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Talk:Singer (disambiguation)

Untitled
Some people of the name, Singer, who have entries in Wikipedia:

 * Singer, Bryan
 * Singer, Burns
 * Singer, Charles
 * Singer, Eric
 * Singer, Fred
 * Singer, Isaac (1811-1875), inventor of the sewing machine
 * Singer, Isaac Bashevis (1904-1991), novelist
 * Singer, Isadore
 * Singer, Israel Joshua
 * Singer, Kyle
 * Singer, Marcus George
 * Singer, Margaret
 * Singer, Peter, ethicist
 * Singer, Peter W.
 * Singer, Rolf (1906-1994), mycologist
 * Singer, Winnaretta
 * Singer-Brewster, Stephen

Other entities associated with the word, Singer:

 * The Singer Corporation
 * The Singer Building
 * The Singer automobile marque of the Rootes Group
 * Singer-Prebisch Thesis
 * Atiyah-Singer index theorem
 * The Jazz Singer
 * The Wedding Singer

title: Talk:Singer (disambiguation)


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LaClede Town

LaClede Town was a mixed-income, federally funded housing project in St. Louis, Missouri. Located near St. Louis University, it opened in 1964. It incorporated a mix of housing types and had spaces dedicated to social interaction and artistic production. It was an intentionally diverse community with respect to residents' income and race/ethnicity. This experimental urban development was "cool, hip, cheap and populated by people committed to making integration work." It became an incubator for new music, dance, poetry and other arts, especially jazz. Loyal former residents began organizing reunions in 1997.

Eventually, LaClede Town became run down, and the complex was demolished in the late 1980s. Some of the Grand Forest Apartments, a part of LaClede town, still exist as student housing for St. Louis University. Berea Presbyterian Church, which was central to the community and predated the LaClede Town development, still stands. However, it has been redesigned for commercial use.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: LaClede Town


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Farsang

Farsang may refer to:

 * Parasang, an Iranian or Persian (which also includes Iraq) unit of measurement for how far a man can walk in a day "Stone to stone".
 * Modern Iranian metric unit of measurement, set as 10000 m, equivelant to the modern Scandinavian mile and obsolete metric myriametre.
 * An Islamic folk character
 * hu:Farsang, a Hungarian carnival that precedes the annual Busójárás celebration

title: Farsang


text: User talk:68.51.132.211

title: User talk:68.51.132.211


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Charly

Charly may refer to:

People

 * Charly (name)

Places

 * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department
 * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department
 * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department
 * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department

Other

 * Operation Charly, countering left-wing activities in Central America
 * Charly (brand), a Mexican sportswear company
 * Charly, 1968 film adaptation of short story and novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
 * Charly, 1980 novel by Jack Weyland that was adapted into a 2002 movie with the same name
 * "Charly (song)", song by the Prodigy

title: Charly


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Sleeping with the Enemy (album)

Sleeping With the Enemy is the second studio album by American rapper Paris. Released on November 24, 1992, it stimulated much controversy with the songs "Bush Killa" (a revenge fantasy about the assassination of then-president George H. W. Bush) and "Coffee, Donuts & Death" (a cop-killing tirade). It also featured a young DJ Shadow on production.

Originally scheduled for a pre–presidential election release in 1992, the album was eventually released on Paris' own Scarface Records after Time Warner shareholders and media pressure prevented then-Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Tommy Boy Records from releasing the project.

It was re-released in a limited release subtitled The Deluxe Edition; it was digitally enhanced, reworked, and contains alternate versions. The album sold over 480,000 copies.

Track listing

 * 1) "The Enema (Live At The White House)"
 * 2) "Make Way for a Panther"
 * 3) "Sleeping with the Enemy"
 * 4) "House Niggas Bleed Too"
 * 5) "Bush Killa"
 * 6) "Coffee, Doughnuts, & Death"
 * 7) "Thinka 'Bout It"
 * 8) "Guerrillas in the Mist"
 * 9) "The Days of Old"
 * 10) "Long Hot Summer"
 * 11) "Conspiracy of Silence" feat. LP and Son Doobiest
 * 12) "Funky Li'l Party"
 * 13) "Check it out, Ch'all"
 * 14) "Rise"
 * 15) "Assata's Song"
 * 16) "Bush Killa" (Hellraiser Mix)

Personnel

 * D.J. Yon: Scratches on "Coffee, Doughnuts, and Death"
 * Eric Bertaud: Saxophone on "Assata's Song"
 * Victor Hall: Photography
 * J. Alex: Graphics
 * Mike Martin: Engineering and production assistance

Samples

 * "Guerrillas in the Mist"
 * "UFO" by ESG (sirens)
 * "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube

 * "Assata's Song"
 * "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground

 * "Coffee, Donuts & Death"
 * "It's All the Way Live" by Lakeside
 * "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton

 * "Long Hot Summer"
 * "Hot Dawgit" by Ramsey Lewis

 * "Make Way for a Panther"
 * "Life Could" by Rotary Connection
 * "Son of Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey
 * "Rigor Mortis" by Cameo

 * "Sleeping With the Enemy"
 * "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James
 * "Welcome to the Terrordome" by Public Enemy

 * "The Days of Old"
 * "The Jam" by Graham Central Station
 * "Mysterious Vibes" by The Blackbyrds

 * "Thinka 'Bout It"
 * "Outstanding" by The Gap Band

 * "Check It Out Ch'all"
 * "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone

 * "Bush Killa"
 * "Run, N*****" by The Last Poets
 * "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton

title: Sleeping with the Enemy (album)


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Sergey Katanandov

Sergey Leonidovich Katanandov (Сергей Леонидович Катанандов) is the former leader of the Republic of Karelia, an autonomous entity of Russia, in 1998–2010, first as Prime Minister, then as Head of the Republic.

Katanandov was born in 1955, in the Karelian capital of Petrozavodsk. Educated in civil engineering and law, Katanandov served as Mayor of Petrozavodsk from 1990 to 1998, and became Chairman of the Government of Karelia in 1998. From May 2002 till June 30, 2010, he was the Head of the Republic of Karelia.

Biography
Katanandov was born to Karelian parents in Petrozavodsk on April 21, 1955. He graduated from the Faculty of industrial and civil construction of Petrozavodsk State University in 1977. After graduation he worked as a foreman at a construction site. This was followed by a foreman, chief of section, chief engineer of SMU-1 Trust "Petrozavodskstroy, chief engineer of the trust, the head of design and construction of large housing associations. Eventually he ended up becoming a popular politician in Russia. In April 2000, was awarded the Order of Honor. Katanandov is married, and has two sons.

title: Sergey Katanandov


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NSYNC (album)

`NSYNC is the eponymous debut studio album by American boy band NSYNC, initially released in Germany on May 26, 1997, by Trans Continental Records and internationally on March 24, 1998, by RCA Records. The album reached number one on the Offizielle Top 100 and includes the singles "I Want You Back" and "Tearin' Up My Heart".

The album has since sold over 15 million copies worldwide, with the album earning a diamond certification in the US, as well as peaking at number two on the Billboard 200.

Band formation
In 1995, Chris Kirkpatrick met with Lou Pearlman to talk about forming a pop group. Pearlman said that he would finance the group if Kirkpatrick would find other young male singers to be with him in the band. This prompted Kirkpatrick to start forming the group, so he called Justin Timberlake who had been a member of the Mickey Mouse Club. Justin joined and recommended his friend Joshua "JC" Chasez, who also was a cast member on the Mickey Mouse Club. Later, the three bumped into Joey Fatone, whom they all knew, at a club and he became the fourth member to join.

Initially, Jason Galasso was chosen as the group's bass singer and fifth member. After several weeks of rehearsals, the group set up a showcase and began planning to officially sign with Pearlman's Trans Continental Label. However, at the last minute, Galasso dropped out as he was not fond of the group's musical direction, claiming that being a teen idol was never a goal of his. The group started to search for people to replace Galasso. Timberlake soon called his vocal coach, who suggested a 16-year-old from Mississippi named Lance Bass, who flew to Orlando to audition and was immediately accepted into the group.

Recording
The newly-formed group began recording demos in closets, which eventually became "Sailing" and "Giddy Up". NSYNC were given an offer to record in Shaquille O'Neal's house in Orlando after he heard them sing the national anthem. During the production of "Sailing", an instrumental was placed before NSYNC started layering the track with harmonies and vocals, while "Giddy Up" was created from a vocal jam session through a computer. The band also recorded in the studio of producer Veit Renn, who used mattresses to create a soundproof environment.

Eventually, the group signed to BMG Ariola Munich, and were sent to Stockholm to begin working on their debut album with the help of producers such as Denniz Pop, Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson around July–August 1996. Initially, the band were recording songs similar to that of Boyz II Men, but had to switch their sound in order to accommodate to the dance-oriented European market. Due to his fascination of Robyn's sound, Pop decided to incorporate Robyn's style into NSYNC's music by combining their R&B vocals with pop tracks.

Initial release
The album's official lead single, "I Want You Back", was released in Germany on January 15, 1997, and reached the top 10 on November 18, 1997. The group's second single, "Tearin' Up My Heart", was released on February 10, 1997, also peaking within the top 10. The third single, "Here We Go", was released on May 5, 1997, just three weeks prior to the release of the album, to similar success. Their self-titled debut album was then released by BMG Ariola Munich on May 26, 1997, which peaked at number one on the second week of release in Germany. The group soon became an overnight success throughout much of Europe. The album also charted successfully in both Switzerland and Austria eventually selling 820,000 units in GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) region and Eastern Europe. Two further singles, "For the Girl Who Has Everything" and "Together Again", were subsequently released on August 18 and November 3, 1997, respectively, achieving success in Germany and other European territories.

International breakthrough
Following their success of their début album in several European territories, the band captured the attention of Vincent DeGiorgio, an A&R rep for RCA Records. After watching the group perform a rendition of their single "Together Again" in Budapest in November 1997, he offered them a record deal with RCA, which the group immediately agreed to. On January 20, 1998, their first German single, "I Want You Back", was released in both the United Kingdom and the United States, becoming their first single in both territories, achieving success on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Around this time, RCA Records announced that they wished to release the group's debut album, which was previously only released in Germany, in both the U.K. and the U.S., however, wanted to make adjustments to suit both markets. This resulted in the tracks "Riddle", "Best of My Life", "More Than a Feeling", "Together Again" and "Forever Young" being cut altogether, and new mixes of "I Want You Back", "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "For the Girl Who Has Everything" being recorded. The new version of the album also included four new tracks: "I Just Wanna Be with You", "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You", "Everything I Own", "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)". This version of the album was subsequently released in the United States on March 24, 1998.

On June 30, 1998, the group's second German single, "Tearin' Up My Heart", was released in both the U.K. and the U.S., once again achieving success on both charts. Further edits were made for the British version of the album, including remixes of "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)", "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You" and "For the Girl Who Has Everything", plus an all-new track, "U Drive Me Crazy", written exclusively for the British market. This version of the album was released in the UK on July 5, 1998. At first, sales of the album were mediocre in both British and American territories, until the band's worldwide broadcast Disney Channel in Concert special in 1998. After the concert was aired, sales of the album began to skyrocket. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and shipped over 10 million copies in the United States alone, making it certified 10× Platinum and earning the group an RIAA diamond award. On February 9, 1999, a third single from the new version of the album, "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You", was released exclusively in the United States, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)", the final single, was released days later. Though "I Drive Myself Crazy" did not crack the top 40 on Billboard, its music video was in heavy rotation on MTV show TRL, spending a total of 40 days in the number 1 position. The group then went on to become the #3 top-selling boy-band group of all time.

Commercial performance
The album debuted at number eighty two on the Billboard 200 the week of April 11, 1998, with sales of approximately 14,000 units. After six months, on October 10, 1998, the album reached and peaked at number 2 on the chart and remained on it for one hundred and nine weeks. It spent a total of thirty weeks inside the top 10. The album spent three weeks at number 2 from September 1998 to January 1999. It peaked behind three different number-one blockbuster albums: Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Garth Brooks' Double Live and Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the fifth best selling record of 1998 in the United States with 4,400,000 copies sold. The album was certified ten times platinum by the RIAA on January 5, 2000, denoting shipments of ten millions. The album has sold 9,854,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music (as of March, 2015) with an additional 1.50 million units at the BMG Music Club (as of early 2003). In the United Kingdom the album debuted and peaked at number 30 on July 11, 1999, and remained on the chart for only three weeks. Worldwide, the album has sold 15,540,000 copies.

The album was ranked as the 137th best album of all time on the Billboard Top 200 Albums of All Time.

Track listing
Lead vocals provided by JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake except on "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)", where Justin sings lead on the opening verses followed by Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone on "Together Again", where Chris & Justin sing lead.

 * Notes
 * undefined signifies an additional producer
 * "I Just Wanna Be with You" contains portions of "Family Affair", as written by Sly Stone.

NSYNC

 * Chris Kirkpatrick – vocals
 * JC Chasez – vocals
 * Justin Timberlake – vocals
 * Joey Fatone – vocals
 * Lance Bass – vocals

title: NSYNC (album)


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Near money

'''Quasi money can be defined as highly liquid assets which are not cash but can easily be converted into cash.

Examples of near money include:

 * Savings accounts
 * Money market funds
 * Bank time deposits (certificates of deposit)
 * Government treasury securities (such as T-bills)
 * Bonds near their redemption date
 * Foreign currencies, especially widely traded ones such as the US dollar, euro or yen.

History
Over the past three centuries what has been accepted by the public as money has been expanded from gold and silver coins to include first bank notes and then bank deposits subject to transfer by check (cheque). Until recently, most economists would have agreed that money stopped at that point. No such agreement exists today, and the definition of money appropriate to present circumstances is debated. Since the 18th century, economists have known that the amount of money in circulation is an important economic variable. As the theories became more carefully specified in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they included a variable called the money supply.

Functions of money
Money is often defined in terms of the three functions or services: as a medium of exchange, as a store of value and as a unit of account.

Medium of exchange
Money's most important function is as a medium of exchange to facilitate transactions. Without money, all transactions would have to be conducted by barter, which involves direct exchange of one good or service for another.

Store of value
In order to be a medium of exchange, money must hold its value over time; that is, it must be a store of value. If money could not be stored for some period of time and still remain valuable in exchange, it would not solve the double coincidence of wants problem and therefore would not be adopted as a medium of exchange.

Unit of account
Money also functions as a unit of account, providing a common measure of the value of goods and services being exchanged. Knowing the value or price of a good, in terms of money, enables both the supplier and the purchaser of the good to make decisions about how much of the good to supply and how much of the good to purchase.

Assets with slightly lower liquidity
Thus near money can be considered as assets that fulfill the store-of-value function (as well as can be expected given the economic conditions) and are readily converted into a medium of exchange but are not themselves a medium of exchange. Deposits at a bank, savings and loan association, or building society etc. are a characteristic form of near money. Provided that the terms of the account permit immediate withdrawal, the deposit owner knows how much purchasing power he currently holds, and can turn the deposit into a medium of exchange (cash or a checking deposit/current account ) almost immediately.

Short fixed-term deposits (such as thirty-day treasury bills) and government bonds which are close to their maturity date are examples of assets which are not quite as liquid as a bank account that permits immediate withdrawal, but in many circumstances the difference is not important. Such assets are therefore often also regarded as "near money".

title: Near money


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Estella (Great Expectations)

Estella Havisham (married name Estella Drummle) is a significant character in Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations.

Like the protagonist, Pip, Estella is introduced as an orphan, but where Pip was raised by his sister and her husband to become a blacksmith, Estella was adopted and raised by the wealthy and eccentric Miss Havisham to become a lady.

Inspiration
Estella is widely believed to have been partially based on Ellen Lawless Ternan, a young actress who was Dickens' mistress from 1857 onwards. "Ess-te-la" is created by rearranging parts of Ternan's name.

Estella and Pip's pre-adult life
Pip and Estella meet when he is brought to Miss Havisham's ill-kept mansion, Satis House, ostensibly to satisfy Miss Havisham's "weird fetish" to be entertained by watching Pip and Estella play together. It is later revealed that Miss Havisham desires to have Pip's heart broken by Estella.

Estella's relationship with Pip
Estella states throughout the text that she does not love Pip. However, she shows numerous times in the novel that she holds Pip in a much higher regard compared to other men, and does not want to break his heart as she does with the others that she seduces.

Estella as a symbol of Pip's longings in life
Pip is fascinated with the lovely Estella, though her heart is as cold as ice. Aside from the evident romantic interest, which continues through much of the story, Pip's meeting with Estella marks a turning point in his young life: her beauty, grace, and prospects represent the opposite of Pip's humble existence. Estella criticises Pip's honest but "coarse" ways, and from that point on, Pip grows dissatisfied with his position in life and, eventually, with his former values and friends as well.

Pip spends years as companion to Miss Havisham and, by extension, Estella. He harbours intense love for Estella, though he has been warned that Estella has been brought up by Miss Havisham to inspire unrequited love in the men around her, in order to avenge the latter's disappointment at being jilted on her wedding day. Estella warns Pip that she cannot love him, or anyone. Miss Havisham herself eventually decries this coldness, for Estella is not even able to love her benefactress.

Estella and Pip as adults
After Pip receives an unexpected boon of a gentleman's upbringing and the "great expectation" of a future fortune from an unknown benefactor, he finds himself released from the blacksmith's apprenticeship that had been funded by Miss Havisham as compensation for Pip's years of service to her. He also finds himself thrown into Estella's social milieu in London, where Pip goes to be educated as a gentleman. He relentlessly pursues Estella, though her warm expressions of friendship are firmly countered by her insistence that she cannot love him.

In fact, Pip discovers that Miss Havisham's lessons have worked all too well on Estella; when both are visiting the elderly woman, Miss Havisham makes gestures of affection towards her adopted daughter and is shocked that Estella is neither able nor willing to return them. Estella points out that Miss Havisham taught her to be hard-hearted and unloving. Even after witnessing this scene, Pip continues to live in anguished and fruitless hope that Estella will return his love.

Estella flirts with and pursues Bentley Drummle, a disdainful rival of Pip's, and eventually marries him because she wants to break the other gentlemen suitor's hearts just like Miss Havisham told her to do. Seeing her flirt with the brutish Drummle, Pip asks Estella (rather bitterly) why she never displays such affection with him.

 * "Do you want me then," said Estella, turning suddenly with a fixed and serious, if not angry, look, "to deceive and entrap you?"
 * "Do you deceive and entrap him, Estella?"
 * "Yes, and many others—all of them but you."

This exchange suggests that Estella feels at least a modicum of love for Pip, as does the fact that in his presence, she never pretends to be anything but what she is. Rather than push him away, this honest behaviour only frustrates Pip.

It is implied that Drummle abuses Estella during their relationship and that she is very unhappy. By the end of the book, Drummle has been killed by a horse he had abused.

Varied resolutions of Estella's relationship with Pip
Though Estella marries Drummle in the novel and several adaptations, she does not marry him in the best-known 1946 film adaptation. In no version does she eventually marry Pip, at least not within the timespan of the story.

The eventual resolution of Pip's pursuit of Estella at the end of the story varies among film adaptations and even in the novel itself. Dickens' original ending is deemed by many as consistent with the thread of the novel and with Estella's allegorical position as the human manifestation of Pip's longings for social status:

"I was in England again—in London, and walking along Piccadilly with little Pip—when a servant came running after me to ask would I step back to a lady in a carriage who wished to speak to me. It was a little pony carriage, which the lady was driving; and the lady and I looked sadly enough on one another. 'I am greatly changed, I know; but I thought you would like to shake hands with Estella, too, Pip. Lift up that pretty child and let me kiss it!' (She supposed the child, I think, to be my child.) I was very glad afterwards to have had the interview; for, in her face and in her voice, and in her touch, she gave me the assurance, that suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham's teaching, and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be."

As this ending was much criticized even by some famous fellow authors, Dickens wrote a second ending currently considered as the definitive one, more hopeful but also more ambiguous than the original, in which Pip and Estella have a spiritual and emotional reconciliation. The second ending echoes strongly the theme of closure found in much of the novel; Pip and Estella's relationship at the end is marked by some sadness and some joy, and although Estella still indicates that she doesn't believe she and Pip will be together, Pip perceives that she will stay with him:

"'We are friends,' said I, rising and bending over her, as she rose from the bench. 'And will continue friends apart,' said Estella. I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her."

Estella's origins
Though she never knows it herself, Pip finally finds out where Estella comes from. She was the child of Jaggers's maidservant Molly, a gypsy at that time, and Abel Magwitch.

Pip becomes convinced that Molly is Estella's mother during his second dinner at Jaggers's place, when he realizes that their eyes are the same and that, when unoccupied, their fingers perform a knitting action. Wemmick tells him Molly's story: she had a child, the same age as Estella whose fate remains unknown. She came to Jaggers after he saved her from the gallows, as she had been accused of having murdered a woman out of jealousy.

One evening, after Pip returned from a visit at Miss Havisham's, Herbert tells him a story that Magwitch told him: Magwitch had a wife once and they had a child, a girl, whom Magwitch loved dearly. His wife told him she'd kill the child (because the child was what Magwitch loved the most, and Molly wanted him to suffer for what he did to her) and, as much as he knows, she did. Shortly afterwards, she was accused of murder, acquitted and then disappeared. The two stories fit so well, that Pip has no doubt: Estella is the child of Abel and Molly.

He tells this to Jaggers and Wemmick, unable to keep it to himself. Jaggers tells him the missing bit of the story (only assuming, that it could have been like that): Molly gave the child to him, to be safe in case of her conviction. Abel, believing it dead, did not dare make a stir about it. At the same time, Miss Havisham was looking for a girl to bring up and save from a misery like her own and Jaggers gave Estella to her. She was two or three at the time. Miss Havisham did not know where she came from and named her Estella. Jaggers advises Pip to be quiet about it. Nonetheless, Pip can surmise no reason to spread the secret about Estella, as her father had to keep in hiding, her mother had been about to kill the child and Estella had escaped disgrace and would be dragged back into it by the revelation. Pip keeps quiet, and only tells Magwitch, on his deathbed, that his child lives. Pip tells him that she is a beautiful young lady and that he was in love with her.

References in pop culture

 * Estella is referenced in Alanis Morissette's 1995 hit "All I Really Want". In the second verse, the song's narrator compares herself to her, "I'm like Estella, I like to reel it in and then spit it out, I'm frustrated by your apathy."
 * The 2000 South Park episode "Pip" features an incarnation of Estella (as it does all of the major characters from Great Expectations), voiced by Eliza Schneider.
 * The band The Gaslight Anthem features a song on their album The 59 Sound entitled "Great Expectations". A line in this song mentions the character by name, reading "And I never had a good time, I sat my bedside, with papers and poetry about Estella."
 * A Bollywood adoption of the novel has been depicted in the 2016 movie Fitoor featuring Katrina Kaif (Estella) and Aditya Roy Kapoor (Pip) as leading protagonists.
 * Estella is the main character in a companion historical fiction novel called Estella's Revenge, by Barbara Havelocke. Told from her point of view, it fills in the blanks of her childhood and adulthood, and gives her character a dark, vengeful, feminist slant.

title: Estella (Great Expectations)


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WarioWare: Twisted!

WarioWare: Twisted! is a video game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Nintendo SPD with Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was released on October 14, 2004 in Japan; May 19, 2005 in Australia; and May 23, 2005 in North America. The second game in the WarioWare series and the seventh in the Wario series overall, Twisted! was the last Wario game to be released on a Game Boy family system.

Wario and his friend Dr. Crygor invent Game Boy Advance games and units that only react when tilted around. The game follows the WarioWare formula with a variety of games that last for only a few seconds. The cartridge utilizes a gyro sensor and players must spin and twist in order to play the games.

Twisted! was critically acclaimed and has won numerous awards. Reviewers found the gyro sensor to be innovative and adding to the gameplay aspect.

It is one of only two Game Boy Advance games to include force feedback, the other being Drill Dozer.

Gameplay
Twisted follows a similar format to its predecessor, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!, in which players must play through a series of "microgames"; short minigames that require the player to understand and clear its objective within a few seconds. Twisted! features unique gameplay thanks to its built-in gyro sensor, which detects the rotation of the handheld system. As such, many of the microgames require the player to physically rotate the system in order to clear. For example, players may have to empty a bin's contents, steer a plane, or guide something through a maze. Microgames become more complex as the game progresses, with later microgames requiring more time to complete, sometimes requiring the player to fully rotate their system.

This game changes the scoring from the other WarioWare titles. Previously, the score was the number of games that were played, but Twisted only counts the number of games that the player won. Failing a microgame does not delay the boss stage. The game features items called "souvenirs", which are unlocked after boss stages in story mode. Records, musical instruments, figurines, games, and many quirky items are possible to unlock.

Gyro sensor
The Twisted cartridge has a built-in gyro sensor and rumble feature (for feedback during rotation). Most of the microgames are played by rotating the entire handheld device. The gyro sensor uses a piezoelectric gyroscope developed by NEC to detect angular movement.

Because the game automatically calibrates the gyro sensor when the game is turned on (and after every "micro-game"), it works with both top-loading slots (like the Game Boy Advance) and bottom-loading slots (like all other models after the original GBA: Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Micro and Nintendo DS Lite). The manual states that Twisted! is not compatible with the Game Boy Player; although the game loads as normal, players would have to carry and tilt the connected GameCube console and use its controller for button presses, thus it is simply not practical.

Plot
One day, while Wario is playing with one of his Game Boy Advance consoles, he becomes frustrated with a particularly hard game on it and throws the system at a wall, causing it to bounce back and hit him on the head. After his temporary rage, he notices his GBA is broken. He goes to Dr. Crygor's Lab and requests his help in mending it. Crygor, however, mistakes it for a test subject for his new invention, the Gravitator—a device that is shaped like a washing machine, which has the power to manipulate gravity, change gravity's direction, and cause gravity distortion. Crygor places the GBA in the Gravitator, causing it to spits out dozens of units similar in form factor to Game Boy Advance units and versions. He demonstrates that in order to play the GBA games with them, the device must be physically moved or/and by pressing the buttons. Mona and 9-Volt arrive and play with these new units, enjoying themselves. Wario, taking note of their reaction, decides to take advantage of these motion-sensing abilities as a selling point, and gets his friends to design GBA games based on this concept, and they make the game WarioWare: Twisted!.

The rest of the game features stories of all the characters in the game, each one going to Club Sugar once their stage is complete. Wario chases a mouse that almost breaks his WarioWatch (Smorgasbord Sampler). Mona tries to deliver pizza from her business, Mona Pizza, while avoiding a rival restaurant, Pizza Dinosaur (Mini Spin). Jimmy T. and his parents play on their phones at Club Sugar (Big Tipper). Kat and Ana encounter a troll after getting lost on a field trip (Tapped Out). Dribble and Spitz fix their taxi and use a feature that allows it to travel through space (Steer Clear). Crygor attempts to upgrade the Gravitator (Gravitator). Orbulon tries to figure out the password to initiate the warp drive of his ship, the Oinker, in order to escape a black hole (Time Warp). 9-Volt becomes friends with a new student named 18-Volt at his school, and 18-Volt is initiated into the crew (Spintendo Classics).

In the final level, Spandex Challenge, WarioWare: Twisted! becomes a big success in the end, and the Gravitator is used with to keep up production of the GBA units by using various objects everywhere to turn them into more units. One day, after an accident in the Gravitator involving Wario sitting on the conveyor belt to play his game, Wario is trapped and merged with the Gravitator, its powers, his unit, and the production line, causing the Gravitator to malfunction and corrupt itself and Wario, turning the machine evil and giving it more powers, and transforming Wario into a powerful and unbeatable supervillain version of Wario named Wario-Man, who then plots to save the world of its money. He steals the corrupted Gravitator from Crygor, merges himself with it, and takes control over the Gravitator, causing it to grow a jetpack and gain even more powers. He takes it to outer space, where he turns himself and the Gravitator into an also unstoppable giant robot suit. Wario's friends use Dribble and Spitz's Taxi and Orbulon's new ship, the Oinker 2, to catch up to Wario-Man, but the ship's defense system is activated upon sight of Wario-Man's suit, deeming him foreign, and it makes the ship's cannons easily blast the robot, destroying the Gravitator and its effects, and reverting Wario back to himself, not knowing he was inside. After crashing with the remains into the ocean and is saved by Crygor, Wario jokingly decides to fire everyone for destroying the Gravitator and his robot.

Development
Nintendo programmer Kazuyoshi Osawa took the lead of developing the game engine with several members of the original WarioWare staff. Intelligent Systems provided half of the workforce including several programmers.

European release
Despite initially being announced for a European release, WarioWare: Twisted! has never been released in Europe.

After its Australian and North American releases, WarioWare: Twisted! was originally scheduled to be released in Europe on June 24, 2005. It was later delayed to September 2005, then to February 24, 2006, then to December 8, 2006. Nintendo of Europe later changed its release date to "TBD" on the company's website. In the January 2008 issue of the Official Nintendo Magazine, in the "Ask Nintendo" section, a representative for Nintendo of Europe stated that the delay was because Twisted! was still undergoing the compulsory LGA testing and approval for Europe. Near the end of 2008, however, with still no release in the region, Nintendo removed the page for the game from its European website, following the discontinuation of the Game Boy Advance.

Contrary to a popular rumor that the lack of a European release is due to the Game Boy Advance's gyroscope using mercury, it uses a piezoelectric gyroscope that does not contain mercury. European copies of the 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl list the title in the GBA section of the included database of Nintendo games as "Not released".

Reception
WarioWare: Twisted! has an aggregate 88/100 rating on Metacritic. Craig Harris from IGN channel named Twisted! the No. 1 GBA game of all time, and gave it a rating of 9.5/10. Jake Parr from Nintendo Life gave the game a rating of nine out of ten stars.

title: WarioWare: Twisted!


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Năm Cam

Trương Văn Cam, known by the sobriquet Năm Cam (April 22, 1947 – June 3, 2004) was a notorious Vietnamese mobster who is often called the "Godfather" of Vietnam. Known for building and running a criminal enterprise revolving around gambling dens, hotels, racketeering, extortion, loan sharking and restaurants that fronted for brothels, during his heyday, Năm Cam was considered one of the most powerful mob bosses in Vietnam, and was said to have attained influence that even extended into the ranks of Vietnam's Communist Party which he used to his advantage by bribing law enforcement and government officials to protect his lucrative enterprise and cover up his murders of other criminal rivals in Saigon that challenged his reign. In fact, his connection and ties with the Vietnam's Communist Party was so tight that during his trial, 153 other people that were tried with him were high ranking officers of the Communist Party.

For 15 years, Năm Cam reigned as the Godfather of Saigon. His downfall however came during a gang feud with another notorious female gangster from the northern city of Haiphong, Dung Hà who was considered one of the two great powers of the Vietnamese underworld alongside Năm Cam. Coming to the South, Dung Hà attempted to build her own gang in Saigon, and often came into conflict with Văn Cam. After a series of confrontations and standoffs between Dung Hà's group and Năm Cam's mob, Cam ordered the murder of Dung Hà. Authorities later arrested him alongside several members of his mob and cooperating Communist Party officers, leading to a massive public trial totaling 155 defendants, making it the largest criminal trial in the country at the time. Năm Cam and four of his members were sentenced to death, and Năm Cam was executed on June 3, 2004.

Early life and initiation into crime
Trương Văn Cam was born in 1947 to a poor family in Saigon as the son of Trương Văn Bưởi, who had immigrated from Quảng Nam to Saigon. Năm Cam's first brush with the law came when he was just 15 years old for stabbing a man to death in a fight; he subsequently served two years in prison before joining the South Vietnamese army in 1966. As a youth, he was infamous around the local area for his brutal machete fights and for his slick ways of avoiding the police. Becoming a gangster from early on, Văn Cam was first initiated into the criminal underworld by Huỳnh Tỳ, a major player in the triads of Saigon at the time. During his early years as a youth in Saigon, Năm Cam was a follower of the most infamous mob leader in Saigon during the 60s, Đại Cathay, who was considered to be the top or the number 1 of the "Four Great Kings" of Saigon at the time. It was during his time as a member of Cathay's mob that Năm Cam would later learn from Cathay how to run and organize a casino in order to make great profits from it, a method that he would later utilize during his reign of Saigon during the 90s. Later, Đại Cathay and Bảy Sy, who was Năm Cam's brother-in-law were arrested as a result of South Vietnam's government campaign against crime in August 1966. Later, Bảy Sy was released and soon opened a casino, where Năm Cam and Nguyễn Văn Nhã helped out to run the casino. During this time, Năm Cam, under the guidance of Bảy Sy planned to kill Tài chém, a notorious gangster in the first district of Saigon, but the plan failed and resulted in Năm Cam being chased by Tài chém's gang brothers. After that, Hiếu Trọc saved young Năm Cam's life and put him into the position of military logistics staff of the 313th Company of the Armed Forces in the South Vietnamese army. After that, Năm Cam became a swimmer of the Military Office of the Armed Forces for the army.

Life as a criminal
Prior to 1975, Năm Cam was not well known within the criminal world of South Vietnam, mainly playing the role of follower such as when he was a follower of infamous mob leader Đại Cathay or worked in the casinos owned by Bảy Sy. However, following the end of the war after 1975, Năm Cam would turn into a dangerous criminal.

After the South Vietnamese government collapsed and was taken over by the North, Năm Cam was presented to the 4th District Administration Board and was sent to reeducation camp. After his release, Văn Cam lived through trading old watches and radios at the Huỳnh Thúc Kháng market in the first district. However, before long, Năm Cam once again became engaged in illegal activities, especially gambling. On June 3, 1978, Năm Cam was arrested by the Ho Chi Minh City District 1 Police Department for gambling and was released two months later. Continuing until December 30, 1980, he was detained by the Organized Crime Police Unit of HCMC for two more years in Đồng Phú prison once again for gambling. On May 20, 1995, Năm Cam was once again placed in a reeducation camp for three years at Thanh Hà for running an illegal gambling business. Later, he was freed before the deadline of his release on October 4, 1997. It was this time period, that the department tried to stack up more charges on him from his younger days, including one where he minced a rival's fingers on a meat cutting board. The plan failed due to the victim and his brother was reported missing after a fishing trip.

With his experience of being a ringleader, Năm Cam was regarded as being high skilled and sophisticated in his orders and guidance towards his followers, making sure to leave as little as evidence as possible by creating alibis for his crimes and directing his brothers only through the use of secret signals.

Due to his gambling business, Năm Cam was able to amass substantial wealth for himself. In 1994, he was arrested and convicted for his criminal dealings, but was released early in May 1995 after an intervention by Trần Mai Hạnh, director of Radio the Voice of Vietnam. Charges laid against him included murder, assault, gambling, organising gambling, organising bribery, abetting criminals, and organizing illegal emigration.

Attack on Lê Ngọc Lâm
For some time, there was great friction and altercation between Lê Ngọc Lâm and Năm Cam in the underworld. In order to resolve this problem, prior to his later conflict with Dung Hà, Năm Cam ordered the female gang boss to carry out the attack on Ngọc Lâm. Ngọc Lâm managed to survive the attack, but the high concentration of acid that was thrown on him left him with serious health and lasting aesthetic damage. Later, authorities concluded that Năm Cam was the mastermind behind the attack, and Dung Hà was the organizer while Nguyễn Văn Thọ was the one who bought the acid.

Assassination of Dung Hà
The conviction that led, perhaps indirectly, to his execution was due to his role in the assassination of underworld rival Dung Hà. Dung Hà, a reputed female gangster from Haiphong in northern Vietnam, moved south to Ho Chi Minh City, to join forces with Năm Cam, who hoped to get her to serve as his emissary in expanding his casinos in the north. However, Dung Hà had other plans to create her own gang, which angered Năm Cam. Dung Ha wanted to embarrass Năm Cam and arranged for a gift box containing rats to be delivered to one of Năm Cam's restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. Humiliated and enraged, Năm Cam ordered a hit on Dung Hà, which was carried out on October 2, 2000. Two men, traveling on motorbike, came up and parked near where she was sitting. One of them got off the bike, walked up to her, pulled out a 9mm revolver and shot her in the head at point-blank range. At the time, Dung Ha had sent her body guard to remove someone causing a minor disruption next door. When the shot was heard, the body guard rushed back and fired from his single shot pistol. The assassins escaped nonetheless unscathed. It was unknown what happened to the body guard after, but according to close associates of Dung Ha, he fled the country after a threat from a reputable member of Dung Ha's mob for failing his job.

On June 4, 2003, Năm Cam was convicted for ordering the assassination of Dung Hà and bribing state officials to protect his criminal network and was sentenced to death by the court. However, it was not until the police were able to collect all of the evidence, documents and secure the testimonies from Nguyễn Tuấn Hải, Nguyễn Việt Hưng, Nguyễn Xuân Trường that Trương Văn Cam finally admitted to all of his offenses in public.

Năm Cam’s trial
Năm Cam's trial in the Ho Chi Minh City’s People's Court was one of the largest in Vietnam's history. Margie Mason of the Associated Press wrote of the trial that "Vietnam's most notorious underworld boss has appeared in court with 154 others in what could be one of the Communist country's most important trials. Nam Cam has been charged with seven counts. He faces death by firing squad if convicted. His co-defendants include two expelled members of the Communist Party's powerful Central Committee, 13 senior police officers, three former prosecutors and three state journalists."

During the trial, there were 3 judges, 80 lawyers and 30 witnesses. Others who were also on trial included Năm Cam's first wife Phan Thị Trúc, who was charged with and found guilty of bribery, loan sharking and sheltering criminals. Cam's son-in-law and daughter were also charged with and found guilty of bribery. The number of defendants who stood trial totaled 154, all of whom were charged with a list of assorted crimes such as murder and unveiling national secrets. The opening of the trial was broadcast live on national television, with the mafia leader Năm Cam being filmed with handcuffs on and was shown dressed in a black-striped prison uniform during the court proceedings. At the same time, live TV screens were placed in front of the court, screening information regarding the charges of the defendants for journalists to see. In total, nearly an hour had passed before the court could finish reading all of the charges against the 154 defendants in the trial.

The case attracted unprecedented national attention from the Vietnamese public, such as when a crowd of over 500 people waited outside of the courtroom all for a chance to get a glimpse of the infamous mafia boss. The trial also had ripple effects outside of Vietnam, as it received attention from the international community. Some foreign observers, like Carl Thayer believed that the trial and conviction of Năm Cam and his men was a step in a positive direction, showing that the Vietnamese government was willing to put forth an effort to curb political corruption within the country.

Fallout from his conviction
Subsequently, former Ho Chi Minh City police chief (1996–2001), Bùi Quốc Huy, was found guilty of negligence for enabling mafia boss Năm Cam to carry out his illegal operations. Trần Mai Hạnh, the former head of state radio, and Phạm Sỹ Chiến, a former deputy national chief prosecutor, were both found guilty of receiving various bribes from Năm Cam, which included an Omega watch and a stereo.

The communist government touted the case as proof that they were determined to stamp out organised crime and corruption, a major source of discontent among Vietnamese. On May 7, 2004, President Trần Đức Lương of Vietnam, rejected Năm Cam's appeal of execution. On June 3, 2004, Trương Văn Cam was executed by firing squad at the district 9 rifle range in Ho Chi Minh city, along with his four gang members Phạm Văn Minh, Nguyễn Hữu Thịnh, Châu Phát Lai Em and Nguyễn Việt Hưng, the last being the one who shot Dung Hà.

title: Năm Cam


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File:Edie Brickell - Volcano.jpg

Cover for album Volcano by Edie Brickell.

Fair use rationale for

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 * The image is irreplaceable; a free analogue is impossible to produce as the original will be covered by copyright for the foreseeable future
 * Owing to the limited web-resolution of the image, only a small portion of a copyrighted work is used
 * For the same reasons, the portion of the copyrighted work used is of inherently lower quality than the original, reducing the risk of competitiveness and therefore the effects of this copy on the market for or value of versions held by the owner of the copyright

title: File:Edie Brickell - Volcano.jpg


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Lust in the Dust

Lust in the Dust is a 1985 American Western comedy film directed by Paul Bartel, written by Philip John Taylor, and starring Tab Hunter, Divine, Lainie Kazan and Cesar Romero.

Plot
Dance-hall girl Rosie Velez, lost in the desert, is helped to safety by gunman Abel Wood. In the town of Chili Verde, at the saloon of Marguerita Ventura, word of a treasure in gold brings Abel into conflict with outlaw Hard Case Williams and his gang.

Cast

 * Tab Hunter as Abel Wood
 * Divine as Rosie Velez
 * Lainie Kazan as Marguerita Ventura
 * Cesar Romero as Father Garcia
 * Geoffrey Lewis as Hard Case Williams
 * Henry Silva as Bernardo
 * Courtney Gains as Richard "Red Dick" Barker
 * Gina Gallego as Ninfa
 * Nedra Volz as Ed "Big Ed"
 * Woody Strode as Blackman, Hard Case Gang
 * Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Mexican, Hard Case Gang

Production
The title was taken from the nickname given to King Vidor's 1946 film Duel in the Sun.

John Waters was asked to direct, but refused because he did not write the script.

Edith Massey was cast as Big Ed, but died shortly after her screen test. Bartel was uneasy about casting her because he thought it would look too much like a John Waters film without John Waters.

The role of Marguerita was originally set for Chita Rivera. Principal photography took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In the original script, Rosie was supposed to die but the filmmakers changed their mind during filming.

Critical reception
Variety described the film as "a saucy, irreverent, quite funny send-up of the Western" and said that it "takes some of the old-time conventions – the silent stranger, the saloon singer with a past, the motley crew of crazed gunslingers, the missing stash of gold – and stands them on their head with outrageous comedy and imaginative casting." Kenneth Turan of California Magazine called it "raunchy but irresistible," while Stephen Schaefer of US Magazine said "Lust in the Dust is a wicked must" and described it as "a happy hoot", concluding that it "knows how to mine the gold quickly and leave 'em laughing." George Williams of The Sacramento Bee described the film as "an irresistibly funny spoof on those Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone movies called Spaghetti Westerns" and stated that the actors "all give us the feeling they're having a lot of fun — and we can't help but join in." Most of the mirth comes from the situations and the characterizations." Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "a gun totin' rootin-tootin' New Mexico-style cowboy yarn loaded with surprisingly good performances" and praised Kazan's acting in particular. Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times Times said that the film's satire was "limp", and that it resorted to "dumb, sniggering sexual innuendo," while Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film's jokes as "witless and private". Critic Rex Reed opined that the film "produces the kind of green reaction you get from eating a rancid burrito." Addressing Canby and Reed's reviews, Peter Travers of People Magazine said "Well, what did they expect from a whacked-out Western parody starring has-been '50s hunk Tab Hunter and 300-pound female impersonator Divine—High Noon?" and that the film delivers "tacky, hit-and-miss hilarity" with moments that offer "more laughs than a barrel full of teenage sex comedies." He praised the performances and concluded that "those in search of a smattering of cheap laughs will find Lust in the Dust the perfect oasis."

title: Lust in the Dust


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Celebrity (album)

Celebrity is the fourth and final studio album by American boy band NSYNC. It was released by Jive Records on July 24, 2001. Due to constant criticism that they were not a "credible group", NSYNC began experimenting with genres such as hip hop and two-step. As with their previous studio album, No Strings Attached (2000), numerous producers, including BT, Rodney Jerkins, Brian McKnight, PAJAM, and the Neptunes, worked on the album. Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez also contributed to production, while they co-wrote 10 of 13 tracks in an attempt to develop a unique sound, which includes pop, R&B, and teen pop.

After being delayed by unfinished recording sessions, Celebrity was released to generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the production and songwriting. The album was the band's second album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 1,879,495 copies in the US, which became the second-best debut week sales in the country. It was also the third-best selling album on the Billboard 200 in 2001, after Shaggy's Hot Shot (2000) and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (2000), and has since been certified quintuple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). NSYNC embarked on the accompanying PopOdyssey and Celebrity tours for promotion.

Background and development
At the 2000 Billboard Music Awards on December 5, NSYNC announced they would begin "experimenting with new music" for their third studio album at a recording studio in Florida during January and February 2001. Justin Timberlake said the band planned to spend two months in the studio to come up with ideas, while Joey Fatone stated that they may leave Florida as the album progresses. NSYNC also said they wanted to collaborate with Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and Richard Marx, with whom they had worked on their third studio album No Strings Attached (2000).

Although No Strings Attached sold 14 million copies worldwide, including a record 2.4 million in the United States during its first week, critics ridiculed the band, who did not match the critics' perceptions as a "credible group" and were not considered "artistic". In response to this, NSYNC decided to be more involved in production, co-writing 10 of the 13 tracks on Celebrity. JC Chasez discussed the recording process in an interview with Billboard: "Our objective was not to be self-conscious and try to make another hit record. Instead, we set out to make a record that was more reflective of what turns us on musically. We also wanted to prove that pop music comes in a lot of different flavors. It's not all bubble-gum." The band decided to assign roles for each member to combat media perception of "leadership roles within the group". Timberlake and Chasez worked on the album's production and music, while Lance Bass was assigned to handle business and management, and Fatone started to plan the supporting tour alongside Chris Kirkpatrick. Celebrity finished production in June 2001.

Recording and production
NSYNC sought out several collaborators to add new styles to their sound for Celebrity. BT was recruited when Chasez, a fan of BT's music, befriended the producer at shows. Though initially hesitant to work with the band as their styles were opposite from each other, BT finally agreed when Timberlake told him he could do whatever he wanted with the group's vocals. Timberlake told BT he wanted the track to sound like "The Hip Hop Phenomenon" on the UK version of BT's 1999 album Movement in Still Life, to which BT responded, "If you wanna do something that punk-rock, I'll do it." During the production of "Pop", BT tried 40 different treatments for vocals, with him using equipment that is commonly used for movie sound effects, and he constantly shouted Michael Jackson's name at Timberlake to inspire him. BT changed the song from "new-school R&B, Timbaland-style beats, to progressive house".

NSYNC choreographer Wade Robson also took on a bigger role for the band as he co-wrote and produced multiple tracks for Celebrity, including "Pop", "Gone", and the title track. "Gone" was initially written as a duet between Timberlake and Jackson, but was declined by Jackson. Timberlake took the song to NSYNC's A&R team and the band later recorded it. Jackson changed his mind after the song's release and wanted it to be performed only as a duet between himself and Timberlake, but they could not find a way to rewrite the song. American production duo the Neptunes produced Celebrity's third single "Girlfriend". Timberlake was determined to get American musician Stevie Wonder to play the harmonica for "Something Like You" after Timberlake composed the song with his songwriting partner Robin Wiley. Wonder recorded the harmonica part after Jive Records contacted him, with Timberlake describing his presence as a "surreal moment". Brad Daymond and Alex Greggs, known as Riprock 'n' Alex G, returned from No Strings Attached to write and produce three tracks: "The Two of Us", "Up Against the Wall", and "The Game is Over". Bass stated that "The Two of Us" was inspired by the music of Craig David.

Composition and lyrical content
Celebrity includes elements of several musical genres, including pop, R&B, and teen pop. In contrast to No Strings Attached, the decision to experiment with different sounds on songs such as "Pop" was made so NSYNC could appear more mature and musically diverse. The album fuses sounds from NSYNC's earlier songs such as "Bye Bye Bye" (2000) with experimental genres, including hip hop and British two-step. Several of the producers who worked on Celebrity influenced the unique sound of each track, which was attributed to the band's self-awareness and desire to accentuate different aspects of their music.

The album's first track, "Pop", refers to NSYNC's defense of the pop genre towards their critics. Larry Flick of Billboard described the song as "a crafty, anthemic blend of Cameo-style electro-funk beats, Euro-pop synths, heavy-metal guitars, and Timberlake's now-signature human beat-box riffs", while John Hugar of Uproxx referred to it as "a sort of proto-salvo against in the rockist vs. poptimists argument", and called the song a preview of Timberlake's 2003 single "Rock Your Body". The next track, "Celebrity", was produced by Rodney Jerkins, who used "low-key, funksome, two-step slither" along with camera clicks. The lyrics outline the negative consequences of being "a multi-millionaire, globe-trotting pop star", while Jon O'Brien of Billboard noted that the song is influenced by the Blackstreet and Janet Jackson song "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" (1999). "The Game is Over", according to Barry Walters of Rolling Stone, includes the "Pac-Man theme and dance-y squeaks", and "echoes the sounds and sentiments of the last album's edgiest cuts". The fourth track, "Girlfriend", is an R&B song that was produced by the Neptunes. A remix of the track that features rapper Nelly was noted for giving the song a hip hop influence. Nelly raps over a minimal guitar figure for two verses; the first which lasted for 61 seconds before the song's first verse. "The Two of Us" is an "R&B waltz" containing a "British dancefloor beat", which was compared to that of "Digital Get Down" from No Strings Attached. Staff writers at Billboard considered the ballad "Gone" to be "harrowing, relentless and unmistakably final". Hugar noted "Gone" as the precursor to Timberlake's second single "Cry Me a River" (2002).

"Tell Me, Tell Me... Baby" was written by Max Martin and includes elements of Europop. According to O'Brien, the song contains "larger than life beats, swelling strings" and a bombastic chorus, which serves as a "blatant throwback". "Up Against the Wall" is an R&B song that features two-step garage elements; it was compared to Billy Joel's song "Get It Right the First Time" from his 1977 album The Stranger, while the middle eight was compared to songs by the UK garage group So Solid Crew. "See Right Through You", the ninth track on Celebrity, has an R&B sound; according to David Browne of Entertainment Weekly, the song is "another tale of betrayal by scheming girls". The Brian McKnight-produced track "Selfish" combines the vocals of Chasez and Timberlake with an adult contemporary track. "Just Don't Tell Me That", a teen pop track, is similar to songs by Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. The song's lyrics describe a "fame-seeking girlfriend" spending too much time at the Playboy Mansion. According to Browne, "Something Like You" is a "squishy ballad with drooling-puppy harmonies and lyrics". The chorus was compared to the Boyz II Men song "4 Seasons of Loneliness". The US version of the album's final song "Do Your Thing" contains "stuttering electronic beats" and a bar by the songwriter J. Moss. Browne described the song as "mild electronica"; "Do Your Thing" is included on Celebrity because Jive Records wanted a song that showcased NSYNC's vocal talents and harmony.

Artwork and title
The artwork of Celebrity depicts the band walking on a red carpet while surrounded by flashing cameras and a crowd. Jackie Murphy created the artwork, which was photographed by Mark Seliger. Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the garish cover art to be a hybrid of the cover of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and music videos by alternative rock band Sammy, and said the title Celebrity "none too subtly [draws] attention to the fact that they're stars". Ariana Bacle of Entertainment Weekly stated the appearance of each member on the artwork is "tame" in comparison to that of NSYNC's 1997 eponymous debut studio album, specifically criticizing Chasez and Joey Fatone's highlights for seeking unneeded attention.

Release and promotion
The album was officially announced on April 2, 2001 as Celebrity, with Jive Records having intentions to release an "uptempo" first single later that month. On May 11, 2001, MTV played a recording of "Pop" via satellite during NSYNC's tour rehearsal for PopOdyssey, leading to the song's release to radio stations as the album's lead single three days later. Celebrity was initially set to be released on June 26, 2001, with the opening date of PopOdyssey on May 12, 2001. The tour was postponed to May 18, 2001, because the staging was still in development, and the album's release date was postponed to July 24, 2001. NSYNC decided to perform the tracks from Celebrity on tour before its release. The tour was sponsored by Verizon, which launched several television and radio advertising campaigns across the US in promotion of the album and its release date. In an interview with Billboard, Chasez stated the concept of playing new songs at a concert was unusual but he felt it was a good sign that the crowd was actively participating. Jive Records president Barry Weiss was surprised by the band's touring approach, acknowledging the audience response would indicate "an album of immeasurable creative and commercial depth".

MTV broadcast a television special entitled The Road to Celebrity on July 21 and 22, 2001. The premiere of Celebrity, which included celebrities such as Britney Spears, Hugh Hefner, the Olsen Twins, and Aisha Tyler, was held at West Hollywood on July 23, 2001. NSYNC also played several songs at a tailgate party in the parking lot and appeared on MTV's Total Request Live on July 24, 2001, coinciding with the date of the album's ultimate release. To promote Celebrity, NSYNC appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Today, between June and August 2001. On the August 2001 magazine issue of Rolling Stone, each NSYNC member was featured on an individual cover, in addition to a cover with the all the members. The recording process and promotional cycle for Celebrity was more condensed than their previous albums, as the group scrambled to finish the album while planning for PopOdyssey. Chasez stated that the recording, promoting and touring process was "everything at once".

Tours
NSYNC embarked on two concert tours to promote the album. The first was PopOdyssey, which began on May 23, 2001, in Jacksonville, Florida, and concluded on September 1, 2001, in Mexico City. The tour's set was a five-story-high main stage with several smaller stages surrounding it, with the setup being transported by 88 trucks in comparison to the 19 trucks used for their No Strings Attached Tour (2000). Earning over $90 million, PopOdyssey was the second biggest tour of 2001. The band's second tour for Celebrity was the Celebrity Tour, which began on March 3, 2002, in Portland, Oregon, and concluded on April 28, 2002, in Orlando, Florida. In contrast to PopOdyssey, the tour favored music over spectacle and incorporated their older songs with new arrangements. It earned $33 million.

Critical reception
Celebrity was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Erlewine said Celebrity is NSYNC's "most varied album yet" and called it a highlight from the teen-pop era of 1999–2001, and praised the musicianship of Timberlake, Chasez, and the songwriters. J.D. Considine of Blender said the album "shines brightest when the group matures enough to forget about its image and focus on the tunes". Alex Needham of NME wrote that although NSYNC display feelings of discontent on Celebrity, they "have the tunes to make up for it". In one of his "Consumer Guide" reviews, Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention, writing, "they survive writing their own songs", highlighting "Selfish" and "Do Your Thing". Neil Strauss of The New York Times singled out "The Game Is Over," with its "skittering, robotic video-game beat" as an impressive track.

Browne stated that Celebrity is "the consummate teen-pop experience", listing R&B, ballads, self-expression and Europop as examples of genres included. He also said it is "pleasant filler and nothing more". Walters said the anxiety in the singers' vocals allowed them to "pave a new high road for teen pop’s future", and that he found the band's calling out of "anonymous gold diggers" on several tracks tiresome. Writing for Slant, Sal Cinquemani criticized the album for being "slightly overcooked and a tad overzealous", saying it is unfortunate NSYNC "couldn’t completely discard the classic hit-making formula in favor of the more experimental pop that seems so inherent in this and their last album". He said NSYNC could become "The Beatles of their generation" if they abandoned the pop genre and survived the growing pains and the aging of their fans. The staff of Q said Celebrity is "quality froth" despite not being good, and the E! Online staff stated that 13-year-old girls would love the album while others will only reluctantly appreciate it.

Dotmusic's Cyd Jaymes was critical of Celebrity, praising the first track "Pop" for being one of the best singles of 2001, but describing the remainder of the album as "formulaic, less-than-meaty balladeering and the odd glimmer of upbeat hope", and largely underwhelming. Jason Thompson of PopMatters described it as "threadbare cookie crunch" and accused the band of setting double-standards for their fans, saying NSYNC "enjoy flaunting their own image while at the same time playing a candy-ass game of 'don't like us only for our status'".

Commercial performance
In the US, Celebrity debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Although it did not sell as many copies as No Strings Attached, Celebrity, selling 1,879,955 copies, it had the second-best debut week sales at the time since Nielsen SoundScan had begun monitoring record retailers in 1991. Billboard said the album's failure to match the first-week sales of its predecessor was due to the 2001 US economy's weaker state in comparison with the previous year, as well as the first decline in album sales in more than a decade. On August 22, 2001, Celebrity was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 5,000,000 units in the US. It became the third best-selling album of 2001, selling 4.42 million copies. Sales of the album were marginally lower than those of Shaggy's Hot Shot by 86,000 copies, which only beat it in the cassette format; Hot Shot sold 304,000 tapes while Celebrity only sold 92,000 tapes. Celebrity was ranked at number nine on the Billboard 200 year-end chart for 2001. As of March 2015, the album had sold 5,002,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen Music. It has sold an additional 826,000 units at the BMG Music Club, as of February 2003.

Celebrity debuted at number one in Canada on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 71,254 copies, which was the biggest first-week album sales of 2001. It was certified double platinum by Music Canada (MC) for selling over 200,000 units in the country on November 7, 2001. In the United Kingdom, the album sold 13,000 units in its debut week, entering at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. Celebrity was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling over 100,000 copies in the UK on May 17, 2002. Several European companies reported slow album sales, including Fnac in France and Spain, WOM in Germany, and Ricordi in Italy. The album sold 20,000 units in the first week in Japan, where it peaked at number 11 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Celebrity peaked at number 10 on Australia's ARIA Albums chart, and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling over 35,000 units in the country. In 2001 Celebrity was the ninth best-selling album globally, selling 6.5 million copies.

Legacy
At the end of the Celebrity Tour in May 2002, NSYNC went on hiatus to take time off from touring and recording and to accommodate for Timberlake's desire to record a solo album. Although the hiatus was planned to be temporary, with the band intending to record a fifth album once Timberlake released his album,  they did not return to record together in the studio for 21 years, until the release of the song "Better Place" in 2023.

Celebrity is retrospectively seen as "a logical swan song" for NSYNC because it came after the record-breaking commercial success of No Strings Attached and before the band's eventual dissolution. Music critics observed that the album was the basis for Timberlake's solo career, as the album's singles consisted of only songs Timberlake co-wrote, in addition to album promotion that centered around Timberlake. Hugar compared Celebrity to Zayn Malik's and Harry Styles' desires for solo stardom after One Direction's hiatus, concluding that it is "a reminder that boy bands are rarely built to last". NPR's Maria Sherman stated the album shifted the band further towards the R&B genre and "firmly established Timberlake as the bandleader and pushed Chasez's powerful pop vocals to the periphery". Andrew Unterberger of Billboard acknowledged that Celebrity contained sounds which "pushes pop music into the future".

Track listing
Track listing and credits adapted from the album's liner notes. All lead vocals provided by Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez.

Personnel
All credits taken from AllMusic.

NSYNC
 * Lance Bass – background vocals
 * JC Chasez – lead vocals, producer
 * Joey Fatone – background vocals
 * Chris Kirkpatrick – background vocals
 * Justin Timberlake – lead vocals, arranger, multi instruments, producer, beatbox

Instrumentation
 * Kenny Blank – guitar
 * Bryan Popin – piano, cello, strings
 * Richard Fortus – bass guitar, electric guitar
 * Hampton String Quartet – strings
 * Michael Landau – electric guitar
 * Michael Lang – piano
 * Michael Hart Thompson – acoustic guitar
 * Anthony Nance – drum programming
 * Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar
 * WaWa – chant
 * Stevie Wonder – harmonica
 * Yasu – string engineer

Production
 * BT – arranger, programming, producer, engineer, mixing
 * Rodney Jerkins – multi instruments, producer
 * Kristian Lundin – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Brian McKnight – keyboards, producer
 * James Moss – producer, engineer, rap, mixing
 * J. Valentine – background vocals, writer, producer
 * Rami – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Wade Robson – arranger, multi instruments, producer
 * Jake Schulze – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Robin Wiley – producer, digital editing, string arrangements

Technical
 * Alan Armitage – engineer
 * Brady Barnett – digital editing
 * Stuart Brawley – engineer, mixing
 * Christopher Carroll – mixing
 * Bradley Daymond – mixing
 * Todd Fairall – engineer
 * Farah Fima – second engineer
 * Tony Flores – mixing
 * Michael Forbes – engineer
 * Brian Garten – engineer
 * Alexander Greggs – mixing
 * Paul Gregory – engineer
 * Kevin Guarnieri – engineer, digital editing, assistant engineer
 * Chris Haggerty – digital editing
 * Chaz Harper – mastering
 * Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing
 * Bill Importico – engineer
 * Joel Kazmi – engineer, assistant vocal engineer
 * Scott Kieklak – mixing
 * Peter Mokran – mixing
 * Dylan Koski-Budabin – engineer
 * Pablo Munguia – engineer, assistant engineer
 * Paulino Oliveira – assistant engineer
 * John O'Mahoney – mixing
 * Charles Pollard – programming, engineer, string arrangements
 * Talley Sherwood – engineer
 * Mary Ann Souza – assistant engineer
 * Rich Tapper – assistant engineer, mixing
 * Jim Tobin – FOH Manager
 * Michael Tucker – engineer, assistant engineer, mixing, vocal recording
 * Carlos Vazquez – beat programming
 * Chris Wood – engineer

Other
 * Steven Gerstein – stylist
 * Jackie Murphy – art direction, design
 * Frankie Payne – hair stylist
 * Mark Seliger – photography

title: Celebrity (album)


text:
Alpha and Omega

Alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi Rho or other Christian symbols. A (a) and Z (z) share the similarity with alpha and omega.

Origin
The first written record of the phrase "alpha and omega" is from some old manuscripts of the Christian New Testament.

The phrase "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (Koiné Greek: ἐγώ εἰμί τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ), is an appellation of Jesus and of the Father in the Book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). The first part of this phrase ("I am the Alpha and the Omega") is first found in chapter 1 verse 8, and is found in every manuscript of Revelation that has 1:8. Several later manuscripts repeat "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11 as well, but do not receive support here from most of the oldest manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in some modern translations. Scholar Robert Young stated, with regard to "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11, the "oldest [manuscripts] omit" it.

A similar reference is found in Isaiah 44, where God is said to be the first and the last. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the phrase "I am" is used several times by Jesus, particularly in the Gospel of John.

Christianity
Alpha (Α) and omega (Ω) are the first and last letters, respectively, of the classical (Ionic) Greek alphabet. Thus, the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" is further clarified with the additional phrase, "the beginning and the end" in Revelation 21:6, 22:13. The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet were used because the book of Revelation is in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek.

The phrase is interpreted by many Christians to mean that Jesus has existed for all eternity or that God is eternal. Many commentators and dictionaries ascribe the title "the alpha and the omega" to both God and to Christ. Barnes' Notes on the New Testament (1974) claims: "It cannot be absolutely certain that the writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here[...] There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such." Most Christian denominations also teach that the title applies to God (Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit).

The letters Alpha and Omega, in juxtaposition, are often used as a Christian visual symbol (see examples). The symbols were used in early Christianity and appear in the Roman catacombs. The letters were shown hanging from the arms of the cross in Early Christian art, and some cruces gemmatae, jeweled crosses in precious metal, have formed letters hanging in this way, called pendilia; for example, in the Asturian coat of arms, which is based upon the Asturian Victory Cross. In fact, despite always being in Greek, the letters became more common in Western than Eastern Orthodox Christian art. They are often shown to the left and right of Christ's head, sometimes within his halo, where they take the place of the Christogram used in Orthodox art.

Judaism
In Hebrew, the word (אמת, meaning 'truth'), is referred to as the "Seal of God." [Cf. Isaiah 44:6] The word is composed of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Islam
The Qur'an gives, meaning 'The First' and  , meaning 'The Last', as two of the names of God.

APL programming language
Some dialects of the APL programming language support the direct function syntax where the left (optional) and right arguments are denoted by the letters alpha and omega. For example, the following function computes the sum of the left argument and twice the right argument:

title: Alpha and Omega


text:
Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Cities/U.S. municipality notes

Todo

 * Import information from the "information matrix" at WikiProject Cities.
 * Coordinate the articles we are linking to with the text on this page.
 * Finish surveying the states so each definition covers the usage in all 50 states.

--

Is this to be an article (as it's currently at U.S. municipality notes orphaned in the article namespace) or a WikiProject Cities page? I'd suggest removing the self-references or place it at WikiProject Cities/U.S. municipality notes. -- User:Docu

Policy on usage of the term "Census-Designated Place"
Hello! I feel like I have been looking for this page for years! I have beef with the incorrect usage of the term Census-Designated Place across Wikipedia in articles on U.S. towns and unincorporated areas. I don't know if many editors have ever seen this page or if it is on anyone's watchlist, but it would seem to be the place to develop a policy for usage of terminology for unincorporated areas.

My own opinion on the subject is that the term "CDP" should never be used, except when referring specifically to the Census or discussing Census data. Any other usage is ambiguous and awkward! No one ever says, hey, I'm going over to the ol' census-designated place down the road to do such-and such! Nope. Town, village, township, colonia, parish, borough, etc., all these, sure. CDP? Never. So can we figure something out? I'm really tired of reading articles that start with "Place X is a census-designated place in the County of Y in the State of Z. Thoughts? Darkest Tree   Talk  18:24, 26 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Distinguishing CDPs from other unincorporated places makes a certain amount sense in the context of Wikipedia because CDPs are better defined and documented than other unincorporated places. For most of them, the Census Bureau is the only reliable source for area and population.  Most of these articles were originally generated from Census data, so "census designated place" is a fairly accurate definition of the article's subject matter.  There is no uncertainty about what "census designated place" means, so it is not ambiguous.  In fact, CDPs have the advantage of well-defined boundaries, which (at least in California) other unincorporated places do not have.  It's true that the term is not in common use, but the same objection could be made about the word "unincorporated".  The status quo is not entirely satisfactory, but seems reasonable to me.  Best regards,—Stepheng3 (talk) 18:36, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * This page should probably be deleted as it appears to be some more or less forgotten jottings. Consider joining the discussion here. older ≠ wiser 19:33, 10 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Okay. Looks like Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Cities/US Guideline is the right place. Darkest Tree   Talk  16:12, 12 March 2015 (UTC)


text:
Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for all Federal prisons and provide for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.

History
The federal prison system had existed for more than 30 years before the BOP was established. Although its wardens functioned almost autonomously, the Superintendent of Prisons, a Department of Justice official in Washington, was nominally in charge of federal prisons. The passage of the "Three Prisons Act" in 1891 authorized the first three federal penitentiaries: USP Leavenworth, USP Atlanta, and USP McNeil Island with limited supervision by the Department of Justice.

Until 1907, prison matters were handled by the Justice Department General Agent, with responsibility for Justice Department accounts, oversight of internal operations, certain criminal investigations as well as prison operations. In 1907, the General Agent was abolished, and its functions were distributed between three new offices: the Division of Accounts (which evolved into the Justice Management Division); the Office of the Chief Examiner (which evolved in 1908 into the Bureau of Investigation, and in the early 1920s into the Federal Bureau of Investigation); and the Office of the Superintendent of Prisons and Prisoners, later called the Superintendent of Prisons (which evolved in 1930 into the Bureau of Prisons).

The Bureau of Prisons was established within the Department of Justice on May 14, 1930 by the United States Congress, and was charged with the "management and regulation of all Federal penal and correctional institutions." This responsibility covered the administration of the 11 federal prisons in operation at the time. By the end of 1930, the system had expanded to 14 institutions with 13,000 inmates, and a decade later in 1940, the system had 24 institutions with 24,360 incarcerated.

The state of Alaska assumed jurisdiction over its corrections on January 3, 1959, using the Alaska Department of Corrections; prior to statehood, the BOP had correctional jurisdiction over Alaska.

As a result of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and subsequent legislation, which pushed for longer sentences, less judicial discretion, and harsher sentences for drug-related offenses, the federal inmate population doubled in the 1980s and again in the 1990s. The population increase decelerated in the early 2000s, but the population continued to increase until 2014.

The National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 transferred responsibility for adult felons convicted of violating District of Columbia laws to the BOP.

Administration and employees
The current director of the Bureau of Prisons is Colette S. Peters.

As of 2020, 62.5% of Bureau employees are white, 21.3% are black, 12.6% are Hispanic, 2.3% are Asian, and 1.3% are Native American. 72% are male. There is roughly one corrections officer for every 12.5 prisoners.

All BOP law enforcement employees undergo 200 hours of formal training in their first year of employment and an additional 120 hours of training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia.

Types of federal prisons

The BOP has five security levels:

 * Federal Prison Camps (FPCs), the BOP minimum-security facilities, feature a lack of or a limited amount of perimeter fencing and a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio.
 * Low-security Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs) have double-fenced perimeters, and inmates live mostly in cubicles or dormitory housing.
 * Medium-security FCIs and some United States Penitentiaries (USPs) are classified to hold medium-security inmates. The medium facilities have strengthened perimeters which often consist of double fences with electronic detection systems. Medium-security facilities mostly have cell housing.
 * Most U.S. Penitentiaries are classified as high-security facilities. The perimeters are highly secured and often have reinforced fences or walls.
 * Federal Correctional Complexes (FCCs) are co-locations of BOP facilities with different security levels and/or genders.
 * Administrative Security Facilities are prisons with special missions and capabilities. An example would be Federal Medical Centers, which house sick and injured inmates getting medical care that is beyond the capabilities of a normal institution.

Some units have small, adjacent, minimum-security "satellite camps". Twenty-eight institutions hold female inmates. , about 15% of Bureau inmates are in facilities operated by third parties, mostly private companies, while others are in local and state facilities. Some are in privately operated Residential Reentry Centers (RRC) or Community Corrections Centers. The Bureau uses contract facilities to manage its own prison population because they are "especially useful" for housing low-security, specialized groups of people, such as sentenced criminal aliens.

Correctional officers
In the BOP, correctional officers are uniformed federal law enforcement officers who are responsible for the care, custody, and control of federal inmates. The BOP has a Special Operations Response Team and Disturbance Control Team.

Inmate population
As of 2021, the Bureau was responsible for approximately 131,040 inmates, in 122 facilities. 57.9% of inmates were white, 38.2% were black, 2.5% native American, and 1.5% Asian; 93.3% were male. 30.4% were of Hispanic ethnicity, which may be any of these four races. 75% of inmates were between the ages of 26 and 50.

, 14,000 prisoners were in 16 federal prisons in the state of Texas.

, almost 8,000 felons in 90 facilities, sentenced under D.C. laws, made up about 6% of the total Bureau population.

As of August 2020, 46.2% of inmates were incarcerated for drug offenses.

The BOP receives all prisoner transfer treaty inmates sent from foreign countries, even if their crimes would have been tried in state, DC, or territorial courts if committed in the United States.

Female inmates
As of 2015, 27 Bureau facilities house women. The Bureau has a Mothers and Infants Nurturing Together (MINT) program for women who enter the system as inmates while pregnant. The Bureau pays for abortion only if it is life-threatening for the woman, but it may allow for abortions in non-life-threatening cases if non-BOP funds are used.

In 2017, four Democratic Senators, including Kamala Harris, introduced a bill explicitly requiring tampons and pads to be free for female prisoners. In August 2017, the Bureau introduced a memorandum requiring free tampons and pads. The previous 1996 memorandum stated "products for female hygiene needs shall be available" without requiring them to be free of charge.

A 2018 review by the Evaluation and Inspections Division, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, found the Bureau's programming and policy decisions did not fully consider the needs of female inmates in the areas of trauma treatment programming, pregnancy programming, and feminine hygiene.

Juvenile inmates
, juveniles sent into Bureau custody are between 17 and 20 and must have been under 18 at the time of the offense. According to the Bureau, most of the juveniles it receives had committed violent crimes and had "an unfavorable history of responding to interventions and preventive measures in the community." In 2010, most federal juvenile inmates were from Arizona, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and the District of Columbia.

The Bureau contracts with facilities that house juvenile offenders. Title 18, U.S.C. 5039 specifies that "No juvenile committed...may be placed or retained in an adult jail or correctional institution in which he has regular contact with adults incarcerated because they have been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial on criminal charges." The definition includes secure facilities and community-based correctional facilities. Federally sentenced juveniles may be moved into federal adult facilities at certain points; juveniles sentenced as adults are moved into adult facilities when they turn 18 and juveniles that were sentenced as juveniles are moved into adult facilities when they turn 21.

Death row inmates
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 reinstituted the federal death penalty. On July 19, 1993, the federal government designated the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute in Indiana as the site of execution for both males and females sentenced to execution. The Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Texas holds the female inmates who have been sentenced to death.

Some male death row inmates are instead held at ADX Florence.

As of January 16, 2020, 49 federal inmates are on death row. Under the Trump administration, the BOP carried out 13 executions.

Overpopulation and responses
Parole was abolished for federal inmates in 1987 and inmates must serve at least 85% of their original sentence before being considered for good-behavior release. The current sentencing guidelines were adopted in response to rising crime rates in the 1980s and early 1990s, especially for drug-related offenses. Some analysts and activists believe that strict federal sentencing guidelines have led to overcrowding and needlessly incarcerated thousands of non-violent drug offenders who would be better served by drug treatment programs.

The yearly increases in the federal inmate population have raised concerns from criminal justice experts and even among DOJ officials themselves. Michael Horowitz, the DOJ Inspector General, wrote a memorandum concerning this issue:

First, despite a slight decrease in the total number of federal inmates in fiscal year (FY) 2014, the Department projects that the costs of the federal prison system will continue to increase in the years ahead, consuming a large share of the Department's budget.

Second, federal prisons remain significantly overcrowded and therefore face a number of important safety and security issues.

COVID-19 pandemic
By July 30, 2020, there were 2,910 federal inmates and 500 BOP staff who had confirmed positive test results for COVID-19 during the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. 7312 inmates and 683 staff have recovered. There have been 99 federal inmate deaths and two BOP staff member deaths attributed to COVID-19.

The BOP conducted executions during the pandemic that reportedly did not adhere to physical distancing rules, leading to criticism that the BOP was facilitating "superspreader" events. Staff reportedly refused to wear face masks, a violation of court orders, and knowingly withheld information about confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses from people who had interacted with infected individuals along with hindering contact tracing efforts and allowing staff members who had been exposed to COVID-19 to refuse testing and work. Public health experts called for a delay in executions as they could not be carried out safely without risking the spread of COVID-19.

title: Federal Bureau of Prisons


text:
Volcano (Edie Brickell album)

Volcano is the second solo album (fourth album overall) by American singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, released in 2003. The album sold about 21,000 copies as of November 2003.

Personnel

 * Edie Brickell – vocals, guitars (1-9), acoustic guitar (10), backing vocals (12, 13)
 * Carter Albrecht – acoustic piano (1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11), keyboards (2), vibraphone (4), clarinet (5, 12)
 * Charlie Sexton – guitars (1-7, 9, 11, 12), backing vocals (4, 11, 12), Mellotron (6), cello (6), viola (6), violin (6), keyboards (7), percussion (9), acoustic guitar (10), electric guitar (10), gut-string guitar (10), lap steel guitar (13)
 * Andy Fairweather-Low – electric guitar (10), high-string acoustic guitar (10)
 * Pino Palladino – bass (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 12)
 * Tony Garnier – bass (6, 11), electric upright bass (13)
 * Steve Gadd – drums (1-5, 7, 9, 10, 12), percussion (1, 5, 9)
 * George Recile – drums (6, 11)

Production

 * Charlie Sexton – producer
 * Andy Smith – recording, mixing
 * Dan Bucchi – assistant engineer
 * Suzanne Kapa – assistant engineer
 * Claudius Mittendorfer – assistant engineer
 * Scott Hull – mastering
 * Eloise Bryan – A&R
 * Jolene Cherry – A&R
 * Nina Freeman – A&R
 * Meg Hansen – A&R, production coordinator
 * Chris Testa – drum technician
 * Yuek Wong – guitar technician
 * Cindy Osborne – project coordinator
 * Jill Dell'Abate – production coordinator
 * Sandy Brummels – art direction
 * Chris Kornmann – design
 * Danny Clinch – photography
 * Lulu McGillicutty – drawing
 * Mr. Big Stuff – drawing

Charts
Album – Billboard (North America)

title: Volcano (Edie Brickell album)