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Britannia Manor
Britannia Manor was the residence of game designer Richard Garriott. The name comes from the castle of Lord British, ruler of Britannia, the setting of the '' Ultima'' computer role playing game series, which he created. Britannia Manor was situated atop a large hill near Austin, Texas. The home was featured in a 2007 episode of the HGTV television series ''Secret Spaces'' on ''Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'', and on ''MTV Cribs''. Britannia Manor was also the name given to what has been called the world's most famous haunted house, held in this location every two years from 1988 to 1994. Design The manor's medieval design reflects Garriott's interest in the era. The house is adorned with various medieval items such as crossbows, swords, and armour. It features traps and a network of secret passages and rooms. A secret room in the basement contains some of Garriott's most treasured artifacts, including dinosaur fossils, a coffin with a human skeleton inside it, and an aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrunken Heads
A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes. Headhunting has occurred in many regions of the world, but the practice of headshrinking has only been documented in the northwestern region of the Amazon rainforest. Jivaroan peoples, which includes the Shuar, Achuar, Huambisa and Aguaruna tribes from Ecuador and Peru, are known to keep shrunken human heads. Shuar people call a shrunken head a ''tsantsa'', also transliterated ''tzantza''. Many tribe leaders would display their heads to scare enemies. Shrunken heads are known for their mandibular prognathism, facial distortion and shrinkage of the lateral sides of the forehead; these are artifacts of the shrinking process. Among the Shuar and Achuar, the reduction of the heads was followed by a series of feasts centered on important rituals. Technique The process of creating a shrunken head begins with removing the skull from the neck. An incision is made on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bankside
Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance before London Bridge at St Mary Overie Dock. It is part of a business improvement district known as 'Better Bankside'. History Toponymy The 'banke' was reclaimed by the Bishop of Winchester who owned the manor of the Clink of which this is part. There is a map plan in the Duchy of Lancaster archive showing 'the way to the banke'. The name is recorded in 1554 as ''the Banke syde'' and means 'street along the bank of the Thames'. In 1860 Southwark Street was created to connect the Blackfriars and London bridge crossings here and that can be regarded as the area's informal southern perimeter. Urban development Bankside is the riverside of the former liberties of the Clink and Paris Garden. In the Elizabethan period, because it was outside the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn. The river rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea near Tilbury, Essex and Gravesend, Kent, via the Thames Estuary. From the west it flows through Oxford (where it is sometimes called the Isis), Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The Thames also drains the whole of Greater London. In August 2022, the source of the river moved five miles to beyond Somerford Keynes due to the heatwave in July 2022. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. Its tidal section includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of . From Oxford to the Estuary the Thames drops by 55 metres. Running through some of the drier parts of mai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed due to its position at the southern end of the early versions of London Bridge, the only crossing point for many miles. London's historic core, the City of London, lay north of the Bridge and for centuries the area of Southwark just south of the bridge was partially governed by the city. By the 12th century Southwark had been incorporated as an ancient borough, and this historic status is reflected in the alternative name of the area, as Borough. The ancient borough of Southwark's river frontage extended from the modern borough boundary, just to the west of by the Oxo Tower, to St Saviour's Dock (originally the mouth of the River Neckinger) in the east. In the 16th century, parts of Southwark became a formal City ward, Bridge Without. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and grandson, Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613. A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and stayed open until the London theatre closures of 1642. A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 approximately from the site of the original theatre.Measured using Google earth Locations Examination of old property records has identified the plot of land occupied by the Globe as extending from the west side of modern-day Southwark Bridge Road eastwards as far as Porter Street and from Park Street southwards as far as the back of Gatehouse Square. The precise location of the building remained unknown until a small part of the foundations, including one original p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited as the person most responsible for saving The Rose Theatre, which led to the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, where he is commemorated in the name of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the site's second theatre. Early life Wanamaker was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of tailor Maurice Wattenmacker (Manus Watmakher) and Molly (''née'' Bobele). His parents were Ukrainian Jews from Mykolaiv. He was the younger of two brothers, the elder being William, long-term cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He trained at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and at Drake University and began working with summer stock theatre companies in Chicago and northern Wisconsin, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtain Theatre
The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624. The Curtain was built some south of London's first playhouse, The Theatre, which had opened a year before, in 1576. It was called the "Curtain" because it was located near a plot of land called Curtain Close, which derived its name in turn from its proximity to the walls of Holywell Priory, a curtain wall being a section of wall between two bastions. (The name bears no relationship to the front curtain associated with modern theatres.) The remains of the theatre were rediscovered in archaeological excavations in 2012–16. The most significant revelation was that the Curtain was rectangular, not round. The excavation revealed a stage, and evidence of a tunnel under the stage and galleries at the first floor level. Small finds included a ceramic bird w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Defuser
The Defuser is a fictional character, a superhero created and originally portrayed by Austin, Texas police detective Jarrett Crippen on the reality television series ''Who Wants to Be a Superhero?''. As a result of winning the show in its second season, his character is the subject of a Dark Horse Comics comic book written by Jeremy Barlow with art by Kajo Baldisimo and appeared in a Sci Fi Channel original movie entitled Lightning Strikes' in 2009. Fictional character biography The Defuser is an expert paramilitary superhero who uses non-lethal weaponry and gadgets to stop villains. He has the unique ability to function at 110 percent (this boosts his speed, strength, agility, reflexes, hearing, and eyesight) making him slightly more formidable than virtually any single foe. He has a night vision to a range of 60 feet. The Defuser is susceptible to bright light (he must wear protective eyewear or he risks being blinded). He does not harm his foes severely with weapons. His ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scare For A Cure
SCARE for a CURE is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization that raises money for local charities, including the Breast Cancer Resource Centers. Each year they produce an "extreme, full contact, interactive haunted house adventure" that runs around 45 minutes to an hour long. This combination of interactive adventure game and haunted house was pioneered by Richard Garriott at his Britannia Manor haunted attraction which began in 1988 and ran every two years until 1994. The torch was passed to Keith Ewing, former Britannia Manor construction manager, and continued in Wild Basin's Haunted Trails every year from 1996 to 2005. What makes these three haunts a unique performance medium is the emphasis on script and story similar to a play, but with an emphasis on interactive elements including making the audience play the role of the main character. It also requires a significant physical contribution from the guests, not simply walking through, but running, climbing, crawling, slid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Role-playing Game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal role-playing game system, system of rules and guidelines. There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called the tabletop role-playing game (TRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing game, live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique features: (a) The players physically embody their characters, and (b) the game takes place in a physica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints ( hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan roots. Some go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day, along with its eve, by the early Church. Other academics believe Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow's Day. Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, Irish and Scottish immigrants took many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century,Brunvand, Jan (editor). ''Ame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
