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"Exegete" <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote in message
> No, I don't think I am. See below. BTW - the first iMacs came with USB
> standard. As I recall Firewire wasn't ready yet. Besides the discussion
> concerned packages, not a standard for attaching various kinds of
> devices. The Lemmings buy what's in the box.[/color]
By that definition, we're all Lemming for buying groceries, petrol for our
cars, and whatever else is marketed to the masses. Even though we have free
will and the option to bake out own bread and brew our own fuel in the
backyard still is an option. We might as well refuse to consume anything
because its a plot. ROTFL!
> No. I'm not that dumb.[/color]
You're entitled to your opinion.
> But many who buy Wintel machines are.
> They aren't buying M$ because it's so good, they're buying it because
> Dell is selling a machine that gets on the Internet for $500, or because
> Walmart is selling a Wintel for somewhere around the same price. They
> have never HEARD of Linux, Mach, or GEOS. Most have never even heard of
> DOS. No Macs for sale at Walmart, but then, most people have no idea
> that there is any competition.[/color]
GEOS never graduated beyond being a cute little DOS suite of apps, best
suited for low end PCs. Its communications and Internet software is second
rate. I doubt many people take it seriously, I don't, do you? Regards Linux,
its still too arcane for the most users. The tower of Babel of competing UI
nonsense only impresses techs or those who think they are. In reality, Linux
has failed on the desktop, all by itself. The Mac has penetrated 5% into the
PC sales, and there are NO CLONES ALLOWED. Its a great package that carries
a premium price, but most people don't want to. Therefore, the mainstream is
clearly PCs and Windows, a fantastic combo.


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Welcome to the new SellIdaho.com!
- Details
- Category: Blog
- Published on Thursday, 31 August 2006 11:54
- Hits: 16795
We're excited to launch our new site, SellIdaho.com. It has been re-designed from the ground-up to get needed information to home buyers and sellers as easily and quickly as possible.
This site is constantly under construction and reconstruction. Your input and opinions are welcomed and appreciated. If there is something we can add or create that will make this site more useful for you and meeting your real estate needs, please drop us a note or give me a call. My business depends on referrals from happy web viewers as much as it does satisfied clients. Thank you for visiting sellidaho.com.
It's been just over 2 years since we have launched the new site & I'm happy to say that we are set to receive over 1,000,000 hits this month and are ranked consistently in the top 2 positions on Google under the search term "Idaho Real Estate" as well as #1 with many other terms such as "search Idaho Real Estate", "selling Idaho real estate", "buying Idaho real estate" and many more!
The newest addition to the site is our direct access MLS engine. This will allow you to access all current, active property listings within the Intermountain MLS which makes up most of Idaho MLS searches! I don't believe in trying to make visitors "register" to receive this information, but I certainly hope you will visit long and contact me when you are ready to buy or sell!
Always looking out for your next move on Idaho Real Estate in the Boise Real Estate Market,
Don Wixom

subset: commoncrawl


text: TweetSumoMeTweetIt's been a really exciting week on The Travel Hack with lots of new plans I can't quite mention yet but I'll probably burst if I don't tell you soon.I had an incredible weekend last week as I travelled to Hereford to stay in a yurt. It was a cosy and rustic yurt in the depths of the countryside and reminded me how nice it to get away from everything for a while. Even if you only go away for one night, two days spent in the perfect place can feel like a holiday.Here's what I've been writing this week…My Yurt holiday with the G3 My trip was in partnership with the new LG G3 phone and I was testing it out during my weekend. I'll be sharing more details about the phone soon. 10 reasons to love LjubljanaI could think of hundreds but here are just 10. Tips to leave your job and become a full time freelancer Check out the link in the comments to One Man Band Accounting. She has some awesome free downloads to help freelancers and bloggers keep their accounts in order.How to plan a holiday to LjubljanaGo on, you know you want to! Here are some great blog posts and articles I've been reading.37 tough lessons I learned from travel {Bacon is Magic} I always say that one the many reasons I travel is because you learn so much through travelling. Ayngelina talks us through 37 tough life lessons she's learned through travel. I've read through this post a few times to try and pick out my favourite 'lesson' but I can't pick just one. There are 37 gems here and I recommend soaking them all up.The Best of Prague {Guten Blog Y'all}When you live in Europe there are some cities that you just HAVE to visit. Places like Barcelona, Paris and Prague but I have a little confession, I haven't been to any of these places! Well I travelled to Paris with school when I was 13 but that definitely doesn't count. This post from Guten Blog Y'all has firmly put Prague on my wish list and shown that it isn't just a place for stag parties.Street art interacting with nature {Bored Panda}This makes me want to learn how to spray paint purely so I can make some cool art and combine it with a tree or a flower. Honest brand slogans {Bored Panda}This is another corker from Bored Panda. Forget 'Because you're worth it' or 'Every little helps', this is what the brand slogans should really say. Why we're going to travel vegan {Angloitalian Follow Us} While I was travelling with Trek America, my tour leader, Jordan, was vegan and ever since I've been fascinated with vegans. He was living proof that vegans can eat a great diet and it can really improve their health. I'm going to be following Dale and Franca to see how they get on and if they find the challenge tough whilst travelling. A Pharmacist Approved Hangover Cure {Fit Sugar}This is for anyone planning to have a big weekend. I've read a lot of crap about the healthy benefits of green smoothies and I've never believed a word of it. This recipe, however, actually sounds pretty good and seems to be filled with healthy, tasty and nutritious ingredients that just might kick the dreaded hangover. Book of the WeekThe Fault in Our Stars {John Green}I didn't want to read this book, I really didn't. It's about a teenager with cancer, who would want to read that? But I couldn't ignore those thousands of 5* reviews on Amazon, particularly since the book has been made into a film and you always have to read the book first. The book is tragic, you will cry, but it has a light humour that will also have you laughing at things you really don't feel like you should laugh at. The moral of the story is that life is short, enjoy each day, don't take life too seriously. It's unlikely that you'll ever made a huge significance to the world so just live your life to make yourself and your loved ones happy. Competition of the WeekWin an adventure holiday to New Zealand {Ultimate Outdoors}This is a really cool competition to win a 15 adventure tour in New Zealand and includes flights, single tour upgrade, bike hire and your sleeping bag.The prize is worth £2,000! And what's better than an amazing prize? A competition that is really easy to enter. Just pop in your details, answer a quick question and keep your fingers tightly crossed!Have a great weekend everyone and feel free to add any great links in the comments below (except you, Milf Porn, I've got my eye on you!)6 Responses Ayngelina July 19, 2014 Monica thanks so much for including me in this, also super interested in the couple who are going to travel vegan so thanks for picking them too. Reply Franca July 19, 2014 Thank you so much Monica for including us, there are other cool reads that we can check out. Have a great weekend! 🙂 Reply chowie July 20, 2014 literally just finished 'The fault in our stars' today, and it is a book of near-perfection. You're right about not wanting to read a book about a cancer kid -I described the premise to someone and they said "I won't be reading that…it sound heavy". It really is full of humour, I found myself laughing more than crying, which tells you how amazing the author is. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll gladly second it. Reply TheTravelHack July 21, 2014 Such a great author. Anyone who can make such a tragic subject humorous is a genius! Reply Arianwen July 21, 2014 Nice selection of articles. That's my evening reading sorted! 🙂 Reply TheTravelHack July 21, 2014 Glad I can help Ari 🙂 Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website


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- Table View
- List View
Busted Scotch: Selected Storiesby James Kelman
This collection of 35 short stories--most of them being published in this country for the first time--has been selected and arranged by James Kelman himself from over two decades of his work. The stories of Busted Scotch are set in the working-class milieu of Scotland and England--the pubs, betting shops, tenements, bedrooms, snooker parlors, and decaying industrial workplaces. They range widely in length from a few paragraphs to twenty-plus pages, in style from the deceptively offhand to the highly farcical, and in subject matter from the casual everyday tragedies to the heartbreaking vicissitudes of romance and language.
How Late It Was, How Lateby James Kelman
A raw, wry vision of human survival in a bureaucratic world, How Late It Was, How Late opens one Sunday morning in Glasgow, Scotland, as Sammy, an ex-convict with a penchant for shoplifting, awakens in a lane and tries to remember the two-day drinking binge that landed him there. Then, things only get worse. Sammy gets in a fight with some soldiers, lands in jail, and discovers that he is completely blind. His girlfriend disappears, the police probe him endlessly, and his stab at Disability Compensation embroils him in the Kafkaesque red tape of the welfare system.<P><P> A masterpiece of black humor, subtle political parody, and Scottish lower-class vernacular.<P> Man Booker Prize winner
If It Is Your Lifeby James Kelman
Giving voice to the dispossessed and crafting stories of lives held in the balance, James Kelman reaches us all. Penetrating deeply into the hearts, minds, and desperation of characters who find themselves in everyday situations--in the hospital, at a bus stop, in a living room with the endless roar of the vacuum cleaner and a distant wife--Kelman follows their streams of consciousness and brings their worries to life. With honesty and dark humor, he confronts the issues of language, class, politics, gender, and age--identity in all its forms.
Kieron Smith, Boyby James Kelman
I had cousins at sea. One was in the Cadets. I was wanting to join. My maw did not want me to but my da said I could if I wanted, it was a good life and ye saved yer money, except if ye were daft and done silly things. He said it to me. I would just have to grow up first. James Kelman's triumph in Kieron Smith, boy is to bring us completely inside the head of a child and remind us what strange and beautiful things happen in there. Here is the story of a boyhood in a large industrial city during a time of great social change. Kieron grows from age five to early adolescence amid the general trauma of everyday life--the death of a beloved grandparent, the move to a new home. A whole world is brilliantly realized: sectarian football matches; ferryboats on the river; the unfairness of being a younger brother; climbing drainpipes, trees, and roofs; dogs, cats, sex, and ghosts. This is a powerful, often hilarious, startlingly direct evocation of childhood.
Mo Said She Was Quirkyby James Kelman
James Kelman, the Man Booker Prize-winning author of How Late It Was, How Late, tells the story of Helen--a sister, a mother, a daughter--a very ordinary young woman. Her boyfriend said she was quirky but she is much more than that. Trust, love, relationships; parents, children, lovers; death, wealth, home: these are the ordinary parts of the everyday that become extraordinary when you think of them as Helen does, each waking hour. Mo Said She Was Quirky begins on Helen's way home from work, with the strangest of moments when a skinny, down-at-heel man crosses the road in front of her and appears to be her lost brother. What follows is an inspired and absorbing story of twenty-four hours in the life of a young woman.
You Have to be Careful in the Land of the Freeby James Kelman
In the critically acclaimed You Have to Be Careful in the Land of the Free, James Kelman has created an unforgettable character and a darkly comic portrait of a post-9/11 America. Jeremiah Brown, a Scottish immigrant in his early thirties, has lived in the United States for twelve years. He has moved as many times, from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again, all in the hope his luck would change. To add to his restlessness and indecision, he now has a nonrefundable ticket to Glasgow--by way of Seattle, Canada, Iceland, and England--to visit his mother. On his last night in the States, Jeremiah finds himself in a town south of Rapid City, moving from bar to bar, attracting and repelling strangers, losing count of the beers he has drunk. All the while he is haunted by memories and by an acute sense of foreboding.
Select your format based upon: 1) how you want to read your book, and 2) compatibility with your reading tool. To learn more about using Bookshare with your device, visit the Help Center.
Here is an overview of the specialized formats that Bookshare offers its members with links that go to the Help Center for more information.
- Bookshare Web Reader - a customized reading tool for Bookshare members offering all the features of DAISY with a single click of the "Read Now" link.
- DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) - a digital book file format. DAISY books from Bookshare are DAISY 3.0 text files that work with just about every type of access technology that reads text. Books that contain images will have the download option of 'DAISY Text with Images'.
- BRF (Braille Refreshable Format) - digital Braille for use with refreshable Braille devices and Braille embossers.
- MP3 (Mpeg audio layer 3) - Provides audio only with no text. These books are created with a text-to-speech engine and spoken by Kendra, a high quality synthetic voice from Ivona. Any device that supports MP3 playback is compatible.
- DAISY Audio - Similar to the Daisy 3.0 option above; however, this option uses MP3 files created with our text-to-speech engine that utilizes Ivonas Kendra voice. This format will work with Daisy Audio compatible players such as Victor Reader Stream and Read2Go.


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TTYM: Dick Butkus Rocks Canadian Tuxedo and Drake Gets His Groom OnIn this week's That Thing You Missed watch a young Cubs fan get a dose of reality, a 5-year old who can kick your butt, Drake get his grooming on and Dick Butkus sing at Wrigley Field.
TTYM: Watch Will Ferrell Give The Masters A Makeover And A 'Mascot' Get ClockedIn this week's That Thing You Missed comedian Will Ferrell explains how he'd update The Masters, a college coach reveals interesting new uni's, a Braves' opening day fail and watch a what happens when a wannabe mascot loses his cool.
CBS News: Diana Nyad Ends 4th Attempt To Swim From Cuba To FloridaHer goal of swimming from Cuba to Florida appearing elusive, Diana Nyad was out of the water Tuesday morning, being checked by doctors on a boat and discussing whether she could return to a fourth day of swimming.


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Vivienne Jolie-Pitt is following in her parents' footsteps.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter, 4, landed her first Hollywood gig, Walt Disney Studios confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday in a statement.
Jolie-Pitt will play the child version of Princess Aurora, opposite Jolie, in Maleficent, the live-action updated version of the classic fairy-tale Sleeping Beauty.
Elle Fanning, who plays the grown version of Aurora, will take on the majority of Aurora's role, according to sources, who add that Jolie-Pitt's part is very minor.
Sources also note that as of now, it is unknown whether Jolie, 37, and her little one will share a scene, or if Jolie-Pitt will have any lines.
This isn't the first time a child in the famous family has joined one of their parents in a movie. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt had a cameo as a toddler in Pitt's film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was released in December 2008.
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt Lands a Role in Angelina Jolie's Movie
Splash News Online


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Thomas Rhuel Spell
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, January 27, 2011 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church for Thomas Rhuel Spell, 58, who died Tuesday, January 25, 2011 in Crowley, LA.
Fr. Matthew Higginbotham will be officiating for the services. The family is requesting visiting hours to be held Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. to the time of service. A rosary will be recited Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery.
He is survived by his mother, Mildred D. Picard and her husband, Ronald of Crowley; his daughter, Ashley Spell of Crowley; his step-son, Blaine Morgan of Crowley; two brothers Larry DuBose and his wife, Maureen of Crowley, and Jim DuBose of Crowley; two sisters, Linda Simon and her husband, Robert of Clarksville, AR, and Cindy Hollier and her husband, Tom of Vidor, TX; and his companion, Lola McLain of Crowley.
Mr. Spell is preceded in death by his son, Shannon Thomas Spell; his father, Rhuel Spell, Jr.; and his sister, Dawanna Fontenot.
Condolences may be sent to the family by www.geesey-ferguson.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home of Crowley.


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WiGig Alliance: ten times faster wireless on the way
It seems our already speedy wireless connections are set to get a whole lot faster. The Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) has announced the completion of its unified wireless specification which provides data transmission rates of up to 7 gigabits per second – more than ten times that of current 802.11 Wi-Fi.
The backwards compatible technology will only work over short distances, so it's being pitched as the perfect way to wirelessly connect home media devices like PC's, mobiles and televisions.
"When we launched the WiGig Alliance in May, we announced our plan to complete the industry's first unified 60 GHz specification by Q4 2009, and we are proud to deliver on this promise to the industry," said Dr. Ali Sadri, president and chairman of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. "We're rapidly paving the way for the introduction of the next generation of high‐performance wireless products – PCs, mobile handsets, TVs and displays, Blu‐ray disc players, digital cameras and many more."
WiGig Alliance now has a membership approaching 30 companies including Dell, Microsoft, Intel and Samsung.
The group is aiming towards a single wireless industry standard and says that its WiGig specification will be made available to members in the first quarter of 2010, so we don't expect to be enjoying these speeds until a year or so after that.


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|Our Work
|About Us
|The Eastern Arc Mountains
|Reports & Publications
|Project Partners & Links
|Contact Us
The Challenges...
There is growing global recognition of the importance of protecting ecosystems, not just for the variety of life they contain, but also for the contribution they make to improving or maintaining human well-being through the provision of ecosystem services.
Our field research focuses on the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania...
There are few places in the world that are as important as the Eastern Arc Mountains in terms of numbers of unique and endangered species, as well as providing direct human welfare benefits locally, nationally and globally. This is one of the richest areas for biological diversity on the entire planet. Together, 13 disjunct mountain blocks contain around 200 vertebrate species of conservation concern and around 500 plant species found nowhere else.
Principal Findings
We developed a framework for evaluating ecosystem services that tackles major theoretical and practical concerns, which can be successfully applied even in a developing country context. This framework has since been adopted by the UK National Ecosystem Assessment and the TEEB initiative.
Policy Impacts
Our carbon mapping work has provided sustained input to the development of Tanzania's national REDD strategy. Our early carbon results were used by the Tanzanian Government's delegation to the 2009 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. Particular use has also been made of our paper on the opportunity and implementation costs of REDD in Tanzania, within Tanzania and within the broader UN-REDD programme globally.
Our work on mapping and valuing charcoal, NTFPs, tourism, timber and water has fed into a series of exercises aimed at understanding the impact of Tanzania's national Forest Policy and Water Policy, and their associated Acts and Regulations.
This in turn led to information from Valuing the Arc forming the basis of the speech made by the Tanzanian Minister of Environment at the Rio+20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.
That showcasing has allowed WWF-TZ (a partner in Valuing the Arc) to develop its work on the so-called Green Economy, and it is now engaged in discussions with UNEP and various parts of the Tanzanian government to take this agenda forward. Our research outputs are also being used to inform similar discussions in Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda, as these countries start to take seriously the issue of ecosystem services and the contribution of natural capital to national development.
PublicationsValuing the Arc has generated more than 60 peer-reviewed publications so far, including one book, one paper each in Nature, Nature Climate Change and Nature Geoscience, and two papers in PNAS. The programme has also led to six PhDs and 8 Masters theses.
|Updated 05/05/13


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Register today for inside access to our thought-provoking coverage of the global financial markets!
September 18, 2013
Intense competition, technological advances and regulatory changes have left investors struggling, raising the question, 'Is alpha dead?'
By Julie Segal
Illustration by Zohar Lazar
Page 1 of 5
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Charles Ellis is a master story teller. When Ellis served on
Yale Universitys investment committee from 1992 to 2008,
his colleagues, who included David Swensen, went so far as to
call the advice and wisdom he imparted through his stories
Charleys parables. So when I decided to
research whether alpha investment returns above what a
plain old index fund would give you was just a fairy
tale that the investment industry told itself at bedtime, Ellis
was my guy. I asked the author of Winning the Losers
Game and the man who wrote the foreword to Swensens
landmark book on portfolio management to talk to me for a video
series we were filming on the murky topic of why institutional
investors rarely beat the market. It isnt a new problem
(Ellis first wrote about it in 1972), but it has been getting
steadily worse, and I believed I might be writing alphas
obituary not good when your job is writing for a
publication named Institutional Investor.
When the indefatigable Ellis called me back on a dreary day
at the end of March, he graciously said no to the video,
assuring me I would never want to interview him on film, as he
doesnt know how to speak concisely. We then spent an hour
talking about what prompted him to write Murder on the
Orient Express: The Mystery of Underperformance, a short,
Agatha Christieinspired piece in the Financial
Analysts Journal last year in which he lays the blame for
the inability of pension funds, endowments and others to invest
well at the feet of the usual suspects. Everyone is
guilty in Elliss estimation: money managers who
overpromise, investment committees operating under bad
governance structures, consultants who want to protect their
franchises and poorly paid, thinly staffed institutional
But the 75-year-old Ellis is polite, perhaps to a fault. He
assures me that all these people sincerely believe theyre
doing the right thing and that its hard to identify the
son of a bitch (well, maybe not polite to a fault)
who is truly responsible for the colossal failure to find
alpha. To make his point, Ellis takes me on a long and often
touching detour to explain how we can be part of the problem
even as we are oblivious to the specifics of the role we are
playing. He enlists the movie The Help, in which
young, card-playing white women are blind to the tragic effects
of segregation around them, to make his point that people in
the investment industry are doing their best, even if
inexorable forces are preventing them from delivering their
promised product.
Ellis, who founded consulting firm Greenwich Associates in
1972 to provide strategic advice to financial services firms,
warns me he is going to stop talking, tells me how much fun he
is having and asks how he can be of help. I tell him I want to
know why the aggregate amount of alpha a measure of
risk-adjusted excess return seems to be drying up. Why
is it that investors can collectively discover and then quickly
wring out all the value from an investment idea? Ellis has
pointed to a lot of mistakes that investors make, like dumping
funds at the worst possible moment; I ask him why a small-cap
stock manager might have a harder time today picking stocks
that will beat the average than he or she did in the 1980s.
I had evidence that it was happening. A few months earlier,
before he landed at Credit Suisse in New York as head of global
financial strategies, Michael Mauboussin had shown me
statistics he had prepared for a Columbia University class on
security analysis that he was teaching, illustrating that the
margin of outperformance that is, alpha of U.S.
large-cap mutual funds has been steadily shrinking for 40
years. The difference between the best and the average
manager is narrowing, so the results get narrower, says
Mauboussin. We saw it at the Olympics: The gold medalist
wasnt that much faster than the athletes who won the
silver and the bronze. Thats also happened in
I became interested in how alpha had gotten harder to find
during the 2007 quant crisis. Traditional asset managers, which
I had been covering since 1998, always tell investors and
reporters the same thing when markets fall: Markets can be
irrational at times, so keep your head down, keep dollar-cost
averaging, and your portfolio of equities and bonds will work
in the long term.
In August 2007 investors discovered that a huge number of
quantitative long-short hedge funds had been using the same
supposed secret algorithms to trade a handful of big stocks.
When all these hedge funds got a sell signal from their algos
at the same time, the markets cratered. To Andrew Lo, a finance
professor and head of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering
at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the quant crisis was a
surprise and the first sign that something was different. There
were no new big investing ideas. Every trade was crowded, and
alpha might be dead.
No corner of the financial market was undiscovered
country, says the peripatetic Lo, talking to me on his
cell phone from the back of a cab.
I wanted to know how that had happened and what
institutional investors were doing about it. I examined how
innovations like target date funds which automatically
divvy up investments among different types of equities and
bonds had fueled blind demand for small-cap stocks. The
investment spigot had been turned on for these stocks
regardless of perceived value and driven prices up and expected
returns down. I talked to investors who were looking for
untrammeled corners of the investing world that could provide
additional diversification and new sources of alpha.
when Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for bankruptcy a year
later, exploring the concept of too many investors
running good investment ideas into the ground seemed laughable.
Once the financial crisis was unleashed in its full fury, I
dropped the subject of whether alpha was dead and reported
instead on how the financial services industry could
The crisis turned out to be a watershed moment in
investors struggles to find excess returns. What had
become common wisdom and the science of markets suddenly
didnt work. One case in point was the endowment model,
made famous by Swensen: It stresses diversification into all
types of equities and employs huge allocations to alternative
investments like private equity and hedge funds. The model,
which had produced stellar long-term investment returns for
Yale, failed during the crisis. The mix of all those asset
classes did not provide any cover from the losses in the public
equity markets, and investors had to scramble to access other
sources of cash once they got a real taste of what it meant for
their funds to be locked up in illiquid investments. The
research that went into the endowment model looked threadbare
in the face of postcrisis structural changes like global
deleveraging and unprecedented monetary policy by central banks
around the world, not to mention the demands of aging
populations for their assets to work harder.
Hoping to make sense of what had happened, I recently
reached out to Suzanne Duncan, the 40-year-old global head of
research for State Street Corp.s Boston-based Center for
Applied Research. I first met Duncan seven years ago, when she
was a rising star at the IBM Institute for Business Value. She
always has a counterintuitive insight when I call her about an
idea I want to explore. When asked about alpha, investors
copying one another and the effect of the 200809
meltdown, she tells me that the financial crisis has forced the
industry to rethink basic assumptions of Modern Portfolio
Theory, such as normal distributions, market efficiency and
risk-free rates of return. Investors and providers alike
are recognizing inherent weaknesses in these assumptions, which
they have come to realize are not so basic at all, she
Duncan is excited about my research on alpha. She cites a
joint paper from the Center for Applied Research and the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University that
found that less than 1 percent of 2,076 U.S. mutual funds
tracked between 1976 and 2006 achieved superior returns after
costs. She also refers to a working paper from the University of
Maryland that reports that before 1990, 14.4 percent of
equity mutual funds delivered alpha, whereas in 2006 only 0.6
percent of the managers could say the same thing. The authors
define funds that produce alpha as those having stock-picking
skills sufficient to provide a surplus beyond recovering
trading costs and expenses.
Duncan relishes telling people what they dont want to
hear. When I met her in 06, she was presenting the
findings of her research on how transparency and speed would
destroy the value of traders, at a time when Wall Street was
still making record profits. Now shes saying that
transparency and speed have destroyed alpha.
I have a quarter which, when flipped, is able to predict whether the stock market will go up or down that day. Fortunately I don't believe my quarter is smart, it's just that I flipped a bunch of them, and one came out right.
Similarly, no one seems to be able to predict the geniuses up front, whether they are individual investors or mutual fund operators.
Would anyone like to pay my quarter a 1% management fee?
Yes, tough to beat the market while indexing, unless it's valuation based. See FWDD.
I get a kick out of all the people who confidently state that it is nearly impossible to beat the markets.
I have been consistently beating the averages for eight years now. Granted it took about 10 years of persistence and obsessive study and practice but I now beat the averages by twice or three times. Over the eight years of this fund I am up 260%. One year was 100%, another 60%, last year was only 35%.
Am up 17% so far this year.
good luck to all you money "managers".
You ruined it by quoting Mauboussin. He is a joke. During the TMT bubble, he invented new valuation theories to justify comical valuation multiples for tech stocks. His work was always wrapped up in supercilious pseudo-academic frameworks. How he loved Enron! He has made a career out of taking academic research and rewriting it in a smart-arsed way as stock-broker research.
Ms. Segal,
This was a fantastic article. I enjoyed the personal touch that you brought to the subject.
Unfortunately, there is an entire industry built up around the idea that "professional" asset managers can either add alpha or find others who can add alpha. As you note, there is no provable persistence of alpha - essentially they are selling you yesterday's lottery numbers and telling you that they will hit again tomorrow because they have in the past.
The real takeaway for individual investors is that the only way to add "value" or alpha is to reduce fees, tax consequences, and other costs as low as possible.
At the end of the day, truly creative investing as with any creative act is a really personal thing. The whole concept of alpha makes it seem like it's something you can replicate on a mass scale, but you can't, at least not entirely, b/c the greatest investors don't just leverage widely available knowledge, but they also leverage their personal experiences, judgments and intuitions. That is something that just can't be transferred from person to person. The difficult part is, before, you could approximate a great investor's performance by following their portfolio, stock by stock, but with high frequency guys, there's no more room there. They buy milliseconds after the smart money buy. So, it really is true i think, that you can't follow the leader, you have to blaze your own path, that's the only way to find true "alpha".
Nice article. I think pricing of risk is getting better but alpha will always exist as long as there is uncertainty. A good piece on the expectingreturns.com website examines the pitfalls of measuring managers against benchmarks. I think it's worth a read in the context of this article: http://expectingreturns.com/2013/10/06/winning-a-losers-game/
Dear Ms. Segal,
I'm a former journalist turned analyst at a leading mutual fund company.
Hats off to you for writing a truly thought-provoking and excellent article.
One of the reasons I left journalism - having worked for two of the country's leading news organizations - was that journalists , partly because of budget cuts, were no longer writing critical articles that made readers think.
You have done exactly this. Keep up the good work! I'm eagerly awaiting your future articles.
Our whole accounting apparatus is designed to give investors/analysts information about tangible assets. Meanwhile, 80% of the market value of S&P 500 firms and just over 50% of the market value of all publicly traded firms can be attributed to intangible assets. With everyone slicing and dicing the same 20% mound of information, finding alpha is like trying to squeeze water from a rock. The upstream indicators of corporate performance are comprised of intangibles such as corporate culture, customer perception of value, employee engagement levels, brand equity, innovation, quality of supplier relationships, management integrity, etc. Every person who has ever worked in or managed a company knows these ingredients really matter, but investors are rarely provided with reliable information about the health of these intangibles. Alpha isn't dead. It's been buried alive under a pile of information where few investors have bothered to look.
Very good article. The steady decline of the standard deviation of mutual funds' alpha returns is the most rational and irrefutable proof of the article's point.
But it is never mentioned in the debate about alpha that, as a group, fund managers have a great positive impact on capital allocation in the economy and on quoted companies' long term return on capital (in a less obvious way than private equity fund managers but on a much larger pool of capital). So their contribution to the economy goes well beyond alpha generation alone.
Patrice, fund manager
We're still measuring alpha the same way we did 40 years ago, with regressions & peer groups. Yet we've evolved from vacuum tube radios to Dick Tracy watches. There are more accurate and reliable methodologies for evaluating manager success or failure. Who knows, these methodologies might reveal more alpha than you think. Or not. The sell side runs this show, & it's afraid of accurate performance evaluation. Ever meet a manager below median?
Great article!!!!
Alpha is dead! Alpha by definition is a zero-sum game. If asset managers trade against each other, the average performer is expected to deliver index minus expenses. Investors will be much better off with index funds unless they have superior skills of picking managers. In reality, picking good managers can be another impossible task. The number of investment products are more than the number of stocks. It is hard to differentiate skills from luck, or a streak of luck.
The alpha in the future will be more likely from managing downside risks, instead of picking stocks. Traditional asset mangers normally manage against their benchmarks disregarding capital preservation for investors. That approach have proven to be ineffective during the financial crisis. It does not help investors achieving their goals when a manager outperformed a benchmark, which was down by 40%, by a few percentage points.
We need a new definition of alpha. Alpha should be defined against an investors' goal rather a market index.
You've written a fantastic article. If more investors (and advisors) admitted the fact you cogently lay out they would be much better off. Of course, there is too much money to be made in the (failed) pursuit of alpha.
This point is really beyond debate today. Look up the last 10 years of returns for college endowments or state pension plans -- the biggest investors with access to the best and most exclusive investment strategies in the world are unable to outperform simple balanced index fund portfolios, let alone allocations that tilt to smaller and more value-oriented stocks.
No, the only "alpha" left in today's market that isn't simply due to chance is the efficient delivery of exposure to priced sources of risk and return -- size, price, and profitability on the equity side and term and credit on the fixed side as well as the promotion of positive investor behavior by a qualified advisor so their clients earn the returns of their asset allocation and no less through poor timing moves. The 2 D's: "dimensions" of return and "discipline" are the only two differentiators in today's modern investment markets.
"I'm smarter than everyone else" has about as much creditability as the one-time view that success was preordained for Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell because he was more physically gifted than anyone else. The two had/have approximately the same outcome.
Thanks for reading, Michael! And thanks for pointing this out. We've changed the mistake.
Dear Ms. Segal:
I enjoyed reading your article, "Beating the Market has become Nearly Impossible." Thank you for the hard work.
Just one note. On page number 5, the CFA Designation is known as the "Chartered Financial Analyst" designation vs. in the article it is stated as "Certified."
As a CFA Charterholder, it is my duty to inform you of this. Hopefully, others have done the same.
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Tasty apple salad really!I like it:)Also I add some cinnamon to it!Yummy:)Thanks;)
Rating5/5 (from 2 ratings)5
YieldYou can make as much as you like.
1 Apple, chopped (to your liking--I did 1/4)
½ Lime/Lemon, cut in half
¼ cup Raisins
Recipe Directions
I got bored earlier, and wanted something sweet, yet tangy. So I cut an apple into 1/4 pieces, you can cut them however you like. I then cut a lime, and a lemon in half to squeeze the juice from, and put it over the apples and raisins.
I also ate the inside of both halves of the lime and lemon (so I didn't waste it).
then you can chow down.
You can also use a juicer to make the 'dressing' if you think it would work better.
I also thought this may be good with some sort of nuts or seeds in it aswell? If anyone tries any other variations please tell how it works out!
Couponfork's ThoughtsBy couponfork
[This may be a horrible/dumb idea—but I liked it]
A tangy apple/raisin salad with lemon/lime as a sort of 'dressing'.
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This work great with some grapes and also a little raw honey
I love apple with lime, yumm.
It was created at the Waldorf Hotel in the 1800's and is an immensely popular salad. It is dressed with a traditional mayo, but I'm sure there are wonderfully raw, healthy ones. Some versions call for grapes instead of raisins, but I find the raisins are my favorite in this combo. I think your version sounds yummy with just the lemon juice and no added fat other than the walnuts.
No, I hadn't until now, sounds good though, what mayo though?
Have you heard of Waldorf Salad? One of the recipes for it is apples, raisins, lemon juice, celery, walnuts and mayo.
Have you heard of Waldorf Salad? One of the recipes for it is apples, raisins, lemon juice, celery, walnuts and mayo.
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These studies have been conducted by Drs. G. Tibblin, L. Wilhelmsen, B. Lindholm, A. Gustafsson, J. Fodor, and Dr. Elmfelt in a concentrated effort to analyze the natural history of ischemic heart disease. The general approach was partly initiated by the European office of WHO, Copenhagen, whose chief officer in the cardiovascular branch, Z. Pisa, has been most helpful. Financial support has been received from the Swedish Association against Lung and Heart Disease, Förenade Liv, and the Swedish Margarine Producer's Association for Nutritional Studies, Stockholm, Sweden, and from WHO. The preventive trial is conducted with aid from The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Fund.
▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Lars Werkö, M.D., Med. Dept. I, Sahlgren's Hospital, 413 45 Göteborg, Sweden.
Prevention of heart disease is critically reviewed. Although several risk factors have been identified that seem to characterize individuals most prone to later development of ischemic heart disease, no one has been able to show that interfering with these risk factors will decrease the incidence of the disease. A current population study indicates that removal of only one risk factor may have little or no impact on the overall morbidity or mortality in middle-aged men in Western societies. A multifactorial approach seems necessary to influence a disease that, like ischemic heart disease, is influenced by many environmental factors. The hypothesis that removal of several risk factors will decrease the incidence of ischemic heart disease in the community must be tested before any large-scale changes are advocated in our life style. Such a study is described. Changing social structure in the community, however, may be of larger importance for the prevention of ischemic heart disease than any medical intervention.
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Summer Tie Dye Outfit
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Wear some warm summer colors with this little outfit from I Love to Create for your little one. Sewing this plaid fabric will make such a great wardrobe for those warm summer months.
- Tulip® One-Step Tie-Dye Kits™
- Good Vibrations
- Pattern – NewLook – #6906
- Plaid Fabric #2004521 – or any all cotton fabric
- Sewing machine
- Sewing needle with thread to match
- Ruler
- Ribbon – pink – ½" wide – 1 yard
- Sewing pins
- Notions – per pattern
- Plastic tablecloth
- Scissors
- Sew outfit following pattern instructions.
- Bandana – measure and cut a 10" by 20" triangle from fabric. Sew a ¼" hem around entire bandana.
- Wash outfit and bandana in washer to remove sizing. Cover work surface with plastic tablecloth.
- Place damp pieces on plastic and smooth flat. Place hand on right side of dress then pull up fabric about 3". Tightly wrap rubber band around fabric, then pull up an additional 4" and wrap another rubber band around the base of this section. Pull up another 4" and repeat, for a total of three rubber-banded sections on dress. Add rubber band around elastic on each pant leg then two more about 3" apart. Find center on long edge of bandana and pinch together. Add rubber band about 3" in then add one more about 2" from first.
- Wearing gloves from dye box, fill dye bottles with water to line indicated. Shake each until thoroughly mixed.
- Carefully squeeze Purple on first section of dress, pants and bandana. Add Red to next section then Fuchsia to last.
- Let dyed fabric sit for 4 to 6 hours. Use scissors to carefully cut off rubber bands. Wash pieces in washer with small amount of laundry soap then dry in dryer. Iron smooth.
- Cut ribbon in half then use needle and matching thread to sew one end of ribbon to each end on bandana
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Regal Princess® – Now Arrived!
Our next generation of Princess Cruises ships
The new Regal Princess, sister ship to Royal Princess, is a spectacular example of the next generation of innovative Princess ships. From the breathtaking Atrium & Piazza — now over 50 percent larger than our other ships' Atriums and featuring exciting new eateries — to signature features like The SeaWalk® a dramatic glass-bottom walkway which USA TODAY calls one of the "Top Gee-Whiz Features at Sea" — you'll quickly come to love the many exciting dining and entertainment options available on this majestic ship.
10 Great Reasons to Sail Regal Princess in the Caribbean
This fall, the majestic Regal Princess® sails her first Caribbean season. It's an opportunity not to be missed, and we'll give you ten great reasons why.
Regal Princess Naming Ceremony Photo Gallery
View photo highlights of the original cast of The Love Boat christening Regal Princess!
Regal Princess Video
Watch a video on the newest and most innovative ship to join the Princess fleet.
Royal & Regal Princess In-Depth Cruise Ship Video Tours
Watch Ron Goodman, Cruise Director onboard Regal Princess, provide an in-depth look at the distinctive features onboard Regal Princess!
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Explore our newest ship and see all of her amazing features come to life!
Deck Plans
Explore the spacious decks of this spectacular ship, from popular dining and entertainment venues to freshwater pools, staterooms and more.
Regal Princess Staterooms
Get an exclusive glimpse into the new Regal Princess staterooms, designed with the experienced cruiser in mind.
Photo Gallery & Ship Facts
View the many features of Regal Princess, sister to Royal Princess, which include a wide variety of activities, entertainment, and dining options.
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Watch from the bridge of Regal Princess as she broadcasts spectacular views from an array of destinations.
Explore Regal Princess Destinations
Start planning your next cruise on Regal Princess as she embarks on her maiden season with the destination experts!
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In the article, Smith says, "In other words, the Jets view Ward as the Steelers' best receiver and want their best cornerback on him." Well Michael Smith, that's not necessarily true. In fact, it is completely possible (in fact probable) that the Jets view Wallace as the better and more dangerous receiver.
One thing we have learned from the Jets this year is that they often put Cromartie in man coverage on taller, speedier wide receivers (see Randy Moss, Brandon Marshall, Greg Jennings, Terrell Owens, etc...), because Cromartie himself is tall and fast with a longer reach than Revis. Granted, Revis spent most of the season recovering from a hamstring injury that likely prevented him from running downfield at full speed. But even with a healthy Revis, the Jets would probably need to bring a safety over the top to prevent the big play to Wallace, who may be the fastest player in the NFL. Therefore, it makes sense to put Cromartie on Wallace with safety help deep, and leave Revis to eliminate Ward from the Steelers' gameplan altogether.
On his impending meeting with Revis, Hines Ward said, ""Can he be beaten? Yeah, he can be beaten," Ward said of Revis. "But at the same time he's one of those guys you don't want to mess with. If you make a mistake he's a game-changer. A lot of quarterbacks just stay a away from him. So as a wide receiver you can get frustrated, because you're not even getting looked at when he's covering you."


text:
Another way to say damn it or crap when something is done wrong.
Someone drops something and in response says " Shit on a shingle!"
додав Amanda 18 Березня 2005
The food they serve at Lower Dauphin High School
Whats for lunch? Shit on a shingle!
додав Kumaru 09 Березня 2008
Wow!The roof of that house looks like S.O.S.!
додав Anonymous 28 Травня 2003
1) This meal is served in nearly every American home for the days following Thanksgiving. Two slices of bread covered with turkey gravy and pieces of meat. It is usually accompanied by mashed potatoes.
2) The United States Military adopted the term Shit on a Shingle for its WWII chipped beef an cream.
2) The United States Military adopted the term Shit on a Shingle for its WWII chipped beef an cream.
Mom made too much food this Thanksgiving. We will be eating Shit on a Shingle for weeks!
додав Shit Maker 30 Вересня 2006
(n) An African-American or East-Indian Roofer
"Look at all those niggers roofing! Talk about shit on a shingle!"
додав Osama Bin Jensen 20 Квітня 2008


text:
Planet in House
Planet in Sign
You will find on these pages astrological charts of thousands of celebrities with Jupiter in Aquarius.
Just click on the celebrities of your choice to get their horoscope, excerpts of astrological portrait, natal chart, positions of planets and astrological houses, biography, and photo.
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Barack Hussein Obama II (pronounced /bəˈrɑːk hʊˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician. As the winner of the presidential election of November 4, 2008, he is currently the President-elect of the United States of America and is expected to take office as the forty-fourth President of the United States on January 20, 2009. He is currently the incumbent junior United States Senator from Illinois. External link - Comprehensive Astrological Portrait for Barack Obama Version 4.0 Barack Obama'Comprehensive Astrological Portrait Obama is the first African-American to be elected President of the United States, and was the first Afr...
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Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1, 1926 (birth time source: birth certificate, Bob Garner, Astrodatabank) August 5, 1962; baptized Norma Jeane Baker) was an American actress, singer, model and film producer. After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received, and as her career progressed she became known as a sex symbol. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular performers. The typecasting of Monroe's "dumb blonde" persona limited her caree...
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George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter who gained fame as one of the lead doctors in the long-running television drama, ER (199499), as Anthony Edwards' best friend and partner, Dr. Douglas "Doug" Ross, but is best known for his subsequent rise as an "A-List" movie star in contemporary American cinema. Winner of an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, Clooney has balanced his glamorous performances in big-budget blockbusters with work as a producer and director behind commercially riskier projects, as well as social and political activism. Height: 5' 10½" (1.79 m) Early life Family Clooney, an Irish American, was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Nina Bruce (née Warren), was a former pageant queen, while his fa...
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Aishwarya Rai (born November 1, 1973 (birt time source: http://aishwaryarai.stormpages.com/biography/biography.html)), is a three-time Filmfare Award-winning Indian actress. She was Miss World in 1994 and has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and English films. Rai is married to Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan and is daughter-in-law to Amitabh Bachchan. Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her ancestors are from the Bunt (community) of Mangalore.Her family later relocated to Mumbai(Bombay). Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than she is. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Rai acted. Aditya got married in early 2004. Rai attend...
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Biography of Helena Blavatsky
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Biography of Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams on February 13, 1974 (birth time source: Astrodatabank, another source gives 3:20 PM, by email but no explanation)) is a Grammy Award-nominated and fifteen time BRIT Award-winning English singer/songwriter. His career started as a member of the pop band Take That in 1990, which he left in 1995 after selling 25 million records, to begin his solo career. Since then, Robbie Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history. His sales stand at over 53 million worldwide. He has also sold an estimated 15 million singles. This brings his total to almost 70 million records. Williams entered in the The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tick...
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Biography of Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Streep, mostly known as Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949 (birth time source: Steinbrecher , Astrodatabank)) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, six-time Golden Globe-winning, two-time SAG-winning, Grammy Award-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning American actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. She is the most nominated actress in Academy Award history with 14 nominations. She is widely considered one of the most respected and talented actresses of all time. Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville and her screen debut came in 1977's made-for-television movie The Deadliest Season. She is also one of the select actors that has won all three major motion picture acting awards (Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG Awards). Streep made her f...
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Biography of Dominique Strauss-Kahn
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Biography of Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973 (birth time source: Astrodatabank, Marc Penfield, BC)) is an American retired supermodel. She first emerged to prominence as a cover model for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and one of the original Victoria's Secret Angels. She is best known as the hostess/judge of the reality television show America's Next Top Model, since its 2003 debut on UPN (later CW), and is currently hosting her own daytime talk show, The Tyra Banks Show. Banks is one of only four African Americans and seven women to have repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine....
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Biography of Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (born June 1, 1973 (birth time source: "Models, Schönheit und Astrologie" by astrologer Uwe M. Kraus)), is a German and American model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and an occasional actress. In 2008, she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship. Klum became internationally known for her appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 1997 she became the first German model to become a Victoria's Secret Angel. Following a successful modeling career, Klum gained acclaim as the host and judge of the reality show Project Runway which earned her an Emmy nomination in 2008. She has worked as a spokesmodel for Dannon and H & M, and has appeared in numerous commercials for McDonald's, Vo...
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Biography of Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider (September 23, 1938 (birth time source: http://www.romy.de/romycms/index.php/content/html/biografie, Hans Taeger, Tony Bonin, Astrodatabank) May 29, 1982) was a German actress. She was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty in Vienna, September 23, 1938 at 9:45 PM or 10:05 PM, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her father Wolf Albach-Retty of Austria and her German mother Magda Schneider . After the divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girl's career, often appearing alongside her daughter. Romy thus made her film debut in Wenn der weisse Flieder blüht (1953), at the age of 15. In the film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (Girlhood of a Queen, Ernst Marischka, 1954) R...
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Biography of Eva Herzigová
Eva Herzigová (born 10 March 1973) is a Czech model and actress. Career Herzigová was born in Litvínov, in the then Central bloc country of Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic. She began her modeling career after winning a modeling beauty contest in Prague in 1989, at the age of sixteen. After arriving in Paris, her popularity increased. Her first important appearance was the Wonderbra campaign in 1990s. She was also featured in Guess? jeans advertisements. She has also appeared in the Victoria's Secret catalog and Sports Illustrated. She was a member of Thomas Zeumer's Metropolitan Models. Herzigová has also appeared in several movies. She posed nude for Playboy in August 2004. In 2006 she was Venus at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. She married Tico Torres, the drummer...
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Biography of Jean-Marc Ayrault
Jean-Marc Ayrault (French: ; born 25 January 1950 (birth time source: Didier Geslain)) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from 16 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He was the Mayor of Nantes from 1989 to 2012, and he led the Socialist Party group in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2012. Early life Born in Maulévrier in Maine-et-Loire, Jean-Marc Ayrault is the son of Joseph Ayrault, from Maulévrier, formerly an agricultural worker who was subsequently employed in a textile factory, and of Georgette Uzenot, a former seamstress who later became a full-time housewife. His early schooling was at the St Joseph Catholic primary school in Maulévrier, after which, between 1961 and 1968, he attended the Lycée Colbert, in Cholet. He subsequently studied German at Nantes Univ...
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Biography of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin (Georgian: ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი, Russian: Иосиф Сталин, ISO 9: Iosif Stalin; December 18 1878 March 5, 1953) was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. During that time he established the regime now known as Stalinism. He gradually consolidated power and became the de facto party leader and dictator of the Soviet Union. Following the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924, Stalin prevailed in a power struggle over Leon Trotsky, who was expelled from the Communist Party and deported from the Soviet Union...
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Biography of Anti-Christ
In Christian eschatology the Antichrist (birth date, time and city: Astrodatabank, Jeanne Dixon) or Anti-christ (literally: anti, opposite; christ, messiah) has come to mean a person, image of a person, or other entity that is the embodiment of evil. The name antichrist derives from the books of 1 and 2 John, which describe any who denies Christ to be antichrists. The term is also often applied to prophecies regarding a "Little horn" power in Daniel 7, and is used in conjunction with many End Times teachings. Antichrist is translated from the combination of two ancient Greek words αντί+χριστος (antí+khristos), which can mean anti "opposite" (of) 'khristos' "messiah" therefore"opposite of Christ". Anti can also mean "for or as". Thus...
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Biography of Kate Moss
Katherine Ann Moss (born January 16, 1974 (birth tume source: Kate Moss: The Making of an Icon by Christian Salmon)), known as Kate Moss, is an iconic English supermodel and fashion designer. She is known for her waifish figure and many advertising campaigns and is also recognised for her high-profile relationships and party lifestyle. She has appeared on over 300 magazine covers. Early life Moss was born in Addiscombe, London Borough of Croydon, England. She attended Ridgeway Primary School, then Riddlesdown High School. She then attended 6th Form at Croydon High School. She was not noted for her academic success, although she did excel at sports. According to Vermorel's book Addicted to Love: Kate Moss, she received one C (in Science) and Ds, Es, and Us in all others at GCSE level ...
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Biography of Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley (born 26 March 1985 (source: http://www.librarising.com/astrology/celebs/keiraknightley.html)) is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress, and came to international fame in 2003, after major roles in the films Bend It Like Beckham and the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Knightley has since become a notable lead actress, having starred in several Hollywood films and earning an Academy Award nomination for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Early life Knightley was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England to Sharman Macdonald, a Scottish actress turned award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, an English theatre and television actor. She ...
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Biography of Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ; born 21 April 1926 (birth time source: Fagan quotes official announcement AA 3/l976 , Astrodatabank)) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states that were once part of the British Empire, and their overseas territories and dependencies. She holds each crown and title equally, however she is most directly involved with the United Kingdom, her oldest realm and the place of residence of the Royal Family. Apart from the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, where she is represented by Governors-General. The 16 countries of which ...
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Biography of Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (also known professionally as Christian Morgan Bale; born 30 January 1974) is an English actor who is known for his roles in the films American Psycho, Equilibrium, Batman Begins and The Prestige, among others. Bale is also known for his versatility as an actor, including mimicking nearly any English-based accent, harsh regimens of shedding and gaining weight (particularly for The Machinist, Batman Begins and, most recently, Rescue Dawn), and generally inhabiting the characters he plays. Before he found success in playing Batman, he was heavily involved in independent films. Bale first caught the public eye when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun at the age of 13, playing a British boy who becomes separated from his par...
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Biography of Bar Refaeli
Bar Refaeli (Hebrew: בר רפאלי born June 4, 1985 in Hod HaSharon) is an Israeli model, known for her work for Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret, and for her relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and previously with David Charvet. Biography Early life Refaeli was born in the countryside of Israel where her parents owned a horse ranch. It was her mother, Tsipi Refaeli, who first saw potential in her daughter. Bar Refaeli then began her modeling career at the age of eight months, appearing in commercials. She had to wear braces in her early years, postponing her modeling career. Career Refaeli began her modeling career before the age of one. By the age of fifteen she was featured in campaigns for the fashion brands Cast...
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Biography of Paul Walker
Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 (birth time source: Viktor E. Astrodatabank, birth certificate)) November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He became famous in 1999 after his role in the hit film Varsity Blues, but later became best known for starring as Brian O'Conner in The Fast and the Furious film series. His other films include Eight Below, Into the Blue, She's All That, and Takers. He also appeared on the National Geographic Channel series Expedition Great White. Walker died as a passenger in a car crash on November 30, 2013, in Valencia, California. Early life Walker, the son of Cheryl (née Crabtree), a fashion model, and Paul William Walker III, a sewer contractor, was born in Glendale, California and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County. H...
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Biography of Florent Pagny
Florent Pagny (b. 6 November 1961 in Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire (birth time source: Didier Geslain)) is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Italian, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" (all three were #1 in France) and "Caruso" (#2 in France). As of 2008, he has sold more than 4 million copies of singles, 13 million copies of albums, becoming the 10th best selling artist in France from 1955 to 2008. Early years Pagny began his artistic career as an actor in popular films and television dramas. He appeared in La Balance, L'As des as, A Captain's Honor or Fort Saganne. In 1987, he wrote his first song : "N'importe quoi." Pagny's first album, Merci, was r...
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Biography of Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi on March 2, 1962) is an American musician, businessman, actor and lead singer of the rock band, Bon Jovi. Biography Jon Bon Jovi was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on March 2,1962, and was raised in nearby Sayreville. His mother, Carol Sharkey (of Irish/Italian descent), was a U.S. Marine as well as a Playboy Bunny and his father, John Bongiovi Sr., also a Marine, was a barber of Italian ancestry. John Bon Jovi attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey for two years, freshman and sophomore years, before being forced to transfer to Sayreville War Memorial High School in Parlin, New Jersey because of poor grades, and later adopted the stage name Jon Bon Jovi at the behest of the record company that he signed with. He also plays a...
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Biography of Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 9 November 1970), in France commonly referred to as Général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. Prior to World War II, he was primarily known as an armoured warfare tactician and an advocate of the concentrated use of armoured and aviation forces. During World War II, he reached the rank of Brigade General and then became the leader of the Free French government-in-exile and an anti-Nazi guerrilla leader. Between 1944 and 1946, following the liberation of France from German occupation, he was head of the French provisional government. Called to form a government in 1958, he inspired a new constitution and was the Fifth Republic's first president, serving from 1958 to 1969. His political ideology is known as G...
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Biography of Marie Curie
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (born Maria Skłodowska; known in France and most other countries as Marie Curie; November 7, 1867 (birth time source: Dariuxz Proskurnicki, Astrodatabank, birth certificate) July 4, 1934) was a Polish-French physicist and chemist. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first twice-honored Nobel laureate (and still today the only laureate in two different sciences), and the first female professor at the Sorbonne. She was born in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, the youngest to Polish parents and lived there until she was 24. In 1891 she went to Paris, France, to study science. She obtained her higher degrees and conducted nearly all her scientific work there, and became a naturalized French citizen. She founded the Curie Institutes...
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Biography of Kylie Jenner
Kylie Kristen Jenner, born on August 10, 1997 in Los Angeles, California (birth time source: Viktor E., Astrodatabank, BC, previsouly, Kylie Jenner on Instagram https://instagram.com/kyliejenner/, copy of the informations: http://www.astrotheme.fr/images/Kendall%20Jenner_Kylie_Jenner_Khloe%20Kardashian_birth_time.jpg" which was not correct), is an American model and reality television personality. She is the younger daughter of Kris and Bruce Jenner, and became known to the public as a cast member on Keeping Up With The Kardashians a reality television series on the E! network that documents the lives of her family. Personal life Kylie Jenner is the youngest daughter of Kris and Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner. She has one full sister, Kendall Jenner. Through her mother, she has three o...
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Biography of Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s, and became known after a series of roles in several major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious and Hitch. Early life Mendes was born in Miami, Florida to "lower-middle-class" Cuban-American parents and was raised in Los Angeles by her mother after her parents' divorce; Mendes has said that her mother "suffered so much to make my life OK" during her early years. Her father is a car salesman and her mother, Eva, is not an elementary school principal. As a child, Mendes was teased about her "buck teeth." She went to Hoover High School in Glendale, California and later attended California State University, Northridge but dropped out to seek an acting career. She studied with Ivana Chubbuck. M...
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Biography of Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (born 31 December 1937 (birth time source: Dave Hayward, Astrodatabank)) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning film, stage and television actor. He was born and raised in Wales, but became an American citizen in 2000. Early life Hopkins was born in Margam, Port Talbot in Wales to Muriel Anne (née Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His mother is a distant relative of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. His schooldays were unproductive. A loner with dyslexia, he found that he would rather immerse himself in art, such as painting and drawing or playing the piano, than attend to his studies. In 1949, to instill some discipline, his parents insisted that he attend Jones' West Monmouth Boys' School in Pontypool. He remained there fo...
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Biography of Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan (born November 19, 1961) is an American actress who specializes in romantic comedies, but has also worked in other film genres. Early life Born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut to Susan Jordan (née Ryan), a former English teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher, she went by the name Peggy (also her grandmother's nickname) as a child. She has two sisters, Dana and Annie, and a brother, Andrew. Ryan was raised in the Catholic religion and graduated from Saint Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield, where her mother taught the sixth grade. There, Ryan was confirmed into the Catholic Church, choosing Anne as her confirmation name. Ryan's mother had appeared in one television commercial and later worked briefly as an assistant casting director in New York City. She s...
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Biography of Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985 birth time sources: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_time_was_Bruno_mars_born and http://twittywatch.com/mycity.php/Honolulu-Hawaii/1307559600/17)), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue a musical career. Mars began producing songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by...
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Biography of Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973 (birth time source: rectified time, Astrodatabank)) is an American producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter. He is one half of the production duo The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo) with whom he produces hip-hop, R&B and pop music. He is also the lead singer and drummer of the funk-rock band, N*E*R*D. He released his debut single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his debut album In My Mind in 2006. As part of The Neptunes, Pharrell has produced numerous hit singles for various music stars. He plays the drums, keyboard, and often sings in a falsetto voice. Pharrell's works have earned him three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brand Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear. Pharrell is perhaps one o...
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Biography of Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose , commonly referred to as Axl Rose, (born William Bruce Rose, Jr. on February 6, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the vocalist of Guns N' Roses. The only original member still part of the band's line-up, Rose places high in numerous polls as one of hard rock's all-time greatest frontmen and is also infamous for his onstage antics and disputes with former bandmates....
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Biography of Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. Since the 1960s Fonda has appeared in several movies. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other awards and nominations. She initially announced her retirement from acting in 1991, and said for many years that she would never act again, but she returned to film in 2005 with Monster in Law, and later Georgia Rule released in 2007. She also produced and starred in several exercise videos released between 1982 and 1995. Fonda has served as an activist for many political causes, one of the most notable and controversial of which was her opposition to the Vietnam War. She has also protested the Iraq War and violence again...
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Biography of Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba (Telugu: సత్య సాయిబాబా) born as Sathyanarayana Raju (23 November 1926 24 April 2011) was an Indian guru, spiritual figure and educator. He was described by his devotees as an avatar, godman, spiritual teacher and miracle worker. The apparent materialising of vibhuti (holy ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces and watches by Baba has been a source of both fame and controversy skeptics consider these simple conjuring tricks while devotees consider them evidence of divinity. Sathya Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of the spiritual guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and Muslim beliefs. Sathya Sai Baba and his organisations support a varie...
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Biography of Louis de Funès
Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (fyˈnɛs) (July 31, 1914 (birth time source: Didier Geslain) January 27, 1983) was a French actor who is considered by many to be one of the giants of French comedy. His acting style is remembered for its high energy performance, a wide range of facial expressions and an engaging, snappy impatience. He was enormously successful in several countries for many years France, but also Spain, Germany, Belgium, former Yugoslavia, The Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Poland, Romania, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, and the Soviet Union but remained almost unknown in the English-speaking world. He was only noted in the United States in 1974 with the release of The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob. In a 1968 poll, he was voted France's favorite actor. Many...
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Biography of Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland (birth time source: http://learn-astrology-systemsapproach.blogspot.ca/2008/08/vedic-astrology-chart-for-michael.html)) is an American swimmer who holds World Records in several events. Phelps won eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, six of which were gold, which tied the record for medals at a single Olympics, a record that had been held by Alexander Dityatin since 1980. Phelps's international titles, along with his various world records, have resulted in his being named World Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Career Early years As a young teenager, Phelps trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, under coach Bob Bowman. At the age of 15, Phelps competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney...
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Biography of Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 6, 1475 February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci. Indeed it was said that a true Renaissance man needed to have all these talents and also to have been a diplomat and that Michelangelo was the only person to have ever embodied these criteria. Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches and reminiscences that survive...
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Biography of Ciara (singer)
Ciara (born Ciara Princess Harris on October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released the fourth quarter of 2004 and first quarter of 2005. It produced three top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over 2.6 million in the U.S., and 5 million worldwide, and earned various awards and nominations. Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006.It has spawn the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise", and "Like a Boy". The album has sold nearly two million copies worldwide. Childhood Ciara was born in Austin, Texas. She is the only child of Carlton and Jackie Harris. She grew up on army bases in G...
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Biography of M Pokora
Matthieu Tota (born 26 September 1985 in Strasbourg (birth time source: Didier Geslain)), commonly known as M. Pokora or Matt Pokora, is a French singer and songwriter. Early life Matthieu Tota is the son of professional footballer André Tota and Brigitte Tota. His parents divorced in 1998 when he was 13 years old. As a child, he studied in an elementary school in Hohberg, and later at Collège Paul-Émile Victor in Mundolsheim, and Lycée Aristide Briand in Schiltigheim near Strasbourg. When he was younger, football was his first ambition and he wanted to become a professional player. However, he later opted for music. Matthieu Tota explained the origin of his stage name Matt Pokora in an interview during the documentary Mise à jour broadcast on 26 August 2010 on NRJ 12 TV channel. ...
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Biography of Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale (born July 26, 1973) is an English actress, known for her roles in the films Pearl Harbor (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and Underworld (2003). Early life Kate Beckinsale was born in London to Judy Loe, a stage and television actress, and Richard Beckinsale, a television actor who died in 1979 at the age of 31. She has a paternal half-sister, Samantha, who is also an actress. Beckinsale's paternal great-grandfather was Burmese, and Beckinsale has said that she was "very oriental-looking" as a child. Beckinsale attended the private Godolphin and Latymer School, and in her teens twice won the W. H. Smith Young Writers' competition once for three short stories and once for three poems. After a rebellious adolescence, including a period of anorexia and st...
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Biography of Marie Trintignant
Marie Trintignant (January 21, 1962 August 1, 2003) was a French actress. She was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, being the daughter of actor Jean-Louis Trintignant and his second wife Nadine Marquand. When her younger sister died at the age of nine, Marie Trintignant became withdrawn and virtually stopped speaking. Throughout her early life she was afflicted by severe shyness, but despite this, by her mid-teens she had decided to become an actress. She was the mother of four sons: Roman with drummer Richard Kolinka; Paul with actor François Cluzet; Léon with Mathias Othnin-Girard; and Jules with director Samuel Benchetrit. Marie Trintignant died of a cerebral edema on August 1, 2003 while on a film location in Vilnius, Lithuania after being beaten up by her boyfriend Bertrand Can...
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Biography of Eddie Murphy
Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961, Brooklyn, New York City) is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and comedian. He has also enjoyed a minor singing career, and was one of the most popular cast members in the history of Saturday Night Live, on which he was a regular from 1980 to 1984. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Murphy has received Golden Globe nominations for best actor in a comedy or musical for his performances in Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor. In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of fictitious soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls., and received a no...
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Biography of Agatha Christie
Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 189012 January 1976), also known as Dame Agatha Christie, was an English crime fiction writer. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but is chiefly remembered for her 66 detective novels. Her work with these novels, particularly featuring detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, have given her the title the 'Queen of Crime' and made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the genre. Christie has been called - by the Guinness Book of World Records, among others - the best-selling writer of books of all time, and the best-selling writer of any kind second to William Shakespeare. An estimated one billion copies of her novels have been sold in English, and another billion in 103 oth...
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Biography of Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai (Pashto: ملاله یوسفزۍ; Urdu: ملالہ یوسف زئی Malālah Yūsafzay, born 12 July 1997 (birth time source: herself, email on August 25, 2014: her parents are sure that she was born between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, and she feels herself more Leo rising than Virgo rising, that is to say a time of birth before 8:30 AM)) is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in history. She is known for her education and women's rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times ban...
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Biography of Stromae
Stromae, born Paul Van Haver March 12, 1985 in Etterbeek, Brussels (birth time source: birth certificate n°535, André Dekoster), is a Belgian composer, singer and musician, of Belgian and Rwandan descent. He has distinguished himself in both hip hop and electronic music. He first became famous with the song "Alors on danse" which remained at number one for several weeks in numerous countries throughout Europe. Life He was born in Brussels to a Rwandan father, whom he only got to see three times in his life, and a Belgian mother. At the age of eleven Paul Van Haver already showed an interest in music and attended 'l'Académie Musicale de Jette', where he studied music history and learned to play the drums. In 2000 he appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his ...
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Biography of Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba. On July 31, 2006, Castro, after undergoing intestinal surgery for diverticulitis, transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger brother Raúl Castro. On June 2, 2007, Castro appeared on Cuban Television with Vietnamese Communist Party Leader Non Duc Mahn looking much healthier, indicating his full recovery. He led the revolution overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and shortly after was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba. Castro became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965, and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became president of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also holds the supre...
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