1.
Arlington County, Virginia
–
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is coterminous with the U. S. Census Bureau-census-designated place of Arlington, as a result, the county is often referred to in the region simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2015, the population was estimated at 229,164. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal district of Columbia. In 1846, Congress returned the land southwest of the Potomac River donated by Virginia due to issues involving Congressional representation, the General Assembly of Virginia changed the countys name to Arlington in 1920 to avoid confusion with the adjacent City of Alexandria. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington. Arlington is also bordered by Fairfax County and City of Falls Church to the northwest, west and southwest, as of the 2010 census, the population was 207,627. Due to the proximity to downtown Washington, D. C. It is also home to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the many federal agencies, government contractors, and service industries contribute to Arlingtons stable economy. It is the county in the United States by median family income. According to a 2016 study by Bankrate. com, Arlington is the best place to retire, the area that now constitutes Arlington County was originally part of Fairfax County in the Colony of Virginia. Land grants from the British monarch were awarded to prominent Englishmen in exchange for political favors, one of the grantees was Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who lends his name to both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of First Lady Martha Washington, the estate was eventually passed down to Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery during the American Civil War, the area that now contains Arlington County was ceded to the new United States federal government by the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the passage of the Residence Act in 1790, Congress approved a new permanent capital to be located on the Potomac River, the Residence Act originally only allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as what is now the Anacostia River. However, President Washington shifted the federal territorys borders to the southeast in order to include the city of Alexandria at the Districts southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, however, this amendment to the Residence Act specifically prohibited the erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac. As permitted by the U. S. Constitution, the shape of the federal district was a square, measuring 10 miles on each side
2.
Virginia
–
Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
3.
New Orleans
–
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
4.
Louisiana
–
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
5.
East Carolina University
–
East Carolina University is a public, doctoral/research university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities designates East Carolina as a Sea Grant university and an Innovation and Economic Prosperity campus. Founded on March 8,1907 as a training school. The nine undergraduate colleges, graduate school, and four schools are located on these four properties. All of the non-health sciences majors are located on the main campus, the College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences, The Brody School of Medicine, and School of Dental Medicine are located on the health science campus. There are ten social sororities,16 social fraternities, four historically black sororities, five historically black fraternities, one Native American fraternity, there are over 300 registered clubs on campus including fraternities and sororities. Although its purpose was to young white men and women. In 1920, ECTTS became an institution and renamed East Carolina Teachers College. A masters degree program was authorized in 1929, the first such degree granted by ECTC was in 1933. Progress toward full college status was made in 1948 with the designation of the bachelor of arts as an arts degree. A change of name to East Carolina College in 1951 reflected this expanded mission, over the objections of Governor Dan K. The university did not remain independent for long, on July 1,1972, it was incorporated into the University of North Carolina System, the successor to the Consolidated University. Today, ECU is the third–largest university in North Carolina with 21,589 undergraduate and 5,797 graduate students, East Carolina is separated into three distinct campuses, Main Campus, Health Sciences Campus, and West Research Campus. It owns two sports complexes, Blount Recreational Sports Complex and North Recreational Complex and it owns a field station in New Holland, North Carolina. The main campus, also known as the east campus, is about 530 acres in a residential area of downtown Greenville. The 158 buildings on main campus comprise more than 4.6 million square feet of academic, research, many of the Main Campus buildings feature the Spanish–Mission style architecture, inspiration drawn from Thomas Jarvis time as an ambassador to Brazil. He wanted to bring the unique architecture to eastern North Carolina, on the main campus, there are five districts, Campus Core, Downtown District, Warehouse District, Athletic fields and the South Academic District. On the Campus Core, there are 15 residence halls which are divided into three separate neighborhoods, the distinct feature of the main campus is the mall, which is a large tree–laden grassy area where many students go to relax
6.
Jesse James (customizer)
–
Jesse Gregory James is an American television personality and former CEO of Austin, Texas-based Austin Speed Shop. James was the host of the reality TV shows Jesse James Is a Dead Man on Spike TV and Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel, and the focus of the documentary Motorcycle Mania, also on Discovery. After several years working as a bodyguard for Danzig, Slayer, the company grew quickly and soon moved to a larger facility. James has also built and is racing an off-road Trophy Truck and he was the owner of the Cisco Burger restaurant, which opened on April 28,2006, across the street from West Coast Choppers. The 1950s style hamburger stand—named after his pit bull who is now deceased—featured Angus beef burgers, low-fat burritos, organic vegetables. James also had partial ownership in Austin Speed Shop in Austin, other business ventures include the Chopperdogs fan club and the Jesses Girl clothing line. Since 2006, James has nationally published Garage magazine, in November 2013 Jesse James Firearms Unlimited unveiled its first two firearms, a 1911 pistol and AR-15 rifle. In 2000, the Discovery Channel made the documentary Motorcycle Mania, through Jamess show History Of The Chopper there are also glimpses of his involvement with the Hells Angels. He also had an appearance on Discovery Channels Sons of Guns and he appeared on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity played to raise money for a charity, James selected to play for the Long Beach Education Foundation. Due to his performance in raising funds, James was eliminated by Donald Trump on the second-to-last show which aired May 3,2009. Trump repeatedly cited Jamess stoic refusal to contact then-wife Bullock to raise funds for the shows challenges and his show, Jesse James Is a Dead Man, premiered on Spike TV on May 31,2009. The show features James doing death defying stunts, the first episode set a ratings record for Spike, drawing the largest audience ever for an unscripted series on the network, with 2 million viewers. The show is produced by Spike TV, BASE Productions and Jamess company, James has appeared on an episode of Street Customs where he had his pickup truck customized by West Coast Customs. He appeared in an advert for T-Mobiles Google mobile phone with Whoopi Goldberg, Jesse James appeared on Sons of Guns on March 28,2012. He asked the Red Jacket Firearms team to build a customized BAR for him, Jamess Discovery Channel website states that his great-great-grandfather was the notorious outlaws cousin. On July 16,2005, James married his third wife and they met when she arranged for her 10-year-old godson, a fan, to tour the set of Monster Garage. James sought to retain full guardianship, citing fear of the environment in which his daughter would be placed if returned to Lindemulder, in December, James won custody, and Lindemulder was given weekly visitation rights during the daytime
7.
Sitcom
–
A situation comedy, or sitcom, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. This form can also include mockumentaries, a situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the programs production format. The effect of a studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. The terms situational comedy or sitcom werent commonly used until the 1950s, there were prior examples on radio, but the first television sitcom is said to be Pinwrights Progress, ten episodes being broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom between 1946 and 1947. There have been few long-running Australian-made sitcoms, but many U. S. UK sitcoms are a staple of government broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation, in the 1970s and 1980s many UK sitcoms also screened on the Seven Network. By 1986, UK comedies Bless This House and Are You Being Served, had been repeated by ABC Television several times, and were then acquired and screened by the Seven Network, in prime time. In 1981, Daily at Dawn was the first Australian comedy series to feature a gay character. In 1987, Mother and Son was winner of the Television Drama Award presented by the Australian Human Rights Commission, in 2013, Please Like Me was praised by the critics, receiving an invitation to screen at the Series Mania Television Festival in Paris. And has garnered three awards and numerous nominations, nominated to the 2012 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for Best Television Comedy Series. Conversely, however, Canadian television has had greater success with sketch comedy and dramedy series. The popular show King of Kensington, aired from 1975 to 1980, corner Gas, which ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, became an instant hit, averaging a million viewers per episode. It has been the recipient of six Gemini Awards, and has been nominated almost 70 times for various awards, other noteworthy recent sitcoms have included Call Me Fitz and Schitts Creek, Letterkenny and Kims Convenience. Sitcoms started appearing on Indian television in the 1980s, with serials like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, since it ceased production in 1992, the show has earned an estimated billion in syndication fees alone for Televisa. Gliding On, a popular sit-com in New Zealand in the early 1980s, won awards over the course of its run, including Best Comedy, Best Drama. The first Russian sitcom series was Strawberry, which was aired in 1996-1997 on the RTR channel, however, the boom of Russian sitcoms began only in the 2000s - when in 2004 the STS started very successful sitcom My Fair Nanny. Since that time sitcoms in Russia were produced by the two largest entertainment channels of the country - STS and TNT, in 2007 the STS released the first original domestic sitcom - Daddys Daughters, and in 2010 TNT released Interns - the first sitcom, filmed as a comedy. Most American sitcoms generally include episodes of 20 to 30 minutes in length, some popular British shows have been successfully adapted for the U. S
8.
Demolition Man (film)
–
Demolition Man is a 1993 American science fiction action film directed by Marco Brambilla in his directorial debut. The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, the film was released in the United States on October 8,1993. The film tells the story of two men, a crime lord and a risk-taking police officer. Cryogenically frozen in 1996, they are restored to life in the year 2032 to find mainstream society changed, Some aspects of the film allude to Aldous Huxleys dystopian novel, Brave New World. In 1996, psychopathic career criminal Simon Phoenix kidnaps a number of hostages and takes refuge with his gang in an abandoned building, john Spartan uses a thermal scan of the building and finds no trace of the hostages, and leads an unauthorized assault to capture Phoenix. When he is captured, Phoenix sets off a series of explosives that bring down the building, the corpses of the hostages are found in the rubble, leading to the arrest of Spartan for manslaughter. He is incarcerated along with Phoenix in the citys new California Cryo-Penitentiary, during their incarceration, the Great Earthquake of 2010 leads the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara to merge into a single metropolis under the name San Angeles. The city becomes a utopia run under the pseudo-pacifist guidance and control of the evangelistic Dr. Raymond Cocteau, in 2032, Phoenix is thawed for a parole hearing. He inexplicably knows and uses the codes to the security systems. The police, having not dealt with violent crime for many years, are unable to handle Phoenix, lt. Lenina Huxley suggests that Spartan - the police officer who caught Phoenix - be revived and reinstated to the force to help them stop him again. Phoenix escapes and encounters Dr. Cocteau but finds he is unable to shoot Cocteau and they also discover information directing Phoenix towards Friendly, and go off to warn him. At the Scraps underground base, Spartan convinces Friendly of the threat, Spartan and the Scraps ward off an attack by Phoenixs gang, leading to a car chase between Spartan and Phoenix. Phoenix taunts Spartan by revealing that he had killed the hostages before Spartan had arrived in 1996, Phoenix escapes, and Spartan arms himself with help from the Scraps as they emerge in force to get food. Phoenix returns to Dr. Cocteau with his gang, and as the rehabilitation programming prevents him from killing Cocteau and they go back to the CryoPrison and begin to thaw out the most dangerous convicts. Spartan enters the prison alone to fight Phoenix, heavily damaging the facility in the process, Spartan escapes the prison before it explodes and regroups with the police and the Scraps. He then kisses Huxley and the two go off together, lori Petty was originally cast as Lenina Huxley but was replaced by Sandra Bullock after two days of filming due to what producer Joel Silver described as creative differences. The character was named after Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, and Lenina Crowne, originally Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal were offered lead roles in the film. The role of Simon Phoenix was also offered to Jackie Chan, general Motors provided the production team with 18 concept vehicles, including the Ultralite concept vehicle
9.
Speed (1994 film)
–
Speed is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Jan de Bont in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck and it became a surprise critical and commercial success, winning two Academy Awards, for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, at the 67th Academy Awards in early 1995. The film tells the story of an LAPD cop who tries to rescue civilians on a city bus rigged with a bomb programmed to explode if the bus slows down, a sequel called Speed 2, Cruise Control was released in June 1997. Los Angeles SWAT officers Jack Traven and Harry Temple thwart an attempt by a bomber to hold a full of people for a $3 million ransom. They corner the bomber, but as he grabs Harry, Jack shoots Harry in the leg, the bomber turns away, appearing to die in an explosion using his own bombing device. Jack and Harry are praised by their superior, Lieutenant Mac McMahon, some time later, Jack sees a city bus explode. The bomber demands a ransom of $3.7 million. Jack races through traffic and manages to catch up to the bus and he manages to board the bus and explains the situation to the driver, Sam, and everyone aboard, but a small-time criminal fires his gun, wounding Sam. Another passenger, Annie Porter, takes Sams place behind the wheel, Jack examines the bomb under the bus and phones Harry, who uses clues to identify the bomber. The police clear a route for the bus to the unopened 105 Freeway, Mac insists they offload the passengers onto a pacing flatbed truck, but Jack warns about the bombers demands. The bomber allows the officers to offload the injured Sam for medical attention, Jack learns that part of the freeway ahead is incomplete but persuades Annie to accelerate the bus and jump the gap. Jack then directs Annie to nearby Los Angeles International Airport to drive on the runway, meanwhile, Harry identifies the bomber as Howard Payne, a retired Atlanta bomb squad officer with a local address, and takes a SWAT team there. However, the house is rigged with explosives and explodes, killing Harry and his team. Jack attempts to defuse the bomb while riding on a towed sledge under the bus, after being pulled back aboard by the passengers, Jack learns that Harry has been killed and that Payne has been watching the bus the entire time with a hidden camera. Mac gets a news crew to record a transmission, then rebroadcast it in a continuous loop to fool Payne while the passengers are offloaded onto an airport bus before all the fuel leaks out. The bus suffers a flat tire, forcing Jack and Annie to escape via an access panel. The empty bus then reduces to 50 mph, causing it to explode as it reaches an empty Boeing 707 cargo plane, Jack and Mac continue the ruse and head to Pershing Square to drop the ransom. Realizing he has been fooled, Payne poses as a police officer, when the drop is made into a waste can, Jack discovers a hole under the can leading into the Metro Red Line subway
10.
While You Were Sleeping (film)
–
While You Were Sleeping is a 1995 romantic comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub and written by Daniel G. Sullivan and Fredric Lebow. Lucy Eleanor Moderatz is a lonely fare token collector for the Chicago Transit Authority and she has a secret crush on a handsome commuter named Peter Callaghan, although they are complete strangers. On Christmas Day, she rescues him from the oncoming Chicago L train after a group of muggers push him onto the tracks. He falls into a coma, and she accompanies him to the hospital, misinterpreting her, the nurse tells his family that she is his fiancée. At first she is too caught up in the panic to explain the truth. She winds up keeping the secret for a number of reasons, she is embarrassed, Peters grandmother Elsie has a heart condition, one night, thinking she is alone while visiting Peter, she confesses about her predicament. Peters godfather Saul overhears the truth and later confronts her, but tells her he will keep her secret and she spends a belated Christmas with them and then meets Peters younger brother Jack, who is supposed to take over his fathers furniture business. He is suspicious of her at first, but he falls in love with her as they spend time together and they develop a close friendship and soon she falls in love with him as well. After New Years Eve, Peter wakes up and he does not know Lucy, so it is assumed that he must have amnesia. She and Peter spend time together, and Saul persuades Peter to propose to her again, when Jack visits her the day before the wedding, she gives him a chance to change her mind, asking him if he can give her a reason not to marry Peter. He replies that he cannot, leaving her disappointed, on the day of the wedding, just as the priest begins the ceremony, Lucy finally confesses everything and tells the family she loves Jack rather than Peter. At this point Peters real fiancée Ashley Bartlett Bacon, who happens to be married herself, arrives, as the family argues, Lucy slips out unnoticed, unsure of her future. Some time later, while Lucy is at work, Jack places an engagement ring in the tray of her booth. She lets him into the booth, and with the entire Callaghan family watching, in the last scenes of the film, they kiss at the end of their wedding, then leave on a CTA train for their honeymoon. She narrates that he fulfilled her dream of going to Florence, Italy, and explains that, ally Walker as Ashley Bartlett Bacon Monica Keena as Mary Callaghan Julia Roberts was offered the role of Lucy Moderatz but turned it down. The film was a success, grossing a total of $182,057,016 worldwide against an estimated $17,000,000 budget. It made $9,288,915 on its opening weekend of April 21–23,1995 and it was the fifteenth-highest grosser of 1995 in the United States. Also, the film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists,2002, AFIs 100 Years.100 Passions – Nominated Janet Maslin
11.
The Net (1995 film)
–
The Net is a 1995 American cyber action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller. United States Secretary of Defense Michael Bergstrom commits suicide after being informed that he has tested positive for HIV, Angela Bennett is a systems analyst from Venice, California who telecommutes to Cathedral Software in San Francisco. Dale and Bennett agree to meet, but the system in Dales private aircraft malfunctions and it crashes into a tower. Bennett travels to Mexico, on vacation, where she meets Jack Devlin, after seducing Bennett, Devlin pays a mugger to steal her purse as they walk along the beach. He chases the mugger into the foliage and roots through the purse to find the disk before shooting him and he takes Bennett out on his speedboat to kill her as well, but she finds his gun and confronts him. While fleeing with the disk and Devlins wallet, Bennetts dinghy collides with rocks, destroying the disk and she is unconscious for three days. Bennetts home is empty and listed for sale, moreover, because none of the neighbors remember her, they cannot confirm her identity. Bennetts Social Security number is now assigned to a Ruth Marx, when Bennett calls her own desk at Cathedral Software, an impostor answers and offers Bennett her old life back in exchange for the disk. She contacts the other person who knows her by sight, psychiatrist. He checks her into a hotel, offers to contact a friend at the FBI, fellow hacker Cyberbob identifies π with the Praetorians, a notorious group of cyberterrorists linked to recent computer failures around the country. Bennett and Cyberbob plan to meet, but the Praetorians intercept their online chat, Bennett escapes from Devlin—a contract killer for the cyberterrorists, but the Praetorians kill Champion by tampering with pharmacy and hospital computer records. After Bennett is arrested by the California Highway Patrol, a man identifying himself as Champions FBI friend frees her from jail and she realises he is an impostor and escapes again. Bennett emails evidence of the backdoor to the FBI from the Moscone Center and tricks Devlin into releasing a virus into Greggs mainframe, undoing the erasing of her identity. During a battle on the catwalks of a center, in which Devlin accidentally kills the impostor, Bennett ambushes Devlin with a fire extinguisher. Bennett reunites with her mother, and the conspiracy is exposed, the Net was filmed in San Franciscos Moscone Center and Macworld on January 5,1995, as well as at Washington, D. C. locations in April 1995. With an estimated budget of $22 million and a date of 28 July 1995. Including foreign markets, the film grossed $110,627,965 worldwide, based on 47 reviews, it has an average score of 5.1 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes with 36% of critics giving positive reviews. Roger Ebert gave the three out of four stars
12.
A Time to Kill (1996 film)
–
A Time to Kill is a 1996 American crime drama film adaptation of John Grishams 1989 novel of the same name, directed by Joel Schumacher. Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Kevin Spacey star, with Oliver Platt, Ashley Judd, Kiefer and Donald Sutherland, and Patrick McGoohan appearing in supporting roles. Set in Canton, Mississippi, the film involves the rape of a girl, the arrest of the rapists, their subsequent murder by the girls father. The film was a critical and commercial success, making $152 million at the box office. In Canton, Mississippi, two white supremacists, Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard, kidnap a ten-year-old African-American girl named Tonya. They violently rape and beat her and dump her in a river after a failed attempt to hang her, she survives. Tonyas father, Carl Lee Hailey, contacts Jake Brigance, a white lawyer, Brigance admits the possibility that the rapists will walk free. Carl Lee goes to the county courthouse and opens fire with an automatic rifle, Brigance agrees to defend Carl Lee. The rape and subsequent revenge killing gain national media attention, the district attorney, Rufus Buckley, decides to seek the death penalty, and presiding Judge Omar Noose denies Brigance a change of venue. Brigance seeks help from his team, law student Ellen Roark, close friend Harry Rex Vonner, and former mentor and longtime activist Lucien Wilbanks. The Ku Klux Klan begins to organize in the area, klansman Freddie Lee Cobb—Billy Rays brother—targets Brigance, burning a cross on his lawn and threatening his wife and daughter. When Brigance refuses to back down, Cobb kidnaps and assaults Roark, the presiding judge refuses Brigances request for a change of venue to a more ethnically diverse county, meaning that Carl Lee will have an all-white jury. Dispirited, Brigance tells Carl Lee that there is hope for an acquittal. Carl Lee replies that he had him as an attorney because even a racist jury would listen to a white man, as one of the bad guys. During closing arguments, a deeply shaken Brigance tells the jury to close their eyes and he describes, in slow and painful detail, the rape of a 10-year-old girl, recalling the story of Tonyas rape. He then asks the jury, in his comment, to now imagine shes white. After deliberation, a black child out of the courthouse and screams. Jubilation ensues amongst the supporters outside, the Klan, enraged, begins yelling in anger
13.
Hope Floats
–
Hope Floats is a 1998 American romantic drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr. and Gena Rowlands. Birdee is a housewife whose life is disrupted when her husband reveals his infidelity to her on a Ricki Lake-style talk show. She goes home to her mother and the town in which she grew up. Meanwhile, an old friend, Justin, has entered her life, while Justins intentions are clear and good, Birdee struggles with the decision to let him fully into her life. As Birdee and Bernice leave Chicago, Birdee gives Bernice a letter from her father, meanwhile, Bernice is not happy that she left Chicago and is having difficulty adjusting to life in Smithville. Her negative view of the town is worsened when she is bullied by a classmate known as Big Dolores. Adding to Birdees heartache is her status as the school queen bee and a beauty pageant winner. They also havent forgotten Birdees high school snobbery and rub her nose in her televised embarrassment, Ramona tries to mend the gap between her daughter and granddaughter by telling a childhood story of her own. She asks Bernice what shes wishing for her upcoming birthday, even though Bernice says she doesnt have a birthday wish, she secretly wishes for her father to return. That night, drinking a cup of tea before she could sleep, Ramona suffers a heart attack. At the funeral, Bill arrives at the church, Bernice believes her fathers presence is a sign her wish has come true. that her father wants them both to come home. However, it becomes clear to her that her parents split is permanent when Bill asks Birdee for a divorce. Wanting to be with her father, Bernice runs up to her room, packs a suitcase and she is devastated when her father tells her that even though he loves her, he has no room for her in his new life with Connie. Crushed at the thought that her father put another woman before her, Bill turns his back on her and drives off, leaving her sobbing and screaming for him to come back and take her with him at the end of the driveway. Birdee comes to pick Bernice up and carries her into the house, as Birdee comforts Bernice up in her room, Bernice learns the letter was actually written by her mother, and not really by her father. One day at work, Birdee finds Justin outside waiting for her with flowers, as she walks to him, she says, Ok, Mama, stop pushing. After they kiss and embrace, he picks her up, places her in his truck, the final scene shows Birdee, Justin, Bernice, and Travis at a big town event. Birdee is now taking care of Travis and dating Justin, and she and Birdee are much closer because of everything theyve been through, as Bernice finally realizes it wasnt her mothers fault that her father left them and that Birdee really did love her
14.
Practical Magic
–
Practical Magic is a 1998 American romantic comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn, the film score was composed by Alan Silvestri. Bullock and Kidman play sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who have known they were different from each other. But the invocation of the Owens sorcery also carries a price—some call it a curse, Maria Owens, a young witch, is exiled to Marias Island in Massachusetts with her unborn child for escaping her execution. When her lover does not come to rescue her, she casts a spell upon herself to stop falling in love due to heartbreak. The spell becomes a curse for several generations, Gillian and Sally Owens, two descendants of the Owens family, are taken in by their aunts Frances and Jet after the death of their parents. Sally is the more gifted of the two while Gillians talents are more in charm and persuasion, and have been subject to ridicule during their youth. After witnessing their aunts cast a spell on a man for a woman who seems obsessed with having his love, Gillian decides to fall in love, the sisters cast an oath to each other using blood from both of their hands and Gillian leaves for Los Angeles. Sally meets and marries Michael, a local apple salesman and they have two young daughters, Kylie and Antonia. One morning, after several years of marriage, Sally hears the death-watch beetle. Despite tearing up the floor in an effort to find and kill the beetle, Sally and her daughters return to the Owens home to live with the aunts, and realize that the aunts cast a spell so she could fall in love. Sally decides that she and her daughters will not perform magic, as Gillian begins a relationship with Jimmy Angelov in Orlando, Sally is devastated by her husbands death. Gillian feels that Sally needs her and drugs Jimmy to return to Massachusetts, Gillian returns to Sally after Jimmy becomes abusive, but the sisters are kidnapped. Sally puts belladonna into Jimmys tequila, inadvertently killing him, the sisters resurrect him using the forbidden spell from their aunts book of spells, but Jimmy attempts to kill Gillian after being revived. Sally kills him again, and the bury his remains in their homes garden. State investigator Gary Hallett arrives from Tucson, Arizona in search of Jimmy, who is also a serial killer. As Gary begins to suspect Sally, Gillian, Kylie and Antonia create a potion to banish Gary, however, the girls realize he is the one described in Sallys true love spell, and remove the potion. Later, Sally has Gary record her testimony and sees the letter she had once written Gillian, unable to deny their feelings for each other, they kiss and Sally realizes that he was there because of the spell she cast years earlier
15.
Miss Congeniality (film)
–
In 1982, young Gracie Hart steps into playground fight to beat up a bully threatening a boy she likes. She goes to help her friend, but he feels humiliated being rescued by a girl, years later, Gracie is now a Special Agent for FBI. During a sting operation against Russian mobsters, she disobeys her superiors orders to save the mob boss from choking, causing one of the agents to be shot. She is demoted to a job as punishment. Some time later, the agency learns of a threat at the upcoming 75th annual Miss United States beauty pageant in San Antonio. One of Gracies suggestions is to plant an agent undercover at the event, Eric determines that most of the other male agents on his team would be too immature and chauvinistic, and suggests Gracie take on that role. Beauty pageant coach Victor Melling, whose reputation was ruined after his last contestant criticized his methods, teaches the tomboyish Gracie how to dress, walk, though initially appalled by the antifeminist pageant, she comes to appreciate Victors methods. Gracie is entered as Gracie Lou Freebush, representing her state of New Jersey. Though she is scorned by most of the contestants, Gracie becomes friends with Miss Rhode Island. As the competition begins, Gracie impresses the judges with her glass harp skills, Gracie comes to believe Kathy is The Citizen. Gracie convinces Eric that she suspects something is wrong. In the final round, Gracie is stunned when she is awarded the 1st Runner Up prize. Cheryl is named Miss United States, but as she goes to accept the tiara, Gracie recognizes that Frank, suspecting foul play, she stops the crowning ceremony in time, as the tiara contained an explosive. As Kathy and Frank are arrested, Gracie determines that the two wanted to kill the pageant winner on stage as revenge for Kathys termination from the competition. As the event closes down and Gracie and Eric prepare to return to headquarters with a newfound interest in each other, the other contestants name Gracie as Miss Congeniality. Scenes showing the exterior of the St. Regis Hotel, and a few scenes, were shot on location in New York. However, most of the movie was shot in Austin, Texas. The film has a 42% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a metascore of 43 at Metacritic, the New York Times described it as a standard-issue fish-out-of-water comedy which seems happily, deliberately second-rate, as if its ideal audience consisted of weary airline passengers
16.
Two Weeks Notice
–
Two Weeks Notice is a 2002 romantic comedy film starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock from Warner Bros. The film was written and directed by Marc Lawrence, who had previously scripted two other hits for Bullock, Miss Congeniality and Forces of Nature. Although critical response was mixed, the received a successful box office run. Lucy Kelson is a lawyer who specializes in environmental law in New York City. George Wade is an arrogant billionaire real estate tycoon who has almost everything, lucys hard work and devotion to others contrast sharply with Georges world-weary recklessness and greed. Lucy meets George in an attempt to stop the destruction of the Coney Island community center from her childhood and he attempts to hire her to replace his old Chief Counsel, Amber. She knows of his tendencies, but he promises to protect the community center if she works for him. She soon finds that what he really requires is advice in all aspects of his life and she becomes his indispensable aide, and he calls her for every little thing. He is deeply troubled by her resignation and tries to convince her to stay and he also tries to block her from getting any other jobs, as an attempt to make her stay. He finally gives in and has her train her replacement, the attractive and flirtatious June Carver, Lucy then becomes jealous of June before she leaves. After shes gone, George realizes that his time with her has changed him. Meanwhile, in her new job, Lucy is missing him terribly and he goes in search for her, and they confess their feelings for each other. The movie ends with Lucy ordering take out in her apartment with George making jokes about the size of the apartment. Usually when she orders and is asked how many, Lucy replies, one, the film opened at No.2 at the U. S. Box office, raking in USD14,328,494 in its weekend, behind The Lord of the Rings. It had a domestic gross of $93,354,851. The soundtrack music to Two Weeks Notice was released on 28 January 2003, the books original hardcover edition featured Truss in her authors photo, glaring at the poster and holding a marker where the apostrophe should be
17.
Crash (2004 film)
–
Crash is a 2004 American ensemble drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, a self-described passion piece for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real-life incident, in which his Porsche was carjacked in 1991 outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard. The film differs from other films about racism in its rather impartial approach to the issue. Rather than separating the characters into victims and offenders, victims of racism are often shown to be prejudiced themselves in different contexts, also, racist remarks and actions are often shown to stem from ignorance and misconception rather than malice. Matt Dillon was particularly praised for his performance and received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, additionally, the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. It was also nominated for nine BAFTA awards, and won two, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Thandie Newton, today The film begins with commentary by passenger Detective Graham Waters, who has suffered a car accident with his partner Ria. He mentions that the citizens of Los Angeles have lost their sense of touch, Ria and the driver of the other car, Kim Lee, exchange racially charged insults. When Waters exits the car, he arrives at a police investigation crime scene concerning the discovery of a dead kid. Yesterday While purchasing a revolver at a gun store, Farhad, a Persian shop owner, the gun store owner grows impatient and degrades the two of them by referring to Farhad as Osama. Farhad asserts that he is an American citizen, but the store owner continues exchanging racially stereotypical insults at Farhad and has the security guard escort him out of the store, Dorri demands the store owner to give her the gun or give her back the money. After the store gives the gun to Dorri, she asks for the ones in the red box. The store owner asks why, but Dorri does not answer, Anthony and Peter carjack the married couple as they are about to enter their Lincoln Navigator. Later, at the Cabot house, Hispanic locksmith Daniel Ruiz is changing their locks when Jean notices his tattoos. She loudly complains to Rick about having been carjacked and now having to endure a Hispanic man changing their locks, having overheard this, Daniel leaves the keys on Jeans kitchen counter. Detectives Waters and Ria arrive at the scene of a shooting between two drivers, the surviving shooter is a white male, identified as an undercover police officer. The dead shooter, a male, is revealed also to be an undercover police officer. There is an amount of cash found in the black officers trunk. This is the time the white officer has shot and killed a black man
18.
The Proposal (film)
–
The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli. The film stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, Mary Steenburgen and he film was produced by Mandeville Films and released on June 19,2009, in North America by Touchstone Pictures. The plot centers on a Canadian executive, Margaret Tate, who learns that she may face deportation from the U. S. because of her expired visa. Determined to retain her position as editor in chief of a house, Tate convinces her assistant, Andrew Paxton. Initially planning on resuming their lives after Tate resolves her visa issues, development on the film began in 2005, when Chiarelli wrote the films script. Principal filming occurred over a period of two months from March to May 2008, the film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized its script, but praised the chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds. The film was a box office success, grossing over $317 million worldwide, Margaret Tate is an executive editor in chief of a book publishing company. After learning she is about to be deported to Canada because she violated the terms of her visa, she persuades her assistant, Andrew Paxton. She reminds Andrew that if shes deported, the work he put in as her assistant will be lost, Mr. Gilbertson, a U. S. immigration agent, informs them that he suspects they are committing fraud to avoid Margarets deportation. Gilbertson tells them theyll be asked questions about each other separately. If their answers dont match, Margaret will be deported to Canada permanently and Andrew will be convicted of a felony punishable by a $250,000 fine, Andrew insists that Margaret make him an editor after their marriage and publish the book hes been recommending to her. The couple travels to Sitka, Alaska, Andrews hometown, to meet his family, Margaret meets Andrews mother Grace and grandmother Annie, known as Gammy. During the trip to the home, Margaret notices that nearly every shop in town carries the name Paxton. During a welcome party, Andrew confronts his father, Joe. After their argument, Andrew announces the engagement to everyone, Margaret also meets Gertrude, Andrews ex-girlfriend. The next day, Grace and Annie take Margaret to a bar to watch a strip dance by a locally famous but over-the-hill exotic dancer. Stepping away from the show, Margaret learns from Gertrude that Andrew wanted to become an editor and make his own life, however, Gertrude refused because she didnt want to leave Sitka for New York. Returning home, Margaret learns of the conflict between Andrew and Joe and that night, Margaret asks Andrew about his relationship with his father, but Andrew refuses to talk
19.
The Heat (film)
–
The Heat is a 2013 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Katie Dippold. The film centers on FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Boston Detective Shannon Mullins, the film was released in the United States on June 28,2013. Upon release, the film received mixed to positive reviews critics and was a success at the box-office. FBI agent Sarah Ashburn is an expert and effective investigator in New York City, Ashburns ruthless philosophy clashes with Mullinsnefarious style of law work, proved during their attempt to interrogate local drug dealer Rojas who was captured by Mullins. Under pressure from Hale, her employer, Ashburn reluctantly agrees to work with Mullins as her ally. As they leave the club, Ashburn and Mullins are confronted by DEA agents Craig and Adam, Ashburn and Mullins discover a surveillance video in the DEA agents van showing Mullins brother, Jason, apparently connected to Larkins organization. Jason was recently released from prison, having been put there by Mullins to keep him off the streets, Ashburn convinces Mullins to go to her parents home to ask Jason for information on Larkin. However, Jason does not have any ill feelings toward his sister and they apprehend Julian but are unable to extract any substantial information regarding Larkins whereabouts, even with Mullins going so far as to play Russian Roulette with Julians testicles. The pair spend the evening bonding in a bar, where a drunk Ashburn reveals that her foster child past may be partly to blame for her attitude. After a night of drinking and partying, Ashburn wakes up the following morning to discover that, in her drunkenness. After unsuccessfully pleading for the keys, Ashburn and Mullins watch as the patron starts the car and is killed by a bomb and they discover that Julian has escaped from custody and means to harm Mullins family, so Mullins moves her family into a motel. Jason leaves, intending to join the Larkin organization in an attempt to help Mullins solve the case, Jason gives her a tip about a drug shipment coming into Boston Harbor. Despite Mullins reluctance, Ashburn gets the FBI to take down the shipment, the FBI finds that the ship is actually an innocent pleasure cruise ship. Jason was being tested by Larkin, who shoots Jason for informing the FBI about the drug shipment. Jason escapes death but falls into a coma, a falling out occurs between Mullins and Ashburn, with Mullins vowing to bring her brothers attacker to justice. They then reconcile when they arrest several drug dealers as a way of gaining leads to Larkins whereabouts, Ashburn and Mullins go to equip themselves with assault weapons from Mullins extensive personal arsenal, and infiltrate one of Larkins warehouses. Despite taking out several of Larkins men with a hand grenade, Julian is about to torture them with knives when he gets called away by Larkin. Before Julian leaves, he stabs Ashburn in the leg and leaves the knife in the wound, Mullins removes the knife from Ashburns leg and uses it to cut the rope binding her hands
20.
Academy Award for Best Actress
–
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered a performance in a leading role while working within the film industry. The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 with Janet Gaynor receiving the award for her roles in 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the branch of AMPAS. In the first three years of the awards, actresses were nominated as the best in their categories, at that time, all of their work during the qualifying period was listed after the award. The following year, this unwieldy and confusing system was replaced by the current system in which an actress is nominated for a performance in a single film. Starting with the 9th ceremony held in 1937, the category was officially limited to five nominations per year, one actress has been nominated posthumously, Jeanne Eagels. Only three film characters have been nominated more than once in this category, elizabeth I of England, Leslie Crosbie in The Letter, and Esther Blodgett in A Star is Born. Six women on the list have received an Honorary Academy Award for their acting, they are Greta Garbo, Barbara Stanwyck, Mary Pickford, Deborah Kerr, Gena Rowlands, since its inception, the award has been given to 74 actresses. Katharine Hepburn has won the most awards in this category, with four Oscars, meryl Streep, who has a total of 20 Oscar nominations, has been nominated in this category on 16 occasions, resulting in two awards. As of the 2017 ceremony, Emma Stone is the most recent winner in category for her role as Mia Dolan in La La Land. In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of release in Los Angeles County. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months from August 1 to July 31, for the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1,1932 to December 31,1933
21.
The Blind Side (film)
–
The Blind Side is a 2009 American biographical sports drama film. It was written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side, the storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who played for the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans, and currently is signed with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. Quinton Aaron stars as Michael Oher, alongside Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, the Blind Side grossed over $300 million. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, seventeen-year-old Michael Oher talks to an NCAA investigator. Michael has been in care with different families in Memphis, Tennessee. Every time he is placed in a new home, he runs away and his friends father, on whose couch Mike had been sleeping, asks Burt Cotton, the coach of Wingate Christian School, to help enroll his son and Mike. Impressed by Mikes size and athleticism, Cotton gets him admitted despite his academic record. Later, Michael is befriended by a student named Sean Jr. SJs mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, is a strong-minded interior designer. The school staff tell Michael that his father has passed away, later, Leigh Anne and Sean watch their daughter Collins playing volleyball. After the game, Sean notices Michael picking up leftover food on the bleachers, the next morning, Leigh Anne notices that Michael has left. Seeing him walking away, she asks him to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with her family, slowly, Michael becomes a member of the family. Later, Leigh Anne drives Michael to his mothers house and he sees an eviction notice posted on the door, and his mother is gone. Leigh Annes friends wonder what she is doing, they suggest that Collins might not be safe around Michael and she later asks Collins how she feels about it. Collins replies that they cannot just throw Michael out, when Leigh Anne seeks to become Michaels legal guardian, she learns he was taken from his drug-addict mother when he was seven and that no one knows her whereabouts. She is also told that, although he scored poorly in an aptitude test. When Michael appears to be hesitant to use his strength and size while learning to play football, Leigh Anne tells him, as a offensive lineman, from that moment, Michael improves drastically, well enough to play at the college level. However, to do that, he needs to meet the grade point average to get in so the Tuohys hire a private tutor for him. Leigh Anne has a conversation with Michaels mother about adopting him
22.
Gravity (2013 film)
–
Gravity is a 2013 British-American science fiction adventure film directed, produced, co-written and co-edited by Alfonso Cuarón. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts who are stranded in space after the destruction of their space shuttle. Cuarón wrote the screenplay with his son Jonás and attempted to develop the film at Universal Pictures, the rights were sold to Warner Bros. Pictures, where the project eventually found traction, david Heyman, who previously worked with Cuarón on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, produced the film with him. Gravity opened the 70th Venice International Film Festival on August 28,2013 and had its North American premiere three days later at the Telluride Film Festival. Upon its release, Gravity was met with acclaim, and has been regarded as one of the best films of the 2010s. The film became the film of 2013 with a worldwide gross of over US$723 million against production budget of only $100 million. The film was awarded six BAFTA Awards, including Outstanding British Film and Best Director, the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, seven Critics Choice Movie Awards. Dr. Ryan Stone, an engineer from Lake Zurich, Illinois, is aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Explorer for her first space mission. Veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski is commanding his final mission, Mission Control orders that the mission be aborted and the crew begin re-entry immediately because the debris is speeding towards the Shuttle. Communication with Mission Control is lost shortly thereafter, high-speed debris from the Russian satellite strikes the Explorer and Hubble, detaching Stone from the shuttle and leaving her tumbling through space. Kowalski, using a Manned Maneuvering Unit, recovers Stone and they return to the Explorer and they discover that it has suffered catastrophic damage and the rest of the crew are dead. They decide to use the MMU to reach the International Space Station, Kowalski estimates they have 90 minutes before the debris field completes an orbit and threatens them again. On their way to the International Space Station, the two discuss Stones home life and her daughter, who died young in an accident, as they approach, they see that its crew has evacuated in one of its two Soyuz TMA capsules. The parachute of the remaining Soyuz TMA-14M has deployed, rendering the capsule useless for returning to Earth, Kowalski suggests using it to travel to the nearby Chinese space station Tiangong,100 km away, in order to board a Chinese module to return safely to Earth. Out of air and maneuvering power, the two try to grab onto the ISS as they fly by, Stones leg gets entangled in the Soyuzs parachute cords and she grabs a strap on Kowalskis suit, but it soon becomes clear that the cords will not support them both. Despite Stones protests, Kowalski detaches himself from the tether to save her from drifting away with him and he continues to support her until he is out of communications range. Stone enters the station via an airlock
23.
Minions (film)
–
Minions is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated comedy film, serving as a spin-off/prequel to the Despicable Me franchise. Produced by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures, it was directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, written by Brian Lynch, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy. The film stars the voices of Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, and Jennifer Saunders with the narration provided by Geoffrey Rush. It was first foreshadowed in the end credits of Despicable Me 2, where Kevin, Stuart, Minions had its premiere on June 11,2015, in Leicester Square, London, and went into general release in the United States on July 10,2015. The film has grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the 11th highest-grossing film of all time, the 2nd highest-grossing animated film, a sequel is announced to be released on July 3,2020. Minions are small, yellow creatures who have existed since the beginning of time, after many years, the Minions become depressed, restless and unmotivated without a master to serve. To regain their dignity and sense of purpose, Kevin, one fearless Minion, decides to set out to find a new master, Stuart, a musically inclined Minion and Bob, a young and inexperienced but enthusiastic Minion, are recruited. The trio journey to New York where the year is 1968, the trio manage to hitchhike a ride with a family of villains called the Nelsons and impress them with their accidental villainy. Once at the convention, they see Scarlet Overkill, the first female supervillain and they make their way to England to find Kevin, Bob, and Stuart. Enraged by this, Scarlet confronts the Minions, and Bob abdicates in her favor, Making their way to Westminster Abbey, the three of them interrupt the coronation by accidentally dropping a chandelier on Scarlet, who immediately orders their execution. Dozens of villains chase them and Bob and Stuart are caught while Kevin finds his way into a pub and he sees Scarlet on a television, promising that she will kill Stuart and Bob if Kevin doesnt show up by dawn. Kevin sneaks into Scarlets home to weapons, but inadvertently triggers a machine Herb was building. He tramples through London, rescuing his friends just as the other Minions reunite with them, Scarlet tries to eradicate them, but Kevin swallows a massive missile she fires at them. Scarlet and Herb attempt to escape with her rocket-dress, but Kevin holds onto it, the missile detonates, apparently killing Kevin and the Overkills. After the Minions briefly mourn him, Kevin reappears, having returned to his normal size, Bob gives his crown to the frozen Scarlet, as the Minions see Gru as their new potential master and give chase to follow him home. Sandra Bullock as Scarlet Overkill, a female supervillain. On August 21,2012, it was announced that the film would be released on December 19,2014, in February 2013, Sandra Bullock joined the cast to voice Scarlet Overkill, with Jon Hamm joining two months later as her husband Herb Overkill. The official soundtrack for the film was released on July 10,2015, the soundtrack also features the films original music, composed by Heitor Pereira
24.
United States dollar
–
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
25.
People (magazine)
–
People is an American weekly magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. With a readership of 46.6 million adults, People has the largest audience of any American magazine, People had $997 million in advertising revenue in 2011, the highest advertising revenue of any American magazine. In 2006, it had a circulation of 3.75 million and it was named Magazine of the Year by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising. People ranked #6 on Advertising Ages annual A-list and #3 on Adweeks Brand Blazers list in October 2006, the magazine runs a roughly 50/50 mix of celebrity and human-interest articles. Peoples website, People. com, focuses on celebrity news, in February 2015, the website broke a new record,72 million unique visitors. People is perhaps best known for its special issues naming the Worlds Most Beautiful, Best & Worst Dressed. The magazines headquarters are in New York and it maintains editorial bureaus in Los Angeles, for economic reasons it closed bureaus in Austin, Miami, and Chicago in 2006. In December 2016, LaTavia Roberson engaged in a feud with People after alleging they misquoted and misrepresented her interview online. The concept for People has been attributed to Andrew Heiskell, Time Inc. s chief executive officer at the time, the founding managing editor of People was Richard B. Stolley, an assistant managing editor at Life and the journalist who acquired the Zapruder tapes of the John F. Kennedy assassination for Time Inc. in 1963. Peoples first publisher was Richard J. Durrell, another Time Inc. veteran, Stolley characterized the magazine as getting back to the people who are causing the news and who are caught up in it, or deserve to be in it. Our focus is on people, not issues, stolleys almost religious determination to keep the magazine people-focused contributed significantly to its rapid early success. It is said that although Time Inc. pumped an estimated $40 million into the venture, initially, the magazine was sold primarily on newsstands and in supermarkets. To get the magazine out each week, founding staff members regularly slept on the floor of their offices two or three nights each week and severely limited all non-essential outside engagements. The premier edition for the week ending March 4,1974 featured actress Mia Farrow, then starring in the movie The Great Gatsby and that issue also featured stories on Gloria Vanderbilt, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and the wives of U. S. Vietnam veterans who were Missing In Action, the magazine was, apart from its cover, printed in black-and-white. The initial cover price was 35 cents, the core of the small founding editorial team included other editors, writers, photographers and photo editors from Life magazine, which had ceased publication just 13 months earlier. This group included managing editor Stolley, senior editors Hal Wingo, Sam Angeloff and Robert Emmett Ginna, writers James Watters and Ronald B
26.
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
–
Miss Congeniality 2, Armed and Fabulous is a 2005 comedy film directed by John Pasquin, starring Sandra Bullock. It is the sequel to the 2000 film Miss Congeniality, why does it always have to be a romantic comedy. Why does the girl have to end up with the guy, why cant it be a buddy film. Three weeks after the events of the first film, FBI agent Gracie Hart has become a celebrity after she infiltrated a beauty pageant on her last assignment and her fame results in her cover being blown while she is trying to prevent a bank heist. To capitalize on the publicity, the FBI decide to make Gracie the new face of the FBI, Gracie, ten months later, she begins appearing on morning television giving out fashion advice and promoting her book. However, when Miss United States Cheryl Fraser, and Gracies friend Stan Fields are kidnapped in Las Vegas and she goes undercover to try to rescue Cheryl and Stan accompanied by her bodyguard Sam Fuller, whom she despises. This puts her at odds with the FBI, as they are unwilling to lose their mascot and are unsure if shes still up to the tasks, brian Cosford, Gracies closest confidant, assures her that she is still armed and fabulous. While working on Two Weeks Notice, Bullock and Lawrence joked about ideas for a Miss Congeniality sequel, Las Vegas was featured in an early version of the first film, but was ultimately written out of the script. A five-week shoot in southern Nevada began on April 12,2004, approximately half of the films scenes were scheduled to be shot in Las Vegas. Major filming locations included the Treasure Island and Venetian resorts, scenes shot at Treasure Island included its Sirens of TI pirate show, which had never been featured in a film before and was closed to the public for filming. Other filming locations included the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, in May 2004, filming took place at the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse, which served as FBI headquarters within the film. Filming in Las Vegas concluded in mid-May 2004, and moved to Los Angeles for six weeks of shooting, Bullock also produced the film, and said, It does make for a schizophrenic experience. There are times when Id rather be performing, the film grossed $101 million worldwide. It was generally panned by critics, and has received a 15% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 145 reviews
27.
All About Steve
–
All About Steve is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Phil Traill that stars Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, and Bradley Cooper as the eponymous Steve. The film was panned by critics and is the winner of two Golden Raspberry Awards, Mary Horowitz, a crossword puzzle writer for the Sacramento Herald, is socially awkward and considers her pet hamster her only true friend. Her parents decide to set her up on a blind date, Marys expectations are low, as she tells her hamster. Mary is pleasantly surprised when her date out to be handsome and charming Steve Miller. Steve does not reciprocate her feelings, after an attempt at an intimate moment fails, in part because of her awkwardness and inability to stop talking about vocabulary, Steve fakes a phone call about covering the news out of town. Trying to get Mary out of his truck, he tells her he wishes she could be there, Mary believes him and decides to pursue him. Marys obsession gets her fired when she creates a crossword titled All About Steve, following her termination, Mary decides to track Steve around the country in the hopes of winning his affection. She is encouraged by CCN news reporter Hartman Hughes, who hopes to use Marys encyclopedic knowledge in his reports to help himself get a promotion to become an anchor, on the road, Mary annoys some bus passengers so much, the driver abandons her. She hitchhikes with a trucker named Norm, then meets and travels with a pair of protesters, Elizabeth, a ditzy but sweet and likeable girl, and Howard and she gradually grows close to the two. Steve and crew end up covering a news story, an old mine collapsed with numerous deaf children stuck inside. Initially, it appears that the children are rescued, Mary, who arrives on the scene, accidentally falls into the mine shaft as well while making a beeline for Steve. It turns out not all the children have been rescued. Steve begins to realize that Mary, in her own way, is a beautiful person. Just as Mary figures a way out, the two are joined by Hartman, who is made to feel guilty by Elizabeth and Howard for getting Mary into this predicament, Marys rescue plan works, but she lets Hartman take the credit. Mary finally realizes she does not need Steve to be happy and she states, If you love someone, set him free, if you have to stalk him, he probably wasnt yours in the first place. After the end credits, a competitive TV reporter, in despair that Hartman got popularity by falling into the mine trying to save Mary. Horowitz Howard Hesseman as Mr. Horowitz M. C, parts of the film were shot at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, California. Scenes featuring the collapsed mine and sink hole were filmed at The Walt Disney Companys Golden Oak Ranch in Canyon Country, originally scheduled for release on March 6,2009, the film was not released until September 4,2009
28.
American Broadcasting Company
–
The network is headquartered on Columbus Avenue and West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City. There are additional offices and production facilities elsewhere in New York City, as well as in Los Angeles and Burbank. Since 2007, when ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Broadcasting, ABC originally launched on October 12,1943, as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS, in the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop, in 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABCs assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company. The television network has eight owned-and-operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the United States, most Canadians have access to at least one U. S. ABC News provides news and features content for radio stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting. In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies, the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting Company. The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America, in 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940. The report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue, at that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Once Mutuals appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, the newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, Edward John Noble, the owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million. Due to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell his station with the FCCs approval, the Commission authorized the transaction on October 12,1943. Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Meanwhile, in August 1944, the West Coast division of the Blue Network, both stations were then managed by Don Searle, the vice-president of the Blue Networks West Coast division. The ABC Radio Network created its audience slowly, the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as Sherlock Holmes, Gang Busters and Counterspy, as well as several mid-afternoon youth-oriented programs. S. From Nazi Germany after its conquest, to pre-record its programming, while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction, ABC found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television. To ensure a space, in 1947, ABC submitted five applications for television station licenses, the ABC television network made its debut on April 19,1948, with WFIL-TV in Philadelphia becoming its first primary affiliate
29.
George Lopez (TV series)
–
George Lopez stars the titular comedian George Lopez, who plays a fictionalized version of himself and revolves around his life at work and raising his family at home. The series was produced by Fortis Films and Mohawk Productions in association with Warner Bros, the executive producers consisted of George Lopez, Bruce Helford, Deborah Oppenheimer and Sandra Bullock. On September 2,2016, George Lopez announced through his Instagram that there are talks to bringing the back on the air. After Carmens departure from the series, the role fulfilled by her character was replaced with Angies overindulged niece Veronica, with a large trust fund that has been entrusted under Georges care. However, Mannys personality was commonly depicted as being uncaring toward his son and former wife in the few appearances that he made, nonetheless, he prohibits his sons family from attending his funeral in protection of his reputation, much to Georges anger. For the first five seasons, the show had an all-Latino cast with the exception of Albanian American actress Masiela Lusha, George Lopez said that due to creative differences between him and Lusha, Lushas character was written out of the show after season 5. During the shows last season, Aimee Garcia was cast as Georges niece, the shows theme song is Low Rider, performed by War. The theme plays in the credits and was present when the show aired on ABC as well as syndication. At the 9th ALMA Awards in 2007, George Lopez called the song the Chicano National Anthem, the series finale aired on May 8,2007, after the show was canceled by ABC. Lopez said that ABC dealt with us from the bottom of the deck, Lopez attributed the cancellation in part to the fact that the show was not produced directly by ABC Studios, but instead by Warner Bros. Lopez also criticized ABCs decision to approve the show Cavemen, being perplexed at the circumstances, So a Chicano cant be on TV, according to Lopez,170 staff members who worked on the show lost their jobs. Lopez explained that he took the five years of good, and I did a lot with the good and my popularity, I was involved in charities, I overcame my illness, all on TV. I shared all of that with America – every secret I had, everything was open to the show. In spite of the cancellation, nightly episode re-runs continue to air on various networks both in the United States and abroad, George Lopez was critically acclaimed and received positive reviews from critics. The show entered syndication one month after the finale on ABC. The show moved to ION Television on Thursday, Sept.29,2011, on March 8,2007, it was announced that George Lopez would join the Nick at Nite lineup. It first aired on Nick at Nite on September 10,2007 – it was the most current non-original show to air on Nick at Nite, to this date, it continues to be their highest rated series and one of cables best for an off-network sitcom. Never a major hit in primetime, the became an unexpected success in syndication
30.
United States Army
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
31.
Germans
–
Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe, who share a common German ancestry, culture and history. German is the mother tongue of a substantial majority of ethnic Germans. The English term Germans has historically referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages, before the collapse of communism and the reunification of Germany in 1990, Germans constituted the largest divided nation in Europe by far. Ever since the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire, of approximately 100 million native speakers of German in the world, roughly 80 million consider themselves Germans. Thus, the number of Germans lies somewhere between 100 and more than 150 million, depending on the criteria applied. Today, people from countries with German-speaking majorities most often subscribe to their own national identities, the German term Deutsche originates from the Old High German word diutisc, referring to the Germanic language of the people. It is not clear how commonly, if at all, the word was used as an ethnonym in Old High German, used as a noun, ein diutscher in the sense of a German emerges in Middle High German, attested from the second half of the 12th century. The Old French term alemans is taken from the name of the Alamanni and it was loaned into Middle English as almains in the early 14th century. The word Dutch is attested in English from the 14th century, denoting continental West Germanic dialects, while in most Romance languages the Germans have been named from the Alamanni, the Old Norse, Finnish and Estonian names for the Germans were taken from that of the Saxons. In Slavic languages, the Germans were given the name of němьci, originally with a meaning foreigner, the English term Germans is only attested from the mid-16th century, based on the classical Latin term Germani used by Julius Caesar and later Tacitus. It gradually replaced Dutch and Almains, the latter becoming mostly obsolete by the early 18th century, the Germans are a Germanic people, who as an ethnicity emerged during the Middle Ages. Originally part of the Holy Roman Empire, around 300 independent German states emerged during its decline after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ending the Thirty Years War and these states eventually formed into modern Germany in the 19th century. The concept of a German ethnicity is linked to Germanic tribes of antiquity in central Europe, the early Germans originated on the North German Plain as well as southern Scandinavia. By the 2nd century BC, the number of Germans was significantly increasing and they began expanding into eastern Europe, during antiquity these Germanic tribes remained separate from each other and did not have writing systems at that time. In the European Iron Age the area that is now Germany was divided into the La Tène horizon in Southern Germany and the Jastorf culture in Northern Germany. By 55 BC, the Germans had reached the Danube river and had either assimilated or otherwise driven out the Celts who had lived there, and had spread west into what is now Belgium and France. Conflict between the Germanic tribes and the forces of Rome under Julius Caesar forced major Germanic tribes to retreat to the east bank of the Rhine, in Roman-held territories with Germanic populations, the Germanic and Roman peoples intermarried, and Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions intermingled. The adoption of Christianity would later become an influence in the development of a common German identity
32.
Birmingham, Alabama
–
Birmingham is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. The citys population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census, the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047 according to the 2010 Census, which is approximately one quarter of Alabamas population. Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and it was named for Birmingham, England, one of the UKs major industrial cities. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial and railroad center, based on mining, the new iron and steel industry. Most of the settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was an industrial center of the southern United States. Its growth from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames as The Magic City and its major industries were iron and steel production, plus a major component of the railroading industry. Rails and railroad cars were manufactured in Birmingham. The two primary hubs of railroading in the Deep South have been nearby Atlanta and Birmingham, since the 1860s, the economy has diversified since industrial restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical transmission, medical care, college education. Except for coal mining, the industry has declined in the Birmingham area, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and as one of the largest banking centers in the nation. In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama School of Medicine, since that time it has also gained the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of three main campuses of the University of Alabama System. It is also home to three institutions, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. In total, the Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, the city has three of the states five law schools, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, and Miles Law School. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Southeastern Conference, Birmingham was founded on June 1,1871, by the Elyton Land Company, whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It sold lots near the crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre, the site of the railroad crossing was notable for its proximity to nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone – the three main raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity, from the start the new city was planned as a center of industry
33.
Nuremberg
–
Nuremberg is a city on the river Pegnitz and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, about 170 kilometres north of Munich. It is the second-largest city in Bavaria, and the largest in Franconia, the population as of February 2015, is 517,498, which makes it Germanys fourteenth-largest city. The urban area also includes Fürth, Erlangen and Schwabach with a population of 763,854. The European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg has ca.3.5 million inhabitants, Nuremberg was, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, the location of an Imperial castle between the East Franks and the Bavarian March of the Nordgau. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes, Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly because Imperial Diet and courts met at Nuremberg Castle. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe. In 1298, the Jews of the town were accused of having desecrated the host, behind the massacre of 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz. The Jews of the German lands suffered many massacres during the plague years, in 1349, Nurembergs Jews were subjected to a pogrom. They were burned at the stake or expelled, and a marketplace was built over the former Jewish quarter, the plague returned to the city in 1405,1435,1437,1482,1494,1520 and 1534. Charles was the patron of the Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362, where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg. Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory, the Hussite Wars, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437, and the First Margrave War led to a severe fall in population in the mid-15th century. During the Middle Ages, Nurembergs literary culture was rich, varied, the cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the centre of the German Renaissance. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation, and in 1532, during the 1552 revolution against Charles V, Nuremberg tried to purchase its neutrality, but the city was attacked without a declaration of war and was forced into a disadvantageous peace. The state of affairs in the early 16th century, increased trade routes elsewhere, frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League soldiers, the financial costs of the war and the cessation of trade caused irreparable damage to the city and a near-halving of the population. In 1632, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, was besieged by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein, the city declined after the war and recovered its importance only in the 19th century, when it grew as an industrial centre
34.
Military mail
–
Military mail, as opposed to civilian mail, refers to the postal services provided by armed forces, that allow serving members to send and receive mail. Military mail systems are often subsidized to ensure that military mail does not cost the sender any more than normal domestic mail traffic, in some cases, military personnel in a combat zone may post letters and/or packages to the home country for free. Modern military mail services are provided by most armed forces around the world, in some nations, individual service branches may run their own military mail program. Early forms of mail may go back to the dawn of civilization. There is some evidence of it dating back to Ancient Egypt of the 2nd millennium BC, in 1795 Parliament granted the penny postage concession to soldiers and sailors of the British Army and Royal Navy. Four years later, in 1799, the Duke of York appointed Henry Darlot, thomas Reynolds, as the British Post Office Agent in Lisbon, Portugal was made responsible for coordinating the exchange of the British Army’s mails at the port during the Peninsular War. Two Sergeant Postmasters were appointed to work with Reynolds, the sergeants reported to the Duke of Wellington’s the Superintendent of Military Communications, Major Scovell and later Lieutenant Colonel Sturgeon. A Base Army Post Office was established in Constantinople and a field post Office with the Army Headquarters at Balaklava, a regular seaborne mail service was established between Varna and Constantinople. In response to demands made by Florence Nightingale, a method of transmitting money was devised to allow troops to transfer back to their families at home in the United Kingdom. This was designed to prevent drunkenness and became the worlds first International Money Order Service, in its first month of operation £7,000 was remitted by the British troops. There were two opinions, firstly, that the Army run its own services as in the Peninsular War, secondly, that civilians from the Post Office be responsible for the service as in the Crimean and Indian Army example. The provision of a service to soldiers remained an ad hoc affair until 1882. In 1881 a rebellion broke out in Egypt which threatened Britains passage to India through Suez, in response a British Expeditionary Force was sent to Egypt in the same year under the command of Sir Garnet Wolseley. This gave Lieutenant Colonel du Plat Taylor the opportunity to raise the matter of the corps again. Mails from Britain were despatched 3 times a week via the route through France to Alexandria. The Army Post Offices offered a letter and parcel service and sold stamps, in addition to the mail services, a free parcel service from the Naval docks at Deptford was also set up. These parcels travelled by Government store ships and transports and this service was the forerunner of the Military Forwarding Office service which still exists today. The Expedition was a success and set the basis for institution of military mail, the unit received high praise from the Commander-in-Chief, who wrote, The formation of a purely military postal department has been a tried for the first time in this war
35.
United States Army Materiel Command
–
The U. S. Army Materiel Command is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army. The Commands mission includes the research & development of systems as well as maintenance. It was established on 8 May 1962 and was activated on 1 August of that year as a field command of the U. S. Army. The command is also the Department of Defense Executive Agent for the chemical weapons stockpile, AMC is currently headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and is located in approximately 149 locations worldwide, including more than 49 American States and 50 countries. AMC maintains employment of upwards of 70,000 military and civilian employees, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision relocated AMC to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. AMC was previously headquartered on Ft. Belvoir, VA, for fifty years. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document
36.
The Pentagon
–
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. As a symbol of the U. S. military, The Pentagon is often used metonymically to refer to the U. S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom, and built by general contractor John McShain of Philadelphia. Ground was broken for construction on September 11,1941, General Brehon Somervell provided the major motive power behind the project, Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U. S. Army. The Pentagon is one of the worlds largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi of corridors. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washingtons governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British, when World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded, Stimson told U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On July 17,1941, a hearing took place, organized by Virginia congressman Clifton Woodrum. Reybold agreed to back to the congressman within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell, Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed across the Potomac River, in Arlington County, Virginia. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, the requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically, the building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agricultures Arlington Experimental Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, the site originally chosen was Arlington Farms which had a roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D. C. from Arlington Cemetery, the building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign at that stage would have been costly, and Roosevelt liked the design. Freed of the constraints of the asymmetric Arlington Farms site, it was modified into a pentagon which resembled the star forts of the gunpowder age. While the project went through the process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. and Doyle and Russell. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres, which were acquired at a cost of $2.2 million. The Hells Bottom neighborhood, a slum with numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, Later 300 acres of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were finalized with McShain and the contractors on September 11
37.
Multiple citizenship
–
There is no international convention which determines the nationality or citizen status of a person, which is defined exclusively by national laws, which vary and can be inconsistent with each other. Multiple citizenship arises because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, colloquial speech refers to people holding multiple citizenship but technically each nation makes a claim that this person be considered its national. Some countries do not permit dual citizenship, some countries do not permit a renunciation of citizenship. Some countries permit a general dual citizenship while others permit dual citizenship, similarly, it may not permit consular access by another country for a person who is also its national. Some countries prohibit dual citizenship holders from serving in their military, up until the late 19th century, nations often decided who they claimed as their citizens or subjects, and did not recognize any other nationalities they held. Many states did not recognize the right of their citizens to renounce their citizenship without permission and this meant that people could hold multiple citizenships, with none of their nations recognizing any other of their citizenships. This outraged many Irish-Americans, to which the British responded by pointing out that, just like British law, as a result, Congress passed the Expatriation Act of 1868, which granted Americans the right to freely renounce their U. S. citizenship. Britain followed suit with a law, and years later. As a result, the theory of perpetual allegiance largely fell out of favor with governments during the late 19th century, by the mid-20th century, dual nationality was largely prohibited worldwide, although there were exceptions. For example, a series of U. S. Supreme Court rulings permitted Americans born with citizenship in another country to keep it without losing their U. S. citizenship. It proposed laws that would have reduced both, but in the end was ratified by only twenty nations, however, the consensus against dual nationality began to erode due to changes in social mores and attitudes. By the late 20th century it was becoming gradually accepted again, many states were lifting restrictions on dual citizenship. The rights of citizenship are determined by country, which sets its own criteria for citizenship. These laws may create situations where a person may satisfy the requirements of more than one country simultaneously. This would, in the absence of laws of one country or the other, National laws may include criteria as to the circumstances, if any, in which a person may concurrently hold another citizenship. A country may withdraw its own citizenship if a person acquires a citizenship of another country, for example, historically, citizenship was traced through the father, but today most countries permit the tracing through either parent, and some also through a grandparent. Today, the laws of most countries are based on jus sanguinis. In many cases, this basis for citizenship also extends to children born outside the country, Citizenship by birth on the countrys territory
38.
Vienna
–
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
39.
Salzburg
–
Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburgs Old Town is internationally renowned for its architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the city has three universities and a large population of students. Tourists also visit Salzburg to tour the historic center and the scenic Alpine surroundings, Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the mid‑20th century, the city was the setting for the musical play, traces of human settlements have been found in the area, dating to the Neolithic Age. The first settlements in Salzburg continuous with the present were apparently by the Celts around the 5th century BC, around 15 BC the Roman Empire merged the settlements into one city. At this time, the city was called Juvavum and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD, Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. After the Norican frontiers collapse, Juvavum declined so sharply that by the late 7th century it became a ruin. The Life of Saint Rupert credits the 8th-century saint with the citys rebirth, when Theodo of Bavaria asked Rupert to become bishop c. 700, Rupert reconnoitered the river for the site of his basilica, Rupert chose Juvavum, ordained priests, and annexed the manor Piding. He traveled to evangelise among pagans, the name Salzburg means Salt Castle. The name derives from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach River, the Festung Hohensalzburg, the citys fortress, was built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard, who made it his residence. It was greatly expanded during the following centuries, independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century. Salzburg was the seat of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire, as the reformation movement gained steam, riots broke out among peasants in the areas in and around Salzburg. The city was occupied during the German Peasants War, and the archbishop had to flee to the safety of the fortress It was besieged for three months in 1525. It was in the 17th century that Italian architects rebuilt the city center as it is today along with many palaces,21,475 citizens refused to recant their beliefs and were expelled from Salzburg. Most of them accepted an offer by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, the rest settled in other Protestant states in Europe and the British colonies in America. In 1772–1803, under archbishop Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo, Salzburg was a centre of late Illuminism, in 1803, the archbishopric was secularised by Emperor Napoleon, he transferred the territory to Ferdinando III of Tuscany, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as the Electorate of Salzburg
40.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
41.
Waldorf education
–
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its pedagogy emphasizes the role of imagination in learning, striving to integrate holistically the intellectual, practical, the overarching goal is to develop free, morally responsible, and integrated individuals equipped with a high degree of social competence. Individual teachers and schools have a deal of autonomy in determining curriculum content, teaching methodology. The first Waldorf school opened in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany, there are also a number of Waldorf-based public schools, charter schools and academies, and homeschooling environments. In Continental Europe, Waldorf pedagogy has become a theory of education that has influenced public schooling. Public funding of Waldorf schools in English-speaking countries is increasingly widespread but has encountered controversy and this is the source of the name Waldorf, which is now trademarked in some countries in association with the method. The Stuttgart school grew rapidly and soon the majority of pupils were from families not connected directly with the company, the co-educational school was the first comprehensive school in Germany, serving children from all social classes, genders, abilities, and interests. Waldorf education became widely known in Britain in 1922 through lectures Steiner gave on education at a conference at Oxford University. The first school in England, now Michael Hall school, was founded in 1925, the first in the USA, the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, in 1928. By the 1930s, numerous schools inspired by the school or its pedagogical principles had opened in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Hungary, the USA. Political interference from the Nazi regime limited and ultimately closed most Waldorf schools in Europe, with the exception of the British, Swiss, the affected schools were reopened after the Second World War, though those in Soviet-dominated areas were closed again a few years later by Communist regimes. In North America, the number of Waldorf schools increased from nine in the US and one in Canada in 1967 to around 200 in the US, there are currently 33 Steiner schools in the United Kingdom and four in the Republic of Ireland. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Waldorf schools began to proliferate in Central, most recently, many schools have opened in Asia, especially in China. There are currently over 1,000 independent Waldorf schools worldwide, the structure of Waldorf education follows Steiners theory of child development, which divides childhood into three developmental stages, and describes learning strategies appropriate to each stage. These stages, each of which lasts seven years, are broadly similar to those described by Piaget. Steiners educational ideas closely follow modern common sense educational theory, as this has developed since Comenius and Pestalozzi. The stated purpose of this approach is to awaken the physical, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, a 2005 review found that Waldorf schools successfully develop creative, social and other capabilities important in the holistic growth of the person. Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is, the children themselves are this book
42.
Peter Ramsauer
–
Peter Ramsauer is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria who served as the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the Second Merkel cabinet. He has been described as the shepherd of the German language. Ramsauer was born in the Upper Bavarian village of Traunwalchen, since 1978 part of Traunreut, Ramsauer has also qualified as a professional miller in accordance with the traditional occupation of his ancestry. He is married and has four daughters and his wife Susanne is a cousin of American actress Sandra Bullock. Ramsauer is also a competent pianist, Ramsauer joined the conservative Young Union youth organisation in 1972 and the CSU in 1973. He was elected Bavarian vice chairman of the JU in 1983, in 1978 Ramsauer obtained a seat in the municipal diet of Traunreut and in 1984 became a member of the district assembly of Traunstein. Ramsauer ran successfully in the 1990 federal election and has been a member of the Bundestag parliament since then, from 1998 to 2005 he served as CSU Chief Whip of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. In the 2009 elections Ramsauer was re-elected by 54.6 percent of the votes cast, on 29 October 2009 Ramsauer was appointed Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development at the behest of Chancellor Angela Merkel, succeeding Wolfgang Tiefensee. Since the 2013 elections, Ramsauer has been serving as chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs, firm General Electric over German Siemens for an alliance with Alstom. In October 2016, Ramsauer accompanied Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, on 30 June 2016 Peter Ramsauer made an allegedly racist attack against a Greek photojournalist during a meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. During the German Delegations visit at the Greek Prime Ministers official seat, as a result Ramsauer attacked verbally the photojournalist shouting Dont touch me you filthy Greek first in German language and later in English. The incident was confirmed by the photographer of the German Vice Chancellor. Ramsauer denies having insulted the photojournalist but admits having received unpleasant physical contact by him, in an interview for television channel ZDF in 2015, Ramsauer compared Greek leaders to dancing bears around a circus ring. Ramsauer has been the most prominent politician in Germany to come out in favour of Greece leaving the euro zone, since June 2014, Ramsauer is the President of de, Ghorfa, an association that facilitates the commercial documents of companies that want to export to Arab countries. Peter Ramsauer is a prominent member of the fraternity de, Deutsche Burschenschaft that has ties to circles of the right extremist National Democratic Party of Germany. Deutsche Burschenschaft has been accused for neonazism and its newspaper debates the alleged historical merits of Nazi criminals such as Rudolf Hess and Adolf Hitler
43.
Ballet
–
Ballet /ˈbæleɪ/ is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own based on French terminology. It has been influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres. Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training, Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art. Ballet may also refer to a dance work, which consists of the choreography. A well-known example of this is The Nutcracker, a ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained artists, the word came into English usage from the French around 1630. Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries before being spread from Italy to France by an Italian aristocrat, Catherine de Medici, in France, ballet developed even further under her aristocratic influence. The dancers in these early court ballets were mostly noble amateurs, Ballets in this period were lengthy and elaborate and often served a political purpose. Ornamented costumes were meant to impress viewers and restricted freedom of movement. The ballets were performed in large chambers with viewers on three sides, French court ballet reached its height under the reign of King Louis XIV. Known as the Sun King, Louis symbolized the brilliance of France, in 1661 Louis founded the Académie Royale de Danse to establish standards and certify dance instructors. In 1672, Louis XIV made Jean-Baptiste Lully the director of the Académie Royale de Musique from which the first professional ballet company, Lully is considered the most important composer of music for ballets de cour and instrumental to the development of the form. Ballet went into decline in France after 1830, though it continued to develop in Denmark, Italy, the arrival in Europe on the eve of First World War of the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, revived interest in the ballet and started the modern era. The Russian choreographer Michel Fokine challenged tradition and called for reforms that reinvigorated ballet as an art form, in the 20th century, ballet had a wide influence on other dance genres, and subgenres of ballet have also evolved. In the United States, choreographer George Balanchine developed what is now known as neoclassical ballet, other developments include contemporary ballet and post-structural ballet. Also in the century, ballet took a turn dividing it from classical ballet to the introduction of modern dance. Stylistic variations have emerged and evolved since the Italian Renaissance, early, classical variations are primarily associated with geographic origin
.jpg)
