IN: Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, the only child of Kathleen May (nee Smith) and Clifford Mortimer, a barrister who became blind in 1936 when he hit his head on the door frame of a London taxi but still pursued his career. Clifford's loss of sight was not acknowledged openly by the family. John Mortimer was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Harrow School, where he joined the Communist Party, forming a one-member cell. Originally Mortimer intended to be an actor (his lead role in the Dragon's 1937 production of Richard II gained glowing reviews in The Draconian) and then a writer, but his father persuaded him against it, advising: "My dear boy, have some consideration for your unfortunate wife...

With weak eyes and doubtful lungs, Mortimer was classified as medically unfit for military service in World War II. He worked for the Crown Film Unit under Laurie Lee, writing scripts for propaganda documentaries. I lived in London and went on journeys in blacked-out trains to factories and coal-mines and military and air force installations. For the first and, in fact, the only time in my life I was, thanks to Laurie Lee, earning my living entirely as a writer. If I have knocked the documentary ideal, I would not wish to sound ungrateful to the Crown Film Unit. I was given great and welcome opportunities to write dialogue, construct scenes and try and turn ideas into some kind of visual drama. He based his first novel, Charade, on his experiences with the Crown Film Unit. Mortimer made his radio debut as a dramatist in 1955 with his adaptation of his own novel Like Men Betrayed for the BBC Light Programme. But he made his debut as an original playwright with The Dock Brief starring Michael Hordern as a hapless barrister, first broadcast in 1957 on BBC Radio's Third Programme, later televised with the same cast and subsequently presented in a double bill with What Shall We Tell Caroline? at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 1958 before transferring to the Garrick Theatre. It was revived by Christopher Morahan in 2007 as part of a touring double bill, Legal Fictions. His play A Voyage Round My Father, given its first radio broadcast in 1963, is autobiographical, recounting his experiences as a young barrister and his relationship with his blind father. It was memorably televised by BBC Television in 1969 with Mark Dignam in the title role. In a slightly longer version the play later became a stage success (first at Greenwich Theatre in 1979 with Dignam, then a year later at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, now starring Alec Guinness). In 1981 it was remade by Thames Television with Laurence Olivier as the father and Alan Bates as young Mortimer. In 1965, he and his wife wrote the screenplay for the Otto Preminger film Bunny Lake is Missing, which also starred Olivier.

What type of works did he write?

OUT: He worked for the Crown Film Unit under Laurie Lee, writing scripts for propaganda documentaries.

IN: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born on August 18, 1927 in Plains, Georgia. She was the eldest of four children of Wilburn Edgar Smith, an auto mechanic and farmer, and Allethea "Allie" Murray Smith, a dressmaker. Her brothers were William Jerrold "Jerry" Smith (1929-2003), an engineer, and Murray Lee Smith (1932-2003), a teacher and minister. Her sister, Lillian Allethea (Smith) Wall (born 1936), is a real estate broker.

When her husband's gubernatorial term ended in January 1975, Rosalynn, Jimmy and Amy Carter returned to Plains. Jimmy had already announced his plans to run for President of the United States. Rosalynn returned to the campaign trail, this time on a national quest to gather support for her husband. She campaigned alone on his behalf in 41 states. Because of her husband's obscurity at the time, she often had to answer the question, "Jimmy who?" She promoted the establishment of additional daycare facilities and adjustments to "Social Security and so many other things to help the elderly." During the months when she was campaigning across the country, she was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Mental Health, honored by the National Organization for Women with an Award of Merit for her vigorous support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Southwestern Association of Volunteer Services. Rosalynn sat in the balcony at Madison Square Garden with friends and family the night of the nomination while her husband was with his mother and daughter. She had "butterflies in her stomach," until the Ohio delegation announced its votes were for her husband. Rosalynn wished she could have been with him at that time. The Carters met with all the potential running mates, and instantly gained affinity for Walter Mondale after meeting with him and his wife Joan. Following the election, the Carters traveled to the White House and met with President Ford and First Lady Betty Ford, the latter becoming a role model for Rosalynn.

was her campaigning a success?

OUT: until the Ohio delegation announced its votes were for her husband.

IN: Rascal Flatts is an American country band formed in Columbus, Ohio in 1999. It is composed of Gary LeVox, his second cousin Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney. DeMarcus is also a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and formerly one-half of the Christian music duo East to West. They are best known for performing a cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway".

In early 2000, the group made its debut with the single "Prayin' for Daylight", a song that had been on the three-song demo that had gotten the band signed. The song, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard country charts, was the first single from their self-titled debut, which was issued in early 2000 on Lyric Street. Following "Prayin' for Daylight", the album's other three singles all made top ten on that chart: "This Everyday Love", "While You Loved Me", and "I'm Movin' On", which respectively peaked at No. 9, 7, and 4. "I'm Movin' On" was awarded Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2002. Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the album with favor, calling it "a sunny, pleasing modern country-pop album". Melt was the title of their second album, released in 2002. Unlike their previous album, Rascal Flatts co-produced Melt. Its first single, "These Days", also became their first No. 1 single on the country chart. The album included two more top ten hits, "Love You Out Loud" and "I Melt", and the band's second number-one single, "Mayberry". The music video for "I Melt" featured partial nudity and was banned from the Great American Country network. Rascal Flatts's third album was entitled Feels Like Today, released in late 2004. The album's title track was its first single, followed by "Bless the Broken Road". The latter song was originally recorded by its co-writer, Marcus Hummon, and had also been recorded by Melodie Crittenden (whose version made the country chart in 1998), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Sons of the Desert. In early 2005, Rascal Flatts's version of the song spent five weeks at No. 1, followed by "Fast Cars and Freedom", which also hit No. 1. While the latter was climbing the charts, some radio stations began playing a hidden track on the album, titled "Skin". This airplay caused "Skin" to enter the top 40, and after "Fast Cars and Freedom", it was released as a single under the title "Skin (Sarabeth)" and officially added to the album's track list.

Was Rascall Flatts also the name of an album?

OUT:
In early 2000, the group made its debut