The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar was a United States commemorative silver fifty-cent piece struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1925. It was issued to celebrate the 75th anniversary of California statehood; the San Francisco Citizens' Committee wished to issue a commemorative coin as a fundraiser for a celebration of the statehood diamond jubilee. A California congressman attached authorization for it to another coinage bill, approved by Congress in early 1925. Designs by sculptor Jo Mora met a hostile reception at the Commission of Fine Arts, but the Citizens' Committee would not change them, they were approved; the coin has been praised for its beauty in the years since. The coins were struck in August 1925 in San Francisco, were sold the following month, they did not sell as well as hoped: only some 150,000 of the authorized mintage of 300,000 were struck, of that, nearly half went unsold and were melted. The coin is catalogued at between $200 and $1,300; the land, now the state of California was first visited by Europeans when Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo visited there in 1542.

His report to the Spanish crown garnered little interest, it was not until the English seaman Sir Francis Drake touched there in 1579 that the Spanish were moved to colonize the area. Over the next 275 years, California saw few settlers around the chain of missions that were founded there, both under the Spanish, subsequently under Mexican rule. According to numismatic author Arnie Slabaugh, "the coming of American settlers brought two changes to California that continue to this day: immigrants and activity". In 1846, American settlers revolted against Mexican rule; the republic proved short-lived. S. forces. A week before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in January 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill by James W. Marshall; the California Gold Rush followed, as did statehood for California in 1850. The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar originated with the desire of the San Francisco Citizens' Committee, to have a commemorative half dollar to sell as a fundraiser for a local celebration in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of California statehood.

On January 9, 1925, a bill was introduced in the Senate for a silver half dollar and gold dollar commemorating the Battle of Bennington and the American Revolutionary War-period independence of Vermont. The bill passed the Senate; when the bill was debated in the House of Representatives on February 16, 1925, California Congressman John E. Raker offered an amendment to add a coin for the 75th anniversary of California statehood; this was opposed by Representative Albert Vestal, chairman of the House Committee on Coinage and Measures, who stated that the Bureau of the Mint opposed making "these special coins". He added that because of this, Washington Representative Albert Johnson had agreed to withdraw his bill for a commemorative honoring Fort Vancouver, in Washington state. Raker persisted, his amendment passed. Representative Johnson offered an amendment to add a Fort Vancouver Centennial half dollar to the bill, to Vestal's chagrin, this was adopted; the bill passed the House of Representatives, the Senate agreed to the House amendments without debate on February 17.

Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon urged President Calvin Coolidge to veto the bill, writing: The Federal Government is permitting its coinage system to be commercialized for the profit of any celebration, whether national in its scope or not... I feel that for an anniversary of national significance the Treasury should not be asked to debauch its currency system... Each case is precedent for the next case, we must draw some limit to the diversion of our currency from its legitimate purpose as a means of payment by the general public for its business transactions, to a means of profit to particular bodies. Coolidge signed the bill, which became the Act of February 24, 1925, authorizing all three coins; this was the first time commemorative coin legislation covered more than one issue. A total of 300,000 for the California piece was authorized, with the coins to be drawn at face value on behalf of the Citizens' Committee by the San Francisco Clearing House Association or the Los Angeles Clearing House Association.

The latter group of banks had in 1923 distributed the Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar. On May 4, 1925, Rossi sent a letter to Mint Director Robert J. Grant. Rossi noted that there had been some delay in the preparation of the design for the new half dollar, that California Senator Samuel M. Shortridge had urged Rossi's committee to move forward without delay. Rossi enclosed sketches by California sculptor Joseph Mora, with the promise that a finished design, a model, would follow. Citizens' Committee members had selected Mora unanimously, feeling he was the one artist who could capture the spirit of what was being commemorated. On receipt, the sketches and letter were forwarded to the Commission of Fine Arts, charged since 1921 with making recommendations on coinage design, to its sculptor member, James Earle Fraser, designer of the Buffalo nickel. Fraser wrote to Rossi on May 18, deprecating the designs, "the bear is too short, the whole thing inexperienced and amateurish." He recommended that Chester Beach or Robert I.

Aitken be hired, as both were from California and

The B and B Chemical Company is an historic office and industrial building at 784 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Built in 1937 for an adhesive manufacturer to a design by Coolidge, Bulfinch & Abbott, it is a prominent local example of Streamline Moderne architecture, it served for many years as the headquarters of the Polaroid Corporation. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, it is now owned by The Bulfinch Companies of Massachusetts. The former B and B Chemical Company building is located in the Cambridgeport neighborhood of Cambridge, on the east side of Memorial Drive between River Street and Pleasant Street Extension, it is a rectangular structure, with a four-story central section flanked by three-story wings. It has a frame of steel and concrete, is faced in buff brick; the central section is recessed from the wings, but a projecting cornice on the wings extends over the recess area to provide a curved canopy over the entrance. The central part of the center section is taller, with a projecting rounded window bay topped by a clock face.

The wings are symmetrical, with the ground floor composed of glass blocks interspersed with spaced horizontal windows. The upper floors are defined by long bands of horizontal windows; the building was designed by Coolidge, Bulfinch & Abbott and built in 1937 for the B and B Chemical Company, a subsidiary of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. The facility, which include a more designed second building behind this one, produced adhesives used in the shoe manufacturing process at other plants, it served as the headquarters for the Polaroid Corporation for many years. It is now owned by The Bulfinch Companies, is occupied by Harvard University's Information Technology group. National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Tonight is the fourth extended play of South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was their first new material released in South Korea after two-year hiatus as a group. Upon its release, the album and its lead single of the same name became a chart-topper in various South Korean and international music charts, it was released on February 2011 under YG Entertainment. While writing the songs for the then-untitled album, leader G-Dragon and lead rapper T. O. P began to break away to collaborate on their GD & T. O. P project. According to G-Dragon, the group was trying a "new combination" with their music, in which the vocalists Taeyang and Seungri were to record their own music as a trio while the remaining two were to branch off as a duo since they had not been with their fans for the past two years. Although the division of the group was for Big Bang's materials only, G-Dragon and T. O. P saw positive response to their materials from the fans and went to Yang Hyunsuk, CEO of YG Entertainment, to allow the duo to release an album.

After the promotions for GD & T. OP. Collaboration ended, the group reunited to record the tracks to be included for Tonight. Songs from the album have been recorded variously over the two years span that the group was on hiatus. G-Dragon describes the music from the extended play as "very cheerful" in hopes of cheering up their listeners. Though the group's previous extended plays contained songs that were influenced by electronic music, the group decided to concentrate more on "warm rock music." After nearly two-year hiatus, Big Bang made their comeback in South Korea in February 2011 which kicked off with their annual concert, Big Show 2011. There, they showcased songs from Tonight, performing before an audience of 40,000 fans; the show was aired online by Mnet. The performance has been hailed as "sensual and stylish" as well as "luxurious" by Lee Soo-yeon of Newsen while it was called "fresh and bold" by Yonhap News, which went on to state that "Big Bang has come back brilliantly." Park Young-gun of the Star News applauded the group for their use of lavish props, calling the performance "compelling" and "explosive" and declaring that "Big Bang has come back stronger than ever."

The show was watched by a nationwide audience of 5.7%, higher than the 4.9% expected. Revenues from the concert were reported to be ₩43 billion. Teaser photos of the group's music video for their lead single Tonight, written by G-Dragon with the rap parts written by T. O. P, were released online; the group acknowledged their return to the music industry by posting it as their status on Taeyang's Twitter account. Tonight charted at no. 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart no. 3 on the Heatseekers chart, no. 29 on the Independent Albums chart. It topped numerous South Korean music chart, including Gaon, Soribada, Cyworld, mobile sites, Mnet; the album has received positive praises, with Expo Flat News complimenting it for its "impressive, sophisticated sound textures." The lead single "Tonight" was praised for its "sophisticated electronic sound" paired with acoustic guitar. Lee Jeon-Hyuk of Sports Chosun hailed the group's comeback as "brilliant" while Choi Jun of Asiae complimented the group's new direction in their music, acknowledging that during the two years of hiatus, the group's "style and musical sensibility deepened."

Despite this, the group have been criticized for their over-use of electronic sound. The album has sold 100,000 copies in South Korea. Big Bang Official Site