Stevie Ray Vaughn played in Marc Benno's band, the Nightcrawlers.

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan ( October 3 , 1954 -- August 27 , 1990 ) was an American musician , singer , songwriter , and record producer . In spite of a short-lived mainstream career spanning seven years , he is widely considered one of the most influential guitarists in the history of music , and one of the most important figures in the revival of blues in the 1980s . AllMusic describes him as `` a rocking powerhouse of a guitarist who gave blues a burst of momentum in the '80s , with influence still felt long after his tragic death . ''   Born and raised in Dallas , Texas , Vaughan began playing guitar at the age of seven , inspired by his older brother Jimmie . In 1971 he dropped out of high school , and moved to Austin the following year . He played gigs with numerous bands , earning a spot in Marc Benno 's band , the Nightcrawlers , and later with Denny Freeman in the Cobras , with whom he continued to work through late 1977 . He then formed his own group , Triple Threat Revue , before renaming the band Double Trouble after hiring drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon . He gained fame after his performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982 , and in 1983 his debut studio album , Texas Flood , charted at number 38 . The ten-song album was a commercially successful release that sold over half a million copies . After achieving sobriety in late 1986 , he headlined concert tours with Jeff Beck in 1989 and Joe Cocker in 1990 before his death in a helicopter crash on August 27 , 1990 , at the age of 35 .   Vaughan was inspired musically by American and British blues rock . He favored clean amplifiers with high volume and contributed to the popularity of vintage musical equipment . He often combined several different amplifiers together and used minimal effects pedals . Chris Gill of Guitar World commented : `` Stevie Ray Vaughan 's guitar tone was as dry as a San Antonio summer and as sparkling clean as a Dallas debutante , the product of the natural sound of amps with ample clean headroom . However , Vaughan occasionally used pedals to augment his sound , mainly to boost the signal , although he occasionally employed a rotating speaker cabinet and wah pedals for added textural flair . ''   Vaughan received several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously . In 1983 , readers of Guitar Player voted him Best New Talent and Best Electric Blues Guitar Player . In 1984 , the Blues Foundation named him Entertainer of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the Year , and in 1987 , Performance Magazine honored him with Rhythm and Blues Act of the Year . Earning six Grammy Awards and ten Austin Music Awards , he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000 , and the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2014 . Rolling Stone ranked Vaughan as the twelfth greatest guitarist of all time . In 2015 , he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .


Elizabeth II has reigned through the patriation of Canada.

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II ( Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ; born 21 April 1926 ) has been Queen of the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia , and New Zealand since 6 February 1952 . She is Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession : Jamaica , Barbados , the Bahamas , Grenada , Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Tuvalu , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Belize , Antigua and Barbuda , and Saint Kitts and Nevis .   Elizabeth was born in London as the elder child of the Duke and Duchess of York , later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth , and she was educated privately at home . Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936 , from which time she was the heir presumptive . She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War , serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service . In 1947 , she married Philip , Duke of Edinburgh , a former prince of Greece and Denmark , with whom she has four children : Charles , Prince of Wales ; Anne , Princess Royal ; Prince Andrew , Duke of York ; and Prince Edward , Earl of Wessex .   Elizabeth 's many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes . She has seen major constitutional changes , such as devolution in the United Kingdom , Canadian patriation , and the decolonisation of Africa . She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms . She is the world 's oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain 's longest-lived . In 2015 , she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother , Queen Victoria , to become the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history . In October 2016 , she became the longest currently reigning monarch and head of state following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand .   Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children , her coronation in 1953 , and the celebration of milestones such as her Silver , Golden , and Diamond Jubilees in 1977 , 2002 , and 2012 , respectively . In 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee . Moments of sadness for her include the death of her father in 1952 at age 56 ; the assassination of Prince Philip 's uncle Lord Mountbatten in 1979 ; the breakdown of her children 's marriages in 1992 ( her annus horribilis ) ; the death in 1997 of her son 's former wife , Diana , Princess of Wales ; and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002 . Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the royal family ; however , support for the monarchy remains high , as does her personal popularity .


Thor: The Dark World Thor : The Dark World is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It is the sequel to 2011 's Thor and the eighth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The film was directed by Alan Taylor , with a screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely . It stars Chris Hemsworth , Natalie Portman , Tom Hiddleston , Anthony Hopkins , Stellan Skarsgård , Idris Elba , Christopher Eccleston , Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje , Kat Dennings , Ray Stevenson , Zachary Levi , Tadanobu Asano , Jaimie Alexander , and Rene Russo . In Thor : The Dark World , Thor teams up with Loki to save the Nine Realms from the Dark Elves led by the vengeful Malekith , who intends to plunge the universe into darkness .   Development of Thor : The Dark World began in April 2011 , when producer Kevin Feige announced plans for a sequel to follow the crossover film The Avengers . In July 2011 , Kenneth Branagh , the director of Thor , withdrew from the project . Brian Kirk and Patty Jenkins were considered to direct the film before Taylor was hired in January 2012 . The supporting cast filled out in August 2012 , with the hiring of Eccleston , Dennings , and Akinnuoye-Agbaje . Principal photography began in September 2012 in Surrey , England with filming continuing in Iceland and London , before wrapping up in December 2012 . Thor : The Dark World was converted to 3D in post-production .   Thor : The Dark World premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on October 22 , 2013 . It was released internationally on October 30 , 2013 , and on November 8 , 2013 , in the United States . The film received mixed reviews , but was a commercial success , grossing over $ 644 million worldwide . A third film , Thor : Ragnarok , is set for release on November 3 , 2017 .


Tramadol Tramadol , sold under the brandname Ultram among others , is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain . When taken as an immediate-release oral formulation , the onset of pain relief usually occurs within about an hour . It has two different mechanisms . First , it works by binding to the μ-opioid receptor . Second , it inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine . It is often combined with paracetamol ( acetaminophen ) as this is known to improve the efficacy of tramadol in relieving pain .   Serious side effects may include seizures , increased risk of serotonin syndrome , decreased alertness , and drug addiction , although the risk of serotonin syndrome appears to be low . Common side effects include : constipation , itchiness and nausea , among others . A change in dosage may be recommended in those with kidney or liver problems . It is not recommended in those who are at risk of suicide . While not recommended in women who are breastfeeding , those who take it should not stop breastfeeding .   Tramadol is a synthetic opioid of the benzenoid class ( it contains a benzene ring ) . In the body it is metabolized to O-desmethyltramadol , which is a more potent opioid .   Tramadol was launched and marketed as `` Tramal '' by the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH in 1977 in West Germany , and 20 years later it was launched in countries such as the UK , US , and Australia . It is marketed under many brand names worldwide .


Charles I married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria.

Charles I of England Charles I ( 19 November 1600 -- 30 January 1649 ) was monarch of the three kingdoms of England , Scotland , and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649 .   Charles was the second son of King James VI of Scotland , but after his father inherited the English throne in 1603 , he moved to England , where he spent much of the rest of his life . He became heir apparent to the English , Irish , and Scottish thrones on the death of his elder brother , Henry Frederick , Prince of Wales , in 1612 . An unsuccessful and unpopular attempt to marry him to the Spanish Habsburg princess Maria Anna culminated in an eight-month visit to Spain in 1623 that demonstrated the futility of the marriage negotiations . Two years later , he married the Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria of France instead .   After his succession , Charles quarrelled with the Parliament of England , which sought to curb his royal prerogative . Charles believed in the divine right of kings and thought he could govern according to his own conscience . Many of his subjects opposed his policies , in particular the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent , and perceived his actions as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch . His religious policies , coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic , generated the antipathy and mistrust of reformed groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters , who thought his views too Catholic . He supported high church ecclesiastics , such as Richard Montagu and William Laud , and failed to aid Protestant forces successfully during the Thirty Years ' War . His attempts to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices led to the Bishops ' Wars , strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments and helped precipitate his own downfall .   From 1642 , Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War . After his defeat in 1645 , he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament . Charles refused to accept his captors ' demands for a constitutional monarchy , and temporarily escaped captivity in November 1647 . Re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight , Charles forged an alliance with Scotland , but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwell 's New Model Army had consolidated its control over England . Charles was tried , convicted , and executed for high treason in January 1649 . The monarchy was abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England was declared . The monarchy was restored to Charles 's son , Charles II , in 1660 .


Emily Ratajkowski is a 26 year old model.

Emily Ratajkowski Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski ( -LSB- ˌrɑːtaɪˈkɒfski -RSB- born June 7 , 1991 ) is an American actress and model . Born to American parents in London and raised primarily in California , she rose to prominence in 2013 after appearing in the music video for Robin Thicke 's `` Blurred Lines '' , which became the number one song of the year in several countries and attracted controversy over its purportedly sexist content .   Ratajkowski 's modeling career has progressed from retail ad work to art house erotica and high fashion . She appeared on the cover of the March 2012 issue of the erotic magazine treats ! , which led to her being asked to appear in two music videos -- `` Blurred Lines '' and Maroon 5 's `` Love Somebody '' . She appeared in the 2014 and 2015 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues . Ratajkowski made her professional runway modeling debut for Marc Jacobs at New York Fashion Week in 2015 and has since walked on the Paris Fashion Week runway for Miu Miu . She appeared in a Buick Super Bowl commercial during Super Bowl 50 .   Ratajkowski began acting as a child in the San Diego area before she gained a recurring role on iCarly and later roles in major films . Her feature film debut was as the mistress of Ben Affleck 's character in the 2014 film Gone Girl . Ratajkowski 's 2015 roles included the films Entourage and We Are Your Friends ( her first leading role ) as well as the miniseries The Spoils Before Dying .   Ratajkowski is an advocate for women 's health issues as a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood and supports the right of women to express their sexuality . Her claim to being a feminist has been both supported and disputed .


Doc Holliday set up practice in Georgia.

Doc Holliday John Henry `` Doc '' Holliday ( August 14 , 1851 -- November 8 , 1887 ) was an American gambler , gunfighter , and dentist , and a good friend of Wyatt Earp . He is most well known for his role as a temporary deputy marshal in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral .   At age 21 Holliday earned a degree in dentistry from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery . He set up practice in Atlanta , Georgia , but he was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis , the same disease that had claimed his mother when he was 15 , having acquired it while tending to her needs while she was still in the contagious phase of the illness . Hoping the climate in the American Southwest would ease his symptoms , he moved to that region and became a gambler , a reputable profession in Arizona in that day . Over the next few years , he reportedly had several confrontations . While in Texas , he saved Wyatt Earp 's life and they became friends . In 1880 , he joined Earp in Las Vegas , New Mexico and then rode with him to Prescott , Arizona , and then Tombstone . In Tombstone , local outlaw cowboys repeatedly threatened him and spread rumors that he had robbed a stage . On October 26 , 1881 , Holliday was deputized by Tombstone city marshal Virgil Earp . The lawmen attempted to disarm five cowboys , which resulted in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral .   Following the Tombstone shootout , Virgil Earp was maimed by hidden assailants and Morgan Earp was murdered . Unable to obtain justice in the courts , Wyatt Earp took matters into his own hands . As the recently appointed deputy U.S. marshal , Earp formally deputized Holliday , among others . As a federal posse , they pursued the outlaw cowboys they believed were responsible . They found Frank Stilwell lying in wait as Virgil boarded a train for California and killed him . The local sheriff issued a warrant for the arrest of five members of the posse , including Holliday . The federal posse killed three others during late March and early April , 1882 , before they rode to the New Mexico Territory . Wyatt Earp learned of an extradition request for Holliday and arranged for Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin to deny Holliday 's extradition . Holliday spent the few remaining years of his life in Colorado , and died of tuberculosis in his bed at the Glenwood Springs Hotel at age 36 .   Holliday 's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series . Since his death , researchers have concluded that , contrary to popular myth-making , Holliday killed only one or two men .


Legion (2010 film) Legion is a 2010 American apocalyptic supernatural action horror film directed by Scott Stewart and co-written by Stewart and Peter Schink . The cast includes Paul Bettany , Lucas Black , Tyrese Gibson , Adrianne Palicki , Kate Walsh , and Dennis Quaid . Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group acquired most of this film 's worldwide distribution rights , and the group opened this film in North America theatrically on January 22 , 2010 through Screen Gems .   A television series called Dominion , set 25 years after the end of the film , premiered on the American cable television network Syfy on June 19 , 2014 .


George H. W. Bush has been active in various humanitarian activities following his presidency.

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush ( born June 12 , 1924 ) is an American politician who was the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . A member of the Republican Party , he was previously a congressman , ambassador , and Director of Central Intelligence . He is the oldest living former President and Vice President . Since 2000 , Bush has often been referred to as `` George H. W. Bush '' , `` Bush 41 '' , `` Bush the Elder '' , or `` George Bush Senior '' to distinguish him from his eldest son , George W. Bush , who became the 43rd President of the United States after the 2000 election .   Bush was born in Milton , Massachusetts , to Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush . Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 , Bush postponed his university studies , enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 18th birthday , and became the youngest aviator in the U.S. Navy at the time . He served until the end of the war , then attended Yale University . Graduating in 1948 , he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business , becoming a millionaire by the age of 40 . Bush became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company , and he won election to the House of Representatives in 1966 . In 1971 , President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations , and in 1973 , Bush became the Chairman of the Republican National Committee . The following year , President Gerald Ford appointed Bush as the ambassador to the People 's Republic of China , and later reassigned Bush to the position of Director of Central Intelligence . Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican primary by Ronald Reagan . Reagan chose Bush as his running mate , and Bush became vice president after the Reagan -- Bush ticket won the 1980 election . During his eight-year tenure as vice president , Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting the `` War on Drugs '' .   In 1988 , Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President , defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis . Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency : military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf ; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 , and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later . Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office , Bush also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement , which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States , Canada , and Mexico . Domestically , Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and , after a struggle with Congress , signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed . In the wake of a weak recovery from an economic recession , along with continuing budget deficits and the diminution of foreign politics as a major issue in a post-Cold War political climate , he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton .   Bush left office in 1993 . His presidential library was dedicated in 1997 , and he has been active -- often alongside Bill Clinton -- in various humanitarian activities . With George W. Bush 's victory in the 2000 presidential election , Bush and his son became the second father-son combination to serve as president , following John Adams and John Quincy Adams . Another member of the Bush family , Bush 's second son Jeb Bush , served as the 43rd Governor of Florida ( 1999 -- 2007 ) and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 .


Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf ( -LSB- ˈʃaɪ.ə _ ləˈbʌf -RSB- born June 11 , 1986 ) is an American actor , performance artist , and filmmaker . He became known among younger audiences as Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens , a role for which LaBeouf received a Young Artist Award nomination in 2001 and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2003 . He made his film debut in Holes ( 2003 ) , based on the novel of the same name by Louis Sachar . In 2004 , he made his directorial debut with the short film Let 's Love Hate and later directed a short film titled Maniac ( 2011 ) , starring American rappers Cage and Kid Cudi .   In 2007 , LaBeouf starred in the commercially successful films Disturbia and Surf 's Up . The same year he was cast in Michael Bay 's science fiction film Transformers as Sam Witwicky , the main protagonist of the series . Despite mixed reviews , Transformers was a box office success and one of the highest-grossing films of 2007 . LaBeouf later appeared in its sequels Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen ( 2009 ) and Transformers : Dark of the Moon ( 2011 ) , both also box office successes . In 2008 , he played Henry `` Mutt Williams '' Jones III in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , the fourth film in the Indiana Jones franchise . His other films include Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps ( 2010 ) , Lawless ( 2012 ) , The Company You Keep ( 2012 ) , Nymphomaniac ( 2013 ) and Fury ( 2014 ) . Since 2014 , LaBeouf has pursued a variety of public performance art projects with LaBeouf , Rönkkö & Turner .


Scooby-Doo is not an American animated cartoon.

Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo is an American animated cartoon franchise , comprising several animated television series produced from 1969 to the present day . The original series , Scooby-Doo , Where Are You ! , was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969 . This Saturday-morning cartoon series featured four teenagers -- Fred Jones , Daphne Blake , Velma Dinkley , and Norville `` Shaggy '' Rogers -- and their talking brown Great Dane named Scooby-Doo , who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps .   Following the success of the original series , Hanna-Barbera and its successor Warner Bros. . Animation have produced numerous follow-up and spin-off animated series and several related works , including television specials and made-for-TV movies , a line of direct-to-video films , and two Warner Bros. -- produced theatrical feature films . Some versions of Scooby-Doo feature different variations on the show 's supernatural theme , and include characters such as Scooby 's cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo in addition to or instead of some of the original characters .   Scooby-Doo was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1975 , when it moved to ABC . ABC aired the show until canceling it in 1986 , and presented a spin-off featuring the characters as children , A Pup Named Scooby-Doo , from 1988 until 1991 . New Scooby-Doo series aired as part of Kids ' WB on The WB Network and its successor , The CW Network , from 2002 until 2008 . Scooby-Doo ! Mystery Incorporated aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2013 , and Be Cool , Scooby-Doo ! debuted on Cartoon Network in 2015 . Repeats of the various Scooby-Doo series are broadcast frequently on Cartoon Network and its sister channel Boomerang in the United States as well as other countries .   In 2013 , TV Guide ranked Scooby-Doo the fifth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time .


Alice is a reworking of an English film.

Juliet of the Spirits Juliet of the Spirits ( Giulietta degli spiriti ) is a 1965 Italian-French fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina , Sandra Milo , Mario Pisu , Valentina Cortese , and Valeska Gert . The film is about the visions , memories , and mysticism of a middle-aged woman that help her find the strength to leave her philandering husband . The film uses `` caricatural types and dream situations to represent a psychic landscape . '' It was Fellini 's first feature-length color film , but followed his use of color in the The Temptation of Doctor Antonio episode in the portmanteau film Boccaccio '70 ( 1962 ) . Juliet of the Spirits won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966 .


Alice (1990 film) Alice is a 1990 American romantic fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Mia Farrow , Joe Mantegna and William Hurt . The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini 's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits .   Alice received mildly positive reviews .


Students studying at seminary are sometimes called seminarians.

Seminary A seminary , theological seminary , theological college or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students ( sometimes called seminarians ) in theology , generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy , academia , or ministry . The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium , translated as seed-bed , an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas which called for the first modern seminaries . In the West , the term now refers to Roman Catholic educational institutes and has widened to include other Christian denominations and American Jewish institutions .


A Game of Thrones was mentioned for the 1997 Nebula Award.

A Game of Thrones A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire , a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin . It was first published on August 1 , 1996 . The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both the 1997 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award . The novella Blood of the Dragon , comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel , won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella . In January 2011 the novel became a New York Times bestseller and reached # 1 on the list in July 2011 .   In the novel , recounting events from various points of view , Martin introduces the plot-lines of the noble houses of Westeros , the Wall , and the Targaryens . The novel has inspired several spin-off works , including several games . It is also the basis for the first season of Game of Thrones , an HBO television series that premiered in April 2011 . A March 2013 paperback TV tie-in re-edition was also titled Game of Thrones , excluding the indefinite article `` A '' .


Anschluss signifies the word connection.

Anschluss Anschluss ( -LSB- ˈʔanʃlʊs -RSB- , `` connection '' or `` joining '' ) is the term used to describe the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938 . German spelling , until the German orthography reform of 1996 , was Anschluß and it was also known as the Anschluss Österreichs ( , Austrian Annexation ) .   The idea of an Anschluss ( Austria and Germany united to form a `` Greater Germany '' ) began after the Unification of Germany excluded Austria and the Austrian Germans from the Prussian-dominated German nation-state in 1871 . Following the end of World War I with the fall of the Austria-Hungarian Empire , in 1918 , the newly formed Republic of German-Austria attempted union with Germany , but the Treaty of Saint Germain ( 10 September 1919 ) and the Treaty of Versailles ( 28 June 1919 ) forbade both the union and the continued use of the name `` German-Austria '' ( Deutschösterreich ) and cutting several territories like the Sudetenland off .


Alec Sokolow has worked with a person who worked on a computer animated movie.

Alec Sokolow Alec Sokolow is an American film writer who has worked on such projects as the movies Cheaper by the Dozen , Toy Story , Money Talks , and Garfield : The Movie . He frequently works with Joel Cohen .   Along with Joss Whedon , Andrew Stanton , John Lasseter , Pete Docter , Joe Ranft , and Cohen , Sokolow was nominated in 1995 for the Academy Award for Best Writing ( Original Screenplay ) for his work on Toy Story .   Beyond writing , Sokolow and Cohen jointly directed Monster Mash : The Movie and executive produced Gnomes and Trolls : The Secret Chamber ( 2008 ) .


Ecuador translates to "Republic of the Equator."

Ecuador Ecuador ( -LSB- ˈɛkwədɔːr -RSB- , -LSB- ekwaˈðor -RSB- ) ( Ikwadur ) , officially the Republic of Ecuador ( -LSB- República del Ecuador , -RSB- , which literally translates as `` Republic of the Equator '' ; Ikwadur Ripuwlika ) , is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America , bordered by Colombia on the north , Peru on the east and south , and the Pacific Ocean to the west . Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific , about 1000 km west of the mainland .   What is now Ecuador was home to a variety of Amerindian groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century . The territory was colonized by Spain during the 16th century , achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia , from which it emerged as its own sovereign state in 1830 . The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador 's ethnically diverse population , with most of its 15.2 million people being mestizos , followed by large minorities of European , Amerindian , and African descendants .   Spanish is the official language and is spoken by a majority of the population , though 13 Amerindian languages are also recognized , including Quichua and Shuar . The capital city is Quito , while the largest city is Guayaquil . In reflection of the country 's rich cultural heritage , the historical center of Quito was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 . Cuenca , the third-largest city , was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 as an outstanding example of a planned , inland Spanish-style colonial city in the Americas .   Ecuador has a developing economy that is highly dependent on commodities , namely petroleum and agricultural products . The country is classified as a medium-income country . Ecuador is a democratic presidential republic . The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature , or ecosystem rights . Ecuador is also known for its rich ecology , hosting many endemic plants and animals , such as those of the Galápagos Islands . It is one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world .


Southport is the host of the biggest independent flower show in the United Kingdom.

Southport Southport ( -LSB- ˈsaʊθpɔrt -RSB- ) is a large seaside town in Merseyside , England . At the 2001 census , it had a population of 90,336 , making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England .   Southport lies on the Irish Sea coast and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary . The town is 16.7 mi north of Liverpool and 14.8 mi southwest of Preston .   Historically part of Lancashire , the town was founded in 1792 when William Sutton , an innkeeper from Churchtown , built a bathing house at what now is the south end of Lord Street . At that time , the area , known as South Hawes , was sparsely populated and dominated by sand dunes . At the turn of the 19th century , the area became popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal . The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era . Town attractions include Southport Pier with its Southport Pier Tramway , the second longest seaside pleasure pier in the British Isles and Lord Street , an elegant tree-lined shopping street , once home of Napoleon III of France .   Extensive sand dunes stretch for several miles between Birkdale and Woodvale to the south of the town . The Ainsdale sand dunes have been designated as a national nature reserve and a Ramsar site . Local fauna include the Natterjack toad and the Sand lizard . The town contains examples of Victorian architecture and town planning , on Lord Street and elsewhere . A particular feature of the town is the extensive tree planting . This was one of the conditions required by the Hesketh family when they made land available for development in the 19th century . Hesketh Park at the northern end of the town is named after them , having been built on land donated by Rev. Charles Hesketh .   Southport today is still one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK . It hosts various events , including an annual air show on and over the beach , and the largest independent flower show in the UK , in Victoria Park . The town is at the centre of England 's Golf Coast and has hosted the Open Championship at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club .


Noam Chomsky is credited for creating a theory.

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky ( -LSB- æ ` vrɑːm _ ` noʊm_ˈtʃɒmski -RSB- ; born December 7 , 1928 ) is an American linguist , philosopher , cognitive scientist , historian , social critic , and political activist . Sometimes described as `` the father of modern linguistics '' , Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science . He is Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) , where he has worked since 1955 , and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics , war , politics , and mass media . Ideologically , he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism .   Born to middle-class Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia , Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City . At the age of sixteen he began studies at the University of Pennsylvania , taking courses in linguistics , mathematics , and philosophy . From 1951 to 1955 he was appointed to Harvard University 's Society of Fellows , where he developed the theory of transformational grammar for which he was awarded his doctorate in 1955 . That year he began teaching at MIT , in 1957 emerging as a significant figure in the field of linguistics for his landmark work Syntactic Structures , which remodeled the scientific study of language , while from 1958 to 1959 he was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study . He is credited as the creator or co-creator of the universal grammar theory , the generative grammar theory , the Chomsky hierarchy , and the minimalist program . Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of behaviorism , being particularly critical of the work of B. F. Skinner .   An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War , which he saw as an act of American imperialism , in 1967 Chomsky attracted widespread public attention for his anti-war essay `` The Responsibility of Intellectuals '' . Associated with the New Left , he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard Nixon 's Enemies List . While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades , he also became involved in the Linguistics Wars . In collaboration with Edward S. Herman , Chomsky later co-wrote an analysis articulating the propaganda model of media criticism , and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor . However , his defense of unconditional freedom of speech -- including for Holocaust deniers -- generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the early 1980s . Following his retirement from active teaching , he has continued his vocal political activism , including opposing the War on Terror and supporting the Occupy movement .   One of the most cited scholars in history , Chomsky has influenced a broad array of academic fields . He is widely recognized as a paradigm shifter who helped spark a major revolution in the human sciences , contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind . In addition to his continued scholarly research , he remains a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy , neoliberalism and contemporary state capitalism , the Israeli -- Palestinian conflict , and mainstream news media . His ideas have proved highly significant within the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements , but have also drawn criticism , with some accusing Chomsky of anti-Americanism .


Major League Soccer playoffs involves 12 teams competing against each other.

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer ( MLS ) is a men 's professional soccer league , sanctioned by U.S. Soccer , that represents the sport 's highest level in both the United States and Canada . MLS constitutes one of the major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada . The league comprises 22 teams -- 19 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada . The MLS regular season runs from March to October , with each team playing 34 games ; the team with the best record is awarded the Supporters ' Shield . The postseason includes twelve teams competing in the MLS Cup Playoffs through November and December , culminating in the championship game , the MLS Cup . MLS teams also play in other domestic competitions against teams from other divisions in the U.S. Open Cup and in the Canadian Championship . MLS teams also compete against continental rivals in the CONCACAF Champions League .   Major League Soccer was founded in 1993 as part of the United States ' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup . The first season took place in 1996 with ten teams . MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years : The league lost millions of dollars , teams played in mostly empty American football stadiums , and two teams folded in 2002 . Since then , MLS has expanded to 22 teams , owners built soccer-specific stadiums , average MLS attendance exceeds that of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , MLS secured national TV contracts , and the league is now profitable .   Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams , MLS is a single entity in which each team is owned and controlled by the league 's investors . The investor-operators control their teams as owners control teams in other leagues , and are commonly ( but inaccurately ) referred to as the team 's owners . The league has a fixed membership , like most sports leagues in the United States and Canada , which makes it one of the world 's few soccer leagues that does not use promotion and relegation , a practice that is uncommon in the two countries . MLS headquarters is located in New York City .


Phantoms (film) Phantoms is a 1998 American science fiction horror film adapted from Dean Koontz 's 1983 novel of the same name . Directed by Joe Chappelle with a screenplay by Koontz , the film stars Peter O'Toole , Rose McGowan , Joanna Going , Liev Schreiber , Ben Affleck , Nicky Katt , and Clifton Powell . The film takes place in the peaceful town of Snowfield , Colorado , where something evil has wiped out the community . It is up to a group of people to stop it or at least get out of Snowfield alive .


Hannibal marched an army across mountains.

Hannibal Hannibal Barca ( Punic language : ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ `` ð $ ' , Q-R-B L-A - ' - A-B-N-Ḥ ; 247 -- between 183 and 181 BC ) , was a Carthaginian general , considered one of the greatest military commanders in history . His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War . His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal , and he was brother-in-la   Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin , when the Roman Republic established its supremacy over other great powers such as ancient Carthage and the Greek kingdoms of Macedonia , Syracuse , and the Seleucid Empire . One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War , when he marched an army which included war elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy . In his first few years in Italy , he won three dramatic victories -- the Trebia , Lake Trasimene , and Cannae , in which he distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent 's strengths and weaknesses , and to play the battle to his strengths and the enemy 's weaknesses -- and won over many allies of Rome . Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years but was unable to march on Rome . An enemy counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage , where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama . Scipio had studied Hannibal 's tactics and brilliantly devised some of his own , and finally defeated Rome 's nemesis at Zama , having previously driven Hannibal 's brother Hasdrubal out of the Iberian Peninsula .   After the war , Hannibal successfully ran for the office of sufet . He enacted political and financial reforms to enable the payment of the war indemnity imposed by Rome ; however , Hannibal 's reforms were unpopular with members of the Carthaginian aristocracy and in Rome , and he fled into voluntary exile . During this time , he lived at the Seleucid court , where he acted as military advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome . Antiochus met defeat at the Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Rome 's terms , and Hannibal fled again , making a stop in the Kingdom of Armenia . His flight ended in the court of Bithynia , where he achieved an outstanding naval victory against a fleet from Pergamon . He was afterwards betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself .   Hannibal is often regarded as one of the greatest military strategists in history and one of the greatest generals of Mediterranean antiquity , together with Philip of Macedon , Alexander the Great , Julius Caesar , and Scipio Africanus . Plutarch states that Hannibal was questioned by Scipio as to who was the greatest general , and Hannibal replied either Alexander or Pyrrhus , then himself , or , according to another version of the event , Pyrrhus , Scipio , then himself . Military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge called Hannibal the `` father of strategy '' , because his greatest enemy , Rome , came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal . This praise has earned him a strong reputation in the modern world , and he was regarded as a great strategist by Napoleon and others .


Pyrenees The Pyrenees ( -LSB- ˈpɪrᵻniːz -RSB- Pirineos -LSB- piɾiˈneos -RSB- , Pyrénées -LSB- piʁene -RSB- , Pirineus , Pirineus -LSB- piɾiˈnɛus -RSB- , Pirenèus , Pirinioak -LSB- piˈɾinioˌak -RSB- or Auñamendiak -LSB- auˈɲamendiˌak -RSB- ) is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain . Reaching a height of 3404 m altitude at the peak of Aneto , the range separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe , and extends for about 491 km from the Bay of Biscay ( Cap Higuer ) to the Mediterranean Sea ( Cap de Creus ) .   For the most part , the main crest forms a divide between France and Spain , with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between . The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the mountain range , with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain .   The demonym for the noun `` Pyrenees '' in English is Pyrenean .


Alps The Alps ( -LSB- ælps -RSB- Alpes -LSB- alp -RSB- Alpen -LSB- ˈalpən -RSB- Alpi -LSB- ˈalpi -RSB- Alps Alpe -LSB- ˈáːlpɛ -RSB- ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe , The Caucasus Mountains are higher , and the Urals longer , but both lie partly in Asia . stretching approximately 1,200 km across eight Alpine countries : Austria , France , Germany , Italy , Liechtenstein , Monaco , Slovenia , and Switzerland . The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided . Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn . Mont Blanc spans the French -- Italian border , and at 4810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps . The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres ( just over 13,000 feet ) .   The altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe ; in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones . Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3400 m , and plants such as Edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations . Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era . A mummified man , determined to be 5,000 years old , was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian -- Italian border in 1991 .   By the 6th century BC , the Celtic La Tène culture was well established . Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants , and the Romans had settlements in the region . In 1800 , Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000 . The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists , writers , and artists , in particular the Romantics , followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks . In World War II , Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war .   The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity . The traditional culture of farming , cheesemaking , and woodworking still exists in Alpine villages , although the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded greatly after World War II to become the dominant industry by the end of the century . The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss , French , Italian , Austrian and German Alps . At present , the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors .


Kazakhstan Kazakhstan ( -LSB- USkæzækˈstæn , _ ˌkɑːzɑːkˈstɑːn -RSB- , -LSB- ˌkæzəkˈstɑːn , _ - ˈstæn -RSB- Қазақстан , tr . Qazaqstan , -LSB- qɑzɑqˈstɑn -RSB- ; Казахстан , tr . Kazakhstan ) , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan ( Қазақстан Республикасы , tr . Qazaqstan Respwblïkası ; Республика Казахстан , tr . Respublika Kazakhstan ) , is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe . Kazakhstan is the world 's largest landlocked country , and the ninth largest in the world , with an area of 2,724,900 km ² . Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically , generating 60 % of the region 's GDP , primarily through its oil/gas industry . It also has vast mineral resources .   Kazakhstan is officially a democratic , secular , unitary , constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage . Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia , China , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan , and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea . The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands , steppe , taiga , rock canyons , hills , deltas , snow-capped mountains , and deserts . Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people , Given its large land area , its population density is among the lowest , at less than 6 people per square kilometre ( 15 people per sq. mi . ) . The capital is Astana , where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty , the country 's largest city .   The territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes . This changed in the 13th century , when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire . Following internal struggles among the conquerors , power eventually reverted to the nomads . By the 16th century , the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group , divided into three jüz ( ancestor branches occupying specific territories ) . The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century , and by the mid-19th century , they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire . Following the 1917 Russian Revolution , and subsequent civil war , the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times . In 1936 , it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , part of the Soviet Union .   Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 . The current President , Nursultan Nazarbayev , has been leader of the country since then , and is characterised as authoritarian , with a government history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition . Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy , especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry . Human Rights Watch says that `` Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly , speech , and religion , '' and other human rights organisations regularly describe Kazakhstan 's human rights situation as poor .   Kazakhstan 's 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs ( 63 % of the population ) , Russians , Uzbeks , Ukrainians , Germans , Tatars , and Uyghurs . Islam is the religion of about 70 % of the population , with Christianity practised by 26 % ; Kazakhstan officially allows freedom of religion , but religious leaders who oppose the government are suppressed . The Kazakh language is the state language , and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes .


Hungary Hungary ( -LSB- ˈhʌŋɡəri -RSB- Magyarország -LSB- ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ -RSB- ) is a unitary parliamentary republic in Central Europe . It covers an area of 93,030 km2 , situated in the Carpathian Basin , and is bordered by Slovakia to the north , Romania to the east , Serbia to the south , Croatia to the southwest , Slovenia to the west , Austria to the northwest , and Ukraine to the northeast . With about 10 million inhabitants , Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union . The official language is Hungarian , which is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe . Hungary 's capital and largest metropolis is Budapest , a significant economic hub , classified as a global city . Major urban areas include Debrecen , Szeged , Miskolc , Pécs and Győr .   Following centuries of successive habitation by Celts , Romans , Slavs , Gepids and Avars , the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád in the conquest of the Carpathian Basin . His great-grandson Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000 , converting the country to a Christian kingdom . By the 12th century , Hungary became a middle power within the Western world , reaching a golden age by the 15th century . Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 and about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation ( 1541 -- 1699 ) , Hungary came under Habsburg rule , and later formed the great power Austro -- Hungarian Empire together with Austria .   Hungary 's current borders were established in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon after World War I , when the country lost 71 % of its territory , 58 % of its population , and 32 % of ethnic Hungarians . Following the interwar period , Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II , suffering significant damage and casualties . Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union , which contributed to the establishment of a four-decade-long communist dictatorship ( 1947 -- 1989 ) . The country gained widespread international attention regarding the Revolution of 1956 and the seminal opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989 , which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc . On 23 October 1989 , Hungary again became a democratic parliamentary republic .   In the 21st century , Hungary is a middle power and has the world 's 57th largest economy by nominal GDP , as well as the 58th largest by PPP , out of 188 countries measured by the IMF . As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors , it is both the world 's 36th largest exporter and importer of goods . Hungary is a high-income economy with a very high standard of living . It keeps up a social security and universal health care system , and a tuition-free university education . Hungary performs well in international rankings : it is 20th in quality of life , 25th in inequality-adjusted human development , 32nd in the Social Progress Index , and ranks as the 19th safest country in the world .   Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007 . Hungary is a member of the United Nations , NATO , WTO , World Bank , the AIIB , the Council of Europe and Visegrád Group . Well known for its rich cultural history , Hungary has contributed significantly to arts , music , literature , sports and science and technology . Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe , attracting 14.3 million international tourists in 2015 . It is home to the largest thermal water cave system , the second largest thermal lake in the world , the largest lake in Central Europe , and the largest natural grasslands in Europe .


Spider-Man (2002 film) stars Tobey Maguire.

Spider-Man (2002 film) Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi . Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name , the film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker , a high school student living in New York City , who turns to crimefighting after developing spider-like super powers . Spider-Man also stars Kirsten Dunst as Peter 's love interest Mary Jane Watson , Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin , Rosemary Harris and Cliff Robertson as Aunt May and Uncle Ben , and James Franco as his best friend Harry Osborn .   After progress on the film stalled for nearly 25 years , it was licensed for a worldwide release by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1999 after it acquired options from MGM on all previous scripts developed by Cannon Films , Carolco and New Cannon . Exercising its option on just two elements from the multi-script acquisition ( a different screenplay was written by James Cameron , Ted Newsom , John Brancato , Barney Cohen and `` Joseph Goldman '' ) , Sony hired David Koepp to create a working screenplay ( credited as Cameron 's ) , and Koepp received sole credit in final billing . Directors Roland Emmerich , Ang Lee , Chris Columbus , Jan de Bont , M. Night Shyamalan , Tony Scott and David Fincher were considered to direct the project before Raimi was hired as director in 2000 . The Koepp script was rewritten by Scott Rosenberg during preproduction and received a dialogue polish from Alvin Sargent during production .   Filming took place in Los Angeles , and New York City from January 8 to June 30 , 2001 . Spider-Man premiered in the Philippines on April 30 , 2002 , and had its general release in the United States on May 3 , 2002 . It became a critical and financial success . At the time , it was the only film to reach $ 100 million in its first weekend , had the largest opening weekend gross of all time , and was the most successful film based on a comic book . With $ 821.7 million worldwide , it was 2002 's third-highest-grossing film and is the 56th-highest-grossing film of all time ( seventh at the time of release ) . The film was nominated at the 75th Academy Awards ceremony for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing . Due to the success of the film , Columbia Pictures and Marvel released two sequels , Spider-Man 2 in 2004 , and Spider-Man 3 in 2007 .


Christoph Waltz is an  award-winning actor.

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA ) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film . Actors of all nationalities are eligible to receive the award .   Notes :  † -- indicates the performance also won the Academy Award  ‡ -- indicates the performance was also nominated for the Academy Award


Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor The Best Actor Award ( Prix d'interprétation masculine ) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival . It is chosen by the jury from the ` official section ' of movies at the festival . It was first awarded in 1946 .


Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year .   The formal title has varied since its inception ; since 2005 , the award has officially been called `` Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture '' .   Five actors have won the award twice : Richard Attenborough , Edmund Gwenn , Martin Landau , Edmond O'Brien , and Christoph Waltz .   Notes :  '' † '' indicates the winner of the Academy Award .  '' × '' indicates a Golden Globe Award-winner who was not nominated for an Academy Award .  '' ‡ '' indicates a Golden Globe Award-nominee who was also nominated for an Academy Award .


Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film .


Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) . It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while working within the film industry .   At the 9th Academy Awards ceremony held in 1937 , Walter Brennan was the first winner of this award for his role in Come and Get It . Initially , winners in both supporting acting categories were awarded plaques instead of statuettes . Beginning with the 16th ceremony held in 1944 , however , winners received full-sized statuettes . Currently , nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS ; winners are selected by a plurality vote from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy .   Since its inception , the award has been given to 72 actors . Brennan has received the most awards in this category with three awards . Brennan , Jeff Bridges , Robert Duvall , Arthur Kennedy , Jack Nicholson , and Claude Rains were nominated on four occasions , more than any other actor . As of the 2017 ceremony , Mahershala Ali is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Juan in Moonlight .


Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz ( -LSB- ˈkrɪstɔf ˈvalts -RSB- ; born 4 October 1956 ) is an Austrian-German actor . Widely known for his works with American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino , he received acclaim for portraying SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds ( 2009 ) and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained ( 2012 ) . For each of those performances , he won an Academy Award , a BAFTA Award , and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor . He also received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Landa .   Waltz portrayed computer genius Qohen Leth in the sci-fi film The Zero Theorem ( 2013 ) , American plagiarist Walter Keane in the biographical film Big Eyes ( 2014 ) , and 007 's nemesis and head of SPECTRE Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre ( 2015 ) , the twenty-fourth James Bond film .


U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin formed in 1976 . The group consists of Bono ( lead vocals and rhythm guitar ) , the Edge ( lead guitar , keyboards , and backing vocals ) , Adam Clayton ( bass guitar ) , and Larry Mullen Jr. ( drums and percussion ) . Initially rooted in post-punk , U2 's sound grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music , yet has maintained an anthemic sound built on Bono 's expressive vocals and the Edge 's effects-based guitar textures . Their lyrics , often embellished with spiritual imagery , focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns . Popular for their live performances , the group have staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career .   The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency . Within four years , they signed with Island Records and released their debut album , Boy ( 1980 ) . Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album , War ( 1983 ) , and the singles `` Sunday Bloody Sunday '' and `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '' helped establish U2 's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group . By the mid-1980s , they had become renowned globally for their live act , highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985 . The group 's fifth album , The Joshua Tree ( 1987 ) , made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success . Topping music charts around the world , it produced their only number-one singles in the US , `` With or Without You '' and `` I Still Have n't Found What I 'm Looking For '' . Facing a backlash and creative stagnation , U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image . Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album , Achtung Baby ( 1991 ) , and the multimedia intensive Zoo TV Tour , the band integrated influences from alternative rock , electronic dance music , and industrial music into their sound , and embraced a more ironic , flippant image . This experimentation continued through their ninth album , Pop ( 1997 ) , and the PopMart Tour , which were mixed successes . U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Ca n't Leave Behind ( 2000 ) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ( 2004 ) , which established a more conventional , mainstream sound for the group . Their U2 360 ° Tour of 2009 -- 2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history . The group 's thirteenth album , Songs of Innocence ( 2014 ) , was released at no cost through the iTunes Store , but received criticism for its automatic placement in users ' music libraries .   U2 have released 13 studio albums and are one of the world 's best-selling music artists of all time , having sold more than 170 million records worldwide . They have won 22 Grammy Awards , more than any other band , and in 2005 , they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility . Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the `` 100 Greatest Artists of All Time '' . Throughout their career , as a band and as individuals , they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes , including Amnesty International , Jubilee 2000 , the ONE/DATA campaigns , Product Red , War Child , and Music Rising .


Clubber Lang James `` Clubber '' Lang is a fictional character created by Sylvester Stallone for the film Rocky III , which was released in 1982 . Lang serves as the main antagonist of the film and was portrayed by Mr. T.   Lang is a professional boxer fighting out of Chicago , Illinois and a one-time world heavyweight champion , having taken the title from Rocky Balboa only to lose it back to Balboa in his next fight . The character is very loosely based on a combination of Sonny Liston , Larry Holmes and George Foreman .


Charles Marie de La Condamine was born January 28, 1701.

Charles Marie de La Condamine Charles Marie de La Condamine ( 28 January 1701 -- 13 February 1774 ) was a French explorer , geographer , and mathematician . He spent ten years in present-day Ecuador measuring the length of a degree latitude at the equator and preparing the first map of the Amazon region based on astronomical observations . Furthermore he was a contributor to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences , des arts et des métiers .


The Hateful Eight is a film by Martin Scorsese.

The Hateful Eight The Hateful Eight is a 2015 American revisionist Western mystery film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino . It stars Samuel L. Jackson , Kurt Russell , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Walton Goggins , Demián Bichir , Tim Roth , Michael Madsen , and Bruce Dern as eight strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the American Civil War .   Tarantino announced The Hateful Eight in November 2013 , having originally conceived it as a novel and sequel to his previous film Django Unchained ( 2012 ) . After the script leaked in January 2014 , he cancelled the film but announced that he had changed his mind after directing a live reading of the script at the United Artists Theater in Los Angeles . Filming began on December 8 , 2014 , near Telluride , Colorado . The original score composed by Ennio Morricone , the first for a Tarantino film , was Morricone 's first complete Western score in 34 years , and his first score for a high-profile Hollywood production since Brian De Palma 's Mission to Mars in 2000 .   Distributed by The Weinstein Company in the United States , The Hateful Eight was released on December 25 , 2015 , in a roadshow release in 70 mm film . It had a wide digital release on December 30 , 2015 . It received positive reviews , with Leigh receiving considerable praise . For his work on the score , Morricone won the Golden Globe and his first Academy Award for Best Original Score . The film also earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress ( Leigh ) and Best Cinematography ( Robert Richardson ) .


Zayn Malik Zain Javadd `` Zayn '' Malik ( -LSB- 'm ælɪk -RSB- زین مالک ) ( born 12 January 1993 ) , who records mononymously as Zayn , is a British singer and songwriter . Born and raised in Bradford , Malik aspired to pursue a career in music from a young age leading him to audition as a solo artist for the British reality television music competition The X Factor in 2010 . After being eliminated as a solo performer , Malik was brought back into the competition , along with four other contestants , to form the boy band that would become known as One Direction . During his time in the group , they released the albums Up All Night ( 2011 ) , Take Me Home ( 2012 ) , Midnight Memories ( 2013 ) , and Four ( 2014 ) .   Malik split from the boy band in March 2015 and signed a solo recording contract with RCA Records . Adopting a more R&B music style , with his debut studio album Mind of Mine ( 2016 ) and its lead single , `` Pillowtalk '' , Malik became the first British male artist to debut at number one in both the UK and US with a debut single and debut album . Malik is the recipient of several accolades , including an American Music Award and a Billboard Music Award .


Canada is one of the leading countries in terms of government transparency.

Canada Canada ( -LSB- ˈkænədə -RSB- -LSB- kanadɑ -RSB- ) is a country in the northern part of North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering 9.98 e6km2 , making it the world 's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area . Canada 's border with the United States is the world 's longest binational land border . The majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate , but southerly areas are warm in summer . Canada is sparsely populated , the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains . It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities , many near the southern border . One third of the population lives in the three largest cities : Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver . Its capital is Ottawa , and other major urban areas include Calgary , Edmonton , Quebec City , Winnipeg and Hamilton .   Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization . Beginning in the 16th century , British and French claims were made on the area , with the colony of Canada first being established by the French in 1535 during Jacques Cartier 's second voyage to New France . As a consequence of various conflicts , Great Britain gained and lost territories within British North America until it was left , in the late 18th century , with what mostly geographically comprises Canada today . Pursuant to the British North America Act , on July 1 , 1867 , the colonies of Canada , New Brunswick , and Nova Scotia joined to form the semi-autonomous federal Dominion of Canada . This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada .   In 1931 , Canada achieved near total independence from the United Kingdom with the Statute of Westminster 1931 , but at the time , Canada decided to allow the British Parliament to temporarily retain the power to amend Canada 's constitution , on request from the Parliament of Canada . With the Constitution Act 1982 , Canada took over that authority ( as the conclusion of Patriation ) , removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom , giving the country full sovereignty .   Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state . The country is officially bilingual at the federal level . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries . Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world , relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks . Canada 's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture .   Canada is a developed country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index . It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency , civil liberties , quality of life , economic freedom , and education . Canada is a Commonwealth realm member of the Commonwealth of Nations , a member of the Francophonie , and part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the G8 , the Group of Ten , the G20 , the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum .


Kangana Ranaut was trained by a theatre director from India.

Kangana Ranaut Kangana Ranaut ( -LSB- kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ -RSB- ; born 23 March 1986 ) is an Indian film actress . She has established a career in Bollywood and is one of the highest-paid actresses in India . Ranaut is particularly known in the media for expressing her honest opinions in public and is frequently credited as one of the most fashionable Indian celebrities . She is the recipient of several awards , including three National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards in four categories .   Born in Bhambla , a small town in Himachal Pradesh , Ranaut initially aspired to become a doctor at the insistence of her parents . Determined to build her own career path , she relocated to Delhi at age sixteen , where she briefly became a model . After training under the theatre director Arvind Gaur , Ranaut made her feature film debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster , for which she was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut . She received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe ( 2006 ) , Life in a. . . Metro ( 2007 ) and Fashion ( 2008 ) . For the last of these , she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Filmfare Award in the same category .   Ranaut featured in the commercially successful films Raaz : The Mystery Continues ( 2009 ) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai ( 2010 ) , though she was criticised for being typecast in neurotic roles . A comic role opposite R. Madhavan in the 2011 box office hit Tanu Weds Manu was well-received , though this was followed by a series of brief , glamorous roles in films that failed to propel her career forward . She then played a mutant opposite Hrithik Roshan in the science fiction film Krrish 3 ( 2013 ) , one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films , and won the Filmfare and National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the comedy-drama Queen ( 2014 ) . In 2015 , Ranaut portrayed a dual role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns , the most successful Bollywood film featuring a female protagonist , for which she won a Filmfare Critics Award and a second consecutive National Film Award for Best Actress .


Arvind Gaur Arvind Gaur , Indian theatre director , is known for his work in innovative , socially and politically relevant theatre in India . Gaur 's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking , connecting intimate personal spheres of existence to larger social political issues . His work deals with Internet censorship , communalism , caste issues , feudalism , domestic violence , crimes of state , politics of power , violence , injustice , social discrimination , marginalisation , and racism . Arvind is the leader of Asmita , Delhi 's `` most prolific theatre group '' , and is an actor trainer , social activist , street theatre worker and story teller .   Gaur was the recipient of a research fellowship awarded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development ( India ) ( 1997 -- 98 ) . He was on the guest faculty of Delhi University for Theatre in education program for three years . He has conducted many theatre workshops and performed in colleges , institutions , universities and schools in India and abroad .   He has organized theatre workshops for children in schools and slums as well as street theatre performances on socio-political issues . He has directed more than 60 stage plays over two decades .


Alpha House is inspired by legislators who share a row house.

Alpha House Alpha House is an American political satire web television series produced by Amazon Studios . The show stars John Goodman , Clark Johnson , Matt Malloy and Mark Consuelos as four Republican U.S. Senators who share a house in Washington , D.C. . It was created by Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau . The show premiered on Amazon.com on April 19 , 2013 .   The series is inspired by several actual Democratic legislators who share a row house in D.C. : Senator Dick Durbin ( D-IL ) , Senator Chuck Schumer ( D-NY ) , and Representative George Miller ( D-CA ) . The series has a number of cameos from celebrities such as Bill Murray ( as Senator Vernon Smits ) and politicians such as Schumer as himself .  Amazon Studios offered the first three episodes of Alpha House for free , with each subsequent episode released weekly thereafter for Amazon Prime members on Amazon Video .   On February 11 , 2014 , the series was renewed for a second season . Production for the second season began filming in July 2014 , and the entire second season became available on Amazon.com on October 24 , 2014 . The series was canceled after the second season .


Down syndrome was fully described by John Langdon Down in 1866.

Down syndrome Down syndrome ( DS or DNS ) , also known as trisomy 21 , is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21 . It is typically associated with physical growth delays , characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability . The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50 , equivalent to the mental ability of an 8 - or 9-year-old child , but this can vary widely .   The parents of the affected individual are typically genetically normal . The extra chromosome occurs by chance . The possibility increases from less than 0.1 % in 20-year-old mothers to 3 % in those age 45 . There is no known behavioral activity or environmental factor that changes the possibility . Down syndrome can be identified during pregnancy by prenatal screening followed by diagnostic testing or after birth by direct observation and genetic testing . Since the introduction of screening , pregnancies with the diagnosis are often terminated . Regular screening for health problems common in Down syndrome is recommended throughout the person 's life .   There is no cure for Down syndrome . Education and proper care have been shown to improve quality of life . Some children with Down syndrome are educated in typical school classes , while others require more specialized education . Some individuals with Down syndrome graduate from high school and a few attend post-secondary education . In adulthood , about 20 % in the United States do paid work in some capacity with many requiring a sheltered work environment . Support in financial and legal matters is often needed . Life expectancy is around 50 to 60 years in the developed world with proper health care .   Down syndrome is one of the most common chromosome abnormalities in humans . It occurs in about one per 1000 babies born each year . In 2015 , Down syndrome was present in 5.4 million individuals and resulted in 27,000 deaths down from 43,000 deaths in 1990 . It is named after John Langdon Down , the British doctor who fully described the syndrome in 1866 . Some aspects of the condition were described earlier by Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol in 1838 and Édouard Séguin in 1844 . In 1957 , the genetic cause of Down syndrome , an extra copy of chromosome 21 , was discovered .


Taylor Swift was released before January 2015.

Taylor Swift (album) Taylor Swift is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift , released on October 24 , 2006 , by Big Machine Records . Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album 's release and wrote its songs during her freshman year of high school . Swift has writing credits on all of the album 's songs , including those co-written with Liz Rose . Swift experimented with several producers , ultimately choosing Nathan Chapman , who had produced her demo album . Musically , the album is country music styled , and lyrically it speaks of romantic relationships , a couple of which Swift wrote from observing relationships before being in one . Lyrics also touch on Swift 's personal struggles in high school .   Five singles were released from the album , all of which have been certified platinum by the RIAA . `` Tim McGraw '' was released as the lead single and reached the top ten on Billboard 's Hot Country Songs . `` Teardrops on My Guitar '' was released as the second single and was the album 's best-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 . `` Our Song '' was released as the third single from the album and was Swift 's first number one on Billboard 's Hot Country Songs chart . It made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the Hot Country Songs chart . `` Picture to Burn '' and `` Should 've Said No '' were released as the fourth single and fifth singles from the album , respectively , and both were successful on the country charts in the United States . Swift promoted the album by performing on tour as the opening act for artists such as Rascal Flatts , George Strait , Brad Paisley , and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill .   Taylor Swift was received positively by contemporary critics , who praised Swift 's talent at such a young age . The album enjoyed commercial success and launched Swift 's career in country music . In the United States , it topped the Top Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks , and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) for sales of over 5 million copies . Taylor Swift has logged 275 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart as of early 2013 . The album was also successful outside of Swift 's native country , especially in Canada , Australia , and the United Kingdom . The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide as of January 2015 .


Kate & Leopold Kate & Leopold is a 2001 romantic-comedy fantasy that tells a story of a duke who travels through time from New York in 1876 to the present and falls in love with a woman in modern New York . The film is directed by James Mangold and stars Meg Ryan , Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber .


Drake (musician) Aubrey Drake Graham ( born October 24 , 1986 ) better known by the stage name Drake , is a Canadian rapper , singer , songwriter , record producer , and actor . Drake initially gained recognition as an actor on the teen drama television series Degrassi : The Next Generation in the early 2000s . Intent on pursuing a career as a rapper , he departed the series in 2007 following the release of his debut mixtape , Room for Improvement . He released two further independent projects , Comeback Season and So Far Gone , before signing to Lil Wayne 's Young Money Entertainment in June 2009 .   Drake released his debut studio album Thank Me Later in 2010 , which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was soon certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . His next two releases were 2011 's Take Care and 2013 's Nothing Was the Same , with certifications of quadruple and triple platinum respectively in the U.S. , with the former also earning him his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album . They were followed by two mixtapes , with the trap-influenced If You 're Reading This It 's Too Late , and a collaboration with Future for What a Time to Be Alive , in 2015 , which both also earned platinum certification in the U.S.   Drake released his fourth album , Views , in 2016 , breaking several chart records in the process . The dancehall-influenced album sat atop the Billboard 200 for ten nonconsecutive weeks , becoming the first album by a solo male to do so in over 10 years . Its single `` One Dance '' topped the chart in several countries , including the U.S. , the UK and Canada , where it became his first number-one single as the lead artist . This saw Drake leading the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously for eight weeks , coming close to a record held by Whitney Houston . It achieved quadruple platinum status in the U.S. , and earned over 1 million album-equivalent units in the first week of its release . The single `` Hotline Bling '' secured him his second and third Grammy win , for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song , at the organization 's 59th ceremony .   Drake released the multi-genre More Life in 2017 . Described by Drake as a playlist , it was his seventh consecutive number one on the Billboard 200 , and set multiple streaming records .   Drake owns several Billboard chart records . He has the most charted songs ( 154 ) among solo artists in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 , the most simultaneously charted Hot 100 songs in a single week ( 24 ) , and the most Hot 100 debuts in a week ( 21 ) . Drake also has the most number one singles on the Hot Rap Songs , Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Charts . Alongside his Grammy Award wins , Drake has won three Juno Awards and six American Music Awards .   Drake has developed other ventures , including his OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator Noah `` 40 '' Shebib . Drake acts as a producer , producing under the pseudonym of Champagne Papi . Using the `` OVO '' moniker , Drake has his own clothing line and his own program on Beats 1 Radio . He is also currently acting as the global ambassador for NBA franchise , the Toronto Raptors .


George Martin Sir George Henry Martin ( 3 January 19268 March 2016 ) was an English record producer , arranger , composer , conductor , audio engineer , and musician . He was referred to as the `` Fifth Beatle '' , including by Paul McCartney , in reference to his extensive involvement on each of the Beatles ' original albums . Martin produced 30 number-one hit singles in the United Kingdom and 23 number-one hits in the United States .   Martin produced comedy and novelty records in the early 1950s , working with Peter Sellers , Spike Milligan , and Bernard Cribbins , among others . His career spanned more than six decades of work in music , film , television and live performance . He held a number of senior executive roles at media companies and contributed to a wide range of charitable causes , including his work for The Prince 's Trust and the Caribbean island of Montserrat . In recognition of his services to the music industry and popular culture , he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1996 .


The Republic of Ireland has the Irish Sea to the east.

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( -LSB- ˈaɪərlənd -RSB- Éire -LSB- ˈeːɾʲə -RSB- ) , also described as the Republic of Ireland ( Poblacht na hÉireann ) , is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland . The capital and largest city is Dublin , which is located on the eastern part of the island , and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country 's 4.75 million inhabitants . The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland , a part of the United Kingdom . It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the Celtic Sea to the south , Saint George 's Channel to the south-east , and the Irish Sea to the east . It is a unitary , parliamentary republic . The legislature , the Oireachtas , consists of a lower house , Dáil Éireann , an upper house , Seanad Éireann , and an elected President ( Uachtarán ) who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state , but with some important powers and duties . The head of government is the Taoiseach ( Prime Minister , literally ` Chief ' , a title not used in English ) , who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President ; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers .   The state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty . It had the status of dominion until 1937 when a new constitution was adopted , in which the state was named `` Ireland '' and effectively became a republic , with an elected non-executive president as head of state . It was officially declared a republic in 1949 , following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 . Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955 . It joined the European Economic Community ( EEC ) , the predecessor of the European Union , in 1973 . The state had no formal relations with Northern Ireland for most of the twentieth century , but during the 1980s and 1990s the British and Irish governments worked with the Northern Ireland parties towards a resolution to `` the Troubles '' . Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 , the Irish government and Northern Ireland Executive have co-operated on a number of policy areas under the North-South Ministerial Council created by the Agreement .   Ireland ranks among the top twenty-five wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita , and as the tenth most prosperous country in the world according to The Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 . After joining the EEC , Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth . The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007 , which became known as the Celtic Tiger period . This was halted by an unprecedented financial crisis that began in 2008 , in conjunction with the concurrent global economic crash . However , as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015 , Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally . For example , in 2015 , Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth ( with Germany ) most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index . It also performs well in several national performance metrics , including freedom of the press , economic freedom and civil liberties . Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a founding member of the Council of Europe and the OECD . The Irish government has followed a policy of military neutrality through non-alignment since immediately prior to World War II and the country is consequently not a member of NATO , although it is a member in Partnership for Peace .


Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley ( -LSB- tə 'm ɛrə _ 'm ɔːri -RSB- born July 6 , 1978 ) is an American actress and model . She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister , Sister ( opposite her identical twin sister Tia Mowry ) . She has also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and its sequel , Twitches Too , and she played Dr. Kayla Thornton on the medical drama Strong Medicine . A reality TV show following her and her twin sister 's lives , Tia & Tamera , began airing on the Style Network in 2011 , ending in 2013 after three seasons .   Currently , she is one of the hosts of The Real talk show along with former fellow Disney Channel star Adrienne Bailon , Jeannie Mai , and Loni Love , which premiered on July 15 , 2013 .   She and her identical twin sister Tia Mowry were in a singing group in the early 1990s called Voices . The group debuted their first single , `` Yeah , Yeah , Yeah ! '' in 1992 and charted No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 .


Bob Riley was a governor from 2003 to 2011 in Alabama.

Bob Riley Robert Renfroe Riley ( born October 3 , 1944 ) is an American politician who was the 52nd Governor of Alabama from 2003 to 2011 . He is a member of the Republican Party .


Matthew Modine played the titular character in the film Birdy.

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine ( born March 22 , 1959 ) is an American film actor who rose to prominence through his role as United States Marine Corps Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick 's `` Full Metal Jacket '' . His other well-known roles include Dr. Martin Brenner in Stranger Things , the title character in Alan Parker 's Birdy , high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest and the oversexed Sullivan Groff on Weeds .


A king of Scotland was Charles II of England.

Restoration (1660) The Restoration was both a series of events in April -- May 1660 and the period that followed it in British history . In 1660 the monarchy was restored to the kingdoms of England , Ireland and Scotland in the person of Charles II . The period that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms was officially declared an Interregnum .


Charles II of England Charles II ( 29 May 1630 -- 6 February 1685 ) was king of England , Scotland and Ireland . He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651 , and king of England , Scotland and Ireland from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 until his death .   Charles II 's father , Charles I , was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649 , at the climax of the English Civil War . Although the Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II king on 5 February 1649 , England entered the period known as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth , and the country was a de facto republic , led by Oliver Cromwell . Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 , and Charles fled to mainland Europe . Cromwell became virtual dictator of England , Scotland and Ireland , and Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France , the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands . A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy , and Charles was invited to return to Britain . On 29 May 1660 , his 30th birthday , he was received in London to public acclaim . After 1660 , all legal documents were dated as if he had succeeded his father as king in 1649 .   Charles 's English parliament enacted laws known as the Clarendon Code , designed to shore up the position of the re-established Church of England . Charles acquiesced to the Clarendon Code even though he favoured a policy of religious tolerance . The major foreign policy issue of his early reign was the Second Anglo-Dutch War . In 1670 , he entered into the secret treaty of Dover , an alliance with his first cousin King Louis XIV of France . Louis agreed to aid him in the Third Anglo-Dutch War and pay him a pension , and Charles secretly promised to convert to Catholicism at an unspecified future date . Charles attempted to introduce religious freedom for Catholics and Protestant dissenters with his 1672 Royal Declaration of Indulgence , but the English Parliament forced him to withdraw it . In 1679 , Titus Oates 's revelations of a supposed `` Popish Plot '' sparked the Exclusion Crisis when it was revealed that Charles 's brother and heir ( James , Duke of York ) was a Catholic . The crisis saw the birth of the pro-exclusion Whig and anti-exclusion Tory parties . Charles sided with the Tories , and , following the discovery of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles and James in 1683 , some Whig leaders were executed or forced into exile . Charles dissolved the English Parliament in 1681 , and ruled alone until his death on 6 February 1685 . He was received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed .   Charles was popularly known as the Merry Monarch , in reference to both the liveliness and hedonism of his court and the general relief at the return to normality after over a decade of rule by Cromwell and the Puritans . Charles 's wife , Catherine of Braganza , bore no live children , but Charles acknowledged at least twelve illegitimate children by various mistresses . He was succeeded by his brother James .


Star Wars: The Force Awakens follows Rey.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Star Wars : The Force Awakens ( also known as Star Wars : Episode VII -- The Force Awakens ) is a 2015 American epic space opera film directed , co-produced , and co-written by J. J. Abrams . The direct sequel to 1983 's Return of the Jedi , The Force Awakens is the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy , and stars Harrison Ford , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Adam Driver , Daisy Ridley , John Boyega , Oscar Isaac , Lupita Nyong ` o , Andy Serkis , Domhnall Gleeson , Anthony Daniels , Peter Mayhew , and Max von Sydow . Produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Abrams ' production company Bad Robot Productions and distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures , The Force Awakens marks a break in creative control from the original series as the first Star Wars film not produced by franchise creator George Lucas . Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi , it follows Rey , Finn and Poe Dameron 's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight alongside the Resistance , led by veterans of the Rebel Alliance , against Kylo Ren and the First Order , a successor organization to the Galactic Empire .   The Force Awakens was announced after The Walt Disney Company 's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012 . It was produced by Abrams , his longtime collaborator Bryan Burk , and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy . Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan , co-writer of the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back ( 1980 ) and Return of the Jedi ( 1983 ) , rewrote an initial script by Michael Arndt . John Williams , composer for the previous six films , returned to compose the film 's score . Lucas served as creative consultant during the film 's early production . Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland , with principal photography also taking place in Ireland and Pinewood Studios in England , and concluded in November 2014 . It is the first live-action film in the franchise since Star Wars : Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith , released ten years prior in 2005 .   Star Wars : The Force Awakens was widely anticipated , and Disney backed the film with extensive marketing campaigns . It premiered in Los Angeles on December 14 , 2015 , four days before its wide release . The film received positive reviews , with its ensemble cast , direction , musical score , visual effects , and action sequences receiving particular praise , though it received some criticism for being derivative of the original trilogy . The film broke various box office records and became , unadjusted for inflation , the highest-grossing installment in the franchise , the highest-grossing film in North America , and the third-highest-grossing film of all time , with a worldwide gross of over $ 2 billion and a net profit of over $ 780 million . It received five Academy Award nominations and four British Academy Film Award nominations , where it won Best Special Visual Effects . Two sequels , The Last Jedi and Episode IX , are scheduled for release in 2017 and 2019 , respectively .