Juliette Lewis

Juliette Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and musician. Juliette gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she received an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. This followed with major roles in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Natural Born Killers, The Evening Star, and From Dusk Till Dawn. Her work in Television has resulted in two Emmy nominations.

Early life and acting career

Juliette Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California to Geoffrey Lewis, an actor, and Glenis Duggan Batley, a graphic designer. She has four siblings – brothers Lightfield and Peter, and sisters Deirdre and Brandy.

She appeared in The Wonder Years as Wayne's girlfriend in Episodes 24, 34 and 36. Lewis first garnered international attention and acclaim in 1991 with her turn as Danielle Bowden in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991.Over the next few years, she won further critical support in Peter Medak's Romeo Is Bleeding, and opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia. In 1993 she acted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp in the drama film What's Eating Gilbert Grape.[9] She played Mallory Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. She played a rock singer in the film Strange Days, doing her own singing on covers of two songs written by PJ Harvey, revealing her musical ability.

She received an Emmy nomination for her performance in Hysterical Blindness in 2003. She also appeared in the HIM music video for "Buried Alive By Love" in 2003.

Lewis appeared in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, providing the voice of "Juliette", the host of fictional radio station "Radio Broker". She starred in the video for the Melissa Etheridge song "Come To My Window", and has also appeared in a GAP commercial which she was dancing with Daft Punk to the tune of the song "Digital Love".

Music

Lewis launched a career as a solo singer and musician, leading American rock band Juliette and the Licks until 2009. After splitting with the Licks, she has formed a new band The New Romantiques, with whom she has recorded a new album entitled Terra Incognita.

Lewis features on the track "Bad Brother" by the band The Infidels, from The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack album, which was released on April 2000. She is working with rock songwriter Linda Perry, among others. Lewis has also appeared on three tracks by Electronic Music group The Prodigy's 2004 CD Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned ("Spitfire", "Get Up Get Off", and "Hot Ride"). In 2006, Blender magazine included her in their hottest women of rock music list while saying, "[She] delivered sonically varnished melodic punk replete with purring vocals and lyrics that bash porn, pharmaceutical companies and rotten lovers. (in no particular order)".

After success as an actress and now her work as a musician, Lewis says about the two worlds, "I was always using music in my acting to prepare for roles. To me, cinema and music go hand in hand. Now I’m just giving attention to the other side of my art.”

In 2009, Juliette played at Przystanek Woodstock in Poland.

Personal life

At fourteen, she left her parents and went to live with family friend and actress, Karen Black, before moving into her own apartment. Dropping out of high school, she got into trouble with the law for driving illegally at age fifteen and then for illegally patronizing a nightclub when she was sixteen. She eventually went into rehab for drug addiction whilst in her twenties.

Lewis dated actor Brad Pitt, with whom she co-starred in the films Kalifornia and Too Young to Die?. She also dated Michael Dewitt, the nanny hired by Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. She married professional skateboarder Steve Berra in 1999; they divorced in 2003.

Lewis is a Christian and a member of the Church of Scientology.

In October 2010, she was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident in which an unknown driver T-boned the Lincoln Town Car she was travelling in.

She performed with Mando Diao in their MTV Unplugged live show.

Discography

…Like a Bolt of Lightning (2004)

You're Speaking My Language (2005)

Four on the Floor (2006)

Terra Incognita (2009)

25 Things You Don't Know About Me

Juliette Lewis, 37, (Conviction is in theaters now) opens up about herself.

1. It's hard for me to hide what I'm feeling. I'm terrible at practical jokes that involve lying.

2. I think I'm a little psychic.

3. I love the sun.

4. When I was a kid, I had a pet rat named Georgie.

5. I had a pony and did barrel racing when I was younger.

6. I went through a hip-hop phase in the '80s that involved wearing lots of gold and Fila tennis shoes.

7. I can remain pretty calm during natural disasters or plane turbulence.

8. My dog looks like a mini-werewolf.

9. I like to go dancing till dawn.

10. I've been making music for the past six years, opening for Muse, The Killers and The Pretenders.

11. I use alternative cusses, like "Holy shish kebabs!"

12. Sam Rockwell, Mark Ruffalo and Cate Blanchett are my favorite actors.

13. I envy people who who can speak more than two languages.

14. My girlfriends are the most interesting, beautiful, coolest girls on the planet.

15. I hate when women obsess about their bodies.

16. I hate using the word hate.

17. My brother directed my last music video, "Terra Incognita." YouTube it!

18. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of my favorite movies.

19. My dad almost named me Snowlake. Not joking.

20. If I weren't an artist, I'd be into the "healing" arts. Like acupuncture or homeopathy.

21. I think we should learn to leave our houses without our electronic devices more often.

22. I meet people I like more often than people I dislike.

23. Bob Dylan recognized me in an elevator once. I almost couldn't breathe or speak.

24. My favorite character I've played is Carla Tate in The Other Sister.

25. I love whoever you are reading this if I got you to smile. And if not, that's OK too

       

Malcolm Tucker Missing Phone app lands in App Store

Not only has The Thick of It’s foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker left confidential files on a train (The DoSAC Files) he’s gone and lost his iPhone too. And you’ve found it. That’s the premise of Malcolm Tucker: The Missing Phone app that’s just arrived in the App Store.

The app sits on your iPhone’s homescreen and gives you access to confidential things like his text messages, emails and voicemails. There’s also a slew of Word documents advising government ministers on PR issues like how to handle TV appearances. Perhaps one that Ben Swain from the Christmas special should have read.

When you first open the app there’ll be a new voicemail from Malcolm that, if played, will set in motion a series of messages from the man himself and other characters from the series as they try to locate ‘Malcolm’s’ phone.

These messages arrive throughout the day, even when the app isn’t running. If you don’t like the idea of Malcolm Tucker leaving you increasingly irate voicemails, then just don’t listen to the first message. You have been warned.

Perhaps it goes without saying but strong language is used throughout; this app isn’t for the easily offended. In the interests of keeping Recombu family friendly, we took the liberty of censoring the above image with some judiciously placed black bars.

Malcolm Tucker: The Missing Phone is available to download from the App Store now and costs £3.99.

   

Ken Clarke

Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke QC MP (born 2 July 1940) is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe,Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor. He was first appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of Britain's best-known politicians. Since 1997 he has been President of the Tory Reform Group.

Clarke was a minister throughout the 18 years of successive Conservative governments from 1979 to 1997, serving in the cabinets of bothMargaret Thatcher and John Major. After the Conservative defeat in the 1997 general election Clarke became a backbencher. He has contested the Conservative Party leadership three times—in 1997, 2001 and 2005—and was defeated each time. Although he was considered popular with the general public, his famously pro-European integration views conflicted with the Conservative Party's scepticism of the EU. Notably, he is President of the Conservative Europe Group and Vice-President of the European Movement UK. Despite this conflict, and his involvement with the tobacco industry Conservative leader David Cameron returned Clarke to the Shadow Cabinet in March 2009 as Shadow Business Secretary. 

When Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010 he appointed Clarke as Lord Chancellor andSecretary of State for Justice, after appointing Vince Cable, a Liberal Democrat, Business Secretary.

Mr Cameron has previously said that Mr Clarke was a "big figure" with "great experience". He was the last chancellor to lead the UK out of recession - during the John Major government of the 1990s.

His return to the Tory frontbench last year was seen as somewhat of a gamble for Mr Cameron given that Mr Clarke - who held a host of ministerial jobs in the Thatcher and Major governments - had staunchly pro-European views.

These views were widely seen to be the reason for his failure to win the three party leadership contests he entered - but Mr Cameron decided that Mr Clarke's experience was worth the risk of reopening party splits.

Mr Clarke was president of the union at Cambridge, became a QC in 1980 and after a succession of junior ministerial jobs he served as health, education and home secretaries before becoming chancellor from 1993 to 1997.

• Minister of State - Lord McNally (Liberal Democrat)
  Tom McNally is the Lib Dem Leader in the House of Lords. A former senior Downing Street adviser, MP and founding member of the SDP, he entered the House of Lords in 1995.
• Junior Justice Minister - Crispin Blunt (Conservative)
• Junior Justice Minister - Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative)

           

Blue Peter

Blue Peter is a long-running BBC television programme for children. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC Channel. Since it's first aired in 1958 there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time. This allows the program to aim to capture both genders. The show uses a studio for the main format of the presenting, however their is also a garden, often referred to as 'The Blue Peter Garden', that is used during the summer months or used when they are showing any outside activites. The current presenters as of 2010 are, Andy Akinwolere, Helen Skelton and Joel Defries.

Blue Peter awards drop 'unsuitable' finalist

Andy Mulligan's Trash chosen for shortlist, then excluded over 'scenes of violence and swearing'

This year's Blue Peter awards shortlist, announced this afternoon, has been overshadowed by news that Andy Mulligan's Trash, initially selected by judges, was dropped from the finalists on the grounds that it was unsuitable for the BBC programme's younger fans.

Trash is the story of a young street child who lives and works on a rubbish heap, and who finds himself on the run from the police. A statement from Blue Peter said the book should not have been shortlisted in the first place "because it contains scenes of violence and swearing that are not suitable for the younger end of our audience." The programme-makers added: "We regret the mistake that was made in the initial judging but we do not believe the book is appropriate for children as young as six."

Blue Peter's communications chief Clare Rainsford said books submitted for the awards need to be broadly suitable across the programme's viewer age range of six to 12. The shortlisted titles go to child judges for the next stage of judging and some are as young as eight, she added.

David Fickling, Trash's publisher, said that while he completely understood Blue Peter's wish not to upset its audience and didn't want to attack the "brilliant" prize, he was astonished by the decision to withdraw Trash from the shortlist.

"It does have menace, all good thrillers have menace, and the Daleks are very menacing," he said. "I feel that this is a very inspiring, exciting book, with a moral framework, and that their audience at the older end of 9-12 is being denied something they absolutely should be reading."

Fickling added that he thought children should not be over-protected in their reading. "Poor children live a very unpleasant life and to avoid that would be untruthful, and I don't think one should be untruthful to children. You can't make life wonderfully safe and middle-class all over the world," he said.

The winning books will be revealed in early March, to coincide with World Book Day. The full shortlists for the awards are:

Best Book with Facts:

Do Igloos Have Loos? by Mitchell Symons 

How the World Works by Christiane Dorion, illustrated by Beverley Young, pop-ups designed by Andy Mansfield 

What You Need To Know Now: The World in Facts, Stats, and Graphics by Joe Fullman, Ian Graham, Sally Regan and Isabel Thomas, illustrated by Sheila Collins, Mik Gates, Jim Green, Katie Knutton, Phillip Letsu and Hoa Luc

Most Fun Story with Pictures:

Alienography by Chris Riddell 

Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman 

Lunatics and Luck (The Raven Mysteries) by Marcus Sedgwick, illustrated by Pete Williamson

Favourite Stories:

Dead Man's Cove (A Laura Marlin Mystery) by Lauren St John 

A Web of Air (Mortal Engines) by Philip Reeve 

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

• On guardian.co.uk/books tomorrow, Michelle Pauli talks to Andy Mulligan

         

Oxbridge

Guardian claims Cambridge has no black academic staff. Why didn't they bother to check?

Over at the Guardian they reveal “a bleak picture of racial and social exclusion at Oxbridge colleges”. What happened is that David Lammy, the Labour MP, submitted a series of Freedom of Information requests concerning the social makeup of Oxford and Cambridge colleges. The breakdowns of admissions to various colleges certainly do show that Oxbridge colleges lack diversity. David Lammy writes a comment piece to go with it headed “The Oxbridge Whitewash”. And, further down, the Guardian reports:

The FoI data also shows that of more than 1,500 academic and lab staff at Cambridge, none are black.

Of all the claims in the report, this is the most startling. Except, as the blog FleetStreetBlues has discovered, it’s not true. A phone call or Google search could have established, as FleetStreetBlues has done, that Cambridge University has a Black and Minority Ethnic Staff Network, which would seem odd for an organisation that ought not to have any black members to represent. FleetStreetBlues goes on:

And then, looking at various faculties’ photo lists, well… there do actually seem to be some black staff members.

Not many, granted. Not enough, no doubt. But people like Dr Oke Odudu (pictured), who as far as we can Google appears to be very much still a law fellow at Emmanuel College, might beg to differ with the bald assertion that Cambridge University has no black academics. Dr Odudu was born in Blackburn to British-Nigerian parents, and asthis Lancashire Telegraph article shows, has made something of a point of showing that Cambridge is not out of reach for ethnic minority students, and encouraging them to apply and defy the odds. When he reads the Guardian we’re guessing he may not be thrilled…

         

Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian/British musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the characters. He also began a musical career initially with the piano accordion. He wrote the famous song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", and when performing in Canada he introduced his popular routine Jake the Peg. He often uses unusual instruments in his performances: he plays the didgeridoo, has been credited with the invention of the wobble board, a rhythmic percussion instrument, and was associated with the Stylophone, a small electronic keyboard instrument.

From the 1960s he has become a popular television personality, presenting shows including Rolf's Cartoon Club, Animal Hospital and various programmes about serious art. In late 2005 he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which was the subject of a special episode of Rolf on Art.

Named after Rolf Boldrewood, an Australian writer his mother admired, he was born in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, to Cromwell ("Crom") Harris and Agnes Margaret Harris (née Robbins) who had both emigrated from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He is the nephew of Australian artist Pixie O'Harris (1903–1991). As a child he owned a dog called Buster Fleabags. A book of the same name was written for Quick Reads in 2010.

As an adolescent and young adult, Harris was a champion swimmer, being the Australian Junior 110 yards Backstroke Champion in 1946 and Western Australian state champion over a variety of distances and strokes during the period 1948–1952. Harris attended Perth Modern School in Subiaco, and the University of Western Australia. He met his wife, the Welsh sculptress and jeweller Alwen Hughes, while they were both art students, and they married on 1 March 1958. They have one daughter, Bindi Harris (born 10 March 1964), who studied art at Bristol Polytechnic and is now a painter.

         

Martin Jol

Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born 16 January 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. Prior to joining Ajax he managed German club Hamburger SV and English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team.

Playing career 

Jol was born in The Hague. He started his playing career with an amateur team before joining the local professional side ADO Den Haag. He turned professional with Den Haag in 1973. He won the 1975 Dutch Cup with the team defeating FC Twente. He would play in the Bundesliga for the 1978–79 season with Bayern Munich before returning to the Dutch Eredivisie to play for FC Twente in 1979. While with Twente, he won his first cap for the Netherlands national football team in October 1980. Jol moved to England in 1982, joining West Bromwich Albion. He appeared in the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions in 1981–82. He signed for Coventry City in 1984. Jol returned to Den Haag in 1985, and won the 1985 Dutch Footballer of the Year award in the Eerste Divisie league. At international level, Jol won 10 schoolboy caps, 20 'B' caps, 12 Under-21 caps and 12 Under-23 caps. He also made three appearances for the senior team, all of which came in the 1980 Mundialito held in Uruguay in the summer of 1980.

Coaching career

Jol's coaching career began in 1991 when he took over at the amateur side ADO Den Haag and took them to the highest local amateur division. Jol then moved to the leading local amateur side Scheveningen for one season where he won the national non-league championship. Jol then spent two years as manager at the professional Eredivisie side Roda JC of Kerkrade, Netherlands, during which time he won the Dutch cup (Roda's first trophy for 30 years). Between 1998 and 2004 Jol managed the Dutch professional team RKC Waalwijk where he saved them from relegation and was honoured as the Dutch Football Writers Coach of the Year in 2001 and Dutch Players and Coaches Coach of the Year in 2002. Manchester United spoke to Jol about becoming their assistant manager in 2003.

Hamburg 
From the 2008–09 season he began coaching Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. For the first time since the 1999–2000 season Hamburg was at the top of the league standings and finally finished 5th place qualifying for the Europa League next season. Hamburg also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the German Cup which were both lost against Werder Bremen.

AJAX 
On 26 May 2009 it was announced that Jol was to be the new head coach of AFC Ajax, taking over from Marco van Basten who resigned at the end of the season. Jol showed his happiness at returning back to his home country and on 28 May 2009 he officially signed a 3 year contract.
After winning their opening two games of the season, Jol's Ajax lost away to PSV Eindhoven and then drew with Sparta Rotterdam at home, a result that saw them slip down to 7th place in the Eredivisie. However, this was the only game in which they dropped points at home all season. They ended the season with the league's strongest defence and the fewest league goals conceded by any Dutch team in 5 years, including just 4 conceded at home all season. Even more incredibly, they scored 106 league goals (an average of more than 3 per game), the most any Dutch side has scored since the 1997–98 season. This meant that Ajax ended the season with a goal difference of +86. PSV, who had the next best goal difference in the league, had only half of this with +43.
Jol's side didn't drop a single point after January, winning their final 14 games of the season. This meant that they finished with 85 points, a 17 point improvement on the previous season, and a tally that would have been enough to win the league in all but two of the seasons since 1995 when the rules of the Eredivisie changed to award 3 points for a win instead of 2. However, they were beaten to the title by one point, by Steve McClaren's FC Twente, who won their first ever Eredivisie title.
Jol had some consolation for the season, by winning the Dutch Cup, his first trophy since winning the same competition 13 years earlier with Roda JC, by beating Feyenoord 6-1 on aggregate in the first two-leg final since 1983. On 6 December 2010 Jol resigned as manager of Ajax and media linked him to the vacancy at Newcastle United F.C.

        

Patrick Gillick

Lawrence Patrick Gillick (born August 22, 1937) is a retired American professional baseball executive. He was the general manager of four Major League Baseball teams, and guided teams to three World Series championships in his career: 1992 and 1993 titles with the Toronto Blue Jays, and a 2008 title with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Born in Chico, California, Gillick attended USC and joined the Delta Chi Fraternity. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in business. He was also a gifted pitcher, playing on the 1958 National Title baseball team at USC and spending five years in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system, venturing as high as Triple-A. A left-hander, Gillick posted a won/lost record of 45–32 with an earned run average of 3.42 in 164 minor league games.

Gillick retired from playing and began a front-office career in 1963 when he became the assistant farm director with the Houston Astros. He would eventually work his way up to the position of Director of Scouting before moving to the New York Yankees system in 1974 as a Coordinator of Player Development. In 1976 he moved again, this time to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, becoming their Vice President of Player Personnel, and in 1977, their Vice President of Baseball Operations. In 1984 he was named Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.

As Toronto's general manager, Gillick won five division titles (1985, 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1993) and led the club to their first World Series championships in 1992 and 1993. Shortly after Gillick left, the Blue Jays went into decline, not finishing higher than 3rd place until the 2006 season.

In 1995, Gillick was named the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles organization and he guided the Orioles to the playoffs in 1996 and 1997. He left at the conclusion of his three-year contract in 1998. The Orioles have not had a winning season since.

Gillick then became the general manager of the Seattle Mariners, who had parlayed their incredible 1995 playoff run into a new ballpark and the financial resources to become a perennial contender. Upon his hiring, the responsibility fell on Gillick to trade Ken Griffey Jr. to Cincinnati after Griffey played out his final season in Seattle. The Mariners made back to back playoff appearances for the only time in franchise history in 2000 and 2001, and the 2001 team, with a 116-46 record, tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the all time Major League Baseball record for most wins in a single season. However, the Mariners failed to make it past the American League Championship Series in either year, and did not make the playoffs for the rest of Gillick's tenure as GM and advisor.

Like the Blue Jays and Orioles, the Mariners have also not reached the playoffs since his departure as GM. Gillick was inducted into the Toronto Blue Jays "Level of Excellence" on August 8, 2002. On November 2, 2005, Gillick was named the Philadelphia Phillies' general manager. Gillick's first big move in Philadelphia was to trade Jim Thome and cash to the Chicago White Sox for Aaron Rowand and prospects Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood.

In June 2006, Gillick faced criticism from members of the media and women's groups for allowing pitcher Brett Myers to make his scheduled start against the Boston Red Sox on June 24, 2006, just one day after being arrested for assaulting his wife on a Boston street. Gillick was quoted by The New York Times as saying "I think it's in the best interest of the club; he's our best pitcher".

Gillick had permanent residence in Toronto with his wife Doris, but they have since re-located to Seattle after he became the Phillies GM.

Gillick retired as a GM after leading the Phillies to a World Series championship in 2008. Rubén Amaro, Jr. was named his successor. Although he retired from all general manager duties, Gillick decided to remain an advisor to the team.

Pat Gillick elected to baseball Hall of Fame

Pat Gillick, whose teams won three World Series titles in 27 years as a major league general manager, was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Monday by the Veterans Committee.

In his fifth time on the ballot, former players' association head Marvin Miller fell one vote short of the 75 percent needed for election and Dave Concepcion, a nine-time All-Star shortstop, was third with eight votes from the 16-man committee that considered candidates from the expansion era, 1973 on.

George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees owner from 1973 until his death in July, was among the candidates who received fewer than eight votes. Gillick was GM of Toronto, Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia, winning World Series titles with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993, and with the Phillies in 2008. He will be inducted into Cooperstown during ceremonies on July 24 along with any players chosen next month by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Speaking at a news conference at the winter meetings, Gillick thanked all the people he's worked with over the years. "They all share in this award," he said. "You can't do this job alone. You've got to have help."

Gillick is the 32nd executive elected to the Hall but only the fourth who was primarily a team architect, according to the Hall, joining Ed Barrow, Branch Rickey and George Weiss.

Gillick started with the Houston Colt .45s-Astros from 1963-73, then was the Yankees scouting director from 1974-76. He served as GM of Toronto from 1977-94, Baltimore (1996-98), Seattle (2000-03) and Philadelphia (2006-08). He currently is a Phillies senior adviser.

The 93-year-old Miller, who led the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966-81, had asked not to be included on the ballot. An antagonist of baseball owners who helped players gain free agency and multimillion salaries, he received 44 percent in 2003 and 63 percent in 2007 when all Hall of Famers could vote on the veterans panel.

After the Hall downsized the committee, he got 3 of 12 votes in 2007 _ when seven on the panel were from management _ and 7 of 12 last year.

Under changes adopted by the Hall last summer, managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players from the expansion era were considered this year. The golden era (1947-72) will be voted on in 2011 and the pre-integration era (1871-1946) will be judged in 2012.

         

Don Meredith

Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith (April 10, 1938 - December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League who played 9 full seasons in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, and a football commentator and actor.

Meredith played college football at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he started at quarterback for three years, leading the Southwest Conference in passing completion percentage each year and getting selected as an All-American in 1958 and 1959. Meredith was so popular on campus that many at the time jokingly referred to the school as "Southern Meredith University."

The Chicago Bears chose Meredith in the third round of the 1960 NFL Draft, and traded him to a young Cowboys franchise for future draft picks. (Incidentally, the Cowboys' crosstown rivals in the AFL, the Texans, also picked Meredith as a "territorial selection" in their 1960 draft, though Meredith declined to play for them.) Meredith spent two years as a backup to Eddie LeBaron, eventually splitting time in 1962 before he was given the full-time starting job by head coach Tom Landry in 1963. In 1966, Meredith led the Cowboys to the NFL postseason, something he would continue to do until his unexpected retirement before the 1969 season. His two most heartbreaking defeats came in NFL Championship play against the Green Bay Packers, 34-27 in Dallas (1966), and in the famous "Ice Bowl" game, 21-17 in Green Bay (1967).

"Dandy Don", while never leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl, was always exceptionally popular with Cowboys fans who remember him for his grit and toughness, his outgoing nature, and his leadership during the first winning seasons for the Cowboys. Meredith is also said to be the only player to play his high school (Mount Vernon), college (SMU), and pro (Dallas Cowboys) career in and around the Dallas, TX area. He never played a home game, on any level, outside of North Texas.

During his career, he had a 50.7% completion rate, throwing for 17,199 yards and 135 touchdowns with a lifetime passer rating of 74.8. He was named the NFL Player of the Year in 1966 and was named to the Pro Bowl three times.

       

Mike Ashley

Michael James Wallace "Mike " Ashley (born 1963, Burnham, Buckinghamshire) is an English millionaire retail entrepreneur in the sporting goods market. He is also the owner of Newcastle United after paying around £135 million to buy the club.

Ranked 60th in the 2009 version of the Sunday Times Rich List with estimated wealth of £700 million, Ashley was seen as an intensely private person, who never attended industry functions or gave interviews. Philip Beresford, who compiles the annual Sunday Times list, said neither he nor his staff have ever managed to contact Ashley, and describes him as "easily Britain's answer to the late Howard Hughes."

However, since Sports Direct International Plc went public, and his purchase of Newcastle United where he took to sitting in the stands with fans, Ashley has taken on a more public and accessible persona. However since the departure of Kevin Keegan as manager and the club's relegation, Ashley has only made low key appearances when attending Newcastle matches.

Ashley grew up in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, where his parents still live in a modest bungalow. He was educated at Burnham Grammar School. He has 3 children Matilda, Anna and Oliver. He was divorced in 2003 from his then wife Linda, a Swedish-born economics graduate, for a reported settlement of £50 million. He is a former county squash coach.

After leaving school at 16, in the 1980s Ashley opened his first Sport and Ski shop in Maidenhead followed by others in and around London. The chain expanded quickly funded by private money, and by the late 1990s had rebranded the chain Sports Soccer and opened over 100 stores across the United Kingdom. As a sole trader and not having to file accounts at Companies House, little was known about him. The business became a limited liability company in 1999.

Nottinghamshire based group Sports Direct International Plc, with headquarters in Shirebrook, Mansfield has over 400 UK stores including the chains Sports World, Lillywhites (acquired in 2002) and Gilesports. The group employs more than 20,000 people in the UK and at stores in Ireland, Belgium and Slovenia. In 2006 it overtook JJB Sports as the UK's largest sports wear retailer. In mid-2006 it was also revealed that Ashley had held talks with John Hargreaves, founder of Matalan on both taking a 25% stake in the retail business and installing mezzanine floors in larger Matalan stores, on which Sports World outlets could be operated.

Ashley has made his money by buying brands. The first major brand he bought was Donnay. In February 2003 Ashley bought the Dunlop Slazenger brand for £40 million, followed up by acquiring outdoor gear manufacturer Karrimor in March 2003, Kangol for £10 million, boxing brand Lonsdale, most of these brands were bought from distressed sellers. After considering a takeover, Ashley took a £9 million stake and signed a long-term deal with Umbro.

Ashley has a 29.4% stake in Blacks Leisure Group, the owner of Millets and Mambo, and is thought to hold stakes in JJB Sports and 19% of JD Sports. "He likes to park his tanks on peoples' lawns", said one banker.

In late November 2006, a number of business newspapers reported that Ashley was looking at an IPO of Sports World International. He hired Merrill Lynch, who initially valued the group at up to £2.5bn ahead of the flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

On 31 January 2010, the BBC North East and Cumbria produced a 30min documentary detailing Mike Ashley's business successes and lows. Journalist Chris Jackson travelled to Thailand to visit the factory's in which Ashley's material for his brand of Lonsdale is made. Neither Ashley or his representatives showed interest in taking part in the film, declaring that the film was producing a majority of inaccuracies. They did however state that they would be reviewing the film closely. No further comment has been made.

     

Katy Perry

Katy Perry (nascida Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, Santa Bárbara, 25 de outubro de 1984) é uma cantora e compositora norte-americana. Filha de um casal de pastores evangélicos, quando era criança cantava em igrejas, chegando a lançar um álbum de música gospel em 2001, intitulado Katy Hudson, gravado pela Red Hill Records; mas posteriormente fixou-se na música pop e pop rock, estilos que vêm sido trabalhado por Perry desde 2004.

Após assinar com a Island Def Jam Records em 2004, a cantora conheceu Glen Ballard, e junto a ele compôs e produziu um novo álbum de estúdio, (A) Katy Perry, mas que foram cancelados também. Em 2005, assinou um contrato com a Columbia Records e gravou um álbum de estúdio intitulado The Matrix junto ao grupo The Matrix, que já haviam trabalhado com Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne e Korn. Apesar de chegar a lançar o videoclipe da canção "Broken", o álbum não foi lançado. Em 2006, ela participou do single da banda gospel P.O.D, "Goodbye for Now, mas não prosseguiu com o gospel.

O sucesso de sua carreira musical começou em 2007, com o lançamento do seu primeiro extended play, "Ur So Gay", onde a cantora faz piada ao estilo emo de seu ex-namorado. Com o lançamento de seu álbum de estúdio One of the Boys, a cantora tornou-se uma ícone da música pop, com canções como "I Kissed a Girl" e "Hot N Cold", que ficaram no topo das paradas musicais de todo o mundo. Em novembro de 2009, Katy Perry lançou um MTV Unplugged com as canções de One of the Boys; no final de 2009, trabalhou com 3OH!3 na canção-remix "Starstrukk" e com Timbaland em "If We Ever Meet Again". Katy Perry, ficou conhecida mundialmente pelo sucesso de seus singles, "I Kissed a Girl", "Hot N Cold", "Thinking of You", "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream e atualmente "Firework".

Com seu estilo retrô e ousado, Katy Perry conquistou a atenção de Madonna e Miley Cyrus por criar contrastes que transmitem a imagem de inocente e demonstra ter uma personalidade humorística e extrovertida, que fizeram a cantora ser a única artista a apresentar duas vezes consecutivas o MTV Europe Music Awards (de 2008 e 2009). Além deste recorde, a cantora entrou para o Guinness Book em 2009 devido ao grande número de downloads legais das canções "Hot N Cold" e "I Kissed a Girl", que totalizaram mais de dois milhões. No Brasil, Katy, tem 8 singles certificados todos de Disco de Platina, com uma soma de mais de 800 mil downloads pagos sendo ainda uma das recordistas de vendas digitais no país, comprovadas pela ABPD.