Who is known in Scotland as 'Duke of Rothesay' and has the middle names of Philip Arthur George?

Charles, Prince of Wales - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running!     Charles, Prince of Wales "Prince Charles" redirects here. For other people known as Prince Charles, see Prince Charles (disambiguation) . Prince Charles Prince of Wales; Scot : Duke of Rothesay Spouse Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor Titles HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duke of Cornwall HRH Prince Charles of Edinburgh Buckingham Palace , London The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor ; born Windsor , 14 November 1948 ), is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . He is Heir Apparent to the respective thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth Realms . He has held the title of Prince of Wales since 1958, and is styled HRH The Prince of Wales, except in Scotland , where he is styled HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay , and (unofficially) in Cornwall, where he is known as "The Duke of Cornwall". Constitutionally, he is the first in line to the throne, but third in order of precedence , following his parents. The Prince of Wales is well-known for his extensive charity work, particularly for the Prince's Trust . He also carries out a full schedule of royal duties and, increasingly, is taking on more royal roles from his ageing parents. The Prince is also well known for his marriages to the late Diana, Princess of Wales and, subsequently, to Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall . Contents Prince Charles was born on 14 November 1948 at Buckingham Palace . His father is The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , eldest son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg . At the time of his birth, his mother was The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh , the elder daughter of King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and his father was The Duke of Edinburgh (having not yet been created a Prince of the United Kingdom). His mother was Heiress Presumptive to the British throne at the time of the Prince's birth. The Prince was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 15 December 1948 by the Archbishop of Canterbury , Dr Geoffrey Fisher and his godparents were: King George VI , Queen Mary , Princess Margaret , the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven , Hon. David Bowes-Lyon , Lady Brabourne , King Haakon VII of Norway (for whom the Earl of Athlone stood proxy) and Prince George of Greece (for whom Prince Philip stood proxy). Under letters patent issued by the Prince's great grandfather, King George V , the title of a British prince and the style His Royal Highness was only available to the children and grandchildren in the male-line of the sovereign and the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. As Charles was a female-line grandchild of the sovereign, he would have taken his title from his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, and would have been styled by courtesy as Earl of Merioneth . However the title of Prince and Princess, with the style HRH was granted to all the children of Princess Elizabeth by new letters patent issued by King George VI. In this way the children of the heiress presumptive had a royal and princely status not thought necessary for the children of King George VI's other daughter, Princess Margaret . Thus from birth Charles was known as His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Edinburgh. Styles of [ edit ] Early life In 1952, his mother assumed the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II . Prince Charles immediately became Duke of Cornwall under a charter of King Edward III , which gave that title to the Sovereign's eldest son, and was then referred to as HRH The Duke of Cornwall. He also became, in the Scottish Peerage, Duke of Rothesay , Earl of Carrick and Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland . The Duke of Cornwall was now the heir apparent to the throne. He attended his mother’s coronation at Westminster Abbey , sitting with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and his aunt, The Princess Margaret . [ edit ] School As with ro


Which actor has played Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in Alien 3 (1992), Sardo Numspa in The Golden Child (1986) and Benedict in Last Action Hero (1993)?

Charles Dance - IMDb IMDb Actor | Director | Writer Charles Dance is an English actor, screenwriter, and film director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. Some of his most high-profile roles are Tywin Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones (2011), Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Sardo Numspa in The Golden Child (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in Alien 3 (1992), Benedict ... See full bio » Born: a list of 30 people created 17 Jan 2014 a list of 26 people created 01 Jan 2015 a list of 38 people created 13 Jul 2015 a list of 22 people created 14 Oct 2015 a list of 43 people created 11 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Charles Dance's work have you seen? User Polls Nominated for     1     Primetime Emmy. Another    10 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards  » Known For  2015 Childhood's End (TV Mini-Series) Karellen  2013 Common Ground (TV Series short) Floyd  2007 Consenting Adults (TV Movie) Jack Wolfenden  2006 Agatha Christie's Marple (TV Series) Septimus Bligh  2005 Titanic: Birth of a Legend (TV Movie documentary) Narrator (voice)  2005 Last Rights (TV Mini-Series) Wheeler  2004 Don Bosco (TV Movie) Marchese Clementi  2004 When Hitler Invaded Britain (TV Movie documentary) Narrator (voice)  2003 Trial & Retribution (TV Series) Greg Harwood  2002 Foyle's War (TV Series) Guy Spencer  2000 Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (TV Series) Kenneth Crisby  2000 Justice in Wonderland (TV Movie) Neil Hamilton  1991 The Flying Doctors (TV Series) Minister  1986 Screen Two (TV Series) Paul Hatcher  1985 Time for Murder (TV Series) James Latimer  1980-1984 Play for Today (TV Series) Captain John Truman / Colin  1983 The Last Day (TV Movie) Alan  1983 The Professionals (TV Series) Parker  1982 Frost in May (TV Mini-Series) Reynaud Callaghan  1982 Nancy Astor (TV Mini-Series) Edward Hartford-Jones  1974 Father Brown (TV Series) Commandant Neil O'Brien  1974 The Inheritors (TV Series) Simon Leadbetter - Fathers and Sons (1974) ... Simon Leadbetter Hide   2004 Ladies in Lavender (written by) Hide   2004 Ladies in Lavender (executive producer) Hide   2014 Good Morning America (TV Series) Himself - Guest  2014 Room 101 (TV Series) Himself  2011-2013 Living the Life (TV Series) Himself - Introduction / Himself  2013 The Science of Doctor Who (TV Movie documentary) Himself - Participant  2013 Speeches That Shook the World (TV Movie documentary) Himself - Actor  2013 Cinema 3 (TV Series) Himself - The Unseen Bits (2013) ... Himself (as Charles Dance OBE) - Episode #7.2 (2013) ... Himself (as Charles Dance OBE)  2013 Top Gear (TV Series) Himself - Special Guest  2013 Goodbye Granadaland (TV Movie documentary) Himself  2012 Words of the Titanic (TV Movie documentary) Narrator (voice)  2012 This Week (TV Series) Himself  2011 Neverland: Where It All Began (TV Movie documentary) Himself  2011 Making Mischief (Video documentary short) Himself  2009 Merlin: Secrets & Magic (TV Series documentary) Himself  2009 The One Show (TV Series) Himself  2008 Drama Trails (TV Series documentary) Himself  2008 Dickens Secret Lover (TV Movie documentary) Himself - Presenter  2007 The Best of Masterpiece Theatre (TV Special documentary) Himself  2007 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary) Himself  2007 The 50 Greatest Television Dramas (TV Movie documentary) Himself  2006 Tubridy Tonight (TV Series) Himself  2005 The 50 Greatest Documentaries (TV Movie documentary) Himself  2004 Film 2016 (TV Series) Himself  2004 This Morning (TV Series) Himself  2003 V Graham Norton (TV Series) Himself  2003 Collision Course (TV Movie documentary) Narrator  2002 The Making of Gosford Park (TV Short documentary) Himself (uncredited)  1995-2001 This Is Your Life (TV Series documentary) Himself  1998 The Making of 'Space Truckers' (Video documentary short) Himself - 'Mancanudo' / 'Nabel'  1993 Entertainment UK (TV Series) Himself - Interviewee  1993 Primer plano (TV Series) Himself  1992 The Making of 'Alien 3' (TV Movie documentary) Himself  1990 This Week (TV Series) Himself  2013 Cinemassacre's Monster Ma


Carlos Irwin EstĂŠvez is better known by what stage name?

Charlie Sheen Topics Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as Platoon (1986), The Wraith (1986), Wall Street (1987), Major League (1989), Hot Shots! (1991), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Scary Movie 3 (2003), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). On television, Sheen is known for his roles on Spin City, Two and a Half Men, and Anger Management. In 2010, Sheen was the highest paid actor on television and earned US$1.8 million per episode of Two and a Half Men. Sheen's personal life has also made headlines, including reports about alcohol and drug abuse and marital problems, as well as allegations of domestic violence. He was fired from his role on Two and a Half Men by CBS and Warner Bros. on March 7, 2011. Sheen subsequently announced a nationwide tour. Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez in New York City, the youngest son and third of four children of actor Martin Sheen and artist Janet Templeton. His paternal...


What are the first names of the Saatchi brothers? (Both required for 1 point)

The Saatchi Brothers’ Breakup | Vanity Fair The Saatchi Brothers’ Breakup SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTER The Saatchi Brothers’ Breakup Maurice and Charles Saatchi sold Margaret Thatcher to Britain and the Concorde to the world; by the mid-1980s their advertising company was the biggest on the planet. Then Charles was eased out, and Maurice was ousted in a boardroom coup. Fiammetta Rocco traces the story behind the brothers’ tempestuous departure, including a $38 million revelation, a battle for revenge, and the birth of the New Saatchi Agency. Twitter ‘Make no mistake,” said a Saatchi & Saatchi senior staffer in the wake of recent events which have threatened the company’s future and shaken the entire advertising world, “all of this, every single move the company makes, is revenge. Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!” This tale of vengeance begins with a man at a window. The view from Maurice Saatchi’s old office is surprisingly ordinary. Hardly what you’d expect for the co-founder of an upstart advertising agency that became a vast creative giant, the most famous name in the field. Still, there is something soothing about the sooty skyline of London, and Saatchi needed soothing last December 16, when his board of directors kept him waiting for seven hours in the purgatory of his bright bunker with its white desk and white walls. Within days, he would join Elvis, Madonna, Charles and Diana as a British tabloid icon recognizable by only his first name: Maurice Versus the Beancounters. Or Maurice Stages a Talent Raid. But on that December day, there was only the skyline for distraction, the city lights, and the company of his older brother Charles, with whom Maurice has shared a business partnership and a fraternal rivalry that reminds public-relations maestro Sir Tim Bell of Cain and Abel. “The level of rage,” says Bell, “is extraordinary.” On that December day, however, Cain and Abel spoke in quiet tones. And what did they discuss? “I don’t know,” Maurice says. “I just remember being there a very long time.” Down the hall, the Saatchi board was sequestered behind closed doors. Their topic was ostensibly confidential, though such was the company’s fame that speculation about the outcome of the meeting was splashed over the morning papers. Maurice Saatchi was under siege. For nearly 25 years, he had ruled a company defined by the phrase “Nothing is impossible” and an attitude of gunslinging self-assurance so profound that insiders called it “the virus.” He had stood at the center of his company’s every victory: the momentous occasion when a handful of brazen campaign posters won the undying loyalty of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives; the day when Saatchi’s seemingly life-size poster of the Concorde ascending was installed near the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Manhattan; the time in 1986 when the agency’s London share price hit a high of $78 (an increase of more than 10,000 percent on the launch price); the premiere of the hugely successful “Tastes Great, Less Filling” campaign for Miller Lite; the opening of the agency’s landmark Manhattan fortress, with its rooftop running track; the 43rd corporate acquisition, when Saatchi became the largest advertising company on the face of the globe. That was then. Saatchi & Saatchi’s current offices, at 83–89 Whitfield Street in Fitzrovia, a rather drab London neighborhood, now seem emblematic of a frailer spirit. The sixth-floor boardroom is functional, devoid of expensive canvases, representative of a style the Italians call meschino, or “mean.” The table is large, but not imposing. It makes no claims. The chairs do merely the job they were made for. It’s a far cry from the days before the company’s financial comeuppance, when art filled the Saatchi suites at the company’s global headquarters. The vast immeuble stretched across one entire side of Berkeley Square, anchoring a neighborhood where Lord Lucan once played back-gammon at the Clermont Club and Prince Charles danced the night away at Annabel’s. Yet even before the battle of December 16, the spirit of Saatchi & Saatchi had been broken by


Which actor has been cast opposite Dakota Johnson to play Christian Grey in the film of Fifty Shades of Grey?

Fifty Shades of Grey film: Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam cast - Telegraph Film news Fifty Shades of Grey film: Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam cast Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James has announced that Dakota Johnson and  Charlie Hunnam will play the main characters of Anastasia and Christian Grey  in the forthcoming film.   Image 1 of 2 Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson have been cast in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie Photo: Getty   Image 1 of 2 Dakota Johnson has been cast as Anastasia in the Fifty Shades of Grey film Photo: Getty Images By Alice Vincent , Entertainment writer, online 4:29PM BST 02 Sep 2013 Follow After months of speculation, actress and model Dakota Johnson has been announced to play Anastasia in the Fifty Shades of Grey film , while Charlie Hunnam will play Christian Grey. EL James, the author behind the erotic trilogy and, according to Forbes, the richest writer in the world, broke the news on her Twitter feed on Monday . Ms James wrote: "I am delighted to let you know that the lovely Dakota Johnson has agreed to be our Anastasia in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey." An hour later, she posted: "The gorgeous and talented Charlie Hunnam will be Christian Grey in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey." Johnson, who is 23, is the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. She has appeared on screen with Griffith in Crazy in Alabama, her film debut in 1999, but is better known for supporting roles in rom-com The Five Year Engagement and Facebook film, The Social Network, in which she appeared opposite Justin Timberlake. LOOK: Victor Rasuk cast as Christian Grey in 50 Shades of Grey Newcastle-born Hunnam, who is 33, came to fame after appearing in popular North East TV series, Byker Grove. He has since appeared in Cold Mountain in 2003, Children of Men and, most recently, starred in Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim as the retired fighter pilot Raleigh Becket. Related Articles The producers of The Social Network , Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, are producing Fifty Shades of Grey after being hand-picked by James. It was announced in June that British artist and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood would direct the film . Ever since film interest in making the best-selling trilogy was made public in March 2012, Fifty Shades fans have been guessing which actors would be cast in the picture. Previously, Emma Watson, Mila Kunis and Elizabeth Olson have all denied any association with the role of Anastasia, or Ana, the naïve university student who gets into a relationship with the older and domineering millionaire, Christian Grey. Hunman was among the few contenders thought to be connected to the role of Grey, along with Michael Fassbender, Robert Pattinson and Ian Somerhalder. The Fifty Shades of Grey film is due for release in August 2014.


Which hard-man American actor was married to Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death in 1990?

Charles Bronson biography | birthday, trivia | American Actor | Who2 Charles Bronson Biography   Name at birth: Charles Buchinsky (Buchinski) Movie star Charles Bronson is best known for starring in a run of urban crime dramas in the 1970s, including The Mechanic (1972), Mr. Majestyk (1974) and the original Death Wish (1974). Raised in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania, Charles Bronson served in the United States Air Force during World War II, then ended up in California to study art and work as an actor. During the early 1950s he worked in television and movies, typecast as a tough-guy because of his craggy features and muscular build. By the 1960s his roles were bigger and so were the movies in which he appeared, including The Magnificent Seven (1960, with James Coburn ), Kid Galahad (1962, starring Elvis ), The Great Escape (1963, with Steve McQueen ) and The Dirty Dozen (1967, starring Lee Marvin ). Then Charles Bronson went to Europe to make movies and became an international star; the Italians called him “Il Brutto” and the French called him “le Monstre Sacré.” During the 1970s and ’80s he was a top box-office draw in the U.S. and Europe, appearing in two or three action movies a year. By the mid-1990s his appearances were few and far between as his health deteriorated. His films include the original House of Wax (1953), Machine-Gun Kelly (1958, a Roger Corman movie), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, starring Henry Fonda ), The Valachi Papers (1972) and Hard Times (1975). Extra credit Charles Bronson was married to Jill Ireland, a co-star in many of his films, from 1968 until her death in 1990. Ireland had been previously married to David McCallum , Bronson’s co-star from The Great Escape… Charles Bronson was married two other times: to Harrier Tendler (from 1949 until their divorce in 1967) and to Kim Weeks (from 1998 until his death in 2003).


What is the IATA airport code for the largest airport of France?

IATA Airport codes - Alphabetical List By City Name IATA AIRPORT CODES Airports are listed here by city name. Click on a letter below to see the cities starting from that letter, or use the scroll bar. You can also search this list via the Edit/Find feature of your web browser. ABZ - Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom Dyce ABR - Aberdeen, SD, USA Aberdeen Regional Airport AHB - Abha, Saudi Arabia - Abha Airport ABJ - Abidjan, Cote D'ivoire Port Bouet ABI - Abilene, TX, USA Municipal AUH - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi International ABS - Abu Simbel, Egypt Abu Simbel ABV - Abuja, Nigeria - Abuja International Airport ACA - Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico Alvarez International ACC - Accra, Ghana Kotoka ADK - Adak Island, Alaska, USA, Adak Island Airport ADA - Adana, Turkey Adana ADD - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Bole ADL - Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Adelaide ADE - Aden, Yemen - Aden International Airport AGA - Agadir, Morocco Inezgane GUM - Agana, Guam, Guam Ab Wonpat Intl Airport IXA - Agartala, India Singerbhil AGF - Agen, France La Garenne AGR - Agra, India Kheria AJI - Agri, Turkey - Agri Airport BQN - Aguadilla, PR, USA IKA – Ahmadabad (Tehran), Iran - Imam Khomeini International Airport AMD - Ahmedabad, India Ahmedabad AWZ - Ahwaz, Iran - Ahwaz Airport QXB - Aix-En-Provence, France - Aix-En-Provence Airport AJA - Ajaccio, Corsica, France Campo Dell Oro AXT - Akita, Japan - Akita Airport CAK - Akron/Canton, OH, USA AkronCanton Regional Airport AKU - Aksu, China - Aksu Airport PVK - Aktion, Greece - Preveza-Lefkas Airport AKV - Akulivik, Canada - Akulivik Airport AEY - Akureyri, Iceland Akureyri KQA - Akutan, Alaska, USA - Akutan Airport AAN - Al Ain, United Arab Emirates - Al Ain Airport AAC - Al Arish, Egypt - Al Arish Airport ABT - Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia - Al Baha-Al Aqiq Airport AHU - Al Hoceima, Morocco - Al Hoceima Airport ALM - Alamogordo, NM, USA ALS - Alamosa, CO, USA Bergman Field ABC - Albacete, Spain - Albacete Airport ABY - Albany, GA, USA Dougherty County ALB - Albany, NY, USA Albany County Airport ALL - Albenga, Italy - Albenga Airport ABQ - Albuquerque, NM, USA Albuquerque International Airport ABX - Albury, New South Wales, Australia Albury ACI - Alderney, Channel Islands, United Kingdom The Blaye WKK - Aleknagik, Alaska, USA - Aleknagik Airport AED - Aleneva, Alaska, USA - Aleneva Airport ALP - Aleppo, Syria Nejrab HBE - ALexandria, Egypt Borg El Arab Airport AEX - Alexandria, LA, USA Alexandria Intl Airport XFS - Alexandria, Ontario, Canada Alexandria / Via Rail Service AXD - Alexandroupolis, Greece Alexandroupolis AHO - Alghero, Sardinia, Italy Fertilia ALG - Algiers, Algeria Houari Boumedienne ALC - Alicante, Spain Alicante ASP - Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia Alice Springs IXD - Allahabad, India Bamrauli ABE - Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International, PA, USA ABE - Allentown, PA, USA AllentownBethlehemEaston Airport AIA - Alliance, NE, USA AOR - Alor Setar, Malaysia Sultan Abdul Halim GUR - Alotau, Papua New Guinea Gurney APN - Alpena, MI, USA Alpena Regional Airport ALE - Alpine, TX, USA Alpine Texas ALF - Alta, Norway Elvebakken ATM - Altamira, Brazil - Altamira Airport LTI - Altai, Govi-Altai, Mongolia - Altai Airport AAT - Altay, China - Altay Airport ACH - Altenrhein, Switzerland - Altenrhein Airport AOO - Altoona / Martinsburg, PA, USA Blair County ASJ - Amami O Shima, Japan - Amami O Shima Airport AMA - Amarillo, TX, USA Amarillo International Airport ABL - Ambler, AK, USA AMM - Amman, Jordan Queen Alia International YEY - Amos, Quebec, Canada ATQ - Amritsar, Punjab, India - Raja Sansi International Airport AMS - Amsterdam, Netherlands Schiphol ANC - Anchorage, AK, USA Anchorage International AOI - Ancona, Italy Falconara AZN - Andizhan, Uzbekistan - Andizhan Airport ASD - Andros Town, Bahamas AGN - Angoon, Alaska, USA - Angoon Airport AXA - Anguilla, Anguilla AAE - Annaba, Algeria Les Salines NCY - Annecy, France - AnnecyMeythe ANB - Anniston, AL, USA - Municipal AQG - Anqing, China - Anqing AOG - Anshan, Liaoning Province, China - Anshan AYT - Antalya, Turkey Antal


Who sang the title song of the 1981 Bond film, becoming the first title song artist to appear on screen in a Bond film?

James Bond Music - James Bond Theme, films scores, title songs and the Bond 007 Composers Video Game Music The music of James Bond The "Bond Music Style" is so familiar to people, that it sometimes seems as though it was always there. But in fact it took a lot of effort to establish all the recognisable facets of this style. Monty Norman had scored most of the first movie "Dr. No" but neither he nor the film-makers were completely satisfied that they had captured the essence of Bond. John Barry was brought in and orchestrated one of Norman's songs on electric guitar, and the unmistakeable Bond Theme had arrived. Barry was asked to score the next film "From Russia with Love" which had a theme tune and incidental music incorporating elements of the Bond theme and its style. The theme song for the next film Goldfinger was written to be larger than life and Shirley Bassey was asked to sing it in her powerful voice. By now all the elements of the Bond Style were fully established and that format continued throughout the series, with John Barry staying on as composer for many years. A few other composers did one-off stints with Bond films, and there were several attempts to update the format and introduce pop songs and artists. It wasn't until the late 90s that David Arnold successfully updated the mix by introducing techno beats into the high-octane chase sequences, and Arnold remained as the resident Bond composer for several movies. The recent Daniel Craig movies have reinvented the series and the music has also gone Back to Basics. Skyfall saw another change in direction with music by Thomas Newman and an oscar-winning title song by Adele. The same team have largely returned for the latest Bond film Spectre , and Sam Smith sings the title song for Spectre called "Writing's on the Wall" composed by Smith with regular collaborator Jimmy Napes. Let's now look in more detail at the origins of the James Bond Sound: James Bond Theme The Bond Theme is such a vital part of the overall Bond sound that it is essential to look at its genesis first. Monty Norman had already scored much of the first Bond film "Dr. No" but was struggling to capture the essence of Bond with a suitable main theme. "Under the Mango Tree" was even considered as the title theme at one point! The producers liked some of the John Barry 's existing work so they asked him to help out, and to cut a long story short Barry arranged an existing melody of Norman's to create the main theme. The credits for Dr. No read "music composed by Monty Norman" and the James Bond theme "played by John Barry and Orchestra". So John Barry didn't receive a credit for the arrangement, but as a consolation price he had got his foot in the door of this major franchise and was to score many subsequent Bond films. Of course the story doesn't quite end there, and there have been two court cases concerning the matter when newspapers published articles claiming that Barry had written or substantially written the theme. Both courts ruled that Monty Norman composed the theme and that John Barry arranged it. To some people there is a lingering feeling of injustice, not just in this instance but in many instances where the creativity of an arranger is not recognised. To take an extreme ficticious example, a song-writer can write a simple melody with some lyrics. An arranger is employed to flesh out the song, writing intros and outros, beats and basslines, harmonies, bridges and hooks that make the song distinctive. Yet the arranger gets a flat fee and the song-writer receives all the royalties earned by the song. This can seem unfair but it is the way the music industry works, and certainly UK copyright law works that way. Back to the Bond theme, and John Barry recorded this with his Band. Vic Flick played the famous guitar riff in the first recording, and Barry's small band of saxophones and brass gave that distinctive jazz sound. It was that sound which became one of the defining features of the Bond Sound. The theme has been re-recorded and re-arranged many times since 1962, though it remai


For your eyes only was the 12th Bond film, and the 5th to star which actor in the lead role?

Super Reviewer ½ For the twelfth installment of the James Bond franchise (and Roger Moore's fifth turn in the lead role), the decision was made to, (aside from the cold opening) return the series to a more grounded and series route with focus on intrigue over gimmickry. And the results are mostly pretty successful. What we have here is Bond being sent on a mission to infiltrate the Greek underworld in order to locate and recover a missile command system, a task that also sees him getting caught up in an interlinked revenge plot.  Revenge is actually a main theme throughout, and I liked it. Our main Bond girl is on a quest to avenge the deaths of her parents, and the cold opening sees Bond get vengeance on longtime arch nemesis Blofeld for good, though, due to legal reasons, he isn't called that. It's still obvious that's who it is though. I did enjoy this film, but I will be honest and say that it is a tad slow and times, and that it often feels dragged out and longer than the running time suggests. I appreciated that they toned down the camp, but aside from a few decently staged action sequences (the diving and fortress assault scenes especially) this one isn't really all that memorable, and the main villain is also not all that noteworthy or memorable. All in all though, this is one of Moore's better films, and I'd place it in the upper middle of his era when it comes to rankings. Chris Weber Super Reviewer ½ excellent locations, but the villain, story, action, and bond girl were all very forgettable. the villain switch was very clever, but overall a very lackluster addition to the bond series. danny d Super Reviewer From the outrageous and exciting opening to it`s hang on to your seat conclusion, this Bond is truly For Your Eyes Only. A fun, imaginative, tense and exhilarating action-adventure. It`s true escapist fun that does not let up for a minute. Moore rocks more than ever with his irresistible charm and humor. Carole Bouquet is dazzling and gorgeous. Al S


Which band sang the 1982 theme tune to Rocky III, 'Eye of the Tiger'?

Eye of the Tiger | Rock Band Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Eye of the Tiger Male singer Vocal Tambourine Eye of the Tiger is a song by Survivor which was the theme song to Rocky III, which was the biggest movie of 1982. Tony Scotti was the president of Survivor's record label, and he played Sylvester Stallone some tracks from the previous Survivor album, Premonition. Stallone thought the sound, writing style and street appeal could fit in his new movie, so he called called Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, who were Survivor's primary songwriters, and left messages on their answering machines. Says Peterik, "Answering machines were still something of a novelty back then and to see that blinking light was a thrill. When I pressed the playback button I heard, "Hey, yo, Jim, that's a nice message you got there. This is Sylvester Stallone.' It was too thick to be really him, but it was him. That's really the way he talks." The first 2 Rocky movies used a very popular orchestral theme written by Bill Conti. That song, "Gonna Fly Now," was a #1 hit in 1977. Says Peterik: "We didn't want to do anything like that. Stallone, in his first conversation to us, he made it real clear he wanted to distance himself from that first song. To him, it was great, but he wanted something to get to the youth market, the cutting edge. Looking back at age 53, it's hilarious to think I was once part of the cutting edge. We attempted to steer clear of the 'Gonna Fly Now' thing." Peterik: "When we got the initial rough cut of the movie, the scene that 'Eye Of The Tiger' appears in was cut to 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen. Frankie and I are watching this, the punches are being thrown, and we're going, 'Holy crap, this is working like a charm.' We called Stallone and said, 'Why aren't you using that?' He goes, 'Well, we can't get the publishing rights to it.' Frankie and I looked at each other and went, 'Man, this is going to be tough to beat.' We had the spirit of, 'We've got to try to top this.' I started doing that now-famous dead string guitar riff and started slashing those chords to the punches we saw on the screen, and the whole song took shape in the next 3 days." In the movie, Rocky Balboa is shown resting on his laurels, living the good life, doing American Express commercials and photo-ops and slacking off his training regimen. In stark contrast were scenes of the ominous Mr. T, training hard, sweating, bleeding and pouring out every last ounce of effort to become the boxing champion of the world. After the death of Rocky's trainer, played by Burgess Meredith, Rocky's friend (and former rival) Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, implores Rocky to get back "The Eye Of The Tiger," meaning his edge and his hunger to be the champ. Peterik: "Frankie came in with the lines, 'Back on the street, doin' time, taking chances.' I loved those lines immediately and suggested, 'Rising up, back on the street, did my time, took my chances' to make it fit with the story line and to make the rhythm of the words fit the music I was hearing in my head. That was certainly the lyrical spark that got the song started. The next two hours flew by in a flash as we jammed, cassette recorder running non-stop to catch anything good we did for future reference, and at the end of the day, the music was about 80% complete and the lyric about 30%. Over the next few days, I worked hard on the lyrics, remembering pieces of movie dialogue like, 'Went the distance,' referring to the central phrase of the first Rocky movie." This was the #1 song of 1982. Peterik: "At first, we wondered if calling it 'Eye Of The Tiger' was too obvious. The initial draft of the song, we started with 'It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight, rising up to the spirit of our rival, and the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, and it all comes down to survival.' We were going to call the song 'Survival.' In the rhyme scheme, you can tell we had set up 'rival' to rhyme with 'survival.' At the end of the day, we said, 'Are we nuts?' That hook is so strong, and 'r


What was the final film directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles?

Stanley Kubrick [matthewhunt.com] (broadcast in 1952-1953; Kubrick was photographed on the set by The Kentucky Courier-Journal , 26/10/1952). Marlon Brando asked him to direct and co-write One-Eyed Jacks (1961), and they collaborated on a revision of the screenplay, though in the end Brando directed the film himself and Kubrick did not receive a screen credit. He also worked briefly (again uncredited) on the set of Lewis Gilbert's film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), lighting the supertanker set under condition of anonymity. Day Of The Fight (1951) 16 minutes, black-and-white, 1.37:1. Directed, produced, written, and photographed by Stanley Kubrick. A documentary about boxer Walter Cartier preparing for a match in New York, released as part of RKO's This Is America series (though an alternate version omits the This Is America title). Cartier was the subject of a photo-spread by Kubrick for Look , and was therefore a natural choice for this suitably fast-paced film. Kubrick, who worked uncredited as the film's sound recordist, also appears in the film himself: he can be seen loading his camera at the ringside. Flying Padre (1951) 9 minutes, black-and-white, 1.37:1. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. A documentary about Fred Stadtmuller, released as part of RKO's Pathe Screenliner series. Stadtmuller, a priest from New Mexico who travelled around his parish by aeroplane, is an unusual topic for a Kubrick film, and the subject-matter was presumably imposed on the director rather than chosen by him. Consequently, Flying Padre has little of the kinetic energy Kubrick demonstrated in Day Of The Fight . Though no screen credit is given, Kubrick was the film's writer and cinematographer. The Seafarers (1953) 30 minutes, colour, 1.37:1. Directed and photographed by Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick was commissioned by the Seafarers International Union to produce this promotional documentary, and The Seafarers serves this purpose though it seems much more of a pedestrian exercise than a typically Kubrickian film. It is significant, however, as it was Kubrick's first film in colour. Some versions begin with a few seconds of silent footage from the workprint. Fear And Desire (1953) 68 minutes, black-and-white, 1.37:1. Directed, produced, photographed, edited, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. An existential drama set during an un-named war, starring Frank Silvera and Paul Mazursky. Fear And Desire was filmed with a skeleton cast and crew of less than ten people, and Kubrick even publicised the film himself (photographing the stars for posters and lobby cards). Kubrick subsequently regarded the film as below his later standards and suppressed its distribution, however there were occasional screenings of archival prints at American film festivals. The film was initially available only as a bootleg video, though a restored version was released after Kubrick's death. Killer's Kiss (1955) 67 minutes, black-and-white, 1.37:1. Directed, co-produced, edited, and photographed by Stanley Kubrick. A Noir thriller whose archetypal plot involves a boxer throwing a rigged fight, starring Jamie Smith and Irene Kane. Killer's Kiss includes a solarised sequence filmed surreptitiously on the streets of New York and a surreal fight in a mannequin factory. Kubrick was photographed on the set by Life magazine in 1954. Despite the ambiguous screen credit 'Story by Stanley Kubrick', Kubrick actually co-wrote the film's screenplay. A scene in which Smith fondles Kane's breasts, which was cut from the film at her request, may have been present in the preview version. The film's original title, Kiss Me Kill Me before general release, though a version with the original title is still extant. The Killing (1956) 85 minutes, black-and-white, 1.66:1. Directed and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. With this drama about a meticulous race-track heist, starring Sterling Hayden and Elisha Cook, Kubrick experimented with a complex, non-linear narrative, constructing a series of inter-connecting flashbacks, confidently alternating between past and present. He produced the film in partnersh


What is the more common name of the Peafowl, a species of flying birdbest known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers?

1000+ images about Birds - Peacocks on Pinterest | Peacock chair, Peacocks and Feathers Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Birds - Peacocks All Things Peacock - Peafowl are two Asiatic and one African species of flying bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female peafowl is grey and/or brown. Peachicks can be between yellow and a tawny colour with darker brown patches. 1.29k Pins1.3k Followers


Erected in 1889, this object has become one of the most recognizable structures & the most-visited paid monument in the world?

Paris: Eiffel Tower | Flickr Back to albums list Paris: Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world; 7.1 million people ascended it in 2011. The third level observatory's upper platform is at 279.11 metres the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. The tower received its 250 millionth visitor in 2010.


Robert L May created which popular Christmas character in 1939?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song) | Christmas Specials Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song) 3,653pages on Publisher: St. Nicholas Music "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a song based on the story of the same name, created by Robert L. May in 1939 as part of his employment with Montgomery Ward . It tells the tale of Rudolph , Santa 's ninth and lead reindeer, who possesses an unusually red-colored nose that gives off its own light (bioluminescence), powerful enough to illuminate the team's path through inclement winter weather. The story is owned by The Rudolph Company, L.P. and has been sold in numerous forms including a popular song, a television special done in stop-motion animation , and a feature film . Character Arts, LLC manages the licensing for the Rudolph Company, L.P. Contents [ show ] Production information Robert L. May created Rudolph in 1939 as an assignment for Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money. In its first year of publication, 2.4 million copies of Rudolph's story were distributed by Montgomery Ward. The story is written as a poem in the meter of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas . Johnny Marks , May's brother-in-law, decided to adapt his story into a song. Marks (1909–1985), who was Jewish, was a radio producer and wrote several popular Christmas songs. He was born in a New York City suburb and graduated from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., before going off to Paris to study music. He had a heroic World War II combat record, winning the Bronze Star and four battle stars. It was first sung commercially by crooner Harry Brannon on New York city radio in the latter part of 1948 before Gene Autry recorded it formally in 1949, and has since filtered into the popular consciousness. The lyric "All of the other reindeer" can be misheard in dialects with the cot-caught merger as the mondegreen "Olive the other reindeer", and has given rise to another character featured in a Christmas special of her own . Lyrics


On Christmas day in 2000, which country officially established a new National Anthem?

Europa - National Anthems  National Anthems in Europe   In December 2002 Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No.9 was declared a world cultural heritage by UNESCO. Part of this symphony is the Ode to Joy (Ode an die Freude), the music of which is certainly familiar to all of us as the European Anthem . The text of the Ode to Joy was written by Friedrich Schiller. The European Anthem intentionally was first used without any text, in order not to favour one national language over all others. Meanwhile, many texts have been created; a German text was written by an Austrian, Peter Diem! In 2004 another Austrian, Peter Roland, drafted a Latin version of the European Anthem, as he is of the opinion, that Latin is still the lingua franca in Europe.     As soon as we had realized, that our knowledge of the national anthems of Europe was more than poor, we tried to find a site which offers information about the most anthems . This site is in German. If you are especially interested in Austria , we can recommend the web site of Styria . There you can find the Austrian national anthem and the anthems of all Austrian provinces .   Later we intensified research on the anthems of the new members and the candidate countries, which was a lot more challenging. We found a wonderful site, which contains a lot of information about anthems worldwide . This site, of course, also offers information about all anthems of the EU member states in English.  National Anthems Info is another website, where you can listen to numerous anthems.   WIKIPEDIA offers a List of National Anthems from all over the world. Here you can now collect information about national anthems in Europe:   Austria Land der Berge, Land am Strome (Land of the mountains, land on the river) is the national anthem of Austria. Nineteen days before his death on December 5th, 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last complete work, the "Freimaurerkantate", KV 623. In parts of the edition of this cantata the "Chain Song", KV 623a, appeared. To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. According to newer findings of leading musicologists, this tune was not written by Mozart, but by Johann Holzer , a Freemason Brother of his, and composer of many songs. The lyrics were written by the Austrian poet Paula von Preradovic . In October 1946 it was declared Austria's official national anthem.   Belgium   The Brabanï¿½onne (Song of Brabant ) is the national anthem of Belgium . The anthem has got a Dutch, a French and a German version.   According to legend, the Belgian national anthem was written in September 1830, during the Belgian Revolution , by a young revolutionary called Jenneval, who read the lyrics during a meeting at the Aigle d'Or cafï¿½. Jenneval, whose real name was Alexandre Dechet (sometimes known as Louis-Alexandre Dechet), did in fact write the Brabanï¿½onne. He was at the time an actor at the theatre where, in August 1830, the revolution started which led to independence from the Netherlands. Jenneval died in the war of independence. Franï¿½ois Van Campenhout composed the tune.   Bulgaria If you are interested, you can also read the Bulgarian text in Cyrillic letters here! The anthem, Mila Rodino (Dear Homeland) has been in useas the national anthem of Bulgaria - interrupted by the communist era - since 1885. It is based on the music and text of the song "Gorda Stara Planina"  by Tsvetan Radoslavov , written and composed as he left to fight in the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885. The anthem was adopted in 1964. The text has been changed several times, the last change was carried out in 1990.   Croatia The lyrics of the anthem were first printed in the Danica (Morning Star) magazine in 1835, under the title Hrvatska domovina (Croatian Homeland). The music was composed in the1840s by Josip Runjanin , a Croatian Serb, on the basis of Gaetano Donizetti's O sole piu ratto from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor . In 1891 the song was first sung as the unofficial national anthem at an exhibition held by the Croatian-Slavonian Economic Society in Zagreb .   It was declared the off


Who wrote the poem Twas the night before Christmas also called "A Visit from St. Nicholas in 1822?

The Mystery Behind the World's Most Famous Christmas Poem | Mental Floss The Mystery Behind the World's Most Famous Christmas Poem Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain Like us on Facebook It's a literary mystery: Nearly 200 years after it was published in New York's Troy Sentinel, we still don't know who really wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas." When it first appeared in the newspaper on December 23, 1823, there was no name attached to it. It wasn't until 13 years later that Clement Clarke Moore, a professor and poet, was named as the author. A story emerged that a housekeeper had, without Moore’s knowledge, sent the piece—which he had written for his kids—to the newspaper, and in 1844, the poem was officially included in an anthology of Moore's work. The problem? The family of Henry Livingston, Jr., claimed their father had been reciting "A Visit From St. Nicholas" to them for 15 years before it was published. Here's the view from both sides. THE LIVINGSTON ARGUMENT Livingston's Dutch background is a key component in this mystery. His mother was Dutch, and many references in the poem are as well. For example, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" is likely where we got the popular names for Santa's reindeer—there seems to be no reference to their names prior to the poem. A couple of the names have skewed slightly over the years; instead of Donner and Blitzen, the latter two reindeer recited were called "Dunder" and "Blixem," the Dutch words for "Thunder" and "Lightning." (These days, the spellings have changed slightly to "donder" and "bliksem.") According to proponents of this hypothesis, Blixem first became Blixen to better rhyme with Vixen , and then, in 1844, Moore changed it to the more German Blitzen . Dunder would become Donder, and then, in the early 20th century, was changed to Donner to match Blitzen’s new German name. (Clement Moore proponents counter that the original editor of the poem may have altered the names to better fit a pseudo-Dutch framework , and Moore was simply changing them back to the original.) Also piling up in the case against Moore is the fact that at least four of Livingston's children and even a neighbor girl said they remembered Henry telling them the tale of St. Nick as early as 1807. They even said they had evidence—a dated, handwritten copy of the original poem with revisions and scratch marks all throughout. Unfortunately, the house containing this gem burned down, taking the Livingston family's proof with it. When a professor from Vassar analyzed poetry by both authors, he declared that there was virtually no possible way Moore could have written "A Visit from St. Nicholas." According to the professor, the style of the Christmas favorite was completely different—both structurally and content-wise—than anything else Moore had ever written. But the anapestic scheme used matched up with some of Livingston's work perfectly. Earlier this year, a New Zealand professor wrote a book where he tackled this question by applying complex statistical analysis to works by both authors. He found that “if we did not know whether the poems in Moore’s manuscript notebook were by him or by Livingston, our full range of tests would, in combination, categorize every one of them as much more probably Moore’s. In this they contrast sharply with ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ which is consistently associated more closely with Livingston.” But the Moore camp usually argues that these studies are constructed in such a way that they would always discount Moore, especially through ignoring works like “The Pig & The Rooster,” which is anapestic. The Livingston camp dismisses it and another anapestic poem by saying, “If Moore wrote ‘The Night Before Christmas’ he displayed in it a facility that deserted him in his efforts in the same meter both at about the same time and a decade later.” THE MOORE ARGUMENT Aside from the obvious fact that Moore stepped forward to take credit first, one big key seems to be his relationship with Rip Van Winkle author Washington Irving. In Irving's A History of New York, he referred to St. Nick


Which saint's day is also known as Boxing Day?

St. Stephen's Day | holiday | Britannica.com Christianity St. Stephen’s Day, also called Boxing Day, Wren Day, or Constitution Day, one of two holidays widely observed in honour of two Christian saints. In many countries December 26 commemorates the life of St. Stephen , a Christian deacon in Jerusalem who was known for his service to the poor and his status as the first Christian martyr (he was stoned to death in ad 36). In Hungary August 20 is observed in honour of King Stephen of Hungary , who united the country under Christianity in ad 1000 and was canonized in 1083 for his accomplishment. St. Stephen, stained-glass window, 19th century; in St. Mary’s Church, Bury St. Edmunds, Eng. © Ronald Sheridan/Ancient Art & Architecture Collection In the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, the December 26 holiday is commonly known as Boxing Day , which takes its name from the practice of giving small gifts to household servants on that day for their work throughout the year. In Ireland the holiday is sometimes called Wren Day, because in the past a wren would be killed and taken door-to-door by children asking for money in exchange for a wren’s feather, which people believed brought good luck. The tradition of going house-to-house on St. Stephen’s Day survives in many countries, especially in Scandinavia, where the day is observed by visiting friends and going to parties. In Hungary August 20 is celebrated as St. Stephen’s Day in commemoration of when the saint’s relics—held sacred by Hungarian Catholics—were transferred to Buda (now part of Budapest). In 1949 the country’s communist regime promulgated a new constitution on that day with the intent of transforming the Christian-themed holiday into a politically inspired one, which they renamed Constitution Day. Following the collapse of the communist state in Hungary, however, the holiday was again celebrated as St. Stephen’s Day. One ritual entails carrying the case containing the relics of St. Stephen’s right hand in processions throughout the streets of Budapest. More modern festivities include fireworks and parades. Learn More in these related articles:


True or False? The German's made the first artificial Christmas tree out of Goose feathers?

53 Festive Facts about Christmas | FactRetriever.com 53 Festive Facts about Christmas By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer Published September 19, 2016 Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.[8] The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.[7] Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.[7] All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts.[7] The “true love” mentioned in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” does not refer to a romantic couple, but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents someone who has accepted that code. For example, the “partridge in a pear tree” represents Christ. The “two turtledoves” represent the Old and New Testaments.[3] Two weeks before Christmas is a popular time for breakups According to data analyzed from Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favorite day for breakups.[12] Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzen, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrated.[8] In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.[3] According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.[6] The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.[3] Contrary to popular belief, suicide rates during the Christmas holiday are low. The highest rates are during the spring.[11] The world’s largest Christmas stocking measured 106 feet and 9 inches (32.56 m) long and 49 feet and 1 inch (14.97 m) wide. It weighed as much as five reindeer and held almost 1,000 presents. It was made by the Children’s Society in London on December 14, 2007.[6] Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850.[2] Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.[2] Many European countries believed that spirits, both good and evil, were active during the Twelve Days of Christmas. These spirits eventually evolved into Santa’s elves, especially under the influence of Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas (1779-1863) illustrated by Thomas Nast (1840-1902).[7] Each year there are approximately 20,000 “rent-a-Santas” across the United States. “Rent-a-Santas” usually undergo seasonal training on how to maintain a jolly attitude under pressure from the public. They also receive practical advice, such as not accepting money from parents while children are looking and avoiding garlic, onions, or beans for lunch.[7] The United States has about 20,000 "rent-a-Santas" per year Bolivians celebrate Misa del Gallo or “Mass of the Rooster” on Christmas Eve. Some people bring roosters to the midnight mass, a gesture that symbolizes the belief that a rooster was the first animal to announce the birth of Jesus.[7] The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The crowns are stored in a tube called a “Christmas cracker.”[7] In Poland, spiders or spider webs are common Christmas trees decorations because according to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus. In fact, Polish people consider spiders to be symbols of goodness and prosperity at Christmas.[7] Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.[7] Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.[3] Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.[7] Evergreens (from the Old English word aefie meaning “always” and gowan meaning “


True or False? The word mistletoe comes from the gaelic words for kissing girl plant?

Fredarth | The Ramblings of an Old Man The Ramblings of an Old Man Menu Well here it is – the big one same as ever some easy some not so easy and some…… to get the answers simply run the cursor over the space after the question but only after you have tried the question Happy Christmas In what country, the world’s seventh largest by geographical area, is Christmas known as Bada Din (the big day)? India Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is a territory of which country? Australia ‘Three Kings Day’ is known by what numerical name (that’s ‘name’, not ‘date’) in Britain?Twelfth Night The North Pole, said to be Santa’s home, is located in which ocean? Arctic Ocean ‘And all the bells on earth shall ring, on Christmas day in the morning…’ is from which Christmas carol? I Saw Three Ships Marzipan is made (conventionally in the western world) mainly from sugar and the flour or meal of which nut? Almond What is the technical name of Mistletoe plant genus, and also Latin for glutinous? Viscum(hence the words viscous and viscosity, referring to semi-solid/semi-liquid and thick sticky substances – derived from the sticky quality of mistletoe berries, and also an early word for birdlime, a sticky substance made from the berries, used to trap birds) Peter Auty sang Walking In The Air in what film? The Snowman Which Christmas condiment is made from fruit sometimes referred to as marshworts? Cranberry sauce Which American-born English poet, having first names Thomas Stearns, wrote the poem The Cultivation Of Christmas Trees? T S Eliot Which Christmas slogan was introduced by Clarissa Baldwin of Dogs Trust in 1978? A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas Which British monarch (born 1865, died 1936) introduced the custom of giving thousands of Christmas puddings to staff? King George V In the UK it is traditionally believed that eating a what each day of the twelve days of Christmas brings happiness the following year: Sausage; Mince pie; Carrot; or Turkey drumstick? Mince pie The fortified wine drink Sherry is named after what town? Jerez (Spain – in Spanish, sherry is called Vino de Jerez) In Coldplay’s 2010 Christmas single video, the Latin phrase Credo Elvem Etiam Vivere (seen above the stage) loosely means what (combining an ironic rock’n’roll myth, with a seasonal sentiment popularised by Greg Lakes’s 1975 Christmas hit – and for two bonus points: name the Greg Lake song, and the Coldplay 2010 Christmas single)? I Believe Elvis Lives (Greg Lake’s song – I Believe In Father Christmas; Coldplay’s 2010 Xmas single – Christmas Lights) What is the surname of the family in the 1989 film ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’? Griswold Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892? Tchaikovsky Which southern central US state, whose capital city has the same name, was the last to recognize Christmas as an official holiday? Oklahoma In which country, the largest of its continent, is it said that finding a spider web on Christmas morning brings good luck, and so Christmas trees are decorated with artificial spider webs? Ukraine What day of the week was Christmas day in the year 2000 (in the conventional western calendar)? Monday Charles Dickens is said to have considered the names Little Larry and Puny Pete for which character? (Bonus point: in which Dickens novel did the character appear?) Tiny Tim – A Christmas Carol Under which Puritan leader did the English parliament pass a law banning Christmas in 1647? Oliver Cromwell Name the two administrative and ex-colonial regions of China for whom Christmas day (as at 2010) remains a legal public holiday, whereas in the main country it is not? Hong Kong and Macau In which European country is it said that malicious goblins called Kallikantzoroi (or Kallikantzari – singular Kallikantzoros) play troublesome pranks at Christmas? Greece (the name is thought to derive from kalos-kentauros, meaning ‘beautiful centaur’) Very loosely related to Christmas, the predatory animal ‘uncia uncia’ is better known by wha


Which comedy star plays the title character in the film Elf?

Elf (2003) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Peter Dinklage being eyed for role in both upcoming Avengers movies 12 January 2017 12:30 AM, -08:00 | Flickeringmyth a list of 31 titles created 17 Dec 2011 a list of 25 titles created 13 Nov 2013 a list of 25 titles created 03 Dec 2013 a list of 33 titles created 07 Dec 2013 a list of 23 titles created 21 Dec 2014 Search for " Elf " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 2 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards  » Videos On the outskirts of Whoville, there lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans on ruining the Christmas holiday for all of the citizens of the town. Director: Ron Howard When a man inadvertantly kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place. Director: John Pasquin An 8-year old troublemaker must protect his home from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation. Director: Chris Columbus One year after Kevin was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself in New York City, and the same criminals are not far behind. Director: Chris Columbus A young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express. During his adventure he learns about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas. Director: Robert Zemeckis In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift. Director: Bob Clark Scott Calvin has been a humble Santa Claus for nearly ten years, but it might come to an end if he doesn't find a Mrs. Claus. Director: Michael Lembeck An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions. Director: Robert Zemeckis A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas, however, every store is sold out of them, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one. Director: Brian Levant Santa, aka Scott Calvin, is faced with double-duty: how to keep his new family happy, and how to stop Jack Frost from taking over Christmas. Director: Michael Lembeck A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville. Directors: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam Stars: Boris Karloff, Thurl Ravenscroft, June Foray Directors: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and 1 more credit  » Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz Edit Storyline Buddy was a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa's sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult human who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs. Hobbs, on Santa's naughty list for being a heartless jerk, had no idea that Buddy was even born. Buddy, meanwhile, experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can. When Walter's relationship with Buddy interferes with his job, he is forced to reevaluate his priorities. Written by Ken Miller <wkmiller704@yahoo.com> This holiday, discover your inner elf. Genres: Rated PG for some mild rude humor and language | See all certifications  » Parents Guide: 7 November 2003 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: Elf, el duende See more  » Filming Locations: $31,113,501        (USA) (7 November 2003) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia The elf Ming Ming, who appears briefly in the beginning of the film, is played


Which ancient relic was stolen by Scottish Activists from Westminster Abbey and returned to Scotland on Christmas day in 1950?

Stone of Destiny stolen from Westminster Abbey - Belfast Newsletter Stone of Destiny stolen from Westminster Abbey 09:26 Monday 28 December 2009 THERE was much excitement in London on Christmas Day 1950 when it was discovered that the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, had been stolen from its place underneath the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. Despite a nationwide police search on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, reported the News Letter, no trace of the ancient and historic stone had been found by police detectives who had been put on the trail of the thieves. The only clues which had been discovered by the searchers were the initials JFS which had been found freshly carved in the gilt of the Coronation Chair. It was believed that the stone had been removed from the abbey by the thieves who had "secreted" themselves in the abbey after the Christmas Eve service. The stone – which weighed 485lb – had been dragged from its position behind the high altar, about 140 feet through the south screen door, round the south transept and out of the Poets' Corner entrance – "the most secluded in the abbey" – the padlock of which had been wrenched off. One of the legs of the Coronation Chair was damaged during the removal of the stone. The front seat board was split and some old iron brackets were wrenched loose. Dust and chips of decayed wood were also left lying it about. Mr Andrew Hislop, the night watchman at the abbey, told reporters how he had discovered that the Stone of Destiny was missing. He said that the relic had been in its usual place when he had made his rounds at 11pm and 12.15am He said: "I first knew that something was wrong when I went to look at the doors in the morning at about 6.15am I found the Poets' Corner door had been burst open and I saw the lock lying on the floor. That door was bombed during the war and the original door is not there; there is only a temporary door with a padlock and staple, and it is the only possible door by which they could have broken into the abbey. "I went straight away to the Henry VII chapel to see if the Battle of Britain silver was all right. I then checked the cross on the High Altar, and was making my way to Edward the Confessor's tomb when I flashed my torch on the Coronation Chair and the stone was gone. "Part of the chair was broken. A strip of wood about two feet of long and an inch or so wide which held the stone in its position underneath the chair was lying on the floor. I went straight away and told Mr William Bishop, the Clerk of the Works, who dialled 999. That was about 6.20am." The Dean of Westminster, Dr Alan C. Don, told newspaper reporters: "The disappearance of the stone is the most devastating thing which could have happened. It is impossible to put a value on it, for it is the most precious relic that we have and we shall never be happy until it is returned to us. "I cannot possibly imagine what motive there could be for removing it from the abbey. It has never been outside the abbey since it was first used. Even during the war it remained with us, but hidden in the abbey." While the search for the stone was continuing throughout Britain Miss Wendy Wood, leader of the Scottish Patriots' Association, was drawing up plans for a campaign to prove that those who had "retrieved" the stone from Westminster Abbey for Scotland could not be charged with theft. Speaking from her cottage at Salen, Argyllshire, she said: "All this talk about thieves is absolute rubbish. The stone was not stolen. It was only retrieved. If someone stole your watch and you got it back, you wouldn't be stealing. You would be taking back what belonged to you. There is no reason at all why there should not be proper rejoicing in Scotland." The Earl of Mansfield, whose family seat was at Scone Palace, said on December 27: "If the Scottish Stone of Destiny is ever brought to Scone Palace, I should be extremely reluctant to hand it over to the English authorities. "It would depend, of course, on who had taken the stone from Westminster Abbey, and I should have to give


'If'by Rudyard Kipling, famous inspirational poems and       quotes if - rudyard kipling Rudyard Kipling's inspirational poem - 'If' Rudyard Kipling's (1865-1936) inspirational poem 'If' first appeared               in his collection 'Rewards and Fairies' in 1909. The poem 'If' is               inspirational, motivational, and a set of rules for 'grown-up' living.               Kipling's 'If' contains mottos and maxims for life, and the poem is also a               blueprint for personal integrity, behaviour and self-development. 'If' is               perhaps even more relevant today than when Kipling wrote it, as an ethos and a               personal philosophy. Lines from Kipling's 'If' appear over the player's               entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court - a poignant reflection of the poem's               timeless and inspiring quality. The beauty and elegance of 'If' contrasts starkly with Rudyard               Kipling's largely tragic and unhappy life. He was starved of love and attention               and sent away by his parents; beaten and abused by his foster mother; and a               failure at a public school which sought to develop qualities that were               completely alien to Kipling. In later life the deaths of two of his children               also affected Kipling deeply. Rudyard Kipling achieved fame quickly, based initially on his first               stories and poems written in India (he returned there after College), and his               great popularity with the British public continued despite subsequent critical               reaction to some of his more conservative work, and critical opinion in later               years that his poetry was superficial and lacking in depth of meaning. Significantly, Kipling turned down many honours offered to him               including a knighthood, Poet Laureate and the Order of Merit, but in 1907 he               accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature. Kipling's wide popular appeal survives               through other works, notably The Jungle Book (1894) the novel, Kim (1901), and               Just So Stories (1902).   If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing               theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt               you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not               be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being               hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too               wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master, If you               can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and               Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to               hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for               fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it               all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your               beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force               your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are               gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which               says to them: "Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk               with kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends


At the end of the novel 'The Day Of The Triffids', on what island do the two sighted protagonists Bill Masen and Josella Payton eventually find refuge?

An Intellectual Mediocrity: The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndam The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndam Cover of the first hardback edition.  It is funny how things in life transpire isn't it?? I had no longer finished John Wyndam's classic 1951 sci-fi-horror The Day of the Triffids than the 2010 BBC mini-series re-played on telly!! This was quite cool because I got to watch that, then afterwards 1981 Bond film For Your Eyes Only. So it was quite a good night in front of the box! I won't bother with novel/series comparisons. Suffice to say there are differences, but overall it kept the essence of the novel quite well.   I first read The Day of the Triffids way back in 1987 as a 17 year old in my last year of high school. For some reason I had a class where I had to read enough books that would equate to reading 1000km of words if they were laid out ( all within the space of six weeks ). Well I breezed that because I read Leon Uris' Exodus which took a great chunk out of the 1000km! I then turned my attention to John Wyndham's classic novel, of which I had wanted to read for some time.  Suffice to say I've read it several times since. The last time must have been almost 15 years. So several weeks ago I decided to re-visit this novel and see if my initial impressions of it still stood. I'm sure all of you have read novels many years ago that you have re-read and found them to be different than from the first time round. Time, age, wisdom etc changes things and many novels I didn't like, or understand when younger, are now my first choice of reading material. Heaven forbid I remember the groans at school when we had to read Shakespeare and yet now I love reading the Bard!  The Day of the Triffids is a novel that has always frustrated me. In 1987 I loved the first half of it but felt the second rather flat. That is the way it appeared to me in each of my subsequent readings as well. And after my lasted delve into it I still find it a novel that frustrates me. As I always do before writing a review I undertook some web searching on the novel. What I found was that many reviews elsewhere, from both professional and non-professional critics alik,e also comment on the novels unsatisfying second half and ambiguous ending.  So what is it about? The Day of the Triffids is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel written by English science fiction author John Wyndam Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, more commonly known under his pen name John Wyndam ( thank goodness! ). He wrote numerous novels and short stories, but this is his best known work. The novel is about ' Triffids ', tall aggressive plants with intelligent behaviour that can move about on three legs. They can communicate with each other and have a deadly whip like poisonous sting that enables them to kill and fed on their prey. The novels main protagonist is Bill Masen who has worked with the Triffids ( their oils are superior to conventional vegetable oils and they are cultivated all over the world ). With his background he develops a theory that they were bio-engineered in the USSR and then accidentally released when a plane smuggling their seeds was shot down.  The novel opens with Masen in hospital with his eyes bandaged up after Triffid venom was splashed in them. As he convalesces a meteor shower occurs which blinds all who witnessed it ( later on in the novel he theorises that it was a orbiting weapons system that caused the meteor shower after it mal-functioned ). After waking up. and finding a quiet hospital. he unbadages his eyes and finds London's population almost entirely blinded and civilisation collapsing. On the way he meets a sighted novelist Josella Playton who he rescues from a violent blind man who is forcing her to help him. From there the two encounter various groups with differing agendas. Some want to pair up the seeing with the blind and start re-populating the planet through monogamous sex. Whilst others want to abandon the blind to their fate and start colonies of the seeing alone.   During this the two are separated and Madsen spends his time trying to find Jos


Which region in the Pacific ocean is also the name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle' stories?

name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories | fasab Home Posts tagged 'name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories' name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories “Fight Against Stupidity And Bureaucracy” . Welcome to another quiz day on the fasab blog. As usual a random selection of questions, some quite difficult, but some that you should find easy enough. When you are done check the answers which are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below – but NO cheating! Enjoy. Q.  1:  What is the name of the art form that translated means ‘beauty writing’? . . Q.  2:  The Blue Fairy is a kindly figure in which Disney classic? (Now you knows this!) . Q.  3:  What is the name of the Spanish soup served cold? . Q.  4:  What is the longest poisonous snake in the world? . . Q.  5:  Eric Weisz is still believed by some to have made the first successful powered flight in Australia on March 18, 1910. Weisz was better known around the world under which stage name? . . Q.  6:  Which region in the Pacific ocean is also the name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories? . . Q.  7:  What is the name of the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and in which country is it located? (a point for each answer) . Q.  8:  Contestants from which three countries have won the most Miss Universe titles?  (Take some bonus points if you know how many titles they have won.) . . Q.  9:  Which word, used in the world of espionage, stems from John Le Carre’s 1974 novel ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’? . Q. 10:  ‘Kristal’ and ‘Krug’ are examples of which wine? . Q. 11:  In space an ‘Event Horizon’ surrounds what kind of region? . Q. 12:  Who was the first Hollywood actress to appear on a postage stamp? . . Q. 13:  When the definition of a desert is ‘an area with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres per year’; on which continent is the largest desert in the world? . Q. 14:  ‘Varig’ is the national airline in which country? . . Q. 15:  Name the American artist who uses Campbell’s Soup cans in his pop art? . . Q. 16:  What did American POW’s call the Hoa Lo prison camp in North Vietnam? . . Q. 17:  Widely used to orient buildings and even furniture, the term ‘Feng shui’, what is the English translation of this term? (Two words.) . Q. 18:  Which breed of horse is also the name for a kind of bean? . . Q. 19:  Who was the only heavyweight champion to finish his boxing career with a perfect record? (49 wins-0 defeats). . . Q. 20:  Which film producer with a vegetable as a last name, was, until his death, involved in most of the James Bond films? > Q.  4:  What is the longest poisonous snake in the world? A.  4:  The King Cobra. . . Q.  5:  Eric Weisz is still believed by some to have made the first successful powered flight in Australia on March 18, 1910. Weisz was better known around the world under which stage name? A.  5:  Harry Houdini. . . Q.  6:  Which region in the Pacific ocean is also the name of a character in the Dr. Doolittle stories? A.  6:  Polynesia. In the series of books, Polynesia is Doctor Dolittle’s parrot. . . Q.  7:  What is the name of the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and in which country is it located? (a point for each answer) A.  7:  Old Bushmills Distillery, located at Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. . Q.  8:  Contestants from which three countries have won the most Miss Universe titles?  (Take some bonus points if you know how many titles they have won.) A.  8:  USA (8: 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997, 2012), Venezuela (6: 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2008, 2009), and Puerto Rico (5: 1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006). . . Q.  9:  Which word, used in the world of espionage, stems from John Le Carre’s 1974 novel ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’? A.  9:  Mole. Q. 11:  In space an ‘Event Horizon’ surrounds what kind of region? A. 11:  A Black hole. . Q. 12:  Who was the first Hollywood actress to appear on a postage stamp? A. 12:  Grace Kelly. . . Q. 13:  When the definition of a desert is ‘an area with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres per year’; on which


Which artist is famous for his statue The Thinker'?

The Thinker | Rodin Museum H. 189 cm ; W. 98 cm ; D. 140 cm S.2838 When conceived in 1880 in its original size (approx. 70 cm) as the crowning element of The Gates of Hell , seated on the tympanum , The Thinker was entitled The Poet. He represented Dante, author of the Divine Comedy which had inspired The Gates, leaning forward to observe the circles of Hell, while meditating on his work. The Thinker was therefore initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned soul, and a free-thinking man, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry. The pose of this figure owes much to Carpeaux’s Ugolino (1861) and to the seated portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici carved by Michelangelo (1526-31).   While remaining in place on the monumental Gates of Hell, The Thinker was exhibited individually in 1888 and thus became an independent work. Enlarged in 1904, its colossal version proved even more popular: this image of a man lost in thought, but whose powerful body suggests a great capacity for action, has became one of the most celebrated sculptures ever known. Numerous casts exist worldwide, including the one now in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a gift to the City of Paris installed outside the Panthéon in 1906, and another in the gardens of Rodin’s house in Meudon, on the tomb of the sculptor and his wife. George Bernard Shaw in the Pose of "The Thinker" Rodin, the Monument to Victor Hugo and The Thinker Rodin's "Thinker" in Dr Linde's Garden in Lübeck


Franz Hals painted his most famous work in 1624; what was it called?

Famous Painters: Frans Hals and The Laughing Cavalier Famous Painters: Frans Hals and The Laughing Cavalier Tweet Frans Hals, along with Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer, were three famous painters who dominated the Golden Age of Dutch Art  in the 17th century.   Frans Hals, born circa 1581, introduced a vitality and expressivenesss not previously seen in portraiture.  Of the 300 or so paintings he created, nearly all are portraits, typically of Haarlem citizens as individuals or in groups. Among his most famous artwork is The Laughing Cavalier, also called The Merry Cavalier.    Frans Hals, The Laughing Cavalier. Oil on canvas.  1624.  33 3/4" x 27".  The Wallace Collection, London. Here, the courtly soldier epitomizes Baroque gallantry and seemingly flaunts his amorous tendencies - his sleeves are ornately decorated with bees of Cupid and Mercury's winged staff and hat.  The intricacy of the embroidery is juxtaposed by Frans Hals' broad, energetic brushwork in the cavalier's black sash. As in most portraits by Frans Hals, a fleeting moment is captured with immediacy. Fast forward three centuries to the 1920s, a time during which the three masters of the Dutch Golden Age were frequently imitated and forged.  Noted art historian Cornelis Hofstede de Groot had devoted himself to determining which 17th century Dutch paintings were authentic, and which were created by followers or forgers.  In 1924, he published a brief article titled, "Some Recently Discovered Works by Frans Hals", announcing his discovery of The Merry Cavalier.  De Groot proclaimed it an authentic Frans Hals painting, after which the work was sold to an auction house.  Shortly thereafter, the auction house claimed it a forgery and demanded partial reimbursement of the purchase price.  Profoundly offended, De Groot stated that if he was wrong, he'd donate his personal (and sizeable) art collection to Holland's museums, further vowing "never to express another word, either in writing or verbally, about the genuineness of an unknown Frans Hals." The subsequent trial provided incontrovertible proof that De Groot had erred -- although Frans Hals died in 1666, the blue paint in the cavalier's coat was first available in 1826; another blue in the background was made in 1820, while the white in the collar was zinc white, only made after 1781.   Furthermore, the canvas was attached to its stretcher with modern, paint-splattered nails, meaning that they were positioned before the painter began.  In spite of this data, De Groot was steadfast in his conviction that he'd found an authentic Frans Hals work.  Before the trial concluded and a verdict announced, De Groot - contending he was the victim of injustice - purchased Merry Cavalier for himself. The following year, he published a booklet entitled True or False? Eye or Chemistry?.  Here he stated that a connoisseur's eye was the best determination of artistic authenticity, adding that scientific analyses were beside the point. "A forger could scarcely imagine a more welcome message", notes Edward Dolnick in The Forger's Spell. If you are engaged by the complexities of art forgery -- in the work themselves and in the mind of the forger -- I strongly recommend Dolnick's work, "a true story of Vermeer, Nazis and the greatest art hoax of the twentieth century".


Who was the pilot hero of Captain W.E. Johns stories?

Biggles: Pilot and Adventurer | Nudgee College Library Nudgee College Library May 22, 2009 by Martin Kerby - Head of Information Services Long before JK Rowling penned a few stories about a teenage wizard, or Stephanie Meyer decided that a vampire love story might potentially attract a wide audience, generations of schoolboys enjoyed the adventures of fictional characters such as William Brown and John Jennings. The "Just William" series, written by Richard Crompton first appeared in book form in 1922. Eventually Crompton would write 34 books detailing the adventures of his trouble prone protagonist. I was introduced to the series in the late seventies by my father who had read them when he was a child. At about the same time, a school friend introduced me to Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings series. Buckeridge wrote the first of the series in 1950, with the 23rd and final one appearing in 1994. The series is named for his main character, a teenager at an English boarding school. In some respects the stories are not entirely dissimilar to Harry Potter minus the magic and the female students. But without a doubt my favourite was the Biggles adventure series written by Captain WE Johns, who had been a pilot during World War One. Though he wrote 169 books, it was the 96 he wrote about James Bigglesworth, pilot and adventurer, which brought Johns fame and fortune. The Library has a copy of an omnibus which has four classic Biggles adventures - Biggles Secret Agent, Biggles and the Secret Mission, Biggles Flying Dectective and Biggles in Australia. In the introduction, an un-named author discussed the appeal of the Biggles series: Johns’ expertise helped to put boys of all ages in the pilot’s seat, if only in their mind’s eye, adding an extra element of excitement to his stories, but a Biggles adventure was never solely about soaring through the clouds. Johns was also a master storyteller, taking his hero through almost one hundred books over a period of more than thirty years from 1932 right up to his death in 1968…These characters embodied the spirit of the British fighting man…They were courageous and uncompromising in battle, yet still managed to retain a notion of fair play; they were highly skilled professionals, adept at handling all manner of technical equipment, yet they could improvise ingeniously when all was not going to plan and they were left to survive on their wits alone. Biggles books are now a collector's item, although most of mine were reprints that I bought in various second hand shops. Any student who would like to begin a series large enough to provide many years of reading should look for the Biggles omnibus at F JOH. Edmund Rice Education Australia trading as St Joseph's Nudgee College 2199 Sandgate Road Boondall 4034 | PO Box 130 Virginia 4014 p: (07) 3865 0555 | f: (07) 3865 0500 | e: contact@nudgee.com | Privacy Policy


Which Scottish golfer (aka Mrs Doubtfire) has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999?

Colin Montgomerie Interview - Colin Montgomerie Net Worth Colin Montgomerie Interview Read more... Colin Montgomerie Colin Montgomerie Net Worth is $42 Million. Colin Montgomerie is Golfer | Designer. Colin Montgomerie Date of Birth is 1963-06-23. Colin Montgomerie Height is 1.85 m. Colin Montgomerie Weight is 89.811. Colin Montgomerie Country is Glasgow.. Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23... Colin Montgomerie Net Worth is $42 Million. Colin Montgomerie Net Worth is $42 Million. Colin Montgomerie is Golfer | Designer. Colin Montgomerie Date of Birth is 1963-06-23. Colin Montgomerie Height is 1.85 m. Colin Montgomerie Weight is 89.811. Colin Montgomerie Country is Glasgow. Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events, the most of any British player, placing him fourth on the all time list of golfers with most European Tour victories. He won three consecutive Volvo PGA Championships at Wentworth Club between 1998 to 2000. He has finished runner-up on five occasions in major championships. He has not, to date, won a major title or an official tournament on the PGA Tour in the United States and North America. His career high world ranking is second. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. In June 2013, after turning 50, Montgomerie joined the Champions Tour, where he plans to play a full schedule and made his debut in the Constellation Senior Players Championship, one of the five senior major championships. Although Scottish by...


In which town is the cartoon series 'The Simpsons' based around?

D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along : The Two-Way : NPR D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along Embed Embed D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along Embed Embed Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real-life home of The Simpsons. AP hide caption toggle caption Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real-life home of The Simpsons. AP Ay Caramba! Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real Springfield: It's in Oregon. In an interview with Smithsonian magazine , posted online Tuesday, Groening credits the name to the hit TV show Father Knows Best. The show "took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown," he says. "When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." The topic of Springfield's real location has much discussion among fans of the show, which has been on the air for more than 20 years. "I don't want to ruin it for people, you know?" Groening says. "Whenever people say it's Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, 'Yup, that's right.'" Article continues after sponsorship But The Associated Press says Groening said he has long given fake answers about the Simpsons' hometown, leaving open the possibility the revelation to Smithsonian magazine itself is fake. According to the AP: The show has made a running joke of hiding the true Springfield's location. In one episode, daughter Lisa points to Springfield on a map, but the animated "camera view" is blocked by son Bart's head. But there should have been plenty of clues that the characters on the Simpsons were drawn from Groening's own childhood. The names of many characters on the show — Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy — correspond to street names in Portland, Ore. Indeed, Groening says his goal was to "name every character after streets in Portland, but we were in a hurry so I dropped the idea." Another clue: The Simpsons live on Evergreen Terrace – also the name of the street the Groenings lived on. And, of course, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie are named after Groening's parents and sisters, respectively. The town of Springfield, Ore., had already claimed the show as its own. When Niel Laudati, the community relations manager for Springfield, Ore., was told about Groening's announcement, he told the AP: "Oh, OK, we knew that." The town's Facebook page features a signed plaque from Groening when he visited the town before The Simpsons Movie was released in 2007. "Yo to Springfield Oregon – The Real Springfield!" the plaque reads. It's signed: "Your pal, Matt Groening Proud Oregonian! 2007." No clues yet as to the location of Shelbyville.


Since 1934, the annual Golf Masters tournament is the only major played each year at the same course. Name the course?

Masters Tournament | New Georgia Encyclopedia First played in 1934, the Masters Tournament is one of golf's four "major" events, alongside the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship. The tournament is staged every April at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta . Origins The Augusta National Golf Club dates back to 1931, the height of the Great Depression , when two men joined resources to create the club. One of the club's founders was the outstanding amateur and Atlanta native Bobby Jones , winner of thirteen major championships between 1923 and 1930. After winning the Grand Slam in 1930 (all four major titles: U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open, British Amateur), the twenty-eight year old announced his retirement from competitive golf. During the next several years he was involved in several carefully selected golf projects, one of which was the Augusta National. Less  Masters Tournament prominent than Jones but no less important to the success of the club and tournament was New York financier Clifford Roberts, who had befriended Jones in the mid-1920s. Whereas Jones brought the venture credibility and publicity, Roberts brought it business acumen. In the midst of the depression, Roberts skillfully sold the concept of a national golf club to a handful of investors and raised the capital necessary to purchase land and begin construction of the course. The famous golf course architect Alister Mackenzie worked with Jones on designing the Augusta National course. Mackenzie, designer of such world-renowned layouts as Cypress Point in northern California, complemented Jones because they agreed on many fundamentals of golf course architecture. They discovered Fruitland ( Berckmans Nursery ), the abandoned 365-acre plant nursery near Augusta, where, among other things, peaches were grown by Prosper Berckmans. Because of the depressed economy, the land, originally a plantatation, was available at bottom-dollar price. Jones decided that it was the ideal location for a golf course. While Roberts handled the finances, Jones and Mackenzie oversaw the construction of the course, which began in 1931 and was completed in 1932. Within Bobby Jones  months of its completion Roberts and Jones discussed the possibility of hosting a major tournament, such as the U.S. Open; however, scheduling conflicts and climate—Augusta was too hot to host the U.S. Open, traditionally held in the summer—ultimately prohibited that idea. Yet Roberts remained determined; if they could not hold a national open, then why not stage an annual invitational event hosted by the legendary Bobby Jones? To make the event even more viable, Roberts proposed that Jones enter the tournament, coming out of retirement for a week each year to compete against his old opponents and friends. At first Jones resisted the idea of competing, but Roberts convinced him that the excitement surrounding his participation might make the difference between the survival and failure of the tournament. Jones very much wanted the tournament and club to succeed, so he agreed to play. Roberts had been correct. The first Augusta National Invitation Tournament was held in the spring of 1934; it was won by Horton Smith (Jones finished in thirteenth place) and was an instant success. The following year Gene Sarazen scored a double eagle two on the par five fifteenth in the final round to force a play-off with Craig Wood, whom Sarazen defeated the next day to win the tournament. In 1939 the tournament officially changed its name to the Masters. The natural beauty of the course's eighteen holes—each adorned with the plant from which it gets its name—and the fact that the golf calendar did not already include a major event during those months made spring the ideal time for the Masters to be held. Moreover, early April was the best time to catch the nation's sportswriters as they returned north from baseball's spring training in Florida. A few days in Augusta provided them a respite from their travels and from the national pastime. In sum, the schedule, the weather, the environmen


What is the often used name of the political protest of throwing a beverage into a harbour in December 1773?

1000+ images about ❤ Historical Events ❤ on Pinterest | Boston tea parties, British and British government Forward The Sons of Liberty were the most famous secret group to oppose the British. They did this by protests that were not always peaceful. They burned stamp paper when they found it. They also tar and feathered British customs officals.The Sons of Liberty were also the ones that did the Boston Tea Party and dumped 342 crates of tea in to the harbor. See More