title: Clonaid

text: On May 31, 1997, an issue of the popular science magazine "New Scientist" said that the International Raëlian Movement was starting a company to fund the research and development of human cloning. This alarmed bioethicists who were opposed to such plans. They warned lawmakers against failing to regulate human cloning. At the time, European countries such as Britain had banned human cloning, but the United States had merely a moratorium on the use of federal funds for human cloning research. U.S. President Bill Clinton requested that private companies pass their own moratorium. Claude Vorilhon, the founder of Raëlism, was opposed to this move and denied that the technology used to clone was inherently dangerous.


title: Clonaid

text: On June 15, 1998, Brigitte Boisselier said the headquarters of Clonaid was located in Las Vegas and that Clonaid did not have enough funds for human cloning research. On December 19, 1998, a "New Scientist" article said the cost of Clonaid cloning services would be $200,000, much lower than the $2.3 million that researchers at Texas A&M University planned to use for cloning a dog named Missy. Mainstream scientists said it was unlikely that Clonaid would be able to clone anything in the near future. Although the project's ultimate objective was human cloning, Boisselier said that pet cloning would help finance the operations.


title: Clonaid

text: On June 9, 1997, Clonaid stated its intention to offer homosexual and/or infertile couples the chance to have a genetically identical child and take a step toward immortality. According to an Internet announcement, the Raëlian leader and a group of investors founded a company in the Bahamas and called it "Valiant Venture Ltd.", whose project mission was named Clonaid. Valiant Venture expected to have one million potential customers.


title: Clonaid

text: Claude Vorilhon held a meeting in a Montreal hotel on September 21, 2000, where he announced that a wealthy American couple was willing to fund the Clonaid project. The first pending clone, according to Vorilhon at the time, was the couple's 10-month-old girl, who had died due to a medical mistake. He said that the couple was willing to pay $1,500,000 to clone their deceased daughter, but the wife was not willing to be the surrogate mother. Jamie Grifo, a fertility specialist at the New York University School of Medicine, and Nobel laureate Paul Berg of Stanford University said that Vorilhon was providing a false hope that the child was going to be the same one. Boisselier revealed the roles of four scientists she says were involved—"a biochemist, a geneticist, a cell fusion expert and a French medical doctor"—but without revealing their identity. She did not identify the wealthy American couple.


title: Clonaid

text: According to cloning specialist and physiologist George Seidel of Colorado State University, cloning a human being would not be difficult if many people donated their eggs or offered their wombs for implantation of clone embryos. Lee Silver, a molecular biologist from Princeton University, noted the advantages that Raëlians had, as a pro-cloning religious group, in finding willing surrogates. A biotechnology company called Advanced Cell Technology had cloned human embryo cells for medical purposes, and its CEO Michael D. West said that the directions for cloning a human being were available in published scientific literature. Experts knowledgeable of the scientific advances in the field have noted that human reproductive chemistry is better understood than that of most animals. For this reason, they thought that a higher rate of success was possible in human cloning compared with animal cloning. Brigitte Boisselier anticipated that the work could begin on the preserved cells as soon as October, but there was no evidence that Clonaid had medical knowledge necessary for its success. There was no evidence that the Clonaid claim was more than a publicity stunt. No verification or evidence proving that a successful clone has been made.


title: Clonaid

text: In the spring of 2001, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations inspected Clonaid's lab in the small city of Nitro in West Virginia. It was located inside a rented room within a former high school. Staff scientists reviewed the lab's research documentation and found them inadequate, the work of a graduate student extracting ovum from cow ovaries from a slaughterhouse. The FDA said that the equipment in lab was state-of-the-art and had been bought by Mark Hunt, a former West Virginia state legislator, who wanted to clone his 10-month-old son, Andrew, who died in 1999 due to congenital heart disease. Following investigation of the West Virginia lab, Mark Hunt made an agreement with the FDA-OCI to not clone his dead son within the United States.


title: Clonaid

text: In March 2001, Boisselier said that a woman would be pregnant with a cloned fetus in April. She said that cells had reached the blastocyst stage, but she refused to speak of any specific implantation or pregnancy associated with them. According to a "CNN" article that November, the Clonaid laboratory was outside the United States. Clonaid claimed that it had developed human cloned embryos before Advanced Cell Technology was able to do the same. "CNN" could not confirm the unpublished work. Due to Clonaid's association with Raëlians and the lack of evidence for cloning, authorities remained skeptical as to whether Clonaid could clone anything at all.


title: Clonaid

text: On Friday, December 27, 2002, Boisselier, a Raëlian bishop and CEO of Clonaid, announced at a press conference in Hollywood, Florida that Clonaid had successfully performed the first human reproductive cloning. Boisselier said that the mother delivered Eve by Caesarean section somewhere outside the United States and that both were healthy. Dr. Boisselier did not present the mother or child, or DNA samples that would allow for confirmation of her claim at the press conference. It has subsequently become apparent that she announced the birth before genetic testing to evaluate whether the child in question is actually a clone: Dr. Boisselier was therefore stating her belief that her procedure had resulted in a clone, not announcing results showing that the child was a clone.


title: Clonaid

text: Shortly after the announcement, Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Clonaid's Korean branch, BioFusion Tech. In the process, the prosecutors removed records from homes and offices while barring two representatives of BioFusion Tech from leaving the country. An official company statement revealed that three Korean women applied to become surrogate mothers. Officials of BioFusion Tech told the prosecutors that 10 Korean women wanted to clone themselves and have filled out applications.


title: Clonaid

text: The Food and Drug Administration stated its intention to investigate Clonaid to see if it had done anything illegal. The FDA contended that its regulations forbid human cloning without prior agency permission. However, some members of the United States Congress believed that the jurisdiction of the FDA on human cloning matters was shaky and decided to push Congress to explicitly ban human cloning.


title: Clonaid

text: US President George W. Bush said that human cloning was "deeply troubling" to most Americans. Kansas Republican Sam Brownback said that Congress should ban all human cloning, while some Democrats were worried that Clonaid announcement would lead to the banning of therapeutic cloning. FDA biotechnology chief Dr. Phil Noguchi warned that the human cloning, even if it worked, risked transferring sexually transmitted diseases to the newly born child. The White House was also critical of the claims.


title: Clonaid

text: Panos Zavos, a former professor of the University of Kentucky, at the time had plans to create human clone embryos, but he stated to the effect that Clonaid's claims were without merit and that Eve did not exist. Severino Antinori, who had worked with Zavos on the development of human clone embryos, was critical of Klondyke's announcement, and said of it that, "An announcement of this type has no scientific corroboration and risks creating confusion." Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technologies said that Clonaid has no record of accomplishment for cloning anything, but he said that if Clonaid actually succeeded, there would be public unrest that may lead to the banning of therapeutic cloning, which has the capacity to cure millions of patients. The Vatican said that the claims expressed a mentality that was brutal and lacked ethical consideration. The Christian Coalition of America urged a human cloning ban and saw the alleged clone baby as an "aberration".


title: Clonaid

text: University of Wisconsin–Madison bioethicist Alta Charo said that even in other ape-like mammals, the risk for miscarriage, birth defects, and life problems remains high. Arthur Caplan, the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, expressed concerns that many dead and sick children could result from the cloning of human beings.


title: Clonaid

text: Clonaid spokeswoman Nadine Gary claimed that Eve went home with her mother on 30 December 2002, but Florida attorney Bernard Siegel filed a petition as a private citizen in the Broward County Circuit Court requesting that a temporary guardian be appointed for the purported cloned child. Two local attorneys, Barry Wax and Jonathan Schwartz were retained to represent Clonaid in the matter. As the court case played out over the next month, Dr. Boisselier testified under oath that there was a cloned child born outside of the U.S. living in Israel. However, Clonaid did not present demonstrative evidence that the child really existed. Boisselier said that Eve would travel to the United States that day for DNA tests. She said that a pediatrician saw Eve and her mother in good condition, but she refused to mention the location of the surrogate birth, the testing lab, or the biological mother's home, which she wanted to reveal at a later time. The mother was said to be 31 years old with an infertile husband.


title: Clonaid

text: Siegel subpoenaed Thomas Kaenzig, a vice president of Clonaid, to appear on a civil proceeding set to occur on 22 January 2003. Siegel's office sent summonses to Thomas Kaenzig and "Jane Doe", the purported mother of Eve. Siegel hoped that the action would coax those involved to provide some answers. He believed the child, if she existed, needed an appointed guardian and would need extensive medical treatment which he doubted Clonaid could offer. He wanted the court to make a decision on how to best protect her. However, Clonaid prevented scientists from meeting the purported child and mother.


title: Clonaid

text: Michael Guillen, a former "ABC News" science editor, made an agreement with Boisselier for him to choose independent experts to test for a DNA match. Clonaid refused to identify the independent experts, because if revealed too soon, others could track the baby from the testing place into the mother's house. Clonaid said the parents had the final say on whether they want to test the baby and that a Dutch lesbian couple would be the parents of the next cloned baby. Boisselier said she would hand over the evidence to show that a clone had been born but was concerned that the details of Clonaid's cloning procedure might leak out. The next day, Vorilhon claimed that the baby was healthy. He said those who are against cloning for ethical reasons would be dismayed if the clone baby was in good condition.


title: Clonaid

text: Thomas Kaenzig refused to testify in a court hearing, but Florida judge John Frusciante Sr., father of musician John Frusciante, was able to convince Kaenzig through a telephone to reveal some of the details. Kaenzig testified that Clonaid left him ignorant of the cloning project and that it was not even a corporation. The judge summoned Kaenzig and Brigitte Boisselier to a Florida court and warned the two that they would be condemned if they did not show there on 29 January 2003. As the court case played out, Boisselier testified under oath that she saw videos of a cloned child born in Israel.


title: Clonaid

text: Michael Guillen was disappointed when he discovered that Clonaid withdrew their offer to provide the tests. The company said that before the tests were done, the parents wanted to be sure that their baby would not be sent away, but Florida attorney Bernard Siegel asked that a guardian for Eve be appointed and threatened the company with a lawsuit. Guillen, who remained skeptical, said it would be unwise to dismiss the Clonaid project without proper confirmation.


title: Clonaid

text: The day after Boisselier made her announcement, she added that four more human clones were to be born within a few weeks, Boisselier claimed that Clonaid had a list of couples who were ready to have a cloned child. and that 20 more implantations of human clones were on the way after the first 10 which happened in the previous year. She said that other companies have used cloning procedures with different specifics that lead to their high failure rate. Boisselier argued that failed attempts at human cloning would be like those of "in vitro" fertilisation where early miscarriages occurred more frequently than abortions. Nevertheless, she said that if deformities were detected in Eve, someone would abort her.


title: Clonaid

text: Raëlian spokesman Bart Overvliet claimed that another cloned baby was born to a Dutch lesbian couple in the Netherlands the previous day and that the mother and baby were in good health. A Dutch Raëlian spokeswoman could not comment on any further details about the mother, but Boisselier said that the mother gave birth to her own clone. An official from the Dutch Health Ministry told "Reuters" that the Netherlands forbade human cloning but not the birth of baby clones. On 5 January 2003, Brigitte Boisselier said to the BBC that her medical team produced hundreds of human clone embryos before proceeding to ten implantations, two of which led to births. The head of the UK Roslin Institute was critical of the assertion, "Clonaid [has] no track record but claim[s] to have cloned hundreds of embryos – it just doesn't ring true."


title: Clonaid

text: A Raëlian spokeswoman from Japan claimed that a baby boy, cloned from a comatose two-year-old of a Japanese couple, was born the previous day. Boisselier said that a surrogate participated since the biological mother was 41 and more likely to have a miscarriage. Scientists knew that many cloned animals suffer arthritis and ailments with the lungs and liver, and they were concerned that too many unanswered questions surround the prospect of cloning of humans safely. Clonaid set up press conferences in which they described their method of cloning, but they did not give any details. However, they did say that the third cloning was different in that it did not involve a mother's egg, but the surrogate's egg with the injection of the boy's DNA.


title: Clonaid

text: According to Boisselier, Mark and Tracy Hunt, who were seeking to clone their dead son, invested $500,000 in the former Clonaid lab in West Virginia and its equipment, which the Food and Drug Administration shut down. The Clonaid CEO proposed a cloning lab on Brazilian Island for creating the next generation of clone babies. Clonaid claimed that five baby clones were born between 26 December 2002 and 4 February 2003 which had developed normally.


title: Clonaid

text: In late July 2002, Clonaid's branch in South Korea, BioFusion Tech, said a woman became pregnant with a human clone. However, in the week of 27 September 2002, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it would ban human cloning and sentence violators to a 10-year prison term.


title: Clonaid

text: In February 2004, Clonaid claimed that a sixth clone baby was born in Australia. Additionally, it claimed to have produced human embryos in South Korea. The small number of companies that have access to cloning technology has resulted skepticism by cloning experts in Korea, who accused Clonaid of defaming the now debunked stem cell work of Doctor Hwang Woo-suk. By March 2004, Clonaid claimed that eight extra baby clones had been brought to term for a total of thirteen baby clones.


title: Clonaid

text: In September 2018, rapper Kid Buu claimed he was a human clone produced by Clonaid. However, this is commonly perceived as a publicity stunt.


title: Clonaid

text: Besides offering cloning services, Clonaid has developed one product, an "embryonic cell fusion device" called the "RMX 2010".


title: Clonaid

text: "CNN Money" has listed the RMX 2010 as the fourth "Dumbest Moment in Business 2003", stating "Clonaid sells the RMX 2010, a $9,220 contraption that ... well, nobody's quite sure what it does. To help clarify the matter, Clonaid lends one to a British science museum—under strict orders not to open it to find out what's inside."


title: Clonaid

text: Scientists interviewed about the announcement expressed skepticism regarding both the authenticity and the ethics of Clonaid's procedures. These included Lord Robert Winston, head of the IVF research team at London's Hammersmith Hospital, and Tanja Dominko of the Oregon Regional Primate Center's monkey cloning project. Scientists with experience in animal cloning have encountered low rates of success per implantation, where cloned fetuses are often malformed and dead before birth. Regardless, people continue to be surprised that Clonaid appears to have overcome those problems; either Clonaid has been extremely lucky in discovering a superior method of cloning, or the company is making false claims.


title: Clonaid

text: Clonaid charges up to $200,000 for its "cloning" services. Clonaid has not shown verifiable evidence of any human cloning, despite claims that they would do this within days of their initial announcement. They claim that the parents of the first cloned child had second thoughts about submitting their child to scientific tests after attorney Bernard Siegel filed suit.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: The Chottanikkara (correction of "Jyotiannakkara") Devi Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu mother goddess Bhagavati, also seen as a form of Mahalakshmi.She is believed to be residing in Chottanikkara along with her husband Maha Vishnu. The temple is located at Chottanikkara, a southern suburb of the city of Kochi in Ernakulam district, in the state of Kerala, India and is one of the most popular temples in the state. The temple is also known for conducting exorcism.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: In terms of temple architecture, the Chottanikkara temple stands out to be an ultimate testimonial to the ancient vishwakarma sthapathis (wooden sculpture) along with Sabarimala temple. Sree Mahamaya Bhagavati (Adi Parashakti), the goddess of Saraswathi, Lakshmi, and Parvati is one of the most popular deities in Kerala and the supreme mother goddess in Hinduism. Chottanikkara Devi (Melekavu Bhagavathi) is worshipped at the temple, in three different forms: as Mahasaraswati in the morning, draped in white; Mahalakshmi in noon, draped in crimson; and as Mahaparvati in the evening, decked in blue. Devotees used to chant "Amme Narayana, Devi Narayana, Lakshmi Narayana, Bhadre Narayana" in this temple. Goddess 'Keezhkkaavu bhagavathi' is believed to be Bhadrakali, in her fierce form or Ugra form. Bhadrakali, is a form of mother Kali, supposed to be born from the third eye of lord Shiva, to kill the demon king Darika. People suffering from mental illnesses and commonly visit the temple, as Chottanikkara Devi is said to cure her devotees. Guruthi pooja is a ritual done in the late evening to invoke the goddess Mahakali. Earlier 'Guruthi Pooja' was done only on Fridays. But nowadays, it is performed every day.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: The area in which the temple is situated was once a dense jungle. A tribesman named Kannappan used to live in this forest. He was a devout worshipper of the goddess Mahakali, and would ritually sacrifice a buffalo to her every Friday (the day of the Goddess). One day, he found a calf near the forest. He kidnapped the calf and took her to his stone altar. Just before he is about to sacrifice the calf, his daughter Pavizham stepped in and pleaded to him to stop the sacrifice. The man loved his daughter and thus let her keep the calf as a pet. Unfortunately, Pavizham died some days later, possibly due to a snake bite. Kannappan broke into tears and decided to cremate her body. To his surprise, his daughter's corpse disappeared. A nearby priest told him the reason for such an occurrence; Kannappan used to forcibly take young calves from their mothers and sacrificed them. As punishment, he met the same fate when his daughter died. When the tribesman looked for the calf, he found the sacrifice alter shining in its place. The priest explained that the calf represented the divine couple, Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi. He asked Kannapan to pray before the alter everyday to undo his sins.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: Since Kannappan's death, the stones were forgotten. The stone was rediscovered accidentally by a low caste grass cutter, who found that blood was oozing out of a stone which she had accidentally cut. Horrified at what she saw, she brought the matter to the public's attention. A nearby priest was called to solve the problem. After devaprasnam, it was concluded that the stone was divine.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: That day, the elder Brahmin of the Yedattu house came along with some puffed rice in a coconut shell and this was offered to the Goddess for the first time. Even today this system of offering puffed rice in a coconut shell continues. The Brahmins of Yedattu house became the hereditary priests at this temple since those days.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: Another legend associated to the temple is that of the spiritual leader Shankaracharya. During the time where he lived, Adi Shankara realised that there wasn't a single temple in Kerala that signified the worship of goddess Saraswati. As a result, he himself went to the kashmir and meditated for many days for the goddess to appear before him. His meditation bore fruit and before him stood the stunningly beautiful goddess, clad in red. On enquiry, he said that he would like to bring the goddess to Kerala and establish a temple dedicated to her worship. This way the people from Kerala would not have to go such far off distances to worship her, as in the case for those who were old and aged. After a lot of persuasion, the goddess agreed; she would follow him by foot wherever he went, but only on one condition. If he trusts her, then he was not allowed to look back to see if she followed him or not. If he did, then wouldn't go any further. He agrees and they proceed walking. They were walking down the Kodachadri hills, with Shankara leading the way and goddess' anklets tinkling and letting him know that she was with him. After walking some distance, the tinkling stopped all of a sudden. Shankara waited a few moments and stole a quick look backwards to find the goddess still with him, watching him with reproach. In keeping with the condition, the goddess stopped right there. This is the spot which would turn out to be the Mookambika temple. Shankara, however, was not one to give up. He apologized profusely for breaking the condition and repeatedly begged and pleaded with the goddess to go with him to Kerala. After many pleas, the goddess agrees to a compromise and came to Chottanikara in Kerala, where the Chottanikara temple stood.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: From early hours of morning, goddess would come and appear before the devotees at the Chottanikkara temple. Then in the afternoon, she would return to the Mookambika temple (spot where she stopped). Since then, the sanctum doors of the Chottanikkara temple were opened during early morning hours in honour of worshipping goddess Saraswati before the doors of the main sanctum in Mookambika temple were opened.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: by name Gupthan Namboodiri who was pursued by a disguised Yakshi (an evil spirit), while on a visit to meet his friend Kosapilli Namboodiri who practiced occult sciences. It seems, the Yakshi took the form of a pretty maiden and tried to entice Gupthan. Since he was carrying a palm leaf copy of Devi Mahatmyam , she was not able to do him any harm. However, Gupthan was attracted to her. Later when he reached his friend Kosapilli Namboodiri's house, Gupthan narrated the incident and Kosapill deduced that the lady was a Yakshi. He then gave Gupthan Namboodiri an enchanted towel and rice to carry along on his return journey to protect himself from the Yakshi. When Gupthan saw the Yakshi following him he ran towards the Chottanikkara temple ,one the way he threw the rice and swirled the towel at the Yakshi which slowed the her and on reaching, jumped into the compound of the temple sanctum. The Yakshi who was pursuing him could only catch hold of his feet. When Gupthan cried out for help the mother Goddess Bhagavathy, she came out as Maha Kali and slayed the Yakshi and threw her corpse on to the temple tree base and then wash of the blood in the temple tank. That tank is known today as Yakshikoulam or Rakthakoulam , where the Kali idol was found hundreds of years later by Vilwamangalam of Guruvayoor.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: The annual Chottanikkara Makam Thozhal is the major festival in Chottanikara temple. It is believed that it was on this day (mithuna lagna on Makam) that the Vilvumangala Swamiyar saw the goddess at the temple and the devotees worship the goddess at this time.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: On the Makam Thozhal day, the ritualistic bath of goddess in the morning at the sacred pond Calli Onakkuttichira far on the northern side of the temple. After that, the goddess is brought to the temple accompanied by Lord Sastha on the back of seven caparisoned elephants march towards the "Pooraparambu" the traditional vantage point where they remain till 11 a.m.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: At the mid-day the door of Sanctum Sanctorum closes for Ucha pooja. And re-opens at 2 p.m for the "Makam Darsanam", the time at which Vilvumangala Swamiyar saw the goddess at the temple. At that time Devi who appears in her sacred full-fledged splendour and glory decked in her sacred gold ornaments, precious jewellery and innumerable garlands. This is exactly the form of vision which Villwamangalam Swamiyar was believed to have had when he faced westward after the "Prathishta" (installation) of Kizhukkavu Bhagavathy (Bhadrakali), Chottanikkara Devi appears at this moment clad in glittering clothes brilliant ornaments and fine jewellery with her four arms bearing varam, Abhayam, Shank and Chakram (Offering gift and refuge) to her ardent devotees. It is fervently believed that Darsanam at this moment will result in the fulfillment of all prayers and cherished desires. It is fervently believed that those who gain Darsanam at this crucial Mithuna Lagna, will be blessed with the fulfillment of their long standing desire and prayers.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: The presiding deity is known by various names like Rajarajeswari, Mahalakshmi, Durga, Bhagavati, Aadi Parashakthi and Amman. Bhagavati is worshipped as Mahasaraswati or Kollur Mookambika in the morning, Bhadrakali in the noon and Durga in the evening. There are sub-shrines for Lord Shiva, Lord Ganapathi, Lord Dharmasastha, Snake deities, Brahmarakshassu and Yakshi in this temple.


title: Chottanikkara Temple

text: The temple is known for curing mental illness and disorders due to evil spirits. The patients are brought to the priest(melsanthi), who engages with them in some conversation. He nails a part of the hair of the patient in the temple tree, indicating that evil spirit is captured in the tree and the patients are cured off their illness. Neem leaves, lime and chillies are taken home from the temple, which are believed to ward off evil spirits.


title: Amy Corbett

text: Amy Corbett is a Scottish senior design manager and product lead at the Lego Group. She is most known as a judge (called "brickmaster") in the American television series "Lego Masters".


title: Amy Corbett

text: In 2008, Corbett spent three months assisting a non-government organization (NGO) in Botswana in the creation and implementation of sustainable projects. In 2011 she assisted with Engineers Without Borders (UK) to help the village coffee growers process their own crops.


title: Amy Corbett

text: She started working as design manager at the Lego Group in 2012. Corbett is responsible for developing new product lines. She worked on the Lego Friends line, a line that was launched when she arrived at the Lego Group. She also worked for the Lego Disney line. She was part of the concept team for the 2018 film "". Her current project with her design team is Lego DOTS, customize daily items like jewelry and picture frames.


title: Amy Corbett

text: In 2020, she started her role as judge “Brickmaster Amy” on the American edition of "Lego Masters"; a television reality show in which teams compete to build the best Lego project.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: Live. Love. ASAP (stylized as LIVE.LOVE.A$AP) is the debut mixtape by American rapper ASAP Rocky, who released it as a free digital download on October 31, 2011. It features production by Clams Casino, ASAP Ty Beats, DJ Burn One, and SpaceGhostPurrp, among others. The mixtape also features guest rappers Schoolboy Q and Fat Tony, as well as members of ASAP Mob, ASAP Rocky's hip hop collective.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The mixtape's music incorporates stylistic and production elements of hip hop scenes distinct from ASAP Rocky's hometown New York scene, particularly Southern hip hop. Its production features woozy soundscapes, low and mid-tempo beats, and chopped and screwed choruses. His lyrics deal with themes about moral decay, including promiscuity and drug use, expressed through his boastful, tempered flow.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The mixtape was promoted with two singles, "Peso" and "Purple Swag", which garnered ASAP Rocky mainstream attention and led to his first record deal. "Live. Love. ASAP" received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the production aesthetic and ASAP Rocky's charismatic rapping style. It was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications. On October 29, 2021, ASAP Rocky re-released the mixtape on all streaming platforms.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: In May 2011, ASAP Rocky quit selling drugs and decided to focus on a career in rapping. He released a music video for his song "Purple Swag" in July, garnering Internet buzz and attention from record labels, despite negative feedback from his native hip hop scene in New York. He was courted by several labels, including the RCA-distributed Polo Grounds Music. However, he held off from any deal with a label, instead wanting to explore other pursuits. He and Polo Grounds president Bryan Leach, also a Harlem native, subsequently spent time talking about music and lifestyles.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: In August 2011, ASAP Rocky followed with "Peso", which first appeared on Internet blogs and eventually received radio airplay on New York City's Hot 97. The song also earned him respect in the New York scene, of which he later said, "It brings a tear to my eye to see native New York people give me my props because New York is stubborn and arrogant". After a bidding war among labels, he signed a record deal with Polo Grounds and RCA on October 14. It was worth $3 million, with $1.7 million for his solo work and $1.3 million to fund his company ASAP Worldwide. He said that he sought a "bigger platform" for him and his collective with the deal. His first studio album planned to be under the deal, but it allowed him to continue releasing mixtapes through RED Distribution.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: ASAP Rocky recorded "Live.Love.ASAP" at Ishlab Music Studio in Dumbo, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. It was engineered by the studio's primary technicians Daniel Lynas and Frans Mernick. Several producers on the mixtape were associated with ASAP Mob, a collective that was formed by ASAP Rocky in 2007 and featured rappers, record producers, and music video directors. ASAP Ty Beats, SpaceGhostPurrp, and Clams Casino, who had produced several of ASAP Rocky's previous songs, were his principal collaborators in developing the songs' woozy soundscapes. Casino previously produced for Lil B and Main Attrakionz, who appears on the mixtape. ASAP Rocky met him after he remixed Casino's song "Numb", which was later recorded as "Demons" for the mixtape, and they both tried to contact one another as respective fans. Their first recording for the mixtape was "Wassup". In August, he rented a pied-à-terre in Midtown Manhattan and housed members of ASAP Mob during Hurricane Irene's landfall in New York City.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: Musically, "Live. Love. ASAP" incorporates characteristics from hip hop scenes outside of ASAP Rocky's hometown scene in Harlem, New York, including Midwest and Southern hip hop, particularly the hip hop production of Houston's scene. He grew up listening to Southern hip hop artists such as Geto Boys, UGK, Swishahouse, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug. He also grew up listening to artists of disparate music genres, including Hope Sandoval, CeeLo Green, and MGMT, influences that music journalist Paul Lester attributes to the mixtape's "languid but futuristic sonics". The beats on "Live. Love. ASAP" are generally low or mid-tempo and hazy-sounding. The songs also have chopped and screwed choruses. Clams Casino's moody, atmospheric production is characterized by fragmented, downbeat vocal samples, basic drum tracks, and ambient, hypnotic synths. Songs produced by DJ Burn One, Beautiful Lou, and Soufein3000 incorporate more Southern hip hop elements.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: AllMusic editor Andre Barnes views the mixtape's music as distinct from East Coast hip hop, calling it "sonically out of place, recasting the feel of East Coast hip-hop into a quintessential, albeit progressive southern aesthetic with its country funk and cosmic, syrupy backdrops." Jon Caramanica calls "Live. Love. ASAP" "placeless and universal, an album that sounds as if it has ingested the last 20 years of hip-hop's travels and would be comfortable anywhere." Caramanica notes characteristics of various hip hop scenes other than that of New York's scene, including "chewy, slowed-down homages to Houston" and "nods to New Orleans and Atlanta and the Bay Area and everywhere else hip-hop is made." Alvin Aqua Blanco of "HipHopDX" writes that the music's grooves "generally stay on the DJ Screw side of the BPMs". "Consequence" editor Mike Madden notes its musical dynamic as "Southern flavors crossbreed[ing] with plenty of cloudy ambient-rap moments" and views that the cadences of the beats consequently "dictate" ASAP Rocky's rapping style.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The epic-sounding, Clams Casino-produced opening track, "Palace", has Rocky acknowledging Southern hip hop's influence on his sound: "Influenced by Houston / you can hear it in my music". "Wassup" has an ethereal, Houston-inspired soundscape. However, Chase McMullen of "Beats Per Minute" observes from the mixtape's sound the "threatening vibe" of Raekwon's 1995 album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..." and a grime influence, commenting that "while southern influences currently dominate much of current hip hop, Rocky places as much importance on the Wu as he does Three 6." Paul Lester of "The Guardian" compares "Peso" to the stylings of The Jet Age of Tomorrow. "Trilla" has a funk and boom bap influence in its production.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The mixtape's subject matter of moral decay incorporates controversial thematic elements of mainstream hip hop, including misogyny, glorified male promiscuity, and excessive drug use. Songs such as "Leaf", "Get Lit", and "Roll One Up" are odes to cannabis smoking. Music writers note the mixtape's perspective as that of a self-assured youth concerned with simple pleasures and "keeping it trill (true and real)". Evan Rytlewski of "The A.V. Club" comments that ASAP Rocky mostly "riffs on his four great loves: syrup, weed, women, and fashion". Calling it a "guilty pleasure" for hip hop purists, AllMusic's Andre Barnes characterizes the mixtape's subject matter as "the antithesis of conscious rap" and his lyricism as "sedate charisma and mannerisms leaning toward UGK-inspired bravado", adding that it displaces "the intricate lyrical concepts that evoke intense listening and the undeniable slang definitive of traditional East Coast rap music".


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: "Purple Swag", a woozy-sounding homage to Houston's hip hop scene, references the purple drank popularized by the scene's community and used recreationally by ASAP Rocky and his collective. His lyrics on "Peso" depict a charismatic, attractive persona, with him referring to himself as a "pretty motherfucker". The song also features lyrics about his eccentric and flamboyant fashion sense: "Raf Simons, Rick Owens / usually what I’m dressed in". He also name-drops fashion designer Jeremy Scott throughout the mixtape.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: ASAP Rocky's flow throughout the mixtape is tempered, and his delivery ranges from nonchalant rhymes to forceful double time. Jon Caramanica writes that the subject matter, including "straight-talking boasts" and "heavy intake of drugs and women", is revealed by his "bursts of short phrases, rhymed in their entirety." On "Palace", ASAP Rocky demonstrates alliterative lyricism and singsong cadence and flow. His flow patterns have been compared by writers to those of Cleveland-based hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. August Brown of the "Los Angeles Times" writes that "his reserved, steely delivery owes equal debts to Houston's syrup daze and Dipset's uptown intensity". He addresses his rapping style on "Purple Swag": "I'm Texas trill, Texas trill, but in NY we spit it slow". On "Leaf", he addresses hip-hoppers' criticism of his style: "They say I sound like André / mixed with Kanye / a little bit of Max / a little bit of Wiz / a little bit of that / a little bit of this / get off my dick".


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: An anticipated release among Internet tastemakers, "Live. Love. ASAP" was released as a free digital download on October 31, 2011. Two days after its release, A$AP Rocky proclaimed it to be "better than a lot of people's albums". The mixtape did not chart after its release.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The mixtape's lead single "Peso" was officially released on November 16. It charted for nine weeks and peaked at number 81 on the US "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in February 2012. The second single "Purple Swag" was released on December 5. Previously released as a YouTube video, the mixtape version features guest verses by SpaceGhostPurrp and ASAP Nast. A music video for "Wassup" was directed by ASAP Rocky with magazine editor and journalist Andy Capper. His videos depicted a glamorous and dissolute lifestyle led by him and his crew, with images of excess and fashion, including gold fronts, liquor containers, and designer clothing.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: In the months leading up to the mixtape's release, ASAP Rocky performed several low-key venues in New York, including the Alife Rivington Club, a party for Fool's Gold Records, a Diplomats concert, and Santos Party House. He also played "CMJ"s music festival in October. In 2012, he toured on Drake's Club Paradise Tour and performed at several music festivals, including South by Southwest, Summer Jam, Pitchfork Music Festival, and Rock the Bells. The touring experience allowed ASAP Rocky to work on his live performance and stage presence.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: Reportedly, as a part of ASAP Rocky's record deal, there were plans for "Live. Love. ASAP" to be re-released for retail by Polo Grounds, RCA, and ASAP Worldwide in 2012. He had said that it would have been a "deluxe version". On October 29, 2021, the mixtape was released for the first time on music streaming services. The rereleased edition featured the new song "Sandman", produced by Kelvin Krash and Rocky's longtime collaborator Clams Casino, although "Kissin' Pink and "Out of This World" were omitted.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: "Live. Love. ASAP" was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the mixtape received an average score of 83, based on 12 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: Reviewing for "The Irish Times", Jim Carroll hailed the mixtape as "a dashing statement of intent", while "Pitchfork"s Jeff Weiss said it is a "triumph of immaculate taste" that shows "Rocky embodies the sweat-free cool of someone who has stolen the test and memorized the answers ahead of time." AllMusic's Andre Barnes wrote of the mixtape's appeal to hip hop purists and listeners, "For the saints, "Live Love ASAP" is nothing short of a guilty pleasure ... But for the aesthetically inclined, "Live Love ASAP" is a marvel of contemporary rap music, despite its abounding moral decay." Colin McGowan from "Cokemachineglow" cited his ability to "command a variety of sounds" as the reason it sounds "unified without drifting into monochrome territory". McGowan viewed that, although his "Wayne-ian pattern" is not as "fluid" nor "dotted with exuberant metaphors", his sensibilities make up for technical shortcomings:


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: BBC Music's Ele Beattie advised listeners, "If you've come looking for tight flows and witty wordplay, Rocky ain't your man. But attitude and production will win you over." Evan Rytlewski of "The A.V. Club" felt that "he's a magnetic rapper, and his delivery is reliably sharp, but he rarely uses it to say anything", and instead commended him for "curating exceptional beats and knowing when to get out of their way." He added that, "by enlisting some of the Internet's most forward-thinking young producers ... [Rocky]'s crafted the year's most stylish mix-tape, a melting pot of nearly every major underground rap trend of the last 16 months, all pitched to the intoxicating slow crawl of Houston screw music." Although he noted a "lack of so-called substance", David Amidon of "PopMatters" viewed that the mixtape's release helped materialize "the positive influence of the internet on the next generation of hip-hop". Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" cited its two singles as "among the year's best hip-hop songs."


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: The mixtape was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications. It was named the ninth-best album of 2011 by "Stereogum" in the publication's year-end list. It was ranked number 10 on "Filter"s top albums list. Gorilla vs. Bear ranked the mixtape number five and stated, "Sometimes good instincts, an effortless flow, off-the-charts charisma, and just sounding a lot cooler than everyone else goes a long way." In ranking it number nine, "Complex" commended ASAP Rocky's "defined sound and unique aesthetic", calling him "electric and precise on the microphone" and writing that the mixtape's beats "bang so hard they bring Houston to Harlem." "Los Angeles Times" staff writer August Brown ranked the mixtape number two on her top albums list and wrote that it "cemented" his reputation, while citing Clams Casino's beats as "some of the year's most imaginative, evocative hip-hop productions." Jonah Weiner of "Slate" ranked it number five on his list and, although he cited him as part of "hip-hop's abiding misogynist" in 2011, saying that he and his contemporaries "trash so many other genre orthodoxies."


title: Live. Love. ASAP

text: "Live. Love. ASAP" also earned ASAP Rocky a nomination for BBC's Sound of 2012 poll. In October 2013, "Complex" named the mixtape the tenth best hip hop album of the last five years. In 2019, "Pitchfork" ranked "Live. Love. ASAP" at number 137 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s".


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: HTTP persistent connection, also called HTTP keep-alive, or HTTP connection reuse, is the idea of using a single TCP connection to send and receive multiple HTTP requests/responses, as opposed to opening a new connection for every single request/response pair. The newer HTTP/2 protocol uses the same idea and takes it further to allow multiple concurrent requests/responses to be multiplexed over a single connection.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: Since late 1996, developers of popular products (browsers, web servers, etc.) using HTTP/1.0, started to add an unofficial extension (to the protocol) named "keep-alive" in order to allow the reuse of a connection for multiple requests/responses.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: When the server receives this request and generates a response, if it supports keep-alive then it also adds the same above header to the response. Following this, the connection is not dropped, but is instead kept open. When the client sends another request, it uses the same connection.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: This will continue until either the client or the server decides that the conversation is over and in this case they omit the codice_1 header from the last message sent or, better, they add the keyword "close" to it:


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: Since 1997, the various versions of HTTP/1.1 specifications acknowledged the usage of this unofficial extension and included a few caveats regarding the interoperability between HTTP/1.0 (keep-alive) and HTTP/1.1 clients / servers.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: In HTTP 1.1, all connections are considered persistent unless declared otherwise. The HTTP persistent connections do not use separate keepalive messages, they just allow multiple requests to use a single connection. However, the default connection timeout of Apache httpd 1.3 and 2.0 is as little as 15 seconds and just 5 seconds for Apache httpd 2.2 and above. The advantage of a short timeout is the ability to deliver multiple components of a web page quickly while not consuming resources to run multiple server processes or threads for too long.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: Keepalive makes it difficult for the client to determine where one response ends and the next response begins, particularly during pipelined HTTP operation. This is a serious problem when codice_2 cannot be used due to streaming. To solve this problem, HTTP 1.1 introduced a chunked transfer coding that defines a codice_3 bit. The codice_3 bit is set at the end of each response so that the client knows where the next response begins.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: According to RFC 7230, section 6.4, "a client ought to limit the number of simultaneous open connections that it maintains to a given server". The previous version of the HTTP/1.1 specification stated specific maximum values but in the words of RFC 7230 "this was found to be impractical for many applications... instead... be conservative when opening multiple connections". These guidelines are intended to improve HTTP response times and avoid congestion. If HTTP pipelining is correctly implemented, there is no performance benefit to be gained from additional connections, while additional connections may cause issues with congestion.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: If the client does not close the connection when all of the data it needs has been received, the resources needed to keep the connection open on the server will be unavailable for other clients. How much this affects the server's availability and how long the resources are unavailable depend on the server's architecture and configuration.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: Also a race condition can occur where the client sends a request to the server at the same time that the server closes the TCP connection. A server should send a 408 Request Timeout status code to the client immediately before closing the connection. When a client receives the 408 status code, after having sent the request, it may open a new connection to the server and re-send the request. Not all clients will re-send the request, and many that do will only do so if the request has an idempotent HTTP method.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: All modern web browsers including Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer (since 4.01), Opera (since 4.0) and Safari use persistent connections.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: By default, Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 use two persistent connections while version 8 uses six. Persistent connections time out after 60 seconds of inactivity which is changeable via the Windows Registry.


title: HTTP persistent connection

text: In Firefox, the number of simultaneous connections can be customized (per-server, per-proxy, total). Persistent connections time out after 115 seconds (1.92 minutes) of inactivity which is changeable via the configuration.


title: Online transaction processing

text: In online transaction processing (OLTP), information systems typically facilitate and manage transaction-oriented applications. This is contrasted with online analytical processing.


title: Online transaction processing

text: The term "transaction" can have two different meanings, both of which might apply: in the realm of computers or database transactions it denotes an atomic change of state, whereas in the realm of business or finance, the term typically denotes an exchange of economic entities (as used by, e.g., Transaction Processing Performance Council or commercial transactions.) OLTP may use transactions of the first type to record transactions of the second.


title: Online transaction processing

text: OLTP has also been used to refer to processing in which the system responds immediately to user requests. An automated teller machine (ATM) for a bank is an example of a commercial transaction processing application. Online transaction processing applications have high throughput and are insert- or update-intensive in database management. These applications are used concurrently by hundreds of users. The key goals of OLTP applications are availability, speed, concurrency and recoverability. Reduced paper trails and the faster, more accurate forecast for revenues and expenses are both examples of how OLTP makes things simpler for businesses. However, like many modern online information technology solutions, some systems require offline maintenance, which further affects the cost-benefit analysis of an online transaction processing system.


title: Online transaction processing

text: OLTP is typically contrasted to OLAP (online analytical processing), which is generally characterized by much more complex queries, in a smaller volume, for the purpose of business intelligence or reporting rather than to process transactions. Whereas OLTP systems process all kinds of queries (read, insert, update and delete), OLAP is generally optimized for read only and might not even support other kinds of queries. OLTP also operates differently from batch processing and grid computing.


title: Online transaction processing

text: In addition, OLTP is often contrasted to OLEP (online event processing), which is based on distributed event logs to offer strong consistency in large-scale heterogeneous systems. Whereas OLTP is associated with short atomic transactions, OLEP allows for more flexible distribution patterns and higher scalability, but with increased latency and without guaranteed upper bound to the processing time.


title: Online transaction processing

text: An OLTP system is an accessible data processing system in today's enterprises. Some examples of OLTP systems include order entry, retail sales, and financial transaction systems. Online transaction processing systems increasingly require support for transactions that span a network and may include more than one company. For this reason, modern online transaction processing software uses client or server processing and brokering software that allows transactions to run on different computer platforms in a network.


title: Online transaction processing

text: In large applications, efficient OLTP may depend on sophisticated transaction management software (such as CICS) and/or database optimization tactics to facilitate the processing of large numbers of concurrent updates to an OLTP-oriented database.


title: Online transaction processing

text: For even more demanding decentralized database systems, OLTP brokering programs can distribute transaction processing among multiple computers on a network. OLTP is often integrated into service-oriented architecture (SOA) and Web services.


title: Online transaction processing

text: Online transaction processing (OLTP) involves gathering input information, processing the data and updating existing data to reflect the collected and processed information. As of today, most organizations use a database management system to support OLTP. OLTP is carried in a client-server system.


title: Online transaction processing

text: Online transaction process concerns about concurrency and atomicity. Concurrency controls guarantee that two users accessing the same data in the database system will not be able to change that data or the user has to wait until the other user has finished processing, before changing that piece of data. Atomicity controls guarantee that all the steps in a transaction are completed successfully as a group. That is, if any steps between the transaction fail, all other steps must fail also.


title: Online transaction processing

text: To build an OLTP system, a designer must know that the large number of concurrent users does not interfere with the system's performance. To increase the performance of an OLTP system, a designer must avoid excessive use of indexes and clusters.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Harold Lloyd Nicholas (March 27, 1921 – July 3, 2000) was an American dancer specializing in tap. Nicholas was the younger half of the tap-dancing pair the Nicholas Brothers, known as two of the world's greatest dancers. His older brother was Fayard Nicholas. Nicholas was featured in such musicals as "An All-Colored Vaudeville Show" (1935), "Stormy Weather" (1943), "The Pirate" (1948), and "The Five Heartbeats" (1991).


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Nicholas was born to drummer and orchestra leader Ulysses Domonick and pianist Viola Harden in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. By the age of three, his older brother Fayard enjoyed sitting in the audience of the black vaudeville theater where his parents performed, enraptured by the great performers on stage. Immersed in show business, when the Nicholases added a second son to the family, seven-year-old Fayard insisted that the child be named after his idol, Harold Lloyd, the silent-screen comedian. The two brothers soon began dancing, and they quickly gained acclaim for their elegant acrobatic moves and mastery of tap. When Fayard was 16 and Harold nine, they made their first appearance at the legendary Cotton Club in New York City and were a popular success immediately.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Their reputation grew rapidly, and Harold and Fayard became established superstars at Twentieth Century Fox with their astounding dance numbers in the studio's musicals features. The brothers began appearing in musical films with Eubie Blake. They performed in vaudeville, on Broadway, in nightclubs, on television, and in movie musicals. Harold appeared in more than 50 feature films, including "The Big Broadcast" (1936), "Down Argentine Way" (1940), "Tin Pan Alley" (1940), and "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941), which features the show-stopping "Chattanooga Choo Choo" tap dance number performed by Harold, Fayard, and Dorothy Dandridge.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Fred Astaire told the brothers that their dazzling footwork, leaps and splits in the Jumpin’ Jive dance in "Stormy Weather" (1943) produced the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen. In the number, the brothers dance on a piano and leap over performing musicians. The Nicholas Brothers’ Hollywood career began after movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn spotted them in a nightclub and cast them in "Kid Millions" (1934). The two became big film stars despite racial restrictions at the time prohibiting speaking parts and scenes with white co-stars. Their last film together was 1948's "The Pirate", in which Gene Kelly danced with them, breaking the color barrier. Harold went on to work as a solo artist, moving to France and touring as a singer and dancer. He appeared in the French film "L’Empire De La Nuit" (1964).


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Nicholas returned to America occasionally to do shows with his brother. Harold also appeared in the films "Uptown Saturday Night" (1974), "Tap" (1989), "The Five Heartbeats" (1991) and "Funny Bones" (1995). In 1985–86, Nicholas played the role of "Daddy Bates" in the National Tour of the Broadway musical "The Tap Dance Kid". In 1993, he starred in the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's world premiere of "If These Shoes Could Talk", which also starred Tony nominee Ted Levy, an original tap dance musical by Lee Summers and Kevin Ramsey. The leading character, a seasoned triple threat/hoofer, "Dr Rhythm," was written for Nicholas and would be his farewell stage performance in a musical. Carnegie Hall sold out for a tribute to him and his brother in 1998, who were both present. By that time he had been living on New York's Upper West Side, where he lived for approximately 20 years with his third wife Rigmor Alfredsson Newman, a producer.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Nicholas was married three times and had two children. His first marriage, on September 6, 1942, was to the actress, singer and dancer Dorothy Dandridge. They met at the Cotton Club in Harlem in 1938. Together they had a daughter, Harolyn Suzanne, who was born on September 2, 1943 (died in 2003), with severe brain damage that prevented her from speaking or even acknowledging her parents. By 1948, their marriage had deteriorated and Nicholas abandoned his family. Their marriage lasted nine years, ending in 1951. Nicholas had been linked briefly in Europe to Swiss actress Nyta Dover. Nicholas had a son, Melih, with his second wife Elyanne Patronne. At the time of his death, he was married to Rigmor Newman Nicholas.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Nicholas died in New York City on July 3, 2000, at the age of 79, from heart failure. Nicholas was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2001, along with his brother Fayard Nicholas.


title: Harold Nicholas

text: Nicholas appeared in the following films dancing alongside his brother Fayard, with occasional solos:


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: The Russian cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" (), is a (Project 1164) of the Russian Navy. The Russian name for the ship type is "Raketnyy Kreyser" (RKR), meaning "Missile Cruiser". The ship is named after Dmitriy Ustinov, a former Soviet Minister of Defence. "Marshal Ustinov" was assigned to the 43rd Missile Ship Division of the Russian Northern Fleet, whose homeport is in Severomorsk. From 2012 to 2016, the cruiser underwent a major overhaul. The vessel returned to service in 2017 and has since been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: "Marshal Ustinov" is a designed during the Soviet Union as a "Raketnyy Kreyser" or "anti-ship rocket cruiser (RKR)." As originally constructed the vessel had a standard displacement of and at full load. By 2009, this had decreased to standard and at full load. The cruiser measures long with a beam of and a draught of . The vessel is powered by a combined gas or gas (COGOG) system comprising four boost gas turbines and two cruise gas turbines driving two shafts for a combined . This gives the cruiser a maximum speed of and a range of at . As built the cruiser had a complement of 505. This was later reduced to 476 including 62 officers.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: "Marshal Ustinov" when constructed was armed with sixteen P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12 Sandbox) anti-ship missiles (SSM) in two eight-missile launchers located amidships to either side of the superstructure. The cruiser is also equipped with 64 S-300F "Fort" (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAM) in eight eight-missile launchers located aft of the funnel and four OSA-M (SA-N-4 Gecko) SR SAMs in two twenty-round launchers located aft, to either side of the hangar. "Marshal Ustinov" is also armed with twin-mounted AK-130 /L70 dual purpose guns located forward and six AK-630 close-in weapons systems with two located forward atop the superstructure and four located amidships to either side of the superstructure. For anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the cruiser mounts two RBU-6000 anti-submarine mortars, each with six barrels and ten torpedo tubes two quintuple launchers behind shutters near the stern.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: The ship was equipped with MR-800 Voskhod/Top Pair 3-D long range air search and MR-700 Fregat/Top Steer air/surface search radar. For ASW, the cruiser is equipped with MG-332 Tigan-2T/Bull Nose hull-mounted LF and Platina/Horse Tail MF VDS sonar. "Marshal Ustinov" mounts MR-184/Kite Screech fire control radar for the 130 mm guns, 3R41 Volna/Top Dome radar for SA-N-6 SAM control, MPZ-301 Baza/Pop Group radar for SA-N-4 SAM control and Argument/Front Door-C radar for SSM control and 3 Bass Tilt radars for the AK-630s. The cruiser also utilises the Punch Bowl satellite link for its weapon targeting systems. For electronic warfare, the ship is supplied with the Kol'cho suite with Gurzhor-A&B/Side Globe intercept and MR-404/Rum Tub jammers. The vessel mounts two PK2 chaff launchers. The single Top Dome radar only has a 180° arc and presents a blind spot forward for the SA-N-6 missiles.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: The cruiser has a flight deck over the stern and a hangar. The cruiser can utilise either one Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopter. The hangar is one-half deck below the flight deck and is reached via an inclined ramp. The helicopter is maneuvered using a chain-haul system. The helicopter can provide over-the-horizon targeting for "Marshal Ustinov"s weapon systems.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: Hull number 070 was laid down at the 61 Kommuna#445 Yard, Mykolaiv on 5 October 1978 as the second "Slava"-class ship initially named "Admiral Lobov". The cruiser was launched on 25 February 1982 and commissioned in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet as the renamed "Marshal Ustinov" on 15 September 1986. Beginning in March 1987, the cruiser began operations with the fleet. "Marshal Ustinov" has been known to carry two other hull numbers than her original (070); 088 and 055. From December 1987 to June 1988, she performed the tasks of military service in the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: In 1989 "Marshal Ustinov" was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea again. Between 22−26 July 1989 the cruiser, along with the oiler and the destroyer , paid an official visit to the naval base of Norfolk, Virginia, United States. This marked only the second time Soviet warships had made a visit to the United States since World War II. On 4 January 1991 "Marshal Ustinov" started a patrol duty in the Mediterranean Sea. Between 16−20 July 1991 the cruiser paid a visit to the naval base of Mayport, Florida, United States. "Marshal Ustinov" was accompanied by the oiler and the destroyer "Simferopol". This marked the third time Soviet warships had visited the United States since the end of the Cold War. Between 30 June–5 July 1993 she paid a visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada alongside the destroyer .


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: In 1994, then commissioned in the Russian Northern Fleet, "Marshal Ustinov" was laid up at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in St. Petersburg awaiting extensive repairs. The refit was completed in May 1995. In December 1996, the People's Republic of China purchased two s and the income from this sale made it possible to pay for the $US169 million repairs to "Marshal Ustinov". "Marshal Ustinov" remained in St. Petersburg until 1998 when the cruiser returned to the Northern Fleet.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: From 21 September to 22 October 2004 "Marshal Ustinov" took part in a long voyage of the carrier strike group of the Northern Fleet to the north-eastern part of the Atlantic. Beginning on 17 July 2008 the cruiser patrolled the waters of the Arctic Ocean around Spitsbergen, replacing the destroyer .


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: In March 2011 it was reported that "Marshal Ustinov" could be transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet. In 2011, it was decided to give the cruiser a moderate overhaul. However, in 2012, the navy decided to completely rework the cruiser. In 2012 the cruiser was laid up for repairs and upgrades at the Zvyozdochka Shipyard. The refit comprised repairs to ship's hull structures, propeller-steering group mechanisms, main power plant, and general systems. The electronic weapons systems were upgraded with digital devices. It was during this refit that the P-500 Bazalt missiles were upgraded to the modernized P-1000 Vulkan missiles. The ship rejoined the navy in 2016, and returned to active service in April 2017.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: On 12 May 2017, "Marshal Ustinov", with cruise missiles on board, went on exercises in the Barents Sea. On 4 July 2017, together with the destroyer , "Marshal Ustinov" sailed from Severomorsk to the Baltic Sea and on 29 July she took part in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg in honor of the Navy Day. On 5 December 2017, the cruiser completed combat training missions in training ranges in the Barents Sea to repulse conventional air attacks of Sukhoi Su-33 fighters.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: Between 11 August–12 November 2018, "Marshal Ustinov" was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for the fourth time after 1988, 1989 and 1991 deployments.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: On 3 July 2019, "Marshal Ustinov" left Severomorsk to participate in the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg before joining the Russian Navy exercise "Ocean Shield-2019" in the Baltic Sea and on 22 August, entered the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There, she visited ports in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. "Marshal Ustinov" afterwards transited Gibraltar again and sailed into the Atlantic. On its way to South Africa, the cruiser paid a port visit to Equatorial Guinea. This was only a third time after the Cold War that a Russian cruiser entered the South Atlantic, the first two being in 2008/2009 and in 2015. Between 25 and 30 November "Marshal Ustinov" participated in joint naval drills with South Africa and China. After the drills she transited Gibraltar. On 6 January 2020 it was reported that the cruiser will be deployed off Syria due to the danger of an Iran-US war in order to provide protection for the Russian troops in Syria and to ensure stability in the region. She returned to the homeport Severomorsk in February 2020, ending the 7-month deployment. Afterwards, she held drills in the Barents Sea in May, June and July 2020.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: In February 2021, "Marshal Ustinov" took part in the large-scale exercises in the Barents Sea. She entered the Barents Sea two times under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Andrey Krivoguzov. Other ships active in the area in January - February include destroyer "Severomorsk", frigate with the tug "Altay", nuclear submarine "Severodvinsk", that launched a Kalibr missile, corvettes "Aysberg", "Snezhnogorsk", "Yunga" and "Brest" and salvage vessel "Georgiy Titov" with deep-submergence rescue vehicle "AS-34". On 22 February, the same day as US bombers landed in Norway for the first time, "Marshal Ustinov" sailed in Varanger fjord in the area of Russia-Norway maritime border, becoming the first Russian warship to do so in the post-Cold War era. She entered the Barents Sea again on 4 March.


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: On 1 June, the ship participated in drills in the Barents Sea along with . Afterwards, the ship embarked on a journey towards the Baltic Sea in order to participate in the Naval Parade in St. Petersburg, along with destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov", landing ship "Pyotr Morgunov", tug "Altay" and nuclear submarines "Orel", "Knyaz Vladimir" and "Vepr".


title: Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov

text: On 7 February 2022, the cruiser deployed to the Mediterranean along with destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov", frigate "Admiral Kasatonov" and tanker "Vyazma". Her battle group linked-up with "Varyag's" deploying to the Mediterranean on 2 February 2022 from the Pacific along with destroyer "Admiral Tributs" and tanker "Boris Butoma". The battle group left the Mediterranean on 24 August 2022, returning to her homeport Severomorsk, while "Admiral Kasatonov" stayed in the Mediterranean. Both battle groups have conducted exercises with naval bombers Tu-22M3 and MiG-31K, operating from airbase Khmeymim in Syria. "Marshal Ustinov", "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" and "Vyazma" returned to Severomorsk on 15 September, after 236 days and 36.000 nautical miles travelled. They were accepted by the commander of the Northern Fleet admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, who claimed that the presence of such ships in the distant sea zone is one of the deterrents, preventing the escalation of the situation, which is now critical.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Sir Peter James Bottomley (born 30 July 1944) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1975 when elected for Woolwich West, serving until it was abolished before the 1983 general election. He has represented the Worthing West constituency since its establishment in 1997.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Bottomley was born in Newport, Shropshire, the son of Sir James Bottomley, Trinity scholar and a wartime British Army officer who later made his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and of Barbara, "née" Vardon, a social worker. He was baptized at St Swithun's Parish Church at Cheswardine in Shropshire, where his parents had married. After seven school changes before the age of eleven, he was educated at a junior high school in Washington, D.C., and then Westminster School before studying economics at Trinity College, Cambridge, following his father, grandfather, father-in-law and father-in-law's father to the college. His supervisor was James Mirrlees, who later gained the Nobel Prize for Economics.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Before university he worked around Australia, including three weeks teaching at Geelong Grammar School deputising for the explorer and teacher John Béchervaise, and unloading trucks in Melbourne docks. In between, he spent a week walking in Mount Field National Park with Tenzing Norgay. After university, he became a lorry driver and joined the Transport and General Workers Union, before moving on to industrial sales and industrial relations. In the early 1970s, he co-founded the Neighbourhood Council in South Lambeth, resulting in the creation of football pitches and other facilities at Larkhall Park. His last job before entering Parliament was putting lights outside theatres and cinemas in London's West End. Bottomley joined the Conservative Party in 1972, at the age of 28.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Bottomley contested the Vauxhall constituency in the 1973 GLC election and Woolwich West parliamentary seat in the February and October general elections of 1974, failing to defeat the sitting Labour MP William Hamling. Hamling died on 20 March 1975, and in the space of 18 months, Bottomley faced the electors of Woolwich West for a third time at the by-election on 26 June 1975. He was elected the Conservative MP for Woolwich West with a majority of 2,382, holding this seat and its successor, Eltham, in Parliament for the next 22 years.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In 1978 he became the President of the Conservative Trade Unionists for two years. Before the 1979 general election, Bottomley became a trustee with Christian Aid in 1978 until 1984. In 1978 as a member of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, he campaigned to prevent the anticipated assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero and represented the British Council of Churches at the Saint’s funeral in El Salvador in 1980 when 14 people died around him. In 1979, days before the fall of the Labour Government, he made a visit to Washington, D.C., to indicate that Margaret Thatcher, if she became Prime Minister, would not lift sanctions on Southern Rhodesia nor recognise the government of Bishop Abel Muzorewa. He was for some years a member of the Conservative Monday Club as well as a member of the Bow Group and Tory Reform Group.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: He has been chairman of the Church of England's Children's Society, a trustee of Mind and of Nacro and on the policy committee of One Parent Families. He served with John Sentamu on the successor committee to the Archbishop of Canterbury's commission that produced the report "Faith in the City", and chaired the churches' review group on the Churches Main Committee. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee and has been appointed the Parliamentary Warden at St Margaret's Church, Westminster. He has led the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He is an Hon. Vice President of WATCH, Women and the Church, supporting full equal acceptance of females.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In 1982, he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Cranley Onslow. Peter Bottomley's seat of Woolwich West had minor boundary changes and a name change during 1982. Bottomley fought the new constituency of Eltham at the 1983 general election, winning the seat with a majority of more than 7,500 votes. Following the election, Peter Bottomley became the PPS to the Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Security, Norman Fowler.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: After nine years on the backbenches, Bottomley became a member of Margaret Thatcher's government when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Employment in 1984, moving sideways to the Department of Transport in 1986 to become the Minister of Roads and Traffic. In 1989 he moved sideways again to the Northern Ireland Office. He was dropped by Thatcher in 1990, when he briefly became PPS to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Brooke. He has been a captain of the Parliamentary football team, participated in the parliamentary swimming competition and organised the annual dinghy sailing against the House of Lords. He was captain of the Commons eight, winning the first Thames rowing race in gigs against the Lords in 2007.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Since 1990 he has been a backbencher, described as a maverick, "supporting a range of seemingly perverse causes". Bottomley decided not to re-contest Eltham after major boundary changes, but sought nomination elsewhere. Following the retirement of the Conservative MP for Worthing Terence Higgins, Bottomley contested the newly formed constituency of Worthing West at the 1997 general election, gaining the seat with a majority of 7,713.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In 2009, Bottomley was the vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group. In 2011, he was in more Parliamentary groups than any other MP. As of January 2018, he is vice-chairman of All-Party United Nations Group and vice-chairman of All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Transport Safety. Through the Human Rights and CAFOD Groups he became and remained involved with the life, work and legacy of Óscar Romero since 1978. Through the Mental Health Groups he helped Charles Walker MP gain the first major debate on conditions lumped together as mental illness.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Bottomley has been a supporter of British pensioners living overseas, mainly in Commonwealth countries (47 out of 54) who have had their British state pensions frozen at the rates at which they were first paid or as at the dates of migration. British pensioners living in the remaining seven Commonwealth countries and those living in a number of non-Commonwealth countries have their British state pensions uprated each year, just as if they were living in the UK.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: An advocate for reducing the voting age to 16, Bottomley is a co-founder and Vice Chair of the APPG on Votes at 16 and a supporter of the Votes at 16 campaign.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Before the 2016 referendum, Bottomley was in favour of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: Bottomley is co-chair to the APPG on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood and campaigns to get justice for those affected by the tainted blood scandal. During a debate in Parliament on 24 November 2016 he urged Prime Minister Theresa May to look at the issue.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: After re-election in the 2019 general election he became the longest continuous-serving MP and thus Father of the House.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In 1967 he married Virginia Garnett who later became a Cabinet Minister (Health Secretary), and a life peer in 2005 as Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: His brother was a Labour Lambeth councillor; his brother-in-law was Conservative Mayor of Cambridge. His niece is Kitty Ussher, the economist, former Labour MP and Minister. His great-grandfather Sir Richard Robinson led the Municipal Reformers to victory in the 1907 London County Council election.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In 1989 he successfully sued "The Mail on Sunday", the "Daily Express" and "News of the World" for allegations connected with his support of the union membership of a social worker in his constituency accused of misbehaviour in a children's home. In 1995 he was awarded £40,000 against the "Sunday Express" for an article which accused him of betraying the paratrooper Private Lee Clegg, who was in jail for the murder of a joyrider in Northern Ireland, by appearing at a meeting with Martin McGuinness.


title: Peter Bottomley

text: In November 2003 after he was banned from driving for six months following several speeding offences, the local newspaper organised an electric bike to put him back on the road.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: Infants and toddlers have fallen into toilet bowls and drowned. Safety devices exist to help prevent such accidents. Injuries to adults include bruised buttocks, tail bones, and dislocated hips from unexpectedly sitting on the toilet bowl rim because the seat is up or loose. Injuries can also be caused by pinching due to splits in plastic seats or by splinters from wooden seats, or if the toilet itself collapses under the weight of the user. Older high tank cast iron cisterns have been known to detach from the wall when the chain is pulled to flush, causing injuries to the user. The 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in Public Health was awarded to three physicians from the Glasgow Western Infirmary for a 1993 case report on wounds sustained to the buttocks due to collapsing toilets. Furthermore, injuries are frequently sustained by people who stand on toilets to reach a height, then slip and fall. There are also instances of people slipping on a wet bathroom floor or from a bath and concussing themselves on the fixture.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: Toilet related injuries are also surprisingly common, with some estimates ranging up to 40,000 injuries in the US every year. In the past, this number would have been much higher, due to the material from which toilet paper was made. This was shown in a 1935 Northern Tissue advertisement which depicted splinter-free toilet paper. In 2012, 2.3 million toilets in the United States, and about 9,400 in Canada, were recalled due to faulty pressure-assist flush mechanisms which put users at risk of the fixture exploding.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: There are also injuries caused by animals. Some black widow spiders like to spin their web below the toilet seat because insects abound in and around it. Therefore, several people have been bitten while using a toilet, particularly outhouse toilets. Although there is immediate pain at the bite site, these bites are rarely fatal. The danger of spiders living beneath toilet seats is the subject of Slim Newton's comic 1972 country song "The Redback on the Toilet Seat".


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: It has been reported that in some cases rats crawl up through toilet sewer pipes and emerge in the toilet bowl, so that toilet users may be at risk of having a rat crawl up their buttocks. Many rat exterminators do not believe this, as pipes, at generally six inches (15 centimeters) wide, are too large for rats to climb and are also very slippery. Reports by janitors are always on the top floor, and could involve the rats on the roof, entering the soil pipe through the roof vent, lowering themselves into the pipe and then into the toilet.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: In May 2016, an 11 ft snake, a reticulated python, emerged from a squat toilet and bit the man using it on his penis at his home in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Both victim and python survived.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: Some instances of toilet-related deaths are attributed to the drop in blood pressure due to the parasympathetic nervous system during bowel movements. This effect may be magnified by existing circulatory issues. It is further possible that people succumb on the toilet to chronic constipation, because the Valsalva maneuver is often dangerously used to aid in the expulsion of feces from the rectum during a bowel movement. According to Sharon Mantik Lewis, Margaret McLean Heitkemper and Shannon Ruff Dirksen, the "Valsalva maneuver occurs during straining to pass a hardened stool. If defecation is suppressed over long periods, problems can occur, such as constipation or stool impaction. Defecation can be facilitated by the Valsalva maneuver. This maneuver involves contraction of the chest muscles on a closed glottis with simultaneous contraction of the abdominal muscles." This means that people can die while "straining at stool." In chapter 8 of their "Abdominal Emergencies", David Cline and Latha Stead wrote that "autopsy studies continue to reveal missed bowel obstruction as an unexpected cause of death".


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: A 2001 "Sopranos" episode "He is Risen" shows a fictional depiction of the risk, when the character Gigi Cestone has a heart attack on the toilet of his social club while straining to defecate.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: In the Victorian era, there was a perceived risk of toilets exploding. These scenarios typically include a flammable substance either accidentally or deliberately being introduced into the toilet water, and a lit match or cigarette igniting and exploding the toilet. In 2014, Sloan's Flushmate pressure-assisted flushing system which uses compressed air to force waste down the drain was recalled after the company received reports of the air tank failing under pressure and shattering the porcelain.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: Urban legends have been reported regarding the dangers of using a toilet in a variety of situations. Several of them have been shown to be questionable. These include some cases of the presence of venomous spiders but do not include the Australian redback spider who has a reputation for hiding under toilet seats. These recent fears have emerged from a series of hoax emails originating in the Blush Spider hoax, which began circulating the internet in 1999. Spiders have also been reported to live under seats of airplanes, however, the cleaning chemicals used in the toilets would result in an incompatibility with spider's survival.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: In large cities like New York City, sewer rats often have mythical status regarding size and ferocity, resulting in tales involving the rodents crawling up sewer pipes to attack an unwitting occupant. Of late, stories about terrorists booby trapping the seat to castrate their targets have begun appearing. Another myth is the risk of being sucked into an aircraft lavatory as a result of vacuum pressure during a flight.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: In the 1970 British movie "The Man Who Had Power Over Women " one of the film's main characters, as portrayed by actor James Booth, dies after a truck carrying toilets swerves on a roadway and subsequently tips over and crushes him to death.


title: Toilet-related injuries and deaths

text: In "South Park" season 16 episode 1, Mrs. Donovan dies from falling into the toilet. When she fell, she flushed the toilet, thus creating a suction that forcefully pulled her organs out of her body.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Melvin Paul Guillard, Jr. (born March 30, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. Guillard most notably competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA and World Series of Fighting. He debuted in the company on "The Ultimate Fighter 2" television series, losing to Josh Burkman by decision in the first Welterweight elimination bout. Guillard currently holds the UFC record for most TKO/KO victories (eight) in the Lightweight division, surpassing the previous record held by Multi-Divisional Champion B.J. Penn with his knockout of Shane Roller at "UFC 132". He again extended this record in his knockout victory over Mac Danzig at "".


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Born and raised in Louisiana, Guillard competed in various sports such as basketball before he began wrestling at Bonnabel High School. Guillard was talented, becoming a State Champion (152 lbs) in his senior year, winning the Class 5A MVP award, and also was a member of the Louisiana Junior National Team for two years. Guillard continued competing for one year at Colby Community College in Kansas and graduated with a degree in criminal law. Guillard had originally become drawn to mixed martial arts due to his wrestling coach's connections with the sport, and had the goal of fighting professionally by his early teens. By the time he was 16 years old, Guillard was preparing to fight professionally.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In 2005, Guillard defeated fellow future UFC veteran Roger Huerta by decision, but the fight was ruled a No Contest after Huerta appealed the decision to the commission, accusing Guillard of greasing between rounds one and two.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard participated in "The Ultimate Fighter 2", but was eliminated from the competition after losing a unanimous decision to Josh Burkman. He returned on the season finale, defeating Marcus Davis by technical knockout due to a cut. Fighting again at Welterweight, Guillard lost his next fight to Josh Neer, submitting to a first round triangle choke. Guillard had earlier opened a large cut on Neer's forehead.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: After the lightweight division was reinstated at "UFC 58", Guillard began to transition to this weight class. He made his UFC lightweight debut at "UFC 60", defeating Rick Davis by first-round KO. At "UFC 63" on September 23, 2006, Guillard fought former WEC lightweight champion Gabe Ruediger and won the fight via KO by a body blow. Guillard next fought Joe Stevenson in the main event of "UFC Fight Night 9" and submitted to a guillotine choke 27 seconds into the fight, after being stunned by a punch. Guillard also submitted in his next fight, against Rich Clementi at "UFC 79", to a rear naked choke at 4:40 of the first round. Before and after the bout, the fighters talked trash. Guillard gave Clementi the finger during the introductions and attempted to attack him after the fight, but was restrained by referee Herb Dean. He was subsequently released from the UFC, but was brought back after a win in a minor promotion.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard returned to the UFC at "UFC 86", knocking out Dennis Siver in 36 seconds and earning a Knockout of the Night bonus. He was slated to fight Spencer Fisher at "UFC 90", but tore his ACL while training and was replaced by Shannon Gugerty.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On February 6, 2010, Guillard faced Ronys Torres at "UFC 109". He joined coach Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico to prepare for the fight. He showed improved submission defense and patience in the fight, winning a close unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard was scheduled to face Thiago Tavares at "UFC 114", but Tavares was forced off the card with an elbow injury. Guillard instead fought and knocked out UFC newcomer Waylon Lowe in the first round.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard was expected to face Yves Edwards on January 22, 2011, at "UFC Fight Night 23". However, headliner Kenny Florian pulled out of his fight with Evan Dunham due to injury and Guillard replaced him. He defeated Dunham in the first round via TKO by knees. The finish earned him the "Knockout of the Night" award.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard faced Joe Lauzon on October 6, 2011 at "UFC 136". Guillard was quickly submitted with a rear naked choke after being stunned by a counter left hook from Lauzon.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard next faced Jim Miller in the main event of "UFC on FX 1" on January 20, 2012. After dropping Miller in the early going, Guillard was submitted in the first round.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard next fought Fabrício Camões on July 7, 2012 at "UFC 148". He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard fought Donald Cerrone on August 11, 2012 at "UFC 150", and was knocked out early in the first round after clipping Cerrone with a big left hand. He received a $60,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus award for his effort. This was the first knockout loss of his career.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard was scheduled to face Jamie Varner on December 15, 2012 at . However, Varner fell ill the day of the event and the bout was scrapped from the card. The bout with Varner was rescheduled for December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. Guillard was taken down by Varner several times in their bout, losing a split decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard faced Mac Danzig on July 27, 2013 at UFC on Fox 8. He knocked Danzig out in the second round. The win earned Guillard his third "Knockout of the Night" bonus award.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard faced Ross Pearson on October 26, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 30. The fight ended in a no contest when Pearson was deemed unable to continue after being cut on the forehead by an accidental illegal knee. As a result of the controversial result, a rematch was booked for UFC Fight Night 37 at March 8, 2014 in London. However, Pearson pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Michael Johnson. Guillard lost the lackluster fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On April 7, 2014, World Series of Fighting executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz confirmed Guillard had signed a multi-fight contract.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard made his debut at WSOF 11 on July 5, 2014 against Gesias Cavalcante. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard was expected to challenge Justin Gaethje for his WSOF Lightweight championship on November 15, 2014 at . However, Guillard missed weight for the bout and it was changed to a catchweight affair. Guillard lost the fight via split decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On April 30, 2015 Melvin was released by the World Series of Fighting. His manager, Malki Kawa, announced the news on Twitter: "I just received what I asked for from WSOF which is the release for [Melvin]... Should have a new home for him shortly".


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On May 4, 2015, Bellator MMA president Scott Coker announced Melvin's signing in a press release, stating "We are excited to have Melvin coming onboard."


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In his debut fight for the promotion, Guillard was given the chance to face a hand picked opponent and chose Brandon Girtz, who he fought at Bellator 141 on August 28, 2015. His decision to face Girtz ended up backfiring on him as he lost the fight via split decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In his second fight for the promotion, Guillard faced Derek Campos on February 19, 2016 at . He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In his third fight for the promotion, Guillard faced David Rickels on July 21, 2016 at Bellator 159. Guillard earned his first win in Bellator via a series of elbows and punches to defeat Rickels via KO in the first round. The win was overturned after Guillard tested positive for a non-performance-enhancing banned substance. Guillard was subsequently suspended for one year by the Kansas Athletic Commission. After agreeing to enter rehab and completing the program, Guillard's suspension was subsequently reduced to six months.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard faced Chidi Njokuani in the main event at Bellator 171 on January 27, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In July 2018, Guillard faced Takanori Gomi at Rizin 11. He missed weight for the fight and lost by knockout at 2:33 in the first round. Guillard alleges that Rizin officials altered the rules of his match before the fight, telling him that for his match he would not be allowed to use either soccer kicks or knees to the head of a grounded opponent, forcing to him to change his planned strategy and his attire, putting on wrestling shoes. Guillard suspects that individuals were trying to possibly 'protect' Gomi.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: After the lone bout in Rizin, Guillard faced Terry House Jr. at United Combat League 32 on October 18, 2019. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard was next expected to face Erick Lozano at Lights Out 7 on February 8, 2020. However, the bout never materialized due to unknown reasons.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On April 22, 2017, Guillard took part in a bare knuckle boxing event for Bare Knuckle Boxing in England. He faced Dan Breeze at BKB 5 and won the fight via KO after Dan Breeze failed to respond in time to the 10 count. He expressed before the fight he wanted to fight BKB's undefeated, and biggest star, Middleweight Champion Jimmy "Celtic Warrior" Sweeney, and after the fight on 2 separate occasions nearly got into a fight with Sweeney and his entourage, even grabbing a butter knife at one point, with fellow former UFC fighters Shonie Carter, who recorded the altercation, and Wes Sims present at the scene.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: At BKB 6 on July 1, 2017 Guillard faced the "Undisputed King of Bare Knuckle" and its #1 star, Jimmy "Celtic Warrior" Sweeney. The fight was held at 12 stone (168 lbs). Guillard lost the bout by unanimous decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard had a rematch with Sweeney on September 9, 2017 at BKB 7. He again lost the bout by unanimous decision.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard fought again on November 4, 2017 against Leighton Brady, who stepped in on four days notice after Guillard's original opponent dropped out. Although dropped almost immediately at the beginning of the fight, Guillard came back and dropped his opponent several times, finally dropping Brady a final time in the third round, winning by TKO after Brady failed to get up in time for the 10 count. Guillard expressed in the post-fight interview he wanted a title shot in BKB at Lightweight.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: After the four-fight stint in BKB, Guillard made his promotional debut in BKFC against Isaac Vallie-Flagg at on August 10, 2019. He lost the fight via technical knockout due to a hand injury that rendered him unable to continue after the third round.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: In his sophomore bout he faced Scott O'Shaughnessy at Bare Knuckle FC 16 on March 16, 2021. He lost the fight via first-minute knockout.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: He then faced Harris Stephenson at Bare Knuckle FC 20 on August 20, 2021. He lost the fight via disqualification in the second round due to an illegal blow that was ruled an intentional foul.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard faced Joe Riggs at on October 9, 2021. He lost the fight via first-minute knockout, incurring significant facial fractures.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: On January 27, 2020, The Association of Boxing Commissions issued a news release concerning Guillard's expected fight at the event to take place on Feb 19 2020. In the release they stated that Florida Athletic Commission Executive Director Patrick Cunningham had announced that the FAC had denied BKFC’s bout proposal for a matchup between Guillard and Ulysses Diaz due to “serious health concern" with respect to Melvin Guillard.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: Guillard fought "The Ultimate Fighter 2" winner Joe Stevenson in the main event of "" on April 5, 2007, and submitted to a guillotine choke in 27 seconds after being dropped by a jab. He publicly accused Stevenson of using Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Guillard's own pre-fight urine sample later tested positive for cocaine. The Nevada State Athletic Commission subsequently suspended Guillard for eight months and fined him $2,100. Melvin attributed his drug abuse to the death of his father at age 44, from cirrhosis after a life of heavy drinking.


title: Melvin Guillard

text: He later said, "I made a lot of excuses for myself because of my father's death, and I regret it now because my father left me and he always told me, 'Son, never live a regret. Never make excuses for yourself. Be a man and take responsibility for whatever you do in life.'" He has said his dad was his best friend and biggest fan, and never missed watching him fight. However, after Hurricane Katrina, his dad (a contractor) was backed up with work and so didn't make it to Guillard's UFC debut. He died before he could ever watch him fight in the UFC.