1.
Mount Airy, Philadelphia
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Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania. Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, on the west side is the Wissahickon Gorge, which is also part of Fairmount Park, beyond which lies Roxborough and Manayunk. Germantown borders the southeast of Mount Airy, and Stenton Avenue marks the northeast border, beyond Stenton Avenue is Cedarbrook and West Oak Lane. The USPS does not officially correlate neighborhood names to Philadelphia ZIP codes, however, the 19119 ZIP code is almost entirely coterminous with the cultural-consensus boundaries of Mount Airy. There is no boundary between Mount Airy and Germantown. The question is moot, however, as the two neighborhoods blend together very gradually, historically, the entire area was part of the German Township. Many buildings in Mount Airy carry the identity and even the name of Germantown in one way or another, parts of the Battle of Germantown in 1777 occurred throughout Mount Airy. Before this, the area makes up the modern neighborhood of Mount Airy was part of two sections of the original Germantown Township, Cresheim and Beggarstown. The village or Dorfshaft of Krisheim has its origins in the land divisions of Germantown Township in 1689. It was a section of the township that was allotted to a group of original Germantown settlers who acquired rights to either directly or indirectly from William Penn. It covered the area from Stenton to Wissahickon Avenues and from Mermaid Lane to roughly Sedgwick Street. The name is derived from a town known today as Kriegsheim in the Palatine in Germany which was the hometown of a few German Quaker families who had settled in Germantown in the 1680s. Throughout much of the 18th century, this area of Germantown Township was known in the land and it was at the beginning of the 19th century that the name Mount Airy began to replace Cresheim. Beggarstown, an area centered along Germantown Avenue between Gorgas Lane and Cliveden Street, was formed out of the so-called Sidelands of Germantown, the portion from which Beggarstown grew covered the area from Upsal Street to roughly Sedgwick Street, Stenton Avenue, and Wissahickon Avenue. As the Germantown village filled up, settlers began to move northwest along Germantown Avenue, by the 1730s and 1740s, the Sidelands area was subdivided into smaller house lots. The name for this area disappeared by the late 19th century, much of modern Mount Airy was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spreading out from Germantown Avenue and two railroad lines. They dominated districts like West Mount Airys Pelham section, East Mount Airys Gowen Avenue, Sedgwick Farms, as of the 2010 Census, Mount Airy has 27,035 residents,11,934 households, and 6,636 families. 62. 5% of residents are Black or African-American,31. 7% White/Caucasian,37. 3% of all households are made up of individuals and 27. 7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older
2.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Real Time with Bill Maher
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Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series Politically Incorrect on ABC, Real Time features a panel of guests who discuss current events in politics, additionally, many guests appear via satellite. Real Time is a weekly program with a studio audience. It originates from Studio 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, in addition, a 10- to 15-minute Overtime segment quickly follows the show on YouTube which answers questions posted by viewers through HBOs online website for the show. Prior to 2009, approximately 12 new weekly episodes aired from February to early May, in 2009, the show began airing as one continuous season. HBO has renewed Real Time through 2018, for its 15th and 16th seasons, the format of the show usually features an opening current events or political skit, followed by the credits and a comedy monologue. Maher then interviews an important figure via satellite or in-studio before sitting down with three panel guests for an extensive debate, halfway through the panel session, Maher does a comedy skit that usually satirizes current news items. Following the comedy bit, Maher interviews another figure via satellite or in-studio, the format varies, with two or three people on the interview panel. Maher explains that the format is not rigid and that they prefer live interviews to satellite interviews, near the end of every episode, Maher has a segment called New Rules which serves as a humorous editorial on popular culture and American politics. The final New Rule segues into Mahers closing editorial monologue, since the show airs on HBO, the participants do not have to restrict their language to conform to the broadcast standards that existed on Politically Incorrect. Also, pictures shown on New Rules sometimes have nudity or uncensored images, in the first season, Paul F. Tompkins was featured as a correspondent. Also, every episode would end with a performance by a stand-up comedian, the segments featuring Tompkins and comedians were dropped after the tenth episode. Viewers were also able to call into the show in the first season and ask questions over the air. Starting with episode 67 in February 2006, audio-only episodes were available as a free podcast via the iTunes Store. The podcasts also feature material cut from the show but taped during the studio rehearsal, during the fall of 2006, Maher began hosting a live chat on HBOs website following each broadcast, usually including some of the show guests. Viewers are invited to submit prior to and during the original telecast for Maher. It is also available on the shows YouTube channel, the opening sequence begins with a spoken phrase from the Los Angeles speaking clock, featuring an Joanne Daniels as the time lady saying Good Afternoon. The theme song is composed by Christopher Kid Reid and his voice is heard saying Start the clock, Real Time and Bill Maher
5.
Best Week Ever
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Best Week Ever is an American comedy series created and executive produced by Fred Graver. The series originally aired from 2004 to 2009 on VH1, in January 2010, it was announced that the show was canceled. On August 3,2012, VH1 announced the return of Best Week Ever, new weekly episodes began January 18,2013, but on April 23,2014, VH1 canceled the series again. Best Week Ever features comedians analyzing the previous developments in pop culture, including recent happenings in entertainment. It followed a format to that set by the mini-series I Love the 80s. Episodes aired on Friday evenings at 10,00 p. m. at the end of every episode, the show named which celebrity, group of people, or object had the Best Week Ever. Beginning October 24,2008, the adopted a format with a single host who summarized the weeks events. The show was renamed Best Week Ever With Paul F. Tompkins, Tompkins introduced topics from behind a podium, summarizing the weeks events. Tompkins occasionally threw to panelists who offered their own take on a particular subject, Tompkins, a long-time panelist, had been with the show since its inception. In both the original and latter format, each consisted of four main segments and at least one peripheral segment. The first segment had no title and featured the biggest news stories of the week. The second segment was The Sizzler and it featured Chuck Nice discussing the hot celebrity gossip. This section was formatted to satirize celebrity tabloid shows such as The Insider, next was In Case You Missed which briefly showcases several short clips from the weeks television. Recipients include Barack Obama, the Dramatic Prairie Dog, and Midget Mac, additionally, at the end of each calendar year, the show prepared a Best Year Ever special filled with clips of celeb horrors of the past year. Eight Words or Less, Doug Benson reviewed popular movies in eight words or less, in this segment Paul F. Tompkins attempted to comically defend celebrities while they are on trial. Doug Benson, Pop Culture Bachelor, comedian Doug Benson gave roses to events of the week he wanted to see more of, blind Item, A panelist offered clues as to the identity of a mystery celebrity, only to give a false answer contradictory to the correct identity. Doug Benson TSI, Trailer Scene Investigator, Doug Benson discussed recent movie trailers. The Express Lane, a review of the biggest pop culture stories
6.
Comedy Bang! Bang!
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Bang. is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1,2009. It is hosted by writer and comedian Scott Aukerman, best known for his work on the 1990s HBO sketch comedy program Mr. Show with Bob and David, creating and hosting the Comedy Bang. TV series, as well as for co-founding the weekly Comedy Death-Ray stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Hollywood, Bang. was also a television series on IFC hosted by Scott Aukerman and featuring bandleader Weird Al Yankovic. Comedy Death-Ray Radio first aired May 1,2009, after Aukerman gained permission from Indie 103 to conduct a one-month tryout, the first episodes guests were Rob Huebel and Thomas Lennon. During occasions when Aukerman has been unable to host, Paul F. Tompkins, Chris Hardwick, although normally produced in Los Angeles, the show has also been taped in Vancouver, Seattle, New York City, Chicago and Austin. On the May 15,2011 Two-year Anniversary podcast, Aukerman announced that the name was changing to Comedy Bang Bang. He went on to say that the show had evolved a great deal in its first two years, and he credited his wife Kulap Vilaysack with coming up with the new name. In episode 204, The Pepper Men, guests Jon Daly, both claimed to be huge Pepper Men and had written a song in tribute to the band titled Abracadabralifornia, which Daly sang using his best Anthony Kiedis imitation. On January 29,2014, a very official-looking website called www. RHCP2014. com appeared online claiming to have the brand new Chili Peppers song, the song even featured a layout for the bands upcoming Super Bowl appearance complete with sponsors logos. Various people through websites including Twitter and Facebook at first were fooled by the song although many quickly realized that it was a parody, the song was written and performed by Daly and musician Cyrus Ghahremani. Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith Tweeted his approval of the song, the shows format mixes conversation between the host and guests with comedy songs and occasionally game segments. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode, the shows most frequent guest Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, directors Garry Marshall and Werner Herzog, actor John C. For the first few months of the program, comedian Doug Benson would semi-regularly call the program, occasionally the podcast is taped with a live audience, usually at comedy shows or at festival events. In the last third of the show, Aukerman and his guests will often play one of several improv-style games, the following games have recently been played, Would You Rather. Riddle Me This, in one person comes up with a question that is the setup for a joke. An example would be Whats brown and is spotted near a fastfood restaurant. The other contestants then come up with answers and vote whose answer was the funniest, freestyle Rap Battle/Contest, in which the guests take turns performing a freestyle rap. What Am I Thinking. in which two guests count down together from three and attempt to use word association to say the same word
7.
Fusion TV
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In addition to conventional television distribution, Fusion is also streamed online and on mobile platforms to subscribers of participating cable and satellite providers. C. Apart from being Univision Communications first attempt in the world of English-language cable networks before El Rey Network, in 1982, ABC News and Group W first launched a 24-hour news channel called Satellite News Channel. But due to low clearance from cable systems, both of them sold the channel after just over a year on the air to CNN, twenty-two years later, in 2004, ABC News launched ABC News Now, which encountered the same problem. In December 2010, the appointed president of Noticias Univision, Isaac Lee. Univision Communications would later on, in late 2011, enter into discussions with Walt Disney Company-owned ABC News about entering into a joint venture to develop the channel. The discussions bore fruit with the formal announcement of the channel on May 8,2012. On October 4,2013, the company announced it had named Isaac Lee as Chief Executive Officer to replace interim CEO Beau Ferrari, Fusions formal launch date and its initial programming schedule was announced on August 1,2013. The channel formally launched on October 28,2013, buoyed earlier in the day by a simulcast of ABCs Good Morning America, designed to promote Fusions launch and programming. After leading off with a musical number at 6,57 p. m. Eastern Time on October 28,2013. Fusion operates out of a warehouse in Doral, Florida that is shared with Noticias Univision. Additionally some resources are shared with ABC News and Noticias Univision. However, the network operates separately from ABCs and Univisions news divisions, employing its own talent, correspondents, management, production staff. Univision handles programming responsibilities for Fusion, while Disney-ABC Television Group provides advertising sales and handles cable, in December 2015, it was reported that Disney was in talks to sell its stake in Fusion to Univision. The transaction was complete on April 21,2016. N. A, just as with America with Jorge Ramos, Open Source began as a nightly program before shifting to weekly installments in March 2014. Originally a 2-hour breakfast television show at Fusions launch, the moved to a late afternoon/early evening berth in March 2014 as part of a major schedule adjustment by Fusion. – A 25-minute combination of topical discussion and comedy, Executive produced by former Daily Show writer/producer David Javerbaum and created by The Jim Henson Company, the show starred Paul F. Tompkins and a panel of puppet commentators. The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz – A simulcast of the ESPN Radio program, like, Share, Die – An animated sketch series created alongside Mondo Media, featuring episodes of their online web shows. The Young Turks – A current affairs show with commentary with hosts from the online TYT Network
8.
No, You Shut Up!
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On May 2,2016, Paul F. Tompkins announced on his official website that the show had stopped production a quarter into its fourth season. There were some episodes that have the fourth panelist being an actual celebrity. There is also a segment on the show called No, You Open Up where Paul F. Tompkins interviews a panelist, by Season Three, the show was reworked to detail different segments before the round table discussions. During some round table discussions, the celebrity panelists will partake in a game with the other panelists. The panelists have included four different characters, among the known panelists on this show are, A Bird – A Bird is an unnamed sea gull who lives in a Walmart parking lot. Later episodes has Paul referring to the character as Big Dumb Bird and he is a recycled version of Molly the Albatross from Jim Hensons Animal Show. Grunt – Grunt is a born in the year 4,000,000 BC who was frozen in a block of ice and was resuscitated in the year 2009 where she became a news analyst on the Fox News Channel. Her name is the sound of a grunt and is also called Cavewoman by Paul and she is a recycled version of the Cavewoman from Puppet Up. Andy Al-Jizah – Andy Al-Jizah is a mummy who is the President of the AAMRP, Armond Mite – Armond Mite is a kangaroo rat who is a film critic. Armond Mites name is a pun on controversial film critic Armond White and he is a recycled version of Cool the Kangaroo Rat from Jim Hensons Animal Show. Aunt Mildred – Aunt Mildred is a sloth who is the chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition and she is recycled version of Lamont the Sloth from Jim Hensons Animal Show and Mopatops Shop. Barry – Barry is a squirrel and life partner of Gary who works as a marriage counselor. In Special Report #2, it is revealed that Barrys last name is Fine and he is a recycled version of Quincy the Flying Squirrel from Jim Hensons Animal Show. Bierstin Krakov – Bierstin Krakov is a vulture from Russia who is a war correspondent and he is a recycled version of Guffrey the Vulture from Jim Hensons Animal Show. Bigfoot – Bigfoot is a hermit who lives in the woods somewhere in Montana and is the founder of Montanas Frozen Fan Club branch. He is a version of Claude Bigfoot from Puppet Up. Billy Cabrito – Billy Cabrito is a goat who is a writer, blogger, and he is a recycled version of the Goat from Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola. Blue Crab – A blue crab who is the democrat co-host of Crab Fire, in Shut Up 2013, it is revealed that the Blue Crab is married to the Red Republican Crab
9.
The Dead Authors Podcast
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The Dead Authors Podcast is a comedy and faux-historical podcast hosted by Paul F. Tompkins in character as H. G. Wells. In each episode, he welcomes a deceased author via his machine to discuss his or her life. The podcast was created in support of 826LA, and all proceeds from the show are donated to the organization, the podcast is recorded live on a monthly basis at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles. When Chapter 39 was released in 2014, Tompkins announced that the podcast would be ending with Chapter 50 the following year. Tompkins commented on the ending in an interview with Vulture, Yes. Ultimately, some of these things I did not get paid for, they did not further my career, I suddenly remembered my career was supposed to be fun by itself. It would probably be better if I focused on my main sources of income and it felt as if all of my projects were suffering in that I couldnt give them the time and attention that I wanted. — Paul F. Tompkins *Episode 55 marks the only episode where Paul F. Tompkins does not appear as H. G. Wells, several comedians made numerous appearances on the podcast, playing multiple characters. Matt Gourley Andy Daly Chris Tallman Jen Kirkman Marc Evan Jackson Brian Stack Craig Cackowski Hal Lublin James Adomian Jessica Chaffin John Ross Bowie Mark McConville
10.
Earwolf
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Earwolf is a comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014 to form Midroll Media, Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. Initially built around the Comedy Death-Ray Radio podcast, the network has grown to include many podcasts on diverse subjects. The Earwolf studios are based in Los Angeles, California, in 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. Comedy Bang Bang is Earwolfs flagship podcast and it is hosted by Scott Aukerman and was originally an extension of his weekly live Comedy Death-Ray show. The weekly podcast features guests from the world of comedy, including Paul F. Tompkins, James Adomian, Tim Heidecker, Bob Odenkirk, the show is known for improvised conversations between Aukerman and his guests, some of whom perform impressions or original characters. The show celebrated its two-year anniversary during its May 2 show and changed its name to Comedy Bang Bang, Club listed the show as one of the top comedy podcasts of 2010. In 2012, IFC aired a version of the show. The first season ran for ten episodes, it was renewed for a 20 episode second season, IFC picked up the show for a 40 episode fourth season on March 20,2014. Long-form interviews with luminaries from the worlds of comedy, film, a podcast hosted by Jon Daly where he does sketches and what he wants like making a song with Har Mar Superstar or calling Rob Huebel. Comedian Brian Posehn hosts a weekly Dungeons & Dragons session, featuring stand-up comedians Blaine Capatch, Steve Agee, Dan Telfer, guests have included Rick Remender and Dave Anthony. Original players who have moved on include Posehns Deadpool co-writer Gerry Duggan, Sarah Guzzardo. Sklarbro Country was the first show to be added to the Earwolf roster and it is hosted by Randy and Jason Sklar and is a sports-themed comedy program notably geared towards people that may not necessarily care about or follow sports. The brothers cover sports-related stories from around the world that normally would fall through the cracks of most sports news shows, in addition to The Sklars, voice actor Chris Cox often performs as various characters including Jerry Jones, Tiger Woods, Sam Elliot, and Racist Vin Scully. Other characters are played by Dan Van Kirk, James Adomian. The title is a parody of Scarborough Country, an opinion show on MSNBC hosted by former congressman Joe Scarborough. Launched on December 7,2010, focus on pop culture by analyzing various film box office, each week host Howard Kremer and Chart Keeper Kulap Vilaysack host a guest from the comedy or music field to review the weeks charts and discuss their feelings on them. Towards the end of the episode the guest will play one of a variety of games, a send up of hardboiled detective stories starring Rob Huebel as the metaphor spouting title character, Grey DeLisle as Stephanie Client and featuring Neil Campbell as the announcer
11.
Spontaneanation
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Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins is an improv comedy podcast hosted by Paul F. Tompkins on the Earwolf network. Based upon an interview with a special guest, Tompkins and several improvisational friends perform narrative improv set in a provided by the guest. Each interview begins with a question supplied by the episodes guest. Additionally, Tompkins begins each show with a brief improvised stream of consciousness monologue, the improvisational scene and monologue are scored by Eban Schletter on piano. The podcast is notably different from Tompkins previous podcast, The Pod F. Tompkast, in that it is entirely improvised, where the Tompkast featured pre-recorded bits and heavy editing. Because I’m used to everything I do being very involved with a lot of pre-production and post-production and I really wanted to be able to walk in, record, and thats how I arrived at what is Spontaneanation. — Paul F. Tompkins Tompkins ends each episode with the phrase semper en presente, in addition to in-studio tapings, Spontaneanation is often recorded in front of a live audience at Café Largo in Los Angeles. † signifies that the guest participated in the bit of the show. If there are no improvisers listed then the guest is included in the count below, denotes that the episode was recorded in front of a live audience. The podcast has been listed on several Best Of lists for podcasts in 2015, the show was included in Apples collection of The Best Podcasts of 2015. A Theme Park Break Room was included on Vultures list of the Best Comedy Podcast Episodes of 2015, referring to it as what was easily one of the most wildly funny podcasts of 2015
12.
Rolling Stone
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Rolling Stone is an American biweekly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the publisher. It was first known for its coverage and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors. In recent years, it has resumed its traditional mix of content, Rolling Stone magazine was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and Ralph Gleason. To get it off the ground, Wenner borrowed $7,500 from his own family and from the parents of his soon-to-be wife, Jane Schindelheim. The first issue carried a date of November 9,1967. Some authors have attributed the name solely to Dylans hit single, At Gleasons suggestion, Rolling Stone initially identified with and reported the hippie counterculture of the era. In the very first edition, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone is not just about the music, in the 1970s, Rolling Stone began to make a mark with its political coverage, with the likes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson writing for the magazines political section. Thompson first published his most famous work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas within the pages of Rolling Stone, where he remained a contributing editor until his death in 2005. In the 1970s, the magazine also helped launch the careers of prominent authors, including Cameron Crowe, Lester Bangs, Joe Klein, Joe Eszterhas, Patti Smith. It was at point that the magazine ran some of its most famous stories. One interviewer, speaking for a number of his peers, said that he bought his first copy of the magazine upon initial arrival on his college campus. In 1977, the magazine moved its headquarters from San Francisco to New York City, editor Jann Wenner said San Francisco had become a cultural backwater. During the 1980s, the magazine began to shift towards being an entertainment magazine. Music was still a dominant topic, but there was increasing coverage of celebrities in television, films, the magazine also initiated its annual Hot Issue during this time. Rolling Stone was initially known for its coverage and for Thompsons political reporting. In the 1990s, the changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors
13.
Superego (podcast)
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Superego is an improvised sketch comedy podcast by American comedians Jeremy Carter, Matt Gourley, Mark McConville, and Paul F. Tompkins. Superego is an improvised, absurdist sketch comedy podcast presented as a collection of case studies prefaced by doctors as a example of a particular disorder. Nearly all the sketches are completely improvised in each recording session, the segments generally run 5–10 minutes unedited and Gourley edits them down to a 3-5 minute show length. The podcast is presented in a format that allows listeners to pick a chapter. After finding the production process to be a burden, they hit upon the idea of audio sketches as a less production-intensive medium. Mark McConville joined the podcast permanently in season 2 after having guested during the shows first season, jeff Crocker also joined and brought his skills as a video producer. Most of the music is produced by James Bladon. On July 17,2014 Superego announced the addition of Paul F. Tompkins as an official member, originally developed as an audio podcast, Superego has also occasionally released video Supershorts that are animated and produced by Crocker. Superegos first live show, Superego Live. was performed in Long Beach, California on December 10,2008 and then again in Hollywood, the early live shows were in the style of a rehearsed sketch comedy revue. The group now performs a version of the show regularly at venues like San Francisco Sketchfest, the Kansas City Improv Festival, the Bell House, Theatre 99. The live performances now take the form of the group and its guests wearing lab coats and improvising with the aid of sound effects. Season 4 began on September 1,2014 after a 15-month hiatus, on August 17,2015 it was announced that Superego would be doing a show titled Superego, Forgotten Classics that would be part of the premium subscription to the new Earwolf Howl app. The website stated that the episodes would be posted later. Superego formally ended on March 4,2016 with episode 4,6, the group held a 10th Anniversary show on March 5,2016 at Largo at the Coronet to celebrate the shows history and ending. The Journeymen, made up of Carter, Gourley, McConville, the album consists primarily of country western/rock performed by the groups alter egos named Shunt McGuppin, Mutt Taylor, Cubby Lauderbourne, and Jimmy Blades. Carter and Gourley split the writing for the tracks, Shunt McGuppin released a follow-up solo EP titled Bad Honky in June 2015. The album features guests including Erinn Hayes and Tompkins, and was produced by Dan Franklin, mundy Jr. and Merlin Escondante Daniels Dwight Loomis Grandma Queen Bee Grandma Jonesy Maggie The GPS Leroy Jenkins Coach Helzevec Janice Caaf Paul F. So far this has included On Her Majestys Secret Service, The Man with the Golden Gun, Dwight Loomis is based on the actor George Buck Flower
14.
Thrilling Adventure Hour
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The Thrilling Adventure Hour was a staged production and podcast in the style of old time radio that was held monthly at Largo, a Los Angeles nightclub located in the former Coronet Theatre. The show ran from March 2005 to April 2015, each episode featured three non-serialized segments as well as songs and commercials from fictional sponsors. The show was written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, the shows original songs were written by Acker & Blacker with the composer and band leader Andy Paley. The roots of the Thrilling Adventure Hour began in Blackers living room where he and Acker held a reading of their script for a space western called Sparks Nevada. Struck by the quality of the performances, they decided to launch a show with a radio conceit, so that the performers had the luxury of holding scripts in their hands. The Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour began a run at M Bar in Hollywood in March 2005. The original WorkJuice Players were Dave Gruber Allen, Paget Brewster, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Annie Savage, in episode six, Eban Schletter performed live musical accompaniment. Schletter wrote the song to Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars. In episode seven, the show was joined by Andy Paley, Acker & Blacker and Paley created musical content for the show. Paley arranged Schletters Sparks Nevada theme and performed themes and songs with his Andy Paley Orchestra, which, at the time, consisted of Jillinda Palmer, Ben Jaffe, in episode eight, the show was joined by Joel Spence, a Foley artist and actor. Soon thereafter, Aaron Ginsburg joined as director, shortly after that, Samm Levine, Danny Strong, and John DiMaggio joined the cast. Then James Urbaniak, John Ennis and Autumn Reeser, the band Common Rotation made a guest appearance on the show and played afterwards. Common Rotation became a staple following the Thrilling Adventure Hour. Marc Evan Jackson hosted Common Rotations segment, which featured songs performed by Common Rotation as well as WorkJuice players, the final performance of The Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour at M Bar was in January 2010. In March 2010, The Thrilling Adventure Hour shortened its title, beginning in January 2011, the Thrilling Adventure Hour began podcasting sketches from past performances. In January 2011, the cast took the show on the road for the first time, in October 2011, the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast joined the network of podcasts released by Chris Hardwicks Nerdist Industries. At New York Comic Con 2014 panel, it was announced that after 10 years of live monthly Thrilling Adventure Hour stage performances, also announced was that there will be two new monthly comics in the Sparks Nevada and Beyond Belief storylines, starting February 2015. The podcast will continue in the form of versions of the comic books
15.
Netflix
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Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph on August 29,1997, in Scotts Valley, California. It specializes in and provides streaming media and video-on-demand online and DVD by mail, in 2013, Netflix expanded into film and television production, as well as online distribution. As of 2017 the company has its headquarters in Los Gatos, Netflixs initial business model included DVD sales and rental, although Hastings jettisoned DVD sales about a year after Netflixs founding to focus on the DVD rental by mail business. In 2007, Netflix expanded its business with the introduction of streaming media, while retaining the DVD, Netflix entered the content-production industry in 2013, debuting its first series, House of Cards. It has greatly expanded the production of film and television series since then, offering Netflix Original content through its online library of films. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films in 2016, in January 2017, Netflix reported having over 93 million subscribers worldwide, including more than 49 million in the United States. Netflix was founded on August 29,1997, in Scotts Valley, California, by Marc Randolph, Randolph worked as marketing director for Hastings company, Pure Atria Corporation. Randolph was a co-founder of MicroWarehouse, a mail order company. Hastings, a computer scientist and mathematician, sold Pure Atria to Rational Software Corporation in 1997 for $700 million in what was then the richest acquisition in Silicon Valley history. Hastings, Randolphs mother and Integrity QA founder Steve Kahn invested $2.5 million in cash for Netflix. Randolph admired the fledgling e-commerce company Amazon and wanted to find a category of portable items to sell over the internet using a similar model. He and Hastings considered and rejected VHS tapes as too expensive to stock and too delicate to ship. When they heard about DVDs, which were available in only a few markets in 1997, when the disc arrived intact, they decided to take on the $16 billion home video sales and rental industry. Netflix introduced the monthly subscription concept in September 1999, and then dropped the model in early 2000. Since that time, the company has built its reputation on the model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees. In 2000, Netflix offered to be acquired by Blockbuster for $50 million, Netflix initiated an initial public offering on May 29,2002, selling 5.5 million shares of common stock at the price of US$15.00 per share. On June 14,2002, the company sold an additional 825,000 shares of stock at the same price. After incurring substantial losses during its first few years, Netflix posted its first profit during fiscal year 2003, in 2005,35,000 different films were available, and Netflix shipped 1 million DVDs out every day
16.
BoJack Horseman
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BoJack Horseman is an American adult animated comedy-drama series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The series stars Will Arnett as the character, BoJack Horseman. The supporting cast includes Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, the series first season premiered on August 22,2014, on Netflix, with a Christmas special premiering on December 19. The show is designed by the cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt, who had worked with Bob-Waksberg on the webcomic Tip Me Over. Despite giving mixed reviews upon its debut, critics were more positive towards the second half of the first season. The series was renewed for a season, scheduled to premiere in summer 2017. The series takes place mostly in the Los Angeles area, specifically, the series satirizes Hollywood, celebrity culture, and the film industry. Will Arnett as BoJack Horseman, a self-loathing 52-year-old alcoholic horse whose acting career peaked when he starred in a successful 90s family sitcom called Horsin Around. Though he began as a young bright-eyed actor, he has grown bitter, deeply depressed, and jaded towards Hollywood. BoJack has been shown to be caring and insightful, but his insecurities, loneliness, Arnett also voices Butterscotch Horseman, BoJacks physically and verbally abusive father. Amy Sedaris as Princess Carolyn, a pink Persian cat who is BoJacks agent in the first three seasons and former on-and-off girlfriend, earnest and unflagging, Princess Carolyn was a top agent at Vigor agency through her dogged pursuit of new talent and large network of odd personal connections. Though she struggles to find a balance between work, her personal life, and taking care of BoJack and her friends. She left Vigor to start a new agency with her then-boyfriend, after recognizing his lack of trustworthiness and confronting her fear of being alone, she ultimately decides to leave him and run the new company named VIM by herself. After several setbacks, Princess Carolyn closes VIM in Season 3, while writing BoJacks memoir, he and Diane initially develop a strong friendship that becomes increasingly awkward and strained after BoJack develops romantic feelings for her. Diane travels to the war-torn Republic of Cordovia to make a difference, ashamed of returning to her husband, she develops a severe bout of depression, during which she drinks heavily and sleeps disheveled on BoJacks patio furniture. She is able to reconcile her feelings with Mr. Peanutbutter and she is subsequently fired from VIM, and is hired to write for a feminist blog. Paul F. Tompkins as Mr. Peanutbutter, an energetic and cheerful yellow Labrador Retriever who is BoJacks former sitcom rival, Mr. Peanutbutter was the star of Mr. Peanutbutters House, which, according to BoJack, borrowed the premise from Horsin Around. He had a stint at filming a celebrity reality show called Peanutbutter, despite their rivalry, Mr. Peanutbutter cares a great deal about BoJacks opinion and admires him for his work on Horsin Around
17.
Paste (magazine)
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Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgangs Vault. Its tagline is Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture, the magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication from 2002 to 2010 before converting to online-only, the magazine, headquartered in Avondale Estates, Georgia. It was founded as a quarterly in July 2002 by Josh Jackson, Nick Purdy and it later switched to a bimonthly format. In 2005, Paste fulfilled remaining subscriptions for the competing magazine Tracks, Paste became a monthly with its August 2006 issue. For two years in the mid-2000s, Paste had a segment on CNN Headline News called Paste Picks. In October 2007, the magazine tried the Radiohead experiment, offering new, amidst an economic downturn, Paste began to suffer from lagging ad revenue, as did other magazine publishers in 2008 and 2009. On May 14,2009, Paste editors announced a plan to save the magazine, by pleading to its readers, musicians, cost-cutting by the magazine did not stem the losses. The main crux cited for the financial troubles is the lack of advertiser spending, in 2009, Paste launched an hour-long TV pilot for Halogen TV called Pop Goes the Culture. On August 31,2010, Paste suspended the print magazine, on May 28,2011, Paste announced it was bringing back its weekly subscription services in a digital layout. The digital magazine now covers music, movies, TV, comedy, books, video games, design, tech, food, each issue also includes a digital version of the Paste Sampler with seven new songs each week. Although Pastes focus was music, covering a variety of genres with an emphasis on adult alternative, Americana and indie rock. Each issue originally included a CD music sampler but was dropped in favor of digital downloading as a Going-Green initiative, many of these artists also contributed to the Campaign to Save Paste. In 2005, Paste was listed at #21 on the Chicago Tribunes list of 50 Best Magazines, Paste was also named Magazine of the Year by the PLUG Independent Music Awards in 2006,2007 and 2008. In 2008,2009 and 2010, Paste was nominated for a National Magazine Award in the category of General Excellence, and in 2010, associate editor Rachael Maddux writings were nominated for Best Reviews
18.
Twitter
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Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and interact with messages, tweets, restricted to 140 characters. Registered users can post tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them, users access Twitter through its website interface, SMS or a mobile device app. Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco, California, United States, Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams and launched in July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, in 2012, more than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day, and the service handled an average of 1.6 billion search queries per day. In 2013, it was one of the ten most-visited websites and has described as the SMS of the Internet. As of 2016, Twitter had more than 319 million monthly active users. On the day of the 2016 U. S. presidential election, Twitter proved to be the largest source of breaking news, Twitters origins lie in a daylong brainstorming session held by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. Jack Dorsey, then a student at New York University. The original project name for the service was twttr, an idea that Williams later ascribed to Noah Glass, inspired by Flickr. The developers initially considered 10958 as a code, but later changed it to 40404 for ease of use. Work on the project started on March 21,2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9,50 PM Pacific Standard Time, Dorsey has explained the origin of the Twitter title. we came across the word twitter, and it was just perfect. The definition was a short burst of inconsequential information, and chirps from birds, and thats exactly what the product was. The first Twitter prototype, developed by Dorsey and contractor Florian Weber, was used as a service for Odeo employees. Williams fired Glass, who was silent about his part in Twitters startup until 2011, Twitter spun off into its own company in April 2007. Williams provided insight into the ambiguity that defined this early period in a 2013 interview, With Twitter and they called it a social network, they called it microblogging, but it was hard to define, because it didnt replace anything. There was this path of discovery with something like that, where over time you figure out what it is, Twitter actually changed from what we thought it was in the beginning, which we described as status updates and a social utility. It is that, in part, but the insight we eventually came to was Twitter was really more of an information network than it is a social network, the tipping point for Twitters popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive conference. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000, the Twitter people cleverly placed two 60-inch plasma screens in the conference hallways, exclusively streaming Twitter messages, remarked Newsweeks Steven Levy
19.
Bristol, Pennsylvania
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Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,23 miles northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. All these factors spurred development of Bristol and nearby towns, explaining in part the industries which developed in the region, although its charter was revised in 1905, the original charter remains in effect, making Bristol one of the older boroughs in Pennsylvania. 7,104 people lived in Bristol in 1900,9,256 in 1910,10,273 in 1920, the population was 9,726 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Patrick Sabatini Sr. Samuel Clift founded Bristol, the grant became effective on March 14,1681 or March 4,1681 at the same time as William Penns Charter from Charles II became effective. Clift was required by the grant to maintain ferry service across the Delaware River to Burlington, New Jersey, the inn later became known as the George II. Bristol was platted in 1697, and named after Bristol, England and it was originally used as a port and dock. Bristol is rich in history, boasting many historic and restored houses that line the streets of Radcliffe, until 1725 Bristol served as county seat of Bucks County. From its earliest days Bristol was a center of mills, foundries, milling. Its docks also had regular services to New Jersey and other points east from as early as 1681 until 1931. Since Bristols long established docks were accessible to the Delaware, the town became the Delaware Canals southern terminal end. By the 1880s Bristol was home to factories, including companies manufacturing wall paper. In World War I, the Bristol docks had sufficient space for a shipyard to construct twelve building slips for the construction of merchant vessels. The residential area developed around the shipyards was soon named Harriman, Pennsylvania. In 1922 Harriman was annexed by Bristol, most of the shipping was finished too late to enter World War I, but some of the shipyards output was used post-war in relief and troop support missions. The majority of the contracts were canceled in 1919, and the ship yards rapidly became excess real estate, during World War II the old shipyards were used to build those and other airplanes, but most of the manufacturing in WW-II was not directly war related. In 1961, Bristol gained national attention when the song Bristol Stomp, the song remains a local favorite, and it is often played at ceremonies, parades, and sporting events. The Merchant Shipbuilding site returned to the news in the 1990s when the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority using state, the project also established a park with four monuments celebrating the towns past in the redevelopment. Various annual festivals, in particular keep a multi-ethnic cultural identity alive, Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal is also designated a National Historic Landmark District
20.
Temple University
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Temple University is a state-related-public doctoral university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by Baptist Minister Russell Conwell, in 1882, Conwell came to Pennsylvania to lead the Grace Baptist Church while he began tutoring working class citizens late at night to accommodate their work schedules. These students, later dubbed night owls, were taught in the basement of Conwells Baptist Temple, hence the origin of the universitys name, by 1907, the institution revised its institutional status and incorporated as a university. In 2015, Temple received $227.5 million in funding, ranking it 93rd out of 905 institutions in the NSF’s Higher Education Research. Temple is among the nations largest providers of education, preparing the largest body of professional practitioners in Pennsylvania. Conwell came to Pennsylvania in 1882 to lead the Grace Baptist Church while he began tutoring working class citizens late at night to accommodate their work schedules. These students, later dubbed night owls, were taught in the basement of Conwells Baptist Temple, hence the origin of the universitys name, the Grace Baptist Church quickly grew popular within the North Philadelphia area. A temporary board of trustees was created to handle the rapidly growing formalities associated with the churchs programs, when the board conducted its first meeting they named Russell H. Conwell president of The Temple College. Within the following months, Grace Baptist Church appointed a new board of trustees, printed official admissions files, regardless of whether they had the resources to support the school, Conwell’s desire was “to give education to those who were unable to get it through the usual channels”. Philadelphia granted a charter in 1888 to establish “The Temple College of Philadelphia”, by 1888, the enrollment of the college was nearly 600. It was in 1907 that Temple College revised its institutional status, Legal recognition as a university enhanced Temple in noticeable ways including its reputation, professional and graduate programs, overall enrollment, and financial support. Over time, Temple expanded, Samaritan Hospital was founded, a Medical School was added, after the merger, Temple officially reincorporated as Temple University on December 12,1907. Today, Temple is a Pennsylvania state-related university, meaning the university receives state funds, subject to state appropriations, but is independently operated. In U. S. News & World Reports 2017 rankings, Temple is tied for 56th among U. S. public universities, tied for 118th among all national universities, Temple undergraduate college is among the top colleges profiled in The Princeton Reviews The Best 379 colleges. Temples Social Science faculty is also ranked 76-100 in the world in 2015 by ARWU, Temple is ranked 94th out of 643 US institutions in National Science Foundations 2013 Higher education Research and Development Survey. Tylers graduate programs are highly selective, maintaining their reputation for providing one of the finest programs in the nation, as of 2015, Tyler’s overall ranking is 13th in the nation. Tyler’s individual graduate programs, as of 2015, ranked highly in their fields, painting and drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics. Temples Fox School of Business, founded in 1918, is one of the largest business schools in the country, the Fox School offers 13 undergraduate majors,10 professional masters programs, two PhD programs, and the school has a variety of international partnerships
21.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
22.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
23.
Adam McKay
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Adam McKay is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, comedian, and actor. McKay served as writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for two seasons. He directed Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, McKay has a creative partnership with actor Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote all except one of these films. The Big Short was the first film McKay directed without Ferrell in the cast, McKay and Ferrell produced their comedy website Funny or Die through their company Gary Sanchez Productions also HBOs Eastbound & Down. McKay was born in 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a cocktail waitress mother and he graduated from Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State and Temple University. McKay dropped out from the university a semester-and-a-half before he was set to earn his bachelor’s and he described it as, settling with an imaginary degree”. While a member of the mainstage cast at Second City, he wrote and performed in that companys landmark revue, the latter performance was excerpted in Second Citys 40th anniversary compilation. Mckay serves on the Creative Council of Represent. Us, a nonpartisan anti-corruption organization, McKay has an essential tremor, a benign neurological disorder that sometimes causes shaking. He is also a supporter of the Democratic Party and other liberal causes and he endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States during the 2016 Presidential Election. In 1996, he married director and actress Shira Piven, who directed the 2014 feature film Welcome to Me starring Kristen Wiig and his brother-in-law is actor Jeremy Piven. McKay originally auditioned for Saturday Night Live to be an onscreen performer, however, the scripts he submitted to the long-running sketch show earned him a job as writer from 1995 to 2001, including three seasons as head writer. He also directed a number of films for the show. McKay encouraged his Second City friend Tina Fey to submit some of her scripts to Saturday Night Live, in 2007, Ferrell and McKay launched the user-submitted comedy video site Funny or Die. A video on the site, titled The Landlord features both him and his daughter, Pearl, whom Ferrell and his wife bait to say curse words. Pearl also starred in a video titled Good Cop, Baby Cop. Ferrell. He rewrote the script for the Marvel Studios feature film Ant-Man, in addition to Eastbound & Down, he has also produced the TV series Big Lake, the miniseries The Spoils of Babylon, and The Chris Gethard Show. McKay directed and co-wrote with Ferrell the George W. Bush Broadway show and he produced the horror-action film Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters. McKay is in talks to direct the remake of Uptown Saturday Night, with Denzel Washington, McKay directed the TV movie documentary Lifecasters
24.
Bob Odenkirk
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From the late 1980s to 1990s, Odenkirk worked as a writer for television shows Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan OBrien, Get a Life, The Ben Stiller Show and The Dennis Miller Show. In the early 2000s, Odenkirk discovered the comedy duo Tim & Eric and produced their television series Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show and he directed three films, Melvin Goes to Dinner, Lets Go to Prison and The Brothers Solomon. In 2015, he and David Cross reunited, along with the rest of the Mr. Show cast, Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois, and raised in nearby Naperville. He is one of seven born to Walter, who was employed in the printing business. His parents divorced in part due to Walter Odenkirks alcoholism, which would influence Bobs decision to avoid alcohol as much as possible and he would later say that he grew up hating Naperville because it felt like a dead end, like Nowheresville. I couldnt wait to move into a city and be around people who were doing exciting things, Walter Odenkirk died of bone cancer in 1995. He began his foray into comedy writing as a radio DJ for WIDB with Matt Helser and Greg Weindorf and he worked at WIDB where he created a late-night radio comedy show called The Prime Time Special. The show was considered hilarious and provided Bob an outlet for some of his natural talents, after three years of college, Odenkirk decided to try writing and improv in Chicago. He also performed at the Improv Olympic alongside notable comedians Chris Farley, Odenkirk said his strongest comedic influence was Monty Pythons Flying Circus, primarily due to its combination of cerebral and simple humor. Other influences included radio personality Steve Dahl, SCTV, Steve Martins Lets Get Small, Woody Allen, The Credibility Gap and he visited Chicagos Second City Theater at the age of fourteen. His younger brother is comedy writer Bill Odenkirk, Odenkirk was hired as a writer at Saturday Night Live in 1987 and worked there through 1991. Working alongside Robert Smigel and Conan OBrien, he contributed to many sketches they created and he acted in several small roles on the show, most visibly during a 1991 parody commercial for Bad Idea Jeans. During his final year at SNL, he worked alongside Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock and Chris Farley, but eventually he decided to leave the show in order to pursue performing. He has credited SNL with teaching him many lessons about sketch writing, from writers like Jim Downey and Al Franken, as well as his friends Smigel. When SNL took its 1988 summer break, Odenkirk returned to Chicago to perform a show with Smigel and OBrien. The following summer he did a show, Show-Acting Guy. During his final summer hiatus, he wrote and acted in the Second City Mainstage show, in that particular show, he wrote the character Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker, for Chris Farley, which would later be reprised on SNL. In 1991, Odenkirk was hired to write for the TV show Get a Life, working as both a writer and actor on the show, he created and starred in the memorable sketch Manson Lassie, and helped the show win an Emmy Award for writing
25.
David Cross
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Cross was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Barry and Susi, the former of whom emigrated from Leeds, England. Six months after his birth, Cross family moved to Florida, after additional moves to New York and Connecticut, the family settled back in Roswell, Georgia, where Cross remained for nearly a decade. Cross and his family were evicted from their home while living in Georgia and he spent some time living in motels and at friends homes while growing up. He has two sisters and once bailed his youngest sibling out of jail, at age 17, Cross began performing stand-up comedy. The day after he graduated from Northside High School in Atlanta, lacking a plan, he drifted, working briefly for a lawn care company on Long Island. Later, he enrolled at Emerson College in Boston and he would drop out after only a semester, but during his time there, Cross joined This is Pathetic, a college sketch group, where he met John Ennis. In the summer of 1985, the two aspiring actors took a trip to Los Angeles, although this did not significantly further their acting careers. In Boston, Cross began to perform more regularly. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Boston had a comedy scene. He recalls that it was a loud-, dumb-, pandering-, racist-, in 1990, a new comedy scene began to emerge at the famous comedy club chain called Catch a Rising Star. Alongside Janeane Garofalo, Louis C. K. and other comics, Cross formed the sketch comedy group Cross Comedy with 12 other performers, and they put on a new show every week. They were known for playing tricks on the audience, such as introducing fake comics or planting fake hecklers, Cross became increasingly focused on his comedy work. Cross performed at the comedy club Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles. Cross also starred in the Joe Frank program Jam, produced in 1999 and has recently worked with Joe Frank on radio shows for KCRWs Unfictional. Cross stand-up comedy blends political commentary and satire, in 1999, he performed a one-hour comedy special, The Pride Is Back, on HBO. He has released three recordings, Shut Up You Fucking Baby and its Not Funny, and Bigger and Blackerer. Cross stand up material was featured in Comedy Centrals animated series Shorties Watchin Shorties, in 2004, Shut Up You Fucking Baby. was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 2003, he released his first tour film Let America Laugh and was named #85 on Comedy Centrals list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time and he appears on Un-Cabaret compilation albums, including Freak Weather Feels Different and The Good, the Bad and the Drugly
26.
Storytelling
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Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, often with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view. Storytelling predates writing, with the earliest forms of storytelling usually oral combined with gestures, in addition to being part of religious rituals, some archaeologists believe rock art may have served as a form of storytelling for many ancient cultures. The Australian aboriginal people painted symbols from stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance. People have used the trunks of living trees and ephemeral media to record stories in pictures or with writing. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy, affiliation, with the advent of writing and the use of stable, portable media, stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. Modern storytelling has a broad purview, in addition to its traditional forms, it has extended itself to representing history, personal narrative, political commentary and evolving cultural norms. Contemporary storytelling is also used to address educational objectives. New forms of media are creating new ways for people to record, express, tools for asynchronous group communication can provide an environment for individuals to reframe or recast individual stories into group stories. Games and other platforms, such as those used in interactive fiction or interactive storytelling. Documentaries, including web documentaries, employ storytelling narrative techniques to communicate information about their topic. Self-revelatory stories, created for their cathartic and therapeutic effect, are growing in their use and application, as in Psychodrama, Drama Therapy and Playback Theatre. Albert Bates Lord examined oral narratives from field transcripts of Yugoslav oral bards collected by Milman Parry in the 1930s, Lord found that a large part of the stories consisted of text which was improvised during the telling process. Lord identified two types of story vocabulary, the first he called formulas, rosy-fingered dawn, the wine-dark sea and other specific set phrases had long been known of in Homer and other oral epics. Lord, however, discovered that across many story traditions, fully 90% of an epic is assembled from lines which are repeated verbatim or which use one-for-one word substitutions. In other words, oral stories are built out of set phrases which have been stockpiled from a lifetime of hearing and telling stories, the other type of story vocabulary is theme, a set sequence of story actions that structure a tale. Just as the teller of tales proceeds line-by-line using formulas, so he proceeds from event-to-event using themes, one near-universal theme is repetition, as evidenced in Western folklore with the rule of three, Three brothers set out, three attempts are made, three riddles are asked
27.
Elongated coin
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Elongated coins are coins that have been elongated and embossed with a new design with the purpose of creating a commemorative or souvenir token. The collecting of elongated coins is a branch of numismatics, Elongated coins are also categorized as exonumia. The first elongated coins in the United States were created at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, several designs were issued to commemorate the fair, and are available in the elongated coin collecting community today. The earliest elongated coin designer on record is Charles Damm, who created the design for the coins available at the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo. The production of elongated coins can be divided into three classes, each of which covers a distinct period from 1893 to the present. This period started with the issuance of the first elongateds in 1893, the second class of elongated coins, the Modern Elongateds, cover the years c.1965 to c. Around 1965, the source of elongated coins became private rollers. The major rollers of this period include Dottie Dow, the House of Elongateds, Ralph Jones, Ralph W. Jobe, Elmer Anderson, Don Adams, Cee Ceven and this event marks the beginning of the third class of elongated coins, the Contemporary Elongateds. This class of elongated coin machines were designed and built by Randy and Earl Vaughn from Dayton and these mechanical coin-operated machines are still prominent in amusement parks such as Disney Resorts and attractions throughout the United States, and the world. The first ever stand alone coin-operated mechanical penny press machine was placed in Kings Island Amusement park in 1988 by manufacturer Uncommon Cents, the hobby of collecting elongated coins has expanded throughout the United States and the world. Most modern coin elongating machines can be found in museums or landmark gift shops, souvenir stores, zoos, amusement parks, private engravers make special-issue elongated coins to commemorate historical events, personal landmarks, or other events warranting celebration. They also design elongated coins for private clubs and organizations and it is common to find pressed penny machines in tourism hubs, such as museums, amusement parks, and natural/man-made landmarks. An early and common method of coin elongation was smashing pennies by leaving them on a railroad track. When a train rolls over a penny, the force is sufficient to cause plastic deformation that flattens and stretches it into an oval, some early railroad flattened cents were then hand engraved with the date and location. One of the rollers is engraved with a design that imprints a new image into the metal as the passes through it. The resulting coin is oval-shaped and shows a design corresponding to the design on the die in the mill, some machines are hand operated, whereas others are fully automatic. Throughout the history of the production of elongated coins, various methods have used to engrave the design into the roller. Early elongateds were hand engraved with burin gravers, and some are still engraved using this method, more popular modern and contemporary methods include etching, pantograph engraving, and engraving using electric or air-powered rotary tools
28.
Fop
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Fop became a pejorative term for a foolish man excessively concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th-century England. Some of the many similar alternative terms are coxcomb, fribble, popinjay, fashion-monger. Macaroni was another term, of the 18th century, more concerned with fashion. A modern-day fop may also be a reference to a person who is excessively concerned about his clothing, luxuries, minor details, refined language. He is generally incapable of engaging in conversations, activities or thoughts without the idealism of aesthetics or pleasures, an early example of the usage is in the restoration drama The Soldiers Fortune, in which a woman dismisses a potential suitor by saying Go, you are a fop. The fop was a character in English literature and especially comic drama. He is a man of fashion who overdresses, aspires to wit, and generally puts on airs and he may be somewhat effeminate, although this rarely affects his pursuit of an heiress. He may also overdo being fashionably French by wearing French clothes, an example of the so-called Frenchified fop is Sir Novelty Fashion in Colley Cibbers Loves Last Shift. Vanbrugh planned The Relapse around particular actors at the Drury Lane Theatre, including Colley Cibber, the sexual recklessness of beau may imply homosexuality. Shakespeares King Lear contains the word, in the sense of a fool, and before him Thomas Nashe, in Summers Last Will and Testament. He, like a Fop & an Ass must be making himself a public laughing-stock, osric, in Hamlet has a great deal of the fops affected manner, and much of the plot of Twelfth Night revolves around tricking the puritan Malvolio into dressing as a fop. In the 1900s, fictional heroes began to pose as fops to conceal their true activities, a similar image is cultivated by Zorros public identity, Don Diego de la Vega. This continued with the fiction and radio heroes of the 1920s and 1930s. The fashion and socialising aspects of being a fop are present in some interpretations of Batmans second identity Bruce Wayne and in the protagonist of the novel American Psycho, Patrick Bateman. In Thomas Manns 1912 novella Death in Venice a fop is derided by the character, Gustave von Aschenbach, ironically so. Pop stars often dressed in what might be termed foppish clothing, while many characters from popular culture had a tendency to foppish appearance, e. g. Adam Adamant Lives. The third incarnation of Doctor Who and Jason King, they tended not to exhibit mannerisms associated with fops, the British Fops, or Lucien Callow and Fagan, appeared in several episodes during the Saturday Night Live 1995–1996 seasons. The characters first appeared on Weekend Update as the presidents of the Norm Macdonald fan-club, the Fops would appear in late Restoration period clothing, and used a silly take on the periods language, mannerisms, and culture, not sparing the subsequent perversion also known for the time
29.
Cedric the Entertainer
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Cedric Antonio Kyles, better known by his stage name, Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor, comedian, director, and game show host. He was originally the host on Its Showtime at the Apollo and he also hosted BETs ComicView during the 1993-1994 season and Def Comedy Jam in 1995. He is best known for co-starring with Steve Harvey on The WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show and he hosted the twelfth season of daytime version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the 2013-2014 television season. He also starred in the TV Land original series The Soul Man, Cedric was born on April 24,1964 in Jefferson City, Missouri, and is the son of Rosetta, a school teacher, and Kittrell Kyles, an employee of a railroad company. His only sibling is his younger sister Sharita Kyles Wilson, an adjunct instructor at the University of Memphis in Memphis. He was raised in Caruthersville, Missouri, but after junior school he moved to Berkeley. Cedric is a graduate of Berkeley High School in St. Louis northern suburbs, while Cedric attended Berkeley High, he developed a very severe rash on the top of his head, forcing him to wear a hat for the rest of his career. In 2005, Cedric told CNN he no longer cares about his rash and is proud of it and he continues his involvement with his high school by awarding a scholarship each year to a graduating senior through his Cedric the Entertainer Charitable Foundation Inc. The foundations motto is, Reaching Out. Giving Back and he is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. Mr. Kyles recently was awarded the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Fine Arts, in 1996, Cedric moved into acting, playing Steve Harveys friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson, on the sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show. These comments were spoken in character, were part of the script, in the 2005 animated film Madagascar, Cedric voiced Maurice the aye aye. In October 2005, Cedric joined the Champ Car auto racing series as a part owner, Cedric appeared in the movie Charlottes Web as the voice of Golly the gander. While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up and traveled the country as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners, with Steve Harvey, the act was later made into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy. Cedric briefly had his own comedy show called Cedric the Entertainer Presents. The show had been renewed for a season, but Fox canceled it before the season began. He then appeared in the 2003 PlayStation 2 video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 and his most recent HBO Comedy Special was titled Cedric The Entertainer, Taking You Higher. Two of the dancers from the special were Kamilah Barrett and Sandra Colton. He also recorded comedic interludes on two multi-platinum selling albums, Nellys Country Grammar and Jay-z Black Album and he then starred in the 2008 films Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins and Street Kings
30.
Largo (nightclub)
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Cafe Largo was founded by Jean-Pierre Boccara, a nightclub entrepreneur, in 1989. Cafe Largo featured music, cabaret, vaudeville, comedy and spoken word, the LA Weekly named Cafe Largo LAs Best Supper Club in 1990. The New York Times ran a substantive review A Place for Poetry in Land of Pictures on July 12,1989, the 1989 Reader review was titled Cafe Largo mixes food and music-memorably. More critical acclaim and reviews was received in Newsweek, LA Style, LA Times, Los Angeles, Buzz, Exposure, Movieline, The Edge, Details, Village View, Vogue, Interview, Playboy, and US Magazine. In March 1992 Boccara sold the place to Mark Flanagan and his wife Aimee Cain who shortened the name to Largo, Boccara went on to open LunaPark on Robertson Blvd in West Hollywood and operated it from Halloween 93 to Halloween 2000. Flanagan began operating Largo in April 1992, in 1996, Flanagan re-established Largo as an intimate cabaret with live music mainly in the piano bar tradition. Largos original location on Fairfax Avenue had 100 seats with a full capacity of 130. The club had a no talking or cellphone use policy during performances. Flanagan persuaded Jon Brion to take a regular Friday-night residence at Largo, brions extensive friendships brought more talented singer-songwriters to perform at the club, notably including Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Fiona Apple, and Elliott Smith. The typical Largo show involves a mix of music and stand-up comedy, Mann and Penn developed a road show called Acoustic Vaudeville on the Largo format, which they have taken to Chicago and New York. Seinfeld co-creator Larry David is seen performing stand-up comedy at Largo in his 1999 HBO special Larry David, Brion names the genre celebrated by Largo as unpopular pop, and underlines the emphasis on lyrics with Were all song sluts here. Many of the Largo regulars have had histories of albums their labels wont release. Though generally tied together by this common esthetic, performers come from many traditions including country, rock, brad Mehldau released a jazz album produced by Jon Brion entitled Largo. Toad the Wet Sprocket singer/songwriter Glen Phillips performs regularly and has recorded a live album Live at Largo at the club, andy Prieboy developed his musical White Trash Wins Lotto at the club. Condoleezza Rice rehearsed her famous duet with Yo-Yo Ma at Largo in 2001, the band Tenacious D largely got their start at Largo, which in turn launched the career of actor/comedian Jack Black. Dan Finnerty started The Dan Band at Largo, doing monthly shows there before his stints in Old School, the band Wild Colonials largely got their start at Largo with a successful Tuesday night residency that lasted nine months during 1992/1993. A five track CD of Elliott Smith playing solo at Largo was released in October 2007, accompanying Autumn de Wildes book, sarah Silverman taped her HBO stand-up special at the Largo before an audience of 39. On June 2,2008, Flanagan closed the club and moved to the Coronet Theatre on La Cienega Boulevard, Jon Brion continues his residency on a monthly basis, performing on Friday usually near the end of each month
31.
Fiona Apple
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Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. Classically trained on piano as a child, Apple began composing her own songs when she was 8 years old. Her debut album, Tidal, written when Apple was 17, was released in 1996 and she followed with When the Pawn. produced by Jon Brion, which was also critically and commercially successful and was certified platinum. For her third album, Extraordinary Machine, Apple again collaborated with Brion, however, Apple was reportedly unhappy with the production and opted not to release the record, leading fans to erroneously protest Epic Records, believing that the label was withholding its release. The album was eventually re-produced without Brion and released in October 2005 to critical acclaim, in 2012, she released her fourth studio album, The Idler Wheel. which received universal critical praise and was followed by an extensive tour of the USA. Born in New York City in 1977, Apple is the daughter of singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart and her maternal grandparents were dancer Millicent Green and big band vocalist Johnny McAfee. Her sister sings cabaret under the stage name Maude Maggart, Apple grew up in Morningside Gardens in Harlem with her mother and sister, but spent summers with her father in Los Angeles. Apple was classically trained on piano as a child, and began composing her own pieces by the age of eight, when learning to play piano, she would often take sheet music and translate guitar tablature into the corresponding notes. Apple later began to play along with jazz standard compositions after becoming proficient, through which she discovered Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, at age 12, Apple was raped outside the apartment she shared with her mother and sister. She then developed an eating disorder, purposely slimming her developing body, in 2000, she insisted that she did not write songs about the trauma, It doesnt get into the writing. Its such a fuckin old pain that, you know, theres nothing poetic about it, schenker then passed the tape along to Sony Music executive Andy Slater. Apples abilities captured his attention, and Slater signed her to a record deal, in 1996, Apples debut album, Tidal, was released by Work Records and Columbia Records. The album sold 2.7 million copies and was certified three times platinum in the U. S. Criminal, the single, became a hit. The songs controversial Mark Romanek-directed music video played on MTV, other singles from Tidal included Shadowboxer, Sleep to Dream, and Never Is a Promise. Apple accepted MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist for her song Sleep to Dream in 1997 The New Yorker, when I have something to say, Ill say it, she said, responding to these criticisms in an article in Rolling Stone in January 1998. During this period, Apple also made recordings of The Beatles Across the Universe and she later canceled the last twenty-one dates on a tour in support of her album due to personal family problems. Apples second album, When the Pawn. was released in 1999 and its full title is a poem Apple wrote after reading letters that appeared in Spin regarding an article that had cast her in a negative light in an earlier issue. The titles length earned it a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for 2001
32.
Jack Black
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Thomas Jacob Jack Black is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. His acting career has been extensive, starring primarily in comedy films and he has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. Black is the lead vocalist of the rock group Tenacious D which he formed in 1994 with friend Kyle Gass. They have released the albums Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny and his mother was born Jewish, while his father converted to Judaism. Black was raised in the Jewish faith, attending Hebrew school, on a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he said his surname may have come from the occupational name of blacksmith. Blacks parents divorced when he was 10, Black moved to Culver City with his father, as a child, Black appeared in a commercial for the Activision game Pitfall. in 1982. This was shown during his appearances as an adult actor on Jimmy Kimmel Live. For high school, Blacks parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, Black also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attended UCLA but dropped out during his year to pursue a career in entertainment. Fellow UCLA student, Tim Robbins, later cast Black in Bob Roberts, Black gained recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series, Mr. Show. Black first acted in a commercial at age 13 for the video game Pitfall. Blacks adult career began with acting on prime time television and he played roles on shows including Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, Mr. Show, Picket Fences, The Golden Palace, and The X-Files. Black appeared in the unaired TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack, directed by Ben Stiller and he was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by Owen Wilson. Black later took on roles in Airborne, Demolition Man, Waterworld, The Fan, The Cable Guy. Tim Robbins Dead Man Walking, The Jackal, Enemy of the State and he had a small role in True Romance as a security guard, but the scene was deleted. In 2000, Black appeared in the movie High Fidelity as an employee in John Cusacks record store. He soon gained leading roles in such as Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Year One. He received particular praise for his role in the well-received School of Rock, earning critical acclaim
33.
Dave Foley
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David Scott Dave Foley is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, writer and producer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, responsible for their eponymous sketch show and he played Dave Nelson in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Flik in A Bugs Life and hosted the game show Celebrity Poker Showdown. Foley was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada the son of Mary, a homemaker, and Michael and he played Lewis Allen in the miniseries Anne of Avonlea. Foley, McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson formed The Kids in the Hall, Foley played some characters, including Hecubus, one of the Sizzler sisters, the A. T. & Love boss, Bruno Puntz Jones, Mr. Heavyfoot, Jocelyn, when it was greenlit, Foley did the film because he was contractually obligated. He is the member of the group who is uncredited as a writer. Foley rejoined the troupe in 2000 and has been a part of their various reformations. He appeared in the Kids in the Hall 2010 reunion project Death Comes to Town, paul Simms, creator of NewsRadio, happened to be a huge fan of Foleys work and wrote the role of Dave Nelson specifically for him. Much of his character on the show was based on his own personality quirks, including his coffee addiction, Foley was recently reunited with NewsRadio writer Joe Furey when he recorded the special featurette Working with Joe Furey, an add-on to Fureys comedy Love and Support. Foley released his special, Relatively Well in January 2013. In the comedy-thriller The Wrong Guy, Foley played Nelson Hibbert, in 2001, he played the boss of N Sync singer Lance Bass in the film On the Line. In 2004, Foley became host of Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo, in 2007, he appeared nude in Uwe Bolls film adaptation of the controversial PC game Postal and became the judge for the US version of Thank God Youre Here. He also guest-starred in the 2007 special, Bob & Doug McKenzies Two-Four Anniversary and he played a high school principal in Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2011, he appeared in How I Met Your Mother as Marshalls possible future boss, from 2011 to 2012, Foley played Jerry Dunham, the boss of Andrew Carlson in the short-lived CBS sitcom How to Be a Gentleman. In 2012 and 2013, Foley played Dr, in February 2013, Foley played Detective Bob in the TV Land sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, starred in the third season of Robson Arms on CTV and also starred CTVs new sitcom Spun Out in 2014. Foley currently stars in ABCs Dr. Ken, in 2009, Foley was hired by 49 North Inc. To date, the series is one of 49 North Inc. /Fuel Industries most successful web series at well over 20,000 hits since the beginning of 2010, no word has yet been released as to a second season being filmed. In 1993, Foley appeared along with Mark McKinney and Kevin McDonald in the video for the Vancouver band Odds
34.
Zach Galifianakis
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Zachary Knight Zach Galifianakis is an American actor, writer and comedian. He came to prominence with his Comedy Central Presents special in 2001 and he has also starred in films, such as The Hangover trilogy, Due Date, The Campaign, Birdman or, Puss in Boots, Masterminds and The Lego Batman Movie. Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina and his mother, Mary Frances, is a community arts center owner, and his father, Harry, is a heating oil vendor. He has a sister named Merritt and an older brother named Greg. His cousin is Washington Post cartoonist Nick Galifianakis and his uncle, a politician, is also named Nick Galifianakis. Galifianakis attended Wilkes Central High School, and subsequently attended but did not graduate from North Carolina State University and he began acting on television, guest-starring in Boston Common and joined Saturday Night Live as a writer but lasted only two weeks. Galifianakis co-starred in the film Out Cold, and had roles in Corky Romano, Below, Bubble Boy, Heartbreakers, Into the Wild, Super High Me, Little Fish Strange Pond. In September 2001, he appeared in one episode of Comedy Central Presents and it included a stand-up routine and a segment with a piano, and concluded with an a cappella group, singing Eternal Flame by The Bangles while he made jokes. One episode featured Largo regulars Jon Brion and Rhett Miller as musical guests and he played Davis in the Fox drama series, Tru Calling. He appeared many times on Jimmy Kimmel Live. and played Frisbee in four episodes of Reno 911. Galifianakis played Alan Finger on the Comedy Central show Dog Bites Man and he also guest-starred in the episode of the Comedy Central show The Sarah Silverman Program as Fred the Homeless Guy. In 2006, Galifianakis appeared in Fiona Apples music video for the song Not About Love, a year later, Kanye West employed Galifianakis and indie rock musician Will Oldham for similar purposes in the second version of the video for his song Cant Tell Me Nothing. In June 2006, Galifianakis released the single Come On and Get It and they chose to perform at live rock clubs as opposed to comedy clubs to try to reach a different audience. Much of the tour was taped and has featured in both a short-lived TV series on Comedy Central and a full-length movie that has appeared at SXSW. On February 22,2008, he made an appearance on the Jackassworld. com,24 Hour Takeover and he interviewed various members of the Jackass cast. Galifianakis starred in first leading role in the independent film Visioneers which played in cities in 2008. The film which was released on direct-to-DVD and he also completed the pilot Speed Freaks for Comedy Central. Galifianakis has a series of videos on the Funny or Die website titled Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis where he interviews with popular celebrities between two potted ferns
35.
Ed Helms
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Edward Parker Ed Helms is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show as well as playing Andy Bernard in the U. S. version of The Office, Helms was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, John A. Helms, was a lawyer, insurance executive, and Navy veteran, Helms is the youngest of three children, having one sister and one brother. Helms had open-heart surgery to correct a heart murmur at age 14. He graduated from The Westminster Schools one year after The Office cast-mate Brian Baumgartner in 1992, Helms entered Oberlin College as a geology major, but ended up graduating in 1996 with his B. A. in film theory and technology. He spent a semester as a student at New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts. Helms is the recipient of a degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College. In May 2014, Helms gave the speech at Cornell University, alma mater of Andy Bernard. In May 2015, Helms gave the speech at the University of Virginia. Helms concurrently worked as a film editor at Crew Cuts. While doing so, he recorded some rough voiceover scratch tracks that led to paying voiceover work. Helms was performing comedy in New York City when, as he recalled in a 2005 interview, I read for the part, and got it. He has also contributed to the This Week in God segment and his 2005 segment Battle of the Bulge, which focused on the wearing of Speedo bathing suits on the beaches of Cape May, New Jersey, and his Mass. Hysteria segment, in which he reported criticism of Massachusetts when it became the first state to legalize gay marriage, are regarded by TV Guide as his signature segments on the program, Helms left the show in 2006, but has occasionally returned for brief appearances. On July 21,2008 he returned for Obama Quest – a segment covering then-Senator Barack Obamas trip to Iraq and he occasionally narrates the Prescott Group educational films on sister series The Colbert Report. Helms was a regular starting with the 3rd season. I cant remember when they started merging, Helms returned to The Daily Show on December 5,2006, stating he had been gone because he was undercover at a paper company in Scranton, an allusion to his stint on The Office. In February 2007, NBC announced that Helms had been promoted to series regular, Helms quickly became a solidifying part of the cast, and eventually came to be one of the shows producers
36.
Aimee Mann
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Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist. She was the bassist and a vocalist for the band Til Tuesday during the 1980s and since then she has released albums. Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, attended Midlothian High School in Chesterfield County, in 1978, Mann enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She dropped out of Berklee and joined the Boston punk band the Young Snakes, in 1983, the band released the EP Bark Along with the Young Snakes. In 1983, Mann co-founded the new wave band Til Tuesday with Berklee classmate, in 1985, the band released Voices Carry, the debut album with the title track inspired by Manns breakup with Hausman. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, in 1986, the band released Welcome Home, their second album. In 1987, she sang vocals with Geddy Lee on the single Time Stand Still by rock band Rush from their 1987 album Hold Your Fire and she also appeared in the music video for the song. In 1988, the band released Everythings Different Now, their third, shortly after its release, Mann said that she was much more pleased with it than the debut, primarily because she felt it made more of a personal statement about her life. The band broke up in 1990 when Mann left to start her solo career, in 1993, Mann released her debut solo album, Whatever, which sold modestly but met with critical praise. In 1995, Mann released Im with Stupid, her album, through Geffen Records which, like her debut, garnered positive reviews. In 2000, Mann released Bachelor No,2, released on SuperEgo, which included some songs from Magnolia and new material. In 2001, she joined the panel for the 1st Annual Independent Music Awards. In 2002, Mann released Lost in Space, an album which features art by Seth, the song High on Sunday 51 from this album was used on the soundtrack of Third Watch, Season 4, Episode 13. The following year she released Lost in Space Special Edition, which features a disc containing six live recordings as well as two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs. In 2004, Mann released Live at St. Anns Warehouse, in 2005, Mann released The Forgotten Arm, a concept album set in the 1970s about two lovers who meet at the Virginia State Fair and go on the run. The Joe Henry-produced album, which was recorded live with few overdubs. The following year Mann received a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the albums artwork, in 2006, Mann released One More Drifter in the Snow, a Christmas album featuring both covers and new songs. Smilers, which features Grammy-nominated artwork by Gary Taxali, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 32 and on the Top Independent Albums chart at number 2
37.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
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Alfred Matthew Weird Al Yankovic is an American singer, songwriter, parodist, record producer, satirist, actor, voice actor, music video director, film producer, and author. Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has more than 12 million albums, recorded more than 150 parody and original songs. His works have earned him four Grammy Awards and a further 11 nominations, four gold records, Weird Als first top ten Billboard album and single were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career. His latest album, Mandatory Fun, became his first number-one album during its debut week and he directed later videos himself and went on to direct for other artists including Ben Folds, Hanson, The Black Crowes, and The Presidents of the United States of America. Weird Al has stated that he may forgo traditional albums in favor of timely releases of singles, in addition to recording his albums, Weird Al wrote and starred in the film UHF and The Weird Al Show. He has also made guest appearances and voice acting roles on television shows and video web content. He has also written two books, When I Grow Up and My New Teacher and Me. Yankovic was born in Downey, California and raised in Lynwood. He is the child of Mary Elizabeth and Nick Yankovic. Mary, who was of Italian and English descent, had come to California from Kentucky, Als first accordion lesson, which sparked his career in music, was on the day before his sixth birthday. A door-to-door salesman traveling through Lynwood offered the Yankovic parents a choice of accordion or guitar lessons at a music school. Yankovic said that parents chose the accordion because they were convinced it would revolutionize rock and he continued lessons at the school for three years before continuing to learn on his own. Yankovics early accordion role models included Frankie Yankovic and Myron Floren, in the 1970s, Yankovic was a big fan of Elton John and claims Johns Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album was partly how I learned to play rock n roll on the accordion. Other sources of inspiration for his comedy come from Mad magazine, Monty Python, Yankovic began kindergarten a year earlier than most children, and he skipped second grade. My classmates seemed to think I was some kind of rocket scientist so I was labeled an early on. As his unusual schooling left him two years younger than most of his classmates, Yankovic was not interested in sports or social events at school and we started the club just to get an extra picture of ourselves in the yearbook. Weird Al graduated in 1975 and was valedictorian of his senior class, Yankovic attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where he earned a bachelors degree in architecture. Yankovic received his first exposure via southern California and syndicated radio personality Dr. Dementos radio show, saying If there hadnt been a Dr. Demento. The tapes first song, Belvedere Cruisin - about his familys Plymouth Belvedere - was played on Dementos comedy radio show, launching Yankovics career
38.
Golden Age of Radio
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The old-time radio era, sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Radio, was an era of radio programming in the United States during which radio was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the beginning of broadcasting in the early 1920s and lasted until the 1950s. During this period radio was the only broadcast medium, and people regularly tuned into their favourite radio programs, according to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey,82 out of 100 Americans were found to be radio listeners. Since this era, radio programming has shifted to a narrow format of news, talk, sports. It allowed subscribers to eavesdrop on live performances and hear news reports by means of a network of telephone lines. The development of radio eliminated the wires and subscription charges from this concept, on Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden is said to have broadcast the first radio program, consisting of some violin playing and passages from the Bible. The first apparent published reference to the event was made in 1928 by H. P, davis, Vice President of Westinghouse, in a lecture given at Harvard University. In 1932 Fessenden cited the Christmas Eve 1906 broadcast event in a letter he wrote to Vice President S. M, Fessendens wife Helen recounts the broadcast in her book Fessenden, Builder of Tomorrows, eight years after Fessendens death. The issue of whether the 1906 Fessenden broadcast actually happened is discussed in Donna Halpers article In Search of the Truth About Fessenden and also in James ONeals essays. It was not until after the Titanic catastrophe in 1912 that radio for communication came into vogue. Radio was especially important during World War I as it was vital for air, after the war, numerous radio stations were born in the United States and set the standard for later radio programs. The first radio program was broadcast on August 31,1920 on the station 8MK in Detroit, owned by The Detroit News. This was followed in 1920 with the first commercial station in the United States, KDKA. The first regular entertainment programs were broadcast in 1922, and on March 10, Variety carried the front page headline, a highlight of this time was the first Rose Bowl being broadcast on January 1,1923 on the Los Angeles station KHJ. Several radio networks broadcast in the United States, airing programs nationwide and their distribution made the golden age of radio possible. The networks declined in the early 1960s, Mutual and NBC both closed down their operations in the 1980s, while ABC lasted until 2007 and CBS still operates its network as of 2016. Mutual, ABC and NBCs radio assets now reside with Cumulus Medias Westwood One division through numerous mergers, cBSs radio assets are in the process of being integrated with Entercom as of 2017. Mutual was run as a cooperative in which the stations owned the network
39.
Podcast
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The word arose as a portmanteau of iPod and broadcast. Thus, the files distributed are typically in audio or video formats, the distributor of a podcast maintains a central list of the files on a server as a web feed that can be accessed through the Internet. This process can be automated so that new files are downloaded automatically, files are stored locally on the users device, ready for offline use. Podcasting contrasts with webcasting or streaming which do not allow for offline listening, many podcast players allow listeners to adjust the playback speed. Podcasts are usually free of charge to listeners and can often be created for little to no cost and it is very much a horizontal media form, producers are consumers, consumers may become producers, and both can engage in conversations with each other. Podcast is a portmanteau, invented by BBC journalist Ben Hammersley in 2004, of the words pod — from iPod, despite the etymology, the content can be accessed using any computer or similar device that can play media files. Use of the term podcast predated Apples addition of support for podcasting to the iPod. Other names for podcasting include net cast, intended as a term without the loose reference to the Apple iPod. The name is used by shows from the TWiT. tv network, some sources have suggested the backronym portable on demand for POD, for similar reasons. Podcasting, once a method of spreading information, has become a recognized medium for distributing audio content. Podcasts are similar to programs, but they are audio files. Listeners can play them at their convenience, using devices that have more common than portable broadcast receivers. The first application to make this process feasible was iPodderX, developed by August Trometer, by 2007, audio podcasts were doing what was historically accomplished via radio broadcasts, which had been the source of radio talk shows and news programs since the 1930s. This shift occurred as a result of the evolution of internet capabilities along with increased access to cheaper hardware and software for audio recording and editing. In August 2004, Adam Curry launched his show Daily Source Code and it was a show focused on chronicling his everyday life, delivering news and discussions about the development of podcasting, as well as promoting new and emerging podcasts. Daily Source Code is believed to be the first podcast produced on a consistent basis, Curry published it in an attempt to gain traction in the development of what would come to be known as podcasting and as a means of testing the software outside of a lab setting. The name Daily Source Code was chosen in the hope that it would attract an audience with an interest in technology, Daily Source Code started at a grassroots level of production and was initially directed at podcast developers. As its audience became interested in the format, these developers were inspired to create and produce their own projects and, as a result, as more people learned how easy it was to produce podcasts, a community of pioneer podcasters quickly appeared
40.
The Nerdist Podcast
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The Nerdist Podcast is a weekly interview show about what it really means to be a nerd hosted by Chris Hardwick, usually accompanied by Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The audio podcasts are typically an hour in length and include conversations with notable comedians or entertainers, the show launched February 8,2010. It serves as the flagship podcast for Nerdist Industries, which was founded in 2012 after the success of The Nerdist Podcast, the shows theme song is Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues by the chiptune band Anamanaguchi. Guests typically relate to either stand-up comedy, nerd culture, or both. The first live recording of the show was on April 5,2010, at the Largo in Los Angeles, with guest Adam Savage of MythBusters, in July 2011 the show was recorded live, at midnight, at the Montreal comedy festival Just for Laughs. In 2011 the pilot and a Christmas Eve special aired, with Hardwick, Ray, BBC America aired six more specials throughout 2012. Beginning with episode 4 the show moved from a format to an hour. A 10-episode second season airing in 2013. The podcast was ranked #3 in Rolling Stones The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment, the podcast was ranked #7 in Rolling Stones The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment, published May 8,2014. Nerdist Industries The Nerdist Official Site Nerdists channel on YouTube
41.
Chris Hardwick
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Christopher Ryan Chris Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, television host, writer, producer, podcaster, and musician. He is the executive officer of Nerdist Industries, the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Hardwick originated the role of Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages during its run in Los Angeles. In 2011, he began hosting Ministry of Laughs, a BBC America Britcom block, and Talking Dead, a live hour talk show on AMC following episodes of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Hardwick was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 23,1971, the son of professional bowler Billy Hardwick and Sharon Hills and his maternal grandfather was Italian American, and opened a bowling alley where his parents first met. Hardwick was raised in the Roman Catholic faith of his mother, at 4 years old, Hardwick met struggling comedian and television personality Joan Rivers and became lifelong friends with her, until her death in 2014. Hardwick grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was the 1983 Memphis City Junior High Chess champion. He later attended St. Benedict at Auburndale high school, later moving to Regis Jesuit High School in Colorado, Hardwick studied philosophy at UCLA, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity during his freshman year and graduated in 1993. Hardwick was roommates with Wil Wheaton for some time and they met at a showing of Arachnophobia in Burbank, California. Hardwick was a DJ on Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM during the mid-1990s, in the fall of 1998, he starred in the UPN comedy Guys Like Us, the show aired 12 episodes before it was cancelled in January 1999. Hardwick appeared in Rob Zombies horror films House of 1000 Corpses and he also made a small appearance in Terminator 3, Rise of the Machines. In 2010, he was featured in the film The Mother of Invention and he made guest appearances on such shows as CSI, Crime Scene Investigation, Married. With Children, Boy Meets World and Zoey 101, and was a guest commentator on VH1s I Love the 90s and he appeared as a television host on hip hop group Little Brothers 2005 album, The Minstrel Show. Hardwick is a writer for Wired magazine, wrote for Web Soup and Back at the Barnyard. As part of what Hardwick calls his nerd media empire, he runs Nerdist Theater and he entered into an equity partnership with GeekChicDaily in June 2011 to form Nerdist Industries. Hardwick published a book, The Nerdist Way, How to Reach the Next Level, with Penguin Publishing. In February 2012, GeekChicDaily fully merged with Nerdist Industries and became Nerdist News, on July 10,2012, Nerdist Industries was acquired by Legendary Entertainment. Hardwick was given the title of co-president of Legendarys digital business, Hardwick voiced Alexander Hamilton in The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd and Otis in the Barnyard series
42.
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
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It has locations in the New York neighborhoods of Chelsea and the East Village as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. In 2013, they co-authored a manual The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Training Center teaches longform improv, sketch, writing, parts of directing and various other comedy skills. The training centers philosophy of improv is based largely on the teachings of Del Close, the primary improvisational form is The Harold, and the theater in all its incarnations has had a group of Harold Teams, house teams that perform regularly. Prior to opening their own theatre, the Upright Citizens Brigade performed their signature improv show, ASSSSCAT, first at KGB Bar, Solo Arts was the first semi-permanent home to the Upright Citizens Brigades Harold Teams and is considered by some to be the groups first theatre. The troupes first permanent space was at 161 West 22nd Street, a 75-seat auditorium that used to be the Harmony Burlesque Theater, the original theatre was closed on November 18,2002, after a building inspector ordered the theater to be shut down due to fire code violations. In the months that followed, the theater found a home at the Access Theater on lower Broadway. On April 1,2003, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre opened its second official, in September 2011, UCB opened a second theater on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at 153 E 3rd St. This theater features 124 seats, two lobbies, and a bar known as the Hot Chicks Room in reference to an episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade TV show. Often referred to as Beast, the theater was opened in hopes of showcasing more stand-up comedy. However, today it primarily features improv and sketch shows, in 2005, with Daisy Rosario as general manager, the Los Angeles branch of the theater opened at 5919 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, offering up improv, sketch and stand-up comedy shows nightly. A Los Angeles alternative comedy show moved from its home at the M Bar to join the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In October 2014, UCB announced the opening of UCB Theatre Sunset located at 5419 Sunset Boulevard for November 1
43.
826LA
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826LA is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6–18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Programs are structured around the beliefs that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, 826LA was founded in 2005 and is one of several chapters of 826 National. To serve students across Los Angeles various regions, there are two locations, 826LA in Mar Vista and 826LA in Echo Park, a satellite site at Manual Arts Senior High School in South L. A. opened in 2013. There are six other 826 National chapters, San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/Detroit, Boston and Washington, the store and its initial line of products were conceived by writers Mac Barnett and Jon Korn, and graphic designer Stefan G. Bucher. The store also sells anthologies of work by 826LA writing students, new and back issues of Timothy McSweeneys Quarterly Concern, The Believer, Wholphin, the store also sells a special series of Poketo wallets, celebrating the work of artists and students alike. The short stories written by 826LA students line the inside of Poketos artist wallets, after-School Tutoring 826LA offers free tutoring Monday through Thursday. Tutoring is offered with a focus on personalized instruction, offering local students individualized help with their homework, student writing is compiled and published in chapbook form by two in-house publishing outfits, Dogtown Books and Echo Park Press. Working professionals teach all the workshops, and class sizes are kept small to ensure individualized attention. These workshops focus on a variety of topics, in 2012, two workshops encouraged students to examine their daily lives and share their thoughts and experiences with students in Rwanda and India. Among its many collaborative workshops is Sunday Afternoon For Kids, held at the Hammer Museum in which artists, a popular songwriting workshop brings together local musicians to collaborate with students in the songwriting process. In 2010, an edition of the featured the band The Submarines. In-Schools 826LA also sends volunteers into school throughout Los Angeles, in Spring 2006, Community Photoworks was created, an annual collaboration between 826LA and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Seventh-graders students were taught the basics of composition, explored Los Angeles with cameras. Their photographs and statements were displayed in an exhibition in Venice. Field Trips In the mornings, classes from around Los Angeles visit the 826LA writing labs to participate in engaging, teachers can choose from various field-trip plans, such as workshops in screenwriting and journalism, or request a custom-designed program. Field trips are tailored to complement any teacher’s curriculum, the most popular field trip is Storytelling & Bookmaking, in which classes collaborate to write stories for Mr. Barnacle, the never-seen, always-cranky publisher behind Barnacle & Barnacle Books. With the help of several storytellers, an illustrator, and a typist, a class works together to create characters, a setting, and a plot for an original story. The action builds to a cliffhanger, and then each student has an opportunity to write an ending, create an illustration, bind his or her book
44.
H. G. Wells
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Herbert George H. G. Wells was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, social commentary, Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is called a father of science fiction, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. His most notable science fiction works include The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Wellss earliest specialised training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context and he was also from an early date an outspoken socialist, often sympathising with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote science fiction. A diabetic, in 1934, Wells co-founded the charity The Diabetic Association, Herbert George Wells was born at Atlas House,46 High Street in Bromley, Kent, on 21 September 1866. Called Bertie in the family, he was the fourth and last child of Joseph Wells and his wife, Sarah Neal. An inheritance had allowed the family to acquire a shop in which they sold china and sporting goods, although it failed to prosper, the stock was old and worn out, and the location was poor. Joseph Wells managed to earn an income, but little of it came from the shop. Payment for skilled bowlers and batsmen came from voluntary donations afterwards, a defining incident of young Wellss life was an accident in 1874 that left him bedridden with a broken leg. To pass the time he started reading books from the local library and he soon became devoted to the other worlds and lives to which books gave him access, they also stimulated his desire to write. Later that year he entered Thomas Morleys Commercial Academy, a school founded in 1849 following the bankruptcy of Morleys earlier school. The teaching was erratic, the curriculum mostly focused, Wells later said, Wells continued at Morleys Academy until 1880. In 1877, his father, Joseph Wells, fractured his thigh, the accident effectively put an end to Josephs career as a cricketer, and his subsequent earnings as a shopkeeper were not enough to compensate for the loss of the primary source of family income. No longer able to support financially, the family instead sought to place their sons as apprentices in various occupations. From 1880 to 1883, Wells had an apprenticeship as a draper at the Southsea Drapery Emporium. Wellss parents had a turbulent marriage, owing primarily to his mother being a Protestant, when his mother returned to work as a ladys maid, one of the conditions of work was that she would not be permitted to have living space for her husband and children. Thereafter, she and Joseph lived separate lives, though they never divorced and remained faithful to each other, as a consequence, Herberts personal troubles increased as he subsequently failed as a draper and also, later, as a chemists assistant
