February 24, 2010
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (born December 19, 1967), better known by his stage name Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist, musician, escapologist, and stunt performer. He is best known for starring in his own television show, Criss Angel Mindfreak.
Personal life
In 2002, Angel married his longtime girlfriend JoAnn Winkhard. The couple filed for divorce five years later. Although Angel was seen with his wife in the buried alive illusion (season 1, episode 6, 2005), she was not credited as his wife. Rather she was listed as "Criss' Girl". During the divorce proceedings the attorney of Angel's estranged wife claimed that their relationship was kept secret to further Angel's career.
In November 2008, Angel began dating Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend Holly Madison. The relationship ended in February 2009.
Angel is expected to appear on WWE Raw on March 8, 2010 as a guest host.
Early life
Angel was born to John and Dimitra Sarantakos and raised in East Meadow, Long Island, New York along with two brothers, Costa and J.D. His father owned a restaurant and doughnut shop and was devoted to personal fitness before dying of cancer in 1998. He is Greek American.
Angel was first introduced to magic at age 6, after his aunt taught him a card trick. His interest grew and by the time he graduated from East Meadow High School, he was not interested in attending university and instead he aimed at becoming a professional magician.
Criss Angel Mindfreak
Main article: Criss Angel Mindfreak
Criss Angel is the star and creator of the A&E Network show Criss Angel Mindfreak. Seasons 1 and 2 were filmed at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, with Season 3 at the Luxor Las Vegas. Premiering on July 20, 2005, the illusions have included walking on water, levitating above the Luxor Hotel (in the light of 39 focused lamps that can be seen from space), floating between two buildings, causing a Lamborghini to disappear, surviving in an exploding C4 Crate, cutting himself in half in full view of an audience and getting run over by a steamroller while lying stomach down on a bed of glass. Also in season 3 he was known for jumping out of a moving car. Angel was injured and stopped production for 3 weeks.
Criss Angel Believe
Main article: Criss Angel Believe
Criss Angel collaborated with Cirque du Soleil to create Criss Angel Believe, a live show at the Luxor Las Vegas hotel in Las Vegas, which stars Angel, who is billed as "co-writer, illusions creator and designer, original concept creator and star."
Angel originally tried to develop the show for a Broadway run, as well as other casinos. Eventually, what became Believe came together when he entered a partnership with Cirque du Soleil and the Luxor's parent company, MGM Mirage, financed the show with $100 million.
After several delays, the show was set for a Gala opening on October 31, 2008, with preview shows in late September. The initial preview was not well received, with thoroughly negative audience reactions. The show opened to equally harsh reviews which cited a lack of the magic Angel is known for, as well as a confusing and uninteresting theme. Reviewers felt neither Angel nor Cirque du Soleil were able to perform to their capabilities.
In April 2009, Angel ended a performance of Believe by "hurling obscene insults" at Perez Hilton, who was an audience member. Hilton reportedly had Tweeted to his fans during the performance that the show was "unbelievably BAD" and that he'd "rather be getting a root canal", and word had gotten back to Angel by the end of the performance. Cirque du Soleil later apologized to Hilton for Angel's remarks
Phenomenon
Main article: Phenomenon (TV series)
Starting in October 2007 he appeared as a judge on Phenomenon, with Uri Geller and in a CNN interview about the show he told Larry King "no one has the ability, that I'm aware of, to do anything supernatural, psychic, talk to the dead. And that was what I said I was going to do with Phenomenon. If somebody goes on that show and claims to have supernatural psychic ability, I'm going to bust [him] live and on television."
On the October 31, 2007 episode of the reality show Phenomenon, Paranormalist Jim Callahan performed a summoning, purportedly of author Raymond Hill, to help discover the contents of a locked box. Although fellow judge Uri Geller praised the performance, Angel called it "comical" and subsequently challenged both Callahan and Geller to guess the contents of two envelopes he pulled out of his pocket, offering a million dollars of his own money to whoever could do so. This led to an argument between Callahan and Angel, during which Callahan walked toward Angel and called him an "ideological bigot", with the two pulled apart as the show promptly went to a commercial break. Angel has since revealed the contents of one envelope and at the unveiling he challenged Geller one more time. Geller was unsuccessful, and the envelope was revealed to contain an index card with the numbers "911" printed on it for September 11, 2001. Criss' explanation was this: "If on 9-10 somebody could have predicted that 9-11 was going to happen, they could have saved thousands of lives". The other envelope's contents was scheduled to be revealed on the first episode of Season 4 of Criss Angel: Mindfreak. However, the contents of the other envelope were never revealed and remain a mystery to this day.
February 23, 2010
Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television hostess and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and is also a judge on American Idol, having joined the show in its ninth season.
She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film Finding Nemo. She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. In 1997, during the fourth season of Ellen, she came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues as well as the coming out process. She has won twelve Emmys and numerous awards for her work and charitable efforts.
Career
Stand-up comedy
DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffeehouses. By 1981 she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. Degeneres describes Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, being named Showtime's Funniest Person in America in 1982. In 1986 she appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who likened her to Bob Newhart. When Carson invited her over for an onscreen chat after her performance, she became the first female comedian in the show's history to whom this honor was bestowed.
Early screen work
Television and film work in the late 1980s and early 1990s included roles on television in Open House and in the film Coneheads.
At the Governor's Ball after the 46th Annual Emmy Awards telecast, Sept. 1994
DeGeneres' comedy material became the basis of the successful 1994-1998 sitcom Ellen, named These Friends of Mine during its first season. The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres' style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."
Ellen reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, revealing that she was gay. The coming out episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.
Ellen's Energy Adventure
DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.
The Ellen Show
DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show. Though her character was again a lesbian, it was not the central theme of the show.
2001 Emmy Awards
DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001 when she hosted the televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a lavish ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?"
In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony which was held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.
Voice acting
DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose her because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show.For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress"; "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards; and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting". She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing at the beginning of that season, such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors.
DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.
In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said.
The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Guests that week included Jennifer Lopez and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.
In May 2007, DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.
On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, and Paris Hilton, among others.
February 19, 2010
Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American retired professional basketball player in the CBA, NBA, and PBA who has since settled in the Philippines. He is also a former head coach of the San Miguel Beermen, Mobiline Phone Pals, Pop Cola 800s, and Sta. Lucia Realtors. He is currently the head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP.
High school, college, NBA and CBA careerBlack played high school basketball for the Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore where he graduated in 1975. He then played for Saint Joseph's College in Pennsylvania from 1975-1979, averaging 17 points per game in his playing career. Black later played in Continental Basketball Association from 1978-1982 for the Lancaster Red Roses and the Philadelphia Kings. He also played for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association, but played only three games in the 1980-81 season, averaging 2.7 points per game.
PBA career
In 1981, Black was playing in the Detroit Pistons' summer basketball league when he was offered a job on the other side of the world. "Jimmy Mariano, who was coach of Great Taste at the time, asked me if I wanted to come over and play in the Philippines," says Black. The lure of guaranteed money, something the Pistons couldn't offer then, helped change Norman Black's life in a way he could never have imagined. However, by the time Black returned Mariano’s call, Big Lew Massey had taken the job. But it didn’t take long before another Philippine Basketball Association club came calling. Tefilin’s General Manager Frank Harn offered the same contract as Mariano and Black immediately took the offer.
In 1981, Black made his PBA debut for Tefilin. In 14 games, Black averaged an outstanding 51 point per game, but he failed to lead his team to a championship. Black returned to the Philippines in 1982, playing 66 games for San Miguel Beer and averaged close to 43 points per contest. With Black, locals Yoyong Martirez, Manny Paner, Marte Saldaña, and head coach Tommy Manotoc, San Miguel won the 1982 Invitational tournament against guest South Korea. In 1983, Black played for Great Taste Coffee and averaged 38 points in 49 games played. Always considered an intelligent as well as a hard-working player, Black became the recipient of the very first "Mr. 100% Award" in that season. Sportscaster Pinggoy Pengson dubbed him "That Old Black Magic" after a song from the 1950s.
Two years later, Black returned to play for Magnolia Quench Plus, norming 43.5 points per game, while scoring his career best 76 points. After Magnolia (later San Miguel Beer), left the league for a while, he played for rookie squad Alaska, after former Magnolia players were put in the new franchise. After a short while, Black returned to San Miguel as their playing coach in some import laiden conferences while acting as a full time coach in the All-Filipino Conferences. In 1989, he played and coached the Beermen to a rare grandslam, the third in PBA history. In 1990, Black played his last complete season as a player before finally focusing his duties as head coach in 1991.
Coaching career
"It was former ambassador Danding Cojuangco who asked me to become a head coach in 1985," Black relates, "I had no desire to be a coach back then." He went on to say that the former ambassador probably heard something in Black's voice while he was doing some analysis for the TV broadcast of the PBA that made Cojuangco believe Black would be suited for coaching.
Black's coaching career started around 1985 and 1986, as a playing coach. But by 1987, he became San Miguel's full-time coach until 1996, when Black left the Beermen. He won nine championships as head coach of San Miguel including a Grandslam in 1989 making San Miguel the winnigest team in the PBA, coaching some of the best players in PBA history such as superstars Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Ramon Fernandez, Ricky Brown, Ato Agustin and role players Alvin Teng, Yves Dignadice, Art dela Cruz, Franz Pumaren, Elmer Reyes, Jeffrey Graves, Pido Jarencio, Bobby Jose, Romy Lopez, Josel Angeles, Ricky Cui, Kevin Ramas, Bong Ravena, and Dong Polistico. In 1994, he was named head coach of the Philippine Team in the Hiroshima Asian Games, after the Beermen won the All-Filipino Cup. However, the country went home without a medal in basketball, after placing fourth. In 1996, with San Miguel needing an import, Black played as a temporary import for the Beermen and scored 15 points.
After almost a decade with San Miguel, Black became the head coach of the young Mobiline Phone Pals in 1997. But after the Commissioner's Cup, Black became the coach of the struggling Pop Cola squad. He led the 800's to two third place finishes with Vergel Meneses, Bonel Balingit, and Kenneth Duremdes on the team. Black also suited up for Pop Cola, probably his last PBA game, in a third place game against Shell. He scored 10 points, including a three-pointer, that gave the 800s its second consecutive third place run. In 1999, Pop Cola struggled all through, including a terrible 0-8 finish in the Governor's Cup. Black left Pop Cola after the season before being hired as Sta. Lucia Realtors head coach.
In 2000, Black led Sta. Lucia to its first finals appearance, losing to San Miguel in five games of the Commissioner's Cup. However, a year later, Black coached the Realtors to its first championship, defeating the Beermen in the season ending Governor's Cup. After the 2002 season, Black resigned as head coach of the Realtors with long time assistant, and friend Alfrancis Chua elevated as the new coach of the team.
Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach
In 2004, Black was hired by the Ateneo Blue Eagles as its team consultant. But after a disappointing 2004 season, in which the Blue Eagles finished third under Sandy Arespacochaga, school officials hired Black as the Blue Eagles' new head coach for the 2005 campaign, the 35th coach in its history.
Black led the Blue Eagles to a 10-4 win-loss record in his first season, but was eliminated by the La Salle Green Archers, who had a twice to beat advantage against them.
In the 69th season, Black led the Blue Eagles to a 10-2 win-loss slate, the best record in the elimination round. After defeating the Adamson Falcons in the Final Four, Ateneo battled the UST Growling Tigers in a grueling three game series. Black designed a great play in their Game 1 victory. The play was a long inbound pass by Macky Escalona who found a wide-open Kramer underneath the basket for the victory. However, despite the historic Game 1 victory, they were unable to win the championship. They lost to the Tigers in Game 2 by a large margin, and then in Game 3 in overtime.
In 2007, during the UAAP's 70th season, in spite of a lack of talent, Black led the Eagles to a 9-5 standing. However, the Blue Eagles still lost in crucial games; they were unable to secure the No. 2 Seed due to their loss to the National University Bulldogs, and lost to the returning De La Salle Green Archers in a battle for the No. 2 seed, which would have given them a twice to beat advantage had they won. Instead, they settled for the No. 3 seed, and were able to eliminate the defending champions UST Growling Tigers. The Blue Eagles then forced a do-or-die game against La Salle in the semifinals but were beaten by La Salle.
Later that year, Black coached the Blue Eagles to winning the 2007 Collegiate Champions League national basketball title, where they defeated the University of Visayas Green Lancers.
In 2008, for season 71 of the UAAP, Black led the Blue Eagles to a 13-1 elimination round record, and won the championship over La Salle in Game 2 of the Finals. This was the Ateneo's first UAAP title since winning in 2002. Months later, Black coached the Blue Eagles to another championship in the annual Philippine University Games, defeating the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals.
In 2009, Black coached the Blue Eagles to three titles. In UAAP Season 72, the Blue Eagles won their second straight UAAP Men's Basketball Championship, won against the University of the East Red Warriors, and again with a 13-1 win loss record. This was followed by back-to-back titles in the University Games, this time won against St. Francis of Assisi College. The third title was the national championship in the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship, the successor to the Collegiate Champions' League, where they defeated the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
February 18, 2010
Miguel Castro Enriquez
(born September 29, 1951 in Santa Ana, Manila) is a popular TV and radio newscaster in the Philippines. He is also the Senior Vice-President for radio of GMA Network, and president of the network's regional and radio subsidiary, RGMA Network Inc.
CareerHe started his career in broadcasting as a staff announcer at the Manila Broadcasting Company in 1969. It began when he visited a friend in that company and accidentally discovered his interest in radio. He has since worked in various positions, as a broadcast reporter, a news editor, program director, station manager, until he became manager of a medium sized radio network. He also had stints in other radio networks such as Freedom Broadcasting Radio Network and Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), where he became vice president for the company. He is the voice behind the MELLOW TOUCH 94.7 signature and introduction. He also became a disc jockey known as "Baby Mike". He also played a disc jockey on Andrew E.'s 1991 movie, Mahirap ang Maging Pogi (It's Not Easy Being Handsome).
He hired by GMA Network in 1995 as newscaster in in the 1995 Elections, where he had his television break as one of the news anchors of the network's early evening newscast, Saksi; then he was transferred to the network's late-evening newscast, GMA Network News in 1998 and went back to Saksi after a few months. He left Saksi in March 2004 to host the network's new early-evening newscast together with Mel Tiangco, 24 Oras.
He also hosts an investigative show, Imbestigador, Review Philippines, a television program aired on GMA Pinoy TV and Q and a radio program on the network's flagship radio station, DZBB entitled Saksi sa Dobol B, which airs every weekday mornings.
He has been named as one of the most child-friendly personalities by the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and thrice consecutively by the Anak TV Seal awards.
Personal life
Enriquez is the eldest of three children. He uses the term "destructive to a certain extent" to describe his curiosity-filled, active childhood. He had always been very active in church, and used to be as an altar boy with an ambition to be a Franciscan priest. However, his parents refused to sign a consent sheet that would allow him to stay at the seminary until he became a priest.
Instead he was enrolled at the De La Salle College, taking up AB Liberal Arts in Commerce. Enriquez finished his degree in 1973 and now teaches in Broadcast Management. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of La Salle Green Hills and act as the Treasurer and Chairman of its Finance Committee.
Mike has been married to Lizabeth "Baby" Yumping for twenty-nine years, but they have no children.
He has battled illnesses such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension.
February 17, 2010
7Eleven
The brand name 7-Eleven is now part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co.,Ltd., primarily operating as a franchise. It is the largest chain store with more than 36,842 outlets operating around the world, surpassing the previous record-holder McDonald’s Corporation in 2007 by approximately 1,000 retail stores. Its stores are located in eighteen countries, with its largest markets being Japan, the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. 7-Eleven, Inc. as a former U.S.-originating company, is a subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan Co.,Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co. of Japan. On a per-capita basis, Norway for example has one 7-11 for every 47,000 Norwegians, versus for example Canada which has one for every 74,000 Canadians. Among 7-Eleven's offerings are private label products, including Slurpee, a partially frozen beverage introduced in 1967, and the Big Gulp introduced in 1980 that packaged soft drinks in large cups ranging in size from 590 ml to 1.8 L (20 to 64 fluid ounces). The US subsidiary of the Japanese firm has its headquarters in the One Arts Plaza building in Downtown Dallas, Texas.
History
Japan's first 7-Eleven Store in Kōtō, Tokyo, opened in May 1974.
The company has its origins in 1927 in Dallas, Texas, USA, when an employee of Southland Ice Company, Joe C. Thompson, started selling milk, eggs and bread from an ice dock. The original location was an improvised storefront at Southland Ice Company, an ice-manufacturing plant owned by John Jefferson Green. Although small grocery stores and general merchandisers were present in the immediate area, the manager of the ice plant, Joe C. Thompson, discovered that selling convenience items such as bread and milk was popular due to the ice's ability to preserve the items. This significantly cut back on need to travel long distances to the grocery stores for basic items. Joe C. Thompson eventually bought the Southland Ice Company and turned it into the Southland Corporation which oversaw several locations which opened up in the Dallas area. Initially, these stores were open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., hours unprecedented in their length, hence the name. The company began to use the 7-Eleven name in 1946. By 1952, 7-Eleven opened its 100th store. It was incorporated as the The Southland Corporation in 1961.
In 1962, 7-Eleven first experimented with a 24-hour schedule in Austin, Texas. In 1963, 24-hour stores were established in Las Vegas, Fort Worth, and Dallas.
In the 1980s, the company ran into financial difficulties and was rescued from bankruptcy by Ito-Yokado, its largest franchisee. In 1987, John Philp Thompson, the CEO of 7-Eleven, completed a $5.2 billion management buyout of the company his father had founded. The buyout suffered from the 1987 stock market crash and after failing initially to raise high yield debt financing, the company was required to offer a portion of the company's stock as an inducement to invest in the company's bonds.
The Japanese company gained a controlling share of 7-Eleven in 1991, during the Japanese asset bubble of the early 1990s. Ito-Yokado formed Seven & I Holdings Co. and 7-Eleven became its subsidiary in 2005. In 2007, Seven & I Holdings announced they would be expanding their American operations, with an additional 1,000 7-Eleven stores in the U.S.
Products and services
In addition to Slurpee and the Big Gulp, 7-Eleven would come to own or operate several brands and concepts, including Movie Quik, an in-store video-rental service; Citgo, the gas brand sold at many locations up until 2006; as well as Chief Auto Parts, which had locations adjacent to or near several 7-Eleven locations. They bought White Hen Inc. on August 10, 2006, mostly in or around the Chicago area, and plans to convert all of the remaining White Hens to 7-Eleven stores.
The Big Gulp fountain drink brand refers to the name of the 32-ounce (1 litre) fountain drink, the Big Gulp. There is a 44-oz. (or a smaller 1.2 L, depending on region) size (Super Big Gulp), a 64-oz. (2 l) size (Double Gulp), and a 20-oz. (0.7 l) size (Gulp). In 2005, 7-Eleven began selling its brand of bottled drinks under the Big Gulp brand name in North America.
Since 2005, the company has offered 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless, a prepaid phone service where a cellphone can be purchased directly from a 7-Eleven store in the US and Canada and activated on the spot.
The 7-Eleven convenience store announced on November 3, 2009 that it is getting into the value wine business, releasing two low-priced proprietary wines in the United States (under the 'Yosemite Road' brand) and Japan.
Marketing strategies
Japanese 7-Eleven offers a wide variety of products and services.
July 11 is marketed as "7-11 Day" in the USA, during which participating 7-Eleven stores offer up to 1,000 customers a free 7.11-oz. Slurpee of their choice. In Australia, under the day-month format common in former British colonies "7-11" refers to 7 November; thus 7-11 day is marketed on this date.
7-Eleven Cycling Team is an early example of their sports marketing. The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional team founded in the U.S. in 1981 under Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist. The team lasted 16 years under the banner of 7-Eleven through 1990 and Motorola through 1996.
A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart.
On November 9, 2006, 7-Eleven announced that it had signed on as a major sponsor of the Dallas Mavericks for the following three seasons and as title sponsor of its popular Street Team. As part of that agreement, 7-Eleven gave free coupons to Mavericks fans American Airlines Center following each of the 41 home games of the 2006–2007 season.
Since the 2007 season, 7-Eleven began a promotional partnership with the Chicago White Sox to begin home night games at 7:11 PM Central Time. The agreement paid the team $1.5 million over three years to move their weeknight game times back four minutes from the traditional Sox start time of 7:07.
In anticipation for the July 2007 release of The Simpsons Movie, 7-Eleven turned 12 of its North American stores into Kwik-E-Mart. Those stores, plus most of the over 6,000 other stores in North America, sold Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal (a version of Fruit Loops), Squishees, pink donuts, and other items from the show. Also, many regular items, such as coffee and sandwiches, had special Simpsons-themed wrapping and packages. As part of the movie promotion, 7-Eleven held Simpsons contests as well, which one entered by buying certain products in 7-Eleven stores. The "Kwik-E-Mart" promotion turned out to be a huge success for 7-Eleven, with Simpsons fans driving as far as hundreds of miles to buy the special themed merchandise. It also resulted in a 30% increase in profits for the converted 7-Elevens.
In the Philippines, 7-Eleven is run by the Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC). Its first store opened in 1984. In 2000, President Chain Store Corporation (PCSC) of Taiwan, also a licensee of 7-Eleven, bought the majority shares of PSC and thus formed a strategic alliance for the convenience store industry within the area.
February 16, 2010
Robin McLaurim Williams
(born July 21, 1951) is an American actor and comedian.
Early life
Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura (née Smith, 1922 – 2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987) was a senior executive at Lincoln-Mercury Motorship in charge of the Midwest area. Williams was raised in the Episcopal Church, though his mother practiced Christian Science. He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School, and Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams also attended Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years.
He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.
Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high-school drama department.
In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at the Juilliard School, and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year, the other being Christopher Reeve. In his dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly.
Cinema career
Most of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin). His performance in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) got Williams nominated for an Academy Award. Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos, for example The Birdcageand Mrs. Doubtfire.
His role as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also used his voice talents in Fern Gully, as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 feature A.I. Artificial Intelligence, the 2005 animated feature Robots, the 2006 Academy Award winning Happy Feet, and an uncredited vocal performance in 2006's Everyone's Hero. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.
Williams has also starred in dramatic films, which got him two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an English teacher in Dead Poets Society (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King (1991); that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie Hook. Other acclaimed dramatic films include Awakenings (1990) and What Dreams May Come (1998). In the 2002 dramatic thriller Insomnia, Williams portrays a writer/killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. And also in 2002, in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo, Williams played an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time.
In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting. However, by the early 2000s, he was thought by some to be typecast in films such as Patch Adams (1998) and Bicentennial Man (1999) that critics complained were excessively maudlin. In 2006 Williams starred in The Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he has developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.
He is known for his improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised.
In 2006, he starred in five movies including Man of the Year and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30, 2006.
At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in Batman Forever until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Earlier, Williams had been a strong contender to play the Joker in Batman. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, although the part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, who went on to win, posthumously, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian.
Controversy
Robin Williams gained a reputation for stealing material from other comics to the extent that David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams personally and threatened him with bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes.
Personal life
Robin Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978, with whom he has one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court.
On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine; he has since quit. Williams was a close friend and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped too."
On August 9, 2006, Williams checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center (located in Newberg, Oregon), later admitting that he was an alcoholic. His publicist delivered the announcement:
"After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases."
On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.
Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has described his denomination in a comedy routine as "Catholic Lite —; same rituals, half the guilt."
While studying at Juilliard, Williams befriended Christopher Reeve. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in Nine Months). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.
