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Apartment

An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).

Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners, lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant (i. e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to the occupant(s) by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door(s) and any other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant(s) move out, these keys should typically be returned to the owner.

Apartment types and characteristics

Luxury apartment buildings in Gurgaon, Delhi metropolitan areaApartments can be classified into several types. Studio or efficiency or bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. In the UK and Ireland, a roughly equivalent term is bed-sit (bedroom and sitting-room combined). Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an apartment.

Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant. Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are extra also. Parking space(s), air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the public and, thus, to the mailman too. Every unit typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an apartment.

In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft.

When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members.

Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming popular with travellers.
Apartment aka Flat, Suite
(Residence)
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Everybody Loves Raymond

A Television Situation Comedy starring Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton,Monica Horan, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, Sawyer Sweeten, and Sullivan Sweeten, in production for 9 series (seasons) on CBS, USA and broadcasted on Network Ten, Australia
Original Run: 1996-2005
Everybody Loves Raymond AKA Raymond (abbreviated title)
Ray Romano
Patricia Heaton
1996-2005
CBS, USA
Network Ten, Australia
by P.Redeckis September 9, 2008
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Bruce Lee

Bruce Jun Fan Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Chinese American martial artist and martial arts actor widely regarded as one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. Lee's films, especially his performance in the Hollywood-produced Enter the Dragon, elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level. His pioneering efforts paved the way for future martial artists and martial arts actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chuck Norris.

Lee's movies sparked the first major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong, China, and the rest of the world. Lee became an iconic figure particularly to Chinese; as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies.1

Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient body as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. Lee began the process of creating his own fighting system known as Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's evaluation of traditional martial arts doctrines is nowadays seen as the first step into the modern style of mixed martial arts.
RIP Bruce Lee 1940-1973
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Balaclava

A balaclava, balaclava helmet or ski mask is a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face (and often only the eyes). The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava in Crimea. During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head. Modern balaclavas can be made from a number of materials, such as silk, cotton, polypropylene, neoprene, wool or fleece. Modern balaclavas are also used in outdoor winter sports activities such as skiing or snowboarding to help protect the face from the cold wind and maintain warmth.

Additionally, balaclavas are often associated with special forces units such as the SAS, or alternately with muggers, terrorists, and activists, where they act as a form of disguise. In the UK the term IRA balaclava is often used to distinguish it from similar types of headwear.

Racing drivers may also wear balaclavas made of fire-retardant material underneath their crash helmets in order to improve protection in case of a fire following an accident, and commonly cover the nose and mouth to reduce inhalation of smoke and fumes. Dragster-racing drivers usually wear balaclavas which have just two separate eyeholes because of the increased fire risk.
Balaclava
AKA Ski Mask, Balaclava Helmet
by P.redeckis June 12, 2006
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Boba Fett

A faceless enforcer, Boba Fett's distinctive armor strikes fear in the hearts of fugitives. He is a legendary bounty hunter, accepting warrants from both the Empire and the criminal underworld. He is all business, laconic, and deadly.
Fett has carefully guarded his past, cultivating a curtain of mystery around his origins. He is in truth a clone, an exact genetic replica of his highly skilled "father," Jango Fett. From Jango, Boba learned valuable survival and martial skills, and even as a child he was proficient with a blaster or laser cannon.
Fett was raised in isolation in the hermetic cities of Kamino, where he was protected not only from the ceaseless storms, but also the harsher elements of his father's career. Young Boba's life changed when a tenacious Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, came looking for his father. Sent to apprehend the bounty hunter for the attempted assassination of a Naboo Senator, Kenobi brawled with Jango as the Fetts sought to escape from Kamino. Young Boba helped his father by pinning the Jedi down with explosive laser fire from the Fett starship, Slave I.
Fleeing from Kamino, the Fetts journeyed to Geonosis, where Jango's benefactor resided. Boba watched as his father's enemies were sentenced to death, but Jedi prove very hard to kill. A huge battle erupted as Jedi reinforcements stormed Geonosis to free their fellow Jedi. Jango entered the fray, only to be killed by Jedi Master Mace Windu. Boba was shocked to witness his father's swift death, and he quietly cradled Jango's empty helmet as Geonosis erupted into all-out war.
During the time of the Empire, Boba Fett emerged as the preeminent bounty hunter of the galaxy. Boba Fett's armor, like his father's, is a battered weapon-covered spacesuit equipped with a rocketpack. His gauntlets contain a flamethrower, and a whipcord lanyard launcher. His kneepads conceal rocket dart launchers. Several ominous braids hang from his shoulder -- trophies from fallen prey -- that underscore this hunter's lethality.
Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, Darth Vader desperately wanted to capture the fugitive Rebel craft, the Millennium Falcon. To that end, he hired a motley assortment of bounty hunters, including the legendary Fett. Vader specifically pointed out to Fett that the Falcon's passengers were to be taken alive. "No disintegrations," rumbled the Dark Lord, obviously familiar with Fett's reputation.
It was Fett who successfully tracked the Falcon from Hoth to Bespin. Arriving at the gas giant before the Falcon, Fett and Vader sprung a trap on the ship's hapless crew. Fett, a shrewd negotiator, received his bounty for capturing the crew, but also was given custody of Han Solo. The bounty hunter was set to collect the reward on Solo's head placed there by the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.
Whisking the carbonite-frozen form of Han Solo away from Bespin, Fett eventually arrived on Tatooine aboard his starship, the Slave I. Fett delivered Solo to Jabba, his some-time employer, and was many thousands of credits richer. Fett stayed at Jabba's palace, and was present when Solo's friends attempted to rescue the carbon-frozen smuggler.
Jabba, enraged at the attempted prison break, brought his captives out to the Tatooine desert, to execute them in the Great Pit of Carkoon. In the sandpit lay the immense Sarlacc, a vile creature that would digest its prey over thousands of years. Rather than let themselves be thrown in the Sarlacc's maw, Solo's friends, led by Luke Skywalker, fought against their captors. In the chaos that followed, Fett entered the fray.
Solo, free of the carbonite and suffering blindness from hibernation sickness, wildly swung a vibro-ax into an inattentive Fett's rocketpack. The pack activated, and the bounty hunter soared into the air, out of control. The airborne Fett slammed into the side of Jabba's sail barge before tumbling into the Sarlacc's mouth. With a sickly belch from the desert creature, it seemed as if Fett's career as the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter was brought to an end.
Boba Fett my credits: starwars.com
by P.redeckis June 14, 2006
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Darth Maul

Darth Maul was a weapon forged by the hateful energies of the dark side to ensure the victory of the Sith over the Jedi order. A creature of pure evil, Maul had no personality beyond his ultimate devotion to his master, Darth Sidious. His goal was singular -- to exact vengeance upon the Jedi for the decimation of the Sith ranks.
The Republic first came to know of Maul only as a mysterious attacker. While Qui-Gon Jinn was escorting the fugitive Queen Amidala from Tatooine to Coruscant, Darth Maul swept down from above, lunging at Qui-Gon from his rocketing Sith speeder. Maul's attack was relentless; he hammered down lightsaber strikes against the accomplished Jedi Master, forcing him back time and again. It was only the timely interception of Qui-Gon by the Queen's Royal Starship that spared him.

Qui-Gon was utterly surprised and unprepared for such an attack. The Sith, everyone knew, were extinct, disappeared from the galaxy for a millennium. Yet the evidence was there -- a dark attacker, trained in the Jedi arts, brandishing a lightsaber no less.

Maul was dispatched by Darth Sidious to track down the Queen, a feat he accomplished through mysterious yet effective means. Traveling aboard his sleek Sith Infiltrator, Maul scouted the galaxy for the missing monarch, and reported his findings to his master. When Amidala returned to Naboo, Maul was there, waiting to face the Jedi once more.

As an undeniable example of his skill and devotion, Maul plunged headlong into battle against two Jedi warriors. Using his double-bladed lightsaber, Maul held off both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in the heart of the Theed Royal Palace. When the Jedi became separated, Maul killed Qui-Gon with a well-placed saber strike. Kenobi, enraged, attacked Maul. This barrage was deflected by Maul who used Obi-Wan's touching of the dark side as a conduit for a Force attack; using the Force, Maul pushed Obi-Wan into a deep mining pit. Kenobi held onto an outcropping for dear life. Calming himself by calling upon the light side of the Force, Kenobi was able to surprise Maul, and cleave him in half with his saber.

A pained look of bewilderment crossed Maul's tattooed face as death overtook him. His body fell into the melting pit, splitting in two as it tumbled into oblivion.

It was only a matter of time before Sidious acquired a new apprentice.
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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Superman

Superman is a fictional character and the staple superhero of DC Comics. He first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and is considered the first character to embody the particular combination of traits that characterize the modern superhero.

The comic book character, created by Toronto-born Joe Shuster and Cleveland-born Jerry Siegel in 1932 and sold to Detective Comics, Inc (today DC Comics) in 1938, subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. As was written in the first edition of Action Comics #1 (June, 1938), Superman is born on the planet Krypton and as an infant is rocketed to Earth by his scientist father, moments before Krypton explodes. The rocket lands on Earth, where amiable couple the Kents find the baby and adopt him. As he grows, he discovers that he possesses powers far beyond those of mortal men and women and resolves to use them to help others. When not fighting the forces of evil as Superman, he lives among humanity as "mild-mannered" Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Star (later changed to the Daily Planet). Clark works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically involved. In current comics continuity, they are married; however, the character has several other relationships throughout his years in comics. Today, the character's adventures are published in a number of comic books.
Superman is a great superhero of the DC Comics
by P.redeckis June 11, 2006
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