Rod McKuen

Rodney Marvin "Rod" McKuen (April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American singer-songwriter, musician and poet. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks and classical music. He earned two Academy Award nominations and one Pulitzer nomination for his music compositions. McKuen's translations and adaptations of the songs of Jacques Brel were instrumental in bringing the Belgian songwriter to prominence in the English-speaking world. His poetry deals with themes of love, the natural world and spirituality. McKuen's songs sold over 100 million recordings worldwide, and 60 million books of his poetry were sold as well, according to the Associated Press.

Early years

McKuen was born on April 29, 1933, in a Salvation Army hostel in Oakland, California. He never knew his biological father who had left his mother. Sexually and physically abused by relatives, raised by his mother and stepfather, who was a violent alcoholic, McKuen ran away from home at the age of 11. He drifted along the West Coast, supporting himself as a ranch hand, surveyor, railroad worker, lumberjack, rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and radio disk jockey, always sending money home to his mother.

Kiev

Kiev (/ˈkiːɛf, -ɛv/) or Kyiv (Ukrainian: Київ [ˈkɪjiu̯]; Russian: Киев [ˈkʲiɪf]) is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population in July 2013 was 7006284720000000000♠2,847,200 (though higher estimated numbers have been cited in the press), making Kiev the 8th largest city in Europe.

Kiev is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural centre of Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions and world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public transport, including the Kiev Metro.

The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders (see Name, below). During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial centre as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of the Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbours; first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by Poland and Russia.

Kiev (brand)

Kiev is a Soviet and Ukrainian brand of photographic equipment including cameras manufactured by the Arsenal Factory in Kyiv,Ukraine. The camera nameplates show the name "KIEV", with older cameras using "КИЕВ" (in Russian language) or "КИЇВ" (in Ukrainian language) in Cyrillic.

At the end of November 2009 Gevorg Vartanyan of Arax, a Ukrainian distributor of reworked medium format Kiev cameras and lenses, wrote to tell customers that the Arsenal factory was closing after 245 years of operation. The email said that management had been turned over to the Special Construction Department (SKTB), all work had stopped and the workers laid off, and that the factory warehouse was empty. He thought that Arax had enough cameras and parts to remain in business for at least another 4–5 years. The amount of stock remaining with other distributors around the world is unknown.

Kiev medium format cameras

The Kiev brand is probably best known for two 6×6 medium format cameras:

Kiev 88

An almost direct clone of the original Hasselblad 1600 F sometimes jokingly referred to as a Hasselbladski.

Kiev (band)

Kiev is an American indie rock band founded in Orange, CA. It consists of members Andrew Stavas (keys, saxophone), Brandon Corn (drums, percussion), Derek Poulsen (bass, computers), and Robert Brinkerhoff (guitar, vocals). They self-released their first EP titled "Ain't No Scary Folks In On Around Here" in 2010 which has been characterized as "like having your ear work on a good puzzle". Their first single "Crooked Strings" received airplay on KROQ's Locals Only show. A second EP was released in 2011 titled "Be Gone Dull Cage & Others". The band was named "Best Indie Band" at the 2011 Orange County Music Awards and is known for "its intricate, eclectic music and big live sound". Los Angeles blog Buzzbands.LA describes their sound as "trippy and cerebral at the same time, occupying that sometimes-exhilarating, sometimes-discomfiting space between left and right brain". On November 2nd, 2014, the band's hit single, "Be Gone Dull Cage," was featured on The Walking Dead (Season 5, Episode 4).