Chicago

Chicago is the largest city by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Adjacent to Lake Michigan, the Chicago metropolitan area has a population of over 9.7 million people in three U.S. states, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, and was the third largest metropolitan area in 2000. One of the largest cities in North America, Chicago is among the world's twenty-five largest urban areas by population, and rated an alpha world city by the World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University. It is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles, with a population of nearly 3 million people. Chicago incorporated as a city in 1837 after being founded in 1833 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. The city soon became a major transportation hub in North America and the transportation, financial and industrial center of the Midwest. Today the city's attractions bring 44.2 million visitors annually. Chicago became notorious worldwide for its violent gangsters in the 1920s, most notably Al Capone, and for the political corruption in one of the longest lasting political machines in the nation. Chicago was once the capital of the railroad industry and until the 1960s the world's largest meatpacking facilities were at the Union Stock Yards. O'Hare International is one of the world's busiest airports and the second busiest in the nation. The city has long been a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has been home to numerous influential politicians including the current Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama. Chicago is called the Windy City and the City of Broad Shoulders.

Celebrity

A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. The word stems from the Latin verb "celebrere" but they may not become a celebrity unless public and mass media interest is piqued. There are degrees of celebrity status which vary based on an individual's region or field of notoriety. While someone might be a celebrity to some people, to others they may be completely unknown. A global celebrity on the other hand is someone who is known by most people or is a mainstream celebrity. Such celebrities are also known as either a household name or superstar. For example, Virgin Director Richard Branson was famous as a CEO, but he did not become a global celebrity until he attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon and generate publicity for himself. Another high profile categorisation of celebrity status is the A-list, based on the marketability of celebrities. Generally speaking, a celebrity is someone who seeks media attention and most frequently have extroverted personalities. The desire to be famous is implied by some to be a part of western culture and more specifically the American Dream as a measure of success. Celebrities that shy away from the public eye or keep a very seperate private life are called a reluctant celebrity. A notable example is Kurt Cobain. On the oher end of the spectrum, those that seek out publicity for themselves are often called a media tart whereas those that use their private life as a vehicle for enhanced celebrity status, sometimes desperately, are referred to as a media whore. Examples of this are fake or planned relationships, reality television appearances, celebrity nudity and in extreme cases, scandal or celebrity sex tape. There are a wide range of ways people can become celebrities, from their profession, appearances in the mass media, beauty or even by complete accident or infamy. Instent celebrity is the term that is used when someone becomes a celebrity in very short period of time. In some places, someone that somehow achieves a small amount of transient fame through hype or mass media, is stereotyped as a B-grade celebrity. Often the stereotype extends to someone that falls short of mainstream or persistent fame but seeks to extend or exploit it.