title: Texas Medical Center

text: The Third Ward Redevelopment Council defines the TMC as being part of the Third Ward. T. R. Witcher of the "Houston Press" wrote in 1995 that the TMC and nearby areas are "not the first places that come to mind when you say "Third Ward,"[...]".


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The Texas Medical Center Corporation is headquartered at the John P. McGovern Campus on Holcombe Boulevard southeast of Hermann Park, adjacent to the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The United States Postal Service operates the Medical Center Station on Almeda Road, and Harris County Public Library operates the Texas Medical Center Library near the Baylor School of Medicine.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The Houston Fire Department Station 33 Medical Center, a part of Fire District 21, is near the Texas Medical Center at 7100 Fannin at South Braeswood Boulevard. The original Firehouse 33 was one of the last stations to be housed in an original volunteer fire station. The original Station 33 was the city hall/fire station of Braeswood. The City of Houston annexed the area in 1950. The current Fire Station 33 opened one block from the original station in August 2004. The city relinquished its ownership of the original fire station.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Formerly TMC had its own employee housing, Laurence H. Favrot Tower Apartments, which accommodated TMC employees and their dependents. On August 31, 2012 the complex closed. Dependent children living there were within the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and zoned to Roberts Elementary School in Southgate, Ryan Middle School in the Third Ward, and Lamar High School in Upper Kirby.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Formerly known as the Doctors Orchestra of Houston, the Texas Medical Center Orchestra was established in November 2000 and is one of the few orchestras in the world that originated from health professions. Members of the orchestra include physicians, dentists, nurses, medical students, biomedical scientists, social workers and other health professionals.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The mission of the orchestra is to provide health care professionals with a high-quality outlet for creative expression through the world of symphonic music; perform regularly at affordable concerts that are open to the public and in an accessible venue; attract a diverse audience by commitments to select popular programming reflecting Houston’s diversity; and bring public attention to, and provide programmatic support for, medically related and/or educational charities.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Organizations which have received contributions include: The University of Texas Medical School for heart research; The Ben Taub BOOKS programs; The H.O.M.E.S Clinic; Making a Mark Art Program at Texas Children’s Hospital; HISD's DeBakey High School for Health Professions; Eye Care for Kids Foundation; The Greater Houston Chapter of the American Red Cross; The National Space Biomedical Research Institute; San Jose Clinic; Haddassah; and The Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: In an effort to increase appreciation for classical music in young audiences, Texas Medical Center Orchestra has developed a close relationship with the charter school, KIPP SHARP of KIPP Houston. By coordinating efforts with KIPP SHARP teachers and administrators, TMCO has integrated its musical programming into the school's curriculum. Works that the orchestra performs are taught and discussed in history, art and music classes. The students are invited to display artwork and essays in the Wortham lobby at TMCO concerts, and they are encouraged to attend with their families. TMCO has included KIPP choirs and orchestras in concert performances.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: In 2011, TMCO began working with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lone Star Chapter in an annual co-sponsorship of a bicycle ride, "Gran Fondo: Texas TMCO" that precedes the and benefits both organizations.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Texas Medical Center Orchestra was invited to perform Diane Warren's Oscar-nominated song, "I'm Standing With You" in a monumental music video that featured more than 170 artists from six continents. Warren teamed up with director Gev Miron and composer/arranger Sharon Farber to put this effort together, which has raised over $7 million for the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO).


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The City of Houston defines an area around the Medical Center as the Med Center Super Neighborhood. In 2015 that area had 2,717 residents. 52% were non-Hispanic white, 16% each were non-Hispanic Black and Asian, 12% were Hispanics, and 4% were non-Hispanic other. In 2000 the area had 2,358 residents. 47% were non-Hispanic white, 33% were non-Hispanic Asian, 10% were Hispanic, 8% were non-Hispanic Black, and 2% were non-Hispanic other.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Melinda Webb School, a private school for deaf infants to 7 years old, is located in the TMC; it is operated by the Center for Hearing and Speech and was previously at 3636 W. Dallas. The school serves as a day school for children not yet mainstreamed into regular classrooms and a speech and therapy center for those that are. Previously known as the Houston School for Deaf Children, it was given its current name, after a deaf girl, in 1997. The girl died of leukemia circa 1958; a former student of the school, she had been the first area deaf child to be mainstreamed into a public school, as she began attending one in Texas City in 1954. Her father, Frank Webb, donated $1 million to what became the Melinda Webb School in 2002. That year its enrollment was 35-40. In 2020 it began admitting preschool students without hearing difficulties to provide a more mainstream environment.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Medical Center Charter School opened in 1996, catered to employees working in the Medical Center, and had the Montessori method, used until grade two. Its specialty as of 2003 was foreign languages. It was not located near the TMC area but in the Westbury area. In 2014, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that the school's performance was insufficient and that it sought to revoke its charter. By 2018, its charter had closed.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: Christian churches near the TMC include City Life Church, Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, St. Mathew's Lutheran church, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church (of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese). Nine churches established the Church Apartment Ministry, which maintains three apartment complexes for families visiting hospitalized patients.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: There is a Jewish house of worship, Medical Center Chabad House, which maintains the Aishel House program.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) maintains the Al-Ma'adah Musalla (Medical Center Musalla), a prayer area.


title: Texas Medical Center

text: The Weekley Family YMCA is in the area. It opened in 1951 as the Southwest YMCA, in West University Place. The current facility in Braeswood Place, Houston broke ground in 2001.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: The Lillehammer affair (Hebrew: פרשת לילהאמר, "Parshat Lillehammer", Norwegian: "Lillehammer-saken") was the killing by Mossad agents of Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter and brother of the renowned musician Chico Bouchikhi, in Lillehammer, Norway, on 21 July 1973. The Israeli agents had mistaken their target for Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September. Six of the Mossad team of fifteen were captured and convicted of complicity in the killing by the Norwegian justice system in a major blow to the intelligence agency's reputation.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: Undercover agents had been sent by Israel as part of Operation Wrath of God to assassinate Ali Hassan Salameh, the head of Force 17 and an operative of the Black September Organization, a Palestinian militant group that carried out the 1972 Munich Massacre. In the summer of 1973, Mossad received a tip that Salameh was working as a waiter in Lillehammer. Author and former Mossad katsa (case officer) Victor Ostrovsky wrote that Salameh was instrumental in leading Mossad off course by feeding it false information about his whereabouts. A team of 15 Mossad agents was sent to Lillehammer to assassinate him, where they were joined by Mossad director general Zvi Zamir and operation commander Michael Harari. Lillehammer was a relatively small city, and the sudden arrival of more than a dozen strangers attracted attention from residents. The local police began to watch them.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: A known Palestinian courier in Lillehammer was identified and followed by Mossad agents to a public swimming pool, where he was seen speaking with Bouchikhi, who had no connection to Palestinian armed groups and whose conversation with the courier was coincidental. Bouchikhi, who resembled Salameh, was found to match the photographs of Salameh. A female Mossad agent then jumped into the pool and got close enough to Bouchikhi to hear him speaking French. The agents knew that Salameh was multilingual, and concluded that this had to be him. The Mossad team followed Bouchikhi to his home. His residence was placed under constant surveillance by Mossad agents sitting in hired cars.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: On the evening of 21 July, a day after having misidentified Bouchikhi as Salameh, the Mossad agents carried out the assassination. Bouchikhi and his pregnant wife had gone to see a movie. After taking a bus back and getting off at a bus stop, they began slowly walking back home. As they were in sight of their home, a car with four Mossad agents pulled up beside them. While two stayed in the car to provide cover, the other two got out and shot Bouchikhi 13 times with a 22 caliber pistol, his wife witnessing the shooting. They then jumped back into the car, which immediately drove away at high speed. Local police were close by, but by the time police and rescue arrived, Bouchikhi was dead.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: The killing shocked the residents of Lillehammer, where there had not been a murder for 36 years. The Israelis learned that they had killed the wrong man after the story was publicized the following day. Nine members of the hit team, including the two actual killers, escaped and were out of Norway the day following the assassination. Six other members of the team, four men and two women, were arrested before they could escape. Two agents were caught in a getaway car they were using again without having changed the license plates while trying to get to an airport the day after the assassination. Their interrogations led to the arrests of the remaining members of the cell. Incriminating documents and the keys to a network of safe houses were discovered.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: While the defence counsel said their clients played only minor roles such as shadowing and passing on information, five of the six agents were found guilty on a variety of charges and convicted of complicity in the killing, receiving sentences ranging from one year to five and a half years but were released and returned to Israel in 1975. The Mossad later found Ali Hassan Salameh in Beirut and killed him on 22 January 1979 with a remote-controlled car bomb in an attack that also caused the deaths of eight other persons (including four of Salameh’s bodyguards) and injured 18 others.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: The revelations of the captured agents dealt a massive blow to the secret infrastructure of the Mossad in Europe. The captured agents were interrogated over the operation. One of them, Dan Arbel, became extremely nervous as soon as his cell door shut due to his extreme claustrophobia; he provided many details on the operation in exchange for being transferred to a larger cell with a small window. Authorities discovered a key on one of the suspects for a Mossad safe house in Paris. It was handed over to the French police, who raided the flat and discovered keys to other Mossad safe houses in the city, along with evidence that several of those involved in the Lillehammer operation had been involved in other assassinations as part of Operation Wrath of God. Information on Mossad safe houses, phone numbers and agents gathered during the interrogation of the agents was rapidly shared with its European counterparts. As a result, Mossad agents who had been exposed had to be recalled, safe houses abandoned, phone numbers changed and operational methods modified.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: For the first time, clear evidence had been found of Israel's involvement in the string of assassinations of Palestinians that had taken place on European soil as part of Operation Wrath of God. Under intense international pressure, Golda Meir ordered the operation suspended. It was resumed under Prime Minister Menachem Begin.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: Israel never officially took responsibility for the assassination. In January 1996, Prime Minister Shimon Peres said that Israel would never take responsibility for the killing but would consider compensation. The Government of Israel appointed an attorney, Amnon Goldenberg, to negotiate a settlement with Bouchikhi's widow Torill and daughter Malika, who were represented by attorney Thor-Erik Johansen. That same month, an agreement was reached; Israel paid compensation equal to US$283,000 split between Bouchikhi's wife and daughter. A separate settlement of US$118,000 was paid to a son from a previous marriage. An Israeli statement was also issued which stopped short of an apology but expressed "sorrow" over Bouchikhi's "unfortunate" death.


title: Lillehammer affair

text: In 1990 Norway reopened the case. In 1998 it issued a global arrest warrant for the leader of the operation, Michael Harari, who had successfully escaped, but closed the case the following year after judging that it would be impossible to get a conviction. According to the September 2004 book release of "Mange liv" (English: "Many lives") by the former lawyer Annæus Schjødt, who represented two of the agents in the case and later married one of them (Sylvia Raphael), information about the Israeli nuclear weapons program was leaked to the Government of Norway by one of the arrested agents, Dan Arbel. However, the Norwegians decided to remain silent about their findings. Information relating to Israel's development and possession of nuclear weapons was not made public until Mordechai Vanunu exposed the program in October 1986, some 13 years later.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, "13" (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Recording sessions started in November 2001, taking place in London, Morocco and Devon, and finished a year later. The album's primary producer was Ben Hillier with additional production by Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), and William Orbit. At the start of the sessions, guitarist Graham Coxon had been in rehab for alcoholism. After he re-joined, relationships between him and the other members became strained. After initial recording sessions, Coxon left, leaving little of his presence on the finished album. This is the only Blur album to not feature Coxon as a full-time member; he returned to the band for their next album "The Magic Whip" (2015).


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "Think Tank" is a loose concept album, which Albarn has stated is about "love and politics". Albarn, a pacifist, had spoken out against the invasion of Afghanistan and, after Western nations threatened to invade Iraq, took part in the widespread protests against the war. Anti-war themes are recurrent in the album as well as in associated artwork and promotional videos.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: After leaking onto the internet in March, "Think Tank" was released on 5 May 2003 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, making it Blur's fifth consecutive studio album to reach the top spot. The album was later certified Gold. "Think Tank" also reached the top 20 in many other countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Japan. It was their highest charting album in the United States, reaching number 56 on the "Billboard" 200. The album produced three singles, which charted at number 5, number 18 and number 22 respectively on the UK Singles Chart. After the album was released, Blur announced a world tour with Simon Tong filling in for Coxon.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Although Blur had been associated with the Britpop movement, they had experimented with different musical styles more recently, beginning with "Blur" (1997) which had been influenced by indie rock bands under the suggestion of guitarist Graham Coxon. Since the mid to late 1990s, Blur's members had been working on other projects as well as Blur: Albarn had co-created Gorillaz, a virtual band, in 1998 with comic artist Jamie Hewlett whom Albarn had met through Coxon. Gorillaz' 2001 debut was financially successful and received critical acclaim. Since composing the Blur song, "You're So Great", Coxon had started a solo career and as of 2001 had released three solo albums. The members' differing musical interests had alienated some of the band members, with Coxon explaining, "we're all very concerned for each other and we do genuinely like each other an awful lot. Because we're into so much different stuff, it becomes daunting." Nevertheless, Coxon, along with Alex James and Dave Rowntree were keen for a new album, whilst Albarn was more reluctant.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Blur's prior album, "13", had made heavy use of experimental and electronic music with the guidance of producer William Orbit. Despite the success of the album and its associated singles, the overall sound of the album had been deemed as "deliberately uncommercial" compared to their previous efforts. Despite the broader musical landscaping which Blur were engaging in, Albarn said in a January 2001 interview that he wanted to make a more accessible album again, stating "I'm trying to go back to the kind of songwriting aesthetic I had on (hit album) Parklife. They won't be arranged in the same way at all – they'll just be songs that are accessible to the public." He also explained his reasoning for this approach, stating that "it's too complicated being anything other than mainstream with Blur. That's where it belongs. We still feel that the mainstream in Britain is not represented well enough by intelligent musicians."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: After the September 11 attacks, a series of controversial military campaigns were launched, known as the War on Terror. In November 2001, shortly after the Invasion of Afghanistan, the MTV Europe Music Awards were held in Frankfurt, where Gorillaz won an award for Best Dance Act. As Albarn and Hewlett walked onto stage to make a speech, Albarn sported a T-shirt with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo on it. In Albarn's speech, he said "So, fuck the music. Listen. See this symbol here, [pointing to the t-shirt] this the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bombing one of the poorest countries in the world is wrong. You've got a voice and you have got to do what you can about it, alright?"


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: In 2002, Iraq was under threat of invasion from western nations. Opposition from the public led to protests being organised by a number of organisations. Albarn, who has described himself as being anti-war, spoke out against the invasion,<ref name="NME 20/8/02"></ref> citing the lack of democratic process as an issue. Anti-war views had been shared with Albarn's parents and grandparents. His grandfather, Edward Albarn, had died after going on a hunger strike the previous year.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Albarn teamed up with Robert "3D" Del Naja of Massive Attack and various campaigns to raise awareness of the potential dangers of the UK's involvement in the war. Albarn was due to speak in Hyde Park on the rally in March 2003 when a million people took to the streets of London in protest at the imminent war. In the event, he was too emotional to deliver his speech.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Recording sessions for "Think Tank" started in November 2001 at Albarn's 13 Studio in London. Albarn, James and Rowntree had come to the studio along with Ben Hillier, who explained that "there was tension to begin with. Alex had made some belittling comment about Gorillaz in the press, but there was a 'fuck you' and a 'fuck you' and it was all mates again but for the fact that Graham was missing". During 2001, Coxon had been battling alcoholism and depression, and failed to turn up to the initial session. Despite Coxon's absence, the rest of the band decided to start recording without him.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: By January 2002, the rest of the band were mainly recording demos that Albarn had started on a four-track and subsequently transferred into Logic with 13's in-house engineers Tom Girling, Jason Cox and assistant, James Dring. Coxon rejoined the rest of the band for recording sessions in February and May 2002, with the foreknowledge that it would be "tense in the studio". Coxon spent, what he described as "awkward afternoons", contributing on the tracks "Battery in Your Leg", "The Outsider", "Morricone", and "Some Glad Morning", with only the first of them ending up on the final album. Coxon left the band after these recording sessions. The remaining members of Blur decided to carry on recording, Albarn stating that "the spirit of Blur was more important than the individuals".


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: In June, the band went back into the studio, doing "tracking, overdubs and reworking what we'd already done, and all the time new songs would be popping up – I think we had 28 of them at one point." Albarn desired to have multiple producers involved in the album, wanting to get a "name producer" involved. Albarn had previously been in talks with Norman Cook, commonly known as Fatboy Slim, to be involved on the record, although he originally wanted to contribute "just feedback and nothing else". Albarn eventually invited him to try and work with the band. Hillier and the band also spent time working with other producers, including the Dust Brothers, whilst the Neptunes were also reported to be involved at one point.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: In August, the remaining members of Blur, along with Hillier, travelled to Morocco. James released a statement on the band's website saying "I suppose the idea at the bottom of this is to escape from whatever ghetto we're in and free ourselves by going somewhere new and exciting." The band settled at Marrakesh where they equipped an old barn with a studio. Albarn claimed that most of the album's lyrics were written "under a cypress tree in Morocco". The sessions in Marrakesh produced "Crazy Beat", "Gene by Gene", and "Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club". The vocal sessions took place at this time. While in Morocco, Albarn wrote a song about Cook and his partner, Zoë Ball, who were having troubles with their relationship. The song started out as a jam session, eventually evolving into "Put It Back Together", which ended up on Fatboy Slim's fourth studio album, "Palookaville", which was released in October 2004. After the band came back from Morocco, the remaining sessions took place in a barn on National Trust land in Devon.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: William Orbit, who was the main producer on "13" was also involved in the album's production, with Hillier stating that "we sent a couple of tunes to William to work on in his studio, working round the clock in a computer environment the way he does. He's a nutter and works all night. That was quite an interesting juxtaposition, us doing office hours then going to see William after work, just as he was getting up!" Of Orbit's productions, "Sweet Song" ended up on the album. Coxon's absence also bolstered the role of Alex James and Dave Rowntree who provided backing vocals throughout the album. Rowntree also played the electric guitar on "On the Way to the Club" and provided a rap on a demo version of "Sweet Song". A Moroccan orchestra is featured on the lead single, "Out of Time".


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Despite Albarn stating that he originally wanted to return to their more commercial sound, "Think Tank" continues the jam-based studio constructions of previous album "13". The album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. Almost entirely written by Albarn, "Think Tank" placed more emphasis on lush backing vocals, simple acoustic guitar, drums, bass guitar, and a variety of other instruments.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "We knew we had to come back with the best thing we'd ever done," observed James. "I think it is. It's next level shit!"


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Like many of Blur's previous albums, "Think Tank" is a loose concept album. Albarn has stated that it is an album about "love and politics", stating that "[Unease] forces people to value what they've got. And that, hopefully, will pay dividends and help change the world to a better place. Hopefully. Touch wood." Albarn also stated that the album is about "what are you supposed to do as an artist other than express what is going on around you." Some of the songs are concerned with a sense of paranoia and alienation in British club culture. Damon also cited punk rock music, particularly the Clash, as an inspiration.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: The album's opening track, "Ambulance", starts off with a complex drum beat. Sam Bloch of "Stylus Magazine" praised the song's intro, describing the beat as "an offbeat rhythmic synapse that nearly collapses into itself [...] Heavy electronic drums. A flash. A kick. At first, it's really hard to believe that this is a song, functioning on its own. The beat needs crutches to stand upright." Devon Powers of "PopMatters" wrote that "the first bars [...] are stricken with throbbing beats that sound simultaneously futuristic and primitive." Bloch went on to write: "as a low, thunderous bass enters [the listener's] speakers, the whole thing slowly grows. Distinctive African percussion is leisurely incorporated into the bass overtone—it's the darkness in a thunderstorm, the pure, simple fury that comes before a glorious lightning streak."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: At 0:52 Albarn's lead vocals come in, repeating the lyrics "I ain't got nothin' to be scared of" in a "gauzy" falsetto. This is accompanied by a "languid" bass groove and backing vocals described by Bloch as "gospel-twinged", as well as a baritone sax line described by Powers as "[cutting] underneath the back-up singers, at an angle—so quirky it feels like Morphine could have played it." As Albarn delivers the next line (cause I love you"), a synthesizer kicks in, described by stylus as "illustrious", "otherworldly" and "flooding the song's deathly stomp. But within this death there is love. Albarn makes this clear in the structure of this song." In Albarn's next vocal lines, he drops out of falsetto into "his low swinging monotone". Powers stated that he "croons, carelessly, almost as if he's freestyling. Things change again. They keep changing." Powers speculated that the song was about love but said "it's also a fitting introduction to a record that's such an extreme departure from their past work, and so drastically left field from the garage and post-punk and easily accessible poprock currently drenching the airwaves".


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: In an XFM radio interview, Albarn spoke on the composition of the track, stating, "I try to do a lot of stuff once I've got the melody and the chord structure. I try to just sing it in one go without thinking about it too much. It comes out a sort of partially formed song and sometimes you're lucky and it comes out almost kind of sort of perfect and sometimes it's just a mess." He stated that this was a case of the former. James said that "Ambulance" was "the first song that I thought, right this is Blur again. Like I'm in the right place again. I suppose the lyrics have something to do with that, you know, having nothing to be scared of anymore."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Greenwald claimed that "Out of Time" was "the album's highlight". Describing the song as "failure-soaked" and "heart-stoppingly lovely", Greenwald went on to say that it "perfectly captures the jumble of beauty and dread that defines life under orange alert. "Are we out of time?" Albarn asks, desperate for one last peace march or one last snog." Powers described the song as "a much more straightforward, apace ballad [compared to the previous song]. Dominant in the track are Albarn's unadulterated vocals and steady, simplistic drums, but beyond that are ethereal, hard-to-identify noises. In the middle of the track, an Andalucian string group rears its head, as does a tambourine."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "Crazy Beat" was compared to "Song 2" from the band's self-titled album. XFM described the song as "Fatboy Slim meets Middle Eastern Punk rock ... energetic, punked-out rocker. But as much as this song might appeal to the neo-DIY set—complete with its jumpy chorus and lively melody—Blur are anything but. If there's one thing Blur are known for, it's lots and lots and lots of production. Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), builds this number with tons of sound, so there's always another active level to uncover." According to Albarn, the song "started off in such a different way. The nearest thing I could compare it to is a really bad version of Daft Punk. So, we got sick of it and then put in that descending guitar line over it to rough it up a bit." He also stated "It had this sort of mad vocoder-ish vocal and the melody was over a real sort of skanky groove and just this almost descending semi tonal guitar. The melody worked over it and it was amazing coz it shouldn't have worked, another little magic moment for us."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Powers claimed that "the best moments of this album are those when vintage Blur styles are evoked with new expertise. The meandering "Good Song" is a beautiful case in point. Acoustic guitar picking is matched with temperate drums and a sweet, steady bass countermelody. Albarn's singing is mostly in his mid-range, falling out as easily as breath. Signature background vocal harmonies are there to brighten up the track, but their muted nature doesn't descend into campiness. What's also new is the expert use of electronic noises and drumbeats to fatten the sound." Albarn said "well, that was originally called 'De La Soul' on our huge list of songs, half finished ideas. It was called 'De La Soul you know, right until the end. And I just always thought it was a good song and just called it 'Good Song'. I love that, I love the sort of intimacy of it and I just think everyone really played gently on it, the melodies. It was a good melody."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "On the Way to the Club" was described by Albarn as "a hangover song which we sort of write from time to time." Albarn also said that "it's definitely got a very individual sound. Someone said that it's a sort of revived "Screamadelica". Yeah, it's kind of the good intentions of which you participate in revelry and then actually the reality of it."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "Brothers and Sisters" was one of the last additions to the album. "It was a kind of track that took quite a different direction for most of its life", said Rowntree. "...And then right at the end we switched about and took it in a different direction, it wasn't quite so dark." "It sounded more like The Velvet Underground when we started", claimed Albarn. "It was too overtly about one thing. It was too druggy, in a way, which is a kind of weird thing, 'cause the song is all about drugs so I think we just pushed ourselves a bit more with it and gave it a lot more space – countered by the list and the list was kind of sort of inspired by the life of JFK and his need to have 28 drugs everyday of his Presidency just to keep him functioning."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Albarn described "Caravan" as "a kind of song that you could play anywhere. And I mean I remember we just finished it and when everyone left to go back to London, I went down to Mali for a couple of days 'cause Honest Jon's [were] still working with musicians and stuff. I was sitting in a mango grove with a wild turkey and had a little CD player and I put it on there. It was just nice seeing everyone sitting around getting stoned to it. It was nice, 'cause the guitar is very, much inspired by Afel; a great Malian tradition of blues guitar." "I think this one's about the sun going down, for me", James claimed. "That was like a perfect studio moment; sitting on top of a strange barn in the Moroccan desert listening to Damon do a vocal and it a was a perfectly still time of day and the sun was perfectly red and there was just an immense sense of calm and this music."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Albarn claimed that "Sweet Song" was inspired by Coxon. Explaining the habit of putting 'song' in the title, Albarn stated that it was "another African thing that I've picked up. They do call things like 'Tree Song'. You know what I mean; they give it something quite simple. It's not, it doesn't have an agenda so much, it's offered out as a nice bit of music to everyone and that's something that has changed massively in my life, I don't see the ownership of things quite so strongly anymore."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: There is a hidden track, "Me, White Noise" in the pregap before track 1 on some CD copies. The song guest features Phil Daniels, who previously appeared on "Parklife", on vocals. Japanese versions of the album feature the song at track 30, after silent tracks at index points 15–29. On the "Blur 21" edition, the hidden track is placed after a few minutes of silence at the end of the last track.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: The case contains a Parental Advisory logo in some regions, because "Brothers and Sisters" contains many drug references. Also, the hidden track "Me, White Noise" is one of the few Blur songs to contain an expletive.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: The album cover was stenciled by the graffiti artist Banksy. Despite Banksy stating that he normally avoids commercial work, he later defended his decision to do the cover, saying: "I've done a few things to pay the bills, and I did the Blur album. It was a good record and [the commission was] quite a lot of money. I think that's a really important distinction to make. If it's something you actually believe in, doing something commercial doesn't turn it to shit just because it's commercial. Otherwise you've got to be a socialist rejecting capitalism altogether, because the idea that you can marry a quality product with a quality visual and be a part of that even though it's capitalistic is sometimes a contradiction you can't live with. But sometimes it's pretty symbiotic, like the Blur situation." The album's cover art sold at auction in 2007 for £75,000. The fold out booklet of the album features the text "Celebrity Harvest", which was the working name for a proposed, but ultimately unmade Gorillaz film.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Prior to the album's official release, it was leaked onto the internet. Rowntree said "I'd rather it gushed" and "I'm rabidly pro the internet and as many people hearing our albums as possible. If it hadn't been leaked by someone we probably would've leaked it ourselves".<ref name="xfm 2/7/03"></ref> Albarn speculated that the leak helped the reception of their live shows, due to the songs' lyrics being more familiar to the audience.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: The album debuted in the US at number 56 with first-week sales of 20,000, becoming the highest peak of any Blur album in the US at that time. It has sold 94,000 copies in the US as of April 2015.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: In the UK, the album debuted at the top spot, becoming their fifth consecutive number one album. The album remained in the top 10 for three weeks and the top 75 for a total of eight weeks, lacking the longevity and sales success of their previous releases.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: "Think Tank" received mostly positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 26 reviews. "Drowned in Sound" writer Andrew Future deemed the album "a genuine pleasure to behold" and whilst stating that previous albums "Blur" and "13" were "full of jump-start arrangements and fractured experimentalism", he described "Think Tank" as being "lush in melody, flowing in windswept electronica with a myriad of bombastic orchestral backing one minute, before retracting into cocoons of melancholic and clustered acoustics the next." Playlouder called the album "an extraordinary record that pushes boundaries and sets new standards." "The beat-driven tracks," observed Steve Lowe in "Q", "veer towards the arty, white-boy-with-beatbox line of Talking Heads and The Clash (actually, the low-slung hip-pop of 'Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club' even recalls Big Audio Dynamite). Only the trudging, tedious six-minute squib 'Jets' really needs taking back to the shops." However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the album "is the sound of Albarn run amuck, a (perhaps inevitable) development that even voracious Blur supporters secretly feared could ruin the band — and it has." He also described "Think Tank" as a "lousy album" on which the few strong tracks are "severely hurt by Coxon's absence".


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Albarn became critical of the record over time. In 2015 he said: "It's... got some real stinkers on it – there's some bollocks on there."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Blur received a number of awards and nominations for "Think Tank". At the 2003 Q Awards, "Think Tank" won the award for Best Album. This was the third time the band had received this award, previously winning in 1994 and 1995 for "Parklife" and "The Great Escape" respectively. Blur also received nomination for Best Act in the World Today and, along with Ben Hillier, were nominated in the Best Producer category. The album also won in the Best Album category at the South Bank Show Awards in 2004 and was nominated in a similarly titled category at the Danish Music Awards the same year. "Think Tank" was nominated for Best British Album at the 2004 Brit Awards. The promo videos for "Out of Time" and "Good Song" also won several awards.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: At the end of the year, "The Observer" listed "Think Tank" as the best album of 2003, Miranda Sawyer writing that, ""Think Tank" is the band's first warm album. They have hopped genres in the past, from baggy to mod to pop to grunge to art-rock, but the sound has always stayed urban, Western, cool. "Think Tank" is none of these things. It's all over the place, and that place is foreign. Odd noises, strange instruments, keening vocals; its tunes wind themselves around your heart like drifting smoke. They waft in from faraway lands; trail and trickle their scent across your life. It is the most peculiar stuff that stays with you; "Ambulance"'s slurred symphony; "Caravan"'s star-speckled wonder."


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: After the album's release, Blur went on a world tour with former the Verve's guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong filling in for Coxon on guitar. However, Albarn later said that he felt the live shows were "rubbish" and bassist Alex James admitted that touring was not the same without Coxon.


title: Think Tank (Blur album)

text: Since Blur's reunion with Coxon in 2009, the album has largely been absent from Blur's setlists, with the exception of "Out of Time" (in a new arrangement with additional guitar parts by Coxon) and occasional performances of "Battery in Your Leg" in 2009 and "Caravan" in 2015.


title: Nathan Gamble

text: Nathan Gamble (born January 12, 1998) is an American actor who made his feature film debut in "Babel" (2006), for which he was nominated for a 2007 Young Artist Award. He is best known for his role as Sawyer Nelson in "Dolphin Tale" and the sequel "Dolphin Tale 2".


title: Nathan Gamble

text: Gamble was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of theater directors who run a drama camp for children. His additional screen credits include "Dry Rain" (2007), "Saving Sam" (2007), "Diggers" (2007), "The Mist" (2007), "The Dark Knight" (2008), "Marley & Me" (2008), "The Hole" (2009), "Dolphin Tale" (2011) and "Dolphin Tale 2" (2014).


title: Nathan Gamble

text: On television, Gamble appeared in "Runaway" in 2006; crossover episodes of "" and "Without a Trace" in 2007; and "House M.D." and "Ghost Whisperer" in 2008. In 2009, he played the role of Henry Pryor, son of the titular character in "Hank". In 2010, he played the role of Daniel in a short film called "Displaced;" the film was commissioned by the city of Seattle as part of the Water Calling series and aired at Seattle Channel.


title: Nathan Gamble

text: Gamble has completed filming the role of Poe Malloy in "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas" for Warner Bros. Television. He portrayed Lucas Thompson in the film "The Hole", which was released in 2009.


title: Nathan Gamble

text: His first lead role was in the 2011 film "Dolphin Tale", where he plays Sawyer Nelson, a young boy who discovers a dolphin caught in a crab trap in Florida (based on the real-life story of Winter the dolphin). He reprised his role as Sawyer Nelson in the 2014 sequel, "Dolphin Tale 2".


title: Casual (subculture)

text: The casual subculture is a subsection of football culture that is typified by hooliganism and the wearing of expensive designer clothing (known as "clobber"). The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer clothing labels and expensive sportswear such as Stone Island, CP Company, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila, Hackett & Fred Perry in order to avoid the attention of police and to intimidate rivals. They did not wear club colours, so it was easier to infiltrate rival groups and to enter pubs. Some casuals have worn clothing items similar to those worn by mods. Casuals have been portrayed in films and television programmes such as "ID", "The Firm", "The Football Factory", and "Green Street". The documentary "Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion" featuring Pat Nevin, Peter Hooton and Gary Bushell amongst others is about the fashion that started in the late 70s and into the 1980s.


title: Casual (subculture)

text: The designer clothing and fashion aspect of the casual subculture began in the mid-to-late 1970s. One well documented precursor was the trend of Liverpool youths starting to dress differently from other football fans — in Peter Storm jackets, straight-leg jeans and Adidas trainers. Liverpool F.C. fans were the first British football fans to wear continental European fashions, which they picked up while following their teams at matches in Europe.


title: Casual (subculture)

text: The other documented precursor, according to Colin Blaney, was a subculture known as "Perry Boys", which originated in the mid-1970s as a precursor to the casuals. The Perry Boys subculture consisted of Manchester football hooligans styling their hair into a flick and wearing sportswear, Fred Perry shirts and Dunlop Green Flash trainers.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay () (English literal:When were we truthful?) is a Pakistani drama television series based on the novel of same name by Umera Ahmad. Directed by Farooq Rind, the serial is co-produced by Soul Fry Films and MD Productions. It features Mahira Khan, Kubra Khan and Usman Mukhtar in lead roles. It premiered on 1 August 2021 on Hum TV.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: The series received mixed to negative reviews throughout its broadcast, it also gained praise for its premise and performances of female leads while received negative reviews for glorification of toxicity.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: The story revolves around three cousins: Aswad(Usman Mukhtar), Mehreen(Mahira Khan), and Mashal(Kubra Khan). Aswad is humble and friendly and close to both Mashal and Mehreen. Mashal is known for her beauty and is in love with Aswad. Mehreen is poor but simple but also in love with Aswad. Mehreen, Mashal, and Aswad were three best friends. Mehreen's grandmother hates her because her dad is a drug addict. One day, Mehreen's dad(Omair Rana) gets caught by his wife, Rabia(Laila Wasti) for fraud and stealing her jewelry to buy drugs. She leaves him threatening him that she will take Mehreen with her. Mansoor, Mehreen's father, who loves Mehreen so much is unable to tolerate the idea of his daughter being away from him forever and commits suicide by heroin overdose.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: Mehreen's mother gets remarried and neglects Mehreen as her step-dad does not want to keep her. Mehreen moves in with Mashal's parents and her grandmother, Everybody hates her. Mehreen lives a lonely life; however, she is smart academically and artistically. She is also a strong girl who has lived a bitter life as her childhood has been snatched from her. She does not let anyone get in her way. Having lost her mother and father, she has no support, except for her aunt, Saleha (Huma Nawab) who is Aswad's mother. She has always been a top student and participates in art competitions which she bags first place. She loves to debate and is a talented artist. Her friends admire her which makes Mashal really envious of her. Aswad's mother, Saleha, is the sole person who knows Mehreen's reality and loves her dearly, like a daughter.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: However, Mashal is the complete opposite of Mehreen. She was extremely beautiful and neither bright in her academics nor is she artistic in nature. Shagufta(Zainab Qayyum), Mashal's mother, seeing Mehreen's qualities forces Mashal to 'be like Mehreen'. This then creates an inferiority complex in Mashal and becomes obsessed with Mehreen, wanting to be her. She gets access to Mehreen's room and reads her diaries, getting insight into Mehreen's likes, dislikes and her lifestyle. She also finds out how much Mehreen hates her.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: All this while, Mashal is in close contact with Aswad who lives in America, feeding him with false information about Mehreen's shenanigans; claiming that she smokes and has many boyfriends. Oftentimes, claiming Mehreen's academic and artistic victories as her own. Aswad gets brain washed by Mashal about Mehreen and begins to dislike her, in disbelief that his once best friend is going rogue.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: The story progresses when Saleha wants Mehreen to marry Aswad as it has always been her long time wish, which also goes in favour of Mehreen as she was always in love with Aswad. Meanwhile, Mehreen’s friend's cousin, Saffwan(Haroon Shahid), becomes romantically interested in Mehreen. Mashal finds out about this and in order to get revenge, reads Mehreen's diary, she gets to know about Saffwan. Mashal tells Saffwan about Mehreen's past including her dad's drug addiction. This creates a misunderstanding between Saffwan and Mehreen. However, Saffwan comes to realize it that it was all Mashal's doing. He proposes to Mehreen. Mehreen rejects him by telling him that he doesn't know anything about her past and once he gets to know it, he will hate her like the others.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: Seeing that her plan has failed, Mashal decides to tell Aswad that she loves him and wants to marry him. Aswad, who also likes Mashal, agrees and tells his mom about Mashal. His mother rejects Mashal and insists only wants Mehreen as his wife. Aswad tells Mashal that he can not marry her. This breaks Mashal's heart but she tells Aswad that she forgives him and wants him to be happy. Aswad leaves for Karachi with his mother for few days. One night, Mashal is found dead in her room. Everyone blames Mehreen for Mashal's murder. Mehreen is arrested. Shabbo, their maid, knew everything about what happened that night but couldn't speak up. Due to the trauma of being falsely accused, Mehreen starts to hallucinate her father and Mahsal in jail.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: Mehreen was soon bailed because Aswad arranges a lawyer for her. Late Mashal's parents weren't happy about Mehreen getting released as they still thought that Mehreen had poisoned Mashal. Aswad also thinks that Mehreen killed Mashal and behaves even more rudely to her. Aswad marries Mehreen to get revenge on Mashal's murder. Aswad emotionally starts abusing and torturing Mehreen blaming her for killing Mashal. This deteriorates Mehreen's mental state as she starts hallucinating Mashal telling Mehreen that she should kill herself and saying that that was what Aswad wanted too. After a series of similar events and Aswad forces Mehreen to sign an affidavit, making Mehreen falsely confess that she has killed Mashal became the last straw and Mehreen gets a nervous breakdown. She gets admitted to a hospital.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: The Psychiatrist tells Aswad that it was because of Aswad's emotional abuse which brought Mehreen to this state. Aswad starts to feel guilty and Shaguftha calls Aswad's house to inform them to take Mehreen belongings as they don't want to keep her belongings anymore. Aswad goes to collect them and is shocked to see Mehreen's awards and paintings. He reminisces how Mashal used to show off the awards but now realises that they were all Mehreen's. Shabbo, who cannot keep the secret anymore, spills everything and unveils Mehreen's innocent past. Informing him that it was Mashal who was not bright in her studies, it was Mahsal who smoked. Aswad regrets his rude behavior towards Mehreen. He further questions about the real events which happened the night Mashal died. Shabbo reveals that it was Mashal who tried killing Mehreen but due to Shabbo's carelessness Mashal consumed it, as Shabbo put sleeping pills in Mashal's cup instead of Mehreen's cup. Aswad becomes shocked hearing this.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: He goes home and reads Mehreen's diary realising he has been falsely accusing her and becomes remorseful of his acts. He goes to hospital but finds Mehreen in denial and asking for divorce from Aswad. But Aswad pleads Mehreen to listen to him once and he confesses everything. Mehreen also gives further details of the happenings of that night and also reveals that that that night Mashal and Mehreen decided to reconcile their differences confessing to each other that each of them had their complexes and hated each other because the elder's politics broke them apart. Mashal's mother forcing her to be like Mehreen. Both of them realised that it was enough that they fought and Shabbo brings both of them tea. Mashal realising that she had wanted to kill Mehreen as she thought the pills were in Mehreen's cup, she breaks Mehreen's cup from her hands. Unbeknownst that the sleeping pills were actually in her cup, Mashal consumes it. They both apologise to each other and forgive each other that night, hoping to reconcile the next morning. Not knowing that the night would be the last night that Mahsal would be alive.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: Aswad becomes shocked learning this and he asks Mehreen for forgiveness, promising to love her like he did in his childhood. Mehreen forgives Aswad as she did with Mashal and they finally reconcile. Mehreen continues her incomplete degree with full support from Aswad and they start a new life together.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: The project was first announced by Zainab Qayyum in late-March 2021 who confirmed on Instagram being part of the serial along with Kubra Khan, directed by Farooq Rind. Omair Rana in an interview revealed that he is starring in a serial and Mahira Khan will return to television after five years with the same serial.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: While reviewing the starting episode, Haneena Moosa of the "Daily Times" wrote, "The drama begins with a very powerful dialogue, delivered by one of the drama’s protagonists Aswad". She further praised premise and subject of the serial. Critics praised the premise and storyline of the series.


title: Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay

text: While writing for "The News", Maheen Zia termed some of the events regarding the character Aswad as unrealistic. Another reviewer of the newspaper called out it for the glorification of toxic relationships. Due to dragging storyline and slow pace, the series also gathered criticism from viewers and critics.


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: Pitch Perfect: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official music for the 2012 film "Pitch Perfect". The soundtrack was released digitally on September 25, 2012, and physically on October 2, 2012. Three songs from the album charted on the "Billboard" Hot 100: "Cups" by Anna Kendrick, which peaked at number 6; "Bellas Finals" by the Barden Bellas, which peaked at number 85; and "Riff Off" by the Barden Bellas, the Treblemakers, and the BU Harmonics, which peaked at number 86.


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: The album was the sixth best-selling soundtrack of 2012, with 212,000 copies sold for the year. The album also became the best-selling soundtrack of 2013 in the United States, with 793,000 copies sold in 2013. As of April 2015, the album has sold a total of 1.2 million copies in the US.


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: The EP version of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on December 18, 2012, in iTunes and physically as a Target exclusive. The EP contains four tracks that are performed by other rival groups of the Barden Bellas and the Treblemakers.


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: "More from Pitch Perfect" was released on June 4, 2013. It contains eight tracks that are featured in the film, as well as the pop version of "Cups." The Anna Kendrick & Brittany Snow duet of "Titanium" was not included on the soundtrack and is only available in the film.


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: The Ultimate Edition version of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on February 10, 2015, to coincide with the release of "Pitch Perfect 2". It contains all 24 tracks from the previous three releases (Original, Special Edition, and More From).


title: Pitch Perfect (soundtrack)

text: A remixed and longer version of "Cups" by Kendrick was released to radio on March 26, 2013, and was later used as a theme song for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup football tournament. In August 2013, the song peaked at number six on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: N.W.A. and the Posse is a compilation album, re-releasing N.W.A and associated groups' underground rap songs from the Los Angeles area's rap scene on November 6, 1987. It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album; N.W.A's authorized debut studio album, rather, is "Straight Outta Compton", released in August 1988. Whereas the "Straight" album was certified platinum, one million copies sold, in July 1989, the "Posse" album was certified gold, half as many copies sold, in April 1994.


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: Originally not N.W.A's intended album release, the "Posse" album was released by Macola Records—which was then the Los Angeles hip hop scene's main distributor—by collecting songs, mainly N.W.A's EP titled "N.W.A", that Macola had distributed for N.W.A's record label, Ruthless Records. Macola omitted the N.W.A EP's track "A Bitch iz a Bitch" to favor party, electro sounds, like the "Panic Zone" track, that led the Los Angeles rap scene until N.W.A's "Straight" album hit. Months after "Straight Outta Compton" was released the new Ruthless distributor, Priority Records, re-issued the "Posse" album with the "Bitch" track included.


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: Six of the 11 tracks on the "Posse" album are from then-N.W.A members: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, and DJ Yella. MC Ren was not yet in N.W.A, and does not appear on the record though is on the cover photograph. One track is of Microphone Mike, later called Myka 9, along with Rappinstine, a traveling faction of the DJ crew World Class Wreckin' Cru, whose core had yielded N.W.A's Dr. Dre and DJ Yella.


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: Four of the "Posse" album's tracks are from the Fila Fresh Crew, a rap crew including Doc-T, who soon renamed himself The D.O.C. Dr. Dre discovered them in Texas, where a DJ friend of his, Dr. Rock, had invited him to perform at a nightclub, where the Fila Fresh Crew was performing. These four tracks had previously been released by Ruthless Records.


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: The World Class Wreckin' Cru', including Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, led by Grandmaster Lonzo, were signed to Lonzo's label Kru-Cut Records, a sublabel of Macola Records, the area's leading distributor of rap records. The success of N.W.A's first three releases—"Boyz-n-the-Hood", "Dope Man", and "8 Ball"—prompted Eazy's call for an EP, distributed by Macola. The EP's five songs included Dre and Cube on "A Bitch iz a Bitch", Eazy on "Fat Girl", and Arabian's production "Panic Zone."


title: N.W.A. and the Posse

text: For the EP's cover photo, Eazy summoned N.W.A's members to pose for the camera in a Hollywood alleyway near Macola's office. Reportedly, some who were photographed wound up there by merely driving or accompanying another. And future N.W.A rapper MC Ren, living near Eazy, although photographed, was not yet in N.W.A. On the other hand, DJ Yella, although already active within N.W.A, is absent.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: This is a record of France's results at the FIFA World Cup. France was one of the four European teams that participated at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and have appeared in 16 FIFA World Cups, tied for the sixth most of any country.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: The national team is one of eight to have won the FIFA World Cup title and one of only six to have done so more than once.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: The tournament was played on home soil and France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the final match at the Stade de France. The tournament was hosted in France once before in 1938, where France was eliminated by defending champions Italy in the quarter-finals. In 2018, France won the World Cup for the second time, defeating Croatia 4–2 in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: In 2006 and 2022, France finished as runners-up, losing on penalties to Italy (5–3) and Argentina (4–2) after ties after 120 minutes. The team has also finished in third place on two occasions, in 1958 and 1986, and in fourth place once, in 1982.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: The 1998 final was held on 12 July at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis. France defeated holders Brazil 3–0, with two goals from Zinedine Zidane and a stoppage time strike from Emmanuel Petit. The win gave France their first World Cup title, becoming the sixth national team after Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany and Argentina to win the tournament on their home soil. They also inflicted the heaviest defeat on Brazil since 1930.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: The pre-match build up was dominated by the omission of Brazilian striker Ronaldo from the starting lineup only to be reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off. He managed to create the first open chance for Brazil in the 22nd minute, dribbling past defender Thuram before sending a cross out on the left side that goalkeeper Fabien Barthez struggled to hold onto. France however took the lead in the 27th minute after Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos conceded a corner which Zidane scored with a header from the right.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Three minutes before half-time, Zidane scored his second goal of the match, similarly another header from a corner, this time from the left side. The tournament hosts went down to ten men in the 68th minute as Marcel Desailly was sent off for a second bookable offence. Brazil reacted to this by making an attacking substitution and although they applied pressure France sealed the win with a third goal: substitute Patrick Vieira set up his club teammate Petit in a counterattack to shoot low past goalkeeper Cláudio Taffarel.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: French president Jacques Chirac was in attendance to congratulate and commiserate the winners and runners-up respectively after the match. Several days after the victory, winning manager Aimé Jacquet announced his resignation from the French team with immediate effect.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Croatia kicked off the final at 18:00 local time (15:00 UTC), with the ground temperature reported at . The match was played through a minor thunderstorm, which produced several visible lightning strikes. An audience of 78,011 spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium watched the match, including ten heads of state, among them Russian president Vladimir Putin, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. The starting line-ups for both teams were identical to those fielded in the semi-finals.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Croatia had the majority of possession and chances early in the first half, with the ball staying mostly in France's half. An attack by French midfielder Antoine Griezmann was stopped by a challenge from Marcelo Brozović, which was called as a foul despite claims that Griezmann dived. Griezmann took the ensuing free kick, which was diverted by the head of Mario Mandžukić into the left corner of his own net to give France the lead in the 18th minute. It was the first own goal to be scored in a World Cup final and the 12th of the tournament, the most of any World Cup.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Ten minutes later, Croatia equalised with a left-footed strike by Ivan Perišić to the right corner of the net, assisted by Domagoj Vida after a free kick by Luka Modrić on the right. In the 34th minute, a penalty was awarded against Croatia after Perišić's handball in the box from a corner on the right was reviewed by the video assistant referee. Griezmann scored the penalty in the 38th minute with a low finish to the left, giving France a 2–1 lead at half-time; the first half's three goals were the most of any World Cup final since 1974. France led at half-time despite having only one shot on goal and with only 34% of possession.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: A Croatian counter-attack was stopped early in the second half after several pitch invaders were chased onto the field by security officers; Russian feminist rock band and protest group Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the interruption. In the 59th minute, France extended their lead to 3–1 with a left-foot strike to the left of the net from the edge of the penalty area by Paul Pogba after his initial shot had been blocked. Six minutes later, Kylian Mbappé scored France's fourth goal, with a low right-foot shot from outside the box to the left of the net; Mbappé became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pelé in 1958. Croatia scored their second goal in the 69th minute from a back-pass that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris failed to dribble away from Mandžukić, who poked the loose ball into the unguarded net with his right leg. Despite a late push by Croatia, the match finished as a 4–2 victory for France and the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966. This was the highest-scoring 90-minute World Cup final since 1958.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez also shares the FIFA World Cup record for most matches without conceding a goal, which he achieved ten times. The only other player to have reached that number is England's Peter Shilton.


title: France at the FIFA World Cup

text: Just Fontaine scored all his 13 World Cup goals in 1958, where France reached third place. This makes him record holder for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup. At the time, it also made him the most successful World Cup scorer of all time until the record was broken by West Germany's Gerd Müller in the World Cup final of 1974.


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoids are membrane-bound compartments inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. They are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. Thylakoids consist of a thylakoid membrane surrounding a thylakoid lumen. Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as grana (singular: granum). Grana are connected by intergranal/stromal thylakoids, which join granum stacks together as a single functional compartment.


title: Thylakoid

text: In thylakoid membranes, chlorophyll pigments are found in packets called quantasomes. Each quantasome contains 230 to 250 chlorophyll molecules.


title: Thylakoid

text: The word "Thylakoid" comes from the Greek word "thylakos" or "θύλακος", meaning "sac" or "pouch". Thus, "thylakoid" means "sac-like" or "pouch-like".


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoids are membrane-bound structures embedded in the chloroplast stroma. A stack of thylakoids is called a granum and resembles a stack of coins.


title: Thylakoid

text: The thylakoid membrane is the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis with the photosynthetic pigments embedded directly in the membrane. It is an alternating pattern of dark and light bands measuring each 1 nanometre. The thylakoid lipid bilayer shares characteristic features with prokaryotic membranes and the inner chloroplast membrane. For example, acidic lipids can be found in thylakoid membranes, cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic bacteria and are involved in the functional integrity of the photosystems. The thylakoid membranes of higher plants are composed primarily of phospholipids and galactolipids that are asymmetrically arranged along and across the membranes. Thylakoid membranes are richer in galactolipids rather than phospholipids; also they predominantly consist of hexagonal phase II forming monogalacotosyl diglyceride lipid. Despite this unique composition, plant thylakoid membranes have been shown to assume largely lipid-bilayer dynamic organization. Lipids forming the thylakoid membranes, richest in high-fluidity linolenic acid are synthesized in a complex pathway involving exchange of lipid precursors between the endoplasmic reticulum and inner membrane of the plastid envelope and transported from the inner membrane to the thylakoids via vesicles.


title: Thylakoid

text: The thylakoid lumen is a continuous aqueous phase enclosed by the thylakoid membrane. It plays an important role for photophosphorylation during photosynthesis. During the light-dependent reaction, protons are pumped across the thylakoid membrane into the lumen making it acidic down to pH 4.


title: Thylakoid

text: In higher plants thylakoids are organized into a granum-stroma membrane assembly. A granum (plural grana) is a stack of thylakoid discs. Chloroplasts can have from 10 to 100 grana. Grana are connected by stroma thylakoids, also called intergranal thylakoids or lamellae. Grana thylakoids and stroma thylakoids can be distinguished by their different protein composition. Grana contribute to chloroplasts' large surface area to volume ratio. A recent electron tomography study of the thylakoid membranes has shown that the stroma lamellae are organized in wide sheets perpendicular to the grana stack axis and form multiple right-handed helical surfaces at the granal interface. Left-handed helical surfaces consolidate between the right-handed helices and sheets. This complex network of alternating helical membrane surfaces of different radii and pitch was shown to minimize the surface and bending energies of the membranes. This new model, the most extensive one generated to date, revealed that features from two, seemingly contradictory, older models coexist in the structure. Notably, similar arrangements of helical elements of alternating handedness, often referred to as “parking garage” structures, were proposed to be present in the endoplasmic reticulum and in ultradense nuclear matter. This structural organization may constitute a fundamental geometry for connecting between densely packed layers or sheets.


title: Thylakoid

text: Chloroplasts develop from proplastids when seedlings emerge from the ground. Thylakoid formation requires light. In the plant embryo and in the absence of light, proplastids develop into etioplasts that contain semicrystalline membrane structures called prolamellar bodies. When exposed to light, these prolamellar bodies develop into thylakoids. This does not happen in seedlings grown in the dark, which undergo etiolation. An underexposure to light can cause the thylakoids to fail. This causes the chloroplasts to fail resulting to the death of the plant.


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoid formation requires the action of "vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1" (VIPP1). Plants cannot survive without this protein, and reduced VIPP1 levels lead to slower growth and paler plants with reduced ability to photosynthesize. VIPP1 appears to be required for basic thylakoid membrane formation, but not for the assembly of protein complexes of the thylakoid membrane. It is conserved in all organisms containing thylakoids, including cyanobacteria, green algae, such as Chlamydomonas, and higher plants, such as "Arabidopsis thaliana".


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoids can be purified from plant cells using a combination of differential and gradient centrifugation. Disruption of isolated thylakoids, for example by mechanical shearing, releases the lumenal fraction. Peripheral and integral membrane fractions can be extracted from the remaining membrane fraction. Treatment with sodium carbonate (NaCO) detaches peripheral membrane proteins, whereas treatment with detergents and organic solvents solubilizes integral membrane proteins.


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoids contain many integral and peripheral membrane proteins, as well as lumenal proteins. Recent proteomics studies of thylakoid fractions have provided further details on the protein composition of the thylakoids. These data have been summarized in several plastid protein databases that are available online.


title: Thylakoid

text: According to these studies, the thylakoid proteome consists of at least 335 different proteins. Out of these, 89 are in the lumen, 116 are integral membrane proteins, 62 are peripheral proteins on the stroma side, and 68 peripheral proteins on the lumenal side. Additional low-abundance lumenal proteins can be predicted through computational methods. Of the thylakoid proteins with known functions, 42% are involved in photosynthesis. The next largest functional groups include proteins involved in protein targeting, processing and folding with 11%, oxidative stress response (9%) and translation (8%).


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoid membranes contain integral membrane proteins which play an important role in light-harvesting and the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. There are four major protein complexes in the thylakoid membrane:


title: Thylakoid

text: Photosystem II is located mostly in the grana thylakoids, whereas photosystem I and ATP synthase are mostly located in the stroma thylakoids and the outer layers of grana. The cytochrome b6f complex is distributed evenly throughout thylakoid membranes. Due to the separate location of the two photosystems in the thylakoid membrane system, mobile electron carriers are required to shuttle electrons between them. These carriers are plastoquinone and plastocyanin. Plastoquinone shuttles electrons from photosystem II to the cytochrome b6f complex, whereas plastocyanin carries electrons from the cytochrome b6f complex to photosystem I.


title: Thylakoid

text: Together, these proteins make use of light energy to drive electron transport chains that generate a chemiosmotic potential across the thylakoid membrane and NADPH, a product of the terminal redox reaction. The ATP synthase uses the chemiosmotic potential to make ATP during photophosphorylation.


title: Thylakoid

text: These photosystems are light-driven redox centers, each consisting of an antenna complex that uses chlorophylls and accessory photosynthetic pigments such as carotenoids and phycobiliproteins to harvest light at a variety of wavelengths. Each antenna complex has between 250 and 400 pigment molecules and the energy they absorb is shuttled by resonance energy transfer to a specialized chlorophyll "a" at the reaction center of each photosystem. When either of the two chlorophyll "a" molecules at the reaction center absorb energy, an electron is excited and transferred to an electron-acceptor molecule. Photosystem I contains a pair of chlorophyll "a" molecules, designated P700, at its reaction center that maximally absorbs 700 nm light. Photosystem II contains P680 chlorophyll that absorbs 680 nm light best (note that these wavelengths correspond to deep red – see the visible spectrum). The P is short for pigment and the number is the specific absorption peak in nanometers for the chlorophyll molecules in each reaction center. This is the green pigment present in plants that is not visible from unaided eyes.


title: Thylakoid

text: The cytochrome b6f complex is part of the thylakoid electron transport chain and couples electron transfer to the pumping of protons into the thylakoid lumen. Energetically, it is situated between the two photosystems and transfers electrons from photosystem II-plastoquinone to plastocyanin-photosystem I.


title: Thylakoid

text: The thylakoid ATP synthase is a CF1FO-ATP synthase similar to the mitochondrial ATPase. It is integrated into the thylakoid membrane with the CF1-part sticking into the stroma. Thus, ATP synthesis occurs on the stromal side of the thylakoids where the ATP is needed for the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis.


title: Thylakoid

text: The electron transport protein plastocyanin is present in the lumen and shuttles electrons from the cytochrome b6f protein complex to photosystem I. While plastoquinones are lipid-soluble and therefore move within the thylakoid membrane, plastocyanin moves through the thylakoid lumen.


title: Thylakoid

text: The lumen of the thylakoids is also the site of water oxidation by the oxygen evolving complex associated with the lumenal side of photosystem II.


title: Thylakoid

text: Lumenal proteins can be predicted computationally based on their targeting signals. In Arabidopsis, out of the predicted lumenal proteins possessing the Tat signal, the largest groups with known functions are 19% involved in protein processing (proteolysis and folding), 18% in photosynthesis, 11% in metabolism, and 7% redox carriers and defense.


title: Thylakoid

text: Chloroplasts have their own genome, which encodes a number of thylakoid proteins. However, during the course of plastid evolution from their cyanobacterial endosymbiotic ancestors, extensive gene transfer from the chloroplast genome to the cell nucleus took place. This results in the four major thylakoid protein complexes being encoded in part by the chloroplast genome and in part by the nuclear genome. Plants have developed several mechanisms to co-regulate the expression of the different subunits encoded in the two different organelles to assure the proper stoichiometry and assembly of these protein complexes. For example, transcription of nuclear genes encoding parts of the photosynthetic apparatus is regulated by light. Biogenesis, stability and turnover of thylakoid protein complexes are regulated by phosphorylation via redox-sensitive kinases in the thylakoid membranes. The translation rate of chloroplast-encoded proteins is controlled by the presence or absence of assembly partners (control by epistasy of synthesis). This mechanism involves negative feedback through binding of excess protein to the 5' untranslated region of the chloroplast mRNA. Chloroplasts also need to balance the ratios of photosystem I and II for the electron transfer chain. The redox state of the electron carrier plastoquinone in the thylakoid membrane directly affects the transcription of chloroplast genes encoding proteins of the reaction centers of the photosystems, thus counteracting imbalances in the electron transfer chain.


title: Thylakoid

text: Thylakoid proteins are targeted to their destination via signal peptides and prokaryotic-type secretory pathways inside the chloroplast. Most thylakoid proteins encoded by a plant's nuclear genome need two targeting signals for proper localization: An N-terminal chloroplast targeting peptide (shown in yellow in the figure), followed by a thylakoid targeting peptide (shown in blue). Proteins are imported through the translocon of the outer and inner membrane (Toc and Tic) complexes. After entering the chloroplast, the first targeting peptide is cleaved off by a protease processing imported proteins. This unmasks the second targeting signal and the protein is exported from the stroma into the thylakoid in a second targeting step. This second step requires the action of protein translocation components of the thylakoids and is energy-dependent. Proteins are inserted into the membrane via the SRP-dependent pathway (1), the Tat-dependent pathway (2), or spontaneously via their transmembrane domains (not shown in the figure). Lumenal proteins are exported across the thylakoid membrane into the lumen by either the Tat-dependent pathway (2) or the Sec-dependent pathway (3) and released by cleavage from the thylakoid targeting signal. The different pathways utilize different signals and energy sources. The Sec (secretory) pathway requires ATP as an energy source and consists of SecA, which binds to the imported protein and a Sec membrane complex to shuttle the protein across. Proteins with a twin arginine motif in their thylakoid signal peptide are shuttled through the Tat (twin arginine translocation) pathway, which requires a membrane-bound Tat complex and the pH gradient as an energy source. Some other proteins are inserted into the membrane via the SRP (signal recognition particle) pathway. The chloroplast SRP can interact with its target proteins either post-translationally or co-translationally, thus transporting imported proteins as well as those that are translated inside the chloroplast. The SRP pathway requires GTP and the pH gradient as energy sources. Some transmembrane proteins may also spontaneously insert into the membrane from the stromal side without energy requirement.


title: Thylakoid

text: The thylakoids are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. These include light-driven water oxidation and oxygen evolution, the pumping of protons across the thylakoid membranes coupled with the electron transport chain of the photosystems and cytochrome complex, and ATP synthesis by the ATP synthase utilizing the generated proton gradient.


title: Thylakoid

text: The first step in photosynthesis is the light-driven reduction (splitting) of water to provide the electrons for the photosynthetic electron transport chains as well as protons for the establishment of a proton gradient. The water-splitting reaction occurs on the lumenal side of the thylakoid membrane and is driven by the light energy captured by the photosystems. This oxidation of water conveniently produces the waste product O that is vital for cellular respiration. The molecular oxygen formed by the reaction is released into the atmosphere.


title: Thylakoid

text: The noncyclic variety involves the participation of both photosystems, while the cyclic electron flow is dependent on only photosystem I.


title: Thylakoid

text: A major function of the thylakoid membrane and its integral photosystems is the establishment of chemiosmotic potential. The carriers in the electron transport chain use some of the electron's energy to actively transport protons from the stroma to the lumen. During photosynthesis, the lumen becomes acidic, as low as pH 4, compared to pH 8 in the stroma. This represents a 10,000 fold concentration gradient for protons across the thylakoid membrane.


title: Thylakoid

text: The proton gradient is also caused by the consumption of protons in the stroma to make NADPH from NADP+ at the NADP reductase.


title: Thylakoid

text: The molecular mechanism of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) generation in chloroplasts is similar to that in mitochondria and takes the required energy from the proton motive force (PMF). However, chloroplasts rely more on the chemical potential of the PMF to generate the potential energy required for ATP synthesis. The PMF is the sum of a proton chemical potential (given by the proton concentration gradient) and a transmembrane electrical potential (given by charge separation across the membrane). Compared to the inner membranes of mitochondria, which have a significantly higher membrane potential due to charge separation, thylakoid membranes lack a charge gradient. To compensate for this, the 10,000 fold proton concentration gradient across the thylakoid membrane is much higher compared to a 10 fold gradient across the inner membrane of mitochondria. The resulting chemiosmotic potential between the lumen and stroma is high enough to drive ATP synthesis using the ATP synthase. As the protons travel back down the gradient through channels in ATP synthase, ADP + P are combined into ATP. In this manner, the light-dependent reactions are coupled to the synthesis of ATP via the proton gradient.


title: Thylakoid

text: Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes with highly differentiated membrane systems. Cyanobacteria have an internal system of thylakoid membranes where the fully functional electron transfer chains of photosynthesis and respiration reside. The presence of different membrane systems lends these cells a unique complexity among bacteria. Cyanobacteria must be able to reorganize the membranes, synthesize new membrane lipids, and properly target proteins to the correct membrane system. The outer membrane, plasma membrane, and thylakoid membranes each have specialized roles in the cyanobacterial cell. Understanding the organization, functionality, protein composition, and dynamics of the membrane systems remains a great challenge in cyanobacterial cell biology.


title: Thylakoid

text: In contrast to the thylakoid network of higher plants, which is differentiated into grana and stroma lamellae, the thylakoids in cyanobacteria are organized into multiple concentric shells that split and fuse to parallel layers forming a highly connected network. This results in a continuous network that encloses a single lumen (as in higher‐plant chloroplasts) and allows water‐soluble and lipid‐soluble molecules to diffuse through the entire membrane network. Moreover, perforations are often observed within the parallel thylakoid sheets. These gaps in the membrane allow for the traffic of particles of different sizes throughout the cell, including ribosomes, glycogen granules, and lipid bodies. The relatively large distance between the thylakoids provides space for the external light-harvesting antennae, the phycobilisomes. This macrostructure, as in the case of higher plants, shows some flexibility during changes in the physicochemical environment.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint, or Miss Peppermint (born 1979), is an American actress, singer, songwriter, television personality, drag queen, and activist. She is best known from the nightlife scene and, in 2017, as the runner-up on the ninth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". In 2018, Peppermint made her debut in The Go-Go's-inspired musical "Head Over Heels" as Pythio, becoming Broadway's first out trans woman to originate a lead role.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: As a recording artist, she has released two studio albums, "Hardcore Glamour", released in 2009, and "Black Pepper", released in 2017, as well as five EPs, including "", which was released in 2020.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint was raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. She felt her gender non-conformity was policed, so she tried to fit in with others' expectations. She transitioned after moving to New York City and came out in 2012, before she appeared on "RuPaul's Drag Race". While a contestant on "Drag Race", Peppermint revealed that when she had been a high-school cheerleader, she had been beaten up by a male member of her high school's basketball team.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint started performing as a child in youth theatre, playing roles at Opera Delaware, Delaware Children's Theatre, and The Brandywiners Community Theatre. She continued performing at Wilmington High School where she was also on the cheerleading team. For a time, she also worked as a makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint moved to New York City to study musical theatre at AMDA. While in college she got a job at the nightclub Tunnel's Kurfew parties, ultimately becoming a fixture in New York City nightlife. She started recording music in 2005 for Jonny McGovern's mixtape "Jonny McGovern Presents: This is NYC, Bitch! The East Village Mixtape". She contributed the song "Servin' It Up", which was produced by Adam Joseph. The song was later released as Peppermint's debut single in 2006.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint was featured in the web series "Queens of Drag: NYC" by gay.com in 2010. The series featured fellow New York drag queens Bianca Del Rio, Dallas DuBois, Hedda Lettuce, Lady Bunny, Mimi Imfurst, and Sherry Vine. She also appeared as a drag-version of Tyra Banks on "America's Next Top Model" Cycle 14, Episode 5: "Smile and Pose" introducing a drag-theme runway challenge at Lucky Chengs in New York City.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint talked about being trans publicly for the first time on an episode of "The Daily Show" called "The Trans Panic Epidemic" in April 2016.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: On February 2, 2017, Peppermint was announced as one of the fourteen contestants on the ninth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". Though other transgender women have competed on "RuPaul's Drag Race", she was the first to have come out prior to the show airing, having come out in 2012.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: She won the Roast Challenge in episode 8. She placed in the bottom two in two challenges, lip-synching to Madonna's "Music" and the Village People's "Macho Man", winning both. Her performances earned her the favorable nickname "Lip Sync Assassin". Ultimately, she finished in second place after winner Sasha Velour, after they both lip-synced to Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right but It's Okay (Thunderpuss Remix)".


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint's debut studio album "Hardcore Glamour" was self-released in 2009 and preceded by the singles "Servin' It Up" and "Thought Ya Knew". In 2011, Sherry Vine and Peppermint released a parody of the Lady Gaga and Beyoncé song "Telephone" titled "Make Me Moan". Following the viral success of the music video, Peppermint later released other parody songs, including a parody of Azealia Banks' song "212", titled "21/12". Her song "If I Steal Your Boyfriend" was used in the 2011 film "".


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: On April 3, 2017, Peppermint released a six-track EP of remixes of various songs she had released up to that point, including the single "Dolla in My Titty". Her second studio album "Black Pepper" was released in June of the same year. A three-song EP with producer Cazwell called "Blend" was released in 2018. In 2019, Peppermint appeared on fellow Drag Race alum Trinity the Tuck's single "I Call Shade", which charted at number 13 on the Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: On February 11, 2020, it was announced that Peppermint was working on a new album, and the lead single "What You're Looking For" was released on February 14, 2020. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on August 28, 2020, Peppermint stated that the album would in fact be a trilogy of EPs, and that a full studio album was previously planned for a May 2020 release, but was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first of these EPs, "", will be released on October 16, 2020, with the lead single "Best Sex" being released on October 2. Of the project, she said "it really does focus on my life -- who I am as a trans woman -- and everything that's happening right now [with] Black Lives Matter, Black Trans Lives Matter and a lot of the issues that we are dealing with socially." She also confirmed that the project would feature collaborations with Laith Ashley, Jerome Bell, Daniel Shevlin of Well-Strung, Matt Katz-Bohen of Blondie, Corey Tut and Adam Joseph.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint made her Broadway debut in The Go-Go's-inspired musical "Head Over Heels" using the songs of The Go-Go's. The plot of the show is somewhat based on "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" written by Sir Philip Sidney in the 16th century. The show began previews in June 2018 and officially opened July 2018, at the Hudson Theatre; playing the role of Pythio, Peppermint became the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Writing for "Deadline Hollywood", Greg Evans summed up his impression of the musical as "occasionally amusing, occasionally cloying", expressing disappointment that many popular Go-Go's songs appeared to have been flattened over the years the musical spent in development. In "Entertainment Weekly", Kelly Connolly viewed the show more favorably, praising "the charismatic cast" and Michael Mayer's "joyful production"; she gave the A− score overall. "The New York Times"s critic Ben Brantley's review drew criticism as transphobic and misgendering of Peppermint's character. The "Times" subsequently edited the review and Brantley apologized for it, writing that he had tried to "reflect the light tone of the show". The show closed in January 2019.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint has had appearances on "Pose" and "Saturday Night Live," and in October 2019 played the role of Pastor Olivia, "the [transgender] leader of an LGBTQ-friendly congregation", in a two-episode arc of "God Friended Me".


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: Peppermint is a co-founder of "Black Queer Town Hall" along with Bob The Drag Queen. The inaugural event featured speakers such as Laverne Cox and Angela Davis and raised over $270,000 for The Okra Project.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: On June 2, 2021, Peppermint was announced as a cast member of OUTtv's "Call Me Mother", where her and fellow "Drag Mothers" Crystal and Barbada de Barbades adopt and mentor up-and-coming drag talent over an eight-week journey as they compete to win the title of "First Child Of Drag" and a $50,000 prize package. In the show, Peppermint will be representing the House of Dulcet.


title: Peppermint (entertainer)

text: She does not use her birth name, and asks that publications not deadname her. For several years, she went by the name "Angel", which derived from her portraying Angel in a one-act production of "Rent".


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: The Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest rate in India. The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least four times a year (specifically, at least once a quarter) and it publishes its decisions after each such meeting.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: The committee comprises six members - three officials of the Reserve Bank of India and three external members nominated by the government of India. They need to observe a "silent period" seven days before and after the rate decision for "utmost confidentiality". The governor of the Reserve Bank of India is the chairperson ex officio of the committee. Decisions are taken by majority with the governor having the casting vote in case of a tie. The current mandate of the committee is to maintain 4% annual inflation until 31 March 2026 with an upper tolerance of 6% and a lower tolerance of 2%.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016, to constitute MPC which will bring more transparency and accountability in fixing India's monetary policy. The monetary policy are published after every meeting with each member explaining his opinions. The committee is answerable to the government of India if the inflation exceeds the range prescribed for three consecutive quarters.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: Key decisions pertaining to benchmark interest rates used to be taken by the governor of the Reserve Bank of India alone prior to the establishment of the committee. The governor of RBI is appointed and can be disqualified by the government anytime. This led to uncertainty and resulted in friction between the government and the RBI, especially during the times of low growth and high inflation. Before the constitution of the MPC, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on monetary policy with experts from monetary economics, central banking, financial markets and public finance advised the Reserve Bank on the stance of monetary policy. However, its role was only advisory in nature.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: The setting up of a committee to decide on monetary policy was first proposed by the Urjit Patel Committee. The committee suggested a five-member MPC - three members from the RBI and two nominated by the government. The government initially proposed a seven-member committee - three from the RBI and four nominated by it. Subsequent negotiations led to the current composition of the committee, with the external members having a four-year term.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Department (MPD) assists the MPC in formulating the monetary policy. Views of key stakeholders in the economy, and analytical work of the Reserve Bank contribute to the process for arriving at the decision on the policy repo rate. The Financial Markets Operations Department (FMOD) operationalises the monetary policy, mainly through day-to-day liquidity management operations. The Financial Markets Committee (FMC) meets daily to review the liquidity conditions so as to ensure that the operating target of monetary policy (weighted average lending rate) is kept close to the policy repo rate. Monetary Policy Committee came into force on 27 June 2016.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: Suggestions for setting up a monetary policy committee is not new and goes back to 2002 when YV Reddy committee proposed to establish a MPC, then Tarapore committee in 2006, Percy Mistry committee in 2007, Raghuram Rajan committee in 2009 and then Urjit Patel Committee in 2013.


title: Monetary Policy Committee (India)

text: Members referred from 4 to 6 above, will hold office for a period of four years from the date of appointment while the other three members are official. None of the central government nominees are eligible to be re-appointed.


title: Ali Karimi

text: Ali Karimi ( ; born 8 November 1978) is an Iranian football coach and former player. During his professional football career, he has played in the Iran Pro League, UAE Pro League, Qatar Stars League and Bundesliga. Karimi has scored 38 goals in 127 matches for the Iran national team. In 2004, he was recognized as the best scorer of the AFC Asian Cup and received the Asian Footballer of the Year award in the same year. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2013–14 season and, on 11 April 2014, played the final game of his 18-year career.


title: Ali Karimi

text: Karimi's professional career began with Fath Tehran, where he made his first-team debut in 1996 aged 18. He then played three seasons with Persepolis, winning the Iranian league twice and the Hazfi Cup once with the club. In July 2001, Karimi signed a two-year contract with UAE Pro League club Al-Ahli Dubai. While an Al-Ahli player, Karimi won two cup titles, and was the top-goalscorer in the 2003–04 season, an impressive feat for a midfielder. After leaving the club in 2005 aged 26, Karimi made a long-awaited move to Europe to play for Bayern Munich. At the club he had relative success, winning both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in 2005–06 season. Later in his career, he rejoined former coach Felix Magath and won a second German Cup with Schalke 04. Karimi ended his playing career in Iran with Persepolis and Tractor Sazi, and with the latter won the Hazfi Cup in the final season of his career.


title: Ali Karimi

text: In international football, Karimi made his Iran debut on 13 October 1998, at the age of 19. He made 127 career appearances in total, appearing at five major tournaments including 1998 Asian Games, 2000, 2004, and 2007 Asian Cups and 2006 FIFA World Cup. Renowned for his on-the-ball skill, dribbling runs and playmaking ability, he was often referred to as the "Asian Maradona" and "The Magician". In the video introducing Iran's national football team in the 2018 World Cup, by FIFA, he was described as "One of the top 2 players of Iran's football history". He is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time. In 2017, AFC named Karimi as "one of the icons of Asian football history".


title: Ali Karimi

text: Karimi is known as one of the most popular athletes in the history of Iran. In April 2015, he was recognized as Iran's most popular football player (from 1991 to 2015) in a poll by "Navad" television program.


title: Ali Karimi

text: Karimi started his professional career with second division side Fath Football Club in 1997 where training was conducted on the streets with a plastic ball.