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Geraldine Chaplin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944 in Santa Monica, California) is an American actress.

She was the first child of Charlie Chaplin and his last wife Oona O'Neill (daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill and author Agnes Boulton). When Chaplin was eight years old she appeared uncredited in her famous father's Limelight. Geraldine was educated in a boarding school in Switzerland. When her dream of becoming a ballet dancer ended, she followed in her father's footsteps and became an actress. Director David Lean chose her to play Tonya, the main character's devoted wife in Doctor Zhivago (1965).


Personal Life

Chaplin had a 12 year relationship with Spanish director Carlos Saura, and she has starred in nine of his movies, including Cria Cuervos (1976), Elisa, Vida Mia (1977), and Mama Turns a Hundred (1979). She also appeared in several of Robert Altman's films during the 1970s.

She married a long time companion, Chilean movie operator Patricio Castilla in 2006. She has two children, Shane (b. 1974, by Carlos) and Oona (b. 1986, by Patricio).

She has appeared in numerous films throughout her long career. She played the role of her own paternal grandmother Hannah Chaplin in the biographical film on her father Chaplin.

From time to time, she makes Miami, FL her home as she has a home by the beach.

Wesley Snipes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Wesley Trent Snipes
Born July 31, 1962 (1962-07-31) (age 45)
Orlando, Florida,
United States
Spouse(s) Nikki Park (2003-present)
April Duboise (1985-1990)

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, martial artist and film producer. He may be best known for his role as the vampire hunter in the Blade trilogy films.

Snipes has starred in action-adventures, thrillers, comedies, and dramatic feature films opposite such actors as Robert De Niro and Sean Connery. In recent years, Snipes has moved behind the scenes in order to make his own films. To this end, he formed his own independent production company, Amen Ra Films, and its subsidiary Black Dot Media in 1991, to develop projects for film and television.

Snipes was arrested on December 8, 2006 at Orlando International Airport. An arrest warrant had been issued for him on October 17, 2006, in a case alleging that he filed fraudulent claims for tax refunds.[1] He pleaded not guilty and was released on $1 million bond.[2]

Wesley will return to the big screen in the U.S. with 2008's Gallowwalker.





Biography

Wesley Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida. He attended SUNY Purchase from 1978 to 1982.


Acting career

In 1985, while working the audition circuit in New York in between installing public telephones, Snipes auditioned for a role in the Warner Bros. Pictures comedy Wildcats, starring Goldie Hawn. The distinct impression he made on the casting agent earned him a call back to fill the role in the film.

In 1987, Snipes appeared as Michael Jackson's rival gang leader in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video "Bad" (he is only seen in the long version of the video) and the feature film Streets of Gold, which brought him to the attention of director Spike Lee. He turned down a small role in Lee's Do the Right Thing for the larger part of Willie Mays Hays in Major League, beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Handerson in Mo' Better Blues and as the lead in the interracial romance drama Jungle Fever. Another important role for Snipes was the drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City, which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. Another film in which his character was involved in drugs was the somber movie Sugar Hill.

In 1991, Snipes formed the independent production company Amen Ra Films. It co-produced the first two Blade films and other titles that Snipes has starred in.

Snipes often played tough characters in action movies, and has demonstrated considerable athletic and fighting ability. He is interested in martial arts, including Karate, Kung Fu, and Capoeira. This interest is reflected in the fact that many of his movies make reference to Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

Snipes has featured in films as diverse as the comedy White Men Can't Jump, the critically acclaimed The Waterdance, and the action/adventure Passenger 57 (which featured his martial arts expertise), Rising Sun, Demolition Man, Sugar Hill, Drop Zone, Money Train and The Fan. In a departure from type, Snipes played a drag queen (alongside Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo) in the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

In 1997 he won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema's One Night Stand. Snipes was also lauded by critics worldwide for his performance in U.S. Marshals, a sequel of sorts to the box-office hit, The Fugitive.

1998 was especially rewarding for Snipes with the opening of the year's hit Blade, for New Line Cinema, which has grossed over $150 million worldwide. He was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase, for his outstanding achievements in film.

Snipes produced The Big Hit, starring Mark Wahlberg and executive produced by John Woo and Terrence Chang, and the critically acclaimed feature Down in the Delta, which marked Maya Angelou's directorial debut and garnered several awards including a Christopher Prism and nominations in multiple categories for the Acapulco Black Film Festival, as well as an NAACP Image Award for Best Motion Picture.

Additionally, television projects distinguished Snipes as a creative force with ABC's Futuresport, in which he starred with Dean Cain and Vanessa L. Williams. Snipes also produced the highest rated cable special of all time, TNT's "The First Tribute to the Martial Arts Masters of the 20th Century," which showcased some of the greatest innovators of the martial arts.

Snipes's last film to have a US theatrical release was 2004's Blade Trinity. Although the film was a box office success, Wesley has chosen[citation needed] to devote his time to making several direct-to-video films. He recently completed filming The Shooter (also know as "The Contractor") in Bulgaria and the UK, with Charles Dance, Lena Heady and Eliza Bennett.

Snipes also served as executive producer of a series of documentaries that he personally financed through now defunct Black Dot Media. The company showcased prominent thinkers from the African and Afro-Caribbean culture. The first in the series, John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk, chronicled the life of John Henrik Clarke, an authority on African and Afro-Caribbean studies. The film won critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997 and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York.


Legal problems

Fake South African passport

In 2005, Snipes was detained in South Africa at Johannesburg International Airport for allegedly trying to pass through the airport with a fake South African passport. Snipes later told South African officials that he had applied for the South African papers not only for himself but for his family. During the interview, it was established that Snipes did indeed have fraudulent South African documentation in his possession. Snipes and his attorney agreed to cooperate with the South African Inspectorate of the National Immigration Branch in their investigation. Snipes was allowed to return home because he had a valid U.S. passport, but the South African authorities reduced his immigration status to undesirable as a result of the incident. To date, no explanation has been offered as to why Snipes entered South Africa on forged papers. [3]


Tax fraud charges

On October 12, 2006, Wesley Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn, and Douglas P. Rosile were charged in a superseding indictment[4] with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371,[5] one count of making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States, under 18 U.S.C. § 287 and 18 U.S.C. § 2, and six counts of willfully failing to timely file Federal income tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.[6]

Eddie Ray Kahn ran the for-profit businesses American Rights Litigators, Guiding Light of God Ministries and Eddie Kahn and Associates which, according to the U.S. Justice Department, were illegal tax evasion operations.[7] Eddie Ray Kahn was detained in Panama and flown back to Florida.[8]

Douglas P. Rosile, the third defendant, is an accountant who allegedly prepared certain amended returns filed by Snipes. In 2002, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa granted an injunction against Rosile, prohibiting him from preparing or assisting in the preparation of Federal income tax returns for other people.[9] Rosile allegedly prepared or helped prepare frivolous tax returns for 174 clients in 34 states, involving at least US$29 million in taxes. Rosile "was released by a federal judge in Ocala after he surrendered to authorities Oct. 17".[8]

The conspiracy charge against Snipes includes allegations that he filed a false amended return including a false tax refund claim of over $4 million for the year 1996 and a false amended return including a false tax refund claim of over $7.3 million for the year 1997. The government alleges in the indictment that Snipes attempted to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using a discredited tax protester theory called the "861 argument" (essentially, an argument that the domestic income of U.S. citizens and residents is not taxable). The indictment said Snipes used accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients.[10] Under the alleged deal, the firm American Rights Litigators was to receive, from the clients, an amount equal to 20 percent of the tax refunds obtained for those clients.[11]

The government also charges that Snipes failed to file tax returns for the years 1999 through 2004.[12]

On October 17, 2006, an arrest warrant was issued for Wesley Snipes on the tax charges. He was taken into custody on December 8, 2006, after arriving at Orlando International Airport and surrendering to authorities. Later that day he pleaded not guilty and was released on a US$1 million bond.[13]

Due to the volume of evidence being reviewed (including over 800,000 pages of documents by the government) and schedule conflicts for the attorneys, the trial (originally set for March 5, 2007) in the United States District Court in Ocala, Florida has been continued (postponed) until the trial term beginning October 1, 2007.[14]

Snipes said he was a scapegoat and unfairly targeted by prosecutors in connection with the federal tax fraud investigation.[11] If convicted, Snipes could face up to sixteen years in prison[15] and substantial fines.

J. K. Rowling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J. K. Rowling Born: 31 July 1965 (1965-07-31) (age 42)
Yate,
South Gloucestershire, England
Occupation: Novelist
Debut works: Harry Potter and
the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Influences: Jane Austen
Elizabeth Goudge
C. S. Lewis
Jessica Mitford
E. Nesbit
T. H. White
Beatrix Potter[citation needed]
Website: www.jkrowling.com

Joanne "Jo" Rowling OBE, (born 31 July 1965[1]), who writes under the pen name J. K. Rowling,[2] is an English writer and author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold over 325 million books.[3] The final book in the series became the fastest-selling book of all time.[4]

The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List estimated her fortune at £545 million (about $1 billion US), making her the first person to become a US-dollar billionaire by writing books.[5] She is ranked as the 136th richest person and the 13th richest woman in Britain.[6] In 2006, Forbes named Rowling the second richest female entertainer in the world [7] and ranked her as 48th on the 100 most powerful celebrities list of 2007.[8]




Name

Although she writes under the pseudonym "J. K. Rowling", pronounced like rolling (IPA: /rəʊ.lɪŋ/),[9] she actually has no middle name making her full name simply "Joanne Rowling". Before publishing her first book, London-based publisher, Bloomsbury feared that the target audience of young boys might be reluctant to buy books written by a female author. It requested that Rowling use two initials, rather than reveal her first name. As she had no middle name, she chose K. for Kathleen as the second initial of her pseudonym, from her paternal grandmother, Kathleen Ada Bulgen Rowling.[10] The name Kathleen has never been part of her legal name.[11] She calls herself "Jo" and claims, "No one ever called me 'Joanne' when I was young, unless they were angry".[12]


Early life


Rowling was born to Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant on 31 July 1965 at Yate, Gloucestershire, England, 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of Bristol.[1][13][14] Her sister Dianne (Di) was born at their home when Rowling was 23 months old.[13] The family moved to the nearby village Winterbourne when Rowling was four where she attended St Michael's Primary School,[15] later moving to Tutshill, near Chepstow, South Wales at the age of nine.[13] As a child, Rowling enjoyed writing fantasy stories, which she often read to her sister. "I can still remember me telling her a story in which she fell down a rabbit hole and was fed strawberries by the rabbit family inside it," she recalls, "Certainly the first story I ever wrote down (when I was five or six) was about a rabbit called Rabbit. He got the measles and was visited by his friends, including a giant bee called Miss Bee".[9]

When Rowling was a young teen, her great aunt, who Rowling said "taught classics and approved of a thirst for knowledge, even of a questionable kind", gave her a very old copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels.[16] Mitford became Rowling's heroine and she subsequently read all of her books.[17]

She attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College. Rowling has said of her adolescence, "Hermione is loosely based on me. She's a caricature of me when I was 11, which I'm not particularly proud of".[18] Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth [12th grade] owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired the one in her books. "Ron Weasley isn't a living portrait of Sean, but he really is very Sean-ish."[19] Of her musical tastes of the time, she said "My favorite group in the world is The Smiths. And when I was going through a punky phase, it was The Clash".[20]

Rowling read for a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter, which she says was a "bit of a shock" as she "was expecting to be amongst lots of similar people-thinking radical thoughts." Once she made friends with "some like-minded people" she says she began to enjoy herself.[21]

With a year of study in Paris, Rowling moved to London to work as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International. In 1990, while she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London, she developed the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry.[13] When she had reached her Clapham Junction flat, she began to write immediately.[13][22]

On December 30, 1990, Rowling's mother succumbed to a 10-year battle with the condition multiple sclerosis.[13] Rowling commented, "I was writing Harry Potter at the moment my mother died. I had never told her about Harry Potter".[23]

Rowling then moved to Porto, Portugal to teach English as a foreign language.[17] While there, she married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes on 16 October 1992.[24] They had one child, Jessica Rowling Arantes, born July 1993 in Portugal[24] who was named after Jessica Mitford. They divorced November 30, 1993.[24][25]

In December 1994, Rowling and her daughter moved to be near her sister in Edinburgh, Scotland.[13] Unemployed and living on state benefits, she completed her first novel. She did her work in numerous cafés (e.g. Nicolson's Cafe and Elephant House Café), whenever she could get Jessica to fall asleep.[13][26] There was a rumour that she wrote in local cafés to escape from her unheated flat, but in a 2001 BBC interview Rowling remarked, "I am not stupid enough to rent an unheated flat in Edinburgh in midwinter. It had heating." Instead, as she stated on the American TV program "A&E Biograpy," one of the reasons she wrote in cafés was because taking her baby out for a walk around was the way to make her child fall asleep, and as soon as she was asleep, she would go into the nearest café and write.[26]


Harry Potter


Harry Potter books

In 1995, Rowling completed her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter.[27] Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evans, a reader who had been asked to review the book's first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agents agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was handed to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected it.[28] A year later she was finally given the green light (and a £1500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from the small publisher Bloomsbury.[29][28] The decision to take Rowling on was apparently largely due to Alice Newton, the eight-year-old daughter of the company's chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father, and immediately demanded the next.[30] Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, Cunningham says that he advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children's books.[31] Soon after, Rowling received an £8000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council to enable her to continue writing.[27][32]

The following spring, an auction was held in the United States for the rights to publish the novel, and was won by Scholastic Inc., for $105,000. Rowling has said she "nearly died" when she heard the news.[33] In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher's Stone with an initial print-run of one thousand copies, five hundred of which were distributed to libraries. Today, such copies are valued between £16,000 and £25,000.[34]

Five months later, the book won its first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. In February, the novel won the prestigious British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year, and, later the Children's Book Award. In October 1998, Scholastic published Philosopher's Stone in the US under the title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: a change Rowling claims she now regrets and would have fought if she had been in a better position at the time.[11][27]

In December 1999, the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running.[27] She later withdrew the fourth Harry Potter novel from contention to allow other books a fair chance. In January 2000, Prisoner of Azkaban won the inaugural Whitbread Children's Book of the Year award, though it lost the Book of the Year prize to Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf.[35]

All seven volumes of the Harry Potter series, one for each of Harry's school years, have broken sales records. The last four have been, consecutively, the fastest-selling books in history, grossing more in their opening 24 hours than blockbuster films.[27][36] The series, totalling 4,195 pages,[37] has been translated into 65 languages.[38]

The title of the seventh "Harry Potter" book was revealed 21 December 2006 to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[39] On 1 February 2007 Rowling wrote on a bust in her hotel room at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh that she had completed the seventh book in that room on 11 January 2007.[40] Later in February 2007, Neil Blair, a lawyer with Rowling's literary agency, announced that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will not be released as an e-book, just like Rowling has not allowed the first six Potter books to be released.[41] The seventh and final book of the series was released on July 21, 2007 (0:00 BST) and became the fastest-selling book of all time.[4]

Rowling says she is "left wing" and that there is a certain amount of "political stuff" in Harry Potter, but that "every reader will bring his own agenda to the book."[42] Several articles have noted the leftist influences of Rowling's heroine, one-time Communist Jessica Mitford, on the Harry Potter series, with themes of cooperation among the magical races,[43] anti-racism,[44] and opposition to the slavery of House elves.[45] Rowling's three unforgivable spells- killing, torture, and enslavement- are also cited as influenced by her prior work with Amnesty International.[46]


Harry Potter films

In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first two novels for a seven-figure sum.[27] A film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released on 16 November 2001 and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 15 November 2002.[27] Both were directed by Chris Columbus. The 4 June 2004 film of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was directed by yet another new director, Mike Newell. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released on 11 July 2007. David Yates is the director, and Michael Goldenberg its screenwriter, having taken over the position from Steven Kloves. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is in pre-production, scheduled for release on 21 November 2008.[47] David Yates will direct again, and Kloves will return to screenwrite it.[48] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is expected to be released sometime in 2010.[49]

In contrast to the treatment of most authors by Hollywood studios, Warner Bros took considerable notice of Rowling's desires and thoughts, as she was able to secure it in the contract. One of her principal stipulations was the films be shot in Britain with an all-British cast, which has been adhered to strictly.[50] In an unprecedented move, Rowling also demanded that Coca-Cola, the victor in the race to tie-in their products to the film series, donate $18 million to the American charity Reading is Fundamental, as well as a number of community charity programs.[51]

The first four films were scripted by Steve Kloves; Rowling assisted him in the writing process, ensuring that his scripts did not contradict future books in the series. She has said that she told him more about the later books than anybody else (prior to their release), but not everything.[52] She has also said that she told Alan Rickman (Snape) and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) certain secrets about their characters before they were revealed in the books.[53] She was also asked by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) if Harry died and Rowling answered him by saying, "You have a death scene", thereby not explicitly answering the question. Steven Spielberg was approached to direct the first film, but dropped out. The press has repeatedly claimed that Rowling played a role in his departure, but Rowling stated that she has no say in who directs the films.[54] Rowling's first choice for the director had been Monty Python alumnus Terry Gilliam, as she is a fan of his work. Warner Bros. wanted a more family friendly film, however, and eventually they settled on Chris Columbus.[55]


After Harry Potter

Rowling has stated that she plans to continue writing after the publication of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She declared in a December 2005 interview that she will most likely not use a new pen name as the press would quickly discover her true identity.[56]

In 2006, Rowling revealed that she had completed a few short stories and another children's book (a "political fairy story") about a monster, aimed at a younger audience than Harry Potter readers.[57]

She is not planning to write an eighth Harry Potter book, but has said she will be writing an "encyclopedia" of the Wizarding world consisting of various unpublished material and notes.[58] Any profits from such a book would be given to charity.[59] When asked on the 6 July 2007 whether she would ever write an eighth Harry Potter novel Rowling confirmed that she only ever planned to write seven books in the series but also that she could not rule it out entirely. "Um, I think that Harry's story comes to quite a clear end in Book Seven but I've always said that I wouldn't say "never". I can't say I'll never write another book about that world just because I think what do I know, in ten years time I might want to return to it but I think it's unlikely".[60] In a recent interview, she said she "wants to fall in love with another idea...", also stating that "Harry Potter was the experience of a lifetime".

In an interview published on 26 July, Rowling said that she wants to dedicate "lots" of her time to her family, but is currently "sort of writing two things", one for children and the other for adults. She did not give any details about the two projects.[61][62]


Personal life and family

In 2001, Rowling purchased a luxurious 19th century estate house, Killiechassie House, on the banks of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.[63] Rowling also owns a 13-bedroom home in Merchiston, Edinburgh, and a £4.5 million ($8 million) Georgian house in Kensington, West London[64], on a street with a 24-hour security.[65]

On 26 December 2001, Rowling married Neil Michael Murray (born June 30, 1971), an anaesthetist, in a private ceremony at her Aberfeldy home.[63] This was a second marriage for both Rowling and Murray, as Murray had previously been married to Dr. Fiona Duncan in 1996. They separated in 1999 and divorced in the summer of 2001. Rowling and Murray's son David Gordon Rowling Murray was born on 24 March 2003.[66] Shortly after Rowling began writing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, she took a break from working on the novel to care for him in his early infancy.[67] Rowling's youngest child, daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray, to whom she dedicated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was born January 23, 2005.[68]

Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland. She once said, "I believe in God, not magic." Early on she felt that if readers knew of her Christian beliefs, they would be able to "guess what is coming in the books." [69]


Philanthropist

Rowling contributes substantially to charities that combat poverty and social inequality. She also gives to organizations that aid children, one parent families, and multiple sclerosis research. Rowling said, "I think you have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently."[61]


One Parent Families

J.K. Rowling, once a single parent herself, is now President of One Parent Families.[70] Rowling has supported the charity since 2000 when she became its first Ambassador.[71]

According to The Guardian, Rowling is a close friend of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah, with whom she collaborated on a book of children's stories to aid the charity One Parent Families.[72] Rowling, along with Nelson Mandela, Al Gore, and Alan Greenspan, wrote an introduction to a collection of Gordon Brown's speeches, the proceeds of which are donated to the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory.[73]


Comic Relief

In 2001, the UK fundraiser Comic Relief asked three bestselling British authors - cookery writer and TV presenter Delia Smith, Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding, and Rowling - to submit booklets related to their most famous works for publication. The proceeds go towards combatting poverty and social inequality across the globe. Rowling's two booklets, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, are ostensibly facsimiles of books found in the Hogwarts library, and are written under the names of their fictional authors, Newt Scamander and Kennilworthy Whisp. Since going on sale in March, 2001, the books have raised £15.7 million ($30 million US) for the fund. The £10.8 million ($20 million US) raised outside the UK has been channelled into a newly created International Fund for Children and Young People in Crisis.[74] Rowling has also personally given £22 million to Comic Relief.[64]


Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland

Rowling has contributed money and support for research and treatment of multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died in 1990. Rowling said this death heavily affected her writing[75][23] and that she introduced much more detail about Harry's loss in the first book, because she knew about how it felt.[76] In 2006, Rowling contributed a substantial sum toward the creation of a new Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University: For reasons unknown, Scotland has the highest rate of MS in the world.[77]


Other donations

On 1 August and 2 August 2006 she read alongside Stephen King and John Irving at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Profits from the event were donated to the Haven Foundation, a charity that aids artists and performers left uninsurable and unable to work, and the medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières.[78] In May 2007, Rowling gave US$495,000 to a reward fund of over $4.5 million for the safe return of a young British girl, Madeleine McCann, who was kidnapped in Portugal.[79][80] In January 2006, Rowling went to Bucharest to raise funds for the Children's High Level Group, an organization devoted to enforcing the human rights of mentally ill children in Eastern Europe, particularly the continued use of caged beds in mental institutions.[81]


Honours

In June 2000, Queen Elizabeth II made Rowling an officer of the Order of the British Empire.[27]
In July 2000, the University of Exeter (of which she is a graduate) awarded her an honorary DLitt degree[82].
In April 2006, the asteroid (43844) Rowling was named in her honour.[83] The name was submitted to the International Astronomical Union by astronomer Dr. Mark Hammergren, who has been a fan of the Harry Potter series since 2004.[84]
In May 2006, the newly-discovered Pachycephalosaurid dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, currently at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, was named in honour of her world.[85]
In June 2006, the British public named Rowling "the greatest living British writer" in a poll by The Book Magazine. Rowling topped the poll, receiving nearly three times as many votes as the second-place author, fantasy writer Terry Pratchett.[86]
In July 2006 Rowling received a Doctor of Laws (LLD) honorary degree from University of Aberdeen for her "significant contribution to many charitable causes" and "her many contributions to society".[87]
At the end of a Harry Potter Blue Peter Special (broadcast 20 July 2007), J.K. Rowling's third appearence on the show, she was presented, by Gethin Jones, a Gold Blue Peter Badge. This, the highest award given by the show, reduced her to tears. She recounted being told on her previous appearance, when she got a silver badge, that she wouldn't get the gold unless she saved lives.

Dean Cain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Dean George Tanaka
Born July 31, 1966 (1966-07-31) (age 41)
Mount Clemens, Michigan
United States

Dean Cain (born as Dean George Tanaka on July 31, 1966 in Mount Clemens, Michigan) is an American actor who is best known for his role as comic book legend Superman in the television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, in which he co-starred with Teri Hatcher.




Biography

Cain was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan to actress Sharon Thomas and U.S. Army serviceman Roger Tanaka. His parents divorced before he was born, but his mother later married film director Christopher Cain, and moved to Malibu, California. Christopher Cain adopted Dean and his brother, musician Roger Cain. The couple later had a daughter, Dean's half-sister, actress Krisinda Cain.

At Santa Monica High School, Cain excelled in sports. When he graduated in 1984, he turned down 17 athletic scholarships to attend Princeton University, where he went on to be captain of the volleyball team and play free safety (Defensive Back) on the football team (setting the NCAA record for the most interceptions per game in a single season and most per game in a career), in addition to joining the Zeta Psi fraternity. He also dated actress Brooke Shields, who was one year ahead of him at the university. Cain graduated from Princeton in 1988 with a BA in History; the title of his senior thesis was The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Immediately after graduating, Cain signed on as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, an NFL football team, but a knee injury during training camp ended his football career before it began. With little hope of returning to sports, he turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials and appearing on popular television shows like Grapevine, A Different World and Beverly Hills 90210. In 1993, Cain took on the role of Superman in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which ran until 1997.

In 1998, Cain started the Angry Dragon Entertainment production company, which produces the new TBS Superstation television series Ripley's Believe It or Not!. He has also starred in several films, including The Broken Hearts Club (2000), Out of Time (2003) and Bailey's Billions (2004). In 2004, he portrayed Scott Peterson in the fact-based made for television movie The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story. Recently he has appeared in a recurring role on Las Vegas as Casey Manning. Recently Cain revealed that he is in talks with Smallville producers to play a role on the show.


Background and family life


Dean Cain is a quarter Japanese, French-Canadian, Irish, and Welsh. His last name, Tanaka, is a Japanese family name.
He has a son named Christopher Dean Cain, with former girlfriend and Playboy model Samantha Torres.
He was previously engaged to country singer Mindy McCready in the late 1990s.

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What Happens When You Get Caught Skipping School
by U. Will Gettitt

Good morning, BioBob. Love your punny book title, buddy, and I am certain it gave us all a smile today. Thanks for the celeb bio's.

As usual, will await our Raggedy to appear so that we will see spots, but in the meantime, here is a song by Charlie from the movie by Robert Downey, Jr.

Oh For The Life Of A Sardine


When I was three my nurse told me
About reincarnation
And ever since I've been convinced,
Thrilled with anticipation
That when I leave this earth
It makes my heart feel warm
To know that I'll return
In some other form.
But I don't want to be a tree
Sticking in the ground -- I'd sooner be a flea.
I don't want to be a flower
Waiting by the hour
Hoping for pollens to alight on me.
So when I cease to be
I want to go back, I want to go back, I want to go back to the sea!
Oh for the life of a sardine!
That is the life for me!
Cavorting and spawning every morning
Under the deep blue sea.
To have no fear for storm nor gale.
Oh to chase the tail of a whale!
Oh for the life of a sardine!
That is the life for me!

Good morning WA2K.

So we have a few spots for our P.D. -- and Don Murray, Geraldine Chaplin, Wesley Snipes, J. K. Rowling and Dean Cain:

Hee, hee. I just saw spots. Love those pictures, puppy. Hmm. Gonna have to look again at Don Murray to recall stuff about him, folks. Then we see Geraldine, Weslley, J.K. (holding her last of the H.P. books), and Dean. Have to have another look at the Big S as well.

AHA! Now I remember. Dean played Scott Peterson. Wow! he does look a whole lot like him, and what an interesting fact that he has so many ethnic genes.

Well, I know little of Harry Potter, but I understand this may have been from the fifth in the series. Hope so, listeners, because Dan Fogelberg is one of my favorites.

Phoenix Lyrics
Dan Fogelberg

I have cried too
I have cried too long
I have cried too
I have cried too long
No more sorrow
Got to carry on.

Found deep water
Before I'd even learned to swim
Found deep water
Before I'd even learned to swim
Never thought I'd
See the sun again.

Once I was a
Once I was a man alone
Once I was a
Once I was a man alone
Now I've found a
Heart to call my home.

Like a Phoenix
I have risen from the flames
Like a Phoenix
I have risen from the flames
No more living
Someone else's dreams.

I have cried too
I have cried too long
I have cried too
I have cried too long
No more sorrow
Got to carry on.

You almost had me, old lady
You almost tied me down good
You played the lady in waiting
And I waited as long as I could.

Too long the songs have been silent
Too long the strings have been still
I never knew what you wanted
And I guess that I never will.

Like a Phoenix
I have risen from the flames
Like a Phoenix
I have risen from the flames
No more living
Someone else's dreams.

I have cried too
I have cried too long
I have cried too
I have cried too long
No more sorrow
Got to carry on.

we are having some fine summerweather - daytime into the high 20's C ,
even hitting 32 but cooling off at night .
lake ontario sparkles in the sunshine !
all the freshest fruits and veggies on the market - we bought TEN baskets of wonderful niagara nectarines yesterday morning !
mrs h and i spent the morning making them up in jars for the LOOONG winter ahead - i made sure to put a good dollop of marie brizard orange liqueur into every jar before closing it up - it's a wonderful preservative - nothing chemical/artificial !
extensive quality testing to be done shortly !
hbg

Love that song, hbg, but your weather doesn't sound too "summerish". We're having thunderstorm after thunderstorm. Strangely enough, Canada, I miss the crisp and cold days when the sun reflected on the frost in prisms of dancing crystals.

Somehow, I can't seem to get Romberg out of my head, folks.



Softly as in a morning sunrise

The light of love comes stealing

Into a newborn day.



Flaming with all the glow of sunrise

A burning kiss is sealing

The vow that all betray.



For the passions that thrill love

Lift you high to heaven

Are the passions that kill love

And lead you down to hell


Softly as in an evening sunset

The light that gave you glory

Will take it all away.



For the passions that thrill love

And lift you high to heaven

Are the passions that kill love

And lead you into hell


Softly, as in an evening sunset,

The light that gave you glory

Will take it all away.

Well, Today is the last day of July. Know what famous person August was named after?

Against the Wind

It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove

And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then

Against the wind
We were running against the wind
We were young and strong, we were running
Against the wind

And the years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind

Well those drifters days are past me now
I've got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

Against the wind
I'm still running against the wind
Well I'm older now and still
Against the wind

Bob Seger

Speaking of lightning and thunder, y'all, I just got a bolt out of the blue.

Rex, I had to go and remember what I forgot about Bob Seger. <smile>

Know this one, Maine.

Bob Seger
I Wanna Get Lost In Your Rock N' Roll

Day after day im more confused
But i look for the light through the pouring rain
You know that's a game that i hate to lose
Oh im feeling strange, ain't it ashame

Ohh give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away
Give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away

Im getting the feelin that im wasting time
You dont understand the things i do
The World outside look so unkind
Im countin' on you, to carry me through

Ohh give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away
Give me the beat boy and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away

And when my mind is free
No melody can move me
When im feelin blue
I guess im coming through and south me
Thanks for the joy that you've given me
I want you to klnow i believe in your soul
Let me rhyme in harmony
You helped me along, you're makin me strong

Ohh give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away
Give me the beat boy and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away

Ohh give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away
Give me the beat boy and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away

RainbowRuss
Hamilton

Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow

I'm saving my money to buy you a rainbow
A rainbow, to fit on your finger
And after I've gone and bought you the rainbow
I'll go out and I'll buy you the moon

When we go walking side by side in the moonlight
We count the stars as we go strolling by
Maybe one day we'll own those beautiful diamonds
That glisten like the teardrops from your eyes

You know how I feel on a moment like this
When hand in hand when we reminisce
Your eyes seem to glow when you whisper low
I really love you

I'm saving my money to buy you a rainbow
A rainbow, to fit on your finger
And after I've gone and bought you the rainbow
I'll go out and I'll buy you the moon

---- Instrumental Interlude ----

And after I've gone and bought you the rainbow
I'll go out and I'll buy you the moon
I'll go out and I'll buy you the moon
Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow

whisper: (I don't like Bob Seger's singing).

whisper. August was named after Julius Agustus Caesar.

I simply remember the melody, edgar, and not the voice.

You just made me recall Chopin, Texas.

Lyrics to his Fantasy Impromptu

Alice Cooper? Who would have thought.

At the end of the rainbow, there's happiness
And to find it how often I've tried
But my life is a race
just a wild goose chase
and all my dreams have been denied
Why have I always been a failure
What can the reason be
I wonder if the world's to blame
I wonder if it could be me

I'm always chasing rainbows, watching clouds drifting by
My schemes are just like all my dreams
ending in the sky
Some fellows look and find the sunshine
I always look and find the rain
And some fellows make a winning sometime
and I never even make a gain
I'm always chasing rainbows waiting to find the little bluebird in vain.

to go with the BEATLES on the pix thread , here is PLEASE MR. POSTMAN
(it was ebeth's first beatles record - a littlle 45 - we still have it - must be worth a fortune ) .
hbg

Wow, hbg. I didn't know the Beatles did that one.

And to continue the British invasion....


Beatles - Penny Lane Lyrics

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he's had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say hello.

On the corner is a banker with a motorcar,
The little children laugh at him behind his back.
And the banker never wears a mack
In the pouring rain, very strange.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back

In penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It's a clean machine.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer, meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And tho' she feels as if she's in a play
She is anyway.

In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer,
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim.
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain, very strange.

Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back.
Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
There beneath the blue suburban skies,
Penny Lane.

how about a little BEETHOVEN as a bedtime song ?

Goodnight, hbg. so let's continue with the classical adaptations, shall we?
This shall be my goodnight song.

From Beethoven to....

FULL MOON AND EMPTY ARMS
adapted from Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto


Full moon and empty arms
The moon is there for us to share
But where are you?
A night like this
Could weave a memory
And every kiss
Could start a dream for two

Full moon and empty arms
Tonight I'll use the magic moon
To wish upon
And next full moon
If my one wish comes true
My empty arms will be filled with you

Tomorrow, my friends
From Letty with love

Good morning, WA2K folks.

Thanks to the dys, and his walk on the wild side, I found this great song by Lou Reed.

artist: Lou Reed
title: I Wanna Know (The Pit And The Pendulum)from the album The Raven

Under the intense scrutiny of Ligeia's eyes
I have felt the full knowledge
And force of their expression
And yet been unable to possess it
And have felt it leave me
As so many other things have left
The letter half-read
The bottle half-drunk
Finding
Finding in the commonest objects of the universe
A circle of analogies
Of metaphors
Ooohhh
For that expression
Which has been willfully
withheld from me
The access to the inner soul denied

I wanna know, ooohhh
I wanna know
I wanna know, oh
I wanna know

In consideration
In consideration of the faculties and impulses
Of the human soul
Of the human soul
In consideration
Of our arrogance
Of our arrogance
Our radical, primitive irreducible arrogance of reason
We have all overlooked the propensity
We saw no need for it
The paradoxical something which we may call perverseness
Perverseness
Through its promptings we act without
Comprehensible object
We act for the reason we should not
We act for the reason we should not
For certain minds this is absolutely irre-, irre-
irresistible
irresistible
The conviction of the wrong
Or impolicy of an action
Is often the unconquerable force
The unconquerable force
It is a primitive impulse
It is a primitive impulse
Primitive impulse
The overwhelming tendency
The overwhelming tendency to do
Wrong for the wrong's sake
To do wrong for the wrong's sake
We persist in acts
Because we feel that we
should not persist in them
Because we feel we, feel we
should not persist, per-, persist in them, ah
Ooohhh

So I wanna know
I wanna know
I wanna know
I wanna know

I wanna, I wanna know
I wanna, I
Ooohhh, we persist in action
We persist in action
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong
Ooohhh
Wrong, wrong
Oh we persist in action
Ah yeah yeah
When you know that it's wrong

Nothing like a weird song to begin the day.

What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And i think to myself:
"What a wonderful world!"

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to my self:
"What a wonderful world!"

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying "How do you do."
Thay really say: "I love you!"

I hear babies crying I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself:
"What a wonderful world!"
Yes, I think to myself:
"What a wonderful world!"