A raised-relief map or terrain model is a three-dimensional representation, usually of terrain. When representing terrain, the elevation dimension is usually exaggerated by a factor between five and ten; this facilitates the visual recognition of terrain features.

If the account of Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC) in his Records of the Grand Historian is proven correct upon the unearthing of Qin Shi Huang's (r. 221–210 BC) tomb, the raised-relief map has existed since the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). Robert Temple and Joseph Needham suggest that certain pottery vessels of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) showing artificial mountains as lid decorations may have influenced the raised-relief map. The Han Dynasty general Ma Yuan (14 BC – 49 AD) made a raised-relief map of valleys and mountains in a rice-constructed model of 32 AD. Such rice models were expounded on by the Tang Dynasty (618–907) author Jiang Fang in his Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice (c. 845 AD). A raised-relief map made of wood representing all the provinces of the empire and put together like a giant 0.93 m² (10 ft²) jigsaw puzzle was invented by Xie Zhuang (421–466 AD) during the Liu Song Dynasty (420–479).

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme The Graham Norton Show on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. Hot Press has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest. Norton has won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance on five occassions.

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland to a Protestant family. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.

In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.

Gary Lord is Cincinnati, Ohio-based faux painting artist and teacher, born September 6, 1952. He owns a decorative painting business, Gary Lord Wall Options and Associates Inc, and is the founder of Prismatic Painting Studio and [1] ItsFauxEasy.com, a video-based faux painting teaching site. He has been teaching faux painting techniques for over 20 years via seminars, DVDs, the Internet, and best-selling books. He has also appeared on hundreds of television segments demonstrating faux painting and decorating techniques.

He has authored four books: It's Faux Easy, Mural Painting, Secrets for Success, Great Paint Finishes For A Gorgeous Home, and Marvelous Murals You Can Paint.

He's a regular contributor to several national and trade faux painting publications including The Faux Finisher, The Decorative Painter, Profiles in Faux, American Painting Contractor, Faux Effects World, P.W.C., Paint Pro, Artistic Stenciler, The Artist Magazine, Artisphere, and Architectural Living.

Lord is a regular guest on HGTV's Decorating With Style and has appeared on PBS's Paint Paint Paint, Discovery Channel's Christopher Lowell Show, D.I.Y., Around The House, Home Works, and The Carol Duvall Show, as well as many local shows/segments featuring faux painting.

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognized First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The total population is nearly 700,000 people. Under the Employment Equity Act, First Nations are a "designated group", along with women, visible minorities, and persons with physical or mental disabilities. They are not defined as a visible minority under the Act or by the criteria of Statistics Canada.

The term First Nations (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the indigenous peoples of the Americas located in what is now Canada, except for the Arctic-situated Inuit, and peoples of mixed European-First Nations ancestry called Métis. The singular, commonly used on culturally politicized reserves, is the term First Nations person (when gender-specific, First Nations man or First Nations woman). A more recent trend is for members of various nations to refer to themselves by their tribal or national identity only, e.g., "I'm Haida," or "We're Kwantlens," in recognition of the distinctiveness of First Nations ethnicities.