MP Materials

# MP Materials

## Abstract

MP Materials Corp. is an American rare-earth materials company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. MP Materials owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine, the only operating rare earth mine and processing facility in the United States. The rare earth materials industry is dominated by China, which produces 60% of the world's rare earth elements and processes 90% of these materials, including imports from other countries. MP Materials focuses its production on Neodymium - Praseodymium (NdPr), a rare earth material used in high-strength permanent magnets that power the traction motors found in electric vehicles, robotics, wind turbines, drones and other advanced motion technologies. MP Materials is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MP". As of December 2021, JHL Capital Group, QVT Financial and CEO James Litinsky were the company's three largest shareholders, with about 7.7% of the company owned by Shenghe Resources, a Chinese rare earth business located in Sichuan.

## History

In 2015, Molycorp, the previous owners of the Mountain Pass mine, filed for bankruptcy. At the time, it was the only U.S. producer of rare earth elements. While in bankruptcy, Secure Natural Resources (SNR), a company owned by Molycorp's creditors, including JHL Capital Group, gained control of the mine's mineral rights. In June 2017, the Mountain Pass mine was purchased at auction for $20.5 million by a new entity called MP Mine Operations LLC (MPMO). MPMO was a consortium formed principally by JHL Capital Group, a Chicago-based investment firm led by James Litinsky, along with QVT Financial LP and Shenghe Resources. Shenghe, a Sichuan China rare earth company, held a minority, non-voting interest. At the time, Mountain Pass was in a state of "care and maintenance" and had only eight employees according to Litinsky.

Following the asset acquisitions and formation of the entities that became MP Materials, the company restarted operations at Mountain Pass. On July 15, 2020, the company announced a reverse takeover whereby MPMO and SNR would be merged with Fortress Value Acquisition Corporation to become a public company under the name MP Materials Corp. The transaction, which closed on November 17, 2020, raised $545 million. On November 18, 2020, MP Materials began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MP".

In December 2021, MP Materials signed a long-term agreement with General Motors to provide neodymium-iron-boron magnets for use in GM's electric vehicle motors. As part of the contract, MP Materials also agreed to provide alloy and finished magnets to GM for its electric vehicles and to open a new factory located in Fort Worth, Texas to produce the magnets.

As of December 2021, JHL Capital Group, QVT Financial, and CEO James Litinsky were the company's three largest shareholders, and about 7.7% of the company was owned by Shenghe Resources, a Chinese company. Apart from institutions, other investors own 18%.

MP Materials and Australia's Lynas held a confidential discussion regarding a potential merger which fell through on February 5, 2024. Lynas is the second largest rare earth material company outside of China.

As of 2024, CEO James Litinsky was the company's largest shareholder. Other large shareholders include Vanguard, Shenghe Resources, BlackRock and Hancock Prospecting.

In April 2024, Hancock Prospecting, an Australian mining firm owned by Gina Rinehart, disclosed a 5.3% stake in MP Materials, comprising 8.8 million shares, and a 5.8% stake in Lynas.

### Mountain Pass mine

Discovered in 1949 in San Bernardino County, California, Mountain Pass mine consists of a bastnäsite ore-body with significant concentrations of rare earth elements. The mine once supplied most of the world's rare earth elements. Mountain Pass is the only operational rare earth mining and processing facility in the United States. The expected Mountain Pass mine life is approximately 24 years.

MP Materials produced 28,000 tonnes of rare-earth oxide equivalent from Mountain Pass in 2019, and 38,500 tonnes in 2020, or more than 15% of global production. As of late 2020, Shenghe Resources was the sole purchaser of MP Material's rare earth concentrate.

As of 2023, MP Materials had a three-stage plan for scaling its operations:

- Stage I: Production of rare earth concentrate

- Stage II: Production of separated and refined rare earths

- Stage III: Production of rare earth metals, alloys, and permanent magnets

As of 2023, stages II and III were underway and the company had begun production of refined rare earths. MP Materials signed a supply chain agreement with Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation in 2023.

## U.S. government contracts

In July 2020, the United States Department of Defense issued a preliminary contract to MP Materials intended to restore domestic heavy rare earth production and separation capabilities to the United States. In November 2020, the United States Department of Defense awarded MP Materials $9.6 million as part of a government effort to increase domestic production of rare earth materials.

On September 30, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order targeting China's dominance of rare earth materials. In the executive order, he expressed concern for the heavy reliance of the US on China for 80 percent of rare earth materials. He reiterated the importance of producing and refining rare earth in the US and discussed various tariffs and government grants to rare earth material companies such as MP Materials.

In 2021, MP Materials received $3 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy to design and study the feasibility of a system to produce rare earth oxides and metals from coal by-products in collaboration with the University of Kentucky.

In February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced at a press conference that the United States Department of Defense was investing $35 million into MP Materials as part of an effort to spur domestic rare earth production in the United States. Biden said that this move was designed to reduce America's reliance on rare earth minerals imported from other countries. The Biden administration said the federal funding is earmarked to assist the company to develop a new commercial facility for “heavy” rare earth mineral processing.

On May 24, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a 25 percent tariff on rare earth magnets from China, set to take effect in 2026. This marks the first time that critical minerals, including rare earth magnets, have been specifically included in the tariffs. Following the tariffs MP Materials put out a statement listing the tariffs. After the announcement, CEO James Litinsky attended an event with Biden at the White House.


Felix Rosenqvist

# Felix Rosenqvist

## Abstract

Karl Felix Helmer Rosenqvist (born 7 November 1991) is a Swedish professional racing driver who currently drives the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series. He was named Rookie of the Year for the IndyCar Series in 2019.

## Racing career

### Formula Renault

Rosenqvist started his single-seater career in Asia, he won the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Asia and 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 Sweden/NEZ titles.

### German Formula 3 Championship

In 2010 he was fifth in the German Formula Three Championship with two victories, eight podiums, and one pole position. He also attended the 2010 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three where he finished ninth after having qualified seventh in his debut with the same Swedish /British racing team Performance Racing.

### European Formula 3 Championship

For 2011, he graduated to the Formula 3 Euro Series with the Mücke Motorsport team, where he finished fifth with one win, 10 podiums, and five fastest laps, and won the Masters of Formula 3 in his rookie year.

In 2012 he finished third in the 2012 European Formula 3 Championship and finished second in Macau Grand Prix.

The year after he narrowly missed out on the 2013 European Formula 3 Championship title to Raffaele Marciello, however winning the Masters of Formula 3 for a second time from pole position. In Macau Grand Prix he started the race from the front row but collided with Raffaele Marciello and Pipo Derani to retire in the first lap.

In his fourth year with Mücke Motorsport, the Swede finished eighth in the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship in a disappointing campaign. He ended the year with a very welcomed win in the 2014 Macau Grand Prix from pole position ahead of teammate Lucas Auer

In 2015 he switched to Prema Powerteam, claiming the 2015 European Formula 3 Championship title with 13 victories, 24 podiums, and 17 pole positions. He would also take his second consecutive victory in the 2015 Macau Grand Prix, again from pole position. His extended Formula 3 career meant that he would become the most successful Formula 3 racer of all time.

### Indy Lights

In February 2016 he announced that he would compete in the 2016 Indy Lights series for Belardi Auto Racing as he failed to bring the budget for a continued programme in GP2 Series with Prema Powerteam. Rosenqvist had a reduced programme in the series, competing in only 10 of the 18 races, as he later in the season would have clashing commitments with his sportscar programme with Mercedes-Benz in Europe. He scored 3 wins in his campaign. He had a successful test in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, saying he would be happy to return to the American racing scene later in his career.

### GT Racing

Rosenqvist joined the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup together with French Tristan Vautier, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for AKKA-ASP Team where they together scored 1 victory, 3 podiums out of the 10 races and finished 7th in the overall standings. The same duo together with Renger van der Zande lined up for the classic 2016 24 Hours of Spa where they reached 2nd place after all Mercedes-Benz cars have been given a 5-minute stop and go penalty.

### DTM

Rosenqvist started 2016 with a role as official reserve driver, having continued his long partnership with Mercedes-Benz before being promoted to a race seat with one of the cars run by ART Grand Prix following Esteban Ocon 's departure to Manor Racing in Formula One. He made an impressive debut in Moscow where he finished 10th and scored points in his first-ever race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

### Formula E

On 22 August 2016, it was announced that Rosenqvist would partner former Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld at the Mahindra Formula E team for the 2016–17 Formula E season. On 10 June 2017, he won the first race at the Berlin ePrix. It would be the first victory for him, as well as for his team. At the end of 2018, he made his last race start in Formula E before moving on to the Indy Car Series.

### Street circuits

Rosenqvist is known to be a street circuit specialist having won in Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Honda Indy Toronto, Grand Prix de Pau, Norisring and Macau Grand Prix twice, where he has started 7 times from the front row.

### Super Formula

Rosenqvist raced in the Super Formula series for the 2017 season with Team LeMans. The same team that his manager Stefan Johansson raced with in Japanese F2 in 1981.

### Super GT

Rosenqvist raced in the Super GT series for the 2018 season with Team LeMans, the same team he raced in the Super Formula series the year before. He replaced Andrea Caldarelli 's position in the team.

### IndyCar Series

Rosenqvist signed with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2019 IndyCar Series. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors after finishing sixth in the championship standings. In the 2020 season, Rosenqvist won his first IndyCar race at the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America.

On 13 October 2020 it was announced Rosenqvist would leave the team and join Arrow McLaren SP in 2021, replacing Oliver Askew in the organization's No. 7 entry.

On 12 June 2021, at the first of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix weekend doubleheader, Rosenqvist suffered a significant crash on lap 28 as his #7 Arrow McLaren car experienced a stuck throttle and as a result, his car crashed hard into the wall. He did not suffer any life-threatening injuries but was taken to a downtown Detroit hospital for further evaluation. Rosenqvist was released the following day from the hospital but was not cleared to participate in the second Detroit race nor the following round at Road America a week later. He was replaced in said races by Oliver Askew and Kevin Magnussen respectively, with Magnussen making his IndyCar debut.

He stayed with McLaren for 2022, and picked up his first podium with the team at Toronto. It was announced in September that he would also be driving for the team in 2023. Rosenqvist picked up three pole positions on the season at Texas, the IMS Road Course, and Laguna Seca. However he was again unable to pick up a race win for Arrow McLaren, with his best finish on the season being second at Portland.

On 5 September 2023, Meyer Shank Racing announced that Rosenqvist would drive the No. 60 Honda in a multi-year deal. In the early portion of the season Rosenqvist lead a significant uptick in performance at Meyer Shank Racing, starting near the front of the field at St. Petersburg and taking pole at Long Beach, the latter of which gave Meyer Shank Racing their first ever IndyCar pole position.

## Racing record

### Career summary

As Rosenqvist was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. Season still in progress.

### Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

### Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

(key)

### American open-wheel racing results

#### IndyCar Series

(key)

* Season still in progress.

### Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

### Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Driver did not finish the race but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

### Complete Super Formula results

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

### Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship

Rosenqvist did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points. Season still in progress.


Pink Friday

# Pink Friday

## Abstract

Pink Friday is the debut studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 22, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records. After signing a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment in 2009, Minaj began planning the album that same year and work continued into 2010. Minaj enlisted a variety of producers whose efforts resulted in a primarily hip hop, pop, and R&B album, in which sees additional influences from electronic music. The album features guest vocals from Eminem, Rihanna, Drake, will.i.am, Kanye West, and Natasha Bedingfield. Over a decade since its release, Pink Friday continues to attract wide praise from mainstream and hip hop critics alike and has developed a cult following.

The album was promoted with eight singles; " Your Love ", " Check It Out ", " Right Thru Me ", " Moment 4 Life ", " Super Bass ", " Did It On'em ", " Girls Fall Like Dominoes ", and " Fly ". "Super Bass" peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top ten worldwide, while five other singles peaked within the top 40 on the Hot 100. Minaj also supported the album with a five-date promotional concert tour during October 2010. After a much anticipated release, Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 375,000 copies in its first week, marking the second highest sales debut ever for a female rapper since Lauryn Hill. The album later peaked at number one, becoming Minaj's first number one album.

The album received positive reviews from critics, however some were ambivalent on Minaj's exploration of pop. Internationally, it also charted within the top 20 in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of February 2018, the album has sold two million traditional copies in the United States. The album has been certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined album sales, track sales, and song streams equivalent of three million album-sale units. Pink Friday was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, alongside Minaj's other nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for the single " Moment 4 Life ".

In 2022, Rolling Stone included Pink Friday in their list of "200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time" at number 31, stating that the album "proved you could own the charts without dialing back your confrontational individuality, and it set the table for a generation of artists." A sequel to the album, Pink Friday 2, was released in 2023.

## Recording and production

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009, that Nicki Minaj had signed to the label. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording locations, including 25 Sound Studios in Detroit, Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California. American record producer Swizz Beatz confirmed that his collaboration with Minaj for the album, with Minaj discussing a song, "Catch Me", describing it as "moody" and "mellow futuristic ", would later became a bonus track on the album. Minaj also confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the Black Eyed Peas member and record producer will.i.am contributed production to the album. Fellow rapper and record producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album. Fellow record producer Bangladesh also contributed to the album. In 2011, there was a track, titled "We Miss You", from the album being leaked online. Minaj responded by saying that the song "was sent to Mariah Carey and Keyshia Cole over a year ago", but did not "make it on Pink Friday, due to clearance issues".

## Music and lyrics

" Your Love " is a mid-tempo hip hop, pop, and R&B song, with an auto-tuned chorus. It samples the instrumentals and background vocals of Annie Lennox 's cover version of " No More I Love You's " by the Lover Speaks, with the addition of additional bass, drum-loops and hip-hop backbeats. " Roman's Revenge " features American rapper Eminem; the song includes both rappers exchanging bars over a " spastic beat" produced by Swizz Beatz. Lyrically, "Roman's Revenge" has been described as "unrelenting", "bonkers", "angry" and "outrageous". " Did It On'em " is a hardcore hip hop and post-dubstep song that has instrumentally been described as having a massive, ungainly beat. The lyrics speak of Minaj winning over her competition, by saying she "shitted on 'em" or "pissed on 'em."

" Right Thru Me " is styled with pop-rap tones, and has an electronic beat, while being influenced by R&B. Lyrically, the song describes someone who wonders aloud about how a lover can see the real her. Lyrically, " Moment 4 Life ", is about a desire to maintain a feeling of accomplishment, as Drake follows behind Minaj and raps the same theme of enjoying the moment. Straying away from the standard rap song construction of three verses and a hook, Nicki performs a brain-dump of sorts on the track, spitting as if she's making a speech to both her fans and detractors. " Check It Out " features the nearly constant repetition of the piano and vocal hook from the Buggles ' 1979 classic, " Video Killed the Radio Star ", which is famous for being the first video ever played on MTV. " Super Bass " utilizes electronic music and bubblegum pop in its composition, while Minaj raps over a hip hop beat, Minaj explained the song's concept, stating: "'Super Bass' is about the boy that you are crushing over, And you kind of want to get your mack on, but you're taking the playful approach."

## Singles

" Massive Attack " was released on April 13, 2010, through digital distribution. The song was a distinct change from Minaj's previous work on mixtapes and features, thus receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics, commending lyrical content and distinctiveness, but critiquing that it did not fit her " Barbie " persona well. The song bubbled under the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 22, and peaked at number 65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Massive Attack" was initially announced as the album's lead single, however, after the single's poor chart performance, it was pulled from the album.

"Your Love" was released as the album's first official US single on June 1, 2010, and as the first single in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2010. Initially, the song had never been planned for release, but due to abounding airplay it was mastered and used as the follow-up to "Massive Attack". The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Hot Rap Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks. Minaj became the first female artist to top the Hot Rap Songs chart unaccompanied since 2002. It also charted in Canada and the UK.

"Check It Out" was released on September 3, 2010. It was a joint single from the album between will.i.am and Minaj. A music video for the song was directed by Rich Lee and was released on October 25, 2010. The song has since peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Right Thru Me" was released on September 24, 2010. A music video directed by Diane Martel was released for the single on October 27, 2010. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Moment 4 Life", which features Drake, was released on December 7, 2010, as the album's fourth single. The music video for "Moment 4 Life" was released on January 27, 2011. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts. "Roman's Revenge" featuring Eminem was released as a promotional single to iTunes on October 30, 2010.

"Super Bass" was released as the album's fifth single and officially impacted radio on April 5, 2011. It was released to iTunes in some markets on May 13, 2011. The song became an international top ten hit. In its seventh week on the Billboard Hot 100, the song had peaked at number 3, making it Minaj's first top ten placement as a lead artist.

"Did It On'em" was sent to Urban radio on April 7, 2011, as the album's sixth single. The song peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at numbers 3 and 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts respectively. " Girls Fall Like Dominoes " was released in Australia on April 11, 2011, and in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2011.

" Fly ", which features Rihanna, was the album's eighth and final single. It was sent to US rhythmic radio and to Top 40/Mainstream radio on August 30, 2011. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as in the top 20 in Australia and the United Kingdom.

## Release and promotion

On July 8, 2010, Minaj announced via Twitter that the album would be released on November 23, 2010. It was later announced that the album was pushed up by one day to November 22, 2010. Minaj's official website and related social networking outlets later announced that the digital download version of the album would be available for pre-order through iTunes on October 30, less than a month before the release date of the physical edition.

On her Twitter, Minaj stated that if she reached one million followers she would dedicate a Ustream to her fans. On August 3, 2010, Minaj went on Ustream to call fans who emailed her their phone numbers and to reveal the album's title. Later that same day, Minaj revealed on Ustream that the album's name would be Pink Friday, stating, "To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday !" A deluxe edition of the album was also confirmed. Minaj released the official artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010. Rap-Up commented on the album cover, stating "The cover features Minaj as a doll alarmingly staring at the camera, sitting armless on the ground with her elongated legs in a flowing silver corset, pink stilettos, and a stark pink wig." GL Woods, the photographer of the cover, stated that Minaj wanted to look like a "broken Barbie". Woods photographed Minaj for an Out, which had a similar theme; according to the photographer, Minaj was inspired by the photoshoot.

Prior to the release of Pink Friday, MAC Cosmetics announced and launched a lipstick called "Pink 4 Friday" that was sold for four consecutive Fridays beginning November 26, 2010, in promotion of the album. In 2011, OPI Products created a six-piece nail polish collection with Minaj, in which the colors of the collection were named after select songs from the album. In December 2011, Mattel produced a custom-made, Minaj-themed Barbie doll valued at about $15,000 for auction. The doll's design was modeled after Minaj as how she appears on the Pink Friday album cover, with the pink wig and a similar outfit.

A 2020 reissue of the album, titled "Complete Edition", was released to coincide with its 10th anniversary on November 20, 2020, containing all the bonus tracks that were released from other versions of the album, such as " Bedrock ", and the Lil Wayne remix of "Roman's Revenge".

## Tour

Minaj announced via the social networking site Twitter that she would kick off a five-date promotional tour a month before the album dropped. Tweeting, "Ok Barbz, here are the 1st 5 dates on my Pink Friday Tour," the tour began in Philadelphia on October 22, and ran through October 30 in Trinidad and Tobago.

## Critical reception

Pink Friday was met with mostly positive critical reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on 26 reviews.

Reviewing the album for The Boston Globe, James Reed called it "a brash pop album brimming with Minaj's various personae and Technicolor rhymes". Entertainment Weekly ' s Brad Wete applauded Minaj's "knack for melody" and "boasting lyrics", while Sam Wolfson of NME noted Minaj's "pop sensibility", "volatility and quirks... reminiscent of heyday Lil Wayne". Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler commented that the album "shows Minaj is on the cusp", while Ann Powers noted Minaj's attempt to showcase her multi-faceted range and complimented her female perspective. Marc Hogan of Spin said it succeeded more as "a budding artist's love letter to pop – well-wrought and exuberantly penned", while Pitchfork critic Scott Plagenhoef believed "even when she's aiming down the middle of the road, she's at least better than almost anyone else", while citing the hip-hop bonus tracks "Blow Ya Mind" and "Muny" as among the album's best. He stated that the "pop album" is "a depressing Nicki Minaj album." AllMusic 's David Jeffries wrote that the album "both dazzles and disappoints", stating "Feed off the production, the great musical ideas, and Minaj's keen sense of her surroundings, and Pink Friday is an outstanding success". Allison Stewart of The Washington Post wrote that the album "nibbles at the edges of what female rappers are allowed to do, even as it provides a steady helping of pop hits". Robert Christgau from MSN Music called Minaj "the quick-lipped hoyden of the year" who is "proud to be shameless, with the hooks to back it up", and later named Pink Friday the 12th best album of 2010.

Some reviewers were more critical. Andy Gill of The Independent felt that "Right Thru Me" is the only track that exhibits "adequate use of R&B vocal skills" among an album of unoriginal "rap braggadocio ". Slant Magazine ' s Jesse Cataldo praised Minaj's versatility on tracks like "Roman's Revenge", but was disappointed with the collaborative "Moment 4 Life", noting she could have shown more confidence by acting as a foil for Drake, but didn't. In The Observer, Kitty Empire called the album a "triumph of prevarication", but observed a stylistic identity crisis, with a satisfactory but characterless portion of pop music. Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice criticized the album's "R&B crossover" material and found it lyrically "underwhelming". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian commented that "for every burst of originality, there's a burst of generic frosty synth and Auto-Tune", noting that "the pop- and R&B-influenced tracks simply aren't as exciting, lyrically or musically, as the foam-mouthed hardcore ones".

## Commercial performance

Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 375,000 copies in its first week. This marked the second-highest sales week for a female hip hop recording artist, behind Lauryn Hill 's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998. On December 17, 2010, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In its eleventh week on the chart, the album sold 45,000 copies and topped the Billboard 200. The album also held the record for the most weeks in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart by a female rap album, having spent fourteen consecutive weeks in the top ten since its release. On March 22, 2016, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for combined album sales, track sales, on-demand audio, and video streams equivalent of three million album-sale units. As of February 2018, the album has sold two million traditional copies in the United States.

Internationally, Pink Friday peaked at number eight in Canada, and within the top twenty in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, it has sold 282,000 copies, as of April 2012.

## Legacy

According to DeMicia Inman of Nylon, Pink Friday ' s commercial success "propelled into worldwide fame, which comes with more weight and responsibility than handing out mixtapes and street DVDs in club parking lots" and also "expanded the constraints that previously contained women to battle it out for a metaphorical throne". Dayna Haffenden of Complex wrote that "throughout the 13-song tracklist, she proved her pen game was not to be questioned, while showcasing her vulnerability and chameleonic abilities". Nick Soulsby of PopMatters wrote that "we're witnessing an avalanche of female rappers rising to the top" and that "we're living in a house that Minaj built and recognition that she is the finest rapper of the past decade... is overdue". Billboard credited Pink Friday with helping Minaj reintroduce female rap into the mainstream in the United States. Writing in 2021, Ellish Gilligan of Junkee wrote that "the influence of Pink Friday in pop, rap and even hyperpop in undeniable" and added that it is still inspiring albums like Doja Cat 's Planet Her (2021). In 2020, Dayna Haffenden of Complex Magazine wrote, " unwavering success has inspired a generation of rappers who have followed in her footsteps" and further went on to say that, "One decade later, Nicki Minaj's debut album can still be picked apart for gems, laughs, and a break from reality, which is ultimately a testament to its lasting legacy. Pink Friday proved that Minaj is here to stay, and she doesn't need anything but her art to speak for itself."

## Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Pink Friday.

Sample credits

- "Check It Out" samples " Video Killed the Radio Star " performed by The Buggles, and elements and samples of "Think (About It)" written by James Brown, performed by Lyn Collins.

- "Blazin" samples " Don't You (Forget About Me) ", written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff, as performed by Simple Minds.

- "Here I Am" samples "Red Sky" by John B and Shaz Sparks.

- "Your Love" samples " No More I Love You's " by Annie Lennox.

- "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" contains samples from " Dominos " written by The Big Pink, and interpolations of "Trailar Load a Girls" written by Cleveland Browne, Greville Gordon and Whycliffe Johnson.

## Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.

- Chris Bellman – mastering

- Joshua Berkman – A&R

- Sandy Brummels – art direction

- Noel Cadastre – assistant

- Dwayne "Tha President" Carter – executive producer

- Lyttleton "Cartwheel" Carter – assistant

- Ariel Chobaz – engineer, mixing

- Seandrae "Mr. Bangladesh" Crawford – producer

- James Cruz – A&R, management

- Sean Combs – management

- DJ Ammo – synthesizer

- Dylan Dresdow – mixing

- Chris Gehringer – mastering

- Kevin Hissink – electric guitar

- John B. – keyboards, producer, programming

- Padraic Kerin – engineer

- Kidus Henok – A&R

- Kenny Meiselas – legal counsel

- Drew Money – producer

- Charles Moniz – engineer

- J.R. Rotem – arranger, mixing

- Safaree "SB" Samuels – A&R, vocals

- Ed Shapiro – legal counsel

- Noah "40" Shebib – engineer

- Olivia Smith – package design

- Shaz Sparks – vocals

- Swizz Beatz – producer

- T-Minus – producer

- Pop Wansel – producer

- will.i.am – drum programming, engineer, producer, synthesizer

- Bryan Williams – executive producer

- Ronald Williams – executive producer

- G.L. Wood – photography

## Charts


The Atomic Cafe

# The Atomic Cafe

## Abstract

The Atomic Cafe is a 1982 American documentary film directed by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty. It is a compilation of clips from newsreels, military training films, and other footage produced in the United States early in the Cold War on the subject of nuclear warfare. Without any narration, the footage is edited and presented in a manner to demonstrate how misinformation and propaganda was used by the U.S. government and popular culture to ease fears about nuclear weapons among the American public.

In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

## Synopsis

The film covers the beginnings of the era of nuclear warfare, created from a broad range of archival material from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s including newsreel clips, television news footage, U.S. government-produced films (including military training films), advertisements, television and radio programs. News footage reflected the prevailing understanding of the media and public. The film covers both the impact of the atomic bomb on popular culture and daily life, as well as documents the military's increasing fascination with carrying out more and more dangerous tests. The film opens with footage of the Trinity Test and concludes with a montage of stock footage simulating a nuclear attack on the United States.

Though the topic of atomic holocaust is a grave matter, much of the humor derives from the modern audience's reaction to old training films, such as the Duck and Cover film shown in schools. Another sequence involves footage of US Army training maneuvers in which soldiers are instructed to walk into a mushroom cloud as part of an exercise to study how efficiently the armed forces could kill the survivors of a nuclear bomb strike if Soviet Soldiers ever made it to US soil; prior to the beginning of the exercise, the soldiers are informed, "Viewed from a safe distance, the atomic bomb is one of the most beautiful sights ever seen by man."

### People shown

The following people are shown in excerpts from speeches, interviews and news reports: Lloyd Bentsen, William H. P. Blandy, Owen Brewster, Frank Gallop, Lyndon Johnson, Maurice Joyce, Nikita Khrushchev, Brien McMahon, Seymour Melman, George Molan, Richard Nixon, Val Peterson, George Portell, George Putnam, Ronald Reagan, Ethel Rosenberg, Julius Rosenberg, Mario Salvadori, Lewis Strauss, Paul Tibbets, Harry S. Truman, and James E. Van Zandt.

## Historical context

The Atomic Cafe, referred to as a "compilation verite " with no "voice of God narration" or any recently shot footage, was released at the height of nostalgia and cynicism in America. By 1982, Americans lost much of their faith in their government following the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal the previous decade, alongside the seemingly never-ending arms race with the Soviet Union. The Atomic Cafe reflects and reinforces this idea as it exposes how the atomic bomb's dangers were downplayed and how the government used films to shape public opinion. Loader, who grew up in 50s-60s Fort Worth, Texas living across the street to E.O. "Soapy" Gillam, better known as the "bomb shelter king of North Texas", while also remembering one of her friends used her family's bunker as a clubhouse/secret party spot, felt compelled to revisiting the era that formed her childhood.

The Atomic Cafe was also released during the Reagan administration 's civil defense revival. Barry Posen and Stephen Van Evera explain this revival in their article "Defense Policy and the Reagan Administration: Departure from Containment" published in International Security. They argue that in 1981–82 the Reagan administration was moving from an essentially defensive grand strategy of containment to a more offensive strategy. Due to the greater demands of its more offensive strategy "the Reagan Administration... proposed the biggest military buildup since the Korean War." Of key relevance to The Atomic Cafe, the Reagan move toward offense included the adoption of a more aggressive nuclear strategy that required a large U.S. nuclear buildup. Containment only required that U.S. strategic nuclear forces be capable of one mission: inflicting unacceptable damage on the Soviet Union even after absorbing an all-out Soviet surprise attack. To this "assured destruction" mission the Reagan administration added a second "counterforce" mission, which required the capacity to launch a nuclear first strike against Soviet strategic nuclear forces that would leave the Soviets unable to inflict unacceptable damage on the U.S. in retaliation. The U.S. had always invested in counterforce but the Reagan administration put even greater emphasis on it. The counterforce mission was far more demanding than the assured destruction mission, and required a vast expansion of U.S. nuclear forces to fulfill. Civil defense was a component of a counterforce strategy, as it reduced Soviet retaliatory capacity, hence civil defense was a candidate for more spending under Reagan's counterforce nuclear strategy. Posen and Van Evera argue that this counterforce strategy was a warrant for an open-ended U.S. nuclear buildup.

Bob Mielke, in "Rhetoric and Ideology in the Nuclear Test Documentary" (Film Quarterly) discusses the release of The Atomic Cafe: "This satire feature was released at the height of the nuclear freeze movement (which was in turn responding to the Reagan administration's surreal handling of the arms race.)"

In "Atomic Café" (Film Quarterly), Fred Glass points out that the technical and cultural background needed to create the film was not available in 1955. The film's themes, critical of government propaganda and the nuclear arms race, would have been seen as unpatriotic during the McCarthy era. And getting the necessary permits and funding to make Atomic Café can be quite difficult.

Patricia Aufderheide, in Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction touches on the significance of The Atomic Cafe as a window into the past of government propaganda and disinformation during the years following the advent of the atomic bomb.

Propaganda, also known as disinformation, public diplomacy, and strategic communication, continues to be an important tool for governments. But stand-alone documentary is no longer an important part of public relations campaigns aimed at the general public.

It has also been known as a postmodernist film.

## Production

The Atomic Cafe was produced over a five-year period through the collaborative efforts of three directors: Jayne Loader and brothers Kevin and Pierce Rafferty. For this film, the Rafferty brothers and Loader formed a production company called The Archives Project. The filmmakers opted not to use narration. Instead, they deployed carefully constructed sequences of film clips to make their points. Jayne Loader has referred to The Atomic Cafe as "compilation verite": a compilation film with no "Voice of God" narration and no new footage added by the filmmakers. The soundtrack utilizes atomic-themed songs from the Cold War era to underscore the themes of the film.

The film cost $300,000 to make. The group did receive some financial support from outside sources, including the Film Fund, a New York City based non-profit. Grants comprised a nominal amount of the team's budget, and the film was largely funded by the filmmakers themselves. Jayne Loader stated in an interview, "Had we relied on grants, we would have starved." Pierce Rafferty helped to support the team and the film financially by working as a consultant and researcher on several other documentary films including the Oscar-nominated El Salvador: Another Vietnam, the Oscar-nominated With Babies and Banners, and The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (which also was inducted into the National Film Registry). The Rafferty brothers had also received an inheritance that they used to support the team during the five years it took to make the film. About 75% of the film is made up of government materials that were in the public domain. Though they could use those public domain materials for free, they had to make copies of the films at their own expense. This along with the newsreel and commercial stock footage that comprises the other 25% of the film (along with the music royalties) represents the bulk of the trio's expenditures.

## Release

The film was released on March 17, 1982, in New York, New York. In August 1982, a tie-in companion book of the same name, written by Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty was released by Bantam Books. A 4K digital restoration of the film, created by IndieCollect, premiered at SXSW in 2018.

### Home media

The 20th Anniversary Edition of the film was released in DVD format in Region 1 on March 26, 2002, by Docudrama. A 4K restored version was released on Blu-ray on December 4, 2018, by Kino Lorber.

In 1995, Jayne Loader's Public Shelter, an educational CD-ROM and website – with clips from The Atomic Cafe, plus additional material from declassified films, audio, photographs, and text files that archive the history, technology, and culture of the Atomic Age – was released by EJL Productions, a company formed by Jayne Loader and her first husband, Eric Schwaab. Though it garnered positive national reviews and awards, the self-distributed Public Shelter CD-ROM sold only 500 copies and failed to find a national publisher. Loader and Schwaab divorced. The website folded in 1999.

## Reception and legacy

### Critical response

When The Atomic Cafe was released, film critic Roger Ebert discussed the style and methods the filmmakers used, writing, "The makers of The Atomic Cafe sifted through thousands of feet of Army films, newsreels, government propaganda films and old television broadcasts to come up with the material in their film, which is presented without any narration, as a record of some of the ways in which the bomb entered American folklore. There are songs, speeches by politicians, and frightening documentary footage of guinea-pig American troops shielding themselves from an atomic blast and then exposing themselves to radiation neither they nor their officers understood." He also reviewed it with Gene Siskel who saw it more as a piece of Americana and a curio.

Critic Vincent Canby of the New York Times praised the film, calling the film "a devastating collage-film that examines official and unofficial United States attitudes toward the atomic age" and a film that "deserves national attention." Canby was so taken by The Atomic Cafe that he mentioned it in a subsequent article – comparing it, favorably, to the 1981 blockbuster Porky's.

Critic Glenn Erickson discussed the editorial message of the film's producers:

The makers of The Atomic Cafe clearly have a message to get across, and to achieve that goal they use the inherent absurdity of their source material in creative ways. But they're careful to make sure they leave them essentially untransformed. When we see Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover posing with a strip of microfilm, we know we're watching a newsreel. The content isn't cheated. Except in wrapup montages, narration from one source isn't used over another. When raw footage is available, candid moments are seen of speechmakers (including President Truman) when they don't know the cameras are rolling. Caught laughing incongruously before a solemn report on an atom threat, Truman comes off as callously flip...

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 93% based on reviews from 29 critics.

Deirdre Boyle, an Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Documentary Media Studies at The New School and an author of Subject to Change: Guerrilla Television Revisited, claimed that "By compiling propaganda or fictions denying 'nuclear-truth', The Atomic Cafe reveals the American public's lack of resistance to the fear generated by the government propaganda films and the misinformation they generated. Whether Americans of the time lacked the ability to resist or reject this misinformation about the atomic bomb is a debatable truth."

The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction said it was, in quotes, a "mockumentary" from its editing and called it, "The most powerful satire of the official treatments of the atomic age".

### Influences

In 2016, The Atomic Cafe was one of the 25 films selected for preservation in the annual United States' National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The press release for the Registry stated that "The influential film compilation 'Atomic Cafe' provocatively documents the post-World War II threat of nuclear war as depicted in a wide assortment of archival footage from the period..."

Controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was inspired by the film that he tweeted:"This is the movie that told me that a documentary about a deadly serious subject could be very funny. Then I asked the people who made it to teach me how to do it. They did. That movie became my first – ' Roger & Me '."

### Accolades

- Boston Society of Film Critics: BSFC Award, Best Documentary; 1983.

- British Academy Film Awards: Flaherty Documentary Award, Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader and Pierce Rafferty; 1983.

## Soundtrack

Atomic Cafe: Radioactive Rock 'n Roll, Blues, Country & Gospel is the soundtrack to the 1982 film The Atomic Cafe. A vinyl LP record was released in 1982 by Rounder Records. Some of the credits for the record include: co-produced by Charles Wolfe, The Archives Project (Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty), album cover artwork by Dennis Pohl, cover design by Mel Green, and booklet text by Charles Wolfe.

### Track listing

Featured in the film but not the soundtrack were "13 Women" by Bill Haley and His Comets, Glenn Miller 's version of " Flying Home ", a couple of themes from Miklos Rozsa, Arthur Fiedler 's take on Franz Liszt 's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Charles Mackerras 's interpretation of " The Old Castle " from Pictures at an Exhibition and Floyd Tillman 's original 1948 version of "This Cold War with You" that was heard during the credits.


Dušan Vidojević

# Dušan Vidojević

## Abstract

Dušan Vidojević (born 6 April 1979) is a retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

## Club career

Born in Belgrade, Vidojević began playing football with FK Rad in the First League of Serbia and Montenegro.

Vidojević moved to Greece in July 2002, joining Greek first division side PAS Giannina F.C., making 21 top flight league appearances for the club. He would also play for Kerkyra F.C. and Panachaiki F.C. in the Greek second division. He also had a brief spell with FC Brașov in the Romanian second division.

He returned to Serbia and played for FK Voždovac and FK Banat Zrenjanin in the Serbian Superliga.


# 1937 Carmarthen Rural District Council election

## Abstract

An election to the Carmarthen Rural District Council in Wales was held on 5 April 1937. Ten candidates were returned unopposed.

It was preceded by the 1934 election but some wards had been contested in 1935 following the amalgamation of Whitland RDC. Due to the Second World War it was followed by the 1946 election.

## Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

## Outcome

Once again, the vast majority of candidates were Independents and the majority were returned unopposed. However, Labour gained three seats, including two at Llanarthney, reversing the loss of a seat there in 1931. Labour also won the Llanddarog ward, defeating J.W. Lewis, the father of the Counci who had represented the seat for 25 years.

## Ward Results


The Baby Dance

# The Baby Dance

## Abstract

The Baby Dance is a 1998 drama film produced by Showtime about adoption. It was written and directed by Jane Anderson, based on her play of the same name, with Stockard Channing and Laura Dern starring in the lead roles.

## Plot

Wanda LeFauve is a poor mother of four with an unemployed husband living in a trailer outside Shreveport, Louisiana. Pregnant again, she finds a newspaper ad placed by a couple hoping to adopt a newborn. Summoning up her courage, Wanda makes the telephone call. The couple — Rachel and Richard Luckman — are wealthy, Jewish urbanites from Los Angeles. They skirt logistics, legal matters, fears and prejudices prior to the child's birth.

## Cast

- Stockard Channing as Rachel Luckman

- Laura Dern as Wanda LeFauve

- Peter Riegert as Richard Luckman

- Richard Lineback as Al LeFauve

- Sandra Seacat as Doreen

## Awards

The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for both Dern and Channing.

At the Primetime Emmy Awards, the film was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Stockard Channing and directing and writing for Jane Anderson.

The film received the prestigious Peabody Award. Channing was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.


Circa Survive

# Circa Survive

## Abstract

Circa Survive is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 2004. Founded by singer Anthony Green and guitarist Colin Frangicetto, the band consists of former members from This Day Forward and Taken.

Circa Survive quickly made a name for themselves in the indie music scene in little over two years with their 2005 debut album, Juturna, and second album, On Letting Go, released in 2007. Both albums were released on Equal Vision Records. Their third album, Blue Sky Noise, was released via Atlantic Records in 2010. After parting ways with Atlantic Records, the band's fourth album, Violent Waves, was released independently in 2012. Their fifth album, Descensus, was released by Sumerian Records in 2014, and their sixth, The Amulet, with Hopeless Records in October 2017. The band would follow with two EPs on Rise Records: A Dream About Love in October 2021, and A Dream About Death in February 2022. The band would then announce an indefinite hiatus in October 2022.

## History

### Formation and The Inuit Sessions (2004 – 2005)

Vocalist Anthony Green left the band Saosin, in 2004, later noting "the big thing was that I was just scared. I was scared of committing". Green met up with Colin Frangicetto, a friend with whom he had "jammed" during his stay, and they decided to begin recording and recruiting. Thus, Circa Survive was born.

Frangicetto and Green, with full support from Equal Vision Records, then recruited Brendan Ekstrom. Ekstrom had been Frangicetto's bandmate in This Day Forward, which had recently disbanded. Both Ekstrom and Frangicetto had toured with Taken during their This Day Forward days, and procured Nick Beard, the previous bass guitarist of Taken, as Circa Survive's next member. The band met Stephen Clifford through Vadim Taver of the band Marigold (and also from This Day Forward); "Steve jammed with us for a week and from there it was on," said Frangicetto.

Circa Survive's first release was the EP, The Inuit Sessions, on March 18, 2005. It contained four tracks: "Act Appalled", "Handshakes at Sunrise", "The Great Golden Baby", and "Suspending Disbelief".

### Juturna (2005 – 2006)

Juturna, Circa Survive's first album, was released on April 19, 2005, in the United States and on January 31, 2006, in Japan on Equal Vision Records. It had been initially announced via the band's MySpace page in November 2004. Details as to its sound remained vague, although the band stated they would keep their fans posted via their website, MySpace page, PureVolume page, and YouTube page. Shortly before its official release, the album was posted on their MySpace page in its entirety. Juturna peaked at No. 183 on the Billboard 200. The album was produced by Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studios in Baltimore.

The band drew inspiration for the album from House of Leaves and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. During an online Q&A session on April 20, 2010, Brendan dismissed the claim that Juturna was a concept album based on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but did say that there is an underlying concept. That concept is speculated by fans to be vaguely about human memories. "Oh, Hello" exemplifies this with its lyrics. The decision to call the album's bonus track that appears after "Meet Me In Montauk" and the silence that follows it at 8:56, "House of Leaves" was more or less a joint one by the band and their fans. Various members of the band have stated that they have read at least some portion of the book over the years since its 2000 release.

The album's sound is characterized by its prominent utilization of effects-laden, dual guitar melodies over polyrhythmic percussion. The guitarists' approach to songwriting takes on characteristics of jazz and shoegaze music. The album has since gone on to be considered massively influential to the post-hardcore community. Members of the band have recently recognized King Crimson, Björk, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor as influences on the album's sound.

### On Letting Go (2007 – 2008)

On Letting Go is Circa Survive's second album. Released on May 29, 2007, by Equal Vision Records, the album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at #24, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week. Up to July 11, 2007, it had sold 51,357 copies in the U.S. alone.

As with previous albums, Esao Andrews designed the artwork and Brian McTernan produced the album. The band's sound did not radically change with this release. It was still polished and refined, with guitars and drums much tighter (but still meandering when needed to) and bass more prominent. Lyrically, the band "...evokes an era when hazy lyricism and reckless introspection were prerequisites for legitimacy and timelessness."

In June 2008, the band released the B-side "The Most Dangerous Commercials" as a charity download to help support the relocation of local music shop Siren Records, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

### Blue Sky Noise and Appendage (2008 – 2010)

After supporting Thrice and Pelican for their spring 2008 tour, Circa Survive returned to Philadelphia to write for the then-untitled third album. A short leg of shows in the Eastern U.S. occurred in late 2008 and four shows were played in Southern California in February 2009. After that, the band did not tour again until the tentatively planned headlining tour for their forthcoming third album. Anthony Green's growth as a guitarist played a major role on Blue Sky Noise, which the band framed as an entirely "new chapter".

On August 3, Circa Survive stated that they had begun recording their third album in Toronto and had chosen David Bottrill as producer. They also stated, "After completing our contract with Equal Vision we embarked on a long search to find our next home. We met with lots of labels and decided that Atlantic Records is the best place for us to continue our growth as a band and to help us release our music around the world."

On Twitter, they stated that they would be recording 16 songs, but that they would not all be on the album. However, they said they would release them all somehow. They posted eight video updates showing some song teases. Studio recording was completed at the end of October 2009 and mixing was completed on February 1, 2010, by Rich Costey.

On February 16, 2010, they announced their new album would be titled Blue Sky Noise, and would be released on April 20, 2010. The album could be pre-purchased, and those who did so received a digital copy of the album a week early, and the first single, "Get Out", instantly. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 11, the band's highest position.

On October 18, 2010, Myspace Transmissions released a live EP of the band playing five tracks from Blue Sky Noise as well as a cover of the Nirvana song, "Scentless Apprentice".

Circa Survive's second EP, Appendage, was released on November 30, 2010. It contains five tracks: "Sleep Underground" (Demo), "Stare Like You'll Stay", "Everyway", "Backmask" and "Lazarus".

### Violent Waves (2012 – 2014)

On April 16, 2012, Circa Survive began recording their fourth record, " Violent Waves ". On June 25, 2012, Circa launched the Violent Waves Pre-Order webpage, officially announcing the album's title and release date, August 28, 2012, along with a new song titled "Suitcase". The band also confirmed that the album would be self-released.

On March 3, 2014, it was announced via Pitchfork that Circa Survive would be releasing a 7-inch vinyl record split with the band Sunny Day Real Estate for Record Store Day 2014 (April 19). The split features "Lipton Witch" by Sunny Day Real Estate - their first new song in 14 years - and "Bad Heart" by Circa Survive, a b-side that was recorded after the release of 2012's "Violent Waves" album.

### Descensus (2014 – 2016)

In mid April 2014, Circa Survive once again entered Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA to record their fifth album with producer/engineer Will Yip. They recorded 11 songs during the sessions and concluded recording by the end of May. On May 19, 2014, during a Saosin interview at Skate and Surf, Anthony Green stated that Circa Survive "have a new record coming out, hopefully in the fall, I mean I fucking shouldn't even say that, probably". On April 19, 2014, the band released a split EP release with Sunny Day Real Estate titled Sunny Day Real Estate / Circa Survive Split 7".

On August 15, 2014, the band announced their signing to Sumerian Records for the release of the fifth album and also a reissue of their fourth album Violent Waves. In an Alternative Press interview published in August 2014, Green said, "Well, the next Circa record is done. We’re in the final process of getting the final mixes right now." "It’s definitely the most aggressive Circa record we’ve ever made. It’s the first record of ours I’ve been able to listen to front to back without having that song that I’m like, 'Yeah, I could’ve done better here.' Every song has this moment in it that makes me feel ridiculous. I feel like I just outdid myself. I feel like we did better than we did before."

The album, entitled Descensus was released on November 24, 2014. The album art was once again made by Esao Andrews.On October 27, 2014, the band released the first single and music video from Descensus titled "Schema". The second single "Only the Sun" was shown on November 5, 2014. Its video features visuals used in the tour for the album with Title Fight, Tera Melos and Pianos Become the Teeth.

In January 2017 the band began a tour to celebrate ten years of 'On Letting Go' with support from MewithoutYou and Turnover.

### The Amulet (2017 – 2021)

On July 10, 2017, the band announced their next LP The Amulet. Alongside the announcement they released a single titled "Lustration" with accompanying music video. The album was released on September 22, 2017, through Hopeless Records. On August 10, 2017, the band released music videoes for the singles "Rites of Investiture" and "Premonition of the Hex". "The Amulet" was also released as a single.

The band announced a co-headlining tour with Thrice, accompanied by Balance and Composure and Chon, across North America beginning in San Jose on November 2.

In October 2018, the band released two songs titled "Dark Pools" and "Indras Net".

### Two Dreams and hiatus (2021 – 2022)

On June 4, 2021, the band teased a new single during the credits of the Live Sky Noise livestream. On October 8, the band would release the single as Imposter Syndrome and announced an EP coming later that month.

On October 22, 2021, the band released A Dream About Love, followed by A Dream About Death on February 4, 2022. These EPs represent a slight departure from the band's established sound, embracing a more electronic approach.

On August 30, 2022, the band announced that their members would be transitioning away from Circa Survive as their full-time job, leading to speculation on the band’s future. Green would clarify on his Twitter page that the group had not disbanded. However, on October 18, 2022, the band confirmed they were taking an indefinite hiatus.

A statement from the band was shared:

Many of you have asked where things stand with us and to be totally transparent, our future is currently uncertain. For the time being, we're considering Circa on an indefinite hiatus. We want to thank you for all your love and support, especially over the last few years which were the hardest we have ever had to endure. Extra special thanks to the creatures.

On October 19, 2022, Circa Survive announced they would combine both "Dream" EPs and re-release them as the band's seventh studio album titled Two Dreams due out December 16, 2022. The album release will be accompanied by live session videos.

## Influences

According to lead singer Anthony Green, Circa Survive have been influenced by Deftones, Thrice, Paul Simon, dredg, and Björk. Green cites Nirvana as a major influence, with Circa Survive frequently performing covers of Nirvana songs. Green stated that one of his favorite albums is Mapping an Invisible World by Days Away.

Throughout their musical career, but particularly with respect to their first album Juturna, the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been a large influence on Circa Survive. The album's hidden track is based on the Mark Z. Danielewski novel House of Leaves, lending it an unofficial title. Lyrically, their third album Blue Sky Noise is based on Green's struggles with mental illness, with many of the lyrics written during his voluntary three-week stay in a mental health facility.

## Band members

Current members

- Anthony Green - lead vocals

- Colin Frangicetto - rhythm guitar, backing vocals

- Brendan Ekstrom - lead guitar

- Nick Beard - bass, backing vocals

- Steve Clifford - drums, percussion

Session/touring members

- Keith Goodwin - keyboards (2021-2022)

## Touring and performing

Circa Survive has toured on several occasions, including national tours within the United States. They toured in winter 2005 with My Chemical Romance and Thrice. That summer they co-headlined a tour. Circa Survive has also opened for Mutemath, Mae and Dredg on each of their headlining tours. Circa Survive played The Bamboozle festival in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 in New Jersey. They also played a few dates on The Vans Warped Tour in 2005. In early 2006, they embarked on a tour of Europe with Coheed and Cambria and Thrice, after having previously completed a tour in September 2005 with Motion City Soundtrack. They also toured with Saves The Day, Moneen and Pistolita. In summer 2006, they embarked on their first headlining tour, The Twilight Army Tour, with The Receiving End of Sirens, Days Away, Portugal. The Man, YouInSeries and Keating. Then in fall 2006, they went on tour with Thursday, Rise Against and Billy Talent. The band also played on the Rockstar Alternative Press Tour headlining with Cute Is What We Aim For, and with supporting act As Tall As Lions.

In April 2007, Circa Survive played at the Coachella arts and music festival in Indio, California. In summer 2007, the band played the entire Vans Warped Tour alongside bands such as Coheed and Cambria, The Used, Anberlin and Bad Religion. Circa Survive opened for My Chemical Romance's 2007 shows in Worcester and Australian and New Zealand shows as well. Circa Survive opened as the main support for Thirty Seconds to Mars September 14, 2007, at the Brixton Academy. Circa Survive completed touring with Ours, Fear Before, with Dear and the Headlights and The Dear Hunter in November, 2007. On New Year's Eve 2007 they had a coming home show with Thursday and The Gaslight Anthem played at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. The band is in the Kerrang! 2008 Tour with Madina Lake, Coheed and Cambria and Fightstar. It was announced on January 24, 2008, that Circa Survive would be going on a spring 2008 tour with Thrice and Pelican.

Circa Survive has been known to incorporate other visual elements to performances. Anthony Green frequently wore dresses to outdoor music festivals, most notably The Bamboozle in 2006 and The Vans Warped Tour in 2007. The band's on Letting Go tour included a silent film projected above the band.

In 2010, after mixing for Blue Sky Noise was completed in February, Circa Survive began performing shows in the midwest United States in March, often accompanied by Good Old War and The Christmas Lights. The band performed at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, from March 18 to 24. They also performed in Anaheim at the Hoodwink Festival on March 26 and at The Bamboozle on March 27. One month later, following the release of Blue Sky Noise on April 20, Circa Survive embarked on an extended tour with Coheed and Cambria and Torche, beginning in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 22 and ending on May 29 in Atlantic City. On June 19, 2010, Circa Survive performed at Santa Monica Beach at the Pac Sun Beach Ballyhoo event, which was shut down early due to overcrowding before the band could perform their last two songs. After an eleven-day U.S. west coast tour in late July, Circa Survive embarked on a September European tour with Middle Class Rut, beginning in Hamburg, Germany, on September 6 and ending in Nottingham, England, on September 18. Their show in London on September 15 was streamed live over the Internet and attracted more than 43,000 viewers online.

They then went on their U.S. Blue Sky Noise tour with Animals as Leaders, Dredg and Codeseven. The tour began on October 15, 2010, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded on December 13 in Bakersfield, California. They begin touring with Anberlin and Foxy Shazam in January 2011. On February 17, 2011, Circa Survive performed with Timeout Jimmy at the Rutgers Student Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. They also opened for Linkin Park during the A Thousand Suns Tour for their shows in Dallas and Houston, Texas.

Circa Survive toured with My Chemical Romance as their opening act along with Architects. Both bands opened for My Chemical Romance for the North American leg of The World Contamination Tour.

Circa Survive went on their Violent Waves tour, which began on September 13, 2012, in New Haven, Connecticut, and ended on October 27, 2012, in Sayreville, New Jersey. Balance and Composure, O'Brother, and Touché Amoré went along as their opening acts. They had 33 shows for this tour. After 6, they played in Atlanta, Georgia for the Nervous Energies Session. They then continued the Violent Waves tour. They had 2 Record Release shows for the new album, both in August.

In April 2013, Circa Survive toured Malaysia, Singapore and the Pulp Summer Slam XIII "Til Death Do Us Part" rock festival in Manila, Philippines, on April 27, 2013. The Manila concert featured Circa Survive along with Dragonforce, Amoral, Cannibal Corpse, Coheed and Cambria, As I Lay Dying, A Skylit Drive and 4 local Filipino bands. On April 26, 2013, Circa Survive attended a press conference with Dragonforce and Amoral to promote the Manila rock festival.

Circa Survive announced that they would be co-headlining with Minus the Bear, along with opening act Now, Now, in the "Waves Overhead" tour. This tour began March 6, 2013, and ended March 30, 2013.

On October 16, 2013, Circa Survive announced a special end-of-the-year show on Saturday, December 28, 2013, at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles. The band will be "playing an extended set of favorites from all of our albums, along with a few rarities and special guests" and will be filming the show for release in 2014. The show was released on DVD included with the Violent Waves reissue released by Sumerian Records on September 9, 2014.

On January 6, 2015, it was announced that Circa Survive would perform on Day 3 (April 12 & 19) of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.

On January 29, 2015, the band announced they would be touring in the Spring of 2015 with Balance and Composure again and Chon.

On October 11, 2016, the band announced their On Letting Go Ten Year Anniversary Tour with MewithoutYou and Turnover. On this tour, the band's setlist was composed of the songs from On Letting Go, in the same order as they are presented on the album, interspersed with B-sides and unreleased songs from the writing process.

## Discography

- Juturna (2005)

- On Letting Go (2007)

- Blue Sky Noise (2010)

- Violent Waves (2012)

- Descensus (2014)

- The Amulet (2017)

- Two Dreams (2022)

## Music videos

- "Act Appalled" (live montage) (2005) from Juturna

- "Act Appalled" (2006) from Juturna

- "In Fear And Faith" (live montage) (2006) from Juturna

- "The Difference Between Medicine and Poison Is in the Dose" (2007) from On Letting Go

- "Get Out" (Live Montage) (2010) from Blue Sky Noise

- "Imaginary Enemy" (2010) from Blue Sky Noise

- "Suitcase" (2012) from Violent Waves

- "Sharp Practice" (2012) from Violent Waves

- "Schema" (2014) from Descensus

- "Only the Sun" (2014) from "Descensus"

- "Child Of The Desert" (2015) from Descensus

- "Lustration" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Rites of Investiture" (2017) from The Amulet

- "The Amulet" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Premonition of the Hex" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Flesh and Bone" (2018) from The Amulet

- "Imposter Syndrome" (2021) from A Dream About Love EP

- "Electric Moose" (2022) from A Dream About Death EP

## Equipment

### Guitar Rig & Signal Flow

- Brendan Ekstrom plays Melancon hand made guitars which are located near New Orleans U.S.A.

- A detailed gear diagram of Brendan Ekstrom's 2011 Circa Survive guitar rig is well-documented.


2024 Go Bowling at The Glen

# 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen

## Abstract

The 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on September 15, 2024, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 92 laps -- extended from 90 laps due to an overtime finish Contested over 90 laps on the 2.45-mile (3.94 km) road course, it was the 28th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the second of the 2024 NASCAR playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 16. Chris Buescher won the race, his first win since the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Shane Van Gisbergen finished 2nd, and Carson Hocevar finished 3rd. Ross Chastain and Zane Smith rounded out the top five, and Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.

## Report

### Background

Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.

Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.

The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by NASCAR.

#### Entry list

- (R) denotes rookie driver.

- (P) denotes playoff driver.

- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

## Practice

Tyler Reddick was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:12.018 seconds and a speed of 122.469 mph (197.095 km/h).

## Qualifying

Ross Chastain scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:12.130 and a speed of 122.279 mph (196.789 km/h).

## Race

### Race results

#### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 20

Stage Two Laps: 20

### Final Stage results

Stage Three Laps: 50

### Race statistics

- Lead changes: 11 among 9 different drivers

- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 21 laps

- Red flags: 0

- Time of race: 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 41 seconds

- Average speed: 80.226 miles per hour (129.111 km/h)

## Media

### Television

USA covered the race on the television side as part of a Radio style Broadcast for the race. Leigh Diffey and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster Mike Bagley called the race from the Esses, Dillon Welch called from Turn 5 to 9, and Jeff Burton called the race from Turn 10 & 11. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

### Radio

Motor Racing Network radio called for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and former crew chief Todd Gordon covered the action when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race when the field raced thru the esses. Kyle Rickey covered the action when the field raced thru the inner loop and turn 5 and Jason Toy covered the action in turn 6 & 7. Steve Post, Brienne Pedigo, Chris Wilner & Jacklyn Drake called the action from the pits for MRN.

## Standings after the race


Junichi Kato

# Junichi Kato

## Abstract

Junichi Kato may refer to:

- Junichi Kato (rower) (born 1935), Japanese rower

- Junichi Kato (streamer) (born 1985), Japanese streamer


Luke Bezzina

# Luke Bezzina

## Abstract

Luke Bezzina (born 7 May 1995) is a Maltese sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

## Personal Bests

Outdoor


Ralph Ramkarran

# Ralph Ramkarran

## Abstract

Hari Narayen Ramkaran (born 11 August 1946), known as Ralph Ramkarran, is a Guyanese politician and lawyer. He served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana from 2001 to 2011.

## Biography

He attended Bel Air Primary school, Central High School and Queen's College. After his high school education, he then went on to the UK to study law. Ramkarran qualified as a lawyer in 1972 in the United Kingdom as a member of Gray's Inn and returned to Guyana the following year when he entered into private practice. In 1977, he joined the law firm of Cameron & Shepherd, which is now Guyana's oldest and largest law firm. He is currently the firm's Senior Partner. He became a Senior Counsel of Guyana's judiciary in 1996.

Ramkarran has spoken and lectured widely on behalf of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in Guyana and was the editor of its official journal, the Thunder, between 1992 and 2002. He was elected to the PPP's Central and Executive Committees in 1974 and 1975. He was elected to the Council of the Guyana Bar Association in 1979 and served for twelve years as Treasurer, Assistant Secretary and Secretary.

In 1994 he was elected as the Guyana Facilitator to the United Nations Good Officer Process under the Geneva Agreement relating to the Guyana-Venezuela Border controversy.

His father, Boysie Ramkarran, served as British Guiana's, Minister of Works and Communications in the 1957/61 PPP government and immediately after that Boysie Ramkarran served as Minister of Works and Hydraulics in the 1961/1964 PPP government and he was also the General Secretary of GAWU between 1975 and 1985.

On 29 June 2012, at an executive party meeting Ramkarran proclaimed he received many hostilities as a result of an article he wrote about corruption. After being, in his own words "gratuitously and irrelevantly accused of being untrustworthy", he declared that "after forty years in the leadership of the PPP, such an accusation was about as much as I could bear." The following day, he resigned from the PPP.


The Baxter

# The Baxter

## Abstract

The Baxter is a 2005 American comedy film written by, directed by and starring comedian Michael Showalter. A "Baxter", as defined by the film, is the nice, dull guy in a romantic comedy who is dumped at the end of the story for the protagonist.

Much light humor is made of showing Showalter as a "Baxter" in several typical romantic comedy clichés: being abandoned at the altar as a former love is claimed by her high school sweetheart, and being left in college at a pep rally for an underdog sports hero. The plot revolves around the life of Elliot Sherman during the two weeks before his wedding, as he doggedly fights off the curse of his former Baxter role in relationships.

IFC Films financed the film and produced it with Plum Pictures. They gave the film a very limited release; it had a U.S. box office gross of $181,872.

## Plot

Elliot, a tax accountant from Brooklyn, is a dependable though thoroughly average young man doomed to be the "Baxter", the nice guy who's bound to lose the girl to the leading man in romantic comedies. Losing three girlfriends to last-minute rekindled relationships with their ex-boyfriends has made Elliot wary of being abandoned yet again.

About a week before his wedding to his girlfriend, Caroline Swann, Elliot discovers that her high school beau, Bradley, is back in town. Elliot tries to keep himself composed, but even Caroline's reassurances do not convince him that her feelings for Bradley are buried. In the meantime, Elliot meets Cecil, his temporary secretary at his accounting firm. As he resigns himself to losing Caroline to Bradley, Cecil offers him a ray of hope: she does not believe in "Baxters" and thinks that his predicament is avoidable.

The two meet up again later that night at a small club where Cecil performs her original songs, and Cecil tells Elliot he needs to take more risks. When Cecil fights with her unsupportive boyfriend Dan, Elliot offers to put her up for the night. The next morning, Caroline shows up early with their wedding planner to finalize their plans. Elliot panics due to Cecil's hidden presence and during the meeting, makes a string of awkward suggestions, upsetting Caroline, who begins to doubt his commitment to their relationship, to the point of calling off the wedding.

While out at a bar with his friends from work, Elliot accidentally runs into Dan, who recognizes him as Cecil's "Baxter" friend. Dan is there to meet with Sonya, who's Bradley's current girlfriend and Dan's old college friend. They all decide to sit together, much to Elliot's chagrin. Both Dan and Bradley laugh and joke with Elliot's friends until one of them mentions that Caroline left him. Depressed and upset, Elliot leaves and contemplates suicide but he's interrupted by Caroline's brother-in-law, Louis (David Wain), who tells him Caroline is willing to give their engagement another chance.

Elliot plans a romantic dinner with Caroline but finds her with an anguished Bradley, who just broke up with Sonya and is back flirting with Caroline. Caroline convinces Elliot to take Bradley out with them. They cancel Elliot's reservations to an expensive restaurant and go instead to a burger place that Bradley knows well. Elliot feels out of place and eventually calls Cecil from the back of the restaurant, confessing that he feels that his marriage will be over before it begins.

The next day, Elliot arrives at work to find that Cecil is his temp again. When she proposes to go have a drink together, Elliot explains that after his phone call, the night actually got better for him. As Caroline accused Elliot of being unromantic, he stood up for himself and accepted to go dance with her and Bradley, actually impressing Caroline with his moves. Bradley shows off his breakdance routines, accidentally hitting Elliot in the face, to Caroline's concerns. Bradley apologizes and reveals that he will leave the next morning to Malta for his work as a geode student.

Though happy for him, Cecil is saddened by the news because of her growing feelings for Elliot. She mentions that Dan is moving to Cincinnati and she's going to follow him there, to Elliot's discomfort.

At Caroline and Elliot's wedding, Bradley crashes the ceremony and declares his love for Caroline, a split second after Elliot was going to voice his own objection. Caroline finally gives in and kisses Bradley passionately in front of the whole church. Elliot takes off immediately to catch Cecil before she leaves town and finds her at her apartment right while Dan is leaving. Elliot declares his love for her and chases off an old friend of hers who suddenly shows up. Later, they perform together at the same club where they had their first date, with Cecil singing one of her songs and Elliot playing the piano to back her up.

In a mid-credits scene, Dan reflects in narration on his own status as a Baxter, having just lost the girl to the leading man.

## Cast

- Michael Showalter as Elliot Sherman

- Michelle Williams as Cecil Mills

- Elizabeth Banks as Caroline Swann

- Justin Theroux as Bradley Lake

- Michael Ian Black as Ed

- Zak Orth as Wendall Wimms

- Peter Dinklage as Benson Hedges

- Catherine Lloyd Burns as Stella

- Katharine Powell as Sonya Simmons

- Paul Rudd as Dan Abbott

- Haviland Morris as Kate Swann Lewis

- David Wain as Louis Lewis

- A. D. Miles as Bar Baxter #1

- Joe Lo Truglio as Bar Baxter #2

- Seth Herzog as Bar Baxter #3

- Jonathan Marc Sherman as Deaf Bar Baxter

- Leslie Lyles as Sheila Sherman

- Jim DeMarse as Leonard Sherman

- Jon DeVries as Alan Swann

- Donna Mitchell as Judy Swann

- Sarah Drew as Serena

- Ken Marino as Jack Mechanic

- Jack McBrayer as Elliot's Friend (uncredited)

## Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 32% based on reviews from 75 critics, with an average score of 5.05/10. The website's critics consensus reads: " The Baxter is good-natured, but there are simply not enough laughs to fuel this comedy."

Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars and wrote: "The problem with The Baxter is right there at the center of the movie, and maybe it is unavoidable: Showalter makes too good of a baxter. He deserves to be dumped." John Anderson of Variety magazine wrote: "Showalter pushes too far: Nerdiness, after all, can be only so attractive."


# People's Public Security University of China

## Abstract

The People's Public Security University of China (PPSUC; 中国人民公安大学) is a national public university for public security studies in Xicheng, Beijing, China. Founded in 1948, it is affiliated with the Ministry of Public Security of China. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction.

The university specializes in the training of elite police officers, and it is ranked as the best Chinese police academy since its merger with the People's Police Cadre University of China in 1998.

PPSUC has a law school, a department of foreign languages, literature, criminal investigation, criminology, management, information security, traffic control, forensic science, etc. Many Chinese overseas UN peacekeepers, after field service experience, are from the CPPSU, in particular the Foreign Languages Department. Its graduates have found employment in the Ministry of Public Security, Provincial Police Department, Municipal Police Department and other legal institutions at all levels in China. PPSUC now has two campuses, one at Muxidi and the other at Tuanhe.