title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: After the controversial and mysterious aviation accident occurred in Bahawalpur, Khan appeared on national television and announced the death of General Zia-ul-Haq. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, Khan was the second in the line of succession to the President of Pakistan. However, General Mirza Aslam Beg called out for the general elections in 1988. Until the elections, Khan served as an acting president in accordance with the Constitutional rules of succession.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: Reaching the mutual understanding with the leftist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Khan participated in presidential elections on a PPP platform. Khan secured 608 votes in the elections, competing against four other candidates; he was also supported by the conservative IDA led by Nawaz Sharif. At the time of assuming the office of president, he became the oldest president of Pakistan.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: As president, Khan was marred with political struggle with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who attempted for pushing the bill to reverse the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. Furthermore, Khan was in a conflict with Prime Minister Bhutto in two areas; the appointment of the military chiefs of staff and the Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Khan consolidated his position in controlling the nuclear deterrence program, keeping all the control over its direction. Problems arose when Prime Minister Bhutto made contact with Munir Ahmad and Abdul Qadeer Khan over the program's direction, which frustrated Khan. Economic growth slowed down and introduction of the US Embargo on Pakistan caused a great economic panic in the country. In the 1990s, Khan and Bhutto failed to arrest the 30% fall in the value of ₨. from 21 to 30 to the US $.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: Khan struggled to control the law and order in the country after witnessing the Soviet troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan. Although, he maintained an ally of the United States.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: Soon after assuming the presidency, President Ghulam Ishaq's conflict arise with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's invalid and inappropriate appointments in nation's court system, which were primarily political rather than meeting merit. Many of Benazir government's recommendations for judicial appointments were voided and the judicial appointments made by the President himself became a controversial issue in the nation.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: The appointments of chiefs of staff in the command of the military was another issue where the President Khan was in conflict with the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1989. President Khan also confirmed Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik as the Chief of Naval staff and raised no objections.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: Although, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan confirmed the nomination of Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey as Chairman joint chiefs and General Mirza Aslam Beg as chief of army staff in 1988, President Khan notably used his presidential powers to retain Admiral Sirohey as Chairman joint chiefs and defused any attempts made by Prime Minister Bhutto for General Beg as the new chairman joint chiefs to control the military.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: In 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan reportedly denied the term extension of General Mirza Aslam Beg despite Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's urging. He also raised objections and further vetoed the appointment of Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul, former DG ISI, as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army. Instead, he favored appointing General Asif Nawaz as Chief of Army Staff. On the advice of Prime Minister Sharif, he confirmed Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze as Chief of Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: As economic and law and order crises deepened, Khan used the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan to dismiss Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's government over corruption charges and deteriorating law and order situation and called fresh elections. After holding the general elections in 1993, he supported Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister and his IDA government.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: Problems with Sharif arose with the issue of reversing the Eighth Amendment when Sharif tried to pass the bill. Eventually, he used the same Amendment to dismiss Sharif's government on similar charges. However, Sharif retaliated by bringing a lawsuit against him in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. President Khan's attempt to use the Eighth Amendment was deemed illegal by the Court and Sharif was reinstated as the Prime Minister. The political deadlock persisted and after the joint intervention of the judiciary and the military, both Khan and Sharif were forced to resign.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: In 1988, Khan founded the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, which runs programmes in engineering, science and technology. The university was established with the financial support from the BCCI. He invited A Q Khan who took the professorship of physics and delegated Asghar Qadir, a PAEC mathematician, to take professorship in mathematics.


title: Ghulam Ishaq Khan

text: He again negotiated with the PPP for the presidency but eventually dropped as a candidate in favour of Farooq Leghari in general elections held in 1993. He retired from the national politics and avoided contact with international and domestic news media. He died on 27 October 2006, after a bout of pneumonia.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: Madeleine Sophie Wickham, known by her pen name Sophie Kinsella, is an English author. The first two novels in her best-selling Shopaholic series, "The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic" and "Shopaholic Abroad", were adapted into the film "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009). Her books have sold over 40 million copies in more than 60 countries, and been translated into over 40 languages.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: Madeleine Sophie Wickham is the eldest sister of fellow writers Gemma and Abigail Townley. She was educated at Putney High School, St Mary's School near Shaftesbury, Sherborne School for Girls, and New College, Oxford, where she initially studied Music, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). She worked as a financial journalist (including for "Pensions World") before turning to fiction.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: At the age of 24, Kinsella wrote her first novel, which was published when she was 26. "The Tennis Party" was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten best-seller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: "A Desirable Residence", "Swimming Pool Sunday", "The Gatecrasher", "The Wedding Girl", "Cocktails for Three" and "Sleeping Arrangements".


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: Wickham's first novel under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella (taken from her middle name and her mother's maiden name) was submitted to her publishers anonymously and was enthusiastically received. She revealed her real identity for the first time when "Can You Keep a Secret?" was published in December 2003.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: Kinsella is best known for writing the "Shopaholic" novels series of chick lit novels, which focus on the misadventures of Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who cannot manage her own finances. She is also known for her relationship with Luke. The series focuses on her obsession with shopping and its resulting complications for her life. The first two "Shopaholic" books were adapted into a film and released in February 2009.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: The most recent addition to the "Shopaholic" series, "Shopaholic to the Rescue" was released on 22 October 2015; "Christmas Shopaholic" was released in October 2019. Her most recent standalone novels are "Love Your Life", "I Owe You One" (Feb 2019), "My Not So Perfect Life" and "Surprise Me". In 2015, she branched into Young Adult writing with her first YA book, "Finding Audrey", published in June 2015.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: A musical adaptation of Kinsella's novel 'Sleeping Arrangements' by Chris Burgess was premiered on 17 April 2013 in London at the Landor Theatre.


title: Sophie Kinsella

text: Kinsella lives in Dorset and London with her husband, Henry Wickham (whom she met in Oxford), who was previously headmaster of Lockers Park boys preparatory school and now manages her business affairs. They were married in 1991.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: Xanadu is the fictional estate of Charles Foster Kane, the title character of the film "Citizen Kane" (1941). The estate derives its name from the ancient city of Xanadu, known for its splendor. Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California, has been considered to be the main inspiration for Xanadu, due to the William Randolph Hearst/Kane comparison that was a large source of controversy after the film's release.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: Built on an immense "private mountain" located on the "deserts of the Gulf Coast" in Florida, Xanadu is described as being the world's largest private estate; "Cost: no man can say," according to the newsreel at the beginning of the film. The newsreel directly quotes from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan", which tells of the title character's erection of a "stately pleasure-dome" in the city of Xanadu. The newsreel also states that Kane specifically conceived the estate for Susan Alexander, his second wife. However, Susan grew to hate Xanadu, calling it "forty-nine thousand acres [76 square miles, 200 km²] of nothing but scenery and statues." The "News on the March" description of Xanadu—a pastiche of the style of "The March of Time" news digests then regularly seen in theaters—is as follows:


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: The estate also boasts a championship golf course and a Venetian-style canal with gondolas. The extensive zoo and aquarium were stocked with a menagerie of animals including monkeys, horses, giraffes, birds, octopuses, elephants and donkeys. The estate is enclosed by an iron fence that is entered through a gateway with a giant letter "K" above it. Central to the estate is Xanadu proper, the castle-like mansion that served as Kane's home and repository for his enormous collection of antiquities and "objets d'art". Xanadu has a butler and at least a few dozen footmen and maidservants, who are shown at the end of the scene where Kane wrecks his wife's suite after she leaves him.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York, was used for some exterior shots of Xanadu (particularly of the formal gardens) seen in the opening newsreel. However, most shots of Xanadu were surrealistic, highly stylized matte paintings. Xanadu makes great use of Gothic architecture and, except in the opening newsreel, it always appears in the film at night with fog surrounding it, giving it an ominous look; for Kane, Xanadu becomes more of a prison than a refuge. Very little of the interior was shown, presumably due to the film's limited budget and the fact that little of the interior was needed for the required scenes. The interior—including enormous and sparsely decorated rooms with gigantic fireplaces—is as gloomy and imposing as the exterior, again emphasizing its status as a prison. Xanadu's interior especially does not appear at all homey or cozy, symbolizing the emptiness of Kane's later life.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: The estate is featured in the opening and closing shots of the film, and is where Kane dies, virtually alone. Though he is still fabulously wealthy at the time of his death, Xanadu, still unfinished according to the newsreel, has already fallen into visible disrepair, presumably from neglect and its impractical size. After his death, Xanadu is abandoned and its contents are cataloged and auctioned. Kane's personal effects, including a sled that reveals the meaning of "Rosebud", are incinerated.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: Xanadu has been used in recent times to represent the foolish excess of lavish lifestyles such as Kane's. Various celebrities for example Michael Jackson with his Neverland Ranch and George Lucas with Skywalker Ranch have been compared to Kane. Xanadu's symbolic meaning of a prison built to immure oneself resonates to this day. Bill Gates' house has been nicknamed "Xanadu 2.0" in reference to the fictional mansion.


title: Xanadu (Citizen Kane)

text: When similarly stylized Gothic buildings appear in film, Xanadu is often considered a source of inspiration and the similarity is often noted by critics.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Timurid Renaissance was a historical period in Asian and Islamic history spanning the late 14th, the 15th, and the early 16th centuries. Following the gradual downturn of the Islamic Golden Age, the Timurid Empire, based in Central Asia ruled by the Timurid dynasty, witnessed the revival of arts and sciences in the Muslim world. Its movement spread across the Muslim world and left profound impacts on late medieval and Early Modern Period Asia. The French word "renaissance" means "rebirth", and defines a period as one of cultural revival. The use of the term for the description of this period has raised reservations among scholars, some of whom see it as a swan song of Timurid culture.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Timurid Renaissance was marked slightly earlier than the Renaissance movement in Europe. Some have described it as equal in glory to the Italian Quattrocento. The Timurid Renaissance reached its peak in the 15th century, after the end of the period of Mongol invasions and conquests.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Based on Islamic ideals, the foundations of the Timurid Renaissance include the rebuilding of Samarkand and the invention of Tamerlane Chess by Timur, the reign of Shah Rukh and his consort Gawhar Shad in Herat (a city which rivaled Florence of the Italian Renaissance as the center of a cultural rebirth), the period of the astronomer and mathematician Ulugh Begh (along with notable polymaths and Islamic scholars), and the construction of additional learning centers by the art patron Sultan Husayn Bayqara. The Timur reign experienced revived interest in classical Persian art. Large-scale building projects were undertaken, creating mausoleums, madrasas, and "kitabhane" - medieval Islamic book workshops. Mathematical and astronomical studies were reinvigorated, and at the beginning of the 16th century, mastering firearms was achieved.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Major commissions from the Timur's lifetime were the Summer Palace in Shahrisabz, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and the construction of the Registan. The city of Herat became an important center of intellectual and artistic life in the Muslim world during this time. Samarkand, a center of scholarly study which was previously destroyed during the Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia, became the center of the Renaissance and Islamic civilization in general due to the reconstruction during the period.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Timurid Renaissance differed from previous Buyid dynasty cultural and artistic developments in that it was not a direct revival of classical models, but rather a broadening of their cultural appeal by including more colloquial styles in Persian language. The Timurid Renaissance was inherited by Mughal India and had significant influence on the other states of the Age of the Islamic Gunpowders (Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Iran).


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Timurid Empire was founded by Amir Tamerlane in 1370 after the conquest of several Ilkhanate successor states. After conquering a city, the Timurids commonly spared the lives of the local artisans and deported them to the Timurid capital of Samarkand. After the Timurids conquered Persia in the early 15th century, many Islamic artistic traits became interwoven with existing Mongol art. Timur's establishment of the Islamic Sharia law later in life made Samarkand one of the centers of Islamic art. In the mid 15th century the empire moved its capital to Herat, which became a focal point for Timurid art. As with Samarkand, artisans and intellectuals of various ethnic backgrounds soon established Herat as a center for arts and culture. Soon, many of the Timurid cultural expressions became mixed with those of other traditions.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Timurid art absorbed and improved upon the traditional Persian concept of the "Arts of the Book". The new, Timurid-inflected works of art saw illustrated paper (as opposed to parchment) manuscripts produced by the empire's artists. These illustrations were notable for their rich colors and elaborate designs. Due to the quality of the miniature paintings found in these manuscripts, archaeologist and art historian Suzan Yalman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art noted that "the Herat school [of manuscript painting] is often regarded as the apogee of Persian painting. Timurid silver-inlaid steel is often being cited as being of particularly high quality. Painting was not limited to manuscripts, as many Timurid artists also created intricate wall paintings. Many of these wall paintings depicted landscapes derived from both Persian and Chinese artistic tradition. While the subject matter of these paintings was borrowed from other cultures, Timurid wall paintings were eventually refined into their own, unique style. Mongol artistic traditions were not entirely phased out, as the highly stylized depictions of human figures seen in 15th century Timurid art are derived from this culture.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Sultan Husayn Bayqara reign saw a further rise in the arts. He was renowned as a benefactor and patron of learning in his kingdom. Sultan Husayn built numerous structures including a famous school. He has been described as "the quintessential Timurid ruler of the later period in Transoxiana" and his sophisticated court and generous artistic patronage was a source of admiration, particularly from his cousin, Babur of Mughal India.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Timurid architecture drew on the aspects of the Seljuk architecture. Turquoise and blue tiles forming intricate linear and geometric patterns decorated the facades of buildings. Sometimes the interior was decorated similarly, with painting and stucco relief further enriching the effect. Timurid architecture is the pinnacle of Islamic art in Central Asia. Spectacular and stately edifices erected by Tamerlane and his successors in Samarkand and Herat helped to disseminate the influence of the Ilkhanid school of art in India, thus giving rise to the celebrated "Mughal" (or "Mongol") school of architecture. Timurid architecture started with the sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi in present-day Kazakhstan and culminated in Timur's mausoleum Gur-e Amir in Samarkand. Timur's Gur-I Mir, the 14th-century mausoleum of the conqueror is covered with "turquoise Persian tiles". Nearby, in the center of the ancient town, a "Persian style madrassa" (religious school) and a "Persian style mosque" by Ulugh Beg is observed. The mausoleum of Timurid princes, with their turquoise and blue-tiled domes remain among the most refined and exquisite Persian architecture. Axial symmetry is a characteristic of all major Timurid structures, notably the Shāh-e Zenda in Samarkand, the "Musallah" complex in Herat, and the mosque of Gawhar Shad in Mashhad. Double domes of various shapes abound, and the outsides are perfused with brilliant colors. Timur's dominance of the region strengthened the influence of his capital and Persian architecture upon the Indian Subcontinent.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Timurid Empire also produced quality pieces of metalwork. Steel, iron, brass, and bronze were commonly used as mediums. Timurid silver-inlaid steel is often being cited as being of particularly high quality. Following the collapse of the Timurid Empire, several Iranian and Mesopotamian cultures co-opted Timurid metalwork.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Chinese-style ceramics were produced by Timurid artisans. Jade carving also had some presence in Timurid art.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Jamshid al-Kashi was one of the most influential contributors in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. He got immense support from both Emperor Shah Rukh and Queen Goharshad, who were very interested in the sciences and encouraged theirs court to study the various fields in great depth. Consequently, the period of their power became one of many scholarly achievements.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The rein of Sultan Ulugh Begh saw the scientific peak of the empire. During his rule, al-Kashi produced sine tables to four sexagesimal digits (equivalent to eight decimal places) of accuracy for each degree and includes differences for each minute. He also produced tables dealing with transformations between coordinate systems on the celestial sphere, such as the transformation from the ecliptic coordinate system to the equatorial coordinate system.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The Sullam al-Sama was authored, which provided the resolution of difficulties met by predecessors in the determination of distances and sizes of heavenly bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and the Stars. The "Treatise on Astronomical Observational Instruments" was also written which described a variety of different instruments, including the triquetrum and armillary sphere, the equinoctial armillary and solsticial armillary of Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi, the sine and versine instrument of Urdi, the sextant of al-Khujandi, the Fakhri sextant at the Samarqand observatory, a double quadrant Azimuth-altitude instrument he invented, and a small armillary sphere incorporating an alhidade which he invented.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: The invention of the Plate of Conjunctions was seen, an analog computing instrument used to determine the time of day at which planetary conjunctions will occur, and for performing linear interpolation. Invented was also a mechanical planetary computer which he called the Plate of Zones, which could graphically solve a number of planetary problems, including the prediction of the true positions in longitude of the Sun and Moon, and the planets in terms of elliptical orbits; the latitudes of the Sun, Moon, and planets; and the ecliptic of the Sun. The instrument also incorporated an alhidade and ruler.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Ulugh Begh founded an institute in Samarkand which soon became a prominent university. Students from all over Central Asia, and beyond, flocked to this academy in the capital city of his sultanate. Consequently, Ulugh Beg gathered many great mathematicians and scientists, including Ali Qushji.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Ali made significant development of astronomical physics independent from natural philosophy, and for providing empirical evidence for the Earth's rotation in his treatise, "Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy". In addition to his contributions to Ulugh Beg's famous work Zij-i-Sultani and to the founding of Sahn-ı Seman Medrese, one of the first centers for the study of various traditional Islamic sciences in the Ottoman caliphate, Ali Kuşçu was also the author of several scientific works and textbooks on astronomy. Qushji's most important astronomical work is "Concerning the Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy". Under the influence of Islamic theologians who opposed the interference of Aristotelianism in astronomy, Qushji rejected Aristotelian physics and completely separated natural philosophy from Islamic astronomy, allowing astronomy to become a purely empirical and mathematical science. This allowed him to explore alternatives to the Aristotelian notion of a stationary Earth, as he explored the idea of a moving Earth instead (though Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that no Islamic astronomers proposed a heliocentric universe). He also found empirical evidence for the Earth's rotation through his observation on comets and concluded, on the basis of empirical evidence rather than speculative philosophy, that the moving Earth theory is just as likely to be true as the stationary Earth theory.


title: Timurid Renaissance

text: Following the decline of the Timurid Empire in the late 15th century, the Gunpowder empires, which were the Ottomans, Safavid dynasty, Mughal India and other empires co-opted Timurid artistic traditions into their own.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his philosophy "new existentialism" or "phenomenological existentialism", and maintained his life work was "that of a philosopher, and (his) purpose to create a new and optimistic existentialism".


title: Colin Wilson

text: Wilson was born on 26 June 1931 in Leicester, the first child of Arthur and Annetta Wilson. His father worked in a shoe factory. At the age of eleven he attended Gateway Secondary Technical School, where his interest in science began to blossom. By the age of 14 he had compiled a multi-volume work of essays covering many aspects of science entitled "A Manual of General Science". But by the time he left school at sixteen, his interests were already switching to literature. His discovery of George Bernard Shaw's work, particularly "Man and Superman", was a landmark. He started to write stories, plays, and essays in earnest – a long "sequel" to "Man and Superman" made him consider himself to be 'Shaw's natural successor.' After two unfulfilling jobs – one as a laboratory assistant at his old school – he drifted into the Civil Service, but found little to occupy his time.


title: Colin Wilson

text: In the autumn of 1949, he was conscripted into the Royal Air Force but soon found himself clashing with authority, eventually feigning homosexuality in order to be dismissed. Upon leaving he took up a succession of menial jobs, spent some time wandering around Europe, and finally returned to Leicester in 1951. There he married his first wife, (Dorothy) Betty Troop, and moved to London, where a son, Roderick Gerard, was born. He later wrote a semi-autobiograpical novel Adrift in Soho that was based on his time in London. But the marriage rapidly disintegrated as he drifted in and out of several jobs. During this traumatic period, Wilson was continually working and reworking the novel that was eventually published as "Ritual in the Dark" (1960). He also met three young writers who became close friends – Bill Hopkins, Stuart Holroyd and Laura Del-Rivo. Another trip to Europe followed, and he spent some time in Paris attempting to sell magazine subscriptions. Returning to Leicester again, he met Joy Stewart – later to become his second wife and mother of their three children – who accompanied him to London. There he continued to work on "Ritual in the Dark", receiving some advice from Angus Wilson (no relation) – then deputy superintendent of the British Museum's Reading Room – and slept rough (in a sleeping bag) on Hampstead Heath to save money.


title: Colin Wilson

text: On Christmas Day, 1954, alone in his room, he sat down on his bed and began to write in his journal. He described his feelings as follows:


title: Colin Wilson

text: Gollancz published the 24-year-old Wilson's "The Outsider" in 1956. The work examines the role of the social "outsider" in seminal works by various key literary and cultural figuressuch as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent van Goghand discusses Wilson's perception of social alienation in their work. The book became a best-seller and helped popularise existentialism in Britain. It has never been out of print and has been translated into more than thirty languages.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Wilson became associated with the "angry young men" of British literature. He contributed to "Declaration", an anthology of manifestos by writers associated with the movement, and was also anthologised in a popular paperback sampler, "Protest: The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men". Some viewed Wilson and his friends Bill Hopkins and Stuart Holroyd as a sub-group of the "Angries", more concerned with "religious values" than with liberal or socialist politics. Critics on the left swiftly labelled them as fascist; commentator Kenneth Allsop called them "the law givers". Controversially, during the 1950s Wilson expressed critical support for some of the ideas of Oswald Mosley the leader of Union Movement and after Mosley's death in December 1980, Wilson contributed articles to Mosley's former secretary Jeffrey Hamm's "Lodestar" magazine.


title: Colin Wilson

text: The success of "The Outsider" notwithstanding, Wilson's second book, "Religion and the Rebel" (1957), was universally panned by critics although Wilson himself claimed it was a more comprehensive book than the first one. While "The Outsider" was focused on documenting the subject of mental strain and near-insanity, "Religion and the Rebel" was focused on how to expand our consciousness and transform us into visionaries. "Time" magazine published a review, headlined "Scrambled Egghead", that pilloried the book. Undaunted, Wilson continued to expound his positive "new" existentialism in the six philosophical books known as "The Outsider Cycle", all written within the first ten years of his literary career. These books were summarised by "Introduction to the New Existentialism" (1966). When the book was re-printed in 1980 as "The New Existentialism", Wilson wrote: "If I have contributed anything to existentialism – or, for that matter, to twentieth century thought in general, here it is. I am willing to stand or fall by it."


title: Colin Wilson

text: In "The Age of Defeat" (1959) – book 3 of "The Outsider Cycle" – he bemoaned the loss of the hero in twentieth century life and literature, convinced that we were becoming embroiled in what he termed "the fallacy of insignificance". It was this theory that encouraged celebrated American psychologist Abraham Maslow to contact him in 1963. The two corresponded regularly and met on several occasions before Maslow's death in 1970. Wilson wrote a biography and assessment of Maslow's work, "New Pathways in Psychology: Maslow and the Post-Freudian Revolution", based on audiotapes that Maslow had provided, which was published in 1972. Maslow's observation of "peak experiences" in his students – those sudden moments of overwhelming happiness that we all experience from time to time – provided Wilson with an important clue in his search for the mechanism that might control the Outsider's "moments of vision". Maslow, however, was convinced that peak experiences could not be induced; Colin Wilson thought otherwise and, indeed, in later books like "Access to Inner Worlds" (1983) and "Super Consciousness" (2009), suggested how they could be induced at will.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Wilson was also known for what he termed "Existential Criticism", which suggested that a work of art should not just be judged by the principles of literary criticism or theory alone but also by what it has to say, in particular about the meaning and purpose of existence. In his pioneering essay for "Chicago Review" (Volume 13, no. 2, 1959, pp. 152–181) he wrote:


title: Colin Wilson

text: No art can be judged by purely aesthetic standards, although a painting or a piece of music may appear to give a purely aesthetic pleasure. Aesthetic enjoyment is an intensification of the vital response, and this response forms the basis of all value judgements. The existentialist contends that all values are connected with the problems of human existence, the stature of man, the purpose of life. These values are inherent in all works of art, in addition to their aesthetic values, and are closely connected with them.


title: Colin Wilson

text: He went on to write several more essays and books on the subject. Among the latter were "The Strength to Dream" (1962), "Eagle and Earwig" (1965), "Poetry and Mysticism" (1970) "The Craft of the Novel" (1975), "The Bicameral Critic" (1985) and "The Books in My Life" (1998). He also applied existential criticism to many of the hundreds of book reviews he wrote for journals including "Books & Bookmen", "The Literary Review", "The London Magazine", "John O'London's", "The Spectator" and "The Aylesford Review" throughout his career. Some of these were gathered together in a book entitled "Existential Criticism: Selected Book Reviews", published in 2009.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Meanwhile, the prolific Wilson found time to write about other subjects that interested him, even on occasion when his level of expertise might be questionable. The title of his opinionated 1964 volume on music appreciation, "Brandy of the Damned", inspired by his enthusiasm for record collecting, used for its title a self-deprecating reference from the onetime music critic Bernard Shaw. The full quote (from "Man and Superman") is: "Hell is full of musical amateurs: music is the brandy of the damned. May not one lost soul be permitted to abstain?”


title: Colin Wilson

text: By the late 1960s Wilson had become increasingly interested in metaphysical and occult themes. In 1971, he published "", featuring interpretations on Aleister Crowley, George Gurdjieff, Helena Blavatsky, Kabbalah, primitive magic, Franz Mesmer, Grigori Rasputin, Daniel Dunglas Home and Paracelsus, among others. He also wrote a markedly unsympathetic biography of Crowley, "Aleister Crowley: The Nature of the Beast", and has written biographies on other spiritual and psychological visionaries, including Gurdjieff, Carl Jung, Wilhelm Reich, Rudolf Steiner, and P. D. Ouspensky.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Originally, Wilson focused on the cultivation of what he called "Faculty X", which he saw as leading to an increased sense of meaning, and on abilities such as telepathy and the awareness of other energies. In his later work he suggests the possibility of life after death and the existence of spirits, which he personally analyses as an active member of the Ghost Club.


title: Colin Wilson

text: He also wrote non-fiction books on crime, ranging from encyclopedias to studies of serial killing. He had an ongoing interest in the life and times of Jack the Ripper and in sex crime in general.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Wilson explored his ideas on human potential and consciousness in fiction, mostly detective fiction or science fiction, including several Cthulhu Mythos pieces; often writing a non-fiction work and a novel concurrently – as a way of putting his ideas into action. He wrote:


title: Colin Wilson

text: Like some of his non-fiction work, many of Wilson's novels from "Ritual in the Dark" (1960) onwards have been concerned with the psychology of murder—especially that of serial killing. However, he has also written science fiction of a philosophical bent, including "The Mind Parasites" (1967), "The Philosopher's Stone" (1969), "The Space Vampires" (1976) and the four-volume "Spider-World" series: "" (1987), "" (1987), "Spider World: The Magician" (1992) and "Spider World: Shadowland" (2003); novels described by one critic as "an artistic achievement of the highest order... destined to be regarded to be one of the central products of the twentieth century imagination." Wilson wrote the "Spider World" series in response to a suggestion made to him by Roald Dahl to 'write a novel for children.' He also said he'd 'like to be remembered as the man who wrote "Spider World.’"


title: Colin Wilson

text: In "The Strength to Dream" (1961) Wilson attacked H. P. Lovecraft as "sick" and as "a bad writer" who had "rejected reality"—but he grudgingly praised Lovecraft's story "The Shadow Out of Time" as capable science fiction. August Derleth, incensed by Wilson's treatment of Lovecraft in "The Strength to Dream", then dared Wilson to write what became "The Mind Parasites"—to expound his philosophical ideas in the guise of fiction. In the preface to "The Mind Parasites", Wilson concedes that Lovecraft, "far more than Hemingway or Faulkner, or even Kafka, is a symbol of the outsider-artist in the 20th century" and asks: "what would have happened if Lovecraft had possessed a private income—enough, say, to allow him to spend his winters in Italy and his summers in Greece or Switzerland?" answering that in his [Wilson's] opinion "[h]e would undoubtedly have produced less, but what he did produce would have been highly polished, without the pulp magazine cliches that disfigure so much of his work. And he would have given free rein to his love of curious and remote erudition, so that his work would have been, in some respect, closer to that of Anatole France or the contemporary Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges".


title: Colin Wilson

text: Wilson also discusses Lovecraft in "Order of Assassins" (1972) and in the prefatory note to "The Philosopher's Stone" (1969). His short novel "The Return of the Lloigor" (1969/1974) also has roots in the Cthulhu Mythos – its central character works on the real book the Voynich manuscript, but discovers it to be a mediaeval Arabic version of the "Necronomicon" – as does his 2002 novel "The Tomb of the Old Ones".


title: Colin Wilson

text: Tobe Hooper directed the film "Lifeforce", based on Wilson's novel "The Space Vampires". After its release, Colin Wilson recalled that author John Fowles regarded the film adaptation of Fowles' own novel "The Magus" as the worst film adaptation of a novel ever. Wilson told Fowles there was now a worse one.


title: Colin Wilson

text: A film of his 1961 novel "Adrift in Soho" by director Pablo Behrens was released by Burning Films in 2018.


title: Colin Wilson

text: After a major spinal operation in 2011, Wilson suffered a stroke and lost his ability to speak. He was admitted to hospital in October 2013 for pneumonia. He died on 5 December 2013 and was buried in the churchyard at Gorran Churchtown in Cornwall. A memorial service for him was held at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London, on 14 October 2014.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Howard F. Dossor, author of a book about Wilson’s career, wrote appreciatively: "Wilson constitutes one of the most significant challenges to twentieth-century critics. It seems most likely that critics analysing his work in the middle of the twenty-first century, will be puzzled that his contemporaries paid such inadequate attention to him. But it is not merely for their sake that he should be examined. Critics who turn to him will find themselves involved in the central questions of our age and will be in touch with a mind that has disclosed an extraordinary resilience in addressing them." Critic Nicolas Tredell agreed: "The twenty-first century may look back on Colin Wilson as one of the novelists who foresaw the future of fiction, and something, perhaps, of the future of man."


title: Colin Wilson

text: Science writer Martin Gardner saw Wilson as an intelligent writer who was duped by paranormal claims. He once commented that "Colin bought it all. With unparalleled egotism and scientific ignorance he believed almost everything he read about the paranormal, no matter how outrageous." Gardner described Wilson's book "The Geller Phenomenon" as "the most gullible book ever written about the Israeli charlatan". Gardner concluded that Wilson had decayed into an "occult eccentric" writing books for the "lunatic fringe". The psychologist Dorothy Rowe gave Wilson's book "Men of Mystery" a negative review and wrote that it "does nothing to advance research into the paranormal". Benjamin Radford has written that Wilson had a "bias toward mystery-mongering" and that he ignored scientific and skeptical arguments on some of the topics he wrote about. Radford described Wilson's book "The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved" as "riddled with errors and obfuscating omissions, betraying a bizarre disregard for accuracy".


title: Colin Wilson

text: In 2016 the first full-length biography of Wilson, "Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson", by Gary Lachman, appeared. It received a positive endorsement from Philip Pullman, who wrote that "Wilson was always far better and more interesting than fashionable opinion claimed, and in Lachman he has found a biographer who can respond to the whole range of his work with sympathy and understanding, in a style which, like Wilson's own, is always immensely readable." Michael Dirda in "The Washington Post" called Wilson a "controversial writer who explored the nature of human consciousness in dozens of books" and said that Lachman, a "leading student of the western esoteric tradition, writes with "exceptional grace, forcefulness, and clarity." Brett Taylor "enjoyed" the biography, but said that "a more critical author might have written a book that argued for the subject's worth in a broader and more convincing context. Lachman displays credulity on occult matters and an admiration for Wilson's sometimes dodgy philosophy."


title: Colin Wilson

text: On 1 July 2016, the First International Colin Wilson Conference took place at the University of Nottingham. A second conference took place at the same venue on 6 July 2018.


title: Colin Wilson

text: Colin Wilson's archive is held at the Manuscripts and Special Collections Department at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. It contains all his published work plus manuscripts, correspondence and journals.


title: Album cover

text: An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rpm records, single and sets of LPs, sets of 45 rpm records (either in several connected sleeves or a box), or the front-facing panel of a cassette J-card or CD package, and, increasingly, the primary image accompanying a digital download of the album, or of its individual tracks.


title: Album cover

text: Around 1910, 78-rpm records replaced the phonograph cylinder as the medium for recorded sound. The 78-rpm records were issued in both 10- and 12-inch diameter sizes and were usually sold separately, in brown paper or cardboard sleeves that were sometimes plain and sometimes printed to show the producer or the retailer's name. These were invariably made out of acid paper, limiting conservability. Generally the sleeves had a circular cutout allowing the record label to be seen. Records could be laid on a shelf horizontally or stood upright on an edge, but because of their fragility, many broke in storage.


title: Album cover

text: German record company Odeon pioneered the "album" in 1909 when it released the "Nutcracker Suite" by Tchaikovsky on four double-sided discs in a specially designed package. (It is not indicated what the specially designed package was.) The practice of issuing albums does not seem to have been taken up by other record companies for many years.


title: Album cover

text: Beginning in the 1920s, bound collections of empty sleeves with a plain paperboard or leather cover were sold as "record albums" (similar to a photograph album) that customers could use to store their records. (The name "record album" was printed on some covers.) These empty albums were sold in both 10- and 12-inch sizes. The covers of these bound books were wider and taller than the records inside, allowing the record album to be placed on a shelf upright, like a book, and suspending the fragile records above the shelf, protecting them.


title: Album cover

text: Starting in the 1930s, record companies began issuing collections of 78-rpm records by one performer or of one type of music in specially assembled collections. These albums of several 78-rpm records could include a collection of popular songs related by either performer or style, or extended-length classical music, including complete symphonies.


title: Album cover

text: In 1938, Columbia Records hired Alex Steinweiss as its first art director. He is credited with inventing the concept of album covers and cover art, replacing the plain covers used before. After his initial efforts at Columbia, other record companies followed his lead. By the late 1940s, record albums for all the major companies featured their own colorful paper covers in both 10- and 12-inch sizes. Some featured reproductions of classic art while others utilized original designs.


title: Album cover

text: When the 10- and 12-inch long-playing records (LPs) came along in 1948, and box sets of 45-rpm records soon followed (see gramophone record), the name "album" was used for the new format of collections, and the creation of artistic original album covers continued.


title: Album cover

text: From the 1950s through to the 1980s, the 12" LP record and the 45 rpm record became the major formats for the distribution of popular music. The LP format remains in use for occasional new releases, though other formats have largely supplanted it. The size of the typical cardboard LP sleeve cover is square.


title: Album cover

text: Starting in the mid-1990s, the compact disc (CD) was the most common form of physically-distributed music products. Packaging formats vary, including the jewel case (which since 1982 has been the most popular form of CD packaging), and the cardboard and plastic combination commonly known as a Digipak (which has been a popular alternative form of packaging in recent years, but remains supplanted by the jewel case due to higher manufacturing costs and lower durability). Typically the album cover component of these packages is approximately square.


title: Album cover

text: In the 1980s and early 1990s, CDs were often sold as jewel cases enclosed within cardboard longboxes measuring by , which provided more space for album artwork than the jewel cases they contained, but were seen as harmful to the environment since the cardboard box was typically discarded by the buyer soon after purchase. Major record labels in the United States stopped distributing CDs in longboxes as of April 1, 1993.


title: Album cover

text: Album covers are one of the various ways in which first impressions affect an audience's perception of a given musician or band, or other content of the album. Album covers' design cover may also add to how an audience forms an opinion of them and their music. There are various ways in which an album cover is visualized. Some examples include artists choosing to put a photo of themselves, which is one of the factors that add to the observation of the band, the musician, and the music.


title: Album cover

text: The album cover eventually became an important part of the culture of music. Under the influence of designers like Bob Cato, who at various stages in his long music career was vice president of creative services at both Columbia Records and United Artists, album covers became renowned for being a marketing tool and an expression of artistic intent. Album art has also been discussed as an important postwar cultural expression.


title: Album cover

text: During the early 1960s, the Beatles' "With the Beatles", Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and the Rolling Stones' self-titled debut album each contained a cover photograph designed to further the musical artist's public image. Author Peter Doggett also highlights the cover of Otis Redding's "Otis Blue", containing a photo of a young white woman, as a design that "played a dual role: she represented the transcendent power of the music, and obscured the race of its creator." The standard portrait-based LP cover was further challenged over 1965–66 by Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home", through the inclusion of symbolic artefacts around the singer; the artificially stretched faces of the Beatles shown on their "Rubber Soul" album; and the darkened hues applied to the Rolling Stones on "Aftermath".


title: Album cover

text: Gatefold covers (a folded double cover) and inserts, often with lyric sheets, made the album cover a desirable work in its own right. Notable examples are the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which had cut-out inserts, printed lyrics, and a gatefold sleeve, even though it was a single album; the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street", which had a gatefold and a series of 12 perforated postcards as inserts (taken by photographer Norman Seeff); and Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon", which had a gatefold, lyrics, no title on the sleeve, and poster and sticker inserts. The Band's 1970 release "Stage Fright", which included a photograph by Seeff as a poster insert, is an early example of LP artwork quickly becoming a collector's item. The move to the small (less than 1/4 the size of a record) CD format lost that impact, although attempts have been made to create a more desirable packaging for the CD format, for example the reissue of "Sgt. Pepper", which had a cardboard box and booklet, or the use of oversized packaging.


title: Album cover

text: The importance of design was such that some cover artists specialised or gained fame through their work. Such people include the design team Hipgnosis, through their work on Pink Floyd albums and others; Roger Dean, famous for his Yes and Greenslade covers; Cal Schenkel, for Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" and Frank Zappa's "We're Only in It for the Money".


title: Album cover

text: The talents of many photographers and illustrators from both inside and outside of the music industry have been used to produce a vast array of memorable LP/CD covers. Photographer Mick Rock produced some of the most iconographic album covers of the 1970s, including Queen's "Queen II" (recreated for their classic music video Bohemian Rhapsody), Syd Barrett's "The Madcap Laughs", and Lou Reed's "Transformer". From 1972 to 1975, photographer Norman Seeff was creative director at United Artists and in addition to his many cover photographs (The Band, Kiss's "Hotter than Hell", Joni Mitchell's "Hejira", etc.), he art directed dozens of album covers including "Exile on Main Street", many of which received Grammy nominations. In addition to the examples mentioned previously, a number of world-renowned graphic artists and illustrators such as Robert Crumb (Big Brother & the Holding Company), Shepard Fairey (Johnny Cash), Howard Finster (R.E.M., Talking Heads), Frank Frazetta (Molly Hatchet), Derek Riggs (Iron Maiden), H. R. Giger (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Debbie Harry), Gottfried Helnwein (Marilyn Manson), Al Hirschfeld (Aerosmith), Ken Kelly (Kiss, Mati Klarwein, Santana, Miles Davis), Rex Ray (David Bowie), Jamie Reid (The Sex Pistols), Ed Repka (Megadeth), Norman Rockwell (Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper), John Van Hamersveld (The Rolling Stones), Alberto Vargas (The Cars), and Andy Warhol (The Velvet Underground, The Rolling Stones) have all applied their talents to memorable music packages.


title: Album cover

text: A number of record covers have also used images licensed (or borrowed from the public domain) from artists of bygone eras. Well-known examples of this include the cover of Derek and the Dominos' "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" (from the painting "La Fille au Bouquet" by French painter and sculptor Émile Théodore Frandsen de Schomberg), "The Downfall of Icarus" by Genisson on the cover of the first album by Renaissance; Bosch on the cover of "Deep Purple"; Breugel on the cover of "Fleet Foxes"; the cover of Kansas's debut album, adapted from a mural by painter John Steuart Curry, Norman Rockwell's cowboy (Pure Prairie League), and Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", which features Eugène Delacroix's painting "Liberty Leading the People" (a favorite in The Louvre) with the words "VIVA LA VIDA" brushed on top in white paint.


title: Album cover

text: Legends from photography and video/film who have also produced record cover images include Drew Struzan (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Iron Butterfly, The Beach Boys and others), Annie Leibovitz (John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith), Richard Avedon (Whitney Houston, Teddy Pendergrass), David LaChappelle (No Doubt, Elton John), Anton Corbijn (U2, The Killers, Depeche Mode), Karl Ferris (Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, The Hollies), Robert Mapplethorpe (Patti Smith, Peter Gabriel) and Francesco Scavullo (Diana Ross, Edgar Winter), David Michael Kennedy others.


title: Album cover

text: A number of artists and bands feature members who are, in their own right, accomplished illustrators, designers and photographers and whose talents are exhibited in the artwork they produced for their own recordings. Examples include Jimmy Page ("Led Zeppelin IV"), Chris Mars (Replacements' "Pleased to Meet Me" and others), Marilyn Manson ("Lest We Forget..."), Michael Stipe (REM's "Accelerator"), Thom Yorke (credited as "Tchocky" on misc. Radiohead records), Michael Brecker ("Ringorama"), Freddie Mercury ("Queen I"), Lynsey De Paul ("Surprise"), John Entwistle ("Who By Numbers"), Graham Coxon ("13" and most solo albums), Mike Shinoda (various Linkin Park albums), Joni Mitchell ("Miles of Aisles" and several others) as well for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ("So Far"), and M.I.A. (credited variously on Elastica's "The Menace", her records), and Captain Beefheart, 'Mona Bone Jakon', 'Tea for the Tillerman' and 'Teaser and the Firecat' by Cat Stevens, Mika (all albums released to date), "Music from Big Pink" (for The Band), "Self Portrait" and "Planet Waves" by Bob Dylan, "Walls and Bridges" by John Lennon.


title: Album cover

text: A genre of music that people have found issues in album covers is reggae. There are certain reggae artists that feel that the way they are displayed on their own album covers is not an accurate way of describing themselves and their culture. The stereotypical rasta lifestyle depicted on many reggae album covers is only displayed that way because this is what the white audience seemed to appreciate the most. This version of the reggae artists is what many people take notice of and what makes them unique in regards to other genres. However, these album covers do not accurately represent the core values of typical people in Jamaica but they deal with this representation because they know that the audience is familiar with the stereotypical rasta depiction. These album covers tend to display inauthentic versions of their considerations of style and sexuality and do not accurately display "Uptown" Jamaica.


title: Album cover

text: Album cover art was the subject of a 2013 documentary film, "The Cover Story: Album Art", by Eric Christensen, a San Francisco Bay Area record collector.


title: Album cover

text: The physical design of album covers has been the subject of creative innovation. "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" by the Small Faces was originally in a circular metal tin, and "Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part" by Horslips was in an octagonal package. Anyway by Family was originally issued in an opaque plastic package through which a design (a Leonardo sketch) could be seen. "Magical Mystery Tour" by the Beatles was first released as a double EP with a booklet between the records. "Sgt. Pepper" contained a cardboard sheet of images, and "The Beatles" (often referred to as the White Album) contained four large glossy photos of the individual Beatles along with a poster-sized collage. "Live at Leeds" by The Who also contained a generous supply of posters and printed material. "Led Zeppelin III" had a front cover that contained a revolving disc which brought different images into view through small cut-outs in the outer sleeve. A similar effect was used for the band's later album "Physical Graffiti" with cut-outs of the windows of a brownstone building. The original issue of "Sticky Fingers" by the Rolling Stones had an actual zipper incorporated into the picture of the crotch area of a pair of jeans. "The Velvet Underground and Nico" album had a Warhol-designed cardboard banana on the cover that could be peeled back. The record company Vertigo had a black-and-white design on the centre label that produced a hypnotic optical effect when the disc revolved on the turntable.


title: Album cover

text: The album cover is a component of the overall packaging of an album. Especially in the case of vinyl records with paperboard sleeves, these packages are prone to wear and tear, although wear and tear does often take place to some degree on covers contained within plastic cases. A variety of treatments could be applied to improve both their appearance and durability, such as clear plastic wrap. Many products have been available for the storage of vinyl albums, often clear plastic sleeves.


title: Album cover

text: The surface of a vinyl record is readily damaged, so aside from the outer paperboard sleeve, there is usually an inner protective cover to protect against dust and handling. This is normally shaped to allow it to readily slide within the outer cover. The inner sleeve is either thin white paper, either plain or printed with information on other recordings available from the same company, or a paper sleeve supporting a thin plastic bag. These quite often have a circular cut out so that the record label can be read without directly handling the record, though when the inner sleeve is printed with lyrics, which became quite common, then there is usually no hole. Decca Records used a system of colour-coding on these sleeves where a blue color denoted a stereophonic recording while red denoted a monophonic recording (the mono record players of the time were not always compatible with stereo records). This system was begun in the 1960s to reduce packaging costs.


title: Album cover

text: Packaging formats for compact discs widened the variety of presentations as well, even as the size of the CD meant that album covers were no longer so large.


title: Album cover

text: Besides the practicalities of identifying specific records, album covers serve the purpose of advertising the musical contents on the LP, through the use of graphic design, photography, and/or illustration. An album cover normally has the artist's name, sometimes in logo form; and the album title. Occasionally, though more common on historical vinyl records, the cover may include a reference number; a branding (the label), and possibly a track listing. Other information is seldom included on the cover, and is usually contained on the rear or interior of the packaging, such as a track listing together with a more detailed list of those involved in making the record, band members, guest performers, engineers and producer. On the "spine" of the package, the artist, title, and reference number are usually repeated so that albums can be identified while tightly packed on a shelf.


title: Album cover

text: Parental advisory labels are warning labels that are required to be placed on album covers when the music on the album contains explicit content such as vulgar language. These labels have been known to be controversial when it comes to keeping underage audiences from this content. There are a few different theories on this, such as the "forbidden fruit" and "tainted fruit" theories. The "forbidden fruit" theory states that when a child sees the parental advisory label on an album cover they will be more likely to listen to it because there is an increased attractiveness to the music. There are many adolescents that follow the "forbidden fruit" theory as a way to either lash out at their parents or to make themselves feel more mature than they are. They may use explicit music as a way to be rebellious and to appear cooler to their friends, even if they are much too young to be exposed to that kind of music. The "tainted fruit" theory states that the child will see the label and immediately know to avoid this kind of content because it is inappropriate for their age. These children are the ones who see the label and do not even acknowledge this album or these songs because they know that it is not made for them. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) introduced this warning label and it is now a requirement on any explicit music. However, the RIAA is unable to actually control whether or not adolescents will be listening to the music but as of now there is no way to fully control what these children are doing.


title: Album cover

text: In August 2008, album cover designer Peter Saville suggested that the album cover was dead. Album art is still considered a vital part of the listening experience to many.


title: Album cover

text: Both MP3, WMA, M4A (Apple Format) music files are able to contain embedded digital album artworks (called cover images or simply covers) in jpeg format. One digital solution is the iTunes LP format for interactive album artwork introduced by Apple on 2009. Resolution for digital album covers should not be lower than 800x800 (1:1 Aspect Ratio), lower resolutions might not look good on newer devices.


title: Album cover

text: Some artists have used Internet technology to generate even more cover art. For instance, Nine Inch Nails initially released its album "The Slip" as a free download on the band's website, attaching separate but thematically connected images to each individual track.


title: Album cover

text: Some album covers have been banned due to depicting violence, nudity, or other offensive imagery. For instance, Guns N' Roses's 1987 album "Appetite for Destruction"s cover depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger, and Kanye West's 2010 album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" depicted West naked and being straddled by a phoenix with her bare breasts and buttocks showing.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, commonly known as Bank Central Asia (BCA) is an Indonesian bank founded on 21 February 1957. It is considered as the largest privately owned bank in Indonesia.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: The Asian financial crisis in 1997 had a tremendous impact on Indonesia's entire banking system. In particular, it affected BCA's cash flow and even threatened its survival. A bank rush forced BCA to seek assistance and subsequent nationalization from the Indonesian government. The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency took over control of the bank in 1998. Full recovery was accomplished later in the same year. In December 1998, third-party funds were back at the pre-crisis level. BCA's assets stood at Rp 67.93 trillion, as opposed to Rp 53.36 trillion in December 1997. Public confidence in BCA was fully restored, and BCA was released by IBRA to BI in 2001.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: Subsequently, BCA took a major step by going public. The IPO took place in 2000, selling 22.55% of BCA's shares that were being divested by IBRA. After the IPO, the agency still controlled 70.3% of BCA's total shares. The second public offering took place in June and July 2001, with IBRA divesting an additional 10% of its interest in BCA. In 2002, IBRA divested 51% of its BCA shares through a strategic private placement tender. The Mauritius-based Farindo Investment won the tender.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: Bank Central Asia's beginnings began in 1955, founded as “NV Perseroan Dagang Dan Industrie Semarang Knitting Factory" by businessman Sudono Salim (Lim Sioe Liong). BCA commenced operations on 21 February 1957 with Head Office located in Jakarta.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: Effective on 2 September 1975 the name of the Bank was changed to PT Bank Central Asia (BCA). BCA strengthens its delivery channels and obtained a license to open as a Foreign Exchange Bank in 1977.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: Around 1980, BCA aggressively expanded its branch network in line with deregulation of the Indonesian banking sector. BCA developed its information technology capacity, by establishing an online system for its branch office network, and launches new products and services including the Tahapan BCA savings accounts product.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 1990, BCA developed the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network as an alternative delivery channel. In 1991, BCA installed 50 ATM units in various locations in Jakarta. BCA intensively develops the ATM network and features. BCA works with well-known institutions, such as PT Telkom and Citibank, allowing BCA's customers to pay their Telkom phone bill or Citibank credit card bill through BCA ATMs.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: BCA experienced a panic selling during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998 BCA became a Bank Take Over (BTO) and was placed under the recapitalization and restructuring program operated by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), a Government Institution.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 1999, BCA was fully recapitalized with the Government of Indonesia, through IBRA, assuming ownership of 92.8% of BCA shares in exchange for liquidity support from Bank Indonesia and a swap of related-party loans for Government Bonds


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 2000, IBRA divested 22.5% of its BCA shares through an initial public offering, reducing its ownership of BCA to 70.3%. In 2001, in a Secondary Public Offering, 10% of BCA's total shares were made available to the market. IBRA's ownership of BCA decreased to 60.3%. In 2002, Farindo Investment (Mauritius) Limited acquired 51% of BCA's shares through a strategic private placement. In 2004, IBRA divested 1,4% of BCA shares to domestic investors through a private placement. In 2005, the Government of Indonesia through PT Perusahaan Pengelolaan Aset (PPA), the remaining 5.02% of its BCA shares and no longer has share ownership in BCA.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: BCA strengthens and develops its products and services, especially in electronic banking, by launching Debit BCA, Tunai BCA, KlikBCA internet banking, m-BCA mobile banking, and EDCBIZZ.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 2007, BCA became a pioneer in introducing fixed-rate mortgage products. BCA launches its stored-value card, Flazz Card, and introduced Weekend Banking to maintain its transaction banking leadership.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 2010–2013, BCA entered new lines of business including Sharia banking, motorcycle financing, general insurance and the capital markets business. In 2013, BCA increased its effective ownership from 25% to 100% in its general insurance arm PT Asuransi Umum BCA (formerly PT Central Sejahtera Insurance and also known as BCA Insurance).


title: Bank Central Asia

text: In 2014–2016, BCA developed MyBCA, a self-service digital banking outlet; expanded cash recycling machine-based ATM networks; and launched the Sakuku app-based electronic wallet. BCA continued developing various methods of payment for online transactions. In 2018 BCA launched a peer-to-peer transfer feature using QR code technology, applicable on m-BCA and Sakuku.


title: Bank Central Asia

text: BCA completed a 100% share acquisition (directly and indirectly) of PT Bank Royal Indonesia in October 2019. Post-acquisition, Bank Royal's business model will transform into a digital-based bank, complementing BCA's established digital channels.


title: Surbhi

text: Surbhi Puranik, also known as Surabhi, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Telugu and Tamil films. She was born in Delhi and made her debut in 2013 with the Tamil film "Ivan Veramathiri".


title: Surbhi

text: While undertaking a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the College of Art, Delhi, Surbhi became interested in a career in films and took up modelling assignments as well as signing up to an acting course at Imago Acting School, where she was taught by Barry John and Manoj Bajpai.


title: Surbhi

text: She made her first film appearance in Saravanan's second film "Ivan Veramathiri" (2013) featuring Vikram Prabhu. After being recommended to seek acting opportunities in the South Indian film industry, Surbhi successfully auditioned for "Ivan Veramathiri" and was selected to play the leading female role of Malini, a cute and timid girl. During the making of the film, the director gave particular praise to Surbhi for her dedication in learning the dialogues in Tamil and putting in extra effort to ensure her diction was correct. The film opened in December 2013 to positive reviews and performed well at the box office. Surbhi's performance was praised by critics, who noted that "her smile is arresting" and that "she is perfectly cast and brightens up all the scenes she appears in with her bubbly, innocent character and seems totally natural and fresh." She was subsequently nominated in the Best Female Debutant category at the Vijay Awards and South Indian International Movie Awards.


title: Surbhi

text: Surbhi was next seen in a supporting role in Velraj's directorial debut "Velaiyilla Pattathari" (2014), and portrayed the role of an ex-smoker who is saved by the lung donation of the lead character Dhanush's mother. She shot for the film in early 2014 and noted that it was a "special cameo appearance". The film opened in July 2014 to positive reviews and was one of the most successful Tamil films of the year.


title: Surbhi

text: She also briefly shot for a role in Suseenthiran's sports drama film "Jeeva" but pulled out due to exam commitments, and thus was only seen in one scene in the film. She also appeared with Sundeep Kishan in "Beeruva" directed by Kanmani.


title: Surbhi

text: In June 2015 she signed to appear in a Telugu film "Express Raja" starring opposite Sharwanand and directed by Merlapaka Gandhi. Later in September 2015 she signed up for another Telugu film, "Gentleman" opposite Nani.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: Avery Lawrence Schreiber (April 9, 1935 – January 7, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. He was a veteran of stage, television, and movies who came to prominence in the 1960s in a comedy duo with Jack Burns. He acted in an array of roles mostly on television sitcoms and a series of popular advertisements for "Doritos" tortilla chips.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: Schreiber was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Minnie (née Shear) and George Schreiber. He started his career in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre. He joined The Second City and later teamed with Jack Burns to form the comedy team of Burns and Schreiber. They recorded several comedy albums and appeared on numerous television shows.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: Schreiber is remembered for his many Doritos commercials during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as his appearances on several television series. He was known for his trademark bushy handlebar moustache, curly hair, and comedic reactions.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: In 1965, Schreiber played the role of Captain Manzini on "My Mother the Car". In the summer of 1973, he co-hosted the ABC comedy "The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour". He was a regular guest star on the situation comedy "Chico and the Man", and was also a frequent guest panelist on the game show "Match Game", and a guest in a first-season episode of "The Muppet Show" (written by former partner Jack Burns, whom he mentioned during a stand-up routine in the episode). In addition, he participated in the 1980 Tournament of Celebrities on the Jim Perry-hosted version of "Card Sharks".


title: Avery Schreiber

text: His movie appearances include "The Monitors" (the first film production of Chicago's Second City comedy troupe, 1969), "Don't Drink the Water" (1969), "Deadhead Miles" (1972), "Swashbuckler" (1976), "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" (1977), "The Concorde ... Airport '79", "Silent Scream" (1979), "Scavenger Hunt" (1979), "Caveman" (1981), "Jimmy the Kid" (1983) and "" (1993).


title: Avery Schreiber

text: Avery continued to work in film, television and theater, as well as teaching improvisational theater technique up until the time of his death. He taught master classes at The Second City in Chicago and Los Angeles.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: In 1994, Schreiber suffered a heart attack resulting from complications of diabetes. Although he survived triple coronary artery bypass surgery, he never fully recovered. He died of another heart attack on January 7, 2002, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.


title: Avery Schreiber

text: In 2003, the Avery Schreiber Theatre was founded in North Hollywood, California. In 2013, the Avery Schreiber Theatre changed its name to The Avery Schreiber Playhouse with the approval of Rochelle Isaacs Schreiber (née Shelley), Avery's widow. It is located at 4934 Lankershim Boulevard in the NoHo Arts District.


title: Florida cracker

text: Florida crackers were colonial-era British and American pioneer settlers in what is now the US state of Florida; the term is also applied to their descendants, to the present day, and their subculture among White Southerners. The first crackers arrived in 1763 after Spain traded Florida to Great Britain following the latter's victory over France in the Seven Years' War, though much of traditional Florida cracker folk culture dates to the 19th century.


title: Florida cracker

text: The term "cracker" was in use during the Elizabethan era to describe braggarts and blowhards. The original root of this is the Middle English word , meaning 'entertaining conversation' (which survives as a verb, as in "to crack a joke"); the noun in the Gaelicized spelling "craic" also retains currency in Ireland and to some extent in Scotland and Northern England, in a sense of 'fun' or 'entertainment' especially in a group setting. "Cracker" is documented in William Shakespeare's "King John", Act II, Scene I (1595): "What cracker is this same that deafs our ears / With this abundance of superfluous breath?"


title: Florida cracker

text: By the 1760s, the ruling classes, both in Britain and in the American colonies, applied the term "cracker" to Scots-Irish, Scottish, and English American settlers of the remote southern back country, as noted in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth: "I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." The word was later associated with the cowboys of Georgia and Florida, many of them descendants of those early colonizers who had migrated south.


title: Florida cracker

text: A folk etymology suggests that the name "cracker" instead derives from the cracking of cattle-drovers' whips.


title: Florida cracker

text: In Florida, those who own or work cattle traditionally have been called "cowmen". In the late 1800s, they were often called "cow hunters" or "cowhunters", a reference to seeking out cattle scattered over the wooded rangelands during roundups. At times, the terms "cowman" and "cracker" have been used interchangeably because of similarities in their folk culture. Today, the western term "cowboy" is often used for those who work cattle.


title: Florida cracker

text: The Florida "cowhunter" or "cracker cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Spanish and the Western cowboy. Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were dogs and cow whips. Florida cattle and horses were smaller than the western breeds. The Florida Cracker cattle, also known as the "native" or "scrub" cow, averaged about and had large horns and large feet.


title: Florida cracker

text: Among some Floridians, the term is used as a proud or jocular self-description. Since the huge influx of new residents into Florida in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, from the northern parts of the United States and from Mexico and Latin America, the term "Florida cracker" is used informally by some Floridians to indicate that their families have lived in the state for many generations. It is considered a source of pride to be descended from "frontier people who did not just live but flourished in a time before air conditioning, mosquito repellent, and screens" according to Florida history writer Dana Ste. Claire.


title: Florida cracker

text: Since the late 20th century, the Cracker Storytelling Festival has been held annually in the fall at Homeland Heritage Park in Homeland, Florida. The year 2013 marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. The Cracker Storytelling Festival includes many storytellers from around Florida who come to share their stories with visitors. The majority of visitors who attend this event are students, because storytelling is part of the Florida educational curriculum. The festival also incorporates local crafts and artwork, food vendors, a whip-cracking contest, and living-history re-enactment of 19th-century homestead life.


title: Škoda Works

text: The Škoda Works (, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predecessor of today's Škoda Auto, Doosan Škoda Power and Škoda Transportation companies.


title: Škoda Works

text: The noble Waldstein family founded the company in 1859 in Plzeň, and Emil Škoda bought it in 1869. It soon established itself as Austria-Hungary's leading arms manufacturer producing heavy guns for the navy, mountain guns or mortars along with the Škoda M1909 machine gun as one of its noted products. Besides producing arms for the Austro-Hungarian Army, Škoda has ever since also manufactured locomotives, aircraft, ships, machine tools, steam turbines and equipment for power utilities.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1859, Count Wallenstein-Vartenberk set up a branch of his foundry and engineering works in Plzeň. The output of the plant, employing over 100 workers, included machinery and equipment for sugar mills, breweries, mines, steam engines, boilers, iron bridge structures, and railway facilities. In 1869, the plant was taken over by Emil Škoda, an industrious engineer and dynamic entrepreneur.


title: Škoda Works

text: Škoda soon expanded the firm, and in the 1880s, he founded what was then a very modern steelworks capable of delivering castings weighing dozens of tons. Steel castings and later forgings for larger passenger liners and warships went on to rank alongside the sugar mills as the top export branches of Škoda's factory.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1899, the ever-expanding business was transformed into a joint-stock company, and before World War I, Škoda Works had become the largest arms manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. It was a navy and army contractor, mainly supplying heavy guns and ammunition.


title: Škoda Works

text: Exports included castings, such as part of the piping for the Niagara Falls power plant and for the Suez Canal sluices as well as machinery for sugar mills in Turkey, breweries throughout Europe, and guns for the Far East and South America.


title: Škoda Works

text: World War I brought a drop in the output of peacetime products. Huge sums were invested into expanding production capacities. By then, Škoda Works held majorities in a number of companies in the Czech lands and abroad that were not involved in arms manufacture. In 1917, the company had 35,000 employees in Plzeň alone.


title: Škoda Works

text: Following the emergence of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, the complex economic conditions of postwar Europe caused the company to be transformed from what was exclusively an arms manufacturer into a multi-sector concern. In addition to traditional branches, the production programme embraced a number of new concepts, such as steam (and later electric) locomotives, freight and passenger vehicles, aircraft, ships, machine tools, steam turbines, power-engineering equipment, etc.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1923, the company's world-famous registered trademark, the winged arrow in a circle, was entered in the Companies Register. The deteriorating political situation in Europe saw arms production rise again in the mid-1930s.


title: Škoda Works

text: Škoda manufactured the triple-barreled gun turrets for the s of the Austro-Hungarian navy. Prior to World War II, Škoda produced "LT-35" tanks, which are better known under their German designation, "Panzer 35(t)". They were originally produced for the Czechoslovak Army and were used extensively by the Wehrmacht in the Polish campaign, the Fall of France and the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In July 1944, Škoda started production of the Jagdpanzer 38(t).


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1924, Škoda Works acquired the Laurin-Klement car manufacturer, later known as Škoda Auto. The companies were separated after 1945, when all of the Czechoslovak economy was nationalised.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1945, the year that nationalisation efforts began in Czechoslovakia, Škoda was nationalised, and many sections were split from the company. The car works in Mladá Boleslav became "Automobilové závody, národní podnik", AZNP, today's Škoda Auto, and the aircraft plant in Prague and truck plant became part of a conglomerate of nine truck producers headquartered in Liberec as LIAZ ("Liberecké automobilové závody"), although the trucks were still marketed as Škodas. Some factories in Slovakia were also split off, and other plants produced food-industry equipment.


title: Škoda Works

text: The company was renamed "Závody Vladimíra Iljiče Lenina" ("Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Works") in 1953, but since the new name caused losses of sales abroad, the name was changed back to Škoda in 1965.


title: Škoda Works

text: The factory concentrated on markets in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. The company produced a wide range of heavy machinery such as nuclear reactors and locomotives. A lack of updates to its product designs and infrastructure considerably weakened the company's competitive position and its brand.


title: Škoda Works

text: After 1962, Škoda became well known in the Soviet Union and other countries as a trolley bus manufacturer after it began to export Škoda 9 Tr, one of its most successful models. The successor, Škoda 14 Tr, manufactured between 1982 and 1997, is still widely used, for example, in post-Soviet states.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1978, the company was turned into the government-owned group of companies ("koncern") Škoda. It was based in Plzeň and consisted of the companies: První brněnská strojírna (First Machine Works of Brno), ČKD Blansko, ČKD Dukla Praha-Karlín in Prague, Slovenské energetické strojárne S. M. Kirova (Slovak S. M. Kirov Energy Machine Works) in Tlmače, and Výzkumný ústav energetických zařízení (Energy Facilities Research Institute) in Brno.


title: Škoda Works

text: After the Communist Party lost power in late 1989, the company was privatized into the hands of management. Mismanagement and asset stripping led to a collapse. The company was restructured and some factories closed. Except for some smaller companies named Škoda and Škoda Auto, after the chaotic 1990s period, the Czech Škoda companies were again regrouped within the holding company "Škoda Holding a.s." in 2000. In 2010, the holding company changed its name to "Škoda Investment, a.s.".


title: Škoda Works

text: Following the change in the political climate in 1989, Škoda started along a path of privatisation and used the time to come up with an optimal production programme, make new business contacts and look for markets other than those that had so far been its priority markets, communist countries.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1991, a foreign partner for the passenger car works "Škoda Auto a.s." was sought by the Czech government. Volkswagen was chosen, and the German firm initially took a 30% stake, rising to 100% ownership by 1999. Škoda Auto is now a completely-independent entity from other companies bearing the Škoda name.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 1992, the company was privatised by the so-called Czech method. It began expanding its production activities, acquiring the Tatra and LIAZ vehicle works and constructing a plant to produce aluminum soft drink cans. The expansion put the company's financial stability in jeopardy. In 1999, it concluded an agreement with creditor banks, and the restructuring of the entire capital structure of the Škoda group was undertaken. The result was the legal and financial stability at the company. Currently, a sectoral restructuring of production companies in the group is under way. In April 2000, Škoda Holding a.s. took over the helm, controlling nineteen primary subsidiaries and most product lines.


title: Škoda Works

text: In 2003, the Czech government sold its 49% stake to the Appian Group for 350 million CZK;(in 2020, equivalent to 14,78 million USD) later that year the Appian Group acquired the rest of its stake in a liquidation of the previous owner. The Appian Group is a holding company incorporated in the Netherlands and controlled through a screen of shell companies. The real owner or owners are unknown, despite investigations by the Czech police. In September 2010, a group of four current or former Škoda or Appian managers announced that it would acquire Škoda from Appian for an undisclosed price. The Czech media speculated that the acquisition was only a formality, as the managers probably owned the parent company Appian.


title: Škoda Works

text: Škoda was then focused solely on the transport sector. Other divisions have been sold, a large part of them to the Russian company OMZ (the price was not published, estimated at 1 billion CZK). Some smaller transport companies were acquired, such as part of the Hungarian company Ganz, VÚKV (owner of the Velim railway test circuit) and some transport-related assets of the former ČKD, now called Škoda Vagonka. In 2009, Škoda holding announced that the South Korean conglomerate Doosan would acquire its power section for 11,5 billion CZK (US$656 million). Finally, in March 2011, Škoda sold its Škoda Transportation subsidiary to Cyprus-based company Škoda Industry (Europe) Ltd, later renamed CEIL (Central Europe Industries) Ltd.


title: Škoda Works

text: As of 2012, Škoda Investment still owns the Škoda brand and some real estate but does not perform any industrial activity. Between 2007 and 2012, the company paid dividends to Appian, a sum of 32 billion CZK (1.18 billion euro or US$1.6 billion).


title: Škoda Works

text: Škoda Transportation produces various types of trolleybuses, tramcars, locomotives and rapid transit train systems. More can be found at: List of Škoda Transportation products.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Richard Allen Epstein (born April 17, 1943) is an American legal scholar known for his writings on torts, contracts, property rights, law and economics, classical liberalism, and libertarianism. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at New York University and the director of the university's Classical Liberal Institute. He also serves as the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago.


title: Richard Epstein

text: According to James W. Ely Jr., Epstein's writings have had a "pervasive influence on American legal thought." In 2000, a study published in "The Journal of Legal Studies" identified Epstein as the 12th-most cited legal scholar of the 20th century. In 2008, he was chosen in a poll by "Legal Affairs" as one of the most influential legal thinkers of modern times. A study of legal publications between 2009 and 2013 found Epstein to be the third-most frequently cited American legal scholar during that period (behind only Cass Sunstein and Erwin Chemerinsky).


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein was born on April 17, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York. His grandparents were Ashkenazi Jews who immigrated to the United States from Russia and Austria in the early 20th century. Epstein's father, Bernard Epstein (19081978), was a radiologist, and his mother, Catherine Epstein ("née" Reiser; 19082004), managed his father's medical office. He has two sisters. He attended elementary school at P.S.161, a school that is now one of the Success Academy Charter Schools. Epstein and his family lived in Brooklyn until 1954, when his father began working at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and their family moved to Great Neck, Long Island.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein attended Columbia University as an undergraduate in the early 1960s. He had wide-ranging academic interests and did not wish to select a single major, and he obtained special permission from the university to pursue a self-selected program of study across sociology, philosophy, and mathematics. He graduated with a B.A., "summa cum laude," in 1964.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein's undergraduate performance earned him a Kellett Fellowship, an award at Columbia that pays for two of each year's top graduates to spend two years in England studying at either Cambridge University or Oxford University. Epstein chose Oxford, where he studied jurisprudence at Oriel College. He received a B.A. with first-class honours in 1966. He then returned to the United States to attend Yale Law School. Because he had an English law degree, Epstein entered Yale Law as a transfer student with second-year standing. He graduated in 1968 with an LL.B., "cum laude".


title: Richard Epstein

text: After graduating from law school, Epstein became an assistant professor at the University of Southern California's (USC) Gould School of Law. He taught at USC for four years before moving to the University of Chicago Law School in 1972. Epstein taught at Chicago for 38 years, eventually holding the title of James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law. Epstein formally retired from Chicago in 2010, but quickly came out of retirement to join the faculty of the New York University School of Law as its inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law. He remains a professor emeritus and senior lecturer at Chicago, occasionally teaching courses there. In 2013, NYU Law established a new academic research center, the Classical Liberal Institute, and named Epstein its inaugural director.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Since 2001, Epstein has served as the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a prominent American public policy think tank at Stanford University. He has served in many academic and public organizations and has received a number of awards. In 1983, he was made a senior fellow at the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago Medical School, and, in 1985, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was editor of the "Journal of Legal Studies" from 1981 to 1991, and of the "Journal of Law and Economics" from 1991 to 2001. In 2003, Epstein received an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Ghent, and in 2018 he received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Siegen. In 2005 the College of William & Mary awarded him the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize for his contributions to the field of property rights. In 2011, he was awarded a Bradley Prize by the Bradley Foundation.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein became famous in the American legal community in 1985 with Harvard University Press's publication of his book "Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain". In the book, Epstein argued that the "Takings Clause" of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitutionwhich reads, "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation", and is traditionally viewed as a limit on the governmental power of eminent domaingives constitutional protection to citizens' economic rights, and so requires the government to be regarded the same as any other private entity in a property dispute. The argument was controversial and sparked a great deal of debate on the interpretation of the takings clause after the book's publication. During Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings in 1991, Senator Joe Biden "in a dramatic movement" held the book up and "repeatedly interrogated" Thomas about his position on the book's thesis. The book served as a focal point in the argument about the government's ability to control private property. It has also influenced how some courts view property rights and been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court four times, including in the 1992 case "Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council".


title: Richard Epstein

text: At the height of the HIV pandemic in 1988, Epstein argued that companies ought to be able to discriminate against "AIDS carriers" and that anti-discrimination laws were unfair to employers. In place of such laws, Epstein argued that "AIDS carriers" ought to have their health insurance premiums subsidized via taxation so as to "discipline the behavior of government and interests groups, here by requiring citizens to make choices about how much they individually are prepared to pay to subsidize AIDS carriers." Furthermore, he argued that "[t]here is no reason to suppose that any public benefit obtained from having employers and their insurers care for AIDS victims will be at some level that matches the additional costs that are imposed." Instead, Epstein proposed that employers have the right to refuse to hire suspected "AIDS carriers".


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein is an advocate of minimal legal regulation. In his 1995 book "Simple Rules for a Complex World", he consolidates much of his previous work and argues that simple rules work best because complexities create excessive costs. Complexity comes from attempting to do justice in individual cases. Complex rules are justifiable, however, if they can be opted out of. Drawing on Gary Becker, he argues that the Civil Rights Act and other anti-discrimination legislation ought to be repealed. Consistent with the principles of classical liberalism, he believes that the federal regulation on same-sex marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act, should be repealed, stating:


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein has criticized the Supreme Court ruling in "Obergefell v. Hodges". In 2007, he defended the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies against the cheaper, generic production of AIDS drugs, writing that "disregarding property rights in the name of human rights reduces human welfare around the globe".


title: Richard Epstein

text: In 2014, Epstein argued against reparations for African Americans in a piece published on the Hoover Institution's website.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Contributing to the anthology "Our American Story" (2019), Epstein addressed the possibility of a shared American narrative. Taking a decidedly skeptical approach, Epstein concluded that no new national narrative can be achieved "unless we engage in what I call American minimalism—a conscious reduction of the issues that we think are truly best handled as a nation and not better address by smaller subnational groups: states, local governments, and, most importantly, all sorts of small private organizations that are free to choose as they please in setting their own membership and mission."


title: Richard Epstein

text: In March and April 2020, Epstein wrote several essays published by the Hoover Institution giving a contrarian account of the COVID-19 pandemic and warning against extensive containment and mitigative United States responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called an "overreaction". In a piece published on March 16, he argued that the word "pandemic" is not to be used lightly and that the virus should be allowed to run its course, predicting there would be 500 U.S. deaths. In early June, the U.S. death total surpassed 100,000. On March 24, when U.S. deaths had already exceeded 500, Epstein added a "Correction & Addendum", in which he changed his forecast to 5,000 deaths without changing the underlying model that had led him to his first estimate. On April 6, when the death toll had already far surpassed his earlier predictions, he again revised that figure, with the "Correction & Addendum" section declaring under the inaccurate date stamp "March 24, 2020" that the "original erroneous estimate of 5,000 dead in the US [was] a number 10 times smaller than [he had] intended to state", implying that both "500" and "5,000" had been misprints for "50,000". After several news reports about Epstein's ever-increasing estimates, on April 21 an editor's note appeared on the website that explained the latest changes as an "editing error" and clarified that Epstein's original prediction had been 500 deaths. In December 2020, when the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. was over 333,000, "Politico" named Epstein's predictions among "the most audacious, confident and spectacularly incorrect prognostications about the year".


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein compared COVID-19 to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and suggested that public health measures "are done better at the level of plants, hotels, restaurants, and schools than remotely by political leaders." He argued that "the response of the state governors to the coronavirus outbreak has become far more dangerous than the disease itself", writing that the number of deaths had been exaggerated. His essays, containing a number of factual errors and misconceptions about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, circulated in conservative circles and in the Trump administration upon their publication. In an article published on June 6, Epstein praised Republican-governed states like Florida for their crisis management, linking the then greater deaths in Democratic-governed states to their "interventionist policies".


title: Richard Epstein

text: In 2006, the American scholar James W. Ely Jr. wrote: "It is a widely accepted premise that Professor Richard A. Epstein has exercised a pervasive influence on American legal thought." In 2000, a study published in "The Journal of Legal Studies" identified Epstein as the 12th-most cited legal scholar of the entire 20th century. In 2008, he was chosen in a poll taken by "Legal Affairs" as one of the most influential legal thinkers of modern times. A study of legal publications between 2009 and 2013 found Epstein to be the 3rd most frequently cited American legal scholar, behind only Cass Sunstein and Erwin Chemerinsky.


title: Richard Epstein

text: Epstein has said that when voting, he chooses "anyone but the Big Two" who are "just two members of the same statist party fighting over whose friends will get favors". He has voted Libertarian. Epstein says he is "certainly a Calvin Coolidge fan; he made some mistakes, but he was a small-government guy". Epstein served on The Constitution Project's Guantanamo Task Force. Epstein has said he thinks Learned Hand should have been on the Supreme Court and that his favorite English judge was Baron Bramwell.