title: Tomas Brolin

text: Brolin went to the 1994 World Cup in the best shape of his career, at the age of 24. Despite having a talented group of players, however, Sweden was not predicted to go far at the World Cup in the United States. They scraped a draw with Cameroon in their opening game. Things improved in Sweden's next game with Russia, with Brolin playing behind Martin Dahlin and the towering Kennet Andersson, as Sweden won 3–1.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: In their final group match, Sweden drew 1–1 with tournament favourites Brazil after Brolin set up Sweden's goal for Kennet Andersson, and reached the second round.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: Brolin scored three goals for Sweden in the 1994 World Cup as the nation finished third in the competition. Brolin's performances earned him a place in the competition's World Cup All Star Team. In the quarter-final against Romania, he scored one of his most famous goals: When Sweden were awarded a free-kick, everyone expected Stefan Schwarz to shoot. Instead, Schwarz jumped over the ball and Håkan Mild passed the ball past the wall to Brolin, who managed to score. He received his second "Guldbollen" award in 1994.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: On 16 November 1994, at the Råsunda Stadion in Stockholm, Brolin broke his foot in a qualifier for Euro 1996. On 7 May 1995, a week after he had returned from injury, Brolin played for Sweden against Iceland, and scored a penalty but was unable to help his team to a much needed victory in their qualifying campaign.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: On 16 April 1996, Brolin was then dropped by Swedish coach Tommy Svensson for a friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast, and was quoted, "Brolin is not at 100 percent at the moment and it is difficult to say when he will be." Brolin told Swedish news agency TT that it was the best for him, and the national side: "Right now I need to recover in order to get to the capacity needed to add something to the national team."


title: Tomas Brolin

text: In the end, Sweden did not qualify for Euro 1996. Brolin never played for his country again, but in the last five years he had been selected 47 times at senior level and scored an impressive 27 goals.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: A dynamic, energetic, creative and technically gifted footballer, Brolin was a world-class player in his prime, who was known for his excellent dribbling skills, as well as for his passing ability and powerful shots on goal. A versatile player, he was usually deployed as an offensive-midfield playmaker due to his ability to provide assists for teammates, but he was also used as a striker, winger, central midfielder and as a deep-lying forward throughout his career, due to his work-rate and tactical intelligence. Despite his talent in his youth, his career was affected by several injuries, which forced him into early retirement.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: After retiring from football, Brolin settled to become a businessman and returned to his homeland where for a period of time he owned an Italian-Swedish restaurant called Undici (, the number he wore while playing for Parma). Undici has been fined numerous times for permitting underage drinking. He also invested money in real estate and – to some public amusement – in a firm selling a new type of mouthpiece for vacuum cleaners. He also appeared in a video by Dr. Alban which featured other famous Swedish sportsmen, including Björn Borg.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: In 2001, a long-time girlfriend, Susan Hardenborg, gave birth to Brolin's first child, a boy named Sebastian. The couple had split before the birth of the child, but remain on good terms. He was married to the former Miss Sweden and TV presenter Annika Duckmark until they got divorced in 2006.


title: Tomas Brolin

text: Brolin has been an active World Series of Poker player since 2006. Playing in the 2007 World Series of Poker and the 2006 Football & Poker Legends Cup organized by PartyPoker.com. He has also competed regularly in the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour and cashed twice – once in the Season 4 Prague event where he came 23rd and again in the EPT Grand Final later that season in Monte Carlo where he came 38th out of an 842-strong field.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: Mahalia Burkmar (born 1 May 1998), known mononymously as Mahalia, is a British Jamaican singer, songwriter and actress. Mahalia has released several EPs and two albums, "Diary of Me" (2016) and "Love and Compromise" (2019). She also acted in the film "Brotherhood" (2016). She had her breakthrough in 2017 with her performance of "Sober" for the YouTube channel Colors. In 2018, she was ranked number one on YouTube's Ones to Watch list.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: Mahalia is from Syston, Charnwood, in Leicestershire. She was born to musician parents. Her father is British-Irish and her mother is Jamaican. Mahalia has described the town she grew up in as a predominantly white area with "a lot of racism". She has two brothers.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: She attended Roundhill Community College until she signed a record deal aged 13, when she transferred to a performing arts school, Birmingham Ormiston Academy,where she took acting classes.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: As a child she would often spend her summer breaks at home writing music—she wrote her first song at age eight and signed a deal with Asylum Records at age 13. She performed live for the first time aged "eleven, or maybe 12" at an open mic and spent eight years of her life as a backing singer for a number of artists including Rihanna and Kehlani. She released her debut EP, "Head Space", in 2012. Mahalia was later introduced to Ed Sheeran, who she went on to perform as a supporting act for.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: In 2019, Mahalia was featured on BBC Radio 1's Brit List. Her album "Love and Compromise" was released on marketed as her debut album. The album concept was influenced by an interview with Eartha Kitt, which Mahalia's mother showed her when she was a child.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: In 2021, she released "Jealous", a collaboration with American rapper Rico Nasty. She was nominated for her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Mahalia was included in the 2021 Forbes Under 30 list.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: In 2022, Mahalia was among the performers at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was also one of the opening acts in the all-female lineup at Adele's British Summer Time concerts in London's Hyde Park.


title: Mahalia (singer)

text: Mahalia has listed Corinne Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Jill Scott, India Arie, Ed Sheeran, and Kate Nash among her musical influences.


title: Arab Winter

text: The Arab Winter is a term for the resurgence of authoritarianism and Islamic extremism in some Arab countries in the 2010s in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests. The term "Arab Winter" refers to the events across Arab League countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Syrian Civil War, the Iraqi insurgency and the subsequent War in Iraq, the Egyptian Crisis, the First Libyan Civil War and the subsequent Second Libyan Civil War, and the Yemeni Civil War. Events referred to as the Arab Winter include those in Egypt that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi and the seizure of power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.


title: Arab Winter

text: The term was first coined by Chinese political scientist Zhang Weiwei during a debate with American political scientist Francis Fukuyama on June 27, 2011. Fukuyama believed the Arab Spring movement would inevitably spread to China, while Zhang predicted the Arab Spring will soon turn into an Arab Winter.


title: Arab Winter

text: According to scholars of the University of Warsaw, the Arab Spring fully devolved into the Arab Winter four years after its onset, in 2014. The Arab Winter is characterized by the emergence of multiple regional wars, mounting regional instability, economic and demographic decline of Arab countries, and ethno-religious sectarian strife. According to a study by the American University of Beirut, by the summer of 2014, the Arab Winter had resulted in nearly a quarter of a million deaths and millions of refugees. Perhaps the most significant event in the Arab Winter was the rise of the extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which controlled swathes of land in the region from 2014 to 2019.


title: Arab Winter

text: In 2022, multiple armed conflicts are still continuing that might be seen as a result of the Arab Spring. The Syrian Civil War has caused massive political instability and economic hardship in Syria, with the Syrian currency plunging to new lows. In Yemen, a civil war and subsequent intervention by Saudi Arabia continues to affect the country. In Lebanon, a major banking crisis is threatening the economy of neighboring Syria.


title: Arab Winter

text: The term "Arab Winter" refers to the events across Arab League countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Syrian civil war, the Iraqi insurgency and the subsequent War in Iraq, the Egyptian Crisis, the First Libyan Civil War and the subsequent Second Libyan Civil War, and the Yemeni Civil War. Events referred to as the Arab Winter include those in Egypt that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi and the seizure of power by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.


title: Arab Winter

text: Political developments, particularly the restoration of authoritarianism and suppression of civil liberties in Egypt since July 3, 2013, have been described as constituting a "military winter" that functioned in opposition to the goals of the Arab Spring. Various militias and tribes have started fighting in Libya after a breakdown in negotiations. The arenas of Lebanon and Bahrain were also identified as areas of the Arab Winter.


title: Arab Winter

text: Libya was named as a scene of the Arab Winter, together with Syria, by Professor Sean Yom. The Northern Mali conflict was often described as part of the "Islamist Winter". Political changes which occurred in Tunisia, involving a change in government, as well as an ISIL insurgency, were also indicated by some as a possible "heading towards Arab Winter".


title: Arab Winter

text: Then, the Arab Winter term began circulating in the media in late 2012 and getting popular since then, referring to the deterioration of many Arab Spring conflicts into prolonging and escalating events of sectarian strife and armed violence. In its December 2012 publication, "The Daily Telegraph" referred to the year 2012 as the year of Arab Winter.


title: Arab Winter

text: According to scholars of the University of Warsaw, the Arab Spring fully devolved into the Arab Winter four years after its onset. This view was also supported by Prof. James Y. Simms Jr. in his 2015 opinion article for the "Richmond Times-Dispatch". In early 2016, "The Economist" marked the situation across Arab world countries as "worse than ever", marking it as the ongoing Arab Winter.


title: Arab Winter

text: According to the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, as of January 2014, the cost of Arab Winter upheaval across the Arab World was some $800 billion USD. Some 16 million people in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon were expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2014.


title: Arab Winter

text: According to "The Economist", Malta has "benefited" from the Arab Winter, as tourists who might otherwise be in Egypt or Tunisia opt for a safer alternative.


title: Arab Winter

text: According to a study by the American University of Beirut, as of the summer of 2014, the Arab Winter had resulted in nearly a quarter of a million deaths and millions of refugees.


title: Arab Winter

text: Political columnist and commentator George Will reported that as of early 2017, over 30,000 lives had been lost in Libya, 220,000–320,000 had been killed in Syria and 4 million refugees had been produced by the Syrian Civil War alone.


title: Arab Winter

text: The political turmoil and violence in the Middle East and North Africa resulted in massive population displacement in the region. As a result, "boat people", which was once commonly referred to Vietnamese boat people, became frequently used, including internally displaced persons and asylum-seekers and refugees who had previously been residing in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, have headed towards the European Union.


title: Arab Winter

text: The attempts by some Libyans, Syrians and Tunisians to seek safety from the violence by crossing the Mediterranean sea have triggered fears among European politicians and populations of arrivals that might "flood" their shores. This has spurred a flurry of legislative activity and patrolling of the waters to manage arrivals.


title: Born Sinner

text: Born Sinner is the second studio album by American rapper and record producer J. Cole. It was released on June 18, 2013, by ByStorm Entertainment, Columbia Records, Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. The album serves as the follow-up to his debut album, "" (2011). The album features guest appearances from Miguel, Amber Coffman, Jhené Aiko, James Fauntleroy, Bas, TLC, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent. The album was also primarily produced by Cole himself, along with others such as Jake One, Syience, and Elite.


title: Born Sinner

text: "Born Sinner" was supported by four official singles; "Power Trip", "Crooked Smile", "Forbidden Fruit" and "She Knows", along with the promotional single "Miss America". The album received generally positive reviews from critics. It debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200, selling 297,000 copies in its first week of release. After two weeks of being at number two, "Born Sinner" climbed to number one in its third week. The album has since been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of December 2016, the album has sold 796,000 copies in the United States.


title: Born Sinner

text: Only a week after the release of his gold certified-debut album "", Cole began working on his second album, "Born Sinner". He said that it allowed him to, "reinvigorate himself both mentally and creatively." On October 24, 2011, during his interview with Hot 106's Rise & Grind morning show, Cole revealed that he had begun working on his second studio album, with hopes of releasing it in June 2012. He had also stated that the album would consist of songs that failed to make his debut: "I don't know how many, but I got songs that didn't make the last album that are automatically going to make this one." On February 24, 2012, J. Cole reached two million followers on Twitter, he celebrated by releasing the song "Grew up Fast." On March 1, 2012, J. Cole returned to his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. To celebrate his return, he released the song "Visionz of Home" (which launched an event, titled "Dreamville weekend") to inspire the youth of his hometown to achieve great things. On July 26, he returned to Twitter after a 100-day absence and went on to reveal and release his new song "The Cure" in where he hints at a new album. On October 20, he announced at a live show that his second album was complete and he would wait until after Kendrick Lamar released "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" to reveal it and previewed two new songs, "Maine on Fire" and "Crooked Smile." However they were not tied to any project. "Maine on Fire" would end up appearing on a Funkmaster Flex mixtape.


title: Born Sinner

text: On November 5, Cole revealed the title of his second album, and an album teaser for it, "Born Sinner" and the release date of January 28, 2013, via Ustream. With the title he ended his basketball-themed series of projects. He would say,


title: Born Sinner

text: On November 30, 2012, Cole said he feels the album will be better than his debut due to him being more free in creating this one. Most of the production will come from himself and most guest producers and features will be kept under wraps until the album release comes closer. He went onto say the features will be minor and key to the album. The album's production was primarily handled by J. Cole himself. Also in November 2012, Cole stated that the album is 90% completed including the writing and recording. Cole said he recorded four albums worth of material during the recording process for the album.


title: Born Sinner

text: J. Cole announced a release date of January 28, 2013, (his birthday) along with the album name on November 9, 2012. In early January the album was included on multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" such as MTV and "XXL" ranked "Born Sinner" the sixth most anticipated album of 2013. After describing the January release date as ambitious, he would announce on New Years Day 2013 that the album would be coming out at a later date. On February 22, 2013, J. Cole said that the album should arrive around June 2013. He later would confirm a release month for June, and then on April 8, 2013, J. Cole announced via Twitter that the album would be released on June 25, 2013. Interesting enough, that date would have been the seventeenth anniversary of the release of Jay-Z's debut album "Reasonable Doubt". However, he announced on May 20, 2013, via his Twitter account that he would move the release up one week to June 18, 2013. He later revealed that he moved up the release date to coincide with the release of Kanye West's album "Yeezus", saying "Instantly the lightbulb [turned on]… it got real. I was like, 'Yo…' The idea hit me instantly: 'You got to go to that date. I'm not going to sit [here]… I worked too hard to come a week later after Kanye West drops an amazing album. It'd be like, 'Oh and J. Cole dropped too, a week later.' Nah. I'm going to go see him on that date. He's the greatest. So it's like, I'm a competitor by nature so it was instant, it wasn't even a thought."


title: Born Sinner

text: On February 12, 2013, Cole released a free EP titled "Truly Yours" in promotion of the album. The EP consists of five songs in their "raw form" that he knew would not make the cutlist for "Born Sinner". Later on April 29, he announced that he would be releasing "Truly Yours 2" the following day. The EP featured guest appearances by 2 Chainz, Young Jeezy and Bas, with production from Canei Finch, Jake One and J. Cole himself. Cole announced the deluxe version of the album will include an extra CD which will double as "Truly Yours 3" and featuring 5 new songs. The track features 50 Cent and Bas, which Cole originally wanted to have 50 and Nas on the song.


title: Born Sinner

text: J. Cole said there is a lot he wants to do that he didn't get to do on his last album because the label didn't know that he was going to come out and have the number-one album in the country so this time he hopes the promotion effort is way bigger. He plans to shoot a short film to accompany the album as well as multiple music videos. In promotion of the album Cole released several "Born Sinner" vlogs, the first video spotlighted Cole's mother and her former job of working at the post office, and her retirement. The second video spotlighted friend and frequent collaborator Kendrick Lamar. In the video he discusses his earliest musical influences and his work ethic. On June 6, 2013, J. Cole held one time listen sessions for the album in various places throughout North America. The following day the album leaked in full online via various peer-to-peer file sharing websites. Rather than go into crisis mode and attempt to remove it from online, Cole put the album up for a limited time free stream. Cole and Nas released "Let Nas Down (Remix)" on June 22, 2013. The remix was named one of the best songs of the first half of 2013 by "Complex". On July 29, 2013, Cole announced What Dreams May Come Tour with fellow rapper Wale.


title: Born Sinner

text: The first promotional single from "Born Sinner" was "Miss America" and which released on November 13, 2012. Cole said he pushed away pop-accessibility in order to put out a single that provides social commentary. The song has been described by multiple outlets and Cole himself as not an ordinary first single and in no way directed towards radio. The song was used in Ubisoft's "Launch" trailer for the 2013 video game "". The song peaked at number 34 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.<ref name="Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs"></ref>


title: Born Sinner

text: On February 12, 2013, J. Cole announced that the first official single from the album would be released in the next week. Two days later on February 14, he released the lead single, "Power Trip", a collaboration with Miguel. On April 9, 2013, the music video for the song was released. The song peaked at number 19 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: Born Sinner

text: The second official single, "Crooked Smile" featuring R&B group TLC premiered on June 3, 2013. The song was made available on iTunes the following day. The music video for the song was released on September 18, 2013. It peaked at number 27 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: Born Sinner

text: "Forbidden Fruit" featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar was the last song recorded for the album, as it contained a reference to him dropping his album the same day as Kanye West, who also released "Yeezus" on June 18, 2013. It was reported by MTV in June 2013, that it would be the album's third single. Then on August 1, 2013, it was sent to urban contemporary radio as "Born Sinner"s third single. The song peaked at number 46 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.


title: Born Sinner

text: On October 29, 2013, "She Knows" featuring Amber Coffman, was serviced to urban contemporary radio as the album's fourth official single. It officially impacted rhythmic contemporary radio on November 19, 2013. The music video for the song was released on February 14, 2014. The song peaked at number 90 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Born Sinner

text: "Born Sinner" was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 21 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.


title: Born Sinner

text: Kyle Anderson of "Entertainment Weekly" said, "He's a talented, nimble rapper, but diatribes like "Trouble" and "Land of the Snakes" are more exhausting than impressive... The jazz-kissed "Let Nas Down", a deeply personal tale about hearing that one of his rap idols hated his early single "Work Out", delivers far greater impact without all the high-minded posturing about love and death." Erin Lowers of "Exclaim!" said, "With the exception of two numbers, the self-produced 16-track project revels in Timbaland drumlines ("Born Sinner") and soulful Kanye symphonies ("Chaining Day"). However, the standout cut samples A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation", featuring the only other rapper on the album: Kendrick Lamar. "Forbidden Fruit" embodies a silent confidence, paying homage to a legendary group while speaking on releasing an album the same day as Kanye West, bringing "Born Sinner" full-circle." Julia LeConte of "Now" said, ""Born Sinner"s production, Cole's own, is nuanced and varied on the whole – looped harp, careful piano, electronic elements, boom bap drums, choirs everywhere – but all impeccably orchestrated." August Brown of the "Los Angeles Times" said, "If the self-mythologizing of "Yeezus" is a little much for you, how about a rap album where the MC is bummed that he disappointed his hero? J. Cole's "Born Sinner" is at the other end of the universe from Kanye West's latest – a quieter, self-examining rap record that's short on audacity but long on workman-like singles."


title: Born Sinner

text: Ben Simms of "XXL" said, ""Born Sinner"s best moments are when he embraces the persona that initially garnered him praise. "Power Trip", "Crooked Smile" and "Let Nas Down" are the album's strongest tracks, and they feel like the rapper who created "The Warm Up", which only becomes problematic at times because of Cole's insistence to produce almost all of his work. But while BS may not exhibit the growth sonically or conceptually that fans may have anticipated after hearing Cole's early work, he remains too gifted lyrically, too keen of a storyteller, and too emotionally open for his sophomore LP to be anything less than impressive, but not overly so." Corban Goble of "Pitchfork" said, "At its best, "Born Sinner", showcases J. Cole's overall musicality, pairing his ability as a lyricist with a more broadly developed production palette. In a heat, he can rattle off some fierce rejoinders (See: "Niggaz Know"). But several releases deep into Cole's growing catalogue, we haven't been delivered the savior that Jay-Z's "A Star Is Born" seemed to anoint. (The latter's current indifference to Cole has become so pronounced that Cole has to keep squashing beef rumors.)" David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "It's snide, smart-ass stuff and when it comes to sublime / ridiculous balancing act that his heroes Jay-Z and Nas have mastered, Cole is a little short on the sublime side here to be considered classic. Still, "Crooked Smile" with special guests TLC is a genuine, mature step in the right direction and will have no trouble reaching vintage age. A handful of other numbers carry that same weight, making "Born Sinner" a daring step forward for Cole and an exciting attempt at mastering Jay's Blueprint style."


title: Born Sinner

text: Ted Scheinman of "Slant Magazine" said, "Here's the only real problem with "Born Sinner": Cole's production work is elegant, but he's first and foremost a words guy, and when you're competing with the lushness of Kendrick Lamar (who makes a spooky appearance on "Forbidden Fruit") or the preening, infectious weirdness of Kanye, playing it straight is probably not sexy enough. "Born Sinner" doesn't match the cohesive satisfactions of "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City", though it boasts better writing." Francesca D'Arcy-Orga of "PopMatters" said, "For many, lyrically, he's better on a higher percentage of "Born Sinner" than Kendrick was on "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City", but the album lacks the superb production and cohesiveness that makes "GKMC" standout. Still, no one can say that J. Cole has failed to deliver on this album. He's certainly impressed with his flow, delivery and production, and while he hasn't released the next golden hip hop album he's coming close." Jon Dolan of "Rolling Stone" said, "Sometimes I brag like Hov / Sometimes I'm real like Pac," J. Cole raps on his second LP. Sometimes he's both – a verbal powerhouse and a self-emptying truth-sayer. The flagship signee to Jay-Z's record label spins dervish rhymes over dazzling self-produced tracks (see the Outkast-sampling "Land of the Snakes"). His riffs on racism, homophobia and misogyny have more lyrical cunning than insight." Have fun at the next company picnic, homey."


title: Born Sinner

text: "Born Sinner" sold 297,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, debuting at number two on the "Billboard" 200, finishing approximately 30,000 copies short of Kanye West's "Yeezus". In its second week, the album remained at number two on the chart, selling an additional 84,000 copies. After two weeks of being at number two, "Born Sinner" climbed to number one in its third week with 58,000 more copies sold. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number three, selling 39,000 copies. As of December 2016, the album has sold 796,000 copies domestically according to Nielsen SoundScan. On September 15, 2020, "Born Sinner" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: Born Sinner

text: In 2013, "Born Sinner" was ranked as the thirty-fourth most popular album of the year on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Michael Schøn Poulsen (born 1 April 1975) is a Danish singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter of rock band Volbeat. Prior to Volbeat, Poulsen was the vocalist for the death metal band Dominus.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Poulsen grew up in Ringsted, Denmark, which is about a from Copenhagen, in a working-class family. He has a twin sister and two older sisters, who are also twins. His parents were big fans of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Chuck Berry. As a teenager, he got in touch with metal music like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Iced Earth and Black Sabbath.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: At the age of 17, Poulsen moved to Copenhagen and formed his first band Dominus. He stated a major influence during this period was Chuck Schuldiner and his band Death.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Dominus released four records between 1994 and 2000. The band split up a year later as Poulsen was fed up with death metal music and the death metal scene. He wrote new songs with a more rock 'n' roll approach and established Volbeat. After releasing two demos, their debut album "The Strength / The Sound / The Songs" reached number 18 in the Danish charts and became the first album of a Danish metal band in 20 years to enter the top 20. On 22 April 2006, Poulsen performed with some of Elvis Presley's studio musicians in Copenhagen. Volbeat's sophomore record "Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil" and their third effort "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" went straight to number 1 in the Danish charts.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Poulsen later showed his affinity towards Social Distortion and taking cues from a "new influence" created Volbeat's distinct sound.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Poulsen's father, who was a big fan of Volbeat, died on 27 June 2008, shortly before the release of Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood. The song "Light a Way" from the same album was played at his funeral. A week after the death of his father Poulsen tattooed his parents' names, Jørn and Else, on his fingers, with a letter on each finger except the thumb. Later songs like "Fallen" ("Beyond Hell/Above Heaven") and "Our Loved Ones" ("Outlaw Gentleman & Shady Ladies") have been influenced by Poulsen's father.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: In 2012, Poulsen did a liner note for the Relapse Records reissue of Death's 1990 album "Spiritual Healing", which he considers one of his favorite albums.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: In 2014, Poulsen did a verse in "Highwayman", a Jimmy Webb song covered by Iced Earth on the album "Plagues of Babylon". Iced Earth's cover of "Highwayman" was done in the format of the same song covered by country supergroup The Highwaymen. Poulsen sings the same verse that Johnny Cash sings in the song.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Poulsen was married at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee to his wife Lina in March 2010. They divorced in 2015. After marriage, he accepted the new middle name Schøn. He has a daughter born in 2017 and son born in 2021. Five years later, he was married to his wife Jeanet.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: Poulsen primarily plays Gibson SG guitars. At first he used a Tony Iommi signature model, but later switched to a GT-model with Seymour Duncan pickups, as of 2019 he is seen playing a Gibson Firebird Custom. His amp of choice is a Marshall JCM800 2210 model. He sometimes plays an ESP Eclipse and a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. The effects Poulsen uses are an Ibanez Tube Screamer, a noise suppressor, a vintage equalizer and a maximizer pedal.


title: Michael Poulsen

text: In 2006, Poulsen was nominated in the categories Singer of the Year and Composer of the Year at the annual Steppeulven awards. Two years later, he was nominated in the category Best Singer at the Danish Music Awards.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promotions.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi began his WWF career in late 1983, competing under his real name, and being a heel, primarily as an enhancement talent. His debut came on July 15, 1983 in Queens, NY where he was defeated by Swede Hanson. After facing Ivan Koloff and Sgt. Slaughter on house show matches, Lombardi made his TV debut on the October 29 episode of All American Wrestling where he was submitted by The Iron Sheik and carried out on a stretcher. He then began regular appearances on both television and house shows.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: After losing numerous matches that winter, Lombardi gained his first success on March 18, 1984 when he wrestled Jerry Valiant to a draw. Another draw, this time with Terry Daniels came on April 24 in Mountaintop, PA. But apart from that he continued on as an enhancement talent, losing to much of the WWF roster including Big John Studd, Paul Orndorff, David Schultz, Iron Mike Sharpe, Rocky Johnson, and others. In the midst of another long losing streak, Lombardi then gained a second draw against Daniels on June 1 in Winston-Salem, NC. He made his Madison Square Garden debut on June 16, losing to Mad Dog Vachon in the latter's first match back in the WWF in a decade. A month later on July 6 in Long Island, NY Lombardi gained his first pinfall victory when he upset Vachon in a return match. On July 31 he became involved in a mild angle with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan during the company's initial "Championship Wrestling" taping in Poughkeepsie, NY. During a sub-minute loss to Kamala, Hogan came out to the ring to give encouragement to Lombardi. Nothing further came from this angle, and Lombardi closed out his second year as a wrestler with numerous additional losses to wrestlers such as Buddy Rose and a young Bret Hart, as well as a defeat to manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: As the company continued to expand Lombardi remained a young enhancement talent, although this time he was switched to face other similar talent in house shows across the country. He consistently put over various young wrestlers such as Paul Roma, David Sammartino, Barry O, Terry Gibbs, and George Wells. On the June 29th episode of "All-American Wrestling" Lombardi teamed with Dave Barbie in a losing effort to The Killer Bees in their debut match. Lombardi went on to face numerous wrestlers in their debuts during his long career. Almost eleven months after his first ever victory, Lombardi gained another when he pinned Jack Armstrong on June 22 in Boston, MA. After numerous losses, a month later Lombardi garnered the first win streak of his career when he defeated Dan Rignati and George Sanders on successive house shows. On November 14 defeated Dennis Goulet, and then on December 5 in Long Island, NY pinned Paul Roma, thus finishing with five wins for 1985.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi remained a consistent presence on television and house shows, wrestling over 150 times. The company continued to pair the young but now experienced Lombardi against other new wrestlers, and he faced newcomers such as Sivi Afi, Tony Parisi, Nick Kiniski, Dan Spivey, and Scott McGhee. He gained his first ever tag-team win when he teamed with fellow enhancement talent Lanny Poffo to defeat SD Jones and George Skaaland on April 13 in Brisbane, Australia. After dozens of defeats he gained his first pinfall victory of 1986 in singles action when he defeated Terry Gibbs in Pittsburgh, PA on August 9. On the November 15 episode of WWF Superstars he participated in another debut, teaming with Moondog Spot in a loss to the newly arrived The Can-Am Connection. Lombardi closed out 1986 with wins over Barry O, Jim Powers, Mark Young, Frankie Lane, and an upset of Tony Garea.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Despite a tick upwards in in-ring success, Lombardi began 1987 seemingly cemented as an entry-level wrestler without an angle. But that was not to last long, as he began to establish an on-screen presence as a heel. On the January 24th episode of WWF Superstars Paul Orndorff defeated Paul Roma; following the match Lombardi entered and tossed Roma from the ring. This led to a house show series between Roma and Lombardi, and for both wrestlers it was their first real feud. Despite coming out winless, Lombardi was now more than just a non-descript jobber. He upset Sivi Afi on March 1 in Landover, MD, then gained another surprise victory over Tony Garea a month later. On June 17 Lombardi participated in yet another debut, this time facing The Dingo Warrior (Ultimate Warrior) in Wichita Falls, TX.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: A month later he began an on-again, off-again team with Barry Horowitz, losing to The Young Stallions on the July 26 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Four weeks later, on August 21 in Detroit, the team defeated Sivi Afi and Scott Casey. After gaining a pair of pinfall singles wins over the newly arrived Sam Houston, Lombardi then switched alliances to join Mike Sharpe. The two proclaimed themselves as "the tag-team of the future" in an inset during a match with The Young Stallions in August, but were unsuccessful.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Entering the fall Lombardi continued to lose regularly but was now gaining a smattering of wins (Sivi Afi, David Sammartino, Jerry Allen, Tony Garea, and Outback Jack). Still an enhancement talent, he was now beginning to climb the ladder.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi began 1988 with several squash losses, and then a win over Scott Casey on January 23 in Lexington, KY. Two days later at Madison Square Garden he resumed his partnership with Barry Horowitz and faced The Young Stallions in a losing effort. The following day in Hershey, PA Lombardi and Horowitz gained their first victory as a team when they defeated Scott Casey and Lanny Poffo in a match that aired on Prime Time Wrestling. The same night, they lost to The Killer Bees. The pairing continued into the summer.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Later that winter Lombardi began a house show series with Brady Boone, and for the first time in his career enjoyed a consistent string of success. While still losing to top level stars on television, he was now consistently trading wins with other entry-level talent that he previously had succumbed to. On the March 21 episode of Prime Time Wrestling he defeated SD Jones, and began trading wins with Brady Boone. However beginning in July his small push seemed to dissipate as he found himself consistently on the losing end to Paul Roma and the new arrival, The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart). In December matters took a turn as Lombardi enjoyed the first sustained win streak of his career, defeating Jim Powers and Jose Estrada on multiple occasions and closing out 1988 on a seven match win streak. It was a sign of Lombardi's first major angle.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: After a breakup between The Red Rooster and Bobby Heenan, the latter invited Rooster onto the set of Prime Time Wrestling on January 23 to make the peace. When Rooster was about to shake Heenan's hand he was suddenly attacked by Lombardi, who hit Rooster and host Gorilla Monsoon with a stool. The next week Lombardi made his debut as "The Brooklyn Brawler" The Brawler character was that of a street fighter/thug, wearing battered jeans and a torn New York Yankees T-shirt, which was ironic, since the Yankees play in The Bronx and were hated by many Brooklynites when the Dodgers played in the borough until moving to Los Angeles in 1958.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Under the tutelage of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, the Brawler entered a feud with the Red Rooster. When the Red Rooster left Heenan's villain group and became a fan favorite, Heenan stated that he had made the Red Rooster a star and could do the same with anyone in the WWF. The Red Rooster defeated the Brooklyn Brawler on "Saturday Night's Main Event XX", and then Heenan at WrestleMania V. The Brawler was defeated by the Rooster again on the May 20, 1989 episode of "Superstars of Wrestling". His alliance with Heenan was then phased out, though in storyline Heenan said it was an amicable departure, and Heenan continued to speak highly of the Brawler whenever a match featured him. Lombardi soon returned to his former enhancement talent status and won only five more matches (Tom Stone, Jerry Monti, Paul Roma, and Al Perez) for the rest of 1989. However, he retained the Brawler gimmick, a role he utilized throughout his career.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Now firmly re-established as an enhancement talent sans Heenan, 1990 marked a first for Lombardi when he wrestled his debut match at a PPV. At the 1990 Royal Rumble he was defeated by Paul Roma in a dark match, which marked the first of several PPVs where he worked the opening dark match to warm up the crowd. After sustaining numerous defeats to upper level talent such as Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior, Lombardi finally gained a measure of revenge by pinning The Red Rooster on March 18 in Calgary, Alberta. He began a winning streak against the Rooster, who soon departed the WWF.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi wrestled the dark match of WrestleMania VI, losing again to Paul Roma. After another long string of defeats to Roma, Hillbilly Jim, Tugboat and others, Lombardi earned a smattering of victories in May against Martin Roy, Jim Brunzell, and Brady Boone. During the summer he engaged in a house show series against the newly arrived Shane Douglas but was turned away in each encounter. The two wrestled in the dark match of SummerSlam 90. On October 9 Lombardi faced Davey Boy Smith in his first match back after nearly a two-year absence, and in December he went on his first overseas tour when the WWF joined forces with Super World Sports to promote in Japan. On December 6 in Hijemi, Japan he teamed with Nuboyashi Sugawara and Kenny the Striker to defeat Biff Wellington, Road Block, and Masao Orihara. Despite his return to enhancement status, 1990 proved to be Lombardi's most successful year in his career to date as he won 35 singles matches.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi entered 1991 as probably the most prominent opening card act in the company, but the wins were not to continue. Wrestling still as the Brooklyn Brawler, he fell in defeat to almost every member of the roster and gained just six victories during the year. On the March 30th episode of WWF Superstars Lombardi faced Ricky Steamboat in "The Dragon"'s return match after a three-year absence. On March 24 he competed in the dark match of WrestleMania VII against Koko B Ware.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Other notable losses saw Brawler lose to a young Scott Putski on a May 28 WWF Superstars dark match, as well as Vic Steamboat (wrestling as "Jesse Bolt") in another dark match at the July 29th WWF Superstars taping.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: In August Lombardi traveled to Japan again as part of another joint WWF/SWS tour and teamed with Rick Martel. The following month saw Lombardi engage in his first feud since 1989, when he became part of a short angle with newcomer Big Bully Busick to determine who was the true bully of the WWF. On the October 28th edition of Prime Time Wrestling the Brawler defeated Busick by countout in what turned out to be the blowoff for the feud. Brawler defeated the Bully by countout and in a rematch one week later saw the Brawler dominate the Bully until the latter's manager Harvey Wippleman grabbed the Brawler's leg, leading to a controversial win for the Bully. The feud with Busick led to a quasi-face turn for Lombardi as he was then matched up against various heel opponents for the remainder of 1991.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi opened 1992 anchoring the dark match of yet another PPV, this time the 1992 Royal Rumble. He initially defeated Chris Walker with his feet on the ropes; afterwards WWF President Jack Tunney came out and reversed the decision. Lombardi returned to heel status with his Brawler gimmick, matching up against numerous faces during the winter and spring such as Kerry Von Erich, Tatanka, and Big Bossman. Lombardi renewed his partnership with a returning Barry Horowitz on March 9 at a WWF Superstars taping, facing and losing to The Samoan Swat Team in the latters' tryout match. They teamed again in December against The Bushwhackers. He spent much of the spring and summer engaged in a house show series with Jim Powers, Jim Brunzell, Crush, and Tito Santana during which he was winless. He closed out 1992 on a lengthy losing streak to Jim Duggan.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Going into 1993 Lombardi was back where he had been prior to the Brawler gimmick – stuck as enhancement talent with no clear path upwards. And it was finally during this year, a decade into his tenure with the company that he went on his longest winning streak to date. Matched again versus Jim Powers in numerous house show matches, Lombardi put together an eight match winning streak in March and April. Later in the spring Lombardi defeated a young Scott Taylor in a tryout match in Sydney, Nova Scotia at a Wrestling Challenge taping. In the summer the Brawler was matched up against another young wrestler – The Predator (Mike Bollea), with Lombardi winning each match. He closed out the summer teaming with Blake Beverly and Little Louie against The Bushwhackers and Tiger Jackson, as well as defeating a young Tommy Dreamer at a WWF Superstars taping on August 17.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Two weeks later, on August 31, Lombardi finally received a new gimmick – that of a baseball player seemingly modeled after The Furies from the movie "The Warriors". At a WWF Superstars taping in Grand Rapids, MI he debuted with the new persona and defeated Reno Riggins, then did the same the following day at a Wrestling Challenge event. A month later, as "MVP", he made his first appearance on Monday Night Raw and participated in the 20-man battle royal to determine the champion for the vacated Intercontinental title. MVP was eliminated by Owen Hart. The following day at WWF Superstars he defeated Duane Gill, but at this point the WWF decided to shelf the gimmick and he was reassigned to temporarily play the role of Doink the Clown that had been vacated by Matt Borne.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Wrestling as Doink, he was winless against Bret Hart, 1-2-3 Kid, and Bam-Bam Bigelow. Still in the clown gimmick, Lombardi made his first appearance in the United States Wrestling Association on October 26 in Louisville, KY. Teaming with Brian Christopher, the two defeated Jeff Jarrett and Tony Falk. He continued to play Doink until Ray Apollo assumed the gimmick. Following the 1993 Survivor Series, Lombardi wrestled under his fourth gimmick of the year. Unofficially restarting his partnership with Barry Horowitz, the duo competed as The Red and Black Knights (the Knights having been a Survivor Series team under Shawn Michaels, previously portrayed by Jeff Gaylord, Greg Valentine, and Horowitz). The Knights participated in several house show matches against The Smoking Gunns. A fifth gimmick was also used at points, as Lombardi portrayed Kim Chee (Kamala's handler) during his 1986–87 and 1992 stints with the WWF and briefly in 1993 as a singles wrestler after Kamala left him for the newly ordained Reverend Slick.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: In November 1993, Lombardi also returned to his Brooklyn Brawler gimmick, but was winless in encounters with Diesel, Tatanka, and Bob Backlund. He made his first PPV appearance of the year, wrestling in the dark match at the Survivor Series and losing to Billy Gunn. Still, he ended 1993 having enjoyed more success than at any point in the decade, having garnered 23 wins. Over a decade into his tenure with the company, Lombardi now found himself as the long-tenured active wrestler within the WWF. Having returned to the Brawler gimmick however he remained in his enhancement talent role. He again participated in another wrestler's debut, this time facing Bob Holly on the January 29th episode of WWF Superstars (Fayetteville, NC). Lombardi earned yet another dark match at a PPV, this time at the 1994 Royal Rumble. However unlike previous appearances, he earned his first ever PPV victory by defeating long-time foe Jim Powers. This was his only victory for many months as he entered another long losing streak, falling to Bob Holly and Bob Backlund on numerous house show events.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: The impending baseball shutdown of 1994 provided a window of opportunity for him, and on the July 16th episode of Monday Night RAW the WWF began hyping the impending debut of a new wrestler called Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz. In early August as the 1994 Major League Baseball strike began, Lombardi made his return as Schwartz. Basically a renamed version of the MVP gimmick, Lombardi's face was painted to look like a baseball and he wore a jersey with the number 00. In addition, he was accompanied to the ring by a carnival-like version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Later, the MVP name was used by Montel Vontavious Porter. On the August 15th edition of RAW he made his debut as Abe Schwartz, blaming the fans for the baseball strike. Although barely recognizable in the gimmick, Lombardi's career was little changed by the new persona. He continued to lose matches to Bob Holly, as well as dropping numerous contests to a young PJ Walker. Finally in late September he enjoyed his first win streak, defeating Louie Spicolli and PJ Walker on numerous house show matches on the West Coast. However the WWF pulled the plug on the gimmick again, and Lombardi returned once more to the Brooklyn Brawler persona.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi made his first PPV appearance of 1995 in the dark match of the Royal Rumble, facing Buck Quartermain. Wrestling now full-time as The Brooklyn Brawler, his career was seemingly devoid of momentum as he dropped matches to Lex Luger, Duke Droese, Man Mountain Rock, and Doink (Ray Apollo). For the first time in over a year, he resumed his partnership with Horowitz yet again and faced off against Tekno Team 2000 in their Monday Night Raw debut on May 16. They also lost to The Bushwhackers and The Smoking Gunns.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: With the WWF cutting back touring that year, Lombardi's appearances became less frequent. He was now the last of the troupe of enhancement talent.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: As the Brawler, he made a non-wrestling appearance on the January 1st episode of RAW to present the "Steve Lombardi Trophy" to the winners of the RAW Bowl. His appearances from this point forward became much more limited. However, on March 10 at a WWF Superstars taping in Corpus Christi he participated in the debut of perhaps the most famous of the wrestlers that he had helped usher into the company – Dwayne Johnson. This came over a decade after a young Lombardi had faced his father Rocky Johnson. Johnson later recalled the match in his autobiography; praising Lombardi as a stand-up wrestler. He wrestled only thirteen times that year, ending with matches against Sid and Bob Holly.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Although his appearances were now occasional, Lombardi enjoyed his biggest moment thirteen years into his WWF career. On the September 22nd show at Madison Square Garden he unexpectedly won a 20-man battle royal to earn his first ever WWF World Title opportunity. On the following show on November 15, Lombardi received his shot. Coming out to Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", he wrestled for 15 minutes against Shawn Michaels and dominated the world champion; however he finally lost after Chyna and HHH interfered. On December 15, he faced Mark Henry in a singles match, but lost by Submission.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi retired from full-time active competition and instead worked primarily as a road agent for the WWF. He still made occasional appearances in ring, and the first came on January 12, 1998 when he lost a Monday Night RAW dark match to Bart Gunn, who was then billed briefly as "Black Bart". Still working in as The Brooklyn Brawler, he wrestled only one more match in 1998.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: With the Monday Night War in full-swing and business soaring for the company, Lombardi's activity picked up in 1999. He wrestled several times on a European tour in April 1999, facing Christian, X-Pac, and Al Snow.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi wrestled his first televised match in two years when he appeared on the July 3rd edition of Shotgun Saturday Night in a match against WWF Hardcore Championship Al Snow. The referee in the match was former heel manager Harvey Wippleman, who prevented Snow from using weapons while allowing Lombardi to use outside objects instead. Snow successfully retained his title. The following month during the WWF referee strike storyline, Lombardi worked as a ref during a Sunday Night Heat match. He concluded 1999 with a Jakked appearance, tagging with Mideon in a losing effort to Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: On the February 28th, 2000 edition of Monday Night RAW The Rock came out and said that he would become WWF World Champion at WrestleMania 2000. WWF World Champion HHH then came out and said that since The Rock was no longer the #1 Contender, he would have to start at the very bottom and work his way up. HHH then booked a match between The Rock and The Brooklyn Brawler, which Rock won in under a minute. On the July 4th edition of Smackdown Lombardi gained his first victory in several years when he joined Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki to face HHH in a 3 on 1 match. Lombardi pinned Helmsley after Chris Jericho interfered. Lombardi continued to be semi-active throughout 2000, wrestling in numerous house shows and facing Jerry Lawler for the first time at an event in New Haven, CT on August 9, 2000. He gained several more victories that year as well, defeating Joey Abs and Just Joe.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: The surge of in-ring activity continued, as Lombardi began 2001 with a victory over The Goodfather on January 13, 2001 in Detroit, MI after Billy Gunn interfered. He wrestled several house show matches that winter, facing Al Snow, Crash Holly, and Rhyno. After appearing in numerous dark matches throughout his career, Lombardi finally wrestled during the live broadcast of a PPV when he once again appeared as Kamala’s handler Kim Chee at WrestleMania X-Seven and competed in the gimmick battle royal.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: After being inactive throughout the summer, Lombardi returned to the house show circuit to face Chuck Palumbo in October In November he was matched against MMA fighter Ron Waterman, who was working for the WWF at the time under a developmental deal. On November 26, Lombardi returned to television for the first time in over a year when he faced Perry Saturn on Jakked.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: At this point Lombardi's in ring appearances became sporadic. After working a string of house show matches in January 2002, he was inactive for the entire year. In 2003 he participated in the APA Invitational Battle Royal at Vengeance in Denver, Colorado on July 27.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: After being inactive during 2004, Lombardi returned on the April 18th, 2005 edition of Monday Night RAW which was held at Madison Square Garden. He appeared in a segment where John Heidenreich read a poem devoted to The Brooklyn Brawler. In response Brawler dismissed the poem, disowned the city of Brooklyn, and declared himself "The Boston Brawler". They then fought backstage. As part of an angle on "SmackDown!", he adopted the moniker of the "Boston Brawler", shedding his customary New York Yankees apparel in favor of Boston Red Sox clothing. This was done in response to the Red Sox' defeat of the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: He reprised his role as Kim Chee, having apparently reconciled with Kamala, on the August 11, 2005 edition of SmackDown accompanying the Ugandan Giant to the ring for his match with Randy Orton. He also appeared with him on the June 26, 2006 episode for Kamala’s match against Umaga.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: In early 2006, he still worked behind the scenes of WWE, including behind the camera with John Cena on his WWE.com show "Five Questions". Cena often makes references to Lombardi, even jokingly calling him the greatest technical wrestler of all time. Also, his face popped up in front of Cena's mouth to censor curse words, usually saying "nu-uh" or "brawler". On the June 2, 2006 episode of Five Questions, Brawler showed his face. He even censored himself, saying "you are a piece of Brawler". In another episode of "Five Questions," Cena made the claim that Lombardi was actually born in Detroit, and not in Brooklyn, however this was later proven false (and likely a work). On May 7, 2006, WWE.com announced that, as part of Jakks Pacific's "WWE Classic Superstars" collection, they would be releasing a Brooklyn Brawler action figure. At Vengeance, Brawler appeared as Doink the Clown when he came out to the ring with Eugene during Eugene's match with Umaga. On August 1, 2006, Lombardi went to the ECW brand for a match against then ECW wrestler, Kurt Angle. Lombardi quickly lost when Angle applied an ankle lock on him. That same week, he appeared on "SmackDown!" against Vito, losing by submission. On the December 18 edition of "Raw", Lombardi appeared in the 30 man battle royal as the Brooklyn Brawler.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: On the 15th anniversary of "Raw" on December 10, 2007, Lombardi appeared as Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz in a segment. When Triple H saw him, he exclaimed "I guess the Brooklyn Brawler was busy".


title: Steve Lombardi

text: On the 10th anniversary of "Smackdown" on September 29, 2009, in Boston, Lombardi appeared as The Brooklyn Brawler in a backstage anniversary party along with numerous other wrestlers.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: Lombardi made a return appearance in the November 15, 2010 "Raw Goes Old School" episode of "Raw" as the Brooklyn Brawler with Harvey Wippleman as his manager. He lost in a match against Ezekiel Jackson.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: The Brooklyn Brawler made a surprise return to pay-per-view on December 16, 2012, at the pay-per-view (which took place at the recently-opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn), teaming with the Miz and Alberto Del Rio to defeat 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal). Brawler won the match for his team via submission with a Boston crab on Mahal.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: At the July 15, 2013 "Raw" taping from Brooklyn, in a match taped for "Superstars", Lombardi competed in a match almost thirty years after his debut. Wrestling as the Brawler, he was defeated by Ryback. In May 2016, Lombardi was released from WWE, thus ending Lombardi's 33-year career with WWE.


title: Steve Lombardi

text: On January 22, 2018, Lombardi made an appearance at "Raw 25 Years" in a backstage segment with Curt Hawkins.


title: Hot chicken

text: Hot chicken (or Nashville hot chicken) is a type of fried chicken that is a local specialty of Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. In its typical preparation, it is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that has been marinated in a water-based blend of seasoning, floured, fried, and finally covered in a paste or sauce that has been spiced with cayenne pepper. This method of preparation originates within African American communities in the Southern United States. A richly pigmented seasoning paste gives the fried chicken its reddish hue. Spice blends, preparation methods, and heat intensity vary from recipe to recipe or depending on the chef.


title: Hot chicken

text: It is served atop slices of white bread with pickle chips. It is both the application of a spicy paste and the presentation that differentiates it from similar dishes, such as Buffalo wings. It can be viewed in similar context to other foods that have been tweaked to be unique in a regional way, such as the slugburger or the Mississippi Delta tamale.


title: Hot chicken

text: There are many restaurants in Nashville that serve a variant of the dish, and there is a citywide festival and competition celebrating it. The popularity of hot chicken has spread beyond the Southern United States due to the influence of Nashville's music industry.


title: Hot chicken

text: Although the components of the dish largely remain the same, the preparation of the dish can differ greatly. A pressure fryer or deep fryer can be used, although most restaurants serve a pan-fried dish. Nearly all hot chicken is marinated in buttermilk to impart flavor and to retain the meat's juices upon frying (sometimes in olive oil). Some preparations of hot chicken are breaded and fried after application of the spice paste; the more traditional method has the paste applied immediately after the chicken is removed from the fryer.


title: Hot chicken

text: A typical Nashville-style hot chicken spice paste has two key ingredients: lard and cayenne pepper. The two are mixed together, three parts pepper to one part lard, and heated until they form a thick sauce. Some restaurants vary the composition of the paste, adding sugar, garlic, or additional hot sauce. The paste is applied to the fried chicken by the server using a spoon and latex gloves; it is lightly squeezed into the finished chicken by hand. The heat level of the chicken can be varied by the preparer by reducing or increasing the amount of paste applied.


title: Hot chicken

text: The main variation to traditional hot chicken is in the application of the spice paste: before breading or after breading, and whether or not additional spices are applied. Recipes, cooking methods, and preparation steps for hot chicken are often closely guarded secrets, proprietary to the specific restaurant, so the appearance of the chicken may vary widely.


title: Hot chicken

text: A variation of the hot chicken theme is hot fish, typically a breaded and fried whiting or catfish filet prepared using a similar cayenne paste as hot chicken, or using a cayenne powder blend sprinkled liberally over the filet. Some hot chicken restaurants also serve hot fish, but other restaurants may specialize in hot fish alone.


title: Hot chicken

text: Anecdotal evidence suggests that spicy fried chicken has been served in Nashville's African-American communities for generations. The dish may have been introduced as early as the 1930s; however, the current style of spice paste may only date back to the mid-1970s. It is generally accepted that the originator of hot chicken is the family of Andre Prince Jeffries, owner of Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. She has operated the restaurant since 1980; before that time, it was owned by her great-uncle, Thornton Prince III. Although impossible to verify, Jeffries says the development of hot chicken was an accident. Her great-uncle Thornton was purportedly a womanizer, and after a particularly late Saturday night out, his girlfriend at the time cooked him a fried chicken breakfast with extra pepper as revenge. Instead, Thornton decided he liked it so much that, by the mid-1930s, he and his brothers had created their own recipe and opened the BBQ Chicken Shack café.


title: Hot chicken

text: , there are an estimated two dozen restaurants in the Nashville area that serve hot chicken, either as the focus or as part of a larger menu. Between 2001 and about 2006, country music stars Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw owned and operated a now-defunct hot chicken restaurant called "hotchickens.com". Former mayor of Nashville Bill Purcell is a devoted fan, sponsoring the Music City Hot Chicken Festival and giving numerous interviews touting the dish. While in office, he frequently referred to his table at Prince's Hot Chicken as his "second office".


title: Hot chicken

text: Reflecting the growing popularity of the dish, many cities in the United States host restaurants that serve hot chicken or a variation thereof, including Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Birmingham, Louisville, Ann Arbor, Columbus, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Hot chicken restaurant chains have also begun to appear. The appeal of hot chicken has spread beyond the United States, with restaurants in Seoul, South Korea, and Melbourne, Australia, also serving this style of chicken.


title: Hot chicken

text: In January 2016, fast food chain KFC began selling "Nashville Hot Chicken" and "Nashville Hot Tenders" in its U.S. restaurants. This follows a trial run in the Pittsburgh area that it stated was "the most successful product testing in the company's recent history." Following this, KFC released "Nashville Hot Chicken" in its UK restaurants for a limited run between May 22 and June 18, 2017. Other established chains, such as Buffalo Wild Wings, offer Nashville hot-chicken-style wings.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I": or ) are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age. They are near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: ) on the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The Callanish Stones () are situated on a low ridge above the waters of Loch Roag with the hills of Great Bernera as a backdrop.


title: Callanish Stones

text: Numerous other ritual sites lie within a few kilometres. These include at least three other circles, several arcs, alignments and single stones; many visible from the main site. The most impressive – Callanish II and Callanish III – lie just over a kilometre southeast of the main Callanish Stones, and originally consisted of circles of stones at least eight in number. The existence of other monuments in the area implies that Callanish was an active focus for prehistoric religious activity for at least 1500 years. (see Callanish III, Callanish IV, Callanish VIII and Callanish X). Historic Environment Scotland states that the stones were erected roughly 5,000 years ago, pre-dating Stonehenge.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The Callanish Stones are managed by Historic Environment Scotland. There is The Calanais Stones Visitor Centre operated by Urras Nan Tursachan (The Standing Stones Trust).


title: Callanish Stones

text: The Callanish Stones consist of a stone circle of thirteen stones with a monolith near the middle. Five rows of standing stones connect to this circle. Two long rows of stones running almost parallel to each other from the stone circle to the north-northeast form a kind of avenue. In addition, there are shorter rows of stones to the west-southwest, south and east-northeast. The stones are all of the same rock type, namely the local Lewisian gneiss. Within the stone circle is a chambered tomb to the east of the central stone.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The central monolith stands 0.8 metres west of the true centre of the stone circle. The stone is 4.8 metres high, 1.5 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick. The largest sides of the stone are almost perfectly oriented to the north and south. The monolith has the shape of a ship's rudder and probably weighs about seven tonnes.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The stone circle consists of thirteen stones and has a diameter of 11.4 metres. The stone circle is not a perfect circle, but is a ring with a flattened east side (13.4 metres north–south by 12 metres east–west). The stones have an average height of three metres. The ring covers an area of 124 square metres. This is quite small compared to similar circles, including the nearby Callanish II which is 2.5 times as large.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The avenue connects to the stone circle from the north-northeast. The avenue is 83.2 metres long. The avenue has 19 stones remaining: nine stones are on the eastern side, ten on the western side. The largest stone is 3.5 metres high and stands on the western end of the row. The two rows are not exactly parallel to each other but fan out: at the north end the rows are 6.7 metres apart, while the distance between the rows is 6 metres at the south end. From the circle the height of the stones decreases towards the middle of the avenue; from there the height increases again. The stones of the eastern side of the avenue have only three-quarters of the height of the stones on the western side.


title: Callanish Stones

text: As well as the two stone rows of the avenue, there are three stone rows connecting to the circle. One comes from the east-northeast, one from the south, and one from the west-southwest. The east-northeast row today consists of five stones and is 23.2 metres long. The southern row consists of five stones and is 27.2 metres long. The west-southwest row consists of four stones and is 13 metres long.


title: Callanish Stones

text: None of the stone rows is aimed at the centre of the stone circle. The east-northeast row is aligned to a point 2 metres south of the centre; the south row points to 1 metre west of the centre and the west-southwest row points to 1 metre south of the centre.


title: Callanish Stones

text: Between the central and the eastern monolith of the stone circle is a chambered tomb 6.4 metres long. This was built later than the stone circle and is squashed in between the eastern stones and the central monolith.


title: Callanish Stones

text: There is another stone cairn just on the northeast side of the stone circle. It has been reduced to ground-level and the outline can barely be traced. It is not necessarily an original part of the site.


title: Callanish Stones

text: There were limited excavations in 1980–81 which provided some information on the development of the site. The first traces of human activity are indicated by a broad ditch (no longer visible above ground) which appears to have belonged to some structure or enclosure. This may have been ritual, but could instead have been domestic. In the centuries around 3000 BC, however, the site was turned over to agriculture, which obliterated most of the earlier traces. After this, the site was allowed to grass over for a time.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The stone circle was set up between 2900 and 2600 BC. It is not clear whether the stone alignments were constructed at the same time as the circle, or later. Some time after the erection of the stones, a small chambered tomb was inserted into the eastern part of the stone circle. The many pottery fragments found indicate that the tomb was used for several centuries. These pottery fragments included not only the local Hebridean pots, but numerous sherds of beaker vessels (dating to around 2000–1700 BC) and shards of grooved ware.


title: Callanish Stones

text: Around 1500–1000 BC the complex fell out of use and was despoiled by the later Bronze Age farmers. Fragments of pots appear to have been cast out of the chamber. This may have been just ordinary agriculture, but it may conceivably have been ritual cleansing. There appears to have been a later rebuilding of the tomb, but this may have been for domestic use as there is no evidence for any later ritual use of the monument. Excavations in 1999–2000, to the south of the stones, found fragments of a prehistoric field system buried beneath blanket peat, as well as stone structures, including buildings, walls, clearance cairns and cobbled surfaces. The analyses found that these features were the result of prehistoric farming activity from the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age indicating the whole area was used for farming at that time. Between 1000 BC and 500 BC the stones were covered by a thick layer of turf. It is estimated that the place was abandoned around 800 BC. Only in 1857 was the overlying 1.5 metres of peat removed.


title: Callanish Stones

text: The first written reference to the stones was by Lewis native John Morisone, who around 1680 wrote that the stones were men "converted into stone by ane Inchanter" and set up in a ring "for devotione". Sometime around 1695 Martin Martin visited the site and was told by the local people that "it was a place appointed for worship in the time of heathenism, and that the chief druid or priest stood near the big stone in the centre, from whence he addressed himself to the people that surrounded him." In his 1726 work on the druids, John Toland specifically identified Diodorus Siculus' "Hyperborea" with Lewis, and the "spherical temple" mentioned by Diodorus with the Callanish Stones. In 1743, William Stukeley described the stone circle as a druid circle and the avenue like a serpent. In 1819, geologist John MacCulloch published the first accurate description. In 1846, the Danish historian J. J. A. Worsaae made a sketch and plan of the Callanish Stones.


title: Callanish Stones

text: In 1857 peat to a depth of five feet (1.5 metres) was cleared away, under the orders of the proprietor of Lewis, James Matheson, revealing the chambered tomb and the true height of the stones. In 1885 the Callanish Stones were taken into state care.


title: Callanish Stones

text: Alexander Thom and Gerald Hawkins suggested that the stones were a prehistoric lunar observatory. Others have proposed a relationship between the stones, the moon and the Clisham range in Harris. Critics of these theories argue that several alignments are likely to exist purely by chance in any such structure, and many factors such as the weathering and displacement of the stones over the millennia mean there can be no certainty of any alignments, original or otherwise.


title: Callanish Stones

text: According to one tradition, the Callanish Stones were petrified giants who would not convert to Christianity. In the 17th century the people of Lewis were calling the stones "fir bhrèige" ("false men"). Another legend is that early on midsummer morning an entity known as the "Shining One" walks the length of the avenue, his coming heralded by the call of the cuckoo.


title: Callanish Stones

text: Archaeologists usually refer to the main monument as "Callanish I", because there are several other megalithic sites in the vicinity:


title: Callanish Stones

text: There are many other sites nearby; not all are now visible. There was, for instance, a timber circle south at .


title: Line dance

text: A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other. Unlike circle dancing, line dancers are not in physical contact with each other. Each dance is usually associated with, and named for, a specific song, such as the Macarena (both eponymous) or Electric Slide (associated with the 1982 single "Electric Boogie") are a few of the line dances that have consistently remained part of modern American culture for years.


title: Line dance

text: Line dancing is practiced and learned in country-western dance bars, social clubs, dance clubs and ballrooms. It is sometimes combined on dance programs with other forms of country-western dance, such as two-step, western promenade dances, and as well as western-style variants of the waltz, polka and swing. Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s including pop, swing, rock and roll, disco, Latin (salsa suelta), rhythm and blues and jazz.


title: Line dance

text: The term "modern line dance" is now used in many line dance clubs around the world to indicate the styles of dance that will be taught will include a mix from all genres, including pop, Latin, Irish, big band and country. It indicates clubs who no longer wear western style clothing or boots. Participants dress in casual clothing and often wear dance trainers.


title: Line dance

text: The precise origins of line dancing are not entirely clear. Of the confusion, music historian Christy Lane has stated that "If you were to ask 10 people with some knowledge of when line dancing began, you'd probably get 10 different answers". By and large, the growth and popularity of line dancing has mainly been tied to country and western music.


title: Line dance

text: It is likely that at least some of the steps and terminology used in modern line dancing originated from the dances brought to North America by European immigrants in the 1800s. Throughout the 1860s–1890s, the style that would later be known as country–western dance began to emerge from these dances. Schools in the United States began to incorporate dancing, particularly folk dancing, into physical education classes in the 1900s, which popularized folk and country dancing as a social activity. Finally, servicemen returning from World War I and World War II sometimes brought European dances back to the United States, incorporating elements into American dance styles.


title: Line dance

text: One of the first true line dances was the Madison, a novelty dance created and first danced in Columbus, Ohio, in 1957. The local popularity of the dance and record in Baltimore, Maryland, came to the attention of the producers of "The Buddy Deane Show" in 1960, which led to other dance shows picking it up. The 1961 "San Francisco Stomp" meets the definition of a line dance.


title: Line dance

text: During the disco music era of the 1970s, numerous new dance styles emerged, including many line dances choreographed to disco songs. The "L.A. Hustle", a modified version of the Madison, began in a small Los Angeles disco in the summer of 1975, and hit the East Coast (with modified steps) in the spring of 1976 as the "Bus Stop". Another 70s line dance is the Nutbush, performed to Tina Turner's song "Nutbush City Limits". The popular dance Electric Slide, associated with the song "Electric Boogie," was created in 1976 from a demo tape of the song, which was not released as a single until 1982. The release of the film "Saturday Night Fever" in 1977 took disco and its associated dance styles to a new height of popularity.


title: Line dance

text: Line dancing to country music also became popular during this era, with two notable dances dating to 1972: the Walkin' Wazi and the Cowboy Boogie.


title: Line dance

text: The 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" caused a trend for country and western culture, particularly the associated dance, music, and clothing. Over a dozen line dances were created for country songs during the 1980s. Many other early line dances were adaptations of disco line dance. The Chicken Dance is an example of a line dance adopted by the Mod revival during the 1980s.


title: Line dance

text: The music video for the 1990 Billy Ray Cyrus song "Achy Breaky Heart" has been credited for launching line dancing into the mainstream.


title: Line dance

text: A line dance for the 1990 Asleep at the Wheel single "Boot Scootin' Boogie" was choreographed by Bill Bader. The 1992 Brooks & Dunn cover of the song has resulted in there being at least 16 line dances with "Boot Scootin' Boogie" in the title. Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart" helped catapult western line dancing into the mainstream public consciousness. In 1994 choreographer Max Perry had a worldwide dance hit with "Swamp Thang" for the song "Swamp Thing" by The Grid. This was a techno song that fused banjo sounds in the melody line and helped to start a trend of line dancing to forms of music other than country. In this mid-1990s period, country western music was significantly influenced by the popularity of line dancing.


title: Line dance

text: Max Perry, along with Jo Thompson Szymanski, Scott Blevins and several others, began to use ballroom rhythms and technique to take line dancing to the next level. In 1997, the band Steps created further interest outside of the U.S. with the techno dance song "5,6,7,8". In 1999, American retailer Gap Inc. debuted the "Khaki Country" ad at that year's Academy Awards ceremony, in which line dancers performed to the 1999 version of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Dwight Yoakam.


title: Line dance

text: The arrival of the Country Music Television channel to Europe fed the popularity of line dancing there. In 2008, line dancing gained the attention of the French government.


title: Line dance

text: Based on per capita ranking of MeetUp Groups in the US, Durham, N.C. was declared the line dancing capital of America in 2014.


title: Line dance

text: Each dance is said to consist of a number of "walls". A wall is the direction in which the dancers face at any given time: the front (the direction faced at the beginning of the dance), the back or one of the sides. Dancers may change direction many times during a sequence, and may even, at any given point, be facing in a direction half-way between two walls; but at the end of the sequence they will be facing the original wall or any of the other three. Whichever wall that is, the next iteration of the sequence uses that wall as the new frame of reference.


title: Wok of Love

text: Wok of Love () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho, Jang Hyuk and Jung Ryeo-won. It aired on SBS from May 7 to July 17, 2018 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) for 38 episodes.


title: Wok of Love

text: A charming love story of a group of men and women that is hotter than the boiling oil in a sizzling hot wok. Across the street of the six-star Giant Hotel, there stood a small and shabby Chinese restaurant called Hungry Wok. Doo Chil-sung, the owner of the restaurant and a former gangster from the Big Dipper Gang, took over the restaurant in order to provide a place of work for his former gang members. One day, former star chef Seo Poong, and bankrupt heiress Dan Sae-woo, whose lives were turned upside down overnight, came to visit Chil-sung for his help to get them back on their feet.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: Christopher Richard Mason (born 21 April 1980) is a British journalist, who has been the political editor of BBC News since 2022. He is also a presenter of the podcast and television programme "Newscast" (formerly "Brexitcast"). He was formerly the BBC's political correspondent.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: Christopher Richard Mason was born on 21 April 1980 in Airedale Hospital in Steeton with Eastburn, Bradford, West Yorkshire. His parents were primary school teachers. He grew up in Grassington, North Yorkshire, and attended Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton. He listened to radio, in particular BBC Radio Lancashire, from an early age and his childhood ambition was to present his own programme. He was an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied Geography, and participated in student newspapers, student radio and student television. Mason started his career as a trainee in broadcast journalism at ITN in autumn 2001. He gained a postgraduate diploma from City, University of London, where he trained as a journalist.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: In 2002, Mason moved to BBC Newcastle, where he befriended future broadcaster Rob Young, and then to the BBC regional desk at Westminster. His first report from Westminster was in 2004. For two years, Mason reported for BBC News as a Europe correspondent, followed by a short stint as a political reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live. He then became a political correspondent for BBC News in 2012.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: "The Yorkshire Post" has described Mason's broadcasting style as relatively "informal", and said that that has attracted attention in his television appearances as an occasional host of "BBC Breakfast" and a political correspondent. In February 2016, Mason broadcast from outside 10 Downing Street as he unsuccessfully attempted to engage ministers arriving for the cabinet meeting called to discuss David Cameron's renegotiation of the UK's European Union membership. Whilst live on "BBC Breakfast" in November 2018, he asked "So where are we in all of this Brexit process? To be quite honest, looking at things right now, I haven't got the foggiest idea what is going to happen in the coming weeks. Is the Prime Minister going to get a deal with the EU? Dunno! Is she going to be able to get it through the Commons? Don't know about that, either. I think you might as well get Mr Blobby back on to offer his analysis, because, frankly, I suspect his is now as good as mine." Mason was praised for his honesty after his comments were shared on social media and translated into French in newspaper "Le Parisien". In April 2019, Mason abandoned a news bulletin on "The Andrew Marr Show" due to technical difficulties.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: In December 2018 he unveiled a blue plaque honouring the Yorkshire-born journalist W. R. Mitchell (1928–2015). A study of "the Twitter output of 10 seasoned UK political correspondents" found that Mason was a "prolific" tweeter, and had 66,000 followers between month 1 September and 3 October 2018. Mason tweeted about a "diverse and humorous range of interests beyond the political scene", including his native Yorkshire and goldfish named for other journalists.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: In June 2017 he began presenting the podcast "Brexitcast" with Adam Fleming and was later joined by Laura Kuenssberg and Katya Adler. The podcast covered the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union from Brussels and London. From September 2019 to January 2020, "Brexitcast" was also broadcast on BBC One television. He has presented two BBC Radio 4 documentaries called "Could the PM Have a Brummie Accent?" and "The Country vs the City", in July 2018 and March 2019.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: On 9 October 2019 Mason was appointed chair of the BBC Radio 4 debate programme "Any Questions?" He said it was "daunting" to take over from Jonathan Dimbleby, who had been chair for 32 years. Mason suggested his Yorkshire accent helped him get the job and pointed at a lack of a broad range of regional accents more generally in British broadcasting. His first show was broadcast from the University of Reading on 18 October with guests Siân Berry, Madeline Grant, David Lammy and Brandon Lewis. Despite reports that Mason might join the new digital station Times Radio before its 2020 launch, he remained at the BBC.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: Following Laura Kuenssberg's announcement of her departure as political editor of BBC News, Mason publicly said he did not want the job, with "The Sunday Times" reporting he wanted to concentrate on his "Any Questions?" role and on writing a book. According to the same newspaper, he was later persuaded to apply for the job by BBC bosses after he was courted by rival broadcasters. On 13 April 2022, it was announced that Mason would become the new political editor of BBC News and would begin in the role in May, replacing Kuenssberg.


title: Chris Mason (journalist)

text: Mason is married to a primary school teacher. He and his wife have two children and live in London. Mason took parental leave


title: Crooked House

text: Crooked House is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 23 May of the same year.


title: Crooked House

text: The action takes place in and near London in the autumn of 1947. Christie said the titles of this novel and "Ordeal by Innocence" were her favourites amongst her own works.


title: Crooked House

text: The title refers to a nursery rhyme ("There Was a Crooked Man"), a common theme of the author. Narrator Charles's fiancée Sophia says it refers not to dishonesty, but rather "we hadn't been able to grow up independent... twisted and twining", meaning unhealthily interdependent on the intensely strong personality of the family patriarch, Aristide Leonides.


title: Crooked House

text: Three generations of the Leonides family live together under wealthy patriarch Aristide. His first wife Marcia died; her sister Edith has cared for the household since then. His second wife is the indolent Brenda, decades his junior, suspected of having a clandestine love affair with Laurence, the grandchildren's tutor. After Aristide is poisoned by his own eye medicine (eserine), his granddaughter Sophia tells narrator and fiancé Charles Hayward that they cannot marry until the killer is apprehended. Charles's father, "The Old Man", is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, so Charles investigates from the inside along with assigned detective Chief Inspector Taverner.


title: Crooked House

text: Towards the end of the Second World War, Charles Hayward is in Cairo and falls in love with Sophia Leonides, a smart, successful Englishwoman who works for the Foreign Office. They put off getting engaged until the end of the war when they will be reunited in England.


title: Crooked House

text: Hayward returns home and reads a death notice in "The Times": Sophia's grandfather, the wealthy entrepreneur Aristide Leonides, has died, aged 85. Due to the war, the whole family has been living with him in a sumptuous but ill-proportioned house called "Three Gables", the crooked house of the title. The autopsy reveals that Leonides was poisoned with his own eserine-based eye medicine via an insulin injection. Sophia tells Charles that she can't marry him until the matter is cleared up.


title: Crooked House

text: The obvious suspects are Brenda Leonides, Aristide's much younger second wife, and Laurence Brown, a conscientious objector who has been living in the house as private tutor to Sophia's younger brother and sister, Eustace and Josephine. They are rumoured to have been carrying on an illicit love affair under old Leonides's nose. The family members hope these two prove to be the murderers because they despise Brenda as a gold digger and also hope to escape the scandal that a different outcome would bring. Charles agrees to help his father, an assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard, to investigate the crime. He becomes a house guest at Three Gables, hoping that someone might reveal a clue at an unguarded moment.


title: Crooked House

text: All the family members had motive and opportunity, none has an alibi; and each of them knew that Aristide's eye medicine was poisonous as he had told all the family after being asked by Josephine. According to the will, they all stand to gain a healthy bequest from the old man's estate. The servants do not get bequests but would lose their (increasing) annual wages or bonuses, so are not suspects. Aside from this, the family members have little in common. Edith de Haviland, Aristide's unmarried sister-in-law, is a brusque woman in her 70s who came to stay with him after his first wife's death to supervise his children's upbringing. Roger, the eldest son and Aristide's favourite, is a failure as a businessman. He has steered the catering business bestowed to him by his father to the brink of bankruptcy and he longs to live a simple life somewhere far away. Roger's wife Clemency, a scientist with austere and unsentimental tastes, has never been able to enjoy the wealth offered by her husband's family. Roger's younger brother, Philip, has suffered under his father's preference for Roger, and retreated into a distant world of books and bygone historical epochs, spending all his waking hours in the library. Philip's wife Magda is an only moderately successful actress to whom everything, even a family murder, is a stage show in which she wants to play a leading part. Sixteen-year-old Eustace has polio. He is handsome and intelligent, yet embittered by his disability. His twelve-year-old sister Josephine, on the other hand, is ugly, precociously intelligent, and obsessed with detective stories. She spies continually on the rest of the household, letting everyone know that she is writing down her observations in a secret notebook.


title: Crooked House

text: Leonides had secretly personally rewritten (to the surprise of his lawyer Mr Gaitskill) his will to leave everything to Philip's daughter Sophia. He believed that she alone had the strength of character to assume his place as the head of the family. Josephine, who had been bragging that she knows the killer's identity, is found lying unconscious in the yard from a blow to the head from a marble doorstop. Charles discovers a cache of incriminating love letters from Brenda to Laurence, and the two are arrested. While they are in custody, the children's nanny dies after drinking a digitalis-laced cup of cocoa that had apparently been intended for Josephine. The family realises that the killer is still among them.


title: Crooked House

text: Charles, afraid for Josephine's life, tries in vain to induce her to disclose the murderer's name. Edith de Haviland invites Josephine to come out with her in the car for an ice cream soda. The car drives over a cliff and both are killed. Back at Three Gables, Charles finds two letters from Miss de Haviland. One is a suicide note for Chief Inspector Taverner taking responsibility, although not explicitly confessing, to the murders of Aristide and Nanny. The second letter, intended for Sophia and Charles only, reveals the truth of the matter: Josephine was the murderer. As proof, de Haviland has enclosed the child's secret notebook, the first line of which reads "Today I killed grandfather."


title: Crooked House

text: Josephine killed her grandfather because he wouldn't pay for her ballet lessons; she then revelled in all the attention she received afterwards and planned her own assault with the marble doorstop as a way of diverting attention. She poisoned Nanny for encouraging Magda to send her to Switzerland, and also because Nanny called her a "silly little girl". She also included threats against Magda if her mother seriously considered sending her away. Miss de Haviland had discovered Josephine's notebook hidden in a dog kennel, and committed the murder-suicide car crash as she did not want Josephine to suffer in a prison or asylum if and when the police learned she was the murderer.


title: Crooked House

text: Maurice Richardson, in the 29 May 1949 issue of "The Observer", gave a positive review in comparison to his opinion of "Taken at the Flood" the previous year: "Her forty-ninth book and one of her best seven. Poisoning of aged iniquitous anglicised Levantine millionaire. Nicely characterised family of suspects. Delicious red herrings. Infinite suspense and shocking surprise finish make up for slight looseness of texture."


title: Crooked House

text: An unnamed reviewer in the "Toronto Daily Star" of 12 March 1949 wrote: "Chief Inspector Taverner of Scotland Yard was as brilliant as usual but barking up the wrong tree – as Agatha Christie demonstrates in a surprise ending which introduces a novel idea in murder mystery."


title: Crooked House

text: Robert Barnard: "'Pure pleasure' was how the author described the writing of this, which was long planned, and remained one of her favourites. As the title implies, this is a family murder – and a very odd family indeed. The solution, one of the classic ones, was anticipated (but much less effectively) in Margery Allingham's 'prentice work "The White Cottage Mystery"."


title: Crooked House

text: In the "Binge!" article of "Entertainment Weekly" Issue #1343-44 (26 December 2014–3 January 2015), the writers picked "Crooked House" as an "EW favorite" on the list of the "Nine Great Christie Novels".


title: Crooked House

text: The novel was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in four weekly 30-minute episodes which began broadcasting on 29 February 2008. It starred Rory Kinnear (Charles Hayward), Anna Maxwell Martin (Sophia Leonides), and Phil Davis (Chief Insp. Taverner). The radio play was dramatised by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Sam Hoyle. It was subsequently issued on CD. This version removed the character of Eustace.


title: Crooked House

text: In 2011, US filmmaker Neil La Bute announced that he would be directing a feature film version, for 2012, of the novel with a script by Julian Fellowes. On 15 May 2011, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, Gabriel Byrne and Dame Julie Andrews were announced to lead the cast. In a report issued on 10 June 2012, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired all rights in the US, Canada and internationally for the film, which could help secure it a lucrative release, though the cast and creative team had changed.


title: Crooked House

text: The film, directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and starring Christina Hendricks, Gillian Anderson, Max Irons, Glenn Close, Julian Sands, Terence Stamp, Stefanie Martini and Christian McKay, was released digitally on 21 November 2017 and first broadcast on Channel 5 on 17 December 2017. On 22 December 2017, it received a modest (16 theatres) theatrical release in the U.S. via Vertical Entertainment. In the film Sir Arthur Hayward is dead and Chief Inspector Tavener is in charge of the case.


title: Crooked House

text: A condensed version of the novel was first published in the US in "Cosmopolitan" magazine in the issue for October 1948 (Volume 125, Number 4) with an illustration by Grushkin.


title: Crooked House

text: In the UK the novel was first serialised in the weekly magazine "John Bull" in seven abridged instalments from 23 April (Volume 85, Number 2234) to 4 June 1949 (Volume 85, Number 2240) with illustrations by Alfred Sindall.


title: Circle (company)

text: Circle is a peer-to-peer payments technology company. It was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013.


title: Circle (company)

text: In July 2021, Circle announced a plan to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company called Concord Acquisition Corp in a $4.5 billion deal that would make Circle a public company. However, in December 2022 this deal was terminated.


title: Circle (company)

text: The company has received over million in venture capital from 4 rounds of investments from 2013 to 2016, including million led by Goldman Sachs. In April 2015 "The New York Times" reporter Nathaniel Popper wrote that the Goldman Sachs investment "should help solidify Bitcoin’s reputation as a technology that serious financial firms can work with." In June 2016, Circle raised US$60 million in Series D funding backed by new and existing partners. On May 15, 2018, Circle raised US$110 million in venture capital to create USD Coin, an Ethereum coin they claim is backed by USD.


title: Circle (company)

text: In April 2022, Circle Internet Financial announced an agreement for a M funding round with investments from BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Marshall Wace LLP and Fin Capital, expected to close in the second quarter.


title: Circle (company)

text: In September 2015, Circle received the first BitLicense issued from the New York State Department of Financial Services. In April 2016, the British government approved the first virtual currency licensure to Circle. Circle is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.