Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani song) received a nomination for a mark of recognition at the 47th Grammy Awards.

Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani song) `` Rich Girl '' is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album , Love . Angel . Music . Baby . ( 2004 ) . Produced by Dr. Dre , the track features American rapper Eve , and is a remake of Louchie Lou & Michie One 's 1993 song of the same name , which is in turn an adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song `` If I Were a Rich Man '' . Stefani says the song discusses her dreams of fame and riches from the perspective of `` when she was just an Orange County girl '' .   The last song to be included on the album , `` Rich Girl '' was released as the album 's second single in late 2004 to mixed reviews from music critics . It was a commercial success , reaching the top 10 on most of the charts it entered . In the United States , `` Rich Girl '' was certified gold , and it received a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards .


Thank Me Later is the name of a Drake album.

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 .


New York New York is a state in the northeastern United States , and is the 27th-most extensive , fourth-most populous , and seventh-most densely populated U.S. state . New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut , Massachusetts , and Vermont to the east . The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island , east of Long Island , as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the northwest . The state of New York , with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015 , is also referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City , the state 's most populous city and its economic hub .   With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015 , New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States . The New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world . New York City is a global city , exerting a significant impact upon commerce , finance , media , art , fashion , research , technology , education , and entertainment , its fast pace defining the term New York minute . The home of the United Nations Headquarters , New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural , financial , and media capital of the world , as well as the world 's most economically powerful city . New York City makes up over 40 % of the population of New York State . Two-thirds of the state 's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area , and nearly 40 % lives on Long Island . Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York , future King James II of England . The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo , Rochester , Yonkers , and Syracuse , while the state capital is Albany .   New York has a diverse geography . The southern part of the state consists of Long Island and several smaller associated islands , as well as New York City and the lower Hudson River Valley , most of which lie within the wider Atlantic Coastal Plain . The large region known as Upstate New York consists of several ranges of the wider Appalachian Mountains , including the Allegheny Plateau and Catskills along New York 's Southern Tier , and the Adirondack Mountains , Thousand Islands archipelago , and Saint Lawrence Seaway in the Northeastern lobe of the state . These more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys -- the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley , which forms the core of the Erie Canal . Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario and Lake Erie . Between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls . The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes , a popular vacation and tourist destination .   New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York . The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade and proselytizing . In 1609 , the region was claimed by Henry Hudson for the Dutch , who built Fort Nassau in 1614 at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers , where the present-day capital of Albany later developed . The Dutch soon also settled New Amsterdam and parts of the Hudson Valley , establishing the colony of New Netherland , a multicultural community from its earliest days and a center of trade and immigration . The British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664 . The borders of the British colony , the Province of New York , were similar to those of the present-day state .   Many landmarks in New York are well known to both international and domestic visitors , with New York State hosting four of the world 's ten most-visited tourist attractions in 2013 : Times Square , Central Park , Niagara Falls ( shared with Ontario ) , and Grand Central Terminal . New York is home to the Statue of Liberty , a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom , democracy , and opportunity . In the 21st century , New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship , social tolerance , and environmental sustainability . New York 's higher education network comprises approximately 200 colleges and universities , including Columbia University , Cornell University , New York University , and Rockefeller University , which have been ranked among the top 35 in the world .


Minecraft Minecraft is a sandbox video game created and designed by Swedish game designer Markus `` Notch '' Persson , and later fully developed and published by Mojang . The creative and building aspects of Minecraft enable players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D procedurally generated world . Other activities in the game include exploration , resource gathering , crafting , and combat . Multiple gameplay modes are available , including a survival mode where the player must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health , a creative mode where players have unlimited resources to build with and the ability to fly , an adventure mode where players can play custom maps created by other players , and a spectator mode where players can fly around and clip through blocks , but can not place or destroy any . The PC version of the game is noted for its modding scene , where a dedicated community creates new gameplay mechanics , items , and assets for the game .   Minecraft received praise from critics , and won numerous awards and accolades . , over 121 million copies have been sold across all platforms , making it the second best-selling video game of all time , only behind the various releases of Tetris . In September 2014 , Microsoft announced a deal to buy Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property for 2.5 billion , with the acquisition being completed two months later .


Penny Dreadful aired only on Canadian television networks.

Penny Dreadful (TV series) Penny Dreadful is a British-American horror drama television series created for Showtime and Sky by John Logan , who also acts as executive producer alongside Sam Mendes . The show was originally pitched to several US and UK channels , and eventually landed with Showtime , with Sky Atlantic as co-producer . It premiered at the South by Southwest film festival on March 9 and began airing on television on April 28 , 2014 , on Showtime on Demand . The series premiered on Showtime on May 11 , 2014 , the first in an eight-episode season . After the third-season finale on June 19 , 2016 , series creator John Logan announced that Penny Dreadful had ended as the main story had reached its conclusion .   The title refers to the penny dreadfuls , a type of 19th-century British fiction publication with lurid and sensational subject matter . The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th-century British and Irish fiction , including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray ; Mina Harker , Abraham Van Helsing , Dr. Seward , Renfield , and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker 's Dracula ; Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ; and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson 's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde .


Supernatural (season 5) The fifth season of Supernatural , an American fantasy horror television series created by Eric Kripke , premiered September 10 , 2009 , and concluded on May 13 , 2010 , on The CW . Season five regular cast members include Jared Padalecki , Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins , who was promoted to series regular this season . After the conclusion of this season , series creator Eric Kripke stepped down as showrunner . The fifth season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on September 7 , 2010 .   Mark Pellegrino plays the role of Lucifer , who was freed from Hell at the end of Season 4 . Paris Hilton guest starred in the episode `` Fallen Idols '' , in which she played Leshii , a pagan god that takes the form of various well-known faces including herself . The season also features the return of Jo and her mother Ellen Harvelle , as well as hunter Rufus Turner , the Trickster and the prophet Chuck Shurley .


Supernatural (U.S. TV series) Supernatural is an American fantasy horror television series created by Eric Kripke . It was first broadcast on September 13 , 2005 , on The WB , and subsequently became part of successor The CW 's lineup . Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester , the series follows the two brothers as they hunt demons , ghosts , monsters , and other supernatural beings . The series is produced by Warner Bros. . Television , in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision . Along with Kripke , executive producers have been McG , Robert Singer , Phil Sgriccia , Sera Gamble , Jeremy Carver , John Shiban , Ben Edlund and Adam Glass . Former executive producer and director Kim Manners died of lung cancer during production of the fourth season .   The series is filmed in Vancouver , British Columbia and surrounding areas and was in development for nearly ten years , as creator Kripke spent several years unsuccessfully pitching it . The pilot was viewed by an estimated 5.69 million viewers , and the ratings of the first four episodes prompted The WB to pick up the series for a full season . Originally , Kripke planned the series for three seasons but later expanded it to five . The fifth season concluded the series ' main storyline , and Kripke departed the series as showrunner . The series has continued on for several more seasons with new showrunners , including Sera Gamble , Jeremy Carver , Robert Singer and Andrew Dabb . With its eleventh season , Supernatural became the longest-running American fantasy series . The series was renewed for a twelfth season , which aired from October 13 , 2016 , to May 18 , 2017 . On January 8 , 2017 , The CW renewed the show for a thirteenth season .


Saw VI Saw is a 2009 American horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan . It is the sixth installment in the seven -- part Saw franchise and stars Tobin Bell , Costas Mandylor , Betsy Russell , Mark Rolston , Peter Outerbridge , and Shawnee Smith . It was produced by Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Pictures and distributed by Lionsgate .   Saw continues the franchise 's focus on the posthumous effects of the Jigsaw Killer and the progression of his successor , Mark Hoffman . In this film , Hoffman sets a series of traps for an insurance executive , William Easton , and his employees . Meanwhile , the FBI trails Peter Strahm , now suspected of being Jigsaw 's last accomplice , and Hoffman is drawn into motion to protect his secret identity .   Greutert , who served as editor for all the previous Saw films , made his directorial debut with Saw . Melton and Dunstan , the writers for both Saw and Saw , returned to write the screenplay and Charlie Clouser , who provided the score for all previous Saw films , composed the score . Filming took place in Toronto from March to May 2009 with a budget of $ 11 million .   The film was released in New Zealand and Australia on October 22 , 2009 , and October 23 , 2009 in the United States and Canada . In Spain it was the first film to receive a Película X rating for violence ( a rating usually reserved for pornographic films ) ; the rating restricted screenings to eight select theaters in that country . It was released almost a year later on October 8 , 2010 in Spain with an `` 18 '' rating , after the producers had the offensive content edited out , according to the rating board . With gross receipts of $ 14 million in its opening weekend , Saw placed second to Paranormal Activity $ 21 million . Saw went on to gross over $ 68 million worldwide , the lowest-grossing Saw film to date , but still a financial success compared to its small budget . Reviews were mixed , with some criticizing the acting and others praising Greutert 's directing .


Twisted Pictures Twisted Pictures is an American independent production company , mainly creating films of the horror genre . The company was founded in 2004 by Evolution Entertainment 's Mark Burg , Oren Koules and Gregg Hoffman . They are known for producing the Saw film series .


Jigsaw (Saw) John Kramer -- known as The Jigsaw Killer or simply Jigsaw -- is a fictional character and appearing in the Saw franchise . Jigsaw made his debut in the first film of the series , Saw , and he later appeared in Saw II , Saw III , Saw IV , Saw V , Saw VI , Saw 3D and , eventually , Saw : Legacy . He is portrayed by American actor Tobin Bell .   In the series ' narrative , Kramer is a former civil engineer dying from an inoperable frontal lobe tumor that had developed from colon cancer . After a failed suicide attempt , Kramer found a new appreciation for his life , and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to inspiring the same appreciation in others by testing their will to live . His methods include forcing his subjects through deadly scenarios , which he referred to as `` games '' or `` tests '' , in which they were forced to inflict pain upon themselves or others in order to escape . These tests were typically symbolic of what Jigsaw perceived as a flaw in each person 's moral character or life . The Jigsaw name was given to him by the media for his practice of cutting a puzzle piece shape of flesh from those who fail .


Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation , doing business as Lionsgate , is an American , Canadian-domiciled entertainment & media company . The company was formed on July 10 , 1997 , in Vancouver , British Columbia , and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica , California .   In addition to its well-known Lionsgate Films division , which generated the seventh-highest gross revenue in North America in 2015 , the company contains other divisions such as Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive . It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as the American film production company Summit Entertainment , and Debmar-Mercury , a television syndication company acquired by Lionsgate in 2006 .


Billy Bob Thornton has worked since at least 1817.

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton ( born August 4 , 1955 ) is an American actor , filmmaker , singer , songwriter , and musician .   Thornton had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller One False Move , and came to international attention after writing , directing , and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade ( 1996 ) , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor . He appeared in several major film roles in the 1990s following Sling Blade , including Oliver Stone 's neo-noir U Turn ( 1997 ) , political drama Primary Colors ( 1998 ) , science fiction disaster film Armageddon ( 1998 ) , which was the highest-grossing film of that year , and the crime drama A Simple Plan ( 1998 ) , which earned him his third Academy Awards nomination .   In the 2000s , Thornton achieved further success in starring dramas Monster 's Ball ( 2001 ) , The Man Who Was n't There ( 2001 ) , and Friday Night Lights ( 2004 ) ; comedies Bandits ( 2001 ) , Intolerable Cruelty ( 2003 ) , and Bad Santa ( 2003 ) ; and action films Eagle Eye ( 2008 ) and Faster ( 2010 ) . In 2014 , Thornton starred as Lorne Malvo in the first season of the anthology series Fargo , earning a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie at the Emmy Awards and won Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards . In 2016 , he starred in an Amazon original series , Goliath about a washed up attorney with a great new case .   Thornton has been vocal about his disrespect for celebrity culture , choosing to keep his life out of the public eye . However , the attention of the media has proven unavoidable in certain cases , his marriage to Angelina Jolie being a notable example . Thornton has appeared in at least one film per year nearly every year since 1991 . Thornton has written a variety of films , usually set in the Southern United States and mainly co-written with Tom Epperson , including A Family Thing ( 1996 ) and The Gift ( 2000 ) . After Sling Blade , he directed several other films , including Daddy and Them ( 2001 ) , All the Pretty Horses ( 2000 ) , and Jayne Mansfield 's Car ( 2012 ) .   Thornton has received the President 's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy & Horror Films , a Special Achievement Award from the National Board of Review , and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . He has also been nominated for an Emmy Award , four Golden Globes , and three Screen Actors Guild Awards . In addition to film work , Thornton began a career as a singer-songwriter . He has released four solo albums and is the vocalist of the blues rock band The Boxmasters .


Kato Kaelin has refrained from ever appearing on television.

Kato Kaelin Brian Gerard `` Kato '' Kaelin ( -LSB- ˈkeɪtoʊ_ˈkeɪlɪn -RSB- born March 9 , 1959 ) is an American radio and television personality who gained fame as a witness during the 1994 -- 95 murder trial of O. J. Simpson .


Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia in a movie series.

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher ( October 21 , 1956 -- December 27 , 2016 ) was an American actress , writer and humorist who first became known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series . Her other film roles included Shampoo ( 1975 ) , The Blues Brothers ( 1980 ) , Hannah and Her Sisters ( 1986 ) , The ` Burbs ( 1989 ) , and When Harry Met Sally ... ( 1989 ) .   Fisher wrote several semi-autobiographical novels , including Postcards from the Edge and the screenplay for the film of the book , as well as an autobiographical one-woman play , and its non-fiction book , Wishful Drinking , based on the play . She worked on other writers ' screenplays as a script doctor . In later years , she earned praise for speaking publicly about her experiences with bipolar disorder and drug addiction .   The daughter of the singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds , Fisher and her mother appear in Bright Lights : Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds , a 2016 documentary about their relationship . It premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival . Fisher died of cardiac arrest on December 27 , 2016 , at age 60 , four days after experiencing a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles . Her final film , Star Wars : The Last Jedi , is scheduled to be released on December 15 , 2017 .


Blue Velvet (film) Blue Velvet is a 1986 American neo-noir mystery film , written and directed by David Lynch . Blending psychological horror with film noir , the film stars Kyle MacLachlan , Isabella Rossellini , Dennis Hopper and Laura Dern . The title is taken from Bobby Vinton 's 1963 song of the same name .   The screenplay of Blue Velvet had been passed around multiple times in the late 1970s and early 1980s , with many major studios declining it because of its strong sexual and violent content . After the commercial and critical failure of Lynch 's Dune ( 1984 ) , the director made attempts at developing a more `` personal story '' , somewhat characteristic of the surrealist style displayed in his debut Eraserhead ( 1977 ) . The independent studio De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , owned at the time by Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis , agreed to finance and produce the film .   Blue Velvet initially received a divided critical response , with many stating that its objectionable content served little artistic purpose . It nevertheless earned Lynch his second Academy Award nomination for Best Director and came to achieve cult status . As an example of a director casting against the norm , it was credited for re-launching Hopper 's career and for providing Rossellini with a dramatic outlet beyond her previous work as a fashion model and a cosmetics spokeswoman .   In the years since , the film has generated significant academic attention with regard to its thematic symbolism , and is now widely regarded as one of Lynch 's major works and one of the greatest films of the 1980s . Publications including Sight & Sound , Time , Entertainment Weekly and BBC Magazine have ranked it among the greatest American films of all time . In 2008 , Blue Velvet was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest American mystery films ever made .


Academy Awards The Academy Awards , now known officially as the Oscars , is a set of twenty-four awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry , given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) , to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy 's voting membership . The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette , officially called the `` Academy Award of Merit '' , which has become commonly known by its nickname `` Oscar '' . The awards , first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel , are overseen by AMPAS .   The awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953 . It is now seen live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online . The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony . Its equivalents -- the Emmy Awards for television , the Tony Awards for theater , and the Grammy Awards for music and recording -- are modeled after the Academy Awards .   The 89th Academy Awards ceremony , honoring the best films of 2016 , were held on February 26 , 2017 , at the Dolby Theatre , in Los Angeles , California . The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC . A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th .


Patrick Cutrone only plays for Barcelona.

Patrick Cutrone Patrick Cutrone ( -LSB- kuˈtroːne -RSB- ; born 3 January 1998 ) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Milan .


Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy ( born August 26 , 1970 ) is an American actress , comedian , writer , fashion designer and producer . She began appearing in television and films in the late 1990s , and first gained nationwide recognition for her role as Sookie St. James on the television series Gilmore Girls ( 2000 -- 2007 ) .   From 2007 to 2009 , she appeared as Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who ? . McCarthy was then cast as Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly ( 2010 -- 2016 ) , earning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series as well as two other nominations during subsequent seasons . She has also been nominated four times ( in 2012 , 2013 , 2014 and 2016 ) for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her five appearances as host on Saturday Night Live .   McCarthy achieved recognition as Megan Price in the comedy film Bridesmaids ( 2011 ) , which garnered her award nominations including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress , a BAFTA nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress . In 2013 , she co-starred in the comedy films Identity Thief and The Heat . She appeared in supporting roles in The Nines ( 2007 ) , The Back-up Plan ( 2010 ) , Life as We Know It ( 2010 ) , This Is 40 ( 2012 ) and The Hangover Part III ( 2013 ) . In 2014 , McCarthy starred in the comedy Tammy and the comedy-drama film St. Vincent . In 2015 , she headlined the action comedy film Spy , for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress -- Motion Picture Comedy or Musical nomination . In 2016 , she starred in the comedy films The Boss and Ghostbusters . In 2017 she played White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in several episodes of Saturday Night Live .   McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone founded the production company , On the Day Productions . In 2015 , she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and released women 's plus size clothing collection . Also in 2015 , Forbes named McCarthy the third highest-paid actress in the world that year . In 2016 , Forbes named her the world 's second highest-paid actress , earning $ 33 million .


Ronaldo Maczinski is known as something other than Ronaldo.

Ronaldo Maczinski Ronaldo Maczinski ( born 11 September 1980 ) , known as Ronaldo , is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward ; he had a lengthy career in Portuguese football .


Martina Hingis played the North American hard-court season.

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis ( born 30 September 1980 ) is a Czechoslovak-born Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as the singles world No. 1 . She has won five Grand Slam singles titles , twelve Grand Slam women 's doubles titles , winning a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam in 1998 , and five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles ; for a combined total of twenty-two major titles . In addition , she has won the season-ending WTA Championships two times in singles and three times in doubles and is an Olympic medalist .   Hingis set a series of `` youngest-ever '' records during the 1990s , including youngest-ever Grand Slam champion and youngest-ever world No. 1 . Before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw temporarily from professional tennis in 2002 , at the age of 22 , she had won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles titles and , according to Forbes , had been the highest-paid female athlete in the world for five consecutive years , 1997 to 2001 . After several surgeries and long recuperations , Hingis returned to the WTA tour in 2006 , climbing to world No. 6 and winning three singles titles , and also receiving the Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year . She retired in November 2007 , following months of injuries and a positive test for a metabolite of cocaine during the 2007 Wimbledon Championships , which led to a two-year suspension from the sport .   In July 2013 , Hingis came out of retirement to play the North American hard-court season , partnering Daniela Hantuchová . After achieving moderate success in 2014 playing with Sabine Lisicki and Flavia Pennetta , she partnered with Sania Mirza in March 2015 ; together they won three consecutive Grand Slam titles . During her comeback , Hingis also won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles tournaments alongside Leander Paes and a silver medal partnering Timea Bacsinszky at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro .   Widely considered an all-time tennis great , Hingis was ranked by Tennis magazine in 2005 as the 8th-greatest female player of the preceding 40 years . She was named one of the `` 30 Legends of Women 's Tennis : Past , Present and Future '' by TIME in June 2011 . In 2013 , Hingis was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame , and was appointed two years later the organization 's first ever Global Ambassador .


Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest ( born December 24 , 1974 ) is an American radio personality , television host and producer . He is best known for hosting the talent competition show American Idol , as well as the syndicated countdown program American Top 40 and the KIIS-FM morning radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest . Seacrest began co-hosting Live with Kelly and Ryan on a permanent basis May 1 , 2017 .   He received Emmy Award nominations for American Idol , and won an Emmy for producing Jamie Oliver 's Food Revolution .


Patrick Bateman is the author of the novel American Psycho.

Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman is a fictional character , the villain protagonist and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis , and its film adaptation . He is a wealthy , materialistic Wall Street investment banker who leads a double life as a serial killer . Bateman has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels .


Machu Picchu Machu Picchu ( -LSB- ˈmatʃu ˈpitʃu -RSB- ) ( Machu Pikchu -LSB- ˈmɑtʃu ˈpixtʃu -RSB- ) is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge 2430 m above sea level . It is located in the Cusco Region , Urubamba Province , Machupicchu District in Peru , above the Sacred Valley , which is 80 km northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows .   Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti ( 1438 -- 1472 ) . Often mistakenly referred to as the `` Lost City of the Incas '' ( a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba ) , it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization . The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest . Although known locally , it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911 .   Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style , with polished dry-stone walls . Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana , the Temple of the Sun , and the Room of the Three Windows . Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared . By 1976 , thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored and restoration continues .   Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 . In 2007 , Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll .


Paul Thomas Anderson directed Boogie Nights in 1997.

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson ( born June 26 , 1970 ) also known as P.T. Anderson , is an American filmmaker . Interested in film-making since a young age , Anderson was encouraged by his father to become a filmmaker .   In 1993 , he wrote and directed a short film titled Cigarettes & Coffee on a budget of $ 20,000 . After he attended the Sundance Institute , Anderson had a deal with Rysher Entertainment to direct his first feature film , a neo-noir crime thriller titled Hard Eight , in 1996 . Anderson received critical and commercial success for his film Boogie Nights ( 1997 ) , set during the Golden Age of Porn in the 1970s and 1980s . His third feature , Magnolia ( 1999 ) , takes place over a single day in the San Fernando Valley , following the interconnected lives of several characters in search of happiness and resolution . It received strongly positive reviews despite struggling at the box office . In 2002 , the romantic comedy-drama Punch-Drunk Love , Anderson 's fourth feature , was released to generally favorable reviews .   The epic drama There Will Be Blood ( 2007 ) , set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries , centers on a silver miner 's efforts to capitalize on the Southern California oil boom . Released after a five-year absence , it garnered wide acclaim from critics . Anderson 's sixth film , the drama The Master ( 2012 ) , was released to critical acclaim . His seventh film , the crime comedy-drama Inherent Vice , based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon , was released in 2014 , to general acclaim . His eighth film , Junun , is a documentary about the making of an album of the same name . His ninth film , Phantom Thread , which will reunite him with actor Daniel Day-Lewis , will be released on December 25 , 2017 .   Anderson has been nominated for six Academy Awards over the course of his career , while his works have earned a further fourteen Academy Award nominations and two wins for cast and crew . There Will Be Blood has been named by several critics as the best film of the 2000s . It later ranked , along with The Master and Inherent Vice , in the BBC 's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century .


Boogie Nights Boogie Nights is a 1997 American drama film written , produced and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson . It is set in Los Angeles ' San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films , chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through to his fall during the excesses of the 1980s . The film is an expansion of Anderson 's mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story ( 1988 ) . It stars Mark Wahlberg , Julianne Moore , Burt Reynolds , Don Cheadle , John C. Reilly , William H. Macy and Heather Graham .   The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11 , 1997 and was released on October 10 , 1997 , and garnered critical acclaim . It was also nominated for three Academy Awards , including Best Original Screenplay for Anderson , Best Supporting Actress for Moore and Best Supporting Actor for Reynolds . The film 's soundtrack also received acclaim .


Rolling Stone magazine described Led Zeppelin as "unquestionably a very enduring band in rock history."

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 . The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page , singer Robert Plant , bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones , and drummer John Bonham . The band 's heavy , guitar-driven sound , rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums , has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal , though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences , including folk music .   After changing their name from the New Yardbirds , Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom . Although the group was initially unpopular with critics , they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin ( 1969 ) , Led Zeppelin II ( 1969 ) , Led Zeppelin III ( 1970 ) , Led Zeppelin IV ( 1971 ) , Houses of the Holy ( 1973 ) , and Physical Graffiti ( 1975 ) . Their fourth album , which features the track `` Stairway to Heaven '' , is among the most popular and influential works in rock music , and it helped to secure the group 's popularity .   Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin 's music , particularly early in their career , while Plant generally supplied the lyrics . Jones ' keyboard-based compositions later became central to the group 's catalogue , which featured increasing experimentation . The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery . Although they remained commercially and critically successful , their output and touring schedule were limited during the late 1970s , and the group disbanded following Bonham 's death from alcohol-related asphyxia in 1980 . In the decades that followed , the surviving members sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off Led Zeppelin reunions . The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London , with Jason Bonham taking his late father 's place behind the drums .   Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful , innovative , and influential rock groups in history . They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording ; various sources estimate the group 's record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide . With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million units , they are the second-best-selling band in the US . Each of their nine studio albums placed in the top 10 of the Billboard album chart and six reached the number-one spot . They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums . Rolling Stone magazine described them as `` the heaviest band of all time '' , `` the biggest band of the Seventies '' , and `` unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history '' . They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 ; the museum 's biography of the band states that they were `` as influential '' during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s .


Cirrhosis Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage . This damage is characterized by the replacement of normal liver tissue by scar tissue . Typically , the disease develops slowly over months or years . Early on , there are often no symptoms . As the disease worsens , a person may become tired , weak , itchy , have swelling in the lower legs , develop yellow skin , bruise easily , have fluid build up in the abdomen , or develop spider-like blood vessels on the skin . The fluid build-up in the abdomen may become spontaneously infected . Other complications include hepatic encephalopathy , bleeding from dilated veins in the esophagus or dilated stomach veins , and liver cancer . Hepatic encephalopathy results in confusion and may lead to unconsciousness .   Cirrhosis is most commonly caused by alcohol , hepatitis B , hepatitis C , and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease . Typically , more than two or three alcoholic drinks per day over a number of years is required for alcoholic cirrhosis to occur . Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease has a number of causes , including being overweight , diabetes , high blood fats , and high blood pressure . A number of less common causes of cirrhosis include autoimmune hepatitis , primary biliary cirrhosis , hemochromatosis , certain medications , and gallstones . Diagnosis is based on blood testing , medical imaging , and liver biopsy .   Some causes of cirrhosis , such as hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination . Treatment partly depends on the underlying cause , but the goal is often to prevent worsening and complications . Avoiding alcohol is recommended in all cases of cirrhosis . Hepatitis B and C may be treatable with antiviral medications . Autoimmune hepatitis may be treated with steroid medications . Ursodiol may be useful if the disease is due to blockage of the bile ducts . Other medications may be useful for complications such as abdominal or leg swelling , hepatic encephalopathy , and dilated esophageal veins . In severe cirrhosis , a liver transplant may be an option .   Cirrhosis affected about 2.8 million people and resulted in 1.3 million deaths in 2015 . Of these , alcohol caused 348,000 , hepatitis C caused 326,000 , and hepatitis B caused 371,000 . In the United States , more men die of cirrhosis than women . The first known description of the condition is by Hippocrates in the 5th century BCE . The word cirrhosis is from κίρρωσις kirrhos κιρρός `` yellowish '' and - osis meaning `` condition '' , describing the appearance of a cirrhotic liver .


Tick Ticks are small arachnids , part of the order Parasitiformes . Along with mites , they constitute the subclass Acari . Ticks are ectoparasites ( external parasites ) , living by feeding on the blood of mammals , birds , and sometimes reptiles and amphibians . Ticks had evolved by the Cretaceous period , the most common form of fossilisation being immersed in amber . Ticks are widely distributed around the world , especially in warm , humid climates .   Almost all ticks belong to one of two major families , the Ixodidae or hard ticks , which are difficult to crush , and the Argasidae or soft ticks . Adults have ovoid or pear-shaped bodies which become engorged with blood when they feed , and eight legs . As well as having a hard shield on their dorsal surfaces , hard ticks have a beak-like structure at the front containing the mouthparts whereas soft ticks have their mouthparts on the underside of the body . Both families locate a potential host by odour or from changes in the environment .   Ticks have four stages to their lifecycle , namely egg , larva , nymph , and adult . Ixodid ticks have three hosts , taking at least a year to complete their lifecycle . Argasid ticks have up to seven nymphal stages ( instars ) , each one requiring a blood meal . Because of their habit of ingesting blood , ticks are vectors of at least twelve diseases that affect humans and other animals .


Lyme disease Lyme disease , also known as Lyme borreliosis , is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type . The most common sign of infection is an expanding area of redness on the skin , known as erythema migrans , that begins at the site of a tick bite about a week after it has occurred . The rash is typically neither itchy nor painful . Approximately 25 -- 50 % of infected people do not develop a rash . Other early symptoms may include fever , headache and feeling tired . If untreated , symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face , joint pains , severe headaches with neck stiffness , or heart palpitations , among others . Months to years later , repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur . Occasionally , people develop shooting pains or tingling in their arms and legs . Despite appropriate treatment , about 10 to 20 % of people develop joint pains , memory problems , and feel tired for at least six months .   Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks of the Ixodes genus . Usually , the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours before the bacteria can spread . In North America , Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii are the cause . In Europe and Asia , the bacteria Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are also causes of the disease . The disease does not appear to be transmissible between people , by other animals , or through food . Diagnosis is based upon a combination of symptoms , history of tick exposure , and possibly testing for specific antibodies in the blood . Blood tests are often negative in the early stages of the disease . Testing of individual ticks is not typically useful .   Prevention includes efforts to prevent tick bites such as by wearing long pants and using DEET . Using pesticides to reduce tick numbers may also be effective . Ticks can be removed using tweezers . If the removed tick was full of blood , a single dose of doxycycline may be used to prevent development of infection , but is not generally recommended since development of infection is rare . If an infection develops , a number of antibiotics are effective , including doxycycline , amoxicillin , and cefuroxime . Treatment is usually for two or three weeks . Some people develop a fever and muscle and joint pains from treatment which may last for one or two days . In those who develop persistent symptoms , long-term antibiotic therapy has not been found to be useful .   Lyme disease is the most common disease spread by ticks in the Northern Hemisphere . It is estimated to affect 300,000 people a year in the United States and 65,000 people a year in Europe . Infections are most common in the spring and early summer . Lyme disease was diagnosed as a separate condition for the first time in 1975 in Old Lyme , Connecticut . It was originally mistaken for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis . The bacterium involved was first described in 1981 by Willy Burgdorfer . Chronic symptoms are well described and are known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome , although it is often called chronic Lyme disease . Some healthcare providers claim that it is due to ongoing infection ; however , this is not believed to be true . A previous vaccine is no longer available . Research is ongoing to develop new vaccines .


Syd Barrett is credited with naming the ensemble Pink Floyd.

Syd Barrett Roger Keith `` Syd '' Barrett ( 6 January 1946 -- 7 July 2006 ) was a British musician , composer , singer-songwriter , and painter . Best known as a founder member of the band Pink Floyd , Barrett was the lead singer , guitarist and principal songwriter in its early years and is credited with naming the band . Barrett was excluded from Pink Floyd in April 1968 after David Gilmour took over as their new guitarist , and was briefly hospitalised amid speculation of mental illness .   Barrett was musically active for less than ten years . With Pink Floyd , he recorded four singles , their debut album ( and contributed to the second one ) , and several unreleased songs . Barrett began his solo career in 1969 with the single `` Octopus '' from his first solo album , The Madcap Laughs ( 1970 ) . The album was recorded over the course of a year with five different producers ( Peter Jenner , Malcolm Jones , David Gilmour , Roger Waters and Barrett himself ) . Nearly two months after Madcap was released , Barrett began working on his second and final album , Barrett ( 1970 ) , produced by Gilmour and featuring contributions from Richard Wright . Two years later , he left the music industry , retired from public life and strictly guarded his own privacy until his death in 2006 . In 1988 , an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes , Opel , was released by EMI with Barrett 's approval .   Barrett 's innovative guitar work and exploration of experimental techniques such as dissonance , distortion and feedback influenced many musicians . His recordings are also noted for their strongly English-accented vocal delivery . After leaving music , Barrett continued with painting and dedicated himself to gardening . Pink Floyd wrote and recorded several tributes to him , most notably the 1975 album Wish You Were Here , which included `` Shine On You Crazy Diamond '' , as homage to Barrett .


There is an album called Honeysuckle Rose by Willie Nelson.

Honeysuckle Rose (album) Honeysuckle Rose is the soundtrack to the 1980 musical drama film of the same name , which stars Willie Nelson . Tracks on the album include songs by Nelson and various artists including Kenneth Threadgill , Emmylou Harris , Johnny Gimble , Hank Cochran , Jeannie Seely and Dyan Cannon .   The song `` On the Road Again '' was nominated for Best Original Song in the 53rd Academy Awards .


Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson ( born April 29 , 1933 ) is an American musician , singer , songwriter , author , poet , actor , and activist . The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie ( 1973 ) , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger ( 1975 ) and Stardust ( 1978 ) , made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music . He was one of the main figures of outlaw country , a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound . Nelson has acted in over 30 films , co-authored several books , and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana .   Born during the Great Depression , and raised by his grandparents , Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten . During high school , he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player . After graduating from high school in 1950 , he joined the Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems . After his return , Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music . During this time , he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks . Nelson moved to Vancouver , Washington , where he wrote `` Family Bible '' and recorded the song `` Lumberjack '' in 1956 . In 1958 , he moved to Houston , Texas , after signing a contract with D Records . He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey . During that time , he wrote songs that would become country standards , including `` Funny How Time Slips Away '' , `` Hello Walls '' , `` Pretty Paper '' , and `` Crazy '' . In 1960 he moved to Nashville , Tennessee , and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price 's band as a bassist . In 1962 , he recorded his first album , ... And Then I Wrote . Due to this success , Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year . After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s , Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin , Texas . The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement , performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters .   In 1973 , after signing with Atlantic Records , Nelson turned to outlaw country , including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages . In 1975 , he switched to Columbia Records , where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger . The same year , he recorded another outlaw country album , Wanted ! The Outlaws , along with Waylon Jennings , Jessi Colter , and Tompall Glaser . During the mid-1980s , while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like `` On the Road Again '' , `` To All the Girls I 've Loved Before '' , and `` Pancho and Lefty '' , he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen , along with fellow singers Johnny Cash , Waylon Jennings , and Kris Kristofferson .   In 1990 , Nelson 's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service , which claimed that he owed . The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s . In 1992 , Nelson released The IRS Tapes : Who 'll Buy My Memories ? ; the profits of the double album -- destined to the IRS -- and the auction of Nelson 's assets cleared his debt . During the 1990s and 2000s , Nelson continued touring extensively , and released albums every year . Reviews ranged from positive to mixed . He explored genres such as reggae , blues , jazz , and folk . Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman , followed by other appearances in movies and on television . Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ) , which is in favor of marijuana legalization . On the environmental front , Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel , which is made from vegetable oil . Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the Advisory Board of the Texas Music Project , the official music charity of the state of Texas .


Chris Evans (actor) Christopher Robert Evans ( born June 13 , 1981 ) is an American actor and filmmaker . Evans is known for his superhero roles as the Marvel Comics characters Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Human Torch in Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel .   He began his career on the 2000 television series Opposite Sex , and has since appeared in a number of films , such as Not Another Teen Movie , Sunshine , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , Snowpiercer and Gifted . In 2014 , Evans made his directorial debut with the drama film Before We Go , in which he also starred .


Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson ( born 5 April 1989 ) , known as Lily James , is an English actress . She played Lady Rose Aldridge in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey and the title role in the 2015 Disney film Cinderella .   James began her professional acting career as Ethel Brown in the 2010 BBC production Just William . In 2011 and 2012 , she earned warm reviews in several London theatre productions . She began to appear in Hollywood films in 2012 , with roles in Wrath of the Titans and Fast Girls , and was seen in further television roles , including that of Countess Natasha Rostova in the 2016 BBC historical drama series War & Peace .


Jet Li Li Lianjie ( born 26 April 1963 ) , better known by his stage name Jet Li , is a Chinese film actor , film producer , martial artist , and retired Wushu champion who was born in Beijing . He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen .   After three years of training with Wu Bin , Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team . After retiring from Wushu at age 19 , he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple ( 1982 ) . He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films , most notably as the lead in director Zhang Yimou 's 2002 Hero , Fist of Legend which is the best acclaimed Li movie by Rotten Tomatoes , and the Once Upon a Time in China series , in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung .   Li 's first role in a non-Chinese film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 ( 1998 ) , and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die ( 2000 ) . He has gone on to star in many action films , including in French cinema with Luc Besson Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed . He co-starred in The One ( 2001 ) , The Forbidden Kingdom ( 2008 ) with Jackie Chan , all three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone , and as the title character villain in The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ( 2008 ) .


Alicia Silverstone received a multimillion-dollar deal with Columbia Pictures.

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( -LSB- æˈliːsiə_ˈsɪlvəstoʊn -RSB- born October 4 , 1976 ) is an American actress , producer , author , and activist . She made her film debut in The Crush ( 1993 ) , earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance , and gained further prominence as a teen idol when she appeared at the age of 16 in the music video for Aerosmith 's `` Cryin ' '' . She starred in the comedy hit Clueless ( 1995 ) , which earned her a multimillion-dollar deal with Columbia Pictures , and in the big-budget film Batman & Robin ( 1997 ) , playing Batgirl . She has continued to act in film and television and on stage . For her role in the short-lived drama comedy Miss Match ( 2003 ) , Silverstone received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress -- Television Series Musical or Comedy . A vegan , Silverstone has endorsed PETA activities and has published two nutrition books .


One Direction One Direction ( commonly abbreviated as 1D ) are an English-Irish pop boy band based in London , composed of Niall Horan , Liam Payne , Harry Styles , Louis Tomlinson , and previously , Zayn Malik until his departure from the band on 25 March 2015 . The group signed with Simon Cowell 's record label Syco Records after forming and finishing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010 . Propelled to international success by social media , One Direction 's five albums , Up All Night ( 2011 ) , Take Me Home ( 2012 ) , Midnight Memories ( 2013 ) , Four ( 2014 ) , and Made in the A.M. ( 2015 ) , topped charts in most major markets , and generated hit singles including `` What Makes You Beautiful '' , `` Live While We 're Young '' , `` Best Song Ever '' , `` Story of My Life '' , and `` Drag Me Down '' .   Their awards include six Brit Awards , four MTV Video Music Awards , eleven MTV Europe Music Awards , seven American Music Awards ( including Artist of the Year in 2014 and 2015 ) , and 27 Teen Choice Awards , among many others . According to Nick Gatfield , the chairman and chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment UK , One Direction represented a $ 50 million business empire by June 2012 . They were proclaimed 2012 's `` Top New Artist '' by Billboard . According to the Sunday Times Rich List , by April 2013 , they had an estimated personal combined wealth of # 25 million ( $ 41.2 m ) making them the second-wealthiest musicians in the UK under 30 years of age . In 2014 , Forbes listed them the second-highest earning celebrities under 30 , with the group earning an estimated $ 75 million from June 2013 to June 2014 . In June 2015 , Forbes listed their earnings at $ 130 million for the previous twelve months , and ranked them the fourth highest earning celebrities in the world . In 2016 Forbes ranked them the world 's second highest earning celebrities .   After the release of Four , One Direction became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one . Their third album , Midnight Memories , was the biggest-selling album worldwide of 2013 despite being released in late November . The band 's Where We Are Tour in support of Midnight Memories and Four , was the highest-grossing concert tour in 2014 , and the highest-grossing tour ever by a vocal group , generating $ 282 million . In 2014 , Billboard named One Direction Artist of the Year . The band is currently on a hiatus that began in January 2016 , allowing all members to pursue other projects .


Jane Eyre Jane Eyre -LSB- ˈɛər -RSB- ( originally published as Jane Eyre : An Autobiography ) is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë . It was published on 16 October 1847 , by Smith , Elder & Co. of London , England , under the pen name `` Currer Bell '' . The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York .   Primarily of the Bildungsroman genre , Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experiences of its eponymous heroine , including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester , the Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall . In its internalisation of the action -- the focus is on the gradual unfolding of Jane 's moral and spiritual sensibility , and all the events are coloured by a heightened intensity that was previously the domain of poetry -- Jane Eyre revolutionised the art of fiction . Charlotte Brontë has been called the ` first historian of the private consciousness ' and the literary ancestor of writers like Joyce and Proust . The novel contains elements of social criticism , with a strong sense of Christian morality at its core , but is nonetheless a novel many consider ahead of its time given the individualistic character of Jane and the novel 's exploration of classism , sexuality , religion , and proto-feminism .


Leopold II of Belgium passed away December 17, 1909.

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II ( 9 April 1835 -- 17 December 1909 ) reigned as the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909 . He became known for the founding and exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture . Born in Brussels as the second ( but eldest surviving ) son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans ,  he succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death - the longest reign of any Belgian monarch . He died without surviving male issue ; the current Belgian king descends from his nephew and successor , Albert I.   Leopold became the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State , a private project undertaken on his own behalf . He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo , the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo . At the Berlin Conference of 1884 -- 1885 the colonial nations of Europe authorized his claim by committing the Congo Free State to improving the lives of the native inhabitants . From the beginning , however , Leopold essentially ignored these conditions . He ran the Congo using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal enrichment . He used great sums of the money from this exploitation for public and private construction projects in Belgium during this period . He donated the private buildings to the state before his death , to preserve them for Belgium .   Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo , initially by the collection of ivory , and - after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s - by forced labour from the natives to harvest and process rubber . Under his régime millions of the Congolese people died ; modern estimates range from 1 to 15 million , with a consensus growing around 10 million . Human-rights abuses under his régime contributed significantly to these deaths . Reports of deaths and abuse led to a major international scandal in the early 20th century , and the Belgian government ultimately forced Leopold to relinquish control of the colony to Belgian civil administration in 1908 .


Muhammad Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd AllāhFull name : Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ( ابو القاسم محمد ابن عبد الله ابن عبد المطلب ابن هاشم , lit : Father of Qasim Muhammad son of Abd Allah son of Abdul-Muttalib son of Hashim ) ( محمد -LSB- muħammad -RSB- ; Classical Arabic pronunciation c. 570 CE -- 8 June 632 CE ) is the prophet of Islam and widely identified as its founder by non-Muslims . According to Islamic doctrine , he was God 's Messenger ( rasūl Allāh ) sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam , Abraham , Moses , Jesus , and other prophets . He is viewed as the final prophet of God in primary branches of Islam , though some modern denominations diverge from this belief.The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community considers Muhammad to be the `` Seal of the Prophets '' ( Khātam an-Nabiyyīn ) and the last law-bearing Prophet but not the last Prophet . See :   There are also smaller sects which believe Muhammad to be not the last Prophet :  The Nation of Islam considers Elijah Muhammad to be a prophet ( source : African American Religious Leaders -- p. 76 , Jim Haskins , Kathleen Benson -- 2008 ) .  United Submitters International consider Rashad Khalifa to be a prophet . ( Source : Daniel Pipes , Miniatures : Views of Islamic and Middle Eastern Politics , p. 98 ( 2004 ) ) Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings , practices , and the Quran , formed the basis of Islamic religious belief .   Born approximately 570CE ( Year of the Elephant ) in the Arabian city of Mecca , Muhammad was orphaned at an early age ; he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib . Periodically , he would seclude himself in a mountain cave named Hira for several nights of prayer ; later , at age 40 , he reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave , where he stated he received his first revelation from God . Three years later , in 610 , Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly , proclaiming that `` God is One '' , that complete `` surrender '' ( lit . islām ) to him is the right course of action ( dīn ) , and that he was a prophet and messenger of God , similar to the other prophets in Islam .   Muhammad gained few early followers , and met hostility from some Meccan tribes . To escape persecution , Muhammad sent some followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina ( then known as Yathrib ) in the year 622 . This event , the Hijra , marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar , also known as the Hijri Calendar . In Medina , Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina . In December 629 , after eight years of intermittent conflict with Meccan tribes , Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts and marched on the city of Mecca . The attack went largely uncontested and Muhammad seized the city with little bloodshed . In 632 , a few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage , he fell ill and died . Before his death , most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam .   The revelations ( each known as Ayah , lit . `` Sign -LSB- of God -RSB- '' ) , which Muhammad reported receiving until his death , form the verses of the Quran , regarded by Muslims as the `` Word of God '' and around which the religion is based . Besides the Quran , Muhammad 's teachings and practices ( sunnah ) , found in the Hadith and sira literature , are also upheld by Muslims and used as sources of Islamic law ( see Sharia ) .


David Arquette played the role of Jason Ventress.

David Arquette David Arquette ( born September 8 , 1971 ) is an American actor , film director , producer , screenwriter , fashion designer and former professional wrestler . A member of the Arquette acting family , he first became known during the mid-1990s after starring in several Hollywood films , such as the Scream series , Wild Bill , Buffy the Vampire Slayer , See Spot Run and Eight Legged Freaks . He has since had several television roles , such as Jason Ventress on ABC 's In Case of Emergency .   In addition to his acting career , Arquette took a brief foray into professional wrestling in early 2000 , competing for World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) . During his tenure ( primarily to promote his upcoming film Ready to Rumble ) , Arquette became a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion , an angle that has been cited as pivotal to the demise of WCW .


Ready Player One received an Alex Award.

Ready Player One Ready Player One is a 2011 dystopian science-fiction novel , and the debut novel by Ernest Cline . In 2012 , the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2012 Prometheus Award .   Cline sold the novel in June 2010 , in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group ( a division of Random House ) . The book was published on August 16 , 2011 . An audiobook was released the same day ; it was narrated by Wil Wheaton , who was mentioned briefly in one of the chapters .   A film adaptation , directed by Steven Spielberg , is currently in production , and slated to premiere in spring 2018 .


Gendry Gendry is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones .   He first appeared in 1996 's A Game of Thrones . He subsequently appeared in Martin 's A Clash of Kings ( 1998 ) and A Storm of Swords ( 2000 ) and A Feast for Crows ( 2011 ) . Gendry is an apprentice blacksmith in King 's Landing and an unacknowledged bastard of King Robert Baratheon .   Gendry is portrayed by Joe Dempsie in the HBO television adaptation . He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014 .


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 '' .


A Feast for Crows A Feast for Crows is the fourth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin . The novel was first published on October 17 , 2005 , in the United Kingdom , with a United States edition following on 8 November 2005 .   In May 2005 , Martin announced that the `` sheer size '' of his still-unfinished manuscript for A Feast for Crows had led him and his publishers to split the narrative into two books . Rather than divide the text in half chronologically , Martin opted to instead split the material by character and location , resulting in `` two novels taking place simultaneously '' with different casts of characters . A Feast for Crows was published months later , and the concurrent novel A Dance with Dragons was released on July 12 , 2011 . Martin also noted that the A Song of Ice and Fire series would now likely total seven novels .   A Feast for Crows was the first novel in the series to debut at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list , a feat among fantasy writers only previously achieved by Robert Jordan and Neil Gaiman . In 2006 the novel was nominated for the Hugo Award , the Locus Award , and the British Fantasy Society Award . It has since been adapted , along with A Dance With Dragons , for television as the fifth season of Game of Thrones , though elements of the novel appeared in the series ' fourth and sixth seasons .


A Clash of Kings A Clash of Kings is the second novel in A Song of Ice and Fire , an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin expected to consist of seven volumes . It was first published on 16 November 1998 in the United Kingdom , although the first United States edition did not follow until March 1999 . Like its predecessor , A Game of Thrones , it won the Locus Award ( in 1999 ) for Best Novel and was nominated for the Nebula Award ( also in 1999 ) for best novel . In May 2005 Meisha Merlin released a limited edition of the novel , fully illustrated by John Howe .   The novel has been adapted for television by HBO as the second season of the TV series Game of Thrones .   A Clash of Kings is also the name of the first expansion to the Game of Thrones board game .


A Storm of Swords A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire , a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin . It was first published on August 8 , 2000 , in the United Kingdom , with a United States edition following in November 2000 . Its publication was preceded by a novella called Path of the Dragon , which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book .   At the time of its publication , A Storm of Swords was the longest novel in the series . It was so long that in the UK , Australia and Israel its paperback edition was split in half , Part 1 being published as Steel and Snow in June 2001 ( with the one-volume cover ) and Part 2 as Blood and Gold in August 2001 ( with a specially-commissioned new cover ) . The same division was used in the Polish and Greek editions . In France , the decision was made to cut the novel into four separate volumes .   A Storm of Swords won the 2001 Locus Award , the 2002 Geffen Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the 2001 Nebula Award for Best Novel . It was the first novel in the series to be nominated for the Hugo Award , one of the two most prestigious awards in science fiction and fantasy publishing , although it lost to J. K. Rowling 's novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .   Meisha Merlin Publishing , which had previously issued limited , illustrated editions of both A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings , was planning to release a similar version for A Storm of Swords in two volumes ; however , lengthy delays in the release of A Clash of Kings caused it to lose its publishing rights , which were picked up by Subterranean Press . This edition , illustrated by Charles Vess , was released in the summer of 2006 .   A Storm of Swords is also the name of the second expansion to the board game A Game of Thrones , released in July 2006 . Approximately the first half of the novel was adapted for television as the third season of the HBO show Game of Thrones , while the second half became the basis for the series ' fourth season , and some elements for the series ' fifth season .


Provoked (film) Provoked is a 2006 British biographical drama film , directed by Jag Mundhra . It stars Aishwarya Rai , Naveen Andrews , Miranda Richardson , Robbie Coltrane , Nandita Das and Steve McFadden . The film is loosely based on the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia , who killed her abusive husband .   Cinematography for the film was handled by Madhu Ambat . The film 's score and soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman , and the theme song for the film , Alive , was composed by Rahman and sung by Karen David , who has a small cameo in the film . Shot in London , the film was released theatrically in April 2007 .


Iruvar Iruvar ( The Duo ) is a 1997 Indian Tamil epic political drama film co-written , produced and directed by Mani Ratnam . The film which is loosely based on the relationship between cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu , features Mohanlal in lead role along with Prakash Raj , Aishwarya Rai , Revathi , Gouthami , Tabu , and Nassar . Rai , a former Miss World , made her screen debut through this film in dual characters . The film had its soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman and the cinematography was by Santosh Sivan . It was dubbed and released in Malayalam in the same name and Telugu as Iddaru   The film was showcased in the Masters section at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival . The film was a critical success and won the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival and two National Film Awards . In 2012 , Iruvar was included by critic Rachel Dwyer in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight and Sound 1000 greatest films of all time which is considered to be one of the most respected film polls all over the world .


Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai ( born 1 November 1973 ) , also known by her married name Aishwarya Rai Bachchan , is an Indian actress , model and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant . Through her successful acting career , she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India . Rai has received numerous awards and accolades , including two Filmfare Awards from eleven nominations , and she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 . She has often been called `` the most beautiful woman in the world '' .   While in college , Rai did a few modelling jobs . Following appearances in several television commercials , she entered the Miss India pageant , in which she placed second . She was then crowned Miss World 1994 , after which she began receiving offers to act in film . She made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam 's 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya that same year . Her first commercial success was the Tamil romantic drama Jeans ( 1998 ) , following which she achieved wider success and won two Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ( 1999 ) and Devdas ( 2002 ) .   Rai garnered critical appreciation for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil romance Kandukondain Kandukondain ( 2000 ) , Tagore 's heroine , Binodini , in the Bengali film Chokher Bali ( 2003 ) , a depressed woman in the drama Raincoat ( 2004 ) , Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British drama film Provoked ( 2006 ) , as a nurse in the drama Guzaarish ( 2010 ) and as a justise-seeking sister in the biographical drama Sarbjit ( 2015 ) . Rai 's greatest commercial successes have been the romance Mohabbatein ( 2000 ) , the adventure film Dhoom 2 ( 2006 ) , the historical romance Jodhaa Akbar ( 2008 ) , the science fiction film Enthiran ( 2010 ) , and the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil ( 2016 ) .   Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007 with whom she has one daughter . Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns . She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS ( UNAIDS ) . In 2003 , she was the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival .


Devdas (2002 Hindi film) Devdas is a 2002 Indian romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and based on the 1917 Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay 's novel Devdas . This is the third Hindi version and the first film version of the story in Hindi done in colour . The film follows Devdas ( Shah Rukh Khan ) , a wealthy law graduate in the early 1900s , who returns from his studies in London to marry his childhood sweetheart , Paro ( Aishwarya Rai ) . However , the rejection of this marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcohol , ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge from a prostitute , Chandramukhi ( Madhuri Dixit Nene ) . The film was screened at 2002 Cannes Film Festival and was also screened retrospective , during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section . Devdas won the Filmfare Award for Best Film . The film also won five National Awards and a further ten Filmfare Awards , tied with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with the most Filmfare Awards any film had won at the time ( later beaten in 2005 by Bhansali 's Black ) .   It was received well by western audiences alike and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was also India 's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film . It was ranked # 74 in Empire magazines `` The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema '' in 2010 . Time Magazine named Devdas as the best movie of 2002 among all the movies released around the world that year . The film was recently included in Time Magazine 's top 10 movies of the millennium worldwide .   The acting was seen by many as the primary factor for the film 's success , with Shah Rukh Khan , Madhuri Dixit , and Aishwarya Rai all winning Filmfare Awards for their performances . The film 's success was also attributed to the dance performances , with Dixit 's `` Maar Daala '' considered one of the most iconic of her career and the song `` Dola Re Dola '' becoming a hit due to the unique dance duet between Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit , two of the leading actresses of the epoch . At the time of its release , Devdas was the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced , with a reported budget of . The film was a commercial success in India and abroad , becoming the highest grossing Indian film of the year . Shah Rukh Khan has bought the rights to this film under his banner , Red Chillies Entertainment .


Raincoat (film) Raincoat is a 2004 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Rituparno Ghosh , and starring Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai . It tells the story of two lovers , separated by destiny , who meet again one day . This encounter allows each to realize the truth about the lives they are living . It is an adaptation of the short story The Gift of the Magi ( 1906 ) by O. Henry and is the inspiration of Mithaq Kazimi 's film , Through Her Eyes .   The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and was nominated for the Crystal Globe for Best Feature Film at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . Rai also won the Zee Cine Award for Critics ' Choice Best Actress and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award .


Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ( English : I Have Given My Heart Away Darling ) is a 1999 Bollywood romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali . It was released in the English-speaking world as Straight from the Heart . The film stars Salman Khan , Aishwarya Rai , and Ajay Devgan .   The story is adopted from Maitreyi Devi 's Bengali novel Na Hanyate and is based on a love triangle . It also reflects the influence of the German novella Immensee and the 1943 Nazi-era film based on it , Immensee . It has some inspiration from 1983 movie Woh 7 Din .   It was filmed throughout the Gujarat-Rajasthan border region , in addition to Budapest , Hungary , which was used to represent Italy . The film was premiered in the Indian Panorama section at the 1999 International Film Festival of India . It was remade in Bengali as Neel Akasher Chandni in 2009 , with Jeet reprising Salman Khan 's role , Jisshu Sengupta reprising Ajay Devgan 's role , and Koel Mallick reprising Aishwarya Rai 's role .   The film was remade in Bangladesh as Ei Mon Chai Je ( The heart wants more ) in 2000 with Riaz reprising Salman Khan 's role , Ferdous reprising Ajay Devgan 's role , Shabnur reprising Aishwarya Rai 's role .


Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen ( -LSB- ˈroʊɡən -RSB- born April 15 , 1982 ) is a Canadian-American actor , filmmaker , and comedian . He began his career performing stand-up comedy during his teenage years , winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998 . While still living in his native Vancouver , he landed a supporting role in the series Freaks and Geeks . Shortly after he moved to Portland , Oregon for his role , Freaks and Geeks was officially cancelled after one season due to low viewership . Rogen later got a part on sitcom Undeclared , which also hired him as a staff writer .   After landing his job as a staff writer on the final season of Da Ali G Show , for which he and the other writers received an Emmy Award nomination , he was guided by Judd Apatow toward a film career . Rogen made his first movie appearance in Donnie Darko with a minor role as a rebellious student in Donnie 's high school classes in 2001 . Rogen was cast in a major supporting role and credited as a co-producer in Apatow 's directorial debut , The 40-Year-Old Virgin . After Rogen received critical praise for his performance , Universal Pictures agreed to cast him as the lead in Apatow 's films Knocked Up and Funny People . Rogen co-starred as Steve Wozniak in Universal 's Steve Jobs biopic in 2015 . In 2016 , he developed the AMC television series Preacher with his writing partner Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin . He also serves as a writer and executive producer , and directed the first two episodes of the series with Goldberg .   Rogen and Goldberg co-wrote the films Superbad , Pineapple Express , The Green Hornet , This Is the End , and directed both This Is the End and The Interview ; all of which Rogen starred in . He has also done voice work for the films Horton Hears a Who ! , the Kung Fu Panda film series , The Spiderwick Chronicles , Monsters vs. Aliens , Paul , and Sausage Party .


Noam Chomsky is credited in the creation of the minimalist program, as well as other theories.

Minimalist program In linguistics , the minimalist program ( MP ) is a major line of inquiry that has been developing inside generative grammar since the early 1990s , starting with a 1993 paper by Noam Chomsky .   Chomsky presents MP as a program , not as a theory , following Imre Lakatos 's distinction . The MP seeks to be a mode of inquiry characterized by the flexibility of the multiple directions that its minimalism enables . Ultimately , the MP provides a conceptual framework used to guide the development of linguistic theory . In minimalism , Chomsky attempts to approach universal grammar from below -- that is , proposing the question `` what would be the optimal answer to what the theory of i-Language should be ? ''   For Chomsky , there are minimalist questions , but the answers can be framed in any theory . Of all these questions , the two that play the most crucial role are these :  What is language ?  Why does it have the properties it has ?


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 .


Basic Instinct Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas , and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone . The film follows a police detective , Nick Curran ( Douglas ) , who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star . During the investigation Curran becomes involved in a torrid and intense relationship with the prime suspect , Catherine Tramell ( Stone ) , an enigmatic writer .   Even before its release , Basic Instinct generated heated controversy due to its overt sexuality and graphic depiction of violence . It was strongly opposed by gay rights activists , who criticized the film 's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous narcissistic psychopath . In a 2006 interview , Stone alleged that the infamous leg-crossing scene in which her vulva was exposed was filmed without her knowledge .   Despite initial critical negativity and public protest , Basic Instinct became one of the most financially successful films of the 1990s , grossing $ 352 million worldwide . Several versions of the film have been released on videocassette , DVD , and Blu-ray including a director 's cut with extended footage previously unseen in North American cinemas . The film has contemporarily been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema , and has been referred to by scholars as `` a neo-noir masterpiece that plays with , and transgresses , the narrative rules of film noir . '' A 2006 sequel , Basic Instinct 2 starring Stone was made without Verhoeven 's involvement , but received negative reviews from critics and was unsuccessful at the box office .


Transformers: Age of Extinction had its release in 2014

Transformers: Age of Extinction Transformers : Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers franchise . It is the fourth installment of the live-action Transformers film series and a stand-alone sequel to 2011 's Transformers : Dark of the Moon , taking place five years after its events . Like its predecessors , it was directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger , with Steven Spielberg and Bay as executive producers . It stars Mark Wahlberg , with Peter Cullen reprising his role as the voice of Optimus Prime , as the lead roles . It is the first film in the series to not feature the original human characters from the first three films , but features a new cast of human characters and many new Transformers including : the Dinobots , Lockdown , Stinger , Junkheap , Hound , Crosshairs and Drift . Returning Transformers include : Optimus Prime , Bumblebee , Ratchet , Leadfoot , Brains and Megatron ( now known as Galvatron ) . The film was released on June 27 , 2014 , in IMAX and 3D .   Transformers : Age of Extinction was panned by critics , many of whom considered it poorly directed , badly acted , and terribly written . According to Rotten Tomatoes , it is the worst reviewed film in the series , holding an 18 % approval rating . It also received seven nominations at the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards , including Worst Picture and Worst Prequel , Remake , Rip-off or Sequel , with Bay and Kelsey Grammer winning the awards for Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor respectively . The film grossed over $ 1.104 billion worldwide , making it the highest-grossing film of 2014 , the second highest-grossing film in the Transformers series , the 19th film to gross over $ 1 billion , and the 16th highest-grossing film of all time . It was the only film to gross over $ 1 billion in 2014 .   A sequel , Transformers : The Last Knight , is set to be released on June 21 , 2017 , with Cullen , Tucci , and Wahlberg returning , and Bay directing .


Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean ( born January 19 , 1946 ) , professionally known as Dolly Parton , is an American singer , songwriter , multi-instrumentalist , record producer , actress , author , businesswoman , and philanthropist , known primarily for her work in country music . After achieving success as a songwriter for others , Dolly Parton made her album debut in 1967 , with her album Hello , I 'm Dolly . With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s ( both as a solo artist and with a series of duet albums with Porter Wagoner ) , her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continuing into the 1980s ; Parton 's subsequent albums in the later part of the 1990s were lower in sales . However , in the new millennium , Parton achieved commercial success again and has released albums on independent labels since 2000 , including albums on her own label , Dolly Records .   Parton is the most honored female country performer of all time . Achieving 25 Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) certified Gold , Platinum , and Multi-Platinum awards , she has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts , a record for a female artist ( tied with Reba McEntire ) . She has 41 career top 10 country albums , a record for any artist , and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years . All-inclusive sales of singles , albums , hits collections , and digital downloads during her career have topped 100 million worldwide . She has garnered nine Grammy Awards , two Academy Award nominations , ten Country Music Association Awards , seven Academy of Country Music Awards , three American Music Awards , and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association 's Entertainer of the Year Award . Parton has received 47 Grammy nominations .   In 1999 , Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame . She has composed over 3,000 songs , notably `` I Will Always Love You '' ( a two-time U.S. country chart-topper for Parton , as well as an international pop hit for Whitney Houston ) , `` Jolene '' , `` Coat of Many Colors '' , and `` 9 to 5 '' . She is also one of the few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards , Tony Awards , and Emmy Awards . As an actress , she starred in films such as 9 to 5 , The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas , Rhinestone , and Steel Magnolias .


Kevin Spacey was the artistic director of a theater in London, England.

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler , KBE ( born July 26 , 1959 ) , better known as Kevin Spacey , is an American actor , film director , producer , screenwriter , and singer . He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s before obtaining supporting roles in film and television . He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s that culminated in his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the neo-noir crime thriller The Usual Suspects ( 1995 ) , and an Academy Award for Best Actor for midlife crisis-themed drama American Beauty ( 1999 ) .   His other starring roles have included the comedy-drama film Swimming with Sharks ( 1994 ) , psychological thriller Seven ( 1995 ) , the neo-noir crime film L.A. Confidential ( 1997 ) , the drama Pay It Forward ( 2000 ) , the science fiction-mystery film K-PAX ( 2001 ) , and the role of Lex Luthor in the superhero film Superman Returns ( 2006 ) .   In Broadway theatre , Spacey won a Tony Award for his role in Lost in Yonkers . He was the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London from 2004 until stepping down in mid-2015 . Since 2013 , Spacey has played Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards . For his role as Underwood , he has won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Television Series Drama and two consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series .