Archive for the ‘Wikipedia’ Category

The Simpsons – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Simpsons is an American adult animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company.[1][2][3] The series is a satirical depiction of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and many aspects of the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (198990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 565 episodes, and the 26th season began on September 28, 2014. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. On October 28, 2014, executive producer Al Jean announced that Season 27 had started production,[4] renewing the series through the 201516 season.[5]

Time magazine's December 31, 1999, issue named it the 20th century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.

When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show, he decided to include small animated sketches before and after the commercial breaks. Having seen one of cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts. Groening initially intended to present an animated version of his Life in Hell series.[6] However, Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work. He therefore chose another approach while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, hurriedly formulating his version of a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons.[6][7] He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name, adopting an anagram of the word "brat".[6]

The Simpson family first appeared as shorts in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts.[6] The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo,[9] with Wes Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season.[11] Colorist Gyorgyi Peluce was the person who decided to make the characters yellow.[11]

In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included the Klasky Csupo animation house. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content.[12] Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching.[13] The half-hour series premiered on January 14, 1990, with "Bart The Genius", .[14] "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems.[15] In 1992, Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit against Fox, claiming that her show was the source of the series' success. The suit said she should receive a share of the profits of The Simpsons[16]a claim rejected by the courts.[17]

List of showrunners throughout the series' run:

Matt Groening and James L. Brooks have served as executive producers during the show's entire history, and also function as creative consultants. Sam Simon, described by former Simpsons director Brad Bird as "the unsung hero" of the show, served as creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He was constantly at odds with Groening, Brooks and the show's production company Gracie Films and left in 1993. Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that sees him receive a share of the profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since 1993.[20] A more involved position on the show is the showrunner, who acts as head writer and manages the show's production for an entire season.[11]

The first team of writers, assembled by Sam Simon, consisted of John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. Newer Simpsons' writing teams typically consist of sixteen writers who propose episode ideas at the beginning of each December.[22] The main writer of each episode writes the first draft. Group rewriting sessions develop final scripts by adding or removing jokes, inserting scenes, and calling for re-readings of lines by the show's vocal performers.[23] Until 2004, George Meyer, who had developed the show since the first season, was active in these sessions. According to long-time writer Jon Vitti, Meyer usually invented the best lines in a given episode, even though other writers may receive script credits.[23] Each episode takes six months to produce so the show rarely comments on current events.[25]

See the original post here:
The Simpsons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gamergate Winning Wikipedia (Update) – Video


Gamergate Winning Wikipedia (Update)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_controversy #gamergate, #notyourshield, #pizzagate, #endthehate,

By: Awesome Believer

Excerpt from:
Gamergate Winning Wikipedia (Update) - Video

Formal Dance – Video


Formal Dance
Formal Dance . . . . . . Ball (dance party) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_(dance_party) A ball is a formal dance party. Attenders wear evening attire, which...

By: Manojkumar Iummy

Visit link:
Formal Dance - Video

Maya Angelou – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maya Angelou

Angelou reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning", at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, January 1993

Maya Angelou (i/ /;[1][2] born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 May 28, 2014) was an American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.[3] Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she earned the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights movement, and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made around 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.

With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries, but her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide. Angelou's major works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics have characterized them as autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes such as racism, identity, family, and travel.

Marguerite Annie Johnson[4] was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, the second child of Bailey Johnson, a doorman and a navy dietitian, and Vivian (Baxter) Johnson, a nurse and card dealer.[5][note 1] Angelou's older brother, Bailey Jr., nicknamed Marguerite "Maya", derived from "My" or "Mya Sister".[6] When Angelou was three and her brother four, their parents' "calamitous marriage"[7] ended, and their father sent them to Stamps, Arkansas, alone by train, to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson. In "an astonishing exception"[8] to the harsh economics of African Americans of the time, Angelou's grandmother prospered financially during the Great Depression and World War II because the general store she owned sold needed basic commodities and because "she made wise and honest investments".[5][note 2]

Reviewer John McWhorter, The New Republic (McWhorter, p. 36)

To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your own life and feel glad that you didn't have to go through half the things she has.

Four years later, the children's father "came to Stamps without warning"[11] and returned them to their mother's care in St. Louis. At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman. She told her brother, who told the rest of their family. Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day. Four days after his release, he was murdered, probably by Angelou's uncles.[12] Angelou became mute for almost five years,[13] believing, as she stated, "I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone..."[14] According to Marcia Ann Gillespie and her colleagues, who wrote a biography about Angelou, it was during this period of silence when Angelou developed her extraordinary memory, her love for books and literature, and her ability to listen and observe the world around her.[15]

Shortly after Freeman's murder, Angelou and her brother were sent back to their grandmother.[16] Angelou credits a teacher and friend of her family, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, with helping her speak again. Flowers introduced her to authors such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Douglas Johnson, and James Weldon Johnson, authors who would affect her life and career, as well as black female artists like Frances Harper, Anne Spencer, and Jessie Fauset.[17][18][19]

Continued here:
Maya Angelou - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Auto racing – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Racing cars" redirects here. For the Welsh pop band, see Racing Cars. "Race driver" redirects here. For the racing simulation video game series, see TOCA Race Driver.

Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing[1] or automobile racing) is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. The main aim of an individual event is to set the fastest time in a set number of laps or time limit. The finishing order is determined by race time, with the fastest time in first place, second-fastest in second place and so on. Any driver failing to complete a race for any reason is deemed 'retired', or more commonly 'out'. Retired drivers will have their positions determined by the order in which those retired, with the first to retire finishing last, the next second-last and so on. In most events a driver may be classified their final race position if he/she completes a certain amount of the race distance, usually just short of completing the full race (for example, in Formula 1, a driver's race position is classified if he/she completes 90% of the full race distance). There are numerous different categories of auto racing, each with different rules and regulations, such as compulsory pit stops and car regulations, for all cars and drivers to comply.

Auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vlocipde, Monsieur Fossier.[2] It ran 2 kilometres (1.2mi) from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton of the De Dion-Bouton Company, in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up it is rather difficult to call it a race.[2]

Another solo event occurred in 1891 when Auguste Doriot and Louis Rigoulot of Peugeot drove their gasoline-fueled Type 3 Quadricycle in the bicycle race from ParisBrestParis. By the time they reached Brest, the winning cyclist Charles Terront was already back in Paris. In order to publicly prove the reliability and performance of the 'Quadricycle' Armand Peugeot had persuaded the organiser, Pierre Giffard of Le Petit Journal, to use his network of monitors and marshalls to vouchsafe and report the vehicle's performance. The intended distance of 1200km had never been achieved by a motorised vehicle, it being about three times further than the record set by Leon Serpollet from Paris to Lyon.[3][4]

On July 22,[5] 1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition from Paris to Rouen.[2] Sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. Pierre Giffard, the paper's editor, promoted it as a Competition for Horseless Carriages (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux) that were not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey. Thus it blurred the distinctions between a reliability trial, a general event, and a race. One hundred and two competitors paid 10 francs entrance fee.[2]

Sixty-nine cars started the 50km (31mi) selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127km (79mi) race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot, Panhard, or De Dion to amateur owners; only 25 were selected for the main race.[2]

The race started from Porte Maillot and went through the Bois de Boulogne. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours and 48minutes at an average speed of 19km/h. He finished 3'30" ahead of Albert Lematre (Peugeot), followed by Auguste Doriot (Peugeot) at 16'30", Ren Panhard (Panhard) at 33'30" and mile Levassor (Panhard) at 55'30". The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics. De Dion's steam car needed a stoker which was forbidden.[2]

The ParisBordeauxParis race of June 1895 has sometimes been described as the "first motor race", despite the 1894 event being decided by speed and finishing order of the eligible racers.[dubious discuss][6] The first to arrive was mile Levassor in his Panhard-Levassor 1205cc model. He completed the course (1,178km or 732miles) in 48 hours and 47minutes, finishing nearly six hours before the runner-up. The official winner was Paul Koechlin in a Peugeot.[7] Nine of twenty-two starters finished the course.[6]

The first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895.[8] Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile.[8] The 54.36-mile (87.48km) course ran from the South side of the city, north along the lakefront to Evanston, Illinois, and back again. Frank Duryea won the race in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating the other five entrants.[9]

The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897, as a "Speed Week."[citation needed] To fill out the schedule, most types of racing events were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.

Read the original here:
Auto racing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia