IN: Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, to Esther (nee Moberg) Bradbury (1888-1966), a Swedish immigrant, and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury (1890-1957), a power and telephone lineman of English descent. He was given the middle name "Douglas" after the actor Douglas Fairbanks. Bradbury was related to the American Shakespeare scholar Douglas Spaulding and descended from Mary Bradbury, who was tried at one of the Salem witch trials in 1692.

Throughout his youth, Bradbury was an avid reader and writer and knew at a young age that he was "going into one of the arts." Bradbury began writing his own stories at age 11 (1931), during the Great Depression -- sometimes writing on the only available paper, butcher paper.  In his youth, he spent much time in the Carnegie library in Waukegan, reading such authors as H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe. At 12, Bradbury began writing traditional horror stories and said he tried to imitate Poe until he was about 18. In addition to comics, he loved Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan of the Apes, especially Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. The Warlord of Mars impressed him so much that at the age of 12, he wrote his own sequel. The young Bradbury was also a cartoonist and loved to illustrate. He wrote about Tarzan and drew his own Sunday panels. He listened to the radio show Chandu the Magician, and every night when the show went off the air, he would sit and write the entire script from memory.  As a teen in Beverly Hills, he often visited his mentor and friend science-fiction writer Bob Olsen, sharing ideas and maintaining contact. In 1936, at a secondhand bookstore in Hollywood, Bradbury discovered a handbill promoting meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society. Excited to find there were others sharing his interest, Bradbury joined a weekly Thursday-night conclave at age 16.  At age 17, Bradbury read stories published in Astounding Science Fiction, and read everything by Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and the early writings of Theodore Sturgeon and A. E. van Vogt. Bradbury cited H. G. Wells and Jules Verne as his primary science-fiction influences. Bradbury identified with Verne, saying, "He believes the human being is in a strange situation in a very strange world, and he believes that we can triumph by behaving morally".  Bradbury admitted that he stopped reading science-fiction books in his 20s and embraced a broad field of literature that included Alexander Pope and poet John Donne. Bradbury had just graduated from high school when he met Robert Heinlein, then 31 years old. Bradbury recalled, "He was well known, and he wrote humanistic science fiction, which influenced me to dare to be human instead of mechanical."
QUESTION: How did Jules Verne influence him?
IN: Ai Kago (Jia Hu  Ya Yi , Kago Ai), born February 7, 1988 in Yamatotokada, Nara, Japan, is a Japanese singer, actress, author, and former Guinness World Record holder. Kago began her career at the age of 12 as a member of the idol group Morning Musume. In the same year, she became a founding member of Minimoni.

After Kago departed from Up-Front Agency, her mother attempted to sign her to a new talent agency in her hometown, Nara. Later that year, Josei Seven published an interview with her mother, revealing that Kago left Japan and started residing in New York City. Kago herself later revealed that she had actually not gone to New York, but rather to Los Angeles for three months because she felt like a criminal in Japan. During her stay, she met people who encouraged her, including Winona Ryder, and was able to reflect on her situation. She also considered suicide and cut her wrists.  Kago made a well-publicized return to the entertainment industry in 2008  with plans of pursuing an acting career. She began appearing in multiple Hong Kong movies, including Kung Fu Chefs. On August 25, 2008, Kago released a book entitled Kago Ai Live--Miseinen Hakusho (LIVE--Wei Cheng Nian Bai Shu ). On her blog, she described the book as "a book where I talk to young teens about their various troubles and dreams."  During 2009, Kago also focused on rebuilding her music career. On June 24, 2009, she released her first solo single "No HesitAtIon" [sic] on independent record label In Da Groove. On February 16, 2010, she held her first jazz concert at bar JZ Brat in Tokyo. Kago's first jazz album, Ai Kago meets Jazz: The First Door, was released on March 31, 2010 through P-Vine Records and Avex Marketing. In August 2010 she was invited to perform at music festival Summer Sonic.
QUESTION: Did she go on tour?
IN: Yen was born in Guangzhou, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, is a Fu Style Wudangquan (internal martial arts) and Tai Chi grandmaster, while his father, Klyster Yen (Zhen Yun Long ), is a newspaper editor. When he was two years old, his family moved to Hong Kong and then to Boston when he was 11. His younger sister, Chris Yen, is also a martial artist and actress, and appeared in the 2007 film Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon.

Donnie Yen was a rebel when he was young due to the huge expectations and pressures from his parents, as his mother is the founder of the Chinese Wushu Research Institute in Boston, and his father was a scholar and a musician. Yen joined a Chinatown gang in Boston, MA, in his early years. He was a very curious teenager who sought to exchange martial arts knowledge with people from different martial arts backgrounds, which led to him gaining profound knowledge in practical martial arts and having a reputation as a street brawler.  One reported occasion confirms Yen as being an efficient martial artist. According to news reports by Hong Kong news channels in the late 1990s, Yen was at a nightclub with his then girlfriend, Joey Meng. Inside the nightclub, Joey was harassed by a troublesome gang that had taken an interest in her. Yen warned them to leave her alone, but they persisted to cause trouble. As Yen and Joey left the club, the gang followed and attacked Yen. Yen beat up eight members of the gang who were later hospitalized.  Malaysian Martial Arts Star Michelle Yeoh has said that Donnie Yen is the fastest guy she has worked with. Other martial arts stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li have also stated that Yen may be the best fighter in terms of practical combat in the Asian cinematic universe.  World class fighters, such as former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le and former World Boxing Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson, who have worked with Donnie Yen in the films Bodyguards and Assassins and Ip Man 3, respectively, have both claimed that Donnie Yen is an incredible martial artist and would do well in authentic combat. While filming Ip Man 3, crew members were afraid that Mike Tyson, who had been a professional boxer, would forget the choreography and throw real punches to injure Yen. However, it was ultimately Yen who fractured Tyson's finger while using his elbow to block Tyson's punches.
QUESTION:
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?