1.
Lucca Comics & Games
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Lucca Comics & Games is an annual comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Tuscany, traditionally held at the end of October. It is the largest comics festival in Europe, and the second biggest in the world after the Comiket, the Salone Internazionale del Comics was launched by Rinaldo Traini and Romano Calisi in 1965 in Bordighera. In 1966 it moved to a piazza in the center of Lucca. Funding issues reduced the frequency of the festival to two years, beginning in 1977. In the 1980s, the festival was moved to a sports center outside the city walls, where it remained until 1992, after the Salone internazionale del Comics ended in Lucca, city leaders launched a new convention called simply Lucca Comics that was a reprise of the old one. In 1996 it changed its name to Lucca Comics & Games, the festival attracted 50,000 attendees in 2002. Meanwhile, the Salone internazionale del Comics was held in Rome from 1995 to 2005, in 2016, the festival attracted 270,000 attendees. Yellow Kid Awards were also presented to publishers, both domestic and foreign, the festival also presents a special award called the Gran Guinigi Award
2.
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
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Lake Geneva is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, USA. The population was 7,651 at the 2010 census, a resort city located on Geneva Lake, it is popular with vacationers from Chicago and Milwaukee areas. Originally called Muck-Suck for a Potawatomi chief, the city was later named Geneva after the town of Geneva, New York, located on Seneca Lake, to which early settler John Brink saw a resemblance. Geneva, to avoid confusion with the town of Geneva, Illinois, was renamed Lake Geneva. The city was known as The Newport of the West. In 1954, Lake Geneva was one of the three finalists for the location of the new United States Air Force Academy, but ultimately lost to Colorado Springs, in 1968, Hugh Hefner built his first Playboy resort in Lake Geneva. The club closed in 1981 and in 1982 was converted into the Americana Resort, royal Records was a Lake Geneva music recording studio where artists such as Ministry, Cheap Trick, Queensrÿche, Crash Test Dummies, Iron Maiden, Nine Inch Nails and Skid Row have recorded albums. Lake Geneva is located at 42°35′33″N 88°26′4″W, the city is situated on the northeast bay of Geneva Lake on relatively flat ground, with some steep hills and bluffs. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.55 square miles. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,651 people,3,323 households, the population density was 1,169.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 4,225 housing units at a density of 646.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 87. 6% White,0. 6% African American,0. 2% Native American,1. 5% Asian,8. 5% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 17. 3% of the population. 36. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 22. 7% of residents were under the age of 18,8. 2% were between the ages of 18 and 24,25. 5% were from 25 to 44,26. 8% were from 45 to 64, and 16. 7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47. 5% male and 52. 5% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 7,148 people,3,053 households, and 1,801 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,425.1 people per square mile, there were 3,757 housing units at an average density of 749.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 90. 81% White,0. 90% African American,0. 11% Native American,1. 08% Asian,0. 06% Pacific Islander,5. 16% from other races, and 1. 89% from two or more races
3.
Role-playing game
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A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. There are several forms of RPG, the original form, sometimes called the tabletop RPG, is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing games players physically perform their characters actions. In both of these forms, an arranger called a game master usually decides on the rules and setting to be used, acting as referee, while each of the other players plays the role of a single character. Several varieties of RPG also exist in media, such as multi-player text-based MUDs and their graphics-based successors. These games often share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, despite this variety of forms, some game forms such as trading card games and wargames that are related to role-playing games may not be included. Role-playing activity may sometimes be present in games, but it is not the primary focus. The term is sometimes used to describe roleplay simulation games and exercises used in teaching, training. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling, events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a show is a passive observer. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a party of friends collaborate to create a story. Participants in a game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief, the level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. There is also a variety of systems of rules and game settings. Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game and these types of games tend to minimize or altogether eliminate the use of dice or other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM and this type of game is typically played at gaming conventions, or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop and pen-and-paper RPGs are conducted through discussion in a social gathering
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.
Science fiction
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Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a literature of ideas. Science fiction is difficult to define, as it includes a range of subgenres and themes. Author and editor Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying science fiction is what we point to when we say it, a definition echoed by author Mark C. Glassy, who argues that the definition of science fiction is like the definition of pornography, you do not know what it is, in 1970 or 1971William Atheling Jr. According to science fiction writer Robert A, rod Serlings definition is fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible, Science fiction is largely based on writing rationally about alternative possible worlds or futures. Science fiction elements include, A time setting in the future, in alternative timelines, a spatial setting or scenes in outer space, on other worlds, or on subterranean earth. Characters that include aliens, mutants, androids, or humanoid robots, futuristic or plausible technology such as ray guns, teleportation machines, and humanoid computers. Scientific principles that are new or that contradict accepted physical laws, for time travel, wormholes. New and different political or social systems, e. g. utopian, dystopian, post-scarcity, paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, telekinesis Other universes or dimensions and travel between them. A product of the budding Age of Reason and the development of science itself. Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Keplers work the first science fiction story and it depicts a journey to the Moon and how the Earths motion is seen from there. Later, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story about a flight to the moon, more examples appeared throughout the 19th century. Wells The War of the Worlds describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians using tripod fighting machines equipped with advanced weaponry and it is a seminal depiction of an alien invasion of Earth. In the late 19th century, the scientific romance was used in Britain to describe much of this fiction. This produced additional offshoots, such as the 1884 novella Flatland, the term would continue to be used into the early 20th century for writers such as Olaf Stapledon. In the early 20th century, pulp magazines helped develop a new generation of mainly American SF writers, influenced by Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories magazine. In 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars, the first of his series of Barsoom novels, situated on Mars
6.
Idaho Springs, Colorado
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The City of Idaho Springs is a Statutory City which is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,717, Idaho Springs is located in Clear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some 30 miles west of Denver. Founded in 1859 by prospectors during the days of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The Argo Tunnel drained and provided access to many lodes of ore between Idaho Springs and Central City. During the late century, the town evolved into a tourist center along U. S. Highway 6 and U. S. Highway 40. It also serves as a community for workers at the Loveland Ski Area farther up the canyon. The town today is the largest community in Clear Creek County, but, for historical reasons, the county seat has remained at Georgetown. On January 5,1859, during the Colorado gold rush, prospector George A. Jackson discovered placer gold at the present site of Idaho Springs and it was the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado. Jackson, a Missouri native with experience in the California gold fields, was drawn to the area by clouds of steam rising from some nearby hot springs. Jackson kept his secret for several months, but after he paid for some supplies with gold dust. The location was known as Jacksons Diggings. Once the location became a permanent settlement, it was variously called Sacramento City, Idahoe, Idaho City, the first placer discoveries were soon followed by discoveries of gold veins in the rocks of the canyon walls on both sides of Clear Creek. Hard rock mining became the mainstay of the town long after the gold-bearing gravels were exhausted, a strike by Idaho Springs miners demanding the eight-hour day in May 1903 erupted into violence. This was a struggle in a much broader fight called the Colorado Labor Wars. The 1969 film Downhill Racer portrayed an alpine ski racer from Idaho Springs, played by Robert Redford, several scenes from the comedy film The Overbrook Brothers were filmed here in the spring of 2008. Idaho Springs is located in northeastern Clear Creek County at 39°44′33″N 105°30′52″W, along Clear Creek near the confluence of its tributary, Chicago Creek. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 2.2 square miles, of which 0.03 square miles. As of the census of 2010, there were 1,717 people and 934 housing units, as of the census of 2000, there were 485 families residing in the city
7.
Ben Bova
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Benjamin William Ben Bova is an American writer. Ben Bova was born on November 8,1932 in Philadelphia and he graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1949 and has been inducted into the SPHS Cultural Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements. In 1953, while attending Temple University in Philadelphia, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son, in that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose. Barbara Bova died on September 23,2009, Bova dedicated his 2011 novel, Power Play to Barbara. In March 2013, he announced on his website that he had remarried, Bova was an avid fencer in his younger days and organized Avco Everetts fencing club. Bova is an atheist and is critical of what he sees as the nature of religion. He wrote a piece in 2012, in which he argued that atheists can be just as moral as religious believers. Bova worked as a writer for Project Vanguard in the 1950s. When they conducted research in lasers and fluid dynamics, at Avco Everett he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz. In 1972, Bova became editor of Analog Science Fact & Fiction, at Analog, Bova won six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor. Bova served as the advisor for the failed television series The Starlost. His novel The Starcrossed, loosely based on his experiences, featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend, Bova dedicated the novel to Cordwainer Bird, the pen name Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project. In 1974, he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the childrens television series Land of the Lost. After leaving Analog in 1978, Bova went on to edit Omni, Bova holds the position of President Emeritus of the National Space Society and served as President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 1990 to 1992. He appeared as the Guest of Honor at the Florida convention Necronomicon in 1995 and 2011, in 2000, he attended the 58th World Science Fiction Convention as the Author Guest of Honor. In 2007, Stuber/Parent Productions hired him as a consultant to provide insight into what the world may look like in the future, for their film Repo Men starring Jude Law. Also in 2007 he provided consulting services to Silver Pictures on the adaptation of Richard K. Morgans hardboiled cyberpunk science-fiction novel Altered Carbon. He was awarded the Robert A. Heinlein Award in 2008 for his work in science fiction
8.
Beloit College
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Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin and it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. It releases an annual Mindset List describing the generational touchstones for graduating high school seniors, the group raised funds for a college in their new town and convinced the territorial legislature to enact the charter for Beloit College on February 2,1846. The first building was built in 1847, and it remains in operation today, classes began in the fall of 1847, with the first degrees awarded in 1851. The first president of Beloit was a Yale University graduate, Aaron Lucius Chapin, the college become coeducational in fall,1895, when it opened its doors to women. Although independent today, Beloit College was historically, though unofficially, the college remained very small for almost its entire first century with enrollment topping 1,000 students only with the influx of World War II veterans in 1945–1946. The Beloit Plan was a year-round curriculum introduced in 1964 that comprises three full terms and a term of off-campus study. The trustees decided to return to the two semester program in 1978, Beloits campus is located within the Near East Side Historic District. The campus is host to 20 conical, linear, and animal effigy mounds built between about AD400 and 1200, created by Native Americans identified by archaeologists as Late Woodland people. One of the mounds, in the shape of a turtle, inspired Beloits symbol, the mounds on Beloits campus are catalogued burial sites, and therefore may not be disturbed without an official permit from the Wisconsin Historical Society. Beloit College completed a 120,000 sq ft Center for the Sciences in the fall of 2008, the building was awarded LEED green building certification. It also won a Design Excellence Honor Award in Interior Architecture from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects on October 30,2009. In the fall of 2010, Beloit College opened the Hendricks Center for the Arts, the building previously held the Beloit Post Office and later the Beloit Public Library. The renovation and expansion of the facility is the largest single gift in the colleges history, the building is named after Diane Hendricks, chair of ABC Supply of Beloit, and her late husband and former college trustee Ken Hendricks. Two Beloit campus museums open to the public are run by college staff, the Logan Museum of Anthropology and the Wright Museum of Art were both founded in the late 19th century. The Logan Museum, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, curates over 300,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects from 125 countries, the Wright Museums holdings of over 8,000 objects include a large collection of original prints and Asian art. Both museums feature temporary special exhibitions year round, the Beloit College campus also houses two sculptures by artist Siah Armajani, his Gazebo for One Anarchist, Emma Goldman 1991 and The Beloit College Poetry Garden. Academic strengths include field-oriented disciplines such as anthropology and geology, more Beloit graduates have earned Ph. D. D. in general
9.
NCAA Division III
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Sports Division III is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. The division consists of colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletically related financial aid to their student-athletes, as explained in more detail in the article about NCAA Division II, the NCAAs first split was into two divisions. The former College Division formed because many NCAA member schools wanted an alternative to the nature of what is now Division I. Division III formed in 1973, in a split of the College Division, the former College Division members that chose to offer athletic scholarships or to remain in a division with those who did became Division II, while members that did not became Division III. Division III is the NCAA’s largest division with 438 active member institutions, of the member institutions, 81% are private, while only 19% are public. Division III schools range in size from an undergraduate enrollment of 348 to a maximum of 21,247. Division III institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women, there are minimum contest and participant minimums for each sport. Division III athletic programs are non-revenue-generating, extracurricular programs that are staffed and funded like any other university department, hence, they feature student-athletes who receive no financial aid related to their athletic ability. Student athletes also cannot redshirt as freshmen, and schools may not use endowments or funds whose primary purpose is to benefit athletic programs, Division III schools shall not award financial aid to any student on the basis of athletics leadership, ability, participation or performance. The ban on scholarships is strictly enforced. S, an all-sports conference is defined here as one that sponsors both mens and womens basketball. A conference name followed by * denotes a conference also sponsors football. Six of them are grandfathered schools that have competed at the highest level of a particular mens sport prior to the institution of the Division classifications in 1971. Presumably due to Title IX considerations, grandfathered schools are allowed to field one womens sport in Division I. These schools are allowed to offer scholarships in their Division I mens and womens sports to remain competitive with their opponents. The State University of New York at Oneonta, which had been grandfathered in mens soccer, rutgers University–Newark, which had been grandfathered in mens volleyball, did the same in 2014. Academic-based and need-based financial aid is available, as is the case for Division III. Franklin and Marshall College Hobart College Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT also fields mens rowing, lawrence continues to field a fencing team, but that team is now considered Division III. Football and basketball may not be grandfathered Division I programs because their potential would give them an unfair advantage over other Division III schools
10.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
11.
TSR (company)
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TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company and the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. However, needing immediate financing to bring their new game to market before several similar competing products were released, Gygax, when Kaye unexpectedly died in 1975, the Tactical Studies Rules partnership restructured into TSR Hobbies, Inc. and accepted investment from Blumes father Melvin. With the now popular D&D as its product, TSR Hobbies became a major force in the games industry by the late 1970s. Melvin Blume eventually transferred his shares to his other son Kevin, TSR Hobbies ran into financial difficulties in the spring of 1983, prompting the company to split into four independent businesses, with game publishing and development continuing as TSR, Inc. TSR saw prosperity under Williams, but by 1995, had fallen behind their competitors in overall sales, TSR was left unable to cover its publishing costs due to a variety of factors, so facing insolvency, TSR was purchased in 1997 by Wizards of the Coast. WotC initially retained use of the TSR name for their D&D products, but by 2000 and they first published Cavaliers and Roundheads, a miniature game, to start generating income for TSR. The partnership was joined by Brian Blume and by Dave Arneson. Blume was admitted to the partnership to fund publishing of D&D instead of waiting for Cavaliers, in the original configuration of the partnership, Kaye served as President, Blume as Vice-President and Gygax as Editor. In 1974, TSR produced 1,000 copies of D&D, selling them for $10 each, in January 1975, TSR printed a second 1,000 copies of D&D, which took only another five or six months to sell out. However, Gygax and TSR published the Mars book without permission from the Burroughs estate, in 1975, TSR published Blumes Panzer Warfare, a World War II based miniature wargaming set of rules for use with 1,285 scale micro armour. At its inception, TSR sold its products directly to customers, shipped to game shops and hobby stores, in 1975, TSR picked up one or two regular distributors. The next year, TSR joined the Hobby Industry Association of America and began exhibiting at their trade show. By the summer of 1975, those duties became complex enough that Gygax himself became an employee of the partnership in order to take them over from Donna Kaye. Arneson also entered the partnership in order to research and design with his circle in the Twin Cities. Blume and Gygax, the owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc, with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume. From the start, Gygax served as President of TSR Hobbies, the Dungeon would become the effective headquarters of the company, including the offices of Blume and Gygax. On September 26,1975, the assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies. TSR Hobbies subcontracted the printing and assembly work in October 1975, tim Kask was hired in the autumn of 1975 as Periodicals Editor, and the companys first full-time employee
12.
Pacesetter Ltd
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Pacesetter Ltd was a game company based in Delavan, Wisconsin, founded in 1984. Company founders included CEO John Rickets, and Mark Acres, Andria Hayday, Gaye Goldsberry OKeefe, Gali Sanchez, Garry Spiegle, Carl Smith, Stephen D. Sullivan, Pacesetter produced both tabletop role-playing games and board games. Chill was possibly Pacesetters most well-known product and it was subsequently republished in revised form by Mayfair Games after Pacesetters demise. Chill is owned by Martin Caron, in October 2014, it was announced that Martin Caron had granted Matthew McFarland the right to create and publish Chill Star Ace is owned by Phillip Reed and Christopher Shy of Ronin Arts. Timemaster and Sandman are owned by Daniel Proctor of Goblinoid Games, Goblinoid Games also purchased the copyrights and trademarks to the Pacesetter brand and logo, thus reviving the brand and folding it into their product lines. Goblinoid Games continues to publish using the same Pacesetter RPG house system. Rotworld, A zombie survival horror game, majus, A modern urban fantasy game. Timemaster Sandman Official Pacesetter home page
13.
Mayfair Games
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Mayfair Games is an American publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games that also licenses Euro-style board games to publish them in English. The company licensed worldwide English-language publishing rights to The Settlers of Catan series between 1996 and 2016, Mayfair Games was founded in 1981 by Darwin Bromley in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The company was created to publish Empire Builder, a game designed by Bromley. In 1982 Mayfair Games expanded its focus to include Role Aids, in 1993, Mayfair was sued by TSR, Inc. who argued that Role Aids—advertised as compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons—violated their 1984 trademark agreement. While the court found that some of the line violated their trademark, the line as a whole did not violate the agreement, in 1996, Mayfair Games became the publisher of The Settlers of Catan in the US. In 1997, Mayfair shut down for reasons, and was subsequently bailed out by Iron Crown Enterprises. This new company operates publicly under the Mayfair Games trademark, Pete Fenlon became the CEO of Mayfair Games in 2007 to oversee a major reorganization with a refocusing on core brands, most importantly, the Catan family of games. In 2013, Mayfair reported selling more than 750,000 Catan-related products, in January 2016, Mayfair transferred all publishing, commercial, and brand rights for all English-language Catan products to Catan Studio, a newly created subsidiary of the Asmodee Group. Former CEO Pete Fenlon left Mayfair Games to become the CEO of the new company, larry Roznai is the CEO of Mayfair games. He joined the company in 1999 as a member, President. This list includes games published by Mayfair and games licensed by Mayfair from other publishers,1830, The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons and other 18XX games Agricola Bang
14.
Chill (role-playing game)
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Chill is a role-playing game that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films. Players take on the role of envoys, members of a organization known as S. A. V. E. that tracks down. Chill is a horror role-playing game inspired by Shelley, Stoker, and Poe, where usual foes are vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. Players take on the role of envoys, members of a organization known as S. A. V. E. that tracks down. The game was produced by a company called Pacesetter Ltd. Once Pacesetter ceased operations in 1986, Chill was bought in 1990 by Mayfair Games, at Mayfair, the game was published until 1993, when the executives of the company decided to no longer publish RPGs and instead focus on board games. Martin Caron still keeps the second edition of the game available in PDF format, a total of 23 official modules were released by Chills publishers between 1984 and 1993. Chill and some modules were translated into Swedish and published under the name Chock between 1985 and 1987 by Target Games, several years ago a third edition was announced by Other World Creations but never was released. At the end of 2012, Mayfair Games Inc. sold all intellectual property rights pertaining to CHILL to a Canadian couple named Martin Caron, in June 2014, Growling Door Games announced the acquisition of the license to publish a new edition of Chill. The game was released in 2015, receiving 7 out of 10, the first edition of the game received a mixed review in issue 61 of White Dwarf magazine. The gameplay was felt to be slow and lacking in scares, furthermore. The new third edition has received polarized reviews, with strong praise and strong criticism. In Chill, S. A. V. E. is a society that is dedicated to protecting innocents from the creatures of the Unknown. Agents of SAVE are called envoys
15.
Pseudonym
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A pseudonym or alias is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from their original or true name. Historically, they have taken the form of anagrams, Graecisms. Pseudonyms should not be confused with new names that replace old ones, actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names, for example, to mask their ethnic backgrounds. A collective name or collective pseudonym is one shared by two or more persons, for example the co-authors of a work, such as Ellery Queen, the term is derived from the Greek ψευδώνυμον, literally false name, from ψεῦδος, lie, falsehood and ὄνομα, name. A pseudonym is distinct from an allonym, which is the name of another person and this may occur when someone is ghostwriting a book or play, or in parody, or when using a front name, such as by screenwriters blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. See also pseudepigraph, for falsely attributed authorship, sometimes people change their name in such a manner that the new name becomes permanent and is used by all who know the person. This is not an alias or pseudonym, but in fact a new name, in many countries, including common law countries, a name change can be ratified by a court and become a persons new legal name. He then changed his name again to Malik El-Shabazz when he converted to Islam, likewise some Jews adopted Hebrew family names upon immigrating to Israel, dropping surnames that had been in their families for generations. The politician David Ben-Gurion, for example, was born David Grün in Poland and he adopted his Hebrew name in 1910, when he published his first article in a Zionist journal in Jerusalem. Criminals may use aliases, fictitious business names, and dummy corporations to hide their identity, a pen name, or nom de plume, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. Some female authors used male pen names, in particular in the 19th century, the Brontë family used pen names for their early work, so as not to reveal their gender and so that local residents would not know that the books related to people of the neighbourhood. The Brontës used their neighbours as inspiration for characters in many of their books, anne Brontë published The Tenant of Wildfell Hall under the name Acton Bell. Charlotte Brontë published Shirley and Jane Eyre under the name Currer Bell, emily Brontë published Wuthering Heights as Ellis Bell. A well-known example of the former is Mary Ann Evans, who wrote as George Eliot, Another example is Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, a 19th-century French writer who used the pen name George Sand. In contrast, some twentieth and twenty first century male romance novelists have used pen names. A few examples of male authors using female pseudonyms include Brindle Chase, Peter ODonnell and Christopher Wood. A pen name may be used if a real name is likely to be confused with the name of another writer or notable individual. Authors who write both fiction and non-fiction, or in different genres, may use different pen names to avoid confusing their readers, in some cases, an author may become better known by his pen name than his real name
16.
The New York Times
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The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946
17.
Dark Sun
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Dark Sun is an original Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting set in the fictional, post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas. Dark Sun is notable for its innovative metaplot, influential art work, dark themes, the product line began with the original Dark Sun Boxed Set released for AD&D in 1991, ran until 1996, and was one of TSRs most successful releases. In 2010, Wizards of the Coast released a version of the setting using the fourth edition rules. Dark Sun deviated from the feudalistic backdrops of its contemporaries, such as Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms, in favor of a composite of dark fantasy, planetary romance, and the Dying Earth subgenre. Rather than create another pseudo-medieval, Tolkienesque fantasy world, Dark Suns designers presented a savage, magic-ravaged desert world where resources are scarce, the traditional fantasy races and character classes were altered or omitted to better suit the settings darker themes. The artwork of Brom inspired the direction of the content and established a trend of game products produced under the direction of a single artist, the second edition of the setting was supported by supplements as well as novels were closely tied into the games metaplot. It was the first TSR setting to come with an established metaplot out of the box, Dark Suns popularity endured long after the setting was no longer supported by Dungeons & Dragons new parent company Wizards of the Coast with a lively online community developing in its place. Material was produced for the third edition rules by fans at Athas. org, a new edition of Dark Sun was released in 2010 for the fourth edition of D&D. The game designers wanted to capture the feel of the original 1991 boxed set while opening up the setting to all of the possible adventures, though not technically a reboot, some of the characters, races, and setting details from the previous editions were changed or removed. The new setting rules continued Dark Suns tradition of innovation by introducing character themes which provided background, character elements, many former variant classes such as elemental priests, gladiators, and templars were replaced with these character themes. TSR released the edition of Battlesystem in 1989 and, in 1990. The working title of this setting was War World, contributors to this project at its beginnings included Rich Baker, Gerald Brom, Tim Brown, Troy Denning, Mary Kirchoff, and Steve Winter. With the exception of Denning and Kirchoff, design veterans such as David Zeb Cook declined to join the team for War World. The majority of members were freshmen to TSR, though not necessarily to the industry. Steve Winters inspiration drew partly from DEN comics by Richard Corben, Winter also suggested the idea of a desert landscape. The team envisioned a world full of exotic monsters and no hallmark fantasy creatures whatsoever. TSR worried about this concept, wondering how to market a product that lacked any familiar elements, eventually, elves, dwarves, and dragons returned but in warped variations of their standard AD&D 2nd Edition counterparts. The designers actually credit this reversion as a change that launched the project in a new direction
18.
Thri-kreen
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The thri-kreen race was first introduced to AD&D in 1982 by Paul Reiche III for the second set of Monster Cards. They later appeared in first edition AD&D Monster Manual II, the thri-kreen appeared in second edition AD&D for the Forgotten Realms setting in the Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix, and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual. The Athasian thri-kreen appeared for the Dark Sun setting in Dragon #173, the thri-kreen was presented as a player character race in Players Option, Skills & Powers, and for the Dark Sun setting in the Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Expanded and Revised. The thri-kreen appeared in the third edition Monster Manual II, the thri-kreen appeared as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms setting in Shining South. The thri-kreen appeared as a character class in Complete Psionic. During the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the thri-kreen were one of the monsters appearing in the Monster Manual 3, the fifth edition Monster Manual again featured the thri-kreen, for the first time in their history as a monster in a core manual. The thri-kreen are depicted as resembling humanoid mantids with golden-brown coloration and they possess six limbs, and usually use one pair for locomotion and the other two pairs as arms. They have excellent physical capabilities, allowing them to great distances. They also have claws, venomous bites, and psionic abilities. An average thri-kreen has the life expectancy of only 30 years, however, this is countered by the fact that thri-kreen do not require sleep. A thri-kreen truly lives out every moment of its precious 30 years, thri-kreen dwell in temperate deserts and plains. Thri-kreen are formidable nomadic hunters who respect the land and hate creatures that despoil it and they will attack anyone who disturbs their home. Thri-kreen have two weapons, the gythka, a polearm with a blade at each end, and the chatkcha. Dasl is made from thri-kreen venom, modified by the zik-thok plant, creation of dasl is a racial secret and is only suitable for making three-sided weapons such as the chatkcha and gythka. Thri-kreen sometimes use other weapons, but this is rare. Variant forms of thri-kreen include the civilized tohr-kreen, the mentally and physically altered zik-trin, the alien zik-chil, the thri-kreen society is very organized, and they have a strong hive mentality when in groups. Not much more is known since they have a difficult time associating with the humanoid races, thri-kreen are usually any chaotic alignment. Thri-kreen are savage insect men, also known as warriors, with venomous saliva
19.
Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991 boxed set)
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The New Easy-to-Master Dungeons & Dragons Game is an introductory set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published by TSR, Inc. in 1991. It was a replacement for the previous Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, serving to introduce new players to the game, the rules are presented twice, once in a 64-page rule book and again in the Dungeon Card Learning Pack. Inspired by the SRA reading program, the pack is a set of 48 cards that also includes four-page supplementary mini-adventures, the front of each card features a discussion of a single facet of the rules, such as non-player characters, hit dice, or initiative rolls. The back of the card describes a scenario to illustrate the rules discussed on the front. The encounters include directions for setting up character pawns on the map, boxed text to be read to the players, the set also includes a Dungeon Masters Screen, fold-up cardboard pawns, a color map sheet, and dice. Design was by Troy Denning, and the book written by Timothy B. Brown. The cover was by Jeff Easley, with illustrations by Terry Dykstra. It was reissued in 1994 with different cover art and box shape and this version was entitled The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game. Rick Swan reviewed the Dungeons & Dragons Game for Dragon magazine #184 and he describes the set, Lavishly packaged, logically organized, and lucidly explained, this is as close to a perfect beginners package as Ive ever seen. Anyone who can read can now learn to play the D&D game as it was intended and he found the games system of explaining the rules to players a remarkably efficient and entertaining method of instruction. According to Swan, The new rule book tightens up and reorganizes the material in the original D&D set, the tone is less formal, and theres more emphasis on character classes. As for me, Im solidly in favor of the D&D game, Ive never met a new player who didnt get an out of a basic dungeon crawl. The revised D&D game is an excellent introduction to a hobby, recommended for curious newcomers. Preview, Dragon #166 White Wolf #34
20.
Forgotten Realms
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Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as The Realms, several years later, Greenwood brought the setting to the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have produced for the setting ever since, as have various licensed products including sword and sorcery novels, role-playing video game adaptations. Forgotten Realms is the name of a fantasy setting, described as a world of strange lands, dangerous creatures, and mighty deities. The premise is that, long ago, the Earth and the world of the Forgotten Realms were more closely connected, as time passed, the inhabitants of planet Earth have mostly forgotten about the existence of that other world – hence the term Forgotten Realms. On the original Forgotten Realms logo, which was used until 2000, small runic letters read Herein lie the lost lands, an allusion to the connection between the two worlds. The focus of the Forgotten Realms setting is the continent of Faerûn, part of the world of Abeir-Toril, usually called simply Toril. Unlike Earth, the lands of the Forgotten Realms are not all ruled by the race, the planet Toril is shared by humans, dwarves, elves, goblins, orcs. Technologically, the world of the Forgotten Realms is not nearly as advanced as that of Earth, in this respect, however, the presence of magic provides an additional element of power to the societies. There are several states and many independent cities, with loose alliances being formed for defense or conquest. Trade is performed by ship or horse-drawn vehicle, and manufacturing is based upon cottage industry, Toril consists of several large continents, including Faerûn, the western part of a continent that was roughly modeled after the Eurasian continent on Earth. Faerûn was first detailed in the original Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, the other continents include Kara-Tur, Zakhara, Maztica, and other yet unspecified landmasses. Kara-Tur, roughly corresponding to ancient East Asia, was later the focus of its own source book Kara-Tur, The Eastern Realms, there is also a vast subterranean world called the Underdark beneath the surface. In early editions of the setting, The Realms shared a unified cosmology with various campaign settings called the Great Wheel. In this way each of the Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings were linked together to form one interwoven world connected by planes of existence. Religion plays a part in the Forgotten Realms, with deities. They do not have a role, but in fact interact directly in mortal affairs, answer prayers. All deities must have worshipers to survive, and all mortals must worship a deity to secure a good afterlife
21.
Planescape
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Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994 and this includes many of the other Dungeons & Dragons worlds, linking them via inter-dimensional magical portals. Planescape is an expansion of ideas presented in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, when Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition was published, a decision was made not to include angelic or demonic creatures, and so the cosmology was largely ignored. However, fan demand for a 2nd Edition Manual of the Planes was strong enough to justify its expansion into a campaign setting. Cook came up with the idea that everything would revolve around factions, before any of us knew it, drew the Lady of Pain. Im very fond of the Lady of Pain, she locks up the Planescape look. We all liked her so much that she became our logo, Planescape won the 1994 Origins Award and has received critical acclaim for its unique visual aspects, especially the work of artists Tony DiTerlizzi, Robh Ruppel, and Dana Knutson. Pyramid magazine reviewer Scott Haring said Planescape is the finest game ever produced for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Trenton Webb of British RPG magazine Arcane called Planescape the premier AD&D world, noting its hallmark as a juxtaposition of legend. Game designer Rick Swan said that the original Manual of the Planes had in a sense been reincarnated as the Planescape setting, tSRs most ambitious campaign world to date. Abandoning the straightforward but dry approach of the Manual, the Planescape set reads less like a textbook, characters take precedence over game systems, high adventure supplants the physics lessons. It is popular as a place for treaties between the powers. The Outlands are also home to the gate-towns, at the center of the Outlands is the Spire, atop which Sigil can be seen. The Outlands are the plane of the neutral-minded rilmani. The Outlands are part of a series of rings that form the multiverse, travel between the planes of the Outlands is accomplished via The Great Road. In first edition and second edition AD&D before Planescape, this plane is also at the center of the Outer Planes, within 100 miles of the center, not even chemical reactions take place, and neither man nor deity can get closer than 100 miles. It also states that three lights of balance exist at the center of this plane, one for each Mediator in Nirvana, before Planescape, there is also no mention whatsoever of Sigil being at the Center of this Plane. Gate-towns are settlements which are built around a permanent portal to a certain Outer Plane on the Great Wheel, gate-towns are important strategically because they provide a stable way to enter a desired Outer Plane
22.
Lady of Pain
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The Lady of Pain is the fictional protector of the city of Sigil in the Planescape campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. She is also known as Her Serenity, the chief inspiration for the character of the Lady of Pain is the 19th century poem Dolores, by English Decadent poet Algernon Charles Swinburne. The poem is written on the topic of a cruel, ruthless, swinburnes Lady of Pain resembles her D&D successor in some ways. She is ancient, and has destroyed and outlived gods themselves, furthermore, she shares her absence of compassion, her moral neutrality, and the brutal indifference behind her actions. However, she herself in appearing decadent, whereas D&Ds Lady of Pain is noticeably austere. Her image originated in the form of a doodle by Dana Knutson, david Zeb Cook, designer of Planescape, explained how the character came about, Dana Knutson was assigned to draw anything I wanted. I babbled, and he drew - buildings, streets, characters, before any of us knew it, he drew the Lady of Pain. Im very fond of the Lady of Pain, she locks up the Planescape look. We all liked her so much that she became our logo, denning recalled that Pages of Pain really made me rethink the way I approach stories, and for that reason alone it was worth writing. It also ended up being a much deeper book than I had ever written before and those who have seem to think its my best work. It was certainly the most challenging and—forgive the pun—painful to write, the Lady of Pain was first described for the Planescape setting in the Planescape Campaign Setting. The Lady of Pains role in Sigil is described in both the 4th edition of the Manual of the Planes and the Dungeon Masters Guide 2 and her appearance, function, and behavior remain mostly unaltered when compared to previous iterations. The Lady is sometimes seen as a floating, robed, monolithic, no reliable witness has ever heard her speak, although she can communicate through her servants, the dabus. Her chief imperative never changes, maintaining the balance of Sigil, when transgressors against this goal are not slain outright, they are involuntarily transported to one of an innumerable amount of densely convoluted magical mazes. Beyond this, what compels her to act, if anything, on all other matters, she seems persistently apathetic. The Lady is a largely ineffable enigma, many rumors and legends purport that even estimably powerful deities have fallen before her. The Shattered Temple, located in Sigil, was once a very prominent fane dedicated to Aoskar, at one point, he attempted to bring the city under his control. When Aoskar did manage to accumulate some power, the Lady decided to intervene, slaying him with a mere thought, her actions acted as an eponym, simultaneously shattering his fane and scattering its priests into her mazes in the process
23.
Star Wars expanded universe
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The Star Wars expanded universe is a collective term for all Star Wars fictional material produced by Lucasfilm or officially licensed by it. This restructuring left the Star Wars theatrical films, the Clone Wars animated film, a number of works have subsequently been produced, including the Rebels animated TV series, the 2015 film The Force Awakens, and multiple novels and comic book series. Fosters 1978 novel Splinter of the Minds Eye was commissioned by Lucas as the basis for a potential sequel to Star Wars should the film prove unsuccessful. A Star Wars comic book series from Marvel Comics ran from April 1977 to May 1986, former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter credited the titles strong sales for saving Marvel financially in 1977 and 1978. Marvels Star Wars series was one of the top selling titles in 1979 and 1980. The material was used as a resource by some novelists that followed, StarWars. com wrote in 2014 that the novel jumpstarted a publishing program that endures to this day and formalized the Expanded Universe. It introduced, among others, the popular characters Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade and this so-called Thrawn trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing the Star Wars franchise. In The Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski suggests that this renewed interest was a factor in Lucass decision to create the prequel trilogy. Around this same time, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and launched a number of series set after the film trilogy. In 1999, Star Wars book publishing moved from Bantam Spectra to Del Rey Books, New Jedi Order, set 25 to 30 years after the original films, introduced a new threat, the Yuuzhan Vong, a powerful alien race attempting to invade and conquer the entire galaxy. The bulk of Expanded Universe storytelling explores the time period after Return of the Jedi, subsequent novels and comics were set before, concurrent with, and after the events of these works. In 2004, USA Today reported that over 1,100 Star Wars titles had been published, including novels, comics, non-fiction, then-president of Lucas Licensing, Howard Roffman, estimated that there were more than 65 million Star Wars books in print. He said, The books are a way of extending the fantasy of Star Wars, the movies have had a really profound effect on a couple of generations. Star Wars has become a cultural touchpoint, and our fans are avidly interested in exploring more stories, the animated television series Star Wars, The Clone Wars ran from 2008 to 2014 and was set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, in October 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion. In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded the Expanded Universe material as Star Wars Legends, the companys focus would be shifted towards a restructured Star Wars canon based on new material. The announcement called these works the immovable objects of Star Wars history and it was also made clear that a planned Star Wars sequel trilogy, and subsequent works developed within the restructured canon, would not be based on Legends material but could possibly draw from it. Lucas had previously used the character Aayla Secura, introduced in 2000 in the Star Wars, Republic comic book series, in Attack of the Clones
24.
Invincible (Star Wars novel)
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Invincible is the ninth and final book in the Legacy of the Force series. It is a novel by Troy Denning and was released on May 13,2008, with Darth Caedus ruling both the Galactic Alliance and the Imperial Remnant, the Jedi Coalition is now desperate to overthrow the Sith Lord by any means necessary. Caedus is distracted by the fact that the Imperial Moffs had manufactured a nanovirus programmed to kill Hapan Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo and her daughter with Caedus, Allana. Jaina Solo, now prepared to face and kill her brother, confronts him in one final lightsaber duel aboard his capital ship, Caedus tries to warn her about the nanovirus, going so far as to sheathe his lightsaber in the face of an armed opponent. Jaina believes that he is attempting to trick her, however, the duel continues, with the siblings inflicting serious injuries on each other until Jaina finally cripples Caedus by severing his Achilles tendon. She attacks with a strike which Caedus cannot block in his current condition. Jaina realizes what he is trying to do an instant before her lightsaber cuts into him, Jaina is overcome with guilt, having realized too late that her brother had good left in him after all. In the aftermath, Ben Skywalker redeems Tahiri Veila of Darth Caedus darkness, luke Skywalker installs Jagged Fel as the Head of State of the Imperial Remnant, and Tenel Ka Djo announces that though she survived the Moffs nanovirus attack, her daughter didnt. However, in reality, Allana did survive, and Tenel Ka lied about her death so that she wouldnt be targeted for assassination, former Imperial Admiral Natasi Daala takes Caedus place as the Galactic Alliances Chief of State. The novel, and the series, ends with Jaina welcoming Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solos adopted daughter, Amelia Solo, into the family
25.
Legacy of the Force
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The Legacy of the Force is a series of nine science fiction novels set in the Star Wars expanded universe, taking place approximately 40 years after the events of Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope. The series was written by Troy Denning, Aaron Allston and Karen Traviss in an alternating cycle, the series contains a mix of hardcover and paperback releases. The plan was to each author to write one hardcover novel and two paperbacks, with the first, middle, and final novels being the hardcover releases. An abridged audiobook version of story was released concurrently with each book. The Corellian system, unhappy with the leadership of the Galactic Alliance, while the GA attempts to bring Corellia back into the fold, other systems follow Corellias lead. Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Jacen Solo believes he has the potential to defeat the threat and his methods draw the ire of his uncle Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Council, leading to a rift in the Jedi Order. A side-plot involves Boba Fetts family issues, leadership of the Mandalorians, and role in the galactic conflict
26.
Star by Star
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Star by Star is the ninth installment of the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars expanded universe. It is a fiction novel written by Troy Denning and published in 2001. In this dark and dangerous time for the New Republic, the cruel Yuuzhan Vong continue their mission, the Yuuzhan Vong have begun cloning voxyn, creatures capable of hunting Jedi through the Force and killing them. As the Jedi Knights mourn the victims of the voxyn, Anakin Solo prepares a dangerous plan and he will lead a strike force made of his Force-adept friends into the core of an enemy worldship over Myrkr in attempt to kill the original voxyn. There, he come into contact with evil, sorrow. The book also saw the creation of the deadly YVH1 Droids that were built as a response to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Jedi find themselves in considerable danger when the Yuuzhan Vong unleash feral creatures called voxyn on them. These voxyn are aggressive, intelligent, and extremely difficult to kill, Leia Organa Solo captures one such beast but not before she is severely wounded. It is then discovered that all voxyn are clones of a genetically modified beast native to Myrkr. In order to foil the threat posed by the voxyn, Anakin Solo, the idea faced some resistance, mainly from Han Solo who rightly believed that the mission was dangerous and was unwilling to send all three of his children right into Yuuzhan Vong territory. Ultimately, the choice was Luke Skywalkers, who is leading the Jedi. Anakin rejected his offer on the grounds that he was too valuable to the New Republic, instead, Anakin volunteers himself and others follow his lead. The final group comprises Anakin, Ulaha Kore, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, Tenel Ka Djo, Zekk, Tahiri Veila, while the initial part of the mission went smoothly, things began to get out of hand once the team landed on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. While they were there, they were ambushed by voxyn and Yuuzhan Vong warriors commanded by Nom Anor. They also ran into Nightsister Lomi Plo and her Shadow Academy apprentice Welk, after some debate, Anakin decided that Lomi Plo and Welk should join them, although Zekk predicted that they would be double-crossed by the Dark Jedi. There were several casualties along the way to the original or queen voxyn, already weary and injured, the Jedi soon came under attack once again and although they escaped, the damage to Anakin had already been done. They soon learned that Welk and Lomi Plo had made off with the spacecraft Anakin had intended to use for their getaway, taking with them Raynar Thul and this effectively means that the group are stranded aboard the worldship with a worsening Anakin. Anakin soon realized that his condition would result in the groups death. He died later fighting off many Yuuzhan Vong, destroying all of the cloning samples
27.
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is a U. S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, the state is divided into 72 counties. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline, Wisconsin is known as Americas Dairyland because it is one of the nations leading dairy producers, particularly famous for its cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology, and tourism are major contributors to the states economy. The word Wisconsin originates from the given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River, arriving in 1673, subsequent French writers changed the spelling from Meskousing to Ouisconsin, and over time this became the name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin when they began to arrive in numbers during the early 19th century. The legislature of Wisconsin Territory made the current spelling official in 1845, the Algonquin word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that lines its banks, other theories include claims that the name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning red stone place, where the waters gather, or great rock. Wisconsin has been home to a variety of cultures over the past 12,000 years. The first people arrived around 10,000 BCE during the Wisconsin Glaciation and these early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians, hunted now-extinct ice age animals such as the Boaz mastodon, a prehistoric mastodon skeleton unearthed along with spear points in southwest Wisconsin. After the ice age ended around 8000 BCE, people in the subsequent Archaic period lived by hunting, fishing, agricultural societies emerged gradually over the Woodland period between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. Toward the end of period, Wisconsin was the heartland of the Effigy Mound culture. Later, between 1000 and 1500 CE, the Mississippian and Oneota cultures built substantial settlements including the village at Aztalan in southeast Wisconsin. The Oneota may be the ancestors of the modern Ioway and Ho-Chunk tribes who shared the Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact, the first European to visit what became Wisconsin was probably the French explorer Jean Nicolet. He canoed west from Georgian Bay through the Great Lakes in 1634, pierre Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers visited Green Bay again in 1654–1666 and Chequamegon Bay in 1659–1660, where they traded for fur with local Native Americans. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet became the first to record a journey on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway all the way to the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
28.
Judo
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Judo was created as a physical, mental and moral pedagogy in Japan, in 1882, by Jigoro Kano. It is generally categorized as a martial art which later evolved into a combat. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as defenses are a part of judo. A judo practitioner is called a judoka, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from koryū. The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Kanō Jigorō, Kano was born into a relatively affluent family. His father, Jirosaku, was the son of the head priest of the Shinto Hiyoshi shrine in Shiga Prefecture. He married Sadako Kano, daughter of the owner of Kiku-Masamune sake brewing company and was adopted by the family and he ultimately became an official in the Shogunal government. Jigoro Kano had an academic upbringing and, from the age of seven, he studied English, shodō, when he was fourteen, Kano began boarding at an English-medium school, Ikuei-Gijuku in Shiba, Tokyo. The culture of bullying endemic at this school was the catalyst that caused Kano to seek out a Jūjutsu dōjō at which to train, early attempts to find a jujutsu teacher who was willing to take him on met with little success. With the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, many of those who had once taught the art had been forced out of teaching or become so disillusioned with it that they had simply given up. Nakai Umenari, an acquaintance of Kanōs father and a soldier, agreed to show him kata. The caretaker of Jirosakus second house, Katagiri Ryuji, also knew jujutsu, Another frequent visitor, Imai Genshiro of Kyūshin-ryū school of jujutsu, also refused. Several years passed before he found a willing teacher. In 1877, as a student at the Tokyo-Kaisei school, Kano learned that many jujutsu teachers had been forced to pursue alternative careers, frequently opening Seikotsu-in. After inquiring at a number of these, Kano was referred to Fukuda Hachinosuke, a teacher of the Tenjin Shinyō-ryū of jujutsu, Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kanos emphasis on randori in judo. On Fukudas death in 1880, Kano, who had become his keenest and most able student in both randori and kata, was given the densho of the Fukuda dojo, Kano chose to continue his studies at another Tenjin Shinyō-ryū school, that of Iso Masatomo. Iso placed more emphasis on the practice of kata, and entrusted randori instruction to assistants, Iso died in June 1881 and Kano went on to study at the dojo of Iikubo Tsunetoshi of Kitō-ryū. Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on randori, with Kitō-ryū having a focus on nage-waza
29.
Hapkido
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Hapkido is a highly eclectic Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, and throwing techniques similar to those of martial arts, as well as kicks, punches. Hapkido emphasizes circular motion, redirection of force, and control of the opponent, practitioners seek to gain advantage over their opponents through footwork and body positioning to incorporate the use of leverage, avoiding the use of brute strength against brute strength. The art was adapted from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu as it was taught by Choi Yong-Sool when he returned to Korea after World War II after having lived in Japan for 30 years. Hapkido is rendered 합기도 in the native Korean writing system known as hangul, the arts name can also however be written 合氣道 utilizing the same traditional Chinese characters which would have been used to refer to the Japanese martial art of aikido in the pre-1946 period. The current preference in Japan is for the use of a simplified second character, substituting 気 for the earlier. The character 合 hap means coordinated or joining, 氣 ki describes internal energy, spirit, strength, or power and it is most often translated as the way of coordinating energy, the way of coordinated power or the way of harmony. Although Japanese aikido and Korean hapkido share common origins, in time they have become separate. They differ significantly in philosophy, range of responses and manner of executing techniques, Choi Yong-Sool s training in martial arts is a subject of contention. It is known that Choi was sent to Japan as a boy and returned to Korea with techniques characteristic of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu. In the interview with Chin Il Chang, Choi is claimed to have adopted by Takeda Sōkaku when he was 11 years old and was given the Japanese name. He claims to have taken to Takedas home and dojo in Akita on Shin Shu mountain where he lived and trained with the master for 30 years. This is contradicted by other claims asserting that Choi was simply a worker in the home of Takeda, the meticulous enrollment and fee records of Tokimune Takeda, Takedas eldest son and Daitō-ryūs successor, do not seem to include Chois name among them. Therefore, except for claims made by Choi himself, there is evidence that Choi was the adopted son of Takeda. Stanley Pranin, then of Aiki News and now editor of the Aikidojournal, at the height of dispute, it is claimed by hapkido practitioners that Koreans were excluded from listing, though this is contradicted by Takedas records which contain other Korean names. While some commentators claim hapkido has a Japanese lineage, others state that its origins lay with indigenous Korean martial arts. Choi Yong-Sools first student, and the man whom some claim helped him develop the art of hapkido was Seo Bok-Seob, a Korean judo black belt when they met. A direct student of Choi, Chin Il Chang inherited the title of Doju in Chois personal and complete system of Hapkido on January 15,1985, on April 5,1985 Choi personally awarded Chang the only existing 10th Dan certificate in Hapkido history
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The Parched Sea
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The Parched Sea is the first novel in the Harpers series, set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The book was written by Troy Denning, the Parched Sea is another name for the desert Anauroch in which the novel takes place. The Zhentarim, determined to drive a route through Anauroch. Ruha, an outcast witch, tries to gain the trust of the Sheikh as tribe after tribe fall to the Zhentarim. The Harpers send an agent to counter the Zhentarim, and Ruha helps this stranger win the Sheikhs trust, so that he can overcome the tribes ancestral rivalries and drive the invaders from the desert
