Gentile Bellini was an Italian painter of the school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, at least in the early part of his career was more regarded than his younger brother Giovanni Bellini, the reverse of the case today. From 1474 he was the official portrait artist for the Doges of Venice, as well as his portraits he painted a number of large subjects with multitudes of figures for the Scuole Grandi of Venice, wealthy confraternities that were important in Venetian patrician social life. In 1479 he was sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II requested an artist. Thereafter a number of his subjects were set in the East, he is one of the founders of the Orientalist tradition in Western painting, his portrait of the Sultan was copied in paintings and prints and became known all over Europe. Gentile was born into the leading family of painters in Venice, his father Jacopo Bellini, was a Venetian pioneer in the use of oil paint as an artistic medium.

He was christened Gentile after Gentile da Fabriano. Gentile was taught painting in the workshop of his father. Although today Gentile is seen in the shadow of his more famous family members, in his own time he was considered among the greatest living painters in Venice and had no shortage of commissions. Gentile's earliest signed work is The Blessed Lorenzo Giustinian, one of the oldest surviving oil paintings in Venice. During the 1450s Bellini worked on a commission for the Scuola Grande di San Marco and painted in conjunction with his brother, Giovanni Bellini. From 1454 he was the official portrait artist for the Doges of Venice. Much of Gentile Bellini's surviving work consists of large paintings for public buildings, including those for the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista. Along with Lazzaro Bastiani, Vittore Carpaccio, Giovanni Mansueti and Benedetto Rusconi, Bellini was one of the artists of hired to paint the 10-painting narrative cycle known as The Miracles of the Relic of the Cross.

The commission was intended to celebrate the relic of the Holy Cross which the confraternity had received in 1369. Gentile's contributions include the Procession of the True Cross in Piazza San Marco, which dates from 1496, the Miracle of the True Cross at the S. Lorenzo Bridge, dating from 1500 and featuring Gentile's self-portrait and that of his brother Giovanni. Venice was, at that time, a important point in which cultures and trade bordered on the eastern Mediterranean Sea and provided gateways to Asia and Africa; as noted, in his lifetime, Gentile was the most prestigious painter in Venice. Therefore, in 1479, he was chosen by the government of Venice to work for Sultan Mehmed II in Constantinople. However, in addition to his work at the Ottoman Court, Gentile's work responded to other aspects of the East, including the Byzantine Empire. In September 1479 Gentile was sent by the Venetian Senate to the new Ottoman capital Istanbul as part of the peace settlement between Venice and the Turks.

His role was not only as a visiting painter in an exotic locale, but as a cultural ambassador for Venice. This was important to Mehmed II, as he was interested in the art and culture of Italy, he attempted on several occasions to have himself portrayed by Italian artists, he reached his goal with Gentile, believed to have painted the portrait of Mehmed II now in the National Gallery, London. It has been noticed that the portrait is like one of the figures in a painting by Marco Palmezzano, Jesus among the Doctors in the Temple. So the dating and authorship of the portrait by Bellini have been placed in question. Subsequently, an Oriental flavour appears in several of his paintings, including the portrait of a Turkish artist and St. Mark Preaching at Alexandria; the last was completed by Giovanni Bellini. According to Carlo Ridolfi in his 1648 history of the Venetian painters:Bellini made a painting of the head of John the Baptist on a charger, the saint being revered by the Turks as a prophet.

When the picture was brought before the Sultan, he praised the skill exhibited there, but drew Gentile’s attention nonetheless to an error, that the neck stretched out too far from the head, as it appeared to him that Gentile appeared unconvinced, to enable him to see the natural effect, he had a slave brought to him and had his head chopped off, demonstrating to him how, once separated from the chest, the neck contracted. Gentile, fearful at such barbarities tried in every way to be released from his contract in case one day he himself should be the victim of such a joke; this anecdote is apocryphal, as a similar story had been told by Seneca of Parrhasius, as well as of Michelangelo via a dubious source. Gentile responded to other aspects of the East, including the Byzantine Greek Empire, as well as Venice's other trading partners in North Africa and Levant. Venice had a long-established relationship with the Eastern Mediterranean. Saint Mark, Venice's patron, was from the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Venice's cultural and spiritual centre – the basilica of San Marco – was built in his honor in the Greek Byzantine style.

Although Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453

Dry Creek is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Cherokee County, United States. The population was 227 at the 2010 census. Dry Creek is located in southeastern Cherokee County at 35°45′4″N 94°52′58″W, southeast of the head of Tenkiller Ferry Lake on the Illinois River; the CDP is east by Dry Creek, an inlet to the lake. Highway 82 leads north 14 miles to Tahlequah, the Cherokee County seat, south 22 miles to Interstate 40 at Vian. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Dry Creek CDP has a total area of 8.7 square miles, of which 0.004 square miles, or 0.07%, is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 216 people, 97 households, 67 families residing in the CDP; the population density was 24.8 people per square mile. There were 153 housing units at an average density of 17.6/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 64.81% White, 0.93% African American, 30.56% Native American, 3.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.85% of the population.

There were 97 households out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.9% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.54. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, 27.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,292, the median income for a family was $28,523. Males had a median income of $19,643 versus $22,083 for females; the per capita income for the CDP was $14,186. About 14.7% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.8% of those under the age of eighteen and 8.9% of those sixty five or over

Out of the Game is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada in April 2012 and in the United States on May 1, 2012 through Decca Records/Polydor Records. The album was produced by Mark Ronson. Recording sessions began in May 2011. Guest musicians include his sister Martha Wainwright, Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett, drummer Andy Burrows, guitarist Nels Cline, members of the Dap-Kings, Sean Lennon, the alternative rock band Wilco, Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt and Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner. Wainwright and Ronson began recording the album in New York in May 2011. Following initial recording sessions, Wainwright participated in a five-night residency at the Royal Opera House in London to promote the release of his compilation box set House of Rufus, he resumed recording in the fall of 2011 after taking the summer off to spend time with his newborn daughter Viva. By December 2011 Wainwright and Ronson were finished mixing the album with Tom Elmhirst and several publications included Out of the Game on their lists of most anticipated releases for 2012.

Recording and mixing took place at Dunham Sound in Sear Sound in Manhattan. Wainwright claimed that Out of the Game contained the "poppiest", most "danceable" music in his repertoire to date and was influenced by the birth of his daughter and the death of his mother, Kate McGarrigle. Musical influences included Elton John and Queen. Wainwright began touring to promote the album in April 2012. "Out of the Game" was the album's first single, released in March via iTunes and April via Decca/Polydor. Wainwright and Ronson began recording the album in New York in May 2011. Gigwise.com reported that former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows had been invited to contribute to the recording sessions. Wainwright revealed that the album would contain the "poppiest" music in his repertoire to date, with the "main objective" that it should be "danceable". In May 2011, Rolling Stone reported that candidate tracks for the final release included a tribute to Wainwright's late mother, Kate McGarrigle, called "Candles", "I'm Out of the Game", about "giving up stardom", a song about Montauk, New York.

Wainwright shared that his daughter Viva influenced the album, stating: "There's nothing like impressing a little girl – nothing quite as lovely, sometimes nothing quite as difficult. I've written three songs about her already." Following May recording sessions, Wainwright participated in a five-night residency at the Royal Opera House in London to promote the release of his compilation box set House of Rufus. He took the summer off to spend time with Viva and resumed recording in the fall of 2011. Wainwright told Rolling Stone in October 2011 that he and Ronson were recording in Brooklyn with the Dap-Kings, a process he described as "fantastic". Sean Michaels of The Guardian reported in December 2011 that Wainwright and Ronson were mixing the album after less than two months of recording and that Out of the Game would be released in the spring of 2012. Wainwright described the collection as "manly", "sexy" and his "most sort of'pop' and commercially viable, radio-friendly work", he revealed that guest artists appearing on the album included his sister Martha Wainwright, Sean Lennon, the alternative rock band Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett.

According to Ronson, mixing with Tom Elmhirst completed on December 15. Recording and mixing took place at Dunham Sound in Sear Sound in Manhattan, it was revealed in February 2012 that Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt had contributed to Out of the Game. According to Wainwright, he provided to Ronson demo recordings of tracks nearly one year prior to production. In March 2011, Wainwright performed "Out of the Game" at the Hope North Ping-Pong Ball, a fundraiser for the Uganda boarding school dedicated to educating orphans and young refugees; the album received attention in December 2011 when Wainwright appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and performed the French version of "O Holy Night" with The Roots. In late 2011 and early 2012 several publications included Out of the Game on their lists of most anticipated releases for 2012. "Montauk" was featured as KCRW's "Today's Top Tune" on February 17, 2012, marking the song's world premiere. Several days Drowned in Sound released an exclusive album "teaser" video offering music samples, photo shoot footage, clips featuring Wainwright and Ronson.

Drowned in Sound revealed that "Out of the Game" would be the first single from the album and would be available for purchase on March 16 via iTunes and April 16 via Decca/Polydor. Ronson posted a long excerpt from "Out of the Game" on his Tumblr page on February 22; the album's cover art was revealed on Facebook and Wainwright's official site on February 28. "Out of the Game" premiered in the United Kingdom on February 29 when Wainwright appeared on the Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 2. The song was made available on YouTube soon after; the music video for "Out of the Game" was filmed in the Library of the Zoological Society of London in early March. It features actress Helena Bonham Carter, a friend of Wainwright's, as a "straight-laced librarian driven into a lustful frenzy" by Wainwright's multiple personalities, his personas include a "debonaire" man wearing a fedora, a woman, a "drugged-out Sonic Youth-obsessed dope fiend". Bonham Carter lip syncs to Wainwright's lyrics throughout the video.

Wainwright said of the video: "It features the two of