title: Serialization

text: In the late 1990s, a push to provide an alternative to the standard serialization protocols started: XML, an SGML subset, was used to produce a human-readable text-based encoding. Such an encoding can be useful for persistent objects that may be read and understood by humans, or communicated to other systems regardless of programming language. It has the disadvantage of losing the more compact, byte-stream-based encoding, but by this point larger storage and transmission capacities made file size less of a concern than in the early days of computing. In the 2000s, XML was often used for asynchronous transfer of structured data between client and server in Ajax web applications. XML is an open format, and standardized as a W3C recommendation.


title: Serialization

text: JSON is a lightweight plain-text alternative to XML, and is also commonly used for client-server communication in web applications. JSON is based on JavaScript syntax, but is independent of JavaScript and supported in many other programming languages. JSON is an open format, standardized as STD 90 (), ECMA-404, and ISO/IEC 21778:2017.


title: Serialization

text: YAML is a strict superset of JSON and includes additional features such as a data type tags, support for cyclic data structures, indentation-sensitive syntax, and multiple forms of scalar data quoting. YAML is an open format.


title: Serialization

text: Property lists are used for serialization by NeXTSTEP, GNUstep, macOS, and iOS frameworks. "Property list", or "p-list" for short, doesn't refer to a single serialization format but instead several different variants, some human-readable and one binary.


title: Serialization

text: For large volume scientific datasets, such as satellite data and output of numerical climate, weather, or ocean models, specific binary serialization standards have been developed, e.g. HDF, netCDF and the older GRIB.


title: Serialization

text: Several object-oriented programming languages directly support "object serialization" (or "object archival"), either by syntactic sugar elements or providing a standard interface for doing so. The languages which do so include Ruby, Smalltalk, Python, PHP, Objective-C, Delphi, Java, and the .NET family of languages. There are also libraries available that add serialization support to languages that lack native support for it.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up of the surrounding municipalities of Torreón, Gómez Palacio , Lerdo and Matamoros .


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos Laguna was founded in 1983 and reached Mexico's top division after buying the Ángeles de Puebla club. The club debuted in first division in the 1988–89 season. Domestically, Santos Laguna has won 6 Liga MX championships, as well as 1 Copa MX and 1 Campeón de Campeones cup. It has also reached the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League twice, finishing runners-up on both occasions.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos is the third football club formed in the Laguna region, after the unsuccessful Laguna FC and FC Torreón. In 2018, the club celebrated its 35th anniversary with a change in their logo. In a February 17, 2013 poll, by Consulta Mitofsky, it was the fifth-most-popular team in Mexico.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos Laguna was founded in 1983 by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) of the state of Durango as Santos IMSS. Since the late 1970s, the IMSS had sponsored a national football tournament with teams from across the country. Jose Diaz Couder, IMSS head of social services in Gómez Palacio, was invited to participate in the tournaments despite the fact that he did not have a team. He appealed to the players he knew to form a team, based on Asturias F.C.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1987 Tuberos de Veracruz, part of the Segunda División de México, was purchased by IMSS and moved to Santa Cruz, Tlaxcala. The first Santos Laguna team spent less than a year in Tlaxcala before moving to Gómez Palacio. A lack of facilities spurred efforts to obtain Moctezuma Stadium (Estadio Corona) in Torreon, owned by John Abusaid, and the Saints made their first home in the former Estadio Corona. On September 4, 1988 Los Guerreros played their first game as Santos Laguna, winning 2–0.


title: Santos Laguna

text: When the IMSS sold its professional sports clubs, Salvador Necochea Sagi bought Santos Laguna. In their first year in the Second Division A, the Warriors avoided relegation with three wins, two draws and one loss. William (the Clash) Galindo, Carlos González, Julio Cesar Armendáriz, Tomas Moreno and Fernando de la Rosa were notable players.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1989 Los Guerreros earned their nickname when, after a poor start, they finished 10th. Their fan base grew, and the club's owners bought the first Estadio Corona. The club underwent changes the following year, replacing its logo with the current one and playing in green and white stripes. Of the 18 founding members of the Second Division B, two won promotion to the first division: the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas and Santos Laguna.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1988 Santos Laguna purchased the Puebla Angels, giving them Cristian Saavedra, Wilson Graniolatti, Martin Zuniga and Miguel Herrera and a record of three wins, four draws and one loss. Lucas Ochoa scored the club's first First Division goal and the Warriors, led by Carlos Ortiz, avoided relegation with Herrera's two goals paving the way for a 3–1 defeat of Atletico in Potosino.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1991, Grupo Modelo became majority owner of the club and Ramon Ramirez made his First Division debut with a goal against Club Deportivo Guadalajara. Late the following year, club president Armando Navarro Gascón and his wife were killed in an automobile accident.


title: Santos Laguna

text: President Alberto Canedo and Chilean coach Pedro García arrived in 1993. Grupo Modelo made a strong investment in reinforcements, Antonio "El Turco" Apud, Daniel Guzmán, Olaf Heredia, Diego Silva, Héctor Adomaitis and Richard Zambrano who joined players coming from Second Division such as José Guadalupe Rubio and Pedro Muñoz. The 1993–94 season saw the team for the first time qualify for the playoffs in the First Division and managed to reach the final coinciding with their tenth anniversary of founding, though lost in overtime in the second leg of the final against Club Deportivo Estudiantes Tecos who were coached by Victor Manuel Vucetich.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1994, key player Ramón Ramírez left for Guadalajara but Santos qualified for the playoffs a second time. Los Guerreros participated in the 1995 CONCACAF Champions Cup, and were eliminated in the first round by Deportivo FAS of El Salvador. Argentine Mauro Camoranesi played 13 games with Santos, scoring one goal before returning to Uruguay. Other notable players that season and the following one were Gabriel Caballero, Francisco Gabriel de Anda and Miguel España.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Chilean Cristian Montecinos reached the third league during the 1996 regular season, and Santos Laguna won their first First División title with new player Jared Borghetti. In the Verano 1997 tournament, Santos Laguna was eliminated by Guadalajara 5–0 in the Estadio Jalisco. Santos Laguna played poorly in the Invierno 1997 tournament, winning three games out of 17 and tied for last in the standings with Pumas UNAM and UAG Tecos. In 1998 the club reached one of the two qualifying finals for the Copa Libertadores, which was played on September 9 in Los Angeles.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the summer 2000 season, Santos Laguna was strengthened by the arrivals of Rodrigo Ruiz and Luis Romero. During the regular season, the Warriors lost only two games and finished second in the overall standings behind Toluca.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the 2001 summer season, the club won their second league championship. During the winter 2001 season Santos Laguna, with eight losses, failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished eighth overall. In summer 2002, the Warriors were fourth in the overall standings but were eliminated 1–0 in the semi-finals by Necaxa at the Estadio Corona. Santos Laguna qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup that year for the second time. The Warriors defeated Tauro FC of Panama by aggregate score of 5–3; in the next round, at home, Santos Laguna lost 3–2 overall to the U.S. champion Kansas City Wizards. At the end of the summer tournament, Fernando Quirarte and his coaching staff stepped down; Quirarte was replaced by Sergio Bueno, who was soon sacked in favor of Luis Fernando Tena. Finishing eighth overall, Santos Laguna defeated defending champion and leader Global America 5–4 at Azteca Stadium. The Warriors qualified for the group stage of the Merconorte Cup, defeating the Kansas City Wizards and Barcelona of Guayaquil twice each and Sporting Cristal once; their only loss was to Sporting Cristal, 2–1.


title: Santos Laguna

text: For the 2003 Apertura tournament (the club's 20th anniversary) reinforcements arrived in the form of Vicente Matias Vuoso and Sixto Peralta, Argentines who had played for Manchester City and Inter Milan. In the match at Estadio Corona against Monterrey, 10 goals were scored. The Warriors qualified for the playoffs, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals, Luis Fernando Tena's contract was not renewed, and he was replaced by Eduardo De la Torre.


title: Santos Laguna

text: The Warriors began 2004 well, qualifying for the Copa Libertadores by defeating Atlas Guadalajara 4–3, but were injured, inconsistent and tired in the Clausura. The club, put up for sale, was in a precarious financial position but played two tournaments and finished 14th overall. In the Copa Libertadores, despite unpaid wages, Santos Laguna ended the group stage undefeated. In the second round, the Warriors were eliminated by River Plate after a struggle.


title: Santos Laguna

text: During Apertura 2004 the club was abandoned by the Ministry of Finance, who withdrew financial support and returned it to former owner Grupo Modelo with instructions not to invest more money in the franchise until current owner Carlos Ahumada Kurtz solved his legal problems. The club payroll was restructured, players were cut and Santos Laguna did not qualify for the playoffs.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the 2005 Clausura, the Warriors' Vicente Matias Vuoso won the scoring championship with 15 points and Rodrigo Ruiz set a Mexican record for scoring passes with 12 assists. Santos Laguna was plagued by injuries during the Apertura tournament. The Clausura 2006 tournament was disastrous for the club.


title: Santos Laguna

text: The Apertura 2007 was one of the team's best seasons. With the arrival of the Ecuadorian Christian Benitez, Santos Laguna lost only one match and was visited by Pele.


title: Santos Laguna

text: For the Clausura 2008, the club scored 36 goals in the regular season. On June 1, 2008 Santos Laguna won their third Clausura championship, defeating Cruz Azul. The club began Apertura 2008 at Azteca Stadium against America.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Clausura 2009 was disastrous for the Warriors; coach Daniel Guzman was dismissed and replaced by Sergio Bueno, and the club's fortunes improved somewhat. In the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals against the Montreal Impact in Montreal's Olympic Stadium before a crowd of 55,571, the Impact surprised and won 2–0. Apertura 2009 opened the Nuevo Estadio Corona; Bueno was dismissed and replaced by Ruben Omar Romano.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 2010 Santos fell just short of the title, losing 4–3 to Toluca. For the Apertura Christian Benitez returned to the club, contributing to their rise to the top of the table and scoring 14 goals. The Saints lost 3–0 to Monterrey, their second consecutive final loss.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the Clausura Ruben Omar Romano, unpopular with fans, was dismissed on February 20, 2011. Two days later, Diego Cocca debuted as coach in a 2–0 loss to Cruz Azul. Cocca lost his first six games before a 3–0 Week 12 victory over Cruz Azul, and the team did not qualify for the playoffs.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Cocca began Apertura 2011 with the support of the board and players, but was dismissed on September 3 and Eduardo Rergis became the interim coach. On September 12 Benjamin Galindo was appointed as new coach, with Hector Lopez his assistant. Under Galindo, Santos won five consecutive games and reached fourth place.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, Santos defeated the Seattle Sounders FC in the quarter-finals and Toronto FC in the semi-finals. In the final, the club lost to Rayados of Monterrey. In the 2012 Clausura, Santos Laguna finished in first place for the second time in its history. In the quarter-finals, the club won 6–4 on aggregate. The first game of the semi-finals, against the UANL Tigres at the Estadio Universitario, ended in a 1–1 draw and Santos won the second game to advance to the final. After playing Monterrey to a 1–1 draw at Estadio Tecnologico, Santos Laguna won the second game 2–1 with goals by Daniel Ludueña and Oribe Peralta for the club's fourth title.


title: Santos Laguna

text: The Apertura 2012 featured Edgar Gerardo Lugo and rising defensive stars Monarcas Morelia and Oswaldo Alanis. However, Santos did not qualify for the playoffs and was unable to repeat its championship. At the end of the season, Benjamín Galindo sacked his two assistants before he himself was dismissed.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the Clausura 2013, Portuguese manager Pedro Caixinha was hired based on a recommendation by former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho. Daniel Ludueña and Christian Suarez were transferred to the Pachuca Soccer Club in exchange for Mauro Cejas, Nestor Calderon and promising Colombian Andres Renteria. Santos Laguna finished sixth during the regular season. They defeated Atlas 3–1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and lost to Cruz Azul 0–3 and 2–1 in the semi-finals. In the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League, Santos again reached the final against Club de Fútbol Monterrey. The first game was a scoreless tie, and Monterrey won the second game 4–2.


title: Santos Laguna

text: For the Apertura 2013, Santos sold Ivan Estrada to Pachuca and transferred Herculez Gomez, Gerardo Lugo and Aaron Galindo. After the June purchase of Grupo Modelo by Belgian-Brazilian company AB InBev, on August 8 Grupo Modelo announced the sale of Santos Laguna to new company Orlegi Sports (led by Alejandro Irarragorri and other Mexican businessmen). The new owners said that they would continue their sponsorship.


title: Santos Laguna

text: After defeating Atlante 3–1 in the latter half of the Apertura 2013, Santos Laguna secured a berth in the Copa Libertadores for the second time in their history. "Los Guerreros" finished undefeated at the top of Group 8, which included Copa Argentina winners Arsenal de Sarandí, Uruguayan league champions Peñarol and Venezuelan league runners-up Deportivo Anzoátegui. In the away leg of the Round of 16, Santos Laguna faced Argentinian side Lanús, which they lost 2-1. Darwin Quintero scored the only goal for "Los Laguneros". "Los Guerreros" sealed their elimination by losing 2-0 in the home leg after Ismael Blanco and Paolo Goltz scored for the Argentinian side. Following the two clashes in the tournament, several Lanús players were transferred to Santos Laguna in the latter months of the year, namely defender Carlos Izquierdoz, midfielder Diego "Pulpo" González and goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the Clausura 2015, Santos rebounded from a six-match losing streak to qualify for the playoffs. The club defeated top-ranked Tigres UANL 2–1 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals. They faced another favorite, Chivas del Guadalajara, whom they defeated 3–0 on aggregate. In the finals they faced Gallos Blancos del Querétaro in their first Liga MX final. Santos defeated Querétaro in the first leg of the finals at Territorio Santos Modelo with a record-breaking score of 5–0; Javier "Chuletita" Orozco scored four of the goals. In the second leg, at Corregidora Stadium, Gallos won 3–0 but Santos won their fifth championship 5–3 on aggregate.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the Clausura 2018 tournament, under the management of former goalkeeper Robert Dante Siboldi, Santos Laguna earned twenty-nine points, tied with América and Monterrey, but placed fourth due to goal difference. In the playoffs, the team faced defending champions Tigres UANL and lost 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals. In the second leg, Santos Laguna played with ten players for most of the match as Jonathan Rodriguez was sent off in the 28th minute but managed to win 2-0 and advance to the semi-finals. At this stage, "Los Guerreros" defeated América 6-3 on aggregate and qualified for the finals against league leader Toluca. In the final first leg, played in Estadio Corona, both Djaniny Tavares and Julio Furch netted for Santos Laguna, helping the team defeat Toluca 2-1. In the second leg, Furch scored in the 10th minute but Toluca's Gabriel Hauche levelled in the final minutes of the match, which finished 1-1. Santos Laguna earned its sixth league title, whilst Djaniny Tavares finished the tournament as the top goal scorer, netting fourteen times, the eighth time a Santos Laguna player has achieved this feat.


title: Santos Laguna

text: The team qualified for the sixth time for the CONCACAF Champions League, in the 2019 edition. In the Round of 16, "Los Guerreros" achieved an 11-2 win on aggregate against Honduran side Marathón. In the following stage, Santos Laguna defeated the New York Red Bulls in both legs, by 2-0 and 4-2 respectively. In the semi-finals, however, the team lost 5-3 on aggregate against Tigres UANL and failed to advance to the finals.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In the first leg, the team defeated Tecos UAG 1–0 at Corona Stadium; in the second leg, they lost 2–0 at 3 de Marzo Stadium.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In Invierno 1996 Santos Laguna won its first title, defeating Necaxa 4–3 on aggregate (first leg 0–1 and second leg 4–2). The winning goal was controversial, with Jared Borgetti allegedly offside.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In Verano 2001, Santos Laguna won its second title 4–3 on aggregate (first leg 1–2, second leg 3–1) against Pachuca.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In Clausura 2008 Santos became champions by defeating Monterrey in Monterrey with a last-minute goal in the semi-finals and Cruz Azul by an aggregate score of 3–2.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In Clausura 2012 Santos won their fourth championship, defeating Tigres in the semi-finals with two last-minute goals, and defeating Monterrey in the finals with an aggregate score of 3–2.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos Laguna has always worn green, with white or black accessories. Their uniform originated after the acquisition of Angeles de Puebla and their sponsorship by the Mexican Social Security Institute during the 1983–84 season.


title: Santos Laguna

text: The first home uniform was white with green sleeves and a green vertical stripe, green shorts and socks; the away uniform was white, in tribute to Club Torreon. In 1986, they adopted a home uniform of green-and-white horizontal stripes, green shorts and white socks and a white-and-green away uniform. In 2000, Santos Laguna signed a sponsorship agreement with Soriana.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Corona Stadium, in Torreón, Coahuila, was one of the smallest football stadiums in Mexico with a capacity of 20,100. Known as Montezuma Stadium, it opened on July 2, 1970, for a friendly match between the now-defunct CF Torreón and Guadalajara. The stadium was demolished on November 2, 2009.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos Laguna plays at the $100 million Estadio Corona, with a capacity of 30,050. Construction began on February 22, 2008, and on November 11, 2009, the stadium opened for a friendly match between Santos Laguna and Santos FC from the Brazilian Série A. The sellout crowd included Mexican president Felipe Calderón and Brazilian legend Pelé. Santos Laguna won, 2–1.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos Laguna's home colors are green and white. When Santos Laguna was founded in 1983, its crest was white with green stripes and letters (similar to that of Santos FC). In 1991, when Grupo Modelo bought the club, the crest became similar to the current one. In 1996, a star was added to the badge after winning their first title in the Invierno 1996 tournament. After winning their second title in 2001, another star was added and switched to a darker shade of green with a black outline. As of 2012, the stars have been placed outside of the badge. In 2018, the club used a special badge, incorporating the number '35' for the club's 35th anniversary. A sixth star was added after winning the Clausura 2018 tournament.


title: Santos Laguna

text: In 1991, when the club was in danger of relegation to the second division, Santos adopted their first team song: "Es hora de ganar", by Ricardo Serna. In April 1994, Serna wrote "Santos Campeon". Two years later, Chilean composer Martin Ibarreche Wilt Labarca was commissioned to write "Verdiblanco el corazon". In 1997 Serna wrote "Hymn to the Fans", and in May 2001 the club introduced "Venceremos". Yahir of "La Academia" sang a song celebrating the club's 25th anniversary.


title: Santos Laguna

text: On December 9, 2010, Santos formed a partnership with Scottish champions Celtic. Like Celtic, Santos wear a green-and-white hooped kit and the clubs regularly mention each other on Twitter and Facebook. On January 10, 2013, Santos formed a partnership with Atlético Nacional.


title: Santos Laguna

text: Santos has a regional rivalry with state neighbors Monterrey, with whom they played finals in the First Division of Mexico and two finals in the CONCACAF Champions League. To a lesser extent Santos also has a rivalry with Tigres UANL.


title: California's Great America

text: California's Great America, often shortened to Great America, is a amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. California's Great America features over 40 rides and attractions, and one of its most notable is Gold Striker, which has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster in "Amusement Today's" annual Golden Ticket Awards publication. Other notable rides include RailBlazer, a single-rail coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction, and Flight Deck, an inverted coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard. The park appeared in the 1994 films "Beverly Hills Cop III" and "Getting Even with Dad".


title: California's Great America

text: Ownership of the park transitioned several times, beginning with the city of Santa Clara's acquisition from Marriott in 1985. It was then sold to Kings Entertainment Company in 1989 while Santa Clara retained ownership of the land. Paramount Parks acquired the park in 1992, followed by Cedar Fair in 2006. Santa Clara eventually sold the land occupied by the park to Cedar Fair in 2019, who then sold it to Prologis in 2022. While Cedar Fair plans to eventually close the park by 2033, the land rental agreement is a six-year lease through 2028 that gives Prologis the option of extending it another five years.


title: California's Great America

text: The hotel and restaurant operator Marriott Corporation completed Marriott's Great America on the site of what had been a pear orchard and opened it to the public on March 20, 1976. Admission was for adults (12 and up) and for children (4–11). There were 1,500 employees.


title: California's Great America

text: Less than two months later, on May 29, the company opened a second Marriott's Great America – later known as Six Flags Great America – north of Chicago in Gurnee, Illinois. A third park was initially planned for the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, but the idea was later abandoned after several failed attempts to sway local opposition.


title: California's Great America

text: The park, though profitable, was still an earnings disappointment for Marriott, leading the company in 1983 to explore options to sell. An interested party, Caz Development Co., appraised the land value at US$800,000 to $1 million per acre. Marriott also involved the city of Santa Clara in negotiations, which was already leasing of parking space for the amusement park. Fearing homebuilding on the land by Caz Development would lower home values of existing homeowners, the city council approved a $101 million purchasing agreement on January 31, 1984, by a 4–3 vote that also had to be approved by city residents. The citywide vote passed, approving the sale by a margin of 3 to 1. Caz Development then sued the city and Marriott in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County to block the transaction. The court nullified the sale, forcing the city to attempt to salvage the deal through negotiations with the other parties. Unable to broker a timely agreement, the city council voted 6–1 to scuttle the sale on February 5, 1985, though the city was still interested in owning the park. After Marriott refunded a $20 million down payment back to the city, negotiations were restarted. All parties were able to agree on a compromise, which was signed in marathon sessions taking place in early June 1985. The city acquired the park for $93.5 million from Marriott, which retained from the sale for development. Caz Development settled and was allowed to build a hotel and office near the park, which the city renamed Great America.


title: California's Great America

text: Kings Entertainment Company, who owned and operated other amusement parks, was hired in 1985 to manage Great America for the city. In 1989, the city sold the park to Kings Entertainment, while retaining ownership of the land that the park occupied. In the agreement, the city would earn 5% of all revenue that exceeds $56 million.


title: California's Great America

text: Three years later, Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), the owners of Paramount Pictures, sought to join other entertainment companies as a theme park owner. The company acquired Kings Entertainment for $400 million on July 31, 1992, and created Paramount Parks. As part of the acquisition, Paramount purchased the parks owned by Kings: Great America, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and a 20% stake in Canada's Wonderland; in addition, Paramount would acquire Kings Island, which was operated by Kings for its owner, American Financial Corporation. Viacom, the parent of MTV Networks (including Nickelodeon), then assumed control of Paramount in 1994 by purchasing a controlling interest, allowing Nickelodeon theming and merchandise into the park as well. During the Paramount era, attractions from the Action FX Theatre, Nickelodeon Splat City (later Nickelodeon Central), Drop Zone Stunt Tower, Invertigo, and many more modern thrill ride attractions were added in. Because the park is constrained from further expansion by its location in the center of Silicon Valley, several rides including the classic train ride and the Sky Whirl, a Marriott's Great America signature attraction, were removed to make way for newer attractions.


title: California's Great America

text: Viacom went on to acquire CBS in 1999, which made the combined Viacom/CBS the parent company of Great America and several broadcasting affiliates in the Bay Area, including KPIX-TV (CBS) and KBCW (UPN). Viacom/CBS split in 2005, with the re-formed CBS Corporation assuming control of Paramount Parks, until CBS sold that unit to Cedar Fair in 2006.


title: California's Great America

text: After Viacom and CBS Corporation split, Paramount Parks became a subsidiary of CBS. The theme park division was promptly put up for sale by CBS. In May 2006, Cedar Fair announced its acquisition of Paramount Parks.


title: California's Great America

text: Despite having a license agreement in place to retain Nickelodeon and Paramount branding for several years, Cedar Fair opted to remove them sooner. For the 2007 season, Paramount was dropped from the park's name, reducing it to Great America. The following season, Cedar Fair renamed it California's Great America in recognition of the park's original name. A Huss Rides top spin ride called FireFall was added that year, along with a new ice show in the Great America Theatre that was formerly called Paramount Theatre. Halloween Haunt, a Halloween-themed event held every weekend through the fall, also debuted at the park in 2008. The remaining Nickelodeon themes were replaced with characters and themes from "Peanuts", a syndicated comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, for the 2010 season. The children's area was renamed Planet Snoopy. Similar changes were made at other Cedar Fair properties around the country.


title: California's Great America

text: On September 19, 2011, Cedar Fair confirmed reports that California's Great America would be sold to JMA Ventures, LLC for $70 million in cash. The sale required approval by the City of Santa Clara, and its city council was scheduled to vote on the matter on December 6, 2011. Cedar Fair, which purchased the park in 2006, expected to use the cash proceeds from the sale to reduce its senior secured debt. However, on December 6, 2011, JMA Ventures cancelled its plans to purchase the amusement park. In the same announcement, Cedar Fair also verified that a long-term agreement was reached with the San Francisco 49ers regarding parking and construction of a new stadium adjacent to Great America. Cedar Fair purchased the land beneath Great America from the city of Santa Clara in March 2019. The city retained the main parking lot in sale.


title: California's Great America

text: California's Great America did not operate in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened on May 22, 2021, initially in a limited capacity, where face masks and social distancing were required. Also in 2021, the Boomerang Bay water park reopened as South Bay Shores, featuring new water slides in several areas of the park.


title: California's Great America

text: In June 2022, Cedar Fair announced the sale of the land occupied by California's Great America for $310 million to Prologis, a Bay Area logistics real estate company. Cedar Fair stated that the sale will help them lower the company's corporate debt to $2 billion, adding that they intended to close the park by 2033. The terms of the agreement involve Prologis leasing the land for an initial period of six years with the option to renew the lease for an additional five years, although Prologis could terminate Cedar Fair's lease with as little as two years' notice. The mayor of Santa Clara, Lisa M. Gilmor, released a statement saying that the city only found out about the sale when the public did, that city officials planned to speak with Prologis to learn more details, and that the land is zoned for "theme park" use only.


title: California's Great America

text: At the park's opening in 1976, the park featured appearances from Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny. After Marriott sold the Gurnee park to the Six Flags corporation, the rights to the Looney Tunes characters passed along to them, and the 1984 season was their final one. The park began using Hanna-Barbera properties in 1985, including The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, and Yogi Bear. After the park was acquired by Cedar Fair, who held a license for Peanuts characters, the child-themed area was rethemed as "Planet Snoopy".


title: California's Great America

text: "Note: Number ratings assigned per California's Great America, while the colors are unique to Wikipedia. For more details, refer to the California's Great America Guest Assistance Guide."


title: California's Great America

text: The park is divided into several themed areas, laid out along an oval pathway nicknamed the "Duell Loop", which the park's designer, Randall Duell, had incorporated into several theme parks, including the Six Flags Great America sister park in Gurnee. This allows all areas of the park to be serviced from a central corridor, while visitors can experience the entire park by completing a single lap around it. In aerial photographs, the central service corridor in the Santa Clara park is visible as a straight road running almost directly north–south, terminating under the Patriot roller coaster. At the park's opening in 1976, there were five themed areas:


title: California's Great America

text: From the main entrance, visitors enter "Celebration Plaza" (originally "Carousel Plaza"); proceeding clockwise (turning left after passing Carousel Columbia), the themed areas are:


title: California's Great America

text: The entrance to the "South Bay Shores" water park is in "All American Corners", near the bridge to "Planet Snoopy". Typical visitor guide maps show the main entrance, which is in the northwest corner of the park, at the bottom of the map.


title: California's Great America

text: "All American Plaza" was formed by consolidating "Yankee Harbor", "Yukon Territory", and the southern portion of "Orleans Place". These areas were delineated by covered bridges: "Yankee Harbor" was between the covered bridges leading to "Orleans Place" to the north and "Fort Fun" on the south, while "Yukon Territory" was separated from "Yankee Harbor" by a boardwalk next to The Revolution (later H.M.B. Endeavor) Looping Starship ride and lighthouse; another covered bridge led from "Yukon Territory" to "County Fair", which is now part of "Action Zone").


title: California's Great America

text: The signature rides in "Yankee Harbor" and "Yukon Territory" were the interlocking log flumes, which shared the same space on the east side of the park and had an entrance in each areas, flanking The Revolution and lighthouse. Much of what was "Yukon Territory" was renamed "Nickelodeon Central" by 2003, which was an extension of the "Fort Fun"/"KidZville" children's area.


title: California's Great America

text: This area was renamed "All American Corners" by 2009. The expansion of South Bay Shores in 2019–20 annexed a portion of "All American Corners", including the lighthouse replica that was next to The Revolution/HMB Endeavor.


title: California's Great America

text: "Celebration Plaza" is the park's entrance plaza, with often-photographed features including the reflecting pool, Carousel Columbia, and the park's name in flowers. By 1988, the area had been renamed "Carousel Plaza" and was separated from the adjoining "Hometown Square" by the park's perimeter railroad, which ran on an elevated track immediately behind the giant carousel. After the railroad and trolley were removed in 2000, the "Hometown Square" area was consolidated and renamed "Celebration Plaza", although the area briefly bore the name "Hollywood Plaza" as well. The "Hometown Square" area was re-separated in 2021.


title: California's Great America

text: "County Fair" was originally named "The Great Midwest Livestock Exposition and County Fair"; portions of it were split off to form "Action Zone" and "Festival Plaza", but the latter was re-annexed into "County Fair" later. The original area, named "The Great Midwest Livestock Exposition and County Fair", occupied most of the park's southern area, extending from a covered bridge into "Yukon Territory" (near the Centrifuge ride) to another bridge into "Hometown Square" (next to Whitewater Falls). Passenger service was provided by the park's perimeter railroad from "Hometown Square", which stopped at the Fairground Junction station next to the picnic grounds and The Edge ride, and the Eagle's Flight station on the park's Von Roll gondola from "Orleans Place".


title: California's Great America

text: By 2003, the area had been divided in two, with "County Fair" remaining in the southern part next to "Nickelodeon Central" (formed from the former "Yukon Territory") while the western arm had been renamed "Festival Plaza"; the dividing line was the semi-circular Games Gallery, which hosted typical carnival games. By 2009, the former "County Fair" at the park's southern end was renamed the "Action Zone", while "Festival Plaza" assumed the "County Fair" name.


title: California's Great America

text: In early 2011, the park made the decision to relocate Invertigo to another Cedar Fair property, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, stating that it was necessary to make room for a future attraction. RailBlazer, a single-rail roller coaster, eventually opened in its place in 2018.


title: California's Great America

text: "Hometown Square" was annexed into "Celebration Plaza", but was restored to a separate area later. Transportation within the park was provided by the perimeter railroad, which had one station in Hometown Square adjacent to Carousel Columbia connecting to a second station in "County Fair" where the Psycho Mouse roller coaster is today, and also by the trolley system, which ran in a square loop around the eponymous square in front of the Great America Theater, routed via "Carousel Plaza" through "Orleans Place", where it terminated in another loop near where the Flying Eagles ride is today.


title: California's Great America

text: After the park's perimeter railroad and trolley were removed, the "Hometown Square" area was combined with "Celebration Plaza" by 2003; the areas were divided again by 2021.


title: California's Great America

text: "Orleans Place" was renamed "Pavilion Plaza" at one point, reflecting its entrance to the picnic area named Great America Pavilion. Originally, "Orleans Place" extended from "Celebration/Carousel Plaza" to a covered bridge leading to "Yankee Harbor" and was divided in half by the perimeter railroad; the portion south of the railroad (including the trolley station/loop and the Orleans Orbit and Rip Roaring Rapids rides, approximately where Pizza Orleans is today) was annexed into "All American Plaza" when that area was formed by consolidating "Yankee Village" and "Yukon Territory" by 2003. The site of the trolley station/loop is now marked by the "1950s gazebo" in "All American Corners".


title: California's Great America

text: Planet Snoopy is California's Great America's kids area, which opened in 2010. The area was originally named "Fort Fun" and has seen the most name changes as brand licenses were updated following multiple ownership changes, including "Kids Kingdom", "Smurf Woods", "Nickelodeon Central", and "KidZville".


title: California's Great America

text: The original "Fort Fun" was a area for children located in the center of the park, accessible only by footbridges over water from "Yukon Territory". "Smurf Woods" opened in 1987 and was physically separated from "Fort Fun" by "Yukon Territory".


title: California's Great America

text: By 1999, the water physically separating "Fort Fun" from "Yukon Territory" had been filled and by 2003, "Smurf Woods" had been replaced by "Nickelodeon Central", which had annexed much of the former "Yukon Territory" and was adjoining "Fort Fun", which had been renamed "KidZville". The "Nickelodeon Central" area was renamed "Planet Snoopy" in 2010 and by 2016, the "Planet Snoopy" area had expanded to its present size by annexing the former "KidZville"/"Fort Fun" children's area.


title: California's Great America

text: South Bay Shores is a water park located within California's Great America that opened in 2004 as "Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay". The name was later shortened to just "Boomerang Bay" in 2007. In August 2019, it was announced that "Boomerang Bay" would be expanded and renamed "South Bay Shores". Access to the water park is included with the price of admission to California's Great America.


title: California's Great America

text: A time capsule was buried at then Paramount's Great America in the former KidZville area of the park on March 29, 2002. The time capsule is set to open on March 29, 2152. The time capsule reads, "At this site is buried a time capsule with essays by students in second through twelfth grades in the Santa Clara Unified School District and other local schools. What will the next 150 years in Santa Clara be like? In honor of the City of Santa Clara's sesquicentennial 1852-2002."


title: California's Great America

text: Fast Lane, first introduced at a Cedar Fair park in July 2011, is a secondary queue system that offers shorter wait times on the park's most popular rides. FastLane is a system where


title: California's Great America

text: in addition to a standard admission charge, visitors can purchase a wrist band. The band grants access to the Fast Lane queue. In theory, a limited number of wrist bands are available each day.


title: California's Great America

text: Halloween Haunt was a seasonal event at California's Great America, that began in the fall after the park has transitioned to weekend-only operation. It debuted in 2008 and last ran in 2021, and typically ran from mid-September through late October to coincide with Halloween, featuring haunted houses, mazes, live shows, and scare actors roaming throughout the park. Most rides and attractions remained in operation during this time, and the park's hours of operation were extended on Fridays and Saturdays. The event last operated on October 31, 2021.


title: California's Great America

text: On February 25, 2022, California's Great America announced that Halloween Haunt is being replaced for the 2022 season with a family-friendly, scare-free Halloween event called "Tricks and Treats". There will not be an adult, nighttime Halloween event at California’s Great America in 2022, although the Halloween Haunt event continues to run at several other Cedar Fair parks.


title: California's Great America

text: The last year of Halloween Haunt in 2021 featured five mazes, one scare zone, two party zones, and three live shows.


title: California's Great America

text: Though appearing under the name "Wonder World", Paramount's Great America was used for exterior scenes of the theme park in the 1994 film "Beverly Hills Cop III" (itself released by Paramount Pictures) after Knott's Berry Farm declined filming rights.


title: California's Great America

text: Writer Steven E. de Souza originally wrote the story as more "Die Hard in a theme park". He was told that each of the rides he had designed would cost about $10 million to build and the whole film would cost about $70 million. When box office results for "The Distinguished Gentleman" came in, Paramount ordered the budget to be cut to $55 million.


title: California's Great America

text: Some modifications were made to the Columbia Carousel and Vortex roller coaster. Most of the Sky Whirl/Triple Wheel stunts (renamed "The Spider" for the film) were filmed in a studio. To film the exterior scenes, the motors of the Triple Wheel were left unpowered; instead, to ensure the ride did not move too quickly, some cages were loaded with sandbags to unbalance the mechanism. In this scene, George Lucas has a small part as the man Axel cuts in front of to get on the ride, also known as 'disappointed man' (this can be seen in the credits). John Singleton and Martha Coolidge also made cameo appearances in the film.


title: California's Great America

text: Many rides that were seen in the movie including Triple Play/Sky Whirl have since been removed. Also, the carousel at the back of the park (the Ameri-Go-Round, not the Columbia Carousel) was altered. The Ameri-Go-Round carousel has since been removed and Drop Zone is now in its place. The tunnels that supposedly ran under the park are a myth as well. No tunnels run under the park, as many thought after this was released.


title: California's Great America

text: The Alien Attack ride featured in the Wonder World theme park was in fact the "" attraction from the Universal Studios Florida theme park in Orlando, Florida. The "aliens" featured in the ride are suited actors (and not animatronic as suggested in the film) that closely resembled the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica.


title: Remission (medicine)

text: Remission is either the reduction or disappearance of the signs and symptoms of a disease. The term may also be used to refer to the period during which this reduction occurs. A remission may be considered a partial remission or a complete remission. Each disease, type of disorder, or clinical trial can have its own definition of a partial remission. For example, a partial remission for cancer may be defined as a 50% or greater reduction in the measurable parameters of tumor growth as may be found on physical examination, radiologic study, or by biomarker levels from a blood or urine test.


title: Remission (medicine)

text: A complete remission, also called a full remission, is a total disappearance of the signs and symptoms of a disease. A person whose condition is in complete remission may be considered cured or recovered. Relapse is a term to describe returning symptoms of the disease after a period of remission. In cancer-treatment, doctors usually avoid the term "cured" and instead prefer the term "no evidence of disease" (NED) to refer to a complete remission of cancer, which does not rule out the possibility of relapse.


title: Remission (medicine)

text: In mental disorders, there is generally no distinction between partial remission and complete remission. For example, a person diagnosed with a personality disorder must initially fit a set or subset of criteria from a predefined list, and remission in this context is defined as no longer meeting the criteria required for diagnosis. In this case it is still possible for the person to be demonstrating some symptoms, but they are at a subclinical severity or frequency that does not merit re-diagnosis.


title: Remission (medicine)

text: For some diseases featuring remission, especially for those with no known cure such as multiple sclerosis, remission is implied to always be partial.


title: Toon Disney

text: Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children ages 2–11, and children ages 6–13 during the Jetix programming block.


title: Toon Disney

text: A spin-off of Disney Channel, the channel's programming mostly included animated series, shorts and features from Disney, as well as acquired programs.


title: Toon Disney

text: Toon Disney was launched on April 18, 1998 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in honor of Disney Channel's 15th anniversary by Disney/ABC Networks on digital tiers of DirecTV, Marcus Cable and EchoStar. The first program to air on the network was "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940). At 7:00 p.m. ET that day, Toon Disney launched a block called "The Magical World of Toons". The block originally featured Disney animated features, specials and shorts. Over the next five months, Toon Disney furthered its programming to cable subscribers such as Americast. At its launch, the channel shared half of its assigned series with Disney Channel. The channel had no advertising until its viewership reached a set number. On January 31, 1999, the first annual Pumbaa Bowl marathon was broadcast.


title: Toon Disney

text: By September 2000, the channel was expected to reach 20 million subscribers, and thus, would start showing advertising. Ad sales would be handled by Disney Kids Network.


title: Toon Disney

text: In June 2001, Toon Disney launched the "Most Animated Kid Search". "The Santa Claus Brothers" had its world premiere on the channel in December. In September 2002, eight new shows joined the line-up as part of Toon Disney's fall schedule. In commemoration of the network's fifth anniversary in April 2003, the channel held the "Toon Disney's Magical Adventure Sweepstakes" in which three winners along with 3 family members would win a trip to Disneyland Resort to see "Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular".


title: Toon Disney

text: On February 14, 2004, the Jetix programming block began on Toon Disney and ABC Family as a part of the Jetix programming alliance of ABC Networks Group, Fox Kids Europe and Fox Kids Latin America. The block consisted of the entire acquired Fox Kids/Saban Entertainment action library as the result of a bulk buy-out by The Walt Disney Company in summer 2001, as well as some original programming. Some shows, like "The Legend of Tarzan", and "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" aired under both the Toon Disney and Jetix monikers.


title: Toon Disney

text: The Toon Disney/Big Movie Show premiere of "The Polar Express" on December 22, 2006, was the channel's highest primetime rating with 1.35 million viewers. On January 27, 2007, Toon Disney launched its weekend afternoon programming block called "The Great Toon Weekend."


title: Toon Disney

text: On August 6, 2008, Disney-ABC Television Group announced they would rebrand Toon Disney in early 2009 as Disney XD, which would be aimed at kids from ages 6 and up. The final pre-Disney XD program to air on the channel was "The Incredible Hulk" episode "Doomed" at 11:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 12, 2009, as part of Jetix, while the first Disney XD program was the "Phineas and Ferb" episode "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. ET.


title: Toon Disney

text: In the Fall of 2000, Disney launched its first overseas Toon Disney channel in the United Kingdom. The UK channel was later replaced by Disney Cinemagic in March 2006. In 2004, 4 new markets added a Toon Disney channel with three in Europe with Germany also adding a time shift channel. In December, Walt Disney Television International India launched a Toon Disney channel with three language audio tracks (English, Tamil and Telugu). In 2005, a Toon Disney channel was launched for the Nordic countries, as well as another one for Japan. A Hindi-language audio track was introduced on Toon Disney in India on September 1, 2005. After the shutdown of the US channel, the remaining channels & blocks with the Toon Disney name outside the US were relaunched as either Disney Cinemagic (in European countries only), Disney Channel, or Disney XD, with the last Toon Disney-branded channels to close being the 2 Italy channels on October 1, 2011.


William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, (14 December 1748 – 29 July 1811), was a British nobleman, aristocrat, and politician. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, by his wife, the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, "suo jure" Baroness Clifford, who brought in considerable money and estates to the Cavendish family. He was invited to join the Cabinet on three occasions, but declined each offer. He was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Governor of Cork, and Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. In 1782, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter.


title: William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire

text: The 5th Duke is best known for his first wife Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. At the age of about twenty, Devonshire toured Italy with William Fitzherbert which is where they commissioned the pair of portraits by Pompeo Batoni.


text: He was married twice: first, to Lady Georgiana Spencer (1757–1806) daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer; second, to Lady Elizabeth Foster, née Hervey (1759–1824), daughter of the 4th Earl of Bristol; Lady Elizabeth had been his mistress and his first wife's friend and confidante for more than twenty years.


text: By his first wife, he had one son (William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, sometimes called "The Bachelor Duke", who succeeded him and who died unmarried in 1858), and two daughters: Lady Georgiana "Little G" Cavendish, later the Countess of Carlisle (wife of George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle), and Lady Harriet "Harryo" Cavendish, later the Countess Granville (wife of Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, who would be created 1st Earl Granville).


text: Both daughters left descendants and the title of Clifford barony fell into abeyance between them. The dukedom and estates would pass to a grandson of a younger brother of the 5th Duke of Devonshire; however, the 7th Duke of Devonshire would marry a daughter of the 6th Earl of Carlisle, who was thus a granddaughter of the 5th Duke and niece of the 6th Duke.


text: Georgiana Cavendish became a socialite who would gather around her a large circle of literary and political friends. Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds painted her; the Gainsborough painting would be disposed of by the 5th Duke and would be recovered much later, after many vicissitudes.


text: By his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Foster, he had no legitimate issue, but the couple had two illegitimate children born before their marriage. A son, Augustus, was given the surname Clifford and became Sir Augustus Clifford and rose to be an admiral in the Royal Navy and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the House of Lords; his descendants would die out in the male line in 1895. The Duke's daughter by Lady Elizabeth, Caroline, was given a different surname from her brother, St. Jules. Caroline St. Jules would marry the Hon. George Lamb, a brother of the 2nd Viscount Melbourne (himself married to Lady Caroline Ponsonby, niece of Lady Georgiana Spencer, the 5th Duke's 1st wife). Caroline and George Lamb had no issue.


text: The 5th Duke had a daughter—Charlotte, given the surname Williams—by his mistress, Charlotte Spencer, the daughter of an indigent clergyman. His first child was born shortly after his marriage to Lady Georgiana Spencer (no relation to his mistress). Charlotte would later marry suitably.


text: The fifth Duke would be closely involved with the nearby spa town of Buxton. He would use the profits from his copper mines to transform the town into a replica of Bath, including the Crescent Hotel and an octagonal set of stables, which would later become the Devonshire Dome.


title: Downtown

text: Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). Downtowns typically contain a small percentage of a city’s employment. In some metropolitan areas it is marked by a cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the convergence of rail transit and bus lines. In British English, the term "city centre" is most often used instead.


title: Downtown

text: The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for "down town" or "downtown" dates to 1770, in reference to the center of Boston. Some have posited that the term "downtown" was coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement, the "up" and "down" terminology coming from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south. Thus, anything north of the original town became known as "uptown" (Upper Manhattan), and was generally a residential area, while the original town – which was also New York's only major center of business at the time – became known as "downtown" (Lower Manhattan).


title: Downtown

text: During the late 19th century, the term was gradually adopted by cities across the United States and Canada to refer to the historical core of the city, which was most often the same as the commercial heart of the city. "Uptown" also spread, but to a much lesser extent. In both cases, though, the directionality of both words was lost, so that a Bostonian might refer to going "downtown", even though it was north of where they were. Downtown lay to the south in Detroit, but to the north in Cleveland, to the east in St. Louis, and to the west in Pittsburgh. In Boston, a resident pointed out in 1880, downtown was in the center of the city. Uptown was north of downtown in Cincinnati, but south of downtown in New Orleans and San Francisco.


title: Downtown

text: Notably, "downtown" was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. But by the early 1900s, "downtown" was clearly established as the proper term in American English for a city's central business district, although the word was virtually unknown in Britain and Western Europe, where expressions such as "city centre" (British English), ""el centro"" (Spanish), ""das Zentrum"" (German), etc are used. Even as late as the early part of the 20th century, English travel writers felt it necessary to explain to their readers what "downtown" meant.


title: Downtown

text: Although American downtowns lacked legally-defined boundaries, and were often parts of several of the wards that most cities used as their basic functional district, locating the downtown area was not difficult, as it was the place where all the street railways and elevated railways converged, and – at least in most places – where the railroad terminals were. It was the location of the great department stores and hotels, as well as that of theaters, clubs, cabarets, and dance halls, and where skyscrapers were built once that technology was perfected. It was also frequently, at first, the only part of a city that was electrified. It was also the place where street congestion was the worst, a problem for which a solution was never really found.


title: Downtown

text: But most of all, downtown was the place where the city did its business. Inside its small precincts, sometimes as small as several hundred acres, the majority of the trading, selling, and purchasing – retail and wholesale – in the entire area would take place. There were hubs of business in other places around the city and its environs, but the downtown area was the chief one, truly the central business district. And as more and more business was done downtown, those who had their homes there were gradually pushed out, selling their property and moving to quieter residential areas uptown.


title: Downtown

text: The skyscraper would become the hallmark of the downtown area. Prior to the invention of the elevator – and later the high-speed elevator – buildings were limited in height to about six stories, which was a "de facto" limit set by the amount of stairs it was assumed that people would climb, but with the elevator, that limit was shattered, and buildings began to be constructed up to about sixteen stories. What limited them then was the thickness of the masonry needed at the base to hold the weight of the building above it. As the buildings got taller, the thickness of the masonry and the space needed for elevators did not allow for sufficient rentable space to make the building profitable. What shattered that restriction was the invention of first the iron- and then the steel frame building, in which the building's load was carried by an internal metal frame skeleton, which the masonry – and later glass – simply hung off of without carrying any weight.


title: Downtown

text: Although first used in Chicago, the steel-framed skyscraper caught on most quickly in New York City in the 1880s, and from there spread to most other American cities in the 1890s and 1900s. The apparent lack of a height limitation of this type of building set off a fervent debate over whether their height should be restricted by law, with proponents and opponents of height limits bringing out numerous arguments in favor of their position. The question of height limits also had a profound implication for the nature of downtown itself: would it continue to be a concentrated core, or as it grew, would height limits force it to spread out into a larger area. In the short run, the proponents of height limits were successful in their efforts. By the 1910s, most of the largest and medium-sized cities had height limits in effect, with New York – despite several concerted efforts to enact them – Philadelphia, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis being notable holdouts.


title: Downtown

text: Ultimately, though, it would not be height limits "per se" that restricted skyscrapers, but comprehensive zoning laws which would set up separate requirements for different parts of a city, and would regulate not only height, but also a building's volume, the percentage of the lot used, and the amount of light the building blocked, and would also encourage setbacks to reduce a building's bulk by allowing additional height per foot of setback – the exact amount depending on what zone the building was in. New York City was the first to do this, with the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which was prompted in good part by the construction of the Equitable Building in 1915, a 40-story building with straight sides and no setbacks, which raised fears of the downtown area becoming a maze of dark streets that never saw the sun. What was worse, at least to real estate interests, the building dumped 1.2 million square feet (111,000 m) of office space on what was a sluggish real estate market. To many in the real estate industry, the zoning law was an example of a "reasonable restriction."


title: Downtown

text: Once New York had passed its law, other cities followed, although proposed zoning measures did meet stiff resistance in some places, often because of the inclusion of overly restrictive height limits, and sometimes because the entire concept of zoning was seen as undemocratic and bordering on socialism. Eventually, a model law, the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act of 1922 was drawn up for the guidance of cities wishing to enact zoning regulations, which are now part of virtually every American city.


title: Downtown

text: During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the downtown area was "the" business district of the American city, but beginning around the 1920s and 1930s, as cities continued to grow in size and population, rival business districts began to appear outside of downtown in outlying districts. This was the time when the term "central business district" began to appear as more-or-less synonymous with the downtown area. The phrase acknowledged the existence of other business districts in the city, but allocated to downtown the primacy of being "central", not only geographically, in many cities, but also in importance. And in many cases, the downtown area or central business district, itself began to grow, such as in Manhattan where the business district lower Manhattan and the newer one in midtown began to grow towards each other, or in Chicago, where downtown expanded from the Loop across the Chicago River to Michigan Avenue. In fact, the instability of downtown was a cause for concern for business and real estate interests, as the business district refused to stay where it had been, and shifted its location in response to numerous factors, although it generally stayed fairly compact – in the early 1930s even the largest took up less than 2% of the city's space, and most were significantly smaller – and remained the primary business district of the city.


title: Downtown

text: Real estate interests were particularly concerned about the tendency of downtown to move because the downtown area had by far the highest land values in each city. One commentator said that if Chicago's land values were shown as height on a relief map, the Loop would be equivalent to the peaks of the Himalayas compared to the rest of the city. In 1926, Chicago's central business district, which took up less than 1% of the city, had 20% of the city's land value. The same relationship was true in St. Louis in the mid-20s (20%) and Los Angeles in the early 1930s (17%). So when a downtown area started to shift its location, some property owners were bound to lose a great deal of money, while others would stand to gain.


title: Downtown

text: One way in which downtown changed from the late 19th century to the early part of the 20th century was that industrial concerns began to leave downtown and move to the periphery of the city, which meant that downtown's businesses were chiefly part of the burgeoning service sector. Brand new firms followed the older ones, and never came to downtown, settling at the edges of the city or the urban area. Industrial districts developed in these areas, which were sometimes specifically zoned for manufacturing. There, land was considerably cheaper than downtown, property taxes were lower, transportation of supplies and finished products was much easier without the constant congestion emblematic of downtown, and with the improvement of the telephone system, the industrial firms could still keep in touch with the companies they did business with elsewhere. As a result of this migration, manufacturing was no longer a significant part of the downtown mix of businesses.


title: Downtown

text: Another sector which began to move away from downtown even before the turn of the 20th century were the great cultural institutions: museums, symphony halls, main libraries and so on. Not only was the high cost of land downtown a factor, but these institutions wanted larger plots of land than were available there, so that their buildings could themselves be easily perceived as works of art. Organizations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New-York Historical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the City of New York, all in Manhattan, moved out of downtown, as did the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Public Library, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Detroit Public Library and the Detroit Institute of Art, and most of the cultural institutions in Pittsburgh. Public reaction to these moves was mixed, with some bemoaning the loss of a counterbalance to the overall materialism of downtown, while others, particularly those involved in real estate, looked positively on the availability of the land which the cultural institutions left behind.


title: Downtown

text: The loss of the major cultural institutions left downtown as a place primarily dedicated to business, but the loss of another sector, retail shopping, defined the "type" of business that was done there. The great retail outlets like the department stores had always had the tendency to move closer to the residential districts, to make it easier for their customers to get to them, but after 1920 they started to congregate in secondary business districts on the periphery of the city. The growth of chain stores such as J. C. Penney, F. W. Woolworth, Kresge and W. T. Grant, contributed to the increased importance of the outlying shopping districts, which began outselling those retail stores which had remained in the central business district, and provoked those stores to open branches in the secondary districts in attempt to go to where there customers were instead of having them come downtown to them.


title: Downtown

text: Entertainment venues also contributed to the decentralization of commerce which affected the importance and influence of downtown and the central business district. Theaters, vaudeville houses, dance halls and night clubs had been primarily located in downtown, with nickelodeons spread throughout the city. When film became the dominant medium, and exhibitors started to build movie theaters to show them in, they at first built those venues downtown as well, but, as in retail shopping, chain exhibitors such as Loews began to construct them in locations convenient to the mass audience they were seeking; again, it was a matter of bringing their product to where the people were. By the late 1920s, movie houses outside of downtown far outnumbered those in the central district. Not all the movie theaters in the periphery were palaces, but some were, and the net effect was that downtown was no longer the entertainment center of the city.


title: Downtown

text: With the loss of manufacturing, the major cultural institutions, much of the retail shopping in the city, and its loss of status as the entertainment center, the nature of downtown had changed considerably. It was still the location of banks, stocks and commodity exchanges, law and accounting firms, the headquarters of the major industrial concerns and public utilities, insurance companies, and advertising agencies, and in its confines continued to be built new and taller skyscrapers housing offices, hotels and even department stores, but it was still steadily losing ground as decentralization took its toll. Its daytime population was not keeping pace with the population growth of the city around it, and property values, while continuing to rise, were not rising as fast as those in the secondary business districts. Downtown was still the central business district, and was still the most important area for doing business and commerce, but it was no longer as dominant as it once was.


title: Downtown

text: The causes of decentralization, which decreased the importance of downtown in the life of American cities, have been ascribed to many factors, including each city's normal growth patterns; advances in technology like the telephone, which made it easier for business-to-business intercourse to take place over a distance, thus lessening the need for a centralized commercial core; the rise of the private automobile, which allowed shoppers to go to peripheral business districts more easily; a strong increase in streetcar fares; and the continuing problem of congestion in the narrow streets of the downtown area.


title: Downtown

text: As much as people disagreed about what caused decentralization, they were even less in agreement about how decentralization would affect the central business district, with opinions varying all the way from the belief that it would diminish downtown sufficiently that it would eventually consist of only offices and the headquarters of corporate giants, to the belief that decentralization would lead to the (perhaps deserved) death of downtown entirely as unnecessary, a victim of its untameable traffic congestion. In between were those who saw a diminishment of the area's influence, but not enough to prevent it from remaining the "Sun" that the outlying business districts revolved around. Others doubted whether decentralization had as strong an impact as it was credited with. Positions were taken that downtown was a natural part of the evolution of a city, or the unnatural result of a "de facto" conspiracy by merchants and property owners, so the question of what decentralization would do to downtown became bound up with the question about the area's legitimacy.


title: Downtown

text: Decentralization also increased the incidences of rivalry between downtown and burgeoning business districts. In Los Angeles, for instance, downtown and Wilshire Boulevard battled for dominance, and in Cincinnati the rivalry was between the old downtown centered around Fountain Square and the one on Canal Street. The diminishment of downtown by decentralization caused these battles to be between areas that were now more relatively equal.


title: Downtown

text: Like almost every other aspect of American life, the Great Depression had a major effect on the country's downtown area. Downtown was just coming off a major building boom, in which significant amounts of new commercial and office space, hotels, and department stores had been built. By 1931 there were 89 buildings of 30 stories or more in Manhattan, and between 1925 and 1931, office space nearly doubled; in Chicago, it increased by almost 75%, in Philadelphia by almost two-thirds, and by more than 50% in New Orleans and Denver. In the 1920s, 500,000 additional hotel rooms were built in New York, and from 1927 to 1931 there were 84 large hotels built there, an increase of hotel space by two-thirds.


title: Downtown

text: When the boom was over, and the Depression had begun to have its effect, much of this new space became unneeded excess. Owners of smaller buildings who could not keep a sufficient number of tenants to pay their overhead, tore down their buildings, but whereas in the recent past they would have been replaced with taller buildings, now they became one- and two-story parking garages or ground-level parking lots. These were widely known as "taxpayers", as they generated enough revenue for the owner of the lot to pay the taxes on it. Rents fell, sometimes as much as 30%, and non-payment of rent increased. Even with the "taxpayers" taking away commercial space, vacancy rates rose precipitously. Owners went into default, and downtown real estate lost considerable value: 25–30% in the Chicago Loop – although values in other parts of the city, including the outlying business districts, fared even worse.


title: Downtown

text: Department stores were hit hard; most managed to keep their doors open, but few made money. Hotels which needed to have large staffs, and required high occupancy rates to make a profit were also deeply affected; in Manhattan the hotel occupancy rate fell from 1929's 70% to around 50% in 1933. Room rates were slashed, revenue dropped, and many hotels closed or defaulted. By 1934, 80% of hotels in Manhattan were owned by their creditors.


title: Downtown

text: The slow recovery from the effects of the Great Depression began in the mid-1930s, decelerated at the end of the 1930s, and picked up speed with the start of World War II, so that by the early 1940s the country was for the most part out of the Depression. Excess commercial space began to be used, vacancy rates dropped, department store sales rose, hotel occupancy rates went up, and revenues increased.


title: Downtown

text: Despite this recovery, the daytime population of the country's downtowns did not rebound. For instance, in Chicago between 1929 and 1949, the population of the city grew 7%, and that of the entire metropolitan area by about 14%, but the daytime population of The Loop only rose 1/3 of 1%. With a few exceptions, such as New York City, this pattern was typical across American cities, and was tied to the slowing down of the rate of growth of the cities themselves. Cities in the US grew much more slowly than during any other period in the history of the country, and some even lost population. Metropolitan regions grew faster than the cities inside them, indicating the start of the decades of urban sprawl, but they too grew at a slower pace than usual. Downtowns also had less daytime population because people now went to the outlying business districts, which were closer to their homes by car, for their shopping and entertainment, to do business, and to work. The increased use of automobiles over mass transit also damaged downtown, since the streetcar lines converged on downtown, while the roads went everywhere. All of these factors contributed to the lesser recovery of downtown relative to the city as a whole and the metropolitan area.


title: Downtown

text: Another sign that downtowns were no longer as central to city life as they once were include the decreased portion of retail trade that took place there as compared to the peripheral business areas, which profited by the growth of the chain stores, to the detriment of the big downtown department stores. Furthermore, the "taxpayers", which many people had expected to disappear once the economy improved, remained in place, and even increased in number. In the Loop in Chicago, by the early 1940s, 18% of the land was vacant or was used for parking; in Los Angeles at the same time, the figure was 25%. Demand for commercial space was so light that it did not make financial sense to construct expensive new buildings, and banks began to refuse to make loans for that purpose, redlining whole neighborhoods in the central business bistrict.


title: Downtown

text: The typical American downtown has certain unique characteristics. During the postwar economic boom in the 1950s, the residential population of most downtowns crashed. This has been attributed to reasons such as slum clearance, construction of the Interstate Highway System, and white flight from urban cores to rapidly expanding suburbs. Due to well-intended but ineptly executed urban revitalization projects, downtowns eventually came to be dominated by high-rise office buildings in which commuters from the suburbs filled white-collar jobs, while the remaining residential populations sank further into unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. By the 1990s, many office-oriented businesses began to abandon the tired old downtowns for the suburbs, resulting in what are now known as "edge cities". One textbook, in explaining why edge cities are so popular, stated:


title: Downtown

text: Since then, between 2000 and 2010, downtown areas grew rapidly in population. In U.S. metro areas with at least five million people, the population within two miles of the city hall grew twice as fast as the overall population in the metro area.


title: Downtown

text: The terms "downtown" and "uptown" can refer to cardinal directions, for example, in Manhattan, where "downtown" is also a relative geographical term. Anything south of where the speaker is currently standing, in most places, is said to be "downtown". Anything north of the speaker is "uptown". In the common New York City phrase "We're going to take the subway downtown", "downtown" refers to traveling in the geographic direction of south. A person standing on 121st Street and walking ten blocks south could also be said to have walked ten blocks downtown. The term "uptown" is used to refer to the cardinal direction north. Such concepts derive from Manhattan's elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than wide. As such, transportation on the island travels in the uptown/downtown directions. The other boroughs are wider, and "downtown" there refers to Lower Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, or some more local business district. Mercantile efforts to promote the South Bronx as "Downtown Bronx" have met with little success.


title: Downtown

text: In some North American cities, "downtown" is the formal name of the neighborhood in which the city's central business district is located. Most major North American cities are located on major bodies of water, like oceans, lakes, and rivers. As cities expanded, people built further away from the water and their historical cores, often uphill. Thus the central business district of a North American city, or the historical core of the city, is often located "down", in altitude, relative to the remainder of the city. Many cities use the Manhattan model and continue to use "downtown", "midtown", and "uptown" both as informal relative geographical terms and as formal names for distinct districts. However, the city of Philadelphia uses the designation Center City, not downtown, due to the business district's central location, as well as Philadelphia's age and circumstances; "Center City" corresponds to the City of Philadelphia prior to its amalgamation with Philadelphia County in 1854, leaving it without a unique name, unlike the former boroughs surrounding it; the center of the city is also where Philadelphia City Hall is located within the city's original plat. New Orleans uses the term Central Business District (or CBD) for their downtown due to the historical French Quarter district taking up what would usually be considered the city's historical downtown district, and another area of the city south of the CBD being referred to as "downtown".


title: Sharif family

text: The Sharif family () is a political family from Pakistan, based in the city of Lahore, Punjab. They belong to the Bhat Kashmiri tribe, which is a large community living in many districts of Punjab. The family uses the title of "Mian".


title: Sharif family

text: Muhammad Sharif, the father of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, migrated from Jati Umra, Amritsar District (now in Tarn Taran district, India, after the creation of Pakistan in 1947). He was a businessman who founded the Ittefaq Group and Sharif Group in 1939. Muhammad's other son Shehbaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan.


title: Sharif family

text: Maryam Nawaz is the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, and is active in politics in Pakistan. She is married to Muhammad Safdar Awan, a former member of Pakistan's national assembly, and captain in the Pakistani army.. She ran elections campaigns for Pakistan Muslim League (N) in the 2013 Pakistani general election, and the 2018 Pakistani general election. In July 2018, she was sentenced to seven years in prison, along with a £2 million fine on corruption charges in the Avenfield reference case. On 19 September 2018, the Islamabad High Court suspended her sentence.


title: Sharif family

text: The Sharif family owns Ittefaq Group and Sharif Group. The village Jati Umrah in Lahore, is also partially owned by the Sharif family.


title: Sharif family

text: According to the book 'Capitalism's Achilles Heel' by Raymond W Baker, former PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif made financial gains of $418 million during his two terms as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.


title: Sharif family

text: The book is a report on the corruption done by politics' most dominant mafias/families in history, which includes the Sharif family as well. It talks about how they accumulated their factories, properties and wealth.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: "Rayearth" combines elements from the magical girl and mecha anime genres with parallel world fantasy. The manga was adapted into two anime series in 1994 and an original video animation (OVA) in 1997.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: "Magic Knight Rayearth" focuses on three eighth-grade girls: the tomboyish, headstrong but short ; the quick-tempered and no-nonsense only child ; and the intelligent and ladylike . While on a field trip to the Tokyo Tower with their respective schools, the girls find themselves drawn into another world, Cephiro. There they learn that Cephiro is influenced by one's will and that the Pillar maintains Cephiro through prayer. The girls are then tasked with rescuing the current Pillar, Princess Emeraude, from her abductor, the high priest and antagonist Zagato, after which they will be returned to Tokyo.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: Guided by the creature Mokona on their quest, the girls discover their respective element-based magic and awaken the three , creatures who can take the form of giant robots that the girls must pilot. As the girls progress on their journey, they overcome their differences, learning how to work together and accept each other as friends. After the girls find Zagato, they fight and are able to destroy him. After this, they finally reach where Emeraude is imprisoned, but the three learn that she had fallen in love with Zagato, which had hindered her ability to pray solely for Cephiro's well-being. Feeling responsible for her actions, she had imprisoned herself, and eventually summoned the Magic Knights to kill her, as no one from Cephiro could harm the Pillar. Her dark side then takes over, seeking to destroy the Magic Knights for killing her love. After a short defensive fight against Princess Emeraude, the Magic Knights have no choice but to kill her. They then find themselves transported back to Tokyo.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: The second part of the series deals with the complications caused by Princess Emeraude's death. Set a year later, it opens with the three protagonists struggling with their guilt and despair over their role in her death. Meeting again at Tokyo Tower, they find themselves transported mysteriously to Cephiro again, and discover that only a single piece of Cephiro remains, which holds a castle where the survivors gather to take refuge. With the Pillar gone, Cephiro is, for the most part, defenseless, and the girls are saddened to learn that a new Pillar must be chosen by the Pillar system before the whole planet is destroyed. Not only that, three warring planets have begun their attempts to conquer the Pillar-less Cephiro: Autozam, a technologically advanced world which intends to use the Pillar system to remove the pollution in its air; Fahren, whose childish ruler Lady Aska plans to use it to turn Cephiro into a world of her whims; and Chizeta, an overpopulated world whose sibling rulers Tatra and Tarta plan to use it to make Cephiro into a colony.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: As the Magic Knights help defend the castle, they each agree that the fate of the planet should not be the responsibility of only one person which, like Princess Emeraude, effectively prevents that person from ever being able to live and love freely. What's more, there is a mostly unspoken risk that when a new Pillar is chosen, something may eventually hinder them from praying solely for Cephiro's well-being, cause them to summon new Magic Knights to kill them, and bring Cephiro to near-destruction again until a new Pillar is chosen, causing the cycle of events to continue endlessly. As such, Lantis, a powerful magic swordsman and Zagato's younger brother, wishes to end the Pillar system for those reasons.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: Eventually, Mokona narrows the candidates down to two: Hikaru and the sickly Eagle Vision of Autozam, who is friends with Lantis and, as such, wishes to end the Pillar system for him with his eternal sleep. As the two undergo the test to become the new Pillar in a recreation of Tokyo, Mokona reveals itself to be the creator of Cephiro and its laws, both of which it had created after sadly witnessing the violence and destructive nature of the people on its earlier creation, Earth. It was responsible for bringing the three girls back to Cephiro. In the end, Hikaru becomes the new Pillar of Cephiro, and brings Eagle Vision back to Cephiro from the Tokyo recreation with the help of Fuu and Umi, against Mokona's insistence that only one may return. Hikaru then rejects the Pillar system, decreeing once and for all the fate of the planet should not be the responsibility of one person. Mokona accepts their decision and leaves with the three Mashin. The manga concludes with the three girls' returning to a new Cephiro to visit their loved ones, as they work with the rulers of the other planets to solve their planets' problems, and contemplate Mokona's wish to allow the three protagonists to bring change to Cephiro.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: The first season remains mostly faithful to the first arc of the manga aside from the inclusion of the original character Inouva and a multitude of subplots, but the second season shows a rapid departure. Most notable differences are the creation of two anime-only antagonists, Nova and Lady Debonair, who were born from the intense despair of Hikaru and the people of Cephiro respectively after the death of Princess Emeraude. It is also revealed by the Rune Gods that the girls were summoned back to Cephiro by their own will, most notably Hikaru's as her strength of heart also allowed her to become the new Pillar, a position she rejects in a similar fashion to the manga.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: During the celebration of the publication of the "Soryuden" novels, which Clamp had illustrated, the group was asked by Hideki Yamaguchi, editor for the Japanese "shōjo" (targeted towards girls) manga magazine "Nakayoshi", to do a series for the magazine. The editor-in-chief wanted a story that could appeal to elementary readers and older, while Clamp wished to bring in younger fans. Without direction from the editors, the group decided on a series combining robots, as they were fond of robot anime; role-playing games (RPGs), which saw popularity in Japan at the time; and fantasy, to counterbalance the robots, which they thought alone would be off-putting to their target audience. According to Ohkawa, the magazine's success with the magical girl manga "Sailor Moon" (1991–97) made it possible for the group to pitch a serial with robots to its editors.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: A friend of Clamp, illustrator Takeshi Okazaki, created the "Rayearth" part of the title, while Ohkawa thought of the rest. At that point, Clamp had completed a "basic" idea of the plot. For the names of the characters, they drew on car names, feeling that they would be interesting and memorable for children, who might otherwise have difficulty learning the names of characters in katakana. The inclusion of giant robots gave the artists some difficulty, as the massive scale of the robots made it impossible to depict the characters and robots in the same frame. The artists also omitted the cockpit of the robots, to show their faces instead. Greatly anticipating the ending to the first part of the series, Clamp found the protagonists' initial adventures in Cephiro "really easy" to create. Ohkawa noted that, had their target audience been older or male, they would have considered stopping the series with the conclusion of part one. The second part, however, proved difficult for the group to create, as they felt as if they had "written [them]selves into a corner".


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: "Magic Knight Rayearth" explores "fate, grim destiny, and sacrifice," as do many of Clamp's works. According to Ohkawa, who believes in choosing one's fate, humanity's fate is caused by one's actions; Cephiro is merely an exaggeration of Earth.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: Written and illustrated by Clamp, "Magic Knight Rayearth" appeared as a serial in the Japanese magazine "Nakayoshi" from November 1993 to February 1995. Kodansha collected the chapters in three "tankōbon" volumes. The first was published on July 22, 1994; the last was released on March 6, 1995. The sequel also appeared in "Nakayoshi" from March 1995 to April 1996.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: In 1997, Tokyopop licensed "Magic Knight Rayearth" for an English-language translation in North America, and serialized it in its manga magazine "MixxZine". The English version of the manga was at first issued in a flipped left to right format, but was re-released in the original right to left format in later editions. The English version of the manga also at first continued the volume numbering through the two series, such that "Magic Knight Rayearth II" volumes #1-3 were numbered as volumes "#4-6" (i.e., the 2000/2001 release of "Magic Knight Rayearth" volume 4 has the same content as the 2003/2004 re-release's "Magic Knight Rayearth II" volume 1).


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: It would appear that Tokyopop has lost their license for the series, as Dark Horse Comics announced at their San Diego Comic-Con International 2009 panel that they would be publishing the series in a new omnibus edition in honor of Clamp's 20th anniversary. Dark Horse published the omnibus editions from July 6, 2011 to April 12, 2012.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: After Dark Horse Comics' license expired, Kodansha Comics licensed it and began releasing the series in 2 hardcover box sets containing 3 volumes each in honor of the manga's 25th anniversary in 2019. At Anime NYC 2022, Kodansha USA announced that they will release a paperback edition for Fall 2023.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: The anime series aired first on Japan's Yomiuri TV and on NNS in Tokyo on October 17, 1994, and ended on November 27, 1995. It was directed by Toshihiro Hirano and co-produced by Yomiuri TV and Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment). The anime had 2 seasons, lasting 49 episodes altogether. The TV series was licensed in the U.S. twice, first by The Ocean Group and second by Media Blasters and was dubbed by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. The anime series was also aired on the Philippine television network ABS-CBN in 1996, dubbed in Tagalog and airing every Sunday at 9:00 am for the first season and 10:30 am for the second season in 1997. It was popular with Filipino female children and became one of the Philippines' highest-rated anime series of the 20th century, helping to revitalize Filipino interest in anime. It was later aired on GMA Network on November 26, 2001, but on a weekday basis and with a Tagalog dub produced by Telesuccess Productions. It was released on both VHS and DVD. Discotek Media re-released the series on DVD and Blu-ray on January 31, 2017. Anime Limited announced that they had acquired the series for release in the United Kingdom and Ireland.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: A three-part OVA was released in Japan a few years after the end of the manga and the TV series (July 25, September 26, and December 10, 1997). The OVA was named simply "Rayearth", and its story was quite different from the original. The characters are all the same, but the relationships, places and events changed radically.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: In the OVA, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are already friends who go to the same school and will soon be leaving for high school. Suddenly, a strange fairy (which turns out to be Mokona, the creature from the original series) appears in front of them. At the same time, strange monsters and wizards start to appear in the city of Tokyo. One of them is Clef, who tries to guide the three girls in order to let them become the Magic Knights, awaken their "Mashin" and fight against the evil wizards from Cephiro, who are trying to invade the human world. In this version, Ferio, who is a sorcerer under Princess Emeraude's command, is not her brother. Eagle Vision fills that role instead, as well as being the main antagonist after he tricked Zagato to commit suicide in order to bring upon a false balance to Cephiro. His ties to Autozam are non-existent in this version, as he is a citizen of Cephiro from the start. He would put a spell on Emeraude to convince her that Zagato is still alive, so that the sorcerers of Cephiro can continue to exist on Earth as the two worlds would soon merge and each sorcerer would battle against the Magic Knights. Lantis is also introduced right away as being an ally to the Magic Knights and against Eagle's plans. The only other characters that are in the OVA are Ascot and Alcyone, with none of the other characters are featured.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: The OVA is licensed in the U.S. by Manga Entertainment, who opted to use a different New York-based voice cast for its English release, which was produced by Skypilot Entertainment.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: Media Blasters' early English DVD release used "Hikari to Kage o Dakishimeta Mama" as the opening for "Magic Knight Rayearth 2" episodes 01-22. The original openings from episodes 01-22 were included as an extra on the early DVDs, and was only in Japanese, however this isn't the case with the remastered sets, in which the dubbed openings were removed meaning, all three openings are left intact.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: Media Blasters' early English DVD release used "Rarabai ~ Yasashiku Dakasete ~" as the ending for "Magic Knight Rayearth 2" episodes 23-29. The original ending from episodes 23-29 was included as an extra on the early DVDs, and was only in Japanese, this again was eventually rectified in the remastered sets, in which, like the openings the dubbed endings were removed meaning all three endings were left intact.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: In the early English releases of the TV series, Sandy Fox sang both the opening and the ending themes in the English dubbed version.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: A number of video games have been released that are based on "Magic Knight Rayearth". "Magic Knight Rayearth", an adventure RPG set in the first TV season, was released for the Sega Saturn. It was the last officially released game for the console in the North America. All other games based on the manga are Japanese-only released, including a Super Famicom role-playing game (RPG), a Sega Pico title called "Magic Knight Tanjou", two short RPGs for Game Boy, a raising sim, and another RPG for Sega Game Gear.


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: The series appears in the "Super Robot Wars T" game, released in 2019, as well as 2021's "Super Robot Wars 30".


title: Magic Knight Rayearth

text: "Magic Knight Rayearth" has been well received by English-language readers. According to Dark Horse Comics, almost 200,000 copies of the series have been sold in the United States. The first volume of Tokyopop's re-release of "Magic Knight Rayearth II" placed 44th on the list of the top 100 bestselling graphic novels for February 2004, with an estimated 1,446 copies sold. The first volume of Dark Horse's omnibus edition appeared at the 83rd place of the list of the top 300 bestselling graphic novels for July 2011, with an estimated 1,069 copies sold. The second volume placed 109th on the list for April 2012, with an estimated 942 copies sold.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: Bruce Edward Hart (born January 13, 1950) is an American born-Canadian retired professional wrestler, promoter, booker, trainer and school teacher. He is a second-generation wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family, being the second child of Stu and Helen Hart. He is best known for his time in Stampede Wrestling and several appearances for WWE, often with his brothers Bret and Owen.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: As a wrestler Hart carried a number of championships, including the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship and participated in WWF's Survivor Series.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: While his mother was pregnant with Hart she and her husband Stu suffered an automobile accident. This resulted in his older brother Smith being cared for by their maternal grandparents for almost two years while Helen recovered in the hospital.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: He is of Greek descent through his maternal grandmother and Irish through his maternal grandfather. His father was mainly of Scots-Irish descent but also had Scottish and English ancestry. Hart is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: Bruce Hart began his wrestling training in 1971, at the age of 21, in his father's training school "The Dungeon". Trained by Stu Hart, Bruce, like the rest of his family, was trained in and focused on a technically sound, amateur wrestling style.


title: Bruce Hart (wrestler)

text: He debuted in 1972, in his fathers Calgary promotion, Stampede Wrestling, tag teaming with Dan Kroffat in the main event, against North American Champion Kendo Nagasaki and Lord Sloan. For the next six months he remained a headline performer for the promotion, working against the likes of John Quinn, Benny Ramirez, Frank Butcher, Tor Kamata, Chatti Yokuchi and Yasu Fuji. In June 1973, he suffered a serious shoulder injury which sidelined him for 9 months and nearly finished his career. He returned in the summer of 1974, and continued as performer in Western Canada. Hart kept wrestling on and off but had relatively few matches until after 1977.