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Whitney Houston

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Whitney Houston

“Loneliness comes with life” – Whitney Houston

  • Whitney Houston was a very successful pop and gospel singer, actress, and model, and through her achievements, she became one of the primary contributors in opening up music industry opportunities to ‘black’ women.
  • On the 9 August, 1963, in New Jersey’s Newark, in the United States, Whitney Houston was born to African American parents, and was named Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
  • Whitney Houston is listed among the top-selling music artists in history, with 170 to 200 million records sold worldwide, and was recognised as the most awarded female artist by the Guinness World Records in 2009, and in her lifetime is said to have won up to 600 or more awards, including two Emmy Awards, six Grammys and 30 Billboards, and has continued to accumulate awards since her death.
  • Each of the ten albums, including six studio produced albums, recorded by Whitney Houston, has received a high level of recognition, some reaching the honours of diamond.
  • In her life, Whitney Houston had the honour of featuring the most number one singles on the Billboard in a row, with seven, while her 1985 self-titled debut album was the biggest selling debut album ever (at the time) for a female.
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Whitney Houston
Image courtesy of tm_10001/Flickr
  • Whitney Houston’s first performances were in her local Baptist church choir, while as a young teenager she sometimes accompanied her mother, famous gospel singer Emily ‘Cissy’ Houston, who sung at local night clubs, and in 1977 and 1978 she was backup singing.
  • During Whitney Houston’s later teenage years she was a successful model, and later signed to music company Arista Records, in 1983, after rejecting numerous offers due to school commitments.
  • Whitney Houston became addicted to drugs in the 1990s, which became noticeable in her appearance and performances, and negatively affected her career; and she died on 11 February, 2012, in a hotel bathroom in California’s Beverly Hills, in the US, most likely due to accidental drowning, possibly from excessive drug use.
  • Whitney Houston was married to singer and rapper Robert Barisford “Bobby” Brown from 1992 to 2007, and had a daughter named Bobbi Kristina Brown in 1993.
  • Whitney Houston had a significant acting career, featuring in several films including a leading role in her first film The Bodyguard in 1992, and The Preacher’s Wife in 1996.
Bibliography:
Whitney Houston, 2015, Bio.com, http://www.biography.com/people/whitney-houston-9344818
Whitney Houston, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston

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                  Whitney Houston

Belize Barrier Reef

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Belize Barrier Reef

Beautiful Belize Barrier Reef.

  • Belize Barrier Reef is a very large coral reef located off the coast of Central America’s country of Belize, and the reef notably contains the largest blue hole known on Earth, the Great Blue Hole.
  • ‘Belize Barrier Reef’ is officially known as the ‘Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System’, and the area is a significant marine ecosystem that also includes considerable quantities of mangroves.
  • The second largest coral reef on Earth and largest reef of the northern hemisphere is Belize Barrier Reef, and it covers an area of 963 square kilometres (372 square miles), and is approximately 300 kilometres (186 miles) in length.
  • Belize Barrier Reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and later marked as endangered in 2009, mostly due to illegal hunting, fishing and timber removal.
  • Species discovered in the vicinity of Belize Barrier Reef include 65 coral species, 350 species of mollusc, more than 500 fish species, as well as numerous other species; while it is said that 90 percent of the reef’s total number of species have not yet been discovered.
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Part of Belize Barrier Reef
Image courtesy of Heath Alseike/Flickr
  • Belize Barrier Reef is the home to seven designated and protected reserves, 450 sand islands known as ‘cays’, plus three ring shaped reefs known as ‘atolls’.
  • Hurricanes, shipping, over-fishing, tourism, pollution and coral bleaching are all believed to be primary factors that continue to endanger the Belize Barrier Reef.
  • The native Mayan people used Belize Barrier Reef as a source of food, especially during 300BC to 900AD, and some of the cays were used as burial sites for the indigenous population.
  • Belize Barrier Reef is popularly visited by tourists for its prized snorkelling and scuba diving attractions, with more than 128,000 tourists visiting the reef annually.
  • Many bird species can be found in the area of the Belize Barrier Reef, as well as vulnerable or endangered species like the American crocodile, a number of turtle species, and the West Indian manatee.
Bibliography:
Belize Barrier Reef, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize_Barrier_Reef
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, 2015, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, Belize, n.d, The Encyclopedia of Earth, http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150471/

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CN Tower

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CN Tower

The CN Tower is quite a flabbergasting architectural achievement.

  • The CN Tower is a very tall structure built for media reception and communications, and it houses restaurants – one of which revolves, a theatre and a shop, and also features a number of observation decks.
  • Erected in Canada’s Ontario, in North America, the CN Tower was built in the middle of a disused train shunting yard, in the Railway Lands of Toronto, at a cost that totalled $63 million Canadian Dollars, and it has become a popular tourist attraction.
  • The ‘CN Tower’ is also known as the ‘Canadian National Tower’, ‘Canada’s National Tower’ and ‘Tour CN’, the latter in French; and ‘CN’ stands for ‘Canadian National’, the company who initially owned the tower.
  • The CN Tower has a central hexagonal column that has three large supports at the base, with an antenna spire at the top, and totals 553.33 metres (1,815.4 feet) in height, and has 147 floors.
  • The concept of the CN Tower was first proposed in 1968 by the Canadian National railway, who were the original owners of the tower and had the structure built, although it was not until early 1973 that construction commenced.

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CN Tower
Image courtesy of elPadawan/Flickr
  • When officially opened on 1 October, 1976, the CN Tower was the tallest tower and the tallest freestanding structure in the world; and it held these positions for more than three decades, while in 2014, it ranked third and sixth respectively.
  • The total concrete volume used to construct the CN Tower was around 40,500 cubic metres (52,972 cubic yards), and the concrete was all made at the construction site.
  • Before the use of LED lights, that were installed in 2007 and are controlled in Ontario’s Burlington, the CN Tower used the original incandescent lights until around 1997, and discontinued the use of them due to expensive running and repair costs.
  • Ice can form on the CN Tower, which can prove hazardous in winds, as the ice can fall away from the tower and smash glass and damage objects, including cars.
  • The CN Tower attracts lightning due to its height, and in one year, it is hit by lightning around 75 times; and to protect against this, pieces of copper run from the top of the tower to the base and are used to direct the electrical energy into the ground.
Bibliography:
CN Tower, 2012, World Federation of Great Towers, http://www.great-towers.com/towers/cn-tower/
CN Tower, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower
CN Tower, n.d, Canada Lands Tower, http://www.cntower.ca/site_Files/Content/PDF/Facts_at_a_Glance_2013.pdf

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Mole

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Mole

Moles are not deaf or blind.

  • Moles are mammals of small size, that have extremely good smelling capabilities, which make up for their poor eyesight; and they are native to Asia, North America, and Europe, excluding Ireland.
  • Moles have the scientific family name Talpidae, a family of digging mammals, that also includes desmans and shrew moles.
  • Moles generally have long claws and feature a second thumb adjacent to its first, that they use to dig numerous tunnels underground.
  • The diet of moles consists mainly of worms, although they also consume mice and insects; and they are preyed on by cats, foxes and owls.
  • Moles have a tail, and typically grow to be 12 to 15 centimetres (4.5 to 6 inches) in length and weigh between 250 to 550 grams (9 to 19 ounces).
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Mole
Image courtesy of free photos/Flickr
  • The fur of moles is thick and short, and is usually coloured a combination of brown, white, black and grey.
  • Moles generally live alone underground in wooded, farmed or grassed areas, and the males are inclined to protect their territory from other males.
  • Due to the haemoglobin proteins that exist in their blood, moles have the unique ability to reuse oxygen and endure significant quantities of carbon dioxide, which allows the mammals to live efficiently underground.
  • The saliva of a mole can paralyse prey, owing to the natural poison it contains, allowing the mammal to collect food to eat at a later time.
  • Moles are considered a pest in many urban communities and farming areas, as they burrow beneath the soil, which can cause damage to the roots of vegetation and crops; while on the surface, the piles of dirt (molehills) that are created from excess soil can destroy grass and plants, and have an unsightly appearance.
Bibliography:
Mole, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/mole/
Mole, n.d, Young People’s Trust for the Environment, https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/mole/overview
Mole (Animal), 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(animal)

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Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands

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Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands

Hidden Beach is perfect isolation.

  • Hidden Beach is a beach totally surrounded by a rock wall, found on one of the Marieta Islands of Mexico, in North America.
  • ‘Hidden Beach’ is also known as ‘Playa del Amor’, which translates directly from Spanish as ‘beach of love’.
  • The Mexican government used the uninhabited Marieta Islands as a military test base early in the 20th century, and a number of bomb tests occurred, one of which is the possible cause of the Hidden Beach open cave area.
  • Hidden Beach was declared a National Park area in 2005, as part of the Parque Nacional Islas Marietas (Marieta Islands National Park), while Frenchman, Jacques Cousteau, a scientist, originally initiated the protection of the area in the 1960s.
  • Kayaking, swimming and sunbathing are said to be the only practices that are legal in the Hidden Beach area, although other activities in the area include whale watching, fishing and birdwatching.

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Hidden Beach
Image courtesy of Christian Bernal/Flickr
  • Visitors are usually transported to the Hidden Beach area by boat, and enter the small channel opening via a small watercraft or swimming, although access via helicopter is also an option.
  • The upper ground level (or roof) of Hidden Beach sits approximately 7 metres above the water, while the small opening in the wall that allows access to the beach is around 1.8 metres (6 feet) in height.
  • Hidden Beach has become a popular tourist area in recent times due to social media on the internet, however, the site can be viewed from above, only from the air, due to it remoteness, natural barricade and protection laws.
  • The Marieta Islands were likely created by volcanic activity, and the Hidden Beach area is generally warm all year round.
  • The Hidden Beach area is the home to much wildlife, including birds, plants and marine animals such as dolphins, rays, whales and turtles.
Bibliography:
Hidden Beach, 2014, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hidden-beach-2
Hidden Beach in Marieta Islands, Mexico, 2014, When on Earth, http://whenonearth.net/hidden-beach-puerto-vallarta/
Marieta Islands, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marieta_Islands

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James Dean

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James Dean

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean

  • James Dean was an actor of American birth, who became a legendary teenage icon.
  • James Dean was born in Indiana’s Marion, in the United States, on 8 February, 1931, and was named ‘James Byron Dean’.
  • James Dean’s mother died in 1938 due to cancer, when Dean was nine years of age, and so his father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle who were Quakers.
  • The first commercial appearance James Dean made was in an advertisement for Pepsi Cola, in the early 1950s.
  • James Dean had a significant interest in automobile racing, had ownership of various car models, and competed in a number of races, in which he earned high placings.
James Dean, Smoke, Acting,Male, Actor, Ten Random FactsJames Dean
Image courtesy of Isomnia Cured Here/Flickr
  • The fame of James Dean arose from his work in the films East of Eden (1955), Rebel without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956).
  • James Dean died on 30 September, 1955, at 24 years of age, in a car crash at an intersection with another vehicle.
  • James Dean received a nomination for the Best Actor Academy Award in East of Eden, that he received posthumously, making him the first actor to do so; and a second nomination followed, as well as other awards.
  • Sight was not one of James Dean’s strong points, as he was short sighted and had difficulty seeing without his glasses.
  • James Dean never married, however he dated and had close relationships with a number of people, notably Pier Angeli, an Italian actress.
Bibliography:
James Dean, 2015, Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/james-dean-9268866
James Dean, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dean

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