title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith was severely injured by a gunpowder explosion in his canoe, and he sailed to England for treatment in mid-October 1609. He never returned to Virginia. Colonists continued to die from various illnesses and disease, with an estimated 150 surviving that winter out of 500 residents. The Virginia Company, however, continued to finance and transport settlers to sustain Jamestown. For the next five years, Governors Gates and Sir Thomas Dale continued to keep strict discipline, with Sir Thomas Smith in London attempting to find skilled craftsmen and other settlers to send.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: In 1614, Smith returned to America in a voyage to the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts Bay. He named the region "New England". The commercial purpose was to take whales for fins and oil and to seek out mines of gold or copper, but both of these proved impractical so the voyage turned to collecting fish and furs to defray the expense. Most of the crew spent their time fishing, while Smith and eight others took a small boat on a coasting expedition during which he traded rifles for 11,000 beaver skins and 100 each of martins and otters.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith collected a ship's cargo worth of "Furres… traine Oile and Cor-fish" and returned to England. The expedition's second vessel under the command of Thomas Hunt stayed behind and captured a number of Indians as slaves, including Squanto of the Patuxet. Smith was convinced that Hunt's actions were directed at him; by inflaming the local population, Smith said, he could "prevent that intent I had to make a plantation there", keeping the country in "obscuritie" so that Hunt and a few merchants could monopolize it. According to Smith, Hunt had taken his maps and notes of the area to defeat's Smith's settlement plans. He could not believe that Hunt was driven by greed since there was "little private gaine" to be gotten; Hunt "sold those silly Salvages for Rials of eight."


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith published a map in 1616 based on the expedition which was the first to bear the label "New England", though the Indian place names were replaced by the names of English cities at the request of Prince Charles. The settlers of Plymouth Colony adopted the name that Smith gave to that area, and other place names on the map survive today, such as the Charles River (marked as The River Charles) and Cape Ann (Cape Anna).


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith made two attempts in 1614 and 1615 to return to the same coast. On the first trip, a storm dismasted his ship. In the second attempt, he was captured by French pirates off the coast of the Azores. He escaped after weeks of captivity and made his way back to England, where he published an account of his two voyages as "A Description of New England". He remained in England for the rest of his life.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith compared his experiences in Virginia with his observations of New England and offered a theory of why some English colonial projects had failed. He noted that the French had been able to monopolize trade in a very short time, even in areas nominally under English control. The people inhabiting the coasts from Maine to Cape Cod had "large corne fields, and great troupes of well proportioned people", but the French had obtained everything that they had to offer in trade within six weeks. This was due to the fact that the French had created a great trading network which they could exploit, and the English had not cultivated these relations. Where once there was inter-tribal warfare, the French had created peace in the name of the fur trade. Former enemies such as the Massachuset and the Abenaki "are all friends, and have each trade with other, so farre as they have society on each others frontiers."


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith believed that it was too late to reverse this reality even with diplomacy, and that what was needed was military force. He suggested that English adventurers should rely on his own experience in wars around the world and his experience in New England where his few men could engage in "silly encounters" without injury or long term hostility. He also compared the experience of the Spaniards in determining how many armed men were necessary to effect Indian compliance.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: John Smith died on 21 June 1631 in London. He was buried in 1633 in the south aisle of Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate Church, Holborn Viaduct, London. The church is the largest parish church in the City of London, dating from 1137. Captain Smith is commemorated in the south wall of the church by a stained glass window.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: The Captain John Smith Monument currently lies in disrepair off the coast of New Hampshire on Star Island, part of the Isles of Shoals. The original monument was built in 1864 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Smith's visit to what he named Smith's Isles. It was a series of square granite slabs atop one another, with a small granite pillar at the top (see image at right). The pillar featured three carved faces, representing the severed heads of three Turks that Smith lopped off in combat during his stint as a soldier in Transylvania.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: In 1914, the New Hampshire Society of Colonial Wars partially restored and rededicated the monument for the 300th anniversary celebration of his visit. The monument had weathered so badly in the harsh coastal winters that the inscription in the granite had worn away. Contemporary newspapers reported dedication of "a bronze tablet" honouring Smith, and dedication of the Tucke Monument.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: In 2014, a new monument honouring Smith was dedicated at Rye Harbor State Park, an 18-ton obelisk measuring "16 feet 14 inches"—in commemoration of the year 1614; —in height.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Many critics judge Smith's character and credibility as an author based solely on his description of Pocahontas saving his life from the hand of Powhatan. Most of the scepticism results from the differences between his narratives. His earliest text is "A True Relation of Virginia", submitted for publication in 1608, the year after his experiences in Jamestown. The second was "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", which was published in 1624. The publication of letters, journals, and pamphlets from the colonists was regulated by the companies that sponsored the voyage, in that the communications must go "directly to the company" because no one was to "write any letter of anything that may discourage others". Smith violated this regulation by first publishing "A True Relation" as an unknown author. Leo Lemay theorizes that the editor of "The Generall Historie" might have cut out "references to the Indians' hostility, to bickering among the leaders of Virginia Company, and to the early supposed mutiny" of Smith on the voyage to Virginia.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: The Pocahontas episode is subject to the most scrutiny by critics, for it is missing from "A True Relation" but it does appear in "The Generall Historie". According to Lemay, important evidence of Smith's credibility is the fact that "no one in Smith's day ever expressed doubt" about the story's veracity, and many people who would have known the truth "were in London in 1616 when Smith publicised the story in a letter to the queen", including Pocahontas herself.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith focuses heavily on Indians in all of his works concerning the New World. His relationship with the Powhatan tribe was an important factor in preserving the Jamestown colony from sharing the presumed fate of the Roanoke Colony.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: One of Smith's main incentives in writing about his New World experiences and observances was to promote English colonization. Lemay claims that many promotional writers sugar-coated their depictions of America in order to heighten its appeal, but he argues that Smith was not one to exaggerate the facts. He argues that Smith was very straightforward with his readers about both the dangers and the possibilities of colonization. Instead of proclaiming that there was an abundance of gold in the New World, as many writers did, Smith illustrated that there was abundant monetary opportunity in the form of industry. Lemay argues that no motive except wealth would attract potential colonists away from "their ease and humours at home". "Therefore, he presented in his writings actual industries that could yield significant capital within the New World: fishing, farming, shipbuilding, and fur trading".


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: Smith insists, however, that only hard workers would be able to reap the benefits of wealth which the New World afforded. He did not understate the dangers and toil associated with colonization. He declared that only those with a strong work ethic would be able to "live and succeed in America" in the face of such dangers.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: "A Map of Virginia" is focused centrally on the observations that Smith made about the Native Americans, particularly regarding their religion and government. This specific focus would have been Smith's way of adapting to the New World by assimilating the best parts of their culture and incorporating them into the colony. "A Map of Virginia" was not just a pamphlet discussing the observations that Smith made, but also a map which Smith had drawn himself, to help make the Americas seem more domestic. As Lemay remarks, "maps tamed the unknown, reduced it to civilisation and harnessed it for Western consciousness," promoting Smith's central theme of encouraging the settlement of America. Many "naysayers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century" have made the argument that Smith's maps were not reliable because he "lacked a formal education in cartography". That allegation, however, was proved false by the fact that Smith was a "master in his chosen fields of experience".


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: "The Proceedings of the English Colony In Virginia" was a compilation of other writings; it narrates the colony's history from December 1609 to the summer of 1610, and Smith left the colony in October 1609 due to a gunpowder accident. The writing style of "The Proceedings" is thought to be better constructed than "A Map of Virginia".


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: John Smith was honoured on two of the three stamps of the Jamestown Exposition Issue held 26 April – 1 December 1907 at Norfolk, Virginia to commemorate the founding of the Jamestown settlement. The 1-cent John Smith, inspired by the Simon de Passe engraving of the explorer was used for the 1-cent postcard rate. The 2-cent Jamestown landing stamp paid the first-class domestic rate.


title: John Smith (explorer)

text: John Smith published eight volumes during his life. The following lists the first edition of each volume and the pages on which it is reprinted in :


title: Colony (TV series)

text: Colony is an American science fiction drama television series created by Carlton Cuse and Ryan J. Condal, starring Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies. A ten-episode first season premiered with an online preview release of the first episode on USA Network's website on December 15, 2015, following the launch of a game-like website to promote the show.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: The series had its broadcast premiere on USA Network on January 14, 2016. In April 2017, "Colony" was renewed for a third season which premiered on May 2, 2018. On July 21, 2018, USA Network announced they had cancelled the series after three seasons.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: In a dystopian near-future Los Angeles, residents live under a regime of military occupation by an organization known as the Transitional Authority. The Authority serves an extraterrestrial group referred to as the "Hosts", about whom little is known until later in the series (an alien robotic race finds itself hunted, who came to Earth to use humans as allies and labor in their own battle). The symbol of the collaborating forces features stylized birds of prey, or raptors, which gives rise to their nickname, the "Raps". The Authority enforces Host policy via militarized police called Homeland Security and nicknamed the "Redhats" for the red helmet cover of their otherwise black tactical attire.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: The Hosts took control on a day known simply as the "Arrival". That day began with massive worldwide communication interference and jamming, which came after a weeklong hunt for relevant key figures around the world. Late that day, massive rectangular blocks descended from the sky, linking together to build walls dividing the city. One of these walls, 20 to 30 stories tall, many meters thick and many miles in length, surrounds the central part of Los Angeles, where the series is set. Other similar walls have been constructed around neighbouring urban areas, called "blocs", with the whole referred to as a "colony". Traffic passes through the walls at heavily secured checkpoints, called "gateways", which allow the Authority to strictly control the movement of people and the distribution of consumables, such as food and fuel, which are rationed. The geographical extent of the alien invasion is unclear, but later scenes in the series shows Authority members from all over the world - hence making the invasion scale worldwide.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: A privileged class of elites, drawn by the Hosts from the local population, are denigrated by some bloc residents as collaborators. The ruling forces maintain control through the separation of family members, shoot-on-sight curfews, forced disappearances, random checkpoints, frequent electronic identity checks, limitation of motor vehicle usage (most people walk or ride bicycles), pervasive visual propaganda, slave labor in a place called the "Factory" (later revealed to be located on the Earth's moon to mine radioactive materials), and massive continuous electronic surveillance with both hidden cameras as well as host-provided drone aircraft that launch from hangar bays inside the wall and capable of killing humans by extremely lethal high energy weaponry. Some medical problems, such as diabetes, have been "deemed unworthy for treatment" by the Hosts, to cull the population.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: A resistance movement is referred to as both the "Resistance" and the "Insurgency". An informal barter-based black market has also sprung up, trading in surplus materials and home-produced goods.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: In a May 21, 2015, interview with "Collider", executive producer Carlton Cuse stated that the show was "conceived as a metaphor for France during the Nazi occupation". In a separate interview with "Entertainment Weekly", co-creator Ryan Condal detailed that the original concept behind "Colony" was that they "were actually inspired by Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII, where people went on living their lives, having coffee in street-side cafes while Nazi officers marched along the roads".


title: Colony (TV series)

text: The series begins less than a year after the arrival of aliens who occupy Earth. It follows the Bowmans and their extended family in Los Angeles. Their son, Charlie, was on a school sports trip and was separated from them when alien walls sectioned off part of the city. The father, Will Bowman, is a former FBI agent and retired Army Ranger who reluctantly joins the Redhats (humans collaborating with the aliens) and is tasked with tracking down members of the Resistance, after being threatened that he and his family would be sent to "the Factory" if he did not comply. Unbeknownst to Will, his wife, Katie, is an operative in the Resistance. She later reveals this, and they begin to trade information. Their son, Bram, discovers a way under the wall, and later joins a rival resistance group.


title: Colony (TV series)

text: The show has received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic it holds a score of 69/100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a score of 84%, based on 31 reviews. The critics' consensus reads: ""Colony" offers an engaging enough narrative, a few scares, and an overall good time, even if none of it is particularly original".


title: Colony (TV series)

text: Stephen King praised the series, saying: "In a year of remarkable TV, "Colony" is really something special: smart, suspenseful, subversive... thought-provoking".


title: CL (rapper)

text: Lee Chae-rin (born February 26, 1991), better known by her stage name CL, is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. CL trained at JYP Entertainment before joining YG Entertainment at the age of fifteen. She debuted and rose to fame as a member of the girl group 2NE1 in 2009, which went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. As a solo artist, CL made her debut with the single "The Baddest Female" in May 2013 and released the solo track "MTBD" in February 2014 as part of 2NE1's final studio album "Crush".


title: CL (rapper)

text: Following the group's hiatus at the turn of 2015, CL pursued a solo career with the release of the standalone singles "Hello Bitches" (2015) and "Lifted" (2016). The latter single led CL to become the first female Korean solo artist to place onto the "Billboard" Hot 100, and the third Korean artist to do so overall. In November 2016, YG announced the disbandment of 2NE1 after nearly two years of hiatus, and CL subsequently remained under the label. Shortly after leaving YG in December 2019, she released her solo EP project "In the Name of Love" (2019), consisting of six tracks written during the three years since her previous single "Lifted". Her debut studio album, "Alpha", was released in October 2021.


title: CL (rapper)

text: Known for experimentation across music styles as well as her live performances, CL is regarded as an influential figure in the international spread of the Korean wave. Beyond the field of music, she is recognized as a style icon by numerous worldwide publications.


title: CL (rapper)

text: Lee Chae-rin was born in Seoul, South Korea, but spent most of her childhood living in Paris, Tsukuba, and Tokyo. When she was 13, she moved to Paris alone where she studied for two years. On living in different cities while growing up, CL said, "Culturally, I’m not 100 percent Korean. I’m very mixed, and very open." When she was 15, CL auditioned to join South Korean record label YG Entertainment. Her first feature on a song recording was Big Bang's "Intro (Hot Issue)" in 2007. Later that year, Lee performed for the first time on stage at Seoul Broadcasting System's Gayo Daejeon alongside her label mates. Her first credited appearance in a song was in 2008, with Uhm Jung-hwa's "DJ," in which she rapped.


title: CL (rapper)

text: Lee took on the stage name 'CL' and was placed as the leader and main rapper of 2NE1, alongside Bom, Sandara Park and Minzy. The group then collaborated with label-mates Big Bang for the song "Lollipop" on March 27, 2009 before appearing on SBS's "The Music Trend" for the first time on May 17, where they performed their official debut single "Fire". 2NE1 achieved significant success with their number-one single "I Don't Care" from their first extended play, "2NE1", which won them the "Song of the Year" accolade at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards, making them the first rookie group to win a daesang in the same year of debut.


title: CL (rapper)

text: In August 2009, she collaborated with label-mates G-Dragon and Teddy Park of 1TYM for the single "The Leaders", featured on G-Dragon's first solo album, "Heartbreaker". The same month, after the group finished with "I Don't Care" promotions, CL collaborated with fellow member Minzy for "Please Don't Go," which charted at number six on the Gaon Chart by the end of November. Her first solo single, "The Baddest Female", was released on May 28, 2013. For 2NE1's second album "Crush", CL wrote the lyrics and co-composed the music for the tracks "Crush", "If I Were You", and "Baby I Miss You". She also wrote the lyrics for her solo track "MTBD", as well as the track "Scream".


title: CL (rapper)

text: In October 2014, it was announced that CL was planning to debut as a solo artist the following year in the United States, teaming up with Scooter Braun as her manager. In May 2015, she featured in Diplo's single "Doctor Pepper", alongside Riff Raff and OG Maco. In November 2015, CL released her first single "Hello Bitches", as a teaser for her initially planned EP "Lifted". She was also featured on labelmate Psy's single "Daddy". The song debuted at number 97 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, earning her first entry on the chart. The single, "Lifted" was released on August 19, 2016. The song appeared in the Top 30 of iTunes' Hip-Hop/Rap chart within three hours of being released, peaking at number 21. It primary incorporates samples of Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 track "Method Man", and had the rapper himself appear in the accompanying music video. "Time" magazine referred to her as one of the biggest stars in Asia, and called her the "Future of K-pop in America". "Lifted" went on to peak at number 94 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, earning her first entry as a solo artist and second overall, making her the first female South Korean soloist to appear on the chart. On October 29, 2016, CL kicked off her first North American tour, the Hello Bitches Tour, at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom. With the sold-out performance, she became the first K-pop female artist to hold a solo concert in the city. The tour visited various other cities in the United States and Canada before concluding in Toronto on November 14.


title: CL (rapper)

text: Alongside Shaiana, she was featured on Lil Yachty's song "Surrender", an exclusive track off of the Target deluxe edition of his album "Teenage Emotions", released on May 26, 2017. CL also recorded an original soundtrack single titled "No Better Feelin'" for the "" , released on September 22, 2017. On January 4, 2018, she was reported to make her Hollywood debut as an actress in Peter Berg's film "Mile 22" that stars Mark Wahlberg. On February 25, 2018, CL performed at the 2018 Winter Olympics closing ceremony at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, performing parts of "The Baddest Female" and the 2NE1 global hit "I Am the Best". At the closing ceremony, she met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, First Lady Kim Jung-sook, Exo, and Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump. In July of the same year, the Olympics channel included CL's performance in their list of Top 10 Olympic Live Music Performances of All Time, ranking at number 8. In October, CL collaborated with Black Eyed Peas on the track "Dopeness" along the accompanying music video.


title: CL (rapper)

text: On November 8, 2019, YG Entertainment announced that CL did not renew her contract with the company and left the label. On December 4, shortly after leaving YG, she began releasing previously unreleased tracks for her digital solo EP project "In the Name of Love" for three consecutive weeks. On September 12, 2020, CL announced that she had been working on a new album that would be released later that year. Two days later, she released the music video for the song "Post Up", which would serve as the intro track for her upcoming album. On October 29, she released two singles—"Hwa" and "5 Star"—which were co-written by former labelmate Tablo. At the same time, CL announced that her first full-length album "Alpha" would be released on November 30. However, on November 16, she announced that she had decided to postpone the album release until early 2021, stating that while preparing the album she had developed new ideas.


title: CL (rapper)

text: On February 26, 2021, CL released "Wish You Were Here", which coincided with her 30th birthday, released as a tribute to her mother who had died days prior on February 10th due to a heart attack. On June 16, CL appeared in the first episode of the second season of the TV series "Dave", where she played the role of herself collaborating with rapper Lil Dicky as he aspires to take over the K-pop industry. On July 10, 2021, CL signed a domestic management contract with Konnect Entertainment in order to manage her activities in Korea. Two weeks later, domestic publications reported that CL would make her comeback in mid-August. It was later announced that CL would release her album "Alpha" on October 20, 2021. The digital single "Spicy" was first released on August 24. On September 13, she became the first K-pop female musician to attend the fashion exhibition Met Gala in New York City, alongside Blackpink's Rosé, wearing a custom made hanbok-inspired denim dress designed by Alexander Wang. Four days later, CL announced that "Alpha"'s second digital single "Lover Like Me" would be released on September 29. On June 2, 2022 CL made her voice acting debut with the role of Shaki L for the animation "Baby Shark's Big Show!". In November 2022, CL was chosen as "GQ Korea"s Woman of the Year.


title: CL (rapper)

text: CL has cited 1TYM leader Teddy Park—who produced much of 2NE1's music throughout their career—as a source of influence and inspiration. In addition, she has attributed Madonna, Queen, and Lauryn Hill as role models for their unique styles and influence as well as their levels of originality. Her discography primarily consists of hip hop, dance, and electronic styles, as well as integrating a variety of other genres. Her debut solo single "The Baddest Female" in 2013 was characterized as "a clattering ego massage that channelled Atlanta hip-hop", combining techno and dance elements with the catchphrase "Now do the unnie". The track jumps from a hip-hop beat to an electronica-infused build-up to the dubstep breakdown during the bridge. Her next solo track, "MTBD", was included as part of 2NE1's second studio album "Crush" (2014) and fused the genres of EDM, hip-pop and bubblegum trap over a tense drum beat, low bass, and a unique synth sound. "Billboard" stated that: "The beat was trendy yet fresh, employing of-the-moment, trap-inspired breakdowns" and highlighted her "fierce and playful rap and singing style." Fuse TV compared it to the musical styles of DJ Snake's "Turn Down for What", and deemed "MTBD" an upgraded version of the track.


title: CL (rapper)

text: CL continued to pursue hip-hop and electronic styles with the release of "Hello Bitches" in 2015, which featured instrumentations of synthesizers, a heavy 808 bassline, and a strong trap hip-hop beat as the main axis. Her 2016 English-language single "Lifted" marked her entry into reggae fusion, and was characterized as a relatively minimal breezy tropical hip-hop track. Following a period of inactivity, CL released the project EP "In the Name of Love" in December 2019. Featuring six tracks, "Billboard" noted that the EP "[shares] a bit of herself, and her past, through its reflective tunes." Stylistically, the record explores a variety of music genres from R&B to rap and tropical dance. In October 2020, CL released the track "Hwa", which references the national flower of South Korea. "Rolling Stone" commented that "CL's rapping prowess is on full display", as she rides a "booming bass line and snappy snares." The song reflects her individuality, referencing themes of fire, wealth, flower and change. In the track "5 Star", it contrasts the styles of "Hwa" with its love-filled lyrics and channels a more pop vibe.


title: CL (rapper)

text: An anomaly in the mainstream K-pop scene, as "The Guardian" describes, CL has been called "a bold and brash personality in a world of high-gloss uniformity". Noted for deviating from stereotypical trends throughout her career, Jeff Benjamin of "Billboard" magazine stated that "She has a more fearless mindset when it comes to her career that's not seen in most K-pop stars." Regarding her live performances, Tamar Herman of the same publication stating that she "dominate[s] stage after stage with her charismatic presence". Owen Meyers highlighted her charismatic character and stated that "she helped pave the way for K-pop's explosion." In an interview with CNN at New York Fashion Week 2016, fashion designer Jeremy Scott added: "I go around the world, I've seen her fans in Chile, in Brazil, obviously all through Europe. [...] She's not just a Korean or an Asian phenomenon, she really is a global superstar".


title: CL (rapper)

text: Hailed as the "ultimate style queen" in South Korea by "Dazed", CL's influence extends beyond music into the fashion industry. Regarded as a style icon and a fashion industry figure, she has been known to experiment with a variety of fashion trends and styles throughout her career. She holds connections with several internationally renowned designers, including Jeremy Scott, Marc Jacobs, and Karl Lagerfeld and is often seen wearing and attending events for fashion houses such as Chanel, Saint Laurent, Fendi, Moschino, Givenchy, Balmain, and Alexander McQueen. "Vogue" magazine called her "affinity for loud, larger-than-life clothes" a "catnip for photographers during Fashion Week." Often combining clothes from luxury fashion houses with streetwear, the magazine stated that "While most front row attendees show up in something from the corresponding brand," CL choses "something that complements not just the aesthetic of the house, but also perfectly encapsulates her own 'baddest female' reputation." Her personal style has been described as resembling a tomboy-like aesthetic, commonly incorporating boots, biker jackets and sports caps with young menswear favorites such as Nasir Mazhar, Astrid Andersen and Sam MC. She has landed multiple covers and editorials of various fashion magazines in Korea and abroad, including for "Paper", "W", "Elle", "Vogue", "Rolling Stone", "Marie Claire", "Dazed", and "Allure". Daisy Jones of "Dazed" magazine stated that "her fashion status extends far beyond an avalanche of labels and designer name-checks – like Rihanna, she's an effortless risk-taker, with her eyes firmly facing the future." In an interview with "i-D" in 2015, CL elaborated on how fashion has influenced her career, saying: "Fashion and music are connected since both are expressions. I love to perform and express myself to inspire people. That's why fashion is a huge inspiration to me."


title: CL (rapper)

text: In 2015, CL ranked second on "Time" magazine's polls for Most Influential People in the World, placing only behind Russian politician Vladimir Putin. In 2016, she became the first female K-pop idol to appear on Hypebeast's list of 100 Innovators as well as the BoF 500 power list, who called CL a "South Korean force of nature" and a "pop culture phenomenon" who has been a "muse to a number of designers". Nordstrom's Trunk Club included her in their list of 15 Most Stylish Female Icons worldwide who have changed fashion in recent history, and deemed her one of the biggest female style icons in K-pop. On April 1, 2019, CL was listed by "Forbes" magazine as one of Asia's 30 Under 30 most influential celebrities in the field of entertainment & sports. In recognition of her stage presence and duality, "The Guardian" ranked her as the 19th best girl group member of all time in October 2019, and was only one of the two K-pop artists to have been mentioned. She has been called "K-pop Queen" by international publications such as "Rolling Stone", "Billboard", and "Elle". In March 2021, she was the only Korean musician selected as part of Google's Women's History Month campaign, attributing to her unique color and "role in heralding the beginning of the golden age of K-pop".


title: CL (rapper)

text: Artists who have cited her as an influence or inspiration include Blackpink's Lisa, Loona's Hyunjin, Aespa's Giselle, GFriend's SinB, Secret Number's Jinny, Hot Issue's Hyeongshin, Lorde, (G)I-dle's Soyeon, Billlie's Moon Sua, WJSN's Exy, and Oh My Girl's Jiho. Yuji and Haeun of 3YE and Choi Yoo-jung have said that they have studied CL's performances and expressions while practicing performing. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Korean-American snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim stated that "I listen to CL before I compete."


title: CL (rapper)

text: As the leader of 2NE1, CL has appeared in a number of commercials and advertisements for various prominent brands, including Nikon, Intel, Samsung, and LG. Aside from her group endorsements, CL took part as a celebrity model for luxury cosmetic company Lancôme's 'Vision of Beauties' campaign in 2011. The following year, she appeared alongside actor Lee Dong-wook in advertisements for Cass Light Beer—a company who has attracted attention with unique TV commercials—and featured the pair in a "Cyber Dance Battle" in a space and Arctic themed environment. In 2014, CL landed endorsement deals with Glacéau's Vitamin Water, KGB Lemon Vodka, and appeared alongside bandmate Minzy and Winner in Adidass #allinfordance advertising campaign. In February of that year, CL was named the face of Maybelline New York—one of the world's largest cosmetic brands—and went on to appear in multiple commercial features for their cosmetic products. Her endorsement of the Magnum Volume Express mascara soon saw a significant increase in sales, tripling the amount as compared to the previous year, and became known as the "CL mascara".


title: CL (rapper)

text: In 2017, she joined the likes of Karlie Kloss, Candace Parker, and Hannah Bronfman in Adidas's "Here to Create" movement; an official from the company cited her representation of creativeness and inspiration as the reason for her selection. In April, CL was unveiled as an endorsement model for high-end luggage manufacturer Tumi as part of their Global Citizen Campaign, where they selected several influential figures from various fields as Global Citizens. For the campaign, she travelled to Chefchaouen (The Blue City) in Morocco as an endorsement for the brand's 19 Degree collection.


title: CL (rapper)

text: Upon appearing as an advertisement model for Taco Bell in February 2021, CL became the first female solo artist from South Korea to feature in a television commercial in the United States. That May, CL became the face of Nike Korea's "Play New" advertisement campaign, where it aims to illuminate the culture of sports and inspire people to pursue new athletic goals. In June, Johnnie Walker—the world's leading distributor of Scotch whisky—introduced her as the global ambassador for the brand's 'Keep Walking' campaign, as part of its launch into Korea and other markets in Asia. In 2022, Coca-Cola Korea selected her as an endorsement model for Dr Pepper.


title: CL (rapper)

text: In 2013, head of Moschino Jeremy Scott selected CL as one of his muses, owing to her being "one of the fiercest girls to come out of Seoul". Because of her influence throughout Asia, CL collaborated with the luxury fashion brands Kenzo and On Pedder in 2014. While on tour with 2NE1, CL appeared at a promotional and fan-signing event for the collaboration at On Pedder's flagship store in Hong Kong. In July of the same year, CL was named the muse of upscale brand Hazzys for their 2014 F/W and 2015 S/S seasons, who cited her charisma, trendy style and appeal among the 20s and 30s age demographics a great fit for the brand's modern image. In 2016, CL became a muse for Alexander Wang; Monica Kim of "Vogue" deemed her a prime example of "unapologetic approach to life" and a "fearless take on hair and makeup that celebrates individuality".


title: CL (rapper)

text: In January 2020, CL became the first Korean brand ambassador for Ivy Park, an athleisure fashion line owned by Beyoncé, and appeared alongside the singer in promotional shoots for the brand's Ivy Park x Adidas collection. In June 2021, CL collaborated with French haute couture designer Jean Paul Gaultier in an pictorial for "W Korea"s July issue, where he directly airlifted his collection to Korea for CL.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Freaky Friday is a 2003 American fantasy-comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon, based on Mary Rodgers's 1972 novel of the same name. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter, respectively, whose bodies are switched by a mysterious and magical Chinese fortune cookie.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: The film was released in theaters on August 6, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. The film received largely positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances (particularly that of Curtis and Lohan), but criticized the transformation scene. The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $160 million worldwide on a $26 million budget. The film also earned Curtis a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It was Disney's third film adaptation of the novel, after the 1976 film, starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, and the 1995 made-for-TV film, starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Aspiring teenage musician Anna Coleman lives with her widowed therapist mother, Tess, and younger brother, Harry. Tess is about to marry her fiancé, Ryan, whom Anna has not entirely accepted as she has not properly moved on from the death of her biological father three years earlier.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: At school, Anna's English teacher, Mr. Elton Bates, treats her unfairly, giving her an F on every assignment regardless of how well she does. She is also feuding with Stacey Hinkhouse, her former best friend-turned-nemesis and a bully. Anna has a crush on a school staff member, Jake, of whom her mother disapproves. Anna also serves as the lead guitarist in the band, Pink Slip, which is scheduled to audition for a spot in Wango Tango at the House of Blues, the same night as the wedding rehearsal, so Tess forbids Anna from going. At a dinner at Pei-Pei's Chinese restaurant, the two get into a heated argument. Pei-Pei's mother interrupts their quarrel by giving them fortune cookies. They both go into separate rooms, read their fortunes aloud, and immediately feel an intense earthquake to which the rest of the restaurant is oblivious.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: The next morning, Anna and Tess wake up in each other's bodies. "Anna" (Tess in her daughter's body) goes to school and begins to fully understand her daughter's woes. She experiences bullying from Stacey and recognizes Mr. Bates as an old high school classmate, realizing that he is treating Anna unfairly as revenge for Tess turning down a prom invitation from him years ago. "Anna" threatens Mr. Bates with reporting him to the school board unless his treatment of Anna stops. Meanwhile, "Tess" (Anna in her mother’s body), after giving her new body a makeover, has difficulty handling the patients. At lunchtime, "Anna" and "Tess" return to the restaurant, but Pei-Pei explains that only showing selfless love for each other will cause the switch to be reversed.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: "Tess" attends Harry's parent-teacher conference, where she reads a composition about how much he actually admires Anna, and decides to be nicer to him. "Anna" attempts to make amends with Stacey, but Stacey frames her for cheating on a test and "Anna" gets sent to detention. When Jake notices "Anna" sneaking out of detention, he offers to help her finish the test. Jake takes "Anna" to the file room in the teachers' lounge and she realizes that she misjudged him, but he loses his enamoration towards "Anna" after she sabotages Stacey's test by erasing most of the answers and writing "I'M STUPID!" on it. Ryan surprises "Tess" with a talk show interview to discuss her latest psychology book. To disguise the fact that she hasn't read the book, "Tess" goes into an amusing tirade about getting older. "Anna" and Jake watch the interview on television and while she is embarrassed, he is impressed. "Tess" bumps into Jake at his second job, a coffee shop, and they bond over their favorite music.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: At the rehearsal dinner, Anna's friends Maddie and Peg, two of her bandmates, try to convince "Anna" to sneak off to the audition, but they are caught by security. Ryan surprisingly gives "Anna" permission to go, explaining that he just wants the kids to accept him, and urges "Tess" to support the band, finally winning her over. Since "Anna" cannot play, "Tess" plays the guitar backstage while "Anna" mimes along. Realizing her daughter is indeed musically talented, "Anna" promises to treat her daughter's band with more respect, and during the show, Jake becomes enamored with "Anna" again upon seeing her perform.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Back at the rehearsal dinner, "Anna" tells "Tess" to ask Ryan to postpone the wedding, so that her daughter will not have to marry him in her mother's body. Instead, "Tess" proposes a toast, finally accepting Ryan because of how happy he makes her mom. This act of selfless love switches back Anna's and Tess' bodies. Tess and Ryan later marry, she and Anna finally reconcile, realizing how tough their lives are, and Tess allows Anna to start dating Jake.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: At the wedding, Pei-Pei notices her mother offering Anna's grandfather, Alan, and Harry two fortune cookies after seeing them argue. She immediately rushes over, tackles them both, and grabs the cookies. During the credits, Anna is playing with her band at Ryan's and Tess's wedding.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Lohan's character was originally written as goth, but she did not think anyone would relate to that, and decided to dress in a preppy style for her audition. The character ended up being rewritten as a grunge, alt-rock teen.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Ryan Shuck coached Curtis to play the guitar solo for the concert scene. Lohan trained for one year to learn to play the guitar before production. In the final version of the film, both Curtis and Lohan's guitar parts were overdubbed by professional studio musicians.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Initially, producer Andrew Gunn had hoped that Jodie Foster, who played Annabel in the original 1976 film, would be interested in the role of the mother. Foster declined, citing concerns that her stunt casting would draw attention away from other elements of the film. Jamie Lee Curtis was offered the role of Tess at the last minute, after Annette Bening dropped out for undisclosed reasons four days before filming began. Kelly Osbourne was originally set to play Maddie, but withdrew when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She was replaced by Christina Vidal. Tom Selleck was originally cast as Ryan but dropped out when Annette Bening dropped out from the film.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Marc McClure, who played Annabel's love interest in the 1976 film, makes a brief cameo as Boris the delivery man. The snapshots in the opening credits are photos of Curtis and her daughter, Annie Guest. In the final scene, Dina Lohan, Lindsay Lohan's mother and manager, makes an appearance as one of the wedding guests. Director Mark Waters also has a cameo holding a baby at the wedding.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: The orchestral score was written by Rolfe Kent and orchestrated by Tony Blondal. Lohan also recorded a song for the soundtrack, titled "Ultimate".


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: In its opening weekend, the film grossed $22.2 million in 2,954 theaters, finishing second at the box office, behind "S.W.A.T." ($37.1 million). The film went on to gross $110.2 million in North America and $50.6 million in other territories for a total of $160.8 million. The film was released in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2003, and opened at number four.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: "Freaky Friday" received largely positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan charm in Mark Waters' nicely pitched—and Disney's second—remake of the 1976 hit." On Metacritic the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of A− on a scale of A to F.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Curtis's performance was singled out for praise by many critics. David Ansen of "Newsweek" noted that, "the most startling metamorphosis is Curtis' transformation from fading horror flick queen to dazzling comedienne. She goes on a teenage tear—tormenting Anna's younger brother (who wonders why Mom's acting so weird), getting down and dirty on a TV talk show where Tess is supposed to discuss her book on aging—with fiercely funny conviction." Lisa Schwarzbaum from "Entertainment Weekly" called her performance "glorious", and A. O. Scott from "The New York Times" contended that she "does some of her best work ever [in "Freaky Friday"]." Independent reviewer Nick Davis described her as "so frisky and pouty and incandescent in "Freaky Friday", she made the whole movie feel like something special." Her performance was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: Lohan's performance was also praised. Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, described Lohan as possessing "that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona." The film earned her the award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: The transformation scene, however, was criticized. While Ebert noted that Asian American actors were cast in the film simply to "supply magic potions, exotic elixirs, ancient charms and handy supernatural plot points", Nick Schager of "Slant Magazine" called it "a strange bit of 'Oriental mysticism' stereotyping that seems at odds with the film's thematic focus on tolerance and understanding." From "The Village Voice", Ed Park summarized the premise as "some strange racist bullshit".


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: The film was released on DVD and VHS on December 16, 2003, by Walt Disney Home Entertainment. It was later released on Blu-ray on March 27, 2018 as an exclusive through the Disney Movie Club program. The film is also available on the streaming service Disney+ after its launch on November 12, 2019.


title: Freaky Friday (2003 film)

text: In October 2022, Jamie Lee Curtis expressed enthusiasm about making a "Freaky Friday" sequel alongside Lindsay Lohan after disclosing the two were still in touch during a fan event in Mexico. After news on her statement created buzz online, Curtis revealed on "The View" a few days later that she had already contacted Disney about it and shared a potential pitch. It was then reported Lohan would also be interested in returning for a sequel with Curtis if Disney proposed a new film. "I love Jamie. I would definitely love to work together again, and we have spoken so we will see. I think when you work with such incredible people, you always want to have a chance to work with them again, especially when so much time has passed, and to share those experiences and bring something great back to life for a new audience to see and a different generation, I think it's just the best," Lohan said the following month. Lohan was asked again about the sequel in another interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, in which Lohan replied: "First of all — let’s just take the fact I was on set filming at the time, and Jamie Lee Curtis writes you and you just get excited and distracted immediately, so I had to bring myself down to earth and be, like, ‘okay I’m on set, I have to focus and then she said Freaky Friday 2 and I got more excited!”. Lohan continued, "We would both be into it yeah, I'm not going to say no to Disney".. A few days later, Curtis was asked if she thought that a sequel would ever happen, Curtis replied because of the difference in her age and Lohans age, it lends itself so beautifully. She continued, "The right people are talking. We're both committed to it, and it's not ours to make. It's Disney's to make and I think they're interested and we're talking. So that's as much as I can say.". In another interview Curtis added, " 'Freaky Friday' was so great, it has so much nostalgia to it, Young people love it, the people that grew up with it now are moms, they’re showing it to their kids. The music, Lindsay Lohan - its just a great movie , so it makes sense why we would do it again".


title: Steve McNair

text: Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009), nicknamed "Air McNair", was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair played college football at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, where he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. He was drafted third overall by the Titans (then known as the Houston Oilers) in 1995, becoming the team's regular starting quarterback in 1997, their first season in Tennessee (though he started six games over the prior two seasons in Houston), and remained the starting quarterback for the Titans through 2005. After the 2005 season, McNair was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he played for two seasons before retiring.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair appeared in the playoffs four times with the Titans, including their run to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, and made his final playoff appearance in 2006 with the Ravens. McNair was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was an All-Pro and Co-MVP in 2003. McNair was the first African–American quarterback to win AP NFL MVP and remains, along with Cam Newton, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson, only one of four to win the award.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair was born in a small tin-roofed house in Mount Olive, Mississippi on February 14, 1973. He had four brothers, Fred, Jason, Michael, and Tim. He attended Mount Olive High School as a freshman in the fall of 1987, where he played football, baseball, and basketball in addition to running track. As a junior, McNair led the Mount Olive Pirates to the state championship. McNair also played free safety in high school, and in 1990 alone, he intercepted 15 passes, raising his career total to 30, which tied the mark established by Terrell Buckley at Pascagoula High School. An All-State selection (offense), McNair was named an All-American by Super Prep magazine (defense).


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair was initially-offered a full scholarship to the University of Florida to play running back, but wanting to play quarterback, McNair chose Alcorn State University, a Historically Black University which competes in the NCAA's Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision) Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In 1992, McNair threw 3,541 yards and 29 touchdowns, and ran in for 10 more scores. The Braves fashioned a record of 7–4, including a last-second victory in their rematch with Grambling. In that contest, McNair returned from an injury and helped Alcorn State, trailing late in the final period, move deep into Tigers' territory. Then, despite a leg injury, he tucked the ball under his arm and dove into the end zone for the winning touchdown. The victory over Grambling helped the Braves qualify for the I-AA playoffs where they faced off against then-Northeast Louisiana, falling 78–27 to the Indians on November 21, 1992. McNair helped Alcorn State to another good year in 1993, as the Braves upped their record to 8–3 while McNair threw for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was also named First-Team All-SWAC for the third year in a row.


title: Steve McNair

text: In his senior season, McNair gained 6,281 combined yards rushing (904) and passing (5,377), along with 56 touchdowns. In the process, he surpassed more than a dozen records and was named an All-American. In addition, McNair won the Walter Payton Award as the top I-AA player and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Rashaan Salaam and Ki-Jana Carter. McNair set career records for the Football Championship Series with 14,496 passing yards, as well as the division record for total offensive yards with 16,823 career yards. McNair's record for total offensive yards still stands as of 2018, but his mark for career passing yards was eclipsed by Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges in 2018.


title: Steve McNair

text: He was a member of the fraternity Omega Psi Phi, highlighting his allegiance by tattooing "Omega Man" on his arm.


title: Steve McNair

text: With the third overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, the Houston Oilers and new head coach Jeff Fisher selected McNair, making him at the time the highest-drafted African-American quarterback in NFL history and signing him to a seven-year contract. McNair did not see his first action until the last two series of the fourth quarter in a November game versus the Cleveland Browns. Late in the season, he also appeared briefly against the Detroit Lions and New York Jets. In 1996, McNair remained a backup to Chris Chandler until starting a game on December 8 in Week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair's first season as the Oilers' starter in 1997 (the team's first year in Tennessee) resulted in an 8–8 record for the team, which played its home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. McNair's 2,665 passing yards were the most for the Oilers in a season since Warren Moon in 1993, and his 13 interceptions were the fewest for a single season in franchise history. He also led the team in rushing touchdowns with eight and ranked second behind running back Eddie George with 674 yards on the ground, at the time the third-highest total for a quarterback in NFL history.


title: Steve McNair

text: In 1998, McNair set career passing highs with 492 attempts, 289 completions, 3,228 yards, and 15 touchdowns for the Oilers, now competing in Nashville. He also cut his interceptions to ten, helping his quarterback rating climb to 80.1.


title: Steve McNair

text: The team officially changed its name from Oilers to Titans for the 1999 season as they debuted a new stadium, Adelphia Coliseum. Early in the season, McNair was diagnosed with an inflamed disk following the Titans' 36–35 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and needed surgery. In his stead entered Neil O'Donnell, a veteran who had guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl four years earlier. Over the next five games, O'Donnell led the Titans to a 4–1 record. McNair returned against the St. Louis Rams, and with McNair starting, Tennessee won seven of its last nine games, good for a record of 13–3 and second place in the AFC Central.


title: Steve McNair

text: The Titans opened the playoffs at home against the Buffalo Bills in a Wild Card game, winning on the "Music City Miracle" and eventually advancing to Super Bowl XXXIV in a rematch with the Rams. On the second-to-last play with the Titans facing 3rd down and 5 to go, McNair was hit by two Rams defenders, but he somehow got away and completed a 16-yard pass to Kevin Dyson to gain a 1st down at the Rams' 10-yard line. On the final play of the game, McNair's pass to Dyson was complete, but Dyson was unable to break the plane of the goal line, giving the Rams the win. McNair signed a new six-year contract after the 1999 season worth US$47 million.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair played in all sixteen games in 2000 but did not start the first of two annual games against the Steelers. This was because of a sternum injury incurred in a 17–14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs the previous game. Following the Titans’ bye week Neil O'Donnell started against his former team but after O’Donnell threw three picks he was sacked out of the game in the final four minutes. McNair came in and threw a touchdown to Erron Kinney; a missed Steelers field goal attempt resulted in the Titans winning 23–20.


title: Steve McNair

text: Following a 13–3 season in 2000 which ended in a playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, McNair put together his most productive year as a pro in 2001. In 2001, McNair registered career passing highs in yards (3,350), completions (264), touchdowns (21), and quarterback rating (90.2). He was also the team's most effective rusher, tying George for the club lead with five scores. Named to the Pro Bowl for the first time, McNair sat out the game due to a shoulder injury.


title: Steve McNair

text: In 2002, Tennessee finished the regular season 11–5 and reached the playoffs. In the divisional playoff round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, McNair threw for a career postseason high 338 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions, while rushing for 29 yards and another score on the ground. The game had a controversial finish when, after missing a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation time and a second failed kick in overtime was negated because of a controversial running-into-the-kicker penalty on Pittsburgh's Dewayne Washington, kicker Joe Nedney won the game from 26 yards out 2:15 into overtime. Steelers coach Bill Cowher said that he called a timeout before the winning kick took place. McNair and the Titans reached the AFC Championship game but were unable to reach the Super Bowl, losing to the Oakland Raiders 41–24.


title: Steve McNair

text: Between the 2002 and 2003 seasons, McNair was arrested for DUI and illegal gun possession (in May 2003). His blood alcohol was above 0.10, and a 9-mm handgun was sitting in the front of the car. All charges related to the incident were later dropped.


title: Steve McNair

text: In December of the 2003 season, an injured calf and ankle kept McNair sidelined for two games, though he still finished with the best numbers of his career, including 3,215 passing yards, 24 touchdown passes, just seven interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 100.4. The Titans ended at 12–4, the same record as the Colts, but Indianapolis took the AFC South division championship by virtue of its two victories over Tennessee. McNair and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning were named co-NFL MVPs following the 2003 season, which ended for the Titans in a playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. McNair finished the 2003 season as the league leader in passer rating and became the youngest player in NFL history to pass for 20,000 yards and run for 3,000 yards.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair missed the 2004 season's fourth game with a bruised sternum, an injury suffered the previous week against Jacksonville, and played in only five more games that season. In 2005, he played in 14 games because of a back injury.


title: Steve McNair

text: This series of season-ending injuries prompted the Titans to make the business decision of locking McNair out of team headquarters in the 2006 offseason. The team would not let him rehab in its building because it feared an injury would force the franchise to pay him $23.46 million (his contract had been restructured so often that his salary cap reached a hard-to-manage amount). The Players Association's filed a grievance on his behalf in which an arbitrator ruled that the team violated its contract, opening the possibility for a trade.


title: Steve McNair

text: Following the 2005 season, on April 30, 2006, the Titans allowed McNair and his agent, James "Bus" Cook, to speak with the Ravens to try to work out a deal. On May 1, 2006, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Baltimore Ravens might wait for McNair to be released by the Titans during free agency. Speculation was that the Titans might hold onto McNair until the week before training camp in late July if the Ravens didn't come up with a satisfactory trade offer for McNair according to a league source. However, on June 7, 2006, the two teams worked out a deal to send McNair to the Ravens for a 4th-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. On June 8, McNair flew to Baltimore, passed a physical and was announced as the newest member of the Ravens.


title: Steve McNair

text: The 2006 season saw McNair start each game for the Ravens, missing only portions of two games. In the week 14 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, McNair threw the longest regular-season touchdown pass in the Ravens' history, an 89-yard touchdown pass to Mark Clayton. McNair helped Baltimore to a 13–3 record and an AFC North Championship. He made his first playoff start as a Raven against the Colts on January 13, 2007. McNair completed 18 of 29 pass attempts for 173 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions as the Ravens lost, 15–6.


title: Steve McNair

text: On May 9, 2007, McNair was arrested in Nashville for drunk driving even though he was not driving at the time. It is a misdemeanor offense in Tennessee for an owner of a motor vehicle to knowingly allow an intoxicated person to drive the vehicle. McNair was riding in his own pickup truck as a passenger when the police stopped the truck's driver, McNair's brother-in-law, for speeding. The driver failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for DUI; McNair was charged with DUI by consent. The quarterback's charge was dropped on July 10, 2007 when McNair's brother-in-law pleaded guilty to reckless driving.


title: Steve McNair

text: In 2007, McNair did not play in Week 2 against the Jets in which the Ravens won 20–13. He also did not play the full game in Week 3, however, the game was won by the Ravens, 26–23. McNair missed nine more games during the rest of the season, due primarily to injury, only starting in six games. He announced his retirement following the 2007 season.


title: Steve McNair

text: After thirteen seasons in the NFL, McNair announced his retirement from professional football in April 2008.


title: Steve McNair

text: In July 2012, McNair was named the 35th greatest quarterback of the NFL's post-merger era, according to Football Nation.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair's number was retired by the Titans during a halftime ceremony against the Indianapolis Colts on September 15, 2019.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair was married to Mechelle McNair from June 21, 1997, until his death. He split his time between a farm in Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair had two sons by Mechelle: Tyler and Trenton; and two sons – Steve LaTreal McNair Jr. and Steven O'Brian McNair – by two other women before they married.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair earned the nickname "Air McNair" in high school. He opened his own restaurant in Nashville, which he named Gridiron9.


title: Steve McNair

text: On July 4th, 2009, McNair was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds, along with the body of a 20-year-old woman named Sahel "Jenni" Kazemi, in a condominium rented by McNair in downtown Nashville. He was 36 years old. Kazemi and McNair had been previously involved with each other romantically. The day of the shooting, text messages between the pair were exchanged proclaiming their love to one another in which Kazemi texted the victim, "u love me" in which McNair replied, "I love you baby." There was also a conversation about financial issues where McNair transferred $2,000 to Kazemi, who claimed she was "stressed" and needed to pay her phone bill. McNair then offered to come over to check on her after she said her chest felt heavy. The night of his death, McNair put his children to bed, then at 11:00 p.m. he texted Kazemi "On my way." McNair, who was believed to have been asleep on the couch when the shooting occurred, was shot twice in the body and twice in the head, with only one of the shots coming from closer than three feet. After killing him, Kazemi sat on the couch beside him and shot herself in the temple. The bodies were discovered by McNair's friends Wayne Neely and Robert Gaddy, who called 911. The Nashville police declared McNair's death a murder-suicide, with Kazemi as the perpetrator and McNair as the victim. The 9mm gun used was found under Kazemi's body and later tests revealed "trace evidence of (gunpowder) residue on her left hand. Kazemi had a worsening financial situation and also suspected that McNair was in another extramarital relationship.


title: Steve McNair

text: Two days before their deaths, Kazemi was pulled over in a black 2007 Cadillac Escalade in Nashville. McNair was in the passenger seat and Vent Gordon, a chef at a restaurant McNair owned, was in the back seat. The vehicle was registered in the names of both McNair and Kazemi. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. McNair was not arrested, instead leaving in a taxi with Gordon, despite Kazemi repeatedly asking the arresting officer to tell McNair to come to the police car to talk to her. However, McNair later bailed Kazemi out of jail. The police later stated that after being released from jail, Kazemi purchased the gun from a convicted murderer she met while looking for a buyer for her Kia.


title: Steve McNair

text: In a statement to the AP, Ozzie Newsome, executive vice president and general manager of the Baltimore Ravens, stated:


title: Steve McNair

text: The Titans held a two-day memorial at LP Field on July 8 and 9, 2009, where fans could pay their last respects to McNair. Highlights from his career were played throughout each day and fans were able to sign books that were later given to the McNair family.


title: Steve McNair

text: During the 2009 NFL season, every member of the Titans wore a commemorative "9" sticker placed on the back of each helmet to honor McNair. Funeral services were held for McNair at the Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi on July 11; he was buried at Griffith Cemetery in Prentiss, Mississippi.


title: Steve McNair

text: McNair died without a last will and testament, and his assets were frozen pending probate of his estate. On October 15, 2010, it was reported that McNair's widow went to a Nashville judge and asked that at least a portion of the assets be unfrozen for his children's care and expenses until the estate matters were resolved in court. The judge agreed, and each of the four children received $500,000.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Lauren Ambrose, is an American actress and singer. She performs in television, film, and on Broadway.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose had television roles as Claire Fisher in "Six Feet Under" (2001–2005), for which she was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and as Jilly Kitzinger in "" (2011). Her film credits include "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998), "Psycho Beach Party" (2000), "Sleepwalk with Me" (2012), and "Where the Wild Things Are" (2009). She is the lead singer of the ragtime band Lauren Ambrose and the Leisure Class.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose portrayed the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of "My Fair Lady" on Broadway, for which she was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and won the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: In 2019, Ambrose began starring as Dorothy Turner in the Apple TV+ psychological horror series "Servant".


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso was born in New Haven, Connecticut on February 20, 1978. She is the daughter of Frank D'Ambruoso, a caterer and Anne (née Wachtel), an interior designer. She is of Italian descent on her father's side, and German, English, and Irish on her mother's. Ambrose attended Choate Rosemary Hall, Wilbur Cross High School, High School in the Community, and the ACES Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven as part of the class of 1996. She is also a trained opera singer who studied voice and opera at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose began her career in New York theater, starring in the Off-Broadway play "Soulful Scream of a Chosen Son" at the Vineyard Theatre from August to September 1990. Her early career also included television appearances, most notably playing supporting guest roles on "Law & Order", and a feature guest role on the show in the 1998 episode "Damaged" as Valerie Maxwell, a mentally-challenged young woman raped by a group of popular high school students. Her first film role was "In & Out" (1997).


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: She had a prominent role in the high school comedy "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998). She was the ingenue lead, Florence "Chicklet" Forrest, in "Psycho Beach Party" (2000).


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose began her role on "Six Feet Under" in early 2001. She was nominated for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Emmy Award twice, following the 2002 and 2003 seasons of the critically acclaimed drama.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: In 2006, Ambrose made her Broadway debut in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of "Awake and Sing!" In 2007, she appeared as Juliet in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park performance of "Romeo and Juliet" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. She appeared as Ophelia in the 2008 performance of "Hamlet" for Shakespeare in the Park. Ambrose returned to Broadway in "Exit the King" (by Eugène Ionesco) at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on Broadway, opposite Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon. Ambrose provided the voice of the monster KW in "Where the Wild Things Are", which was released in 2009.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: In 2011, Ambrose appeared in seven of the ten episodes of "". She played Jilly Kitzinger, a "sweet-talking PR genius with a heart of stone who's just cornered the most important client of her career and maybe of all time". For her performance as Kitzinger, Ambrose received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress In Television.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose is the lead singer of Lauren Ambrose and the Leisure Class, a ragtime dixieland jazz band formed in 2009. They have performed several times at Joe's Pub and charity events.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose was set to play Fanny Brice in a 2012 Broadway-bound revival of "Funny Girl" directed by Bartlett Sher, but the production was indefinitely postponed due to financial concerns. In March 2018 Ambrose started appearing as Eliza Doolittle in a new Broadway revival of "My Fair Lady" directed by Sher, a performance for which she was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and won the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: In October 2018, Ambrose left "My Fair Lady" to take on the lead role as Dorothy Turner in the thriller series "Servant" produced by M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop for Apple TV+. The series premiered in November 2019 and she has been starring in it since 2019.


title: Lauren Ambrose

text: Ambrose has been married to professional photographer Sam Handel since September 2001. They have two children.


title: Cate Blanchett on screen and stage

text: Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress who has appeared extensively on screen and on stage. She made her stage debut in 1992 as Electra in the National Institute of Dramatic Art production of the play of the same name. She followed in 1993 with performances in Timothy Daly's "Kafka Dances", for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics Award for Best Newcomer, and the Sydney Theatre Company stage production of "Oleanna", winning Best Actress. She is the first performer to win both awards at once. She went on to perform several roles on stage, notably Susan Traherne in "Plenty" (1999), Hedda Gabler in "Hedda Gabler" (2004), Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2009), Yelena in "Uncle Vanya" (2011), and Claire in "The Maids" (2013).


title: Cate Blanchett on screen and stage

text: Blanchett's first leading role on television came with 1994's "Heartland", followed in 1995 with the miniseries "Bordertown". In 1997, she made her feature film debut in a supporting role in the World War II drama "Paradise Road". The same year, she had her first leading role in "Oscar and Lucinda", which earned her an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award nomination for Best Actress. In 1998, Blanchett received worldwide attention for playing Queen Elizabeth I of England in the acclaimed drama "Elizabeth". She won Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards and the BAFTA Awards for Best Actress, and was nominated for an Academy Award. "Elizabeth" and her next film, the 1999 thriller "The Talented Mr. Ripley", performed well at the box office although her other 1999 releases, the widely praised "An Ideal Husband" and the largely panned "Pushing Tin", were unsuccessful.


title: Cate Blanchett on screen and stage

text: Blanchett found success portraying Galadriel in Peter Jackson's epic fantasy trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" (20012003). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, among other honors, for portraying Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's 2004 drama "The Aviator", making her the only actor to win an Oscar for portraying another Oscar-winning actor. She won the 2005 AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Little Fish". Blanchett's performance in the 2006 thriller "Notes on a Scandal" garnered her another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress. In 2007, she received both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominations for her roles in "" and "I'm Not There", becoming one of the few actors to achieve this.


title: Cate Blanchett on screen and stage

text: In 2008, Blanchett appeared in Steven Spielberg's action adventure "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and David Fincher's fantasy drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". She briefly played Galadriel in "The Hobbit" trilogy (20122014). For her lead performance in Woody Allen's 2013 drama "Blue Jasmine", Blanchett won the Golden Globe, the BAFTA Award, the SAG Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress. She voiced Valka in the 2014 animated fantasy "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and its 2019 sequel "". In 2015, she received praise for playing Lady Tremaine in Disney's live action film "Cinderella", Mary Mapes in "Truth", and Carol Aird in Todd Haynes's romantic drama "Carol". "Cinderella" was a box office success and Blanchett earned her seventh Oscar nomination for "Carol". Blanchett made her Broadway debut in 2017 with "The Present", receiving a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In 2017, she played primary villain Hela in "". The following year, Blanchett starred in "Ocean's 8", the all-women spin-off of the Ocean's trilogy, and Eli Roth's "The House with a Clock in Its Walls". In 2020, Blanchett created and starred in the ABC television miniseries "Stateless" and portrayed Phyllis Schlafly in the Hulu miniseries "Mrs. America".


title: Roman à clef

text: Roman à clef (, ), French for "novel with a key", is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction. This metaphorical key may be produced separately—typically as an explicit guide to the text by the author—or implied, through the use of epigraphs or other literary techniques.


title: Roman à clef

text: Madeleine de Scudéry created the "roman à clef" in the 17th century to provide a forum for her thinly veiled fiction featuring political and public figures.


title: Roman à clef

text: The reasons an author might choose the "roman à clef" format include satire; writing about controversial topics and/or reporting inside information on scandals without giving rise to charges of libel; the opportunity to turn the tale the way the author would like it to have gone; the opportunity to portray personal, autobiographical experiences without having to expose the author as the subject; avoiding self-incrimination or incrimination of others that could be used as evidence in civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings; the ability to change the background and personalities of key participants; and the settling of scores.


title: Roman à clef

text: Biographically inspired works have also appeared in other literary genres and art forms, notably the "film à clef".


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (United), previously he has also served as a Union Minister as the Samata Party member.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar first entered politics as a member of the Janata Dal, becoming an MLA in 1985. A socialist, Kumar founded the Samata Party in 1994 along with George Fernandes. In 1996 he was elected to the Lok Sabha, and served as a Union Minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with his party joining the National Democratic Alliance. In 2003 his party merged into the Janata Dal (United), and Kumar became its leader.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: In 2005, the NDA won a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Kumar became chief minister heading a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the 2010 state elections, the governing coalition won re-election in a landslide. In June 2013, Kumar broke with the BJP after Narendra Modi was named as their candidate for prime minister, and formed the Mahagathbandhan, a coalition with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Indian National Congress.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: On 17 May 2014, Kumar resigned as chief minister after the party suffered severe losses in the 2014 Indian general election, and was replaced by Jitan Ram Manjhi. However, he attempted to return as chief minister in February 2015, sparking a political crisis that eventually saw Manjhi resign and Kumar become chief minister again. Later that year, the Mahagathbandhan won a large majority in the state elections. In 2017, Kumar broke with the RJD over corruption allegations and returned to the NDA, leading another coalition with the BJP; at the 2020 state elections his government was narrowly reelected. In August 2022 Kumar left the NDA, rejoining the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and UPA.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar was born on 1 March 1951 in Bakhtiarpur, Bihar. His father, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh, was an ayurvedic practitioner; his mother was Parmeshwari Devi. Nitish belongs to Kurmi agricultural caste. Nitish Kumar's Nickname Is 'Munna'.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: He has earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from Bihar College of Engineering (now NIT Patna) in 1972. He joined the Bihar State Electricity Board, half-heartedly, and later moved into politics. He married Manju Kumari Sinha (1955-2007) on 22 February 1973 and the couple has one son. Manju Sinha died in New Delhi on 14 May 2007 due to pneumonia.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar belongs to a socialist class of politicians. During his early years as a politician he was associated with Ram Manohar Lohia, S. N. Sinha, Karpuri Thakur, and V. P. Singh. Kumar participated in Jayaprakash Narayan's movement between 1974 and 1977 and joined the Janata party headed by Satyendra Narain Sinha.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar fought and first time won his election to the state assembly from Harnaut in 1985. In the initial years, Lalu Prasad Yadav was backed by Kumar as leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly in the year 1989 but Kumar later switched his loyalty to BJP in 1996, after winning his first Lok Sabha seat from Barh.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: The Janata Dal had survived the splits in past when leaders like Kumar and George Fernandes defected to form the Samata Party in 1994, but it remained a baseless party after the decision of Yadav to form Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997. The second split took place prior to Rabri Devi assuming power which resulted in Janata Dal having only two leaders of any consequence in it, namely Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan. Paswan was regarded as the rising leader of Dalits and had the credit of winning his elections with unprecedented margins. His popularity reached to the national level when he was awarded the post of Minister of Railways in the United Front government in 1996 and was subsequently made the leader of Lok Sabha. His outreach was witnessed in the western Uttar Pradesh too, when his followers organised an impressive rally at the behest of a newly floated organisation called "Dalit Panthers".


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Sharad Yadav was also a veteran socialist leader but without any massive support base. In the 1998 Parliamentary elections, the Samata Party and Janata Dal, which was in a much weaker position after the formation of RJD ended up eating each other's vote base. This made Kumar merge both the parties to form Janata Dal (United).


title: Nitish Kumar

text: In 1999 Lok Sabha elections Rashtriya Janata Dal received a setback at the hand of BJP+JD(U) combine. The new coalition emerged leading in 199 out of 324 assembly constituencies and it was widely believed that in the forthcoming election to Bihar state assembly, the Lalu-Rabri rule will come to an end. The RJD had fought the election in an alliance with the Congress but the coalition didn't work making state leadership of Congress believe that the maligned image of Lalu Prasad after his name was drawn in the Fodder Scam had eroded his support base. Consequently, Congress decided to fight the 2000 assembly elections alone.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: The RJD had to be satisfied with the communist parties as coalition partners but the seat-sharing conundrum in the camp of National Democratic Alliance made Kumar pull his Samta Party out of the Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan faction of the Janata Dal.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Differences also arose between the BJP and Kumar as the latter wanted to be projected as the Chief Minister of Bihar but the former was not in favour. Even Paswan also wanted to be a CM face. The Muslims and OBCs were too divided in their opinion. A section of Muslims, which included the poor communities like Pasmanda were of the view that Lalu only strengthened upper Muslims like Shaikh, Sayyid and Pathans and they were in search of new options.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Yadav also alienated other dominant backward castes like Koeri and Kurmi since his projection as the saviour of Muslims. It is argued by Sanjay Kumar that the belief that, "the dominant OBCs like the twin caste of Koeri-Kurmi will ask for share in power if he (Yadav) seeks their support while the Muslims will remain satisfied with the protection during communal riots only" made Yadav neglect them. Moreover, the divisions in both the camps made the political atmosphere in the state a charged one in which many parties were fighting against each other with no visible frontiers. JD(U) and BJP were fighting against each other on some of the seats and so was the Samta Party. The result was a setback for the BJP, which in media campaigns was emerging with a massive victory. RJD emerged as the single largest party and with the political manoeuvring of Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi was sworn in as the Chief Minister again. The media largely failed to gauge the ground level polarisation in Bihar. According to Sanjay Kumar:


title: Nitish Kumar

text: In 2004 General elections, Lalu's RJD had outperformed other state-based parties by winning 26 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. He was awarded the post of Union Railway minister but the rising aspirations of the extremely backward castes unleashed by him resulted in JD(U) and BJP led coalition to defeat his party in 2005 Bihar Assembly elections.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Nitish was briefly, the Union Minister for Railways and Minister for Surface Transport and later, the Minister for Agriculture in 1998–99, in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In August 1999, he resigned following the Gaisal train disaster, for which he took responsibility as a minister. However, in his short stint as Railway Minister, he brought in widespread reforms, such as internet ticket booking facility in 2002, opening a record number of railway ticket booking counters and introducing the tatkal scheme for instant booking.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Later that year, he rejoined the Union Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture. From 2001 to May 2004, he was – again – the Union Minister for Railways. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he contested elections from two places, when he was elected from Nalanda but lost from his traditional constituency, Barh.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar is a member of the Janata Dal (United) political party. As the chief minister, he appointed more than 100,000 school teachers, ensured that doctors worked in primary health centres, electrified many villages, paved roads, cut female illiteracy by half, turned around a lawless state by cracking down on criminals and doubled the income of the average Bihari.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: In March 2000, Nitish was elected Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time at the behest of the Vajpayee Government in the centre. NDA and allies had 151 MLAs whereas Lalu Prasad Yadav had 159 MLAs in the 324 member house. Both alliances were less than the majority mark that is 163. Nitish resigned before he could prove his numbers in the house. He lasted 7 days in the post.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: After victory in 2005 Bihar Assembly elections, Kumar a leader of OBC Kurmi caste was sworn in as the chief minister. During Lalu's time, backward caste candidates came to dominate the Bihar assembly claiming half of the seats in it and it was the aspiration of this powerful social community that led to friction among the united backwards, leading to the rise of Kumar who made both social justice and development as his political theme.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar's government also initiated bicycle and meal programs. Giving bicycles to girls who stayed in school resulted in the state getting a huge number of girls into schools and a reduction in school dropout rates.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: In 2010, Kumar's party swept back to power along with its then allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and he again became Chief Minister. The alliance won 206 seats, while the RJD won 22. For the first time, electorates witnessed high turnout of women and young voters, while this was declared as the fairest election in Bihar, with no bloodshed or poll violence.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: On 17 May 2014, Kumar submitted his resignation to the Governor of Bihar, a day after his party fared poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, winning just 2 seats against 20 seats in the previous election. Kumar resigned, taking the moral responsibility of his party's poor performance in the election, and Jitan Ram Manjhi took over.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar again became Chief Minister on 22 February 2015, on the backdrop of upcoming 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, considered to be his toughest election to date. His JD(U), along with RJD and Congress, formed the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) to counter the BJP in Bihar.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar campaigned aggressively during the elections for the Grand Alliance, countering the allegations raised by Narendra Modi and the BJP. The Grand Alliance won the Assembly election by a margin of 178 over the BJP and its allies, with RJD emerging as the largest party with 80 seats and JD(U) placed second with 71. Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister on 20 November 2015 for a record fifth time and Tejashwi Yadav became Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Kumar's campaign was managed by the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) who were hired to managed the campaign for JD(U). I-PAC designed the campaign strategy which included reaching out to a larger set of voters through innovative campaigns, including sending hundreds of branded cycles for outreach, Har Ghar Dastak (door-to-door outreach) and the DNA campaign.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: When corruption charges were levelled against Tejashwi Yadav, the Deputy Chief Minister, Kumar asked for him to resign from the cabinet. The Rashtriya Janata Dal refused to do so, and therefore Kumar resigned on 26 July 2017, thus ending the Grand Alliance. He joined the principal opposition, the NDA, and came back to power within a few hours.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: Capitalising on his 15 years consecutive terms as Chief Minister, Kumar highlighted various achievements and developments and listed various schemes carried out by his government and finally managed to get over a tightly contested election. NDA managed to get majority in Legislature Assembly by winning 125 seats as compared to Mahagathbandhan's 110 seats. He was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for seventh time in 20 years in the presence of top leaders of NDA.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: On 9 August 2022, Kumar resigned as chief minister and removed his party from the NDA, announcing that his party had rejoined the Mahagathbandhan, and would form a governing coalition with the RJD and INC.


title: Nitish Kumar

text: On 9 August 2022, Kumar broke the alliance with the BJP and resigned as chief minister and revoked his party from the NDA, announcing that his party had rejoined the Mahagathbandhan, comprising RJD, INC, CPI and other independents, and would form a governing coalition. On 10 August he sworn in as the chief minister of the state for the eighth time in 22 years.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: In 1653, after dissolution of the Rump Parliament, the Army Council adopted the Instrument of Government which made Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of a united "Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland", inaugurating the period now usually known as the Protectorate. After Cromwell's death, and following a brief period of rule under his son, Richard Cromwell, the Protectorate Parliament was dissolved in 1659 and the Rump Parliament recalled, starting a process that led to the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The term Commonwealth is sometimes used for the whole of 1649 to 1660 – called by some the Interregnum – although for other historians, the use of the term is limited to the years prior to Cromwell's formal assumption of power in 1653.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: In retrospect, the period of republican rule for England was a failure in the short term. During the 11-year period, no stable government was established to rule the English state for longer than a few months at a time. Several administrative structures were tried, and several Parliaments called and seated, but little in the way of meaningful, lasting legislation was passed. The only force keeping it together was the personality of Oliver Cromwell, who exerted control through the military by way of the "Grandees", being the Major-Generals and other senior military leaders of the New Model Army. Not only did Cromwell's regime crumble into near anarchy upon his death and the brief administration of his son, but the monarchy he overthrew was restored in 1660, and its first act was officially to erase all traces of any constitutional reforms of the Republican period. Still, the memory of the Parliamentarian cause, dubbed the Good Old Cause by the soldiers of the New Model Army, lingered on. It would carry through English politics and eventually result in a constitutional monarchy.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: The Commonwealth period is better remembered for the military success of Thomas Fairfax, Oliver Cromwell, and the New Model Army. Besides resounding victories in the English Civil War, the reformed Navy under the command of Robert Blake defeated the Dutch in the First Anglo-Dutch War which marked the first step towards England's naval supremacy. In Ireland, the Commonwealth period is remembered for Cromwell's brutal subjugation of the Irish, which continued the policies of the Tudor and Stuart periods.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: The Rump was created by Pride's Purge of those members of the Long Parliament who did not support the political position of the Grandees in the New Model Army. Just before and after the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649, the Rump passed a number of acts of Parliament creating the legal basis for the republic. With the abolition of the monarchy, Privy Council and the House of Lords, it had unchecked executive and legislative power. The English Council of State, which replaced the Privy Council, took over many of the executive functions of the monarchy. It was selected by the Rump, and most of its members were MPs. However, the Rump depended on the support of the Army with which it had a very uneasy relationship. After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. It declared the people of England "and of all the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" to be henceforth under the governance of a "Commonwealth", effectively a republic.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: In Pride's Purge, all members of parliament (including most of the political Presbyterians) who would not accept the need to bring the King to trial had been removed. Thus the Rump never had more than two hundred members (less than half the number of the Commons in the original Long Parliament). They included: supporters of religious independents who did not want an established church and some of whom had sympathies with the Levellers; Presbyterians who were willing to countenance the trial and execution of the King; and later admissions, such as formerly excluded MPs who were prepared to denounce the Newport Treaty negotiations with the King.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Most Rumpers were gentry, though there was a higher proportion of lesser gentry and lawyers than in previous parliaments. Less than one-quarter of them were regicides. This left the Rump as basically a conservative body whose vested interests in the existing land ownership and legal systems made it unlikely to want to reform them.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: For the first two years of the Commonwealth, the Rump faced economic depression and the risk of invasion from Scotland and Ireland. By 1653 Cromwell and the Army had largely eliminated these threats.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: There were many disagreements amongst factions of the Rump. Some wanted a republic, but others favoured retaining some type of monarchical government. Most of England's traditional ruling classes regarded the Rump as an illegal government made up of regicides and upstarts. However, they were also aware that the Rump might be all that stood in the way of an outright military dictatorship. High taxes, mainly to pay the Army, were resented by the gentry. Limited reforms were enough to antagonise the ruling class but not enough to satisfy the radicals.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Despite its unpopularity, the Rump was a link with the old constitution and helped to settle England down and make it secure after the biggest upheaval in its history. By 1653, France and Spain had recognised England's new government.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Though the Church of England was retained, episcopacy was suppressed and the Act of Uniformity 1558 was repealed in September 1650. Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated, although everyone still had to pay tithes to the established church.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Some small improvements were made to law and court procedure; for example, all court proceedings were now conducted in English rather than in Law French or Latin. However, there were no widespread reforms of the common law. This would have upset the gentry, who regarded the common law as reinforcing their status and property rights.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: The Rump passed many restrictive laws to regulate people's moral behaviour, such as closing down theatres and requiring strict observance of Sunday. This antagonised most of the gentry.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Cromwell, aided by Thomas Harrison, forcibly dismissed the Rump on 20 April 1653, for reasons that are unclear. Theories are that he feared the Rump was trying to perpetuate itself as the government, or that the Rump was preparing for an election which could return an anti-Commonwealth majority. Many former members of the Rump continued to regard themselves as England's only legitimate constitutional authority. The Rump had not agreed to its own dissolution; their legal, constitutional view that it was unlawful was based on Charles' concessionary Act prohibiting the dissolution of Parliament without its own consent (on 11 May 1641, leading to the entire Commonwealth being the latter years of the Long Parliament in their majority view).


title: Commonwealth of England

text: The dissolution of the Rump was followed by a short period in which Cromwell and the Army ruled alone. Nobody had the constitutional authority to call an election, but Cromwell did not want to impose a military dictatorship. Instead, he ruled through a "nominated assembly" which he believed would be easy for the Army to control since Army officers did the nominating.


title: Commonwealth of England

text: Barebone's Parliament was opposed by former Rumpers and ridiculed by many gentries as being an assembly of inferior people. Over 110 of its 140 members were lesser gentry or of higher social status; an exception was Praise-God Barebone, a Baptist merchant after whom the Assembly got its derogatory nickname. Many were well educated.