AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Daniel Barenboim (born Buenos Aires, 15 November 1942) is a pianist and conductor. He is a citizen of Argentina, Israel, Spain, and the Palestinian Authority.
Barenboim (meaning "pear tree" in Yiddish) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; his grandparents were Russian Ashkenazi Jews. At first he was famous as a pianist but now he is just as well known as a conductor. He is particularly important for his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra which works with young Arab and Israeli musicians.
Barenboim has often criticized the illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. In 2001 he made many people in Israel angry by conducting the music of Wagner in a concert. Wagner’s music had not been performed in Israel since 1938 because Wagner had been accused of being anti-Jewish and because he had been Hitler's favourite composer. However, Hitler and Wagner had not personally known each other, as the composer died in 1883 and Hitler was born in 1889.
Barenboim was born in Buenos Aires in Argentina. He started piano lessons when he was five. At first his mother taught him, but soon his father became his teacher and he remained the only piano teacher he had. When he was seven years old he gave a concert in Buenos Aires.
In 1952, the Barenboim family moved to Israel. In 1954 he went to Salzburg to take part in Igor Markevitch's conducting classes. There he met famous people such as Wilhelm Furtwängler whose conducting inspired him. Furtwängler was very impressed by the young boy and asked him to play Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but his father did not want him to play in Berlin because it was too soon after the Nazis had murdered millions of Jews.
In 1955 Barenboim studied harmony and composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.
Barenboim played the piano in Vienna and Rome in 1952, Paris in 1955, London in 1956. In 1957 he played in New York with Leopold Stokowski conducting. He then toured Europe, the United States, South America, Australia and the Far East. He made many recordings as a pianist.
In 1967 he conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra. Soon many orchestras wanted him to conduct them. Between 1975 and 1989 he was music director of the Orchestre de Paris, where he conducted a lot of music by 20th century composers.
He first conducted an opera in 1973 when he directed a performance of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Edinburgh Festival. He made his first appearance at Bayreuth in 1981 and he often conducted there until 1999.
Barenboim was conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 2006.
Barenboim now lives in Berlin. He is the conductor of the "Staatsoper Unter den Linden" (Berlin State Opera) and the Berlin Staatskapelle. He is now conductor for life at the Berlin State Opera.
Barenboim has given many lectures about music including the Reith Lecture in 2006.
He was given the honour of conducting the world famous New Year's Day Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 January 2009.
In 2008 Barenboim first conducted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York at a performance of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde".
Barenboim still performs as a pianist. In 2006 he played all Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas in the Royal Festival Hall, London in a series of concerts. In 2010 he played a series of concerts with the Berlin Staatskapelle, playing all Beethoven's piano concertos.
Barenboim has made many recordings including twice recording all Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. He recorded a lot of chamber with his first wife, Jacqueline du Pré, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, and the violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman. He has made many recordings as conductor, including all the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Schumann, and many operas by Wagner.
Barenboim wrote a book called "Everything is Connected" in which he writes about music being a metaphor for life and society.
As well as the famous classical composers he has performed 20th century music, Baroque music and tangos from Argentina.
In 2001 he made many people in Israel angry because he conducted Wagner’s music at a concert there. Wagner was not allowed to be performed in Israel because he had been anti-Jewish. He changed the programme, but then decided to play some Wagner as an encore at the end of the concert. He spoke to the audience and said that anyone who did not want to hear the music could leave the hall. There was an argument for half an hour. In the end some people left, but most of them stayed and listened, and then applauded enthusiastically at the end.
Barenboim has given performances in the West Bank to show that he has sympathy with the Palestinians. The Israeli government told him it would be too dangerous to go to Ramallah, but he went into the town during the night to give a piano recital.
In 1999, Barenboim started the West-Eastern Divan orchestra with the help of a Palestinian-American professor Edward Said, who was a close friend.
The orchestra brings young musicians from Israel and Arab countries together every summer. They give concerts all over the world.
Barenboim has won many prizes and has been awarded many honorary degrees.
Daniel Barenboim married the famous British cellist Jacqueline du Pré at the Western Wall, Jerusalem in 1967. They gave concerts and made recordings together until Jacqueline became ill with multiple sclerosis and retired in 1973. There is a famous film by Christopher Nupen of them playing Schubert's "Trout Quintet" with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta.
Du Pré died in 1987. In 1988 Barenboim married the Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova. They have two sons. The younger son, Michael, is now a violinist and often performs with his father.
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
The West-Eastern Divan is an orchestra for young people. It is based in Sevilla, Spain. The musicians in the orchestra come from Israel and its surrounding Arab countries.
The orchestra was started in 1999 by the Jewish conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Palestinian-American academic Edward Said (pronounce: Sah—eed). The name of the orchestra comes from a group of poems by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was started to help bring Israelis and Palestinians together to work for peace and to help solve the fight between Israel and Palestine. The idea was to let Israelis and Arabs work together in countries which had nothing to do with the conflict.
The first workshop of the orchestra took place in Weimar, Germany because it was the 1999 European cultural town. Barenboim chose two leaders for the orchestra: one Israeli and one Arab. They worked with some very famous musicians including the cellist Yo Yo Ma. In 2000 the orchestra met again in Weimar, in 2001 they met in Chicago. Since 2002 they have met every year in Seville.
The West-Eastern Divan Workshop takes place during several weeks each summer in Andalusia. After the workshop has finished, the orchestra travel to other places to give concerts. They have given concerts in many parts of Europe, North America, South America. In 2004 they performed an historic concert in Ramallah in Palestine. After the concert Barenboim said that the people of Israel and Palestine had a shared future. He said: “Either we all kill each other, or we share what there is to share. It is this message that we come here to bring."
In 2004, the Barenboim-Said Foundation, based in Seville, was started to help develop several education projects. Money is given for this by the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia). The Foundation helps with the orchestra as well as with projects such as the Early Childhood Musical Education Project in Seville.
The orchestra has won prizes and made recordings. A film called "Knowledge is the Beginning" was made about them.
In August 2009 the orchestra will give three concerts at the BBC Proms including a concert performance of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio which has a story about people who have been put in prison for their political ideas.
Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra
The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria. It was started in 1986 by the conductor Claudio Abbado.
Auditions are held in many European capital cities. From the start it included people from Eastern Europe. This was before the collapse of the Iron Curtain. It is a very big orchestra. The musicians play music that needs a large orchestra, usually music from the late Romantic period or the 20th century.
The orchestra has been conducted by very famous conductors including Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink.
The orchestra played at the 2008 BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London with Sir Colin Davis conducting. They will be playing again at the Proms in September 2009 when they will perform Richard Strauss's huge work "Also sprach Zarathustra".
India-Taiwan relations
The bilateral relations between the Republic of India and Taiwan have improved since the 1990s, India has expanded economic and strategic cooperation with Taiwan.
Owing to the strategic rivalry, suspicion and tenuous relations between the People's Republic of China and India since the 1962 war, India has slowly sought to develop better commercial and strategic cooperation with Taiwan even while ruling out the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations. Taiwan has also viewed India's rising geopolitical standing as a potential counter-balance to China's dominance in the region. As a part of its "Look East" foreign policy, India has sought to cultivate extensive ties with Taiwan in trade as well as working together over weapons of mass destruction issues, environment and fighting terrorism. Both sides have aimed to develop ties to counteract Chinese rivalry with both nations. The India-Taipei Association (ITA) Office has been established in Taipei since 1995 to promote non-governmental interactions between India and Taiwan, and to facilitate business, tourism, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The India-Taipei Association has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services. In 2002, India became the 28th nation to sign the Investment Protection Agreement with Taiwan and in 2006, both nations established the Taiwan-India Cooperation Council. Furthermore, Taiwan promotes trade with India as a means to reduce the extent of their economic dependence with China. In 2007, Ma Ying-jeou, the leader of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's largest political party supportive of reunification, and a major candidate in the 2008 presidential elections made an unofficial visit to India.
Sikkimese people
Old Delhi
Old Delhi (, , "Purānī Dillī"), walled city of Delhi, was founded as Shahjahanabad (, , ) by Indian Emperor Shahjahan in 1639. It remained the capital of the Mughals until the end of the Mughal dynasty.
Doaba
Doaba () is the region of Indian Punjab surrounded by the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The name "Doaba" literally translates to "land of two rivers" (""Do"" two, ""Ab"" river; Farsi). It is one of the most fertile regions of the world, and was the centre of the Green Revolution in India. To this day, it remains one of the largest per capita producers of wheat in the world.
The people of Doaba started out as agriculturalists, but have now diversified into education, sports and entrepreneurship.
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was one of the last events in the American Civil War, and happened on Good Friday, April 14, 1865. President Lincoln was shot while watching the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.. He died early the next morning.
Lincoln's killer, John Wilkes Booth, was an actor and Confederate supporter who had plotted with other men to kill the Secretary of State, William H. Seward and the Vice President Andrew Johnson. Booth hoped to create disorder and overthrow the Northern government by doing this. Booth was able to kill Lincoln, but Seward and Johnson survived. Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated.
On April 14, Lincoln went to attend a play with his wife at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C..
During the third act of the play, following a line in the play that was the biggest laugh of the night, Lincoln was laughing at this line when he was shot. John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and a Confederate spy from Maryland, entered the presidential box and fired a pistol at point-blank range into the back of Lincoln's head, mortally wounding him. Lincoln immediately lost consciousness, but he passed into unconsciousness with laughter and a smile on his face. Katherine M. Evans, a young actress in the play, who was offstage when Lincoln was shot but rushed onstage after Booth's exit stated "I looked and saw President Lincoln unconscious, his head dropping on his breast, his eyes closed, but with a smile still on his face". Lincoln was carried across the street to Petersen House. He was placed diagonally on the bed because his tall frame would not fit normally on the smaller bed. He remained in a coma for nine hours. He died the next morning. As he died his breathing grew quieter, his face more calm. According to some accounts, at his last drawn breath, on the morning after the assassination, he smiled broadly and then expired. Historians, most notably author Lee Davis have emphasized Lincoln's peaceful appearance when and after he died: "It was the first time in four years, probably, that a peaceful expression crossed his face." Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Lincoln Administration, Maunsell Bradhurst Field wrote, "I had never seen upon the President's face an expression more genial and pleasing." The President’s secretary, John Hay, saw "a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features".
After being on the run for 12 days, Booth was tracked down and found on a farm in Virginia, some south of Washington. After refusing to surrender to Union troops, Booth was killed by Sergeant Boston Corbett on April 26.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Lars Løkke Rasmussen (born 15 May 1964 in Vejle) is a Danish politician who was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 28 June 2015 to 27 June 2019. He was also Prime Minister from 5 April 2009 until 3 October 2011.
He has been a Liberal Party member of the Danish Parliament since 21 September 1994. From November 2001 to November 2007 he was Interior and Health Minister of Denmark, and from November 2007 to April 2009 he was Finance Minister of Denmark.
On 5 April 2009 he took over from Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Prime Minister after Fogh Rasmussen was elected Secretary General of NATO.
Rasmussen has also been mayor of Frederiksborg County north of Copenhagen from 1998 to 2001. He holds a degree in law from the University of Copenhagen. He is married and has three children.
On 6 June 2019, he resigned from his position as prime minister after a general election, in which his government was narrowly defeated by the Social Democrats and their leader Mette Frederiksen.
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American actor and a Grammy-nominated rapper known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the well-received album "Black Star" in 1998. He was a major force in the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums "Black on Both Sides" in 1999, "The New Danger" in 2004, and "True Magic", 2006.
In economics, the term stagflation is used when there is almost no growth in production, yet there is high inflation, and unemployment is high. This was supposed to be impossible under the kind of economics described by Keynes (Keynesian economics).
Stagflation is a portmanteau word of "stagnation" and "inflation". It is used in economics when the inflation rate is high, the growth rate slows down, and unemployment stays high. It raises a dilemma for economic policy since actions designed to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa.
The term is generally attributed to a British politician who became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1970, Iain Macleod, who coined the phrase in his speech to Parliament in 1965.
Keynes didn't use the term, but some of his work refers to the conditions most would recognise as stagflation. In the version of Keynesian macroeconomic theory which was dominant between the end of World War II (WWII) and the late-1970s, inflation and recession were regarded as mutually exclusive, the relationship between the two being described by the Phillips curve. Stagflation is very costly and difficult to stop once it starts.
A political measure called the Misery Index is got by adding the inflation rate to the unemployment rate.
This situation usually begins with things beginning to cost more while fewer of the things are being made. Because fewer things are being made, fewer people are needed to make them. This causes unemployment to increase. All three of these factors together cause stagflation — stagnation in production and employment and increasing inflation. It is also because of "cost push" factors. When it begins to cost more to make an item, the price will increase. People will be less likely to invest money in the company. This will lead to more unemployment.
The 1973–75 recession or 1970s recession was a period of economic stagnation in much of the Western world during the 1970s, putting an end to the general post-World War II economic boom. It differed from many previous recessions as being a stagflation, where high unemployment coincided with high inflation.
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Their conductor is Franz Welser-Möst.
The orchestra was started in 1918 with Nikolai Sokoloff as conductor. In 1931 a new concert hall called the Severance Hall was opened. It has been the orchestra's concert hall ever since.
The conductor George Szell made them into one of the world's best orchestras. When he started conducting them after World War II he told twelve of the players that they had to leave. Another twelve musicians were so angry that they left as well. Szell then improved the orchestra during the 24 years he was with them. Even now the orchestra is so good because of what Szell did for them.
Today's conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-Möst, continues to conduct the orchestra in Cleveland as well as touring with them all over the world. They perform regularly in the summer at the Blossom Festival in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and also in Miami, Florida, and in the Musikverein, Vienna.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the great orchestras of the world. They give concerts in the Symphony Hall, Boston. They also play every summer at the Tanglewood Festival.
The orchestra was started in 1881. Many of the conductors it had during its history were extremely famous, including Arthur Nikisch from 1889 to 1893, and Pierre Monteux from 1919 to 1924 who gave the orchestra a reputation for a "French" sound which many people think it still has today. Serge Koussevitzky was their conductor for many years and made them a world-class orchestra. With Koussevitzky, the orchestra gave radio broadcasts and made its summer home at Tanglewood, where Koussevitzky founded the Berkshire Music Center, which is now the Tanglewood Music Center.
Koussevitzky asked many famous composers to write music for the orchestra. Works written especially for them include "Symphony No. 4" by Sergei Prokofiev and the "Symphony of Psalms" by Igor Stravinsky. They also gave the first performance of Béla Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra". Since then many other composers have written for the orchestra including Roger Sessions, Andrzej Panufnik and Elliott Carter.
When the conductor Charles Munch took over from Koussevitzky he gave the orchestra their first tour overseas. He was followed in 1962 by Erich Leinsdorf, then William Steinberg, Seiji Ozawa and, since 2004, James Levine who is the first American-born conductor of the orchestra.
As well as the Boston Symphony Orchestra there is also the Boston Pops Orchestra, founded in 1885, which plays light music, e.g. from show tunes. Arthur Fiedler conducted them from 1930 until 1979. He was followed by the film composer John Williams. Today their conductor is Keith Lockhart.
A small group of principal players from the BSO form the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. They have being playing since 1964 and perform in Boston, Tanglewood and in other places in USA and Europe. They have made many recordings.
The Boston Symphony have made many recordings with their conductors since 1917 when they made one of the earliest music recordings conducted by Karl Muck.
Light music
Light music is a musical style that might often be called "easy listening". It started in the United Kingdom in the 19th century and became very popular in the middle of the 20th century.
Light music was often played at seaside resorts. It often consisted of arrangements for orchestra of popular songs. It was music that was supposed to be popular, music that a wide audience would be able to enjoy.
In the 1930s, when the BBC started broadcasting music on the radio (which they then called "wireless"), light music became very popular. In 1945 the BBC Light Programme was started. One very popular programme was called "Friday Night is Music Night", with music played by the BBC Concert Orchestra. and "Music While You Work" was also a very popular programme.
Today Light Music is sometimes seen as not in fashion. Film music is more popular today, and music from musicals.
Eric Coates is a good example of a composer of Light Music. His piece "By the Sleepy Lagoon" became the signature tune of a radio programme called "Desert Island Discs". Arthur Wood's "Barwick Green" became the theme of "The Archers".
In the United States popular light pieces were written by people such as Leroy Anderson and George Gershwin.
Light Music is similar to what is called Salon Music (German: Salonmusik) in Europe.
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the air force of the Australian Defence Force. It started in 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps and saw its first action in World War I.
The first plan for an Australian air force was given to the Military Board in 1910. The plan was approved on 22 October, 1912, and five planes were ordered. A flying school was set up on of land at Point Cook, Victoria, with the first students starting on 17 August, 1914.
Nonthaburi (province)
Nonthaburi is a province in Thailand. Its central town is Nonthaburi, about 25 km north-west of Bangkok. There are many government buildings in Nonthaburi.
Tourists and locals head to Wat Poramai-yikawat -- a mon styled temple, and Wat Sanam Nua temple for worship.
Bridge to Terabithia (2007 movie)
Bridge to Terabithia is a fantasy movie. It was released in 2007. The director of the movie was Gábor Csupó. It was adapted for a movie by David L. Paterson and Jeff Stockwell. The movie is based on the Katherine Paterson novel of the same name. Walt Disney Pictures distributed the movie in the U.S.A. Bridge to Terabithia tells the story of two 12-year-old neighbours, Jesse Aarons and Leslie Burke. They spend their free time in an abandoned tree house where they create a fantasy world called Terabithia.
David Paterson, who wrote the screenplay, is Katherine Paterson's son. The novel is based on parts of his childhood. When he asked his mother if he could write a screenplay of the novel, she agreed. This was because he could write plays well. Production of the movie began in February 2006. The movie was shot by November. It was shot mainly in Auckland, New Zealand within two months. It took ten weeks to edit the movie. Post-production, music mixing, and visual effects took many months.
"Bridge to Terabithia" was released in the US and Canada on February 16, 2007. The movie was successful in terms of earnings. With a budget of around $20 million, it collected US$137 million worldwide. The movie received positive reviews. Critics called it faithful to the children's novel. They said the visuals and performances made the movie imaginative. "Bridge to Terabithia" was nominated for seven awards. It won five of them at the Young Artist Awards.
Jesse "Jess" Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is a fifth grader who wants to be an artist. He lives with his financially poor family in Lark Creek. He rides the bus to school with his little sister, May Belle (Bailee Madison). He avoids the school bully, Janice Avery (Lauren Clinton). In class, his classmates, Scott Hoager (Cameron Wakefield) and Gary Fulcher (Elliot Lawless) tease him. A new student his age named Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) comes to the school. At recess, Jess enters a running event, for which he had been training at home. Leslie also enters it. She manages to beat all the boys, including Jess. This irritates Jess. While going home, Jess and Leslie learn that they are next-door neighbors.
Later in the evening, Jess becomes angry to find his sister has drawn in his notebook. His strict father (Robert Patrick) sides with her. The next day at school, Leslie praises Jess' drawing ability. This is after she sees his notebook. They soon become best friends. After school, they go into the woods. There, they swing across a creek on a rope. Jess and Leslie find an abandoned tree house and a broken down truck on the other side of the creek. They invent a new world, which they call "Terabithia". The fantasy world reflects their lives. It comes to life as they explore the area. For the next few days, Jess and Leslie spend their free time in the tree house and learn about one another.
Leslie gives Jess an art kit for his birthday. This pleases Jess very much. Later, he gives her a puppy. She names it Prince Terrien. Once in Terabithia, they fight with various creatures, including a troll that looks like Janice Avery, the school bully. At school, May Belle shows her friend Alexandra what she has for her snack, Twinkies. Jess tells her that she should not brag about them. At recess, May Belle tells Jess and Leslie that Janice stole her Twinkies. Leslie becomes frustrated by Janice's fee for entering the toilet. Jess and Leslie play a trick on Janice. Everyone laughs at her at the bus for this.
Once Leslie's parents finish writing their book, she and Jess help paint their house. Jess is impressed by her parents' happiness and watches the family. At school on Friday, Leslie hears Janice crying in the bathroom. After Leslie talks with her, she learns that the reason why Janice is a bully is because she is abused by her father. They become friends. Jess and Leslie take Prince Terrein to Terabithia. There they fight off several creatures that look like students at their school. They decide to go home when it starts raining. The creek gets higher than ever due to the rain.
The next morning, Ms. Edmunds (Zooey Deschanel), Jess' music teacher, invites him on a one-on-one field trip to an art museum. Jess tries to ask his mother's permission. As she is half-asleep, he takes her mumbling as approval. Jess does not ask Leslie to come with him. When he returns home, Jess finds that his father and mother are worried. This is because they did not know where he was. His father tells him that Leslie drowned in the river that morning. This happened when Jess went to the museum. Jess is very sad to hear this. He visits the Burke family home with his parents to pay their respects. Leslie's father, Bill Burke (Latham Gaines), tells Jess that she loved him. He thanks him for being a very good friend to her, since she could not make friends at her old school. Jess feels very guilty for Leslie's death. His father consoles him to keep their friendship alive for her sake. Jess decides to re-imagine Terabithia and builds a bridge across the river to welcome a new ruler. He invites his sister, May Belle to enter Terabithia. She is delighted because she was not allowed to enter before. She and Jess make Terabithia even better, with Jess as king and his sister as princess.
Production for the movie began in February 2006, with a budget of around $20 million. The main photography for the movie was shot in Auckland, New Zealand in sixty days. movie editing took ten weeks. Post-production, music mixing, and visual effects took a few months. The movie was finished by November 2006. This was because the crew "had to rush" to finish it by February 16. The movie was directed by Gábor Csupó. Walden Media President Cary Granat first recommended him to direct the movie. Csupó had never done a live-action movie before. However, he said it "didn't worry Granat in the least". Csupó noted that he was interested in making the movie. He "had the ambition to do a live-action movie for a long time", but that he "didn't like anything until I read this book". He called the book "beautiful" and said that it "moved [him]". The cinematographer of "Bridge to Terabithia" was Michael Chapman. This was his final movie before he retired. Chapman mentioned in the film's DVD commentary that he retired after the movie because he wanted his last movie to be a good one. He said: "this is such a beautiful story, and it's exactly the kind of movie I want to do at this time in my life".
Director Csupó stated they had thought of no actors for the movie at first. The first actor cast was AnnaSophia Robb as Leslie Burke. Robb wrote Csupó "such a beautiful, heartwarming letter" that showed she loved the book and character. Csupó said Robb was cast for the movie because of "her letter, her enthusiasm, and her love of the material". Robb also talked with Lauren Levine, the producer of the movie, before casting even began. "[T]heir conversation convinced her that, without a doubt, AnnaSophia was meant for this role," Csupó stated. Levine said "it was just so clear in talking to her about all this fantasy that I was basically talking to Leslie, that she had that same kind of spark and magical presence. She might be physically different from Leslie in the book, but the spirit of Leslie and the spirit of AnnaSophia are nearly identical. It was a match made in heaven." With regard to the character, Robb said "[Leslie]'s one of those people who's just always lit up, who has this glow about her, and no one can bring her down. Leslie's such a lively and energetic character, it was really fun for me to become her."
Levine noted that "looking for Jess was a really tough hunt. We needed someone who could go from an introverted boy in an isolated world to someone who completely taps into his imagination and becomes a confident, brave leader in Terabithia. That's a heck of a range for such a young actor." Josh Hutcherson was not their first choice for the role of Jess Aarons. He was chosen as they "felt the chemistry between AnnaSophia Robb and him". Hutcherson said that he liked the project because of "the real life day-to-day drama as well as the arc of the character Jess".
The filmmakers cast Robert Patrick as Jess' father. He was chosen due to his experience in several movies in the past. Patrick explained that he could relate to the plot. He was "constantly creating imaginary worlds as a kid" himself, and that the movie reminded him of the place where he grew up. He also said that he agreed to act because it was a movie his children could watch.
Bailee Madison was cast as May Belle Aarons. Csupó said they searched for a long time for someone to play her role. She had "such a charm, even before the camera, she was just like a little sweetheart," he said. She was confident, shook hands with everybody and was "totally sweet and perky". Csupó was pleased by her attitude and cast her for the movie.
Csupó explained that "it was a very conscious decision from the very beginning that we're not going to overdo the visual effects because of the story's integrity and the book's integrity." There was only a small mention of Jess and Leslie fighting creatures in Terabithia in the book. For this reason, they "tried to do the absolute minimum, which would be required to put it into a movie version".
To design the creatures of Terabithia, Csupó wanted to use "little more artsy, imaginative, fantastical creatures than the typical rendered characters you see in other movies." He was inspired by Terry Gilliam and Ridley Scott. Dima Malanitchev drew the creatures. Csupó helped him in this. Csupó chose Weta Digital render the 3D animation. He "was impressed with their artistic integrity, the teamwork, the [fact that] people were really nice, and also they responded to our designs very positively." Weta modified some of the creature designs. However, they mainly used Csupó's original designs.
100 crew members from Weta worked for the movie. Weta was doing the animations when the movie was being shot. Weta crew members saw the shooting of all scenes involving these creatures. Weta's Matt Aitken said the process of animation was "split into two steps". First, natural-looking creatures were created based on pencil sketches by Csupó and Malanitchev. Photoshop pictures made by visual effects art director Michael Pangrazio was used for this. The second step was to use the best animation and motion style for the creatures.
Leslie's costumes in the movie were designed to look as if the character "might have made some of them herself". They were updated from those described in the book. This was because the descriptions in the book would appear odd now.
Producer and screenwriter David L. Paterson is the novel's author's son. His name was featured on its dedication page. The story was based on his real life best friend, Lisa Hill. Hill had been struck by lightning. She was killed when they were both eight years old. Paterson had asked his mother, Katherine Paterson, if he could write a screenplay of the novel. She agreed "not only because he's [her] son, but also because he's a very good playwright". Paterson found it difficult to market his screenplay. It was mainly because of Leslie's death. "[I]f you can believe this, I did meet with some companies that asked if I could just 'hurt' Leslie a little bit—put her in a light coma and then bring her out".
Paterson said it was very important for him to keep the spirit of the book alive. At the same time, he had to change it from "a novel that takes place mostly in the characters' heads to a dynamic visual medium". Paterson knew that the movie had to be about friendship and imagination. He focused "bringing out the emotions of the story." He said he found it difficult to write about Terabithia. This was "because it was too close". He credited fellow screenwriter Jeff Stockwell for recreating Terabithia for the movie. "What Jeff was able to do as an outsider who wasn’t so attached to the story was to really let his imagination go free and make up this world in a wonderful way", David said. Csupó said that the two main characters are a little bit older in the movie. Csupó claims the movie "deals with so many issues including friendship, and maybe first innocent love, things like that", so it "made more sense" to make the characters older.
The film's musical score was composed by Aaron Zigman. He was hired after Alison Krauss did not compose the music. Zigman said there are similarities between the music he made fro "Bridge to Terabithia" and the movie "Flicka". He said: "[...]at times there's a bit of a Celtic influence but not much", but he also went on to say that there was a more modern feel to the music he composed for "Bridge to Terabithia". The score he composed for the movie is described as "very large" compared to his other work, and Zigman commented that "Aside from the minimalist stuff and coloring that I love to do, I also like big orchestral stuff, and want to do more of that, and this movie enabled me to spread my wings out a bit." The official soundtrack for the movie was released by "Hollywood Records" on February 13, 2007.
Reviewers criticized the film's advertisement campaign. One critic said the movie was actually "grounded in reality far more than in fantasy." Another thought, "far from a computer generated [created] escapist fantasy, this movie is an unpretentious [not pretending] and touching tale of preteen companionship and loss".
The movie premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on February 16, 2007. Paterson, who studied in The Catholic University of America, held a special advance screening of the movie for them. This was shown at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland on February 1, 2007. The movie opened in the UK on May 4, 2007, and in New Zealand June 7, 2007. The movie grossed "a higher-than-expected" $28,536,717 from 2,284 screens. It earned an average of $9,885 per screen. The opening day had collections of $6.3 million. The movie has a worldwide gross of US$120 million. It grossed $80 million in the US and Canada.
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released on June 19, 2007 in the US. The DVD and Blu-ray version had "Digital Imagination: Bringing Terabithia to Life", "Behind the Book: The Themes of "Bridge to Terabithia"" It also had "Keep Your Mind Wide Open" music video by Robb, and two audio commentaries. The first was with director Csupó, writer Jeff Stockwell, and producer Hal Lieberman. The second was with producer Lauren Levine and actors Hutcherson and Robb.
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes said 85% of 137 collected reviews for "Bridge to Terabithia" were positive. The average score was 7.1/10. Critics said the movie was "a faithful adaptation of a beloved children's novel and a powerful portrayal of love, loss, and imagination through children's eyes. Dynamic visuals and natural performances further enhance the imaginative film". At Metacritic, the movie got 74 out of 100 from 25 reviews. This meant it received "generally favorable reviews".
James Berardinelli of ReelViews called "Bridge to Terabithia" "easily the best family feature of the early year". Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" praised the script. She said it was "utterly recognizable and authentic", and thought Robb and Hutcherson were "perfectly cast". Hornaday said the final five minutes showed "oversweet sentiment." Viewers would remember the film's "warmth and respect with which it pays homage [respect] to first love," she added. Jessica Grose of "The Village Voice" praised director Csupó for not showing "cutesy tween [neither a child, nor a teenager] stereotypes." She felt Jess' relationship with his father made "Bridge to Terabithia" from "a good kids movie to a classic contender". "The New York Times" Jeannette Catsoulis believed that the fantasy was kept in the background "to find magic in the everyday", and thought Csupó directed "like someone intimate with the pain of being different, allowing each personality more than a single characteristic". She particularly praised Deschanel and Madison. Catsoulis said the movie handled adult topics with "with nuance [cleverly] and sensitivity". Since it was smart and "delicate as a spider web", it was the kind of children's movie "rarely seen nowadays". Miriam di Nunzio of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised Hutcherson and Robb's performances. "[T]he film's heart and soul rests on the abilities of its young lead characters to make us really see the world through children's eyes. The dynamic duo of Hutcherson and Robb do not disappoint," she noted.
Not all reviews were positive. Claudia Puig of "USA Today" said "for a movie about the power of imagination, "Bridge to Terabithia" is not as clever as you would hope". Puig said it was an average translation of the novel. But the adult characters were too caricatured or exaggerated in the movie. The real-life portions of the movie were "derivative and simplistic", but Jess' emotional feelings seemed "powerfully authentic, and this is where the movie finds its truth and soul". "The Wall Street Journal" critic Joe Morgenstern felt the movie overused fantasy. The critic added that the "agreeable simplicity in between computer-generated monsters". The young members of the cast were "appealing but unpolished". Morgenstern thought Csupó lacked experience in direction. Although Deschanel was the best among the adults, she seemed self-directed.
"Bridge to Terabithia" was nominated for seven awards. It won five of these. Josh Hutcherson was nominated at the 2008 Saturn Awards for "Best Performance by a Younger Actor". AnnaSophia Robb was nominated for a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for "Best Young Actress". The film won five awards at the Young Artist Awards. This included "Best Family Feature Film (Fantasy or Musical)" and "Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor" for Hutcherson. Robb won "Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress", and Bailee Madison won "Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger". The cast also won the award for "Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast". The cast included Hutcherson, Robb, Madison, Wakefield, Clinton, Lawless, Isabelle Rose Kircher, Carly Owen, Devon Wood, Emma Fenton and Grace Brannigan.
Waldviertel
The Waldviertel ("Forest Quarter") is a region in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.
Eternal flame
An Eternal flame is a flame that burns for a very long time. They are used for creating a powerful symbol. There was an eternal flame in the ancient Greek temple at Delphi. Other famous eternal flames include the one at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame at his grave in the Arlington National Cemetery, and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia.
Terrestrial planet
A terrestrial planet is mostly made of rock (silicate). Earth is the "original" terrestrial planet. When astronomers started understanding the kinds of planet they extended the term to include our nearest rocky neighbours: Mercury, Venus and Mars.
It is often said that they are similar to Earth. This is true of most of the structure and composition, but not the surface or the atmosphere. A terrestrial planet may be much hotter or colder than Earth, and may have much more or much less atmosphere.
With the discovery of planets orbiting other stars (exoplanets), the term terrestrial planet has been extended again to any rocky (silicate) planet orbiting any star.
All terrestrial planets have a core, a mantle, and a crust. They are a bit like a boiled egg: the central yolk is the core; the white albumin is the mantle; and the shell is the crust. The crust of a terrestrial planet is thin, with the core and the mantle taking up the vast bulk, sometimes with a very large core, sometimes much smaller. Terrestrial planets have metallic cores of mostly iron, with rocky mantles and crusts.
All terrestrial planets have the same type of structure: a central metallic core, mostly iron, with a surrounding silicate mantle.
The Moon is similar, but has a much smaller iron core. Io and Europa are also satellites that have internal structures similar to that of terrestrial planets. Terrestrial planets can have canyons, craters, mountains, volcanoes, and other surface structures, depending on the presence of water and tectonic activity. Terrestrial planets have "secondary atmospheres", got from volcanism, meteorites, and photosynthesis. In the giant planets, their atmospheres are "primary", captured directly from the original solar nebula.
Dave Thomas
David "Dave" Thomas (July 2, 1932 – January 8, 2002) was the founder of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, and was its chief executive officer (CEO). He never graduated from high school, but did earn his GED in 1993.
Thomas is also famous as a commercial spokesman for his company. He first appeared in a Wendy's TV commercial in 1989, and by the time he died, he had appeared in over 800, including every Wendy's commercial that aired in the 1990s.
Cheating happens when someone breaks rules or lies.
Cheating can be done in many ways. Some students cheat on a test by copying someone else's answers and writing secret notes. This can get them kicked out of school.
People who break the rules of a game are cheating. For example, if someone holds the ball when playing soccer, they are cheating. Another form of cheating in sport is using performance-enhancing drugs; Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong are examples of sportspeople who used drugs to cheat.
When someone is in a relationship with another person and they kiss, date or have sex with someone else, they are cheating on the person they are in a relationship with - unless they are in an open relationship.
Local and national governments have laws. If someone breaks the law, they can be punished. If someone cheats in a way that is not illegal, they cannot be punished by law. Some common punishments include jail and fines.
Organizations, such as schools, can have rules. Rules are not laws, but people can still be punished for breaking a rule.
The first cheat in video games was thought to be the "Konami Code", a code Konami used to test a game that was too hard for them to do alone. See cheat code for more on cheating in video games.
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American lawyer and writer. She is the daughter and the only living child of former US President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy was born at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Her parents were then Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. She was only three, when her father became the 35th president of the United States. She lived in the White House from January 20, 1961 until his assassination on November 22, 1963. She then lived for a while in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. before moving with her mother and younger brother John in New York City in late 1964.
She graduated from Concord Academy in 1975. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 1979. She later earned a Law Degree from Columbia University in 1988.
She married Edwin Schlossberg on July 19, 1986. They have three children; Rose (b. 1988), Tatiana (b. 1990) and John (b. 1993). Her mother died with cancer in 1994 and her brother in a plane crash in 1999.
Kennedy was the nominee of President Barack Obama to be Ambassador to Japan. On July 24, 2013, Obama announced Kennedy as his nominee to succeed current Ambassador John Roos. Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate on October 16, 2013 and Kennedy became the first female American ambassador to Japan. The prospective nomination was first reported in February 2013 and, in mid-July 2013, formal diplomatic agreement was reportedly received from the Japanese government. She assumed her ambassador duties on November 13, 2013.
She tried to become Senator when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State but the New York Governor chose someone else.
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España or the "Spanish Super Cup" is a two-legged Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
Lionel Messi has scored the most goals in the history of the Spanish Super Cup, with 12 goals.
The competition was formed in 1982.
Steve Staunton
Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish former professional footballer. He enjoyed a distinguished career with Liverpool and Aston Villa, and became the Republic of Ireland's most capped player. He is also the former manager of Republic of Ireland.
UEFA Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship (or just Euro 2004) was the twelfth tournament of the UEFA European Football Championship, a football tournament held all four years for European nations. It was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. The UEFA Euro was given to Portugal in 1999. Winner was Greece after a 1:0 versus Portugal.The qualification was held in 10 groups of five in the years 2002 and 2003.
The qualification was held in 10 groups of five in the years 2002 and 2003.
The teams on the second place of the groups held a Play off round.
Twelve referees were selected for the tournament:
"All times are Western European Summer Time (UTC+1)."
For teams that finish equal in points, the following rules are used:
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honor given by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe to members of its community or to organisations that have given the community heroiv service.
Mania is a type of mood. Mania is usually a symptom of a medical problem or a mental illness. A person with mania is described as manic.