title: URL shortening

text: A short URL obscures the target address and can be used to redirect to an unexpected site. Examples of this are "rickrolling", and redirecting to shock sites, or to affiliate websites. The short URL can allow blocked URLs to be accessed, bypassing site blocklists; this facilitates redirection of a user to blocked scam pages or pages containing malware or XSS attacks. TinyURL tries to disable spam-related links from redirecting. ZoneAlarm, however, has warned its users: "TinyURL may be unsafe. This website has been known to distribute spyware." TinyURL countered this problem by offering an option to view a link's destination before using a shortened URL. This ability is installed on the browser via the TinyURL website and requires the use of cookies. A destination preview may also be obtained by prefixing the word "preview" to the TinyURL URL; for example, the destination of is revealed by entering . Other URL shortening services provide a similar destination display. Security professionals suggest that users check a short URL's destination before accessing it, following an instance where the shortening service cli.gs was compromised, exposing millions of users to security uncertainties. There are several web applications that can display the destination URL of a shortened URL.


title: URL shortening

text: Some URL shortening services filter their links through bad-site screening services such as Google Safe Browsing. Many sites that accept user-submitted content block links, however, to certain domains in order to cut down on spam, and for this reason, known URL redirection services are often themselves added to spam blocklists.


title: URL shortening

text: Another privacy problem is that many services' shortened URL format is small enough that it is vulnerable to brute-force search. Many people use URL shorteners when they share links to private content, and in fact many web services like Google Maps have offered automatic generation of shortened links for driving directions that reveal personal information like home addresses and sensitive destinations like "clinics for specific diseases (including cancer and mental diseases), addiction treatment centers, abortion providers, correctional and juvenile detention facilities, payday and car-title lenders, gentlemen’s clubs, etc."


title: URL shortening

text: Short URLs, although making it easier to access what might otherwise be a very long URL or user-space on an ISP server, add an additional layer of complexity to the process of retrieving web pages. Every access requires more requests (at least one more DNS lookup, though it may be cached, and one more HTTP/HTTPS request), thereby increasing latency, the time taken to access the page, and also the risk of failure, since the shortening service may become unavailable. Another operational limitation of URL shortening services is that browsers do not resend POST bodies when a redirect is encountered. This can be overcome by making the service a reverse proxy, or by elaborate schemes involving cookies and buffered POST bodies, but such techniques present security and scaling challenges, and are therefore not used on extranets or Internet-scale services.


title: URL shortening

text: Open source and commercial scripts are also available for redirecting and shortening links, usually written in PHP as a web application or a plugin for one of the popular applications such as WordPress. Such scripts avoid many issues with shortening services, keep the domain name as part of the shortened link, and can be made private.


title: Patio

text: A patio (, from ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed structures such as a veranda, which provides protection from sun and rain.


title: Patio

text: Patios are most commonly paved with concrete or stone slabs (also known as paving flags). They can also be created using bricks, block paving, tiles, cobbles, or gravel. Other kinds of patio materials these days include alumawood, aluminum, acrylic, and glass.


title: Patio

text: Patio options include concrete, stamped concrete, and aggregate concrete. Stamped concrete costs more, is known to be slippery, requires being resealed, and dyes typically fade in time. Aggregate concrete uses stones exposed giving its own style.


title: Patio

text: Other common patio features include additional of reinforcement for hot tubs and additional steps from the home.


title: Patio

text: "Patio" is also a general term used for outdoor seating at restaurants, especially in Canadian English. While common in Europe even before 1900, eating outdoors at restaurants in North America was exotic until the 1940s. The Hotel St. Moritz in New York in the 1950s advertised itself as having the first true continental cafe with outdoor seating. The "Toronto Star" welcomed that city's first patio in the 1960s. In the United States, having a warmer and sunnier climate than Northern Europe, outdoor dining grew rapidly in the 1960s and today is a popular dining experience in the warmer parts of the mainland.


title: Matt Roth (actor)

text: Matthew P. Roth (born September 15, 1964) is an American actor. He had a recurring role on "Roseanne" as Jackie's abusive boyfriend, Fisher, from 1992–1993.


title: Matt Roth (actor)

text: Roth began a relationship with his "Roseanne" co-star Laurie Metcalf. They have a son who was born in 1993 and a daughter who was born in 2005 via surrogate. They also adopted a son after fostering him at the age of six in 2006. They eventually married, and have also worked together on occasion, as in the 1994 feature film thriller "Blink", the 1998 drama "Chicago Cab", and "Desperate Housewives". In September 2011, Roth filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. In May 2014, the divorce was finalized.


title: Witchblade

text: Witchblade is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.


title: Witchblade

text: The "Witchblade" comic was adapted into a television series in 2001, as well as an anime, a manga and a novel in 2006. A feature film based on the comic, titled "The Witchblade", was announced for a 2009 release, but was never produced. A second "Witchblade" television series was announced for development in January 2017, but there has been no update since.


title: Witchblade

text: Top Cow relaunched "Witchblade" comic in December 2017 with the creative team of writer Caitlin Kittredge and artist Roberta Ingranata. The series features journalist Alex Underwood as the main character.


title: Witchblade

text: The first of a new "Witchblade" comic series was released in February 2021 featuring new "Witchblade" creative team, writer Marguerite Bennett, artist Ariel Kristantina, colorist Bryan Valenza and letterer Troy Peteri.


title: Witchblade

text: The series follows Sara Pezzini, a NYPD homicide detective who comes into possession of the Witchblade, a supernatural, sentient gauntlet that bonds with a female host and provides her with a variety of powers in order to fight supernatural evil. Sara struggles to hone the powers of the Witchblade and fend off those with a nefarious interest in it, such as entrepreneur Kenneth Irons and his bodyguard Ian Nottingham.


title: Witchblade

text: The Witchblade is a sentient gauntlet, itself the son of The Darkness and Angelus. The Witchblade possesses humans—typically women—as hosts on Earth.


title: Witchblade

text: A New York City detective, Sara first encountered the Witchblade while on a case with her then partner, Michael Yee. After both officers were mortally wounded by criminal Ian Nottingham, the gauntlet suddenly left the possession of his employer, Kenneth Irons, and gave its power to Sara, healing her wounds. When Jackie Estacado, the host of the Darkness, was possessed by its influence, he impregnated a temporarily comatose Sara as part of an effort to sway the Witchblade's balance. However, neither of them became aware of this until later. Eventually, Sara met and relinquished the Witchblade to Danielle Baptiste, to whom the artifact had a strong affinity. Amidst complications during the birth of her daughter, Hope, Sara's life was saved when she received half of the Witchblade from Dani. Sara now possesses the full Witchblade and Dani is now the host for the Angelus.


title: Witchblade

text: Danielle is a young ballet dancer who was born in New Orleans. After moving to New York to pursue her career, she experienced a mysterious dream in which she saw herself inheriting great power by means of a mystical gauntlet. Dani found herself taking a walk and wandering to an antique shop the next day. It was there that she encountered Sara Pezzini, the current host of the Witchblade. Having become pregnant, Sara realized that the time had come for her to relinquish the artifact. Sara relinquished the Witchblade to Dani when she realized that she was meant to become its next host. While exploring her powers, Dani faced and overcame a number of mystical opponents. Eventually, Dani returned half of the Witchblade to Sara in order to save Sara's life following the birth of her child. She currently does not have any portion of the Witchblade as she is the present host to the Angelus.


title: Witchblade

text: An NYPD detective, Sara's partner and boyfriend. Following Hope's birth, he serves as the baby's surrogate father and Sara's confidant in issues involving the Witchblade.


title: Witchblade

text: The owner of an antiques shop, the Curator is a sage-like spectator, occasional informant, and the second primary antagonist of the series. One of Sara and Dani's most trusted confidants, he knows much about the various Artifacts. The Curator later dies, spontaneously exploding after saying "all hope is lost". It was later revealed that the Curator was actually the Survivor, the mysterious mastermind behind all of the recent events in Sara's life. He is the sole survivor of the previous universe in which he was the "Codex", a being meant to ensure its survival in the event of Armageddon. Having failed in his duty and witnessed the destruction of his family, the Survivor has been gradually gathering and manipulating the Artifacts and their bearers throughout history as part of his plan to resurrect his universe.


title: Witchblade

text: The Curator's brother, Tau'ma has sided with the Darkness and can pull Darklings from out of his head to attack or spy on others. He also wields a powerful cane with a gem-encrusted hawk head.


title: Witchblade

text: Sara's daughter with Jackie Estacado. She is neither of the Darkness nor the Angelus, but has unknown powers that are dormant. Hope is the subject of a search by several Artifact bearers following her capture by the Survivor. Hope is the "Codex" for the entire universe, meant to survive and ensure its survival. The Survivor plans to kill Hope and replace her as the Codex in order to guarantee the resurrection of his own universe.


title: Witchblade

text: Sara's sister. She was romantically involved with Jake, but the two broke up when Jake discovered that she was running drugs. Jake later returned and shot Julie, but she survived, leading to her arrest and imprisonment. Julie was later released after serving her sentence and was reunited with Sara. While taking Hope to a fair, Julie was surprised by Aphrodite IV, who killed her after shooting her in the head.


title: Witchblade

text: Formerly a Captain of the British Special Air Service, Ian subsequently joined MI5. He underwent behavioural modifications for the purpose of infiltrating the Yakuza. Afterwards, he forgot his past and became Kenneth Irons' bodyguard. Ian has phenomenal skill with both ancient and modern weapons. Ian kills Sara's partner, Michael Yee. For a time he underwent a great change, allowing him the capability to absorb great quantities of energy and to drain energy from entities, even going so far as to temporarily host both the Witchblade and the Darkness. He also temporarily wielded Excalibur, the Witchblade's twin, but it was revealed that Excalibur was merely a shard of the Witchblade, which quickly reabsorbed it. After he lost Excalibur and was defeated by Sara, Ian was taken to prison, only to be freed later by Aphrodite IV. He then retrieved the Blood Sword from Michael Finnegan, gravely wounding the wielder of the Glacier Stone in the process, and left him in the river to die.


title: Witchblade

text: The first main antagonist of the series, Kenneth Irons is a wealthy entrepreneur who discovered the Witchblade in Greece. Irons' age is unknown. It was eventually revealed that he was a Templar Knight of the Third Crusade and that he once drank from the Holy Grail, granting him a healing factor and immortality, establishing his age as greater than 800 years. However, due to his exposure to the Witchblade during an attempt to host it, Irons does not age at a normal rate; he appears to be no older than 35. In a failed bid to gain control of the Witchblade, Irons lost his hand and sacrificed his wife. Later he was one of two characters left in the Deathpool. As a result, Chief Joe Siry killed Irons for all of the trouble that he had unleashed on Sara. Kenneth is the father of Geraud Irons.


title: Witchblade

text: Sara's former captain when she served at the 18th Precinct. He was the partner of Sara's dead father, Detective Vincent Pezzini.


title: Witchblade

text: An NYPD detective, Jake was Sara's best friend and former partner. He fell in love with Sara, but his feelings were unrequited. A demon came to Earth and entered Jake's body, possessing him while he was wounded defending a weakened Sara. While in a coma he was placed in a hospital. When he woke up later, the god-like demon took full control of his body. The demon was bent on destroying the world to remake it into a hellish kingdom with him as ruler. Sara eventually drove the demon's influence out of Jake's mind, but Jake, still possessed by the demon, committed suicide to ensure that the demon could never control his body again.


title: Witchblade

text: Jackie Estacado is a former mob hitman and later becomes the host for the Darkness. The Darkness is one of the parents of the Witchblade and one of the primordial forces of the Witchblade universe. He is a supporting character in the "Witchblade" series and is the main character in his own spin-off series.


title: Witchblade

text: The Angelus is the light counterpart of the Darkness and one of the parents of the Witchblade. The Angelus possesses many female hosts and is the arch-enemy of the Darkness. The Angelus was the primary antagonist of the "Darkness" series and the third primary antagonist of the "Witchblade" series.


title: Witchblade

text: A British knight who was also one of the Witchblade's hosts and teamed up with Medieval Spawn, with whom she had a relationship.


title: Witchblade

text: Following a pilot film in August 2000, TNT premiered a television series based on the comic book series which ran for two seasons from June 12, 2001 to August 26, 2002. The series was directed by Ralph Hemecker, written by Marc Silvestri and J.D. Zeik, and starred Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini. Although critically acclaimed and popular with audiences, the series was canceled in September 2002. Warner Home Video released "Witchblade: The Complete Series"—a seven-disc collector's set including the original made-for-TV movie, all 23 episodes of the series, and special features—on DVD on July 29, 2008.


title: Witchblade

text: In January 2017, NBC announced to develop a "Witchblade" television series, with Carol Mendelsohn and Caroline Dries serving as executive producers.


title: Witchblade

text: Top Cow and Japanese animation studio Gonzo produced an anime adaptation of "Witchblade", which began broadcast during April 2006 and ran for 24 episodes. Although the anime features a new story with all new characters, it exists in the same continuity as the comic book and manga. The anime focuses on Masane Amaha, who has no recollection of her past beyond six years earlier.


title: Witchblade

text: In August 2004, Top Cow made an agreement with manga publisher Kodansha to produce a manga adaptation of "Witchblade". The subsequent adaptation, , was released in March 2006, written by the anime's main writer Yasuko Kobayashi () and drawn by . The manga features a different plot and characters from the "Witchblade" anime and comic book but is set in the same continuity as both. The manga focuses on Takeru Ibaraki, an average Japanese high school girl raised in a Buddhist convent who experiences recurring nightmares about the Witchblade and eventually becomes its newest bearer. The manga was released in the U.S. by Top Cow and Bandai Entertainment from February 2007 to February 2008.


title: Witchblade

text: is a Japanese novel written by Satoshi Ichikawa () with art and illustrations by Makoto Uno (), who previously worked on the "Witchblade" anime as the lead art and character designer. It was published in August 2006. The protagonist is Yuri Miyazono, a sickly 15-year-old Okinawan girl who bonds with the Witchblade for her own survival. The novel is set the same continuity as the "Witchblade" anime and manga, with Yuri as the immediate successor of Takeru Ibaraki from "Witchblade Takeru" and the immediate predecessor of Masane Amaha from the "Witchblade" anime.


title: Witchblade

text: A feature film adaptation of the comic was announced in 2008 and scheduled for a 2009 release, but was never produced. The film was to have been produced by Platinum Studios, Top Cow Productions, and Arclight Media, with Top Cow's Matt Hawkins & Marc Silvestri, Platinum's Rich Marincic, and Greenberg Group's Randy Greenberg serving as executive producers. Production was planned for September 2008, with filming to be done in Australia. A proposal video game concept announcement but patches in work were scrapped.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. A turn-based tactics was developed for the Game Boy Advance by Griptonite Games. The game was published on all platforms by Electronic Arts, and released worldwide in November 2004.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game is a loose adaptation of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy; "" (2001), "" (2002) and "" (2003). As it is not an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1954 novel "The Lord of the Rings", anything from the novels not specifically mentioned or depicted in the films could not be represented in the game. This is because, at the time, Vivendi Universal Games, in partnership with Tolkien Enterprises, held the rights to the video game adaptations of Tolkien's literary works, whilst Electronic Arts held the rights to the video game adaptations of the New Line Cinema films.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game received mixed to positive reviews. Most reviewers praised the graphics, but many found the storyline and character development weak, and the gameplay somewhat too derivative of "Final Fantasy X".


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: As with many role playing games, gameplay in "Third Age" is split into two different modes; third-person exploration through a 3D overworld, and combat mode, consisting of turn-based gameplay.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Progression through the game is built around "Quests." Every area features multiples quests which must be completed in order to progress to the next area. All areas also feature several optional sidequests which do not have to be completed for progression, but which can yield substantial rewards if they are. When the player is in third-person mode, the HUD displays a map with the current objectives (primary and secondary) marked on it. As the player moves through the environment, one of two icons can also appear on-screen. If the Eye of Sauron appears, it means the player has a chance to encounter a random battle; the darker the eye, the more likely a battle will occur. If a blue Palantír appears, it means the player is approaching a story battle; again, the darker the icon, the closer the player is to the battle. However, not every scripted battle is indicated beforehand by a Palantír icon.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: "The Third Age" is an RPG in the style of the games in the "Final Fantasy" series. The game's turn-based combat system is similar to "Final Fantasy X"s "Conditional Turn-Based" system (CTB), which replaced the "Active Time Battle" system (ATB) used from "Final Fantasy IV" to "Final Fantasy IX". The primary difference between the ATB and the CTB is that in the CTB system, time pauses as the player selects commands, whereas in the ATB system, time continues to pass. As such, in the ATB system, even when the player is selecting actions, the enemy can continue to attack. In the CTB system, however, the enemy will not attack the player until the player has had their turn. During battle, a "battle queue" is displayed on-screen. This shows the order in which the player's party and the enemy will take their turns. However, the order of battle can be changed by using abilities to slow down or stun the enemy, or speed up the player characters. Likewise, the enemies can increase their own speed and decrease the party's, again changing the order. The queue changes each time a turn is completed. The player can only have three active party members in any given battle, but in most battles, they are free to switch party members in and out of combat. Occasionally, the player will be joined by a fourth member, who is usually a character from the films, and is controllable for one or two battles only.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Battles are structured around the player selecting actions from the battle menu. Actions include options such as "Attack", "Change Weapon", "Item" and "Skip." Another feature of battling is "Perfect Mode." As the player successfully executes attacks on the enemy, their momentum meter will fill. When it is completely full, any member of the party can select "Perfect Mode" from the menu and execute a more powerful attack. Perfect attacks are general to the party, with any character able to execute any attack; they are not specific to each character. At the end of each battle, each member of the party receives experience points, based upon their actions during the battle. For example, if one character killed all the enemies, they will get more points than the others. If a character did not participate in the battle at all, they will get less points than those who did. Gaining experience points leads to the characters leveling up. When a character levels up, they receive attribute points, which they can spend on their various attributes; Strength, Spirit, Constitution, Speed and Dexterity. Weaponry and armor also effect the level of each attribute.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Each character also has access to their own unique set of skills. Every character has four basic types of skill set; one based upon their primary weapon, another based around magic, another determining what attacks are available in Perfect Mode, and a fourth determining their passive skills. Depending on what "elf stones" they have equipped, any given character may also have skill sets relating to Lightcraft, Shadowcraft and Item Creation. For all skills except passive skills and perfect mode, the character can only learn new skills by performing the skills which they have already learned from that set a predetermined number of times. Each successful execution of a skill earns one skill point for the next skill. As the character advances, the choice of skills available to them increases, and they can choose what skill to learn next. Skill points for perfect mode and passive skills are attached to experience level rather than successful execution of skills.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game also features a mini-game called "Evil Mode". As the player completes each area in the main game, that area becomes available to play in evil mode. In this mode, the player controls the forces of Sauron and fights against the main game's player characters. Each area features a set number of battles, between which the player cannot save. If the player successfully completes the battles in a particular area, special items are unlocked, and added to the player's inventory in the main game.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Although the main narrative of the game runs parallel to the narrative in the film trilogy, the plot is not intended as an original canonical story to fit into the plot as developed in the films. This is primarily seen insofar as the party are present during certain battles which in the films are solo fights, such as when Gandalf faces the Balrog in "" or when Éowyn faces the Witch-king of Angmar in "". The game also features events which don't take place in the films at all; such as a battle between the party and Gríma Wormtongue in Snowbourne, and another against the Eye of Sauron atop Barad-dûr. Throughout the game, Gandalf 'speaks' to Berethor by means of "Epic Scenes"; film clips which the player can collect and which feature original narration by Gandalf. These clips give context to much of the plot and serve to offer advice to Berethor of events in the wider world.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game is presented against the background of the history of the One Ring. At the dawn of the Second Age, after the defeat of the Dark Lord, Morgoth, the elves forged Rings of Power to help themselves, the dwarves and men rule Middle-earth. However, the elves were unaware that Sauron, Morgoth's closest ally, had survived his master's defeat, and in the guise of Annatar had been the one who taught the Elven-smiths, led by Celebrimbor, how to forge the Rings, whilst, in secret, he forged his own One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, a Ring far more powerful than any of the others. However, in order for the One Ring to be powerful enough to control the other Rings, Sauron had to transfer most of his power into it. As soon as he put it on, the elves became aware of his ruse, removing and hiding their Three Rings, which Celebrimbor had forged without Sauron's aid. Sauron waged war on the elves, conquering much of Middle-earth and killing Celebrimbor. Thus began the Dark Years, when Sauron took possession of the remaining sixteen Rings, giving seven to the dwarves and nine to men in an effort to corrupt them. The dwarves proved relatively immune to the powers of the Rings, acquiring only a greed for gold, and becoming unconcerned with events in the wider world. Men proved less resilient, and the nine kings given the Rings and were killed by the nine Ring-wraiths, or Nazgûl, led by the Witch-king of Angmar.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: In his ongoing efforts to conquer Middle-earth, Sauron regained the allegiance of many of Morgoth's servants from the First Age, and successfully corrupted Númenor. However, in doing so, he expended a great deal of his power, and lost the ability to ever again assume a pleasing disguise. Returning to Mordor, he regained his strength, eventually capturing Minas Ithil. However, realizing that if they did not join together, Sauron would destroy both men and elves, Elendil and Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, and attacked Sauron in his fortress, Barad-dûr. The alliance was victorious, with Isildur cutting the One Ring from Sauron's hand. However, although presented with a chance to destroy the Ring, Isildur, already beginning to succumb to its corruption, chose not to do so. As such, although Sauron's physical form was vanquished, his spirit, bound to the Ring, survived. Some time later, Isildur was attacked and killed by a band of orcs, and the Ring was lost in the river Anduin for over two thousand years.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Meanwhile, during the Third Age, a still weakened Sauron covertly established a stronghold at Dol Guldur. In response to this undetermined evil, the Valar sent five Maiar to Middle-earth. Taking the form of wizards, they were led by Saruman. Unsure of the origin of the evil power in Dol Guldur, the wizard Gandalf was sent to investigate. However, Sauron hid from Gandalf, waiting for four hundred years before returning. Around the same time, the One Ring was found by a Hobbit named Sméagol, who became utterly corrupted by it, living in the caves of the Misty Mountains, and physically transforming into a creature known as Gollum. For five hundred years, Gollum was consumed and corrupted by the Ring. Eventually, Gandalf was able to determine the evil presence in Dol Guldur was indeed Sauron. Gandalf reported back to the White Council, but Saruman dissuaded them from moving against Sauron. Only when he learned the One Ring may be in the vicinity of the Gladden Fields did Saruman agree to attack Sauron, hoping to find the Ring himself. The Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur, unaware that he knew the Ring had been found. Just prior to Sauron's departure, the Ring passed to another hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who used it to assist in the victory of elves, men and dwarves at the Battle of the Five Armies. Sixty years later, Gollum was captured by uruk-hai, and taken to Mordor, where he was tortured into revealing the owner and location of the Ring; Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. In the meantime, Bilbo had left the Shire to live in Rivendell, and upon the advice of Gandalf had (very reluctantly) given the Ring to his nephew, Frodo Baggins. With the information given him by Gollum, Sauron, still unable to take physical form, thus sent the Nazgûl to the Shire to retrieve the One Ring. Frodo, and his friends, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin "Pippin" Took and Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck managed to escape the Shire and make it to Bree, where they encountered the ranger Aragorn, the last surviving descendant of Isildur, and rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Aragorn protected the hobbits on their journey to Rivendell, and upon their arrival, Elrond formed a Fellowship with the goal of bringing the Ring to Mordor to destroy it. The Fellowship is composed of Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, an elf named Legolas, a dwarf named Gimli, and a man from Gondor named Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game begins with Berethor (voiced by Rhys Lloyd), a captain in the Citadel Guard of Gondor, travelling to Rivendell to find Boromir at the behest of Denethor. On the outskirts of Rivendell, he is attacked by the Nazgûl, but is rescued by Idrial (Lori Phillips), an elf in the service of Galadriel. As they travel through the forest, they see a murder of crebain (evil crows sent out as spies) and Idrial deduces that Saruman (Christopher Lee) has betrayed the elves leaving Middle-earth for the Grey Havens. Seeing her convoy under attack by Isengard orcs, she and Berethor intervene. They then head to Caradhras to seek any further survivors, and there meet Elegost (Chris Edgerly), a Dúnedain ranger hunting Warg. They learn the Fellowship tried to pass over Caradhras recently, but were prevented from doing so by a snowstorm unleashed by Saruman, and so they instead elected to pass through the mines of Moria. Elegost explains he was hunting with a dwarven companion when they were caught in the storm, and separated. The three head towards Moria, soon finding the dwarf, Hadhod (Lewis MacLeod), whom they save from a Cave Troll. They fight the Watcher in the Water shortly after it failed to kill the Fellowship.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Upon entering Moria, they fight the Watcher again, and this time they kill it. Hadhod learns the rumors regarding Balin and the dwarves are true; they have been wiped out by orcs. They pursue the Fellowship, finding themselves on the floor below them, and seeing a Balrog ascending from the depths. After fighting countless wargs, goblins, and 9 Trolls, they reach the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. There they join Gandalf (Ian McKellen) as he faces the Balrog. They help him to victory, but are unable to prevent him falling from the bridge. However, unbeknownst to the Fellowship, Gandalf is resurrected by the Valar. Meanwhile, the party exits Moria and follows in the footsteps of the Fellowship, passing through Lothlórien.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: They soon learn that Boromir is dead, that Frodo and Sam have headed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, and that the rest of the Fellowship have gone to Rohan. They too head towards Rohan. However, Saruman has used his agent, Gríma Wormtongue, to corrupt Théoden, King of Rohan, manipulating him into banishing Éomer, captain of the Rohirrim. Saruman plans to use the division caused by this to destroy Rohan. The party meet the resurrected Gandalf, who tells them they must assemble Éomer's men and head towards Helm's Deep, where Rohan will make a last stand against Saruman's army. In the meantime, Gandalf will attempt to release Théoden from Saruman's curse. Soon thereafter, they meet a woman named Morwen (Lori Phillips), who joins the party on the road to Helm's Deep in the hopes of finding her family. Having assembled Éomer's scattered forces, the party begin to make their way to Helm's Deep. On the journey, Morwen reveals she is originally from Minas Tirith, and the party receive word that Théoden has been released from Saruman's spell. On the road, they meet Éoaden (Charles Martinet), a member of Rohan's Royal Guard, who joins them. Soon thereafter, they find the bodies of Morwen's family, killed by wargs, before arriving at Helm's Deep.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Inside the fortress, they prepare for battle. Soon, Saruman's army of 10,000 Uruk-hai arrive. They breach the outer walls using explosives and overwhelm the inner defenses. As Berethor fights, he suddenly hears the voice of Saruman telling him he shall be punished for his betrayal. Gandalf and Éomer arrive with the Rohirrim, attacking and decimating the Uruk-hai army. Meanwhile, the Ents, roused to war by Saruman's partial destruction of Fangorn Forest, lay siege to Orthanc, ending Saruman's involvement in the war. Gandalf then explains to Berethor why he heard the voice of Saruman – Berethor was captured by Saruman, who put him under a spell. Saruman believed Boromir would take the Ring from Frodo, and Berethor's job was to take it from Boromir and return it to Saruman. However, Boromir did not take the Ring. Knowing of Saruman's plan, Gandalf and Galadriel sent Idrial to find Berethor and stay by him until the spell could be broken, and with the destruction of Orthanc, Berethor is freed from the spell.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Gandalf tells the party that Sauron will now turn his eye to Minas Tirith. Gandalf rides on ahead, and sends the party to the ruined city of Osgiliath, to stand alongside Boromir's brother, Faramir. As they await the arrival of the army, Berethor muses that Osgiliath seems familiar to him. Éoaden remembers a Gondorian warrior who fought under Boromir during the defense of the city some time ago, but who fled the battle in fear. The party realize that Berethor is that man. He vows he will never flee again, and the party join Faramir in a fight against Gothmog. They defeat him, but he flees before they can kill him. Gandalf then summons the party back to Minas Tirith. Before they leave, however, Berethor learns the reason he fled Osgiliath was because he was stabbed by a Morgul blade, the tip of which is still within him. He and Idrial face the Witch-king, but Idrial explains he cannot harm the Witch-king whilst the blade is still inside him. He cuts it out and they attack the Witch-king, driving him off. The party then head to Minas Tirith.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: They reach the city just after the Mordor army has breached the main gate, with orcs rampaging through the streets. Meanwhile, the Witch-king confronts Gandalf, who is joined by the party in the fight. During the battle, they hear the horns of the Rohirrim, and the Witch-king flees. The party head to the citadel at the top of the city, where they witness the death of the insane Denethor at the hands of Gandalf. They then learn that Aragorn is on his way with the Army of the Dead. The battle moves to the Pelennor Fields as the Rohirrim charge the Mordor army. The Witch-king attacks Théoden, and Éowyn comes to his aid. The party join her as she fights and they are able to defeat him. Soon thereafter Aragorn arrives with the Army of the Dead, who wipe out the Mordor army.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: As the party celebrate, the eight remaining Nazgûl attack, stabbing Morwen. They defeat the Nazgûl, and Aragorn is able to save Morwen's life. He then tells the party the entire army is to march on the Black Gate to distract Sauron from Frodo's approach to Mount Doom. At the same time, the party attack the Eye of Sauron itself. As they fight, Frodo successfully destroys the Ring, and Sauron is defeated. In the aftermath of the victory, Gandalf tells Berethor he will face more adventures, saying "Your tale has hardly begun."


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Electronic Arts first mentioned "The Third Age" as early as October 4, 2002, shortly before the PlayStation 2 launch of "". EA announced they would be making a , to be released in roughly twelve months time, as well as an as-yet untitled role-playing game based on all three films, slated for release in Fall 2004. Nothing more was heard about the game until April 27, 2004 when EA officially revealed the game was to be released on three current generation consoles (GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox), as well as the Game Boy Advance. They explained that rather than the hack and slash nature of the previous two games in the franchise, "The Third Age", as it was now officially called, would be a turn-based RPG, with gameplay similar to that of "Final Fantasy X" and "Final Fantasy X-2". They also revealed the game would be set in the world of the films, but the player would control new characters rather than existing characters already established, although key events in the films would appear in the game, thus allowing players to see familiar events from a new perspective. Additionally, the game would feature new missions, events and characters not taken from the films at all. They also mentioned that the game would feature an option to allow players to fight on the side of Sauron.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Development of the game had begun in mid-2002, when "The Two Towers" was still in development. Work intensified towards the end of 2003, with the release of "The Return of the King". Executive producer, Steve Gray, who had worked on "Final Fantasy VII" and directed "Parasite Eve" for Squaresoft, explained he had wanted to make a "Lord of the Rings" RPG since the 1990s, but had never gotten the chance, until EA acquired the rights to the film trilogy.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: As the game was under development, various ideas were rejected as the team settled on an approach. For example, initially, the developers planned to have an Active Time Battle combat system, before going with the Conditional Time Battle system. Another rejected idea was an auto-equip for weapons and armor, which would automatically equip the strongest piece of equipment. In tandem with this was an auto-allocation of experience points, whereby the game would choose to distribute points among the various attributes. Another rejected idea was that in Evil Mode, the good characters against whom the player would be fighting would replicate the actions taken by the player when they had played through the main game; the player's actions during the main game would be replicated by the AI controlled party. Eventually, however, this idea was scrapped and Evil Mode was simplified.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: The game was first shown at the E3 event in May 2004, when a playable demo was made available for all three consoles. The demo featured gameplay from Moria, and included a fight against two trolls and the battle against the Balrog, as well as some footage from the film. EA announced the game would be about five times as long as the "Return of the King" game. They also explained that although the game would be linear, and the player would not be free to go wherever they wished in Middle-earth, at most times during the game, optional sidequests would be available. The game would be divided into smaller chapters comprising three main story arcs; the journey from Rivendell through Moria to Lothlórien; the journey across Rohan to Helm's Deep, and the subsequent Battle of the Hornburg; and the journey from Helm's Deep to Minas Tirith, and the subsequent Battle of the Pelennor Fields. EA explained players would be given already developed characters, but customization and attributes would not be tied to character classes, so players would be free to have any character specialize in any mode of combat they wished. Each of the characters in the game was based upon a minor character or extra who appeared at some point in the films, and who was named by the production crew but never named on-screen.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: "The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age" received "mixed or average reviews" across all systems; the GameCube version holds an aggregate score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on twenty-five reviews; the PlayStation 2 version 73 out of 100, based on thirty-five reviews; and the Xbox version 75 out of 100, based on thirty-eight reviews.


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: Eurogamer's Patrick Garratt scored the Xbox version 7 out of 10. Comparing the combat system to "Final Fantasy X", he wrote "it's a great formula [...] but there's nowhere near the depth." However, he praised the graphics ("the presentation of the combat sequences will leave Tolkien fans in absolute ecstasy") and the story ("the story itself is actually very cool, and for "LOTR" fans the game will be a must-have for this alone. As the story is completely fresh and sits alongside the timeline of the films, playing "The Third Age" engenders the genuine excitement of playing pen and paper RPGs like "Middle Earth""). He concluded ""The Third Age" is a highly enjoyable, if throwaway foray into the world of the "Lord of the Rings" films, and has much to recommend it for a casual purchase, especially for Tolkien completists. But RPG mentalists will be bitter from the outset and will care little for the unparalleled presentation [...] This is a good game, it's just too shallow; an entry-level RPG at heart."


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: GameSpy's Raymond Padilla the game 3.5 out of 5, calling it "a very solid RPG that dazzles in some places and disappoints in others." His biggest criticism was the plot and the characters; "I don't care about the characters. I never really gave a damn if they lived or died as I was playing the game. I felt like I was given the minor league version of The Fellowship, with archetypes of characters I knew [...] Their names and stories seemed so irrelevant and uninteresting compared to the real thing." However, he praised the graphics, calling the game "a treat for the eyes and ears. The visuals are fantastic, much like the other "The Lord of the Rings" games. It's a phenomenal re-creation of Middle-earth that fans will totally drool over." He concluded "there are better RPGs on the market. There are better "TLotR" games on the market too. If you've exhausted all those possibilities, then give "The Third Age" a shot."


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: GameSpot's Bethany Massimilla scored the game 7.7 out of 10. She was critical of the amount of Epic Scenes (which show clips from the films) in proportion to actual cutscenes; "there's so much exposition being done by Gandalf that it seems to come at the expense of your characters [...] you are explicitly told what has happened and what will happen instead of actually seeing it happen, and it serves to somewhat distance the player from the whole experience." However, she praised the graphics and sound, concluding ""The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age" molds Middle-earth into a traditional turn-based frame, and while the results aren't all that great, the game carries some pretty good features and should appeal to fans of the source material."


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: IGN's Juan Castro scored the game 8.5 out of 10. He too praised the graphics, writing "EA did a magnificent job of bringing the grandeur of Middle-earth into "The Third Age"." However, he was critical of the difficulty, claiming "from the moment they brandish a weapon in-game, RPG veterans will most likely tell that EA went to great lengths to make "The Third Age" as accessible as possible." He also criticized the story, writing "gamers will be hard pressed to find an ounce of character development throughout the entire adventure," and calling the characters "soulless archetypes." However, he concluded "For the most part, "The Third Age" rips gamers from their living rooms and dumps them in a detailed rendition of Middle-earth. EA Redwood Shores has faithfully recreated everything from the glowing majesty of Rivendell to the murky depths of Helm's Deep. Suffice to say, this is one of the best looking games based on Tolkien's classic trilogy. But, as gamers everywhere know, looks aren't everything. It's one thing to have video games look as good as the movies they're based on, but what good is any of it if the actual gameplay isn't enough to keep you playing. Thankfully, this combat heavy RPG delivers the goods, although some die hard RPG fans may be put off by its overly streamlined approach."


title: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

text: According to Electronic Arts, "The Third Age" was a commercial success, with sales above 1 million units worldwide by the end of 2004.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present mainly in Spain, South America, North America, Turkey, and Romania.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: The bank was founded as Banco de Bilbao, on May 28, 1857, in Bilbao. BBVA's operational headquarters are located in Madrid, in the "Ciudad BBVA" complex. It is Spain's second largest bank after Banco Santander. It is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It is also a part of the IBEX 35 as well as the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: As of December 31, 2018, BBVA's assets amounted to around €676 billion, making it the second largest Spanish financial institution by volume of assets. At that same date, it had 7,963 offices, 125,627 employees and 74.5 million customers, and was present in more than 30 countries.[4][5] On April 2, 2018, it was ranked the 42nd largest bank in the world by total assets.[6].


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: The history of BBVA began in 1857 in Bilbao, a city located in the Basque part of northern Spain, when the Board of Trade promoted the creation of Banco de Bilbao as an issuing and discount bank.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: Banco de Vizcaya was founded in 1901 and carried out its first operations in Bilbao. Little by little, it spread throughout the country.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1988, the merger agreement between Banco de Bilbao and Banco de Vizcaya was signed. And in 1989, the BBV brand was adopted.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1991, the Spanish government of Felipe González created the public bank Argentaria, grouping in it the Spanish public banks. Subsequently, between 1993 and 1998 the process of privatization of the entity was carried out. BBV and Argentaria announced their merger project on October 19, 1999, with the aim of continuing to create value. The new bank (BBVA) was born with a significant size, a strong financial solvency and a large financial structure, an adequate geographical diversification of business and risks and, as a consequence of all this, a greater potential for profit growth.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: After several years dedicated to external growth, BBVA takes advantage of the restructuring of the financial system in Spain to grow especially in Catalonia, one of the regions where it had the lowest market share. To this end, it acquired between 2012 and 2014 the two financial groups nationalized by the Government of Spain (Unnim Banc and Catalunya Banc), which grouped 6 Catalan savings banks.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2007, the firm started an initiative to digitally transform the bank. Following implementation, it saw a 19% year-on-year increase in new customers. As of 2015, the total number of these clients stood at 14.8 million.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2019, BBVA decides to unify its brand worldwide and introduces a new logo. This meant the disappearance of local names in Argentina (Francés), Mexico (Bancomer), Peru (Continental), and the United States (Compass). Garanti Bank, the Group’s franchise in Turkey, changed its name to Garanti BBVA.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In January 2021, BBVA said that it was looking for plans to lower the costs, then in February 2021, it was reported that BBVA is planning to cut around 3000 jobs in Spain after a fall of 48% of its net profit in the fourth quarter of 2020.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: The international presence of BBVA began in 1902, when the Banco de Bilbao opened a branch in Paris and in 1918 another in London, thus becoming the first Spanish bank with a presence abroad. In the 1970s, Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya and Banco Exterior were configured as international groups, with the installation of operational and representative offices in the financial capitals of Europe, America and Asia. Likewise, the bank initiated a policy of expansion in America through the purchase of local banks in various countries of the continent.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2019 the Bank changed its name to BBVA, dropping local brand names in Argentina (Francés), Mexico (Bancomer), Peru (Continental), and the United States (Compass). In addition to the rebranding, Garanti in Turkey was renamed to Garanti BBVA.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: The Banco de Vizcaya acquired the Commercial Bank of Mayagüez in Puerto Rico in 1979, a bank founded in 1967 by a group of merchants and industrialists. When it became BBVA Puerto Rico, in 1992 it began a growth stage through acquisitions, which gave rise to BBVA Puerto Rico.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1995, the group entered Peru, with the privatization and subsequent acquisition of Banco Continental, and in Mexico, with the purchase of Probursa, which later merged with BBVA Bancomer to form the financial group BBVA Bancomer that operates in the banking and insurance sector.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1996, it entered Colombia, with the acquisition of Banco Ganadero and in Argentina, with the acquisition of BBVA Francés. It also makes new acquisitions in Mexico, buying Banca Cremí and Banco de Oriente.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1997, BBVA entered Venezuela by acquiring the Provincial Bank, which had been founded in 1953. He also expanded his presence in Argentina with the acquisition of Banco de Credito Argentino. It also enters into the pension funds business in Bolivia, founding BBVA Previsión AFP.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 1998, the bank installed in Chile after buying Banco BHIF, and AFP Provida one year later. It also enters Brazil with the purchase of Banco Excel-Econômico, and in Argentina he buys the insurer Consolidar, created in 1994.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2000, the merger of BBV Probursa with Bancomer occurred in Mexico to create BBVA Bancomer, the first bank in the country by volume of assets. At the beginning of 2004, the Group announced the takeover bid for 100% of the shares of Bancomer that did not yet belong to BBVA, buying all the shares of the Mexican bank. In 2004 it acquires 100% of Hipotecaria Nacional, a private entity specialized in the mortgage business.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2001, the implementation of the unified platform for all businesses and all countries was completed, and the BBVA brand was installed in the Group's entities in Latin America.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2004, the banks of Chile (BHIF) and Colombia (Banco Ganadero) changed their commercial denomination and were simply called BBVA.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2006, through a public auction, it acquired the old savings and housing corporation, Banco Granahorrar de Colombia, whose shares belonged to the Grancolombian group, and with the financial and economic crisis of the late 90s it passed into the hands of the state through Fogafin. Later he merged with BBVA Colombia, creating one of the largest banking groups in the country.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: As of July 6, 2018 Scotiabank Chile takes control of BBVA Chile, with which the legal trademark will be renamed as Scotiabank Azul until its full integration with Scotiabank. The total change was made in October 2018.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2004, the Group began another line of international expansion with entry into the US market, with acquisitions of entities in the south of the country (Sunbelt region), taking advantage of the strength of its Mexican subsidiary BBVA Bancomer.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In the second quarter of the year, the Group announced the purchase of Valley Bank in California through BBVA Bancomer.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2005, it bought the Banco Laredo (located in Texas), and in 2006 the Texas Regional Bancshares (Texas State Bank).


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2007, BBVA acquired Alabama Compass Bank in the US, strengthening its franchise in that country. Later, BBVA unified its corporate image in the country by reorganizing its entire portfolio of brands under the name "BBVA Compass".


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2014, BBVA acquired the US digital banking company Simple for 117 million dollars. In its push towards a digital future in 2015 acquired the California company Spring Studio, specializing in user experience and digital design.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In 2010, the Group acquired 24.9% of the capital of Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, the second largest bank in Turkey, and reached an agreement with the Dogus Group - the reference shareholder of Garanti - to manage the entity jointly. Subsequently, this participation increased to 25.01%. In November 2014, BBVA acquired an additional 14.89% of the Garanti bank from Dogus Holdings for 1,988 million euros, bringing its share to 39.9% of the entity.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: In February 2017, it reached a new purchase agreement with Dogus to acquire 9.95% more from the Garanti bank for 859 million euros. Increasing its participation to 49.85% .


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: On November 15, 2021, BBVA offered to purchase the remaining shares 50.15% of shares in Garanti bank. In May 2022, BBVA reaches 86% stake in Garanti BBVA.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: BBVA is included in the IBEX 35, the official index of the Spanish Continuous Market composed of the 35 most liquid stocks traded on continuous market. The BBVA has a market capitalization of 15,816 million euros (09-30-20) with a share value between 5 and 8 euros.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: On 13 September 2010 BBVA became an official sponsor of the NBA. From 2011 to 2014, BBVA sponsored the Birmingham Bowl, a postseason college football game played in Birmingham, Alabama, during which time the game was known as the BBVA Compass Bowl. For the first three editions under the sponsorship contract, the game featured teams from the Big East Conference and Southeastern Conference. Following the 2013 split of the Big East along football lines, the former Big East berth was inherited by that conference's football-sponsoring offshoot, the American Athletic Conference. On 12 May 2012, BBVA Compass Stadium opened in downtown Houston, Texas. It was built as the home for the Houston Dynamo soccer team, and from its opening has also hosted the Texas Southern University football team. Since 2014, the stadium has also hosted home games of the Houston Dash, a team in the National Women's Soccer League that is owned and operated by the Dynamo.


title: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

text: Emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs) are a grouping of key emerging markets developed by BBVA Research. The EAGLE economies are expected to lead global growth in the next 10 years, and to provide important opportunities for investors.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Marino, California, United States. In addition to the library, the institution houses an extensive art collection with a focus on 18th- and 19th-century European art and 17th- to mid-20th-century American art. The property also includes approximately of specialized botanical landscaped gardens, most notably the "Japanese Garden", the "Desert Garden", and the "Chinese Garden" (Liu Fang Yuan).


title: Huntington Library

text: As a landowner, Henry Edwards Huntington (1850–1927) played a major role in the growth of Southern California. Huntington was born in 1850, in Oneonta, New York, and was the nephew and heir of Collis P. Huntington (1821–1900), one of the famous "Big Four" railroad tycoons of 19th century California history. In 1892, Huntington relocated to San Francisco with his first wife, Mary Alice Prentice, as well as their four children. He divorced Mary Alice Prentice in 1906; in 1913, he married his uncle's widow, Arabella Huntington (1851–1924), relocating from the financial and political center of Northern California, San Francisco, to the state's newer southern major metropolis, Los Angeles. He purchased a property of more than that was then known as the "San Marino Ranch" and went on to purchase other large tracts of land in the Pasadena and Los Angeles areas of Los Angeles County for urban and suburban development. As president of the Pacific Electric Railway Company, the regional streetcar and public transit system for the Los Angeles metropolitan area and southern California and also of the Los Angeles Railway Company, (later the Southern California Railway), he spearheaded urban and regional transportation efforts to link together far-flung communities, supporting growth of those communities as well as promoting commerce, recreation and tourism. He was one of the founders of the City of San Marino, incorporated in 1913.


title: Huntington Library

text: Huntington's interest in art was influenced in large part by his second wife, Arabella Huntington (1851–1924), and with art experts to guide him, he benefited from a post-World War I European market that was "ready to sell almost anything". Before his death in 1927, Huntington amassed "far and away the greatest group of 18th-century British portraits ever assembled by any one man". In accordance with Huntington's will, the collection, then worth $50 million, was opened to the public in 1928.


title: Huntington Library

text: On October 17, 1985, a fire erupted in an elevator shaft of the Huntington Art Gallery and destroyed Sir Joshua Reynolds's 1777 portrait of Mrs. Edwin Lascelles. After a year-long, $1 million refurbishing project, the Huntington Gallery reopened in 1986, with its artworks cleaned of soot and stains. Most of the funds for the cleanup and refurbishing of the Georgian mansion and its artworks came from donations from the Michael J. Connell Foundation, corporations and individuals. Both the Federal art-supporting establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities gave emergency grants, the former of $17,500 to "support conservation and other related costs resulting from a serious fire at the Gallery of Art", and the latter of $30,000 to "support the restoration of several fire-damaged works of art that depict the story of Western culture."


title: Huntington Library

text: On September 5, 2019, The Huntington kicked off a year-long celebration of its centennial year with exhibitions, special programs, initiatives, a special Huntington 100th rose, and a float in the 2020 Rose Parade in nearby Pasadena, California.


title: Huntington Library

text: With an endowment of more than $400 million (and half a billion dollars raised between 2001 and 2013), the Huntington is among the wealthiest cultural institutions in the United States. It has undertaken major restorations and construction including a $60 million education and visitors center opened in 2015. Each year some 1,700 scholars conduct research there, and 600,000 people visit.


title: Huntington Library

text: The library building was designed in 1920 by the southern California architect Myron Hunt in the Mediterranean Revival style. Hunt's previous commissions for Mr. and Mrs. Huntington included the Huntington's residence in San Marino in 1909, and the Huntington Hotel in 1914. The library contains a substantial collection of rare books and manuscripts, concentrated in the fields of British and American history, literature, art, and the history of science. Spanning from the 11th century to the present, the library's holdings contain 7 million manuscript items, over 400,000 rare books, and over a million photographs, prints, and other ephemera. Highlights include one of eleven vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible known to exist, the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer (ca. 1410), and letters and manuscripts by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln. It is the only library in the world with the first two quartos of "Hamlet"; it holds the manuscript of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, Isaac Newton's personal copy of his "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" with annotations in Newton's own hand, the first seven drafts of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden", John James Audubon's "Birds of America", and first editions and manuscripts from authors such as Charles Bukowski, Jack London, Alexander Pope, William Blake, Mark Twain, and William Wordsworth.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Library's Main Exhibition Hall showcases some of the most outstanding rare books and manuscripts in the collection, while the West Hall of the Library hosts rotating exhibitions. The Dibner Hall of the History of Science is a permanent exhibition on the history of science with a focus on astronomy, natural history, medicine, and light.


title: Huntington Library

text: With the 2006 acquisition of the Burndy Library, a collection of nearly 60,000 items, the Huntington became one of the top institutions in the world for the study of the history of science and technology.


title: Huntington Library

text: On December 14, 2022 the library announced they had acquired the archive of American author Thomas Pynchon.


title: Huntington Library

text: Use of the collection for research is restricted to qualified scholars, generally requiring a doctoral degree or at least candidacy for the PhD, and two letters of recommendation from known scholars. Through a rigorous peer-review program, the institution awards approximately 150 grants to scholars in the fields of history, literature, art, and the history of science. The Huntington also hosts numerous scholarly events, lectures, conferences, and workshops.


title: Huntington Library

text: In September 1991, then-director William A. Moffett announced that the library's photographic archive of the Dead Sea Scrolls would be available to all qualified scholars, not just those approved by the international team of editors that had so long limited access to a chosen few. The collection consists of 3,000 photographs of all the original scrolls.


title: Huntington Library

text: Through a partnership with the University of Southern California, The Huntington has established two research centers: the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Huntington's collections are displayed in permanent installations housed in the Huntington Art Gallery and Virginia Steele Scott Gallery of American Art. Special temporary exhibitions are mounted in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, with smaller, focused exhibitions displayed in the Works on Paper Room in the Huntington Art Gallery and the Susan and Stephen Chandler Wing of the Scott Galleries. In addition the gallery also hosts different exhibitions of photography throughout the year including those about different social and political subjects.


title: Huntington Library

text: The European collection, consisting largely of 18th- and 19th-century British & French paintings, sculptures and decorative arts, is housed in The Huntington Art Gallery, the original Huntington residence. The permanent installation also includes selections from the Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection, which contains Italian and Northern Renaissance paintings and a spectacular collection of 18th-century French tapestries, porcelain, and furniture. Some of the best known works in the European collection include "The Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough, "Pinkie" by Thomas Lawrence, and "Madonna and Child" by Rogier van der Weyden.


title: Huntington Library

text: Complementing the European collections is the Huntington's American art holdings, a collection of paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and photographs dating from the 17th to the mid-20th century. The institution did not begin collecting American art until 1979, when it received a gift of 50 paintings from the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation. Consequently, The Virginia Steele Scott Gallery of American Art was established in 1984. In 2009, the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries were expanded, refurbished, and reinstalled. The new showcase, a $1.6 million project designed to give the Huntington's growing American art collection more space and visibility, combines the original, 1984 American gallery with the Lois and Robert F. Erburu Gallery, a modern classical addition designed by Los Angeles architect Frederick Fisher. Highlights among the American art collections include "Breakfast in Bed" by Mary Cassatt, "The Long Leg" by Edward Hopper, "Small Crushed Campbell's Soup Can (Beef Noodle)" by Andy Warhol, and "Global Loft (Spread)" by Robert Rauschenberg. As of 2014, the collection numbers some 12,000 works, ninety percent of them drawings, photographs and prints.


title: Huntington Library

text: In 2014, the library acquired the Millard Sheets mural "Southern California landscape" (1934), the dining room wall painting originally painted for homeowners Fred H. and Bessie Ranke in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.


title: Huntington Library

text: In 1999, the Huntington acquired the collection of materials relating to Arts and Crafts artist and designer William Morris amassed by Sanford and Helen Berger, comprising stained glass, wallpaper, textiles, embroidery, drawings, ceramics, more than 2,000 books, original woodblock prints, and the complete archives of Morris's decorative arts firm Morris & Co. and its predecessor Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. These materials formed the foundation for the 2002 exhibit "William Morris: Creating the Useful and the Beautiful".


title: Huntington Library

text: In 2005, actor Steve Martin gave $1 million to the Huntington to support exhibitions and acquisitions of American art, with three-quarters of the money to be spent on exhibitions and the rest on purchases of artworks. In 2009, Andy Warhol's painting "Small Crushed Campbell's Soup Can (Beef Noodle)" (1962) as well as group of the artist's "Brillo Boxes" were donated by the estate of Robert Shapazian, the founding director of Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. In 2011, a $1.75 million acquisition fund for post-1945 American art was established by unidentified patrons in honor of the late Shapazian. The first purchase from the fund was the painting "Global Loft (Spread)" (1979) by Robert Rauschenberg.


title: Huntington Library

text: In 2012, the museum acquired its first major work by an African-American artist when it purchased a 22-foot-long carved redwood panel from 1937 by sculptor Sargent Claude Johnson.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Huntington's botanical gardens cover and showcase plants from around the world. Huntington worked to make them thrive in the generous California climate. Today his many projects of horticulture live on, providing opportunities for botanical research and for enjoyment. The gardens are divided into more than a dozen themes, including the Australian Garden, Camellia Collection, Children's Garden, Desert Garden, Herb Garden, Japanese Garden, Lily Ponds, North Vista, Palm Garden, Rose Garden, the Shakespeare Garden, Subtropical and Jungle Garden, and the Chinese Garden (Liu Fang Yuan 流芳園 or the Garden of Flowing Fragrance).


title: Huntington Library

text: The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science has a large tropical plant collection, as well as a carnivorous plants wing. The Huntington has a program to protect and propagate endangered plant species. In 1999, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, specimens of "Amorphophallus titanum", or the odiferous "corpse flower", bloomed at the facility. There were a total of fourteen corpse flowers bloomed at Huntington since 1999. Three flowers opened in July, 2021.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Camellia Collection, recognized as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence, includes nearly eighty different camellia species and some 1,200 cultivated varieties, many of them rare and historic. The Rose Garden contains approximately 1,200 cultivars (4,000 individual plants) arranged historically to trace the development of roses from ancient to modern times.


title: Huntington Library

text: A Chinese garden, the largest outside of China, was dedicated on February 26, 2008 after artisans from Suzhou, China spent some six months at Huntington to construct the first phase of the newest facility. On at the northwest corner of the Huntington, the garden features man-made lakes ("Pond of Reflected Greenery" and "Lake of Reflected Fragrance") with pavilions connected by bridges. Unique Chinese names are assigned to many of the facilities in the garden, such as the tea house, known as the "Hall of the Jade Camellia". Other pavilions are the "Love for the Lotus Pavilion", "Terrace of the Jade Mirror", and "Pavilion of the Three Friends". The initial phase cost $18.3 million to build.


title: Huntington Library

text: The second phase, which includes the "Clear and Transcendent Pavilion (Qing Yue Tai 清越臺)", "Lingering Clouds Peak (Liu Yun Xiu 留雲岫)" (with a waterfall), "Waveless Boat (Bu Bo Xiao Ting 不波小艇)", "Crossing through Fragrance" bridge and the "Cloud Steps" bridge, opened on March 8, 2014. There were other pavilions, including the "Flowery Brush Studio", and structures completed under phase two. A place to display its large collections of penjing and bonsai has completed.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Desert Garden, one of the world's largest and oldest outdoor collections of cacti and other succulents, contains plants from extreme environments, many of which were acquired by Henry E. Huntington and William Hertrich (the garden curator). One of the Huntington's most botanically important gardens, the Desert Garden brings together a plant group largely unknown and unappreciated in the beginning of the 1900s. Containing a broad category of xerophytes (aridity-adapted plants), the Desert Garden grew to preeminence and remains today among the world's finest, with more than 5,000 species.


title: Huntington Library

text: In 1911, art dealer George Turner Marsh (who also created the Japanese Tea Garden at the Golden Gate Park) sold his commercial Japanese tea garden to Henry E. Huntington to create the foundations of what is known today as the Japanese Garden. The garden was completed in 1912 and opened to the public in 1928. According to historian Kendall Brown, the garden consists of three gardens: the original stroll garden with koi-filled ponds and a drum or moon bridge, the raked-gravel dry garden added in 1968, and the traditionally landscaped tea garden.


title: Huntington Library

text: In addition, the gardens feature a large bell, the authentic ceremonial teahouse Seifu-an (the Arbor of Pure Breeze), a fully furnished Japanese house, the Zen Garden, and the bonsai collections with hundreds of trees. The Bonsai Courts at the Huntington is the home of the Golden State Bonsai Federation Southern Collection. Another ancient Japanese art form can be found at the Harry Hirao Suiseki Court, where visitors can touch the suiseki or viewing stones.


title: Huntington Library

text: The Huntington Botanical Gardens were honored with a postal stamp as a part of the American Gardens stamps on May 13, 2020. The Desert Garden was featured.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Workstation Pro (known as VMware Workstation until release of VMware Workstation 12 in 2015) is a hosted (Type 2) hypervisor that runs on x64 versions of Windows and Linux operating systems (an x86-32 version of earlier releases was available); it enables users to set up virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical machine and use them simultaneously along with the host machine. Each virtual machine can execute its own operating system, including versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, BSD, and MS-DOS. VMware Workstation is developed and sold by VMware, Inc. There is a free-of-charge version, VMware Workstation Player (known as "VMware Player" until release of VMware Workstation 12 in 2015), for non-commercial use. An operating systems license is needed to use proprietary ones such as Windows. Ready-made Linux VMs set up for different purposes are available from several sources.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Workstation supports bridging existing host network adapters and sharing physical disk drives and USB devices with a virtual machine. It can simulate disk drives; an ISO image file can be mounted as a virtual optical disc drive, and virtual hard disk drives are implemented as .vmdk files.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Workstation Pro can save the state of a virtual machine (a "snapshot") at any instant. These snapshots can later be restored, effectively returning the virtual machine to the saved state, as it was and free from any post-snapshot damage to the VM.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Workstation includes the ability to group multiple virtual machines in an inventory folder. The machines in such a folder can then be powered on and powered off as a single object, useful for testing complex client-server environments.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Workstation versions 12.0.0, 12.0.1, and 12.1.0 were released at intervals of about two months in 2015. In January 2016 the entire development team behind VMware Workstation and Fusion was disbanded and all US developers were immediately fired. The company said that "the restructuring activities will not impact the existence of any current product lines", that "roles and responsibilities associated with particular businesses will be moved to other regions and office locations", and that investment would continue "with emphasis on our growth products". The future of Workstation and Fusion became uncertain. On 24 April 2016 maintenance release 12.1.1 was released. In September, same year, the company announced that "we’re very much alive and well". Consequently, on September 13 Workstation 12.5 and Fusion 8.5 were released as free upgrades which added support for Windows 10 Anniversary edition and Windows Server 2016. Since then versions 14 (in 2017, skipping number 13), 15 (in 2018) and 16 (in 2020) were released.


title: VMware Workstation

text: There was a free VMware Player distinct from Workstation, with similar but reduced functionality, until VMware Player v7, Workstation v11. In 2015 the two packages were combined as VMware Workstation 12, with a free VMware Workstation Player version which, on purchase of a player license key granted commercial use. However, purchase of a pro license key became the higher specification VMware Workstation Pro. VMware Workstation Player, like VMware Player before it, is free of charge for non-commercial use, or for distribution or other use by written agreement. Workstation "Pro" is also available for download for a 30 day free trial period, and is easily confused with Workstation Player, which is an unlimited-time restricted-functionality version.


title: VMware Workstation

text: VMware Tools, a package with drivers and other software available for the various guest operating systems VMware products support, installs in guest operating systems to add functionality. Tools is updated from time to time, with v12.1.5 in 29 November 2022. It has several components, including the following:


title: VMware Workstation

text: Many ready-made virtual machines (VMs) which run on VMware Workstation Player, VMware Workstation Pro, and other virtualization software are available for specific purposes, either for purchase or free of charge; for example free Linux-based "browser appliances" with the Firefox or other browser installed which can be used for safe Web browsing; if infected or damaged it can be discarded and replaced by a clean copy. The appliance can be configured to automatically reset itself after each use so personal information and other changes are not stored. VMs distributed legally only have freely distributable operating systems, as operating systems on VMs must be licensed; ready-to-use Microsoft Windows VMs, in particular, are not distributed, except for evaluation versions.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: Ron Gilbert (born January 1, 1964) is an American video-game designer, programmer, and producer. His games are generally focused on interactive story-telling, and he is arguably best known for his work on several LucasArts adventure games, including "Maniac Mansion" and the first two "Monkey Island" games.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: While a student in 1983, he co-wrote Graphics BASIC and he then worked on action games for HESware, which went out of business. He afterwards joined Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts), and was given the opportunity to develop his own games. He invented SCUMM, a technology used in many subsequent games. After leaving LucasArts, Gilbert co-founded the children's gaming company Humongous Entertainment in 1992 and its sister company Cavedog Entertainment in 1995, where he produced games such as "Total Annihilation" for adults.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: He cofounded Hulabee Entertainment with Shelley Day, releasing children's games between 2001 and 2003. After working with Beep Games between 2004 and 2007, he was creative director at Vancouver-based Hothead Games development studio between 2008 and 2010, also doing some work for Telltale Games and with "Penny Arcade". In 2013, he announced that he would move on from Double Fine Productions, after releasing the game "The Cave" with them. In 2017, he announced "Thimbleweed Park" with Terrible Toybox, serving as writer, designer, and programmer since 2014.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: Ron Gilbert was born in La Grande, Oregon. He is the son of David E. Gilbert, a physics professor and former president of Eastern Oregon University (then Eastern Oregon State College). Initially, he thought of himself going into a career for film direction. He became interested in games when he was thirteen years old thanks to a HP-65 programmable calculator his father used to bring home. He found the ability to program games on the calculator interesting, citing an example of a "Battleship"-like game that was included on the calculator, leading him wanting him to learn how to program other games. Gilbert saw the potential to program games as a creative outlet as he continued his studies towards the film industry. Another thing that made him approach the gaming world was the film "Star Wars" (1977). His fascination with programming technology, which allowed gamers to interact with characters and situations, mixed with his love for telling stories, like that of "Star Wars", were his main inspirations to start making games.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: The impact of "Star Wars" and his love for telling stories was so big that Ron Gilbert, at the age of fourteen, and his good friend Tom McFarlane made a couple of films on a Super-8 camera. The first film they shot in 1978 was "Stars Blasters"; it was directed by Ron Gilbert and acted by McFarlane and friend Frank Lang. In 1979 they filmed another movie, "Tomorrow Never Came", acted by Ron Gilbert, Tom McFarlane; it was also directed by Ron Gilbert.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In 1979 his parents purchased a NorthStar Horizon home computer. At the age of fifteen, he took his first steps in game programming. He used to study and analyze games for hours; capturing in his mind every frame of the layout of games like "Donkey Kong", "Pac-Man", "Asteroids", "Space Invaders" or ""; taking notes of every detail and then trying to replicate them on his computer. Once the games were replicated he would start doing experiments with them, adding changes. He also used to look at Atari 2600 games' advertisements in magazines, then imagined what the game was like to play and tried to make them on his computer. Once the games were finished he used to bring his friends home to test the games and tell him what they did or did not like.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: Gilbert began his professional career in 1983 while he was still a student at Eastern Oregon State College by writing a program named Graphics BASIC with Tom McFarlane. They sold the program to a San Francisco Bay Area company named HESware, which later offered Gilbert a job. He spent about half a year at HESware, programming action games for the Commodore 64 (C64). None of them were ever released; the company went out of business. Shortly thereafter, Gilbert joined Lucasfilm Games, which later became LucasArts. There he earned his living by doing C64 ports of Lucasfilm Atari 800 games. In 1985 he got the opportunity to co-develop his own game for LucasArts together with graphics artist Gary Winnick. "Maniac Mansion" was about a dark Victorian mansion populated by a mad scientist, his family and strange aliens.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: "Maniac Mansion" features cutscenes, a word coined by Gilbert, that interrupt gameplay to advance the story and inform the player about offscreen events. Gilbert created a scripting language that was named after the project it had been written for, the Script Creation Utility for "Maniac Mansion", better known as S.C.U.M.M. The technology was used in all subsequent LucasArts adventure games, with the exception of "Grim Fandango" and "Escape From Monkey Island". Despite being an internal production tool, the S.C.U.M.M. acronym became well known to gamers since a location in "The Secret of Monkey Island", the SCUMM Bar, was named after it.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: Gilbert created many successful adventure games at LucasArts, including the classic "The Secret of Monkey Island" and "Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge". In 1992, he left the company to start Humongous Entertainment with LucasArts producer Shelley Day. While at Humongous Entertainment, Gilbert was responsible for games such as "Putt-Putt", "Fatty Bear", "Freddi Fish", "Pajama Sam", and the "Backyard Sports" series. Many of these games continued to use an offshoot of the S.C.U.M.M. engine.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In 1995, Gilbert founded Cavedog Entertainment, Humongous' sister company for non-kids games. In 1996, GameSpot named him as the 15th on their list of the most influential people in computer gaming of all time. In 1997, "Computer Gaming World" similarly ranked him as number 15 on the list of the most influential people of all time in computer gaming for inventing the S.C.U.M.M. engine. While at Cavedog, Gilbert was the producer of "Total Annihilation" and worked on a game titled "Good & Evil". Widely regarded as his pet project, "Good & Evil" was said to incorporate many different themes and gameplay styles. The game was previewed by several publications, but the project was cancelled when Cavedog closed down in 1999. In an interview with GameSpot conducted a while after Cavedog's shut-down, Gilbert said the "Good & Evil" project had suffered due to him trying to design a game and run a company at the same time.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: As of 2005, Ron Gilbert was independently designing an unspecified new adventure/R.P.G., which he was pitching to publishers. He also started a blog "Grumpy Gamer", offering game industry commentary, occasionally in the form of animated cartoons that he created with "Voodoo Vince" designer Clayton Kauzlaric.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In 2007, Gilbert created "Threepwood", an exclusively "Monkey Island"-themed guild on the "World of Warcraft" server Quel'Dorei, and Gilbert began to collaborate with Hothead Games on "", a game based on the webcomic "Penny Arcade". He was chosen to be the Keynote Speaker for Penny Arcade Expo for 2009.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In January 2008, he joined Hothead Games as creative director, with whom he was developing "DeathSpank", an adventure/R.P.G. Although still working at Hothead Games, Gilbert contributed to the design for Telltale Games' "Tales of Monkey Island", taking part in the brainstorming process early in the development of the game. The episodic fifth entry in the "Monkey Island" series marked the first time Gilbert worked on a "Monkey Island" game since 1991's "LeChuck's Revenge". On April 6, 2010, on his blog he announced that he left Hothead Games. He will continue to promote "DeathSpank" with Electronic Arts.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In September 2010, it was revealed that Gilbert had been hired by fellow former LucasArts game designer Tim Schafer, to work at Schafer's own Double Fine Productions. In February 2012, Tim Schafer confirmed he will be working with Ron Gilbert on a new adventure game. In May 2012, the game was revealed as "The Cave", which was released as a downloadable title by Sega in 2013.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: After the buying of LucasArts by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, the rights to the "Monkey Island" series became the company's property. Ron Gilbert has been quoted in November 2012 as not being optimistic about the franchise's future, believing that Disney might abandon the franchise in favor of "Pirates of the Caribbean"; however, in December 2012, he was also quoted as wishing to contact Disney, hoping to "make the game he wants to make".


title: Ron Gilbert

text: In March 2013, Gilbert left Double Fine Productions revealing that his joining the studio was purely for the creation of "The Cave": "I was telling him [Tim Schafer] about "The Cave" and he really liked it, so he said 'come to Double Fine and make it'. It was really all about making that game." Most recently he worked on the iOS and Android game "Scurvy Scallywags" with "DeathSpank" co-creator Clayton Kauzlaric.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: On November 18, 2014, it was revealed that he had reunited with Gary Winnick, with whom he created his early critically acclaimed point-and-click games at LucasArts, and that they were working together on a new point-and-click game called "Thimbleweed Park". The game reached its funding target on the crowd sourcing site Kickstarter on December 18 and was released on March 30, 2017, in full "talkie" mode for Windows, Linux, Mac and Xbox One. A port to iOS and Android was confirmed after the project met its last stretch-goal.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: On May 23, 2016, Gilbert took to Twitter to express a desire to buy back earlier LucasArts franchises saying "Please sell me my "Monkey Island" and "Maniac Mansion" IP. I'll pay actual money for them.". In 2017, fans of the series launched an online petition in support of Ron Gilbert, asking Disney to sell the franchises to him; as of December 2021, the petition has gathered about 29,000 signatures.


title: Ron Gilbert

text: On March 15, 2018, Gilbert announced he was in the early stages of developing an RPG called "A Little Something".


title: Ron Gilbert

text: On April 4, 2022, Gilbert announced on his Twitter account that he'd been working on "Return to Monkey Island" for the past 2 years in complete secrecy.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A predominantly industrial town, the town is the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre and is also known as the "Industrial Garden Town". It is the third largest settlement in Lincolnshire, after Lincoln and Grimsby. The Member of Parliament for Scunthorpe is Conservative politician Holly Mumby-Croft.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe as a town came into existence due to the exploitation of the local ironstone resources, and subsequent formation of iron works from the 1850s onwards. The regional population grew from 1,245 in 1851 to 11,167 in 1901 and 45,840 in 1941. During the expansion Scunthorpe expanded to include the former villages of Scunthorpe, Bottesford, Frodingham, Crosby, Brumby and Ashby. Scunthorpe became an urban district in 1891, merged as 'Scunthorpe, Brumby and Frodingham Urban District' in 1919, and became a municipal borough in 1936.


title: Scunthorpe

text: The town appears in the "Domesday Book" (1086) as , which is from the Old Norse meaning "Skuma's homestead", a site which is believed to be in the town centre close to where the present-day Market Hill is located.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe is located close to an outcrop of high-lime-content ironstone (~25% iron average) from a seam of the Lias Group strata which dates from the Early Jurassic period and runs north–south through Lincolnshire. Ironstone was mined by open cast methods from the 1850s onwards, and by underground mining from the late 1930s. In the 1970s the steel industry in Scunthorpe transitioned to use of ores imported from outside the UK with higher iron content. Underground mining in the area ceased in 1981.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe was close to the epicentre (at Middle Rasen) of the 2008 Market Rasen earthquake, the second largest earthquake experienced in the British Isles, which had a magnitude of 5.2. Significant shocks were felt in Scunthorpe and the surrounding North Lincolnshire area. The main 10-second quake, which struck at 00:56 GMT on 27 February 2008, at a depth of , was second only to a 1984 quake, with a magnitude of 5.4, which occurred in North Wales.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe forms an unparished area in the borough and unitary authority of North Lincolnshire. The town forms six of the borough's seventeen wards, namely Ashby, Brumby, Crosby & Park, Frodingham, Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens and Town. The Scunthorpe wards elect 16 of the borough's 43 councillors. As of 2018, 26 are members of the Conservative party, and 13 are members of the Labour party. The councillors form the charter trustees of the Town of Scunthorpe and they continue to elect a town mayor.


title: Scunthorpe

text: North Lincolnshire Council is based in The Civic Centre off Ashby Road (former A159) next to Festival Gardens. It was designed by Charles B. Pearson, Son and Partners and was completed in 1962. It was the home of Scunthorpe Borough Council until 1996. Briefly renamed Pittwood House, it was named after Edwin Pittwood, a local Labour politician, who worked in the opencast ironstone workings near Normanby Park. There are also offices at Church Square House near the former Scunthorpe Market. Pittwood House has since been renamed as Civic Centre due to the relocation of the Register Office from its old premises in Oswald road.


title: Scunthorpe

text: In 1889 the area was included in the Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey administrative county. Separate local government began in 1890 when the Scunthorpe local board of health was formed. In 1894 the local board was replaced with an urban district council. At the same time the neighbouring townships of Brumby and Frodingham were also constituted an urban district. The two urban districts were amalgamated, along with the parishes of Crosby and Ashby in 1919 to form an enlarged Scunthorpe urban district. Scunthorpe received a charter incorporating the town as a municipal borough in 1936.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Local authority boundary changes brought the town into the new county of Humberside in 1974, and a new non-metropolitan district, the Borough of Scunthorpe was formed with the same boundaries as the old municipal borough. The opening of the Humber Bridge on 24 June 1981 provided a permanent link between North and South Humberside but did not secure Humberside's future. To the relief of its many detractors, the county of Humberside (and Humberside County Council) was abolished on 1 April 1996 and succeeded by four unitary authorities.


title: Scunthorpe

text: The previous Humberside districts of Glanford and Scunthorpe, and that part of Boothferry district south of the northern boundaries of the parishes of Crowle, Eastoft, Luddington, Haldenby and Amcotts, now compose the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire. On amalgamation charter trustees were formed for Scunthorpe, and they continue to elect a town mayor.


title: Scunthorpe

text: When Scunthorpe was incorporated as a borough in 1936, it also received a grant of a coat of arms from the College of Arms. These arms were transferred to the new borough council formed in 1974, and are now used by the town's charter trustees.


title: Scunthorpe

text: The green shield and golden wheatsheaf recall that the area was until recently agricultural in nature. Across the centre of the shield is a length of chain. This refers to the five villages of Crosby, Scunthorpe, Frodingham, Brumby & Ashby linking together as one. At the top of the shield are two fossils of the species "Gryphaea incurva". These remains of oysters, known as the "devil's toenails", were found in the rock strata from which ironstone was quarried.


title: Scunthorpe

text: The crest, on top of the helm, shows a blast furnace. This is also referred to in the Latin motto: "Refulget labores nostros coelum" or "The heavens reflect our labours" popularly attributed to the glow observed in the night sky from the steelmaking activities.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe lies on an escarpment of ridged land (the Lincoln Cliff) which slopes down towards the Trent. The surrounding environs are largely low-lying hills and plains. Although the town itself is heavily industrial it is surrounded by fertile farmland and wooded areas. In terms of general location it lies a mile east of the River Trent, south of the Humber Estuary, west of the Lincolnshire Wolds and north of Lincoln. The town is situated at the terminus of the M181, from Sheffield.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Nearby towns and cities are Hull (18 miles northeast), Doncaster (20 miles west), Grimsby (22 miles east) and York (46 miles northwest).


title: Scunthorpe

text: Scunthorpe is approximately east of South Yorkshire and south by south west to the East Riding of Yorkshire.


title: Scunthorpe

text: The Iron industry in Scunthorpe was established in the mid 19th century, following the discovery and exploitation of middle Lias ironstone east of Scunthorpe. Initially iron ore was exported to iron producers in South Yorkshire. Later, after the construction of the Trent, Ancholme and Grimsby Railway (1860s) gave rail access to the area iron production in the area rapidly expanded using local ironstone and imported coal or coke. Rapid industrial expansion in the area led directly to the development of the town of Scunthorpe, eventually incorporating several other former hamlets and villages, in a formerly sparsely populated entirely agricultural area.


title: Scunthorpe

text: From the early 1910s to the 1930s the industry consolidated, with three main ownership concerns formed – the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company, part of the United Steel Companies; the Redbourn Iron Works, part of Richard Thomas and Company of South Wales (later Richard Thomas and Baldwins); and John Lysaght's Normanby Iron Works, part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds.


title: Scunthorpe

text: In 1967 all three works became part of the nationalised British Steel Corporation (BSC), leading to a period of further consolidation – from the 1970s the use of local or regional ironstone diminished, being replaced by imported ore via the Immingham Bulk Terminal. Conversion to the Linz-Donawitz process (or "basic oxygen" process) of steel making from the open hearth process took place from the late 1960s onwards and was complete by the 1990s. Both the Normanby Park and the Redbourn works closed in the early 1980s.


title: Scunthorpe

text: Following privatisation in 1988 the company, together with the rest of BSC, became part of Corus (1999), later Tata Steel Europe (2007). In 2016 the long products division of Tata Steel Europe was sold to Greybull Capital with Scunthorpe as the primary steel production site.