Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda

12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (Bengali: [nɔrendronatʰ dɔto]), was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna.  He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world  and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century.  He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of Indian nationalism as a tool of fight against the British empire in colonial India.  Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.  He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words - "Sisters and brothers of America ...,"  in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to humankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint, and his birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day.

Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta (shortened to Narendra or Naren)  in a Bengali family  at his ancestral home at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta  the capital of British India, on 12 January 1863 during the Makar Sankranti festival.  He belonged to a traditional family and was one of nine siblings  His father, Vishwanath Datta, was an attorney at the Calcutta High Court.  Durgacharan Datta, Narendra's grandfather was a Sanskrit and Persian scholar  who left his family and became a monk at age twenty-five.  His mother, Bhubaneswari Devi, was a devout housewife.  The progressive, rational attitude of Narendra's father and the religious temperament of his mother helped shape his thinking and personality. 

Narendranath was interested in spirituality from a young age and used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva, Rama, Sita, and Mahavir Hanuman.   He was fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks. Naren was naughty and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling him. His mother said, "I prayed to Shiva for a son and he has sent me one of his demons

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda

Euromillions

Euromillions

EuroMillions is a transnational lottery that requires seven correct numbers to win the jackpot. It was launched on 7 February 2004 by France's Française des Jeux, Spain's Loterías y Apuestas del Estado and the United Kingdom's Camelot. The first draw was held on 13 February 2004 in Paris.  Initially, only the UK, France and Spain participated, with the Austrian, Belgian, Irish, Luxembourgish, Portuguese and Swiss lotteries joining from the 8 October 2004 draw.

Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday evening in Paris. A standard EuroMillions ticket currently (from May 2020) costs €2.50 in the Eurozone, £2.50 in the United Kingdom and Fr.3.50 in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Prices are per line played and are subject to change, fluctuating occasionally owing to exchange rates.

Several countries have extra games specific to tickets bought in that country.

The player selects five main numbers which can be any number from 1 to 50.

The player selects two different lucky star numbers from a pool of 12 numbers (1 to 12).

Draws take place every Tuesday and Friday evening in Paris. The results are published shortly after the draw on associated and independent websites.

To participate in the EuroMillions Lotto, tickets can be purchased from many outlets, namely at licensed stores and online websites.

The game play changed on 10 May 2011 with a second weekly draw and the number of "lucky stars" in the Paquerette machine increasing from 9 to 11. A prize for matching two main numbers and no lucky stars was also introduced on the same date.

On 24 September 2016, the number of "lucky stars" increased again, from 11 to 12.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroMillions

Millwall

Millwall

Millwall Football Club (/ˈmɪlwɔːl/)  is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1910. From then until 1993, the club played at what is now called The Old Den in New Cross, before moving to its current home stadium nearby, called The Den. The traditional club crest is a lion rampant, referred to in the team's nickname 'The Lions'. Millwall's traditional kit consists of blue shirts, white shorts, and blue socks.

In Millwall's 92 seasons in the Football League from 1920–21 to 2018-19, the club have been promoted eleven times (five times as champions) and relegated nine times. They have spent the majority of their existence yo-yoing between the second and third tiers of English football. The club did have a brief spell in the top flight between 1988 and 1990, in which they achieved their highest ever league finish of tenth place in the First Division in 1988–89. Millwall reached the 2004 FA Cup final and qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, playing in the UEFA Cup. The club have also won two League One play-off finals in 2010 and 2017, the Football League Group Cup in 1983, and were Football League Trophy finalists in 1999.

In the media, Millwall's supporters have often been associated with hooliganism, with numerous films having been made fictionalising their notoriety. The fans are renowned for their terrace chant "No one likes us, we don't care". Millwall have a long-standing rivalry with West Ham United. The local derby between the two sides has been contested almost a hundred times since 1899. The club also share a rivalry with Leeds United, and contest the South London derby with local rivals Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic.

The club was founded as Millwall Rovers by the workers of J.T. Morton's canning and preserve factory in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in London's East End in 1885.  J.T. Morton was founded in Aberdeen in 1849 to supply sailing ships with food, the company opened their first English cannery and food processing plant at Millwall dock in 1872 and attracted a workforce from across the country, including the east coast of Scotland, primarily Dundee  The club secretary was 17-year-old Jasper Sexton, the son of the landlord of The Islander pub in Tooke Street where Millwall held their club meetings.  Millwall Rovers' first fixture was held on a piece of waste ground on Glengall Road, on 3 October 1885 against Fillebrook, a team that played in Leytonstone. The newly formed team were beaten 5–0. 

Rovers found a better playing surface for the 1886–87 season, at the rear of the Lord Nelson pub and it became known as the Lord Nelson Ground.  In November 1886, the East End Football Association was formed, along with the Senior Cup Competition. Millwall made it to the final against London Caledonians, which was played at Leyton Cricket Ground. The match finished 2–2 and the teams shared the cup for six months each.  Millwall won the East London Senior Cup at the first attempt. The club also won the cup in the following two years, and the trophy became their property. 

In April 1889, a resolution was passed for Millwall to drop "Rovers" from their name, and they began playing under the name Millwall Athletic, inspired by their move to their new home The Athletic Grounds.  They were founding members of the Southern Football League which they won for the first two years of its existence, and were runners-up in its third.  They were forced to move to a new ground North Greenwich in 1901, as the Millwall Dock Company wanted to use their land as a timberyard.  Millwall Athletic reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1900 and 1903, and were also champions of the Western Football League in 1908 and 1909.  On 10 October 1910, Millwall played their last game as an East London club against Woolwich Arsnenal in the London Challenge Cup.  Millwall won the game 1–0 in front of a crowd of 3000. 

Millwall moved to a new stadium, named The Den, in New Cross, South London in 1910.  The club had previously occupied four different grounds in the 25 years since their formation in East London; limited expansion space on the Isle of Dogs meant The Lions had to move to boost support and attendances.  The estimated cost of The Den was £10,000.  The first match played at the new ground was on 22 October 1910 against reigning Southern League champions Brighton & Hove Albion, who won 1–0

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millwall_F.C.

4th July

4th July

Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July or July 4) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states.  The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. 

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain in 1776 actually occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain's rule.  After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it two days later on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. 

Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress. 

Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. 

By a remarkable coincidence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the only two signatories of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as presidents of the United States, both died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration, Jefferson even mentioning the fact.[14] (Only one other signatory, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, survived them, dying in 1832.[15]) Although not a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father who was elected as president, also died on July 4, 1831. He was the third President who died on the anniversary of independence.  Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was born on July 4, 1872; so far he is the only U.S. president to have been born on Independence Day

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)

Independence Day

Independence Day

Independence Day is a 1996 American epic science fiction action film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Vivica A. Fox and Harry Connick Jr. The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by an extraterrestrial race of unknown origin. With the other people of the world, they launch an all-out counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.

While promoting Stargate in Europe, Emmerich came up with the idea for the film while answering a question about his own belief in the existence of alien life. He and Dean Devlin decided to incorporate a large-scale attack having noticed that aliens in most invasion films travel long distances in outer space only to remain hidden when reaching Earth. Shooting began in July 1995 in New York City, and the film was officially completed on June 20, 1996.

Now considered a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster, Independence Day was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and sci-fi resurgence of the mid-late 1990s. The film was released worldwide on July 3, 1996, but began showing on July 2 (the same day the film's story begins) in limited release as a result of a high level of anticipation among moviegoers. The film received mixed to positive reviews and grossed over $817.4 million worldwide,  becoming the highest-grossing film of 1996 and the second-highest-grossing film ever at the time, behind Jurassic Park (1993). The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing. A sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, was released 20 years later on June 24, 2016, making up the first part of a planned series of films.

On July 2, 1996, an enormous mothership UFO that has one fourth the mass of the Moon, enters orbit around Earth, deploying assault fortress saucers, each with a fifteen-mile radius, that take positions over 36 of Earth's major cities. David Levinson, an MIT-trained satellite technician, decodes a signal embedded within global satellite transmissions, realizing it is the aliens' countdown timer for a coordinated attack. With help from his ex-wife, White House Communications Director Constance Spano, David, and his father Julius gain access to the Oval Office and warn President Thomas J. Whitmore of the attack. Whitmore immediately orders large-scale evacuations of New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., but it is too late; the timer reaches zero, and the saucers fire destructive beams into the ground, causing massive walls of fire that kill millions. Whitmore, the Levinsons, and a few others narrowly escape aboard Air Force One as Washington is destroyed, along with the other locations over which the saucers are positioned.

On July 3, international leaders begin ordering individual counterattacks. Their air forces attack the saucers positioned above the ruins of the cities, but the saucers are protected by force fields. Each saucer launches a swarm of attack fighters with their own shield as well, which decimate the human fighter squadrons and military bases. Captain Steven Hiller, an F/A-18 jet pilot with the USMC squadron VMFA-314 based out of El Toro, survives by luring his attacker to the enclosed spaces of the Grand Canyon and sacrificing his plane, forcing the alien to crash-land. He subdues the downed alien and flags down a convoy of refugees, hitching a ride with former combat pilot Russell Casse. They transport the unconscious alien to Area 51, where Whitmore's group has landed. Through Secretary of Defense Albert Nimzicki, they have learned that a faction of the government has been involved in a UFO conspiracy since 1947 when one of the invaders' attack fighters crashed in Roswell. Area 51 houses the now-refurbished alien fighter, and three alien corpses recovered from the crash. As eccentric scientist Dr. Brackish Okun examines the alien captured by Steven, it regains consciousness and attacks, telepathically invading Okun's mind and killing all the other doctors. It uses Okun's vocal cords to communicate with President Whitmore, before launching a psychic attack against him. After Secret Service agents and military personnel kill the alien, Whitmore reveals what he saw in the aliens' plans. He says that the invaders are like locusts; their whole civilization travels from one planet to the next, stripping them of all their natural resources. The President reluctantly authorizes a nuclear attack; a B-2 Spirit fires a nuclear warhead tipped cruise missile at a saucer positioned above Houston, but the saucer remains intact. Meanwhile, Steven's fiancée Jasmine and her son survive the destruction of Los Angeles, and use an abandoned service truck to rescue other survivors, in the process finding the injured First Lady, Marilyn, whose helicopter crashed during the initial attack. Though the group is rescued by Steven and taken to Area 51, Marilyn dies of the severity of her wounds shortly after being reunited with her family.

On July 4, David demonstrates that the key to defeating the aliens is to deactivate their shields, and devises a plan to do this by uploading a virus into the mothership using the refurbished alien fighter, which Steven volunteers to pilot. The U.S. military contacts surviving airborne squadrons around the world through Morse code to organize a united counter-offense against the aliens. With military pilots in short supply, Whitmore enlists the help of volunteers with flight experience, including Russell, to fly the remaining F/A-18s at Area 51; and leads an attack on a saucer bearing down on the base. Flying into space and entering the alien invaders' mother ship, Steven and David upload the virus and successfully deploy a nuclear weapon on board the mothership, nullifying the aliens' communications system and reinforcements, before the malware filtered into the alien ships above Earth. With the aliens' shields deactivated, the fighter jets are able to successfully fight back against the enemy craft, but their supply of missiles is exhausted before they can destroy the saucer. As it prepares to fire on the base, Russell has one last missile to spare, but when the firing control on the missile jams, he rams his jet into the directed-energy weapon port, causing it to rebound into the ship, destroying it. Human military forces around the world are notified of the alien ships' critical point and successfully destroy the others. As humanity is rejoicing in victory, Steven and David return to Area 51 unharmed and reunite with their families. They then accompany Whitmore and his daughter in watching the wreckage from the mothership exploding, resembling a fireworks display as it enters Earth's atmosphere.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(1996_film)

KATHERINE JENKINS

KATHERINE JENKINS

Katherine Maria Jenkins OBE (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. Jenkins performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns. 

After winning singing competitions in her youth, Jenkins studied at the Royal Academy of Music, modelled and taught voice. She came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II's silver jubilee. Since 2004, she has released numerous albums that have performed well on British and foreign charts. In both 2005 and 2006, her albums received Classic Brit Awards as Album of the Year. She has been seen widely in concert, including performing for British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has sung at sporting events, on television shows and in support of many charities.

Jenkins was born in Neath, Wales, where she and her sister Laura were raised by their parents Selwyn John and Susan. 

She attended the Alderman Davies Church in Wales primary school in Neath, Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School and Gorseinon College.  She received A grades in her GCSEs and A Levels and participated in productions such as Calamity Jane and Guys and Dolls.  She studied vocal performance with John Hugh Thomas and passed her Grade 8 examinations with distinction in both singing and piano.

Between 1991 and 1996, Jenkins was a member of the Royal School of Church Music Cathedral Singers and passed the St Cecilia Award, the highest RSCM award for female choristers.  She was also a member of the National Youth Choir of Wales for three years,  won the BBC Radio 2 Welsh Choirgirl of the Year contest (twice), and the BET Welsh Choirgirl of the Year competition. She was also awarded the Pelenna Valley Male Voice Choir Scholarship for the most promising young singer. At the age of 17 she won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music,  graduating with honours  and receiving a music teacher's diploma.

After working as a freelance voice coach, a tour guide on the London Eye and as a model,  she entered a modelling competition and became the Face of Wales 2000. She then decided to follow a musical career. Universal Classics and Jazz heard her demo and she was invited to an interview where she sang Rossini's "Una voce poco fa".  Universal offered Jenkins a six-album deal,  the most lucrative in the United Kingdom's classical recording history, reportedly worth £1 million.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Jenkins

Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood Town Football Club are a professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in 1908. The team compete in League One, the third tier of English football. Their home strip is red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts. The home ground is Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood, and the supporters of the club are affectionately known as the Cod Army. The club won the 2011–12 Football Conference, and played in the Football League for the first time in its history in the 2012–13 season. In May 2014, at Wembley, Fleetwood beat Burton Albion in the promotion play-offs at Wembley to gain promotion League One; the club's sixth promotion in 10 years.

The current club was officially established in 1997 but, in three previous incarnations, the club's history dates back to 1908.

The original club, Fleetwood F.C., were champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1923–24. This club resigned from the Lancashire Combination in February 1928 because of financial difficulties. 

In the 1928-29 season Fleetwood Windsor Villa F.C. were members of the Fylde and District Football League.  At the end of that season they were elected to the West Lancashire Football League  and were members for two seasons. They were then elected to the Lancashire Combination for season 1931-32, changing their name to Fleetwood F.C. They registered a hat-trick of Lancashire Combination Cup wins in 1932, 1933 and 1934. The side's goalkeeper in the first of those victories was Frank Swift, then only eighteen years old. After almost sixty years as a Lancashire Combination club, they became founder members of the newly created Northern Premier League in 1968. Great players of that era include Jack Ainscough and the late Percy Ronson, after whom one stand is named. The club finished in 10th place in its first season.[6] As the NPL was one of several leagues immediately below Division Four of the Football League, this was effectively the fifth tier of English football, and the club would not surpass this success until 2010–11. Despite winning the Northern Premier League Cup in 1971, the club languished in the lower half of the table, finishing bottom for two successive seasons (1974–75 and 1975–76) before folding in 1976, again due to financial difficulties.

The club was re-established in 1977 as Fleetwood Town F.C., with many of the original personnel. Initially placed in Division One of the Cheshire League, it was moved in 1982 to the North West Counties League Division Two in its inaugural year, and promoted to Division One in 1984. The team reached the final of the FA Vase in 1985, losing 3–1 to Halesowen Town in front of a 16,000 crowd at Wembley. The club was placed in Division One (second tier) of the Northern Premier League when the league established a second tier in 1987, becoming the inaugural Division One Champions in 1988. In 1990–91 the club finished fourth in the NPL Premier Division, at the time effectively the sixth tier.  However, by 1996, this second club had also folded due to financial issues.

Re-formed in 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers F.C., the club was placed back in Division One of the North West Counties Football League (now the tenth tier of the English League system) and a sponsorship deal saw the club's name immediately changed to Fleetwood Freeport. The club was promoted to the Premier Division of the North West Counties League in 1999 and the name was reverted back to Fleetwood Town in 2002. Tony Greenwood was appointed manager in 2003; soon afterwards, Andy Pilley took over as chairman. With his financial input, the club gained successive promotions as North West Counties League champions in 2005 and Northern Premier League First Division runners-up in 2006. This saw the club reach the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Fleetwood Town won the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup in the 2006–07 season, beating Matlock Town 1–0, and finished the season just shy of the play-offs in eighth place with 67 points.

In the 2007–08 season Fleetwood won the Northern Premier League, gaining promotion to the Conference North. Along the way they set a new attendance record for the division,  and were easily the best-supported team in the Premier Division. 

Fleetwood started the 2008–09 Conference North season poorly; with the club at the bottom of the league, manager Tony Greenwood, along with his assistant, Nigel Greenwood and coach Andy Whittaker, were sacked.  Greenwood was replaced by Micky Mellon, who also remained as Under-15 and Under-16 coach at Burnley.  His position at Fleetwood was made full-time in January 2009, a first for the club.  Fleetwood reached the Second Round Proper of the F.A. Cup for the first time in their history, but were beaten 3–2 by Hartlepool United at Highbury, in front of a then record crowd since the club's reformation of 3,280.

The demise of Farsley Celtic partway through the 2009–10 was detrimental to Fleetwood's campaign, as Farsley's entire 2009–10 playing record was expunged. Fleetwood were chasing promotion along with local rivals Southport, and the ruling cost Fleetwood three points relative to Southport. Fleetwood appealed against the decision but the appeal was rejected the day before the last match of the season, leaving Southport one point ahead. Both teams won on the final day, giving Southport the championship. Fleetwood instead had to contest the play-offs, and after beating Droylsden on penalties in the semi-final Fleetwood won promotion to the Football Conference by beating Alfreton Town 2–1 in the final.

For the 2010–11 season the club made all of its players full-time professionals, though this resulted in a few players leaving the club, including long serving club captain Jamie Milligan. The club spent most of the season in or near the play-off positions, eventually qualifying by finishing in fifth place. In the play-off semi-finals, against Wimbledon, a new attendance record of 4,112 was set in the home leg, but Fleetwood lost both games with an 8–1 aggregate scoreline.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Town_F.C.