title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: The source code is available to end users with limitations: Users may not publicly release the Lumberyard engine source code or use it to release their own game engine.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: Lumberyard launched on February 9, 2016 alongside GameLift, a fee-based managed service for deploying and hosting multiplayer games, intended to allow developers the easy development of games that attract "large and vibrant communities of fans."


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: , the software is currently in beta status and can be used to build games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with limited support for iOS and Android and support for macOS being planned for future releases. Virtual reality integration was added in Beta 1.3, allowing developers to build games supporting devices like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: Despite being based on the architecture of Crytek's CryEngine, the engine has been developed to use many of its own custom-developed systems, some of which are in a preview mode. A few of these systems include the Component Entity System, Fur Shader, Modular Gems (which allows developers to either create their own assets or add existing assets to their games), and the Script Canvas.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: The audio solution Audiokinetic Wwise, which is used in many popular games, was added in Beta 1.0, released in February 2016.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: On March 14, 2016, Lumberyard received its first update, which included support for mobile devices such as A8-powered iOS devices and Nvidia Shield, an FBX importer, and integration with Allegorithmic's texturing software Substance.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: On August 16, 2017, the engine's source code was released under a source-available arrangement on GitHub, but remained under a proprietary license.


title: Amazon Lumberyard

text: On July 6, 2021, Amazon announced it was partnering with the Linux Foundation to form the Open 3D Foundation and would be releasing a new version of Lumberyard, rebranded as Open 3D Engine (O3DE), under the Apache-2.0 open source license.


title: Spelljammer

text: Spelljammer is a campaign setting originally published for the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" (2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included "Spelljammer" content; a "Dungeons & Dragons" 5th edition setting update released on August 16, 2022.


title: Spelljammer

text: "Spelljammer" introduced into the "AD&D" universe a comprehensive system of fantasy astrophysics, including the Ptolemaic concept of crystal spheres. Crystal spheres may contain multiple worlds and are navigable using ships equipped with "spelljamming helms". Ships powered by spelljamming helms are capable of flying into not only the sky but into space. With their own fields of gravity and atmosphere, the ships have open decks and tend not to resemble the spaceships of science fiction, but instead look more like galleons, animals, birds, fish or even more wildly fantastic shapes.


title: Spelljammer

text: The "Spelljammer" setting is designed to allow the usual sword and sorcery adventures of "Dungeons & Dragons" to take place within the framework of outer space tropes. Flying ships travel through the vast expanses of interplanetary space, visiting moons and planets and other stellar objects.


title: Spelljammer

text: Like the Planescape setting, "Spelljammer" unifies most of the other AD&D settings and provides a canonical method for allowing characters from one setting (such as Dragonlance) to travel to another (such as the Forgotten Realms). However, unlike Planescape, it keeps all of the action on the Prime Material Plane and uses the crystal spheres, and the "phlogiston" between them, to form natural barriers between otherwise incompatible settings. Though the cosmology is derived largely from the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, many of the ideas owe much to the works of Jules Verne and his contemporaries, and to related games and fiction with a steampunk or planetary romance flavor. A strong Age of Sail flavor is also present.


title: Spelljammer

text: Shannon Appelcline, in the book "Designers & Dragons" (2011), highlighted that in 1989 Spelljammer was the first of a host of new campaign settings published by TSR. It was created by Jeff Grubb and "introduced a universe of magical starships traversing the ‘crystal spheres’ that contained all the earthbound AD&D campaign worlds. It suggested a method to connect together all of TSR's settings and at the same time introduced fun new Jules Verne-esque technology that had never before been seen in the game. It was innovative and popular." Appelcline commented that Spelljammer "offered a way to connect every single "D&D" fantasy world, was thus one of the first true crossovers" in role-playing games.


title: Spelljammer

text: The "" space fantasy boxed set was released in 1989. Several of TSR's other campaign worlds had their own sections in the "Spelljammer Boxed Set" - "Realmspace" for the Forgotten Realms, "Krynnspace" for Dragonlance, and "Greyspace" for Greyhawk. Along with the new sphere - "Clusterspace" - they were known as the "Big Three and Astromundi". Dark Sun, Ravenloft and Mystara weren't included, as the first two did not fit with the setting and the Mystara only used the D&D rules, not the AD&D rules.


title: Spelljammer

text: The product line would be expanded with a number of boxed sets and accessories such as "Lost Ships" (1990), "Realmspace" (1991) and "The Astromundi Cluster" (1993). Appelcline commented that "The Astromundi Cluster" acted as "a soft reboot of the "Spelljammer" line" and was more of setting focused sourcebook than previous Spelljammer books which acted more "as a conduit between all of the other AD&D settings". The first adventure module, titled "Wildspace", was released in 1990; four connected adventure modules followed it. A longer campaign module, "Heart of the Enemy", was then published in 1992 followed by an adventure anthology, "Space Lairs", in 1993.


title: Spelljammer

text: In 1993, "Space Lairs" and "The Astromundi Cluster" were the final products of the line. Appelcline commented on the end of the setting in the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" era: "TSR’s fifth second-edition campaign world, Planescape (1993), was released to replace Spelljammer, which had just then ended. TSR wanted a new world-spanning setting and Slade Henson came up with the answer by suggesting a new setting built on Jeff Grubb's first-edition "Manual of the Planes" (1987). [...] Unlike Spelljammer this new setting had a strong geographical centre, the City of Sigil, resolving a flaw in the Spelljammer setting that denied players a good home base."


title: Spelljammer

text: The "Spelljammer" line of products was discontinued by TSR before they were acquired by Wizards of the Coast in 1997.


title: Spelljammer

text: In May 2002, Paizo published an article for Spelljammer in "Dungeon" #92 titled "Spelljammer: Shadow of the Spider Moon". Using the D20 system, it provided new rules for firearms and spelljamming, as well as skills, feats and prestige classes. Spelljammer monsters such as neogi and giff were not used. Instead, it featured creatures from the "Monster Manual" such as drow, formians and yuan-ti.


title: Spelljammer

text: In May 2005, Wizards of the Coast updated the neogi to the 3.5 edition rules in the supplement "Lords of Madness" (2005). The book included a chapter with a sample map of a crashed Spelljamming vessel, cultural habits of the neogi, and the monster's stat blocks.


title: Spelljammer

text: A "Spelljammer" homage appears in the 4th edition "Manual of the Planes"; the sourcebook highlights Spelljammer ships as one method of traveling between planes and provides information for in-game use of Spelljammer vessels.


title: Spelljammer

text: "Spelljammer" content also appears in the 5th Edition adventure module "" (2018). In the adventure, a spelljamming ship and its illithid captain appear stranded in level 19 of the titular dungeon. Then in October 2021, Wizards released the PDF "Travelers of the Multiverse" which is part of the "Unearthed Arcana" public playtest series. Of the six player races it included, four races (autognome, giff, hadozee, and plasmoid) are closely associated with the "Spelljammer" setting. Both "Polygon" and "Bleeding Cool" highlighted that this playtest could indicate a future "Spelljammer" reboot.


title: Spelljammer

text: In April 2022, Wizards of the Coast announced a new boxed set titled "" which was released on August 16, 2022; this release updates the "Spelljammer" setting for the 5th Edition. The box set includes a Dungeon Master's screen, a double-sided poster map and three 64-page hardcover books: "Astral Adventurer’s Guide" (a Dungeon Master guide), "Boo's Astral Menagerie" (a bestiary), and "Light of Xaryxis" (an adventure module). A special edition, with cover art by Hydro74, was also released. A prequel adventure module, titled "Spelljammer Academy", was released for free on the Wizards of the Coast website and on D&D Beyond in July 2022.


title: Spelljammer

text: "Spelljamming helms" are the central setting concept which allow interplanetary and interstellar space travel for vessels which would otherwise not be spaceworthy, in the form of a helm. Any spellcaster may sit on a spelljammer helm to move the ship. The mysterious race known as the Arcane is the sole manufacturer and distributor of spelljamming helms. Within the "Dungeons & Dragons" universe, they are a method of converting magical energy into motive power.


title: Spelljammer

text: All bodies of a sufficiently large size have gravity. This gravity usually (but not always) exerts a force equal to the standard gravitational attraction on the surface of an Earth-sized planetary body. Gravity in the "Spelljammer" universe is also an exceptionally convenient force, and almost always works such that "down" orients itself in a manner most humanoids would find sensible.


title: Spelljammer

text: All bodies of any size carry with them an envelope of air whenever they leave the surface of a planet or other stellar object. Unlike real-world astrophysics, this air envelope is not dispersed by the vacuum of space. These bubbles of air provide breathable atmosphere for varying lengths of time, but 3 months is considered "standard".


title: Spelljammer

text: A crystal sphere (also known as a crystal shell) is a gigantic spherical shell which contains an entire planetary system. Each sphere varies in size but typically they are twice the diameter of the orbit of the planet that is farthest from the sun or planet at the center of the sphere (the system's primary).


title: Spelljammer

text: The surface of the sphere is called the "sphere wall" and separates the void of "wildspace" (within the sphere) from the "phlogiston" (that surrounds and flows outside the sphere). The sphere wall has no gravity and appears to be impossible to damage by any normal or magical means. Openings in the sphere wall called "portals" allow spelljamming ships or wildspace creatures to pass through and enter or exit from a crystal sphere. Portals can spontaneously open and close anywhere on the sphere wall. Magical spells (or magical items that reproduce their effects) can allow a portal to be located. Other magic can open a new portal or collapse an existing one. Ships or creatures passing through a portal when it closes may be cut in two.


title: Spelljammer

text: Wildspace is similar to the outer space of science fiction, with planets, asteroids and stars, but with different physics. Gravity is either none or the same as that of Earth, and is directed towards the center of planet-sized bodies; on large objects in space like spacecraft and enormous creatures gravity is directed towards a flat plane running through the object's long axis, allowing characters to stand on the decks of ships.


title: Spelljammer

text: The phlogiston is essentially a big ocean of a unique element that is neither air, fire, water, or earth. The phlogiston (also known as "the Flow") is a bright, extremely combustible gas-like medium that exists between the Crystal Spheres. A signature property of the substance is that it does not exist within the boundaries of a crystal sphere, to the degree that it cannot be brought into a crystal sphere by any known means up to and including the direct will of deities. Every crystal sphere floats in the phlogiston, very slowly bobbing up and down over time. Travel between Crystal Spheres is facilitated by the formation of "Flow rivers" — sections of the phlogiston which have a current and greatly reduce travel time. Travel through the "slow flow" (i.e. off the Flow rivers) is possible, but very dangerous.


title: Spelljammer

text: The "Spelljammer" is a legendary ship which looks like a gigantic manta ray, and houses an entire city on its back. All spacefarers (people who live in wildspace) have heard of the "Spelljammer" but very few have ever seen it themselves. It is this ship that gives its name to "spelljamming", "spelljamming helms" and anything else connected with spelljamming. The ship has been reported to have been seen in countless spheres for as long as records go back. Even some groundlings (people who live on planets that have very little or no commerce with spelljamming communities) have legends about it. There are hundreds of conflicting legends about this ship, and a mythology has developed about the ship that is similar to the legends surrounding "The Flying Dutchman".


title: Spelljammer

text: As a living thing (although it does not consume any matter, it does absorb heat and light through its ventral (or under) side and uses them to produce air and food for its inhabitants), the "Spelljammer" has a complex life cycle and means of procreation. Normally the ship has no captain and wanders the cosmos seemingly aimlessly. When the "Spelljammer" has a captain, obtained through another complex process, it will create Smalljammers (miniature versions of the "Spelljammer") that go forth as its spawn. Apparently there can only be one Spelljammer at any one time. One Smalljammer will mature into a full "Spelljammer" ship if its predecessor is ever destroyed.


title: Spelljammer

text: Alien races inhabiting the Spelljammer universe included humans, dwarves, xenophobic beholders, rapacious neogi, militant giff (humanoid hippopotami), centaurlike dracons, hubristic elf armadas, spacefaring orcs called "scro", mysterious arcane, the Thri-kreen insectoids, and bumbling tinker gnomes. Illithids were another major race, but were presented as more mercantile and less overtly evil than in other D&D settings. The "Monstrous Compendium" series added many more minor races. The simian Hadozee were also introduced into the setting, and later incorporated into the 3.5 rules in the supplemental book "Stormwrack".


title: Spelljammer

text: Spelljammer has acted as the official campaign setting for multiple "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying adventure modules, sourcebooks and accessories.


title: Spelljammer

text: Fifteen comics set in the "Spelljammer" universe were published by DC Comics between September 1990 and November 1991 with the creative team of Barbara Kesel, Michael Collins and Dan Panosian. "Spelljammer" comics also uses Jasmine, a winged human character originally introduced from Forgotten Realms comics, as one of the lead characters.


title: Spelljammer

text: Six novels set in the "Spelljammer" universe were published by TSR, before TSR was incorporated into Wizards of the Coast. The novels were interconnected and formed "The Cloakmaster Cycle". The novels tell the story of Teldin Moore, a 'groundling' farmer on Krynn who has a powerful and apparently cursed magical cloak that was given to him. He then ends up on a quest, which takes him first into wildspace and then away from his home sphere to distant crystal spheres. The series showcases the wonders and perils of the Spelljammer universe. The novels are now out of print.


title: Spelljammer

text: Only one computer game set in the "Spelljammer" universe was ever produced. It was published by SSI in 1992 and was called "".


title: Spelljammer

text: In 2002 a team of freelance game modification developers created "The Arcane Space Tileset" for "Neverwinter Nights". This tileset included Spelljamming ships, space and atmospheric terrains, along with monsters and NPCs, all set within the Spelljammer Campaign setting.


title: Spelljammer

text: "Legends of the Multiverse" (2022) is an official actual play streaming series broadcast on the "Dungeons & Dragons" channels which premiered on April 27, 2022 and is set in the Spelljammer campaign setting. It stars Deborah Ann Woll, B. Dave Walters, Gina Darling, Meagan Kenreck, and Todd Kenreck. It will also feature guest stars such as Brennan Lee Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar, Ginny Di, Anna Prosser, Deejay Knight, Emme Montgomery, Travis McElroy, SungWon Cho, and Jim Zub.


title: Spelljammer

text: In the January 1990 edition of "Games International" (Issue 12), James Wallis was not a fan of the initial release, "", finding inconsistencies in the combat rules, saying, "The cumulative effect of these inconsistencies is to make space combat unplayable." He did find the background "imaginative and consistent, but unfortunately there is little of it." Although he admired the production values of the components, he found the book disorganized to the point of "disarray and confusion." He concluded by giving the game a poor rating of only 2 out of 5, saying, ""Spelljammer" may score well physically but fails mentally [...] Scavenging "AD&D" players who enjoy stripping tasty ideas from the carcasses of dying games may find it of interest, but I cannot recommend it to anyone else."


title: Spelljammer

text: Alexander Sowa, for "CBR" in October 2021, commented that Spelljammer should be one of the classic settings Wizards of the Coast brings back for the 5th Edition. Sowa wrote, "players have been asking for Spelljammer to be introduced to "5e" since the release of the first setting sourcebook. Wizards tossed them a bone with the Dream of The Blue Veil spell added in "Tasha's Cauldron of Everything", but it's not a replacement for the niche Spelljammer previously filled. It's not just a way to travel between different campaign settings; it's a simultaneous fulfillment of sci-fi and fantasy dreams of exploration, venturing deep into unknown depths and contending with the strange and otherworldly".


title: Spelljammer

text: Spelljammer was #3 on "The Gamer"'s 2022 "The 8 Best Dungeons & Dragons Settings Ever" list — the article states that "Spelljammer is one of the most unique settings on this list, with endless possibilities brought up in its planet-hopping realms. The Spelljammer setting can almost best be surmised as 'pirates meets sci-fi fantasy' with its blend of magical worlds and galaxy-traversing galleons". In a separate article for "The Gamer", in February 2022, Paul DiSalvo commented that "while D&D's second edition was home to a wide range of Spelljammer books including several adventure modules, the setting has since faded into obscurity, with it not being prominently featured within the game's third, fourth, and fifth editions".


title: General aviation

text: General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other purposes. However, for statistical purposes ICAO uses a definition of general aviation which includes aerial work.


title: General aviation

text: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines civil aviation aircraft operations in three categories: General Aviation (GA), Aerial Work (AW) and Commercial Air Transport (CAT). Aerial work operations are separated from general aviation by ICAO by this definition. Aerial work is when an aircraft is used for specialized services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, search and rescue, and aerial advertisement. However, for statistical purposes ICAO includes aerial work within general aviation, and has proposed officially extending the definition of general aviation to include aerial work, to reflect common usage. The proposed ICAO classification includes instructional flying as part of general aviation (non-aerial-work).


title: General aviation

text: The International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA) refers to the category as general aviation/aerial work (GA/AW) to avoid ambiguity. Their definition of general aviation includes:


title: General aviation

text: Private flights are made in a wide variety of aircraft: light and ultra-light aircraft, sport aircraft, homebuilt aircraft, business aircraft (like private jets), gliders and helicopters. Flights can be carried out under both visual flight and instrument flight rules, and can use controlled airspace with permission.


title: General aviation

text: The majority of the world's air traffic falls into the category of general aviation, and most of the world's airports serve GA exclusively. Flying clubs are considered a part of general aviation.


title: General aviation

text: In 2003 the European Aviation Safety Agency was established as the central EU regulator, taking over responsibility for legislating airworthiness and environmental regulation from the national authorities.


title: General aviation

text: Of the 21,000 civil aircraft registered in the U.K., 96 percent are engaged in GA operations, and annually the GA fleet accounts for between 1.25 and 1.35 million hours flown. There are 28,000 private pilot licence holders, and 10,000 certified glider pilots. Some of the 19,000 pilots who hold professional licences are also engaged in GA activities. GA operates from more than 1,800 airports and landing sites or aerodromes, ranging in size from large regional airports to farm strips.


title: General aviation

text: GA is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. The main focus is on standards of airworthiness and pilot licensing, and the objective is to promote high standards of safety.


title: General aviation

text: General aviation is particularly popular in North America, with over 6,300 airports available for public use by pilots of general aviation aircraft (around 5,200 airports in the U.S. and over 1,000 in Canada). In comparison, scheduled flights operate from around 560 airports in the U.S. According to the U.S. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, general aviation provides more than one percent of the United States' GDP, accounting for 1.3 million jobs in professional services and manufacturing.


title: General aviation

text: Most countries have a civil aviation authority that oversees all civil aviation, including general aviation, adhering to the standardized codes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).


title: General aviation

text: Aviation accident rate statistics are necessarily estimates. According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, general aviation in the United States (excluding charter) suffered 1.31 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours of flying in 2005, compared to 0.016 for scheduled airline flights. In Canada, recreational flying accounted for 0.7 fatal accidents for every 1000 aircraft, while air taxi accounted for 1.1 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours. More experienced GA pilots appear generally safer, although the relations between flight hours, accident frequency, and accident rates are complex and often difficult to assess.


title: General aviation

text: A small number of commercial aviation accidents in the United States have involved collisions with general aviation flights, notably TWA Flight 553, Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, PSA Flight 182 and Aeroméxico Flight 498.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Victor Gee Keung Wong (; July 30, 1927 – September 12, 2001) was an American actor, artist, and journalist of Chinese descent.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: He appeared in supporting roles in films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Chinese sorcerer Egg Shen in John Carpenter's cult film "Big Trouble in Little China", royal adviser Chen Bao Shen in the Best Picture–winning "The Last Emperor" (1987), rural storekeeper Walter Chang in the comedy horror film "Tremors" (1990), and Grandpa Mori in the "3 Ninjas" tetralogy (1992-98). He also played several starring roles for independent filmmaker Wayne Wang, who described him as his "alter-ego".


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Earlier in his career, Wong worked for KQED as an on-air reporter and later a pioneering photojournalist. His association with Mark Rothko, whom he met during his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, saw him interact with several luminaries of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac, who fictionalized him as "Arthur Ma" in his novel "Big Sur".


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Wong was born in San Francisco and lived in Chinatown near the Stockton Street Tunnel to Chinese parents. His father, Sare King Wong, was born and raised in Guangdong province, and later moved to Shanghai as a news journalist. His mother Alice was a devout Christian who took the family to the First Chinese Baptist Church every week. Wong was one of five children; his siblings were Sarah Wong Lum, Zeppelin Wong, and twins Shirley Wong Frentzel and Betty Wong Brown. Sare King Wong's grandfather had founded the "Young China" newspaper with Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Victor Wong was fluent with both English and Cantonese, which helped lead his acting career to Hong Kong.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Wong and his family moved to Courtland, California when he was two years old after his father took a job as teacher and principal at a school for the children of local Chinese laborers. The family would move back to Chinatown within three years and his father was active in local politics. He would live in Sacramento, California for much of his adult life.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Wong studied political science and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley and theology at the University of Chicago under Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Buber. In Chicago, Wong joined The Second City comedy troupe and stayed with Langston Hughes. Wong returned to San Francisco for the summer, taking part in a theatre production and never returning to Chicago; he resumed his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute under Mark Rothko, earning a master's degree in 1962.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Although he had acted in and staged productions with his first wife, Olive, who he had met after his return from Chicago, Wong was inspired by the assassination of John F. Kennedy to pursue a career in journalism, landing an on-air role for KQED's "Newsroom," where he won a Regional Emmy, from 1968 until 1974, when he was stricken with Bell's palsy.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: During his tenure on "Newsroom", Wong is credited with inventing the photojournalistic essay, covering stories with his still camera and returning to narrate them in the studio. The palsy would give him his later distinctive appearance, but at the time, he felt his roles had diminished because he wasn't "pretty looking".


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: After his news career ended, Wong turned to acting, starting in the local Asian American theatre and later landing larger roles on the stages of New York City. In October 1980, Wong made his Asian American Theater Company (AATC) debut in San Francisco by appearing in their production of "Paper Angels" by Genny Lim. He was on Social Security Disability Insurance at the time due to his palsy. In New York, he acted in the plays "Family Devotions" and "Sound and Beauty", written by David Henry Hwang.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: His stage work led to television work and eventually, into movies; his film debut was in 1984's "", directed by Wayne Wang. In between film roles, Wong lived in Sacramento, California, where he supported the local performing arts. In 1992, he acted in the Hong Kong film, "Cageman" (笼民). He later starred as Grandpa Mori in the "3 Ninjas" franchise, and the cult-classics, "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Tremors". Director Bernardo Bertolucci had trouble with Wong on the set of "The Last Emperor" amid arguments over historical authenticity and cut most of Wong's scenes in the film, which won the Best Picture Oscar for 1987.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: He worked closely with director Wayne Wang. The independent filmmaker and fellow San Franciscan first cast him in the lead role of his 1985 film "," and went on to include him in "Eat a Bowl of Tea" and "Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive" (both 1989), and "The Joy Luck Club" (1993). Wang later called Wong his role model for living life.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: He retired from acting in 1998 after suffering two strokes. Wong returned to art, and held a solo exhibition at the B. Sakata Garo gallery in Sacramento.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: In the 1950s, while studying art under Mark Rothko, Victor Wong had his first art exhibition at the City Lights Bookstore. During this time, Wong befriended Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He illustrated "Oranges", Dick McBride's first collection of poetry, which was handset and printed at the Bread and Wine Mission in 1960. He met Jack Kerouac in the early 1960s, who chronicled their meeting in his novel "Big Sur" (1962). In the novel, Wong is characterised as "Arthur Ma".


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: Wong was married four times: to Olive Thurman Wong (daughter of civil rights activist Howard Thurman), Carol Freeland, Robin Goodfellow, and Dawn Rose. He had two daughters, Emily and Heather, and three sons, Anton, Lyon, and Duncan. His children Emily and Anton were from his first marriage to Olive Thurman.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: His son, musician Lyon Wong, died in 1986 after being attacked by a young man while walking home in Sacramento. Wong was asked to film the prologue scene for "Big Trouble in Little China" shortly after Lyon's wake; after shooting the scene, Wong suffered his first stroke. At approximately the same time, Wong met and befriended Dawn Rose, who was an artist in Locke; they married in 1998 and together they purchased a former restaurant and store completed in 1913 in Walnut Grove, planning to open an art gallery and teahouse there in 2001.


title: Victor Wong (actor, born 1927)

text: On September 11, 2001, Wong and his wife Dawn Rose spent the day trying to get news of Wong's sons, who lived in New York City (they were unharmed). After she went to sleep, Wong stayed up to continue following the news; he died of a heart attack at some point during the early hours of September 12, 2001. He was 74.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people, also called Fon nu, Agadja or Dahomey, are a Gbe ethnic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Benin found particularly in its south region; they are also found in southwest Nigeria and Togo. Their total population is estimated to be about 3,500,000 people, and they speak the Fon language, a member of the Gbe languages.


title: Fon people

text: The history of the Fon people is linked to the Dahomey kingdom, a well-organized kingdom by the 17th century but one that shared more ancient roots with the Aja people. The Fon people traditionally were a culture of an oral tradition and had a well-developed polytheistic religious system. They were noted by early 19th-century European traders for their "N'Nonmiton" practice or Dahomey Amazons – which empowered their women to serve in the military, who decades later fought the French colonial forces in 1890.


title: Fon people

text: Most Fon today live in villages and small towns in mud houses with corrugated iron gable roofs. Cities built by the Fon include Abomey, the historical capital city of Dahomey on what was historically referred to by Europeans as the Slave Coast. These cities became major commercial centres for the slave trade. A significant portion of the sugar plantations in the French West Indies, particularly Haiti and Trinidad, were populated with slaves that came from the Slave Coast, through the lands of Ewe and Fon people.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people, like other neighboring ethnic groups in West Africa, remained an oral tradition society through late medieval era, without ancient historical records. According to these oral histories and legends, the Fon people originated in present-day Tado, a small Aja town now situated near the Togo-Benin border. Their earliest rulers were originally a part of the ruling class in the Aja kingdom of Allada (also called Ardra kingdom).


title: Fon people

text: The Aja people had a major dispute, one group broke up and these people came to be the Fon people who migrated to Allada with king Agasu. The sons of king Agasu disputed who should succeed him after his death, and the group split again, this time the Fon people migrated with Agasu's son Dogbari northwards to Abomey where they founded the kingdom of Dahomey sometime about 1620 CE. The Fon people have been settled there since, while the kingdom of Dahomey expanded in southeast Benin by conquering neighboring kingdoms.


title: Fon people

text: The oral history of the Fon further attributes the origins of the Fon people to the intermarrying between this migrating Allada-nu Aja group from the south with the Oyo-nu inhabitants in the (Yoruba) Kingdoms of the plateau. These Yorubas were known as the Igede, which the Ajas called the Gedevi. The fusion of the immigrant Aja conquerors and the original Indigenous Yorubas of the Abomey plateau thus created a new culture, that of the Fon.


title: Fon people

text: Although these oral traditional origins have been passed down through the generations, they are not without controversy. The claim to an origin from within Allada is not recorded in contemporary sources before the late eighteenth century, and is likely a means of legitimating the claim and conquest of Allada by Dahomey in the 1720s. These claims can also be interpreted as a metaphorical expressions of cultural and political influences between kingdoms rather than actual kinship.


title: Fon people

text: While references and documented history about the Fon people are scant before the 17th century, there are abundant documents on them from the 17th century, particularly written by European travelers and traders to West African coasts. These memoirs mention such cities as Ouidah and Abomey. Among the most circulated texts are those of Archibald Dalzel, a slave trader who in 1793 wrote the legends, history and slave trading practices of the Fon people in a book titled the "History of Dahomey". Modern era scholars have questioned the objectivity and accuracy of Dalzel, and to what extent his pioneering book on Fon people was a polemic or dispassionate scholarship.


title: Fon people

text: In the 19th century and early 20th century, as the French presence increased and then the colonial period began in the Benin and nearby regions, more history and novels with references to the Fon people appeared, such as those by Édouard Foà, N. Savariau, Le Herisse and M.J. Herskovits' anthropological study on Fon people published in 1938.


title: Fon people

text: These histories suggest that Fon people's kingdom of Dahomey expanded in early 18th century, particularly during King Agaja's rule through the 1740s, reaching the Atlantic coast from their inland capital of Abomey. During this period, 200 years after Portugal had already settled in the Kongo people lands on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa in the 16th century, there were numerous plantations in the Caribbean and Atlantic coastline of South America, which had already created a booming demand for slaves from the European traders. The expanded territory of the Dahomey kingdom was well positioned to supply this transatlantic trade and the 18th and 19th century history of the Fon people is generally presented within this context.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people did not invent slavery in Africa, nor did they have a monopoly on slavery nor exclusive slave trading activity. The institution of slavery long predates the origins of the Fon people in the Aja kingdom and the formation of the kingdom of Dahomey. The sub-Saharan and the Red Sea region, states Herbert Klein – a professor of history, was already trading between 5,000 and 10,000 African slaves per year between 800 and 1600 CE, with a majority of these slaves being women and children. According to John Donnelly Fage – a professor of history specializing in Africa, a "slave economy was generally established in the Western and Central Sudan by about the fourteenth century at least, and had certainly spread to the coasts around the Senegal and in Lower Guinea by the fifteenth century".


title: Fon people

text: By the 15th century, Songhay Empire rulers to the immediate north of the Fon people, in the Niger River valley, were already using thousands of captured slaves for agriculture. The demand for slave labor to produce sugarcane, cotton, palm oil, tobacco and other goods in the plantations of European colonies around the globe had sharply grown between 1650 and 1850. The Bight of Benin was already shipping slaves in the late 17th century, before the Fon people expanded their kingdom to gain control of the coast line. The Fon rulers and merchants, whose powers were established on the Atlantic coast between 1700 and 1740, entered this market. The Fon people were divided on how to respond to the slave demand. Some scholars suggest that Fon people and Dahomey rulers expressed intentions to curtail or end slave trading, states Elizabeth Heath, but historical evidence affirms that the Benin coastline including the ports of the Dahomey rulers and the Fon people became one of the largest exporter of slaves.


title: Fon people

text: The kingdom of Dahomey, along with its neighbors' kingdoms of Benin and Oyo Empire, raided for slaves and sold their captives into transatlantic slavery. The competition for captives, slaves and government revenues, amongst the African kingdoms, escalated the mutual justification and pressure. The captives were sold as slaves to the Europeans from the Bight of Benin (also called the Slave Coast), from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century. The Fon people were both victims and also victimized other ethnic groups. Some captives came from wars, but others came from systematic kidnapping within the kingdom or at the frontiers, as well as the caravans of slaves brought in by merchants from the West African interior. The kingdom of Dahomey of Fon people controlled the port Ouidah, from where numerous European slave ships disembarked. However, this was not the only port of the region and it competed with the ports controlled by other nearby kingdoms on the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Biafra.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people, along with the neighboring ethnic groups such as the Ewe people, disembarked in French colonies to work as slaves in the plantations of the Caribbean and coasts of South America. They were initially called "Whydah", which probably meant "people sold by Alladah". The word "Whydah" phonetically evolved into "Rada", the name of the West African community that embarked in slave ships from the Bight of Benin, and is now found in Haiti, Saint Lucia, Trinidad, French Antilles and other nearby islands with French influence. In some Caribbean colonial documents, alternate spellings such as "Rara" are also found.


title: Fon people

text: The slave traders and ship owners of European colonial system encouraged competition, equipped the various kingdoms with weapons, which they paid for with slaves, as well as built infrastructure such as ports and forts to strengthen the small kingdoms. However, slave trading in the Bight of Benin soon came to an end as European and American nations passed legislation which outlawed their involvement in the slave trade. The last nation in the Americas to officially outlaw the slave trade was Imperial Brazil, in 1851. When slave exports ceased, the king of the Fon people shifted to agricultural exports to France, particularly palm oil, but used slaves to operate the plantations. The agricultural exports were not as lucrative as slave exports had been in past. To recover state revenues he leased the ports in his kingdom to the French through a signed agreement in late 19th century. The French interpreted the agreement as ceding the land and ports, while the Dahomey kingdom disagreed. The dispute led to a French attack in 1890, and annexation of the kingdom as a French colony in 1892. This started the colonial rule for the Fon people.


title: Fon people

text: The period of French colonial empire marked the end of the Fon royalty, though France kept the system of plantations, which they had inherited from the royalty. The only difference, so states Patrick Manning – a professor of World History specializing on Africa, for the next seventy years was that the French colonial state, instead of the former king of Fon people, now decided how the surplus (profits) from these plantations were to be spent. The French colonial administrators made some infrastructure improvements to improve the plantation profitability and logistics to serve French colonial interests.


title: Fon people

text: The French colonial administration targeted slavery in Benin, they outlawed capture of slaves, legally freed numerous slaves, but faced resistance and factional struggles from previous local slave owners running their farms. The slavery that continued included those that was lineage-related, who cohabited within families in the region. The Fon aristocracy adapted to the new conditions, by joining the ranks of administrators in the French rule.


title: Fon people

text: Taxes new to the Dahomey colony's people, which the French called "impôt", similar to those already practiced in France, were introduced on all ethnic groups, including the Fon people, by the colonial administrators. Payment of these were regularly resisted or just refused, leading to confrontations, revolts, arrests, prison terms and forced labor. These complaints gelled into an anti-colonial nationalism movement in which the Fon people participated. France agreed to autonomy to Dahomey in 1958, and full independence in 1960.


title: Fon people

text: Some Fon people converted to Christianity or Islam under the influence of missionaries during the colonial era, in Benin and in French West Indies colonies, but many continued their traditional religious practices. While Islam arrived in the Benin area between 11th and 13th centuries, Christianity was adopted by Dahomey ruler Agonglo who came to power in 1789, and his Fon royalty supporters, with missionaries welcomed. According to Steven Mailloux, the missionaries attempted to integrate the old concepts of Fon people on cosmogenesis to be same as Adam-Eve, and their "Legba" to be Christian "Satan", teachings that led to syncretism rather than abandonment.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people, states Mary Turner, have generally proven to be highly resistant to Christianity and Islam, even when brought over as slaves in a new environment as evident in Afro-Jamaican and other African influenced cultures with ties to the Slave Coast. They have generally refused to accept innovative re-interpretation of Fon mythologies within the Abrahamic mythical framework. The priests of the Fon people, contrary to the expectations of the missionaries, adopted and re-interpreted Abrahamic myths into their own frameworks.


title: Fon people

text: The traditional Fon religion is regionally called "Vodoun", "Vodzu" or "Vodu", which is etymologically linked to "Vodun" – a term that refers to their theological concept of "numerous immortal spirits and deities".


title: Fon people

text: The religious practice of the Fon people have four overlapping elements: public gods, personal or private gods, ancestral spirits, and magic or charms. Thus, the Vodoun religion is polytheistic. The Fon people have a concept of a female Supreme Being called Nana Buluku, who gave birth to the Mawu, Lisa and created the universe. After giving birth, the mother Supreme retired, and left everything to Mawu-Lisa (Moon-Sun, female-male) deities, spirits and inert universe. Mawu-Lisa created numerous minor imperfect deities. In Fon belief, the feminine deity Mawu had to work with trickster Legba and the snake Aido Hwedo to create living beings, a method of creation that imbued the good, the bad and a destiny for every creature including human beings. Only by appeasing lesser deities and Legba, in Fon theology, can one change that destiny. This appeasing requires rituals and offerings to the lesser gods and ancestral spirits, who are believed to have ability to do favors to human beings. A typical traditional home compound of the Fon people has a "Dexoxos", or ancestral shrine. The charms are locally called "gbo, gris gris, ju ju", or "obeah", involve leaves, herbs, smoke and these are offerings to public or personal gods of each family.


title: Fon people

text: While many Fon identify as Christian, the majority continue to practice Benin's traditional religion Vodun. The Fon have priests and mediums who receive the spirits on the occasion of the great festivals. The cult of the sacred serpents in the temple of Whydah had some importance, but eventually fell into disuse. Practice can involve drumming to induce possession by one of these gods or spirits. Together with other cultural groups from the Fon homeland region such as the Yoruba and Bantu, Fon culture merged with French, Portuguese or Spanish to produce distinct religions (Voodoo, Obeah, Candomblé and Santería), dance and musical styles (Arará, Yan Valu).


title: Fon people

text: In the French colonies, such as Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), the Christian missionaries confiscated and burnt the statues and religious objects of the Fon people, but this did not end their practices. They rebuilt their icons again. The Fon people and their government have reversed the colonial attempts to culturally change them. After the end of the colonial era, January 10 has been declared an official annual holiday in Benin dedicated to Vodun gods.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon people are traditionally settled farmers, growing cassava, corn and yams as staples. The men prepare the fields, women tend and harvest the crop. Hunting and fishing are other sources of food, while some members of the Fon society make pottery, weave clothes and produce metal utensils. Among the cash crops, palm oil plantations are common in Fon people's region. The Fon culture is patrilineal and allows polygyny and divorce. A man with multiple wives usually lived in a compound with each wife and her children occupying a separate hut. A collection of compounds formed a village, usually headed by a hereditary chief. In contemporary times, traditional patrilineal clan-based living and associated practices are uncommon.


title: Fon people

text: Funerals and death anniversaries to remember their loved ones are important events, including drumming and dancing as a form of mourning and celebrating their start of life as a spirit by the one who died, can last for days.


title: Fon people

text: The Fon culture incorporated culture and shared ideas with ethnic groups that have been their historical neighbors. Many of their practices are found among Yoruba people, Akan people, Ewe people and others.


title: Fon people

text: A notable part of the Fon people's society was their use of female soldiers in combat roles over some two centuries. Over 3,000 women trained and served as regular warriors to protect the Fon and to expand its reach. The women warrior's brigade was led by a woman.


title: Fon people

text: Given the oral tradition of Fon people, when women joined as warriors in Fon society is unclear. The earliest European records, such as those of Jean-Pierre Thibault, suggest that the tradition dates back to the early 18th century or even earlier. These gender roles were foreign to the European travelers, and early fictional stories in European media are considered unreliable by many scholars.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: John Richard Boyd (January 23, 1927 – March 9, 1997) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and Pentagon consultant during the second half of the 20th century. His theories have been highly influential in military, sports, business, and litigation strategies and planning.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: As part of the Fighter Mafia, Boyd inspired the Lightweight Fighter program (LWF), which produced the successful General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, which are still in use by the United States and by several other military powers into the 21st century. Boyd, together with Thomas Christie, created the Energy–Maneuverability theory of aerial combat, which became the world standard for the design of fighter aircraft. He also developed the decision cycle known as the OODA loop, the process by which an entity reacts to an event.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd was born on January 23, 1927, in Erie, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on October 30, 1944, while he was still a junior in high school. After graduation, he completed his basic training and skill training as an aircraft turret mechanic during the waning months of World War II. From January 1946 to January 1947, Boyd served as a swimming instructor in Japan. He attained the rank of sergeant, and served in the Air Force Reserve until he graduated from college. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in economics and later earned a second bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force following completion of the ROTC program at the University of Iowa. On March 27, 1953, Boyd arrived in Korea as an F-86 pilot. In the two months until the armistice on July 27, Boyd flew a short tour (22 missions instead of 100) in F-86 Sabres during the Korean War during which he served as a wingman and never fired his guns or claimed an aerial kill. After his service in Korea, he was invited to attend the Fighter Weapons School (FWS). Boyd attended the school and rose to the top of his class. Upon graduation, he was invited to stay at the FWS as an instructor. He became head of the Academic Section and wrote the tactics manual for the school.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd was brought to the Pentagon by Major General Arthur C. Agan Jr. to do mathematical analysis that would support the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle program in order to pass the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Systems Analysis process.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: He was dubbed "Forty Second Boyd" for his standing bet as an instructor pilot that beginning from a position of disadvantage, he could defeat any opposing pilot in air combat maneuvering in less than 40 seconds. According to his biographer, Robert Coram, Boyd was also known at different points of his career as "The Mad Major" for the intensity of his passions, as "Genghis John" for his confrontational style of interpersonal discussion, and as the "Ghetto Colonel" for his spartan lifestyle.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: During the Vietnam War, he served as Vice Commander of Task Force Alpha and as Commander of the 56th Combat Support Group at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand from April 1972 to April 1973.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: In the early 1960s, Boyd, together with Thomas Christie, a civilian mathematician, created the energy–maneuverability theory, or E-M theory, of aerial combat. A legendary maverick by reputation, Boyd was said to have stolen the computer time to do the millions of calculations necessary to prove the theory, but a later audit found that all of computer time at the facility has been properly billed to recognized projects and that no irregularity could be prosecuted . E-M theory became the world standard for the design of fighter aircraft. The Air Force's FX project (subsequently the F-15) was then floundering, but Boyd's deployment orders to Vietnam were canceled, and he was brought to the Pentagon to redo the tradeoff studies according to E-M theory. His work helped save the project from being a costly dud even though its final product was larger and heavier than he had desired.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: However, the cancelation of that tour in Vietnam meant that Boyd would be one of the most important air-to-air combat strategists with no combat kills. He had flown only a few missions in the last months of the Korean War (1950–1953), all of them as a wingman.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: With Colonel Everest Riccioni and Pierre Sprey, Boyd formed a small advocacy group within Headquarters USAF that dubbed itself the "Fighter Mafia." Riccioni was an Air Force fighter pilot assigned to a staff position in Research and Development, and Sprey was a civilian statistician working in systems analysis. While assigned to working on the beginnings of the F-15, then called the Blue Bird, Boyd disagreed with the direction the program was going and proposed an alternative "Red Bird". The concept was for a clear-weather air-to-air-only fighter with a top speed of Mach 1.6, rather than the Blue Bird's Mach 2.5+. The top speed would be sacrificed for lower weight (and therefore better maneuverability and lower cost). Both Boyd and Sprey also argued against an active radar and radar-guided missiles, and they proposed the concept to Air Staff. The proposal went unheeded, and there were no changes to the Blue Bird.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: The Secretary of Defense, attracted by the idea of a low cost fighter, gave funding to Riccioni for a study project on the Lightweight Fighter program (LWF), which became the F-16. Both the Department of Defense and the Air Force went ahead with the program and stipulated a "design to cost" basis no more than $3 million per copy over 300 aircraft. The USAF considered the idea of a "hi-lo" mix force structure and expanded the LWF program. The program soon went against the Fighter Mafia's vision since it was not the stripped-down air-to-air specialist that they had envisioned but a heavier multi-role fighter-bomber with advanced avionics, an active radar, and radar-guided missiles.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Harry Hillaker, an F-16 designer, remarked that he would have designed the plane differently if he had known that it would become a multi mission aircraft.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd is credited for largely developing the strategy for the invasion of Iraq in the Gulf War of 1991. In 1981, Boyd had presented his briefing, "Patterns of Conflict", to US Representative Richard "Dick" Cheney. By 1990, Boyd had moved to Florida because of declining health, but Cheney, now Defense Secretary in the George H. W. Bush administration, called Boyd back to work on the plans for Operation Desert Storm. Boyd had substantial influence on the ultimate "left hook" design of the plan.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: In a letter to the editor of "Inside the Pentagon", the former Commandant of the Marine Corps General Charles C. Krulak is quoted as saying, "The Iraqi army collapsed morally and intellectually under the onslaught of American and Coalition forces. John Boyd was an architect of that victory as surely as if he'd commanded a fighter wing or a maneuver division in the desert."


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd's key concept was that of the decision cycle or OODA loop, the process by which an entity (either an individual or an organization) reacts to an event. According to the idea, the key to victory is the ability to create situations in which one can make appropriate decisions more quickly than one's opponent. The construct, originally a theory of achieving success in air-to-air combat, developed out of Boyd's Energy-Maneuverability theory and his observations on air combat between MiG-15s and North American F-86 Sabres in Korea. Harry Hillaker (chief designer of the F-16) said of the OODA theory, "Time is the dominant parameter. The pilot who goes through the OODA cycle in the shortest time prevails because his opponent is caught responding to situations that have already changed."


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd hypothesized that all intelligent organisms and organizations undergo a continuous cycle of interaction with their environment. Boyd broke the cycle down to four interrelated and overlapping processes through which one cycles continuously:


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Of course, while that is taking place, the situation may be changing. It is sometimes necessary to cancel a planned action to meet the changes. The decision cycle is thus known as the OODA loop. Boyd emphasized that the decision cycle is the central mechanism enabling adaptation, apart from natural selection, and is therefore critical to survival.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd theorized that large organizations such as corporations, governments, or militaries possessed a hierarchy of OODA loops at tactical, grand-tactical (operational art), and strategic levels. In addition, he stated that most effective organizations have a highly decentralized chain of command that uses objective-driven orders, or directive control, rather than method-driven orders, to harness the mental capacity and creative abilities of individual commanders at each level. In 2003, the power to the edge concept took the form of a DOD publication "Power to the Edge: Command... Control... in the Information Age," by Dr. David S. Alberts and Richard E. Hayes. Boyd argued that such a structure creates a flexible "organic whole" that is quicker to adapt to rapidly-changing situations. He noted, however, that any such highly decentralized-organization would necessitate a high degree of mutual trust and a common outlook that came from prior shared experiences. The headquarters needs to know that the troops are perfectly capable of forming a good plan for taking a specific objective, and the troops need to know that the headquarters does not direct them to achieve certain objectives without good reason.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: In 2007, the strategy writer Robert Greene discussed the loop in the post "OODA and You." He insisted that it was "deeply relevant to any kind of competitive environment: business, politics, sports, even the struggle of organisms to survive" and claimed to have been initially "struck by its brilliance."


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: The OODA Loop has since been used as the core for a theory of litigation strategy that unifies the use of cognitive science and game theory to shape the actions of witnesses and opposing counsel. It has also been proposed as a tool for work-based learning and management education.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd also served to revolutionize air-to-air combat in that he was the author of the Aerial Attack Study, which became the official tactics manual for fighter aircraft. Boyd changed how pilots thought; prior to his tactics manual, pilots had thought that air-to-air combat was far too complex to ever be fully understood. With the release of the Aerial Attack Study, pilots realized that the high-stakes death dance of aerial combat was solved. Boyd said that a pilot going into aerial combat must know two things: the position of the enemy and the velocity of the enemy. Given the velocity of an enemy, a pilot can decide what the enemy can do. When a pilot knows what maneuvers the enemy can perform, he can then decide how to counter any of the other pilot's actions. The Aerial Attack Study contained everything that a fighter pilot needed to know.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: The overwhelming belief in the Air Force was that air-to-air combat, also called dogfighting, was a thing of the past because of the advent of guided air-to-air missiles. That belief was so prevalent that early versions of the F-4 Phantom were ordered and sent into combat without any integrated cannon. The Aerial Attack Study illustrated that the art of the dogfight was not dead by showing that fighter pilots could out-maneuver missiles. It was revolutionary by being the first instance in history in which tactics were reduced to an objective state. The manual proved that he was the undisputed master in the area of aerial combat. Within a decade, the Aerial Attack Study became the text for air forces around the world.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd never wrote a book on military strategy. The central works encompassing his theories on warfare consist of a several-hundred-slide presentation, "Discourse on Winning & Losing", and a short essay, "Destruction & Creation" (1976).


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: In "Destruction and Creation", Boyd attempts to provide a philosophical foundation for his theories on warfare. In it he integrates Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics to provide a context and rationale for the development of the OODA Loop.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: From that set of considerations, Boyd concluded that to maintain an accurate or effective grasp of reality one must undergo a continuous cycle of interaction with the environment geared to assessing its constant changes. He was hardly the first to do so but expanded Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by suggesting that natural selection applies not only in biological but also social contexts (such as the survival of nations during war or businesses in free market competition). Integrating both concepts, he stated that the decision cycle was the central mechanism of adaptation (in a social context) and that increasing one's own rate and accuracy of assessment as opposed to one's counterpart's rate and accuracy of assessment provides a substantial advantage in war or other forms of competition. The key to survival and autonomy is the ability to adapt to change, not the perfect adaptation to existing circumstances. Indeed, Boyd noted that radical uncertainty is a necessary precondition of physical and mental vitality: all new opportunities and ideas spring from some mismatch between reality and ideas about it, as examples from the history of science, engineering, and business illustrate.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd's briefing Patterns of Conflict provided the theoretical foundation for the "defense reform movement" (DRM) in the 1970s and 1980s. Other prominent members of this movement included Pierre Sprey, Franklin C. Spinney, William Lind, Director for Operational Test and Evaluation Thomas Christie, Representative Newt Gingrich, and Senator Gary Hart. The Military Reform movement fought against what it believed to be were unnecessarily complex and expensive weapons systems, an officer corps focused on the careerist standard, and an over-reliance on attrition warfare. Another reformer, James G. Burton, disputed the army's test of the safety of the Bradley fighting vehicle (about which he later published the book "The Pentagon Wars"). James Fallows contributed to the debate with an article in "The Atlantic Monthly", "Muscle-Bound Superpower," and a book, "National Defense". Younger reformers continue to use Boyd's work as a foundation for evolving theories on strategy, management, and leadership.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: In January 1980 Boyd gave his briefing "Patterns of Conflict" at the US Marines AWS (Amphibious Warfare School), which led to the instructor, Michael Wyly, and Boyd changing the curriculum. That was with the blessing of General Trainor, who later asked Wyly to write a new tactics manual for the Marines. John Schmitt, guided by General Alfred M. Gray, Jr., wrote "Warfighting"; during the writing, he collaborated with Boyd. Wyly, Lind, and a few other junior officers are credited with developing concepts for what would become the Marine model of maneuver warfare.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Wyly, along with Pierre Sprey, Raymond J. "Ray" Leopold, Franklin "Chuck" Spinney, Jim Burton, and Tom Christie, were described by writer Coram as Boyd's Acolytes, a group that, in various ways and forms, promoted and disseminated Boyd's ideas throughout the modern military and the defense establishment.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: At his retirement in 1975, Boyd was awarded the prestigious Harold Brown Award by the US Air Force. After his retirement, Boyd continued to work at the Pentagon as a consultant in the Tactical Air office of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Program Analysis and Evaluation.


title: John Boyd (military strategist)

text: Boyd died of cancer in Florida on March 9, 1997, at age 70. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on March 20, 1997. His burial site is Section 60, Gravesite 3066.


title: ASTM International

text: ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. Some 12,575 ASTM voluntary consensus standards operate globally. The organization's headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia.


title: ASTM International

text: It is founded in 1902 as the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials (see also International Organization for Standardization).


title: ASTM International

text: A group of scientists and engineers, led by Charles Dudley, formed ASTM in 1898 to address the frequent rail breaks affecting the fast-growing railroad industry. The group developed a standard for the steel used to fabricate rails. Originally called the "American Society for Testing Materials" in 1902, it became the "American Society for Testing And Materials" in 1961. In 2001, ASTM officially changed its name to “ASTM International" and added the tagline "Standards Worldwide". In 2014, it changed the tagline to "Helping our World Work better". Now, ASTM International has offices in Belgium, Canada, China, Peru, Washington, D.C., and West Conshohocken, PA.


title: ASTM International

text: On June 9th, 2022, it was announced that the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and ASTM International have agreed to extend and expand a Technical Cooperation Agreement from 2019.


title: ASTM International

text: Membership in the organization is open to anyone with an interest in its activities. Standards are developed within committees, and new committees are formed as needed, upon request of interested members. Membership in most committees is voluntary and is initiated by the member's own request, not by appointment nor by invitation. Members are classified as users, producers, consumers, and "general interest". The latter includes academics and consultants. Users include industry users, who may be producers in the context of other technical committees, and end-users such as consumers. In order to meet the requirements of antitrust laws, producers must constitute less than 50% of every committee or subcommittee, and votes are limited to one per producer company. Because of these restrictions, there can be a substantial waiting-list of producers seeking organizational memberships on the more popular committees. Members can, however, participate without a formal vote and their input will be fully considered.


title: ASTM International

text: As of 2015, ASTM has more than 30,000 members, including over 1,150 organizational members, from more than 140 countries. The members serve on one or more of 140+ ASTM Technical Committees. ASTM International has several awards for contributions to standards authorship, including the ASTM International Award of Merit (the organization's highest award) ASTM International is classified by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.


title: ASTM International

text: ASTM International has no role in requiring or enforcing compliance with its standards. The standards, however, may become mandatory when referenced by an external contract, corporation, or government.


title: Flavored fortified wine

text: Flavored fortified wines (known informally as bum wines or bum vino) are inexpensive fortified wines that typically have an alcohol content between 13% and 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). They are made from various fruits (including grapes and citrus fruits) with added sugar, artificial flavor and artificial color.


title: Flavored fortified wine

text: An early reference to the problem of cheap and poorly made wines is in the "Report on Cheap Wines" in the 5 November 1864 issue of "The Medical Times and Gazette". The author, in prescribing inexpensive wines for a number of ills, cautions against the "fortified" wines of the day, describing of one sample that he had tried:


title: Flavored fortified wine

text: It is reported, however, that the popularity of cheap, fortified wines in the United States arose in the 1930s, as a product of Prohibition and the Great Depression:


title: Flavored fortified wine

text: While overtaken somewhat in the low-end alcoholic drink market by sweetened malt beverages by the 1990s, the appeal of cheap fortified wines to the poor and homeless has often raised concerns:


title: Flavored fortified wine

text: In 2005, the Seattle City Council asked the Washington State Liquor Control Board to prohibit the sale of certain alcohol products in an impoverished "Alcohol Impact Area". Among the products sought to be banned were over two dozen beers, and six wines: Cisco, Gino's Premium Blend, MD 20/20, Night Train, Thunderbird, and Wild Irish Rose. The Liquor Control Board approved these restrictions on 30 August 2006. The cities of Tacoma, Washington, and Spokane, Washington, also followed suit in instituting "Alcohol Impact Areas" of their own following Seattle's example.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Puerto Princesa, officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon: "Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa"; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 307,079 people.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: It is a city located in the western Philippine province of Palawan, and is the westernmost city in the Philippines. Though the seat of government and capital for the province, the city itself is one of 38 independent cities within the Philippines not controlled by the province in which it is geographically located and is therefore an independent area located within Palawan.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: It is the least densely populated city in the Philippines with 110 inhabitants per square kilometre (280/square mile). In terms of land area, the city is the second largest geographically after Davao City with an area of . Puerto Princesa is the location of the Philippines' Western Command headquarters.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Today, Puerto Princesa is a tourist city with many beach resorts and seafood restaurants. It has been acclaimed several times as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The name "Puerto Princesa" have several origins. It is said to have been attributed by locals to a princess-like maiden who roam the place at certain nights of the year, while other accounts attributed its geographical advantage as a seaport which is a naturally protected area due to its surrounding mountains, and is characterized by a depth able to accommodate any size of shipping vessel.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Historically, this place was originally named Port Asuncion after Princess Asuncion, one of the princesses born to Isabella II of Spain and her consort, Francis, Duke of Cádiz. When the princess suffered an untimely death, the Queen changed the name to Puerto de la Princesa. Eventually, the name was shortened to Puerto Princesa.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Spanish colonizers founded the settlement on March 4, 1872, in the course of their exploration of the province. As they scanned the Palawan shoreline for a capital site, they came upon a hill with steep declivity. Rowing to shore, they surveyed the hill and discovered an extensive plateau which they decided as ideal for settlement.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Soon after, Fr. Antonio Muro levelled a portion of the hill to make way for a chapel (that section is now occupied by the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the P.C. Barracks and the Rizal Park, the Old Municipal Building used to be there, as well as an Elementary School). The first mass celebrated in Puerto Princesa took place at a site where a marker now stands.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In May 1872, the Port of Puerto Princesa became the center of Spanish Naval Operations in the area because the Bay met all the Navy's requirements. Royal Decrees later provided incentives to settlers, and by 1883 the settlement had flourished into a town of twelve roads, a hospital and well-built port.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In 1894, Puerto Princesa was recognized by government authorities as one of the most beautiful towns in the country by virtue of the orderly distribution of streets, buildings and houses as well as the cleanliness of the community.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In 1911, the New American Administration made Puerto Princesa the seat of the Palawan Provincial Government with Major John Brown as Lieutenant Governor.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In the year 1936, Governor Heginio Mendoza made a directive on the transfer of the Palawan High School (currently Palawan National School) from the island municipality of Cuyo to the central place of the province, which was the Municipality of Puerto Princesa.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: During WWII and the Japanese occupation, the village was largely abandoned. On May 18, 1942, Japanese troops landed and occupied Puerto Princesa City.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The Filipino Constabulary barracks was the scene of the Palawan Massacre, just before liberation with the allied Invasion of Palawan.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In 1951, the barrios of Tinitian, Caramay, Rizal, Del Pilar, Malcampo, Tumarbong, Taradungan, Ilian, and Capayas were separated to form the town of Roxas.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In 1955, the sitios of Materingen, Tandayag, Nasedoc, and Panlawagan were separated from the barrio of Maroyogon and elevated into a barrio.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In 1956, the sitios of Calagbenguen, Tarabanan, Bendoyan, Talabigan, Tagbuan, and Langogan were constituted into the barrio of Concepcion.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The town was converted into a city on January 1, 1970, under "Republic Act 5906" as amended by "P.D. 437", through the effort of then Congressman Ramon Mitra, Jr. Feliberto R. Oliveros, Jr., who then became the first City Mayor.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: On March 26, 2007, Proclamation No. 1264, converting the city of Puerto Princesa into a highly urbanized city, was signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The plebiscite was held along with Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu on July 21, 2007. The majority of voters voted to accept the conversion into a HUC. Puerto Princesa became the 31st highly urbanized city in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the "Yes" votes won in Lapu-Lapu City, making the city as the 32nd highly urbanized city in the country.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: In May 2001, Abu Sayyaf gunmen entered the luxury Dos Palmas Resort in Honda Bay just off the coast of Puerto Princesa and kidnapped 20 people from the resort, including four resort staff and three Americans.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Since its foundation, Puerto Princesa has been the nerve center of activities in Palawan. Aside from being the seat of public administration, it is the heart of trade, commerce, service, and industry in the province.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Puerto Princesa is located in the midsection of Palawan Island. It is bound to the east by the Sulu Sea, to the west iby the South China Sea, to the north by the municipalities of San Vicente and Roxas, and to the south by the municipality of Aborlan. It is approximately from the Philippine capital of Manila, from Panay Island, and from Zamboanga City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Administratively and politically, Puerto Princesa is politically subdivided into 66 barangays or 1st to 2nd districts, 35 of which are classified as urban barangays and 31 as rural with population.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Puerto Princesa features a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). It is usually wet from May to December and with very little rain from January to April. Average temperature is while the annual average rainfall is per year. It is warm and humid all year round.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Waves of migrants from other Philippine provinces, and even other countries, have turned Puerto Princesa into a melting pot of various cultures. Among the original inhabitants are the Cuyonons who have a rich legacy of folklore and traditions. Indigenous groups include the Tagbanwas, Palawanos, Molbogs and Bataks, each group with its distinct culture and system of beliefs.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Total inhabitants number 307,079 (as of 2020), of which three-quarter of the population resides in the city proper, an urban settlement on the shores of Puerto Princesa Bay. Although the predominant language is Tagalog, Cuyonon is widely spoken and used throughout the whole city, as well as Hiligaynon, other Visayan languages, and English.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Puerto Princesa is known as the "Eco-Tourism Center of the Philippines". In recent years, the city has seen an increase in the number of tourists bringing with them trade and businesses for the city. Many hotels ranging from basic to five-star luxury accommodations have been developed since the 1990s to cater to a growing number of foreign and local tourists in the city.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: There are also a number of restaurants, bars and shopping malls, including the Robinsons Place Palawan, NCCC Mall Palawan, Unitop Mall Puerto Princesa, as well as the recently opened SM City Puerto Princesa.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Some tourists who come to Puerto Princesa visit the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, one of the New7Wonders of Nature, located 50 km north of the city. The city is also the jump-off point for exploring the Tubbataha Reef.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The Puerto Princesa International Airport is within the city proper. Puerto Princesa is accessible by direct flights to and from the major cities of the Philippines, such as Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, and Clark, as well as other parts of Palawan, such as Cuyo, Busuanga, San Vicente, and El Nido.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The city is served by domestic passenger ferries to Cuyo, Manila, Coron and Iloilo at the Port of Puerto Princesa.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: The main modes of transport are via tricycles, jeepneys and vans-for-hire (or PUVs/public utility vehicles). Taxis started operating since April 2015, plying through the city center and nearby tourist destinations. Provincial buses and jeepneys operate from the San Jose terminal located 7 km north of the city center off the National Highway.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Puerto Princesa then Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn unveiled the environment-friendly and economical electric-powered “Trikebayan” (which does not emit any noise or carbon monoxide) at the Kapihan sa Sulo forum, Sulo Hotel, Quezon City. The Trikebayan costs only or $1.20 per day to operate, while a gasoline-powered tricycle operation would cost . Rolly Concepcion, who conceptualized the Trikebayan, said that converting a tricycle engine to electric costs . The rechargeable battery under the passenger seat can run for 12 hours. Mr. Conception died before the project was completed.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: This did not discourage the previous mayor Hagedorn from pursuing a dream of seeing all electric vehicles, especially replacing the gas tricycles in the city. There was a dealership for these trikes on the north highway but it closed down in 2011.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Although Puerto Princesa has this bold plan for electric vehicles, the municipal government and tourist office has stated (when asked by a tourist in August 2011), that it has no published or announced plan for providing for the current and future needs and safety of pedestrians or bicycle riders. Spaces for walking and bicycling from one place to another are not being considered.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: Elected and appointed public officials have governed Puerto Princesa, with a strong mayor-council government. The city political government is composed of the mayor, vice mayor, ten councilors, one Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation representative and an Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) representative. Each official is elected publicly to a three-year terms.


title: Puerto Princesa

text: All of the major television broadcasting channels' regional offices are located in the city. ABS-CBN Corporation expanded its network in Palawan by establishing ABS-CBN Palawan, which operates ABS-CBN channel 7 Puerto Princesa, ABS-CBN Sports and Action Palawan DYAP-AM and MOR! Local shows such as TV Patrol Palawan are broadcast throughout the region via ABS-CBN Regional, which is also stationed in the city. Bandera News Philippines's airs shows via channel 40 Local Shows Such as Alerto 38, GMA Network's channel 12 and GMA News TV channel 27 are also available.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: Wrestle Kingdom 16 was a three-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2022, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo and January 8, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. It was the 31st January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 16th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name; it was also the first time the event was held over three days and the first one to take place in Yokohama. It marked the first January 4 Tokyo Dome Show since 2007's Wrestle Kingdom I to be co-produced with another wrestling promotion.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: Days 1 and 2 of the event aired on the NJPW World streaming service and via FITE TV and other PPV providers; Day 3 aired as a PPV event on AbemaTV before being archived on NJPW World and Wrestle Universe.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl". The show has been promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name since 2007.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: Wrestle Kingdom 16 was officially announced on September 4, 2021. It will be the first January 4 Tokyo Dome Show to be held over three days, with the third day being similar to the traditional New Year Dash!! event. The third day of the event will be held at the Yokohama Arena, marking the first time one of NJPW's January 4 shows was held outside of Tokyo. On November 20, it was announced that the third day of the event would be co-produced by the Noah promotion.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: Like the previous two years, NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom will have a match on January 5. The last two Stardom matches at Wrestle Kingdom were dark matches due to two promotions being on different broadcasting networks with TV Asahi and Samurai TV; but at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Stardom was featured on the pre-show on both days which were broadcast live on NJPW World. On December 12, a member of each Stardom faction draw straws to determinate who would be in the match at day 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 16, which Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid were chosen to face Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani in a tag team match. NJPW has announced that the match will be included on the main card.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: Wrestle Kingdom 16 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: After defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shingo Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku, Will Ospreay was forced to relinquish the title after suffering a serious neck injury. At Dominion 6.6 in Osaka-jo Hall, Takagi defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the vacant title. Okada would later win the G1 Glimax for a third time, earning himself another opportunity against Takagi and the title at Wrestle Kingdom. Okada requested to be given the retired IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt to represent the certificate instead of a briefcase which the winners of the G1 usually received, which was granted and Okada successfully defended the certificate against Tama Tonga at Power Struggle while Takagi retained the championship in the main event against Zack Sabre Jr. Meanwhile, Ospreay made a recovery and appeared at Resurgence with a replica of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship belt where he called himself the "real" champion and also called Takagi an interim champion. At Battle in the Valley, Opsreay called out both Takagi and Okada and challenged for the title at Wrestle Kingdom, and it was announced that he would face the winner of their match, set to take place on night 1, on night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom for the title.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: On November 6, 2021, at Power Struggle, Kenta defeated IWGP United States Heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to the win the title for the first time. After losing the title, Tanahashi requested a rematch for the belt at Wrestle Kingdom but Kenta declined, not wanting to give the ace a 'direct rematch'. In order to persuade Kenta to accept, Tanahashi offered to let Kenta pick the stipulation, hoping the sweeten the deal. On the final night of Best of Super Juniors/World Tag League Kenta appeared via video to finally accept Tanahashi's request, but only if Tanahashi agreed to a No Disqualification, Anything Goes match at Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi accepted and the match was signed for Night 2.


title: Wrestle Kingdom 16

text: On April 9, 2017, Katsuyori Shibata suffered a subdural hematoma during his match with Okada at Sakura Genesis which he was forced to retire from in-ring competition shorty after. During his hiatus, Shibata became the head trainer at NJPW's LA Dojo in Los Angeles where he trains recruits for the promotion. At the G1 Climax 31 finals on October 21, 2021, Shibata had an unannounced 5-minute UWF Rules exhibition match with Zack Sabre Jr. which ended in a time limit draw. After the match, Shibata said he planned to return to the in-ring competition soon. At the Best of the Super Jrs. and World Tag League finals on December 15, he announced that he would make his official in-ring return on day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 16. Shibata's opponent was not announced prior to the event. It was also announced that Shibata would participate in a catch wrestling rules match, but just before the scheduled bout, Shibata forwent the catch rules, opting to wrestle a normal singles match.


title: Adult Film Database

text: Adult Film Database (AFD) is an English-language adult website database that attempts to keep records of all pornographic movies and adult film stars. This includes filmographies, partial biographies, reviews, labeled and categorized adult film stills, as well as a regularly updated adult industry blog which features the latest news about adult performers, movies, directors, studios, web site updates and sundry adult news from around the world.


title: Adult Film Database

text: It was created in 1991 under the name Sodomite by a college student. This was an attempt to fill the void of the temporary absence of the Internet Adult Film Database (IAFD) and as a project in web development. In 1999 its name was changed to the AdultFilmDatabase.com. Today, the AdultFilmDatabase.com is a major competitor to the Internet Adult Film Database.


title: Adult Film Database

text: Taking inspiration from both the Internet Adult Film Database and IMDb and forging ties with industry mainstays like Vivid Entertainment, Hustler, Wicked and Digital Playground the AdultFilmDatabase.com features information on over 100,000 adult movies and 60,000 performers (updated March 2019).


title: Adult Film Database

text: Run by a husband and wife team, the Adult Film Database was the first online adult database to include both straight and gay videos and performers.


title: Adult Film Database

text: On October 1, 2007, the Adult Film Database was mentioned in an article from the online equivalent of Brazilian newspaper "Folha de S.Paulo".


title: Adult Film Database

text: In October 2007, the Adult Film Database debunked rumors adult film performer Tamara Lee (born 30 July 1969) had died from AIDS. The news was covered by "Adult Video News" ("AVN") in an article on October 23, 2007.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chairman of the private equity firm GTCR, based in Chicago. The Republican nominee in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election, he defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn by 50.3% to 46.4%. In 2018, after narrowly surviving a challenge in the Republican primary from State Representative Jeanne Ives, Rauner lost the general election to Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker in a landslide. As of 2022, Rauner and his lieutenant Evelyn Sanguinetti are the last Republicans to have held statewide office in Illinois.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Bruce Rauner was born in Chicago and grew up in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb 10 miles north of Chicago city limits. His mother, Ann (née Erickson) Rauner (1931–2011), was a nurse, and his father, Vincent Rauner (1927–1997), was a lawyer and senior vice president for Motorola. He has three siblings, Christopher, Mark, and Paula, and is of half Swedish and half German descent. His parents divorced and his father remarried to the former Carol Kopay in 1981. Through his father's second marriage, he has a stepsister, Larisa Olson. His first job was as a paperboy.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Rauner graduated "summa cum laude" with a degree in economics from Dartmouth College. He later received an MBA from Harvard University.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Rauner was the chairman of private equity firm GTCR, where he had worked for more than 30 years, starting in 1981 after his graduation from Harvard through his retirement in October 2012. A number of state pension funds, including those of Illinois, have invested in GTCR.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: In 2013, Rauner opened an office for a self-financed venture firm, R8 Capital Partners. The firm planned to invest up to $15 million in smaller Illinois companies.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Rauner served as Chairman of Choose Chicago, the not-for-profit that is the city's convention and tourism bureau, resigning in May 2013, and as Chairman of the Chicago Public Education Fund. Rauner has also served as the Chairman of the Education Committee of the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Prior to his 2014 run for Illinois governor, Rauner served as an advisor to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: In March 2013, Rauner formed an exploratory committee to look at a run for Governor of Illinois as a Republican. Rauner said that his top priorities included streamlining government, improving education, and improving the state's business climate. He supported term limits and said he would serve no more than eight years (two terms) as governor. On June 5, 2013, Rauner officially announced his candidacy for governor, telling "Chicago" magazine's Carol Felsenthal that his platform would include overhauling tax policy and freezing property taxes.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: In October 2013, Rauner announced that his running mate would be Wheaton City Councilwoman Evelyn Sanguinetti.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Rauner won the March 18, 2014 Republican primary with 328,934 votes (40.13%), defeating State Senator Kirk Dillard, who received 305,120 votes (37.22%), State Senator Bill Brady (123,708 votes, 15.09%) and Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford's (61,848 votes, 7.55%).


title: Bruce Rauner

text: For the general election, Rauner was endorsed by the majority of Illinois newspapers, including the "Chicago Tribune", the "Daily Herald", and the "Chicago Sun-Times".


title: Bruce Rauner

text: During the general election, television ads aired regarding Rauner's role in a chain of long-term care homes owned by his companies that faced lawsuits stemming from the death and alleged mistreatment of residents. Among the problems outlined in court cases, state records, and media reports were the deaths of developmentally disabled residents in bathtubs, "deplorable" living conditions, sexual assaults, and a failure by employees to stop residents from harming themselves.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Also during the election, the media reported on a controversy regarding Rauner's daughter being admitted to Walter Payton Prep school in Chicago in 2008 through the "principal picks" process. The family maintains several residences, including one in downtown Chicago that enabled her to apply to the Chicago-based school. Although she had top grades, she had missed several days of school and therefore did not qualify through the regular admissions process. It was later revealed that Rauner had sought information on this process from his personal friend Arne Duncan, then CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Rauner has said he had no recollection of speaking with Duncan directly. According to another source, she was not a "principal pick", but was let in following the phone call between Bruce Rauner and Arne Duncan. The Rauners donated $250,000 to the school during the subsequent school year; Rauner has a long history of contributing to Chicago Public Schools.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: On October 22, 2014, Dave McKinney, a "Chicago Sun-Times" political reporter and bureau chief, resigned from the paper, citing pressure brought to bear on him by "Sun-Times" management with regard to his coverage of Rauner. McKinney had completed an investigative news story about a lawsuit filed by Christine Kirk, the CEO of LeapSource, a firm at which Rauner served as director. The piece, written by three reporters and approved by the newspaper's editors, described Rauner using "hardball tactics" to threaten Kirk and her family. According to McKinney's attorney, the Rauner campaign requested the story include that McKinney had a conflict of interest due to his marriage to Ann Liston, a Democratic media consultant; the campaign eventually published details about the Liston's LLC sharing office space with a legally separate, long-term Democratic strategist firm, of which Liston was part-owner. The LLC was employed by a pro-Quinn PAC. McKinney says any notion of conflict of interest was untrue, a position backed up publicly by Sun-Times management. Rauner is a former investor of the Sun-Times and received the newspaper's backing, marking the first time the media organization endorsed any candidate after imposing a moratorium on political endorsements three years earlier.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: On November 4, 2014, Rauner was elected Governor of Illinois; Pat Quinn conceded defeat the next day. Rauner received 50.27% of the vote, while Quinn won 46.35%. Rauner carried every county in the state except for Cook, home to Chicago.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: On June 20, 2016, Rauner confirmed that he would run for a second term; he formally announced his re-election campaign on October 23, 2017. In the Republican primary, Rauner faced State Representative Jeanne Ives, who ran against him from the political right. Rauner was endorsed by the "Chicago Tribune", "The Daily Herald", and the "Chicago Sun-Times", and by 37 elected officials from DuPage County, part of which was represented by Ives. On March 20, 2018, Rauner narrowly won the Republican primary, with 51.4% of the vote; Ives received 48.6% of the vote. In the November general election, Rauner lost to Democratic nominee J. B. Pritzker; Pritzker received 54% of the vote while Rauner received 39%. It was the most lopsided margin in an Illinois gubernatorial race since Jim Edgar's bid for a second term in 1994.


title: Bruce Rauner

text: Rauner was sworn in as Governor of Illinois on January 12, 2015. In his first executive order, he halted state hiring as well as discretionary spending and called for state agencies to sell surplus property. The conflict between Rauner's demand for budget cuts and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan's demand for tax increases resulted in the Illinois Budget Impasse, with major credit agencies downgrading the state's debt to the low investment grade of triple-B by the end of 2015.