Commercially, the song hit the top ten in Canada and Israel. It also hit the top 30 in the United States, Sweden, Venezuela, Finland and Scotland. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over one million copies in the US alone.
The song is about Perry's hangout routine with her friends. The video has Perry getting her nails painted and doing karaoke with her friends. Perry was accused of cultural appropriation for wearing black cornrows. The video has received over 600 million views on YouTube as of March 2018.
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was a NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a NASCAR racing team owner; he sponsored such NASCAR champions as Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. He now produces a line of fried pork skins and country ham. He was credited as the first to use the drafting technique in stock car racing.
He was nicknamed "The Last American Hero" and his autobiography is of the same name. In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers of Madison, North Carolina, to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called "Midnight Moon Moonshine".
Johnson died at a hospice care facility in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 20, 2019, at age 88. He had Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death.
Bryan Avery
Bryan Robert Avery MBE RIBA (2 January 1944 – 4 July 2017) was an English architect. He was born in Berkshire, England. He was best known for designing the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
After his childhood years spent in Lymington in the New Forest, Hampshire, he studied architecture at Leicester College of Art (now the De Montfort University), followed by a MA in the History and Theory of Architecture at Essex University under Professors Joseph Rykwert and Dalibor Vesely.
Avery died in London at the age of 73 on 4 July 2017.
You Keep Me Hangin' On
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a soul-pop ballad from American Motown music group The Supremes. It was released in late 1966. The lyrics speak of a bad relationship the singer is trying to get out of. The song's signature guitar part comes from a Morse code-like radio sound effect.
The song reached #1 on the United States "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1966.
American music group Vanilla Fudge recorded a rock version of the song in 1967. It peaked at #6 on "Billboard" Hot 100. Their single version is almost three minutes long. The album version is seven minutes and twenty seconds long.
In 1986, British singer Kim Wilde had a version of the song. In June 1987, it hit #1 on "Billboard" Hot 100. The song also hit #1 in Australia and #2 in the United Kingdom.
Nochebuena
Nochebuena (literally "good night") is the Spanish word for Christmas Eve. In Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines, the evening consists of a traditional family dinner. Roasted pig is often the center of Nochebuena for feasts around the world.
Ancient Order of the Rosicrucians
Rosicrucianism, or the Rosicrucian religion, is a combination of many different religions. It has occult elements and other religious beliefs and practices. These include Hermeticism, Jewish mysticism, and Christian Gnosticism. Members possess what they believe is secret wisdom that was handed down to them from ancient times.
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (German: "Alternative für Deutschland", shortened "AfD") is a German right-wing political party.
In the 2017 federal election, the party won 94 seats after receiving 12.6% of the national vote.
In 2012, Alexander Gauland, Bernd Lucke and Konrad Adam formed the "Electoral Alternative 2013". It was critical of Germany's policy toward the eurozone crisis. Some candidates who were part of the "Electoral Alternative 2013" ran for election in Lower Saxony in alliance with the Free Voters. They then decided to form a party to compete in the 2013 federal election. The group wanted to abolish the euro, so the Free Voters refused to join forces.
The AfD's first supporters were economists, business leaders, journalists and former members of the Christian Democratic Union who were critical of the eurozone.
The AfD held their first convention on 14 April 2013. Members elected Bernd Lucke, Frauke Petry and Konrad Adam as speakers.
In the 2013 federal election, the party received 4.6% of the national vote with more than 2 million votes. The party did not win any seats.
Before the 2014 European Parliament election, the AfD held a conference on 25 January 2014 in Bavaria. They chose the slogan, "Mut zu Deutschland" ("Courage [to stand up] for Germany"). In February 2014, some AfD officials wanted to join an alliance with the hard eurosceptic party, UKIP. However, Bernd Lucke and other officials and election candidates wanted to instead join an alliance with the British Conservative Party. In the European elections, the AfD won 7 seats in the European Parliament, and joined the European Conservatives and Reformists.
On 4 July 2015, Frauke Petry was elected as the principal speaker of the party. She was a member of the national conservate faction within the party. Her election is seen as a shift of the party further to the right wing, as the party now began to focus on Islam and immigration. Lucke believed the party was turing into the "PEGIDA party." He left the party a few days later, citing the rise of xenophobia within the party. On 19 July 2015, Lucke formed the Alliance for Progress and Renewal (ALFA).
In February 2016, AfD announced an alliance with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). On 8 March 2016, the European Conservatives and Reformists decided they will begin to exclude the AfD from their groups due to their links to the far-right FPÖ.
In 2016, the party won seats in the Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt Landtags.
At the AfD party conference held on 30 April to 1 May 2016, the party called for a ban on burkhas, minarets and the call to prayer, using the slogan "Islam is not a part of Germany".
Frauke Petry decided not to run as the party's main candidate in the 2017 federal election. This was a consequence of the internal power struggle within the party. The party chose Alexander Gauland, a strong conservative and former member of the CDU, to lead the party in the elections. Alice Weidel, who is seen as being more moderate, was elected as his running mate. The party's platform was mainly to close the borders to asylum seekers, end sanctions on Russia and leave the European Union if Germany's national sovereignty isn't restored. After the election, the party received 5.8 million votes, winning 94 seats in the Bundestag. This is the first time the party has held seats in the Bundestag.
A day after the successful 2017 federal election, Frauke Petry left the party. She did this as a response to extremist comments made by some members in the AfD. She would later join the Blue Party, which is another right-wing conservative party.
The AfD's ideology is described as populist, conservative and anti-immigration. The party is against same-sex marriage and has a platform of climate change denial. The party has also aligned itself with groups that are against modern feminism.
Alternative for Germany is eurosceptic and critical about the influx of foreigners in Germany.
Buttelstedt
Buttelstedt is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is 11 km north of Weimar.
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is a popular song about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. It mixes sadness and comforts of home. The version sung by Bing Crosby is said to be the world's best-selling single.
The song has been covered and performed by artists including Jo Stafford, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Bette Midler. It has sold over 150 million copies.
The original version was released in 1942.