Passage 1:Carmen on IceCarmen on Ice is a 1990 dance film with a choreography for figure skaters made in Germany. The music is based on the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet in an orchestral version arrangedespecially for this film. In contrast to figure skating movies of former times, Carmen on Ice is a film without spoken dialogue, which is an innovation in the history of figure skating.PlotThe story of Carmen on Ice is verysimilar to the opera Carmen. Analogous to the four-act opera libretto the screenplay has four parts:A Square in Sevilla in front of a cigarette factory: Micaela, a village maiden, brings a letter to the Corporal of DragoonsDon José, which was written by his mother. The cigarette girls emerge from the factory, among them the attractive Carmen, who starts to flirt with the men standing on the square. The only man who does not showinterest in Carmen is Don José, who is reading his mother's letter. Finally, however, Carmen manages to attract also his attention by dancing for him and giving him a rose. The other young women are jealous, and oneof them attacks Carmen. Carmen slashes her face with a knife. Others involve and start a street fighting, which is stopped by Zuniga, the Lieutenant of Dragoons. Everybody accuses Carmen of having started the fight.Zuniga asks Carmen if she has anything to say and also starts to flirt with her. Carmen, however, is not interested in him. Zuniga instructs José to guard Carmen. José ties up her hands with a rope. To escape, Carmenseduces José in a dance with this rope. The corporal unties her hands, and Carmen can run away. The angry Zuniga instructs his dragoons to guard José.Evening at Lillas Pastia's inn: Carmen is waiting impatiently forDon José, who has been released from prison. To drive away her boredom, she starts to dance. The toreador Escamillo enters the inn and is welcomed by the other guests. He shows a virtuoso solo dance and attractsCarmen's attention. While Escamillo leaves the inn with his friends, Don José comes in and is welcomed by Carmen, who shows a solo, which leads in a pair dance with her new lover. Suddenly the sound of bugles isheard calling the soldiers back to barracks. When José wants to leave, Carmen gets angry.  José affirms his love to her in a solo with the rose she has given to him at their first meeting. Zuniga suddenly interrupts thetwo lovers and flirts with Carmen, which makes José so jealous, that he attacks the lieutenant, and leaves the service and joins Carmen and her friends.A wild and deserted rocky place at night: Carmen has grown tiredof José, her new favorite is the toreador Escamillo. She sits at a campfire and tries to tell fortunes by the shapes made by molten lead dropped into cold water. The shape which she holds in her hand is a skull. Carmenis scared and dances nervously around the campfire. Escamillo comes to the place and makes José jealous by showing him Carmen's fan. The two rivals start fighting. Escamillo emerges victorious and retires withCarmen.A square in front of the arena in Seville: The square is full of people who cheer to procession as the bullfighting team with Escamillo arrives. Carmen welcomes the toreador and dreams of a wedding dance withhim. After the bullfighting team has entered the arena, Carmen is grabbed by Don José and pulled into an outbuilding. José begs her to return his love, but is rejected by Carmen. Don José loses control of himself andstabs Carmen to death.BackgroundCarmen on Ice was filmed in Spain and Germany, citizens of Sevilla and Berlin played bit parts. In 1988 Katarina Witt, who played the title role, had won her second olympic goldmedal at the winter games in Calgary with a free skating to Carmen. Brian Boitano, who played the part of Don José, became Olympic champion in the same year followed by Brian Orser, the Olympic silver medallist of1988 and actor playing Escamillo. So, it was obvious to cast the film with these stars. Carmen on Ice was first presented in public on February 8, 1990. and won the Emmy-Award for Outstanding Performance in aClassical Music or Dance Program in 1990. The award was shared by the film's three stars, Boitano, Orser and Witt. The choreography by Sandra Bezic and Michael Seibert (figure skater) was influenced by elements ofclassical ballet and flamenco as well. During the rehearsals the skaters were also coached by flamenco dancer Cristina Hoyos.BibliographyArt music in figure skating, synchronized swimming and rhythmicgymnastics/Kunstmusik in Eiskunstlauf, Synchronschwimmen und rhythmischer Gymnastik. PhD thesis by Johanna Beisteiner, Vienna 2005, (German). The PhD thesis contains an extensive description and analysis ofCarmen on Ice (Chapter II/2, pages 105-162). Article about the PhD thesis of Johanna Beisteiner in the catalogue of the Austrian Library Network. 2005. (German and English)Passage 2:Mehdi AbrishamchiMehdiAbrishamchi (Persian:   born in 1947 in Tehran) is a high-ranking member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK).Early lifeAbrishamchi came from a well-known anti-Shah bazaari family inTehran, and participated in June 5, 1963, demonstrations in Iran. He became a member of Hojjatieh, and left it to join the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1969. In 1972 he was imprisoned for being a MEK member,and spent time in jail until 1979.CareerShortly after Iranian Revolution, he became one of the senior members of the MEK. He is now an official in the National Council of Resistance of Iran.Electoral historyPersonallifeAbrishamchi was married to Maryam Rajavi from 1980 to 1985. Shortly after, he married Mousa Khiabani's younger sister Azar.LegacyAbrishamchi credited Massoud Rajavi for saving the People's MojahedinOrganization of Iran after the "great schism".Passage 3:Georges BizetGeorges Bizet (né Alexandre César Léopold Bizet; 25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for hisoperas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire operarepertoire.During a brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. He was recognised as an outstanding pianist, though he chose not tocapitalise on this skill and rarely performed in public. Returning to Paris after almost three years in Italy, he found that the main Parisian opera theatres preferred the established classical repertoire to the works ofnewcomers. His keyboard and orchestral compositions were likewise largely ignored; as a result, his career stalled, and he earned his living mainly by arranging and transcribing the music of others. Restless for success,he began many theatrical projects during the 1860s, most of which were abandoned. Neither of his two operas that reached the stage in this time—Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie fille de Perth—were immediatelysuccessful.After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, during which Bizet served in the National Guard, he had little success with his one-act opera Djamileh, though an orchestral suite derived from his incidentalmusic to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne was instantly popular. The production of his final opera, Carmen, was delayed because of fears that its themes of betrayal and murder would offend audiences. After itspremiere on 3 March 1875, Bizet was convinced that the work was a failure; he died of a heart attack three months later, unaware that it would prove a spectacular and enduring success.Bizet's marriage to GenevièveHalévy was intermittently happy and produced one son. After his death, his work, apart from Carmen, was generally neglected. Manuscripts were given away or lost, and published versions of his works were frequentlyrevised and adapted by other hands. He founded no school and had no obvious disciples or successors. After years of neglect, his works began to be performed more frequently in the 20th century. Later commentatorshave acclaimed him as a composer of brilliance and originality whose premature death was a significant loss to French musical theatre.LifeEarly yearsFamily background and childhoodGeorges Bizet was born in Paris on25 October 1838. He was registered as Alexandre César Léopold, but baptised as "Georges" on 16 March 1840, and was known by this name for the rest of his life. His father, Adolphe Bizet, had been a hairdresser andwigmaker before becoming a singing teacher despite his lack of formal training. He also composed a few works, including at least one published song. In 1837, Adolphe married Aimée Delsarte, against the wishes of herfamily who considered him a poor prospect; the Delsartes, though impoverished, were a cultured and highly musical family. Aimée was an accomplished pianist, while her brother François Delsarte was a distinguishedsinger and teacher who performed at the courts of both Louis Philippe and Napoleon III. François Delsarte's wife Rosine, a musical prodigy, had been an assistant professor of solfège at the Conservatoire de Paris at theage of 13. At least one author has suggested that his mother was from a Jewish family but this is not substantiated in any of his official biographies.Georges, an only child, showed early aptitude for music and quicklypicked up the basics of musical notation from his mother, who probably gave him his first piano lessons. By listening at the door of the room where Adolphe conducted his classes, Georges learned to sing difficult songsaccurately from memory and developed an ability to identify and analyse complex chordal structures. This precocity convinced his ambitious parents that he was ready to begin studying at the Conservatoire eventhough he was still only nine years old (the minimum entry age was 10). Georges was interviewed by Joseph Meifred, the horn virtuoso who was a member of the Conservatoire's Committee of Studies. Meifred was sostruck by the boy's demonstration of his skills that he waived the age rule and offered to take him as soon as a place became available.ConservatoireBizet was admitted to the Conservatoire on 9 October 1848, twoweeks before his 10th birthday. He made an early impression; within six months he had won first prize in solfège, a feat that impressed Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman, the Conservatoire's former professor ofpiano. Zimmerman gave Bizet private lessons in counterpoint and fugue, which continued until the old man's death in 1853. Through these classes, Bizet met Zimmerman's son-in-law, the composer Charles Gounod,who became a lasting influence on the young pupil's musical style—although their relationship was often strained in later years. He also met another of Gounod's young students, the 13-year-old Camille Saint-Saëns,who remained a firm friend of Bizet's. Under the tuition of Antoine François Marmontel, the Conservatoire's professor of piano, Bizet's pianism developed rapidly; he won the Conservatoire's second prize for piano in1851, and first prize the following year. Bizet would later write to Marmontel: "In your class one learns something besides the piano; one becomes a musician".Bizet's first preserved compositions, two wordless songsfor soprano, date from around 1850. In 1853, he joined Fromental Halévy's composition class and began to produce works of increasing sophistication and quality. Two of his songs, "Petite Marguerite" and "La Rose etl'abeille", were published in 1854. In 1855, he wrote an ambitious overture for a large orchestra, and prepared four-hand piano versions of two of Gounod's works: the opera La nonne sanglante and the Symphony in D.Bizet's work on the Gounod symphony inspired him, shortly after his seventeenth birthday, to write his own symphony, which bore a close resemblance to Gounod's—note for note in some passages. Bizet neverpublished the symphony, which came to light again only in 1933, and was finally performed in 1935.In 1856, Bizet competed for the prestigious Prix de Rome. His entry was not successful, but nor were any of theothers; the musician's prize was not awarded that year. After this rebuff, Bizet entered an opera competition which Jacques Offenbach had organised for young composers, with a prize of 1,200 francs. The challengewas to set the one-act libretto of Le docteur Miracle by Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy. The prize was awarded jointly to Bizet and Charles Lecocq, a compromise which years later Lecocq criticised on the grounds of thejury's manipulation by Fromental Halévy in favour of Bizet. As a result of his success, Bizet became a regular guest at Offenbach's Friday evening parties, where among other musicians he met the aged GioachinoRossini, who presented the young man with a signed photograph. Bizet was a great admirer of Rossini's music, and wrote not long after their first meeting that "Rossini is the greatest of them all, because like Mozart, hehas all the virtues".For his 1857 Prix de Rome entry, Bizet, with Gounod's enthusiastic approval, chose to set the cantata Clovis et Clotilde by Amédée Burion. Bizet was awarded the prize after a ballot of the members ofthe Académie des Beaux-Arts overturned the judges' initial decision, which was in favour of the oboist Charles Colin. Under the terms of the award, Bizet received a financial grant for five years, the first two to be spentin Rome, the third in Germany and the final two in Paris. The only other requirement was the submission each year of an "envoi", a piece of original work to the satisfaction of the Académie. Before his departure forRome in December 1857, Bizet's prize cantata was performed at the Académie to an enthusiastic reception.Rome, 1858–1860On 27 January 1858, Bizet arrived at the Villa Medici, a 16th-century palace that since 1803had housed the French Académie in Rome and which he described in a letter home as "paradise". Under its director, the painter Jean-Victor Schnetz, the villa provided an ideal environment in which Bizet and hisfellow-laureates could pursue their artistic endeavours. Bizet relished the convivial atmosphere, and quickly involved himself in the distractions of its social life; in his first six months in Rome, his only composition was aTe Deum written for the Rodrigues Prize, a competition for a new religious work open to Prix de Rome winners. This piece failed to impress the judges, who awarded the prize to Adrien Barthe, the only other entrant.Bizet was discouraged to the extent that he vowed to write no more religious music. His Te Deum remained forgotten and unpublished until 1971.Through the winter of 1858–59, Bizet worked on his first envoi, an operabuffa setting of Carlo Cambiaggio's libretto Don Procopio. Under the terms of his prize, Bizet's first envoi was supposed to be a mass, but after his Te Deum experience, he was averse to writing religious music. He wasapprehensive about how this breach of the rules would be received at the Académie, but their response to Don Procopio was initially positive, with praise for the composer's "easy and brilliant touch" and "youthful andbold style".For his second envoi, not wishing to test the Académie's tolerance too far, Bizet proposed to submit a quasi-religious work in the form of a secular mass on a text by Horace. This work, entitled CarmenSaeculare, was intended as a song to Apollo and Diana. No trace exists, and it is unlikely that Bizet ever started it. A tendency to conceive ambitious projects, only to quickly abandon them, became a feature of Bizet'sRome years; in addition to Carmen Saeculare, he considered and discarded at least five opera projects, two attempts at a symphony, and a symphonic ode on the theme of Ulysses and Circe. After Don Procopio, Bizetcompleted only one further work in Rome, the symphonic poem Vasco da Gama. This replaced Carmen Saeculare as his second envoi, and was well received by the Académie, though swiftly forgotten thereafter.In thesummer of 1859, Bizet and several companions travelled in the mountains and forests around Anagni and Frosinone. They also visited a convict settlement at Anzio; Bizet sent an enthusiastic letter to Marmontel,recounting his experiences. In August, he made an extended journey south to Naples and Pompeii, where he was unimpressed with the former but delighted with the latter: "Here you live with the ancients; you seetheir temples, their theatres, their houses in which you find their furniture, their kitchen utensils..." Bizet began sketching a symphony based on his Italian experiences, but made little immediate headway; the project,which became his Roma symphony, was not finished until 1868. On his return to Rome, Bizet successfully requested permission to extend his stay in Italy into a third year, rather than going to Germany, so that hecould complete "an important work" (which has not been identified). In September 1860, while visiting Venice with his friend and fellow-laureate Ernest Guiraud, Bizet received news that his mother was gravely ill inParis, and made his way home.Emergent composerParis, 1860–1863Back in Paris with two years of his grant remaining, Bizet was temporarily secure financially and could ignore for the moment the difficulties thatother young composers faced in the city. The two state-subsidised opera houses, the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, each presented traditional repertoires that tended to stifle and frustrate new homegrown talent; onlyeight of the 54 Prix de Rome laureates between 1830 and 1860 had had works staged at the Opéra. Although French composers were better represented at the Opéra-Comique, the style and character of productionshad remained largely unchanged since the 1830s. A number of smaller theatres catered for operetta, a field in which Offenbach was then paramount, while the Théâtre Italien specialised in second-rate Italian opera.The best prospect for aspirant opera composers was the Théâtre Lyrique company which, despite repeated financial crises, operated intermittently in various premises under its resourceful manager Léon Carvalho. Thiscompany had staged the first performances of Gounod's Faust and his Roméo et Juliette, and of a shortened version of Berlioz's Les Troyens.On 13 March 1861, Bizet attended the Paris premiere of Wagner's operaTannhäuser, a performance greeted by audience riots that were stage-managed by the influential Jockey-Club de Paris. Despite this distraction, Bizet revised his opinions of Wagner's music, which he had previouslydismissed as merely eccentric. He now declared Wagner "above and beyond all living composers". Thereafter, accusations of "Wagnerism" were often laid against Bizet, throughout his compositional career.As a pianist,Bizet had showed considerable skill from his earliest years. A contemporary asserted that he could have assured a future on the concert platform, but chose to conceal his talent "as though it were a vice". In May 1861Bizet gave a rare demonstration of his virtuoso skills when, at a dinner party at which Liszt was present, he astonished everyone by playing on sight, flawlessly, one of the maestro's most difficult pieces. Lisztcommented: "I thought there were only two men able to surmount the difficulties ... there are three, and ... the youngest is perhaps the boldest and most brilliant."Bizet's third envoi was delayed for nearly a year bythe prolonged illness and death, in September 1861, of his mother. He eventually submitted a trio of orchestral works: an overture entitled La Chasse d'Ossian, a scherzo and a funeral march. The overture has beenlost; the scherzo was later absorbed into the Roma symphony, and the funeral march music was adapted and used in a later opera. Bizet's fourth and final envoi, which occupied him for much of 1862, was a one-actopera, La guzla de l'émir. As a state-subsidised theatre, the Opéra-Comique was obliged from time to time to stage the works of Prix de Rome laureates, and La guzla duly went into rehearsal in 1863. However, in AprilBizet received an offer, which originated from Count Walewski, to compose the music for a three-act opera. This was Les pêcheurs de perles, based on a libretto by Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon. Because a conditionof this offer was that the opera should be the composer's first publicly staged work, Bizet hurriedly withdrew La guzla from production and incorporated parts of its music into the new opera. The first performance of Lespêcheurs de perles, by the Théâtre Lyrique company, was on 30 September 1863. Critical opinion was generally hostile, though Berlioz praised the work, writing that it "does M. Bizet the greatest honour". Publicreaction was lukewarm, and the opera's run ended after 18 performances. It was not performed again until 1886.In 1862, Bizet had fathered a child with the family's housekeeper, Marie Reiter. The boy was brought upto believe that he was Adolphe Bizet's child; only on her deathbed in 1913 did Reiter reveal her son's true paternity.Years of struggleWhen his Prix de Rome grant expired, Bizet found he could not make a living from


Passage 1:Vera MiletićVera Miletić (Serbian Cyrillic: Вера Милетић; 8 March 1920 – 7 September 1944) was a Serbian student and soldier. She was notable for being the mother of Mira Marković, posthumously making her the mother-in-law of Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.Personal lifeHer cousin was Davorjanka Paunović who was the personal secretary of Communist Party of Yugoslavia leader Josip Broz Tito.Passage 2:Doria RaglandDoria Loyce Ragland (born September 2, 1956) is an American social worker, and former makeup artist and yoga instructor. She is the mother of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.Early lifeDoria Ragland was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to nurse Jeanette Arnold (1929–2000) and her second husband Alvin Azell Ragland (1929–2011), an antiques dealer who sold items at flea markets. Ragland's maternal grandparents, James and Nettie Arnold, respectively worked as a bellhop and an elevator operator at the Hotel St. Regis on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Her parents moved to Los Angeles when Ragland was a baby and later divorced. In 1983, her father married kindergarten teacher Ava Burrow, who is near to Ragland's age; the two remained close after that marriage also ended in divorce. Ragland has two older maternal half-siblings, Joseph (known as "JJ"; 1949–2021) and Saundra Johnson (born 1952), and a younger paternal half-brother, Alvin Joffrey Ragland. According to inferred conclusions and information passed down (much of it verbally) from earlier generations, the Ragland family descend from Richard Ragland, born into slavery c.1792 in Chatham County, North Carolina; his son, Stephen Ragland (1848-1926) of Jonesboro in Georgia, lived long enough to experience the abolition of slavery in 1865. Ragland's surname came from slave-owner William Ragland, a Methodist planter and land speculator who had emigrated during the eighteenth century from Cornwall, England, to North America.Career and educationAfter leaving Fairfax High School, Ragland worked as a temp assistant makeup artist and met her future husband, Thomas Markle, while employed on the set of the television show General Hospital. Later on, their daughter Meghan stayed with Thomas Markle as Ragland pursued a career. She later worked as a travel agent and owned a small business before filing for bankruptcy in the mid-2000s. Ragland completed a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. In 2011, she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California. After passing California's licensing exam in 2015, she was a social worker for three years at the Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services clinic in Culver City. Ragland has also worked as a yoga instructor. In 2020, it was reported that she would teach a jewelry making course at Santa Monica College. In the same year, Ragland became CEO, CFO and secretary of a care home firm in Beverly Hills, called Loving Kindness Senior Care Management.Personal lifeRagland married lighting director Thomas Markle Sr. on December 23, 1979, at Hollywood's Paramahansa Yogananda Self-Realization Fellowship Temple in a ceremony performed by Brother Bhaktananda. Their daughter, Meghan, was born in 1981. The couple separated when their daughter was two years old. They divorced in 1987. Both parents contributed to raising Meghan until, at the age of 6, she began living with Thomas Markle full-time while Ragland pursued a career.Ragland resides in View Park–Windsor Hills, California, in a house inherited from her father in 2011. She has accompanied Meghan to public events and attended her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry in Berkshire. Ragland became a grandmother on May 6, 2019. She flew to the United Kingdom to see her grandson, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, and his parents. In July, she attended Mountbatten-Windsor's christening at the private chapel at Windsor Castle. Her granddaughter, Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Barbara, California.See also"(Almost) Straight Outta Compton", a 2016 tabloid article headline about Meghan Markle and her mother's backgroundNotesPassage 3:Maria ThinsMaria Thins (c. 1593 – 27 December 1680) was the mother-in-law of Johannes Vermeer and a member of the Gouda Thins family. She was raised in a devout Dutch Catholic family with two sisters and a brother. Outliving her parents and siblings, she received inheritances over the years, making her a wealthy woman. She married a prosperous brickmaker, Reynier Bolnes, in 1622. They had three children together, Catharina, Willem, and Cornelia. By 1635, Bolnes verbally and physically abused his wife and daughters. Thins moved to Delft with her daughters. Her son Willem stayed with his father. Thins was a wealthy woman due to the separation settlement of her husband in 1649 and the estates she inherited from her family. Her daughter Catharina married Johannes Vermeer, an artist, art dealer, and operator of the family's inn in Delft. Vermeer and Catharina lived at Thins house by 1660. The couple had fifteen children, four of whom died in infancy. Raising nearly a dozen children strained Vermeer financially. He relied on the support from his mother-in-law. During the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1674), Vermeer became impoverished. Thins reduced the money she provided to Catharina and her husband due to the loss of income during that period. Vermeer died in 1675, and Thins died five years later. Catharina was the only one of Thins' children to survive her. Thins drew up her will to maximize what she could provide for her grandchildren and their education, while limiting how much might be taken by Catharina's creditors. Catharina died in 1687.Early lifeMaria was born c. 1593 in Gouda to a prominent Dutch Catholic family, Catharina van Hensbeeck (d. 1633) and William Thin (d. 1601). They lived in the house named De Trapjes (The Little Steps) in Gouda. Maria had three siblings, none of whom were married. Her sister Elisabeth became a nun. She also had a sister Cornelia and a brother Jan. Since none of her siblings married, Thins ultimately inherited a large estate. The family conducted mass in their home, while at the time it was illegal for a group of Roman Catholics to assemble in Gouda. The local sheriffs broke up a religious meeting at their house in 1619.Garrit Camerling (d. 1627) of Delft became her stepfather in 1605 when he married Catharina van Hensbeeck. She was related to Abraham Bloemaert (1566–1651) through her cousin Jan Geensz Thins. Before her marriage, Thins lived in Delft with a prosperous young woman who was her friend.Marriage and childrenIn 1622, Maria Thins married Reynier Bolnes (ca. 1593–1676), a prominent and prosperous brickmaker. Thins was an heiress when she married, and she collected art, including several in the style of Utrecht Caravaggists.ChildrenThins had three children, the youngest of whom was Catharina Bolnes (c. 1631–1688), nicknamed Trijntge. She also had a son Willem, and a daughter Cornelia. Around 1635, Reynier became verbally and physically abusive with her and her children. At the age of nine, Catharina ran to neighbors because she thought that Reynier's abuse of Cornelia could kill her. Reynier confessed that he physically abused Cornelia and would do it again if Thins beat their son Willem. Reynier and Willem began eating separately from the female members of the family, and the father encouraged his son to be abusive and noncompliant with Thins.Divided familyThins moved to Delft in 1642 to get away from her abusive husband. Jan Geensz Thins, who was her guardian and cousin, purchased a home for her there the prior year. Jan became Thin's guardian following the early death of her father. Thins attained custody of her daughters in 1641 and moved with them to Delft. William stayed with his father, whose business began to fail. Thins lived on Oude Langendijk next to the Jesuit Catholic Church in the Catholic section of Delft called paepenhoek (the Papists' Corner).Thins received half of her husband's assets, a substantial amount, in 1649. By 1653, Reynier Bolnes was bankrupt. Thins derived income from annuities, interest income, and property rentals, including farmland. She also lived off of the capital of her investments. Thins and her sister Cornelia Thins (d. 1661) received a sizeable inheritance from their brother Jan Willemsz Thins following his death in 1651. Thins attained a comfortable standard of living of 15,000 or more guilders a year in the 1660s.Cornelia died in 1649. In 1664, Thin's son Willem, a jobless bachelor, was locked up in an institution after an argument with his mother, and for attacking Catharina, his pregnant sister, with a stick. In 1665, Maria Thins was entrusted with her son's property. She wrote a will, which limited Willem's share to the legal minimum of one sixth of her estate. She mentioned that he had been calling her names since his youth. Willem died in 1676.The VermeersThin's daughter, Catharina, came to know Johannes Vermeer and wished to marry him. Her mother disapproved of the marriage because he was not Catholic, and also likely because he was of a lower artisan class. By 1652, Vermeer helped his mother run the family's inn and was an art dealer, taking over his deceased father's business. Before they married, Thins stated that although she did not approve, she would not prevent Catharina and Vermeer from marrying. Vermeer likely converted from Reformed Protestant to Catholicism by the time of their union. Catharina and Vermeer married in Schipluy (present-day Schipluiden) on 20 April 1653. By December 1660, the Vermeers lived in the large house of his wealthy mother-in-law Maria Thins, described as a "strong-willed" woman. It was unusual at the time for married men and women to settle into the houses of their parents. Vermeer relied on Thin's residence and financial support to take care of his family.Vermeer painted in the artist's studio and sold art from the house. His works portray subjects with clothing and furnishings more luxurious than his own. Biographer Anthony Bailey claims that since Vermeer used models from his household, it is likely that he made a painting of his wife. He asserts that Catharina is depicted in A Lady Writing a Letter due to her "fond expression" and " concentrated gaze of the unseen painter."Thins played an essential role in their life. She was a devotee of the Jesuit order in the nearby Catholic Church, and this seems to have influenced Johannes and Catharina.They had eleven children at the time of Vermeer's death, four of their children died young between 1660 and 1673. Most of their children were born at Thin's house. Their third son was called Ignatius, after the founder of the Jesuit Order. Catharina inherited the Ben Repas estate following her Aunt Cornelia's death in February 1661.Thins hired Vermeer to manage financial issues for her in 1667 and 1675. He collected monies owed her, and he handled her investments. The Rampjaar (disaster year) following the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1674) was particularly hard on Vermeer's ability to make money as an artist and an art dealer. He had to take a loss on sales of works of art and was unable to sell his own works. His mother-in-law was financially strained during this period due to the loss of rental income from farmland due to the war. In one instance, she rented out land near Schoonhoven that was flooded to prevent the French army from crossing the Dutch Water Line. The farmland was not arable for a time. Thins reduced the money that she spent to support the Vermeers. In 1675, Vermeer went on several business trips for his mother-in-law, first to Gouda, when her husband had died, and then to Amsterdam. There Vermeer borrowed money by fraudulently using her name.Vermeer died and was buried on 15 December 1675. Unable to pay their debts, Catharina blamed the financial fallout of the war for their losses and petitioned for bankruptcy in April 1676. Ten of their eleven children were still underage when Vermeer died. Catharina continued to live at her mother's house with their children. After Vermeer's death, Maria Thins received The Art of Painting for her financial support of Catharina's family. Catharina paid off other debts with paintings or used them as surety until she paid off debts.Later years and deathThins died and was buried on 27 December 1680. The burial record states that she was the widow of Reijnier Bolnes. Thins crafted her will to maximize her grandchildren's support and education, preventing her estate from going to Catharina's creditors. The grandchildren were assigned a guardian, Hendrick van Eem, to look out for their interests. Catharina, considered responsible, was encouraged by her mother to ensure that her children were educated so that they could support themselves. Her daughter Catharina moved to Breda. Catharina Bolnes received "Holy Oil" on 23 December 1687, before being buried on 2 January 1688.See alsoWriting to Vermeer an opera depicting Maria Thins and Catharina BolnesPassage 4:Priscilla PointerPriscilla Marie Pointer (born May 18, 1924) is an American retired actress. She began her career in the theater in the late 1940s, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood and making appearances on television in the early 1950s. She didn't however become a regular screen actress until the 1970s.She is the mother of actress and singer Amy Irving, (whom she often appeared alongside as her mother or mother-in-law) therefore making her the former mother-in-law of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Bruno Barreto and the mother-in-law of documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser, Jr.Personal lifePointer was born on May 18, 1924, in New York City. Her mother Augusta Leonora (née Davis) was an artist and an illustrator, and her father Kenneth Keith Pointer was an artist. One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Jacob Barrett Cohen, was from a Jewish family that had lived in the United States since the 1700s.Marriages and familyPointer was previously married to film and stage director Jules Irving, former artistic director of Lincoln Center, from 1947 until his death in 1979; they are the parents of Katie Irving, director David Irving, and actress Amy Irving. In 1980, she married actor/director/producer Robert Symonds, who had been Jules Irving's producing partner at Lincoln Center. She appeared several times in stage productions with Symonds, and they remained married until the latter's death in 2007. Her granddaughter is artist and photographer Austin IrvingCareerEarly careerPointer has been a performer since thee late 1940s starting her career in theatre and appearing on Broadway, and she featured in the TV series China Smith  (The New Adventures of China Smith) in 1954. After a long hiatus, she seemed to have caught the acting bug again, in the early 1970s and has been a regular performer ever since.Pointer' first major starring role was on the TV soap opera Where the Heart Is as Adrienne Harris Rainey from 1972 and 1973FilmsPointer has appeared in many films, including Carrie (1976), in which she played the onscreen mother of Amy Irving's character; The Onion Field (1979); Mommie Dearest (1981); Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983); A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987); David Lynch's Blue Velvet; and Coyote Moon (1999). In addition to Carrie, she has played the onscreen mother to Amy Irving in Honeysuckle Rose (1980) and Carried Away (1996). They were both in the films The Competition in 1980 and Micki & Maude in 1984.Pointer appeared in three films that her son David Irving directed: Rumpelstiltskin (a 1987 musical version, which starred her daughter), Good-bye, Cruel World, and C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D.TelevisionShe has made many guest appearances on television, including Adam-12, L.A. Law, The A-Team, Judging Amy, The Rockford Files, and Cold Case.From 1981 to 1983, Pointer had a recurring role on the soap opera Dallas as Rebecca Barnes Wentworth, the mother of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), Pamela Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal), and Katherine Wentworth (Morgan Brittany).FilmographyFilmPartial Television CreditsPassage 5:Prince Radu of RomaniaPrince Radu of Romania (born Radu Duda on 7 June 1960, formerly known as Prince Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen from 1999 to 2007) is the husband of Margareta of Romania, head of the House of Romania and a disputed pretender to the former Romanian throne. On 1 January 1999, he was given the name, not title, of "Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen" by Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern, the Head of the Sigmaringen branch of the Hohenzollern family. He has also called himself "Radu Hohenzollern-Veringen-Duda". Since 2007, when he had his legal name changed from "Radu Duda" to "Radu al României Duda", Radu no longer uses the name of Hohenzollern.The Fundamental Rules of the Romanian Royal Family, proclaimed by former King Michael I on 30 December 2007, gave Radu the title of "Prince of Romania", with the style of "Royal Highness", which King Michael had given him earlier on 5 January 2005.In 1996 (24 July, civilly; 21 September, religiously), he married Princess Margareta, eldest daughter of King Michael I of Romania and Queen Anne.As spouse of Princess Margareta, Radu often accompanies his wife, sometimes solo, to support social projects and promote the Romanian economy. He is also the patron and a member of numerous Romanian charities and organisations.Early lifeRadu was born in Iai, Socialist Republic of Romania, the elder of the two children of Professor Dr. René Corneliu Duda and his wife, Dr. Gabriela Eugenia Duda née Constandache. His only brother is Professor Gabriel Dan Duda.Education and workRadu graduated from the Costache Negruzzi High School in Iai in 1979, and from the University of Drama and Film in Bucharest in 1984, and had over twenty years of artistic activity in Romania as well as in other European countries, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. He was the artistic director of the first art therapy project for abandoned children in Romanian orphanages. The project, started in 1993, was developed in eight cities over six years. In 1994, while working as an art therapist in orphanages, he met Princess Margareta, when she was touring the programmes of her Princess Margareta Foundation. On 24 July 1996, Margareta married Duda in a civil wedding at Versoix. On 21 September 1996 they were married in Lausanne, and on 1 January 1999 he was granted the title "Radu, Prince of Hohenzollern-Veringen".In 2002, he graduated from the National College of Defence of Romania, and the George C. Marshall College, Garmisch, Germany. In August 2004 he participated in the two-week Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.In September 2002, he was appointed as Special Representative of the Romanian Government for Integration, Co-operation and Sustainable Development. He is also Patron of the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Board of Directors of "House of NATO" Association in Bucharest, and Honorary Member of the Senate of "Aurel Vlaicu" University of Arad and of the University of Oradea, Romania.Prince Radu is the author of several books: Dincolo de mască (Bucharest: Unitext, 1997), L'Âme du masque (Brussels, 1998), Război, un exil, o viaă (Bucharest, 2000; translated into English as Anne of Romania: A War, an Exile, a Life, Bucharest: Romanian Cultural Foundation, 2002), Michael of Romania: A Tribute (San Francisco and Bucharest, 2001), Kildine (Bucharest, 2003; a translation into Romanian of the fairy-tales book of Queen Marie of the Romanians), Seven (Bucharest: Nemira, 2003), The Royal Family of Romania (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2004), Persona (Bucharest: Nemira, 2006), The Elisabeta Palace (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2006).Prince Radu's lectures address topics related to Romania's integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, defense, and security, geopolitics and diplomacy, culture, economics, and education. He has equally spoken out about the issue of ethnic minorities, in particular about the Romani minority, an important issue for Romania and South Eastern Europe today, through conferences in Romania and around Europe, in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Finland, etc. His activity report "2005 Annual Report and 2002–2004 Retrospective" is available in English and Romanian on his official website.Prince Radu currently serves on the Board of Advisors to the Global Panel Foundation, an NGO that works behind the scenes in crisis areas around the world.InitiativesEurope of RegionsRadu initiated a project to promote Romania's major interests and to strengthen Romania's bilateral relations. Its aims are to encourage and promote economic, cultural, and educational partnerships between Romanian regions and different European regions, as well as to raise awareness about Romania through meetings, conferences, and lectures. It will involve Prince Radu visiting up to four different regions a year, meeting


Passage 1:Scotty FoxScott Fox is a pornographic film director who is a member of the AVN Hall of Fame.Awards1992 AVN Award – Best Director, Video (The Cockateer)1995 AVN Hall of Fame inducteePassage 2:ElliotSilversteinElliot Silverstein (born August 3, 1927) is a retired American film and television director. He directed the Academy Award-winning western comedy Cat Ballou (1965), and other films including The Happening(1967), A Man Called Horse (1970), Nightmare Honeymoon (1974), and The Car (1977). His television work includes four episodes of The Twilight Zone (1961–1964).CareerElliot Silverstein was the director of sixfeature films in the mid-twentieth century. The most famous of these by far is Cat Ballou, a comedy-western starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin.The other Silverstein films, in chronological order, are The Happening, AMan Called Horse,  Nightmare Honeymoon, The Car, and Flashfire.Other work included directing for the television shows The Twilight Zone, The Nurses, Picket Fences, and Tales from the Crypt.While Silverstein was nota prolific director, his films were often decorated. Cat Ballou, for instance, earned one Oscar and was nominated for four more. His high quality work was rewarded in 1990 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by theDirectors Guild of America.AwardsIn 1965, at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Youth Film Award – Honorable Mention, in the category of Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People for CatBallou.He was also nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear.In 1966, he was nominated for the DGA Award in the category for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Cat Ballou).In 1971, he won theBronze Wrangler award at the Western Heritage Awards in the category of Theatrical Motion Picture for A Man Called Horse, along with producer Sandy Howard, writer Jack DeWitt, and actors Judith Anderson, JeanGascon, Corinna Tsopei and Richard Harris.In 1985, he won the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.In 1990, he was awarded the DGA Honorary Life Member Award.PersonallifeSilverstein has been married three times, each ending in divorce. His first marriage was to Evelyn Ward in 1962; the couple divorced in 1968. His second marriage was to Alana King. During his first marriage, he wasthe step-father of David Cassidy.He currently lives in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Actively retired, Silverstein has taught film at USC and continues to work on screen plays and other projects.FilmographyTales fromthe Crypt (TV Series) (1991–94)Picket Fences (TV Series) (1993)Rich Men, Single Women (TV Movie) (1990)Fight for Life (TV Movie) (1987)Night of Courage (TV Movie) (1987)Betrayed by Innocence (TV Movie)(1986)The Firm (TV Series) (1982–1983)The Car (1977)Nightmare Honeymoon (1974)A Man Called Horse (1970)The Happening (1967)Cat Ballou (1965)Kraft Suspense Theatre (TV Series) (1963–64)The Defenders(TV Series) (1962–64)Arrest and Trial (TV Series) (1964)The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series) (1962–64)Twilight Zone (TV Series) (1961–64)Breaking Point (TV Series) (1963)Dr. Kildare (TV Series) (1961–63)TheDick Powell Theatre (TV Series) (1962)Belle Sommers (TV Movie) (1962)Naked City (TV Series) (1961–62)Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series) (1961)Route 66 (TV Series) (1960–61)Checkmate (TV Series) (1961)TheWesterner (TV Series) (1960)Assignment: Underwater (TV Series) (1960)Black Saddle (TV Series) (1960)Suspicion (TV Series) (1958)Omnibus (TV Series) (1954–56)Passage 3:Robert G. VignolaRobert G. Vignola(born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 7, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by KalemCompany and later moved to directing, becoming one of the silent screen's most prolific directors. He directed a handful of films in the early years of talkies but his career essentially ended in the silent era.EarlylifeVignola was born in August 7, 1882 in Trivigno, a village in the province of Potenza, Basilicata, to Donato Gaetano Vignola, a stone mason, and Anna Rosa Rago.  It is unsure why he used August 5th as his birthday inAmerica. He had two brothers and three sisters, his oldest sister having died at the age of 19 months in Italy. Travelling with his mother and siblings, he left Italy in May 1886, at the age of three. He was raised inAlbany, New York. Because of his Christian name of Rocco he was nicknamed "Rocky" on the family’s first census in New York. His name Rocco was later changed to Robert. Trained as a barber in his youth, Vignola byage 14 became interested in the circus, practicing contortion and slackwire. Three years later, in 1899, he found his true vocation—acting—and the following year in Albany he established a small performance companythat he named "The Empire Dramatic Club".Acting careerIn 1901 he started acting on stage professionally and joined the "American Stock Company" in New York. He made his stage debut in "Romeo and Juliet",performing with Eleanor Robson Belmont and Kyrle Bellew. In the following years he played leads and became a character actor. Vignola's motion picture career began in 1906 with the short film The Black Hand,directed by Wallace McCutcheon and produced by Biograph Company, generally considered the film that launched the mafia genre.In 1907 he joined Kalem Studios, starring in numerous movies directed by hislong-time friend Sidney Olcott often dealing with Irish culture such as The Lad from Old Ireland (1910), The Colleen Bawn (1911), and Arrah-na-Pogue (1911). Olcott would later promote him to assistant director. TheKalem Company traveled across Europe and Middle East, where Vignola did one of his most notable roles as Judas Iscariot in From the Manger to the Cross (1912), among the most acclaimed films of the silent years.According to Moving Picture World, he was the first actor who was placed upon a permanent salary by Kalem.Directing careerVignola directed 110 pictures from 1911 to 1937. His debut as a film director was RoryO'More (1911), co-directed with Olcott. The Vampire (1913), starring Alice Hollister, was well-received by critics and is sometimes cited as the earliest surviving "vamp" movie (another title with the same nameproduced by William Nicholas Selig in 1910 is considered lost). He returned to the theme with The Vampire's Trail (1914), featuring Alice Joyce, Tom Moore and Hollister in a secondary role. He had a long associationdirecting the early movies of Pauline Frederick such as Audrey (1916), Double Crossed (1917), and The Love That Lives (1917).Vignola is best known for directing Marion Davies in several romantic comedies includingEnchantment (1921), Beauty's Worth (1922), and the big-budget epic When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922), which achieved critical and commercial acclaim and established Davies as a movie star. In 1920, he wasoffered the role of director-general for the Kinkikan Cinematograph Company in Japan and was honored as "outstanding director of the year" by Frederick James Smith of the Motion Picture Classic in 1921. The WomanGod Changed (1921) and Adam and Eva (1923) were praised for the "innovative" use of shadows and lighting effects.With the arrival of the sound era, he directed Broken Dreams (1933), in competition for the BestForeign Film at the 2nd Venice International Film Festival, and The Scarlet Letter (1934), the last film of Colleen Moore. His sound films were not successful and Vignola retired. His final film work was The Girl fromScotland Yard (1937).  Later that year he directed The Pilgrimage Play (live play in Los Angeles, not the related movie.).  Vignola was associated with the play at least to 1944.DeathVignola died in Hollywood, Californiain 1953. He was buried in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, New York.Personal lifeHe lived in a mansion at Whitley Heights owned by William Randolph Hearst. According to legend, Hearst's mistress Marion Davies wasallowed to stay without him at Vignola's mansion, worried that she was having affairs and considering Vignola a trusted companion for her as he was homosexual. Sidney Olcott, alone after the passing of his wifeValentine Grant, spent his later life at Vignola's home, where he died in 1949.Vignola was described by Delight Evans as "the sanest and least temperamental of all celluloid creators. He has infinite patience. He has onequality which makes actors want to work for him: consideration." He once said: "Before a director can learn to control thousands of people and big stars and big scenes, he must first learn to control himself." Heidentified himself as a Republican, although he was not much interested in politics. Vignola visited his birthplace Trivigno with his family, provided money to build the town's war monument and maintainedcorrespondence with some of his relatives.Partial filmographyActorDirectorPassage 4:She Wants MeShe Wants Me is a 2012 comedy film written and directed by Rob Margolies and starring Josh Gad and KristenRuhlin.PlotSam is a writer working on a feature film. His girlfriend Sammy has been promised the lead role, but the producers want a famous actress. After some problems and the return of Sammy’s ex-boyfriend John,the relationship get complicated and they break up. Sam needs to deal with John, who becomes his friend and roommate, his lack of inspiration to write the film, his new single life and a new girlfriend who has had sexwith many men, though all he really wants is Sammy back.CastCastingMargolies originally penned the role of Sam Baum for Jonah Hill, and intended Elliot Page to play Sammy Kingston. Kate Bosworth was originallyattached to play the role of Kim Powers, but due to scheduling conflicts with another film, was unable to participate. Hilary Duff replaced her in October 2010.The cameo role of Charlie Sheen was penned originally forJeff Goldblum, but when the producers of the film mentioned an option to have Sheen participate, Margolies jumped at the chance to work with him. Sheen eventually became one of the executive producers of thefilm.Passage 5:Dan MilneDan Milne is a British actor/director who is possibly best known for his role in EastEnders.CareerHe started his career in 1996 and made an appearance in Murder Most Horrid and as a pub poetin In a Land of Plenty. He then appeared in EastEnders as David Collins, Jane Beale's dying husband.As a member of the Young Vic, he collaborated with Tim Supple to originate  Grimm Tales, which touredinternationally, culminating in a Broadway run at the New Victory Theater. Since that time he has collaborated on more than seven major new works, including Two Men Talking, which has run for the past six years invarious cities across the world. In 2013, he replaced Ken Barrie as the voice of the Reverend Timms in the children's show, Postman Pat.Passage 6:Rob MargoliesRob Margolies (born February 28, 1983) is an Americanfilm producer and director.Margolies grew up in Rumson, New Jersey and graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School in the class of 2001  before going on to study filmmaking at the New York FilmAcademy.In 2005, he produced We All Fall Down, a short subject about the Great Plague of 1666. In 2008 he directed Wherever You Are. He directed the 2010 movie Life-ers which stars Kevin Ryan, from the  BarryLevinson BBC TV show Copper. He directed the film She Wants Me (2012) starring Josh Gad, Hilary Duff and Kristen Ruhlin with a cameo by Charlie Sheen, who was also an executive producer. He also directed theindependent thriller Roommate Wanted (2015), a.k.a. 2BR/1BA, starring Spy Kids star Alexa Vega, Kathryn Morris and CW Greek star Spencer Grammer.Margolies later directed Weight (2018), which earned him twoawards at the 2018 Northeast Film Festival, including "Best Feature Film".Passage 7:Women's WeaponsWomen's Weapons is a lost 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Robert G. Vignola and starringEthel Clayton.CastEthel Clayton as Anne ElliotElliott Dexter as Nicholas ElliotVera Doria as Esmee HaleJames Neill as Peter GregoryJosephine Crowell as MargaretPat Moore as Nicholas, Jr.Joan Marsh as Nicholas, Jr.'ssister (credited as Dorothy Rosher)Passage 8:Kristen RuhlinKristen Ruhlin is an American actress. She is known for her roles in The Girl in the Park, One Life to Live, Human Giant, and She Wants Me.PersonalRuhlingrew up in Charleston, West Virginia and graduated from Charleston Catholic High School. She graduated from Ohio State University in 2006 with a B.S. in Fiber Properties and a minor in Theatre and Dance. She is fromCharleston, West Virginia. After graduating from college she relocated to New York city in the Fall of 2006. In 2009 she moved to Los Angeles to work on a film called Missing Child, and remained there for the next fewyears with frequent trips back to New York, where she worked on films such as She Wants Me. Since 2013 she has been residing in New York City.Filmography2013 The Road Home, with Lily Tomlin.2012 She Wants Me,starring as Sammy Kingston with Josh Gad, Hilary Duff, Wayne Knight and Charlie Sheen.2012 Stuck, with Madeline Zima.2010 Life-ers, TV movie from the producers of CBS and Darren Starr's We NeedGirlfriends.2007 The Girl in the Park, with Kate Bosworth, Keri Russell and Sigourney Weaver.2007 Human Giant, TV show with Jonah Hill.2015 Missing ChildPassage 9:Dorothy Sue CobbleDorothy Sue Cobble (June 28,1949) is an American historian, and a specialist in the historical study of work, social movements, and feminism in the United States and worldwide. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University,holding dual appointments in the Departments of Labor Studies and History since 1986.Her book The Other Women’s Movement (2005) coined the term labor feminism.Early life and educationCobble grew up in theSouth, before receiving her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972. She worked briefly as a trade union stevedore in the mid-1970s before earning her Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 1986.A student of Carl Degler, she became a leading historian of women's labor movements.CareerCobble's first book Dishing It Out: Waitresses and Their Unions in the Twentieth Century (1991) was among the earlieststudies of unionism and the service sector. Her second book, The Other Women's Movement: Workplace Justice and Social Rights in America (2005) is a political and intellectual history of women’s contributions toreforming the workplace. It received the 2005 Philip Taft Book Prize from Cornell University for the best book in American labor history. She edited The Sex of Class: Women Transforming American Labor (2007),published by the Cornell University Press. Most recently she coauthored, with Linda Gordon and Astrid Henry, Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements(2014).PublicationsBooksDishing It Out: Waitresses and Their Unions in the Twentieth Century (1991)The Other Women's Movement: Workplace Justice and Social Rights in America (2005)The Sex of Class: WomenTransforming American Labor (2007)Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements with Linda Gordon and Astrid Henry (2014)== Notes ==Passage 10:Ben PalmerBen Palmer (born1976) is a British film and television director.His television credits include the Channel 4 sketch show Bo' Selecta! (2002–2006), the second and third series of the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners (2009–2010) and the SkyAtlantic comedy-drama Breeders (2020). Palmer has also directed films such as the Inbetweeners spin-off, The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) and the romantic comedy Man Up (2015).BiographyPalmer was born andraised in Penny Bridge, Barrow-in-Furness. He attended Chetwynde School.His first directing job was the Channel 4 sketch show Bo' Selecta!, which he co-developed with its main star, Leigh Francis. Palmer directed thesecond and third series of the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners in 2009 and 2010, respectively.FilmographyBo' Selecta! (2002–06)Comedy Lab (2004–2010)Bo! in the USA (2006)The Inbetweeners (2009–2010)TheInbetweeners Movie (2011)Comedy Showcase (2012)Milton Jones's House of Rooms (2012)Them from That Thing (2012)Bad Sugar (2012)Chickens (2013)London Irish (2013)Man Up (2015)SunTrap (2015)BBCComedy Feeds (2016)Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back (2016)Back (2017)Comedy Playhouse (2017)Urban Myths (2017–19)Click & Collect (2018)Semi-Detached (2019)Breeders (2020)


Passage 1:Adib KheirAdib Kheir (Arabic:  ) was a leading Syrian nationalist of the 1920s. He was the owner of the Librairie Universelle in Damascus. His granddaughter is the spouse of ManafTlass.Passage 2:Marie-Louise CoidavidQueen Marie Louise Coidavid (1778 – 11 March 1851) was the Queen of the Kingdom of Haiti 1811–20 as the spouse of Henri Christophe.Early lifeMarie-Louise was born into a freeblack family; her father was the owner of Hotel de la Couronne, Cap-Haïtien. Henri Christophe was a slave purchased by her father. Supposedly, he earned enough money in tips from his duties at the hotel that he wasable to purchase his freedom before the Haitian Revolution. They married in Cap-Haïtien in 1793, having had a relationship with him from the year prior. They had four children: François Ferdinand (born 1794),Françoise-Améthyste (d. 1831), Athénaïs (d. 1839) and Victor-Henri.At her spouse's new position in 1798, she moved to the Sans-Souci Palace. During the French invasion, she and her children lived underground until1803.QueenIn 1811, Marie-Louise was given the title of queen upon the creation of the Kingdom of Haiti. Her new status gave her ceremonial tasks to perform, ladies-in-waiting, a secretary and her own court. She tookher position seriously, and stated that the title "given to her by the nation" also gave her responsibilities and duties to perform. She served as the hostess of the ceremonial royal court life performed at the Sans-SouciPalace. She did not involve herself in the affairs of state. She was given the position of Regent should her son succeed her spouse while still being a minor.  However, as her son became of age before the death of hisfather, this was never to materialize.After the death of the king in 1820, she remained with her daughters Améthyste and Athénaïs at the palace until they were escorted from it by his followers together with his corpse;after their departure, the palace was attacked and plundered. Marie-Louise and her daughters were given the property Lambert outside Cap. She was visited by president Jean Pierre Boyer, who offered her hisprotection; he denied the spurs of gold she gave him, stating that he was the leader of poor people. They were allowed to settle in Port-au-Prince. Marie-Louise was described as calm and resigned, but her daughters,especially Athénaïs, were described as vengeful.ExileThe Queen was in exile for 30 years. In August 1821, the former queen left Haiti with her daughters under the protection of the British admiral Sir Home Popham,and travelled to London. There were rumours that she was searching for the money, three million, deposited by her spouse in Europe. Whatever the case, she did live the rest of her life without economic difficulties. TheEnglish climate and pollution during the Industrial Revolution was determintal to Améthyste's health, and eventually they decided to leave.In 1824, Marie-Louise and her daughters moved in Pisa in Italy, where theylived for the rest of their lives, Améthyste dying shortly after their arrival and Athénaïs in 1839. They lived discreetly for the most part, but were occasionally bothered by fortune hunters and throne claimers whowanted their fortune. Shortly before her death, she wrote to Haiti for permission to return. She never did, however, before she died in Italy. She is buried in the church of San Donnino. A historical marker was installedin front of the church on April 23, 2023 to commemorate the Queen, her daughter and her sister.See alsoMarie-Claire Heureuse FélicitéAdélina LévêquePassage 3:Mehdi AbrishamchiMehdi Abrishamchi (Persian:  born in 1947 in Tehran) is a high-ranking member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK).Early lifeAbrishamchi came from a well-known anti-Shah bazaari family in Tehran, and participated in June5, 1963, demonstrations in Iran. He became a member of Hojjatieh, and left it to join the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) in 1969. In 1972 he was imprisoned for being a MEK member, and spent time in jail until1979.CareerShortly after Iranian Revolution, he became one of the senior members of the MEK. He is now an official in the National Council of Resistance of Iran.Electoral historyPersonal lifeAbrishamchi was married toMaryam Rajavi from 1980 to 1985. Shortly after, he married Mousa Khiabani's younger sister Azar.LegacyAbrishamchi credited Massoud Rajavi for saving the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran after the "greatschism".Passage 4:Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of LuxembourgMaria Teresa (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Henri, who acceded tothe throne in 2000.Early life and educationMaria Teresa was born on 22 March 1956 in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, to José Antonio Mestre y Álvarez (1926–1993) and wife  María Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre(1928–1988), both from bourgeois families of Spanish descent. She is also the granddaughter of Agustín Batista y González de Mendoza, who was the founder of the Trust Company of Cuba, the most powerful Cubanbank prior to the Cuban Revolution.In October 1959, at the time of the Cuban Revolution, Maria Teresa Mestre’s parents left Cuba with their children, because the new government headed by Fidel Castro confiscatedtheir properties. The family settled in New York City,  where as a young girl she was a pupil at Marymount School. From 1961 she carried on her studies at the Lycée Français de New York. In her childhood, Maria TeresaMestre took ballet and singing courses. She practices skiing, ice-skating and water sports. She later lived in Santander, Spain, and in Geneva, Switzerland, where she became a Swiss citizen.In 1980, Maria Teresagraduated from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva with a degree in political sciences. While studying there, she met her future husband Henri of Luxembourg.Social andhumanitarian interestsSoon after her marriage, Maria Teresa and the then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri established The Prince Henri and Princess Maria Teresa Foundation to help those with special needs integrate fullyinto society. In 2001, she and her husband created The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Foundation, launched upon the accession of the couple as the new Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg. In 2004, the GrandDuke Henri and the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Foundation was created after the merging of the two previous foundations.In 1997, Maria Teresa was made a special ambassador for UNESCO, working to expandeducation for young girls and women and help to fight poverty.Since 2005, Maria Teresa has been the chairwoman of the international jury of the European Microfinance Award, which annually awards holders ofmicrofinance and inclusive finance initiatives in developing countries. Also, since 2006, Maria Teresa has been honorary president of the LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the first agency to labelresponsible microfinance investment funds around the world.On 19 April 2007, the Grand Duchess was appointed UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, in which role she has visited Brazil (2007), China (2008), andBurundi (2009).She is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee and a patron of the Ligue Luxembourgeoise de Prévention et d’Action medico-sociales and SOS Villages d’EnfantsMonde. The Grand Duchess and her husband Grand Duke Henri are the members of the Mentor Foundation (London), created under the patronage of the World Health Organization. She is also the president of theLuxembourg Red Cross and the Cancer Foundation. In 2016, she organized the first international forum on learning disabilities in Luxembourg.The Grand Duchess supports the UNESCO “Breaking the Poverty Cycle ofWomen” project in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The purpose of this project is to improve the living conditions of girls, women and their families. As honorary president of her own foundation, Grand DuchessMaria Teresa set up a project called Projet de la Main Tendue after visiting the Bujumbura prison in 2009 in Burundi. The purpose of this project is to liberate minor people from prison and to give them new opportunitiesfor their future.In October 2016, Maria Teresa accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is theproduct of east-west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation, etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countriesacross Asia and the Middle East.In 2019, Maria Teresa presented her initiative "Stand Speak Rise Up!" to end sexual violence in fragile environments, launched in cooperation with the Women’s Forum and with thesupport of the Luxembourg government. The conference is in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We Are Not Weapons of War.In 2020 the Prime Minister of Luxembourg commissioned a report intothe Cour le Grand Ducal following concerns over its working. The report found that up to 1/3 of employees had left since 2015 and that "The most important decisions in the field of personnel management, whether atthe level of recruitment, assignment to the various departments or even at the dismissal level are taken by HRH the Grand Duchess.” Several newspaper reports at the time highlighted a 'culture of fear' around theGrand Duchess and "that no-one bar the Prime Minister dared confront her". The report also raised concerns about the use of public funds to pay for the Grand Duchess' personal website and that this had beenprioritised over the Cour's own official website. There were also allegations that staff at the Court has been subject to physical abuse and these reports were investigated by the Luxembourg judicial police.In February2023 it was reported by several Luxembourg based media that the Grand Duchess had once again been accused of treating staff poorly during an outfit fitting in October 22. The incident even involved the Prime Ministerof Luxembourg having to speak to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess about the treatment of the staff and commissioning a report into it.FamilyMaria Teresa married Prince Henri of Luxembourg in a civil ceremony on4 February 1981 and a religious ceremony on 14 February 1981, since Valentine's Day was their favourite holiday. The consent of the Grand Duke had been previously given on 7 November 1980. She received abouquet of red roses and a sugarcane as a wedding gift from Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. The couple has five children: Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prince Félix of Luxembourg, Prince Louis ofLuxembourg, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, and Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, They were born at Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg City.HonoursNationalLuxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of theHouse of Nassau Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of NassauForeignAustria: Grand Star  of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold I Brazil:Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant Finland: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland France: Grand Cross of the Order of National Merit Greece:Grand Cross of the Order of Beneficence Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Japan: Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the Order of the Precious Crown Latvia: Commander Grand Cross ofthe Order of the Three Stars Netherlands:Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands LionGrand Cross of the Order of the Crown Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of Saint OlavPortugal- Portuguese RoyalFamily:Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saint Isabel Portugal:Grand Cross of the Order of ChristGrand Cross of the Order of Saint James of the SwordGrand Cross of the Order of Infante HenryGrand Cross of theOrder of Camões Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania Spain: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III Sweden:Member of the Royal Order of the SeraphimCommander Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of the Polar StarRecipient of the 50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI GustafFootnotesExternal links Media related to Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg at Wikimedia CommonsOfficialwebsiteThe Mentor Foundation charity websitePassage 5:Gertrude of BavariaGertrude of Bavaria (Danish and German: Gertrud; 1152/55–1197) was Duchess of Swabia as the spouse of Duke Frederick IV, and Queen ofDenmark as the spouse of King Canute VI.Gertrude was born to Henry the Lion of Bavaria and Saxony and Clementia of Zähringen in either 1152 or 1155. She was married to Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, in 1166, andbecame a widow in 1167. In 1171 she was engaged and in February 1177 married to Canute of Denmark in Lund. The couple lived the first years in Skåne. On 12 May 1182, they became king and queen. She did nothave any children. During her second marriage, she chose to live in chastity and celibacy with her husband. Arnold of Lübeck remarked of their marriage, that her spouse was: "The most chaste one, living thus his dayswith his chaste spouse" in eternal chastity.Passage 6:Jimmy GalluJimmy Gallu is a 1982 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by K. S. L. Swamy and produced by Shashirekha. The story is written by VenugopalKasaragod. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Sripriya, Lokesh and Hema Choudhary. The film was widely appreciated for its songs and story upon release. The songs composed by Vijaya Bhaskar were huge hits. The filmwas remade in Telugu as Muddayi and in Hindi as Mulzim.CastVishnuvardhan as JimmySripriya as SudhaLokeshHema ChowdharySundar Krishna UrsKeerthi VishnuvardhanVajramuniThoogudeepa SrinivasDwarakishK. S.AshwathTiger PrabhakarN. S. RaoShashikalaDineshSoundtrackThe music of the film was composed by Vijaya Bhaskar and the lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The songs "Thuttu Anna" sung by Vishnuvardhanand the duet song "Deva Mandiradalli" were received extremely well.Passage 7:Sophia Magdalena of DenmarkSophia Magdalena of Denmark (Danish: Sophie Magdalene; Swedish: Sofia Magdalena; 3 July 1746 – 21August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III. Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter of King FrederickV of Denmark and Norway and his first consort, Princess Louise of Great Britain. Already at the age of five, she was betrothed to Gustav, the heir apparent to the throne of Sweden, as part of an attempt to improve thetraditionally tense relationship between the two Scandinavian realms. She was subsequently brought up to be the Queen of Sweden, and they married in 1766. In 1771, Sophia's husband ascended to the throne andbecame King of Sweden, making Sophia Queen of Sweden. Their coronation was on 29 May 1772.The politically arranged marriage was unsuccessful. The desired political consequences for the mutual relations betweenthe two countries did not materialize, and on a personal level the union also proved to be unhappy. Sophia Magdalena was of a quiet and serious nature, and found it difficult to adjust to her husband's pleasure seekingcourt. She dutifully performed her ceremonial duties but did not care for social life and was most comfortable in quiet surroundings with a few friends. However, she was liked by many in the Caps party, believing shewas a symbol of virtue and religion. The relationship between the spouses improved somewhat in the years from 1775 to 1783, but subsequently deteriorated again.After her husband was assassinated in 1792, SophiaMagdalena withdrew from public life, and led a quiet life as dowager queen until her death in 1813.Early lifePrincess Sophie Magdalene was born on 3 July 1746 at her parents' residence Charlottenborg Palace, located atthe large square, Kongens Nytorv, in central Copenhagen. She was the second child and first daughter of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his first consort, the former Princess Louise of Great Britain, and wasnamed for her grandmother, Queen Sophie Magdalene. She received her own royal household at birth.Just one month after her birth, her grandfather King Christian VI died, and Princess Sophie Magdalene's fatherascended the throne as King Frederick V. She was the heir presumptive to the throne of Denmark from the death of her elder brother in 1747 until the birth of her second brother in 1749, and retained her status as nextin line to the Danish throne after her brother until her marriage. She was therefore often referred to as Crown Princess of Denmark.In the spring of 1751, at the age of five, she was betrothed to Gustav, the heirapparent to the throne of Sweden, and she was brought up to be the Queen of Sweden. The marriage was arranged by the Riksdag of the Estates, not by the Swedish royal family. The marriage was arranged as a wayof creating peace between Sweden and Denmark, which had a long history of war and which had strained relations following the election of an heir to the Swedish throne in 1743, where the Danish candidate had lost.The engagement was met with some worry from Queen Louise, who feared that her daughter would be mistreated by the Queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. The match was known to be disliked by the Queen ofSweden, who was in constant conflict with the Parliament; and who was known in Denmark for her pride, dominant personality and hatred of anything Danish, which she demonstrated in her treatment of the Danishambassadors in Stockholm.After the death of her mother early in her life, Sophia Magdalena was given a very strict and religious upbringing by her grandmother and her stepmother, who considered her father andbrother to be morally degenerate. She is noted to have had good relationships with her siblings, her grandmother and her stepmother; her father, however, often frightened her when he came before her drunk, and wasreportedly known to set his dogs upon her, causing in her a lifelong phobia.In 1760, the betrothal was again brought up by Denmark, which regarded it as a matter of prestige. The negotiations were made betweenDenmark and the Swedish Queen, as King Adolf Frederick of Sweden was never considered to be of any more than purely formal importance. Louisa Ulrika favored a match between Gustav and her niece Philippine ofBrandenburg-Schwedt instead, and claimed that she regarded the engagement to be void and forced upon her by Carl Gustaf Tessin. She negotiated with Catherine the Great and her brother Frederick the Great tocreate some political benefit for Denmark in exchange for a broken engagement. However, the Swedish public was very favorable to the match due to expectations Sophia Magdalena would be like the last Danish-bornQueen of Sweden, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, who was very loved for her kindness and charity. This view was supported by the Caps political party, which expected Sophia Magdalena to be an example of a virtuousand religious representative of the monarchy in contrast to the haughty Louisa Ulrika. Fredrick V of Denmark was also eager to complete the match: "His Danish Majesty could not have the interests of his daughtersacrificed because of the prejudices and whims of the Swedish Queen". In 1764 Crown Prince Gustav, who was at this point eager to free himself from his mother and form his own household, used the public opinion tostate to his mother that he wished to honor the engagement, and on 3 April 1766, the engagement was officially celebrated.When a portrait of Sophia Magdalena was displayed in Stockholm, Louisa Ulrika commented:"why Gustav, you seem to be already in love with her! She looks stupid", after which she turned to Prince Charles and added: "She would suit you better!"Crown PrincessOn 1 October 1766, Sophia Magdalena wasmarried to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen with her brother Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, as representative of her groom. She traveled in the royal golden sloop from Kronborg inDenmark over Öresund to Hälsingborg in Sweden; when she was halfway, the Danish cannon salute ended, and the Swedish started to fire. In Helsingborg, she was welcomed by her brother-in-law Prince Charles ofHesse, who had crossed the sea shortly before her, the Danish envoy in Stockholm, Baron Schack, as well as Crown Prince Gustav himself. As she was about to set foot on ground, Gustav was afraid that she would fall,and he therefore reached her his hand with the words: "Watch out, Madame!", a reply which quickly became a topic of gossip at the Swedish court.The couple then traveled by land toward Stockholm, being celebrated