title: Hi-Fi murders

text: The bodies were discovered almost three hours later, when Orren's wife and other son came to the store looking for them. Orren's son heard noises coming from the basement and broke down the back door, while Mrs. Walker called the Ogden police. Stanley Walker and Ansley were already dead; Carol Naisbitt was taken by ambulance to St. Benedict's Hospital (now Ogden Regional Medical Center) but was pronounced dead on arrival. Cortney, although not expected to live, survived with severe and irreparable brain damage; he was hospitalized for 266 days before being released. Orren Walker survived with extensive burns to his mouth and chin, as well as the damage to his ear caused by the pen.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Hours after news of the crime broke, an anonymous Air Force employee called the Ogden police and told them that Andrews had confided to him months earlier, "One of these days I'm going to rob that Hi-Fi shop, and if anybody gets in the way, I'm going to kill them." Hours later, two teenage boys dumpster diving near Hill Air Force Base, where Pierre and Andrews were stationed, contacted the police after discovering the victims' wallets and purses, recognizing their pictures from the drivers' licenses.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: The detective who responded to the scene, believing the killers might be in the crowd, put on a show for the gathered airmen. Speaking dramatically, he waved each piece of evidence in the air with tongs as he removed it from the dumpster. Later, he noted that most of the service personnel who gathered around the dumpster stood still and watched in relative silence, with the exception of two men, later identified as Pierre and Andrews, who paced around the crowd, speaking loudly and making frantic gestures with their hands. The detective later received an award from the Utah branch of the Justice Department for his use of proactive techniques.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Based on the two men's reactions to the evidence being removed from the trash bin, and the officer's implication of Andrews, Pierre and Roberts were arrested. A search warrant was then issued for their barracks. Police found fliers for the Hi-Fi Shop and a rental contract for a unit at a public storage facility. Following the issuance of another search warrant, stereo equipment taken from the Hi-Fi Shop, later identified via serial numbers, was recovered from the storage unit. Also recovered was the half-empty bottle of Drano.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: With the collection of the evidence, Pierre, Andrews, and Roberts were charged with first degree murder and aggravated robbery.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: The joint trial of Pierre, Andrews, and Roberts for first-degree murder and robbery began on October 15, 1974, in Farmington, in neighboring Davis County. On November 16, 1974, Pierre and Andrews were convicted of all charges; Roberts was convicted only of robbery. Four days later, Pierre and Andrews were sentenced to death. Roberts was sentenced to five years to life imprisonment and was paroled in 1987.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: During the trial, it was revealed that Pierre and Andrews had robbed the store with the intention of killing anyone they came across, and in the months prior to the robbery had been looking for a way to commit the murders quietly and cleanly. The two then repeatedly watched the film "Magnum Force" (1973), in which a prostitute (played by Margaret Avery) is forced to drink Drano and is then shown immediately dropping dead. Pierre and Andrews decided that this would be an efficient method of murder and decided to use it in their crime.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Survivor Orren Walker was the star witness for the prosecution. Due to his amnesia, Cortney Naisbitt was unable to testify. His father, Byron Hunter Naisbitt, did testify.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: The official police report stated that six black men driving two vans committed the robbery. Roberts and another man remained with the cars, and two others loaded the vans, while Pierre and Andrews tortured and killed the victims. However, detectives only had enough evidence to convict Pierre, Andrews, and Roberts. Ogden Police Department Officer Delroy White, who was a detective when he worked the case, observed: "Andrews was the brains behind the whole deal, the one who organized it [...] Pierre was the enforcer."


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Pierre and Andrews became notoriously hated prisoners at Utah State Prison, and were particularly reviled on death row. In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore (also facing capital punishment) was reported to have said, "I'll see you in Hell, Pierre and Andrews!", as he passed their cells on the way to his execution by firing squad. However, the "Deseret News" reported that Gilmore's parting words to the Hi-Fi killers, moments before his execution were: "Adios, Pierre and Andrews. I'll be seeing you directly."


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Following the handing down of death sentences to the defendants, the NAACP and Amnesty International campaigned to commute Pierre and Andrews' death sentences. The NAACP demanded that Pierre and Andrews' death sentences should be revoked because of racial bias at the trial. They noted that the defendants were both black, and the victims and jury were all white. According to Amnesty International, the sole black member of the jury pool was stricken peremptorily by the prosecution during jury selection; however, it was revealed that the juror was dismissed because he was a law-enforcement officer who personally knew "just about everyone tied to the case." In addition, lawyers for the state pointed out that the jury makeup made perfect sense given Ogden's demographics (the city was overwhelmingly white at the time), and was not intentional.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: Andrews also accused the judicial system of racism following the NAACP's request for reduced sentences. In an interview with "USA Today", he claimed that he had never intended to kill anyone; this was later rebutted when detectives cited a statement by Andrews in which he admitted being the one who purchased the drain cleaner and brought it to the store on the night of the killings.


title: Hi-Fi murders

text: After Pierre's execution, a petition for a stay of Andrews' execution was submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission petition alleged that a hand-written note, "hang the niggers," had been found in the jury area during a recess, and that the judge had refused a request for a mistrial and a right to question jurors concerning the note. Despite these appeals, both death sentences were upheld. In December 1996, the Inter-American Commission found that the United States had violated its international obligations by denying William Andrews a trial free from racial discrimination.


title: Wilhelmus

text: "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus" (; ; English translation: "The William"), is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572, making it the oldest national anthem in use today, provided that the latter is defined as consisting of both a melody and lyrics. Although "Wilhelmus" was not recognized as the official national anthem until 1932, it has always been popular with parts of the Dutch population and resurfaced on several occasions in the course of Dutch history before gaining its present status. It was also the anthem of the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 1964.


title: Wilhelmus

text: "Wilhelmus" originated in the Dutch Revolt, the nation's struggle to achieve independence from the Spanish Empire. It tells of the Father of the Nation William of Orange who was stadholder in the Netherlands under the King of Spain. In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks to the Dutch about both the revolt and his own, personal struggle: to be faithful to the king, without being unfaithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch. In the lyrics William compares himself with the biblical David who serves under the tyrannic king Saul. As the merciful David defeats the unjust Saul and is rewarded by God with the kingdom of Israel, so too William hopes to be rewarded with a kingdom. Both "Wilhelmus" and the Dutch Revolt should be seen in the light of the 16th century Reformation in Europe


title: Wilhelmus

text: and the resulting persecution of Protestants by the Spanish Inquisition in the Low Countries. Militant music proved very useful not only in lampooning Roman clerks and repressive monarchs but also in generating class-transcending social cohesion. In successfully combining a psalmic character with political relevancy, "Wilhelmus" stands as the pre-eminent example of the genre.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The melody of "Wilhelmus" was borrowed from a well-known Roman Catholic French song titled "Autre chanson de la ville de Chartres assiégée par le prince de Condé", or in short: "Chartres". This song ridiculed the failed Siege of Chartres in 1568 by the Huguenot (Protestant) Prince de Condé during the French Wars of Religion. However, the triumphant contents of "Wilhelmus" differ greatly from the content of the original song, making it subversive at several levels. Thus, the Dutch Protestants had taken over an anti-Protestant song, and adapted it into propaganda for their own agenda. In that way, "Wilhelmus" was typical for its time: it was common practice in the 16th century for warring groups to steal each other's songs in order to rewrite them.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Even though the melody stems from 1568, the first known written down version of it comes from 1574; at the time the anthem was sung at a much quicker pace. Dutch composer Adriaen Valerius recorded the current melody of "Wilhelmus" in his "Nederlantsche Gedenck-clanck" in 1626, slowing down the melody's pace, probably to allow it to be sung in churches.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The origins of the lyrics are uncertain. "Wilhelmus" was first written some time between the start of the Eighty Years' War in April 1568 and the capture of Brielle on 1 April 1572. Soon after the anthem was finished it was said that either Philips of Marnix, a writer, statesman and former mayor of Antwerp, or Dirck Coornhert, a politician and theologian, wrote the lyrics. However, this is disputed as neither Marnix nor Coornhert ever mentioned that they had written the lyrics, even though the song was immensely popular in their time. "Wilhelmus" also has some odd rhymes in it. In some cases the vowels of certain words were altered to allow them to rhyme with other words. Some see this as evidence that neither Marnix or Coornhert wrote the anthem, as they were both experienced poets when "Wilhelmus" was written, and it is said they would not have taken these small liberties. Hence some believe that the lyrics of the Dutch national anthem were the creation of someone who just wrote one poem for the occasion and then disappeared from history. A French translation of "Wilhelmus" appeared around 1582.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Recent stylometric research has mentioned Pieter Datheen as a possible author of the text of the Dutch national anthem. Dutch and Flemish researchers (Meertens Institute, Utrecht University and University of Antwerp) discovered by chance a striking number of similarities between his style and the style of the national anthem.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The complete text comprises fifteen stanzas. The anthem is an acrostic: the first letters of the fifteen stanzas formed the name "Willem van Nassov" ("Nassov" was a contemporary orthographic variant of "Nassau"). In the current Dutch spelling the first words of the 12th and 13th stanzas begin with Z instead of S.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Like many of the songs of the period, it has a complex structure, composed around a thematic chiasmus: the text is symmetrical, in that verses one and 15 resemble one another in meaning, as do verses two and 14, three and 13, etc., until they converge in the 8th verse, the heart of the song: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter from King Saul's tyranny. Even so I fled this welter", where the comparison is made not only between the biblical David and William of Orange as a merciful and just leader of the Dutch Revolt, but also between the tyrant King Saul and the Spanish crown, and between the promised land of Israel granted by God to David, and a kingdom granted by God to William.


title: Wilhelmus

text: In the first person, as if quoting himself, William speaks about how his disagreement with his king troubles him; he tries to be faithful to his king, but he is above all faithful to his conscience: to serve God and the Dutch people. Therefore, the last two lines of the first stanza indicate that the leader of the Dutch civil war against the Spanish Empire, of which they were part, had no specific quarrel with king Philip II of Spain, but rather with his emissaries in the Low Countries, such as Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. This may have been because at the time (late 16th century) it was uncommon to doubt publicly the divine right of kings, who were accountable to God alone. In 1581 the Netherlands nevertheless rejected the legitimacy of the king of Spain's rule over it in the Act of Abjuration.


title: Wilhelmus

text: "Duytschen" (in English generally translated as "Dutch", "native" or "Germanic") in the first stanza is a reference to William's roots; its modern Dutch equivalent, "Duits", exclusively means "German", and it may refer to William's ancestral house (Nassau, Germany) or to the lands of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Netherlands. But most probably it is simply a reference to the broader meaning of the word, which points out William as a "native" of the fatherland, as opposed to the king of Spain, who seldom or never visited the Netherlands. The prince thus states that his roots are Germanic rather than Romance – in spite of his being Prince of Orange as well.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Though only proclaimed the national anthem in 1932, the "Wilhelmus" already had a centuries-old history. It had been sung on many official occasions and at many important events since the outbreak of the Dutch Revolt in 1568, such as the siege of Haarlem in 1573 and the ceremonial entry of the Prince of Orange into Brussels on 18 September 1578.


title: Wilhelmus

text: It has been claimed that during the gruesome torture of Balthasar Gérard (the assassin of William of Orange) in 1584, the song was sung by the guards who sought to overpower Gérard's screams when boiling pigs' fat was poured over him. Gérard allegedly responded "Sing! Dutch sinners! Sing! But know that soon I shall be sung of!".


title: Wilhelmus

text: Another legend claims that following the Navigation Act 1651 (an ordinance by Oliver Cromwell requiring all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to dip their flag in salute) the "Wilhelmus" was sung (or rather, shouted) by the sailors on the Dutch flagship "Brederode" in response to the first warning shot fired by an English fleet under Robert Blake, when their captain Maarten Tromp refused to lower his flag. At the end of the song, which coincided with the third and last English warning shot, Tromp fired a full broadside, thereby beginning the Battle of Goodwin Sands and the First Anglo-Dutch War.


title: Wilhelmus

text: During the Dutch Golden Age, it was conceived essentially as the anthem of the House of Orange-Nassau and its supporters – which meant, in the politics of the time, the anthem of a specific political faction which was involved in a prolonged struggle with opposing factions (which sometimes became violent, verging on civil war). Therefore, the fortunes of the song paralleled those of the Orangist faction. Trumpets played the "Wilhelmus" when Prince Maurits visited Breda, and again when he was received in state in Amsterdam in May 1618. When William V arrived in Schoonhoven in 1787, after the authority of the stadholders had been restored, the church bells are said to have played the "Wilhelmus" continuously. After the Batavian Revolution, inspired by the French Revolution, it had come to be called the "Princes' March" as it was banned during the rule of the Patriots, who did not support the House of Orange-Nassau.


title: Wilhelmus

text: However, at the foundation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1813, the "Wilhelmus" had fallen out of favour. Having become monarchs with a claim to represent the entire nation and stand above factions, the House of Orange decided to break with the song which served them as heads of a faction, and the "Wilhelmus" was replaced by Hendrik Tollens' song "Wien Neêrlands bloed door d'aderen vloeit", which was the official Dutch anthem from 1815 until 1932. However, the "Wilhelmus" remained popular and lost its identification as a factional song, and on 10 May 1932, it was decreed that on all official occasions requiring the performance of the national anthem, the "Wilhelmus" was to be played – thereby replacing Tollens' song.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Wilhelmus had a Malay translation of which was sung back when Indonesia was under Dutch colonial rule.


title: Wilhelmus

text: During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Nazi "Reichskommissar", banned all the emblems of the Dutch royal family, including the "Wilhelmus". It was then taken up by all factions of the Dutch resistance, even those socialists who had previously taken an anti-monarchist stance. The pro-German Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB), who had sung the "Wilhelmus" at their meetings before the occupation, replaced it with "Alle Man van Neerlands Stam" ("All Men of Dutch Origin"). The anthem was drawn to the attention of the English-speaking world by the 1942 British war film, "One of Our Aircraft Is Missing". The film concerns a Royal Air Force bomber crew who are shot down over the occupied Netherlands and are helped to escape by the local inhabitants. The melody is heard during the film as part of the campaign of passive resistance by the population, and it finishes with the coat of arms of the Netherlands on screen while the "Wilhelmus" is played.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The "Wilhelmus" is to be played only once at a ceremony or other event and, if possible, it is to be the last piece of music to be played when receiving a foreign head of state or emissary.


title: Wilhelmus

text: During international sport events, such as the World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, the Olympic Games and the Dutch Grand Prix, the "Wilhelmus" is also played. In nearly every case the 1st and 6th stanzas (or repeating the last lines), or the 1st stanza alone, are sung/played rather than the entire song, which would result in about 15 minutes of music.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The "Wilhelmus" is also widely used in Flemish nationalist gatherings as a symbol of cultural unity with the Netherlands. Yearly rallies like the "IJzerbedevaart" and the "Vlaams Nationaal Zangfeest" close with singing the 6th stanza, after which the Flemish national anthem "De Vlaamse Leeuw" is sung.


title: Wilhelmus

text: An important set of variations on the melody of "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe" is that by the blind carillon-player Jacob van Eyck in his mid-17th century collection of variations "Der Fluyten Lust-hof".


title: Wilhelmus

text: The 10-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed in 1766, while visiting Holland, a set of 7 variations for keyboard in D major on the song, now listed as K. 25.


title: Wilhelmus

text: Richard Strauss wrote his "Variationen über 'Wilhelm von Oraniên'" for military band in 1892. The manuscript which, it seems, was mislaid, is in the Koninklijke Collecties in the Hague. There is a recording available on YouTube by the Band of the Netherlands Royal Marines.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The royal anthem of Luxembourg (called "De Wilhelmus") is a variation on the "Wilhelmus". The melody was first used in Luxembourg (at the time in personal union with the Kingdom of the United Netherlands) on the occasion of the visit of the Dutch King and Grand Duke of Luxembourg William III in 1883. Later, the anthem was played for Grand Duke Adolph of Luxembourg along with the national anthem. The melody is very similar, but not identical to that of the "Wilhelmus". It is in official use since 1919.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The song "Wenn alle untreu werden" (German: "If everyone becomes unfaithful") better known as "Das Treuelied", which was written by the poet Max von Schenkendorf (1783–1817) used exactly the same melody as the "Wilhelmus". After the First World War this became extremely popular among German nationalist groups. It became one of the most popular songs of the SS, together with the Horst Wessel song.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The melody is also used in the Swedish folksong "" ("Alas, Gothic kingdom"), written down in 1626. The song deals with the liberation struggle of Sweden under Gustav Vasa in the 16th century.


title: Wilhelmus

text: The "Wilhelmus" was first printed in a , literally "Beggars' songbook" in 1581. It used the following text as an introduction to the "Wilhelmus":


title: Little Nemo

text: Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend", before receiving his own spin-off series, Little Nemo in Slumberland. The full-page weekly strip depicted Nemo having fantastic dreams that were interrupted by his awakening in the final panel. The strip is considered McCay's masterpiece for its experiments with the form of the comics page, its use of color and perspective, its timing and pacing, the size and shape of its panels, and its architectural and other details.


title: Little Nemo

text: "Little Nemo in Slumberland" ran in the "New York Herald" from October 15, 1905, until July 23, 1911. The strip was renamed In the Land of Wonderful Dreams when McCay brought it to William Randolph Hearst's "New York American", where it ran from September 3, 1911, until July 26, 1914. When McCay returned to the "Herald" in 1924, he revived the strip, and it ran under its original title from August 3, 1924, until January 9, 1927, when McCay returned to Hearst.


title: Little Nemo

text: A weekly fantasy adventure, "Little Nemo in Slumberland" featured the young Nemo ("No one" in Latin) who dreamed himself into wondrous predicaments from which he awoke in bed in the last panel. The first episode begins with a command from King Morpheus of Slumberland to a minion to collect Nemo. Nemo was to be the playmate of Slumberland's Princess, but it took months of adventures before Nemo finally arrived; a green, cigar-chewing clown named Flip was determined to disturb Nemo's sleep with a top hat emblazoned with the words "Wake Up." Nemo and Flip eventually become companions, and are joined by an African Imp whom Flip finds in the Candy Islands. The group travels far and wide, from shanty towns to Mars, to Jack Frost's palace, to the bizarre architecture and distorted funhouse-mirror illusions of Befuddle Hall.


title: Little Nemo

text: The strip shows McCay's understanding of dream psychology, particularly of dream fears—falling, drowning, impalement. This dream world has its own moral code, perhaps difficult to understand. Breaking it has terrible consequences, as when Nemo ignores instructions not to touch Queen Crystalette, who inhabits a cave of glass. Overcome with his infatuation, he causes her and her followers to shatter, and awakens with "the groans of the dying guardsmen still ringing in his ears".


title: Little Nemo

text: Although the strip began October 15, 1905, with Morpheus, ruler of Slumberland, making his first attempt to bring Little Nemo to his realm, Nemo did not get into Slumberland until March 4, 1906, and, due to Flip's interfering, did not get to see the Princess until July 8. His dream quest is always interrupted, either by his falling out of bed, or by his parents forcing him to wake up.


title: Little Nemo

text: On July 12, 1908, McCay made a major change of direction: Flip visits Nemo and tells him that he has had his uncle destroy Slumberland. (Slumberland had been dissolved before, into day, but this time it appeared to be permanent.) After this, Nemo's dreams take place in his home town, though Flip—and a curious-looking boy named the Professor—accompany him. These adventures range from the down-to-earth to Rarebit-fiend type fantasy; one very commonplace dream had the Professor pelting people with snowballs. The famous "walking bed" story was in this period. Slumberland continued to make sporadic appearances until it returned for good on December 26, 1909.


title: Little Nemo

text: Story-arcs included Befuddle Hall, a voyage to Mars (with a well-realized Martian civilization), and a trip around the world (including a tour of New York City).


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay experimented with the form of the comics page, its timing and pacing, the size and shape of its panels, perspective, and architectural and other detail. From the second installment, McCay had the panel sizes and layouts conform to the action in the strip: as a forest of mushrooms grew, so did the panels, and the panels shrank as the mushrooms collapsed on Nemo. In an early Thanksgiving episode, the focal action of a giant turkey gobbling Nemo's house receives an enormous circular panel in the center of the page. McCay also accommodated a sense of proportion with panel size and shape, showing elephants and dragons at a scale the reader could feel in proportion to the regular characters. McCay controlled narrative pacing through variation or repetition, as with equally-sized panels whose repeated layouts and minute differences in movement conveyed a feeling of buildup to some climactic action.


title: Little Nemo

text: In his familiar Art Nouveau-influenced style, McCay outlined his characters in heavy blacks. Slumberland's ornate architecture was reminiscent of the architecture designed by McKim, Mead & White for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as well as Luna Park and Dreamland in Coney Island, and the Parisian Luxembourg Palace.


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay made imaginative use of color, sometimes changing the backgrounds' or characters' colors from panel to panel in a psychedelic imitation of a dream experience. The colors were enhanced by the careful attention and advanced Ben Day lithographic process employed by the "Herald"s printing staff. McCay annotated the "Nemo" pages for the printers with the precise color schemes he wanted.


title: Little Nemo

text: For the first five months the pages were accompanied with captions beneath them, and at first the captions were numbered. In contrast to the high level of skill in the artwork, the dialogue in the speech balloons is crude, sometimes approaching illegibility, and "disfigur otherwise flawless work", according to critic R. C. Harvey. The level of effort and skill apparent in the title lettering highlights what seems to be the little regard for the dialogue balloons, their content, and their placement in the visual composition. They tend to contain repetitive monologues expressing the increasing distress of the speakers, and showed that McCay's gift was in the visual and not the verbal.


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay used ethnic stereotypes prominently in "Little Nemo", as in the ill-tempered Irishman Flip, and the nearly-mute African Impie.


title: Little Nemo

text: Winsor McCay ( – 1934) had worked prolifically as a commercial artist and cartoonist in carnivals and dime museums before he began working for newspapers and magazines in 1898. In 1903, he joined the staff of the "New York Herald" family of newspapers, where he had success with comic strips such as "Little Sammy Sneeze" (1904–06). and "Dream of the Rarebit Fiend" (1904–11)


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1905, McCay got "an idea from the "Rarebit Fiend" to please the little folk". In That October, the full-page Sunday strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland" debuted in the "Herald". Considered McCay's masterpiece, its child protagonist, whose appearance was based on McCay's son Robert, had fabulous dreams that would be interrupted with his awakening in the last panel. McCay experimented with the form of the comics page, its timing and pacing, the size and shape of its panels, perspective, architectural and other detail.


title: Little Nemo

text: "Little Nemo in Slumberland" debuted on the last page of the Sunday comics section of "The New York Herald" on October 15, 1905. The full-page, color comic strip ran until July 23, 1911. In spring 1911, McCay moved to William Randolph Hearst's "New York American" and took "Little Nemo"s characters with him. The "Herald" held the strip's copyright, but McCay won a lawsuit that allowed him to continue using the characters. In the "American", the strip ran under the title "In the Land of Wonderful Dreams". The "Herald" was unsuccessful in finding another cartoonist to continue the original strip.


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay left Hearst in May 1924 and returned to the "Herald Tribune". He began "Little Nemo in Slumberland" afresh that August 3. The new strip displayed the virtuoso technique of the old, but the panels were laid out in an unvarying grid. Nemo took a more passive role in the stories, and there was no continuity. The strip came to an end in January 1927, as it was not popular with readers. Hearst executives had been trying to convince McCay to return to the "American", and succeeded in 1927. Due to the lack of the 1920s Nemo's success, the "Herald Tribune" signed over all copyrights to the strip to McCay for one dollar.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1937, McCay's son Robert attempted to carry on his father's legacy by reviving "Little Nemo". Comic book packager Harry "A" Chesler's syndicate announced a Sunday and daily "Nemo" strip, credited to "Winsor McCay, Jr." Robert also drew a comic-book version for Chesler called "Nemo in Adventureland" featuring grown-up versions of Nemo and the Princess. Neither project lasted long. In 1947, Robert and fabric salesman Irving Mendelsohn organized the McCay Feature Syndicate, Inc. to revive the original "Nemo" strip from McCay's original art, modified to fit the size of modern newspaper pages. This revival also did not last.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1966, cartoonist Woody Gelman discovered the original artwork for many "Little Nemo" strips at a cartoon studio where McCay's son Bob had worked. In 1973, Gelman published a collection of "Little Nemo" strips in Italy. His collection of McCay originals is preserved at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 2005, collector Peter Maresca did, with his Sunday Press Books, self-publish a volume of "Nemo" Sundays as "Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays!". The volume was large enough to reproduce the pages at the size they originally appeared in newspapers. Restoration work took Maresca five to twenty hours per page. A second volume, "Little Nemo in Slumberland: Many More Splendid Sundays!", appeared in 2008.


title: Little Nemo

text: As early as 1905, several abortive attempts were made to put "Little Nemo" on stage. In summer 1907, Marcus Klaw and A. L. Erlanger announced they would put on an extravagant "Little Nemo" show for an unprecedented $100,000, with a score by Victor Herbert and lyrics by Harry B. Smith. It starred dwarf Gabriel Weigel as Nemo, Joseph Cawthorn as Dr. Pill, and Billy B. Van as Flip. Reviews were positive, and it played to sold-out houses in New York. It went on the road for two seasons. McCay brought his vaudeville act to each city where "Little Nemo" played. When a Keith circuit refused to let McCay perform in Boston without a new act, McCay switched to the William Morris circuit, with a $100-a-week raise. In several cities, McCay brought his son, who sat on a small throne dressed as Nemo as publicity.


title: Little Nemo

text: As part of an improvised story, Cawthorn introduced a mythical creature he called a "Whiffenpoof". The word stuck with the public, and became the name of a and a singing group. One reviewer of the 1908 operetta gave a paragraph of praise to the comic hunting tales presented in a scene in which three hunters are trying to outdo each other with hunting stories about the "montimanjack", the "peninsula", and the "whiffenpoof". He calls it "one of the funniest yarns ever spun" and compares it favorably to Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark. One source indicates that the dialogue in fact began as an ad lib by actor Joseph Cawthorn, covering for some kind of backstage problem during a performance. The Word is also referred in one of the Little Nemo comic strips published in 1909 (April 11). After being held down by nine policemen during a hysteria crisis, Nemo's father tells the doctor: “Just keep those whiffenpoofs away. Will you?”.


title: Little Nemo

text: Despite the show's success, it failed to make back its investment due to its enormous expenses, and came to an end in December 1910.


title: Little Nemo

text: In mid-2012 Toronto-based theatre company Frolick performed an adaptation of the strip into "Adventures in Slumberland", a multimedia show featuring puppets large and small and a score that included as a refrain "Wake Up Little Nemo", set to the tune of The Everly Brothers' 1957 hit "Wake Up Little Susie". Talespinner Children's Theatre in Cleveland, OH produced a scaled-down, "colorful and high-energy 45-minute" adaptation in 2013, "Adventures In Slumberland" by David Hansen.


title: Little Nemo

text: In March 2017, a short, one-act adaptation of the "Little Nemo" adventures was staged at Fordham University in New York City. The play, simply entitled "Little Nemo in Slumberland", was written by Aladdin Lee Grant Rutledge Collar, and directed by student Peter McNally. The six person cast, as well as creative team, consisted of students and alums at the university.


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay played an important role in the early history of animation. In 1911 he completed his first film, "Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics" (also known as "Little Nemo"), first in theatres and then as part of his vaudeville act. McCay made the 4,000 rice-paper drawings for the animated portion of the film. The animated portion took up about four minutes of the film's total length. Photography was done at the Vitagraph Studios under the supervision of animation pioneer James Stuart Blackton. During the live-action portion of the film, McCay bets his colleagues he can make his drawings move. He wins the bet by animating his "Little Nemo" characters, who shapeshift and transform.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1984, Arnaud Sélignac produced and directed a film titled "Nemo", a.k.a. "Dream One", starring Jason Connery, Harvey Keitel, and Carole Bouquet. It involves a little boy called Nemo, who wears pajamas and travels to a fantasy world, but otherwise the connection to McCay's strip is a loose one. The fantasy world is a dark and dismal beach, and Nemo encounters characters from other works of fiction rather than those from the original strip. Instead of Flip or the Princess, Nemo meets Zorro, Alice, and Jules Verne's Nautilus (which was led by Captain Nemo).


title: Little Nemo

text: A joint American-Japanese feature-length film "" was released in Japan in 1989 and in the United States in August 1992 from Hemdale Film Corporation, with contributions by Ray Bradbury, Chris Columbus, and Moebius, and music by the Sherman Brothers. The story tells of a quest by Nemo and friends to rescue King Morpheus from the Nightmare King. The Princess is given a name, Camille, and Nemo has a pet flying squirrel named Icarus. It received positive reviews but earned $11.4 million on a $35 million budget and was a box office bomb. However, it sold well on home video and has since developed a cult following.


title: Little Nemo

text: A live-action film adaptation, "Slumberland", was announced in January 2020. It was directed by Francis Lawrence, and was released on Netflix in 2022. It features a gender-swapped version of the title character played by Marlow Barkley. Jason Momoa stars as a radically altered version of Flip, who is described as a "nine-foot tall creature that is half-man, half-beast, has shaggy fur and long curved tusks". The plot centers on Nemo and Flip traveling to Slumberland in search of the former's father.


title: Little Nemo

text: The Sarasota Opera commissioned composer Daron Hagen and librettist J. D. McClatchy to create an opera based on "Little Nemo". Two casts of children alternated performances when it debuted in November 2012. The dreamlike nonlinear story told of Nemo, the Princess, and their comrades trying to prevent the Emperor of Sol and the Guardian of Dawn from bringing daylight to Slumberland. Special effects and shifting backgrounds were produced with projections onto a scaffolding of boxes. The work was first performed on November 10 and 11, 2012, by members of the Sarasota Opera, Sarasota Youth Opera, Sarasota Prep Chorus, The Sailor Circus and students from Booker High school.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1990, Capcom produced a video game for the NES, titled "" (known as "Pajama Hero Nemo" in Japan), a licensed game based on the 1989 film. The film would not see a US release until 1992, two years after the game's Japanese release, so the game is often thought to be a standalone adaptation of "Little Nemo", not related to the film. An arcade game called simply "Nemo" was also released in 1990.In 2021, A new game, titled "Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends" based on the original comic strip was launched on kickstarter. It is developed by Chris Totten of Pie For Breakfast Studios and Benjamin Cole of PXLPLZ.


title: Little Nemo

text: Throughout the years, various pieces of Little Nemo merchandise have been produced. In 1941, Rand, McNally & Co. published a Little Nemo children's storybook. "Little Nemo in Slumberland in 3-D" was released by Blackthorne Publishing in 1987; this reprinted Little Nemo issues with 3-D glasses. A set of 30 Little Nemo postcards was available through Stewart Tabori & Chang in 1996. In 1993, as promotion for the 1989 animated film, Hemdale produced a Collector's Set which includes a VHS movie, illustrated storybook, and cassette soundtrack. In 2001, Dark Horse Comics released a Little Nemo statue and tin lunchbox.


title: Little Nemo

text: Little Nemo itself is influenced by children stories in general, and some French comic pages in particular.


title: Little Nemo

text: Since its publishing, "Little Nemo" has had an influence on other artists, including Peter Newell ("The Naps of Polly Sleepyhead"), Frank King ("Bobby Make-Believe"), Clare Briggs ("Danny Dreamer") or George McManus ("Nibsy the Newsboy in Funny Fairyland"). Through the Paris edition of the New York Herald, his influence reached France and other European countries.


title: Little Nemo

text: In children's literature, Maurice Sendak said that this strip inspired his book "In the Night Kitchen", and William Joyce included several elements from Little Nemo in his children's book "Santa Calls", including appearances by Flip and the walking bed. Another tribute to Little Nemo is the comic, then made into a short film, "Little Remo in Pinchmeland", by Ellen Duthie and Daniela Martagón.


title: Little Nemo

text: The character and themes from the comic strip "Little Nemo" were used in a song "Scenes from a Night's Dream" written by Tony Banks and Phil Collins of the progressive rock group Genesis on their 1978 recording, "...And Then There Were Three...".


title: Little Nemo

text: A progressive rock group from Germany named Scara Brae also recorded a musical impression of the comic on their rare self-titled disc from 1981 (the track was actually recorded 2 years earlier). Their concept piece was revived on the second album by the Greek band Anger Department, titled "The Strange Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend", again after a McCay-comic. Their "Little Nemo" was chosen for a theatre play, which was suggested for the cultural program for the Olympic Games in 2004.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1984, Italian comic artist Vittorio Giardino started producing a number of stories under the title "Little Ego", a parodic adaptation of "Little Nemo", in the shape of adult-oriented erotic comics. Brian Bolland's early comic strip "Little Nympho in Slumberland" employed a similar technique.


title: Little Nemo

text: It influenced Alan Moore, in "Miracleman" No. 4, when the Miracleman family end up in a palace called "Sleepy Town", which has imagery similar to Little Nemo's. In Moore (and J.H. Williams III)'s "Promethea", a more direct pastiche – "Little Margie in Misty Magic Land" – showed Moore's inspiration and debt to McCay's landmark 1905 strip. Little Nemo makes a visual cameo in Volume 4, Issue 4 of Moore and Kevin O'Neill's "League of Extraordinary Gentleman", during the Shakespearean Theatre scene that includes many other cameos.


title: Little Nemo

text: The Sandman comics and graphic novel series occasionally references "Little Nemo" as well. Examples include "", where an abused child escapes into dreams styled after McCay's comics and using a similar "wake-up" mechanism, and "" (pub. 1996), which features George Alec Effinger's short "Seven Nights in Slumberland" (where Nemo interacts with Neil Gaiman's characters The Endless).


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1989, teen comic book Power Pack ran an issue (#47) which paid direct homage to one of McCay's Nemo storylines, featuring a castle that was drawn sideways and Katie Power re-enacting a classic Nemo panel with a sideways-drawn hallway that served as a bottomless pit with the line "Don't fall in, y'hear?"


title: Little Nemo

text: The video of the 1989 song for "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty is directly inspired by "Little Nemo in Slumberland" by Winsor McCay, which features a drawing style reminiscent of McCay's and showing Petty and a character who resembles Flip travelling through Slumberland.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1990, Nintendo released for NES the video game "Little Nemo: The Dream Master". In this video game, Nemo went on a mission to save Slumberland. The game received positive reviews.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 1994–1995, French artist Moebius wrote the story to a sequel comic series, "Little Nemo", drawn by Bruno Marchand in two albums. In 2000–2002, Marchand continued the story with two additional albums.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 2006, electronic artist Daedelus used Little Nemo artwork for his album "Denies the Day's Demise".


title: Little Nemo

text: The comic strip "Cul de Sac" includes a strip-within-the-strip, "Little Neuro", a parody of Little Nemo. Neuro is a little boy who hardly ever leaves his bed.


title: Little Nemo

text: In 2009, the Pittsburgh ToonSeum established its NEMO Award, given to notable individuals "for excellence in the cartoon arts". Recipients to date include veteran comic-book artist Ron Frenz, editorial and comic-strip artist Dick Locher, cartoonist and comics historian Trina Robbins, and comics artist, editorial cartoonist and artists' rights advocate Jerry Robinson.


title: Little Nemo

text: On October 15, 2012, celebrating the 107th anniversary of the first "Little Nemo" story, Google displayed an interactive animated "Google Doodle" called "Little Nemo in Google-land" on its homepage. The doodle showed a typical Little Nemo adventure through a series of panels, each featuring a letter from the word "Google". The doodle also ends in the same way as the comic strips, with Nemo falling from his bed.


title: Little Nemo

text: Eric Shanower and Gabriel Rodriguez revived the characters in 2014 in an IDW comic book series entitled "Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland". That same year, Locust Moon Press released a new anthology and Taschen published the complete series (1905–1926).


title: Little Nemo

text: On September 17, 2022, the comic strip "Mutts" has one of the strip's recurring characters, a naughty squirrel, "bonking" Nemo with an acorn, and wishing him "sweet dreams".


title: Little Nemo

text: A Netflix film loosely based on the strip, "Slumberland", was released in 2022. It features Nemo as a young girl instead of a boy.


title: Little Nemo

text: Comics historian R. C. Harvey has called McCay "the first original genius of the comic strip medium". Harvey claims that McCay's contemporaries lacked the skill to continue with his innovations, so that they were left for future generations to rediscover and build upon. Cartoonist Robert Crumb called McCay a "genius" and one of his favorite cartoonists. Art Spiegelman's "In the Shadow of No Towers" (2004) appropriated some of McCay's imagery, and included a page of "Little Nemo" in its appendix. Federico Fellini read "Little Nemo" in the children's magazine "Il corriere dei piccoli", and the strip was a "powerful influence" on the filmmaker, according to Fellini biographer Peter Bondanella.


title: Little Nemo

text: McCay's original artwork has been poorly preserved. McCay insisted on having his originals returned to him, and a large collection survived him, but much of it was destroyed in a fire in the late 1930s. His wife was unsure how to handle the surviving pieces, so his son took on the responsibility and moved the collection into his own house. The family sold off some of the artwork when they were in need of cash. Responsibility for it passed to Mendelsohn, then later to daughter Marion. By the early twenty-first century, most of McCay's surviving artwork remained in family hands.


title: Pskov

text: Pskov (; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population:


title: Pskov

text: Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It served as the capital of the Pskov Republic and was a trading post of the Hanseatic League before it came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.


title: Pskov

text: Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia. The name of the city, originally Pleskov (historic Russian spelling , "Plěskov"), may be loosely translated as "[the town] of purling waters". It was historically known in English as Plescow.


title: Pskov

text: Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, Olga (later Saint Olga of Kiev). Pskovians sometimes take this year as the city's foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskov's 1,100th anniversary.


title: Pskov

text: The first prince of Pskov was Vladimir the Great's youngest son Sudislav. Once imprisoned by his brother Yaroslav, he was not released until the latter's death several decades later. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the Novgorod Republic. In 1241, it was taken by the Teutonic Knights, but Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later during a legendary campaign dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 movie "Alexander Nevsky".


title: Pskov

text: In order to secure their independence from the knights, the Pskovians elected a Lithuanian prince, named Daumantas, a Roman Catholic converted to Orthodox faith and known in Russia as Dovmont, as their military leader and prince in 1266. Having fortified the town, Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights at Rakvere and overran much of Estonia. His remains and sword are preserved in the local kremlin, and the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears the name of "Dovmont's town".


title: Pskov

text: By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de facto sovereign republic. Its most powerful force was the merchants who traded with the Hanseatic League. Pskov's independence was formally recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Several years later, the veche promulgated a law code (called the Pskov Charter), which was one of the principal sources of the all-Russian law code issued in 1497.


title: Pskov

text: Already in the 13th century German merchants were present in "Zapskovye" area of Pskov and the Hanseatic League had a trading post in the same area in the first half of 16th century which moved to "Zavelichye" after a fire in 1562. The wars with Livonian Order, Poland-Lithuania and Sweden interrupted the trade but it was maintained until the 17th century, with Swedish merchants gaining the upper hand eventually.


title: Pskov

text: The importance of the city made it the subject of numerous sieges throughout its history. The Pskov Krom (or Kremlin) withstood twenty-six sieges in the 15th century alone. At one point, five stone walls ringed it, making the city practically impregnable. A local school of icon-painting flourished, and the local masons were considered the best in Russia. Many peculiar features of Russian architecture were first introduced in Pskov.


title: Pskov

text: Finally, in 1510, the city was annexed by the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Three hundred families were deported from Pskov to central Russia and merchants and military families from Muscovy were settled in the city. At this time Pskov had at least 6,500 households and the population of more than 30,000 and was one of the three biggest cities of Muscovy, alongside Moscow and Novgorod.


title: Pskov

text: The deportation of noble families to Moscow under Ivan IV in 1570 is a subject of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "Pskovityanka" (1872). Pskov still attracted enemy armies and it withstood a prolonged siege by a 50,000-strong Polish-Lithuanian army during the final stage of the Livonian War (1581–1582). The king of Poland Stephen Báthory undertook some thirty-one attacks to storm the city, which was defended mainly by civilians. Even after one of the city walls was broken, the Pskovians managed to fill the gap and repel the attack. "A big city, it is like Paris", wrote Báthory's secretary about Pskov.


title: Pskov

text: The estimates of the population of Pskov land in the middle of 16th century range from 150 to 300 thousand. Famines, epidemics (especially the epidemic of 1552) and the warfare led to a five-fold decrease of the population by 1582-1585 due to mortality and migration.


title: Pskov

text: The city withstood a siege by the Swedish in 1615. The successful defence of the city led to the peace negotiations culminating in the Treaty of Stolbovo.


title: Pskov

text: Peter the Great's conquest of Estonia and Livonia during the Great Northern War in the early 18th century spelled the end of Pskov's traditional role as a vital border fortress and a key to Russia's interior. As a consequence, the city's importance and well-being declined dramatically, although it served as a seat of separate Pskov Governorate since 1777.


title: Pskov

text: During World War I, Pskov became the headquarters for Russia's Northern Front, commanded by Nikolai Ruzsky. On 15 March 1917, aboard the Imperial train, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated here. After the Russo-German Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference (December 22, 1917 – March 3, 1918), the Imperial German Army invaded the area.


title: Pskov

text: Pskov was also occupied by the Estonian army between 25 May 1919 and 28 August 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence when the White Russian commander Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz became the military administrator of Pskov. He personally ceded most of his responsibilities to a democratically elected municipal duma and focused on both cultural and economical recovery of the war-impoverished city. He also put an end to censorship of press and allowed for creation of several socialist associations and newspapers.


title: Pskov

text: Under the Soviet government, large parts of the city were rebuilt, many ancient buildings, particularly churches, were demolished to give space for new constructions. During World War II, the medieval citadel provided little protection against modern artillery of the Wehrmacht, and Pskov suffered substantial damage during the German occupation from July 9, 1941 until July 23, 1944. A huge portion of the population died during the war, and Pskov has since struggled to regain its traditional position as a major industrial and cultural center of western Russia.


title: Pskov

text: Pskov is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions, it also serves as the administrative center of Pskovsky District, even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the City of Pskov—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the City of Pskov is incorporated as Pskov Urban Okrug.


title: Pskov

text: Pskov still preserves much of its medieval walls, built from the 13th century on. Its medieval citadel is called either the Krom or the Kremlin. Within its walls rises the Trinity Cathedral, founded in 1138 and rebuilt in the 1690s. The cathedral contains the tombs of saint princes Vsevolod (died in 1138) and Dovmont (died in 1299). Other ancient cathedrals adorn the Mirozhsky Monastery (completed by 1152), famous for its 12th-century frescoes, St. John's (completed by 1243), and the Snetogorsky monastery (built in 1310 and stucco-painted in 1313).


title: Pskov

text: Pskov is exceedingly rich in tiny, squat, picturesque churches, dating mainly from the 15th and the 16th centuries. There are many dozens of them, the most notable being St. Basil's on the Hill (1413), St. Kozma and Demian's near the Bridge (1463), St. George's from the Downhill (1494), Assumption from the Ferryside (1444, 1521), and St. Nicholas' from Usokha (1536). The 17th-century residential architecture is represented by merchant mansions, such as the Salt House, the Pogankin Palace, and the Trubinsky mansion.


title: Pskov

text: Among the sights in the vicinity of Pskov are Izborsk, a seat of Rurik's brother in the 9th century and one of the most formidable fortresses of medieval Russia; the Pskov Monastery of the Caves, the oldest continually functioning monastery in Russia (founded in the mid-15th century) and a magnet for pilgrims from all over the country; the 16th-century Krypetsky Monastery; Yelizarov Convent, which used to be a great cultural and literary center of medieval Russia; and Mikhaylovskoye, a family home of Alexander Pushkin where he wrote some of the best known lines in the Russian language. The national poet of Russia is buried in the ancient cloister at the Holy Mountains nearby. Unfortunately, the area presently has only a minimal tourist infrastructure, and the historic core of Pskov requires serious investments to realize its great tourist potential.


title: Pskov

text: On 7 July 2019, the Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


title: Pskov

text: The climate of Pskov is humid continental (Köppen climate classification "Dfb") with maritime influences due to the city's relative proximity to the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland; with relatively mild (for Russia) but still quite long winter and warm summer. Further west in Europe on the same latitude, winters are quite a bit milder. Summer and fall have more precipitation than winter and spring.


title: Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

text: Top Gun: Maverick (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2022 action film "" by Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, and Hans Zimmer. It consists of the film's score as well as two original songs, "Hold My Hand" by Gaga and "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic, which were released as singles prior to the album. The soundtrack contains the song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, which was also featured in the first film. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 2022, through Interscope Records through digital and physical formats.


title: Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

text: By June 2017, "Top Gun" composer Harold Faltermeyer had returned to score for the sequel. Later, in October 2018, Hans Zimmer joined Faltermeyer to score for the film, accompanied by Lorne Balfe and Lady Gaga also joining the film later. Zimmer produced a new original theme for the film that was featured in the February 2022 trailer, and was played by guitarist Johnny Marr. Marr claimed that the theme was "completely accidental" and did not watch the preview of the film before scoring. Speaking in an interview to "Variety", Marr said "I think there was some issue with how the theme was sounding, and I was around and I have a guitar. It really was as simple as that." Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph said that their band was reported to feature in the soundtrack, before Tom Cruise ousted them. Musician Kenny Loggins has confirmed that his song "Danger Zone", which was used in the first film, will be featured in the sequel. "Great Balls of Fire", another song from the first film performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, was also featured in the sequel. The song is performed by Miles Teller, who plays Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw.


title: Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

text: On April 27, 2022, Gaga announced that she had written and recorded the song "Hold My Hand", which would serve as the film's theme song, in addition to producing the score. Gaga said that she worked on the song for years, and "didn't even realize the multiple layers it spanned across the film's heart, my own psyche, and the nature of the world we've been living in" while writing it. The song, released as a single on May 3, 2022, was co-written with Benjamin Rice and BloodPop. Another single, "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic was released on May 13. It was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on June 21, 2022. The soundtrack album was released on May 27, 2022, by Interscope Records.


title: Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

text: The soundtrack received positive reviews, with Pete Hammond of "Deadline Hollywood", Brian Lloyd of Entertainment.ie, Tomris Larfy of "RogerEbert.com" and Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com calling the score composed by Faltermeyer, Gaga, Balfe and Zimmer as "one of the positive aspects of the film". Zanobard Reviews stated "the soundtrack of "Top Gun: Maverick" is a thoroughly entertaining and incredibly nostalgic musical experience from beginning to end".


title: Top Gun: Maverick (soundtrack)

text: All performed by Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta), and Hans Zimmer except where noted


title: Age of Empires III

text: Age of Empires III is a real-time strategy video game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft. The PC version was released on October 18, 2005, in North America and November 4, 2005, in Europe, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006, in North America and September 29, 2006, in Europe. An N-Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28, 2009. It is the third game of the "Age of Empires" series and the sequel to "". A remaster titled "" was released on October 15, 2020.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1876 AD. There are fourteen civilizations to play within the game. "Age of Empires III" has made several innovations in the series, in particular with the addition of the "Home City", which combines real-time strategy and role-playing features. Two expansion packs have been released: the first, "", was released on October 17, 2006, and introduced three Native American civilizations; the second, "", was released on October 23, 2007, and included three Asian civilizations.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" has sold over 2 million copies as of May 2008. As well as receiving favorable reviews, it has garnered awards, including GameSpy's "Best RTS game of 2005", and was one of the best-selling games of 2005. In 2007, "Age of Empires III" was the seventh best-selling computer game, with over 313,000 copies sold that year.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Players begin with a constructed town center or a wagon that will build into such, an armed explorer, and a modest number of villagers. Players explore the map and begin gathering resources used to build additional units and buildings and to research upgrades or technologies. Actions such as training units, constructing buildings, killing enemy units, etc., earn the player experience points. At certain experience point thresholds, players earn shipments that may be turned in for cards from the player's Home City, which can include units, upgrades, or resources. The game progresses similarly to most real-time strategy games until one side resigns.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In "Age of Empires III", the player advances through technological "Ages", representing historical time periods; these provide access to greater improvements, units, and buildings. They include the Discovery Age, which represents the discovery and exploration of the Americas by Europeans and allows the player to explore and develop their economy; the Colonial Age, which represents the European Expansion into the "New World" and unlocks early military units; the Fortress Age, which represents the fortification of the European colonies, unlocks forts, and allows the player to have a more complete military; the Industrial Age, which triggers a strong economy, due in part to factories—advanced buildings that automatically produce resources or artillery—and unlocks all units and shipments; and the Imperial Age, which unlocks all buildings and upgrades, and allows you to send unit and resource shipments a second time. All Ages cost food and coin to advance to, except the Colonial Age, which only costs food (800). The price of age advancement is incremental but does not vary between civilizations.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Similar to the "minor gods" system in "Age of Mythology", "Age of Empires III" uses a "Politician System" to grant bonuses on a successful advancement to another age. When the player chooses to advance to the next age, who is given the choice of two or more "Politicians" that provide them with a different bonus on choosing them. The Politician is given a generalized title from the period that usually reflects the bonus that it gives: for example, "The Naturalist" gives the player four cows, while "The General" gives twelve musketeers and one piece of heavy artillery. As the player's Home City increases in level, more Politicians are unlocked—at a rate of one for every ten Home City levels—up to level 60.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" allows the player to play as eight different civilizations: Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, German, and Ottomans. Each of the eight civilizations has its own strengths and weaknesses and unique units available only to that civilization. Specific units for each civilization are designated Royal Guard units, receiving greater bonuses on the Guard upgrade in the Industrial Age, but at an increased price. The player can change the name of their Home City, the Explorer name, and is given a pre-named leader from part of the period (for example, Napoleon Bonaparte for the French Colonial Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent for Ottoman Empire, and Ivan the Terrible for the Russian Empire). Each civilization has unique shipments to aid its cultural, economy and military (for example, the Ottomans are able to order a shipment of gold for both them and their teammates).


title: Age of Empires III

text: There are other civilizations playable via the campaign, which include The Knights of St. John, John Black's Mercenaries, and the United States of America, which are played as the Spanish, German and British civilizations, respectively, with slight modifications. Non-playable campaign civilizations include the Pirates, Circle of Ossus and Native Americans, although these civilizations are playable using the Scenario Editor.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Twelve different tribes of Native Americans are in the game as well, but these are not in themselves playable factions. However, players can gain access to unique units and improvements by forming an alliance with the tribes by building a trading post at their camps. The native tribes featured are the Aztec, Carib, Cherokee, Comanche, Cree, Inca, Iroquois, Lakota, Maya, Nootka, Seminole, and Tupi. Three of these tribes were made playable in the expansion pack "": the Iroquois, Lakota (under the name Sioux) and Aztecs. These civilizations were removed as the smaller, alliance based tribes and were replaced by the Huron, Cheyenne, and Zapotec, respectively. In The Asian Dynasties another three civilizations were added, along with several new native tribes. The civilizations are the Indian, the Japanese, and the Chinese.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" is the first game in the series to introduce the "Home City" concept. The Home City functions as a second city, a powerhouse that is separated from the active game. It cannot be attacked or destroyed, although an Imperial Age upgrade called "Blockade" stops the player's opponents from receiving Home City shipments. Similar to a role-playing game character, the Home City is persistent between games, meaning that upgrades gained through separate games can be applied and stay applied for as long as that particular city exists. Multiple Home Cities can be created and maintained, although each supports only one civilization.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The Home City is composed of five main buildings from which the player chooses their new shipment cards and customizations: The New World Trading Company, the Military Academy, the Cathedral, the Manufacturing Plant and the Harbor. Players can also access the Home City during a match by clicking on the "Home City" button represented on the HUD as the nation's flag. The Home City functions differently inside a game. Instead of customizing a Home City or choosing cards, a player can ship cards chosen before the game (and added to a deck).


title: Age of Empires III

text: During the course of a game, players gain XP (experience) by completing actions such as constructing buildings, training units, killing enemies, and collecting treasures. Whenever a certain number of experience points are gained, the player can make use of a shipment from their respective Home City. Shipments slow down as the game goes on since more XP is required with every consecutive shipment. This XP is also added directly to the home city and is collected over multiple games, allowing it to level up over time. Players can gear their cards into three different combinations: "Boom" (economic combinations), "Rush" (military combinations), or "Turtle" (defensive combinations). The first few cards chosen are automatically added to the player's portfolio, where it can be copied onto a deck for use in a game. Later in the game, cards have to be manually chosen because of the limit of cards in one deck. Most cards are available to all civilizations, but some are unique to one. If the Home City being played has more than one deck, the player must select which to use when the first shipment is sent. During a game, players keep this initial deck; this feature encourages players to build decks that are customized for the map being played on, or that counter other civilizations. The decks support twenty cards. As the Home City improves by level, you may gain an extra card slot for the decks for every 10 levels.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The units of "Age of Empires III" are based, as in previous iterations of the game, around military classes of the historic time period. The player controls a variety of civilian and military units, and uses them to expand and develop their civilization, as well as wage war against opponents. The base unit of a game is the settler, responsible for gathering resources and constructing buildings, in order to improve the economy of the civilization. The number of units a player can control in a scenario is limited by a "population limit", a common real-time strategy game mechanic. Houses and town centers raise the starting limit, to a maximum of 200, while each unit that is produced increases the population count. Basic units such as settlers and infantry count as 1, but others, including most cavalry and mercenary infantry count as 2. More powerful units, especially artillery or mercenary cavalry, can count for a population as high as 7. Native warriors, explorers, tamed and grazing animals, hot air balloons and warships do not count towards the population limit, but generally have a build limit, allowing the player to deploy only a certain number of those specific units at a time.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Military units are used for combat against other players. Infantry are the cheapest unit type and all are land-based, using weapons ranging from crossbows to early muskets to more advanced rifles. The heavier artillery classes also make use of ranged weapons, primarily cannon and mortars; however, there is also artillery armed with grenades. Mounted troops are also present, and are armed with either hand weapons, such as swords, or ranged weapons, such as pistols. These units also have significant features, such as skirmishers which do bonus damage against infantry, and ranged cavalry does bonus damage against other cavalry. A new unit introduced in "Age of Empires III" is the explorer, which is chiefly responsible for scouting and gathering treasure but is also capable of building Trading Posts and has a special attack, used at the player's command. This unit cannot be killed, but can be rendered unconscious, to be revived when friendly units are in range; also, a ransom can be paid to have it reappear at the player's town center. This ransom is credited to the player that disabled him, when applicable. Some shipment cards increase the explorer's effectiveness in gameplay; for example, providing it with "war dogs" can aid scouting and combat. In "Age of Empires III", ships are available on most maps. Military ships makes use of cannon or flaming arrows, while some ships can collect resources or transport land units.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Mercenaries may aid the player in their campaigns in the New World. Mercenaries are not trained like standard units; instead, they can be shipped from the Home City or hired from saloons for a lot of gold, so that only economically powerful players can employ them. Most are powerful, but hiring them does not provide experience points, so mercenaries cannot effectively replace the player's standard army, and can negatively affect a player's economy if used excessively. Incidentally, along with hero/explorer units, Mercenaries were vulnerable to assassin units such as spies, agents and ninjas. In most cases, a selection of Native American tribes populate game maps and support their own brand of military units that can be trained once an alliance has been formed. Some Native American military units use mêlée weapons, a few use indigenous ranged weapons, such as bows and arrows or atl-atls, while still others adopt ranged European gunpowder weapons. These units usually pertain to the infantry or cavalry classes, but, on maps with water, canoes are also available to the player through the dock.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Buildings play a big role in gameplay, as they are used for training civilian and military units, researching improvements, supporting population, providing structural defense, or as resource providers. The buildings portrayed in "Age of Empires III" resemble the architectural design of that era. All of the games in the series share several buildings, including the Town Center and Docks. The appearance and attributes of a building change as the player advances through the Ages, and some civilizations have their own unique buildings. The appearance of these buildings depends on civilization. Some buildings can only be built at certain times like the defensive towers.


title: Age of Empires III

text: There are certain architectural styles present in the game; architectural styles determine the appearance of in-game buildings. Each civilization is automatically assigned its architectural style. These three architectural styles are the Western European, which consists of classical styled wooden buildings and is shared by the British, French and Dutch; the Eastern European, which consists of wooden and straw structures and is shared by the Germans and Russians, and the Mediterranean, which consists of buildings made of stucco cement and dry brick, which is shared by the Spanish, Portuguese and Ottomans.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The campaign follows the fictional Black family in a series of three "Acts", which divide the story arc into three generations. All three acts are narrated by Amelia Black (Tasia Valenza).


title: Age of Empires III

text: Instead of playing as one of the standard civilizations, the player controls special civilizations linked to the character or period that each Act portrays: the Knights of St. John for Act I, John Black's Mercenaries for Act II, and the United States for Act III.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In the late 16th century, Morgan Black—a Scottish-born mid-level commander of the Knights of Saint John— defends their last stronghold on Malta from the forces of Sahin "The Falcon" of the Ottoman Empire (in a telling of the Great Siege of Malta). When the Turks flee, Morgan and his superior Alain Magnan discover a stone library telling of the Lake of the Moon; the Fountain of Youth, a rumored source of eternal life; and a secret society called the Circle of Ossus, who seek the Fountain for their own gain. Alain orders Morgan to sail to the New World to search for the Lake, but Morgan is attacked by the pirate Elisabeth "Lizzie" Ramsey and lands in the Caribbean islands. Morgan and his men defeat Lizzie and sail to New Spain. There, Spanish conquistador Francisco Juan Delgado de Leon captures Sahin. Morgan defends his new Aztec allies from the Spanish and learns Delgado was looking for the map to the Lake of the Moon. Morgan sets sail for Florida, but his fleet is damaged by a hurricane and docks in Havana, Cuba, where he earns Lizzie's respect and promises her the gold from the Spanish treasure fleet if she takes him to Florida.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In Florida, while Alain claims the lake, Morgan and Lizzie capture Spanish treasure ships and Sahin, killing Delgado in the process. Sahin tells Morgan that he only wanted to keep the Circle from claiming the Fountain. Alain orders Morgan to execute Sahin, but Sahin and Lizzie convince Morgan that Alain actually leads the Circle of Ossus. At the Lake of the Moon, the group captures defeats Alain and destroys the Fountain. Sahin returns to Turkey, and Lizzie, having lost her Spanish gold, leaves for the Caribbean, although it is hinted she and Morgan will reunite. Morgan wonders whether they really found the Fountain of Youth, then refills his empty canteen with water from the lake.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In the mid-eighteenth century, Morgan's grandson, John Black, his Mohawk friend Kanyenke, and their mercenaries are summoned by John's uncle, Stuart Black, to defend the colony of Brunswick against Cherokee raiders. After saving the colony, John and Kanyenke attack the Cherokee war camps, forcing the Cherokee to arrange a truce. While John, Kanyenke, and most of the colony's garrison are negotiating, British General Warwick leads an army to attack them and capture Brunswick. John and Kanyenke return to liberate Brunswick but learn Warwick has abducted Stuart. John concludes that the Circle of Ossus has returned. Kanyenke believes that his sister, Nonahkee, could be in danger, so they leave for New England. They find Warwick attacking Nonahkee's village, hoping to extract John's location from her. After the ensuing battle, Kanyenke discovers that John and Nonahkee are in love.


title: Age of Empires III

text: John and Kanyenke soon ally with the French in the Seven Years' War to continue fighting against Warwick. When Colonel George Washington tells them that Warwick is a renegade and from the British, John agrees to help them track him down. John's mercenaries and Washington's forces destroy Warwick's base in the Great Lakes region, where John finds Stuart's decapitated body. John and Kanyenke continue to pursue Warwick to the Rocky Mountains, where they intercept Warwick's supply train and destroy a fortified Circle base. Warwick and his troops flee even farther west to Colorado, where they have allied with the Russians. John and Kanyenke discover that the Circle plans to capture British and French colonies and towns while they are fighting, ultimately taking over North America. While John pursues Warwick, Kanyenke and some miners bring down rock bridges to stop the Russians' artillery from advancing. He and the mercenaries return east as Warwick ambushes John, who detonates explosives he has planted, killing himself and Warwick while burying the Russians and the Circle's troops in an avalanche. In the spring, Kanyenke returns to his village and learns Nonahkee has mothered John's son Nathaniel, whom he begins to help raise.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In 1817 (five years after Nathaniel's death in 1812), Amelia Black, Nathaniel's daughter and heiress owner of The Falcon Company, an American railroad company, seeks to expand operations after Nathaniel exhausted the compensation given by the British and Americans for John's sacrifice. After laying track to supply the US Cavalry near the Mexican border, Amelia meets French prospector Pierre Beaumont, who helps her and US Cavalry commander Major Ryan Cooper defeat a Mexican army attacking a fort. Beaumont leads Amelia to a Colorado mine, where an aged Kanyenke arrives to warn Amelia that Beaumont now leads the Circle of Ossus. Amelia, Kanyenke, and Cooper chase Beaumont through the mines and find a map to the Lake of the Moon. At the Lake, now a swamp, the three destroy a Circle base, after which one of Beaumont's wolves kills Cooper. Amelia, now wanting to avenge Cooper, learns from local Seminoles that an Inca city in Pacamayo Valley houses several barrels of the Fountain's water.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Amelia and Kanyenke sail to South America and help Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish. Bolívar offers them guides, and, with the Circle's army in pursuit, they make a dangerous passage through the Andes. They discover the Inca city in Pacamayo Valley and defend it from the Circle. Amelia soon finds that Beaumont has once again escaped, this time with the barrels of the Fountain's water. Amelia and Kanyenke next fight the Circle at their last stronghold, the Ossuary, in Cuba. After they destroy the Ossuary with help from Havana, Beaumont ambushes Amelia and Kanyenke, but Amelia shoots and kills him. She then uses the Circle's stored treasure to revive the Falcon Company and builds railroads to the future west coast of the United States. Back in the US, an elderly man congratulates Amelia and states that she broke the Circle in one lifetime, hinting that he is Morgan Black and that he greatly extended his life using water from the Fountain of Youth.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" builds on and introduces new features to the "Age of Mythology" engine, called "Bang! Engine". One new feature is the inclusion of the Havok physics simulation middleware engine on the Windows version and the similar PhysX engine on Mac OS X. This means that many events such as building destruction and tree falls will not be pre-created animations, but will be calculated according to the physics engine, in an innovation for the series. Other graphical features of the game include bloom lighting and support for pixel shader 3.0.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The "Age of Empires III" original soundtrack features an original musical score composed by Ensemble Studios musicians Stephen Rippy and Kevin McMullan, whose previous work includes other games in the "Age of Empires" series as well as "Age of Mythology". It was released on November 11, 2005, by Sumthing Else Music Works. Stephen Rippy, music and sound director at Ensemble Studios, said, ""Age of Empires III" is a game with an epic topic — it covers the colonization of the Americas over a period of some three hundred years, so it needed to have an epic-sounding score to match. Using a full orchestra and choir as well as some more period-inspired instrumentation, the music follows the story of Morgan Black and his descendants as they battle the Circle of Ossus for a foothold in the New World." The soundtrack also features a bonus DVD that includes fourteen tracks remixed in 5.1 surround, a behind-the-scenes video of the studio session, the "Age of Empires III" cinematic trailer and five exclusive bonus tracks.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Unlike previous versions of "Age of Empires", the AI nations in single player skirmish mode will send voice messages to the player at various points in the game, taunting the player if they are selected as enemies or sharing military plans with the player if they are allies. All the AI characters have different personalities and many different quotes exist in the game. The feature can be easily removed if required.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Following the announcement of the game on January 4, 2005, a trial version was released on September 7, 2005. This contained a cut-down version of the game, introducing new features, such as two campaign scenarios, two random map scenarios (New England and Texas) and access to two civilizations (British and Spanish), and a variety of modifications. An updated demo version was made available with the game's release on September 22, 2005.


title: Age of Empires III

text: As part of "Age of Empires III" launch, Ensemble Studios announced the release of Age of Empires III Fan Site Kit on September 9, 2005.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The release of the game on September 22, 2005, saw two separate editions being made available. The standard edition included the game and manual, a collector's edition version in a presentation box that includes the official soundtrack, extra documentation, a hardback book titled "Art of Empires" that contains concept art and 3D renders from the game and a DVD entitled "The Making of Age of Empires III".


title: Age of Empires III

text: The release of the game has been followed by a series of patches that have fixed minor bugs in the software or added new features.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Ensemble Studios released an expansion for the game named "" on October 17, 2006. It contains three new native civilizations that can be completely controlled: the Aztecs, Iroquois, and Sioux. New content for existing European civilizations, maps and gameplay additions (such as the "revolution" feature, in which players can "revolt" from their mother country and start an active military coup in the game) was added.


title: Age of Empires III

text: A second expansion pack, "", was announced on May 18, 2007, and features three Asian civilizations: the Chinese, Indians, and Japanese. It was released on October 23, 2007.


title: Age of Empires III

text: A Mac OS X port of the game was released on November 13, 2006, by MacSoft, followed by the first expansion on June 18, 2007.


title: Age of Empires III

text: In 2009, when Ensemble Studios was closed and no support was to expect by the successor company Robot Entertainment, the game community tried to provide game support and fixes of remaining issues themselves, for instance with fan patches.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Both the original game and the first expansion were made available in a single collection titled "Gold Edition" on October 23, 2007.


title: Age of Empires III

text: On November 21, 2010, Microsoft sold the game including its two expansion packs as a part of the relaunch of its Games for Windows Live platform for 10 cents or 10 Microsoft points. The overwhelming and unanticipated demand created a shortage of account keys leaving some of those who had purchased the game through the promotion unable to install the game. Microsoft remedied this issue by assuring all customers who purchased the game that account keys would be generated within one week and automatically uploaded to each profile. As a result of this promotion the overall sales of the game have sharply increased.


title: Age of Empires III

text: A mobile game titled "Age of Empires III" was released in 2007 for J2ME. A sequel mobile game, "", was released in 2010 also for J2ME.


title: Age of Empires III

text: On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced a remaster titled "" at Gamescom 2017. The remaster included updated 4K graphics and the two previous expansions "" and "". It also introduced new content in the form of two new playable civilizations, the Incas and Swedes, as well a new set of "Historical Battles" and "The Art of War" challenge missions similar to those implemented in "".


title: Age of Empires III

text: The Definitive Edition of "Age of Empires III" was developed by Tantalus Media, overseen by Xbox Game Studios' internal World's Edge studio. The game was released on October 15, 2020. On April 13, 2021, an expansion pack adding the United States civilization was released. On August 2, 2021, an expansion pack adding the Ethiopians and Hausa civilizations was released. On December 1, 2021, an expansion pack adding the Mexico civilization was released. Another expansion pack, "Knights of the Mediterranean", was announced on May 12, 2022 adding both Italian and Maltese (Knights Hospitaller) civilizations, and released on May 26, 2022.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" was well received by critics and reviewers. The game received an average score of 82% according to GameRankings. "Age of Empires III" was listed as the eighth best-selling PC game of 2005, and over two million copies of it had been sold by May 2007. GameSpot pointed out that ""Age of Empires III" has some very big shoes to fill", and GameSpy remarked that it "may not redefine real-time strategy gaming, but it sets the bar so high that we will be comparing games to this for years". IGN also commented on the game, saying ""Age of Empires III" is a superbly balanced and polished game", and: "Discounting a few niggles in the interface, the whole presentation is rock solid." Game Revolution said that it is "as detailed as a history book, and about as much fun", while GameZone stated it is "one purchase you will not come to regret".


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" was the eighth best-selling PC game of 2005 despite its late release, and sold over 2 million copies by May 2007. It received a "Gold" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.


title: Age of Empires III

text: The game's visuals were highly praised by reviewers. In a preview, IGN said that "After seeing the screenshots, our jaws hit the floor at the amount of detail", while in their review, 1UP.com described it as "one of the most beautiful games you will put on your computer for the foreseeable future;" GameSpy agreed, stating, ""Age III"s graphics are unmatched in the strategy genre." GameSpot also admired the graphics, but had a negative comment as well; they said, "Were it not for the awkward unit behavior..."Age of Empires III" would look truly amazing." GameSpy awarded "Age of Empires III" the "Best Graphics" award at GameSpy's "Game of the Year 2005", mentioning that the graphics engine boasted "all the high-end technology you would normally find in first-person shooters".


title: Age of Empires III

text: GameZone praised the game's sound effects, saying that "you will feel the explosions of the cannon balls, the muskets firing their endless volleys, and the destruction of a building. It all sounds extremely realistic, and makes the game come that much more alive." Eurogamer said "AoE3 ... sounds fantastic", while Game Revolution mentioned, "The ambient sounds, music and voice work all suit the colonial theme."


title: Age of Empires III

text: Reviewers were divided about the single-player campaign. GameSpot thought it was "standard for a real-time strategy game", but also complained that it had "less-than-stellar voice work and awkward cutscenes"; GameSpy agreed that ""Age of Empires III"s campaign is not revolutionary", but thought that "the voice acting is great". IGN praised the campaign's story, in that it gave the player a "nice sense of purpose"; they thought "The 24-mission campaign is very well designed." Eurogamer said the campaign lacked originality, stating, though "well-written and imaginatively framed", the campaign "offers exactly the same kind of challenges that RTS campaigns have been offering for years;" Game Revolution disliked the campaign more than the other reviewers. Comparing it to "Age of Empires II"s campaign, they said: "The plot actually got worse. "Age of Empires III"...avoids all the interesting and prickly issues like genocide, epidemics and slavery, instead subbing in a wimpy tale of a family destined to protect the Holy Grail from a Satanic Cult."


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III"s multiplayer was the first in the series to be integrated into the game interface and was highly lauded, as was the Home City concept. The topic of multiplayer was touched by GameZone, who said "this game demands multiplayer mode, and Ensemble Studios provided this for the players", while at 1UP, the reviewer commented similarly, stating, "Multiplayer support has been significantly upgraded with a slick interface, support for clans and a number of other useful features." GameSpy commented on the Home City as well, saying, "the 'home city' system creates long-term depth and strategy". EuroGamer, however, stated: "Stop with the gifts! ... You do not need to let me flick to a home city screen every few minutes so that I can select a free unit or resource windfall. I'm not some spoilt toddler that needs to be bribed with endless sweeties." "Age of Empires III" uses the ESO server for multiplayer.


title: Age of Empires III

text: "Age of Empires III" won "PC Gamer US"s "Best Real-Time Strategy Game 2005" award. The magazine's Brett Todd wrote, "It was astounding how Ensemble managed to stick to the historical RTS formula yet keep the gameplay feeling fresh." The game was presented with two awards by GameSpy in 2005: "Real-time strategy game of the year" and "Best Graphics". GameSpy highly praised the game overall, giving it 5 stars in its review, which particularly noted the graphics and multiplayer experience. The game was named fifth-best game of 2005 by GameSpy.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Other awards, including an "Outstanding" from GameZone, reflect the positive critical reception of the game.


title: Age of Empires III

text: Yahoo!'s report differed, but still had many positive features. Like GameSpy, Yahoo! also praised the effort put into the graphics and physics, but maintained that these are essentially eye-candy. Both Yahoo! and Eurogamer were disappointed by the traditional economics-based strategy of the game and believed that this, with the lack of useful formation and tactics, meant that the game does not stand up to other modern real-time strategy games. Eurogamer shared these final thoughts and described the new Home City shipments, along with all the treasures scattered around the map, as silly and childish ways of trying to complement the game's lack of strategy and tactical choices. However, Eurogamer recognized that Ensemble Studios was brave to implement "something quite different" from other real time strategy games — the Home City concept.


title: National Australia Bank

text: National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation and 52nd-largest bank in the world as measured by total assets in 2019. , NAB operated 3,500 Bank@Post locations—including 7,000+ ATMs across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia—and served 9 million customers.


title: National Australia Bank

text: National Australia Bank was formed as National Commercial Banking Corporation of Australia Limited in 1982 by the merger of National Bank of Australasia and the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. The resulting company was subsequently renamed National Australia Bank Limited.


title: National Australia Bank

text: The expanded financial base of the merged entity triggered significant offshore expansion over ensuing years. Representative offices were established in Beijing (1982), Chicago (branch 1982), Dallas (1983), Seoul (1983, upgraded to a branch in 1990), San Francisco (1984), Kuala Lumpur (1984), Athens (1984, closed 1989), Frankfurt (1985, closed 1992), Atlanta (1986), Bangkok (1986), Taipei (1986 upgraded to branch 1990), Shanghai (1988, closed 1990), Houston (1989) and New Delhi (1989).


title: National Australia Bank

text: In 1987, NAB bought Clydesdale Bank (Scotland) and Northern Bank (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) from Midland Bank. It rebranded Northern Bank branches in the Republic of Ireland to National Irish Bank and changed both banks' logos from that of the Midland Bank. In 1990, NAB bought Yorkshire Bank (England and Wales).


title: National Australia Bank

text: Further acquisitions followed – Bank of New Zealand in 1992, which at the time had about a 26% market share in the New Zealand market, and Michigan National Bank (MNB) in 1995. NAB had earlier rationalised its operations in the US and closed its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco in 1991.


title: National Australia Bank

text: This period of rapid expansion through acquisition concluded with the purchases in 1997 of HomeSide Lending, a leading US mortgage originator and servicer based in Florida, and most significantly, the acquisition in 2000 of MLC Limited (and related MLC entities) for $4.56bn, one of the biggest mergers in Australian corporate history.


title: National Australia Bank

text: NAB encountered a difficult period in the period 2000–2005. In 2000, NAB sold Michigan National Bank to ABN AMRO, then in 2001 sold HomeSide's operating assets for US$1.9b to Washington Mutual, the largest US savings and loan company, as well as the mortgage unit's loan-servicing technology and operating platform.


title: National Australia Bank

text: The foreign currency trader fraud was the catalyst for the resignations of CEO Frank Cicutto and Chairman Charles Allen. The resignations were preceded by a Board revolt where Catherine Walters emerged as a whistle blower citing serious culture issues at the company having led to the string of failures.


title: National Australia Bank

text: Frank Cicutto was CEO of NAB from 1999 to 2004. The Australian economic environment during his leadership was stable and productive after 17 consecutive years of economic growth since 1992, averaging 3.3 per cent per annum.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In February 2004, John Stewart was appointed CEO of NAB following the sacking of Cicutto. Stewart proceeded with a far reaching re-organisation of the company along regional lines leading to the appointment of Ahmed Fahour as the CEO of Australia in September 2004. On 20 February 2009 Fahour stepped down from the Principal Board and Group Executive Committee.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In 2005, NAB announced a cut of 2,000 Australian jobs as part of a global cost-cutting program with the intention of cutting around 4,200 positions – about 10.5% of its total workforce globally.


title: National Australia Bank

text: It began to outsource back office positions offshore, beginning with a pilot with 23 jobs from the accounts payable department in Melbourne going to Bangalore, India in an agreement with Accenture. Later that year, it sold Northern Bank and National Irish Bank to the Danish Danske Bank. Over 200 additional jobs had been sent offshore by 2006.


title: National Australia Bank

text: As part of the culture change program, a new Australian head office was purpose built at Docklands in Melbourne. This building is characterised by its open plan layout and was officially opened in October 2004. After Cameron Clyne became CEO in 2009, the Docklands building became the global headquarters replacing 500 Bourke Street.


title: National Australia Bank

text: By 2006, NAB had turned its fortunes around, reporting an industry record $4.3 billion profit and winning two local Bank of the Year awards. It also had a major reform which included the refurbishment of all of its branches, and the replacement of signage in and around National branches and buildings, being changed from 'National' to 'nab'.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In May 2007, NAB announced that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange, and this took place in August 2007. NAB delisted from the London and Tokyo exchanges in 2006.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In March 2008, NAB announced that it would send maintenance and support for some core banking applications to India through an offshoring arrangement with Infosys and Satyam, affecting another 260 employees.


title: National Australia Bank

text: On 25 July 2008, NAB's announcement of an additional A$830 million provision associated with deterioration in US real estate markets triggered the biggest single-day fall in its share price in 21 years, wiping over A$7 billion from the stock's value.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In October 2008, NAB launched a branchless direct bank trading separately as UBank under the leadership of Greg Sutherland and Gerd Schenkel.


title: National Australia Bank

text: In January 2009, Cameron Clyne became CEO, and began a strategy of reputation change, wealth management and a focus on domestic markets.