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John Henry (folklore)
John Henry is an American folk hero. An African American freedman, he is said to have worked as a "steel-driving man"—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into a rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. The story of John Henry is told in a classic blues folk song about his duel against a drilling machine, which exists in many versions, and has been the subject of numerous stories, plays, books, and novels. Legend According to legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel driver was measured in a race against a Drifter drill, steam-powered rock drill, a race that he won only to die in victory with a hammer in hand as his heart gave out from stress. Various locations, including Big Bend Tunnel in West Virginia, Lewis Tunnel in Virginia, and Coosa Mountain Tunnel in Alabama, have been suggested as the site of the contest. The contest involved John Henry as the hammerman working in partnership with a shaker, who would hold a chisel ...
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Roy E
Roy or Roi is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origins. France In France, this family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who migrated to Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy.. The derivation is from the Old French ''roy'', ''roi'' (), meaning "king", which was a Epithet, byname used before the Norman Conquest and a personal name in the Middle Ages. Earliest references cite ''Guillaume de Roy'' (William of Roy), who was a knight of the Knights Templar and one of several knights and feudal lords (seigneur) of the Roy family in France and Switzerland. In Canada and in the United States, the descendants of the families of Roy, Le Roy that immigrated to North America have been granted a coat of arms by the Governor General of Canada. England After the Norman Conquest, the victorious Normans and their allies settled England and eventually formed the ruling class of nobles called Anglo-Normans. Roy, or Roi was a family na ...
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Convict Lease
Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor in the United States, penal labor that was practiced historically in the Southern United States before it was formally Convict leasing#End of the system, abolished during the 20th century. Under this system, private individuals and corporations could lease labor from the state in the form of prisoners, nearly all of whom were African-American, Black. Prisoners today produce products that have been bought by companies like McDonald's, Walmart and Cargill. The state of Louisiana leased out convicts as early as 1844. The system expanded throughout most of the South with the emancipation of enslaved people at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The practice peaked about 1880 and persisted in various forms until it was abolished by President Franklin D. Roosevelt via Francis Biddle's "Wikisource:Circular 3591, Circular 3591" of December 12, 1941. The system was highly lucrative for both the lessees and state governments. Fo ...
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Jake Kasdan
Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape (film), Sex Tape'' (2014), ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2017), ''Jumanji: The Next Level'' (2019), and ''Red One (film), Red One'' (2024). Early life Jacob Kasdan was born to Meg (née Goldman), a writer, and Lawrence Kasdan, a writer and director, in Detroit. Jacob grew up in a Jewish family with little religious education. His younger brother, Jon Kasdan, also works in the film and television industry as an actor and writer. Career Jake Kasdan has directed nine films. He has also worked in television, most notably with Judd Apatow as a consulting producer and director on ''Freaks and Geeks'' and as a director on ''Undeclared''. He has directed numerous stage productions. He is attached to direct a family film adaption of a John Grisham novel, ''Calico Joe.'' In 2008, Kasdan received his fir ...
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Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson was integral to the development and success of the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the Attitude Era. He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. Dwayne Johnson filmography, His films have grossed over worldwide, making him one of the world's List of highest grossing actors, highest-grossing and List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actors. He is a co-owner of the United Football League (2024), United Football League, a member of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC and WWE—and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions. After accepting an athletic scholarship to play American ...
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Folklore Of The United States
American folklore encompasses the folklore that has evolved in the present-day United States mostly since the European colonization of the Americas. It also contains folklore that dates back to the Pre-Columbian era. Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. Native American folk Native American cultures are rich in myths and legends that explain natural phenomena and the relationship between humans and the spirit world. According to Barre Toelken, feathers, beadwork, dance steps and music, the events in a story, the shape of a dwelling, or items of traditional food can be viewed as icons of cultural meaning. Toelken, Barrebr>''The Anguish of Snails'', Utah State University Press, 2003 Native American cultures are numerous and diverse. Though some ...
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Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His tall tales revolve around his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, his pet and working animal. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers, and was later popularized by freelance writer William B. Laughead (1882–1958) in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in a number of oversized statues across North America. Etymology There are many hypotheses about the etymology of the name ''Paul Bunyan''. Much of the commentary focuses on a French-Canadian origin for the name. Phonetically, Bunyan is similar to the Québécois expression "''bon yenne!''" expressing surprise or astonishment. The English surname Bunyan is derived from the same root as "bunion" in the ...
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Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill ( ) is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book by Tex O'Reilly in the early 20th century and are an example of American "fakelore". Pecos Bill was a late addition to the larger-than-life characters, such as Paul Bunyan or John Henry. History The first known stories were published in 1917 by Edward O'Reilly for ''The Century Magazine'', and collected and reprinted in 1923 in the book ''Saga of Pecos Bill''. O'Reilly claimed they were part of an oral tradition of tales told by cowboys during the westward expansion and settlement of the southwest, including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. But American folklorist Richard M. Dorson found that O'Reilly invented the stories as "folklore", and that later writers either borrowed tales from O'Reilly, or added further adventures of their own inventio ...
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Roger Aaron Brown
Roger Aaron Brown (born June 12, 1949) is an American character actor known for his role as Deputy Chief Joe Noland on the hit CBS drama television series ''The District'' from 2000 to 2004, and for his minor role in the 1988 science fiction film '' Alien Nation.'' Career Brown appears in the first two episodes of the TNT television series '' Saving Grace'' as the Chief of Detectives, as well as portraying Colonel Joseph Ntila in the 4th episode of the 6th season of '' House M.D.''. Brown has made a number of appearances in many films especially Caravan Pictures. He portrayed John Henry in Disney's ''Tall Tale'' (1995). Other roles include '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979), ''Cobra'' (1986), '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Action Jackson'' (1988), ''Downtown'' (1990), and '' RoboCop 2'' (1990). He also provided the voice of Achilles Davenport in the 2012 video game, '' Assassin's Creed III''. He reprised the role, albeit as a much younger version of the character, in 2014's ...
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Tall Tale (film)
''Tall Tale'' (also known as ''Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill'') is a 1995 American Western adventure fantasy film directed by Jeremiah Chechik, written by Steven L. Bloom and Robert Rodat, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures and starring Scott Glenn, Oliver Platt, Nick Stahl, Stephen Lang, Roger Aaron Brown, Catherine O'Hara, and Patrick Swayze. It tells the story of a young farm boy who receives aid from tall tale figures in saving his town from a greedy developer. Though shooting of the film was completed in 1993, it did not get a theatrical release until March 1995. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure, grossing only $8.2 million on an estimated $32 million budget. Plot In 1905, Daniel Hackett, a young farm boy from the western town of Paradise Valley, is unhappy with his life and dreams of life in New York City. His father Jonas likes to tell Daniel tall tales about Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and ...
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Philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philosophy. However, they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy include Western philosophy, Western, Islamic philosophy, Arabic–Persian, Indian philosophy, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy originated in Ancient Greece and covers a wide area of philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic–Persian philosophy is the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the Spirituality, spiritual problem of how to reach Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlighten ...
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Labor Movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict. * In trade unions, workers campaign for higher wages, better working conditions and fair treatment from their employers, and through the implementation of labour laws, from their governments. They do this through collective bargaining, sectoral bargaining, and when needed, strike action. In some countries, co-determination gives representatives of workers seats on the board of directors of their employers. * Political parties representing the interests of workers campaign for labour rights, social security and the welfare state. They are usually called a labour party (in English-speaking countries), a social democratic party (in Germanic and Slavic countries), a socialist party (in Romance countr ...
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