Astrid Chevallier

Astrid Chevallier is a French Visual Artist and Musician.
Background.
Born in Normandie, France, affichiste (literally "poster designer") Astrid Chevallier has been studying Fine Art in Paris, France, which led her to explore various medium such as drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, typography, calligraphy, advertising, and graphic design.
She refers to the painters Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt as her first strong influences.
Graphic Design.
Astrid started to freelance in advertising agencies as a Graphic Designer and Assistant Photographer, before being hired as an Art Director at Euro RSCG where she learned the ropes of the branding and corporate design business.
In 2002, Chevallier has been recruited and relocated to Los Angeles to design movie posters for Seiniger Advertising, a very established pioneer advertising company in the movie business.
Bringing her European influences and her conceptual vision to the table, she has been creating movie posters for major Hollywood Studios (Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros.), award-winning independent film productions ("I'm Not There", "South of Pico", "Coco Before Chanel", "James Ellroy: American Dog"), TV series ("Camelot (TV series)", "Into the West (TV miniseries)", "Everwood"), as well as award-winning short films ("Cuco Gomez-Gomez is Dead!", "The Last Full Measure (film)", "Keeper of the Past"). Purple Red’s style stands out by bringing a conceptual or design twist that emphasizes the emotional aspect of the subject matter.
In March 2004, the University of Caen Lower Normandy set up a solo exhibition of more than 40 posters, for Cities, Theaters, and Hollywood; produced a video interview of the artist along with a CD-Rom and a catalog, and invited Astrid Chevallier to speak about her work at a public lecture.
In April 2007, Chevallier has been invited to give a lecture about graphic design at The Art Institute of New York City.
""My goal is to emphasize an emotional aspect of the subject in a design" says Chevallier, "It allows a poster to grab your attention very quickly and to deliver a more profound idea when you hang it on your wall and take the time to really look at it.""
March 10, 2011, the solo exhibition "Affiches" presents 22 of her original posters at the HGCL Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles. The show has been relayed and supported by the French Embassy, and TV5 Monde broadcast worldwide an interview with the Artist.
Upon the extension of the show, Art Critic Ed Fuentes writes about Astrid Chevallier's posters "They are a visual throwback to the non-tweeting social networking days when posters initiated interest and conversation. (...) Most are delicious examples of how emotional typography mixed with illustrative imagery have not only have a place in film promotion, but in an art gallery."
Painting.
Astrid Chevallier has been painting since her Fine Art School years, and her style slowly transitioned from figurative to abstract.
Her work has been displayed in galleries in France, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles where she also did live painting performances.
Music.
Chevallier has been studying classical music since the age of 6, and later on switched to rock blues and punk while jamming with her fellow art school students.
In June 2006 she released a solo album "So Far, My Love", which she wrote, composed, recorded and produced. It's been reviewed as "an eclectic collection of fourteen experimental-, ambient- and pop-style tracks (...) The artist's interests emerge in the sound effects of "Bug" and incantations in "Pluie," both highly experimental numbers that will delight some listeners but not others."
The main title "Running Away"(music produced by Peruvian Frágil's lead singer Santino de la Torre; music video by French filmmaker Fanny Jean-Noël) has been featured on YouTube, while Astrid was going on tour and started to publish videos of live performances online.
Movies.
Astrid Chevallier has also been credited as a still photographer on many movie sets.
Her credits include feature films such as "Strike One" with Danny Trejo, award-winning "South of Pico" by Ernst Gossner, and documentary about "James Ellroy: American Dog" by Kuperberg French filmmakers family.


Elizabeth Emanuel

Elizabeth Florence Emanuel (née Weiner, born 5 July 1953) is a British fashion designer who is best known for designing, with her former husband David Emanuel, the wedding dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer on her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. Since then Elizabeth developed her own label, worked in costume design for airlines, cinema, pop video and television productions, as well as providing a couture service to some of the world's most famous women.
Early life.
Emanuel was born in London to an American father, Samuel Charles (Buddy) Weiner, and British mother, Brahna Betty Weiner. Elizabeth was educated at the City of London School for Girls and then, upon leaving school, she took a year's foundation course at the Harrow School of Art, followed by a three-year diploma course in Fashion Design.
At Harrow she met and married David Emanuel in 1976, and together they became the first married couple to be accepted by the Royal College of Art for a two-year master's degree in Fashion. Her first collection was sold exclusively at Browns.
Career.
Emanuel Salon.
Following the birth of their two children, Oliver and Eloise; in 1977 the couple launched their own fashion house, Emanuel Salon, in Brook Street, Mayfair. In 1979, they decided to close their ready–to–wear shop, so that they could concentrate on the couture (custom made) side of the business, and became a favourite designer of Lady Diana Spencer before her marriage.
In 1981, the couple were chosen to design the wedding dress of Lady Diana Spencer for her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. The dress—seen by over 700 million people worldwide—was made of ivory silk, pure taffeta and antique lace, with 10,000 pearls and sequins, and had a 25 ft train. Of the dress, Lisa Marsh writes in the Fashion Encyclopedia that "Creations by artists from Botticelli to Renoir and Degas were used as influences, as were photographs of some of the more romantic women in history. The garments seen on Greta Garbo in "Camille", Vivien Leigh in "Gone with the Wind", and Marlene Dietrich in "The Scarlet Empress" were all recreated to some degree."
A copy of the wedding dress was sold at auction in 2005 for £100,000, twice the original estimate. There was some controversy surrounding the auction. The dress' owners, Madame Tussauds, said that it had been made "in case of any hiccup or disaster", and that it had been tried on by Lady Diana Spencer the morning of her wedding. David Emanuel was quoted by the Western Mail, saying "To say it is a direct replica is untrue. There is no such thing. We did not make one. Diana categorically never tried this dress on, on her wedding day or at any other time, and to my knowledge never even saw it. It wasn't even made to her exact measurements, and we, of course, are the only ones who would know that." The copy of Diana's dress had been given to Madame Tussauds after the wedding in 1981 and was placed on display.
After the 1981 Royal Wedding the Emanuels designed a major part of the Princess of Wales' wardrobe for her Gulf Tour, and appeared with her in an Independent Television documentary entitled "In Private - in Public". At this time both The Duchess of Kent and The Duchess of York also became patrons of the Salon.
In 1987 the Emanuel Shop was opened in Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge, bringing the Emanuels' previously exclusive clothing to the general public. The collections also sold at: Browns, Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London; Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Henri Bendel, Barneys and Neiman Marcus in the United States.
In 1998, businessman Richard Thompson backed the Elizabeth Emanuel brand.
Elizabeth Emanuel.
After Emanuel and she separated in 1990, and later divorced, Elizabeth retained the Brook Street studio and salon under her label "Elizabeth Emanuel." In the same year, Elizabeth was commissioned by The Walt Disney Company, to design a gown for Snow White on the film's 60th anniversary.
In 1991, Emanuel designed the complete range of Virgin Atlantic uniforms, luggage and accessories. She was also asked to design wedding outfits for Sir Richard Branson, Joan and their children for the couple's wedding. Following this, Britannia Airways asked Emanuel to design a brand new image and uniform for staff and cabin crew which was launched in April 1997. In 1995 Emanuel designed the costumes for the full length period feature film, "The Changeling", directed by Marcus Thompson and starring Ian Drury and Billy Connolly, which went on general release in 1999.
To be able to expand the business, in 1997 she went into partnership with Hamlet International. To enable them license new products, she assigned them her business and all its assets, and together, they formed a company called "Elizabeth Emanuel Plc". But after it quickly went into administration, the assets and registered trade mark were sold to Frostprint, which changed its name to "Elizabeth Emanuel International." Emanuel left after one month, and shortly afterwards the registered trade mark was sold to Oakridge Trading, owned by Manchester businessman Shami Ahmed. After the pair fell out and Emanuel went to court to reclaim her brand, as a result of huge public interest, the BBC filmed two 45-minute documentaries of her work over the course of two years, "Frocky Horror Show" and "Blood on the Carpet". Emanuel lost the case in a landmark hearing.
Contractually tied to either producing public work for a label that she did not own or singular commissions, Emanuel chose to concentrate on the latter. In October 1997 she was commissioned to produce the wedding dress for Estee Lauder's forthcoming international television campaign for the perfume Beautiful, featuring Elizabeth Hurley. In July 1998 she was again commissioned by Estee Lauder for their "Pleasures" campaign, again featuring Elizabeth Hurley.
From 2001-2002 she worked as the designer for The Luxury Brand Group concentrating on the development of their newly acquired Norman Hartnell brand. In November 2003, Emanuel designed the costumes for a short film starring David Ginola, filmed in France and premièred at the Cannes Film Festival. In May 2004, she designed violinist Vanessa Mae's outfit and her dancers' costumes for the Classic Brit Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. Emanuel created costumes with Mike Batt for his musical "The Hunting of the Snark" first performed at The Albert Hall.
She designed for the Ballet Rambert and for Robert North's "Fabrications" by the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. She also designed the costumes for Wayne Eagling's production "Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus".
Art of Being.
In August 2005, she opened her new studio in Little Venice, and attended the launch of her new label "Art of Being".
In February 2007, Emanuel completed a multi-feature DVD called "Metamorphosis", one of the wedding dresses from which features in the film "Outlaw", directed by Nick Love. In the credits, Emanuel's name and the Art of Being brand are both mentioned. In February 2008, Emanuel designed a range of wedding gowns for high street department store chain British Home Stores, and also started creating pieces for both ITV's the "X Factor" and "Britain's Next Top Model."
In 2010, Emanuel formally launched new label "Art of Being", which she described as being styled around "the faded grandeur and decadence of Venice at the turn of the century". In a quest for finance to expand the business, she engaged with "Lord" Edward Davenport's finance company Gresham Ltd. After Emanuel deposited £20,000 in approval and due diligence fees, Davenport withdrew the companies offer of a £1 million loan. Davenport was subsequently jailed in September 2011 for his part in a £4.5 million advanced-fee fraud.
In September 2010, Emanuel returned to the catwalk during London Fashion Week showing her Little Black Dress Collection.


Isometric video game graphics

Isometric video game graphics are graphics employed in video games and pixel art that utilize a parallel projection, but which angle the viewpoint to reveal facets of the environment that would otherwise not be visible from a top-down perspective or side view, thereby producing a three-dimensional effect. Despite the name, isometric computer graphics are not necessarily truly isometric—i.e., the , , and axes are not necessarily oriented 120° to each other. Instead, a variety of angles are used, with dimetric projection and a 2:1 pixel ratio being the most common. The terms "3/4 perspective", "3/4 view", "2.5D", and "pseudo 3D" are also sometimes used, although these terms can bear slightly different meanings in other contexts.
Once common, isometric projection became less so with the advent of more powerful 3D graphics systems, and as video games began to focus more on action and individual characters. However, video games utilizing isometric projection—especially computer role-playing games—have seen a resurgence in recent years within the indie gaming scene.
Overview.
Advantages.
In the fields of computer and video games and pixel art, the technique has become popular because of the ease with which 2D sprite- and tile-based graphics can be made to represent 3D gaming environments. Because parallelly projected objects do not change in size as they move about an area, there is no need for the computer to scale sprites or do the complex calculations necessary to simulate visual perspective. This allowed 8-bit and 16-bit game systems (and, more recently, handheld and mobile systems) to portray large game areas quickly and easily. And, while the depth confusion problems of parallel projection can sometimes be a problem, good game and level design can alleviate this.
Further, though not limited strictly to isometric video game graphics, pre-rendered 2D graphics can possess a higher fidelity and use more advanced graphical techniques than may be possible on commonly available computer hardware, even with 3D hardware acceleration. Similarly to modern CGI used in motion pictures, graphics can be rendered one time on a powerful super computer or render farm, and then displayed many times on less powerful consumer hardware, such as on television sets, tablet computers and smartphones. This means that static pre-rendered isometric graphics often look better compared to their contemporary real-time-rendered counterparts, and may age better over time compared to their peers. However, this advantage may be less pronounced today than it was in the past, as developments in graphical technology equalize or produce diminishing returns, and current levels of graphical fidelity become "good enough" for many people.
Lastly, there are also gameplay advantages to using an isometric or near-isometric perspective in video games. For instance, compared to a purely top-down game, they add a third dimension, opening up new avenues for aiming and platforming. Secondly, compared to a first- or third-person video game, they allow you to more easily field and control a large number of units, such as a full party of characters in a computer role-playing game, or an army of minions in a real-time strategy game. Further, they may alleviate situations where a player may become distracted from a game's core mechanics by having to constantly manage an unwieldy 3D camera. I.e., the player can focus on playing the game itself, and not on manipulating the game's camera.
In the present day, rather than being purely a source of nostalgia, the revival of isometric projection is the result of real, tangible design benefits.
Disadvantages.
Some disadvantages of pre-rendered isometric graphics are that, as display resolutions and display aspect ratios continue to evolve, static 2D images need to be re-rendered each time in order to keep pace, or potentially suffer from the effects of pixelation and require anti-aliasing. Re-rendering a game's graphics is not always possible, however; as was the case in 2012, when Beamdog remade BioWare's "Baldur's Gate" (1998). Beamdog were lacking the original developers' creative art assets (the original data were lost in a flood) and opted for simple 2D graphics scaling with "smoothing", without re-rendering the game's sprites. The results were a certain "fuzziness", or lack of "crispness", compared to the original game's graphics. This does not affect real-time rendered polygonal isometric video games, however, as changing their display resolutions or aspect ratios is trivial, in comparison.
Differences from "true" isometric projection.
The projection commonly used in video games deviates slightly from "true" isometric due to the limitations of raster graphics. Lines in the and directions would not follow a neat pixel pattern if drawn in the required 30° to the horizontal. While modern computers can eliminate this problem using anti-aliasing, earlier computer graphics did not support enough colors or possess enough CPU power to accomplish this. Instead, a 2:1 pixel pattern ratio would be used to draw the and axis lines, resulting in these axes following a ≈26.565° () angle to the horizontal. (Game systems that do not use square pixels could, however, yield different angles, including "true" isometric.) Therefore, this form of projection is more accurately described as a variation of dimetric projection, since only two of the three angles between the axes are equal to each other, i.e., .
History of isometric video games.
While the history of computer games saw some true 3D games as soon as the early 1970s, the first video games to use the distinct visual style of isometric projection in the meaning described above were arcade games in the early 1980s.
1980s.
The use of isometric graphics in video games began with the appearance of Data East's DECO Cassette System arcade game "Treasure Island", released in Japan in September 1981, but it was not released internationally until June 1982. The first isometric game to be released internationally was Sega's "Zaxxon", which was significantly more popular and influential; it was released in Japan in December 1981 and internationally in April 1982. "Zaxxon" is an isometric shooter where the player flies a space plane through scrolling levels. It is also one of the first video games to display shadows.
Another early isometric game is "Q*bert". Warren Davis and Jeff Lee began programming the concept around April 1982, with the game's production beginning in the Summer and then released in October or November 1982. "Q*bert" shows a static pyramid in an isometric perspective, with the player controlling a character which can jump around on the pyramid.
The following year in February 1983, the isometric platformer arcade game "Congo Bongo" was released, running on the same hardware as "Zaxxon". It allows the player character to move around in bigger isometric levels, including true three-dimensional climbing and falling. The same is possible in the arcade title "Marble Madness", released in 1984.
In 1983, isometric games were no longer exclusive to the arcade market and also entered home computers, with the release of "Blue Max" for the Atari 8-bit family and "Ant Attack" for the ZX Spectrum. In "Ant Attack", the player could move forward in any direction of the scrolling game, offering complete free movement rather than fixed to one axis as with "Zaxxon". The views could also be changed around a 90 degrees axis. The "ZX Crash" magazine consequently awarded it 100% in the graphics category for this new technique, known as "Soft Solid 3-D".
A year later the ZX Spectrum saw the release of "Knight Lore", which is generally regarded as a revolutionary title that defined the subsequent genre of isometric adventure games. Following "Knight Lore", many isometric titles were seen on home computers – to an extent that it once was regarded as being the second most cloned piece of software after "WordStar", according to researcher Jan Krikke. Other examples out of those were "Highway Encounter" (1985), "Batman" (1986), "Head Over Heels" (1987) and "La Abadía del Crimen" (1987). Isometric perspective was not limited to arcade/adventure games, though; for example, the 1989 strategy game "Populous" used isometric perspective.
1990s.
Throughout the 1990s several successful games such as "SimCity 2000" (1994), "Civilization II" (1996), "X-COM" (1994), and "Diablo" (1996) used a fixed isometric perspective. But with the advent of 3D acceleration on personal computers and gaming consoles, games previously using a 2D perspective generally started switching to true 3D (and perspective projection) instead. This can be seen in the successors to the above games: for instance "SimCity" (2013), "Civilization VI" (2016), "" (2012) and "Diablo III" (2012) all use 3D polygonal graphics; and while "Diablo II" (2000) used fixed-perspective 2D perspective like its predecessor, it optionally allowed for perspective scaling of the sprites in the distance to lend it a "pseudo-3D" appearance.
Also during the 1990s, isometric graphics began being used for Japanese role-playing video games (JRPGs) on console systems, particularly tactical role-playing games, many of which still use isometric graphics today. Examples include "Front Mission" (1995), "Tactics Ogre" (1995) and "Final Fantasy Tactics" (1997)—the latter of which used 3D graphics to create an environment where the player could freely rotate the camera. Other titles such as "Vandal Hearts" (1996) and "Breath of Fire III" (1997) carefully emulated an isometric or parallel view, but actually used perspective projection.
Infinity Engine.
Black Isle Studios and BioWare helped popularize the use of isometric projection in computer role-playing games in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These studios utilized the Infinity Engine game engine in several of their titles, developed by BioWare for "Baldur's Gate" (1998). This engine gained significant traction among players, and many developers since then have tried to emulate and improve upon it in various ways. The Infinity Engine itself was also revamped and modernized by Beamdog in preparation for "" (2012)—as well as their remakes of several other classic Infinity Engine titles.
Two other titles by Black Isle Studios, "Fallout" (1997) and "Fallout 2" (1998), utilized "trimetric projection".
Kickstarter.
Isometric projection has seen continued relevance in the new millennium with the release of several newly-crowdfunded role-playing games on Kickstarter. These include the "Shadowrun Returns" series (2013-2015) by Harebrained Schemes; the "Pillars of Eternity" series (2015-2018) and "Tyranny" (2016) by Obsidian Entertainment; and ' (2017) by inXile Entertainment. Both Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment have employed, or were founded by, former members of Black Isle Studios and Interplay Entertainment. Obsidian Entertainment in particular wanted to "bring back the look and feel of the Infinity Engine games like "Baldur's Gate", "Icewind Dale", and '". Lastly, several pseudo-isometric 3D RPGs, such as "" (2014), "Wasteland 2" (2014) and "Dead State" (2014), have been crowdfunded using Kickstarter in recent years. These titles differ from the above games, however, in that they use "perspective projection" instead of "parallel projection".
Use of related projections and techniques.
The term "isometric perspective" is frequently misapplied to any game with an—usually fixed—angled, overhead view that appears at first to be "isometric". These include the aforementioned dimetrically projected video games; games that utilize trimetric projection, such as "Fallout" (1997) and "SimCity 4" (2003); games that utilize oblique projection, such as "Ultima Online" (1997) and "Divine Divinity" (2002); and games that utilize a combination of perspective projection and a bird's eye view, such as "Silent Storm" (2003), "Torchlight" (2009) and "" (2014).
Also, not all "isometric" video games rely solely on pre-rendered 2D sprites. There are, for instance, titles which utilize polygonal 3D graphics completely, but render their graphics using parallel projection instead of perspective projection, such as "Syndicate Wars" (1996), "Dungeon Keeper" (1997) and "Depths of Peril" (2007); games which use a combination of pre-rendered 2D backgrounds and real-time rendered 3D character models, such as "The Temple of Elemental Evil" (2003) and ' (2017); and games which combine real-time rendered 3D backgrounds with hand-drawn 2D character sprites, such as "Final Fantasy Tactics" (1997) and ' (2003).
One advantage of top-down "oblique projection" over other near-isometric perspectives, is that objects fit more snugly within non-overlapping square graphical tiles, thereby potentially eliminating the need for an additional Z-order in calculations, and requiring fewer pixels.
Mapping screen to world coordinates.
One of the most common problems with programming games that use isometric (or more likely dimetric) projections is the ability to map between events that happen on the 2d plane of the screen and the actual location in the isometric space, called world space. A common example is picking the tile that lies right under the cursor when a user clicks. One such method is using the same rotation matrices that originally produced the isometric view in reverse to turn a point in screen coordinates into a point that would lie on the game board surface before it was rotated. Then, the world x and y values can be calculated by dividing by the tile width and height.
Another way that is less computationally intensive and can have good results if the method is called on every frame, rests on the assumption that a square board was rotated by 45 degrees and then squashed to be half its original height. A virtual grid is overlaid on the projection as shown on the diagram, with axes virtual-x and virtual-y. Clicking any tile on the central axis of the board where (x, y) = (tileMapWidth / 2, y), will produce the same tile value for both world-x and world-y which in this example is 3 (0 indexed). Selecting the tile that lies one position on the right on the virtual grid, actually moves one tile less on the world-y and one tile more on the world-x. This is the formula that calculates world-x by taking the virtual-y and adding the virtual-x from the center of the board. Likewise world-y is calculated by taking virtual-y and subtracting virtual-x. These calculations measure from the central axis, as shown, so the results must be translated by half the board. For example, in the C programming language:
float virtualTileX = screenx / virtualTileWidth;
float virtualTileY = screeny / virtualTileHeight;
// some display systems have their origin at the bottom left while the tile map at the top left, so we need to reverse y
float inverseTileY = numberOfTilesInY - virtualTileY;
float isoTileX = inverseTileY + (virtualTileX - numberOfTilesInX / 2);
float isoTileY = inverseTileY - (virtualTileX - numberOfTilesInY / 2);
This method might seem counter intuitive at first since the coordinates of a virtual grid are taken, rather than the original isometric world, and there is no one-to-one correspondence between virtual tiles and isometric tiles. A tile on the grid will contain more than one isometric tile, and depending on where it is clicked it should map to different coordinates. The key in this method is that the virtual coordinates are floating point numbers rather than integers. A virtual-x and y value can be (3.5, 3.5) which means the center of the third tile. In the diagram on the left, this falls in the 3rd tile on the y in detail. When the virtual-x and y must add up to 4, the world x will also be 4.


Kagen Sound

Kagen Sound (formerly Schaefer) is an American puzzle box and puzzle furniture craftsman, and is recognized as a leader in these fields.
Sound has developed a worldwide following, and is recognized as a Friend of the Karakuri Creation Group, the world's only puzzle box guild, and remains the only member of this group to be of non-Japanese origin (as of June 2017). He has won more awards at the annual International Puzzle Party (IPP) than any other designer.
Early life.
Sound spent his childhood in Colorado, at which time he developed an interest in mathematics. He would often draw elaborate mazes in primary school, and was first introduced to puzzle boxes by a fellow student in his first-grade class. He began designing his own puzzle boxes in middle school.
After completing high school, Sound attended Colorado College, where he received a mathematics degree in 2000. He then began working as a teaching assistant in the college's mathematics department, as well as assisting in the art department's woodworking studio. After his first win at the Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition in 2002, Sound took a series of woodworking jobs in Los Angeles and Denver, before relocating to Portland to focus on improving his skills. He returned to Denver in 2005.
Career.
Sound's work has attracted celebrity attention, with film director Darren Aronofsky commissioning him in 2007 to create a custom work known as the Pipe Organ Desk. The desk took a total of four years to design and build, reaching completion in 2011, and is made from exotic woods such as South African pink ivory, "Lignum vitae", and Bastogne walnutone of the world's most valuable woods. The total cost of materials equated to approximately $10,000 (USD), and was sold for the price of a “nice car”. He experienced a significant increase in demand in 2012, when "Fine Woodworking" magazine published an article about the desk.
Another notable design of Sound's is the Lotus Table, the top of which is composed of ten concentric rings of inlaid wood which must be rotated to create geometric patterns. If the correct patterns are formed, drawers will open in sequence, resulting in the table resembling a lotus flower. The first prototype of this table was completed in 2010, after development since at least 2008. This design was also transferred across to a series of boxes beginning with a prototype in 2011 and later consisting of the Caterpillar, Lotus, and Butterfly boxes.
His most popular and repeated design is the Maze Burr and its variations. It was originally made in 2006, when it was declared “Puzzle of the Year” by the IPP judging committee. Five batches of this design and its variations have been produced in total, with the latest in 2011 (as of June 2017).
His woodshop is currently located at Ironton Studios and Galleries in Denver, Colorado.
Personal life.
Sound married his wife Megan in 2013, at which time they both changed their last names to Sound, citing the common phrases “sound of character” and “structurally sound” as reasons for this.
Awards and achievements.
Sound received awards in the Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition in 2002 for the Block Box (first place and People's Choice Award), in 2003 for the Decorated Box (Honorable Mention), in 2004 for the Dodecahedron Box (Grand Prize and People's Choice Award), and in 2006 for the Maze Burr (Grand Prize and People's Choice Award). In 2009 he received the Sam Loyd Award for promoting interest in mechanical puzzles from the Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors.


Derrick Somerset Macnutt

Derrick Somerset Macnutt (1902–1971) was a British crossword compiler who provided crosswords for "The Observer" newspaper under the pseudonym Ximenes. His main oeuvre was blocked-grid and "specialty" puzzles. Even though he only provided conventional blocked puzzles once a week for the "Observer" Everyman series for about two years his strong views on clueing, expressed in his 1966 book, have been a source of debate in the cryptic crossword world ever since.
Career.
Macnutt was born at Eastbourne in Sussex and was educated at Marlborough College before achieving a Double First in classics at Jesus College, Cambridge. Between 1928 and 1963 he held the position of Head of Classics at Christ's Hospital near Horsham, West Sussex, as well as being a housemaster.
In 1939 he took over the position of crossword compiler for "The Observer" on the death of Edward Powys Mathers, who had written under the name of "Torquemada". Macnutt selected the name Ximenes after Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, one of Torquemada's successors as Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. He pronounced 'Ximenes' in an Anglicised fashion, .
His crossword style was initially in imitation of Torquemada, but was soon influenced by the inventive puzzles of Alistair Ferguson Ritchie who wrote as Afrit in "The Listener".
Macnutt died in 1971, and puzzle 1200, his final crossword to be published, appeared in 1972. He was succeeded by Jonathan Crowther, who writes under the name Azed.
From 1943, he was also a contributor to "The Listener", writing crosswords under the pseudonym Tesremos – his middle name spelled backwards.
Influence.
As Ximenes, Macnutt's puzzles gained an enthusiastic following. His many fans organised dinners on the occasion of his puzzles number 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000, with the 1968 dinner hosting nearly 400 solvers. His followers, known as Ximeneans, often sported a specially designed black tie covered in small white crosses.
Well-known Ximeneans include Stephen Sondheim, P. G. Wodehouse, and Leonard Bernstein. Colin Dexter, author of the "Inspector Morse" books, named his most famous characters after two prize-winning Ximeneans, Sir Jeremy Morse and Mrs D. W. Lewis, and he named Morse's old Inspector Macnutt. In Rex Stout's "Might as Well Be Dead" (1956), detective Nero Wolfe is said to be working on a puzzle by Ximenes.
In his 1966 book, "Ximenes on the Art of the Crossword" (reissued 2001), he laid down rules that he claimed should be present in all good crosswords. These are now known as the "Ximenean principles". They include using a symmetric grid, and the specification of maximum and minimum numbers of "unches" (unchecked letters i.e. ones that only appear in one word in the grid) for a given length of answer. More importantly, he insisted that all clues must be scrupulously fair via rules that were summed up by his successor, Azed, as:
He made a number of innovations in crossword setting such as the special clue/puzzle types 'Misprints' and 'Right and Left'.


CanCam

 is a Japanese monthly fashion magazine published by Shogakukan. Its name supposedly derives from "I Can Campus", because girls who read it are expected to become "campus leaders". The magazine was created for fashion-conscious consumers, and offers information on fashion, makeup, bags, accessories, and related topics. The magazine is targeted as a fashion resource to novice office ladies as well as university students. The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo.
History.
In 2005 the Chinese version of "CanCam" was started. In March 2007 Shogakukan launched the sister magazine, "AneCan", which is targeted at women in their mid- to late twenties. Model Moe Oshikiri left "CanCam" to become a regular for the magazine. In August 2008, it was announced that another of the magazine's popular models, Yuri Ebihara, would be "graduating" from the magazine and moving on to "AneCan". Ebihara's last appearance in "CanCam" was the December 2008 issue. Oshikiri and Ebihara were previously part of the well-known CanCam trio with Yu Yamada.
Exclusive models.
Current.
References


Michael Curtis (role playing game writer)

Michael Curtis is a role-playing game designer and writer.
Career.
Curtis' best-selling game book “The Dungeon Alphabet” won the Three Castles Award in 2011, as well as entering a third printing with an expanded edition. Also known for his self-published mega-dungeon setting "Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls" (2009) and "Stonehell Dungeon: Into the Heart of Hell" (2014), Curtis's adventure writing style is greatly influenced by both the Old School Renaissance movement and his admitted love of the so-called “Appendix N” authors listed by Gary Gygax on page 224 of the 1st edition "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" "Dungeon Masters Guide" - particularly the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.
Work.
Writing credits include:
Awards.
The Dungeon Alphabet - Three Castles Award 2011, North Texas RPG Con


Pool Group

The Pool Group were a trio of interwar period artists, filmmakers and poets consisting of Hilda Doolittle, Kenneth Macpherson and Bryher (Annie Winifred Ellerman). Their work has been studied by poetry and film historians as well as by scholars of mysticism, feminism, psychoanalysis and LGBT history. They are perhaps best known for creating what is their only surviving film, the silent avant garde classic from 1930, Borderline featuring the African American activist and entertainer Paul Robeson in the lead role. They also published a progressive and opinionated film journal called "Close Up". The Pool Group were virtually forgotten for more than half a century after they broke up in the mid-1930s until the early 1980s when they were rediscovered by historians of 20th century arts and cinema
Members and formation.
The Pool Group was launched in 1927, from Riant Chateau, Territet, Switzerland and consisted of Bryher, Kenneth Macpherson and Hilda Doolittle (better known by her initials, H.D.). Macpherson designed the Pool Group’s logo, which served as the cover of its catalog, showing concentric ripples in water.
Bryher.
Bryher's father was the shipowner and financier John Ellerman, who left her a very large inheritance which would eventually go towards funding many of Pool's projects. Bryher knew from an early age that she was lesbian. Her wealth enabled her to give financial support to struggling writers, including Joyce and Edith Sitwell. She also helped with finance for the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company (started by Sylvia Beach) and certain publishing ventures. She also helped provide funds to purchase a flat in Paris for struggling artist Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.
H.D..
H.D. (1886–1961) was born Hilda Doolittle in Pennsylvania, the daughter of a professor of astronomy and a musically-inclined mother. While still a school-girl she met Ezra Pound, who encouraged her writing and, in 1913, proposed that she adopt the pseudonym H.D. as a pseudonym under which to publish her first poems in Poetry Magazine. At the same time as the problematic relationship with Pound (they were twice engaged) H.D. was carrying on a love affair with a Pennsylvania woman art student, Frances Josepha Gregg. In 1919 H.D. had a daughter, Perdita, by the Scottish composer and music critic Cecil Gray (1895–1951). It was while she was pregnant that she formed an alliance with Bryher which was to last until H.D.’s death in 1961.
The relationship was an open one, with both taking other partners. In 1921 Bryher entered into a marriage of convenience with the American author Robert McAlmon, whom she divorced in 1927. In 1928, H.D. became pregnant by Kenneth Macpherson, but the pregnancy was terminated later the same year. The complexities of H.D.'s relationships led her to consult the pioneer sexologist Havelock Ellis and to develop a deep interest in psychoanalysis: in the 1930s, she was to be analyzed by Freud, and her interest deeply marked her poems and other writings.
Kenneth Macpherson.
In 1927, Bryher married Kenneth Macpherson, a writer who shared her interest in film and who was at the same time H.D.'s lover. Macpherson, was a young Scottish painter with a passion for film. H.D. seems to have fallen in love with him though Macpherson was evidently exclusively homosexual. In Burier, Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva, the couple, along with Doolittle, built a Bauhaus-style structure that doubled as a home and film studio, which they named Kenwin. Bryher and Macpherson also formally adopted H.D.'s young daughter, Perdita, whose name they officially registered as Frances Perdita Macpherson.
Close Up.
Close Up was the Pool Group's main literary output, in the form of a monthly journal. The first issue of Close Up appeared in July 1927, with Macpherson as editor, Bryher as assistant editor, and H.D. and Oswell Blakeston as regular contributors.
The first issue announced that next month’s contributors would be Osbert Sitwell, Havelock Ellis, André Gide, Dorothy Richardson and Doolittle. As symbol of the group’s aims, this was explained in their 1929 catalog of publications:
Publications.
Other publications included books on film to novels and a German-teaching text by Bryher and Trude Weiss called “The Light-hearted Student”, exemplifying Bryher’s idiosyncratic teaching methods. The Pool-books were: Kenneth MacPherson, "Pool Reflection" (spring 1927); F. L. Black, the pseudonym of Bryher's younger brother John Ellerman Jr.: "Why Do They Like It?", with a foreword by Dorothy Richardson (spring 1927), on British public schools; Bryher: "Civilians" (fall 1927), on World War I; MacPherson's novel "Gaunt Island" (fall 1927); Oswell Blakeston: "Through a Yellow Glass" (1928), a "complete guide to the cinema Studio"; Eric Elliot: "Anatomy of a Motion Picture Art" (1929), history of cinematography; Bryher: "Film Problems of Soviet Russia"; Oswell Blakeston's novel: "Extra Passenger" (1930); Hanns Sachs: "Does Capital Punishment Exist?" (a pamphlet). Bryher's analyst from 1928 to 1932, Hanns Sachs (1881–1947) was one of the seven members of Freud's inner circle.
Oswell Blakeston.
Most of the books were by the members of the group which had been expanded by the addition of Oswell Blakeston (né Henry Joseph Hasslacher, 1907–1985) who had started his working life in the cutting rooms at Gaumont British. A contemporary of David Lean, at around 20, Blakeston became a protégé of Macpherson and went on to a long career as writer and critic.
POOL film-making.
Pool heartily approved much avant-garde work, and had an early enthusiasm for independent and private film-making. Their principal loyalties however were to German cinema, and particularly G.W. Pabst, and to Soviet cinema, outstandingly Eisenstein. While dismissing the greater part of British and American film-making as "trash", they also recognized Hollywood’s capacity for better things, hailing films like "Greed" and "The Big Parade" as masterpieces. The only extant film still available is "Borderline" (1930); fragments survive of "Wing Beat" (1927) and "Foothills" (1929). (H.D. was in all three, and Bryher was in "Borderline".) 16mm fragments of "Wing Beat", "Foothills", and "Macpherson material," and the complete film, "Borderline", can be viewed at the Museum of Modern Art Film Study Center in New York City.
Opinions on contemporary cinema.
Kenneth Macpherson wrote of his views on world cinema in an editorial from the first issue of "Close Up" that encompassed many of the Pool Group's views,
"Borderline".
The film "Borderline" centers on an interracial love triangle. The main narrative is concerned with racism and is illustrated without any attempt to take a moral standpoint. The film concentrated on the inner psychology of the characters, using a form of montage which had the effect of superimposition. Where the film was not banned by censorship authorities it was unenthusiastically received by the critics, and disappeared for many years. A pristine print exists however in the Swiss Film Archive, which has recently issued it in DVD form, together with Véronique Goel’s documentary Kenwin, about the house which Bryher and Macpherson built at La Tour-de-Peilz.
As well as acting in this film, H.D. with Kenneth Macpherson, wrote an explanatory pamphlet to accompany it and to distribute to the audience, a piece later published in "Close Up".Paul Robeson is the only professional actor in the film and his desire to connect to a like-minded set of individuals in Europe allegedly led him to play the role of Pete for no fee.
"Borderline" plot and analysis.
The story revolves around a guesthouse run by a set of liberal, hedonistic young people sympathetic to the emerging black American culture. In what would have been completely frowned upon at the time, the manageress played by Bryher has given a room to Pete (Paul Robeson) and his light-skinned black wife Adah, played by Robeson’s real wife at the time Eslanda Robeson. Adah though is having an affair with a white man Thorne (Gavin Arthur), who is also involved with Astrid (played by the poet Hilda Doolittle aka HD). When Adah leaves Thorne to be with her husband Pete, Thorne is distraught and race becomes an issue.
Increasingly Pete becomes the scapegoat for the heartache and conflict that follows between Thorne and Adah. When Thorne “accidentally” murders Astrid, the “liberal” Guest House is forced by the authorities to kick Pete out: “That’s what we’re like,” admits the sympathetic Manageress resignedly. To an extent, Robeson’s character could be seen as reductionist in terms of identity as he tends to be photographed in natural surroundings: sometimes with clouds and the sea as backdrops – the location set in a Swiss Alps border town is important in this respect. Likewise Pete’s behavior is stoical even in the most threatening situations. Yet on the other hand this portrays the reality of culture in this period, and besides Pete also is the character that comes out of the situation with the most dignity even when he is asked to leave town.
Disbandment of POOL and legacy.
Close Up ceased publication in 1933, and Macpherson departed from the group. In the United States during the 1940s, he lived with Peggy Guggenheim, and produced Hans Richter's "Dreams That Money Can Buy" (1944). During the Second World War, Bryher devoted her money and energies to helping refugees from Nazi Germany, and Kenwin became an important staging post on the flight.
During the 1950s, H.D. wrote a considerable amount of poetry, most notably Helen in Egypt (written between 1952–54), a feminist deconstruction of epic poetry which uses Euripides's play Helen as a starting point for a reinterpretation of the basis of the Trojan War and, by extension, of war itself. Bryher’s friendship with H.D. lasted to the end of their lives. H.D. spent her last years of failing health in a Swiss clinic. She died on September 27, 1961, in Zürich. Her daughter Perdita moved to the United States where she raised a family, all of whom became writers. Perdita died in 2001.


RAW artists

RAW Artists (RAW:natural born artists) is an international arts organization that operates in the United States, Canada, Australia and Mexico.
History and growth.
RAW was founded in 2009 by its CEO Heidi Luerra and web designer Matthew Klahorst in Los Angeles, California. By 2019, RAW artists was located in 50+ cities in the US. RAW also has locations in Australia,
Canada and Mexico.
Business model.
RAW Artists produce platforms in various cities in which independent artists from 10 different creative categories can showcase their work to their community, local business professionals and press. The 10 creative categories of artists include Visual Art, Painting, Photography, Technology, Film, Crafts, Accessories, Beauty (Hair & Makeup), Fashion, Performance Art and Music. The business model is set up to allow artists the opportunity to not pay out of pocket for fees associated with the production of their showcase. To cover these costs, artists can sell 20 tickets to the showcase. The tickets cover costs of production and staff. If all 20 tickets are sold, an artist pays nothing to RAW for the showcase. RAW Artists earn $10 for every ticket they sell after the full 20 ticket commitment is fulfilled. If artists do not sell the 20 tickets, they may pay for the remaining tickets to participate, postpone or opt out of the showcase. Each RAW artist is paired with the Showcase Director for their city who produces the full event and mentors RAW artists through the process leading up to their showcase.
In 2019 RAW Artists created more tools and resources for independent artists within the RAW community such as the RAW Artists App, RAWards, Industry Exchange, RAW Spotlight and Found Agency.


Donwan Harrell

Donwan Harrell is the founder and was the creative director of the New York-based luxury denim line Prps. He is also one of the former top 10 designers at Nike.
Early life.
Born in North Carolina and raised in Virginia, Donwan grew up in a lower-income family where his dad worked as a naval ship repairman and his mom, a seamstress. At an early age, Donwan developed a deep passion for sketching and sewing. He often helped his mother sew her own designs that she sold at local flea markets, and would sketch his surroundings to pass the time. His mother saw prodigy-like talent in his sketching and began entering him into art competitions to foster his talent. Along with sketching, he also began to design and sew his own clothing, selling it to his fellow students and friends.
The summer after eighth grade, before he began high school, Donwan began taking pre-collegiate art and drawing classes at RISD before attending Virginia Commonwealth University on a partial scholarship. After graduating with a BFA in fashion design from VCU in 1989, he entered the prestigious Chambre Syndicale international fashion design competition sponsored by Air France, winning two years in a row.
Career.
Donwan moved to New York City and garnered a job as associate menswear designer for Robert Stock. After a brief stint at Joseph Abboud, he became associate menswear designer for Donna Karan. Nike then recruited him as worldwide director for "Organized Team Sports" based in Hong Kong. Donwan created national uniforms for the 2002 World Cup including Italy, Nigeria, Brazil, United States, Korea, Japan, Poland, and the Netherlands. Additionally, he designed uniforms for many international team sports including rugby, baseball, basketball and football.
Poised to start his own clothing company, Donwan launched Prps in 2002. What started originally as a denim brand is today made up of three collections: Prps Noir, Prps and Prps Goods & Co. Prps Noir is the more expensive range of the collection.
Donwan is also an enthusiast of American muscle cars from the early 1960s through to 1971.


Michael Fiegel

Michael L. Fiegel is a writer and game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
Career.
Role-playing games.
Fiegel was the columns editor for RPGnet from 2001-2005, as well as a columnist.
In 2001, Fiegel began working with Jerry Grayson of Khepera Publishing on the second edition of that company's "GODSEND Agenda" (2001), a realistic look at superheroes in the modern world . Fiegel later co-wrote and co-designed Khepera's "HELLAS: Worlds of Sun and Stone" (2008) alongside Grayson. He also wrote later books in the "Hellas" series.
Fiegel is also the creator of Ninja Burger and the author of the "Ninja Burger RPG:2nd Edition" (2006) and the "Ninja Burger: Honorable Employee Handbook" (2006). In 2009 he also wrote and published the modern horror/conspiracy-themed Vox RPG.
He also authored the "Baba Yaga: The First Setting in Rassiya" electronic RPG supplement for Dog Soul Publishing, which won a 2006 Gold ENnie award for Best Electronic Book and was nominated for Best Writing.
PC games.
Fiegel has worked as a writer for two MMORPGs: Perpetual Entertainment's ', and NCsoft's '. He was also the lead writer for the sci-fi-themed interactive fiction game "The Away Team".
Books.
Outside of the already mentioned "Ninja Burger: Honorable Employee Handbook" (published by Kensington/Citadel in 2006), Fiegel's first novel titled "Blackbird" was published on November 14, 2017 by Skyhorse.


Sanal George

Sanal George is an Indian sound designer and production sound mixer who is based in Mumbai. He is the recipient of the 65th National Film Award of India for Best Sound Design for the feature film "Walking with the Wind". He was also awarded the Asian Film Academy fellowship in 2013 as part of the Busan International Film Festival, Busan, South Korea. Sanal was awarded the Kerala State Television Award 2016 for the Malayalam short film "Chaver".
Early life.
Sanal George hails from Peruvannamuzhi near Calicut, Kerala. He completed his graduation before taking up his post-graduation course in Sound Recording & Design from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. While at FTII, he was awarded the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) and Resul Pookutty Foundation Scholarship for academic excellence.
Career.
He started his career as an Assistant Sound Mixer in Shashant Shah's 'Chalo Dilli' in 2010. Over the years, he has worked in various projects including but not limited to feature films, short films and documentaries as Sound Designer and Production Sound Mixer.
He was associated with Aamir Khan's film Dangal as an assistant sound recordist to Subhadeep Mitra.
He was the recipient of the 65th National Film Award of India for Best Sound Design for the Ladakhi-language feature film Walking with the Wind, released in the year 2017. Resul Pookutty expressed his joy over George's win highlighting that he was the winner of the Resul Pookutty-IIFA Foundation Scholarship.
In the media.
Sanal George was one of the 200 alumni of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTTI) in Pune who have written a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting expressing disapproval over the institution's decision to no longer allow heads of departments to be a part of the academic council.The letter, which has been signed by numerous prominent alumni including Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty, film directors Anoop Singh and several others.


Barry E. Jackson

Barry Edward Jackson (born May 18, 1954) is an American production designer and writer.
Although he grew up in Lompoc, California, he was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
In the early 1990s, he began working in film as a production designer, director of storyboard teams, writer, and children's book author/illustrator.
His screen credits include films such as, "The Prince of Egypt", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Titan AE", "The Ant Bully", "Horton Hears a Who!" and Ron Howard's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". He was one of several production designers on the Dreamwork's production "Shrek". He also conceptually designed the Paramount feature film "Cool World".
In 2001 he production designed the all-digital animated short film "Los Gringos", which was critically reviewed and praised in "Entertainment Weekly". He also designed the opening title sequence for Joe Dante's film "The Haunted Lighthouse", a featured attraction at SeaWorld. In 2015, he began working film as a concept artist as "". His work can be seen in the animation feature "Sausage Party".
Harper Collins released Jackson's first children's book, "Danny Diamondback", in 2008. The book is dedicated to his daughter Rachel.
Barry has penned the screenplay to this book and it is currently a fully funded feature film set for early production in January 2017. Jackson also provided illustrations for the picture book "Bedtime for Little Bulldozer" (2019).


Bradley Rubenstein

Bradley Rubenstein (born 1963) is an American artist and writer who lives in Brooklyn, New York. His figurative paintings, prints, and drawings combine elements of biology, psychology, and art historical references.
Early life and education.
Rubenstein was born in LaGrange, Illinois in 1963. He attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Museum School in Boston.
Work.
Rubenstein's artwork is known for exploring the human form and how it might be manipulated and engineered in the future, creating hybrid characters. His paintings, photographs, and drawings reference genetic engineering and mutations, provoking discussion about the parameters and potential dissolution of self.
"Untitled (Girl with Puppy-Dog Eyes)" (1996), collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is a well-known piece. Rubenstein's works are also included in the collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Detroit Institute of Arts; The Krannert Art Museum Teaching Collection at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Harvard Art Museum; The Museum of the Moving Image, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, New York; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and others. He has collaborated with such artists as Lucio Pozzi, Sue de Beer, Claude Wampler, Bjarne Melgaard, and Sarah Michelson to produce films, books, installations, and theatrical sets.
Rubenstein has written and edited a variety of articles and books on art and art education. He wrote "The Black Album: Writings on Art and Culture", a collection of art reviews, published in 2018. He contributed reviews, interviews, and essays to "ArtSlant", "CultureCatch", "M/E/A/N/I/N/G", "The Brooklyn Rail", "Sharkforum", and "Artforum". He was a contributing editor for "ArtKrush" magazine, "Art Journal", and "New Observations".
Rubenstein also works as a production artist and set painter for television, film, video, and theater. He was the lead scenic artist for productions by Jonathan Demme, Spike Lee, Tom McCarthy, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Alfonso Cuarón. His film credits include "Rosewater", "The Bourne Legacy", "Demolition", and "Indignation"; his work in television includes "The Sopranos", "Girls", and "Blindspot".
Exhibitions.
In 1996, Rubenstein had his first solo exhibition at Automatic Art Gallery, Chicago, IL. Rubenstein has shown work both nationally and internationally at Clifford•Smith Gallery, Boston, CREON Gallery, Corraini Editions, Universal Concepts Unlimited, Galerie Oliver Schweden, Palazzo Costa, Sara Meltzer Gallery, Kunstlerhaus Hamburg, Annika Sundvik Gallery, Kunstlerhaus Bergedorf, and others.
He exhibited in group exhibitions and with other artists such as David Moriarty, Gary Stephan, Lucio Pozzi, Lynda Benglis, Michael Zansky, Claude Wampler, Ruth Hardinger, Mira Schor, Suzanne Anker, Frank Gillette, Andrew Topolski, and Larry Krone at Metropolitan Museum of Art; MOCA Detroit; Provincetown Art Museum, MA; Detroit Institute of Arts; Artists Space, NY; Lab Gallery, NY; Exit Art, NY, among others.


Hanfu footwear

Hanfu also includes accessories, such as footwear. There were many etiquettes which rule people's daily lives, and this included the use and etiquettes of shoes and socks wearing.
Shoes.
Collectively, shoes are typically called "lü" (履) since the Han dynasty. In the Qin dynasty, shoes were referred as "ju" (屦)"." The word "xie" (鞋) eventually replaced the word "lü" to become a general name for shoes.
Since the ancient times, Chinese shoes came in various kinds; there were leather shoes (made of tanbark and pelt), cloth shoes (made of silk, hemp, damask, brocade, and crepe), and straw shoes (made of leaves and stems of cattail, corn leaves, and kudzu), "ji" (屐; wooden clogs)."" Han Chinese typically wore "lü" (regular shoes)"," "xi" (shoes with thick soles), and "ji" (wooden clogs). Different shoes were worn based on their appropriateness for specific occasions; shoes also denoted the social ranks of its wearers. Lü (履) were worn for formal occasions whereas "ji" (屐) was used for informal occasions.


Yoshinori Kitase

 is a Japanese game director and producer working for Square Enix. He is known as the director of "Final Fantasy VI", "Chrono Trigger", "Final Fantasy VII", "Final Fantasy VIII" and "Final Fantasy X", and the producer of the "Final Fantasy X" and "Final Fantasy XIII" series. Kitase is a Vice President, a member of the Board of Directors and an Executive Officer at Square Enix. He is currently the head of Square Enix's Creative Business Unit I and the "Final Fantasy" series Brand Manager. He was the head of Square Enix's Business Division 1 during its entire existence as well as a Corporate Executive. He is also part of the "Final Fantasy" Committee that is tasked with keeping the franchise's releases and content consistent.
Biography.
In July 1978, at the age of 11, Kitase watched the movie "Star Wars" for the first time and was deeply impressed with it. He later examined the making-of video to it and became interested in the creative process of the film industry. Kitase decided to attend the Nihon University College of Art and studied screenwriting and filmmaking. Although he enjoyed filming, he showed a much greater passion for post-production editing as he felt it allowed him to give the footage a completely new meaning and to appeal to the viewers' feelings. In his first year after the graduation, Kitase worked at a small animation studio that produced animated television programs and commercials. When he played "Final Fantasy" for the first time, he considered a switch to the game industry as he felt that it had potential when it came to animation and storytelling. Despite having no software development knowledge, he applied at the game development company Square and was hired in March 1990. In the ten years to follow, he gathered experience as an "event scripter", directing the characters' movements and facial expressions on the game screen as well as setting the timings and music transitions. He has compared this work to directing film actors. Kitase continued directing cutscenes in spite of filling other roles in later projects; for example, he directed part of the event scenes in "Final Fantasy VIII" and was event planner for the Nibelheim section of "".
When many players responded to the sci-fi world of "Final Fantasy VII" and "Final Fantasy VIII" by requesting a "simple fantasy world", Kitase tried to expand the definition of the word "fantasy" beyond that of a medieval European setting. This led to Southeast Asia being the backdrop for "Final Fantasy X". Kitase referred to "Final Fantasy VII" and its protagonist Cloud Strife as his favorite game and character, respectively. In an interview, he said that he loves first-person shooters. Kitase supervised the "Final Fantasy VII: Technical Demo for PS3". "Final Fantasy" creator Hironobu Sakaguchi feels that he "handed the torch to" Kitase as far as heading the series is concerned.


Girolamo Diruta

Girolamo Diruta (c. 1546 – 1624 or 1625) was an Italian organist, music theorist, and composer. He was famous as a teacher, for his treatise "Il Transilvano" (Venice, 1st part 1593; 2nd part 1609-10) on counterpoint, and for his part in the development of keyboard technique, particularly on the organ. He was born in Deruta, near Perugia.
Biography.
Diruta was born in Deruta in 1546 c. He became a friar minor conventual in the convent Perugia in 1566; later, from 1569 to 1574, he was in the convent of Correggio. Around 1578 he moved to Venice, where he met Claudio Merulo, Gioseffo Zarlino and Costanzo Porta (who was also a friar minor conventual), and he probably studied with each of them. Merulo mentioned Diruta in a prefatory letter to the "Transilvano" (1593), as one of his finest students.

From 1580 until 1585 he was organist at the Gubbio cathedral. He returned in Venice at the Frari convent, where he was organist from 1586 until 1589. By 1593 he was organist at Chioggia cathedral. In these year he dedicated the first part of his treatise Il Transilvano to Sigismund Bathory, prince of Transylvania.

Later he returned to live in Umbria. He was again organist at the Gubbio cathedral from 1604 to 1610.

In 1610 from Gubbio he dedicated the second part of his treatise "Il Transilvano" to Leonora Orsini Sforza, niece of Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany.

He died in Deruta in 1624 or 1625.
His nephew Agostino Diruta (c. 1595 – c. 1647) was also a composer, and his pupil.
Works.
Diruta's major work is a treatise in two parts on organ playing, counterpoint, and composition, entitled "Il Transilvano" (The Transylvanian) published for the first time in 1593; it is in the form of a dialog with Istvan de Josíka, a diplomat from Transylvania whom Diruta met during one of Josíka's missions to Italy. It is one of the first practical discussions of organ technique which differentiates organ technique from keyboard technique on other instruments. His fingerings largely follow the usual ones of his times: for example, his fingering for a C major scale never includes the thumb, and crosses the middle finger over the ring finger: his work is one of the earliest attempts in Italy to establish consistency in keyboard fingering.
As a contrapuntist, Diruta anticipates Fux in describing the different "species" of counterpoint: note against note, two notes against one, suspensions, four notes against one, and so forth. Unlike Fux, he defines a less-rigorous kind of counterpoint that was adequate for improvisation; for example it neither requires contrary motion nor prohibits successive perfect consonances. It describes contemporary keyboard practice well, as can be observed from the contemporary toccatas and canzonas of composers such as Merulo.
Diruta included many of his own compositions in "Il Transilvano", and they are mostly didactic in nature, showing different kinds of figuration, and presenting different kinds of performance problems. These four "toccate" are among the earliest examples of the etude.
The "Prima parte" also includes toccatas by other composers of the time, chosen for their musical and didactic value: Claudio Merulo, Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Antonio Romanini, Paolo Quagliati, Vincenzo Bellavere and Gioseffo Guami. The "Seconda parte" includes ricercares by Luzzaschi, Gabriele Fattorini and Adriano Banchieri.


Willie Watson (musician)

William Currie Watson (born September 23, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, actor and founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show. His debut solo album "Folk Singer, Vol. I", was released in May 2014; its follow-up "Folksinger, Vol. 2" was released September 15, 2017 on Acony Records. He has appeared at the Newport Folk Festival and other major music festivals. He currently resides in the Woodland Hills district of Los Angeles.
Watson appears as The Kid in Joel and Ethan Coen's 2018 film "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", also performing on the soundtrack.
Biography.
Early.
William Currie Watson was born in Watkins Glen, New York (Schuyler County), and raised there, in Upstate New York, around Ithaca. Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Watson listened to music on the radio – from Michael Jackson to Nirvana – but also his father's record albums, including The Rolling Stones and Neil Young. He recalls:
He first met Ben Gould in high school and they began playing music together. Around Ithaca and next-door Tompkins County "a lot of old-time fiddle music" was being played, some of it by banjo player Richie Stearns and the group Donna The Buffalo. Watson was exposed to old-time music firsthand at a weekly old-time jam.
Both Watson and Gould dropped out of school and formed the band The Funnest Game, which like Richie Stearns' group The Horse Flies had "clawhammer banjo, electric guitar, drums." Their brand of electric/old-time was heavily influenced by the old-time scene prominent in Tompkins and Schuyler County, New York, including The Horse Flies and The Highwoods Stringband. Performing locally, the young band earned the respect of local musicians and gained a following, appearing weekly at the Rongovian Embassy with Richie Stearns and annually at the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, New York.
Future bandmate Ketch Secor described it as a "young folksy kind of jam element acoustic band that was really popular in the southern tier region of New York State." Watson, he says, "was playing shows statewide by the time he was sixteen" with "this group that had some congas and some clawhammer banjo."
Old Crow Medicine Show.
Watson met future co-founder of Old Crow Medicine Show Ketch Secor after the latter finished high school in New Hampshire, his band broke up in Virginia, and he enrolled in Ithaca College. Secor brought friend and former bandmate Chris "Critter" Fuqua up to New York State from Virginia. Watson dissolved The Funnest Game while the three assembled musicians around Ithaca, New York "where there is a very lively old-time music scene." According to Mac Benford, Ithaca had for 40 years "been a center of old time music, nationally," including Kevin Hayes They recorded "Trans:mission", a cassette of ten songs they could sell on the road.
The group left Ithaca for their "Trans:mission" tour in October 1998, busking west across Canada. They circled back east in Spring of 1999 and moved into a farmhouse on Beech Mountain, near Boone, North Carolina. They were embraced by the Appalachian community, and their repertoire of old-time songs grew as they played with local musicians."
After being discovered busking in Boone, North Carolina by Doc Watson—while "playing on Doc's old corner" where he'd "started playing in the 1950s" on King Street —the famed folk-country legend said, "Boys, that was some of the most authentic old-time music I've heard in a long while. You almost got me crying." Doc invited the band to participate in his annual MerleFest music festival, founded in 1988 in memory of Doc's son Eddy Merle Watson, who died in a farm tractor accident in 1985, as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College and to celebrate "traditional plus" music. There they met Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings who introduced them to the Nashville music scene, where they promptly relocated.
Watson performed with the group, writing and singing many of their more notable songs. He left to embark on a solo career in the autumn of 2011, a couple months before Fuqua rejoined the group, citing time on the road, new parenthood, and direction the band was headed as reasons for the split.
Solo career.
Watson's transition to solo appearances began slowly with an invitation from siblings Sean and Sara Watkins to join them on a Cayamo cruise—a "singer-songwriter, folk, rootsy festival on a ship around the Bahamas." Sean "took the liberty" of putting Watson on the performance schedule. He subsequently would "go pretty often and ... sing a few songs" at "this little revue called the Watkins Family Hour at Largo" where the Watkins would encourage him to try appearing solo.
In 2012–2013 Watson began appearing in venues in and around Venice Beach, California, making appearances with the John C. Reilly band and John Prine, and opening for acts such as Punch Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, and Dawes. Initially he was performing original music, then realized he got more out of performing the old songs—and his audience seemed to enjoy them more. As he explains:
In 2014, he performed at SXSW in Austin, Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California, Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, Pickathon Music Festival in Oregon, Fayetteville Roots Festival in Arkansas, and Steelfest in Missouri. A tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland takes him to Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, London, and Dublin.
He appears at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville during September. Of his transition to a solo career, Watson says:
In 2018, Willie made his film debut as "The Kid" in the Coen brothers film "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", and performed "When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" on the film's soundtrack with Tim Blake Nelson.
"Folk Singer Vol. 1".
Watson's debut solo album, "Folk Singer Vol. 1", was released May 6, 2014 by Acony records. It was produced by David Rawlings, producer of Old Crow Medicine Show albums. The release features ten songs, from folk standards to "obscure gems." As Watson himself describes it,
Tour stops to promote the album release included dates at Nashville area's Music City Roots at the Loveless Café, New York City's Mercury Lounge, Philadelphia's World Café Live, and Berkeley's Freight & Salvage. Rolling Stone named the album one of "The 26 Albums of 2014 You Probably Didn't But Really Should Hear", stating, "Watson's voice carries the weight of generations past, but on "Folk Singer", it's still appropriate for the one we live in, right now." Rawlings, who produced the album, said: "Willie is the only one of his generation who can make me forget these songs were ever sung before."
"Folk Singer Vol. 2".
While at work on the second volume of "Folk Singer", Watson stated: "Volume two will be a continuation of Volume one, and consist of old songs." Released September 15, 2017, "Folk Singer Vol. 2" was produced by David Rawlings and featured collaborations with Gillian Welch, The Fairfield Four, Morgan Jahnig of Old Crow Medicine Show, and Paul Kowert of Punch Brothers. In its review of the new album, The Guardian states nobody makes "the old songs sound fresher" than Watson, "thanks to a voice that's young but weathered, strong but eerie, and comes backed by intricate banjo and guitar picking."
Tracks.
Watson says of "Samson and Delilah" by Reverend Gary Davis:
Films.
Watson appeared as The Kid in the Coen brothers' "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" (2018), performing in "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings." Written by his personal friends and professional colleagues Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, the song came about in an interesting way, as Welch explains:
Coen also said, "They have to be able to sing it together. They have to be able to sing it once [the other character] has been shot and is dead and is floating up to heaven." So it was meant to be a duet between singing cowboys, one of whom is dead.
Watson performed on "Lazy Old Moon" for another Coen film, "Hail, Caesar!", from 2016. He performed in "We'll Understand It Better By and By" for the Ben Affleck film "Live by Night" (2016).
Tours.
Watson regularly tours solo and with other acts. In Summer 2016, he toured Australia with Josh Hedley for "a string of joint-headline shows throughout the east coast" of that country, including the Bello Winter Music Festival in Bellingen. The tour included stops in the major cities of Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney where regional "support" acts opened for them—e.g., Imogen Clark, Matt Walker, Freya Josephine Hollick, and Elwood Myre. In Fall of 2016, Watson toured with Aiofe O'Donovan, "captivating" lead singer of Boston progressive string band Crooked Still—with stops in Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia. Featured vocalist on "The Goat Rodeo Sessions"—a Grammy-winning album by Yo-Yo Ma, et al. – O'Donovan released her debut solo album "Fossils" in 2013.
Influences.
Watson started with his father's record collection, which included artists like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, as well as Lead Belly. He later discovered Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music – which helped trigger the folk music revival in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Ithaca-Tompkins County area played host to a number of old-time musicians, including banjo player Richie Stearns whose group The Horse Flies mixed old-time fiddle music with 1980s pop.
Nirvana's "Unplugged" includes a take on Lead Belly songs "In the Pines/Where Did You Sleep Last Night." Knowing his father had a Lead Belly record in the basement, Watson went and got it out. He says: "Really, that changed everything for me right there. It was all coming together at the same time." After which followed the "alternative scene", like the Pixies and They Might Be Giants.
Vocally, his first influence was Roy Orbison – when he "was, like, 9" – when Orbison had the comeback with "You Got It" and joined the Traveling Wilburys. And he was really into Neil Young, sitting up in his room singing Young songs in "that higher register." When he eventually started listening to old-time and "mountain music," he found that "singing up there, that high lonesome sound, sort of put a little more volume behind it."
All of these influences informed the style and substance he brings to traditional and old-time music. As Watson himself says of his songs:
Instruments.
Watson performs on a Larrivée guitar and Gibson five-string banjo.


Joseph Menna

Joseph F. Menna is an American sculptor and engraver who has worked in both digital and traditional sculpture media. He has been the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint since February, 2019.
Biography.
Menna trained formally at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art in New York City, New York and Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Menna sculpted the reverse of the 2010 Lincoln Cent. He also supplemented his training with studies at Arts Students League, and the Sculpture Center in Manhattan, New York.
Menna was raised in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, New Jersey. After graduating from Highland Regional High School he attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from which he graduated in 1992. He was awarded a master's degree in 1994 from the New York Academy of Art.
As a professional fine art sculptor, Menna's clients include the United States Mint, DC Comics, Fisher-Price and Hasbro, among others.
In 2005, Menna joined the United States Mint as a medallic sculptor. He sculpted the design of United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Lyndall Bass into the 2010 Lincoln Cent and his initials, JFM, appear on the reverse of the coin under the right side of the scroll.
His sculpting work can also be seen on the 2014 Everglades National Park quarter.
Joe has also done the Digital concept sculpture for the Statue of Unity situated in Gujarat India. It is currently the tallest statue in the world at 597ft.
In February 2019, Menna became the 14th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. The position had been vacant since 2010.
A resident of Bordentown, New Jersey, Menna and his wife have three children.
Awards and honors.
Along with the 2010 Lincoln Cent, Menna is also credited with designing or sculpting:


John V. Tucker

John Vivian Tucker (born 1952) is a British computer scientist and expert on computability theory, also known as recursion theory. Computability theory is about what can and cannot be computed by people and machines. His work has focused on generalising the classical theory to deal with all forms of discrete/digital and continuous/analogue data; and on using the generalisations as formal methods for system design; and on the interface between algorithms and physical equipment.
Biography.
Born in Cardiff, Wales, he was educated at Bridgend Boys' Grammar School, where he was taught mathematics, logic and computing. He read mathematics at University of Warwick (BA in 1973), and studied mathematical logic and the foundations of computing at University of Bristol (MSc in 1974, PhD in 1977). He has held posts at Oslo University, the CWI Amsterdam, and at Bristol and Leeds Universities, before returning to Wales as Professor of Computer Science at Swansea University in 1989. In addition to theoretical computer science, Tucker also lectures on the history of computing and on the history of science and technology and Wales.
Tucker founded the British Colloquium for Theoretical Computer Science in 1985 and served as its president from its inception until 1992. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and editor of several international scientific journals and monograph series. At Swansea, he has been Head of Computer Science (1994–2008), Head of Physical Sciences (2007–11) and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (2011–2019). He is Member of Academia Europaea.
Outside of Computer Science, Tucker has been a Trustee of the Welsh think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the chair of the Swansea Bay branch. He is also a Trustee of the South Wales Institute of Engineers Educational Trust, and the Gower Society.
Professor Tucker is married to Dr. T.E. Rihll, formerly a Reader in Ancient History at Swansea University.
In the early 1990s, he began to lobby for a national academy for Wales. In 2008 a process to create such an academy began sponsored by the then University of Wales. Professor Tucker is a Founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and in July 2010 he was appointed as its inaugural general secretary.
Work on computability and data types.
Classical computability theory is based on the data types of strings or natural numbers. In general, data types, both discrete and continuous, are modelled by universal algebras, which are sets of data equipped with operations and tests. Tucker's theoretical work tackles the problems of: how to define or specify properties of the operations and tests of data types; how to program and reason with them; and how to implement them.
In a series of theorems and examples, starting in 1979, Jan Bergstra and Tucker established the expressive power of different types of equations and other algebraic formulae on any discrete data type. For example, they showed that
The results combined techniques of universal algebra and recursion theory, including term rewriting and Matiyasevich's theorem.
For the other problems, he and his co-workers have developed two independent disparate generalisations of classical computability/recursion theory, which are equivalent for many continuous data types.
The first generalisation, created with Jeffrey Zucker, focuses on imperative programming with abstract data types and covers specifications and verification using Hoare logic. For example, they showed that:
The second generalisation, created with Viggo Stoltenberg-Hansen, focuses on implementing data types using approximations contained in the ordered structures of domain theory.
The general theories have been applied as formal methods in microprocessor verifications, data types, and tools for volume graphics and modelling excitable media including the heart.
Work on computability and physics.
Since 2003, Tucker has worked with Edwin Beggs and Felix Costa on a general theory analysing the interface between algorithms and physical equipment. The theory answers various questions concerning:
By transforming the idea of oracle in computability theory, they combine algorithmic models with precisely specified models of physical processes. For example, they ask the question:
Their central idea is that, just as Turing modelled the human computer in 1936 by a Turing machine, "they model a technician, performing an experimental procedure that governs an experiment, by a Turing machine". They show that the mathematics of computation imposes fundamental limits on what can be measured in classical physics:
Work on history of science and technology.
In 2007 Tucker founded the History of Computing Collection at Swansea University. He has lectured on the history of computation since 1994, he is a founding member of the editorial board of the Springer book series "History of Computing." He also lectures on the history of science and technology in Wales and is a founding member of the editorial board of the University of Wales Press book series "Scientists of Wales".


Nina Morgan-Jones

Nina Morgan-Jones (born in South Wales) is a London/Hollywood based fashion designer and stylist and co-founder of the fashion Company ROMP.
Biography.
At the age of 26, her fashion collection was first shown during London Fashion Week and then went on to sell in the salons of Pret-a-Porter (Paris), Atmosphere (Paris) and The Train (New York and Japan).
Morgan-Jones’ style is inspired by the 30's, film noir and 1970's London.
ROMP was successful as a natural products brand, selling leather, sheepskin and silk clothing. In 2007 ROMP teamed up with a European tannery and produced an organic collection of Soil Association Certified Organic leather and denim clothing and accessories. Morgan-Jones worked with organic pioneer Greg Sturmer on the development of the collection.
ROMP was the subject of a BBC world documentary and Morgan-Jones’ designs have been featured in magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Condé Nast Traveller.
Her designs have since been commissioned by Hollywood shows such as American Idol and Melrose Place and have been featured on the red carpet and on stage for shows such as the MTV Video Music Awards.
ROMP opened its first USA boutique in 2008 on West 3rd Street, Los Angeles. She lives between London, Los Angeles and St Tropez, working on the Romp Boutique Collection and as a freelance design consultant.


Samir Chanda

Samir Chanda (1957 – 18 August 2011) was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil, most known for his work in films like "Yodha" (1992), "Dil Se.." (1998), "Guru" (2007), "Omkara" (2006), "Rang De Basanti" (2006), and "Raavan" (2010).
He also directed a Bengali film, "Ek Nadir Galpo" (2008) starring Mithun Chakraborty. It was Indian entries for the Asian, African and Latin American Competition segment of the 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in Goa He was awarded the National Film Award for Best Art Direction four times, including "" (2005) directed by Shyam Benegal.
Career.
A trained painter from Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, he moved to Mumbai and started his career as an assistant to noted art director Nitish Roy working in films like, "Mandi" (1983) by Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen. Subsequently, started handling films independently as art director and production designer, with Subhash Ghai's "Ram Lakhan" (1989). Over the years he worked with directors like Shyam Benegal, Sangeeth Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Gautam Ghosh and Mani Ratnam.
For film "Delhi-6" directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Chanda recreated inner lanes of Old Delhi at Sambhar town in Rajasthan, as it has similar architecture. Later, for some scenes, historic Jama Masjid was digitally added to the frame as a backdrop.
Wasiq Khan, who later did "Gangs of Wasseypur" (2012) and "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013), started his career as an assistant art director with Chanda in films, Mani Ratnam's "Iruvar" (1997) and Shyam Benegal's "Hari-Bhari" (2000), before starting out on his own.
He died in Mumbai on 18 August 2011, at the age of 53. Reportedly, he suffered a drug reaction to a painkiller he had taken for a toothache earlier that day, and suffered a heart attack. He was rushed a hospital in Malad, Mumbai, where he died within an hour.


The Down Hill Strugglers

The Down Hill Strugglers, previously known as the Dust Busters, is an American old-time string band trio from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Forming in 2008, they are influenced by the music that came out of rural America, including Appalachian traditions, music from the Deep South, and the Western States. They combine the feeling of the old music that can be heard on commercially recorded 78 RPM records (largely of the pre-WWII era) and field recordings made throughout the 20th century. The band was originally made up of Craig Judelman, Eli Smith, and Walker Shepard. In 2012, Craig Judelman left the Dust Busters and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Jackson Lynch. At that time, the band changed its name to the Down Hill Strugglers.
About.
Eli and Walker met while hanging out at the home Peter Stampfel of The Holy Modal Rounders where they also met John Cohen of The New Lost City Ramblers,they met fiddler/multi-instrumentalist Jackson Lynch while hanging around the New York folk music scene at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn.
Eli Smith produces his own internet radio show and blog called “Down Home Radio” which is dedicated to the sounds of folk music. He has also founded two festivals to promote old-time music in New York City: The Brooklyn Folk Festival and The Washington Square Park Folk Festival. He also teaches banjo to individuals and to classes at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Brooklyn. While giving lessons to his students, he was interviewed on "Caught in the Act," on Brooklyn Independent Television on techniques for five string banjo players.
Walker Shepard developed a love for old-time music by listening to past voices such as Roscoe Holcomb, Gaither Carlton, Fiddlin' John Carson, and B.F. Shelton. By listening to past musicians, he has developed a personal style that fits into old-time music, but also allows younger generations to relate and connect to the music.
Style and influence.
Their style of music is influenced by rural old time traditions of Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Western States. They are influenced by the folk musicians who have played before them and strive to introduce this style of music to a younger generation. They do this by keeping a strong sense of tradition in every tune. They often visit their elders to seek out their knowledge and play as they do. They have met with individuals such as banjo player, Pat Conte, Alice Gerrard, Clyde Davenport, the late fiddler Joe Thompson.
Career.
Over the course of their career, they have toured across the United States and Europe and have appeared at numerous festivals that encourage the preservation of folk life and music. In 2010, they received special invitation from the US Embassy in Sofia to represent American folk music at the Bourgas International Folklore Festival and also be showcased at the Apollonia Festival of the Arts in Sozopol. They have also performed at film festivals such as the Woodstock Film Festival alongside John Cohen while he was screening his latest documentary “Roscoe Holcomb: From Daisy Kentucky.” In 2010 they played at the Dock Boggs festival in Norton, Virginia and where asked back for a repeat performance at the 2011 festival.
They have been featured on radio shows such as WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour and are still archived on the WoodSongs website for listening. The band also has been featured on KEXP 90.3 FM Radio alongside John Cohen.
The Dust Busters released three albums: a self-titled album (2009), "Prohibition is a Failure" (2010), featuring John Cohen, and "Old Man Below" (2012).
Awards.
Independent Music Awards 2013: "Old Man Below" - Best Bluegrass Album


Mega Man 2

 (stylized as Mega Man II on title screen) is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. "Mega Man 2" continues Mega Man's battle against the evil Dr. Wily and his rogue robots. It introduced graphical and gameplay changes, many of which became series staples.
Although sales for the original "Mega Man "were unimpressive, Capcom allowed the team to create a sequel. They worked concurrently on other Capcom projects, using their free time to develop the game, using unused content from the first game. Takashi Tateishi composed the soundtrack, with Yoshihiro Sakaguchi serving as a sound programmer.
"Mega Man 2" is the bestselling "Mega Man" game, with more than 1.5 million copies sold. Critics praised its audio, visuals and gameplay as an improvement over the first game. Many publications rank "Mega Man 2" as the best game in the series and one of the greatest video games of all time. It has also been rereleased on several other consoles and made available on mobile phones.
Plot.
After his initial defeat Dr. Wily, the series' main antagonist, creates his own set of Robot Masters in an attempt to counter Mega Man: Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man, and Wood Man. He also constructs a new fortress and army of robotic henchmen.
Mega Man is then sent by his creator, Dr. Light, to defeat Dr. Wily and his Robot Masters. Mega Man defeats the eight new Robot Masters and then challenges Wily himself. During the final fight, Dr. Wily flees into the caves beneath his fortress and when Mega Man follows, attempts to trick Mega Man into thinking he is a space alien, but Mega Man defeats the alien revealing it to be a holographic projection device which malfunctions showing Dr. Wily at the controls. After the scientist begs for mercy, Mega Man spares Wily and returns home.
Gameplay.
"Mega Man 2" is a platform and action game like its predecessor, "Mega Man". The player controls Mega Man as he traverses eight stages to defeat the bosses, Dr. Wily's Robot Masters: Metal Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Heat Man, and Wood Man. Each Robot Master features a unique weapon and a stage related to their weapon's power. For example, Air Man shoots small tornadoes and is fought in a sky-themed level, while Wood Man can use a shield of leaves and is found in a forest-themed stage. After defeating a boss, their signature weapon becomes available to the player. The Robot Masters have weaknesses to the weapons of certain other Robot Masters; therefore, choosing the order in which the levels are played is a vital component of the gameplay. After completing certain stages, Mega Man receives a special item. These items create platforms that allow Mega Man to access areas that he otherwise could not.
After defeating the eight Robot Masters, the player proceeds to Dr. Wily's fortress, which consists of six levels that are played linearly. As in the first game, the player is required to fight each Robot Master a second time in Dr. Wily's fortress. However, these battles take place in a single room rather than a series of linearly connected rooms. The room contains teleportation devices that lead to each Robot Master. The devices can be entered in any order, but are not labeled. Once the bosses are defeated again, the player must fight Dr. Wily.
"Mega Man 2" features a few gameplay changes from the original "Mega Man". A new item, the Energy Tank, allows a player to refill Mega Man's health at any time. Also introduced is a password system. After defeating each Robot Master a password is displayed, allowing the player to return to that particular point in the game after restarting the system. The password stores the particular list of completed Robot Masters, as well as the number of accumulated Energy Tanks. Unlike the first game, "Mega Man 2" does not feature a score counter, and the player is unable to return to Robot Master levels once completed.
Development.
The first "Mega Man" game—released in 1987—was not successful enough to justify the immediate development of a sequel. According to Roy Ozaki, director Akira Kitamura had wanted to make a sequel to Mega Man, but producer Tokuro Fujiwara was against it. Kitamura then went to Capcom Vice-President to get permission to make the game. Capcom allowed the development team to create a sequel on the condition that they work concurrently on other projects as well. The staff spent their own time on the project to improve upon the original by adding more levels and weapons, as well as improving the graphics. The project supervisor of the first "Mega Man" invited Inafune to the sequel's development crew; Inafune was working on a separate game at the time. On the previous game, Inafune worked as an artist and character designer but became more involved in the production process of the sequel. "Working on ["Mega Man 2"] marked my second year at this, and I even got to mentor a 'new kid', which opened up a whole new world of stress for me," Inafune recounted. The development time for the game was only three to four months.
Due to the limited amount of cartridge space available for the first game, elements such as planned enemy characters were omitted from the final product. The unused content was later transferred to "Mega Man 2". The team was limited by the graphical capabilities of the console, and designed characters as pixel art to maintain consistency between the designs and final product; some design elements, however, were lost in the transition. The gameplay system from the original game was kept for "Mega Man 2", but the team included more traps for the player to navigate. The game's three support items were added to aid the player because of complaints from consumers and Capcom's marketing department regarding the original game's high difficulty. Inafune's supervisor was "especially unsure" about the usefulness of the Energy Tanks.
The first game did not have any influence from fans, but for the second game, Kitamura wanted to get ideas from players and put them in. The developers allowed input from the public by including boss designs created by fans. Capcom received 8,370 boss submissions for the game, although even the designs for the final eight Robot Masters were "tweaked".
Inafune intended his artwork for "Mega Man 2" to be more "anime-ish" than in the first game. A second difficulty setting was added for the North American release. The original version was labeled "difficult", and a "normal" setting was created that made the "arm cannon" and boss weapons more powerful.
The soundtrack for "Mega Man 2" was composed by Takashi Tateishi (credited as Ogeretsu Kun), with "Mega Man" composer Manami Matsumae (credited as Manami Ietel) included for having her work on the credits theme from the first game repurposed for the title screen, and for co-composing a minor part of the melody for Air Man's stage. As with the previous game, the sound programming was handled by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, credited as Yuukichan's Papa. Tateishi's initial compositions for the game were of varying moods, with some of them being considered "too cute" by Kitamura, requesting them to be changed to fit in with the rest of the soundtrack. A single fragment of this declined concept remains in the game as Crash Man's stage theme. The widely praised piece used for the first two Wily stages was heavily compromised due to data limitations, with Tateishi being forced to use the first eight measures of the song multiple times throughout it. Intent to compose a song exclusive to the second stage was quickly abandoned for the same reasons. It is currently unknown if this speculative song exists.<ref>