Fitzgerald got engaged to Zelda Sayre in 1919. He moved into an apartment on Lexington Avenue in New York where he wrote short stories and worked in advertising. Zelda did not think that Fitzgerald’s job was good enough and she broke off their engagement. Fitzgerald went back to his parent’s home in St. Paul and worked on his first novel This Side of Paradise. "This Side of Paradise" was finally accepted by Charles Scriber’s Sons in late 1919 and Zelda and Fitzgerald got engaged again. "This Side of Paradise" was published in 1920 and was very popular. Scott and Zelda got married in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. On October 26, 1921, their daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born.
Fitzgerald’s most famous book, "The Great Gatsby", was first sold in 1925. Fitzgerald travelled a lot at this time – mainly to France, where he met a number of other Americans who had left the United States. It was around this time that Fitzgerald first met Ernest Hemingway. They became good friends, but Hemingway did not like Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda. Hemingway said that Zelda was insane, made Fitzgerald drink alcohol and that she did not allow him to do his best work. It is generally accepted, however, that Zelda had a big influence on Fitzgerald’s writing.
Fitzgerald’s other novels did not sell as well as his first novel while he was alive. He and Zelda spent a lot of money on parties and Fitzgerald had to try and make money by writing short stories. In the late 1920s, Fitzgerald started working on a fourth novel, but problems arose when Zelda’s mental health got worse. The fourth novel, "Tender is the Night", was not published until 1934. Some people say that the characters in the novel are very similar to Fitzgerald and Zelda themselves. "Tender is the Night" did not sell as well as "This Side of Paradise" in Fitzgerald’s lifetime, and a number of critics said it was poor. The book is now considered to be one of Fitzgerald’s better works, however.
Zelda’s mental health did not improve and she went to live in a mental hospital while her husband worked on more short stories and his fifth novel.
Fitzgerald’s health got worse; possibly due to the fact that he drank a lot of alcohol during his life. On December 21st 1940, he had a heart attack and died. The last words of "The Great Gatsby" are written on Fitzgerald’s gravestone. His fifth and last novel, "The Love of the Last Tycoon", was released after he died.
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is a small town in Silicon Valley in the U.S. state of California. According to the 2000 census, Cupertino has a population of 50,546. The headquarters of Apple Computer and Symantec are in Cupertino.
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action television series which ran from 1983 - 1987. It is set in Los Angeles. It is about four former US Army commandos who are running from the military (who think that the commandos committed a crime that they did not) and make money by helping people with their problems.
Philadelphia (movie)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama movie starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. It is about Andrew Beckett (Hanks), a gay lawyer who has AIDS. The people he works with find out and fire him. He thinks this is unfair and hires another lawyer (Washington) who does not like gay people.
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance movie. It is based on the 1986 book of the same name by Winston Groom. Forrest Gump is the main character of both the movie and book. The movie earned much money in theaters. It earned $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. It earned more money than any other movie in North America that year. The movie was nominated for a total of 13 Academy Awards. It won six of these, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).
The movie is set in Alabama. It tells the story of a man with an IQ of 75 and his epic journey through life. It tells about him meeting historical people, affecting popular culture and being a part of historic events. While all this happened, Forrest does not know the importance of the events were because of his naiveté and much lower than average intelligence. There are many differences between the story in the movie and the story in the novel.
The movie won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Visual Effects, Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay. The film was nominated for an additional six Academy Awards, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan. The other nominations were for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing, Makeup, Original Score and Sound Mixing. At the Golden Globes the film won for Best Motion Picture in the Drama Category, Best Direction of a Motion Picture and Best performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture and was nominated for Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay. The movie has a 71 percent rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes with 40 positive and 16 negative reviews. The audience gave the film a rating of 4.1 out of 5 on the website with 93% of the audience liking the film.
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22, 1932 - August 25, 2009) was the Senator for the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009.
Ted Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, which is a neighborhood in Boston. He was the youngest son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was the younger brother of former President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated, as well as Joe Kennedy, who was killed in World War II. A lot of other sad things happened in his life: he almost died in a plane crash, he was involved in a car crash that took the life of a campaign worker, and one of his sons had cancer as a child.
Ted Kennedy went to Harvard and served in the Army before entering politics. He ran for and won the seat given up by his brother when he became President. While in the Senate, he fought for the working class, mainly for health care and the minimum wage. In 1980, he ran for President, but lost in the primaries to Jimmy Carter.
On July 18, 1969, Senator Kennedy and passenger Mary Jo Kopechne were driving in Chappaquiddick Island where the car crashed over the bridge into the ocean. Kennedy left the scene leaving Kopechne to drown to death as she was trapped in the car. Kennedy plead guilty. Many believe this is why he decided not to run for President in 1972 or 1976.
In 2008, he found out he had glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer. Despite the cancer, he campaigned for Barack Obama and sometimes appeared in the Senate.
He died from the cancer at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts just before midnight on August 25, 2009.
Flag of Singapore
The Flag of Singapore consists of two horizontal halves, red above white. Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man; white stands for pervading and everlasting purity and virtue. In the upper left corner, a white crescent moon and five white stars form a circle. The five stars stand for the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
For 140 years (1819-1959), the Union Jack flew over Singapore. Then, on 3 December 1959, the National Flag was unveiled at the installation of the new Head of State, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, when Singapore was granted self-rule (but not complete independence) by the British Government. Also unveiled that day were the State Crest and the National Anthem. The flag was conceived and created by a committee headed by then Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Toh Chin Chye.
Guidelines for the use of the flag have been relaxed in recent years to encourage greater usage.
Singaporeans and non-governmental buildings may display or fly the national flag to identify with the nation. Singaporeans are encouraged to do this during occasions of national celebration or national significance.
Bess Truman