Typical Joint

A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact.^[1] They are constructed to allow movement (except for skull bones) and provide mechanical support, and are classified structurally and functionally.^[2]

Classification[link]

Depiction of an intervertebral disk, a cartilaginous joint.

Diagram of a synovial (diarthrosis) joint.

Joints are mainly classified structurally and functionally. Structural classification is determined by how the bones connect to each other, while functional classification is determined by the degree of movement between the articulating bones. In practice, there is significant overlap between the two types of classifications.

Terms ending in the suffix -sis are singular and refer to just one joint, while -ses is the suffix for pluralization.

Structural classification[link]

Structural classification names and divides joints according to how the bones are connected to each other.^[3] There are three structural classifications of joints:

• fibrous joint - joined by dense irregular connective tissue that is rich in collagen fibers ^[4]
• cartilaginous joint - joined by cartilage
• synovial joint - not directly joined - the bones have a synovial cavity and are united by the dense irregular connective tissue that forms the articular capsule that is normally associated with accessory ligaments.^[4]

Functional classification[link]

Joints can also be classified functionally, by the degree of mobility they allow:^[5]

• synarthrosis - permits little or no mobility. Most synarthrosis joints are fibrous joints (e.g., skull sutures).
• amphiarthrosis - permits slight mobility. Most amphiarthrosis joints are cartilaginous joints (e.g., vertebrae).
• diarthrosis - permits a variety of movements. All diarthrosis joints are synovial joints (e.g., shoulder, hip, elbow, knee, etc.), and the terms "diarthrosis" and "synovial joint" are considered equivalent by Terminologia Anatomica.^[6]

Biomechanical classification[link]

Joints can also be classified based on their anatomy or on their biomechanical properties. According to the anatomic classification, joints are subdivided into simple and compound, depending on the number of bones involved, and into complex and combination joints:^[7]

1. Simple Joint: 2 articulation surfaces (e.g. shoulder joint, hip joint)
2. Compound Joint: 3 or more articulation surfaces (e.g. radiocarpal joint)
3. Complex Joint: 2 or more articulation surfaces and an articular disc or meniscus (e.g. knee joint)

Anatomical[link]

The joints may be classified anatomically into the following groups:

1. Articulations of hand
2. Elbow joints
3. Wrist joints
4. Axillary articulations
5. Sternoclavicular joints
6. Vertebral articulations
7. Temporomandibular joints
8. Sacroiliac joints
9. Hip joints
10. Knee joints
11. Articulations of foot

Joint disorders[link]

A joint disorder is termed an arthropathy, and when involving inflammation of one or more joints the disorder is called an arthritis. Most joint disorders involve arthritis, but joint damage by external physical trauma is typically not termed arthritis.

Arthropathies are called polyarticular when involving many joints and monoarticular when involving only one single joint.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people over the age of 55. There are many different forms of arthritis, each of which has a different cause. The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis (also known as degenerative joint disease) occurs following trauma to the joint, following an infection of the joint or simply as a result of aging. Furthermore, there is emerging evidence that abnormal anatomy may contribute to early development of osteoarthritis. Other forms of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, which are autoimmune diseases in which the body is attacking itself. Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection. Gouty arthritis is caused by deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint that results in subsequent inflammation. Additionally, there is a less common form of gout that is caused by the formation of rhomboidal shaped crystals of calcium pyrophosphate. This form of gout is known as pseudogout.

See also[link]

• Arthrology
• Kinesiology
• Ligament
• Replacement joint

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: joints

• Illustration of synovial joints at shockfamily.net
• Synovial joints Illustrations and Classification

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Mami Kawada (川田まみ, Kawada Mami^?, born February 13) is a Japanese pop singer^[1] from Sapporo, Japan who is currently signed to Geneon Entertainment. She is a member of the I've Sound who performs soundtracks for eroge games and anime. Some of her music was used as the opening or ending themes for anime series such as Please Teacher!, Please Twins!, Starship Operators, Shakugan no Shana, Baldr Force EXE Resolution OVA and Hayate the Combat Butler. Her debut single "Radiance", released on February 23, 2005, was used as the opening theme for the anime Starship Operators. Her most successful single was "Joint," released on October 31, 2007, and used as the first opening theme for the sequel of Shakugan no Shana, Shakugan no Shana II.

Biography[link]

Debut[link]

Mami Kawada's vocal talent was first discovered by Eiko Shimamiya, who was her teacher at a vocal school in Sapporo, Hokkaido. She was introduced to I've Sound, a music production group whom Shimamiya was a member of. Kawada would later become a member of I've Sound. In 2001, she released her debut song with I've Sound was "Kaze to Kimi wo Daite" (風と君を抱いて^?), which was the opening theme for the eroge miss you. The song was featured in the I've Sound's 5th Compilation Album Out Flow.

In 2002, she began performing anime theme songs, as well as theme songs for visual novels. Her first anime song was "Sora no Mori de" (空の森で^?), which serves as the ending theme for the anime Please Teacher!, while co-I've Sound singer Kotoko performed the opening theme "Shooting Star". In the same year, Kawada and Shimamiya grouped themselves as the band Healing Leaf and performed theme songs for some visual novels.^[which?] Only one of the songs, however, was featured in the I've Girls Compilation, "Ame ni Utau Ballad" (雨に歌う譚詩曲^?).

In mid-2003, she performed the ending theme of the anime Please Twins!, the sequel to Please Teacher!, "Asu e no Namida" (明日への涙^?) while Kotoko performed the opening theme "Second Flight" together with J-pop singer Hiromi Satō.

[edit] Seed (2005–2006)

In 2005, Mami Kawada signed a contract with Geneon Entertainment and released her major debut single "Radiance / Chi ni Kaeru: On the Earth", which was used as the opening theme for the anime Starship Operators. This marked the beginning of her career as a songwriter/vocalist. "Radiance" was written by her and accompanied by Kotoko. She began to write her own lyrics in her following releases.

In late 2005, she released her second single "Hishoku no Sora" (緋色の空^?, Scarlet-Colored Sky), which became the opening theme for the anime series Shakugan no Shana. It became her best-selling single and sold approximately 37,000 copies, garnering 11th in the Oricon weekly charts.

In March 2006, Kawada and Kotoko released a split single for the OVA adaptation of the game Baldr Force. Kawada performed the ending theme, "Undelete," while Kotoko performed the opening theme "Face of Fact (Resolution ver.)", a remix of her first song which was featured in the game version. Four weeks after the release of this split single, Kawada released her debut album Seed, which contained seven new songs, four songs from her first three singles, and one visual novel theme song which was released back in 2004^[which?]. The album reached #12 in the Oricon weekly charts and charted for five weeks selling more than 25,000 units.

After almost two months, Mami Kawada had her first live tour wherein she performed her album songs live and distributed a pamphlet CD containing two songs—one instrumental, and her first composed song "Carpe Diem".

[edit] Savia (2007)

After her success with "Hishoku no Sora", Kawada performed an insert song for the Shakugan no Shana movie "Akai Namida" (赤い涙, Red Tears^?) in May 2007. She also sang "Tenjou wo Kakeru Monotachi" (天壌を翔る者たち^?), the movie's ending theme together with Kotoko, Shimamiya, Mell and Kaori Utatsuki under the name Love Planet Five.

Three months later, she performed the second ending theme of the series Hayate the Combat Butler "Get My Way!". This single is different from her previous singles, since the song has a more punk rock feel.

Soon after, Kawada came back with a more developed rock sound, evident in her opening theme single for the second installment of the anime series Shakugan no Shana, "Joint", as well as the ending theme "Triangle". "Joint" was released on October 31, 2007 and marked her first top 10 single entry since it reached #9 in its first week on the Oricon weekly charts. Overall, it sold 36,572 copies and charted for a total 19 weeks making this her longest-charting single.

After Kawada's success with her fifth single, she made her first live tour outside Japan, on January 19, 2008, at the KHS Hall in Taiwan.

In late March 2008, Kawada released her second album Savia, which contained nine new songs. The album included the final ending theme to the second installment of Shakugan no Shana, "Sense", as well as her first non-anime theme song and four songs from the three singles she released^[which?]. Although it did not do well in the Oricon charts, after less than six months, Kawada had her second live tour for her second album.

[edit] Linkage (2008–2010)

After a year of not releasing a single, Kawada performed the opening themes of the anime series Toaru Majutsu no Index, "PSI-Missing" and "Masterpiece". Both of the coupling songs, "Ame" (雨^?) and "Jellyfish", were also used as insert songs in the series. In autumn 2008, Kawada established her official website together with her official fan club "M.A.L.L.", which stands for "Mami Artist Lasting Live."

In June 2009, Kawada released her maxi single "L'Oiseau bleu". This single is also present in the I've Sound 10th Anniversary 「Departed to the future」 Special CD BOX, which was released earlier by the group on March 25, 2009.

Kawada also performed the opening and ending themes for the original video animation series of Shakugan no Shana, Shakugan no Shana S, which was her fifth time performing for the anime series. The opening theme "Prophecy" came out as a maxi single on November 18, 2009 while the ending theme "All in Good Time", was not included in the single.

On March 24, 2010, Kawada released her third album Linkage, which contains 13 tracks. Her latest singles "PSI-Missing," "Masterpiece" and "Prophecy" were all included in the album. The album also contained the ending theme Shakugan no Shana S, "All in Good Time", as well as a cover of the song "Dreams", originally performed by the Irish rock band The Cranberries. After two weeks, Kawada had her third live tour to promote her latest album.

Kawada started writing lyrics for other I've singers. Her first song written for other I've Sound members was "A piece of my heart", the ending theme for the eroge Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, sung by newcomer Nami Maisaki, who became an I've singer in May of that year.^[2]

2010 to present[link]

After another year of not releasing a single, Kawada performed the opening theme of the second season of the anime series Toaru Majutsu no Index, "No buts!", which eventually became her highest charting single to date reaching #6 on its first week in the Oricon weekly charts.^[3][4]

On February 16, 2011, she released her 10th single "See visionS", the second opening theme for the second season of Toaru Majutsu no Index. Four months later, she wrote the lyrics for the song "Lead to the smile", the solo debut of I've singer Rin Asami, who started her career that year. She also performed the second opening theme of the third installment of Shakugan no Shana "Serment". The song was released as a single on February 1, 2012. She also performed the song "u/n" which served as the ending theme of episode 15 of Shakugan no Shana Final as well as that series' final ending theme "Kōbō" (光芒, Beam of Light^?). She is set to release a new album titled Square the circle in August 2012.

Discography[link]

• Seed (2006)
• Savia (2008)
• Linkage (2010)
• Square the circle (2012)
• Borderland (Single, 30.05.2012)

Live performances[link]

• I've in BUDOKAN 2005 ～Open the Birth Gate～ (October 15, 2005)
• MAMI KAWADA FIRST LIVE TOUR 2006 "SEED" (May 20, 2006)
• MAMI KAWADA 2008 January LIVE IN TAIWAN (January 19, 2008)
• Mami Kawada Official Fan Club Establishment Commemoration Event Special Video Concert "MAMI KAWADA 2008 January LIVE IN TAIWAN"
• MAMI KAWADA LIVE TOUR 2008 "SAVIA"
• I've in BUDOKAN 2009 ～Departed to the Future～ (January 2, 2009)
• MAMI KAWADA LIVE IN SHIBUYA 2011 "See visionS" (May 4 and May 5, 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Geneon page (Japanese)
• Official Website (Japanese)
• I've Sound Explorer (Japanese)
• I've Sound Forum (Chinese)
• Oricon Profile (Japanese)
• Twitter profile (Japanese)
• Mami Kawada at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Mami Kawada discography at MusicBrainz

Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986),^[3] better known by his stage name ScHoolboy Q, is an American hip hop recording artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope Records. Hanley is a member of Black Hippy along with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul. In a 2011 interview when asked about what encouraged him to start rapping, Hanley explained that it was something he was "born to do": "I was just chillin’ man, but rapping’s just something I was born to do. I don’t know when I started rapping. I don’t know how I started rapping, but I know I wrote a verse and I was stuck ever since," he explained.^[4]

Preceded by two mixtapes, his first independent album Setbacks, reached #100 on the US Billboard 200 chart in 2011, selling close to 1,000 digital copies in the first week.^[5] On January 14, 2012, he released his second independent album Habits & Contradictions. The album debuted at #111 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 3,900 digital copies in the United States.^[6]

Biography[link]

1986-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Hanley was born October 26, 1986, on a military base in Frankfurt, Germany. While there, his parents decided they were no longer staying together, therefore his mother chose a last name for him at random. That is why no one else in his family shares his surname. His father remained in the Army, but his mother took Hanley to Texas for a couple years, before going to California.^[1] He grew up in Los Angeles, California on 51st Street, neighboring Figueroa and Hoover Street. He claims to have been playing football since the age of six years old until he was 21. He played receiver, cornerback, and tailback, however in college he just played receiver and returner. After graduating Crenshaw High School, Hanley went on to attend Glendale Community College, Los Angeles City College, Southwest College and West Los Angeles College where he played football for the West Los Angeles Oilers: "I went to West L.A. college, I went to Southwest college, LACC, and Glendale. I didn’t really get the school like that. I would go to practice and go home. I wasn’t really paying attention in class. I was just in there making sure I did enough work so I could still be eligible. I wasn’t really trying to pass the class. I was just trying to be eligible to play football." As to how he came up with his stage name: "When I was in school, all the homies called me Schoolboy. I wore glasses and I had a 3.3 in high school, before fucking up my senior year gang-banging. My name’s Quincy, so I just stick to Schoolboy Q."^[7]

Growing up on Hoover Street he joined a street gang, the 52 Hoover Crips: "I was gang-banging at 12. I was a Hoover Crip. My homies were doing it and I wanted to do it. I can’t really explain that. I didn’t get into it with another hood or anything like that. I was just following the leader." Before turning to music Hanley became a drug dealer selling Oxycontin, and for a short time crack and marijuana: "I was selling Oxycontin. I sold crack a little bit, but I didn’t make a whole lot of money selling crack or weed or any of that. I made a lot of money selling Oxycontin. I used to go out of town and get it. You just sit back, your homie tell you about this person, and that person spread the word. And then they come to you. You don’t need to get that hype. So I was selling all types of shit. Got beat up, beat shit up."^[8] In 2007, he was arrested for a crime he won't disclose and says he was sent to jail for six months, half of which he finished on house arrest: "When I was 21 I got arrested and went to jail. I got a felony charge and they gave me a strike too. I don’t be putting out what my charge was but it wasn’t a sexual thing."^[1][8]

He claims to have written his first verse when he was 16, but wasn't serious about music until he was 21. Music became his way of expressing himself: "I wrote my first verse when I was 16. I wasn’t really rapping, but you know everybody wrote a verse before. I wrote the verse but I wasn’t really fucking with it. By 21, I started to really get into it and gained a passion for it. You got to let your aggression out, so you got to get in the booth and let it out. I was really working on my craft, studying music, and I became Q. I did all of it, school and the streets. I was just lost; I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was just trying to do something. Then I found music and it was just over after that. I made my first little bit of money doing music, after that I wanted to get used to doing it, and I kept rapping. Then it became something that I had to do."^[9]

In 2006 he began to work with Top Dawg Entertainment, recording at their studio "House of Pain" and collaborating with their artists. His first time at the studio he worked with his soon to be Black Hippy cohorts Jay Rock and Ab-Soul: "I walked in and the beat was playing. Ali told them that I rap. Punch told me to jump on the beat. It was a record that Jay Rock and Ab-Soul were writing to, so then I wrote it. Punch liked it and he told me to come back through. I kept coming back, kept getting better, and eventually they signed me to TDE." On July 29, 2008, Hanley released his first mixtape titled Schoolboy Turned Hustla. After the release of Schoolboy Turned Hustla, he signed a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2009, where he formed Black Hippy with fellow label mates and frequent collaborators, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul.^[10][11]

In 2009 Hanley was involved in a short "beef" with fellow west-coast rapper 40 Glocc. Hanley released a diss track titled "Ezell (40 Glocc Killa)" where he questions 40 Glocc's gang-banging. Hanley has went on record as to why they were "beefing": "He made some false statements about my boy, Tyga, that's my little brother. He did a lot of fake stuff with Wayne, a lot of lies, rumors and childish shit that I really didn't like, and I really felt disrespected by this clown saying all this shit so I just had to like air it out". He went on to say "It's over with, I did what I did, I said what I said and I won't diss him no more, because it's obvious he ain't on my level...so why categorize myself with a loser?".^[12] He released Gangsta & Soul, his second mixtape on May 14, 2009, which included the diss track.

2010–present: Independent albums and Black Hippy[link]

Although Hanley did not release a project, 2010 had him touring, doing guest appearances and had him in the studio working with the rest of Black Hippy and on his then-upcoming project Setbacks. On January 11, 2011, exclusively through iTunes he released Setbacks, his first independent album under Top Dawg Entertainment to critical acclaim.^[13] The album reached number one-hundred on the Billboard 200 selling 787 units it's first week.^[14] Two weeks after the album's release Hanely took to Twitter and gave the album away for free.^[15] By the time Q's first album, SetBacks, was released in early 2011, he'd quit gangbanging altogether.^[16] Setbacks propelled Hanley into the spotlight and allowed him to earn a large internet following: "The concept behind Setbacks was [to talk about] all the shit that’s the reason why I can’t rap. The reason I can’t accomplish what I want to accomplish is because I’m doing all this dumb shit. I put it all together on the album. Like, ‘Druggys With Hoes,’ I’m out here drugging and I’m not even trying to fuck with hoes. ‘Kamikaze,’ I’m not even trying to rap—keep going broke. Different shit like that, I sum it up all in one album. My life did a whole 180 after that dropped. A lot of people still didn’t know the name though, but a lot of people did. It was weird. It just took me to the right spot. I made some fucking money off the project, it helped me see that I needed to do more positive shit in life, and it made me into the person I am now. All I do now is just chill. I’d rather just chill, work on my music, be with my two-year-old daughter, and smoke weed and shit."^[17]

Hanely headlined his first show on March 11, 2011, at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California.^[18] In March 2011 Hanley was arrested at the 2011 South by Southwest music festival and explained that he was ultimately jailed because of marijuana possession: "I got sent to jail for some weed. That was all bad. And I was the one that broke up the fight," said Schoolboy Q. "And then my manager Dave he thought he was Tupac Shakur, ‘Don’t touch my artist! Don’t touch my artist! Don’t touch my artist!’ I’m cool. I’m his artist. I’m like whatever. I’m straight then he kept going crazy. My ass went to the pen…Yea, I got away and then everybody walked out like Tupac in MGM. Police was like ‘Aww, there they go.’ Of course I’m the only one with all the weed."^[19]

On September 22, through his Twitter feed, Hanley announced the title of his second full length project to be Habits & Contradictions. He described the album as a "prequel to Setbacks".^[20] On September 26, 2011, he released the first offering off of Habits & Contradictions, a song titled "Druggys Wit Hoes Again" featuring Ab-Soul. On October 19, 2011, he leaked "There He Go", followed by "Oxy Music" on October 28. On October 31, he was featured on ASAP Rocky's critically acclaimed mixtape LiveLoveA$AP, on a song titled "Brand New Guy", which was well received by the public. To keep promoting Habits & Contradictions he released "My Hatin’ Joint" on November 15, 2011. On November 29, 2011, a music video for "To tha Beat (F'd Up)" from Setbacks was leaked,^[21][22] later that same day Hanley officially released a music for a track titled "Sacrilegious" for Habits & Contradictions.^[23] On January 2, 2012, Hanley released another song, "Blessed" featuring Kendrick Lamar and announced the album's release date to be January 14, 2012.^[24]

On January 6, 2012, via Twitter, Hanley announced guest appearances on the album would include ASAP Rocky, Currensy and Dom Kennedy.^[25][26][27] On January 6, Hanley also released a public service announcement for Habits & Contradictions, shot and edited by Dwayne LaFleur.^[28] Hanley sat down with freeOnSmash, for an interview and spoke on some of the tracks from his Habits & Contradictions, the interview was released on January 9, 2012. OnSmash claims "The 17 track project, due out January 14, is a look into Q’s life, with tales of pill selling, life struggle, partying, religious hypocrites, his block and everything in between."^[29] The album was released exclusively on iTunes, with only a few hard copies being sold and signed by Schoolboy Q in L.A.. In early hours of release, the album moved up to iTunes Top 10 Albums chart and stayed over within days after release. The album debuted at #111 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 3,900 digital copies in the United States.^[6] With only two days at retail the Top Dawg Entertainment release scanned nearly 4,000 units to crack the Top 100, without any marketing or advertising.^[6] The album also debuted on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at number twenty-five, Top Rap Albums at number sixteen, Top Independent Albums at number seventeen and at number three on the Top Heatseekers album chart respectively. Music videos for "Hands on the Wheel" with ASAP Rocky and "Nightmare on Figg St." were later released.

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Schoolboy Q is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Black Hippy cohort, Kendrick Lamar's debut studio album, Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg/Interscope/Aftermath while releases from the rest of Black Hippy (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q) will be distributed via Top Dawg/Interscope.^[2] On March 24, Schoolboy Q announced #TheGroovyTour; a month long tour with Ab-Soul accompanying him the entire way. The tour kicks off on April 20 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California.^[30] On April 3, 2012, Interscope Records released "Hands on the Wheel" as a single via iTunes^[31] and began promoting the song at Urban and Rhythmic radio formats in North America.

Musical style[link]

Influences[link]

Schoolboy Q cites Nas, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Kurupt, 2Pac, Biggie, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel and Wu-Tang Clan as rappers who influenced him: "But Biggie, Nas and 50 Cent [are my biggest influences]".^[32]

In several interviews Schoolboy Q has stated 50 Cent is the biggest reason he started to take rapping and his music career seriously, even going as far as saying 50 Cent probably saved his life: "We got the same shit going on. Everything he talk about is the same shit I did. I relate to Fifty… I can listen to 50 Cent and tell he really mean what he’s saying. He’s one of them niggas that got away with confidence. Fifty ain’t got the best bars, he ain’t got Jay-Z bars but his confidence on a record…you can’t deny it. I seen where he was doing an interview about Ja Rule during the beef shit, he was saying that any nigga that just getting out of jail that don’t know what to do with himself is getting into the rap game. Recently when I just got out of jail I didn’t know what to do I wasn’t going to try and finish playing football. That’s when I was fucking around with rapping, I wasn’t really rapping but when I heard that I was like fuck it…I really went hard at it. Fifty probably saved my life on some real shit."^[33]

Rapping technique[link]

In an interview with Complex magazine, he says he got his "rhyme-style" from Jay-Z: "I got [my rhyme style] from Jay-Z though. If you really listen to Jay-Z, he has a new sound every time he raps. It’s never the same. He might use a little swag, but it’s always like a different flow. So that’s all I try to do."^[32]

Schoolboy Q has been called very versatile with rapping as proven on his albums Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions. LA Weekly noted on Setbacks: "His style had begun to take shape, with his penchant for stretching vowels like Silly Putty or slurring a word and then snapping back into double time."^[16] As stated he never tries to stick with the same flow: "But at the same time, its just a feeling I can’t really explain. You got to be wiser to stay on the track, but there’s no rules. When you start rapping with rules, it’s when you start sounding boring. You may hear me fuck with my voice, you may hear me do a two-bar pause, you may hear me do an odd 33 bars instead of 30. Give you 14 bars instead of 16."^[32]

Discography[link]

Independent albums[link]

Mixtapes[link]

Promotional singles[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Music videos[link]

As main artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Schoolboy Q on Myspace
• ScHoolboy Q at Allmusic

Bill Maher
Maher at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010
Birth name	William Maher, Jr.
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 (age 56) New York, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1979–present
Genres	Satire, Political satire, News satire, Observational comedy
Subject(s)	American politics, current events, American culture, pop culture, freedom of speech, environmentalism, religion, human sexuality, recreational drug use, libertarianism, American liberalism, American conservatism
Influences	Steve Allen, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, David Frost, Robert Klein, Don Rickles, Gore Vidal, Lenny Bruce
Notable works and roles	Elliot on Charlie Hoover Host of Politically Incorrect Host of Real Time with Bill Maher Religulous
Website	BillMaher.com

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate.^[1] He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA.^[2] He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society.^[3] In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.^[4] Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.^[5]

Early life and education[link]

Maher was born in New York City, the son of Julie (née Berman), a nurse, and William Maher, Sr., a network news editor and radio announcer.^[6] He was raised in his Irish American father's Catholic religion, remaining unaware that his mother was Jewish until his early teenage years.^{[7][8][9][10]} Due to Maher's father's disagreement with the Catholic Church's position on birth control, he stopped taking Maher and his sister to Catholic church services when Maher was thirteen.^[11]

Maher was raised in River Vale, New Jersey, and graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale in 1974. He received a B.A. in English and history from Cornell University in 1978.^[12]

Early career[link]

Maher began his career as a stand-up comedian and actor. He was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. Thanks to Steve Allen, he began appearing on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He made limited television appearances including a recurring role in Sara (1985), appeared in Max Headroom (1987), two separate appearances on Murder, She Wrote (1989, 1990), a recurring role in Charlie Hoover (1991) and other productions. He has also appeared in several films, usually in a comic role. His feature film debut was in D.C. Cab (1983), and he also appeared in Ratboy (1986) Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988) and Pizza Man (1991), among others.

Television career[link]

[edit] Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher

Maher assumed the host role Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, a late-night political talk show that ran on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997 and on ABC from 1997 to 2002. The show regularly began with a topical monologue by Maher preceding the introduction of four guests, usually a diverse group of individuals from show business, popular culture, political pundits, political consultants, authors, and occasionally news figures. The group would discuss topical issues selected by Maher, who also participated in the discussions.^[13] Jerry Seinfeld, a regular guest on the show, stated that Politically Incorrect reminded him of talk shows from the 1950s and 60s "when guests interacted with each other as much as with the host."^[14]

Politically Incorrect won an array of awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, two CableACE awards for Best Talk Show Series, and a Genesis Award for Best Television Talk Show. Maher earned numerous award nominations for his producing, writing and hosting of Politically Incorrect, including ten Emmy nominations, two TV Guide nominations, and two Writers Guild nominations. ABC decided against renewing Maher's contract for Politically Incorrect in 2002, after he made a controversial on-air remark shortly after the September 11 attacks.^[15] He agreed with his guest, conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, that the 9/11 terrorists did not act in a cowardly manner (in rebuttal to President Bush's statement calling 9/11 hijackers cowards). Maher said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly. You're right." Maher later clarified that his comment was not anti-military in any way whatsoever, referencing his well-documented longstanding support for the American military.^[16][17][18]

In the context of the attacks, some corporate advertisers found the comment too insensitive and controversial. Several companies, including FedEx and Sears Roebuck, pulled their advertisements from the show, costing the show more than it returned.

The show was cancelled on June 16, 2002, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group had dropped the show from its ABC-affiliated stations months prior. On June 22, 2002, just six days after the cancellation of Politically Incorrect, Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award (for "championing free speech"). Maher was on the board of judges one year for the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Maher's remarks after 9/11 were not the first time he had sparked controversy on Politically Incorrect. In the same year, Maher was widely criticized for comparing dogs to retarded children. He apologized for his comments.^[19]

[edit] Real Time with Bill Maher

In 2003, Maher became the host, co-producer and co-writer of Real Time with Bill Maher, a weekly hour-long political comedy talk show on the cable television network HBO. During an interview, Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's Fresh Air) that he much prefers having serious and well-informed guests on his program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on Politically Incorrect.^[20]

As with his previous show, Politically Incorrect, Maher begins Real Time with a comic opening monologue based upon current events and other topical issues. He proceeds to a one-on-one interview with a guest, either in-studio or via satellite. Following the interview, Maher sits with three panelists, usually consisting of pundits, authors, activists and journalists, for a discussion of the week's events. In the segment "New Rules" at the end of each show, Maher delivers a humorous editorial on popular culture and American politics.

In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled after remarks Maher made after noting the military had missed its recruiting goals by 42 percent. Bachus said he felt the comments were demeaning to the military and treasonous. Maher stated his highest regard and support for the troops and asked why the congressman criticized him instead of doing something about the recruitment problem.^[21]

Real Time has earned widespread praise. It has been nominated for more than ten Primetime Emmy Awards and six Writer's Guild awards. In 2007, Maher and his co-producers were awarded the Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television by the Producers Guild of America.^[22] Maher holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a win, having been nominated on 22 occasions and not winning once. Eleven of the nominations were for Politically Incorrect, while nine were for Real Time. The other two were nominations for two of his HBO comedy specials: Bill Maher: I'm Swiss and Bill Maher: The Decider.^[23]

HBO announced in July 2011 the show was renewed for a tenth season.^[24]

Christine O'Donnell[link]

On September 17, 2010, Maher aired a clip of Delaware Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell from the October 29, 1999 episode of his old show Politically Incorrect on his current show Real Time with Bill Maher,^[25][26] where she discussed that she had "dabbled in witchcraft." This was one of the most notable of numerous controversial statements by O'Donnell that made her the most covered candidate in the 2010 mid-term election cycle.^[27][28]

Political commentator[link]

Maher is a frequent commentator on various cable news networks, namely CNN, MSNBC, and HLN. Maher has regularly appeared on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer^[29] and has also been a frequent guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews,^[30] The Rachel Maddow Show^[31] and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[32] Maher has also appeared as a guest on HLN's The Joy Behar Show.^[33]

Maher hosted the January 13, 2006 edition of Larry King Live, on which he was a frequent guest. Maher appeared as a special guest on the June 29, 2010 edition of the show, on which CNN anchor Larry King announced his retirement.^[34] Maher co-emceed the final show of Larry King Live on December 16, 2010 with Ryan Seacrest.^[35]

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Views and beliefs[link]

Politics[link]

Maher and Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA. Maher is on the board of directors of the animal rights group.

Maher eschews political labels, referring to himself as "practical".^[36] In the past, he has described himself as a libertarian and has also referred to himself "as a progressive, as a sane person".^[37][38]

Maher favors a partial privatization of Social Security, ending corporate welfare and federal funding of non-profits, and legalization of gambling, prostitution, and marijuana. Maher is a member of the advisory boards for both the NORML and Marijuana Policy Project, organizations which support regulated legalization of marijuana.^[39][40] He describes himself as an environmentalist, and he has spoken in favor of the Kyoto treaty on global warming on his show Real Time. He often criticizes industry figures involved in environmental pollution.^[41]

Maher is a board member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Before the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became candid in his stated opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush and in his support for John Kerry.^[42]

Known for protesting against the demonization of the word "liberal", during the campaign Maher criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. On his show, the comedian has noted the paradox of people claiming they distrusted "elite" politicians while at the same time wanting elite doctors to treat them and elite lawyers to represent them in court.^[43] Maher supports the death penalty. Since the 9/11 attacks, he has endorsed the use of racial profiling at airports.^[44]

He was originally against the Iraq War, and has summarized his opinion by saying that the United States and the world have had to pay too high a price for the war. He is skeptical of Iraq surviving without civil war.^[45]

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Maher announced his support for Barack Obama.^[46] Although Maher welcomed Obama's electoral victory, he has subjected him to criticism once in office for not acting boldly on health care reform and other progressive issues.^[47]

On February 23, 2012, after his 'Crazy Stupid Politics' special streamed on Yahoo! Screen, Maher announced that he was contributing $1 million to Priorities USA, the Obama SuperPAC.^[48][49]

Religion[link]

Maher is highly critical of religion, and views it as not worth the bother. He has referred to himself as an apatheist - a pragmatic atheist - on Scarborough Country on April 24, 2007, and again in July 2011.^[50][51] He has reiterated this stance in subsequent interviews, rejecting both the certitude of the existence, as well as the certitude of nonexistence of deities, concluding, "I'm saying that doubt is the only appropriate response for human beings."^[52] He is an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's Project Reason, a foundation that promotes scientific knowledge and secular values within society.

Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the feature film Religulous (2008), described by trade publication Variety as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world." It was released on October 3, 2008.^[53][54]

While Maher is critical towards Christianity, he is an outspoken critic of religion as a whole, including Islam. On October 29, 2010, during a Real Time segment, Maher commented on a news story saying that the name Mohammed had become the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom. He asked, "Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years? Sharia law is being institutionalized in England? Well, then I am right, I should be alarmed."^[55] He later defended his comments on CNN, saying, "And when I say Westerner, I mean someone who believes in the values that Western people believe in that a lot of the Muslim world does not. Like separation of church and state. Like equality of the sexes. Like respect for minorities, free elections, free speech, freedom to gather. These things are not just different from cultures that don’t have them. ... It’s better. ... I would like to keep those values here." ^[56]

Maher received the Richard Dawkins Award for 2009 from Atheist Alliance International "for his efforts to further the values science and reason in the world."^[57]

Maher was ranked first by MormonVoices, a group associated with Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, on its Top Ten Anti-Mormon Statements of 2011 list for saying "By any standard, Mormonism is more ridiculous than any other religion".^[58]

Health care[link]

Maher has stated that the AMA is a powerful lobbying group and one of the primary reasons why the United States had failed to enact health care reform.^{[59][dead link][60]}

On August 24, 2009, Maher was a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. On the topic of getting health care reform legislation passed, Maher stated that Obama should forget about trying to get 60 votes for it, "he only needs 51." "Forget getting the sixty votes or sixty percent — sixty percent of people don't believe in evolution in this country — he just needs to drag them to it, like I said, they're stupid; get health care done, with or without them."^[61]

Maher has expressed the view that most illness is generally the result of poor diet and lack of exercise, and that medicine is often not the best way of addressing illness. In an episode of his show about the 2008 presidential candidates' health plans, Maher stated that poor nutrition is a primary cause of illness, and that "the answer isn't another pill."^[62] He also has said:" If you believe you need to take all the pills the pharmaceutical industry says you do, then you're already on drugs!"^[63]

He has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that corporations urge upon the public. He maintains that mass consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is a contributor to the rise in frequency of obesity in the United States.^[64]

In a discussion with Michael Moore about the film Sicko, Maher said, "The human body is pretty amazing; it doesn't get sick, usually, for no reason. I mean, there's some genetic stuff that can get to you, but, basically, people are sick in this country because they're poisoned. The environment is a poisoning factor, but also, we gotta say, they poison themselves. They eat shit. People eat shit, and that's, to my way of thinking, about 90 percent of why people are sick, is because they eat shit. Would you agree?"^[65]

On October 9, 2009, on his HBO show, Maher debated the effectiveness of flu vaccinations with Bill Frist and stated, "Why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm? I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health." Maher also expressed skepticism about the seriousness of the swine flu and whether completely healthy people could die from it. His comments have generated criticism, and his remarks have been called unscientific and even harmful.^[66]

Maher responded to the criticism, noting, "What I've read about what they think I'm saying is not what I've said. I'm not a germ theory denier. I believe vaccinations can work. Polio is a good example. Do I think in certain situations that inoculating Third World children against malaria or diphtheria, or whatever, is right? Of course. In a situation like that, the benefits outweigh costs. But to me living in Los Angeles? To get a flu shot? No."^[67]

He supports the current abortion laws and giving the terminally ill the right to assisted suicide.

Criticism of 9/11 conspiracy theories[link]

Maher has been a critic of 9/11 conspiracy theories. On October 19, 2007, Maher confronted several 9/11 truthers and had them ejected from his show audience after they interrupted the live show numerous times by calling out from the audience. The incident drew significant media attention and praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson.^[68]

Personal life[link]

Maher has never married. In 2003, he began dating former Playboy Cyber Girl Coco Johnsen. In November 2004, at the end of their 17-month relationship, she sued him for USD $9 million for "pain and suffering" for alleged "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments." Her suit^[69] stated that Maher promised to marry her and father her children, support her financially, and purchase a Beverly Hills home. Her suit also alleged that she quit her job as a flight attendant and occasional model to be with him. Maher's lawyers in their response filed on November 23, 2004, in Los Angeles Superior Court said Maher is a "confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that" who "never promised to marry [Johnsen] or to have children with her."^[70]

Maher's filing stated that, after the relationship had ended, Johnsen "launched a campaign to embarrass, humiliate, and extort ridiculous sums of money from Bill Maher." Johnsen accused another former boyfriend of rape and kidnapping in 1997, and the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence.^[71] Her lawsuit against Maher was dismissed on May 2, 2005.

Maher next to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010

Maher enjoys his bachelor status and states that he does not want to get married. On his website, he is quoted as saying, "I'm the last of my guy friends to have never gotten married, and their wives — they don't want them playing with me. I'm like the escaped slave — I bring news of freedom."^[72]

In 2005, he began dating Karrine Steffans, best-selling author and former hip hop model.^[73][74][75] When commentators suggested there was a pattern to his dating because both his girlfriend and former girlfriend were black, Maher said, "People say I'm into black women. Robert De Niro is into black women. I'm just into women who are real, and they happen to be black."^[74]

From 2009 to 2011, Maher dated the neuroscientist and science educator Cara Santa Maria.^[76]

Credits[link]

Bibliography[link]

• True Story : A Novel, 1994 (ISBN 0-7432-4251-3)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits, 1996 (ISBN 0-679-45627-9)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect, 1997 (ISBN 0-345-41281-8)
• When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism, 2003 (ISBN 1-893224-90-2)
• Keep the Statue of Liberty Closed: The New Rules, 2004 (ISBN 1-932407-47-2)
• New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, 2005 (ISBN 1-59486-295-8)
• The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass, 2011 (ISBN 0-39915-841-3)

Filmography[link]

References[link]