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Gertie the Dinosaur is an animated short film released in 1914 by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the first animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay initially presented the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie performed tricks at her master's command. McCay's employer William Randolph Hearst curtailed his vaudeville activities, prompting McCay to add a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release, which was renamed Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist, and Gertie. McCay abandoned a sequel, Gertie on Tour (c. 1921), after producing about a minute of footage.

Although Gertie is popularly thought to be the earliest animated film, McCay had previously made Little Nemo (1911) and How a Mosquito Operates (1912). The American J. Stuart Blackton and the French Émile Cohl had experimented with animation even earlier. Gertie being a character with an appealing personality distinguished McCay's film from these earlier "trick films". Gertie was the first film to employ several animation techniques, like keyframes, registration marks, tracing paper, the Mutoscope action viewer, and animation loops. It influenced the next generation of animators, including the Fleischer brothers, Otto Messmer, Paul Terry, Walter Lantz, and Walt Disney. John Randolph Bray unsuccessfully tried to patent many of McCay's animation techniques and is said to have been behind a plagiarized version of Gertie that appeared a year or two after the original. Gertie is the best preserved of McCay's films—some of which have been lost or survive only in fragments—and has been preserved in the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" since 1991.

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Flotilla is a 2010 turn-based strategy space combat video game developed by Brendon Chung's studio, Blendo Games. The game was released in March 2010 on Steam for Microsoft Windows and on Xbox Live Indie Games for the Xbox 360. Flotilla was designed with Microsoft's XNA tools, and its development was influenced by animal characteristics and behavior as well as board games such as Axis and Allies and Arkham Horror. The game takes the player in an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy.

Chung began developing Flotilla immediately after the closure of Pandemic Studios, where he had worked as a designer. The new game used assets imported from Chung's early space combat prototype, Space Piñata. Flotilla incorporates several pieces of classical music in its score, such as Chopin's "Raindrop" prelude. It received mixed reviews from video game media outlets, scoring 72 out of 100 on review aggregate website Metacritic, and was included in Mike Rose's book 250 Indie Games You Must Play.

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Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (French: [pjɛʁ lwi ʒozεf bulɛz]; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music.

Born in Montbrison, in the Loire department of France, the son of an engineer, Boulez studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Olivier Messiaen, and privately with Andrée Vaurabourg and René Leibowitz. He began his professional career in the late 1940s as music director of the Renaud-Barrault theatre company in Paris. He was a leading figure in avant-garde music, playing an important role in the development of integral serialism in the 1950s, controlled chance music in the 1960s and the electronic transformation of instrumental music in real time from the 1970s onwards. His tendency to revise earlier compositions meant that his body of work was relatively small, but it included pieces considered landmarks of twentieth-century music, such as Le Marteau sans maître, Pli selon pli and Répons. His uncompromising commitment to modernism and the trenchant, polemical tone in which he expressed his views on music led some to criticise him as a dogmatist.

Boulez was also one of the most prominent conductors of his generation. In a career lasting more than sixty years, he was music director of the New York Philharmonic, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. He made frequent appearances with many other orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic. He was known for his performances of the music of the first half of the twentieth century—including Debussy and Ravel, Stravinsky and Bartók, and the Second Viennese School—as well as that of his contemporaries, such as Ligeti, Berio and Carter. His work in the opera house included the production of Wagner's Ring cycle for the centenary of the Bayreuth Festival, and the world premiere of the three-act version of Berg's opera Lulu. His recorded legacy is extensive.

He also founded several musical institutions. In Paris he set up the Domaine musical in the 1950s to promote new music; in the 1970s he established the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique / Musique (IRCAM), to foster research and innovation in music, and the Ensemble intercontemporain, a chamber orchestra specialising in contemporary music. Later he co-founded the Cité de la musique, a concert hall, museum and library dedicated to music in the Parc de la Villette in Paris and, in Switzerland, the Lucerne Festival Academy, an international orchestra of young musicians, with which he gave first performances of many new works.

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Hassium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Hs and atomic number 108. It is highly radioactive: its most stable known isotopes have half-lives of about ten seconds.[a] One of its isotopes, 270Hs, has magic numbers of protons and neutrons for deformed nuclei, giving it greater stability against spontaneous fission. Hassium is a superheavy element; it has been produced in a laboratory in very small quantities by fusing heavy nuclei with lighter ones. Natural occurrences of hassium have been hypothesized but never found.

In the periodic table, hassium is a transactinide element, a member of the 7th period and group 8; it is thus the sixth member of the 6d series of transition metals. Chemistry experiments have confirmed that hassium behaves as the heavier homologue to osmium, reacting readily with oxygen to form a volatile tetroxide. The chemical properties of hassium have been only partly characterized, but they compare well with the chemistry of the other group 8 elements.

The main innovation that led to the discovery of hassium was cold fusion, where the fused nuclei do not differ by mass as much as in earlier techniques. It relied on greater stability of target nuclei, which in turn decreased excitation energy. This decreased the number of neutrons ejected during synthesis, creating heavier, more stable resulting nuclei. The technique was first tested at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, in 1974. JINR used this technique to attempt synthesis of element 108 in 1978, in 1983, and in 1984; the latter experiment resulted in a claim that element 108 had been produced. Later in 1984, a synthesis claim followed from the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Hesse, West Germany. The 1993 report by the Transfermium Working Group, formed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), concluded that the report from Darmstadt was conclusive on its own whereas that from Dubna was not, and major credit was assigned to the German scientists. GSI formally announced they wished to name the element hassium after the German state of Hesse (Hassia in Latin), home to the facility in 1992; this name was accepted as final in 1997.

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Interstate 182 (I-182) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Washington. It serves as a connector from I-82 to the Tri-Cities region that crosses the Columbia River on the Interstate 182 Bridge between Richland and Pasco. I-182 is 15 miles (24 km) long and entirely concurrent with U.S. Route 12 (US 12); it also intersects State Route 240 (SR 240) and US 395.

Business leaders in the Tri-Cities began lobbying for a freeway in 1958 after early alignments for I-82 were routed away from the area. I-182 was created by the federal government in 1969 as a compromise to the routing dispute, which allowed for direct access to the Tri-Cities and a bypass for other traffic. The new freeway would also include construction of a bridge between Richland and Pasco, proposed since the 1940s at the site of an earlier cable ferry that ran until 1931.

Construction on I-182 was scheduled to begin in 1971, but was delayed by opposition from conservation groups, disputes over interchange locations, and a federal freeze on highway funding in 1980. The first section to be built, over the Yakima River west of Richland, began construction in late 1980 and opened to traffic three years later. The Interstate 182 Bridge opened in November 1984 and linked to a longer section opened a month earlier in Pasco connecting to the existing US 12 bypass. The final sections of the freeway, between I-82 and Richland, opened to traffic in March 1986.

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Hurricane Cindy was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana in July 2005. The third named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Cindy developed from a tropical wave on July 3, off the east coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Soon after, it moved over land before emerging into the Gulf of Mexico. Cindy tracked toward the northern Gulf Coast and strengthened to reach maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h), making it a Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane struck near Grand Isle, Louisiana, on July 5 at peak intensity, but weakened by the time it made a second landfall along southern Mississippi. Cindy weakened over the southeastern United States and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone as it merged with a cold front on July 7. The remnants of Cindy produced an outbreak of 42 tornadoes across six states. Eventually, the remnants of Cindy moved into Atlantic Canada, dissipating on July 13 over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Along its path, Cindy produced heavy rainfall, causing flooding and contributing to six traffic deaths – one in Alabama, two in Georgia, and three in Maryland. The hurricane's damage was estimated at US$320 million,[nb 1] and was significant enough for five Louisiana parishes to be declared federal disaster areas. Along the Gulf Coast, Cindy produced high tides, causing beach erosion and flooding that closed some roads. The storm caused the most extensive power outage in the New Orleans area since Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The tornado outbreak associated with Cindy spawned several strong tornadoes, including an F2 tornado in Hampton, Georgia, that caused US$70 million in damage. The damage shut down the Atlanta Motor Speedway for two months. Another F2 tornado in North Carolina destroyed a dairy barn and damaged several buildings. Rainfall from the storm extended into the Mid-Atlantic, causing water rescues in Virginia and Pennsylvania. On July 9, the remnants of the storm set a rainfall record in Montpelier, Vermont, when its airport recorded 2.15 in (55 mm) of precipitation. Many of the areas affected by Cindy were struck by hurricanes Dennis and Katrina in the following weeks.

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"Your Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). She wrote the track with Marc Shemer, who also produced it with her under the name Scram Jones. The lyrics of "Your Girl" are about confidently approaching a potential lover. To convey this sentiment, Carey employs belting as part of her vocal performance. Influenced by disco, gospel, jazz, pop, and soul, the music drew comparisons with works by rapper Kanye West. It samples vocals and an acoustic guitar from the 2003 Adeaze song "A Life with You".

Some reviewers considered "Your Girl" as one of the best tracks on The Emancipation of Mimi; others criticized the vocals. Regretful that it was not issued as a single from the album, Carey later released two remixes featuring rappers Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, and N.O.R.E as part of a 2021 digital extended play. She has performed the song live during the 2006 Adventures of Mimi concert tour and the 2024 Celebration of Mimi concert residency in Las Vegas.

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The Apollo 15 postal covers incident was a 1972 NASA scandal involving the astronauts of Apollo 15, who carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers into space and to the Moon's surface on the Lunar Module Falcon. Some of the envelopes were sold at high prices by West German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger, and are known as "Sieger covers". The crew of Apollo 15—David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin—agreed to take payments for carrying the covers; though they returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA. Amid much press coverage of the incident, the astronauts were called before a closed session of a Senate committee and never flew in space again.

The three astronauts and an acquaintance, Horst Eiermann, had agreed to have the covers made and taken into space. Each astronaut was to receive about $7,000 (equivalent to $53,000 in 2024[1]). Scott arranged to have the covers postmarked on the morning of the Apollo 15 launch on July 26, 1971. They were packaged for space and brought to him as he prepared for liftoff; he brought them aboard in a pocket of his space suit. They were not included on the list of the personal items he was taking into space. The covers spent July 30 to August 2 on the Moon inside Falcon. On August 7, the date of splashdown, the covers were postmarked again on the recovery carrier USS Okinawa. One hundred were sent to Eiermann (and passed on to Sieger); the remaining covers were divided among the astronauts.

Worden had agreed to carry 144 additional covers, largely for an acquaintance, F. Herrick Herrick; these had been approved for travel to space. Apollo 15 carried a total of about 641 covers. In late 1971, when NASA learned that the Herrick covers were being sold, the astronauts' supervisor, Deke Slayton, warned Worden to avoid further commercialization of what he had been allowed to take into space. After Slayton heard of the Sieger arrangement, he removed the three as backup crew members for Apollo 17, though the astronauts had by then returned compensation from Sieger. The Sieger matter became generally known in the newspapers in June 1972. There was widespread coverage, with the astronauts portrayed negatively for their actions.

By 1977, all three former astronauts had left NASA. In February 1983, Worden sued, alleging the government's seizure in 1972 of 298 of the envelopes without a hearing had violated the Constitution. The Department of Justice concluded it had no grounds for fighting the suit, and the government returned all the covers in an out-of-court settlement that July. One of the postal covers given to Sieger sold for over $50,000 in 2014 (equivalent to $66,000 in 2024[1]).

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Bartholomew Jo-Jo Simpson, commonly known as Bart Simpson, is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons who is part of the Simpson family. Bart made his television debut in the short "Good Night" on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Initially called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell, Groening developed a new set of characters. Unlike the other Simpson family members, who were named after Groening's relatives, Bart's name is an anagram of brat. After two years on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family received their own series, which premiered on Fox on December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every episode of The Simpsons except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".

At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge Simpson and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Known for his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority, Bart's most iconic traits include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence, prank calls to Moe's Tavern, and catchphrases like "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!", and "I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?". Bart has also appeared in The Simpsons'-related media, including video games, the film version of the series, The Simpsons Ride, commercials, comic books, and an extensive line of merchandise. Nancy Cartwright, Bart's voice actor, intended to audition for the role of Lisa, and Yeardley Smith auditioned for Bart. Smith's voice was deemed too high-pitched for a boy, while Cartwright found Lisa less appealing as a character and opted to try out for Bart—a role she felt better suited her.

Bart was the show's protagonist during its first two seasons, ensuing "Bartmania", which spawned Bart-themed merchandise touting his rebellious persona and pride in underachieving. Those traits were criticized by parents and educators, who viewed him as a negative influence on children. By the third season, Homer became the show's figurehead character and the series shifted its focus to the family as a whole, although Bart remains a breakout character. He is considered one of the most iconic fictional television characters of the 1990s, and has been described as an American cultural icon. Time named him one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century, and Entertainment Weekly named him Entertainer of the Year in 1990. Cartwright has received accolades for her portrayal of Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 and an Annie Award in 1995. In 2000, Bart and the rest of the Simpson family were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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The second generation of the Aston Martin Vanquish, a grand touring car, was produced between 2012 and 2018 by the British carmaker Aston Martin. It succeeded the DBS, resurrected the name of the 2001–2007 model, and was available as both a coupe and a convertible, the latter known as the Volante.

Designed by Marek Reichman, a concept car called the Project AM310 was unveiled at the 2012 edition of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Lombardy, Italy. The production version was showcased at several events in 2012: a sneak preview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, a presentation to a group of guests at the London Film Museum also in July, and an appearance at the Monterey Car Week in August. The Vanquish, which is based upon the DB9's architecture, namely the vertical/horizontal platform, extensively incorporates aluminium throughout its construction. The Vanquish was assembled in Gaydon, a village in Warwickshire, England.

Aston Martin unveiled the Vanquish Volante at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, with deliveries starting in late 2013. In 2014, the company implemented minor modifications to the Vanquish's engine performance. A more significantly modified version, called the Vanquish S, was launched in 2016; its Volante version was released the following year. The Vanquish S introduced such updates as increased horsepower and torque, and a new body kit. Aston Martin produced the Vanquish Zagato—a special edition—in various body styles, including a coupe, convertible, shooting brake, and a roadster, the latter dubbed the Speedster.