazy and The Galloping Gaucho were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks, Disney continued to produce cartoons with Mickey Mouse and other characters, and began the Silly Symphonies series with Columbia Pictures signing on as Symphonies distributor in August 1929
5.
Star Wars (film)
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Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. The first installment in the Star Wars film series, it stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew co-star in supporting roles. The plot focuses on the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia, and its attempt to destroy the Galactic Empires space station and this conflict disrupts the isolated life of farmhand Luke Skywalker, who inadvertently acquires a pair of droids that possess stolen architectural plans for the Death Star. Star Wars was released theatrically in the United States on May 25,1977 and it earned $461 million in the U. S. and $314 million overseas, totaling $775 million. It surpassed Jaws to become the film of all time until the release of E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial. When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is the film in North America. It received ten Academy Award nominations, winning seven and it was among the first films to be selected as part of the U. S. Library of Congress National Film Registry as being culturally, historically, at the time, it was the most recent film on the registry and the only one chosen from the 1970s. Its soundtrack was added to the U. S. National Recording Registry in 2004, today, it is often regarded as one of the best films of all time, as well as one of the most important films in the history of motion pictures. It launched an industry of tie-in products, including TV series spinoffs, novels, comic books, and video games, the films success led to two critically and commercially successful sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. A prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, followed by a trilogy beginning in 2015. In 2016, Rogue One was released as a prequel to the original Star Wars film. The galaxy is in the midst of a civil war, spies for the Rebel Alliance have stolen plans to the Galactic Empires Death Star, a heavily armed space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Rebel leader Princess Leia has the plans, but her ship is captured by Imperial forces under the command of the evil Darth Vader, before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of an astromech droid, R2-D2, along with a holographic recording. R2-D2 flees to the surface of the desert planet Tatooine with C-3PO, the droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew Luke Skywalker. While cleaning R2-D2, Luke accidentally triggers part of Leias message, the next morning, Luke finds R2-D2 searching for Obi-Wan, and meets Ben Kenobi, an old hermit who lives in the hills and reveals himself to be Obi-Wan. Contrary to his uncles statements, Luke learns that his father, Anakin, Obi-Wan tells Luke that Vader was his former pupil who turned to the dark side of the Force and killed Anakin. Obi-Wan then presents to Luke his fathers weapon – a lightsaber, Obi-Wan views Leias complete message, in which she begs him to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father for analysis
6.
Smuggling
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There are various motivations to smuggle. Examples of non-financial motivations include bringing banned items past a security checkpoint or the removal of classified documents from a government or corporate office, Smuggling is a common theme in literature, from Bizets opera Carmen to the James Bond spy books Diamonds are Forever and Goldfinger. The verb smuggle, from Low German schmuggeln or Dutch smokkelen, apparently a frequentative formation of a meaning to sneak. Smuggling has a long and controversial history, probably dating back to the first time at which duties were imposed in any form, in England smuggling first became a recognised problem in the 13th century, following the creation of a national customs collection system by Edward I in 1275. Medieval smuggling tended to focus on the export of highly taxed export goods — notably wool, merchants also, however, sometimes smuggled other goods to circumvent prohibitions or embargoes on particular trades. Most studies of historical smuggling have been based on official sources — such as court records, according to Dr Evan Jones, the trouble with these is that they only detail the activities of those dumb enough to get caught. This has led him and others, such as Prof Huw Bowen to use records to reconstruct smuggling businesses. Grain smuggling by members of the elite, often working closely with corrupt customs officers, has also been shown to have been prevalent in East Anglia during the later 16th century. In England wool was smuggled to the continent in the 17th century, the principal reason for the high duty was the need for the government to finance a number of extremely expensive wars with France and the United States. The thievery was boasted about and romanticized until it seemed a kind of heroism and it did not have any taint of criminality and the whole of the south coast had pockets vying with one another over whose smugglers were the darkest or most daring. The Smugglers Inn was one of the commonest names for a bar on the coast, in Henley Road, smuggling in colonial times was a reaction to the heavy taxes and regulations imposed by mercantilist trade policies. After American independence in 1783, smuggling developed at the edges of the United States at places like Passamaquoddy Bay, St. Marys in Georgia, Lake Champlain, and Louisiana. During Thomas Jeffersons embargo of 1807-1809, these places became the primary places where goods were smuggled out of the nation in defiance of the law. Like Britain, a gradual liberalization of laws as part of the free trade movement meant less smuggling. In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt tried to cut down on smuggling by establishing the Roosevelt Reservation along the United States-Mexico Border, Smuggling revived in the 1920s during Prohibition, and drug smuggling became a major problem after 1970. In the 1990s, when sanctions were imposed on Serbia. The state unofficially allowed this to continue or otherwise the entire economy would have collapsed, much smuggling occurs when enterprising merchants attempt to supply demand for a good or service that is illegal or heavily taxed. As a result, illegal trafficking, and the smuggling of weapons, as well as the historical staples of smuggling, alcohol
7.
Palpatine
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Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character of the Star Wars franchise, mainly portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In the original trilogy, he is depicted as the aged, pale-faced and cloaked Emperor of the Galactic Empire, as Sidious, he instigates the Clone Wars, nearly destroys the Jedi, and transforms the Republic into the Empire. He also manipulates Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into turning to the dark side, Palpatines reign is brought to an end when Vader kills him to save his son, Luke Skywalker. The Emperor is briefly mentioned in the original Star Wars, the first film in the original trilogy, grand Moff Tarkin explains to his fellow Imperials that the Emperor has dissolved the Senate. The Emperor first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and he appears in hologram form to address Darth Vader, his Sith apprentice. He tells Vader that Luke Skywalker is becoming a threat to the Empire. Vader convinces him that Luke would be an asset if turned to the dark side. In 1983s Return of the Jedi, the Emperor appears in person to oversee the last stages of the second Death Stars construction and he assures Darth Vader that they will together turn Luke, now revealed to be Vaders son, to the dark side. Unknown to Vader, the Emperor plans to replace his apprentice with Luke, when Vader brings Luke before his master, the Emperor tempts Luke to join the dark side by appealing to the young Jedis fear for his friends, whom he has lured into a trap. This leads to a duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader. The Emperor tells Luke to kill Vader and take his place, enraged, the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning. Moved by his sons cries for help, Vader throws the Emperor into the Death Stars reactor shaft, as Sidious, he influences the corrupt Trade Federation to blockade and invade Naboo. Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo flees to the planet Coruscant to receive counsel from Palpatine, after a plea for help from the senate results in bureaucratic delays, Palpatine persuades the queen to make a motion to have Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum removed from office. When Padmé attempts to liberate Naboo, Sidious sends his Sith apprentice Darth Maul there to capture her, the invasion is eventually thwarted and Maul is defeated in a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Palpatine uses the crisis to be elected the new Chancellor of the Republic and he then returns to Naboo, where he befriends the young Anakin Skywalker, telling him that, We will watch your career with great interest. In the 2002 sequel Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, since the Separatists are secretly building a battle droid army, Palpatine uses the situation to have himself granted emergency powers. Palpatine feigns reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis has ended and his first act is to allow the creation of a clone army to counter the Separatist threat, this results in the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. With the galaxy now at war as Sidious planned, Dooku brings him the plans for a new superweapon
8.
Cloning
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In biology, cloning is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments, cells, the term also refers to the production of multiple copies of a product such as digital media or software. The term clone, invented by J. B. S. Haldane, is derived from the Ancient Greek word κλών klōn, twig, referring to the process whereby a new plant can be created from a twig. In horticulture, the spelling clon was used until the twentieth century, since the term entered the popular lexicon in a more general context, the spelling clone has been used exclusively. In botany, the term lusus was traditionally used, Cloning is a natural form of reproduction that has allowed life forms to spread for more than 50 thousand years. It is the method used by plants, fungi, and bacteria. Examples of these organisms include blueberry plants, hazel trees, the Pando trees, the Kentucky coffeetree, Myricas, molecular cloning refers to the process of making multiple molecules. Cloning is commonly used to amplify DNA fragments containing whole genes and it is used in a wide array of biological experiments and practical applications ranging from genetic fingerprinting to large scale protein production. In practice, localization of the gene to a chromosome or genomic region does not necessarily enable one to isolate or amplify the relevant genomic sequence, initially, the DNA of interest needs to be isolated to provide a DNA segment of suitable size. Subsequently, a procedure is used where the amplified fragment is inserted into a vector. The vector is linearised using restriction enzymes, and incubated with the fragment of interest under appropriate conditions with an enzyme called DNA ligase, following ligation the vector with the insert of interest is transfected into cells. A number of techniques are available, such as chemical sensitivation of cells, electroporation, optical injection. Finally, the cells are cultured. Modern cloning vectors include selectable antibiotic resistance markers, which allow only cells in which the vector has been transfected, additionally, the cloning vectors may contain colour selection markers, which provide blue/white screening on X-gal medium. Nevertheless, these selection steps do not absolutely guarantee that the DNA insert is present in the cells obtained, further investigation of the resulting colonies must be required to confirm that cloning was successful. This may be accomplished by means of PCR, restriction fragment analysis and/or DNA sequencing, Cloning a cell means to derive a population of cells from a single cell. In the case of organisms such as bacteria and yeast. However, in the case of cell cultures from multi-cellular organisms, a useful tissue culture technique used to clone distinct lineages of cell lines involves the use of cloning rings
9.
Telepathy
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Telepathy is the purported transmission of information from one person to another without using any of our known sensory channels or physical interaction. Telepathy experiments have historically been criticized for lack of proper controls, there is no convincing evidence that telepathy exists, and the topic is generally considered by the scientific community to be pseudoscience. Telepathy is a theme in modern fiction and science fiction, with many extraterrestrials, superheroes. As the physical sciences made significant advances, scientific concepts were applied to mental phenomena, the modern concept of telepathy emerged in this context. The skeptic Eric Dingwall criticized SPR founding members Frederic W. H. Myers, in the late 19th century the magician Washington Irving Bishop would perform thought reading demonstrations. Bishop claimed no supernatural powers and ascribed his powers to muscular sensitivity, Bishop was investigated by a group of scientists including the editor of the British Medical Journal and the psychologist Francis Galton. Bishop performed several feats such as correctly identifying a selected spot on a table. During the experiment Bishop required physical contact with a subject who knew the correct answer and he would hold the hand or wrist of the helper. The scientists concluded that Bishop was not a telepath but using a highly trained skill to detect ideomotor movements. Another famous thought reader was the magician Stuart Cumberland, Cumberland claimed to possess no genuine psychic ability and his thought reading performances could only be demonstrated by holding the hand of his subject to read their muscular movements. He came into dispute with psychical researchers associated with the Society for Psychical Research who were searching for genuine cases of telepathy. Cumberland argued that telepathy and communication with the dead were impossible and that the mind of man can not be read through telepathy. In the late 19th century the Creery Sisters were tested by the Society for Psychical Research, however, during a later experiment they were caught utilizing signal codes and they confessed to fraud. G. A. Smith and myself have been accepted and cited as the evidence of the truth of thought transference. The psychologist Leonard T. Troland had carried out experiments in telepathy at Harvard University which were reported in 1917, the subjects produced below chance expectations. Arthur Conan Doyle and W. T, Stead were duped into believing Julius and Agnes Zancig had genuine psychic powers. Both Doyle and Stead wrote the Zancigs performed telepathy, the results revealed no evidence for telepathy. She attempted to duplicate 290 pictures which were drawn by her husband, Sinclair claimed Mary successfully duplicated 65 of them, with 155 partial successes and 70 failures
10.
Timothy Zahn
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Timothy Zahn is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known for the Thrawn series of Star Wars novels, Zahns novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo Award. At the time, Zahn was writing what would become known as the Thrawn trilogy, in turn, West End released sourcebooks for Zahns three novels from 1992-1994. Zahn also wrote the young adult Dragonback series and the popular Conquerors trilogy
