title: Sexuality in Japan

text: The ukiyo-e movement as a whole sought to express an idealisation of contemporary urban life and appeal to the new chōnin class. Following the aesthetics of everyday life, Edo period shunga varied widely in its depictions of sexuality. In the Edo period it was enjoyed by rich and poor, men and women, despite being out of favour with the shogunate. Almost all ukiyo-e artists made shunga at some point in their careers, and it did not detract from their prestige as artists. Classifying shunga as a kind of medieval pornography can be misleading in this respect.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In the years since the end of World War II, eroticism has gradually made its way into Japanese cinema. The first kiss to be seen in Japanese film—discreetly half-hidden by an umbrella—caused a national sensation in 1946. Foreign films throughout the 1950s introduced female nudity into international cinema and were imported to Japan without problem. Nevertheless, until the early 1960s, graphic depictions of nudity and sex in Japanese film could only be seen in single-reel "stag films," made illegally by underground film producers such as those depicted in Imamura's film "The Pornographers" (1966).


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Mainstream pornography did not arrive in Japan until the advent of Pink film. Pink film was theatrical film which featured soft core, suggestive themes and later full-on nudity and sexual acts. The first wave of the "Pink film" in Japan was contemporary with the similar U.S. sexploitation film genres, the "nudie-cuties" and "roughies". Nudity and sex officially entered Japanese cinema with Satoru Kobayashi's controversial and popular independent production "Flesh Market" ("Nikutai no Ichiba", 1962), which is considered the first true "pink film". In the 1970s, some of Japan's major studios, facing the loss of their theatrical audience, took over the "pink film". With their access to higher production-values and talent, some of these films became critical and popular successes.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: When ownership of VCRs first became widespread in the early 1980s, AVs (adult videos) made their appearance and quickly became highly popular. As early as 1982 the AVs had already attained an approximately equal share of the adult entertainment market with theatrical erotic films. Since then the market for pink films has decreased tremendously and a majority of Japanese seeking pornography go to AVs.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Although the pink film genre has declined dramatically since the advent of AVs on VCR the genre is significant in that it paved the way for true pornography in Japan as well as for multiple other genres of Japanese pornographic film including: hamedori, roshutsu, and Japanese bondage. Other Japanese pornography genres include: group sex (with gang bang as a subgenre), lesbian, and fetishes (particularly foot fetishes). Lotion play is a popular element in Japanese pornography.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: The genre of erotica known to the West as hentai (erotic cartoons or drawings) was invented in Japan; They are used in erotic manga (Japanese comic books, graphic novels) and anime (Japanese animation). The word ""hentai"" has a negative connotation in Japanese and usually means "sexually perverted", with those in Japan more often referring to hentai as "seijin" or "adult" manga/anime.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: The adult manga/anime medium carries its own distinct subgenres as well. Futanari or sexual attraction to androgynous people is an extensive subgenre of seijin manga. Bakunyū is the subgenre that features females with very large breasts. In Japan lolicon refers to an attraction to underage girls. Outside Japan lolicon generally refers to the genre of seijin manga wherein childlike female characters are depicted in an erotic manner. Lolicon's male equivalent, shotacon is similarly used in the West to refer to the genre of manga and anime in which pre-pubescent or pubescent male characters are depicted in a suggestive or erotic manner.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Japanese pornography has gained a worldwide following and is frequently translated and exported to other cultures because of its large spectrum of themes and media.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: However, critics state that the lolicon genre of seijin manga, wherein childlike females are depicted in an erotic way, contributes to sexual abuse of children. Several countries have attempted to criminalize lolicon's sexually explicit forms as a type of child pornography, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, the Philippines and Ireland are among those that have done so.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Prostitution has existed in some form throughout Japan's history. Despite the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956, various legal loopholes, liberal interpretations of the law, and loose enforcement have allowed the sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated 2.3 trillion yen a year. Notably, the Anti-Prostitution Law makes prostituting oneself a crime whereas those who use the services of a prostitute are immune from prosecution.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In Japan, the "sex industry" is not synonymous with prostitution. Because Japanese law defines prostitution as "intercourse with an unspecified person in exchange for payment," in order to remain legal, most sex clubs offer only non-coital services. This has led Joan Sinclair, the author of "", to observe that the sex industry in Japan ironically "offer[s] absolutely everything imaginable but sex."


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: A frequent focus of misconceptions in regard to Japanese sexuality is the institution of the geisha. Rather than a prostitute, a geisha was a woman trained in arts such as music and cultured conversation, who was available for non-sexual interactions with her male clientele. Geisha differed from their patrons' wives because, except for the geisha, women were ordinarily not prepared for activity other than household duties. This social limitation was imposed on the majority of women in traditional society and produced a diminution in the pursuits that women could enjoy. This limitation also impacted the ways that a man could enjoy the company of his wife. The geisha fulfilled the non-sexual social roles that ordinary women were prevented from fulfilling, and for this service they were well paid. That being said, the geisha were not deprived of opportunities to express themselves sexually and in other erotic ways. A geisha might have a patron with whom she enjoyed sexual intimacy, but this sexual role was not part of her role or responsibility as a geisha.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Japan has a thriving fetish scene, especially BDSM fetishes. Indeed, Japanese game show-style videos have been created which center around the use of fetishes. Among the unique sexual fetishes the Japanese have produced are tentacle erotica and the BDSM fetishes shibari, bukkake, omorashi and tamakeri.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Food play is known as wakamezake, which involves nyotaimori, the act of presenting food (typically sushi) on a nude female body. This act has become an icon of Japanese food play. Largely due to Western influence, the attraction to very large breasts (bakunyū) has emerged as a fetish in Japan. Lolicon refers to the sexual attraction to seemingly underage girls.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Shibari, as it is typically referred to in the West, is known as kinbaku (also sokubaku) in Japanese and refers to the erotic art of tying people up. Originally in Japanese history the martial art Hojōjutsu, which trained people in tying others up or restraining them with rope, was practiced and developed over long periods of time. Because being tied up with a knot was considered extremely shameful, the art emphasized many techniques for restricting noble men and others of high rank without actually using any knots. However, with the advent of BDSM in modern Japan came an eroticized offspring of Hojōjutsu, called kinbaku, that focuses more on gentler holds and uses the historical shame of being tied up to further humiliate the "bottom".


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Today, Hojōjutsu is not commonly practiced and is considered by some to be a dying art, but shibari thrives in the BDSM world and has profoundly influenced the bondage scene, integrating itself into many western schools, creating dozens of fusions of styles, and being practiced by itself in BDSM communities worldwide. Kinbaku has introduced to the West ties and positions that specifically apply pressure on the bottom's erogenous zones, asymmetric uses of patterns that give the bottom two uncomfortable positions to choose from, emphasizing simpler, more elegant ties over the elaborate, decorative knots of the West, as well as use of specific katas (forms) and aesthetic rules.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In Japan, sodomy was restricted by legal prohibition in 1873. However, the provision was repealed only seven years later by the Penal Code of 1880, which relied on the Napoleonic Code. Confucian thought and the government's desire to appear "civilized" influenced the way that homosexuality was viewed by both the Japanese state and by the population at large during the Meiji period.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Despite recent trends that suggest a new level of tolerance, as well as open scenes in more cosmopolitan cities (such as Tokyo and Osaka), Japanese gay men and lesbian women often conceal their sexuality, and many marry persons of the opposite sex to avoid discrimination.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Japan has no laws against homosexual activity and has some legal protections for gay individuals, but the Japanese government does not recognize same-sex marriage. In 2008 however, a law was passed allowing transgender people who have gone through sex reassignment surgery to change their sex on legal documents.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Consensual sex between adults of the same sex is legal, but some prefectures set the age of consent for same-sex sexual activity higher than for opposite-sex sexual activity.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Despite recommendations from the Council for Human Rights Promotion, the Diet has yet to include protections against discrimination for sexual orientation in the country's civil rights code. Although national civil rights laws do not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation, some local governments have enacted such laws. For example, the government of Tokyo has passed laws that ban discrimination in employment based on sexual identity. The major political parties express little public support for gay rights issues.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In the years since the world first became aware of the AIDS virus, like most industrialized nations, Japan has not suffered the high rates of AIDS disease and death that characterize some nations in Africa and South-East Asia. As of 2007 only about 100 people die each year in Japan due to AIDS. In 1992, the government of Japan justified its continued refusal to allow oral contraceptives to be distributed in the country on the belief that it would lead to reduced condom use and increased transmission of AIDS. As of 2004, condoms accounted for 80 percent of birth control used in Japan. This might explain Japan's comparably lower incidence of AIDS.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Sexual desire and sexual activity have been declining in Japan for years, and this is a cause of Japan's decreasing birth rate. Because Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and its population is on course to shrink dramatically by the middle of the century, every five years the government carries out a detailed survey of attitudes to sex and marriage. The studies and surveys have reported loss of sexual drive across several demographics, from adolescent men and women, to married couples. In 2010, the 14th Japanese National Fertility Survey was conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Singles between the ages of 18–34 who are not involved in a romantic relationship and do not want one amounted to 28% for men and 23% for women. It was also found that 28% of men and 26% of women aged 35–39 had no sexual experience. However, the possibility of response bias should be taken into consideration with these figures.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In 2010, another survey published The Japanese Association for Sex Education Research Journal found that 40.8% (up from 34.6% in 2006) of marriages in Japan could be classified as "sexless", which the Japan Society of Sexual Sciences generally defines as "engaging in sex less than once a month, despite not suffering from any health-related conditions". Among the top reasons married couples cite for not having sex, is that after children are in the picture (couples are even discouraged from having intercourse while pregnant), sex can decrease markedly or even become nonexistent for a habit-forming period of time. About 1 in 5 couples say they simply view sex as a nuisance, a small number cite the lack of private space, because elderly or the children often sleep on just the other side of paper-thin walls. Some are too stressed out from work, others have "more fun things to do". There is also a tendency among Japanese married couples to feel an aversion to sex with their spouse because they've come to feel that they have more of a relative/sibling relationship, and accordingly cannot see their spouse as a sexual partner anymore. Additionally, 36.1% of males and 58.5% of female respondents aged 16 to 19 surveyed described themselves as "indifferent or averse" towards having sex. A near 18% and 12% increase respectively, since the survey was last conducted in 2008. It was also reported that 83.7% of men who turned 20 that year were not dating anyone, with 49.3% stating they had never had a girlfriend. 59% of female respondents of the same age group responded similarly, a 12% increase from the 2008 survey.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: Some scholars have criticized the media reporting and scholarship on so-called "sexless" Japan many of these surveys exclude LGBT people, divorcees, widows, single parents or people who have married between the ages of 18-30. This necessarily exaggerates the number of virgins by excluding a huge segment of the sexually active population. The surveys research methodology are also outdated and based on the faulty assumption that everyone is heterosexual and has never divorced or had a child out of wedlock. The motivations behind the studies are also questionable since they are linked to government attempts to justify the funding of programs for arranged marriage partners.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: In a global context, a 2005 Sex Survey of 317,000 people in 41 countries conducted by Durex, the largest condom manufacturer in the world, found that the Japanese had the least sex in the world, at 45 times a year, with the second-to-last country of Singapore averaging 73 times a year, and the world average at 103 times a year. Additionally the survey reported that only 24% of Japanese respondents said they were happy with their sex lives, compared to the global average of 44%.


title: Sexuality in Japan

text: The reasons for this decline in sex interest are still widely discussed; There are many theories and different contributing factors. A large part of it may be attributed to the fact that in most respects, men and women live very separate lives socially, and there is little relaxed contact with the opposite sex outside of school ties or friends from the office, and in turn, less opportunity to freely mingle without commercial transaction through the sex-industry. This, combined with young men's growing reliance on pornography, can be thought to have a large impact on the real-world sex interest due to its “overstimulating” effect.


title: Cream tea

text: A cream tea (also known as a Devon cream tea, Devonshire tea, or Cornish cream tea) is an afternoon tea consisting of tea, scones, clotted cream (or, less authentically, whipped cream), jam, and sometimes butter. Cream teas are sold in tea rooms throughout England, especially Devon and Cornwall, and in some other parts of the Commonwealth.


title: Cream tea

text: The origin of the cream tea is disputed, although there is evidence to suggest that the tradition of eating bread with cream and jam existed at Tavistock Abbey in Devon in the 11th century. The "Oxford English Dictionary" reports the earliest use of "cream tea" in the sense of the afternoon tea, as opposed to a cup of tea with cream in it, is in the 1964 novel "Picture of Millie" by Philip Maitland Hubbard, "We just bathe and moon about and eat cream teas." However, the "Foods of England" website has discovered an earlier newspaper cutting, "The Cornishman" of Thursday, 3 September 1931 (p. 8), which uses the phrase in what appears to be its modern sense.


title: Cream tea

text: Although these distinctions on whether to apply the jam or the clotted cream to the scone first are still claimed by many, cream teas are served and enjoyed both cream first and jam first throughout both counties.


title: Cream tea

text: Scones are rarely buttered in commercially available teas. Traditionally it is important that the scones be warm (ideally, freshly baked), and that clotted (rather than whipped) cream and strawberry jam, rather than any other variety, be used. Butter is generally not included, and some sources advise that the tea should not be served with milk.


title: Cream tea

text: In Devon, an alternative to the scone found occasionally is the "Devon split" or "Chudleigh", lighter than a scone and smaller than a Cornish split. In Cornwall an alternative was traditionally a "Cornish split", a type of slightly sweet white bread roll, rather than a scone. It is now rare to find this available commercially, even in Cornwall, but splits are still used by many Cornish families in their own homes.


title: Cream tea

text: Another variation to a cream tea is called "Thunder and Lightning", which consists of a round of bread or a Cornish split, topped with clotted cream and honey or golden syrup.


title: Cream tea

text: Yet another variation is a "savoury cream tea", with cheese scones; cream cheese instead of clotted cream, and chutney instead of jam.


title: Cream tea

text: In May 2010, a campaign was launched at the Devon County Show to have the name "Devon cream tea" protected within the European Union under Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) rules. The campaign was launched following discussion on BBC Radio Devon.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Nighthawks is a 1981 American neo-noir action crime thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth and starring Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, and Rutger Hauer. Its score was composed by Keith Emerson. The film was noted for production problems. It’s also noted as Stallone’s first action film in the main role.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Three armed assailants attack a woman who turns out to be NYCPD Detective Sergeant Deke DaSilva of the Street Crimes Unit in disguise. His partner, Detective Sergeant Matthew Fox, immobilizes two of the assailants; Deke chases the third upstairs to a subway-station platform, taunts him, and incapacitates him with a scarf. That day in London, terrorist Heymar Reinhardt (alias Wulfgar) bombs a department store. In New York City, DaSilva and Fox serve a high-risk warrant in the Bronx. They raid a drug-distribution spot, where they discover corrupt police officers among the dealers. After the arrests DaSilva meets his estranged wife, Irene, and tells her he loves her; although she initially rebuffs his advances, they eventually reconcile.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Wulfgar meets a member of his network at a party to receive travel documents and money. Suspicious of the delivery man, Wulfgar kills him and three Metropolitan Police Service officers sent to arrest him. He escapes, and the police superintendent berates lead investigator Inspector Hartman. In Paris, Wulfgar meets his partner, Shakka, and learns that his handlers are ostracizing him because the bombing killed a number of children. Wulfgar undergoes facial surgery to alter his appearance and decides to move his terrorist campaign to New York City.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Lt. Munafo transfers DaSilva and Fox to the newly formed ATAC (Anti-Terrorist Action Command) squad, where they meet Hartman. Hartman and DaSilva clash, since Hartman believes that American police are not ruthless enough to deal with a terrorist such as Wulfgar. Although he hesitates to condone killing Wulfgar, DaSilva absorbs his new training and begins to understand the terrorist. In New York City, Wulfgar moves in with a flight attendant named Pam and kills her when she discovers his arsenal. Acting on a tip, Munafo orders DaSilva and Fox to search every nightclub the flight attendant had visited. They find Wulfgar in a nightclub and, after a shootout and foot chase through the subway, Wulfgar first takes a woman hostage and uses her as a human shield, preventing DaSilva from shooting. Wulfgar then escapes by slashing Fox's face with a knife, enraging DaSilva, who vows to kill Wulfgar. At the hospital, Fox admonishes DaSilva for not shooting.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The ATAC squad guards a United Nations function at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Shakka, infiltrating the party in disguise, corners Hartman on an escalator and kills him. After hijacking a tram car, Wulfgar executes the wife of the French ambassador while DaSilva watches from a hovering police helicopter. Wulfgar demands that DaSilva board the tramway to receive an infant that he wishes to be taken to safety. DaSilva is winched up to the aerial tram and confronts Wulfgar, demanding to know why Wulfgar killed the woman. Wulfgar says that he killed her because he wanted to; considering himself a speaker for people who cannot speak for themselves, he says that all people are victims.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The police agree to Wulfgar's demands for a bus to escort him and the hostages to an airport, where a jet will be waiting. Wulfgar and Shakka hide among the hostages. As they board the bus, DaSilva plays a hidden recording of a Hartman lecture denouncing Shakka. Shakka, enraged, breaks away from the hostages and Fox shoots her with a sniper rifle. Wulfgar escapes by driving the bus off a ramp into the East River, but after searching the area, the police cannot find him.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: At Wulfgar's safe-house, ATAC finds detailed information on the individual team members and Irene. Wulfgar breaks into Irene's home, tracking her into the kitchen as she does dishes. As he sneaks up behind to kill her, "Irene" suddenly turns to face Wulfgar, revealing DaSilva in disguise. As DaSilva aims his revolver at Wulfgar, Wulfgar lunges at him; DaSilva fires twice at the terrorist, sending his body crashing into the street. DaSilva walks out of the house and sits beside Wulfgar's lifeless body on the front steps of Irene's house.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The story was originally planned as "The French Connection III" by screenwriter David Shaber at Twentieth Century Fox, with Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle teamed up with a wisecracking cop (possibly played by Richard Pryor). When Hackman was reluctant to make a third film as Doyle, the idea was scrapped; Universal acquired the rights to the storyline, which Shaber reworked into "Nighthawks".


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The film had two working titles: "Attack" and "Hawks", and pre-production began in 1979. Principal photography began January 1980 (when the final draft of the script was completed), and production ended in April 1980. Because of problems with Stallone's and the studio's interference in post-production, the film was heavily re-edited and was released a year after it was finished.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The original director was Gary Nelson—who had directed the Disney films "Freaky Friday" (1976) and "The Black Hole" (1979)—but he was dismissed from the project after a week of production and was not credited. His replacement, Bruce Malmuth, had only one previous film to his credit: a segment of the 1975 portmanteau comedy, "Fore Play". Malmuth, en route from Los Angeles to New York City, was unable to make the first day of shooting after Nelson's removal and Stallone shot a scene for one day (the chase in the subway). According to the Directors Guild of America, "Anyone signed to work on a movie before the director was engaged cannot replace a fired director, except in an emergency"; arbitration resulted in a fine. In preparation for their roles as New York City police officers, Billy Dee Williams and Sylvester Stallone spent several weeks working at night with the New York Street Crimes Unit.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: "Nighthawks" marked the American debut of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. To accept the role of Wulfgar, Hauer turned down a better-paying role in "Sphinx", a 1981 adventure film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. His mother and his best friend died during the film's production, and he returned to the Netherlands for their funerals.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The first scene which Hauer filmed was his death scene, in which he was injured twice. A squib meant to simulate a gunshot exploded on the wrong side, severely burning him; a cable which yanked him (simulating the force of being shot) was pulled too hard, straining his back. Hauer later learned that the cable was pulled forcefully according to Stallone's order, and their relationship was then marked by disagreements. Although stories about their on-set arguments are still told by fans of the film and the actors, Hauer has said in interviews that he did not take the disagreements personally and the greatest problem during filming was the film's difficulty.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: In a 1993 interview Stallone praised Hauer's performance. It was a little bit ahead of its time in that I was dealing with urban terrorism. Now, with the World Trade Center [the 1993 World Trade Center bombing], it's happening. At the time, people couldn't relate to it, and the studio [Universal] didn't believe in it. Rutger Hauer's performance held it together — he was an excellent villain.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: According to Hauer, "Nighthawks" was a missed opportunity and the issue of international terrorism could have been handled more accurately: "We had only to play tags – the written story was much more dangerous".


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The subway train used in the chase sequence was retired IND equipment which was preserved as a museum train. Car number 1802 (the last prewar New York City Subway car built) is owned by Railway Preservation Corporation and remains in New York City, where it operates several times a year on museum fan trips with other preserved cars. Number 1802 has since been scrapped. The IND Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn was used as the 57th and 42nd Street stations; a Hoyt-Schermerhorn sign is briefly visible when Stallone tries to pry the doors open as the train pulls out of the station. The train ran on an unused outer track leading from the Court Street station, now the New York Transit Museum.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The London department store blown up at the beginning of the film was Arding & Hobbs in Clapham Junction, which belonged to the Allders group at the time. The store is now owned by Debenhams, and during the 2011 England riots its windows were again smashed.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: "Nighthawks" stunt coordinator was Dar Robinson. Stallone insisted on performing his own stunts; according to actor Nigel Davenport in an interview for the BBC's "Wogan", Stallone performed the scene in which he was winched up to the Roosevelt Island Tramway without a double. About the film's stunts, Stallone posted on the Ain't It Cool News website:


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The stunts in the film were pretty extraordinary because they were invented along the way. Running through the tunnels of an un-built subway station was very dangerous, but exciting and we were only given one hour to do it. So that made for an interesting evening. Hanging from the cable car was probably one of the more dangerous stunts I was asked to perform because it was untested and I was asked to hold a folding Gerber knife in my left hand so if the cable were to snap, and I survived the 230 foot fall into the East River with its ice cold 8 mile an hour current, I could cut myself free from the harness because the cable when stretched out weighed more than 300 lbs. I tell you this because it's so stupid to believe that I would survive hitting the water so to go beyond that is absurd. So I actually thought the smart move would be to commit hari-kari on the way down and let the cards fold as they may. P.S. Several years later this cable did snap while testing it on a 100lb bag of sand.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: In a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert, Stallone mentioned problems with stunts he wanted to perform himself in "Nighthawks". In the scene where he jumps onto a moving train and kicks out the wire-reinforced window, the window broke easily and knocked him off balance. Stallone has had a lifelong fear of heights and said about the helicopter stunt, "I've never been so scared in my life". According to the actor, he spent 15 weeks in near-total seclusion in his hotel room between scenes and it was the most stressful time of his life.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Before its theatrical release, "Nighthawks" was edited for violence by Universal Studios and the MPAA. Among the scenes cut was a longer disco shootout, and Wulfgar's death scene was heavily edited.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Stallone also had a hand in re-editing the film. According to Frank Sanello's book, "Stallone: A Rocky Life", two versions of "Nighthawks" were shown to test audiences: one emphasizing Stallone's character and the other emphasizing Hauer's. Although the version emphasizing Hauer was better received by audiences, Stallone removed some of Hauer's scenes from the film's final version.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: Stallone posted on the Ain't It Cool News website that "Nighthawks" "was a very difficult film to make namely because no one believed that urban terrorism would ever happen in New York, and thus felt that the story was far fetched. "Nighthawks" was an even better film before the studio lost faith in it and cut it to pieces. What was in the missing scenes was extraordinary acting by Rutger Hauer, Lindsay Wagner, and the finale was a blood fest that rivaled the finale of "Taxi Driver". But it was a blood fest with a purpose".


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: In 2021 interview for Collider while he was promoting his new director's cut of "Rocky IV" (1985), Stallone said how some of his other films he would have loved to re-edit back to their original versions were "Rocky V" (1990), "Paradise Alley" (1978), and "Nighthawks". He also praised original cut of "Nighthawks" as superior to final theatrical version.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: He was really incredible. That film – I mean, history has shown that he's so talented in so many different ways. He had made "Rocky" obviously before that [directing "Rocky II" in 1979]. But, it was just incredible. They had some difficulties. Whatever they were, I wasn't privy to the inside information about it. We started with one director, and all of the sudden there was some problems, and Sylvester ended up having to take over the film and he ended up directing it. So just spontaneously, he just jumped into that role, and after [that] directed [it]. And, it was incredible watching him and his multi-talented self whip that film into shape. It was quite educational in some ways. But, just kind of awe inspiring watching him work on so many levels at one time. That's not easy. Not many actors can do that.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The film recovered its $5-million budget worldwide, grossing $14.9 million in North America and $5 million abroad.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: In her review for "The New York Times", Janet Maslin praised Hauer's performance: "Mr. Hauer's terrorist, in particular, is a sharply drawn character who acts as a driving force within the movie's scheme. Sadism and bloodlessness are his only identifiable characteristics, and yet he behaves memorably wherever he goes". "Time" magazine's Richard Schickel sharply criticized the film: ""Nighthawks" is so moronically written and directed, so entirely without wit or novelty, that there is plenty of time to wonder about its many missing explanations". In "The Globe and Mail", Jay Scott wrote that the film "has a dirty job to do and does it. That is not an endorsement. Thumbscrews and cattle prods are real good at what they do, too". According to "Newsweek" Jack Kroll, "This is one of those films that isn't a film but some repulsively complicated business deal". In "The Washington Post", Gary Arnold described the film as "an aggressively shallow police thriller pitting New York undercover cops against international terrorists, suggests what "The Day of the Jackal" might have looked like if filmed by the producers of "Baretta". In order to facilitate a grandstanding, harebrained heroic role assigned to Sylvester Stallone, the filmmakers brush off every opportunity for intelligent dramatization and authentic suspense that the plot would seem to possess".


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: The film has a 71% approval rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews.


title: Nighthawks (1981 film)

text: In July 2019, it was announced that a remake was in development from Balboa Productions. By May 2020, Sylvester Stallone announced that a reboot television series is currently in development. The project will be a joint-venture production between Universal Television and Balboa Productions, and will be released as a Peacock exclusive television series.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Mahindra Scorpio is a mid-size SUV manufactured by the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra since 2002. It was Mahindra's first model to be built for the global market.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Scorpio was conceptualized and designed by the in-house integrated design and manufacturing team of Mahindra & Mahindra. The car has been the recipient of three Indian awards, including the "Car of the Year" award from "Business Standard Motoring" as well as the "Best SUV of the Year" and the "Best Car of the Year" awards, both from BBC World's "Wheels".


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: Prior to the mid-1990s, Mahindra & Mahindra was an automobile assembly company. The company manufactured Willys Jeeps and its minor modified versions, with modifications carried out in India. In 1996, the company planned to enter the SUV segment with a new product that could compete globally. Since M&M did not have the technical knowhow to handle such an ambitious product, they devised an entirely new concept among Indian auto companies. Roping in new executives who had worked in the auto industry in western countries, such as Pawan Goenka and Alan Durante.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The new Mahindra Scorpio SUV had all of its major systems designed directly by suppliers, with the only inputs from Mahindra being design, performance specifications and program cost. The design and engineering of the systems were carried out by suppliers, as well as testing, validation, and materials selection. Sourcing and engineering locations were also chosen by suppliers. The parts were later assembled in a Mahindra plant under the Mahindra badge, being a well-known brand in India. Using this method, the company was able to build from scratch a new vehicle with virtually 100 percent supplier involvement from concept to reality, at a cost of Rs 600 crore ($120 million), including improvements to the plant. The project took five years to move from concept to final product. The cost was estimated in 2002 to be Rs 550 crore.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The mHawk diesel engine is a VTG-turbocharged and intercooled four-cylinder that displaces 2.2-litres. It has a 85 mm × 96 mm (3.35 in x 3.78 in) cylinder bore and piston stroke. The engine delivers a power of and produces of torque. A Bosch common-rail direct-injection system with solenoid injectors is used. The mHawk is equipped with chain-driven overhead camshafts and hydraulic lash adjusters; its compression is ε=16.5…18.5, depending on the model.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Mahindra Scorpio was first launched in India on 20 June 2002. Soon after its success, the Mahindra Scorpio was later received a minor update to include plush seats, rear center armrest, dual-tone exterior color, and various minor changes.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The vehicle was sold in Europe as the Mahindra Goa with first sales in Italy in 2003. In 2006, Mahindra announced that Scorpios sold in Russia will be made as kits with a joint venture partner.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: In April 2006, Mahindra launched the first facelift of the Scorpio, marketed as the All-New Scorpio. At the Auto Expo 2006 in Delhi, Mahindra also showcased their future plans on the Scorpio model by showcasing a hybrid Scorpio with a CRDe engine and a Scorpio based on a pickup truck. The hybrid, the first such vehicle developed in India, was developed by Arun Juara, a former employee of Ford. His senior, Pawan Goenka, a former engineer at GM, heads Mahindra's automotive division and oversees the Scorpio project. A pickup truck version of the Scorpio was launched in India in June 2007, known as the Scorpio Getaway. On 21 September 2008, the Scorpio was updated with a 6-speed automatic transmission.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The second facelift of the Mahindra Scorpio was largely cosmetic, with key changes including the headlight housings, bonnet and bumper designs. There were also minor increases in power and torque.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: On 14 April 2009, Mahindra revealed a concept of a diesel-electric hybrid version of their Scorpio SUV at the 2008 SAE World Congress.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Mahindra Scorpio Getaway was launched in Australia in mid-2009, marketed there as the Mahindra Pik-Up. It received additional safety features compared to the Indian model, such as ABS brakes and airbags in an attempt to raise its rating to a minimum of 3 stars from the current 2 star ANCAP rating. The 2012 model scored 6.6 points out of a possible 16, giving it a 3-star ANCAP rating.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Mahindra Scorpio received its facelift on 25 September 2014, featuring a redesigned front and rear fascias and a new dashboard. A revised automatic variant of the Scorpio was launched in 2015 and automatic transmission was discontinued in 2018 due to the launch of the Scorpio S11.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The current generation Scorpio will continue at the name of "Scorpio Classic" in two variants which is S and S11. Mahindra also launched the Scorpio Classic in India on 19th August 2022. The new Mahindra Twin Peaks logo, reserved for Sport Utility Vehicles, is used, thereby replacing the old logo.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The Scorpio for India with no airbags and no ABS received 0 stars for adult occupants and 2 stars for toddlers from Global NCAP in 2016 (similar to Latin NCAP 2013).


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The next generation of the Scorpio was introduced in 27 June 2022 by Mahindra & Mahindra. It carries an "N" badge and is named Scorpio-N.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: There is a complete overhaul in design, and the size of the new SUV is larger than its previous avatar. The petrol motor has two variants 2.2 liters naturally aspirated and 2.0-liter turbocharged. The diesel powertrain comes in two options one churning out power and torque and another power and torque. The petrol powertrain will come in one option with a power and torque. The SUV is also equipped with a shift on-fly 4-wheel drive system.


title: Mahindra Scorpio

text: The cosmetics changes consists of DRL placed with the fog lamp instead of headlights. The Scorpio-N is offered in 6 and 7-seat layouts. It will have an 8-inch infotainment system powered by Sony audio with dual-zone climate control, 4xplor-4x4 and a electric sunroof.


title: Tiffany Espensen

text: Tiffany Espensen (born February 10, 1999) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, before becoming known for her teenaged roles, such as Piper in the 2011 Nickelodeon series "Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures" and Belinda in the 2014 Disney XD series "Kirby Buckets". Espensen has also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film "" (2017).


title: Tiffany Espensen

text: Espensen was born on February 10, 1999, in China, and was adopted by American parents, Robin and Dan Espensen. She has an older brother named Erik. Espensen attended Liberty University majoring in political science and religion. In November 2021, she completed her Masters Degree in Christian Ministries at Grand Canyon University.


title: Tiffany Espensen

text: Espensen began her career as a child actress making guest appearances on television series such as "Hannah Montana", "True Jackson, VP" and "Zeke and Luther". In 2011, she landed a main role on the Nickelodeon series, "Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures" (2011–2013), on which she played Piper, the little sister of Ashley Argota's character. Espensen followed this up in 2014 with a co-starring role on the Disney XD series "Kirby Buckets". In 2016 she was added to the cast of the 2017 feature film "", playing the role of Cindy, a role she reprised in the 2018 film "".


title: Tiffany Espensen

text: Espensen started dating country singer and "Bringing Up Bates" star Lawson Bates, in February 2021. In October that year, Bates and Espensen were engaged at the Tenuta Larnianone in Siena, Italy. They married on May 12, 2022 in San Diego.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: Trust is an American drama television series created by Simon Beaufoy that premiered on March 25, 2018 on FX. The 10-episode first season, written by Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle and others, is set in 1973 and recounts the abduction of John Paul Getty III, then-heir to Getty Oil, while he was in Italy.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Dickinson, Esper, Fraser, Sutherland and Swank) and the casting of native Italian actors to portray Italian characters.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: "Trust" follows "the trials and triumphs of one of America's wealthiest and unhappiest families, the Gettys. Told over multiple installments... the series begins in 1973 with the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, an heir to the Getty oil fortune, by the Italian Mafia in Rome."


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: On March 9, 2016, it was announced that FX had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series had been developed at FX due to a "first look" deal between Danny Boyle and the network. Boyle is expected to executive produce the series alongside Simon Beaufoy and Christian Colson. Beaufoy is also expected to write the series and Boyle is expected to direct. Production companies involved with the series include FX Productions, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films, and Snicket Films Limited. On January 5, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 25, 2018.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: In April 2017, it was announced that Donald Sutherland and Hilary Swank had joined the main cast in the roles of J. Paul Getty and Gail Getty, respectively. On May 15, 2017, it was reported that Harris Dickinson had been cast in the starring role of J. Paul Getty III. In June 2017, Brendan Fraser and Michael Esper joined the production as a series regulars in the roles of James Fletcher Chace and John Paul Getty II, respectively. Additionally, it was announced that Veronica Echegui had been cast in a recurring role. On July 14, 2017, it was announced that Hannah New had joined the series in a recurring capacity.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: On March 16, 2018, it was reported that Ariadne Getty, John Paul Getty III's sister, was considering legal action against FX and the producers of the series. Her attorney Martin Singer released a statement calling the series a "wildly sensationalized false portrayal" of the Getty family and that "It is ironic that you have titled your television series "Trust". More fitting titles would be "Lies" or "Mistrust", since the defamatory story it tells about the Gettys colluding in the kidnapping is false and misleading." In the statement, Singer went on to explain how his client objects to the alleged portrayal of the family as having played a role in the kidnapping themselves and that he considers it to be defamatory to falsely accuse someone of a crime.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: Simon Beaufoy has stated that his decision to depict Getty as complicit in his own kidnapping was justified by his research into the matter, though none of the written biographies explicitly reach that conclusion. He stated that while reading Charles Fox's 2013 biography of Paul III, "Uncommon Youth", "It became clear, reading in between the lines... that he actually kidnapped himself..." According to his theory, the plot then spiraled out of Paul's control when his grandfather refused to pay, causing several of his captors to sell their interest to a syndicate of more ruthless Mafiosi.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: On January 5, 2018, the series' producers appeared at the annual Television Critics Association's winter press tour during a panel discussion of the show. Simon Beaufoy spoke about the tentative plans for a potential second season, saying, "The idea is to go back to the 1930s to discover how John Paul Getty I became this extraordinary person with this huge hole in his soul." He went on to add that FX was pleased with how the first season had turned out and that he would be interested in returning for subsequent seasons.


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: The series received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a "Certified Fresh" 78% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10, based on 60 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Donald Sutherland delivers a powerful turn as the titular Getty in "Trust", yet another telling of the affluent family's saga." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 67 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Trust (American TV series)

text: Matt Zoller Seitz, reviewing for the pop-culture website Vulture, called the show a "decadent true-crime with an acidic sense of humor" that "alternates satire, drama, kookiness, and shocking violence." "USA Today" complimented the quality of the casting, noting that "Sutherland is predictably solid, but Fraser is the surprise, in what's perhaps his big comeback vehicle." It was also described as "zippy and fast-paced," with a "heightened and stylish feeling." Brendan Fraser's performance as James Fletcher Chace has also received praise from critics; considering his long hiatus from film acting and retreat from celebrity, his role was welcomed as a successful comeback, with "TV Guide" humorously declaring it the start of a "Brenaissance".


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader definition takes into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system-to-system performance.


title: Interoperability

text: Types of interoperability include syntactic interoperability, where two systems can communicate with each other, and cross-domain interoperability, where multiple organizations work together and exchange information.


title: Interoperability

text: If two or more systems use common data formats and communication protocols and are capable of communicating with each other, they exhibit "syntactic interoperability". XML and SQL are examples of common data formats and protocols. Lower-level data formats also contribute to syntactic interoperability, ensuring that alphabetical characters are stored in the same ASCII or a Unicode format in all the communicating systems.


title: Interoperability

text: Beyond the ability of two or more computer systems to exchange information, semantic interoperability is the ability to automatically interpret the information exchanged meaningfully and accurately in order to produce useful results as defined by the end users of both systems. To achieve semantic interoperability, both sides must refer to a common information exchange reference model. The content of the information exchange requests are unambiguously defined: what is sent is the same as what is understood.


title: Interoperability

text: Cross-domain interoperability involves multiple social, organizational, political, legal entities working together for a common interest or information exchange.


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability implies exchanges between a range of products, or similar products from several different vendors, or even between past and future revisions of the same product. Interoperability may be developed "post-facto", as a special measure between two products, while excluding the rest, by using open standards. When a vendor is forced to adapt its system to a dominant system that is not based on Open standards, it is compatibility, not interoperability.


title: Interoperability

text: Open standards rely on a broadly consultative and inclusive group including representatives from vendors, academics and others holding a stake in the development that discusses and debate the technical and economic merits, demerits and feasibility of a proposed common protocol. After the doubts and reservations of all members are addressed, the resulting common document is endorsed as a "common standard". This document may be subsequently released to the public, and henceforth becomes an "open standard". It is usually published and is available freely or at a nominal cost to any and all comers, with "no further encumbrances". Various vendors and individuals (even those who were not part of the original group) can use the standards document to make products that implement the common protocol defined in the standard and are thus "interoperable by design", with no specific liability or advantage for customers for choosing one product over another on the basis of standardized features. The vendors' products compete on the quality of their implementation, user interface, ease of use, performance, price, and a host of other factors, while keeping the customer's data intact and transferable even if he chooses to switch to another competing product for business reasons.


title: Interoperability

text: "Post facto" interoperability may be the result of the absolute market dominance of a particular product in contravention of any applicable standards, or if any effective standards were not present at the time of that product's introduction. The vendor behind that product can then choose to "ignore" any forthcoming standards and not co-operate in any standardization process at all, using its near-monopoly to insist that its product sets the "de facto" standard by its very market dominance. This is not a problem if the product's implementation is open "and" minimally encumbered, but it may well be both closed and heavily encumbered (e.g. by patent claims). Because of the network effect, achieving interoperability with such a product is both critical for any other vendor if it wishes to remain relevant in the market, and difficult to accomplish because of lack of cooperation on equal terms with the original vendor, who may well see the new vendor as a potential competitor and threat. The newer implementations often rely on clean-room reverse engineering in the absence of technical data to achieve interoperability. The original vendors may provide such technical data to others, often in the name of "encouraging competition", but such data is invariably encumbered, and may be of limited use. Availability of such data is "not" equivalent to an open standard, because:


title: Interoperability

text: Speaking from an e-government perspective, interoperability refers to the collaboration ability of cross-border services for citizens, businesses and public administrations. Exchanging data can be a challenge due to language barriers, different specifications of formats, varieties of categorizations and other hindrances.


title: Interoperability

text: If data is interpreted differently, collaboration is limited, takes longer and is inefficient. For instance, if a citizen of country A wants to purchase land in country B, the person will be asked to submit the proper address data. Address data in both countries include full name details, street name and number as well as a postal code. The order of the address details might vary. In the same language, it is not an obstacle to order the provided address data; but across language barriers, it becomes difficult. If the language uses a different writing system it is almost impossible if no translation tools are available.


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability is used by researchers in the context of urban flood risk management.  Cities and urban areas worldwide are expanding, which creates complex spaces with many interactions between the environment, infrastructure and people.  To address this complexity and manage water in urban areas appropriately, a system of systems approach to water and flood control is necessary. In this context, interoperability is important to facilitate system-of-systems thinking, and is defined as: "the ability of any water management system to redirect water and make use of other system(s) to maintain or enhance its performance function during water exceedance events." By assessing the complex properties of urban infrastructure systems, particularly the interoperability between the drainage systems and other urban systems (e.g. infrastructure such as transport), it could be possible to expand the capacity of the overall system to manage flood water towards achieving improved urban flood resilience.


title: Interoperability

text: "Force interoperability" is defined in NATO as the ability of the forces of two or more nations to train, exercise and operate effectively together in the execution of assigned missions and tasks. Additionally NATO defines interoperability more generally as the ability to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve Allied tactical, operational and strategic objectives.


title: Interoperability

text: At the strategic level, interoperability is an enabler for coalition building. It facilitates meaningful contributions by coalition partners. At this level, interoperability issues center on harmonizing world views, strategies, doctrines, and force structures. Interoperability is an element of coalition willingness to work together over the long term to achieve and maintain shared interests against common threats. Interoperability at the operational and tactical levels is where strategic interoperability and technological interoperability come together to help allies shape the environment, manage crises, and win wars. The benefits of interoperability at the operational and tactical levels generally derive from the interchangeability of force elements and units. "Technological interoperability" reflects the interfaces between organizations and systems. It focuses on communications and computers but also involves the technical capabilities of systems and the resulting mission compatibility between the systems and data of coalition partners. At the technological level, the benefits of interoperability come primarily from their impacts at the operational and tactical levels in terms of enhancing flexibility.


title: Interoperability

text: Because first responders need to be able to communicate during wide-scale emergencies, interoperability is an important issue for law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency medical services, and other public health and safety departments. It has been a major area of investment and research over the last 12 years. Widely disparate and incompatible hardware impedes the exchange of information between agencies. Agencies' information systems such as computer-aided dispatch systems and records management systems functioned largely in isolation, in so-called "information islands". Agencies tried to bridge this isolation with inefficient, stop-gap methods while large agencies began implementing limited interoperable systems. These approaches were inadequate and, in the US, the lack of interoperability in the public safety realm become evident during the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center structures. Further evidence of a lack of interoperability surfaced when agencies tackled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.


title: Interoperability

text: In contrast to the overall national picture, some states, including Utah, have already made great strides forward. The Utah Highway Patrol and other departments in Utah have created a statewide data sharing network.


title: Interoperability

text: The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the leading states in the United States in improving interoperability. The Interoperability Coordinator leverages a regional structure to better allocate grant funding around the Commonwealth so that all areas have an opportunity to improve communications interoperability. Virginia's strategic plan for communications is updated yearly to include new initiatives for the Commonwealth – all projects and efforts are tied to this plan, which is aligned with the National Emergency Communications Plan, authored by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Communications.


title: Interoperability

text: The State of Washington seeks to enhance interoperability statewide. The State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), established by the legislature in 2003, works to assist emergency responder agencies (police, fire, sheriff, medical, hazmat, etc.) at all levels of government (city, county, state, tribal, federal) to define interoperability for their local region.


title: Interoperability

text: Washington recognizes that collaborating on system design and development for wireless radio systems enables emergency responder agencies to efficiently provide additional services, increase interoperability, and reduce long-term costs. This work saves the lives of emergency personnel and the citizens they serve.


title: Interoperability

text: The U.S. government is making an effort to overcome the nation's lack of public safety interoperability. The Department of Homeland Security's Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) is pursuing the SAFECOM and CADIP and Project 25 programs, which are designed to help agencies as they integrate their CAD and other IT systems.


title: Interoperability

text: The OIC launched CADIP in August 2007. This project will partner the OIC with agencies in several locations, including Silicon Valley. This program will use case studies to identify the best practices and challenges associated with linking CAD systems across jurisdictional boundaries. These lessons will create the tools and resources public safety agencies can use to build interoperable CAD systems and communicate across local, state, and federal boundaries.


title: Interoperability

text: Governance entities can increase interoperability through their legislative and executive powers. For instance, in 2021 the European Commission, after commissioning two impact assessment studies and a technology analysis study, proposed the implementation of a standardization – for iterations of USB-C – of phone charger products, which may increase interoperability along with convergence and convenience for consumers while decreasing resource-needs, redundancy and electronic waste.


title: Interoperability

text: The desktop interoperability (also known as interop) is a sub-section of the software interoperability. In the early days, the focus of ‘interop’ was to integrate web-applications with other web-applications. Over time, open-system ‘containers’ were developed to create a virtual desktop environment in which these applications could be registered and then communicate with each other using simple pub/sub patterns. Rudimentary UI capabilities were also supported allowing windows to be grouped with other windows. Today, the desktop interoperability has evolved into full-service interop platforms which include container support, basic exchange between web and web, but also native support for other application types and advanced window management. The very latest interop platforms also include application services such as universal search, notifications, user permissions and preferences, 3rd party application connectors and language adapters for in-house applications.


title: Interoperability

text: Search interoperability refers to the ability of two or more information collections to be searched by a single query.


title: Interoperability

text: Specifically related to web-based search, the challenge of interoperability stems from the fact designers of web resources typically have little or no need to concern themselves with exchanging information with other web resources. Federated Search technology, which does not place format requirements on the data owner, has emerged as one solution to search interoperability challenges. In addition, standards, such as OAI-PMH, RDF, and SPARQL, have emerged recently that also help address the issue of search interoperability related to web resources. Such standards also address broader topics of interoperability, such as allowing data mining.


title: Interoperability

text: With respect to software, the term "interoperability" is used to describe the capability of different programs to exchange data via a common set of exchange formats, to read and write the same file formats, and to use the same protocols. (The ability to execute the same binary code on different processor platforms is 'not' contemplated by the definition of interoperability.) The lack of interoperability can be a consequence of a lack of attention to standardization during the design of a program. Indeed, interoperability is not taken for granted in the non-standards-based portion of the computing world.


title: Interoperability

text: According to ISO/IEC 2382-01, "Information Technology Vocabulary, Fundamental Terms", interoperability is defined as follows: "The capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units".


title: Interoperability

text: Note that the definition is somewhat ambiguous because the "user" of a program can be another program and, if the latter is a portion of the set of program that is required to be interoperable, it might well be that it does need to have knowledge of the characteristics of other units.


title: Interoperability

text: This definition focuses on the technical side of interoperability, while it has also been pointed out that interoperability is often more of an organizational issue: often interoperability has a significant impact on the organizations concerned, raising issues of ownership (do people want to share their data? or are they dealing with information silos?), labor relations (are people prepared to undergo training?) and usability. In this context, a more apt definition is captured in the term "business process interoperability".


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability can have important economic consequences; for example, research has estimated the cost of inadequate interoperability in the U.S. capital facilities industry to be $15.8 billion a year. If competitors' products are not interoperable (due to causes such as patents, trade secrets or coordination failures), the result may well be monopoly or market failure. For this reason, it may be prudent for user communities or governments to take steps to encourage interoperability in various situations. At least 30 international bodies and countries have implemented eGovernment-based interoperability framework initiatives called e-GIF while in the United States there is the NIEM initiative. Standards Defining Organizations (SDOs) provide open public software specifications to facilitate interoperability; examples include the Oasis-Open organization and buildingSMART (formerly the International Alliance for Interoperability). As far as user communities, Neutral Third Party is creating standards for business process interoperability. Another example of a neutral party is the RFC documents from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).


title: Interoperability

text: The OSLC (Open Service for Lifecycle Collaboration) community is working on finding a common standard in order that software tools can share and exchange data e.g. bugs, tasks, requirements etc. The final goal is to agree on an open standard for interoperability of open source ALM tools.


title: Interoperability

text: Java is a great example of an interoperable programming language that allows for programs to be written once and run anywhere with a Java Virtual Machine. One writing a program in Java, so long as it does not use system-specific functionality, will maintain interoperability with all machines that have a Java Virtual Machine. There are many implementations of the Java Virtual Machine, such as Oracle, IBM, Android, etc... If a Java Virtual Machine is created to specification, applications will maintain compatibility because while the implementation is different, the underlying language interfaces are the same.


title: Interoperability

text: Each of these has an important role in reducing variability in intercommunication software and enhancing a common understanding of the end goal to be achieved.


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability tends to be regarded as an issue for experts and its implications for daily living are sometimes underrated. The European Union Microsoft competition case shows how interoperability concerns important questions of power relationships. In 2004, the European Commission found that Microsoft had abused its market power by deliberately restricting interoperability between Windows work group servers and non-Microsoft work group servers. By doing so, Microsoft was able to protect its dominant market position for work group server operating systems, the heart of corporate IT networks. Microsoft was ordered to disclose complete and accurate interface documentation, which will enable rival vendors to compete on an equal footing ("the interoperability remedy"). As of June 2005, the Commission is market testing a new proposal by Microsoft to do this, having rejected previous proposals as insufficient.


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability has also surfaced in the software patent debate in the European Parliament (June–July 2005). Critics claim that because patents on techniques required for interoperability are kept under RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing) conditions, customers will have to pay license fees twice: once for the product and, in the appropriate case, once for the patent-protected program the product uses.


title: Interoperability

text: Interoperability has become a common challenge within the manufacturing field in recent years particularly due to legacy systems, and the integration of manufacturing processes under the directive of promoting Industry 4.0. Interoperability has become a cornerstone of manufacturing policy and directives alongside autonomy and sustainability which can be identified within the German Federal policy of 2030 Vision for Industrie 4.0. The current pressing challenge for interoperability is closely linked to that of standardization and the implementation of best practices, which have prevented the driving of I4.0 to link manufacturing throughout the supply chain. Research into the current challenges have indicated that there is a gap within the IT and application landscapes of manufacturing enterprises, which present challenges for the linking of systems and flow of data.


title: Interoperability

text: New technology is being introduced in hospitals and labs at an ever-increasing rate. The need for "plug-and-play" interoperability – the ability to take a medical device out of its box and easily make it work with one's other devices – has attracted great attention from both healthcare providers and industry.


title: Interoperability

text: Increasingly, medical devices like incubators and imaging systems feature software that integrates at the point of care and with electronic systems, such as electronic medical records. At the 2016 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) meeting, experts in the field like Angela N. Johnson with GE Healthcare and representative of the United States Food and Drug Administration provided practical seminars in how companies developing new medical devices, and hospitals installing them, can work more effectively to align interoperable software systems.


title: Interoperability

text: Railways have greater or lesser interoperability depending on conforming to standards of gauge, couplings, brakes, signalling, communications, loading gauge, structure gauge, and operating rules, to mention a few parameters. For passenger rail service, different railway platform height and width clearance standards may also cause interoperability problems.


title: Interoperability

text: North American freight and intercity passenger railroads are highly interoperable, but systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Australia are much less so. The parameter most difficult to overcome (at reasonable cost) is incompatibility of gauge, though variable gauge axle systems are increasingly used.


title: Interoperability

text: Many organizations are dedicated to interoperability. All have in common that they want to push the development of the World Wide Web towards the semantic web. Some concentrate on eGovernment, eBusiness or data exchange in general. Internationally, Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium facilitates global interoperability across borders, language and technical barriers. In Europe, for instance, the European Commission and its IDABC program issue the European Interoperability Framework. IDABC was succeeded by the ISA program. They also initiated the Semantic Interoperability Centre Europe (SEMIC.EU). A European Land Information Service (EULIS) was established in 2006, as a consortium of European National Land Registers. The aim of the service is to establish a single portal through which customers are provided with access to information about individual properties, about land and property registration services, and about the associated legal environment. In the United States, the government's CORE.gov service provides a collaboration environment for component development, sharing, registration, and reuse and related to this is the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) work and component repository. The National Institute of Standards and Technology serves as an agency for measurement standards.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: Crosby was born at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He is the fifth son of actor and singer Bing Crosby, and the eldest from Bing's second marriage to actress Kathryn Crosby. Harry is the elder brother of Mary and Nathaniel Crosby; the younger half-brother of Gary, Dennis, Phillip and Lindsay Crosby; the half-uncle of Denise Crosby; and the nephew of Bob Crosby and Larry Crosby.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: Crosby has been in investment banking since 1985 and is a partner at Cranemere. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1977 to 1980 and received an MBA at Gabelli School of Business of Fordham University.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: In 1993, he became managing director of the Credit Suisse Financial Sponsors Group, where he established key relationships. He subsequently became group head and managing director of North America Financial Sponsors Group at Merrill Lynch, where he managed clients such as KKR, Carlyle and Bain.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: In 2005, he became general partner at Snow Phipps, a private equity firm specializing in leveraged acquisitions, build-ups, recapitalizations, restructuring, and growth equity investments, of small to middle market companies. He was involved in the firm's sale of Excel Mining Systems to Orica for approximately $670mn.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: In 2012, he became general partner at Cranemere, investing in middle market private companies in North America, Germany and Austria. Crosby has also served on a number of other corporate boards, including that of Excel Mining Systems.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: Crosby has served on philanthropic boards, including the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, a charitable organisation that funds education, health, human services, arts, community and environmental projects.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: As a trained musician, he is also an active fundraiser and board member of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a major performing arts institution structured as a non-profit organization and housed at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, New York. He has worked alongside the likes of Wynton Marsalis, jazz trumpeter and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.


title: Harry Crosby (businessman)

text: Before his career in banking and private equity, Crosby gained show business experience at an early age by appearing with his father and family on various Christmas television specials from 1965 to 1977 and at the London Palladium in 1976 and 1977. He has appeared in several films and television programs, including "The Hollywood Palace", "Friday the 13th", "Riding for the Pony Express", and "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed".


title: Untouchable Lovers

text: Untouchable Lovers () is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel "Feng Qiu Huang (A Tale of Two Phoenixes)" by Tianyi Youfeng (天衣有风). The series is produced by Yu Zheng and stars Guan Xiaotong and Song Weilong. It aired on Hunan TV from January 14 to April 16, 2018.


title: Untouchable Lovers

text: Tianji Tower, the leading organisation of the pugilistic world is determined to overthrow the tyrannical ruler Liu Ziye. To achieve their mission, Tianji Tower replaces the king's sister Liu Chuyu with their own disciple and Princess-lookalike Zhu Que. Zhu Que meets the Princess' learned companion Rong Zhi, who turns out to be a spy from Northern Wei. Liu Chuyu and Rong Zhi's relationship eventually breaks down over misunderstandings and differing loyalties, and the latter fakes his death in order to regain Chuyu's forgiveness.


title: Spy Hard

text: Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy parody film starring Leslie Nielsen (who also executive produced) and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond and other action films. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic, and it was the first film to be written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who later went on to co-write "Scary Movie" and write and direct parody films such as "Date Movie", "Disaster Movie", and "Meet the Spartans". The film's title is a parody of "Die Hard". The film was directed by Rick Friedberg who produced with Doug Draizin and Jeffrey Konvitz.


title: Spy Hard

text: The film was released by Buena Vista Pictures under its Hollywood Pictures banner on May 24, 1996, receiving negative reviews from critics. While many praised Nielsen's acting and its humor, most found the script, story, and its direction disappointing. The film eventually grossed $26 million against a production budget of $18 million.


title: Spy Hard

text: Secret agent WD-40 Dick Steele has his work cut out for him. Along with the mysterious and lovely Veronique Ukrinsky, Agent 3.14, he must rescue the kidnapped Barbara Dahl and stop the evil genius, a General named Rancor, from seizing control of the entire world.


title: Spy Hard

text: Rancor was wounded in an earlier encounter and no longer has arms. However, he can "arm" himself by attaching robotic limbs with various weapons attached. Steele is approached by an old friend, agent Steven Bishop, who unsuccessfully tries to recruit him out of retirement. However, when a news report Steele is watching reveals that Bishop has been killed, Steele returns to the agency. Steele given his new assignment by The Director, who also is testing out a variety of elaborate disguises. At headquarters, Steele encounters an old agency nemesis, Norm Coleman, and flirts with the Director's adoring secretary, referred to as Miss Cheevus.


title: Spy Hard

text: On the job, Steele is assisted by an agent named Kabul, who gives him rides in a never-ending variety of specially designed cars. They seek help from McLuckey, a blond child left home alone, who is very good at fending off intruders. Steele resists the temptations of a dangerous woman he finds waiting for him in bed. But he does work very closely with Agent 3.14, whose father, Professor Ukrinsky is also being held captive by Rancor.


title: Spy Hard

text: Everything comes to an explosive conclusion at the General's remote fortress, where Steele rescues both Barbara Dahl and Miss Cheevus and launches a literally disarmed Rancor into outer space, saving mankind.


title: Spy Hard

text: "Weird Al" Yankovic sings the title song and directed the title sequence. It is a parody of title sequences from the James Bond films designed by Maurice Binder, specifically 1965's "Thunderball", complete with multiple colored backgrounds, silhouetted figures, women dancing with guns, and "wavy" text. Additionally, an urban legend states that during the recording of the theme to "Thunderball", Tom Jones held the song's final note long enough to pass out. Yankovic holds it so long that his head explodes. Originally, Yankovic had planned to loop the note to the required length, but in the studio, he discovered he was able to hold the note long enough that no looping was required. The sequence was later included on "", although, for legal reasons, all credits and titles had to be taken out, excluding that of the film and of Yankovic himself.


title: Spy Hard

text: The film opened at #3 with $10,448,420 behind ""s opening weekend and "Twister"s third. It eventually grossed $26,960,191 at the box office.


title: Spy Hard

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 7% based on 41 reviews, and an average rating of 3.6/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Leslie Nielsen's comic gifts are undisputed, but "Spy Hard"s lazy script and slapdash direction fail to take advantage of them." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 25 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Spy Hard

text: James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" wrote: "Director Rick Friedberg [...] has crafted a dreadfully unfunny comedy that takes "Naked Gun"-like sketches and rehashes them without a whit of style or energy. ... For movie-after-movie, Leslie Nielsen has milked this same personality, and it's starting to wear "very" thin. As affable as the actor is, there's just nothing left in this caricature. However, while "Spy Hard" might have worked better with, say, Roger Moore in the title role (his 007 was a parody towards the end, anyway), Nielsen's performance is only a small part of a massively-flawed production. "Hard" is the operative word here, because, even at just eighty-one minutes, this movie is unbelievably difficult to sit through."


title: Spy Hard

text: Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" wrote: ""Spy Hard" is never funnier than during its opening credit sequence in which "Weird Al" Yankovic bellows his parody of the brassy theme song from "Goldfinger", while obese cartoon silhouettes swim across the screen. ... Instead of building sustained comic set pieces, it takes a machine-gun approach to humor. Without looking at where it's aiming, it opens fire and sprays comic bullets in all directions, trusting that a few will hit the bull's-eye. A few do, but many more don't. ... Around the halfway point, "Spy Hard" begins to run out of ideas and becomes a series of crude, rambunctious parodies of other films. ... When "Spy Hard" abruptly ends after only 81 minutes, you sense that it has used up every last round of available ammunition. It was simply exhausted and couldn't move another inch."


title: Spy Hard

text: Mick LaSalle of "San Francisco Chronicle" wrote: "It's done in the style of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker "Naked Gun" series, but although the style is there, the jokes aren't. "Spy Hard" relies on silly slapstick, takeoffs of recent films and the shock effect of celebrity cameos. But all that exertion doesn't add up to more than a handful of laughs. ... The story is too weak to work even as a clothesline for gags. "Spy Hard" eschews a coherent story and instead just strings together movie takeoffs. ... Nielsen, with his expert deadpan and sense of comic timing, creates the illusion of humor – for about 15 minutes. Thanks to him, what could have been an unbearable experience becomes merely empty. Still, he can't work miracles, and nothing short of a miracle could have made "Spy Hard" worth seeing."


title: Spy Hard

text: Stephen Hunter of "The Baltimore Sun" gave the film a negative review, writing that the film is "more of a parody of a parody than a parody" and in particular criticizing director Rick Friedberg, asking, "[w]as this poor guy ever funny?"


title: Creatures (company)

text: Ape Inc. was founded in March 1989 with Shigesato Itoi as its chief executive officer (CEO). Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi had wanted to support new talent in game design. Liking Itoi's work, he proposed the idea of the company to Itoi and invested in it. Ape's staff included Tsunekazu Ishihara, who later became the Pokémon Company's CEO, and Ashura Benimaru Itoh, a renowned illustrator. They began working on "Mother", which was released on 27 July 1989. Its music was composed by Hip Tanaka, who later became the second CEO of Creatures. The team went on to develop "Mother 2", which would be known in the Western world as "EarthBound". When development of this game began to falter, Satoru Iwata of HAL Laboratory was brought in to help the project. The game was released in Japan on 27 August 1994. Ape's game development activities ceased in 1995. Ape also produced a line of official guidebooks for Nintendo, in co-operation with Nintendo and Shogakukan. They began with "Encyclopedia Mother" in October 1989, and ended with "Nintendo Official Guidebook—Pocket Monsters: Red, Green, Blue (Complete Compatibility, Revised Edition)" on 10 January 1997. Shogakukan assumed Ape's role and continues to produce Nintendo Official Guidebooks in their stead.


title: Creatures (company)

text: Creatures Inc. was established on 8 November 1995, with Tsunekazu Ishihara as CEO, and consisting of former staff from Ape.


title: Creatures (company)

text: At one point, Creatures had its headquarters on the 7th floor of the in Sudachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo. They later moved to the fifth floor annex of the in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo.


title: Creatures (company)

text: Creatures is also known for developing the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as various Pokémon toys.


title: Creatures (company)

text: On 16 October 2020, Creatures announced the acquisition of Ambrella, the developer of a number of "Pokémon" spin-off games. Creatures acquired all property rights of Ambrella, and Ambrella disbanded, with its employees becoming part of Creatures.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: The Where We Are Tour was the third headlining concert tour by English-Irish boy band One Direction, in support of their third studio album, "Midnight Memories" (2013). It marks the group's first all-stadium tour with an average attendance of 49,848. The tour began on 25 April 2014 in Bogotá, Colombia and concluded on 5 October 2014 in Miami, Florida. Australian pop rock band, 5 Seconds of Summer, served as the opening act for the European and North American dates.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: The tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2014 and the highest-grossing tour of all time by a vocal group. It is One Direction's most attended and highest-grossing tour to date, mobilising 3,439,560 fans and $290,178,452 in revenue.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: On 16 May 2013, the tour was announced by One Direction during a press conference at Wembley Stadium, during which the band revealed their first stadium tour would kickoff in Colombia in April 2014, with dates being announced for South America, UK, and Ireland. At the event, band member Louis Tomlinson described their upcoming album as being "rockier" and "edgier" than the music they have previously released.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: Tickets for 8 shows in the UK and Ireland went on sale on 25 May 2013, with several dates selling out in minutes, leading to extra shows being announced. All tickets from the first show of the tour in Bogotá sold out in one day, nearly a year prior to the concert date. On 19 September, 10 shows for the European leg were announced and additional shows in Dublin, Manchester, and London were added, with tickets going on sale the following week on 28 September.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: During an appearance on "Good Morning America" on 26 November 2013 to promote the release of their third album, the band announced 21 dates for the North American leg of the tour, with tickets going on sale on 7 December.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: In March 2014, the Australian pop rock band, 5 Seconds of Summer, was announced as the opening act for the European and North American dates, having previously opened for One Direction during their Take Me Home Tour the year before. In the midst of their tour, the band performed at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow on 24 May 2014, and flew back to Dublin the same day for their second show at Croke Park that night. They also opened the second night of the iHeartRadio Music Festival on 20 September, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In June 2014, it was reported that One Direction had raised £600,000 for the UK charity Stand Up to Cancer, after donating 50p for each ticket sold from their UK and Ireland tour to the charity.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: The 28 and 29 June 2014 shows at San Siro in Milan, Italy were recorded into a concert film. The film was released on 11 and 12 October 2014 in select theatres worldwide before its home media release. The theatrical version had a runtime of 96 minutes. It was released on DVD in December 2014, and features the entire concert and additional content including backstage footage.


title: Where We Are Tour (One Direction)

text: This set list is representative of the show on 25 April 2014 in Bogotá. It is not representative of all concerts for the duration of the tour.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books "The Water is Wide", "The Lords of Discipline", "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini" were made into films, the last two being nominated for Oscars. He is recognized as a leading figure of late-20th-century Southern literature.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he was the eldest of seven children (five boys and two girls) born to Marine Colonel Donald Conroy, of Chicago, Illinois, and the former Frances "Peggy" Peek of Alabama. His father was a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and Conroy moved often in his youth, attending 11 schools by the time he was 15. He did not have a hometown until his family settled in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he finished high school. During his senior year in high school, he was a protégé of Ann Head who was an influence on his future writing. His alma mater is The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in Charleston, where he graduated from the Corps of Cadets portion as an English major.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy had said his stories were heavily influenced by his military brat upbringing, and in particular, difficulties experienced with his own father, a US Marine Corps pilot, who was physically and emotionally abusive toward his children. The pain of a youth growing up in such a harsh environment is evident in Conroy's novels, which use autobiographical material, particularly "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides". While living in Orlando, Florida, Conroy's fifth-grade basketball team defeated a team of sixth graders, making the sport his prime outlet for bottled-up emotions for more than a dozen years. Conroy also cites his family's frequent military-related moves and growing up immersed in military culture as significant influences in his life (in both positive and negative ways).


title: Pat Conroy

text: A standout athlete, he was recruited to The Citadel to play basketball; his 2002 book "My Losing Season" focused on his experiences playing his senior year, and like "The Lords of Discipline," also served as a retrospective of his cadet years.


title: Pat Conroy

text: As a graduate of The Citadel's Corps of Cadets, his experiences there provided the basis for two of his best-known works, the novel "The Lords of Discipline" and the memoir "My Losing Season". The latter details his senior year on the school's underdog basketball team, which won the longest game in the history of Southern Conference basketball against rival Virginia Military Institute in quadruple overtime in 1967.


title: Pat Conroy

text: His first book, "The Boo", is a collection of anecdotes about cadet life centering on Lt. Colonel Thomas Nugent Courvousie, who had served as Assistant Commandant of Cadets at The Citadel from 1961 to 1968; Courvoisie was the inspiration for the fictional character Colonel Thomas Berrineau, a.k.a. "The Bear", in "The Lords Of Discipline". Conroy began the book in 1968, after learning that Lt. Colonel Courvoisie had been removed from his position as assistant commandant and given a job in the warehouse; he paid to self-publish the book, borrowing the money from a bank.


title: Pat Conroy

text: After graduating from The Citadel, Conroy taught English in Beaufort, South Carolina; while there he met and married Barbara Jones, a young widow of the Vietnam War who was pregnant with her second child. He then accepted a job teaching children in a one-room schoolhouse on remote Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy was fired at the conclusion of his first year on the island for his unconventional teaching practices, including his refusal to use corporal punishment on students, and for his lack of respect for the school's administration. He later wrote "The Water Is Wide" based on his experiences as a teacher. The book won Conroy a humanitarian award from the National Education Association and an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. It was also made into a feature film, "Conrack", starring Jon Voight in 1974. Hallmark produced a television version of the book in 2006.


title: Pat Conroy

text: In 1976, Conroy published his novel, "The Great Santini". The main character of the novel is Marine fighter pilot Colonel "Bull" Meecham, who dominates and terrorizes his family. Bull Meecham also psychologically abuses his teenage son Ben. The character is based on Conroy's father Donald. (According to "My Losing Season", Donald Conroy was even worse than the character depicted in "Santini".)


title: Pat Conroy

text: "The Great Santini" caused friction within the Conroy family, who felt that he had betrayed family secrets by writing about his father. According to Conroy, members of his mother's family would picket his book signings, passing out pamphlets asking people not to buy the novel. The friction contributed to the failure of his first marriage. However, the book also eventually helped repair Conroy's relationship with his father, and they became very close. His father, looking to prove that he was not like the character in the book, changed his behavior drastically.


title: Pat Conroy

text: According to Conroy, his father would often sign copies of his son's novels, "I hope you enjoy my son's latest work of fiction." He would underline the word "fiction" five or six times. "That boy of mine sure has a vivid imagination. Ol' lovable, likable Col. Don Conroy, USMC (Ret.), the Great Santini." The novel was made into a film of the same name in 1979, starring Robert Duvall.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Publication of "The Lords of Discipline" in 1980 upset many of his fellow graduates of The Citadel, who felt that his portrayal of campus life was highly unflattering. The novel was adapted for the screenplay of a 1983 film of the same name, starring David Keith as Will McLean and Robert Prosky as Colonel "Bear" Berrineau. The rift was not healed until 2000, when Conroy was awarded an honorary degree and asked to deliver the commencement address the following year. In 1986, Conroy published "The Prince of Tides" about Tom Wingo, an unemployed South Carolina teacher who goes to New York City to help his sister, Savannah, a poet who has attempted suicide, to come to terms with their past. Again, the novel was made into a film of the same name in 1991.


title: Pat Conroy

text: In 1995, Conroy published "Beach Music", a novel about an American expatriate living in Rome who returns to South Carolina upon news of his mother's terminal illness. The story reveals his attempt to confront personal demons, including the suicide of his wife, the subsequent custody battle with his in-laws over their daughter, and the attempt by a film-making friend to rekindle old friendships which were compromised during the days of the Vietnam War.


title: Pat Conroy

text: In 2002, Pat Conroy published "My Losing Season" where he takes the reader through his last year playing basketball, as point guard and captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. "The Pat Conroy Cookbook", published in 2004, is a collection of favorite recipes accompanied by stories about his life, including many stories of growing up in South Carolina. In 2009, Conroy published "South of Broad", which again uses the familiar backdrop of Charleston following the suicide of newspaperman Leo King's brother, and alternates narratives of a diverse group of friends between 1969 and 1989.


title: Pat Conroy

text: In May 2013, Conroy was named editor-at-large of Story River Books, a newly created fiction division of the University of South Carolina Press. In October 2013, four years after being first publicized, Conroy published a memoir called "The Death of Santini", which recounts the volatile relationship he shared with his father up until his father's death in 1998.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy was a major supporter of the research and writing efforts of journalist Mary Edwards Wertsch in her identification of the hidden subculture of American Military Brats, the children of career military families, who grow up moving constantly, deeply immersed in the military, and often personally affected by war.


title: Pat Conroy

text: In 1991, Wertsch "launched the movement for military brat cultural identity" with her book "Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood inside the Fortress". In researching her book, Wertsch identified common themes from interviews of over 80 offspring of military households, including the special challenges, strengths and also the unique subculture experienced by American "military brats". While this book does not purport to be a scientific study, subsequent research has validated many of her findings.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy contributed a now widely circulated ten-page essay on American military childhood, including his own childhood, to Wertsch's book, which was used as the introduction. It included the following:


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy also authorized the use of his work in the award-winning documentary "" directed by Donna Musil, that endeavors to bring the hidden subculture of military brats into greater public awareness, as well as aiding military brat self-awareness and support.


title: Pat Conroy

text: The documentary ends with a quote of Conroy about the invisibility of the military brat subculture to the wider American society. Conroy wrote, "We spent our entire childhoods in the service of our country, and no one even knew we were there."


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy was married three times. His first marriage was to Barbara (née Bolling) Jones on October 10, 1969, while he was teaching on Daufuskie Island. Jones, who had been Conroy's next door neighbor in Beaufort, South Carolina, had been widowed when her first husband, Joseph Wester Jones III, a fighter pilot stationed in Vietnam, had been shot down and killed. Jones already had one daughter, Jessica, and was pregnant at the time of her husband's death with their second child, Melissa. He adopted both girls after he married their mother, and then they had a daughter of their own, Megan. They divorced in 1977.


title: Pat Conroy

text: Conroy then married Lenore (née Gurewitz) Fleischer in 1981. He became the stepfather to her two children, Gregory and Emily, and the couple also had one daughter, to whom he dedicated his 2010 book "My Reading Life", "This book is dedicated to my lost daughter, Susannah Ansley Conroy. Know this: I love you with my heart and always will. Your return to my life would be one of the happiest moments I could imagine." Conroy and Fleischer divorced on October 26, 1995, Conroy's 50th birthday. Conroy married his third wife, writer Cassandra King, in May 1998.