title: Super Sonico

text: A popular and extensive line of PVC figurines of Super Sonico has been produced for Nitroplus by well-known toy designers including, among many others, Max Factory, FREEing, Orchid Seed and Hobby Japan. Figurine styles have included the highly stylized Chibi, Nendoroid and Figma designs in addition to the more realistic designs drawn directly from the character as she appears in games, manga and anime. Sizes have ranged from 1/8 to 1/2 the size of the young adult woman character as she appears in the media. Action figures have also been produced.


title: Super Sonico

text: A 4koma manga series by Chika Nonohara titled Super Sonico SoniKoma began serialisation on March 12, 2011 in "Comic Earth Star". Another manga series titled Sonicomi with art by Imusanjo serialised in the "Monthly Comic Blade". A 4koma manga series titled has also been featured in Enterbrain's "MAGI-CU Comics".


title: Super Sonico

text: is a computer game for Microsoft Windows released on November 25, 2011, developed by Nitroplus and published by Nitroplus and Enterbrain. As a visual novel game, the player takes the role of Sonico's cameraman. The game features events where the player is able to take gravure photographs of her. A PlayStation 3 adaptation with improved visuals, titled , was released on March 20, 2014. The PS3 version received a "Famitsu" score of 30/40. The game was released worldwide with English translation by JAST USA through Steam featuring dubbed voice by Jessica Nigri.


title: Super Sonico

text: is a game developed by Nitroplus and Imageepoch for the Nintendo 3DS announced during the 2013 Wonder Festival. As an idol-producing game, the player takes the role of Sonico's producer, who aims to train her to become an idol. The game was released on July 31, 2014.


title: Super Sonico

text: Sonico has made cameo appearances in various games, including "", the visual novel "Lovesick Puppies", the Japanese online games "Web Knight Carnival", "Mechanical Girl War Z", "Dragon League", "Dungeons Lord", "Momoiro Daisen Pylon" and "Blue Sky Dragon Guild", and will be a playable character in "Super Heroine Chronicle". Sonico appears as a character within the eroge "Axanael" developed by Nitroplus. She also appears in Square Enix's "Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur" between March 11 and March 23, 2014. Super Sonico and Ōka appear in the "" fighting game, appearing as a support character in the arcade version and as a playable character in the console version, while the latter playable in all versions. Sonico also appeared in "" as one of the DLC characters along with the three characters from Koei Tecmo/Team Ninja's "Dead or Alive" series, four characters from a manga "Ikki Tousen", two characters from "Valkyrie Drive" and the titular character of Idea Factory’s "Hyperdimension Neptunia".


title: Super Sonico

text: An anime television series titled was announced at the Nitro Super Sonic 2013 event held at the Tokyo International Forum. Produced by White Fox, the 12-episode series aired in Japan between January 6, 2014 and March 24, 2014 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. A DVD and Blu-ray release of the TV series in Japan was announced for March 19, 2014. Sentai Filmworks have licensed the series in North America and will release it on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 26, 2015. The Anime Network began streaming the series February 6, 2014. MVM Films have licensed the series in the United Kingdom. In Australia and New Zealand, Hanabee licensed the series within the region.


title: Super Sonico

text: The main opening song of the anime is by Super Sonico (Ayano Yamamoto). The opening theme for episode one is "Beat Goes On" by Ayano Yamamoto, whilst a different ending theme, each performed by First Astronomical Velocity (Yamamoto, Mai Goto, and Mami Ozaki), is featured in each episode.


title: Super Sonico

text: Gravure books featuring Sonico were released by Enterbrain on July 7, 2011. An internet radio show, , began broadcasting on March 24, 2011. A Sonico-themed non-game networking software application for iOS has also been released.


title: Super Sonico

text: Sonico was used to promote the International Exhibition Center station of the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit Rinkai Line. She is also being used to promote the brand of beer from Nara Prefecture, as a collaboration based on the similar-sounding name. Sonico was also the mascot for the 2013 Anitamasai Convention in Saitama.


title: Super Sonico

text: The Super Sonico Tab is a special edition ASUS MeMo Pad ME172v tablet computer featuring an artwork of Sonico on the rear of the device.


title: M252 mortar

text: The M252 81 mm medium weight mortar is a British-designed smooth bore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for long-range indirect fire support to light infantry, air assault, and airborne units across the entire front of a battalion zone of influence. In the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, it is normally deployed in the mortar platoon of an infantry battalion.


title: M252 mortar

text: The M252 system weighs 91 lb (41 kg) completely assembled and is composed of the M253 Cannon (35 lb, 16 kg), M177 Mount (27 lb, 12 kg), M3A1 Baseplate (29 lb, 13 kg), and the M64A1 Sight Unit (2.5 lb, 1.1 kg). The mount consists of a base plate and a bipod, which is provided with screw type elevating and traversing mechanisms to elevate/traverse the mortar. The M64A1 sight unit (also used on the M224) is attached to the bipod mount. The M252 is a gravity-fired smoothbore system. Attached to the muzzle of the weapon is the Blast Attenuation Device (BAD), used to reduce the blast effects on the mortar crew. To increase cooling efficiency, the breech end is finned; though first-hand accounts attest that the level of cooling is negligible. The cannon also has a crew-removable breech plug and firing pin.


title: M252 mortar

text: In 2017, the Marines revealed they were developing precision-guided rounds for the 81 mm mortar, similar to efforts for the 120 mm Expeditionary Fire Support System but in a man-portable system.


title: M252 mortar

text: The M252 is an adaptation of the British 81mm L16A2 mortar developed in the 1950s. It entered service with the U.S. Army and replaced the previous 81 mm M29 mortar in 1987. It was adopted due to the extended range (from 4,500 meters to 5,650 meters) and enhanced lethality. In the U.S. it is produced by Watervliet Arsenal.


title: M252 mortar

text: A lightweight version, the M252A1 was first fielded in December 2014. By using lightweight materials such as aluminum, titanium and nylon kevlar the total weight was reduced by to . The M252A1 also required less maintenance with its internal gears greaseless. The M252A1 was scheduled to replace the M252 in 2016. In November 2016, the Watervliet Arsenal received a contract to produce the bipods which have an "A" shaped bipod frame with deliveries to be completed by March 2020. As part of the same program, a lightweight version of the M224 60mm mortar the M224A1 was also developed. The Marines developed an improved M252A2 version that weighs about 8.16 kg (18 pounds) less than the original and incorporates a 4× magnification sight with a new cooling system.


title: M252 mortar

text: A crew of five enlisted personnel operate the M252: the squad leader, the gunner, the assistant gunner, the first ammunition bearer, and the second ammunition bearer.


title: M252 mortar

text: While the M252 does fire a weapon-specific series of ammunition, it can also fire rounds from the M29 Mortar (only at charge 3 or below though). The M252 Mortar can fire the following principal classifications of training and service ammunition:


title: M252 mortar

text: The M224 rounds have two fuze types: the Multi-option Fuze (M734) and the Point-Detonating Fuze (M935). The M734 is used for the M720 HE round and can be set to function as proximity burst, near-surface burst, impact burst, or delay burst.


title: M252 mortar

text: The range of a mortar is controlled by the number of propellant "C-charges" attached. A charge is a semi-circular donut of nitrocellulose, which resembles a puffy letter "C." A round for the M252 mortar comes with four charges attached. Longer-range shots require more propellant than can fit in the tail of the round, hence the necessity of external charges.


title: M252 mortar

text: When the target is ranged, the first assistant ammunition bearer adjusts the amount of propellant by removing C-charges from the projectile. The mortar squad leader verifies the number of charges; then the assistant gunner drops the round down the muzzle of the tube. The round, pulled by gravity, accelerates down the smooth bore of the mortar until the primer (in the base of the tail boom of the round) strikes the firing pin located in the bottom of the mortar tube. The primer detonates, igniting the charge in the tail fin, which in turn ignites the C-charges on the round. The C-charges ignite, releasing hot, expanding gas which pushes against the obturating ring on the projectile, sealing the gas behind the projectile.


title: Lavasa

text: Lavasa (Marathi: , lavāsā) is a private, planned city built near Pune, India. It is stylistically based on the Italian town Portofino, with a street and several buildings bearing the name of that town.


title: Lavasa

text: A or project being developed by HCC, this as-yet-incomplete city has been controversial for multiple reasons including procurement of land, harm to the environment, and loans acquired through political corruption.


title: Lavasa

text: In late 2010, the Indian Environment and Forests Ministry ordered that construction cease because the project violated environmental laws. As of late 2011, this order has been rescinded. The project's scale may have been reduced, however, and an initial public offering may not occur. The head of the company working on the project said in 2013 that due to the Environment and Forests Ministry, the project had "lost three years".


title: Lavasa

text: Billed as India's first hill station since independence, this private city is being constructed by a unit of Ajit Gulabchand. The architectural team responsible for the design of the town wants it be an imitation of an Italian hill-side town


title: Lavasa

text: Construction of two out of the five planned towns is ongoing, and a number of residences have been completed as of 2013. By 2011 four hotels and a city centre were completed. A primary, middle, and high school, Le Mont High, has been constructed as well. The town also boasts a hospitality management college, École hôtelière Lavasa.


title: Lavasa

text: Smaller, pre-existing communities sometimes interact with Lavasa and its residents. Some have been the focus of CSR efforts, and villagers provide construction labour to the project.


title: Lavasa

text: Lavasa has established a pattern of promoting planned partnerships with prestigious, overseas institutions that do not ultimately see fruition. Oxford University had at one point associated itself with the project, but other, name-brand plans including future sports facilities have yet to be officially canceled.


title: Lavasa

text: The city has a better track record when it comes to construction; some sections are complete today. It is thought that Lavasa will not be finished before 2030, however. When fully built, its total population may be 200,000, and it will consist of four or five towns built on seven hills. The first of these, Dasve, was initially slated to be complete by 2010 although some residences there were still under construction as of 2013. Mugaon, the second town, may be finished in 2013, and as of May, 2013, construction continues. Work on this town began in mid-2012. In 2013, the chairman of the construction company building the project confirmed that Lavasa will include four large towns.


title: Lavasa

text: Planned sports facilities include a Nick Faldo-designed golf course and a Manchester City-branded football academy.


title: Lavasa

text: However, the Nick Faldo website no longer touts the golf course, and a 2010 press release is the sole communication Manchester City has made in reference to a football academy.


title: Lavasa

text: Lavasa may go on to host one university. Initially partnering with the University of Oxford, by 2010 this British institution detached itself from the project. As of 2010, Symbiosis International University is planning to set up a new liberal arts college campus in the township. As of June 2020, Christ University at Lavasa (Dasve in Mulshi Taluka of Pune District - 412112) offers various UG and PG programmes. The courses include BA-LLB & BBA-LLB (Honours), BBA in Business Analytics, B.Com. in Financial Analytics, BSc in Data Science, BSc in Economics & Analytics, MSc in Data Science, MA in Business Economics, MSc in finance, MBA and PhD in few disciplines.


title: Lavasa

text: Lavasa has won several awards for its plans and designs. In 2005, Dasve village in Lavasa won awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism and the American Society of Landscape Architects. In 2009, the St. Louis chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognised the Lavasa landscape master plan with a merit award.


title: Lavasa

text: An Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests team investigating Lavasa concluded that the city has caused environmental damage, since Lavasa is built "in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its evergreen tropical forests that shelter 325 species of vulnerable or endangered animals, birds and fauna."


title: Lavasa

text: Post reviewing the project, this ministry provided clearance on 9 November 2011 to Lavasa with specific conditions, such as a cessation of hill cutting activities, building of a sewage treatment plant, and anti-poverty CSR measures aimed at the local population.


title: Lavasa

text: While Lavasa has stone crushing permits, its operations have been described as "hill cutting" and "quarrying" by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the environmental impact of these activities was investigated.


title: Lavasa

text: In 2014, Mrs. Jayanti Natarajan, in her open letter to Congress president, stated that she had got a specific input from Mr. Rahul Gandhi's office to stall the project.


title: Lavasa

text: A report by the Maharashtra environment department claims of land bought by Lavasa Corporation was purchased from farmers who had been granted it by the Indian State. Because of the way in which the farmers obtained the land, three fourths of the purchase price should have been paid to the State. The report states Lavasa Corporation only paid 2%. It also alleges that of Lavasa were leased for far less than its actual value by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation and that Lavasa bought of land without license.


title: Lavasa

text: Some also say that Lavasa is being built on what was obtained through coercion. However, Lavasa Corporation denies this.


title: Lavasa

text: Lavasa will use the same water resources that currently supply Pune, and it is claimed that this move is likely to cause a supply shortage. A 2011 report by the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry concluded that there will be no impact on Pune's water supply, however.


title: Lavasa

text: For a one-year period from late 2010 to late 2011, construction of Lavasa had to be halted due to orders issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In late 2010, it ordered Lavasa Corporation to halt further construction for not having gathered proper clearances. In November 2011, this ministry relented, and construction is no longer impeded by law. While grant of an environmental clearance was recommended in May, 2011, Lavasa was only alerted to the fact that clearance was granted on 9 November 2011.


title: Lavasa

text: Sharad Pawar, an Indian politician born in the state of Maharashtra, is alleged to have demanded compensation for allowing Lavasa to be constructed. When Lavasa Corporation was receiving necessary clearances from the government of Maharashtra, relatives of Pawar had part-ownership of the company developing the project. Pawar's daughter and son-in-law had more than 20% ownership between 2002 and 2004, and they later sold their stakes. A nephew of his was the chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation when it signed off on lease agreements for Lavasa and allowed Lavasa to store water and build dams.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan (), alternately romanized as Tsinan, is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city in Shandong. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilization and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city has held sub-provincial administrative status since 1994. Jinan is often called the "City of Springs" for its famous 72 artesian springs.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is one of the top 40 cities in the world for scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index according to the Nature Index 2022 Science Cities. The city is home to several major universities, including Shangdong, Shandong Normal, Shandong Jianzhu, University of Jinan, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shandong University of Finance and Economics. Notably, Shandong University is one of China's most prestigious universities as a member of the Double First Class University Plan. The city is rated Beta- (Global second-tier city) by the biannual GAWC ratings in 2020.


title: Jinan

text: The modern-day name "Jinan" literally means "south of the Ji" and refers to the old Ji River that had flowed to the north of the city until the middle of the 19th century. The Ji River disappeared in 1852 when the Yellow River changed its course northwards and took over its bed. The current pronunciation of the character "Ji" with the third tone ("jǐ") was established in the late 1970s. Prior to this, it was pronounced with the fourth tone (""). Older texts spell the name as "Tsinan" (Wade-Giles romanization) or "Chi-nan".


title: Jinan

text: During the times of the Zhou dynasty (1045 BC to 256 BC), the city of Lixia () was the major settlement in the area. The name "Lixia" refers to the location of Jinan at the foot of Mount Li, which lies to the south of the city. Today, Lixia is the name of one of the city's districts.


title: Jinan

text: The Battle of An, which was fought in the area during the Spring and Autumn period (in 589 BCE) between the states of Qi and Jin, is named for the ancient city of () which stood within the city limits of present-day Jinan. Marco Polo gives a brief description of Jinan under the name "Chingli" or "Chinangli". 19th and early 20th century texts frequently give the name of the city as "Tsinan Fu" where the additional "Fu" () comes from the dated Chinese term for a provincial capital ().


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is also referred to by the nickname "City of Springs" (), because of the many artesian springs in the urban city centre and its surroundings.


title: Jinan

text: The area of present-day Jinan has been inhabited for more than 4000 years. The Neolithic Longshan culture was first discovered at Chengziya to the east of Jinan (Zhangqiu District) in 1928. One of the characteristic features of the Longshan culture are the intricate wheel-made pottery pieces it produced. Most renowned is the black "egg-shell pottery" with wall thicknesses that can go below 1 millimeter.


title: Jinan

text: During the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BCE) and Warring States period (475–221 BCE), the area of Jinan was split between two states: the state of Lu in the west and the state of Qi in the east. In 685 BCE, the state of Qi started to build the Great Wall of Qi across Changqing county. Portions of the wall still remain today and are accessible as open air museums. Bian Que, according to the legend the earliest Chinese physician and active around 400–300 BCE, is said to have been a native of present-day Changqing County. Zou Yan (305–240 BCE), a native of Zhangqiu City, developed the concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Joseph Needham, a British sinologist, describes Zou as "The real founder of all Chinese scientific thought."


title: Jinan

text: During the times of the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), Jinan was the capital of the feudatory Kingdom of Jibei () and evolved into the cultural and economic hub of the region. The Han dynasty tomb where the last king of Jibei, Liu Kuan (), was buried at Shuangru Mountain was excavated by archaeologists from Shandong University in 1995 and 1996. More than 2000 artifacts such as jade swords, jade masks, and jade pillows have been recovered within the 1,500 square meter excavation site, emphasizing the wealth of the city during the period. Cao Cao (155 – 220 CE) was an official in Jinan before he became the de facto ruler of the Han dynasty. His son, Cao Pi, overthrew the last emperor of the Han and founded the Wei Kingdom (220 – 265 CE) of the Three Kingdoms Period.


title: Jinan

text: Beginning in the 5th century CE, Buddhism flourished in Jinan. The Langgong Temple (, later renamed Shentong Temple, (, and now in ruins) in the southern county of Licheng was one of the most important temples in northern China at that time. The same period witnessed extensive construction of Buddhist sites in the southern counties of Licheng and Changqing such as the Lingyan Temple and the Thousand-Buddha Cliff. In particular, a large number of cave temples were established in the hills south of Jinan.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan remained the cultural center of the region during the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 CE). The Song rulers promoted Jinan to a superior prefecture in 1116 CE. Two of the most important poets of the Southern Song were both born in Jinan: Li Qingzhao (1084–1151 CE), the most renown female poet in Chinese history, and Xin Qiji (1140–1207 CE), who was also a military leader of the Southern Song dynasty. Both poets witnessed a series of crushing defeats of the Song dynasty at the hands of the Jurchens who gained control over almost half of the Song territories and established the Jin dynasty in northern China. After Jinan came under control of the Jin dynasty, both Li Qingzhao and Xin Qiji had to abandon their homes and reflected this experience in their works.


title: Jinan

text: During the Civil War that followed the proclamation of Kublai Khan as Great Khan in 1260 CE, Jinan was at the center of a rebellion by Yizhou governor Li Tan against Mongol rule in 1262 CE. The rebellion was crushed in a decisive battle that was fought not far from Jinan in late March or early April 1262 CE. After losing 4000 of his troops in the battle, Li Tan retreated to Jinan to make his last stand. After defections of his defenders had made his position untenable, Li Tan tried to commit suicide by drowning himself in Daming Lake. However, he was rescued by the Mongols in order to execute him by trampling him to death with their horses.


title: Jinan

text: Despite such violent conflicts, culture in Jinan continued to thrive during the Jin (1115–1234) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties: One of the most renowned artists of the Yuan dynasty, Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) was appointed to the post of governor of Jinan in 1293 and spent three years in the city. Among the extraordinary art works he completed during his stay in Jinan, the best known painting is "Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains" (). Geographer Yu Qin (1284–1333) also served as an official in Jinan and authored his geography book "Qi Cheng" there.


title: Jinan

text: When Shandong province was established under the Ming dynasty, Jinan became its capital. Jinan was the site of a siege during the Jingnan Campaign where the city was defended by loyalists of the Jianwen Emperor led by Tie Xuan against the rebel Prince of Yan Zhu Di's army.


title: Jinan

text: In 1852, the northward shift of the Yellow River into a new bed close to the city triggered the modern expansion of Jinan. The new course of the Yellow River connected the city to the Grand Canal and regional waterways in northern Shandong and southern Hebei.


title: Jinan

text: German influence in Jinan grew after the Qing dynasty ceded Qingdao to the German Empire in 1897. A German concession area was established to the west of the historical city center (in the vicinity of the Jinan Railway Station first established by the Germans). The Jiaoji (Qingdao–Jinan) railway was built by the Germans against local resistance. Discontent over the construction of the railway was one of the sources fueling the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901). During the rebellion, foreign priests were evacuated from Jinan and Chinese Christians became a target of violence. The Jiaoji railway was completed in 1904, three years after the Boxer Rebellion had been put down, and opened the city to foreign trade. The importance of Jinan as a transportation hub was cemented with the completion of the north–south Jinpu railway from Tianjin to Pukou in 1912. Jinan became a major trading center for agricultural goods in northern China. Traded commodities included cotton, grain, peanuts, and tobacco. Jinan also developed into a major industrial center, second in importance to Qingdao in the province.


title: Jinan

text: In 1919, after the First World War, the Japanese took over the German sphere of influence in Shandong, including control of the Jiaoji railway, and established a significant Japanese influence in Jinan. According to estimates by a contemporary Japanese government official, about 2,000 Japanese were living in Jinan in 1931, about half of whom were involved in the opium trade for which the Japanese had a loosely controlled monopoly that was exploited with the participation of Chinese traders.


title: Jinan

text: During the Warlord era of the Republic of China, Zhang Zongchang, nicknamed the "Dogmeat General", ruled Shandong from Jinan for a period that lasted from April 1925 until May 1928. Zhang was unpopular for his heavy-handed rule and in particular his heavy taxation. Besides heavy taxes, he relied financially on opium to finance his periodic wars. Zhang even planned to use some of the wealth extracted from these sources for building a living shrine and a large bronze statue for himself on the shore of Daming Lake, but these plans were not realized as his rule came to an end.


title: Jinan

text: In the spring of 1928, the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition reached Jinan. On May 3, 1928, clashes developed between Japanese troops stationed in Jinan and the Kuomintang troops moving into the city (Jinan Incident). Cai Gongshi, a Kuomintang emissary sent to negotiate and 16 members of his entourage were cruelly executed by the Japanese. Japanese officers placed an order to slice off his nose and ears, and to gouge out his eyes and tongue. Sixteen other members of his negotiation team were also striped naked, recklessly whipped, dragged to the back-lawn, and slaughtered by machine guns on the same day. After the incident, Japanese reinforcements were sent to Shandong and by 11 May, Japanese troops pushed the Chinese troops from the area, inflicted thousands of casualties and killed over 2000 Chinese civilians. The Japanese occupied Jinan for more than six months until they withdrew to their garrison in Tsingtao on the 28th of March 1929. When Chiang lectured a group of Chinese army cadets, he urged them to turn their energies to washing away the shame of Jinan, but to conceal their hatred until the last moment. The Kuomintang government later decreed that May 3 be designated a "National Humiliation Memorial Day."


title: Jinan

text: During the Nanjing decade of the Republic of China, Han Fuju, a military commander from the warlord era who had aligned himself with the Kuomintang, was rewarded with the military governorship of Shandong, after fighting against the rebel troops of Yen Hsi-shan and his former commander Feng Yu-hsiang in the Central Plains War in 1930. He established his base in Jinan and is credited with curtailing banditry and drug trading, thereby bringing a measure of peace and prosperity to the city. However, from 1935 onwards Han was under heavy pressure from the Japanese consul in Jinan to declare Shandong an "independent state" allied with Japan.


title: Jinan

text: After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese invasion force crossed the Yellow River north-east of Jinan on December 23, 1937. Han Fuju abandoned Jinan the next day against orders to hold the city to the death. He ordered the offices of the provincial government and the Japanese consulate in Jinan to be burned down and the ensuing power vacuum led to widespread looting in the city. Japanese troops from the 10th Division of the Manchurian Area Army entered Jinan on December 27, 1937. Han Fuju was arrested and executed for disobeying orders from superior commanders and retreating on his own accord by Chiang Kai-Shek's chief of staff, General Hu Zongnan.


title: Jinan

text: Japanese troops controlled Jinan until their defeat in 1945. After this, the Kuomintang regained short-lived control of the city during the period from 1946 to 1948. The provincial government during this time was led by Lieutenant-General Wang Yaowu, who also commanded the KMT army in the region. KMT rule over Jinan ended in September 1948 with the Battle of Jinan in which units of the People's Liberation Army under the command of Chen Yi took the city. The battle for Jinan took a decisive turn in favor of the attackers when KMT Lieutenant-General Wu Huawen defected to the Communist side with about 8,000 of his troops. The most likely explanation for his defection is that he had been pressured through relatives of his who were held captive by the Communist forces. Lieutenant-General Wu had been in charge of the vital outer ring of defenses that protected the main airfield, the railroad station, and the commercial district. With these critical assets lost, the situation of the city's defenders became untenable. Following the weakening of the city's defenses, the People's Liberation Army breached the city wall and entered Jinan on September 24, 1948.


title: Jinan

text: In March 1966, the largest among the drawn-out sequence of earthquakes that made up the Xingtai earthquake damaged about 36,000 houses in Jinan.


title: Jinan

text: On May 27, 1966, the Cultural Revolution started in Jinan with an article in the local newspaper "Jinan Evening News" () that denounced vice-governor Yu Xiu as a Bourgeois agent within the government. Starting from early June 1966, the schools in Jinan were closed down by strikes as teachers were "struggled against". At the same time, big-character posters started to appear in the city. Red Guards took to the streets of Jinan from late August 1966 onwards, damaging cultural heritage and setting up courts to prosecute perceived enemies of the revolution. In the spring of 1967, the "May 7th Incident" took place: When Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan, both later reviled as members of the Gang of Four, visited Jinan to support the Cultural Revolution and its local leader Wang Xiao Yu, fighting erupted in the front of the provincial government between two rival factions of the Cultural Revolution, the "April 22nd Group" and Wang Xiao Yu's "April 28th Group". In the end, more than 10,000 people had been involved in the fighting. On October 11, 1967, the tallest statue of Mao Zedong in Shandong province was erected on the campus of Shandong Normal University. On September 17, 1968, a large assembly of Jinan workers celebrated the arrival of a mango fruit in the "August 1st" Meeting Hall. The fruit had been a gift to the workers in Beijing by Mao and was subsequently passed on to the workers in Jinan. In November 1968, Wang Xiao Yu began to agitate against the local army units in Jinan and Shandong Province. By then unrest due to the Cultural Revolution had severely damaged the city's governmental and industrial infrastructure, with about 80 percent of all government institutions shut down. Large public protests were staged on April 4 and 5, 1969, in which approximately 500,000 people protested the occupation of Zhenbao Island by the Soviet Union. On July 29, 1970, the leadership of the Cultural Revolution passed a resolution to make sweeping changes to the city's educational system: The liberal arts departments of Shandong University were moved to Qufu and combined with Qufu Normal College to form a new Shandong University. The biology department was moved to Tai'an and merged into the Shandong Agricultural College. The rest of the sciences were to form the Shandong Science and Technology University. Shandong Normal University was to be moved to Liaocheng. Shandong Medical College and Shandong College of Traditional Chinese Medicine were to be merged and moved to Tai'an. Shandong University was restored in its original form and the "Shandong Science and Technology University" was abolished in early 1974. The first reversals of Cultural Revolution policies started in early 1971: On May 23 of that year, the Shandong Provincial Museum was reopened after having been closed for about 5 years (since May 1966). In the next year, the Jinan Committee for the Cultural Revolution officially reverted the name changes of four city districts enacted in 1966. During the 6 years between the name change and its reversal, Lixia District had been known officially as "Hongwei", Tianqiao as "Face the Sun", Huaiyin as "East Wind", and Shizhong as "Red Flag". As the Cultural Revolution came to an end, Jinan started to receive visitors from abroad. For example, it was visited by a delegation from the United States Congress between August 8 and 11, 1975. On September 18, 1976, Mao's death was mourned by about 600,000 people at an official service in Jinan's August 1 Square.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan was the host of the 11th All China Games during October 2009. These games are the selection games for the Chinese Olympic champions. For this occasion, security was heightened and a full volunteer force was out on the streets directing visitor traffic. The city conducted major renovations in its transportation and recreation services in anticipation of the Games' visitors. In early January 2019, the State Council of the People's Republic of China approved the approval of Shandong Province to adjust the administrative division of Laiwu City and Jinan City, cancel Laiwu City, and all jurisdiction of former Laiwu City belongs to Jinan City; establish Laiwu District of Jinan City to replace the former Laicheng District of Laiwu City with the same administrative area; establish Gangcheng District of Jinan City to replace the former Gangcheng District of Laiwu City with the same administrative area.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan has a humid subtropical (Köppen: "Cwa"), considering a normal isotherm of −3 °C, or a humid continental climate (Köppen: "Dwa"), considering an isotherm of 0 °C but favoring the former, with four well-defined seasons. The city is dry and nearly rainless in spring, hot and rainy in summer, crisp in autumn and dry and cold (with little snow) in winter. The average annual temperature is , and the annual precipitation is around slightly above , with a strong summer maximum, and high variability from year to year. January is the coldest and driest month, with a mean temperature of and of equivalent rainfall. July is the hottest and wettest month, the corresponding numbers are , and . With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 48 percent in July to 63 percent in May, the city receives 2,547 hours of bright sunshine annually.


title: Jinan

text: Due to the mountains to the south of the city, temperature inversions are common, occurring on about 200 days per year. The high precipitation for northern Chinese standards, in tandem with the topography (mountains surrounding the city on three sides), leads to particularly oppressive summer weather and the city being named as a candidate for the fourth "furnace", c.e. Three Furnaces.


title: Jinan

text: According to the National Environmental Analysis released by Tsinghua University and The Asian Development Bank in January 2013, Jinan is one of ten most air polluted cities in the world. Also according to this report, 7 of 10 most air polluted cities are in China, including Taiyuan, Beijing, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Jinan and Shijiazhuang. As air pollution in China is at an all-time high, several northern cities are among the most polluted cities and have some of the worst air quality in China. Reporting on China's air quality has been accompanied by what seems like a monochromatic slideshow of the country's several cities smothered in thick smog. According to a survey made by "Global voices China" in February 2013, Jinan is among China's 10 most polluted cities, and is the only Shandong city to be on this list. Other cities on the blacklist includes major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, and 6 other prefectural cities all in Hebei Province. These cities are all situated in traditional geographic subdivision of "Huabei (North China) Region".


title: Jinan

text: A dense wave of smog began in the Central and Eastern part of China on 2 December 2013 across a distance of around , including Jinan and surrounding Shandong area. A lack of cold air flow, combined with slow-moving air masses carrying industrial emissions, collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog over the region. Officials blamed the dense pollution on lack of wind, automobile exhaust emissions under low air pressure, and coal-powered district heating system in North China region. Prevailing winds blew low-hanging air masses of factory emissions (mostly SO) towards China's east coast.


title: Jinan

text: The sub-provincial city of Jinan has direct jurisdiction over ten districts and 2 counties after the annexation of Laiwu to Jinan in 2019:


title: Jinan

text: These are further divided into 146 township-level divisions, including 65towns, 27 townships and 54 subdistricts.


title: Jinan

text: With the shift of the Yellow River to a new bed right to the north of Jinan (in 1852) and the establishment of a railroad hub, the city became a major market for agricultural products from the productive farming regions to the north.


title: Jinan

text: Following the trade in agricultural goods, the city developed a textile and clothing industry, flour mills, oil presses, as well as factories producing paper, cement, and matches. In the 1950s, large iron and steel works as well as chemical factories were established around Jinan. The large metal works produce pig iron, ingot steel, as well as finished steel. In 2008, steel manufacturing was restructured with the formation of the Shandong Iron and Steel Group.


title: Jinan

text: In the 1970s, Sinotruk established its headquarters and factories for the production of trucks and construction vehicles in the city.


title: Jinan

text: Founded in 1991, the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development zone was one of the first of its kind approved by the State Council. The zone is located to the east of the city and covers a total planning area of that is divided into a central area covering , an export processing district of , and an eastern extension area of .


title: Jinan

text: Since its foundation, the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development Zone has attracted enterprises as LG, Panasonic, Volvo, and Sanyo. In 2000, it joined the world science and technology association and set up a China-Ukraine High-tech Cooperation Park. The Qilu Software Park became the sister park of Bangalore park of India.


title: Jinan

text: The export processing zone is located in the eastern suburbs of Jinan, to the east of the Jinan High-tech Industrial Development Zone and to the north of the Jiwang highway. The distances to the Jiqing Highway and the Jinan Airport are and respectively.


title: Jinan

text: As of the 2020 Chinese census, its total population (including Laiwu City merged recently) was 9,202,432 inhabitants and its built-up ("or metro") area made of 6 out of 10 urban districts (Jiyang, Zhangqiu, Laiwu and Gangcheng not yet conurbated) was home to 5,452,335 inhabitants, most of them with Han ethnicity.


title: Jinan

text: Most shopping malls in Jinan are in the downtown area centered around City of Springs Square and Quancheng Road (). City of Springs Square was built by the municipal government beside the city moat in the early 21st century


title: Jinan

text: City of Springs Road was rebuilt at the same time that City of Springs Square was created. The government's intention was to create a modern business district and yet preserve the traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, newly built shopping malls with traditional Chinese architectural styles and modern western skyscrapers can be found side by side along City of Springs Road. Notable retail businesses are Quancheng Bookstore – the largest bookstore of the city – and Walmart (near the western end of City of Springs Road). Major shopping malls along the road are the Guihe Shopping Center (), the Sofitel Silver Plaza, the Shimao international shopping center, and the Wanda Shopping Mall (). Parc 66 () to the south of City of Springs Road (opposite of Water Lily Street), opened in August 2011, is Jinan's largest shopping mall with seven levels of retail space and a total gross floor area of 171,000 square meters.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is positioned at the intersection of two major railways: The Jinghu Railway that runs from Beijing to Shanghai is the major north–south backbone of the railway system in eastern China. In Jinan, it intersects with the Jiaoji Railway that connects Jinan to the sea port of Qingdao to the east. In addition, the Hanji Railway connects Jinan to the city of Handan (Hebei Province) in the west.


title: Jinan

text: Within Shandong province, the Jinghu Railway connects Jinan with the cities of Dezhou, Tai'an, Jining, and Zaozhuang; the Jiaoji Railway provides a link to the cities of Zibo, Qingdao, and Weifang; the Hanji Railway serves the cities of Yancheng and Liaocheng.


title: Jinan

text: Central Jinan is served by Jinan railway station, Jinan East railway station, and (just by Daming Lake).


title: Jinan

text: The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway calls at Jinan West railway station, which is outside the central metropolitan center and is in suburban western Jinan's Huaiyin District. Since it opened for public service on 30 June 2011, it has become a future hub with west–east running high speed railways to Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang and Qingdao. Jinan East railway station opened in 2018. An additional station, Jinan North railway station, is planned.


title: Jinan

text: Started by construction in 2013, Jinan Metro opened in 2019. Currently, Lines 1, 2 and 3 are operational, and has 40 stations.


title: Jinan

text: Major expressways include China National Highway 104, China National Highway 220, and China National Highway 309. Because of Jinan's location and role as a road and rail transportation hub, the Jinan Coach Terminus has one of the largest passenger flows nationally. On peak travel days, as many as 92,000 passengers per day have been counted, on off-peak days the number is around 42,000 passengers per day.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport is located about northeast of the city center and located in of Licheng District, Jinan, from which the name of the airport is derived. The airport is connected to the city center of Jinan by expressways. It has domestic flights to many of the major cities in China as well as to international destinations, in particular Helsinki, Osaka, Seoul, Paris, Bangkok and Singapore.


title: Jinan

text: The conventional buses in the city have air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses. Air-conditioned lines have a K prefix on their route numbers. From 2018, most lines are air-conditioned lines (Include lines without K perfix). These lines comprise more than 200 routes covering the whole city.


title: Jinan

text: Local residents in the city proper, as well as in the surrounding areas, have traditionally spoken the Jinan dialect of Mandarin that is not readily understood even by native speakers of standard Mandarin. The younger people of Jinan are more likely to speak standard Mandarin, whereas many older residents retain strong local dialect elements in their speech. Nevertheless, even the younger residents of Jinan tend to retain a strong local accent and mix local vocabulary into the standardized Mandarin vocabulary. Due to the influx of migrant workers during the past decade of China's economic boom, many of the current population that are of working age are not natives of Jinan but have learned to understand the Jinan dialect.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan has its own cuisine, the Jinan style of the Shandong cuisine, one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of China. One of its features is the use of soup in its dishes. Modern cuisines in northern China —Beijing, Tianjin and the northeastern regions including Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning— are all branches of Shandong cuisine.


title: Jinan

text: Most shopping malls in Jinan are in the downtown area centered around City of Springs Square and Quancheng Road (). City of Springs Square was built by the municipal government beside the city moat in the early 21st century; at the center is the statue "Spring" which has become a symbol of Jinan. The square borders on the ancient city moat. It has a music fountain, a 46,000 square meter underground shopping center and a memorial hall with statues of famous people from Shandong.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is renowned across China for its numerous springs, the lakes fed by the spring water, and the weeping willows that grow along the water edges. The late-Qing author Liu E describes Jinan's cityscape in his novel "The Travels of Lao Can" (, written 1903–04, published in 1907) as "Every family has spring water, every household has a willow tree". Jinan was also the historical center of Buddhist culture for the whole province which is still manifest in the many historic sites that are left behind in its southern counties.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is known as the "City of Springs" because of the large number of natural artesian springs. The majority of the springs, many of which have been historically listed under the "72 Famous Springs" () are concentrated in the downtown district and flow north to converge in Daming Lake. The Baotu Spring Park is the most popular of the springs in the City of Jinan proper. Besides the Baotu Spring, the park contains several other springs that are listed among the "72 Famous Springs". "Bào tū" () means "jumping and leaping" in Chinese. The water in the spring pool can be seen foaming and gushing, looking like a pot of boiling water. The spring was visited by the Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) of the Qing dynasty who declared it "the best spring under the heaven" (). A tablet with the Emperor's handwriting "Baotu Spring" has since been erected beside the spring pool.


title: Jinan

text: Not far away to the northeast of Baotu Spring Park is the Daming Lake, which, together with Baotu Spring and the Thousand-Buddha Mountain is often regarded as the "Three Greatest Attractions in Jinan". Other notable parks in the city include the Five Dragon Pool () near the Baotu Spring Park, the Black Tiger Spring () on the southern city moat, and the Baimai Springs () of Zhangqiu City to the east of Jinan.


title: Jinan

text: The Shandong Provincial Museum located at the foothill of Thousand-Buddha Mountain is the largest museum in the province. It has a large collection of natural as well as historical treasures from the whole province. The museum was established in its present form in 1982 and currently has 8 exhibition halls : "Treasures of Shandong Province"; "Stone Sculptures"; "Warship of the Ming dynasty"; "Ancient Coins"; "Art Treasures"; "Fossil Collections"; "Dinosaurs"; and "Specimens". The museum has more than 210,000 relics and specimens, making up ⅓ of the collections in museums of whole province.


title: Jinan

text: The Jinan Municipal Museum is located at the south-western foot of the Thousand-Buddha Mountain, in the north of the city center. Although much smaller than the provincial museum, the municipal museum still houses a collection of more than 20,000 items, most of which were recovered in the city area.


title: Jinan

text: The Shandong Provincial Library in the eastern High-tech Park (address: 2912 Second Ring East Road) is the principal library of the province and is ranked among the Top 10 Chinese libraries. , the library had more than 5.18 million documents, many of which date back many centuries and are important sources for research on Chinese history. The library also has a large collection of western journals/books. Originally, the library was built close to Daming Lake in 1909 by the then governor of Shandong. In the late 1990s, a project was undertaken to move the library to the eastern part of the city, and it reopened in 2002 with 35 reading rooms and more than 2000 seats.


title: Jinan

text: Jinan Hundred Miles Yellow River Scenic Area is located in No.166 Luokou Huancheng Road in Tianqiao District. It is designed as an ecological cultural theme park which focuses on ecological tourism, cultural tourism, and healthy tourism. The Yellow River of this section stretches 51.98 kilometers. Jinan Hundred Miles Yellow River Scenic Area was awarded the title "Fifty Scenes of the Yellow River in China" on September 12, 2018. The Levee extending along the Yellow River in this scenery area, is praised as "the Great Wall over water".


title: Jinan

text: Yellow River Forest Park (Jinan) is located on the north bank of the Yellow River. The Yellow River Forest Park sprawls over 1500mu (100 hectares) and has 300,000 trees of various breeds. Yellow River Forest Park is the only park equipping with a forest racecourse, which has a course of 3 Li (unit), in Jinan City. Yellow River Forest Park provides not only an area covering 5000 square meters for visitors to freely barbecue but also a fishing pond covering 1,800 square meters. Visitors can participate in various activities here, such as roller skating, cue sports, table tennis, archery, shooting, etc.


title: Jinan

text: Daming Lake Park is located in the center of Jinan City, covering an area of 46.5 hectares. Daming Lake Park is considered one of the three must-see tourist spots of Jinan (the others are Baotu Spring Park and Thousand-Buddha Mountain). Daming Lake Park has many scenic spots, such as the Daming lake and the Lixia Pavilion. Daming Lake is a natural lake consisting of many springs. It is unique because the lake has constant water level unaffected by heavy rains or drought. Lixia Pavilion, which was built in the Northern Wei period, is in the center of the Daming Lake. There are so many ancient buildings in Daming Lake Park that it has a title describing them, which is "One terrace, three gardens, three towers, four ancestral halls, six isles, seven bridges and ten pavilions".


title: Jinan

text: Jinan is one of the top 60 cities in the world for scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index according to the Nature Index 2020 Science Cities. Notably, Shandong University is one of China's most prestigious universities as a member of the former Project 985 and the current Double First Class University Plan.


title: Jinan

text: The most renowned sports team in Jinan is Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin. They have been playing in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) since 1995. In the 2012–13 CBA season they reached the final, but lost 4–0 to Guangdong Southern Tigers.


title: Jinan

text: The Shandong Taishan Football Club is the most widely known football team in Jinan. The club currently plays in the highest tier of Chinese football, the Chinese Super League. They have been playing in the top tier for every season since the league became professional in 1994. Shandong Taishan has won five top division titles, seven Chinese FA Cups, and one Chinese FA Super Cup. Jinan was also one of four host cities of China during the 2004 AFC Asian Cup.


title: Jinan

text: In 2009, Jinan hosted the 2009 National Games of China, the premier sports event at the national level in China and the first major multi-sports event held in China after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The National Games' main venue was the Jinan Olympic Sports Center.


title: Jinan

text: Since 2014, Jinan has also been known as the site of China’s national winter swimming festivals at Daming Lake, since 2016 organized in cooperation with the International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA). In the 2019–20 season, Jinan hosted the 8th Winter Springs-swimming International Invitational.


title: Seal script

text: Seal script, also sigillary script () is an ancient style of writing Chinese characters that was common throughout the latter half of the 1st millennium BC. It evolved organically out of the Zhou dynasty bronze script. The Qin variant of seal script eventually became the standard, and was adopted as the formal script for all of China during the Qin dynasty. It was still widely used for decorative engraving and seals (name chops, or signets) in the Han dynasty.


title: Seal script

text: The literal translation of the Chinese name for seal script, (), is 'decorative engraving script', a name coined during the Han dynasty, which reflects the then-reduced role of the script for the writing of ceremonial inscriptions.


title: Seal script

text: The general term seal script can be used to refer to several types of seal script, including the large or great seal script ( ; Japanese ; Korean ; Vietnamese ) and the lesser or small seal script ( ; Japanese ; Korean ; Vietnamese ). Most commonly, without any other clarifying terminology, it refers to the latter of these. The term "large seal script" itself can also cover a broad variety of scripts, including a variation of Qin writing earlier than the small seal characters, but also the earlier Western Zhou forms, or even oracle bone characters as well. Since the term is an imprecise one, not clearly referring to any specific historical script and not used with any consensus in meaning, modern scholars tend to avoid it, and when referring to "seal script", generally mean the (small) seal script of the Qin system, that is, the lineage which evolved in the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period and which was standardized under the First Emperor.


title: Seal script

text: There were several different variants of seal script which developed independently in each kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. One of these, the "bird-worm" seal script (), is named for its intricate decorations on the defining strokes, and was used in the Kingdoms of Wu, Chu, and Yue. It was found on several artifacts including the Spear of Fuchai and the Sword of Goujian. This seal script variant is very difficult to read.


title: Seal script

text: As a southern state, Chu was close to the Wu-Yue influences. Chu produced broad bronze swords that were similar to Wuyue swords, but not as intricate. Chu also used the bird-worm style, which was borrowed by the Wu and Yue states.


title: Seal script

text: The script of the Qin system (the writing as exemplified in bronze inscriptions in the state of Qin before unification) had evolved organically from the Zhou script starting in the Spring and Autumn period. Beginning around the Warring States period, it became vertically elongated with a regular appearance. This was the period of maturation of the small seal script. It was systematized by prime minister Li Si during the reign of the First Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang through elimination of most variant structures, and was imposed as the nationwide standard. Through Chinese commentaries, it is known that Li Si compiled the , a partially-extant wordbook listing some 3,300 Chinese characters in the small seal script. Their form is characterized by being less rectangular and more squarish.


title: Seal script

text: In the popular history of Chinese characters, the small seal script is traditionally considered to be the ancestor of the clerical script, which in turn gave rise to all of the other scripts in use today. However, recent archaeological discoveries and scholarship have led some scholars to conclude that the direct ancestor of clerical script was proto-clerical script, which in turn evolved out of the little-known "vulgar" or "popular" writing of the late Warring States to Qin period.


title: Seal script

text: The first known character dictionary was the 3rd century BC , collated and referenced by Liu Xiang and his son Liu Xin. It is no longer extant. Not long after, the (AD 100–121), the lifework of Xu Shen, was written. Its 9,353 entries reproduce the standardized small-seal script variant for each entry, and for some entries other pre-Han variants from the late Zhou era. Entries are categorized under 540 section headers.


title: Seal script

text: It has been anticipated that the small seal script will some day be encoded in Unicode. Codepoints U+32400 to U+352FF (Plane 3, Tertiary Ideographic Plane) have been tentatively allocated.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: BitTorrent is a proprietary adware BitTorrent client developed by Bram Cohen and Rainberry, Inc. used for uploading and downloading files via the BitTorrent protocol. BitTorrent was the first client written for the protocol. It is often nicknamed Mainline by developers denoting its official origins. Since version 6.0 the BitTorrent client has been a rebranded version of μTorrent. As a result, it is no longer open source. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. There are currently two versions of the software, "BitTorrent Classic" which inherits the historical version numbering, and "BitTorrent Web", which uses its own version numbering.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Programmer Bram Cohen designed the protocol in April 2001 and released a first implementation of the BitTorrent client on 2 July 2001. It is now maintained by Cohen's company BitTorrent, Inc.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Prior to version 6.0, BitTorrent was written in Python, and was free software. Very early versions released prior to December 30, 2001 were released into the public domain without a license. Versions up to and including 3.4.2 were distributed under the MIT license. The source code for versions 4.x and 5.x was released under the BitTorrent Open Source License, a modified version of the Jabber Open Source License. Versions 4.0 and 5.3 were relicensed under the GPL.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Version 4.20 of the client was dubbed "Allegro" by BitTorrent Inc., in reference to protocol extensions developed by the company to accelerate download performance and ISP manageability.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Version 5.30 of the client which is snapshotted at Internet Archive is the latest open source version.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Since version 6.0, which was released on September 18th 2007, the BitTorrent client has been a rebranded version of μTorrent. It is no longer open source.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: The BitTorrent client enables a user to search for and download torrent files using a built-in search box ("Search for torrents") in the main window, which opens the BitTorrent torrent search engine page with the search results in the user's default web browser.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: The current client includes a range of features, including multiple parallel downloads. BitTorrent has several statistical, tabular and graphical views that allow a user to see what events are happening in the background. A host of views offer information on the peers and seeds to which the user is connected, including how much data is being downloaded from each and to how much data is being uploaded by each. It has an automatic recovery system that checks all data that has been handled after an improper shutdown. It also intermediates peering between itself, source file servers ("trackers") and other clients, thereby yielding distribution efficiencies. The client also enables users to create and share torrent files.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: BitTorrent DNA ("BitTorrent Delivery Network Accelerator") is a program designed to speed up the viewing of streaming video, downloading software (with or without the BitTorrent protocol) and playing online video games. It does so by distributing the end users' downloads between each other. In this way, the developers intend that content providers should take less load on their servers so the end users can receive the content faster. It runs in the background whenever the operating system is running.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: BitTorrent DNA is different from traditional BitTorrent in that it relies on publisher HTTP servers in order to provide publishers with guaranteed minimum data delivery rate, as well as give publishers control over content delivery (peers must connect to the origin server before they can reach other peers), and collect information about content delivery to share with the publisher. The quality of the file transfer is specified in terms of a long-term average bitrate for data and in terms of meeting deadlines when streaming. It also can give bandwidth to TCP and other traffic.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: DNA is also different from traditional BitTorrent in that it is a UDP-based protocol that has replaced regular TCP-based bandwidth throttling with a much more sensitive bandwidth management technique.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Apart from being installed by third party websites and software companies, the program for end users is also installed when the official BitTorrent client is installed (starting with the rebranded version 6.0). However, it can be independently uninstalled.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: The first version of the DNA made it possible to keep the DNA application installed and yet temporarily stopped until the next system restart (through the system's control panel, in Windows XP). The DNA GUI was completely removed in the official BitTorrent version 6.1 and 6.1.1, but was re-introduced in version 6.1.2.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Since October, 2007 BitTorrent DNA has been offered by BitTorrent, Inc. as a commercial service that content providers can purchase (for an undisclosed price) and as a free background program for end users. Company President Ashwin Navin launched the product claiming that "Implementing BitTorrent DNA on top of legacy infrastructure has the profound impact of allowing our customers to deliver a better user experience, higher quality video, faster software downloads, all with the security and reliability of a managed service."


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: Navin in a podcast interview claimed that he attempted to sell BitTorrent DNA in January 2005. After finding that BitTorrent's brand was too polarizing for potential customers, they delayed the launch until after partnering with nearly 50 media companies in the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. That provided the company enough public validation to finally launch BitTorrent DNA two and half years later.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: The service's first customer was the company Brightcove, that chose to use it to distribute streaming video files.


title: BitTorrent (software)

text: As of May 2009, the Asus support website is using BitTorrent DNA as an additional download method of their larger files in addition to their multiple somewhat internationally distributed HTTP servers and content delivery mirrors and other redirection facilities Asus has been known to rely in the present and past for their data delivery needs. Currently, a separate "P2P" icon is being presented for the DNA style downloads next to the "Global" and "Chinese" located servers as an example.


title: Wingtip device

text: Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft's drag by partial recovery of the tip vortex energy. Wingtip devices can also improve aircraft handling characteristics and enhance safety for following aircraft. Such devices increase the effective aspect ratio of a wing without greatly increasing the wingspan. Extending the span would lower lift-induced drag, but would increase parasitic drag and would require boosting the strength and weight of the wing. At some point, there is no net benefit from further increased span. There may also be operational considerations that limit the allowable wingspan (e.g., available width at airport gates).


title: Wingtip device

text: Wingtip devices help prevent the flow around the wingtip of higher pressure air under the wing flowing to the lower pressure surface on top at the wingtip, which results in a vortex caused by the forward motion of the aircraft, the winglet also reduces the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, and improves lift-to-drag ratio. This increases fuel efficiency in powered aircraft and increases cross-country speed in gliders, in both cases increasing range. U.S. Air Force studies indicate that a given improvement in fuel efficiency correlates directly with the causal increase in the aircraft's lift-to-drag ratio.


title: Wingtip device

text: The initial concept dates back to 1897, when English engineer Frederick W. Lanchester patented wing end-plates as a method for controlling wingtip vortices. In the United States, Scottish-born engineer William E. Somerville patented the first functional winglets in 1910. Somerville installed the devices on his early biplane and monoplane designs. Vincent Burnelli received US Patent no: 1,774,474 for his "Airfoil Control Means" on August 26, 1930.


title: Wingtip device

text: Simple flat end-plates did not cause a reduction in drag, because the increase in profile drag was greater than the decrease in induced drag.


title: Wingtip device

text: Following the end of World War II, Dr. Sighard F. Hoerner was a pioneer researcher in the field, having written a technical paper published in 1952 that called for drooped wingtips whose pointed rear tips focused the resulting wingtip vortex away from the upper wing surface. Drooped wingtips are often called "Hoerner tips" in his honor. Gliders and light aircraft have made use of Hoerner tips for many years.


title: Wingtip device

text: The earliest-known implementation of a Hoerner-style downward-angled "wingtip device" on a jet aircraft was during World War II. This was the so-called "Lippisch-Ohren" (Lippisch-ears), allegedly attributed to the Messerschmitt Me 163's designer Alexander Lippisch, and first added to the M3 and M4 third and fourth prototypes of the Heinkel He 162A "Spatz" jet light fighter for evaluation. This addition was done in order to counteract the dutch roll characteristic present in the original He 162 design, related to its wings having a marked dihedral angle. This became a standard feature of the approximately 320 completed He 162A jet fighters built, with hundreds more He 162A airframes going unfinished by V-E Day.


title: Wingtip device

text: The term "winglet" was previously used to describe an additional lifting surface on an aircraft, like a short section between wheels on fixed undercarriage. Richard Whitcomb's research in the 1970s at NASA first used winglet with its modern meaning referring to near-vertical extension of the wing tips. The upward angle (or "cant") of the winglet, its inward or outward angle (or "toe"), as well as its size and shape are critical for correct performance and are unique in each application. The wingtip vortex, which rotates around from below the wing, strikes the cambered surface of the winglet, generating a force that angles inward and slightly forward, analogous to a sailboat sailing close hauled. The winglet converts some of the otherwise-wasted energy in the wingtip vortex to an apparent thrust. This small contribution can be worthwhile over the aircraft's lifetime, provided the benefit offsets the cost of installing and maintaining the winglets.


title: Wingtip device

text: Another potential benefit of winglets is that they reduce the intensity of wake vortices. Those trail behind the plane and pose a hazard to other aircraft. Minimum spacing requirements between aircraft operations at airports are largely dictated by these factors. Aircraft are classified by weight (e.g. "Light", "Heavy", etc.) because the vortex strength grows with the aircraft lift coefficient, and thus, the associated turbulence is greatest at low speed and high weight, which produced a high angle of attack.


title: Wingtip device

text: Winglets and wingtip fences also increase efficiency by reducing vortex interference with laminar airflow near the tips of the wing, by 'moving' the confluence of low-pressure (over wing) and high-pressure (under wing) air away from the surface of the wing. Wingtip vortices create turbulence, originating at the leading edge of the wingtip and propagating backwards and inboard. This turbulence 'delaminates' the airflow over a small triangular section of the outboard wing, which destroys lift in that area. The fence/winglet drives the area where the vortex forms upward away from the wing surface, since the center of the resulting vortex is now at the tip of the winglet.


title: Wingtip device

text: Aircraft such as the Airbus A340 and the Boeing 747-400 use winglets while other designs such as later versions of the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 747-8 have raked wingtips. The fuel economy improvement from winglets increases with the mission length. Blended winglets allow a steeper angle of attack reducing takeoff distance.


title: Wingtip device

text: Richard T. Whitcomb, an engineer at NASA's Langley Research Center, further developed Hoerner's concept in response to the sharp increase in the cost of fuel after the 1973 oil crisis. With careful aeronautical design he showed that, for a given bending moment, a near-vertical winglet offers a greater drag reduction compared to a horizontal span extension. Whitcomb's designs were flight-tested in 1979–80 by a joint NASA/Air Force team, using a KC-135 Stratotanker based at the Dryden Flight Research Center. A Lockheed L-1011 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 were also used for testing, and the latter design was directly implemented by McDonnell Douglas on the derivative MD-11, which was rolled out in 1990.


title: Wingtip device

text: In May 1983, a high school student at Bowie High School in Maryland won a grand prize at the 34th International Science and Engineering Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the result of his research on wingtip devices to reduce drag. The same month, he filed a U.S. patent for "wingtip airfoils", published in 1986.


title: Wingtip device

text: NASA's most notable application of wingtip devices is on the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Located on the 747's horizontal stabilizers, the devices increase the tailplane's effectiveness under the weight of the Space Shuttle orbiter, though these were more for directional stability than for drag reduction.


title: Wingtip device

text: Learjet exhibited the prototype Learjet 28 at the 1977 National Business Aviation Association convention. It employed the first winglets ever used on a production aircraft, either civilian or military. Learjet developed the winglet design without NASA assistance. Although the Model 28 was intended to be a prototype experimental aircraft, performance was such that it resulted in a production commitment from Learjet. Flight tests showed that the winglets increased range by about 6.5 percent and improved directional stability. Learjet's application of winglets to production aircraft continued with newer models including the Learjet 55, 31, 60, 45, and Learjet 40.


title: Wingtip device

text: Gulfstream Aerospace explored winglets in the late 1970s and incorporated winglets in the Gulfstream III, Gulfstream IV and Gulfstream V. The Gulfstream V range of allows nonstop routes such as New York–Tokyo, it holds over 70 world and national flight records.


title: Wingtip device

text: The Rutan combined winglets-vertical stabilizer appeared on his Beechcraft Starship business aircraft design that first flew in 1986.


title: Wingtip device

text: Winglets are also applied to other business aircraft, reducing take-off distance to operate from smaller airports, and allowing higher cruise altitudes. Along winglets on new designs, aftermarket vendors developed retrofits. Winglet Technology, LLC of Wichita, Kansas should have tested its elliptical winglets designed to increase payload-range on hot and high departures to retrofit the Citation X.


title: Wingtip device

text: Conventional winglets were fitted to Rutan's Rutan Voyager, the first aircraft to circumnavigate the world without refueling in 1986. The aircraft's wingtips were damaged, however, when they dragged along the runway during takeoff, removing about from each wingtip, so the flight was made without benefit of winglets.


title: Wingtip device

text: The average commercial jet sees a 4-6 percent increase in fuel efficiency and as much as a 6% decrease in in-flight noise from the use of winglets. Actual fuel savings and the related carbon output can very significantly by plane, route and flight conditions.


title: Wingtip device

text: A wingtip fence refers to the winglets including surfaces extending both above and below the wingtip, as described in Whitcomb's early research. Both surfaces are shorter than or equivalent to a winglet possessing similar aerodynamic benefits. The Airbus A310-300 was the first airliner with wingtip fences in 1985. Other Airbus models followed with the A300-600, the A320ceo, and the A380. Other Airbus models including the Airbus A320 Enhanced, A320neo, A350 and A330neo have blended winglets rather than wingtip fences. The Antonov An-148 uses wingtip fences.


title: Wingtip device

text: Boeing announced a new version of the 747, the 747-400, in 1985, with an extended range and capacity, using a combination of winglets and increased span to carry the additional load. The winglets increased the 747-400's range by 3.5% over the 747-300, which is otherwise aerodynamically identical but has no winglets. Winglets are preferred for Boeing derivative designs based on existing platforms, because they allow maximum re-use of existing components. Newer designs are favoring increased span, other wingtip devices or a combination of both, whenever possible.


title: Wingtip device

text: The Ilyushin Il-96 was the first Russian and modern jet to feature winglets in 1988. The Bombardier CRJ-100/200 was the first regional airliner to feature winglets in 1992. The A340/A330 followed with canted winglets in 1993/1994. The Tupolev Tu-204 was the first narrowbody aircraft to feature winglets in 1994. The Airbus A220 (née CSeries), from 2016, has canted winglets.


title: Wingtip device

text: A blended winglet is attached to the wing with a smooth curve instead of a sharp angle and is intended to reduce interference drag at the wing/winglet junction. A sharp interior angle in this region can interact with the boundary layer flow causing a drag inducing vortex, negating some of the benefit of the winglet. Seattle-based Aviation Partners develops blended winglets as retrofits for the Gulfstream II, Hawker 800 and the Falcon 2000.


title: Wingtip device

text: On February 18, 2000, blended winglets were announced as an option for the Boeing 737-800; the first shipset was installed on 14 February 2001 and entered revenue service with Hapag-Lloyd Flug on 8 May 2001. The Aviation Partners/Boeing extensions decrease fuel consumption by 4% for long-range flights and increase range by for the 737-800 or the derivative Boeing Business Jet as standard. Also offered for the 737 Classic, many operators have retrofitted their fleets with these for the fuel savings. Aviation Partners Boeing also offers blended winglets for the 757 and 767-300ER. In 2006 Airbus tested two candidate blended winglets, designed by Winglet Technology and Airbus for the Airbus A320 family. In 2009 Airbus launched its "Sharklet" blended winglet, designed to enhance the payload-range of its A320 family and reduce fuel burn by up to 4% over longer sectors. This corresponds to an annual CO reduction of 700 tonnes per aircraft. The A320s fitted with Sharklets were delivered beginning in 2012. They are used on the A320neo, the A330neo and the A350. They are also offered as a retrofit option.


title: Wingtip device

text: Raked wingtips, where the tip has a greater wing sweep than the rest of the wing, are featured on some Boeing Commercial Airplanes to improve fuel efficiency, takeoff and climb performance. Like winglets, they increase the effective wing aspect ratio and diminish wingtip vortices, decreasing lift-induced drag. In testing by Boeing and NASA, they reduce drag by as much as 5.5%, compared to 3.5% to 4.5% for conventional winglets. While an increase in span would be more effective than a same-length winglet, its bending moment is greater. A winglet gives the performance gain of a span increase but has the bending force of a span increase.


title: Wingtip device

text: Raked wingtips offer several weight-reduction advantages relative to simply extending the conventional main wingspan. At high load-factor structural design conditions, the smaller chords of the wingtip are subjected to less load, and they result in less induced loading on the outboard main wing. Additionally, the leading-edge sweep results in the center of pressure being located farther aft than for simple extensions of the span of conventional main wings. At high load factors, this relative aft location of the center of pressure causes the raked wingtip to be twisted more leading-edge down, reducing the bending moment on the inboard wing. However, the relative aft-movement of the center of pressure accentuates flutter.


title: Wingtip device

text: The short-range Boeing 787-3 would have had a wingspan to fit in ICAO Aerodrome Reference Code D. Its wingspan was decreased by using blended winglets instead of raked wingtips.


title: Wingtip device

text: Raked wingtips are installed on the Boeing 767-400ER (first flight on October 9, 1999), the Boeing 777-200LR/300ER/Freighter (February 24, 2003), the 737-derived Boeing P-8 Poseidon (25 April 2009), the Boeing 787 (December 15, 2009), the Boeing 747-8 (February 8, 2010) and the Boeing 777X . The Embraer E-jet E2 wing has a raked wingtip.


title: Wingtip device

text: For the 737 Next Generation, Aviation Partners Boeing has introduced a similar design to the 737 MAX wingtip device known as the Split Scimitar Winglet, with United Airlines as the launch customer.


title: Wingtip device

text: The Boeing 737 MAX uses a new type of wingtip device. Resembling a three-way hybrid between a winglet, wingtip fence, and raked wingtip, Boeing claims that this new design should deliver an additional 1.5% improvement in fuel economy over the 10-12% improvement already expected from the 737 MAX.


title: Wingtip device

text: In 1987, mechanical engineer Peter Masak called on aerodynamicist Mark D. Maughmer, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, about designing winglets to improve performance on his wingspan racing sailplane. Others had attempted to apply Whitcomb's winglets to gliders before, and they did improve climb performance, but this did not offset the parasitic drag penalty in high-speed cruise. Masak was convinced it was possible to overcome this hurdle. By trial and error, they ultimately developed successful winglet designs for gliding competitions, using a new PSU–90–125 airfoil, designed by Maughmer specifically for the winglet application. At the 1991 World Gliding Championships in Uvalde, Texas, the trophy for the highest speed went to a winglet-equipped 15-meter class limited wingspan glider, exceeding the highest speed in the unlimited span Open Class, an exceptional result. Masak went on to win the 1993 U.S. 15 Meter Nationals gliding competition, using winglets on his prototype Masak Scimitar.


title: Wingtip device

text: The Masak winglets were originally retrofitted to production sailplanes, but within 10 years of their introduction, most high-performance gliders were equipped from the factory with winglets or other wingtip devices. It took over a decade for winglets to first appear on a production airliner, the original application that was the focus of the NASA development. Yet, once the advantages of winglets were proven in competition, adoption was swift with gliders. The point difference between the winner and the runner-up in soaring competition is often less than one percent, so even a small improvement in efficiency is a significant competitive advantage. Many non-competition pilots fitted winglets for handling benefits such as increased roll rate and roll authority and reduced tendency for wing tip stall. The benefits are notable, because sailplane winglets must be removable to allow the glider to be stored in a trailer, so they are usually installed only at the pilot's preference.


title: Wingtip device

text: The Glaser-Dirks DG-303, an early glider derivative design, incorporating winglets as factory standard equipment.


title: Wingtip device

text: Aviation Partners developed and flight tested a closed-surface Spiroid winglet on a Falcon 50 in 2010.


title: Wingtip device

text: Non-planar wingtips are normally angled upwards in a polyhedral wing configuration, increasing the local dihedral near the wing tip, with polyhedral wing designs themselves having been popular on free-flight model aircraft designs for decades. Non-planar wingtips provide the wake control benefit of winglets, with less parasitic drag penalty, if designed carefully. The non-planar wing tip is often swept back like a raked wingtip and may also be combined with a winglet. A winglet is also a special case of a non-planar wingtip.


title: Wingtip device

text: Aircraft designers employed mostly planar wing designs with simple dihedral after World War II, prior to the introduction of winglets. With the wide acceptance of winglets in new sailplane designs of the 1990s, designers sought to further optimize the aerodynamic performance of their wingtip designs. Glider winglets were originally retrofitted directly to planar wings, with only a small, nearly right-angle, transition area. Once the performance of the winglet itself was optimized, attention was turned to the transition between the wing and winglet. A common application was tapering the transition area from the wing tip chord to the winglet chord and raking the transition area back, to place the winglet in the optimal position. If the tapered portion was canted upward, the winglet height could also be reduced. Eventually, designers employed multiple non-planar sections, each canting up at a greater angle, dispensing with the winglets entirely.


title: Wingtip device

text: Tamarack Aerospace Group, a company founded in 2010 by aerospace structural engineer Nicholas Guida, has patented an Active Technology Load Alleviation System (ATLAS), a modified version of a wingtip device. The system uses Tamarack Active Camber Surfaces (TACS) to aerodynamically "switch off" the effects of the wingtip device when the aircraft is experiencing high-g events such as large gusts or severe pull-ups. TACS are movable panels, similar to flaps or ailerons, on the trailing edge of the wing extension. The system is controlled by the aircraft's electrical system and a high-speed servo which is activated when the aircraft senses an oncoming stress event, essentially simulating an actuating wingtip. However, the wingtip itself is fixed and the TACS are the only moving part of the wingtip system. Tamarack first introduced ATLAS for the Cessna Citation family aircraft, and it has been certified for use by the Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency.


title: Wingtip device

text: There has been research into actuating wingtip devices, including a filed patent application, though no aircraft currently uses this feature as described. The XB-70 Valkyrie's wingtips were capable of drooping downward in flight, to facilitate Mach 3 flight using waveriding.


title: Wingtip device

text: Wingtip devices are also used on rotating propeller, helicopter rotor, and wind turbine blades to reduce drag, reduce diameter, reduce noise and/or improve efficiency. By reducing aircraft blade tip vortices interacting with the ground surface during taxiing, takeoff, and hover, these devices can reduce damage from dirt and small stones picked up in the vortices.


title: Wingtip device

text: The main rotor blades of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly the EH101) have a distinctive tip shape; pilots have found that this rotor design alters the downwash field and reduces brownout which limits visibility in dusty areas and leads to accidents.


title: Wingtip device

text: Hartzell Propeller developed their "Q-tip" propeller used on the Piper PA-42 Cheyenne and several other fixed-wing aircraft types by bending the blade tips back at a 90-degree angle to get the same thrust from a reduced diameter propeller disk; the reduced propeller tip speed reduces noise, according to the manufacturer. Modern scimitar propellers have increased sweepback at the tips, resembling a raked tip on an aircraft wing.


title: Wingtip device

text: Some ceiling fans have wingtip devices. Fan manufacturer Big Ass Fans has claimed that their Isis fan, equipped with wingtip devices, has superior efficiency. However, for certain high-volume, low-speed designs, wingtip devices may not improve efficiency.


title: Wingtip device

text: Another application of the same principle was introduced to the keel of the "America's Cup"- winning Australian yacht Australia II of 1982, designed by Ben Lexcen.


title: Lunar Park

text: Lunar Park is a mock memoir by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. It was released by Knopf in 2005. It was the first book written by Ellis to use past tense narrative.


title: Lunar Park

text: The novel begins with an inflated and parodic but reasonably accurate portrayal of Ellis's early fame. It details incidents of his rampant drug use and his publicly humiliating book tours to promote "Glamorama". The novel dissolves into fiction as Ellis describes a liaison with an actress named Jayne Dennis, whom he later marries, and with whom he conceives a child. From this point, the fictional Ellis' life reflects the real writer's only in some descriptions of the past and possibly in his general sentiments.


title: Lunar Park

text: Ellis and Jayne move to fictional Midland, an affluent suburban town outside New York City, which they no longer consider safe due to pervasive terrorist acts in a post-9/11 America. Fictional incidents include suicide bombings in Wal-Marts and a dirty bomb detonated in Florida. Strange incidents start happening on a Halloween night, some involving a Terby doll belonging to Ellis's fictional stepdaughter Sarah.


title: Lunar Park

text: As the novel progresses, the haunting of Ellis's house and questions over the death of his father become increasingly prominent. At various points, characters and events from Ellis' novels appear to intersect his real life, although he is largely unaware of this thin veil between his reality and his fiction. With his history of drug use and alcoholism, his wife, children and housekeeper are understandably skeptical of his claims that the house is haunted. Unfolding events only very gradually reveal a much more complicated situation than a simple haunting. There is a dynamic interplay between the author's dead father, the house itself and specific negative associations buried within the author's own subconscious mind. Added to all of this is the very late-breaking and almost gratuitous insinuation that Robby, the narrator's young son, may somehow be at the epicenter of all these events.


title: Lunar Park

text: Several of the characters are fictionalized portrayals of real people. Most notable among these is Ellis himself, but others include friend and fellow author Jay McInerney and Ellis's late father.


title: Lunar Park

text: Ellis finished writing the novel in the summer of 2004. Ellis said the book was an homage to Stephen King and the comic books he loved as a child.


title: Lunar Park

text: Ellis told the "Manchester Evening News" that the Terby "is based on a Furby but also there was this bird-like doll that my older sister had and I wrote a short story about it when I was 7 or 8. She used to scare me with it, I'd go to my bedroom and get into bed and it'd be there, she'd hide it there just to scare me. Or I'd be walking up the stairs and she'd chase me with it. And I think that's what I was channelling and it fitted in to all the other things that I was haunted by.” The revelation that 'Terby' is in fact 'Y Bret' (Why, Bret?) spelled backwards is an homage to the "redrum" (murder spelled backwards) plot device in King's "The Shining".


title: Lunar Park

text: The book carries an epigraph from Hamlet 1.v.98. This connects with the theme of haunting by a father as well as the names in the book (e.g. Elsinore, Osric, Fortinbras).


title: Marijuana (word)

text: Marijuana, or marihuana, is a name for the cannabis plant and more specifically a drug preparation from it. "Marijuana" as a term varies in usage, definition and legal application around the world. Some jurisdictions define "marijuana" as the whole cannabis plant or any part of it, while others refer to "marijuana" as a portion of the cannabis plant that contains high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Some jurisdictions recognize "marijuana" as a distinctive strain of cannabis, the other being hemp. For legal, research and statistical reference, "marijuana" generally refers to only the dried leaves and flowering tops (herbal cannabis), with by-products such as hashish or hash oil being uniquely defined and regulated. The form "marihuana" is first attested in Mexican Spanish; it then spread to other varieties of Spanish and to English, French, and other languages.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: The term, originally spelled variously as "marihuana", "mariguana", etc., originated in Mexican Spanish.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the term may come from the Nahuatl "mallihuan", meaning "prisoner". Author Martin Booth notes that this etymology was popularized by Harry J. Anslinger in the 1930s, during his campaigns against the drug. However, linguist Jason D. Haugen finds no semantic basis for a connection to "mallihuan", suggesting that the phonetic similarity may be "a case of accidental homophony". Cannabis is not known to have been present in the Americas before Spanish contact, making an indigenous word an unlikely source.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: Other suggestions trace the possible origins of the word to Chinese "ma ren hua" (麻仁花, lit. 'hemp seed flower'), possibly itself originating as a loan from an earlier semitic root "*mrj" "hemp". The Semitic root is also found in the Spanish word "mejorana" and in English marjoram ('oregano'), which could be related to the word "marihuana". This is also known in Mexico as "Chinese oregano".


title: Marijuana (word)

text: Additionally, traditional association with the personal name María Juana ('Mary Jane') is probably a folk etymology. The original Mexican Spanish used forms with the letter ("marihuana"), and is famously used in the Mexican Revolutionary era (1910-1920) version of the lyrics of La Cucaracha. Forms using the letter ("marijuana") seem to be an innovation of English, and their later appearance in French and Spanish are probably due to English influence.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: "The origin of the word “marijuana” foreshadowed its current use. Historically, the earliest and most numerous group of users in the Americas were slaves from western Central Africa (modern Gabon to Angola). Their words for cannabis are now used in nearly all the places they (involuntarily) ended up during the 1700s and 1800s, which includes West Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Most notably, in Central America, the Kimbundu (Angolan) word "mariamba" became the Spanish word "marihuana"." Hence, “mariamba” is where the word “marijuana” comes from. The word “marijuana” as we know it today didn't appear until 1846 in "Farmacopea Mexicana", though it was spelled “mariguana.” In most following instances, the word was spelled marihuana. In Chilean Spanish, "mariguanza" is the dance of a shaman in an altered state of consciousness.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: The word entered English usage in the late 19th century. According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the first known appearance of a form of the word in English is in Hubert Howe Bancroft's 1873 "The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America". Other early variants include "mariguan" (1894), "marihuma" first recorded in 1905, "marihuano" in 1912, and "marahuana" in 1914. According to the second edition of Webster's New International Dictionary, the word originally denoted a species of wild tobacco, "Nicotiana glauca".


title: Marijuana (word)

text: The use of "marihuana" in American English increased dramatically in the 1930s, when it was preferred as an exotic-sounding alternative name during debates on the drug's use. It has been suggested that in the United States the word was promoted by opponents of the drug, who wanted to stigmatize it with a "foreign-sounding name". According to Lizzie Post, the word "marijuana" is deprecated because "in the early 1900s, the term marijuana was purposely used to negatively associate it with the Latino community." The word was codified into law and became part of common American English with the passing of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.


title: Marijuana (word)

text: From the portrayal in the media of marijuana use by the hippie subculture in the 1960s, the word became associated with revolutionary youth. By 1975, reggae artist Peter Tosh defended the use of marijuana in the song "Legalize It". Since then, the word has been associated with the stoner comedy genre, beginning in mainstream films in 1978 with "Up In Smoke" and other media including the New York Off-Broadway show "The Marijuana-Logues".


title: Marijuana (word)

text: Many legal references prefer the term "cannabis", for instance in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. However, many laws and regulations often use the term "marihuana" or "marijuana", for instance the Controlled Substances Act in the United States. Cannabis reform organizations, such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Marijuana Policy Project, alongside political organizations like Help End Marijuana Prohibition Party of Australia and the Marijuana Party of Canada, also use this term.


title: CBGB (film)

text: CBGB is a 2013 American biographical drama film about the former New York music venue CBGB. It follows the story of Hilly Kristal's New York club from its concept as a venue for Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n' roll and punk. The film uses devices such as a comic book-style panels, as well as onscreen text to identify important figures in the punk movement.


title: CBGB (film)

text: In 1970s New York City, Hilly Kristal is divorced and has filed bankruptcy for the second time. Despite setbacks, he is determined to own and manage a bar. With his business partner Merv Ferguson, Kristal convinces his mother to lend them the money needed to establish the dive bar CBGB, which Kristal intends to make into a country music venue.


title: CBGB (film)

text: The business gets off to a rocky start as there are few customers and Kristal has difficulty finding country acts. However, a rock band called Television arrives at the bar and auditions. Seeing potential, Kristal books them. CBGB soon becomes a rock venue that caters to the burgeoning punk movement. New acts such as Blondie, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, and The Ramones begin to get noticed by playing at the club. The fledgling fanzine "Punk" also gets its start by reporting on the bands and debating the movement's ideology (or lack thereof). Despite CBGB's newfound success, Kristal poorly manages the club's funds (he keeps the money in his apartment freezer) and fails to regularly pay bills or rent. Kristal's daughter Lisa tries to take over the chaotic finances in an attempt to save the business.


title: CBGB (film)

text: After The Ramones are signed to Sire Records, Kristal decides to manage CBGB regulars The Dead Boys. Lisa warns Kristal that he can't financially afford to take on a band. Kristal ignores her, as well as others who caution him about The Dead Boys' destructive and anti-social behavior. While on tour, the band crashes and totals their truck and equipment, leaving Kristal and CBGB broke. This leads to Ferguson threatening to leave the business for good, which Kristal doesn't believe. Soon afterwards, The Dead Boys gets into a fight with a group of thugs and their drummer, Johnny Blitz, is stabbed seventeen times and barely survives.


title: CBGB (film)

text: Despondent and penniless, Kristal announces to his employees that CBGB will be closing. Ferguson and Lisa reveal that they have made many calls to grateful friends whom Kristal helped in the past. They've scraped together enough money to stay open long enough to stabilize the situation. The film ends with The Police auditioning for Kristal.


title: CBGB (film)

text: The epilogue reveals that CBGB remained open until 2006. Kristal remains an important figure in the history of punk and rock and roll. Lisa went on to become a lawyer. Ferguson always wore a yellow construction helmet and no one ever knew why. Kristal continued to manage The Dead Boys until they broke up in 1979. The epilogue closes by stating Kristal's dog, Jonathan, had legendary bowels since he was known for defecating wherever he pleased inside the club. Over the final credits, the real-life Talking Heads' acceptance speech during the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is played, during which they invite Kristal to the stage and thank him for his support.