NRK2
Launched	1. September 1996
Owned by	NRK
Picture format	16:9
Audience share	3,9% (March 2007, )
Country	Norway
Sister channel(s)	NRK1, NRK3, NRK Super
Website	Official website
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue	Normally tuned to 2 or 3 52% household coverage
RiksTV
Satellite
Canal Digital	Channel 2
Cable
Nationwide in Norway

NRK2 is one of the TV channels of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). It was launched in 1996. It has traditionally concentrated on more on cultural and in-depth programmes than its mother channel NRK1 and has also shown drama series, comedies, and news. When not broadcasting regular programmes, it used to show "Svisj", an interactive programme with music videos and SMS chat. With the launch of NRK3 in early September 2007, "Svisj" moved to the new station and NRK2 refocused its programming to focus on news, documentaries, and cultural programs.

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Lene Marlin
Lene Marlin, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Lene Marlin Pedersen
Born	(1980-08-17) 17 August 1980 (age 31) Tromsø, Norway
Genres	Pop Acoustic
Occupations	Singer Songwriter Performer
Instruments	Vocals Piano Guitar
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Virgin, EMI
Website	Official Site

Lene Marlin (born Lene Marlin Pedersen, 17 August 1980, Tromsø, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and musician.

Biography[link]

[edit] Playing My Game (1998–2002)

Marlin made her Norwegian debut on 12 October 1998, with the single "Unforgivable Sinner", which proved to be a hit as it reached number one and kept that position for eight weeks. It was also the fastest selling single in Norwegian music history, and appeared in the soundtrack of the Norwegian movie Schpaaa. It was followed by her first album, Playing My Game. She won an MTV Europe award in 1999. Her single "Where I'm Headed", from the French film, Mauvaises fréquentations, topped the charts in France and Italy. Her song "Sitting Down Here" became a top 5 hit in the UK Singles Chart, and reached number 5 in The Netherlands in the year 2000.

[edit] Another Day (2003–2004)

Lene Marlin's second album, Another Day, was released on 22 September 2003. With two singles being released "You Weren't There" and "Another Day". "You Weren't There" achieved success in Norway, as the song debuted at No. 1 on Norway Singles Top 20 and remained on the chart for 11 weeks. It also stayed for 24 weeks in Italy Singles Top 50 chart, peaking at No. 1.^[1] In other countries, however, "You Weren't There" was less successful; failing to reach the UK Top 40, reaching a low #59.^[2] Single Another Day was released in Italy and Norway only, and did not do as well as "You Weren't There", as it only peaked at No. 17 on Italy Singles chart.^[3] She also released "Sorry" but in Italy only.

[edit] Lost in a Moment (2005–2007)

In June 2005, Lene released her third album, Lost in a Moment. The first single from that album, "How Would It Be," was released in Europe in May 2005, and made the Top 20 in both Norway and Italy Singles chart. This single also appeared briefly for a week at a low spot in Germany Singles Top 100.^[4] The second single was "What If", again, only released in Italy.

Despite being less well known in other parts of the world, Marlin made a trip to Taiwan and China during October 2005 to promote a Taiwanese version of Lost in a Moment. This included one bonus track, "Still Here", a cover of a song by a famous Chinese singer, Faye Wong. The visit proved to be successful; events held included a concert appearance hosted by MTV Taiwan, various television appearances, and a live street gig. Her record company claims that Lost in a Moment was their best selling western record of the year.

In 2006 she performed with Swiss band, Lovebugs on their single "Avalon", which made the Top 10 in the Swiss chart as well as topping the Swiss National Airplay Chart.^[5]

Lene also wrote a song for Rihanna, entitled "Good Girl Gone Bad".

[edit] Twist the Truth (2008–present)

In July 2008 several Norwegian pages announced that she was in studio recording her fourth album with the Norwegian artists and songwriters Even "Magnet" Johansen and Børge Fjordheim at Askøy, Grand Sports and Malabar Studios. Was released on 30 March 2009 "Twist The Truth" Her fourth album, is indeed different from her previous three albums in regards to appearance and basic sound, focusing strongly on the "unplugged" feel in the song performances, close to what a "live in studio" concert would have been.The bottom line for "Twist The Truth", as a closing remark of this introduction, is that the album is a brilliant manifestation of Lene Marlin's ability as a songwriter, singer, musician, and performer. The album contains 10 tracks,The first single, "Here We Are", has secured Lene's comeback by remaining on the premier spot on the Norwegian National Radio Chart for two weeks. For the first time since 2003, Lene has a No. 1 hit on the radio in Norway and "Here We Are" being the most airplayed Norwegian song of 2009

In late 2009, Marlin was featured on Aleksander Denstad With's single "Worth It". It peaked at #3 on Norway Single Chart and has earned a Gold Record for single sales in Norway

In April 2010 Marlin had spent nearly 3 weeks in the US, and that she wrote a lot of new lyrics over there, further writes that she has been working in the studio with "some great people"

On October 4, 2010, Elin Gaustad's album "Whole New Beginning" was released featuring two new Lene songs, the title track and "Picking Up The Pieces".

Work with other artists[link]

Lene Marlin has written / co written songs for other artists as well. Among others, Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad.^[6]

Discography[link]

• Playing My Game (1999)
• Another Day (2003)
• Lost in a Moment (2005)
• Twist the Truth (2009)

Awards[link]

Marlin has won four awards: Best Pop Solo Artist, Best Single ("Sitting Down Here"), Best Newcomer and the Artist Of The Year at the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy awards 1999 (Spelleman), as well as the MTV Europe award for Best Nordic Act, presented in Dublin, Ireland in November 1999.

See also[link]

• List of singer-songwriters

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Lene Marlin at the Internet Movie Database
• Lene Marlin on Myspace

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins
Born	(1863-02-09)9 February 1863 Clapton, London
Died	8 July 1933(1933-07-08) (aged 70) Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey
Nationality	British
Other names	Anthony Hope
Occupation	Barrister Writer
Notable work(s)	The Prisoner of Zenda Rupert of Hentzau

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933),^[1] was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898). These works, "minor classics" of English literature,^[2] are set in the contemporaneous fictional country of Ruritania and spawned the genre known as Ruritanian romance. Zenda has inspired many adaptations, most notably the 1937 Hollywood movie of the same name.

Youth[link]

Hope was born in Clapton, then on the edge of London, where his father, the Reverend Edward Connerford Hawkins, was headmaster of St John's Foundational School for the Sons of Poor Clergy (which soon moved to Leatherhead in Surrey and is now St John's School).^[3] Hope's mother, Jane Isabella Grahame, was an aunt of Kenneth Grahame, the author of Wind in the Willows. Hope was educated by his father and then attended Marlborough College, where he was editor of The Marlburian.^[3] He won a scholarship to Balliol College at Oxford University in 1881. Before graduating in 1886, he played football for his college, took a first-class degree in Classics, and was one of the rare Liberal presidents of the Oxford Union, becoming known as a good speaker. His contemporaries included Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury; A.E.W. Mason, author of The Four Feathers; Arthur Quiller-Couch, a literary critic; Gilbert Murray, a classical scholar and intellectual; Sir Michael Sadler, an historian and educationalist; and J. A. Spender, editor of the Westminster Gazette.

Early career and Zenda[link]

Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister, being called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. He had time to write, as his working day was not overly full during these first years, and he lived with his widowed father, then vicar of St Bride's Church, Fleet Street.

Anthony Hope Hawkins by Zaida Ben-Yusuf, 1897

Hope's short pieces appeared in periodicals, but for his first book he was forced to resort to a vanity press. A Man of Mark (1890) is notable primarily for its similarities to Zenda: it is set in an imaginary country, Aureataland, and features political upheaval and humour. More novels and short stories followed, including Father Stafford in 1891 and the mildly successful Mr Witt's Widow in 1892. He stood as a Liberal candidate for the Southern Division of South Bucks in the election of 1892 but was not elected. In 1893 he wrote three novels (Sport Royal, A Change of Air and Half-a-Hero)^[3] and a series of sketches that first appeared in the Westminster Gazette and were collected in 1894 as The Dolly Dialogues, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Dolly was his first major literary success. A.E.W. Mason deemed these conversations "so truly set in the London of their day that the social historian would be unwise to neglect them" and said they were written with "delicate wit [and] a shade of sadness."^[4]

The idea for Hope's tale of political intrigue, The Prisoner of Zenda, being the history of three months in the life of an English gentleman, came to him at the close of 1893 as he was walking in London. Hope finished the first draft in a month, and the book was in print by April. The story is set in the fictional European kingdom of 'Ruritania', a term which has come to mean 'the novelist's and dramatist's locale for court romances in a modern setting.'^[5] Zenda achieved instant success, and its witty protagonist, the debonair Rudolf Rassendyll, became a well-known literary creation. The novel was praised by Mason, the literary critic Andrew Lang, and Robert Louis Stevenson.^[6] The popularity of Zenda convinced Hope to give up the "brilliant legal career [that] seemed to lie ahead of him"^[7] to become a full-time writer, but he "never again achieved such complete artistic success as in this one book."^[8] Also in 1894, Hope produced The God in the Car, a political story.^[3]

The sequel to Zenda, Rupert of Hentzau, begun in 1895 and serialised in the Pall Mall Magazine, did not appear between hard covers until 1898. A prequel entitled The Heart of Princess Osra, a collection of short stories set about 150 years before Zenda, appeared in 1896. Hope also co-wrote, with Edward Rose, the first stage adaptation of Zenda, which appeared on the London stage that year. Hope alone wrote the dramatic adaptation of Rupert of Hentzau in 1899.

Later years[link]

Hope wrote 32 volumes of fiction over the course of his lifetime, and he had a large popular following. In 1896 he published The Chronicles of Count Antonio, followed in 1897 by a tale of adventure set on a Greek island, entitled Phroso.^[3] He went on a publicity tour of the United States in late 1897, during which he impressed a New York Times reporter as being somewhat like Rudolf Rassendyll: a well-dressed Englishman with a hearty laugh, a soldierly attitude, a dry sense of humour, "quiet, easy manners" and an air of shrewdness.^[9]

Blue plaque in Bedford Square, London

In 1898, he wrote Simon Dale, an historical novel involving the actress and courtesan Nell Gwyn. Marie Tempest appeared in the dramatisation, called English Nell. One of Hope's plays, The Adventure of Lady Ursula, was produced in 1898. This was followed by his novel The King's Mirror (1899), which Hope considered one of his best works. In 1900, he published Quisanté, and he was elected chairman of the committee of the Society of Authors. He wrote Tristram of Blent in 1901 and Double Harness in 1904, followed by A Servant of the Public in 1905, about the love of acting. In 1906, he produced Sophy of Kravonia, a novel in a similar vein to Zenda which was serialised in the Windsor Magazine; Roger Lancelyn Green is especially damning of this effort.^[10] In 1907, a collection of his short stories and novelettes was published under the title Tales of Two People. In 1910, he wrote Second String, followed by Mrs Maxon Protests the next year.

In addition, Hope wrote or co-wrote many plays and some political non-fiction during the First World War, some under the auspices of the Ministry of Information. Later publications included Beaumaroy Home from the Wars, in 1919, and Lucinda in 1920. Lancelyn Green asserts that Hope was "a first-class amateur but only a second-class professional writer.^[2]

Hope married Elizabeth Somerville (1885/6–1946) in 1903, and they had two sons and a daughter. He was knighted in 1918 for his contribution to propaganda efforts during World War I.^[1][11] He published an autobiographical book, Memories and Notes, in 1927. Hope died of throat cancer at the age of 70 at his country home, Heath Farm at Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey.^[1] There is a blue plaque on his house in Bedford Square, London.^[12]

See also[link]

• Assassinations in fiction

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lancelyn Green, Roger (1966). Introduction to Prisoner of Zenda & Rupert of Hentzau. Everyman's Library. J. M. Dent & Sons.  This six-page introduction is primarily a biography, and includes a detailed bibliography, both of Hope's oeuvre and of biography and criticism concerning him.
• Taylor, Clare L. (2004). "Hawkins, Sir Anthony Hope [pseud. Anthony Hope] (1863–1933)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. DOI:10.1093/ref:odnb/33769. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33769. Retrieved 1 February 2010. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anthony Hope Hawkins

• Works by Anthony Hope at Project Gutenberg
• Sophy of Kravonia at the Internet Movie Database

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (June 2010)

Alexander Rybak
Rybak after he had won Eurovision 2009
Background information
Born	(1986-05-13) 13 May 1986 (age 26) Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Pop, folk, classical, Baroque pop
Occupations	Singer, actor, songwriter, composer, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, violin, piano
Years active	2009–present
Associated acts	Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Frikar
Website	www.alexanderrybak.com

Alexander Igoryevich Rybak (Russian: Алекса́ндр И́горевич Рыба́к) or in Belarusian Alyaxandr Igaravich Rybak (Аляксандр І́гаравіч Рыбак), born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union is a Norwegian^[1] singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor. Representing Norway in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, Rybak won the contest with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. His debut album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a No. 1 position in Norway and Russia.

Personal life[link]

Rybak was born on 13 May 1986, in Minsk, Belarus—which at that time was the Belarusian SSR in the Soviet Union. When he was 4 years old, he and his family moved to Norway.^[2] Rybak was baptized and raised in the Orthodox religion.^[3] At the age of five, Rybak began to play the piano and the violin.^[2] His parents are Natalia Valentinovna Rybak, a classical pianist, and Igor Alexandrovich Rybak, a well-known classical violinist who performs alongside Pinchas Zukerman.^[4] He stated "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation".^[5] Rybak bought a new apartment and lives now at Aker Brygge (Oslo, Norway).

In 2010, several incidents of uncontrolled anger caused commentators to question whether Rybak has an anger control problem. During the trials for the ESC 2010 finals in Bærum, Rybak became so infuriated when a sound technician was not doing what he wanted that he smashed his own hand, breaking his fingers. Also, during trials for Swedish television in June 2010, he smashed his violin on the floor. His appearance was then canceled. According to his manager, Kjell Arild Tiltnes, Rybak does not have an issue with aggression. Tiltnes stated that "as long as he abreacts on objects and on himself, I see no reason for this to be something that he needs help dealing with." Rybak said, "I never raised my voice before, and that's why I did what I did. I'm just a human being—and perhaps not the glossy image many believe. So it was good to get out frustrations so I could go on. It's only me that goes beyond the same."^[6][7]

Career[link]

Alexander at the ESC 2009

Rybak has been a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo since the age of 10. Due to his success in the Eurovision Song Contest, he is currently taking a break from his bachelor's degree studies at the Institute.^[8][9] In 2004, Rybak was awarded the Anders Jahre Culture Prize.^[10] In 2005, he entered the Norwegian version of Idol, Idol: Jakten på en superstjerne, reaching the semifinal. In 2006, Rybak won Kjempesjansen (“The Great Opportunity”), a talent competition hosted by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), with his own song, "Foolin".^[5] Alexander Rybak has collaborated with artists such as a-ha's lead singer Morten Harket and Arve Tellefsen. As of 2007, Rybak has played the fiddler in Oslo Nye Teater's production of Fiddler on the Roof and won the Hedda Award for this role.^[5]

Eurovision 2009[link]

Rybak won the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, with a record 387 points, singing "Fairytale",^[11] a song inspired by Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak^[12] and was performed together with the modern folk dance company Frikar. The song received good reviews with a score of 6 out of 6 in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet,^[5] and, in an ESCtoday poll, he scored 71.3%, making him the favourite to get into the final.^[13]

In the Norwegian national heats, Rybak achieved a clean sweep, gaining the top score from all nine voting districts and ending with a combined televote and jury score of 747,888, while the runner up, Tone Damli Aaberge, received a combined score of 121,856 (out of a total population of less then 5 million)^[14]

The song competed in the second semi-final and won a place in the Eurovision final.

Rybak later won the Eurovision final with a landslide victory, receiving votes from all the participating countries (except Norway, which was not allowed to vote for itself). Rybak finished with a total of 387 points, breaking the previous record of 292 points scored by Lordi in 2006 and scoring 169 points more than the runner-up, Iceland.

After Eurovision, film and the first album[link]

Rybak and a dancer from Frikar, at a concert in Norway, September 2009

Rybak's first album, Fairytales, was released after his Eurovision win. Rybak also co-stars as Levi in the film Yohan directed by Grete Salomonsen, which was released in March 2010.^[15] Rybak also went on a tour in Norway with former Norwegian Eurovision winner Elisabeth Andreassen, something that had been decided before his Eurovision win and participation. He and Frikar also toured Norway and Europe in 2009. In a December 2009 performance of his hit "Fairytale" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, held at the Oslo Spektrum, Rybak shared the stage with nine other acts.^[16] Too EMI Norway has just released a film entitled Fairytale, the movie, directed by acclaimed Norwegian director, Rune Langlo, documenting the journey of Alexander Rybak since claiming the top prize for Norway in Moscow.^[17]

In 2009, he recorded the theme song, called "I Don't Believe in Miracles / Superhero", for the Russian action movie Black Lightning produced by Timur Bekmambetov.^[18]-

[edit] 2010–present: 2nd album and Let's dance Sweden

On 30 January 2010, Rybak performed one of his new singles, "Europe Skies", in national final, Euroviisut 2010, to select the 2010 Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. On 12 March 2010, Alexander Rybak performed his Eurovision 2009 winning song "Fairytale" on UK TV show Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. In April 2010, Rybak released a new song, featuring Opptur, called "Fela Igjen".^[19] Alexander released his second album on 14 June 2010, called No Boundaries. It was not as successuful as his first album, so far it has peaked at number 7 in Norway, number 8 in Sweden and 32 in Finland. On 7 January 2011, Rybak was one of twelve contestant on the next Swedish season of the dancing show Let's dance (Swedish version of television franchise Strictly come dancing), in the show Rybak danced to win the competition against other Swedish celebrities.^[20] Rybak made it to the Top 4 before being voted off on 11 March, having received the lowest scores from both juries and the voting public.^[21] In 2011 he released the album "Visa vid vindens ängar, a collaboration with Mats Paulson whom he describes as "a legend and a great friend" In 2012 he will release a new music video for his russian song "Strela Amura". http://www.facebookies.org/2011/01/05/9607/ The 30th of may he released a song together with Paula Seling called "I'll show you"

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other songs[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

• Hyllet i hjembygda (Norwegian), Østlands-Posten, 18 May 2009, about the official Alexander Rybak Fanclub on Facebook
• Du kan bli med Alex til Moskva (Norwegian), Akershus Amtstidende, 15 April 2009, about the official Alexander Rybak Fanclub on Facebook

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alexander Rybak

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Rybak

• Official homepage
• Official Facebook Page
• Official International Fansite of Alexander Rybak
• Fan web-site of Alexander Rybak
• Alexander Rybak PR in Republic of Ireland

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dima Bilan with "Believe"	Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009	Succeeded by Lena with "Satellite"
Preceded by Maria Haukaas Storeng with "Hold On Be Strong"	Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009	Succeeded by Didrik Solli-Tangen with "My Heart Is Yours"

Medal record
Competitor for the  Soviet Union
Men's weightlifting
Olympic Games
Gold	1956 Melbourne	-67.5 kg

Ihor Mykhaylovych Rybak (Ukrainian: Ігор Михайлович Рибак, March 21, 1934 – September 28, 2005) was a Ukrainian weightlifter and Olympic champion who competed for the Soviet Union.^[1]

He was born in Kharkiv.^[1]

Rybak won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne in the lightweight class.^[1][2] He also won the 1956 European middleweight Weightlifting Championship. In the late 1950s, he became a doctor.^[1]

Dr. George Eisen of Nazareth College included Rybak on his list of Jewish Olympic Medalists, as did Joseph Siegman in Jewish sports legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame.^[3][4]

See also[link]

• List of select Jewish weightlifters

References[link]

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