War of the Rohirrim

War of the Rohirrim is being released December 13 2024. It is Set 183 years before the events  In Lord oof the Rings, War of the Rohirrim tells the life and bloodsoaked times of Helm’s Deep, founder, Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan. 

Helm was born in TA 2691 to the royal House of Eorl that had ruled Rohan since TA 2510, during the reign of his great-grandfather King Goldwine, the sixth King of Rohan. Helm was the son of Prince Gram, who was the grandson of King Goldwine as the son of Crown Prince Déor. When Helm was a young boy in TA 2699, the elderly King Goldwine died at the age of 80 after a long and peaceful reign, and the Crown Prince, aged 55, succeeded him as the seventh King of Rohan. With King Déor’s ascension, Helm’s father Gram become the new Crown Prince, while Helm himself became second in line to the throne as grandson of the reigning monarch.

Unlike the reign of Helm’s great-grandfather King Goldwine that Helm had spent his early childhood under, the reign of Helm’s grandfather King Déor would be marked by conflict with the Dunlendings, who were a race of wild men that inhabited the lands bordering Rohan. 11 years into King Déor’s reign in TA 2710, the Dunlendings would successfully capture the Gondorian fortress of Isengard, which they would use in succeeding years as a base. King Déor died in TA 2718 at the old age of 74 after 19 years on the throne, and his 50 year old son Crown Prince Gram, Helm’s father, succeeded him as the Eighth King of Rohan. By now 27 years old, Helm became the Crown Prince of Rohan and first in line to the throne. Like the reign of Helm’s grandfather King Déor, the reign of Helm’s father King Gram saw a continuation of hostilities with the Dunlendings who operated from the captured palace of Isengard to raid Rohan. King Gram died in TA 2741, and Crown Prince Helm, now aged 50, succeed him as the ninth King of Rohan.

During his reign, King Helm came into conflict with an arrogant and powerful landowner named Freca. Freca was a Dunlending with Rohirric blood; he claimed to be a descendant of King Fréawine of Rohan. Freca viewed King Helm with both contempt and scorn, while Helm mistrusted Freca and was wary of him.

In TA 2754, Freca attempted to intimidate and coerce King Helm into giving his approval and consent to an arranged marriage between Freca’s son Wulf and Helm’s daughter. Freca attended a meeting of the King’s council in Edoras with a large number of retainers, planning to threaten the King into complying with his demands. However In the resulting quarrel, Helm Hammerhand smote Freca with a single blow from his fist. The blow was so great Freca died soon after. Enraged, the men of Freca left Edoras, and King Helm declared Wulf and his kin enemies of the King.

Wulf became a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord who, sought vengeance for the death of his father Freca, and Four years later in TA 2758, he Led a combined force of Dunlendings Corsairs of Umbar, and Easterlings against Rohan. King Helm and his younger son Prince Háma were besieged by hordes of Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf, in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg, – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep…

World Hypertension day

World Hypertension Day takes place annually on 17 May. It was created by The World Hypertension League (WHL), an umbrella to organizations of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues. The purpose of World Hypertension Day is to increase the awareness of hypertension and increase the amount of appropriate knowledge among hypertensive patients. The WHL launched its first WHD on May 14, 2005. Since 2006, the WHL has been dedicating May 17 of every year as WHD.

Hypertension (HTN or HT),is also known as high blood pressure (HBP), and is a long term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. Short term high blood pressure does not usually cause symptoms however Long term high blood pressure is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, vision loss, and chronic kidney disease.

High blood pressure is classified as either primary (essential) high blood pressure or secondary high blood pressure. About 90–95% of cases are primary, defined as high blood pressure due to nonspecific lifestyle and genetic factors. Lifestyle factors that increase the risk include excess salt, excess body weight, smoking, and alcohol. The remaining 5–10% of cases are categorized as secondary high blood pressure, defined as high blood pressure due to an identifiable cause, such as chronic kidney disease, narrowing of the kidney arteries, an endocrine disorder, or the use of birth control pills.

Blood pressure is expressed by two measurements, the systolic and diastolic pressures, which are the maximum and minimum pressures, respectively. Normal blood pressure at rest is within the range of 100–140 millimeters mercury (mmHg) systolic and 60–90 mmHg diastolic. High blood pressure is present if the resting blood pressure is persistently at or above 140/90 mmHg for most adults. Different numbers apply to children. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring over a 24-hour period appears more accurate than office best blood pressure measurement.

Lifestyle changes and medications can lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of health complications. Lifestyle changes include weight loss, decreased salt intake, physical exercise, and a healthy diet. If lifestyle changes are not sufficient then blood pressure medications are used. Up to three medications can control blood pressure in 90% of people. The treatment of moderately high arterial blood pressure (defined as >160/100 mmHg) with medications is associated with an improved life expectancy. The effect of treatment of blood pressure between 140/90 mmHg and 160/100 mmHg is less clear, with some reviews finding benefit and others finding a lack of evidence for benefit. High blood pressure affects between 16 and 37% of the population globally. In 2010 hypertension was believed to have been a factor in 18% (9.4 million) deaths.

In 2005 The theme for World Hypertension Day was ‘Awareness of high blood pressure’. The 2006 theme was ‘Treat to goal’, with a focus on keeping blood pressure under control. The recommended blood pressures are less than 140/90 mmHg for the general population and for the hypertensive population without any other complications, and less than 130/80 mmHg for those with diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease. These are the cut-off values recommended by international and Canadian guidelines. The 2007 WHD theme was ‘Healthy diet, healthy blood pressure’. Through such specific themes, the WHL intends to raise awareness not only of hypertension, but also of factors contributing to an increase in the incidence of hypertension and on ways to prevent it. In an effort to empower the public, the theme for 2008 was ‘Measure your blood pressure…at home’. Recent reports confirm the ease, accuracy and safety of blood pressure measurements using home monitors. For the five-year period 2013-2018, the theme of WHD is ‘Know Your Numbers’ with the goal of increasing high blood pressure awareness in all populations around the world.

World information society day/Telecommnication day

World Information Society Day (World Telecommunication Day) takes place on 17 May to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union in 17 May 1865 by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos. It was introduced by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, after the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis called upon the United Nations General Assembly to declare May 17th as World Information Society Day. The Main Objective of World Information Society Day is to focus on the importance of Computerised Information Technology, to raise global awareness of changes brought about by the Internet and new computerised Technologies, to raise awareness concerning other issues relating to the Information Society and to help reduce the digital divide. In March 2006 The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May and The first World Information Society Day took place on Wednesday, 17 May 2006.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU; French: Union Internationale des Télécommunications (UIT)), originally the International Telegraph Union (French: Union Télégraphique Internationale), is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is responsible for issues that concern information and communication technologies. The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordination of worldwide technical standards. The ITU is active in areas including broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting, and next-generation networks. The agency also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums, such as ITU Telecom World, bringing together representatives of government and the telecommunications and ICT industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology.

The ITU, is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a member of the United Nations Development Group, and has 12 regional and area offices in the world. ITU has been an intergovernmental public–private partnership organization since its inception. Its membership includes 193 Member States and around 800 public and private sector companies, and academic institutions as well as international and regional telecommunication entities, known as Sector Members and Associates, which undertake most of the work of each Sector.

Donna Summer

Donna Summer, the late great Queen of Disco sadly passed away 17 May 2012. Donna Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on 31st December 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. Summer’s performance debut occurred at church when she was ten years old after being invited to perform by the local pastor. Summer attended Boston’s Jeremiah E. Burke High School where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular. She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents’ strict curfew. In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York where she was a member of the blues rock band Crow.

Summer auditioned for a role in the musical, Hair. When Melba Moore was cast in the part, Summer agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show. She moved to Munich, Germany after getting her parents’ reluctant approval. She achieved fame after signing as a solo artist to the pioneering disco label, Casablanca, in 1975 and her soaring voice and effervescent stage presence helped to propel her first single “Love to Love You Baby” to No 4 in the UK charts and ignited the disco craze of the 1970s, which was defined by sex, drugs and extravagant clothes. She participated in the musicals Ich bin ich (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell and Show Boat and moved to Vienna. In 1968, Summer released her first single, a German version of the title “Aquarius” from the musical “Hair,” followed in 1971 by a second single, a cover of The Jaynetts’ “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”, in 1972 she released the single “If You Walkin’ Alone” and married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973 with whom she had a daughter, Mimi, the same year. Sadly she later divorced Sommer Citing marital problems caused by her affair with German artist (and future live-in boyfriend), Peter Mühldorfer. However She kept his last name, but anglicized it to “Summer”.

She provided backing vocals on producer-keyboardist, Veit Marvos’ 1972 Record Nice to See You. Summer then met German-based producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte while at a recording session at Munich’s Musicland Studios and The trio began collaborating on songs together. Summer’s first album, Lady of the Night contained the songs “The Hostage” and “Lady of the Night”. Summer and Morodor then released the song love to Love You and an American label requested that Moroder produce a longer version for discothèques. So Moroder, Bellotte and Summer returned with a 17-minute version. The song generated controversy due to Summer’s moans and groans and some American and European radio stations, including the BBC, refused to play it. Despite this “Love to Love You Baby” became incredibly successful And was followed by “Try Me, I Know We Can Make It”, “Could It Be Magic”, “Spring Affair”, and “Winter Melody”, she released The albums love Trilogy and Four Seasons of Love and Then In 1977, Summer released the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which included the song “I feel Love”.

She released Another concept album, Once Upon a Time and In 1978, released “MacArthur Park” and “Heaven Knows”. In 1978 Summer married Bruce Sudano & acted in the film Thank God It’s Friday playing a singer determined to perform at a hot disco club. This contained the song “Last Dance” which won a Grammy Award. In 1979, Summer performed at the world-televised Music for UNICEF Concert, joining ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Rod Stewart, John Denver, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson for a TV special that raised funds and awareness for the world’s children. Summer’s next album Bad Girls became a huge success spawning the hits “Hot Stuff”, “Dim All the Lights”. With “MacArthur Park”,“Bad Girls” and the Barbra Streisand duet “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)”, these together with the songs. “Heaven Knows”, “Last Dance”, “Dim All the Lights” and “On the Radio” (from her upcoming double-album). “Hot Stuff” later won her a second Grammy in the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.Summer released On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II, her first (international) greatest hits set, in 1979 featuring A new song “On the Radio. Summer signed withGeffen Records in 1980 Summer’s first Geffen album, The Wanderer, featured an eclectic mixture of sounds similar to Bad Girls combined with rock, rockabilly, new wave and gospel music. And contained the Singles The Wanderer, “Cold Love” and “Who Do You Think You’re Foolin’,”. Eventually, though Moroder and Bellotte and Summer left Geffen and hired top R&B and pop producer Quincy Jones to produce Summer’s next album, Donna Summer (1982) which contained the songs “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)” “State of Independence” and “The Woman in Me”.

Summer’s next album featured the song She Works Hard for the Money which became a major hit & also garnered another Grammy nomination as well as “Unconditional Love” & “Love Has A Mind of Its Own”. Donna Summer’s next release. Cats Without Claws included the Song s”There Goes My Baby”, “Eyes” and “I’m Free,” . On January 19, 1985, she sang at the 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. then In 1987, Summer returned with the album All Systems Go, featuring the singles “Dinner with Gershwin,” and “All Systems Go”. For Summer’s next album, She teamed up with Stock Aitken Waterman (or SAW), who enjoyed incredible success writing and producing for such acts as Kylie Minogue, Dead or Alive, Bananarama and Rick Astley, , entitled Another Place and Time, The album featured the singles “This Time I Know It’s for Real” “I Don’t Wanna Get Hurt” and “Love’s About to Change My Heart”. Then In 1990, the compilation, The Best of Donna Summer, was released. In 1991 Summer released the album Mistaken Identity containing the song “When Love Cries” and in 1992 Summer embarked on a world tour to promote the album and later that year received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1993, the two-disc set The Donna Summer Anthology was released, containing 34 tracks. In 1994 Summer released the Christmas album Christmas Spirit which included renditions of classic Christmas songs such as “O Holy Night” and “Joy to the World” together with Summer-penned songs. Then Another hits collection, Endless Summer: Greatest Hits, was released, featuring eighteen songs that were single cuts of the songs differentiating from the Anthology set, where fuller length recordings were featured.

In 1992, she reunited with Giorgio Moroder, to record the dance song “Carry On”, which won Summer the first Grammy given to anyone in its dance category, then In 1995 she released the dance tune “Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)”. Summer was also offered a guest role on the sitcom Family Matters as Steve Urkel’s (Jaleel White) Aunt Oona, making a second appearance in 1997. Summer received a Grammy Award in 1998 for Best Dance Recording, after a remixed version of her 1992 collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, “Carry On”, was released in 1997. Then In 1999, Summer taped a live television special for VH1 titled Donna Summer – Live and More Encore, Featuring the songs “I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)” and “Love Is the Healer”. In 2000, Summer participated in VH1’s third annual Divas special, dedicated to Diana Ross, singing her own material and In 2003, Summer issued her autobiography, Ordinary Girl: The Journey, and released a best-of set titledThe Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. In 2004, Summer was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame alongside the Bee Gees and Barry Gibb as an artist. In 2004 and 2005, Summer released the songs “You’re So Beautiful” and “I Got Your Love”. Summer also claimed that whilst living in Manhattan she had a premonition concerning The September 11 Attacks one month before they occurred

In 2008, Summer released her first studio album of fully original material in 17 years, entitled Crayons, which contained the songs “I’m a Fire”, “Stamp Your Feet”, “Fame (The Game)”,”The Queen is Back”,the ballad “Sand on my Feet” and “Mr. Music” with J.R. Rotem and Evan Bogart, the son of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart. On December 11, 2009, Summer performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway in honor of American President Barack Obama, backed by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. In August 2010, she released the single “To Paris With Love”, and also appeared in the PBS television special Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends. In it Summer performed with Seal on a medley of the songs “Un-Break My Heart / Crazy / On the Radio” before closing the show with “Last Dance”. On September 15, 2010, Summer appeared as a guest celebrity singing alongside rising star Prince Poppycock on the television show America’s Got Talent. On October 16, 2010, she performed at a benefit concert at the Phoenix Symphony. On June 6, 2011, Summer was a guest judge on the show Platinum Hit in an episode entitled “Dance Floor Royalty”. In July 2011, Summer worked Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles with her nephew, the rapper and producer Omega Red, producing the song “Angel”.

Sadly After having a glittering career that spanned four decades, Donna Summer tragically passed away in Florida, while attempting to put the finishing touches to her 24th album after having a short but acute battle with lung cancer which she beleived was the result of inhaling toxic dust from the collapsed Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in the aftermath of 9/11 terror attack. Donna was announced to be one of the 2013 inductees to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and was inducted on April 18, 2013, at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater. During her incredible music career Summer made 24 albums which put the disco into discography, won five Grammys and in 2012 she was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to celebrate her extraordinary life, long-lasting career and her continuing legacy.

Andrea Corr MBE

Irish musician, songwriter, and actress. Andrea Jane Corr MBE was born 17 May 1974. She is the youngest of the four Corr children. The family was raised in Dundalk, Ireland. Her parents Gerry and Jean had their own band, Sound Affair, which played songs by ABBA and The Eagles in local pubs in Dundalk where they would often bring along their children. With the encouragement of her parents, Andrea took up the tin whistle and was taught the piano by her father. Throughout their teenage years, she and her siblings would often practice in Jim’s bedroom at a house he had rented. Andrea sang lead vocals, Sharon played the violin and both Caroline and Jim played keyboards. Andrea took part in school plays at her school, Dundalk’s Dun Lughaidh Convent.

Their career launched in 1991 when they auditioned for Alan Parker’s film The Commitments in which Andrea gained a speaking role as Sharon Rabbitte. John Hughes noticed the quartet when they auditioned for the movie, and agreed to become their manager. In 1996, Alan Parker was directing the film version of the rock opera Evita which starred Madonna. He was so keen on having Andrea in the film that he cast her as Juan Peron’s mistress. Corr provided the singing voice for Kayley in Warner Brothers’ first fully animated film, 1998’s The Quest for Camelot. Corr resumed her acting career in 2003 where she was cast as Anne in The Boys from County Clare. The film was not a commercial success, but she won the Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Actress in the US Comedy Arts Festival and was nominated for Best Actress in the IFTA Awards. During the Corrs’ hiatus she was featured in the 2005 film The Bridge and the 2006 film Broken Thread. Corr appeared as Christina in the play Dancing at Lughnasa staged at The Old Vic theatre in London from February until May 2009 .She played the title role in Jane Eyre by Alan Stanford at the Gate Theatre in Dublin which opened on 9 November 2010.

Andrea formed the Celtic band The Corrs with her siblings Sharon, Caroline and Jim in 1990. The Corrs signed with Atlantic Records in 1995 and travelled to North America to record their debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten. The album featured six instrumental selections among its Celtic-influenced tracks. When released, it was successful in Ireland, Australia, Japan, and Spain. The album reached platinum status in the United Kingdom and Australia, and quadruple platinum in Ireland, which made it one of the most popular debuts by an Irish group. Following on from the success of their debut album, they released Talk on Corners and In Blue in 1997 and 2000 respectively Originally Talk on Corners met with lukewarm success, until a remix version was released, when it topped the charts in many countries, and reached platinum status in the United Kingdom and Australia. In Blue moved towards mainstream pop, placing heavy emphasis on electronic synthesisers. Sadly though During the production of In Blue, their mother, Jean, died while waiting for a lung transplant in the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, Britain. She was laid to rest at St. Patrick’s cemetery in Dundalk. Bono, Larry Mullen, Brian Kennedy and Paul Brady were among the attendees. “No More Cry”, written by Andrea and Caroline Corr for the album, was dedicated to their father hoping to help with his grief.

In 2003, Andrea recorded “Time Enough For Tears”, a song written by Bono and Gavin Friday for the film In America. This track was featured on The Corrs’ 2004 album Borrowed Heaven. Borrowed Heaven was dedicated to their late mother, Jean, and their father, Gerry. The band also dedicated their 2005 tribute album Home to their deceased mother. Between 2005 and 2015 the band had a break. After getting back together The band covered many traditional Irish songs taken from their mother’s songbook to commemorate their 15 years as a band. Their sixth studio album, White Light, was released in 2015, and was accompanied by a world tour. With the others, Corr has released six studio albums, two compilation albums, one remix album and two live albums. Andrea has also pursued a solo career, releasing her debut album, Ten Feet High, in 2007. The album moved away from the sound of the Corrs and features a dance-pop sound. Her next album, released on 30 May 2011, was entirely made up of covers of songs that were important to her when younger.

Andrea is also involved in many charitable activities. She has played charity concerts to raise money for the Pavarotti & Friends Liberian Children’s Village, Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the victims of the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland and The Prince’s Trust in 2004. She is an ambassador for the Nelson Mandela’s “46664” campaign, raising awareness towards AIDS in Africa. During the Edinburgh Live 8 on 2 July 2005 The Corrs performed “When the Stars Go Blue” alongside Bono to promote the Make Poverty History campaign. Along with her siblings, she was appointed an honorary M.B.E. in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to music and charity.

Trent Reznor

American singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer Michael Trent Reznor Jr. was born May 17, 1965. As both a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Reznor has led the splendidly noisy industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails since 1988. Reznor was previously associated with the bands Option 30, The Innocent,and Exotic Birds in the mid-80s. He gained employment at Right Track Studios in Cleveland and began creating his own music during the studio’s closing hours under the name of Nine Inch Nails. Reznor’s first release as Nine Inch Nails, the 1989 album Pretty Hate Machine, was a commercial and critical success and Reznor has since released seven major studio albums.

Most of Reznor’s work as a musician has been as founding and primary member of Nine Inch Nails. Pretty Hate Machine was a moderate commercial success, and was certified Gold in 1992. Amidst pressure from his record label to produce a follow-up to Pretty Hate Machine, Reznor secretly began recording under various pseudonyms to avoid record company interference, resulting in an EP called Broken (1992). Nine Inch Nails was included in the Lollapalooza tour in the summer of 1991, and won a Grammy Award in 1993 under “Best Heavy Metal Performance” for the song “Wish”. Nine Inch Nails’ second full-length album, The Downward Spiral, entered the Billboard 200 chart in 1994 at number two, and remains the highest-selling Nine Inch Nails release in America. To record the album, Reznor rented and moved into the 10050 Cielo Drive mansion, where the 1969 Manson Family murders took place. He built a studio space in the house, which he renamed Le Pig, after the word that was scrawled on the front door in Sharon Tate’s blood by her murderers. Reznor told Entertainment Weekly that, despite the notoriety attached to the house, he chose to record there because he “looked at a lot of places, and this just happened to be the one I liked most”. Nine Inch Nails toured extensively over the next few years, including a performance at Woodstock ’94, although he admitted to the audience that he did not like to play large venues. However Reznor’s studio perfectionism, struggles with addiction, and bouts of writer’s block prolonged the production of a follow-up to The Downward Spiral.

Outside of Nine Inch Nails, he has contributed to the albums of artists such as Marilyn Manson and Saul Williams. In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine’s list of the year’s most influential people and Spin magazine described him as “the most vital artist in music”. One of Reznor’s earliest collaborations was a Ministry side project in 1990 under the name of 1000 Homo DJs. Reznor sang vocals on a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut”. Due to legal issues with his label, Reznor’s vocals had to be distorted to make his voice unrecognizable. The band also recorded additional versions with Al Jourgensen doing vocals. While there is still debate as to which version is Reznor and which is Jourgensen, it has been definitively stated that Reznor’s vocals were used in the TVT Records’ Black Boxbox set. Reznor sang backing vocals on “Past The Mission” by Tori Amos on her 1994 album Under the Pink. 

He produced Marilyn Manson’s first album, Portrait of an American Family (1994), and several tracks on Manson’s albums Smells Like Children (1995) andAntichrist Superstar (1996). He also produced the soundtracks for Oliver Stone’s 1994 film Natural Born Killers and David Lynch’s 1997 film Lost Highway. Reznor is credited for “Driver Down” and “Videodrones; Questions” on the Lost Highway soundtrack; another song, “The Perfect Drug”, is credited to Nine Inch Nails. Reznor produced a remix of the Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Victory”, featuring Busta Rhymes, in 1998.In 2007 he left Interscope Records and is now an independent recording artist. In May 2008 Reznor founded The Null Corporation and Nine Inch Nails released the studio album the Slip as a free digital download.

As of 2010, he and his wife Mariqueen Maandig are members of the post-industrial group How to Destroy Angels, with Reznor’s fellow composer Atticus Ross and graphic designer Rob Sheridan. Reznor and Ross scored the David Fincher films The Social Nework and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for the former and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for the latter.The group also digitally released a self-titled six song EP on June 1, 2010. Reznor announced that the group’s next release would be an EP entitled An Omen EP, they released a song and music video from An Omen EP entitled “Keep it Together” and some of the EP’s songs also appear on the band’s first full length album entitled Welcome to Oblivion which was released In 2013.

Enya

Irish singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter Enya (born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin was born 17 May 1961. Enya began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to perform solo. She gained wider recognitionfor her music in the 1986 BBCseries The Celts. Shortly afterwards, her 1988 album Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her distinctive sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations. She has performed in 10 languages.Enya continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain sold 15 million copies,and became the top selling new age album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. She received the world’s best-selling female award at the World Music Awards in 2001. She is Ireland’s best-selling solo musician.Her records sales were more than 75 million worldwide, including over 26.5 million in album sales in the US, making her one of world’s best-selling artists of all time. Her work has earned her four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.

Enya was born and brought up in Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, in the northwest corner of Ireland. She is part of an Irish-speaking and musical familyEnya recorded two solo instrumental pieces called “An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian” (Irish for “The Solar Wind”) and “Miss Clare Remembers” that were released on the 1984 album Touch Travel. She was first credited as Enya (as opposed to Eithne) for writing some of the music for the 1984 movie The Frog Prince, which was released on a soundtrack album of the same title. Another early appearance on record followed in 1987, where Enya provided spoken (not sung) vocals in Irish on the song “Never Get Old” on Sinéad O’Connor’s debut album,The Lion and the Cobra. Enya became successful 1988 with the album Watermark, which featured the hit song “Orinoco Flow” (erroneously known as “Sail Away”). “Orinoco Flow”, reported to be named after Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was conceived, topped the charts in the United Kingdom, peaked at number 2 in Germany and the Watermark album sold eleven million copies

Three years later she followed with another hit album, Shepherd Moons, which sold twelve million copies and earned Enya her firstGrammy Award. Shepherd Moons is also her longest charting album to date, spending 238 weeks on the Billboard 200. The songs “On Your Shore” and “Exile” (from Watermark) and “Epona” (from Enya) were featured in the 1991 film L.A. Story. “Ebudæ” is also featured on the soundtrack to the Robin Williams feature film Toys, while the 1990 feature film Green Card features “River”, “Watermark”, and “Storms In Africa”. “Book Of Days” was featured prominently in the movie Far and Away, with an English-lyric version created for the film then replacing the old Irish language version on all pressings of the Shepherd Moons album from 1993 onwards. In 1993, her recording of “Marble Halls” from Shepherd Moons was featured in the Martin Scorsese film, The Age of Innocence.

In 1992, a re-mastered version of the Enya album was released as The Celts including a longer, modified version of “Portrait”, which was renamed “Portrait (Out of the Blue)”.Four years after Shepherd Moons she released The Memory of Trees (1995), another Top Five success in both the UK and Germany, as well as her first Top 10 album in the U.S. Singles released from the album were “Anywhere Is” and “On My Way Home”.in 1997, Enya released her greatest hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, again a top five smash in the UK and Germany, which featured two new songs: “Paint the Sky with Stars” and “Only If…”; “Only If…” later became a single. (“Only If You Want To”, is an early version of “Only If..Following a five-year break Enya released the album A Day Without Rain in 2000, the album is Enya’s most successful to date, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The first single, “Only Time”, was used in the film Sweet November and received U.S. radio airplay in late 2000. In May 2001, NBC began using “Only Time” to accompany commercials for their television series Friends, which helped the song top the Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts. After the 11 September 2001 attacks “Only Time” was used as a soundtrack in many radio and television reports about the attacks. In 2001, Enya recorded “May It Be”, which was featured in the first installment of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, and was her second consecutive single to enter the German charts at number one. The video features scenes from the Peter Jackson film

In November 2005, a new album, entitled Amarantine, was released. It reached the Top 10 in both the UK and the US, and peaked at number 3 in Germany. The album won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album for 2007, Enya’s fourth. In 2006, Enya released several Christmas-themed CDs with newly recorded material. On 10 October 2006 Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection was released containing six songs: the previously released “Oíche Chiúin” (a.k.a. “Silent Night”) and “Amid the Falling Snow”, new recordings of the standards “Adeste Fideles” (a.k.a. “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”) and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as well as two original songs, “Christmas Secrets” and “The Magic of the Night”. This CD was released only in the United States in an exclusive partnership with the NBC television network and the Target department store chain. Enya was awarded the World’s Best-Selling Irish Act award at the World Music Awards in London on 19 November 2006In March 2009, Warner Music Japan released Enya’s first 4 albums in a new format, called SHM-CD. On 23 November 2009 Enya released a new album called The Very Best of Enya. It includes most of her hits from 1987 to 2008 including a new version of “Aníron”, a song created for “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring” in 2001. In 2010, singer Rihanna sampled “One By One” on the song “Fading” from her album Loud. In a May 2011 interview, Enya’s manager said that she is working on a new album and will likely tour to support it, with part of the recording taking place in Abbey Road Studios in London.”.

Bill Bruford/Rick Wakeman (Yes/King Crimson)

Bill Bruford, Who was Drummer, percussionist and composer with Progressive Rock Bands Yes & King Crimson was born 17th May 1949. He was the original drummer in the band, from 1968-1972, who achieved worldwide success with their progressive music, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, live stage sets and symphonic style of rock music. They are regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre. They were Formed in 1968 and released two albums together but began to enjoy success after the release of The Yes Album and Fragile, which featured new arrivals Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. They achieved further success with the albums Close to the Edge and Tales from Topographic Oceans. Bruford began playing the drums when he was thirteen, and was influenced by jazz drumming, which manifested itself on early Yes albums and remained an influence on his style throughout his career.

During his time with Yes Bruford played on their first five albums including the LPs The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge. Bruford has also performed for numerous other acts as well, including a stint as touring drummer for Genesis in 1976. Following his departure from Yes and at various times until 1997, Bruford was the drummer for progressive rock band King Crimson, But moved away from progressive rock to concentrate on jazz, leading his own jazz group, Earthworks, for several years. He retired from public performance in 2009, but continues to run his two record labels and to speak about music. His autobiography, Bill Bruford: The Autobiography, was published in early 2009.

Rick Wakeman

Keyboard player, composer and songwriter Rick Wakeman was also born 18th May 1949). He is best known for being the former keyboardist with progressive rock band Yes. He has also written many solo albums and hosted a radio show on Planet Rock called Rick’s place, that aired until December 2010.Wakeman was born in West London. He purchased his first electronic keyboard at 12 years of age. In 1968, he studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music before leaving after a year in favour of session music work.

He went on to feature on songs by artists including Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John and Cat Stevens. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. He returned in 1976 before leaving with lead vocalist Jon Anderson in 1980. Wakeman was part of the side project Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a group of ex-Yes members formed in 1989, and the eight-member Yes line-up that followed until his third departure in 1992.He returned for two years in 1995 and once more in 2002, where he was part of the band’s 35th anniversary tour until its end in 2004. Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He has produced over 100 solo albums that have sold more than 50 million copies. In November 2010, Wakeman was awarded the Spirit of Prog award at the annual Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards,

wonderful wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum was published 17 May 1900 with illustratoins by W. W. Denslow. The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone and find themselves into Munchkin Country in the magical Land of Oz. The falling house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, the evil ruler of the Munchkins. The Good Witch of the North arrives with three grateful Munchkins and gives Dorothy the magical silver shoes that once belonged to the Wicked Witch. The Good Witch tells Dorothy that the only way she can return home is to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and ask the great and powerful Wizard of Oz to help her. 

Along the way Dorothy meets a Scarecrow, A tin woodsman and a Cowardly lion and they all journey to the Emerald  City to ask for help from the Wizard. However Along the way they are terrorised by the Wicked Witch of the West who continually tries to stop them reaching the Emerald City and steal the silver shoes. Upon reaching the EMerald city The wizard agrees to help them provided that they deal with the Wicked Witch of the West, Then Dorothy and her friends discover that the Wizard of Oz is not what he seems.

Along the way The Wicked Witch of the West again terrorises them and they face an assortment of hazards including the Winkies and the Flying Monkeys. However the Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow prove to be surprisingly resourceful. The Wicked Witch of the West then tries to trick Dorothy into giving her the silver shoes. Eventually  the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion are then given what they came for by the Wizard of Oz who then tries to help Dorothy and Toto get home, however this doesn’t go to plan, So the soldier with the green whiskers suggests that she consult Glinda the good witch of the south who lives in Quadling county so Dorothy Toto and the Cowardly journey to The Good Witches castle in Quadling county. Along the way the Cowardly Lion proves himself and Dorothy learns something interesting about the Silver shoes

The Wizard of Oz became the best-selling children’s book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz.Two years after Wizard’s publication, Baum and Denslow teamed up with composer Paul Tietjens and director Julian Mitchell to produce a musical stage version of the book under Fred R. Hamlin, which, opened in Chicago in 1902, then ran on Broadway for 293 stage nights from January to October 1903. It returned to Broadway in 1904, where it played from March to May and again from November to December. It successfully toured the United States with much of the same cast, until 1911, it differed considerably from the book, and was aimed primarily at adults .Baum then wrote a sequel, The Woggle-Bug, however the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman were omitted from this adaptation. He later worked on a musical version of Ozma of Oz, which eventually became The Tik-Tok Man Of Oz. This did fairly well in Los Angeles, and also began a stage version of The Patchwork Girl of Oz.

The Oz series was continued long after his death by other authors, notably Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote an additional nineteen Oz books. His other works also remained popular after his death, with The Master Key appearing on St. Nicholas Magazine’s survey of readers’ favorite books well into the 1920s. His novels also predicted such century-later commonplaces as television, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Work), and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz series of books remains popular to this day.

international day against homophobia, biphobia and Transphobia

The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is observed on May 17aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By 2016 the commemorations had taken place in over 130 countries. The founders of the International Day Against Homophobia, as it was originally known, established the IDAHO Committee to coordinate grass-roots actions in different countries, to promote the day and to lobby for official recognition on May 17. That date was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization(WHO) in 1990

The main purpose  is to raise awareness of violence, discrimination, and repression of LGBT communities worldwide, which in turn provides an opportunity to take action and engage in dialogue with the media, policymakers, public opinion, and wider civil society and to create an event that can be visible at a global level without needing to conform to a specific type of action. This decentralized approach is needed due to the diversity of social, religious, cultural, and political contexts in which rights violations occur. As such, this leads to a variety of events and approaches towards celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia. Despite the three principal issues mentioned in the name of the celebration, this day is widely regarded as an initiative that is “working to advance the rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.” This allows for a widespread amalgamation of different self-identified expressions coming together to share pride in oneself, happiness, and love with others as participants take charge against different rampant forms of hate in the world.

in Europe and Latin America, it is commemorated with public events in almost all countries. With 32 of the 76 countries in the world taking part In Sweden, government bodies have observed the day. Common actions include large-scale street marches, parades and festivals. In Cuba, for example, Mariela Castro has led out a huge street parade in honor of May 17 for the past three years. In Chile in 2013, 50,000 people took to the streets to mark May 17, and the VIII Santiago Equality march. Arts and culture-based events are also common. For example, Bangladeshi activists organised the music festival “Love Music Hate Homophobia” in 2013. Albanian LGBT activists have, in 2012 and 2013 been organising an annual Bike (P) Ride for May 17 through the streets of the capital Tirana. In 2013, the day’s Committee called for international actions for a Global Rainbow Flashmob to mark May 17. Activists in 100 cities, in 50 countries participated with diverse public events spanning coloured balloon releases, dance flashmobs, musical events, and performance and street art. On May 17, 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage while In Nepal, this day is celebrated as International Day Against Queer / MOGAI -phobia’ as well as IDAHOT.