title: Hyena

text: Hyenas have relatively short torsos and are fairly massive and wolf-like in build, but have lower hind quarters, high withers and their backs slope noticeably downward towards their rumps. The forelegs are high, while the hind legs are very short and their necks are thick and short. Their skulls superficially resemble those of large canids, but are much larger and heavier, with shorter facial portions. Hyenas are digitigrade, with the fore and hind paws having four digits each and sporting bulging pawpads. Like canids, hyenas have short, blunt, non-retractable claws. Their pelage is sparse and coarse with poorly developed or absent underfur. Most species have a rich mane of long hair running from the withers or from the head. With the exception of the spotted hyena, hyaenids have striped coats, which they likely inherited from their viverrid ancestors. Their ears are large and have simple basal ridges and no marginal bursa. Their vertebral column, including the cervical region are of limited mobility. Hyenas have no baculum. Hyenas have one more pair of ribs than canids do, and their tongues are rough like those of felids and viverrids. Males in most hyena species are larger than females, though the spotted hyena is exceptional, as it is the female of the species that outweighs and dominates the male. Also, unlike other hyenas, the female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles that of the male.


title: Hyena

text: Their dentition is similar to that of the canid, but is more specialised for consuming coarse food and crushing bones. The carnassials, especially the upper, are very powerful and are shifted far back to the point of exertion of peak pressure on the jaws. The other teeth, save for the underdeveloped upper molars, are powerful, with broad bases and cutting edges. The canines are short, but thick and robust. Labiolingually, their mandibles are much stronger at the canine teeth than in canids, reflecting the fact that hyenas crack bones with both their anterior dentition and premolars, unlike canids, which do so with their post-carnassial molars. The strength of their jaws is such that both striped and spotted hyenas have been recorded to kill dogs with a single bite to the neck without breaking the skin. The spotted hyena is renowned for its strong bite proportional to its size, but a number of other animals (including the Tasmanian devil) are proportionately stronger. The aardwolf has greatly reduced cheek teeth, sometimes absent in the adult, but otherwise has the same dentition as the other three species. The dental formula for all hyena species is:


title: Hyena

text: Although hyenas lack perineal scent glands, they have a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. Large anal glands above the anus open into this pouch. Several sebaceous glands are present between the openings of the anal glands and above them. These glands produce a white, creamy secretion that the hyenas paste onto grass stalks. The odor of this secretion is very strong, smelling of boiling cheap soap or burning, and can be detected by humans several meters downwind. The secretions are primarily used for territorial marking, though both the aardwolf and the striped hyena will spray them when attacked.


title: Hyena

text: Hyenas groom themselves often like felids and viverrids, and their way of licking their genitals is very cat-like (sitting on the lower back, legs spread with one leg pointing vertically upward). However, unlike other feliforms, they do not "wash" their faces. They defecate in the same manner as other Carnivora, though they never raise their legs as canids do when urinating, as urination serves no territorial function for them. Instead, hyenas mark their territories using their anal glands, a trait found also in viverrids and mustelids, but not canids and felids. When attacked by lions or dogs, striped and brown hyenas will feign death, though the spotted hyena will defend itself ferociously. The spotted hyena is very vocal, producing a number of different sounds consisting of whoops, grunts, groans, lows, giggles, yells, growls, laughs and whines. The striped hyena is comparatively silent, its vocalizations being limited to a chattering laugh and howling.


title: Hyena

text: Mating between hyenas involves a number of short copulations with brief intervals, unlike canids, who generally engage in a single, drawn out copulation. Spotted hyena cubs are born almost fully developed, with their eyes open and erupting incisors and canines, though lacking adult markings. In contrast, striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes and small ears. Hyenas do not regurgitate food for their young and male spotted hyenas play no part in raising their cubs, though male striped hyenas do so.


title: Hyena

text: The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger, though it will also attack and kill any animals it can overcome, and will supplement its diet with fruit. The spotted hyena, though it also scavenges occasionally, is an active pack hunter of medium to large sized ungulates, which it catches by wearing them down in long chases and dismembering them in a canid-like manner. The aardwolf is primarily an insectivore, specialised for feeding on termites of the genus "Trinervitermes" and "Hodotermes", which it consumes by licking them up with its long, broad tongue. An aardwolf can eat 300,000 "Trinervitermes" on a single outing.


title: Hyena

text: Spotted hyenas may kill as many as 95% of the animals they eat, while striped hyenas are largely scavengers. Generally, hyenas are known to drive off larger predators, like lions, from their kills, despite having a reputation in popular culture for being cowardly. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but sometimes venture from their lairs in the early-morning hours. With the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though they may live in family groups and congregate at kills.


title: Hyena

text: Spotted hyenas are one of the few mammals other than bats known to survive infection with rabies virus and have showed little or no disease-induced mortality during outbreaks in sympatric carnivores. Despite this perceived unique disease resistance, little is known about the immune system of spotted hyenas, and even less is known about other Hyaenidae species.


title: Hyena

text: Spotted hyenas vary in their folkloric and mythological depictions, depending on the ethnic group from which the tales originate. It is often difficult to know whether spotted hyenas are the specific hyena species featured in such stories, particularly in West Africa, as both spotted and striped hyenas are often given the same names. In western African tales, spotted hyenas are sometimes depicted as bad Muslims who challenge the local animism that exists among the Beng in Côte d’Ivoire. In East Africa, Tabwa mythology portrays the spotted hyena as a solar animal that first brought the sun to warm the cold earth, while West African folklore generally shows the hyena as symbolizing immorality, dirty habits, the reversal of normal activities, and other negative traits. In Tanzania, there is a belief that witches use spotted hyenas as mounts. In the Mtwara Region of Tanzania, it is believed that a child born at night while a hyena is crying will be likely to grow up to be a thief. In the same area, hyena feces are believed to enable a child to walk at an early age, thus it is not uncommon in that area to see children with hyena dung wrapped in their clothes. The Kaguru of Tanzania and the Kujamaat of Southern Senegal view hyenas as inedible and greedy hermaphrodites. A mythical African tribe called the Bouda is reputed to house members able to transform into hyenas. A similar myth occurs in Mansôa. These "werehyenas" are executed when discovered, but do not revert to their human form when killed.


title: Hyena

text: Striped hyenas are often referred to in Middle Eastern literature and folklore, typically as symbols of treachery and stupidity. In the Near and Middle East, striped hyenas are generally regarded as physical incarnations of jinns. Arab writer al-Qazwīnī (1204–1283) spoke of a tribe of people called "al-Ḍabyūn" meaning "hyena people". In his book "‘Ajā’ib Al-Makhlūqāt" he wrote that should one of this tribe be in a group of 1000 people, a hyena could pick him out and eat him. A Persian medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to cure cannibalistic people known as "kaftar", who are said to be “half-man, half-hyena”. al-Damīrī in his writings in "Ḥawayān al-Kubrā" (1406) wrote that striped hyenas were vampiric creatures that attacked people at night and sucked the blood from their necks. He also wrote that hyenas only attacked brave people. Arab folklore tells of how hyenas can mesmerise victims with their eyes or sometimes with their pheromones. In a similar vein to al-Damīrī, the Greeks, until the end of the 19th century, believed that the bodies of werewolves, if not destroyed, would haunt battlefields as vampiric hyenas that drank the blood of dying soldiers. The image of striped hyenas in Afghanistan, India and Palestine is more varied. Though feared, striped hyenas were also symbolic of love and fertility, leading to numerous varieties of love medicine derived from hyena body parts. Among the Baluch and in northern India, witches or magicians are said to ride striped hyenas at night.


title: Hyena

text: The striped hyena is mentioned in the Bible. The Arab word for the hyena, "ḍab`" or "ḍabu`" (plural "ḍibā`"), is alluded to in a valley in Israel known as Shaqq-ud-Diba` (meaning "cleft of the hyenas") and Wadi-Abu-Diba` (meaning "valley of the hyenas"). Both places have been interpreted by some scholars as being the Biblical Valley of Tsebo`im mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:18. The modern Hebrew word for hyena is "tzavoa`", which is similar to the word "tsavua`" meaning "colored". Though the Authorized King James Version of the Bible interprets the term "`ayit tsavua`" (which appears in Jeremiah 12:9) as "speckled bird", Henry Baker Tristram argued that it was most likely a hyena being mentioned.


title: Hyena

text: The vocalization of the spotted hyena resembling hysterical human laughter has been alluded to in numerous works of literature: "to laugh like a hyæna" was a common simile, and is featured in "The Cobbler's Prophecy" (1594), "Webster's Duchess of Malfy" (1623) and Shakespeares "As You Like It", Act IV. Sc.1.


title: Hyena

text: "Die Strandjutwolf" (The brown hyena) is an allegorical poem by the renowned South African poet, N. P. van Wyk Louw, which evokes a sinister and ominous presence.


title: Hyena

text: In ordinary circumstances, striped hyenas are extremely timid around humans, though they may show bold behaviors towards people at night. On rare occasions, striped hyenas have preyed on humans.


title: Hyena

text: Among hyenas, only the spotted and striped hyenas have been known to become man-eaters. Hyenas are known to have preyed on humans in prehistory: Human hair has been found in fossilized hyena dung dating back 195,000 to 257,000 years. Some paleontologists believe that competition and predation by cave hyenas ("Crocuta crocuta spelaea") in Siberia was a significant factor in delaying human colonization of Alaska. Hyenas may have occasionally stolen human kills, or entered campsites to drag off the young and weak, much like modern spotted hyenas in Africa. The oldest Alaskan human remains coincide with roughly the same time cave hyenas became extinct, leading certain paleontologists to infer that hyena predation was what prevented humans crossing the Bering strait earlier. Hyenas readily scavenge from human corpses; in Ethiopia, hyenas were reported to feed extensively on the corpses of victims of the 1960 attempted coup and the Red Terror. Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold behaviors towards living people: hyena attacks on people in southern Sudan increased during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when human corpses were readily available to them.


title: Hyena

text: Although spotted hyenas have been known to prey on humans in modern times, such incidents are rare. However, attacks on humans by spotted hyenas are likely to be underreported. Man-eating spotted hyenas tend to be very large specimens: A pair of man-eating hyenas, responsible for killing 27 people in Mulanje, Malawi in 1962, weighed in at 72 kg (159 lb) and 77 kg (170 lb) after being shot. A 1903 report describes spotted hyenas in the Mzimba district of Angoniland waiting at dawn outside people's huts to attack them when they opened their doors. Victims of spotted hyenas tend to be women, children and sick or infirm men: Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 1908–1909 in Uganda that spotted hyenas regularly killed sufferers of African sleeping sickness as they slept outside in camps. Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they have been known to attack people at night, particularly during the hot season when people sleep outside. A spate of hyena attacks were reported in Malawi's Phalombe plain, with five deaths recorded in 1956, five in 1957 and six in 1958. This pattern continued until 1961, when eight people were killed. Attacks occurred most commonly in September, when people slept outdoors and bush fires made the hunting of wild game difficult for the hyenas. A 2004 news report stated that 35 people were killed by spotted hyenas in a 12-month period in Mozambique along a 20-km stretch of road near the Tanzanian border.


title: Hyena

text: In the 1880s, a hyena was reported to have attacked humans, especially sleeping children, over a three-year period in the Iğdır Province of Turkey, with 25 children and 3 adults being wounded in one year. The attacks provoked local authorities into announcing a reward of 100 rubles for every hyena killed. Further attacks were reported later in some parts of the South Caucasus, particularly in 1908. Instances are known in Azerbaijan of striped hyenas killing children sleeping in courtyards during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1942, a sleeping guard was mauled in his hut by a hyena in Qalıncaq (Golyndzhakh). Cases of children being taken by hyenas by night are known in southeast Turkmenistan's Bathyz Nature Reserve. A further attack on a child was reported around Serakhs in 1948. Several attacks have occurred in India; in 1962, 9 children were thought to have been taken by hyenas in the town of Bhagalpur in the Bihar State in a six-week period, and 19 children up to the age of four were killed by hyenas in Karnataka in 1974. A survey of wild animal attacks during a five-year period in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh reported that hyenas had attacked three people, causing fewer deaths than wolves, gaur, boar, elephants, tigers, leopards and sloth bears.


title: Hyena

text: Hyenas are used for food and medicinal purposes in Somalia although they are considered haraam in Islam. This practice dates back to the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, who believed that different parts of the hyena's body were effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility.


title: Ludacris

text: Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, and record executive.


title: Ludacris

text: Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine where he first began rapping. He formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s, then signed with Def Jam South, after he went on to become one of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success with countless album releases. For his music, Ludacris has won three Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he independently released his first album "Incognegro" in 1999 to local success, but achieved national attention the following year when the album was repackaged and re-released as his major label debut, "Back for the First Time". It contained the hit singles "Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell), which wasn’t on Incognegro, and "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna). In 2001, he released "Word of Mouf", followed by "Chicken-n-Beer" in 2003 and "The Red Light District" in 2004, all of which were certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He took a more serious approach with his next two albums, "Release Therapy" (2006), and "Theater of the Mind" (2008). His next album, "Battle of the Sexes", was released in 2010 and featured a return to the more lighthearted tone of his previous albums. His most recent album, "Ludaversal", was released on March 31, 2015.


title: Ludacris

text: As an actor, Ludacris is best known for his role as Tej Parker in the "Fast and Furious" film series, with his first appearance in the franchise coming in 2003. His other notable roles include "Crash" (2004), "Gamer" (2009), and "New Year's Eve" (2011). For his performance in the ensemble of "Crash", Ludacris was co-awarded a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critic's Choice Award for Best Cast. In 2021, Bridges created his own children's musical television series for Netflix known as "Karma's World", in which he also served as a voice actor. Ludacris is also a private pilot.


title: Ludacris

text: Born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Oak Park as a teenager. After attending Oak Park River Forest High School in ninth grade, Ludacris moved to Centreville, Virginia and attended Centreville High School for one year. He attended Banneker High School in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated in 1995. From 1998 to 1999, he studied music management at Georgia State University. Ludacris' parents are both African American, and he also has more distant English and Native American ancestry. He is a distant cousin of late comedian Richard Pryor. Ludacris wrote his first rap song at age nine when moving to Atlanta, Georgia, and joined an amateur rap group three years later.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris served as an intern and then a DJ at Atlanta's Hot 97.5 (now Hot 107.9) under the name "Chris Lova Lova". During his radio career, Ludacris met music producer Timbaland, whose album "" would feature Ludacris on the track "Phat Rabbit" (credited as Ludichris).


title: Ludacris

text: Speaking with MTV's hip hop show "Direct Effect" in 2000, Ludacris explained his stage name was a play on the word "ludicrous".


title: Ludacris

text: In 1999, Ludacris released his debut album "Incognegro" through his independent label Disturbing tha Peace. Def Jam South would later repackage "Incognegro" with some new songs added into Ludacris's major label debut "Back for the First Time" in 2000. The album reached number four on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 and included the singles "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna) and "Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell Williams), which respectively reached the nos. 21 and 23 spots on the Billboard Hot 100.


title: Ludacris

text: In 2001, Ludacris contributed the hit single Area Codes" (featuring Nate Dogg)” to the soundtrack to the film "Rush Hour 2". It was also included on his next album, "Word of Mouf", released later that year. The "Word of Mouf" lead single "Rollout (My Business)" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance in the 2003 Grammy Awards. Two other singles reached the Hot 100 in 2002: "Saturday (Oooh Oooh)" featuring Sleepy Brown" peaked at no. 22, and "Move Bitch" featuring Mystikal and I-20 peaked at no. 10.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris also had guest spots on hit singles throughout 2001 and 2002, such as Jermaine Dupri's "Welcome to Atlanta" that peaked at no. 35 on the Hot 100 and no. 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Ludacris was among multiple featured rappers on "Bia' Bia'" by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz, which peaked at no. 47 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart in August 2001. In the last week of 2002, "Gossip Folks" by Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris was released as a single. It peaked at no. 8 on the Hot 100 in March 2003.


title: Ludacris

text: In April 2003, Ludacris released single "Act a Fool" from the soundtrack of the movie "2 Fast 2 Furious", where Ludacris played Tej Parker.


title: Ludacris

text: In the fall of 2003, Ludacris released his next album ‘’Chicken-N-Beer”. Guest appearances included Playaz Circle, Chingy, Snoop Dogg, 8Ball & MJG, Lil' Flip, I-20, Lil Fate, and Shawnna. The single, "Stand Up" appeared on both "Chicken-n-Beer" as well as the soundtrack for the teen hip hop/dance movie "You Got Served". Produced by Kanye West, "Stand Up" went on to become one of Ludacris' biggest mainstream hits to date, hitting the top spot on the "Billboard" Hot 100 garnering heavy airplay on mainstream pop, rhythmic, and urban radio stations, as well as on MTV, MTV2, and BET. Ludacris was sued by a New Jersey group called I.O.F. who claimed that "Stand Up" used a hook from one of their songs, but in June 2006, a jury found that the song did not violate copyrights. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict.


title: Ludacris

text: The album's next single, "Splash Waterfalls", was released in early 2004. A huge pop hit (despite its steamy video and explicit, adult-oriented lyrical content and themes), it subsequently became a success at urban radio and BET, and is the only time he has produced two consecutive top 10 singles from a solo album, except for "Release Therapy" (an unedited version of the video could only be viewed on BET's Uncut program). It was Ludacris' most sexual video yet, an R&B remix that featured Raphael Saadiq and sampled Tony! Toni! Tone!'s "Whatever You Want". Ludacris received his first Grammy Award with Usher and Lil Jon for their hit single "Yeah!". Ludacris next released "Blow It Out", which was accompanied by a low-budget music video.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris took a more mature approach to his fourth album "The Red Light District". Sohail Khalid helped produce this album with various artists such as T.I., Lil Flip and Bun B. Ludacris openly boasted that he may be the only rapper able to keep the Def Jam label afloat on the opening track. Ludacris filmed and recorded the single "Get Back" in which he was featured as a muscle-bound hulk who was being annoyed by the media and warned critics to leave him alone. He first appeared on "Saturday Night Live" as a special guest performing with musical guest Sum 41 on a season 30 episode hosted by Paul Giamatti. He then recorded "Get Back" with Sum 41 to make a rock crossover single. The follow-up single was the "Austin Powers"-inspired "Number One Spot". It was produced by New York City's Hot 97 personality DJ Green Lantern. It used the Quincy Jones sample of "Soul Bossa Nova" and sped it up to the tempo of Ludacris' rap flow. Featured artists on the album include Nas, DJ Quik, DMX, Trick Daddy, Sleepy Brown and Disturbing tha Peace newcomers Bobby Valentino, Dolla Boi and Small World. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts.


title: Ludacris

text: In an issue of "XXL", Ludacris was placed in the number nine spot for the most anticipated albums of 2006, for "Release Therapy". The album "Release Therapy" was released on September 26, 2006. Ludacris formatted the CD to have two sides: a "Release" side and a "Therapy" side on a single CD. Guest appearances include Pharrell Williams, R. Kelly, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Field Mob, Bobby Valentino, Pimp C, C-Murder and Beanie Sigel. The first single, "Money Maker", which features Williams, was released to U.S. radio outlets on July 17, 2006. "Money Maker" reached number one on the BET program "106 & Park". It then went to become the rapper's second number-one single after 6 years. His second single, "Grew Up a Screw Up", featuring Young Jeezy, dispels rumors that the two are or ever were in a dispute. His third single, "Runaway Love", soon peaked at number one on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Rap Tracks and won Best Collaboration in the 2007 BET Awards. "Release Therapy" won the Best Rap Album award at the 2007 Grammy Awards. His album then reached number one on the "Billboard" 200 album charts with sales of 309,000 in its first week. With the release of this album, Ludacris marked a change in style in his career with his musical style. The new album itself features a departure of the lighthearted mood of his previous albums, and introduces a darker side. A change of hair accompanied this as he cut off his trademark braids for a more conventional "fade" cut. To promote the album, Ludacris returned to "Saturday Night Live" (as both host and musical guest) on November 18, 2006.


title: Ludacris

text: "", a mixtape to preview the album was released on July 28, 2008. "Theater of the Mind" was released on November 24, 2008, and in April 2008, the single "Let's Stay Together" appeared on xxlmag.com; supposedly from the new album ("Let's Stay Together" was expected to but was released as a bonus track on the CD). A song with Small World called "Pinky Shinin" was expected to be on the album, but it was dropped. In an interview with "Complex Magazine" he stated that Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I., Plies, Common, T-Pain, Jay-Z, Nas and The Game will be on the album; Game is featured in a track with Willy Northpole titled "Call Up the Homies". T.I. was on the album on a track called "Wish You Would" squashing the long feud between them. The album debuted at number five on the "Billboard" 200 with 213,493 sold first week. The album was released the same day as Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak", which took the number-one spot. His first single "What Them Girls Like", featuring Chris Brown and Sean Garrett, peaked at number 33 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. His second single, "One More Drink", featuring T-Pain, peaked at number 24 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The third official single is "Nasty Girl", featuring Plies. He confirmed a "sequel" titled "Ludaversal" due to be released September 11, 2012.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris' eighth studio album was released on March 9, 2010, with his first promotional single for the album being "Everybody Drunk" which features Callum Smith, originally featuring Shawnna. The first concept idea of the album was to have Ludacris and Shawnna battle it out on the album back–to–back, but this was later axed upon Shawnna's departure from Disturbing tha Peace, ending her contract on Ludacris' label and joining T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment label. The first official single released from "Battle of the Sexes" was "How Low", which was released on December 8, 2009. The follow–up single was "My Chick Bad", released on February 23, 2010. The third single is "Sex Room", peaking at number 69 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Ludacris's "Battle of the Sexes" entered the chart at number one, with 137,000 sales in the first week. The album is currently certified gold.


title: Ludacris

text: In 2012, Ludacris released the singles "Representin" and "Rest of My Life," both of which were scrapped after the songs underperformed and the recording process for his upcoming album "Ludaversal" stalled.


title: Ludacris

text: On May 24, 2013, Ludacris released a mixtape entitled "#IDGAF". He had been releasing a new song on Fridays as he is calling these releases "IDGAF Fridays". These songs, in order of release, were "Raised in the South" featuring rapper Jeezy, released on April 19. That release was followed by "If I Ain't Fucked Up" on April 26, "9 Times Out of 10" featuring rappers French Montana & Que on May 3, "Speak into The Mic" on May 10, and "I Don't Give A Fuck" on May 17. The last song was released a week before the release of the mixtape. The mixtape had almost 60,000 downloads via datpiff.com within the first day. Ludacris reprised his role as Tej in the blockbuster movie "Fast & Furious 6", which opened during Memorial Day Weekend, May 2013. Ludacris had this to say about his upcoming new album: "I think every album is like a progression, I'm working with different producers. Usher, We definitely have this album which is a great thing. Ne-Yo is also on the album and I have producers like David Guetta, we have Stargate, have trainees. [The] Kelly Rowland single just came out that you need to check out. It's called 'Representing'".


title: Ludacris

text: On August 3, 2013, Ludacris confirmed to VIBE.com he will be working with Anita Baker. "I don't know if the cat's out the bag. Yeah, Anita Baker is definitely on the album," admitted Luda. "She's on that particular song. [It] is really about my father and growing up and me being a kid and trying to get him to stop and me dealing with that."


title: Ludacris

text: After a lengthy hiatus, Ludacris returned to the music on January 30, 2014 with the release of a single "Party Girls" featuring Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa and Cashmere Cat. The song takes a cue from Aqua's 1997 song "Barbie Girl"; however, the single did not appear on the new album. On October 9, 2014, Ludacris announced that "Ludaversal" would be released on March 31, 2015; which will be preceded by an EP titled "Burning Bridges" due for release on December 16, 2014. On October 31, 2014 Ludacris premiered the first single from the "Burning Bridges" EP titled "Good Lovin'" featuring American singer Miguel.


title: Ludacris

text: Due to its moderate success, "Good Lovin" would go on to serve as the first single from "Ludaversal". On March 3, 2015, Ludacris held a listening party for Ludaversal with Def Jam. The tracks "Intro", "Not For Long" featuring Usher, and "Come N See Me" featuring Big K.R.I.T. were revealed to the public After 3 years worth of delays, Ludaversal was released March 31, 2015 to generally positive reviews and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200.


title: Ludacris

text: In March 2017, Ludacris confirmed that he was working on his tenth studio album in an interview with "Complex" magazine. On March 31, 2017, Ludacris released a new single called "Vitamin D" featuring Ty Dolla $ign.


title: Ludacris

text: In 2018, he was featured on country singer Carrie Underwood's single "The Champion". The song peaked at number 47 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was the opening song for Super Bowl LII and 2018 Winter Olympics and "Cry Pretty". On May 8, 2018, Ludacris received three nominations and one win at the 2018 CMT Music Awards.


title: Ludacris

text: On October 14, 2020, Netflix commissioned his then-new computer-animated musical children's television series known as "Karma's World" for an initial 40 episodes from 9 Story Productions, Creative Affairs Group and his production company, "Karma's World Entertainment", Using the inspiration of his eldest daughter, Karma Bridges, and the eponymous website created in 2009. Ludacris stated in interviews with "People" and "Billboard" that he and Karma "spent close to a decade and a half" working on the "perfection" of the production. The series premiered on Netflix on October 15, 2021 alongside its official soundtrack album, which was produced and released by Def Jam Recordings on global digital music streaming platforms. On January 17, 2022, the series got nominated for three NAACP Image Awards including Outstanding Children's Program and Ludacris himself got nominated for his voice-over performance as Karma's on-screen dad. Netflix renewed "Karma's World" for a second season on back of the encouragements, which premiered on March 10, 2022.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris has a daughter named Karma Bridges (born August 2001 and the inspiration for/behind "Karma's World") from a relationship with an attorney from Atlanta. He also has a daughter, Cai Bella Bridges (born December 2013), with Tamika Fuller, a longtime friend. From 2009 until their marriage in 2014, he dated model Eudoxie Mbouguiengue. On December 26, 2014, Ludacris became engaged to Mbouguiengue while in Costa Rica, and the two married later that same day. In early June 2015, Eudoxie announced that the couple had welcomed a baby girl. In May 2021, Eudoxie shared via Instagram that Ludacris and her were expecting their second child together.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris is the founder of his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. He is the co-owner of Conjure Cognac liquor. In 2011, Ludacris released his own line of headphones called "Soul By Ludacris" manufactured by Soul Electronics. He also has various real estate holdings.


title: Ludacris

text: In 2006, Ludacris appeared in a television and print advertising campaign for Puma, which released 3 limited edition models of a "Clyde x Luda" Puma Clyde sneaker, with Ludacris' image on the heel of the insole and "DTP" (for Disturbing tha Peace) on the heel window.


title: Ludacris

text: In November 2016, Ludacris opened up a restaurant named "Chicken N Beer" at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.


title: Ludacris

text: In 2011, Ludacris joined a joint effort between Do Something and Better World Books to collect books to help restock library shelves in New Orleans. He filmed a public service announcement in support of the Epic Book Drive.


title: Ludacris

text: Ludacris also started the Ludacris Foundation at the beginning of his music career in 2002. The aim of the foundation is to inspire the youth through education, memorable experiences and helping the youth help themselves. The focus is what Ludacris calls the "3Ls": Leadership and Education, Living Healthy Lifestyles, and LudaCares.


title: Ludacris

text: In October 2019, Ludacris was named the artist-in-residence at Georgia State University, where he will mentor students in the Creative Media Industries Institute. On April 13, 2022 Georgia State University announced the Georgia Board of Regents approved for Ludacris to receive an honorary Bachelor of Science degree in Music Management. He received this honorary degree on May 4, 2022 at the commencement ceremony at Center Parc Stadium where he also delivered a speech.


title: Ludacris

text: Tensions began when T.I. saw Disturbing tha Peace rapper I-20's video in which a man wearing a shirt with the words "Trap House", was being beaten. T.I. believed the man's shirt actually said "Trap Muzik", perhaps interpreting this to be a reference to his album of the same name. Later, G-Unit artist Young Buck asked these two fellow Southern rappers to appear on his new record on the track "Stomp". T.I. recorded a verse that contained a line that Young Buck considered to be an insult towards Ludacris, ""Me gettin' beat down?/That's ludicrous"". Young Buck spoke to Ludacris about his interpretation of the event. Ludacris then later recorded a verse that can be found on the album "Straight Outta Cashville". T.I's record company wanted Ludacris to change his verse before they sanctioned it but Ludacris refused and T.I. was therefore replaced by Game on the album version.


title: Ludacris

text: On June 24, 2007, at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a physical altercation. During a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records), the MC got into a fight with Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu. According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and choked him and a small, brief melee ensued.


title: Ludacris

text: T.I. was awarded honors for Best Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards, and took the opportunity to apologize for his scuffle with Disturbing tha Peace executive Chaka Zulu earlier in the week. While accepting his award, he expressed regret over the situation. "They say it's a fine line between brilliance and insanity," he said, in an apparent reference to his troublesome alter ego, T.I.P. During the broadcast, cameras showed his onetime rival Ludacris smiling in the audience.


title: Ludacris

text: The two rappers have resolved their disagreement and have collaborated on four songs: "Wish You Would" off Ludacris's sixth studio album "Theater of the Mind", "On Top of the World" off T.I.'s sixth studio album "Paper Trail", and "We in This Bitch" off DJ Drama's album "Quality Street Music". The original version of the latter had Kanye West. The two have also collaborated on Big Boi's song called "In The A", released on the 2012 album "Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors".


title: Ludacris

text: On August 27, 2002, political pundit Bill O'Reilly called for all Americans to boycott Pepsi products because they hired Ludacris for promotional purposes and O'Reilly objected to Ludacris' style and attitude. The next day, O'Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Ludacris. Six months later, Russell Simmons and his hip hop action summit threatened a boycott of all PepsiCo products on the grounds that Pepsi had subsequently hired Ozzy Osbourne for a commercial even though Osbourne is notable for use of profanity and explicit lyrics. Eventually an agreement was reached that resulted in PepsiCo donating $3 million to Ludacris' foundation and other inner city charities.


title: Ludacris

text: This is referenced in the 2003 songs "Hoes in My Room" as well as "Blow It Out" from "Chicken n' Beer". Three years later, this would be referenced again in the song "Number One Spot". During a summer 2003 appearance on MTV's "The New Tom Green Show", Ludacris and host Tom Green launched copies of Bill O'Reilly-authored books into a dumpster using a homemade catapult. In an interview with RadarOnline.com in 2010, Ludacris stated that he and O'Reilly had made amends after having a conversation at a charity event.


title: Ludacris

text: The song "Politics as Usual" from Ludacris' mixtape "" has stirred controversy due to lyrics in the song criticizing Jesse Jackson; "Now Jesse talkin' slick and apologizin' for what? If you said it then you meant it" (in reference to Jackson stating that he would "like to cut Obama's nuts off"); John McCain "McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed"; President George W. Bush "Yeah I said it, 'cuz Bush is mentally handicapped/Ball up all of his speeches and throw 'em just like candy wraps/'Cuz what you talkin' I hear nothin' even relevant/you the worst of all 43 presidents"; Hillary Clinton "Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant", in reference to Hillary's campaign comments against Obama.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film "A Face in the Crowd" (1957) and "No Time for Sergeants" (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama "Matlock" (1986–1995).


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith was born on June 1, 1926, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the only child of Carl Lee Griffith and his wife, Geneva (née Nunn). As a baby, Griffith lived with relatives until his parents could afford to buy a home. With neither a crib nor a bed, he slept in dresser drawers for several months. In 1929, when Griffith was three, his father began working as a helper or carpenter and purchased a home in Mount Airy's "blue-collar" south side. Griffith grew up listening to music. By the time he entered school, he was well aware that he was from what many considered the "wrong side of the tracks". He was a shy student, but once he found a way to make his peers laugh, he began to come out of his shell and come into his own.


title: Andy Griffith

text: As a student at Mount Airy High School, Griffith cultivated an interest in the arts, and he participated in the school's drama program. A growing love of music, particularly swing, would change his life. Griffith was raised Baptist and looked up to Ed Mickey, a minister at Grace Moravian Church, who led the brass band and taught him to sing and play the trombone. Mickey nurtured Griffith's talent throughout high school until graduation in 1944. Griffith was delighted when he was offered a role in "The Lost Colony" by Paul Green, a play about Roanoke Island still performed today. He performed as a cast member of the play for several years, playing a variety of roles until he finally landed the role of Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom North Carolina's capital is named.


title: Andy Griffith

text: He attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1949. He began college studying to be a Moravian preacher, but he changed his major to music and became a part of the school's Carolina Playmakers. At UNC, he was president of the UNC chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, America's oldest fraternity for men in music. He also played roles in several student operettas, including "The Chimes of Normandy" (1946), and Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" (1945), "The Mikado" (1948) and "H.M.S. Pinafore" (1949). After graduation, he taught music and drama for a few years at Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he taught, among others, Carl Kasell. He also began to write.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith's early career was as a monologist, delivering long stories such as "What It Was, Was Football", which is told from the point of view of a naïve country preacher trying to figure out what was going on in a football game. The monologue was released as a single in 1953 on the Colonial Records label, and was a hit for Griffith, reaching number nine on the charts in 1954.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith starred in Ira Levin's one-hour teleplay, "No Time for Sergeants" (March 1955) — a story about a country boy in the United States Air Force — on "The United States Steel Hour", a television anthology series. He expanded that role in Ira Levin's full-length theatrical version of the same name (October 1955) on Broadway in New York City. The role earned him a "Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor" nomination at the 1956 Tony Awards, losing to Ed Begley. He did win the 1956 Theatre World Award, however, a prize given for debut roles on Broadway. "Mr. Griffith does not have to condescend to Will Stockdale" (his role in the play), wrote Brooks Atkinson in "The New York Times". "All he has to do is walk on the stage and look the audience straight in the face. If the armed forces cannot cope with Will Stockdale, neither can the audience resist Andy Griffith."


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith later reprised his role for the film version (1958) of "No Time for Sergeants"; the film also featured Don Knotts, as a corporal in charge of manual-dexterity tests, marking the beginning of a lifelong association between Griffith and Knotts. "No Time for Sergeants" is considered the direct inspiration for the later television situation comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." – a spin-off of "The Andy Griffith Show".


title: Andy Griffith

text: His only other New York stage appearance was the title role in the 1959 musical "Destry Rides Again", co-starring Dolores Gray. The show, with a score by Harold Rome, ran for 472 performances and more than a year. Griffith was nominated for "Distinguished Musical Actor" at the 1960 Tony Awards, losing to Jackie Gleason. He also portrayed a US Coast Guard sailor in the feature film "Onionhead" (1958). It was neither a critical nor a commercial success.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In 1957, Griffith made his film debut starring in the film "A Face in the Crowd". He plays a "country boy" who is manipulative and power-hungry: a drifter who becomes a television host and uses his show as a gateway to political power. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg and co-stars Patricia Neal, Walter Matthau, Tony Franciosa, and Lee Remick (in her film debut).


title: Andy Griffith

text: A 2005 DVD reissue of "A Face in the Crowd" includes a mini-documentary on the film, with comments from Schulberg and cast members Griffith, Franciosa, and Neal. In his interview, Griffith recalls Kazan prepping him to shoot his first scene with Remick's teenaged baton twirler, who captivates Griffith's character on a trip to Arkansas. Griffith also expresses his belief that the film was more popular in more recent decades than it was when originally released.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith's first appearance on television was in 1955 in the one-hour teleplay of "No Time for Sergeants" on "The United States Steel Hour". That was the first of two appearances on that series. In 1960, Griffith appeared as a county sheriff, who was also a justice of the peace and the editor of the local newspaper, in an episode of "Make Room for Daddy" starring Danny Thomas. This episode, in which Thomas's character is stopped for running a stop sign in a little town, served as a backdoor pilot for "The Andy Griffith Show". Both shows were produced by Sheldon Leonard.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Beginning in September 1960, Griffith starred as Sheriff Andy Taylor in "The Andy Griffith Show" for the . The show took place in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina, where Taylor, a widower, was the sheriff and town sage. The show was filmed at Desilu Studios, with exteriors filmed at Forty Acres in Culver City, California.


title: Andy Griffith

text: From 1960 to 1965, the show co-starred character actor and comedian — and Griffith's longtime friend — Don Knotts in the role of Deputy Barney Fife, Taylor's best friend and comedy partner. He was also Taylor's cousin in the show at first, though later they dropped that cousin relationship and talked simply of knowing one another since boyhood. In the series premiere episode, in a conversation between the two, Fife calls Taylor "Cousin Andy", and Taylor calls Fife "Cousin Barney". The show also starred child actor Ron Howard (then known as Ronny Howard), who played Taylor's only child, Opie Taylor. It was an immediate hit. Griffith never received a writing credit for the show, but he worked on the development of every script. Knotts was frequently lauded and won multiple Emmy Awards for his comedic performances, as did Frances Bavier in 1967, while Griffith was never nominated for an Emmy Award during the show's run.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In 1967, Griffith was under contract with CBS to do one more season of the show. However, he decided to quit the show to pursue a movie career and other projects. The series continued as "Mayberry R.F.D.", with Ken Berry starring as a widower farmer and many of the regular characters recurring, some regularly and some as guest appearances. Griffith served as executive producer (according to Griffith, he came in once a week to review the week's scripts and give input) and guest starred in five episodes (the pilot episode involved his marriage to Helen Crump). He made final appearances as Taylor in the 1986 reunion television film, "Return to Mayberry", with fellow co-star, Don Knotts. Two reunion specials followed in 1993 and 2003, with strong ratings.


title: Andy Griffith

text: After leaving his still-popular show in 1968, and starting his own production company Andy Griffith Enterprises in 1972, Griffith starred in less-successful television series such as "Headmaster" (1970), "The New Andy Griffith Show" (1971), "Adams of Eagle Lake" (1975), "Salvage 1" (1979) and "The Yeagers" (1980). After spending seven months in rehabilitation for leg paralysis from Guillain–Barré syndrome in 1983, Griffith returned to television as the title character, Ben Matlock, in the legal drama "Matlock" (1986–1995) on NBC and ABC. Matlock was a country lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, who was known for his Southern drawl and for always winning his cases. "Matlock" also starred unfamiliar, struggling actors (both of whom were childhood fans of Andy Griffith) Nancy Stafford as Michelle Thomas (1987–1992) and Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Conrad McMasters (1989–1993). By the end of its first season it was a ratings powerhouse on Tuesday nights. Although the show was nominated for four Emmy Awards, Griffith once again was never nominated. He did, however, win a People's Choice Award in 1987 for his work as Matlock.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith also made other character appearances through the years on "Playhouse 90", "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.", "The Mod Squad", "Hawaii Five-O", "The Doris Day Show", "Here's Lucy", "The Bionic Woman" and "Fantasy Island", among many others. He also reprised his role as Ben Matlock on "" in 1997, and his final guest-starring role was in 2001 in an episode of "Dawson's Creek".


title: Andy Griffith

text: For most of the 1970s, Griffith starred or appeared in many television films, including "The Strangers In 7A" (1972), "Go Ask Alice" (1973), "Winter Kill" (1974) and "Pray for the Wildcats" (1974), which marked his first villainous role since "A Face in the Crowd". Griffith appeared again as a villain in "Savages" (1974), a television film based on the novel "Deathwatch" (1972) by Robb White. He appeared as The Father in a 1976 PBS television adaptation, directed by Stacy Keach, of Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. Griffith received his only Primetime Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for his role as the father of a murder victim in the television film "Murder in Texas" (1981) and won further acclaim for his role as a homicidal villain in the television film "Murder in Coweta County" (1983), co-starring music legend Johnny Cash as the sheriff. He also appeared in several television miniseries, including the television version of "From Here to Eternity" (1979), "" (1979), "Centennial" (1978), and the Watergate scandal-inspired "" (1977), playing a former president loosely based on Lyndon B. Johnson.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Most of the television movies in which Griffith starred were also attempts to launch a new series. "Winter Kill" (1974) launched the short-lived "Adams of Eagle Lake", which was canceled in 1975 after only two episodes. A year later, he starred as a New York City attorney for the DA's office in "Street Killing", which also failed to launch a new show. Two television films for NBC in 1977, "The Girl in the Empty Grave" and "Deadly Game", were attempts for Griffith to launch a new series featuring him as Police Chief Abel Marsh, a more hard-edged version of Andy Taylor; despite strong ratings, both were unsuccessful in leading to a new TV show.


title: Andy Griffith

text: During this period, Griffith also appeared in two feature films, both of which flopped at the box office. He co-starred with Jeff Bridges as a crusty old 1930s western actor in the comedy "Hearts of the West" (1975), and he appeared alongside Tom Berenger as a gay villainous colonel and cattle baron in the Western comedy spoof "Rustlers' Rhapsody" (1985).


title: Andy Griffith

text: Following another short-lived return to series television, playing a family patriarch in the "Dynasty"-inspired "The Yeagers" in 1980, Griffith continued to make guest appearances in several hit series, including "Hotel", "Fantasy Island", where he played a fictional version of western figure Judge Roy Bean featured in an aspiring singer's fantasy, and an episode of "The Love Boat", which featured a memorable appearance by pop icon Andy Warhol. He also appeared as an attorney in the NBC miniseries "Fatal Vision" (1984), which is considered a precursor to his role in "Matlock".


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith stunned many unfamiliar with his "A Face in the Crowd" work in the television film "Crime of Innocence" (1985)...wherein he portrayed a hateful and vindictive judge who routinely sentenced juveniles to hard prison time, followed by lengthy and equally-torturous probation. Also noteworthy in Griffith's darker roles was his character in "Under the Influence" (1986), a TV movie in which Griffith played an alcoholic, abusive patriarch. He further surprised audiences with his role as a dangerous and mysterious grandfather in the television film "Gramps" (1995) co-starring John Ritter. He also appeared as a comical villain in the spy movie spoof "Spy Hard" (1996) starring Leslie Nielsen. In the television film "A Holiday Romance" (1999), Griffith played the role of Jake Peterson. In the film "Daddy and Them" (2001), Griffith portrayed the patriarch of a dysfunctional southern family.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In the feature film "Waitress" (2007), Griffith played a crusty diner owner who takes a shine to Keri Russell's character. His last appearance was the leading role in the romantic comedy, independent film "Play the Game" (2009) as a lonely, widowed grandfather re-entering the dating world after a 60-year hiatus. The cast of "Play the Game" also included Rance Howard, Ron Howard's real-life father, who had made appearances in various supporting roles on "The Andy Griffith Show", and Clint Howard, Ron's younger brother, who had the recurring role of Leon (the kid offering the ice cream cone or peanut butter sandwich) on "The Andy Griffith Show".


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith sang as part of some of his acting roles, most notably in "A Face in the Crowd" and in many episodes of both "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock". In addition to his recordings of comic monologues in the 1950s, he made an album of upbeat country and gospel tunes during the run of "The Andy Griffith Show", which included a version of the show's theme sung by Griffith under the title "The Fishin' Hole". In recent years, he recorded successful albums of classic Christian hymns for Sparrow Records. His most successful was the release "I Love to Tell the Story: 25 Timeless Hymns" (1996), which was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album won Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards.


title: Andy Griffith

text: William Harold Fenrick of Platteville, Wisconsin, legally changed his name to Andrew Jackson Griffith and ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Grant County in November 2006. Subsequently, actor Griffith filed a lawsuit against Griffith/Fenrick, asserting that he violated trademark, copyright, and privacy laws by changing his name for the "sole purpose of taking advantage of Griffith's fame in an attempt to gain votes". On May 4, 2007, US District Court Judge John C. Shabaz ruled that Griffith/Fenrick did not violate federal trademark law because he did not use the Griffith name in a commercial transaction but instead in order "to seek elective office, fundamental First Amendment protected speech".


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith's friendship with Don Knotts began in 1955 when they co-starred in the Broadway play "No Time for Sergeants". Several years later, Knotts had a regular role on "The Andy Griffith Show" for five seasons. Knotts left the series in 1965, but periodically returned for guest appearances. He appeared in the pilot for Griffith's subsequent short-lived series, "The New Andy Griffith Show", and he had a recurring role on "Matlock", from 1988 to 1992. In a January 2000 interview, Griffith said of Knotts, "The five years we worked together were the best five years of my life."


title: Andy Griffith

text: They kept in touch until Knotts' death in early 2006. Griffith traveled from his Manteo, North Carolina, home to Los Angeles to visit the terminally ill Knotts at Cedars-Sinai just before Knotts died of lung cancer.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith's friendship with child actor Ron Howard began in 1960 when they guest-starred in the episode of "Make Room For Daddy" that led to the formation of "The Andy Griffith Show" the same year. For eight seasons, they starred together in most of the show's episodes, portraying father and son.


title: Andy Griffith

text: They guest-starred together in the show's spin-off series "Mayberry R.F.D." They appeared in an episode during which Griffith's character married his long-time girlfriend, Helen Crump, and in the "Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C." episode "Opie Joins the Marines", in which Howard's character, Opie, runs away from home and attempts to enlist in the US Marines. They co-starred in the TV special "Return to Mayberry" (1986), in which the now-adult Opie is about to become a father. They later appeared together in CBS reunion specials in 1993 and 2003. Griffith also made a comedy cameo on the "Saturday Night Live" program of October 9, 1982, hosted by Howard, who was, by then, in the early years of his directing career.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In October 2008, Griffith and Howard briefly reprised their Mayberry roles in an online video "Ron Howard's Call to Action". It was posted to comedy video website Funny or Die. The video encouraged people to vote and endorsed Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Joe Biden.


title: Andy Griffith

text: After Griffith's death, Howard stated: "His love of creating, the joy he took in it whether it was drama or comedy or his music, was inspiring to grow up around. The spirit he created on the set of "The Andy Griffith Show" was joyful and professional all at once. It was an amazing environment. And I think it was a reflection of the way he felt about having the opportunity to create something that people could enjoy. It was always with respect and passion for the opportunity and really what it could offer people in a very unpretentious and earthy way. He felt he was always working in service of an audience he really respected and cared about. He was a great influence on me. His passing is sad. But he lived a great rich life." In a 2016 interview with "US Magazine", Howard recalled Griffith encouraging his scriptwriting when he was just seven years old, saying "I felt elated." Howard recounted: "Andy Griffith said, 'What are you grinnin' at, young'un?' I said, 'That's the first idea of mine they've taken.' He said, 'It's the first that was any damn good. Now let's rehearse!'"


title: Andy Griffith

text: In 2000, Griffith appeared in a last-minute campaign commercial where he endorsed then-Attorney General Mike Easley for governor of the state of North Carolina. Easley had been locked in a tight race with former Mayor of Charlotte Richard Vinroot and had been losing his lead in the polls. Easley went on to win that November, taking 52% of the vote to Vinroot's 46%. Many observers dubbed Easley's victory as the "Mayberry Miracle", and credit Griffith's endorsement for stopping his falling poll numbers.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In October 2008, Griffith appeared with Ron Howard in a Funny or Die video endorsement for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In addition to his online video with Howard in 2008, in politics Griffith favored Democrats and recorded television commercials endorsing North Carolina governors Mike Easley and Bev Perdue. He spoke at the inauguration ceremonies of both. In 1989, he declined an offer by Democratic party officials to run against Jesse Helms, a Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina.


title: Andy Griffith

text: In 1945, while a student at the University of North Carolina, Griffith was initiated as a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national social music fraternity for men.


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith and Barbara Bray Edwards were married on August 22, 1949, and they adopted two children: a son named Andy Samuel Griffith Jr. (born in 1957 and better known as Sam Griffith) and a daughter named Dixie Nann Griffith. They divorced in 1972. Sam, a real-estate developer, died in 1996 after years of alcoholism. The senior Griffith's second wife was Solica Cassuto, a Greek actress. They were married from 1973 to 1981. Griffith and Cindi Knight married on April 12, 1983, after they met when he was filming "Murder in Coweta County".


title: Andy Griffith

text: According to the 2015 book "Andy & Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show", Aneta Corsaut and Griffith had an affair while Griffith was married and they were working together on "The Andy Griffith Show".


title: Andy Griffith

text: Griffith's first serious health problem was in April 1983 when he was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome and could not walk for seven months because of paralysis from the knees down.


title: Andy Griffith

text: On May 9, 2000, he underwent quadruple heart-bypass surgery at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.


title: Andy Griffith

text: After a fall, Griffith underwent hip surgery on September 5, 2007, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.


title: Andy Griffith

text: On July 3, 2012, Griffith died at his coastal home in Manteo, North Carolina, from a heart attack he had the day before; he was 86. His death certificate listed hypertension, coronary artery disease, and hyperlipidemia as underlying health conditions. In accordance with prior arrangements, no services were held at the time, and he was buried at the family cemetery on the island within five hours of his death.


title: Cassava

text: Manihot esculenta, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. Though it is often called "yuca" in parts of Spanish America and in the United States, it is not related to yucca, a shrub in the family Asparagaceae. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are used to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian farinha, and the related "garri" of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it (and roasting both in the case of farinha and garri).


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of cassava starch.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is classified as either sweet or bitter. Like other roots and tubers, both bitter and sweet varieties of cassava contain antinutritional factors and toxins, with the bitter varieties containing much larger amounts. It must be properly prepared before consumption, as improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication, goiters, and even ataxia, partial paralysis, or death. The more toxic varieties of cassava have been used in some places as famine food during times of food insecurity. Farmers often prefer the bitter varieties because they deter pests, animals, and thieves.


title: Cassava

text: The cassava root is long and tapered, with a firm, homogeneous flesh encased in a detachable rind, about thick, rough and brown on the outside. Commercial cultivars can be in diameter at the top, and around long. A woody vascular bundle runs along the root's axis. The flesh can be chalk-white or yellowish. Cassava roots are very rich in starch and contain small amounts of calcium (16 milligrams per 100 grams), phosphorus (27 mg/100 g), and vitamin C (20.6 mg/100 g). However, they are poor in protein and other nutrients. In contrast, cassava leaves are a good source of protein for animal and human


title: Cassava

text: The complete and haplotype-resolved African cassava (TME204) genome was reconstructed and made available using the Hi-C technology. The genome shows abundant novel gene loci with enriched functionality related to chromatin organization, meristem development, and cell responses. Differentially expressed transcripts of different haplotype origins were enriched for different functionality during tissue development. In each tissue, 20–30% of transcripts showed allele-specific expression differences with <2% of direction-shifting. Despite high gene synteny, the HiFi genome assembly revealed extensive chromosome rearrangements and abundant intra-genomic and inter-genomic divergent sequences, with significant structural variations mostly related to long terminal repeat retrotransposons.


title: Cassava

text: (FT) is a gene producing FT proteins which affect the formation of storage roots in many plants, including this one. Alleles in cassava include "MeFT1" and "MeFT2". "MeFT1" expression in leaves seems to not be photoperiodic, while "MeFT2" clearly is. "MeFT1" expression encourages motivation of sucrose towards the reproductive organs, as shown by experimental overexpression reducing storage root accumulation.


title: Cassava

text: Wild populations of "M. esculenta" subspecies "flabellifolia", shown to be the progenitor of domesticated cassava, are centered in west-central Brazil, where it was likely first domesticated no more than 10,000 years BP. Forms of the modern domesticated species can also be found growing in the wild in the south of Brazil. By 4,600 BC, cassava pollen appears in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands, at the San Andrés archaeological site. The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a 1,400-year-old Maya site, Joya de Cerén, in El Salvador. With its high food potential, it had become a staple food of the native populations of northern South America, southern Mesoamerica, and the Taino people in the Caribbean islands, who grew it using a high-yielding form of shifting agriculture by the time of European contact in 1492. Cassava was a staple food of pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas and is often portrayed in indigenous art. The Moche people often depicted yuca in their ceramics.


title: Cassava

text: Spaniards in their early occupation of Caribbean islands did not want to eat cassava or maize, which they considered insubstantial, dangerous, and not nutritious. They much preferred foods from Spain, specifically wheat bread, olive oil, red wine, and meat, and considered maize and cassava damaging to Europeans. The cultivation and consumption of cassava were nonetheless continued in both Portuguese and Spanish America. Mass production of cassava bread became the first Cuban industry established by the Spanish. Ships departing to Europe from Cuban ports such as Havana, Santiago, Bayamo, and Baracoa carried goods to Spain, but sailors needed to be provisioned for the voyage. The Spanish also needed to replenish their boats with dried meat, water, fruit, and large amounts of cassava bread. Sailors complained that it caused them digestive problems. Tropical Cuban weather was not suitable for wheat planting and cassava would not go stale as quickly as regular bread.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava was introduced to Africa by Portuguese traders from Brazil in the 16th century. Around the same period, it was also introduced to Asia through Columbian Exchange by Portuguese and Spanish traders, planted in their colonies in Goa, Malacca, Eastern Indonesia, Timor and the Philippines. Maize and cassava are now important staple foods, replacing native African crops in places such as Tanzania. Cassava has also become an important crop in Asia. While it is a valued food staple in parts of eastern Indonesia, it is primarily cultivated for starch extraction and bio-fuel production in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Cassava is sometimes described as the "bread of the tropics" but should not be confused with the tropical and equatorial bread tree "(Encephalartos)", the breadfruit "(Artocarpus altilis)" or the African breadfruit "(Treculia africana)". This description definitely holds in Africa and parts of South America; in Asian countries such as Vietnam fresh cassava barely features in human diets.


title: Cassava

text: There is a legend that cassava was introduced in 1880–1885 CE to the South Indian state of Kerala by the King of Travancore, Vishakham Thirunal Maharaja, after a great famine hit the kingdom, as a substitute for rice. However, there are documented cases of cassava cultivation in parts of the state before the time of Vishakham Thirunal Maharaja. Cassava is called kappa or maricheeni in Malayalam. It is also referred to as tapioca in Indian English usage.


title: Cassava

text: A major cause of losses during cassava storage is infestation by insects. A wide range of species that feed directly on dried cassava chips have been reported as a major factor in spoiling stored cassava, with losses between 19% and 30% of the harvested produce. In Africa, a previous issue was the cassava mealybug ("Phenacoccus manihoti") and cassava green mite ("Mononychellus tanajoa"). These pests can cause up to 80 percent crop loss, which is extremely detrimental to the production of subsistence farmers. These pests were rampant in the 1970s and 1980s but were brought under control following the establishment of the Biological Control Centre for Africa of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the leadership of Hans Rudolf Herren. The Centre investigated biological control for cassava pests; two South American natural enemies "Anagyrus lopezi" (a parasitoid wasp) and "Typhlodromalus aripo" (a predatory mite) were found to effectively control the cassava mealybug and the cassava green mite, respectively.


title: Cassava

text: Several viruses are of economic importance. The African cassava mosaic virus causes the leaves of the cassava plant to wither, limiting the growth of the root. An outbreak of the virus in Africa in the 1920s led to a major famine. The virus is spread by the whitefly and by the transplanting of diseased plants into new fields. Sometime in the late-1980s, a mutation occurred in Uganda that made the virus even more harmful, causing the complete loss of leaves. This mutated virus spread at a rate of per year, and as of 2005 was found throughout Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Altogether viruses are a severe production limitation in the tropics. They are the primary reason for the complete lack of yield increases in the 25 years .


title: Cassava

text: Cassava brown streak virus disease has been identified as a major threat to cultivation worldwide. Cassava mosaic virus (CMV) is widespread in Africa, causing cassava mosaic disease (CMD). Bredeson et al 2016 find the "M. esculenta" cultivars most widely used on that continent have "M. carthaginensis" subsp. "glaziovii" genes of which some appear to be CMD resistance genes. Although the ongoing CMD pandemic affects both East- and Central- Africa, Legg "et al.", 2014 finds these two areas have two distinct subpopulations of the vector, "Bemisia tabaci" whiteflies.


title: Cassava

text: A wide range of plant parasitic nematodes have been reported associated with cassava worldwide. These include "Pratylenchus brachyurus", "Rotylenchulus reniformis", "Helicotylenchus" spp., "Scutellonema" spp. and "Meloidogyne" spp., of which "Meloidogyne incognita" and "Meloidogyne javanica" are the most widely reported and economically important. "Meloidogyne" spp. feeding produces physically damaging galls with eggs inside them. Galls later merge as the females grow and enlarge, and they interfere with water and nutrient supply. Cassava roots become tough with age and restrict the movement of the juveniles and the egg release. It is therefore possible that extensive galling can be observed even at low densities following infection. Other pests and diseases can gain entry through the physical damage caused by gall formation, leading to rots. They have not been shown to cause direct damage to the enlarged storage roots, but plants can have reduced height if there was loss of enlarged root weight.


title: Cassava

text: Research on nematode pests of cassava is still in the early stages; results on the response of cassava is, therefore, not consistent, ranging from negligible to seriously damaging. Since nematodes have such a seemingly erratic distribution in cassava agricultural fields, it is not easy to clearly define the level of direct damage attributed to nematodes and thereafter quantify the success of a chosen management method.


title: Cassava

text: The use of nematicides has been found to result in lower numbers of galls per feeder root compared to a control, coupled with a lower number of rots in the storage roots. The organophosphorus nematicide femaniphos, when used, did not affect crop growth and yield parameter variables measured at harvest. Nematicide use in cassava is not terribly effective at increasing harvested yield, but lower infestation at harvest and lower subsequent storage loss provide a higher effective yield. The use of tolerant and resistant cultivars is the most practical management method in most locales.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is harvested by hand by raising the lower part of the stem, pulling the roots out of the ground, and removing them from the base of the plant. The upper parts of the stems with the leaves are plucked off before harvest. Cassava is propagated by cutting the stem into sections of approximately 15 cm, these being planted prior to the wet season.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava growth is favorable under temperatures ranging from , but it can tolerate temperatures as low as and as high as .


title: Cassava

text: Cassava undergoes post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) once the tubers are separated from the main plant. The tubers, when damaged, normally respond with a healing mechanism. However, the same mechanism, which involves coumaric acids, starts about 15 minutes after damage, and fails to switch off in harvested tubers. It continues until the entire tuber is oxidized and blackened within two to three days after harvest, rendering it unpalatable and useless. PPD is related to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) initiated by cyanide release during mechanical harvesting. Cassava shelf life may be increased up to three weeks by overexpressing a cyanide insensitive alternative oxidase, which suppressed ROS by 10-fold. PPD is one of the main obstacles preventing farmers from exporting cassavas abroad and generating income. Fresh cassava can be preserved like potato, using thiabendazole or bleach as a fungicide, then wrapping in plastic, coating in wax or freezing.


title: Cassava

text: While alternative methods for PPD control have been proposed, such as preventing ROS effects by use of plastic bags during storage and transport, coating the roots with wax, or freezing roots, such strategies have proved to be economically or technically impractical, leading to breeding of cassava varieties more tolerant to PPD and with improved durability after harvest. Plant breeding has resulted in different strategies for cassava tolerance to PPD. One was induced by mutagenic levels of gamma rays, which putatively silenced one of the genes involved in PPD genesis, while another was a group of high-carotene clones in which the antioxidant properties of carotenoids are postulated to protect the roots from PPD.


title: Cassava

text: In 2020, global production of cassava root was 303 million tonnes, with Nigeria as the world's largest producer, producing 20% of the world total (table). Other major growers were Democratic Republic of the Congo and Thailand.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, can be successfully grown on marginal soils, and gives reasonable yields where many other crops do not grow well. Cassava is well adapted within latitudes 30° north and south of the equator, at elevations between sea level and above sea level, in equatorial temperatures, with rainfalls from annually, and to poor soils with a pH ranging from acidic to alkaline. These conditions are common in certain parts of Africa and South America.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is a highly productive crop when considering food energy produced per unit land area per day – , as compared with for rice, for wheat and for maize.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava roots, peels and leaves should not be consumed raw because they contain two cyanogenic glucosides, linamarin and lotaustralin. These are decomposed by linamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava, liberating hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Cassava varieties are often categorized as either bitter or sweet, signifying the presence or absence of toxic levels of cyanogenic glucosides, respectively. The so-called sweet (more accurately non-bitter) cultivars can produce as little as 20 milligrams of cyanide (CN) per kilogram of fresh roots, whereas bitter ones may produce more than 50 times as much (1 g/kg). Cassavas grown during drought are especially high in these toxins. A dose of 25 mg of pure cassava cyanogenic glucoside, which contains 2.5 mg of cyanide, is sufficient to kill a rat. Excess cyanide residue from improper preparation is known to cause acute cyanide intoxication, and goiters, and has been linked to ataxia (a neurological disorder affecting the ability to walk, also known as "konzo"). It has also been linked to tropical calcific pancreatitis in humans, leading to chronic pancreatitis.


title: Cassava

text: Symptoms of acute cyanide intoxication appear four or more hours after ingesting raw or poorly processed cassava: vertigo, vomiting, and collapse. In some cases, death may result within one or two hours. It can be treated easily with an injection of thiosulfate (which makes sulfur available for the patient's body to detoxify by converting the poisonous cyanide into thiocyanate).


title: Cassava

text: "Chronic, low-level cyanide exposure is associated with the development of goiter and with tropical ataxic neuropathy, a nerve-damaging disorder that renders a person unsteady and uncoordinated. Severe cyanide poisoning, particularly during famines, is associated with outbreaks of a debilitating, irreversible paralytic disorder called konzo and, in some cases, death. The incidence of konzo and tropical ataxic neuropathy can be as high as three percent in some areas."


title: Cassava

text: During the shortages in Venezuela in the late 2010s, dozens of deaths were reported due to Venezuelans resorting to eating bitter cassava in order to curb starvation. Cases of cassava poisoning were also documented during the famine accompanying the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) in China.


title: Cassava

text: Societies that traditionally eat cassava generally understand that some processing (soaking, cooking, fermentation, etc.) is necessary to avoid getting sick. Brief soaking (four hours) of cassava is not sufficient, but soaking for 18–24 hours can remove up to half the level of cyanide. Drying may not be sufficient, either.


title: Cassava

text: For some smaller-rooted, sweet varieties, cooking is sufficient to eliminate all toxicity. The cyanide is carried away in the processing water and the amounts produced in domestic consumption are too small to have environmental impact. The larger-rooted, bitter varieties used for production of flour or starch must be processed to remove the cyanogenic glucosides. The large roots are peeled and then ground into flour, which is then soaked in water, squeezed dry several times, and toasted. The starch grains that flow with the water during the soaking process are also used in cooking. The flour is used throughout South America and the Caribbean. Industrial production of cassava flour, even at the cottage level, may generate enough cyanide and cyanogenic glycosides in the effluents to have a severe environmental impact.


title: Cassava

text: Alcoholic beverages made from cassava include cauim and tiquira (Brazil), kasiri (Guyana, Suriname), impala (Mozambique), masato (Peruvian Amazonia chicha), parakari or kari (Guyana), nihamanchi (South America) also known as (Ecuador and Peru), ö döi (chicha de yuca, Ngäbe-Bugle, Panama), sakurá (Brazil, Suriname), and tarul ko (Darjeeling, Sikkim, India).


title: Cassava

text: Cassava-based dishes are widely consumed wherever the plant is cultivated; some have regional, national, or ethnic importance. Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is eaten.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava can be cooked in many ways. The root of the sweet variety has a delicate flavor and can replace potatoes. It is used in cholent in some households. It can be made into a flour that is used in breads, cakes and cookies. In Brazil, detoxified cassava is ground and cooked to a dry, often hard or crunchy meal known as "farofa" used as a condiment, toasted in butter, or eaten alone as a side dish.


title: Cassava

text: A safe processing method known as the "wetting method" is to mix the cassava flour with water into a thick paste, spread it in a thin layer over a basket and then let it stand for five hours at 30 °C in the shade. In that time, about 83% of the cyanogenic glycosides are broken down by the linamarase; the resulting hydrogen cyanide escapes to the atmosphere, making the flour safe for consumption the same evening.


title: Cassava

text: The traditional method used in West Africa is to peel the roots and put them into water for three days to ferment. The roots are then dried or cooked. In Nigeria and several other west African countries, including Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, they are usually grated and lightly fried in palm oil to preserve them. The result is a foodstuff called "gari". Fermentation is also used in other places such as Indonesia (see Tapai). The fermentation process also reduces the level of antinutrients, making the cassava a more nutritious food. The reliance on cassava as a food source and the resulting exposure to the goitrogenic effects of thiocyanate has been responsible for the endemic goiters seen in the Akoko area of southwestern Nigeria.


title: Cassava

text: A project called "BioCassava Plus" uses bioengineering to grow cassava with lower cyanogenic glycosides combined with fortification of vitamin A, iron and protein to improve the nutrition of people in sub-Saharan Africa.


title: Cassava

text: Raw cassava is 60% water, 38% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and has negligible fat (table). In a reference serving, raw cassava provides of food energy and 25% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C, but otherwise has no micronutrients in significant content (i.e. above 10% of the relevant DV). Cooked cassava starch has a digestibility of over 75%.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava, like other foods, also has antinutritional and toxic factors. Of particular concern are the cyanogenic glucosides of cassava (linamarin and lotaustralin). On hydrolysis, these release hydrogen cyanide (HCN). The presence of cyanide in cassava is of concern for human and for animal consumption. The concentration of these antinutritional and unsafe glycosides varies considerably between varieties and also with climatic and cultural conditions. Selection of cassava species to be grown, therefore, is quite important. Once harvested, bitter cassava must be treated and prepared properly prior to human or animal consumption, while sweet cassava can be used after boiling.


title: Cassava

text: A comparative table shows that cassava is a good energy source. In its prepared forms, in which its toxic or unpleasant components have been reduced to acceptable levels, it contains an extremely high proportion of starch compared to most staples. However, cassava is a poorer dietary source of protein and most other essential nutrients. Though an important staple, its main value is as a component of a balanced diet.


title: Cassava

text: Comparisons between the nutrient content of cassava and other major staple foods when raw must be interpreted with caution because most staples are not edible in such forms and many are indigestible, even dangerously poisonous or otherwise harmful. For consumption, each must be prepared and cooked as appropriate.


title: Cassava

text: In many countries, significant research has begun to evaluate the use of cassava as an ethanol biofuel feedstock. Under the Development Plan for Renewable Energy in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan in the People's Republic of China, the target was to increase the production of ethanol fuel from nongrain feedstock to two million tonnes, and that of biodiesel to 200 thousand tonnes by 2010. This is equivalent to the replacement of 10 million tonnes of petroleum. This push for non-grain ethanol was further increased to a goal of 300 million tons of cellulosic and non-grain based ethanol combined by 2020. As a result, cassava (tapioca) chips have gradually become a major source of ethanol production. On 22 December 2007, the largest cassava ethanol fuel production facility was completed in Beihai, with annual output of 200 thousand tons, which would need an average of 1.5 million tons of cassava. In November 2008, China-based Hainan Yedao Group invested US$51.5 million in a new biofuel facility that is expected to produce a year of bioethanol from cassava plants.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava tubers and hay are used worldwide as animal feed. Cassava hay is harvested at a young growth stage (three to four months) when it reaches about above ground; it is then sun-dried for one to two days until its final dry matter content approaches 85 percent. Cassava hay contains high protein (20–27 percent crude protein) and condensed tannins (1.5–4 percent CP). It is valued as a good roughage source for ruminants such as cattle.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava is also used in a number of commercially available laundry products, especially as starch for shirts and other garments. Using cassava starch diluted in water and spraying it over fabrics before ironing helps stiffen collars.


title: Cassava

text: Cassava, yams ("Dioscorea" spp.), and sweet potatoes ("Ipomoea batatas") are important sources of food in the tropics. The cassava plant gives the third-highest yield of carbohydrates per cultivated area among crop plants, after sugarcane and sugar beets. Cassava plays a particularly important role in agriculture in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, because it does well on poor soils and with low rainfall, and because it is a perennial that can be harvested as required. Its wide harvesting window allows it to act as a famine reserve and is invaluable in managing labor schedules. It offers flexibility to resource-poor farmers because it serves as either a subsistence or a cash crop.


title: Cassava

text: Worldwide, 800 million people depend on cassava as their primary food staple. No continent depends as much on root and tuber crops in feeding its population as does Africa. In the humid and sub-humid areas of tropical Africa, it is either a primary staple food or a secondary costaple. In Ghana, for example, cassava and yams occupy an important position in the agricultural economy and contribute about 46 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product. Cassava accounts for a daily caloric intake of 30 percent in Ghana and is grown by nearly every farming family. The importance of cassava to many Africans is epitomised in the Ewe (a language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin) name for the plant, "agbeli", meaning "there is life".


title: Cassava

text: In Tamil Nadu, India, there are many cassava processing factories alongside National Highway 68 between Thalaivasal and Attur. Cassava is widely cultivated and eaten as a staple food in Andhra Pradesh and in Kerala. In Assam it is an important source of carbohydrates especially for natives of hilly areas.


title: Cassava

text: In the subtropical region of southern China, cassava is the fifth-largest crop in terms of production, after rice, sweet potato, sugar cane, and maize. China is also the largest export market for cassava produced in Vietnam and Thailand. Over 60 percent of cassava production in China is concentrated in a single province, Guangxi, averaging over seven million tonnes annually.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writer or director. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play "Buried Child" and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in the 1983 film "The Right Stuff". He received the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award as a master American dramatist in 2009. "New York" magazine described Shepard as "the greatest American playwright of his generation."


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard's plays are known for their bleak, poetic, surrealist elements, black comedy, and rootless characters living on the outskirts of American society. His style evolved from the absurdism of his early off-off-Broadway work to the realism of later plays like "Buried Child" and "Curse of the Starving Class".


title: Sam Shepard

text: Sam Shepard was born on November 5, 1943, in the Chicago suburb of Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was named Samuel Shepard Rogers III after his father, Samuel Shepard Rogers Jr. (1917–1984), but was called Steve Rogers.


title: Sam Shepard

text: His father was a teacher and farmer who served in the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber pilot during World War II. Shepard characterized his father as "a drinking man, a dedicated alcoholic". His mother, Jane Elaine, was a teacher and a native of Chicago.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard worked on a ranch as a teenager. After graduating from Duarte High School in Duarte, California, in 1961, he briefly studied animal husbandry at nearby Mt. San Antonio College. While at college, Shepard became enamored of Samuel Beckett, jazz, and abstract expressionism. He dropped out to join the Bishop's Company, a touring repertory group.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard moved to New York City in 1963 and found work as a busboy at the Village Gate nightclub. The following year, the Village Gate's head waiter, Ralph Cook, founded the experimental stage company Theater Genesis, housed at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in Manhattan. Two of Shepard's earliest one-act plays, "The Rock Garden" and "Cowboys", debuted at Theater Genesis in October 1964. It was around this time that Steve Rogers adopted the professional name Sam Shepard.


title: Sam Shepard

text: In 1965, Shepard's one-act plays "Dog" and "The Rocking Chair" were produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. These were the first of many productions of Shepard's work at La MaMa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In 1967, Tom O'Horgan directed Shepard's "Melodrama Play" alongside Leonard Melfi's "Times Square" and Rochelle Owens' "Futz" at La MaMa. In 1969, Jeff Bleckner directed Shepard's play "The Unseen Hand" at La MaMa. "The Unseen Hand" later influenced Richard O'Brien's musical "The Rocky Horror Show". Bleckner then directed "The Unseen Hand" alongside "Forensic and the Navigators" at the nearby Astor Place Theater in 1970.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard's play "Shaved Splits" was directed at La MaMa in 1970 by Bill Hart. Seth Allen directed "Melodrama Play" at La MaMa the following year. In 1981, Tony Barsha directed "The Unseen Hand" at La MaMa. The production then transferred to the Provincetown Playhouse and ran for over 100 performances. Syracuse Stage co-produced "The Tooth of Crime" at La MaMa in 1983. Also in 1983, the Overtone Theatre and New Writers at the Westside co-produced Shepard's plays "Superstitions" and "The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife" at La MaMa. John Densmore performed in his own play "Skins" and Shepard and Joseph Chaikin's play "Tongues", directed as a double bill by Tony Abatemarco, at La MaMa in 1984. Nicholas Swyrydenko directed a production of "Geography of a Horse Dreamer" at La MaMa in 1985.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Several of Shepard's early plays, including "Red Cross" (1966) and "La Turista" (1967), were directed by Jacques Levy. A patron of the Chelsea Hotel scene, he also contributed to Kenneth Tynan's "Oh! Calcutta!" (1969) and drummed sporadically from 1967 through 1971 with the band The Holy Modal Rounders, appearing on their albums "Indian War Whoop" (1967) and "The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders" (1968). After winning six Obie Awards between 1966 and 1968, Shepard emerged as a screenwriter with Robert Frank's "Me and My Brother" (1968) and Michelangelo Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point" (1970).


title: Sam Shepard

text: "Cowboy Mouth", a collaboration with his then-lover Patti Smith, was staged at The American Place Theatre in April 1971, providing early exposure for Smith, who became a well-known musician. The story and characters in "Cowboy Mouth" were inspired by Shepard and Smith's relationship. After opening night, he abandoned the production and fled to New England without a word to anyone involved.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shortly thereafter, Shepard relocated with his wife and son to London. While in London, he immersed himself in the study of G.I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way, a recurring preoccupation for much of his life. Returning to the United States in 1975, he moved to the 20-acre Flying Y Ranch in Mill Valley, California, where he raised a young colt named Drum and rode double with his young son on an appaloosa named Cody. Shepard continued to write plays and served for a semester as Regents' Professor of Drama at the University of California, Davis.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard accompanied Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975 as the screenwriter for "Renaldo and Clara" that emerged from the tour. However, because much of the film was improvised, Shepard's work was seldom used. "Rolling Thunder Logbook", his diary of the tour, was published in 1978. A decade later, Dylan and Shepard co-wrote the 11-minute song "Brownsville Girl", included on Dylan's 1986 album "Knocked Out Loaded" and on later compilations.


title: Sam Shepard

text: In 1975, Shepard was named playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, where he created many of his notable works, including his "Family Trilogy". One of the plays in the trilogy, "Buried Child" (1978), won the Pulitzer Prize, and was nominated for five Tony Awards. This marked a major turning point in his career, heralding some of his best-known work, including "True West" (1980), "Fool for Love" (1983), and "A Lie of the Mind" (1985). A comic tale of reunion, in which a young man drops in on his grandfather's Illinois farmstead only to be greeted with indifference by his relations, "Buried Child" saw Shepard stake a claim to the psychological terrain of classic American theater. "True West" and "Fool for Love" were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Some critics have expanded the trilogy to a quintet, including "Fool for Love" and "A Lie of the Mind". Shepard won a record-setting 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing between 1966 and 1984.


title: Sam Shepard

text: In 2010, "A Lie of the Mind" was revived in New York at the same time as Shepard's new play "Ages of the Moon" opened there. Reflecting on the two plays, Shepard said that the older play felt "awkward", adding, "All of the characters are in a fractured place, broken into pieces, and the pieces don't really fit together," while the newer play "is like a Porsche. It's sleek, it does exactly what you want it to do, and it can speed up but also shows off great brakes." The revival and the new play also coincided with the publication of Shepard's collection "Day out of Days: Stories". The book includes "short stories, poems and narrative sketches... that developed from dozens of leather-bound notebooks [Shepard] carried with him over the years."


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard began his film acting career when cast in a major role as the land baron in Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (1978), opposite Richard Gere and Brooke Adams. This led to other important film roles, including that of Cal, Ellen Burstyn's character's love interest in "Resurrection" (1980), and, most notably, Shepard's portrayal of Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff" (1983). The latter performance earned Shepard an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. By 1986, "Fool for Love" was adapted by Robert Altman with Shepard in the lead role; "A Lie of the Mind" was being performed Off-Broadway (with Harvey Keitel and Geraldine Page); and Shepard was working steadily as a film actor. Together, these achievements put him on the cover of "Newsweek".


title: Sam Shepard

text: Over the years, Shepard taught extensively on playwriting and other aspects of theater. He gave classes and seminars at various theater workshops, festivals, and universities. Shepard was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1986, and was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1986. In 2000, Shepard demonstrated his gratitude to the Magic Theatre by staging "The Late Henry Moss" as a benefit for the theatre, in San Francisco. The cast included Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, and Cheech Marin. The limited, three-month run was sold out. In 2001, Shepard played General William F. Garrison in the film "Black Hawk Down". Although he was cast in a supporting role, Shepard enjoyed renewed interest in his talent for screen acting.


title: Sam Shepard

text: Shepard performed Spalding Gray's final monologue "Life Interrupted" for the audiobook version, released in 2006. In 2007, Shepard contributed banjo to Patti Smith's cover of Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on her album "Twelve". Although many artists had an influence on Shepard's work, one of the more significant was Joseph Chaikin, a veteran of The Living Theatre and founder of The Open Theater. The two worked together on various projects, and Shepard has stated that Chaikin was a valuable mentor.


title: Sam Shepard

text: In 2011, Shepard starred in the film "Blackthorn". His final film appearance is "Never Here", which premiered in June 2017 but had been filmed in 2014. Shepard also appeared in the television series "Bloodline" from 2014 to 2017.


title: Sam Shepard

text: At the beginning of his career, Shepard did not direct his own plays. His early plays had a number of different directors, but were most frequently directed by Ralph Cook, the founder of Theatre Genesis. Later, while living at the Flying Y Ranch, Shepard formed a successful playwright-director relationship with Robert Woodruff, who directed the premiere of "Buried Child" (1982). During the 1970s, Shepard decided that his vision for his plays required him to direct them himself. He directed many of his own plays from that point onward. With only a few exceptions, he did not direct plays by other playwrights. He also directed two films but reportedly did not see film directing as a major interest.