title: Ever Night

text: The script for "Ever Night" was once awarded the Gold Prize at the 网络文学双年奖, and reportedly took two years to complete. Penning the script is Xu Run, who once wrote the screenplay for notable television series like "Records of Kangxi's Travel Incognito" and "Maritime Silk Road".


title: Ever Night

text: The production team has also invited Yoshitaka Amano to act as the series' concept director, and John Bruno as the special effects director.


title: Ever Night

text: The series began filming at Xinjiang in August 2017, and wrapped up filming in February 2018. Filming took place in Xinjiang and Guizhou.


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: The Mount Carmel Center was a large compound building used by the Branch Davidians religious group located near Axtell, Texas, 20 miles north-east of Waco. The Branch Davidians were a breakaway sect from Davidian Seventh Adventists, established by Benjamin Roden in 1959 and later led by David Koresh starting in the 1980s. Named after the Biblical mountain Mount Carmel in northern Israel, it was the site of the 51-day Waco siege. The siege began on February 28, 1993, when federal agents attempted to execute a warrant and arrest some Davidians living inside. A subsequent firefight left four ATF agents and six Davidians dead. At the end of the siege, on April 19, 1993, a fire broke out, burning through most of the compound and killing 76 Branch Davidians.


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: Some news reports about the siege referred to it as the "Branch Davidian compound". The name derives from a particular verse from the Bible, on which the Branch Davidians partially based their beliefs:


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: In 1935, Shepherd's Rod (also known as the Davidians) founder Victor Houteff established the original Davidian headquarters at Mount Carmel Center, near Lake Waco, west of the town. After Houteff's death in 1955, his widow Florence usurped the leadership and began selling off parcels of the land, as the neighboring city of Waco began encroaching upon the Mount Carmel Community. In 1957, she sold off the last of the property and bought a property in the countryside northeast of Waco, christened New Mount Carmel. Today, Waco's Mount Carmel Drive runs through the Old Mount Carmel area, and nearby Charboneau and Hermanson Drives are named after key Davidian families.


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: In 1962, Florence Houteff announced that she was disbanding Davidian organization, with the assets to be sold off and the proceeds disbursed among her Executive Council. This arrangement was opposed by many members. Most of the New Mount Carmel property was acquired by the Double EE Ranch, but the Branch Davidians retained a core area around the administrative building.


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: The fragmentation of Mount Carmel caused a schism in the already permanently-splintered Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Movement. Some post-Carmel Davidian groups have also named their headquarters Mount Carmel Center, seeking to carry on its past traditions. Davidians based in Salem, South Carolina use the name, as well as a group that broke away from them, in Mountaindale, New York. Some of the Mountaindale Davidians came to believe that Victor Houteff never wanted to abandon Old Mount Carmel, and in the early 1990s moved back to Waco. They established themselves in a building on Mount Carmel Drive, constructed by Houteff's Davidians. They are across the street from the Vanguard School, a prep school whose buildings were also originally built by the Davidians. Other Davidian groups believe that Mount Carmel represented a doctrinal era in the Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Movement, an era which is now past.


title: Mount Carmel Center

text: In 1998, three buildings at the former Branch Davidian compound were destroyed in a fire that was deemed suspicious. They were the home of Amo Bishop Roden, wife of former Branch Davidian leader George Roden, and two museums she used to record the group's history. There have been various sects and generations of communities that have resided on and/or used the property east of Waco on Double EE Ranch Road. Not all groups or individuals within these groups share the same religious theology or approach to spirituality. Efforts to memorialize the events of 1993 on the property have been altered over the years since 1993.


title: Razor

text: A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.


title: Razor

text: While the razor has been in existence since before the Bronze Age (the oldest razor-like object has been dated to 18,000 BC), the most common types of razors currently used are the safety razor and the electric razor.


title: Razor

text: Razors have been identified from many Bronze Age cultures. These were made of bronze or obsidian and were generally oval-shaped, with a small tang protruding from one of the short ends.


title: Razor

text: Various forms of razors were used throughout history, which were different in appearance but similar in use to modern straight razors. In prehistoric times clam shells, shark teeth, and flint were sharpened and used to shave with. Drawings of such blades were found in prehistoric caves. Some tribes still use blades made of flint to this day. Excavations in Egypt have unearthed solid gold and copper razors in tombs dating back to the 4th millennium BC. Razors were used and manufactured in Kerma during the Bronze Age. Several razors as well as other personal hygiene artifacts were recovered from Bronze Age burials in northern Europe and are believed to belong to high-status individuals. The Roman historian Livy reported that the razor was introduced in ancient Rome in the 6th century BC by the legendary king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.


title: Razor

text: The first modern straight razor, complete with decorated handles and hollow ground blades, was constructed in Sheffield, in England; in the 18th and 19th centuries, England was considered to be the center of the cutlery industry. Benjamin Huntsman produced the first superior hard steel grade, through a special crucible process, suitable for use as blade material in 1740, though it was first rejected in England. Huntsman's process was adopted by the French sometime later; albeit reluctantly at first because of nationalist sentiments. English manufacturers were even more reluctant than the French to adopt the process and only did so after they saw its success in France. Sheffield steel (also called Sheffield silver steel) is a highly polished steel, famous for its deep gloss finish. It is considered to be of superior quality and is still used to this day in France by such manufacturers as Thiers Issard.


title: Razor

text: In the 18th and 19th centuries, the wealthy had servants to shave them or could visit barbershops. Daily shaving was not a widespread practice in the 19th century; some never shaved at all. The custom of everyday shaving among American men only began after World War I. Men were required to shave daily so their gas masks would fit properly. This became much easier with the introduction of the safety razor, which was standard issue during the war.


title: Razor

text: Straight razors were the most common form of shaving before the 20th century and remained common in many countries until the 1950s. Barbers were specially trained to give customers a thorough and quick shave, and a collection of straight razors ready for use was a common sight in most barbershops. Modern-day barbers still keep straight razors, but they use them less often.


title: Razor

text: Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first challenger was manufactured by King C. Gillette: a double-edged safety razor with replaceable blades. Gillette's idea was the use of the "loss leader" concept, in which the razors were sold at a loss, but the replacement blades earned a high margin and provided continuous sales. They were immensely successful because of advertising campaigns and slogans denigrating the straight razor's effectiveness and questioning its safety.


title: Razor

text: These new safety razors did not require any serious tutelage to use. The blades were extremely hard to sharpen, were meant to be thrown away after one use, and rusted quickly if not discarded. They also required a smaller initial investment, though they cost more over time. Despite its long-term advantages, the straight razor lost significant market share. As shaving became less intimidating and men began to shave themselves more, the demand for barbers providing straight razor shaves decreased.


title: Razor

text: In 1960, stainless steel blades which could be used more than once became available, reducing the cost of safety-razor shaving. The first such blades were made by the Wilkinson firm, famous maker of ceremonial swords, in Sheffield. Soon Gillette, Schick, and other manufacturers were making stainless steel blades.


title: Razor

text: These were followed by multiple-blade cartridges and disposable razors. For each type of replaceable blade, there is generally a disposable razor.


title: Razor

text: In the 1930s, electric razors became available. These can rival the cost of a good straight razor, although the whole straight-razor shaving kit can exceed the cost of even an expensive electric razor.


title: Razor

text: Straight razors with open steel blades, also commonly known as cut-throats, were the most commonly used razors before the 20th century.


title: Razor

text: Straight razors consist of a blade sharpened on one edge. The blade can be made of either stainless steel, which is slower to hone and strop, but it is easier to maintain since it does not stain easily, or high carbon steel, which hones and strops quickly and keeps its edge well, but rusts and stains easily if not cleaned and dried promptly. At present, stainless-steel razors are harder to find than carbon steel, but both remain in production.


title: Razor

text: The blade rotates on a pin through its tang between two protective pieces called scales: when folded into the scales, the blade is protected from damage, and the user is protected. Handle scales are made of various materials, including mother-of-pearl, celluloid, bone, plastic, and wood. Once made of ivory, this has been discontinued, although fossil ivory is used occasionally.


title: Razor

text: These razors are similar in use and appearance to straight razors, but use disposable blades, either standard double-edged cut in half or specially made single edge. These shavettes are used in the same way as straight razors but do not require stropping and honing.


title: Razor

text: The first step towards a safer-to-use razor was the guard razor – also called a straight safety razor – which added a protective guard to a regular straight razor. The first such razor was most likely invented by a French cutler Jean-Jacques Perret circa 1762. The invention was inspired by the joiner's plane and was essentially a straight razor with its blade surrounded by a wooden sleeve. The earliest razor guards had comb-like teeth and could only be attached to one side of a razor; a reversible guard was one of the first improvements made to guard razors.


title: Razor

text: An early description of a safety razor similar in form to the ones used today is found on William Samuel Henson's 1847 patent application for a comb tooth guard. This guard could be attached to a straight razor or to a razor "the cutting blade which is at right angles with the handle, and resembles somewhat the form of a common hoe."


title: Razor

text: Around 1875 a new design with a smaller blade placed on top of a handle was marketed by the Kampfe Brothers as "the best available shaving method on the market that won’t cut a user, like straight steel razors."


title: Razor

text: The term safety razor was first used in 1880 and described a basic razor with a handle attached to a head where a removable blade may be placed. The edge was then protected by a comb patterned on the head to protect the skin. In the more modern-day produced safety razors, the comb is now more commonly replaced by a safety bar. There are two types of safety razors, single-edged and double-edged. The single-edged razor is essentially a long segment of a straight razor. The double-edged safety razor is a razor with a slant bar that can be used on both sides, with two open edges. The blade on the double-edged safety razor is slightly curved to allow for a smoother and cleaner shave.


title: Razor

text: In 1901, the American inventor King Camp Gillette, with the assistance of William Nickerson, submitted a patent for a new variation of safety razor with disposable blades which was patented in 1904. One reason was that shaving with a safety razor should be safer and more convenient than shaving with a classic straight razor with a sharp blade. The thick grip of these safety razors can be reused. Gillette realized that a profit could be made by selling an inexpensive razor with disposable blades. This has been called the razor and blades business model, and has become a very common practice for a wide variety of products.


title: Razor

text: Many other brands of safety razors have come and gone. Much of the competition was based on designing blades that would fit only one style of razor until the blade shape was standardized by the inclusion of a multi-faceted central channel to the blade which would accommodate the various designs of blade securing systems; e.g. three pins, a slender metal bar, etc. Even today, these various securing forms still persist in their variety in DE razors, all accepting the same universal blade design.


title: Razor

text: Exploiting the same razor and blades business model as pioneered in the early 20th century, cartridge razors were developed in the 1960s and are now the most common form of shaving in developed countries. Although designed to have a more ergonomic shape at both the handle and head (including commonly a pivoted head which keeps the blades angled to the skin at a predetermined angle through the shaving motion) the concept is very similar to that of the double edge razor. However, here the entire head assembly (known as a cartridge) is removed and disposed of, not just the blade. Also, it is common for these cartridge heads to have multiple razor blades set into them, commonly between two and five blades.


title: Razor

text: Disposable safety razors are highly similar in design to cartridge razors, constructed from inexpensive materials (most commonly injection molded polycarbonate), yet are meant to be wholly disposable after use with no blade sharpening or replacement possible. One device was invented in 1963 by American entertainer and inventor Paul Winchell.


title: Razor

text: The electric razor (also known as the electric dry shaver) has a rotating or oscillating blade. The electric razor usually does not require the use of shaving cream, soap, or water. The razor may be powered by a small DC motor, which is either powered by batteries or mains electricity. Many modern ones are powered using rechargeable batteries. Alternatively, an electro-mechanical oscillator driven by an AC-energized solenoid may be used. Some very early mechanical shavers had no electric motor and had to be powered by hand, for example by pulling a cord to drive a flywheel.


title: Razor

text: The first electric razor was invented by John F. O’Rourke in 1898. Industrial production of electric razor machines started in 1937 by the US company Remington Rand based on the patent of Jacob Schick from 1928. Since 1939 the Dutch company Philips has produced electric razor machines. One of the main differences between electric razors is the shaving technology they use. Usually, electric shaving machines use several round rotating shaving blades or a horizontally shaver’s foil and cutter block technology.


title: Razor

text: Thick, rigid, single-edged razors such as utility knives are used for various hand-held tasks. Applications include detailed carpentry work like sanding and scraping (in a specialized holder), paper cutting for technical drawing, plumbing, and finish work such as grouting and cleaning, and removing paint from flat surfaces such as panes of glass. Unlike shaving razors, the industrial-grade blades used in these tools are usually made from non-stainless steel like carbon steel, and have a tougher and duller edge.


title: Sally Timms

text: Sally Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and lyricist. Timms is best known for her long involvement with The Mekons whom she joined in 1985.


title: Sally Timms

text: Born in Leeds, in 1959, Timms recorded her first solo album, "Hangahar" (an experimental improvised film score), at the age of 19 with Pete Shelley of Buzzcocks in 1980. Prior to joining The Mekons in 1986 she was in a band called the She Hees. She has released several other solo albums, "Someone's Rocking My Dreamboat" in 1988, "To the Land of Milk and Honey" in 1995, and a country album, "Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos", for Bloodshot Records in 1998. She gave herself the name "Cowboy Sally" after the character she played on TNT's "Rudy and GoGo Show". Her solo recording "In the World of Him" was released in 2004 on Touch and Go Records.


title: Sally Timms

text: Timms sang "Give Me Back my Dreams" on The Sixths' "Hyacinths and Thistles" and has recorded with Marc Almond, The Aluminum Group, Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Show, the Sadies, Andre Williams, and A Grape Dope. She participated in Vito Acconci's "Theater Project for a Rock Band" as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival in 1995 and also, along with the rest of The Mekons, performed with Kathy Acker in her lesbian pirate operetta "Pussy, King of the Pirates" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and elsewhere. Timms sang several songs on the Pine Valley Cosmonauts' "The Executioner's Last Songs" albums, which raised funds for the Illinois Moratorium Against the Death Penalty, and participated in fellow Mekon Jon Langford's multi-media performance project "The Executioner's Last Songs". She co-wrote the song 'Horses', which was recorded by herself and Jon Langford on "Songs of False Hope and High Values"; by Palace Music, a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Billy; and by Chlorine.


title: Sally Timms

text: Timms' musical style is often placed under the genre of alternative country, and she has often toured with other bands on Bloodshot Records.


title: Sally Timms

text: Timms occasionally writes crude broadsheets on pop culture. She was the voice of SARA from Cartoon Network's Toonami block, voicing the first incarnation of the character from 1999 to 2004 alongside Steven Blum, the voice of TOM. In 2006(?) Timms directed the first of the five Christmas pantos hosted by the Hideout bar in Chicago, and performed in several of them.


title: Sally Timms

text: For many years Timms has lived in the Chicago, Illinois, where she also works as a paralegal. She was married to musician and comedian Fred Armisen from 1998 to 2004.


title: Sally Timms

text: Timms joined The Mekons in the mid-1980s. A documentary titled "The Revenge of the Mekons" was released in 2014 by director Joe Angio. The Mekons, still including Timms on vocals, continue to record and perform live, as of 2021.


title: Sally Timms

text: Wee Hairy Beasties were a children's music group based in Chicago, composed of Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, and Devil in a Woodpile. They played their first gig together at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, and released two albums in 2006 and 2008. Timms performed under the moniker Monkey Double Dippey.


title: Sally Timms

text: Timms and Jon Langford, the other Chicago-based member of the Mekons, continue to collaborate on various recording and performance projects, ever since they both moved to Chicago. As of 2022, they frequently perform as a duo, and as a trio with a second guitarist, often at Chicago's Hideout.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: American Pie Presents: Beta House is a 2007 American sex comedy film released by Universal Pictures. It is the third installment in the "American Pie Presents" film series, a spin-off of the "American Pie" franchise. John White stars as Erik Stifler, a college freshman who pledges the Beta House fraternity led by his cousin Dwight Stifler (Steve Talley). Christopher McDonald co-stars as Erik's father and Eugene Levy plays Beta House alumnus Noah Levenstein. It was preceded by "" (2006).


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Universal commissioned the film after positive commercial reaction to "The Naked Mile". Writer Erik Lindsay, producer W.K. Border and four of the five main cast members from the preceding film returned. Principal photography took place for seven to eight weeks from June 4, 2007, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: "American Pie Presents: Beta House" was released direct-to-DVD internationally on December 10, 2007, and in the United States on December 26, 2007. The film was a moderate financial success, generating US$18.55 million in United States sales. It received generally negative reviews from film critics.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: After his girlfriend Tracy breaks up with him, Erik Stifler and his friend Cooze arrive at the University of Michigan as freshmen. Erik meets a girl named Ashley and his new roommate Bobby. Erik is then welcomed by his cousin, Dwight Stifler, the leader of the Beta House fraternity; who invites Erik, Cooze, and Bobby to a party. They meet Wesley, the rush chair of Beta House who experiences alcohol blackouts, and learn how they can gain eligibility to pledge for the Beta House. They are also informed by Dwight that the Geek House, ran by wealthy nerds, has been trying to shut down Beta House.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Erik and Ashley go on a first date at a restaurant where he has hot soup spilled accidentally on his lap, so she brings him to her room to clean up. As Ashley rubs lotion on Erik's thigh, he accidentally ejaculates on her belongings. Erik apologizes, explaining that, after breaking up with Tracy, he has not had an orgasm in four months as masturbation is taboo in his house because of a previous incident.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Meanwhile, Cooze falls for Ashley's roommate Denise; however, she is nervous about having sex with him, so she gives Cooze a handjob instead. After talking with Erik, Bobby, and Dwight about Denise, Cooze develops suspicions that Denise might have a penis.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Along with two other pledges, Erik, Cooze, and Bobby complete fifty tasks to pledge the Beta House, including: getting their butts signed by a stripper, having sex with a professor, marrying a fellow pledge, and placing a live ostrich in the Geek House. After they complete their final task (stealing something from the Geek House), Edgar, the president of the Geek House, challenges the Beta House to the "Greek Olympiad", with the winners taking the loser's House. Before the competition starts, Dwight learns that while attempting to rush the midget fraternity, Edgar had sex with a sheep.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Being the Olympiad's last winner, Beta House alumnus Noah Levenstein returns to campus to officiate the competition. The first game is won by Beta House as Dwight and Edgar compete in removing girls' brassieres. Geek House win the next three matches: a pugil bout turned lightsaber duel, catching a greased pig, and a two-person "69" race. Beta House wins the fifth and sixth competitions: a Russian roulette challenge between Dwight and Edgar with aged horse semen; and a beer drinking competition between all members of both Houses ultimately won by Wesley via a keg stand.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: During the final lap dance challenge, Beta House uses Edgar's sheep fetish against him with Bobby's girlfriend Margie wearing a sheep costume, resulting in the Geek House losing the Olympiad. Having won the Geek House mansion, the Beta House hosts a toga party. Erik and Ashley establish their relationship and have sex. Meanwhile, Cooze and Denise finally sleep together as well, and Cooze discovers that what Denise is hiding is the fact that she ejaculates during sex, much to his excitement.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: In a post-credits scene, Edgar instructs a stripper at the Silver Dollar to dance with the headpiece of the sheep costume.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: "American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile", the second installment of the "American Pie Presents" film series, was a commercial success, and Universal Pictures prepared for a sequel. "The Naked Mile"s writer, Erik Lindsay, pitched the film by saying: "Look, we're not going to top "Animal House" of course, but it's been 25 years. I was in a fraternity for six years. Let's just make a straight pledging movie." Universal gave Lindsay the green light to write "Beta House", and also hired Andrew Waller and "The Naked Mile"s producer, W. K. Border, as the film's director and producer, respectively. The film's screenplay was based on characters by Adam Herz and on aspects of Lindsay's own life. Lindsay felt that Universal being unworried about making the film similar to "Animal House" provided "more opportunities to keep the story organic," which he found the challenge of writing a sequel.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: The film features the same principal cast as "The Naked Mile" are John White, Steve Talley, Christopher McDonald and Eugene Levy reprise their roles from the preceding film. Levy returned to play Noah Levenstein for his sixth time of "American Pie" franchise. Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment said: "we think he [Levy] is crucial to this franchise because his character represents the heart of the movie." Jake Siegel, Jaclyn A. Smith, Dan Petronijevic, and Jordan Prentice also reprise their roles from "The Naked Mile".


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: Principal photography began on June 4, 2007, and lasted about "seven [to] eight weeks." Filming took place at the University of Toronto, Pinewood Toronto Studios and at the Brass Rail strip club in Toronto. Neo Art & Logic, Rogue Pictures and Universal Pictures produced the film on a budget of less than $10 million. The film was intended to be the center of a trilogy beginning with "The Naked Mile" and although talks for a concluding sequel were held, one has yet to materialise.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: "American Pie Presents: Beta House" was released direct-to-DVD internationally on December 10, 2007, and in the United States on December 26, 2007. It was marketed with the tagline "the most outrageous slice of pie!" The film was released in two single-disc DVD editions. The R-rated edition included no special features, while the unrated edition included a commentary track, behind-the-scenes clips, deleted scenes and storylines, a fake service announcement, featurettes, outtakes, a mock in-character interview with Noah Levenstein, music videos by God Made Me Funky, and a "30 Rock" episode. Through its first four weeks the DVD sold over 534,000 copies in the United States, generating $12.25 million in sales. Universal Pictures expected to sell more than a million units; sales have since totaled over 898,000 units in the United States, with $18.55 million in revenue.


title: American Pie Presents: Beta House

text: The film received generally negative reviews from film critics. LaRue Cook of "Entertainment Weekly" graded the film with a "D" and wrote, "what was once a fresh slice of teen comedy has become a slab of stale crudeness." Scott Weinberg of "Moviefone", in his negative review, found the film "slightly more amusing to sit through than the two previous entries", in particular praising the "Star Trek" sexual roleplay scene as "extremely effective." DVD Talk's Jeffrey Robinson writes that "if anything, it will bore you and leave you wondering why you wasted an hour and a half of your life." Writing in JoBlo.com, Adam Quigley poked fun at the film's themes, declaring that "if there's a lesson to be taken from these films, it's that women are objects, and should always be treated as such." "IGN"s Hock Teh gave the film 5/10, writing that it "stays very close to the "American Pie" formula," while criticizing the story as "devoid of anything remotely semi-compelling or even noteworthy." In a positive review, Peter Hammond of "Maxim" describes "American Pie Presents: Beta House" as "loaded with sex, laughs and raunchy fun," writing that it "may be the most outrageous slice of pie yet!"


title: Anahita

text: Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ' ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. There is also a temple named Anahita in Iran. Aredvi Sura Anahita is Ardwisur Anahid (اردویسور آناهید ) or Nahid" (ناهید) in Middle and Modern Persian, and "Anahit" in Armenian. An iconic shrine cult of Aredvi Sura Anahita was – together with other shrine cults – "introduced apparently in the 4th century BCE and lasted until it was suppressed in the wake of an iconoclastic movement under the Sassanids."


title: Anahita

text: The symbol of goddess Anahita is the Lotus flower. Lotus Festival (Persian: Jashn-e Nilupar) is an Iranian festival that is held on the sixth day of July. Holding this festival at this time was probably based on the blooming of lotus flowers at the beginning of summer.


title: Anahita

text: The Greek and Roman historians of classical antiquity refer to her either as Anaïtis or identified her with one of the divinities from their own pantheons. 270 Anahita, a silicaceous S-type asteroid, is named after her. Based on the development of her cult, she was described as a syncretistic goddess, who was composed of two independent elements. The first is a manifestation of the Indo-Iranian idea of the Heavenly River who provides the waters to the rivers and streams flowing in the earth while the second is that of a goddess of uncertain origin, though maintaining her own unique characteristics, who became associated with the cult of the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna-Ishtar. According to one theory, this arose partly from a desire to make Anahita part of Zoroastrianism following the diffusion of her cult from the extreme northwest into the rest of Persia.


title: Anahita

text: According to Herman Lommel, the proper name of the divinity in Indo-Iranian times was Sarasvatī, which also means "she who possesses waters". In Sanskrit, the name आर्द्रावी शूरा अनाहिता (Ārdrāvī Śūrā Anāhitā) means "of the waters, mighty, and immaculate". Like the Indian Sarasvatī, Anāhitā nurtures crops and herds; and she is hailed both as a divinity and as the mythical river which she personifies, "as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth" (Yasht 5.3).


title: Anahita

text: Only "" (a word otherwise unknown, perhaps with an original meaning "moist") is specific to the divinity.


title: Anahita

text: The words ' and ' are generic Avestan language adjectives, and respectively mean "mighty" and "pure". Both adjectives also appear as epithets of other divinities or divine concepts such as and the Fravashis. Both adjectives are also attested in Vedic Sanskrit.


title: Anahita

text: As a divinity of the waters ('), the yazata is of Indo-Iranian origin, according to Lommel related to Sanskrit "" that, like its Proto-Iranian equivalent ', derives from Indo-Iranian '. In its old Iranian form ', "her name was given to the region, rich in rivers, whose modern capital is Kabul (Avestan ', Old Persian ', Greek "")." "Like the Devi Saraswati, [Aredvi Sura Anahita] nurtures crops and herds; and is hailed both as a divinity and the mythical river that she personifies, 'as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth'." Some historians note that despite Anahita's Aryan roots and the way she represented the commonly shared concept of the Heavenly River, which in the Vedas was represented by the goddess "" (the later heavenly Ganga), she had no counterpart in the ancient text who bear the same name or one that remotely resembled hers.


title: Anahita

text: In the (Middle-)Persian texts of the Sassanid and later eras, appears as "". The evidence suggests a western Iranian origin of "Anāhīta". (see borrowing from Babylonia, below).


title: Anahita

text: At some point prior to the 4th century BCE, this yazata was conflated with (an analogue of) Semitic , likewise a divinity of "maiden" fertility and from whom Aredvi Sura Anahita then inherited additional features of a divinity of war and of the planet Venus or "Zohreh" in Arabic. It was moreover the association with the planet Venus, "it seems, which led Herodotus to record that the <nowiki>[</nowiki>Persis<nowiki>]</nowiki> learnt 'to sacrifice to "the heavenly goddess"' from the Assyrians and Arabians." There are sources who based their theory on this aspect. For instance, it was proposed that the ancient Persians worshiped the planet Venus as *"Anahiti", the "pure one", and that, as these people settled in Eastern Iran, *"Anahiti" began to absorb elements of the cult of Ishtar. Indeed, according to Boyce, it is "probable" that there was once a Perso–Elamite divinity by the name of ' (as reconstructed from the Greek '). It is then likely (so Boyce) that it was this divinity that was an analogue of Ishtar, and that it is this divinity with which Aredvi Sura Anahita was conflated.


title: Anahita

text: The link between Anahita and Ishtar is part of the wider theory that Iranian kingship had Mesopotamian roots and that the Persian gods were natural extensions of the Babylonian deities, where Ahuramazda is considered an aspect of Marduk, Mithra for Shamash, and, finally, Anahita was Ishtar. This is supported by how Ishtar "apparently" gave Aredvi Sura Anahita the epithet "Banu", 'the Lady', a typically Mesopotamian construct that is not attested as an epithet for a divinity in Iran before the common era. It is completely unknown in the texts of the Avesta, but evident in Sassanid-era middle Persian inscriptions (see Evidence of a cult, below) and in a middle Persian "Zend" translation of "Yasna" 68.13. Also in Zoroastrian texts from the post-conquest epoch (651 CE onwards), the divinity is referred to as 'Anahid the Lady', 'Ardwisur the Lady' and 'Ardwisur the Lady of the waters'.


title: Anahita

text: Because the divinity is unattested in any old Western Iranian language, establishing characteristics prior to the introduction of Zoroastrianism in Western Iran ("c." 5th century BCE) is very much in the realm of speculation. Boyce concludes that "the Achaemenids' devotion to this goddess evidently survived their conversion to Zoroastrianism, and they appear to have used royal influence to have her adopted into the Zoroastrian pantheon." According to an alternate theory, Anahita was perhaps "a "daeva" of the early and pure Zoroastrian faith, incorporated into the Zoroastrian religion and its revised canon" during the reign of "Artaxerxes I, the Constantine of that faith."


title: Anahita

text: The cosmological qualities of the world river are alluded to in "Yasht" 5 (see in the Avesta, below), but properly developed only in the "Bundahishn", a Zoroastrian account of creation finished in the 11th or 12th century CE. In both texts, Aredvi Sura Anahita is not only a divinity, but also the source of the world river and the (name of the) world river itself. The cosmological legend runs as follows:


title: Anahita

text: All the waters of the world created by Ahura Mazda originate from the source Aredvi Sura Anahita, the life-increasing, herd-increasing, fold-increasing, who makes prosperity for all countries. This source is at the top of the world mountain Hara Berezaiti, "High Hara", around which the sky revolves and that is at the center of Airyanem Vaejah, the first of the lands created by Mazda.


title: Anahita

text: The water, warm and clear, flows through a hundred thousand golden channels towards Mount Hugar, "the Lofty", one of the daughter-peaks of Hara Berezaiti. On the summit of that mountain is Lake Urvis, "the Turmoil", into which the waters flow, becoming quite purified and exiting through another golden channel. Through that channel, which is at the height of a thousand men, one portion of the great spring Aredvi Sura Anahita drizzles in moisture upon the whole earth, where it dispels the dryness of the air and all the creatures of Mazda acquire health from it. Another portion runs down to Vourukasha, the great sea upon which the earth rests, and from which it flows to the seas and oceans of the world and purifies them.


title: Anahita

text: In the Bundahishn, the two halves of the name "Ardwisur Anahid" are occasionally treated independently of one another, that is, with Ardwisur as the representative of waters, and Anahid identified with the planet Venus: The water of the all lakes and seas have their origin with Ardwisur (10.2, 10.5), and in contrast, in a section dealing with the creation of the stars and planets (5.4), the "Bundahishn" speaks of 'Anahid i Abaxtari', that is, the planet Venus. In yet other chapters, the text equates the two, as in "Ardwisur who is Anahid, the father and mother of the Waters" (3.17).


title: Anahita

text: This legend of the river that descends from Mount Hara appears to have remained a part of living observance for many generations. A Greek inscription from Roman times found in Asia Minor reads "the great goddess Anaïtis of high Hara". On Greek coins of the imperial epoch, she is spoken of as "Anaïtis of the sacred water".


title: Anahita

text: Aredvi Sura Anahita is principally addressed in "Yasht" 5 ("Yasna" 65), also known as the Aban "Yasht", a hymn to the waters in Avestan and one of the longer and better preserved of the devotional hymns. "Yasna" 65 is the third of the hymns recited at the Ab-Zohr, the "offering to the waters" that accompanies the culminating rites of the Yasna service. Verses from "Yasht" 5 also form the greater part of the "Aban Nyashes", the liturgy to the waters that are a part of the "Khordeh Avesta".


title: Anahita

text: According to Nyberg and supported by Lommel and Widengren, the older portions of the "Aban Yasht" were originally composed at a very early date, perhaps not long after the Gathas themselves. "Yasna" 38, which is dedicated "to the earth and the sacred waters" and is part of seven-chapter "Yasna Haptanghāiti", is linguistically as old as the Gathas.


title: Anahita

text: In the "Aban Yasht", the river "yazata" is described as "the great spring Ardvi Sura Anahita is the life-increasing, the herd-increasing, the fold-increasing who makes prosperity for all countries" (5.1). She is "wide flowing and healing", "efficacious against the "daeva"s", "devoted to Ahura's lore" (5.1). She is associated with fertility, purifying the seed of men (5.1), purifying the wombs of women (5.1), encouraging the flow of milk for newborns (5.2). As a river divinity, she is responsible for the fertility of the soil and for the growth of crops that nurture both man and beast (5.3). She is a beautiful, strong maiden, wearing beaver skins (5.3,7,20,129).


title: Anahita

text: The association between water and wisdom that is common to many ancient cultures is also evident in the "Aban Yasht", for here Aredvi Sura is the divinity to whom priests and pupils should pray for insight and knowledge (5.86). In verse 5.120 she is seen to ride a chariot drawn by four horses named "wind", "rain", "clouds" and "sleet". In newer passages she is described as standing in "statuesque stillness", "ever observed", royally attired with a golden embroidered robe, wearing a golden crown, necklace and earrings, golden breast-ornament, and gold-laced ankle-boots (5.123, 5.126-8). Aredvi Sura Anahita is bountiful to those who please her, stern to those who do not, and she resides in 'stately places' (5.101).


title: Anahita

text: The concept of Aredvi Sura Anahita is to a degree blurred with that of Ashi, the Gathic figure of Good Fortune, and many of the verses of the "Aban Yasht" also appear in "Yasht" 17 ("Ard Yasht"), which is dedicated to Ashi. So also a description of the weapons bestowed upon worshippers (5.130), and the superiority in battle (5.34 et al.). These functions appears out of place in a hymn to the waters, and may have originally been from "Yasht" 17.


title: Anahita

text: Other verses in "Yasht" 5 have masculine instead of feminine pronouns, and thus again appear to be verses that were originally dedicated to other divinities. Boyce also suggests that the new compound divinity of waters with martial characteristics gradually usurped the position of Apam Napat, the great warlike water divinity of the Ahuric triad, finally causing the latter's place to be lost and his veneration to become limited to the obligatory verses recited at the "Ab-Zohr".


title: Anahita

text: There are also parts in the Yasht that show discrepancies in the description of Anahita. There was the case, for instance, of her beaver coat, which was described to an audience for whom the Yasht was redacted. It was clear that these do not know the animal given the fact that the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) were found in the Caucasus but did not range south of the Caspian Sea nor the rivers and lakes of the Aral-Caspian steppe.


title: Anahita

text: The earliest dateable and unambiguous reference to the iconic cult of Anahita is from the Babylonian scholar-priest Berosus, who – although writing in 285 BCE, over 70 years after the reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon – records that the emperor had been the first to make cult statues of Aphrodite Anaitis and place them in the temples of many of the empire's major cities, including Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Bactria, Persepolis, Damascus and Sardis. Also according to Berosus, the Persians knew of no images of gods until Artaxerxes II erected those images. This is substantiated by Herodotus, whose mid-5th-century-BCE general remarks on the usages of the Perses, Herodotus notes that "it is not their custom to make and set up statues and images and altars, and those that make such they deem foolish, as I suppose, because they never believed the gods, as do the Greeks, to be the likeness of men." As the cult was institutionalized, it began to spread widely, reaching beyond the borders of Persia taking root in Armenia and Asia Minor.


title: Anahita

text: The extraordinary innovation of the shrine cults can thus be dated to the late 5th century BCE (or very early 4th century BCE), even if this evidence is "not of the most satisfactory kind." Nonetheless, by 330 BCE and under Achaemenid royal patronage, these cults had been disseminated throughout Asia Minor and the Levant, and from there to Armenia. The temples also served as an important source of income. From the Babylonian kings, the Achaemenids had taken over the concept of a mandatory temple tax, a one-tenth tithe which all inhabitants paid to the temple nearest to their land or other source of income. A share of this income called the "quppu ša šarri" or "kings chest" – an ingenious institution originally introduced by Nabonidus – was then turned over to the ruler.


title: Anahita

text: Nonetheless, Artaxerxes' close connection with the Anahita temples is "almost certainly the chief cause of this king's long-lasting fame among Zoroastrians, a fame which made it useful propaganda for the succeeding Arsacids to claim him (quite spuriously) for their ancestor."


title: Anahita

text: Artaxerxes II's devotion to Anahita is most apparent in his inscriptions, where her name appears directly after that of Ahura Mazda and before that of Mithra. Artaxerxes' inscription at Susa reads: "By the will of Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra I built this palace. May Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra protect me from all evil" (A²Hc 15–10). This is a remarkable break with tradition; no Achaemenid king before him had invoked any but Ahura Mazda alone by name although the Behistun inscription of Darius invokes Ahuramazda and "The other gods who are".


title: Anahita

text: The temple(s) of Anahita at Ecbatana (Hamadan) in Media must have once been the most glorious sanctuaries in the known world. Although the palace had been stripped by Alexander and the following Seleucid kings, when Antiochus III raided Ecbatana in 209 BCE, the temple "had the columns round it still gilded and a number of silver tiles were piled up in it, while a few gold bricks and a considerable quantity of silver ones remained."


title: Anahita

text: Polybius' reference to Alexander is supported by Arrian, who in 324 BCE wrote of a temple in Ecbatana dedicated to "Asclepius" (by inference presumed to be Anahita, likewise a divinity of healing), destroyed by Alexander because she had allowed his friend Hephaestion to die. The massive stone lion on the hill there (said to be part of a sepulcral monument to Hephaestion) is today a symbol that visitors touch in hope of fertility.


title: Anahita

text: Plutarch records that Artaxerxes II had his concubine Aspasia consecrated as priestess at the temple "to Diana of Ecbatana, whom they name Anaitis, that she might spend the remainder of her days in strict chastity." This does not however necessarily imply that chastity was a requirement of Anaitis priestesses.


title: Anahita

text: Isidore of Charax, in addition to a reference to the temple at Ecbatana ("a temple, sacred to Anaitis, they sacrifice there always") also notes a "temple of Artemis" at Concobar (Lower Media, today Kangavar). Despite archaeological findings that refute a connection with Anahita, remains of a 2nd-century BCE Hellenic-style edifice at Kangavar continue to be a popular tourist attraction.


title: Anahita

text: Isidore also records another "royal place, a temple of Artemis, founded by Darius" at Basileia (Apadana), on the royal highway along the left bank of the Euphrates.


title: Anahita

text: During the Hellenistic Parthian period, Susa had its "Dianae templum augustissimum" far from Elymais where another temple, known to Strabo as the ""Ta Azara"", was dedicated to Athena/Artemis and where tame lions roamed the grounds. This may be a reference to the temple above the Tang-a Sarvak ravine in present-day Khuzestan Province. Other than this, no evidence of the cult in Western Iran from the Parthian period survives, but "it is reasonable to assume that the martial features of Anāhita (Ishtar) assured her popularity in the subsequent centuries among the warrior classes of Parthian feudalism."


title: Anahita

text: In the 2nd century CE, the center of the cult in Parsa (Persia proper) was at Staxr (Istakhr). There, Anahita continued to be venerated in her martial role and it was at Istakhr that Sassan, after whom the Sassanid dynasty is named, served as high priest. Sassan's son, Papak, likewise a priest of that temple, overthrew the King of Istakhr (a vassal of the Arsacids), and had himself crowned in his stead. "By this time (the beginning of the 3rd century), Anāhita's headgear ("kolāh") was worn as a mark of nobility", which in turn "suggests that she was goddess of the feudal warrior estate." Ardashir ("r." 226-241 CE) "would send the heads of the petty kings he defeated for display at her temple."


title: Anahita

text: During the reign of Bahram I ("r." 272-273 CE), in the wake of an iconoclastic movement that had begun at about the same time as the shrine cult movement, the sanctuaries dedicated to a specific divinity were - by law - disassociated from that divinity by removal of the statuary and then either abandoned or converted into fire altars. So also the popular shrines to Mehr/Mithra which retained the name "Darb-e Mehr" - Mithra's Gate - that is today one of the Zoroastrian technical terms for a fire temple. The temple at Istakhr was likewise converted and, according to the Kartir inscription, henceforth known as the "Fire of Anahid the Lady." Sassanid iconoclasm, though administratively from the reign of Bahram I, may already have been supported by Bahram's father, Shapur I ("r." 241-272 CE). In an inscription in Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek at Ka'ba of Zoroaster, the "Mazdean lord, ..., king of kings, ..., grandson of lord Papak" (ShKZ 1, Naqsh-e Rustam) records that he instituted fires for his daughter and three of his sons. His daughter's name: Anahid. The name of that fire: Adur-Anahid.


title: Anahita

text: Notwithstanding the dissolution of the temple cults, the triad Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra (as Artaxerxes II had invoked them) would continue to be prominent throughout the Sassanid age, "and were indeed (with Tiri and Verethragna) to remain the most popular of all divine beings in Western Iran." Moreover, the iconoclasm of Bahram I and later kings apparently did not extend to images where they themselves are represented. At an investiture scene at Naqsh-e Rustam, Narseh ("r." 293-302 CE) is seen receiving his crown from a female divinity identified as Anahita. Narseh, like Artaxerxes II, was apparently also very devoted to Anahita, for in the investiture inscription at Paikuli (near Khaniqin, in present-day Iraq), Narseh invokes "Ormuzd and all the yazatas, and Anahid who is called the Lady."


title: Anahita

text: Anahita has also been identified as a figure in the investiture scene of Khusrow Parvez (Khosrau II, "r." 590-628 CE) at Taq-e Bostan, but in this case not quite as convincingly as for the one of Narseh. But, aside from the two rock carvings at Naqsh-e Rustam and Taq-e Bostan, "few figures unquestionably representing the goddess are known." The figure of a female on an Achaemenid cylinder seal has been identified as that of Anahita, as have a few reliefs from the Parthian era (250 BCE-226 CE), two of which are from ossuaries.


title: Anahita

text: In addition, Sassanid silverware depictions of nude or scantily dressed women seen holding a flower or fruit or bird or child are identified as images of Anahita. Additionally, "it has been suggested that the colonnaded or serrated crowns [depicted] on Sasanian coins belong to Anahid."


title: Anahita

text: The cult flourished in Lydia even as late as the end of the Hellenistic period and early Parthian Empire, well into the lifetime of Jesus. The Lydians had temples to the divinity at Sardis, Philadelphia, Hieroaesarea, Hypaipa (where she was still revered as Artemis Anaitis or Persian Artemis in Classical and Roman times), Maeonia and elsewhere; the temple at Hierocaesarea reportedly having been founded by "Cyrus" (presumably Cyrus the Younger, brother of Artaxerxes II, who was satrap of Lydia between 407 and 401 BCE).


title: Anahita

text: In the 2nd century CE, the geographer Pausanias reports having personally witnessed (apparently Mazdean) ceremonies at Hypaipa and Hierocaesarea. According to Strabo, Anahita was revered together with Omanos at Zela in Pontus. At Castabala, she is referred to as 'Artemis Perasia'. Anahita and Omanos had common altars in Cappadocia.


title: Anahita

text: "Hellenic influence [gave] a new impetus to the cult of images [and] positive evidence for this comes from Armenia, then a Zoroastrian land."


title: Anahita

text: According to Strabo, the "Armenians shared in the religion of the Perses and the Medes and particularly honored Anaitis". The kings of Armenia were "steadfast supporters of the cult" and Tiridates III, before his conversion to Christianity, "prayed officially to the triad Aramazd-Anahit-Vahagn but is said to have shown a special devotion to 'the great lady Anahit, ... the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd'". According to Agathangelos, tradition required the Kings of Armenia to travel once a year to the temple at Eriza (Erez) in Acilisene in order to celebrate the festival of the divinity; Tiridates made this journey in the first year of his reign where he offered sacrifice and wreaths and boughs. The temple at Eriza appears to have been particularly famous, "the wealthiest and most venerable in Armenia", staffed with priests and priestesses, the latter from eminent families who would serve at the temple before marrying. This practice may again reveal Semitic syncretic influences, and is not otherwise attested in other areas. Pliny reports that Mark Antony's soldiers smashed an enormous statue of the divinity made of solid gold and then divided the pieces amongst themselves. Also according to Pliny, supported by Dio Cassius, Acilisene eventually came to be known as Anaetica. Dio Cassius also mentions that another region along the Cyrus River, on the borders of Albania and Iberia, was also called "the land of Anaitis."


title: Anahita

text: Anahit was also venerated at Artashat (Artaxata), the capital of the Armenian Kingdom, where her temple was close to that of Tiur, the divinity of oracles. At Astishat, center of the cult of Vahagn, she was revered as "voskimayr", the 'golden mother'. In 69 BCE, the soldiers of Lucullus saw cows consecrated to 'Persian Artemis' roaming freely at Tomisa in Sophene (on the Euphrates in South-West Armenia), where the animals bore the brand of a torch on their heads. Following Tiridates' conversion to Christianity, the cult of Anahit was condemned and iconic representations of the divinity were destroyed.


title: Anahita

text: Attempts have been made to identify Anahita as one of the prime three divinities in Albania, but these are questionable. However, in the territories of the Moschi in Colchis, Strabo mentions a cult of Leucothea, which Wesendonck and others have identified as an analogue of Anahita. The cult of Anahita may have also influenced Ainina and Danina, a paired deities of the Caucasian Iberians mentioned by the medieval Georgian chronicles.


title: Anahita

text: As a divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita is of enormous significance to the Zoroastrian religion, for as a representative of Aban ("the waters"), she is in effect the divinity towards whom the "Yasna" service – the primary act of worship – is directed. (see Ab-Zohr). "To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians, and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream."


title: Anahita

text: It is "very probable" that the shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu at royal Ray (Rhagae, central Media) was once dedicated to Anahita. Similarly, one of the "most beloved mountain shrines of the Zoroastrians of Yazd, set beside a living spring and a great confluence of water-courses, is devoted to Banu-Pars, "the Lady of Persia"."


title: Anahita

text: However, and notwithstanding the widespread popularity of Anahita, "it is doubtful whether the current tendency is justified whereby almost every isolated figure in Sassanid art, whether sitting, standing, dancing, clothed, or semi-naked, is hailed as her representation."


title: Anahita

text: The Armenian cult of Anahit, as well as the pre-Christian Armenian religion in general, was very closely connected to Persian Zoroastrianism.


title: Anahita

text: Some Mandaean exorcism texts invoke the name of Nanai or Nanaia (the Semitic form of Anahita), pointing to contact between the Mandaeans and the cult of Anahita during the past.


title: Anahita

text: In his "Life of Johnson", James Boswell tells the story of Donald McQueen, who believed a building near Dunvegan Castle to be the ruins of a temple to Anahita. Samuel Johnson gave no credence to McQueen's beliefs, which Johnson said was based purely on phonological similarities of names.


title: Anahita

text: In Tad Williams' Bobby Dollar Series, Anahita is referred to as Anaita, a powerful goddess turned angel who acts as one of five members of a judgement collective known as the Ephorate.


title: Prospect (film)

text: Prospect is a 2018 American science fiction film starring Pedro Pascal, Sophie Thatcher, and Jay Duplass. The film, written and directed by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, features a teenage girl and her father traveling to an alien moon with a contract to mine gems in the moon's poisonous forest. On the moon, the father is driven by greed, and the two encounter dangerous strangers in the forest.


title: Prospect (film)

text: The film premiered on March 5, 2018 at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The company Gunpowder & Sky, under their science fiction-oriented label Dust, released the film in Regal Cinemas theaters on November 2, 2018, and on video-on-demand and home media on March 8, 2019.


title: Prospect (film)

text: A teenage girl, Cee, and her father, Damon, descend in a landing pod from a transport spaceship to the surface of a forest moon covered in poisonous spores to mine for gems. They suffer a technical malfunction during the descent which cripples the lander and the pair touch down some distance away from their planned prospecting site. The duo begins traveling to the site on foot and comes across an abandoned dig site. Damon and Cee extract a fleshy pod from the earth and dissect it to reveal a valuable gem. Cee implores her father to take the gem and return to the lander, but Damon insists they continue to the original landing site.


title: Prospect (film)

text: The pair set out again, and Damon is approached by two rival prospectors: Ezra and his silent companion. Ezra and his partner plan to rob Damon and hold him at gunpoint, but Damon suggests in a counter-offer that they join forces. Damon explains that he has been contacted to assist a group of mercenaries who stumbled upon the legendary 'queen's lair', a dig site of extraordinary value. Damon suggests that rather than digging for the mercenaries, Ezra, his companion, and Damon can work together and take the entire dig for themselves.


title: Prospect (film)

text: Ezra agrees, but Cee, who has been hiding throughout this encounter, ambushes the two hostile prospectors with a rifle - allowing Damon to wrest a weapon from Ezra before taking the latter and his partner hostage. Damon attempts to rob Ezra, but the partner attacks him and the pair shoot each other. Ezra's partner is killed and Damon is mortally wounded before being executed by Ezra himself.


title: Prospect (film)

text: Cee flees back to her damaged lander, which fails to start, and is found by Ezra several hours later. When Ezra attempts to enter, Cee wounds him in the arm with her rifle and takes him prisoner. Ezra suggests that they follow Damon's original plan and aid the mercenaries in exchange for passage on the mercenaries' ship. Cee reluctantly agrees, and the pair sets out for the queen's lair. Ezra's wound has become infected by the poisonous spores in the atmosphere, and so the pair approaches a group of human villagers with the intent to trade for medical treatment. The villagers instead offer a trade of gems in exchange for Cee. As Ezra asks about details of the offer, Cee flees the village and escapes pursuit by the villagers.


title: Prospect (film)

text: After wandering the planet alone, Cee runs into Ezra once again. His wound has worsened considerably, and Cee helps him amputate his arm. The pair set out once more and soon arrives at the mercenary camp surrounding the queen's lair. After negotiating passage on the mercenaries' ship, Cee and Ezra attempt to fulfill their end of the contract and extract gems from the queen's lair. They fail several extraction attempts, and as their mercenary guard turns to report their failure, Ezra attacks and kills him. The commotion attracts the rest of the mercenaries, and a fight ensues. Several mercenaries are killed, and Ezra is gravely wounded. Cee tends to Ezra's wound, and the pair escape into orbit on the mercenaries' ship.


title: Prospect (film)

text: Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, who directed "Prospect", met at the Seattle Pacific University. They formed the production company Shep Films and initially made commercials before making short films. After several short films, they made the feature-length film "Prospect".


title: Prospect (film)

text: "Prospect" premiered on March 5, 2018 at the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award. The company Gunpowder and Sky, under their label Dust, released the film in Regal Cinemas theaters on November 2, 2018. The film was released on video-on-demand and home media on March 8, 2019.


title: Prospect (film)

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes assessed reviews; it reported 43 as positive and 6 as negative, for an overall rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Fueled by character development and setting instead of special effects, "Prospect" is a sci-fi story whose style is defined—and enriched—by its limitations." The similar website Metacritic assessed 8 reviews and reported 6 as positive and 2 as mixed. With an overall score of 68 out of 100, it said the film had "generally favorable reviews".


title: Prospect (film)

text: Peter Debruge of "Variety" wrote, "Constructing character does not appear to be Earl and Caldwell’s strong suit (what’s satisfying about Cee owes almost entirely to Thatcher, a fresh face who tricks us into assuming she’s just a callow teen, when in fact, she proves to be the film’s toughest character). On the other hand, the duo show a real aptitude for world building."


title: Champagne wine region

text: The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term "champagne" exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine-producing districts within the historical province: Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. The city of Reims and the town of Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. Reims is famous for its cathedral, the venue of the coronation of the French kings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


title: Champagne wine region

text: Located at the northern edges of France, the history of the Champagne wine region has had a significant role in the development of this unique "terroir". The area's proximity to Paris promoted the region's economic success in its wine trade but also put the villages and vineyards in the path of marching armies on their way to the French capital. Despite the frequency of these military conflicts, the region developed a reputation for quality wine production in the early Middle Ages and was able to continue that reputation as the region's producers began making sparkling wine with the advent of the great champagne houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. The principal grapes grown in the region include Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier. Pinot noir is the most widely planted grape in the Aube region and grows very well in Montagne de Reims. Pinot Meunier is the dominant grape in the Vallée de la Marne region. The Côte des Blancs is dedicated almost exclusively to Chardonnay.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The unique, chalky landscape of the Champagne wine region and the resulting agro-industrial system led to the development of sparkling wines like champagne in the 17th century. As a result, many of the production sites and wine houses in the region were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 as part the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars site.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The Champagne province is located near the northern limits of the wine world along the 49th parallel. The high latitude and mean annual temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) creates a difficult environment for wine grapes to fully ripen. Ripening is aided by the presence of forests which helps to stabilize temperatures and maintain moisture in the soil. The cool temperatures serve to produce high levels of acidity in the resulting grape which is ideal for sparkling wine.


title: Champagne wine region

text: During the growing season, the mean July temperature is 18 °C (66 °F). The average annual rainfall is 630 mm (25 inches), with 45 mm (1.8 inches) falling during the harvest month of September. Throughout the year, growers must be mindful of the hazards of fungal disease and early spring frost.


title: Champagne wine region

text: Ancient oceans left behind chalk subsoil deposits when they receded 70 million years ago. Earthquakes that rocked the region over 10 million years ago pushed the marine sediments of belemnite fossils up to the surface to create the belemnite chalk terrain. The belemnite in the soil allows it to absorb heat from the sun and gradually release it during the night as well as providing good drainage. This soil contributes to the lightness and finesse that is characteristic of Champagne wine. The Aube area is an exception with predominately clay based soil. The chalk is also used in the construction of underground cellars that can keep the wines cool through the bottle maturation process.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The Carolingian reign saw periods of prosperity for the Champagne region beginning with Charlemagne's encouragement for the area to start planting vines and continuing with the coronation of his son Louis the Pious at Reims. The tradition of crowning kings at Reims contributed to the reputation of the wines that came from this area. The Counts of Champagne ruled the area as an independent county from 950 to 1316. In 1314, the last Count of Champagne assumed the throne as King Louis X of France and the region became part of the Crown territories.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The location of Champagne played a large role in its historical prominence as it served as a "crossroads" for both military and trade routes. This also made the area open to devastation and destruction during military conflicts that were frequently waged in the area. In 451 A.D. near Châlons-en-Champagne, Attila and the Huns were defeated by an alliance of Roman legions, Franks and Visigoths. This defeat was a turning point in the Huns' invasion of Europe.


title: Champagne wine region

text: During the Hundred Years' War, the land was repeatedly ravaged and devastated by battles. The Abbey of Hautvillers, including its vineyards, was destroyed in 1560 during the War of Religion between the Huguenots and Catholics. This was followed by conflicts during the Thirty Year War and the "Fronde" Civil War where soldiers and mercenaries held the area in occupation. It was not until the 1660s, during the reign of Louis XIV, that the region saw enough peace to allow advances in sparkling wine production to take place.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The region's reputation for wine production dates back to the Middle Ages when Pope Urban II ( ruled 1088-1099 AD/CE ), a native Champenois, declared that the wine of Aÿ in the Marne département was the best wine produced in the world. For a time "Aÿ" was used as a shorthand designation for wines from the entire Champagne region, similar to the use of Beaune for the wines of Burgundy. The poet Henry d'Andeli's work "La Bataille des Vins" rated wines from the towns of Épernay, Hautvillers and Reims as some of the best in Europe. As the region's reputation grew, popes and royalty sought to own pieces of the land with Pope Leo X, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain, and Henry VIII of England all owning vineyard land in the region. A batch of wine from Aÿ received in 1518 by Henry VIII's chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, is the first recorded export of wine from the Champagne region to England.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The still wines of the area were highly prized in Paris under the designation of "vins de la rivière" and "vins de la montagne"- wines of the river and wines of the mountain in reference to the wooded terrain and the river Marne which carried the wines down to the Seine and into Paris. The region was in competition with Burgundy for the Flemish wine trade and tried to capitalize on Reims' location along the trade route from Beaune. In the 15th century, Pinot noir became heavily planted in the area. The resulting red wine had difficulty comparing well to the richness and coloring of Burgundy wines, despite the addition of elderberries to deepen the color. This led to a greater focus on white wines.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The Champagne house of Gosset was founded as a still wine producer in 1584 and is the oldest Champagne house still in operation today. Ruinart was founded in 1729 and was soon followed by Chanoine Frères (1730), Taittinger (1734), Moët et Chandon (1743) and Veuve Clicquot (1772).


title: Champagne wine region

text: The nineteenth century saw an explosive growth in Champagne production going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850.


title: Champagne wine region

text: A strong influence on Champagne wine production was the centuries-old rivalry between the region and Burgundy. From the key market of Paris to the palace of Louis XIV of France at Versailles, proponents of Champagne and Burgundy would compete for dominance. For most of his life, Louis XIV would drink only Champagne wine with the support of his doctor Antoine d'Aquin who advocated the King drink Champagne with every meal for the benefit of his health. As the King aged and his ailments increased, competing doctors would propose alternative treatments with alternative wines, to soothe the King's ills. One of these doctors, Guy-Crescent Fagon conspired with the King's mistress to oust d'Aquin and have himself appointed as Royal Doctor. Fagon quickly attributed the King's continuing ailments to Champagne and ordered that only Burgundy wine must be served at the royal table.


title: Champagne wine region

text: This development had a ripple effect throughout both regions and in the Paris markets. Both Champagne and Burgundy were deeply concerned with the "healthiness" reputation of their wines, even to the extent of paying medical students to write theses touting the health benefit of their wines. These theses were then used as advertising pamphlets that were sent to merchants and customers. The Faculty of Medicine in Reims published several papers to refute Fagon's claim that Burgundy wine was healthier than Champagne. In response, Burgundian winemakers hired physician Jean-Baptiste de Salins, dean of the medical school in Beaune, to speak to a packed auditorium at the Paris Faculty of Medicine. Salins spoke favorably of Burgundy wine's deep color and robust nature and compared it to the pale red color of Champagne and the "instability" of the wine to travel long distances and the flaws of the bubbles from when secondary fermentation would take place. The text of his speech was published in newspapers and pamphlets throughout France and had a damaging effect on Champagne sales.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The war of words would continue for another 130 years with endless commentary from doctors, poets, playwrights and authors all arguing for their favorite region and their polemics being reproduced in advertisements for Burgundy and Champagne. On a few occasions, the two regions were on the brink of civil war. A turning point occurred when several Champagne wine makers abandoned efforts to produce red wine in favor of focusing on harnessing the effervescent nature of sparkling Champagne. As the bubbles became more popular, doctors throughout France and Europe commented on the health benefits of the sparkling bubbles which were said to cure malaria. As more Champenois winemakers embarked on this new and completely different wine style, the rivalry with Burgundy mellowed and eventually waned.


title: Champagne wine region

text: In 1927, viticultural boundaries of Champagne were legally defined and split into five wine-producing districts: The Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. This area covered in 2008 33,500 hectares (76,000 acres) of vineyards around 319 villages that were home to 5,000 growers who made their own wine and 14,000 growers who only sold grapes.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The different districts produce grapes of varying characteristics that are blended by the Champagne houses to create their distinct house styles. The Pinots of the Montagne de Reims that are planted on northern facing slopes are known for their high levels of acid and the delicacy they add to the blend. The grapes on the southern facing slope add more power and character. Grapes across the district contribute to the bouquet and headiness. The abundance of southern facing slopes in the Vallée de la Marne produces the ripest wines with full aroma. The Côte des Blancs grapes are known for their finesse and the freshness they add to blends with the extension of the nearby Côte de Sézanne offering similar though slightly less distinguished traits.


title: Champagne wine region

text: In 1941, the "Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne" (CIVC) was formed with the purpose of protecting Champagne's reputation and marketing forces as well as setting up and monitoring regulations for vineyard production and vinification methods. Champagne is the only region that is permitted to exclude AOC or "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" from their labels.


title: Champagne wine region

text: For each vintage, the CIVC rated the villages of the area based on the quality of their grapes and vineyards. The rating was then used to determine the price and the percentage of the price that growers get. The "Grand Cru" rated vineyards received 100 percent rating which entitled the grower to 100% of the price. "Premier Crus" were vineyards with 90–99% ratings while "Deuxième Crus" received 80–89% ratings.


title: Champagne wine region

text: Under appellation rules, around 4,000 kilograms (8,800 pounds) of grapes can be pressed to create up to 673 gallons (either 2,550 L or 3,060 L) of juice. The first 541 gallons (either 2,050 L or 2,460 L) are the "cuvée" and the next 132 gallons (either 500 L or 600 L) are the "taille". Prior to 1992, a second "taille" of 44 gallons (either 167 L or 200 L) was previously allowed. For vintage Champagne, 100% of the grapes must come from that vintage year while non-vintage wine is a blend of vintages. Vintage champagne must spend a minimum of three years of aging. There are no regulations about how long it must spend on its lees, but some of the premier Champagne houses keep their wines on lees for upwards of five to ten years. Non-vintage Champagne must spend a minimum of 15 months of aging but only a minimum of 12 months on the lees. Most of the Champagne houses keep their wines on the lees throughout the entire aging period because it is more expensive to bottle the wine before aging it, as opposed to bottling and shipping the product in a single step at the end of the fermentation-and-aging process.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The worldwide demand for Champagne has been continuously increasing throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. A record in worldwide shipping of Champagne (including domestic French consumption) of 327 million bottles was set in 1999 in anticipation of end of millennium celebrations, and a new record was set in 2007 at 338.7 million bottles. Since the entire vineyard area authorized by the 1927 AOC regulations is now under cultivation, various ways of expanding the production have been considered. The allowed yield was increased (to a maximum of 15,500 kg per hectare during an experimental period from 2007 to 2011) and the possibility of revising the production region was examined.


title: Champagne wine region

text: After an extensive review of vineyard conditions in and around the existing Champagne region, INAO presented a proposal to revise the region on March 14, 2008. The proposal was prepared by a group of five experts in the subjects of history, geography, geology, phytosociology and agronomy, working from 2005. The proposal means expanding the region to cover vineyards in 357 rather than 319 villages. This is to be achieved by adding vineyards in forty villages while simultaneously removing two villages in the Marne départment that were included in the 1927 regulations, Germaine and Orbais-l'Abbaye.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The INAO proposal was to be subject to review before being made into law and was immediately questioned in numerous public comments. The mayor of one of the villages to be delisted, Germaine, immediately appealed against INAO's proposal, with the possibility of additional appeals by vineyard owners. The initial review process is expected to be finished by early 2009. This will be followed by another review of the specific parcels that will be added or deleted from the appellation. The earliest vineyard plantings are expected around 2015, with their product being marketed from around 2021. However, the price of land that are allowed to be used for Champagne production is expected to immediately rise from 5,000 to one million euro per hectare.


title: Champagne wine region

text: While some critics have feared the revision of the Champagne region is about expanding production irrespective of quality, British wine writer and Champagne expert Tom Stevenson has pointed out that the proposed additions constitute a consolidation rather than expansion. The villages under discussion are situated in gaps inside the perimeter of the existing Champagne regions rather than outside it.


title: Champagne wine region

text: While totally dominating the region's production, sparkling Champagne is not the only product that is made from the region's grapes. Non-sparkling still wines, like those made around the village Bouzy, are sold under the appellation label "Coteaux Champenois". There is also a rosé appellation in the region, "Rosé des Riceys". The regional vin de liqueur is called "Ratafia de Champagne". Since the profit of making sparkling Champagne from the region's grape is now much higher, production of these non-sparkling wines and fortified wines is very small.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The pomace from the grape pressing is used to make "Marc de Champagne", and in this case the production does not compete with that of Champagne, since the pomace is a by-product of wine production.


title: Champagne wine region

text: The end of harvest in Champagne is marked by a celebration known as "la Fête du Cochelet". At Reims, "St Jean is the patron of the cellar staff and those engaged in work connected with Champagne."


title: Katia Winter

text: Katia Winter (born 13 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. She is best known for her roles as Nadia in the Showtime series "Dexter" (2012), Katrina Crane in the Fox series "Sleepy Hollow" (2013–15), Freydís Eiríksdóttir in The CW series "Legends of Tomorrow" (2017–18) and Gwen Karlsson in the CBS/Paramount+ series "Blood & Treasure" (2019–present).


title: Katia Winter

text: Winter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. After graduating high school, she moved to London to study at a stage school. She moved to Los Angeles, California in the early 2010s.


title: Katia Winter

text: In 2013, Winter married musician Jesse Glick. They separated in June 2015, and she filed for divorce in February 2016.


title: Katia Winter

text: In 2020, she moved back to Sweden with her British boyfriend. They reside in the countryside, a few hours north of Stockholm.


title: Katia Winter

text: Winter appeared on British television series and in films including the 2009 drama "Unmade Beds" and the 2011 drama "Everywhere and Nowhere".


title: Katia Winter

text: After making a move to the U.S. she immediately booked the lead female role in "Arena" opposite Kellan Lutz and Samuel L. Jackson. Soon after she played the lead role in the 2012 independent film "Love Sick Love" alongside Matthew Settle and in the 2013 independent film "Banshee Chapter" with Ted Levine.


title: Katia Winter

text: In 2012 she appeared in the "NCIS" episode "Need To Know". In the same year she also joined the cast of "Dexter" for the show's seventh season, playing the recurring role of Nadia, a Russian stripper who works in a Miami club.


title: Lani Hall

text: Lani Hall (born November 6, 1945) is an American singer, lyricist, and author. From 1966 to 1971 she performed as lead vocalist for Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66. In 1972 Hall released her first solo album, "Sun Down Lady". She may be best known, however, for providing the most recognizable (female) face and (female) vocal signature sound to Sérgio's group during her tenure there, and for her rendition of the theme song to the 1983 James Bond film, "Never Say Never Again", with its accompanying video, in which she prominently appears. In 1986 she was awarded her first Grammy for "Es Fácil Amar", as "Best Latin Pop Performance."


title: Lani Hall

text: After that year, Hall largely retired, resurfacing in 1998 with the solo album "Brasil Nativo". She has recorded more than 22 albums in three different languages and has released three albums on which she performs alongside her husband, Herb Alpert: "Anything Goes", "I Feel You" and "Steppin' Out". Hall received her second Grammy Award in 2013 as the producer for the album "Steppin' Out".


title: Lani Hall

text: Hall's first public appearance occurred in 1965 at The Centaur, a coffee house in Old Town, Chicago. She was heard by Brazilian pianist and bandleader Sérgio Mendes, who was on tour in Chicago. He first heard her perform at a benefit at Mother Blue's, another club in Old Town. His group, Brasil '65 was disbanding, and he invited Hall to come to Los Angeles to be the lead singer of his new project, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66. As she was only 19 and still living with her parents, she agreed only after Mendes met her father and obtained his blessing, and six months later, the group signed a contract with A&M Records.


title: Lani Hall

text: Unlike the previous incarnation, Brasil '66 was an instant success – making a significant impact on the charts with its first single, a version of the Brazilian song "Mas Que Nada". Much of the song's appeal was due to Hall's distinctive, multi-tracked vocals and Herb Alpert's expertise as producer.


title: Lani Hall

text: A series of popular interpretations followed, including the group's take on the Beatles' "The Fool on the Hill" and "Day Tripper".


title: Lani Hall

text: In 1966 the band was the opening act that toured alongside A&M labelmates (and label founder) Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.


title: Lani Hall

text: In 1970, midway through the production of the folk-rock concept album "Stillness", Hall left Brasil '66 and was replaced by Mendes' wife Gracinha Leporace. Hall embarked on a solo career with Herb Alpert, assuming production duties. She released "Sun Down Lady" in 1972, followed up by "Hello It's Me" in 1975. She regularly recorded throughout the 1970s and 1980s, recording the title song for the James Bond film "Never Say Never Again" in 1983, produced by Mendes and Alpert. "Never Say Never Again" was the second of only two James Bond films to date not to be produced by EON Productions; coincidentally, Alpert had performed the instrumental theme for the first, 1967's "Casino Royale".


title: Lani Hall

text: Beginning in 1982, Hall recorded several successful Latin pop albums in Spanish, culminating in 1985's "Es Fácil Amar", produced by Albert Hammond, for which she received the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. Among her Spanish hits were "Un Amor Así" and "De Repente El Amor", duets with José Feliciano and Roberto Carlos, respectively; "Para Vivir Así," which features Herb Alpert on trumpet; and another duet, "Te Quiero Así" with the iconic José José (who also began his career with a bossa nova/jazz band). She recorded "Corazón Encadenado" and won a Grammy with Camilo Sesto in 1984, though she doesn't speak Spanish.


title: Lani Hall

text: In the mid-1980s, Hall contracted a debilitating case of Epstein–Barr virus and was forced to take a break from performing. She returned in 1998 with the album "Brasil Nativo" on the Windham Hill label. In 2008, she reunited with Mendes again, performing the song "Dreamer" on his album "Encanto", which also featured Herb Alpert on trumpet.


title: Lani Hall

text: In 2007, she and Alpert assembled a band consisting of pianist/composer Bill Cantos, bassist Hussain Jiffry and drummer/percussionist Michael Shapiro, developing new arrangements for jazz standards and Brazilian songs. From then until the present, they have continued to tour, and have released three CDs, "Anything Goes" in 2009, "I Feel You" in 2011 and "Steppin' Out" in 2013, which won a Grammy Award for both Alpert (artist) and Hall (producer).


title: Lani Hall

text: As a young girl, Hall wrote poetry. She began writing short stories in 1982 while on tour in Mexico City. In 2012 she published "Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories". Written over the course of more than 30 years, the book contains fiction and nonfiction stories that describe women coping with the vicissitudes of life.


title: Lani Hall

text: The Alperts live on a 5.5-acre beachfront compound by the Pacific Coast Highway in West Malibu, which Herb Alpert acquired in the early 1970s. Hall is stepmother to Dore and Eden, children of Herb Alpert's first marriage to Sharon Mae (Lubin).


title: Tarpon

text: Tarpons are fish of the genus "Megalops". They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one ("M. atlanticus") is native to the Atlantic, and the other ("M. cyprinoides") to the Indo-Pacific Oceans.


title: Tarpon

text: The two species of tarpons are "M. atlanticus" (Atlantic tarpon) and "M. cyprinoides" (Indo-Pacific tarpon). "M. atlanticus" is found on the western Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil, throughout the Caribbean and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Tarpons are also found along the eastern Atlantic coast from Senegal to South Angola. "M. cyprinoides" is found along the eastern African coast, throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, Tahiti, and Australia. Both species are found in both marine and freshwater habitats, usually ascending rivers to access freshwater marshes. They are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, and habitats with low dissolved content due to their swim bladders, which they use primarily to breathe. They are also able to rise to the surface and take gulps of air, which gives them a short burst of energy. The habitats of tarpons vary greatly with their developmental stages. Stage-one larvae are usually found in clear, warm, oceanic waters, relatively close to the surface. Stage-two and -three larvae are found in salt marshes, tidal pools, creeks, and rivers. Their habitats are characteristically warm, shallow, dark bodies of water with sandy mud bottoms. Tarpons commonly ascend rivers into fresh water. As they progress from the juvenile stage to adulthood, they move back to the open waters of the ocean, though many remain in freshwater habitats.


title: Tarpon

text: Fossils of this genus go back to the Cretaceous during the Albian stage 113.0 million years ago (Mya).


title: Tarpon

text: Tarpons grow to about long and weigh . They have dorsal and anal soft rays and bluish or greenish backs. Tarpons possess shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their bodies, excluding the head. They have large eyes with adipose eyelids and broad mouths with prominent lower jaws that jut out farther than the rest of the face.


title: Tarpon

text: Tarpons breed offshore in warm, isolated areas. Females have high fecundity and can lay up to 12 million eggs at once. They reach sexual maturity once they are about in length. Spawning usually occurs in late spring to early summer. Their three distinct levels of development usually occur in varying habitats. Stage one, or the leptocephalus stage, is completed after 20–30 days. It takes place in clear, warm oceanic waters, usually within 10–20 m of the surface. The leptocephalus shrinks as it develops into a larva; the most shrunken larva, stage two, develops by day 70. This is due to a negative growth phase followed by a sluggish growth phase. By day 70, the juvenile growth phase (stage three) begins and the fish begins to grow rapidly until reaching sexual maturity.


title: Tarpon

text: Stage-one developing tarpons do not forage for food, but instead absorb nutrients from seawater using integumentary absorption. Stage-two and -three juveniles feed primarily on zooplankton, but also on insects and small fish. As they progress in juvenile development, especially those developing in freshwater environments, their consumption of insects, fish, crabs, and grass shrimp increases. Adults are strictly carnivorous and feed on midwater prey; they hunt nocturnally and swallow their food whole.


title: Tarpon

text: The main predators of "Megalops" during stage-one and early stage-two development are other fish, depending on their size. Juveniles are subject to predation by other juvenile "Megalops" and piscivorous birds. They are especially vulnerable to birds such as ospreys or other raptors when they come to the surface for air, due to the rolling manner in which they move to take in air, as well as the silver scales lining their sides. Adults occasionally fall prey to sharks, porpoises, crocodiles, and alligators.


title: Tarpon

text: One of the unique features of" Megalops" is the swim bladder, which, in addition to controlling the buoyancy, can be used as an accessory respiratory organ. It arises dorsally from the posterior pharynx, and the respiratory surface is coated with blood capillaries with a thin epithelium over the top. This is the basis of the alveolar tissue found in the swim bladder, and is believed to be one of the primary methods by which " Megalops" "breathes". These fish are obligate air breathers, and will die if not given sufficient access to the surface. The exchange of gas occurs at the surface through a rolling motion that is commonly associated with tarpon sightings. This "breathing" is believed to be mediated by visual cues, and the frequency of breathing is inversely correlated to the dissolved content of the water in which they live.


title: Tarpon

text: Tarpons are considered to be some of the greatest saltwater game fishes, prized not only because of their great size, but also because of the fight they put up and their spectacular leaping ability. After the International Game Fish Association took responsibility for fly fishing records in salt water (1978) fly fishing for tarpon became increasingly popular, despite declining populations (correlated with the decline of fresh water rivers flowing into the seas around Florida.) Tarpon meat is not desirable, so most are released after being caught. Numerous tournaments around the year are focused on catching tarpon.


title: Tarpon

text: The Atlantic tarpon adapts well to water bodies in urban and suburban environments due to their tolerance for boat traffic and low water quality. Around humans, Atlantic tarpon are primarily nocturnal.


title: Tarpon

text: Since tarpons are not commercially valuable as a food fish, very little has been documented concerning their geographical distribution and migrations. They inhabit both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and their range in the eastern Atlantic has been reliably established from Senegal to the Congo. Tarpons inhabiting the western Atlantic are principally found to populate warmer coastal waters primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the West Indies. Nonetheless, tarpons are regularly caught by anglers at Cape Hatteras and as far north as Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and south to Argentina. Scientific studies indicate that schools of tarpons have routinely migrated through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back for over 70 years. However, they have not been found to breed in the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence by tarpon fishing guides and anglers would tend to validate this notion, as over the last 60 years, many small juvenile tarpons, as well as mature giants, have been caught and documented principally on the Pacific side of Panama at the Bayano River, the Gulf of San Miguel and its tributaries, Coiba Island in the Gulf of Chiriquí, and Piñas Bay in the Gulf of Panama. Since tarpons tolerate wide ranges of salinity throughout their lives and eat almost anything dead or alive, their migrations seemingly are only limited by water temperatures. Tarpons prefer water temperatures of ; below they become inactive, and temperatures under can be lethal.


title: General Atomics Mojave

text: The General Atomics Mojave is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of short takeoff and landing (STOL), being developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. First unveiled on December 9, 2021, General Atomics states that it is to fulfill the roles of reconnaissance, close air support and armed overwatch.


title: General Atomics Mojave

text: Development on the Mojave began around 2018 or 2019. The initial objective was to create a drone that could perform vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), but this was determined to be impractical as significant compromises in payload or endurance would need to be taken. Instead, development shifted to a STOL design that would preserve performance while needing less runway space. It features a configuration similar to that of the MQ-9 Reaper, with a low-mounted wing, bulbous nose and Y-tail. The engine, a Rolls-Royce M250 turboprop, is mounted in a pusher configuration. Two main things that set this aircraft apart from the rest of the Predator family are its wings and landing gear. The wings are enlarged, featuring "high-lift devices" including leading edge slats, double-slotted flaps and drooping ailerons. The landing gear is also more reinforced when compared to other UAVs, featuring wide bushwheel-style tires, used to assist on landing in rough terrain, and thick shock absorbers as well as more pronounced torque links. A key design feature of the Mojave is its transportability; it can be broken down and transported via a C-130 Hercules or similarly-sized aircraft. It can then be ready for a mission in around 1.5 hours with a four-person team.


title: General Atomics Mojave

text: The Mojave completed its first test flight in summer of 2021, and was formally unveiled by GA on December 9, 2021. It is being developed to fulfill the role of an unmanned combat aerial vehicle that can operate from more rugged terrain with a combat loadout, while also offering the option to be outfitted with various electronic systems to assist ground troops. Some of these roles include signal intelligence (SIGINT) and moving target indication, as well as use of synthetic-aperture radar and electro-optical sensors. It is able to take off of austere runways as little as 152 m (500 ft) in length. In a surveillance mode it can take off from a runway and stay aloft for over 20 hours, and it can perform armed ISR from a 488 m (1,600 ft) runway carrying 12 Hellfire missiles for nine hours. At maximum, the Mojave can fly for 27 hours when taking off on a long runway with no payload and a full fuel load, or carry a payload totaling 16 Hellfire missiles. The STOL capabilities of the Mojave have further lead to the proposition of it being used as a carrier aircraft for naval operations.


title: General Atomics Mojave

text: The Mojave is planned to be controlled using General Atomic's Scalable Command and Control (SC2) System, which is currently being developed for use on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER), and likely will be able to operate from already-established General Atomics ground stations, such as the Certifiable Ground Control Station (CGCS) or Block 30 Ground Control Station. Use of the SC2 System will allow the operator to perform pre-flight, taxing, takeoff, and landing operations on-site by a pilot.


title: Tomorrow X Together discography

text: South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together, also known as TXT, has released three studio albums, one reissue, five extended plays, 21 singles—including six soundtrack appearances—and 31 music videos. , the group has sold over 3.3 million albums domestically and is the 10th best-selling Korean act in Gaon Chart history within the last ten years.


title: Tomorrow X Together discography

text: Formed by Big Hit Entertainment, the group made its debut in March 2019 with the extended play (EP) "", which debuted and peaked at number one on the South Korean Gaon Album Chart—it was certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) in November 2020. The EP entered the "Billboard" 200 in the United States at number 140 as the highest-charting debut album by any male K-pop group at the time, and also achieved number-one on the World Albums chart, while its lead single "Crown" topped the World Digital Songs chart, making TXT the fastest K-pop group to appear on and simultaneously lead both World rankings. The group released its first studio album, "", on October 21, 2019. The album sold more than 124,000 copies in its first week and became TXT's second number-one on the Gaon Album Chart. It was the group's first work to debut on "Billboard"s Heatseekers Albums chart, entering at number six. Four of the album's eight tracks entered the World Digital Songs chart—lead single "9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)" debuted at number two, while the other three songs charted at numbers 16, 18, and 21 respectively. The album received Platinum certification from the KMCA in September 2020.