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Denise Masino (born May 1, 1968) is a professional female bodybuilder from the United States.

Biography[link]

Born in Brooklyn, New York of Puerto Rican extraction, the 5'2" Masino won her pro card by winning the lightweight class at the 1995 NPC Nationals. She competed as a professional through 2007, and was the 2003 Night of Champions winner. Along with her ex-husband Robert, Masino published Muscle Elegance, a magazine that features nude pictorials of female bodybuilders. Their company also produces a line of erotic videos featuring female bodybuilders. Her feature film debut in the cultish vampire movie, "Blood + Kisses,"^[1] (originally titled Kiss of the Vampire as shown in trailers) is awaiting release.

Contest history[link]

• 1994 NPC Florida Championships - Overall winner
• 1994 NPC Nationals - 8th (MW)
• 1995 NPC Nationals - 1st (LW)
• 1996 Jan Tana Classic - 6th
• 1997 Jan Tana Classic - 6th
• 1997 Ms. International - 13th
• 1998 Jan Tana Classic - 8th
• 1998 Ms. International - Disqualified
• 1999 Ms. International - 7th
• 1999 Pro World Championship - 4th
• 2000 Ms. International - 4th (LW)
• 2001 Ms. International - 5th (LW)
• 2002 Ms. International - 6th (LW)
• 2003 Ms. International - 2nd (LW)
• 2003 Night of Champions - 1st (LW & Overall)
• 2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (LW)
• 2004 Ms. International - 3rd (LW)
• 2004 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd (LW)
• 2007 Ms. International - 12th

See also[link]

Puerto Rico portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Muscle Elegance magazine
• Denise Masino at the Internet Movie Database

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For Thaddeus of Edessa also known as Addai / Mar Addai, see Thaddeus of Edessa

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Saint Jude the Apostle
Apostle Jude, by Anthonis van Dyck
Apostle and Martyr
Born	1st century AD Roman Province of Galilee
Died	1st century AD Roman Province of Syria
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, Church of the East, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism, Islam, Aglipayan Church
Canonized	Pre-Congregation
Major shrine	Saint Peter's, Rome, Reims, Toulouse, France
Feast	October 28 (Western Christianity) June 19 (Eastern Christianity)
Attributes	Axe, club, boat, oar, medallion
Patronage	Armenia, lost causes, desperate situations, ibises[citation needed], hospitals, St. Petersburg, Florida, Cotta Lucena City Quezon, Philippines, the Chicago Police Department, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Sibalom, Antique, Philippines, Trece Martires City, Cavite, Philippines.

Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, "brother of Jesus", but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple, the betrayer of Jesus.

The Armenian Apostolic Church honors Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

Saint Jude's attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ, in the image of Edessa. In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule.

Identity[link]

Symbol of his martyrdom

Saint Thaddeus Armenian Monastery

Church of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Rudno, Poland.

Procession in Lima, Peru.

New Testament[link]

Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both "Jude" and "Judas" are translations of the name Ιούδας in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah, a name which was common among Jews at the time. In most bibles in languages other than English and French, Jude and Judas are referred to by the same name.

"Jude of James" is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13.

The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Jude of James" is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James. Though such a construction sometimes connotated a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as "Jude, brother of James" (Luke 6:16) though Protestants (for instance, the New International Version translation) usually identify him as "Jude son of James".

The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called "Judas not Iscariot" (John 14:22). This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude,^[1] though some scholars see the identification as uncertain.^[2]

In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, he is called Judas the Zealot.

Possible identity with Thaddeus[link]

In the comparable apostle-lists of Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, "Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus") listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name. This is made plausible by the fact that "Thaddeus" seems to be a nickname (see Thaddeus).

A further complication is the fact that the name "Judas" was tarnished by Judas Iscariot. It has been argued that for this reason it is unsurprising that Mark and Matthew refer to him by an alternate name.^[3]

Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person.^[4] Scholars have proposed alternate theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death;^[4] the possibility that "twelve" was a symbolic number and an estimation;^[5] or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.^[6]

Thaddeus the apostle is generally seen as a different person from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples.

Brother of Jesus?[link]

Opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-57, and is the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude.^[7]

Some Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person,^[8] while Protestants do not.^[9]

Tradition and legend[link]

Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the emissary of latter mission is also identified as Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. The 14th-century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana.

The legend reports that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a sister of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. After Mary's death, miracles were attributed to her intercession.

Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians", when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia.

Death and remains[link]

According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.^[10][11]

Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. According to popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until the mid-15th century. Later legends either deny that the remains are preserved there or claim that they were moved to a yet more desolate stronghold in the Pamir Mountains. Recent discovery of the ruins of what could be that monastery may put an end to the dispute.^{[citation needed]}

Iconography[link]

Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, betokening the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgar which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. Eusebius relates that King Abgar of Edessa (now Şanlıurfa in southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus seeking a cure for an illness afflicting him. With the letter he sent his envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints (or alternatively, impressed with Abgar's faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan) to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ's execution, Thomas the Apostle sent Jude to King Abgar and the king was cured. Astonished, he converted to Christianity, along with many of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head, representing his presence at Pentecost, when he was said to have received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

Veneration[link]

The Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) began working in present day Armenia soon after their founding in 1216. There was a substantial devotion to St. Jude in this area at that time, by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This lasted until persecution drove Christians from the area in the 18th century. Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 19th century, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America, and finally to the United States (starting in the area around Chicago) owing to the influence of the Claretians and the Dominicans in the 1920s.

Saint Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (a soccer team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). His other patronages include desperate situations and hospitals. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962. His feast day is October 28 (Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church) and June 19 (Eastern Orthodox Church).

A common Roman Catholic prayer to St Jude is:

An alternative prayer:

In some daily newspapers people will place classified ads seeking the aid of St. Jude or thanking him for his intercession. It is also common to post prayer requests to St Jude on Catholic prayer request websites.

Shrines[link]

Brazil

• Igreja de São Judas Tadeu, São Paulo, Brazil

U.K.

• National Shrine in Faversham, Kent, UK

U.S.A.

• National Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago, IL
• Dominican Shrine of St. Jude, Chicago, IL
• Nationwide Center of St. Jude Devotions, Baltimore, MD
• Dominican Monastery of Saint Jude in Marbury, AL
• St. Jude Maronite Catholic Church in Orlando, FL
• Shrine Church of St. Jude, Brooklyn, New York

Australia

• St Jude's Catholic Church, Langwarrin, VIC, Australia

India

• St Jude's Shrine, Jhansi-284 001, India
• St. Jude Shrine, Thevara, Kerala,India - The first and oldest shrine in Kerala state
• St. Jude's Shrine, Yoodhapuram, Angamaly, Kerala,India
• St. Jude's Church, Ettekkar, Aluva, Kerala, India
• St. Jude Pilgrim Shrine, Killippalam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
• St. Jude Shrine, Koothattukulam, Kerala,India
• St. Jude Shrine, Kureekad, Chottanikkara, Kerala, India
• St. Jude Church, S.L Puram, Cherthala, Alappuzha District, Kerala, India
• St. Jude Shrine, Maruthimoodu, Pathanapuram Road, Adoor, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala
• piligrim church,Snehagiri,Peringome,Kannur,Kerala

Sri Lanka

• St Jude's Church Indigolla, Gampaha, Sri Lanka^[12]

Philippines

• National Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus,J.P. Laurel St. San Miguel,Manila
• Saint Jude Catholic School (one of the most prestige schools in the Philippines)^[13]
• Cathedral of Saint Jude Thaddeus, Veñegas St. Sibalom, Antique, Philippines (Philippine Independent Church)

Puerto Rico

• Santuario San Judas Tadeo (Sanctuary of St. Jude Thaddeus), Ponce, Puerto Rico

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint Jude Thaddeus

• Catherine Fournier, Saint Simon and Saint Jude

Yvette Bova (born April 6,^[1] 1960s) is an American female bodybuilding champion and pornographic actress. During her career she has won awards such as the Lightweight National Bodybuilding Contest in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

Early life[link]

Bova was born in Junction City, Kansas^[2] but grew up in Denver, Colorado. At 18 she joined the U.S. Air Force where she served for 13 and a half years. She now resides in Orlando, Florida.^[3]

Bodybuilding career[link]

Yvette Bova began competing in bodybuilding at the age of 31 but had been training for 4 years before that. Her first competition was in 1996.

Contest Background[link]

Yvette has won several bodybuilding titles in Seoul Korea; she was Ms. Far East for 2 years in a row, also taking the Best Poser award both times in Okinawa, Japan. She took second in the Women's Lightweight Division at Guam's National Bodybuilding Championship; 1st place winner in the Women's Lightweight Division and 2nd place in the Mixed Pairs Division in the 1997 Marjo Selin's Muscle Classic in Maui, Hawaii. 1997 Hawaii Armed Forces Lightweight Division and Overall Winner also Best Poser on Oahu, Hawaii. 1999 Designer Body Muscle & Physique State Championship; Women's Open Bodybuilding Division, Overall Winner; 3rd place in the Women's Middle Weight at the 1999 Paradise Cup on Oahu, Hawaii. Most recently guest posed at the 2000 Hawaii Armed Forces Bodybuilding Championship.

Contest history[link]

• 1996 Guam's National Bodybuilding Championship - 2nd (LW)^[4]
• 1997 Marjo Selin's Muscle Classic - 1st (LW), 2nd (Mixed Pairs)
• 1997 Hawaii Armed Forces Championship - 1st (LW), Best Poser (Overall)
• 1999 Designer Body Muscle & Physique State Championship - 1st (LW and Overall)
• 1999 Women's Open - 1st (Overall)
• 1999 Paradise Cup - 3rd (MW)

Won numerous contests in Asia including being Ms. Far East 2 years in a row

Filmography[link]

• 2006 - Land of the Amazons (porn)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Yvette Bova Official Site
• Yvette Bova at the Internet Movie Database
• Competition overview

Tony Hills is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mark Homer.

Storylines[link]

Tony arrives in Walford from Norfolk on 7 September 1995 with his sister, Sarah Hills (Daniella Denby-Ashe). He is unsympathetic and sells ecstasy with a friend, Dan Zappieri (Carl Pizzie). Eventually, he quits dealing after Dan gives Sarah ecstasy without her knowledge. Tony begins a relationship with Tiffany Raymond (Martine McCutcheon) and lives with her for a while. She becomes pregnant and the baby is assumed to be Tony's. However, Tiffany catches him kissing her brother Simon (Andrew Lynford), with whom he then starts a relationship, and the baby is revealed to be Grant Mitchell's (Ross Kemp). Tony still believes the baby may be his until, after it is born, a paternity test confirms he is not the father.

Tony and Simon have a turbulent relationship, and Tony has affairs with Frankie Pierre (Syan Blake), a singer, and Polly Becker (Victoria Gould), a journalist at the Walford Gazette, where Tony is a trainee. Simon discovers the affairs and the couple split up. Tony's experiments with ecstasy and general pro-drug attitudes cause him to once say "no-one ever died from taking E". He has a relationship with Teresa di Marco (Leila Birch), but after Tiffany dies and Simon nearly burns to death in a house fire, Tony reconciles with Simon. Simon has trouble accepting that Tony is bisexual rather than gay, but Tony convinces Simon that he is the one he wants and they leave Albert Square together in April 1999 to travel around Europe. A letter sent to Tony's family reveales the couple have settled in Amsterdam.

Development[link]

Homer's departure from EastEnders was announced in late 1998, along with that of his co-star Andrew Lynford. They both decided to leave following discussions with the executive producer Matthew Robinson, and a spokesperson for the programme said "They have mutually agreed that both characters have fulfilled their potential and will conclude their stories with a dramatic exit."^[1] Their departures left only one gay character in the UK's mainstream soap operas, that of Zoe Tate in Emmerdale. Gay campaigning group Stonewall's spokeman Matt Aston commented on this, saying: "Gay characters did seem to be on the rise for a while, but now they've got a bit of a low profile. We'd like to see a few more positive role models in the media, especially to encourage young people who are coming to terms with their sexuality, as well as their friends and members of their family."^[1] However, Aston praised the way Tony's sexuality was handled, saying, "It was very good for breaking what had been a taboo on prime-time television. It was a positive portrayal of how people can be confused about their sexuality. And as with any kind of exposure of these issues, people are made more aware of them and the problems people have with their sexuality. People also link them with us and get in touch to talk about it."^[1] EastEnders's first gay kiss attracted criticism, but it was noted that by the time Tony and Simon had their first kiss, "fewer feathers were left to be ruffled."^[2]

Reception[link]

Author Margaret Llewellyn-Jones has suggested that Simon and Tony were two of the "straight-est-looking gay boys in London". She suggested that they were not convincing to the gay audience, which she argued was because "the gayness of the characters was 'clawed-back' and that the readers of the image who see them as unconvincing use a queer reading practice. The two gay characters are signified within codes of recognition that are available to the central reader. To the queer reader they can be seen clearly as a rather dubious construction - they are a carbon copy of a 'straight' relationship where only the object of desire is different, rather than a relationship that signs itself as different. To a queer reader the gay relationship in this instance says nothing to them other than a representation of a straight relationship, what it does show is the implicit constructedness of all of the relationships present in a soap's fabric."^[3]

See also[link]

• List of fictional journalists
• List of LGBT characters in film, radio, and TV fiction

References[link]