Dave Blass

David (Dave) Blass is an American production designer and art director.
Work.
His work includes the following:
Executive producer for television series.
He was nominated for the 2012 and 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards as Production Designer for the "Justified" television series, and the 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for the "Constantine" television series , Nominated for the 2015 Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a One Hour Contemporary Television Series , and has twice been published with cover stories in "Perspective Magazine". Oct/Nov 2009, , with an article on his pre-visualization of the final shot for the "ER" television series, and February/March 2012 featuring an article on his production design of the "Justified" series. For his work accurately portraying the State of Kentucky on the Television program "Justified" he was awarded the honor of "Kentucky Colonel in 2011 by Governor Steven Beshear.
He is a member of the Art Directors Guild and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Personal life.
Blass grew up in Ashland, Massachusetts and graduated from the Ashland High School, where he wrote and directed his first film, "A SADD Story", for "Students Against Drunk Driving" – which won a "Reader's Digest" contest. He also played soccer and baseball while at Ashland High. His film achievement in high school led to him receiving a scholarship to attend the Emerson College in Boston, where he majored in film production. He then moved to California and began working in the film and television industry – initially working under Roger Corman. He is engaged to Michelle Usling.


Janice Nadeau

Janice Nadeau is a Canadian illustrator, art director and animation director.
Biography.
Janice Nadeau studied graphic design at Université du Québec à Montréal and illustration at École supérieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg. In 2005, she created the illustrations for "Corteo", Cirque du Soleil's international touring show. She has illustrated a number of books, and is a three-time recipient of the Governor General's Award for Illustration, Canada's most prestigious literary prize, for "No fish where to go" (Les 400 coups, 2003), "Ma meilleure amie" (Québec Amérique, 2007) and "Harvey" (la Pastèque, 2009). In 2014, she co-directed the adaptation of "No fish where to go" as an animated short film at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The film won the International Film Critics Awards (the FIPRESCI Prize) at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in June 2014.
Janice Nadeau's latest film is her animated short, "Mamie", written and directed for the French production company Folimage in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). She also teaches illustration at the School of Design at Université du Québec à Montréal.
Awards.
Nadeau received several awards:


I Love Mama

I Love Mama (stylized "I LOVE mama") was a gyaru fashion and lifestyle magazine published monthly in Japan by Inforest Publishing.
Originally named "Mama Nuts × Ageha", "I Love Mama" was established as a special edition of two gyaru magazines, the hostess-targeted "Koakuma Ageha" magazine and dark-skin obsessed "Happie Nuts" magazine.
"I Love Mama" was considered a unique magazine, as it was a magazine especially for "gyaru-mama", women who remain gyaru after pregnancy, consisting of the likes of housekeeping tips, parenting tips, and fashion tips.
Described as a "mega-hit" magazine, it has been the highest-selling gyaru-mama magazine ever since its launch in 2008.
There was some Western interest in the magazine, and it could be purchased from Amazon and eBay.
History.
"I Love Mama" was first published in September 2008 under the name "Mama Nuts × Ageha" as a special co-edition of "Koakuma Ageha" and "Happie Nuts", after these two magazines' special editorials for "gyaru-mama" audiences gained considerable popularity. "Mama Nuts × Ageha" was the first-ever magazine devoted solely to the gyaru-mama scene, and it became a smash-hit, with 150,000 copies sold during its first three days and an additional 30,000 copies sold. "Mama Nuts × Ageha" changed its name to "I Love Mama", becoming monthly in April 2009. Circulation reached 200,000 by October 2009.
Following the closure of Inforest Publishing "I Love Mama" ended publication in 2014.
Models.
The most notable trait of the models appearing in "I Love Mama" is that most of them appear in the magazine with their children. The children in the magazine are called the "chibiko".


Galactic Gladiators

Galactic Gladiators is a 1982 video game published by Strategic Simulations for the Apple II and IBM PC.
Gameplay.
"Galactic Gladiators" is a game in which the player fights against an alien opponent.
Reception.
David Long reviewed the game for "Computer Gaming World", and stated that "Easy to learn and fast to play, "GG" is a great starter game for "arcaders" who've never tried a "wargame" before. But, much like chess, it will take a long time to really feel like you've mastered this game (I sure haven't!) and the possibilities are endless."
Chris Smith reviewed SSI's "RapidFire Line" in "The Space Gamer" No. 59, and commented that "The game has two very strong points: secret movement and freshness."


Crooked Still

Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual instrumentation, and innovative acoustic style.
The string band's style has been described as progressive bluegrass, folk-country, and Americana. O'Donovan states that the band is playing its "own sort of continuation" on the bluegrass tradition that began in the U.S. with Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin.
History.
2001–2008.
O'Donovan and DiMario met at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the spring of 2001. Former member Rushad Eggleston, who was studying cello at Berklee College of Music, and Liszt, a graduate student at MIT, were playing music together around the same time, and when the four met that summer, they formed a band that became Crooked Still. While its members finished school, the group played various Boston venues, growing in popularity and collecting favorable reviews from the local press.
Crooked Still went on to appear at concert halls, festivals, coffeehouses, and nightclubs in 23 states and several countries. On August 22, 2006, the group released their second album, "Shaken by a Low Sound".
From 2008.
Cellist Rushad Eggleston performed his last show with the band on November 18, 2007, at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts. He parted ways with Crooked Still to pursue his own music with band Tornado Rider. In January 2008 two new members joined the band: cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas, both of whom have toured in Darol Anger's Republic of Strings. The Darol Anger connection goes further: Rushad Eggleston was in Fiiddler's Four in 2002. The band released its first album with the new lineup, "Still Crooked" in 2008, a live album in 2009, and "Some Strange Country" in 2010.
2011 and beyond.
In honor of their tenth anniversary together as a band, Crooked Still embarked on a major tour of the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest, and released a 7-song EP called "Friends of Fall" in October 2011. After the final show of their 2011 tour, Crooked Still took a three-year touring and recording hiatus (originally planned to be one year) for its members to pursue other musical projects.
Crooked Still performed at the FreshGrass festival in North Adams, Massachusetts, in September 2017.
In June 2018, Crooked Still songs "Little Sadie" and "Ecstasy" were featured in the gameplay trailer for "The Last of Us Part II" presented at E3 2018. These songs, along with "Ain't No Grave" were included in the final game.


Icarus (crossword compiler)


Bill Slavicsek

Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast. He previously worked for West End Games and TSR, Inc., and designed products for "Dungeons & Dragons", "Star Wars", "Alternity", "Torg", "Paranoia" and "Ghostbusters".
Biography.
Early life.
Bill Slavicsek was born and raised in New York City. Slavicsek was a comic book, horror, and science fiction fan as a boy: "Some of my earliest memories involve looking at issues of Marvel Comics, drawing my own comics, and watching old SF and horror movies on TV". Interested in gaming from an early age, Slavicsek was introduced to roleplaying games in 1977 when he discovered Dungeons & Dragons. Originally intending to pursue a career as a comic book artist, Slavicsek switched to journalism and communication at St. John's University.
West End Games.
After working for a year at a community newspaper, Slavicsek was hired by West End Games as an editor in 1986. In 1987 the company secured the license to publish a Star Wars roleplaying game, a project which Slavicsek oversaw as an editor and developer. Slavicsek oversaw the "Star Wars" line for its first year. In 1988 he was promoted to Creative and Editorial Director for WEG. He co-created the "Torg" game with Greg Gorden, published in 1990, and co-authored the novel "Stormknights", which was set in the Torg universe. Slavicsek left West End later in 1990.
TSR.
In 1991, Slavicsek began working as a freelancer, and was hired as a designer/editor by TSR in 1993. At TSR, he designed the "Alternity" game with Rich Baker, as well as the Revised "Dark Sun Campaign Setting", and "The Nightmare Lands" for the Ravenloft setting.
For much of the 1990s he was working simultaneously for both WEG and TSR as an editor and designer on various projects. He wrote "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe", a definitive reference to Star Wars movies, books, and games, which was published by Del Rey in 1994. Slavicsek is considered one of the world's leading experts on Star Wars, and has written the second and third editions of "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe".
Wizards of the Coast.
By the end of 1997, Slavicsek was the Director of the TSR Product Group for Wizards of the Coast; that job was later divided in two, making him the Director of Roleplaying Game design. Peter Adkison selected Slavicsek to be the head of RPG research and development. Richard Baker and Slavicsek designed the "Alternity" sci-fi RPG for TSR to replace their "Amazing Engine" game, and Wizards published the game in 1997. Peter Adkison left the third edition "Dungeons & Dragons" design work to Slavicsek and a group of ex-TSR employees. In December 2000, Hasbro told Wizards to cut 10% of their staff; Slavicsek was the "Director of Category" overseeing a team of about 60 people, and opted to close down the L.A. office of Last Unicorn Games. By the time of the publication of the d20 edition of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 2000, Slavicsek held the title of Vice President and Director of RPG R&D for Wizards of the Coast. The "Eberron Campaign Setting" (2004) was produced by Keith Baker alongside James Wyatt and Slavicsek. As the Director of R&D for "Dungeons & Dragons", Slavicsek began thinking about a fourth edition of "D&D" as early as 2005, when he organized a team to work on some early designs, headed by Rob Heinsoo and also containing Andy Collins and James Wyatt. Slavicsek and Mike Mearls designed the "Castle Ravenloft Board Game" (2010). Slavicsek announced his departure from Wizards of the Coast on June 23, 2011.
After Wizards of the Coast.
Slavicsek became a writer and content designer at ZeniMax Online Studios, which developed and released "The Elder Scrolls Online" MMORPG.
Media appearances.
Bill Slavicsek has appeared in the following newspaper and magazine articles, websites and podcasts.


Bob Rau

Bantwal Ramakrishna "Bob" Rau (1951 – December 10, 2002) was a computer engineer and HP Fellow. Rau was a founder and chief architect of Cydrome, where he helped develop the Very long instruction word technology that is now common in modern computer processors. Rau was the recipient of the 2002 Eckert–Mauchly Award.
IEEE Computer Society has established a "B. Ramakrishna Rau Award" in his memory. Past recipients include major contributors in the microarchitecture field.


Nalini Sriram

Nalini Sriram is an Indian fashion costume designer and entrepreneur. She is considered as one of the early pioneers of fashion designing for South Indian films.
Career.
Nalini graduated with a degree in English literature and worked as a freelance writer during her early career. After marrying film producer S. Sriram, she opted to pursue a career in fashion designing and made her debut with Mani Ratnam's "Roja" (1992). She continued to work for Mani Ratnam's productions, and the success of her work in "Bombay" (1995) attracted offers from other studios. In 2000, a particular paavadai dhavani she had made for Aishwarya Rai in "Kandukondain Kandukondain" (2000) triggered demand for similar products in Chennai.
Nalini has regularly collaborated in films directed by Gautham Menon since "Kaakha Kaakha" (2003). Notably, she won acclaim for her work in "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa" (2010).
She has also worked in the Telugu film industry, notably designing the costumes for the cast in Gautham Menon's "Ye Maaya Chesave" (2010) and Vikram Kumar's "Manam" (2014).
Away from the film industry, Nalini co-owns the Shilpi boutique, an independent brand. She also conducts workshops and curates new collections.
Personal life.
Nalini was married to film producer S. Sriram, who had headed Aalayam Productions. He died of cardiac arrest in September 2019.


Syndicate Musicproduction

Syndicate Music Production was founded in 1993 by the German producer and songwriter (a.k.a. Frank Lio).
In 1998 he was joined by partner (a.k.a. D. Fact).
The company's headquarters and studios are located near Munich (Germany), where productions and compositions for pop, rock, film and advertising are produced.
Syndicate Musicproduction's biggest success was with the single "Mambo No.5" by Lou Bega and the follow-up album "A Little Bit Of Mambo". It went on to sell more than 20 million copies.
Success Story.
Syndicate Music has received over 60 gold and platinum awards for its various productions and has had more than 70 Top 10 hits in the international charts.
Achim Kleist and Wolfgang von Webenau were both nominated for the German Echo Award in 2000 as best producers.
Their roster of artists were honoured with awards such as the Latin Music Award, the World Music Award and the Echo, as well as a Grammy nomination for Lou Bega.
Artists.
The Syndicate team has written and produced e.g. for following artists:
Film Music.
Their work can be found in the following films:
or in TV series such as:


Junk Jack

Junk Jack is an action-adventure sandbox video game by Italian developer Pixbits, originally released on iOS in 2011. A sequel entitled Junk Jack X was released on August 29, 2013. Junk Jack X has recently been renamed to Junk Jack, and the original game has been renamed to Junk Jack Retro.
Gameplay.
"Junk Jack" is a 2D sandbox game where the player collects resources and aims to explore and survive in a randomly generated environment full of treasures and hidden secrets, filled with biomes on the surface and underground.
Plot.
Like all sandbox games, the game has no clear objectives and has no concrete plot; the player creates their own storyline based on their individual experience. However, Junk Jack X contains obtainable items to travel to other worlds, an action that the game strongly recommends players do.
Development.
The developer and coder is Jacopo Santoni (Jack), and the graphics/sfx artist is Silvio Eusebio (XsX). The pair met on multiplayer in Minecraft, and decided to collaborate on a similar game for the iPhone; at that point there were no iOS sandbox games.
Critical reception.
Junk Jack.
The game has a Metacritic rating of 85% based on 11 critic reviews.
Slide to Play described the game as fun and addictive, while 148Apps deemed it a must-own for lovers of the sandbox-crafting genre. Pocket Gamer noted that it had a high learning curve, but that it was enjoyable once the player eased into it. Multiplayer.it even said it was better than .
Junk Jack X.
The game has a Metacritic rating of 83% based on 7 critic reviews.
Touch Arcade noted that it added new features to the sandbox, and built upon its prequels success, without drastically reinventing the genre. Pocket Gamer reasoned that the game wouldn't convert non-believers to the genre. Gamezebo appreciated the extra easing-in the game does to help keep players who may have left "Junk Jack" due to frustration over difficulty.
At April 27, Pixbits released Junk Jack X for steam, but they have now returned the game to the original title "Junk Jack".


Henri Ottmann

Henry Ottmann (also Henri Ottmann) (10 April 1877 – 1 June 1927) was a French painter and printmaker.
Biography.
Henry Ottmann was born on 10 April 1877 in Ancenis (Loire-Atlantique). He made his debut at the Salon La Libre Esthétique in Brussels in 1904 and took part in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris from 1905, the Salon d'Automne, the Salon Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and the Salon des Tuileries.
In 1911 and 1912, Ottmann exhibited at the "Artistes de la Société Moderne" at the Gallery Paul Durand-Ruel together with Armand Guillaumin, Henri Lebasque and others.
In 1912, Henry Ottmann exhibited at the gallery "Eugène Druet".
In 1919 he was working on illustrations of La Gebre periodical in Woodcut technique together with Paul Signac, Henriette Tirman and other painters.
In 1920, Ottmann exhibited at the gallery "Marcel Bernheim" together with Manguin, Tirman, Alexandre-Paul Canu and others.
In 1922, he exhibited at the "Exposition du Cercle Artistique de Bruxelles" together with those of Paul-Albert Besnard, Pierre Bonnard, Raoul Dufy, Othon Friesz, Charles Guérin, André Lhote, Henri Matisse, Paul Signac, Maurice de Vlaminck and others.
In 1926, Ottmann exhibited at the gallery "L.Dru" (Paris) and at the Parisian gallery "La Palette Française", and in March 1927 in the gallery "Armand Drouand".
He died in Vernon on 1 June 1927 after a car accident.
External links.
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century French painters]]
[[Category:French male painters]]
[[Category:20th-century French painters]]
[[Category:20th-century male artists]]
[[Category:Landscape artists]]
[[Category:French still life painters]]
[[Category:Post-impressionist painters]]
[[Category:Modern painters]]
[[Category:Woodcut designers]]
[[Category:French illustrators]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Académie Julian]]
[[Category:Fauvism]]
[[Category:20th-century French printmakers]]


Daniel Kleinman

Daniel Kleinman (born 23 December 1955) is a British television commercial and music video director who has designed every title sequence for the "James Bond" series of films since "GoldenEye" (1995), with the exception of "Quantum of Solace" (2008) (which was designed by the filmmaking and design collective MK12). He returned to design the titles for "Skyfall" (2012) and "Spectre" (2015). He is set to return for his 7th Bond title sequence for No Time to Die.
Early life.
He attended Orange Hill Grammar School in north-west London, which became Mill Hill County High School.
Career.
Kleinman formed Bazooka Joe, a rock band, with John Ellis and friends from Orange Hill Grammar School, Burnt Oak, London. The band played extensively throughout the 1970s. In 1975 it was supported by the Sex Pistols, playing for the first time at St Martin's School of Art, London. Bazooka Joe had a varied changing line up of musicians, notably Adam Ant and Arabella Weir, Mark Tanner (Sculptor), Chris Duffy (photographer).
Prior to "Bond" films, Kleinman directed music videos for musicians such as Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, Paula Abdul, Simple Minds, Wang Chung, Adam Ant and many others. Between 1984 and 1987, Kleinman's work received a record five nominations for the MTV Video Music Award for Most Experimental Video, as well as three nominations for Best Direction and several other categories. His 1989 "James Bond"-inspired video for Gladys Knight's title song to "Licence to Kill" led to him being chosen as the replacement when regular "Bond" title designer Maurice Binder died in 1991. In addition to the titles, Kleinman also directed the music videos for Sheryl Crow's "Tomorrow Never Dies" title song and Billie Eilish's "No Time to Die" title song.
Kleinman has directed many television commercials for companies ranging from Smirnoff's "Sea" and Guinness' "noitulovE", to pieces for Levi's, Johnnie Walker, Durex and Audi. He also directed the iconic Boddington’s commercials featuring Melanie Sykes.
Kleinman also directed Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse in "Smashie and Nicey, End of an Era".
James Bond.
Kleinman's appointment as title designer for the James Bond films placed greater emphasis on the use of modern technologies (such as computer generated images) into the creation of the series' title sequences, as well as an arguably greater emphasis on the integration of elements of each film's respective plots within the musical sequences.
To elaborate:


Debra Schutt

Debra Schutt (born 1955) is an American set decorator and art director. She was nominated at the 81st Academy Awards in the category of Best Art Direction for her work on the film "Revolutionary Road". She shared her nomination with art director Kristi Zea.


Christian Wolf

Christian Wolf is a German designer of board games. He has won the As d'Or for "Tutankhamen" and the Kinderspiel des Jahres for "Klondike" in 2001; both were collaborations with Stefanie Rohner.Wolf is an entrepreneur and shareholder & CEO of Anduud City FC in Mongolia.


Professional and Amateur Pinball Association

The Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA) is an organization supporting the game of pinball as a recreational and competitive sport. PAPA is currently a brand owned and operated by the Replay Foundation and is based in the Pittsburgh area.
The main activity of the organization is hosting the annual World Pinball Championships and Pinburgh Match-Play Championship. Each event brings hundreds of serious pinball players from around the world to compete for a number of large cash prizes. The World Pinball Championships run for four days and allow competitors to register in different divisions which accommodate beginners and skilled players alike. Each occurrence of the World Pinball Championships has been denoted by a number; for example, the 2010 tournament is known as PAPA 13.
The Pinburgh Match-Play Championship resurrects the name given to a previous Pittsburgh-area pinball tournament, and has a different structure. Players pay one entry fee and compete in multiple rounds directly against other players for two days, before a day of finals is played in three divisions, along with a consolation tournament for players who do not make the finals.
History.
PAPA was originally created by Steve Epstein, owner of the former Broadway Arcade in Manhattan. PAPA 6 was the last tournament organized under his tenure. The PAPA organization was transferred to Kevin Martin in January 2004 and its moniker applied to the pinball tournaments formerly held under the name of Pinburgh; PAPA 7 was the first of these, held in 2004.
In September 2004, shortly after PAPA 7, the remnants of Hurricane Ivan flooded the tournament area, ruining more than 200 games. However, the organizers managed to restock and rebuild in time to host PAPA 8 in 2005.
In November 2020, the Replay Foundation announced that it is discontinuing its events and use of the PAPA brand indefinitely, due to the pandemic.
Tournament format.
The format of the World Pinball Championships has changed over time. In the current format, players declare a division (A, B, or C, with A being the most skilled) and may enter as many times as they like, paying entry fees each time they choose to play. During an entry, a player will choose and play a certain number of games from a predetermined bank of machines (for example, five out of a possible nine machines). Each game score is assigned a point value based on how it compares to all of the other entries on that same machine: 100 points for the highest score, down to 1 point for 88th place, and 0 points for all lower scores. This point value may decrease over time as more games are played by everyone. An entry's overall score is the sum of these point values; thus, it too can decrease over time.
A player's best entry over the course of the qualifying period determines the player's qualifying score, and the qualifying scores are used to determine the rank of each player. A player's rank may go up or down, even without continuing to play more entries. There is a fair amount of strategy that can be employed to deal with this.
At the end of the qualifying period (typically several days), the top-ranked players in each division (the actual number varies) compete in a head-to-head, bracketed format to determine the winners.
The tournament also includes a Juniors division (16 years or younger), a Seniors division (50 years or older), and a Classics division that runs on multiple days of the event. In 2014, the Juniors division was changed to be three tournaments run on consecutive days, similar to the Classics division.
In 2015 a D division was added, specifically targeting very new players who had only played a limited amount of competitive pinball. In order to qualify for D division, a player needed to have a world ranking of 7500 or lower.
In 2018 and 2019, the Women's International Pinball Tournament (WIPT) was added in parallel to the Pinburgh event at Replay FX, utilizing the Pinburgh format.
Tournament machine configurations.
If possible, the game software of each machine is put into "tournament mode". Typically, this means that the rules will avoid
giving random awards, so that scores reflect mostly skill and not luck. Also, extra balls are disabled if the software supports it.
The physical setup of the machines is also configured to make things as challenging as possible. This can be done in a number of ways, for example:
List of tournament winners.
Pinburgh Match-Play
A Division
B Division
C Division
D Division
Junior Division
Senior Division
Classics Division
Split Flipper Division
Women's Division


Blue-Tongue Films

Blue-Tongue Films is an Australian film collective and production company, composed of filmmakers Kieran Darcy-Smith, Luke Doolan, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Mirrah Foulkes, Sean Kruck, David Michôd and Spencer Susser. Founded in 1996, Blue-Tongue has created a number of feature films as "Animal Kingdom", "Hesher", "The Square", "Wish You Were Here", and "The Gift", several short films, including "Bear", "Crossbow", "I Love Sarah Jane", "Miracle Fish" and "Spider", as well as music videos for artists such as Ben Lee, Bob Dylan, Brandon Flowers, Empire of the Sun, Eskimo Joe, Evermore, Lana Del Rey, Missy Higgins, Rahzel, and The Veronicas.


Malcolm Brown (art director)

Malcolm Brown (10 August 1903 – 29 August 1967) was an American art director. He won an Oscar and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.
Selected filmography.
Brown won an Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and was nominated for another:


Shave (magazine)

Shave is both a print and online men's-lifestyle magazine created by Shave Media Group. The founder is Mike Zouhri. The magazine also syndicates content through news portals, such as MSN.


Treasure Quest (game)

Treasure Quest was a puzzle game released by Sirius Entertainment on April 10, 1996.
In the CD-ROM scavenger hunt game "Treasure Quest", the player moves from room to room in the mansion of Professor Jonathon William Faulkner, who has bequeathed 1 million dollars to any student who can solve the puzzles he has laid out. To move from one room to the next, players must find a famous quote from visual clues, words and anagrams, and then derive an ultimate solution to the game.
Throughout the game, the player is guided by the professor's long-dead love, played by Terry Farrell, who was brought in to the project by "Star Trek"/"Star Wars" author Daryl F. Mallett, who worked at the company at the time.
Much of the game's popularity stemmed from the developer's openness about, and players' willingness to share, clues and room quotes, so long as the final solution was kept confidential.
The soundtrack featured 11 songs by Jody Marie Gnant (daughter of Sirius Publishing's CEO, Richard A. Gnant,) some of which contained clues. "Treasure Quest: The Official Resource Guide" (Sirius Publishing, 1996) was written by Steve Schwartz with guidance from Sirius Publishing and was available for purchase at the game's launch.
Development.
Inspired by the book Masquerade and its associated treasure hunt, the game was initially developed by Soggy in Seattle Productions, which then sold its interests to Sirius Productions. Development was completed by David Whipple and Christian Huygen of Motion Pixels, a sister company to Sirius Publishing.
The large number of typos and errors in the game were the result of efforts to keep the ultimate answer hidden even from the employees at the company. As the game neared completion, one of the company managers insisted that the game needed to be played to completion to ensure the proper level of quality. The manager feared that such a complex game could be undone by a single error. In order to make sure the ultimate answer remained unknown even by company employees, the game was split in half, 5 rooms each, and tested by two separate groups. One group was composed of employees based at the company headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ while the other consisted of the two programmers who worked remotely. The team at corporate headquarters found many errors and all were corrected. The programming team reported that they had completed their half and found and corrected some errors, but because of the management decision to put a wall between the two groups, neither half was ever verified by the other. Those familiar with the game have noticed that there are no game stopping errors in five of the ten rooms while each of the other rooms contain at least one significant error. It is not clear which group of rooms was tested by which group. However, it has also been reported that the majority of the errors can be discovered and that it is still possible to solve the puzzle despite the errors. This has led others to speculate that the errors were intentional and meant to drive players to the game site forum and to stimulate sales of the companion book.
Release.
The game was released on April 10, 1996 at 10:07 p.m. EST, with Richard Gnant commenting "Everything about Treasure Quest is a clue." The game had originally been scheduled for release on March 22 at 12:14 a.m. EST, reportedly also selected as a clue, but was delayed by technical issues and number of copies shipped.
In a unique marketing ploy, Sirius Publishing, Inc. offered a $1,000,000 prize to the first eligible player who could solve the mystery of "Treasure Quest" and submit an explanation of the solution to the complete satisfaction of a panel of judges. The contest would end on December 31, 1999 if no winner was determined.
The ultimate solution, as given by the developer Cerise Casper (now Cerise Vablais) to Sirius Publishing, was "The Tree of Life", referring to both wisdom and the love of the professor's lost fiancée Rose. It references both the Kabbalah and Proverbs 3:18, "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her." The rooms and corridors in the game were connected like those in the Kabbalah's diagram.
Controversy.
The "outcome" of this game is steeped in controversy.
Paul Wigowsky of Woodburn, Oregon submitted the "Tree of Life" solution with the ten room quotes on May 31, 1996. Wigowsky was a schoolteacher and a student of esoteric teachings. He immediately recognized that the design of the 10-room mansion with the 22 connections between the rooms was the same design that he had seen in books on the Hebrew Kabbalah with the 10 Sephira and twenty-two paths (also twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet). It was afterwards admitted by the producer of the game that this quester was indeed the first to submit the correct solution; however, the player was disqualified on the technicality that he did not put the required registration number in the upper right hand corner of the submission (as required by the rules of the game).
Shortly afterwards, Sirius Publishing released a statement that the $1 million prize was won. They posted the solution to the game on their website. A person by the name of P. Dreizen of San Francisco, California, won the game and the cash prize in May 1998. It was speculated that the person "P. Dreizen" is actually an anagram of "End Prize." Many of the people that collaborated online wonder why the person never showed up to discussions or participated in the chat rooms. They believed a game of such complexity couldn't be solved alone.
Others questioned the validity of the final solution, stating that the amount of typos, missing words and misquotes in the game made it impossible to beat. In July 1999, the case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
Reception.
"Entertainment Weekly" wrote that "Sirius Publishing is using a time-honored motivator to get skeptical shoppers to cough up 50 bucks for its latest game, Treasure Quest: avarice."
In 1996, "Computer Gaming World" declared "Treasure Quest" the 25th-worst computer game ever released.
Awards.
1996 Invision Gold Award for Best Strategy/Puzzle Game Title, given by "New Media Magazine"


Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures (video game)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, also known in Japan as , is a 3D platform video game based on the TV series of the same name. The console and PC versions were developed by Monkey Bar Games and the 3DS version was developed by Inti Creates. Both versions were published by Namco Bandai Games.
On March 1, 2014, Bandai Namco announced a sequel called "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2".
Plot.
The game begins with Pac-Man and his friends walk into Sir Cumference's lab. Three golden orbs are on a table, and while Sir C is explaining what they are to Pac-Man, four ghosts from the netherworld (Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde) come and tell Pac-Man that Pacopolis is under attack by the forces of Betrayus, king of the netherworld. They do so to steal the Frigidigitator, a device Sir C made for when Betrayus would make another heat-wave device like the one from Season 1's "Betrayus Turns the Heat Up".
Reception.
"Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures" received mixed reviews. Nintendo Life gave 7.0/10, writing "Pac-Man's latest adventure is kid-friendly in the best way: this is a solid, enjoyable 3D platformer that's built with a level of care and polish not often seen in games aimed at this audience."
GameZone's David Sanchez gave "Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures" a 4.5/10, writing that "Ghostly Adventures looks okay — it's certainly nicer to look at than it is to play, that's for sure."


Ferdinando Fontana

Ferdinando Fontana (30 January 1850 – 10 May 1919) was an Italian journalist, dramatist, and poet. He is best known today for having written the libretti of the first two operas by Giacomo Puccini – "Le Villi" and "Edgar".
Biography.
Born at Milan into a family of artists - both his father Carlo and his brother Roberto were painters - he entered a Barnabite school at the age of seven and then went on to study at the Collegio Zambelli. He was forced to abandon his studies while still young to provide for himself and his two younger sisters following the death of their mother. During that period, he worked in a series of menial jobs before becoming a copy editor for the newspaper "Corriere di Milano". This brought him into contact with the world of journalism and literature, which was to become his career.
An exponent of the second Scapigliatura artistic movement, Fontana was a very versatile writer. Apart from his plays and opera libretti, he wrote poems (in both Italian and Milanese dialect), travel books, and articles in various Italian newspapers, including "Corriere della Sera". From 1878 to 1879 he was the Berlin correspondent for the "Gazzetta Piemontese" (today "La Stampa").
During his time in Milan, Fontana wrote two plays in Milanese dialect, "La Pina Madamin" and "La Statôa del sciôr Incioda". Both had considerable success and starred Edoardo Ferravilla, considered one of the greatest comic actors in Milanese theatre. He wrote numerous libretti, including two for Alberto Franchetti ("Asrael" and "Zoroastro") and two for Puccini ("Le Villi" and "Edgar"). He also translated several operetta libretti for performance in Italy, including Franz Lehár's "Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow)" and "Der Graf von Luxemburg (The Count of Luxembourg)", Oskar Nedbal's "Polenblut (Polish Blood)", and Edmund Eysler's "Der Frauenfresser (The Woman-Eater)". Early in his career, Fontana's output was prodigious: an 1886 article in "La Stampa" said that at the time, 13 new libretti by Fontana were being composed by 12 different composers.
A committed and passionate socialist, he took part in the Milanese demonstrations in 1898 which led to the Bava-Beccaris massacre. Because of the repressions which followed, he fled to Switzerland where he first lived in Montagnola, a small town near Lugano. He remained in Switzerland until his death, living a modest life, and greatly reducing his literary activities.
Ferdinando Fontana died in Lugano in 1919, at the age of 69.
Texts set to music.
Unless indicated otherwise, the texts were opera libretti.


Scott Bizar

Scott B. Bizar is the founder of Fantasy Games Unlimited, a game publisher which contracts writers and artists that work primarily on role-playing games.
Career.
Scott Bizar, dissatisfied with TSR's "Dungeons & Dragons" (1974) and "Warriors of Mars" (1974), founded his own company, Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU). The company's first two products were Hugh McGowan's "Gladiators" (1975), a man-to-man miniatures combat system, and "Royal Armies of the Hyborean Age" (1975), a first-of-its kind wargame set in the world of Conan, was co-designed by Bizar's roommate, Lin Carter. At Gen Con IX in 1976, Edward E. Simbalist and Wilf K. Backhaus met Bizar, who was interested in their role-playing game "Chevalier" they had brought with them but decided not to sell to TSR; Bizar and helped guide the game to print over the next year as "Chivalry & Sorcery", the first RPG from FGU. In the late 1970s, Bizar was looking for a new science-fiction roleplaying game to act as one of FGU's flagships, and contacted Simbalist and Phil McGregor to produce the game, which was published in 1980 as "Space Opera". During the process, Bizar never met Simbalist or McGregor, or A. Mark Ratner, and the project was completed over more than two years entirely by correspondence. In the early 1980s, Bizar started picking up product lines from defunct publishers, which brought "Bushido" and "Aftermath!" to FGU in 1981. FGU purchased the rights to "Swordbearer" (1982), and also bought Heritage's old stock, something that Bizar felt was a necessary part of such a deal; FGU published their own edition in 1985. In 1987, Bizar was considering new locations for FGU that could offer him reduced warehousing costs, and decided on Arizona, the home of friend Rick Loomis and his gaming company, Flying Buffalo. Bizar rented office space and warehouse in Tempe, but since FGU was having difficulties Bizar took jobs as first a car salesman and then a school teacher. Bizar was intent on staying in the hobbyist industry, and founded a game shop in Gilbert, Arizona called Waterloo, using stock from his parents, who were running their own Waterloo game stores in New York; the FGU offices and warehouse were soon moved to this new location. After founding a second store in Phoenix, Arizona, Bizar was hit by massive fraud at the Gilbert store, when an employee took out credit cards in Bizar's name, opened fake bank accounts, and fraudulently offered up Bizar's stores as collateral; Bizar lost money due to the fraud and was also forced to fight lawsuits over the next years originating from it, and eventually had to close down the Phoenix store in 1996. Bizar had been getting some older FGU books back into print, while preparing new books for publication, but the fraud put an end to all that.
All of FGU's game actually belonged to their authors, but despite FGU's disappearance by the late 1980s, Bizar claimed that the products remained in print because he continued to sell backstock through his own store, and he claimed ownership over all of the FGU trademarks - which he stated did not revert to their authors, even if the rest of the game rights did. In 1996, Gold Rush Games prepared to publish a third edition of "Bushido" under license from the authors, but Bizar rushed the game back into print and notified Gold Rush Games that he would sue if their new edition was released. Through the general means of threatened lawsuits, Bizar has managed to keep almost all of the FGU properties off the market; he generally seems willing to sell rights but with the cost including the purchase of all backstock. In 2000, Bizar started a website that sells the extensive FGU backstock that still exists, and has continued producing his reproductions of old FGU material. Bizar printed a few new books, including a second edition of Dinosaur Games' "Aftermath! Technology!" (2008) and two other David Harmer supplements that had not been previously printed: "Aftermath! Magic!" (2010) and the "Aftermath! Survival Guide" (2008); Bizar similarly published a number of original PDFs for "Villains & Vigilantes" for free through the website (2010). Jeff Dee and Jack Herman contended that they had contracted with FGU Inc., not Bizar, and that this means that Bizar no longer had the rights to publish "V&V"; the two sent Bizar a cease-and-desist letter in June 2010, instructing him that he was no longer allowed to sell their games, and then Dee and Herman published version 2.1 of "Villains & Vigilantes" (2010) under their new Monkey House Games brand. As of early 2011, Bizar had refused a license that would give him the right to continue publishing "Villains & Vigilantes" material and had also refused arbitration with Dee and Herman, although Dee and Herman say it's required by their contract. Bizar printed a few "Giant" volumes that collected old "V&V" books as well as some brand new releases such as "Escape from the Micro-Universe" (2011) for "V&V" and "The Gauntlet" (2011) for "Aftermath! ".


Dana Lombardy

Dana Lombardy is a game designer who has worked primarily on board games.
Career.
Dana Lombardy designed the award-winning "Streets of Stalingrad" board wargame, published in 1979 with three separate editions since its first release. He is also known for his appearances on various television shows, including multiple episodes of the History Channel's "Tales of the Gun". Lombardy has contributed as an editor, cartographer, graphic artist, and designer to many books, games, and magazines. He served as publisher of "Napoleon Journal" from 1996 to 2000.


Tu Jida

Tu Jida (; 11 December 1927 – 16 February 2011) was a Chinese aircraft designer who led the development of five models of aircraft and was hailed as the "father of the Chengdu J-7" family of jet fighters. In the 1950s, he participated in the development of the Shenyang JJ-1 trainer and was a chief designer of the Nanchang CJ-6 trainer. Starting in 1960, as chief designer of the Chengdu Aircraft Factory, he developed the fighter jets Shenyang J-5A, Chengdu JJ-5, and several variants of the J-7 fighter, including the Chengdu J-7M, then China's only warplane competitive in the world market. He was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Early life and education.
Tu Jida was born 11 December 1927 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, Republic of China. When he was ten, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out and Shaoxing was bombed by Japanese warplanes. To seek refuge from the war, his mother brought him and his brother to live in the Shanghai International Settlement. This experience greatly influenced Tu's decision to become an aircraft designer. After the end of the war, he was admitted to the aeronautical engineering department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1946.
Career.
After graduating from university in 1951, Tu was assigned to work for the Harbin Aircraft Factory. In 1956, he was transferred to the Shenyang Aircraft Factory to help develop the Shenyang JJ-1 trainer, the first jet aircraft designed in China. Working under chief designer Xu Shunshou and deputy chief Huang Zhiqian, Tu was in charge of designing the fuselage. The plane took its first flight in July 1958, after only 21 months of development.
In 1958, Tu Jida and Lin Jiahua were tasked with designing the Nanchang CJ-6 basic trainer at the Nanchang Aircraft Factory. It took their team only 72 days to build a working prototype. After further development, in the 1980s it became the first Chinese-designed aircraft to be mass produced, with more than 2,000 made.
In 1960, Tu was transferred to Chengdu to work for the Chengdu Aircraft Factory, then still being established. He served as chief designer for the Shenyang J-5A, an improved version of the J-5 fighter. The J-5A took its maiden flight on 11 November 1964. It was the first plane built by Chengdu Aircraft. Based on the J-5A, Tu went on to design the jet trainer Chengdu JJ-5. The plane was in production for 20 years, with more than 1,000 manufactured in total. It was the main trainer used in Chinese aviation schools, and more than 15,000 pilots received their training in the aircraft. It was also exported to more than ten countries.
In 1969, Chengdu Aircraft took over the development of the J-7 fighter (also known as F-7) from Shenyang Aircraft, and Tu was again the chief designer. He developed the J-7I model in 1973, and then the J7-II with a greatly improved ejection seat system. In 1987, he developed the J-7M, which was exported to many countries. It was the only Chinese-made warplane that was competitive in the world market, and Tu was hailed as the "father of J-7" in official Chinese media. He was also a professor and doctoral advisor at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Tu was awarded the State Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class) in 1985. In 1995, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Personal life.
Tu had a son, Tu Zhengxing (屠征星), and a daughter, Tu Zhengyin (屠征音). According to his children, he devoted most of his time to work and spent little time with his family.
Tu worked at the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group until the end of his life. In the Chinese New Year of 2011, he went to Shenzhen to spend the holiday with his family. He had a fall when in Shenzhen, and died on 16 February at the Shenzhen No. 6 People's Hospital, at the age of 83.


Vayner Brothers

The Vayner Brothers (), (1931-2005) and ) (1938-2009), were popular Soviet mystery fiction writers of Russian Jewish descent. Together they authored some 150 books and 22 screenplays.
Both have been awarded with the Order of the Badge of Honour (March 1988) and they individually have other awards.


Ann Margaret Lanchester

Ann Margaret Lanchester (fl. 1802 – fl. 1810), was a British fashion merchant and fashion designer. She was a leading figure within the British fashion industry and referred to as 'The Bonaparte of her day' in the contemporary "The Complete Book of Trades". She made regular trips to Paris to study fashion, published the exclusive fashion magazine "Le Miroir de la Mode" for the British nobility, where she illustrated the contemporary fashion through her own dress models, which she sold in her shop in New Bond Street in London (in 1806 moved to St James's Street).


Jutti

The jutti () or "Punjabi Jutti" () is a type of footwear common in North India and neighboring regions. They are traditionally made up of leather and with extensive embroidery, in real gold and silver thread as inspired by Indian royalty over 400 years ago. Prior to that, Rajputs of the northwest used to wear leather juttis, also called ethnic shoes. Now with changing times, different juttis with rubber soles are made available. Besides the Punjabi jutti, there are various local styles as well. Today Amritsar and Patiala ("tilla jutti") are important trade centers for handcrafted juttis, from where they are exported all over the world to Punjabi diaspora. Closely related to mojaris. Juttis have evolved into several localized design variations, even depending upon the shoemaker. However by large, they have no left or right distinction, and over time take the shape of the foot. They usually have flat sole, and are similar in design for both women and men, except for men they have a sharp extended tip, curved upwards like traditional moustaches, and are also called "khussa", and some women’s juttis are backless. Even with changing times juttis have remained part of ceremonial attire, especially at weddings, the unembellished juttis are used for everyday use for both men and women in most of Punjab, mostly called Jalsa Jutti which is blackish in color.
Many Punjabi folk songs mention juttis, like and .
Overview.
There is a wide variety of juttis (pronounced 'jeut-tii' in Punjabi or 'jeu-tea' in Hindi/Urdu) available for both men and women. During certain festivals special juttis are also fitted to the feet of cows. Elsewhere in India, juttis are commonly also known as mojari, while an alternative name in Pakistan is "khussa". They are now very popular in the West too. Like mojaris, these are long shoes with the end curled upwards. They have been traditionally handed down over generations, with each generation contributing some variation to it. These are the traditional ethnic Indian footwear.
They are usually made of fine leather and are delicately embroidered with threads or beads. Juttis are slip-on in style and are characterized by rising high to the Achilles tendon in the back and covering the toes with a round or M-shaped heavily-embroidered upper, leaving the top of the foot nearly bare. Some feature extensive hand-done embroidery.
It is believed that one of the earliest examples of footwear worn on the Indian subcontinent is a sandal of wood, datable to circa 200 BC. During the 3rd and 4th centuries in the Buddhist period, it was quite common to wear strapped sandals and Indian kings wore sandals ornamented with precious jewels. Jain literature shows that leather was used for the making of shoes, which protected the toes from getting injured. Hides of cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep and other wild animals were used.
These ethnic shoes were worn by wealthy zamindars, chaudhary, nawab, jagirdars Maharajas and Maharanis of India (especially Punjab), various designs showcased in this category are inspired from the Mughal era. All these are handmade by skilled artisans in remote corners of India.
Jutti is the traditional Indian footwear popular in North India, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It also has slightly different variations which are known as kussa or mojri. Beauty, vibrant color and utility are combined in these juttis of India. Rich golden threads and colorful beads are used to craft exquisite motifs in order to impart a royal touch on these juttis made of different shades of leather. People prefer wearing them on traditional occasions like weddings. Along with traditional dresses like sherwani or kurta pajama, juttis form the quintessential accessory.


Yoshitoshi Mori

 was a Japanese artist who specialized in "kappazuri" stencil prints. He was for many years a member of the "mingei" folk craft movement, and was close with Yanagi Sōetsu, founder of the movement, and Serizawa Keisuke, among others, producing stencil-dyed textiles and other textiles arts before turning to prints later in his career.
Yoshitoshi is said to have influenced several major 20th century print artists, including Shikō Munakata and Hiromitsu Takahashi.
His colorful works generally depict scenes from the kabuki theatre, or subjects related to folk traditions and festivals. Art collector Ren Brown writes that Yoshitoshi's "figures are most often rendered with a simplicity that manages to denote great energy and movement. ... Mori is known for using earthy colors in his work, and for often positioning his figures in a somewhat contorted and dynamic mass."
Life and career.
Yoshitoshi was born in Tokyo in 1898. He studied art at the Kawabata School of Fine Arts, and worked primarily in textile arts for many years. It was during this time that he met and worked with Serizawa Keisuke and Yanagi Sōetsu, studying stencil-dyeing techniques and becoming involved in the "mingei" movement.
It was not until the 1950s that Yoshitoshi began creating works on paper, quickly becoming known as one of the key artists of the "sōsaku hanga" movement. He was criticized by Yanagi Sōetsu in a major debate in 1962, who accused Yoshitoshi of abandoning the "mingei" movement, after which he distanced himself from the movement even more so, and began to focus more exclusively on "kappazuri" stencil prints.
Yoshitoshi exhibited his works in numerous one-man shows in Japan in the 1960s, and took part in thirty international exhibitions between 1957 and 1977. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Maryland University in 1984, and was formally honored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He died on May 29, 1992, immediately following the end of what would be his final one-man gallery show, held at the Wako Gallery Tokyo.
Collections.
His work is held in several museums worldwide, including the British Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museums, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Shi Ping

Shi Ping (; 25 March 1934 – 10 May 2016) was a Chinese aircraft designer, who is responsible for the development of the two-seat intermediate jet trainer Hongdu JL-8. He was a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Biography.
Shi was born on 25 March 1934 in Poyang County, Jiangxi. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Nanjing Aeronautical Institute in 1956. He was assigned to Hongdu Machinery-building Factory as a designer after his graduation. He was a designer of Nanchang CJ-6, Nanchang Q-5 and Dongfeng-103 between 1950s and 1970s. Shi was appointed as the chief designer for Hongdu JL-8 in 1987.
In 2003, Shi was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was the chief designer of Hongdu Aviation Industry Group as well as the adjunct professor of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1994–2016), Nanchang Institute of Aeronautical Technology (2003–16) and Jiangxi University of Science and Technology (2004–16).
Shi died on 10 May 2016 at the age of 82 in Nanchang.


Personalized video game

A personalized video game is created for one specific player or a group of players usually as a luxury gift, similar to personalized books. It features real names, places and events from the recipient's life. Usual occasions for such games are birthdays, anniversaries, and engagement proposals.
History.
Personalized video games were given as luxury gifts almost from the beginning of the game industry. A recent famous example includes a game given in 2002 by Kevin Smith to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. In the game Lopez has to find and rescue Affleck, who has been kidnapped.
One of the first professional personalized video games service was created by Abdel Bounane in 2011 and was called Amuze Me. The costs of one game could run up to $67,000. “Amuse Me makes personalized games in one’s image, like having your portrait made by a painter,” said Florent Deloison, one of the service's game artists.
In 2014, Netherlands-based developer TinglyGames launched its Greeting Games, an online program that lets users customize and send casual games within digital greeting cards. Unlike Amuse Me, TinglyGames worked as a self-service and the games were not hand-made.
In 2017, Australian game studio Amelus Digital launched the service HEART2GAME, which initially created hand-made custom order video games as strictly romantic gifts. In 2018 HEART2GAME expanded their services and now create personalised video games for a variety of occasions, not strictly romantic.
In 2018 Petr Hudecek - former Game Producer in Warhorse Studios - started Bday Game. It manually makes pixel-art, story-driven RPG games. Occasion was not restricted from the start and it has been used for a marriage proposal, Christmas gift, birthday gift and even for a B2B.
Cheap personalized video games services are also offered by freelance game developers on marketplaces such as Fiverr.


Martin Wallace (game designer)

Martin Wallace is an English game designer from Manchester.
Early life and education.
Martin Wallace was born and raised in the U.K., and has been resident in Manchester for most of those years. He began gaming in his teens, starting with titles from SPI and Avalon Hill, and as a student he got into "Dungeons & Dragons".
Career.
Wallace worked for a while at Games Workshop, then started designing games in earnest in the early 1990s, his first DTP game being "Lords of Creation". Eventually German companies picked up a few of his games, such as "Und Tschüss", "Volldampf", and "Tempus". He has also published a number of games through his own company, Warfrog. These include such titles as "Struggle of Empires", "Princes of the Renaissance", and "Age of Steam". Wallace is now a full-time game publisher and designer.
Wallace is the founder and chief designer of Treefrog (former Warfrog) Games. Wallace is known for designing complex strategy games that depict a variety of historical settings. Two themes he has frequently used are the construction and operation of railroads, and the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. He has developed a reputation for blending elegant European style game mechanics with the strong themes that are more typical of American style games. Many of his games feature economic systems, incorporating rules for income, taxation, and debt.
Martin Wallace's most popular game, "Age of Steam", was the winner of the 2003 International Gamers Award. and in 2008 was one of the top twenty rated games on BoardGameGeek.


Uwabaki

 are a type of Japanese slippers worn indoors at home, school or certain companies and public buildings where street shoes are prohibited.
Japanese culture mandates that people should remove their shoes when entering homes and other buildings, especially where the floors may have rugs, polished wood floors, or . are light, flexible shoes which are easy to slip on and off, designated for indoor use. As they are not generally worn outside, the soles are kept clean, and thus cleaning and maintenance of the building's floors are kept to a minimum.
At the entrance of every school, from preschool to college, there is a with an assigned locker () for each student to put their . A student's grade level is often indicated by a colored stripe across the toes; the body color of the slipper is always white.


4th Hum Awards

The 4th Hum Awards ceremony, presented by the Hum Television Network and Entertainment Channel (HTNEC), sponsored by Servis and honoring the best in fashion, music and Hum Television Dramas of 2015, had taken place on April 23, 2016 at the Expo Centre in Karachi, Sindh, beginning at 7:30 p.m. PST. During the ceremony, HTNEC presented Hum Awards in 25 categories. The ceremony was televised in Pakistan by Hum TV on May 28, 2016.
4th Hum Awards was also selec to air on Hum Europe on eid ul azha 2016
Actors Sanam Jung, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Ayesha Khan hosted the ceremony, while Ahmed Ali Butt and Vasay Chaudhry emcee the ceremony again. The red carpet pre show was hosted by Rubya Chaudhry and Khalid Malik.
Nominees.
Nominees for public voting were announced on April 5, 2016 on ceremony website. Only nine categories were set open for public voting in Viewers Choice Categories with five categories from Television and two categories from Fashion and Music segments, till April 18, 2016.
The nominees for public voting were announced on 9 March 2015, on ceremony website. Only seven categories were set open for public voting in Viewers Choice Categories with three categories from Television and two categories from Fashion and Music segments. Voting lines were closed on 25 March 2015 for all the viewers choice categories, announcing the rest of the categories.
Awards.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.


MySims

MySims is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' "The Sims" franchise for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007, re-released for Microsoft Windows in 2008.
Overview.
Gameplay.
The game puts players in charge of redeveloping a town that has become run down. Through creative building and design elements, players can improve the town, which attracts new residents, who subsequently need homes built for them. Customization is a large element of the game, including houses, furniture and outfits.
Apart from creating a custom Mii-like character, players may also modify their houses and build furniture and appliances using a selection of building blocks. This gives the player more building options, allowing them to create objects by using blueprints, a change from the usual virtual catalog found in "The Sims". There are 80 characters with whom the player may interact in the Wii version (30 characters in the Nintendo DS version), such as a mad scientist, a magician, a librarian, a pizza chef, and a martial arts teacher. Some of these characters may ask the player to build things for them. As with previous "Sims" games, meeting people and forming relationships is a major gameplay focus, but unlike "The Sims" games, the characters do not have to fulfil needs such as hunger and sleep. Becoming a Sim's best friend will earn the player either a special blueprint not available anywhere else in the game, or a style of clothing for their wardrobe. Players can also earn blueprints by performing tasks for Commercial Sims (Sims who have their own businesses). Typically this involves building around 5-10 items for Sims, depending on the Star Level (the 1-5 level) of the player's town and the essences they have access to.
A feature new to "MySims" is "Essences". They can be found in various locations in town or by interacting with Sims or objects. Essences are used for a number of things including paint for the walls of houses, construction of items, as well as decoration.
The minigames in the DS Version include racquetball, paragliding, Scuba diving and more.
Character design.
Compared to previous "Sims" titles, "MySims" has a more Chibi-inspired look, with cute character designs. This was Emmy Toyonaga's idea; in "Official Nintendo Magazine" she remarked: "Well, Mario and other Nintendo characters are pretty short and stubby. Also, being Japanese, I'm used to the mindset that fun games should have shorter, stubbier characters. So these characters kind of came naturally". "Official Nintendo Magazine", March 2007 In "Nintendo Power", designer Robin Hunicke said that the character designs also imply youthfulness, and that the aesthetic was chosen for worldwide appeal, while referring to the lesser sales of previous "Sims" games in Japan compared to other territories.
According to "Official Nintendo Magazine" one of the characters in "MySims", Chaz McFreely, was based on their editor, Chandra Nair.
Music.
The game's music was composed by John Enroth and Silas Hite of Mutato Muzika. The music changes depending on what type of building the player is visiting. There is a specific motif for each business and for each Interest, which will play when the player approaches a building.
Reception.
The PC version of "MySims" as well as the Wii and Nintendo DS versions received "Mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.
"MySims" has received mixed reviews. "IGN" said that "The problem is that nearly all of the objectives revolve around the same two tasks: the collection of essences and the construction of houses, buildings and items. All of the Sim management and social interaction elements of the previous games – well, you're not going to find much of that in the streamlined Wii affair". "GameSpot" praised the Wii game for the construction being intuitive and flexible and for the presentation being cheery and clean. It was also criticized for having longer than usual load times. Its Nintendo DS counterpart is regarded as virtually an all new game in design; However, reception of its control scheme varied greatly. "Resolution" said the game would be enjoyed by "those whose age is a single digit," but that the game would quickly grow tiresome for anybody else.
Sequels.
Five sequels have been released for "MySims".


Bower (crossword compiler)


Dominik Pagacz

Dominik Pagacz is a Canadian artist known mostly as an Emmy Award-winning motion picture supervising sound editor, sound effects editor, sound designer, sound re-recording mixer, actor and filmmaker.
He is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) (U.S.A.).
He is also the founding member and artistic director of the experimental theatre and film production company Segment 3.


State complexity

State complexity is an area of theoretical computer science
dealing with the size of abstract automata,
such as different kinds of finite automata.
The classical result in the area is that
simulating an formula_1-state
nondeterministic finite automaton
by a deterministic finite automaton
requires exactly formula_2 states in the worst case.
Transformation between variants of finite automata.
Finite automata can be
deterministic and
nondeterministic,
one-way (DFA, NFA)
and two-way
(2DFA, 2NFA).
Other related classes are
unambiguous (UFA),
self-verifying (SVFA)
and alternating (AFA) finite automata.
These automata can also be two-way (2UFA, 2SVFA, 2AFA).
All these machines can accept exactly the regular languages.
However, the size of different types of automata
necessary to accept the same language
may be different.
For any two types of finite automata,
the "state complexity tradeoff" between them
is an integer function formula_3
where formula_4 is the least number of states in automata of the second type
sufficient to recognize every language
recognized by an formula_1-state automaton of the first type.
The following results are known.
The 2DFA vs. 2NFA problem and logarithmic space.
It is an open problem whether all 2NFAs can be converted to 2DFAs
with polynomially many states, i.e. whether there is a polynomial formula_18
such that for every formula_1-state 2NFA
there exists a formula_18-state 2DFA.
The problem was raised by Sakoda and Sipser,
who compared it to the P vs. NP problem
in the computational complexity theory.
Berman and Lingas discovered a formal relation between this problem
and the L vs. NL open problem.
This relation was further elaborated by Kapoutsis.
State complexity of operations for finite automata.
Given a binary regularity-preserving operation on languages formula_21
and a family of automata X (DFA, NFA, etc.),
the state complexity of formula_21
is an integer function formula_23 such that
Analogous definition applies for operations with any number of arguments.
The first results on state complexity of operations for DFAs
were published by Maslov
and by Yu, Zhuang and Salomaa.
Holzer and Kutrib
pioneered the state complexity of operations on NFA.
The known results for basic operations are listed below.
Union.
If language formula_28 requires m states
and language formula_29 requires n states,
how many states formula_30 requires?
Intersection.
How many states formula_39 requires?
Complementation.
If language L requires n states
then how many states its "complement" requires?
Concatenation.
How many states formula_55 requires?
Finite automata over a unary alphabet.
State complexity of finite automata with a one-letter ("unary") alphabet, pioneered by Chrobak, is different from the multi-letter case.
Let formula_74 be Landau's function.
Transformation between models.
For a one-letter alphabet, transformations between different types of finite automata are sometimes more efficient than in the general case.
Further reading.
Surveys of state complexity
were written by Holzer and Kutrib
and by Gao et al.
New research on state complexity
is commonly presented at the annual workshops on
Descriptional Complexity of Formal Systems (DCFS),
at the
Conference on Implementation and Application of Automata (CIAA),
and at various conferences on theoretical computer science in general.


William Duborgh Jensen

William Duborgh Jensen (10 May 1935 – 24 May 2017) was a Norwegian fashion and costume designer.
William was first known as a fashion designer; he was Norway's first "haute couturier" with his own collection in 1958. He later worked in television and film as a costume designer.
He was appointed as a Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 2006 for his efforts in fashion design.
William died at the age of 82.


Discant

Discant, or descant (descant), (, meaning "singing apart") originated as a style of liturgical setting in the Middle Ages, associated with the development of the Notre Dame school of polyphony.
In origin, it is a style of organum that either includes a plainchant tenor part (usually on a melisma in the chant) or is used without a plainchant basis in conductus, in either case with a "note against note" upper voice, moving in contrary motion. It is not a musical form, but rather a technique. The term continued to be used down to modern times with changing senses, at first for polyphony in general, then to differentiate a subcategory of polyphony (either in contrast to organum, or for improvised as distinct from written polyphony). By extension it became the name of a part that is added above the tenor, and later as the name of the highest part in a polyphonic setting (the equivalent of "cantus", "superius", and "soprano"). Finally, it was adopted as the name of the highest register of instruments such as recorders, cornets, viols, and organ stops.
"English discant is three-voice parallelism in first-inversion triads." However, because it allowed only three, four, or at most five such chords in succession, emphasizing contrary motion as the basic condition, it "did not differ from the general European discant tradition of the time". Because English discant technique has commonly been associated with such a succession of first-inversion triads, it has inevitably become confused with "fauxbourdon", with which it has "no connection whatsoever". This misinterpretation was first brought forward in 1936 by Manfred F. Bukofzer, but has been proved invalid, first in 1937 by Thrasybulos Georgiades, and then by Sylvia Kenney and Ernest H. Sanders. A second hypothesis, that an unwritten tradition of this kind of parallel discant existed in England before 1500, "is supported neither by factual evidence nor by probability".
Characteristics.
This style was dominant in early 12th century Aquitanian polyphony, and can be identified by the following characteristics:
Examples of this can be found in some of Léonin’s late 12th-century settings. These settings are often punctuated with passages in discant style, where both the tenor and upper voice move in modal rhythms, often the tenor part in mode 5 (two long notes) and the upper part in mode 1 (a long then short note). Therefore it is easier to imagine how discant style would have sounded, and we can make a guess as to how to recreate the settings. It is suggested by scholars such as Grout, that Léonin used this non-melismatic style in order to mirror the grandeur of Notre Dame Cathedral itself.
Current research suggests that the word 'discantus' was formed with the intention of providing a separate term for a newly developed type of polyphony. If true, then it is ironic that the newer term, "discantus", ended up being applied to the older note-against-note style, while the older word "organum" was transferred to the more innovative style of florid-against-sustained-note polyphony. This may have been partly because the 12th century was an era that believed in progress, so that the more familiar "organum" was kept for the style then considered to be the most up-to-date.
Discant in three or four voices.
The development of modal rhythms enabled the progression from two part discant style to three and four part discant style. This is because, only voices, confined to a set rhythm can be combined effectively to make a set phrase. This was mainly related to Pérotin, around 1200. The parts in these three and four past settings were not necessarily related to each other. Evidence suggests that the parts were either related to the tenor part, or composed independently. Either way, this formed the first ‘composition’, and provided a foundation for development, and a new style, "conductus" was developed from the three and four part discant ideas.


Virtual Pinball

Virtual Pinball is a follow-up to EA's 1983 title "Pinball Construction Set" from the same author, Bill Budge, released 10 years later for the Sega Genesis. One to four players can choose from either 29 premade tables or design one using in-game editor tools. Designing options include ten different backgrounds and six themes, and a player can choose where objects are placed, the style of music, and the ball speed. "Virtual Pinball" lacks the unlimited floppy disc storage used by the original, and the ability to create self-booting disks that can be played without the construction set software.
Gameplay.
The player can play the 29 existing games, go to the blueprint plans, or play one of the ten user created games. It also allows the player to change the Game theme, Parts theme, Board background, Skill level, ball action, and music.
Workshop Mode allows starting with a blank game where up to 256 parts can be placed anywhere on the board. These parts include Bumpers, Flippers, Walls, Kick Walls, Targets, Tracks, Specials, Launchers, Blasters, and Grabbers. All of these items are related to items found on a real table.
A game starts with four balls. The ball is launched by pressing and holding the A button, with the time held determining the power of the launch. All left flippers are controlled by the D-pad, while all right flippers are controlled by the C button. Hitting B will nudge the table, and can be used in conjunction with the D-pad to nudge in a certain direction.


GFL Championship Football

GFL Championship Football is a 1986 video game published by Activision.
Gameplay.
"GFL Championship Football" is a game in which the player received an inside the helmet view.
Reception.
Wyatt Lee reviewed the game for "Computer Gaming World", and stated that "Whatever one's feelings about the game, when the plus yardage and minus yardage is added together, this action/strategy game is a watershed design."


Mukesh Sahani

Mukesh Sahani is an Indian politician from the Indian state of Bihar. He is the currently serving as the Minister for Animal Husbandry & Fisheries in the Government of Bihar and the founder of the Vikassheel Insaan Party, a political party in Bihar.
He previously worked as a Bollywood stage designer. Sahani is also owner of a company named 'Mukesh Cineworld Private Limited'.
Sahani campaigned for Bharatiya Janata Party during the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, but later formed Vikassheel Insaan Party and his party became part of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar for 2019 Indian general election. They contested on three Lok Sabha seat but failed to win any seats. He is famously known as Son Of Mallah.
Early life.
Mukesh Sahani was born to Meena Devi and Jitan Sahani. Before entering into the Indian politics, he was a successful businessman in Bollywood Industry as a set designer. He left Bihar at the age of 19 and moved to Mumbai. In his initial times in Mumbai, he worked as a salesman and later joined Bollywood as a set designer. Mukesh is considered as an influential leader of "Mallaah" (fisherman) community, he is also referred to as 'Son of Mallah'.
Social life.
In the year 2010, Sahani started thinking about his society and community, he founded Sahani Samaj Kalyan Sanstha in Bihar. He opened two offices, one is in Darbhanga and another one is in Patna. Using this foundation, he has directed people to get well educated and gather in a circle. He also educated to take interest in politics. In the year 2015, he founded an organisation named Nishad Vikas Sangh. This organization started working district wise to gather the community people.
Political career.
It was observed by Mr. Narendra Modi and he picked him up. Mr. Sahani started campaigning for BJP. Finally, BJP won 2014 Lok Sabha Election. However, Mr. Sahani left BJP because they did not deliver the promise of approving his community in Schedule Caste category. Later he founded a Sangh named as [Nishad Vikas Sangh] in 2015. In 2018, he formed a party as well with the name of Vikassheel Insaan Party. The party was approved on 26 July 2018. The VIP Party of Sahani contested in 2019 General Elections as an alliance in the Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance. It failed to win any seats in the elections. Later in the 2020 Legislative Elections, His party established its place in Bihar by winning four seats. In the Bihar election of 2020, His party fought along with NDA.
Personal life.
Mukesh Sahani married to Kavita Sahani, a full time Home Maker. They have a son, Mr. Ranveer Sahani and a daughter Ms. Muskan Sahani. Mr. Sahani has a brother, Mr. Santosh Sahani and a sister, Mrs. Rinku Sahani.


Matokie Slaughter

Matokie Worrell Slaughter (December 21, 1919 – December 31, 1999), sometimes known as "Tokie" Slaughter, was an American clawhammer banjo player.
Born in Pulaski, Virginia, to a large musical family, Slaughter performed regularly with her family on local radio in the 1940s. She and her sister Virgie (later Virgie Worrel Richardson) also appeared regularly at local fiddler's conventions. She was discovered by the larger old-time music community when some of her recordings appeared on Charles Faurot's clawhammer banjo anthologies during the 1960s. Later, she made many appearances at folk music festivals and workshops throughout the US and formed a band called Matokie Slaughter & The Back Creek Buddies with her sister Virgie and old-time music revivalist Alice Gerrard. The band issued a cassette-only release, "Saro", in 1990.
Slaughter is known for her unique, driving style of clawhammer banjo playing, with complex noting and double-noting and featuring both uppicking and downpicking. She also occasionally played fiddle.
During the 1990s, San Francisco artist Margaret Kilgallen began drawing freight-train graffiti using the name "Matokie Slaughter" as an homage to the original Matokie Slaughter. A fictionalized version of Matokie Slaughter also figured prominently in many of Kilgallen's non-graffiti artworks. She died ten days after her 80th birthday in 1999.


Georges Chakra

Georges Chakra () is a Beirut-based Lebanese haute couture fashion designer. Georges Chakra first established his brand in 1985, and he's been showing his couture collections at Paris Fashion Week since the mid-1990s.
Biography.
Georges Chakra began by interiors. After two years of his initial study, he hightailed it to Canada to finish his schooling at the Canadian Fashion Academy, and in 1985 at 22 years old, he returned to his home country Lebanon, where he opened his first shop.
From his own admission, he sold to a select number of clients, but his work flourished nonetheless. He also considers his biggest career turning point the day he heard news that his work will be prominently featured in one of fashion's most beloved movies of all time: "The Devil Wears Prada", a mere 20 years into his career.
What started as a customized workshop for local and regional clientele has grown into an international haute couture fashion house, having dressed Rihanna, Beyoncé, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Lopez, and Helen Mirren.
Chakra had featured in major fashion magazines "InStyle", "Harper's Bazaar", "Vanity Fair", "Elle", "Madame Figaro", "Gala" and "Genlux".
TV and film.
Aside from his creations appearing in the 2006 movie "The Devil Wears Prada," featuring Meryl Streep, Georges Chakra's work has also been featured in the television series "Gossip Girl" featuring Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.


Men Without Bones

"Men Without Bones" is a 1954 horror short story by British writer Gerald Kersh.
Plot summary.
A passenger on a banana boat called the "Claire Dodge" at Puerto Pobre, sees a feverish-looking little man. Everyone believes the man is mad. The man asks for passage. He introduces himself as Goodbody, Doctor of Science of Osbaldeston University. He was an assistant of Professor Yeoward, who was lost in the upland jungle beyond the source of the Amer River. He begs to be allowed to leave, to escape the "men without bones".
He tells about their lost expedition, which had bad luck, losing two canoes and half their supplies at the Anaña Rapids. They also lost Doctor Terry, Jack Lambert, and eight carriers. They made friends with the Ahu Indians and bribed them to carry their remaining belongings westward through the jungle. The object of Professor Yeoward's expedition was to investigate a series of Indian folk tales that tallied. Legends of a race of gods that came down from the sky in a great flame when the world was very young.
They found the nameless place, called a 'bad place' by the Ahu. They refuse to accompany them. The two venture on through thirty miles of jungle, making about a quarter of a mile a day.
Finally, they reach a plateau and climb the slope. There they spot the remains of a gigantic machine. Originally it had a pear-shape, at least a thousand feet long and, in its widest part, six hundred feet in diameter. The impact of its landing had made a great valley in the middle of the plateau. The metal is so old that it turns to powder at their touch.
On the third day, Yeoward finds a semi-circular plate of hard metal, covered with diagrams. After several days study, Yeoward recognizes it as a star chart, and a chart of a course from Mars to Earth.
That night the boneless things surround their camp. Goodbody shoots one and the rest scatter. At dawn, they find the corpse, which was "grey and, in texture, tough and gelatinous. Yet, in form, externally, it was not unlike a human being. It had eyes, and there were either vestiges—or rudiments—of head, and neck, and a kind of limbs." Goodbody is instinctively afraid of the thing. He dissects the thing reluctantly. It has "a kind of digestive system enclosed in very tough jelly, a rudimentary nervous system, and a brain about the size of a walnut." The entire creature, stretched out, measures four feet long.
As the sun rises, the corpse melts and liquifies, turning to slime. Yeoward starts to avoid Goodbody. On a trip into the jungle, he sees a horde of the boneless things attack and devour a tree sloth. They do not bite, but suck, their color changing from gray to pink and then to brown. He finds that they are afraid of him also.
On his return, he finds that Yeoward has been bitten by a jararaca. He dies two hours later, entrusting Goodbody with the metal star chart. The boneless things return that night and he shoots again and again until they leave. He buries Yeoward and leaves. He has forgotten the way back, however and he becomes thinner and weak. Eventually, he ties the star chart to a tree with liana-vine and goes on.
He reaches the territory of the Ahu, who nurse him back to health. He takes some of the stores they had left and makes his way back to the coast.
The passenger disbelieves the story, believing that the 'boneless men' were Martians. Goodbody counters that "Those boneless things are men. We are Martians!"


Hal Pereira

Hal Pereira (April 29, 1905 - December 17, 1983) was an American art director, production designer, and occasional architect.
Pereira was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (Friedberg) and Saul Pereira. In the 1940s through the 1960s he worked on more than 200 films as an art director and production designer. He was nominated for 23 Oscars, having won only one for his work on "The Rose Tattoo". He served, along with Earl Hedrick, as artistic director of the popular TV series Bonanza.
Pereira started out in theater design in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles and working for Paramount Studios as a unit art director. In 1944 he was art designer for the film noir "Double Indemnity". By 1950, he was supervising art director for the studio, a position at which he remained until its reorganization by the Gulf+Western oil firm in the late 1960s. There, he worked on such films as the classic Western "Shane" and "The Greatest Show on Earth", which won the Oscar for Best Picture. In 1955 Pereira won the Oscar for best art direction for a black and white film for "The Rose Tattoo". In addition, he was the art director on almost all of the important Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1950s.
Pereira was educated at the University of Illinois and is brother of architect (and occasional film art director) William L. Pereira.
He died in Los Angeles, California.


List of pinball machines

This is a partial list of pinball games organized alphabetically by name.
List.
There are currently games on this list.


VHDL-AMS

VHDL-AMS is a derivative of the hardware description language VHDL (IEEE standard 1076-1993). It includes analog and mixed-signal extensions (AMS) in order to define the behavior of analog and mixed-signal systems (IEEE 1076.1-1999).
The VHDL-AMS standard was created with the intent of enabling designers of analog and mixed signal systems and integrated circuits to create and use modules that encapsulate high-level behavioral descriptions as well as structural descriptions of systems and components.
VHDL-AMS is an industry standard modeling language for mixed signal circuits. It provides both continuous-time and event-driven modeling semantics, and so is suitable for analog, digital, and mixed analog/digital circuits. It is particularly well suited for verification of very complex analog, mixed-signal and radio frequency integrated circuits.
Code example.
In VHDL-AMS, a design consists at a minimum of an "entity" which describes the interface and an "architecture" which contains the actual implementation. In addition, most designs import library modules. Some designs also contain multiple architectures and "configurations".
A simple ideal diode in VHDL-AMS would look something like this:
library IEEE;
use IEEE.math_real.all;
use IEEE.electrical_systems.all;
-- this is the entity
entity DIODE is
 generic (iss : current := 1.0e-14;
 af : real := 1.0;
 kf : real := 0.0);
 port (terminal anode, cathode : electrical);
end entity DIODE;
architecture IDEAL of DIODE is
 quantity v across i through anode to cathode;
 constant vt : voltage := 0.0258;
begin
 i == iss * (exp(v/vt) - 1.0);
end architecture IDEAL;


Future Pinball

Future Pinball is a freeware 3D pinball editing and gaming application for Microsoft Windows. The software is similar to Visual Pinball ("VP") and other modern pinball simulation applications. As with VP's relationship with "vPinMAME," Future Pinball ("FP") uses partner applications to emulate original pinball ROM code. In FP's case, ROM code is emulated by Better Arcade Mode ("BAM") directly, or via other tools, such as "Pinball Browser." Future Pinball was discontinued in 2010 by the original author Christopher Leathley, but in 2013, development was resumed via BAM, by its author, Rafal Janicki. BAM features many new developments, such as enhanced physics, optics, and virtual reality support.
Design.
Future Pinball is a simulator and editor, but does not emulate hardware found in physical pinball machines. Tables are designed using 3D models found within the editor, and rendered using a 3D real-time engine. Pinball table layout, graphic design, and audio are provided by users during the construction and development of table design.
Future Pinball allows users to create original tables based upon a default table which only contains flippers, slingshots, shooter lane, and shooter. Additional playfield components are added from a library containing surface, guide, objects, rubber, targets, lights, triggers, ramps, and displays. User created artwork can be added to the playfield, plastics, and backglass translite. Game coding is required, and is accomplished through Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting (VBS) via an embedded script editor. The program uses Newton Game Dynamics for physics.
Several game magazines published tutorials on how to build own tables, such as PCWorld, PC Format and c't.
Playing.
Future Pinball completed tables can be downloaded and played in the same application. Standard computer keyboards are often used, although there are a growing number of custom pinball cabinet designs that interface buttons to the software.
History.
Future Pinball 1.0 was first released to the public on October 22, 2005 by creator and programmer Christopher Leathley after 20 months of development.
On July 17, 2008, NanoTech Entertainment entered into an agreement with Future Pinball to incorporate Future Pinball into a commercial product called MultiPin.
No new official updates of Future Pinball were released since December 2010 but user modified versions can be found on the internet.


James L. Sutter

James L. Sutter (born March 1984) is an American game designer, author, and musician, best known for co-creating the "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game" and the "Starfinder Roleplaying Game", serving as Starfinder's original Creative Director.
Career.
James L. Sutter joined Paizo Publishing as an Assistant Editor on "Dungeon Magazine" before working as both a developer and editor to help create the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He currently serves as Paizo's Executive Editor, and commissions all the Pathfinder Tales novels. In 2016, he was announced as the Creative Director in charge of the new Starfinder Roleplaying Game for Paizo. He has written several novels, game books, and short stories in such publications as "Machine of Death", "Beneath Ceaseless Skies", "Escape Pod" and "Podcastle".


Entex Adventure Vision

Adventure Vision is a cartridge-based video game console released by Entex Industries in either August or October 1982. The monitor, game controls, and computer hardware are all contained within a single portable unit. The LED monitor can only display red pixels. Four games were released, all of which are arcade ports.
Adventure Vision was Entex's second-generation system following the Entex Select-A-Game, released a year earlier in 1981.
Description.
Control is through a single multi-position joystick and two sets of four buttons, one on each side of the joystick, for ease of play by both left- and right-handed players. Rather than using an LCD screen or an external television set like other systems of the time, the Adventure Vision uses a single vertical line of 40 red LEDs combined with a spinning mirror inside the casing. This allows for a screen resolution of 150 × 40 pixels. The mirror motor draws a great deal of power from the batteries, which can be avoided by using the built-in AC adapter.
Games.
Entex released four Adventure Vision games, all of them ported from arcades:
Legacy.
A similar display technique combining red LEDs with a moving mirror was used by Nintendo in the 1995 Virtual Boy.
On March 31, 2013 at the Revision demoparty, the first-ever homebrew/demo ROM for the system was demonstrated by MEGA - Museum of Electronic Games & Art. MEGA also released the source code for the demo as well as all development tools.
The system is supported by the MESS emulator and AdViEmulator.


Antitragus piercing

An antitragus piercing is a perforation of the outer ear cartilage for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. It is placed in the antitragus, a piece of cartilage opposite the ear canal. Overall, the piercing has characteristics similar to the tragus piercing; the piercings are performed and cared for in much the same way.
Healing.
This piercing, like most cartilage piercings, can take anywhere from 8 to 16 months to fully heal. The piercing should be cleaned daily until healed. The most common way to clean it using a seasalt water or another saline solution. The jewelry should not be changed until the piercing has healed.


Joseph McMillan Johnson

Joseph McMillan Johnson (September 15, 1912 – April 17, 1990) was a leading Hollywood art director born in Los Angeles.
He was graduated from USC with a degree in architecture before attending Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He was working for well-known architect Kem Weber when he was hired by David O. Selznick in 1938. He worked as a sketch artist for designs on "Gone with the Wind" in 1939, and was heavily involved with the creation of the special effects for "The Wizard of Oz" that same year. He worked on most of Selznick's major productions including "Duel in the Sun" (1946), "The Paradine Case" (1947) and "Portrait of Jennie" (1948), for which he won an Oscar for the visual effects.
A frequent collaborator with Alfred Hitchcock, ("Rear Window" in 1954 was followed by "To Catch a Thief" in 1955 which earned him another Academy Award nomination), Johnson was forced to take a break from Hollywood during the McCarthy witch hunts. He returned to his first career of architecture for a year, and worked with many notable architects in the LA area, many of whom having been his classmates at USC. When the McCarthy hysteria of Communism settled down, Johnson returned to Hollywood, earning Oscar nominations for his art direction on "The Facts of Life" in 1960 and the expensive remake of "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1962, and for visual effects on George Stevens's religious epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965) and the John Sturges thriller "Ice Station Zebra" in 1968.
He retired in 1971 and died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1990.


Uncle Earl

Uncle Earl is an American old-time music group, formed in 2000 by KC Groves and Jo Serrapere. Currently the lineup consists of four women, all of whom share vocal duties: KC Groves, Kristin Andreassen, Abigail Washburn, and Rayna Gellert. They have released three albums and two EPs, and their fifth album "Waterloo, Tennessee" was produced by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.
History.
1999-2002: Founding.
Groves and Serrapere, both American songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, started the band in 2000. The Uncle Earl biography, however, states 1999 as founding year. According to the founders, they had no original interest in starting a band. Instead, they wanted to promote a CD with traditional material they had recorded, and put together a small temporary lineup to play a few shows. After the initial performances went well, the group decided to stay together. Until the end of 2003 the line-up of the band had changed several times. Amongst the members in this period where Tahmineh Gueramy (fiddle, vocals), Amanda Kowalski (bass, vocals), Casey Henry (banjo, vocals) and Sally Truitt (bass, vocals).
Groves mentioned in an interview how the band got its name, "We just thought it would be a funny name for an all-women's group," she says. "But we are fans of Earl Scruggs, Steve Earle, and Uncle Tupelo. It did come up in our discussion that there's some important Earls in this business. And Uncles." They refer to themselves as "the g'Earls," while their fans have been nicknamed "g'Earlfriends."
2002-2010: Albums.
In 2002 the band released their album "She Went Upstairs".
Founding member Serrapere left in 2003, and as of 2008 played with the Willie Dunns. By the end of 2003 a long-lasting lineup was in place, with all the band members serving as co-vocalists. The 2003 lineup consisted of KC Groves on mandolin and guitar, Abigail Washburn on banjo, Rayna Gellert on fiddle and Kristin Andreassen, guitarist, fiddler, and clogging. There was no permanent bass player.
In 2004, the group released their first EP, titled "Going to the Western Slope." Several months later, they released their sophomore EP "Raise a Ruckus." In 2005 the band was signed to Rounder Records, who released their first full-length album, "She Waits for Night", later that year. Their second full-length album, "Waterloo, TN", was released on Rounder Records in 2007.
In late 2009, the band failed to go on tour, quoting trouble coordinating band members' schedules.
2010-present.
In 2010, the band announced that Gellert and Washburn had left on amicable terms, and were pursuing other musical projects. The new Uncle Earl line up is Andreassen, Groves, Stephanie Coleman on fiddle, Paula Bradley on banjo, banjo ukulele and clogging, and Rachel Eddy on banjo, fiddle, and bass. The lineup toured in support of their previous album in 2010, and continue to periodically perform.
Members.
Bass players.
The band has had a mostly rotating line-up of bass players. For nearly four years Amanda Kowalski played upright bass with Uncle Earl. Sharon Gilchrist joined the band in late 2004 and can be heard on the seven song EP "Raise a Ruckus". There is a long list of other bassists with whom Uncle Earl have performed. On their website the band mentions Eric Thorin, Sally Truitt, Erin Coats Youngberg, Alana Rocklin, Mary Lucey, Bryn Davies, Laura Cortese, Kyle Kegerreis, Missy Raines, and Dan Rose, with whom they recorded the album "She Waits for Night". Youngberg and Thorin play bass on the album "Waterloo, Tennessee".
Bassist Sharon Gilchrist left the band in early 2005 to play mandolin in the Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet. However Gilchrist played again at their 2010 Australian Tour. Rachel Eddy joined so KC Groves largely handles the bass.


National Institute of Fashion Technology Hyderabad

National Institute of Fashion Technology Hyderabad known as NIFT Hyderabad is one of the 16 campuses of NIFT, an institution for Fashion, Design, Technology and Management located in Hyderabad, India. The institute is located at Madhapur, the heart of IT hub of Hyderabad. It is near the Hitec City metro station.


Geoffrey Drake

Geoffrey Drake (1911–1995) was an English production designer and art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film "Young Winston".