Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, musician and actress. She had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls. At the insistence of Warhol, she recorded vocals for three songs of the Velvet Underground's debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. At the same time, she released Chelsea Girl. Nico's friend Jim Morrison suggested, she composed songs on a harmonium, not traditionally a rock instrument. In the 1980s, she toured extensively in Europe, United States and Japan. After a concert in Berlin in June 1988, she went on holiday in Ibiza to rest and died as the result of a cycling accident. Nico was born Christa Päffgen in Cologne; when she was two years old, she moved with her mother and grandfather to the Spreewald forest outside of Berlin to escape the World War II bombardments of Cologne. Her father Wilhelm, born into a dynasty of Colognian master brewers, was enlisted as a soldier during the war and sustained head injuries that caused severe brain damage and ended his life in a psychiatric institution.

In 1946, Nico and her mother relocated to downtown Berlin. She attended school until the age of 13, began selling lingerie in the exclusive department store KaDeWe getting modeling jobs in Berlin. At 5 ft 10 in and with chiseled features and pale skin, Nico rose to prominence as a fashion model as a teenager. At the age of 15, while working as a temp for the U. S. Air Force, Nico was raped by an American sergeant; the sergeant was court-martialled and Nico gave evidence for the prosecution at his trial. Nico's song "Secret Side" from the album The End... makes oblique references to the rape. Nico was discovered at 16 by the photographer Herbert Tobias while both were working at a KaDeWe fashion show in Berlin, he gave her the name "Nico" after a man he had fallen in love with, filmmaker Nikos Papatakis, she used it for the rest of her life. She moved to Paris and began working for Vogue, Vie Nuove, Mascotte Spettacolo, Camera and other fashion magazines. At age 17, she was contracted by Coco Chanel to promote their products, but she fled to New York City and abandoned the job.

Through her travels, she learned to speak English and French. After appearing in several television advertisements, Nico got a small role in Alberto Lattuada's film La Tempesta, she appeared in Rudolph Maté's For the First Time, with Mario Lanza that year. In 1959, she was invited to the set of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, where she attracted the attention of the acclaimed director, who gave her a minor role in the film as herself. By this time, she was taking acting classes with Lee Strasberg. After a role in the 1961 Jean Paul Belmondo film A Man Named Rocca, she appeared as the cover model on jazz pianist Bill Evans' 1962 album, Moon Beams. After splitting her time between New York and Paris, she got the lead role in Jacques Poitrenaud's Strip-Tease, she recorded the title track, written by Serge Gainsbourg but not released until 2001, when it was included in the compilation Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg. In 1962, Nico gave birth to her son, Christian Aaron "Ari" Päffgen held to have been fathered by French actor Alain Delon.

Delon always denied his paternity. The child was raised by Delon's mother and her husband and was adopted by them, taking their surname, Boulogne. Nico's first performances as a singer took place in December 1963 at New York's Blue Angel nightclub, where she sang standards such as "My Funny Valentine". In 1965, Nico met the Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and recorded her first single, "I'm Not Sayin'" with the B-side "The Last Mile", produced by Jimmy Page for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label. Actor Ben Carruthers introduced her to Bob Dylan in Paris that summer. In 1967 Nico recorded his song "I'll Keep It with Mine" for Chelsea Girl. Dylan had written the tune for Judy Collins in 1964, according to her own liner notes from the Geffen Records' album Judy Collins Sings Dylan. After being introduced by Brian Jones, she began working in New York with Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey on their experimental films, including Chelsea Girls, The Closet and Imitation of Christ; when Warhol began managing the Velvet Underground, a New York City quartet consisting of singer/songwriter/guitarist Lou Reed, violist/keyboardist/bassist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker, he proposed that the group take on Nico as a "chanteuse", an idea to which they consented, reluctantly for both personal and musical reasons.

The group became the centerpiece of Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, a multimedia performance featuring music, lighting and dance. Nico sang lead vocals on three songs, backing vocal on "Sunday Morning", on the band's debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. Nico's tenure with the Velvet Underground was marked by musical difficulties. Cale has written that Nico's long preparations in the dressing room and pre-performance good luck ritual would hold up a performance, which irritated Reed. Nico's partial deafness would sometimes cause her to veer off key, for which sh

Seychellois Creole known as kreol, is the French-based creole language of the Seychelles. It shares official language status with French. Since its independence in 1976, the government of the Seychelles has sought to develop the language, with its own orthography and codified grammar, establishing Lenstiti Kreol for this purpose. In several Seychellois Creole words derived from French, the French definite article has become part of the word; the possessive is the same as the pronoun. In the plural, les Îles Éloignées Seychelles in French has become Zil Elwanyen Sesel in Creole. Note the z in Zil, as, in French, les Îles is pronounced /le.z‿il/. Ou, nou papa ki dan lesyel, Fer ou ganny rekonnet konman Bondye. Ki ou renny i arive. Ki ou lavolonte i ganny realize Lo parey i ete dan lesyel Donn nou sak zour nou dipen ki nou bezwen. Pardonn nou pour bann lofans Ki noun fer anver ou, Parey nou pardonn sa ki n ofans nou. Pa les tantasyon domin nou, Me tir nou dan lemal.49 fables of La Fontaine were adapted to the dialect around 1900 by Rodolphine Young but these remained unpublished until 1983.

While Seychellois laws are written in English, the working language of the National Assembly is Creole and the verbatim record of its meetings provides an extensive corpus for its contemporary use in a formal setting. Seychellois Creole Institute Seychelles Creole Vocabulary List 21st Creole festival, October 2006 Seychelles Creole Magazine Liv Servis online triglot text in English and Seychellois Creole digitized by Richard Mammana Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Seychellois Creole

Niels was the King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134. Niels succeeded his brother Eric Evergood and is presumed to have been the youngest son of King Sweyn II Estridson. King Niels supported the canonization of Canute IV the Holy and supported his son Magnus I of Sweden after he killed his rival for the succession, Knud Lavard, his secular rule was supported by the clergy. Niels was killed in an ensuing civil war, his successor was Eric II Emune. Niels was born around 1063, married in 1105, died in 1134, his parents were an unknown concubine. Four of Niels' brothers ascended the throne before him, he is first mentioned in history in 1086 when he was sent to Flanders to take the place of his exiled brother, King Olaf I. When his brother Eric Evergood died in July 1103 during a pilgrimage, the last surviving brother, was elected king the following year ahead of Evergood's chosen deputy Harald Kesja, he married the daughter of Inge I of Sweden. She was believed to have wielded considerable influence during his reign.

During the majority of Niels' reign, the country had internal peace. The contemporary Chronicon Roskildense describes him as mild and forthcoming, though not a competent ruler, he carried through reforms of his personal hird retinue, separating it into a military and an administrative branch responsible for tax collection. He placed family members as his jarls, including his son-in-law Jarl Ubbe and his nephews Eric and Canute Lavard, who were the sons of Eric Evergood. Niels supported the canonization of his brother Canute IV the Holy by bestowing gifts on the clergy of Odense as he sought to enlarge the power and influence of the monarchy through the aid of the church. However, it is he did not win the full support of the magnates on Zealand, he campaigned against the Wends in alliance with Poland. In 1125, Niels' son Magnus was named King of Sweden as Magnus I, his wife, died in 1128 or 1129, his son, was forced from the Swedish throne in 1130. After 26 years of internal peace, conflict erupted between his cousin Canute Lavard.

Canute was popular in the Duchy of Schleswig where he was jarl and was seen as a potential successor to Niels. On 7 January 1131, Magnus slew Canute near Haraldsted just north of Ringsted. Niels condemned Magnus but supported him, a civil war ensued between Niels and the supporters of Canute's half-brother, Eric. Niels had his strongest base of support in Jutland, the church supported him, he secured support from the Holy Roman Empire by agreeing to subordinate the Danish Archdiocese of Lund in Scania to the German Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, which prompted Archbishop Asser of Lund to support Eric. Eric made little progress in Denmark and moved on to the battle for Scania in 1134. Niels and Magnus landed at Fotevik Bay in Scania in June 1134 seeking to deal Eric a decisive defeat. At the Battle of Fotevik on 4 June 1134, Niels and Magnus were taken by surprise by a contingent of German soldiers on horses. Niels escaped. Niels sought refuge with Holy Roman Emperor Lothar III of Germany, but did not make it past the city of Schleswig.

Niels ventured into the former city of Canute Lavard on 25 June 1134, despite warnings. "Should I fear tanners and shoemakers?," he remarked. He was greeted by the clergy, but he and his vanguard were slain before they could reach the royal palace as the townspeople turned against him; the sixty-year reign of Sweyn II Estridson's sons ended when Niels fell and Eric II Emune became king. Niels married daughter of king Inge I of Sweden. After Margaret's death in either 1128 or 1129, he married Ulvhild Håkansdotter, married to Inge II of Sweden and married Sverker I of Sweden. Niels had two children with Margaret, one child out of wedlock. Inge Nielsen, who died as a child. Magnus I of Sweden Ingerd of Denmark was born out of wedlock, went on to marry Jarl Ubbe Esbernsen, a descendant of Canute the Great. Media related to Niels of Denmark at Wikimedia Commons