- Charlie Sheen is an American actor, the youngest son of Martin Sheen.
- Name at birth: Carlos Irwin Estevez.
- Charlie was born a "blue baby". The doctor who saved him was named Irwin and his parents named him after the doctor.
- Sheen was born in New York City in September 3, 1965.
- Parents: Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton.
- Siblings: brothers: Emilio Estevez and Ramon Estevez, and sister: Renée Estevez.
- Charlie's astrological sign is Virgo.
- Charlie's height is 5 feet and 10 inches (1.78 m) tall.
- On television, Charlie Sheen is best known for his roles on two sitcoms: as Charlie Crawford on Spin City and as Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men.
- His Chinese zodiac sign is the Snake.
- In 2010, Charlie Sheen was the highest paid actor on television, earning US$1.8 million per episode of Two and a Half Men.
- Jennifer Hudson is an American singer and actress.
- Name at birth: Jennifer Kate Hudson.
- Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 2006 film Dreamgirls.
- Jennifer was born on September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois.
- Jennifer began singing when she was 7-years-old.
- She won a Grammy Award for her eponymous debut album, Jennifer Hudson.
- Parents: Darnell Donnerson and Samuel Simpson.
- In 2008, Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were killed in a shooting.
- Hudson's zodiac sign is Virgo.
- Jennifer Hudson auditioned for the third season of American Idol, in Atlanta.
- Jennifer Hudson is 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall.
- Hudson was named the 2006 'Female Star of Tomorrow' by ShoWest.
- Her Chinese zodiac sign is the Rooster.
- Jennifer Hudson is the third African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, after Hattie McDaniel and Whoopi Goldberg.
- Her favourite female pop artist is Céline Dion.
- Jennifer's favorite female vocalists are: Mariah Carey, Angie Stone, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner.
- Beat out American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino for her role in Dreamgirls.
- Jennifer is the first contestant from "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002) to be nominated and win an Academy Award.
- Jake Gyllenhaal is an American actor best known for his role as Jack Twist in the film Brokeback Mountain.
- Name at bitth: Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal.
- Jake was born in Los Angeles, California on December 19, 1980.
- Jake Gyllenhaal began acting at age 10.
- His first lead role in was in the1999 film October Sky.
- Parents: Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner.
- Jake is 6' (1.83 m) tall.
- Jake's astrological sign is Sagittarius.
- Jake's favorite color is green.
- Jake's mother is Jewish.
- Gyllenhaal loves to watch Food Network shows like, Iron Chef and Molto Mario.
- His Chinese zodiac sign is the Monkey.
- The hat worn by Gyllenhaal for his role as 'Jack Twist' in the film, Brokeback Mountain, was sold for $12,800 on eBay.
- Jake Gyllenhaal was nominated for an "Independent Spirit Award" for his role in Donnie Darko.
- Jake played the lead role in the movie adaptation of the video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, released by Disney on May 28, 2010.
- Bartolomeo Cristofori, an Italian maker of musical instruments, invented the Piano in 1698.
- There are over 12,000 parts in a grand piano, 10,000 which are moving.
- The word piano is a shortened form of the Italian word pianoforte.
- Nicknames: "the ivories", "the eighty-eight", "the joanna", "the black(s) and white(s)", and "the little joe(s)".
- There are 230 strings inside a typical piano.
- The Steinway D-274 is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists.
- More than 90 percent of concert grand pianos worldwide are D-274s.
- The piano is known as "The King of Instruments"
- The total string tension in a concert grand piano is close to 30 Tons.
- There are over 10,000,000 pianos in the United States.
- Well-known piano makers are: Baldwin, Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Broadwood, Fazioli, Feurich, Förster, Heintzman, Kawai, Mason and Hamlin, Petrof, Pleyel, Samick, Schimmel, Steingraeber and Söhne, Steinway and Sons, Stuart and Sons, Wm. Knabe and Co., Yamaha.
- In the Hornbostel-Sachs system of instrument classification, pianos are considered chordophones.
- The term Grand was first used in 1777.
- The piano is a vital instrument in Western classical music, jazz, film, television, and most other complex western musical genres.
- Yamaha Corporation, established in 1887 was the first piano manufacturer in Japan.
QUOTES ABOUT PIANOS
"I've had grand pianos that are more expensive than, like, a year's worth of rent." Lady Gaga
"For the most part, pianos are female to me. Sometimes they're dykes, and they're always good fun." Tori Amos
"I wish the government would put a tax on pianos for the incompetent." Edith Sitwell
"Girls are like pianos. When they're not upright, they're grand." Benny Hill
"Pianos tend to get better as they age, the more you play them. They grow into their sound." Alicia Witt
- Shakira is a famous Colombian singer.
- Birth name: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
- Her nickname is Shaki.
- She speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese as well as some French, Italian and Arabic.
- She was born in Barranquilla, Colombia on February 12, 1977.
- Parents: Nidia Ripoll and William Mebarak Chadid.
- Shakira is of Lebanese, Catalan and Italian descent.
- Shakira reportedly has an IQ of 140.
- Shakira has won 2 Grammy Awards, 7 Latin Grammy Awards, and 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards.
- Wrote her first song at 8 years old.
- Her astrological sign is Aquarius.
- Shakira lists John Lennon as her #1 musical influence.
- Shakira has sold over 60 million albums worldwide.
- She is 5' 2" (1.57 m) tall.
- Her Chinese zodiac sign is the Dragon.
- She is the youngest of eight siblings.
- Her album sales in the U.S. stand at 9.6 million.
- Favorite actor: Hugh Grant.
- Shakira means in Hindi, Goddess Of Light and in Arabic, Woman Full Of Grace.
- JoJo is an American singer and actress.
- Name at birth: Joanna Noëlle Blagden Levesque.
- JoJo's debut album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
- JoJo was born in Brattleboro, Vermont on December 20, 1990.
- JoJo's astrological sign is Sagittarius.
- Height: "5' 4"
- Her Chinese zodiac sign is the Horse.
- JoJo has English, Polish, Irish, Scottish, French, and Native American ancestry.
- Her stage name comes from a childhood nickname.
- JoJo is best friends with Emma Roberts, Zelda Williams and Sara Paxton.
- The singer currently lives in New Jersey.
JOJO - QUOTES
"All the photos I've taken have been tasteful. If you show a lot of skin when you're 13, when you're older, when you're 16 or 21, what do you have left to show?"
"People do compare me to Aaliyah and I take that as a compliment. She was a beautiful amazing talented young woman, I think she was just starting to show what she could do."
"Being a singer has always been my dream."
- Iceland is a European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Iceland is about one-third larger than Ireland or Scotland.
- Capital (and largest city) Reykjavík.
- Total area: 103.000 km² (39,756 sq. mi)
- Eleven percent of Iceland is covered by glaciers.
- Population - January 1, 2011 estimate: 318,452
- Vatnajökull glacier is the largest in Europe.
- The settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island.
- The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings (Icelandic).
- According to Freedom of the Press, Iceland has the most free press in the world.
- Life expectancy in Iceland is 81.3 years for women and 76.4 for men.
- Demonym: Icelander, Icelandic.
- The tallest mountain in Iceland is Hvannadalshnjúkur (2119 m)
- The largest glacier in the country (and Europe) isVatnajökull (8300 km²)
- Currently, Iceland is the only NATO member with no standing army.
