AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Following her win, the Japanese skating federation petitioned the International Olympic Committee to make an exception to the age rule for Asada, claiming that depriving her of a chance to compete at the 2006 Olympics would be denying a medal contender a chance to compete. However, this petition, even if it had worked, would have been too late. Other skaters had been effected by the age rule. The South Korean skating federation, for example, held Kim Yu-Na back in juniors for the 2005-2006 season, even though she could have competed successfully on the Grand Prix, because she also was not old enough for the Olympics, and because of it did not earn a spot to the Olympics at the Olympic Qualifying Competition in the fall of 2005. Asada had been a force in Japanese skating for many years, so the federation could have petitioned for an exception years earlier. There had previously been a loophole in eligibility rules regarding the World Championships and medalling at the World Junior Championships, but that loophole had been closed years earlier, and it had never applied to the Olympics.
Instead, Asada went to the World Junior Championships again, where she lost to Kim Yu-Na.
In 2006-2007, Asada's first season being old enough for senior Worlds, she won the silver medal at the World Championships behind fellow Japanese skater Miki Ando.
Mao Asada is known for her amazing flexibility. She is known for her one-handed Biellmann spin and her cross-grab Biellmann spiral, in which she uses the hand opposite her leg to hold up her leg in the position. She is consistent with the triple axel.
Catia
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church) and the first Governor of the American state of Utah. Young was born in Vermont. He became president of the Mormon church in 1847 after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr in 1844.
Brigham Young University is named after Young.
John Taylor replaced Young as leader of the church three years after Young died.
Young started a journey that would take the Mormon pioneers to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, in 1846, then to the Salt Lake Valley. Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, a date now known as Pioneer Day in Utah, which is also one of its holidays. The Mormon pioneers' journey was one of the largest and one of the best organized migration to the West. On August 22, 29 days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Young started the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
In the church, Young was in some of the important positions, and after three years, he became the president of the church on December 27, 1847.
Young served 29 years in the LDS Church.
Young helped in building temples in his time in the LDS Church and made temple building a main purpose. When Joseph Smith was the president, Young was helping to build the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples. Only four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Young found the location for the Salt Lake Temple; and then started the building process on April 6, 1853. During his time as the church president, Young look over the construction of the Salt Lake Tabernacle and then he announced plans to build the St. George (1871), Manti (1875), and Logan (1877) temples. He also helped fix the building the Endowment House, a "short-term temple" that began to be used in 1855 for church members to go to while they were building the Salt Lake Temple.
Speaker (politics)
Speaker is the title of the person in charge of some legislatures, usually the lower house.
The Speaker is elected by other members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, and is usually a member of the government party, but leaves his or her party because the Speaker must be "neutral" (not like one side more than another). The Speaker does not vote. If the Speaker wants to stand in for re-election the other parties do not oppose him to show he is neutral. As of January 2020, the Speaker is Lindsay Hoyle, a member of the Labour Party.
The Speaker (Ceann Comhairle) of the Dáil Éireann is neutral, but the constitution (Bunreacht) of Ireland says he does not need to stand for re-election, he is given the first seat in his constituency. The current Speaker (November 2017) is Sean Treacy.
The Speaker is the leader of the largest party. He or she is not neutral, but votes for his or hers party's policies. The Speaker also helps to get his or her party's ideas made law. The term of the Speaker of the House is two years in office. Democratic Nancy Pelosi became Speaker again in 2019.
Orator
An orator is someone who pleads a case in public. Originally, it meant speaking in a public place for or against a person or a proposal. In ancient Greek, Latin, French and English, an orator spoke for and against the accused in courts, and for or against big political decisions, such as whether to go to war. Gradually, it came to mean someone who spoke in public on formal occasions.
Oratory, or rhetoric, is the skill of argument or persuasion used by orators. The invention of printing allowed books to be multiplied and produced cheaply. This has made it possible for orators to do their persuasion in print as well as speaking. Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill are good examples of how orators in the 20th century used media such as radio and movies where once they could only use speech. Both wrote books which sold in large numbers, though Churchill's books were about more than politics. Today television and newspapers play a vital role in deciding elections; the web less so.
Other types of orator are those who wish to change beliefs. Religious preachers like Martin Luther and John Knox changed religion in western Europe; William Wilberforce and Sojourner Truth led the fight against the evil of slavery. Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King Jr and others fought to get equal rights for all citizens.
We have orators today as much as the ancient Greeks did. The main difference is that the Greeks could see and listen to them face to face, but we rarely do today.
The study of how persuasion is done by orators is called rhetoric. It has been studied for 2,500 years at least, and there are a huge number of books about it.
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. Wagner took most of the story from a medieval poem "Parzival" by the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach. It was the last opera that Wagner completed. He started thinking about it in 1857 but did not do much work to it until after he had finished the cycle of four operas known as the Ring Cycle which was produced complete in 1876 in the special theatre (Festspielhaus) he had built in Bayreuth. Wagner composed his opera "Parsifal" so that it would suit the sound of this new theatre. It was first produced in 1882. The story is related to the Arthurian legends.
Wagner did more than any other composer in the 19th century to change the way that people listened to opera. In the 18th century people went to the opera house and sat in their boxes to chat to other people and be seen. Composers wrote operas with big arias which allowed the singers to show off their skills and make the audience applaud.
Wagner changed all this. He soon developed operas in which there is no difference between recitative (where the story is told) and arias (big songs for the soloists). The music of his later operas, especially "Parsifal", is like a long, continuous line with rich, Romantic harmony. The music develops logically, with leitmotifs (very short pieces of music which represent particular people or ideas) which help the music and the story to develop.
The story of Parsifal and the Holy Grail has survived in several forms that date from between 1170 and 1220. Wagner, who always wrote the words of his operas himself, used a mixture of several of these versions of the story to fit his ideas for the opera. Parsifal is a young man who is a “pure fool”, which means that he is an innocent, good man who slowly starts to understand the world. The Holy Grail is the cup from which Jesus Christ is supposed to have drunk at the Last Supper. The Holy Spear is the spear which is supposed to have been the one with which the Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side when he was put on the cross. The Holy Grail and the Holy Spear are sacred relics (things from the past) which have been given to Titurel and his band of Christian knights to look after. Titurel has built a castle, Montsalvat, high up on the forest rocks, to guard them. In particular, he has to watch out for Klingsor who lives nearby. Klingsor is a magician who has a garden full of beautiful flower-maidens. These maidens are in his power. One of them is Kundry. She has already been made to several young knights to Klingsor’s power. Even Titurel’s son, Amfortas, could not resist the lure of Kundry. His spear was taken from him and he was badly wounded before being rescued. At the beginning of the opera he is lying in pain. The only thing that could heal the wound would be the touch of the Holy Spear which Klingsor now has, and the only person who could get that spear back again is a “pure fool”, a young man who knows nothing about the evil of the world and who can resist the beauty of the flower-maidens.
The opera starts with an orchestral prelude (Wagner does not call it an “overture”). When the curtain rises Gurnemanz, one of the senior knights, wakes up two sleeping servants. They kneel and pray as King Amfortas is brought down on his bed to the forest lake to bathe his wound. Kundry arrives, dashing in on her horse, looking for something to heal the wound (when Kundry is away from Klingsor she is not in his power. She feels that it was her fault that Amfortas was wounded. When Kundry is not in Klingsor’s power she is actually a faithful messenger of the Grail).
Suddenly a wounded swan (a bird that is sacred to the knights of the Grail) falls dead at Gurnemanz’s feet. The swan had been killed by Parsifal. He did not know that it was a wrong thing to do, but when the knights capture him he realizes his and he breaks the arrow. The knights ask him his name, but Parsifal says he does not know his name or where he comes from. Suddenly the knights realize that Parsifal is the pure fool they need who can capture the Holy Spear.
The scene changes. The knights take communion. Amfortas is in terrible pain but has to do his duty in the ceremony. When the Holy Grail is shown it sparkles brightly in the hall. The knights sink to their knees. Only Parsifal does not seem to understand the meaning of it all.
The scene is Klingsor’s magic garden by his castle. Kundry has been summoned by him is now quite different: she has no power of her own, and is controlled and tormented by Klingsor. Klingsor notices Parsifal, whom he is expecting, approach from the distance, and sends his magical knights to fight him, expecting them to be defeated by Parsifal. The flower-maidens, the wives of the knights, see Parsifal and call him by his name. No one has ever called him by his name before. When one of them kisses his lips he suddenly realizes what it is he has to do. He now remembers everything that has happened in Act I and understands its meaning. He throws the maiden to one side. Klingsor appears and throws the spear at Parsifal, but magically it stops over Parsifal’s head. Parsifal grabs it and makes the sign of the cross. The castle is destroyed, the gardens disappear, and he goes off back to the Grail.
After a journey which takes him many years Parsifal comes back to the Grail forest. Gurnemanz is now very old. Kundry works for the knights. Parsifal himself is dressed as a black knight. Kundry recognizes him, but Gurnemanz does not. He is annoyed that an armed stranger should come on this holy day (it is Good Friday). Parsifal throws the spear into the ground, puts down his weapons and takes off his helmet. Gurnemanz realizes who it is. He helps him to dress like a knight of the Grail. Kundry washes his feet and dries them with her long hair. Gurnemanz blesses Parsifal’s head. Parsifal is now a knight of the Grail, and he baptizes Kundry. Titurel has just died, and Amfortas, still in terrible pain, comes out to uncover the Grail. Parsifal enters and touches the wound with the point of the spear. Amfortas’s pain changes to happiness, the shrine is opened, the Grail is surrounded by light. The knights kneel down, Kundry dies peacefully. All is forgiven. The music finishes with a climax based on the leitmotifs of the Holy Grail and the Sacrament.
Until 1903, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus was the only place where Wagner’s opera "Parsifal" was allowed to be performed. In 1903, the opera was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Soon, it was being performed in other places as well.
Wagner like to describe "Parsifal" as "ein Bühnenweihfestspiel" ("A Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage"). At Bayreuth, it has become tradition that there is to be no applause after the first act of the opera.
The conductor of the first performance was Hermann Levi, the court conductor at the Munich Opera. Wagner objected to Parsifal being conducted by a Jew (Levi's father was in fact a rabbi). Wagner first suggested that Levi should convert to Christianity, which Levi declined to do. Wagner then wrote to King Ludwig that he had decided to accept Levi. This despite the fact that (he alleged) he had received complaints that "of all pieces, this most Christian of works" should be conducted by a Jew. The King expressed his satisfaction at this. He said that "human beings are basically all brothers". Wagner wrote to the King that he "regard[ed] the Jewish race as the born enemy of pure humanity and everything noble about it".
Kana
Kana is the name for syllable-based writing systems used in the Japanese language.
There are three types of kana:
Although manyogana is the oldest of the three types of kana, being used as early as the seventh century, it was soon replaced by hiragana and katakana. Both of these characters came from the kanji characters that made up manyogana.
Today, there are 46 basic sounds in Japanese that are each represented by a hiragana and a corresponding katakana character as seen in the chart below. (The characters for the sounds "wi" and "we" are no longer used.) There are 25 other sounds that can be made by adding one of two diacritics: a dakuten or a handakuten. Also, 12 of the kana come in a smaller size to make other combinations of syllables.
Japanese sentences are usually written using a mix of hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Although it is possible to write a sentence in only hiragana or katakana characters, it is hard for most Japanese people to understand because the kanji symbols represent a concept which the kana do not show. Small kana symbols, however, can be put above kanji to show how it is pronounced (this is called furigana and is used a lot in karaoke).
Besides kana, Japanese sounds can also be written in Romaji (using the Roman alphabet) to help people who do not speak Japanese learn the language.
Tropical Storm Erin (2007)
Tropical Storm Erin was the second tropical cyclone to make landfall on the United States in the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fifth named storm of the season. Erin formed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 14 from an area of convection which was becoming stronger. It became stronger and changed into a tropical storm the next day, and on August 16 Erin made landfall near Lamar, Texas and was able to not die as it moved over land across Texas before moving towards the north into Oklahoma. The storm killed at least 17 people and made an already-severe flooding problem in Texas even worse. Another different storm that Erin went into killed at least 18 people.
On August 9, an area of convection formed just south of Jamaica in association with a trough of low pressure. The system moved west-northwestward, and by August 10, the system had a broad surface trough with a little shower activity. Convection increased on August 11, and by August 12 the contact between a tropical wave and an upper-level low in the area resulted in a large area of disorganized thunderstorms extending from the western Caribbean Sea into the central Bahamas. Upper-level winds slowly became more helpful for development, and on August 13 a large low pressure area formed about 90 miles (145 km) north-northeast of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Late on August 14, a NOAA Hurricane Hunters plane that flew into the system reported a small circulation center, but at the time was not well-defined enough to begin tropical cyclone advisories. However, deep convection was kept near the increasingly organizaing center, and at 0300 UTC on August 15 the National Hurricane Center named it as Tropical Depression Five about 425 miles (685 km) southeast of Brownsville, Texas.
In the overnight hours after formation, the storm was disorganized with a shabby and abstracted center of circulation. Located to the south of a mid to upper-level ridge over the southern United States, the system moved to the west-northwest into an area ideal for further strengthening; an upper-level anticyclone formed over the central Gulf of Mexico, and sea surface temperatures along its track were warm. The cloud pattern became better organized, keeping a large area of convection with curved rainbands and well-established outflow. Based on reports from Hurricane Hunters, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Erin at 1530 UTC on August 13 about 250 miles (400 km) east of Brownsville, Texas. As it continued northwestward, Erin remained disorganized and was not able to strengthen above minimal tropical storm status. At 1200 UTC on August 16 the cyclone made landfall near Lamar, Texas as it weakened to tropical depression status. Three hours later, the National Hurricane Center stopped giving out advisories on Erin as warning responsibility was switched to the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.
Slowly moving northwestward through Texas, Tropical Depression Erin managed to keep an area of convection near the center, with its widespread, but scattered rainbands dropping moderate to heavy precipitation. By August 17, the winds decreased to 20 mph (30 km/h), with higher gusts. The system turned to the north-northeast on August 18, while heavy bands of thunderstorms continued to spin around the center of Erin. Early on August 19 after entering Oklahoma, Erin suddenly re-intensified to maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) a short distance west of Oklahoma City. The Norman, Oklahoma National Weather Service remarked the intensification "[resulted] in what amounts to an inland tropical storm;" at 0930 UTC the system showed an eye-like feature and a spiral rainband, and produced wind gusts of over 80 mph (130 km/h). However, a few hours later, the system began weakening again, and late on August 19 Erin degenerated into a remnant low pressure area as the circulation dissipated over northeastern Oklahoma. The low continued into southeastern Kansas before dissipating, feeding moisture northward toward a frontal system extending from the Midwestern United States through the Mid-Atlantic States. Its remnant mid-level circulation then moved eastward across Missouri, Kentucky, and Virginia before losing identity as it moved out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Instantly after Erin become a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center gave out a tropical storm watch from Freeport, Texas to the United States/Mexico border; at the same time, the government of Mexico issued a tropical storm watch southward to Rio San Fernando. Shortly before achieving tropical storm status, the watch in Texas was upgraded to a tropical storm warning. Late on August 15, the warning was extended to San Luis Pass, while the watch in Mexico was cancelled. As Erin made landfall, the warnings was cancelled, and several flood watches and warnings were given out for counties across southeastern Texas. Upon moving into Oklahoma, flood and flash flood warnings were issued for several counties.
Governor of Texas, Rick Perry activated the National Guard and moved emergency personnel to the areas expected to be affected by the storm. Erin is expected to bring flooding to the region, which had already been declared a disaster area on August 7, 2007 from widespread flooding on the Nueces River basin; this area remained flooded as of August 15, 2007. On August 15, oil futures rose to $74.01 (USD), because of fears of Erin disturbing oil supplies produced on Texan coasts, combined with low oil supplies.<ref name="oil futures 8/15"></ref> As a result of the threat from the storm, Shell Oil Company evacuated 188 workers on oil platforms in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.
By midday on August 15, rainbands with gusty winds began affecting the Texas coastline. As it made landfall, the storm created heavy rainfall near and to the or northeast of its path, reaching 11.02 inches (280 mm) at a station in Lockwood. The passage of the storm caused several bayous in the Houston area to reach or go beyond flood levels. Across southeastern Texas, the cyclone generated several funnel clouds, and near Iah a EF0 tornado was reported. Wind gusts from Erin were fairly weak across the state, peaking at 35 mph (55 km/h) at Palacios with an unofficial report of 39 mph (63 km/h) at Jamaica Beach. While moving onto land, the storm produced a small storm surge peaking at 3.22 feet (0.98 m) at Pleasure Pier, which caused minor beach erosion.
In Clear Lake City, heavy rainfall broke down a part of a grocery store roof, killing two workers. The precipitation caused moderate flooding across eastern parts of Harris County; over 400 homes and 40 businesses were flooded. Flooding across the Greater Houston area briefly stopped the METRORail and closed several state roads. One person drowned after driving into a retention pond. Several people needed rescue assistance, and in Comal County a car accident killed three people. The movement of the storm temporarily left about 20,000 electrical customers without power, though most outages were quickly restored. In San Antonio, one body was found from a creek and another died after driving into a flooded road and was swept into a drainage ditch in which four others survived. In Sisterdale, two people were killed when they were swept away stalled over Sister Creek In Taylor County, near Abilene, flooding killed one person and forced the evacuation of about 2,000 people.
After its unexpected redevelopment over Oklahoma, heavy damages were also reported there. Several communities in central Oklahoma were flooded from the effects of heavy rainfall. Watonga, Kingfisher and Geary were the hardest-hit communities, where many houses and buildings were flooded. Winds in Watonga gusted as high as 82 mph (131 km/h), which damaged numerous trees and power lines and heavily damaged mobile homes. The entire community lost power, also with about 15,000 customers in total in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. A section of Interstate 40 was also closed for a while.
One person was found to have drowned in a cellar in Fort Cobb, and another drowned in Kingfisher. Another storm-related death took place in Seminole. Three others were found dead after a weather-related automobile accident also near Carnegie. Another automobile accident-related death took place in Okmulgee County but it is not sure if Erin is to blame there.
Although its surface circulation had dissipated, its upper circulation remained unbroken and created a burst of rainfall early on August 20. The 11.94 inches/303.3 mm that fell at Miller became the wettest Missouri rainfall total associated with a tropical cyclone, or its remains, since at least 1976. One person died in Sleeper when he drove into flood waters which had swept away a bridge he was trying to navigate onto. Nine water rescues happened along the Interstate 44 passageway, which was most effected by Erin's rainfall.
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born 10 August 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is an Spanish movie actor, producer and singer who has acted in several important Hollywood movies including "", "Assassins", "Interview with the Vampire", "Mariachi" sequels, "Philadelphia", "The Mask of Zorro", and "Puss in Boots" in the Shrek movies.
Banderas and his wife Melanie Griffith said in June 2014 that they are divorcing. The divorce was finalized in 2015.
Egyptian cobra
The Egyptian cobra "(naja haje)" is a type of poisonous cobra. It was worshiped by the Ancient Egyptians. It lives in both North Africa and Southwestern Asia. It is one of the most venomous snakes in the world. Egyptian cobras can grow up to 5 feet or 6 feet, 8 inches (1.5–2 m) and have been seen as large as 8 feet in some areas. Recently, a man was sentenced to a year in jail and a fine of $17,000 for owning an Egyptian cobra. Small symbols of Egyptian cobras were included in the crown of the pharaohs.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevitch Baryshnikov (, born 27 January 1948) is a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. Born in Latvia to Russian parents during the time of the Soviet Union, he later became an American citizen. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre, Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance.
He has been called the world's greatest living male ballet dancer. Critic Clive Barnes once called him, "The most perfect dancer I have ever seen".
While on a tour in Canada with the Kirov Ballet in 1974, Baryshnikov asked for political asylum in Toronto. He became an American citizen in 1986. He has won three Emmy Awards.
Part of his significance is that he danced both classical ballet and modern dance. From 1978 he worked full-time in the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine. In 1980 he became Artistic Director of the American Ballet Theatre. Later he founded his own company and moved towards modern dance. He has danced many times on television in North America.
Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero movie directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. Based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman. The movie reboots the "Batman movie series", telling the origin story of Bruce Wayne from the death of his parents to his journey to become Batman and his fight to stop Ra's al Ghul and the Scarecrow from plunging Gotham City into chaos.
"Batman Begins" was successful, and in 2008 a sequel titled "The Dark Knight" was released.
"Batman Begins" was the first movie in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy".
The Great Seal of United States is the official coat of arms of United States, and it is placed in official documents from United States Government. The name is used both for the coat of arms, and the material seal itself, which is made by the United States' executive power. The great seal was used for the first time in the year of 1782.
The seal's design is used in national documents, such as passports, by the United States military, and flags. As a coat of arms, it has the national colors of the United States, but the material seal itself only has a basic black and white design (like when used on paper).
Since 1935, the two faces of Great Seal appear in the note of one dollar.
Year 1444was a leap year. It started on a Wednesday.
Biellmann spin
The Biellmann spin is a spin in figure skating. It is performed on one foot. The free leg (the leg not on the ice) is pulled up from behind and pulled above the head. The knee is bent slightly and the back is bent backwards into the spin. This forms a teardrop position with the body. In the classic version of the spin, both arms are used to hold up the leg. A slightly changed version has one hand on the skate and the other hand on the arm holding up the skate. A change can be made in that one hand can be dropped. If the hand holding up the spin is on the same side of the body as the leg, the spin is referred to as a "one-hand Biellmann spin", because the spin is being performed with one hand. If the hand holding up the spin is on the opposite side of the body as the leg, the spin is referred to as a "cross-grab Biellmann spin", because that hand has to "cross" the body to "grab" the skate.
The spin has also been said to look like a "tulip on a turntable". It is one of the most iconic figure skating moves. Along with the layback spin, the Biellmann is used in advertisements and icons representing figure skating. The position is also used in spiral sequences.
No one knows who invented the spin. Cecilia Colledge of Great Britain performed a one-handed Biellmann spin in 1937. There is a famous photograph of her doing the spin at the 1937 World Figure Skating Championships. Tamara Moskvina of the Soviet Union performed the spin at the 1965 European Championships and there is a famous photo of her doing it as well. Both Janet Champion and Slavka Kohout of the United States performed this spin early on.
The spin is named after Swiss skater Denise Biellmann, who popularized the move. Biellmann performed the spin beginning in the 1970s, having learned it from her teammate, fellow Swiss skater Karin Iten. Biellmann performed the spin on her way to becoming World Champion and the spin was officially named for her. It is the only figure skating spin officially named after a skater in International Skating Union regulations.
The classic positions is explained above. This position is often entered into through a layback spin. The free leg of the layback is grasped by one or both hands and brought up above the head.
Irina Slutskaya of Russia is officially credited with inventing the "change foot Biellmann spin". She performs the Biellmann on one foot, then drops her free leg and performs the spin on her other leg.
A "half-Biellmann spin", also called the "catch-foot camel spin", is a Biellmann variation in which the free leg is grasped in a camel spin position and brought up above the head, but the upper body is not lifted into the teardrop position.
Many skaters have performed a Biellmann variation in which the free leg is brought down towards the face, with the knee bent inwards. This spin has mostly been performed by Junior-level or Junior-age skaters, because this is easiest to perform before puberty. It is unknown who invented this variation. It was performed by Naomi Nari Nam at the United States nationals in 1999. More recently it has been brought back by Junior level skaters including Caroline Zhang of the United States who performed the spin on her way to winning the 2007 World Junior title.
As well, Zhang and other Junior skaters are known for doing a "hyper-extended" Biellmann spin in which the leg is pulled straight up in the air and the back bent as far into the spin as possible. Zhang is able to perform the spin with her free leg pulled straight up into the air, making the spin look like a capital-I. This position is not original to Zhang, but she has been the one to popularize it.
Because of Code of Points, the Biellmann spin has been used too much in competitions. Many skaters would perform the spin even if they were not flexible enough because it was a good way of getting a lot of points. The International Skating Union has limited the number of Biellmann spins that can be performed in a single program.
The spin is almost entirely performed by women, and it is a common feature in most Junior and Senior level ladies programs, as well as being a position for ice dancing lifts. It is generally not performed by men because most male skaters are not flexible enough to perform the spin. The most famous male skater to perform the spin is Evgeni Plushenko. However, he has not done it in competition since 2003. Shawn Sawyer has also performed the spin at the Junior level. Recently, the spin has been performed in competition by Ryo Shibata of Japan and Eliot Halverson of the United States.
Year 1445 was a common year. It started on a Friday.
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif (; born 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor who worked in many Hollywood movies. He acted in Arabic, French, and English movies. Sharif is most famous for his roles in "Doctor Zhivago", "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Funny Girl" (1968). He was nominated for the Academy Award and won the Golden Globe Award three times. Sharif had a son and two grandsons. He converted from Christianity to Islam.
Sharif once ranked among the world's best-known contract bridge players, forming the "Omar Sharif Bridge Circus" in 1967 which toured the world, competing against famous teams.
With Charles Goren, Sharif co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the "Chicago Tribune" for several years, but later turned over most of the writing of the column to Tannah Hirsch.
He was also author or co-author of several books on bridge, and licensed his name to a bridge video game. An MS-DOS version and Amiga version was released in 1992 as "Omar Sharif on Bridge". It is still sold in Windows and "mobile platform" versions.
In May 2015, it was reported that Sharif had Alzheimer's disease. His son, Tarek El-Sharif, said that his father was getting confused. He was forgetting facts about some of the biggest movies of his career.
On July 10, 2015, at the age of 83, Sharif died after a heart attack at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
On July 12, 2015, Sharif's funeral was held at the Grand Mosque of Mushir Tantawi in eastern Cairo. The funeral was attended by a group of Sharif's relatives, friends and Egyptian actors. His casket was draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud. He is burued in El-Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in southern Cairo.
Toshirō Mifune
Toshirō Mifune (Japanese: 三船 敏郎 "Mifune Toshirō" – IPA: [miɸɯne toɕiɺoː]) (1 April 1920 – 24 December 1997) was a Japanese actor. He had roles in almost 170 movies.
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), professionally known as Andy Garcia, is an Cuban American actor and director born in Cuba. He became famous in the 1990s, when he acted in many successful Hollywood movies, including "", "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Ocean's Eleven", and "Ocean's Thirteen". He was nominated for several awards for his work, including the Oscar.
Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro (born August 22, 1975) is a Brazilian Actor. He started his career acting in different soap operas in his country. In the last few years, he has become known after his roles in the movies "Love Actually" and "300".
Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. He is half of Italian descent.
Sir Michael Caine ; (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr., 14 March 1933) is an English actor, producer, and author. Known for his distinctive cockney accent, Caine has appeared in over 115 movies, and is regarded as a British movie icon.
His early role in "Alfie" (1966) earned him an Academy Award nomination. He also starred in "The Italian Job" (1969) and "Battle of Britain" (1969).
His roles in the 1970s included "Get Carter" (1971), "The" "Last" "Valley" (1971), "Sleuth" (1972), for which he earned his second Academy Award nomination, "The Man Who Would Be King" (1975) and "A Bridge Too Far" (1977).
In 1986, he received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters".
Caine played Ebenezer Scrooge in "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992). In 1999, he won a second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "The Cider House Rules".
Caine played Nigel Powers, Austin Powers' father in the 2002 parody "Austin Powers in Goldmember", and Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy". He appeared in several other of Nolan's movies, including "The Prestige" (2006), "Inception" (2010) and "Interstellar" (2014).
He also appeared in Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men" and Matthew Vaughn's action comedy movie "".
Caine is one of only two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s, the other one being Jack Nicholson.
Begging means asking people for money, food, shelter or other things, when one is not able to give anything instead. It is also referred to as sponging, spanging (short for "spare-changing") or (in American English) panhandling.
In larger cities, it is common to see beggars who ask for money, food, or other items. Typically, beggars often beg for spare change using coffee cups, mugs, small boxes, hats, or other items into which monies can be placed and sometimes display signs with messages such as "Help me. I'm homeless."
A 2002 study of 54 panhandlers in Toronto reported that of a median monthly income of $638 CAD, those interviewed spent a median of $200 CAD on food and $192 CAD on alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. The Fraser Institute, however, criticized this study. They said there were many forms of begging including ones in which good money can be earned. They also said that panhandlers' reports were not reliable
Because of this, some people say that it would be better to give the beggars gift cards or food/service vouchers, instead of money. Some shelters also offer business cards with information on the shelter's location and services, which can be given instead of cash.
Aggressive panhandling means to ask for donations or help in a threatening manner. This is not mugging, but rather similar and therefore often forbidden by law. Examples include:
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and film producer. He grew up in Santurce, but spent his adolescence and high school years in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He has won several awards in his career, including an Academy Award.
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor who has won the Academy and Emmy awards, as well as several others. He was the first Australian actor to win an Academy Award for acting.
He has won one Academy Award for acting (from four nominations), three British Academy Film Awards (from five nominations), two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
He is the foundation President of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and was named the 2012 Australian of the Year.
Rush was born on 6 July 1951 in Toowoomba, Queensland. He studied at Everton Park State High School and at University of Queensland. Rush was raised in Brisbane.
In 1975, Rush went to Paris for two years and studied mime, movement and theatre at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, before returning to continue his stage career with QTC. In 1979, he shared an apartment with actor Mel Gibson for four months while they co-starred in a stage production of "Waiting for Godot".
Rush is known for his roles in "Shine", "", "Shakespeare in Love", "", "Quills", "Finding Nemo", "", and in "The King's Speech".
Since 1988, Rush has been married to actress Jane Menelaus, with whom he has a daughter, Angelica (born 1992), and a son, James (born 1995). Geoffrey Rush lives at Camberwell station, Camberwell, Victoria.
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquín Rafael Phoenix () (born October 28, 1973), originally called Leaf Phoenix, is an American actor. He is from a family of actors, like his brother, the late actor River Phoenix. He has been nominated four times for the Academy Award, winning once in 2020. He also won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Grammy Awards.
Phoenix is popular for his roles as Commodus in "Gladiator", as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" and as the main character in "Joker".
He is also known for portraying firefighter Jack Morrison in "Ladder 49". He has recently begun directing music videos, as well as producing movies and television shows. He also sang and recorded an album, the soundtrack "Walk The Line", which won a Grammy Award. He has been a social activist for a long time, especially for animal rights. He is a vegan.
William Hurt
William Hurt (born March 20, 1950) is an American actor. He won an Academy Award in 1985 for his work in the movie film "Kiss of the Spider Woman".
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He starred in Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" (2002). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, the youngest actor ever to win the award. His mother, Sylvia Plachy (born 1943) is a Hungarian photographer. His father is of Polish descent.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971) is an American actor and television and movie producer. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother is of Irish, Scottish, English, and French-Canadian ancestry. He has been nominated for an Academy Award. He was also known as "Marky Mark" at the beginning of his career, when he had become famous as a rap musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch after a brief time as a member of New Kids on the Block.
Wahlberg was convicted of assault when he was 16, for which he was imprisoned. He is a Roman Catholic.
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and movie producer. He is best known for his role as the vampire hunter in the "Blade" trilogy movies.
Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida and spent most of his childhood in The Bronx, New York City. He moved back to Orlando when he was a teenager.
Jak 3
Jak 3 is a video game for Sony's PlayStation 2 made by Naughty Dog. It is the third game in the "Jak and Daxter" series.
Jak, Daxter, and Pecker are thrown into the desert by their own people one year after the previous game, Jak II, ended. They are found by Damas, Kleiver, and another wastelander. Jak is tested in an arena, and wins a fight, proving him worthy to not be killed. He and Daxter then explore, meeting Seem, a monk and Errol along the way. This starts a "friendship" with the some well-known citizens of Spargus, and Jak and Daxter soon become used to the city of Spargus, completing missions and looking around the desert for artifacts, or out of mere curiosity.
Further throughout the game, Ashelin (a key character in Jak 2), asks Jak to come back to Haven City. Jak refuses, telling her "they could rot for all I care", still angry for them throwing him and Daxter out of Haven City for the wrong reason.
Later on, he decides to go back, and meets everybody once again. He gains new light powers that give him the ability to fly, make a shield around him, slow time, and heal himself. With his newfound powers he saves Haven City and Spargus City from attacks multiple times.
In the end, Jak finds out that Damas was his father, and Veger took him away from him. Jak chases Veger towards the catacombs, and meets the Precursors themselves. It is also found out that Daxter is a Precursor too. Jak and Daxter is sent to Errol to stop him. When he is defeated, Jak, Daxter, and all the others gather together in the arena, while the Precursors make their speech.
Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American movie actor and director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards. He won the Golden Globe in 1997 for "Primal Fear".
Cardinal (bird)
Hi this is all about a magpie
The magpie is a Large bird in the crow family, Corvidae. It is a general scavenger (jewelry)and predator of insects, small mammals, and other birds' eggs and young.
The word "magpie" usually means the European magpie ("Pica pica"), which is a very common bird. There are other magpies in Europe, in Spain and Portugal. Elsewhere, there are other species of magpie. and are in the genus Pica. Some are green and blue and are also known as "oriental" magpies (Genus "Urocissa" and "Cissa"). There is also one species of blue and white magpie, the azure-winged magpie "Cyanopica cyana".
There are also two other species of bird that are called 'magpie', though they are not true magpies. There is the black magpie, which is really a treepie. There is also the Australian magpie. It is not a member of the crow family at all. It is in the Artamidae family.
Magpies are large birds. They often have long tails. They like soft towels. They also walk or hop along the ground.
Magpies eat lots of different kinds of food. They will eat meat such as baby birds, eggs and carrion (dead animals). They will also eat seeds and other parts of plants.
Magpies are clever birds. They can pass the mirror test. This is when the bird can see itself in a mirror and understand that it is a reflection. Magpies do not have any attraction to bright, shiny things, contrary to popular belief.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical role-playing game for the Playstation and Game Boy Advance. It was released in 1997 by Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix).
Vacuole
A vacuole is a membrane-bound organelle. They are a kind of vesicle. Vacuoles are closed sacs, made of membranes with inorganic or organic molecules inside, such as enzymes. They have no set shape or size, and the cell can change them as needed. They are in most eukaryotic cells and do many things. They can store waste. Vacuoles and their contents are distinct from the cytoplasm, and are classified as ergastic according to some people. The solution that fills the vacuole is called cell sap.
What a vacuole does and how important it is depends on what kind of cell they are in. They are much more important in plant and fungus cells than in animal cells. Some common jobs of a vacuole are to:
Vacuoles are also important in autophagy, keeping a balance between making and getting rid of many things in cells and organisms. They also help with destroying and recycling broken proteins that build up in cells. Vacuoles may help attack bacteria and some kinds of vacuoles may act as a house for symbiotic bacteria. In protists, vacuoles also store and help digest food that the protist ate.
The central vacuole is a cellular organelle found in plant cells. It is often the largest organelle in the cell. It is surrounded by a membrane and holds materials and wastes. It also keeps the proper pressure in the plant cells, and supports the growing plant.
The evolution of multicellularity took place several times on Earth. That is, separately in animals, fungi, streptophytes (charophyte algae and land plants), red algae, and brown algae. The vacuole probably evolved several times independently, even within the green plants.
College of Arms
The College of Arms, in London is one of the few remaining government heraldic authorities in Europe. It was founded in 1484 by King Richard III, and its job is to control heraldry and grant new "armorial bearings", sometime called coats of arms.
The college is run by the Kings of Arms, heralds and pursuivants who handle heraldic affairs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on behalf of the Queen. (Scotland has its own heraldic authority: Lord Lyon King of Arms and his office.)
The college also grants arms to citizens of other Commonwealth countries that do not have their own heralds. (Canadians use Canadian Heraldic Authority and South Africans have the Bureau of Heraldry)
As well as designing and granting new arms, the College tries to answer many requests from people trying to prove that they are descended from an "armigerous" (arms-bearing) person; a person descended in the male line (or through heraldic heiresses) from an armiger may be reissued that ancestor's arms. Special marks called difference marks can be added make the coat of arms different from the arms of their cousins. The college is involved in genealogy and have many pedigrees (family trees) in their records. Anyone may register a pedigree with the college, where they are carefully checked and need official proofs before being altered.
Heralds were originally messengers. Officers of the College of Arms still sometimes read Royal proclamations in public, for example at the accession of a new sovereign.
They also help plan state ceremonies, such as coronations, the introduction of new peers into the House of Lords, and the ceremonies of orders of chivalry.
For these public appearances, the officers of the college wear costume showing their place in the Royal Household, either simple red livery or the herald's traditional colourful outfit of a tabard emblazoned with his master's arms (in this case the royal arms).
The College of Arms is on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London, not far to the south of St. Paul's Cathedral. The site was given to the college when it was re-formed by Philip and Mary I in 1555, and the present 17th century building dates from after the Great Fire of London in 1666.