- published: 31 Aug 2015
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The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
The resemblances between swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight.
The family scientific name comes from the Ancient Greek απους, apous, meaning "without feet", since swifts have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, clinging instead to vertical surfaces. The tradition of depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages, as seen in the heraldic martlet.
Swifts are the most aerial of birds. Larger species are amongst the fastest fliers in the animal kingdom, with the White-throated Needletail having been reported flying at up to 169 km/h. Even the Common Swift cruises at 5 to 14 metres per second (18–50 km/h, 11–31 mph).[citation needed] In a single year the common swift can cover at least 200,000 km.
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.
She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, One of the Boys in 2008, which spawned three Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—Teenage Dream was the only album (after Michael Jackson's Bad)—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".
Actors: Cam Clarke (actor), Don Handfield (writer), Charlotte Fullerton (writer), Jason Brian Adams (editor), Jason Brian Adams (director), Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli (composer), Robert DiFiglia (producer), Joshua Malkin (writer), Chris Waters (writer), Chris Waters (producer), Justin Moran (actor), Paul Giacoppo (writer), Nancy Johnson (actor), Bill Fritter (actor), John Daniels (actor),
Plot: Kira and Eli are the newest members of the Guardian Force, a group of angel warriors sworn to protect the world from the powers of evil. Not yet full Guardians, the young duo still has a lot to learn, but when darkness descends over the city, the time for training is over. Faced with the responsibility of delivering hope to a lost city, they must learn to work together to drive back the soldiers of darkness and grow into the warriors they are destined to become.
Genres: Animation,Actors: Doug Stone (actor), Beau Billingslea (actor), Jason Brian Adams (editor), Jason Brian Adams (writer), Jason Brian Adams (director), Robert DiFiglia (producer), Chris Waters (actor), Chris Waters (writer), Justin Moran (actor), Tudor Williams (producer), Paul Giacoppo (writer), Dan Wang (writer), Dave Thomas (actor), Nanci Johnson (actress), M.J. Muldoon (actress),
Plot: With his angel hostage in tow, the archangel Michael on his tail, and a symbiotic stone taking control of his body, the demon Morg flees to the underworld where he quickly establishes a new base of operations. Feeding off the demon's pride, the symbiont stone slowly transforms Morg into an all-consuming beast with the power to threaten both Heaven and Earth. Facing impossible odds, it's up to Michael and the Guardian Force to prove the old Proverb true: that pride comes before the fall.
Genres: Animation, Short,Actors: Doug Stone (actor), Beau Billingslea (actor), Jason Brian Adams (editor), Jason Brian Adams (writer), Jason Brian Adams (director), Robert DiFiglia (producer), Chris Waters (writer), Justin Moran (actor), Dan Wang (writer), Nanci Johnson (actress), Peter Wang (producer), Tudor Williams (producer), M.J. Muldoon (actress), Dave Thomas (actor), Mike Nelson (composer),
Plot: An epic, animated, supernatural adventure of angels battling fallen spirits. Eli and Kira, two junior members of the Guardian Force must grow up in a hurry when their first mission to earth takes a detour, pitting them against Morg, a deadly but long forgotten foe. In a race against time, the Guardians must uncover the source of Morg's power, defeat his crafty minions, and stop the ruin of a mortal life, all while learning to work together.
Genres: Animation, Short,Actors: Beau Billingslea (actor), Doug Stone (actor), Jeffrey Scott (writer), Jason Brian Adams (editor), Jason Brian Adams (writer), Jason Brian Adams (director), Robert DiFiglia (producer), Chris Waters (writer), Justin Moran (actor), Dave Thomas (actor), Dan Wang (writer), Nanci Johnson (actress), M.J. Muldoon (actress), Peter Wang (producer), Tudor Williams (producer),
Plot: An epic, animated, supernatural adventure of angels battling fallen spirits. Eli and Kira, two junior members of the Guardian Force must grow up in a hurry when their first mission to earth takes a detour, pitting them against Morg, a deadly but long forgotten foe. In a race against time, the Guardians must uncover the source of Morg's power, defeat his crafty minions, and stop the ruin of a mortal life, all while learning to work together.
Genres: Animation, Short,Actors: Oliver Langewitz (writer), Oliver Langewitz (director), Ralf Multhaup (actor), Wolfgang Schwach (actor), Stephan Buhlinger (actor), Irina Suppanz (producer), Anna Schwabedal (actress), Thorsten Lehmann (actor),
Genres: Crime, Short,Actors: Carroll Baker (actress), Johnny Melville (actor), Christopher Lee (actor), Anthony Marinelli (composer), Maurizio Millenotti (costume designer), Adriano Celentano (actor), Kate Vernon (actress), Adriano Celentano (writer), Pietro Scalia (editor), Giorgio Moroder (composer), Rachel Griffiths (miscellaneous crew), Conchita Airoldi (producer), Mario Orfini (producer), Mario Orfini (director), Mario Orfini (writer),
Plot: Gloria Ruckhauser has a dream: rediscovering the figure and features of herself when she was 20. Convinced that science is getting nowhere in the search for a cure to the aging process, Gloria sets up a foundation whose mission is to find a miracle potion". Various scientists take up the challenge and develop a substance that reverses the biological clock. Now, they face a new challenge. How to stop getting younger before it's too late.
Keywords: box-office-flop, computer, critically-bashedActors: Mary Kay Place (actress), Dakin Matthews (actor), Steve Tisch (producer), Stanley Clarke (composer), Ricky Schroder (actor), John Panzarella (miscellaneous crew), Natalija Nogulich (actress), Ron Canada (actor), Richard Jenkins (actor), Andrew Divoff (actor), Grand L. Bush (actor), Christine Cavanaugh (actress), Sydney Gilner (miscellaneous crew), David Campling (editor), Alfonso Ribeiro (actor),
Plot: The 17 years old Danny's parents are separated. He lives with his mother with whom he can't get along to well. He adores his father but feeling abandoned he tries to get his attention and love in every possible way; by being aggressive, hostile, nice or apathetic. When his father announces he's going to marry Susan, Danny becomes desperate ...
Genres: Drama,Actors: John Lupton (actor), Bernie Casey (actor), Dan Perri (miscellaneous crew), Paul Gleason (actor), Pam Grier (actress), Don Diamond (actor), Gene Corman (producer), Roger E. Mosley (actor), Jodie Lynn Tillen (costume designer), Luther Fear (actor), Marilyn Joi (actress), Sam Laws (actor), George Armitage (writer), George Armitage (director), Bob Harris (actor),
Genres: Crime, Drama,Actors: Tristram Coffin (actor), Sammy Stein (actor), Douglas Evans (actor), William Haade (actor), Earle Hodgins (actor), Chick Chandler (actor), Tom Kennedy (actor), Milton Kibbee (actor), William Lundigan (actor), Cliff Nazarro (actor), William Newell (actor), Garry Owen (actor), Harry Depp (actor), Walter Soderling (actor), Charles Sullivan (actor),
Genres: Comedy, Musical,Actors: Ray Curtiss (editor), Wade Boteler (actor), Anders Randolf (actor), Ivan F. Simpson (actor), Dorothy Revier (actress), Frank Lloyd (producer), Bradley King (writer), Frank Lloyd (director), Noah Beery (actor), Robert Edeson (actor), Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (actor), Henry Kolker (actor), William Orlamond (actor), Louis King (actor), Eddie Clayton (actor),
Genres: Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller,