Earl Joseph Smith III, known as J. R. Smith (born September 9, 1985, in Freehold, New Jersey), is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks.

Before attending high school, Smith attended Millstone Middle School and graduated in 1999. From there, he moved on to Steinert High School and McCorristin Catholic High School before transferring to Lakewood High School. Smith played high school basketball for the first time at Lakewood High School. He would later transfer to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and play basketball there as well. During his career there, he would average over 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. In the fall of 2003, Smith signed a letter of intent to play at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In April 2004, following a surprisingly strong showing at the McDonald's All-American Game (in which he was named game MVP), Smith decided to forgo college and make himself eligible for the NBA Draft. He was selected eighteenth overall in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets—one of nine players who were drafted that year straight out of high school. In his rookie season, he averaged 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE ( /ˈtɒlkiːn/, US /ˈtoʊlkiːn/; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature there from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C. S. Lewis—they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.

After his death, Tolkien's son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda, and Middle-earth within it. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings.

Steven Michael Novak (born June 13, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is listed as 6'10", 240 lbs. He played college basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at Marquette University. Novak splits time at both small forward and power forward. He was born in Libertyville, Illinois. He was the NBA regular season leader in three point percentage during the 2011-12 season.

Novak attended Brown Deer High School in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. As a junior, Steve averaged 22.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game. During his senior season, Novak averaged 20.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Throughout his high school basketball career, he earned four letters. In 2002 Novak was named the Wisconsin High School Boys' Basketball Player of the Year.

Novak began his college basketball career at Marquette University in 2002–03. He saw action in all 33 games and averaged 6.7 points per game. He wore jersey number 20. He also shot 50.5% from the three-point line. As a freshman, Novak played in the Final Four, alongside future NBA players Dwyane Wade and Travis Diener.

Kimberly Michelle Pate (born March 4, 1986) known professionally as K.Michelle is an R&B/Soul singer and songwriter. She was signed to Jive Records in December 2008.

Pate was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She was signed to Jive Records in December 2008. Shortly thereafter she was brought to the attention of labelmate R. Kelly, who is K. Michelle's male mentor. K. Michelle is the only artist featured on R. Kelly's latest album Love Letter (2010). She is a single mother to her seven year old son Chase Bowman.

K. Michelle has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, and Tammi Terrell.

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6'9" small forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the 2006–2007 Big 12 Player of the Year, amongst other awards. After a standout freshman season at the University of Texas, Durant opted to enter the NBA Draft, where he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. There he went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after his debut season. In 2007, Durant signed an endorsement contract with Nike. In the 2009–10 season Durant led the NBA in scoring and became the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title. He would later be named to the 2010 All NBA First Team.