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Is it that we now have kids? Is it that our move into a new house in June symbolizes "settling down"? Is this what happens as you grow older?
I'm not a particularly religious person. Nothing against God, mind you, or whatever it is you call a higher power. I self-identify as a Hindu, with its cultural and spiritual aspects. But not its rituals. I see ritualism as a gateway to superstition and superstition as the point at which faith becomes fear-based.
Faith is an intensely personal journey and, for me, doesn't manifest itself as a chest-thumping, chanting social experience. And in Hinduism, that's OK. It's a liberal religion that affords you freedom to customize how you practise it, if you practise it. Guilt-free.
All the more surprising then, this desire to have a traditional "housewarming" ceremony, complete with all the bells (literally) and whistles. Thankfully, I have a husband so secure in his secularity and agnosticism that he's unfazed by any act of religiosity.
Related: Vastu Shastra, the ancient principles of home-building
A Hindu housewarming it is, then. A Vastu Shanti: worship of God manifested as Vastu, the protector who is believed to reside in every house. The aim is to build positive energy, to feel gratitude and to resolve to live well. I like all that. Secretly, I'm hoping the positive vibes will mean our four- and two-year-olds , engulfed in daycare germs, won't fall sick again. Shoo, evil spirits, don't touch my innocent angels.
And so the day dawns, bright and warm. We're up early, ready by 9 a.m. for the priest to arrive from Mississauga.
Shekhar Parkhi, recommended by a friend, drives up to our newly purchased West Rouge home on the eastern edge of Scarborough, looking entirely priestly, dressed in a dhoti (a white wraparound, fashioned into culotte-like pants with pleats in the front). He's a retired Toronto Hydro employee and conducts on average two housewarming ceremonies a month in the GTA.
He's going to explain the proceedings in English as we go along, seeing as we, like most folks, don't understand Sanskrit, the ancient classical language of the Puranas, or scriptures, from which the prayers are taken.
It begins with the entire family leaving the house and re-entering through the front door, right foot crossing the threshold first. According to tradition, the right side is favoured, the left inauspicious. We walk around, blessing the house by dipping a betel leaf (which symbolizes freshness and prosperity) in holy water and sprinkling it in the air in each room. The ritual developed long before the days of home inspectors, when owners would walk around the house to make sure it was safe for living and then move in.
My husband and I then rub a paste of water and holy red powder on our palms and make imprints on a wall. The colour red signifies holiness. The imprints establish ownership of the dwelling and impart a sentiment of fulfilment supported by God's blessings.
And then we sit down for a two-hour session of prayers. As with all auspicious occasions, it begins with prayers to Ganesha, the cute, elephant-headed god (long story). First, a symbolic bath (sprinkling water), then decorating (applying sandalwood paste, sprinkling coloured rice and powders and placing flowers) and then offering of food, a fruit placed on a betel leaf. All represent respect and reverence.
The belief here is that since God is unseen, we shape him in our own form. What is good for humans is good for God, and so rituals are born, out of habits our ancestors considered healthy and helpful. This, then, is the root of hospitality and lavishing food on guests in a culture where the guest is God.
The prayers will be modular, explains the priest, each series of rituals completed with one deity before moving on to the next. After Ganesha, we seek the blessings of Varuna (water, or life itself), of the nine planets and of the matrukas, which represent maternal energies.
The ringing bell, the Sanskrit chants, the smell of incense sticks — all flashbacks of happy moments in childhood. Yes, rituals are comforting.
We now come to the core of the ceremony: instilling life force into the Vastu, a little embossed metal sheet about an inch by half-inch. We each place a hand to our heart, the other on the sheet, and meditate as the priest delivers the invocation. The now all-powerful Vastu, our protector, is then laid in a certain part of our house, out of sight but omnipresent.
Accompanying the Vastu are a thin stick of gold and five tiny beads of topaz, ruby, emerald, pearl and jade. In an era before banks and RRSPs, explains the priest, people kept their rainy day savings by storing precious gems in a bag and burying them in a secret spot in their house.
We find our priest erudite but not pompous, humorous without being flippant, lending the ceremony the right touch of gravitas that honoured it.
Finally a prayer to Agni or fire. We move to the backyard for this. Our priest is particularly careful about fire hazards and regulations. Many homeowners simply either turn off their alarms or cover their smoke detectors.
Fire is regarded as the mouth of God, and our offerings are a way to reach God directly. We pray to express our repentance and seek forgiveness for the trees that were cut and animals and insects killed in the making our home as we acknowledge our debt to nature. There is a moment of tension when it looks as if the fire is about to go out — inauspicious, that — but the ambers are revived — phew — and the fire, fed by special sticks and ghee (clarified butter) that I pour in drop by drop, burns merrily for half an hour. We end with a pledge to honour our home.
The ceremony ends with a feast, vegetarian and altogether delicious. Having, as we do, the Rouge Valley in our backyard, it is befitting to place a plate of freshly cooked food out for all the animals and birds and insects — to share with them our joy and to symbolize our coexistence.


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Whenever we go into a cheese shop the first thing my 2 year old son will do is ask for stilton. Usually at the top of his voice, much to the amusement of anyone in earshot. He's well known at both of our local cheese haunts - The Cheese Block and Mootown (whose Bermondsey Spa he is also quite partial too, especially when eaten straight off the knife) - for his adventures in strong, mature and stinky cheese.
It's hardly surprising though given the quantities of blue cheese I used to demolish as my parents pushed me around the market on a Saturday morning in my pushchair whilst they did their weekly shop. My personal favourite was Danish Blue at that time, or so my Dad tells me.
Back in February we spent a week holed up in a converted barn in the foothills of the Black Mountains. It was the sort of holiday where we sheltered from the freezing temperatures outside, ate copious amounts of cheese and pottered around the kitchen baking focaccia, coconut breakfast cake, cinnamon buns and savoury tarts.
This tart, packed with new potatoes, caramelised onions and stilton, is what I'd refer to as a substantial tart. The sort you only need a simple salad with in summer. I'd had the idea for it in mind for quite a while, so baked it for the first time that week in Wales and more recently for my Tea Room at the Sunday Art Salon in Brockley.
I like it best when it's served cold for lunch or a picnic the next day.
For the pastry:
225g plain flour
110g unsalted butter
pinch salt
125ml cold water
For the filling:
5 medium onions
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp sherry vinegar
100g-150g good stilton, broken into pieces
6 medium new potatoes, cooked and sliced
300ml double cream
2 medium eggs
salt & black pepper
Start by making the pastry. Put the flour, salt and butter in a mixing bowl and rub together with your finger tips until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the cold water, a little at a time, and bring together to form a ball (you may not need it all), handling the pastry lightly and as little as possible. Flatten into a patty, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Peel and halve the onions, then slice into 'half rings' about 5mm thick. Heat a heavy based frying pan over a low heat, add the rapeseed oil and fry the onions for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until they are golden brown. Don't try to rush this, they need to cook slowly to develop the flavour. Add the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the sherry vinegar and cook for another minute.
Roll the pastry out to about 3mm thick and line a greased 23cm fluted, loose based tart tin. Prick the surface of the pastry on the base of the tin gently all over with a fork, taking care not to push through to the tin. Chill again for 10 minutes. Line with foil or baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and foil / parchment and bake for another 5 minutes until the pastry has dried out and the base is cooked.
Reduce the temperature of the oven to 180C.
Spread the caramelised onions over the base of the cooked pastry case. Top with the cooked potato slices and then the stilton. Whisk the eggs and cream together and season with a little salt and plenty black pepper. Pour over the onions, potatoes and stilton until it nearly reaches the top of the pastry.
Cook the tart in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes until set and the pastry cooked through. If the pastry around the edge is cooking too quickly you can cover it with foil.
Leave to cool in the tin before removing to serve.

subset: commoncrawl


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Communicating from space: gaining a grip on antennas
Staying in touch with spacecraft after launch, such as Cassini-Huygens or ESA's Mars Express, needs sophisticated communication systems, including 'high-gain' and 'low-gain' antennas.
Technical terms like these can sound fearsome, but they are easily explained.
First of all, an antenna is simply a device that can send and receive radio waves. Anything can do this as long as it is capable of conducting electricity. Because metal is so good at doing this, even a paper-clip could be used to transmit and receive radio waves.
However, such a tiny system would be of little use to transmit vital scientific data over millions of miles of space. So, engineers build more-complicated antennas, and this is where things start to get confusing.
Car aerials are among the simplest antennas. They can receive (or transmit) signals equally in all directions except straight up and down. By building more complicated antennas, engineers can control the direction in which the radio wave is sent.
This is where the term 'gain' is used. Gain of an antenna system is the increase or 'amplification' in signal power, usually expressed in decibels. This is the ratio of the power transmitted along the direction of the signal beam and that of a signal of the same total power sent in all directions.
So although it can be defined mathematically, it is really just a way of telling how tightly a particular antenna can focus its radio beam. So, a high-gain antenna is particularly good at transmitting signals in a narrow beam whereas a low-gain antenna tends to send its signal in a much wider sweep of directions.
Because a low-gain antenna spreads its power out over a wider volume in space, the signal received by a ground station is weaker. This signal cannot carry as much information as a high-gain signal where the available power is concentrated to beam the signal accurately back to its target. Dish-shaped antennas are particularly good at focusing radio beams and so make excellent high-gain antennas.
Spacecraft always carry both high- and low-gain antennas. Although the high-gain antenna is used to return the majority of the data collected, if the spacecraft has to turn even a little, the high-gain signal could miss the Earth. The low-gain antenna does not suffer from such a problem because it transmits over a wider volume.
So even though they transmit and receive at slower rates, low-gain antennas are used to take over as back-ups when the high-gain antenna cannot be used. Spacecraft normally carry two of them on opposite sides. That way, they provide total coverage around the spacecraft.
Low-gain antennas are essential in critical situations. For example, if a spacecraft lost the ability to point itself, the low-gain antenna will always receive signals from Earth, allowing engineers to begin fixing the problem.
So if you ask the question, "Which is best to have on a spacecraft: a high-gain or a low-gain antenna?" the answer is clearly, "Both!"


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Google Planning Touch Chromebook Before End of 2012 [REPORT]
Microsoft isn't the only one who thinks touch-screen laptops are a good idea, it appears. Google is reportedly planning a touch-enabled Chromebook for the end of 2012, and may even sell it under its own brand.
Google has ordered 20 million units of the device from its Taiwan-based manufacturer, Compal, the China Times reports. The report says the size of the order indicates it's "tentative," though it's probably a decent size for Chromebooks, which haven't been big sellers for Google. Sales have so far been so small that NPD, a research company that measures sales of electronics, doesn't even bother mentioning them.
A touch Chromebook mirrors what Microsoft has done in Windows 8 — putting touch-screen abilities into the "traditional" form factor of a laptop. However, it's unclear if Google will modify Chrome OS on the new machine to better work with touch as Microsoft did with Windows. Or it could be the first product to run both Android and Chrome, or a merged version of both (it's been rumored Google is planning to unite the two OSes).
Also unclear: Whether or not it will be a "hybrid" design, one that can be used as both a tablet or a laptop, similar to the Lenovo Yoga or Dell XPS 12. Such novel designs tend to add a premium, however, and since value pricing is a clear priority for the Chromebook line (the most recent devices sell as low as $199), it's possible Google will opt for a simple laptop with a touch screen, similar to the Acer Aspire S7.
The report says Google could release the new Chromebook as early as December, though the last month of the year is generally regarded as a poor time to launch a new product.
What would you like to see in a touch Chromebook? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Photo via AFP/Getty Images.


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Abbey plc is quoted on Euronext Growth in Dublin, and the AIM Market in London.
The company's main activities are residential housing development in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Prague.
The plant hire division, M&J Engineers Ltd., is based in the United Kingdom.
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This Philips Avent spout cup is great for both toddlers and parents. The soft silicone spout makes sipping easy and fewer parts ensures easy cleaning of the cup. The one-piece silicone spout is easy to drink from: liquid starts flowing when pressure is applied to the spout. The valve is built into the spout, ensuring assembly is fast and hassle free. Container of the sippy cup is designed to allow easy grip for little hands. The new Philips Avent cup is compatible with the Philips Avent Natural and Classic bottle range, excluding the glass bottle.
Explore the entire range of Feeding and Nursing available on Nykaa. Shop more Philips Avent products here.You can browse through the complete world of Philips Avent Feeding and Nursing .
Expiry Date: 15 January 2023


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Back to Search Results
Sales Associate - Hard Goods - Sherway Gardens
Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Posted: Oct 7, 2020
Next Opportunity
This job posting is no longer active.
As a Sales Associate – Hard Goods, you will provide you will extraordinary customer service to our customers through the sales of the best sporting equipment, footwear, apparel, and accessories.
Your Responsibilities
- Provide excellent customer service through all steps of the sales process
- Ensure that all sales goals are achieved by conscientiously applying the Sporting Life standards
- Actively participate in our team tasks to deliver a full experience to our customers including store cleanliness, merchandising and restocking of product and control of inventory
What you offer
- A love of fashion, sport and a healthy, active lifestyle
- An outgoing personality and an enthusiasm for sales and creating an amazing customer experience
- A genuine passion for serving the public and ensuring that all customers are cared for
- Desire to continually learn and develop knowledge around products
- Ability to lift 25lbs
Who you are
- You live for the great Canadian Outdoors.
- You live for Skiing, Snowboarding, Cycling, Running and Tennis.
- The mix of fashion and sport is what makes us unique.
- You believe in the spirit of team, joining leaders, being part of constant innovation and working alongside the best staff and vendors in the business.
What we provide
- Access to the best brands and vendors including training and learning opportunities
- Competitive compensation
- Amazing product discounts
- Professional growth and development
- Flexible schedules
Sporting Life is #unlikeanystoreintheworld
Sporting Life Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing accommodations for persons with disabilities. In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, please advise the Sporting Life Human Resources team of any accommodations required to ensure fair and equitable access through the recruitment and selection process.


text:
Common (rapper)
Common at a signing for his book,
One Day It'll All Make Sense
in Tribeca, Manhattan in 2011.
|Background information
|Birth name
|Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.
|Also known as
|Common Badu
|March 13, 1972
|Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
|Rapper, actor, poet
|Years active
|Think Common, Artium, Def Jam, Universal (current)
Relativity, MCA, Geffen, GOOD, Warner Bros. (former)
|Associated acts
|Cocaine 80s, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, Pharrell, Soulquarians, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, John Legend, Fort Minor, Kid Cudi
Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American hip hop recording artist, actor and poet from Chicago, Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians.[1] In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, and, in the past, has released music under various other labels such as Relativity, Geffen and GOOD Music, among others.
Common's first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success.[2] His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life", with Erykah Badu.[3] Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.
Common won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Song, for his song "Glory" from the 2014 film Selma, in which he co-starred as 1960s Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel. Common's acting career also includes starring significant roles in the films Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year's Eve and Run All Night. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture.[4] He starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western television series Hell on Wheels.
- 1 Early life
- 2 Music career
- 3 Other work
- 4 Personal life
- 5 Discography
- 6 Filmography
- 7 Awards and nominations
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Early life
Common was born in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.[5][6][7][8] He is the son of educator Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and former ABA basketball player turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. They divorced when he was six years old, resulting in his father's moving to Denver, Colorado. This left Common to be raised by his mother, but his father remained active in his life and landed Lonnie Jr. a job with the Chicago Bulls during his teens. While a student at Luther High School South in Chicago, Lynn with his friends, record producer and Corey Crawley formed C.D.R. a rap trio that opened for acts that included N.W.A and Big Daddy Kane.[9][10] After being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Lynn debuted in 1992 with the single "Take It EZ", followed by the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, under stage name Common Sense.
Music career
1992–1996: Career beginnings
With the 1994 release of Resurrection, Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, which extended beyond Chicago natives. The album sold relatively well and received a strong positive reaction among alternative and underground hip hop fans at the time. Resurrection was Common's last album produced almost entirely by his long-time production partner, No I.D., who was also the then-mentor of a young Kanye West.
In 1996, Common appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine. He would later also contribute to the Red Hot Organization's Fela Kuti tribute album, Red Hot and Riot in 2002. He collaborated with Djelimady Tounkara on a remake of Kuti's track, "Years of Tears and Sorrow".
The song "I Used to Love H.E.R." from Resurrection ignited a feud with West Coast rap group Westside Connection. The lyrics of the song criticized the path hip hop music was taking and was interpreted by some as directing blame towards the popularity of West Coast Gangsta rap. Westside Connection first responded with the 1995 song "Westside Slaughterhouse," with the lyrics "Used to love H.E.R. mad cause I fucked her". Westside Connection recorded tracks venting their issues with rival East Coast rappers (see East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry). "Westside Slaughterhouse" also mentioned Common by name, prompting the rapper to respond with the scathing Pete Rock-produced attack song "The Bitch in Yoo". Common and Westside Connection continued to insult each other back and forth before finally meeting with Louis Farrakhan and setting aside their dispute. Following the popularity of Resurrection, Common Sense was sued by an Orange County-based reggae band with the same name, and was forced to shorten his moniker to simply Common.[11]
1996–1999: One Day It'll All Make Sense
Initially scheduled for an October 1996 release, Common finally released his third album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, in September 1997. The album took a total of two years to complete and included collaborations with artists such as Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, Q-Tip, Canibus, Black Thought, Chantay Savage, and Questlove – a future fellow member of the Soulquarians outfit. The album, which made a point of eschewing any gangsterism (in response to questions about his musical integrity), was critically acclaimed and led to a major label contract with MCA Records. In addition to releasing One Day, Common's first child, daughter Omoye Assata Lynn, was born shortly after the release of the album.
As documented by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda, in the liner notes for the album, this event had a profound spiritual and mental effect on Common and enabled him to grow musically while becoming more responsible as an artist. She writes:
- Rashid found out that he was going to become a daddy in about 8 months. Stunned and confused, Rashid had life altering decisions to make with his girlfriend, Kim Jones. The situation led to the composition of his favourite cut on One Day... that offers a male slant on abortion. "Retrospect for Life", produced by James Poyser and No I.D. featuring Lauryn Hill (who was due on the same day as Rashid's girlfriend), is the song that is the driving force behind the project. Rashid listens to "Retrospect for Life" today at the mastering session geeked, as if it were for the first time. He tells me as we listen to L-Boogie wail the chorus, "when I listen to the song now, I think about how precious her (Omoye's) life is".
Common addresses family ethics several times on One Day..., and the album sleeve is decorated with old family photos, illustrating the rapper's childhood, as well a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:11, which summarizes the path to manhood:
|When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
1999–2003: Soulquarians era
Following One Day..., Common signed a major label record deal with MCA Records and relocated from Chicago to New York City in 1999. He began recording almost exclusively with a loose collective of musicians and artists (dubbed the "Soulquarians" by central figure Questlove) throughout 1999, and made a few sporadic guest appearances on The Roots' Things Fall Apart, and the Rawkus Records compilation, Soundbombing 2.
In 2000, his fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate, was released to mass critical acclaim. Executive produced by Questlove and featuring significant contributions by J Dilla, (who helmed many tracks except – "Cold Blooded", "Geto Heaven Part II", "A Song For Assata", "Pop's Rap Part 3...All My Children" & the DJ Premier-produced track "The 6th Sense"), Like Water for Chocolate transpired to be a considerable commercial breakthrough for Common, earning the rapper his first gold record, and greatly expanding his fanbase among critics and listeners alike.
With both artists hailing from the Great Lakes region of the United States (Chicago and Detroit, respectively), Common and J Dilla established their chemistry early on. Both became members of the Soulquarians collective, and collaborated on numerous projects together, even placing one song, "Thelonius", on both the Slum Village album Fantastic, Vol. 2, and Common's Like Water for Chocolate. As Dilla's health began to decline from the effects of Lupus Nephritis, he relocated to Los Angeles, and asked Common to make the move with him as a roommate (Dilla would later lose his battle with the rare disease).[12]
This album saw Common exploring themes (musically and lyrically), which were uncommon for a Hip hop record, as he does on the song "Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela)"; a homage to Nigerian music legend, and political activist Fela Kuti. The most popular single from the album "The Light" was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 2002, Common released his fifth album, Electric Circus. The album was highly anticipated and praised by many critics for its ambitious vision. However, it was not as commercially successful as his previous album, Like Water for Chocolate, selling under 300,000 copies. An eclectic album, Electric Circus featured fusions of several genres such as hip hop, pop, rock, electronic, and neo soul. The album's style tended to divide critics; some praised its ambitious vision while others criticized it for the same reason. Most of the criticism tended to revolve around the album's experimental nature; some felt Common had strayed too far from his previous sound. This was Common's second and last album for MCA, and the label's final release prior to its absorption into Geffen Records.
2004–2011: GOOD Music era
From the album Be
|Problems playing this file? See media help.
In early 2004, Common made an appearance on fellow Chicagoan Kanye West's multi-platinum debut album, The College Dropout (on the song "Get Em High"), and announced his signing to West's then-newfound label GOOD Music. West had been a longtime fan of Common and the two even participated in a friendly on-air MC battle, where West took jabs at his lyrical idol for "going soft" and wearing crochet pants (as he does for his appearance in the video for the Mary J. Blige song "Dance for Me"). The pair worked together on Common's next album, Be, almost entirely produced by Kanye West, with some help from Common's longtime collaborator the late James Yancey (J Dilla) – also a favorite of West. The album was released in May 2005, and performed very well, boosted by Kanye's involvement and the singles "The Corner", and "Go". Be earned Common the second gold record of his career, with sales topping out at around 800,000 copies. The Source magazine gave it a near perfect 4.5 mic rating, XXL magazine gave it their highest rating of "XXL", and AllHipHop gave the album 4 stars. The album was also nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2006.
Following the release of Be in 2005, several mixed-race artists from the UK hip-hop scene took exception to Common's comments about interracial relationships on the song "Real People." Yungun, Doc Brown and Rising Son recorded a track over an instrumental version of "The Corner" named "Dear Common (The Corner Dub)." Common states that he has heard of the track but never actually taken the time to listen to it, and has not retaliated in song.[13]
Common's seventh LP titled Finding Forever was released on July 31, 2007. For this album, he continued his work with Kanye West, as well as other producers such as will.i.am, Devo Springsteen, Derrick Hodge, and Karriem Riggins, as well as the only J Dilla-produced track, "So Far To Go". The album features guest spots from artists such as Dwele, Bilal, D'Angelo, and UK pop starlet Lily Allen. The first single from the album was "The People" b/w "The Game". West predicted that Finding Forever would win the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.[14] The album was nominated for Best Rap Album, but did not win, losing to West's Graduation; however, Common did win his second Grammy for "Southside," which won the 2008 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group. On July 31, 2007, Common performed a free concert in Santa Monica, California on the 3rd Street Promenade to promote the release of Finding Forever. Common explained to the audience that the title "Finding Forever" represented his quest to find an eternal place in hip-hop and also his wishes to be an artist for the rest of his life. The album debuted at #1 on the national Billboard 200 charts.
In an August 2007 interview with XXL, rapper Q-Tip of the group A Tribe Called Quest stated that he and Common were forming a group called The Standard. While the two were meant to hit the studio to record a Q-Tip-produced album, possibly with contributions from Kanye West, Common put out Universal Mind Control instead and has already planned a next album, The Dreamer, The Believer, for late 2011.[15]
Common was instrumental in bridging the trans-Atlantic gap by signing UK's Mr Wong and J2K to Kanye West's Getting Out Our Dreams recording outfit. Common met the pair during his tour in the UK earlier on in the year. It is speculated that the deal is not only to bring the UK and US hip hop genres together but that to rival Syco Music's cross-Atlantic success with Leona Lewis. He also has a deal with Zune mp3 players. In 2008 Common made an estimated 12 million dollars, making him equal in earnings to Eminem and Akon, tied for the 13th highest grossing Hip-Hop artist.[citation needed]
The eighth album from Chicago hip-hop artist Common was originally scheduled to be released on June 24, 2008 under the name Invincible Summer, but he announced at a Temple University concert that he would change it to Universal Mind Control.[16] The release date was pushed back to September 30, 2008 due to Common filming Wanted. The release date was set for November 11, 2008, however it was once again pushed back to December 9, 2008.
The album's eponymous lead single "Universal Mind Control", was officially released on July 1, 2008, via the US iTunes Store as part of The Announcement EP (sold as Universal Mind Control EP in the UK). The song features Pharrell, who also produced the track. The Announcement EP included an additional track titled "Announcement", also featuring Pharrell. The video for the lead single was filmed in September by director Hype Williams. In 2009, Common was prominently featured throughout his GOOD Music label-mate Kid Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, as a narrator and featured artist. In late 2009, it was revealed Common was nominated for two Grammys at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Make Her Say", alongside Kid Cudi and Kanye West, as well as Best Rap Album for Universal Mind Control.
2011–present: Think Common Ent.
The Dreamer/The Believer and feud with Drake
American producer No I.D., stated that he and Kanye West will be producing Common's next album The Dreamer/The Believer, due sometime in 2011.[17] In July 2011, it was announced that No I.D. will be the album's sole producer.[18] Common made an appearance on The Jonas Brothers' most recent album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times as a guest rapper for the group's new song, "Don't Charge Me for the Crime."[19]
On July 6, 2011, Common released his first single, titled "Ghetto Dreams", from his next album. A second single,"Blue Sky", was released on October 4, 2011. On December 20, 2011, Common released his ninth solo album titled The Dreamer, The Believer. Although he left GOOD Music in 2011, Common was featured on the label's first compilation album, 2012's Cruel Summer. Common released a song entitled "Sweet", from The Dreamer/The Believer, which included lyrics critical of rappers who sing, although this criticism was not aimed specifically at Canadian recording artist Drake.[20] Drake took offense and responded by releasing "Stay Schemin'", a song with Rick Ross and French Montana.[21] Common fans only had to wait two-and-a-half days for him to respond to Drake's diss track. On February 13, 2012, Common commented on the feud by saying "It's over. But it was all in the art of hip hop. He said some things to me so I had to say some things back...I wouldn't say [he started it] but I know I heard something that I felt was directed to me so I addressed it. That's all. But you know, thank God we were able to move forward from it and all is good."[22]
Artium Recordings and Nobody's Smiling
After a quiet 2012, Common announced he would release an extended play (EP) in January 2013, and his first mixtape in April.[23] In February 2013, Common announced his tenth solo studio album would be released in September 2013 and will feature Kanye West and production from Kanye West and No I.D..[23] Later on September 8, 2013, he gave an update to his projects saying the previously announced EP would be released soon, and would feature a song with new Def Jam signee Vince Staples. He also told HipHopDX, his tenth solo studio album would be released in early 2014.[24]
On January 6, 2014, Common announced his tenth studio album to be titled Nobody Smiling and would be produced entirely by longtime collaborator No I.D.. The album, which Common revealed was originally going to be an EP, is set to feature Vince Staples, James Fauntleroy and "some new artists from Chicago." The concept of the album was inspired by his troubled hometown of Chicago: "We came up with this concept 'nobody's smiling.' It was really a thought that came about because of all the violence in Chicago," he says. "It happens in Chicago, but it's happening around the world in many ways." He continues, "We was talking about the conditions of what's happening, when I say 'nobody's smiling.' But it's really a call to action."[25][26][27] On June 4, 2014, it was announced Common signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and No I.D.'s Artium Records.[28] It was also announced Nobody's Smiling would be released July 22, 2014.[28]
Other work
In 2003, Common appeared on the American UPN sitcom Girlfriends. In the episode "Take This Poem and Call Me in the Morning", he appeared as Omar, a slam poet who competes with fellow poet Sivad (played by Saul Williams) for the affection of Lynn Searcy (played by Persia White). He also had a cameo appearance on an episode of UPN's One on One, where he played a drama class instructor named Darius. He also made an appearance on the ABC show Scrubs. In 2007, Common appeared with Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, and Alicia Keys in the crime film Smokin' Aces, making his big screen debut as villainous Mob enforcer Sir Ivy. He appeared alongside Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, The RZA and T.I. in the 2007 crime thriller American Gangster. On January 20, 2007, one week before the opening of Smokin Aces, he appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as himself. The show's host was Piven, his Aces co-star.
In 2007, Common played the role of Smokin' Aces co-star Alicia Keys's boyfriend in the music video "Like You'll Never See Me Again".
In 2008, he starred in the film adaptation of the comic book Wanted alongside Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. Common also appeared in the movie Street Kings with Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, The Game, and Forest Whitaker. Common also starred in the 2010 movie Just Wright as a basketball player who falls in love with his trainer Queen Latifah.[29] He appeared in the 2009 film Terminator Salvation as John Connor's lieutenant Barnes.[30] He starred as a corrupt cop in the 2010 comedy Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. He was part of the ensemble cast of AMC's Hell on Wheels, as one of the lead characters, Elam Ferguson, a recently freed slave trying to find his place in the world.[31] In the 2014 film Selma, for which he also co-wrote the Oscar-winning song "Glory", Common co-starred as 1960s civil rights leader James Bevel. In 2015, he played a hit man in Run All Night (film).
In April 2015, it was announced that Common would appear in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer and part of the DC Extended Universe, although his role was not specified.[32]
In December 2015, Common appeared in the NBC TV special The Wiz Live!, as the Bouncer guarding the Emerald City.
Modeling and clothing
In 2006, Common was a model for photos of The Gap's fall season collection, appearing on posters in stores. Later that year, he performed in The Gap's "Holiday in Your Hood" themed Peace Love Gap. In February 2007, Common signed a deal with New Era to promote their new line of Layers fitted caps. Common also stars in a television commercial for the 2008 Lincoln Navigator. He appears in NBA 2K8 in NBA Blacktop mode. In the fall of 2008, Common appeared in an ad for Microsoft's Zune, comparing his new song, "Universal Mind Control", to "Planet Rock", a song from hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Also, he featured in the Diesel campaign for a new fragrance called "Only The Brave". His song "Be (intro)" is featured in a commercial for BlackBerry as of January 2011.
In December 2008, Common launched a new clothing line in partnership with Microsoft titled "Softwear", based on 1980s computing.
Common was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to appear at a poetry reading on May 11, 2011 at the White House.[33] This caused furor with the New Jersey State Police and their union,[34] who disagreed with his lyrical content. The president of the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association voiced concern to the White House. They cite the song "A Song For Assata" about a member of the Black Liberation Army and step-aunt of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur named Assata Shakur, previously known as Joanne Chesimard,[35] who was convicted in 1977 of the first degree murder of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster.
At another poetry reading, Common said, "flyers say 'free Mumia' on my freezer", a reference to Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was controversially convicted of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Common stated, "The one thing that shouldn't be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day."
Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary at the time, spoke for President Obama on the matter by saying the president does not support, but actually opposes, some of the kind of words and lyrics that have been written by Common and others.[36] Even though the president does not support the lyrics in question, he believed that some reports were distorting what Mr. Lynn stands for more broadly. Common gave a single line response to the entire controversy: "I guess Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me."[36]
Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's The Daily Show questioned Fox News' coverage of the controversy, saying that they "took the time to ignore Common's entire body of work, save for one poem he wrote in 2007 that they appear to misunderstand." Stewart also pointed out that in 2002, George W. Bush honored Johnny Cash, whose songs contain violent lyrics. Stewart further pointed out that Fox News itself offered positive coverage of Common's career in 2010, and that Sean Hannity, who criticized Common's White House invitation, is a friend of musician Ted Nugent, who in clips played on The Daily Show, used violent rhetoric in comments he made about President Obama and Hillary Clinton.[37] Common later discussed the matter with Stewart during a September 14, 2011 appearance on the program.[38]
In September 2011, Common published his memoir, One Day It'll All Make Sense, through Atria Books. As the book details how his close relationship with his mother influenced his life, it is partially narrated by her.[39]
Common used to be vegan, but is now a pescetarian. In addition, he is a supporter of animal rights and PETA. He appeared in a print advertisement for PETA titled "Think Before You Eat".[40]
Common is also part of the "Knowing Is Beautiful" movement, which supports HIV/AIDS awareness.[40] He is featured in the video for "Yes We Can", a song in support of the candidacy of Barack Obama, which made its debut on the internet on February 2, 2008. Common has pledged to stop using anti-gay lyrics in his music.[41][42]
Common is the founder of the Common Ground Foundation,[43][44] a non-profit that seeks to empower underprivileged youth to be strong citizens and citizens of the world. The foundation includes programs dedicated to leadership development & empowerment, educational development, creative expression, as well as a book club. In 2014 Common Ground inaugurated the Aahh! Fest music festival in Chicago's Union Park.[45]
Rapper Common along with other rapper activists appear in the documentary short film #Bars4Justice which was shot in Ferguson MO and produced by Nation19 Magazine. [46]
Personal life
Common has had romantic relationships with singer Erykah Badu, actresses Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson, and tennis player Serena Williams, but as of July 2014 maintained that he was single.[47]
Common is a Chicago Bulls and Chicago Bears fan.[48][49]
- Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992)
- Resurrection (1994)
- One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997)
- Like Water for Chocolate (2000)
- Electric Circus (2002)
- Be (2005)
- Finding Forever (2007)
- Universal Mind Control (2008)
- The Dreamer/The Believer (2011)
- Nobody's Smiling (2014)
|Brown Sugar
|Dave Chapelle's Block Party
|Smokin' Aces
|Sir Ivy
|American Gangster
|Turner Lucas
|Street Kings
|The Gunsmith
|Terminator Salvation
|Dow Jones
|Dow Jones
|Short film
|Date Night
|Detective Collins
|Just Wright
|Scott McKnight
|Bouncing Cats
|Happy Feet Two
|New Year's Eve
|Uncle Vincent
|Ali 70 from Las Vegas
|Television film
|The Odd Life of Timothy Green
|Coach Cal
|Movie 43
|Bob Mone
|Segment "The Pitch"
|Now You See Me
|Agent Evans
|Officer Jeff Porter
|Every Single Thing
|Devlin Hatch
|James Bevel
|Run All Night
|Mr. Price
|Barbershop: The Next Cut
|Suicide Squad
|Being Charlie
|Storks (film)
|John Wick 2
|Megan Leavey
|Episode: "Take This Poem and Call Me in the Morning"
|Game Over
|One on One
|Episode: "Cabin Fever"
|Single Ladies
|Mayor Howard
|Episode: "Pilot"
|Hell on Wheels
|Elam Ferguson
|Main cast
|Mindy Project, TheThe Mindy Project
|Security guard
|Episode: "Harry & Mindy"
|Lip Sync Battle
|April 2, 2015
Video games
|As a celebrity roster of blacktop
|Wanted: Weapons of Fate
|Terminator Salvation
Awards and nominations
|Song or album
|Academy Award
|Best Original Song
|"Glory" (with John Legend)
|African-American Film Critics Association
|Best Music
|BET Awards
|Video of the Year
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Viewer's Choice
|Best Collaboration
|Best Male Hip Hop Artist
|Video of the Year
|"Glory" (with John Legend)
|Best Collaboration
|BET Hip Hop Awards
|Element Award – Lyricist of the Year
|Hip-Hop Video of the Year
|Lyricist of the Year
|CD of the Year
|Finding Forever
|Best Hip Hop Video
|"The People"
|Best Live Performance
|MVP of the Year
|Impact Track
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Film Song
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Critics' Choice Movie Award
|Best Song
|Georgia Film Critics Association
|Best Original Song
|Golden Globe Award
|Best Original Song
|"Glory" (with John Legend)
|Grammy Awards
|Best Rap Solo Performance
|"The Light"
|Best Song Written for a Motion Picture/Television Movie
|"Love of My Life"
|Best R&B Song
|"Love of My Life"
|Best Urban/Alternative Performance
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
|"They Say"
|Best Rap Album
|Best Rap Solo Performance
|Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
|"The Corner"
|Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group
|Best Rap Album
|Finding Forever
|Best Rap Solo Performance
|"The People"
|Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
|"Make Her Say"
|Best Rap Album
|Universal Mind Control
|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
|"Wake Up Everybody"
|Best Rap Album
|Nobody's Smiling
|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
|"Blak Majik"
|Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
|Best Rap Song
|Best Song Written for Visual Media
|Houston Film Critics Society
|Best Original Song
|Image Awards
|Outstanding Duo or Group
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Outstanding Song
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Outstanding Music Video
|"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
|Outstanding Music Video
|Outstanding Male Artist
|MTV Video Music Awards
|Breakthrough Video
|"Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I."
|MTV2 Award
|"Come Close"
|Best Hip-Hop Video
|Best Hip-Hop Video
|Best Direction in a Video
|Best Art Direction in a Video
|NAACP Image Award
|Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
|Soul Train Awards
|Best R&B/Soul Single by a Duo or Group
|Best Music Video
|Vibe Awards
|Reelest Video
|"The Corner"
- ↑ "Video: Common Speaks on Soulquarians, No I.D. & Kanye + BTS Pics of "Blue Sky" Video". okayplayer. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Like Water for Chocolate Review". allmusic. March 28, 2000.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "UMPG writers and artists receive best R&B Song of the Year Category at Grammy Awards". Universal Music Publishing Group.
- ↑ "Bouncing Cats Synopsisl".<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Bazer, Mark (September 17, 2014). "Common is Back in the Neighborhood" (October 2014). Chicago magazine.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Zegel, Maureen (March 27, 2012). "Rapper Common to bring his message to UMSL". UMSL Daily.
- ↑ Williams, Thomas Chatterton (May 11, 2011). "By inviting Common to the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama miss a golden opportunity". Daily News.
- ↑ "Common to throw White Sox 1st pitch". ABC 7 Chicago. April 13, 2012.
- ↑ "AskMen.com's Men of the Week: Entertainment – Common". Retrieved June 13, 2007.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Yarborough, Marti (June 27, 2005). "Hip-hop star Common talks about: new hit CD 'Be' being labeled a 'conscious rapper' his breakup with singer Erykah Badu who attracts him now". Jet. FindArticles.com. Retrieved July 25, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Huey, Steve (July 31, 2007). "Common > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved September 9, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "J Dilla's turn in spotlight comes after his death". MSNBC. August 31, 2006.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Gets Thugged Out, Ghost Writing For Diddy Too". Sohh.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
- ↑ Reid, Shaheem (April 19, 2006). "Kanye Says He Won't Do 'Fast-Food' Music — 'M:i:III' Track Took 50 Hours". MTV News. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ↑ "Hip-Hop on a Higher Level | " Q-Tip and Common Form New Group, The Standard". XXLmag.com. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Previews 'Invincible' New Album , 29 April 2k8". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "No I.D. & Kanye To Helm Next Common Album". Nah Right. October 9, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Horowitz, Steven J. (July 5, 2011). "No I.D. To Produce The Entirety of Common's "The Dreamer, The Believer" | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved October 22, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common on Jonas Brothers New Album". IdioMag. Retrieved June 11, 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Responds To Drake (Shade 45)". Rap Radar. Retrieved December 20, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Is Drake Dissing Common On Rick Ross' "Stay Schemin'"?". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved May 28, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Confirms Drake Beef Is "Over," Sends Prayers To Whitney Houston's Family". HipHopDx. Retrieved August 1, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Horowitz, Steven J.Common To Release An EP, Album & Mixtape In 2013 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2013-02-13.
- ↑ Smith, Bruce (September 8, 2013). "Common Promises EP & Details Vince Staples Collaboration | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Retrieved September 18, 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Announces New Album 'Nobody Smiling'". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ↑ Kennedy, John (January 7, 2014). "Watch: Common Reveals Guests On 'Nobody Smiling' LP". Vibe.
- ↑ Ortiz, Edwin (January 6, 2014). "Common to Release New Album 'Nobody Smiling' In 2014, Entirely Produced by No I.D.". Complex.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Grammy Winner COMMON Signs to No I.D.'s Artium/Def Jam Recordings - BWWMusicWorld". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Four Justice League of America Casting Confirmations Arrive Early". Firstshowing.net. November 17, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common to appear in new 'Terminator' film | News". Nme.Com. May 7, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Q&A". amctv.com. November 6, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Joins "Suicide Squad" Cast". BallerStatus.com. April 23, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Neil Munro. "'Burn a Bush'? Michelle Obama invites rapper Common to a poetry reading". The Daily Caller. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Controversy Comes to White House Poetry Night; Cops, Conservatives Cry Foul at Some of His Past Work (UPDATED) – Political Punch". ABC News. May 2, 1973. Retrieved May 13, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Wanted b the FBI: JOANNE DEBORAH CHESIMARD". FBI. accessed September 19, 2011.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Dirner, Cullen. "White House Condemns Some of Common's Lyrics but Praises his Larger Body of Work". ABC News. May 11, 2011
- ↑ Weprin, Alex. "Common Controversy? The Daily Show Takes Down Fox News Reports on Rapper Visit to White House". TV Newser. May 12, 2011
- ↑ ""Common"". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. September 14, 2011. Comedy Central.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ One Day It'll All Make Sense. Amazon.com. accessed September 11, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Common made a visit to Eastern Michigan University, along with speaking, he freestyled and engaged in a book signing for One Day It'll All Make Sense. It was epic.
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Common charity biography". Look to the Stars. n.d. Retrieved October 11, 2010.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Pledges No More Anti-Gay Lyrics". NewNowNext.com. September 6, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ ContactMusic.com. 09/05/2007 10:28:16 PM. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
- ↑ "Mission Statement". Common Ground Foundation. n.d. Retrieved October 12, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Nation19.com / APDTA Research Department. "Hip Hop Humanitarians". www.Nation19.com. Retrieved November 30, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Mark, Bazer (September 17, 2014). "Common is Back in the Neighborhood" (October 2014). Chicago magazine.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Admin, Admin. "Filmmakers bring Ferguson to Phoenix's Hip Hop community… Sheriff Arpaio not invited". Nation19 / APDTA. Nation19. Retrieved September 30, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Gomez, Luis (September 26, 2011). "Interview: Common wishes timing of White House controversy could've been better". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common talks about Bulls, hometown of Chicago". ESPN. Retrieved May 25, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Common Bears Should Hire Rex Ryan". TMZ Sports. Retrieved January 6, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Dave McNary (April 22, 2015). "Documentary 'Unity' Set for Aug. 12 Release with 100 Star Narrators". Variety. Retrieved May 1, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
External links
|Wikiquote has quotations related to: Common (rapper)
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Common (entertainer).
- Use mdy dates from May 2014
- Articles with hCards
- Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with empty listen template
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2012
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1972 births
- 21st-century American male actors
- Male actors from Chicago, Illinois
- American male film actors
- African-American non-fiction writers
- African-American male rappers
- African-American male actors
- American memoirists
- Florida A&M University alumni
- Grammy Award winners
- Warner Bros. Records artists
- Def Jam Recordings artists
- Midwest hip hop musicians
- Native Tongues Posse
- Rappers from Chicago, Illinois
- Writers from Chicago, Illinois
- Songwriters from Illinois
- Living people
- Hip hop activists
- American male voice actors
- Golden Globe Award winning musicians
- Best Original Song Academy Award winning songwriters


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Market Segmentation by Type:
Automotive Hydraulic AT System, Automotive CVT System, Automotive DCT System
Market Segmentation by Applications:
Passenger Vehicle, Commercial Vehicle
Highlights of the report:
• A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market
• Important changes in market dynamics
• Market segmentation up to the second or third level
• Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume
• Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments
• Market shares and strategies of key players
• Emerging niche segments and regional markets
• An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market
• Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the market
Inquiry for Buying Report @ www.marketresearchstore.com/report/global-automotive-automatic-transmission-at-system-market-by-504692#InquiryForBuying
In addition, this report discusses the key drivers influencing market growth, opportunities, the challenges and the risks faced by key manufacturers and the market as a whole. It also analyzes key emerging trends and their impact on present and future development.


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Though it comes as no great surprise to us, the new 2020-2021 Volvo S60, XC40, XC60, V60 Cross Country , S90 and XC90 have been heating up the automotive landscape, both stateside and abroad. As proud purveyors of such a distinguished brand, we at Volvo of Corvallis strive to deliver a similarly superior level of customer service. We do so in myriad ways, but it all starts here, with our new Volvo inventory available near. Peruse this page to see what's currently in stock. Serving Salem OR, Albany OR, Dallas OR and Lebanon, OR.
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Why We Care about the K in K-12
Collaborating Organizations: AFT and CCW/AFTEF, CCSSO, ECS, NAESP, NEA, and NAEYC
The kindergarten year is an important time of transition for young children. It represents the first year of formal schooling for 98 percent of the children in the United States, and it marks the bridge between early childhood education and the primary grades of school.
Although the public perceives kindergarten as a fully integrated part of the K-12 education system, this often is not the reality. Kindergarten shares components of the K-12 education system in terms of infrastructure-for example, teacher licensing, including teacher certification requirements and compensation. Yet kindergarten also shares policies and practices with child care and other early learning programs-for example, kindergarten policies and practices vary widely by state in whether kindergarten is compulsory or voluntary for all children, in the mechanisms by which kindergarten is funded, and in the varying lengths of the program day.
Despite the opportunities and advantages in better aligning the K-12 and early care and education systems, these systems have sometimes been reluctant to work as partners to realize shared purposes that would benefit young children. Child development experts worry about the risks of extending testing and highly structured upper level academic learning into programs for younger children. Similarly, K-12 educators-particularly kindergarten teachers-are concerned that too many children, especially those from families with low incomes, enter first grade unfairly disadvantaged because their language, cognitive, emotional, and social skills are not yet adequately developed to ensure school success.
Because of the shared objective of success for the children served in their systems, 0-5 and K-12 communities would mutually benefit from increased communication about their expectations, knowledge, expertise, and data. Fortunately, a growing body of research shows that investments made in early childhood education, including a highly qualified and appropriately compensated workforce, will help children enter formal schooling more eager to learn and ready to succeed (Peisner-Feinberg et al. 1999; Bowman, Donovan, & Burns 2001; Schweinhart et al. in press). In part because of the increased value being placed on high-quality early education, kindergarten is now in a unique position to serve as a bridge linking the needs and interests of the early care and education community with those of the K-12 education community.
In capitalizing on this opportunity to support their mutual interests in ensuring that young children are ready for school and schools are ready for children, early childhood specialists from K-12 organizations and their collaborating partners at NAEYC will take new steps to promote early childhood education. Because kindergarten is a point of transition and straddles both early care and education and the K-12 education system, our collaborating group begins its work by affirming the following set of research-based principles for identifying the components of excellent kindergarten programs.
Research-Based Principles
At their best, kindergarten programs
- partner with community early childhood programs to create smooth and effective
- transitions for kindergarten children and their families
- prepare to support the learning of all children, whatever their earlier experiences, environments, cultures, languages, abilities, or disabilities
- are staffed by degreed, certified educators who have high-quality professional preparation and relevant training or experience in the developmental and educational needs of young children
- are guided by early learning standards that emphasize the concepts and skills appropriate to and important for the kindergarten year
- maintain class sizes sufficient to facilitate high-quality teaching
- implement a coherent, research-based curriculum delivered through evidence-based teaching practices that incorporate adult-guided and child-initiated experiences, play, physical activity, and social interaction
- foster the nurturing relationships and interactions between children and teachers that build the foundations for children's later learning
- systematically assess children's strengths, needs, and progress with multiple tools that are developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate; analyze results, and use those data to inform teaching
- create respectful relationships with families to support children's learning as well as work with families to help identify comprehensive services needed to promote kindergartners' positive development and learning
- promote children's enthusiasm, initiative, persistence, and engagement in learning
- respond to the unique interests, learning styles, and developmental characteristics of children in their kindergarten year
Collaborators at the National Level
Leaders in K-12 organizations, along with NAEYC, are engaged in a broad range of activities that influence policy makers, promote best practices, and improve the teaching profession.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) represents 1.3 million pre-K through 12th grade teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related personnel, higher education faculty, nurses, other health care workers, and state and local government employees.
The AFT and its affiliate organization the Center for the Child Care Workforce/American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation (CCW/AFTEF) support universal, voluntary access to full-day kindergarten for all children. Kindergarten is a critical juncture in children's development. Preparing children with a solid educational foundation even before kindergarten can help improve their chances of success later in school. To provide a jump start, especially to poor children, many of whom may not have had the benefit of an enriching early childhood education program, the AFT has proposed Kindergarten Plus. This initiative encourages states to provide children with the opportunity for increased instructional time during the summer before kindergarten formally begins and during the summer between the end of kindergarten and first grade.
AFT believes that providing children additional learning time immediately before and after kindergarten may help ensure their increased academic achievement. A pilot program under way in New Mexico is implementing Kindergarten Plus in 11 schools. In 2004 Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced a federal bill to advance states' participation.
For more information, contact Dori Mornan at email@example.com and Darion Griffin at firstname.lastname@example.com or Marci Young, firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head the state departments of elementary and secondary education.
CCSSO's projects in early childhood and family education are founded on the council's long-standing policy statement marking the age range for early childhood as 0-8 and including the kindergarten year. Each state-based project focuses on building capacity in K-12 systems to support proven transition practices for children as they move to kindergarten from early childhood settings and on assuring alignment of early learning standards, curriculum, and instructional practice between prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1-3.
For more information, contact Jana Martella after visiting the online Web site http://www.ccsso.org/earlychildhood.
Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national nonpartisan organization that brings together key leaders-governors, legislators, chief state school officers, higher education officials, business leaders, and others-to work side by side to improve education from the early childhood years through postsecondary education.
ECS maintains a Web site (http://www.ecs.org/kindergarten) devoted to kindergarten issues. The site houses research and readings on kindergarten as well as an up-to-date database of kindergarten policies across the United States. Users can review and compare issues such as access, quality, and funding of kindergarten in the states.
In addition to the Web site, ECS works with state and local policy makers through its Early Learning Initiative to expand and enrich the national dialogue on the importance of early care and education and to develop, track, and disseminate the best information available on early care and education policy and programs. The initiative also helps to provide technical assistance to states in defining and acting on an early childhood agenda; to define how federal K-12 policy initiatives, such as No Child Left Behind, impact early learning policy; and to explore the implications and possibilities of a "preschool-3 education," linking early childhood education with early elementary education.
For further information, contact Kristie Kauerz at firstname.lastname@example.com.
National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) represents more than 29,000 elementary and middle school principals.
In April 2005 NAESP will release its new publication Standards for Leaders in Early Childhood Education. A committee of distinguished principals is developing the work, which will conduct a rigorous examination of current research, the diverse environments in which principals operate, and the successful practices of principals across the country. The guide will include examples of practices and policies that work in schools with comprehensive preschool and kindergarten programs.
For more information, contact Cheryl Riggins at firstname.lastname@example.com .
National Education Association (NEA) is a national association representing 2.7 million members who work at every level of education from preschool to university graduate programs. The NEA is committed to creating great public schools for every child.
The NEA believes that every child should attend kindergarten and encourages states to make kindergarten attendance mandatory for all five-year-olds. Full-day kindergarten programs with licensed, certified teachers, small class sizes, and a rich curriculum can provide optimal learning experiences in NEA's view. The NEA works with national partners to advance policies that support positive and productive kindergarten programs. In January the organization began a two-year study funded by the Foundation for Child Development to identify provisions in teacher contracts that are linked to positive outcomes for preK-3 children.
For more information, contact Shyrelle Eubanks [after visiting the online Website] www.nea.org/earlychildhood.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for children from birth through age eight.
NAEYC is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children, with more than 100,000 members and a national network of more than 350 local, state, and regional Affiliates. Its national system for early childhood program accreditation is developing revised criteria, including a strand specific to kindergarten programs. NAEYC sponsors networking opportunities through Kindergarten and Primary Grades Interest Forums and includes a Kindergarten/Primary track of sessions at its Annual Conference.
The NAEYC professional journal Young Children (March 2005 issue) features a cluster of articles on kindergarten and the primary grades. In 2005 NAEYC also plans to publish a book focusing on the kindergarten year-a collection from multiple authors edited by Dominic F. Gullo.
For further information, contact Marilou Hyson at email@example.com and Adele Robinson at email@example.com.
Bowman, BT., M.S. Donovan, & M.S. Burns, eds. 2001. Eager to learn: Educating our preschoolers. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Peisner-Feinberg, E.S., R.M. Clifford, M. Culkin, C. Howes, & S.L. Kagan. 1999. The children of the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study go to school. Chapel Hill, NC: Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center.
Schweinhart, L.J., J. Montie, Z. Xiang, W.S. Barnett, C.R. Belfield, & M. Nores. In press. Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study through age 40. Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, no. 14. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.
This article also appears in the March 2005 issue of Young Children.
Copyright © 2005 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at http://www.journal.naeyc.org/about/permissions.asp


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1..My Team in Costa Rica is fairly young guys and some girls... We trian every day , and some times twice a day, and that is what seperates us
from the other schools. We have lots of very good Jiu Jiitsu fighters even better than me . Thats is what keeps it competative for everyoone . Everyone wants to be at there best at all times..My partner in crime Juan Barrantes is 19 and has 5 pro fights , and is tough as nails.Mark my word he is going to be a stand out . Plus there are a few other guys that are teedering on that fact to switch to fight mma.. our level is very high at the Gracie camp , and im very happy
No . I think Mickey asked me this question before, and there was no bad blood. The only person I had beef with was Vasquez , becasue him and his camp would always taunt us and say how much better they are than us. So in that fight I had to celebrate a bit more Haha. We were doing lots of leg locks at that time ,and all the guys at our camp were injured even me from heelhooks and leg locks. So wee stopped doing them ... There was no intension to hurt anyone (dan) it wasnt even that hard its just a very scary submission.
No idea... I just want to be explosive and win
Excellent..In five years I will be a JJ black belt, and will have won at least one major B.J.J World title either in the IFL or the UFC or maybe both..
..good question.... I have to deal with that one every day... I teach Jiu Jitsu at a gym 3 days a week to lots of guys that want to eventuly fight mma. I think its very important to be exrta prepered to get in the ring. It take years of dedicaton to Jiu Jitsu then you have to know lots of stand up to hold your own. Plus you need to know wrestling so you dont get thrown around .
Combine all those and you have 30% of it. LOL.. The rest come from you mentaly and focusing on winning . I would rather have a record of 25-0 than 40-10 its not the nunber of fights that will male you its the quality. It takes hard work to be succesful and disapline is number one...
My advantage is definitly brazilian JJ... Its so efective . We are all trianaholics and submission specialists which means we have good condition and air in Costa Rica thats my stong stuff. It's very important not to over look the basics in J.J. Get a good foundaton so you can be dominant over those who dont.. right?. I have learned to always be humble and, that will take you futher than being cocky.. Trian hard , becasue your opponnet will be training hard also, and have fun with it ..
Well in five years ill be a JJ black belt , and will have won at least one major B.J.J. World title.. I will have some fights in the IFL ,WEC and the UFC. I will be a Gracie brother forever , i can never forget what got me this far.
Of course .. I am already giving it lots a thought becasue I am 170 full after Thanksgiving dinner ,you know what i mean ... If I am going to be sucessfull in the UFC. I will definitly have to consider it
I trian every day at least three hours. When I have a fight I step it up ,and do about five hours daily.
.We are submission specialists , I like to beat up my oponent first then tap him out.
fighting more than once in one night ...Well its tough becasue , you dont know who you are fighting , and thats the worst for me .. Then there are injurys so you have to take it easy in the first fight so you can save your self for the next 2.. Your adrenaline goes up and down which takes a toll on your body.
I want to thank everyone for all there questions .. Everyone calls me cbrico or kidpeligro.....which means both fast and dangerous. Mickey Thank you for putting this together , and by the way Thank you to the best sponsor in the World www.WeLoan.Us they will be sponsoring me and my camp as we fight around the world. Thanks again
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Fusion-io has fattened up its ioFX card that plugs flash storage into a workstation's PCIe bus: performance, we're told, is up fourfold and capacity is up from 420GB to 1.6TB.
The technology allows processors to access data at flash speeds, which is very much faster than disk transfer rates. Lower-capacity cards typically act as caches for disk-based data whereas larger-capacity cards can hold an application's working set of data.
In capacity terms, this Fusion-io boost is dwarfed by Violin Memory's Velocity PCIe flash cards which store between 1.37TB and 11TB of data. Fusion said its cards can use its cut-through software which allows programs to directly map and access the flash storage chips, rather than go through the operating system's layers; applications such as video editing, CAD, 4K and stereoscopic production, and digital intermediate finish faster.
For working sets of data in excess of 1.6TB Fusion said the bigger ioFX is still useful as a caching device for large working sets of data.
Fusion-io ioFX cards with 1.6TB one above the 420GB product.
It also says it's worked "with the industry's leading entertainment hardware and software providers [such as Nvidia and The Foundry] to optimise the ioFX for visual effects production".
HP will integrate the ioFX into its Z820, Z620 and Z420 workstations. These hot boxes are aimed at professional artists in visual effects, upstream exploration of oil and gas, and CAD.
The ioFX can be bought and added to an existing HP workstation. The 1.6TB Fusion ioFX will be available in summer 2013 and pricing will be revealed then. The 420GB ioFX is available now from Fusion-io and its resellers for a list price of $1,995. You can see the ioFX at Fusion and HP stands at the NAB 2013 show in Las Vegas this week. ®


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Turning B2B success into B2C sales is never simple, especially in the fickle and fast-changing consumer technology market. You need more than great products: you need an audience with the tech influencers whose tweets and reviews prime the mass market for the next big thing.
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The client, a CPG manufacturer, makes and markets foods that are analogs to well-known grocery store brands. To grow revenue, they need new licensing partners that can extend their reach into diverse market segments and consumer groups, from indulgence-seekers to Hispanic buyers.
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Our client is an emerging leader in digital communication for government entities around the world. With plans for rapid growth, the company is using the marketing automation platform Eloqua to nurture sales relationships. But to execute, they needed strategic and technical expertise, broad as well as deep.
As the need for marketing automation surges, skills are scarce — only a few dozen Eloqua experts work in the local market. Our consultant, a 10-year veteran, stepped in to help define the strategy and build the system around it. His background makes him a perfect translator, putting decisions at the executive level in action in areas like sales and product development. As the challenge expands, he continues to assist: aligning the company's tools and resources to pave the way for massive growth in the next five years.
Our client, a leader in online higher education, is expanding into corporate learning — a market very different from their current focus. Among the challenges they face is understanding the needs of a whole new customer and creating a smart model that can grow into a multi-million business in three years.
With deep expertise in B2B marketing management and higher ed, Antenna's consultant brought strategic perspective and skills to execute. As product director, she's helping to launch pilot programs, a first step in developing content and making in-roads with potential partners. As the project picks up steam, she's advising company leadership on pricing, delivery, customer relationships and other essential pieces for transforming the pilot into a scalable plan.
Even global companies have gaps in leadership. As our Fortune 500 client looked to expand its traditional B2B product line into a retail channel, they needed a senior marketing and communications leader who knew the territory and could help pilot this transition from within, from shifting the brand to creating a team to execute flawlessly.
Antenna's interim leader did more than create a plan, she helped lead a multi-million-dollar, multi-channel transition that changed the organizational mindset. Reporting to the Global Business Leader, our consultant became a lead consumer marketing voice within the division's management team. Her efforts helped set the business on a new trajectory, establishing the brand with a new retail consumer and succeeding in a sector the company had not previously dared to tread.


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