IN: Curved Air are a pioneering English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements. Along with High Tide and East of Eden, Curved Air were one of the first rock bands after It's a Beautiful Day and the United States of America to feature a violin. Curved Air released eight studio albums, the first three of which broke the UK Top 20, and had a hit single with "Back Street Luv" (1971) which reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

Having retained a good working relationship, Sonja Kristina and Mike Wedgwood formed a new band with Kirby Gregory (electric guitar), Eddie Jobson (keyboards, violin), and Jim Russell (drums). Jobson had come from a band called Fat Grapple, who had been one of Curved Air's support acts on tour. This new band played a much more conventional brand of rock than the former Curved Air, with almost none of the classical influences of that group. However, on the suggestion of manager Clifford Davis, they continued using the name Curved Air so as to give them a commercial leg up.  Kristina later commented:  What I wanted to do with the band at the time was get more of a rock edge to it, and Kirby's guitar playing really excited me - he was just really wild. And Jim was the same way, a very solid rock drummer. Mike and I really wanted to continue, and it was our manager Clifford Davis who said we would do a better business continuing to call the band Curved Air. So we kept the name and followed along the same pattern as before, as a writer's band. Everybody in the new band contributed material except for Jim Russell, who really wasn't a writer. Before it had mainly been Darryl and Francis, but I had managed to get some of my compositions in.  The use of the Curved Air name was not enough, however. Whereas all three of the original Curved Air's albums had broken the UK top 20, the new band's sole album, Air Cut, failed to even chart. Due to artistic differences with Jobson, Kirby Gregory and Jim Russell both left the group to form Stretch. Warner Brothers realized that the current Curved Air was in essence not the same band they had signed, and so the remaining trio recorded a demo tape for the label. The demos failed to convince Warner Brothers, and they discontinued the contract. (These demos were later issued as part of the Lovechild record.) With no contract and only half a lineup, in summer 1973 Curved Air broke up. Jobson replaced Eno in Roxy Music, while Wedgwood joined Caravan.

Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

OUT: Jobson replaced Eno in Roxy Music, while Wedgwood joined Caravan.


IN: The 2012 phenomenon was a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or otherwise transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, and as such, festivities to commemorate the date took place on 21 December 2012 in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), with main events at Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Tikal in Guatemala. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae were proposed as pertaining to this date. A New Age interpretation held that the date marked the start of a period during which Earth and its inhabitants would undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 21 December 2012 would mark the beginning of a new era.

The Tortuguero site, which lies in southernmost Tabasco, Mexico, dates from the 7th century AD and consists of a series of inscriptions mostly in honor of the contemporary ruler Bahlam Ajaw. One inscription, known as Tortuguero Monument 6, is the only inscription known to refer to b'ak'tun 13 in any detail. It has been partially defaced; Sven Gronemeyer and Barbara MacLeod have given this translation:  Very little is known about the god B'olon Yokte'. According to an article by Mayanists Markus Eberl and Christian Prager in British Anthropological Reports, his name is composed of the elements "nine", 'OK-te' (the meaning of which is unknown), and "god". Confusion in classical period inscriptions suggests that the name was already ancient and unfamiliar to contemporary scribes. He also appears in inscriptions from Palenque, Usumacinta, and La Mar as a god of war, conflict, and the underworld. In one stele he is portrayed with a rope tied around his neck, and in another with an incense bag, together signifying a sacrifice to end a cycle of years.  Based on observations of modern Maya rituals, Gronemeyer and MacLeod claim that the stela refers to a celebration in which a person portraying Bolon Yokte' K'uh was wrapped in ceremonial garments and paraded around the site. They note that the association of Bolon Yokte' K'uh with b'ak'tun 13 appears to be so important on this inscription that it supersedes more typical celebrations such as "erection of stelae, scattering of incense" and so forth. Furthermore, they assert that this event was indeed planned for 2012 and not the 7th century. Mayanist scholar Stephen Houston contests this view by arguing that future dates on Maya inscriptions were simply meant to draw parallels with contemporary events, and that the words on the stela describe a contemporary rather than a future scene.

what is the significance of the site?

OUT: consists of a series of inscriptions mostly in honor of the contemporary ruler Bahlam Ajaw.


IN: Palmer was born to Doris (Morrison) and Milfred Jerome "Deacon" Palmer (1905-1976) in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a working-class steel mill town. He learned golf from his father, who had suffered from polio at a young age and was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, which allowed young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course. Palmer attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham (1929-1950) and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served for three years, 1951-1954.

Palmer's early "fear of flying" was what led him to pursue his pilot certificate. After almost 55 years, he logged nearly 20,000 hours of flight time in various aircraft. His personal website reads:  Next to marrying his wife, Winnie, and deciding on a professional career in golf, there's only one decision Arnold Palmer considers smarter. Learning how to fly an airplane.  On Palmer's 70th birthday in 1999, Westmoreland County Airport in Latrobe was renamed Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in his honor. According to their website: "[The airport] started as the Longview Flying Field in 1924. It became J.D. Hill Airport in 1928, Latrobe Airport in 1935 and Westmoreland County Airport in 1978. Complementing a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself." There is a statue of Palmer made by Zenos Frudakis, holding a golf club in front of the airport's entrance, unveiled in 2007.  Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011, and flew from Palm Springs in California to Orlando in his Cessna Citation X. His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it. However, public FAA records show he was issued a new third-class medical in May 2011.

What happened after January 31,2011?

OUT:
His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it.