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Rising Sun (Crichton Novel)
''Rising Sun'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Crichton. It was his eighth under his own name and eighteenth overall, and is about a murder in the Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a fictional Japanese corporation. The book was published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. An image of fashion model Gia Carangi is incorporated in the cover art for the original edition. Although a detective/ murder mystery novel at first glance, ''Rising Sun'' deals with the controversial subject of Japanese-American relations, and questions the premise that foreign direct investment in the high-technology sectors of the United States is beneficial. Throughout the book, the differences between the Japanese and Western mindsets are highlighted, especially in the areas of business strategy and corporate culture. Plot summary Nakamoto Corporation is celebrating the grand opening of its new headquarters, the Nakamoto Tower, in Downtown Los Angeles; the 45th floor of the building is awash with celebrities, digni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. His novels often explore technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and scientific background. Crichton received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead. Initially writing under a pseudonym, he eventually wrote 26 novels, including: ''The Andromeda Strain'' (1969), ''The Terminal Man'' (1972), '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1975), '' Congo'' (1980), ''Sphere'' (1987), '' Jurassic Park'' (1990), '' Rising Sun'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rising Sun (film)
''Rising Sun'' is a 1993 American buddy cop crime thriller film directed by Philip Kaufman, who also wrote the screenplay with Michael Crichton and Michael Backes. The film stars Sean Connery (who was also an executive producer), Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. It was based on Michael Crichton's 1992 novel of the same name. Plot During a commencement gala at the newly opened Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a Japanese keiretsu, a call girl named Cheryl Lynn Austin, is found dead, apparently after a violent sexual encounter. Police Detectives Webster "Web" Smith and John Connor, a former police captain and expert on Japanese affairs, are sent to act as liaison between the Japanese executives and the investigating officer, Smith's former partner Tom Graham. During the initial investigation, Connor and Smith review surveillance camera footage, and realize that one of the discs is missing. Smith and Connor suspect Eddie Sakamura, Cheryl's boyfriend and age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993 In Film
The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits '' Jurassic Park'', '' The Fugitive'' and '' The Firm''. (For more about films in foreign languages, check sources in those languages.) Highest-grossing films The top 10 films released in 1993 by worldwide gross are as follows: Events * January 1 – China Film Import & Export Corporation ends its 40-year monopoly distributing all films in China, with 16 other Chinese film studios now responsible for distributing their own films. * January 29 – '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' opens in the United Kingdom setting an opening weekend record of £2,633,635 million. * March 31 – Actor Brandon Lee is accidentally killed during the filming of ''The Crow''. * May 27 – Actress Kim Basinger files for bankruptcy after a California judge initially orders her to pay $8.9 million for refusing to honor a verbal contract to star in the film ''Boxing Helena''. As a result, Basinger loses the town that she purc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Szarabajka
Keith Szarabajka (; ; born December 2, 1952) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Mickey Kostmayer on '' The Equalizer'', Daniel Holtz on ''Angel'', Gerard Stephens in ''The Dark Knight'' and Adam Engell in ''Argo''. In video games, he has voiced Dr. Terrence Kyne in ''Dead Space'', Harbinger in ''Mass Effect 2'', Gilgamesh in ''Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy'', Herschel Biggs in ''L.A. Noire'' and the Didact in ''Halo 4''. Early life Szarabajka was born in Oak Park, Illinois on December 2, 1952, the son of Anne, a school teacher, and Edward Szarabajka, a savings and loan officer. His father was a much decorated veteran of WWII. He fought in North Africa and Italy until the end of the war. He received the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. He attended Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and the University of Chicago, as well as Trinity University in San Antonio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes, compact discs, and downloadable audio, often of poetry and plays rather than books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves rather than in separate displays. Etymology The term "talking book" came into being in the 1930s with government programs designed for blind readers, while the term "audiobook" came into use during the 1970s when audiocassettes began to replace phonograph records. In 1994, the Audio Publishers Association established the term "audiobook" as the industry standard. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Bad Sleep Well
is a 1960 Japanese crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival. The film stars Toshiro Mifune as a young man who gets a prominent position in a corrupt postwar Japanese company in order to expose the men responsible for his father's death. It has its roots in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet,'' while also doubling as a critique of corporate corruption. It is one of four films, along with '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''Stray Dog'' (1949) and '' High and Low'' (1963), in which Kurosawa explores the film noir genre. Like Kurosawa and Mifune's next two movies, '' Yojimbo'' (1961) and ''Sanjuro'' (1962), Mifune's character is "a lone hero fighting against overwhelming odds and corrupt authorities." Plot A group of news reporters watch and gossip, at an elaborate wedding reception held by the Public Development Corporation's Vice President Iw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Very Important Person
A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples include celebrities, heads of state or heads of government, other politicians, major employers, high rollers, high-level corporate officers, bankers, economists, physicians, clergy, military personnel, Crime bosses, wealthy individuals, or any other socially notable person who receives special treatment for any reason. The special treatment usually involves separation from common people, and a higher level of comfort or service. In some cases, such as with ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...s, VIP may be used as a title ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County and Santa Clara County. San Jose is Silicon Valley's largest city, the third-largest in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States; other major Silicon Valley cities include Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Cupertino. The San Jose Metropolitan Area has the third-highest GDP per capita in the world (after Zurich, Switzerland and Oslo, Norway), according to the Brookings Institution, and, as of June 2021, has the highest percentage of homes valued at $1 million or more in the United States. Silicon Valley is home to many of the world's largest high-tech corporations, including the headquarters of more than 30 businesses in the Fortune 1000, and thousands of startup companies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California. The university is composed of one Liberal arts education, liberal arts school, the University of Southern California academics, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and 22 Undergraduate education, undergraduate, Graduate school, graduate, and professional schools, enrolling roughly 21,000 undergraduate and 28,500 Postgraduate education, post-graduate students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 115 countries. It is also a member of the Association of American Universities, which it joined in 1969. USC is ranked as one of the top universities in the United States and admission to its programs is considered College admissions in the United States, highly selective. USC has graduated more alumni who have gone on to w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yakuza'' is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization. The ''yakuza'' are known for their strict codes of conduct, their organized fiefdom nature and several unconventional ritual practices such as ''yubitsume'' or amputation of the left little finger. Members are often portrayed as males, wearing "sharp suits" with heavily tattooed bodies and slicked hair. This group is still regarded as being among "the most sophisticated and wealthiest criminal organizations". At their height, the ''yakuza'' maintained a large presence in the Japanese media and operated internationally. At their peak in the early 1960s, police estimated that the ''yakuza'' had a membership of more than 200,000."Police of Japan 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
