Sergei Vasilievich Lukyanenko
Sergey Lukyanenko in 2011
Born	(1968-04-11) April 11, 1968 (age 44) Karatau, Kazakhstan, USSR
Occupation	Physician, Writer, Journalist, Blogger
Nationality	Russian
Genres	Science Fiction, Fantasy
Notable work(s)	Labyrinth of Reflections, Night Watch series
Influences Robert A. Heinlein, Strugatsky brothers, Vladislav Krapivin
www.lukianenko.ru

Sergei Vasilievich Lukyanenko (Russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Лукья́ненко, Russian pronunciation: [sɪrˈɡej vɐˈsʲilʲjəvʲɪtɕ luˈkjænʲɪnkə]) (born 11 April 1968) is a science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian, and is one of the most popular contemporary Russian sci-fi writers. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with the moral dilemma of keeping one's humanity while being strong.

Lukyanenko is a prolific writer, releasing around 1–2 books per year, as well as a number of a critical articles and short stories. Recently his works have been adapted into film productions, for which he wrote the screenplays. He was also a blogger, keeping a blog at LiveJournal,^[1] and posting both personal and public information or snippets of a book in progress. His first blog was discontinued on 11 July 2008 after a conflict with readers over the issue of foreign (American) adoptions of Russian children.^[2][3] He started another blog a few days later, promising firmer moderation policies.^[4]

Biography[link]

Lukyanenko was born in Karatau, Kazakhstan, then a part of the Soviet Union, to a Russian-Ukrainian father and a Tatar mother. After graduating from school, he moved to Alma-Ata, and enrolled at the Alma-Ata State Medical Institute in 1986 majoring in psychotherapy. After graduation in 1992, he worked at a hospital in Alma-Ata, specializing in child psychiatry, but soon abandoned his practice, as already poor Soviet physician wages plummeted with the fall of the Soviet Union, making it virtually impossible to support a family. He had started writing as a student, and had just started making money from it. During this time he became an active member in Russian fandom, visiting conventions and attending seminars all around the Soviet Union.

In 1993, he was appointed deputy editor at a local Science Fiction magazine, where he worked until 1996. This was one of the hardest periods of Sergei's life, as his family struggled to make ends meet. He often attributes the rather grim tones of his works to those financial and personal hardships. However, by the mid-90's the situation improved drastically, but soon his growing popularity as a writer made frequent trips to Russia increasingly burdensome. Thus, in 1996 Lukyanenko moved to Moscow, where he currently resides.

Family life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

Sergei Lukyanenko met his future wife, Sonya, early in 1990, while still at university. He married her later the same year. She is a fellow psychologist, and she graduated from Kazakh state university. She now holds a Ph.D. degree in child psychology, and she taught psychology at the Russian State University for the Humanities until 2003. Their first son, Artemy Lukyanenko, was born in February 2004. Their second son, Daniil, was born 23 November 2007.

They also kept pet mice (the first one was called Stremitelny - Quick, and the next pair was Mulder and Scully) for some time, and their offspring were "awarded" to friends and fans. This became a running joke in Russian fandom. He still collects toy and souvenir mouse figures. They also own two Yorkshire Terriers named Busya and Varya.

Name transliteration[link]

Lukyanenko's name is romanized as Sergey Lukianenko on the English version of his official website^[5] and as Sergei Lukyanenko by his publisher on works translated into English.^[6] Other spellings such as Sergey Lukyanenko are also found.^[7]

Writing career[link]

Early years[link]

Lukyanenko started writing in the mid-80s, and his first publication, a short story Misconduct (not Where The Mean Enemy Lurks, as it was published later, although written earlier), followed soon in 1988. Science fiction was a risky business in Soviet Union, exposed to the whim of its political masters and often facing their wrath, as it was viewed chiefly as a political tool rather than an art, but at that time it was viewed somewhat benevolently, and he was able to jump the bandwagon of the state support, attending a number of literary seminars and publishing a bunch of novellas and short stories.

First works of this period shows clear influence of famous Russian children's author and teacher Vladislav Krapivin, a fan of whose Lukyanenko remains up to this day. These works, such as novella Eighth Color of Rainbow featured the same themes of coming of age, loyalty and friendship, as well as teenage protagonists and target audience. However, he soon moved from imitation to the polemic position towards Krapivin's somewhat idealistic views of children and their interaction. In the 1994 novel Knights of 40 islands Lukyanenko firmly established himself as an author of the Goldingian tradition.

Rise through ranks[link]

However, the dissolution of Soviet Union and the switch to the market economy delivered a terrible blow to its literary community, as Russian authors now had to struggle with unfamiliar realities of a free publishing system. The hopes of a creative boom never materialized, as publishers were eager to exploit the lucrative pulp literature market (virtually nonexistent before) largely ignoring the existing literature establishment. This led to rather low confidence in domestic authors, and it was extremely hard to find a publisher ready to invest in a local writer.

However, Lukyanenko fared somewhat better than the others, already having made something of a name in Russian science-fiction circles. A nascent computer networks (mainly FidoNet), distributing electronic copies of his works, also helped to create demand for printed versions. Another contribution was his writing style, combining intricate but captivating plots with deep intrigue and concentrated action. Thus, when tides start to shift in mid-90s, Lukyanenko already was a well-known figure in Russian SF.

His books at the time included aforementioned Knights of the 40 Islands, Nuclear Dream collection of short stories and novellas, published in 1992, and two space opera trilogies: the unusual Line of Delirium, the setting of which was loosely based on that of the Master of Orion series of videogames, and the earlier Lord from Planet Earth, based on the rather dark setting brought forth in his early short stories (ironically called A Splendid Faraway Universe). His most striking and dark book, Autumn Visits, was also written during that time, when the author was struggling with depression.

The cult classic Labyrinth of Reflections, a book heavily based on various 'Net subcultures and cyberpunk mythos, is another product of this period. It is worth noting that although Labyrinth is often labeled as cyberpunk, it is a rather straight romance story, hardly meeting Dozois criterion, and more to the fact – was written when the author didn't even have an Internet connection: all his 'Net knowledge was limited to FIDONet membership.

A road to success[link]

Exploiting the new fancy for domestic writers, Sergey moved from Kazakhstan to Moscow, marking the end of his early period. He continued to write there, now often venturing into literary experiments – like the religiously themed alternative history dilogy Seekers of Heaven, where he experimented with language stylization. He also continued several series started in his earlier period, and started several new ones (often in his favorite genre of space opera) – like the Genome series, now featuring two novels (Genome and Dances on the Snow) and the Cripples novella, or The Stars Are Cold Toys dilogy, sharing the same themes with David Brin's Uplift series.

Breakthrough[link]

One of the novels completed in the previous period finally brought a breakthrough to his career, taking it out of the "SF ghetto" and into the mainstream conscience. The novel Night Watch marked Lukyanenko's return to the fantasy genre, which he repeatedly visited during his career, but never ventured into seriously. Even in this novel he stayed in the less radical realm of urban fantasy; however, his gloomy but picturesque settings and vivid characters brought him a considerable success. He struck gold when improvements in the Russian economy permitted financing which revitalized a dormant domestic movie industry.

The 2004 film Night Watch (Nochnoy dozor), based on the book, was regarded as "the first Russian blockbuster." The film grossed over $16 million in Russia, a box office record at that time. In the United States, an adaptation of the film was released by Fox Searchlight.^[8] The film Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor) was released in Russia on January 1, 2006, and it was released in the US on June 1, 2007.^[9]

The immense popularity of the movie transformed Lukyanenko from an author "widely known in narrow circles" of science fiction fans into an instant celebrity. He became the official "flagship" of Russian SF and since then has made a number of a public appearances in various TV shows and other venues. He also released a number of sequels to the Watch series. In addition to the sequels, he published a short story Kid Watch (Melkiy dozor) featuring a teenage agent of the Day Watch who is also the son of a member of the Russian counter-intelligence service which monitors the Others.

Since then, a number of other movie adaptations of his books have been considered. To date, only one of these projects, a 2005 children's film Asiris Nuna, based on a Today, Mother! a humor novella coauthored with Yuly Burkin, has been completed; several other movies, however, seem to remain in production. In many of these projects Lukyanenko acts as both scriptwriter and consultant.

In the meantime, several other books have been released by him, such as the deeply philosophical, non-series novel Spectrum which deals with the themes of existentialism and omnipotency, among others. He also published a closely connected series Rough Draft and Final Draft.

Foreign releases[link]

Until recently relatively few of Lukyanenko's works have been released outside of Russia, mostly in Baltic states, Bulgaria and Poland, countries with traditionally strong ties with Russian literature. Even fewer were commercially published in English, partly because Western publishers were apprehensive about the state of modern Russian copyright laws. However, success of the movies finally changed the situation. Night Watch, translated by Andrew Bromfield, was published in English in July 2006,^[10][11][12] Day Watch followed in January 2007,^[13][14] Twilight Watch was published in July 2007. 2009 saw the international publication of Last Watch by Hyperion Press.

Other foreign publication in major European and Asian languages appeared in the last two years, mostly brought to life by the success of the movies. These publications mostly centered around the Watch series, although other works are also being considered. Reviews of the books are generally positive.

Literary analysis[link]

Lukyanenko himself said that his work has been heavily influenced by that of Robert A. Heinlein,^{[citation needed]} the Strugatsky brothers,^[15] and Vladislav Krapivin,^[15] and that he hopes to be remembered as a literary follower of the Strugatsky brothers. Although his books are often set in harsh worlds, Lukyanenko is a humanist writer, and in this sense believes he follows in the footsteps of the Strugatsky brothers. In May 2000, Boris Strugatsky referred to the spirit of the brothers' books as "that goodness with fists, those tortured attempts by the heroes to remain kind while being strong", and added "this is the underlying theme for Lukyanenko: how to preserve your goodness in the world of evil when you are strong and well-armed."^[16]

Position on copyright[link]

Lukyanenko has been known as an avid supporter of copyright, as seen from many statements on his blog.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2010 he carried out a study of sorts, asking his readers to donate a Russian ruble in exchange for a piece of his work that he would release freely. Only about 5% of the blog visitors responded casting some strong doubts on the feasibility of this sales model in Russia.^[17]

List of works[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sergey Lukyanenko

• Sergey Lukyanenko at Russian SF (English)
• Sergey Lukyanenko, Night-and-Day-Watching Writer
• Sergei Lukyanenko at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (July 2008)

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Paul Michael (August 15, 1927 – July 8, 2011) was an American actor best known for his role as TJ, the hapless boss of a burger bar in children's television show 'Spatz'. He was a regular guest star on American television appearing in Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Alias, Gilmore Girls and Frasier among others. He played a cop in the Hollywood movie Batman.
He also played King Johnny Romano on Dark Shadows.

Personal life[link]

Michael was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He began singing at a young age in school productions. He served as a sergeant in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II. Later, under the G.I. Bill, he received a B.A. in English literature from Brown University. He was in a relationship for 23 years with actress Marion Ross. He is survived by his two sons Matt and Greg Michael.^[1]

Death[link]

Michael died from heart failure on July 8, 2011 at his home in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 83.^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Michael at the Internet Movie Database

This article about an American film and television actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Jamie Hyneman
Born	James Franklin Hyneman (1956-09-25) September 25, 1956 (age 55) Marshall, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Indiana University
Occupation	MythBusters co-host, M5 Industries CEO
Years active	1986-present
Religion	None (Atheist)
Spouse	Eileen Walsh (1989-present)
Website
www.m5industries.com

James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman (born September 25, 1956)^[1] is an American special effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters is filmed. He is known among Robot Wars devotees for his robot entry, Blendo, which, for a time, was deemed too dangerous for entry in the competition. He is one of the designers of the aerial robotic camera system Wavecam, used in sports and entertainment events.^[2] On May 16, 2010, he delivered the commencement address and received an honorary Doctorate of Engineering, from Villanova University.^[3]

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Hyneman was born in Marshall, Michigan and raised in Columbus, Indiana. Describing his early life, Hyneman said "I was a problematic kid, to be sure. I left home when I was 14 and hitchhiked all over the country."^[4]

He earned a degree in Russian linguistics from Indiana University.^[5] He also received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Villanova University.^[6][7] On November 25, 2011, Hyneman was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Twente (Enschede, Netherlands) for his role in the popularization of science and technology.^[8]

A variety of careers fill his resume, including scuba diver, wilderness survival expert, boat captain, linguist, pet shop owner, animal wrangler, machinist, concrete inspector, and chef. He apparently has a mild case of acrophobia (fear of heights), as mentioned in the "Hammer Drop" episode segment of Mythbusters.

Personal life[link]

He has been married to Eileen Walsh, a science teacher at Encinal High School, since 1989.^[9] They met while he owned a sailboat diving charter business in the Virgin Islands.^[10] Hyneman identifies strongly with skeptics and atheists.^[11]

[edit] MythBusters

Hyneman and a Blue Angels team member at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma prepare for the Sonic Boom Sound-off episode in 2009.

A distinctive part of his appearance is his dark beret, white long-sleeve button up shirt over a black t-shirt, no-rim glasses, and, occasionally, sunglasses. This, along with his walrus-style moustache and deep voice, are constant subjects for jokes by co-host Adam Savage and other team members. A sign hanging in his workshop reading "Clean Up or Die", visible in several episodes, expresses his desire to keep the shop clean and tidy.

Hyneman's demeanor on MythBusters is calm, logical and no-nonsense, in stark contrast to Savage's more animated, impulsive and energetic persona.^[12] Hyneman is often exasperated by Savage's antics and he sometimes argues with him about the best approach to take. The two often have very different ideas for performing experiments and building devices. Hyneman's ideas tend to be more simplified than his co-host's, and he has a philosophy of reducing a solution to its most basic form, wherever possible. This difference has led to numerous competitions between the two presenters when testing myths, such as testing the Goldfish Memory myth and Hoverboard myth.

His notable achievements in commercials include the can-spitting vending machine seen in 7 Up commercials, and his patented two-wheeled football shoe from Nike Lab commercials.^[13]

Hyneman has been dr.h.c. Jamie Hyneman since November 25, 2011 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Twente on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. He was awarded his honorary doctorate together with Adam Savage for their work in popularizing science.^[14] In the "AC on vs. Windows Down" myth, Hyneman revealed a food that he invented (and commonly eats) known as "the 444," a smoothie-like concoction of 4 fruit, 4 vegetable, and 4 grain servings. Despite skepticism by the rest of the crew, Hyneman described the 444's taste as "quite pleasant."

Other appearances[link]

The two army-junk sellers in The Darwin Awards are portrayed by Savage and Hyneman. They appear during the story of the rocket-car, which they effectively reproduced in the series' pilot episode.^[15]

He attended the annual skeptics' conference called The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2006.^[16]

Hyneman made a cameo appearance along with Savage on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on the May 1, 2008 episode "The Theory of Everything",^[17] where they play inspectors each giving thumbs-up after seeing a shirt soaked in pepper spray catch fire when shot by a taser. They would go on to test this myth and prove it confirmed with certain types of pepper spray.

He and MythBusters co-host Savage will appear as judges on the game show Unchained Reaction premiered in March 2012.^[18]

Hyneman and Savage have also voiced characters on The Simpsons episode "The Daughter Also Rises" as a parody of themselves, the "MythCrackers", which prompts Bart and Milhouse to experiment in a similar fashion.

Hyneman is currently an editor and contributor at Tested.com alongside fellow Mythbuster Adam Savage and longtime technology reviewers Will Smith, and Norman Chan.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jamie Hyneman's M5 Industries
• Jamie Hyneman's Patent for Remote control device with gyroscopic stabilization and directional control
• Jamie Hyneman at the Internet Movie Database
• Wavecam aerial robotic camera
• Jamie Hyneman biography from the Discovery Channel

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Nino Katamadze ნინო ქათამაძე
Background information
Birth name	Nino Katamadze
Born	(1972-08-21) August 21, 1972 (age 39) Kobuleti, Georgia
Origin	Georgia
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Labels	Moon Records
Website	http://www.nino-katamadze.com/

Nino Katamadze (Georgian: ნინო ქათამაძე, 21 August 1972, Kobuleti, Georgia) — Georgian jazz singer^[1] and artist.

Biography[link]

Nino Katamadze was born in Adjara, western Georgia. In 1990 she entered the vocal department of the Batumi Music Institute ZP Paliashvili. After finishing the Institute was in various groups and participated in a variety of musical projects. In 2002 Katamadze had her first international tour in different countries across EU and also in UK. She had a huge success in the USA as well^{[citation needed]}, when she visited America in late 2005. In 2006 her album "White" became very successful and was released in Georgia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, France, Germany, UK and Italy. The sales exceeded 700.000 copies. In 2009 Katamadze is going to have another tour in several EU countries, Russia and she's also going to visit Azerbaijan with 2 exclusive concerts in Baku in May.

In January 2010, Nino Katamadze played a part in an improvised opera "Bobble" with a wordless libretto written by Bobby McFerrin and staged in Russia.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Ordinary Day
• Nino Katamadze & Insight
• ...start new peaceful day (Live DVD)
• White (2006)
• Black (2006)
• Blue (2008)
• Red (2010)
• Green (2011)

Soundtracks[link]

• Mermaid (film, 2008)
• Apple
• Orange Sky
• Road to the Savior
• Indi (2007)
• Domovoi (film, 2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site - Nino Katamadze
• Official Page on the Facebook
• LiveJournal - Nino Katamadze
• booking agency of Nino Katamadze

In the Street is an album by the Village People featuring the return of its original lead singer Victor Willis. Ray Simpson who had replaced Willis is featured on two songs on the album (Everybody Loves the Funk, Radio Freak). The G.I. Alex Briley also sings lead on one song (Lonely Lady). The album also featured a bonus track (America) with Miles Jaye who replaced Ray Simpson, on lead. Fox on the Box and In the Street contain the same songs, except In the Street features a bonus track (America) by Miles Jaye. Fox on the Box was released by RCA Records in 1982 and In the Street by Casablanca Records a year later.

Track listing[link]

1. "Fox on the Box" — 3:43
2. "In the Street" — 4:47
3. "Lonely Lady" — 3:54
4. "Everybody Loves the Funk" — 4:28
5. "Success" — 5:58
6. "Spaced Out" — 5:32
7. "Play Bach" — 4:37
8. "Radio Freak" — 3:09
9. "America" — 3:43 (Bonus track on 1999 CD release)

This 1980s pop album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e