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Madame Butterfly (short story)

"Madame Butterfly" is a short story by American lawyer and writer John Luther Long. It is based on the recollections of Long's sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband, a Methodist missionary. It was first published in Century Magazine in 1898 and adapted for the stage in 1900. Giacomo Puccini based his 1904 opera Madama Butterfly on the play.

Plot
US Navy Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton arrives in Nagasaki. He leases a house for 999 years and marries a 17-year old geisha, Cho-Cho-San. Pinkerton bans her family from visiting, and they disown her. Nevertheless, she feels she is "the mos' bes' happy female woman in Japan—mebby in that whole worl'".

Pinkerton's duties take him away from Nagasaki, but he promises to return "when the robins nest again". Cho-Cho-San has faith that he will return and bears their baby. She names him Trouble.

A marriage broker harangues Cho-Cho-San to take a new husband. He warns that if Pinkerton does return it will probably only be to retrieve his child. He introduces her to a prince named Yamadori who tells Cho-Cho-San that Pinkerton never viewed their marriage as permanent. Yamadori offers to marry Cho-Cho-San and help her keep Trouble.

Cho-Cho-San visits the American consul, Mr. Sharpless. As Sharpless learns the full scope of Pinkerton's actions, he grows ashamed and contemptuous of the officer. Sharpless encourages her to marry Yamadori.

Several weeks later, Pinkerton's ship arrives. Cho-Cho-San has been keeping a faithful watch for it and is overcome with emotion. Her maid Suzuki helps prepare the house with flowers and arrange Pinkerton's things the way he remembered them. Cho-Cho-San wears her finest kimono and hides behind a shoji to watch Pinkerton's arrival. She waits all night to no avail.

A week later, a civilian ship arrives. Cho-Cho-San spies Pinkerton on deck with a blonde woman. She keeps another fruitless vigil waiting for her husband's homecoming. When Pinkerton's ship leaves the harbor, Cho-Cho-San returns to Sharpless' office. Desperate to avoid inflicting more pain, Sharpless lies to Cho-Cho-San. He tells her that Pinkerton was ordered to China and could not return to her. Sharpless offers her an envelope full of money.

The blonde woman from the steamship bursts into the office and identifies herself as Pinkerton's wife. She asks Sharpless to telegram Pinkerton to say that she had been to Cho-Cho-San's house but could not find her. She asks if she can bring Trouble with her when she joins Pinkerton the following week.

Cho-Cho-San rushes home. She bids farewell to Suzuki and Trouble and shuts herself in her room to commit suicide. She opens a wound in her throat and the blood drips down her chest. Suzuki silently enters the room with the baby and pinches him to make him cry. Cho-Cho-San lets the sword drop to the floor. As the baby crawls onto Cho-Cho-San's lap, Suzuki dresses her wound. When Mrs. Pinkerton returns to the house the following day it is empty.

Historical basis
Long's sister Jennie Correll married a Methodist missionary and lived in Nagasaki. Through their correspondence, Long learned about the culture of Japan and various personalities that would become characters in his stories. Correll once told her brother about a "dear little teahouse girl" named "Cho-San" who was abandoned by the father of her child. He immediately turned it into a story and asked her input.

Many people have tried to deduce the identities of the characters in Long's story. Pinkerton and his friend Sayre appear in both "Madame Butterfly" and Long's 1895 novel Miss Cherry-Blossom of Tokyo. Musicologist Arthur Groos believes he tracked down the real Sayre and a likely candidate for Pinkerton. Another author speculated that Thomas Blake Glover is the man who adopted Cho-Cho-San's son, but that evidence was dismissed as "flimsy".

Pierre Loti thinly disguised himself in his 1887 novel Madame Chrysanthème. Because so much of Loti's plot reappears in Long's story, it is assumed to have been a source. However, "temporary" or "Japanese marriages" were a widespread phenomenon after the country's liberalization of marriage laws, and a Japanese woman abandoned by her foreign spouse was far from a unique occurrence. Butterfly's belief that her marriage was permanent was the deviation from the norm.

Publication History
Long's story was an instant success. Just 10 months after it appeared in print, The Century Company rushed a book version to market. Appearing in October 1898, the book included several other Long stories, and began selling "like hot cakes". In 1903, Century reissued the book with several tinted photographs by C. Yarnall Abbott.

Plays
The story interested American playwright David Belasco who collaborated with Long on a one-act adaption. Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan premiered in New York's Herald Square Theatre on March 5, 1900 with Blanche Bates in the title role. Seven weeks later, Belasco took it to London's Duke of York's Theatre where it played to full houses and critical acclaim. Evelyn Millard played Madame Butterfly. Back in America, Belasco toured the play for the next two seasons.

In 1988, David Henry Hwang wrote a play entitled M. Butterfly based on the affair between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Peking opera singer Shi Pei Pu. He mined the sexist and racist clichés of Puccini's opera to tell the story of a Westerner who fantasized about loving a Madame Butterfly. Hwang's play was adapted into a film by David Cronenberg in 1993 and an opera by Huang Ruo in 2022.

Musical Theater
In the summer of 1900, while Giacomo Puccini was in London supervising the English premiere of Tosca, he saw David Belasco's play. He spoke very little English, but Butterfly's vigil struck him as an ideal subject for an opera. He rushed backstage to beg Belasco for permission. In April 1901, Puccini had finally settled on Butterfly as a subject and the rights were obtained. The resulting opera, Madama Butterfly, was one of Puccini's favorites and became a cornerstone of the repertoire. It premiered on February 17, 1904 at La Scala in Milan. The 1989 stage musical Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr., transfers the plot to the Vietnam War.

Songs
Long's story inspired dozens of Tin Pan Alley songs. Popular music had long been fascinated with depicting Asia and Japan in particular. At the turn of the century, Japonisme and "Madame Butterfly" became a touchstone for many songwriters. In 1900, George Hobart and Alfred Aarons retold the story in their song "O Mona San: A Tokyo Tragedy" and dedicated their work to David Belasco. "Madame Butterfly" became the archetype for orientalist songs, and its core narrative was brutally summarized by L. Wolfe Gilbert in his lyrics for "Singapore": "He leaves, she grieves."

After Puccini's opera became a hit, "Madame Butterfly" songs were legion, including by composers as famous as Irving Berlin ("Hurry Back to My Bamboo Shack") and George Gershwin ("Yan-Kee", "In the Heart of a Geisha"). "Butterfly" songs often transferred the characters to other Asian locales, like Shanghai, and it was common to leave the heroine's fate ambiguous. The most successful of all these tunes was "Poor Butterfly" (Golden/Hubbell) which became a standard. Puccini's style was an intuitive fit for Tin Pan Alley songwriters and the jazz artists who cannibalized their work. "Poor Butterfly" was such a hit that it inspired dozens of answer songs.

Film
The story has been adapted for film several times:
 * Madame Butterfly (1915 film), an American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott
 * Madame Butterfly, an alternative name for Harakiri (1919 film), a German silent film directed by Fritz Lang
 * Le ménage moderne du Madame Butterfly (1920), a French pornographic film.
 * The Toll of the Sea (1922), an American silent film directed by Chester Franklin
 * Madame Butterfly (1932 film), an American film directed by Marion Gering
 * Madame Butterfly (1954 film), a joint Italian-Japanese film directed by Carmine Gallone
 * Madame Butterfly (1995 film), a European production directed by Frédéric Mitterrand

title: Madame Butterfly (short story)


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Talk:Anthropophage

Comments
so how do they eat people then? JackLynch 02:29, 24 Nov 2003 (UTC)

MY COMMENT IS SIMPLE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS ARTICLE IS ON SOME MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE. AN ANTHROPOPHAGE IS AN ANIMAL THAT PREFERS TO FEED ON HUMANS, A VITAL CHARACTERISTIC OF MOSQUITO SPECIES AND OTHER SUCH BLOOD-FEEDING VECTORS AS IT PERTAINS TO THEIR VECTOR CAPACITY, AN IMPORTANT AND GROWING (DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING) THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH. PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL IMPORTANCE, NOT DISCUSS SOME LAME MYTHS. PLEASE, I DON'T HAVE TIME TO CORRECT THIS PAGE, BUT WILL SOME OF YOU QUIT WORKING ON THIS USELESS TOPIC AND BUILD WHAT THIS PAGE SHOULD BE? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.177.65.149 (talk) 06:02, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Vandalism
I removed some obvious vandalism, and I shudder to think why people think such vandalism is funny. 152.31.229.30 (talk) 16:13, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

The Monstrumologist
Maybe something should be mentioned about this book? The Anthropophagi is the main antagonist in it and the use of the creature is what lead me too this page, checking if shakespeare really did write of it. http://www.rickyancey.com/monstrumologist/index.php —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.143.183.34 (talk) 04:19, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Anthropophage


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Diaries

Diaries may refer to:

 * the plural of diary
 * Diaries: 1971-1976, a 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus
 * Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years, a 2006 book by Michael Palin
 * Di4ries, a 2022 Italian teen drama television series
 * OFW Diaries, a public affairs television show in the Philippines

title: Diaries


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Yoshitaka Amano

Yoshitaka Amano (天野 喜孝) is a Japanese visual artist, character designer, illustrator, a scenic designer for theatre and film, and a costume designer. He first came into prominence in the late 1960s working on the anime adaptation of Speed Racer. Amano later became the creator of iconic and influential characters such as Gatchaman, Tekkaman, Honeybee Hutch, and Casshern. In 1982 he went independent and became a freelance artist, finding success as an illustrator for numerous authors, and worked on best-selling novel series, such as The Guin Saga and Vampire Hunter D. He is also known for his commissioned illustrations for the popular video game franchise Final Fantasy.

Since the 1990s Amano has been creating and exhibiting paintings featuring his iconic retro pop icons in galleries around the world, primarily painting on aluminium box panels with acrylic and automotive paint. He is a five-time winner of the Seiun Award, and also won the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Sandman: The Dream Hunters.

Amano's influences include early Western comic books, Orientalism, art nouveau, and Japanese woodblock prints. In early 2010, he established Studio Devaloka, a film production company.

Biography
Amano was born in Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, to Yoshio Amano (1917–1962) and Kesano Amano (née Fujimoto). He is the youngest child of four. Amano's father was a lacquer artist, specializing in traditional Suruga lacquerware. As a young adolescent, Yoshitaka Amano was fascinated with drawing. In 1967, he began working in the animation department of Tatsunoko Productions, where he was introduced to the early Japanese anime movement. His first paid project was for the Speed Racer anime franchise. He was a character designer for anime shows such as Time Bokan, Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Honeybee Hutch.

In the 1960s, Amano was exposed to Western art styles through comic books, which he claims among his artistic roots. He has cited Neal Adams as his favorite comic book artist, noting that he would often purchase used comics based on Adams's cover artwork, only to be disappointed that the interior artist was different. Amano was also fascinated by the art styles of psychedelic art and pop art of the West, particularly the work of American Pop artist Peter Max. In the 1970s, Amano studied the artworks of the late 19th century and early 20th century European movement of Art Nouveau, as well as the Russian orientalists (Leon Bakst, Ivan Bilibin) and the ancient Japanese hand woodblock printing work of Ukiyo-e. Amano remained at Tatsunoko Productions until 1982.

Early fantasy works
During the 1980s, Amano concentrated on illustrations for science fiction and fantasy works. Combined with the influence of his prior experience in animation, this focus resulted in a personal style influenced by both modern surrealism and realism.

He left Tatsunoko Production and started his activities as a freelancer in 1982. He did illustration and cover page design of Kimaira series, written by Baku Yumemakura, from this year. In 1983, he illustrated the novel Demon City Shinjuku and the first in Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novel series. He also worked as a character designer on the 1985 movie adaptation of Vampire Hunter D, which was one of the first anime movies to be released outside Japan. In interviews, however, Amano has stated that he was not pleased with the final product of the movie.

His illustrations begin to be published in collections such as Maten in 1984. That year he drew the manga Amon Saga, written by Baku Yumemakura, which was later adapted into an OVA.

Video games
In 1987, Amano joined Square (now known as Square Enix) to work on a role-playing video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Final Fantasy. Amano produced conceptual design pieces for the game in both traditional and computer designed artwork. At this time, he also worked for another video game company, Kure Software Koubou, producing box cover illustrations as well as some character designs. This work included designs for Kure's First Queen series. Following Final Fantasy VI in 1994, he stepped down as the main character, image, and graphic designer of the series. He continued to provide promotional and character artwork for the following games and to design their title logos.

Amano became the world's highest-earning artist in 1996, earning US$40,000,000 1996 that year from sales of silk screens, lithographs and etchings based on his book illustrations. His work began receiving international recognition following the release of Final Fantasy VII in 1997. In 2006, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the former designer and creator of the Final Fantasy series, recruited Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu to work on video games at Mistwalker.

Amano and Nobuo Uematsu worked together again on videogames like Fairy Fencer F at Compile Heart.

Branching out
Amano's first exhibition, called "Hiten", was held in 1989 at Yurakucho Mullion in Tokyo, Japan. In 1990, he began to work as an artist and set designer for stage theater. His first work for theater was Tamasaburo Bando's Nayotake.

Beginning in 1995 with his work at the Biennale d'Orléans in France, he received increased recognition outside Japan. Further international exhibitions followed, including the 1999 "Hero" at the Angel Orensanz Foundation and the 1997 workshop and exhibition "Think Like Amano".

In 1998, Amano appeared as Hiroshi in the movie New Rose Hotel, loosely based on the William Gibson short story of the same name.

Freelancing
In 2000, Amano illustrated Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, which won several awards and was nominated for a Hugo Award. In 2001, Greg Rucka and Amano collaborated on another comic book tale, Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer. His character designs were used in another Vampire Hunter D movie entitled Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. In 2006, the first volume of his HERO series was released by Boom! Studios. He was key visual and costume designer for movies written by Baku Yumemakura, including Onmyoji, Onmyoji 2, and Taitei no Ken.

He illustrated three album covers for the Japanese power metal band Galneryus: The Flag of Punishment (2003), Advance to the Fall (2005), and Beyond the End of Despair (2006).

In 2004 Amano was asked by creative director GK Reid to create illustrations in collaboration with author Neil Gaiman and featuring David Bowie and Iman as sci-fi characters, for "The Return of the Thin White Duke" a portion of which were published in V Magazine.

In 2008, Amano created an illustrated adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, published by Radical Comics. He also collaborated with Christopher "mink" Morrison of Quentin Tarantino's A Band Apart production company, providing illustrations for the novel Shinjuku and Shinjuku Azul, as well as a third unannounced follow up and an online game, Shinjuku Nexus. He was the character designer for the 2009 Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion) TV special, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, to commemorate both the 50th anniversary of Fuji Television and the 80th anniversary of Osamu Tezuka's birth.

Studio Devaloka
In 2010, following a small solo art exhibition tour titled "Devaloka" it was announced that Amano had established a film production company, Studio Devaloka, and would be directing a 3D anime titled Zan, with additional projects to be announced in the future. On December 15, 2010, the official website for the film, now titled Deva Zan, was unveiled, along with information concerning an upcoming press conference, to be held on December 21, 2010. The roughly ten-minute-long conference revealed details about the project, including staff, as well as a short trailer for the film, which stylistically emulates the look of Amano's paintings.

In April 2012, an illustrated novel adaptation of the work was announced by Dark Horse Manga. To be released in January 2013, the novel will be Amano's debut as an author and will include over 240 original illustrations. Despite a projected 2012 release date, Amano stated in an October 2012 interview that the animation project was still in its development and funding stages and may instead be realized as a TV series. The possibility of a video game adaptation was also mentioned.

In 2013, Amano collaborated with Japanese rock star Hyde (L'Arc-en-Ciel/VAMPS) on an art exhibition titled Destiny and Decay: Nippon Evolution.

On July 2, 2023, Amano appeared at Anime Expo to reveal the cover art for the classical single "Requiem" by rock artist Yoshiki.

Animation

 * Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972)
 * Casshan (1973)
 * Hurricane Polymar (1974)
 * New Honeybee Hutch (1974)
 * Time Bokan (1975)
 * Yatterman (1977)
 * Zenderman (1979)
 * Rescueman (1980)
 * Yattodetaman (1981)
 * Gyakuten! Ippatsuman (1982)
 * Itadakiman (1983)
 * Tekkaman: The Space Knight (1975)
 * Gowappa 5 Gōdam (1976)
 * Akū Daisakusen Srungle (1983)
 * Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983)
 * Radio City Fantasy
 * Starzan S (1984)
 * Bismark (1984)
 * Angel's Egg (also co-creator of the story) (1985)
 * Vampire Hunter D (1985)
 * Amon Saga (1986)
 * Lily C.A.T. (1987)
 * 1001 Nights (1998, concert video directed by Mike Smith for music by David Newman, based on Amano's Princess Budou illustrations)
 * Ayakashi (2006)
 * Fantascope ~Tylostoma~(2006)
 * Bird's Song (2007)
 * Ten Nights of Dreams (2007)
 * Vegetable Fairies: N.Y. Salad (2007)
 * Jungle Taitei: Yūki ga Mirai wo Kaeru (2009)
 * Gibiate (2020)
 * Exception (2022)
 * Zan (2026)

Novels

 * A Wind Named Amnesia English Version (2009)

Author

 * DEVA ZAN (2013)

Illustrator
Select domestic Japanese works
 * Vampire Hunter D (1983-ongoing)
 * Guin Saga (1984–1997)
 * The Heroic Legend of Arslan (1986–1999)
 * Sohryuden (1987-ongoing)
 * Rampo Edogawa Mystery Collection (1987–1989)
 * Tekiha Kaizoku Series
 * Shinsetsu Taikō-ki
 * Chimera-ho Series
 * Garouden
 * The Tale of Genji (1997)
 * Sword World RPG – Assorted artwork
 * Mateki: The Magic Flute
 * Illustrated Blues (2010)

Select Japanese editions of foreign works
 * A Cup of Magic! (1981)
 * The Prince in the Scarlet Robe, Corum (1982)
 * Erekosë Saga (1983)
 * Elric Saga (1984)
 * Dream Weaver (1985)
 * The Chronicles of Castle Brass (1988)
 * Hoka Series
 * Seven Brothers (2006)

Foreign works
 * Sandman: The Dream Hunters (1999)
 * Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer (2002)
 * Yoshitaka Amano's HERO (2006-ongoing)
 * Shinjuku (2010)
 * Shinjuku Azul (TBA)

Art books

 * Maten / Evil Universe (1984)
 * Genmukyu / Castle of Illusions (1986) (ISBN 4-403-01029-6)
 * Imagine (1987) (ISBN 4-403-01031-8)
 * Hiten / Flying Universe: The Art of Yoshitaka Amano (1989) (ISBN 4-257-03229-4
 * Dawn (1991) (ISBN 4-87188-135-0
 * The Heroic Tales Of Arslan (1991)
 * The Illustrations for Tarot Card by Yoshitaka Amano (1992) (ISBN 4-87519-401-3
 * Rasenoh / Spiral King (1992) (ISBN 4-19-414749-9)
 * Le Roi de la Lune (1992) (ISBN 4-8164-1224-7)
 * Mono (1993)
 * Untitled set of 10 postcards (1993)
 * Steps To Heaven (1993)
 * Yoshitaka Amano Postcard Selection (1994) (ISBN 4-87188-800-2)
 * 'Japan, Final Fantasy (1994) (ISBN 4-87188-338-8)
 * Katen (1994) (ISBN 4-06-206858-3)
 * Budōhime / Princess Budou (1996)
 * Yousei / Fairies (1996) (ISBN 1-59582-062-0)
 * Guin Saga (1996) (ISBN 4-15-207984-3)
 * Yoshitaka Amano: Collection of Paintings (1996)
 * 1996 (1996)
 * Kan'oke / Coffin (1997) (ISBN 1-59582-061-2)
 * Think Like Amano (1997)
 * Biten (1999)
 * Alice Erotica (1999)
 * 1001 Nights (1999)
 * Märchen (2000)
 * Vampire Hunter D (2000) (ISBN 4-257-03606-0)
 * POEM (2001)
 * Kotatsu I (2002)
 * Kotatsu II (2002)
 * Guin Saga Chronicle (2002)
 * The Sky (2002)
 * Kiten (2002)
 * Symphony' (2002)
 * Amano First (2003) (ISBN 4-257-03683-4)
 * The Virgin (2004) (ISBN 4-894-52846-0)
 * Yoshitaka Amano x HYDE – Destiny and Decay: Nippon Evolution (2013)
 * Yoshitaka Amano Exhibition Art Book: The World Beyond Your Imagination (2015)

Video games

 * Esh's Aurunmilla (1984) – Character Designer
 * Final Fantasy (1987) – Character Designer, Title Logo Designer and Graphic Designer
 * Final Fantasy II (1988) – Character Designer, Title Logo Designer and Graphic Designer
 * First Queen (1988) – Box cover artist
 * Duel (1989) – Box cover artist
 * Duel98 (1989) – Box cover artist
 * Final Fantasy III (1990) – Character Designer & Title Logo Designer
 * First Queen 2 (1990) – Box cover artist
 * Final Fantasy IV (1991) – Character Designer, Image Designer and Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy V (1992) – Character Designer, Image Designer and Title Logo Designer
 * Kawanakajima Ibunroku (1992) – Box cover artist
 * First Queen 3 (1993) – Box cover artist
 * Final Fantasy VI (1994) – Character Designer, Image Designer and Title Logo Designer
 * Front Mission (1995) – Character Designer
 * Front Mission: Gun Hazard (1996) – Character Designer
 * Final Fantasy VII (1997) – Promotional Artwork, Image Illustrator, Title Logo Designer and Character Artwork
 * Kartia: The Word of Fate (1998) – Art Designer
 * Final Fantasy VIII (1999) – Promotional Artwork, Image Illustrator, Title Logo Designer and Character Artwork
 * Final Fantasy IX (2000) – Character Illustrations & Original Character Designer
 * El Dorado Gate (2000–2001) – Creative Director & Additional Design
 * Final Fantasy X (2001) – Promotional Artwork, Image Illustrations, Title Logo Designer and Character Artwork
 * Final Fantasy X-2 (2003) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer and Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy XI (2002) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer and Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy XII (2006) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer and Image Illustrator
 * Lord of Vermilion (2008) – Guest Card Illustrator
 * Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008) – Title Logo Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (2009) – Title Logo Designer
 * Lord of Vermilion II (2009) – Guest Card Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy XIII (2010) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy XIV (2010) – Title Logo Designer
 * Lord of Arcana (2010) – Guest Monster Designer
 * Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (2011) – Title Logo Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy Dimensions (2012) – Title Logo Designer
 * UnchainBlades EXXiV (2012) – Character Designer
 * Fantasy Life (2012) – Image Illustrator
 * Fairy Fencer F (2013) – Art Designer
 * Child of Light (2014) – Image Illustrator
 * Terra Battle (2014) – Character Design
 * Final Fantasy Explorers (2014) – Title Logo Designer
 * Mobius Final Fantasy (2015) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy Grandmasters (2015) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius (2015) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer
 * World of Final Fantasy (2016) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy XV (2016) – Promotional Artwork, Title Logo Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Final Fantasy Dimensions II (2017) – Title Logo Designer
 * World of Final Fantasy: Meli-Melo (2017) – Title Logo Designer
 * Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (2018) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy Explorers-Force (2018) – Title Logo Designer
 * Arc of Alchemist (2019) – Image Illustrator
 * Eternal (2019) – Key Visual, Character Designer, Monster Designer
 * War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (2019) – Title Logo Designer
 * Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) - Title Logo Designer
 * Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022) – Title Logo Designer
 * Front Mission 1st: Remake (2022) – Character Designer
 * Final Fantasy XVI (2023) – Title Logo Designer
 * Fortnite – Amano's Heart collaboration (2023) – Character Designer & Image Illustrator
 * Front Mission 2 Remake (2023) – Character Designer
 * Front Mission 3 Remake (TBA) – Character Designer

Music

 * Raphael: Sweet Romance (1999), Yume Yori Suteki na (1999), Hanasaku Inochi Aru Kagiri (1999), Eternal Wish (Todokanu Kimi e) (1999), Promise (1999) – Cover Illustrator
 * Galneryus: The Flag of Punishment (2003), Advance to the Fall (2005), Beyond the End of Despair... (2006), Best of the Awakening Days (2009), Best of the Braving Days (2009) – Cover Illustrator
 * Vocaloid 3 Library: Zola Project (2013) – Image Illustrator
 * Random Encounter: Lost Frequency (2017) – Cover and Interior Illustrator

Other works

 * Magic: The Gathering Liliana, Dreadhorde General (2019) – Image Illustrator

title: Yoshitaka Amano


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Université de Sherbrooke

The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; English: University of Sherbrooke) is a French-language public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the South Shore of Montreal. It is one of two universities in the Estrie region of Quebec (the other one being Bishop's University), and the only French-language university for the region.

As of 2022, the Université de Sherbrooke is home to 31,000 students, and an additional 3,000 older learners (age 50+) in continuing education in its "University of the Third Age". Of its 7,400 employees, about 4,000 are teaching staff. The university has over 100,000 graduates and offers 46 undergraduate, 48 master's and 27 doctoral programs. It holds a total of 61 research chairs, among which are the pharmacology, microelectronics, statistical learning, and environment research chairs.

Campus
The Université de Sherbrooke has five campuses:

 * The Main Sherbrooke Campus
 * The Sherbrooke Health Campus
 * The Longueuil Campus
 * The Joint Campus in Saguenay (on the site of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi)
 * The Joint Campus in Moncton (on the site of the Université de Moncton, in Moncton, New Brunswick).

History
The Université de Sherbrooke was established in 1954 as a French-speaking Catholic university in a region that was predominantly English speaking, the Estrie, or Eastern Townships in English. The only university in this region for over 100 years was the English-based Anglican Bishop's University. The Roman Catholic Church created this university in an effort to provide a more convenient education for the Catholic and French speakers in the region, then as a minority. Initially there was a religious component to the pedagogical activities, but by the end of the 1960s the number of priests working for the university had greatly diminished during the Quiet Revolution. In 1975, the appointment of a layman as Rector marked the end of religious activity in the institution. The Department of Theology is still officially Roman Catholic, alone in Quebec in this regard.

In 1991, the campus in Longueuil was opened, located adjacent to the Longueuil Metro station and the Pont Jacques-Cartier.

Université de Sherbrooke's arms, supporters, flag, and badge were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on January 15, 2004. Université de Sherbrooke's crest and Supporters were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on April 20, 2007. The motto of the school is Veritatem in Charitate ("Truth through charity").

In 2006, the university opened a branch of its medical facility on the campus of UQAC, where its students enrol for medical courses. The number of students attending the Université de Sherbrooke continues to rise and the university has worked with the City of Sherbrooke to respond to the increase. Activities at the Université de Sherbrooke are mainly centred on teaching and research.

Rectors

 * 2017–present: Pierre Cossette
 * 2009–2017: Luce Samoisette
 * 2001–2009: Bruno-Marie Béchard Marinier
 * 1993–2001: Pierre Reid
 * 1985–1993: Aldée Cabana
 * 1981–1985: Claude Hamel
 * 1975–1981: Yves Martin
 * 1965–1975: Mgr. Roger Maltais
 * 1955–1965: Mgr. Irénée Pinard
 * 1954–1955: Mgr. Maurice Vincent

Institutions
The Université de Sherbrooke is composed of the following faculties:

 * 1) Faculty of Administration
 * 2) Faculty of Education
 * 3) Faculty of Engineering
 * 4) Faculty of Law
 * 5) Faculty of Letters and Humanities
 * 6) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
 * 7) Faculty of Sports and Physical Education
 * 8) Faculty of Science
 * 9) Faculty of Theology, Ethics and Philosophy

The Main Sherbrooke Campus includes:

 * Administration
 * Support services
 * Most faculties
 * The George-Cabana Pavilion (central pavilion)
 * The Multifunctional Pavilion
 * The Univestrie Pavilion (sports centre)
 * The Cultural Centre and Maurice-O'Bready Theatre
 * The Humanities Library
 * The Law and Government Publications Library
 * The Music Library
 * The Science and Engineering Library
 * The Documentation Centre
 * The Anne-Hébert Centre
 * The Pedagogical Resource Centre
 * The Jean-Marie Roy Map Library
 * Student residences

The Sherbrooke Health Campus includes:

 * The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
 * The Institute of Pharmacology of Sherbrooke
 * The Sherbrooke University Hospital
 * The Centre for Clinical Research
 * The Biotechnology Research Centre in Estrie
 * The Gérald-La Salle Pavilion
 * The Health Sciences Library
 * The Pavillon de Recherche Appliquée sur le Cancer (PRAC)
 * A sports centre
 * Student residences

The Longueuil Campus was founded in 1989. Today it offers more than 90 educational programs, primarily at the master's level, in eight of the nine faculties of the university (Administration; Education; Engineering; Law; Letters and Humanities; Medicine and Health Sciences; Science; Theology, Ethics and Philosophy). Whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, most programs are offered on a part-time basis on evenings and weekends, or in various intensive formats to allow professionals to remain in the work force.

The Longueuil Campus hosts the applied research projects of its faculties along with others conducted in collaboration with Charles LeMoyne Hospital, an affiliated regional and university centre located in the Montérégie region. The campus is located on Montreal's South Shore across from the Longueuil-Université-de-Sherbrooke metro station.

The Joint Campus in Saguenay opened its doors in 1996 to medical students.

Also opening in 1996, the Joint Campus in Moncton, New Brunswick, offers medical training to French-speaking students.

Programs
The University of Sherbrooke offers a variety of bachelors, masters, doctoral and post-doctoral programs as well as various certificates and microprograms.

The Faculty of Theology, Ethics and Philosophy offers Undergraduate level certificate, diploma, Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees in Theology/Theological Studies; Doctorate Theology and Religious Vocations; and Undergraduate level certificate/diploma/Graduate level certificate/diploma Pastoral Studies/Counselling.

The Faculty of Engineering offers courses in the following specialties: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Biotechnology Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Building Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Sports
Sports teams representing the Université de Sherbrooke are called Le Vert & Or (called The Green and Gold in English).

Media
The university publishes the magazine UdeS, which has a circulation of 85,000 copies. Published three times a year by the Communications Service, this magazine is distributed free to everyone in the central graduate database and to staff as well as friends of the institution. Copies are also distributed in a number of locations in Sherbrooke.

The university's student community puts out a student newspaper, the Collectif, and operates an FM radio station, CFAK-FM.

Ranking
Université de Sherbrooke has placed in several international post-secondary school rankings. In the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 501–600 in the world. The 2023 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 751–800 in the world and 24–26 in Canada. In U.S. News & World Report 2022–23 global university rankings, the university placed 789th.

The university has also placed in post-secondary national rankings, including the 2023 rankings published by Maclean's, which ranked Sherbrooke 15th in their Medical-Doctoral university category, and 20th in their reputation ranking for Canadian universities.

Associations and student groups
There are many associations and student groups at the University of Sherbrooke.

 * ADEEP

L'association des étudiantes et étudiants en pharmacologie. This association is a group for the pharmacology students, founded in 2007.

 * FEUS

Founded in 1955, the Fédération étudiante de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents all undergraduate students in the university. With 10 member associations and over 13,000 student members, it is one of the most important lobby groups in the Estrie region. It is a member of several external organizations, having formerly been affiliated with the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), the Quebec Federation of University Students. As of 2016, it is not part of a province wide student organisation.

 * AGEFLESH

Founded in 1993, the Association générale des étudiants de la Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Letters and Humanities. It participated in the student strike movement against the $103 million in cuts to student financial assistance in the spring of 2005.

Since 2005, when it was accredited as sole representative of all students in the faculty, the association has fought against the monopoly held by a food-distribution company on the Sherbrooke Main Campus. It is preparing a business plan to set up a student cooperative cafe in the faculty.

 * AGEEMUS

Founded in 1969, the Association générale des étudiants en médecine de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents medical students attending the university's various satellite campuses (Longueuil, Chicoutimi, Moncton).

 * AGED

The Association générale étudiante de droit of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Law.

 * AGEG

The Association générale des étudiants de génie of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Engineering.

 * AGER

The Association générale des étudiants de réadaptation of the Université de Sherbrooke represents undergraduates in occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

 * AETEP

The Association des étudiants en théologie, éthique et philosophie of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Theology, Ethics and Philosophy.

 * AGES

Founded in 1959, the Association générale des étudiants en sciences of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Science. On March 17, 2010, the AGES won the Continuity Prize awarded by the FEUS at the Défi Étudiant for their 51 years of service.

 * AGEEFEUS

The Association générale des étudiants de la Faculté d'éducation de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents undergraduate students in the Faculty of Education and is a member of FEUS.

 * AGEMDEUS

The Association générale des étudiants de la maîtrise et du doctorat de la Faculté d'éducation de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents graduate students in the Faculty of Education. AGEMDEUS has over 400 members and is a member of REMDUS.

 * AEFA

The Association des étudiants de la Faculté d'administration of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Administration. This group is also an umbrella organisation for some of the other student associations. The COMITÉ CA represents people studying to be a Chartered Accountant. The COMITÉ CMA is represents Chartered Management Accountant students, and the COMITÉ CGA represents students taking a GCA degree.

FONDS ÉQUINOX represents students in finance. The people in Marketing are represented by the student association Markus. The human resources students have a group named GERHUS. RÉGIS is the association for people studying in managing information systems.

 * AGEESIUS

The Association des étudiants en science infirmière de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents students in nursing science.

 * AGEEP

The Association des étudiants en éducation physique of the Université de Sherbrooke represents students in the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education.

 * RECMUS

Regroupement des étudiants chercheurs en médecine de l'Université de Sherbrooke is a group for medical students.

 * RECPUS

The Regroupement des étudiants chercheurs en pharmacologie de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents pharmacology research students.

 * RECSEP

The Regroupement des étudiants de cycles supérieurs en études politiques represents political science students.

 * RECSUS

The Regroupement étudiant des chercheurs et chercheuses en sciences de l'Université de Sherbrooke represents graduate students from the Faculty of Sciences.

 * REMDUS

The Regroupement des étudiants en maîtrise et doctorat de l’Université de Sherbrooke represents all of the university's graduate students. It is affiliated with FEUQ, the Quebec Federation of University Students.

Notable faculty

 * Roger Côté, Former Director of the Department of Pathology, Inceptor and chair of the editorial board of the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine, the largest international clinical nomenclature hosted by the International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) since 2006.
 * Esteban Chornet, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Canadian entrepreneur and inventor. 2004 Recipient of the Prix Lionel-Boulet award by the Government of Quebec.
 * André Lussier, Professor emeritus and pioneer of clinical rheumatology in Canada.
 * Gilles Pigeon, former Dean of Medicine, 1991 recipient of the Duncan-Graham Award of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and of the Ordre des Palmes académiques (an order of chivalry of France awarded to academics and educators).
 * Pierre Deslongchamps, Professor emeritus and a leading organic chemist on the international scene.
 * Charles Thiffault (born 1939), NHL ice hockey coach
 * Louis Taillefer, Professor of Physics, Canada Research Chair in Quantum Materials. 2011 recipient of the Order of Canada for his work on understanding the behavior of electrons in matter.

Notable alumni

 * Jean Charest, Former Quebec Premier and former deputy prime minister of Canada.
 * Pierre-Marc Johnson, Former Quebec Premier
 * Liu Chao-shiuan, prime minister of Taiwan
 * Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy of Morocco (34th richest personality in Africa according to Forbes 2015)
 * Aziz Akhannouch, a Chleuh-Berber Moroccan businessman and current Prime Minister of Morocco
 * Martin Coiteux, President of the council of treasury of Quebec under the government of Philippe Couillard
 * Laurent Beaudoin, chairman of the Board of Directors of Bombardier
 * Camille Leblanc-Bazinet - Fittest Woman on Earth, 2014 Reebok Crossfit Games
 * Jean-Christophe Beaulieu, Canadian football player
 * Monique Desroches, ethnomusicologist
 * Charles Sirois, Canadian businessman
 * Jean-René Dufort, Jean-René Dufort, comedy host on television and radio
 * Ouida Ramón-Moliner, anaesthetist
 * Anne Monique Nuyt, paediatrics researcher
 * Marc Nadon, supernumerary judge and former Supreme Court nominee
 * Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec minister of Justice and French Language

Commemorative stamp
On 4 May 2004 Canada Post issued 'Sherbrooke University, 1954-2004 / Université de Sherbrooke, 1954-2004' as part of the Canadian Universities series. The stamp was based on a design by Denis L'Allier and on a photograph by Guy Lavigueur. The 49¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company.

title: Université de Sherbrooke


text:
User:Yacht

Hello! My name is Yacht, from Canton, Mainland China. I have many interests, including Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Politics, Economy, Languages etc. But I will focus on sexual orientation and gay-related topics in Chinese/Cantonese Wikipedia, in the hope of a better understanding on gay community for straight people. I am planning to translated the LGBT related entries from English Wikipedia to Chinese/Cantonese Wikipedia. Hopefully, straight community can better and correctly understand and accept gay people. I am a supporter for gay rights, including same-sex marriage and adoption. My plan is showed as below:
 * Sexual orientation - Homosexuality (in progress) | Hetrosexuality | Bisexuality | Third gender
 * LGBT rights - Gay rights movement | Same-sex marriage | Civil union | LGBT adoption | Sodomy law
 * LGBT culture - Rainbow flag | Pink triangle | Gay bar | Gay pride | List_of_lesbian,_gay,_bisexual_or_transgender-related_films
 * LGBT history - Gay liberation | Gay bashing | Stonewall riots

My Language Background
My mother tough is Cantonese, which is slightly different from Standard Cantonese or Hong Kong Cantonese with more or less some accents from my local dialect which I am not very influent in. I also used Mandarin Chinese during my study in junior middle school, senior middle school and university. I can also speak some English. Beside, I am learning Spanish.

Cantonese
大家好！我係Yacht，來自中國大陸. 本人嘅興趣比較廣泛，包括數學、物理、化學、生物學、歷史、政治、經濟學、語言學等等. 但係喺維基百科哩度，我會將精力放喺性學上，特別係性取向同埋同性戀相關議題. 為咗等大家可以更了解同志哩個群體，我主要會翻譯英文維基中嘅同志相關文章. 希望異性戀群體嘅人，通過交流，可以更正確噉了解同志. 本人支持同志平權，包括就業、婚姻同埋領養嘅議題. 下面係我嘅計劃：

 * 性取向 - 同性戀 | 異性戀 | 雙性戀 | 第三性
 * 同志權利 - 同志平權運動 | 同性婚姻 | 公民結合 | 同志領養 | 雞姦法
 * 同志文化 - 彩虹旗 | 粉紅倒三角 | 同志酒吧 | 驕傲遊行 | 同志電影
 * 同志歷史 - 同志解放運動 | 針對同志嘅暴力 | 石墻暴動

Mandarin Chinese
大家好！我是Yacht，來自中國大陸. 本人的興趣比較廣泛，包括數學、物理、化學、生物學、歷史、政治、經濟學、語言學等等. 但是在維基百科這裡，我會將精力放在性學上，特別是性取向以及同性戀相關議題. 爲了讓大家可以個了解同志這個群體，我主要會翻譯英文維基中的同志相關文章. 希望異性戀群體的人，通過交流，可以更正確地了解同志. 本人支持同志平權，包括就業、婚姻以及領養的議題. 下面是我的計劃：
 * 性取向 - 同性戀 | 異性戀 | 雙性戀 | 第三性
 * 同志權利 - 同志平權運動 | 同性婚姻 | 公民結合 | 同志領養 | 雞姦法
 * 同志文化 - 彩虹旗 | 粉紅倒三角 | 同志酒吧 | 驕傲遊行 | 同志電影
 * 同志歷史 - 同志解放運動 | 針對同志嘅暴力 | 石墻暴動

Everybody deserves a beautiful wedding
Thank you. Thank you. Good morning. I know it’s been a long night, but in spit of the polls. I want you all know that everyone here, everyone that supports us around the country have made the difference. Maybe bigger difference than I think any others ever could have imaged a few weeks ago. I know I surely couldn’t. We may have lost the battle. In my heart, I know one day we will win the war. We win because we’re gonna keep trying, because the people in friends, in families, in co-workers we will turn to have been put on notice that we will be not be treated like second class citizens because of who we love. And if you’re not out to all the people in your life, and maybe it’s time. ‘Cause those who think gay people are to destroy the institution of marriage don’t know us very well. We do not destroy, we renovate. We are gonna make marriage stronger, even more beautiful than ever. We not always agree with everyone in my family, but they are my family. This whole thing started because I believe everybody deserves a beautiful wedding…

Tools

 * User:Yacht/monobook.css
 * WikiProject_LGBT_studies

Contact
If you need a quick response from me, contact my at Cantonese Wikipedia! ^^

de:Benutzer:Yacht es:Usuario:Yacht fr:Utilisateur:Yacht zh:User:Yacht zh-yue:User:Yacht

title: User:Yacht


text:
User:Lacerta~enwiki

God, this place is dysfunctional.

title: User:Lacerta~enwiki


text:
Thunder Bay (disambiguation)

Thunder Bay is a city on Lake Superior in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Thunder Bay also refers to several other things in North America's Great Lakes region.

In Canada
Thunder Bay is the name of several places in the province of Ontario:
 * Thunder Bay District, a district in Northwestern Ontario
 * Unorganized Thunder Bay District
 * Thunder Bay (Ontario), a bay of Lake Superior in Ontario for which the district and city are named
 * Thunder Bay International Airport or Thunder Bay Water Aerodrome, aerodromes in the city of Thunder Bay
 * Thunder Bay, in the Niagara Region, a neighbourhood of Fort Erie, Ontario
 * Thunder Bay Port Authority, oversees the operation of Thunder Bay's port on behalf of Transport Canada

Electoral districts in Ontario
Current Defunct
 * Thunder Bay—Atikokan (provincial electoral district)
 * Thunder Bay—Rainy River
 * Thunder Bay—Superior North (federal electoral district)
 * Thunder Bay—Superior North (provincial electoral district)
 * Thunder Bay—Atikokan
 * Thunder Bay (electoral district)
 * Thunder Bay and Rainy River

In the United States
Thunder Bay is the name of several places in the US state of Michigan
 * Thunder Bay (Michigan), a bay of Lake Huron on which the city of Alpena is located
 * Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, marine sanctuary and underwater preserve which encompasses Thunder Bay and follows Alpena County's borders
 * Thunder Bay Island, an island within the sanctuary, near Thunder Bay
 * Thunder Bay River, a river which empties into Thunder Bay
 * A fictional city in the film Anatomy of a Murder

Sport

 * Thunder Bay Border Cats, a baseball team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is part of the collegiate summer Northwoods League
 * Thunder Bay Chill, an association football team founded in 2000 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is part of the Premier Development League
 * Thunder Bay North Stars, a Junior "A" ice hockey team founded in 2000 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is part of the Superior International Junior League
 * Thunder Bay Northern Hawks, a Junior "B" ice hockey team founded in 1999 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is part of the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League
 * Thunder Bay Fighting Walleye, a Junior "B" ice hockey team founded in 2009 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is part of the Thunder Bay Junior B Hockey League

Defunct

 * Thunder Bay Bearcats, a Junior "A" ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, part of the Superior International Junior League (2006–2009)
 * Thunder Bay Beavers, a Junior "A" ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, part of the Junior A League 1971–1978; previously known as the Vulcans and the Centennials
 * Thunder Bay Bombers, a senior ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario; it had been previously known as the Twins
 * Thunder Bay Bulldogs, a Junior "A" ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, part of the Superior International Junior League (2001–2008)
 * Thunder Bay Flyers, a Junior "A" ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, part of the Junior A League (1980–2000); previously known as the Kings
 * Thunder Bay Hornets, a Junior "A" ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, part of the Junior A League (1982–1986)
 * Thunder Bay Thunder Cats, an ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1991–1999 before moving to Rockford; previously known as the Thunder Hawks and Senators
 * Thunder Bay Twins, an ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1970–1991, member of several leagues during its existence
 * Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks, a baseball team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 1993–1998, one of the founding members of the independent Northern League
 * Thunder Bay Wolverines, an ice hockey team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 2003–2010

Other uses

 * Thunder Bay (film), a 1953 film directed by Anthony Mann
 * Thunder Bay Press, a book publisher
 * Thunder Bay (podcast), a 2018 investigative podcast series directed and hosted by Ryan McMahon
 * Thunder Bay (ship), a bulk carrier operated on the North American Great Lakes by the Canada Steamship Lines

title: Thunder Bay (disambiguation)


text:
Addington, Buckinghamshire

Addington is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about 2 mi west of Winslow and 3 mi south east of Buckingham. According to the 2001 and 2011 census' it had a population of 145. It is part of the Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority area.

First recorded as Edintone in the Domesday Book of 1086, its name means Eadda's Estate. Nearby Adstock is named after the same person. The manor at that time was in the possession of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux.

A notable building in the village is the Mansion House, which is a 19th-century building on the site of the much older manor. The former manor house was used twice during the English Civil War as the national headquarters of the Parliamentarian forces.

During the Second World War from 1940 to 1945 Addington House was the residence or safe-house of the Moravec, Strankmüller and Tauer families of the Czechoslovak Military Intelligence staff, who had their headquarters in London. It was Colonel František Moravec who planned the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (although this was masterminded in London not at Addington). The President of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Beneš, lived at The Abbey in nearby Aston Abbotts.

The parish church is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. The church has three bells (the oldest dating as far back as 1666) hung for English change ringing and one sanctus bell hung for chiming.

Possibly in November 1890, a temperature of -21.1 °C (-5.8 °F) was recorded. However, the temperature is of dubious authenticity and if it is correct, it would be the lowest temperature in November in England.

title: Addington, Buckinghamshire


text:
Branching process

In probability theory, a branching process is a type of mathematical object known as a stochastic process, which consists of collections of random variables indexed by some set, usually natural or non-negative real numbers. The original purpose of branching processes was to serve as a mathematical model of a population in which each individual in generation $$n$$ produces some random number of individuals in generation $$n+1$$, according, in the simplest case, to a fixed probability distribution that does not vary from individual to individual. Branching processes are used to model reproduction; for example, the individuals might correspond to bacteria, each of which generates 0, 1, or 2 offspring with some probability in a single time unit. Branching processes can also be used to model other systems with similar dynamics, e.g., the spread of surnames in genealogy or the propagation of neutrons in a nuclear reactor.

A central question in the theory of branching processes is the probability of ultimate extinction, where no individuals exist after some finite number of generations. Using Wald's equation, it can be shown that starting with one individual in generation zero, the expected size of generation n equals μn where μ is the expected number of children of each individual. If μ < 1, then the expected number of individuals goes rapidly to zero, which implies ultimate extinction with probability 1 by Markov's inequality. Alternatively, if μ > 1, then the probability of ultimate extinction is less than 1 (but not necessarily zero; consider a process where each individual either has 0 or 100 children with equal probability. In that case, μ = 50, but probability of ultimate extinction is greater than 0.5, since that's the probability that the first individual has 0 children). If μ = 1, then ultimate extinction occurs with probability 1 unless each individual always has exactly one child.

In theoretical ecology, the parameter μ of a branching process is called the basic reproductive rate.

Mathematical formulation
The most common formulation of a branching process is that of the Galton–Watson process. Let Zn denote the state in period n (often interpreted as the size of generation n), and let Xn,i be a random variable denoting the number of direct successors of member i in period n, where Xn,i are independent and identically distributed random variables over all n ∈{ 0, 1, 2, ...} and i ∈ {1, ..., Zn}. Then the recurrence equation is

 * $$Z_{n+1} = \sum_{i=1}^{Z_n} X_{n,i}$$

with Z0 = 1.

Alternatively, the branching process can be formulated as a random walk. Let Si denote the state in period i, and let Xi be a random variable that is iid over all i. Then the recurrence equation is

 * $$S_{i+1} = S_i+X_{i+1}-1 = \sum_{j=1}^{i+1} X_j-i$$

with S0 = 1. To gain some intuition for this formulation, imagine a walk where the goal is to visit every node, but every time a previously unvisited node is visited, additional nodes are revealed that must also be visited. Let Si represent the number of revealed but unvisited nodes in period i, and let Xi represent the number of new nodes that are revealed when node i is visited. Then in each period, the number of revealed but unvisited nodes equals the number of such nodes in the previous period, plus the new nodes that are revealed when visiting a node, minus the node that is visited. The process ends once all revealed nodes have been visited.

Continuous-time branching processes
For discrete-time branching processes, the "branching time" is fixed to be 1 for all individuals. For continuous-time branching processes, each individual waits for a random time (which is a continuous random variable), and then divides according to the given distribution. The waiting time for different individuals are independent, and are independent with the number of children. In general, the waiting time is an exponential variable with parameter λ for all individuals, so that the process is Markovian.

Extinction problem for a Galton–Watson process
The ultimate extinction probability is given by

 * $$\lim_{n \to \infty} \Pr(Z_n=0).$$

For any nontrivial cases (trivial cases are ones in which the probability of having no offspring is zero for every member of the population - in such cases the probability of ultimate extinction is 0), the probability of ultimate extinction equals one if μ ≤ 1 and strictly less than one if μ > 1.

The process can be analyzed using the method of probability generating function. Let p0, p1, p2, ... be the probabilities of producing 0, 1, 2, ... offspring by each individual in each generation. Let dm be the extinction probability by the mth generation. Obviously, d0 = 0. Since the probabilities for all paths that lead to 0 by the mth generation must be added up, the extinction probability is nondecreasing in generations. That is,

 * $$0=d_0 \leq d_1\leq d_2 \leq \cdots \leq 1.$$

Therefore, dm converges to a limit d, and d is the ultimate extinction probability. If there are j offspring in the first generation, then to die out by the mth generation, each of these lines must die out in m − 1 generations. Since they proceed independently, the probability is (dm−1) j. Thus,

 * $$d_m=p_0+p_1d_{m-1}+p_2(d_{m-1})^2+p_3(d_{m-1})^3+\cdots. \, $$

The right-hand side of the equation is a probability generating function. Let h(z) be the ordinary generating function for pi:

 * $$h(z)=p_0+p_1z+p_2z^2+\cdots. \, $$

Using the generating function, the previous equation becomes

 * $$d_m=h(d_{m-1}). \, $$

Since dm → d, d can be found by solving

 * $$d=h(d). \, $$

This is also equivalent to finding the intersection point(s) of lines y = z and y = h(z) for z ≥ 0. y = z is a straight line. y = h(z) is an increasing (since $$h'(z) = p_1 + 2 p_2 z + 3 p_3 z^2 + \cdots \geq 0$$) and convex (since $$h''(z) = 2 p_2 + 6 p_3 z + 12 p_4 z^2 + \cdots \geq 0$$) function. There are at most two intersection points. Since (1,1) is always an intersect point for the two functions, there only exist three cases:

Case 1 has another intersect point at z < 1 (see the red curve in the graph).

Case 2 has only one intersect point at z = 1.(See the green curve in the graph)

Case 3 has another intersect point at z > 1.(See the black curve in the graph)

In case 1, the ultimate extinction probability is strictly less than one. For case 2 and 3, the ultimate extinction probability equals to one.

By observing that h′(1) = p1 + 2p2 + 3p3 + ... = μ is exactly the expected number of offspring a parent could produce, it can be concluded that for a branching process with generating function h(z) for the number of offspring of a given parent, if the mean number of offspring produced by a single parent is less than or equal to one, then the ultimate extinction probability is one. If the mean number of offspring produced by a single parent is greater than one, then the ultimate extinction probability is strictly less than one.

Size dependent branching processes
Along with discussion of a more general model of branching processes known as age-dependent branching processes by Grimmett, in which individuals live for more than one generation, Krishna Athreya has identified three distinctions between size-dependent branching processes which have general application. Athreya identifies the three classes of size-dependent branching processes as sub-critical, stable, and super-critical branching measures. For Athreya, the central parameters are crucial to control if sub-critical and super-critical unstable branching is to be avoided. Size dependent branching processes are also discussed under the topic of resource-dependent branching process

Example of extinction problem
Consider a parent can produce at most two offspring. The extinction probability in each generation is:

 * $$d_m=p_0+p_1d_{m-1}+p_2(d_{m-1})^2. \, $$

with d0 = 0. For the ultimate extinction probability, we need to find d which satisfies d = p0 + p1d + p2d2.

Taking as example probabilities for the numbers of offspring produced p0 = 0.1, p1 = 0.6, and p2 = 0.3, the extinction probability for the first 20 generations is as follows:

In this example, we can solve algebraically that d = 1/3, and this is the value to which the extinction probability converges with increasing generations.

Simulating branching processes
Branching processes can be simulated for a range of problems. One specific use of simulated branching process is in the field of evolutionary biology. Phylogenetic trees, for example, can be simulated under several models, helping to develop and validate estimation methods as well as supporting hypothesis testing.

Multitype branching processes
In multitype branching processes, individuals are not identical, but can be classified into n types. After each time step, an individual of type i will produce individuals of different types, and $$\mathbf{X}_i$$, a random vector representing the numbers of children in different types, satisfies a probability distribution on $$\mathbb{N}^n$$.

For example, consider the population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and non-stem cancer cells (NSCCs). After each time interval, each CSC has probability $$p_1$$ to produce two CSCs (symmetric division), probability $$p_2$$ to produce one CSC and one NSCC (asymmetric division), probability $$p_3$$ to produce one CSC (stagnation), and probability $$1-p_1-p_2-p_3$$ to produce nothing (death); each NSCC has probability $$p_4$$ to produce two NSCCs (symmetric division), probability $$p_5$$ to produce one NSCC (stagnation), and probability $$1-p_4-p_5$$ to produce nothing (death).

Law of large numbers for multitype branching processes
For multitype branching processes that the populations of different types grow exponentially, the proportions of different types converge almost surely to a constant vector under some mild conditions. This is the strong law of large numbers for multitype branching processes.

For continuous-time cases, proportions of the population expectation satisfy an ODE system, which has a unique attracting fixed point. This fixed point is just the vector that the proportions converge to in the law of large numbers.

The monograph by Athreya and Ney summarizes a common set of conditions under which this law of large numbers is valid. Later there are some improvements through discarding different conditions.

Other branching processes
There are many other branching processes, for example, branching processes in random environments, in which the reproduction law is chosen randomly at each generation, or branching processes, where the growth of the population is controlled by external influences or interacting processes. Branching processes where particles have to work (contribute resources to the environment) in order to be able to reproduce, and live in a changing society structure controlling the distribution of resources, are so-called resource-dependent branching processes.

The scaling limit of near-critical branching processes can be used to obtain superprocesses.

title: Branching process


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Solo whist

Solo whist is the English form of Wiezen (Belgian or Ghent Whist), a simple game of the Boston family played in the Low Countries. It is a trick-taking card game for four players in which players can bid to make eight tricks in trumps with any partner, or a solo contract playing against the other three players. Thus it combines both partnership and cut-throat play. Scoring is with small stakes won or paid out on each hand.

History
Wiezen or Belgian Whist, a simple form of Boston, has been played in the Low Countries since the early 19th Century. The game was introduced to London in 1852 by a family of Dutch Jews. It quickly became popular in London's Jewish Community and was known as Solo Whist. In the early 1870s Solo Whist was played as a low stakes gambling game in London's sporting clubs as a replacement for more complex and slower games like Whist.

Solo Whist continued to be played as a social gambling game in homes and pubs during the 20th Century in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, however, its popularity declined as Contract Bridge's rose.

Dealing
The cards are shuffled by the dealer and cut by the player to dealer's right. Cards are usually dealt 3,3,3,3,1 with the last card to the dealer dealt face up to indicate the trump suit. Others deal with a rotating 4th card: 4333, 3433, 3343, 3334 or deal the cards singly as in Bridge.

Bidding
Beginning with the player to dealer's left, each competitor may make one of the bids in the table below or pass. If someone bids, then subsequent players can either pass or bid higher. The bidding continues around the table as many times as necessary until the contract is settled. If everyone passes or there is a Prop without a Cop then the hands are thrown in and dealt again.

Play
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, except in the case of an Abundance Declared in which case the bidder leads. Any card may be led and the other three players must follow suit where possible. A player with no card of the led suit may play a trump. If any trumps are played, then the trick is won by the highest trump card. If there are no trumps, it is won by the highest card in the suit that was led. The winner of the trick gets to lead to the next. Once a player has succeeded or failed in their bid, scores are adjusted. The deal then passes to the left and the next hand begins.

Morris Fagelson
A common version of Solo played among the Jewish community in Essex and East London show the following differences:

 * A Prop and Cop pairing need to win seven tricks. Players only get one bid, except the person to the dealer's left who is able to bid twice, although, if someone Props without a Cop, they still have the option to upgrade to a Solo no matter where they sit. The Proposer picks the trump in an Abundance Declared hand.

Straight Solo

 * In this variation, Prop and Cop is eliminated and only individual hands are allowed.

High-scoring Solo

 * To increase the proportion of distributional hands, some play that the cards are only lightly shuffled, shuffled only at the beginning, after a bid of abundance, or not shuffled at all. This can be enforced with 1 point penalty for shuffling inappropriately.

Different Trumps

 * To avoid turning the dealer's last dealt card for trump, a second pack can be used for cutting Trumps. Like any form of Whist, Solo Whist can be played with rotating trumps: H, D, C, S as in Bridge Whist. No Trumps can be included in the rotation. Or the game can be played with a fixed Trump suit as in Spades.

Grand Slam Solo

 * Uses rules for the Straight Solo and High-scoring Solo above, as well as the cyclical trump order described in "Different Trumps" above. Additionally, the "Abundance Declared" is replaced with two bids:  A Petit Slam and a Grand Slam.  The Petit Slam requires the bidder to make 12 tricks, and is scored above a Royal Abundance but below a Misère Ouverte.  The Grand Slam, like an Abundance Declared, requires the bidder to make all 13 tricks, and ranks above all other bids.   Both the Petit and Grand Slam bids allow the declarer to choose the trump suit.

Overtricks

 * To spice up the game further, some play with a payment for overtricks in Prop and Cop, Solo and Abundance. In that case it is usual to set the basic score for a solo as four, five or six units, increasing the other scores in proportion. Each overtrick or undertrick in a Prop and Cop or Solo is worth an extra unit. In Abundance, overtricks gain an extra two units each, but undertricks cost only one unit each. There is no score for over or undertricks in Misère, Misère Ouverte or Abundance Declared.

Irish Solo
Solo Whist is not to be confused with Irish Solo, which is not related to Solo Whist, German Solo or Spanish Solo. It is a form of Cut-Throat Bid Whist for four players. The suit rankings are the same as Contract Bridge (NT,S,H,D,C) but the bids are for a number of tricks and denomination like in 500 or Preferans, not for odd tricks as in Bridge. So a bid of Six Spades is an undertaking to make six tricks and would be beaten by a bid of Six No Trumps or Seven Clubs. The winner of the auction is Declarer and plays solo against the other three players. A bid of Misère is an undertaking to win no tricks, and is equivalent in rank to a bid of 12 Tricks.

Pot betting is sometimes played, with the pot equal to an agreed stake multiplied by the number of tricks bid. If Declarer makes their contract they are paid 1/3 the value of the pot by each of the other three players. If they fail they pay out 1/3 of the Pot to each of the other players.

In literature
In Robert W Service's poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew", Dan McGrew is playing Solo in the back of the bar. His bid is "Spread Misère" (Misère Ouverte).

Trivia

 * The words "Misère", "Ouverte", "Grand", and "Petit" are French and mean misery, open, large, and small, respectively. The hands Royal Abundance and Abundance Declared are also known as Abundance Royale and Abundance Declaree; Abundance is sometimes nicknamed Bundle.

title: Solo whist


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Fire ant

Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus Solenopsis, which includes over 200 species. Solenopsis are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the names shared by this genus are often used interchangeably to refer to other species of ant, such as the term red ant, mostly because of their similar coloration despite not being in the genus Solenopsis. Both Myrmica rubra and Pogonomyrmex barbatus are common examples of non-Solenopsis ants being termed red ants.

None of these names apply to all species of Solenopsis nor only to Solenopsis species; for example the colloquial names for several species of weaver ants in the genus Oecophylla in Southeast Asia include "fire ants" because of their similar coloration and painful bites; the two genera, however, are not closely related. Wasmannia auropunctata is another unrelated ant commonly called the "little fire ant" due to its potent sting.

Appearance
The bodies of mature fire ants, like the bodies of all typical mature insects, are divided into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae. Fire ants of those species invasive in the United States can be distinguished from other ants locally present by their copper brown head and thorax with a darker abdomen. The worker ants are blackish to reddish and their size varies from 2 to 6 mm. In an established nest these different sizes of ants are all present at the same time.

Solenopsis spp. ants can be identified by three body features—a pedicel with two nodes, an unarmed propodeum, and antennae with 10 segments plus a two-segmented club. Many ants bite, and formicine ants can cause irritation by spraying formic acid; myrmecine ants like fire ants have a dedicated venom-injecting sting, which injects an alkaloid venom, as well as mandibles for biting.

Behavior
A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants, insects and seeds. Fire ants often attack small animals such as small lizards and can kill them. Unlike many other ants, which bite and then spray acid on the wound, fire ants bite only to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom called solenopsin, a compound from the class of piperidines. For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire (hence the name), and the after-effects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive people. Fire ants are more aggressive than most native species, so have pushed many species away from their local habitat. One such species that Solenopsis ants parasitically take advantage of are bees, such as Euglossa imperialis, a nonsocial orchid bee species, from which the ants enter the cells from below the nest and rob the cell's contents.

These ants are renowned for their ability to survive extreme conditions. They do not hibernate, but can survive cold conditions, although this is costly to fire ant populations as observed during several winters in Tennessee, where 80 to 90% of colonies died due to several consecutive days of extremely low temperatures.

Fire ants have been known to form mutualistic relationships with several species of Lycaenidae and Riodinidae butterflies. In Lycaena rubidus, the larvae secrete a fluid that is high in sugar content. Fire ants bring the larvae back to the nest, and protect them through the pupal stage in exchange for feeding on the fluid. In Eurybia elvina, fire ants were observed to frequently construct soil shelters over later instars of larvae on inflorescences on which the larvae are found.

Fire ants nest in the soil, often near moist areas, such as river banks, pond shores, watered lawns, and highway shoulders. Usually, the nest will not be visible, as it will be built under objects such as timber, logs, rocks, or bricks. If no cover for nesting is available, dome-shaped mounds are constructed, but these are usually only found in open spaces, such as fields, parks, and lawns. These mounds can reach heights of 40 cm, but can be even higher on heavier soils, standing at 1.0 m in height and 1.5 m in diameter. Colonies are founded by small groups of queens or single queens. Even if only one queen survives, within a month or so, the colony can expand to thousands of individuals. Some colonies may be polygynous (having multiple queens per nest).

Fire ants are resilient and can survive floods. During Hurricane Harvey in Texas in 2017, clumps of fire ants, known as rafts, were seen clumped together on the surface of the water. Each clump had as many as 100,000 individual ants, which formed a temporary structure until finding a new permanent home. Ants clumped in this way will recognize different fluid flow conditions and adapt their behavior accordingly to preserve the raft's stability.

Fire ants dig tunnels efficiently using about 30% of the population of the colony, thereby avoiding congestion in tunnels.

Queen
Fire ant queens, the reproductive females in their colony, also are generally the largest. Their primary function is reproduction. Typically, a fire ant queen will seek to establish a new colony following a nuptial flight, wherein it will use its special venom to paralyze offending competitors, in the absence of workers for defense. Fire ant queens may live up to seven years and can produce up to 1,600 eggs per day, and colonies will have as many as 250,000 workers. The estimated potential life span is around 5 years and 10 months to 6 years and 9 months. Young, virgin fire ant queens have wings (as do male fire ants), but they often cut them off after mating. Occasionally, a queen will keep its wings after mating and through her first year.

Males (drones)
Male fire ants mate with queens during a nuptial flight. After a male has successfully inseminated a queen, he will not get accepted back to the mother colony, and will eventually die outside the nest.

Workers
The other roles in an ant colony are usually undertaken by workers. Fire ant workers are haphazardly divided into different size classes, namely minima, minor, media, and major workers. The major ants are known for their larger size and more powerful mandibles typically used in macerating and storing food items (i.e. as repletes), while smaller workers take care of regular tasks (the main tasks in a colony are caring for the eggs/larvae/pupae, cleaning the nest, and foraging for food). However, Solenopsis daguerrei colonies contain no workers, as they are considered social parasites.

Invasive species

Although most fire ant species do not bother people and are not invasive, Solenopsis invicta, known in the United States as the red imported fire ant (or RIFA), is an invasive pest in many areas of the world, including the United States, Australia, China and Taiwan. The RIFA was believed to have been accidentally introduced to these countries via shipping crates, particularly with Australia when they were first found in Brisbane in 2001. These ants have now since been spotted in Sydney for the first time. They were believed to be in the Philippines, but they are most likely to be misidentified for Solenopsis geminata ants.

In the US, the FDA estimates that more than US$5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control in RIFA-infested areas. Furthermore, the ants cause approximately $750 million in damage annually to agricultural assets, including veterinarian bills and livestock loss, as well as crop loss. Over 40 million people live in RIFA-infested areas in the southeastern United States. It is estimated that 30–60% of the people living in fire ant-infested areas of the US are stung each year. RIFA are currently found mainly in subtropical southeastern USA states including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and California.

Since September 2004, Taiwan has been seriously affected by the red fire ant. The US, Taiwan and Australia all have ongoing national programs to control or eradicate the species, but with the exception of those in Australia, none have been especially effective. In Australia, there is an intensive program costing A$175 million, although the fire ant has remained despite efforts. By July 2013, multiple sites west of Brisbane were confirmed, including the Lockyer Valley, Muirlea and Goodna. According to a study published in 2009, it took only seventy years for the lizards in parts of the United States to adapt to the ant's presence; they now have longer legs and new behaviors that aid them in escaping from the danger.

Solenopsis invicta is the most famous species in this genus, especially in the US, however several other species are similarly dangerous and invasive, such as Solenopsis geminata, which has invaded most of the tropical countries, wreaking havoc in medical systems especially in unprepared countries and islands.

Sting symptoms and treatment
The venom of fire ants is mainly (>95%) composed of oily alkaloids structurally derived from piperidine (also known as solenopsins) mixed with a small amount of toxic proteins. Fire ant stings are painful, characterised by a local burning sensation, followed by urticaria. The sting site typically swells into a bump within hours, which can cause further pain and irritation, especially following several stings at the same place. The bump may develop into a white pustule within 24–36 hours which can become infected if scratched, but will spontaneously flatten within a few days if left alone. The pustules are obtrusive and uncomfortable while active and, if they become infected, may cause scarring. Some people may become allergic to the venom, and if untreated, may become increasingly sensitive to the point of experiencing anaphylaxis following fire ant stings, which requires emergency treatment. Management of an emergency visit due to anaphylaxis is recommended with the use of adrenaline. It has been demonstrated that, whilst pustule formation results from the injected venom alkaloids, allergy to fire ant stings is caused solely by venom allergenic proteins.

First aid for fire ant stings includes external treatments and oral medicines. There are also many home remedies of varying efficacy, including immediate application of a solution of half bleach and half water, or aloe vera gel – the latter of which is also often included in over-the-counter creams that also include medically tested and verified treatments. External, topical treatments include the anesthetic benzocaine, the antihistamine diphenhydramine, and the corticosteroid hydrocortisone. Antihistamines or topical corticosteroids may help reduce the itching and will generally benefit local sting reactions. Oral medicine include antihistamines. Severe allergic reactions to fire ant stings, including severe chest pain, nausea, severe sweating, loss of breath, serious swelling, and slurred speech, can be fatal if not treated.

Predators
Phorid flies, or Phoridae, are a large family of small, hump-backed flies somewhat smaller than vinegar flies; two species in this family (Pseudacteon tricuspis and Pseudacteon curvatus) are parasitoids of the red imported fire ant in its native range in South America. Some 110 species of the genus Pseudacteon, or ant-decapitating flies, have been described. Members of Pseudacteon reproduce by laying eggs in the thorax of the ant. The first instar larvae migrates to the head, then develops by feeding on the hemolymph, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. After about two weeks, they cause the ant's head to fall off by releasing an enzyme that dissolves the membrane attaching the ant's head to its body. The fly pupates in the detached head capsule, emerging two weeks later.

Pseudacteon flies appear to be important ecological constraints on Solenopsis species and they have been introduced throughout the southern United States, starting with Travis, Brazos, and Dallas counties in Texas, as well as south central Alabama, where the ants first entered North America.

The Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, is native only to North and South Carolina in the United States. About 33% of the prey of the Venus flytrap are ants of various species. They lure their prey with a sweet sap. Once the prey has entered the trap and within about three seconds of touching two or three "trigger hairs" on the surface of the trap, the leaf closes around the prey and digests it. The majority of ants that are captured include non-native RIFAs, and three other species of ants. Other carnivorous plants, such as sundews (Drosera) and various kinds of pitcher plants also trap many ants.

Key natural enemies of fire ants also include other ant species which will attack prospective queens during the nest founding period, when there is an absence of workers to defend the emergent colony. Frequent competitors of fire ant founding queens include other Solenopsis thief ant species, and some invasive pest species, such as the tawny crazy ant, and the black crazy ant.

A number of entomopathogenic fungi are also natural enemies of fire ants, such as Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae . The latter is commercially available for the biological control (as an alternative to conventional pesticides) of various pest insects, and a new proposed technology has increased its shelf life and efficiency against fire ants.

Species
The genus Solenopsis contains over 200 species. Not all species included in the genus are known as fire ants, but most are small slow-moving ants which are unable to sting, called thief ants. "True" fire ants are but a group of about 20 species of Solenopsis which are larger, and will viciously sting in swarms whenever disturbed. Some of the most studied species include:

 * Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972
 * Solenopsis richteri Forel, 1909
 * Solenopsis saevissima (Smith, 1855)
 * Solenopsis silvestrii Emery, 1906
 * Solenopsis solenopsidis (Kusnezov, 1953)
 * Solenopsis xyloni McCook, 1879
 * Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804)

title: Fire ant


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Adam Brody

Adam Jared Brody (born December 15, 1979) is an American actor. His breakout role was as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series The O.C. (2003–2007). In the first decade of the 21st century, Brody appeared in films including Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Thank You for Smoking (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), and Jennifer's Body (2009).

In the 2010s, Brody had supporting roles in comedies including Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) and Sleeping with Other People (2015), and dramatic films such as Lovelace (2013). He appeared in a number of television series during this time, and starred in and produced the television series StartUp (2016–2018).

Brody has appeared in the DC superhero film Shazam! (2019) and its sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and in the thriller films Ready or Not (2019) and Promising Young Woman (2020). He also starred in the mystery film The Kid Detective (2020) and the Hulu miniseries Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022).

Early life
Brody was born in San Diego, California, to Valerie Jill (née Siefman), a graphic artist, and Mark Alan Brody, an attorney. He has younger twin brothers, Sean and Matthew (born 1985). His parents, both Jewish, are originally from Detroit. Brody had a bar mitzvah ceremony and grew up celebrating Hanukkah.

Brody grew up in suburban San Diego, where he attended Wangenheim Middle School and Scripps Ranch High School and received "poor grades". He spent much of his time surfing, admitting that he "pretty much lived at the beach".

Brody attended community college at MiraCosta College for one year, dropping out at the age of 19, he then moved to Hollywood to become an actor.

Acting career
After a year of training and auditioning, Brody landed the role of Barry Williams in the television film Growing Up Brady (2000) and appeared in the Canadian comedy series The Sausage Factory. In 2001, he had a minor role in American Pie 2. Brody's first major television role came in 2002, when he was cast in a recurring role on the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls as Dave Rygalski, Lane's bandmate and love interest.

In 2003, Brody appeared in the movie Grind and the music video for "Too Bad About Your Girl" by the Donnas. That year, he was cast in his breakout role as Seth Cohen on the teen drama series The O.C., where he reportedly improvised some of the character's comedic dialogue. The role turned him into a teen idol, with the character described by the Los Angeles Times as "TV's sexiest geek" and by Time as having "redefined" the screen persona of "unapologetic" nerdiness. Brody was the first male on the cover of Elle Girl.

In 2005, Brody had a supporting role in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and played a Hollywood studio assistant in the film adaptation of Thank You for Smoking (2006). His next film role was in the romantic comedy In the Land of Women (2007), as a writer who returns to his mother's Michigan hometown to take care of his sick grandmother. He did not have to audition for the part, but was almost unable to appear in the film because of scheduling conflicts with the second season of The O.C.; the film's director pushed filming back eight months because he wanted Brody to star. The O.C. ended its run in 2007 after four seasons. Brody had said that he was "not unhappy" with the show's cancellation, and that although he was "fortunate" to be on a successful series, he was also glad to "not be on it for 10 years".

After the end of The O.C. run, Brody turned to a full-time film career. In 2007, he appeared in supporting roles in the films Smiley Face and The Ten. In 2009, he starred in Boaz Yakin's drama Death in Love and in Diablo Cody's horror film Jennifer's Body. In 2010, he appeared in Kevin Smith's film Cop Out, and then in The Romantics. In July 2010, it was announced that he had worked play Detective Hoss in Scream 4, which was released in April 2011. In 2011, he voiced Woodie in the MTV animated series Good Vibes, and appeared in The Oranges.

In January 2012, it was announced that Brody had joined the cast of Lovelace, a biopic about late 1970s porn star Linda Lovelace, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Brody portrayed Harry Reems. He starred in Some Girl(s), which premiered at the 2013 SXSW Festival. He appeared in Life Partners (2014). In 2015, he appeared in Sleeping with Other People and starred as Billy Jones in Direct TV's sitcom Billy and Billie.

In 2016, Brody starred in Sony Crackle's drama series StartUp. He played the older version of Jack Dylan Grazer's character in the superhero film Shazam! and starred in the thriller Ready or Not, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for Fox Searchlight. The films were released in April and August 2019, respectively, both to positive reviews. Brody has also appeared as Max Larssen in the eight-part drama Curfew, beginning in February 2019.

Other works
Aside from acting, Brody is credited as a musician and writer; he says that he "writes screenplays and songs during [his] spare time." In 2003, he wrote and produced the short film Home Security.

In 2005, Brody, along with Nathaniel Castro, Bret Harrison, and Brad Babinski, formed the Los Angeles–based rock band Big Japan, with Brody as the lead drummer. Their first release, Music for Dummies, was digitally released through Nightshift Records on August 23, 2005. The four-piece indie band played gigs at pubs and festivals from 2005 to 2007 such as The Knitting Factory, Bamboozle Left, The Roxy, Spaceland, and The Viper Room.

In 2007, Brody, with Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, co-wrote a comic-book miniseries for DC's Wildstorm Comics titled Red Menace. The limited series had six issues and was collected into a trade paperback. Since 2010, Brody has played drums in the project band The Shortcoats; they released their first EP, This Time Last Year, on October 4, 2011. Their song "Morning, Shipwreck," which Brody co-wrote, is featured in the sitcom Ben and Kate and the 2015 film The Meddler.

Personal life
Brody is a secular Jew and is non-religious. He has described himself as a "faux intellectual" and is a member of the Democratic Party. He has joined voting action campaigns including Swing Left.

In March 2010, Brody met actress Leighton Meester while filming The Oranges in Westchester, New York. They were engaged in November 2013 and married in a private ceremony on February 15, 2014. Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2015. In 2020, they revealed they were expecting their second child, a son who was born later that year.

title: Adam Brody