title: Luminiferous aether

text: Between 1892 and 1904, Hendrik Lorentz developed an electron-aether theory, in which he introduced a strict separation between matter (electrons) and aether. In his model the aether is completely motionless, and won't be set in motion in the neighborhood of ponderable matter. Contrary to earlier electron models, the electromagnetic field of the aether appears as a mediator between the electrons, and changes in this field cannot propagate faster than the speed of light. A fundamental concept of Lorentz's theory in 1895 was the "theorem of corresponding states" for terms of order v/c. This theorem states that an observer moving relative to the aether makes the same observations as a resting observer, after a suitable change of variables. Lorentz noticed that it was necessary to change the space-time variables when changing frames and introduced concepts like physical length contraction (1892) to explain the Michelson–Morley experiment, and the mathematical concept of local time (1895) to explain the aberration of light and the Fizeau experiment. This resulted in the formulation of the so-called Lorentz transformation by Joseph Larmor (1897, 1900) and Lorentz (1899, 1904), whereby (it was noted by Larmor) the complete formulation of local time is accompanied by some sort of time dilation of electrons moving in the aether. As Lorentz later noted (1921, 1928), he considered the time indicated by clocks resting in the aether as "true" time, while local time was seen by him as a heuristic working hypothesis and a mathematical artifice. Therefore, Lorentz's theorem is seen by modern authors as being a mathematical transformation from a "real" system resting in the aether into a "fictitious" system in motion.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: The work of Lorentz was mathematically perfected by Henri Poincaré, who formulated on many occasions the Principle of Relativity and tried to harmonize it with electrodynamics. He declared simultaneity only a convenient convention which depends on the speed of light, whereby the constancy of the speed of light would be a useful postulate for making the laws of nature as simple as possible. In 1900 and 1904 he physically interpreted Lorentz's local time as the result of clock synchronization by light signals. In June and July 1905 he declared the relativity principle a general law of nature, including gravitation. He corrected some mistakes of Lorentz and proved the Lorentz covariance of the electromagnetic equations. However, he used the notion of an aether as a perfectly undetectable medium and distinguished between apparent and real time, so most historians of science argue that he failed to invent special relativity.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: Aether theory was dealt another blow when the Galilean transformation and Newtonian dynamics were both modified by Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, giving the mathematics of Lorentzian electrodynamics a new, "non-aether" context. Unlike most major shifts in scientific thought, special relativity was adopted by the scientific community remarkably quickly, consistent with Einstein's later comment that the laws of physics described by the Special Theory were "ripe for discovery" in 1905. Max Planck's early advocacy of the special theory, along with the elegant formulation given to it by Hermann Minkowski, contributed much to the rapid acceptance of special relativity among working scientists.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: Einstein based his theory on Lorentz's earlier work. Instead of suggesting that the mechanical properties of objects changed with their constant-velocity motion through an undetectable aether, Einstein proposed to deduce the characteristics that any successful theory must possess in order to be consistent with the most basic and firmly established principles, independent of the existence of a hypothetical aether. He found that the Lorentz transformation must transcend its connection with Maxwell's equations, and must represent the fundamental relations between the space and time coordinates of inertial frames of reference. In this way he demonstrated that the laws of physics remained invariant as they had with the Galilean transformation, but that light was now invariant as well.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: With the development of the special theory of relativity, the need to account for a single universal frame of reference had disappeared – and acceptance of the 19th-century theory of a luminiferous aether disappeared with it. For Einstein, the Lorentz transformation implied a conceptual change: that the concept of position in space or time was not absolute, but could differ depending on the observer's location and velocity.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: Moreover, in another paper published the same month in 1905, Einstein made several observations on a then-thorny problem, the photoelectric effect. In this work he demonstrated that light can be considered as particles that have a "wave-like nature". Particles obviously do not need a medium to travel, and thus, neither did light. This was the first step that would lead to the full development of quantum mechanics, in which the wave-like nature "and" the particle-like nature of light are both considered as valid descriptions of light. A summary of Einstein's thinking about the aether hypothesis, relativity and light quanta may be found in his 1909 (originally German) lecture "The Development of Our Views on the Composition and Essence of Radiation".


title: Luminiferous aether

text: Lorentz on his side continued to use the aether hypothesis. In his lectures of around 1911, he pointed out that what "the theory of relativity has to say ... can be carried out independently of what one thinks of the aether and the time". He commented that "whether there is an aether or not, electromagnetic fields certainly exist, and so also does the energy of the electrical oscillations" so that, "if we do not like the name of 'aether', we must use another word as a peg to hang all these things upon". He concluded that "one cannot deny the bearer of these concepts a certain substantiality".


title: Luminiferous aether

text: It should however be noted that on May 5th, 1920 Einstein gave an Address at the University of Leiden where he stated "More careful reflection teaches us however, that the special theory of relativity does not compel us to deny ether. We may assume the existence of an ether; only we must give up ascribing a definite state of motion to it, i.e. we must by abstraction take from it the last mechanical characteristic which Lorentz had still left it. We shall see later that this point of view, the conceivability of which I shall at once endeavour to make more intelligible by a somewhat halting comparison, is justified by the results of the general theory of relativity." and at the conclusion of his address states "Recapitulating, we may say that according to the general theory of relativity space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an ether. According to the general theory of relativity space without ether is unthinkable;"


title: Luminiferous aether

text: In later years there have been a few individuals who advocated a neo-Lorentzian approach to physics, which is Lorentzian in the sense of positing an absolute true state of rest that is undetectable and which plays no role in the predictions of the theory. (No violations of Lorentz covariance have ever been detected, despite strenuous efforts.) Hence these theories resemble the 19th century aether theories in name only. For example, the founder of quantum field theory, Paul Dirac, stated in 1951 in an article in Nature, titled "Is there an Aether?" that "we are rather forced to have an aether". However, Dirac never formulated a complete theory, and so his speculations found no acceptance by the scientific community. By contrast, at the very beginning of the 21st century, Dr. Charles Kenneth Thornhill outlined a non-singular ethereal cosmology in which he identified dark matter as ether - a medium pervading the universe, through which all electromagnetic waves and gravitational forces are propagated.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: When Einstein was still a student in the Zurich Polytechnic in 1900, he was very interested in the idea of aether. His initial proposal of research thesis was to do an experiment to measure how fast the Earth was moving through the aether. "The velocity of a wave is proportional to the square root of the elastic forces which cause [its] propagation, and inversely proportional to the mass of the aether moved by these forces."


title: Luminiferous aether

text: In 1916, after Einstein completed his foundational work on general relativity, Lorentz wrote a letter to him in which he speculated that within general relativity the aether was re-introduced. In his response Einstein wrote that one can actually speak about a "new aether", but one may not speak of motion in relation to that aether. This was further elaborated by Einstein in some semi-popular articles (1918, 1920, 1924, 1930).


title: Luminiferous aether

text: In 1918 Einstein publicly alluded to that new definition for the first time. Then, in the early 1920s, in a lecture which he was invited to give at Lorentz's university in Leiden, Einstein sought to reconcile the theory of relativity with Lorentzian aether. In this lecture Einstein stressed that special relativity took away the last mechanical property of the aether: immobility. However, he continued that special relativity does not necessarily rule out the aether, because the latter can be used to give physical reality to acceleration and rotation. This concept was fully elaborated within general relativity, in which physical properties (which are partially determined by matter) are attributed to space, but no substance or state of motion can be attributed to that "aether" (by which he meant curved space-time).


title: Luminiferous aether

text: In another paper of 1924, named "Concerning the Aether", Einstein argued that Newton's absolute space, in which acceleration is absolute, is the "Aether of Mechanics". And within the electromagnetic theory of Maxwell and Lorentz one can speak of the "Aether of Electrodynamics", in which the aether possesses an absolute state of motion. As regards special relativity, also in this theory acceleration is absolute as in Newton's mechanics. However, the difference from the electromagnetic aether of Maxwell and Lorentz lies in the fact that "because it was no longer possible to speak, in any absolute sense, of simultaneous states at different locations in the aether, the aether became, as it were, four-dimensional since there was no objective way of ordering its states by time alone". Now the "aether of special relativity" is still "absolute", because matter is affected by the properties of the aether, but the aether is not affected by the presence of matter. This asymmetry was solved within general relativity. Einstein explained that the "aether of general relativity" is not absolute, because matter is influenced by the aether, just as matter influences the structure of the aether.


title: Luminiferous aether

text: The only similarity of this relativistic aether concept with the classical aether models lies in the presence of physical properties in space, which can be identified through geodesics. As historians such as John Stachel argue, Einstein's views on the "new aether" are not in conflict with his abandonment of the aether in 1905. As Einstein himself pointed out, no "substance" and no state of motion can be attributed to that new aether. Einstein's use of the word "aether" found little support in the scientific community, and played no role in the continuing development of modern physics.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel ( January 1849 – October 9, 1911) was an American distiller and businessman, best known as the founder of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Daniel was the youngest of ten children born to Calaway and Lucinda Matilda (née Cook) Daniel. He was of Scots-Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent; his grandfather, Joseph "Job" Daniel, was born in Wales, while his grandmother, Elizabeth Calaway, was born in Scotland. His paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States in the late 18th century.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Daniel's date of birth is unknown. According to one source, he was born in January 1849, in or around Lynchburg, Tennessee. A town fire had destroyed the courthouse records, and, because his mother died shortly after his birth, most likely due to complications from childbirth, conflicting dates on his and his mother's tombstones have left Daniel's date of birth in question. On June 26, 1851, his father remarried and had another three children with Matilda Vanzant.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Daniel was raised in the Primitive Baptist church. The company that now owns the distillery claims that Jack Daniel's was first licensed in 1866. However, in the 2004 biography "Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel", author Peter Krass maintains that land and deed records show that the distillery was actually not founded until 1875.


title: Jack Daniel

text: According to company histories, sometime in the 1850s, when Daniel was a boy, he went to work for a preacher, grocer, and distiller named Dan Call. The preacher, as the stories went, was a busy man, and when he saw promise in young Jack, he taught him how to run his whiskey still. However, on June 25, 2016, "The New York Times" reported the company's view that Daniel did not learn distilling from Call, but from a man named Nearest Green (misspelled as "Nearis" in the 1880 census)—one of Call's slaves.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Daniel never married and did not have children. However, he took his nephews under his wing, one of whom was Lemuel "Lem" Motlow. Motlow, a son of Jack's sister Finetta, was skilled with numbers and was soon doing all of the distillery's bookkeeping.


title: Jack Daniel

text: In 1907, due to failing health, Daniel gave the distillery over to Motlow and another one of his nephews. Motlow soon bought out the other nephew and went on to operate the business off and on for about 40 years (interrupted by Prohibition at the state level in three states starting in Tennessee in 1910 and then at the federal level from 1920 to 1933 and at the state level again until 1938, and then again between 1942 and 1946 when the U.S. government banned the manufacture of whiskey due to World War II). Motlow died in 1947.


title: Jack Daniel

text: Daniel died from blood poisoning in Lynchburg on October 9, 1911. An oft-told tall tale is that the infection began in one of his toes, which Daniel injured one morning at work by kicking his safe in anger when he could not get it open (he was said to always have had trouble remembering the combination). However, Daniel's modern biographer has asserted that the story is not true, offering evidence that Daniel raged on the safe a few years before dying of unrelated gangrene.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Namie Amuro ( ; ; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of the Japanese entertainment industry since the early 1990s, Amuro is known for breaking the youthful idol stereotype of J-Pop, changing the fashion trends and lifestyle of women in Japan, her experimentation across music styles, and for her visual imagery in music videos and live performances. Due to her career longevity, resilience, professionalism, efforts behind-the-scenes in the music industry, and her way of life, she is considered a pop culture icon in Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as "Diva of Heisei Era" and the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and has been recognized as having the influence and career impact domestically equivalent to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western music and pop culture.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Born in Naha, Okinawa, Japan, Amuro debuted as the lead singer of the idol group Super Monkey's when she was 14 years old. Despite early sales disappointments, she ventured into modeling and acting, attracting domestic attention with the group's best-selling single "Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)". She signed to Avex Trax in 1995 and debuted as a solo artist with the single "Body Feels Exit". Her 1996 studio album, "Sweet 19 Blues," sold over 3 million copies, setting the record at the time for the biggest selling album by a female artist in Japan and the highest selling album debut in the world (currently ranked #15 in the world's largest first week album sales). One of the singles from her album "Concentration 20" (1997), "Can You Celebrate?", is the best-selling single by a solo female artist in Japanese music history. From 1999, Amuro partnered with international musicians and producers on her records, beginning with "Genius 2000" (2000).


title: Namie Amuro

text: In early 2000s, Amuro's music evolved from pop to R&B, and she saw decline in sales. "Play" (2007), her eighth studio album, began the period of commercial resurgence. She continued to experiment musically, moving to electronic dance music and English language songs with follow-up records "Uncontrolled" (2012) and "Feel" (2013). She subsequently released her eleventh studio album "Genic" (2015) and her last compilation album "Finally" (2017), which contains re-recordings of her selected singles from 1992 to 2017.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro is noted within the Japanese entertainment industry for "producing" and managing her own career. Aside from music, she has appeared in various advertisement campaigns in Japan and founded her own management company Stella88, and her own record label Dimension Point.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Having sold more than 40 million records, Amuro is recognized as one of the best-selling artists in Japan by Oricon. Since her solo debut, she achieved top 10 singles for 23 consecutive years (#1 for solo artist). All of her albums are certified Platinum, and her debut solo album, "Sweet 19 Blues", was the best selling album in Japan. She is the only artist in Japan to sell a million albums in her teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. Her last album, "Finally", topped the year-end album charts of both Oricon and Billboard Japan for two consecutive years (the first and only artist in the Japanese Music Industry to do so). Amuro has frequently been noted for her live performances at music award ceremonies and is the recipient of World Music Awards, Japan Record Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards Japan, among many others.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Namie Amuro was born on September 20, 1977, at Okinawa Red Cross Hospital in Naha, Okinawa. She is one of four children of Emiko Taira. Through her mother, Amuro is a quarter Italian. Having divorced when Amuro was only 4 years old, Taira raised her children solely in Okinawa – she worked as a nursery school employee and a bar hostess to support her family. Although Amuro had no ambition to become a singer, she was discovered at age 12, while visiting a friend. One year later, Amuro was scouted by Masayuki Makino, the owner of Okinawa Actors School, and eventually she was enrolled there. In 1991, Makino placed her in an idol group named Super Monkey's, with four other girls: Anna Makino, Hisako Arakaki, Minako Ameku and Nanako Takushi. The sixth member, Rino Nakasone, joined the group one year later. On September 16, 1992, Super Monkey's released their debut single, "Koi no Cute Beat/Mr USA". However, Anna Makino left the group at the end of that year. In 1993, the remaining members of Super Monkey's moved to Tokyo.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Super Monkey's did not gain much success and the group went through constant lineup changes. In 1994, the group changed their name to Namie Amuro with Super Monkey's to reflect Amuro's rising popularity as an upcoming actress and fashion model. Aside from group's musical activities, Amuro had bit parts in Japanese television series and small films. Super Monkey's experienced a large amount of success with their single "Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)", produced by Italian eurobeat producer Dave Rodgers, and Japanese businessman Max Matsuura. Released on January 25, 1995, the song reached number eight on the Oricon Singles Chart, and stayed in the top 200 chart for 25 weeks. Despite the beginning success as a group, the other four members of the Super Monkey's formed their own sub-group, MAX, under the Japanese record label Avex Trax. As a result, Amuro released two more solo singles under Toshiba-EMI before moving to Avex Trax herself.


title: Namie Amuro

text: After signing with Avex Trax in 1995, the corresponding record company Avex Group enlisted Japanese musician Tetsuya Komuro to work with Amuro on her then-upcoming album. Amuro made her solo debut with Avex, releasing the single "Body Feels Exit" on October 25, 1995. It became a huge success in Japan, peaking at number three on the Oricon Singles Chart and sold over 882,000 units in Japan. Amuro's second single with Komuro, "Chase the Chance", became her first number-one single on the Oricon Singles Chart and her first single to sell over 1 million units in Japan. For Amuro's success with those singles, she won the Golden Arrow Award in 1995.


title: Namie Amuro

text: After a brief hiatus, Amuro released two more singles in 1996: "Don't Wanna Cry" and "You're My Sunshine". Both singles were successful in Japan, bringing her second and third consecutive number one singles, and both sold over one million units there. Amuro achieved huge success after the release of her first solo studio album, "Sweet 19 Blues" (1996). Released on July 22, it reached number one on the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, and has sold over 3.6 million units. She released the album's final single, the title track, on August 21, 1996; it achieved success by peaking at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart, and shifted over 400,000 units in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On November 27, 1996, she started work on her second solo studio album with Komuro, and released its lead single "A Walk in the Park". It gave Amuro her fourth number one single on the Oricon Singles Chart, and her fourth single to sell over one million units there. At the end of 1996, she was awarded the Grand Prix Award for her song "Don't Wanna Cry", the highest honor at the Japan Record Awards, making her the youngest artist to have won the award. On February 19, 1997, she released her single "Can You Celebrate?", which became her fifth number one single. The single became a huge success in Japan, eventually selling 2,750,000 units there, making it the best-selling single by a solo female artist in Japan. After releasing her sixth consecutive number one single "How to Be a Girl" on May 21, 1997, Amuro released her second album "Concentration 20" in July of that year. It became her third number one album in Japan, and sold over 1.9 million units there. For additional promotion, she embarked her Concentration 20 Dome Tour in Japan, which achieved commercial success. By early August 1997, the total sales of Amuro's records reached 20 million units in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: During a press conference on October 22 of that year, Amuro confirmed her marriage to Japanese musician and TRF band member Masaharu "Sam" Maruyama. During the conference, she announced that she was three months pregnant with their first child. At the end of the year, she won the Grand Prix Award at the Japan Record Awards again for "Can You Celebrate?" and made her final appearance on the annual Japanese television music show 48th Kōhaku Uta Gassen before beginning her one-year hiatus from the music industry. She legally changed her name to Namie Maruyama, but continued to use her maiden name as her professional name.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro's first compilation album, "181920", was released on January 28, 1998, and covers twelve singles which were released prior to her hiatus. The total sales of the album were around 2 million units in Japan. Four months later, on May 19, Amuro gave birth to her son, Haruto Maruyama at Maruyama Memorial General Hospital. She returned to the music industry by releasing the single "I Have Never Seen" on December 23, 1998. It became her eighth number one single on Oricon, and sold over 650,000 units in Japan. She made her first televised appearance on 49th Kōhaku Uta Gassen days later, performing a tearful rendition of her single "Can You Celebrate?".


title: Namie Amuro

text: Working on the album "Genius 2000" with Komuro and American producer Dallas Austin, after releasing its first single "I Have Never Seen" in 1998, Amuro released its second single "Respect the Power of Love" on March 17, 1999. On the same day, news publication's in Amuro's hometown, Okinawa, reported that her mother, Emiko Taira, had been murdered. According to staff editors at "The Japan Times", Emiko and her second husband, Tatsunobu Taira, were hit by an axe, owned by Kenji Taira, Emiko's ex-husband's brother. While her second husband survived with moderate injuries, Emiko was taken to hospital, and pronounced dead after noon on March 17. Kenji was then found dead in his car, after consuming insecticide. Upon hearing the news, Amuro postponed all promotional activities and flew back to Okinawa in order to identify her mother's body. A week later, the single debuted at the number two on the Oricon Singles Chart, beaten by the single "Dango 3 Kyodai". A third single, "Toi et Moi", was used for the Japanese animation movie "". Both singles proved successful, selling over 400,000 and 200,000 units in that region, respectively.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro made her first single debut with Austin on "Something 'Bout the Kiss", released on September 1, 1999. It became a success in Japan, reaching number three on the Oricon Singles Chart and sold over 390,000 units there. In January 2000, Amuro released her fourth studio album "Genius 2000"; it reached number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, and shifted over 800,000 units there. That same month, Amuro confirmed her separation from husband Masaharu. For the first half of 2000, Amuro embarked on her Genius 2000 concert tour throughout Japan. She then released the single "Never End", in July, confirming work on her fifth studio album with Komuro and Austin. The single was used as part of the G8 Summit taking place in Okinawa, Japan that year. It was commissioned by late Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi, who asked Tetsuya Komuro to write a song conveying "a vision of harmony and interaction in the world in the 21st century". Obuchi later asked Amuro to perform the single at the summit.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro's fifth studio album "Break the Rules" was released on December 20, 2000, and is her final full-length produced album with Komuro. It became her first studio album to miss the top spot, peaking at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart. Amuro's sales started to decline from this release, as the album only shifted 335,000 units in Japan. To promote the studio album, Amuro toured Japan in March 2001, and finished in May that same year. In August, she released the single "Say the Word"; it was her first single that she contributed to songwriting. This was her first single to be released after departing with Komuro, until years later, and was released in part of her upcoming greatest hits album. Since then,she started to produce her own activities.However, in December she worked with Komuro for the last time on "Lovin' It", a single released as part of Avex's Song+Nation charity project. The single featured Japanese rapper Verbal from the music group M-Flo.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro released her second compilation album, "Love Enhanced Single Collection", on March 13, 2002. The album reworked nearly every single released after her return from hiatus in 1998, with new vocals, mixes or rearrangements. The single "I Will" was released a month before the album and became Amuro's first single below 100,000 units in sales. Although the album was moderately successful, peaking at number three and shifting over 300,000 units, it only sold a fraction of its predecessor "181920" (1998).


title: Namie Amuro

text: In July 2002, Amuro divorced Maruyama, and legally changed her name back to Namie Amuro, having cited irreconcilable differences. According to reports, her divorce was due to her personal issues with Maruyama's family. Retrospectively, "The Times" attributed her loss in popularity during this era to the attention surrounding her personal struggles, while "The Japan Times" cited the rise of newer artists Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki, who achieved great success in the wake of her hiatus. In a 2005 interview, Amuro said: "Even my closest friend said I was finished, but I think I may be a little different from the others. My popularity plunged three years ago and I didn’t try to court publicity. It was a real challenge forcing myself to be consistent in not playing up to my fans."


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro started work on her sixth studio and third collaboration album with Dallas Austin, releasing Diane Warren-written single "Wishing on the Same Star" on September 11, 2002. The single saw a large slip in Amuro's sales, only shifting 95,000 units by the end of the year. In December 2002, Amuro was part of the musical project Suite Chic, involving several Japanese artists like Verbal, Zeebra, Dabo and DJ Muro. The project released two singles, one studio album and one remix album before dissolution in 2003.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro returned to solo activities in mid-2003, releasing the singles "Shine More", "Put 'Em Up", and the double A-side singles: "So Crazy" and "Come". The single's saw an exploration of westernised musical styles with American producers, including R&B producers Full Force and the work of Austin. "Come" was used for the Japanese anime "InuYasha", and is a re-arranged song that was originally recorded by Australian recording artist and TV personality Sophie Monk. At the end of the year, she released her sixth studio album and first album in three years, "Style". The album became her lowest chart album on the Oricon Albums Chart, peaking at number four. It is also her lowest selling studio album, shifting only 222,000 units in that region. To promote the studio album, Amuro conducted her So Crazy Tour Featuring Best Singles on November 29. The tour concluded on April 11, 2004. She extended the concert tour, marked as a promotional appearance, in Taiwan, and South Korea. Shortly after the tour, she released the single "All for You" on July 22, 2004, confirming work on her seventh studio album. This was followed by the double A-side single "Girl Talk" and "Girl Talk/The Speed Star", released on October 14, 2004. It was successful in Japan, peaking at number two, and sold over 107,000 units in that region; it became her first top three single in two years. Amuro decided not to appear on 55th Kōhaku Uta Gassen, although she had been invited to perform at the event. She had previously attended the event nine years in a row.


title: Namie Amuro

text: In April 2005, Amuro released the single "Want Me, Want Me". The song was a success in Japan, reaching number two on Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 103,000 units in that region. In May, following a three-year split from Maruyama, Japanese publications reported that she would take back full custody of their child, Haruto. In August, she was granted full custody of Haruto with visitation rights by Maruyama. On May 29, Amuro performed at MTV Video Music Awards Japan for the fourth consecutive year in a row. She won two awards, "Best R&B Video" and "Most Impressive Performing Asian Artist", making her the first artist to win MTV VMAJ awards four years in a row (she won "Inspiration Award" in 2002, "Best Collaboration" in 2003 and "Best R&B Video" in 2004). Amuro released her seventh studio album "Queen of Hip-Pop" in July 2005. The album includes four singles: "Alarm", "All For You", "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" and "Want Me, Want Me". "Queen of Hip-Pop" was a success, reaching number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, and sold over 455,000 units in Japan. In collaboration with MGM Studios, Amuro was granted permission to use Pink Panther in the album. A female panther counterpart was created for the album as well. Both panther characters appeared in the music video of "WoWa".


title: Namie Amuro

text: In September 2005, Amuro embarked on her Space of Hip-Hop concert tour in Japan. Shortly after the commencement of the tour, she announced that she would contribute to the Japanese theatrical release of the film "Sin City" (2005). After viewing the movie, Amuro made an offer to the Japanese distribution company to sing its theme song; the company, feeling that her image fit the movie, accepted her offer. The theme song, "Violet Sauce", was later released as part of a double A-side single, "White Light/Violet Sauce", in November 2005. It achieved moderate success in Japan, reaching number seven on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 72,000 units there. The movie's director, Robert Rodriguez, was impressed by the song and asked to be a part of it; he can be heard saying "Welcome to Sin City" towards the end of the song. Shortly after the single, she released "Filmography 2001–2005' (2006)", a compilation of twelve of her music videos between the years 2001 to 2005. Amuro collaborated with Japanese recording artists Zeebra, Ai, and Mummy-D on Zeebra's album, "The New Beginning", released in February 2006, in a song called "Do What U Gotta Do". In May, she released the double A-side single "Can't Sleep, Can't Eat, I'm Sick/Ningyo", which peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and shifted over 80,000 units in Japan. In August 2006, Amuro conducted her first annual tour Best Tour Live Style 2006, spanning between August and November 2006. Released in February 2007, the Live DVD of the tour was placed on the second position by Oricon. Its total sales exceeded 90,000 units in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro released the third single from her upcoming eight studio album, "Baby Don't Cry" on January 24, 2007; it was used as the theme song for the Japanese television series "Himitsu no Hanazono". It was successful in Japan, reaching number three on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 144,000 units in that region, her highest selling single since "Say the Word". Based on ringtone sales, it became her first single to shift over one million units since "How to Be a Girl". Alongside this, she achieved the distinction in having a top ten single each year for 13 consecutive years, breaking the solo female artist's record in Japan by Kyōko Koizumi and Shizuka Kudō. At the end of 2007, it ranked at number seven on the RIAJ yearly ringtone sales charts. She then released the fourth and final single, "Funky Town", on April 4, 2007. It achieved moderate success on the Oricon Singles Chart, peaking at number seven, and shifted over 54,000 units. She was also featured on Japanese group, M-Flo's album, "Cosmicolor", in a song titled "Luvotomy". Her eighth studio album, "Play", was released on June 27, 2007. The album charted atop of the Oricon Albums Chart, becoming Amuro's first number-one album in more than 7 years. To promote the album, Amuro conducted her concert tour in Japan, titled Play Tour 2007, spanning between August 18, 2007, and February 27, 2008. Originally consisting of 53 performances, it increased by 12 performances to 65 performances, making this Amuro's longest spanning tour. On the day when Play Tour 2007 concluded, Amuro released the Live DVD of the tour. It was placed on the second position by Oricon.


title: Namie Amuro

text: In early 2008, Amuro confirmed that she would promote Japanese hair company Vidal Sassoon through their new marketing campaign "Fashion x Music x VS", with a new single. The single, though marketed as an extended play, was titled "60s 70s 80s", and consisted of three songs: "New Look", "Rock Steady", and "What A Feeling". The songs feature samples from The Supremes's "Baby Love" (1964), Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady" (1971) and Irene Cara's "What A Feeling" (1983), respectively. "60s 70s 80s" became a huge success in Japan, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 293,000 units in that region, becoming Amuro's first number-one single since "I Have Never Seen" and her highest selling single since "Baby Don't Cry". On March 25, 2008, Amuro was awarded "Best Female Video" for "Hide & Seek" (from the album "Play") at Space Shower Music Video Awards. "Hide & Seek" also won the award for "Best R&B Video" at MTV Video Music Awards, which was held at the Saitama Super Arena on May 31. In the same month, Amuro recorded a collaboration with Japanese musician Double in a song called "Black Diamond". Despite lacklustre success on the Oricon Singles Chart, it sold over 500,000 ringtone units. On July 26, Amuro participated at the 2008 A-nation music concert; an estimated 25,000 people attended her performance. This was the first time she was invited to perform in seven years.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On July 30, she released her third greatest hits album, "Best Fiction". Featuring tracks between 2003 and 2008, "Best Fiction" sold 681,000 copies in the first week and debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart. Within its third week, "Best Fiction" sold over one million units, making her the first artist to have one million certified album in three consecutive decades. "Best Fiction" eventually spent six consecutive weeks at the number-one position, becoming the first album to do so in more than 14 years since the Dreams Come True's 1993 album "Magic". By the end of 2008, "Best Fiction" became the second best-selling album behind Exile's "Exile Love". In addition, it became the second best selling digital-format album by a Japanese artist behind Hikaru Utada's "Heart Station". "Best Fiction" was awarded the Album of the Year award at the 50th Japan Record Awards. To promote the album, Amuro conducted her Best Fiction Tour, spanning between October 25, 2008, and July 12, 2009. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were released on September 9, 2009. Amuro was invited again to the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, but she declined.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On January 20, 2009, Amuro begun working on her ninth studio album, and featured a new track entitled "Dr." through a Vidal Sassoon commercial. She then released the album's lead double A-side singles, "Wild/Dr.," on March 18, 2009. The song was a success, peaking at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold over 119,000 units in that region. As a result, she also broke her own record of having all of her singles debut in the top 10 (on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart) for the last 15 years. Amuro collaborated with Japanese music group Ravex on a song for their album "Trax" (2008), entitled "Rock U". On October 1, Vidal Sassoon released new commercials featuring Amuro, and two tracks from her ninth studio album, "My Love" and "Copy That". On December 16, 2009, Amuro released her ninth studio album, "Past<Future". The album was a success on the Oricon Albums Chart, reaching number one, and sold over 600,000 units in that region, slightly higher than the sales of "Play".


title: Namie Amuro

text: To promote "Past<Future", Amuro travelled throughout 26 cities in Japan to conduct her Past<Future Tour 2010, which began on April 3, 2010, in Ichihara, Chiba and concluded on December 15, 2010, in Nagoya, Aichi. On the day when Past<Future Tour 2010 ended, Amuro released the Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour, which reached the top spot on the Oricon DVD charts and shifted over 100,000 copies. On May 18, 2010, Amuro won the Best Asian Artist award at World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, Monaco. There, she performed her track "Hide & Seek" from her album "Play". Two months later, she released her double A-side single "Break It/Get Myself Back", which performed well on several record charts in Japan. On December 15, 2010, together with the premiere of Live DVD and Blu-ray of Past<Future Tour 2010, the Blu-rays of Space of Hip-Pop, BEST Tour Live Style 2006 and PLAY Tour 2007 were also released.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On April 27, 2011, Amuro published her fifth compilation and second collaboration album "Checkmate!", her first musical release of the year. The album featured nine collaborative tracks Amuro had participated in throughout her career and four new recordings: "Wonder Woman", "Make It Happen", "Unusual" and "#1". "Checkmate!" was a commercial success, reaching the top spot on Oricon and distributed over 500,000 units in Japan. On July 27, Amuro released her first triple A-side single, "Naked/Fight Together/Tempest". Although it reached number two on Oricon Singles Chart, "Fight Together" was used as the theme song of the anime series "One Piece". "Naked/Fight Together/Tempest" achieved better sales through digital store and certified double platinum by RIAJ.


title: Namie Amuro

text: At the end of July 2011, Amuro conducted her first arena tour Live Style 2011 to promote "Checkmate!" and some new materials taken from her then-upcoming studio record. "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" was the next double A-side single from Amuro's upcoming studio album, released on December 7, 2011. While the physical release of the single exceeded 100,000 units in Japan, "Love Story" shifted over 3 million digital copies throughout Japan, becoming one of Amuro's highest-selling singles to date. The single also featured two unreleased tracks: "Higher" and "Arigatou". "Higher" made an appearance on her Live Style 2011, whereas "Arigatou" was made available as a free download on Amuro's official Facebook page. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were released on December 21, 2011.


title: Namie Amuro

text: The final single, "Go Round/Yeah-Oh!", was released on March 21, 2012, and continued the 100,000 sales streak in Japan. In April, the singer confirmed the release of her 10th studio and first bilingual album "Uncontrolled", which premiered on June 27, 2012. The album proved to be commercially successful, reaching the top spot on the Oricon Albums Chart and shifted 500,000 units throughout Japan. "Uncontrolled" also gave her the highest first-week sales of the year, and her 10th overall number one in the region. On September 16, Amuro was scheduled to host a special concert tour in her hometown Okinawa, commemorating her 20th anniversary in the music business. However, due to typhoon warnings in the region, the tour was cancelled and never rescheduled. After debuting her first digital single "Damage" on October 31, Amuro finished the year by conducting her 5 Major Domes Tour 2012 in Japan, spanning between November 24 and December 21, 2012, attended by around 340,000 people. Released on February 27, 2013, the Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were placed on the first position by Oricon. Their total sales exceeded 300,000 units in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On March 6, 2013, Amuro released her double A-side single "Big Boys Cry/Beautiful". Although both tracks appeared in the commercials for the make-up brand Kosé, its commercial experience resulted in being the singer's worst-performing single to date, barely shifting 30,000 units in Japan. Amuro returned to sole-digital releases with her single "Contrail", which was used as the theme song for the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) series "Flying Public Relations Office", and sold over 250,000 digital copies in Japan. Additionally, two more songs were released on the iTunes Store to promote her then-upcoming album: "Hands on Me" and "Heaven". On July 10, 2013, Amuro released her 11th studio and second bilingual album "Feel". This was her first studio release through her own record label Dimension Point, which was operated under Avex Trax. Despite offering the track "Beautiful" as a single, it did not appeal on the final track list of the album. It was commercially successful on the Oricon Albums Chart, debuting at the top spot and was certified platinum by RIAJ. In support of the album, Amuro conducted her FEEL Tour 2013, spanning between August 16 and December 23, 2013. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were released on February 26, 2014.


title: Namie Amuro

text: During the course of Amuro's digital releases, she was offered to feature in the remake of "Waterfalls", a song originally recorded by American girl-group TLC. Amuro—who knew the group during the singer's sessions with producer Dallas Austin, and whose fellow Okinawa Actors School alumni Speed had been huge fans of TLC—accepted the role, and re-recorded the rap segment as a homage to previous member Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, who had died in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras in 2002. Despite being a Japan-only release, Amuro's version was heavily criticized and caused controversy over the announcement of Amuro's involvement prior to know acknowledgement of Lopes family. However, TLC defended Amuro's involvement due to the fact neither member had commercial rights to use Lopes vocals, and decided to "use creative ways to honor Lisa’s memory and celebrate this milestone with the fans".


title: Namie Amuro

text: To open 2014, Amuro released her single "Tsuki", including the title track and two previous digital compositions – "Ballerina" and "Neonlight Lipstick". The physical single was successful in sales, while the title song achieved a platinum award by the RIAJ. On June 4, 2014, Amuro released "Ballada", her first conceptual greatest hits compilation. 15 tracks were all selected via a fan poll on the singer's website, and a few selection were re-recorded with new vocals and arrangements by Amuro. Additionally, a bonus DVD package included new music videos for her 1990's singles "Sweet 19 Blues" and "Can You Celebrate?", and two newly established videos for "Himawari" and "Four Seasons". It was placed on the first position by Oricon, and shifted under 500,000 units in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: In support of the album, Amuro conducted her second nationwide tour Live Style 2014, spanning between August 22 and December 23, 2014. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were released on February 11, 2015, through her label Dimension Point. In November 2014, Amuro released her first stand-alone single titled "Brighter Day", which featured a total of three different tracks and instrumentals. It was moderately successful on the Oricon Singles Chart, whereas the titular track sold over 250,000 digital copies in Japan. That same month, Amuro collaborated with Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai on a song titled "I'm Not Yours", which was released as a track on Tsai's album "Play" (2014). The music video of the song was published on YouTube on February 2, 2015.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On June 10, 2015, Amuro released her 12th studio and third bilingual album "Genic". It marked her first record with her own management company Stella88, which she founded after leaving Vision Factory. Despite there being five music videos from the record, the entire collection of tracks were newly recorded and featured no singles. However, it was a commercial success, peaking atop of Oricon Albums Chart and sold 250,000 copies in Japan alone. In collaboration with Google, the music video of "Anything", one of the songs from "Genic", was produced as an extension of Google Chrome. To promote the album, Amuro conducted her LIVEGENIC 2015–2016 tour, spanning between September 5, 2015, and February 10, 2016. During the course of her December concert dates, Amuro released her second independent maxi-single "Red Carpet" on December 2, 2015. The B-side track of the single, "Black Make Up", was used as the ending soundtrack of the anime series "One Piece". Despite reaching number two on Oricon Singles Chart, the sales of "Red Carpet" slumped and only shifted 36,000 units in Japan, making it one of Amuro's lowest-selling singles to date. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of LIVEGENIC 2015–2016 were released on March 2, 2016.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On May 18, 2016, Amuro released her third independent maxi-single "Mint", which was used as the theme song of Fuji TV series "Bokuno Yabai Tsuma" (2016). Despite reaching number four on the region's single chart, the digital sales skyrocketed with the music video of the song, and achieved platinum status months later. The same year in June, Amuro accepted an offer by NHK to record the theme song for the Japanese broadcast of 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. The single was titled "Hero" and saw a rise in its physical sales, achieving a gold certification by RIAJ. On October 26, 2016, Amuro released two songs "Dear Diary" and "Fighter" as a double A-side single "Dear Diary/Fighter". Both songs were used in "", a 2016 movie adaption of the manga of the same name.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro conducted her fourth annual tour Live Style 2016–2017, spanning between August 19, 2016, and May 3, 2017. The tour initially scheduled 88 dates, but due to a higher demand and further promotional activities with singles and the unreleased track "Christmas Wish", Amuro added 13 dates. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of the tour were released on May 3, 2017, and certified gold by RIAJ. On May 31, 2017, Amuro released her single "Just You and I", which sold over 100,000 digital units according to RIAJ. The following month, Amuro announced her 25th anniversary concert in her hometown Okinawa, which redeemed her cancelled 20th anniversary concert on September 16, 2012, due to typhoon warnings in the region. She opened the show on September 16 and 17, with 52,000 attenders totally (26,000 attenders each day), resulting in being one of the largest for a Japanese concert. Additionally, Amuro announced her third-time collaboration with "One Piece". The anime's theme song, "Hope", premiered on October 1, 2017.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On September 20, 2017, Amuro's 40th birthday, she announced her plan to retire from the music industry on September 16, 2018. Her final compilation album, "Finally", was released on November 8, 2017. The album includes new recordings and re-recordings of her selected singles from 1992 to 2017. "Finally" became a huge success in Japan – it was placed on the first position by Oricon and sold in 2,250,000 units by the end of 2017. In support of the album, Amuro conducted Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~ as her farewell tour, spanning between February 17 and June 3, 2018. The tour took place in Nagoya Dome, Fukuoka Dome, Sapporo Dome, Osaka Dome and Tokyo Dome. During this tour, Amuro conducted another tour, named Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~ In Asia, to perform in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Taking place in Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, Hong Kong Coliseum and Taipei Arena, Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~ In Asia began on March 17 and concluded on May 20, 2018.


title: Namie Amuro

text: On May 23, 2018, Amuro was awarded "Okinawa's National Honor Award" at Okinawa Prefecture Government Office in Naha. By August 21, the total number of pre-ordered Live DVD and Blu-ray of Final Tour 2018 (the concerts in Japan only) exceeded 1 million units in Japan. On August 25, "One Piece" featured the anime version of Amuro at the end of one of its episodes to bid a farewell to her. The Live DVD and Blu-ray of Final Tour 2018 (the concerts in Japan only) were released on August 29, 2018. On September 15, Amuro made her final appearance as an entertainer at the "We ♥ Namie Hanabi Show: I ♥ Okinawa / I ♥ Music" at the Okinawa Convention Center, a commemoration of Amuro's career and other cultural and musical aspects in Okinawa. She officially retired from the entertainment industry on September 16, 2018. On September 30, 2018, her official website, official fanclub, official Facebook page, and official online store officially terminated service. On June 16, 2019, Amuro released her entire music collection onto the iTunes store (most of which was previously restricted to Japan), through her label Dimension Point. Her records published by her own label were also released through Apple Music, Apple's streaming service, on the same day.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Amuro has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. During the early stages of her singing career, she was noted for her limited vocal capabilities, and was criticized for constantly relying on production values to overlap these flaws. For example, her first two studio albums, "Sweet 19 Blues" and "Concentration 20", were examined by Ted Mills at AllMusic, and labelled her voice very "limited" and occasionally sung "higher than she can manage". By 2000, the English language started to heavily mix in with her music, starting with "Genius 2000". In several tracks, Amuro would record her vocals in Japanese (and additionally in English), whereas back-up vocalists would provide English translations and marry the two together. By "Play", the singer would start to record tracks with less electronic synths and beats, particularly with the album track "Baby Don't Cry". According to Mills, he felt that the song focused more on her vocals than the production. Her final three studio albums, "Uncontrolled", "Feel" and "Genic", had multiple full-length English tracks and, although it received positive remarks for experimentation, she was frequently lambasted for her incomprehensible deliveries in most songs.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Throughout her career, Amuro has covered a wide range of musical styles and genres. Her music through the 1990s were influenced by eurobeat and the rise of J-pop music. Additionally, she identifies Madonna and Janet Jackson as her inspirations, despite constant comparisons with sound and imagery by critics and publications alike. "Sweet 19 Blues" stuck with J-pop elements, but she began to experiment with Western genres such as R&B, jungle, acid house, house and jazz. From "Genius 2000", she worked with American producer Dallas Austin, resulting in a fully adapted hip hop record with elements of J-pop. She carried this sound on with "Style" (2003), another record produced by Austin, and eventually onto "Queen of Hip-Pop" (2005). Amuro's transition from J-pop to "more mature, transatlantic" R&B was noted by critics, and the aforementioned title "Queen of Hip-Pop" was used by the Japanese media to identify her (the term "Hip-Pop" is Amuro's combination of hip-hop and pop).


title: Namie Amuro

text: In 2007, Amuro released "Play", which was highlighted as one of her key re-inventions of her entire career. Sonically, the record relied on R&B and hip hop elements, but started to involve contemporary dance-pop music. To an extent, Tills from AllMusic compared the effort to the works of Jennifer Lopez and En Vogue. "Uncontrolled" (2012) saw yet another transition with her sound, leaving R&B and focusing on electronic dance music. Additionally, this saw her first experimentation with full-length English language tracks. Unlike her previous records, "Uncontrolled" ventured into Western practitioners to helm the collection, including the likes of The Nervo Twins, Henrik Nordenback, Christian Fast and Peter Mansson. This trend also moved onto her follow-up album "Feel", where she worked with artists such as Hook n Sling, Dsign Music and Zedd. Her final studio album, "Genic" (2015), was her first record not handled by Japanese producers, and her second record to include almost all tracks entirely in English (after her 2013 album "Feel").


title: Namie Amuro

text: Ever since her debut, Amuro has been classified as one of Japan's most prominent and successful singers. In an opined article published by "The Japan Times", writer Ian Martin encompassed the singer alongside superlatives Yumi Matsutoya, Hikaru Utada, Seiko Matsuda and Hibari Misora as the leading female figures in Japanese music history. Although Martin identified Utada as one of the "only contemporaries" to break the Western society, he felt Amuro was her "most immediate predecessor," based solely on the fact that "[Amuro] represented a period when Japanese pop was learning to see itself as something that could stand alongside the Western music from which it took many cues." Additionally, Amuro's career has been constantly compared to the likes of Matsuda's, both whom grew up in the idol routine and having achieved commercial resilience ever since; music author Motti Regev regarded the musicians as part of the "golden age of J-Pop", before records declined due to the rise of the digital market in the mid-2000s. Because of her longevity and the numerous musical and imagery re-inventions, numerous publications have referred her as the "Queen of Japanese Pop" and the Japanese equivalent to American singers Janet Jackson and Madonna.


title: Namie Amuro

text: Throughout her years active as a singer, Amuro has sold more than 36 million records in Japan according to Oricon. According to a report by Entertainment Weekly announcing her retirement, she has sold more albums in Japan than Lady Gaga, Katy Perry or Kesha have in the United States combined. As of 2017, this makes her the fifth highest-selling female act, and fourth best-selling female solo act overall, just behind Yumi Matsutoya, Ayumi Hamasaki, Hikaru Utada, and Japanese all-girl idol group AKB48 (see total list here). Additionally, Amuro was ranked the 12th best-selling digital artist according to Japanese digital site Recochoku. The singer has achieved nine number-one studio albums with an additional five compilation/collaborative inclusions, and 10 number-one singles. She is one of the only female solo artists to achieve the most accumulations of million-certified physical singles, with a total of five ("Chase the Chance", "Don't Wanna Cry", "You're My Sunshine", "A Walk in the Park" and "Can You Celebrate?" – see her discography for more). "Can You Celebrate?" still remains the best-selling physical release by a female singer—with estimate sales of 2.750 million copies sold in Japan alone. For a brief period in 1996, her second studio album "Sweet 19 Blues" was the best-selling album in Japanese music history. Additionally, she held the record for the highest-opening sales for a female or solo artist until it was challenged by Hikaru Utada's 1999 studio album "First Love", which to this day stands as the best-selling album in Japan.


title: Namie Amuro

text: With her sudden rise to stardom, Amuro was noted by journalists and commentators as a trendsetter to the Japan and across Asia. She eventually became the most prominent figure in fashion magazines and the general press for changing the typical Japanese idol image and styles of women in Japan, in favour of "dyeing their hair brown, plucking their eyebrows... thick-soled/long boots, a miniskirt, tanned-skin and tattoos". This made her a fashion icon, and created a phenomenon fan base known as Amuraa in the 1990s, with many young girls and women looked up to her fashion, hairstyle and makeup. Additionally, her fashions also paved the ways for a Japanese fashion culture, "kogal" , and fashion trends known as "gyaru", a Japanese transliteration of gal. Anthropologist Hiroshi Aoyagi said in 2003 that Amuro changed the stereotypical idol culture. Writer Marwan Kraidy described Amuro in 2005 as part of "Japan's rising cultural power" towards the world. Nichi-Bei Josei Jānaru, writing for the "U.S.-Japan Women's Journal", believed the success of "Sweet 19 Blues" was the reason many people emulated her as a role model between 1996 and 1997.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Robert Habeck (; born 2 September 1969) is a German politician and writer who has been serving as Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and as a Member of the German Bundestag for Flensburg – Schleswig since 2021. From 2018 to 2022, he also served as co-leader of Alliance '90/The Greens, alongside Annalena Baerbock. For the 2021 German federal election, he was a member of the leading duo, alongside Baerbock, who ran for chancellor of Germany.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In 2009, Habeck was voted into the state parliament of Schleswig-Holstein as a deputy of The Greens and became group chairman. Both, at early elections in 2012 and at the federal elections in 2017 he ran as the top candidate of his own party. From 2012 to 2018 he held office as deputy minister-president and (since 2017 for digitisation as well) for the as well as for the . After he was elected federal chairman of his party in 2018, he retired from his function as minister. At the 2021 federal elections, he achieved the direct mandate of his electoral-district Flensburg-Schleswig with 28.1 percent of first votes. Habeck is allocated to the of the Green Party.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Habeck passed his final secondary-school examinations in 1989 at the Heinrich Heine School in Heikendorf in the Plön district. After completing his alternative civilian service in 1991 he began studying for a master's degree with a combination of Philosophy, German and Philology at the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg im Breisgau. After the intermediate examination in 1992/93 he attended Roskilde University in Denmark. In 1996 Habeck received a master's degree from the University of Hamburg. From 1996 to 1998 he completed a doctorate at the University of Hamburg and was awarded a doctorate in Philosophy in 2000.


title: Robert Habeck

text: From 1999 Habeck and his wife Andrea Paluch worked as freelance writers. In addition to children's books and translations of English poetry, Habeck (with Paluch) published six novels: among others, "Hauke Haien's Death" (2001), "The Day I Met My Dead Man" (2005) and "Under the Gully lies the sea" (2007). Habeck is fluent in Danish.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In 2009, Habeck was elected to the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag via the party list. In November 2011, he was voted as the top candidate of his party for the 2012 Schleswig-Holstein election. From 2009 to 2012, Habeck was chairman of the Alliance'90/The Greens group in Schleswig-Holstein.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Habeck has been Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Energy, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas in the centre-left Albig Cabinet since 2012 and in the center-right Günther Cabinet between 2017 and 2018. Under his leadership – he was not a candidate for parliament – the Green Party became the third largest group in the Landtag after the 2017 state elections. As one of his state's representatives at the Bundesrat, he served on the Committee on Agricultural Policy and Consumer Protection; the Committee on the Environment, Nature Protection and Reactor Safety; the Committee on Economic Affairs; and the Committee on Transport. From 2014 and 2016, Habeck was one of the members of Germany's temporary National Commission on the Disposal of Radioactive Waste.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Habeck served as a Green Party delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2012. He ran to become one of the two top candidates for the Greens for the 2017 German federal election, but lost by 75 votes to Cem Özdemir.


title: Robert Habeck

text: On 27 January 2018, the Green Party's national convention in Hanover elected him as chairman, a position shared with Annalena Baerbock.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Habeck was elected to the Bundestag in the 2021 German federal election, defeating the CDU incumbent Petra Nicolaisen in the constituency of Flensburg – Schleswig.


title: Robert Habeck

text: After the Greens agreed to form a traffic light coalition government with the centre-left Social Democrats and liberal Free Democrats, new Chancellor Olaf Scholz named Habeck as Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and Vice Chancellor in December 2021, making him one of the most powerful politicians in Europe.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In April 2022, Habeck presented a package of measures to speed up Germany's expansion of renewable energy, as the need to reduce the country's heavy reliance on Russian fossil fuels added urgency to its green transition plans; the package envisaged green energy accounting for 80% of the power mix by 2030, up from about 40% in 2022 and a previous target of 65%.


title: Robert Habeck

text: An opponent of nuclear energy, Habeck pushed against efforts at the EU level in 2022 to label nuclear power as a sustainable and green energy source. However, amid the 2022 Russia–European Union gas dispute, he announced plans to keep two of Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations on standby, beyond a year-end deadline to ditch the fuel, to ensure enough electricity supply through the winter during a gas crunch.


title: Robert Habeck

text: When energy-intensive German industry and German exporters were hit particularly hard by the 2021–present global energy crisis, Habeck presented on 29 September 2022 a €200 billion plan to support industry and households.


title: Robert Habeck

text: On 5 October 2022, Habeck accused the United States and other "friendly" gas supplier nations that they were profiting from the Ukraine war with "astronomical prices". He called for more solidarity by the US to assist energy-pressed allies in Europe.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Under Habeck's leadership, the ministry stopped Beijing-based Aeonmed Group in April 2022 from purchasing German medical device manufacturer Heyer Medical, based on a government assessment that there were dangers to public safety. In November 2022, he formally blocked Silex, a Swedish subsidiary of China’s Sai Microelectronics, from buying a Elmos Semiconductor plant for €85 million, saying the country had to protect key industries from potential security threats.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In September 2022, Habeck confirmed that Germany approved new arms export deals to Saudi Arabia, despite the ban imposed as a result of the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen. The biggest importers of German weapons were South Korea, Algeria and Egypt.


title: Robert Habeck

text: Habeck repeatedly declared himself in favor of evacuating refugees out of the camps on the Greek islands.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In November 2020, Habeck presented a 11-points-action-plan against potential Islamic – individuals deemed a security risk due to extremist views without necessarily being accused of a crime – which he worked out with Konstantin von Notz and Irene Mihalic, politicians for domestic policy. One topic of this paper is to recruit more staff for the local authorities to make closer surveillance and eventually a more consequent enforcement of prevailing arrest warrants possible. Another aspect of these demands was the prohibition of relevant Salafist associations.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In an interview in 2018 Habeck positioned himself against an ethnic notion of nation, which he clearly differentiated from the notion of constitutive people. Additionally, he warned of uncritically acquiring the demands of identity politics.


title: Robert Habeck

text: After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Habeck's ministry vetoed extending the life of Germany's remaining nuclear plants, arguing that the costs involved outweighed the benefits. Critics said that nuclear energy was a way to reduce Germany's reliance on Russian gas. Habeck cautioned, "If we do not obtain more gas next winter and if deliveries from Russia were to be cut then we would not have enough gas to heat all our houses and keep all our industry going". On 20 March 2022, he met Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Habeck said Germany reached a long-term energy partnership with Qatar, one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, and added: "Although we might still need Russian gas this year, in the future it won't be so any more. And this is only the start". Habeck said Germany plans to end imports of Russian natural gas by mid-2024. According to Habeck, the planned end of Russian energy imports will permanently raise energy prices for German industry and consumers. In June 2022, Habeck warned that Germany is facing a "more significant" energy crisis than during the 1973 oil crisis.


title: Robert Habeck

text: In an interview with "Der Tagesspiegel" at the end of May 2020, Habeck argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was "maybe the first time" that health care was more important than the profit motive and economic growth. He added: "The moral is that we have to configure our economy in a way that it supports common interests and that it becomes crisis-proof as well". Part of this was environmental and climate change mitigation, saying: "The time of minor compromises is over. All parties can think much bigger". The money that had been made liquid for the crisis management must also be used to fight the economic crisis as well as the climate crisis. The past idea that a speed-limit on the Autobahn would restrict personal freedom seemed ridiculous after the decisions that had been made concerning the COVID crisis. He stated: "If one acts brave enough, one can broadly anchor the willingness of change. Ambitious politicians have received a second wind".


title: This War of Mine

text: This War of Mine is a war survival video game developed and published by the Polish game development company 11 Bit Studios. The game differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the civilian experience of war rather than front line combat. Characters have to make many difficult decisions in order to survive everyday dangers. There are various endings for each character, depending on the decisions made in the game. "This War of Mine" was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in November 2014. The Android port was released on July 14, 2015, followed by the iOS port on the following day (July 15).<ref name="Android/iOS"></ref> An expansion pack called "This War of Mine: The Little Ones" was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 29, 2016,<ref name="PS4/XONE"></ref> and on June 1, 2016 for Windows. A version of the game that includes all the content entitled This War Of Mine: Complete Edition was released for the Nintendo Switch on November 27, 2018. The game has sold over 7 million units worldwide across multiple platforms.


title: This War of Mine

text: "This War of Mine" is a survival-themed strategy game where the player controls a group of civilian survivors hiding inside a damaged house in the besieged fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The main goal of the game is to stay alive during the war with the tools and materials that the player can gather. Most of the characters under the player's control have no military background nor any kind of survival experience and will require constant intervention by the player in order to stay alive. The player must maintain their characters' health, hunger, and mood levels until the declaration of a ceasefire, which occurs after a randomized duration.


title: This War of Mine

text: In the daytime, the survivors will have to stay inside because there are hostile snipers outside, thereby offering the player time to craft tools from gathered materials, trade, upgrade the shelter, cook food and heal the survivors. At night, the player is given the opportunity to go out and search nearby areas for valuable resources to survive day by day. During their excursions, the survivors, controlled by players, can encounter other NPC survivors of the war, who they can choose to assist by offering food or medicine, or rob and kill. The player can also build a radio inside their shelter, which will provide useful information such as weather warnings, updates on the city's economy, and news of the ongoing war effort to help the player plan appropriate shelter upgrades and scavenging missions.


title: This War of Mine

text: The player starts off with one to four survivors whose actions the player can affect. The actions the player makes will change the type of endings each survivor has. Each character has one or two traits that helps/hinders the player, besides hidden, varying stats that affect combat, movement speed, and so on. Some traits are useful during certain days while others are useful all the time. For example, one character named Bruno has a trait called "Good Cook", which helps the player use less fuel and water when cooking meals. There are a total of 12 playable characters. The "Little Ones" DLC includes the possibility of adding an extra character, a child survivor, that cannot defend itself or perform any of the tasks needed to maintain the shelter at first. In addition, the child survivor must be given constant attention to prevent it from becoming depressed but can be taught by the other survivors to perform small chores like cooking, filtering water, or growing crops, and once bonded with an adult, it can sleep with them in the same bed at night, removing the need for a separate bed for both.


title: This War of Mine

text: The game was inspired by the poor living conditions and wartime atrocities that Bosnian civilians endured during the 1992–96 Siege of Sarajevo, the longest city siege since World War II. In November 2014, unlicensed copies of the game were made available online. The developer's response was to post a number of working Steam keys, encouraging downloaders to share them with friends, and buy the game if their financial situation allowed.


title: This War of Mine

text: A scenario editor was added into the game through update 1.3, which allows players to create and select survivors. The editor also allows environmental conditions and the length of conflicts to be changed.


title: This War of Mine

text: To celebrate the game's third anniversary, 11 bit Studios released the first of three story-driven DLC's; "Fathers Promise" on November 14, 2017. The second story DLC, "The Last Broadcast," was released on November 14, 2018. In November 2018, 11 bit studios announced "This War Of Mine: Complete Edition" exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, releasing later the same month. This version compiles all the content in a single package, including the original base game, the Anniversary Edition content, "The Little Ones", and its episodic DLC follow-ups "Fathers Promise", "The Last Broadcast", and "Fading Embers". A physical retail version of the game will be available in Europe for the Nintendo Switch on its worldwide launch day, courtesy of Deep Silver.


title: This War of Mine

text: The iOS version of "This War of Mine" received "universal acclaim", while the PC and console versions received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.


title: This War of Mine

text: "The Digital Fix" gave the PC version nine out of ten and said, "Whether you choose to perceive it through a moral lens or not, there’s a great tactical survival mechanic driving this game beneath the didactics. Although the events it depicts are depressing to contemplate at length, I found myself coming back again and again to try and get it right somehow, beat the odds, and save my people." The same website also gave the PlayStation 4 version of "The Little Ones" eight out of ten and said, "While better on PC, the PS4 release brings this remarkable game to a new crowd." 411Mania gave the Xbox One version 8.5 out of 10 and said that it was "not a game I will recommend if you like settling down for a visceral experience, or earning XP, or shooting stuff dead. It's not fast paced. It's not much fun to actually play. It'll make you feel terrible about your actions at almost every turn. But in spite of all that, there is something so essential about this gaming experience that I urge you to give this game a try." "Digital Spy" gave the PC version four stars out of five and said that the "earnest human touch keeps "This War of Mine" compelling even when you mess up and the rubble all comes tumbling down around you, leaving you just enough hope for the next attempt that you'll dive back in and endure it all again." "Metro UK" gave the PS4 version seven out of ten and called it "A daring, and largely successful, attempt to show the civilian side of war, that succeeds as an interactive drama even when it occasionally fails as a game." However, "Slant Magazine" gave the same console version two stars out of five and said that the game "seems interested only in presenting a near-pornographic level of human despair in a warped attempt at edifying players."


title: This War of Mine

text: The game reportedly made back its development costs in its first two days for sale, and had sold over 4.5 million units by April 2019.


title: This War of Mine

text: The game sold about 700,000 copies during its first year of release. The game's release on consoles and mobile devices expanded its audience, and the game was able to maintain steady sales and growth five years after its initial launch, according to 11 bit's publishing director Paweł Feldman. As of May, 2022, the game has sold over 7 million copies across all platforms.


title: This War of Mine

text: In 2020, the Polish Chancellery of the Prime Minister announced that "This War of Mine" would be added to the recommended reading list in Polish high schools during the academic year of 2020–2021. This was the first initiative in the world to add a video game to recommended readings in school.


title: This War of Mine

text: The Microsoft Windows version of the game is free to download from the Polish government's website, alongside lesson topics for teachers.


title: This War of Mine

text: Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, 11 Bit Studios announced that all profits earned from "This War of Mine" for seven days starting 24 February 2022 would be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to directly support victims. Within the week the company had raised over £500,000. In total $850,000 was raised.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Kyle Reese is a fictional character in the "Terminator" franchise, who serves as the protagonist of the first film with a supporting role in other works. The character is portrayed by Michael Biehn in "The Terminator" (1984) and "" (1991), Jonathan Jackson in "" (2008–2009), Anton Yelchin in "Terminator Salvation" (2009), and Jai Courtney in "Terminator Genisys" (2015).


title: Kyle Reese

text: Reese is a soldier in the human resistance from the post-apocalyptic future of "The Terminator" (1984), where most of humanity has already been wiped out in a deadly nuclear war on August 29, 1997, sparked off by an artificial intelligence known as Skynet. The survivors fight extinction against the sentient computer system's genocidal war on humanity. The resistance is led by John Connor, under whom Reese serves.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In "The Terminator" and "Terminator Genisys" (2015), Skynet sends one of its most feared machines, a Model 101/T-800 Terminator, back to pre-apocalypse Los Angeles, California on May 12, 1984, to assassinate John Connor's mother Sarah Connor and prevent his birth. Reese volunteers to travel back to 1984 and intercept the Terminator.


title: Kyle Reese

text: According to Terminator Genisys, Kyle Reese was born in 2004. He eventually becomes a sergeant (dog tag number DN38416), working in the Tech-Com facility of the Resistance. He is one of the personal soldiers to John Connor, and is often selected for personal infiltrator missions by John.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Reese learned to make explosives as a child. He also assisted in stealing and reverse-engineering most of the Skynet technology, conducting raids on armories and stealing most of the laser-rifle equipment with his troops for the Resistance, along with the time-traveling technology that Skynet had developed.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In 2029, Skynet has been defeated by human resistance, but manage to send one of its infiltrators back in time to assassinate Sarah Connor before she can give birth to John; the resistance decides to send a soldier back to defeat the Terminator and protect Sarah's life. Reese personally volunteers for a one-way mission back to pre-apocalypse Los Angeles to save her.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Once he had been sent back, he was told that the time displacement equipment would be destroyed, stranding him and the Terminator in 1984. Arriving naked and unarmed, and not knowing what the Terminator looks like in its human disguise, Reese steals clothes and a police-issue shotgun. He locates and follows Sarah (Linda Hamilton), shadowing her until the Model 101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) attempts to carry out its mission. Reese rescues her from the Terminator's attacks in a nightclub and in a police station, warning her of the impending doom of the human race and of the future significance carried by her and her unborn son.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Though initially hostile towards Reese, Sarah grows to trust him as he becomes the only thing between her and the Terminator. The two grow closer as they continue to run from the Terminator and Kyle eventually reveals that he volunteered for the mission. Though battle-hardened and world-weary, Reese had fallen deeply in love with Sarah, a woman he had only known through a photo given to him by John, and traveled back in time to meet her. After Reese tells Sarah of this history, the two consummate their relationship and ultimately conceive John. The Terminator tracks them down and chases them through Los Angeles; Reese is wounded by gunfire, but manages to blow up a fuel truck driven by the Terminator before it can run over Sarah. However, its now-bare metal endoskeleton emerges from the fire and pursues them into an automated factory. Reese attempts to fight the Terminator but is overpowered, though he manages to wedge the last of his homemade pipe bombs into its chassis and set it off; the explosion kills Reese and blows the Terminator apart. The machine's upper body continues to crawl after Sarah, who crushes it in a hydraulic press to stop it once and for all.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Though gone, Sarah continues to love Reese and mourn his death. During one of her constant nightmares about the nuclear war, Reese appears in a dream state version of her cell in Pescadero State Hospital and reminds her of the coming danger, and the need to protect their son (Edward Furlong). However, as Reese begins to walk out of the cell, Sarah desperately follows him only to be led to a playground of kids playing before Skynet's nuclear weapons hit Los Angeles, which left Sarah to wake up in a shock still in her cell. Though this scene was cut from the theatrical version, it was later restored for home video releases.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Reese is later mentioned by John himself, who admits to the Terminator protecting him from the T-1000 that despite Sarah's tough exterior, she still loves Reese and he often sees her crying for him. John expresses his own regret for never having the chance to meet Reese in person. The Terminator assures John that one day he will.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Kyle Reese is portrayed as a teenager by Anton Yelchin in "Terminator Salvation." The film takes place in 2018, and it revolves around his first meeting with his future son John (Christian Bale). As a teenager, Kyle was the leader of the Los Angeles Resistance cell, even though it only consisted of two people. Because of this, he aspires to join the formal Resistance regulars, who mark themselves with a red stripe on their left sleeve, once he has "earned it".


title: Kyle Reese

text: It is clear that Kyle is immediately drawn to the charismatic figure of John Connor because he leaves his Los Angeles base after hearing the latter's Resistance broadcast. Inspired by Connor's example, he frequently quotes segments of the broadcasts and adapts strategies that Connor suggests for taking down Terminators. He similarly shares a unique bond with Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who helps hone Kyle's strategies in close-quarters combat, whereas Kyle's lectures on what humans are fighting for reminds Marcus of his humanity.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In the film, Kyle's father had initially survived Judgment Day but died prior to the events of the movie. Due to the original Terminator failing to kill Sarah and the T-1000 and the T-X failing to kill John in the past, Kyle has become Skynet's primary target in order to stop him from travelling back in time to protect Sarah in the first place, as well as using him to lure John into a trap. In the film, Kyle is already working with and protecting a child named Star (Jadagrace Berry) when the two later save Marcus from a T-600 attack in the ruins of Los Angeles.


title: Kyle Reese

text: After Skynet captures him outside of Los Angeles, Reese, upon escaping, later works with John and Marcus building a bomb to destroy Skynet's San Francisco command. The two also fight the first T-800 model, though John tricks him into leaving the facility without him. Marcus eventually defeats the T-800 by tearing its head off and escapes the base with John and Reese before they detonate the bombs, destroying the facility and taking thousands of unfinished T-800s with it, changing the future for the better. At the end of the film, Reese is promoted to resistance soldier and becomes part of John's inner circle consisting primarily of Kate Brewster, Blair Williams and Barnes.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Reese is portrayed by Jai Courtney in "Terminator Genisys", and by Bryant Prince as Reese's 12-year-old self. His history is similar to James Cameron's established canon and is John Connor's (Jason Clarke) lieutenant. In the film, it is revealed that Reese is of Irish descent on his mother's side, and as the film serves as a reboot of the series instead of a sequel to "Salvation", Reese is depicted as having been found as a child by Connor himself, and his interactions with Star and Marcus Wright are absent.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In 2029, Connor sends Reese back through time to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), then the latter witnesses Connor being attacked by Skynet (in its physical form) and a temporal paradox occurs afterwards before Kyle reaching his destination. He discovers that Sarah has been raised and trained by a reprogrammed T-800 (Schwarzenegger), creating an alternate timeline and thus making Kyle a remnant of the previous. In the changed timeline Skynet has turned Connor into a T-3000 tasked with ensuring Genisys - this timeline's precursor to Skynet - becomes active. At the same time, Reese continues to exist, as his parents still met, though under different circumstances, and it is his knowledge of Genisys through his new memories before the timeline's change that enables them to travel forward to 2017 instead of 1997. The reprogrammed T-800, Sarah and Reese defeat Genisys and Connor/T-3000, and Reese meets his 12 year old equivalent in the active timeline, instructing him to repeat a warning mantra each morning, deliberately creates a temporal causal loop to ensure he already knows his task in the future.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Director Tim Miller stated that Kyle Reese does not exist in the new alternate timeline that is depicted in the 2019 film "", because unlike the "Genisys" timeline, where Reese's parents still met and conceived him despite Judgment Day not yet occurring, in the "Dark Fate" timeline, his parents did not cross paths.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In the parallel universe television show, "", it is revealed that Reese has an older brother named Derek, who becomes one of the show's main characters. He is also a Resistance soldier from the future.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In this series, Kyle Reese is played by Jonathan Jackson in the episode "Dungeons & Dragons" which details how he and his brother are separated during a recon mission before he made his trip through time to protect Sarah Connor; further details are in the episode "Goodbye to All That" of the second season, during Derek's recollection of the future war. An eight-year-old version of Kyle Reese, portrayed by Skyler Gisondo, briefly appears in the episode "What He Beheld" when Derek Reese takes John Connor out for ice cream on his 16th birthday.


title: Kyle Reese

text: They find a younger Kyle and Derek playing baseball at the park, with Derek admits his knowledge of John's relation to Kyle; John then sees his uncle as a surrogate father since. In the episode "Goodbye to All That," during one of Derek's recollections of the future war, Kyle (when he was a Corporal) and a small group of his unit attempted to save forty prisoners, including General John Connor, from Skynet's forces. However, he became trapped and one of the Resistance's senior officers, Martin Bedell, sacrifices his life to save him and free Skynet's prisoners. In the episode "The Demon Hand", it is hinted at by Sarah to Derek Reese that Kyle's ashes were scattered "in the grass"; a later episode shows that he was in fact buried in a grave marked only by the year of his death, and in the next-to-last episode of the series, Derek's own ashes are buried next to his brother, or at least in the same cemetery where his brother rests.


title: Kyle Reese

text: A mental image of Kyle Reese appeared to a wounded Sarah in the episode "The Good Wound". Throughout the episode, her image of Kyle guides her in finding medical treatment for herself along with getting help from Derek Reese, Kyle's brother. In the season two finale "Born to Run", John is led by Catherine Weaver to an alternate post-Judgment Day timeline where John Connor has never led the Resistance due to the displacement from his present. There, he encounters his father for the first time.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Kyle Reese appears in the video game, "", developed by Paradigm Entertainment, set before the events of the first film. He was voiced by Julio Cesar Cedillo.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Kyle Reese appears in the mobile MMO strategy video game, "", created by Plarium. The events of the game take place in the alternate, post-apocalyptic future timeline of "Terminator Genisys", where an older Kyle becomes the leader of the resistance movement against Skynet instead of John Connor.


title: Kyle Reese

text: It was originally scripted that Reese and another soldier, named "Sumner", were sent to protect Sarah from the Terminator, but Sumner died upon arriving after the time portal fused him into a fire escape (the first two sequels show the time displacement field melting through whatever object is in the way; e.g. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" shows the field melt a hole in a chain link fence when the T-1000 arrives, and obliterate part of a semi truck when the T-800 arrives). In the original script, Reese says to Dr. Silberman, "The Terminator had already gone through. Connor sent two of us to intercept it, then zeroed the whole place, but Sumner didn't make it." Sumner would later appear in a "Sarah Connor Chronicles" episode and make it alive through the time portal with Kyle's brother and two other Resistance time-traveling agents.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Arnold Schwarzenegger was the original choice to play Reese, but director James Cameron ultimately decided to cast him as the Terminator instead. According to Schwarzenegger, O. J. Simpson was one of the first choices to play the Terminator opposite Schwarzenegger's Reese, but Cameron decided against it on the basis that Simpson, at that time, would not be believable to audiences as a killer.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Michael Biehn almost did not get the role of Reese because, at his audition, he spoke in a Southern accent after having just auditioned for a role in a stage production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" earlier that day and could not shake the accent. The producers did not want Reese to have an accent. After Biehn's agent explained the situation to the producers, he got a second audition and won the part. The original scriptment gave Reese's age as 21, while a later draft gave his age as 22. In real life, Biehn was 27 years old at the time that he was cast as Reese.


title: Kyle Reese

text: In "", Michael Biehn reprises the role of Kyle Reese; Sarah Connor, under heavy sedation, imagines him visiting her in a mental institution. Largely unchanged from his appearance in the first film, he embraces her and implores her to go to their son's aid, reminding her that "the future is not set." This scene was removed for the original theatrical release, but restored to the extended editions released.


title: Kyle Reese

text: Michael Biehn's performance was met positively with critics, highlighting his ability to develop Reese's wounded core and longing despite the fast-paced nature of James Cameron's first film and for playing the heroic role "unusually sensitive".


title: Kyle Reese

text: Anton Yelchin's performance in "Salvation" was also praised, described as "spirited" and being the film's "secret weapon".


title: Kyle Reese

text: Jai Courtney, however, was universally considered miscast, described as a "dull-witted meathead" compared to Biehn's "skinny, bright-eyed, and very sweet" Kyle. Criticism was also made of Courtney's acting, total lack of charisma and over strong physique for an actor playing a character supposed to have grown up in a nuclear wasteland.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Pretty Little Liars is a series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard. Beginning with 2006's initial novel of the same name, the series follows the lives of four girls—Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery and Emily Fields.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: The novels appeared on "The New York Times" Best Seller list for 62 weeks. The series spawned a media franchise with a television series adaptation loosely based on the novels which debuted on June 8, 2010, on ABC Family. The franchise has been licensed by Amazon.com's Kindle Worlds range of non-canon ebooks.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: The series is loosely divided into arcs, chronicling the introduction and reveal of each "A". Set in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the series follows the lives of four teenage girls nicknamed "the Pretty Little Liars" or simply "the Liars", whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee leader, Alison DiLaurentis. Three years after her mysterious disappearance, the girls begin receiving intimidating messages from an anonymous character named "A". "A" threatens to expose their secrets, including long-forgotten ones they thought only Alison knew. Shortly after the messages begin, Alison's body is discovered buried in her yard. The books progress with the four girls trying to figure out the identity of "A" and facing many dangerous obstacles and twists as they do so.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Spencer Hastings: Spencer is a headstrong, intelligent, overachieving girl who comes from the wealthy Hastings family and is usually forced into winning everything.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Aria Montgomery: Aria is a quirky and artsy girl who, at the beginning of the books, is trying to find herself.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Emily Fields: Emily is considered the jock of the group, being a physical, loyal girl who struggles with her sexuality. Near the end of the series she also struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Alison DiLaurentis: Alison is the former "Queen Bee" of her clique, consisting of Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily. It is later revealed that the Alison the girls thought they knew was her twin sister, Courtney. "Real Ali" was friends with Naomi Zeigler and Riley Wolfe up until the sixth grade, when Courtney took her place. She had supposedly been killed at the beginning of the series. However, she is revealed to have been alive and also their tormentor "A" as she was mistaken for her twin sister Courtney, who pretended to be her. Alison was sent to The Preserve at Addison-Stevens, a rehab facility for mentally ill patients, which she believed was the Liars' fault, and has been plotting revenge ever since.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Her identical twin sister, Courtney DiLaurentis, debuted in "Wanted" after the TV show began in 2010. In the prequel, Courtney-as-Ali started disappearing in the last chapter and getting almost killed numerous times, until the end of the series ("Vicious") when Ali-as-Courtney came out and started becoming friends with her twin "Ali" again after rehab with Tabitha and Iris, two lookalikes of Ali, all in the penultimate chapter.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: In the book, their older brother's name is Jason DiLaurentis and their half-sisters are Melissa and Spencer Hastings.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: Courtney DiLaurentis: "Alison", the one who originally befriended the four girls in the sixth grade, is later revealed to be actually Courtney in the books (often referred to by the Liars as Our Ali, or Their Ali.) She is the third child to Jessica and Kenneth. The twins were described to be inseparable as children, but Alison started to exhibit a vicious jealousy towards Courtney as they grew up, and the close bond deteriorated completely when she once tried to drown Courtney. Probably in a psychological phenomenon known as projection, Alison managed to convince, and possibly brainwash, Courtney at home and at school that she indeed was the jealous one. She made her refer to herself as Alison, adamantly, to their parents and teachers, her motive being that her sister would eventually be detained for insanity. Her plan eventually worked, and was sent to The Preserve at Addison-Stevens after a physical argument with Alison. But years later in a fit of vengeance on a rare visit home, Courtney managed to swindle a plan to trick their parents that Alison was Courtney when it was time to leave, Ali's claims that she was Ali making her parents believe her even less. Subsequently, Courtney morphs into "Queen Bee Ali" and, out of pure chance, befriends the Liars up until the night of her infamous disappearance when she was killed and buried by the real Alison DiLaurentis and her accomplice Nick Maxwell.


title: Pretty Little Liars (book series)

text: A: A is the main antagonist of the series, being, for the most part, an anonymous character who relentlessly torments many characters, in particular the Liars. Mona Vanderwaal, Alison DiLaurentis and Nick Maxwell are discovered to be A. Mona became A due to Alison and the Liars being responsible for The Jenna Thing, which burned her too. However, she is killed when Spencer pushes her off a cliff face and her neck is caught between rocks. However, a new "A" rises, this time even more determined to hurt the Liars. This A is revealed to be Alison herself who wanted revenge on the Liars for ruining her life and Nick, who is revealed to be her accomplice.