title: Roman Yaremchuk

text: Yaremchuk married Christina in 2017. Their son was born in 2019. In 2022, following Ukraine's invasion by Russia, Yaremchuck asked fellow Ukraine national teammate Andriy Yarmolenko to help save his wife's parents. Yaremchuck revealed the situation was critical and he didn't even know what to do, so he turned to Andriy Yarmolenko, knowing that he was from Chernihiv, and he helped him and days later his wife's parents were rescued.


title: Roman Yaremchuk

text: In 2022, Yaremchuk raised a fairly large sum for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular for the defenders of Chernihiv, and delivered bulletproof vests for the city.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Cemetery Junction is a 2010 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2010.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: In early 1970s England, three friends spend their days in banter, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie wants to escape their working class world but cheeky chappy Bruce and kind-hearted slacker Snork are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a job as a door-to-door insurance salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie, the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives forever.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Freddie's boss is Julie's father. Selling life insurance in the hopes of improving his life and not ending up like his factory worker father, Freddie learns from the firm's top seller Mike Ramsay, who is also Julie's fiancé, how to scare people into buying insurance. Bruce lives life to the full, with the notion that one day he will leave Cemetery Junction, but he hates his father for letting his mother leave for another man without fighting for her. Snork just lives for spending his time with Bruce and Freddie, working at the railway station and looking for a girlfriend, a search hindered by his lack of social skills. Freddie rekindles his friendship with Julie, who reveals her dreams to see the world and become a photographer, but her father and fiancé Mike both expect her to become a housewife, like her mother.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Freddie is invited to his firm's winner's ball to celebrate his and several others' company initiation, and brings Bruce and Snork as his guests. During that night, Snork tires of the band, and claims he could do better. Bruce convinces them to let Snork perform with them. The crowd initially enjoys his performance, but he gets carried away and tells a highly inappropriate joke, embarrassing Freddie. He confronts and scolds Snork and Bruce, but Bruce shrugs it off, still claiming he will leave the town, and that Freddie will never be like his colleagues because he's 'not a cunt', which the crowd overhears, forcing them to leave.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: The next day, Freddie goes around town thanking his clients for helping him start his new career, and learns that his very first client's husband has died. Deciding not to live off people's misery, he asks Bruce when they plan to leave. They invite Julie to a nightclub, and convince Snork to leave with them. In the club, Bruce starts dancing with a black woman, for which he is ridiculed by two men, provoking him to assault them and get locked up in the police cells overnight.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Freddie accompanies Julie home, and they develop the pictures Julie had taken throughout the night. They argue about their feelings, the lives of her parents and Julie's engagement to Mike, which is following the same path as her parents'. Freddie declares his love for Julie and asks her to go travelling, but she refuses and tells him to leave. Bruce is met in his cell by officer Wayne Davies, an old friend of his father's and the one man Bruce respects, who is fed up with Bruce taking his anger with his father out on others. He tells Bruce the story of the night his mother left, revealing that she happily abandoned him but his father wanted him and tells him to grow up and get over his anti-social behaviour.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: The following morning, Snork goes to a café he frequents and talks to Louise, a girl who works there who likes him and they form a relationship. Bruce walks home and silently makes amends with his father. When Freddie arrives at the railway station to begin his travels, he finds Snork ready for work, having decided to stay and they say an emotional goodbye. Julie realises that Freddie was right, that her relationship with Mike will stifle her, and goes to the railway station. Snork announces over the station PA that Bruce will not be joining Freddie on his journey. Deciding not to go alone, Freddie is on the point of abandoning his adventure when he sees Julie running towards him and they board the train.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: The film was originally titled "The Men at the Pru", a colloquial term (and later an advertising slogan) for agents of the Prudential insurance company. During the writing of the film, the Prudential allowed Gervais and Merchant to use their archives for research. After reading the script, the company decided it was not pleased with how the company was to be portrayed in the film and decided not to allow their name to be used. The new title comes from the name of the Cemetery Junction in the Newtown district of the town of Reading where the film takes place.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Principal photography began on 15 June 2009; filming locations included Taylors Bell Foundry and the Great Central Railway using Loughborough Central railway station. The intermittent scenes which show the camera panning around a countryside landscape were filmed in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Several of the street scenes were filmed in Woodstock, Oxfordshire with Woodstock Town Hall being used to portray the exterior of the Cemetery Junction police station. In London, various locations are depicted including Little Common in Stanmore and Church Row and Flask Walk in Hampstead. An extended trailer was broadcast on Channel 4 on 31 January 2010.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: "Cemetery Junction" is set in the town of Reading (at the time, about 80,000 inhabitants) in 1973. Gervais explained that the title of the film was taken from Cemetery Junction, Reading, an area he knew as a child – a road junction in Reading, where Wokingham Road divides from London Road. Gervais also adds "[...] it's not really set in Reading, it's any small town, anywhere in the world to be honest." According to him, it is a "coming of age" story that is a cross between "The Office" and "Mad Men".


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: In an interview with BBC Radio 2's Danny Wallace on 9 January 2010, Merchant stated the script was loosely based upon the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen song "Thunder Road". This sentiment was repeated by Gervais on 12 April 2010 when he appeared on "The Graham Norton Show". Gervais told BBC South Today that British "kitchen sink" films such as "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" were an influence on the film.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Reviews of the film were generally mixed. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 56%, based on 41 critical reviews with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It fails to challenge the well-established conventions of its storyline, but "Cemetery Junction" benefits from the genuine warmth of its script, as well as its refusal to give in to cheap nostalgia."


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: "Total Film" magazine giving it four out of five stars and calling it "the most confident British debut since "Shallow Grave"". "Time Out" magazine gave the film three stars and said it was "refreshing to see a mainstream British film with the ambition to strut its stuff on studio terms". Adam Smith of the "Radio Times" commented that "it's deftly written, unobtrusively directed and nicely acted" and also gave it three stars. "OK!" appreciated the "sweet characters and good actors" and also liked "the vintage look of the film" and the "great supporting cast". The "Daily Mirror" gave the film a very positive review awarding it four stars and saying; "The film is no simple-minded laugh-fest, but rather an astute, amusing and engaging coming-of-age tale with a killer soundtrack of 1970s classics".


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: "Uncut" called it a "passable, mildly diverting, coming-of-age Brit-flick". Andrew Barker of "Variety" wrote, "It's a strange hybrid of a film, boasting loudmouth boorishness instead of wit, and fortune-cookie schmaltz instead of heart." Peter Bradshaw reviewed the film for "The Guardian" and concluded that the film "is entertaining as far as it goes, but it would have to be fully and Gervaisishly funny, or else fully nasty, vinegary and sad before everyone involved was, to coin a phrase, up the junction."


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: The film's opening weekend receipts were £641,218. By the end of its theatrical run in the UK, the film had taken in £1,329,002.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: "Cemetery Junction" was released in the UK in both DVD and Blu-ray format on 30 August 2010. The DVD bonus features include a commentary track from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, deleted scenes and two featurettes including interviews with the cast and crew. The Blu-ray release also includes several additional featurettes.


title: Cemetery Junction (film)

text: Columbia Pictures decided not to theatrically release the film in the company's home market. Accordingly, the film was released on DVD in Canada and the US by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 17 August 2010.


title: Iðunn

text: In Norse mythology, Iðunn (Old Norse: ) is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, she is described as the wife of the skaldic god Bragi, and in the "Prose Edda", also as a keeper of apples and granter of eternal youthfulness.


title: Iðunn

text: The "Prose Edda" relates how Loki was once forced by the jötunn Þjazi to lure Iðunn out of Asgard and into a wood with the promise of apples even fairer than her own. Þjazi, in the form of an eagle, abducts Iðunn from the wood, bearing her off to his home. Iðunn's absence causes the gods to grow old and grey, and they realize that Loki is responsible for her disappearance. Under duress, Loki promises to bring her back and, setting out in the form of a falcon, eventually finds her alone at Þjazi's home. He turns her into a nut and flies back toward Asgard. When Þjazi returns to find Iðunn gone, he assumes his eagle form once more and flies off in hot pursuit of Loki and his precious burden. The gods build a pyre in the courtyard of Asgard and, just as Loki has stopped short of it, kindle it. Unable to halt his frenzied onrush, Þjazi plunges headlong through the fire, falling to the ground with his feathers aflame, whereupon the gods attack and kill him.


title: Iðunn

text: A number of theories surround Iðunn, including potential links to fertility, and her potential origin in Proto-Indo-European religion. Long the subject of artworks, Iðunn is sometimes referenced in modern popular culture.


title: Iðunn

text: The name "Iðunn" has been variously explained as meaning "ever young", "rejuvenator", or "the rejuvenating one". As the modern English alphabet lacks the eth (ð) character, "Iðunn" is sometimes anglicized as Idhunn, Idunn, Idun, or Ithun. An -a suffix is sometimes appended to denote femininity, resulting in forms such as Iduna and Idunna.


title: Iðunn

text: The name "Iðunn" appears as a personal name in several historical sources and the "Landnámabók" records that it has been in use in Iceland as a personal name since the pagan period (10th century). "Landnámabók" records two incidents of women by the name of "Iðunn"; Iðunn Arnardóttir, the daughter of an early settler, and Iðunn Molda-Gnúpsdóttir, granddaughter of one of the earliest settlers recorded in the book. The name "Iðunn" has been theorized as the origin of the Old English name "Idonea". The 19th century author C.M. Yonge writes that the derivation of "Idonea" from "Idunn" is "almost certain," noting that although "Idonea" may be "the feminine of the Latin "idoneus" (fit), its absence in the Romance countries may be taken as an indication that it was a mere classicising of the northern goddess of the apples of youth."


title: Iðunn

text: The 19th century scholar Jacob Grimm proposed a potential etymological connection to the idisi. Grimm states that "with the original form "idis" the goddess Idunn may possibly be connected." Grimm further states that Iðunn may have been known with another name, and that "Iðunn would seem by Saem. 89a to be an Elvish word, but we do not hear of any other name for the goddess."


title: Iðunn

text: Iðunn appears in the Poetic Edda poem "Lokasenna" and, included in some modern editions of the "Poetic Edda", in the late poem "Hrafnagaldr Óðins".


title: Iðunn

text: Iðunn is introduced as Bragi's wife in the prose introduction to the poem "Lokasenna", where the two attend a feast held by Ægir. In stanzas 16, 17, and 18, dialog occurs between Loki and Iðunn after Loki has insulted Bragi. In stanza 16, Iðunn (here anglicized as "Idunn") says:


title: Iðunn

text: In this exchange, Loki has accused Iðunn of having slept with the killer of her brother. However, neither this brother nor killer are accounted for in any other surviving source. Afterward, the goddess Gefjon speaks up and the poem continues in turn.


title: Iðunn

text: In the poem "Hrafnagaldr Óðins", additional information is given about Iðunn, though this information is otherwise unattested. Here, Iðunn is identified as descending from elves, as one of "Ivaldi's elder children" and as a dís who dwells in dales. Stanza 6 reads:


title: Iðunn

text: Iðunn is introduced in the Prose Edda in section 26 of the Prose Edda book "Gylfaginning". Here, Iðunn is described as Bragi's wife and keeper of an "eski" (a wooden box made of ash wood and often used for carrying personal possessions) within which she keeps apples. The apples are bitten into by the gods when they begin to grow old and they then become young again, which is described as occurring up until Ragnarök. Gangleri (described as King Gylfi in disguise) states that it seems to him that the gods depend greatly upon Iðunn's good faith and care. With a laugh, High responds that misfortune once came close, that he could tell Gangleri about it, but first he must hear the names of more of the Æsir, and he continues providing information about gods.


title: Iðunn

text: In the book "Skáldskaparmál", Idunn is mentioned in its first chapter (numbered as 55) as one of eight ásynjur (goddesses) sitting in their thrones at a banquet in Asgard for Ægir. In chapter 56, Bragi tells Ægir about Iðunn's abduction by the jötunn Þjazi. Bragi says that after hitting an eagle (Þjazi in disguise) with a pole, Loki finds himself stuck to the bird. Loki is pulled further and further into the sky, his feet banging against stones, gravel, and trees until, fearful that his arms will be pulled from their sockets, he roars for mercy, begging the eagle to set him free. The eagle agrees, but only on the condition that Loki make a solemn vow to lure Iðunn, bearing her apples of youth, from the safety of Asgard. Loki accepts Þjazi's conditions and returns to his friends Odin and Hœnir. At the time agreed upon by Loki and Þjazi, Loki lures Iðunn out of Asgard into "a certain forest", telling her that he has discovered some apples that she would find worth keeping, and furthermore that she should bring her own apples with her so that she may compare them with the apples he has discovered. Þjazi arrives in eagle shape, snatches Iðunn, flies away with her and takes her to his home, Þrymheimr.


title: Iðunn

text: The Æsir begin to grow grey and old at the disappearance of Idunn. The Æsir assemble at a thing where they ask one another when Iðunn had been seen last. The Æsir realize that the last time that Iðunn was seen was when she was going outside of Asgard with Loki, and so they have Loki arrested and brought to the thing. Loki is threatened with death and torture. Terrified, Loki says that if the goddess Freyja will lend him her "falcon shape" he will search for Iðunn in the land of Jötunheimr. Freyja lends the falcon shape to Loki, and with it he flies north to Jötunheimr. One day later, Loki arrives at Þjazi's home. There he discovers that Þjazi is out at sea in a boat, having left Iðunn at home alone. Loki transforms the goddess into a nut, grasps her in his claws, and flies away with her as fast as possible.


title: Iðunn

text: Þjazi, arriving home to discover Iðunn gone, resumes his eagle shape and flies off in pursuit of Loki, his mighty wings stirring up a storm as he does so. The Æsir, seeing a falcon flying with a nut clutched in its claws and hotly pursued by an eagle, make haste to pile up a great heap of wood shavings and set it alight. The falcon flies over the battlements of Asgard and drops down behind the wall. The eagle, however, overshoots the falcon, and unable to stop, plunges through the fire, setting light to his feathers, and falling to the ground within the gates of Asgard, whereat the Æsir set upon the jötunn and kill him, leading the narrator to comment "and this killing is greatly renowned."


title: Iðunn

text: In chapter 10, "husband of Iðunn" is given as a means of referring to Bragi. In chapter 86, means of referring to Iðunn are given: "wife of Bragi", "keeper of the apples", and her apples "the Æsir's age old cure". Additionally, in connection to the story of her abduction by Þjazi, she may be referred to as "Þjazi's booty". A passage of the 10th-century poem "Haustlöng" where the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir gives a lengthy description of a richly detailed shield he has received that features a depiction of the abduction of Iðunn. Within the cited portions of "Haustlöng", Iðunn is referred to as "the maid who knew the Æsir's old age cure", "the gods' lady", "ale-Gefn", "the Æsir's girl-friend", and once by name.


title: Iðunn

text: In chapter 33, Iðunn is cited as one of the six ásynjur visiting Ægir. Iðunn appears a final time in the "Prose Edda" in chapter 75, where she appears in a list of ásynjur.


title: Iðunn

text: Some surviving stories regarding Iðunn focus on her youth-maintaining apples. English scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson links apples to religious practices in Germanic paganism. She points out that buckets of apples were found in the 9th-century Oseberg ship burial site in Norway and that fruit and nuts (Iðunn having been described as being transformed into a nut in "Skáldskaparmál") have been found in the early graves of the Germanic peoples in England and elsewhere on the continent of Europe which may have had a symbolic meaning and also that nuts are still a recognized symbol of fertility in Southwest England.


title: Iðunn

text: Davidson notes a connection between apples and the Vanir, a group of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing an instance of eleven "golden apples" being given to woo the beautiful Gerðr by Skírnir, who was acting as messenger for the major Vanir god Freyr in stanzas 19 and 20 of "Skírnismál". In "Skírnismál", Gerðr mentions her brother's slayer in stanza 16, which Davidson states has led to some suggestions that Gerðr may have been connected to Iðunn as they are similar in this way. Davidson also notes a further connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology; in chapter 2 of the "Völsunga saga" when the major goddess Frigg sends King Rerir an apple after he prays to Odin for a child, Frigg's messenger (in the guise of a crow) drops the apple in his lap as he sits atop a mound. Rerir's wife's consumption of the apple results in a six-year pregnancy and the caesarean section birth of their son—the hero Völsung.


title: Iðunn

text: Davidson points out the "strange" phrase "apples of Hel" used in an 11th-century poem by the skald Þórbjörn Brúnason. Davidson states this may imply that the apple was thought of by the skald as the food of the dead. Further, Davidson notes that the potentially Germanic goddess Nehalennia is sometimes depicted with apples and parallels exist in early Irish stories. Davidson asserts that while cultivation of the apple in Northern Europe extends back to at least the time of the Roman Empire and came to Europe from the Near East, the native varieties of apple trees growing in Northern Europe are small and bitter. Davidson concludes that in the figure of Iðunn "we must have a dim reflection of an old symbol: that of the guardian goddess of the life-giving fruit of the other world."


title: Iðunn

text: David Knipe theorizes Iðunn's abduction by Thjazi in eagle form as an example of the Indo-European motif "of an eagle who steals the celestial means of immortality." In addition, Knipe says that "a parallel to the theft of Iðunn's apples (symbols of fertility) has been noted in the Celtic myth where Brian, Iuchar, and Icharba, the sons of Tuirenn, assume the guise of hawks in order to steal sacred apples from the garden of Hisberna. Here, too, there is pursuit, the guardians being female griffins."


title: Iðunn

text: John Lindow theorizes that the possible etymological meaning of "Iðunn"—"ever young"—would potentially allow Iðunn to perform her ability to provide eternal youthfulness to the gods without her apples, and further states that "Haustlöng" does not mention apples but rather refers to Iðunn as the "maiden who understood the eternal life of the Æsir." Lindow further theorizes that Iðunn's abduction is "one of the most dangerous moments" for the gods, as the general movement of female jötnar to the gods would be reversed.


title: Iðunn

text: Regarding the accusations levelled towards Iðunn by Loki, Lee Hollander opines that "Lokasenna" was intended to be humorous and that the accusations thrown by Loki in the poem are not necessarily to be taken as "generally accepted lore" at the time it was composed. Rather they are charges that are easy for Loki to make and difficult for his targets to disprove, or which they do not care to refute.


title: Iðunn

text: In his study of the skaldic poem "Haustlöng", Richard North comments that "[Iðunn] is probably to be understood as an aspect of Freyja, a goddess whom the gods rely on for their youth and beauty [...]".


title: Iðunn

text: Iðunn has been the subject of a number of artistic depictions. These depictions include "Idun" (statue, 1821) by H. E. Freund, "Idun" (statue, 1843) and "Idun som bortrövas av jätten Tjasse i örnhamn" (plaster statue, 1856) by C. G. Qvarnström, "Brage sittande vid harpan, Idun stående bakom honom" (1846) by Nils Blommér, "Iduns Rückkehr nach Valhalla" by C. Hansen (resulting in an 1862 woodcut modeled on the painting by C. Hammer), "Bragi und Idun, Balder und Nanna" (drawing, 1882) by K. Ehrenberg, "Idun and the Apples" (1890) by J. Doyle Penrose, "Brita as Iduna" (1901) by Carl Larsson, "Loki och Idun" (1911) by John Bauer, "Idun" (watercolor, 1905) by B. E. Ward, and "Idun" (1901) by E. Doepler.


title: Iðunn

text: The 19th-century composer Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" opera cycle features Freia, a version of the goddess Freyja combined with the Iðunn.


title: Iðunn

text: Idunn Mons, a mons of the planet Venus, is named after Iðunn. The publication of the United States-based Germanic neopagan group The Troth ("Idunna", edited by Diana L. Paxson) derives its name from that of the goddess. The Swedish magazine "Idun" was named after the goddess; she appears with her basket of apples on its banner.


title: Iðunn

text: In "", the sixth instalment of the tactical RPG series, the final boss is the corrupted divine dragon, Idunn. She was able to produce a high amount of dragons very quickly, despite their slow rate of reproduction, likely a nod to Iddun's role as a symbol of fertility.


title: Iðunn

text: Idunn is represented in the "Assassin's Creed" video game series as a member of the Isu, a fictional precursor race of beings later deified by humanity. In "Assassin's Creed II", through hidden puzzles, James Doyle Penrose's painting of "Idun and the Apples" suggests that the Idunn's mythical golden apples, were in fact Apples of Eden, powerful artifacts that are heavily featured in the series. Idunn is more prominently mentioned in "" in the playable missions taking place in Asgard.


title: Iðunn

text: In the 2018 video game "God of War", Apples of Iðunn act as a collectable item to assist the player, though the goddess herself does not physically appear.


title: Iðunn

text: In the episode 16 of season 6 of the "Vikings" TV Series, Iðunn is portrayed by English actress Jerry-Jane Pears.


title: Iðunn

text: She appears as "Idun" in Atlus' video game "Shin Megami Tensei V," as a demon. Her name is translated as "イズン" ("Izun") in the Japanese version.


title: Allan Houston

text: Allan Wade Houston (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; he was a member of the Knicks' 1999 NBA Finals team. Houston made the NBA All-Star Team twice and also won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics.


title: Allan Houston

text: As of July 2019, Houston serves as special assistant to the general manager for the New York Knicks and general manager of the Knicks' G League team, the Westchester Knicks.


title: Allan Houston

text: Houston was born in Louisville, Kentucky and played at Ballard High School in Louisville as they won the 1988 Kentucky state championship. He went on to play at the University of Tennessee (where he played under his coach and father Wade) and graduated in 1993 as the school's all-time leading scorer, and is currently second to Chris Lofton at Tennessee for three-point field goals made. Houston is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. On March 6, 2011 the University of Tennessee retired Houston's number (20) during halftime ceremonies at a Tennessee-Kentucky game.


title: Allan Houston

text: Houston was selected in the first round (eleventh overall) by the Detroit Pistons in the 1993 NBA draft, and averaged 8.5 points per game in his rookie year. His average increased to 14.5 and 19.7 points per game in the next two years.


title: Allan Houston

text: In 1996, after his rookie contract expired, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, for whom he played for the next nine seasons. In his first year as a Knick, Houston took the place of John Starks in the starting lineup, with Starks serving as a mentor for him coming off the bench. Houston kept his scoring average at 17 points per game, and helped lead the team to the 1999 NBA Finals. His most famous play came in the decisive Game 5 of the first round of the 1999 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat. In the fourth quarter, with the Knicks inbounding the ball trailing by one point, Houston caught the inbounds pass, and made a running jumper in the lane with 0.8 second left on the clock to win the game and the series for the Knicks, 78-77, which was then only the second time in NBA playoffs history where a #8 seed had defeated a #1. The Knicks would then defeat the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals. Houston averaged 21.6 points per game in the only Finals appearance of his career, including a memorable 34 point performance in a game 3 victory over San Antonio. The Knicks, decimated by injuries to Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson, would lose the series 4-1.


title: Allan Houston

text: In April 2001, Houston and teammate Charlie Ward were quoted in a "New York Times Magazine" article making comments that were deemed anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League and the Knicks. After Ward had called Jews stubborn and persecutors of Christians, Houston cited a in support of Ward's comments.


title: Allan Houston

text: During his career, Houston was known for his three-point shooting prowess. Houston also made the All-Star team twice. Despite the on-court accolades, though, Houston's lasting legacy may be something that happened off the court: In 2001, Houston signed a six-year, $100.4 million contract extension with the Knicks. Houston's yearly salary of over $20 million made him virtually untradeable, and his injury problems would burden the Knicks. Houston missed 32 games in 2003-04 due to a knee injury, and despite claims in the summer of 2004 that he would be ready to play the next season (he even refused to have surgery on his knee that summer), he played in only 20 games that season because his injury had not completely healed. Knee injuries would eventually force Houston to announce his retirement on October 17, 2005. Houston attempted to return to the NBA in 2007, but decided to end his comeback attempt on October 20, 2007 because of bad timing in choosing to join the team so late into preparation for the regular season. Houston was signed by the Knicks to play in 2008, but was cut before the end of the preseason without appearing in a game.


title: Allan Houston

text: In 2005, the NBA agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement with the player's union. The agreement included an amnesty clause provision allowing teams to release one player without his contract counting against the NBA's luxury tax threshold. The clause did not negate a player's contract, a team's obligation to pay a player, or a contract's impact on the salary cap; it merely made it possible to remove a released player's salary from luxury tax calculations on a one-time basis. The clause benefited teams that were in danger of facing the luxury tax, which was a penalty paid by teams with payrolls exceeding a certain threshold. Because the Knicks were expected to use the amnesty clause to waive Houston due to his expensive contract and injury woes (as of the 2005 offseason, two years and $40 million remained on his contract), the amnesty clause was dubbed the "Allan Houston Rule." After Houston assured his team that he would retire if his knee problems recurred in training camp that fall, the Knicks chose not to use the amnesty clause to release him; instead, they released forward Jerome Williams.


title: Allan Houston

text: Houston's final NBA game was played on January 19, 2005 in a 81 - 98 loss to the Toronto Raptors where he recorded 3 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal while playing 28 minutes off the bench.


title: Allan Houston

text: Houston was a member of the USA men's national basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.


title: Allan Houston

text: In 2008, Houston was hired by the New York Knicks as assistant to the president for basketball operations. In December 2010, Houston was promoted to the position of assistant general manager. As of July 2019, Houston is special assistant to the general manager of the Knicks; he was also general manager of the Westchester Knicks, the organization's G League affiliate.


title: DC Talk

text: DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian rap and rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max Smith. They released five major studio albums together: "DC Talk" (1989), "Nu Thang" (1990), "Free at Last" (1992), "Jesus Freak" (1995), and "Supernatural" (1998). In 2002, the "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music" called DC Talk "the most popular overtly Christian act of all time."


title: DC Talk

text: In 2001, the group released an EP, "Solo", which contained two solo songs from each member. Since that time, DC Talk has been on an indefinite hiatus, and the three band members all have led solo careers and two have joined other groups. They performed and recorded individual songs together several times during the 2000s, although the group never officially reunited or disbanded.


title: DC Talk

text: The group's musical style evolved significantly throughout its career. Its first two releases, "DC Talk" and "Nu Thang", were predominantly hip hop. Their third album, "Free at Last", also mainly took influence from hip hop while the group's music began to incorporate rock and other influences. The trio's last two albums, "Jesus Freak" and "Supernatural", were predominantly pop rock. They are currently on hiatus and no announcements of new albums have been made. In 2017, the band reunited for a cruise, and did so again in 2019.


title: DC Talk

text: While attending Liberty University, Toby McKeehan met Michael Tait, and the two began to perform together. Tait had previously been featured on Jerry Falwell's "The Old Time Gospel Hour" and with the Falwell Singers. He also performed solo, what TobyMac later described as a "kind of an R&B/church-oriented music".


title: DC Talk

text: The two joined forces to record a song that McKeehan had written, "Heavenbound". They performed the song before an audience of 8,000 Liberty students with McKeehan rapping and Tait singing the chorus. The song was well received, selling out the approximately 3,000 copies of their demo tape, "Christian Rhymes to a Rhythm". The tape included "Heavenbound" and was distributed by the group in the Washington D.C. area.


title: DC Talk

text: Kevin Max Smith came from a campus rock band to join the group. Max was approached by Tait after performing The Imperials's "Lord of the Harvest" during a chapel session. The two became friends and Max was introduced to McKeehan. All three moved off campus to live together.


title: DC Talk

text: The success of the group's demo tape eventually led to a recording contract with Forefront Records in January 1989. Shortly after the signing of the recording contract the trio moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and called themselves "DC Talk and the One Way Crew". The name was later simplified to "DC Talk", which came to stand for "decent Christian talk", though originally "DC" was taken from Washington, D.C., where Toby McKeehan had formerly been rapping.


title: DC Talk

text: After signing the recording contract with ForeFront, the trio released their self-titled debut album, "DC Talk", in 1989 with Mike Valliere and Vic Mignogna. The music video for their first single, "Heavenbound", received airplay on the BET network.


title: DC Talk

text: Their follow-up full-length release, "Nu Thang", and a Christmas three-song EP titled "Yo! Ho! Ho!", were both released in 1990. "Nu Thang" had two successful singles: "I Luv Rap Music" and "Can I Get a Witness". Apart from dealing strictly with Christian themes, the band incorporated songs addressing social issues, such as racism in the song "Walls" and abortion in "Children Can Live Without It". The hip hop/pop styling of the album earned the band attention, expanding the group's audience, and by 1991, "Nu Thang" had sold 200,000 copies. The band became an opening act for Michael W. Smith and received a Dove Award. The release of their "Rap, Rock, n' Soul "video garnered a wider audience for the group, being certified gold for long form video.


title: DC Talk

text: In 1992, a year after its release, "Nu Thang" sold more than 300,000 copies and gave the trio two more Dove Awards. In addition to the increasing attention that the group began to receive, DC Talk appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show" that same year. "Nu Thang" was eventually certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies, an impressive feat for a Christian artist at that time.


title: DC Talk

text: In November 1992, the group released their third album, "Free at Last", which was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA in 1995. In 2001, CCM ranked "Free at Last" as the ninth best album in Christian music. The album included a cover version of the Bill Withers song "Lean on Me" and a remake of "Jesus Is Just Alright", originally recorded by the Art Reynolds Singers. "Free at Last" stayed at the No. 1 spot on the "Billboard" CCM sales chart for 34 weeks and was the band's first album to top the Christian Albums chart. DC Talk became one of the first contemporary Christian groups to perform on late-night television when, on November 12, 1993, the band performed "Jesus Is Just Alright" on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. "Free at Last" also garnered the group's first Grammy Award for "Best Rock Gospel Album" in 1994. The success of the album is attributed to the group moving away from a strictly rap sound to a blend of hip hop and pop. The album also prompted the filming of a documentary film with the same name. In 1994, the band released a Christmas single, "We Three Kings", on the album "Joyful Christmas".


title: DC Talk

text: During the "Free at Last" tour, the band was followed around by camera crews to film a documentary. The documentary was planned to be released as a theatrical film, "", and was heavily promoted on Lightmusic TV, a Christian music video show. After months of teaser trailers, they abruptly stopped, because the movie could not find a distributor. Eight years after the film was to be released theatrically, the movie was finally released on DVD in unfinished form. Some of the footage used for the movie was shown in the music video for "The Hardway".


title: DC Talk

text: "Jesus Freak" was released in 1995, and it achieved the highest first-week sales of any Christian release at the time, reaching No. 16 on the "Billboard" 200. The album, which was ultimately certified double platinum, was certified gold within 30 days of its release. This album was a fusion of musical stylings, with a more pop-rock oriented sound combined with hip hop.


title: DC Talk

text: "Jesus Freak" marked a milestone in the group's commercial career, as they signed a deal with Virgin Records in 1996 to distribute their music to the mainstream market. It also earned dc Talk their second Grammy.


title: DC Talk

text: The title track is also of historical importance. It is believed to be the first link between grunge and rapcore in Contemporary Christian music, and was the first non–Adult Contemporary song to win the Dove Award for Song of the Year. The song was also played on some secular stations. "Between You and Me" was a successful single, reaching No. 24 and No. 29 respectively on "Billboard"'s Adult Contemporary and Hot 100 and No. 12 on Casey's Top 40, while the video received regular airtime on MTV and VH1.


title: DC Talk

text: With the release of the album, the group launched a massive tour titled the "Freakshow Tour", which took the trio across the United States, Canada, and Europe. The group released a live video titled "Live in Concert: Welcome To The Freak Show" which contained footage from the tour. An audio CD of the soundtrack from the video was also released under the same title, reaching No. 109 on the "Billboard" 200. The CD "Welcome to the Freakshow" was certified gold and won dc Talk another Grammy award.


title: DC Talk

text: The album is looked at by many as one of the greatest and most important albums to be released in Christian music.


title: DC Talk

text: "Supernatural", released in 1998, was their last all-new studio album. Upon release, the album overtook "Jesus Freak" to set a new record for the highest first week sales for a Christian release. It debuted at No. 4 on the "Billboard" 200 charts, a feat for a Christian rock album. "Supernatural" abandoned the hip hop/rap style found on the group's earlier releases to settle for the pop/rock sound. The group has stated in "The Supernatural Experience" video that this album was different; it was a collaborative effort of all three members. The singles for the album received their fair share of radio play on modern rock, contemporary Christian, and alternative outlets. The group then embarked on a 60-city tour across the United States titled, "The Supernatural Experience". Footage from the tour was combined with interviews and released as "The Supernatural Experience" video and was certified gold for long form video.


title: DC Talk

text: In addition to touring and recording "Supernatural", the members of the group went on to co-author a book titled "Jesus Freaks" in collaboration with The Voice of the Martyrs in 1999. The book contains the shortened biographies and incidents in the lives of famous and lesser-known Christians who stood up for their faith. Since then, the group has co-authored a series of other books.


title: DC Talk

text: In 2000, DC Talk hosted a show titled Intermission: A Decade of DC Talk. A compilation album titled "" was then released, containing many of their previously recorded songs either remixed or in their original formats. Two new songs, "Chance" and "Sugar Coat It", were recorded for the album. "Intermission" reached No. 81 on the "Billboard" 200.


title: DC Talk

text: In 2000, the members announced that they would be taking a break from the group to pursue solo efforts. They released "Solo: Special Edition EP", which contained two new songs from each member's solo ventures and a live version of the U2 song "40" performed by all three members. The EP reached No. 142 on the "Billboard" 200 and won DC Talk their fourth Grammy award.


title: DC Talk

text: During their hiatus, DC Talk has continued to sporadically release singles together, including "Let's Roll" (2002), which was about the September 11 attacks. Multiple compilation albums have been released during their hiatus, including the 10th anniversary versions of their albums "Free at Last" (2002) and "Jesus Freak" (2006), as well as "8 Great Hits" (2004), "Freaked!" (2006), "The Early Years" (2006), "Greatest Hits" (2007), "Back 2 Back Hits" (2011). The three members still frequently show up at each other's shows and cover DC Talk songs. The band has also continued to help each other in their respective solo careers, including "Atmosphere" by tobyMac (2004), a cover of "The Cross" by Kevin Max (2007), and "Love Feels Like" by tobyMac (2015). In 2015, Gotee Records announced the issuance of "Jesus Freak" and "Supernatural" on vinyl.


title: DC Talk

text: Group members TobyMac and Michael Tait, with assistance from Christian organization WallBuilders, collaborated on two books in this period: "Under God", published in 2004, and "Living Under God: Discovering Your Part in God's Plan", released in 2005. Both books are collections of American history-inspired inspirational stories with a Christian perspective.


title: DC Talk

text: In 2010, the trio performed with Aaron Shust, Brandon Heath, Matthew West, Natalie Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns, and some other artists to serve as the backing choir for "Come Together Now", a song about the 2010 Haiti earthquakes. Later in the year, Kevin Max admitted that he would love to make more DC Talk music, but he thinks "that time has passed us by...". He then explained, "as individuals we are so different in our approaches that it might be quite a process." tobyMac released the song "Wonderin'" with his album "Tonight"; the song is "a warm look back at DC Talk" for Toby. On October 11, 2016, the trio came together to perform "Love Feels Like" at the Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee for the 47th Annual GMA Dove Awards.


title: DC Talk

text: In June 2010, Kevin Max tweeted that he was trying to arrange a reunion tour for "perhaps" 2011. In January 2011, TobyMac stated that a reunion tour would probably happen "sooner or later", but not in the near future. In January 2014, Tait indicated that he liked the sound of a "20-years-later" tour in 2015, but tobyMac commented that "nothing concrete is in the works" due to conflicting schedules.


title: DC Talk

text: DC Talk performed two concerts on July 13, 2017, and a third show on July 14, 2017 aboard the MSC Divina in the Bahamas on the reunion cruise. The group hinted at more reunions in the future.


title: DC Talk

text: In June 2019, the group performed on a second cruise. Michael Tait stated in an interview that DC Talk would be doing a "land cruise" starting in 2020.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino-American actor, musician, singer, dancer, comedian and television host who released 7 studio albums and has had a number of singles, notably "Trackin'", "When You Think About Me" (a remake of a One Voice hit) and "You Didn't Expect That" amongst others. In 2019, he released the single "Filipina Girl" and the album "Work in Progress" on Viva Records.


title: Billy Crawford

text: He has hosted a number of talent shows of ABS-CBN including "Pinoy Dream Academy", "Pilipinas Got Talent", "Your Face Sounds Familiar", "Pinoy Boyband Superstar", "Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids", "Little Big Shots" and "Idol Philippines" and became a judge in "World of Dance Philippines" and "Your Moment".


title: Billy Crawford

text: Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford was born in Manila, Philippines, to a Filipino mother from Jaro, Iloilo City named Mayette Ledesma and an American father named Jack Crawford. He has two half-brothers.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Crawford was discovered at the early age of 3 years, singing at a bowling alley that his mother often visited. He became a series regular on an afternoon GMA Network television show called "That's Entertainment" under the name Billy Joe. Afterwards, he acted in various screen works such as the film "Sandakot Na Bala" and the anthology drama series "Lovingly Yours, Helen". For his performance in the latter's episode "My Brother, My Friend" in 1988, Meg Mendoza of the "Manila Standard" stated that Crawford was "the most natural child actor we've seen after Jay Ilagan", though she noted that his Tagalog can be improved upon.


title: Billy Crawford

text: He attended the Imus Unida Christian School in the Philippines until his departure for the US when he was 12 and balanced both his professional acting and his studies. In the United States, he started a music career, performing mostly in the United Kingdom and France, as well as in Asia. His early career started in Dallas, Texas, where he lived and performed his singing and then moved to New York City. During this time, he legally changed his stage name to Billy Crawford. He first went to P.S./I.S. 217 Roosevelt Island Public School and then to Professional Performing Arts School in New York City with other famous professional children, such as Lee Thompson Young, Mandy Moore and Nina Sky.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 1996, when he was 14, he landed his first professional gig as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson for his performance of Dangerous at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Crawford recorded his self-titled first album "Billy Crawford" (which included hits such as "Urgently in Love" and "Mary Lopez") when he was 15 years old.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2001, "Trackin'" was the first single from the album "Ride" and can be deemed as the singer's most successful hit single: it peaked at number five for five weeks in France and was certified platinum. As of August 2014, it was the 74th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 343,000 units sold. The song reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, No. 2 in Belgium, No. 3 in Switzerland and No. 20 in Germany. In the UK, the song was released as the third single after "You Didn't Expect That" in August 2003 and reached No. 32 on the UK chart.


title: Billy Crawford

text: By April 2002, Crawford was back on the scene with his second album, "Ride". This was certified gold in France (selling 100,000 copies) within just a few weeks and gold in Switzerland. The album went on to achieve platinum status in the French market (selling 300,000 copies) and a total of 600,000 copies has been sold to date. As for singles, following the success of the second track, "When You Think About Me" (over 250,000 copies sold in France), Crawford returned in September 2002 with a third single from the "Ride" album, "You Didn't Expect That", which went directly into the top 5 and was certified gold in December, having sold more than 250,000 copies in just a few weeks. After this grand success, he returned in 2003 with two versions of a previously unreleased track: the English version of "Someone Like You" and a special Franco-English version for France, "Me passer de toi", which stayed in the singles charts for some weeks.


title: Billy Crawford

text: The album "Big City" was produced by some of the best producers in the American music industry such as Kovas (Ghettobeat Production), J Que (from "The Clutch"), Tricky Stewart and Laney Stewart (RedZone Entertainment), The CornaBoyz, Pale Face, Desmond Child and Stargate. He left his old company, V2 records, wanting to expand his career into something bigger.


title: Billy Crawford

text: "Big City Tour Live" is the live release DVD album from Crawford. The DVD was released in France in 2005. It was directed by Michel Jankielewicz, produced by Yves El-Baze and distributed by UMG (2005) (worldwide) (DVD). The budget of this album was €150,000 (estimated).


title: Billy Crawford

text: "It's Time" is the fourth studio album by Crawford. It was released in 2007 with its first single, "Like That".


title: Billy Crawford

text: "Groove" is the fifth studio album by Crawford. It contains re-workings of classic hits from the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Billy Crawford

text: "Sky Is the Limit" is the first EP (and sixth release) by Crawford. It features five new tracks as well as one remix and one instrumental. It was released through the independent label, Jackpot Records.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2019, Crawford released the single "Filipina Girl" as the carrier single from the album "Work in Progress". It consists of ten tracks with a bonus track featuring Marcus Davis Jr. who produced the album. He once said that the album is dedicated to his wife Coleen García who motivated him to go back to music. "Work in Progress" was released March 22, 2019 under Viva Records.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Crawford had major chart success in France and other parts of Europe but did not repeat this success in the United Kingdom and the United States, although his single "You Didn't Expect That" did make the lower reaches of the UK Top 40, peaking at number 35. He also contributed a cover of the original "Pokémon" TV series theme song for "". In 2002, Crawford also appeared at a popular Filipino-American event called "Fiesta Filipina", held in San Francisco, California.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Crawford's album "Big City" was released in 2004 in France and Asia only. The single "Bright Lights" was unable to break into any Top 10 charts. The second single "Steamy Nights", produced by Kovas – Ghetto Beat, fared better, making the Top 40, and was featured on 7 compilations across Europe and was the first single in Germany. Crawford's music video for "Steamy Nights" was shot in Los Angeles, California, and was produced with the same people who worked on the Destiny's Child single "Lose My Breath". Actress Jenna Dewan, who was one of the main characters in the popular 2006 film "Step Up", was featured as Crawford's dance partner.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Another song from the album, "Candy Store", was leaked from the album and received airplay on London radio. Thought to be a duet with Ginuwine, it is featured on the "Big City" album. After doing the first-ever online reality show "The MSN Dance Show", his third single from the album, "3 Wishes", was canceled by his label. Crawford felt that it was time for something new and decided not to re-sign his contract with V2 Records. The same year, he voiced Dean in the 1st episode from the 3rd season of the animated TV show "Totally Spies!".


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2006, Crawford began recording a new album which was expected to be released in 2007. In 2006, he toured during the summer with the group L5 in France and in November he was scheduled to return to his home country to shoot a film. That same year, he was recorded a cover of "Super Freak" by Rick James from the French animated film "Asterix and the Vikings".


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2007, he returned to the Philippines for a new dance reality show, "MOVE: The Search for Billy Crawford's Pinoy Dancers", for GMA Network. The show searched for six back-up dancers to be called The Movers, for his very first Philippine concert, 'Billy Crawford: It's Time', held at the Araneta Coliseum. He brought along with him the brainchild of "MOVE", the then-wife and official dance choreographer Marie Courchinoux, known as 'Maryss from Paris', to be one of the main judges of the show as the Move Master. Initially having six Movers as his back-up crew, he eventually added a seventh Mover to complete the crew. Crawford's official dancers were Darcy Godoy, JM Vergara, Aizel Moñeva, AJ Sarate, Jobel Dayrit, Daniel Agbisit and Mich Garong. After the successful concert, he returned to the United States to work on projects and fulfill several commitments.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2008, upon his return to the Philippines, Crawford signed with ABS-CBN as an exclusive artist after 23 years of GMA. He became a regular on the Sunday variety show "ASAP" and later hosted "Pinoy Dream Academy Überture", a reality search that involves the skill of singing.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2009, he returned to acting via "Your Song Presents" with his partner and fellow singer Nikki Gil. He also released his fifth studio album "Groove" in the Philippines as well as worldwide digital services later that year. He also hosted a former talent show, "Showtime".


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2010, he hosted "Pilipinas Got Talent" with fellow co-host Luis Manzano. Both of them won as Best Talent Search Program Hosts at the 24th PMPC Star Awards for TV.


title: Billy Crawford

text: From 2011 to 2020, Crawford hosted with Vhong Navarro and other hosts in the weekday variety show "It's Showtime".


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2013, he released his first EP, "Sky Is the Limit", on the independent label Jackpot Records. This was his first music release since 2009. On April 4, 2014, he renewed his contract with Universal Records. He was set to release a new album later that year. In 2017, when he was promoting a Soul Brothers concert which includes him, he performed his new single Future for his wife Coleen García.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In September 2020, he temporarily transferred to TV5 Network to host the Philippine version of "The Masked Singer" and the noontime variety show "Lunch Out Loud". Later, he would also host "The Wall Philippines".


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2022, he participated in the French television dance competition "Danse avec les stars" and won the competition with his partner, Fauve Hautot.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In September 2014, Crawford was involved in an incident at a Bonifacio Global City police precinct where he allegedly flew into a drunken rage, injuring a desk officer and damaging the precinct's glass door in the ensuing scuffle.


title: Billy Crawford

text: Crawford, who had no prior history of legal incidents, has since issued an apology to his fans and to the officers whom he crossed paths with, though mischief and assault charges have been filed against him.


title: Billy Crawford

text: After moving to the United States at age 12, Crawford lived in Dallas and then New York City and has also lived in Paris and spent one year residing in London. He also lived in Los Angeles in 2007. He is multilingual; with his first language being Tagalog, his second being English and third, French.


title: Billy Crawford

text: After Crawford returned to the Philippines, he dated singer-actress Nikki Gil. In 2013, Crawford and Gil broke up. The next year, he began dating his co-host Coleen García from "It's Showtime!". The two became engaged on December 20, 2016, and married on April 20, 2018. On September 10, 2020, they welcomed their son, Amari.


title: Billy Crawford

text: In 2007, Crawford received an offer to do a dance film called "Back Down". He was also supposed to read for a film with Whoopi Goldberg, but these Hollywood productions were pushed back. Crawford's life story has also been shown on the Philippine television drama show "Maalaala Mo Kaya".


title: X-Seed 4000

text: The X-Seed 4000 was a concept megatall skyscraper. Its proposed height, sea-base, and 800-floor capacity could accommodate 500,000-1,000,000 inhabitants. This structure would be composed of over 3,000,000 tons of steel.


title: X-Seed 4000

text: It was designed for Tokyo, Japan by the Taisei Corporation in 1995 as a futuristic environment combining ultra-modern and technological living and interaction with wildlife and nature. Methods of transportation within the X-seed would most likely include Maglev trains.


title: X-Seed 4000

text: "The X-Seed 4000 'is never meant to be built'." says Georges Binder, managing director of Buildings & Data, a firm which compiles data banks on buildings worldwide. "The purpose of the plan was to earn some recognition for the firm, and it worked."


title: X-Seed 4000

text: Unlike conventional skyscrapers, to remain habitable the X-Seed 4000 would be forced to actively protect its occupants from considerable internal air pressure and external air pressure gradations and weather fluctuations that its massive elevation would cause. Its design calls for the use of solar power to maintain internal environmental conditions. As the proposed site for the structure is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most active volcano range in the world, the X-Seed 4000 would be vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.


title: X-Seed 4000

text: A sea-based location and a Mount Fuji shape are some of this building's other major design features—the real Mount Fuji is land-based and is high, making it shorter than the X-Seed 4000.


title: X-Seed 4000

text: The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid (also planned for Tokyo, Japan) faces most of the same problems as the X-Seed. Other projects that may be in the top five humanmade structures are the Ultima Tower of in San Francisco, Dubai City Tower of and the Bionic Tower of in either Hong Kong or Shanghai.


title: ITV plc

text: ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom.


title: ITV plc

text: ITV plc was the result of a merger between Granada and Carlton following the various mergers between the companies of the ITV network that had taken place from 1993 when the ownership rules were relaxed.


title: ITV plc

text: The first wave of mergers began with Yorkshire Television acquiring Tyne Tees Television in 1992, forming a parent group called Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television Holdings. In 1994, Carlton Communications – which had owned a 20% stake in Central Independent Television – acquired the remainder of the company and, because of Central's shareholdings, inherited a 20% stake in Meridian Broadcasting. Later that year, Granada acquired London Weekend Television through a hostile takeover worth in the region of £750 million. MAI, which controlled Meridian Broadcasting, acquired Anglia Television; MAI became United News & Media after merging with United Newspapers – owners of "The Daily Express" in 1996. Ownership rules, that previously restricted ownership of ITV licences by one company to two outright, plus 20% in a third, were relaxed, and so Carlton went on to acquire Westcountry Television (later re-branding it Carlton, along with Central), Granada acquired Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Holdings (with the parent group becoming Granada Media, later simply Granada) and United acquired HTV.


title: ITV plc

text: The idiosyncrasies and business model of the future ITV plc operation can be found in the way these new conglomerates operated their franchises. Carlton re-branded all of its stations with its own name, creating a single identity across the whole expanse of its territory. By contrast, Granada and United, while keeping the franchisees' names, centralised their continuity departments – Granada in Leeds and United in Southampton. All three, however, merged the network production operations of their franchises, creating Carlton Productions, Granada Content and United Productions.


title: ITV plc

text: By the end of the 1990s, there were three dominating owners of the ITV franchises in England and Wales: Carlton Communications, Granada plc and United News and Media. In 2000, after an aborted merger attempt with Carlton, UNM decided to leave ITV and Granada bought all the UNM franchises, but sold HTV to Carlton in order to comply with the permitted audience percentage covered by a single broadcasting interest. It kept the production arm of HTV, however, renaming it Granada Bristol and moving it out of Bath Road to a new, smaller office in Whiteladies Road (near the BBC). This arm of the company closed in 2006, following later rationalisation of ITV's production operations. The last remaining independent ITV franchise in England and Wales, Border Television, had been bought by Capital Group in 2000, and was sold on to Granada in 2001, with Border's radio assets being retained by Capital Radio plc.


title: ITV plc

text: In 2004, Granada and Carlton merged to become ITV plc, creating a single company for all ITV franchises in England and Wales. One of the consequences of the merger was (according to the company) an over-capacity of studio facilities and production units around the country, which had previously been rivals, but were now all part of the same group. In order to make cost savings, several large regional headquarters, studio sites and programme departments closed and merged. Among the casualties were network production and studio facilities of Tyne Tees in Newcastle upon Tyne, Meridian in Southampton, Central in Nottingham and Anglia in Norwich. In all cases, ITV moved the regional franchisee to a new location complete with hi-tech facilities for news production, but with a minimal number of (physically smaller) studios and the loss of many jobs. Tyne Tees' factual department merged with Yorkshire's in Leeds (which has since closed and re-emerged as Shiver Productions); Meridian's factual and sport production moved to London; all network production in Nottingham was re-allocated to London, Manchester or Leeds (and the local "Central News" studio moved to Birmingham), and Anglia Factual, reduced to a satellite operation of ITV Studios and primarily producing output for the international market or occasionally third parties in the UK, was eventually closed in January 2012.


title: ITV plc

text: Prior to the merger, and despite being rivals within ITV, Granada and Carlton had already been involved in several joint ventures, including the digital terrestrial television operator ITV Digital that went bankrupt, and collapsed in 2002. They also owned the digital channel ITV2, which had launched in December 1998, and 65% of the (re-branded) ITV News Channel, previously owned by ITN and was originally launched as the ITN News Channel. As well as consolidating its (now 40%) shareholding in ITN itself, the newly merged company was able to buy the final 35% stake in the ITV News Channel from ITN's original partners NTL in April 2004. In November the same year, and following a frantic last-minute deal with BSkyB to buy its half of the Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, they launched the digital channel ITV3, replacing Granada Plus which ITV plc closed down on satellite and cable. A year later they launched ITV4. However, due to multiplex issues (and the fact that it was losing money) the ITV News Channel controversially had its hours on Freeview reduced, and was finally closed down on 23 December 2005, with its Freeview space being taken over by replacements ITV4 and CITV, which launched in November 2005 and March 2006, respectively.


title: ITV plc

text: On 27 April 2005, ITV plc bought SDN, the digital terrestrial franchise holder of Multiplex A (now transmitting ten channels) from its shareholders, S4C and UBM for £134 million.


title: ITV plc

text: In April 2006 the participation channel ITV Play was launched. It was also an overnight block on ITV1. Following a series of scandals surrounding participation TV, the dedicated ITV Play channel was closed down in March 2007, followed by the late-night phone-in quiz shows on the ITV Network in December 2007, however the brand continued to be used for a time for part of the gaming section of itv.com.


title: ITV plc

text: In August 2006 the company sold its 45% shareholding in TV3 Ireland, which had been bought by Granada in 2001, to Doughty Hanson & Co.


title: ITV plc

text: There were rumours of take-over and merger bids during 2006. For example, on 9 November 2006, NTL announced that it had approached ITV plc about a proposed merger. The merger was effectively blocked by British Sky Broadcasting on 17 November 2006 when it bought a 17.9% stake in ITV plc for £940 million, a move that attracted anger from NTL shareholder Richard Branson and an investigation from media and telecoms regulator Ofcom. On 6 December 2006, NTL announced that it had complained to the Office of Fair Trading about BSkyB's move. NTL stated that it had withdrawn its attempt to buy ITV plc, citing that it did not believe that there was any possibility to make a deal on favourable terms. At the same time as the NTL bid, RTL, the then-owner of Channel 5, was also rumoured to be preparing a bid for ITV plc, with the possibility of a stock-swap with BSkyB; the plan would have seen RTL acquiring BSkyB's stake in ITV plc (with the aim of further acquisitions of shares in the future) in exchange for BSkyB taking full control of Channel 5.


title: ITV plc

text: In the end, no movement was made on this possible deal and RTL sold Channel 5 to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell Network in July 2010.


title: ITV plc

text: The company then entered into a series of disposals of non-core activities: in March 2009 the company sold its investment in Friends Reunited (a website dedicated to reunited former school friends or colleagues in a number of countries) which it had acquired in December 2005. Also in May 2009 the company sold Carlton Screen Advertising (the largest cinema advertising business in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and now known as Wide Eye Media).


title: ITV plc

text: In 2010, a large-scale business reorganisation, called the "five-year Transformation Plan" was launched. Thanks to stringent working capital management and cost management some of the set goals were already achieved in 2012. These include a ranking upgrade (from BB- to BB+), an increase in audience share and reduction of debt (from net debt of £730 million at the end of 2008, to a positive net cash position of £16 million at the end of the first quarter 2012).


title: ITV plc

text: In December 2013 the company sold its remaining shareholding in STV Group plc (owner of the Scottish and Grampian ITV franchises) which had been bought by Carlton in 1999.


title: ITV plc

text: On 19 August 2015, ITV purchased UTV for £100m ensuring that 13 out of the 15 licences (it does not hold the two in Scotland) were in its control.


title: ITV plc

text: In August 2016, it was revealed that ITV had made an offer to acquire Canadian multinational film and television distributor Entertainment One for around £1 billion. On 10 August 2016, it was announced that eOne had rejected the offer, considering it to be "fundamentally undervalued".


title: ITV plc

text: In 2017, it was announced that ITV plc had acquired a majority stake in British Production company World Productions, behind the hit BBC series "Line of Duty". As a result of the deal, World Productions is now part of ITV Studios.


title: ITV plc

text: In 2022, the company announced the arrival of ITVX, which it said would be Britain's first integrated advertising and subscription funded streaming platform, and would compliment its catch-up service, ITV Hub, and would include access to BritBox.


title: ITV plc

text: On 1 June 2022, it was announced that it will be demoted from the FTSE 100, and became a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index on 20 June.


title: ITV plc

text: Through ITV Broadcasting Ltd, ITV plc holds 13 of a total 15 ITV network licences, with STV holding two ITV licences in Scotland. ITV plc holds all licences in England and Wales, and the single ones in both the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland:


title: ITV plc

text: ITV plc is also the sole owner of the ITV national breakfast television franchise ITV Breakfast, formerly known as GMTV, which airs and produces "Good Morning Britain", and "Lorraine".


title: ITV plc

text: ITV plc wholly owns all of its channels through ITV Digital Channels apart from ITV1. ITV plc also operates Timeshift services and HD feeds for ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe.


title: ITV plc

text: ITV launched its first on demand service as ITV Catch Up. It was rebranded ITV Player on 5 December 2008. On 23 November 2015, the app and website were rebranded as ITV Hub. A paid subscription service allows users to watch ad-free and download content.


title: ITV plc

text: In November 2022, ITV announced a new streaming service to replace ITV Hub. It will launch on 8 December 2022. ITVX will provide archive ITV shows, shows and films for which ITV plc owns the license, live events and original programming. In total, ITV says the service will have 10,000 hours of content. There will be a free ad-supported tier and a premium subscription which will be ad-free and allow access to BritBox.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: , previously , is a fictional character and the protagonist of the "Hellsing" manga and anime series created by Kouta Hirano. A vampire devoted entirely to the current head of the Hellsing family, Integra Hellsing, Alucard works with the Hellsing Organization against other vampires and evil forces, fighting with ferocity and cruelty, sometimes only killing after a target has been disabled and humiliated, while frequently allowing enemies more than one chance to kill him (though only seeking to be killed by a human, having grown bored of immortality and life). Count Dracula was defeated by Abraham Van Helsing and became the family's loyal servant. Decades later, Abraham's direct descendant Arthur Hellsing gives the Count the codename "Alucard". "Hellsing" is set over a hundred years later, where Alucard and the Hellsing Organization are forced to fight the remnants of a Nazi battalion. Alucard also appears in the prequel series "", taking a female form alongside his partner Walter C. Dornez to end World War II in a fight against Nazis.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Hirano created Alucard as a strong individual who would be deus ex machina on his own, resulting in an easy defeat of most enemies. Alucard is voiced by Jouji Nakata in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English. Critical response to the character has been positive for Alucard's dark traits such as sadism or supernatural abilities that make him stand out as excessively violent despite being the main hero. Alucard's design also stood out for being called "stylish", praising his outfits and weaponry. Alucard's voice portrayals by Nakata and Freeman were also met with a positive response.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Manga author Kouta Hirano created Alucard. In regards to his drawing him, Hirano claims he does not particularly care about accurate depictions of weapons in his manga and draws multiple type of angles like whenever Alucard shoots a bullet. In regards to Alucard's weaponry in fight, Hirano claims he simply has an endless supply of bullets. Initially, Hirano felt the manga had issues in terms of fighting because Alucard was too powerful. As a result, Father Alexander Anderson was created to be the only individual capable of being Alucard's equal. He thought about a character that could go against Alucard, and decided to create Anderson. Even if the Captain joined the battle between Alucard and Anderson, he does not think he would win. Even though the Millennium is the central evil organization, they are not strong enough to fight Alucard. Alucard does not struggle in his fights with organization Millennium. He easily defeats him. He loses when the Major got involved, but in the end Millennium was not really strong enough a character to be considered a rival.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: The flow of the "Hellsing" manga was something that was decided on from the beginning. Multiple fans wondered if Alucard would form a relationship with his student Seras Victoria but Hirano did not find it possible. As a result, Hirano introduced the character Pip Bernadotte so he could stick him with Seras during the narrative. Meanwhile, Alucard would keep a deep bond with his master, Integra Hellsing, early in the story but he refrained from regarding it as a romantic style. That was an unwavering part of the unfolding story. For the prequel "Hellsing: The Dawn", a dynamic was used between Alucard, Integra and Walter to act properly since Alucard was more active.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: After manga volume 8, during series' climax, the author felt he "got a little hasty" and ended the long battle between Alucard and Anderson. As a result, he thinks Alucard's battle against Anderson had a better show of battle in comparison to the previous battle against Anderson were both fighters were nearly equals. The reason he thinks so is because he had a time limit for completion when he was drawing them. In regards to Walter's betrayal, Hirano decided to use him as a villain by the time Alucard, who had been sleeping underground, revived, to face Integra and claimed that despite the close experience both character has, Walter was still clearly weaker than Alucard. Among the multiple changes the original video animations (OVAs) "Hellsing Ultimate" had in comparison to the manga was the concept of Alucard wielding his guns with his teeth, something only done in Gonzo's television series. This was done with Hirano's approval.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Jouji Nakata voices the character in Japanese. Nakata recalls being praised for providing Alucard's emotions rarely explored and that his fans were from multiple demographies. Looking back at his career, Nakata said that Alucard was the one character he most enjoyed voicing and the easiest one to portray. He said that villain characters and ones with distinct personalities were easier than ones with not much personality as they can be shaped and changed up.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: In an interview with "Anime News Network", American voice actor Crispin Freeman stated that Alucard was the first big role he had ever since becoming an actor. He enjoyed voicing Alucard, stating that he loved "characters who are on the edge of madness for one reason or another". When the OVAs, "Hellsing Ultimate", were announced, Freeman was not contacted to take the part of Alucard again, something that bothered his fans. However, Geneon Entertainment producers called Freeman and asked him if he could return to voice Alucard again. In comparing the two Alucards he voiced, he believes they are nearly different individuals as a result of how the OVAs differ from the television series. Freeman notes that he was originally going to give Alucard a Romanian accent, but decided on an American accent instead. Due to the length of "Hellsing Ultimate", Freeman considered his work as a "marathon" due to the amount of lines he had to record per episode based on the screentime Alucard has. However, he felt that there were easier episodes due to the protagonist having fewer lines as the narrative was more primarily focused on a supporting character. Due to Alucard being based on the Bram Stoker's novel character Dracula and Freeman being a fan of mythological storytelling, the actor felt he highly enjoyed Alucard, calling him a "psychologically complex character".


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Alucard is a vampire working for the organization Hellsing. Alucard is violent, sadistic, and masochistic. He often taunts and belittles his opponents, allowing them to inflict wounds before regenerating and retaliating. His real identity is "Dracula" who starts his career by fighting the Ottomans, believing that God does not reward prayer, but instead wants mortals to show their faith visibly. However, when his army is defeated and he is about to be executed, Vlad, believing he has been abandoned by God, turns his back on the divine. The manga briefly deviates the events of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in regards to his defeat. In "Hellsing", he was staked in the heart but not destroyed. Years after his defeat, Dracula became a servant of the Van Helsing family, who not only augmented his formidable abilities, but also placed shackles on his power. Now named Alucard, he, along with a young Walter C. Dornez, were sent to Warsaw, Poland to stop Millennium's vampire production program. A man imprisoned Alucard in a dungeon in the Hellsing manor, as he believed the vampire was too powerful to be used frequently. After 20 years of imprisonment, a young child named Integra Hellsing, marked for death by her traitorous uncle, opened Alucard's crypt as a final resort. Her blood awakened and resuscitated the ancient vampire, who then executed Integra's uncle and his followers, and willingly entered the service of Integra. Despite his nature, Alucard expresses admiration for humans, most notably Integra and the determination of his rival, Alexander Anderson, to destroy him an example of the "fantastic" and "magnificent" qualities of humans.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Whenever he drinks his victim's blood, Alucard also sucks out the soul of that person to obtain their memories while converting the victim into an extension of himself referred to as a Familiar. Alucard exhibits incredible accuracy when firing his twin large caliber handguns (his basic set being chambered in .454 Casull; a more powerful pair, codenamed 'Jackal' and armed with explosive rounds, was designed to fight regenerators. He can tear humans apart with ease and move faster than the eye can see. While often seen a male human, Alucard has a tendency to take other humanoid forms (among them being a young girl, a form he took while infiltrating the Nazi group Millennium during World War II).


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Anderson, augmented by the Nail of Helena, managed to critically injure Alucard during their final duel, which created a chain reaction that destroyed all Alucard's familiars except Luke Valentine and the Hellhound. Although Alucard recovered thanks to Seras' intervention and successfully defeated Anderson, he was then attacked by Walter, who had undergone vampirization by Millennium in order to kill Alucard when he was most vulnerable. However, Walter was tricked (via illusion) into killing Valentine instead; before he could get another chance to land a fatal blow, Alucard began absorbing the blood of the millions who died in the Battle of London, thus giving himself an indefinite number of regenerations and a new army of the dead. Unknown to Alucard, Schrödinger had killed himself and fallen into the river of blood on the Major's orders; mixed in with the millions of other souls Alucard had consumed, he was unable to recognize himself and therefore neither he nor Alucard was able to exist, causing Alucard to vanish. During the series' ending, after Alucard destroyed every additional soul except Schrödinger's in his body, he gained the ability to exist "everywhere and nowhere".


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: The manga "Hellsing: The Dawn" and its animated adaptation focus on a younger Alucard taking the form of a woman while working during WWII. A much younger Walter is sent by Hellsing behind enemy lines with a giant casket to eliminate a new threat from the Nazis. In an attempt to stop the Nazi project and to protect England and The Allies current head of the Hellsing House, Sir Arthur Hellsing, is sending his best agents — Walter C. Dornez and Alucard — into German-occupied Poland where monstrous experiments are being conducted.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Alucard has been a popular character. In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Alucard was nominated as one of the best male characters with Jouji Nakata's portrayal of the character also being nominated. In a poll by AnimeAnime, Alucard was voted as the second best Nakata character behind Corporal Giroro from "Sgt. Frog". However, both lost to Ichigo Kurosaki from "Bleach" and Tomokazu Sugita for "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"s Kyon, respectively. Various merchandise based on Alucard's appearance has been created, including action figures, bust figures and key-chains. IGN ranked him as the 21st greatest anime character of all time, saying that "There have been many vampires in anime, but none have been as deliciously sadistic as Alucard." "Complex" listed him as the 15th most stylish character in anime. "Anime News Network" listed him as one of "6 Strange Faces of Dracula's Descendents" based on how different is Alucard to the novel character.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Critical response to Alucard's character has been positive. Ever since his introduction in the manga, Justin Rich from "Mania Entertainment" saw Alucard as an interesting character due to his brief encounter with Anderson which shows a potential for what their actions in the future might be. "Anime News Network"s Mike Crandol praised Alucard for being "a refreshing change from the traditional, mopey, woe-is-me vampire anti-hero", and called him "quite the cool figure". On a similar note, Alucard's nature as a vampire was noted to be a new take of the usage of the archetype due to how Alucard trains Seras Victoria to the point it feels like a coming of age for Alucard's subordinate. Despite his sadistic nature, "Comic Book Resources" pointed out that Alucard is contrasted by the personalities of Seras and Integra whom are noted to make Alucard make more charming as he sees both of them in a friendlier well when compared to his regular dark persona. His dark personality stood out with "T.H.E.M Anime Reviews" calling him as an "anti-hero through and through, but you just can't help rooting for him even when it's obvious he's not really a good guy at all..." Carl Kimlinger also from "Anime News Network" said Alucard "He's one of the scariest, and most unspeakably cool, anti-heroes to ever slaughter his way through an anime." As a result, Kimlinger felt Alucard's character to be series' strongest part. Patrick King from "AnimeFringe" said that Alucard's portrayal in the first "Hellsing" anime made him come across as one of the best anime character he has ever seen, comparing him with the famous Spike from "Cowboy Bebop" calling him "the perfect mix of grace and violence, propriety and chaos." DVD Talk found Alucard's first fight in the anime so ridiculously violent that he believes Toonami's audience would like it as instead Alucard would be more enjoyed by an adult demographic.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: In regards to his role in the story, "Comic Book Resources" felt Alucard's battle to be enjoyable due to the amount of gore provided through his fighting style involving both supernatural abilities and usage of guns. "The Fandom Post" enjoyed both Alucard's presence and lack of presence in the narrative for the impact it has on the cast as well as how he is humanized when fighting with his full power while also interacting with Integra. "Manga News" expressed similar feeling as without Alucard, Seras Victoria's forces remain notably weaker in comparison to the point he missed the character. However, the writer had mix feelings in regards to Alucard's understanding of his rival Anderson's. While the final fight was praised for developing Alucard and show his past, his subsequent betrayal by Walter and brief fight with him felt "flat" alongside his fate in the finale. The same site also praised Alucard's final fight against Anderson in "Hellsing Ultimate", citing it as the greatest highlight of the entire series and found Hirano's take on the Dracula myth as one of the "wildest interpretation" he has seen. Freeman's work for providing a "gothic depth befitting a powerful master vampire". "THEM Anime Reviews" noted that while Alucard might come across as a villain rather than a hero due to his sadistic actions, the poorly developed villains make it easier for the viewers to root for the lead. Similarly, DVD Talk praised how "Ultimate" portrayed Alucard in the finale not only for his fights against Anderson and Walter but also about how his past life is explored while acclaiming Freeman's work. Joji Nakata's work as Alucard was also met with similar response by "Anime News Network" alongside Norio Wakamoto (Anderson) for having the best deliveries in the Japanese version. "Manga News" criticized Alucard's fate in the finale for his apparent death during the fight against the Millennium organization only to return in the final chapter for unexplained reasons.


title: Alucard (Hellsing)

text: Criics often commented on Alucard's appearance. Comparing the Alucard's characterization between the television series and the OVAs, "Anime News Network" felt the former was "a kind of sexy bishonen character" as his action scenes were toned alongside the violence he occasionally caused, making the latter more interesting as a result of his sadistic nature and gore. "UK Anime Network" and "Manga Life" agreed, feeling that Alucard looks more like a villain in the OVAs rather than a hero. "Comic Book Resources" found the design stylish alongside the guns Alucard wields. Jason Thompson commented that when the manga started "Alucard looked too much like "Master of Mosquiton", or another badass manga character with John Lennon glasses" and thought he seems like Vash the Stampede from "Trigun", something which "AnimeNation" agreed with. "Comics Beat" claimed that Alucard's general look was "stylish" not only due to his clothing but the detail given to his guns. In a more negative view, Alucard's female form was criticized by "Anime News Network" due to Hirano not being able to draw properly a female character, resulting in the female form to look as tomboyish as Integra Hellsing.


title: Chador

text: A chādor (Persian, ), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and to a lesser extent Tajikistan, as well as in Shia communities in Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatif in Saudi Arabia in areas in public spaces or outdoors. A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is open down the front. The garment is pulled over the head, and is held closed at the front by the wearer; the chador has no hand openings, buttons, or clasps. It may also be held closed by being tucked under the wearer's arms. The word in Classical Persian could be used in reference to almost any cloth, headscarf, or even tents. This definition is mostly retained in eastern dialects of Persian which commonly use chādar in reference to almost any cloth or scarf, including loosely worn scarves that would be inappropriate to call a chador in Iranian Persian.


title: Chador

text: Before the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution, black chadors were reserved for funerals and periods of mourning; colourful, patterned fabrics were the norm for everyday wear. Currently, the majority of Iranian women who wear the chador use the black version outside, and reserve light-coloured chadors for indoor use.


title: Chador

text: Fadwa El Guindi locates the origin of the veil in ancient Mesopotamia, where "wives and daughters of high-ranking men of the nobility had to veil". The veil marked class status, and this dress code was regulated by sumptuary laws.


title: Chador

text: One of the first representation of a chador is found on Ergili sculptures and the "Satrap sarcophagus" from Persian Anatolia.


title: Chador

text: Bruhn/Tilke, in their 1941 "A Pictorial History of Costume", do show a drawing, said to be copied from an Achaemenid relief of the 5th century BC, of an individual with their lower face hidden by a long cloth wrapped around the head. Some have mistakenly claimed this to be a woman, but it is actually a Mede soldier. Achaemenid Iranian women in art were almost always uncovered. The earliest written record of "chador" can be found in Pahlavi scripts from the 6th century, as a female head dress worn by Zoroastrian women.


title: Chador

text: It is likely that the custom of veiling continued through the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid periods. Veiling was not limited to noble women but was practised also by the Persian kings. Upper-class Greek and Byzantine women were also secluded from the public gaze. European visitors of the 18th and 19th centuries have left pictorial records of women wearing the "chador" and the long white veil.


title: Chador

text: The 20th century Pahlavi ruler Reza Shah banned the "chador" and all hijab during the Kashf-e hijab in 1936, as incompatible with his modernizing ambitions. According to Mir-Hosseini, as cited by El Guindi, "the police were arresting women who wore the veil and forcibly removing it". This policy outraged the Shi'a clerics, and ordinary men and women, to whom "appearing in public without their cover was tantamount to nakedness". However, she continues, "this move was welcomed by Westernized and upperclass men and women, who saw it in liberal terms as a first step in granting women their rights".


title: Chador

text: After the Iranian Revolution, compulsory hijab were introduced, which was met with opposition from women during the International Women's Day Protests in Tehran, 1979.


title: Chador

text: In April 1980, during the Iranian Cultural Revolution, it was decided that it would be mandatory for women in government offices and educational institutions to observe the veil. In 1983, a dispute regarding the veiling broke out, and public conflict was motivated by the definition of veiling and its scale (so-called "bad hijab" issue), sometimes followed even by clashes against those who were perceived to wear improper clothing. Government felt obligated to deal with this situation; so, on 26 July 1984, Tehran's public prosecutor issued a statement and announced that stricter dress-code is supposed to be observed in public places such as institutions, theaters, clubs, hotels, motels, and restaurants, while in the other places, it should follow the pattern of the overwhelming majority of people. Stricter veiling implies both chador and more loosely khimar-type headscarf, along with overcoat.


title: Chador

text: Before the 1978–1979 Iranian Revolution, black chadors were worn by many women and girls for different purposes. Light, printed fabrics were the norm for everyday wear. Currently, the majority of women who wear the chador reserve the usage of light-colored chadors for around the house or for prayers. Most women who still go outside in urban areas in a light colored chador are elderly women of rural backgrounds. During the reign of the Shah of Iran, such traditional clothing was largely discarded by the wealthier urban upper-class women in favor of modernity for western clothing, although women in small towns and villages continued to wear the chador. Traditionally a light coloured or printed chador was worn with a headscarf ("rousari"), a blouse ("pirahan"), and a long skirt ("daaman"); or else a blouse and skirt or dress over pants ("shalvar"), and these styles continue to be worn by many rural Iranian women, in particular by older women.


title: Chador

text: On the other hand, in Iran, the chador does not require the wearing of a veil. Inside the home, particularly for urban women, both the chador and the veil have been discarded, and there, women and teenagers wore cooler and lighter garments; while in modern times, rural women continue to wear a light-weight printed chador inside the home over their clothing during their daily activities. The chador is worn by some Iranian women, regardless of whether they are Sunni or Shia, but is considered traditional to Persian Iranians, with Iranians of other backgrounds wearing the chador or other traditional forms of attire. For example, Arab Iranian women in Western and Southern Iran retain their overhead Abaya which is similar to the overhead Abaya worn in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain.


title: Chador

text: The Persian word entered South Asia, and appeared in the Hindustani language as (, anglicized as "chaddar", "chuddar" and "chudder").


title: Chador

text: However, an Indian and Pakistani cādar may more closely resemble a dupatta. The Hindustani word can also refer to other type of sheets, such as bed sheets.


title: Chador

text: There is also a small Haredi Jewish group in which the women wear black head-to-toe cloaks similar to the chador.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: The 2013 Royal Rumble was the 26th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It took place on January 27, 2013, at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2013 event, the winner received their choice to challenge for either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 29. It was the last Royal Rumble to feature the World Heavyweight Championship, which was unified with the WWE Championship in December, subsequently being the last Royal Rumble to include two eligible championships for the Rumble winner until the 2017 event.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: Five matches were contested at the event, including one on the Pre-Show. In the main event, The Rock defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship, which was his first championship since 2002 that also ended Punk's reign at 434 days. On the undercard, John Cena won the 2013 Royal Rumble match, making him the seventh multiple Rumble winner. In another prominent match, Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz to retain his United States Championship. Also on the card, Alberto Del Rio retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show in a Last Man Standing match, and Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow).


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV), produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2013, the winner could choose to challenge for either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 29. The 2013 event was the 26th event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 27, 2013, at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: The card consisted of five matches, including one on the Pre-Show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, "Raw" and "SmackDown".


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: On July 23, 2012, during "Raw 1000", The Rock announced that he would challenge for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Later that night, reigning champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena each stated that they'd face The Rock as defending champion; later that night, Punk turned heel, attacking and laying out The Rock. Punk defended the championship for the rest of the year, while on December 23, 2012, The Rock tweeted to Punk that he was ready for the Royal Rumble. On the January 7 episode of "Raw", Punk retained the WWE Championship against Ryback in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match after The Shield interfered. They also did during Punk's defence against Ryback and John Cena back at Survivor Series; this win secured Punk as the one who would defend against The Rock. On the January 21 episode of "Raw" while speaking about beating Punk at the Rumble, The Shield assaulted The Rock. After the assault, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that if The Shield interfered in the match, Punk will be stripped of his title.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: Big Show began a feud with Alberto Del Rio after humiliating Del Rio's personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, sarcastically picking him to fight Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship during "Champion's Choice Night" on the New Year's Eve 2013 episode of "Raw", leading to a disqualification win for Big Show after Del Rio interfered. On the January 11, 2013 episode of "SmackDown", Del Rio defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing match for the championship. Three days later on "Raw", Big Show announced that he would invoke his rematch clause at the pay-per-view. The week after, he made the match a Last Man Standing Match.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: The Royal Rumble Pre-Show match featured reigning United States Champion Antonio Cesaro defending his title against The Miz. During the match, Miz attempted a diving attack and injured his leg. Shortly after, Cesaro won after landing the Neutralizer.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: As the PPV portion of the show began, a backstage segment was shown with Bret Hart wishing Alberto Del Rio good luck in his match. He then gave Ricardo Rodriguez a pair of his signature sunglasses.


title: Royal Rumble (2013)

text: The opening match on the PPV telecast (and second on the card overall) featured reigning World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio defending his title against Big Show in a Last Man Standing match. After Del Rio managed to beat the count after being chokeslammed through a table from an elevated position on the entrance stage, he managed to win when he locked in the Cross Armbreaker while Rodriguez duct taped Show's legs to the bottom rope. Show was unable to free himself in time and was counted out.