title: Henry VII of England

paragraphs: Henry the VII or Henry Tudor (28 January 1457–21 April 1509) was King of England from 1485 to 1509. He founded the Tudor dynasty by winning the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. His son became king Henry VIII of England.

paragraphs: Henry VII was born in 1457 to Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort. His father died two months before he was born, leaving his 13-year-old mother as his only parent. After Henry's birth, he spent a lot of time with his uncle Jasper Tudor. Jasper took Henry to France, where he spent most of his youth. Henry had a claim to the throne of England, but it was not a very good one, and he had to wait a long time for a chance to take the throne.

paragraphs: In 1483, a new king came to the throne in England, called Richard III. King Richard was not popular with everyone, because it was thought that he had stolen the throne from his young nephews and had killed them. This gave Henry the chance he had been waiting for. With help from the French, he raised an army. They landed at Dale in Pembrokeshire, close to where Henry had been born, so he was able to gather more supporters on the way.

paragraphs: The Wars of the Roses (1455 - 1485) had been going on for years. They were fought over the throne of England between supporters of the House of Lancaster and supporters of the House of York. Both houses were branches of the Plantagenet royal house, tracing their descent from King Edward III.

paragraphs: King Henry VI and his family the House of Lancaster fought against their enemies for many years. The wars finally came to an end when King Henry VII of England came to the throne in 1485

paragraphs: On 22 August 1485, Henry's army defeated Richard III's army at the Battle of Bosworth Field. When Richard III died in this battle, Henry VII became king. Other people also had a claim on the throne, and Henry did his best to stop them from taking it from him, either by executing them, putting them in prison, or trying to make friends of them, as he did with the Earl of Lincoln. Another step he took was to marry Elizabeth of York, the niece of King Richard III, who would herself have been the heir to the throne if she had not been a girl.

paragraphs: There were also people who pretended to be long-lost members of the royal family, so that they could try to take the throne. One of these was a little boy called Lambert Simnel, who looked very like Edward, Earl of Warwick. The real Earl of Warwick was Henry's prisoner, but this did not stop other people from believing that Lambert was him. The Earl of Lincoln rebelled against King Henry and raised an army to make Lambert king, thinking that he himself could rule the country. There was a battle, and the Earl of Lincoln was killed. Lambert Simnel was captured, but, because he was only a child, Henry spared his life and he became a royal servant.

paragraphs: Henry married Elizabeth of York, and by this action put an end to the Wars of the Roses. They had six children, but only four survived infancy:

paragraphs: Henry VII increased taxes so future kings would have enough money. People disliked that.

paragraphs: Henry VII died in 1509 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He was succeeded by his son, Henry VIII on 21 April 1509.


title: Dover, Kent

paragraphs: Dover is a town on the coast in Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was built by the Romans. There is a castle in Dover, called Dover Castle. It is the largest castle in England. The population is about 39,078. Throughout history, it has been an important port of Britain because it is the closest port to mainland Europe. The sea between Dover and the French port of Calais is called the Strait of Dover. It is the narrowest part of the English Channel at only wide.

paragraphs: The ferry port in Dover has ferries to Calais, France and Ostende, Belgium. Almost 45,000 people and 15,000 vehicles pass through the port every day. On of the largest tourist attractions around Dover are the White Cliffs of Dover.

paragraphs: The Romans first tried to invade Dover in 55BC, under Julius Caesar. They were forced back by the Celts, who fiercely defended the coastline. It was not until 43 AD, under the rule of Emperor Claudius, that Roman forces landed on British soil at Richborough and took control of the land as far as the northern border. Dover, then called DVBRIS, became the Romans' most important naval town.


title: Tonbridge

paragraphs: Tonbridge is a town in Kent in England. The River Medway runs through the town. A castle stands on the northern river bank in the middle of Tonbridge.

paragraphs: Tonbridge is linked by railways to London and Dover.

paragraphs: There are many secondary schools in the area. such as Tonbridge Grammar School


title: Inverness

paragraphs: Inverness is a city in the northern part of Scotland. It is often called the capital of the Highlands. It is on the A9 road. Inverness Airport is an important way to get to the Scottish Highlands.


title: Boycott

paragraphs: A boycott is a protest where the protesters do not buy a product or give money to a company. Instead of buying a certain product, they might also buy another, very similar product from a different company.

paragraphs: The word was made during the "Irish Land War"'. It comes from the name of Captain Charles Boycott. Boycott was in charge of looking after the land of a landlord in County Mayo, Ireland. In 1880, the tenants (those who rented) wanted their rent lowered. Boycott refused, and threw them out of the land they had rented. The Irish Land League then proposed that instead of becoming violent, everyone in the community should stop doing business with Captain Boycott. The captain was soon isolated. No one helped him with the harvest, no one worked in his stables or his house. Local businessmen no longer traded with him, the postman no longer delivered his post.

paragraphs: To get his harvest done, he had to hire 50 people from other counties, the counties Cavan and Monaghan. They were escorted to and from their work by 1000 policemen. Of course, this cost far more than what the harvest was worth.


title: Artificial

paragraphs: When something is artificial, or man-made, it has been made by humans, not nature. For example, an artificial satellite is one made by humans, while a natural satellite is a satellite that was not made by humans. Many artificial things imitate or copy things found in nature. The imitation may use the same basic materials as those in the natural object; or it may use quite different materials, as in Artificial leather. These are concepts in defining reality. There are different ideas about what can be considered artificial and what is natural.

paragraphs: The word "artificial" comes from the Latin words "art" (meaning "skill") and "fex" ("to make").

paragraphs: Artificial does not necessarily mean "synthetic" (that is, created by synthesis). An artificial sweetener imitates sweetness using a chemical formula that is not found in nature; it is therefore both artificial and synthetic.


title: King Arthur

paragraphs: King Arthur was a mythical king in the mythology of Great Britain. He lived in the medieval times, in his famous castle, Camelot. He possessed a sword known as Excalibur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake.

paragraphs: King Arthur is a fabled ruler of Sub-Roman Britain who defended his kingdom from the Anglo-Saxons, and a popular fictional character in modern literature. He won several battles, and had many homes. However, his favourite home was in Camelot. One of the most famous tales of King Arthur is one where he pulls a sword out of a stone, making him King of the Britons.

paragraphs: The first narrative account of Arthur's life is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin work "Historia Regum Britanniae" ("History of the Kings of Britain"), completed .

paragraphs: Many castles claim to be Arthur's Camelot, but the most likely one is Tintagel Castle, Cornwall. In Camelot sat the famous Round Table, where Arthur, his queen Guinevere, Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Percival and many other knights sat. Arthur and his knights went on many quests including The Quest For The Holy Grail, The Green Knight, The Black Knight and more. There is no evidence that Arthur's castle was Tintagel.

paragraphs: After King Arthur's many adventures his son, Mordred, seized his kingdom and queen, forcing Arthur to fight for what was truly his. They fought for a long time and Mordred hit King Arthur in many places, but in the end it was Arthur who killed Mordred. After this victory, King Arthur was weak and died from losing blood from the wounds received in the battle. As his knights rode back to Camelot, they threw Excalibur into the lake so that it could return to where it came from. One legend is that he never died but will return when the British need him.

paragraphs: Many books have been written about him. Most of them involve Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, Morgan le Fay etc. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the first. Alfred, Lord Tennyson visited Tintagel, the mythical Camelot twice and wrote a series of poems about Arthur. One of the best-known books, "The Death of Arthur", was written by Sir Thomas Malory. Another tells how he set out to find the Holy Grail, the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. There are also many movies about him, including Disney's "The Sword in the Stone, Monty Python and the Holy Grail", King Arthur (2004), King Arthur, The Kid Who Would Be King (2019), and the Legend of the Sword (2017) and the musical "Camelot".


title: Johnny Appleseed

paragraphs: John "Johnny Appleseed" Chapman (September 26, 1774 - March 11, 1847) is an American folk hero. He was a Christian missionary and pioneer. His nickname came from the fact that he planted apple trees throughout the American Midwest. Many people consider him an early conservationist or "tree-hugger". He wandered the country, usually barefoot, and with a cooking pot on his head for most of his adult life, planting apple trees, teaching the Bible, telling stories, and befriending Native Americans, wild animals, and other settlers. Many stories have been told about him and his journeys, as well as art, books, and later movies, which makes him a folk hero. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts and is buried in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

paragraphs: John Chapman is said to have been in the Wilkes-Barre region some time in the 1790s, practicing his profession as a nurseryman, but just when he embraced the Swedenborgian faith and began his missionary activities we cannot be sure, though it is probable that it was before he ever reached western Pennsylvania. There are some early accounts of John speaking of his own activities as "a Bible missionary" on the Potomac when he was a young man, and Johnny was seen for two or three consecutive years along the banks of the Potomac in eastern Virginia, picking the seeds from the pomace of the cider mills in the late 1790s.The apple seeds that Johnny obtained were free, as the cider mills wanted there to be more apple trees planted to improve their business.

paragraphs: At the time of his death, Johnny Appleseed left an estate of more than 1,200 acres of nurseries, and he left these to his sister. He additionally had four plots located in Allen County, Indiana, which was a nursery that included 15,000 trees.

paragraphs: Records show that John Chapman appeared on Licking Creek, in what is now Licking County, Ohio, in 1800, when he was twenty-six years old. He had probably come up the Muskingum River to plant near the Refugee Tract, which would soon fill up with settlers, when Congress actually got around to granting the lands. In April, 1798, the Continental Congress had ratified resolutions to donate public lands for the benefit of those who had left Canada and Nova Scotia to fight against the British in the Revolutionary War. The lands were actually set apart in 1801 and patents issued in 1802. Grants of land ranging from 160 acres to 2,240 acres were awarded according to the exertions of the patentee in the War. Johnny, with true Yankee enterprise, went ahead and planted his nurseries before the refugees arrived. Licking County, then a part of Fairfield, contained only three white families. By the time families were ready to settle the area, Johnny's tracts of land were ready for market.


title: Compact disc

paragraphs: A Compact Disc, also called a CD are small plastic discs which store and retrieve computer data or music using light. Compact Discs replaced floppy disks because they were faster and could hold more information. The CDs made floppy disks become obsolete. CDs were invented by both Philips and Sony at the same time, but not together. Sony and Philips did work together to create a standard format and the technology to read CDs in 1982. CDs can hold up to 700 MB worth of data, which is about 80 minutes of music. Mini CDs were also made for special small programs like drivers. CDs that have computer information on them are called CD-ROMs, or Compact Disc - Read Only Memory. The diameter of a normal CD is 120 mm. The middle hole in a CD is about 1.5 cm).


title: Maidstone

paragraphs: Maidstone is a town in Kent, in England. It stands on the River Medway. Maidstone is the county town of Kent, meaning the local government is based there. Its name means "stone of the maidens" .

paragraphs: During the Civil War a battle took place in 1648, which was won by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers. A year later, Andrew Broughton, who was then Mayor of Maidstone (and also Clerk to the High Court of Justice) gave the death sentence to Charles I. Today there is a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre describing Andrew as 'Mayor and Regicide' (a killer of kings).

paragraphs: Maidstone used to be an industrial area, with paper making and brewing being two of the most important industries, although both have mainly died out in recent years. Until 1998, Sharps Toffee factory was where Bassets liquorice allsorts and other sweets were made. Most of the heavy industry has now been replaced by light and service industries.

paragraphs: Today, Maidstone is one of the top five shopping centres in the south east of England, with more than one million square feet of retail space. Most of this is in two shopping areas, "Fremlin Walk", which was built on the site of one of the old breweries, is , and "The Mall Maidstone" provides another . Both include multi-story car parks.

paragraphs: The town of Maidstone is within the borough of Maidstone, which also includes several surrounding villages. In 2001, 75,070 people lived in the town of Maidstone, and there were 138,959 in the whole of the Borough.


Redhill


title: C. S. Lewis

paragraphs: Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), usually called C. S. Lewis, was a British scholar who wrote about 40 books. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is famous for his fantasy works, essays, and writings on literature and theology. Lewis' theological works are usually apologetics, the defence of Christianity. Some of his most popular Christian writings were "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape Letters". His works have been translated into more than 30 languages. Lewis was a professor of literature at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

paragraphs: Lewis was married to American writer Joy Davidman (1915–1960) from 1956 until her death from bone cancer. He died of renal failure in Oxford.

paragraphs: His writing is popular with many people, and many of his books were made into movies. His most famous and popular fantasy work is "The Chronicles of Narnia", which is a series of seven books.

paragraphs: He died in Oxford, Oxford-shire, England.


title: The Corrs

paragraphs: The Corrs is a folk pop rock band from Ireland. There are three sisters and one brother in the quartet. They became very popular in the late 1990s.

paragraphs: They were all born in Dundalk, Republic of Ireland, the children of Gerry and Jean Corr.

paragraphs: Jim Corr (born 31 July 1964) is the oldest member of the group. He mainly plays the guitar, but he can also play the on the keyboards and the piano.

paragraphs: Sharon Corr (born 24 March 1970) plays the violin, keyboards, and does backing vocals and vocals on her own (vocals means "singing").

paragraphs: Caroline Corr, (born 17 March 1973) plays the drums, the "percussion", the bodhran, the piano, and also does backing vocals.

paragraphs: Andrea Corr (born 17 May 1974) plays the tin whistle and does the lead vocals.

paragraphs: The Corrs created themselves in 1991 to try to get in the movie "The Commitments". Jim, Sharon, and Caroline got a small part as musicians, while Andrea got a speaking part as Sharon Rabbitte, sister of the main character. It was while they were trying out for this movie that they were noticed by their manager, John Hughes.

paragraphs: Their music has been released through Atlantic Records, a music company.

paragraphs: Their first album, "Forgiven, Not Forgotten", was most popular in Australia. They then did another album called "Talk On Corners", which was very popular in Ireland and Britain.


title: Aaron

paragraphs: Aaron is a person described in the Bible and the Qu'ran. He was the older brother of Moses. He helped Moses lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. In the Bible, he appeared very much in Exodus.

paragraphs: Aaron spoke for Moses, when he went to tell Pharaoh the King of Egypt everything God wanted Moses to say. The Lord said to Moses (Exodus 7:1 to 3), "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country...".

paragraphs: Aaron's staff was used by the Lord a few times when trying to persuade the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The Lord ordered Moses and Aaron, "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh', and it will become a snake." So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and Aaron did so. Aaron's staff, according to the Bible, really became a snake and ate up all the other snakes that the Pharaoh's magicians had made. Also, Aaron's staff was used to make the Nile River all turn into blood. He "stretched it out", and the fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled; and the Egyptians could not drink the water, as it was recorded in the Bible.


title: Paula Abdul

paragraphs: Paula Julie Abdul (; born June 19, 1962) is an American singer and dancer. She had a string of hit songs and choreographed (planned) many dances for herself and others, including singer-songwriter Janet Jackson. Musically, she is known for her late-1980s number-one singles "Straight Up" and "Cold Hearted", along with the 1990s number-one hit "Opposites Attract". She won a Grammy Award for "Best Music Video – Short Form" for "Opposites Attract". She was a judge on the television show "American Idol" for its first eight seasons. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range.


title: Douglas Adams

paragraphs: Douglas Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was a British writer. He is most famous for his "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series.

paragraphs: Adams was born in Cambridge. When he was a few months old he moved to East London and a few years later to Brentwood, Essex. He originally received attention when he wrote for the popular TV shows "Monty Python" and "Doctor Who" in the 1970s. In 1978 he wrote a science-fiction radio series called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". It was later turned into a novel. In the early 1980s, it became a television series and in 2005 it became a movie produced by Disney. Adams also wrote several sequels for radio and as novels. He was also known for his humorous detective novels starring Dirk Gently, and for his efforts to conserve endangered species. He was an atheist. In 2001, Adams died of a heart attack while he was working out at the gym in Montecito, California, United States.


title: Tom Arnold

paragraphs: Tom Arnold (born March 6, 1959) is an American actor and comedian. He was born in Ottumwa, Iowa. He became famous when he married Roseanne Barr in 1990, another comedian and star of the popular sitcom, "Roseanne", who he divorced in 1994. Recently, he was one of the original hosts of the talk show, "The Best Damn Sports Show Period!" on Fox Sports. In November 2009, he married Ashley Groussman.


title: Bea Arthur

paragraphs: Beatrice "Bea" Arthur (May 13, 1922 - April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedian, and singer, best known for her roles in "Maude" and "The Golden Girls". She was Jewish.

paragraphs: Arthur was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Her parents were Philip and Rebecca Frankelin. She grew up in Cambridge, Maryland. After high school and the junior college she did an apprenticeship as a Medical Laboratory Technician and she was as a volunteer for the United States Marine Corps.

paragraphs: In 1946 she moved back to New York and studied acting with Erwin Piscator.

paragraphs: In the 1940s, she was married with author and producer Robert Alan Aurthur.


title: Dave Attell

paragraphs: Dave Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American comedian and host of the TV show "Insomniac with Dave Attell", shown on Comedy Central in the United States.


title: Karel Appel

paragraphs: Karel Appel (25 April 1921 – 3 May 2006) was a Dutch painter. He painted in the abstract expressionist style. He was known for his childlike style.


title: Randy Bachman

paragraphs: Randall Charles Bachman (born September 27, 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian musician. He was a member of the rock groups The Guess Who and later Bachman–Turner Overdrive.


title: J. M. Barrie

paragraphs: Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish writer. His best-known work is "Peter Pan".

paragraphs: Barrie was born in Kirriemuir. He died of pneumonia in London.


title: Riga

paragraphs: Riga is the capital city of the European country of Latvia. Riga is on river Daugava near the Baltic Sea.

paragraphs: Riga was founded in 1201. Since 1918 Riga has been the capital city of Latvia.

paragraphs: Most of the people are Latvian (45%) and 40% are Russian.


title: Pope John Paul II

paragraphs: Pope John Paul II (; ; ), sometimes called Saint John Paul or John Paul the Great, born Karol Józef Wojtyła (; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), was the 264th Pope of the Catholic Church from 16 October 1978 to his death in 2 April 2005. He was the second longest-serving pope in history. As a Pole, he was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. The last non-Italian pope was Pope Adrian VI, who died in 1523.

paragraphs: He is the first ever pope to visit the White House, and a mosque. He traveled more than any other pope before him, visiting many of the countries of the world. He is also famous for starting the annual World Youth Day. After he was beatified, his title was changed to Blessed John Paul II. John Paul II was canonized by Pope Francis on 27 April 2014 which means that the Polish Pope is now known as Saint John Paul II.

paragraphs: Karol Józef Wojtyła was born on 18 May 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. His parents were Karol Wojtyła, who was an military officer, and Emilia Kaczorowska, who was a seamstress. He was the youngest of three children. He was nine years old when his mother died in 1929. His father supported him so that he could study. His brother was a doctor. He died when Wojtyła was twelve. He lost everyone in his family - a sister, brother, mother, and father - before he became a priest. He played sports. He liked football (soccer) as a goalkeeper.

paragraphs: Wojtyła went to Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice. In 1938, he studied drama at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He worked as a volunteer librarian. He was an athlete, actor, and playwright. He did two months military training in the Academic Legion. This training was compulsory. He would not hold or fire a weapon.

paragraphs: When he was young, he met many Jewish people. They lived in that area. In 1939, Nazi forces closed the Jagiellonian University. All men, except for the disabled, had to have a job. From 1940 to 1944, Wojtyła worked in a restaurant. He also worked in a limestone quarry, and then as a salesman for a chemical factory. He did not want to be sent to Germany. If he was sent, he would be made to join the German army. His father died of a heart attack in February 1941.

paragraphs: On 29 February 1944, Wojtyła was knocked down by a German truck (lorry). He thought he would be badly treated. The German officers sent him to a hospital. He spent two weeks there with head and shoulder injuries. It was at this time that he decided that he must become a priest. When he left hospital, the young Polish men were being sent to Germany for training. He escaped to the house of the Archbishop. He hid there till after the war. On the night of 17 January 1945, the Germans left the city. The priests and teacher and students went back to the seminary. There was a big clean-up to be done. Wojtyła offered to clean out the lavatories.

paragraphs: That month, Wojtyła found a fourteen-year-old Jewish refugee named Edith Zierer. She was trying to reach her parents. She had collapsed from hunger. He gave her food and helped her go to the railway station. She did not hear of him again until the day came when he was elected Pope.

paragraphs: Karol Wojtyła was ordained as a priest by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha on 1 November 1946.

paragraphs: In 1958, Wojtyła then became the youngest bishop in Poland at the age of 38. In 1962 he took part in the Second Vatican Council and helped write two very important documents. One was about Religious freedom and the other one was about the work of the church in the Modern World.

paragraphs: In 1963 Bishop Wojtyła became Archbishop of Kraków.

paragraphs: On 26 June 1967, Pope Paul VI raised Archbishop Wojtyła's rank to the rank of a cardinal.

paragraphs: John Paul II became Pope on 16 October 1978. John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. He was pope for 26 years, making him the second longest serving pope after Pope Pius IX who held the office for 31 years and seven months. He was also the first and only Slavic pope. John Paul II was the most traveled pope in history with 104 international trips.

paragraphs: During his lifetime he learned many foreign languages. He spoke Polish as his native language, and learned Latin and Ancient Greek in school. On the day that he officially became Pope, he spoke to people in Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Czech and Portuguese. He also spoke a little Lithuanian, Hungarian, Russian and Ukrainian.

paragraphs: John Paul II beatified many people. This means that the Pope gave these people the title of "Blessed". One example is the painter Fra Angelico, who lived in the 1400s. After studying his life and teaching, it was decided that he should officially be called "the Blessed Fra Angelico". John Paul II gave more people the title of "Blessed" than any other pope in history. He also made many saints.

paragraphs: In 1984 John Paul II started World Youth Day which was first held in Rome and attended by about 300,000 people. Since then it has been held in a different country every year. It encourages young people to be faithful to God, and to live together in peace. Many millions of people have attended.

paragraphs: The first pope who traveled a lot was Pope Paul VI. Like him, John Paul II liked to travel. While he was pope, he made 105 trips, visiting 117 countries. In total he travelled more than 1.1 million km (725,000 miles). Wherever he went, he attracted large crowds. All these travels were paid by the money of the countries he visited and not by the Vatican.

paragraphs: One of John Paul II's earliest official visits was to his home country of Poland, in June 1979. There, he was always surrounded by happy, cheering crowds. The Pope wanted to bring freedom and human rights to his country. His visit encouraged Poles to oppose the communism, and in 1980 the Solidarity movement was born. On later trips to Poland, he made his message of support stronger. The Soviet Union had controlled Eastern Europe for many years. In 1989, Poland was the first country to begin to break free from the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: John Paul II went to places where other popes before him had already been, such as the United States, or The Holy Land. He also went to many countries that no pope had ever visited before. He was the first reigning pope to travel to the United Kingdom, where he met Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

paragraphs: In 1982, the Pope made a visit to Japan, and in 1984 to South Korea and Puerto Rico. He was the first pope to visit Cuba. During his visit in January 1998, he sharply criticized Cuba for not allowing people to freely express their religion. He also criticised the United States embargo against Cuba. In 2000, he became the first modern Catholic pope to visit Egypt, and met with the Coptic Pope, and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria. He was the first Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque, in Damascus, Syria in 2001. He visited Umayyad Mosque, where John the Baptist is believed to be buried.

paragraphs: In 1988 he made a trip to Lesotho to beatify Joseph Gérard. On 15 January 1995, during the 10th World Youth Day, he offered Mass to an estimated crowd of between four and eight million in Luneta Park, Manila, Philippines. This is considered to be the largest single event in Christian history.

paragraphs: After the attacks on 11 September 2001, even though people were worried about his safety, the Pope traveled to Kazakhstan and spoke to large audiences including many Muslims. He also went to Armenia, to participate in the celebration of the 1700 years of Christianity. He said Mass in local languages during some visits, including Kiswahili in Nairobi, Kenya in 1995 and in an Indonesian language in East Timor.

paragraphs: During his trips, the Pope always showed his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He visited many shrines consecrated to her, notably Knock in Ireland, Licheń Stary in Poland, Fátima in Portugal, Guadalupe in Mexico and Lourdes in France.

paragraphs: On 13 May 1981, the Pope was shot twice in the abdomen by a Turkish national, Mehmet Ali Ağca. The pope was gravely injured. He barely survived the assassination attempt, and had to be treated in hospital for 20 days. The pope later visited Ağca in prison. He had forgiven him already. Exactly one year later he traveled to Fatima to thank Mary, Mother of God for saving his life.

paragraphs: On this trip there was a second attempt to his life. A follower of the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre tried to hurt the Pope with a bayonet. He was overpowered by the bodyguards of the Pope. Lefevbre and his followers were against the decisions of the Second Vatican Council. After this the Pope often travelled in a bullet-proof trailer known as the "popemobile."

paragraphs: John Paul died on Saturday, on the eve of the Divine Mercy Holiday, 2 April 2005. The official time of death on his death certificate was 9:37 pm, but a few sources reported 9:33 pm. The death certificate stated that when the Pope died, he had Parkinson's disease, with serious breathing difficulties. The Pope had tracheotomy surgery in mid February but it did not help and he lost weight. He also had an enlarged prostate, urinary infection and other problems. The cause of death were that his kidneys failed, causing blood poisoning and infection brought by septic shock. John Paul II spoke his final words, “pozwólcie mi odejść do domu Ojca”, (“Let me depart to the house of the Father”), to his aides, and fell into a coma about four hours later.

paragraphs: The Pope's medical team used heart-monitoring machinery for more than 20 minutes, so his real and true time of death was around 9:15 PM Vatican time. As tradition demands, his name was called three times. When there was no reply, his papal ring was broken, which meant the end of John Paul II's papacy (reign as pope).

paragraphs: Many people claimed to have been specially blessed by the reign of Pope John Paul II. Many people thought he should be given the title "Blessed". This usually takes at least five years (and may take hundreds of years). On 13 May 2005, Pope Benedict XVI cut short the usual 5-year wait for the beatification process to begin. The only other time (in recent history) that this has happened was for Mother Theresa, who was made Blessed Mother Theresa by John Paul II.

paragraphs: It was announced on 14 January 2011, that John Paul II would be beatified on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday).

paragraphs: According to the Vatican, Pope John Paul II's remains (which will not be exhumed and exposed) will be moved from the grotto beneath St. Peter's Basilica, where he is presently buried, to a marble stone monument in Pier Paolo Cristofari's Chapel of St. Sebastian, which is where Blessed Pope Innocent XI is currently buried; Blessed Pope Innocent's remains will likely be moved. This more prominent location, next to the Chapel of the Pieta, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and statues of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, will increase the number of pilgrims capable of viewing his memorial.

paragraphs: “ It will be a great joy for us when he is officially beatified, but as far as we are concerned he is already a Saint. ”

paragraphs: On 30 September 2013, Pope Francis said that John Paul, together with Pope John XXIII, would be made saints on 27 April 2014. This was the first time two popes have been made saints on the same day.

paragraphs: His feast day is celebrated on 22 October.

paragraphs: John Paul II was generally against communism. He was also a critic of capitalism that was not controlled and he did not want people's basic rights to be oppressed by world governments. He officially condemned aspects of Liberation theology. He was against abortion and contraception in general. As head of the largest Christian group, John Paul II taught a conservative theological view of human sexuality. On the subject he wrote 130 topics called the Theology of the Body. He was against homosexuality, and in favour of people starting families as one husband and one wife. But he said that homosexuals have the same inherent dignity and rights as everybody else. On 30 April 2000, John Paul instituted a Divine Mercy Holiday, according to the teachings of Saint Faustyna Kowalska and on that day she was also proclaimed a Saint of the Catholic Church. The Feast of the Mercy of God is continuously growing worldwide. John Paul is also remembered for his devotion to the Consecrated Holy Communion, the Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

paragraphs: During John Paul's time as pope, the church was involved in a large number of claims about child sexual abuse by priests. There are many people who believe that the Church, and therefore the Pope, knew about these claims and tried to cover them up. For example, in 1996 the Irish bishops decided that priests suspected of child abuse must be reported to the police. The Vatican sent a letter to the bishops that they were not to report such cases. The letter was from future Pope Benedict XVI - whom John Paul II had asked to handle such cases. John Paul II is also claimed to have got a cardinal to send a thank you letter to a French bishop who had refused to report a priest to the police. In 2001 John Paul II sent out a special letter saying that the abuse of children by priests was a very serious crime, and should be strictly punished. Some Catholics wanted the process for making John Paul II a saint stopped, until there was an investigation into his role in keeping secret information about bad priests.


title: Marvel Comics

paragraphs: Marvel Comics (founded in 1939 as Marvel Worldwide Inc., then Marvel Publishing, Inc. and later Marvel Comics Group) is an American comic book company that makes "superhero" comic books. Its top rival is DC Comics. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for US$4 billion. Its comic book characters were created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others.

paragraphs: It is responsible for iconic and well-known characters such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Deadpool, Thor, Wolverine, Hercules, Hulk, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, Falcon, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Ms. Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Ghost Rider, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Howard the Duck, Nick Fury, Silver Surfer, the Punisher, Blade, Daredevil, Elektra, and Vision.

paragraphs: Most of the characters take place in the fictional Marvel Universe (MU) with locations that either mirror real-life cities or are fictional places and its fictional superhero teams include the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the X-Men.

paragraphs: It is also famous for fictional villains such as Green Goblin, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Thanos, Venom, Galactus, Sandman, Red Skull, Lizard, Electro, the Enchantress, MODOK, Bullseye, Dormammu, Kingpin, Annihilus, Loki, Rhino, Kang the Conqueror, Mystique, Apocalypse, Magneto, Ultron, Red Hulk, and Kraven the Hunter.

paragraphs: Marvel used to be a company called Timely Comics in the 1940s and then Atlas Comics in the 1950s. The first comic published with the name "Marvel Comics" was "The Fantastic Four" #1 in November, 1961. The precursor to Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman. In order to capitalize on the growing popularity of comic books—especially those starring superheroes—Goodman created Timely Comics. Timely’s first comic book was "Marvel Comics" no. 1 (cover dated October 1939), which featured several superhero characters, most notably the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. Timely Comics introduced many superhero characters during comics’ “Golden Age” in the 1940s, most importantly Captain America, who first appeared in "Captain America Comics" no. 1 (March 1941). Timely characters were often portrayed as fighting against the Nazis and the Japanese even before the United States entered World War II. As the 1940s came to a close, superheroes fell out of vogue with comic book readers, and Timely canceled the last of its books in this genre in 1950. In 1951 Goodman formed his own distribution company, and Timely Comics became Atlas Magazines. Though there was a brief experiment in bringing back superheroes such as Captain America in 1953, Atlas’s output was mostly in other genres such as humour, westerns, horror, war, and science fiction.

paragraphs: In 1956, rival company DC Comics ushered in the so-called Silver Age of comics by reintroducing superhero titles with significant commercial success. In the early 1960s Atlas changed its name to Marvel Comics. For several decades Marvel and DC were the top companies in the industry. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s Marvel changed hands numerous times, becoming a publicly held company in 1991. Questionable management decisions and a general slump in sales in the comic book industry drove Marvel Comics into bankruptcy in 1996. The company emerged from bankruptcy in 1998 and began to diversify its output, launching imprints aimed at a variety of demographics and expanding its cinematic offerings under the Marvel Studios banner. In 2007 Marvel began publishing digital comics. In 2009, the Walt Disney Company purchased the parent company of Marvel Comics.

paragraphs: The shared storytelling palette known as the Marvel universe was unveiled in 1961, when Goodman responded to the growing interest in superhero books by commissioning writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby to create the Fantastic Four. With the release of "Fantastic Four" no. 1 (November 1961), readers were introduced to a superheroic setting that was, nevertheless, rooted in the real world. Lee and Kirby attempted to make their comic book characters more original by allowing them to interact with each other in a realistic fashion, including heroes often fighting or arguing with each other. This trend continued with a flood of other superhero characters introduced by Marvel Comics during the early 1960s, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men. Lee wrote the majority of Marvel’s books during that time, and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were the most important and influential artists.

paragraphs: This more realistic approach to characterizations built up Marvel’s reputation and began to attract university-age readers. Stories also began to deal with social issues such as pollution, race relations, and drug abuse. A Spider-Man story arc from 1971 dealing with drug abuse had to be published without the approval of the Comic Code Authority—the self-regulatory body that had policed comic content since 1954—despite the fact that it was portraying drug use in a negative light. This caused the Comic Code Authority to revise its policy in such matters.

paragraphs: The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a new generation of creative talent emerge at Marvel. In 1967 Jim Steranko began to write and draw stories featuring secret agent Nick Fury in the anthology book "Strange Tales". Steranko was influenced in his work by James Bond films and the psychedelic and Op art movements, and the resulting stories melded groundbreaking visuals with equally innovative storytelling techniques. Writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne began a long collaboration on "The Uncanny X-Men" in 1975. The pair revitalized the flagging series with characters such as Wolverine and complex story arcs that soon made the X-Men franchise one of Marvel’s best sellers.

paragraphs: In 1985, Mark Gruenwald started a critically acclaimed 10-year run as the writer of "Captain America". That same year he also began the miniseries "Squadron Supreme" (1985–86), a deconstructionist take on superheroes that preceded Alan Moore’s graphic novel "Watchmen", published by DC Comics. The 1980s also saw Frank Miller’s stint on "Daredevil", which took that book in a darker and grittier direction, reviving sagging sales and making it one of Marvel’s best sellers. In 1988, Todd MacFarlane began a popular run as artist on "The Amazing Spider-Man". Four years later MacFarlane and a number of other popular artists, including Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, and Rob Liefeld, left Marvel to found rival Image Comics, a company that allowed creators to retain the copyrights of their characters.

paragraphs: During the 1990s and early 2000s a new wave of writers, including Brian Michael Bendis ("Daredevil", "The Avengers"), Jonathan Hickman ("Fantastic Four"), and Ed Brubaker ("Captain America"), became well known for their mature and sometimes controversial takes on Marvel’s characters. The 2010s saw the emergence of another new wave of talent, with writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja turning in a visually arresting run on "Hawkeye", longtime Spider-Man writer Dan Slott teaming with artist Mike Allred for a bold take on a classic character in "Silver Surfer", and writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Adrian Alphona breaking new ground with their critically acclaimed "Ms. Marvel".

paragraphs: In the 21st century Marvel’s profits were increasingly derived from toys, video games, and other merchandise featuring their most popular characters and from the production of a string of commercially successful movies. Those films differed from prior efforts to translate comics to the big screen in that they were set in a single shared world. That ambitious plan generated huge dividends with "The Avengers" (2012), a film that featured Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America—three heroes that had scored individual blockbuster successes—and grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it came to be known, grew into one of the most lucrative franchises in film history. Its success spawned a wave of television programs, beginning with "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (2013– ) on ABC and continuing with "Daredevil" (2015–18), "Jessica Jones" (2015– ), and "Luke Cage" (2016–18), a string of critically lauded series that appeared on Netflix. In 2015 an agreement between Disney and Sony brought Spider-Man (who had previously appeared only in Sony-produced films) into the shared universe; the character would subsequently be available for use by both studios. Marvel Studios, the company’s film and television division, continued to set records with its flagship Avengers, but it also packed theatres with relatively unknown heroes such as the "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), "Ant-Man" (2015), and "Doctor Strange" (2016). By 2016 more than a dozen films had been released under the banner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the franchise’s cumulative global box office receipts had topped $10 billion.

paragraphs: Located in New York City, Marvel has had successive headquarters:


title: Lincoln, Nebraska

paragraphs: Lincoln is the capital city of Nebraska, United States. The City of Lincoln Only Omaha has more people of any city in Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379.

paragraphs: Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster. It became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. The capital of Nebraska Territory had been Omaha since the start of the territory in 1854. Most of the territory's population lived south of the Platte River. After much of the territory south of the Platte became a part of Kansas, the legislature voted to move the capital south of the river and as far west as possible. They made the village of Lancaster the new capital, in part due to the salt flats and marshes.

paragraphs: People from Omaha tried to stop the move by renaming Lancaster after the recently killed President Abraham Lincoln. Many of the people south of the river had wanted the Confederate to win the recent Civil War. These people thought that the legislature would not approve the move if the future capital were named after Lincoln. The plan did not work, as Lancaster was renamed Lincoln and also became the state capital upon Nebraska's admission to the Union on March 1, 1867. The people either liked or disliked the new name depending on how they felt about the Civil War.

paragraphs: Nebraska State Capitol was designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and constructed between 1922 and 1932. The capitol building is a skyscraper topped by a golden dome. The tower is crowned by a 6-meter (20 ft) statue of a farmer sowing grain on a pedestal of wheat and corn, to represent the state's agricultural heritage. City zoning rules prevent any other building from rivaling it in height, making it a landmark not only within the city but for the surrounding area. Inside, there are many paintings and iridescent murals showing Native American heritage and the history and culture of the early pioneers who settled Nebraska. It is the second tallest U.S. State Capitol building behind the Louisiana State Capitol building in Baton Rouge.

paragraphs: Lincoln has a humid continental climate ("Dfa" in the Koeppen climate classification).


title: Nuclear fission

paragraphs: Nuclear fission is a kind of nuclear reaction. It is when an atom splits apart into smaller atoms. Some fission reactions give off a lot of energy, and are used in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. Nuclear fission was discovered in December 1938 by the German nuclear chemist Otto Hahn and his assistant Fritz Strassmann in Berlin.

paragraphs: An atom is the smallest particle which makes up a chemical element (e.g. hydrogen, oxygen, magnesium). All atoms are very small. Atoms are made of three components or particles: Protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons and neutrons are clumped together in a ball called a nucleus, at the center of every atom. The electrons orbit around the nucleus in its 'electron cloud'. Elements which have large nuclei, such as uranium and plutonium, can be made to fission.

paragraphs: If a (relatively) very large atomic nucleus is hit by a slow-moving neutron, it will sometimes become unstable and break into two nuclei. When the nucleus breaks apart (or fissions) it releases energy, mostly as gamma rays and heat. It also causes some neutrons to be released from the nucleus.

paragraphs: For a few isotopes (an atom with the same amount of protons but a different amount of neutrons) such fission can release many neutrons. If those neutrons then hit other atoms, they will make the other atoms split. This can happen again and again. This is called a nuclear chain-reaction, and it can release huge amounts of energy very quickly. The amount of energy released by a nuclear chain reaction is measured in kilotons. One kiloton is the same as the energy of one thousand tons of TNT (trinitrotoluene).

paragraphs: In a nuclear bomb, this must happen very quickly to make a very big explosion. In a nuclear reactor this must happen slowly to make heat. The heat is used to boil water into steam, which turns a steam turbine to generate electricity.


title: The Fantastic Four

paragraphs: The Fantastic Four is a team of superheroes. The team originally first appeared in a series of comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was published by Marvel Comics starting in 1961. They also appeared in several cartoons and films as well.

paragraphs: The members of the group are scientist Reed Richards, his girlfriend/wife Sue Storm, her teenage brother Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, a friend of them. While test flying a rocket ship, they are affected by cosmic rays, and gain superpowers. Richards becomes "Mr. Fantastic" who can stretch his limbs and body for long distances and sizes. Sue became the "Invisible Girl/Woman" who could make herself invisible, create force fields, and other things. Johnny transformed into the "Human Torch" who can become a giant ball of fire. Ben turned into a rock-like creature with super-strength, called "The Thing".

paragraphs: They decide to use these powers for good and work from their laboratory in a New York City skyscraper.


title: Bob Barker

paragraphs: Robert William "Bob" Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host and animal rights activist. He is best known for hosting CBS's "The Price is Right" from 1972 to 2007 and for hosting "Truth or Consequences" from 1956 to 1974.

paragraphs: Barker was born Robert William Barker on December 12, 1923 in Darrington, Washington. He is of Sioux descent. Barker studied at Drury College.

paragraphs: Barker started hosting "Truth or Consequences" on December 31, 1956 and continued with the program until 1974. On December 4, 1957, Barker began hosting a new Ralph Edwards creation, the short-lived "End of the Rainbow" for NBC. In 1967, Barker hosted the short-lived game show "The Family Game". In 1971, Barker began creating a TV pilot for a game show called "Simon Says". In 1980, Barker hosted a series called "That's My Line" for Goodson-Todman. It was cancelled in September 1981.

paragraphs: On September 4, 1972, Barker began hosting the CBS revival of "The Price Is Right". On October 15, 1987, Barker did what other MCs almost never did: renounced hair dye and allowed his hair to turn gray.

paragraphs: In 2006, "The Price Is Right" marked its 35th consecutive year on the air. It is the longest-running game show of all time in North America, and at the time was the last surviving show in the daytime game show genre.

paragraphs: On October 31, 2006, Barker made his announcement that he would retire from "The Price Is Right" in June 2007. He taped his final episode on June 6, 2007, with the show airing twice on June 15.

paragraphs: He was also seen acting as himself in the 1996 Adam Sandler comedy movie "Happy Gilmore".

paragraphs: He is the winner of nineteen Daytime Emmy Awards. Barker won the MTV Award for Best Fight with Adam Sandler for his fight scene in "Happy Gilmore".

paragraphs: Barker married Dorothy Jo Gideon in 1945. They had three children. Barker lives in Los Angeles, California. Despite retiring from television, Barker is an active animal rights activist. In 1993, Dian Parkinson sued Barker for sexual harassment. She asked for $8 million during the lawsuit. The lawsuit was dropped in 1995.

paragraphs: Barker is a skin cancer survivor. On September 17, 2010, Barker collapsed at an L.A. shooting range. He was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for an adverse drug reaction and released.

paragraphs: Barker broke Johnny Carson's record for continuous performances on the same network television show with twenty-nine years.


title: Connect Four

paragraphs: Connect Four is a simple game. To win, players must put four of the same color markers in the yellow square so that they touch.

paragraphs: An example of winning connect four: the player can see the 4 o's all connected together in a pattern.

paragraphs: An example of a move that does not let the player win:


title: Nintendo DS

paragraphs: The Nintendo DS (also known as DS, NDS, or the DS Phat) is a handheld system from Nintendo. Development began in mid-2002 and it was released in 2004/2005. It has a successor called the Nintendo 3DS, the very first 3D handheld, which also plays "DS" games. The DS is a small, nearly pocket-size fold-up machine that lets people play video games. The games are stored on small cartridges which are like memory card chips from digital cameras. Some games, such as "Super Mario 64 DS", were released on the same day as the original "DS".

paragraphs: For most of Nintendo's systems, there have been no load times, except for the GameCube and Wii. With the DS, a level in the game loads up quickly, just like with Game Boy games. This is because cartridges can be read a lot quicker than CDs or DVDs.

paragraphs: The "DS" also has many new features. It has a new surround sound system. The "DS" (as well as the DS Lite) also has backwards compatibility with the Game Boy Advance (only single-player mode). However, the "DS" and DS Lite are incapable of playing the Game Boy or Game Boy Color games. The "DS" features a touch screen, a screen often used for extra gameplay (like a PDA). The "DS" packaging comes with two styluses.

paragraphs: The Nintendo DS is one of the rivals of Sony's PlayStation Portable. However, both Nintendo and Sony state that their products were aimed at different people, so there is "technically" no competition. The DS has currently sold more units than the PSP has.

paragraphs: Nintendo later developed and newer variation of the Nintendo DS, known as the Nintendo DS Lite. It was first announced on January 26, 2006 and released on March 2, 2006 in Japan, on June 1, 2006 in Australia, on June 11, 2006 in North America, on June 23, 2006 in Europe, and on January 18, 2007 in South Korea.

paragraphs: The DS Lite is compatible with the same games. It is smaller, lighter, and brighter and features a backlit screen. Because of its design, the Game Boy Advance games stick out in Slot 2. The second slot also features a cover for players to when not in use. The DS Lite is sold in white, black, pink, blue, red, and silver. This console even has colors such as metallic rose, metallic silver, and black with white.

paragraphs: On October 2, 2008, Nintendo announced a third model titled the Nintendo DSi. It was released in Japan in 2008 and in 2009/2010 worldwide. It is bigger and brighter than the DS Lite and the Game Boy Advance slot was removed (in place of an SD Card), which caused a lot of disappointment when it came out. Development of the DSi began in late 2006, shortly after the release of the DS Lite

paragraphs: A year later, Nintendo announced a fourth and final model in the DS family called the Nintendo DSi XL (called Nintendo DSi LL in Japan). Announced on October 29, 2009, it was released in Japan in 2009 and in 2010 worldwide. It is a larger version of the DSi and the biggest, heaviest, widest, and brightest of the four models. Like the DSi, the Game Boy Advance slot was removed.

paragraphs: Some of the "DS"'s bestselling games are "Nintendogs", "Mario Kart DS", "New Super Mario Bros", "Brain Age", "Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and ".

paragraphs: There are many accessories for the Nintendo DS, including different coloured styluses and protective cases. Some protective cases include the highly durable Nerf cases. Most "DS" systems have a screen protector and a car adapter, used to charge the "DS" in a car.

paragraphs: The "DS" has sold 154.01 million units as of July 14, 2015, making it the best selling handheld of all time. It has currently beat the record of its sibling console (The Game Boy/Game Boy Color), which has sold 118.69 million.


title: Sam Neill

paragraphs: Nigel James Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) is a New Zealand actor. He has been in lots of movies. Neill has been in "Jurassic Park", "Dead Calm", "Event Horizon", "Sirens" and lots of other very famous movies. In recent years, he appeared in "" (2017) and "Peter Rabbit" (2018).

paragraphs: Neill was born on 14 September 1947 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland to a New Zealander father and English mother. He moved to New Zealand in 1954. He studied at Christ's College, Canterbury and at University of Canterbury. Neill was married to Lisa Harrow until they divorced in 1989. Then he was married to Noriko Watanabe. He has two children. Neill has New Zealand and Irish citizenships.


title: Meteor

paragraphs: A meteor is what you see when a space rock falls to Earth. It is often known as a shooting star or falling star and can be a bright light in the night sky, though most are faint. A few survive long enough to hit the ground. That is called a meteorite, and a large one sometimes leaves a hole in the ground called a crater.

paragraphs: A rock that has not yet hit the atmosphere is called a "meteoroid". Meteoroids may range in size from large pieces of rock to tiny dust particles floating in space that did not form planets. When the meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere they are usually going faster than the Earth's escape velocity of 13 km/sec or Mach 40. This makes them heat up and usually break apart. When the heat makes them glow, they are known as meteors.

paragraphs: Meteors are distinct from comets or asteroids, but some, especially those associated with meteor showers, are dust particles that came out of comets.

paragraphs: There are several types of meteorites including: stony, carbonaceous chondrites, and iron-nickel. Stony meteorites are named because they are largely made up of stone-like mineral material. Carbonaceous chondrites have a high carbon content. Iron-nickel meteorites are mostly iron often with significant nickel as well.

paragraphs: Meteorites were many during the Late Heavy Bombardment. Nowadays they sometimes hurt people and property. The 2013 Russian meteor event did the most damage. Large meteorite strikes may have played a part in several of the mass extinctions, and so indirectly on the course of evolution. (see K/T extinction event; List of extinction events; Chicxulub crater)

paragraphs: Chondrites are stony (non-metallic) meteorites that are as old as the Solar System: 4.55 billion years. They sometimes contain amino acids and other organic molecules.

paragraphs: They have not been modified due to melting or other disturbances. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains that were present in the early solar system accreted to form primitive asteroids. They are the most common type of meteorite that falls to Earth: they are about 85 or 86 per cent of all meteorites.

paragraphs: Their study gives clues about the origin and age of the Solar System, the synthesis of organic compounds, the origin of life or the presence of water on Earth. Chondrites can be differentiated from iron meteorites by their low iron and nickel content.

paragraphs: About 8 percent of meteorites show signs of melting and recrystallising. They look rather like basalt or granite.

paragraphs: Iron meteorites are meteorites made of an iron–nickel alloy. They are about 6 per cent of all meteorites. This comes from the inner cores of early small proto-planets. The iron found in iron meteorites was one of the earliest sources of usable iron, before humans invented smelting. That signalled the beginning of the iron age. Iron meteorites are easily found, because native iron is rare.

paragraphs: Siderolites are stony-iron meteorites that have almost equal parts of iron and silicates. They are quite rare: only about 1 per cent of all meteorites are siderolites.


title: Notepad

paragraphs: Notepad is a word processing program, which allows changing of text in a computer file. Notepad was created by the Microsoft corporation. It is a text editor, a very simple word processor. It has been a part of Microsoft Windows since 1985. The program has options such as changing the font, the font size, and the font style. The most common use for Notepad is to view or change (edit) text (.txt) files, though .dat and .ini files can be changed in Notpad as well. Many users find Notepad a simple program for creating webpages.

paragraphs: Unlike using special software programs to create webpages, a Notepad user must write their webpages directly in the HTML markup language.


title: Max Planck

paragraphs: Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (April 23, 1858 in Kiel – October 4, 1947 in Göttingen) was a physicist from Germany. He discovered quantum mechanics. He won the Nobel Prize in physics.

paragraphs: Planck came from an old fashioned, intelligent family. His great-grandfather and grandfather were both theology professors in Göttingen; his father was a law professor in Kiel and Munich; and his paternal uncle was a judge.

paragraphs: Planck was born in Kiel, Holstein, to Johann Julius Wilhelm Planck and his second wife, Emma Patzig. He was baptised with the name of "Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck"; of his given names, "Marx" (a now not used variant of "Markus" or maybe simply an error for "Max", which is actually short for "Maximilian") was indicated as the primary name. However, by the age of ten he signed with the name "Max" and used this for the rest of his life.

paragraphs: He was the sixth child in the family, although two of his brothers and sisters were from his father's first marriage. Among his earliest memories was the marching of Prussian and Austrian troops into Kiel during the Danish-Prussian war of 1864. In 1867 the family moved to Munich, and Planck enrolled in the Maximilians gymnasium school, where he came under the tutelage of Hermann Müller, a mathematician who took an interest in the youth, and taught him astronomy and mechanics as well as mathematics. It was from Müller that Planck first learned the principle of conservation of energy. Planck graduated early, at age 17. This is how Planck first came in contact with the field of physics.


title: Jay Leno

paragraphs: James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, television host and television presenter.

paragraphs: Leno was born James Douglas Muir Leno in New Rochelle, New York on April 28, 1950. His homemaker mother Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993) was born in Greenock, Scotland and came to the United States at the age of 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York, to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and even though his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's only sibling was his late older brother Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.

paragraphs: Leno worked on late night television. He became host of "The Tonight Show" in 1992 when Johnny Carson retired. In 2007, during the writer's strike, Leno sided with the writers, even though he returned to his show after two months (without the writers besides himself) so that his staff would not be out of work. Despite leading the late-night ratings, he was forced out as host of the Tonight Show in 2009 to make way for Conan O'Brien. On March 1, 2010, became "The Tonight Show" host once again, because of poor ratings with both himself and Conan O'Brien. Leno hosted his last episode of the Tonight Show on February 6, 2014.

paragraphs: He now stars in his own prime-time comedy show "The Jay Leno Show", which debuted on September 14, 2009.

paragraphs: He guest-starred twice on the "Nickelodeon" TV series "The Fairly OddParents" as the "Crimson Chin". His character's name uses the fact that Leno has a large and square chin.

paragraphs: Since 1980, Leno has been married to Mavis Leno; they have no children by mutual agreement. Leno is dyslexic.


title: Vancouver

paragraphs: Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport on the mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city has a population of over 630,000 and is the largest city in British Columbia. Metro Vancouver has a population of over 2 million people. That makes it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada. Vancouver has a mix of people from different cultures. Fifty-two percent of city residents have a first language that is not English.

paragraphs: Native People began living in this area around 10,000-8,000 years ago. These people were part of three main groups: the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh.

paragraphs: Vancouver was founded in 1886, and is named after British naval captain George Vancouver. Captain Vancouver explored the area around Vancouver and Vancouver Island in the 1790s.

paragraphs: The University of British Columbia is in Vancouver.

paragraphs: Vancouver also has Stanley Park which has beaches and totem poles. Nearby is Grouse Mountain which has good skiing and has a 2.9 km (1.8 mi.) hiking trail which is known as the Grouse Grind. Grouse Mountain also has an animal sanctuary, including wolves and bears.

paragraphs: Vancouver has two ice hockey teams, the Vancouver Canucks (who play for the National Hockey League) and the Vancouver Giants (who play for the Western Hockey League).

paragraphs: The BC Lions of the Canadian Football League are based in Vancouver. The team has won 6 Grey Cups.

paragraphs: In soccer, Vancouver is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. They play in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

paragraphs: The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver and it was the first time Canada won a gold medal on Canadian soil.

paragraphs: Vancouver is on a peninsula on the West Coast of Canada, less than a one-hour drive north of the Canada-U.S. border.

paragraphs: Between Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean to the west is a large island called Vancouver Island. Until the city was named in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island. Some people mistakenly think that the city is on Vancouver Island.

paragraphs: On the south shore of Vancouver is the Fraser River, which flows west into the Strait of Georgia. The water along the north shore is called Burrard Inlet.

paragraphs: The city has an area of 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi). The larger metropolitan area is 2,878 square kilometres (1,111 sq mi).

paragraphs: As with most of British Columbia, Vancouver is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8).

paragraphs: Vancouver has an oceanic climate ("Cfb" in the Köppen climate classification). The average precipitation per year is 1189 mm, mostly from October to April. High temperatures in the summer average 22 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded was 34.4 °C on July 30, 2009. On average, snow falls on only 11 days per year. The snow is usually wet, not very deep, and melts in the rain. On average, on only 4.5 days a year does the temperature not rise above freezing.

paragraphs: Vancouver has had a housing affordability crisis for many years. It came in as the second-least affordable housing market compared with 90 other metropolitan areas in different countries. The only place considered less affordable was Hong Kong.

paragraphs: Vancouver has been criticized for saying that it provides many social housing units to residents. However "social housing" can refer to small apartments renting for $1,700 per month. There are people with household incomes of up to $120,000 living in "social housing" in Vancouver.

paragraphs: The government has been attempting to address the housing crisis situation by imposing a series of taxes such as the Foreign-buyers tax and Empty Homes Tax in 2016 and Speculation tax in 2018.

paragraphs: Rents in Vancouver were very high, and apartment vacancies were very low in 2019.


title: Halifax

paragraphs: Halifax (demonym Haligonian) may refer to:


title: Nunavut

paragraphs: Nunavut is a territory in Canada. It is the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada. It was founded in 1999 when many Inuit living in the Northwest Territories wanted to have an independent province and government. Its capital is named Iqaluit. It is in the north of Canada, and has a particularly cold climate for much of the year. It has many native people (mainly Inuit).

paragraphs: The main form of transportation is the snowmobile. For the first week of being a separate unit, it was the Province of Nunavut, but after a week it was renamed Nunavut Territory.

paragraphs: A symbol of the territory is the Eskimo Dog (""). Even today, some people still use these dogs.


title: Steve Martin

paragraphs: Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and musician.

paragraphs: Martin was born in Waco, Texas to Glenn Vernon Martin, a real estate salesman and aspiring actor, and Mary Lee Stewart, a housewife. Martin was raised in Inglewood, California and Garden Grove, California. He is of English, French, German, Irish and Scottish descent.

paragraphs: As a teenager, Martin started out working at the Magic Shop at Disneyland. There he developed his talents for magic, juggling, playing the banjo and creating balloon animals. He teamed up with friend and Garden Grove High School classmate Kathy Westmoreland to do a musical comedy routine. They performed at local coffee houses and at the Bird Cage Theater in Knott's Berry Farm. Martin attended Santa Ana College at the same time as actress Diane Keaton.

paragraphs: Martin majored in philosophy at California State University, Long Beach, but dropped out. His time there changed his life:

paragraphs: "It changed what I believe and what I think about everything. I majored in philosophy. Something about non-sequiturs appealed to me. In philosophy, I started studying logic, and they were talking about cause and effect, and you start to realize, 'Hey, there is no cause and effect! There is no logic! There is no anything!' Then it gets real easy to write this stuff, because all you have to do is twist everything hard—you twist the punch line, you twist the non-sequitur so hard away from the things that set it up, that it's easy... and it's thrilling."

paragraphs: Martin's girlfriend in 1967 was a dancer on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". She helped Martin get a writing job with the show by submitting his work to head writer Mason Williams. Williams initially paid Martin out of his own pocket. Along with the other writers for the show, Martin won an Emmy Award in 1969. Martin also wrote for John Denver (a neighbor of his in Aspen, Colorado at one point), The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. He also appeared on these shows and several others, in various comedy skits.

paragraphs: Martin also performed his own material, sometimes as an opening act for groups such as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Carpenters. He appeared at San Francisco's The Boarding House among other places. He continued to write, earning an Emmy nomination for his work on Van Dyke and Company in 1976.

paragraphs: In the mid-1970s, he made appearances as a stand-up comedian on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. That exposure, together with appearances on HBO's On Location and NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) led to his first of four comedy albums, "Let's Get Small". The album was a huge success.

paragraphs: His next album, "A Wild and Crazy Guy", was a bigger success. It reached the #2 spot on the sales chart in the United States. It created a catch phrase (the album's title). It was based on an SNL skit in which Martin and Dan Aykroyd played a couple of bumbling Czechoslovakian playboys. The album was a million seller.

paragraphs: Both albums won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

paragraphs: Martin's first movie was a short, "The Absent-Minded Waiter" (1977). The seven-minute long movie, also featuring Buck Henry and Teri Garr, was written by and starred Martin. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Film, Live Action. His first feature movie appearance was in the musical "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". He sang the Beatles' "Maxwell's Silver Hammer".

paragraphs: In 1979, Martin wrote and starred in his first full-length movie, "The Jerk", directed by Carl Reiner. The movie was a huge success, grossing over $73 million. Martin was in three more Reiner-directed comedies after "The Jerk": "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" in 1982, "The Man with Two Brains" in 1983 and "All of Me" in 1984. In 1986, Martin joined fellow Saturday Night Live veterans Martin Short and Chevy Chase in "¡Three Amigos"!, directed by John Landis.

paragraphs: In 1986, Martin was in the musical movie version of the hit off-Broadway play "Little Shop of Horrors" as a sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello.

paragraphs: In 1987, Martin joined comedian John Candy in the John Hughes movie, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". That same year, the Cyrano de Bergerac adaptation "Roxanne" won him a Writers Guild of America award. In 1988, he did "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Michael Caine and directed by Frank Oz.

paragraphs: In 2005, Martin wrote and starred in "Shopgirl". Martin played a wealthy businessman who strikes up a romance with a Saks 5th Avenue counter girl (Claire Danes). He also starred in "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" that year. Martin's latest work was in the 2006 remake of "The Pink Panther".


title: Richard Attenborough

paragraphs: Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 1923 – 24 August 2014) was an English movie producer, director and actor.

paragraphs: He was born in Cambridge, England. Attenborough left his home when he was 17 to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He earned his first West End theatre role, then went to national stardom in the play "Brighton Rock".

paragraphs: Attenborough later became a producer and director. He produced and directed the movie "Gandhi". Attenborough said that the movie "Gandhi" was his dream project and waited years to make it. "Gandhi" won 5 British Academy Awards and 8 American Oscars. In 1983 he won the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, a lifetime achievement award. In his movie roles, he is mostly known for his roles in "The Great Escape" and in "Jurassic Park". He was the older brother of naturalist David Attenborough.

paragraphs: Attenborough died on 24 August 2014 at the age of 90 in London of heart failure after years of poor health.


title: Robin Williams

paragraphs: Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He first became famous on the television show "Mork and Mindy". He starred in many movies.

paragraphs: On August 11, 2014, Williams was found dead in his home. His death was believed to have been a suicide by asphyxiation. He appeared to have hanged himself with his belt. Williams was also found with cuts on his wrist.

paragraphs: Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 21, 1951. His father Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987) worked for Ford Motor Company. His mother Laura McLaurin (née Smith, September 24, 1922 – September 4, 2001) was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana. His great-great-grandfather on his mother's side was Mississippi senator and governor Anselm J. McLaurin. Williams' ancestors were English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German, and French.

paragraphs: When he was young, Williams lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and in Marin County, California. He studied at Redwood High School and at Claremont McKenna College. He studied to become an actor at the Julliard School in New York City and at the College of Marin.

paragraphs: After his family moved to Marin County, Williams began his career doing stand-up comedy shows in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1970s. His first performance took place at the Holy City Zoo, a comedy club in San Francisco, where he worked his way up from tending bar to getting on stage.

paragraphs: Williams became famous for his role as Mork in the television series "Mork & Mindy" (1978–1982). His idol Jonathan Winters also appeared in the show. Williams went on to a successful career in both stand-up comedy and movie acting.

paragraphs: He acted in the movies "The World According to Garp", "Good Morning, Vietnam", "Dead Poets Society", "Awakenings", "The Fisher King", "Good Will Hunting", "Popeye", "Hook", "Aladdin", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Jumanji", "The Birdcage", "Night at the Museum", and "Happy Feet".

paragraphs: Williams appeared in the music video for "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin. In 2013, Williams starred as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Lee Daniels' "The Butler".

paragraphs: Before his death, Williams starred in the short-lived comedy "The Crazy Ones". It was cancelled shortly before his death.

paragraphs: Once Williams got angry with Disney for using his voice as the Genie in "Aladdin" to sell merchandise for the movie. Disney tried to apologize to Williams. The Disney company bought a Picasso painting for him.

paragraphs: Williams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times. He received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Good Will Hunting". He received two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.

paragraphs: Williams married Valerie Velardi in 1978. They divorced in 1988. In 1989, Williams married Marsha Garces. She divorced him in 2008. Williams married Susan Schneider in 2011. Their marriage lasted until Williams' death in 2014. Williams had a son with Velardi. He had a daughter and son with Garces. His son, Zak Williams, is an actor, businessman, and filmmaker. His daughter, Zelda Williams, is an actress.

paragraphs: Williams lived in San Francisco and Paradise Cay in California.

paragraphs: Williams was an alcoholic. He was also addicted to cocaine. He had strong depression in the final years of his life. On March 13, 2009, he had surgery to fix an aortic valve. The surgery was successful. One month before his death, Williams went to rehab for his alcoholism. Williams' widow stated that he had been diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's disease before his death, but the actor was "not yet ready to share publicly" this information. In November 2014, it was revealed that Williams had Lewy body dementia.

paragraphs: On August 11, 2014 at about 11:45 am, Williams was found at his home by his personal assistant. About ten minutes later, a 911 call was made saying that Williams was not reacting or breathing. He was pronounced dead at 12:02 pm, shortly after emergency personnel arrived.

paragraphs: The Marin County Sheriff's department said the cause of death was probably asphyxia by hanging.

paragraphs: Williams was cremated. His ashes were scattered in the San Francisco Bay. On December 16, 2014, it was revealed that, as a result of his death, Williams was the fastest growing search term on Google in 2014.


title: Bamboo

paragraphs: Bamboo is a name for over 1,400 species of giant grasses in 115 different genera. All bamboos have wood-like stems. Bamboo mainly grows in Africa, America and in Asia but can easily grow in Europe.

paragraphs: Bamboo grows in clumps (although running varieties exist). The runners can be up to 40 metres (130 feet). David Farrelly, in his book "The Book of Bamboo", says that bamboo has been measured to grow 1.21 meters (47.6 inches) in a 24-hour period. However, most bamboos (used for gardening) will grow more like 3 cm to 5 cm (1-2 inches) a day.

paragraphs: Almost all species of bamboo have hollow stems divided into nodes or joints. The stem can be up to 30 cm (a foot) in diameter. Each of the node has one side bud. Not all of those buds develop into branches, but some do. This makes bamboo one of the few grasses that have a branch structure. Bamboo rarely flowers. Some species only flower once, and then die off. The distance of two joints in a bamboo is the basis of a traditional Japanese unit of measurement, "shaku".

paragraphs: Bamboo is used to make lots of things and is a construction material. The stems of larger trees are used to build houses, bridges, and other things that have to be constructed such as boat and wickerwork. It can be used for scaffolding. Bamboo is an easy construction material and not expensive.

paragraphs: Bamboo is almost the only food of giant pandas. The shoots can also be used as human food. Bamboo shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) are usually cooked before being eaten. Most temperate bamboos can be eaten without cooking if they are not too bitter.

paragraphs: As some may contain cyanogens, cooking is better. The only "Phyllostachys" known to have potentially toxic concentrations of cyanogens is "Ph. heterocycla pubescens".


title: Trojan War

paragraphs: The Trojan War was one of the most important wars in the history of Ancient Greece. It happened between the Trojans and the Greeks. It is mostly known through the "Iliad," an epic poem written by the Ancient Greek poet Homer.

paragraphs: The site of ancient Troy has been found, across the Aegean Sea on Asia Minor. The war may have taken place in the 12th century BC.

paragraphs: The origins of the war (in the "Iliad") started at the wedding of King Peleus and the nereid (sea-nymph) Thetis. They had invited almost all the gods to their wedding. But they did not invite Eris, goddess of strife. She was angry and she threw a golden apple among the guests on which was written "To the Fairest". The goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite caught the apple at the same time and fought over who was the most beautiful. Because they could not end the fight by themselves, they went to Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus chose Paris to decide, and give the apple to who he wanted. Each of the three goddesses offered Paris gifts so he would choose her. Hera offered Paris all of Asia. Athena offered wisdom.

paragraphs: Then Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite. Of course, Aphrodite had not thought about the fact that the most beautiful woman, Helen, Queen of Sparta, already had a husband (King Menelaus of Sparta). But Aphrodite had her son, Eros, shoot Helen with a golden arrow so she fell in love with Paris. They left for Troy. Menelaus, Helen's husband, declared war on Troy to retrieve his queen, now called Helen of Troy. This began the Trojan war.

paragraphs: The war went on for ten years swinging to one side and then the other. Some of the leading fighters were Achilles, Paris, and Hector. The Greeks won by building a big wooden horse, which we now call the Trojan Horse. Greek soldiers hid inside the horse, and others put the horse on the shore and left in their boats. The Trojans saw the horse and thought that the Greeks had given up and left. They thought the horse was a gift in their honour. They dragged the horse into Troy and celebrated their victory. When night fell, the Greeks hiding inside the horse opened the city gates and set fire to the houses. The Greeks who had left in their boats had just pretended to leave, to trick the Trojans. They returned and won the war. The trick was thought up by Odysseus, King of the small island of Ithaca.

paragraphs: The war probably did happen, but in the telling the events were exaggerated and mythic elements were added. These changes fit the needs of oral tradition. In the mid-19th century the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of a city which he identified as Troy.

paragraphs: Some Hittite and Egyptian texts also talk about the war. They say that a confederation of 22 cities went to war.

paragraphs: These are stories, books, movies, etc., that are about the Trojan War, or tell parts of its story:


title: Cruise ship

paragraphs: A cruise ship (or cruise liner or ocean liner) is a large ship with sleeping cabins and other facilities that takes people on holiday and vacation trips. Hundreds of thousands of people take cruises each year.

paragraphs: Today's cruise ships are like floating hotels. They have a complete "hospitality staff" (to serve food and help passengers in other ways) as well as the usual ship's crew. The largest cruise ships have casinos, shops, many restaurants, theaters for both live entertainment and movies, several pools, day care, a gym, and a running track. The most expensive cruises often have more crew and staff than passengers. This means that the people who control the cruise can give many personal services.

paragraphs: Today, hundreds of cruise ships sail all over the world. Some carry over 3,000 passengers. These are some of the largest ships ever built. For some places, such as Antarctica, because it lacks other methods of regular transport, cruise ships are one of the few ways for tourists to visit.


title: Windows Media Player

paragraphs: Windows Media Player is a digital media player made by Microsoft. It is already installed on Microsoft Windows operating systems, and an older version is available for some Apple Macintosh operating systems. The program allows people to watch certain video files and play music files that are in a compatible file format. How the program looks can also be changed with skins, and it can be made small enough to fit on the taskbar.


title: Listen Up

paragraphs: Listen Up! was a 2004 CBS television series. It was a sitcom starring Jason Alexander as Tony Kleinman, a sportscaster from the fictional ""Listen Up!"" His cohost is named Bernie, and is a hall of famer. Jason has a wife, Dana, and two kids, one named Mickey. Mickey is very good at golf, but gets low grades.

paragraphs: The series only lasted for one season, 22 episodes.


title: Jurassic Park III

paragraphs: Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American movie and the third "Jurassic Park" movie. It follows "". Paul Kirby, who says he is a rich business owner, convinces Dr. Alan Grant and his assistant, Billy Brennan, to take him and his wife to Isla Sorna as a vacation and serve as a guide. Actually, Kirby and his wife want to search for their son, who was stranded on Isla Sorna while on a parasailing trip. After crashing on the island, they are attacked by a Spinosaurus, who kills several members of their party. After escaping, the remaining people start hiking for the coast, fighting many dinosaurs, including the Spinosaurus, along the way.

paragraphs: "Jurassic Park III" is followed by "Jurassic World".


title: Laura Dern

paragraphs: Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California and is the daughter of actors Bruce Dern (born 1936) and Diane Ladd (born 1935).

paragraphs: She received an Oscar and Golden Globe Award for her performance as Rose in "Rambling Rose". For the HBO film "Afterburn", she received an Emmy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award. She has also won Independent Spirit Awards for "Blue Velvet" and "Smooth Talk". She is perhaps most famous for playing Dr. Ellie Sattler in "Jurassic Park". She used to date Jeff Goldblum. In 2020, she won another Oscar for her role in "Marriage Story".


title: Trailer (movie)

paragraphs: A movie trailer (also called a preview or coming attraction) is a short showing of a future (not yet released) movie. They are shown in a theater before the current movie starts. They are often later shown in advertisements for DVD releases, and broadcasts of the movie on television.


title: Michael Crichton

paragraphs: Michael Crichton (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author of many books. His books were usually in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. He was also a producer, director, and doctor.

paragraphs: Crichton is well known for writing novels that later became well-known Hollywood movies. His most famous work was "Jurassic Park." Other examples of Crichton's novels that later went on to become big-budget films include Congo, The Lost World, Rising Sun, and Sphere.

paragraphs: Crichton has also created the "ER" television show.

paragraphs: Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was 6'9" tall. He was married five times. He had a daughter from his fourth marriage.

paragraphs: In November 4, 2008, he died of throat cancer and lymphoma in Los Angeles, California, aged 66. He was looked down on by some as a climate change denier In February 2009, his widow gave birth to his only, posthumous son, John Michael Todd Crichton.


title: Andreas Baader

paragraphs: Andreas Bernd Baader (6 May 1943-18 October 1977) was a German terrorist.

paragraphs: He was born in Munich and was one of the first leaders of the Red Army Faction (RAF). It was often called the "Baader-Meinhof gang"

paragraphs: In 1968, Baader and his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin were convicted of the setting fire to a department store in Frankfurt am Main.

paragraphs: They were arrested and sent to jail, but Baader escaped. He was caught in April 1970, but in May 1970, he was allowed to go a library outside the prison. Journalist Ulrike Meinhof and two other women were allowed to join him. They let a masked man into the library who fired shots at a 64-year-old librarian. Baader, the three women and the masked man fled through a window, and the group soon became known as the "Baader-Meinhof Gang".

paragraphs: Baader and others then spent some time in a Palestinian military training camp in Jordan before being thrown out. Back in Germany, Baader robbed banks and bombed buildings from 1970 to 1972. On 1 June 1972, he and fellow RAF members Jan-Carl Raspe and Holger Meins were caught after a gunfight in Frankfurt.

paragraphs: Meins died during a hunger strike in Stammheim Prison, Stuttgart, in 1974. This was when philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre visited Baader. He described Baader as "incredibly stupid" and "an asshole".

paragraphs: From 1975 to 1977, there was a long and expensive trial in a specially fortified building on the grounds of Stammheim. Their jailers said Baader and the others kept their cells as dirty and disgusting as possible in stop searches for things that might be smuggled in; at this time lawyers and defendants were not separated by panes of glass during unsupervised meetings.

paragraphs: Meinhof was found dead in her cell in Stammheim on 9 May 1976, hanging from the ceiling. RAF members and others claimed that she was killed by the German government. The so-called "second generation of the RAF" committed several kidnappings and murders in a campaign in support of the prisoners. The three remaining defendants were convicted in April 1977 of several murders, attempted murders, and of forming a terrorist organization, and were sentenced to life imprisonment.

paragraphs: Businessman Hanns Martin Schleyer was kidnapped in Cologne on 5 September 1977. Lufthansa Flight 181 was hijacked in mid-October to try to force the release of Baader and ten other RAF members.

paragraphs: After several weeks that were called "the German Autumn", the passengers of the aeroplane were freed in an assault carried out by German GSG 9 special forces in the early hours of 18 October 1977. On the same day, the RAF killed Schleyer in France.

paragraphs: Next morning, Andreas Baader and Jan-Carl Raspe were found in their prison cells, dead from gunshot wounds. Gudrun Ensslin was found hanging. RAF member Irmgard Möller was found with four stab wounds to her chest, but survived.

paragraphs: All the official inquiries said that Baader and the others two committed suicide. Möller insists that the deaths and her injury were extrajudicial executions.

paragraphs: In 2002, director Christopher Roth released a film about Baader titled "Baader".


title: Meher Baba

paragraphs: Meher Baba (25 February 1894 31 January 1969) referred to himself as the Avatar of the Age. His birth name was Merwan Irani and his parents' names were Sheriar and Shireen Irani. His family lived in Poona (Pune) India, but they were of Persian descent. Today Persia is called Iran. They were not Hindus or Muslims, but were of the Zoroastrian religion.

paragraphs: Merwan had a normal childhood and liked poetry and sports, especially cricket. When he was thirteen years old he started a boy's club with his best school friends called "The Cosmopolitan Club". The boys in the club kept up on the news, practiced public speaking at their clubhouse, and raised money to give to the poor. He graduated from St. Vincent's High School and attended Deccan College. In 1913, when Baba was nineteen, he was coming home from college riding a bicycle. A very old Muslim woman named Hazrat Babajan, referred to as a Perfect Master (God Realized), was sitting under a Neem tree, called for him to come over to her, he said he was drawn to her like iron to a magnet. He began spending time visiting with her and serving her. In 1914 she kissed him on the forehead, he then went home. Baba later said that he became so dazed after this kiss that he could barely find his way home, and that when Babajan kissed him, initially he lost all consciousness of the world, he then realized God within himself. He was so dazed he neither ate or slept for several weeks. Moving about semi-autonomously in 1915 Merwan was drawn to the other five Perfect Masters, beginning with Sai Baba of Shirdi who upon seeing Merwan called out to him "Parvardigar!" (Divine Sustainer). Upasni Maharaj, also a Perfect Master on seeing Merwan thru a stone, hitting him on the forehead where Babajan had kissed Merwan. He often went to live with Upasni at Sakori. The five Masters assisted Merwan in regaining his integration of the physical world of duality with the Divine Oneness that is the Avatar's natural state. Merwan served as their disciple while in fact he was already fully God Realized.

paragraphs: The process of integration took 7 years during which Mewan often stayed at Upasni's ashram. He also visited with Babajan and stayed with his family, as his integration became more functional he began taking on jobs such as working at his father's toddy shop, and managing a group of performers. In 1921 Upasni told some of his followers that Merwan was the Avatar of the Age and that they should now follow Merwan. In 1921 one of these early disciples began calling Merwan "Meher Baba" which means "Compassionate Father". In 1922 Meher Baba and a group of male disciples walked from Ponna (Pune) to Bombay (Mumbai) where he established his first ashram, Manzil-e-Meem (House of the Master) where over the next year he trained them as his disciples, from then on Baba would be their spiritual guide. Baba eventually took these new followers to Ahmednagar, to a place now called Meherabad. There he gave discourses on spirituality, worked with the local poor villagers, established a dispensary and hospital, cared for the God-mad "masts", and started boarding school for children of all faiths and castes, all free of charge. Gradually his following grew.

paragraphs: In 1925 Meher Baba began keeping silent and for the rest of his life Baba did not speak. He communicated first by writing on slates but then adapted an English alphabet board by pointing to letters painted on it. Years later he stopped using the alphabet board and used his own form of hand gestures. He kept silent until his death in 1969. Some people called him "The Silent Master" and there is a book by that title.

paragraphs: Meher Baba traveled around the world many times. He visited many countries. He spent several months in England, Australia and the United States. Many thousands of people came to see him. Some of them became his followers.

paragraphs: In 1954, when Baba was sixty years old, he said publicly for the first time that he was the Avatar. In the ancient language of Sanskrit, the word "Avatar" means one who has come down from God. Baba said that the Avatar is born on Earth every 700–1400 years, and comes to help others find God. Meher Baba said that in the past the Avatar had been on Earth as Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad.

paragraphs: Meher Baba's most famous quote is "Don't Worry, Be Happy," partly because it appeared in a popular song. Others know of him because of the song "Baba O'Reilly" written by Pete Townshend who is a follower of his and named the song partly after Baba.

paragraphs: Regarding publications, there are two of major significance. In "Discourses", messages that were given by Meher Baba concerning many areas of the spiritual life are clearly presented. In "God Speaks", Meher Baba dictated and explained the complete journey of the incarnate soul from stone to man, over thousands of years and many lifetimes, culminating in God Realization; the goal of life. He said, "Real happiness lies in making others happy." He showed his followers that the best path is to love God at all times by loving your fellow man, exemplified by his own life of Selfless Service.

paragraphs: He also said he had not come to start a new religion—but to revitalize all religions: "I shall revitalize all religions and cults, and bring them together like beads on one string". His followers come from all religions: Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sufis, Buddhists, and Sikhs, as well as from no religion, there are atheists and agnostics who may not necessarily believe in God, but who are attracted purely to his honest and loving way of life.


Trailer


title: Uno (card game)

paragraphs: Uno is an American card game that was made by Merle Robbins in 1971. It has since been bought by a company named Mattel. It uses 108 special cards that are made just to play "Uno". It is similar to Crazy Eights.

paragraphs: The cards are put into 4 different groups: Red cards, green cards, blue cards and yellow cards. There are also some other cards called "Special Cards". Skip, Reverse, Draw +2(This card can be canceled by Reverse card wich changes the way) , Wild, and Wild +4 cards allow you to do something you cannot normally do, such as pick up two more cards.

paragraphs: The game's name is also sometimes written in capital letters - "UNO".


UNO