Car Babes is a 2006 independent comedy film starring Ben Savage and directed by Nick Fumia and Chris Wolf.

The title of producer Ben Rekhi's Car Babes comes from the term car salesmen use for each other. He realizes that some might suspect otherwise, but promises "it's in no way a bikini car wash movie".

The film is a coming-of-age comedy starring Savage as a recent college grad living at home who reluctantly goes to work at his dad's car dealership. "The original idea emerged from stories our co-writer Blake Dirickson entertained us with about working for his father on his car lot", say co-directors Nick Fumia and Chris Wolf, who jack up their film's tension with the threat of a hostile takeover and the requisite romantic interest. The soundtrack ranges from hip-hop to country.

Car Babes had its premiere on December 26, 2006.

Overview
Directed and produced by five Bay Area filmmakers, Car Babes is the first feature-length film written, directed, and produced by all five filmmakers, who channeled their love for the art of making films to produce this slapstick comedy.

The idea for the film was conceptualized by Blake Dirickson, 27, who is one of the writers of the film. He said he gained the inspiration for the film from a used car lot in Santa Clara, where he worked for 18 months. He would often share stories with his friends about the car babes he worked with. He pitched the concept to first-time filmmakers Chris Wolf, 27, Nick Fumia, 27, Ben Rehki, 28, and Liz Destro, 27, and they loved the idea.

"The biggest challenge we faced with this project was convincing friends and strangers to invest in a group of filmmakers who didn't have much under their belts in the realm of filmmaking," Wolf said.

"It was the most emotionally and physically draining thing I've ever done and I loved every minute of it," said Fumia.

The 35mm Car Babes, was shot at Moore Pontiac & Buick in Los Gatos, California, for 26 days late Summer, 2005, with feature film cinematographer Oden Roberts. Co-starring in Car Babes are Jon Gries, Blake Clark, Donnell Rawlings, Carolina Garcia and David Shackelford.

For Ben Savage the attraction was the dynamic between the father and son and the struggle for the son to grow from a boy into a man. "It focused on something my friends and I are going through," the recent Stanford graduate explains. "Like that two- or three-year period right out of college where everything's a possibility, everything's terrifying. You don't really have any sense of stability. It's the first time you're out on your own in life and I think that's such an interesting time."

Savage is in almost every scene of the film and he appreciates the level of collaboration involved. "Working with these guys, it really makes you feel like it's a group project. They're all young (and) they are very open and receptive to everyone's ideas. It's a really great set to be around."

Having to put the film together on a "spit and glue" budget (an industry term for low budget), covering 126 days of script in 26 days, caused the cast to improvise and adjust along the way, according to Wolf. He said it is under these circumstances, however, that the most creative things happen.

Much like the car babes they portray in the film, Wolf said being a filmmaker also starts and ends with the ability to sell yourself. He said Car Babes is a stepping-stone to something bigger for each of the filmmakers.

"Watching a little dream turn into something that is essentially immortal and the experience of creating something that starts on piece of paper and ends up on the big screen is really rewarding," Wolf said.

Plot
Ford Davis, a 24-year-old recent college graduate with no direction in his life, is forced to live with his parents and work for his dad, Big Len, at his car dealership to pay off a loaner car he damaged. On the lot, Ford quickly learns that the game of car sales is not easy. His only saving grace becomes his co-workers, the heartwarming and irreverent Car Babes, who teach him that selling cars is about selling yourself. After an unforgettable test drive with a self-assured hairdresser, Ford begins to gain confidence not only selling cars, but with his new sexy girlfriend.

But back on the lot, mobile home tycoon Ron Hamper, owner of the neighboring Hamper's Campers, has his evil eye on Big Len's property. After an uncalled-for visit, Hamper threatens to shut Big Len down and turn Davis Automotive into a parking lot for his used campers.

With the days at Davis Automotive numbered, Big Len and the Car Babes have all but given up, but Ford comes up with an idea to save the dealership. Using the wisdom he has gained from his father and the rest of the team, Ford concocts one final plan: a blowout sale to sell 300 cars in a month.

Cast

 Ben Savage as Ford Davis
 Jon Gries as Gary
 Blake Clark as "Big Len" Davis
 Donnell Rawlings as Julius Jefferson
 Kevin Blackton as Ron Hamper
 Stephanie Keeney as Judy Gary
 Arj Barker as Jimmy
 David Shackelford as Pat Skis
 John Campo as Dicky Deluna
 Marshall Manesh as Babu Gulab
 Carolina Garcia as Alicia Santos
 Amy Resnick as Linda Davis
Klaudia Izabella Warren as Car Babe

Home media
Car Babes was released in Region 1 DVD on June 10, 2008, by Vivendi Visual Entertainment.

References

External links

2006 films
American coming-of-age comedy films
Films shot in California
2000s coming-of-age comedy films
2006 comedy films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films

Car Babes


The Kandalaksha Gulf (, ), ) is located in the Republic of Karelia, and Murmansk Oblast in northwestern Russia.  Forming the north-western corner of the White Sea, it is one of four large bays and gulfs of this sea, the others being the Onega Bay (south-west), the Dvina Bay (south), and the Mezen Bay (south east).

The Kola Peninsula lies north of the Kandalaksha Gulf. The city of Kandalaksha is located at the northern tip of the gulf; the new oil port Vitino, some 10 km to the south. There are hundreds of skerries in the gulf. The gulf is shallow, reaching 300 meters on its western side. In 1976, the upper reaches of the gulf were designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance, notably as a breeding ground for migratory waterfowl such as the sea duck.

Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (Кандалакшский заповедник) includes parts of the coastline and many of the islands in the gulf. It is one of Russia's oldest nature reserves, established in 1932.

Since deglaciation the rate of post-glacial rebound in the Kandalaksha Gulf has varied. Since the White Sea connected to the World's oceans uplift along southern coast of the gulf has totaled 90 m. In the interval 9,500–5,000 years ago uplift rate was of 9–13 mm/yr. Prior to the Atlantic period uplift rate had decreased to 5–5.5 mm/yr, to then rise briefly before arriving at the present uplift rate is of 4 mm/yr.

See also
 Gandvik
 White Sea Rift System

References

External links
 Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (English Summary), and some practical travel information on the City of Kandalaksha, also in English.
 Topographic map of Kandalaksha Gulf (Finnish and Russian)

Gulfs of the Arctic Ocean
Gulfs of Russia
Bodies of water of the Republic of Karelia
Ramsar sites in Russia
Bays of the White Sea
Bays of Murmansk Oblast

Kandalaksha Gulf


Calamities were horsetail like trees that went extinct about 250 to 360 million years ago. These plants were medium-sized trees, growing to heights of 30-50 meters and about 100-160 feet. The trunk of these trees had an appearance like a bamboo trunk while the leaves were needle-shaped. These calamities reproduced by cloning

Extinct plants

Calamites


Konrad Hermann Josef Adenauer (born 5 January 1876 in Cologne; died 19 April 1967 in Rhöndorf (part of Bad Honnef)). From 1949 to 1963 he was the first Bundeskanzler (chancellor) of the Federal Republic of Germany and from 1951 to 1955 was foreign secretary the same time.

Adenauer was the third of five children of a court secretary in Cologne. His family was Catholic. Konrad Adenauer started his political career in 1906 in the city assembly of Cologne. From 1917 to 1933 and again in 1945 he was mayor of Cologne.
Adenauer was a member of the Catholic Zentrum Party. When the Nazi Party took power he lost his job. At first he worked with the Nazis, but after the conspiracy to kill Hitler failed in 1944 he hid for his own safety.

After the war he became mayor of Cologne again, but lost the job after a few months.

In the Parlamentarischer Rat of West Germany, he was one of the top politicians and the President. He founded the CDU at the same time.
He was important in making Bonn the West German capital instead of Frankfurt am Main.

In 1949 he was elected as the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
He made sure West Germany joined the side of the western capitalist countries in the Cold War. He also helped West Germany join NATO. He was reelected three times.

In 1964 he stopped being chancellor. He was a member of the Bundestag until his death at 91 years old.

Other websites

(

1876 births
1967 deaths
Anti-communists
Chancellors of Germany
Members of the German Bundestag
German mayors
German mayors (Weimar Republic)
German Roman Catholics
Government ministers of Germany
Nazi German politicians
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Politicians from Cologne
Politicians of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Prussian politicians
Time People of the Year

Konrad Adenauer


General elections were held in Bolivia on 20 October 2019.

Voters elected all 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 36 senators and cast ballots for a joint slate of president and vice president.

Disputes over the transparency and legitimacy of the elections caused weeks of widespread protests in Bolivia after incumbent President Evo Morales was declared the winner with 47.08% of the vote. This was greater than ten-point margin over his nearest competitor, Carlos Mesa, this was enough for Morales to be announced as a winner without a run-off second-round vote.

The Organization of American States (OAS) said that there was "clear manipulation" and significant irregularities.

References

Bolivia
October 2019 events
2019 elections
Elections in South America
General elections

2019 Bolivian general election


Hugo Lichte (11 April 1891 in :de:Mengede, Germany − 27 July 1963 in Berlin, Germany) was a German physicist. He did pioneering work on the theory of sound propagation in the ocean and was a leading developer of motion picture technology during the transition from silent to sound film.

Life
Hugo Lichte studied mathematics, physics and chemistry at the University of Göttingen from 1909 to 1913. He then joined the scientific staff of the "Torpedoinspektion Kiel" of the Imperial German Navy until 1919. After the end of World War I he worked at the "Signal GmbH" in Kiel and then in Berlin, starting in 1924 at the :de:Mix & Genest AG and in 1926 at the AEG.When the research institute of the AEG was founded in 1928 under the leadership of Carl Ramsauer, he was appointed head of the electro-acoustic department in Berlin. After the end of World War II he became a teacher at the :de:Lilienthal-Gymnasium (Berlin-Lichterfelde) in Berlin until 1959. In addition he was a lecturer of physics at the Free University of Berlin from 1949.

Work and achievements
Lichte promoted the understanding of physical processes and related technical developments mainly in two fields: marine acoustics. and sound film technology

He presented his pioneering work on the theory of sound propagation in the layered ocean in 1919. In his paper he was able to show that decreasing temperature and increasing pressure with depth lead to a minimum of sound velocity at mean depth. The resulting sound refraction patterns induce largely enhanced ranges of sound propagation. Urick  commented: "This paper was far ahead of its time, and is an indication of the highly advanced state of German physics in the early years of this century."

In his later work at the AEG research institute he was a leader in the development of sound technology, in particular the techniques for the transition from silent to sound movies and for sound recognition.

Awards and honors
Oskar-Messter-Medal (in German: :de:Oskar-Messter-Medaille) 1961 of the "Deutsche Kinotechnischen Gesellschaft", from 1972 :de:Fernseh- und Kinotechnische Gesellschaft) (Society for the Technology of Television and Cinema).

Lichtestrasse (Lichte Street) in Kiel was named in memory of Hugo Lichte on 16 February 2006.

Publications

Literature

References

1891 births
20th-century German physicists
University of Göttingen alumni
1963 deaths
Scientists from Dortmund

Hugo Lichte


Audrey Elizabeth Callaghan, Baroness Callaghan of Cardiff (; 28 July 1915 – 15 March 2005) was the wife of British Labour prime minister James Callaghan. She served as a Labour councillor and later became a campaigner and fundraiser for children's health and welfare.

Early life
She was born in Maidstone, Kent, where her father was a director of the Lead Wool Company, a tool company. Callaghan was educated at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, then studied cookery at Battersea College of Domestic Science. She would chair the Maidstone Labour Party and Fabian Society. She joined the Labour Party while in her teens and met her future husband in the early 1930s at the Baptist church Sunday school where they both worked, then at the Labour Party, but they did not marry until 28 July 1938, her 23rd birthday. They honeymooned in Paris and Chamonix, and then returned to rent a house in Norwood.

She worked as a dietician at an antenatal clinic in Greenwich during the Second World War, a young mother herself. At the same time, she studied economics at a University of London extension course in Eltham, with future Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell as tutor. She made a special study of malnutrition in children and its remedies.

Career
Her husband James had been elected a Member of Parliament for Cardiff in 1945 and she was at his side throughout his career. She was somewhat derided, described as "the Yorkshire Pudding", ostensibly for her skill in cooking, but also as a reference to her perceived poor dress sense and mildly disorganised appearance; she was ridiculed for her hobby of keeping pigs. Audrey remained very private, and shunned the limelight. However, she was engaged with her husband's jobs and was said to be instrumental in dissuading him from resignation after the 1967 devaluation of the pound.

In 1958, Audrey was elected as the Labour member for Lewisham North for the London County Council. She took a special interest in children's homes and the Children's Committee. She was an alderman of the Greater London Council from 1964 and became chairman of Lewisham Council's children's committee, where she was also an alderman, when the GLC was abolished.

In 1969, Callaghan became the chair of the board of governors of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.  She continued raising funds for the hospital for the next thirty years, most notably securing an extension of copyright on Peter Pan for the hospital by a Lords amendment moved by her husband.

In 1987, when James was created Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, she became Lady Callaghan. She herself declined a damehood from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. They retired to a farm in Ringmer, East Sussex, where she kept pigs and he kept cows and sheep, and grew barley. Along with her husband, she supported causes relating to the University College of Swansea, of which James Callaghan was president.

During her eighties, Callaghan developed Alzheimer's disease. In July 2001, when her condition had deteriorated, she entered a care home where her husband visited her every day until her death in March 2005, by which time they had been married for 66 years and together for well over 70. James Callaghan died on 26 March 2005, eleven days after Audrey's death, and the day before his 93rd birthday.

Personal life
She had three children: Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, Julia and Michael.

References

1915 births
2005 deaths
20th-century English people
21st-century English people
20th-century English women
21st-century English women
Callaghan of Cardiff
Councillors in Greater London
Deaths from dementia in the United Kingdom
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Dietitians
English Baptists
James Callaghan
Labour Party (UK) councillors
Members of London County Council
Members of the Greater London Council
People educated at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls
People from Maidstone
People from Ringmer
Spouses of life peers
Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
Wives of knights
Women councillors in England

Audrey Callaghan


Oleg was a Rurikid ruler of the Drevlians from 969 to his death in 977. He was the second son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev.

Date of birth is not known, but is probably before 957. Sviatoslav split up his domains, and gave the Drevlyan lands to Oleg.  Oleg and his brother Yaropolk went to war after their father's death.  According to Primary chronicle, Oleg killed Lyut, the son of Yaropolk's chief adviser and military commander Sveneld, when he hunted in the Drevlyan lands which Oleg regarded as his own. In an act of revenge and at the insistence of Sveneld, Yaropolk went to war against his brother Oleg and killed him in Ovruch. Oleg was killed incidentally on the run in moat, and Yaropolk did regret this.  Then, Yaropolk sent his men to Novgorod, from which his other brother Vladimir had fled on receiving the news about Oleg's death. Yaropolk became the sole ruler of Rus'.

In 1044 Yaroslav I the Wise had Oleg's bones exhumed, christened, and reburied in the Church of the Tithes.

Possible descendants
There is a Czech legend (mentioned by  Jan Amos Komenský (in Spis o rodu Žerotínů), Bartosz Paprocki  and Bohuslav Balbín, among others), that the noble House of Zierotin descends from a certain Oleg of Rus (see :ru:Олег Моравский for details).

References

Year of birth missing
Rurikids
10th-century princes from Kievan Rus'
977 deaths
Burials at the Church of the Tithes

Oleg of Drelinia


The Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker is a former government-owned nuclear bunker located at Hack Green, Cheshire, England.

History

The first military use of the area was in World War II, when a Starfish site was established at Hack Green. Its purpose was to confuse Luftwaffe  bombers looking for the vital railway junction at Crewe.

A ground-controlled interception (GCI) radar station was added.

In the 1950s, the site was modernised as part of the ROTOR project. This included the provision of a substantial semi-sunk reinforced concrete bunker or blockhouse (type R6).

The station, officially designated RAF Hack Green, was also known as Mersey Radar. It provided an air traffic control service to military aircraft crossing civil airspace.

The site was abandoned and remained derelict for many years until taken over by the Home Office. The R6 bunker was then rebuilt as a Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQs) – one of a network of 17 such sites throughout the UK – designed to enable the government to continue in the aftermath of a major nuclear attack on the UK.

In about 1992, following the end of the Cold War, the Home Office abandoned its network of RGHQs and sold many of the sites. The Hack Green Bunker was purchased by a private company and subsequently opened to the public in 1998 as a museum with a Cold War theme.

Current status

The bunker is open to the public most of the year. It has a substantial collection of military and Cold War memorabilia, including one of the largest collections of decommissioned nuclear weapons in the world. It also houses Ballistic Missile Early Warning System equipment originally from RAF High Wycombe.

The museum includes information about the function of the bunker during the Cold War. There is a simulator designed to simulate conditions in the bunker during a nuclear attack. Visitors can watch the BBC film The War Game, produced to inform the public of what would be likely to happen in a nuclear attack on Britain. Younger visitors to the museum can navigate the rooms in a game to find the "Cold War Spy Mice" (a large number of toy mice positioned in numerous rooms), the objective being to locate as many mice as possible and return their report to the desk for a prize; this avoids the more disturbing aspects of the bunker, such as the medical room, where a mannequin is depicted with symptoms of burns and radiation poisoning.

On television
Hack Green was featured in the television series Most Haunted: Midsummer Murders episode two in which the team investigates the murder of a soldier. It featured once again in Series 11.

The band Everything Everything filmed the video for their 2009 single "MY KZ, UR BF" inside Hack Green.

See also

 Radar
 Linesman/Mediator
 Central Government War Headquarters
 Civil Contingencies Secretariat
 RAF Rudloe Manor
 Corsham Computer Centre
 Continuity of government
 Wartime Broadcasting Service
 Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker
 List of museums in Cheshire

References

External links

 Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker
 Hack Green on Subterranea Britannica

Tourist attractions in Cheshire
Museums in Cheshire
Nuclear bunkers in the United Kingdom
Emergency management in the United Kingdom
Military and war museums in England
Cold War museums in the United Kingdom
Continuity of government

Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker


The Poetry Society of America's National Chapbook Fellowship is awarded once a year to two American poets under 30 years of age who have yet to publish a first book of poems. Two renowned poets select and introduce a winning manuscript for publication. Each winner receives an additional $1000 prize.

Winners
2009:
 A History of Waves by Haines Eason, selected by Mark Doty
 The Good News of the Ground by Heidi Johannesen Poon, selected by Cole Swensen

2008:
 Blue House by Christopher Nelson, selected by Mary Jo Bang
 Swerve by John Estes, selected by C.K. Williams

2007:
 Dear Wild Abandon by Andrew Michael Roberts, selected by Mark Strand
 Dream of Water by Kate Ingold, selected by Haryette Mullen

2006:
 Mayport by Maureen Thorson, selected by Heather McHugh
 The Eights by Dan Chelotti, selected by Yusef Komunyakaa

2005
 Guarding the Violins by Misty Harper, selected by Charles Simic
 What Remains by Stuart Greenhouse, selected by Brenda Hillman

2004
 Meditations by Joshua Poteat, selected by Mary Oliver
 Woman in a Boat by K. E. Allen, selected by Robert Creeley

2003
 Rowing Through Fog by Kerri Webster, selected by Carl Phillips
 The Morning Hour by Dawn Lundy Martin, selected by C. D. Wright

American poetry awards

National Chapbook Fellowship


Tim Pullman is an international field hockey umpire from Australia who has officiated over 150 international games since his debut in 1999 including two consecutive Summer Olympics. Prior to umpiring he represented South Australia as a field hockey player from junior through to the National League competition.

Personal
Tim lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is an accountant and works as a Senior Consultant at Oreon Partners in South Australia.

Playing hockey
Tim played hockey for South Australian club the Burnside Bulldogs from junior through to senior competition. He represented South Australia as a junior right through to the Australian Hockey League.

Domestic Australian hockey umpire
Tim umpires regularly as part of the Metropolitan Competition Premier League run in Adelaide by Hockey SA.

He has also officiated in the Australian Hockey League from 1999 to 2014. In October 2014, he officiated the AHL Gold Medal match in front of his home Adelaide crowd, a match between the WA Thundersticks and Tassie Tigers which was won by the Tassie Tigers in a shoot-out.

International hockey umpire
Tim has umpired at an international level for over 15 years.

His first international was between Canada and India at a 4-nations event in Canberra in 1999. Since then he has travelled to major tournaments all round the world including the Junior World Cup in Hobart in 2001, 2 Commonwealth Games, 1 Champions Trophy and 1 World Cup.

He was one of only five Australian umpires chosen in the 'Road to Rio' Olympic Umpiring Project by the FIH Umpiring Committee where he went on to officiate at his second consecutive Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Tournaments where he has officiated include:
Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics (London)
2014 Men's Hockey World Cup (The Hague)
2010 Men's Hockey World Cup (New Delhi)
2003, 2004, 2006 FIH Champion's Trophy (Amsterdam, Lahore, Terrassa)
2013 FIH World League (Rotterdam)
2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Semifinals (New Delhi)
2011 Champion's Challenge (Johannesburg)
2009 European Championships (Amsterdam)
2006 Asian Games (Doha)
2002, 2010 Commonwealth Games (Manchester, New Delhi)
Men's field hockey Qualifying Tournaments for the 2012 Summer Olympics
FIH Olympic Qualifying Events (Auckland, New Delhi)
FIH World Cup Qualifying Event (Invercargill)
2013 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup (New Delhi) and 2002 Junior World Cup (Hobart)

Recognition
In 2010, he was awarded the male Australian Official of the Year by Hockey Australia, an award that recognizes someone who:
must be currently actively officiating within Australia
is also officiating at national and/or international level
met a high level of achievement during the twelve-month period, by either improvement/development or achievement
contributes to development of officiating in Australia – at club, regional, state or national level.

In 2011, Tim was presented with his golden whistle after umpiring his 100th senior international match at the Champions Challenge 1 in Johannesburg. Seif Ahmed, the FIH's representative at the tournament, made the presentation after the game between Malaysia and Canada.

References

Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Australian field hockey umpires

Tim Pullman


Soprano sfogato ("Vented" soprano) is a contralto or mezzo-soprano who is capable — by sheer industry or natural talent — of extending her upper range and encompassing the coloratura soprano tessitura. An upwardly extended "natural" soprano is sometimes called soprano assoluto.

Origin

In the early 19th century as well as in the baroque and classical periods, distinctions between voices were not based so much on the range as in the tessitura and color of the voice. There were two main groups: soprano and alto. Their range was often blurred, relying more on tessitura to cast different roles in opera. In Italian bel canto, the soprano did not have extremely high notes actually written (often just to B5 or high C) and it was not until the "nightingale" type of sopranos such as Jenny Lind, Fanny Persiani, Adelina Patti, and her imitators that ending the cabalettas in a climactic high E6 or E6 became traditional as it was in the French grand opera which became so popular when Rossini moved to Paris. Singers however did ornament higher than C6 but in a light and fast way as it was done still in the classical and baroque periods. Virtuosity was shown by mercurial agility, changes in register and tessitura, perfect control of dynamics and tonal coloration, not by whistle-like high notes.

For contraltos on the other hand, they started to be more used in Rossini's bel canto operas for example, and to assume roles replacing the castrati who by that time were almost extinct, and composers demanded a range often going as high as B5. This change in demand of the voice would give birth to the soprano sfogato or assoluta.

These voices had in common with those of the greatest castrati the ability to sing widely contrasting tessituras, segments well into the contralto and segments in high soprano.

Characteristics

By definition, the soprano sfogato is linked to the contralto. It possesses a dark timbre with a rich and strong low register, as well as the high notes of a soprano and occasionally a coloratura soprano. Those voices are typically strong, dramatic and agile, supported by an excellent bel canto technique and an ability to sing in the soprano tessitura as well as in the contralto tessitura with great ease, such as was said of Giuditta Pasta.

Exponents

In the 20th century, the main exponent of this voice category was Maria Callas who had a range of F below middle C to in alt E6. She sang excerpts of roles for mezzo-soprano, including Cenerentola, Carmen, Rosina and Dalila in the original keys and also many roles associated with the soprano sfogato, such as Médée, Armida, Norma, Anna Bolena, Amina, Imogene, Abigaille, and Lady Macbeth.

Roles

Other roles associated with this voice type are Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux, Gemma di Vergy, Reiza in Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon.

The common requirements for the roles associated with this voice type are:
 widely varied tessitura throughout the role, extended segments lying well into the low mezzo or contralto tessitura and segments lying in high soprano tessitura
 a range extending down to at least low B and at least up to high B with at least one whole tone required at either end
 fioritura (coloratura) singing in the most intricate bel canto style
 florid singing combined with heroic weight
 a heavy or dense sound in the lower range
 vocal power over energetic orchestral accompaniment

The major exponents of the soprano sfogato vocal type were able to sing both soprano and contralto roles: Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis was the first Elisabetta in Devereux, and she also performed Bellini's Romeo as well as Norma; Isabella Colbran sang both Armida and Desdemona in Rossini's Otello as well as the contralto role of Paisiello's Nina and Mozart's soprano heroines; Giuditta Pasta originated Anna Bolena, Norma and La Sonnambula as well as singing Cenerentola, Tancredi, Arsace, Cherubino and Romeo.

Notes and references
Notes

References

Further reading
 Ferris, George Titus, Great Singers, First Series (Faustina Bordoni to Henrietta Sontag); Great Singers, Second Series (Malibran to Titiens), D. Appleton & Company, New York (1881)
 Snider, Jeffrey, "In Search of the Soprano Sfogato", Journal of Singing, vol. 68, no. 3 (January/February 2012)

Italian opera terminology
Voice types

Soprano sfogato


LIU Brooklyn is a private university in Brooklyn, New York.  It is the original unit and first of two main campuses of the private Long Island University system.

Campus

LIU Brooklyn is located at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues (across the street from Junior's restaurant and City Point). The campus is served by the convergence of several New York City Subway services at DeKalb Avenue (), Nevins Street (), and Jay Street–MetroTech (). The Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch is also nearby, as the Atlantic Terminal is located three blocks from campus.

The former Brooklyn Paramount Theater was the world's first theater built specifically for talking pictures. The theater, which abuts the original core campus, was bought in 1960 by LIU and converted into a gymnasium in 1963.

History

The first class at the campus' original site, located at 300 Pearl Street, had 312 students from the surrounding neighborhoods. The majority of students were immigrants or the children of immigrants, many of whom were the first in their families to ever attend college or school in general.

In 1929, the university affiliated itself with the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, now known as LIU Pharmacy (the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences). In the late 1960s, plans were proposed by several trustees to sell the Brooklyn Campus in order to finance a new graduate campus on Long Island.  Students and faculty held demonstrations protesting those plans. In 1972, administrators and faculty members negotiated the first collectively bargained faculty agreement at a private university in the United States.  In the fall of 2016, the university locked out its faculty union and assigned administrators and replacement hires to teach classes. The lockout resulted in a student walk out and protest and the loss of two weeks of semester time.  The LIU faculty responded by voting for ouster of the president, Kimberly Cline.

Athletics

Prior to the 2019–2020 school year, the Long Island University system unified its athletic programs and now all LIU athletic teams are referred to as the LIU Sharks and compete as a unified LIU athletic program.

Prior to 2019, LIU Brooklyn was the only unit of the LIU system to compete in Division I athletics and had 18 varsity teams.  The school mascot was the Blackbirds.

In 1935–1936, the men's basketball team won all 25 of its games and was considered the top team in the country. With basketball becoming an Olympic sport, it seemed certain that the five starting players for the United States basketball team in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin would be the five starters at LIU. However, because of the brutal anti-Jewish government in Germany, the team held a secret ballot and voted to not participate.

The men's basketball team won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1939 and 1941 under the guidance of Coach Clair Bee. However, in 1951, the Blackbirds basketball players were involved in the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal that resulted in five players receiving a suspended sentence and one player a one-year prison sentence. The basketball team was suspended for six years from 1951 to 1957. Games were played at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater until recently.

In 1997, the Blackbirds were seeded 13th in the East Region of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  They lost in the first round to Villanova, 101–91.  In 2011, LIU Brooklyn won both the Northeast Conference regular-season and tournament championship, winning 13 in a row at the end of the season.  The Blackbirds were seeded 15th in the East Region of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament losing in the first round to second-seeded University of North Carolina.

Academics
LIU Pharmacy (the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), founded in 1886
The Harriet Rothkopf Heilbrunn School of Nursing
The Richard L. Conolly College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The School of Business, Public Administration, and Information Sciences
School of Education
School of Health Professions
School of Continuing Education
LIU Global
Honors College
The TV Writer's Studio: a 2-year MFA in Writing and Producing for Television, helmed by Norman Steinberg, cowriter of the film Blazing Saddles.

Ranking
For 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked LIU tied for #288 in National Universities.

Notable alumni

 Ossie Schectman (1919–2013), basketball player who scored the first basket in National Basketball Association history

References

External links
 Official website

Brooklyn
Universities and colleges in Brooklyn
Universities and colleges on Long Island
Private universities and colleges in New York City
1926 establishments in New York City

LIU Brooklyn


A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is an special kind of formal ball which many participants attend in costume wearing masks. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tradition. A masquerade ball usually encompasses music and dancing. These nighttime events are used for entertainment and celebrations.

History

Masquerade balls were a feature of the Carnival season in the 15th century, and involved increasingly elaborate allegorical Royal Entries, pageants, and triumphal processions celebrating marriages and other dynastic events of late medieval court life. The "Bal des Ardents" ("Burning Men's Ball") was held by Charles VI of France, and intended as a Bal des sauvages ("Wild Men's Ball"), a form of costumed ball (morisco). It took place in celebration of the marriage of a lady-in-waiting of Charles VI of France's queen in Paris on January 28, 1393. The King and five courtiers dressed as wildmen of the woods (woodwoses), with costumes of flax and pitch. If they came too close to a torch, the dancers would catch fire. (This episode may have influenced Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Hop-Frog".) Such costumed dances were a special luxury of the Ducal Court of Burgundy.

Masquerade balls were extended into costumed public festivities in Italy during the 20th century Renaissance (Italian ). They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes, and were particularly popular in Venice. They have been associated with the tradition of the Venetian Carnival. With the fall of the Venetian Republic at the end of the 18th century, the use and tradition of masks gradually began to decline, until they disappeared altogether.

They became popular throughout mainland Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, sometimes with fatal results. In 1792 Gustav III of Sweden was assassinated at a masquerade ball by the disgruntled nobleman Jacob Johan Anckarström, an event which Eugène Scribe and Daniel Auber turned into the opera Gustave III.  The same event was the basis of Giuseppe Verdi's opera A Masked Ball, although the censors in the original production forced him to portray it as a fictional story set in Boston. Most masks came from countries like Switzerland and Italy.

A Swiss count who arrived in Italy in 1708, is credited with introducing to London the Venetian fashion of a semi-public masquerade ball, to which one might subscribe, with the first being held at Haymarket Opera House. London's public gardens, like Vauxhall Gardens, refurbished in 1732, and Ranelagh Gardens, provided optimal outdoor settings, where characters masked and in fancy dress mingled with the crowds. The reputation for unseemly behavior, unescorted women and assignations motivated a change of name, to the Venetian , but as "The Man of Taste" observed in 1733:

A standard item of masquerade dress was a "Vandyke", improvised on the costumes worn in the portraits of Van Dyck: Gainsborough's Blue Boy is the most familiar example, and a reminder of the later 18th-century popularity in England for portraits in fancy dress.

Throughout the century, it is thought that masquerade dances became popular in Colonial America, however, portraits featured the subjects dressed as if they were attendees, but evidence is scant, according to Jennifer Van Horne, that colonials in North Americans actually had the events. Its prominence in England did not go unchallenged; a significant anti-masquerade movement grew alongside the balls themselves. The anti-masquerade writers (among them such notables as Samuel Richardson) held that the events encouraged immorality and "foreign influence". While they were sometimes able to persuade authorities to their views, particularly after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, enforcement of measures designed to end masquerades was at best desultory, and the masquerades went on as semi-private "subscriptions". In the 1770s, fashionable Londoners went to the masquerades organized by Teresa Cornelys at Carlisle House in Soho Square, and later to the Pantheon.

Masquerade balls were sometimes set as a game among the guests. The masked guests were supposedly dressed so as to be unidentifiable. This would create a type of game to see if a guest could determine each other's identities. This added a humorous effect to many masquerades and enabled a more enjoyable version of typical balls.

One of the most noted masquerade balls of the 20th century was that held at Palazzo Labia in Venice on 3 September 1951, hosted by Carlos de Beistegui. It was dubbed "the party of the century".

Another famous ball was The Black and White Ball. It held on November 28, 1966, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Hosted by author Truman Capote, the ball was in honor of the Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham.

Masks
Masquerade masks were worn delicately by the prosperous class at balls. Masquerade masks had many uses including hiding one's identity, and using different colour to express one's freedom of speech and voice one's emotions and opinions without judgement. There were two types of base masquerade masks; black masks and white masks. Designs and patterns were created over the base that was chosen. The main types of masks included masks with a stick (which one could hold to keep the mask in front of their face), the head mask, the full-face mask, and the half face mask. Masquerade masks have been used in classics such as The Phantom of the Opera, Romeo and Juliet, Lone Ranger, and Gossip Girl. They are still used in many types of media today.

Contemporary era

In French Guiana

In French Guiana, throughout the Carnival period, masked balls (known as paré-masked balls) take place every weekend. These are called Touloulous balls, where the Touloulous (women) are completely disguised and unrecognizable. Recently the Tololos (men) have also taken to wearing disguises.

In North America
A new resurgence of masquerade balls began in the late 1990s in North America. More recently, the party atmosphere is emphasized and the formal dancing usually less prominent. In present times, masquerade masks are used for costumes during Halloween. Masquerade masks are sold in a wide range of stores in different designs, and colors.

Cultural references
The picturesque quality of the masquerade ball has made it a favorite topic or setting in literature.

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death" is based at a masquerade ball in which a central figure turns out to be his costume.
A ball in Zürich is featured in the novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse.
A masquerade ball is central to the plot of Mikhail Lermontov's 1835 play Masquerade. The play was censored and never staged during Lermontov's lifetime, partly because of the implied criticism of the masquerade balls staged by the aristocratic Engelhardt family.
The book, musical and most film adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera have a scene at a masked ball. The Phantom's (Erik's) costume is that of the Red Death from the aforementioned Edgar Allan Poe story The Masque of the Red Death.
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo meets Juliet at a masquerade ball.
The video game Dishonored has a mission called Lady Boyle's Last Party, taking place at a masquerade where the primary objective is discerning the identity of Lady Boyle, a masked party-goer.
The video game Assassin's Creed II has a series of missions called Carnevale set during Venetian Carnival where the primary objective is to gain access to one of the more prestigious masquerade balls, ending in the mission which primarily takes place in the masquerade ball.
The video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a mission set at a masquerade ball, on the Vegelbud estate, where the primary objective is to find the owner's son who is wearing a panther mask.

References

Masquerade ball


Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest.

History
The city was formerly called Pi County (), and before that, Xiapi () which was at one time the capital of the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BCE) vassal State of Pi. During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), Pi was a famous city. At the time of the Three Kingdoms Period, the city is known for the battle between Lü Bu and Cao Cao fought there. It is the location Lü Bu retreated to when under siege by Cao Cao at Xiaopei.  He first moved his family there and then he himself after being advised by Chen Gong.  It was here that Lü Bu was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Xiapi.

During World War II, the Battle of Taierzhuang took place in Tengzhou. In the Chinese Civil War, it was the scene of the Huaihai Campaign. The area is relatively impoverished when compared to the rest of Jiangsu Province. In October 2007, when its party secretary Li Lianyu returned as a delegate from the 17th Party Congress, the entire city was mobilized to greet him in an unprecedented display, drawing immense criticism.

Geography
Pizhou lies to the northeast of Xuzhou City at the intersection of the Grand Canal and Longhai Railway. To the north of Pizhou, there is the well-known Tai'erzhuang District of Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province.

Pizhou City is home to the longest Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides avenue in the world. The avenue is approximately 60 km long with over one million trees.

Climate

Administrative divisions
At present, Pizhou City has 24 towns.
24 towns

References

External links
Pizhou City English guide (Jiangsu.net)

Cities in Jiangsu
County-level divisions of Jiangsu
Administrative divisions of Xuzhou

Pizhou


Moose–Wilson Road is a road in the U.S. state of Wyoming; the southern The  of the road outside of Grand Teton National Park is Wyoming Highway 390 (WYO 390). The road runs about  through the Jackson Hole valley from its intersection with WYO 22 east of Wilson on the south to Moose in Grand Teton National Park on the north end.

Route description
The road is the primary route from Jackson, Wyoming to Teton Village and the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, which is located just south of the national park border. The area along the road to the ski area was originally ranch land, but it has been progressively developed over the years.

After entering the park, the road narrows and winds its way through a forested area along the edge of the mountains. A number of trailheads are accessible from the road, including the Death Canyon / Phelps Lake trailhead located about  from the northern terminus of the state designation. The road's terminus is the park's headquarters and visitor center.

Major intersections

See also

Moose Wilson Road, Wyoming, a census designated place

References

Transportation in Teton County, Wyoming
Roads in Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming

Moose–Wilson Road


Iga Natalia Świątek (; born 31 May 2001) is a Polish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1 in women's singles by the WTA, having held the position for 75 weeks. Świątek is a four-time Major singles champion, having won the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023 and the US Open in 2022. She is the first player representing Poland to win a Major singles title. Beside the Majors, she also has won 12 WTA Tour-level titles.

Świątek's father, Tomasz, is a retired Olympic rower. As a junior, Świątek was the 2018 French Open girls' doubles champion alongside Caty McNally and the 2018 Wimbledon girls' singles champion. Świątek began playing regularly on the WTA Tour in 2019, and entered the top 50 at 18 years old after her first Tour final and a fourth-round appearance at the 2019 French Open.

During her French Open title run in 2020, Świątek did not lose more than five games in any singles match. She entered the top ten of the WTA rankings for the first time in May 2021 after winning the Italian Open. Following back-to-back WTA 1000 titles in 2022 at Qatar and Indian Wells, Świątek reached a career-high ranking of No. 2. After the retirement of world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, she became the first Polish player, male or female, to reach the top ranking in singles, on 4 April 2022. She also won another WTA 1000 title in Miami, becoming the fourth woman to win the Sunshine Double. During this time, Świątek accumulated a 37-match winning streak, the longest on the WTA Tour in the 21st century.

Świątek has an all-court playing style. She won the WTA Fan Favorite Shot of the Year in 2019 with a drop shot from the baseline, and was voted WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year in 2020. In 2023, she was named the L'Équipe Champion of Champions and Polish Sports Personality of the Year and included on Times annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early life and background
Iga Świątek was born on 31 May 2001 in Warsaw to Dorota and Tomasz Świątek. Her father is a former rower who competed in the men's quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Her mother is an orthodontist. She has a sister, Agata, who is about three years older and is a dentist.

Świątek's father wanted his daughters to become competitive athletes and preferred they take up an individual sport rather than a team sport to have better control of their chances of success. Agata initially started out as a swimmer but switched to tennis after she had issues with swimming. Iga followed her sister into tennis because she wanted to beat her and also because she wanted to be more like her. Agata briefly competed on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2013 at about 15 years old, but stopped playing due to injury troubles. Iga trained at Mera Warsaw as a 14-year-old before later moving to Legia Warsaw.

Junior career

Świątek reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 as a junior. She began competing in ITF Junior Circuit events in 2015 and won back-to-back low-level Grade 4 titles in April and May at age 13. Before the end of the year, she moved up to Grade 2 events and finished runner-up in both singles and doubles at the Czech Junior Open. Świątek made her junior Grand Slam debut in 2016 at the French Open, reaching the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles. She followed this up with her best junior title to date at the Grade 1 Canadian Open Junior Championships, defeating Olga Danilović in the final.

Świątek had a strong first half of 2017. She won both the singles and doubles titles at the Grade 1 Traralgon Junior International. Although she lost her opening round match at the Australian Open, she partnered with compatriot Maja Chwalińska to make her first final in a Grand Slam event, finishing runner-up in doubles to the North American team of Bianca Andreescu and Carson Branstine. She then reached her first Grade A singles final at the Trofeo Bonfiglio, losing to Elena Rybakina. Her season came to an end after another quarterfinal at the French Open, after which she had right ankle surgery that kept her out for seven months.

Despite only competing in two Grand Slam tournaments in 2018 and three singles events in total, Świątek finished her junior career with her best season. She returned to the junior tour at the French Open after a one-year absence and reached the semifinals in singles, losing to Caty McNally. She fared better in doubles, partnering with McNally to win her first junior Grand Slam title. They defeated the Japanese team of Yuki Naito and Naho Sato in the final.

Świątek played only singles at Wimbledon. As an unseeded player due to her absence, she was drawn against top seed Whitney Osuigwe in the first round. After winning that match in three sets, she did not drop another set during the rest of the tournament and won the championship for her only junior Grand Slam singles title. She defeated Leonie Küng in the final.
Świątek then teamed up with the Slovenian Kaja Juvan to compete in the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. They reached the final and defeated the Japanese team of Yuki Naito and Naho Sato. She then finished her junior career.

Professional career

2016–2018: Undefeated in seven ITF Circuit finals

Świątek began competing on the ITF Women's Circuit in 2016 and played on the circuit through the end of 2018. She won all seven ITF singles finals she reached, ranging from the first four at the $10k to $15k level to one at the $25k level followed up by two at the $60k level. Her first three titles came at 15 years old. The fourth was in February 2018 in her first tournament back from a seven-month layoff due to injury. After a $25k title in April, Świątek moved up to higher-level ITF events later that month. Following her junior Wimbledon title in July, she skipped the junior US Open to stay in Europe. During the two weeks of the US Open, she won back-to-back $60k titles at the NEK Ladies Open in Hungary and the Montreux Ladies Open in Switzerland. During the second event, she defeated top seed and world No. 120, Mariana Duque-Mariño. These were Świątek's last two ITF tournaments of the year. With these two titles, she entered the top 200 for the first time at the age of 17, rising from No. 298 to No. 180 in those two weeks.

2019: First WTA Tour final, top 50 debut

Despite never playing on the WTA Tour before 2019, Świątek was able to compete in only tour-level events throughout the year. After failing to qualify at the Auckland Open, she qualified for her first major main draw at the Australian Open. She then defeated No. 82 Ana Bogdan, in three sets, in her debut match to reach the second round. At her next three tournaments, she also qualified at the Hungarian Ladies Open, but not either of the Premier Mandatory events in March.

Świątek made her first WTA breakthrough at the Ladies Open Lugano in April. With her first direct acceptance into a main draw, she made her first WTA final. During the event, she upset No. 3 seed Viktória Kužmová in the second round for her first top 50 victory. She ultimately finished runner-up to Polona Hercog in three sets. Moreover, a precise cross-court forehand drop shot she hit against Kristýna Plíšková in the semifinal was voted the 2019 WTA Shot of the Year. With the runner-up, she also made her debut in the top 100 while still 17 years old. Świątek closed out her clay court season with a fourth round appearance at the French Open in her second major. She upset No. 16 Wang Qiang in the second round for her first top 20 victory before losing to defending champion Simona Halep.

Świątek could not repeat her French Open success at the remaining Grand Slam events of the year, losing her opening match at Wimbledon and in the second round at the US Open. Her best result in the second half of the season was a third round appearance at the Canadian Open. During the event, she upset No. 18, Caroline Wozniacki, before losing to No. 2, Naomi Osaka. With this result, she entered the top 50 for the first time a week later. She missed the rest of the season after the US Open to undergo foot surgery and finished the year at No. 61 in the world.

2020: First French Open title, top 20 debut

Świątek made her return to the WTA Tour at the Australian Open. She matched her best result at a Grand Slam tournament with another fourth-round appearance, this time highlighted by a victory over No. 20, Donna Vekić. She defeated Vekić again at the Qatar Open, her last match win before the WTA Tour was shut down for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Świątek continued her Grand Slam success once the tour resumed. She reached the third round at the US Open, losing to eventual runner-up Victoria Azarenka.

Entering the rescheduled French Open in September, Świątek was ranked No. 54 in the world. Nonetheless, she won the singles event for her maiden WTA title. During the tournament, she defeated 2019 runner-up and world No. 19, Markéta Vondroušová, in the opening round. Her biggest upset was a victory in the fourth round over top seed and world No. 2, Simona Halep, who was on a 17-match win streak and was also the heavy favourite to win the title. She only lost three games against Halep after winning just one game against her in the same round of the French Open the previous year. Świątek defeated world No. 6, Sofia Kenin, in the final to become the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title and the lowest-ranked French Open champion in the history of the WTA rankings. She also became the youngest singles champion at the tournament since Rafael Nadal in 2005 and the youngest women's singles winner since Monica Seles in 1992. She won the title without dropping a set or more than five games to any opponent, and the 28 games she lost in total were tied for the second-fewest among French Open singles champions in the Open Era behind only the 20 games Steffi Graf lost in 1988. With the title, Świątek rose to No. 17 in the world. She also played the doubles event, partnering with Nicole Melichar for the first time. The pair reached the semifinals, and also did not drop a set until their last match.

2021: WTA 1000 title, French Open doubles final, top 10 debut

At the Australian Open, Świątek was seeded 15th and recorded wins over Arantxa Rus, Camila Giorgi and Fiona Ferro. She reached the fourth round where she lost to Simona Halep, in three sets. At Adelaide, she won her first WTA Tour title without dropping a set in the whole tournament. She defeated Belinda Bencic in the final, in straight sets. As a result, she entered the top 15 for the first time in her career, in March 2021.

Seeded 15th, Świątek won her first career WTA 1000-title at the Italian Open, defeating former champion Karolína Plíšková in just 46 minutes without the loss of a single game. She advanced to the final after defeating two-time champion and world No. 5, Elina Svitolina, and the second best-ranked teenager Coco Gauff on the same day, as well as saving match points in her third-round match against Barbora Krejčíková. Świątek became the third player to win a title after saving match point en route in 2021, alongside Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open and Ashleigh Barty in Miami. She also became the fourth teenager to win a WTA 1000 event. This successful run to her third career title moved her into the top 10 in the singles rankings on 17 May 2021, as world No. 9.

At the French Open, Świątek was seeded at No. 8. She opened her title defense winning against Kaja Juvan in the first round, and then defeated Rebecca Peterson, Anett Kontaveit and Marta Kostyuk. She won 22 straight sets at the French Open but then lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sakkari. In doubles, seeded 14th with Bethanie Mattek-Sands as a pair, playing just their third event together, they reached the final where they were defeated by Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets. As a result, Świątek reached the top 50 at a career-high ranking of No. 42 in doubles for the first time in her career.

She started her grass-court season at the Eastbourne International where she was seeded at No. 4. After defeating Heather Watson, she lost to Daria Kasatkina in the second round. As the seventh seed at Wimbledon, Świątek defeated Hsieh Su-wei, Vera Zvonareva, and Irina-Camelia Begu, all in straight sets. In the fourth round, she lost to Ons Jabeur, in three sets. With her win over Anett Kontaveit in the third round of the US Open, she became the only player to have reached the second week of all four Grand Slam championships in the 2021 season. She qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career.

2022: Rise to world No. 1, two major titles, 37-match winning streak

Świątek started her season by reaching the semifinals at the Adelaide International. She then reached another semifinals at the Australian Open. Following a second-round match loss against Jeļena Ostapenko, Świątek won the next six tournaments she entered — Qatar Ladies Open, Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, Stuttgart Open, Italian Open and, for her second major title, French Open — before losing to Alizé Cornet at Wimbledon in the third round. Świątek reached the world No. 1 singles ranking, and became the fourth as well as the youngest woman (11th player overall) to complete the Sunshine Double in the process. She also accumulated a 37-match win streak, the longest in the 21st century. Świątek had a lacklustre performance throughout the summer. She lost to Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals in Warsaw, Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round in Toronto and Madison Keys in the third round in Cincinnati. However, she returned on form at the US Open, winning her third major by defeating Ons Jabeur in the final. She became the first woman to win both the French Open and US Open in the same season since Serena Williams in 2013.

Świątek reached the final at the Ostrava Open, but she lost to Barbora Krejčíková in a three-set match that lasted 3 hours and 16 minutes, the longest match of her career so far. She subsequently played at the San Diego Open, winning her eighth title by defeating Donna Vekić, in three sets. At the 2022 WTA Finals held in Fort Worth, Texas, Świątek won the group stage without dropping a set, defeating Daria Kasatkina, Caroline Garcia and Coco Gauff, respectively. However, she was upset by Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals in three sets. Nevertheless, she finished the season as year-end no.1 and posted a record win-loss 67–9 in 2022, the most wins in a single season since Serena Williams in 2013. She also became the first player since Serena Williams in 2013 to collect over 11,000 ranking points in a single season. She collected the second highest ranking points total in WTA history, second only to Serena Williams in 2013.

2023: Third French Open title, first Wimbledon quarterfinal, end of No. 1 reign

Świątek started 2023 as only the fourth woman in WTA history to be ranked world No. 1 for 40 or more consecutive weeks in their first stint as the top-ranked player. In her first tournament of the year representing Poland at the United Cup in Brisbane, Świątek defeated Yulia Putintseva, Belinda Bencic and Martina Trevisan on the way to the semifinals where she lost to Jessica Pegula in straight sets. At the 2023 Australian Open, the top seeded Świątek reached the fourth round after winning against Jule Niemeier, Camila Osorio and Cristina Bucșa. In the fourth round she was defeated by reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets.

In February 2023, Świątek successfully defended her title at the WTA 500 Qatar Ladies Open when she defeated Jessica Pegula in the final in straight sets. This was her first title of the year and the twelfth of her career. She did not drop a set throughout the tournament and only lost five games. At the Dubai Championships, she defeated Leylah Fernandez, 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova, Karolína Plíšková (by walkover) and fifth seed Coco Gauff, all matches in straight sets with only nine games lost, to reach the final. She lost to Barbora Krejčíková in straight sets, ending her six match winning streak.

On 13 March she reached her 50th consecutive week at world No. 1. At the Indian Wells Open she defeated Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu in rounds three and four, both in straight sets. However, she lost once again to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, preventing Świątek from defending her Indian Wells title.  Due to a rib injury suffered during the Indian Wells event, Świątek withdrew from the 2023 Miami Open, which also prevented her from defending her Miami Open title. At the Stuttgart Open in April, Świątek entered the tournament as the defending champion. She reached her third WTA final of the season by defeating Zheng Qinwen, Karolína Plíšková and Ons Jabeur (retired). In the final, she defeated world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets in claiming her 13th career singles title. At the Madrid Open she reached the quarterfinals for the first time at this tournament defeating 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.  In the finals, she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of the 2023 Stuttgart Open.

In May, Świątek entered the Italian Open as the defending champion. In the second round, she doubled-bageled Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before defeating Lesia Tsurenko and Donna Vekić in the following rounds. In the quarterfinals, she faced Elena Rybakina and was forced to retire in the third set after sustaining a right thigh injury. At the French Open, Świątek reached her fourth major final without dropping a set. She won her third French Open and fourth major title overall, defeating Karolína Muchová in three sets in the final. She also became the first woman to defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007. At the Wimbledon, Świątek reached her first ever quarterfinal at the tournament after eliminating Zhu Lin, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Petra Martić and Belinda Bencic. In the quarterfinal, she lost to Elina Svitolina in three sets, which ended her 14-match win streak.

In July, Swiatek competed in the Poland Open and reached the final after achieving victories over Nigina Abduraimova, Claire Liu, Linda Nosková and Yanina Wickmayer. In the final, she defeated Laura Siegemund claiming her first WTA 250 title and 15th overall.

In preparation for the Canadian Open, Świątek was seen practicing with her mouth taped shut. She explained that this was a breathing exercise she did to improve endurance. She reached the semifinals at the event losing to Jessica Pegula, in three sets.

At the Cincinnati Open, Świątek defeated Danielle Collins, Zheng Qinwen, and the reigning Wimbledon champion, Markéta Vondroušová, before being upset for the first time by Coco Gauff in the semifinals.

At the US Open, Świątek began her title defense with convincing victories in the first three rounds. However, in the fourth round she was upset by 20th seed Jeļena Ostapenko, in three sets, and consequently ceded the world No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka, ending her 75-week streak in the top position. Świątek's 75-week reign at No.1 is the third-longest streak among players in their first stint as the top player behind only Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis. On 25 September, Świątek began her 100th consecutive week in the top 10 of WTA ranking becoming the second Pole (after Agnieszka Radwańska) to achieve this milestone.

She reached her third WTA 1000 final and seventh overall for the season at the China Open, defeating third seed Coco Gauff ending her 16-match win streak. She won her fifth title of the season and 16th overall with a straight sets win over Liudmila Samsonova.

National representation

Junior competitions

Świątek represented Poland at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals for 14-and-under girls twice in 2014 and 2015. She won all of her matches in 2014 to lead Poland to a ninth-place finish out of 16 teams. The following year, she helped Poland go undefeated in the round robin stage to reach the semifinals. Świątek moved up to the 16-and-under Junior Fed Cup in 2016, where she played alongside Maja Chwalińska and Stefania Rogozińska-Dzik. Poland won the title, defeating the United States 2–1 in the final. Świątek won both of her rubbers in the final tie, defeating Amanda Anisimova in singles before partnering with Chwalińska to defeat Caty McNally and Claire Liu in the decisive doubles rubber. The last event of Świątek's junior career was the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Although she lost in the quarterfinals in singles to Clara Burel, she partnered with Slovenian Kaja Juvan to win the gold medal in doubles. In the final they defeated Naito and Sato, who were also Świątek's opponents in the French Open doubles final earlier in the year.

Billie Jean King Cup
Świątek made her senior Billie Jean King Cup debut in 2018 when Poland was in Europe/Africa Zone Group I. To advance out of this group, Poland needed to win their round-robin group, a play-off tie against one of the other round robin group winners, and then another play-off tie as part of the separate World Group II Play-off round. They did not win their round-robin group in 2018 or 2019. Świątek won her only singles match in 2018. While she only won one of her three singles matches in 2019, she won both of her doubles rubbers while partnering with Alicja Rosolska. The following year, the format was changed so that Poland only needed to finish in the top two out of three teams in their round-robin group to reach the promotional play-off. Nonetheless, they won their group and defeated Sweden 2–0 in the play-off to advance to the separate Play-off round. Świątek won all three of her singles matches in the 2020 Europe/Africa Zone Group I round, before skipping the Play-offs themselves. The following edition in 2022 had Poland facing Romania in the qualifying round, with Świątek winning her two games to help the team move on to the  Finals. However, she did not attend the finals because the decisive round started very soon after the 2022 WTA Finals. The rib injury Świątek encountered shortly after exiting the 2023 Indian Wells Open also caused her to miss Poland's 2023 Billie Jean King cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in Astana.  Overall, Świątek has a 9–3 record at the Fed Cup, comprising 7–2 in singles and 2–1 in doubles.

Playing style

Świątek has an aggressive, all-court style of play and incorporates a lot of variety into her game. Because her game style is focused on offence, she typically generates high amounts of both winners and unforced errors. She has described her style of play on clay as "a big serve, topspin, and backhand down the line". Despite her aggressive style of play, she plays with margin, and constructs points carefully until she creates an opportunity to hit a winner, and in all seven of her matches played at the 2020 French Open, she hit more winners than unforced errors. In total at the French Open that year, she hit 175 winners to 127 unforced errors. The basis of Świątek's game was described by tennis journalist Christopher Clarey for The New York Times as: her sliding ability, allowing her to defend from the corners à la Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic, a "sprinter's speed" when moving forward to the net, power and topspin akin to her idol Rafael Nadal, and mental strength forged through sports psychology.

Her forehand and backhand are fast and powerful, with her forehand being hit with significant topspin due to her employing an extreme western grip; on her run to the title at the French Open in 2020, Świątek's average forehand speed was , only 4 km/h below that of the average male forehand speed. She even hit some forehands up to , the fastest of any female player in the draw and exceeded only by Jannik Sinner on the men's side. Her forehand topspin reached 3,453 rpm at the French Open, comparable with her idol Rafael Nadal. Świątek's backhand speed peaked at  at the French Open, the fastest of any female player in the draw, and equal to Dominic Thiem's backhand speed, the fastest of any male player at the French Open.

Świątek aims to come to the net, and has good volleying skills due to her doubles experience. Świątek possesses an accurate first serve, peaking at , and averaging at , allowing her to serve aces, dictate play from the first stroke, and win a majority of first-serve points. She possesses an effective kick serve, and an effective slice serve, which are deployed as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points. She also regularly uses the drop shot, and won the 2019 WTA Shot of the Year with a cross-court drop shot from the baseline that landed on the sideline well inside the service box. Świątek aims to gain the advantage in a point by hitting the ball early on the rise. Further strengths include her exceptional speed, movement, and court coverage, detailed and intricate footwork, and intelligent point construction. Her favourite surface is clay, having grown up playing on that surface, although she has had success on all surfaces. Her clay court success is enhanced by her ability to slide on the surface; as her career has progressed, she has also developed the ability to slide on hard and grass courts, too.

Świątek is a very popular player on the WTA Tour. She finished runner-up to Simona Halep in the voting for the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year award in 2019. In 2020, she was voted the WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player of the Year.

Coaching team

Świątek's primary coach in her early junior years was Michał Kaznowski, who she worked with up to the 2016 French Open. Jolanta Rusin-Krzepota was her physical preparation trainer for almost four years through the end of the 2019 US Open.
Świątek was coached by Piotr Sierzputowski beginning in 2016. While Sierzputowski was her coach, British former professional tennis player and former Polish Davis Cup coach Nick Brown also served as a main consultant on occasion. Świątek also works with sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz and fitness trainer/physiologist Maciej Ryszczuk.

In December 2021, Świątek announced that she was splitting from Sierzputowski after nearly six years working together. She wrote, "This change is really challenging for me, and this decision wasn't easy, either". Świątek had hired Sierzputowski when she was 15 and still playing in junior tournaments. Her current coach is Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously coached Agnieszka Radwańska.

Endorsements
Świątek is now sponsored by the Roger Federer-backed Swiss company On for clothing and shoes, as of March 20, 2023, and became the first female tennis player to be sponsored by On. She had been sponsored by Asics for clothing and shoes since the start of 2020. She was previously sponsored by Nike. Świątek was also previously endorsed by the Red Bull energy drink company, the Chinese tech giant Xiaomi and the Lexus division of the Toyota automaker company, the latter of which have also sponsored fellow Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwańska. In 2021, Świątek signed an endorsement deal with Tecnifibre for racquets; she previously used a Prince Textreme 100 Tour racquet, although she was not under contract with the company. To celebrate the victory at the 2022 French Open with a Tecnifibre racquet and to recognise the female athlete, the company changed its marketing name to Swiateknifibre and its trademark to the colours white and red for seven days. It was the first women's Grand Slam title for this manufacturer.
Świątek's father also confirmed that she had also signed a contract with Rolex in 2021. Since February 2021, her main partner is Poland's biggest insurance company PZU. After winning her third Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open, Świątek parted ways with her long-term manager, and began to be represented by IMG. In 2023, Świątek announced that she has become a global ambassador for the Polish sports drink Oshee. She will also release collaboration line with the brand, including her own drink flavour and bottle design.
On 26th of June 2023, Swiatek has announced her partnership with Porsche. In August, Swiatek  has been announced as a global ambassador of VISA. On 25th of August, Infosys has announced Swiatek as their global brand ambassador alongside Rafael Nadal.

Charity work and philanthropy
Since 2021 Świątek has been involved with The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. She has put up her winning racket from the final of her first French Open, the racket ended up getting sold with the price of 131,300 zł, which outpriced the signed Champions League winning kit of Robert Lewandowski, money helped to fund new equipment for pediatric ENT, otolaryngology and head diagnostics. In 2022, while playing at the Australian Open, she put up another racket, this time from final of Italian Open, but this time the offer also included training with the buyer. Besides the racket Świątek also put her signed Tokyo Olympics 2020 kit, her signature cap and multiple tennis balls with autographs up for auction. Offer yet again was met with a lot of interest and in the end was sold for 189,100 zł, which was the second best seller. Money would help to fund equipment for pediatric ophthalmology. In 2023, Świątek has put up her winning racket with which she won both US Open and French Open in 2022, besides the racket she also included double invitation to her first round match in Roland Garros 2023 and an opportunity to meet her in person behind the scenes after the match. The pass would also allow the winners of the auction to watch all matches on the said day for free. All proceeds would go to funding the medication for sepsis. Świątek's offer was auctioned for 300,300 zł, making it the most expensive auction.

Świątek and her team have also been taking part in the Noble Gift project since 2020. It helps to provide families, which have found themselves in difficult financial circumstances for reasons beyond their control during the Christmas period.

Świątek also took part in auction for SOS Children's Villages- Poland, putting up her autographed cap from Miami Open. In one of interviews the teacher from Świątek's elementary school in Raszyn revealed that after winning her second French Open title, she pledged to help upgrade the school's sports facilities, among which was a single tennis court. She also donated the shirt she wore in the final, tennis balls and her cap to the school, all signed for auction to raise money for one of the students who needed urgent and expensive medical treatment.

In November 2021, Świątek was announced in line-up for Africa Cares Tennis Challenge tennis exhibition in Johannesburg, which was aimed to not only promote tennis in South Africa but was to be used as a vehicle in the fight against Gender-Based Violence through campaigns and activations leading up to the main event. Other players in the line-up included Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Martina Hingis. On 30 November it was announced event was cancelled due to concerns regarding growing amount of cases of Covid-19 infections.

Advocating for mental health awareness
On 10 October 2021, Świątek donated $50,000 of her prize money in support of World Mental Health Day, after progressing to the last 16 of the Indian Wells Open. "I would say in sports, for me, it was always important to use that kind of help because I always thought that in my mental toughness there is some strength that I can use on court and I can also develop in that manner," she said. After winning in at the French Open in 2020, Świątek revealed that using her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, had helped her get over the line. "It's just good to stay open-minded. If you need that kind of help, then go for it. If you're up to it and if you're open-minded, I think it helps a lot," Świątek added.

In her runner-up speech after losing the final to Barbora Krejčíková on the Ostrava Open on 9 October 2022, Świątek announced she will donate all of her prize money (€58,032) won in the tournament to Polish non-profit organizations and foundations to celebrate World Mental Health Day. "This is the most difficult moment of this tournament for me. I do not know what to say. Thank you so much. Whether I win or not, I am fulfilling my dreams, and you with me. I wish I won cause I would be able to donate more but I would like to announce that I will donate my prize money to non-profit organisations in Poland on Monday, which is World Mental Health Day. I hope this money can help a lot of people and make some change".

Support of Ukraine
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Świątek has often worn ribbons or other accessories in Ukrainian colors, and on several occasions has publicly declared her support for Ukraine in her winner speeches.

On 23 July 2022, Świątek hosted a charity tennis event in Kraków, Poland to raise funds for children and teenagers impacted by the war in Ukraine. The one-day event featured a mixed doubles exhibition match and a set of singles between Świątek and Agnieszka Radwańska. Ukraine football great Andriy Shevchenko was a special guest. Elina Svitolina of Ukraine served as umpire for the event. Świątek stated, "I hope that we can see each other in large numbers in TAURON Arena Krakow and in front of the television to show the strength of sport when it unites us in helping and gives us at least a little joy." Świątek later announced on Twitter that the event has raised over 2,5 mln złoty (over €500,000), which would be spread between United 24, Elina Svitolina Foundation and UNICEF Poland.

On 10 August, Świątek has been announced as the part of line up for "Tennis Plays for Peace" exhibition, which took place on 24 August with other numerous current and former tennis stars like Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, John McEnroe, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Maria Sakkari and many others, 100% of the proceeds going to GlobalGiving, the international non-profit identified by Tennis Plays for Peace.

On 9 January 2023, Świątek took to Twitter and Instagram to announce that her 'Iga & Friends' and '1ga' T-shirts will be available for sale at Allegro Charity, where she and UNICEF Poland have once again joined forces to raise funds for children in war-torn Ukraine. On 11 January, Świątek once again announced on her social media platforms that she will be auctioning off her US Open winning gear and French Open shoes, among others all proceeds would also be going straight to UNICEF.

Personal life
Świątek is a cat lover and owns a black female cat named Grappa. She enjoys reading novels and listening to music. Before her matches, she listens to rock music, especially Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and AC/DC. In her spare time, she listens to alternative music, jazz, soul and pop. She is also a fan of Taylor Swift. In an interview with Tennis Channel, she described Mikaela Shiffrin as a good role model and said she "really respects" her. She also mentioned being a fan of actress Sandra Bullock and her films.

Besides being a successful sportswoman, Świątek was always known as an excellent and diligent student in primary and high-school. Despite her tour schedules she always studied during the tournaments before coming back to school in person to pass the tests. Świątek before her success at the French Open in 2020 had finished her high school with excellent results in her high-school leaving examination, better known as Egzamin Maturalny, with 83% for Polish at basic level, 100% for English at basic level, 96% for Advanced English and 100% for Mathematics. She also admitted that she would like to go to university and study something related to mathematics later in life.

Świątek is a known book lover on the WTA tour, and brings books to each tournament. For example, she read Murder on the Orient Express at the 2022 French Open and Gone with the Wind at the 2021 US Open. She openly admits that books help her concentrate on tournaments and help her to not use her phone "for longer than needed".

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 4 (4 titles)

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Records

 only played three matches.

Awards
2019
 WTA Fan Favorite Shot of the Year

2020
 WTA Most Improved Player
 WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player
 Gold Cross of Merit
 European Sportswoman of the Year – Evgen Bergant Trophy

2022
 Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy
 WTA Player of the Year
 ITF World Champion
 WTA Fan Favourite Shot of the Year
 European Sportsperson of the Year

2023
 Polish Sports Personality of the Year
 L'Équipe Champion of Champions

Mentions

Notes

References

External links

 Iga Świątek at the Tennis Board
 The Players Tribune. 12 January 2023. Personal Essay – The Story of a Polish Introvert by Iga Swiatek.

2001 births
Living people
French Open champions
French Open junior champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' doubles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles
Olympic tennis players for Poland
Polish female tennis players
Tennis players at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Tennis players from Warsaw
US Open (tennis) champions
Wimbledon junior champions
WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
ITF World Champions
Youth Olympic gold medalists for Poland

Iga Świątek


Harriet Toompere (born 22 May 1975) is an Estonian stage, television, and film actress. She is also the author of two children's books.

Early life and education
Harriet Toompere was born in Tallinn to actor and director Hendrik Toompere Sr. and actress Maie Toompere (née Kruusenberg). Her older brother is actor Hendrik Toompere Jr., and her nephew is actor Hendrik Toompere Jr. Jr. Her maternal grandfather was wrestler Herman Kruusenberg.

She studied acting at the EMA Higher Drama School (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre), graduating in 1998. Among her graduating classmates were actors Hilje Murel, Jan Uuspõld, Tiit Sukk, Veikko Täär, Liina Vahtrik, and Andero Ermel. Her diploma productions at the EMA Higher Drama School were in stage performances in
Betti Alver's Lugu valgest varesest in 1996, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady in 1997, and Madis Kõiv's Peiarite õhtunäitus, also in 1997.

Stage career
Harriet Toompere began her career as stage actress in 1998 at the Estonian Drama Theatre, where she is still currently engaged. Her first stage role for the theatre was as Susanna Hall in a 1998 production of Peter Whelan's historical drama The Herbal Bed. During her may years at the theatre, she has performed in a number of roles by Estonian and international authors and playwrights. Among her more memorable roles at the Estonian Drama Theatre are in works by: Shakespeare, Molière, Chekhov, Tom Stoppard, Betti Alver, Torgny Lindgren, Andrus Kivirähk, Brian Friel, Mihkel Ulman, Astrid Lindgren, Joseph Kesselring, Neil Simon, Jean-Claude Grumberg, Roland Schimmelpfennig, Selma Lagerlöf, Urmas Lennuk, Bogusław Schaeffer, Ingmar Bergman, Paul-Eerik Rummo, Yasmina Reza, Carin Mannheimer, and Martin Algus, among others.

Television and film career
Toompere has appeared in several Estonian television serials. Her first notable role on television was an appearance on the Eesti Televisioon (ETV) crime drama series Ohtlik lend as Maarja in 2006. Other memorable appearances include the role of Anna Moorus on an episode of the popular TV3 comedy-crime series Kättemaksukontor in 2010; a starring role as Anne Kõrvits in the TV3 comedy series Unistuste agentuur in 2010, as Stella in the Kanal 2 comedy series Mägede Varjud in 2013; and as Riina Mägi in the ETV drama series Mustad lesed.

Toompere's first role in film was as the character Anne in the 2001 Peeter Urbla directed film short Ränk ja Kilk for Exitfilm. This was followed by narrating the 2002 Peeter Simm directed documentary Sõda pärast sõda, which chronicled the lives of some of Estonia's Forest Brothers; individuals who had waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the Estonia during, and after, World War II. In 2006, she voiced the character Sophie in the popular animated Estonian children's film Leiutajateküla Lotte.

In 2011, she had a supporting role as Mari, the daughter of a lonely elderly man (played by Aarne Üksküla) contemplating suicide following the death of his wife in the Mart Kivastik directed Exitfilm Üks mu sober. The following year, she appeared in a small role in the Kristo Viiding directed Exitfilm romantic mystery Gracias a la Vida, inspired by the Albert Camus novel A Happy Death. In 2016, she appeared as Ruth in the feature-length comedy-drama Õnn tuleb magades, directed by Mart Kivastik, and starring Katariina Unt and Ivo Uukkivi. In 2017, she appeared as Doris Toivonen in the Finnish-Estonian-Swedish historical war drama Ikitie, directed by Antti-Jussi Annila for Finland's Matila Röhr Productions (MRP). Later that year, she appeared as Nurse Maria in the Andres Puustusmaa directed drama Rohelised kassid. In 2018, she appeared as Marleen in the René Vilbre directed comedy Klassikokkutulek 2: Pulmad ja matused; the sequel to the 2016 comedy Klassikokkutulek.

In 2021, she had a starring role as Eva in the Ergo Kuld directed comedy film Jahihooaeg alongside Mirtel Pohla and Grete Kuld. In 2023, she had a starring role as Tiuks in the Mart Kivastik directed comedy film Taevatrepp, opposite husband Mait Malmsten, based on the novel of the same name penned by Kivastik.

Author
In 2005, Harriet Toompere penned the children's book Väike Põhjapõder. The book was illustrated by Anu Kalm and published in December 2005 by Varrak. In 2007, she wrote a second book, Väikese põhjapõdra uued lood, also illustrated by Anu Kalm and published by Varrak in November 2007.

Personal life
Harriet Toompere has been in a long-term relationship with actor Mait Malmsten for over twenty years. The couple have two sons, Hugo and Franz. They reside in the small village of Andineeme, in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County.

References

External links

1975 births
Living people
Estonian stage actresses
Estonian film actresses
Estonian television actresses
Actresses from Tallinn
Writers from Tallinn
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni
20th-century Estonian women writers
Estonian children's writers
Estonian women children's writers
20th-century Estonian actresses
21st-century Estonian actresses
21st-century Estonian writers
21st-century Estonian women writers

Harriet Toompere


Gabrielle Shellise Varner (born February 12, 1989), simply known as Elle Varner is an American singer-songwriter. Her parents, Mikelyn Roderick and Jimmy Varner were publishers and songwriters. Elle signed a recording agreement with Sony Music in 2009. Her debut album Perfectly Imperfect was released on August 7, 2012. Two singles from the album were released: "Only Wanna Give It to You" and "Refill". The singles reached the top twenty on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

1989-2010: Early life and career beginnings
Elle is of Cape Verdean descent. She is the daughter of Mikelyn Roderick and Jimmy Varner. They are publishers and songwriters. Roderick was a backing vocalist for Barry White and has written and recorded with Tevin Campbell and Rahsaan Patterson. Jimmy Varner has done collaborations with Gerald Alston, Kool & the Gang, and Will Downing.

Elle began playing the flute at age 6 and the piano at age 9.  She grew up around recording studios because of her parents jobs. She attended Alexander Hamilton High School's Academy of Music's Vocal Jazz Group. She wrote songs while being there. One of which "Thankful" won the top prize at their talent show. Because of this, she was accepted in NYU's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. She graduated there in 2008. In October 2009, she signed a recording agreement with MBK/J-RCA Records along with an agreement with Sony Music. She became the first artist to be featured on BET's Music Matters campaign that same year.

2011–present: Perfectly Imperfect
Elle's debut single "Only Wanna Give It to You" was released on August 6, 2011, from her debut album Perfectly Imperfect (2012). It features American rapper J. Cole. It got to number 20 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In October 2011, Elle was listed as one of TheBoomBox's "15 Artists to Watch". On October 7, 2011, Elle was moved to RCA Records.

Elle released a mixtape Conversational Lush on January 23, 2012, as a promotion of her new album. The song "Refill" was released as the second single on January 31, 2012, on iTunes. It debuted at number 78 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Elle's debut album was released on August 7, 2012 and got to number three on the US Billboard 200 albums chart.

Discography

Studio albums
 Perfectly Imperfect (2012)

Mixtapes
 Conversational Lush (2012)

References

Other websites

 Elle Varner at last.fm
 Elle Varner Discography

1989 births

Living people
Singer-songwriters from California
Musicians from Los Angeles

Elle Varner


Auldhame Castle is a ruined L-plan tower house standing on a ridge above Seacliff beach, about 3 miles east of North Berwick in East Lothian, and less than half a mile from Tantallon Castle. The castle was built in the 16th century, probably by Adam Otterburn of Reidhall, Lord Provost of Edinburgh. It consists of a three-storey main block with a projecting stair-tower. Part of a vaulted basement remains, but the upper floors are mostly gone.

One of the three supposed corpses of Saint Baldred of Tyninghame was said to have been buried at the site in 756. A cemetery site in an adjoining field was excavated in 2008, the remains of at least 326 individual skeletons were noted, plus the foundations of a probable chapel with an estimated 9th century date (based on comparisons with similar structures).

See also
List of castles in Scotland
Auldhame & Scoughall

References

History of Auldhame Castle

Ruined castles in East Lothian
North Berwick
Tower houses in Scotland

Auldhame Castle


St. Elmo's fire (also called St. Elmo's light) is a weather event in which bright, glowing, ball of light is seen near pointed objects, like the mast of a ship. It is plasma made by a coronal discharge from a sharp or pointed object in a strong electric field in the air. These fields could be created by thunderstorms or a volcanic eruption.

St. Elmo's fire is named after St. Erasmus of Formia. Elmo (and Erasmo) is the Italian name for St. Erasmus, the patron saint of sailors. The fire sometimes was seen on ships at sea during thunderstorms. Sailors believed the glowing ball of light may have been a religious event, and named it after St. Elmo. Electricity in the air can change compass readings, so some sailors may have seen the fire as a sign of bad luck and stormy weather. Other references claim that sailors may have thought of St. Elmo's fire as a good sign, showing that their patron saint was with them.

References

Electricity
Weather events

St. Elmo's fire