Banana

Sunday, 17 February 2013

Despicable Me - Mini-Movie 'Banana' Preview

Banana and Potato Song with Subtitled Lyrics (Despicable Me 2 Trailer)

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Americas
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World.
In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, whereas America, in current usage, usually refers to the United States of America.
The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.

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Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdɛʃ/ is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41' and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west.
Andhra Pradesh has the second-longest coastline of 972 km (604 mi) among the states of India. Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, run across the state. The small enclave (30 square kilometres (12 sq mi)) of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies in the Godavari delta in the northeast of the state. The state is separated into three regions: Telangana, Andhra, and Rayalaseema.
The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu and the co-official language is Urdu. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Oriya.

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Brazil
Brazil ⁱ/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.

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Burma
Burma ⁱ/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar ⁱ/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km² (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).

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Burundi
Burundi (pronounced /bəˈɹʊndɨ/), officially the Republic of Burundi (Kirundi: Republika y'u Burundi, [buˈɾundi]; French: République du Burundi, [byˈʁyndi]), is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu peoples have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi.
Political unrest occurred throughout the region, in part, because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic.

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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.

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Caribbean
The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north. From the peninsula of Florida on the mainland of the United States, the islands stretch 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeastward, then 500 miles (800 km) south, then west along the north coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.
The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), as well as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea). Due to its proximity to the equator, the sun rises from 3am EST to 5am EST.^{[citation needed]}

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Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (Thai: เชียงใหม่ [tɕʰiəŋ màj] ( listen), Northern Thai: ᨩ᩠ᨿᨦᩉ᩠ᨾᩲ᩵ [tɕiəŋ màj]) sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province, a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna (1296–1768) and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is located 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok, among the highest mountains in the country. The city is on the Ping River, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River. Chiang Mai means "new city" and was so-named because it was the new capital, founded in 1296, succeeding Chiang Rai (founded 1262) in the capital of the Lanna kingdom.
In recent years, Chiang Mai has become an increasingly modern city and has been attracting over 5 million visitors each year, of which between 1.4 million and 2 million are foreign tourists (depending on the year). Chiang Mai gained prominence in the political sphere in May 2006, when the Chiang Mai Initiative was concluded here between the ASEAN nations and the "+3" countries (China, Japan, and South Korea). Chiang Mai is one of three Thai cities contending to host the World Expo 2020. It has also recently positioned itself to become a Creative City and is considering to apply for Creative City Status with UNESCO. Chiang Mai is the only tourist destination in Thailand to have made it in to the 2012 list of "25 Best Destinations in the World" of the popular travel website TripAdvisor, standing in place 24.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.

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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.

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Ecuador
Ecuador (ⁱ/ˈɛkwədɔr/ E-kwə-dawr), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador [reˈpuβlika ðel ekwaˈðor], which literally translates to the "Republic of the Equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, (along with Chile), that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland.
The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name, and has an area of 275,830 km² (106,500 sq mi). Its capital city is Quito, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil. The historic center of Cuenca, the third largest city in the country, was also declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, for being an outstanding example of a planned inland Spanish style colonial city in the Americas. Ecuador is also home—despite its size—to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galápagos islands. This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.

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Egypt
Egypt ⁱ/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

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Fiji
Fiji ⁱ/ˈfiːdʒiː/ (Fijian: Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी), officially the Republic of Fiji (Fijian: Matanitu ko Viti; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी गणराज्यFijī Gaṇarājya), is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas, France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity started around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres. Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.

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Florida
Florida (ⁱ/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.
Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.

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Granada
Granada (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡɾaˈnaða]) is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalucia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level, yet is only one hour from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.
In the 2005 national census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Airport Granada-Jaén Airport.
The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its many cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. The Almohad influence on architecture is preserved in the area of the city called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish and Morisco construction. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the prestigious University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city. The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.

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Guatemala
Guatemala (ⁱ/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km² (42,043 mi²) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.
A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayas live in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and northern parts of El Salvador.
Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821, joining the Mexican Empire. After it became an independent country in its own right, it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. The late 20th century saw Guatemala embroiled in a 36-year-long civil war. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party, won the presidency.

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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.

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India
India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Indonesia
Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

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Japan
Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

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Karnataka
Karnataka /kɑrˈnɑːtəkə/ is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore /maɪˈsɔər/, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the Kannadigas, Tuluvas, Konkanis and Kodavas. The capital and largest city is Bangalore.
Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres (74,122 sq mi), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area. With over 61 million inhabitants (2011), Karnataka is the ninth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.
The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

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Kathmandu Valley
The Kathmandu Valley (Nepal Bhasa: नेपाः स्वनिगः Nepāḥ Svanigaḥ [nepaː sʷoniɡəː], Nepali: काठमाडौँ उपत्यका), located in Nepal, lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of Asia, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several places of pilgrimage for the Hindus and the Buddhists. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites within this valley. Historically, only the Kathmandu Valley was referred to as "Nepal" by people who lived outside the valley. After the annexation of the valley by the Gorkha kingdom, and subsequent conversion of the valley as the capital of their empire, this designation of "Nepal" was extended to every land they conquered. The valley itself was referred to as "Nepal Proper" by British historians.
The city of Kathmandu is named after a structure in Durbar Square called Kaasthamandap. In Sanskrit, kāṣṭh (काष्ठ) = "wood" and maṇḍap (मंडप/मण्डप) = "covered shelter." This unique temple, also known as Maru Satal, was built in 1596 CE by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two story pagoda was obtained from a single tree. As the city has many temples, it is also known as the City of Temples.

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Kerala
Kerala or Keralam /ˈkɛrələ/ is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.
The state has an area of 38,863 km² (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Arabian Sea on the west. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala.
Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, higher than that of most developed countries The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 93.91 percent. It hopes to be the first e-literate state in India through the state run Akshaya project. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala is also ranked as India's cleanest state. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.

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Kuk Swamp
Kuk Swamp is an archaeological site in New Guinea. Evidence for early agricultural drainage systems was found here, beginning about 9,000 years ago. In 2008, it was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Evidence has been found of irrigation draining ditches going back to 9,000 years, with a number of plants including taro grown, at what would have been the edge of its cultivable limit in the highlands. From 6,900 - 6,400 years ago further evidence has been found for the cultivation of bananas and sugar cane. This makes it one of the earliest sites for the development of agriculture in the world".
Coordinates: 5°47′1.36″S 144°19′54.2″E / 5.7837111°S 144.331722°E / -5.7837111; 144.331722

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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.

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Malaysia
Malaysia (ⁱ/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or ⁱ/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.

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Mexico
Mexico (ⁱ/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

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Nepal
Nepal (नेपाल) (ⁱ/nɛˈpɔːl/ ne-PAWLNepali: नेपाल [neˈpal] ( listen)), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. Specifically, the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim border Nepal, while across the Himalayas lies the Tibetan Autonomous Region. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 27 million (and 2 million absentee workers living abroad), Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolis. Kathmandu Valley itself has estimated population of 5 million.
Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized.

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Panama
Panama (ⁱ/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.

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Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth. According to recent data, 841 different languages are listed for the country, although 11 of these have no known living speakers. . (A detailed series of language maps of Papua New Guinea may be found at Ethnologue) There may be at least as many traditional societies,out of a population of about 6.2 million. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18% of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.

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Philippines
The Philippines ⁱ/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.

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Portugal
Portugal ⁱ/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.

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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.

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Singapore
Singapore (ⁱ/ˈsɪŋəpɔər/ SI-ngə-pohr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation.

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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu /ˈtæmɨl ˈnɑːduː/ (Tamiḻ Nāṭu [t̪amɨɭ naːɖɯ] ( listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital is Chennai, the largest city. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south.
Tamil Nadu is the eleventh largest state in India by area and the seventh most populous state. It is the fourth largest contributor (as of 2010) to India's GDP and ranks tenth in Human Development Index as of 2006. Tamil Nadu is also the most urbanised state in India. The state has the highest number (10.56%) of business enterprises and stands second in total employment (9.97%) in India, compared to the population share of about 6%.
The region has been the home of the Tamil people since at least 500 BCE. Its official language Tamil has been in use in inscriptions and literature for over 2000 years. Tamil Nadu is home to many natural resources, Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.

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Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli ((tiruccirāppaḷḷi) pronunciation (help·info)) (spelt as Trichinopoly in the records of British India), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state.
The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Cholas, Early Pandyas, Pallavas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Delhi Sultanate, Madurai Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the British. The archaeologically important town of Uraiyur which served as the capital of the Early Cholas is a suburb of Tiruchirappalli. Tiruchirappalli played a critical role in the Carnatic Wars between the British and the French East India companies. The city has a number of historical monuments, the Rockfort, Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam and the Jambukeswarar temple at Thiruvanaikaval being the most prominent among them.

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Uganda
Coordinates: 1°17′N 32°23′E / 1.28°N 32.39°E / 1.28; 32.39
Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-GAN-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-GAHN-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies. They lie south of the Leeward Islands.
The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward islands. Vessels in the Atlantic slave trade departing from the African Gold Coast and Gulf of Guinea would first encounter the southeasternmost islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to final destinations in the Caribbean and North and Central America. The chain of islands form a part of the easternmost boundary of the Caribbean Sea.
The Antillean Windward Islands from north to south are:
Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago do not consider themselves part of the Windward Islands. In addition, Barbados sits at 59 degrees (outside of 60-62 west definition), and Tobago at 11.9 degrees north (therefore south of the 12-16 degrees north area.)

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Andrew Preston
Andrew Woodbury Preston (1846 – 1924) was a prominent American businessman at the turn of the 20th century. In 1884, Preston and nine others formed the Boston Fruit Company, the birth of the modern banana business. Later, in 1899, Preston and Minor C. Keith combined ventures to form the United Fruit Company. Preston was the president, and Keith became vice-president.

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Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement that flourished by the 1960s. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and sometimes controversial artist. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives. It is the largest museum in the United States of America dedicated to a single artist.
Andy Warhol's artwork ranged in many forms of media that include hand drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, silk screening, sculpture, film, and music. He was a pioneer in computer-generated art using Amiga computers that were introduced in 1985, just before his death in 1987. He founded Interview Magazine and was the author of numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. Andy Warhol is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films. He coined the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame". Many of his creations are very collectible and highly valuable. The highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is US$100 million for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. The private transaction was reported in a 2009 article in The Economist, which described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market". Warhol's works include some of the most expensive paintings ever sold.

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Antonius Musa
Antonius Musa was a botanist and the Roman Emperor Augustus's physician. In the year 23 BC, when Augustus was seriously ill, Musa cured the illness with cold compresses and became immediately famous.
Musa, the plant group which includes the banana, the plantain and numerous other species, was apparently named after him. However, Musa may be a Latinization the Arabic mauz (موز) name for the fruit. Mauz meaning Musa is discussed the 11th century Arabic encyclopedia The Canon of Medicine, which was translated to Latin in medieval times and well known in Europe.
Musa's brother was Euphorbus, physician to king Juba II of Numidia, after whom the plant Euphorbia, which has given its name to a scientific genus, was originally named.
A short medical treatise called De herba vettonica and speaking of the properties of this herb has been transmitted under his name, but is thought instead to have been written in the 4th century. It seems to have been a source for the Roman medical writer Theodorus Priscianus.

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Augustus
Augustus ( /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/;Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊstʊs]; Latin: Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named Gaius Julius Caesar. In 27 BC the Senate awarded him the honorific Augustus ("the revered one"), and thus consequently he was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.
The young Octavius came into his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. In 43 BC, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. As a triumvir, Octavian ruled Rome and many of its provinces. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian's fleet under the command of Agrippa in 31 BC.

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Banana Yoshimoto
Banana Yoshimoto (よしもとばなな, Yoshimoto Banana^?) (born July 24, 1964,) is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本真秀子 Yoshimoto Mahoko). She writes her name in hiragana.
Yoshimoto, daughter of Takaaki Yoshimoto, was born in Tokyo on July 24, 1964. Along with having a famous father, the poet and critic Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. She grew up in a liberal family.
She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."
Yoshimoto keeps her personal life guarded, and reveals little about her certified Rolfing practitioner husband, Hiroyoshi Tahata and son (born in 2003). Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun." She keeps an on-line journal for English-speaking fans.

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Frank Silver
Frank Silver (1896 – 1960), a U.S. songwriter. He co-wrote & co-composed the popular song "Yes, We Have No Bananas" in 1923 with Irving Cohn. Frank Silver was a jazz band drummer.

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Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम बुद्ध; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. The word Buddha is a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." Gautama Buddha may also be referred to as Śākyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि "Sage of the Śākyas"). The Buddha found a Middle Way that ameliorated the extreme asceticism found in the Sramana religions.
The time of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE, but more recent opinion dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to some, between 411 and 400 BCE. UNESCO lists Lumbini, Nepal, as a world heritage site and birthplace of Gautama Buddha. There are also claims about birth place of Gautama Buddha to be Kapileswara, Orissa or Kapilavastu at Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kośala.

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Harriet Lamb
Harriet Lamb is a leading campaigner for fair trade and has been Executive Director of the United Kingdom Fairtrade Foundation since 2001. She was born in England, lived in India as a child and then grew up and was educated in the UK, taking a first degree in political science at Cambridge University and an MPhil at the Sussex Institute of Development Studies.
She has lived over six year in India including time working with poor landless labourers and with a cooperative of low-caste "untouchable" farmers selling grapes.
She joined the Fairtrade Foundation after two years with Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), the Fairtrade umbrella body with responsibility for Fairtrade standards globally, in Bonn, Germany. Under her leadership, Fairtrade has become one of Britain's most active grassroots social movements. In 2008, sales of Fairtrade topped £700 million, with over 4,500 Fairtrade products available from cotton to coffee, face-cream to ice-cream.
She had become convinced of the importance of Fairtrade while Head of Campaigns at the World Development Movement (WDM). While visiting Costa Rica with WDM in 1997 to investigate local banana plantations' use of the pesticide dibromochloropropane (DBCP), already banned in the US for making farm-workers sterile, she met a woman called Maria whose husband had been exposed to DBCP while working on the plantations. The couple had had a baby boy born with severe developmental abnormalities who died after a short and distressful life.

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Irving Cohn
Irving Cohn (February 21, 1898 - 1961) was a British-American songwriter, best known for "Yes, We Have No Bananas", which he co-wrote with Frank Silver in 1923.
Cohn was born in London, but re-located to the United States, where he died. He is sometimes credited as Irving Conn.^{[citation needed]}

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Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (French pronunciation: [ʒyl vɛʁn]; February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the second most translated author in the world (after Agatha Christie). Some of his books have also been made into live-action and animated films and television shows. Verne is often referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction", a title sometimes shared with Hugo Gernsback and H. G. Wells.
Jules Verne was born in Nantes, in France, to Pierre Verne, an attorney, and his wife, Sophie Allote de la Fuÿe. Jules spent his early years at home with his parents in the bustling harbor city of Nantes. The family spent summers in a country house just outside the city, in Brains on the banks of the Loire River. Here Jules and his brother Paul would often rent a boat for one franc a day. The sight of the many ships navigating the river sparked Jules's imagination, as he describes in the autobiographical short story "Souvenirs d'Enfance et de Jeunesse". At the age of nine, Jules and Paul, of whom he was very fond, were sent to boarding school at the Saint Donatien College (Petit séminaire de Saint-Donatien). As a child, he developed a great interest in travel and exploration, a passion he showed as a writer of adventure stories and science fiction. His interest in writing often cost him progress in other subjects.

wn.com/Jules_Verne
Lorenzo Dow Baker
Lorenzo Dow Baker was an American sailor, ship's captain and businessman whose voyage from the Orinoco to Jamaica and then to Philadelphia launched the modern banana production industry. In 1878 he joined forces with Andrew Preston to form the Boston Fruit Company, the first in several successive partnerships that led to the formation of the United Fruit Company, now Chiquita Brands International.

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Luigi Aloysius Colla
Luigi Aloysius Colla (1766–1848) was an Italian botanist of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. He was a member of the Provisional Government of Savoy from December 12, 1798 to April 2, 1799, taking his turn as chairman of the government in rotation for a ten-day term. In 1820 Colla described two species, Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata, that are the basis for almost all cultivated bananas. Colla was a member of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

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Matsuo Bashō
Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉^?, 1644 – November 28, 1694), born Matsuo Kinsaku (松尾金作^?), then Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa (松尾忠右衛門宗房^?), was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and in Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Although Bashō is justifiably famous in the west for his hokku, he himself believed his best work lay in leading and participating in renku. He is quoted as saying, “Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses.”
Bashō was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo (modern Tokyo), he quickly became well-known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher, but renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements.

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Muhammad
Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632; also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد‎), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ‎) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God, and most consider him to be the last prophet of God Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25. Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40, that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.

wn.com/Muhammad
Tamil people
Tamil people (Tamil: தமிழர், tamiḻar ^?), are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Réunion (France) and the UK. Since the early BCE, urbanization and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coast of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil political states (Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallavas) and a number of small petty states warring amongst themselves for dominance. Between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE Tamil people also produced native literature that came to be called Sangam literature. In centuries BCE religions such as Jainism, Buddhism and Vedic religion was spread amongst the populace.
Tamils were noted for their military, religious and mercantile activities beyond their native borders. Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka. Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to South East Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Locally developed scripts such as Grantha and Pallava script induced the development of many native scripts such as Khmer, Javanese and Thai.

wn.com/Tamil_people

Banana (2010)

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Despicable Me - Mini-Movie 'Banana' Preview

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published: 07 Dec 2010

author: DespicableMeMovie

Banana Song (I'm A Banana)

I'm a banana, I'm a banana, I'm a banana, LOOK AT ME MOVE! Banana song now on iTunes!!!! i...

published: 25 Sep 2009

author: Onision

Minions - Banana 14:20 mins

Despicable me 2 Minions Banana song...

published: 04 Mar 2012

author: ohvsk8

Banana Phone

Banana Phone :) btw, ppl, the fast version is just this song sped up. big whoop. and you c...

published: 05 Jun 2007

author: alyssa cha

Kid Can't Say Banana

It's not bana. It's not banananana. IT'S BANANA!...

published: 17 Feb 2009

author: Rhodri Brady

Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl

published: 05 Oct 2009

author: GwenStefaniVEVO

Annoying Orange - Dr. Bananas

A fast talking inventor peddles his amazing...yet deadly inventions. FREE version of my vi...

published: 09 Mar 2012

author: realannoyingorange

Charlie the Unicorn 2

Charlie's friends return to bring him on another magical adventure! Charlie t-shirts, butt...

published: 15 Apr 2008

author: SecretAgentBob

How To Peel A Banana Like A Monkey

I'm posting this video in the hopes that it will help other people discover the joys of pe...

published: 08 Jul 2009

author: somedirection

Kirk Cameron And Bananas

Kirk Cameron And Bananas...

published: 28 Apr 2006

author: alex beltran

Beetlejuice - Day-o (Banana Boat Song)

Song: Harry Belafonte - Day-o (Banana Boat Song) Movie: Beetlejuice (1988) Watch FULL HD 1...

published: 07 Apr 2010

author: lipebianc

Banana and Potato Song with Subtitled Lyrics (Despicable Me 2 Trailer)

Requested by Hizaki~ :DI do not claim the ownership of the video. It was originally from w...

published: 12 Mar 2012

author: Aug201990

The "Banana and Sprite Challenge"

the "banana and sprite challenge", this appeared on tosh.0 or the Tosh.0 show! Can we hit ...

published: 28 Mar 2012

author: Oakelfish

Harry Belafonte - "Banana Boat Song (Day O)" - 1956

Harry Belafonte - "Banana Boat (Day O)" - 1956...

published: 02 Nov 2009

author: 667none

Leeside Skateboard Mayhem

Leeside Halloween Jam, Vancouver, BC, October 31, 2011 Music: Death Grips, Lord of the Ga...

published: 24 Jan 2012

author: Zenga Bros

Foolishly Seeking True Love

2010 Vimeo Awards - Top 20 Narrative! Handsome and Belle just might fall in love, if fat...

published: 29 Jan 2010

author: Jarrett Lee Conaway

The Rocketeer 20th anniversary

- HOMMAGE TO DAVE STEVENS - "rocketeer 20th anniversary" fanfilm HOW COOL WOULD IT BE TO ...

published: 14 Jun 2011

author: John Banana

BYUN

Produced and directed by Ben Wu and David Usui, of Lost & Found Films (www.lostfoundfilms...

published: 13 Sep 2010

author: thismustbetheplace

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photo: AP

A circular hole in the ice of Chebarkul Lake where a meteor reportedly struck the lake near Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013.

Russian meteor blast injures at least 1,000 people, authorities say

CNN

16 Feb 2013

February 16, 2013 -- Updated 0115 GMT (0915 HKT). Did you see the meteor? Share your images with CNN iReport. Moscow (CNN) -- A meteor streaked through the skies above Russia's Urals region Friday morning before exploding with a flash and boom that shattered glass in buildings and left about 1,000 people hurt, authorities said ... The injured included more than 200 children ... The meteor leaves a white streak through the sky ... HIDE CAPTION ... 1. 2....(size: 14.9Kb)

photo: AP / Nasha gazeta, www.ng.kz

In this frame grab made from a video done with a dashboard camera, on a highway from Kostanai, Kazakhstan, to Chelyabinsk region, Russia, provided by Nasha Gazeta newspaper, on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 a meteorite contrail is seen.

Meteor shower hits Russia, 400 injured by blasts

Indian Express

15 Feb 2013

A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia's Ural Mountains today morning, causing sharp explosions and injuring more than 400 people, many of them hurt by broken glass. "There was panic. People had no idea what was happening ... Fragments of the meteor fell in a thinly populated area of the Chelyabinsk region, the Emergency Ministry said in a statement ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)

photo: UN / Mark Garten

US Representative Briefs Press on DPRK Nuclear Test Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, speaks to journalists following the Security Council urgent consultations on the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

N Korea warned against 'provocative actions'

Al Jazeera

16 Feb 2013

The United States has called on North Korea not to take any further provocative actions after report of plans for more nuclear tests. Friday's statement came after the North conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, drawing global condemnation ... Meanwhile, North Korea's leader has made his first public appearance since Tuesday's controversial nuclear test. ... Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said ... 479 Source .....(size: 7.5Kb)

photo: AP / Office of the Supreme Leader

In this photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, waves to the crowd at the conclusion of his speech in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013.

Ayatollah Says Iran Will Control Nuclear Aims

The New York Times

17 Feb 2013

TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader said Saturday that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons but added that if Iran ever decided to build them, no “global power” could stop it. Related. Nuclear Watchdog Says No Deal Reached With Iran (February 15, 2013). Connect With Us on Twitter. Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List. Reporters and Editors ... Mr ... During the same session, Mr....(size: 5.9Kb)

photo: AP

In this Tuesday, April 24, 2012 file photo, fighters from Islamist group Ansar Dine stand guard during a hostage handover, in the desert outside Timbuktu, Mali.

Secret Taliban letter shows Mali strategy, discord

Stuff

14 Feb 2013

In their hurry to flee last month, al Qaeda fighters left behind a crucial document. Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network's strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal discord over how to rule the region ... Comparing the relationship of al Qaeda to Mali as that of an adult to an infant, he urges them to be more gentle, like a parent ... Ad Feedback ... - AP. ....(size: 12.4Kb)

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The taste of Thanjavur

Deccan Chronicle

17 Feb 2013

For tying the banana fibreSoak the banana fibre in water to make it soft and drain the water completely.Hold the dumpling in one hand delicately and keeping at least one cm of the thread loose, tie around the dumpling with the rest of the banana fiber in criss-cross manner so that the lines always converge at the two ends.When finished tying, the ......(size: 3.8Kb)

The slip side of being a fruitarian

The Times of India

17 Feb 2013

In a week, can a diet of 30 apples, 40 bananas, and 15 green smoothies really work for your body? If you ask Ashton Kutcher at the moment, the answer would be a resounding "NO"! The actor, who plays the maverick Apple founder Steve Jobs in a biopic, had to be hospitalised recently after following a fruits-only diet ... Fruitarian Nisha Khanna, 28, from Bangalore, says, "I drink mango and banana smoothies for breakfast....(size: 4.5Kb)

Government steps up Mindanao's industry clusters competitiveness

Sun Star

17 Feb 2013

In a presentation during the Philippine Economic Briefing, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said these include the banana, mango, coconut, palm oil and seaweed industry clusters. "Davao's banana industry contributes about 75 percent of the total exports of the region," he said ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)

True Property Erskineville is giving away a year's supply of ice cream to the buyer of a Camperdown property

The Daily Telegraph Australia

17 Feb 2013

True Property Erskineville agent Braden Walters said he decided to embrace the home's industrial setting and will offer the new owner 52 vouchers for two 2 litre tubs, available in everything from banana split to nuts about chocolate ... shop "easily four times a week" to get a fix of mint, mango and banana-flavoured treats....(size: 1.7Kb)

Companies want us to give them our word

San Francisco Chronicle

17 Feb 2013

In late 1994, Newsweek published an article titled "The Age of Cybercash" that informed readers. "Your virtual wallet may soon be here." ... Nevertheless, the following year, PNC Financial Services Group launched a "Virtual Wallet" product ... Patent and Trademark Office ... And reality TV star (if that's a real thing) Rachel Zoe reportedly tied up the term "bananas." ... If they think any of those will actually take hold, they're BANANAS ... E-mail....(size: 5.4Kb)

Two persons electrocuted following heavy rain

The Times of India

17 Feb 2013

WARANGAL. Two persons were killed in separate incidents when they came into contact with live wires following heavy rain in Warangal and Karimnagar districts late on Friday night ... There is also heavy loss of papaya and banana crops in the Parakala sub-division of Warangal district . ....(size: 1.4Kb)

Aavin launches range of fruit milk shakes

Deccan Chronicle

17 Feb 2013

banana milk shake, apple, vanilla orange, vanilla, carrot, vanilla malt and chocolate ......(size: 0.4Kb)

News quiz: Test your knowledge of current sports events of the past week

Detroit Free Press

17 Feb 2013

Test your knowledge of current sports events of the past week.. (For the most part, there are no right or wrong answers, so everybody scores a 5.). How did Woody Hayes demonstrate toughness in a joke told by Urban Meyer? ... C) He didn't have cable ... A) Banana Joe ... ....(size: 1.3Kb)

Average Price of Food in 50 Cities, February 01-10, 2013 (National Bureau of Statistics of China)

noodls

17 Feb 2013

(Source. National Bureau of Statistics of China). Mutton. Leg. Kg. 62.52. 1.35. 2.2. Chickens. Frozen Fresh Chicken. Kg. 19.44. 0.39. 2.1. Chickens. Breast. Kg. 21.32. 0.09. 0.4. Ducks. Frozen Fresh Duck. Kg. 17.14. 0.40. 2.4. Eggs ... Bananas....(size: 3.1Kb)

At World Cafe youth express need to have meaningful off-line relationships (Photos)

The Examiner

17 Feb 2013

Attended by over 60 adults and youth, the event was held at the Rocklin Community Center and supported by the Auburn Hip Hop Congress and the Coalition for Placer Youth ... Parent Resources Banana Moments ... The Authority In Me Placer County Youth Commission Auburn Hip Hop Congress Coalition for Placer Youth CyberParenting Topics on The Fish 103.9FM Tuesdays Follow Joanna @CyberParenting Like Banana Moments Like Three Moms and a Mike. (Ref ... ....(size: 7.2Kb)

FA Cup: Fifth round classics (Manchester United plc)

noodls

17 Feb 2013

(Source. Manchester United plc). 17/02/2013 09.46, Report by Adam Marshall ... Here's our shortlist of the five best encounters... During the run that led to the manager's first trophy as United boss, a trip to Tyneside was a potential banana-skin and Jim Smith's Magpies made life difficult....(size: 1.5Kb)

Café Marco is 5th Best Restaurant in the Philippines

Sun Star

17 Feb 2013

CEBU'S favorite buffet restaurant is now recognized as one of the Philippines best restaurants. In the recently held awards night at the Tamarind Hill, Singapore last Jan ... Think sandwiches, pastas and soups alongside a nice selection of Filipino dishes such as native chicken soup with green papaya, lemongrass and chili leaves, and chicken and pork adobo with banana flowers and star anise ... ....(size: 1.9Kb)

Menchie's in Allentown hosting fundraiser today for Youell's Oyster House staff

Lehigh Valley

17 Feb 2013

Express-Times File Photo  . Menchie's Frozen Yogurt in Allentown is hosting a fundraiser today for the staff of Youell's Oyster House. Youell's, housed in a historic building at 2249 Walnut St ... Takes The Cake BatterRed Velvet RoyaleChocochellaCreamy Peanut ButterFruit Punch SorbetMango SorbetMinty Milk ChocolateToffee CandyMud PieCafe LatteStrawberry Banana NSAChocolate Bar NSATropical LycheePurely TartPure ChocolateVanilla Snow ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)

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For other uses, see Banana (disambiguation).

Banana
A banana plant on Banana Island in Luxor, Egypt.
Details
Hybrid parentage	**Musa acuminata × Musa balbisiana** Colla 1820
Cultivar group	See Banana Cultivar Groups
Origin	Southeast Asia, South Asia

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants. They are native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea.^[1] Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.^[2] They are grown in at least 107 countries,^[3] primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and as ornamental plants. Its fruits, rich in starch, grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. They come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red.

Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana or hybrids Musa acuminata × balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific names Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca are no longer used.

Banana is also used to describe Enset and Fe'i bananas, neither of which belong to the aforementioned species. Enset bananas belong to the genus Ensete while the taxonomy of Fe'i-type cultivars is uncertain.

In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains or "cooking bananas". The distinction is purely arbitrary and the terms "plantain" and "banana" are sometimes interchangeable depending on their usage.

Description [link]

The Cavendish banana is the most common banana type sold.

Banana inflorescence, partially opened.

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.^[4] The plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy and are often mistaken for trees, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres (20 to 24.9 ft) tall, growing from a corm. Each pseudostem can produce a single bunch of bananas. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Many varieties of bananas are perennial.

Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) long and 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide.^[5] They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.^[6]

Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the banana heart. (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.)^[7] The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly called petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called hands), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kilograms (66–110 lb). In common usage, bunch applies to part of a tier containing 3–10 adjacent fruits.

Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or 'finger') average 125 grams (0.28 lb), of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter. There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety splits easily lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels.

The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry".^[8] In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.

Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive,^[9]^[10] more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium.^[11] Proponents of nuclear power sometimes refer to the banana equivalent dose of radiation to support their arguments.^[12]

Taxonomy [link]

Banana 'tree' showing fruit and inflorescence.

The genus Musa is in the family Musaceae. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from 1998), assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales in the clade commelinids in the monocotyledonous flowering plants. Some sources assert that the banana's genus, Musa, is named for Antonius Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus.^[13] Others say that Linnaeus, who named the genus in 1750, simply adapted an Arabic word for banana, mauz. The word banana itself might have come from the Arabic banan, which means "finger",^[14] or perhaps from Wolof banaana.^[15] The genus contains many species; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.^[13]

Banana classification has long been a problematic issue for taxonomists due to the way Linnaeus originally classified bananas as two species based only on their methods of consumption, Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa paradisiaca for plantains. However, this simplistic classification has proved to be inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars (many of them synonymous) existing in its primary center of diversity, Southeast Asia.^[16]

Ernest Cheesman first discovered that Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca, described by Linnaeus, were actually cultivars and descendants of two wild and seedy species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both first described by Luigi Aloysius Colla.^[17] He recommended their abolition in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct cultivars – those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with characteristics that are the combination of the two.^[16]

Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed the genome-based nomenclature system in 1955. This system eliminated almost all the difficulties and inconsistencies of the nomenclature system of bananas based on Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca. Despite this, Musa paradisiaca is still recognized by some authorities today, leading to confusion.^[17]^[18]

Generally, modern classifications of banana cultivars follow Simmonds' and Shepherd's system. The accepted names for bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana or Musa acuminata × balbisiana, depending on their genetic ancestry.

Synonyms include:

Musa × sapientum L.
Musa paradisiaca L.
Musa × paradisiaca L.
Musa paradisiaca L. subsp. Musa sapientum J. G. Baker
Musa rosacea N. J. von Jacquin
Musa violacea J. G. Baker
Musa cliffortiana L.
Musa dacca P. F. Horaninow
Musa rosacea N. J. von Jacquin
Musa × paradisiaca L. subsp. sapientum (L.) C. E. O. Kuntze
Musa × paradisiaca var. dacca (P. F. Horaninow) J. G. Baker ex K. M. Schumann

For the banana cultivar previously referred to as Musa sapientum, see Latundan Banana.^[19] For bananas and plantains previously referred to as Musa paradisiaca, see Plantain.^[17]

For a list of the cultivars classified under the new system see Banana cultivar groups.

Comparison between the two wild banana ancestors in the Simmonds and Shepherd table (1955)
Species	Musa acuminata	Musa balbisiana
Color of pseudostem	Black or grey-brown spots	Unmarked or slightly marked
Petiole canal	Erect edge, with scarred inferior leaves, not against the pseudostem	Closed edge, without leaves, against the pseudostem
Stalk	Covered with fine hair	Smooth
Pedicels	Short	Long
Ovum	Two regular rows in the locule	Four irregular rows in the locule
Elbow of the bract	Tall (< 0.28)	Short (> 0.30)
Bend of the bract	The bract wraps behind the opening	The bract raises without bending behind the opening
Form of the bract	Lance- or egg-shaped, tapering markedly after the bend	Broadly egg-shaped
Peak of the bract	Acute	Obtuse
Color of the bract	Dark red or yellow on the outside, opaque purple or yellow on the inside	Brown-purple on the outside, crimson on the inside
Discoloration	The inside of the bract is more bright toward the base	The inside of the bract is uniform
Scarification of the bract	Prominent	Not prominent
Free tepal of the male flower	Corrugated under the point	Rarely corrugated
Color of the male flower	White or cream	Pink
Color of the markings	Orange or bright yellow	Cream, yellow, or pale pink

Historical cultivation [link]

Early cultivation [link]

Plantation cultivation in the Caribbean, Central and South America [link]

Main article: History of Modern Banana Plantations in the Americas

Photo of two cross-sectional halves of seed-filled fruit.

Fruits of wild-type bananas have numerous large, hard seeds.

In the 15th and 16th century, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa.^[30] North Americans began consuming bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it became more widespread.^[31] As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available.^[30] Jules Verne introduces bananas to his readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations like today's Chiquita Brands International and Dole.^[31] These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated (meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to build enclave economies (economies that were internally self sufficient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included working with local elites and their rivalries to influence politics or playing the international interests of the United States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.^[32]

Peasant cultivation for export in the Caribbean [link]

Main article: History of peasant banana production in the Americas

The vast majority of the world's bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production, but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crop.^{[citation needed]}

There are peasant sector banana growers who produce for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean, and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation is widespread, holdings are in the 1–2 acre range. In many cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops, from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas required little labor input and brought welcome extra income. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by cyclones.^{[citation needed]}

After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s, however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their costs of production were relatively high and the ending of favorable tariff and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it difficult for peasant producers to compete with the bananas grown on large plantations by the well capitalized firms like Chiquita and Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better able to afford modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The "dollar banana" produced by these concerns made the profit margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.^{[citation needed]}

Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem by providing government supported agronomic services and helping to organize producers' cooperatives. They have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade in commodities.^{[citation needed]}

East Africa [link]

Main article: East African Highland bananas

Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas represent a major food source and a major income source for smallhold farmers. In East African Highland bananas are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms (99 lb) per year, the highest in the world.

Modern cultivation [link]

Photo of a banana corm growing from loamy soil.

A banana corm, about 10 in (25 cm) in diameter.

All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit consumption.^[33] These are propagated asexually from offshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" to produce fruit in 6–8 months. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates.

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, which makes them sterile and unable to produce viable seeds. Lacking seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can be shipped in bulk.

It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root material can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes somewhat longer.

In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).

As a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year-round.

Cavendish [link]

Grocery store photo of several bunches of bananas

Cavendish bananas are the main commercial banana cultivars sold in the world market.

In global commerce, by far the most important cultivars belong to the triploid AAA group of Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish group bananas. They account for the majority of banana exports,^[33] despite only coming into existence in 1836.^[34] The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain (Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after the previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, a fungus which attacks the roots of the banana plant.^[33]

Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste make the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, Gros Michel is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama disease is not found.^[35] Likewise, Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction, but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.^[33]

Ripening [link]

Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. The vivid yellow color normally associated with supermarket bananas is in fact a side effect of the artificial ripening process.^[36]^[37] Flavor and texture are also affected by ripening temperature. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C (56 and 59 °F) during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls, and turns the bananas gray as cell walls break down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C (39 °F) environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.

Two adjacent photos of bananas. The left is in sunlight; the right is under uultraviolet light.

Ripened bananas (left, under sunlight) fluoresce in blue when exposed to UV light.

"Tree-ripened" Cavendish bananas have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both flavor and texture of tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type of green-picked fruit,^{[citation needed]} this reduces shelf life to only 7–10 days.

Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed", and may show up at the supermarket fully green. "Guineo Verde", or green bananas that have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.

A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not fluoresce. The study suggested that this allows animals which can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.^[38]

Storage and transport [link]

Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C (55 °F). On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C (63 °F) and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold.^{[citation needed]} Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.^[39] They can be stored indefinitely frozen, then eaten like an ice pop or cooked as a banana mush.

Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures. This effect can be exploited by packing banana in a polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent, e.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 3–4 weeks without the need for refrigeration.^[40]^[41]^[42]

Trade [link]

Top 10 banana producing nations (in million metric tons)
India*	26.2
Philippines	9.0
China	8.2
Ecuador	7.6
Brazil	7.2
Indonesia	6.3
Mexico*	2.2
Costa Rica	2.1
Colombia	2.0
Thailand	1.5
World total	95.6
Source: 2009 data, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations^[3] * Countries use 2008 FAO data

Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple food crop for millions of people in developing countries. In most tropical countries, green (unripe) bananas used for cooking represent the main cultivars. Bananas are cooked in ways that are similar to potatoes. Both can be fried, boiled, baked, or chipped and have similar taste and texture when served. One banana provides about the same calories as one potato.

In 2009, India led the world in banana production, representing approximately 28% of the worldwide crop, mostly for domestic consumption.^{[citation needed]} The six leading exporting countries (Table, right) together accounted for about two-thirds of exports, each contributing more than 6 million tons, according to Food and Agriculture Organization statistics.

Most producers are small-scale farmers either for home consumption or local markets. Because bananas and plantains produce fruit year-round, they provide an extremely valuable food source during the hunger season (when the food from one annual/semi-annual harvest has been consumed, and the next is still to come). Bananas and plantains are therefore critical to global food security. Bananas have been an important source of disagreement in the Doha Round of trade talks. A study for ICTSD showed that the new deal on EU banana import tariffs will be a boon to Latin American exporters but would trigger a drop in exports of the fruit from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.^[43]

Bananas are among the most widely consumed foods in the world. Most banana farmers receive a low price for their produce as grocery companies pay discounted prices for buying in enormous quantity. Price competition among grocers has reduced their margins, leading to lower prices for growers. Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole, and Fyffes grow their own bananas in Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras. Banana plantations are capital intensive and demand significant expertise. The majority of independent growers are large and wealthy landowners in these countries. Producers have attempted to raise prices via marketing them as "fair trade" or Rainforest Alliance-certified in some countries.

The banana has an extensive trade history starting with firms such as Fyffes and the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) at the end of the 19th century. For much of the 20th century, bananas and coffee dominated the export economies of Central America. In the 1930s, bananas and coffee made up as much as 75% of the region's exports. As late as 1960, the two crops accounted for 67% of the exports from the region. Though the two were grown in similar regions, they tended not to be distributed together. The United Fruit Company based its business almost entirely on the banana trade, because the coffee trade proved too difficult to control. The term "banana republic" has been applied to most countries in Central America, but from a strict economic perspective only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama had economies dominated by the banana trade.

The European Union has traditionally imported many of their bananas from former European Caribbean colonies, paying guaranteed prices above global market rates (see Lomé Convention) As of 2005, these arrangements were in the process of being withdrawn under pressure from other major trading powers, principally the United States. The withdrawal of these indirect subsidies to Caribbean producers is expected to favour the banana producers of Central America, in which American companies have an economic interest.

The United States produces few bananas. A mere 14,000 tonnes (14,000 long tons; 15,000 short tons) were grown in Hawaii in 2001.^[44] Bananas were once grown in Florida and southern California.^[45]

Pests, diseases, and natural disasters [link]

Main article: List of banana and plantain diseases

Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with pesticides.

While in no danger of outright extinction, the most common edible banana cultivar Cavendish (extremely popular in Europe and the Americas) could become unviable for large-scale cultivation in the next 10–20 years. Its predecessor 'Gros Michel', discovered in the 1820s, suffered this fate. Like almost all bananas, Cavendish lacks genetic diversity, which makes it vulnerable to diseases, threatening both commercial cultivation and small-scale subsistence farming.^[46]^[47] Some commentators remarked that those variants which could replace what much of the world considers a "typical banana" are so different that most people would not consider them the same fruit, and blame the decline of the banana on monogenetic cultivation driven by short-term commercial motives.^[32]

Panama disease [link]

Panama disease is caused by a fusarium soil fungus (Race 1), which enters the plants through the roots and travels with water into the trunk and leaves, producing gels and gums that cut off the flow of water and nutrients, causing the plant to wilt, and exposing the rest of the plant to lethal amounts of sunlight. Prior to 1960, almost all commercial banana production centered on "Gros Michel"F, which was highly susceptible.^[48] Cavendish was chosen as the replacement for Gros Michel because, among resistant cultivars, it produces the highest quality fruit. However, more care is required for shipping the Cavendish, and its quality compared to Gros Michel is debated.

According to current sources, a deadly form of Panama disease is infecting Cavendish. All plants are genetically identical, which prevents evolution of disease resistance. Researchers are examining hundreds of wild varieties for resistance.^[48]

Tropical Race 4 [link]

TR4 is a reinvigorated strain of Panama disease first discovered in 1993. This virulent form of fusarium wilt has wiped out Cavendish in several southeast Asian countries. It has yet to reach the Americas; however, soil fungi can easily be carried on boots, clothing, or tools. This is how Tropical Race 4 travels and is its most likely route into Latin America. Cavendish is highly susceptible to TR4, and over time, Cavendish is almost certain to disappear from commercial production by this disease. Unfortunately, the only known defense to TR4 is genetic resistance.

Black Sigatoka [link]

Black sigatoka is a fungal leaf spot disease first observed in Fiji in 1963 or 1964. Black Sigatoka (also known as black leaf streak) has spread to banana plantations throughout the tropics from infected banana leaves that were used as packing material. It affects all main cultivars of bananas and plantains, impeding photosynthesis by blackening parts of the leaves, eventually killing the entire leaf. Starved for energy, fruit production falls by 50% or more, and the bananas that do grow ripen prematurely, making them unsuitable for export. The fungus has shown ever-increasing resistance to treatment, with the current expense for treating 1 hectare (2.5 acres) exceeding $1,000 per year. In addition to the expense, there is the question of how long intensive spraying can be environmentally justified. Several resistant cultivars of banana have been developed, but none has yet received commercial acceptance due to taste and texture issues.

In East Africa [link]

With the arrival of Black sigatoka, banana production in eastern Africa fell by over 40%. For example, during the 1970s, Uganda produced 15 to 20 tonnes (15 to 20 long tons; 17 to 22 short tons) of bananas per hectare. Today, production has fallen to only 6 tonnes (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons) per hectare.

The situation has started to improve as new disease-resistant cultivars have been developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda (NARO), such as FHIA-17 (known in Uganda as the Kabana 3). These new cultivars taste different from the Cabana banana, which has slowed their acceptance by local farmers. However, by adding mulch and manure to the soil around the base of the plant, these new cultivars have substantially increased yields in the areas where they have been tried.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and NARO, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and CGIAR have started trials for genetically modified bananas that are resistant to both Black sigatoka and banana weevils. It is developing cultivars specifically for smallholder and subsistence farmers.

Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)[link]

This virus jumps from plant to plant using aphids. It stunts leaves, resulting in a "bunched" appearance. Generally, an infected plant does not produce fruit, although mild strains exist which allow some production. These mild strains are often mistaken for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There is no cure; however, its effect can be minimized by planting only tissue-cultured plants (in vitro propagation), controlling aphids, and immediately removing and destroying infected plants.

Culture [link]

Food and cooking [link]

Fruit [link]

Peeled, whole, and longitudinal section

Banana, raw, edible parts
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	371 kJ (89 kcal)
Carbohydrates	22.84 g
- Sugars	12.23 g
- Dietary fiber	2.6 g
Fat	0.33 g
Protein	1.09 g
Vitamin A equiv.	3 μg (0%)
Thiamine (vit. B₁)	0.031 mg (3%)
Riboflavin (vit. B₂)	0.073 mg (6%)
Niacin (vit. B₃)	0.665 mg (4%)
Pantothenic acid (B₅)	0.334 mg (7%)
Vitamin B₆	0.4 mg (31%)
Folate (vit. B₉)	20 μg (5%)
Choline	9.8 mg (2%)
Vitamin C	8.7 mg (10%)
Calcium	5 mg (1%)
Iron	0.26 mg (2%)
Magnesium	27 mg (8%)
Manganese	0.3 mg (14%)
Phosphorus	22 mg (3%)
Potassium	358 mg (8%)
Zinc	0.15 mg (2%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. The banana's flavor is due, amongst other chemicals, to isoamyl acetate which is one of the main constituents of banana oil.

During the ripening process, bananas produce a plant hormone called ethylene, which indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.^[49]^[50]

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrón, and halo-halo. Most of these dishes use the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Pisang goreng, bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United States as banana fritters.

Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes.

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana,^[51] are sold in markets in Indonesia.

Flower [link]

Banana hearts are used as a vegetable^[52] in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods.^[53] The flavor resembles that of artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible.

Leaves [link]

Nicaraguan Nacatamales, in banana leaves, ready to be steamed

Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food containers or as "plates" in South Asia and several Southeast Asian countries. Especially in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor.^[54] In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as packing material for food stuffs and also making cups to hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.

Trunk [link]

The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably in the Burmese dish mohinga.

Nutrition and research [link]

Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B₆, soluble fiber, and contain moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and potassium.^[55]

Along with other fruits and vegetables, consumption of bananas may be associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer^[56] and in women, breast cancer^[57] and renal cell carcinoma.^[58]

Banana ingestion may affect dopamine production in people deficient in the amino acid tyrosine, a dopamine precursor present in bananas.^[59]^[60]

In India, juice is extracted from the corm and used as a home remedy for jaundice, sometimes with the addition of honey, and for kidney stones.^[61]

Individuals with a latex allergy may experience a reaction to bananas.^[62]

Fiber [link]

Textiles [link]

The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.^[63]

In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

Paper [link]

Main article: Banana paper

Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is used in two different senses: to refer to a paper made from the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or paper made from banana fiber, obtained with an industrialized process from the stem and the non-usable fruits. The paper itself can be either hand-made or in industrial processes.

Cultural roles [link]

Coconut, banana and banana leaves used while worshiping River Kaveri at Tiruchirappalli, India.

Banana flowers and leaves for sale in the Thanin market in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Arts [link]

The song "Yes! We Have No Bananas" was written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn and originally released in 1923; for many decades, it was the best-selling sheet music in history. Since then the song has been rerecorded several times and has been particularly popular during banana shortages.
A person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple of physical comedy for generations. A 1910 comedy recording features a popular character of the time, "Uncle Josh", claiming to describe his own such incident:^[64]

Now I don't think much of the man that throws a banana peelin' on the sidewalk, and I don't think much of the banana peel that throws a man on the sidewalk neither ... my foot hit the bananer peelin' and I went up in the air, and I come down ker-plunk, jist as I was pickin' myself up a little boy come runnin' across the street ... he says, "Oh mister, won't you please do that agin? My little brother didn't see you do it."

The poet Bashō is named after the Japanese word for a banana plant. The "bashō" planted in his garden by a grateful student became a source of inspiration to his poetry, as well as a symbol of his life and home.^[65]
The Japanese novelist Mihoko Yoshimoto changed her name to Banana Yoshimoto because she liked banana flowers.
The cover artwork for the debut album of The Velvet Underground features a banana made by Andy Warhol. On the original vinyl LP version, the design allowed the listener to 'peel' this banana to find a pink, peeled banana/phallus on the inside.

Religion [link]

In Burma, bunches of green bananas surrounding a green coconut in a tray form an important part of traditional offerings to the Buddha and the Nats.

In all the important festivals and occasions of Tamils the serving of bananas plays a prominent part. The banana (Tamil:வாழை or வாழைப்பழம்) is one of three fruits with this significance, the others being mango and jack fruit. It is also worth mentioning that ancient Tamils have named three varieties of bananas after Hindu Trinity of Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as Poovan Pazham- பூவன் பழம் (Brahma), Mondan/Mukundhan Pazham- மொந்தன்(முகுந்தன் பழம்) Vishnu and Peyan Pazham- பேயன் பழம் (Shiva).

Symbols [link]

Because of its shape the banana is also frequently used as a phallic symbol. It is also often referred to as the favorite food for monkeys.

Other uses [link]

Banana sap from the pseudostem, peelings or flesh may be sufficiently sticky for adhesive uses.^{[citation needed]}
In regions where bananas are grown, the large leaves may be used as umbrellas when the pseudostems are tied together to form a floatation device.^[54]
Banana peel may have capability to extract heavy metal contamination from river water, similar to other purification materials.^[66]^[67]
Banana peel has displayed antioxidant activity in vitro, especially from unripe extracts.^[68]

Footnotes [link]

^ ^a ^b "Tracing antiquity of banana cultivation in Papua New Guinea". The Australia & Pacific Science Foundation. http://apscience.org.au/projects/PBF_02_3/pbf_02_3.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
^ Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry, Musa species (banana and plantain). agroforestry.net
^ ^a ^b "FAOSTAT: ProdSTAT: Crops". Food and Agriculture Organization. 2005. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
^ Yes, we have more bananas published in the Royal Horticultural Society Journals, May 2002^{[dead link]}
^ "Banana from ''Fruits of Warm Climates'' by Julia Morton". Hort.purdue.edu. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/banana.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ Greenearth, Inc., Banana Plant Growing Info. Retrieved 2008.12.20.
^ Angolo, A (May 15, 2008). "Banana plant with five hearts is instant hit in Negros Occ". ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/classified-odd/05/13/08/banana-plant-five-hearts-instant-hit-negros-occ. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
^ James P. Smith, Vascular Plant Families. Mad River Press, 1977.
^ CRC Handbook on Radiation Measurement and Protection, Vol. 1 p. 620 Table A.3.7.12, CRC Press, 1978
^ Bananas Are Radioactive. Chemistry.about.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
^ Stephen Cass, Corinna Wu (2007) Everything Emits Radiation—Even You: The millirems pour in from bananas, bomb tests, the air, bedmates... Discover: Science, Technology, and the Future, published online June 4, 2007
^ banana dose « Physical Insights. Enochthered.wordpress.com (July 25, 2007). Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
^ ^a ^b Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. 1916. pp. 2076–9
^ Dan Keppel, Banana, Hudson Street Press, 2008; p. 44.
^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=banana. Retrieved Aug 5, 2010.
^ ^a ^b International Network for Improvement of Banana and Plantain. Asia and the Pacific Office; Ramón V. Valmayor. Banana cultivar names and synonyms in Southeast Asia. Bioversity International. ISBN 978-971-91751-2-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=uwEcLfDElAMC. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Musa paradisiaca". http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/mparadisiaca.htm.
^ Michel H. Porcher; Prof. Snow Barlow (July 19, 2002). "Sorting Musa names". The University of Melbourne. http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa.html. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
^ "Musa sapientum". http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/msapientum.htm.
^ Edmond de Langhe & Pierre de Maret (2004). "Tracking the banana: its significance in early agriculture". In Jon G. Hather. The Prehistory of Food: Appetites for Change. Routledge. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-203-20338-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=DMgKW9HleFoC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA372.
^ ^a ^b Watson, p. 54
^ Mbida VM, Van Neer W, Doutrelepont H, Vrydaghs L. (2000). "Evidence for banana cultivation and animal husbandry during the first millennium BCE in the forest of southern Cameroon". Journal of Archeological Science. DOI:10.1006/jasc.1999.0447. http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/krigbaum/6930/mbida_etal_JAS_2000.pdf.
^ Friedrich J. Zeller (2005). "Herkunft, Diversität und Züchtung der Banane und kultivierter Zitrusarten (Origin, diversity and breeding of banana and plantain (Musa spp.))". Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics. http://www.upress.uni-kassel.de/online/frei/978-3-89958-116-4.volltext.frei.pdf.
^ "Africa's earliest bananas?". Journal of Archeological Science. June 28, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20071202120538/http://www.inibap.org/pdf/phytoliths_en.pdf.
^ Randrianja, Solofo abd Stephen Ellis: Madagascar: A Short History. University of Chicago Press, 2009 ISBN 1-85065-947-8.
^ "Banana consumption on rise during Ramadan". http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2008/09/10/45131.html.
^ "Bananas and plantains". Botgard.ucla.edu. http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Musa/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ "Online Etymology Dictionary: banana". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=banana&searchmode=none. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
^ Peed, Mike: "We Have No Bananas: Can Scientists Defeat a Devastating Blight?" The New Yorker, January 10, 2011, pp. 28–34. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
^ ^a ^b "Phora Ltd. – History of Banana". Phora-sotoby.com. http://www.phora-sotoby.com/history.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ ^a ^b Dan Koeppel, Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World (New York: Hudson Street Press, 2008), pp. 51–53 ISBN 0-452-29008-2
^ ^a ^b Big-business greed killing the banana – Independent, via The New Zealand Herald, Saturday May 24, 2008, Page A19
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Castle, Matt (August 24, 2009). "The Unfortunate Sex Life of the Banana". DamnInteresting.com. http://www.damninteresting.com/the-unfortunate-sex-life-of-the-banana.
^ Banana History – The history of bananas as food. Homecooking.about.com (May 5, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
^ Are bananas about to become extinct? .Retrieved on 2012-13-12.
^ Phebe Ding, S.H. Ahmad, Abd. R. Abd. Razak, N. Shaari and M.T.M. Mohamed (2007). "Plastid ultrastructure, chlorophyll contents, and colour expression during ripening of Cavendish banana (Musa acuminata 'Williams') at 17°C and 27°C". New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticulutral Science 35: 201–210. http://psasir.upm.edu.my/836/1/PFP10.PDF. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
^ Saeed Ahmad, Zia Ahmad Chatha, Muhammad Akram Nasir, Abdul Aziz and Malik Mohson (2006). "Effect of Relative Humidity on the Ripening Behaviour and Quality of Ethylene Treated Banana Fruit". Journal of Agriculture & Social Sciences 2 (1): 54–56. http://www.fspublishers.org/jass/past-issues/JASSVOL_2_NO_1/15.pdf. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
^ Moser, Simone; Thomas Müller, Marc-Olivier Ebert, Steffen Jockusch, Nicholas J. Turro, Bernhard Kräutler (2008). "Blue luminescence of ripening bananas". Angewandte Chemie International Edition 47 (46): 8954–8957. DOI:10.1002/anie.200803189. PMC 2912500. PMID 18850621. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2912500.
^ "How to Ripen Bananas". http://www.chiquitabananas.com/Banana-Information/selecting-handling-ripening-bananas.aspx. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
^ Scott, KJ, McGlasson WB and Roberts EA (1970). "Potassium Permanganate as an Ethylene Absorbent in Polyethylene Bags to Delay the Ripening of Bananas During Storage". Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 10 (43): 237. DOI:10.1071/EA9700237.
^ Scott KJ, Blake, JR, Stracha, G, Tugwell, BL and McGlasson WB (1971). "Transport of Bananas at Ambient Temperatures using Polyethylene Bags". Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 48: 163–165.
^ Scott, KJ and Gandanegara, S (1974). "Effect of Temperature on the Storage Life of bananas Held in Polyethylene Bags with an Ethylene Absorbent". Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 51: 23–26.
^ How would a WTO agreement on bananas affect exporting and importing countries?, by Giovanni Anania, July 2009, Issue Paper No.21, ICTSD
^ "Crop Profile for Bananas in Hawaii". Ipmcenters.org. http://www.ipmcenters.org/cropprofiles/docs/hibananas.html. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc., Banana Fruit Facts. Retrieved 2008.12.30.
^ "A future with no bananas?". New Scientist. May 13, 2006. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn9152-a-future-with-no-bananas.html. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
^ Montpellier, Emile Frison (February 8, 2003). "Rescuing the banana". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17723813.300-rescuing-the-banana.html. Retrieved December 9, 2006.
^ ^a ^b Barker, C. L. "Conservation: Peeling away". National Geographic Magazine, November 2008.
^ "Fruit Ripening". http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
^ "Ethylene Process". http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bot00/bot00553.htm. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
^ Plant Breeding Abstracts, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, 1949, p. 162
^ Solomon, C (1998). Encyclopedia of Asian Food (Periplus ed.). Australia: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 0-85561-688-1. http://www.asiafood.org/glossary_1.cfm?alpha=B&wordid=3219&startno=1&endno=25. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
^ Fried banana flowers. Duda Online (December 14, 2009). Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
^ ^a ^b "Banana". Hortpurdue.edu. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/banana.html#Other%20Uses. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ "Nutrition Facts for raw banana, one NLEA serving, 100 g". Nutritiondata.com from Standard Reference 21 of the USDA National Nutrient Database. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1846/2.
^ Deneo-Pellegrini, H; De Stefani E; Ronco A (1996). "Vegetables, fruits, and risk of colorectal cancer: a case-control study from Uruguay". Nutrition & Cancer 25 (3): 297–304. DOI:10.1080/01635589609514453. PMID 8771572.
^ Zhang, CX; et al. (2009). "Greater vegetable and fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among Chinese women". International Journal of Cancer 125 (1): 181–8. DOI:10.1002/ijc.24358. PMID 19358284.
^ Rashidkhani, B; Lindblad P; Wolk A (2005). "Fruits, vegetables and risk of renal cell carcinoma: a prospective study of Swedish women". International Journal of Cancer 113 (3): 451–5. DOI:10.1002/ijc.20577. PMID 15455348.
^ Jerry Wong. "The Pursuit of Happiness (A.K.A. It Appears That The Writer Wrote About Bananas After Eating A Few Too Many)". The Science Creative Quarterly, University of British Columbia. http://www.scq.ubc.ca/the-pursuit-of-happiness-aka-it-appears-that-the-writer-wrote-about-bananas-after-eating-a-few-too-many/. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
^ "Tyrosine". University of Maryland, Medical Center. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/tyrosine-000329.htm. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
^ Healing Power of Foods: Nature's Prescription of Common Diseases, Pustak Mahal, 2004, ISBN 81-223-0748-5, p. 49
^ Taylor, JS; Erkek E (2004). "Latex allergy: diagnosis and management". Dermatological Therapy 17 (4): 289–301. DOI:10.1111/j.1396-0296.2004.04024.x. PMID 15327474.
^ "Traditional Crafts of Japan – Kijoka Banana Fiber Cloth". Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries. http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0130/f0130.html. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
^ Stewart, Cal. "Collected Works of Cal Stewart part 2". Uncle Josh in a Department Store (1910). The Internet Archive. http://www.archive.org/details/CalStewart_part2. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
^ Matsuo Basho: the Master Haiku Poet, Kodansha Europe, ISBN 0-87011-553-7
^ Minard, Anne (March 11, 2011). "Is That a Banana in Your Water?". National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110311-water-pollution-lead-heavy-metal-banana-peel-innovation/. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
^ Banana Peel Applied to the Solid Phase Extraction of Copper and Lead from River Water: Preconcentration of Metal Ions with a Fruit Waste. 50. 2011. DOI:10.1021/ie101499e.
^ Sundaram S, Anjum S, Dwivedi P, Rai GK.,"Antioxidant activity and protective effect of banana peel against oxidative hemolysis of human erythrocyte at different stages of ripening." Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2011 Aug;164(7):1192-206

References [link]

Denham, T., Haberle, S. G., Lentfer, C., Fullagar, R., Field, J., Porch, N., Therin, M., Winsborough B., and Golson, J. "Multi-disciplinary Evidence for the Origins of Agriculture from 6950–6440 Cal BP at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of New Guinea." Science, June 2003 issue.
Editors (2006). "Banana fiber rugs". Dwell 6 (7): 44. Brief mention of banana fiber rugs
Leibling, Robert W. and Pepperdine, Donna (2006). "Natural remedies of Arabia". Saudi Aramco World 57 (5): 14. Banana etymology, banana flour.

Skidmore, T., Smith, P. – Modern Latin America (5th edition), (2001) New York: Oxford University Press
Watson, Andrew. Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

External links [link]

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Gwen Stefani
Stefani at Bloomingdale's celebration for Fashion's Night Out in New York City on September 10, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Gwen Renée Stefani
Born	(1969-10-03) October 3, 1969 (age 42) Fullerton, California, United States
Genres	Pop, dance, rock, electronic, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar^[1]
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Interscope
Associated acts	No Doubt, Eve, The Neptunes, Sublime, Dr. Dre, Akon, Outkast
Website	www.gwenstefani.com

Gwen Renée Stefani ( /stɛˈfɑːni/; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded Love. Angel. Music. Baby., her first solo album, in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s^[2] and was a success with sales of over seven million copies.^[3] The album's third single, "Hollaback Girl", was the first US digital download to sell one million copies.^[4] Stefani's second solo album, The Sweet Escape (2006), yielded "Wind It Up", "4 in the Morning", and the highest-selling single "The Sweet Escape". Including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than forty million albums worldwide.^[5] She won the World's Best-Selling New Female Artist at the World Music Awards 2005.

In 2003, she debuted her clothing line L.A.M.B. and expanded her collection with the 2005 Harajuku Lovers line, drawing inspiration from Japanese culture and fashion. Stefani performs and makes public appearances with four back-up dancers known as the Harajuku Girls dancers. She married British grunge musician Gavin Rossdale in 2002 and they have two sons: Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, born May 26, 2006, and Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, born August 20, 2008. Billboard magazine named Stefani the fifty-fourth artist and thirty-seventh Hot 100 artist of the 2000–09 decade.^[6]^[7]

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Artistry
- 3.1 Vocal ability and influences
- 3.2 Image and Harajuku Girls
4 Philanthropy
5 Discography
6 Tours
7 Filmography
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Early life [link]

Stefani was born and raised in Fullerton, California,^[8] and grew up in a Roman Catholic household. She attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California.^[9] She was named after a stewardess in the 1968 novel Airport, and her middle name, Renée, comes from The Four Tops' 1968 cover of The Left Banke's 1966 hit song "Walk Away Renée".^[10] Her father, Dennis Stefani, is Italian American and worked as a Yamaha marketing executive.^[11] Her mother, Patti (née Flynn), is of Irish and Scottish descent and worked as an accountant before becoming a homemaker.^[11]^[12] Gwen's parents were fans of folk music and exposed her to music by artists like Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris.^[9] She is the second oldest of four children: she has a younger sister, Jill Stefani, a younger brother, Todd, and an older brother, Eric.^[9]^[12] Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt; he left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons on the Fox TV network.^[8]

Many of the women in Stefani's family were seamstresses, and much of her clothing was made by them or her mother. As a child, Stefani's musical interests consisted of musicals such as The Sound of Music and Evita. After making a demo tape for her father, she was encouraged to take music lessons to train her "loopy, unpredictable" voice. Stefani made her onstage debut during a talent show at Loara High School, where she sang "I Have Confidence", from The Sound of Music, in a self-made tweed dress inspired by one from the film.^[1]^[3] Stefani was on the Loara swim team in an attempt to lose weight.^[13] She first worked at a Dairy Queen and later manned the MAC makeup counter of a department store.^[14] After graduating from high school in 1987,^[1] she began attending Fullerton College before transferring to California State University, Fullerton.^[15]

Career [link]

1986–2004: No Doubt [link]

Main article: No Doubt

Eric introduced Gwen to 2 Tone music by Madness and The Selecter, and in 1986 he invited her to provide vocals for No Doubt, a ska band he was forming.^[8] Finally, in 1991, the band was signed to Interscope Records. She also was a featured artist for Sublime on their song "Saw Red", notably before either No Doubt's breakthrough success in 1995 or Sublime's the following year. The band released its self-titled debut album in 1992, but its ska-pop sound was unsuccessful due to the popularity of grunge.^[16] Stefani rejected the aggressiveness of female grunge artists and cited Blondie singer Debbie Harry's combination of power and sex appeal as a major influence.^[17] No Doubt's third album, Tragic Kingdom (1995), which followed the self-released The Beacon Street Collection (1995), took more than three years to make. Soon after Stefani joined No Doubt, she and bandmate Tony Kanal began dating.^[15] Stefani stated that she was heavily invested in the relationship, commenting that "...all I ever did was look at Tony and pray that God would let me have a baby with him."^[1] During this time, the band almost split up because of the failed romantic relationship between Stefani and Kanal.^[18] Kanal ended the relationship.^[19] Their break-up inspired Stefani lyrically, and many of the album's songs, such as "Don't Speak", "Sunday Morning", and "Hey You", chronicle the ups and downs of their relationship.^[20] Five singles were released from Tragic Kingdom and "Don't Speak" led 1996's US year-end airplay chart.^[21] Stefani left college for one semester to tour for Tragic Kingdom but did not return when touring lasted two and a half years.^[9] The album sold more than sixteen million copies worldwide,^[9] and received several Grammy Award nominations.^[22]

No Doubt released the less popular Return of Saturn in 2000, which expands upon the New Wave influences of Tragic Kingdom.^[23] Most of the lyrical content focuses on Stefani's often rocky relationship with then-Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale and her overall insecurities, including indecision on settling down and having a child.^[24] The band's 2001 album, Rock Steady, explored more reggae and dancehall sounds, while maintaining the band's New Wave influences, and generally received positive reviews.^[25] The album generated career-highest singles chart positions in the United States,^[26] and "Hey Baby" and "Underneath It All" received Grammy Awards. A greatest hits collection, The Singles 1992–2003, which includes a cover of Talk Talk's "It's My Life", was released in 2003 to moderate sales. Before the mainstream success of both No Doubt and Sublime, Stefani contributed guest vocals to "Saw Red" on Sublime's 1994 album Robbin' the Hood. During the time when No Doubt was receiving mainstream success, Stefani has collaborated on the singles "South Side" and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Moby and Eve, respectively. In 2002 Eve and Stefani won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Let Me Blow Ya Mind".^[27] She also collaborated with The Brian Setzer Orchestra on a cover of "You're the Boss", originally performed by Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret, for its 1998 album The Dirty Boogie.

Stefani made most of the clothing that she wore on stage with No Doubt, resulting in increasingly eclectic combinations. Stylist Andrea Lieberman introduced her to haute couture clothing, which led to Stefani launching a fashion line named L.A.M.B. in 2004.^[9] The line takes influence from a variety of fashions, including Guatemalan, Japanese, and Jamaican styles.^[28] The line achieved popularity among celebrities and is worn by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman, and Stefani herself.^[29]^[30] In June 2005, she expanded her collection with the less expensive Harajuku Lovers line, which she referred to as "a glorified merchandise line", with varied products including a camera, mobile phone charms, and undergarments.^[31]^[32] In late 2006, Stefani released a limited edition line of dolls called "Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Fashion dolls". The dolls are inspired by the various costumes that Stefani and the Harajuku Girls wore while touring for the album.^[33] In late summer 2007, Stefani launched a perfume, L, as a part of her L.A.M.B. collection of clothing and accessories. The perfume has high notes of sweet pea and rose.^[34] In September 2008, Stefani released a fragrance line as a part of her Harajuku Lovers product line. There are five different fragrances based on the four Harajuku Girls and Stefani herself called Love, Lil' Angel, Music, Baby and G (Gwen).^[35]

2004–06: Love. Angel. Music. Baby.[link]

Following No Doubt's hiatus, Stefani sought out her former bandmate Tony Kanal to discuss the possibility of a solo career. The idea was to make a quick dance record, but this became a large collaboration with other artists, producers and various non-ska influences. The result was two successful albums. Currently, Stefani has two solo albums, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004), and The Sweet Escape (2006), with combined sales of nearly twenty million copies.^[36]

	"Hollaback Girl" (2005) noicon The song's beats and composition are based around a drum machine, piano and saxophone. It became Stefani's first US number-one single. "Cool" (2005) noicon The song features a 1980s musical-style with new wave production. It topped the Canadian Singles Chart.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Stefani performing "Hollaback Girl" in November 2005

Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. was released in November 2004. The album features a large number of collaborations with producers and other artists, including Tony Kanal, Linda Perry, André 3000, Nellee Hooper, The Neptunes and New Order. Stefani created the album to modernize the music to which she listened when in high school, and L.A.M.B. takes influence from a variety of music styles of the 1980s and early 1990s such as New Wave and electro.^[37] Stefani's decision to use her solo career as an opportunity to delve further into pop music instead of trying "to convince the world of [her] talent, depth and artistic worth" was considered unusual.^[2] As a result, reviews of the album were mixed, and it was described as "fun as hell but [...] not exactly rife with subversive social commentary."^[38] The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 albums chart at number seven, selling 309,000 copies in its first week.^[39] It sold well, reaching multi-platinum status in the United States,^[11] the United Kingdom,^[40] Australia,^[41] and Canada.^[42] At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Stefani was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "What You Waiting For?",^[43] and at the next year's awards, Stefani received five nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.^[44] The first single released from the album was "What You Waiting For?", which charted outside the US top forty,^[45] but reached the top ten on most other charts.^[46] The song served to explain why Stefani produced a solo album and discusses her fears in leaving No Doubt for a solo career^[47] as well as her desire to have a baby.^[48] "Rich Girl" was released as the album's second single. A duet with rapper Eve, and produced by Dr. Dre, it is an adaptation of a 1990s pop song by British musicians Louchie Lou & Michie One, which itself is a cover of "If I Were a Rich Man", from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. "Rich Girl" proved successful on several formats, and reached the US and UK top ten.^[45]^[49]

L.A.M.B.'s third single "Hollaback Girl" became Stefani's first US and second Australian number-one single; it was less successful elsewhere.^[45]^[50] The song was the first US digital download to sell more than one million copies legally, and its brass-driven composition remained popular throughout 2005.^[4] The fourth single "Cool" was released shortly following the popularity of its predecessor, but failed to match its chart success, reaching the top twenty in US and UK.^[45]^[49] The song's lyrics and its accompanying music video, filmed in Lake Como, Italy, depict Stefani's former relationship with Kanal.^[51] "Luxurious" was released as the album's fifth single, but did not perform as well as its predecessors. "Crash" was released in early 2006 as the album's sixth single in lieu of Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'s sequel, which Stefani postponed because of her pregnancy.^[52]

During mid-1995, No Doubt and rock band Goo Goo Dolls went on tour opening for alternative rock band Bush. Stefani met Bush guitarist and lead singer Gavin Rossdale.^[17] They married on September 14, 2002, with a wedding in St Paul's, Covent Garden, London. A second wedding was held in Los Angeles two weeks later.^[53] According to Stefani, it was held so that she could wear her custom-designed wedding dress by John Galliano twice.^[54] A paternity test in 2004 revealed that Rossdale had a daughter, Daisy Lowe (who was fifteen years old then), from a previous relationship with model and designer Pearl Lowe. Stefani was "devastated and infuriated" at the discovery, leading to a rocky patch in her relationship with Rossdale.^[55] Though Rossdale remains Daisy's godfather, he has severed all ties with the Lowes.^[56]^[57] Stefani's song "Danger Zone" was widely believed to be about the discovery and its aftermath,^[58] which has proven to be impossible because the song was written prior to the incident.^[11]

In 2004, Stefani showed interest in making film appearances and began auditioning for films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith.^[59] She made her acting debut playing Jean Harlow in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator in 2004 and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture the following year.^[60] Scorsese, whose daughter was a No Doubt fan, showed reciprocal interest in casting Stefani after seeing her picture from a Marilyn Monroe-inspired photo shoot for Teen Vogue in 2003.^[61]^[62] To prepare for the role, Stefani read two biographies and watched eighteen of Harlow's films.^[9] Shooting her part took four to five days, and Stefani had few lines.^[63] Stefani lent her voice to the title character of the 2004 video game Malice; before completion, however, the company opted not to use No Doubt band members' voices.^[64]

	"Wind It Up" (2006) noicon The lead single was critically panned, in part because of its interpolation of "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. "The Sweet Escape" (2007) noicon The doowop-inspired title track performed well on the charts worldwide.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

2006-08: The Sweet Escape [link]

Stefani performing "Wind It Up" in May 2007

Stefani's second solo album, The Sweet Escape, was recorded by Guy Charbonneau's Le Mobile Remote Recording Studio and released in December 2006.^[65] Stefani recollaborated with Kanal, Perry, and The Neptunes, along with Akon and Tim Rice-Oxley from English rock band Keane. The album focuses more heavily on electronic and dance music for clubs than its predecessor.^[11] Stefani commented that it differed from L.A.M.B. because "I just wasn't inspired to do another album and…I was a lot more relaxed making it."^[66] Its release coincided with the DVD release of Stefani's first tour, entitled Harajuku Lovers Live. The album received mixed reviews by critics, who found that it "has a surprisingly moody, lightly autobiographical feel... [but] Stefani isn't convincing as a dissatisfied diva"^[67] and called the album a "hasty return" that repeats Love. Angel. Music. Baby. with less energy.^[68]

"Wind It Up", the album's lead single, was panned by critics for its use of yodeling and an interpolation of The Sound of Music,^[69] but was moderately successful, reaching the top twenty in most markets.^[70] The title track was well-received. To promote The Sweet Escape, Stefani was a mentor on the sixth season of American Idol and performed the song with Akon. It became Stefani's most successful song of her solo career and earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.^[71] In November 2006, the club single "Yummy" was released as a three-track maxi promo single and as a 12" vinyl single,^[72]^[73] both featuring a radio edit, an instrumental and an a cappella version of the song. "4 in the Morning" was released as the album's third single. The album's fourth single was a hybrid version of "Now That You Got It" which featured Damian Marley. "Early Winter" was released in February 2008 with initial success on European charts. To promote the album, Stefani embarked a worldwide tour, The Sweet Escape Tour. The tour covered North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and part of Latin America. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on June 6, 2011, Stefani confirmed that she would no longer continue work as a solo artist, stating, "That was a moment in time [...] It went on a little longer than we all thought it would, because it was inspired and you have to go with wherever you're at in that time in your life... [But] everything works out how it should."^[74]

In December 2005, Stefani and Rossdale announced that they were expecting their first child together. The pregnancy was first reported by Us Weekly, and Stefani confirmed the pregnancy by shouting, "I want you to sing so loud that the baby hears it!" during a concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after her press agent stated that it was untrue.^[52] On May 26, 2006, their son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, was born via Caesarean section at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.^[75] Kingston weighed 3.4 kg (7 lb 8 oz).^[76] In January 2008, it was confirmed by her father-in-law that Stefani would be expecting her second child.^[77]

2008–present: Return to No Doubt [link]

Stefani during No Doubt's 2009 summer reunion tour

With Stefani promoting her second solo album, No Doubt began initial work on a new album without her^[78] and planned to complete it after Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour was finished.^[79] In March 2008, the band started making posts concerning the progression of the album on their official fan forum. Stefani made a post on March 28, 2008 stating that songwriting had commenced but was slow on her end because she was, at the time, pregnant with her second child.^[80]

Manager Jim Guerinot said the yet-untitled album is being produced by Mark "Spike" Stent, who helped produce and mix Rock Steady. Between Stefani's pregnancy and recording, No Doubt did not tour in 2008, but Guerinot promised they plan to hit the road hard in 2009 for their first full-fledged band tour in nearly five years.^[81]

The Singles 1992–2003 became available on December 9, 2008 for the video game Rock Band 2.^[82] All members of No Doubt except for Stefani served as Scott Weiland's backing band on the album "Happy" in Galoshes. No Doubt announced on their official website they wanted to tour in 2009^[83] while finishing their upcoming album, which was set for release 2010.^[84] On November 24, 2008, it was announced that No Doubt would be headlining the Bamboozle 2009 festival in May, along with Fall Out Boy. The band completed a national tour in the summer of 2009.^[85] On August 21, 2008, Stefani gave birth via cesarean section to her second son, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, weighing 3.85 kg (8 lb 8 oz). A representative for Stefani said, "Mother, baby and family are all happy and healthy."^[86]

As of January 2011, Stefani has become the spokesperson for L'Oréal Paris.^[87]

Artistry [link]

Vocal ability and influences [link]

Stefani's unusual and dynamic vocals have been noted for their "deep vibrato"^[88] and Stefani has been described as having a "unique vocal prowess".^[89] In the single "Cool", her vocal range covers close to two octaves.^[90] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times joked that as Stefani grew as a musician, she kicked her "addiction" to vibrato.^[91] Stefani received five nominations at the 2006 Grammy Awards, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album.^[44]

Stefani has been influenced by and compared to pop singer Madonna. In 2007 she told Elle magazine, "A lot of my influence came from her early work, like directly, like a Xerox."^[92] However, Madonna told a reporter that Stefani was a copycat and said that "[s]he ripped me off", to which Stefani responded, "Some people say that I copy her. But show me one girl my age who was not influenced by her."^[93] She has been referred to as "the new Madonna" by publications such as The Hollywood Reporter and People.^[94] Some critics also saw the 1980s music style of Love. Angel. Music. Baby. as another way which Stefani was imitating the singer.^[94]

Image and Harajuku Girls [link]

Stefani began wearing a bindi in the mid 1990s after attending several family gatherings for Tony Kanal, who is of Indian heritage.^[95] During No Doubt's breakthrough, Stefani wore the forehead decoration in several of the band's music videos and briefly popularized the accessory in 1997.^[96] First attracting attention in the 1995 music video for "Just a Girl", Stefani is known for her midriff and frequently wears shirts that expose it.^[97] Stefani's makeup design generally includes light face powder, bright red lipstick, and arched eyebrows; she wrote about the subject in a song titled "Magic's in the Makeup" for No Doubt's Return of Saturn, asking "If the magic's in the makeup/Then who am I?".^[9]

Stefani at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Stefani is a natural brunette, though her hair has not been its natural color since she was in ninth grade.^[98] Since late 1994, she has had platinum blonde hair. Stefani discussed this in the song "Platinum Blonde Life" on Rock Steady and played original blonde bombshell Jean Harlow in the 2004 biopic The Aviator.^[99] Stefani also dyed her hair blue in 1998^[96] and pink in 2000,^[100] appearing on the cover of Return of Saturn with pink hair.

In 2006, Stefani modified her image, inspired by that of Michelle Pfeiffer's character in the 1983 film Scarface.^[3] The reinvented image included a symbol consisting of two back-to-back G's, which appears on a diamond-encrusted key she wears on a necklace and which became a motif in the promotion of The Sweet Escape.^[32] Stefani raised concerns in January 2007 about her rapid weight loss following her pregnancy. She stated she lost the weight through diet and exercise but admitted to obsessing over her weight due to the size zero trend.^[101] She later stated that she had been on a diet since the sixth grade to fit in size 4 clothing, commenting, "It's an ongoing battle and it's a nightmare. But I like clothes too much, and I always wanted to wear the outfits I would make."^[102] A wax figure of Stefani was unveiled at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at The Venetian on September 22, 2010.^[103]

Stefani performing with the Harajuku Girls, dressed as nurses, on the Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005

The release of Stefani's first solo album brought attention to her entourage of four Harajuku Girls, named for the area around the Harajuku Station of Tokyo, Japan. Stefani treats the back-up dancers, who appear in outfits influenced by Gothic Lolita fashion,^[104] as a figment of her imagination. Stefani's clothing also took influence from Japanese fashion, in a style described as a combination between Christian Dior and Japan.^[48] The dancers are featured in her music videos, press coverage, and on the album cover for Love. Angel. Music. Baby., with a song named for and dedicated to them on the album. They were also featured in, and the namesake for, Stefani's Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005.

Philanthropy [link]

Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Stefani donated $1 million to Save the Children's Japan Earthquake–Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund.^[105] Stefani also ran an auction on eBay from April 11 to April 25, 2011, allowing participants to bid on vintage clothing items from her personal wardrobe and custom T-shirts designed and signed by her, as well as on admission to a private Harajuku-themed tea party hosted by her on June 7, 2011 at Los Angeles' first-ever Japanese-style maid café and pop art space, Royal/T, with proceeds from the auction going to Save the Children's relief effort.^[106]^[107] At the amfAR gala during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, Stefani auctioned off the lacy black dress she wore at the event for charity, raising over $125,000.^[108] The dress sparked controversy after a representative for designer Michael Angel—who helped Stefani with the design and worked as a stylist—alleged that it was Angel who created the gown, not Stefani.^[108]^[109]^[110] In response, Angel released an statement confirming that the dress was designed by Stefani for L.A.M.B. to wear and be auctioned off at the amfAR gala, adding, "I'm disappointed that the focus has shifted away from what Gwen and I originally intended, which was to create a custom outfit for a great cause. We both were thrilled with the outcome and enjoyed the process. I have nothing but respect for her and look forward to working with her on more projects in the future."^[111]

Discography [link]

Main article: Gwen Stefani discography

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004)
The Sweet Escape (2006)

Tours [link]

Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 (2005)
The Sweet Escape Tour (2007)

Filmography [link]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	King of the Hill	Herself (with No Doubt)	Episode "Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story" (5.20)
2001	Zoolander	Herself	Cameo
2004	The Aviator	Jean Harlow	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009	Gossip Girl	Snowed Out lead singer (with No Doubt)	Episode "Valley Girls" (2.24)

References [link]

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^ Holson, Laura M. (March 13, 2005). "Gothic Lolitas: Demure vs. Dominatrix". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/fashion/13GOTH.html. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
^ Oldenburg, Ann (March 23, 2011). "Gwen Stefani gives $1 million to Japan relief efforts". USA Today. Gannett Company. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/03/gwen-stefani-gives-1-million-to-japan-relief-efforts/1. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
^ Lewis, Randy (April 2, 2011). "Gwen Stefani's Japan relief auction to run April 11–25 on EBay". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/04/gwen-stefanis-japan-relief-auction-ebay.html. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ "Photo Alert: Gwen Stefani Hosts Private Harajuku-Themed Tea Party at Royal/T to Support Save the Children's Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund". PR Newswire. UBM plc. June 10, 2011. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/photo-alert-gwen-stefani-hosts-private-harajuku-themed-tea-party-at-royalt-to-support-save-the-childrens-japan-earthquake-emergency-fund-123647159.html. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Rees, Alex (May 23, 2011). "Gwen Stefani's amfAR Gala Dress Was Apparently Not a L.A.M.B. Design After All". New York. New York Media LLC. http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/05/gwen_stefanis_amfar_gala_dress.html. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ Meinhardt, Mickie (May 26, 2011). "Gwen Stefani, Not Michael Angel, Designed Her amfAR Dress...Kind Of". Fashionista. http://fashionista.com/2011/05/gwen-stefani-not-michael-angel-designed-her-amfar-dress-kind-of/. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ Donnelly, Erin (May 26, 2011). "Michael Angel: Gwen Stefani Designed amfAR Dress". FashionEtc. http://fashionetc.com/news/fashion/1990-michael-angel-gwen-stefani-designed-amfar-dress. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ "Statement from Michael Angel Regarding Gwen Stefani amfAR Dress". PR Newswire. UBM plc. June 10, 2011. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-from-michael-angel-regarding-gwen-stefani-amfar-dress-122613218.html. Retrieved May 25, 2011.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gwen Stefani

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gwen Stefani

Official website
Gwen Stefani at Allmusic
Gwen Stefani at the Internet Movie Database

Gwen Stefani

Studio albums and singles

Love. Angel. Music. Baby.	"What You Waiting For?" "Rich Girl" "Hollaback Girl" "Cool" "Luxurious" "Crash"

The Sweet Escape	"Wind It Up" "The Sweet Escape" "4 in the Morning" "Now That You Got It" "Early Winter"

Featured singles

"Saw Red"
"You're the Boss
"South Side"
"Let Me Blow Ya Mind"
"Can I Have It Like That"

Video albums

Harajuku Lovers Live

Concert tours

No Doubt

Tom Dumont
Tony Kanal
Gwen Stefani
Adrian Young

Touring band: Stephen Bradley; Gabrial McNair

Albums

Singles

No Doubt	"Trapped in a Box"

The Beacon Street Collection	"Squeal" "Doghouse"

Tragic Kingdom	"Just a Girl" "Spiderwebs" "Don't Speak" "Excuse Me Mr." "Happy Now?" "Sunday Morning" "Hey You!"

Return of Saturn	"New" "Ex-Girlfriend" "Simple Kind of Life" "Bathwater"

Rock Steady	"Hey Baby" "Hella Good" "Underneath It All" "Running"

The Singles 1992-2003	"It's My Life"

Untitled sixth album	"Push and Shove"

Non-album singles	"Bathwater (Invincible Overlord Remix)" "Stand and Deliver"

Compilations

DVDs

Tours

Persondata
Name	Stefani, Gwen
Alternative names
Short description	American singer-songwriter
Date of birth	October 3, 1969
Place of birth	Anaheim, California, United States
Date of death
Place of death

http://it.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://cs.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://id.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://es.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://ru.wn.com/Стефани, Гвен

http://pt.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://pl.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://fr.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://de.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

http://nl.wn.com/Gwen Stefani

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Stefani

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Kirk Cameron
Cameron at CPAC in February 2012.
Born	Kirk Thomas Cameron (1970-10-12) October 12, 1970 (age 41) Panorama City, California, United States
Occupation	Actor, evangelist, TV show host
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Chelsea Noble (1991–present)
Website
kirkcameron.com

Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains (1985–1992), as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor. In the 1980s and 1990s, Cameron appeared in dozens of television shows and in the films Like Father Like Son and Listen to Me.

Recently, he portrayed Cameron "Buck" Williams in the Left Behind film series and Caleb Holt in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof. Cameron is also an active evangelical Christian evangelist, currently partnering with Ray Comfort in the evangelical ministry The Way of the Master, and has co-founded The Firefly Foundation with his wife, actress Chelsea Noble.

1 Early life and family
2 Acting career
3 Conversion to Christianity
- 3.1 Evangelistic ministry
4 Filmography
- 4.1 Film
- 4.2 Television and video games
5 Awards
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Early life and family [link]

Cameron was born on October 12, 1970,^[1] in Panorama City, suburb of Los Angeles.^[2] His parents are Robert Cameron, a retired school teacher, and Barbara (Bausmith), a stay-at-home mother.^[3] He is the brother to Bridgette, Melissa, and Candace. His younger sister Candace Cameron Bure is most notable for her role as D.J. Tanner on the popular television sitcom, Full House.^[4] He went to school on the set of Growing Pains, as opposed to public school.^[5] He graduated from high school at age 17 with high honors.^[6]

Cameron and his wife, fellow Growing Pains star Chelsea Noble, were married on July 21, 1991. They now have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003).^[7]

Acting career [link]

Cameron at the Emmy Awards in 1989.

Cameron began acting at age nine, and his first job was in an advertisement for a breakfast cereal.^[8] His first starring role was at age 13, in the television series Two Marriages.^[9] At this age, he appeared in several television shows and films. He became famous in 1985 after being cast as Mike Seaver in the ABC television sitcom Growing Pains.^[10] In the series, Mike would eventually have a girlfriend in Kate MacDonald, played by Chelsea Noble, Cameron's future wife.^[11]^[12] Cameron subsequently became a teen heartthrob in the late 1980s,^[13] while appearing on the covers of several teen magazines, including Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, 16 and others. At the time, he was making $50,000 a week.^[14] He was also in a 60-second Pepsi commercial during Super Bowl XXIV.^[15]

Cameron also guest starred in "Just One of the Guys" a 1988 episode of Full House in which he played the cousin of D.J. Tanner, who was played by Cameron's sister, Candace.

Cameron went on to star in many films, including 1987's Like Father Like Son^[16] (a body-switch comedy with Dudley Moore), which was a box office success.^[17] His next theatrical film, 1989's Listen to Me, performed poorly at the box office.^[18] When Growing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in The WB sitcom Kirk which premiered in 1995 and ended two years later. In Kirk, Cameron played Kirk Hartman,^[19] a 24-year-old who has to raise his siblings.^[20] Cameron and Noble also worked together on Kirk.^[12]

Cameron has since left mainstream film, though a decade after Growing Pains ended, he starred in a television reunion film, The Growing Pains Movie,^[21] in 2000, and another one, Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers, in 2004.^[22] Cameron reunited with the cast of Growing Pains for a CNN Larry King Live interview which aired on February 7, 2006, in conjunction with the Warner Bros. release of the complete first season of Growing Pains on DVD.^[23] Aside from this, Cameron has often worked in Christian-themed productions, among them the post-Rapture films Left Behind: The Movie, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, and Left Behind: World at War, in which he plays Cameron "Buck" Williams. Cameron's wife Noble also starred in the film series,^[24] playing Hattie Durham. Cameron has worked with Cloud Ten Pictures, a company which produces Christian-themed films, and has starred in several of their films, including The Miracle of the Cards.^[25]

He also appeared in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof,^[26] which was produced by Sherwood Pictures. The film was created on a budget of $500,000, with Cameron as the lead actor, portraying Captain Caleb Holt.^[27] Though it was a low-budget film, the film grossed $33,415,129 and was a box office success. It was the highest grossing independent film of 2008.^[28]

Conversion to Christianity [link]

Cameron was an atheist in his early teens,^[29] but when he was 17, during the height of his career on Growing Pains, he developed a belief in God, and became a born-again Christian.^[14]^[30]^[31] After converting to Christianity, he began to insist that story lines be stripped of anything he thought too adult or racy in Growing Pains.^[32]^[33] A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear in The Growing Pains Movie, where the entire main cast reunited with one another. Cameron said, "It’s a lot less crazy of a time than when we were teenagers. It’s an opportunity to begin new friendships as adults, and I’m really looking forward to that."^[33]

File:Kirkcameroncrocoduck.JPG

Cameron, speaking at a debate on the existence of God at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, May 5, 2007. In this picture, Cameron cites the lack of a "crocoduck" as evidence against evolution.

Evangelistic ministry [link]

Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelist Ray Comfort, training Christians in evangelism. Together, they founded the ministry of The Way of the Master,^[34] which is best known for the television show of the same name that Cameron co-hosts, and which won the National Religious Broadcasters’ Best Program Award for two consecutive years.^[35] It also formerly featured a radio show known as The Way of the Master Radio with talk show host Todd Friel.^[36] The radio show was later canceled, and replaced with Wretched Radio, hosted by Friel. Cameron, along with his wife, founded The Firefly Foundation, which runs Camp Firefly, a summer camp that gives terminally ill children and their families a free week's vacation.^[37]^[38]

Cameron and Comfort participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church, in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. It was moderated by ABC's Martin Bashir and parts of it were aired on Nightline. At issue was the existence of God, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible.^[39] The audience was composed of both theists and atheists. Points of discussion included atheism and evolutionary theory.^[40] While Sapient contended during his arguments that Comfort violated the rules by talking about the Ten Commandments, Cameron later stated on the Way of the Master radio show that the rules of the debate did not say that the Bible could never be referenced, but rather that Comfort simply had to come up with one argument that didn't reference the Bible or faith.^[41]^{[dead link]}

In November 2009, Cameron and others distributed free copies of an altered version of Darwin's On the Origin of Species on college campuses in the United States.^[42]^[43] The book consisted of Darwin's text with chapters of the book removed, and with an added introduction by Ray Comfort reiterating common creationist assertions about Darwin and evolution. The book has been criticized by scientists and Darwin biographers who state that key chapters of the book have been omitted, and that its introduction contains misinformation about Darwin, logical fallacies and "a hopeless mess of long-ago-refuted creationist arguments, teeming with misinformation about the science of evolution".^[44]^[45] Comfort later said that the four chapters were chosen at random to be omitted in order to make the book small enough to be affordable as a giveaway, with the absent chapters available for download, but that the missing chapters were included in the second edition, which had a smaller text size that made printing the entire book as a giveaway affordable. The second edition still lacks Darwin's preface and glossary of terms.^[46] The National Center for Science Education arranged a campaign at colleges across the U.S. to distribute an analysis of the Comfort introduction and a banana bookmark,^[47] in reference to Comfort's argument that the structure of the banana is evidence for Intelligent Design, or God.^[48]

In March 2012, Kirk Cameron stated on Piers Morgan Tonight that "homosexuality is unnatural, detrimental and ultimately destructive to foundations of civilization".^[49] Cameron's comments received criticism from GLAAD,^[50] and provoked a backlash from the public and members of the entertainment industry, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Roseanne Barr, Craig Ferguson, Josh Charles, Sara Gilbert, Debra Messing, Martha Plimpton, Kristin Chenoweth and Cameron's former co-stars, Tracey Gold and Alan Thicke. Piers Morgan stated that Cameron was brave for expressing his opinion, "however antiquated his beliefs may be".^[51]^[52]^[53] Rosie O'Donnell invited him to discuss his recent comments on same-sex marriage on The Rosie Show, but he declined and suggested a private dinner to discuss this topic personally.^[54]

On April 11, 2012, Cameron was honored by Indiana Wesleyan University, and inducted into their Society of World Changers during a ceremony in which he spoke on IWU's campus.^[55]

Filmography [link]

Film [link]

Year	Title	Role	Notes/Box office
1981	Goliath Awaits	Liam	Television film
1982	Beyond Witch Mountain	Boy	Television film
1983	Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land	Gary	Television film
1986	The Best of Times	Teddy	$7,790,931
1987	Like Father Like Son	Chris Hammond	$34,377,585
1989	Listen to Me	Tucker Muldowney	$4,299,023
1991	A Little Piece of Heaven	Will Loomis	Television film
1995	The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes	Dexter Riley	Television Film
1998	You Lucky Dog	Jack Morgan	Disney Channel Original Movie
2000	The Growing Pains Movie	Mike Seaver	Television reunion film
2000	Left Behind: The Movie	Buck Williams	$4,224,065
2001	The Miracle of the Cards	Josh	Television film
2002	Left Behind II: Tribulation Force	Buck Williams	Direct-to-video
2004	Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers	Mike Seaver	Television reunion film
2005	Left Behind: World at War	Buck Williams	Direct-to-video
2008	Fireproof	Caleb Holt	$33,456,317
2011	Monumental	Host	Documentary

Television and video games [link]

Year	Title	Episode	Role
1981	Bret Maverick	The Lazy Ace: Part 1–2	Boy #1
1982	Disneyland		Boy
1982	Herbie the Matchmaker		Young Kid
1983	Two Marriages		Eric Armstrong
1983	ABC Afterschool Special	The Woman Who Willed a Miracle Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy	Jeff
1984	Children in the Crossfire		Mickey Chandler
1984	More Than Murder		Bobby
1985–1992	Growing Pains		Mike Seaver
1988	Full House	Just One of the Guys	Cousin Steve
1991	A Little Piece of Heaven		Will Loomis
1993	The Horde (video game)		Chauncey
1994	Star Struck		Runner
1995	The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes		Dexter Riley
1995–1996	Kirk		Kirk Hartman
1997	WMAC Masters		The Bibler
2002	Family Law	Blood and Water	Mitchell Stark
2002	Touched by an Angel	The Birthday Present	Chuck Parker
2003–present	The Way of the Master		Himself
2004	Jack & Bobby	Today I Am a Man
2005	Night of Joy		Host
2009	19 Kids and Counting	Lights, Camera, Duggars	Himself

Awards [link]

This biographical section of an 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. (November 2011)

Kirk Cameron with Ray Comfort in 2008.

Young Artist Awards
- 1985 Best Young Supporting Actor in a Daytime or Nighttime Drama, Two Marriages (Nominated)
- 1986 Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1987 Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Television Comedy or Drama Series, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1987 Best Young Male Superstar in Television, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1989 Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture, Listen to Me (Nominated)
Saturn Award
- 1987 Best Performance by a Younger Actor, Like Father, Like Son (Won)
Golden Globe Awards
- 1987 Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film, Growing Pains (Nominated)
- 1989 Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film, Growing Pains (Nominated)
People's Choice Award
- 1988 Favorite Young TV Performer (Won)
- 1989 Favorite Young TV Performer (Won)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
- 1990 Favorite TV Actor, Growing Pains (Won)
2012 Inductee, Indiana Wesleyan University Society of World Changers^[55]

References [link]

^ Laufenberg, Norbert B. (June 2005). Entertainment Celebrities. Trafford Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-4120-5335-8. http://books.google.com/?id=mzTW9Nitee4C&pg=PA99&dq=kirk+cameron+October+12,+1970.
^ Mansour, David (May 2005). From Abba to Zoom. Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7407-5118-9. http://books.google.com/?id=hK0rPUF85loC&pg=PA64&dq=kirk+cameron+October+12,+1970.
^ Celizic, Mike (October 18, 2007). "Candace Cameron has ‘Full House’ of her own". The Today Show. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21361249/. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
^ "Full House: Cast Listing". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/full-house/show/1026/cast.html. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
^ "Just one of the guys". Chicago Sun-Times. November 16, 1987. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36D96B28E4988&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D. Retrieved February 28, 2009. "I go to school on the set, not to a regular school."
^ Mills, Bart (August 31, 1988). "Kirk Cameron grows past his early fame as teen idol". Chicago Sun-Times. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36DF8F2E456B0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
^ "Kirk Cameron: Summary". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/kirk-cameron/person/6163/summary.html?user_rating=85&rating_ref_type=104. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
^ Mills, Nancy (June 26, 1987). "Curly-Haired Kirk Cameron Teen-Age Heartthrob Takes Fame In Stride". Los Angeles Times. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/58337946.html?dids=58337946:58337946&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+26,+1987&author=NANCY+MILLS&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CURLY-HAIRED+KIRK+CAMERON+TEEN-AGE+HEARTTHROB+TAKES+FAME+IN+STRIDE. Retrieved February 27, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ O'Conner, John J. (March 8, 1984). "ABC's Two Marriages Now A Weekly Series". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E3D81539F93BA35750C0A962948260. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
^ Rhudy, Ben (January 29, 2009). "Kirk Cameron talks Fireproof, marriage, and the demands of playing a firefighter". Monsters and Critics. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/dvd/features/article_1456541.php/Kirk_Cameron_talks_Fireproof_marriage_and_the_demands_of_playing_a_firefighter. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
^ Kogan, Rick (September 20, 1991). "End of the line Saturday winds up the week with series winding up their runs". Chicago Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24498542.xml?dids=24498542:24498542&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+20,+1991&author=Rick+Kogan,+TV+critic.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=End+of+the+line+Saturday+winds+up+the+week+with+series+winding+up+their+runs. Retrieved February 27, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b Slewinski, Christy (May 27, 1996). "'Growing Pains' Pair A Couple Once Again". Chicago Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17164527.xml?dids=17164527:17164527&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+27,+1996&author=Christy+Slewinski,+New+York+Daily+News.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=`GROWING+PAINS'+PAIR+A+COUPLE+ONCE+AGAIN. Retrieved February 24, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Will Fall Strategy Keep New Networks Alive?". The Charlotte Observer. August 28, 1995. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F24484AB7FFA5C8&p_field_direct-0=document_id. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
^ ^a ^b Ewald, Dan (March/April 2003). "The Rebirth of Kirk Cameron". Today's Christian. Archived from the original on July 11, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080711143843/http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2003/002/1.20.html. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
^ "Channel Hopping". Dayton Daily News. January 12, 1990. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F4FB21649068A24&p_docnum=1. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
^ Tucker, Ernest (September 27, 1987). "Dudley Moore & Kirk Cameron — Comic team of `Like Father Like Son'". Chicago Sun-Times.
^ "Like Father Like Son Box Office". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=likefatherlikeson.htm. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
^ "Listen to Me Box Office". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=listentome.htm. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
^ Grahnke, Lon (August 23, 1995). "More Growing Pains — Kirk Works On Being Adult". Chicago Sun-Times. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4223EA2BD334E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
^ Johnson, Steve (August 23, 1995). "Up And Running, WB Gets A Jump On Fall With `KIRK'". Chicago Tribune. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/21101290.xml?dids=21101290:21101290&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+23,+1995&author=Steve+Johnson,+Tribune+Television+Critic.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=UP+AND+RUNNING+WB+GETS+A+JUMP+ON+FALL+WITH+`KIRK,'+A+SITCOM+WITH+FAMILIAR+INGREDIENTS. Retrieved February 27, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ Owen, Rob (November 3, 2000). "On the Tube: 'Growing Pains Movie' catches up with the Seaver clan". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20001103owen.asp. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
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^ "Church hosts showing of 'Fireproof' movie". The Herald-Dispatch. January 22, 2009. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1588158366/Church-hosts-showing-of-Fireproof-movie. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
^ Buss, Dale (January 21, 2009). "What Christians Watch". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249904737100583.html. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
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^ "Wretched with Todd Friel" (PDF). InTouch Ministries. February 26, 2008. http://www.intouch.org/atf/cf/{865500FE-874B-487B-A95C-C0B327D0A690}/wretched%20press%20release.pdf. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
^ "'Fireproof' shows Christian movies sell". ABC News. October 3, 2008. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6429694. Retrieved February 24, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Growing Pains Are Behind Him". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. September 13, 1998. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=HT&p_theme=ht&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAFEC7EE6674B5B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
^ "Correction to article; "Evangelist Challenges Atheists to Debate on ABC"". Christianpost.com. 2007-04-29. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070429/27149_Evangelist_Challenges_Atheists_to_Debate_on_ABC.htm. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
^ "Prepare for a Conflict: The Nightline Face-Off No-Holds Barred Battle Over the Existence of God". ABC News. May 7, 2007. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3148940&page=1. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
^ "Was somebody lying or just plain forgetful?", Way of the Master Radio, May 9, 2007 Hour 2^{[dead link]}
^ "Actor Blasts Evolution". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/11/20/costello.cameron.evolution.cnn. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
^ Jones, Oliver. "Kirk Cameron Stands Behind Controversial Darwin Statements". People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20307814,00.html. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
^ Scott, Eugenie (October 30, 2009). "How Creationist 'Origin' Distorts Darwin". U.S. News & World Report. http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/10/30/how-creationist-origin-distorts-darwin.html. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
^ "The Don't Diss Darwin Institute". National Center for Science Education. http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/analysis.php. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ Ray Comfort; Darwin, Charles (2009). Origin of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition. Bridge-Logos Foundation. ISBN 0-88270-919-4.
^ "The Don't Diss Darwin Institute". National Center for Science Education. 2009. http://www.dontdissdarwin.com/index.php. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
"Got Comfort? Get protection! | NCSE". http://ncse.com/news/2009/11/got-comfort-get-protection-005171. Retrieved 2009-11-20. "November 19th, 2009"
^ Unruh, Bob (February 26, 2009). "Christian author wants 30 minutes of Dawkins' opinion". WorldNetDaily. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=90131. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
^ "Cameron: 'Homosexuality is unnatural'". CNN. March 2, 2012. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/03/03/piers-kirk-cameron-gay-marriage-unnatural.cnn.
^ Fowler, Brandi (March 4, 2011). "Kirk Cameron: Homosexuality Is "Detrimental and Destructive"; GLAAD Says "He's Out of Step". E!.
^ Serpe, Gina (March 5, 2012). "Kirk Cameron backlash swift as stars slam anti-gay speech". Today. http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/05/10585304-kirk-cameron-backlash-swift-as-stars-slam-anti-gay-speech.
^ Marikar, Sheila (March 5, 2012). "Kirk Cameron Receiving Support Despite Anti-Gay Comments". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/kirk-cameron-receiving-support-anti-gay-comments/story?id=15851731.
^ Johnson, Zach (March 5, 2012). Update: Tracey Gold, More Stars Slam Kirk Cameron for Anti-Gay Remarks, Us Magazine.
^ "Kirk Cameron, Rosie O'Donnell to discuss gay rights". On Top Magazine. March 15, 2012. http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/27463824.
^ ^a ^b "Cameron Selected as latest IWU World Changer". Indiana Wesleyan University. March 1, 2012.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kirk Cameron

Simple English Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kirk Cameron

Interviews

Christianity Today interview (October 2000)
CNN People In The News (August 20, 2005)
The Dallas Morning News interview (September 24, 2008)

v t e Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor

Noah Hathaway (1984) Barret Oliver (1985) Carrie Henn (1986) Kirk Cameron (1987) Fred Savage (1988) Adan Jodorowsky (1989/90) Edward Furlong (1991) Scott Weinger (1992) Elijah Wood (1993) Kirsten Dunst (1994) Christina Ricci (1995) Lucas Black (1996) Jena Malone (1997) Tobey Maguire (1998) Haley Joel Osment (1999) Devon Sawa (2000) Haley Joel Osment (2001) Tyler Hoechlin (2002) Jeremy Sumpter (2003) Emmy Rossum (2004) Dakota Fanning (2005) Ivana Baquero (2006) Freddie Highmore (2007) Jaden Smith (2008) Saoirse Ronan (2009) Chloë Grace Moretz (2010)

Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.

Persondata
Name	Cameron, Kirk
Alternative names
Short description	American actor
Date of birth	October 12, 1970
Place of birth	Panorama City, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death

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Look up banana boat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

banana boat may refer to:

Banana boat (boat), an unpowered recreational boat
Banana boat (ship), a ship whose primary role is the transportation of bananas as cargo
Banana boat (food), campfire delicacy
"Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", a 1956 traditional Jamaican folk song
Banana Boat, a Polish a capella group created in 1994
A dish used to serve the banana split dessert
A brand of sunscreen manufactured by Sun Pharmaceuticals Corp, owned by Energizer Holdings
A liqueur based cocktail.

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Harry Belafonte
Belafonte at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party
Background information
Birth name	Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr.
Born	(1927 -03-01) March 1, 1927 (age 85) Harlem, New York, U.S.
Genres	Calypso, vocal, folk
Occupations	Actor, activist, singer
Years active	1949–2003
Labels	RCA Victor CBS EMI Island

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush Administration.

1 Early life
2 Music career
3 Film career
4 Personal life
5 Political and humanitarian activism
6 Discography
7 Filmography
8 Television work
9 Concert videos
10 Stage work
11 References
12 External links

Early life [link]

Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr.,^[1] at Lying-in Hospital, Harlem, New York, Belafonte was the son of Melvine (née Love) – a housekeeper of Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a Martiniquan who worked as a chef in the National Guard.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] From 1932 to 1940, he lived with his grandmother in her native country of Jamaica. When he returned to New York City, he attended George Washington High School^[8] after which he joined the Navy and served during World War II.^[5] In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor's assistant in NYC when a tenant gave him, as a gratuity, two tickets to see the American Negro Theater. He fell in love with the art form and also met Sidney Poitier. The financially struggling pair regularly purchased a single seat to local plays, trading places in between acts, after informing the other about the progression of the play.^[9] At the end of the 1940s, he took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur and Sidney Poitier, while performing with the American Negro Theatre. He subsequently received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac.

Music career [link]

Belafonte in John Murray Anderson's Almanac on Broadway, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954

Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach and Miles Davis, among others. At first he was a pop singer, launching his recording career on the Roost label in 1949, but later he developed a keen interest in folk music, learning material through the Library of Congress' American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard. In 1952 he received a contract with RCA Victor.

[edit] Calypso

File:Belafontecalypso.jpg

Calypso (1956)

His first widely-released single, which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was "Matilda", recorded April 27, 1956. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) became the first LP to sell over 1 million copies.^{[citation needed]} The album is number four on Billboard's "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts. The album introduced American audiences to Calypso music (which had originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century), and Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title he wore with reservations, since he had no claims to any Calypso Monarch titles.

One of the songs included in the album is the now famous "Banana Boat Song" (listed as "Day O" on the original release), which reached number five on the pop charts, and featured its signature lyric "Day-O."^[10] Belafonte based his version on a 1954 recording by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett.^[11] His other smash hit was "Jump in the Line."

Many of the compositions recorded for Calypso, including "Banana Boat Song" and "Jamaica Farewell", gave songwriting credit to Irving Burgie, Belafonte and his team, but were really previously recorded Jamaican mento songs sold as calypso. The original Jamaican versions can now be heard on the "Jamaica—Mento1951–1958"^[12] CD released in 2010.

Middle career [link]

While primarily known for Calypso, Belafonte has recorded in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. His second-most popular hit, which came immediately after "The Banana Boat Song", was the novelty tune "Mama Look at Bubu", also known as "Mama Look a Boo-Boo" (originally recorded by Lord Melody in 1956), in which he sings humorously about misbehaving and disrespectful children. It reached number eleven on the pop chart.

In 1959 he starred in Tonight With Belafonte, a nationally televised special that featured Odetta, who sang "Water Boy" and who performed a duet with Belafonte of '"There's a Hole in My Bucket" that hit the national charts in 1961.^[13] Belafonte continued to record for RCA through the 1950s to the 1970s. Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, Hava Nagila became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs.^[14] He was one of many entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the inaugural gala of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That same year he released his second calypso album, Jump Up Calypso, which went on to become another million seller. During the 1960s he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album Midnight Special (1962) featured the first-ever record appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.

As The Beatles and other stars from Britain began to dominate the U.S. pop charts, Belafonte's commercial success diminished; 1964's Belafonte at The Greek Theatre was his last album to appear in Billboard's Top 40. His last hit single, "A Strange Song", was released in 1967 and peaked at number 5 on the Adult contemporary music charts. Belafonte has received Grammy Awards for the albums Swing Dat Hammer (1960) and An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965). The latter album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid. He earned six Gold Records.^[15]

Later recordings and other activities [link]

Belafonte's recording activity slowed after leaving RCA in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s he spent the greater part of his time touring Japan, Europe, Cuba and elsewhere. His involvement in USA for Africa during the mid-1980s resulted in renewed interest in his music, culminating in a record deal with EMI. He subsequently released his first album of original material in over a decade, Paradise in Gazankulu, in 1988. The album contains ten protest songs against the South African former Apartheid policy and as of 2011 was his last studio album. In the same year Belafonte, as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attended a symposium in Harare, Zimbabwe to focus attention on child survival and development in Southern African countries. As part of the symposium, he performed a concert for UNICEF. A Kodak video crew filmed the concert, which was released as a 60-minute concert video entitled "Global Carnival." It features many of the songs from the album Paradise in Gazankulu and some of his classic hits. Also in 1988, Tim Burton used "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line" in his movie Beetlejuice.

Following a lengthy recording hiatus, An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends, a soundtrack and video of a televised concert were released in 1997 by Island Records. The Long Road to Freedom, An Anthology of Black Music, a huge multi-artist project recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with RCA, was finally released by the label in 2001. The album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Boxed Recording Package, for Best Album Notes and for Best Historical Album.^{[citation needed]}

File:Tv muppet show harry belafonte.jpg

The Turn the World Around number on The Muppet Show.

Belafonte was the first African American to win an Emmy, with his first solo TV special Tonight with Belafonte (1959).^{[citation needed]} During the 1960s he appeared on TV specials alongside such artists as Julie Andrews, Petula Clark, Lena Horne and Nana Mouskouri. He was also a guest star on a memorable episode of The Muppet Show in 1978, in which he performed his signature song "Day-O" on television for the first time. The episode is best known for Belafonte's rendition of the spiritual song, "Turn the World Around", which he performed with Muppets that resembled African tribal masks. It became one of the series' most famous performances. It was reportedly Jim Henson's favorite episode, and Belafonte reprised the song at Henson's memorial in 1990. "Turn the World Around" was also included in the 2005 official hymnal supplement of the Unitarian Universalist Association, "Singing the Journey."^[16]

Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the 2000s. Due to illness he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003.^[17] In a 2007 interview he stated that he had since retired from performing.^[18]

Film career [link]

Belafonte at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival

Belafonte has starred in several films. His first film role was in Bright Road (1953), in which he appeared alongside Dorothy Dandridge. The two subsequently starred in Otto Preminger's hit musical Carmen Jones (1954). Ironically, Belafonte's singing in the film was dubbed by an opera singer, as Belafonte's own singing voice was seen as unsuitable for the role. Using his star clout, Belafonte was subsequently able to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1957's Island in the Sun, there are hints of an affair between Belafonte's character and the character played by Joan Fontaine. The film also starred James Mason, Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and John Justin. In 1959, he starred in and produced Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow, in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (Robert Ryan). He also co-starred with Inger Stevens in The World, the Flesh and the Devil. Belafonte was offered the role of Porgy in Preminger's Porgy and Bess, where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its racial stereotyping.

Dissatisfied with the film roles available to him, he returned to music during the 1960s. In the early 1970s Belafonte appeared in more films among which are two with Poitier: Buck and the Preacher (1972) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). In 1984 Belafonte produced and scored the musical film Beat Street, dealing with the rise of hip-hop culture. Together with Arthur Baker, he produced the gold-certified soundtrack of the same name. Belafonte next starred in a major film again in the mid-1990s, appearing with John Travolta in the race-reverse drama White Man's Burden (1995); and in Robert Altman's jazz age drama Kansas City (1996), the latter of which garnered him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the TV drama Swing Vote (1999). In late 2006, Belafonte appeared in the role of Nelson, a friend of an employee of the Ambassador Hotel played by Anthony Hopkins, in Bobby, Emilio Estevez's ensemble drama about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Personal life [link]

Belafonte and Marguerite Byrd were married from 1948 to 1957. They have two daughters: Adrienne and Shari. Shari Belafonte, married to Sam Behrens, is a photographer, model, singer and actress. In 1997 Adrienne Biesemeyer and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation/Experience.^[19] Anir focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa.

On March 8, 1957, Belafonte married second wife Julie Robinson (former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company). They had two children, David and Gina Belafonte. David Belafonte (a former model and actor) is an Emmy-winning producer and the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. A music producer, he has been involved in most of Belafonte's albums and tours. David married Danish model, singer and TV personality Malena Belafonte, born Mathiesen, who won silver in Dancing with the Stars in Denmark in 2009. Malena Belafonte founded Speyer Legacy School, an award-winning private elementary school for gifted and talented children. David and Malena's daughter Sarafina attended this school. Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress and worked with her father as coach and producer on more than six films. Gina helped found The Gathering For Justice, an intergenerational, intercultural non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence to stop child incarceration. She is married to actor Scott McCray.

In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank.^[20] Belafonte lived in a 21-room apartment at 300 West End Avenue (corner of 74th Street) in New York City for 50 years. In 2007 he sold his fifth-floor apartment to Abigail Disney for 10.8 million dollars. In October 1998 Belafonte contributed a letter to Liv Ullmann's book Letter to My Grandchild.^[21]

Political and humanitarian activism [link]

Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by the singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson, who mentored him. Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States, but also western colonialism in Africa. Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the American South. He refused to perform there from 1954 until 1961. In 1960 he appeared in a campaign commercial for Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.^[22] Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the Peace Corps.

Belafonte gave the keynote address at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration In December 2007 and was awarded the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary film Sing Your Song, a biographical film focusing on Belafonte's contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and his endeavours to promote social justice globally.^[23] In 2011 Belafonte also presented his memoir My Song.

Civil-rights activist [link]

Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Like many other civil rights activists, Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. He financed the Freedom Rides, supported voter registration drives, and helped to organize the March on Washington in 1963.

Belafonte (center) at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C with Sidney Poitier (left) and Charlton Heston.

During "Freedom Summer" in 1964 Belafonte bankrolled the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, flying to Mississippi that August with Sidney Poitier and $60,000 in cash and entertaining crowds in Greenwood. In 1968 Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark primetime television special on NBC. In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafonte's arm, which made the show's sponsor, Plymouth Motors, nervous. Plymouth wanted to cut the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or she would not allow the special to be aired at all. Newspapers reported the controversy, and when the special aired it attracted high ratings.

Belafonte appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and performed a controversial "Mardi Gras" number intercut with footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the segment.

Humanitarian activist [link]

In 1985, he helped organize the Grammy Award-winning song "We Are the World", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa. He performed in the Live Aid concert that same year. In 1987 he received an appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Following his appointment Belafonte traveled to Dakar, Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise funds—alongside more than 20 other artists—in the largest concert ever held in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1994 he went on a mission to Rwanda and launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children.

In 2001 he went to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS. In 2002 Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. In 2004 Belafonte went to Kenya to stress the importance of educating children in the region.

Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.^[24]

On June 27, 2006, Belafonte was the recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award at the 2006 BET Awards. He was named one of nine 2006 Impact Award recipients by AARP The Magazine.^[25]

On October 19, 2007, Belafonte represented UNICEF on Norwegian television to support the annual telethon (TV Aksjonen) in support of that charity and helped raise a world record of $10 per inhabitant of Norway. Belafonte was also an ambassador for the Bahamas.^{[citation needed]} He is on the board of directors of the Advancement Project.^[26]

Political activist [link]

Belafonte has been a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy. He began making controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s. He has at various times made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba; praising Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada; praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; honoring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising Fidel Castro.^[27] Belafonte is additionally known for his visit to Cuba which helped ensure hip-hop’s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba”, in 1999 Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Fidel Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture.^[28] In a 2003 interview Belafonte reflected upon this meeting’s influence:

Belafonte speaking at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C

“When I went back to Havana a couple years later, the people in the hip-hop community came to see me and we hung out for a bit. They thanked me profusely and I said, 'Why?' and they said, 'Because your little conversation with Fidel and the Minister of Culture on hip-hop led to there being a special division within the ministry and we've got our own studio'."^[29]

Belafonte was active in the anti-apartheid movement. He was the Master of Ceremonies at a reception honoring African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at Roosevelt House, Hunter College, in New York City. The reception was held by the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and The Africa Fund.^[30] He is a current board member of the TransAfrica Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies.^[31]

In 2004 he was awarded the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco.

In December 2007 he endorsed John Edwards for the 2008 Presidential Election.

Opposition to the George W. Bush administration [link]

Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President George W. Bush, his administration and the Iraq War. During an interview with Ted Leitner for San Diego's 760 KFMB, in October 2002, Belafonte referred to a quote made by Malcolm X.^[32] Belafonte said:

“

There is an old saying, in the days of slavery. There were those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master, do exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. That gave you privilege. Colin Powell is committed to come into the house of the master, as long as he would serve the master, according to the master's purpose. And when Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don't hear much from those who live in the pasture.

”

Belafonte used the quote to characterize former United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, both African Americans. Powell and Rice both responded, with Powell calling the remarks "unfortunate"^[33] and Rice saying: "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."^[34]

Harry Belafonte at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in February 2011

The comment was brought up again in an interview with Amy Goodman for Democracy Now! in 2006.^[35] In January 2006, Belafonte led a delegation of activists including actor Danny Glover and activist/professor Cornel West to meet with President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. In 2005 Chávez, an outspoken Bush critic, initiated a program to provide cheaper heating oil for poor people in several areas of the United States. Belafonte supported this initiative.^[36] He was quoted as saying, during the meeting with Chávez, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people support your revolution."^[37] Belafonte and Glover met again with Chávez in 2006.^[38] The comment ignited a great deal of controversy. Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge Belafonte's presence at an awards ceremony that featured both of them.^[39] AARP, which had just named him one of its 10 Impact Award honorees 2006, released this statement following the remarks: "AARP does not condone the manner and tone which he has chosen and finds his comments completely unacceptable."^[40] During a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in 2006 Belafonte compared the American government to the 9/11 hijackers, saying, "What is the difference between that terrorist and other terrorists?" ^[41] In response to criticism about his remarks Belafonte asked, "What do you call Bush when the war he put us in to date has killed almost as many Americans as died on 9/11 and the number of Americans wounded in war is almost triple? [...] By most definitions Bush can be considered a terrorist." When he was asked about his expectation of criticism for his remarks on the war in Iraq, Belafonte responded: "Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy."^[42]^[43]

In another interview Belafonte remarked that while his comments may have been "hasty", nevertheless he felt the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance wedded to ignorance" and its policies around the world were "morally bankrupt."^[44] In January 2006, in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference, Belafonte referred to "the new Gestapo of Homeland Security" saying, "You can be arrested and have no right to counsel!"^[45] During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in January 2006 Belafonte said that if he could choose his epitaph it would be, "Harry Belafonte, Patriot."^[46]

Discography [link]

Further information: Harry Belafonte discography

Filmography [link]

Belafonte with wife Pamela in April 2011

Bright Road (1953)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Island in the Sun (1957)
The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
The Angel Levine (1970)
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (1981) (documentary)
A veces miro mi vida (1982)
Drei Lieder (1983) (short subject)
Sag nein (1983) (documentary)
Der Schönste Traum (1984) (documentary)
We Shall Overcome (1989) (documentary) (narrator)
The Player (1992) (Cameo)
Ready to Wear (1994) (Cameo)
Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995)
White Man's Burden (1995)
Jazz '34 (1996)
Kansas City (1996)
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) (documentary)
Fidel (2001) (documentary)
XXI Century (2003) (documentary)
Conakry Kas (2003) (documentary)
Ladders (2004) (documentary) (narrator)
Mo & Me (2006) (documentary)
Bobby (2006)
Motherland (2009) (documentary)
Sing Your Song (2011) (documentary)

Television work [link]

Sugar Hill Times (1949–1950)
Tonight With Belafonte (1959)
Petula (1968)
A World in Music (1969)
Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)
A World in Love (1970)
Free to Be… You and Me (1974)
The Muppet Show (1978)
Grambling's White Tiger (1981)
Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)
An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)
Swing Vote (1999)
Tanner on Tanner (2004)
That's What I'm Talking About (2006) (miniseries)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) (miniseries)

Concert videos [link]

Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)
Global Carnival (1988)
An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)

Stage work [link]

John Murray Anderson's Almanac (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)
3 for Tonight (April 6 – June 18, 1955)
Moonbirds (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)
Belafonte at the Palace (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)
Asinamali! (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)

References [link]

^ "Life in Harlem". Sing Your Song. S2BN Belafonte Productions. http://singyoursongthemovie.com/life-in-harlem/. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
^ Genia Fogelson (1996). Harry Belafonte. Holloway House Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 0-87067-772-1. http://books.google.com/?id=Oadlz5gMG9UC&pg=PA13&dq=%22actually+born+in+Harlem%22#v=onepage&q=%22actually+born+in+Harlem%22&f=false.
^ Hardy, Phil; Dave Laing (1990). The Faber Companion to Twentieth Century Music. Faber. p. 54. ISBN 0-571-16848-5.
^ Harry Belafonte Biography (1927–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ ^a ^b The African American Registry Harry Belafonte, an entertainer of truth
^ "Harry Belafonte", "Calypso: A World Music" University of Southern Florida
^ Fogelson, Genia (1996-09-01). Harry Belafonte. ISBN 978-0-87067-772-4. http://books.google.com/?id=Oadlz5gMG9UC&pg=PA13&dq=%22Harold+George+Belafonte%22#v=onepage&q=%22Harold%20George%20Belafonte%22&f=false.
^ Arenson, Karen W. "Commencements; Belafonte Lauds Diversity Of Baruch College Class", The New York Times, June 2, 2000. Accessed April 16, 2008. "(He said that he had not gotten past the first year at George Washington High School, and that the only college degrees he had were honorary ones.)"
^ NPR interview http://www.npr.org/2011/10/12/141243628/harry-belafonte-out-of-struggle-a-beautiful-voice
^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 18 – Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 1] : UNT Digital Library"]. Pop Chronicles. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19768/m1/.
^ The Louise Bennett version of Day O (The Banana Boat Song) is available and documented in both French and English on the Jamaica – Mento 1951–1958 album.
^ "Frémeaux & Associés éditeur , La Librairie Sonore". Fremeaux.com. 1932-06-19. http://www.fremeaux.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.livrets&content_id=5362&product_id=1176&category_id=128. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
^ odetta. Spclarke.com (1999-09-29). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Grossman, Roberta (2011). "Video – What does Hava Nagila mean?". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJqXjvlKa2w.
^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ Unitarian Universalist Association website, "Publications > Singing the Journey >Song Information". Uua.org (2011-06-17). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ [2]^{[dead link]}
^ «Besser als es jetzt ist, kann es nicht werden»
^ Anir Experience. Anirfoundation.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Harry Belafonte: A Living Legend. Community-2.webtv.net. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Ullmann, Liv (October 1998). Liv Ullmann. ed. Letter to My Grandchild. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-728-3. http://www.amazon.com/Letter-My-Grandchild-Liv-Ullmann/dp/0871137283.
^ Kennedy ad. Livingroomcandidate.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ 'Sing Your Song' recounts Harry Belafonte's life, Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times, January 26, 2012 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2017343454_mr27sing.html?prmid=head_main
^ Harry Belafonte and prostate cancer. Phoenix5.org (1997-04-21). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Impact Awards 2006 Honorees. Aarpmagazine.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Advancement Project web page
^ Magazine. Frontpagemag.com (2007-06-26). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Baker, Geoffrey. 2005. "Hip hop Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba." Ethnomusicology, 49, no. 3: 368–402.
^ Sandra Levinson An exclusive interview with Harry Belafonte on Cuba. Cuba Now, 10/25/03.
^ Activist Archive Project^{[dead link]}
^ Institute for Policy Studies: Trustees. Ips-dc.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Jennings Hypes Saudi Opposition to Iraq War – 10/10/2002 – Media Research Center CyberAlert. Mediaresearch.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ "Belafonte won't back down from Powell slave reference". CNN. October 14, 2002. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/10/15/belafonte.powell/. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
^ "Powell, Rice Accused of Toeing the Line". Fox News. October 22, 2002. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,66288,00.html.
^ Harry Belafonte on Bush, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and Having His Conversations with Martin Luther King Wiretapped by the FBI. Democracy Now! Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Venezuela plans to expand program to provide cheap heating oil to US poor. Taipei Times (2011-07-26). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Belafonte calls Bush ‘greatest terrorist’ – Americas – MSNBC.com. MSNBC (2011-02-08). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ "Chavez Repeats 'Devil' Comment at Harlem Event". Fox News. September 21, 2006. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214973,00.html.
^ "New York News, Traffic, Sports, Weather, Photos, Entertainment, and Gossip – NY Daily News". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/382483p-324705c.html. ^{[dead link]}
^ AARP Reacts to Comments by Harry Belafonte. Aarp.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Harry Belafonte on Bush, Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and Having His Conversations with Martin Luther King Wiretapped by the FBI. Democracy Now! Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ Audience applauds Belafonte. Dailybeacon.utk.edu (2006-09-13). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.
^ [3]^{[dead link]}
^ POLITICS-US: Belafonte on Thinking Outside the Ballot Box
^ "Belafonte Blasts 'Gestapo' Security". Fox News. January 23, 2006. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182413,00.html.
^ Harry Belafonte Speaks at Duke. Duke Today. January 16, 2006.

External links [link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte at the Internet Movie Database
Harry Belafonte at the Internet Broadway Database
Harry Belafonte at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Harry Belafonte discography
[4] English version of the text found at the bottom of the page.
2004 Global Exchange Human Rights Award – Belafonte's acceptance speech in San Francisco
Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
Democracy Now! transcript/MP3/video of interview by Amy Goodman, January 30, 2006
The Bigotry of Belafonte – by Andrew Sullivan, Salon.com, Oct. 25, 2002
"The Man Behind Belafonte's Music – Irving Burgie" – by Ronald David Jackson, with video
Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
The HistoryMakers Biography and video clips
Harry Belafonte: Belafonte At Carnegie Hall
Belafonte and Nat King Cole sing "Mama Look at Bubu"
Belafonte: "Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Are Immoral" – video report by Democracy Now!

v t e Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (1947–1975)

David Wayne (1947) Myron McCormick (1950) Russell Nype (1951) Yul Brynner (1952) Hiram Sherman (1953) Harry Belafonte (1954) Cyril Ritchard (1955) Russ Brown (1956) Sydney Chaplin (1957) David Burns (1958) Russell Nype (1959) Tom Bosley (1960) Dick Van Dyke (1961) Charles Nelson Reilly (1962) David Burns (1963) Jack Cassidy (1964) Victor Spinetti (1965) Frankie Michaels (1966) Joel Grey (1967) Hiram Sherman (1968) Ron Holgate (1969) René Auberjonois (1970) Keene Curtis (1971) Larry Blyden (1972) George S. Irving (1973) Tommy Tune (1974) Ted Ross (1975)

Complete list (1947–1975) (1976–2000) (2001–2025)

v t e Billboard Year-End number one albums (1956–1969)

1956: Calypso – Harry Belafonte 1957: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1958: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1959: The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini 1960: Music from The Sound of Music – Original Cast 1961: Camelot – Original Cast 1962: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1963: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1964: Music from Hello, Dolly! – Original Cast 1965: Music from Mary Poppins – Soundtrack 1966: Whipped Cream & Other Delights – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass 1967: More of The Monkees – The Monkees 1968: Are You Experienced – The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly

Complete list (1956–1969) (1970–1989) (1990–2009) (2010–2029)

v t e Harry Belafonte

Studio albums	Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites (1954) Belafonte (1956) Calypso (1956) An Evening with Belafonte (1957) Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean (1957) To Wish You a Merry Christmas (1958) Belafonte Sings the Blues (1958) Love Is a Gentle Thing (1959) My Lord What a Mornin' (1959) Swing Dat Hammer (1960) Jump Up Calypso (1961) Midnight Special (1962) The Many Moods of Belafonte (1962) Streets I Have Walked (1963) Ballads, Blues and Boasters (1964) In My Quiet Room (1966) Calypso in Brass (1966) Belafonte on Campus (1967) Belafonte Sings of Love (1968) Homeward Bound (1970) Belafonte by Request (1970) The Warm Touch (1971) Calypso Carnival (1971) Play Me (1973) Turn the World Around (1977) Loving You Is Where I Belong (1981) Paradise in Gazankulu (1988)

Live albums	Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (1959) Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall (1960) Belafonte at The Greek Theatre (1964) En Gränslös Kväll På Operan (1966) Belafonte...Live! (1972) Belafonte Concert in Japan (1974) Belafonte '89 (1989) An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends (1997)

Compilations	Very Best of Harry Belafonte (2001) The Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music (2001) The Essential Harry Belafonte (2005)

Collaborations	Porgy and Bess (1959) An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965) An Evening with Belafonte/Mouskouri (1966) Harry & Lena: For the Love of Life (1970) "We Are the World" (1985)

Related articles	Discography

v t e Kennedy Center Honorees (1980s)

1980	Leonard Bernstein James Cagney Agnes de Mille Lynn Fontanne Leontyne Price

1981	Count Basie Cary Grant Helen Hayes Jerome Robbins Rudolf Serkin

1982	George Abbott Lillian Gish Benny Goodman Gene Kelly Eugene Ormandy

1983	Katherine Dunham Elia Kazan Frank Sinatra James Stewart Virgil Thomson

1984	Lena Horne Danny Kaye Gian Carlo Menotti Arthur Miller Isaac Stern

1985	Merce Cunningham Irene Dunne Bob Hope Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe Beverly Sills

1986	Lucille Ball Hume Cronyn & Jessica Tandy Yehudi Menuhin Antony Tudor Ray Charles

1987	Perry Como Bette Davis Sammy Davis, Jr. Nathan Milstein Alwin Nikolais

1988	Alvin Ailey George Burns Myrna Loy Alexander Schneider Roger L. Stevens

1989	Harry Belafonte Claudette Colbert Alexandra Danilova Mary Martin William Schuman

complete list 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

Persondata
Name	Belafonte, Harry
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1927-3-1
Place of birth	Harlem, New York, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte

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