Red Roof Inn offering free lodging for HCW/ first responders
https://www.redroof.com/deals/national-deals/room-in-your-heart I thought this information could help those who want to use protective distancing from their loved ones. stay safe! ❤️ Room in Your Heart: Opening Doors to First Responders Red Roof®, the leader in upscale economy lodging, is giving back to our country’s first responders—dedicated nurses, doctors, firefighters, police and emergency medical providers—who are fighting tirelessly to combat COVID-19. Many of these essential workers on the frontlines need a place to self-quarantine away from their homes and families to protect their loved ones. From April 3 – May 31, Red Roof is donating a limited number of available rooms to these brave heroes, giving them a place to sleep and stay in between shifts at participating locations across the country. Many Red Roof locations are exterior corridor hotels where separate hotel room doors open to the outside of the building instead of an interior hallway. After check-in, guests can drive to their room instead of walking through the building, reducing contact with interior touchpoints. Rooms have free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, a workstation and a communication package that includes free local and long-distance calls as well as free in-room coffee (in most rooms). One well-behaved domestic pet—cat or dog—is always welcome to stay at no charge. Call a participating hotel directly to book your stay. *Each guest must provide valid medical, firefighter, or police identification. Offer does not apply to guests staying under a current government contract and all rooms are subject to availability. Pet accommodations policy may vary at some Home Towne Studios by Red Roof locations. RED ROOF INN MONTGOMERY - MIDTOWN 2625 Zelda Road Montgomery, AL 36107 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS PHOENIX - WEST 4861 W. McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85035 RED ROOF PLUS+ PHOENIX WEST 5215 West Willetta Street Phoenix, AZ 85043 RED ROOF PLUS+ TEMPE - PHOENIX AIRPORT 2135 West 15TH Street Tempe, AZ 85281 RED ROOF INN TUCSON SOUTH - AIRPORT 3704 East Irvington Road Tucson, AZ 85714 RED ROOF INN TUCSON NORTH - MARANA 4940 West Ina Road Tucson, AZ 85743 RED ROOF PLUS+ SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 777 Airport Boulevard Burlingame, CA 94010 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS DENVER - GLENDALE/ CHERRY CREEK 4850 Leetsdale Drive Glendale, CO 80246 RED ROOF PLUS+ JACKSONVILLE - SOUTHPOINT 6969 Lenoir Avenue East Jacksonville, FL 32216 RED ROOF INN JACKSONVILLE AIRPORT 1063 Airport Road Jacksonville, FL 32218 RED ROOF INN JACKSONVILLE - ORANGE PARK 6099 Youngerman Circle Jacksonville, FL 32244 RED ROOF INN PENSACOLA - WEST FLORIDA HOSPITAL 7340 Plantation Road Pensacola, FL 32504 RED ROOF PLUS+ GAINESVILLE 3500 Southwest 42nd Street Gainesville, FL 32608 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS ORLANDO - UCF AREA 12350 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32826 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS FORT LAUDERDALE 3031 W Commercial Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 RED ROOF PLUS+ WEST PALM BEACH 2421 Metrocentre Blvd. E West Palm Beach, FL 33407 RED ROOF INN TAMPA FAIRGROUNDS - CASINO 5001 North US Route 301 Tampa, FL 33610 RED ROOF INN TAMPA BAY - ST PETERSBURG 4999 34th Street North Saint Petersburg, FL 33714 RED ROOF INN ST PETERSBURG - CLEARWATEAIRPORT 3580 Ulmerton Road Clearwater, FL 33762 RED ROOF PLUS+ & SUITES NAPLES DOWNTOWN-5TH AVE S 1925 Davis Boulevard Naples, FL 34104 RED ROOF INN ELLENTON 4915 17th Street East Ellenton, FL 34222 RED ROOF INN FT PIERCE 3236 South US-1 Fort Pierce, FL 34982 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS ATLANTA NE - PEACHTREE CORNERS 7049 Jimmy Carter Blvd Norcross, GA 30092 RED ROOF INN ATLANTA - KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY 1460 George Busbee Parkway Kennesaw, GA 30144 RED ROOF INN & SUITES NEWNAN 590 Bullsboro Dr Newnan, GA 30265 US RED ROOF INN AUGUSTA - WASHINGTON ROAD 3030 Washington Road Augusta, GA 30907 RED ROOF INN INDIANAPOLIS SOUTH 5221 Victory Drive Indianapolis, IN 46203 RED ROOF INN ELKHART 2902 Cassopolis Street Elkhart, IN 46514 RED ROOF INN RICHMOND, IN 2525 Chester Blvd Richmond, IN 47374 RED ROOF INN LOUISVILLE EXPO AIRPORT 4704 Preston Highway Louisville, KY 40213 RED ROOF INN LOUISVILLE FAIR AND EXPO 3322 Red Roof Inn Place Louisville, KY 40218 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS LOUISVILLE 4540 Taylorsville Road Louisville, KY 40220 US RED ROOF INN & SUITES CAVE CITY 807 Mammoth Cave St. Cave City, KY 42127 US RED ROOF INN SLIDELL m 1662 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 US RED ROOF PLUS+ SOUTH DEERFIELD - AMHERST 9 Greenfield Road South Deerfield, MA 01373 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - FRAMINGHAM 650 Cochituate Road Framingham, MA 01701 RED ROOF INN BOSTON - SOUTHBOROUGH/ WORCESTER 367 Turnpike Road Southborough, MA 01772 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - LOGAN 920 Broadway Saugus, MA 01906 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - MANSFIELD/ FOXBORO 60 Forbes Boulevard Mansfield, MA 02048 RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON DC - LAUREL 12525 Laurel Bowie Road Laurel, MD 20708 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - OXON HILL 6170 Oxon Hill Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON DC - COLUMBIA/ FORT MEADE 8000 Washington Boulevard Jessup, MD 20794 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - ROCKVILLE 16001 Shady Grove Road Rockville, MD 20850 RED ROOF PLUS+ BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON DC/BWI AIRPORT 827 Elkridge Landing Road Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 RED ROOF INN ST LOUIS - FLORISSANT 307 Dunn Road Florissant, MO 63031 RED ROOF PLUS+ ST LOUIS - FOREST PARK/ HAMPTON AVE 5823 Wilson Avenue Saint Louis, MO 63110 RED ROOF INN ST LOUIS - ST CHARLES 2010 Zumbehl Road Saint Charles, MO 63303 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS KANSAS CITY - INDEPENDENCE, MO 14800 E. 42nd Street Independence, MO 64055 RED ROOF INN MERIDIAN 2219 S. Frontage Rd Meridian, MS 39301 US RED ROOF PLUS+ RALEIGH NCSU - CONVENTION CENTER 1813 South Saunders Street Raleigh, NC 27603 US RED ROOF INN ASHEVILLE WEST 16 Crowell Road Asheville, NC 28806 US RED ROOF INN SALEM 15 Red Roof Lane Salem, NH 03079 US RED ROOF INN PARSIPPANY 855 US Highway 46 Parsippany, NJ 07054 US RED ROOF PLUS+ SECAUCUS - MEADOWLANDS - NYC 15 Meadowlands Parkway Secaucus, NJ 07094 US RED ROOF INN TINTON FALLS - JERSEY SHORE 11 Centre Plaza Eatontown, NJ 07724 US RED ROOF INN BATAVIA 8204 Park Road Batavia, NY 14020 US RED ROOF INN BUFFALO - NIAGARA AIRPORT 146 Maple Drive Bowmansville, NY 14026 US RED ROOF INN ROCHESTER - AIRPORT 155 Buell Road Rochester, NY 14624 US RED ROOF INN COLUMBUS - GROVE CITY 4055 Jackpot Road Grove City, OH 43123 US RED ROOF PLUS+ COLUMBUS - WORTHINGTON 7480 North High Street Columbus, OH 43235 US RED ROOF INN ST CLAIRSVILLE - WHEELING WEST 68301 Red Roof Lane Saint Clairsville, OH 43950 US RED ROOF INN CLEVELAND - MENTO WILLOUGHBY 4166 State Route 306 Willoughby, OH 44094 US RED ROOF INN CLEVELAND - WESTLAKE 29595 Clemens Road Westlake, OH 44145 US RED ROOF INN CANTON 5353 Inn Circle Court Northwest Canton, OH 44720 US RED ROOF INN CINCINNATI - SHARONVILLE 2301 Sharon Road Cincinnati, OH 45241 US RED ROOF INN CINCINNATI EAST - BEECHMONT 4035 Mount Carmel Tobasco Road Cincinnati, OH 45255 US RED ROOF INN DAYTON - FAIRBORN/ NUTTER CENTER 2580 Colonel Glenn Highway Fairborn, OH 45324 US RED ROOF INN PERRYSBURG 3555 Hanley Road Perrysburg, OH 43551 US RED ROOF INN OKLAHOMA CITY AIRPORT 309 South Meridian Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73108 US RED ROOF INN & SUITES MEDFORD - AIRPORT 2111 Biddle Rd Medford, OR 97504 US RED ROOF PLUS+ PITTSBURGH EAST - MONROEVILLE 2729 Mosside Boulevard Monroeville, PA 15146 US RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON, PA 1399 West Chestnut Street Washington, PA 15301 US RED ROOF INN GREENSBURG 111 Sheraton Drive Greensburg, PA 15601 US RED ROOF INN PITTSBURGH NORTH - CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP 20009 US Route 19 & Marguerite Road Cranberry Township, PA 16066 US RED ROOF INN NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM 7480 Northwoods Boulevard Charleston, SC 29406 US RED ROOF PLUS+ MT PLEASANT - PATRIOTS POINT 301 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 US RED ROOF INN FLORENCE - CIVIC CENTER 2690 David McLeod Boulevard Florence, SC 29501 US RED ROOF INN GREENVILLE 91 Vision Court Greenville, SC 29607 US RED ROOF INN HILTON HEAD ISLAND 5 Regency Parkway Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 US RED ROOF INN NASHVILLE - MUSIC CITY 2407 Brick Church Pike Nashville, TN 37207 US RED ROOF PLUS+ NASHVILLE AIRPORT 510 Claridge Drive Nashville, TN 37214 US RED ROOF INN CHATTANOOGA - LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 30 Birmingham Hwy Chattanooga, TN 37419 US RED ROOF INN CARYVILLE 276 John McGhee Blvd Caryville, TN 37714 US RED ROOF INN KNOXVILLE NORTH - MERCHANTS DRIVE 5334 Central Ave Pike Knoxville, TN 37912 RED ROOF INN DALLAS - DFW AIRPORT NORTH 8150 Esters Boulevard Irving, TX 75063 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS DALLAS - MESQUITE 2544 US Highway 67 Mesquite, TX 75150 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS HOUSTON - WEST OAKS 2130 Highway 6 Houston, TX 77077 RED ROOF INN LAREDO 1006 West Calton Road Laredo, TX 78041 RED ROOF PLUS+ AUSTIN SOUTH 4701 South I-35 Austin, TX 78744 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - MANASSAS 10610 Automotive Drive Manassas, VA 20109 RED ROOF INN WARRENTON 6 Broadview Avenue Warrenton, VA 20186 US RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - ALEXANDRIA 5975 Richmond Highway Alexandria, VA 22303 RED ROOF INN CULPEPER 889 Willis Lane Culpeper, VA 22701 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS SEATTLE - KENT/ DES MOINES 25104 Pacific Highway S Kent, WA 98032 US RED ROOF INN SEATTLE AIRPORT - SEATAC 16838 International Boulevard Seattle, WA 98188 US RED ROOF INN CHARLESTON - KANAWHA CITY, WV 100 Trueman Circle Charleston, WV 25304 RED ROOF INN CHARLESTON W - HURRICANE, WV 500 Putnam Village Drive Hurricane, WV 25526 RED ROOF INN HUNTINGTON 5190 US Route 60 East Huntington, WV 25705 US RED ROOF INN FAIRMONT 42 Spencer Drive White Hall, WV 26554 US
Friendly reminder that this weekend includes some very large events (EDC Orlando, Veteran's Day parade) that will increase and worsen traffic and parking and may also involve road closures, so please be careful out there. Carpool with friends and family, take an Uber or Lyft, Sunrail or Lynx bus. All weekend (Fri 11/8 - Sun 11/10): 43rd Maitland Rotary Art Festival; Lake Lilly Park, 701 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland, Florida 32751; The Maitland Rotary Art Festival has been entertaining Central Florida residents and visitors since 1976. Although hosted annually by the Rotary Club of Maitland, Florida, the event has evolved into a community celebration of the arts. The many public and private partnerships make it possible for Maitland Rotarians to showcase our community. The Maitland Rotary Art Festival Inc. is a not-for-profit501(c)3 organization that raises funds for the charitable activities of the Rotary Club of Maitland. Annunciation Fall Festival; Annunciation Catholic Church, 1020 Montgomery Rd, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714; Live entertainment, rides and games, festival food favorites, crafts, live and silent auction and raffle! Free admission and free park and ride. Free Admission for Veterans/First Responders, Nov. 9-10; Orange County Regional History Center, 65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, Florida 32801; The Orange County Regional History Center invites veterans, active-duty military personnel, and first responders to visit the museum for free on the weekend of November 9-10, 2019, in honor of Veterans Day. The route of the 20th annual City of Orlando Veterans Day Parade travels just south of Heritage Square adjacent to the History Center on Saturday, November 9, 2019, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Honoring the courageous men and women of the armed forces who have fought for our nation’s freedoms, the parade will feature marching bands, ROTC units, active duty military, decorative floats, and veterans groups from all military branches representing a wide variety of conflicts. Learn more here: http://www.cityoforlando.net/veteransparade/ Fri 11/8 4p - 6:30p:Longwood Chili Cook Off; City of Longwood City Hall, 175 W Warren Ave, Longwood, Florida 32750; In conjunction with the monthly Longwood Car Show. The "Chili Cook Off " is a fundraiser that supports Parks & Recreation programming here in the City of Longwood and is hosted by volunteer Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Members. Chili Cookers Wanted!! All compete for cash $$$$ prize and trophies. Chili Cookers WANTED !!! Contact 407-260-3497 or email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Compete for CASH prizes. *Entry fee individuals is $25* **Entry fee for businesses is $75** 5p - 11p:College Park JazzFest 2019; College Park Main Street, 648 Dartmouth Street, 32804; College Park Main Street will host the 18th annual College Park JazzFest on Saturday November 9, 2019 from 5-11pm. The community’s flagship street festival along Edgewater Drive will feature 12 bands on three stages performing jazz, rock, R&B and more. College Park JazzFest will feature a vibrant street party atmosphere with diverse food trucks, vendors, and the local shops and restaurants open onto Edgewater Drive between Smith Street and Clayton Street. Bands featured at College Park JazzFest 2019 include: • Jackie Jones • Ramona the Band • The 8th Note Collective • Dave Capp Project • John Korbel • Gerry Williams Band • Brown Bag Brass Band • Sideshow Revival • Legendary JCs • Lauren Lester • The Lawbreakers • Tarpon Springs Jazz Ensemble (a Dr. Phillips Center Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band) 5p - 12a:70's Cosplay Party in VAULT 5421; Gods & Monsters, 5421 International Dr, Orlando, Florida 32819; Join us Saturday, November 9th, for 70's Homage Night in Vault 5421! FREE EVENT! To celebrate the new movie release of Charlie's Angels, we're hopping in the time machine and playing the classic 70's series and other 70's movies and shows on our big screens throughout the bar, with far out tunes playing, themed cocktails & Cosplay Cage-Dancing! Come in your best 70's cosplay or attire to receive 1 FREE SHOT or soda! (Just mention your attire, at the bar, for your FREE shot or soda.) Come early to enjoy our Happy Hours 5-8pm, featuring 20% OFF ALL DRINKS, including the special themed drink and shot created for the event! (Please note our store Gods & Monsters is All-Ages friendly, but our bar VAULT 5421 is 18+ to enter and 21+ with valid ID to purchase alcoholic beverages.) 6p - 8p:Fall Festival; UCUMC - University Carillon UMC, 1395 Campus View Ct, Oviedo, Florida 32765; All-things-fall coming together in one place: Fall Festival! While fall weather isn’t guaranteed, the fun is! We’ll be outside under the lights on University Carillon’s field with food, fall desserts, apple cider, festival games and live music! There’s fun ready for everyone—pumpkin games for the kids, football skills challenge for anyone brave enough, crafts for all ages, petting farm and more. Best of all, it’s FREE! Bring some friends and family and enjoy everything fall! 6p - 9p:Casselberry Food Truck Night; Lake Concord, 127 Quail Pond Circle, Casselberry, Florida 32707; Casselberry locals park at the Target Casselberry, are escorted across 17-92 by police officers, walk to the lovely lush Lake Concord Park covered with oaks behind City Hall, buy dinner from the food trucks, then listen to live music and shop local art. To see which trucks are coming Go to letsgetbazaar.com and click on Truck Schedule. Free admission. Free parking. 6p - 9:30p:Movie Night at Adventure Lake: Spider-Man Far From Home; Nona Adventure Park, 14086 Centerline Drive, Orlando, Florida 32827; Sponsored by F45 Training Nona, this is a FREE event to the community from 6-9:30 p.m. • The movie will begin at 6:30 p.m. • A popcorn + soda combo will be available for $4 (FREE to Nona Adventure Park Members)! • Splashes Bistro will be open until 9:30 p.m. for dinner, snacks, drinks, wine, beer, sodas, lemonades, and water. • Featured Film: SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME • Feel free to bring pillows, blankets, etc. - this will be held under the pavilion near Splashes & the Pro Shop. 6p - 12a:2019 Give Hope & Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament and Casino Night; Orlando Science Center, 777 E Princeton St, Orlando, Florida 32803; Come join us for a fun and classy event designed to bring Las Vegas to Orlando! Enjoy professionally-managed Texas Hold 'Em Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, Fine Catering, and Raffle Giveaways! A night out like no other in Orlando - All for a great cause! Whether you play poker or not, this is an evening for all! Tickets and more information can be found on our website https://givehopefoundation.org/Orlando-Charity-Poker-Tournament.php Sat 11/9 9a - 4p:Great Day in the Country 2019; Oviedo on the Park, 321 E Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, Florida 32765; The 46th Annual Great Day in the Country Arts & Crafts Festival is produced by the GFWC Oviedo Woman's Club. The Festival is FREE to attendees. See greatdayoviedo.org This year over 350 arts and crafts vendors will be displaying and selling items that are perfect for gifts or your own home. Vist our food and beecraft beer vendors in either of two Food Courts (east and west). Enjoy music and local acts which will range from jazz to rock and roll. The Oviedo Woman's Club's famous Bean Soup will be exclusively available only at the festival. Great Day in the Country 2019 will mark the 25th year of the Student Art Fest, with work from art students in our local schools. The art will be on display and awards in excess of $2K will be presented to students during the Opening Ceremonies. Great Day in the Country is the GFWC Oviedo Woman's Club's major fundraiser. Over the past nine years, the club has awarded over $600,000 for scholarships, school grants, and charitable organizations. Last year, over 30,000 people attended the event. Free parking is available nearby and shuttles buses will take people to and from those lots. 12p - 4p:Bunny Cafe at The Nook; The Nook on Robinson, 2432 E. Robinson St, Orlando, Florida 32803; Come meet and pet our adorable furry friends while learning what it takes to give them loving and healthy indoor homes. Volunteers will be on hand to answer all your questions about feeding, housing, and connecting with these wonderful animals. ADMISSION IS FREE. The rabbits will be housed inside the bar for their safety and comfort while patron seating will be outside with tables and tents. There will be food available for purchase with La Empanada Food Truck and The Veggie Cart, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from The Nook and Framework Coffee. Learning activities will happen outside along with a prize raffle benefiting ORCA as well. Guest time with rabbits will be in 15-minute increments from 12 – 4PM with a maximum of 15 guests per time slot. Sign up will be first come first serve outside the bar. Patrons should check in at least 5 minutes before their assigned time slot, so they don't miss their turn. ORCA’s goals with this event are to educate the public and to ensure we can continue our mission to rescue and re-home abandoned or distressed rabbits and provide them quality medical care by raising donations. FOOD: La Empanada Food Truck, The Veggie Cart; DRINK: The Nook on Robinson, Framework Craft Coffee Bar; ART: https://www.instagram.com/sarahroz/ 1:30p - 4p:Outdoor Family Concert sponsored by Dr. Phillips Charities; Seneff Arts Plaza - Downtown Orlando, 445 S Magnolia Ave., Orlando, Florida 32801; Join the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra for this annual free Outdoor Family Concert in memory of Della Phillips sponsored by Dr. Phillips Charities. Enjoy Dr. Seuss family classics The Sneetches and Green Eggs & Ham with beautiful music performed by the orchestra with live narration on Saturday, November 9 at 3 p.m. at Seneff Arts Plaza at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Also at the concert will be food trucks and family-friendly activities with an instrument petting zoo beginning at 1:30 p.m. Event sponsored by Dr. Phillips Charities. This Saturday at 1:30 p.m. prior to the concert, don't miss family-friendly activities and delicious food from the following food trucks: Up In Smoke BBQ, Orlando Fat One's Hot Dogs & Italian Ice, SMAC Food Truck, Sugar Rush Marshmallows, Tacos Mazatlan, Rubios Baja Grill (\*to clarify, food starts at 1:30p and concert starts at 3p**)* 4p - 8p:Lake Nona Town Harvest; Crescent Park in Laureate Park, 8374 Upper Perse Cir, Orlando, Florida 32827; Bring out the whole family to enjoy a festive evening of entertainment featuring top 40 cover band Stereo FM, scarecrow stilt walkers, acrobatic surprises, and more! Oversized tractors, hay bales, and pumpkins create the perfect cozy photo op. Enjoy delicious treats from food trucks Bloque 45, It's All Greek to Me, Guacamole Co., Absofruitly US, Avofuel, a beer garden, and a large Kid's Zone sponsored by Laureate Insurance Partners for toddlers to teens! We look forward to you joining us for the first Lake Nona Town Harvest! 5p - 12a:Warriors Of Light: A Final Fantasy Tribute; The Abbey, 100 S Eola Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, Florida 32801; On November 9th, 2019 in Orlando, Florida, Ongaku Overdrive is honored to bring you Warriors of Light, a Final Fantasy tribute with music, games, art, vendors, and cosplay. Details: http://ongakuoverdrive.com/warriors-of-light/ ▪︎Musical acts performing their renditions of Final Fantasy and other Square music 🎵 ▪︎Multiple video game setups 🎮 ▪︎Video game tournaments with cash prizes 🕹 ▪︎Artists, vendors, and exclusive event merch ▪︎A cosplay-friendly atmosphere ▪︎Final Fantasy-themed cocktails🍹 ▪︎And more! 🎵MUSICAL LINEUP🎵: Descendants of Erdrick, Mega Ran, The Returners - VGM, Knight of the Round Plus, a Final Fantasy edition of No Borders Art Competition! We have more to announce with music, games, and events. Tickets go on sale at https://warriorsoflight.brownpapertickets.com Follow us: http://www.ongakuoverdrive.com, https://www.twitch.tv/ongakuoverdrive, https://discord.gg/azD79zp Sun 11/10 3p - 4:30p:Let Freedom Ring!; Cathedral Church of St. Luke,130 North Magnolia, Orlando, FL 32801; The Orlando Concert Band, with organ, salute the Armed Forces with Veterans Day favorites like Battle Hymn of the Republic, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, and rousing marches by John Philip Sousa.
I just returned home from a 7 day on the NCL Epic. Here is my experience and advice. Feel free to ask any questions. Day 0 - Travel to Orlando We flew in late Friday night and booked a hotel close to port for easy transfer in the AM. We took an Uber from the airport to the Country Inn right by the port. The uber ride was around $35 and we tipped a little extra for it being so far so late at night. (approx 1am). The hotel itself was nice, but the beds are terrible. I mean..TERRIBLE. Day 1 - Embarkation Day We took the 10:30 am transfer from the hotel to the port. They tell you not to arrive more than an hour before boarding, but it was the only time they had available. We arrived at the port a little before 11 and walked right into the terminal with no delays. Check in was super easy and we were given boarding group 10. They started boarding a little early and we were on the ship by a little after noon. We were unable to reserve any meal reservation before hand, so our first goal was to get those placed. They directed everyone to headliners comedy club where they had multiple computers set up to do the reservations. We were able to get the days and times we wanted with no issues, including one that very evening. Since we smoke, our next item was to find the smoking areas. For those interested, there are 3 of them on the Epic. Deck 16 aft at Spice H20 was the one we used the most. There was also one on deck 15 mid near the pools and bar. This one is smaller and was always crammed with people. The last option is the Casino, but you can only smoke there when playing, and the casino doesn't open until you hit international waters. We were comfortably buzzed by the time we had our Muster Drill. 3pm in your designated location. It lasted roughly 1/2 hour. We were scheduled to leave at 4pm and the sail away party started right at 4. The boat however did not move. During the sail away party there was a Code Alpha announcement which we later found out was a medical emergency. Around 5pm the captain came on and said we would be delayed due to the emergency. We later found out that a man had died of a heart attack and they delayed so that the family could take him off the ship while we were still in port. We finally set sail around 9pm. We were worried that we would miss our first stop in the Bahamas, but the captain assured us that we would make it on time. We spent the next couple hours checking things out and playing a little in the casino. Day 2 - Bahamas We were woken up in the AM by Mandy "your Cruise Director" letting us know that we were in the Bahamas and would be starting the tender process. Our excursion wasn't until the afternoon, so we were in no hurry to get off the ship. We went to the buffet for breakfast, and hung out on board a little. Around 10 we headed to deck 6 to get in line for tendering as we didn't have a group number we needed to be in. Let me tell you, that line was ridiculous. It stretched all the way from Aft to bow. We got lucky, and they opened up another tender in the front of the ship, so we only waited about 5 minutes to get on the tender. The water there is beautiful, and since the island is owned by NCL, all drinks were free (we had the UBP). We spent the rest of the morning chilling on the beach and wading in the water. At 1:30 we headed to the info desk to start our excursion. A short 5 minute walk to the other side of the island and we were on a boat headed to another small island. It was only about a 5 minute boat ride to get there. When we arrived, we saw them in all their glory. Pigs! big beautiful pigs! This is one of those excursions that you never have to do again, but it was super fun and an experience to say the least. You are provided with skewers with apples on the end and the pigs will swim right up to you and eat them. We spend a couple hours doing that, petting them, feeding them, and even holding them. Like I said, not something I ever need to do again, but a fun experience non the less. After this, we headed back to the island and then back to the ship. Overall a very fun day. Day 3 - Sea Day This day was spent entirely in the casino. I was lucky enough to hit a decent jackpot early in the AM, so we had the money to play all day. Had this not happened, I have no idea what we would have done. Day 4 - Ochos Rios, Jamaica We decided not to do an excursion here, and just wander around. If you don't like to be hassled, do an excursion. If you can handle saying no 1000 times, feel free to wander around. We went to a few shops and had some drinks at Margaritaville. Then, since we were on vacation, decided to take a drive with a local guy and see some of the sights. He took us around to see the falls and to a great overlook where we could see the whole city below. He also had some decent weed, so that was nice. By about 1 o'clock we headed back to the ship for some food and a nap. Woke up around 5, had some dinner, and then back to bed for the night. Day 5 - Grand Cayman This was another tender port, but since we had an excursion, we had to be in the theater at 8:30 am. We were delayed a little as we had another Code Alpha the night before and they needed to do a medical evacuation. Tender process was pretty quick and we were on the island by 9:15/9:30. There are tents set up right at the dock to meet your tour. We walked a couple blocks and got on a boat with about 50 other people to do the Reef and Wreck Snorkel Adventure. Unfortunately the water was very choppy and the sun wasn't out so we didn't get to see the blue water that is in all the pictures. Once in the water though, you can see to the bottom really well and it was still a beautiful sight. The water there is very very salty, which was nice for buoyancy, but not fun to get in your mouth. This only lasted a couple hours, and we still had plenty of time to wander around town. We picked up some more souvenirs and then made our way to Burger King for some real food. PSA- it doesn't taste the same, but was still awesome. After getting back on the boat, we decided we would take in a show. We ordered tickets from our room TV and chilled for a couple hours before the show. We saw Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Overall it was a pretty good show. If you are easily offended, skip it. Day 6 - Cozumel Another non excursion day. We walked around and did some shopping, nothing too exciting. The people were much less pushy that Jamaica, so that was nice. If you are planning on buying things here, don't get them at the shops right inside the port. Walk through the mall a little. The further you get from the boat, the cheaper they are. Also, feel free to haggle. Day 7 - Sea Day Another day in the casino. Didn't do as well, but still had enough to last all day. Overall an ok time. Day 8 - Disembarkation We booked a transfer to the airport through NCL. Our disembark time was approx 9:30 and they called us a little after 9. Getting off was super easy, and the new face recognition thing they use is really smooth. Luggage pickup was a clusterf*ck, but still only took us 10 minutes or so to get our luggage. Then everything stopped. The line to get on the buses to the airport was ridiculous. We waited almost an hour to get on board. The ride is about 45 minutes to the airport. We were luck enough to get on the bus with a driver who had never been to the airport before. How do they let this happen? It was a mess. We needed terminal A, but by the time she figured everything out we were in Terminal B and decided we would just walk over to A just to get off the bus. Personally, we will never use NCL's transfer again. I'd rather pay a little more for a taxi or Uber. Quick note on Dining - We ate at the Main dining once, specialty 3 time, and the rest was the buffet or O'sheehans. The main dining was actually very good. The buffet was fine, it was a buffet. Cagney's was amazing. La Cucina was my least favorite, should have just done Cagney's 3 times. The big question - Is the UBP worth it? Honestly, yes, but not because I'ma huge drinker. We probably didn't get enough drinks to cover the cost. The advantage is not having to worry about anything. No matter what you want, you just give them a card and its no cost. The convenience was worth more than the actual price of the drinks. Plus you don't have to check your account every day to make sure you aren't spending too much. Sorry this is long, but I wanted to give everyone a thorough review of my first cruise. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to answer. TL;DR - Went on a cruise, had fun. Prefer All-Inclusive Resorts though.
Getting your own deck printed by Shuffled Ink - a review
Playing Card Manufacturer: Shuffled Ink
The vast majority of custom decks of playing cards are produced by big printing companies like the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), European-based Cartamundi, and Taiwan-based Expert/Legends Playing Cards. But there are some lesser known playing card manufacturers, and there are some good reasons why you should know about these smaller players in the playing card industry. Buyers will want to know what they can expect in terms of quality and handling of a deck printed by a lesser known publisher. But this will especially be of interest to creators of custom decks, because you will want to know what options you have for producing your decks besides the usual candidates. These smaller companies will especially be of interest to designers wanting to print a small run of prototype decks, or a number of decks of your own design for family or friends. Companies like USPCC or EPCC/LPCC typically require a minimum order of 600-1000 decks, which quickly becomes out of reach if you're just printing a prototype or making a custom deck for relatives or workmates. As a result many designers typically turn to MakePlayingCards.com (MPC) for smaller scale projects like this. MPC is a printing and production company based in Hong Kong with a factory in China, and their strength is that they take small sized orders. Even if it's just half a dozen decks that you want printed, they'll do it for you. MPC's playing cards don't match the quality of a Bicycle deck in terms of handling, but they do offer playing cards with an embossed air cushion finish, and the quality is superior to budget printers like Artscow. As a result they are the printer of choice for many designers looking to print a dozen or so decks, since for many creators they are the option they know about. So what about if I told you about another printer that offers a similar service? That playing card manufacturer is called Shuffled Ink, and it's even based in the United States. So let's find out more about them, and see if they are a viable alternative for those who might otherwise use MPC for printing their decks. https://preview.redd.it/vab027z8ltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56e7085af1732f76b005f614a00cc416f0072eed
The Shuffled Ink company
Shuffled Ink was previously known as QPC Games (Quality Playing Cards & Games) ahead of a rebranding that happened in 2016. Based in Orlando, Florida, the majority of their playing card products are printed at their United States printing and manufacturing facility. This makes them of immediate interest to North American consumers, because it means that there's real potential for reduced costs in shipping and delivery time. Some of the other things they produce (e.g. board games) are outsourced to China and shipped to the US for assembly, but aside from extremely high volume orders, nearly all their playing cards are printed directly in the United States. They also boast that they create products that are environmentally safe, since their materials are all safety-certifiable - something that can't always be said of the competition. They have been in the business of professional printing and manufacturing for many years, with Charles Levin beginning the company on his dining room table in 1999. From there it grew into his three car garage the following year. After initially outsourcing all production, eventually in 2013 the move was made into the 8,000 square ft manufacturing facility that it is today, with over 20 employees. Growth continues, and there are plans to open a 17,000 square ft facility in the middle of next year. It's a family run business, with Charles taking care of marketing and sales, and his son Matthew running all domestic operations. Their clients include big names like Barclays, Verizon, T-Mobile, Disney, Google, Walmart, and World Poker Tour, so we're not talking here about a backyard operation run out of someone's garden shed, but about an established and respected printer. They describe their strengths as including the following: "An emphasis on our customer service, communications and responsiveness are huge added values when combined with our quality, best prices and turn around times." Reports that I came across about the game components that Shuffled Ink produced under their QPC Games label were very positive. Printing custom board games is something they've been doing for around 20 years now, so they have a lot of experience in this area, and they've fulfilled many projects funded via Kickstarter. It's not just the game itself that they can handle, because their services also include taking care of producing any accessories that a board game might need, including tokens, dice, chips, spinners, timers, instruction books, mats, and boxes. This even covers custom pieces, so clearly they have access to a very broad production range. They're also moving more and more into providing fulfilment for customers as well. But besides customized board games, Shuffled Ink also print cards, and that's especially my area of interest. I should mention that their printing of cards this isn't limited to traditional playing cards, because they also produce custom card games, custom flash cards, and custom tarot cards. In other words: anything card related, and they'll print it. Not surprisingly, they've manufactured millions of custom card games for customers and Kickstarter campaigns, along with whatever accessories and customization these needed. I didn't know there was a big market for flash cards, but apparently I'm wrong - it turns out that flash cards are very popular for many educational purposes, and are used for things like training employees, teaching new languages, educating children, or study purposes. Tarot cards are a large but niche market that is somewhat separate from regular playing cards, but in the interests of completeness I'll mention that Shuffled Ink also produces fully custom tarot decks, using your own artwork or photography, with a minimum order size of ten. They are a member of the American Tarot Association, which gives them access to official tarot resources and materials, to ensure a thoroughly professional job. The printing on some sample Tarot decks that I looked at was clean, crisp, and impressive. https://preview.redd.it/tv16rxy9ltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3cda9074123fd450cc449aa61857d0526daeb19
Shuffled Ink decks
Currently board games account for about 10% of Shuffle Ink's business, card games for 20%, tarot cards and flash cards for 20%, and a custom playing cards for a whopping 50%. These custom decks of playing cards that they print and produce is of special interest to me and most of my readers, so let's find out more about that. Just about every option you can think of is available, and that's because Shuffled Ink caters to a wide range of customers with different needs. It turns out that it's not just collectors, card players, cardists, and magicians that like playing cards. Custom decks are extremely popular, and while they are sometimes produced as personalized items for the gaming industry, they are also printed for a range of other purposes including promotional giveaways, corporate and charity events, trade shows, wedding and anniversary gifts, and for all kinds of special occasions that a custom deck might commemorate and celebrate. Unlike other printers which have the requirement of an order size of 500 or more decks, Shuffled Ink lets you print as few as 5 decks. Design Given the diverse needs of their customers, it won't come as a surprise that Shuffled Ink offers lots of options for designing a deck. You can keep things very simple, by having standard faces, and using a single custom photo or graphic design of your own on the reverse of the cards. Or you can go fully custom, with individual personalized images on the front and back of each and every card. Using standard faces simplifies the process, because then it's just a matter of uploading your own design or photo for the card backs, which can be customized with additional text as needed. If you want to do your own artwork from scratch, they provide a number of different templates for different sized cards, depending on whether you want to go with a poker-sized (2.5” x 3.5”) or bridge-sized (2.25” x 3.5”) deck. Templates are also provided for making the tuck box, which can also be a fully custom design of your own. If you need help, Shuffled Ink offers your first hour of graphic art support for free, and typically only charge for extensive work after that; for the most part their graphic support staff make themselves available to assist clients at no cost. Stock Several different options are available for the card stock, as well as two main options for the finish. As a magician, cardist, and collector, I'm mainly interested in paper cards, so I'll leave out the PVC and Plastic options that they offer, besides noting that these range from 28mm to 35mm in thickness, and have a 500 deck minimum. There's no such minimum for the two main paper stock options for playing cards, which are the 300gsm Premium Paper Stock (Smooth finish) or the 310gsm Casino Paper Stock (Linen finish). Most people with experience with playing cards will realize immediately that a smooth finish is the best for printing high resolution detailed artwork. A linen finish, on the other hand, is the one to opt for if you actually plan to use the cards for shuffling and games, because it has a textured and embossed surface that results in much better card handling, especially in spreads and fans. You can get sample decks from Shuffled Ink to get an idea of what their playing cards look like, and the 310gsm stock is slightly denser and thicker. But both paper stocks have a black core to prevent you seeing through the cards when they are held up in the light. The 300gsm stock was more than adequate for a printed deck, but I'd definitely recommend going with the 310gsm stock if the deck is going to be shuffled and used extensively. The range of samples I had opportunity to check out included some cards with 330gsm stock. This is much thicker, and only suited to larger sized decks like Tarot cards and larger flash cards. Especially with the smooth finish, these certainly look great and feel snappy and durable, but for obvious reasons its not an option for a regular sized deck of playing cards. Packaging The range of different specialty packaging choices was much bigger than I ever expected. All decks come standard with the cards wrapped in cellophane inside the box - something that will be familiar to anyone who has opened a Cartamundi deck. If you want to go with something plain, you can opt for an ordinary white windowed tuck box or for a clear hard-plastic case (classic or jewel) which showcases the cards inside. The sample decks in plastic cases that I checked out were all packaged in a cardboard sleeve for added protection. Another option is a semi-clear soft-plastic gel case. Custom options include a completely custom printed tuck box, consisting of one piece, or two parts, as well custom painted tins. Most of us will prefer a plain white tuck box if we're really looking to cut costs and just want to trial some cards. But for a more formal project, we'll likely opt for a custom tuck-box that incorporates our own design. Some of the sample boxes I looked at were very impressive, not just in terms of the custom printing, but I especially liked some of the solid two-piece cardboard boxes used for Tarot boxes. https://preview.redd.it/tzyqq69dltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58b9217c28a606e8fb4930b402d02d0f530b164b
My own experience in printing a deck with Shuffled Ink
The ordering process So how about giving a complete first-hand account of an actual printing experience with Shuffled Ink? I did a collaboration with BottledMagic, who is a passionate cardist who makes impossible bottles, and had come up with a design for his own cardistry deck. Featuring a combination of orange and purple colours, and a low-poly art style, the deck was entitled Amberthyst Playing Cards. The name is an obvious play on amber and amethyst, the two main colours of the deck. He did all the design work, and my contribution was mostly going along for the ride, because we were both keen to see this deck in print, and see how it looked. The process for getting a deck printed went fairly smoothly. First of all we had to create the files in the right format. A minimum resolution size of 300DPI was required for image files like JPEGs, but art created in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator can be sent in its native format. Since our artwork was all created in Adobe Illustrator, we could just send the original files. It's important to realize that printing uses the CMYK four-color process, which is typical for commercial printing. The RGB color mode you see on most computer screens is a three-color process that has to be converted to CMYK for printing. Where exact colours are essential, Shuffled Ink encourages you to send a physical sample of the colors required, so that they can attempt to color match as best as they can. After finalizing the graphics files, we sent them off via email. Using a file-sharing service like Google Drive or Dropbox is another option that can be used to share the files. Within a couple of days I received an acknowledgement that the files had been been received, along with the promise that their art department would be in touch with proofs the following week. https://preview.redd.it/wznjcgneltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e613e76e20cf06888f32716b7386900cc1ecaf1c Sure enough, a few days later, an email arrived with a final press proof for our order. We had to check this carefully and approve it, before our order would move into production. Attached were several PDFs, one with a mock-up of the tuck box, and two with mock ups of the cards. Why two? It turned out that our artwork had strayed slightly outside the recommended safe area, so there was a risk that the die cutting process would interfere with the art. The company thus provided two proofs, one showing the art exactly as provided, and a second proof with our art resized to fit within their specs. It was our choice to go with either, and we were grateful that we didn't need to re-do all the artwork because they'd done this for us already, so we went with the adjusted version they recommended. Once we gave our approval, we became fully responsible for the accuracy of our proof in every way, which is completely understandable. Within a day we'd received email confirmation that they would proceed with the adjusted art as we had indicated. Now we just had to wait for the deck to be printed and shipped. That's when a minor hang-up happened, because there must have been some internal miscommunication or oversight, and the decks didn't get sent out. After some time elapsed without receiving any kind of shipping notice, I inquired to see what the delay was, and their records didn't clearly indicate whether or not the decks had been shipped. Thankfully they promptly (re)printed them, put them in the mail with a rushed delivery, and our package arrived soon after. https://preview.redd.it/4rbf4qgfltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3e392b3637e5c0b52846f5cb85136a394fb653e The printed deck So how did the deck turn out? Quite fine, thank you very much! We ended up with about one and a half dozen of our Amberthyst decks. The tuck box was a straight forward cardboard one, but having our own custom design on it made for a far more impressive presentation than a plain white box, and made the result look immediately more professional. We were even able to have printing on all the flaps, including the two side flaps which we used for a card reveall. https://preview.redd.it/ocf17pkhltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15683a5dc72d68d699ef6c3b0f9a0763a0c47441 There was even a thumb notch at the top of the box. There were also multiple fold lines enabling the main top flap to be folded backwards below the top of the box, making it much easier to get the cards out. This is standard for a high end playing card manufacturer, and playing card enthusiasts like me will be gratified to see this kind of attention to detail. The cards themselves were fully wrapped in cellophane plastic inside the box - which is apparently standard practice for all decks produced by Shuffled Ink. Again, this makes for a more professional presentation, especially if you're giving a deck away as a gift. https://preview.redd.it/amxb9ywhltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c64ee9129ccad492f1df5fbae70d17f41766a538 The cards were very crisply printed, and the print registration was right on, with consistent and even borders all the way around, corresponding exactly to the original design. There are few things worse for a playing card enthusiast than opening a USPCC printed deck and finding misaligned borders, so it was pleasing to discover that there was no issue with that here. The colours were accurate, and the printing was very clean, with no signs of smudging or blurring. The edges of the cards were cleanly cut, resulting in a smooth feel that matches what you'd expect from a deck printed by Taiwanese printers like LPCC/EPCC, and not the somewhat rough feel of a USPCC produced deck. Close examination showed that the edge of one of the cards was slightly more ragged, presumably from the cutting process, but this didn't really matter since it was the bottom card (a Joker), and it was only obvious when looking very carefully. This was only noticeable with some of the decks, and only seemed to affect the very bottom card in a minor way. https://preview.redd.it/196rkdliltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebd0d80fb7bbb0f0fa7aba6c9a8d6a38c1ed5ff6 There are multiple printing options, and we had opted to print our deck using the 310gsm cardstock with Linen Finish. The main reason for this choice was because the 310gsm is the premium cardstock, and the 300gsm was a little too light for our personal requirements due to the cards being thinner, which is less than ideal for a deck used for card flourishing. I have seen some sample decks that used the 300gsm cardstock, but have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised, because the cards weren't as flimsy or thin as I was expecting. In fact those are probably fine for a novelty deck that you're mostly going to be looking at and not using intensively, but it's not ideal when you want decent handling and performance, especially for cardists. We'd also had a few smooth finish decks printed as part of our order, so we could compare them. These smooth-finish playing cards are certainly fine for average use, but just won't spread or fan quite as nicely as the cards with the linen finish. But if looks are your most important criteria, and you're not too worried about fanning and spreading the cards, then the smooth finish produces the best visual results. The cutting process must be different than what is used by the major playing card manufacturers, so don't expect to be able to do faro shuffles with a deck like this. But the cards have a pleasant thickness, and enough snap to be able to do a satisfying spring with no difficulty. The embossed linen finish was very pleasing, and is of a quality that matches that of MPC produced decks. Spreads and fans were fairly smooth, although I wouldn't be surprised to notice some clumping after extended use. Packet style card flourishes worked very smoothly, and riffle shuffles and overhand shuffles were more than comfortable. While this deck won't live up to the very highest and demanding standards required by an expert cardist, the performance and durability was more than acceptable for the needs of card games, and on par with a typical MPC printed deck. The quality of our printed decks was certainly much higher than your typical souvenir deck. In fact the linen finish and 310gsm cardstock produced a quality that was above the components I've seen in many professionally produced board games and card games. It's certainly ideal for prototypes or for getting your own custom deck printed in cases where you're not in a position to mass produce a thousand or more decks with a big name playing card manufacturer. https://preview.redd.it/g3hk9dyjltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ef3ab09c98dbaf68841aa257de7666917ca51a0
Reports from others who have used Shuffled Ink
In terms of what others think, I've seen some mixed reports of experiences with Shuffled Ink, so I contacted a few other creators of custom playing cards to see what their experiences were like. Bear in mind that since many of these creators demand the very highest standards, which are often well above what the average person might consider acceptable. Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project has printed with Shuffled Ink a couple of times. In the case of two projects, some reprinting proved necessary since the initial results weren't as expected, but there were positive reports about the final product. He personally favours the easy-to-use design interface of MPC and their speedy turn-around time. Another large creator that I'm in correspondence with used Shuffled Ink to print prototypes for a large Kickstarter project. The decks weren't all sealed as requested and there was some damage to the tuck cases in transit. Some effort was needed on his part to get a good outcome, and this resulted in a somewhat lukewarm experience overall for him. A different designer who used Shuffled Ink for producing three sets of prototypes indicated real satisfaction with the quality, turn-around time, customer service, and pricing. He reported that the cost of $3500 for 1000 decks with tuck cases was ideal for getting some momentum for projects with a smaller funding goal, and he was very pleased with the end product and the process. The experience of yet another creator was also positive. He has printed several prototypes with Shuffled Ink, and reported being very happy with the response time of their communication, and the speed of delivery. In his view the quality of the prototype deck they printed compared very favourable to MPC printed decks. According to him, Shuffled Ink might well prove to be a better choice for US-based creators. So there you have several other personal experiences to compare with my own first-hand report. If you have experiences with Shuffled Ink that you're willing to share, by all means comment below, to help ensure that other prospective customers are well-informed about what to expect. Overall in my estimation Shuffled Ink compares quite favourably with MPC, including their pricing, and the absence of many extra fees. https://preview.redd.it/vg2itl2lltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e6278942cd4456bbb1abe1ba86f4d9bbeeda022
Printing your own deck with Shuffled Ink
So why might you want to consider printing a deck with Shuffled Ink? Firstly it should be mentioned that the quality of playing cards produced by Shuffled Ink won't match the high quality of decks produced in high volumes by industry leaders like the United States Playing Card Company, makers of the famous Bicycle brand. Magicians and cardists will notice that Shuffled Ink decks won't handle as smoothly, and you will notice this right away when shuffling, or attempting spreads and fans. But the quality isn't terrible either, and it certainly is much better than what you'll get at your average printer. Unless you're planning to print 1000 or more decks, Shuffled Ink and MPC are your best bets for printing a decent quality product that won't look or feel cheap. Obviously it won't handle as smoothly as a top of the line cardistry deck printed in high volume by USPCC, and the cards won't slide quite as smoothly and cleanly. But it will handle much better than your typical souvenir deck, and last longer than your average grocery shop cheapie. What's more, you can expect the colours to look good, the print registration to be excellent, and the card stock to feel quite durable. It's a professional product in look and feel, and it's really only serious magicians and cardists who will demand the higher level of quality and handling possibly only with mass produced decks from the big playing card manufacturers. Perhaps most important of all, with Shuffled Ink you can print a small number of decks, and for lower volume orders, these decks are about as good as you get anywhere. If you want to print a couple of dozen prototype decks, that quickly becomes an impossibility for most big publishers like USPCC and EPCC. At the very least getting them to trial a small number of copies will be an extremely costly business to the point that it's not worth bothering to do it. That's where printers like MPC and Shuffled Ink come to the rescue, because they'll let you print a few decks, while ensuring a reasonable turn-around. Especially if you prefer to use a US based company, Shuffled Ink is ideal for the hobbyist creator. Perhaps you have a big project and want to scrutinize some prototypes before dropping large amounts of cash on a huge print run, or perhaps you just want to make a small number of decks for friends or family. Either way, Shuffled Ink is perfect for those situations. What they offer is a product that is of a quality that you won't find with your average printer, and yet that won't break the bank or only be possible with a minimum order of thousands of decks. https://preview.redd.it/e7zcrfumltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=af6afc70017fae1c9ffc0cf19ae56caf1c5c3dd3
Final thoughts
Overall I'm impressed with the large range of options that Shuffled Ink has available, and despite a small glitch in the mailing process, my personal experience in printing a custom deck was positive, and the quality was good. It wouldn't be fair to expect the same level of quality and performance from a Shuffled Ink produced deck that I'm used to with a USPCC-produced deck. The main area where you can expect to notice the difference is in the handling. But if it's not a deck that's going to see intense use, this doesn't even really matter. Shuffled Ink would probably not be my printer of choice for decks geared for heavy usage or to meet the demanding needs of card flourishing or card magic. But they'd certainly be fine to use for card games, or for producing a novelty deck for collectors, or for a special event. For those active in the playing card industry, the real strength of Shuffled Ink is their ability to produce small print runs and prototypes at a very low cost. That makes them a good alternative to MPC, which otherwise tends to be the printer of choice for people wanting to print their own playing cards in lower volume. The fact that they are based in the United States will also be a significant point of appeal for many people. With the help of printers like Shuffled Ink even you can become a playing card designer, and create your own decks to give away as gifts, or to add to your own collection as a one-of-a-kind piece! NB: I do have a few extra copies of the Amberthyst deck available, so contact me privately if you are keen to have one for relatively cheap. Where to learn more? Head to the Shuffled Ink website here, or check them out on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest). https://preview.redd.it/l2v2qz1oltp31.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=680bc8e81a797f2490700f28719d0e39d3c7c45b
I Recently Started Watching 100 Films From Every Decade Starting From 1950. Here's My List In Case It's Of Use To Anyone
As a film student I'm constantly coming across "must see films" which I haven't got around to watching yet, or I find myself in a situation where I get asked "how have you not seen [name of film]; don't you study film?". I've also always found it hard to retain the large amount of information and history that comes with film study. I decided the best way to ensure I better retained all of this information wasn't to continue what I was doing which was trying to take it in from lectures, books and other resources whilst watching films in a non-linear fashion; but to try and approximate, as best I could, a linear experience of film history. I decided the best way to approximate this linear-experience would probably be best achieved by watching 100 films from each decade. By doing so, I would be able to not only ensure to cross off a lot of films I've never seen before, but I would also be able to better remember the people, the history of film. Granted there a number of issues you could take with my list; and in no way to I claim this to ultimate list of films. For instance my list only starts in 1950 skipping the Silent Era and the Hollywood Golden Age. Secondly it's extremely English-language orientated, with a very significant majority being American; meaning a lot of very very important film movements from across the globe have been skipped entirely. There are obviously going to be more issues as well, and you might feel I've missed some very important films in the process of creating this list; however I've done my best to take 100 films from every decade from the 50s until now which will provide a great deal of context and hopefully be very entertaining and rewarding. I'm fairly certain this list will be beneficial to many, especially those who are just becoming interested in film and its history. It can be further distilled and shaped and used to create other lists, so have fun with it. Note: The list has a few a lot more international films from 00s on-wards as I used BBC's 100 films of the 21st Centuries List which can be accessed here if you haven't seen it: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films Now here's the list for you all. I hope it serves as a useful list and might be able to generate great discussion. 1950 Sunset Boulevard All About Eve Treasure Island In a Lonely Place Rashomon The Gunfighter The Asphalt Jungle 1951 The Thing The Steel Helmet A Streetcar Named Desire The Day the Earth Stood Still Strangers on a Train A Place In the Sun The African Queen An American In Paris 1952 Ikiru High Noon Singin’ in the Rain The Bad and the Beautiful The Greatest Show on Earth The Big Sky 5 Fingers 1953 The Wild One Stalag 17 Roman Holiday Julius Caesar Tokyo Story From Here to Eternity Shane 1954 The Caine Mutiny Sabrina Rear Window Dial M for Murder On the Waterfront A Star is Born Carmen Jones Seven Samurai Johnny Guitar Three Coins in the Fountain 1955 East of Eden The Seven Year Itch To Catch a Thief Artists and Models The Night of the Hunter Kiss Me Deadly The Man From Laramine Oklahoma! Bad Day at Black Rock Rifif The Man With the Golden Arm Blackboard Jungle Rebel Without a Cause Marty Guys and Dolls 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers The Killing The Man Who Knew Too Much The Searchers Forbidden Planet The Wrong Man Around the World in 80 Days The Ten Commandments Giant La Strada Picnic Baby Doll 1957 12 Angry Men Witness for the Prosecution The Incredible Shrinking Man Paths of Glory Peyton Place Mother India Funny Face Gunfight at the OK Central Sayonara A Face in the Crowd The Bridge on the River Kwai Sweet Smeel of Success Throne of Blood Jailhouse Rock Wild Strawberries 1958 Vertigo The Defiant Ones Horror of Dracula Gigi Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Touch of Evil Seperate Tables 1959 North by Northwest Anatomy of a Murder The Young Philadelphians Gidget Ben Hur Pillow Talk A Summer Place Hercules Some Came Running Rio Bravo Some Like it Hot On the Beach 1960 La Dolce Vita The Apartment Elmer Gantry Psycho Spartacus The Magnificent Seven The Time Machine Never on Sunday 1961 One, Two, Free The Misfits The Hustler Breakfast at Tiffany’s Two Women The Pit and the Pendulum Where the Boys Are West Side Story Splendor in the Grass 1962 Ride High Country Lonely Are the Brave What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? The Miracle Worker David and Lisa The Longest Day Lawrence of Arabia Lolita The Interns The Manchurian Candidate 1963 America America The Birds Beach Party Tom Jones The Victors The Great Escape Hud Cleopatra Days of Wine and Roses 1964 The Carpetbaggers A Hard Days Night Becket Goldfinger Dr. Strangelove The Pink Panther My Fair Lady Marry Poppins The Americanization of Emily Zorba Greek 1965 The Sound of Music Darling What’s New, Pussycat? The Pawnbroker Mickey One Doctor Zhivago 1966 The Russians Are Comming The Russians Are Comming Born Free Alfie A Man For All Seasons The Professionals Blow-Up Who’s Affraid of Virginia Woolf? A Man and a Woman The Wild Angels 1967 Barefoot in the Park In the Heat of the Night The Graduate You’re A Big Boy Now Cool Hand Luke The Trip Valley of the Dolls Bonnie and Clyde In Cold Blood The Dirty Dozen The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Planet of the Apes 2001: A Space Odessey Barbarella Wild In the Streets Petulia Rosemary’s Baby 1968 The Producers The Odd Couple Funny Girl Pretty Poison The Green Berets Belle De Joup Rachel, Rachel I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! Bullitt Romeo and Juliet The Killing of Sister George Midnight Cowboy True Grit The Wild Bunch 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Shoot Horses, Don’t They Alice’s Restaurant Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Medium Cool The Sterile Cuckoo Take the Money and Run Easy Rider 1970 The Molly Maguires Hi, Mom! The Ballad of Cable Hogue The Landlord Catch-22 Wanda Five Easy Pieces The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes Where’s Poppa? Little Big Man 1971 Vanishing Point Get Carter The Andromeda Strain The Beguiled Pretty Maids All in a Row Bananas Taking Off Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? Klute The Hired Hand The French Connection Carnal Knowledge Play Misty for Me A Clockwork Orange Harold and Maude Dirty Harry 1972 The Rolling Stones: Cocksucker Blues Silent Running Prime Cut Fat City Deliverance Junior Bonner Bad Company The King of Marvin Gardens Pulp The Getaway 1973 Steelyard Blues The Long Goodbye Scarecrow The Friends of Eddie Coyle Dillinger White Lightning Electra Glide in Blue Charley Varrick The Outfit Mean Streets Serpico The Last Detail Sleeper The Laughing Policeman The Exorcist 1974 Thieves Like Us Busting The Conversation Dirty Mary Crazy Larry Thunderbolt and Lightfoot The Swinging Cheerleaders The Parallax View The Dion Brothers The Terminal Man Chinatown California Split Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 11 Harrowhouse The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Taking of Pelham One Two Three The Yakuza 1975 Welfare Smile The Passenger The Day of the Locust Race with the Devil Night Moves The Drowning Pool Dog Day Afternoon Hard Times Milestones One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1976 Taxi Driver The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea The Missouri Breaks The Fron Marathon Man Assault on Precinct 13 Bound for Glory 1977 The Late Show Annie Hall Rolling Thunder Looking for Mr. Goodbar 1978 Blue Collar Fingers Straight Time Martin The Driver Who’ll Stop the Rain 1979 The Warriors Alien Apocalypse Now Wise Blood Being There 1980 Airplane! Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back Raging Bull The Shinning Ordinary People Kagemusha Heavens Gate 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark An American Werewolf in London Chariots of Fire Das Boot The Evil Dead Gallipoli Arthur Thief Blow Out 1982 Blade Runner E.T. Fast Times at Ridgemont High The Thing 48 Hrs. Tootsie First Blood Gandhi Poltergeist 1983 Scarface Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Local Hero The Man With Two Brains The Big Chill Terms of Endearment The Dead Zone 1984 Ghost Busters Once Upon a Time In America The Terminator This Is Spinal Tap Beverly Hills Cop Amadeus Top Secret A Nightmare on Elm Street Paris Texas Blood Simple The Killing Fields A Passage to India 1985 Back to the Future The Breakfast Club Ran The Colour Purple Out of Africa The Purple Rose of Cairo Brazil Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters After Hours The Goonies To Live and Die in L.A. 1986 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Platoon Aliens Blue Velvet Stand By Me Jean De Florette Crocodile Dundee The Fly Top Gun Little Shop of Horrors Sid and Nancy Lucas Something Wild 1987 Fatal Attraction Full Metal Jacket Wall Street Evil Dead II Raising Arizona Withnail and I The Princess Bride Good Morning Vietnam The Last Emperor The Untouchables Lost Boys 1988 Die Hard The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad Akira Cinema Paradisio Big A Cry in the Dark Heathers The Last Temptation of Christ Rain Man My Neighbor Totoro The Thin Blue Line Mississippi Burning They Live 1989 Do The Right Thing When Harry Met Sally Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Killer Batman Dead Poets Society Driving Miss Daisy The Killer My Left Foot Say Anything Field of Dreams 1990 Edward Scissorhands Life Is Sweet Wild at Heart Metropolitan To Sleep With Anger Paris Is Burning Close-Up Goodfellas 1991 A Brighter Summer Day Raise the Red Lantern Terminator 2: Judgment Day La Belle Noiseuse Madonna: Truth or Dare Poison JFK The Double Life of Veronique My Own Private Idaho Barton Fink Slacker The Silence of the Lambs 1992 Orlando Singles The Long Day Closes Bad Lieutenant Wayne’s World Unforgiven The Player Reservoir Dogs Malcolm X 1993 The Age of Innocce Schindler’s List Dazed and Confused Naked Three Colors: Blue Groundhog Day The Piano 1994 Clerks Dumb and Dumber Once Were Warriors The Shawshank Redemption Satantango Natural Born Killers Heavenly Creatures The Lion King Crumb Chungking Express Pulp Fiction Hoop Dreams 1995 Billy Madison The Usual Suspects Casino The City of Lost Children Before Sunrise Friday Clueless Seven Heat Kids Dead Man Toy Story Safe 1996 Romeo + Juliet Lone Star Swingers When We Were Kings Scream Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills Breaking the Waves Crash Trainspotting Fargo 1997 The Ice Storm Titanic Jackie Brown L.A. Confidential Starship Troopers Fireworks (Hana-Bi) The Sweet Hereafter Princess Mononoke Boogie Nights 1998 Buffalo ‘66 Velvet Goldmine Last Night Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas There’s Something About Mary Babe: Pig in the City The Big Lebowski Out of Sight Rushmore 1999 The Virgin Suicides Election Audition Being John Malkovich American Beauty All About My Mother The Blair Witch Project Magnolia Eyes Wide Shut Fight Club The Matrix Beau Travail 2000 Requiem for a Dream The Gleaners and I Almost Famous Werckmeister Harmonies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Memento Yi Yi: A One and a Two In the Mood for Love The Beach Traffic O Brother, Where Art Thou? Billy Elliot Amores Perros American Psycho 2001 Amélie A.I. Artificial Intelligence The Royal Tenenbaums Moulin Rouge! Spirited Away Mulholland Drive Donnie Darko The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2002 Narc Ten The Pianist Far From Heaven City of God Talk to Her 25th Hour Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Adaptation Bowling for Columbine Gangs of New York The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Punch Drunk Love Russian Ark 28 Days Later 2003 Finding Nemo The Return Big Fish Kill Bill Vol.1 Dogville Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring Oldboy Lost in Translation The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Love Actually Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 21 Grams 2004 Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Before Sunset Moolaadé Bad Education The Incredibles Kill Bill Vol. 2 Million Dollar Baby The Passion of Christ Sideways Shaun of the Dead Supersize Me Tropical Malady Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2005 Brick Kiss Kiss Bang Bang A History of Violence Brokeback Mountain The New World Caché Capote Batman Begins Lord of War Crash A History of Violence 2006 The Fall Apocalypto Babel Casino Royale The Departed The Inconvenient Truth Little Miss Sunshine Volver United 93 Syndromes and a Century The Lives of Others Pan’s Labyrinth Children of Men 2007 I’m Not There Zodiac Across the Universe Atonement Gone Baby Gone Juno Michael Clayton Ratatouille The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days No Country for Old Men There Will Be Blood The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2008 Let the Right One In The Headless Woman The Hurt Locker The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Dark Knight WALL-E Synecdoche, New York Frost/Nixon Gran Torino Milk Revolutionary Road Slumdog Millionaire 2009 Watchmen The White Ribbon Moon The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo White Material The Secret in Their Eyes A Prophet A Serious Man Fish Tank Inglourious Basterds 2010 Buried Blue Valentine Black Swan True Grit Inception Certified Copy Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives The Social Network 2011 Take Shelter Shame The Artist The Turin Horse Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Melancholia Margaret A Separation The Tree of Life Drive Super 8 2012 Looper Moonrise Kingdom Spring Breakers Tabu Stories We Tell Zero Dark Thirty Amour The Master Holy Motors The Act of Killing Mud Dredd Seven Psychopaths The Place Beyond the Pines 2013 Rush Before Midnight Snowpiercer Inside Llewyn Davis Her Dallas Buyers Club Wolf of Wall Street Only Lovers Left Alive Prisoners The Great Beauty Under the Skin Ida Blue Is the Warmest Color 12 Years a Slave 2014 Inherent Vice Goodbye to Language Leviathan Birdman Timbuktu The Grand Budapest Hotel Boyhood Gone Girl Whiplash 2015 Spotlight Carol The Assassin Brooklyn Inside Out Son of Saul Mad Max: Fury Road Amy The Big Short Ex Machina The Martian Room Revenant Sicario 2016 Hail, Caesar! Hell or High Water Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Nocturnal Animals 2017 Okja Baby Driver Dunkirk The Beguiled Trainspotting 2 Edit: Replaced Dumb and Dumber with Once Were Warriors
October 31, 2019: The House votes to formalize its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
August 10, 2019: Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his Manhattan jail cell where he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
August 7, 2019: The bodies of Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are found in Manitoba, Canada. Police suspect the friends went on a killing spree across the country, and had been searching for them for 20 days.
July 7, 2019: The US women's national soccer team wins the World Cup for a fourth time in a row.
April 18, 2019: A redacted version of the special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign's possible collusion is released to the public.
March 15, 2019: Fifty people are killed and another 50 are injured in attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
March 12, 2019: Federal prosecutors in Boston charge at least 50 people in the "Varsity Blues" scandal, accusing many of them of using bribes to get their students into college. Among the defendants are actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
March 2019: Governments around the world banned the Boeing 737 Max from their airspaces after two crashes in 5 months killed 346 people.
January 10, 2019: Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who went missing three months prior, escapes from a rural home where she was being held captive by her parent's killer. He later pleads guilty to the crimes.
October 2, 2018: Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
September 27, 2016: More than 20 million people tune in to watch the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
July 10, 2018: 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach are rescued from a flooded cave after more than two weeks stuck in the cavern.
June 24, 2018: Saudi Arabia lifts its ban on allowing women to drive.
May 19, 2018: Millions around the world tune in to watch Britain's Prince Harry marry American actress Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle.
April 24, 2018: DNA submitted to an ancestry database helps investigators catch who they believe to be the "Golden State Killer", a murderer and rapist who tormented the Bay Area in the 1970s and '80s.
April 6-June 20, 2018: Under its "zero tolerance" immigration policy, the Trump administration separates thousands of children from their migrant parents at the border, causing widespread outrage on a national level.
April 13, 2018: The US, Britain, and France conduct air strikes against Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad's suspected use of chemical weapons on citizens in a civil war gripping the country.
March 24, 2018: Hundreds of thousands take part in the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C., organized by survivors of the Parkland shooting to call for gun control reform.
February 14, 2018: Seventeen students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, are killed, and another 17 are injured, in a horrific shooting.
February 4, 2018: The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win their first-ever Super Bowl and stun viewers with a now-classic trick play.
February 9-25, 2018: The Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
January 14, 2018: A teen girl escapes from her family home in southern California and calls police to rescue the rest of her 12 siblings from their abusive parents.
November 21, 2017: Dramatic video emerges showing a North Korean soldier defecting to South Korea while being shot at.
November 15, 2017: The San Juan, an Argentine navy submarine, goes missing. It was found at the bottom of the ocean almost a year later, with all 44 crew dead from an explosion that happened in the vessel.
October 12, 2017: Trump announces that the Pakistani military has rescued Canadian-American couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman and their children from the Haqqani network.
October 1, 2017: Fifty-eight people are killed and more than 850 are injured after a gunman opens fire on a Las Vegas music festival from a 32nd floor room in the Mandalay Bay casino.
October 2017: Famous men are culled in the #MeToo movement.
July 8, 2017: The New York Times publishes a report on how members of Trump's campaign — including his son Donald Jr. — met with Russian agents in Trump Tower in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election.
June 1, 2017: Trump announces his intention to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.
May 22, 2017: Twenty-two people leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena are killed in a terrorist bombing. Another 50 people were injured.
April 19, 2017: Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez dies by suicide in prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
February 26, 2017: "La La Land" is mistakenly announced as the Best Picture winner at the Oscars, instead of "Moonlight."
January 28, 2017: Serena Williams beats her sister Venus to win the Australian Open, while secretly eight weeks pregnant with her first child.
January 21, 2017: Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Washington, D.C. and cities around the world to take part in the Women's March, protesting Trump's election.
January 20, 2017: Donald Trump is sworn in as the nation's 45th president.
November 8, 2016: Donald Trump is elected president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in a landmark upset.
November 3, 2016: The Chicago Cubs break the Billy Goat curse and win their first World Series in 108 years.
October 8, 2016: The Washington Post publishes a video from a 2005 interview between "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush and Donald Trump, in which the latter said he can grab women "by the p---y" because he's a star.
October 7, 2016: The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security issue a joint statement warning that the Russians are trying to interfere in the presidential election.
September 12, 2016: The Indianapolis Star publishes a report detailing how USA Gymnastics failed to report sexual abuse committed by Michigan State University physician Dr. Larry Nassar.
September 15, 2016: Angelina Jolie files for divorce from husband Brad Pitt.
August 26, 2016: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits on the bench during the national anthem, saying "I have to take a stand for people that are oppressed."
August 5-21, 2016: The 2016 summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
July 7, 2016: Five Dallas police officers are killed while working at a Black Lives Matter rally. Authorities killed the gunman with a bomb delivered by a robot.
June 24, 2016: Britain votes to leave the European Union.
June 12, 2016: A gunman opens fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 and injuring 53.
June 2, 2016: Brock Turner, a former Stanford swim team member, is sentenced to just six months in jail for sexually assaulting an inebriated woman outside a campus fraternity.
April 21, 2016: Music legend Prince is found dead in the elevator of his Minnesota estate. An autopsy would later find that the singer died of an overdose of the opioid fentanyl.
April 3, 2016: A group of news outlets around the world publish stories based on the Panama Papers, a leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panamanian law firm, showing the shady ways wealthy people use offshore accounts.
December 18, 2015: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is released, earning more than $2 billion at the box office worldwide.
November 13-14, 2015: Terror attacks strike Paris for a second time in a year, resulting in the deaths of 130 people and nearly 500 wounded.
August 26, 2015: WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward are shot dead while filming a live TV segment in Virginia.
August 21, 2015: Three American men, including two active military members, thwart a terrorist attack on a French train.
July 20, 2015: Diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba are restored, decades after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
July 11, 2015: Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escapes for a second time from his cell at a Mexican high-security prison.
June 26, 2015: The Supreme Court issues a 5-4 ruling that gay marriage is legal, legalizing same-sex unions nationwide.
June 16, 2015: New York City real estate mogul Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president with a speech at Trump Tower calling Mexican immigrants "rapists."
June 6, 2015: Joyce Mitchell, a worker at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, helps two convicted murderers escape.
June 6, 2015: American Pharoah wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse in 37 years to earn the Triple Crown of American horse racing.
May 2015: An outbreak of the Zika virus spreads to Brazil, and eventually moves its way up into Central America and the Caribbean.
March 24, 2015: Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 crashes in the Alps, killing all 150 people on board.
February 1, 2015: The New England Patriots win Super Bowl XLIX thanks to an interception with just seconds left in the game.
January 7-9, 2015: Paris is the target of multiple terror attacks that leave 17 people dead.
November 24, 2014: Hackers breach the network of Sony Pictures Entertainment and release embarrassing information against the company.
September 4, 2014: Comedian Joan Rivers dies while undergoing plastic surgery to her throat.
August 9, 2014: Unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown is shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, causing several days of riots in the community and fueling the Black Lives Matter movement.
August 19, 2014: American photojournalist James Foley is beheaded in a video recorded by ISIS, marking the beginning of the terrorist group's rise to power.
August 11, 2014: Beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams is found dead from a suicide at his home in California.
May 31, 2014: The US government agrees to release five Taliban commanders in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had gone missing from a base in Afghanistan five years prior.
May 24, 2014: Rapper Kanye West marries reality star Kim Kardashian in a lavish wedding in Florence, Italy.
May 5, 2014: TMZ obtains footage showing Beyoncé getting between her husband and sister when the two come to blows while riding in an elevator after the Met Gala.
March 23, 2014: The World Health Organization reports that there has been an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, the start of the largest outbreak of the virus in history.
April 2014: The Flint water crisis begins as the Michigan city tries to cut costs by getting their water from the Flint River instead of getting it from Detroit.
March 25, 2014: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow announces her separation from her Coldplay frontman husband Chris Martin on her blog Goop, saying they have decided to "consciously uncouple".
March 8, 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously vanishes off radar while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
March 2014: Russia invades Ukraine and annexes the Crimea, after Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, is toppled in anti-government protests.
February 18, 2014: A 39-year-old Jimmy Fallon starts his tenure as host of "The Tonight Show".
February 2, 2014: Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies at the age of 46 from a drug overdose.
February 1, 2014: Dylan Farrow writes an essay describing how her father, director Woody Allen, molested her as a child. Allen was never charged and denies the allegation.
December 5, 2013: Nelson Mandela, South Africa's trailblazing first black president, dies at the age of 25.
July 22, 2013: Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth to a baby boy named Prince George, who becomes third in line to the British throne, behind his father and grandfather.
July 13, 2013: The Black Lives Matter movement begins after George Zimmerman is acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of black teen Trayvon Martin.
July 7, 2013: Scottish tennis player Andy Murray becomes the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
July 6, 2013: "Glee" star Cory Monteith is found dead in a Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room after succumbing to a drug and alcohol overdose.
June 6, 2013: The Guardian and the Washington Post publish stories based on information leaked to them by government contractor Edward Snowden.
May 6, 2013: Three women who had been missing for about a decade are rescued from the Cleveland, Ohio, home of Ariel Castro.
May 16, 2013: The now-defunct news site Gawker publishes a video showing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack.
April 15, 2013: Two pressure cooker bombs explode at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 250 others.
March 13, 2013: Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected pope, becoming the first South American to lead the Roman Catholic Church. He assumes the name Pope Francis.
February 28, 2013: Basketball legend Dennis Rodman travels to North Korea and meets leader Kim Jong-un, becoming the first American to meet the new leader since he assumed office two years prior.
December 14, 2012: A mentally-disturbed shooter kills 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, before killing himself.
November 9, 2012: Gen. David Petraeus resigns as director of the CIA after the FBI uncovers the fact that he shared classified information with his mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell.
November 6, 2012: Voters in Colorado and Washington vote to legalize recreational marijuana, becoming the first states in the US to do so.
October 29, 2012: Superstorm Sandy causes widespread death and damage, especially in the Northeastern US.
October 22, 2012: After being accused of conducting an elaborate doping scheme, American cyclist Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France medals and banned from cycling competitions for life.
September 11, 2012: US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans are killed after a mob storms the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.
July 20, 2012: A shooter opens fire at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight," in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.
November 7, 2011: Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the late singer's overdose death.
October 20, 2011: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is captured and killed by revolutionaries, bringing an end to his 42-year regime.
October 3, 2011: American Amanda Knox, 24, is freed from an Italian prison after her conviction in the 2009 murder of her British roommate is overthrown.
September 17, 2011: The Occupy Wall Street movement begins with about 1,000 people protesting in downtown Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.
July 23, 2011: Grammy Award-winning singer Amy Winehouse, 27, is found dead at her home in north London.
July 22, 2011: A right-wing Christian extremist kills 77 people — most of them children — in attacks on Oslo, Norway, and the nearby island of Utoya.
July 7, 2011: Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid shutters after it was revealed that staffers hacked into the phones of prominent figures like Prince William to mine for stories.
May 14, 2011: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, is pulled off a Paris-bound flight in New York and charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid.
May 1, 2011: President Barack Obama addresses the nation to announce the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden, after a successful Navy SEAL raid on the 9/11 mastermind's compound in Pakistan.
April 29, 2011: 3 billion people tune in to watch Britain's Prince William marry college sweetheart Kate Middleton in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in London
March 11, 2011: An earthquake in Japan causes the second-worst nuclear accident in history.
March 2011: Civil war breaks out in Syria after military defectors create the Free Syrian Army, to combat those loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
February 11, 2011: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns under pressure from revolutionaries, giving up the seat he had held for three decades.
January 28, 2011: "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen enters rehab, a day after the actor was rushed from his home to the hospital for abdominal and chest pains, according to CBS Los Angeles.
December 17, 2010: The suicide of a Tunisian street vendor serves as a catalyst for the Arab Spring.
December 8, 2010: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange turns himself in to British police after Swedish authorities put out a warrant for his arrest in connection to a rape accusation.
October 13, 2010: 33 miners are rescued after spending 69 days trapped in a Chilean copper mine.
June 27, 2010: The FBI arrests 10 Russian spies caught living deep undercover in the United States.
May 2, 2010: The European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund sign off on a €110 million bailout of Greece, to save the EU country from default.
April 20, 2010: An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico causes the biggest marine oil spill in history.
April 14, 2010: An eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano causes an ash cloud to spread across Europe, grounding flights in the region.
January 12, 2010: Hundreds of thousands of people are killed after a 11117.0-magnitude earthquake strikes the island nation of Haiti.
October 31, 2019: The House votes to formalize its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
August 10, 2019: Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his Manhattan jail cell where he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
August 7, 2019: The bodies of Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are found in Manitoba, Canada. Police suspect the friends went on a killing spree across the country, and had been searching for them for 20 days.
July 7, 2019: The US women's national soccer team wins the World Cup for a fourth time in a row.
April 18, 2019: A redacted version of the special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign's possible collusion is released to the public.
March 15, 2019: Fifty people are killed and another 50 are injured in attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
March 12, 2019: Federal prosecutors in Boston charge at least 50 people in the "Varsity Blues" scandal, accusing many of them of using bribes to get their students into college. Among the defendants are actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
March 2019: Governments around the world banned the Boeing 737 Max from their airspaces after two crashes in 5 months killed 346 people.
January 10, 2019: Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who went missing three months prior, escapes from a rural home where she was being held captive by her parent's killer. He later pleads guilty to the crimes.
October 2, 2018: Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is murdered inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
September 27, 2018: More than 20 million people tune in to watch the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
July 10, 2018: 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach are rescued from a flooded cave after more than two weeks stuck in the cavern.
June 24, 2018: Saudi Arabia lifts its ban on allowing women to drive.
May 19, 2018: Millions around the world tune in to watch Britain's Prince Harry marry American actress Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle.
April 24, 2018: DNA submitted to an ancestry database helps investigators catch who they believe to be the "Golden State Killer", a murderer and rapist who tormented the Bay Area in the 1970s and '80s.
April 6-June 20, 2018: Under its "zero tolerance" immigration policy, the Trump administration separates thousands of children from their migrant parents at the border, causing widespread outrage on a national level.
April 13, 2018: The US, Britain, and France conduct air strikes against Syria in response to President Bashar al-Assad's suspected use of chemical weapons on citizens in a civil war gripping the country.
March 24, 2018: Hundreds of thousands take part in the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C., organized by survivors of the Parkland shooting to call for gun control reform.
February 14, 2018: Seventeen students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, are killed, and another 17 are injured, in a horrific shooting.
February 4, 2018: The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots to win their first-ever Super Bowl and stun viewers with a now-classic trick play.
February 9-25, 2018: The Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
January 14, 2018: A teen girl escapes from her family home in southern California and calls police to rescue the rest of her 12 siblings from their abusive parents.
November 21, 2017: Dramatic video emerges showing a North Korean soldier defecting to South Korea while being shot at.
November 15, 2017: The San Juan, an Argentine navy submarine, goes missing. It was found at the bottom of the ocean almost a year later, with all 44 crew dead from an explosion that happened in the vessel.
October 12, 2017: Trump announces that the Pakistani military has rescued Canadian-American couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman and their children from the Haqqani network.
October 1, 2017: Fifty-eight people are killed and more than 850 are injured after a gunman opens fire on a Las Vegas music festival from a 32nd floor room in the Mandalay Bay casino.
October 2017: Famous men are culled in the #MeToo movement.
July 8, 2017: The New York Times publishes a report on how members of Trump's campaign — including his son Donald Jr. — met with Russian agents in Trump Tower in the lead up to the 2016 presidential election.
June 1, 2017: Trump announces his intention to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord.
May 22, 2017: Twenty-two people leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena are killed in a terrorist bombing. Another 50 people were injured.
April 19, 2017: Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez dies by suicide in prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
February 26, 2017: "La La Land" is mistakenly announced as the Best Picture winner at the Oscars, instead of "Moonlight."
January 28, 2017: Serena Williams beats her sister Venus to win the Australian Open, while secretly eight weeks pregnant with her first child.
January 21, 2017: Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Washington, D.C. and cities around the world to take part in the Women's March, protesting Trump's election.
January 20, 2017: Donald Trump is sworn in as the nation's 45th president.
November 8, 2016: Donald Trump is elected president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in a landmark upset.
November 3, 2016: The Chicago Cubs break the Billy Goat curse and win their first World Series in 108 years.
October 8, 2016: The Washington Post publishes a video from a 2005 interview between "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush and Donald Trump, in which the latter said he can grab women "by the p---y" because he's a star.
October 7, 2016: The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security issue a joint statement warning that the Russians are trying to interfere in the presidential election.
September 12, 2016: The Indianapolis Star publishes a report detailing how USA Gymnastics failed to report sexual abuse committed by Michigan State University physician Dr. Larry Nassar.
September 15, 2016: Angelina Jolie files for divorce from husband Brad Pitt.
August 26, 2016: San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sits on the bench during the national anthem, saying "I have to take a stand for people that are oppressed."
August 5-21, 2016: The 2016 summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
July 7, 2016: Five Dallas police officers are killed while working at a Black Lives Matter rally. Authorities killed the gunman with a bomb delivered by a robot.
June 24, 2016: Britain votes to leave the European Union.
June 12, 2016: A gunman opens fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 and injuring 53.
June 2, 2016: Brock Turner, a former Stanford swim team member, is sentenced to just six months in jail for sexually assaulting an inebriated woman outside a campus fraternity.
April 21, 2016: Music legend Prince is found dead in the elevator of his Minnesota estate. An autopsy would later find that the singer died of an overdose of the opioid fentanyl.
April 3, 2016: A group of news outlets around the world publish stories based on the Panama Papers, a leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panamanian law firm, showing the shady ways wealthy people use offshore accounts.
December 18, 2015: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is released, earning more than $2 billion at the box office worldwide.
November 13-14, 2015: Terror attacks strike Paris for a second time in a year, resulting in the deaths of 130 people and nearly 500 wounded.
August 26, 2015: WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward are shot dead while filming a live TV segment in Virginia.
August 21, 2015: Three American men, including two active military members, thwart a terrorist attack on a French train.
July 20, 2015: Diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba are restored, decades after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
July 11, 2015: Drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escapes for a second time from his cell at a Mexican high-security prison.
June 26, 2015: The Supreme Court issues a 5-4 ruling that gay marriage is legal, legalizing same-sex unions nationwide.
June 16, 2015: New York City real estate mogul Donald Trump announces his candidacy for president with a speech at Trump Tower calling Mexican immigrants "rapists."
June 6, 2015: Joyce Mitchell, a worker at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, helps two convicted murderers escape.
June 6, 2015: American Pharoah wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse in 37 years to earn the Triple Crown of American horse racing.
May 2015: An outbreak of the Zika virus spreads to Brazil, and eventually moves its way up into Central America and the Caribbean.
March 24, 2015: Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 crashes in the Alps, killing all 150 people on board.
February 1, 2015: The New England Patriots win Super Bowl XLIX thanks to an interception with just seconds left in the game.
January 7-9, 2015: Paris is the target of multiple terror attacks that leave 17 people dead.
November 24, 2014: Hackers breach the network of Sony Pictures Entertainment and release embarrassing information against the company.
September 4, 2014: Comedian Joan Rivers dies while undergoing plastic surgery to her throat.
August 9, 2014: Unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown is shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, causing several days of riots in the community and fueling the Black Lives Matter movement.
August 19, 2014: American photojournalist James Foley is beheaded in a video recorded by ISIS, marking the beginning of the terrorist group's rise to power.
August 11, 2014: Beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams is found dead from a suicide at his home in California.
May 31, 2014: The US government agrees to release five Taliban commanders in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had gone missing from a base in Afghanistan five years prior.
May 24, 2014: Rapper Kanye West marries reality star Kim Kardashian in a lavish wedding in Florence, Italy.
May 5, 2014: TMZ obtains footage showing Beyoncé getting between her husband and sister when the two come to blows while riding in an elevator after the Met Gala.
March 23, 2014: The World Health Organization reports that there has been an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, the start of the largest outbreak of the virus in history.
April 2014: The Flint water crisis begins as the Michigan city tries to cut costs by getting their water from the Flint River instead of getting it from Detroit.
March 25, 2014: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow announces her separation from her Coldplay frontman husband Chris Martin on her blog Goop, saying they have decided to "consciously uncouple".
March 8, 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously vanishes off radar while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
March 2014: Russia invades Ukraine and annexes the Crimea, after Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, is toppled in anti-government protests.
February 18, 2014: A 39-year-old Jimmy Fallon starts his tenure as host of "The Tonight Show".
February 2, 2014: Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies at the age of 46 from a drug overdose.
February 1, 2014: Dylan Farrow writes an essay describing how her father, director Woody Allen, molested her as a child. Allen was never charged and denies the allegation.
December 5, 2013: Nelson Mandela, South Africa's trailblazing first black president, dies at the age of 25.
July 22, 2013: Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, gives birth to a baby boy named Prince George, who becomes third in line to the British throne, behind his father and grandfather.
July 13, 2013: The Black Lives Matter movement begins after George Zimmerman is acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the shooting death of black teen Trayvon Martin.
July 7, 2013: Scottish tennis player Andy Murray becomes the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
July 6, 2013: "Glee" star Cory Monteith is found dead in a Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room after succumbing to a drug and alcohol overdose.
June 6, 2013: The Guardian and the Washington Post publish stories based on information leaked to them by government contractor Edward Snowden.
May 6, 2013: Three women who had been missing for about a decade are rescued from the Cleveland, Ohio, home of Ariel Castro.
May 16, 2013: The now-defunct news site Gawker publishes a video showing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack.
April 15, 2013: Two pressure cooker bombs explode at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 250 others.
March 13, 2013: Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected pope, becoming the first South American to lead the Roman Catholic Church. He assumes the name Pope Francis.
February 28, 2013: Basketball legend Dennis Rodman travels to North Korea and meets leader Kim Jong-un, becoming the first American to meet the new leader since he assumed office two years prior.
December 14, 2012: A mentally-disturbed shooter kills 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, before killing himself.
November 9, 2012: Gen. David Petraeus resigns as director of the CIA after the FBI uncovers the fact that he shared classified information with his mistress and biographer, Paula Broadwell.
November 6, 2012: Voters in Colorado and Washington vote to legalize recreational marijuana, becoming the first states in the US to do so.
October 29, 2012: Superstorm Sandy causes widespread death and damage, especially in the Northeastern US.
October 22, 2012: After being accused of conducting an elaborate doping scheme, American cyclist Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France medals and banned from cycling competitions for life.
September 11, 2012: US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans are killed after a mob storms the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.
July 20, 2012: A shooter opens fire at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight," in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.
November 7, 2011: Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the late singer's overdose death.
October 20, 2011: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is captured and killed by revolutionaries, bringing an end to his 42-year regime.
October 3, 2011: American Amanda Knox, 24, is freed from an Italian prison after her conviction in the 2009 murder of her British roommate is overthrown.
September 17, 2011: The Occupy Wall Street movement begins with about 1,000 people protesting in downtown Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.
July 23, 2011: Grammy Award-winning singer Amy Winehouse, 27, is found dead at her home in north London.
July 22, 2011: A right-wing Christian extremist kills 77 people — most of them children — in attacks on Oslo, Norway, and the nearby island of Utoya.
July 7, 2011: Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid shutters after it was revealed that staffers hacked into the phones of prominent figures like Prince William to mine for stories.
May 14, 2011: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, is pulled off a Paris-bound flight in New York and charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid.
May 1, 2011: President Barack Obama addresses the nation to announce the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden, after a successful Navy SEAL raid on the 9/11 mastermind's compound in Pakistan.
April 29, 2011: 3 billion people tune in to watch Britain's Prince William marry college sweetheart Kate Middleton in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in London
March 11, 2011: An earthquake in Japan causes the second-worst nuclear accident in history.
March 2011: Civil war breaks out in Syria after military defectors create the Free Syrian Army, to combat those loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
February 11, 2011: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns under pressure from revolutionaries, giving up the seat he had held for three decades.
January 28, 2011: "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen enters rehab, a day after the actor was rushed from his home to the hospital for abdominal and chest pains, according to CBS Los Angeles.
December 17, 2010: The suicide of a Tunisian street vendor serves as a catalyst for the Arab Spring.
December 8, 2010: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange turns himself in to British police after Swedish authorities put out a warrant for his arrest in connection to a rape accusation.
October 13, 2010: 33 miners are rescued after spending 69 days trapped in a Chilean copper mine.
June 27, 2010: The FBI arrests 10 Russian spies caught living deep undercover in the United States.
May 2, 2010: The European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund sign off on a €110 million bailout of Greece, to save the EU country from default.
April 20, 2010: An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico causes the biggest marine oil spill in history.
April 14, 2010: An eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano causes an ash cloud to spread across Europe, grounding flights in the region.
January 12, 2010: Hundreds of thousands of people are killed after a 11117.0-magnitude earthquake strikes the island nation of Haiti.
Rapid City Journal (RCJ) - January 21st Edition 1965–1970: Early career Influenced by early-rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues artists, including groups such as The Beatles, The Drifters and The Four Seasons, he favored tightly-structured pop melodies and down-to-earth, unpretentious songwriting.[20] After seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided to pursue a career in music. In an interview he said of the group's impact, "That one performance changed my life … Up to that moment I'd never considered playing rock as a career. And when I saw four guys who didn't look like they'd come out of the Hollywood star mill, who played their own songs and instruments, and especially because you could see this look in John Lennon's face – and he looked like he was always saying: 'F--- you!' – I said: 'I know these guys, I can relate to these guys, I am these guys.' This is what I'm going to do – play in a rock band'."[21] Joel joined the Echoes,[22] a group that specialized in British Invasion covers. The Echoes began recording in 1965. Joel (then 16) also played piano on several records released through Kama Sutra Productions and on recordings produced by Shadow Morton. Joel played on a demo version of "Leader of the Pack", which would become a major hit for the Shangri-Las.[23] Joel states that in 1964 he played on a recording of the Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" but he is unaware of whether he played on the demo or master version;[24] The released single included a co-producer credit for Artie Ripp,[25] who later was the first to sign and produce Joel as a solo artist after Michael Lang, who had given Joel a monetary advance, passed Joel along to Ripp to focus his attentions elsewhere instead.[26] In late 1965, the Echoes changed their name to the Emeralds and then to the Lost Souls. Joel left the band in 1967 to join the Hassles, a Long Island group that had signed with United Artists Records.[27] Over the next year and a half they released four singles and two albums (The Hassles and Hour of the Wolf). All were commercial failures. Joel and drummer Jon Small left the Hassles in 1969 to form the duo Attila, releasing an eponymous debut album in July 1970. The duo disbanded the following October when Joel began an affair with Small's wife, Elizabeth, whom Joel eventually married.[28] 1970–1974: Cold Spring Harbor and Piano Man Joel signed a contract with the record company Family Productions (owned by Artie Ripp but backed by Gulf + Western[29]), with which he recorded his first solo album, Cold Spring Harbor (a reference to Cold Spring Harbor, New York, a town on Long Island). Ripp states that he spent $450,000 developing Joel;[29] nevertheless, the album was mastered at the wrong speed and as a result, the album was a technical and commercial disappointment.[30] The popular songs "She's Got a Way" and "Everybody Loves You Now" were originally released on this album, but went largely unnoticed until being released as live performances on Songs in the Attic (1981). Columbia released a remastered version of Cold Spring Harbor in 1983. Joel began his Cold Spring Harbor tour in the fall of 1971, touring with his band (Rhys Clark on drums, Al Hertzberg on guitar, and Larry Russell on bass guitar) throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, opening for groups such as the J. Geils Band, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, and Taj Mahal. Joel's performance at the Puerto Rican Mar Y Sol Pop Festival was especially well-received; and although recorded, Joel refused to have it published on the Mar Y Sol compilation album Mar Y Sol: The First International Puerto Rico Pop Festival. Nevertheless, interest in his music grew.[31] During the spring of 1972, the Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM began playing a concert recording of "Captain Jack", which became an underground hit on the East Coast. Herb Gordon, a Columbia Records executive, heard Joel's music and introduced him to the company. Joel signed a recording contract with Columbia in 1972 and moved to Los Angeles; he lived there for the next three years.[1][32] For six months he worked at The Executive Room piano bar on Wilshire Boulevard as "Bill Martin". During that time, he composed his signature hit "Piano Man" about the bar's patrons.[33] Despite Joel's new contract, he was still legally bound to Family Productions. Artie Ripp sold Joel's first contract to Columbia. Walter Yetnikoff, the president of CBS/Columbia Records at the time, bought back the rights to Joel's songs in the late 1970s, giving the rights to Joel as a birthday gift.[34][35] Yetnikoff notes in the documentary film The Last Play at Shea that he had to threaten Ripp to close the deal. Joel's first album with Columbia was Piano Man, released in 1973. Despite modest sales, Piano Man's title track became his signature song, ending nearly every concert. That year Joel's touring band changed. Guitarist Al Hertzberg was replaced by Don Evans, and bassist Larry Russell by Patrick McDonald, himself replaced in late 1974 by Doug Stegmeyer, who would stay with Joel until 1989. Rhys Clark returned as drummer and Tom Whitehorse as banjoist and pedal steel player; Johnny Almond joined as saxophonist and keyboardist. The band toured the US and Canada extensively, appearing on popular music shows. Joel's songwriting began attracting more attention; in 1974 Helen Reddy recorded "You're My Home" (Piano Man). 1974–1977: Streetlife Serenade and Turnstiles In 1974, Joel recorded his second Columbia album in Los Angeles, Streetlife Serenade. His manager at the time was Jon Troy, an old friend from the New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant; Troy would soon be replaced by Joel's wife Elizabeth.[36] Streetlife Serenade contains references to suburbia and the inner city. It is perhaps best known for "The Entertainer", a No. 34 hit in the US. Upset that "Piano Man" had been significantly cut for radio play, Joel wrote "The Entertainer" as a sarcastic response: "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down to 3:05." Although Streetlife Serenade is often considered[by whom?] one of Joel's weaker albums (Joel dislikes it himself), it contains the notable songs "Los Angelenos" and "Root Beer Rag", an instrumental that was a staple of his live set in the 1970s. In late 1975, Joel played piano and organ on several tracks on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. Disenchanted with Los Angeles, Joel returned to New York City in 1975 and recorded Turnstiles, the first album he recorded with the group of hand-picked musicians who became the Billy Joel Band. Produced by James William Guercio (then Chicago's producer), Turnstiles was first recorded at Caribou Ranch with members of Elton John's band. Dissatisfied with the result, Joel re-recorded the songs and produced the album himself. "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" was a minor hit; Ronnie Spector recorded a cover as did Nigel Olsson, then drummer with Elton John. In a 2008 radio interview, Joel said that he no longer performs the song because singing it in its high original key "shreds" his vocal cords; however, he did finally play it live for the first time since 1982 when he sang it at the Hollywood Bowl in May 2014. Though never released as a single, "New York State of Mind" became one of Joel's best-known songs; Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett have each recorded covers (Bennett's a duet with Joel on Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues). Other notable songs from the album include "Summer, Highland Falls", "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", (a live version of which became a Top 40 hit), and "Prelude/Angry Young Man", a concert mainstay. 1977–1979: The Stranger and 52nd Street Columbia Records introduced Joel to Phil Ramone, who would produce all of Joel's studio albums from The Stranger (1977) to The Bridge (1986). The Stranger was an enormous commercial success, yielding four Top-25 hits on the Billboard charts: "Just the Way You Are" (#3), "Movin' Out" (#17), "Only the Good Die Young" (#24), and "She's Always a Woman" (#17). Joel's first Top Ten album, The Stranger was certified multi-platinum and reached number two on the charts, outselling Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water,[37] Columbia's previous best-selling album. The Stranger also featured "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", an album-oriented rock classic, which has become one of his best-known songs. The Stranger song "Just the Way You Are" — written for Joel's first wife, Elizabeth Weber[38] — was inspired by a dream[39] and won Grammy awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.[40] On tour in Paris, Joel learned the news late at night in his hotel room.[22] Rolling Stone ranked The Stranger the 70th greatest album of all time.[41] Expectations were high for Joel's next album, 52nd Street, which he released in 1978, naming it after Manhattan's famous 52nd Street, which, at the time of its release, served as the world headquarters of CBS/ Columbia. The album sold over seven million copies, propelled to number one on the charts by the following hits: "My Life" (#3); followed successes from the album were "Big Shot" (#14), and "Honesty" (#24). A cover of "My Life" (sung by Gary Bennett) became the theme song for a new television sitcom, Bosom Buddies, which featured actor Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles. 52nd Street won Grammy awards for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year. In 1979, Joel also traveled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between March 2–4, alongside Rita Coolidge, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, and an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón.[42] His performance is captured in Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79. 1979–1983: Glass Houses and The Nylon Curtain The success of his piano-driven ballads like "Just the Way You Are", "She's Always a Woman", and "Honesty" led some critics to label Joel a "balladeer" and "soft rocker". Joel thought these labels were unfair and insulting, and with Glass Houses, he tried to record an album that proved that he could rock harder than his critics gave him credit for, occasionally imitating and referring to the style of new wave rock music that was starting to become popular at the time. On the front cover of the album, Joel is pictured in a leather jacket, about to throw a rock at a glass house (referring to the adage that "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"). Glass Houses spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and yielded such hits as "You May Be Right" (used as the theme song, covered by Southside Johnny, for the CBS mid-1990s sitcom Dave's World) (#7, May 1980), "Don't Ask Me Why" (#19, September 1980), "Sometimes a Fantasy" (#36, November 1980) and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", which became Joel's first Billboard number-one single (for two weeks) in July 1980. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" spent 11 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the 7th biggest hit of 1980 according to American Top 40. Glass Houses won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. It would also win the American Music Award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock category. The album's closing song, "Through The Long Night" (B-side of the "It's Still Rock & Roll to Me" single), was a lullaby that featured Joel harmonizing with himself in a song he says was inspired by The Beatles' "Yes It Is".[31] In a recorded Masterclass at the University of Pennsylvania, Joel later recollected that he had written to the Beatles asking them how to get started in the music industry. In response, he received a pamphlet about Beatles merchandise. This later led to the idea of Joel conducting Q&A sessions around the world answering questions that people had about the music industry.[43] His next release, Songs in the Attic, was composed of live performances of less well-known songs from the beginning of his career. It was recorded during larger US arenas and intimate night club shows in June and July 1980. This release introduced many fans, who discovered Joel when The Stranger became a smash in 1977, to many of his earlier compositions. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard chart and produced two hit singles: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (#17), and "She's Got a Way" (#23). It sold over 3 million copies. Though not as successful as some of his previous albums, the album was still considered a success by Joel.[31] The next wave of Joel's career commenced with the recording of his next studio album, The Nylon Curtain. With The Nylon Curtain, Joel became more ambitious with his songwriting, trying his hand at writing topical songs like "Allentown" and "Goodnight Saigon". Joel has stated that he wanted the album to communicate his feelings about the American Dream and how changes in American politics during the Reagan years meant that "all of a sudden you weren't going to be able to inherit [the kind of life] your old man had."[44] He also tried to be more ambitious in his use of the recording studio. Joel said that he wanted to "create a sonic masterpiece" on The Nylon Curtain. So he spent more time in the studio, crafting the sound of the album, than he had on any previous album.[44] Production of The Nylon Curtain began in the fall of 1981. However, production was temporarily delayed when Joel was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on Long Island on April 15, 1982, severely injuring his hands. Still, Joel quickly recovered from his injuries, and the album only ended up being delayed by a few months.[45] In 1982, he embarked on a brief tour in support of the album. From one of the final shows of the tour, Joel made his first video special, Live from Long Island, which was recorded at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on December 30, 1982. It was originally broadcast on HBO in 1983 before it became available on VHS. The Nylon Curtain went to No. 7 on the charts, partially due to heavy airplay on MTV for the videos to the singles "Allentown" and "Pressure". "Allentown" spent six weeks at a peak position of No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most-played radio songs of 1982, pushing it into 1983's year-end Top 70, and making it the most successful song from The Nylon Curtain album, besting "Pressure" which peaked at No. 20 (where it resided for three weeks) and "Goodnight Saigon" which reached No. 56 on U.S. charts.[46] 1983–1988: An Innocent Man and The Bridge Joel's next album moved away from the serious themes of The Nylon Curtain and struck a much lighter tone. The album An Innocent Man was Joel's tribute to R&B and doo wop music of the 1950s and 1960s and resulted in Joel's second Billboard number-one hit, "Tell Her About It", which was the first single off the album in the summer of 1983. The album itself reached No. 4 on the charts and No. 2 in UK. It also boasted six top-30 singles, the most of any album in Joel's catalog. The album was well received by critics, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor for AllMusic, describing Joel as being "in top form as a craftsman throughout the record, effortlessly spinning out infectious, memorable melodies in a variety of styles."[47] At the time that the album was released, WCBS-FM began playing "Uptown Girl" both in regular rotation and on the Doo Wop Live.[48][49] The song became a worldwide hit upon its release. The music video of the song, originally written about then girlfriend Elle MacPherson, featured future wife Christie Brinkley as a high society girl, whose car pulls into the gas station where Joel's character is working. At the end of the video, Joel's "grease monkey" character drives off with his "uptown girl" on the back of a motorcycle. When Brinkley went to visit Joel after being asked to star in the video, the first thing Joel said to her upon opening his door was "I don't dance". Brinkley had to walk him through the basic steps he does in the video. Their work together on this video shoot sparked a relationship between the two which would later lead to their marriage in 1985.[50] In December, the title song, "An Innocent Man", was released as a single and it peaked at No. 10 in the U.S. and No. 8 in the UK, early in 1984. That March, "The Longest Time" was released as a single, peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. That summer, "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" was released and it hit No. 27 while "Keeping the Faith" peaked at No. 18 in January 1985. In the video for "Keeping the Faith", Christie Brinkley also plays the "redhead girl in a Chevrolet". An Innocent Man was also nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy, but lost to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Joel participated in the USA For Africa We Are The World project in 1985, capping off a series of successful singles. Following the success of An Innocent Man, Joel was asked about releasing an album of his most successful singles. This was not the first time this topic had come up, but Joel had initially considered "Greatest Hits" albums as marking the end of one's career. This time he agreed, and Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 was released as a four-sided album and two-CD set, with the songs in the order in which they were released. The new songs "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" and "The Night Is Still Young" were recorded and released as singles to support the album; both reached the top 40, peaking at No. 9 and No. 34, respectively. Greatest Hits was highly successful and it has since been certified double diamond by the RIAA, with over 11.5 million copies (23 million units) sold. It is one of the best-selling albums in American music history, according to the RIAA. Coinciding with the Greatest Hits album release, Joel released a two-volume Video Album that was a compilation of the promotional videos he had recorded from 1977 to the present time. Along with videos for the new singles off the Greatest Hits album, Joel also recorded a video for his first hit, "Piano Man", for this project. Though it broke into the top ten, Joel's next album, The Bridge (1986), did not achieve the level of success of his previous albums, but it yielded the hits "A Matter of Trust" and "Modern Woman" from the film Ruthless People, a dark comedy from the directors of Airplane! (both #10). In a departure from his "piano man" persona, Joel is shown in the video playing a Gibson Les Paul. The ballad "This is the Time" also charted, peaking at No. 18. On November 18, 1986, an extended version of the song "Big Man on Mulberry Street" was used on a Season 3 episode of Moonlighting. The episode itself was also titled "Big Man on Mulberry Street". The Bridge was Joel's last album to carry the Family Productions logo, after which he severed his ties with Artie Ripp. Joel has also stated in many interviews, most recently in a 2008 interview in Performing Songwriter magazine, that he does not think The Bridge is a good album. In October 1986, Joel and his handlers started planning a trip to the Soviet Union. He became one of the first American rock acts to play there since the Berlin Wall went up, a fact not lost on history buff Joel.[51] There were live performances at indoor arenas in Moscow, Leningrad and Tbilisi. Joel, his family (including young daughter Alexa), and his full touring band made the trip in August 1987. The entourage was filmed for television and video to offset the cost of the trip, and the concerts were simulcast on radio around the world. Joel's Russian tour was the first live rock radio broadcast in Soviet history.[52] Most of that audience took a long while to warm up to Joel's energetic show, something that had never happened in other countries he had performed in. According to Joel, each time the fans were hit with the bright lights, anybody who seemed to be enjoying themselves froze. In addition, people who were "overreacting" were removed by security.[53] It was during this concert that Joel, enraged by the bright lights, flipped his electric piano and snapped a microphone stand while continuing to sing the current part of the set.[54] He later apologized for that incident. The album КОНЦЕРТ (Russian for "Concert") was released in October 1987. Singer Pete Hewlett was brought in to hit the high notes on his most vocally challenging songs, like "An Innocent Man". Joel also did versions of The Beatles' classic "Back in the U.S.S.R." and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin". It has been estimated that Joel lost more than $1 million of his own money on the trip and concerts, but he has said the goodwill he was shown there was well worth it.[31] 1988–1993: Storm Front and River of Dreams The recording of the album Storm Front, which commenced in 1988, coincided with major changes in Joel's career and inaugurated a period of serious upheaval in his business affairs. In August 1989, just before the album was released, Joel dismissed his manager (and former brother-in-law) Frank Weber after an audit revealed major discrepancies in Weber's accounting. Joel subsequently sued Weber for $90 million, claiming fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and in January 1990 he was awarded $2 million in a partial judgment against Weber; in April, the court dismissed a $30 million countersuit filed by Weber.[55] The first single for the album, "We Didn't Start the Fire", was released in September 1989 and it became Joel's third and – to date – most-recent US number-one hit, spending two weeks at the top. Storm Front was released in October, and it eventually became Joel's first number-one album since Glass Houses, nine years earlier. Storm Front was Joel's first album since Turnstiles to be recorded without Phil Ramone as producer. For this album, he wanted a new sound, and worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner fame. Joel is also credited as one of the keyboard players on Jones' 1988 self-titled solo album, and is featured in the official video for Jones' single "Just Wanna Hold"; Joel can be seen playing the piano while his then-wife Christie Brinkley joins him and kisses him. Joel also revamped his backing band, dismissing everyone but drummer Liberty DeVitto, guitarist David Brown, and saxophone player Mark Rivera, and bringing in new faces, including multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero. Storm Front's second single, "I Go to Extremes" reached No. 6 in early 1990. The album was also notable for its song "Leningrad", written after Joel met a clown in the Soviet city of that name during his tour in 1987, and "The Downeaster Alexa", written to underscore the plight of fishermen on Long Island who are barely able to make ends meet. Another well-known single from the album is the ballad "And So It Goes" (#37 in late 1990). The song was originally written in 1983, around the time Joel was writing songs for An Innocent Man; but "And So It Goes" did not fit that album's retro theme, so it was held back until Storm Front. Joel said in a 1996 Masterclass session in Pittsburgh that Storm Front was a turbulent album and that "And So It Goes", as the last song on the album, portrayed the calm and tranquility that often follows a violent thunderstorm. In the summer of 1992, Joel filed another $90 million lawsuit against his former lawyer Allen Grubman, alleging a wide range of offenses including fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, malpractice and breach of contract[56] but the case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.[57] In 1992, Joel inducted the R&B duo Sam & Dave into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That year, Joel also started work on River of Dreams, finishing the album in early 1993. Its cover art was a colorful painting by Christie Brinkley that was a series of scenes from each of the songs on the album. The eponymous first single was the last top 10 hit Joel has penned to date, reaching No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and ranking at No. 21 on the 1993 year-end Hot 100 chart. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits "All About Soul" (with Color Me Badd on backing vocals) and "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)", written for his daughter, Alexa. A radio remix version of "All About Soul" can be found on The Essential Billy Joel (2001), and a demo version appears on My Lives (2005). The song "The Great Wall of China" was written about his ex-manager Frank Weber and was a regular in the setlist for Joel's 2006 tour. "2000 Years" was prominent in the millennium concert at Madison Square Garden, December 31, 1999, and "Famous Last Words" closed the book on Joel's pop songwriting for more than a decade. 1993–present: Touring Beginning in 1994, Joel toured extensively with Elton John on a series of "Face to Face" tours, making them the longest running and most successful concert tandem in pop music history.[58] During these shows, the two have played their own songs, each other's songs and performed duets. They grossed over US$46 million in just 24 dates in their sold out[59] 2003 tour. Joel and John resumed the Face to Face tour in March 2009[59] and it ended again, at least for the time being, in March 2010 in Albany, New York, at the Times Union Center. In February 2010, Joel denied rumors in the trade press that he canceled a summer 2010 leg of the tour, claiming there were never any dates booked and that he intended to take the year off.[60] Joel told Rolling Stone magazine: "We'll probably pick it up again. It's always fun playing with him."[61] Joel performing in 2007 in Florida On August 25, 1994, Joel and second wife Christie Brinkley divorced, but they remained friends. 1997's "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl" both charted from Joel's Greatest Hits Volume III album. Joel wrote and recorded the song "Shameless" that was later covered by Garth Brooks and reached No. 1 on Billboard's country charts. Joel performed with Brooks during his Central Park concert in 1997. To add onto his achievements Joel was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Ray Charles made the induction speech and mentioned the duet Joel wrote for the two of them, "Baby Grand" (a track on Joel's album The Bridge released in 1986). On December 31, 1999, Joel performed at New York's Madison Square Garden. At the time, Joel said that it would be his last tour and possibly his last concert. Two of his performances from that night, "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" were filmed and featured that night as part of ABC's special New Year's Y2K coverage. The concert (dubbed The Night of the 2000 Years) ran for close to four hours and was later released as 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert. In 2001, Joel released Fantasies & Delusions, a collection of classical piano pieces. All were composed by Joel and performed by Hyung-ki Joo. Joel often uses bits of these songs as interludes in live performances, and some of them are part of the score for the hit show Movin' Out. The album topped the classical charts at No. 1. Joel performed "New York State of Mind" live on September 21, 2001, as part of the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, and on October 20, 2001, along with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)", at the Concert for New York City in Madison Square Garden. That night, he also performed "Your Song" with Elton John. In 2003, Joel inducted The Righteous Brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, noting that his song "Until the Night" from the album 52nd Street was a tribute to the duo. In 2005, Columbia released a box set, My Lives, which is largely a compilation of demos, b-sides, live/alternate versions and even a few Top 40 hits. The compilation also includes the Umixit software, in which people can remix "Zanzibar" and a live version of "I Go to Extremes" with their PC. Also, a DVD of a show from the River of Dreams tour is included. Billy Joel with his band performing in California On January 7, 2006, Joel began a tour across the U.S. Having not written, or at least released, any new songs in 13 years, he featured a sampling of songs from throughout his career, including major hits as well as obscure tunes like "Zanzibar" and "All for Leyna". His tour included an unprecedented 12 sold-out concerts over several months at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The singer's stint of 12 shows at Madison Square Garden broke a previous record set by New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, who played 10 sold-out shows at the same arena. The record earned Joel the first retired number (12) in the arena owned by a non-athlete. This honor has also been given to Joel at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) (formerly the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia where a banner in the colors of the Philadelphia Flyers is hung honoring Joel's 46 Philadelphia sold-out shows. He also had a banner raised in his honor for being the highest grossing act in the history of the Times Union Center (formerly the Knickerbocker Arena and Pepsi Arena) in Albany, New York. This honor was given to him as part of the April 17, 2007, show he did there. On June 13, 2006, Columbia released 12 Gardens Live, a double album containing 32 live recordings from a collection of the 12 different shows at Madison Square Garden during Joel's 2006 tour. Joel visited the United Kingdom and Ireland for the first time in many years as part of the European leg of his 2006 tour. On July 31, 2006, he performed a free concert in Rome, with the Colosseum as the backdrop.[62] Joel toured South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii in late 2006, and subsequently toured the Southeastern U.S. in February and March 2007 before hitting the Midwest in the spring of 2007. On January 3 of that year, news was leaked to the New York Post that Billy had recorded a new song with lyrics—this being the first new song with lyrics he'd written in almost 14 years.[63] The song, titled "All My Life", was Joel's newest single (with second track "You're My Home", live from Madison Square Garden 2006 tour) and was released into stores on February 27, 2007.[64] On February 4, Joel sang the national anthem for Super Bowl XLI, becoming the first to sing the national anthem twice at a Super Bowl. and on April 17, 2007, Joel was honored in Albany, New York, for his ninth concert at the Times Union Center. He is now holding the highest box office attendance of any artist to play at the arena. A banner was raised in his honor marking this achievement. On December 1, 2007, Joel premiered his new song "Christmas in Fallujah".[65] The song was performed by Cass Dillon, a new Long Island based musician, as Joel felt it should be sung by someone in a soldier's age range (though he himself has played the song occasionally in concert.) The track was dedicated to servicemen based in Iraq. Joel wrote it in September 2007 after reading numerous letters sent to him from American soldiers in Iraq. "Christmas in Fallujah" is only the second pop/rock song released by Joel since 1993's River of Dreams. Proceeds from the song benefited the Homes For Our Troops foundation. Joel with Mike DelGuidice in 2016 On January 26, 2008, Joel performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra celebrating the 151st anniversary of the Academy of Music. Joel premiered his new classical piece titled, "Waltz No. 2 (Steinway Hall)" arranged by Brad Ellis. He also played many of his less well-known pieces, with full orchestral backing arranged by Mr. Ellis, including the rarely performed Nylon Curtain songs "Scandinavian Skies" and "Where's the Orchestra?". On March 10, 2008, Joel inducted his friend John Mellencamp into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Joel's staying power as a touring act continues to the present day. He sold out 10 concerts at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut from May to July 2008. The casino honored him with a banner displaying his name and the number 10 to hang in the arena. On June 19, 2008, he played a concert at the grand re-opening of Caesars Windsor (formerly Casino Windsor) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to an invite-only crowd for Casino VIPs. His mood was light, and joke-filled, even introducing himself as "Billy Joel's dad" and stating "you guys overpaid to see a fat bald guy". He also admitted that Canadian folk-pop musician Gordon Lightfoot was the musical inspiration for "She's Always A Woman".[66] On July 16, 2008, and July 18, 2008, Joel played the final concerts at Shea Stadium before its demolition. His guests included Tony Bennett, Don Henley, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney. The concerts were featured in the 2010 documentary film Last Play at Shea. The film was released on DVD on February 8, 2011. The CD and DVD of the show, Live at Shea Stadium were released on March 8, 2011. On December 11, 2008, Joel recorded his own rendition of "Christmas in Fallujah" during a concert at Acer Arena in Sydney and released it as a live single in Australia only. It is the only official release of Joel performing "Christmas in Fallujah", as Cass Dillon sang on the 2007 studio recording and the handful of times the song was played live in 2007. Joel sang the song throughout his December 2008 tour of Australia. On May 19, 2009, Joel's former drummer, Liberty DeVitto, filed a lawsuit in NYC claiming Joel and Sony Music owed DeVitto over 10 years of royalty payments. DeVitto had never been given songwriting or arranging credit on any of Joel's songs, but he claimed that he helped arrange some of them, including "Only the Good Die Young".[67] In April 2010, it was announced that Joel and DeVitto amicably resolved the lawsuit.[68] 2011 marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Joel's first album, Cold Spring Harbor. According to Joel's official website, to commemorate this anniversary, Columbia/Legacy Recordings originally planned "to celebrate the occasion with a definitive reissue project of newly restored and expanded Legacy editions of the complete Billy Joel catalog, newly curated collections of rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances, home video releases and more", although this never fully came to fruition.[69] The album Piano Man was re-released in a two-disc Legacy edition in November 2011.[69] In 2012, Joel signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), and its subsidiary Rondor Music International. Under the agreement, UMPG and Rondor replaced EMI Music Publishing in handling Joel's catalog outside the U.S. Additionally, the agreement marked the first time since Joel regained control of his publishing rights in the 1980s that he began to use an administrator to handle his catalog within the U.S. The agreement's focus is on increasing the use of Joel's music in movies, television programs, and commercials.[70] On December 12, 2012, Joel performed as part of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden, a concert held for all the victims of Hurricane Sandy. He changed the lyrics to "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" to make it relate to all the damage caused by Sandy. In May 2013, it was announced that Joel would hold his first ever indoor Irish concert at the O2 in Dublin on November 1. He subsequently announced his return to the UK for the first time in seven years to perform three dates in October and November. Joel played two arena dates in Manchester and Birmingham plus a very special show at London's Hammersmith Apollo. In October, Joel held a surprise concert on Long Island at The Paramount (Huntington, New York) to benefit Long Island Cares. The venue holds a capacity of 1,555 and sold out in five minutes. Joel headlined a solo arena concert in New York City for the first time since 2006 when he performed at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 31, 2013. In 2015, Joel performed 21 concerts (in addition to his Madison Square Garden residency) from January 7 to August 2 in various cities around the U.S. and Canada. On December 3, 2013, it was announced that Joel would become a franchise of Madison Square Garden, playing one concert a month indefinitely, starting with a date on January 27, 2014.[71] Joel performing at Madison Square Garden in 2016 On January 7, 2014, the Billy Joel in Concert tour began. Joel kicked off the 2014 New Year in the Amway Center (in Orlando, Florida) and performed several cover songs such as Elton John's "Your Song", Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" (in tribute to Joe Cocker), The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Can't Buy Me Love", and "When I'm 64", Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne", and AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" (with Brian Johnson). Rufus Wainwright joined Joel during the concert to sing "New York State of Mind".[72] Joel also performed an unusual set, including the song "Souvenir" (from 1974's Streetlife Serenade) and excluding "We Didn't Start the Fire".[73] On August 4, 2015 Joel played the final concert at Nassau Coliseum before the arena underwent a $261 million renovation.[74] On April 5, 2017 Joel played the first concert at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum. On June 24, 2017, he returned to Hicksville High School fifty years after his would-be graduating class received their diplomas,[75] to deliver the honorary commencement address. It was also the 25th anniversary of receiving his own diploma from the same High School.
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