- published: 09 Oct 2015
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Charles Michael 'Bucky' Lasek ( /ˈleɪsɨk/ LAY-sək; born December 3, 1972 in Dundalk, Maryland) is a professional skateboarder and rallycross driver.
Lasek started skateboarding at the age of twelve, shortly after his bike was stolen. After entering amateur contests, he was quickly noticed by Powell Peralta talent scouts in 1987. Powell sponsored Lasek, and he made his video debut in the 4th Bones Brigade video, Public Domain (1988).
Lasek turned pro for Powell in 1990—but by this time, skateboarding and vert skating particularly began to lose popularity, and Lasek's career waned. When ESPN took vert skating under its wing as part of the X Games in the mid 1990s, Lasek's career made a comeback and he soon became one of the most recognizable skateboarders.
Today, Lasek is regarded as one of the most consistent vert skateboarders in the sport. He frequently masters tricks that are considered too gimmicky and technical by most riders to do in a contest, and lands them with stunning regularity. Some of his signature contest tricks include the Heelflip Frontside Twist and Switch Frontside 540. He is one of only two skaters to flip his board in to an invert (Heelflip Frontside Invert), and the only one to do a 720 on the vert and land backwards (forward-to-fakie Indy 720, known as a "MacKenzie").
What The--?! was a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe, similar in vein to the 1960s series Not Brand Echh. It was billed as, "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayhem!" The series ran for 26 issues from August 1988 through Winter 1993, with issue #26 being a "Fall Special". It typically contained a series of short stories with comedic takes on Marvel heroes and villains, such as having Spider-Ham substitute for Spider-Man.
What The--?! spotlighted some of the top artists and writers at the time. Many, such as Stan Lee and John Byrne, contributed works that spoof some of their all-time greatest successes. For example, in issue #2, Byrne creates a tale pitting his work on the Fantastic Four franchise against his work with Superman. The issue goes so far as to have the Lex Luthor character complain about the changes Byrne made to the Superman legend after DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Though it carried the Marvel Comics label on the front left corner, What The--?! touted itself as being published by "Marble Comics". What The--?! parodied Marvel institutions such as the legendary Marvel Comics fan mail page, with staged articles called "The Marble Mailbag" and the "What The... Mail". The title also did not contain any "true" advertisements. Instead, What The--?! hosted a number of fake advertisements that made fun of classic comic book advertisements such as Charles Atlas, novelty by-mail companies, and the Hostess snack food ads of the 1970s and 1980s.
Justin Drew Bieber ( /ˈbiːbər/ BEE-bər, born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian Pop/R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. Bieber's debut single, "One Time", was released in 2009 and peaked in the top twenty in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets. His debut album, the seven-track EP My World, followed in November 2009, and was soon certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.