Jean-Bédel Bokassa known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the 2nd President of the Central African Republic and as the emperor of its successor state, the Central African Empire, from his Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état on 1 January 1966 until overthrown in a subsequent coup in 1979. Of this period, he served about 11 years as president and three years as self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, though the country was still a de facto military dictatorship, his imperial regime lasted from 4 December 1976 to 21 September 1979. Following his overthrow, the CAR was restored under David Dacko. Bokassa's imperial title did not achieve international diplomatic recognition. In his trial in absentia, he was sentenced to death, he was put on trial for treason and murder. In 1987, he was cleared of charges of cannibalism, but found guilty of the murder of schoolchildren and other crimes; the death sentence was commuted to life in solitary confinement, but he was freed in 1993.

He lived a private life in Bangui, died in November 1996. Bokassa was born on 22 February 1921, as one of 12 children to Mindogon Bokassa, a village chief, his wife Marie Yokowo in Bobangui, a large M'Baka village in the Lobaye basin located at the edge of the equatorial forest a part of colonial French Equatorial Africa, some 80 kilometres southwest of Bangui. Mindogon was forced to organise the rosters of his village people to work for the French Forestière company. After hearing about the efforts of a prophet named Karnu to resist French rule and forced labour, Mindogon decided that he would no longer follow French orders, he released some of his fellow villagers. The company considered this to be a rebellious act, so they detained Mindogon, took him away bound in chains to Mbaïki. On 13 November 1927, he was beaten to death in the town square just outside the prefecture office. A week Bokassa's mother, unable to bear the grief of losing her husband, committed suicide. Bokassa's extended family decided that it would be best if he received a French-language education at the École Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc, a Christian mission school in Mbaïki.

As a child, he was taunted by his classmates about his orphanhood. He was physically strong. In his studies, he became fond of a French grammar book by an author named Jean Bédel, his teachers noticed his attachment, started calling him "Jean-Bédel."During his teenage years, Bokassa studied at École Saint-Louis in Bangui, under Father Grüner. Grüner educated Bokassa with the intention of making him a priest, but realized that his student did not have the aptitude for study or the piety required for this occupation, he studied at Father Compte's school in Brazzaville, where he developed his abilities as a cook. After graduating in 1939, Bokassa took the advice offered to him by his grandfather, M'Balanga, Father Grüner, by joining the French colonial troops as a tirailleur on 19 May 1939. While serving in the Second bataillon de marche, Bokassa became a corporal in July 1940, a sergeant major in November 1941. After the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, Bokassa served with an African unit of the Free French Forces and took part in the capture of the Vichy government's capital at Brazzaville.

On 15 August 1944, he participated in the Allied forces’ landing in Provence, France, in Operation Dragoon, fought in southern France and in Germany in early 1945, before Nazi Germany was toppled. He remained in the French Army after the war, studying radio transmissions at an army camp in the French coastal town of Fréjus. Afterwards, he attended officer training school in Senegal. On 7 September 1950, Bokassa headed to Indochina as the transmissions expert for the battalion of Saigon-Cholon. Bokassa saw some combat during the First Indochina War before his tour of duty ended in March 1953. For his exploits in battle, he was honored with membership of the Légion d'honneur, was decorated with Croix de guerre. During his stay in Indochina, he married a 17-year-old Vietnamese girl named Nguyễn Thị Huệ. After Hué bore him a daughter, Bokassa had the child registered as a French national. Bokassa left Indochina without his wife and child, as he believed he would return for another tour of duty in the near future.

Upon his return to France, Bokassa was stationed at Fréjus, where he taught radio transmissions to African recruits. In 1956, he was promoted to second lieutenant, two years to lieutenant. Bokassa was stationed as a military technical assistant in December 1958 in Brazzaville, in 1959 after a twenty-year absence he was posted back to his homeland in Bangui, he was promoted to the rank of captain on 1 July 1961. The French colony of Ubangi-Chari, part of French Equatorial Africa, had become a semi-autonomous territory of the French Community in 1958 and an independent nation as the Central African Republic on 13 August 1960. On 1 January 1962, Bokassa left the French Army and joined the Central African Armed Forces with the rank of battalion commandant under commander-in-chief Mgboundoulou; as a cousin of the CAR President David Dacko and nephew of Dacko's predecessor Barthélémy Boganda, Bokassa was given the task of creating the new country's military. Over a year Bokassa became commander-in-chief of the 500 soldiers in the Central African Army.

Due to his relationship to Dacko and experience abroad in the French military, Bokassa was able to rise through the ranks of the new national army, becoming the Central African Army's first colonel on 1 December 1964. Bokassa sought recognition for his status as lead

Black Manta is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, the character was introduced in Aquaman #35 as a ruthless and murderous underwater-based mercenary, has since endured as the archenemy of the superhero Aquaman; the character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including several cartoon television series, animated movies, video games. Black Manta made his live-action cinematic debut in the 2018 DC Extended Universe film Aquaman, portrayed by actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Black Manta had no definitive origin story until #6 of the 1993 Aquaman series. In this origin, the African American child who would become Black Manta grew up in Baltimore and loved to play by the Chesapeake Bay. Throughout his youth he was kidnapped and forced to work on a ship for an unspecified amount of time, where he was physically abused by his captors. At one point, he saw Aquaman with his dolphin friends and tried to signal him for help but was not seen.

He was forced to defend himself, killing one of his tormentors on the ship with a knife. Hating the emotionless sea and Aquaman, whom he saw as its representative, he was determined to become its master. An alternative version was given in #8 of the 2003 Aquaman series. In this origin, the boy who would become Black Manta was an autistic orphan placed in Gotham City's Arkham Asylum, he found cotton sheets excruciatingly painful. Because the attendants at Arkham did not know how to deal with autism, they would end up restraining him to the bed as he struggled and screamed whenever they tried putting him to bed. In this version, young Black Manta was fascinated when he saw Aquaman on television; the boy would end up being subjected to experimental treatments. One treatment left him violent as a result; as an adult, the man who would become Black Manta designed a costume and fashioned a high-tech submersible inspired by manta rays. Taking the name Black Manta, he and his masked army became a formidable force, engaging in at least one unrecorded clash with Aquaman prior to his first appearance as a rival to the Ocean Master.

His first name, David, is revealed in the 2010 Brightest Day storyline, although his last name has not been revealed. Though he does use the alias of "David Hyde," which features the same last name that his biological son, Kaldur'ahm aka Jackson Hyde has. Black Manta and Aquaman battled over the next several years. During one of these clashes, it is revealed that Black Manta is black, whose stated objective at one point was for black people to dominate the ocean after having been oppressed for so long on dry land. During most of his appearances, his main goals are defeating Aquaman and gaining power for himself through the conquest of Atlantis. Manta kills Arthur Curry, Jr. Aquaman's son, which leaves Aquaman obsessed with revenge. Black Manta is transformed into a human/manta ray hybrid by the demon Neron in exchange for his soul, though after a while he returns to wearing his original outfit, which covers his new appearance. At one point he engages in drug smuggling from his new base in Star City, where he is opposed by a returning Green Arrow and Aquaman.

In a confrontation, sporting the Lady of the Lake's Healing Hand, reverses Neron's alterations to Black Manta and rewires Manta's afflicted brain, making him normal for the first time in his life. Manta remains a violent criminal, lulling Aquaman into a false sense of partnership and killing the Sea King in the process. In events, Black Manta is used as a genetic manipulation test subject to make water breathers; this succeeds. Black Manta causes a disturbance in Sub Diego in which Captain Marley is injured. Aquaman leaves him for dead, it is revealed that Black Manta was able to survive by generating an electric charge with his suit. One Year Later, he is forced to flee when King Shark bites off his face; when Aquaman dies at the end of the 2003 series, Black Manta begins working for Libra as part of the Secret Society of Super Villains. However, after Libra betrays the group and helps Darkseid conquer the Earth, Black Manta quits. In a 2011 Brightest Day storyline called "Aquawar", Black Manta has retired from his criminal ways.

He has opened a fish market to earn an honest living. When he discovers that Aquaman has been resurrected following the end of the Blackest Night, Black Manta murders the customers in the store and burns down his shorefront house as he resumes his criminal career and vendetta against Aquaman. Black Manta is seen at the grave of Thomas Curry, Aquaman's father, where he is approached by Siren and her Death Squad after demolishing the tombstone; the Death Squad battles Black Manta. She informs Black Manta that they need to work together to find his son, showing him a hard water image of Jackson Hyde. Black Manta and Siren locate attempt to kill his foster father. Jackson fights back

This is the list of home video releases of American comedy-drama and mystery television series Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives has been released for home video by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Audio Commentary by series creator, Marc Cherry on the following episodes: "Pilot" "Anything You Can Do" "Guilty" "Impossible" "One Wonderful Day" Audio Commentary on the Housewives' favorite scenes with: Teri Hatcher on "Pretty Little Picture", "Move On" and "Impossible" Felicity Huffman on "Guilty" and "Sunday in the Park with George" Marcia Cross on "Running to Stand Still" and "Come Back to Me" Eva Longoria on "Pilot" and "Ah, But Underneath" Nicollette Sheridan on "Anything You Can Do" and "The Ladies Who Lunch" Featurettes Desperate Housewives: Around the World Multi-Language Scene: Bree's dinner party scene in "Pretty Little Picture" "Oprah Winfrey Is the New Neighbor" clip from The Oprah Winfrey Show. Dressing Wisteria Lane: Costumes and Set Designs Gabrielle's Fashion Show Secrets of Wisteria Lane with Marc Cherry, Meredith Vieira and the writers of Desperate Housewives A Stroll Down Wisteria Lane with Marc Cherry and Meredith Vieira Behind the scenes of Desperate Housewives hosted by Meredith Vieira Outtakes and Bloopers from the Set Deleted scenes cut from certain episodes with optional commentary by Marc Cherry Extended versions of "Who's That Woman?", "Anything You Can Do", "Every Day a Little Death", "Impossible", "Sunday in the Park with George" and "Goodbye for Now" with introductions by Marc Cherry.

Easter Egg On the fourth disc, in the Bonus Feature menu, press up. A key hidden in the gray area will appear. If you press it, you will get a funny little featurette about the controversy surrounding Jesse Metcalf's butt cheeks on episode "Ah, But Underneath". Notes^a – the DVD-set without bonus features and audio commentaries Marc & Mom: Interview with the series' creator and his mother, the muse Directing Desperate Housewives: An episode from concept to completion Desperate Role Models: Iconic TV housewives share their wit and wisdom with the women of Wisteria Lane Cherry-Picked: Creator Marc Cherry's favorite scenes Unaired Storylines: Exclusive unseen Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo's storylines Deleted Scenes Fashion & Couture: Costume designer Cate Adair shows how the housewives' looks are created and how you can get the look too Juicy Bites: Housewives of Wisteria Lane reveal their juiciest moments "The Whole Story" Promo Desperate Housewives Poker: Mini-activity from Desperate Housewives – The Game Notes^b – released as a seven-disc boxset instead of six since each disc contains four episodes instead of five ^c – the boxsets split so that the first part could be released right after these episodes had been shown on television.

It served as a behind-the-scenes look at the third season's mystery. Getting Desperate from Beginning to End: A behind-the-scenes look at the "Tornado" episode Couples Commentary The Men of Wisteria Lane Reveal Their Own Secrets Deleted Scenes Bloopers Cherry-Picked: Marc Cherry's favorite scenes Alternative ending to the fourth season's finale Bloopers Deleted Scenes Cherry-Picked: Creator Marc Cherry's favorite scenes "What More Do I Need?" – A Very Good Read: A behind-the-scenes look at how the process unfolds from script to screen I Know Things Now: Desperate Housewives Celebrates 100: A lookback at 100 episodes of comedy So Very Teri A Best Buy exclusive seven-disc set was released on the same date as the regular set. Roasting Desperate Housewives A Trip Down Wisteria Lane Desperately Dead Wisteria at 8: A Look at the Past 8 Years And more! Inside this exquisitely appointed box, a treasure trove of guilty pleasure awaits. Delve inside and bite into the forbidden fruit that has seduced and satisfied audiences for a decade: ABC'S DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION.

This special collector's set is a must-own indulgence for true fans of the iconic series and includes all eight juicy seasons. That's nearly 7,700 minutes on 45 discs—plus an additional disc full of exclusive bonus features. Experience the sexy, scintillating series that blew the lid off suburbia and exposed a world of sin and secrets hidden behind the façade of manicured lawns and pampered lives. Revisit the ladies of Wisteria Lane and relive every delicious, decadent moment with the collection that's "Desp

Élodie Vignon is a French pianist. Élodie Vignon began playing the piano at the age of four. She studied at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional in Lyon at the age of seven and received her Médaille d‘Or in the class of Hervé Billaut in 2001. In 2004, she was invited to join Daniel Blumenthal's class at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels in Belgium, she received two master's degrees with distinction. At the beginning of her career, Élodie Vignon was invited to various festivals and venues in Europe and in the US, she studied intensively with Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri. She is Artist in Residence at the Fondation Bell’Arte in Brussels since 2010. Élodie Vignon plays in Belgium, in France, in Luxembourg, but in Italy, Spain and Lithuania. In Belgium, Vignon performed several times with Coryfeye, she callaborates with the contralto Sarah Laulan and with the Polish cellist Kacper Nowak. The Belgian pianist Julien Libeer is a current partner on stage, she was one of the main performers of the EuropArt Festival from 2010 to 2017.

As a soloist, she gave concerts with various conductors, among others under Philippe Entremont, with whom she collaborated closely. In the US, she's a frequent guest at the Chopin Society of Atlanta. In 2018, she was invited to perform and teach in Manila, during the masterclass International Piano Festival of Manila, directed by Jovianney Cruz. In March 2018, Vignon's first record was published by Cypres Records; the CD contains twelve études for piano from Claude Debussy and "twelve studious boxes" commissioned from the Belgian poet Lucien Noullez. In Europe, the record was awarded four stars in the French magazine Classica; the Pianist magazine of Germany classified Vignon in the "Debussy best performers". During 2018, Vignon presented this repertoire all over Europe, she gave concerts in the US and Canada. In summer 2018, Élodie Vignon collaborated with soprano Clara Inglese for a record published in March 2019. It's about the character of Ophelia in the music literature and contains a composition for Clara Inglese, Élodie Vignon and cellist Sébastien Walnier from Benoît Mernier.Élodie Vignon is now preparing her second CD with the Piano Sonata and the Three Preludes from Henri Dutilleux.

It will be completed by a creation from the Belgian composer Claude Ledoux. The CD will be released by Cypres Records on 14 February 2020, during a concert at the Flagey Piano Days Festival 2020. Official website. Retrieved 2019-07-25Fondation Bell’Arte Cypres Records

Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer and musician. Mokran was raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while learning engineering and programming as a teen, he earned a BA in music from De Paul University. Mokran first received widespread notice in 1992 for mixing and producing R. Kelly’s debut, Born into the 90's, which featured two number one hits on the Billboard R&B charts and went platinum within a year of its release; the following year he engineered and programmed Kelly's second album 12 Play, which reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts. The album’s second single, "Bump n' Grind", was at the time the longest-running number one single on the Billboard R&B charts, rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, he continued to work with R. Kelly through his 2004 album Happy People/U Saved Me; the Flaming Lips hired Mokran to remix several songs on their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin including "Race for the Prize" and "Waitin' for a Superman". Mokran was known for his work in the R&B and hip hop genres, but was chosen by the Flaming Lips for his history of mixing hit singles.

He mixed the 2009 Pussycat Dolls single "Jai Ho!", an English-language version of the Hindi song by A. R. Rahman from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. Mokran has mixed and produced for a variety of prominent pop, R&B and hip hop artists, including Aaliyah, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Quincy Jones, Toni Braxton, Lisa Stansfield, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and Michael Jackson, his approach to mixing has been described as unusual. He starts with the instruments that provide the chords and will need the least amount of adjustment, setting aside the drums and vocals for later. Mokran won two 2010 Latin Grammy Awards: as engineer/mixer on the Best Pop Album By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for Dejarte de Amar by Camila. Credits on AllMusic

Ron Ferri was an American contemporary artist. He was a multi-media artist employing materials in both traditional and non-traditional ways, like oil on canvas, ink on paper, with works exploring the digital realm, he was most known for his neon works from 70's. Born in 1932, Ferri began his career as a professional ice skater, cut short when he was called to service in the United States Air Force where he served for five years as a flight navigator with tours in Africa, England and Spain. After completing his service, he attended the Rhode Island School of Design, the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York University, studied under Hans Hofmann at the Academie des Beaux Arts, Paris. Beginning in the late 1960s Ferri began working with materials like neon and plexiglass to create unique works of art and design as well as large scale installations; the neon artworks were coveted and his work found an eager audience throughout the 1970s and 80s. In the decades to come, his work continued to evolve and was exhibited and collected worldwide.

In 2006, Ferri was commissioned for a worldwide Rolex and Tudor campaign where his art was displayed across buildings, serving as canvases, in select capital cities around the world. Ferri's work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Musée d' Art Moderne. Ron's art drew many prominent collectors to his work including the likes of Elsa Perretti, Jane Holzer, Egon Von Furstenberg, Pilar Crespi, Steve Rubell, Ian Schrager, Arnold Scassi, Elsa Martinelli, Jacqueline Stone, Carly Simon, Eileen & Jerry Ford, Asher Edelman, Elie de Rothschild, Pierre Schlumberger, Barbara Allen Kwiatkowski, Francois Catroux, Alberto Pinto, Valentino Garavani, Mr. & Mrs. Goulandris, Hubert Givenchy, Jack Nicholson. In the 60s, Ron became interested in incorporating neon lighting into his work and was famous for his neon sculptures which were, still are coveted.

During this time, Ron was one of the early pioneers of disco, incorporating neon lighting into his nightlife projects. Ron Ferri was a friend of Ian Schrager and Steve Rubbell, played a large part in introducing them to the New York social set, such as the designer Halston and PR impresario Carmen D'Alessio, which led to the phenomenon of Studio 54. Ferri died on June 13, 2019 in the Côte d'Azur at the age of 86. Ronaldo Ferri | artnet Ronaldo Ferri. Neon Construction from S. M. S. No. 6. 1968 | MoMA