Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Nuh Omar.

Nuh Omar

<s>Nuh Omar Nuh Omar (born June 5, 1988) is a director and screenwriter, originally from Pakistan.</s><s>Background. Nuh was born in Karachi, Pakistan into the prominent Indian/Pakistani Kureishi family as the grandson of Sattoo Kureishi (MBE), older brother of Omar Kureishi. Famous family members also include Hanif Kureishi, Maki Kureishi, Bilquis Nasrullah, Imran Kureishi, and Nusrat Nasrullah. He received his early educated at Karachi Grammar School, a classmate of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He has an older sister and a younger brother. His mother was Pakistan’s first female sports photojournalist.</s><s>Education. Nuh decided to make films after seeing Jurassic Park when he was 5. He spent his earlier years writing short stories, and with a camera at his hip. Photography became his hobby. He went to the New York Film Academy in 2006, where he participated and played a part in the creation of their first ever 2nd Year Film Program. He then went to Full Sail University where he received his bachelor's degree in The Science of Film, and was named Valedictorian.</s>

Nuh Omar

<s>Career. After graduating from Full Sail, Nuh interned for Scott Gardenhour at The Institute. He worked as a freelance assistant director, having worked on a number of award-winning shorts, as well as working behind the scenes as a documentarian. He wrote and produced the short film "We're Americans, Eh?", which received the Audience Award and the award for Best Wardrobe in 2011 at the 24 Hour Film Festival. In 2012, Nuh returned to Pakistan. In collaboration with Y Productions and producer Ayesha Jalil, he directed a series of short films for Engro Corporation Excellence Awards. His Engro film on the late renowned sculptor Shahid Sajjad, "Mojiza-e-Fun (The Miracle of Art)", was the final project to feature Sajjad before he passed away. He then did freelance work writing and directing a variety of internet-based projects, as well as ghostwriting commercials in the country. In mid-2012, he attached himself to now defunct DeVida Lifestyle, an entertainment channel, as an in-house & promo director. In early-2013, Nuh was hired by advertising agency IAL Saatchi & Saatchi, where he worked as a creative and ad man under

Nuh Omar

COO Imtisal Abbasi and ECD Rashna Abdi on Procter & Gamble brands. He worked on a number of global projects and brands, including Head & Shoulders, Safeguard, Pampers and Commander Safeguard. He parted with the company in early 2014 to return to filmmaking. In November 2015, he began directing and writing episodes for "The Fortress of Dorkness", a YouTube resource channel for pop culture movies and comics created by producer and his long-time collaborator, Christian Villarreal. As of 2018, The Fortress of Dorkness has produced over 100 episodes, all written and directed by Nuh. The channel went on hiatus in 2019, with more intended content to be announced in the future. In 2019, Nuh teamed up with writer Mark Davis to produce "The Alexandrian" (known then simply as "Cleopatra"), an episodic historical drama about the dynasty of the infamous ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra, and work on the project is underway. In 2014, Nuh began writing a modern adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s "The Happy Prince". The screenplay, named "The Porter & The Stone", has won numerous awards, including Best Short at Screencraft’s Public Domain Competition

Nuh Omar

2021, and finalist at The Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition 2022. As of early 2022, it was ranked the number one in the categories of Family and Family-Short on Coverfly’s aggregated ranking system, was in the Top 1% of all projects on Coverfly, and was featured on the Coverfly Red List. His TV pilot screenplay, "A Matter of Time", co-written with Christian Villarreal, won the grand prize at Filmmatic’s TV Pilot Awards Season 6 as Best TV Pilot, along with numerous other accolades, and is currently being shopped around. Also in development is "I'm Here", a TV series about his own journey in the American heartland told through the eyes of a tabloid journalist that interviews cryptids and creatures of folklore, which he initially began developing as a student in 2007. In 2015, Nuh attempted to turn the series into a comic book, but by 2020 decided to return to its intended television roots. The pilot’s screenplay has been a selection at numerous festivals and competitions. Nuh is currently working with production company Rustic Lightbulb, and producer Severn Lang, to develop the short "The Universe at Midnight" and the feature "Tijuana Bible", which

Nuh Omar

he will write and direct. "The Universe at Midnight" is expected to go into production in 2022. He is also writing two feature films, "The Imaginary Friend Society", a family film about imaginary friends, and "Ophelia", a story about a man chosen to become the next form of death, and his relationship with a Djinn named Ophelia.</s><s>Personal life. Nuh lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan and Los Angeles, CA. He has been openly vocal about his struggles with depression, and is an advocate for mental health awareness. He is a self proclaimed “old world nerd”, and is a fan of comic books and 80’s properties, his favorites being Transformers and Masters of the Universe. One of his hobbies is collecting action figures. He has several tattoos, including his mother’s name in Urdu, and the Arashikage Clan’s i-Ching symbol from the series G.I. Joe. He has said his favorite genre is Magical Realism.</s><s>Accolades.! Project!! Accolade!! Presenter</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Date Narikuni.

Date Narikuni

<s>Date Narikuni</s><s>Biography. Narikuni was the son of Date Munemitsu of the Tome-Date clan, a subsidiary branch of the main Date clan, and was the grandson of Date Yoshimura, the 5th "daimyō" of Sendai. His childhood name was Kōgorō (幸五郎) later Tosaburō (藤三郎) and become Sojirō (総次郎). In 1828, with the death of Date Nariyoshi, Sendai Domain faced a major crisis. His son, the future Date Yoshikuni was only two-years-old. The Tokugawa shogunate had taken extraordinary measures to ensure the continuation of the Date line in the case of his predecessors Date Chikamune and Date Narimune; however, the patience of "Shōgun" Tokugawa Ienari had worn thin over Sendai Domain succession problems, and the domain faced the possibility of attainder. The "rōjū", Mizuno Tadaakira, initially proposed a solution whereby Nariyoshi’s 4-year-old daughter, Masahime would be married to a son of Tok

Date Narikuni

ugawa Ienari; however, negotiations did not proceed and instead she married Date Narikuni, from one of cadet houses of the Date clan. Date Narikuni would then adopt the infant Date Yoshikuni as his heir. Events went as planned and in 1828 Narikuni received Court rank of Junior Fourth, Lower Grade and the courtesy title of "Mutsu-no-kami". His ranks were raised to Junior Fourth, Upper Grade and "Sakonoe-chūshō" in 1831. Narikuni was noted for his scholarly disposition and knowledge of literature. However, during the "sankin-kōtai" to Edo in 1840 he fell ill, and died in Edo the following year at the age of 25.</s><s>Family. - Father: Date Munemitsu (1787–1843) - Mother: Tsuneko-hime - Wife: Masahime (1824–1861)</s><s>References. - Papinot, Edmond. (1948). "Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan". New York: Overbeck Co.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Loo Kum Zee.

Loo Kum Zee

<s>Loo Kum Zee Loo Kum Zee (born 2 December 1974) is a Malaysian high jumper. His personal best jump is 2.24 metres, achieved in December 1995 in Chiangmai. He won bronze medals at the Asian Championships in 1995, 1998, 2002 and 2003. He also competed at the 1996 Olympic Games, but did not reach the final. He attended secondary school in SMJK Sam Tet, Ipoh, Perak.</s><s>Honour.</s><s>Honour.:Honour of Malaysia. - Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (A.M.N.) (2013){{cite web |url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/|title=Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat}}</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Ushoshi Sengupta.

Ushoshi Sengupta

<s>Ushoshi Sengupta Ushoshi Sengupta (born 30 July 1988) is an Indian beauty pageant contestant who won the title of I Am She – Miss Universe India and represented India in Miss Universe 2010 held at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, on 23 August.</s><s>Early life. Born in Kolkata, Sengupta is the daughter of an official in the Indian Air Force. She graduated from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ballygunje, Kolkata, where she excelled at mathematics and was offered a scholarship to an engineering college, but decided to pursue liberal arts and professional modeling. She has a bachelor's degree in Humanities from the St. Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta, and worked as a model before becoming Miss Universe India. Sengupta made her debut in the Bengali movie industry with "Egoler Chokh" which was released in August 2016 and was directed by Arindam Sil.</s><s>Miss Universe 2010. Ushoshi won the first edition of I am She - Miss Universe India, a national pageant organized by Tantra Entertainment Private limited, in collaboration with former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen. As the official representative of her country to the

Ushoshi Sengupta

2010 Miss Universe pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada on 23 August 2010, she participated as one of the 83 delegates who vied for the crown of eventual winner, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Stephen J. Mackwell.

Stephen J. Mackwell

<s>Stephen J. Mackwell Stephen J. Mackwell is a researcher in geophysics, specializing in laboratory-based studies of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of geological materials. He is also interested in the transport of fluid components in mantle and crustal rocks on the microscopic and macroscopic scales, and on the effects of such components on mechanical properties. He has authored or co-authored over 80 articles in international scientific journals and is an editor of a book on comparative climatology of terrestrial planets published by the University of Arizona Press.</s><s>Education. Stephen J. Mackwell received a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics in August 1978 at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He continued his studies at the University of Canterbury and earned his M.Sc. in Physics in August 1979. His master's thesis was titled "Excitation Temperatures for Late Type Stars." He went on to receive his Diploma of Education at Christchurch Teachers College in New Zealand in November 1979. He earned his Ph.D. in Geophysics in March 1985 from the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. His dissertation was titled "Diffusion and Weakening Effects of Water in Quartz and Olivine."</s><s>

Stephen J. Mackwell

Early career. Stephen J. Mackwell worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, from 1984 to 1987, and then moved to the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, as an assistant professor in 1987 and subsequently associate professor of geosciences in 1992. He was program director for geophysics in the Earth Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1994, and spent 1996 as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Bayreuth, Germany. In 1998, Mackwell became a full professor for experimental geophysics at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut at the University of Bayreuth. In January 2000 he was appointed director of the Bayerisches Geoinstitut and served there until December 2002.</s><s>Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Mackwell returned to the United States in late 2002 as director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas, a division of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). In addition, Mackwell managed USRA's Houston facility and education programs including the NASA Internships Program and the Air Force Research

Stephen J. Mackwell

Laboratory Intern Program. In 2016, Louise Prockter became the Director of the LPI, and Mackwell was named as the USRA Corporate Director of Science Programs. Mackwell has served on the editorial board of several planetary science journals, including serving as editor-in-chief for the journal "Geophysical Research Letters" from 2002 to 2004. He served on the advisory board for the journal "Physics and Chemistry of Minerals" from 1996 to 2004. Mackwell has participated in the 2013–2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey Steering Group and Inner Planets Panel. Since 2018, he is a member of the Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Mackwell has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth Science at Rice University in Houston, Texas since 2005, and in the Department of Earth Science at the University of Minnesota since 2021.</s><s>American Institute of Physics. From February 2019 until June 2021, Mackwell served as the Deputy Executive Officer of the American Institute of Physics in College Park, MD.</s><s>National Science Foundation. From April 2022 to the present, Mackwell serves as the Section Head for Disciplinary Programs in the Division of Earth Sciences of the Geos

Stephen J. Mackwell

ciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, VA.</s><s>Honors. Stephen J. Mackwell has been named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017; Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2010; Stipendiat der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung in Bayreuth, Germany in 1996; Ministère de L'Education Nationale, Academie de Lille, Nommé Professeur in 1996; and Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America in 1996. In 2016, Mackwell was honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) with the naming of main-belt asteroid 5292 Mackwell (formerly designated as 1991 AJ1). Hitoshi Shiozawa and Minoru Kizawa originally discovered asteroid 5292 Mackwell on January 12, 1991, in Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. 5292 Mackwell has an absolute magnitude of 11.9 and is part of the main asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits of planets Mars and Jupiter.</s><s>Bibliography. Mackwell S. J., Simon-Miller A. A., Harder J. W., and Bullock M. A., eds. (2013

Stephen J. Mackwell

) "Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets". University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ. 592 pp. Demouchy S. and Mackwell S. (2006) Mechanisms of hydrogen incorporation and diffusion in iron-bearing olivine. "Physics and Chemistry of Minerals", 33, 347,. Mackwell S. J., Zimmerman M. E., and Kohlstedt D. L. (1998) High-temperature deformation of dry diabase with application to tectonics on Venus. "Journal of Geophysical Research–Solid Earth", 103(B1), 975–984,. Kohlstedt D. L., Evans B., and Mackwell S. J. (1995) Strength of the lithosphere: Constraints imposed by laboratory experiments. "Journal of Geophysical Research–Solid Earth", 100(B9), 17587–17602,.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Muhammad Al-Hafiz.

Muhammad Al-Hafiz

<s>Muhammad Al-Hafiz Al-Hafiz Hamzah (born 15 March 1984) is a former Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.</s><s>Club career.</s><s>Club career.:Kedah FA. He was a product of Kedah's youth system ( team), and started in the junior squad during the 2002 season, but it was not until 2004 that he debuted in the senior side, replacing Megat Amir Faisal Al Khalidi Ibrahim. In 2004, where Malaysian football was introduced with the Malaysia Super League, Al-Hafiz became a second choice goalkeeper behind Megat Amir Faisal after Mirandinha brought him into the senior squad. However, he had been given a chance and made his debut in the first league match against Selangor Public Bank FC on 14 February 2004 after Megat Amir Faisal had a serious back injury during the pre-season preparations.</s><s>Club career.:USM FC. Al-Hafiz joined Premier league side, USM FC, in the 2012 season.</s><s>Club career.:Johor Darul Takzim FC. Al-Hafiz joined the star-studded squad, Johor Darul Takzim F.

Muhammad Al-Hafiz

C., in 2013, after USM FC management cited financial difficulties as the reason for the decision to pull out of the Malaysia Premier League. He got off to a mixed start for the 2013 season but managed to cement his place as a first-choice goalkeeper throughout the season.</s><s>Honours.</s><s>Honours.:Club honours. - Johor Darul Takzim - Malaysian Charity Shield: 2015 Winner - Malaysia Super League (2): 2014, 2015 - 2014 Malaysia Cup: Runner Up - 2013 Malaysia FA Cup: Runner Up</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Nobuhiro Shimatani.

Nobuhiro Shimatani

<s>Nobuhiro Shimatani, also known by his nickname, is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. As of July 2022, he predominantly works for Gleat as a member of the BULK Orchestra stable.</s><s>Professional wrestling career.</s><s>Professional wrestling career.:Independent circuit (2016–present). As a freelancer, Shimatani works for various promotions. At "NOAH Great Voyage In Yokohama Vol. 2", an event promoted by Pro Wrestling Noah on December 16, 2018, he teamed up with Kazusada Higuchi and Kota Umeda in a losing effort to Atsushi Kotoge, Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya. At a house show promoted by Big Japan Pro Wrestling on July 22, 2021, he teamed up with Takato Nakano and Kota Sekifuda to defeat Alejandro, Kazuki Hashimoto and Kosuke Sato.</s><s>Professional wrestling career.:Independent circuit (2016–present).:DDT Pro Wrestling (2016–2022). Shimatani made his professional wrestling debut at on March 21 where he teamed up with Kouki Iwasaki and Rainbow Kawamura,

Nobuhiro Shimatani

losing to Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo and Mao Inoue in a six-man tag team match. He often wrestled in unusual matches such as a 28-person battle royal in which the winner was granted the general manager position for one night at "DDT/Saki Akai Produce DDT Collection" on March 14, 2018, match which also involved Danshoku Dino, Harashima, Mao, Yuko Miyamoto and others. He is known for competing in various of the promotion's signature events just as DDT Judgement. After his debut match at the event, he continued making appearances. One year later at on March 20, he teamed up with Naomi Yoshimura and Dai Suzuki to defeat Rekka, Daiki Shimomura and Yuki Ueno. At on March 25, Shimatani teamed up with Daiki Shimomura as "Gran MilliMeters", Takato Nakano and Rekka in a losing effort to Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango, Mad Paulie, Cherry and Gota Ihashi as a result of a Ten-person tag team match. At on March 20, he teamed up with his fellow Damnation stablemates Tetsu

Nobuhiro Shimatani

ya Endo and T-Hawk in a losing effort against Eruption (Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai). As for the DDT Peter Pan branch of events, Shimatani made his first appearance at Ryōgoku Peter Pan 2016 on August 28 where he teamed up with Chikara and Mitsuo Momota in a losing effort to Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango and Rekka as a result of a six-man tag team match for Chikara's King of Dark Championship where had any opponent got pinned by him, they would have become the new champion. At Ryōgoku Peter Pan 2018 on October 21, he won a Rumble rules match by lastly eliminating Gorgeous Matsuno and also competing against Self-Proclaimed Tiger Mask V, Gota Ihashi and others. At Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 on July 15, Shimatani teamed up with Disaster Box (Yuki Ueno and Naomi Yoshimura) in a losing effort against All Out (Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Iino) and Mizuki Watase. He also worked in the DDT Ultimate Party branch of events, marking his first appearance at Ultimate Party 2019 on November

Nobuhiro Shimatani

3 where he teamed up with fellow Damnation stablemates Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie to unsuccessfully challenge the champions Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano and Takato Nakano, and Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari and Miss Mongol in a Three-way match for the UWA World Trios Championship. One year later at Ultimate Party 2020 on November 3, he teamed up with Mad Paulie and El Lindaman as #DamnHearts and competed in a Four-way elimination match also involving the teams of Eruption (Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai), Disaster Box (Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura and Kazuki Hirata), and Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi and Antonio Honda. As for the DDT Into The Fight branch, Shimatani made an important appearance at Into The Fight 2019 on March 21 where he teamed up with fellow Damnation stablemates Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie in a losing effort to Bull James, Kota Umeda and Naomi Yoshimura. Another signature event of the promotion in which he activated was King of DDT, making an appearance at the 2018 edition where he fell short to Mike Bailey in

Nobuhiro Shimatani

the first round. Two years later at the 2020 edition, he fell short to Yuki Ueno in the same tournament stage.</s><s>Championships and accomplishments. - Best Body Japan Pro-Wrestling - BBW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yakan Nabe - DDT Pro-Wrestling - Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (9 times) - King of Dark Championship (1 time) - Gleat - G-Infinity Championship (1 time, current) – with Hayato Tamura</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Umika Kawashima.

Umika Kawashima

<s>Umika Kawashima</s><s>Biography. Umika Kawashima was born in the Saitama Prefecture. She was scouted in Shibuya when she was in 6th grade and joined Lespros Entertainment. The actresses she idolizes are Aoi Miyazaki, Yui Aragaki and Kou Shibasaki. She has stated that she would like to collaborate with Masaharu Fukuyama. She graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Letters at Meiji University with a degree in psychology in 2016.</s><s>Biography.:Career. Since 2006, Kawashima has appeared in numerous television dramas and movies. In 2007 she joined the female idol group 9nine, however she announced her graduation from the group in 2016 to focus on her acting career. She appeared for her final performance with the group during "9nine LIVE 2016," BEST 9 Tour" after being with the group for nine and a half years. Early 2016, it was announced that Kawashima would become a regular alongside Masu Taichi on the television program ZIP!. Kawashima commented, "Now is the time to move forward. I want to present an exciting program without any accidents." She receives her first leading role as a voice actress in the 2017 summer anime series

Umika Kawashima

, Nana Maru San Batsu.</s><s>Filmography.</s><s>Filmography.:Dubbing. - "Hotel Transylvania", Mavis Dracula - "Hotel Transylvania 2", Mavis Dracula - "", Mavis Dracula - "", Mavis Dracula</s><s>Awards. - 2009: The 2nd Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Newcomer Award - 2010: The 23rd Japan Best Dressed Eyes Awards Special Prize - 2013: The 24th Best Jewery Dresser in Japan (section of teens)</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Sun Wenguang.

Sun Wenguang

<s>Sun Wenguang Sun Wenguang (; born August 26, 1934) is an activist and vocal critic of Chinese government. He was a professor of Physics at Shandong University in Jinan from 1982 until 1994 when he retired.</s><s>Early life. Sun Wenguang was born in Rongcheng City on August 26, 1934. His father was a naval officer of the National Government. Sun joined the Navy in his early years.</s><s>Career. He was a professor of Physics at Shandong University in Jinan from 1982 until 1994 when he retired.</s><s>Activism. Sun has a history of criticizing the Chinese government, being one of the original signatories of Charter 08 and has been harassed for relations with critics of Communist China. On April 5, 2009, Sun and a university student left to go to a local cemetery called Heroes’ Mountain (Yingxiong Shan; 英雄山) on a holiday to honor the dead. He was to visit the grave of Zhao Ziyang, a former Chinese Premier and Communist Party general secretary who died in 2005. When Sun entered the cemetery in Jinan, four or five men attacked him and beat him severely. He was admitted shortly after to

Sun Wenguang

Jinan hospital with three broken ribs and injuries to his spine, head, back, arms and legs. Later in 2010, Sun's passport application was rejected shortly before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Liu Xiaobo. On August 1, 2018, Sun was giving an interview with Voice of America in which he expressed opinions about Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping and government expenditures outside China when the interview was ended abruptly after Chinese security forces entered his house and seized him. Sun is reported to be locked in currently and two VOA journalists Feng Yibing and Allen Ai were seized for several hours after trying to reach Sun in August 2018.</s><s>Writing. His books, published in Hong Kong, include: - "Against the Wind for 33 Years: Dictatorship after 1977 versus Constitutional Democracy" - "Essays from Within and Without of Prison" - "Calling for Freedom" - "A Country in a Century of Trouble: From Mao Zedong to Jiang Zemin" - "Essays on Chinese Central Government and CCP from Prison".</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Wil Nieves.

Wil Nieves

<s>Wil Nieves Wilbert "Wil" Nieves (born September 25, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher and current minor league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies.</s><s>Playing career.</s><s>Playing career.:San Diego Padres. Nieves was selected by the Padres in the 47th round of the 1995 MLB draft. He made his major league debut on July 21, 2002, for the San Diego Padres, and played 28 games with them during their 2002 season.</s><s>Playing career.:Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels. Nieves was selected off waivers by the Anaheim Angels on December 20, 2002.</s><s>Playing career.:New York Yankees. He was traded to the New York Yankees for pitcher Bret Prinz. Nieves won a spot on the Yankees 2007 roster by beating out Todd Pratt and Raul Chavez during spring training. He served as the back-up catcher to Jorge Posada, but was primarily considered Mike Mussina's "personal catcher." Joe Torre experimented with using Nieves to help bolster Mussina out of a rough stretch with good results. Nieves made

Wil Nieves

his first career non-catching appearance in the ninth inning of a game on July 8, 2007, against the Angels; he played first base when the Yankees ran low on position players. Following an impressive 2-for-3 performance against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 21, 2007, Nieves was designated for assignment by the Yankees following news that they had acquired José Molina from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Though respected as a good defensive catcher, Nieves hit just.164 for the Yankees. "It's just business and I really want this team to go all the way to the playoffs and, hopefully, win the World Series," Nieves said. "They're a bunch of great guys. I love them, Torre and all those guys. They can improve the backup catcher and they're bringing in Molina. He's a great catcher, too." Nieves cleared waivers, and reported to the Yankees' Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on July 27, 2007. Nieves was the starting catcher for Scranton. He declared free agency in October 2007. He played for Licey in the Dominican Winter League during the off-season.</s><s>Playing career.:Washington Nationals. He started the 2008 season in

Wil Nieves

the Washington Nationals organization with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League. On April 25, 2008, Nieves hit his first major-league home run, a walk-off home run to right field, to give the Nationals a 5–3 win over the Chicago Cubs. Nieves was the backup catcher to starter Jesus Flores in the 2009 season. Nieves was the backup catcher for Iván Rodríguez in 2010.</s><s>Playing career.:Milwaukee Brewers. On December 10, 2010, Nieves signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.</s><s>Playing career.:Atlanta Braves. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves on July 27, 2011, for $1. He was demoted to Triple-A Gwinnett shortly after, and J. C. Boscan was recalled to be the backup catcher.</s><s>Playing career.:Colorado Rockies. On December 18, 2011 Nieves signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies worth $414,000. After hitting.409 with 1 HR in 18 games in spring training, he was reassigned before the season started. On May 25, 2012, Nieves was called up to replace Ramón Hernández, who was placed on the 15-day disabled

Wil Nieves

list. Nieves was hitting.299 with 3 HR and 14 RBI in 28 games with Triple-A Colorado Springs. During his time up there, he acted as a mentor to Wilin Rosario and was used to try to solve Jeremy Guthrie's problems. On July 13, Nieves was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a turf toe in his right foot. However, on August 1, he was designated for assignment to clear roster space. Nieves was hitting.298 with 1 HR and 5 RBI in 16 games. He elected free agency on August 6.</s><s>Playing career.:Arizona Diamondbacks. Nieves signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 6, 2012. Nieves scored a two-run homer on his debut August 9, 2012 at the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6 to 3 win.</s><s>Playing career.:Philadelphia Phillies. On December 4, 2013, Nieves signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Nieves made the Phillies Opening Day roster in 2014 as the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz. On June 18, he injured his leg while running the bases during a start against Atlanta. He exited the game, and the Phillies recalled catcher Cameron Rupp to serve as Ruiz's backup while Nieves healed. Nieves

Wil Nieves

had only played in 14 games to that date, all starts to give Ruiz some rest.</s><s>Playing career.:Return to San Diego Padres. Nieves signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on February 4, 2015. He made the Padres' opening day roster as back-up to catcher Derek Norris after Tim Federowicz suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring training. Nieves appeared in six games for the Padres in 2015 and collected one hit in thirteen at-bats, an April 12 grand slam against the San Francisco Giants. Nieves was designated for assignment on May 4, 2015, and chose to become a free agent.</s><s>Playing career.:Braves organization. The Braves signed Nieves to a minor league contract, and he batted.238 for AAA Gwinnett, but the Braves released him on June 22, 2015.</s><s>Post-playing career. In 2019, Nieves joined the Boston Red Sox' minor league system as a coach with the Class A-Advanced Salem Red Sox.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Robert Guthrie.

Robert Guthrie

<s>Robert Guthrie Robert Guthrie, MD, Ph.D. (June 28, 1916 – June 24, 1995) was an American microbiologist, best known for developing the bacterial inhibition assay used to screen infants for phenylketonuria at birth, before the development of irreversible neurological damage. Guthrie also pioneered the collection of whole blood on specially designed filter paper, commonly known as "Guthrie cards" as a sample medium that could be easily collected, transported and tested. Although Guthrie is best known for developing the test for phenylketonuria, he worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the need to screen for treatable conditions and adapted his method to early screening tests for galactosemia and maple syrup urine disease.</s><s>Early life. Guthrie received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota, although his education took a circuitous route, as he eventually earned six degrees in six years, including both a medical doctorate and a doctor of philosophy. While in school, Guthrie married Margaret, a fellow student, and they eventually had six children together. His early research into bacterial inhibition assays came while he was employed by the Staten Island Public Health Hospital, testing antibiotic sensitivity.</s><s>Research interests. Guthrie became interested in causes and prevention

Robert Guthrie

of mental retardation after his son, John, was born disabled in 1947. Despite his work in the field, the cause of his son's disability was never diagnosed. In 1958, Guthrie's 15-month-old niece was diagnosed with phenylketonuria (PKU), a condition in which the body cannot metabolize phenylalanine. Untreated PKU results in irreversible neurological damage. After the discovery of PKU as a cause of mental retardation, Horst Bickel and colleagues discovered that it could be treated successfully with a diet low in phenylalanine. The main drawback in successful treatment of PKU was the delay in identifying affected individuals. The common test for PKU at the time was mixing urine with ferric chloride. The excess phenylpyruvic acid in the urine of an individual with PKU would produce a bright green colour when reacting with the ferric chloride. Infants do not excrete high enough concentrations of this compound to give a positive test result, thus delaying their diagnosis, and allowing irreversible damage to take place. Guthrie's disabled son had driven his interest in causes of mental retardation, the diagnosis of his niece with PKU turned his attention to preventable causes. Others working with children who had PK

Robert Guthrie

U asked Guthrie to focus on a test that would allow for earlier identification, before irreversible damage had taken place.</s><s>The Guthrie test. Guthrie developed a simple method to screen for elevated phenylalanine levels using a bacterial inhibition assay. He cultured "Bacillus subtilis" on agar in the presence of a phenylalanine antagonist, inhibiting the growth. When exposed to blood from patients affected with PKU, the high levels of phenylalanine overcame the inhibition, and bacterial growth was visible. This assay was initially developed to allow monitoring of phenylalanine concentrations in known patients on dietary treatment using serum spotted onto filter paper. Guthrie recognized both the utility of this method as a screening test, and the need to eliminate serum as the sample type to minimize processing. He tested the assay using whole blood collected on filter paper from a heel stick. The collection of whole blood on special filter paper developed by Guthrie is still used in newborn screening programs around the world, allowing babies to be screened shortly after birth for a number of treatable conditions. After establishing a test that could identify PKU in whole blood spots, Guthrie set out to test his method, starting in an institution in New York. Here, his test correctly

Robert Guthrie

identified all patients known to have PKU and also four who had previously been undiagnosed. In 1961, Guthrie and his lab started screening infants for PKU, a project that quickly expanded. In two years, they had tested 400,000 American newborns, and diagnosed 39 with PKU. This early diagnosis allowed for early treatment and avoidance of the most severe consequences of the disease. Throughout the 1960s, PKU testing expanded in the United States and around the world, eventually becoming required by law in many jurisdictions. With the success of PKU testing, Guthrie and his colleagues focused on screening tests for other diseases that can affect newborns. They developed bacterial inhibition assays for galactosemia and maple syrup urine disease that could be run using the same sample collection as the PKU test.</s><s>Patent controversy. Guthrie decided that commercial production would be the most efficient way to manufacture 400,000 test kits, so he approached the Ames Company, a division of Miles Laboratories, which manufactured the older PKU tests. Ames said it would only manufacture the kits if a patent was issued, so Guthrie filed a patent application in 1962 and signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Miles, under which he would receive no royalties and 5% of the proceeds

Robert Guthrie

would be divided among the National Association for Retarded Children Research Fund, the Association for Aid of Crippled Children, and the University of Buffalo Foundation. Miles couldn't produce the kits fast enough, so Guthrie produced his own kits for 500 tests at a cost of $6 each. But in 1963, he found out that Ames planned to charge $262 for the same kit. Guthrie was appalled, but Ames wouldn't lower their price. Guthrie appealed to the U.S. Children's Bureau, which sponsored the field trial, and the Children's Bureau recommended that Miles not be granted exclusive commercial rights. Most of the funding to develop the tests had come from the Children's Bureau ($742,0000) and the Public Health Service ($251,700). The surgeon general determined that the invention belonged to the United States and abrogated the exclusive licensing agreement. The dispute was the subject of a May, 1965 hearing by the Monopoly Subcommittee of the Select Committee on Small Business of the U.S. Senate. Committee chair Russell B. Long (D-LA) denounced the award of private patent rights on federally funded research, and said, "when the desire to make monopoly profits at the public's expense can adversely affect the health of our children, it

Robert Guthrie

is time to call a halt to this immoral and evil practice." One of the defenders of Ames was Senator Birch Bayh (D-IN), who, with Senator Robert Dole (R-KS), in 1980 introduced the Bayh–Dole Act which allowed universities and small businesses to retain ownership of inventions developed with federal funding.</s><s>Legacy. PKU Day For the 100th birthday of Robert Guthrie the European Society for Phenylketonuria and Allied Disorders Treated as Phenylketonuria invited Patricia Guthrie to the annual conference to give a speech about her father. In subsequence she launched the Robert Guthrie Legacy Project to honor the efforts of Robert Guthrie to Phenylketonuria. His birthday, June 28, which is the same as the one of Horst Bickel, was taken up to launch the International PKU Day. International Neonatal Screening Day On June 28, 2021, IPOPI, ESID and ISNS launched the first International Neonatal Screening Day (INSD) as a tribute to Dr Robert Guthrie. INSD helps raise awareness about the value of neonatal screening, encourages improvements on existing screening programmes and the advancement of scientific developments.</s><s>See also. Robert Guthrie Legacy Project


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Ernestine Eckstein.

Ernestine Eckstein

<s>Ernestine Eckstein Ernestine Eckstein (April 23, 1941 – July 15, 1992) was an African-American woman who helped steer the United States Lesbian and Gay rights movement during the 1960s. She was a leader in the New York chapter of Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). Her influence helped the DOB move away from negotiating with medical professionals and towards tactics of public demonstrations. Her understanding of, and work in, the Civil Rights Movement lent valuable experience on public protest to the lesbian and gay movement. Eckstein worked among activists such as Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, Barbara Gittings, Franklin Kameny, and Randy Wicker. In the 1970s she became involved in the black feminist movement, in particular the organization Black Women Organized for Action (BWOA).</s><s>Early life. Eckstein was born in Indiana in 1941. Her given name was Ernestine Delois Eppenger, though all her lesbian and gay activist work was done under the name Eckstein to protect herself from being outed in circles where it was not safe to be open. She graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in 1963. Her undergraduate degree was in Magazine Journalism with a minor in Government and Russian. She moved to New York

Ernestine Eckstein

City soon after graduation in 1963 at the age of twenty-two. Upon moving she came into a lesbian identity and her activism as a lesbian began. Eckstein says of her sexual orientation:</s><s>Political organizing in the LGBT community. Eckstein began attending meetings of the New York Mattachine Society soon after she arrived in New York City, which led her to its sister organization DOB. In 1965, debates around the direction of the homophile movement were heating up. That same year Eckstein marched in Philadelphia at the first Annual Reminder Day and in front of the White House as the only person of color demonstrating. The original Mattachine Society's “old guard” leaders (versus the independent Mattachine Society of Washington who initiated the 1965 protests) wanted to continue pursuing homosexual rights via negotiations with doctors and psychologists while the younger activist wing desired to take the issue of equal civil rights for homosexuals to the people through lobbying government officials and demonstrating. Psychologists considered homosexuality to be a mental illness until 1973, when it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual in the third edition; until that point, homosexuality was perceived as a mental illness and therefore something to ‘fix’. This debate was equally strong within the DOB; Eckstein's appointment as DO

Ernestine Eckstein

B New York chapter Vice President indicated a strategic push by the activist wing. Marcia M. Gallo writes, “Her [Eckstein’s] plan was to reach out to women who saw the gay struggle as linked to other civil rights issues and hope that during her time as vice president of the local chapter she would help build a more social action oriented group". During the time that Eckstein was involved in DOB, until 1968, the “old guard” was still controlling the organization. In June 1965, DOB actually pulled out of the East Coast Homophile Organization (ECHO) because the coalition was increasing its involvement in protests for lesbian and gay rights. Eckstein was an important lesbian representative of the activist wing. She understood that she was living through a huge tactical shift for lesbian and gay activists and that it was an uphill battle. She said, “I think our movement is not ready for any forms of civil disobedience. I think this would solidify resistance to our cause. This situation will change eventually. But not now". Eckstein believed that there should be a concentration on, “the discrimination by the government in employment and military service, the laws used against homosexuals,” and, “the rejection by the

Ernestine Eckstein

churches". Eckstein, like the founder of the Black Panther Party, Huey Newton, saw the connection between black American's struggle for equality during the Civil Rights Movement and the lesbian and gay struggle for equality and fostered the connection. To this day, many groups still do not acknowledge the connection between gay rights and rights for people of color. It was not until 2012 that Ben Jealous, President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) declared, "Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law," confirming that LGBT rights are now acknowledged as civil rights struggles by the NAACP.</s><s>Eckstein’s correspondence with Frank Kameny. Frank Kameny was one of the most significant figures in the American gay rights movement, co-founding the Mattachine Society of Washington (MSW), and, inspired by Stokely Carmichael's creation of the phrase Black is beautiful, created the slogan “Gay is Good” for the gay civil rights movement. In late 1965 and early 1966, Ernestine Eckstein and Frank Kameny corresponded by letters about Eckstein's wish to bring Kameny to speak on April 17, 1966 at DOB headquarters in New York City. Eckstein wanted Kam

Ernestine Eckstein

eny's help to reinforce to DOB officers and members the need for activism and activist strategies and tactics in moving forward the lesbian and gay movement. Eckstein, writing to Kameny on February 12, 1966 said, “I want you to be free enough to say whatever you want, so to speak – about any aspect of the movement. Keep in mind my particular aim: to get these people to realize there is such a thing as the homophile movement and possibly begin to develop a fuller concept of themselves as part of it.” However, in a letter dated February 17, 1966, Eckstein informs Kameny that the DOB organization had decided to disinvite Kameny to speak at DOB. After three years in New York with the DOB Eckstein moved to Northern California to “focus on social justice issues…[she] joined Black Women Organized for Action…in the early 1970s". Much less is known about Eckstein after she left New York. Interviews with previous DOB members revealed, “Eckstein had gotten tired of all the political wrangling and disagreements within DOB over strategies and tactics” and wanted “more political organization.” She left the movement on the East Coast for other political work advocating

Ernestine Eckstein

for women of color in California.</s><s>Political organizing in the Black feminist community. Eckstein's involvement with political activism started in the Civil Rights Movement at Indiana State, as a NAACP chapter officer. But Eckstein understood organizations like NAACP as, “structured with the white liberals in mind” and joined more progressive organizations like Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) once she moved to New York. Upon moving to the west coast, Eckstein joined the radical, activist group Black Women Organized for Action (BWOA). BWOA was a San Francisco organization collectively co-founded in 1973 by fifteen women including Aileen Hernandez, Patsy Fulcher, and Eleanor Spikes. The organization, “formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in response to the lack of representation of Black women in local women's organizing". The group emerged from Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA). BWOPA, which functioned in an auxiliary fundraising role for men of color running for office, and had many members who wanted to shift to a space explicitly defined by Black women's concerns. “Though members had strong roots in the Civil Rights Movement … more so than any of the other organizations, BWOA exhibits a clear link to the Women's Movement". BWOA was

Ernestine Eckstein

among the first Black feminist organizations in the United States. The fact that Eckstein chose to join BWOA reflects her radical political beliefs. The organization had a truly progressive model of collective responsibility and political philosophy. “The organization was structured so that leadership, work, and community involvement were shared among members willing to participate, and “a system of, three coordinators for a three-month tenure” was utilized. This created an emphasis on fostering Black women as leaders while simultaneously avoiding a hierarchy among Black female activists. This was a rare structure in comparison to sister organizations. The three-month terms were a part of the organization's larger political perspective that did not mandate that its members hold specific stances on political issues. Historian Kimberly Springer writes, “Members were free to choose the activities in which they participated and they were not obligated to subscribe to an organizationally-dictated political perspective. …The survival of Black communities … did not depend on one solution but on the conscious, consistent political awareness of the communities' members". The BWOA Statement of Purpose reads: The organization's careful use of terms such as “feminist” and “Black” that could potentially alienate or divide their membership encouraged the non-hierarchical atmosphere.

Ernestine Eckstein

Springer writes: “The BWOA subverted discrimination within Black communities based on color, physical appearance, or class by welcoming "all" Black women into the organization. The organization focused on activism, rather than social constructions of beauty or social class.... BWOA’s avoidance of the label ‘feminism’ while practicing feminism was indicative of future developments in Black feminist organizing". The BWOA lasted from 1973 to 1980 with a 400-person membership at its height. There was no one factor that caused the group to stop meeting actively, but the rise in conservatism with the election of Ronald Reagan as President in 1980 caused members to “determine that 1960s strategies would not be effective". One unusual factor in Eckstein's involvement in BWOA is that it “did not interrogate heterosexism as an oppressive force in Black women’s lives".</s><s>Political views. Eckstein was one of the most progressive thinkers of her time in the gay and lesbian political movement as well as in the Black Feminist movement. Her understanding of the successes of the Civil Rights Movement influenced her beliefs about political organizing. She saw demonstrations as, “one of the very first steps towards changing society". In 1966, three years before the Stonew

Ernestine Eckstein

all Rebellion in 1969 that sparked annual Gay Pride marches beginning in 1970, while many white gay and lesbian activists were still struggling with direct action as a feasible tactic Eckstein said, “Picketing I regard as almost a conservative act now. The homosexual has to call attention to the fact that he’s been unjustly acted upon. This is what the Negro did". At a time when much of the activism regarding lesbian and gay rights was done for, by, and about white people, Eckstein was leading an extremely active, majority white, DOB chapter and advocating for coalition-based politics. She understood that her views were coming from what might be described as a more inclusive analysis than many White gay or lesbian activists who often only did work around gay or lesbian issues. She said, “I think if we meet on the common ground of our unjust position in society, then we can go from there. This is a new frame of reference, a new way of thinking almost, for some". Eckstein's beliefs toward political coalition work and organizing differed than that of many other separatist leaning gay and lesbian people in the 1960s. Eckstein said: - “I think Negroes need white people, and I think homosexuals need heterosexuals. If you foster

Ernestine Eckstein

cooperation right from the start, then everyone is involved and it’s not a movement over there". - “I would like to see in the homophile movement more people who can think. And I don’t believe we ought to look at their titles or at their sexual orientation. Movements should be intended, I feel, to erase labels, whether ‘black’ or ‘white’ or ‘homosexual’ or ‘heterosexual". - “I’d like to find a way of getting all classes of homosexuals involved together in the movement”.</s><s>June 1966 interview in "The Ladder". Much of what is known about Eckstein's beliefs and life is taken from an interview in "The Ladder" in June 1966. Eckstein was one of two women of color to be featured on the cover of this landmark lesbian political publication. The importance of Eckstein's issue of "The Ladder" should not be underestimated: “Her image on the cover, and her ideas throughout the pages of "The Ladder", helped greatly to complicate notions of the kinds of women who were involved in DOB and expanded definitions of lesbian identity". Her coverage in "The Ladder" is the only

Ernestine Eckstein

known published piece that substantially features Eckstein.</s><s>Later life. At this time virtually nothing is known of Eckstein's life after she became a part of BWOA. According to the Social Security Death Index, Ernestine Eckstein (Ernestine D. Eppenger) died in San Pablo, California in 1992.</s><s>Other. Season 4 episode 9 of the podcast "Making Gay History" is about Eckstein.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Sheldon T. Mills.

Sheldon T. Mills

<s>Sheldon T. Mills Sheldon Tibbetts Mills (August 13, 1904 – July 15, 1988) was a United States diplomat, who served as a career Foreign Service officer of the U.S. Department of State from 1928 to 1961.</s><s>Family. Mills was born on August 13, 1904, in Seattle, Washington and died on July 15, 1988, in Santa Barbara, California. Mills' parents were Harry Edward Mills, a Protestant minister and poet, best known for his book, "The Sod House in Heaven, and Other Poems," and Mary Brewster Tibbetts Mills, a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster who arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620. On January 23, 1932, Sheldon Mills married Francesca Dekum of Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Adolph Andrew Dekum and Linda Andrews Dekum. Adolph Dekum was in the hardware business. Linda Andrews Dekum was originally from Warren, Ohio, where her father, Francis Newell Andrews, was a prosperous merchant whose family had arrived in America in the 17th century. Francesca Dekum's grandfather, Frank Dekum, was born in Bavaria, Germany and was a prominent 19th century fruit merchant, banker and real estate investor in Portland,

Sheldon T. Mills

Oregon. Sheldon Mills and Francesca Mills were the parents of three daughters.</s><s>Education. Sheldon Mills graduated from Reed College in Portland, Oregon with a B.A. degree in 1927. He then traveled to Washington, D.C., where he studied for the Foreign Service exams with Angus Crawford, who tutored 90 percent of the aspiring Foreign Service officers of that era. Sheldon Mills passed the exams and was commissioned as a Foreign Service Officer in December 1928. From 1939 to 1940 Sheldon Mills was detailed to Harvard University where he studied Economics. Francesca Dekum Mills attended Miss Catlan's School in Portland, Oregon and graduated from Reed College in 1929.</s><s>Career. After Mills was appointed a Foreign Service officer in the Department of State in 1928, he began a diplomatic career that spanned 32 years. His postings included Bolivia, Panama, Romania, Chile, India and Brazil. He also served as United States Ambassador to Ecuador (1954-1956); United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (1956-1959); and, finally, as United States Ambassador to Jordan from 1959 to 1961. Mills developed a positive relationship with Afghanistan's King Mohammad Zahir which proved beneficial to both the U.S. and Afghanistan. The King returned to Afghanistan from forced exile in 2002

Sheldon T. Mills

to become the ceremonial "father of the nation" after the Taliban retreat. During Sheldon Mills' time in Kabul, King Zahir Shah received economic development support from both the United States and the Soviet Union which was an unusual achievement during the Cold War when recipient countries were clients of one super power or the other. In Jordan, Mills enjoyed a good personal interaction with King Hussein which enhanced the United States-Jordanian relationship. According to Nigel Ashton's, "King Hussein of Jordan, a Political Life," (page 83) the King told Ambassador Mills in early 1960 that, 'the Arab legend,' that Israel should be pushed into the sea should be abandoned, and that "It was time to put aside emotionalism and take steps toward a final settlement between Israel and the Arabs."</s><s>Later life. After leaving the Foreign Service and retiring to Santa Barbara, California. Mills was an active member of the Channel City Club, the Cosmopolitan Club, the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Foreign Service Association and Diplomatic and Consular Officials, Retired. He was a frequent contributor of op-ed articles on foreign affairs to local newspapers.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of W. Clark Still.

W. Clark Still

<s>W. Clark Still William Clark Still (born 1946) is an American organic chemist. As a distinguished professor at Columbia University, Clark Still made significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry, particularly in the areas of natural product synthesis, reaction development, conformational analysis, macrocyclic stereocontrol, and computational chemistry. Still and coworkers also developed the purification technique known as flash column chromatography which is widely used for the purification of organic compounds.</s><s>Major contributions.</s><s>Major contributions.:Total synthesis.</s><s>Major contributions.:Total synthesis.:Periplanone B. In 1979, Still reported the first total synthesis of periplanone B, the potent sex pheromone of the American cockroach. Although the structural connectivity of this compound had been established spectroscopically, Still's synthesis confirmed the relative stereochemical relationships present in this natural product. A key step in this synthesis makes use of an anionic oxy-Cope rearrangement to form the macrocyclic 10-membered ring found in periplanone B. In this transformation, the initial tertiary alcohol was treated with potassium hydride and 18-crown-6 at elevated temperature to induce the rearrangement, and the resulting enolate was

W. Clark Still

trapped with chlorotrimethylsilane to form the macrocyclic silyl enol ether as a single diastereomer. This intermediate was then transformed into a key enone substrate over the course of five steps including Rubottom oxidation, TBS protection of the secondary alcohol, and formation of the exocyclic alkene via a selenoxide rearrangements. br These transformations set the stage for the introduction of both epoxide groups, which were formed with high levels of diastereoselectivity based on the principles of macrocyclic stereocontrol. The first epoxide was introduced via nucleophilic epoxidation of the enone using potassium hydride and tert-butylhydroperoxide; this led to the formation of a 4:1 mixture of diastereomeric epoxides, favoring the desired isomer in which attack had occurred from the peripheral face of the enone. At this stage, the ketone was transformed into the second epoxide group using the Johnson-Corey-Chaykovsky reaction; notably, the product was formed as a single diastereomer, again due to initial peripheral attack of the dimethylsulfonium methylide nucleophile on the ketone.

W. Clark Still

Subsequent removal of the TBS protecting group and Sarett oxidation of the resulting secondary alcohol completed the total synthesis of racemic periplanone B.</s><s>Major contributions.:Total synthesis.:Monensin. In 1980, Still and coworkers reported the total synthesis of monensin, a complex polyether natural product that acts as an ionophore. One of the key steps in this route is the late-stage union of two advanced fragments via an intermolecular aldol reaction. In this reaction, low-temperature deprotonation of the methyl ketone with lithium diisopropylamide formed the kinetic enolate which then underwent transmetalation upon the addition of magnesium bromide. Subsequent addition of the aldehyde component initiated a diastereoselective aldol reaction, forming the desired beta-hydroxyketone in 75% yield as a 3:1 mixture of diastereomers. Notably, this instance of acyclic stereocontrol is consistent with the Cram-Felkin-Anh model for the addition of nucleophiles to an aldehyde bearing an existing stereocenter in the alpha position. br br br Having united these two complex fragments, Still was able

W. Clark Still

to complete the synthesis of monensin in three additional steps. First, hydrogenolysis of the benzyl group afforded the free primary alcohol under standard conditions. Next, cleavage of the triethylsilyl (TES) protecting groups was achieved in the presence of para-toluenesulfonic acid; the resulting free secondary alcohols then engaged the ketone in a spontaneous cyclization reaction to form the thermodynamic spiroketal linkage. Finally, hydrolysis of the methyl ester under basic conditions furnished the sodium salt of monensin, completing the synthesis of this challenging natural product.</s><s>Major contributions.:Method development.</s><s>Major contributions.:Method development.:Wittig-Still rearrangement. The 2,3-Wittig rearrangement is a useful carbon-carbon bond forming reaction that transforms an allyl ether into a homoallylic alcohol. However, a significant limitation of this reaction is the difficulty in forming the alkoxy-substituted carbanion which initiates the 2,3-sigmatropic rearrangement. Traditionally, this required the use of a strong base and the presence of a stabilizing group to enable deprotonation of the ether substrate. In 1978,

W. Clark Still

Still dramatically increased the scope of the 2,3-Wittig rearrangement by introducing an organotin-substituted ether as a precursor to the alkoxy-substituted carbanion. In this procedure, transmetalation of the organotin group can be achieved chemoselectively at low temperature using n-butyllithium to form an alpha-lithiated ether that undergoes the desired 2,3-sigmatropic rearrangement. This variation of the traditional 2,3-Wittig reaction is known as the Wittig-Still rearrangement. br br br An application of the Wittig-Still rearrangement in the context of natural product synthesis can be seen in Still's 1979 formal synthesis of the Cecropia juvenile hormone. The organotin-substituted ether that serves as the substrate for the rearrangement was readily prepared by bis-alkylation of the corresponding diol with iodomethyltributyltin. Treatment of this compound with two equivalents of "n"-butyllithium at low temperature resulted in transmetalation, initiating a double 2,3-sigmatropic rearrangement to give the bis-homoallylic alcohol product

W. Clark Still

in 79% yield. Notably, this rearrangement is highly stereoselective with regard to the geometry of the trisubstituted olefins, giving exclusively the ("Z","Z")-isomer shown.br br</s><s>Major contributions.:Method development.:Still-Gennari alkenation. The Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction is a widely used olefination reaction in which a phosphonate-stabilized carbanion reacts with an aldehyde or ketone to form an alkene. In the standard HWE reaction, the phosphonate ester contains alkoxy substituents (typically methoxy or ethoxy), producing an "E"-alkene as the major product. In 1983, Still and Gennari reported that simply substituting the more electron-withdrawing 2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy groups on the phosphonate component reversed the stereoselectivity to produce predominantly "Z"-alkenes. The use of a non-coordinating counterion was also found to be critical for high levels of "Z"-selectivity; this is typically accomplished by using a base with a potassium counterion in the presence of 18-crown

W. Clark Still

-6. Taken together, this protocol is known as the Still-Gennari modification of the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction or, alternatively, as the Still-Gennari olefination. Although the mechanism of this reaction has not been fully elucidated, it is speculated that the use of an electron-deficient phosphonate accelerates elimination of the oxaphosphatane intermediate. This renders the initial addition of the phosphonate-stabilized carbanion to the aldehyde effectively irreversible, leading to "Z"-selectivity in analogy to the standard Wittig reaction.</s><s>Major contributions.:Flash column chromatography. In 1978, Still and coworkers published a highly influential paper reporting a purification technique known as flash column chromatography. Prior to this report, column chromatography using silica gel as a stationary phase had already been established as a valuable method for the separation and purification of organic compounds. However, elution of the solvent by gravity alone was often a tedious process, requiring several hours and leading to poor separations due to band broadening via diffusion. Still's innovation was to apply pressure to the top of the column to increase the speed of solvent elution. Not only did this drastically reduce

W. Clark Still

the time required to run the column, but it also allowed for the routine separation of compounds having an R difference of 0.10 or greater. After optimizing this procedure, Still compiled a table correlating column diameter, volume of eluant, amount of sample, and typical fraction size, providing a useful guide for application of this technique in the laboratory. Today, flash column chromatography is one of the most important methods for the purification of organic compounds, especially when working on a small scale (< 50 mg) where the techniques of recrystallization and distillation are impractical. Still's paper describing flash column chromatography remains his most highly cited publication and holds the distinction of being one of the most frequently downloaded papers from the "Journal of Organic Chemistry", despite being published over 35 years ago.</s><s>Major contributions.:Computational chemistry and MacroModel. In addition to his contributions to synthetic organic chemistry, Clark Still was an early pioneer in applying computational methods to the study of organic compounds. Conformational analysis was integral to Still's study of macrocyclic stereocontrol, and there was a general need for a fast and reliable computational method for predicting an organic molecule's lowest energy conformation. In order to address the problem, Still and coworkers reported a

W. Clark Still

simple Monte Carlo method for searching conformational space in 1989. In this procedure, the internal coordinates for an organic molecule were varied at random, and the energy of the lowest energy conformation was determined after structure minimization. After each iteration, the minimum energy was compared to the values obtained previously in order to locate the global minimum; Still referred to this overall process as a Monte Carlo multiple-minimum search. In an effort to make molecular modeling more accessible to practicing organic chemists, Still developed the integrated software program MacroModel in 1986 in association with Columbia University. Dr. Wayne Guida, a senior postdoctoral researcher in Still's group at the time, described the development of this software package in the following way: One particularly notable feature of MacroModel was the inclusion of an implicit solvation model known as GB/SA (generalized Born model augmented with the hydrophobic solvent accessible surface area term). The GB/SA model simulated solvent interactions with organic molecules by incorporating a continuous solvent field instead of including explicit individual solvent molecules in the computation. Still disclosed a full description of MacroModel in the Journal of Computation Chemistry in 1990, and the rights to this software were later acquired by Schrodinger, Inc. in 1998.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Jonathan Roy.

Jonathan Roy

<s>Jonathan Roy Jonathan Piuze-Roy (born March 15, 1989) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. Son of hockey great Patrick Roy, he initially pursued hockey in junior leagues, but abandoned that path in favour of music while still a teenager. Having previously released three albums, his major-label debut, "Mr. Optimist Blues", was released in 2017, and includes several songs written by 1980s pop star Corey Hart.</s><s>Early life. Roy's father is famed Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy. He moved with his family from Montreal to Colorado when he was six years old, due to his father being traded. Roy was influenced by his mother's frequent piano playing for the family as he was growing up. He wrote poetry from the age of 13 or 14, and began putting his poems to music around age 16. At age 17, Roy played hockey for the Quebec Remparts, with his father coaching the team at the time. Although he enjoyed goaltending, he dreamed of a music career, and was listening to the Backstreet Boys, John Mayer, and Ray LaMontagne. At 18, when his father told him that his future would not be in hockey and that he needed to plan an education, Roy told his father that he wanted

Jonathan Roy

to be a musician and songwriter. In 2009 Roy was charged with assault following an incident during a hockey brawl where he skated the length of the ice and attacked the opposing goaltender, punching him several times.</s><s>Music career. Roy's album "What I've Become" came out in 2009. His second album, "Found My Way", came out in 2010. He released his French-language debut album, "La route", in 2011. The title track, a duet with Natasha St-Pier, received the most attention. Roy had a critically acclaimed role in the 2012 revival of the musical "Don Juan". In 2012, his father helped him set up a meeting with 1980s pop singer Corey Hart, who runs Siena Records, an affiliate of Warner Music. Hart offered to sign him to his label after Roy performed a Teddy Thompson song for him at Hart's home in Nassau, Bahamas. Roy and Hart had a hit holiday release in 2016 when they duetted on the Chris Rea song "Driving Home for Christmas". In 2017, Roy released the album "Mr. Optimist Blues" on Siena Records, Corey Hart's music label. Hart executive-produced the album, and wrote three of the album's songs.

Jonathan Roy

The "Montreal Gazette"'s music critic characterizes the style as "easygoing 21st-century pop with a little light reggae thrown in for good measure. Think Ed Sheeran meets Paolo Nutini and then slap on Bob Marley’s greatest hits." Roy is based in Toronto. In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn't Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.</s><s>Discography.</s><s>Discography.:Albums. - "What I've Become" (2009) – No. 18 Canada - "Found My Way" (2010) - "La route" (2011) - "Mr. Optimist Blues" (2017) – No. 3 Canada - "My Lullaby" (2021) – No. 99 Canada</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Jimmy Weldon.

Jimmy Weldon

<s>Jimmy Weldon Jimmy Weldon (born Ivy Laverne Shinn, September 23, 1923) is an American retired voice actor, ventriloquist, and former television host. He is best known as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yakky Doodle and the host and ventriloquist in the locally produced television series "The Webster Webfoot Show". Weldon has a YouTube channel titled "Jimmy's Lecture", where he documents stories of his adventures during his time in World War II.</s><s>Early life. Born Ivy Laverne Shinn on September 23, 1923 in Dale, Texas, he began his career in 1946 as a disc jockey at KWCO, the radio station which began its operations shortly after he returned home following WWII. He was the first announcer hired at this new radio station. While there, he developed a character named Webster Webfoot, a little duck who visited him while he was playing record requests from listeners calling in. Often they just wanted to talk to little Webster. They thought Webster was someone other than Weldon, and so he became an important part of Weldon's disc jockey presentations.</s><s>Television acting. In 1948, Weldon (and Webster Webfoot) moved to Duncan

Jimmy Weldon

, Oklahoma, where they performed on another 250-watt AM station, KRHD, for two more years. The big 50,000-watt radio station WFAA in Dallas, Texas, recruited Webster and Weldon as entertainers, and Webster became a real person on television on April 4, 1950, on "The Webster Webfoot Show", produced locally by station WFAA-TV. They moved to California on September 5, 1952, joining KCOP-TV, Channel 13, in Hollywood and continued their television careers. During an appearance at a middle school in Brentwood, Jeff Chandler and Randolph Scott collected the tickets from the children and parents who came to see the show. These two movie stars made Weldon feel very lucky indeed when they commented, "Our children think more of little Webster than they do OUR movie careers." Also, Ralph Edwards was there, and he later gave Webster and Weldon the positions as co-hosts of a new children's game show titled "Funny Boners", a junior version of his famous "Truth or Consequences" radio and television shows, which aired on ABC. In 1956, Weldon and Webster moved to Fresno, California, which began a career in the San Joaquin Valley at KFRE

Jimmy Weldon

-TV, Channel 12. This was interrupted, however, when NBC executives called them to New York to replace Shari Lewis on the "Hi, Mom" show on NBC flagship station, WRCA-TV, Channel 4. In 1959, Channel 13 in Hollywood once again became their television home. In 1961, Weldon and Webster were called back to the San Joaquin Valley. They continued performing their show on KJEO-TV, Channel 47, in Fresno, California, throughout the 1960s. During this time, Weldon and Webster also did TV shows in Salinas and Bakersfield, California, flying their airplane from city to city for those shows.</s><s>Voice acting and other work. It was thanks to Webster's voice that he earned the voice-over for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Yakky Doodle. Many of the odd animal sounds were also performed by Weldon. He also was the voice of Solomon Grundy on Hanna-Barbera's series "Challenge of the Super Friends". Jimmy has also made numerous television appearances in acting on shows such as "Dragnet", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Waltons", "Dallas", and "Diff'rent Strokes". Weldon has also played

Jimmy Weldon

some supporting characters on the popular radio drama "Adventures in Odyssey" and in classic serials and TV series. He is currently a member of the Premiere Speakers Bureau.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of William M. Brodhead.

William M. Brodhead

<s>William M. Brodhead William McNulty Brodhead (born September 12, 1941) is an American lawyer and former politician from Michigan who served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983.</s><s>Early life and education. Brodhead was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended elementary and secondary schools in Cleveland. He received a B.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, in 1965 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, in 1967.</s><s>Legal career and politics. He was admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1968 and commenced practice in Detroit. He was elected to Michigan House of Representatives in 1970 and was reelected in 1972, from a district in Detroit. In 1974, Martha W. Griffiths, Democratic incumbent for Michigan's 17th District to the United States House of Representatives was not a candidate for renomination. Brodhead won nomination as the Democratic candidate and was elected to the Ninety-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1983. While in Congress, Brodhead served on the House Ways and Means Committee and on the Budget Committee. Brodhead also served as Chair of the Democratic Study Group which was

William M. Brodhead

then the liberal caucus in the House.</s><s>Post-political career. He declined to run for reelection in 1982 and returned home to the Detroit area. He became a partner in the Detroit law firm, Plunkett & Cooney, where he practiced from 1983 to 2003. Retiring from the law firm in October, 2003, he practiced on his own until 2006, when he retired completely. While in law practice in Detroit, Brodhead served on many non-profit boards including Detroit Public Television, Mt. Carmel Hospital, Michigan's Children and the Citizen's Research Council. He served at various times as Board Chair of the Skillman Foundation, Covenant House Michigan, Focus:Hope and the Oakland Mediation Center. In 1994, he was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senator, losing in the primary to Bob Carr, who went on to lose in the general election to Spencer Abraham.</s><s>Personal life. Brodhead now lives with his wife Kathleen, to whom he has been married since 1965, in Northern California. They have two adult children and a granddaughter who also live in Northern California. He serves on the board of directors of Covenant House, California.</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of Kelli White.

Kelli White

<s>Kelli White Kelli White (born April 1, 1977, in Oakland, California) is an American former sprinter. She won two gold medals in the World Championships in Paris in 2003. However, on June 18, 2004, she was stripped of her medals, because she tested positive on a drug test. She retired from professional track in 2006.</s><s>Early life and education. White's parents had both been sprinters. Her mother, Debbie Byfield, competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. She attended James Logan High School in Union City, California, where she was on the track team. In 1994, when she was 17, a fellow student slashed her face with a knife; 300 stitches were required to close the wounds. White continued competing that season. Although she never won a state championship, at the time of her graduation in 1995 she held the top time in the 200 meters and the second best time in the 100 meters in the North Coast Section. She received a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1999.</s><s>Doping case and work with USADA. After her positive test, White admitted guilt and testified before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). All her performances since December 15, 2000, were annulled.

Kelli White

She was banned for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, effective May 17, 2004. Her doping was linked to the BALCO doping scandal. After returning from college to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000, White's long-time coach, Remi Korchemny, introduced her to BALCO head Victor Conte. White has reported that Conte provided her with products that he identified as supplements and vitamins at first; when he informed her that one was a steroid, she declined to use it then and did not begin doping until after an injury-plagued, losing year in 2002. After being confronted with evidence seized from BALCO, she admitted using tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) and erythropoietin (EPO) in addition to modafinil. White has since given lectures on drug abuse in sports around the world. She became the first athlete to work directly with the United States Anti-Doping Agency to help it understand the system and culture of doping at the elite competition level. While banned from competition, she has taught at track clinics at James Logan High. She announced her retirement in May 2006.</s><s>See also. - List of doping cases in athletics</s>


Prompt: Question: Tell me a bio of John Morris (curler).

John Morris (curler)

<s>John Morris (curler) John C. Morris (born December 16, 1978; nicknamed "Johnny Mo") is a Canadian curler, and two-time Olympic gold medallist from Canmore, Alberta. Morris played third for the Kevin Martin team until April 24, 2013. Morris, author of the book "Fit to Curl", is the son of Maureen and Earle Morris, inventor of the "Stabilizer" curling broom. Morris grew up in Gloucester, Ontario (now part of Ottawa) and at the age of five began curling at the Navy Curling Club.</s><s>Career.</s><s>Career.:Junior career. As a junior curler, Morris skipped his Ottawa Curling Club rink to three-straight Ontario provincial junior Men's titles from 1997 to 1999, and won the 1998 and 1999 Canadian and World Junior Championships, setting records for most wins by a skip along the way. Morris and his rink of Craig Savill, Matt St. Louis and Mark Homan would represent Ontario at the 1997 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. His team would finish the round robin with a 7–5 record, in a five-way tie for third place. He would go on to beat British Columbia's T. J

John Morris (curler)

. Perepolkin, New Brunswick's Tommy Sullivan in tiebreakers, the Northwest Territories' Jamie Koe in the semifinal before losing to Alberta's Ryan Keane in the final. The following season, Morris brought in a new front end for his junior team, adding Andy Ormsby and Brent Laing to replace St. Louis and Homan. At the 1998 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, he led his Ontario Team to a 9–3 round robin record in a 4-way tie for first place. The team beat New Brunswick's Rob Heffernan in a tiebreaker before beating Manitoba's Mike McEwen in the semifinal and then Alberta's Carter Rycroft in the final. Their win qualified the team to represent Canada at the 1998 World Junior Curling Championships. There, the team would go 9–0 in the round robin before defeating Switzerland's Ralph Stöckli in the semifinal and Garry MacKay of Scotland in the final to win the gold medal. For their third championship run, Team Morris replaced Ormsby with Jason Young at second. At the 1999 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, Morris led the team to an 8–4 round robin record in a three-way tie for second. He again had to fight through a

John Morris (curler)

tiebreaker to win the championship, downing Alberta's Jeff Erickson before defeating Newfoundland's Brad Gushue in the semifinal and British Columbia's Jeff Richard in the final. At the 1999 World Junior Curling Championships, he led Canada to an 8–1 round robin record (first place) and beat Sweden's Patric Håkansson in the semifinal and Christian Haller of Switzerland in the final to win the gold medal. In addition to his provincial junior titles, Morris won a provincial junior mixed title in 1999 with Jacqueline Smith, Brent Laing and Chrissy Cadorin.</s><s>Career.:Early men's career in Ontario (1999–2003). After living in Ottawa, Morris moved to Southwestern Ontario to attend Wilfrid Laurier University and curled out of the Stayner Granite Club in Stayner, Ontario. Despite the move, his team remained nearly intact, with Young being replaced by Andy Ormsby. In their first season after juniors, the team entered the playdowns for the 2000 Ontario Nokia Cup, the provincial men's championship, but lost in regionals. In 2000 Ormsby left the team and was replaced by Joe Frans, who would become the team's third, moving Savill to play second

John Morris (curler)

. The team won a couple of tour events and made it to their first provincial championship, the 2001 Ontario Nokia Cup. After finishing the round robin with a 6–3 record, Morris defeated Team Glenn Howard in the semifinal before losing to Team Wayne Middaugh in the final. The team qualified for the 2001 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where Morris garnered national attention after a difficult loss to Russ Howard. His team would finish the event with a 5–4 record, missing the playoffs. With many of the province's top teams ignoring the Brier playdowns in 2002 to focus on the new Grand Slam of Curling, Morris and his team had an easy path at the 2002 Ontario provincial championships. The team went 8–1 after the round robin and beat Team Phil Daniel twice to win his first provincial title, qualifying him for the 2002 Nokia Brier. At the diluted Brier, Morris led his rink to an 8–3 round robin record, in second place. In the playoffs, they lost to Alberta's Randy Ferbey in the 1 vs. 2 game but rebounded to defeat New Brunswick's Russ Howard in the semifinal. In the final, the team lost to Alberta in a rematch. In 2003, the Morris rink would make it to

John Morris (curler)

the finals at the inaugural Canada Cup of Curling, where they lost to Randy Ferbey. The team played in another diluted provincial championship that year, the 2003 Ontario Nokia Cup. There, his rink finished the round robin in 2nd place with a 7–2 record. In the playoffs, they lost to the first-place Bryan Cochrane rink and then to Peter Corner in the semifinal. The team finished the season at the 2003 Players' Championship Grand Slam, where they lost to Jeff Stoughton in the final. After the season, Morris moved to Calgary, where he played out of the Calgary Winter Club.</s><s>Career.:Move to Calgary (2003–2006). After moving to Calgary, Morris assembled a new team, which would consist of Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy and Paul Moffatt. The team had some success on the Tour, winning a few events, including the 2004 Players' Championship Grand Slam. The team would play three seasons together, never winning a provincial championship, having to compete against teams like Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin. The team would play in the 2005 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where they would finish the round robin with a 6–3 record before losing to Jeff Stoughton in the semifinal.</s><s>

John Morris (curler)

Career.:Joining forces with "K-Mart" (2006–2013). In 2006, Morris joined forces with veteran skip Kevin Martin on a four-year plan aimed at winning a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The team won the 2007 Kia Cup, the provincial championship, defeating Morris' former teammate, Kevin Koe in the final. On February 27, 2007, just four days before the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier, Morris was hit by a car. He was knocked unconscious but went on to compete at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier, where Alberta placed fourth after losing to Jeff Stoughton in the 3–4 page playoff. Morris later recovered by winning all-star third in the tournament. In their first season together on the tour, the team dominated, winning three of the four Grand Slam events, the Canadian Open, The National and the Players' Championship. After winning the 2008 Boston Pizza Cup provincial championship, Morris and the Kevin Martin (Alberta) rink returned to the 2008 Brier in Winnipeg. Roughly a week before the Brier, Morris broke his right hand and subsequently had to wear a special brace while sweeping. The event sidelined Morris from playing in the 2008 Canada Cup of Curling, where he was replaced by Kevin

John Morris (curler)

Park. At the Brier, the Martin team went 11–0 in the round robin, and won their 1–2 playoff game to make the finals. In a game marred by tricky ice and missed opportunities, Alberta won by a score of 5–4. Morris was named MVP of the finals after curling 90%. At the following 2008 World Men's Curling Championship, Morris led all players with a round robin percentage of 90% and helped team Canada to a World Championship crown, the first for any player on the team. On the tour that season, the team won two Grand Slams, the Canadian Open and the National. The following season, the team won the 2009 Boston Pizza Cup and represented Alberta at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier, where the team won their second straight title. At the 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championship, the team would lose in the final to Scotland's David Murdoch. Also, that season, the team would win the 2009 Canada Cup of Curling. The team qualified for the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where Morris and Team Martin would win the right to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. On February 27 at the Vancouver Olympics, Team Martin won the gold medal with a score of 6–

John Morris (curler)

3 in the final against Thomas Ulsrud of Norway. On the tour that season, the team would win the 2010 BDO Classic Canadian Open and the 2010 Players' Championship. Morris represented Alberta at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier with Team Martin after winning the provincials. They finished with a 9–2 win–loss record but dropped their page playoff game against Ontario's Glenn Howard and lost the bronze medal game against Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador. In Grand Slam play, the team would win the December 2010 National and the 2011 Players' Championship. In the 2011–12 curling season, Morris and the rest of the team won the Canada Cup of Curling over Glenn Howard, giving them a berth into the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. They participated in the 2012 Alberta provincials but struggled against Kevin Koe and Brock Virtue, eventually losing the semifinal to Virtue. Team Martin was unable to defend their Canada Cup title in 2012, finishing outside of the playoffs. Morris subbed in as skip for an injured Martin at the Canadian Open of Curling and played with former teammate Joe Frans, finishing with a 2–3 win–loss record. After Martin recovered, the team went to the 2013 provincials, where a close

John Morris (curler)

win over Kevin Koe in the final gave them the right to represent the home team Alberta at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier. The team went to the Players' Championship, where they finished with a 2–2 win–loss record, and they advanced to a tiebreaker, where they lost to John Epping. A few days after the conclusion of the Players' Championship, on 24 April 2013, Morris announced that he and Martin were parting ways. One week later, it was announced that Morris would join Jim Cotter and his team for the 2013–14 season.</s><s>Career.:Team changes and another Olympics (2013–2018). Morris found immediate success with the Cotter rink, skipping the team (which also consisted of Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky) out of the Kelowna Curling Club, and throwing third rocks. The team qualified for the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials through the pre-trials event, only to lose in the final to the Brad Jacobs team that would go on to win the Olympic gold medal. Following that, the team went undefeated en route to winning the 2014 British Columbia provincial championship and the right to represent the province at the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier. This made Morris one of only three curlers

John Morris (curler)

to have played for three different provinces at the Brier, joining his father Earle and Ryan Fry. After posting a 9–2 round robin record, Morris' B.C. rink defeated Alberta (skipped by former teammate Kevin Koe) in the 1 vs. 2 game, before losing to Alberta in a rematch final, 10–5. Rule changes implemented for the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier meant that for the first time defending Brier champions will be afforded an automatic entry in the following year's Brier. For the 2015 Brier, this entry would normally have gone to Koe; however, in the 2014 off-season, Koe announced he was leaving his team to form a new team. Under CCA rules, this left Koe's former teammates (Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen) with the automatic entry for the 2015 Brier. Koe's former teammates subsequently recruited Morris to skip them, thus ensuring that Morris, despite being the 2014 Brier runner-up, would skip the first-ever Team Canada entry in a Brier. After Team Canada started off 2–3, Morris approached third Pat Simmons with the idea that Simmons skip and Morris move to vice. The move paid off as the rink went

John Morris (curler)

on to win the Canadian championship; they won the bronze (third place) medal at the 2015 world championships in Halifax. The Brier win in 2015 meant the team would return for the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier to represent Team Canada. The team would struggle at the event, missing the playoffs with a 6–5 record. They would disband after the season. In 2016, Morris returned to play with Jim Cotter's British Columbia-based team, skipping the rink while Cotter threw fourth stones. The team would win the 2017 belairdirect BC Men's Curling Championship, giving the team the right to represent British Columbia at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier. Morris led the team to a 7–4 record, missing the playoffs. On the tour, the team won one Grand Slam event, the 2017 Elite 10. The team began the 2017–18 season with Morris throwing last rocks and skipping and Cotter at third. The team qualified for the 2017 Olympic Pre-Trials, which the team qualified out of despite a 3–3 pool record. This put the team into the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where the team would struggle. The team experimented with Morris throwing third again, but it was to no avail, and the team finished with a 3

John Morris (curler)

–5 round robin record. In 2018 Morris joined up with Kaitlyn Lawes to win the 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials to return to the Winter Olympics, this time in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where the mixed doubles made its debut. Morris had been playing with Rachel Homan in pre-trials events but had to find a new partner after Homan became ineligible when her women's team won the right to represent Canada in the Olympic women's event. Morris and Lawes won the gold, defeating Switzerland in the final.</s><s>Career.:Post Olympics (2018–2020). After the Olympics, Morris said he planned to focus on the mixed doubles discipline rather than the team event. He and Lawes committed to playing for at least two more seasons together. However, the two only competed together for one season in 2018–19, winning the Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Classic and making the quarterfinals in the Qualico Mixed Doubles Classic. They were unable to compete at the 2019 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, as Lawes had sustained an injury at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. During the 2019–20 curling season, Morris played with several different mixed doubles partners, placing 2nd in the

John Morris (curler)

Colorado Curling Cup with Kira Brunton, placing 3rd in the MadTown DoubleDown and 5th in the Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Championship with Jolene Campbell, placing 3rd in the Brantford Mixed Doubles Cashspiel with Sarah Anderson, and winning the Qualico Mixed Doubles Classic with Rachel Homan. After John Epping and his rink won the 2020 Ontario Tankard, they announced they would be taking Morris as their alternate to the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier. At the Brier, the team finished the championship pool with a 7–4 record and in a four-way tie for fourth place. They defeated Team Wild Card (Mike McEwen) in the first tiebreaker before losing to Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs) in the second and being eliminated from contention. Morris got to play in the last two ends of the second tiebreaker against Jacobs, replacing Fry as they were already down 6–3 without the hammer.</s><s>Career.:Joining Koe (2020–2022). On March 16, 2020, Team Kevin Koe announced they would be parting ways with their second Colton Flasch. The following day, the team announced they would be adding Morris to their lineup as their new second. Morris spared for

John Morris (curler)

the team at the 2019 Tour Challenge Grand Slam event, where they made it to the semifinals. Team Koe began the 2020–21 season at the McKee Homes Fall Curling Classic, where they lost in the quarterfinals. Their next three events included a semifinal finish at the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic and two runner-up finishes at both the ATB Banff Classic and the ATB Okotoks Classic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincials champions, Team Brendan Bottcher was chosen to represent Alberta at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier. However, due to many provinces cancelling their provincial championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Curling Canada added three Wild Card teams to the national championship, which were based on the CTRS standings from the 2019–20 season. Because Team Koe ranked 6th on the CTRS and kept at least three of their four players together for the 2020–21 season, they got the second Wild Card spot at the 2021 Brier in Calgary, Alberta. At the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, the team finished with a 10–2 round robin record in first place. This gave them a

John Morris (curler)

bye to the final, where they played Team Alberta, skipped by Brendan Bottcher in a re-match of the 2019 Brier final. This time Bottcher won, with the Koe rink taking home the silver medal. The team ended their season at the final two Slams of the season, the 2021 Champions Cup and the 2021 Players' Championship, reaching the semifinals of the Champions Cup. The Koe rink won their first two events of the 2021–22 season, the ATB Okotoks Classic and the IG Wealth Management Western Showdown. At the first two Slams of the season, they reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 Masters and the semifinals of the 2021 National. They then competed in the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, held November 20 to 28 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Team Koe qualified for the Trials via their CTRS points as they finished in second place through the 2018–19 season. Through the round robin, Morris and teammates Kevin Koe, B. J. Neufeld and Ben Hebert finished with a 6–2 record, only suffering losses to the Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs rinks. This record earned them a place in the semifinal game, where they faced the Jacobs' rink. Despite shooting a

John Morris (curler)

96% game, the Koe rink lost the semifinal game 8–3 as Team Jacobs scored two four enders, ending the game early. In the new year, the team went undefeated to claim the 2022 Boston Pizza Cup. This earned them the right to represent Alberta at the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier where they finished with a 7–1 round robin record. They then won the seeding game against Saskatchewan's Colton Flasch and beat Team Canada's Brendan Bottcher in the 1 vs. 2 game to qualify directly for the final. There, they faced the Gushue rink. After a tight game all the way through, Team Gushue scored one in the extra end to win the game 9–8 and hand Team Koe their second consecutive Brier silver medal. They ended their season with two more playoff finishes at the 2022 Players' Championship and the 2022 Champions Cup, reaching the final of the latter. In March 2022, Team Koe announced that they would be disbanding. With the announcement, Morris also stated that he would be retiring from competitive men's curling.</s><s>Personal life. Morris, a certified personal trainer, currently serves as a full-time firefighter for the Chestermere & Rocky View Fire County Service, living

John Morris (curler)

in Canmore, Alberta. Drawing on his degree in Kinesiology from Wilfrid Laurier University, in 2009 Morris co-authored the book "Fit to Curl", a sport-specific training manual. As of 2016, Morris is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist. Morris attended high school at Colonel By Secondary School in Gloucester, Ontario and played hockey, softball, volleyball, soccer and little league baseball in his youth. In 2016, he graduated from the Chef's Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. Morris has been a 'big brother' with Calgary and the area BBBS since 2011. Morris was also an ambassador at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he helped lead and inspire the next generation of young athletes. Morris is the third generation of his family to compete in the Brier. As well as his father Earle, his great-grandfather Cliff McLachlan skipped Saskatchewan in the 1933 Macdonald Brier. In 2010, Morris was featured by ET Canada in a Valentine's special as one of Canada's most eligible bachelors. However, he proposed to his girlfriend Maggie and the two had a son together in 2018. They had another child in 2019. Morris made his international coaching

John Morris (curler)

debut at the 2021 Olympic Qualification Event, coaching the Australian mixed doubles team where they unprecedently qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the first an Australian Curling Team has ever done so. In his youth, Morris also played baseball and was on the team that lost the 1993 Canadian junior final.</s><s>Awards. - Canadian Junior Curling Championships: All-Star Skip - 1998 and 1999 - World Junior Curling Championships: All-Star Skip - 1999 - Canadian Citizenship Award - 1999 - Brier: First Team All-Star, Third - 2007, 2008, 2014 - Brier: Second Team All-Star, Skip - 2002 - Brier: Second Team All-Star, Third - 2009 - Brier: Second Team All-Star, Second - 2022 - Brier: Hec Gervais Most Valuable Player Award - 2008</s>