1.
Newport News, Virginia
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Newport News is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 180,719, in 2013, the population was estimated to be 183,412, making it the fifth-most populous city in Virginia. Newport News is included in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, the area now known as Newport News was once a part of Warwick County. Warwick County was one of the eight original shires of Virginia, formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I, the county was largely composed of farms and undeveloped land until almost 250 years later. In 1881,15 years of development began under the leadership of Collis P. With the new railroad came a terminal and coal piers where the colliers were loaded, within a few years, Huntington and his associates also built a large shipyard. In 1896, the new incorporated town of Newport News, which had briefly replaced Denbigh as the county seat of Warwick County, had a population of 9,000. In 1958, by mutual consent by referendum, Newport News was consolidated with the former Warwick County, the more widely known name of Newport News was selected as they formed what was then Virginias third largest independent city in population. The location on the harbor and along the James River facilitates a large boating industry which can take advantage of its miles of waterfront. Newport News also serves as a junction between the rails and the sea with the Newport News Marine Terminals located at the East End of the city. Served by major east-west Interstate Highway 64, it is linked to others of the cities of Hampton Roads by the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway, part of the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in the city limits. The original area near the mouth of the James River was first referred to as Newportes Newes as early as 1621, the source of the name Newport News is not known with certainty. Several versions are recorded, and it is the subject of popular speculation locally, the new governor ordered them to turn around, and return to Jamestown. Under this theory, the community was named for Newports good news, another possibility is that the community may have derived its name from an old English word news meaning new town. At least one source claims that the New arose from the settlements being rebuilt after a fire. Another source gave the name as New Port Newce, named for a person with the name Newce. The namesake, Sir William Newce, was an English soldier, there he had established Newcestown near Bandon, County Cork. He sailed to Virginia with Sir Francis Wyatt in October 1621 and was granted 2,500 acres of land and his brother, Capt. Thomas Newce, was given 600 acres at Kequatan, now called Elizabeth Cittie
2.
American Jews
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American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are Americans who are Jews, either by religion, ethnicity, or nationality. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews and their US-born descendants, Minority Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Sephardic Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and a smaller percentage of converts to Judaism. The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions, depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States is home to the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world. In 2012, the American Jewish population was estimated at between 5.5 and 8 million, depending on the definition of the term and this constitutes between 1. 7% and 2. 6% of the total U. S. population. Jews have been present in what is today the United States of America since the mid-17th century, however, they were small in number, with at most 200 to 300 having arrived by 1700. The majority were Sephardic Jewish immigrants of Spanish and Portuguese ancestry, until after 1720 when Ashkenazi Jews from Central, after passage of the Plantation Act of 1740, Jews were specifically permitted to become British citizens and immigrate to the colonies. Until about 1830, Charleston, South Carolina had more Jews than anywhere else in North America and they primarily became merchants and shop-owners. Jewish migration to the United States increased dramatically in the early 1880s, as a result of persecution, many Jews also emigrated from Romania. Over 2,000,000 Jews landed between the late 19th century and 1924, when the Immigration Act of 1924 restricted immigration, most settled in the New York metropolitan area, establishing the worlds major concentrations of Jewish population. In 1915 the circulation of the daily Yiddish newspapers was half a million in New York City alone, in addition thousands more subscribed to the numerous weekly papers and the many magazines. American Jewish writers of the time urged assimilation and integration into the wider American culture,500,000 American Jews fought in World War II, and after the war younger families joined the new trend of suburbanization. There, Jews became increasingly assimilated and demonstrated rising intermarriage, more recent waves of Jewish emigration from Russia and other regions have largely joined the mainstream American Jewish community. Americans of Jewish descent have been successful in many fields. Scholars debate whether the historical experience for Jews in the United States has been such a unique experience as to validate American exceptionalism. Korelitz shows how American Jews during the late 19th and early 20th centuries abandoned a racial definition of Jewishness in favor of one that embraced ethnicity. The key to understanding this transition from a racial self-definition to a cultural or ethnic one can be found in the ‘’Menorah Journal’’ between 1915 and 1925, siporin uses the family folklore of ethnic Jews to their collective history and its transformation into an historical art form. They tell us how Jews have survived being uprooted and transformed, many immigrant narratives bear a theme of the arbitrary nature of fate and the reduced state of immigrants in a new culture. By contrast, ethnic family narratives tend to show the more in charge of his life
3.
Grey's Anatomy
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Greys Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on American Broadcasting Company as a mid-season replacement on March 27,2005. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents and attending physicians, as they evolve into seasoned doctors while trying to maintain personal lives. The title is a play on Grays Anatomy, a human anatomy textbook by Henry Gray. The shows premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who serves as a producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding. Although it is set in Seattle at the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital it is filmed in Los Angeles. The show was originally titled Complications, a reference to the complicated medical procedures, the series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique. It revolves around the title character Dr. Meredith Grey played by Ellen Pompeo. The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors, Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr. Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey. The cast has undergone changes through the shows run, with many members leaving and being replaced by others. In its twelfth season, the show had an ensemble of sixteen actors. On February 10,2017, ABC renewed Greys Anatomy for a fourteenth season,3 drama on all of broadcast. Greys Anatomy has been received by critics throughout much of its run. Since its inception, the show has been described by the media outlets as a television phenomena or a juggernaut, owing to its longevity and dominant ratings. It is considered to have had a significant impact on culture and has received numerous awards. It has received multiple Emmy nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series, in 2012, Greys Anatomy was named the fifth-highest revenue earning show, in terms of advertising per half-hour. It is the longest running scripted primetime show airing on ABC. The series follows Meredith Grey, the daughter of a general surgeon named Ellis Grey. The residents are joined by Jackson Avery and April Kepner, former Mercy-West residents who join Seattle Grace following an administrative merger in the sixth season
4.
CBS
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CBS is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of CBS Corporation. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major facilities and operations in New York City. CBS is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network, in reference to the iconic logo. It has also called the Tiffany Network, alluding to the perceived high quality of CBS programming during the tenure of William S. Paley. It can also refer to some of CBSs first demonstrations of color television, the network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters Inc. a collection of 16 radio stations that was purchased by Paley in 1928 and renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System. Under Paleys guidance, CBS would first become one of the largest radio networks in the United States, in 1974, CBS dropped its former full name and became known simply as CBS, Inc. In 2000, CBS came under the control of Viacom, which was formed as a spin-off of CBS in 1971, CBS Corporation is controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements, which also controls the current Viacom. The television network has more than 240 owned-and-operated and affiliated stations throughout the United States. The origins of CBS date back to January 27,1927, Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18,1927, with a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates. Operational costs were steep, particularly the payments to AT&T for use of its land lines, in early 1928 Judson sold the network to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, owners of the networks Philadelphia affiliate WCAU, and their partner Jerome Louchenheim. With the record out of the picture, Paley quickly streamlined the corporate name to Columbia Broadcasting System. He believed in the power of advertising since his familys La Palina cigars had doubled their sales after young William convinced his elders to advertise on radio. By September 1928, Paley bought out the Louchenheim share of CBS, during Louchenheims brief regime, Columbia paid $410,000 to A. H. Grebes Atlantic Broadcasting Company for a small Brooklyn station, WABC, which would become the networks flagship station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the relocated to 860 kHz. The physical plant was relocated also – to Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan, by the turn of 1929, the network could boast to sponsors of having 47 affiliates. Paley moved right away to put his network on a financial footing. In the fall of 1928, he entered talks with Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures. The deal came to fruition in September 1929, Paramount acquired 49% of CBS in return for a block of its stock worth $3.8 million at the time
5.
Steve Jobs (film)
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Steve Jobs is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin. Co-founder Steve Jobs, with each act taking place prior to the launch of a key product – the Apple Macintosh, the NeXT Computer. Jobs is portrayed by Michael Fassbender, with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Katherine Waterston, Michael Stuhlbarg, development on the project began in 2011 after the rights to Isaacsons book were acquired. Sorkin wrote the screenplay with filming beginning in January 2015, a variety of actors were considered and cast before Fassbender eventually took the role. Editing was extensive on the project, with editor Elliot Graham noting that he was working on existing footage while the film was still shooting, daniel Pemberton served as the films composer, with a focus dedicated to dividing the score into three distinguishable sections. Steve Jobs premiered at the 2015 Telluride Film Festival on September 5,2015 and it opened nationwide in the U. S. on October 23,2015 to critical acclaim. Individuals close to Jobs such as Steve Wozniak and John Sculley would praise the performances, but the film also received criticisms for its structure. In 1984, the Apple Macintosh 128Ks voice demo fails less than an hour before its unveiling at Flint Center, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs demands engineer Andy Hertzfeld fix it, threatening to publicly implicate him in the presentations credits if he does not. Hertzfeld finally suggests faking the demo using the prototype Macintosh 512K computer, Brennan arrives with Lisa to confront him – she is bitter over his denials and his refusal to support her despite his wealth. Jobs bonds with Lisa over her MacPaint art and agrees to more money. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak asks Jobs to acknowledge the Apple II team in his presentation, by 1988, following the apparent failure of the Macintosh, Jobs has founded a new company, NeXT. Wozniak arrives and predicts the NeXT will be another failure, Jobs confronts him about his public criticism of him, and Wozniak questions Jobs contributions to computing history. Jobs defends his role as that of a conductor, who directs musicians like Wozniak, Jobs lambasted the decision and dared them to cast a final vote on his tenure, despite Sculleys warnings. After Hoffman and Jobs discuss NeXTs unclear direction, she realizes that Jobs has designed the computer to entice Apple to buy the company and reinstate him. By 1998, Apple has fired Sculley, purchased NeXT, and named Jobs CEO and he is delighted by Hoffmans strong commercial forecasts, but furious that Lisa has allowed her mother to sell the house Jobs bought for them. Hoffman reminds Jobs that he threatened to withhold Lisas college tuition – Hertzfeld admits that he paid Lisas tuition, Wozniak again asks that Jobs credit the Apple II team during the presentation, and again he refuses. Sculley arrives in secret and the two make amends, Jobs and Sculley discuss Jobs life as an adopted child, and Jobs admits that his need for control stems from his feelings of powerlessness in being given up. At the behest of Hoffman, Jobs apologizes to Lisa for his mistakes, Lisa watches her father take the stage to introduce the iMac
6.
Academy Awards
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
7.
Aaron Sorkin
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Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. Sorkins trademark rapid-fire dialogue and extended monologues are complemented, in television, Sorkin was born in Manhattan, New York City, to a Jewish family, and was raised in the New York suburb of Scarsdale. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father a lawyer who had fought in WWII. Bill, both his sister and brother went on to become lawyers. His paternal grandfather was one of the founders of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Sorkin took an early interest in acting. Before he reached his teenage years, his parents were taking him to the theatre to see such as Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Sorkin attended Scarsdale High School where he involved in the drama. In eighth grade he played General Bullmoose in the musical Lil Abner, in Scarsdale Highs senior class production of Once Upon a Mattress, Sorkin played Sir Harry. He served as president in his junior and senior year at Scarsdale High School. In 1979, Sorkin attended Syracuse University, in his freshman year he failed a class that was a core requirement. It was a setback because he wanted to be an actor. Determined to do better, he returned in his sophomore year and you have the capacity to be so much better than you are, he started saying to me in September of my senior year. He was still saying it in May, on the last day of classes, he said it again, and I said, How. and he answered, Dare to fail. Ive been coming through on his ever since. One weekend, while housesitting at a place he found an IBM Selectric typewriter, started typing, and felt a phenomenal confidence. He continued writing and eventually put together his first play, Removing All Doubt, which he sent to his old Syracuse theatre teacher, Arthur Storch, in 1984, Removing All Doubt was staged for drama students at his alma mater, Syracuse University. After that, he wrote Hidden in This Picture which debuted off-off-Broadway at Steve Olsens West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in New York City in 1988, the contents of his first two plays got him a theatrical agent. Producer John A. McQuiggan saw the production of Hidden in This Picture, Sorkin got the inspiration to write his next play, a courtroom drama called A Few Good Men, from a phone conversation with his sister Deborah
8.
Danny Boyle
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His debut film Shallow Grave won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. Boyles 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won eight and he also won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Director. Boyle was presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2008 Austin Film Festival, in 2012, Boyle was the Artistic Director for Isles of Wonder, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. He was subsequently offered a knighthood as part of the New Year Honours, in 2014, it was announced that Boyle would become a patron of HOME in Manchester. Danny Boyle was born on 20 October 1956 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, although he now describes himself as a spiritual atheist, he was brought up in a working class Catholic family. Boyle was a boy for eight years and his mother had the priesthood in mind for him. Whether he was saving me from the priesthood or the priesthood from me, but quite soon after, I started doing drama. And theres a connection, I think. All these directors — Martin Scorsese, John Woo, M. Night Shyamalan — they were all meant to be priests, Theres something very theatrical about it. It’s basically the same job — poncing around, telling people what to think and he later studied at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton, and studied English and Drama at Bangor University. While at university, Boyle dated the actress Frances Barber, Boyle is the patron of North West-based young peoples substance misuse charity, Early Break, which was founded and based in his home town of Radcliffe. Boyle is also a trustee of the UK-based African arts charity Dramatic Need, upon leaving school he began his career at the Joint Stock Theatre Company, before moving onto the Royal Court Theatre in 1982 where he directed The Genius by Howard Brenton and Saved by Edward Bond. He also directed five productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 2011 he directed Frankenstein for the National Theatre. This production was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live on 17 March 2011, Boyle was Artistic Director for the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in London. The ceremony, entitled Isles of Wonder, charted aspects of British culture, including the Industrial Revolution and British contributions to literature, music, film, reception to the ceremony was generally positive, both nationally in the United Kingdom and internationally. In December 2012 it was reported that Boyle turned down a knighthood in the New Year Honours list. He told BBC Radio 4 Im very proud to be an equal citizen, in 2014, it was announced that Boyle would become a patron of HOME in Manchester. These were Masonic Mysteries and Cherubim and Seraphim and he was also responsible for the BBC2 series Mr. Wroes Virgins
9.
A Simple Plan (film)
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A Simple Plan is a 1998 American neo-noir crime thriller film adapted by Scott B. Smith from his 1993 novel of the same name. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, set in rural Minnesota, the story follows Hank Mitchell and his brother Jacob, who, along with Jacobs friend Lou, discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million in cash. The three men go to lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each others trust, resulting in lies, deceit. Development of the began in 1993 before the novel was published. Mike Nichols purchased the rights, and the project was picked up by an independent film studio. After Nichols stepped down, the adaptation became mired in development hell, during the troubled pre-production, Ben Stiller. After Savoy closed in November 1995, the project was sold to Paramount Pictures, John Boorman was hired to direct, but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Raimi. Principal photography began in January 1998 and concluded in March after 55 days, filming took place in Wisconsin, the score was produced and composed by Danny Elfman. A Simple Plan premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, the films appearance at the festival preceded a limited release in the United States on December 11,1998, followed by a general release in North America on January 22,1999. It underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $16.3 million on a $17 million production budget, reviewers praised various aspects of the films production, including the storytelling, performances and Raimis direction. A Simple Plan earned multiple awards and nominations, among them two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, Hank Mitchell and his wife Sarah live in rural Minnesota. One of the few college graduates, Hank works in a feed mill. When Hank, his older, socially challenged brother Jacob and Jacobs friend Lou chase a fox into the woods, Hank decides to look inside the plane where he discovers a dead pilot and a bag containing $4.4 million in $100 bills. He suggests turning the money in but is persuaded not to by Jacob, Hank then proposes that he keep the money safe at his house until the end of winter. Sheriff Carl Jenkins drives by the area and notices the three men after they hide the money in Jacobs pick-up truck, Jacob mentions hearing a plane in the area to avoid suspicion. After Carl leaves, the three men decide to keep the money a secret, but Hank breaks the pact when he reveals the discovery to Sarah, Sarah suggests that Hank and Jacob return a paltry sum of the money to the plane to avoid suspicion from local authorities. While travelling on foot to the woods, the come across an old man on a snowmobile. Jacob, thinking that their cover is blown, bludgeons him, when the man regains consciousness, Hank suffocates him, then uses the snowmobile to drive his body off a bridge, making the murder look like an accidental death
10.
Speed 2: Cruise Control
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Speed 2, Cruise Control is a 1997 American disaster thriller film, and a sequel to Speed. It was produced and directed by Jan de Bont, and written by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by De Bont, Sandra Bullock stars in the film, reprising her role from Speed, while Jason Patric and Willem Dafoe co-star. The film was released by 20th Century Fox on June 13,1997, the plot involves a couple, Annie and Alex, vacationing in the Caribbean aboard a luxury cruise ship, which is hijacked by a villain named Geiger. As they are trapped aboard the ship, Annie and Alex work with the ships first officer to try to stop it after they discover it is programmed to crash into an oil tanker. De Bont came up with the idea for the film after he had a nightmare about a cruise ship crashing into an island. Speed star Keanu Reeves was initially supposed to reprise his role as Jack Traven for the sequel, production took place aboard Seabourn Legend, the ship on which the film is set. The films final scene, when the ship crashes into the island of Saint Martin, cost almost a quarter of the films budget, many interior scenes aboard the ship were shot on soundstages in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The films soundtrack featured mostly reggae music, Mark Mancina returned to compose the film score, which was released as an album 13 years after the films release. Critical reception of the film was extremely negative, the acting, story, and characters attracted the most criticism as well as the films setting on a slow-moving cruise ship, which was much less thrilling than Speeds setting on a fast-moving bus. The film was also a disappointment, earning $164 million worldwide against a budget of $110 million. It was nominated for eight Golden Raspberry Awards, and won the award for Worst Re-Make or Sequel, Alex Shaw is on a motorcycle chasing a vehicle with stolen goods. After he catches the driver of the vehicle, his girlfriend Annie runs into him during her driving test and she finds out that Alex is on the SWAT team after he lied and told her he was a beach officer. As an apology, Alex surprises her with a Caribbean cruise on Seabourn Legend, aboard the ship, passenger John Geiger hacks into the ships computer system, and the following evening, he destroys the ships communication systems and kills the captain. After remotely shutting down the engines, Geiger calls the bridge to tell the first officer, Juliano. Juliano is ordered by Geiger to evacuate the ship, Geiger steals jewelry from the ships vault. As passengers evacuate, Drew, a deaf girl, becomes trapped in an elevator. As Annie and Alex attempt to board the last lifeboat, Geiger programs the ship to continue sailing, the winch lowering the lifeboat jams. Alex jumps into the boat to rescue the passengers who are falling off, Alex realizes Geiger is controlling the ship
