Barb

Barb or BARB may refer to:

Barb horse

Barb horse or Berber horse (Arabic: حصان بربري) is a northern African breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds.

Characteristics

The Barb is a light riding horse noted for its stamina. It has a powerful front end, high withers, short back, a sloping croup, and carries its tail low. It is hardy with clean legs and sound hooves. It does not have particularly good gaits, but gallops like a sprinter. It was used as breeding stock to develop racing breeds such as the Thoroughbred, American Quarter Horse, and Standardbred.

The predominant color is gray, but bay, black, chestnut, and brown horses are also found. The Barb stands 1.47–1.57 metres (14.2–15.2 hands) at the withers.

Breed history

It is not known where the Barb horse developed; some believe the breed originated in northern Africa during the 8th century, about the time that Muslim invaders reached the region. There is controversy over whether the Barb and Arabian horses share a common ancestor, or if the Arabian was a predecessor of the Barb. Native horses of the region may have been influenced by the crossing of "oriental" breeds, including the Arabian horse, Turkoman Horse or Akhal-Teke, and Caspian horse, with Iberian horses brought back from Europe by the Berber invaders after they conquered southern Spain. Today the several varieties of Barb include the Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian.

Feather

Feathers are epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They are among the characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups. Feathers have also been noticed in those Theropoda which have been termed feathered dinosaurs.

Although feathers cover most parts of the body of birds, they arise only from certain well-defined tracts on the skin. They aid in flight, thermal insulation, and waterproofing. In addition, coloration helps in communication and protection.Plumology (or plumage science) is the name for the science that is associated with the study of feathers.

Structures and characteristics

Feathers are among the most complex integumentary appendages found in vertebrates and are formed in tiny follicles in the epidermis, or outer skin layer, that produce keratin proteins. The β-keratins in feathers, beaks and claws — and the claws, scales and shells of reptiles — are composed of protein strands hydrogen-bonded into β-pleated sheets, which are then further twisted and crosslinked by disulfide bridges into structures even tougher than the α-keratins of mammalian hair, horns and hoof. The exact signals that induce the growth of feathers on the skin are not known, but it has been found that the transcription factor cDermo-1 induces the growth of feathers on skin and scales on the leg.

Debaser

"Debaser" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, and is the first song on their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton during Doolittle's recording sessions.

Releases

The "Head On" single includes a live version of the song recorded in Chicago on August 9, 1989, and a recording from Debaser December 16, 2004, in New York City appears on "Hey" – Live Pixies 2004–2005. "Debaser" was later released as a single in 1997 to promote the Death to the Pixies compilation. The single appeared in three forms: live, studio and demo.

A version of this song was also used in the game DJ Hero 2, remixed with The Prodigy's song "Invaders Must Die"; this mix is available as downloadable content for the game.

Lyrics and meaning

The lyrics are based on a surrealist film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí called Un Chien Andalou. The film includes a scene in which a woman's eye is slit by a razor, which is referenced in the song lyric "Slicin' up eyeballs/I want you to know." According to Black Francis:

Debaser (band)

Debaser was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario.

Vocalist Luke Higginson is also the younger brother of actress Torri Higginson.

Drummer Bill Turnbull is also a noted commercial and television actor having recently appeared in Canadian and U.S. national ads for Ikea, Best Buy, Five Alive, Tropicana, the CFL and Grand Wolf Lodge. He is also the drummer in Toronto garage-punk band Pinko Kronkite .

History

The band first started playing in the formation that would become Debaser in January 2001 while attending Toronto's Etobicoke School of the Arts. The band started taking things seriously after the notable local booker/promoter Dan Burke stumbled across their rehearsal space and booked Debaser on the spot to play the Silver Dollar in June 2003. In 2004 Debaser released their first self-titled EP on their own label, No-Fi Records. Now out of print, the EP was followed by the 3" single "Full Circle" (out of print) and their debut LP Blackouts in October 2005. Blackouts sold out its initial print run in only 3 months , but has since been re-pressed and is available online and at shows. Extensive Canadian touring in support of Blackouts got Debaser airplay and chart activity on Canadian campus radio coast to coast, and resulted in showcases for the band at Canadian Music Week, North By Northeast, Wavelength and Pitter Patter Nights. 2006 saw the band release the 3" EP Between Houses and a split EP with local shoegazer outfit Fjord Rowboat. In June 2007 the band announced they were taking an extended break.

Debaser (rap group)

Debaser is a two-man hip-hop group from Oregon, United States, and are part of the crew Sandpeople. The duo consists of Ethic (MC) & Sapient (MC/Producer) and was founded in late 2005. Their name is a direct reference to the definition of the word debaser, not to be confused with the popular song Debaser by the Pixies.

History

Ethic & Sapient both grew up in the small town of Eugene, Oregon where they were family friends at a young age. It wasn't until 2005 that the two began making music together and the group Debaser was quickly formed the same year.

In early 2006, Debaser juggled driving from Eugene to Portland on weekends to record Sandpeople projects with doing shows in the Pacific Northwest & recording their debut album Crown Control, which featured Opio (of Hieroglyphics), Luckyiam (of Living Legends), Grayskul and Sleep (of Oldominion). They began touring as a group regularly throughout the Western United States in 2007.

Debaser spent much of 2008 & 2009 working on music with their crew Sandpeople and touring. During that time, Sapient also focused on establishing himself as a producer. He has since made beats for tracks that featured Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan, Slug of Atmosphere, and Aesop Rock to name a few.