Uptown is a 2009 independent drama film written and directed by Brian Ackley as his debut feature film, and the second film in the One Way or Another Productions' "Naked Series".
Uptown was shot in an 8 day period with 2 cameras, using only available light and "stolen" Manhattan locations, including scenes that take place in Central Park. After a 2-week production hiatus, it was discovered that one of the cameras had been damaged, rendering everything that was shot on it as unusable. Only a few of those "lost" scenes were reshot.
Actor Chris Riquinha states that he previously worked with producer Princeton Holt on Holt's earlier film Cookies & Cream and that it was Holt who recommended him to writer/director Brian Ackley.
According to the production company, after Uptown won several festival awards, and while the film was still in the festival circuit, the film was picked up for distribution.
Ben (Chris Riquinha), an aspiring filmmaker, is an unmarried man living in New York. He enjoys the single life but feels his life is missing something. He meets Isabel (Meissa Hampton), a woman unhappy in her marriage who is seeking intimacy. The bond between the two grows as they have repeated liaisons "uptown".
"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that mainly consists of guitar, bass and drums with an occasional keyboard riff. The minimalist style of the song is representative of most of the Dirty Mind album. The song addresses the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis that was the city's hang-out spot for artists.
The song addresses prejudices and racism, referring to "Uptown" as a metaphor for an ideal place that is free of such things. Prince sings in the first person, and the song opens describing a chance meeting with an attractive woman who then asks in an offensive way if he is gay. The lyrics then rail against prejudice and racism as narrow minded, and exalt in an attitude and spirit that is free of such negativity. It is one of Prince's earliest efforts to blend political statements into his art.
Uptown is a live album by American jazz pianist Billy Taylor featuring tracks recorded in 1960 and released on the Riverside label.
Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars stating "Although Taylor's activities as a highly articulate spokesman for jazz have sometimes overshadowed his playing, he shows throughout this fine CD reissue that he has long ranked among the best".
All compositions by Billy Taylor except as indicated
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic ("identical"), meaning that they can develop from just one zygote that will then split and form two embryos, or dizygotic ("fraternal"), meaning that they can develop from two different eggs; each are fertilized by separate sperm cells.
In contrast, a fetus which develops alone in the womb is called a singleton, and the general term for one offspring of a multiple birth is multiple.
The twin birth rate in the United States rose 76% from 1980 through 2009, from 18.9 to 33.3 per 1,000 births. The Yoruba have the highest rate of twinning in the world, at 45–50 twin sets (or 90–100 twins) per 1,000 live births, possibly because of high consumption of a specific type of yam containing a natural phytoestrogen which may stimulate the ovaries to release an egg from each side.
In Central Africa there are 18–30 twin sets (or 36–60 twins) per 1,000 live births. In Latin America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, the lowest rates are found; only 6 to 9 twin sets per 1,000 live births. North America and Europe have intermediate rates of 9 to 16 twin sets per 1,000 live births.
Twin (sometimes written as TWIN) is a Swedish record production and songwriting team, consisting of Niclas Molinder and Joacim Persson, who are working in the genres of pop, R&B and rock.
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy.
Twin may also refer to: