December 9

December 9 is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 22 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, producer and voice artist. He was the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2005 to 2014. Ferguson began hosting the syndicated Celebrity Name Game in September 2014, and in February 2016 will host Join or Die with Craig Ferguson on History.

After starting his career in Britain with music, comedy and theatre, Ferguson moved to the United States where he found success in the role of Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show. He has written and starred in three films, directing one of them, and has appeared in several others, including several voice-over roles for animations. Ferguson has also written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir.

Early life and education

Ferguson was born in Stobhill Hospital, in the Springburn district of Glasgow to Robert and Janet Ferguson, on 17 May 1962, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied". He was raised Presbyterian. When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II. Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School. At age sixteen, Ferguson left Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.

Jah Cure

Jah Cure, or Iyah Cure (born Siccature Alcock on 11 October 1978 in Hanover, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae musician, who was raised in Kingston. He was given the name Jah Cure by Capleton whom he met while growing up in Kingston. Jah Cure is also known as the King of Lovers Rock and Roots Reggae.

Career

His first big break came in March 1997 when he released the single "King in this Jungle" which was a duet with Sizzla. The single was produced by Beres Hammond who went on to become his mentor. He then released a steady stream of singles that won him critical and popular acclaim. Beres Hammond eventually took Cure under his tutelage and began mentoring him and producing his music in the studio. In 1998, Cure performed on a European tour and visited several Caribbean Islands with Beres Hammond and the Harmony House Family.

In November 1998, while driving around Montego Bay, Cure was pulled over by the police and arrested on charges of gun possession, robbery and rape. He was prosecuted before the Gun Court in April 1999, found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Cure was transferred from the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre to the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, which had a digital recording studio the inmates could use. It was there that Cure released three albums and a number of singles, some of which have topped the Jamaican chart. His first album Free Jah's Cure The Album the Truth was released in 2000, it was followed by Ghetto Life in 2003 and Freedom Blues in 2005. More recently Cure has released the songs "Love Is", "Longing For" and "True Reflections", showing his unique voice and lyrical ability.

Busy signal

A busy signal (or busy tone or engaged tone) in telephony is an audible or visual signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection of that particular telephone call.

The busy signal has become less common in the past decade due to the prevalence of call waiting and voice mail.

Reasons for a busy signal

An otherwise unspecified busy signal indicates that the called number is occupied:

The standard busy signal sometimes occurs (sometimes with an intercept message played over the busy) at the end of a call to indicate the other party has hung up, but mostly the Off-hook tone is used.

Reorder tone

A reorder tone, sometimes called a fast busy signal, indicates that no transmission path to the called number is available. This is usually because the Inter-LATA trunk is busy at the time of the call. Usually, this clears in a few seconds, if one redials.

Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Carl Lennard Pistorius OIB (/pɪsˈtɔːriəs/; born 22 November 1986) is a South African sprint runner and convicted murderer. Both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. Pistorius was the first athlete to compete at the Paralympic games and Olympic games, competing in sprint events for below-knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in able-bodied sprint events.

After becoming a Paralympic champion, Pistorius attempted to enter able-bodied international competition, over persistent objections of the IAAF and charges that his artificial limbs gave an unfair advantage. Pistorius eventually prevailed in this legal dispute. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay races. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Pistorius won gold medals in the men's 400-metre race and in the 4 × 100 metres relay, setting world records in both events. He also took silver in the 200-metre race, having set a world record in the semifinal.