This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

A Dining/Living Room Portuguese rosewood caned settee (canape), 19th century (Camilo Castelo Branco House, Famalicão) Chaise longue, 1996 by Vico Magistretti.

A couch, also called a sofa, is a piece of furniture for sitting or reclining.^[1] It is designed to seat more than one person, and usually has a back and armrests.^[2]

In homes, couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge. They will also be found in hotels and parts of commercial offices, waiting rooms, furniture stores, etc.

The term 'couch' is used in North America, Australia, New Zealand^[3] and the United Kingdom. The word is derived from the old French word 'couche', which literally means 'Bed'. It originally denoted an item of furniture for lying or sleeping on, more like a chaise lounge, but now refers to sofas in general.^[4]

Other terms synonymous with the above definition of couch are sofa, settee, chesterfield, divan, and canapé.^[5] The word sofa is derived from the Arabic word 'suffah', which roughly translates as an upholstered raised platform. The word settee comes from the old English word, 'setl', which was used to describe long benches with high backs and arms, but is now generally used to describe upholstered seating.^[6]

Types[link]

The most common types of couches are the "loveseat" and the settee or sofa, with two or more seats.^[7] A sectional sofa, often just referred to as a "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two to four) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater, used to wrap around walls or other furniture.

Other couch variants include the divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a type of footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in the form of sofa-beds, daybeds, or futons.

In the United Kingdom, a Chesterfield is a deep buttoned sofa, with arms and back of the same height. It is usually made from leather and the term Chesterfield in British English is only applied to this type of sofa.^[8] The word chesterfield was used to describe a couch in the 1900s. The first leather chesterfield sofa, with its distinctive deep buttoned, quilted leather upholstery and lower seat base, was commissioned by Phillip Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).^[9] The word Chesterfield may now refer to any sofa, settee or couch with the button and quilting used on this particular sofa design.^[10]

In Canadian, the term "chesterfield" is equivalent to a couch or sofa.^[11] The use of the term has been found to be widespread among older Canadians. This term is quickly vanishing from Canadian English according to one survey done in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario in 1992.^[12] Northern California is the only place besides Canada where "chesterfield" is a synonym for couch or sofa.^[13]

In the United Kingsom, the term "three-piece suite" is often used to describe a furniture set consisting of a sofa with two matching chairs.^[14] Other less specific terms for sets with at least one sofa include "chesterfield suite"^[15] and "living room suite."^[16]

Materials[link]

A couch consists of the frame and the covering. The frame is usually made of wood but can also be made of steel, plastic or laminated boards. The wood used under the upholstery is made from kiln-dried maple wood that is free of knots, bark or defects. The show wood of the legs, arms and back can be maple, mahogany, walnut or fruitwoods. Sofa coverings are usually made out of soft leather, corduroy or linen fabric coverings.^[17]

Gallery[link]

• 

  A red two-seater upholstered couch

• 

  Traditional gray couch way past its prime

• 

  A pale taupe couch in a Couch shop

See also[link]

• Bench (furniture)
• Couch potato
• Futon
• List of chairs for an extended list of various chair types and makes
• The joiner's settle
• Window seat

Notes[link]

References[link]

• John Gloag, A Short Dictionary of Furniture rev. ed. 1962. (London: Allen & Unwin)

External links[link]

Look up couch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Couches

• Etymology of "sofa"

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

Gabriel Iglesias
Born	(1976-07-15) July 15, 1976 (age 35) San Diego, California, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television
Years active	1997–present
Genres	Comedy
Subject(s)	Mexican American culture, race relations, satire
Website	Official website

Gabriel J. Iglecias (born July 15, 1976), known professionally as Gabriel Iglesias, is an American standup comedian and actor, known for his shows I'm Not Fat… I’m Fluffy and Hot & Fluffy. He employs storytelling, effected voices and sound effects in his act, whose other trademarks include references to his weight and his use of Hawaiian shirts. He has been called a "comedy genius" by Hector Saldaña of the San Antonio Express-News.

Early life[link]

Gabriel Iglesias was born Gabriel J. Iglecias in San Diego, California. He is of Mexican-American heritage. His mother placed a letter "c" in his surname in retaliation for his father's absence during his birth, though he does not use this spelling in his every day life, preferring to use the one with the "s". He and his mother lived in Riverside, Corona, Santa Ana, Baldwin Park and Compton before settling in Long Beach, where Iglesias spent most of his life growing up.^[1]

Career[link]

Before going into comedy, Iglesias worked for a cell phone company in Los Angeles. Although his family urged him to remain in that job for its financial security, he insisted on trying his hand at comedy. When maintaining both occupations proved too difficult to handle, he decided to take the risk of doing comedy full time, against the advice of his mother, who cautioned him against such a move. Iglesias nonetheless left the phone company, which eventually resulted in his being evicted from his home and losing his car. Despite this, he persisted with comedy.^[2]

Iglesias often references his weight in his comedy, often saying, "Oh, I’m not fat, I’m fluffy", a term he says was popular among overweight people in the 1940s, which he decided to use in his act. He also references different "Levels of Fatness" in his act, having once described "Five Levels of Fatness", and eventually adding a sixth, called "Oh, Hell no!" in 2009.^[2] He also employs voices, sound effects and storytelling in his act, and his other trademark signatures include his Hawaiian shirts and a "nice-guy veneer".^[3]

In 2000, after Iglesias had turned 20, he appeared in season 6 of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That in 2000, co-starring with Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon.^[2]

Iglesias appeared on the Galavision TV show Que Locos!. He subsequently was guest-starred on the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids.^{[episode needed]} His stand-up has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!,^{[episode needed]} The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,^{[episode needed]} The Late Late Show,^{[episode needed]} Good Morning America,^{[episode needed]} Showtime at the Apollo^{[episode needed]} and BET'S Comic View.^{[episode needed]} On the big screen, he has appeared in the independent films El Matador and The Surfer King, in which he played the role of Aokee, a water park concession manager.

In 2007 Iglesias voiced an entire Mexican family in "Padre de Familia", a sixth season episode of the Fox TV animated comedy Family Guy. That same year, he began voicing a recurring set of identical twin characters on The Emperor's New School, a Disney animated series that he describes as his favorite voice work.^[2]

Iglesias was a contestant on the fourth season of reality TV series Last Comic Standing in 2006, surviving elimination to become one of the final eight comics. He was disqualified at that point for having used a smuggled BlackBerry to communicate with family and friends, which violated the rules of the show.^[2][4]

In November 2009 Comedy Central released the DVD of the show Gabriel Iglesias: I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy.^[5]

In 2011 Comedy Central debuted Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution, a standup showcase series with Iglesias produces and hosts. Hector Saldaña of the San Antonio Express-News praised Iglesias and the other comedian he assembled for the show, calling it "one of the all-time funniest comedy package tours" and Iglesias a "comedy genius".^[3]

Awards and honors[link]

On February 10, 2012, Iglesias was presented with several awards by the city of El Paso, Texas, including the key to the city, a resolution from the El Paso County Commissioners, Congressional Recognition from Congressman Silvestre Reyes, and the Beacon of H.O.P.E Award from the nonprofit organization Operation H.O.P.E, during a luncheon fundraiser that raised an estimated $5,000.^[6]

Personal life[link]

Iglesias lives in Whittier, California.^[7] He lives with his girlfriend and his stepson.^[2]

Credits[link]

• 2011: Conan
• 2009: Just for Laughs
• 2009: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
• 2008: Kickin' It
• 2007: Gabriel Iglesias
• 2007: Live at Gotham
• 2006: The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
• 2003: Comedy Central Presents: Gabriel Iglesias
• 2002: Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• 2002: My Wife and Kids, Nabu
• 2000: Premium Blend Season 3, Episode 8
• 2000: All That
• 2011: Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution

Discography[link]

• We Luv Fluffy (2009)

Filmography[link]

• El Matador (2003)
• The Surfer King (2006)
• Hot and Fluffy (2007)
• Comedy Central's Stand Up Picks - Part 3 (2008)
• I'm Not Fat... I'm Fluffy (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Gabriel Iglesias at the Internet Movie Database

Ken Burton (born Kenneth Mark Burton; 5 January 1970) is a British chorist, composer^[1] and performer.

Burton first gained national attention when two of his choirs (The London Adventist Chorale and the Croydon Seventh-day Adventist Gospel Choir) placed first and second in the prestigious Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation. His choral activities also involves directorship of BBC Songs of Praise session choir, Adventist Vocal Ensemble (AVE). Burton also formed, and performs with, the a cappella group Tessera, also a regular on BBC Songs of Praise. In addition to his choral and vocal work, he has published several books with Oxford University Press^[2] and Faber Music.^[3][4][5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• kenburtonmusic.com

Adam Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian and television presenter.^[3] He has appeared on Australian and British television and is best known for his role hosting the Australian ABC music trivia show Spicks and Specks. He has been nominated for a Perrier Comedy Award and Gold Logie Award.

He began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19, and since 1997 has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Perrier Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

In 2002, he scored a minor hit with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes.

Personal life[link]

Originally from the Sydney suburb of Loftus, Hills developed an interest in comedy after discovering an inflight comedy channel on a plane at the age of eight. Hills was born without a right foot and wears a prosthesis, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his act.^[4] He studied a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Macquarie University, graduating in 1991.

In December 2009, Hills married opera soprano Ali McGregor.^[5]

Their first child, a daughter named Beatrice Pearl, was born on 8 May 2010.

Career[link]

Stand-up career[link]

Hills entered the comedy scene in 1989 when he made his first appearance at the Sydney Comedy Store at the age of 19. He spent several years from 1991 splitting his time between stand-up gigs and breakfast radio, but by the mid-1990s Hills says the hours had become exhausting and he decided to focus on live comedy. In 1997 he premiered "Stand Up and Deliver", the first of 10 solo shows, all of which have toured internationally. He has travelled widely, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just For Laughs festival.^[6] He has been nominated for three consecutive Perrier Comedy Awards for his 2001, 2002 and 2003 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.^[7]

The title of his 2001 show, "Go You Big Red Fire Engine", was coined during a 1999 performance in Melbourne. Hills asked an audience member to yell his name to the audience and for the audience to yell it back, but instead the man yelled "Go you big red fire engine!"^[8] The phrase quickly became an audience chant, and Hills promised he would make it the name of his next show because, he says, "it was such an uplifting and genuinely silly moment."^[9] "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" later became the name of a second stand-up show and a comedy album; it also appeared in a Detroit newspaper, on a Swedish website and was yelled by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in the Australian Parliament.^[8]

His artificial right foot is commonly used as a source of humour in his shows and the comedian has been known to remove it and pass it around. However, Hills had been performing live comedy for over a decade before he made reference to his prosthesis on stage, and it was only after "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" was nominated for a Perrier Award in 2001 that he began incorporating it into his act. Hills says he felt he could too easily have become a novelty act and that he "didn't want to be known as the one-legged comedian ... I wanted to prove myself as a comic before talking about this."^[10]

Hills regularly has a sign language interpreter at his festival shows, a move sparked by a performance he did in Adelaide at a disability art conference.^[11] An interpreter had been provided at the show, and Hills found that it not only allowed the deaf audience members to enjoy his material but was also an entertaining and fascinating experience for the hearing audience members. "Now I have hearing people who will only book [for signer shows]," he says.^[4]

Television career[link]

Hills is best known for his role on the Australian music trivia show Spicks and Specks, which he has hosted since its premiere in 2005. In late 2007, he joined the show on a national live tour dubbed the "Spicks and Speck-tacular", with appearances in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and Perth.^[12] In late 2011 and early 2012, the show hit the road again for "Spicks and Speck-tacular The Finale", appearing in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. He has also made appearances on Australian shows Rove Live, The Glass House and The Fat, as well as the British Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Mock the Week and Ask Rhod Gilbert [1].^[13] Additionally he appeared on the first TV edition of BBC Northern Ireland's Great Unanswered Questions [2]. He conducted backstage interviews at Australia's 2005 and 2006 Logie Awards and was one of three presenters at the 2007 awards.^[14][15]

In June 2008, Hills co-hosted the ABC coverage of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.^[16][17]

In July 2009, Hills appeared in Thank God You're Here; he also appeared on Good News Week.

Hills presented his own weekly talk show on the ABC from early 2011, entitled Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight.^[18]

Other work[link]

In 2002, Hills released a single titled Working Class Anthem, in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, titling it "Working Class Anthem". Around 40 comedians contributed to the song, which made the independent top 10 in Australia. All proceeds went to the Australasian Fire Authority Council, an organisation supported by Barnes and Jon Bon Jovi that supports firefighters. Hills has performed the song several times on television, including a performance honouring Barnes' guest appearance on Spicks and Specks.^[19]

Between 2003 and 2005, Hills wrote as a columnist for the BBC's disability website Ouch!.^[20]

Solo shows[link]

• Stand Up and Deliver (1997)
• Life Is Good (1998)
• My Own Little World (1999)
• Goody Two Shoes (2000)
• Go You Big Red Fire Engine (2001) – Perrier nominee
• Happy Feet (2002) – Perrier nominee
• Cut Loose (2003) – Perrier nominee
• Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2: Judgement Day (2004)
• Characterful (2006)
• Joymonger (2007)
• Inflatable (2009)
• Mess Around (2010)
• Mess Around (2011)

Awards[link]

For his television work, Hills has been nominated at the Logie Awards on numerous occasions. The categories he has been nominated for are:

• Most Popular New Male Talent: 2006
• Most Outstanding New Talent: 2006
• Gold Logie: 2008–2011
• Most Popular TV Presenter: 2008–2011

2012:

• Won Silver Logie for Most Popular Presenter
• Spicks & Specks won Logie for Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program
• Nominated for Gold Logie ^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Adam Hills on Twitter
• Columns written for the BBC Ouch! disability website
• MOSH Profile
• TGS Profile
• Interview
• Sydney Morning Herald article