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The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is a theme restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios, one of the four main theme parks at Walt Disney World. Established in May 1991, the restaurant is modeled after a 1950s drive-in theater. Walt Disney Imagineering designed the booths to resemble convertibles of the period, and some servers act as carhops while wearing roller skates. While eating, guests watch a large projection screen displaying clips of 1950s and 1960s films such as Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
The restaurant serves traditional cuisine of the United States. Popcorn functions as a complimentary hors d'oeuvre. Initially, the menu listed items with themed names, such as "Tossed in Space" (garden salad), "The Cheesecake that Ate New York", and "Attack of the Killer Club Sandwich", but these playful names were later altered so that they now describe the dishes in a more standard and straightforward manner.
In 1991, the Sci-Fi Dine-In opened along with nineteen other new Walt Disney World attractions marking the complex's twentieth anniversary. By the following year, the Sci-Fi Dine-In was serving upwards of 2,200 people daily during peak periods, making it the park's most popular restaurant. Thai movie theater operator EGV Entertainment opened the EGV Drive-in Cafe in Bangkok in 2003, in a very similar style to the Sci-Fi Dine-In.
The Sci-Fi Dine-In has received mixed reviews. USA Today's list of the best restaurants in American amusement parks ranks the Sci-Fi Dine-In fifteenth, but many reviewers rate it more highly for its atmosphere than for its cuisine. Ed Bumgardner of the Winston-Salem Journal wrote that the food is more expensive than it is worth, specifically calling the restaurant's roast beef sandwich both delicious and a ripoff. In their book Vegetarian Walt Disney World and Greater Orlando, Susan Shumaker and Than Saffel call the Sci-Fi Dine-In "the wackiest dining experience in any Disney park".[3]
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"Sinestro Corps War" is an American comic book crossover event published by DC Comics in its Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps titles.[1] Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons and drawn by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, and Ethan Van Sciver, the 11-part saga was originally published between June and December 2007. In addition to the main storyline, four supplemental "Tales of the Sinestro Corps" one-shot specials and a Blue Beetle tie-in issue were concurrently released.
The story centers on the Green Lanterns of Earth—Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and Guy Gardner—and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps as they fight an interstellar war against the Sinestro Corps, an army led by the former Green Lantern Sinestro who are armed with yellow power rings and seek a universe ruled through fear. A 1986 Alan Moore "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps" story was the thematic basis of the storyline. Many characters were changed, killed off, or re-introduced as a result of the event.
Critical and fan reception to "Sinestro Corps War" was highly positive. Many reviewers ranked it among the top comic books of the year, and the storyline's first issue garnered a 2008 Eisner Award nomination for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team. The storyline was also a financial success, and several issues underwent multiple printings. "Sinestro Corps War" is the second part of a trilogy in the Green Lantern storyline, preceded by the 2005 miniseries Green Lantern: Rebirth. The conclusion of "Sinestro Corps War" sets up the third and final part of the trilogy, Blackest Night, which was published in 2009.
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Nihilism[a] is a family of philosophical views that question the existence of any objectively meaningful purpose, moral value, truth, or knowledge. Nihilistic views span several branches of philosophy, including ethics, value theory, epistemology, and metaphysics. Nihilism is also described as a broad cultural phenomenon or historical movement that pervades modernity in the Western world.
Existential nihilism asserts that life has no objective meaning or purpose. The idea that all individual and societal values are ultimately pointless has been associated with various responses. They range from general indifference and existential crises to transformative reinterpretations of established ideals and a creative embrace of personal meaning-making. Moral nihilism, a related view, denies the objective existence of morality, arguing that moral evaluations and practices rest on misguided assumptions without any foundation in external reality.
In epistemology or the theory of knowledge, nihilism challenges knowledge and truth. According to relativism, knowledge, truth, or meaning are relative to the perspectives of specific individuals or cultural contexts. This implies that there is no independent framework to assess which opinion is ultimately correct. Skeptical interpretations go further by denying the existence of knowledge or truth altogether. In metaphysics, one form of nihilism states that the universe could have been empty without any objects. This view holds that there is no fundamental reason for why something exists rather than nothing. Mereological nihilism asserts that there are only simple objects, like elementary particles, but no composite objects, like tables. Cosmological nihilism is the view that reality is unintelligible and indifferent to human understanding. Other nihilist positions include political, semantic, logical, and therapeutic nihilism.
Some aspects of nihilism have their roots in ancient philosophy in the form of challenges to established beliefs, values, and practices. However, nihilism is primarily associated with modernity, emerging in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in Germany and Russia through the works of Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and Ivan Turgenev. It took center stage in the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, who understood nihilism as a pervasive cultural trend in which people lose the traditional values and ideals guiding their lives as a result of secularization. In the 20th century, nihilist themes were explored by Dadaism, existentialism, and postmodern philosophy.
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Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (/biˈɒnseɪ/ ⓘ bee-ON-say;[3] born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. Known for her vocal ability, artistic reinventions, and live performances, she is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 21st century. Credited with shaping popular music, Beyoncé is often deemed one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Beyoncé rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love (2003), became one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. After Destiny's Child disbanded in 2005, Beyoncé released the funk-imbued B'Day (2006) and starred in the drama film Dreamgirls (2006). Her marriage to rapper Jay-Z and portrayal of Etta James in the biopic Cadillac Records (2008) influenced her pop-oriented double album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Through the 2000s, Beyoncé garnered the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Check on It", "Irreplaceable", and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)".
After forming the management company Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé embraced traditional R&B and soul on 4 (2011). The electronic-influenced Beyoncé (2013) popularized surprise and visual albums, inspiring the setting of Friday as Global Release Day, while the eclectic Lemonade (2016) sparked sociopolitical discourse and was the best-selling album of 2016. Her ongoing trilogy project—consisting of the queer-inspired dance album Renaissance (2022) and the Americana-rooted country record Cowboy Carter (2024)—has highlighted the overlooked contributions of Black pioneers to American musical and cultural history, spawning the respective US number-one singles "Break My Soul" and "Texas Hold 'Em".
Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 200 million records. She is the most RIAA-certified female artist and the only woman whose first eight studio albums each debuted atop the US Billboard 200. One of the most-awarded artists in popular music, she is the recipient of a record 35 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Peabody Award. Beyoncé is the most-awarded artist of the BET Awards (36), MTV Video Music Awards (30), NAACP Image Awards (32), and Soul Train Music Awards (25). The first woman to headline an all-stadium tour, she is the highest-grossing Black live music artist of all time.
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Ornithoprion is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish. The only species, O. hertwigi, lived during the Moscovian stage of the Pennsylvanian subperiod, which spanned from 315 to 307 million years ago. Its fossils are preserved in black shales from what is now the Midwestern United States. The study of Ornithoprion was performed primarily via x-ray imaging, and at the time of its discovery it represented one of the best known holocephalans of the Paleozoic era. The classification of the genus has been the subject of debate due to its unique anatomy, and it is now placed in the order Eugeneodontiformes and the family Caseodontidae. Ornithoprion's genus name, which may be translated from Greek as 'bird saw', was inspired by the animal's vaguely bird-like skull and the saw-like appearance of the teeth in the lower jaw, while the specific name honors German zoologist Oscar Hertwig.
Ornithoprion had a unique projection of its lower jaw termed the mandibular rostrum, which was covered by a beak of fused bony scales and the function of which in life is not known. It inhabited shallow, seasonal marine and brackish water environments, alongside a variety of other cartilaginous fishes. The rounded shape of Ornithoprion's teeth suggests that it hunted hard-shelled invertebrates, and bite marks and damage to some of its fossils indicate that it was in turn fed on by other carnivores. Ornithoprion was small relative to other members of its order, with a cranium length of up to 10 cm (3.9 in) and an estimated body length of up to approximately 91 cm (36 in).
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Neapolitan ragù is a ragù associated with the city of Naples, Italy, made by browning then braising meat over several hours in tomato purée and sauce. When the meat is ready, it is removed and the sauce is left to continue cooking and thickening. In the Italian meal structure, Neapolitan ragù is served in two stages: first as sauce served over pasta, and then as meat eaten alone or with vegetables, lightly dressed with the remaining sauce.
Ragùs are rich, often meaty sauces that are eaten across Italy. The people of Naples hold their version in high regard, calling it rraù in the Neapolitan language, and several writers from the area describe it as the "queen of sauces".[1] Throughout Italy, the dish is known under names including ragù alla napoletana[a] and ragù napoletano.[2] Although it contains tomato and meat, it is fundamentally perceived to be a meat sauce, with the tomato understood as a conduit for meat flavours.
Neapolitan ragù evolved from the French ragoût, introduced to Italy in the later 17th century. Over the following 150 years, ingredients foreign to the modern ragù such as asparagus and truffle were dropped, and tomatoes and pasta were added. In the 19th century, emigrants brought the dish to America, where it was developed into the Italian-American gravy and the dish spaghetti and meatballs.
The dish is far less well-known than ragù alla bolognese. The two differ in several respects: the Neapolitan ragù cooks for a longer time, includes more tomatoes and rarely celery and carrot, uses whole pieces of meat rather than minced, and is served with short, ridged pastas rather than long, flat ones.
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Enzyme kinetics is the study of the rates of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions. In enzyme kinetics, the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction are investigated. Studying an enzyme's kinetics in this way can reveal the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme, its role in metabolism, how its activity is controlled, and how a drug or a modifier (inhibitor or activator) might affect the rate.
An enzyme (E) is a protein molecule that serves as a biological catalyst to facilitate and accelerate a chemical reaction in the body. It does this through binding of another molecule, its substrate (S), which the enzyme acts upon to form the desired product. The substrate binds to the active site of the enzyme to produce an enzyme-substrate complex ES, and is transformed into an enzyme-product complex EP and from there to product P, via a transition state ES*. The series of steps is known as the mechanism:
E + S ⇄ ES ⇄ ES* ⇄ EP ⇄ E + P
When enzymes bind multiple substrates, such as dihydrofolate reductase, enzyme kinetics can also show the sequence in which these substrates bind and the sequence in which products are released. An example of enzymes that bind a single substrate and release multiple products are proteases, which cleave one protein substrate into two polypeptide products. Others join two substrates together, such as DNA polymerase linking a nucleotide to DNA. Although these mechanisms are often a complex series of steps, there is typically one rate-determining step that determines the overall kinetics. This rate-determining step may be a chemical reaction or a conformational change of the enzyme or substrates, such as those involved in the release of product(s) from the enzyme.
Knowledge of the enzyme's structure is helpful in interpreting kinetic data. For example, the structure can suggest how substrates and products bind during catalysis; what changes occur during the reaction; and even the role of particular amino acid residues in the mechanism. Some enzymes change shape significantly during the mechanism; in such cases, it is helpful to determine the enzyme structure with and without bound substrate analogues that do not undergo the enzymatic reaction.
Not all biological catalysts are protein enzymes: RNA-based catalysts such as ribozymes and ribosomes are essential to many cellular functions, such as RNA splicing and translation. The main difference between ribozymes and enzymes is that RNA catalysts are composed of nucleotides, whereas enzymes are composed of amino acids. Ribozymes also perform a more limited set of reactions, although their reaction mechanisms and kinetics can be analysed and classified by the same methods.
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This Side of the Moon is the third studio album by American singer Elizabeth Cook, released on May 17, 2005, by Hog Country Production. Cook based the album on her experience with Warner Bros. Records, which had released her second studio album, Hey Y'all, in 2002. Initially signed to AOL-Time Warner, she was transferred to Warner Bros. and experienced problems with the label, including an album delay. Hey Y'all was commercially unsuccessful and was not heavily promoted; its songs were not played on country radio. Cook voluntarily left Warner Bros. in 2003, and used her disappointment working in Nashville's Music Row as inspiration for her follow-up album.
A country album, This Side of the Moon features lyrics about love and heartbreak. Before being packaged as an album, the songs were recorded independently, with the assistance of five producers in eight Tennessee recording studios. Most of the songs were written by Cook and songwriter Hardie McGehee, both of whom worked for music publisher Sis 'N Bro Music. Critics likened Cook's vocals to those of country artists such as Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.
This Side of the Moon had a limited release in August 2004 before becoming more widely available the following year. Cook promoted it with live performances at the Grand Ole Opry and international music festivals. The album received little airplay, and after its release, Cook worked as a waitress to secure steady pay. Critical response at the time was generally positive and, in retrospective articles, reviewers felt This Side of the Moon helped enhance Cook's musical career.
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During the 1998–99 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 67th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 49th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. The club signed two new forwards, each for a new club record transfer fee, but started the season in poor form, winning only one of the first eight league games. The team then went on a much-improved run, being undefeated for 17 league games, and began challenging for promotion to the Football League First Division. Gillingham finished the regular season in fourth place in the Second Division, qualifying for the play-offs for promotion to the First Division. After defeating Preston North End in the semi-finals, they played Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in the final. Gillingham were 2–0 up with less than ten minutes remaining but conceded two late goals, and Manchester City won the subsequent penalty shoot-out to gain promotion.
Gillingham also reached the southern section semi-final of the Football League Trophy, but were eliminated from both the FA Cup and the Football League Cup in the first round. The team played 56 competitive matches, winning 26, drawing 16 (including the play-off final), and losing 14. Carl Asaba was the team's leading goalscorer with 22 goals. Paul Smith made the most appearances during the season, playing in 54 of the team's 56 matches. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Stadium, was 10,400 for the visit of Manchester City. Despite leading the team to the play-off final, manager Tony Pulis was dismissed from his job shortly afterwards amid allegations of gross misconduct. He sued the club for unfair dismissal and accepted an out-of-court settlement.
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330 West 42nd Street (also known as the McGraw-Hill Building and formerly as the GHI Building) is a 485-foot-tall (148 m), 33-story skyscraper in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by Raymond Hood and J. André Fouilhoux in a mixture of the International Style, Art Deco, and Art Moderne styles, the building was constructed from 1930 to 1931 and originally served as the headquarters of the McGraw-Hill Companies.
The building's massing, or shape, consists of numerous setbacks facing 41st and 42nd streets, which were included to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The facade is made of blue-green terracotta ceramic tile panels alternating with green metal-framed windows, with a strongly horizontal orientation. The facade was intended to blend in with the sky regardless of the atmospheric conditions. The entrance and the original lobby were decorated with light blue and dark green panels. Most of the upper stories had similar floor plans, except for their widths, which varied due to the setbacks on the facade. At the time of its completion, 330 West 42nd Street was controversial for the use of horizontal emphasis on its facade, which its contemporaries lacked. In subsequent decades, architectural critics recognized the building as an early example of the International Style.
McGraw-Hill Companies bought the land in early 1930 to replace smaller headquarters; the company originally took three-quarters of the space, renting out the other stories. As the surrounding neighborhood became more decrepit, McGraw-Hill moved in 1972 to 1221 Avenue of the Americas. The building subsequently became the headquarters of Group Health Insurance (GHI). Since then, ownership of 330 West 42nd Street has changed several times. Deco Towers, which has owned the building since 1994, began considering converting it into condominiums in 2018. Moed de Armas and Shannon completely renovated the building (including the lobby) in 2021, and the upper stories were converted into apartments starting in 2023. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has designated 330 West 42nd Street as a city landmark, and the structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark.
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