Julia P. Gelardi

Julia P. Gelardi is an author of European royal history. She is an independent historian.

Writing career

After Gelardi received her Master of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, she began her writing career by focusing on European royalty. She has published three books focusing on this subject: Born to Rule concerns five reigning granddaughters of Queen Victoria, In Triumph's Wake focuses on three pairs of royal mothers and daughters, and From Splendor to Revolution describes the lives of four Romonov women towards the end of the Imperial Russian Empire.

On From Splendor to Revolution, Publishers Weekly wrote that Gelardi "ably weaves in the extended family ties that connected most European rulers... while also including helpful genealogy charts. Gelardi’s narrative framework of the four Romanov women’s long lives works well to explain not only the realities of the European courts and alliances but also the unique aspects of the Russian dynasty."The San Francisco Chronicle called the book "ambitious and knowledgeable", but believed her research to be unoriginal as it drew from already-existing scholarship.

Radio edit

In music, a radio edit is a modification, typically truncated, to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may also be used for commercial single versions, which may be denoted as the 7" version. However, not all "radio edit" tracks are played on radio.

Editing for time

Radio edits often shorten a long song in order to make it more commercially viable for radio stations. The normal length for songs played on the radio is 3 to 4 minutes. Occasionally, the song will simply fade out earlier, common on tracks with long instrumental endings. For instance, the radio edit of 'Heroes' by David Bowie fades in shortly before the beginning of the third verse and fades out shortly before the vocal vamping at the end of the song. Another example is B.o.B's song, "Nothin' On You" featuring Bruno Mars, whose radio edit skips the first 5 seconds & starts with the 6th second in which Bruno Mars starts singing the first chorus. The second half of the first chorus is sometimes skipped, along with the last 24 seconds which is the normal fade-out part in which B.o.B says, "Yeah, and that's just how we do it/And I'ma let this ride/B.o.B and Bruno Mars", and the radio edit ends with the fourth and last chorus with an earlier fade-out. A 3rd example would be the song, "The Man" by Aloe Blacc, in which the radio edit skips the "I'm the man/Go ahead & tell everybody/What I'm saying ya all" part & the first 10 seconds. Also, the 3rd chorus of the song is shortened. However, many radio edits will also edit out verses, bridges, and interludes, such as the original single edit of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel which substitutes the end of the third verse for the ending of the second verse. Another example for this case is Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors", where the radio edit cuts the entire "You are the love of my life" part.

Alter ego

An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. A person who has an alter ego is said to lead a double life. The term appeared in common usage in the early 19th century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists.Cicero was the first to coin the term as part of his philosophical construct in 1st century Rome, but he described it as "a second self, a trusted friend".

A distinct meaning of alter ego can be found in literary analysis, wherein it describes characters in different works who are psychologically similar, or a fictional character whose behavior, speech or thoughts intentionally represent those of the author. It's also used to designate the best friend of another character in a story. Similarly, the term alter ego may be applied to the role or persona taken on by an actor or by other types of performers.

The existence of "another self" was first recognized in the 1730s. Anton Mesmer used hypnosis to separate the alter ego. These experiments showed a behavior pattern that was distinct from the personality of the individual when he was in the waking state compared to when he was under hypnosis. Another character had developed in the altered state of consciousness but in the same body.

White Wonderland

White Wonderland is an electronic music festival co-organized by Insomniac Events and fellow club promoter Giant. The event was first held for New Year's Eve in 2011, following the announcement that Insomniac had pulled out of co-organizing the New Year's Eve festival Together as One due to conflicts with its fellow organizer Go Ventures.

History

From 1999 to 2011, Insomniac had partnered with Go Ventures to organize Together as One, an annual festival historically held on New Year's Eve at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Shortly prior to the 2011 event, Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella announced that they would no longer co-produce Together as One, due to "various issues" surrounding Go Ventures' commitments to "safety, production quality and the overall value of our fans' experience." Rotella also felt that there were conflicts between his creative visions and those of Go Ventures' Reza Gerami.

At the same time, Rotella announced that Insomniac would partner with the club promoter Giant to form a new, competing New Year's Eve event known as White Wonderland, a two-night festival which would be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012. Similarly to Montreal's Bal en Blanc festival and the Sensation White tour, the winter-themed event would require all of its attendees to wear white-colored clothing. Despite the break-up, Together as One would still be held for 2011–12, organized solely by Go Ventures. However, the following year's edition would ultimately be cancelled.

Originality

Originality is the aspect of created or invented works by as being new or novel, and thus can be distinguished from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or derivative works. An original work is one not received from others nor one copied from or based upon the work of others.. It is a work created with a unique style and substance. The term "originality" is often applied as a compliment to the creativity of artists, writers, and thinkers. The idea of originality as we know it was invented by Romanticism, with a notion that is often called romantic originality.

The concept of originality is culturally contingent. It became an ideal in Western culture starting from the 18th century. In contrast, at the time of Shakespeare it was common to appreciate more the similarity with an admired classical work, and Shakespeare himself avoided "unnecessary invention".

Originality in law

In law, originality has become an important legal concept with respect to intellectual property, where creativity and invention have manifest as copyrightable works. In the patent law of the United States and most other countries, only original inventions are subject to protection. In addition to being original, inventions submitted for a patent must also be useful and nonobvious.