name	Saint Rachel
titles	Holy Matriarch
birth date	11 Cheshvan1553 BC
birth place	Paddan-aram
death place	Canaan
venerated in	JudaismIslamChristianity
feast day	1 November
major shrine	''Rachel's Tomb''
tradition	}}

Rachel ( ISO 259-3 ''Raḥel'' ; meaning "ewe", idiomatically: one with purity), as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Jacob was her first cousin, as Jacob's mother Rebecca was Laban's sister.

Marriage to Jacob

Rachel is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is watering her lamb. He had traveled a great distance to find his mother’s brother, Laban. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his furious twin brother, Esau.

During Jacob's stay, he fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, Rachel’s older sister, had been substituted for Rachel. Whereas “Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful,” “Leah had weak eyes.” Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. He assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her.

After Leah had given birth to four sons, Rachel remained unable to conceive. She became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, to be a surrogate mother for her. Bilhah gave birth to two sons: Dan and Naphtali. After Leah conceived again, Rachel was finally blessed with a son, Joseph, who would become Jacob's favourite child.

Death and burial

After Joseph's birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family. Fearing that Laban would deter him, he fled with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve children without informing his father-in-law. Laban chased him and accused him of stealing his idols. Indeed, Rachel had taken her father's idols, hidden them inside her camel's seat cushion, and sat upon them. Not knowing that the idols were in his wife's possession, Jacob pronounced a curse on whoever had them: "With whoever you will find your gods, he will not live" (Genesis 31:32). Laban proceeded to search the tents of Jacob and his wives, but when he came to Rachel's tent, she told her father, "Let not my lord be angered that I cannot rise up before you, for the way of women is upon me" (Genesis 31:35). Laban left her alone, but the curse Jacob had pronounced came true shortly thereafter.

Near Ephrath, Rachel went into a difficult labor with her second son, Benjamin. The midwife tells her in the middle of the birth that her child is a boy. Before she died, Rachel named her son Ben Oni ("son of my mourning"), but Jacob called him Ben Yamin (Benjamin). Rashi explains that Ben Yamin either means "son of the right" (i.e., "south"), since Benjamin was the only one of Jacob's sons born in Canaan, which is to the south of Paddan Aram; or it could mean "son of my days," as Benjamin was born in Jacob's old age.

Rachel died on the eleventh day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan, and was buried by Jacob on the road to Efrat, just outside Bethlehem. Today Rachel's Tomb, located between Bethlehem and the Israeli settlement of Gilo, is visited by tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Rachel's children

Rachel's son, Joseph, is destined to be the leader of Israel's tribes between exile and nationhood. This role is exemplified in the Biblical story of Joseph, who prepared the way in Egypt for his family's exile there, and in the future figure of ''Mashiach ben Yosef'' (Messiah, son of Joseph), who will fight the apocalyptic Wars of Gog and Magog, preparing the way for the kingship of ''Mashiach ben David'' (Messiah, son of David) and the messianic age. She also had a second son named Benjamin; she died during labor with him.

Additional references in the Bible

In Jeremiah 31:15, the prophet speaks of 'Rachel weeping for her children' (KJV). This is interpreted in Judaism as Rachel crying for an end to her descendants' sufferings and exiles following the destruction by the Babylonians of the First Temple in ancient Jerusalem. According to the Midrash, Rachel spoke before God: "If I, a mere mortal, was prepared not to humiliate my sister and was willing to take a rival into my home, how could You, the eternal, compassionate God, be jealous of idols, which have no true existence, that were brought into Your home (the Temple in Jerusalem)? Will You cause my children to be exiled on this account?" God accepted her plea and promised that, eventually, the exile would end and the Jews would return to their land.

In the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (part of the New Testament), this reference from Jeremiah is interpreted as a prediction of the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the young Jesus. The Jeremaic prophecy is the inspiration behind the medieval dramatic cycle ''Ordo Rachelis'', concerned with the infancy of Jesus.

Mordechai, the hero of the Book of Esther, and Queen Esther herself, were descendants of Rachel through her son Benjamin. The Book of Esther details Mordechai's lineage as "Mordechai the son of Yair, the son of Shimi, the son of Kish, a man of the right (''ish yemini'')" (Esther 2:5). The designation of ''ish yemini'' refers to his membership in the Tribe of Benjamin (''ben yamin'', son of the right). The rabbis comment that Esther's ability to remain silent in the palace of Ahasuerus, resisting the king's pressure to reveal her ancestry, was inherited from her ancestor Rachel, who remained silent even when Laban brought out Leah to marry Jacob.

Islamic view of Rachel

Rachel is revered in Islam, and while not specifically referred to in the Quran, she is known by references to her in the collection of stories known as Qisas Al-Anbiya (Tales of the Prophets or Lives of the Prophets). The story of how Jacob fell in love with Rachel is told in the Qisas Al-Anbiya, and her beauty is described. Her role as mother to Joseph and Benjamin is the central theme of these narratives on her life.

References

External links

Rachel's Tomb Website General Info., History, Pictures, Video, Visitor Info., Transportation

The Committee for Rachel's Tomb

Category:Biblical matriarchs Category:Hebrew-language names Category:Burials in Bethlehem Category:Old Testament female saints Category:Jacob Category:Book of Genesis

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name	Steven Wright
birth name	Steven Alexander Wright
birth date	December 06, 1955
birth place	Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
medium	stand-up, film, television
nationality	American
active	1979–present
genre	Surreal humor, one-liners, deadpan, Wit/Word play, Observational comedy, Musical comedy, post-modernism
influences	Woody Allen, George Carlin, Bob Newhart
influenced	Mitch Hedberg, Demetri Martin, Milton Jones, Jimmy Carr
notable work	''I Have a Pony''K-Billy DJ in ''Reservoir Dogs''Speed in ''The Swan Princess''Guy on the Couch in ''Half Baked''''I Still Have a Pony''
website	StevenWright.com

}}

Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.

Early life and career

Wright was born in Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts, one of four children of Lucille “Dolly” (née Lomano) and Alexander K. Wright. He was raised Catholic. His mother was Italian American and his father was of Scottish descent. Wright's father, an electronics technician who "tested a lot of stuff for the Apollo space program," became a truck driver after that program ended.

Wright spent two years obtaining an associate's degree from Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts, before enrolling at Emerson College. He graduated from the latter in 1978 and began performing stand-up comedy in 1979 at the Boston comedy club the Comedy Connection. He cites George Carlin and Woody Allen among his influences.

In 1982 Peter Lassally, executive producer of ''The Tonight Show'', noticed Wright performing on a bill with other local comics at the comedy club Ding Ho, in Cambridge's Inman Square, a venue Wright described as "half Chinese restaurant and half comedy club. It was a pretty weird place". Lassally booked Wright on ''The Tonight Show'', where the comic so impressed host Johnny Carson and the studio audience that Wright was brought back less than a week later. In May 2000, Wright and other Ding Ho alumni, including Lenny Clarke, Barry Crimmins, Steve Sweeney, Bill Sohonage, and Jimmy Tingle, appeared at a reunion benefit for comic Bob Lazarus, suffering from leukemia.

Stand-up success

Wright's 1985 comedy album was entitled ''I Have a Pony''. It was released on Warner Bros. Records, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. The success of this album landed him a much coveted HBO special which he recorded as a live college concert performance, ''A Steven Wright Special''. By now Wright had firmly developed a new brand of obscure, laid-back performing and was rapidly building a cult-like mystique and eclectic following of "hip", savvy fans. His opening act for the HBO concert was fellow "Ding Ho" comedy alumni Bill Sohonage who recounts that Steven's ultra-casual, nearly catatonic demeanor was no act. "He walked into my dressing room, minutes before I was to take the stage, and asked if he could borrow a shirt, as his had a giant pizza stain. You would think it might be normal to be a little nervous going on a college stage in front of 23,000, let alone having HBO out there filming but as I passed by his room while walking on-stage I saw him sound asleep and loudly snoring". The performance would become one of HBO's longest running and most requested comedy specials and propel him to huge success on the college arena concert circuits.

In 1989 he and fellow producer Dean Parisot won an Academy Award for their 30-minute short film "The Appointments of Dennis Jennings", directed by Parisot, written by Mike Armstrong and Wright, and starring Wright and Rowan Atkinson. In 1992 Wright had a recurring role on the television sitcom ''Mad About You''. He supplied the voice of the radio DJ in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's film ''Reservoir Dogs'' that year. "Dean Parisot's wife Sally Menke is Quentin Tarantino's [film] editor, so when she was editing the movie and it was getting down toward the end where they didn't have the radio DJ yet, she thought of me and told Quentin and he liked the idea", Wright explained in 2009.

Numerous lists of jokes attributed to Wright circulate on the Internet, sometimes of dubious origin. Wright has stated, "Someone showed me a site, and half of it that said I wrote it, I didn't write. Recently, I saw one, and I didn't write any of it. What's disturbing is that with a few of these jokes, I wish I had thought of them. A giant amount of them, I'm embarrassed that people think I thought of them, because some are really bad".

After his 1990 comedy special ''Wicker Chairs and Gravity'', Wright continued to do stand-up performances, but he was largely absent from television, only doing occasional guest spots on late-night talk shows. In 1999 he wrote and directed the 30-minute short "One Soldier", "about a soldier who was in the Civil War, right after the war, with all these existentialist thoughts and wondering if there is a God and all that stuff".

In 2006 Wright produced his first stand-up special in 16 years, ''Steven Wright: When The Leaves Blow Away'', originally airing on Comedy Central on October 21, 2006. Its DVD was released April 23, 2007. On September 25, 2007 Wright released his second album, ''I Still Have a Pony'', a CD release of the material from ''When The Leaves Blow Away''). It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album but it lost to ''The Distant Future'' by Flight of the Conchords.

Awards and honors

Steven Wright was awarded an Oscar in 1989 for Best Short Live-Action Film for The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, which he co-wrote (with Michael Armstrong) and starred in.

On December 15, 2008 Wright became the first inductee to the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame.

In a 2005 poll to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was named #23 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics.

Other interests

While not well known for works outside of the comedy realm, Steven Wright has also recorded several non-comedy songs with his friend and occasional actor Mark Wuethner. Steven also has an apparent interest in painting.

Beginning in 2009, Steven Wright sporadically appears as himself on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as a visiting celebrity, ostensibly dropping by the show to help out with the fan mail segment. He joins a small cadre of Hollywood celebrities who lend their support to the show in this way.

Filmography

''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985) as Larry Stillman D.D.S.

"The Appointments of Dennis Jennings" (1988) (short film) (Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film)

''Stars and Bars'' (1988) as Pruitt

''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992) (voice only) as K-Billy DJ

''So I Married an Axe Murderer'' (1993) as Pilot

''Speechless'' (1994) as Eddie

''Natural Born Killers'' (1994) as Dr. Emil Reingold

''The Swan Princess'' (1994) as Speed (voice)

''Mixed Nuts'' (1994) as Suicidal man at pay phone

''The Larry Sanders Show'' (1994) as himself

''Canadian Bacon'' (1995) as Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer

''Half Baked'' (1998) as The Guy on the Couch (uncredited)

''Babe: Pig in the City'' (1998) as Bob (voice)

"One Soldier" (1999) (short film)

''The Muse'' (1999)

''Loser'' (2000) as Man in Bar

''Coffee and Cigarettes'' (2003) as Steven

''The Aristocrats'' (2005) as himself

''When Stand Up Stood Out'' (2005) as himself

''Son of the Mask'' (2005) as The Boss

Discography

''I Have a Pony'', Warner Bros. Records CD (1985)

''A Steven Wright Special'', HBO DVD (1985)

''The Appointments of Dennis Jennings'', DVD (1989)

''One Soldier'', DVD (1999)

''When the Leaves Blow Away'', DVD (2006)

''I Still Have a Pony'', Comedy Central Records CD (2007)

References

External links

Wright-House.com: Jokes attributed to Steven Wright, with actual authors identified

Dead-Frog.com: Video of Steven Wright from ''When the Leaves Blow Away''

Interview: Steven Wright Riverfront Times. October 2008.

Category:1955 births Category:Academy Award winners Category:American actors Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Emerson College alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Category:People from Burlington, Massachusetts

de:Steven Wright fr:Steven Wright it:Steven Wright he:סטיבן רייט pt:Steven Wright sv:Steven Wright

{{infobox person |name

Rachel McAdams |image RachelMcAdamsO7TIFF.jpg|altAn image of a Caucasian women wearing a black top. She is smiling, wearing red lipstick and has her brown hair tied back with sideswept bangs.| |imagesize |caption McAdams at the Toronto Film Festival, September 2007 |birth_name Rachel Anne McAdams |birth_date November 17, 1978 |birth_place London, Ontario, Canada |othername |occupation Actress |yearsactive 2001–present |website }}

Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress.

After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in ''Mean Girls'' and ''The Notebook''. In 2005, she appeared in ''Wedding Crashers'', ''Red Eye'' and ''The Family Stone'' and was routinely hailed by the media as "the next Julia Roberts".

However, she withdrew from public life in 2006 and 2007 to focus on herself and her family. During this time, she turned down leading roles in, amongst others, ''The Devil Wears Prada'' and ''Casino Royale''. She made a low-key return to work in 2008, starring in two little-seen independent films, ''Married Life'' and ''The Lucky Ones''.

She returned to prominence in 2009 with appearances in ''State of Play'', '''' and ''Sherlock Holmes''. 2010's ''Morning Glory'', with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, was billed as her first star vehicle. Woody Allen wrote a part specifically for the actress in 2011's ''Midnight in Paris''.

She will appear in two movies in 2012: romantic drama ''The Vow'' with Channing Tatum and an as-yet-untitled Terence Malick film with Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz and Javier Bardem. She will also make a cameo appearance in ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', set for release on December 16, 2011.

Early life

McAdams was born in London, Ontario and grew up in nearby St. Thomas. Her mother, Sandra (née Gale), is a nurse and her father, Lance, is a retired truck driver and furniture mover. She has two younger siblings: Kayleen, a celebrity make-up artist, and Daniel. She attended Myrtle Street Public School and, later, Central Elgin Collegiate Institute. She worked at a McDonalds restaurant during the summer holidays for three years.

She began figure skating at the age of four and competed in the sport until the age of eighteen, winning regional awards. Feeling she lacked the complete discipline that was required, McAdams gave up the sport when entering university.

She appeared in Original Kids Theatre Company, London productions from the age of 12, most notably winning a performance award at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She intended to take cultural studies at university before being persuaded by her drama teacher that a professional acting career was a viable option. She enrolled at Toronto's York University as a drama student and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts honours degree in 2001. While at university, she worked with the Toronto-based Necessary Angels Theatre Company.

Career

Breakthrough roles

McAdams' first on-screen appearance was in 2001's ''My Name is Tanino''. She earned a Genie Award nomination in her native Canada in 2002 for her role as a teenage Wendy Crewson in ''Perfect Pie''. Her first Hollywood movie was 2002's ''The Hot Chick'', in which she played a catty high school student who swaps bodies with a small-time criminal. She later described the film as a "huge milestone" in her career. She then returned to Canada to play a recurring part in the dramedy cable series ''Slings and Arrows''.

Her breakout role came in 2004 teen comedy ''Mean Girls'', written by Tina Fey. The 25 year-old was cast as teenage Regina George, a malicious queen bee. ''Mean Girls'' topped the US box office and was a hit amongst critics who drew comparisons to 1995's ''Clueless''. McAdams herself received favourable reviews, with ''USA Today'' praising her "comic flair".

Her second role of 2004 was in ''The Notebook'', a film adaption of Nicholas Sparks' novel. She and Ryan Gosling played a young 1940s couple separated by circumstance. Despite a "treacly" storyline, critics were won over by Gosling and McAdams, with the ''New York Times'' remarking, "Their performances are so spontaneous and combustible that you quickly identify with the reckless sweethearts, who embody an innocence that has all but vanished from American teenage life. And against your better judgment, you root for the pair to beat the odds against them." It was a sleeper hit and McAdams was nominated for nearly a dozen awards, mostly at the MTV and Teen Choice Awards. "I'm so grateful to have a film that people respond to in that way," she told ''Elle'' magazine in 2011. "It was a big deal".

She starred in three films in 2005. In the smash-hit comedy, ''Wedding Crashers'', she played Claire Cleary, the daughter of an influential politician and Owen Wilson's love interest. The ''New York Times''' chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, felt McAdams "makes the most of her underdeveloped character" and "grows more appealing with every new role".

She next appeared opposite Cillian Murphy in ''Red Eye'', a Wes Craven thriller following a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight. The film was a box-office hit and won solid reviews. ''Variety'' found her "increasingly impressive" while Roger Ebert asserted that "she brings more presence and credibility to her role than is really expected; she acts without betraying the slightest awareness that she’s inside a genre. Her performance qualifies her for heavy-duty roles."

Her final film of 2005 was family drama ''The Family Stone'', an all-star ensemble with Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes. The film found a sizable audience and garnered generally positive reviews. The ''New York Times'' felt that "Ms. McAdams' engaging screen presence holds your attention and sympathy despite the handicap presented by her character's personality" while'' Variety'' noted that "a deglammed but still radiant McAdams proves once again that she's the real deal, delivering a deliciously feisty performance".

Career break & low-key return

At this point in her career, she was dubbed the new "Hollywood it girl" and "the next Julia Roberts". In December 2005, she was invited to appear on an upcoming cover of ''Vanity Fair'' with Scarlett Johannson and Keira Knightley. Upon arrival on the photo set, she discovered it was a nude session and left. She later parted ways with her publicist who had failed to inform her in advance. Knightley later said, "It was actually pretty undramatic as I remember it. Quite early on Rachel just said, 'No, I'm not into that.' She's a lovely girl, and I really respect her for doing that." The cover's photographer, Tom Ford, explained, "She realised that she really wasn't [fine with it], and that was fine... She just asked if she could be excluded from the cover." When asked about the incident in 2008, McAdams had "no regrets”.

McAdams withdrew from public life in 2006 and 2007, taking time off to focus on herself and her family. "It was the right thing for me to do at the time," she later said. During this period, the actress turned down roles in ''The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Casino Royale'', ''Mission: Impossible III'' and ''Get Smart''. Despite keeping a low profile, she received a Rising Star Award nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2006 and hosted the 2006 Academy Awards for Technical Achievement.

She returned to work in 2008, with two low-key releases. ''Married Life'', a film noir with Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson, was a box-office flop but critics welcomed McAdams' return to the silver screen. ''Entertainment Weekly'' found her "a particularly delightful vision after her two-year intermission". ''Variety'''s critic felt that, while McAdams had been "regrettably absent from the big screen since ''The Family Stone'' nearly two years ago" and here "endows her readings with tender feeling", "her natural vivaciousness and spontaneity are straightjacketed by the format".

Her second film of 2008, ''The Lucky Ones'', a story about three Iraq War soldiers on a brief road trip back in the U.S., was another box-office flop and received uncomplimentary reviews. McAdams' performance, however, was praised. The ''New York Times'' found her "luminous as always",'' Variety'' found her "as captivating as ever" while Roger Ebert hailed the performance as "her coming of age as an actress". "Previously she has been seen mostly as a hot chick or an idealized sweetheart", he wrote. "Here she is feisty, vulnerable, plucky, warm, funny. She provides yet another lesson that you can't judge acting ability until you see an actor given a chance to really stretch. Watch the poignance of the scene when she meets her boyfriend's family."

Return to prominence

She starred in three films in 2009. The first was well-reviewed political thriller ''State of Play'' with Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren and Russell Crowe.'' Entertainment Weekly'' felt she was "perfectly cast as an ambitious wonkette" while ''The New York Times'' noted that "there is some fun to be had in watching [Crowe and McAdams] lock horns..and engage in fine snappy banter."

Her second 2009 project was ''The Time Traveler's Wife'', an adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's bestselling novel. It was a financial success but the critical response was muted. Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' said, "I'd watch the vibrant Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana in anything, but ''The Time Traveler's Wife'' is pushing it." The ''Los Angeles Times'' found her "luminous [yet], sadly, her facility as an actress is mostly wasted." Writing in ''The Chicago Tribune'', Michael Phillips, in an otherwise tepid review, said of her performance: “Every scene she’s in, even the silly ones, becomes better — truer, often against long odds — because she’s in it. Her work feels emotionally spontaneous yet technically precise. She has an unusually easy touch with both comedy and drama, and she never holds a melodramatic moment hostage.”

''Sherlock Holmes'' was her final movie of the year and it stands as her highest-grossing to date. She played Irene Adler, a love interest for Robert Downey, Jr.'s Sherlock. While the movie won generally favourable reviews, critics were left unimpressed with her performance. ''Variety'' felt her character was "not very well integrated into the rest of the story, a shortcoming the normally resourceful McAdams is unable to do much about". The ''New York Times'' stated, "Ms. McAdams is a perfectly charming actress and performs gamely as the third wheel of this action-bromance tricycle. But Irene feels in this movie more like a somewhat cynical commercial contrivance. She offers a little something for the ladies and also something for the lads, who, much as they may dig fights and explosions and guns and chases, also like girls."

2010 onwards

2010's ''Morning Glory'', a behind-the-scenes look at an ailing morning television program, was billed as a starring vehicle for the actress but was only a modest commercial success. While critics found the movie "formulaic", McAdams' performance was widely praised. Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times'' said she "gives the kind of performance we go to the movies for". Roger Ebert felt she played "as lovable a lead as anyone since Amy Adams in ''Junebug''" in an otherwise "routine" movie. The ''New York Post'' was impressed by "her gift for physical comedy" while ''Variety'' was won over by a "flustery physicality that is delightful to watch". While the ''New York Times'' felt she "plays her role exceptionally well" and is "effortlessly likable", it called on Hollywood to give her parts "worthy" of her talent. "Ms. McAdams has to rely on her dimples to get by. She does, but she could do better."

McAdams' first film of 2011, Woody Allen's ''Midnight in Paris'', opened the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and saw her reunite with ''Wedding Crashers''' Owen Wilson. Allen wrote the part of Inez for her on the recommendation of her former co-star Diane Keaton. It has become Allen's top grossing picture ever in North America and was lauded by critics. However, there were mixed reactions to McAdams' shrewish character. ''The Guardian'' bemoaned that she "has morphed from the sweet thing in ''Wedding Crashers'' to the dream-crushing bitch that, according to American comedies, women become once they ensnare their man". Richard Corliss of ''TIME'' was equally disappointed: "Allen pours an immense amount of odium on Inez.. I felt sorry for McAdams, whose usually winning presence is ground into hostile chiché." However, the ''Los Angeles Times'' felt she "deftly handles a part that is less amiable than usual for her" and the ''New York Times'' found her "superbly speeded-up".

Her second screen appearance of 2011 will be a cameo role in ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'', set for release on December 16, 2011. The lead female role will now be played by Noomi Rapace.

She will star in two films in 2012. ''The Vow'', a romantic drama with Channing Tatum, is due out Valentine's Day 2012. Based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, it focuses on a newlywed couple's struggle following a car accident that leaves the wife with severe memory loss. The tentatively titled ''The Burial'', a Terrence Malick ensemble piece, has been picked up by a distributor and there is unconfirmed speculation that it will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It is understood that she plays the lover of Ben Affleck in a romantic drama which also features Javier Bardem and Rachel Weisz.

Personal life

McAdams lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her younger brother, Daniel. However, she holds a US green card and has remarked, "I never thought I’d say this, but I actually miss L.A. when I’m not there."

She is in a relationship with Welsh actor Michael Sheen whom she met on the set of ''Midnight in Paris'' in July 2010. Previously, she dated Canadian actor Ryan Gosling from 2005 to 2007; they also reconciled for a number of months in 2008. Following their split, Gosling described her as "one of the great loves of my life". She also had a brief romance with American actor Josh Lucas in 2009.

She practices kundalini yoga daily and runs an eco-friendly lifestyle website, GreenIsSexy.org, with two friends.

Filmography

>

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2001	''My Name is Tanino''	Sally Garfield
2001	''Shotgun Love Dolls''	Beth Swanson	TV series (one episode, "Pilot")
2001	''''	Hannah Grant	TV series (one episode, "Food for Thought")
2002	''Perfect Pie''	Patsy Grady (age 15)
2002	''''	Jessica Spencer / Clive Maxtone
2002	''Guilt by Association''	Danielle Mason	TV movie
2002	''Earth: Final Conflict''	Christine Bickwell	TV series (one episode, "Atavus High")
2003–2005	''Slings and Arrows''	Kate McNeil	TV series (seven episodes)
2004	''Mean Girls''	Regina George
2004	''''	Allison "Allie" Hamilton
2005	''Wedding Crashers''	Claire Cleary
2005		Lisa Reisert
2005	''''	Amy Stone
2008		Kay Nesbitt
2008	''''	Colee Dunn
2009		Della Frye
2009	''''	Clare Abshire
2009		Irene Adler
2010		Becky Fuller
2011	''Midnight in Paris''	Inez
2011	''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''	Irene Adler	Cameo
2012	''''	Paige	Post-production
2012	''Untitled Terrence Malick Project''		Post-production

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2002	Genie Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	''Perfect Pie''
2005	MTV Movie Awards		''Mean Girls''
2005	MTV Movie Awards
2005	MTV Movie Awards		''The Notebook''
2005	MTV Movie Awards		''Mean Girls''
2005	MTV Movie Awards		''Mean Girls''
2005		Supporting Actress of the Year	''Mean Girls'' and ''The Notebook''
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Drama	''The Notebook''
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Chemistry	''The Notebook''
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Liplock	''The Notebook''
2005	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Love Scene	''The Notebook''
2006	British Academy Film Awards
2006	MTV Movie Awards	Best Performance
2006	Satellite Award		''The Family Stone''
2006	Saturn Awards	Saturn Award for Best Actress	''Red Eye''
2006	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	''Wedding Crashers'' and ''The Family Stone''
2009	Saturn Awards	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2009	ShoWest	Female Star of the Year
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Action Adventure	''Sherlock Holmes''

Further reading

References

External links

Her environmental site

Category:1978 births Category:Actors from Ontario Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian stage actors Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian vegetarians Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from London, Ontario Category:People from St. Thomas, Ontario Category:York University alumni

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name	Kevin Ayers
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kevin Ayers
birth date	August 16, 1944
origin	Kent, England
years active	1960's–present
instrument	Guitar, bass
genre	PsychedeliaPopExperimental music
label	LO-MAXIslandHarvestMarket SquareBox-O-Plenty
website	kevin-ayers.com }}

Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement. BBC DJ John Peel wrote in his autobiography that "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it."

Ayers was a founding member of the pioneering psychedelic band Soft Machine in the late 1960s, and was closely associated with the Canterbury scene. He has recorded a series of albums as a solo artist and over the years has worked with Brian Eno, Syd Barrett, John Cale, Elton John, Robert Wyatt, Andy Summers, Mike Oldfield, Nico and Ollie Halsall, among others. After living for many years in Deià, Majorca, he returned to the United Kingdom in the mid 1990s. He now lives in the south of France. His most recent album was ''Unfairground'', which was recorded in New York City, Tucson, Arizona, and London in 2006.

Biography

Early life

Ayers is the son of maverick BBC producer Rowan Ayers, but following his parents' split and his mother's subsequent marriage to a British civil servant, Ayers spent most of his childhood in Malaysia. The tropical atmosphere and unpressured lifestyle had an impact, and one of the frustrating and endearing aspects of Ayers' career is that every time he seemed on the point of success, he would take off for some sunny spot where good wine and food were easily found.

Ayers returned to England at the age of twelve, and in his early college years took up with the burgeoning musicians' scene in the Canterbury area. He was quickly drafted into the Wilde Flowers, a band that featured Robert Wyatt and Hugh Hopper, as well as future members of Caravan. Ayers has stated in interviews that the primary reason he was asked to join was that he probably had the longest hair. However, this prompted him to start writing songs and singing.

Soft Machine

The Wilde Flowers morphed into Soft Machine with the addition of keyboardist Mike Ratledge and guitarist Daevid Allen. Ayers switched to bass (and later both guitar and bass following Allen's departure from the group) and shared vocals with the drummer Robert Wyatt. The contrast between Ayers' baritone and Wyatt's reedy tenor, plus the freewheeling mix of rock and jazz influences, made for a memorable new sound that caught on quickly in the psychedelic 1960s. The band often shared stages (particularly at the UFO Club) with Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. They released their debut single 'Love Makes Sweet Music' / 'Feelin' Reelin', Squeelin' in February 1967, making it one of the first recordings from the new British psychedelic movement. Their debut album, ''The Soft Machine,'' was recorded in the USA for ABC/Probe and released in 1968. It is considered a classic of the genre.

Solo career, 1969-1999

After an extensive tour of the United States opening for Jimi Hendrix, a weary Ayers sold his white Fender Jazz bass to Noel Redding and retreated to the beaches of Ibiza in Spain with Daevid Allen to recuperate. While there, Ayers went on a songwriting binge that resulted in the songs that would make up his first album, ''Joy of a Toy''. The album was one of the first released on the new Harvest label, along with Pink Floyd's releases. ''Joy of a Toy'' established Ayers as a unique talent with music that varied from the circus march of the title cut to the pastoral "Girl on a Swing," and the ominous "Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong", based on a Malaysian folksong. Ayers' colleagues from Soft Machine backed him, with the addition on some cuts of Rob Tait, sometime Gong drummer.

One interesting product of the sessions was the single, "Religious Experience (Singing a Song in the Morning)", early recordings of which featured Syd Barrett on guitar and backing vocals. The lead guitar that appears on the final mix was often thought to have been played by Barrett, even appearing on various Barrett bootlegs, but Ayers has said that he played the solo, emulating Barrett's style. However the 2004 CD reissue of ''Joy of a Toy'' includes a mix of this song featuring Barrett's guitar as a bonus track.

A second album, ''Shooting at the Moon'', soon followed. For this, Ayers assembled a band that he called The Whole World, including a young Mike Oldfield on bass and occasionally lead guitar, avant-garde composer David Bedford on keyboards and improvising saxophonist, Lol Coxhill. Again Ayers came up with a batch of engaging songs interspersed with avant-garde instrumentals and a heavy dose of whimsy.

The Whole World was reportedly an erratic band live, and Ayers was not cut out for life on the road touring. The band broke up after a short tour, with no hard feelings, as most of the musicians guested on Ayers' next album, ''Whatevershebringswesing'', which is regarded as one of his best, featuring the mellifluous eight-minute title track that would became Ayers' signature sound for the '70s.

''Bananamour'' is the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, "Oh! Wot A Dream". After Whatevershebringswesing, Ayers assembled a new band anchored by drummer Eddie Sparrow and bassist Archie Legget and employed a more direct lyricism. The centrepiece of the album is 'Decadence', his withering portrait of Nico.

1974 was a watershed year for Ayers. In addition to releasing his most compelling music in this year, he was helped provide other artists with access to a wider stage, most notably Lady June (June Campbell Cramer). The recording, titled ''Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy,'' made in a front room of Cramer's home in Vale Court, Maida Vale, brought Lady June's spoken word poetry together with the music and voice of Ayers, and also had contributions by Brian Eno and Pip Pyle. It was originally released on Ayers' own Banana Productions label (via Virgin/Caroline).

''The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories'' marked Ayers' move to the more commercial Island record label and is considered by many to be the most cohesive example of Ayersian philosophy. The production was expensive, with Ayers quoting the recording costs in a 1974 NME interview as exceeding £32,000 (a vast figure at the time). On this LP Mike Oldfield returned to the fold and guitarist Ollie Halsall from progressive rock band Patto began a twenty-year partnership with Ayers.

On the 1 June 1974, Ayers headlined a heavily publicised concert at the Rainbow Theatre, London, accompanied by John Cale, Nico, Brian Eno and Mike Oldfield. The performance was released by Island Records just 27 days later on a live LP entitled ''June 1, 1974''. Tensions were somewhat fraught at the event since the night before John Cale had caught Ayers sleeping with his wife prompting him to write the bile-soaked paean 'Guts' that would appear on his 1975 album ''Slow Dazzle''.

In 1976 Ayers returned to his original label Harvest and released ''Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today)''. The album was a more commercial affair and secured Ayers a new American contract with ABC Records. The LP featured contributions from B.J. Cole and Zoot Money. That same year Harvest released a collection entitled ''Odd Ditties,'' that assembled a colorful group of songs that Ayers had consigned to single B-Sides or left unreleased.

The late '70's and '80's saw Ayers as a self-imposed exile in warmer climes, a fugitive from changing musical fashions, and a hostage to chemical addictions. 1983's ''Diamond Jack and the Queen of Pain'' was, perhaps, a low-point for Ayers. He was quoted in a 1992 BBC radio 1 interview as saying he had "virtually no recollection of making those records". The road back was marked with 1988's prophetically titled ''Falling Up'', that received his first unanimously positive press notices in years. In 1988 he also recorded a vocal track for Mike Oldfield's single, "Flying Start". The lyrics of this song contains many references to Ayers' life.

Despite the critical acclaim ''Falling Up'' received, Ayers by this point had almost completely withdrawn from any public stage, a state further compounded by the sudden death, by a drugs overdose, of his musical partner Ollie Halsall. An acoustic album ''Still Life with Guitar'' recorded with Fairground Attraction surfaced in France on the FNAC label and was subsequently released throughout Europe. Some collaborations with Ayers fanatics Ultramarine and a concert tour with Liverpool's Wizards of Twiddly completed his output in the '90's. A recording of a London concert with the Wizards of Twiddly was released on the Market Square label in 2000 under the title ''Turn The lights Down!''.

Ayers also did two brief tours of California in 1998 and 2000, both of which were organized and financed by Los Angeles-based musician Richard Derrick, who had also produced Ayers' two solo Los Angeles concerts in 1993. Shows were limited to Los Angeles and San Francisco, with local musicians serving as backing bands. Ayers headlined the 1998 shows, while the 2000 shows saw him opening for Gong (their only concerts together in the US). Derrick released the highlights from these concerts on his Box-O-Plenty label in 2004 as ''Alive In California''.

Solo career, 2000 to present

In the late '90's, Ayers was living the life of a recluse in the South of France. At the Sculpture Centre, he met American artist Tim Shepard who had been invited to use studio space there, and the two became friends. Ayers started to show up at Shepard's house with a guitar, and by 2005, passed some new recordings onto Shepard, most taped on a cassette recorder at his kitchen table. The songs were by turns "poignant, insightful and honest," and Shepard, "deeply moved" by what he heard, encouraged Ayers to record them properly for a possible new album.

Signing with London's LO-MAX Records, Shepard found equal enthusiasm for the demos and after making some tentative enquiries, discovered a hotbed of interest for Ayers' work amongst the current generation of musicians. New York's Ladybug Transistor set up rehearsals for a possible recording organised by band leader Gary Olson, and Kevin flew out to New York. When the rehearsals gelled, the entourage, which had now swelled to include horn and string players, flew out to Tucson, Arizona where the first sessions were recorded in a dusty hangar known as Wavelab Studios.

With the tapes from the first sessions, Shepard set about getting Ayers to complete the album in the UK, where by now word had spread, and a host of musicians started gravitating to the studio. Shepard recounted meeting Teenage Fanclub at a Go-Betweens party and hearing their passion for Ayers' music, and wrote a letter to singer, guitarist Norman Blake. Mojo magazine reported that, within a couple of weeks, Ayers was in a Glasgow studio with Teenage Fanclub and a host of their like-minded colleagues, who had all assembled to work with their hero. Bill Wells from the Bill Wells Trio rubbed shoulders with Euros Childs from Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and Francis Reader from the Trash Can Sinatras.

Friends and peers from the past also visited the sessions. Robert Wyatt provided his eerie Wyattron in the poignant 'Cold Shoulder', Phil Manzanera contributed to the brooding 'Brainstorm', Hugh Hopper from Soft Machine played bass on the title track and Bridget St. John, a British Folk singer beloved of John Peel, duetted with Ayers on 'Baby Come Home', the first time they had sung together since 1970 on ''Shooting at the Moon''. ''The Unfairground'' was released to critical acclaim in September 2007.

Discography

Soft Machine

!Title	!Label	!Date of Release
	ABC/Probe	Dec 1968

Solo

Albums

!Title	!Label	!Date of Release
''Joy of a Toy''	Harvest	Nov 1969
	Harvest	Oct 1970
''Whatevershebringswesing''	Harvest	Nov 1971
''Bananamour''	Harvest	May 1973
''The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories''	Island	May 1974
''June 1, 1974'' (with Nico, John Cale and Brian Eno)	Island	Jun 1974
''Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy'' (with Lady June and Brian Eno)	Caroline/Virgin	Nov 1974
''Sweet Deceiver''	Island	Mar 1975
''Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today)''	Harvest	Jun 1976
''Rainbow Takeaway''	Harvest	Apr 1978
''That's What You Get Babe''	Harvest	Feb 1980
''Diamond Jack and the Queen of Pain''	Charly	Jun 1983
''Deià...Vu''	Blau	Mar 1984
''As Close As You Think''	Illuminated	Jun 1986
	Virgin	Feb 1988
''Still Life with Guitar''	FNAC	January 1992
''The Unfairground''	LO-MAX	September 2007

Singles

!Title	!Label	!Date of Release
Love Makes Sweet Music(with Soft Machine)	Polydor	Feb 1967
	ABC/Probe (USA)	Nov 1968
Singing a Song in the Morning	Harvest	Feb 1970
Butterfly Dance	Harvest	Oct 1970
Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes	Harvest	Aug 1971
Oh! Wot A Dream	Harvest	Nov 1972
	Harvest (FR)	Nov 1972
Caribbean Moon	Harvest	Apr 1973
The Up Song	Island	Feb 1974
	Island (NL)	Feb 1974
	Island	Jul 1974
	Island	Feb 1976
Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes (reissue)	Harvest	Feb 1976
	Harvest	Apr 1977
Mr Cool	ABC (USA)	Apr 1977
	Harvest	Feb 1980
	Columbia (ES)	1980
My Speeding Heart	Charly	1983
Who's Still Crazy	WEA (ES)	1983
Stop Playing with My Heart	Blau (ES)	1984
	Illuminated	1986
Am I Really Marcel?	Accidentales (ES)	1988
The Best We Have	Accidentales (ES)	1988
Thank You Very Much	FNAC	1992
Baby Come Home	LO-MAX	Sep 2008

Compilations & Live Recordings

''Odd Ditties'' (Harvest 1976) (a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks)

''The Kevin Ayers Collection'' (SFM 1983)

''Banana Productions: The Best of Kevin Ayers'' (EMI 1989)

''BBC Live in Concert'' (Windsong 1992)

''Document Series Presents Kevin Ayers'' (Connoisseur Collection 1992)

''1969-80'' (Alex 1995)

''First Show in the Appearance Business: The BBC Sessions 1973-1976'' (Strange Fruit 1996)

''The Garden of Love'' with Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt (Voiceprint 1997)

''Singing the Bruise: The BBC Sessions, 1970-1972 [live]'' (Strange Fruit 1998)

''Too Old to Die Young: BBC Live 1972-1976'' (Hux 1998)

''Banana Follies'' (Hux 1998)

''Turn the Lights Down'' (live) with the Wizards of Twiddly (Market Square 2000)

''The Best of Kevin Ayers'' (EMI 2000)

''Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought of You: The Island Records Years'' (Edsel 2004)

''Alive In California'' (Box-O-Plenty Records, November 2004)

''BBC Sessions 1970-1976'' (Hux 2005)

''Some Kevin Ayers'' (white label promo 2007)

''Songs For Insane Times: An Anthology 1969-1980'' (EMI, September 2008)

References

Further reading

''Gong: The Return of the Banana'' by Steve Peacock (Sounds Oct 16, 1971)

''Is This Man A Dipso?'' by Nick Kent (NME 31 August 1974)

''Let's Drink some Wine and Have a Good Time'' by Kenneth Ansell (ZigZag 46, 1974)

''Ayers and Graces'' by Nick Kent (NME Dec 7, 1974)

''Despair and Temperance in Maida Vale'' by Mike Flood Page (Sounds 25 January 1975)

''The Confessions of Doctor Amphibious and the Malaysian Headwash'' by Max Bell (NME 24 May 1975)

''Golden Ayers'' by John Ingham (Sounds Mar 6, 1976)

''Ready to Die'' by John Ingham (Sounds Jul 3, 1976)

''Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the 1960s'' (University Of Chicago Press 2002) ISBN 0-226-07562-1

''Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock'' (Hal Leonard 2003) ISBN 0-634-05548-8

''You Need a Bit Missing Upstairs to Play This Game'' by Jonathan Glancey (The Guardian 4 July 2003)

''Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous'' by Graham Bennett (SAF Publishing 2005)

''Whatevershebringswesing'' sleevenotes by Martin Wakeling (EMI September 2006)

''Joy of a Toy'' sleevenotes by Martin Wakeling (EMI September 2006)

''The Rare Record Price Guide'' (Diamond Publishing Group Ltd Oct 2006) ISBN 0-9532601-5-1

''Kevin Ayers: Mojo Working'' by James McNair (Mojo July 2007)

''The Unsung Hero of Psychedelia'' by Lisa Verrico (The Sunday Times September 2, 2007)

''The Father of the Underground'' by Garth Cartwright (Daily Telegraph 30 August 2007)

''Kevin Ayers and Robert Wyatt'' by Simon Reynolds (Reynoldsretro Dec 14 2007)

''The New Musical Express Book of Rock'', 1975, Star Books, ISBN 0-352-30074-4

External links

Kevin Ayers (his own site)

1998 Kevin Ayers interview at Perfect Sound Forever (online music magazine)

The Wire's ''100 Records That Set the World on Fire (When No One Was Listening)''

Pitchfork news story

NME news story

The Sunday Times feature

Daily Telegraph feature

The Independent feature

Simon Reynolds feature

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:English songwriters Category:English male singers Category:English bass guitarists Category:Soft Machine members Category:Canterbury scene Category:People from Herne Bay, Kent Category:British experimental musicians Category:Island Records artists Category:Harvest Records artists

ca:Kevin Ayers cs:Kevin Ayers de:Kevin Ayers es:Kevin Ayers fr:Kevin Ayers it:Kevin Ayers hu:Kevin Ayers nl:Kevin Ayers ja:ケヴィン・エアーズ nn:Kevin Ayers pt:Kevin Ayers ro:Kevin Ayers ru:Эйерс, Кевин fi:Kevin Ayers uk:Кевін Оєрс

name	James McMurtry
background	solo_singer
birth date	March 18, 1962
origin	Leesburg, Virginia
genre	Americana, Folk Rock, Rock
occupation	Singer, songwriter, guitarist & bandleader
years active	1989–present
website	www.jamesmcmurtry.com }}

James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a Texas rock/Texas Country singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor (''Daisy Miller'', ''Lonesome Dove''). He performs with veteran bandmates and rhythm section The Heartless Bastards (Darren Hess and Ronnie Johnson - not to be confused with the Cincinnati, OH, band of the same name).

His father, novelist Larry McMurtry, gave him his first guitar at age seven. His mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it: "My mother taught me three chords and the rest I just stole as I went along. I learned everything by ear or by watching people."

Biography

McMurtry spent the first seven years of his boyhood in Ft. Worth but was raised mostly in Leesburg, Virginia. He attended the Woodberry Forest School, Orange, Virginia. He began performing in his teens, writing bits and pieces. He started performing his own songs at a downtown beer garden while studying English and Spanish at the University of Arizona in Tucson. After traveling to Alaska and playing a few gigs, he returned to Texas and his father's "little bitty ranch house crammed with 10,000 books". After a time, he left for San Antonio, where he worked as a house painter, actor, bartender, and sometimes singer, performing at writer's nights and open mics.

In 1987 McMutry's career entered an upswing. A friend in San Antonio suggested McMurtry enter the New Folk songwriter contest; he became one of six winners that year. Also around this time John Mellencamp was starring in a film based on a script by McMurtry's father, which gave McMurtry the opportunity to get a demo tape to Mellencamp. Mellencamp subsequently served as co-producer on McMurtry's 1989 debut album, ''Too Long in the Wasteland''. McMurtry also appeared on the soundtrack of the film ''Falling from Grace'', working with Mellencamp, John Prine, Joe Ely, and Dwight Yoakam in a "supergroup" called Buzzin' Cousins.

McMurtry released follow-up albums in ''Candyland'' (1992) and ''Where'd You Hide the Body'' (1995). ''Walk Between the Raindrops'' followed in 1998 and 2002 brought ''St. Mary of the Woods''. In April 2004, McMurtry released a tour album called ''Live In Aught-Three''.

In 2005, McMurtry released his first studio album in three years. ''Childish Things'' again received high critical praise, winning the song and album of the year at the 5th Annual Americana Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was perhaps McMurtry at his most political, as his working-class anthem "We Can't Make It Here" included direct criticism of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and Wal-Mart. The music critic Robert Christgau ranked "We Can't Make It Here" as the best song of the 2000s.

McMurtry released his follow-up album to ''Childish Things'' in April 2008. ''Just Us Kids'' continued with the previous album's political themes and included the song ''Cheney's Toy'', McMurtry's most direct criticism of George W. Bush so far. Like ''We Can't Make It Here'' from the previous album, ''Cheney's Toy'' was made available as a free Internet download.

McMurtry currently resides in Austin, Texas. When in Austin McMurtry and The Heartless Bastards play a midnight set at The Continental Club on Wednesday nights. He is usually preceded by another Austin roots rock legend, Jon Dee Graham.

Discography

Year	Album	Chart Positions				Label
		! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"	! width="45"
1989	''Too Long in the Wasteland''
1992	''Candyland''
1995	''Where'd You Hide the Body''
1997	''It Had to Happen''
1998	''Walk Between the Raindrops''
2002	''Saint Mary of the Woods''
2004	''Live in Aught-Three''
2005	''Childish Things''
2007	''Best of the Sugar Hill Years''					Sugar Hill
2008	''Just Us Kids''
2009	''Live in Europe''

External links

Official site

One on One with James McMurtry

Interview and Live Performance on Chicago TV show "Corporate Country Sucks"

BBC News: Rocker Young wins Americana award

Ron Rosenbaum, in Slate, on why McMurtry's "Choctaw Bingo" should be the new national anthem

Media

Video of James McMurtry

Video of James Mcmurtry. "Poor Lost Soul" from Too Long in the Wasteland

References

http://www.hobotrashcan.com/2008/04/17/one-on-one-with-james-mcmurtry/

Category:1962 births Category:American folk guitarists Category:American male singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Kerrville New Folk Competition finalists Category:Living people Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:Musicians from Texas

de:James McMurtry sv:James McMurtry