title: Funny Girl (film)

text: Jan Dawson of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "The story of the actress whose dramatic rise from rags to riches is accompanied by the discovery that suffering lies on the flip-side of success has provided the basis of many an American musical. But William Wyler manages to transcend the clichés of the genre and create—largely through Barbra Streisand's characterisation of Fanny Brice—a dramatic comedy in which the musical numbers illustrate the public aspect of the star's life without once interrupting the narrative."


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: David Parkinson of "Empire" rated the film four out of five stars in a retrospective review and called it "one of those films where it doesn't really matter what gets written here – you will have made your mind up about Babs one way or the other, but for the rare uninitiated, this is a fine introduction to her talents." It is "Funny Girl" that made Streisand a movie star, although it also gave her the reputation for being perfectionist and 'difficult'. According to film historian Jeanine Basinger, this film helped Streisand to be regarded as a "funny girl" in her own way, and not another actress who played Fanny Brice.


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: "Funny Girl" garnered eight Academy Award nominations, ultimately winning Streisand the Oscar as Best Actress for her film debut. Along with Columbia's other Best Picture nominee and eventual winner "Oliver!", the studio secured a combined total of nineteen Academy Award nominations, the most nominations for musicals from one studio in a year. Streisand won Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards, while "Funny Girl" garnered three additional nominations.


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: The film was released on region 1 DVD on October 23, 2001. A Blu-ray edition released on April 30, 2013 with the same bonus material as the DVD. The Blu-ray was concurrent with Streisand's then-recent film, "The Guilt Trip".


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: In her book "Talking Back: Images of Jewish Women in American Popular Culture", Joyce Antler writes that Streisand has created several rich images of a Jewish woman within film, "Funny Girl" being one of them. In "Funny Girl", Antler writes, During the time the film was made, Jewish women had the stereotype of being dependent upon men, yet Streisand tends to defy this stereotype.


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: "Hello, gorgeous" are the first words uttered by Streisand in the film. Upon winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, Streisand's first comment when handed the Oscar statuette was to look at the Oscar and say "Hello, gorgeous."


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: Since release, "Hello, gorgeous" has been referenced in several films. The line appeared as the name of the salon where Michelle Pfeiffer's character worked in "Married to the Mob". The line was also uttered by the character Max Bialystock in the 1967 film "The Producers" and its Broadway adaptation, but the inflection used by Zero Mostel is different from that used by Streisand. The line is also regularly peppered through popular culture.


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: Sean Harris may be known for playing darker characters in series such as "Southcliffe" or "The Borgias", but he says that he was inspired to become an actor when he saw Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl".


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: In 2005, the line was chosen as #81 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.


title: Funny Girl (film)

text: In 1975, Streisand reprised her role of Brice opposite James Caan as Brice's third husband, impresario Billy Rose, in a sequel entitled "Funny Lady". Production began in April 1974, the film premiered in March 1975 to mixed reviews from critics.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Fire in the Sky is a 1993 American biopic science fiction mystery film directed by Robert Lieberman and adapted by Tracy Tormé. It is based on Travis Walton's book "The Walton Experience", which describes an extraterrestrial abduction. The film stars D. B. Sweeney as Walton, and Robert Patrick as his best friend and future brother-in-law, Mike Rogers. James Garner, Craig Sheffer, Scott MacDonald, Henry Thomas and Peter Berg also star.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: "Fire in the Sky" grossed $19.9 million domestically on a $15 million budget and received mixed reviews. It was nominated for four Saturn Awards.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: On November 5, 1975 in Snowflake, Arizona, logger Travis Walton, and his co-workers — Mike Rogers, Allan Dallis, David Whitlock, Greg Hayes and Bobby Cogdill — head to work in the White Mountains.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Driving home from work, the loggers come across an unidentified flying object. Curious, Walton gets out of the truck and is struck by a bright beam of light from the object and is sent flying several feet backwards as if pushed by an unseen force. Fearing Walton has been killed, the others escape from the scene. Rogers decides to go back to the spot to retrieve Walton, but he is nowhere to be found. Making their way back to town to report the incident, the loggers are met with skepticism by investigators Sheriff Blake Davis and Lieutenant Frank Watters. Watters, realizing that there was a great deal of tension between Dallis and Walton and that Dallis has a criminal record, suspects foul play, a belief that quickly spreads to the rest of the town, leaving the loggers as social pariahs.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: After a large search party turns up no sign of Travis, the loggers are offered the chance to take a lie detector test. Though Dallis is initially hesitant, the loggers ultimately take the test in the hopes of proving their innocence. However, Watters declares that the tests were inconclusive and that they will have to return the next day to retake it. Rogers is outraged and he angrily declines, the other loggers following suit. The test's administrator reveals to Watters and Davis that, with the exception of Dallis (whose test results were inconclusive), the loggers seem to be telling the truth.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Five days later, Rogers receives a call from someone claiming to be Walton. He is found at a Heber gas station, alive but naked, dehydrated and incoherent. A ufologist questions Walton but he is thrown out and Walton is taken to a hospital. Rogers visits Walton while in the emergency room and ends up telling Walton that he left him after he was struck by the light but came back to get him. Walton appears enraged by this and turns away from Rogers who blames the whole incident on Walton for getting out of the truck. During a welcome home party, Walton suffers from a mental breakdown and flashback of the abduction by the extraterrestrials.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: In his flashback, he awakens inside a slimy cocoon. Breaking out of its membrane, he finds himself in a zero-gravity environment inside a cylindrical enclosure whose walls contain other similar cocoons and he is horrified to inadvertently discover that one contains the decomposing remains of a human body. As he makes his way to a neighboring area featuring what appear to be several humanoid space suits, he is apprehended by two extraterrestrial creatures. He is unwillingly hauled down corridors full of terrestrial detritus such as shoes and keys before arriving in a bizarre examination room. The aliens strip him of his clothes and cover him with an elastic material that pins him to a raised platform under an array of equipment and lights in the middle of the room. Despite Walton's terrified screams, the aliens pitilessly subject him to an experiment in which a gelatinous substance is shoved into his mouth, his jaw is clamped open, a device is inserted into his neck and he is forced to endure an ocular probe while fully conscious during the experience. Afterwards, Walton loses consciousness until finding himself back on Earth disoriented and severely traumatized.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: While interviewing Walton, Lieutenant Watters expresses his doubts about the abduction, dismissing it as merely a hoax. He notes Walton's newfound celebrity because of the tabloids' attempts to profit from his tale, believing that he had faked the abduction to become a celebrity. However, with the investigation closed, Watters is forced to abandon his pursuit and leaves town. Two and a half years later, Walton visits Rogers, now a recluse, and the two reconcile. The closing titles inform that in 1993, Walton, Rogers, and Dallis were resubmitted to additional polygraph examinations, which they passed, corroborating their innocence.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: The film is based on the book "The Walton Experience" by Travis Walton. In the book, Walton tells of how he was abducted by a UFO. Walton's original book was later re-released as "Fire in the Sky" () to promote the book's connection to the film. The real Travis Walton and his wife, Dana Walton, have a brief cameo in the film.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: The film's alien abduction scenes bear almost no resemblance to Walton's actual claims. Scriptwriter Tracy Tormé reported that executives found Walton's account boring, and insisted on the changes. Director Robert Lieberman suspected Travis Walton's account was a hoax, saying: "My gut feeling had it that Travis was so much smarter than those other guys, that it started out as a gag. They probably laced their beer at the end of the day with a little acid or something and then they put on a show for these guys and they believed it."


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Cast members Scott MacDonald, who played Dan Walton, and Robert Patrick, who played Mike Rogers, spent time with their counterparts. Patrick, who felt typecast in villainous roles following "", gained weight and grew a beard for the audition. He later found out that he was related to his character: "Lo and behold, when I contacted the Mormons in my family, I found out through marriage, I am related to Mike Rogers. And I was like, ‘I am?!’ I called him, we spoke, I asked him specifically about how he was feeling during all this. I wanted to know his emotions. And he said to me during the abduction and the subsequent conversations afterward, that he could not control his emotion. And I tried to utilize that during the film."


title: Fire in the Sky

text: The special effects in the film were coordinated by Industrial Light & Magic, and the cinematography was handled by Bill Pope. The original music score was composed and arranged by Mark Isham. The audio soundtrack was released in compact disc format on March 30, 1993 by Varèse Sarabande. An expanded limited edition CD set of the soundtrack was released by La-La Land Records on March 11, 2022, followed by a cassette release by Terror Vision Records on August 19.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: "Fire in the Sky" met with generally favorable reviews. John Ferguson of the "Radio Times" wrote, "Lieberman wisely concentrates on the emotional impact of the event on a close-knit circle of friends and family, although the eventual revelation of the abduction is genuinely scary. D. B. Sweeney shines in the lead role and there's good support." "Entertainment Weekly" journalist Owen Gleiberman suggested that "It almost doesn't matter if you don't believe any of this stuff. For a few queasy minutes, "Fire in the Sky" lets you meditate on the aliens in your imagination." Critic Roger Ebert said, "The scenes inside the craft are really very good. They convincingly depict a reality I haven't seen in the movies before, and for once I did believe that I was seeing something truly alien, and not just a set decorator's daydreams." However, he felt that "there's not enough detail about the aliens, and the movie ends on an inconclusive and frustrating note."


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Chris Hicks of the "Deseret News" found that "Fire in the Sky" "leans in favor of believers, suggesting that all of this really did happen. And some of it is fairly entertaining." However, he disliked the film's sober tone and would have preferred it be "more humorous or satirical, without necessarily sacrificing the sense that these characters believe it all." Critic James Berardinelli applauded the "stunning, gut-wrenching realism" of the abduction scenes, but called the film a "muddled-up mess" that "can't make up its mind whether it wants to be horror, drama or science-fiction." "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz were impressed by Patrick's performance in the film, which led to his casting Patrick as FBI Special Agent John Doggett for the series' eighth season in 2000.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: Critical opinion of "Fire in the Sky" settled into a mixed range: the film holds a 45% approval rating at review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 appraisals, with an average score of 5.1/10. Nonetheless, its alien abduction scenes are considered by many to be highly effective. In 2017, "Paste" named "Fire in the Sky" as one of the 25 best science fiction films on Netflix.


title: Fire in the Sky

text: "Fire in the Sky" was nominated for four Saturn Awards: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Writing, Best Music, and for Patrick, Best Actor.


title: Chi Rho

text: The Chi Rho (; also known as "chrismon") is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word (Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi.


title: Chi Rho

text: The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337 AD) as part of a military standard (vexillum). Constantine's standard was known as the Labarum. Early symbols similar to the Chi Rho were the Staurogram () and the IX monogram ().


title: Chi Rho

text: In pre-Christian times, the Chi-Rho symbol was also used to mark a particularly valuable or relevant passage in the margin of a page, abbreviating "chrēston" (good). Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246–222 BC) were marked with a Chi-Rho.


title: Chi Rho

text: Although formed of Greek characters, the device (or its separate parts) is frequently found serving as an abbreviation in Latin text, with endings added appropriate to a Latin noun, thus "XPo", signifying "Christo", “to Christ”, the dative form of "Christus", or "", signifying "Christicola", “Christian”, in the Latin lyrics of "Sumer is icumen in".


title: Chi Rho

text: According to Lactantius, a Latin historian of North African origins saved from poverty by the Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337), who made him tutor to his son Crispus, Constantine had dreamt of being ordered to put a "heavenly divine symbol" () on the shields of his soldiers. The description of the actual symbol chosen by Emperor Constantine the next morning, as reported by Lactantius, is not very clear: it closely resembles a Tau-Rho or a staurogram (), a similar Christian symbol. That very day Constantine's army fought the forces of Maxentius and won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312), outside Rome.


title: Chi Rho

text: Eusebius of Caesarea (died in 339) gave two different accounts of the events. In his church history, written shortly after the battle, when Eusebius hadn't yet had contact with Constantine, he doesn't mention any dream or vision, but compares the defeat of Maxentius (drowned in the Tiber) to that of the biblical pharaoh and credits Constantine's victory to divine protection.


title: Chi Rho

text: In a memoir of the Roman emperor that Eusebius wrote after Constantine's death ("On the Life of Constantine", circa 337–339), a miraculous appearance is said to have come in Gaul long before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. In this later version, the Roman emperor had been pondering the misfortunes that befell commanders who invoked the help of many different gods, and decided to seek divine aid in the forthcoming battle from the One God. At noon, Constantine saw a cross of light imposed over the sun. Attached to it, in Greek characters, was the saying "Ev tούτῳ Νίκα!" (“In this, conquer!”). Not only Constantine, but the whole army saw the miracle. That night, Christ appeared to the Roman emperor in a dream and told him to make a replica of the sign he had seen in the sky, which would be a sure defence in battle.


title: Chi Rho

text: Eusebius wrote in the "Vita" that Constantine himself had told him this story "and confirmed it with oaths" late in life "when I was deemed worthy of his acquaintance and company." "Indeed", says Eusebius, "had anyone else told this story, it would not have been easy to accept it."


title: Chi Rho

text: Eusebius also left a description of the labarum, the military standard which incorporated the Chi-Rho sign, used by Emperor Constantine in his later wars against Licinius.


title: Chi Rho

text: An early visual representation of the connection between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection, seen in the 4th century sarcophagus of Domitilla in Rome, the use of a wreath around the Chi-Rho symbolizes the victory of the Resurrection over death.


title: Chi Rho

text: After Constantine, the Chi-Rho became part of the official imperial insignia. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence demonstrating that the Chi-Rho was emblazoned on the helmets of some Late Roman soldiers. Coins and medallions minted during Emperor Constantine's reign also bore the Chi-Rho. By the year 350, the Chi-Rho began to be used on Christian sarcophagi and frescoes. The usurper Magnentius appears to have been the first to use the Chi-Rho monogram flanked by Alpha and Omega, on the reverse of some coins minted in 353. In Roman Britannia, a tesselated mosaic pavement was uncovered at Hinton St. Mary, Dorset, in 1963. On stylistic grounds, it is dated to the 4th century; its central roundel represents a beardless male head and bust draped in a "pallium" in front of the Chi-Rho symbol, flanked by pomegranates, symbols of eternal life. Another Romano-British Chi-Rho, in fresco, was found at the site of a villa at Lullingstone (illustrated). The symbol was also found on Late Roman Christian signet rings in Britain.


title: Chi Rho

text: In 2020, archaeologists discovered in Vindolanda in northern England a 5th-century chalice covered in religious iconography, including the Chi-Rho.


title: Chi Rho

text: In Insular Gospel books, the beginning of Matthew 1:18, at the end of his account of the genealogy of Christ and introducing his account of the life, so representing the moment of the Incarnation of Christ, was usually marked with a heavily decorated page, where the letters of the first word "Christi" are abbreviated and written in Greek as "XPI", and often almost submerged by decoration. Though the letters are written one after the other and the "X" and "P" not combined in a monogram, these are known as Chi-Rho pages.


title: Chi Rho

text: Famous examples are in the Book of Kells and Book of Lindisfarne. The "X" was regarded as the "crux decussata", a symbol of the cross; this idea is found in the works of Isidore of Seville and other patristic and Early Medieval writers. The Book of Kells has a second Chi-Rho abbreviation on folio 124 in the account of the Crucifixion of Christ, and in some manuscripts the Chi-Rho occurs at the beginning of Matthew rather than mid-text at Matthew 1:18. In some other works like the Carolingian Godescalc Evangelistary, "XPS" in sequential letters, representing "Christus" is given a prominent place.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Initially active from 1979 to 1986, Dead Kennedys were known for rapid-fire music topped with Biafra's sardonic lyrics and biting social commentary, delivered in his "unique quiver of a voice". When the band broke up in 1986, he took over the influential independent record label Alternative Tentacles, which he had founded in 1979 with Dead Kennedys bandmate East Bay Ray. In a 2000 lawsuit, upheld on appeal in 2003 by the California Supreme Court, Biafra was found liable for breach of contract, fraud and malice in withholding a decade's worth of royalties from his former bandmates and ordered to pay over $200,000 in compensation and punitive damages; the band subsequently reformed without Biafra. Although now focused primarily on spoken word performances, Biafra has continued as a musician in numerous collaborations. He has also occasionally appeared in cameo roles in films.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Politically, Biafra is a member of the Green Party of the United States and supports various political causes. He ran for the party's presidential nomination in the 2000 presidential election, finishing a distant second to Ralph Nader. In 1979 he ran for mayor of San Francisco, California. He is a staunch believer in a free society, and utilizes shock value and advocates direct action and pranksterism in the name of political causes. Biafra is known to use absurdist media tactics, in the leftist tradition of the Yippies, to highlight issues of civil rights and social justice.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Eric Reed Boucher was born in Boulder, Colorado, the son of Virginia (née Parker), a librarian, and Stanley Wayne Boucher, a psychiatric social worker and poet. His sister, Julie J. Boucher, was Associate Director of the Library Research Service at the Colorado State Library; she died in a mountain-climbing accident on October 12, 1996. He has a Jewish great-grandparent, but was unaware of this until he was in his mid 40s. Due to his secular upbringing and lack of knowledge of his distant Jewish ancestry until adulthood, he does not consider himself Jewish.


title: Jello Biafra

text: As a child, Boucher developed an interest in international politics that was encouraged by his parents. An avid news watcher, one of his earliest memories was of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Boucher became a fan of rock music after first hearing it in 1965, when his parents accidentally tuned in to a rock radio station. As a teenager, his high school guidance counselor advised him to spend his adolescence preparing to become a dental hygienist.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 1977, he served as a roadie for a local band called The Ravers (who later changed their name to The Nails), helping set up their equipment at shows, including as an opener for the Ramones. The job ended shortly after the Ramones show, when The Ravers were offered a record contract and left Colorado. Boucher credits seeing Joey Ramone as inspiration to become a singer, and the Ramones lyrics for inspiring the use of humor in his own songs.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Shortly after graduating high school, he formed a band called The Healers, with John Greenway and an unknown third member. Boucher has described The Healers music as "banging on instruments we didn't know how to play when our parents weren't home". While never playing a show, the band made recordings, including an early version of "California Über Alles", but did not want any of it to be released to the public. Some of their music was made available on a 2009 compilation of late 1970s Colorado punk bands titled "Rocky Mountain Low", including the original version of "California Über Alles", which Maximum Rocknroll described as experimental improv in their review.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Boucher left Boulder to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, but dropped out after the first quarter of the school year.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In June 1978, Boucher responded to an advertisement placed in a store by guitarist East Bay Ray, stating "guitarist wants to form punk band", and together they formed the Dead Kennedys. He began performing with the band under the stage name Occupant, but soon began to use the stage name Jello Biafra, a combination of the brand name Jell-O and the short-lived African state Biafra. The band's lyrics were written by Biafra. The lyrics were mostly political in nature and displayed a sardonic, sometimes absurdist, sense of humor despite their serious subject matter. In the tradition of UK anarcho-punk bands like Crass and the Subhumans, the Dead Kennedys were one of the first US punk bands to write politically themed songs.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra initially attempted to compose music on guitar, but his lack of experience on the instrument and his own admission of being "a fumbler with my hands" led Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Flouride to suggest that Biafra simply sing the parts he envisioned to the band.<ref name="re/search">V. Vale, "Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 2", RE/Search Publications, 1995</ref> Biafra sang his riffs and melodies into a tape recorder, which he brought to the band's rehearsal and/or recording sessions. This later became a problem when the other members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra over royalties and publishing rights. By all accounts, including his own, Biafra is not a conventionally skilled musician, though he and his collaborators (Joey Shithead of D.O.A. in particular) attest that he is a skilled composer and his work, particularly with the Dead Kennedys, is highly respected by punk-oriented critics and fans.


title: Jello Biafra

text: The first single by Dead Kennedys was their version of "California über alles". The song, which spoofed California governor Jerry Brown, was the first of many political songs by the group and Biafra. Its popularity resulted in being covered by other musicians, such as The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (who rewrote the lyrics to parody Pete Wilson), John Linnell of They Might Be Giants and Six Feet Under on their "Graveyard Classics" album of cover versions. Not long after, the Dead Kennedys had a second and bigger hit with "Holiday in Cambodia" from their debut album "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables". "AllMusic" cites this song as "possibly the most successful single of the American hardcore scene" and Biafra counts it as his personal favorite Dead Kennedy's song. Minor hits from the album included "Kill the Poor" (about potential abuse of the then-new neutron bomb) and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas".


title: Jello Biafra

text: The Dead Kennedys received some controversy in the spring of 1981 over the single "Too Drunk to Fuck". The song became a hit in Britain, and the BBC feared that it would manage to be a big enough hit to appear among the top 30 songs on the national charts, requiring a mention on "Top of the Pops". However, the single peaked at number 31 in the charts.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Later albums also contained memorable songs, but with less popularity than the earlier ones. The EP "In God We Trust, Inc." contained the song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!" as well as "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now", a rewritten version of "California über alles" about Ronald Reagan. Punk musician and scholar Vic Bondi considers the latter song to be the song that "defined the lyrical agenda of much of hardcore music, and represented its break with punk". The band's most controversial album, "Frankenchrist", brought with it the song "MTV Get Off the Air," which accused MTV of promoting poor quality music and sedating the public. The album also contained a controversial poster by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger entitled "Penis Landscape".


title: Jello Biafra

text: The Dead Kennedys toured widely during their career, starting in the late 1970s. They began playing at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens (their home base) and other Bay Area venues, later branching out to shows in southern Californian clubs (most notably the Whisky a Go Go), but eventually they moved to major clubs across the country, including CBGB in New York. Later, they played to larger audiences such as at the 1980 Bay Area Music Awards (where they played the notorious "Pull My Strings" for the only time), and headlined the 1983 Rock Against Reagan festival.


title: Jello Biafra

text: On May 7, 1994, punk rock fans who believed Biafra was a "sell out" attacked him at the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. Biafra claims that he was attacked by a man nicknamed Cretin, who crashed into him while moshing. The crash injured Biafra's leg, causing an argument between the two men. During the argument, Cretin pushed Biafra to the floor and five or six friends of Cretin assaulted Biafra while he was down, yelling "Sellout rock star, kick him", and attempting to pull out his hair. Biafra was later hospitalized with serious injuries. The attack derailed Biafra's plans for both a Canadian spoken-word tour and an accompanying album, and the production of "Pure Chewing Satisfaction" was halted. However, Biafra returned to the Gilman club a few months after the incident to perform a spoken-word performance as an act of reconciliation with the club.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra has been a prominent figure of the Californian punk scene and was one of the third generation members of the San Francisco punk community. Many later hardcore bands have cited the Dead Kennedys as a major influence. Hardcore punk author Steven Blush describes Biafra as hardcore's "biggest star" who was a "powerful presence whose political insurgence and rabid fandom made him the father figure of a burgeoning subculture [and an] inspirational force [who] could also be a real prick ... Biafra was a visionary, incendiary [performer]."


title: Jello Biafra

text: After the Dead Kennedys disbanded, Biafra's new songs were recorded with other bands, and he released only spoken word albums as solo projects. These collaborations had less popularity than Biafra's earlier work. However, his song "That's Progress", originally recorded with D.O.A. for the album "Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors", received considerable exposure when it appeared on the album "Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1".


title: Jello Biafra

text: In April 1986, police officers raided Biafra's house in response to complaints by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In June 1986, L.A. deputy city attorney Michael Guarino, working under City Attorney James Hahn, brought Biafra to trial in Los Angeles for distributing "harmful material to minors" in the Dead Kennedys album "Frankenchrist". However, the dispute was about neither the music nor the lyrics from the album, but rather the print of the H. R. Giger poster "Landscape XX" ("Penis Landscape") included with the album.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Music author Reebee Garofalo argued that Biafra and Alternative Tentacles may have been targeted because the label was a "small, self-managed and self-supported company that could ill afford a protracted legal battle." Facing the possible sentence of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine, Biafra, Dirk Dirksen, and Suzanne Stefanac founded the No More Censorship Defense Fund, a benefit featuring several punk rock bands, to help pay for his legal fees, which neither he nor his record label could afford. The jury deadlocked 5 to 7 in favor of acquittal, prompting a mistrial; despite a motion to re-try the case, the judge ordered all charges dropped. The Dead Kennedys disbanded during the trial, in December 1986, due to the mounting legal costs; in the wake of their disbandment, Biafra made a career of his spoken word performances.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra has a cameo role in the 1988 film "Tapeheads". He plays an FBI agent who arrests the two protagonists (played by Tim Robbins and John Cusack). While arresting them his character asks "Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?" lampooning the obscenity prosecution.


title: Jello Biafra

text: On March 25, 2005, Biafra appeared on the U.S. radio program "This American Life", "Episode 285: Know Your Enemy", which featured a phone call between Jello Biafra and Michael Guarino, the prosecutor in the "Frankenchrist" trial.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In October 1998, three former members of the Dead Kennedys sued Biafra for nonpayment of royalties. The other members of Dead Kennedys alleged that Biafra, in his capacity as the head of Alternative Tentacles records, discovered an accounting error amounting to some $75,000 in unpaid royalties over almost a decade. Rather than informing his bandmates of this mistake, the suit alleged, Biafra knowingly concealed the information until a whistleblower employee at the record label notified the band.


title: Jello Biafra

text: According to Biafra, the suit resulted from his refusal to allow one of the band's most well-known singles, "Holiday in Cambodia", to be used in a commercial for Levi's Dockers; Biafra opposes Levi's because of his belief that they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labor. Biafra maintained that he had never denied them royalties, and that he himself had not even received royalties for re-releases of their albums or "posthumous" live albums which had been licensed to other labels by the Decay Music partnership. Decay Music denied this charge and have posted what they say are his cashed royalty checks, written to his legal name of Eric Boucher. Biafra also complained about the songwriting credits in new reissues and archival live albums of songs, alleging that he was the sole composer of songs that were wrongly credited to the entire band.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In May 2000, a jury found Biafra and Alternative Tentacles liable by not promptly informing his former bandmates of the accounting error and instead withholding the information during subsequent discussions and contractual negotiations. Biafra was ordered to pay $200,000, including $20,000 in punitive damages. After an appeal by Biafra's lawyers, in June 2003, the California Court of Appeals unanimously upheld all the conditions of the 2000 verdict against Biafra and Alternative Tentacles. Furthermore, the plaintiffs were awarded the rights to most of Dead Kennedys recorded works—which accounted for about half the sales for Alternative Tentacles. Now in control of the Dead Kennedys name, Biafra's former bandmates went on tour with a new lead vocalist.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In the early 1980s, Biafra collaborated with musicians Christian Lunch and Adrian Borland (of The Sound) and Morgan Fisher (of Mott the Hoople) for the electropunk musical project The Witch Trials, releasing one self-titled EP in its lifetime.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 1988, Biafra, with Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker of the band Ministry, and Jeff Ward, formed Lard. The band became yet another side project for Ministry, with Biafra providing vocals and lyrics. According to a March 2009 interview with Jourgensen, he and Biafra are working on a new Lard album, which is being recorded in Jourgensen's El Paso studio. Jourgensen also claimed in 2021 that Biafra was in works of a new Lard album. While working on the film "Terminal City Ricochet" in 1989, Biafra did a song for the film's soundtrack with D.O.A.. As a result, Biafra worked with D.O.A. on the album "Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors". Biafra also worked with Nomeansno on the soundtrack, which led to their collaboration on the album "The Sky Is Falling and I Want My Mommy" the following year. Biafra also provided lyrics for the song "Biotech is Godzilla" for Sepultura's 1993 album "Chaos A.D.".


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 1999, Biafra and other members of the anti-globalization movement protested the WTO Meeting of 1999 in Seattle. Along with other prominent West Coast musicians, he formed the short-lived band the No WTO Combo to help promote the movement's cause. The band was originally scheduled to play during the protest, but the performance was canceled due to riots. The band performed a short set the following night at the Showbox in downtown Seattle (outside the designated area), along with the hiphop group Spearhead. No WTO Combo later released a CD of recordings from the concert, entitled "Live from the Battle in Seattle".


title: Jello Biafra

text: As of late 2005, Biafra was performing with the band The Melvins under the name "Jello Biafra and the Melvins", though fans sometimes refer to them as "The Jelvins". Together they have released two albums, and worked on material for a third collaborative release, much of which was premiered live at two concerts at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco during an event called Biafra Five-O, commemorating Biafra's 50th birthday, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Dead Kennedys, and the beginning of legalized same-sex marriage in California. Biafra was also working with a band known as Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, which included Ralph Spight of Victims Family on guitar and Billy Gould of Faith No More on bass. This group debuted during Biafra Five-O.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 2011, Biafra appeared in a singular concert event with an all-star cast of Southern musicians including members from Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock, Mojo Nixon and Down entitled, "Jello Biafra and the New Orleans Raunch & Soul All Stars" who performed an array of classic Soul covers to a packed house at the 12-Bar in New Orleans, Louisiana. He would later reunite with many of the same musicians during the Carnival season 2014 to revisit many of these classics at Siberia, New Orleans. A live album from the 2011 performance, "Walk on Jindal's Splinters", and a companion single, "Fannie May"/"Just a Little Bit", were released in 2015.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In June 1979, Biafra co-founded the record label Alternative Tentacles, with which the Dead Kennedys released their first single, "California über alles". The label was created to allow the band to release albums without having to deal with pressure from major labels to change their music, although the major labels were not willing to sign the band due to their songs being deemed too controversial. After dealing with Cherry Red in the UK and IRS Records in the US for their first album "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables", the band released all later albums, and later pressings of "Fresh Fruit" on Alternative Tentacles. The exception being live albums released after the band's break-up, which the other band members compiled from recordings in the band partnership's vaults without Biafra's input or endorsement.. Biafra has been the owner of the company since its founding, though he does not receive a salary for his position; Biafra has referred to his position in the company as "absentee thoughtlord".


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra is an ardent collector of unusual vinyl records of all kinds, from 1950s and 1960s ethno-pop recordings by the likes of Les Baxter and Esquivel to vanity pressings that have circulated regionally, to German crooner Heino (for whom he would later participate in the documentary "Heino: Made In Germany"); he cites his always growing collection as one of his biggest musical influences. In 1993 he gave an interview to RE/Search Publications for their second "Incredibly Strange Music" book focusing primarily on these records, and later participated in a two-part episode of Fuse TV's program "Crate Diggers" on the same subject. His interest in such recordings, often categorized as outsider music, led to his discovery of the prolific (and schizophrenic) singer/songwriter/artist Wesley Willis, whom he signed to Alternative Tentacles in 1994, preceding Willis' major label deal with American Recordings. His collection grew so large that on October 1, 2005, Biafra donated a portion of his collection to an annual yard sale co-promoted by Alternative Tentacles and held at their warehouse in Emeryville, California.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 2006, along with Alternative Tentacles employee and The Frisk lead singer Jesse Luscious, Biafra began co-hosting "The Alternative Tentacles Batcast", a downloadable podcast hosted by alternativetentacles.com. The show primarily focuses on interviews with artists and bands that are currently signed to the Alternative Tentacles label, although there are also occasional episodes where Biafra devoted the show to answering fan questions.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra became a spoken word artist in January 1986 with a performance at University of California, Los Angeles. In his performance he combined humor with his political beliefs, much in the same way that he did with the lyrics to his songs. Despite his continued spoken word performances, he did not begin recording spoken word albums until after the disbanding of the Dead Kennedys.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra was also featured in the British band Pitchshifter's song "As Seen on TV" reciting the words of dystopian futuristic radio advertisements.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra has resisted identifying with any particular political party or ideology, saying, "I don't label myself strictly an anarchist or a socialist or let alone a libertarian or something like that," In a 2012 interview, Biafra said "I'm very pro-tax as long as it goes for the right things. I don't mind paying more money as long as it's going to provide shelter for people sleeping in the street or getting the schools fixed back up, getting the infrastructure up to the standards of other countries, including a high speed rail system. I'm totally down with that."


title: Jello Biafra

text: In the autumn of 1979, Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco, using the Jell-O ad campaign catchphrase, "There's always room for Jello", as his campaign slogan. Having entered the race before creating a campaign platform, Biafra later wrote his platform on a napkin while attending a Pere Ubu concert where Dead Kennedys drummer Ted told Biafra, "Biafra, you have such a big mouth that you should run for Mayor." As he campaigned, Biafra wore campaign T-shirts from his opponent Quentin Kopp's previous campaign and at one point vacuumed leaves off the front lawn of another opponent, current U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, to mock her publicity stunt of sweeping streets in downtown San Francisco for a few hours. He also made a whistlestop campaign tour along the BART line. Supporters committed equally odd actions; two well known signs held by supporters said "If he doesn't win I'll kill myself" and "What if he does win?"


title: Jello Biafra

text: At the time, in San Francisco any individual could legally run for mayor if a petition was signed by 1500 people or if $1500 was paid. Biafra paid $900 and got signatures over time and eventually became a legal candidate, meaning he received statements put in voters' pamphlets and equal news coverage.


title: Jello Biafra

text: His platform included unconventional points such as forcing businessmen to wear clown suits within city limits, erecting statues of Dan White, who assassinated Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, around the city and allowing the parks department to sell eggs and tomatoes with which people could pelt the statues, hiring workers who had lost their jobs due to a tax initiative to panhandle in wealthy neighborhoods (including Senator Dianne Feinstein's), and a citywide ban on cars. Biafra has expressed irritation that these parts of his platform attained such notoriety, preferring instead to be remembered for serious proposals such as legalizing squatting in vacant, tax-delinquent buildings and requiring police officers to run for election by the people of the neighborhoods they patrol.


title: Jello Biafra

text: He finished third out of a field of ten, receiving 3.79 percent of the vote (6,591 votes); the election ended in a runoff that did not involve him (Feinstein was declared the winner).


title: Jello Biafra

text: In 2000, the New York State Green Party drafted Biafra as a candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination, and a few supporters were elected to the party's nominating convention in Denver, Colorado. Biafra chose death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal as his running mate. The party overwhelmingly chose Ralph Nader as the presidential candidate with 295 of the 319 delegate votes. Biafra received 10 votes.


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra, along with a camera crew (dubbed by Biafra as "The Camcorder Truth Jihad"), later reported for the Independent Media Center at the Republican and Democratic conventions.


title: Jello Biafra

text: After losing the 2000 nomination, Biafra became highly active in Nader's presidential campaign, as well as in 2004 and 2008. During the 2008 campaign Jello played at rallies and answered questions for journalists in support of Nader. When gay rights activists accused Nader of costing Al Gore the 2000 election, Biafra reminded them that Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center wanted warning stickers on albums with content referencing homosexuality.


title: Jello Biafra

text: After Barack Obama won the general election, Biafra wrote an open letter making suggestions on how to run his term as president. Biafra criticized Obama during his term, stating that "Obama even won the award for best advertising campaign of 2008." Biafra dubbed Obama "Barackstar O'Bummer". Biafra refused to support Obama in 2012. Biafra has stated that he feels that Obama continued many of George W. Bush's policies, summarizing Obama's policies as containing "worse and worse laws against human rights and more and more illegal unconstitutional spying."


title: Jello Biafra

text: On September 18, 2015, it was announced that Biafra would be supporting Bernie Sanders in his campaign for the 2016 presidential election. He has strongly criticized the political position of Donald Trump, saying "how can people be so fucking stupid" on hearing the election result. He also criticized Trump's cabinet picks, saying of then-Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, "The last person we want with their finger on the nuclear button is somebody connected to this extreme Christianist doomsday cult."


title: Jello Biafra

text: On February 28, 2020, Jello announced that he would be supporting both Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential election. "I personally like Warren slightly better than Bernie because: 1) She’s done her homework. Bernie too, but not to quite the same depth or degree. 2) Think about it — who really has a better chance of actually beating Trump, and helping flip Congress and state legislatures? It’s Elizabeth Warren, hands down." He went on to say that he considered Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg "almost as bad as Trump".


title: Jello Biafra

text: On April 12, 2020, Biafra expressed disappointment that Sanders had suspended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination.


title: Jello Biafra

text: In mid-2011 Jello Biafra and his band were scheduled to play at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv. They came under heavy pressure by the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and finally decided to cancel the concert – after a debate which according to Biafra "deeply tore at the fabric of our band ... This whole controversy has been one of the most intense situations of my life – and I thrive on intense situations".


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra then decided to travel to Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories, at his own expense, and talk with Israeli and Palestinian activists as well as with fans disappointed at his cancellation. In the article stating his conclusions he wrote:


title: Jello Biafra

text: "I will not perform in Israel unless it is a pro-human rights, anti-occupation event, that does not violate the spirit of the boycott. Each musician, artist, etc. must decide this for themselves. I am staying away for now, but am also really creeped out by the attitudes of some of the hardliners and hope some day to find a way to contribute something positive here. I will not march or sign on with anyone who runs around calling people Zionazis and is more interested in making threats than making friends."


title: Jello Biafra

text: Biafra married Theresa Soder, a.k.a. Ninotchka, lead singer of San Francisco-area punk band the Situations, on October 31, 1981. The wedding was conducted by Flipper vocalist/bassist Bruce Loose, who became a Universal Life Church minister specifically to conduct the ceremony, which took place in a graveyard. The wedding reception, which members of Flipper, Black Flag, and D.O.A. attended, was held at director Joe Rees' Target Video studios. The marriage ended in 1986. Biafra generally does not discuss his private life. He lives in San Francisco, California.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Udit Narayan (born 1 December 1955) is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Malayalam, Assamese, Bagheli and Maithili. He has won four National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards with twenty nominations among many others. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to arts and culture. As many as 21 of his tracks feature in BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time".


title: Udit Narayan

text: He got to sing with Mohammed Rafi in his Hindi playback debut in movie "Unees-Bees" in 1980 and also with Kishore Kumar in the 1980s. He finally made his mark in the 1988 movie "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, his song "Papa Kehte Hain" was his notable performance which earned him his first Filmfare Award in the 1980s and he established himself in Bollywood Playback Singing. The soundtrack became one of the highest selling albums in the 1980s. The soundtrack was a breakthrough for the careers of Anand–Milind, as well as T-Series, one of India's leading record labels. after which he was one of the favourites of music directors. In the 1990s he sung for a thousands of songs including Hindi and Nepali languages.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Recognising his contribution, King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev awarded him with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in 2001 after which for his contribution to Indian cinema and music, and Chitragupta Cineyatra Samman 2015 for his contribution to Bhojpuri cinema. He is the only male singer in the history of the Filmfare Awards to have won in over three decades (the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).


title: Udit Narayan

text: Udit Narayan Jha was born in a Maithil Brahmin family in 1955 to Nepali father Harekrishna Jha and Indian mother Bhuvaneshwari Jha. In 2009, when Udit Narayan was awarded India's civilian honour "Padma Shri", there were reports questioning his Indian citizenship, claiming that he was born in Nepal. However, Udit Narayan himself branded these reports as "completely false", and stated that he was born in the Baisi village of Supaul district of Bihar at his maternal grandparents' home. When his acceptance of the "Padma Shri" led to his criticism in Nepal, he told the Nepalese daily "Kantipur" that he was "from Nepal but his mother's home was in Bihar." In a 2017 interview with the Indian magazine "Outlook", he clarified that he was born in Baisi, and clarified that his father Harekrishna was a native of Bhardaha, Saptari District, Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal. In September 2018, Udit Narayan revealed at a ceremony held by the Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America, that he identifies as a Bihari.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan studied at Jageshwar High School, Kunauli, Supaul, Bihar, India, where he finished his SSC and later obtained his intermediate degree from Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal. His father Harekrishna Jha was a farmer and his mother Bhuvneshwari Devi was a folk singer who encouraged his career.


title: Udit Narayan

text: In 2006, Ranjana Narayan claimed to be the Narayan's first wife, but Narayan consistently denied it. Later, he accepted her as his wife and promised to provide for her maintenance. Narayan has been married twice, first to Ranjana Narayan Jha and then to Deepa Narayan Jha. He began his relationship with Deepa Narayan while he was still married to Ranjana Narayan. Narayan and Deepa were married in 1985. With Deepa Narayan, he has one son, Aditya Narayan, who is also a playback singer.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan is one of the most prominent singers of Bollywood throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He has been the on-screen singing voice for various Bollywood stars. He has sung for Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn. Most of his duets are with Alka Yagnik. He began his career in 1970 as a Maithili folk singer (staff artist) for Radio Nepal, singing mostly popular folk songs in Maithili and Nepali. Gradually, he started singing modern Nepali songs. After eight years, Narayan moved to Bombay on a musical scholarship for Nepalese from the Indian Embassy in Nepal to study classical music at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan started his Bollywood career in 1980 when he was noted by music director Rajesh Roshan, who asked Narayan to playback sing for the Hindi film "Unees-Bees". Narayan was given the opportunity to sing with the singer Mohammed Rafi. He sang for Devanand a couplet in Swami Dada.His first duet was in the film Sannata. Soon after, Narayan sang for a number of other movies, including "Bade Dil Wala" in 1983, where he sang a duet with senior singer Lata Mangeshkar, composed by senior music director R. D. Burman. In the same year, Narayan sang with Kishore Kumar in the film "Kehdo Pyar Hai". Another singer he sang with was Suresh Wadkar with music composed by Bappi Lahiri. A significant milestone in his career occurred in 1988 when Anand–Milind gave him the opportunity to sing all the songs for the Bollywood movie "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", with Alka Yagnik, which earned him a Filmfare Award. In a 2014 interview with The Times of India, Narayan said: "The song I've sung, "Manzilein", is the best song of my career after "Pehla Nasha", which gave me superstardom!". Narayan remained prolific through the 2000s, singing numbers in films such as "Pukar", "Dhadkan", "Lagaan", "Devdas" and "Veer-Zaara"


title: Udit Narayan

text: In 2002, Narayan sang "Bairi Piya" with newcomer Shreya Ghoshal, from the film "Devdas", of which Rediff mentioned: "Narayan successfully captures the eternal romanticism of Devdas". In 2014, Narayan sang a song titled "Naa Hum Jo Kah De" along with Shreya Ghoshal, for the album "Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere". The song was composed by Ram Shankar and penned by A. K. Mishra.


title: Udit Narayan

text: He competed with his closest professional rival Kumar Sanu who won five consecutive Filmfare awards in the 1990s.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan's work has been praised by his contemporaries Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy and music director Ankit Tiwari. "Mid-Day" included him in the list of notable 90s playback singers. Narayan is considered one of the most prominent singers of his generation.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan's friend Jiyand Nawab Deedag suggested he change his work from old to modern in order to be selected as a playback singer, but this did not work and, considering old films in 1973, Narayan sang a song for a Nepali film called "Sindoor". This was a comedy song for the Nepali comedians GopalRaj Mainali (Chankhe) and Basundhara Bhushal (Nakkali). Narayan sang this song with Sushma Shrestha, now known as Poornima in Hindi films. Narayan has also acted in two Nepali films – "Kusume Rumal" and "Pirati" in 1985.


title: Udit Narayan

text: In 2004, he released his first non-movie Nepalese album, "Upahaar", in which he sang duets with his wife Deepa Jha. Narayan has many solo albums as well, such as "Bhajan Sangam", "Bhajan Vatika", "I Love You", "Dil Deewana", "Yeh Dosti", "Love is Life", "Jaanam","Jhumka de Jhumka", "Sona No Ghadulo", "Dhuli Ganga" and "Ma Tarini".


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of many awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan also sang the title song for the TV show "Yeh Duniyan Gazab Ki", with Kumar Sanu. In 2015 he was involved in a mega series campaign Melancholy, where 421 Nepali artists had sung a 33 minutes 49-second long environmental song, in which 365 artists set a Guinness World Record on 19 May 2016 at Radio Nepal Studio, Singhadurbar, Kathamandu. It is written, composed and directed by environmentalist Nipesh DHAKA.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan was on the panel of judges of "Indian Idol 3" in 2007 with music composer Anu Malik and playback singer Alisha Chinai on Sony TV.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Narayan was on the panel of judges on Sony TV for "Waar Parriwar", a reality show based on the bringing together of a singing gharana (family of singers). He shared judging duties with fellow playback singer Kumar Sanu and Jatin Pandit of the music duo Jatin–Lalit.


title: Udit Narayan

text: Udit Narayan Jha acted in and sang all the songs in a 1985 Nepali movie called "Kusume Rumal" which is one of the All Time Classics in Nepali movie industry starring himself with Bhuwan K.C. and Tripti Nadakar, which spent 25 weeks on the box office top ten list and became the highest-grossing Nepalese movie of all time until overtaken in 2001 by another Tulsi Ghimire film, "Darpan Chaya".


title: Udit Narayan

text: Udit Narayan career started in 1980 and flourished during 90's. During the huge span of playback singing, other than the duet songs with notable female playback singers, Udit Narayan was fortunate to collaborate with playback singers from all generations. Udit Narayan debuted with legendary singer Mohammad Rafi and then got opportunity to share songs with Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Suresh Wadkar, Mohammad Aziz and others during 80's. Most of his male duets are with Kumar Sanu & Abhijeet. Some of the selected and notable songs are as follows


title: Udit Narayan

text: In 2012, Narayan was the one of the jury members of the film music jury for the Global Indian Music Academy Awards In 2015, he was one of the jury members in Mirchi Music Awards, and the same year he was the judge of the Jagran Film Festival.


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: Part of The American Film Institute (AFI 100 Years... series), AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, in a three-hour television program on CBS. The program was hosted by Pierce Brosnan and had commentary from many Hollywood actors and filmmakers. A jury consisting of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians selected "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic "Gone with the Wind", as the most memorable American movie quotation of all time.


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: With six quotes, "Casablanca" is the most represented film. "Gone with the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz" are tied for second, with three each. "Sunset Boulevard", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "The Graduate", and "Jerry Maguire" each have two quotes.


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: Rick Blaine ("Casablanca") is the character with the most quotes (four); Dorothy Gale ("The Wizard of Oz"), Harry Callahan ("Dirty Harry" and "Sudden Impact"), James Bond ("Dr. No" and "Goldfinger"), Norma Desmond ("Sunset Boulevard"), Scarlett O'Hara ("Gone with the Wind"), and The Terminator ("The Terminator" and "") have two quotes each.


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: With five, Humphrey Bogart is the actor with the most quotes (four from "Casablanca" and one from "The Maltese Falcon"). Al Pacino, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Tom Hanks, and Vivien Leigh have three apiece, while Jack Nicholson, Judy Garland, Gloria Swanson, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, James Cagney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have two each. Sean Connery also has two entries, but his two quotes are shared with five other actors. As well as the five quotes spoken by Bogart, two other quotes on the list (from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "To Have and Have Not") were spoken "to" him, by Alfonso Bedoya and Lauren Bacall, respectively. Further, "Round up the usual suspects." was spoken in his presence and for his character's benefit by Claude Rains, and "Play it, Sam." is often mistakenly attributed to him; he actually said, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. ... If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: The line "My precious", from "", is the only quote from a movie released in the 21st century and the only one by a CGI character.


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: A number of the entries are frequently misquoted. The following have become well-known but are incorrect:


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: Only "Rosebud", from "Citizen Kane", is the opening line of a film. Eleven other quotes are closing lines:


title: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes

text: In addition, the line "There's no place like home." from "The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)" (#23) is spoken in the middle of the film and as the closing line.


title: Robert Horry

text: Robert Keith Horry (; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played for the Boston Celtics. He is one of only four players to have won NBA championships with three teams; he won two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs with no defeats in NBA Finals. He earned the nickname "Big Shot Rob", because of his clutch shooting in important games; he is widely considered to be one of the greatest clutch performers and winners in NBA history. Horry now works as a commentator on Spectrum SportsNet for the Lakers.


title: Robert Horry

text: Robert Horry was born in Harford County, Maryland; soon afterwards his father, Staff Sergeant Robert Horry Sr., divorced his mother, Leila, and moved to South Carolina. Horry grew up in Andalusia, Alabama. Later, when Robert Sr. was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, the father and son met weekly.


title: Robert Horry

text: As a senior at Andalusia High School, Horry won the Naismith Alabama High School Player of the Year award. At the University of Alabama, he played basketball for Coach Wimp Sanderson, and he was a teammate of fellow future NBA player Latrell Sprewell.


title: Robert Horry

text: At Alabama, Horry played from 1988 to 1992. He started 108 of the 133 games he played and helped the Tide win three SEC tournament titles and twice reached the NCAA's Sweet 16 round. Alabama compiled a 98–36 record during his four seasons. Horry set a school record for career blocked shots (282). He was selected to the All-Southeastern Conference, the SEC All-Defensive and the SEC All-Academic teams. Years later Horry returned to the university to finish his degree and graduated in spring 2021.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry was selected 11th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets as a small forward. He spent his first four seasons with the Rockets, helping them win the NBA Championship in 1994 and 1995. While in the Finals, Horry set an individual NBA Finals record with seven steals in a game and also hit five three-pointers in a quarter. During his years with the Rockets, Horry wore number 25.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry's clutch tendencies were apparent as early as his rookie year. In Game 7 of the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals against the Seattle SuperSonics, Horry nailed a clutch jumper with the shot clock expiring and 33 seconds left in regulation to put the Rockets up 93–91. The Rockets, however, would lose in overtime. In February 1994, he and Matt Bullard were traded to the Detroit Pistons for Sean Elliott, but Elliott failed a physical because of kidney problems, so the trade was rescinded. Horry said that the trade falling through probably saved his career. Horry went on to be a key member of the Rockets' title teams and began to build his "Big Shot" reputation with a game-winning jumper with 6.5 seconds left in Game 1 of the 1995 Western Conference Finals versus the San Antonio Spurs and hitting a 3 to put Houston up 104–100 with 14.1 seconds left in a 106–103 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic. Following the victory at the 1995 NBA Finals, Horry and the Rockets would win their second NBA Championship. Horry said that out of his 7 championship victories, this was the one he was the most proud of because the Rockets were the sixth seed in the Western Conference.


title: Robert Horry

text: On August 19, 1996, Horry was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown and Mark Bryant for former NBA Most Valuable Player Charles Barkley. Horry had been criticized in Houston for not taking enough shots and felt that was what prompted the Rockets to trade him. After joining the Suns, Horry had an on-court altercation with coach Danny Ainge, during which Horry threw a towel at Ainge.


title: Robert Horry

text: The incident with Ainge led to Horry's suspension and trade to the Los Angeles Lakers on January 10, 1997, for Cedric Ceballos. Because the Lakers had retired jersey number 25 to honor Gail Goodrich, Horry wore the number 5 instead.


title: Robert Horry

text: During the 1999–2000 season, Horry played behind A.C. Green but frequently garnered more minutes off the bench than the starters, especially during the playoffs. In the 2000 Finals against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers took a 2–1 lead into Game 4 in Indiana. The game went into overtime. Shaquille O'Neal fouled out, but Kobe Bryant led a run to seal the Laker victory. Horry finished with 17 points in 37 minutes, his high for the Finals, and won his third championship as the Lakers defeated the Pacers 4 games to 2. Horry averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 27 minutes per game throughout the 2000 playoffs.


title: Robert Horry

text: In the 2000–01 season, Horry played behind Horace Grant but once again played big minutes in the playoffs. He played in 16 Lakers 2001 playoffs games, averaging 5.9 points per game. In the Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers dropped Game 1 before winning Game 2. In Game 3 in Philadelphia, Horry scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a critical three-pointer with 47.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter to make it 92–88, followed by making 1 of 2 free throws with 21 seconds left to help seal a 96–91 Laker victory. In Game 4, Horry made 3 of the Lakers 10 total three-pointers as the Lakers rolled to a 100–86 victory. The Lakers won Game 5 108–96 to clinch their second straight championship. Horry has stated this victory to be the second-proudest of his career, following the 1995 NBA Finals.


title: Robert Horry

text: In the 2001–02 season, Horry was the backup power forward to Samaki Walker, although he started in 23 games. In the playoffs, Horry started 14 of the Lakers' 19 games playing an average of 37 minutes a game with averages of 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. Horry's reputation for clutch play was elevated in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings. Trailing two games to one in the series and facing Game 5 in Sacramento, the Lakers were down by as many as 24 points in the first half. Eventually, the Lakers cut the lead to 99–97 with 11.8 seconds to play. On the final possession, after Kobe and Shaq missed consecutive layups, Sacramento center Vlade Divac knocked the ball away from the basket in an attempt to run out the clock. However, the ball bounced right to Horry, who hit a three-pointer as time expired to win Game 4 100–99. A day later, Magic Johnson said Horry was "one of the 10 best clutch players in league history". The Lakers would eventually win the series in 7 games and swept the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the NBA Finals to complete a three-peat. Horry started all four games in the Finals.


title: Robert Horry

text: A situation similar to Game 4 happened on March 5, 2003, in a game against the Indiana Pacers when, while the game was tied at 95, Pacers center Jermaine O'Neal swatted the inside pass for Shaquille O'Neal right into the hands of a wide-open Horry, who calmly hit the game-winning shot.


title: Robert Horry

text: In the 2003 playoffs, the Lakers were attempting to win their fourth straight NBA championship. But in Game 5 in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Spurs, Horry's chance for another game-winner rattled in and out with 5 seconds left, wiping out the Lakers' rally from a 25-point deficit. Horry went 0–18 on three-pointers in the series and the Lakers were eliminated in six games.


title: Robert Horry

text: Following the 2002–03 season, Horry became a free agent. Citing concerns over family, all of whom live in Houston, Horry signed with the San Antonio Spurs. During the 2002–03 season, the Lakers had leaned heavily on Horry. With the Spurs, coach Gregg Popovich cut Horry's minutes significantly, resulting in renewed success. In the 2003–04 season, the Spurs won 57 games and reached the 2004 playoffs where they swept the Memphis Grizzlies in four games, before losing in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Robert Horry

text: During the following season, the Spurs reached the playoffs and went on to win the 2005 NBA Finals. Horry played a significant part in the team's success, going 38 of 85 behind the three-point line in the 2005 playoffs. In Game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons, Horry provided more heroics in the fourth quarter to boost San Antonio to a win and 3–2 series lead over Detroit. After only scoring three points in the first three quarters, he scored 21 of the Spurs' points in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Spurs went on to win Game 5 96–95 after Horry hit a game-winning three-point shot with 5.9 seconds left. His late-game heroics at age 34 were so astounding that prominent ESPN columnist Bill Simmons said of the performance, "Horry's Game 5 ranks alongside MJ's Game 6 in 1998, Worthy's Game 7 in 1988, Frazier's Game 7 in 1970 and every other clutch Finals performance over the years". After winning the series in seven games, the Spurs won their third NBA Championship in seven seasons and Horry received his sixth championship ring.


title: Robert Horry

text: During the 2007 playoffs, Horry hip-checked Phoenix Suns' point guard Steve Nash which resulted in a flagrant foul on Horry. During the ensuing commotion, Raja Bell was assessed a technical foul for charging at Horry. Horry was ejected from the game and suspended for Games 5 and 6. Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw who left the vicinity of the bench, were issued a suspension for Game 5. The Spurs won the two ensuing games and subsequently moved on to the 2007 NBA Finals, where they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers winning their fourth NBA title and Horry's seventh individual ring.


title: Robert Horry

text: He began wearing the number 25 again after the 2006–07 season. After the 2007–08 season, Horry became a free agent but went unsigned, marking his last professional season.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry collected his seventh championship as a member of the Spurs in 2007. He is one of only nine players to have won seven or more NBA championships, and the only one who did not play on the 1960s Celtics. Horry was one of only four players to have won back-to-back NBA championships with two teams as of 2007. In 2005, he became the second player after John Salley to win the NBA championship with three teams. At the time of his retirement, he was the all-time leader in playoff games played with 244 games through the 2008 playoffs, having surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.


title: Robert Horry

text: When he retired Horry held the record for three-pointers all-time in the NBA Finals with 53, having eclipsed Michael Jordan's previous record of 42. He set, and still holds, the NBA playoffs record for most three-point field goals made in a game without a miss (7) against the Utah Jazz in Game 2 of the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals. Horry has regular-season career averages of 7.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. But he was always better in the playoffs where he averaged 7.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game and even better in the Finals where he averaged 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. He shot 39.2% from three-point range in his Finals career.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry and Steve Kerr, another famous reserve player and clutch shooter, alternated NBA Championships for a decade, and combined to win 12 championships over a 14-year period. Either Kerr or Horry was on the roster of an NBA Finals team from the 1993–94 season through the 2002–03 season, with every one resulting in a victory. Horry's teams were victorious in the NBA Finals in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007, while Kerr's teams were winners in the NBA Finals in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003. Each won three titles playing for Phil Jackson-coached teams (Kerr with the Chicago Bulls, Horry with the Los Angeles Lakers), and two with the San Antonio Spurs.


title: Robert Horry

text: In 2009, he was one of the "NBA Legends" to play in the 2009 NBA Asia Challenge against the Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars at Araneta Coliseum in Manila.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry was the first player ever to accumulate 100 steals, 100 blocked shots and 100 threes in one season. In 2010, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry has played in three game sevens which went to an overtime period; the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals as a member of the Houston Rockets, the 2002 Western Conference Finals with the Los Angeles Lakers, and the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals with the San Antonio Spurs.


title: Robert Horry

text: Horry lives with his family. His first child, and daughter, Ashlyn, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called 1p36 deletion syndrome, an affliction that develops when part of the first chromosome is missing. She died on June 14, 2011, at the age of 17. He also has a son, Camron Horry, who plays football at Texas A&M. His daughter, Jade Horry, lives in Los Angeles, California. His younger son Christian Horry is following in his footsteps as a basketball player. Horry coaches his AAU Big Shot basketball team in Los Angeles. On September 29, 2019, he married his long-time girlfriend Candice Madrid.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Meredith Dawn Salenger (born March 14, 1970) is an American actress. Her credits include the 1985 film "The Journey of Natty Gann", as the title character, and the 1989 teen comedy "Dream a Little Dream".


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger was born and raised in Malibu, California, the daughter of Dorothy, an interior designer, and Gary Salenger, a dentist. She is Jewish; her family was originally from Austria and Russia.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger attended Santa Monica High School and enrolled at Harvard University from 1988 to 1992, and lived in Mower Hall during her freshman year, where Tanya Selvaratnam was one of her roommates. Salenger graduated cum laude with a degree in psychology. She received certificates in "Court-Based Mediation of Family Law Matters" and "Mediating the Litigated Case" from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law in 2009 and 2011, respectively. She works as a mediator for the Agency for Dispute Resolution in Beverly Hills, California, when she is not filming.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: As a child, Salenger enjoyed performing in front of her family and friends. Her mother took her to her first acting class when she was eight years old. Her first role was a small part as a 'singing and dancing orphan' in the feature film "Annie", directed by John Huston. Salenger also did a number of television advertisements.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger's first starring role was in the Disney film "The Journey of Natty Gann", co-starring John Cusack and Ray Wise. The movie won her the Best Actress in a Drama award at the Young Artist Awards. After starring in four more films by her eighteenth birthday, including "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon", "The Kiss" (1988) and "Dream a Little Dream" (1989), she left Hollywood for Harvard to further her education.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger resumed her acting career upon her return to Hollywood with credits including "Lake Placid" and "The Third Wheel". Salenger has also appeared in independent films, including "Quality Time" and "Sparkle & Charm".


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger appeared in a 1998 episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". She also recorded a song titled "Flow Through Me" with Koishii and Hush; and she appeared as a background member of the Counting Crows video for "Hanging Around".


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger appeared in two episodes of "Dawson's Creek" in 2002 as film critic Amy Lloyd, and guest-starred on "Cold Case" playing victim Sloane Easton on the episode "Ravaged". Salenger had a cameo in the Disney film "Race to Witch Mountain" in 2009, where she played a television reporter named Natalie Gann.


title: Meredith Salenger

text: Salenger has done the voices of several characters in Cartoon Network's "", including Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee and Ione Marcy during the second season, Che Amanwe Papanoida during the third season, and Pluma Sodi during the fourth season. She also appeared as Lisa Sanders in the one-hour Nick at Nite drama series "Hollywood Heights" which lasted 80 episodes, as well as several characters in "Mad" and "Robot Chicken" television series. In addition, Salenger voiced a Nightsister ghost in a season three episode of "Star Wars Rebels". She can be seen opposite Elias Koteas in "Jake Squared" along with Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Jason Leigh.


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom "Soap" (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as Mona Robinson on "Who's the Boss?" (1984–1992). Helmond also appeared in a 1993 episode of "The Upper Hand", the British version of "Who's the Boss?". She also played Doris Sherman on "Coach" and Lois Whelan (the mother of Debra Barone) on "Everybody Loves Raymond". She also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond had minor or supporting roles in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's "Family Plot" (1976), Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits (1981)" and "Brazil" (1985), and Garry Marshall's "Overboard" (1987). She also voiced Lizzie in the "Cars" film franchise by Disney/Pixar between 2006 and 2017.


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond was born on July 5, 1929, in Galveston, Texas, the only child of Thelma (née Malone) and Joseph P. Helmond. She was raised by her mother and grandmother, both devout Catholics. She attended a Catholic primary school and appeared in school plays.


title: Katherine Helmond

text: For a semester, she attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, and appeared in its film (Unusual Films Production) "Wine of Morning".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: After her stage debut in "As You Like It", Helmond began working in New York City in 1955. She later ran a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and taught acting in university theatre programs. She made her television debut in 1962, but did not achieve a high profile until the 1970s. She also acted on stage, earning a Tony award nomination for her performance on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's "The Great God Brown" (1973). Her other appearances in Broadway productions included roles in "Private Lives", "Don Juan", and "Mixed Emotions".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond appeared in such feature films as "Family Plot" (1976), "Time Bandits (1981)", and "Brazil" (1985), in which she played the mother of Jonathan Pryce's character. In 1983, she studied at the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop. She picked up Emmy nominations for her role as Mona Robinson in "Who's the Boss" and as Lois Whelan in "Everybody Loves Raymond". She also received acclaim for her stage performance in Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond appeared in "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975) as Emma Borden, the title character's sister. She appeared in an episode of the short-lived 1976 CBS adventure series, "Spencer's Pilots", starring Gene Evans. Helmond gained prominence as Jessica Tate, the ditzy matriarch of the Tate family in "Soap" (1977–1981) on ABC. From 1984 to 1992, she played the role of Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom "Who's the Boss?".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: From 1995 to 1997, she starred in the ABC sitcom "Coach" as Doris Sherman, eccentric owner of the fictional Orlando Breakers professional football team. From 1996 to 2004, she had a recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond" as Lois Whelan (Ray Barone's mother-in-law). On July 25, 2010, she guest-starred on A&E Network's "The Glades" and as Caroline Bellefleur on HBO's "True Blood".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond was nominated for Broadway's 1973 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for Eugene O'Neill's "The Great God Brown". She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on "Soap" four times in a row (1978–1981) as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In 1988 and 1989, she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on "Who's the Boss?". In 2002, she was nominated as Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in "Everybody Loves Raymond". She won two Golden Globe awards for "Who's the Boss?" and "Soap".


title: Katherine Helmond

text: In 1957, Helmond married George N. Martin. After their divorce in 1962, she married her second husband, David Christian; they remained married until her death, residing in Los Angeles, New York City, Long Island, and London. She and Christian had a history as students of Zen.


title: Katherine Helmond

text: Helmond died on February 23, 2019, from complications of Alzheimer's disease at her home in Los Angeles, aged 89. Her death was announced a week later.


title: Maple

text: Acer () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, "Acer laurinum", extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, "Acer pseudoplatanus", the most common maple species in Europe. Maples usually have easily recognizable palmate leaves ("Acer negundo" is an exception) and distinctive winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia.


title: Maple

text: The closest relative of "Acer" is "Dipteronia," which only has two living species in China, but has a fossil record extending back to the middle Paleocene in North America. The oldest known fossils of "Acer" are from the late Paleocene of Northeast Asia and northern North America, around 60 million years old. The oldest fossils of "Acer" in Europe are from Svalbard, dating to the late Eocene (Priabonian ~38-34 million years old).


title: Maple

text: Most maples are trees growing to a height of . Others are shrubs less than 10 meters tall with a number of small trunks originating at ground level. Most species are deciduous, and many are renowned for their autumn leaf colour, but a few in southern Asia and the Mediterranean region are evergreen. Most are shade-tolerant when young and are often riparian, understory, or pioneer species rather than climax overstory trees. There are a few exceptions such as sugar maple. Many of the root systems are typically dense and fibrous, inhibiting the growth of other vegetation underneath them. A few species, notably "Acer cappadocicum", frequently produce root sprouts, which can develop into clonal colonies.


title: Maple

text: Maples are distinguished by opposite leaf arrangement. The leaves in most species are palmate veined and lobed, with 3 to 9 (rarely to 13) veins each leading to a lobe, one of which is central or apical. A small number of species differ in having palmate compound, pinnate compound, pinnate veined or unlobed leaves. Several species, including "Acer griseum" (paperbark maple), "Acer mandshuricum" (Manchurian maple), "Acer maximowiczianum" (Nikko maple) and "Acer triflorum" (three-flowered maple), have trifoliate leaves. One species, "Acer negundo" (box-elder or Manitoba maple), has pinnately compound leaves that may be simply trifoliate or may have five, seven, or rarely nine leaflets. A few, such as "Acer laevigatum" (Nepal maple) and "Acer carpinifolium" (hornbeam maple), have pinnately veined simple leaves.


title: Maple

text: Maple species, such as "Acer rubrum", may be monoecious, dioecious or polygamodioecious. The flowers are regular, pentamerous, and borne in racemes, corymbs, or umbels. They have four or five sepals, four or five petals about 1–6 mm long (absent in some species), four to ten stamens about 6–10 mm long, and two pistils or a pistil with two styles. The ovary is superior and has two carpels, whose wings elongate the flowers, making it easy to tell which flowers are female. Maples flower in late winter or early spring, in most species with or just after the appearance of the leaves, but in some before the trees leaf out.


title: Maple

text: Maple flowers are green, yellow, orange or red. Though individually small, the effect of an entire tree in flower can be striking in several species. Some maples are an early spring source of pollen and nectar for bees.


title: Maple

text: The distinctive fruits are called samaras, "maple keys", "helicopters", "whirlybirds" or "polynoses". These seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a "nutlet" attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them "helicopters" due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to of supplies and was based on the maple seed. Seed maturation is usually in a few weeks to six months after flowering, with seed dispersal shortly after maturity. However, one tree can release hundreds of thousands of seeds at a time. Depending on the species, the seeds can be small and green to orange and big with thicker seed pods. The green seeds are released in pairs, sometimes with the stems still connected. The yellow seeds are released individually and almost always without the stems. Most species require stratification in order to germinate, and some seeds can remain dormant in the soil for several years before germinating.


title: Maple

text: The genus "Acer" together with genus "Dipteronia" are either classified in a family of their own, the "Aceraceae", or else classified as members of the family "Sapindaceae". Recent classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in "Sapindaceae". When put in family "Sapindaceae", genus "Acer" is put in subfamily "Hippocastanoideae". The genus is subdivided by its morphology into a multitude of sections and subsections. Molecular studies incorporating DNA sequence data from both chloroplast and nuclear genomes, aiming to resolve the internal relationships and reconstruct the evolutionairy history of the group, suggest a Late Paleocene origin for the group, appearing first in the northeastern Palearctic. Rapid lineage divergence was followed by several independent dispersals to the Nearctic and Western Palearctic regions. Fifty-four species of maples meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat.


title: Maple

text: The leaves are used as a food plant for the larvae of a number of the order Lepidoptera (see List of Lepidoptera that feed on maples). In high concentrations, caterpillars, like the greenstriped mapleworm ("Dryocampa rubicunda"), can feed on the leaves so much that they cause temporary defoliation of host maple trees. Aphids are also very common sap-feeders on maples. In horticultural applications a dimethoate spray will solve this.


title: Maple

text: Infestations of the Asian long-horned beetle ("Anoplophora glabripennis") have resulted in the destruction of thousands of maples and other tree species in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio in the United States and Ontario, Canada.


title: Maple

text: Maples are affected by a number of fungal diseases. Several are susceptible to Verticillium wilt caused by "Verticillium" species, which can cause significant local mortality. Sooty bark disease, caused by "Cryptostroma" species, can kill trees that are under stress due to drought. Death of maples can rarely be caused by "Phytophthora" root rot and "Ganoderma" root decay. Maple leaves in late summer and autumn are commonly disfigured by "tar spot" caused by "Rhytisma" species and mildew caused by "Uncinula" species, though these diseases do not usually have an adverse effect on the trees' long-term health.


title: Maple

text: A maple leaf is on the coat of arms of Canada, and is on the Canadian flag. The maple is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of Canada. Maple leaves are traditionally an important part of Canadian Forces military regalia, for example, the military rank insignia for generals use maple leaf symbols.


title: Maple

text: There are 10 species naturally growing in the country, with at least one in each province. Although the idea of the tree as a national symbol originally hailed from the province of Quebec where the sugar maple is significant, today's arboreal emblem of Canada rather refers to a generic maple. The design on the flag is an eleven-point stylization modeled after a sugar maple leaf (which normally bears 23 points).


title: Maple

text: The first attested use of the word was in 1260 as "mapole", and it also appears a century later in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", spelled as "mapul". The maple is also a symbol of Hiroshima, ubiquitous in the local "meibutsu".


title: Maple

text: Some species of maple are extensively planted as ornamental trees by homeowners, businesses, and municipalities due to their fall colour, relatively fast growth, ease of transplanting, and lack of hard seeds that would pose a problem for mowing lawns. Particularly popular are Norway maple (although it is considered invasive in North America), silver maple, Japanese maple, and red maple. Other maples, especially smaller or more unusual species, are popular as specimen trees.


title: Maple

text: Numerous maple cultivars that have been selected for particular characteristics can be propagated only by asexual reproduction such as cuttings, tissue culture, budding or grafting. "Acer palmatum" (Japanese maple) alone has over 1,000 cultivars, most selected in Japan, and many of them no longer propagated or not in cultivation in the Western world. Some delicate cultivars are usually grown in pots and rarely reach heights of more than 50–100 cm.


title: Maple

text: Maples are a popular choice for the art of bonsai. Japanese maple ("Acer palmatum"), trident maple ("A. buergerianum"), Amur maple ("A. ginnala"), field maple ("A. campestre") and Montpellier maple ("A. monspessulanum") are popular choices and respond well to techniques that encourage leaf reduction and ramification, but most species can be used.


title: Maple

text: Maple collections, sometimes called "aceretums", occupy space in many gardens and arboreta around the world including the "five great W's" in England: Wakehurst Place Garden, Westonbirt Arboretum, Windsor Great Park, Winkworth Arboretum and Wisley Garden. In the United States, the aceretum at the Harvard-owned Arnold Arboretum in Boston is especially notable. In the number of species and cultivars, the Esveld Aceretum in Boskoop, Netherlands, is the largest in the world.


title: Maple

text: Maples are important as sources of syrup and wood. Dried wood is often used for the smoking of food. Charcoal from maples is an integral part of the Lincoln County Process used to make Tennessee whiskey. They are also cultivated as ornamental plants and have benefits for tourism and agriculture.


title: Maple

text: Some of the larger maple species have valuable timber, particularly Sugar maple in North America and Sycamore maple in Europe. Sugar maple wood—often known as "hard maple"—is the wood of choice for bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, pool cue shafts, and butcher's blocks. Maple wood is also used for the manufacture of wooden baseball bats, though less often than ash or hickory due to the tendency of maple bats to shatter if they do break. The maple bat was introduced to Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1998 by Sam Bat founder Sam Holman. Today it is the standard maple bat most in use by professional baseball. Maple is also commonly used in archery as the core material in the limbs of a recurve bow due to its stiffness and strength.


title: Maple

text: Maple wood is often graded based on physical and aesthetic characteristics. The most common terminology includes the grading scale from common #2; which is unselected and often used for craft woods; common #1, used for commercial and residential buildings; clear; and select grade, which is sought for fine woodworking.


title: Maple

text: Some maple wood has a highly decorative wood grain, known as flame maple, quilt maple, birdseye maple and burl wood. This condition occurs randomly in individual trees of several species and often cannot be detected until the wood has been sawn, though it is sometimes visible in the standing tree as a rippled pattern in the bark.


title: Maple

text: These select decorative wood pieces also have subcategories that further filter the aesthetic looks. Crotch wood, bees wing, cats paw, old growth and mottled are some terms used to describe the look of these decorative woods.


title: Maple

text: Maples have a long history of use for furniture production in the United States. The Cherokee Indians would produce a purple dye from maple bark, which they used to dye cloth.


title: Maple

text: Maple is considered a tonewood, or a wood that carries sound waves well, and is used in numerous musical instruments. Maple is harder and has a brighter sound than mahogany, which is another major tonewood used in instrument manufacturing.


title: Maple

text: Electric guitar necks are commonly made from maple, having good dimensional stability. The necks of the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster were originally an entirely maple one piece neck, but later were also available with rosewood fingerboards. Les Paul desired an all maple guitar, but due to the weight of maple, only the tops of Gibson's Les Paul guitars are made from carved maple, often using quilted or flamed maple tops. Due to its weight, very few solid body guitars are made entirely from maple, but many guitars have maple necks, tops or veneers.


title: Maple

text: Maple is also often used to make bassoons and sometimes for other woodwind instruments like maple recorders.


title: Maple

text: Many drums are made from maple. From the 1970s to the 1990s, maple drum kits were a vast majority of all drum kits made, but in recent years, birch has become popular for drums once again. Some of the best drum-building companies use maple extensively throughout their mid-pro range. Maple drums are favored for their bright resonant sound. Certain types of drum sticks are also made from maple.


title: Maple

text: During late winter to early spring in northeastern North America, when the night-to-day temperatures change from freezing to thawing, maple trees may be tapped for sap to manufacture maple syrup. The sap is sent via tubing to a sugar house where it is boiled to produce syrup or made into maple sugar or maple taffy. It takes about of sugar maple sap to make of syrup. While any "Acer" species may be tapped for syrup, many do not have sufficient quantities of sugar to be commercially useful, whereas sugar maples ("A. saccharum") are most commonly used to produce maple syrup. Québec, Canada is a major producer of maple syrup, an industry worth about 500 million Canadian dollars annually.


title: Maple

text: Also, as these trees are a major source of pollen in early spring before many other plants have flowered, maple flowers are a source of foraging for honeybees that play a commercially important role in general agriculture and in natural habitats.


title: Maple

text: Maple is used as pulpwood. The fibers have relatively thick walls that prevent collapsing upon drying. This gives good bulk and opacity in paper. Maple also gives paper good printing properties.


title: Maple

text: Many maples have bright autumn foliage, and many countries have leaf-watching traditions. The sugar maple "(Acer saccharum)" is the primary contributor to fall "foliage season" in North America, particularly in Central Ontario, Quebec, and northern New England, New York, Wisconsin, and Michigan.


title: Maple

text: In Japan, the custom of viewing the changing colour of maples in the autumn is called "momijigari". Nikko and Kyoto are particularly favoured destinations for this activity. In Korea, the same viewing activity is called "danpung-nori" and the Seoraksan and Naejang-san mountains are among the best-known destinations.


title: Wallace Fard Muhammad

text: Wallace Dodd Fard, also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad or Master Fard Muhammad (; reportedly born February 26, – disappeared ), was the founder of the Nation of Islam. He arrived in Detroit in 1930 with an obscure background and several aliases, and taught an idiosyncratic form of Islam to members of the city's black population. In 1934, he disappeared from public record, and Elijah Muhammad succeeded him as leader of the Nation of Islam.


title: Wallace Fard Muhammad

text: Fard Muhammad, acting as a door-to-door travelling salesman, spread his religious teachings throughout Detroit, and within three years grew the movement to a reported 8,000–9,000 members in Detroit, Chicago, and other cities. In 2007, the Nation of Islam had an estimated membership of 20,000–50,000.


title: Wallace Fard Muhammad

text: The annual Saviour's Day event is held in honor of Master Fard's birth. In 2020, it attracted an estimated 14,000 participants.