University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880, it is the oldest private research university in California. For the 2018–19 academic year, there were 20,000 students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programs. USC has 27,500 graduate and professional students in a number of different programs, including business, engineering, social work, occupational therapy and medicine, it is the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, generates $8 billion in economic impact on Los Angeles and California. USC is the birthplace of the Domain Name System. Other technologies invented at USC include DNA computing, dynamic programming, image compression, VoIP, antivirus software. USC's alumni include a total of 11 Rhodes Scholars and 12 Marshall Scholars; as of October 2018, nine Nobel laureates, six MacArthur Fellows, one Turing Award winner have been affiliated with the university. USC sponsors a variety of intercollegiate sports and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Pac-12 Conference.
Members of USC's sports teams, the Trojans, have won 104 NCAA team championships, ranking them third in the United States, 399 NCAA individual championships, ranking them second in the United States. Trojan athletes have won 288 medals at the Olympic Games, more than any other university in the United States. In 1969, it joined the Association of American Universities. USC has had a total of 521 football players drafted to the National Football League, the second-highest number of drafted players in the country; the University of Southern California was founded following the efforts of Judge Robert M. Widney, who helped secure donations from several key figures in early Los Angeles history: a Protestant nurseryman, Ozro Childs, an Irish Catholic former-Governor, John Gately Downey, a German Jewish banker, Isaias W. Hellman; the three donated 308 lots of land to establish the campus and provided the necessary seed money for the construction of the first buildings. Operated in affiliation with the Methodist Church, the school mandated from the start that "no student would be denied admission because of race."
The university is no longer affiliated with any church, having severed formal ties in 1952. When USC opened in 1880, tuition was $15.00 per term and students were not allowed to leave town without the knowledge and consent of the university president. The school had an enrollment of 53 students and a faculty of 10; the city lacked paved streets, electric lights, a reliable fire alarm system. Its first graduating class in 1884 was a class of three—two males and female valedictorian Minnie C. Miltimore; the colors of USC are cardinal and gold, which were approved by USC's third president, the Reverend George W. White, in 1896. In 1958, the shade of gold, more of an orange color, was changed to a more yellow shade; the letterman's awards were the first to make the change. USC students and athletes are known as Trojans, epitomized by the Trojan Shrine, nicknamed "Tommy Trojan", near the center of campus; until 1912, USC students were known as Fighting Methodists or Wesleyans, though neither name was approved by the university.
During a fateful track and field meet with Stanford University, the USC team was beaten early and conclusively. After only the first few events, it seemed implausible USC would win. After this contest, Los Angeles Times sportswriter Owen Bird reported the USC athletes "fought on like the Trojans of antiquity", the president of the university at the time, George F. Bovard, approved the name officially. During World War II, USC was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. USC is responsible for $8 billion in economic output in Los Angeles County. On May 1, 2014, USC was named as one of many higher education institutions under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights for potential Title IX violations by Barack Obama's White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. USC is under a concurrent Title IX investigation for potential anti-male bias in disciplinary proceedings, as well as denial of counseling resources to male students, as of 8 March 2016.
In 2017, the university came into the national spotlight when the Los Angeles Times published information about Carmen A. Puliafito, the dean of USC's medical school. After accusations of drug use, he resigned from his position as dean in 2016 and was fired from the school the following year after the news stories were published, his medical license was subsequently suspended pending a decision. The following year, the Los Angeles Times broke another story about USC focusing on George Tyndall, a gynecologist accused of abusing 52 patients at USC; the reports span from 1990 to 2016 and include using racist and sexual language, conducting exams without gloves and taking pictures of his patients' genitals. Inside Higher Ed noted that there have been "other incidents in which the university is perceived to have failed to act on misconduct by powerful officials" when it reported that the university's president, C. L. Max Nikias, is resigning. Tyndall was fired in 2017 after reaching a settlement with the university.
The school did not report him to state medical authorities or law enforcement at the time, though the LAPD is now investigatin
Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars is an American teen drama mystery thriller television series developed by I. Marlene King and is loosely based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard; the series follows the lives of four high school girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader. One year the estranged friends are reunited as they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure named "A" who threatens to expose their deepest secrets; the series features an ensemble cast, headed by Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings, Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery, Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin, Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields, Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis and Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal. The series premiered on June 8, 2010 on Freeform known as ABC Family, ended on June 27, 2017. After an initial order of 10 episodes, ABC Family ordered an additional 12 episodes on June 28, 2010; the ratings success of the first 10 episodes prompted the book series to be extended beyond the initial eight novels.
Since its debut, the series has received mixed reviews from television critics, but remained a relative success for Freeform, garnering a large fandom on social media. It is the first series in the Pretty Little Liars franchise. On March 26, 2013, a spin-off series was announced, titled Ravenswood, but was canceled after one season. On June 10, 2014, Pretty Little Liars was renewed for seventh seasons. On August 29, 2016, Freeform confirmed that the series would be ending after its seventh season in 2017. Filming of the series wrapped on October 26, 2016; the series finale was viewed by an estimated 1.41 million viewers. It had the second-highest rating of any cable TV series; the episode was followed by "A-List Wrap Party", a live special featuring the cast and executive producer King discussing the series ending. On September 25, 2017, Freeform announced that a second spin-off series, titled Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, had been ordered, with Pieterse and Parrish reprising their roles as Alison DiLaurentis and Mona Vanderwaal respectively.
On May 14, 2018, Freeform picked up the series for a 10-episode first season, set to air in 2019. In a 2018 panel, Parrish said that some plot points created in Pretty Little Liars will be resolved during the spin-off. Set in the suburban town of Rosewood, the series follows the lives of five high school girls: Spencer Hastings, Alison DiLaurentis, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin and Emily Fields, whose clique falls apart after the leader of the group, goes missing. One year the remaining estranged friends are reunited as they begin receiving messages from a mysterious villain named "A" and from "A. D.", who threatens and tortures them for the mistakes and lies they have made and told before and after Alison's death. At first, they think it is Alison herself, but after her body is found, the girls realize that it is somebody else who wants revenge. Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings, an extreme perfectionist who likes to please her wealthy family and her friends, she is competitive and an overachiever.
Spencer is strong willed and kind towards everyone around her, but isn't afraid to take down someone, a threat to something she cares about. Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin, a girl who used to have an eating disorder, she was overweight, with the nickname'Hefty Hanna'. After Alison DiLaurentis disappeared, Hanna lost weight and changed her style, which seemed similar to Alison's, with the help of her new best friend Mona Vanderwaal. Over the course of the series, Hanna cares more about the people around her and tries to protect herself and her friends, she is strong. She has had few love affairs through the series. Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery, the mother of Aria and Mike, as well as the wife of Byron, on-and-off English teach at Rosewood High. Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery, an artsy chameleon, intelligent and has a good sense of style. She's the one. Aria spent some time as a "goth", she had pink highlights in her hair. After Alison disappeared and her family moved to Iceland for a year because of Alison's disappearance and her father's infidelity, before returning to Rosewood.
When Aria and her family moved back to Rosewood, she was no longer a "goth" as she used to be, she was a girly-girl. Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz, an English teacher at Rosewood High who begins a relationship with Aria which causes a lot of tension due to her being his student. Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain, a new girl who moves into Rosewood and develops a relationship with Emily, becoming her first girlfriend, she moves into Alison's old house which causes tension with the girls at first but they begin to like her. Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin, Hanna's mother, she is working as a member of the bank until she is arrested as the suspected murderer of Darren Wilden. She is released when Mona takes Pastor Ted posts her bail, she begins working for Mrs DiLaurentis. After the 5 year time jump, she has now turned Radley into a fancy hotel and is working as the manager. Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery and Mike's father, Ella's husband, he is the center of one of the first story lines due to him having an affair with one of his students at Hollis causing all sorts of issues with his family.
Chad Lowe was the first cast member to direct an episode of the series, followed by Troian Bellisario. Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields, the sporty one in the group, she is the best swimmer on the high school swim team, becomes a coach of the team. Emily's demeanor is kindhearted and loyal to those she loves. Emily is a shy closeted lesbian in the beginning of the
The Whole Nine Yards (film)
The Whole Nine Yards is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan and Natasha Henstridge. The title derives from a popular expression "everything, the whole lot" or "all the way". A sequel, The Whole Ten Yards, was released in 2004. Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky is a likable Quebec dentist from Chicago, whose wife Sophie and mother-in-law hate him. Oz’s assistant Jill jokingly asks him to name a price to have Sophie disappear. Oz meets a new neighbor, realizes he is Jimmy "the Tulip" Tudeski, an infamous Chicago contract killer with a bounty on his head from Lazlo Gogolak’s gang. Oz reveals Jimmy’s identity to Sophie, intrigued. Oz befriends Jimmy, shares his unhappiness: his business partner, Sophie’s father, was involved with an underage boy and embezzled from the practice to pay off the boy’s family before committing suicide, leaving Oz in debt. Oz returns home, where Sophie has arranged for him to fly to Chicago and share Jimmy's whereabouts with Gogolak's son, for a reward.
Oz complies. Arriving in Chicago, Oz has no intention of giving Jimmy up. At his hotel, he meets Franklin "Frankie Figs" Figueroa, Janni's enforcer, denies any knowledge of Jimmy, but is brought to Janni’s estate, he meets Jimmy's estranged wife. Janni instructs Frankie to accompany Oz home and keep an eye on Jimmy until Janni and his men can take him out. At the hotel, Oz is told Jimmy knows what Oz has done. Cynthia arrives and tells Oz that Janni and Jimmy both want each other and Cynthia dead to collect a $10 million trust – “the whole nine yards.” Oz and Cynthia drunkenly sleep together, he vows to protect her. In Canada, Frankie and Oz meet Jimmy, who reveals he and Frankie are planning to kill Janni and Cynthia. Jimmy explains Sophie tried to hire him to kill Oz, he plans to lure Janni to Montreal. Jimmy offers to kill Sophie. At work, Oz tells Jill everything, she reveals. She demands to meet her hero, who enlists her help. Oz tries to call Cynthia, en route with Janni; when Janni's gang arrives at Oz's house, Cynthia warns Oz that Janni will kill him after killing Jimmy.
The two watch. Down the street, Sophie meets with another hitman, but when he recognizes Janni and Sophie explains the situation, he heads for the house with a gun. Inside, Janni is distracted by a naked Jill. Oz and Cynthia drive away as Jimmy shoots Sophie’s hitman and discovers he is an undercover Sûreté du Québec detective; as they dispose of the bodies, Oz suggests a deal to benefit everyone. At his office, he alters the dead detective’s teeth to match Jimmy's dental records sets his and Janni’s bodies on fire in Oz's car. Investigators find the remains and believe Janni and Jimmy are dead, discover a recorder in the detective’s car. Oz is cleared of suspicion, Cynthia collects the $10 million, transferring it to Jimmy in exchange for her and Oz’s lives. While Cynthia and Jill are at the bank and Frankie take Oz onto a yacht. Jill urges Cynthia to split the money with her and run, leaving Oz to be killed by Jimmy, but Cynthia realizes she loves Oz and refuses to betray him, Jill assures her it was a test.
On the boat, Jimmy confirms. He points a gun at Oz, but shoots Frankie instead, explaining that Frankie, believing Jimmy had gone soft, would have killed them both. Oz attributes the softness to Jimmy falling in love. Jill jumps into Jimmy's arms. Oz, ignorant of the $1 million, asks Cynthia to marry him. To a bluesy version of "They All Laughed,” the happy couple dance above Niagara Falls. Bruce Willis as James Stefan "Jimmy The Tulip" Tudeski Matthew Perry as Dr. Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky Rosanna Arquette as Sophie Oseransky Michael Clarke Duncan as Franklin "Frankie Figs" Figueroa Natasha Henstridge as Cynthia Tudeski Amanda Peet as Jill St. Claire Kevin Pollak as Janni Pytor Gogolak Harland Williams as Special Agent Steve Hanson The film grossed $57,262,492 during its U. S. theatrical run, with an additional $49,109,159 internationally. Its worldwide total is $106,371,651; the Whole Nine Yards received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 45% based on 100 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 5.2/10 and the site's consensus reading: "Despite a charming cast, The Whole Nine Yards could only tickle half of the critics' funny bones.
The other half thought it an underwhelming, depressing sitcom". Metacritic gives the film an average score of 47%, based on 32 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film one of the more positive reviews, noting in particular that the highlight was Amanda Peet's performance as Jill, which Ebert called "perfect". A sequel titled The Whole Ten Yards with most of the original cast was released on April 9, 2004; the Whole Nine Yards on IMDb The Whole Nine Yards at the TCM Movie Database The Whole Nine Yards at AllMovie The Whole Nine Yards at Box Office Mojo The Whole Nine Yards at Rotten Tomatoes The Whole Nine Yards at Metacritic
Turn the Beat Around
"Turn the Beat Around" is a disco song written by Gerald Jackson and Peter Jackson and performed by Vicki Sue Robinson in 1976 appearing on her debut album, Never Gonna Let You Go. Released as a single, the song went to #10 on the Billboard pop charts, #73 on the soul chart. Robinson received a grammy nomination for best female pop vocal; the track went to number one on the disco chart for four weeks. "Turn the Beat Around" is considered a disco classic and is featured on many compilation albums. "Turn the Beat Around" was written by brothers Gerald and Peter Jackson of the R&B outfit Touch of Class. Peter Jackson knew Al Garrison, an engineer at Associated Studios in New York, via his work as a session drummer, it was at Associated Studios that Touch of Class cut its own demos. Peter Jackson recalls that one Sunday at noontime "I called Al and said...we want to come in and demo... He was leaving at four... He said:'My girl’s coming to pick me up for dinner. You have to be done."Garrison's girlfriend turned out to be singer Vicki Sue Robinson whose debut album was nearing completion requiring one additional track.
On arriving at Associated Studios that Sunday, Robinson overheard the playback of the "Turn the Beat Around" demo which Touch of Class had just recorded and according to Peter Jackson said: "Oh, man, I’ve gotta have that song." Gerald and Peter Jackson demurred, wishing to submit "Turn the Beat Around" along with four earlier demos to be green-lighted for the Touch of Class debut album. Peter Jackson - "Monday, Gerald and I go up to Midland. We’re excited because we know this song is slammin’... took the other four songs and they passed on that one. They said:'We don’t like that one; the lyrics move too fast. You have that jungle beat in there. It’s not what’s happening'." Peter Jackson resultantly called Vicki Sue Robinson to give her the song for her album. When Jackson told Robinson: "'I’ll meet you down on Thirty-Fourth Street' she said:'I made Al give me a copy.'"Robinson recorded "Turn the Beat Around" on September 26, 1975, cutting her lead vocal in a single take after recording her own multi-tracked chorale vocals.
Like the other cuts on Robinson's debut album Never Gonna Let You Go, "Turn the Beat Around" was recorded at RCA Studios with producer Warren Schatz who recalls the basic master of the song was recorded "on a Friday after a depressing week of rain I hated! I listened to it in my office and I just couldn't get it, it had been such a bad week. David Todd, the head of disco promotion at RCA, came into my office and he went crazy over the track! He convinced me to finish it as soon as possible."Issued as a single in February 1976 "Turn the Beat Around" became a club smash subsequently breaking on Top 40 radio in Boston - where it would reach #1 that June - to make a gradual ascent on the national Pop chart: the Billboard Hot 100 to reach a #10 peak in August 1976. Laura Branigan covered the song in 1990, it was released as the third and final single from her self-titled sixth studio album, however only to radio and clubs. The song was co-produced by Branigan and Steve Lindsey for the album, with several remix versions following garnering significant play in Hi-NRG clubs.
In 1994, the song was recorded by Gloria Estefan for the soundtrack to the film The Specialist. Released as a single, it became a hit reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is featured on Estefan's fourth solo album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, she sang the song as her opening performance in VH1's first Divas Live. She took the song to the top spot on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart, making it her first number-one song on that chart in English. Music & Media wrote about the song: "Estefan revives her Miami Sound Machine days of fatback disco by covering an old Vicky Sue Robinson song."Network 40 wrote: "A classic remake of the 1976 Top 10 gem by Vicki Sue Robinson. Uptempo flavor spiced with trademark Miami Sound Machine overtones, this number is a multi-format hit." The chorus is used in the lead out of the 1982 Soft Cell song "Memorabilia". Lil Suzy covered the song for her 1993 album Back to Dance, it was released as the lead single. Cobra Starship covered the song for the MTV movie of the same name.
A television advertisement for "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" featuring Megan Mullally contains the parody "Turn the Tub Around" In the second Star Wars Family Guy episode, the song is parodied as "Turn the Ship Around". The 2005 song "Perfection" by Dannii Minogue and the Soul Seekerz samples "Turn the Beat Around"; this song was covered many times on American Idol. Both Carmen Rasmusen and Diana DeGarmo performed this song at the Top 6 of American Idol Season 2 and Season 3, respectively. Haley Scarnato covered this on the sixth season of American Idol. Jessica Sanchez performed the song on the Top 12 of American Idol Season 11; this song is featured on the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect, as part of the performance by the group Barden Bellas. The song appeared in the 2015 movie The Martian directed by starring Matt Damon; the song is featured in the 2016 Netflix series "The Get Down" created by Baz Luhrmann. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
California
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U. S. the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento; the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, the country's second most populous, after New York City. California has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, its largest county by area, San Bernardino County; the City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. California's $3.0 trillion economy is larger than that of any other state, larger than those of Texas and Florida combined, the largest sub-national economy in the world. If it were a country, California would be the 5th largest economy in the world, the 36th most populous as of 2017.
The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies, after the New York metropolitan area. The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation's highest GDP per capita in 2017 among large PSAs, is home to three of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people. California is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture, innovation and politics, it is considered the origin of the American film industry, the hippie counterculture, fast food, the Internet, the personal computer, among others. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are seen as global centers of the technology and entertainment industries, respectively. California has a diverse economy: 58% of the state's economy is centered on finance, real estate services and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.
S. state. California is bordered by Oregon to the north and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; the state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, from the redwood–Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. Although California is well-known for its warm Mediterranean climate, the large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains. Over time and wildfires have become more pervasive features. What is now California was first settled by various Native Californian tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries; the Spanish Empire claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its successful war for independence but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War.
The western portion of Alta California was organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. 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; the word California referred to the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. The name derived from the mythical island California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia, as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo; this work was the fifth in a popular Spanish chivalric romance series that began with Amadis de Gaula. Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons, as well as griffins and other strange beasts. In the fictional paradise, the ruler Queen Calafia fought alongside Muslims and her name may have been chosen to echo the title of a Muslim leader, the Caliph. It's possible.
Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, inhabited by black women without a single man among them, they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body with great virtue; the island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account of the craggy rocks. Shortened forms of the state's name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. 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 were diverse in their political organization with bands, villages, on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the Chumash and Salinan.
Trade, intermarriage a
Foxtrot
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band music; the dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a 44 time signature instead of 34. Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930s and remains practiced today; the dance was premiered in 1914 catching the eye of the husband and wife duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who lent the dance its signature grace and style. The origin of the name of the dance is unclear, although one theory is that it took its name from its popularizer, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox. Two sources, Vernon Castle and dance teacher Betty Lee, credit African American dancers as the source of the foxtrot. Castle saw the dance, which "had been danced by negroes, to his personal knowledge, for fifteen years, a certain exclusive colored club". W. C. Handy notes in his autobiography. During breaks from the fast-paced Castle Walk and One-step and Irene Castle's music director, James Reese Europe, would play the Memphis Blues.
The Castles were intrigued by the rhythm, Jim asked why they didn't create a slow dance to go with it. The Castles introduced what they called the "Bunny Hug" in a magazine article. Shortly after, they went abroad and, in mid-ocean, sent a wireless to the magazine to change the name of the dance from "Bunny Hug" to the "Foxtrot." It was subsequently standardized by Arthur Murray, in whose version it began to imitate the positions of Tango. At its inception, the foxtrot was danced to ragtime. From the late 1910s through the 1940s, the foxtrot was the most popular fast dance, the vast majority of records issued during these years were foxtrots; the waltz and tango, while popular, never overtook the foxtrot. The popularity of the Lindy hop in the 1940s did not affect the foxtrot's popularity, since it could be danced to the same records used to accompany the Lindy hop; when rock and roll first emerged in the early 1950s, record companies were uncertain as to what style of dance would be most applicable to the music.
Notably, Decca Records labeled its rock and roll releases as "foxtrots", most notably "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Since that recording, by some estimates, went on to sell more than 25 million copies, "Rock Around the Clock" could be considered the biggest-selling "foxtrot" of all time. Today, the dance is customarily accompanied by the same big band music to which swing is danced. Over time, the foxtrot split into slow and quick versions, referred to as "foxtrot" and "quickstep" respectively. In the slow category, further distinctions exist between the International or English style of the foxtrot and the continuity American style, both built around a slow-quick-quick rhythm at the slowest tempo, the social American style using a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm at a somewhat faster pace. In the context of International Standard category of ballroom dances, for some time the foxtrot was called "Slow Foxtrot", or "Slowfox"; these names are still in use. Three distinct styles of slow foxtrot are in common use among ballroom dancers today: the American Social Style, the American Continuity Style, the International Style.
All three are partner dances in which the dancers progress around the dance floor in a counter-clockwise direction and are danced to much the same music. However, they differ in technique and figures; the American Social Style was, to some extent still is employed in the United States as a social and party dance. It is well suited to dancing in a crowded room, by partners who may or may not know each other well, who may or may not have had much formal training in dance, its defining feature is that the dancers close their feet at the end of every figure, as opposed to passing their feet as in the other two styles. As a result, the dancers progress slowly around the room, some figures can be danced in place. Furthermore every figure begins in much the same position, with the two partners facing each other squarely in the closed position and the man starting on his left foot. Since each figure leads so and in the next, it is easy for the leader to string multiple figures together on the fly in an ever-changing sequence.
Body contact is unnecessary and not expected. Hence, the potential social awkwardness of body contact between partners who do not know each other well is avoided; as American Social Style is the only style allowed in bronze level American Style dance competition, this style is sometimes known as "American Bronze Foxtrot". The American Social style uses eight-count figures; the rhythmic alteration between the two is one of the few potential difficulties in the dance. Syncopation is avoided; the six-count figures extend across one and a half measures of music, utilize the rhythm slow, quick, quick. Examples include: the basic movement forward and back, the alternating quarter turns, the rock turns right and left, the promenade, the promenade twist, the promenade pivot, the sway step. Social dancers use the alternating quarter turns to progress in a zig-zag pattern around the room, alternating for variety with the promenade. Rock turns are used for changes of direction in corners. Both the rock turns and balance step can be danced in place, if n
The Masked Singer (U.S. TV series)
The Masked Singer is an American reality singing competition television series. The series premiered on Fox on January 2, 2019, it is based on the South Korean format King of Mask Singer. The show is hosted by Nick Cannon and features celebrities singing in head-to-toe costumes and face masks which conceal their identities from other contestants, the panelists, the audience; the costumes were designed by a four-time Emmy Award winner. On January 30, 2019, Fox announced. Twelve celebrities compete on the show anonymously in costumes over ten episodes; each episode, a portion of the competitors are paired off into face-off competitions, in which each will perform a song of his or her choice. From each face-off, the panelists and live audience vote. At the end of the episode, the losers of the face-offs are subjected to the earlier votes of the panelists to determine who will not continue. In addition to the singing competition, hints to each masked singer's identity are offered during the show; the panelists are given time to speculate the identity of the singer after the performance and ask them a single question to try to determine their identity.
The competitors in the first season were said to have a combined 65 Grammy nominations, 16 multi-Platinum albums, 16 Emmy nominations, 9 Broadway shows, 4 Super Bowl titles, 4 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Following the announcement of the series, it was confirmed by Fox that the judging panel would consist of singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television personality Jenny McCarthy and comedian Ken Jeong, recording artist Nicole Scherzinger, it was confirmed that Nick Cannon would host the show. Throughout the series, various guest panelists appeared in the judging panel for one or two episodes; these guest panelists included actor and comedian Joel McHale and comedian J. B. Smoove, comedian Kenan Thompson. On March 28, 2019, Sharon Osbourne revealed on The Talk that she was supposed to be signed on as a judge for the series. However, she was subsequently removed from the judging panel for X Factor days after declining her role on Masked Singer, due to Simon Cowell telling her they wanted someone younger.
Group number: "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons Group number: "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas Group number: "Make Way" by Aloe Blacc The premiere episode received mixed reviews. Vulture felt that the series was more entertaining, yet "weirder and stupider" than other U. S. music competition programs, described the format as having the "vibe" of "what if Gritty walked out on a soundstage made to look like an arena concert, belted out Sam Smith's'Stay With Me,' was described as'a professional' by Jenny McCarthy, took off his head to reveal he was Joey Fatone, the entire experience felt three clicks away from an episode of Black Mirror?" The judges were considered to be "weak" and " their jobs with all the insight and acumen of an America's Next Top Model contestant trying to decipher the Tyra Mail", that the performances were "underwhelming" due to the contestants not always being singers. However, the format was deemed to have depth for being "a pretty fascinating examination of celebrity culture, mass appeal, performance and fame."Emily Yahr of The Washington Post described the premiere episode as "one of the craziest reality shows of our time", acknowledging other similar reactions to the series.
It was reported that the series premiere was Fox's highest-rated for an unscripted series, outside of NFL lead-outs, since The X Factor in 2011. It set a record for the greatest viewership and 18–49 rating increase for an unscripted series debut after seven days of DVR playback
