The Avengers (2012 film) features only actors born in the 1940s.

The Avengers (2012 film) Marvel 's The Avengers ( classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the United Kingdom and Ireland ) , or simply The Avengers , is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name , produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures . It is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Mark Ruffalo , Chris Hemsworth , Scarlett Johansson , Jeremy Renner , Tom Hiddleston , Clark Gregg , Cobie Smulders , Stellan Skarsgård , and Samuel L. Jackson . In the film , Nick Fury , director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D. , recruits Iron Man , Captain America , the Hulk , and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor 's brother Loki from subjugating Earth .   The film 's development began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005 . After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008 , Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011 . With the signing of Johansson in March 2009 , the film was pushed back for a 2012 release . Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the original screenplay by Zak Penn. . Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque , New Mexico , before moving to Cleveland , Ohio , in August and New York City in September . The film was converted to 3D in post-production .   The Avengers premiered on April 11 , 2012 , at Hollywood 's El Capitan Theatre and was released theatrically in the United States on May 4 , 2012 . The film received positive reviews from critics , as well as numerous awards and nominations including Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for achievements in visual effects . It has set or tied numerous box office records , including the biggest opening weekend in North America . The Avengers grossed over $ 1.5 billion worldwide , and became the third-highest-grossing film during its theatrical run -- as well as the first Marvel production to generate $ 1 billion in ticket sales . The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 25 , 2012 . A sequel , titled Avengers : Age of Ultron , was released on May 1 , 2015 , while two additional sequels , Avengers : Infinity War and an untitled sequel , are currently in development , with Infinity War scheduled for a May 4 , 2018 release date , and its sequel scheduled to be released on May 3 , 2019 .


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 .


Aneurin Barnard refused to ever be a stage actor.

Aneurin Barnard Aneurin Barnard ( born 8 May 1987 ) is a Welsh stage and screen actor . He is best known for his roles as Davey in Hunky Dory , Claude in The Truth About Emanuel , Robert `` Bobby '' Willis Jr. in Cilla and King Richard III in The White Queen .


Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen `` Mike '' Portnoy ( born April 20 , 1967 ) is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer , backing vocalist , and a co-founder of the progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater . Known for his technical skill as a drummer , Portnoy has won 30 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine . He co-produced six Dream Theater albums with guitarist John Petrucci , starting from Metropolis Pt . 2 : Scenes from a Memory through Black Clouds and Silver Linings . From A Change of Seasons onwards , Portnoy had been writing a significant amount of Dream Theater 's lyrics . He is the second youngest person ( after Neil Peart ) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer 's Hall of Fame , at 37 years of age .   Besides his work with Dream Theater , Portnoy is known for his many side projects and tribute bands . He is a founding member of Liquid Tension Experiment , an instrumental progressive rock band featuring fellow Dream Theater members John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess along with bassist Tony Levin . He is also a founding member of Transatlantic , a progressive rock `` super-group '' featuring former Spock 's Beard keyboardist/vocalist Neal Morse , Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt and Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas . Portnoy has also recorded and/or toured/performed live with Neal Morse , OSI , Hail ! , Stone Sour , Fates Warning , Overkill , G3 and played on Avenged Sevenfold 's album Nightmare in place of their late drummer , The Rev. Over the years , Portnoy has also created tribute bands to The Beatles , Led Zeppelin , Rush , and The Who , which has allowed him to perform the music of his four favorite drummers .   In September 2010 , Portnoy announced his departure from Dream Theater after 25 years . He was replaced by Mike Mangini . Since leaving Dream Theater , Portnoy has formed several new bands . The first , Adrenaline Mob , a traditional heavy metal/hard rock band with singer Russell Allen ( of Symphony X ) and guitarist Mike Orlando . On June 4 , 2013 , however , Portnoy announced his departure from Adrenaline Mob , citing scheduling conflicts . He is also a founding member of Flying Colors , a progressive pop band also featuring Steve Morse , Neal Morse , Dave LaRue , and Casey McPherson ; and The Winery Dogs , a power trio also featuring bassist Billy Sheehan ( Mr. Big ) and guitarist Richie Kotzen ( formerly of Mr. Big and Poison ) .


Drainage basin A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet , such as into a river , bay , or other body of water . The drainage basin includes all the surface water from rain runoff , snowmelt , and nearby streams that run downslope towards the shared outlet , as well as the groundwater underneath the earth 's surface . Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at lower elevations in a hierarchical pattern , with smaller sub-drainage basins , which in turn drain into another common outlet .   Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment , catchment basin , drainage area , river basin and water basin . In North America , the term watershed is commonly used to mean a drainage basin , though in other English-speaking countries , it is used only in its original sense , to mean a drainage divide , a ridge that separates adjacent drainage basins .   In closed ( `` endorheic '' ) drainage basins the water converges to a single point inside the basin , known as a sink , which may be a permanent lake , a dry lake , or a point where surface water is lost underground .   The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the area covered by the basin and channelling it to a single point . Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter , the drainage divide , making up a succession of higher geographical features ( such as a ridge , hill or mountains ) forming a barrier .   Drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units , which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system . Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets , outlets , or sinks . In a strict sense , all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins .


Nile The Nile ( النيل , Egyptian Arabic en-Nīl , Standard Arabic an-Nīl ; ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲱ , P ( h ) iaro ; Ancient Egyptian : Ḥ ` pī and Iteru ; Biblical Hebrew : יאור , Ye'or ) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa . It is generally regarded as the longest river in the world , however other conflicting sources cite a 2007 study that gave the title to the Amazon River in South America . The Nile , which is 6,853 km ( 4,258 miles ) long , is an `` international '' river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries , namely , Tanzania , Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi , Congo-Kinshasa , Kenya , Ethiopia , Eritrea , South Sudan , Sudan and Egypt . In particular , the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan .   The Nile has two major tributaries , the White Nile and Blue Nile . The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself . The Blue Nile , however , is the source of most of the water and silt . The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa , with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi . It flows north through Tanzania , Lake Victoria , Uganda and South Sudan . The Blue Nile ( ዓባይ , ʿĀbay ) begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast . The two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum .   The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt , then ends in a large delta and flows into the Mediterranean Sea . Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times . Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan , and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks .   In the ancient Egyptian language , the Nile is called Ḥ ` pī or Iteru ( Hapy ) , meaning `` river '' . In Coptic , the words piaro ( Sahidic ) or phiaro ( Bohairic ) meaning `` the river '' ( lit . p ( h ) . iar-o `` the.canal-great '' ) come from the same ancient name .   The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus and the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος . Beyond that , however , the etymology is disputed . One possible etymology derives it from a Semitic Nahal , meaning `` river '' . The standard English names `` White Nile '' and `` Blue Nile '' , to refer to the river 's source , derive from Arabic names formerly applied only to the Sudanese stretches which meet at Khartoum .


Tanzania Tanzania -LSB- ˌtænzəˈniːə -RSB- , officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania ) , is a country in Eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region . Parts of the country are in Southern Africa . It is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north ; Rwanda , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west ; Zambia , Malawi , and Mozambique to the south ; and by the Indian Ocean to the east . Mount Kilimanjaro , Africa 's highest mountain , is in northeastern Tanzania .   Tanzania 's population of 51.82 million ( 2014 ) is diverse , composed of several ethnic , linguistic , and religious groups . Tanzania is a presidential constitutional republic , and since 1996 , its official capital city has been Dodoma , where the President 's Office , the National Assembly , and some government ministries are located . Dar es Salaam , the former capital , retains most government offices and is the country 's largest city , principal port , and leading commercial centre . Tanzania is a one party dominant state with the socialist-progressive Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM ) party in power . From its formation until 1992 , it was the only legally permitted party in the country . This changed on 1 July 1992 , when amendments to the Constitution and a number of laws permitting and regulating the formation and operations of more than one political party were enacted by the National Assembly . Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were last held in October 2015 . The CCM holds approximately 75 % of the seats in the assembly .   Prehistoric population migrations include Southern Cushitic speakers , who are ancestral to the Iraqw , Gorowa , and Burunge and who moved south from Ethiopia into Tanzania . Based on linguistic evidence , there may also have been two movements into Tanzania of Eastern Cushitic people at about 4,000 and 2,000 years ago , originating from north of Lake Turkana . Archaeological evidence supports the conclusion that Southern Nilotes , including the Datoog , moved south from the present-day South Sudan-Ethiopia border region into central northern Tanzania between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago . These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the iron-making Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas . They brought with them the west African planting tradition and the primary staple of yams . They subsequently migrated out of these regions across the rest of Tanzania , between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago . European colonialism began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa , which gave way to British rule following World War I . The mainland was governed as Tanganyika , with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction . Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963 , the two entities merged in April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania .   Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast , where Mount Kilimanjaro is located . Three of Africa 's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania . To the north and west lie Lake Victoria , Africa 's largest lake , and Lake Tanganyika , the continent 's deepest lake , known for its unique species of fish . The eastern shore is hot and humid , with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore . The Kalambo water falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa are the second highest uninterrupted fall in Africa and are located near the southeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika on the border with Zambia . The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar 's largest marine protected area .   Over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania , making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa . Among the languages spoken in Tanzania are all four of Africa 's language families : Bantu , Cushitic , Nilotic , and Khoisan . Swahili and English are Tanzania 's official languages . A highly multilingual country , Swahili is used in parliamentary debate , in the lower courts , and as a medium of instruction in primary school ; and English is used in foreign trade , in diplomacy , in higher courts , and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education , although the Tanzanian government plans to discontinue English as a language of instruction altogether . In connection with his Ujamaa social policies , President Nyerere encouraged the use of Swahili ; as a means of unifying the country 's many ethnic groups . Approximately 10 % of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first language , and up to 90 % speak it as a second language . Most Tanzanians thus speak both Swahili and a local language ; many educated Tanzanians are trilingual ; also speaking English . The widespread use and promotion of Swahili is contributing to the decline of smaller languages in the country . Young children increasingly speak Swahili as a first language , mostly in urban areas .   Tanzania-Malawi relations have been tense because of a dispute over the countries ' Lake Nyasa ( Lake Malawi ) border . An unsuccessful mediation regarding this issue happened in March 2014 . The two countries agreed in 2013 to ask the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) to resolve the dispute should mediation be unsuccessful . Malawi , but not Tanzania , has accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ .


Rihanna is one of the best-selling artists ever.

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( -LSB- riˈænə -RSB- born February 20 , 1988 ) is a Barbadian singer , songwriter , and actress . Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown , she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003 . She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its then-president , hip hop producer and rapper Jay Z . In 2005 , Rihanna rose to fame with the release of her debut studio album Music of the Sun and its follow-up A Girl like Me ( 2006 ) , which charted on the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 and respectively produced the singles `` Pon de Replay '' and `` SOS '' .   She assumed creative control for her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad ( 2007 ) and adopted a public image as a sex symbol while reinventing her music . Its successful lead single `` Umbrella '' became an international breakthrough in her career , as she won her first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Jay Z in 2008 . After releasing four consecutive platinum studio albums , including the Grammy Award winner Unapologetic ( 2012 ) , she was recognized as a pop icon . Her eighth studio album Anti ( 2016 ) and its lead single `` Work '' reached number-one on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 . Many of her songs rank among the world 's best-selling singles of all time , including the singles `` Umbrella '' , `` Take a Bow '' , `` Disturbia '' , `` Only Girl ( In the World ) '' , `` S&M '' , `` We Found Love '' , `` Diamonds '' , and `` Stay '' in which she is the lead artist , and her collaborations `` Live Your Life '' ( with T.I. ) , `` Love the Way You Lie '' and `` The Monster '' ( both with Eminem ) .   With sales exceeding 230 million records worldwide , Rihanna is one of the best-selling artists of all time . Rihanna is the youngest and fastest solo artist to earn fourteen number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 , and was named the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade by Billboard . Among numerous awards and accolades , Rihanna has won eight Grammy Awards , twelve American Music Awards , twelve Billboard Music Awards and the inaugural Icon Award at the American Music Awards of 2013 . Widely recognized for frequently reinventing her style , she received the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2014 . Forbes ranked Rihanna the fourth most powerful celebrity of 2012 , and was named one of Times `` 100 Most Influential People in the World '' later that year .


Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers ( born August 21 , 1938 ) is an American singer , songwriter , actor , record producer , and entrepreneur . He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame .   Though he has been most successful with country audiences , Rogers has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres , topped the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone and has sold over 100 million records worldwide , making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time . On September 25 , 2015 , Rogers announced on NBC 's Today Show that he was retiring from show business after a final tour to spend more time with his wife and twin boys .   Two of his albums , The Gambler and Kenny , are featured in the About.com poll of `` The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever '' . He was voted the `` Favorite Singer of All-Time '' in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People . He has received numerous such awards as the AMAs , Grammys , ACMs and CMAs , as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003 .   Later success includes the 2006 album release , Water & Bridges , an across the board hit , that hit the Top 5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts , also charting in the Top 15 of the Billboard 200 . The first single from the album , `` I Ca n't Unlove You , '' was also a sizable chart hit . Remaining a popular entertainer around the world , the following year he completed a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland , telling BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright his favorite hit was `` The Gambler '' . He has also acted in a variety of movies and television shows , most notably the title roles in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and the MacShayne series as well as his appearance on The Muppet Show . He is also a co-founder of the restaurant chain Kenny Rogers Roasters .


Kenny (album) Kenny is the eighth studio album by Kenny Rogers , released in 1979 . It includes the singles `` Coward of the County '' and `` You Decorated My Life . ''   `` Tulsa Turnaround '' is a reworking of an earlier song Rogers recorded with The First Edition .   `` Goodbye Marie '' was later recorded by Bobby Goldsboro , charting as a single for him in 1981 .   The album reached the top five of the US Billboard album chart and # 1 in the Country charts ( where it stayed for a record total of 25 weeks ) . In the UK , it was a top ten album as well . In 2007 , the album was issued as a two album set on one CD , the other album included on the disc being the self-titled Kenny Rogers from 1976 .   In the sleevenotes for the 2009 reissue on the Edsel record label , biographer Chris Bolton notes that this album `` does its best to represent every musical personality of Kenny Rogers . '' Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the album mixes music styles from Country to Disco .   This album has reportedly sold over 20 million copies worldwide .


Honey to the B Honey to the B is the first album by the pop singer Billie Piper , released in 1998 ( see 1998 in music ) . Billie ( she was known at the time only by her first name ) was the first and youngest British female artist to have a first single enter the UK pop charts at number one .   A number of hit singles were released from the album , including `` Girlfriend '' , `` She Wants You '' , the anthemic `` Because We Want To '' , and the title track `` Honey to the Bee '' . `` Honey to the Bee '' was later covered by the Swedish girl group Play on their 2003 album Replay . The American version of the album differs in that it contains the radio mix of `` Girlfriend '' . The single `` Honey to the Bee '' re-entered the official UK Singles Chart at number 17 on 21 January 2007 , eight years after initial release , thanks to efforts by the BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles .   The album has sold 380,000 copies in the UK as of July 2013 .


The Coen brothers have been individually nominated for nine Academy Awards each.

Coen brothers Joel David Coen ( born November 29 , 1954 ) and Ethan Jesse Coen ( born September 21 , 1957 ) , collectively referred to as the Coen brothers , are American filmmakers . Their films span many genres and styles , which they frequently subvert or parody . Their best-reviewed works include Fargo ( 1996 ) , The Big Lebowski ( 1998 ) , No Country for Old Men ( 2007 ) , A Serious Man ( 2009 ) , True Grit ( 2010 ) , and Inside Llewyn Davis ( 2013 ) .   The brothers write , direct and produce their films jointly , although until The Ladykillers ( 2004 ) Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing . They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes . They have been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards together , and individually for one award each , winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture , Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men . The duo also won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink and were nominated for Fargo .   The Coen brothers have written a number of films they did not direct , including the biographical war drama Unbroken ( 2014 ) , the historical legal thriller Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) , and lesser-known , commercially unsuccessful comedies such as Crimewave ( 1985 ) , The Naked Man ( 1998 ) and Gambit ( 2012 ) . Ethan is also a writer of short stories , theater and poetry .   The brothers 's films No Country for Old Men , A Serious Man and Inside Llewyn Davis have been ranked in the BBC 's 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000 .


Evil Evil , in a general context is the absence or opposite of that which is described as being good . Often , evil denotes profound immorality . In certain religious contexts , evil has been described as a supernatural force . Definitions of evil vary , as does the analysis of its motives . However , elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving anger , revenge , fear , hatred , psychological trauma , expediency , selfishness , ignorance , or neglect .   In cultures with an Abrahamic religious influence , evil is usually perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good , in which good should prevail and evil should be defeated . In cultures with Buddhist spiritual influence , both good and evil are perceived as part of an antagonistic duality that itself must be overcome through achieving Śūnyatā meaning emptiness in the sense of recognition of good and evil being two opposing principles but not a reality , emptying the duality of them , and achieving a oneness .   The philosophical question of whether morality is absolute , relative , or illusory leads to questions about the nature of evil , with views falling into one of four opposed camps : moral absolutism , amoralism , moral relativism , and moral universalism .   While the term is applied to events and conditions without agency , the forms of evil addressed in this article presume an evildoer or doers .


Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo ( -LSB- ˈrʌfəloʊ -RSB- , born November 22 , 1967 ) is an American actor , humanitarian , social activist and film producer . He made his screen debut in an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse ( 1989 ) , followed by minor film roles . He was part of the original cast of This Is Our Youth ( 1996 ) , for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award . Following were his roles in 13 Going on 30 ( 2004 ) , Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ( 2004 ) , Zodiac ( 2007 ) , and What Does n't Kill You ( 2008 ) . In 2010 , he starred in the psychological thriller Shutter Island and the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right . For the latter , he received nominations for the SAG Award , BAFTA Award , and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He also co-starred in the mystery films Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2 as FBI Special Agent Dylan Rhodes .   Ruffalo gained international prominence by portraying the Marvel Comics character the Hulk in The Avengers ( 2012 ) and Avengers : Age of Ultron ( 2015 ) . He starred in and was the co-executive producer of the 2014 television drama film The Normal Heart , for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie and he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a TV Movie . The same year , he portrayed Dave Schultz in Foxcatcher , for which he was nominated for awards , including a Golden Globe , and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . In 2015 , he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Infinitely Polar Bear and also received BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for his role in the drama Spotlight .


Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is employed in physical therapy.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy Extracorporeal shockwave therapy ( ESWT ) is a treatment used in physical therapy , orthopedics , urology and cardiology .  The shock waves are abrupt , high amplitude pulses of mechanical energy , similar to soundwaves , generated by an electromagnetic coil or a spark in water . Similar technology using focused higher energies is used to break up kidney and gallstones , and is termed lithotripsy . `` Extracorporeal '' means that the shockwaves are generated externally to the body and transmitted from a pad through the skin .


Bane (comics) Bane is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics , commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman . The character first appeared in Batman : Vengeance of Bane # 1 ( January 1993 ) and was created by Chuck Dixon , Doug Moench , and Graham Nolan .   With a mix of brute strength and exceptional intelligence , the character is often credited as being the only villain to have `` broken the bat '' . IGN 's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Bane as # 34 . Bane was portrayed by Robert Swenson in the 1997 film Batman & Robin , Tom Hardy in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises , and was voiced by Doug Benson in the 2017 film The Lego Batman Movie .


Lee Min-ho (actor, born 1987) Lee Min-ho ( , born June 22 , 1987 ) is a South Korean actor and singer . He first gained widespread fame in Korea and parts of Asia with his role as Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Over Flowers in 2009 . The role won him a Best New Actor award at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards . He is noted for his leading roles in City Hunter ( 2011 ) , The Heirs ( 2013 ) and The Legend of the Blue Sea ( 2016 ) . The success of Lee 's television dramas throughout Asia established him as a top Hallyu star . Lee starred in his first leading role in film with Gangnam Blues ( 2015 ) , followed by his first China-produced film Bounty Hunters ( 2016 ) .


Star Wars: The Force Awakens was produced.

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


Ready Player One won the Prometheus 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 .


Memorial Day was observed on May 30th from 1868 to 1971.

Memorial Day Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country 's armed forces . The holiday , which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May , was held on May 30 from 1868-1971 . It marks the start of the unofficial summer vacation season , while Labor Day marks its end .   Many people visit cemeteries and memorials , particularly to honor those who have died in military service . Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries .   Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day ; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving , while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans .


Romelu Lukaku Romelu Menama Lukaku ( born 13 May 1993 ) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Everton and the Belgium national team . He is one of only five players to score 50 Premier League goals before his 23rd birthday , and the first foreign player to score 80 before his 24th birthday .   Lukaku started his career with local side Rupel Boom , before joining Lierse , where he earned a move to Anderlecht of the Belgian Pro League in 2006 . Lukaku made his professional debut while still at school at the age of 16 , and became the 2009 -- 10 top scorer in Belgium as Anderlecht won the Belgian championship . He also won the Belgian Ebony Shoe in 2011 . In the 2011 summer transfer window , Lukaku joined Premier League club Chelsea . He did not appear regularly in his first season there , and spent the following two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton respectively , signing permanently for the latter for a club record # 28 million in 2014 .   Lukaku made his senior international debut for Belgium in 2010 , and has since earned over 50 caps . He has also represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016 .


New York's least populous city is New York City.

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 .


The Lion King has nothing to do with lions.

The Lion King The Lion King is a 1994 American animated epic musical film , produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures . It is the 32nd Disney animated feature film . The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by William Shakespeare 's Hamlet . The film was produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance . The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff , produced by Don Hahn , and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi , Jonathan Roberts , and Linda Woolverton . Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice , and original scores were written by Hans Zimmer . The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick , James Earl Jones , Jeremy Irons , Jonathan Taylor Thomas , Moira Kelly , Nathan Lane , Ernie Sabella , Rowan Atkinson , Robert Guillaume , Madge Sinclair , Whoopi Goldberg , Cheech Marin , and Jim Cummings .   The Lion King tells the story of Simba , a young lion who is to succeed his father , Mufasa , as King of the Pride Lands ; however , after Simba 's uncle Scar murders Mufasa , Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile . Upon maturation living with two wastrels , Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend , Nala , and his shaman , Rafiki , before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King .   Development of The Lion King began in 1988 during a meeting between Jeffrey Katzenberg , Roy E. Disney , and Peter Schneider while promoting Oliver & Company in Europe . Thomas Disch wrote a film treatment , and Woolverton developed the first scripts while George Scribner was signed on as director , being later joined by Allers . Production began in 1991 concurrently with Pocahontas , which wound up attracting most of Disney 's top animators . Some time after the staff traveled to Hell 's Gate National Park in Kenya to research on the film 's setting and animals , Scribner left production disagreeing with the decision to turn the film into a musical and was replaced by Minkoff . When Hahn joined the project , he was dissatisfied with the script and the story was promptly rewritten . Nearly 20 minutes of animation sequences were produced at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida . Computer animation was also used in several scenes , most notably in the wildebeest stampede sequence .   The Lion King was released on June 15 , 1994 , to a positive reaction from critics , who praised the film for its music , story , and animation ; it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing release of 1994 and the second highest-grossing film of all time . The Lion King garnered two Academy Awards for its achievement in music and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy . The film has led to many derived works , such as a Broadway adaptation ; two direct-to-video follow-ups -- the sequel , The Lion King II : Simba 's Pride ( 1998 ) , and the prequel/parallel , The Lion King 1 1/2 ( 2004 ) -- ; two television series , Timon and Pumbaa and The Lion Guard ; and a 3D re-release , in 2011 .   In 2016 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .   A CGI live-action remake of the film is scheduled for a July 19 , 2019 release in the United States .


Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond `` Donnie '' Wahlberg Jr. . ( born August 17 , 1969 ) is an American singer , songwriter , actor , record producer , and film producer . He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block . Outside of music , he has had roles in the Saw films , The Sixth Sense , Dreamcatcher , and Righteous Kill , also appearing in the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers as First Lieutenant Carwood Lipton . From 2002 to 2003 , he starred in the crime drama Boomtown . He has been starring in the drama series Blue Bloods as Danny Reagan with Tom Selleck ( his TV father ) and Bridget Moynahan ( his TV sister ) since 2010 , and since 2014 is an executive producer of the TNT reality television show Boston 's Finest . He was nominated for Choice Scream at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards for his work in the Saw films . He has also produced and starred in `` Rock this Boat '' , `` Donnie Loves Jenny '' and `` Return of the Mac '' on Pop TV .


Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a children's book.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Miss Peregrine 's Home for Peculiar Children is a dark fantasy debut novel by American author Ransom Riggs . It is a story of a boy who , following a horrific family tragedy , follows clues that take him to an abandoned children 's home on a Welsh island . The story is told through a combination of narrative and vernacular photographs from the personal archives of collectors listed by the author .   This young adult book was originally intended to be a picture book featuring photographs Riggs had collected , but on the advice of an editor at Quirk Books , he used the photographs as a guide from which to put together a narrative . Riggs was a collector of photographs , but needed more for his novel . He met Leonard Lightfoot , a well-known collector at the Rose Bowl Flea Market , and was introduced to other collectors . The result was a story about a boy who follows clues from his grandfather 's old photographs which lead him on an adventure that takes him to a large abandoned orphanage on Cairnholm , a Welsh island .   The book has been a New York Times best seller . It reached the # 1 spot on the Children 's Chapter Books list on April 29 , 2012 , after being on the list for 45 weeks , remaining there until 20 May , when it dropped to the fourth spot on the list . Critics have generally praised the book for creative use of vintage photographs as well as good characterisation and settings .


Young adult fiction Young adult fiction or young adult literature ( YA ) is fiction published for readers in their youth . The age range for young adult fiction is subjective . Some sources claim it ranges from ages 12-18 , while authors and readers of `` young teen novels '' often define it as written for those aged 15 to the early 20s . The terms young adult novel , juvenile novel , teenage fiction , young adult book , etc. , refer to the works in this category .   The subject matter and story lines of young adult literature are typically consistent with the age and experience of the main character , but this literature spans the spectrum of fiction genres . Stories that focus on the specific challenges of youth are sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels . According to 2013 statistics by the speculative fiction publisher Tor Books , women outnumbered men by 68 % to 32 % among submissions of this type of fiction to publishers , a gender distribution converse to that observed , for example in adult science fiction and most fantasy fiction .


Shakespeare in Love For the theatre adaptation , see Shakespeare in Love ( play ) .   Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 American romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden , written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard . The film depicts an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps ( Gwyneth Paltrow ) and playwright William Shakespeare ( Joseph Fiennes ) while he was writing Romeo and Juliet . Several characters are based on historical figures , and many of the characters , lines , and plot devices allude to Shakespeare 's plays .   Shakespeare in Love won seven Academy Awards , including Best Picture , Best Actress ( Gwyneth Paltrow ) , and Best Supporting Actress ( Judi Dench ) .


Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench ( born 9 December 1934 ) , known as Judi Dench , is an English actress and author . Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company . Over the following few years , she performed in several of Shakespeare 's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet , Juliet in Romeo and Juliet , and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth . Although most of her work during this period was in theatre , she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer . She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical Cabaret in 1968 .   Over the next two decades , Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers , working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company . She achieved success in television during this period , in the series A Fine Romance from 1981 until 1984 , and in 1992 with a starring role in the romantic comedy series As Time Goes By . Her film appearances were infrequent and included supporting roles in major films such as A Room with a View ( 1986 ) supporting Maggie Smith , before she rose to international fame as M in GoldenEye ( 1995 ) , a role she continued to play in James Bond films until Skyfall ( 2012 ) .   A seven-time Oscar nominee , Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love and has received nominations for her roles in Mrs Brown ( 1997 ) , Chocolat ( 2000 ) , Iris ( 2001 ) , Mrs Henderson Presents ( 2005 ) , Notes on a Scandal ( 2006 ) , and Philomena ( 2013 ) . She has also received many award nominations for her acting in theatre , film and television ; her competitive awards include six British Academy Film Awards , four BAFTA TV Awards , seven Olivier Awards , two Screen Actors Guild Awards , two Golden Globes , and a Tony Award . She has also received the BAFTA Fellowship ( 2001 ) and the Special Olivier Award ( 2004 ) . In June 2011 , she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute ( BFI ) . Dench is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts ( FRSA ) .


Dhoom 3 Dhoom 3 ( -LSB- - hnsˈd̪ʱuːm 3 -RSB- , English : Blast 3 or Boom 3 , also abbreviated and known as D :3 and D3 ) is a 2013 Indian action thriller film written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Aditya Chopra . The third installment of the Dhoom series , it features Aamir Khan as the antagonist and Katrina Kaif , with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role reprising his role of ACP Jai Dixit and Uday Chopra reprising his role as Ali Akbar , as in the previous films of the franchise . Made on a budget of , it was the most expensive Indian film , until it was beaten by Baahubali : The Beginning . Dhoom 3 was released on 20 December 2013 , marking itself as the first Indian film to be released in the IMAX motion picture film format with Dolby Atmos surround sound .   The film went on to gross worldwide in just ten days , to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in international markets at the time and as of May 2017 is the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of all time . It was the 77th highest grossing film of 2013 worldwide . The film was screened during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section .


Mrs Henderson Presents Mrs Henderson Presents is a 2005 British biographical film written by American playwright Martin Sherman and directed by Stephen Frears . It stars Judi Dench , Bob Hoskins , Kelly Reilly , and Pop Idol winner Will Young in his acting debut .   The film tells the true story of Laura Henderson , an eccentric British socialite who invested her money to create the Windmill Theatre in London during World War II .


Oakland, California only exists on the East Coast.

Oakland, California Oakland -LSB- ˈoʊklənd -RSB- is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County , California , United States . A major West Coast port city , Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area , the third largest city overall in the San Francisco Bay Area , the eighth largest city in California , and the 45th largest city in the United States , with a population of 419,267 . It serves as a trade center for the San Francisco Bay Area ; its Port of Oakland is the busiest port in the San Francisco Bay , the entirety of Northern California , and the fifth busiest in the United States . The city was incorporated in 1852 .   Oakland 's territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie , oak woodland , and north coastal scrub . Its land served as a rich resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco , and Oakland 's fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region . In the late 1860s , Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad . Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland , enlarging the city 's population , increasing its housing stock and improving its infrastructure . It continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port , shipyards , and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry .   Oakland is known for its sustainability practices , including a top-ranking for usage of electricity from renewable resources . Oakland is also known for its history of political activism , as well as its professional sports franchises ( such as the Oakland Raiders , Oakland Athletics and the Golden State Warriors ) and major corporations , which include health care , dot-com companies , and manufacturers of household products . In addition , due to a steady influx of immigrants during the 20th century , along with thousands of African-American war-industry workers who relocated from the Deep South during the 1940s , Oakland is the most ethnically diverse major city in the country .


Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or award at 22 years old.

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or ( -LSB- balɔ̃ dɔʁ -RSB- ; `` Golden Ball '' ) , is an annual association football award presented by France Football . It has been awarded since 1956 , although between 2010 and 2015 , an agreement was made with FIFA and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year , and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or . Conceived by sports writer Gabriel Hanot , the Ballon d'Or award honours the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year , based on voting by football journalists . Originally , only European players were in contention for the Ballon d'Or : in 1995 the award was expanded to include all players at European clubs and in 2007 to all players from around the world .


Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés `` Leo '' Messi ( -LSB- ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi -RSB- ; born 24 June 1987 ) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team . Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as the greatest of all time , Messi is the only player in history to win five FIFA Ballon d'Or awards , four of which he won consecutively , and the first to win three European Golden Shoes . He has won 29 trophies with Barcelona , including eight La Liga titles , four UEFA Champions League titles , and five Copas del Rey . Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker , Messi holds the records for most official goals scored in La Liga ( 349 ) , a La Liga season ( 50 ) and a club football season in Europe ( 73 ) , as well as those for most assists made in La Liga ( 137 ) and the Copa América ( 11 ) . He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country .   Born and raised in central Argentina , Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child . At age 13 , he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona , who agreed to pay for his medical treatment . After a fast progression through Barcelona 's youth academy , Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004 . Despite being injury-prone during his early career , he established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years , finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award , a feat he repeated the following year . His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008 -- 09 season , during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football . At 22 years old , Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins .   Three successful seasons followed , with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or , including an unprecedented fourth . His personal best campaign to date was the 2011 -- 12 season , in which he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season , while establishing himself as Barcelona 's all-time top scorer in official competitions in March 2012 . He again struggled with injury during the following two seasons , twice finishing second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo , his perceived career rival . Messi regained his best form during the 2014 -- 15 campaign , breaking the all-time goalscoring records in both La Liga and the Champions League in November 2014 , and led Barcelona to a historic second treble .   An Argentine international , Messi is his country 's all-time leading goalscorer . At youth level , he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship , finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe , and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics . His style of play as a diminutive , left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona , who declared the teenager his successor . After making his senior debut in August 2005 , Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup during the 2006 edition , and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América , where he was named young player of the tournament . As the squad 's captain from August 2011 , he led Argentina to three consecutive finals : the 2014 World Cup , for which he won the Golden Ball , and the 2015 and 2016 Copas América .


John Kiffmeyer refuses to produce sound.

John Kiffmeyer John Kiffmeyer ( born July 11 , 1969 ) , known professionally in music as Al Sobrante , is an American musician , best known as the former drummer for the punk rock band Green Day . His name of Al Sobrante is a reference to his hometown , El Sobrante . His work with Green Day resulted in about 961,000 albums sold , which are mostly from the compilation album 1,039 / Smoothed Out Slappy Hours .


Fences (film) Fences is a 2016 American period drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson , based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name ( Wilson died in 2005 , but completed a screenplay before his death ) . In addition to Washington , the film also stars Viola Davis , Stephen Henderson , Jovan Adepo , Russell Hornsby , Mykelti Williamson and Saniyya Sidney .   Principal photography on the film began on April 25 , 2016 , in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , in the Hill District , and wrapped in mid-June 2016 . Fences was released in the United States on December 16 , 2016 , by Paramount Pictures , received positive reviews and grossed $ 64 million . The film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2016 , and has been nominated for numerous awards , including four Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards : Best Picture , Best Actor ( Washington ) , Best Supporting Actress ( Davis ) , and Best Adapted Screenplay , with Davis winning for her performance . It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for Washington and a Best Supporting Actress win for Davis .


License to Wed was released in the 2000's.

License to Wed License to Wed is a 2007 American romantic comedy film starring Robin Williams , Mandy Moore and John Krasinski , and directed by Ken Kwapis . The film was released in theaters on July 3 , 2007 .


Bonnie Hunt Bonnie Lynne Hunt ( born September 22 , 1961 ) is an American stand-up comedian , actress , director , producer , writer and host . She has appeared in films , such as Rain Man , Beethoven , Beethoven 's 2nd , Jumanji , Jerry Maguire , The Green Mile , Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 .   Hunt has done voice work in A Bug 's Life , Monsters , Inc. , Cars , Toy Story 3 , Cars 2 , Monsters University , and Zootopia . She starred in Grand and Davis Rules , as well as creating , producing , writing , and starring in The Building , Bonnie , and Life with Bonnie . From 2008 to 2010 , she hosted The Bonnie Hunt Show .


Estella Warren is a former synchronized swimmer.

Estella Warren Estella Dawn Warren ( born December 23 , 1978 ) is a Canadian actress , fashion model , and former synchronized swimmer . During her swimming career she was a member of the Canadian national team and won three national titles . Since 1994 she has been modeling through publications such as Sports Illustrated as well as working for campaigns for such brands as Perry Ellis and Victoria 's Secret .   She later began a career as an actress , starring in such films as Tim Burton 's 2001 re-adapted film Planet of the Apes as well as television roles in Law & Order , Law & Order : Special Victims Unit and Beauty and the Beast .


Justin Bieber's fourth studio album was released in 2017.

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( -LSB- ˈbiːbər -RSB- born March 1 , 1994 ) is a Canadian singer and songwriter . After a talent manager discovered him through his YouTube videos covering songs in 2008 and signed to RBMG , Bieber released his debut EP , My World , in late 2009 . It was certified Platinum in the U.S. . He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record chart on the Billboard Hot 100 . Bieber released his first full-length studio album , My World 2.0 , in 2010 . It debuted at or near number one in several countries , was certified triple Platinum in the U.S. , and contained his single `` Baby '' .   Following his debut album , he had his first headlining tour , the My World Tour , released the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never -- The Remixes -- and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber : Never Say Never . He released his second studio album , Under the Mistletoe , in November 2011 , when it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 . Bieber released his third studio album , Believe , in 2012 . His fourth studio album Purpose was released in November 2015 , spawning three number one singles : `` What Do You Mean ? '' , `` Sorry '' , and `` Love Yourself '' . His U.S. album and singles sales total 44.7 million . He has sold an estimated 100 million records , making him one of the world 's best-selling music artists .   Bieber has won numerous awards , including the American Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012 . In his career , he has won one Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song `` Where Are Ü Now '' at the 2016 ceremony . He has been listed four times by Forbes magazine among the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world in 2011 , 2012 , and 2013 . Bieber also became the first artist to surpass 10 billion total video views on Vevo .


Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko ; July 20 , 1938 -- November 28 or 29 , 1981 ) was an American film and television actress . She was known for her screen roles in Miracle on 34th Street , Splendor in the Grass , Rebel Without a Cause , The Searchers , and West Side Story . She first worked in films as a child , then became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult , receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old .   Wood began acting in movies at the age of four and , at age eight , was given a co-starring role with Maureen O'Hara in the classic Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street . As a teenager , her performance in Rebel Without a Cause ( 1955 ) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . She starred in the musical films West Side Story ( 1961 ) and Gypsy ( 1962 ) , and received Academy Award for Best Actress nominations for her performances in Splendor in the Grass ( 1961 ) and Love with the Proper Stranger ( 1963 ) . Her career continued with films such as Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ( 1969 ) .   After this , she took a break from acting and had two children with different husbands , appearing in only three theatrical films during the 1970s . She was married to actor Robert Wagner twice , and to producer Richard Gregson . She had one daughter with Gregson , actress Natasha Gregson Wagner . Wood gave birth to Courtney Wagner during her second marriage to Wagner . Her younger sister Lana Wood is also an actress .   Wood starred in several television productions , including a remake of the film From Here to Eternity ( 1979 ) for which she won a Golden Globe Award . During her career , her films represented a `` coming of age '' for both her and Hollywood films in general .


How to Lose Friends & Alienate People stars Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Megan Fox and Jeff Bridges, alongside Max Minghella and Margo Stilley.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film) How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a 2008 British comedy film based upon Toby Young 's 2001 memoir of the same name . The film follows a similar storyline , about his five-year struggle to make it in the United States after employment at Sharps Magazine . The names of the magazine and people Young came into contact with during the time were changed for the film adaptation . The film version ( adapted by Peter Straughan ) is a highly fictionalized account , and differs greatly from the work upon which it was built .   Directed by Robert B. Weide , it stars Simon Pegg , Kirsten Dunst , Danny Huston , Gillian Anderson , Megan Fox and Jeff Bridges , alongside Max Minghella and Margo Stilley . How to Lose Friends & Alienate People was released simultaneously in the United Kingdom ( by Paramount Pictures ) and the United States ( by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ) on 3 October 2008 .


Slovenia Slovenia ( -LSB- sloʊˈviːniə , _ slə - , _ - njə -RSB- ; Slovenija -LSB- slɔˈʋéːnija -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Slovenia ( Slovene : , abbr. : RS ) , is a nation state in southern Central Europe , located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes . It is bordered by Italy to the west , Austria to the north , Hungary to the northeast , Croatia to the south and southeast , and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest . It covers 20,273 km2 and has a population of 2.06 million . It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the United Nations , European Union , and NATO . The capital and largest city is Ljubljana .   The territory is mostly mountainous with a mainly continental climate , with the exception of the Slovene Littoral that has a sub-Mediterranean climate and the north-western area that has an Alpine climate . Additionally , the Dinaric Alps and the Pannonian Plain meet on the territory of Slovenia . The country , marked by a significant biological diversity , is one of the most water-rich in Europe , with a dense river network , a rich aquifer system , and significant karst underground watercourses . Over half of the territory is covered by forest . The human settlement of Slovenia is dispersed and uneven .   Slovenia has historically been the crossroads of South Slavic , Germanic , Romance , and Hungarian languages and culture . Although the population is not homogeneous , the majority is Slovene . South Slavic language Slovene is the official language throughout the country . Slovenia is a largely secularized country , but its culture and identity have been significantly influenced by Catholicism as well as Lutheranism . The economy of Slovenia is small , open , and export-oriented and has been strongly influenced by international conditions . It has been severely hurt by the Eurozone crisis , started in the late 2000s . The main economic field is services , followed by industry and construction .   Historically , the current territory of Slovenia was part of many different state formations , including the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire , followed by the Habsburg Monarchy . In October 1918 , the Slovenes exercised self-determination for the first time by co-founding the State of Slovenes , Croats and Serbs . In December 1918 , they merged with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes ( renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929 ) . During World War II , Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany , Italy , and Hungary , with a tiny area transferred to the Independent State of Croatia , a Nazi puppet state . Afterward , it was a founding member of the Federal People 's Republic of Yugoslavia , later renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , a communist state which was the only country in the Eastern Bloc which was never part of the Warsaw Pact . In June 1991 , after the introduction of multi-party representative democracy , Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country . In 2004 , it entered NATO and the European Union ; in 2007 became the first formerly communist country to join the Eurozone ; and in 2010 joined the OECD , a global association of high-income developed countries .


Roger Moore was born on October 14, 1927.

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore , ( -LSB- mɔər -RSB- 14 October 1927 -- 23 May 2017 ) was an English actor . He is best known for playing secret agent James Bond in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985 . He also played Simon Templar in the television series The Saint between 1962 and 1969 .   Moore took over the role of Bond from Sean Connery in 1972 , and made his first appearance as 007 in Live and Let Die ( 1973 ) . The longest serving Bond to date , he went on to portray the spy in six more films . Appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991 , Moore was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for `` services to charity '' . In 2007 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work on television and in film , aptly located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard . In 2008 , the French government appointed Moore a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres .


Usain Bolt did not win the Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles.

Usain Bolt Usain St Leo Bolt , OJ , CD ( -LSB- ˈjuːseɪn -RSB- born 21 August 1986 ) is a Jamaican sprinter . He is the first person to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory . He also holds the world record as a part of the 4 × 100 metres relay . He is the reigning world and Olympic champion in these three events . Due to his unprecedented dominance and achievements in sprint competition , he is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time .   An eight-time Olympic gold medalist , Bolt won the 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at three consecutive Olympic Games , although he subsequently lost one of the gold medals ( as well as the world record set therein ) nine years after the fact due to teammate Nesta Carter 's disqualification for doping offences . He gained worldwide popularity for his double sprint victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in world record times . Bolt is the only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive olympics ( 2008 , 2012 and 2016 ) , a feat referred to as the `` triple double . ''   An eleven-time World Champion , he won consecutive World Championship 100 m , 200 m and 4 × 100 metres relay gold medals from 2009 to 2015 , with the exception of a 100 m false start in 2011 . He is the most successful athlete of the World Championships and was the first athlete to win three titles in both the 100 m and 200 m at the competition .   Bolt improved upon his first 100 m world record of 9.69 with 9.58 seconds in 2009 -- the biggest improvement since the start of electronic timing . He has twice broken the 200 metres world record , setting 19.30 in 2008 and 19.19 in 2009 . He has helped Jamaica to three 4 × 100 metres relay world records , with the current record being 36.84 seconds set in 2012 . Bolt 's most successful event is the 200 m , with three Olympic and four World titles . The 2008 Olympics was his international debut over 100 m ; he had earlier won numerous 200 m medals ( including 2007 World Championship silver ) and holds the world under-20 and world under-18 records for the event .   His achievements as a sprinter have earned him the media nickname `` Lightning Bolt '' , and his awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year , Track & Field Athlete of the Year , and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year ( four times ) . Bolt has stated that he intends to retire from athletics after the 2017 World Championships .


Ronald Reagan privately described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire."

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( -LSB- ˈrɒnəld_ˈwɪlsən_ˈreɪɡən -RSB- ) ( February 6 , 1911 -- June 5 , 2004 ) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . Before his presidency , he was the 33rd Governor of California , from 1967 to 1975 , after a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader .   Raised in a poor family in small towns of northern Illinois , Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and worked as a sports announcer on several regional radio stations . After moving to Hollywood in 1937 , he became an actor and starred in a few major productions . Reagan was twice elected President of the Screen Actors Guild , the labor union for actors , where he worked to root out Communist influence . In the 1950s , he moved into television and was a motivational speaker at General Electric factories . Having been a lifelong Democrat , his views changed . He became a conservative and in 1962 switched to the Republican Party . In 1964 , Reagan 's speech , `` A Time for Choosing '' , in support of Barry Goldwater 's foundering presidential campaign , earned him national attention as a new conservative spokesman . Building a network of supporters , he was elected Governor of California in 1966 . As governor , Reagan raised taxes , turned a state budget deficit to a surplus , challenged the protesters at the University of California , ordered National Guard troops in during a period of protest movements in 1969 , and was re-elected in 1970 . He twice ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency in 1968 and 1976 ; four years later , he easily won the nomination outright , becoming the oldest elected U.S. president up to that time , defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980 .   Entering the presidency in 1981 , Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives . His supply-side economic policies , dubbed `` Reaganomics '' , advocated tax rate reduction to spur economic growth , control of the money supply to curb inflation , economic deregulation , and reduction in government spending . In his first term he survived an assassination attempt , spurred the War on Drugs , and fought public sector labor . Over his two terms , the economy saw a reduction of inflation from 12.5 % to 4.4 % , and an average annual growth of real GDP of 3.4 ; while Reagan did enact cuts in domestic discretionary spending , tax cuts and increased military spending contributed to increased federal outlays overall , even after adjustment for inflation . During his re-election bid , Reagan campaigned on the notion that it was `` Morning in America '' , winning a landslide in 1984 with the largest electoral college victory in American history . Foreign affairs dominated his second term , including ending of the Cold War , the bombing of Libya , and the Iran -- Contra affair . Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an `` evil empire '' , and during his famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate , President Reagan challenged Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to `` tear down this wall ! '' . He transitioned Cold War policy from détente to rollback , by escalating an arms race with the USSR while engaging in talks with Gorbachev , which culminated in the INF Treaty , shrinking both countries ' nuclear arsenals . Reagan 's presidency came during the decline of the Soviet Union and just ten months after the end of his term , the Berlin Wall fell , and on December 26 , 1991 , nearly three years after he left office , the Soviet Union collapsed .   Leaving office in 1989 , Reagan held an approval rating of sixty-eight percent , matching those of Franklin D. Roosevelt , and later Bill Clinton , as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era . He was the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve two full terms , after a succession of five prior presidents failed to do so . While having planned an active post-presidency , in 1994 Reagan disclosed his diagnosis with Alzheimer 's disease earlier that year , appearing publicly for the last time at the funeral of Richard Nixon ; he died ten years later in 2004 at the age of 93 ; Reagan had the second-longest life out of all the presidents ; the current longest lifespan of a president is held by Gerald Ford , who died two years after Reagan . An icon among Republicans , he is viewed favorably in historian rankings of U.S. presidents , and his tenure constituted a realignment toward conservative policies in the U.S.


All of the Beatles approved of The Grey Album.

The Grey Album The Grey Album is a mashup album by Danger Mouse , released in 2004 . It mixes an a cappella version of rapper Jay-Z 's The Black Album with samples from The Beatles ' LP The Beatles , commonly known as `` The White Album '' . The Grey Album gained notoriety when EMI attempted to halt its distribution despite approval of the project from Jay-Z and the two surviving Beatles , Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr .


The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 . With members John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr , they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era . Rooted in skiffle , beat and 1950s rock and roll , the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles , ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock , often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways . In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as `` Beatlemania '' , and as the group 's music grew in sophistication in subsequent years , led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney , they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s .   The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960 , with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player . The core of Lennon , McCartney and Harrison went through a succession of drummers , including Pete Best , before asking Starr to join them in 1962 . Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act , and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings , greatly expanding their popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit , `` Love Me Do '' , in late 1962 . They acquired the nickname `` the Fab Four '' as Beatlemania grew in Britain the next year , and by early 1964 became international stars , leading the `` British Invasion '' of the United States pop market . From 1965 onwards , the Beatles produced increasingly innovative recordings , including the albums Rubber Soul ( 1965 ) , Revolver ( 1966 ) , Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967 ) , The Beatles ( commonly known as the White Album , 1968 ) and Abbey Road ( 1969 ) . After their break-up in 1970 , they each enjoyed successful musical careers of varying lengths . McCartney and Starr , the surviving members , remain musically active . Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980 , and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001 .   The Beatles are the best-selling band in history , with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide . They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act . According to the RIAA , the Beatles are also the best-selling music artists in the United States , with 178 million certified units . In 2008 , the group topped Billboard magazine 's list of the all-time most successful `` Hot 100 '' artists ; , they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty . They have received ten Grammy Awards , an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards . The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 , and all four were inducted individually from 1994 to 2015 . They were also collectively included in Time magazine 's compilation of the twentieth century 's 100 most influential people .


Soundgarden was a band that epitomized grunge, or the Seattle Sound.

Soundgarden Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle , Washington , in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell , lead guitarist Kim Thayil , and bassist Hiro Yamamoto . Matt Cameron became the band 's full-time drummer in 1986 , while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990 . Cornell remained in Soundgarden until his death in May 2017 , putting the band 's future in doubt and leaving Thayil as the only remaining original member of the band .   Soundgarden was one of the seminal bands in the creation of grunge , a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle , and was one of a number of grunge bands signed to the record label Sub Pop . Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label ( A&M Records in 1988 ) , though the band did not achieve commercial success until they popularized the genre in the early 1990s with Seattle contemporaries Pearl Jam , Nirvana , and Alice in Chains .   Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown , which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles `` Black Hole Sun '' and `` Spoonman '' . In 1997 , the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction . After more than a decade of working on projects and other bands , Soundgarden reunited in 2010 and their sixth studio album , King Animal , was released two years later .   As of 2012 , Soundgarden sold more than 10.5 million records in the United States , and an estimated 22.5 million worldwide . VH1 ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock .


Grunge Grunge ( sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound ) is a subgenre of alternative rock and a subculture that emerged during the in the Pacific Northwest U.S. state of Washington , particularly in Seattle and nearby towns . The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle 's independent record label Sub Pop and that region 's underground music scene . By the early 1990s its popularity had spread , with grunge acts appearing in California , then surfacing towards other parts of the United States and in Australia , building strong followings and signing major record deals .   Grunge became commercially successful in the early 1990s , due to releases such as Nirvana 's Nevermind , Pearl Jam 's Ten , Soundgarden 's Superunknown , Alice in Chains ' Dirt and Stone Temple Pilots ' Core . The success of these bands boosted the popularity of alternative rock and made grunge the most popular form of rock music at the time . Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s , they influenced modern rock music , as their lyrics brought socially conscious issues into pop culture and added introspection and an exploration of what it means to be true to oneself . Grunge was also an influence on subsequent genres such as post-grunge and nu metal .   Grunge fuses elements of punk rock and heavy metal , such as the distorted electric guitar used in both genres , although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other . Like these genres , grunge typically uses electric guitar , bass guitar , a drummer and a singer . Grunge also incorporates influences from indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth . Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective , often addressing themes such as social alienation , apathy , concerns about confinement , and a desire for freedom .   A number of factors contributed to grunge 's decline in prominence . During the , many grunge bands broke up or became less visible . Nirvana 's Kurt Cobain , labeled by Time as `` the John Lennon of the swinging Northwest '' , appeared unusually tortured by success and struggled with an addiction to heroin before he committed suicide at the age of 27 in 1994 .


Trent Reznor did not found Nine Inch Nails.

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor ( born May 17 , 1965 ) , known professionally as Trent Reznor , is an American singer , songwriter , musician , record producer , and film score composer .   As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist , Reznor is best known as the founder and principal songwriter of industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails . His first release under this pseudonym , the 1989 album Pretty Hate Machine , was a commercial and critical success . He has since released eight studio albums . He left Interscope Records in 2007 and was an independent recording artist until signing with Columbia Records in 2012 .   Reznor was associated with the bands Option 30 , The Urge , The Innocent , and Exotic Birds in the mid-1980s . Outside of Nine Inch Nails , he has contributed to the albums of artists such as Marilyn Manson and Saul Williams . He and his wife , Mariqueen Maandig , are members of the post-industrial group How to Destroy Angels , alongside Reznor 's fellow composer Atticus Ross and long-time Nine Inch Nails graphic designer Rob Sheridan .   Reznor and Ross scored the David Fincher films The Social Network ( 2010 ) , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ( 2011 ) , and Gone Girl ( 2014 ) , winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . In 1997 , Reznor appeared in Time list of the year 's most influential people , while Spin magazine has described him as `` the most vital artist in music '' .


Southport is 3 miles northwest of Preston.

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


Mithun Chakraborty is a Hollywood actor.

Mithun Chakraborty Gourang Chakraborty ( born 16 June 1950 ) , better known by his stage name Mithun Chakraborty ; informally referred to as Mithun Da , is an Indian film actor , singer , producer , writer , social worker , entrepreneur and a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament . He is the recipient of three National Film Awards . He made his acting debut with the art house drama Mrigayaa ( 1976 ) , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor .   He began his career as a junior actor and went on to establish himself as one of the biggest stars in Bollywood . He is recognized as one of the best `` dancing-heroes '' in Bollywood with his `` Disco and Desi '' fusion-style dancing that is popular among the masses .   Chakraborty is best remembered for his role as Jimmy in the movie Disco Dancer which was a superhit in India and also in many other countries in the world , especially Russia . In Russia , Chakraborty and Raj Kapoor are the most popular Indian actors .   Besides ` Disco Dancer ' , Chakraborty is best remembered for his performance in films like Suraksha , Saahas , Wardat , Pyar Jhukta Nahi , Dance Dance and Agneepath .  In 1991 , he won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for his role as Krishnan Iyer Nariyal paniwala for the movie Agneepath .   He later won two more National Film Awards for his performances in Tahader Katha ( 1992 ) and Swami Vivekananda ( 1998 ) . Chakraborty has appeared in more than 350 films including Bengali , Odia , Bhojpuri , Telugu and Punjabi pictures .   Chakraborty owns the Monarch Group , which has interests in the hospitality sector and educational sector . He has also started the production house Paparatzy Productions In 1992 , he along with Dilip Kumar and Sunil Dutt , set up a trust to help needy actors called Cine & T.V Artistes Association ( CINTAA ) . He was also the Chairperson of Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union which take care the welfare of cine workers and resolve their demands and problems . The Television show Dance India Dance where Chakraborty is the Grandmaster has already entered in Limca Book of Records and Guinness World Records Chakraborty played a crucial role of mediator between Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee , winning the Congressman the support of the Trinamool chief in the 2012 presidential election .   A comic book named Jimmy Zhingchak has been made based on Chakraborty .


The Republic of Ireland is far from Great Britain.

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland.Although Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state , two of its Overseas Territories also share land borders with other sovereign countries . Gibraltar shares a border with Spain , while the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia share borders with the Republic of Cyprus , the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the UN buffer zone separating the two Cypriot polities . Apart from this land border , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-south-west , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of 242500 km2 , the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe . It is also the 21st-most populous country , with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union ( EU ) .   The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance . The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 6 February 1952 . The capital of the United Kingdom and its largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million , the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union . Other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the conurbations centred on Birmingham , Leeds , Glasgow , Liverpool and Manchester . The United Kingdom consists of four countries -- England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland . The last three have devolved administrations , each with varying powers , based in their capitals , Edinburgh , Cardiff and Belfast , respectively . The nearby Isle of Man , Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom , being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation .   The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time . Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain , which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 , leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on 6 December 1921 to resolve the Irish War of Independence . When it took effect one year later , it established the Irish Free State as a separate dominion within the Commonwealth . The UK 's current name was adopted to reflect the change . There are fourteen British Overseas Territories . These are the remnants of the British Empire which , at its height in the 1920s , encompassed almost a quarter of the world 's land mass and was the largest empire in history . British influence can be observed in the language , culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies .   The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world 's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity . The UK is considered to have a high-income economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index , ranking 16th in the world . It was the world 's first industrialised country and the world 's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries . The UK remains a great power with considerable economic , cultural , military , scientific and political influence internationally . It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and is seventh in military expenditure in the world . The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 . It has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor , the European Economic Community ( EEC ) , since 1973 . However , on 23 June 2016 , a national referendum on the UK 's membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave , and its exit from the EU is currently being negotiated . The UK is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Council of Europe , the G7 finance ministers , the G7 forum , the G20 , NATO , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , and the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) .


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