Blackbird (band)

Formed by brothers Chip and Tony Kinman after they dissolved their cowpunk band Rank and File, Blackbird were an electronic post-punk band. The Kinman's harmony-enhanced singing was as mellifluous as the vocal sound they had established in Rank and File, while the songwriting structure was pop music-inspired. The pop elements were anchored by a grungy-sounding Yamaha RX-5 drum machine, Tony's throbbing 8th-note bass lines and thickened by Chip's heavily distorted and echo-y guitar lines.

Blackbird marked the third distinct musical style embraced and perpetrated by the Kinmans, first with punk rock (The Dils), followed by country punk (or cowpunk) with Rank and File, and finally the abrasive, metallic techno-pop of Blackbird.

The band's oeuvre includes three eponymous albums, the first two released by Iloki Records and produced by then-Butthole Surfers sound tech, Ric Wallace. Subsequent releases include the last album (also eponymous) released on Scotti Bros. in 1992; following the third and final full-length release, Iloki Records hired Braindead Soundmachine's Cole Coonce to produce updated versions of songs the brothers had success with in previous bands, "Class War" by The Dils and "Amanda Ruth" by Rank and File.

Blackbird (Beatles song)

"Blackbird" is a song by the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written and performed as a solo effort by Paul McCartney, though credited to Lennon–McCartney. McCartney has stated that the lyrics of the song were inspired by the unfortunate state of race relations in the United States in the 1960s.

Origins

McCartney explained on Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road, aired in 2005, that the guitar accompaniment for "Blackbird" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Bourrée in E minor, a well-known lute piece, often played on the classical guitar. As teenagers, he and George Harrison tried to learn Bourrée as a "show off" piece. The Bourrée is distinguished by melody and bass notes played simultaneously on the upper and lower strings. McCartney adapted a segment of the Bourrée (reharmonised into the original's relative major key of G) as the opening of "Blackbird", and carried the musical idea throughout the song.

Colonial Blackbird

The Blackbird (also known as the Laura) is a custom-built stealth-capable reconnaissance spacecraft from the fictional universe of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. According to executive producer David Eick it is not a Viper, though some parts for the craft were derived from scrapped Vipers.

Creation

The Blackbird is designed by Chief Galen Tyrol in the second season episode, "Flight of the Phoenix". Despite being a capable engineer, the chief has no experience in building Vipers from scratch although he does have a deep familiarity with the Viper and its systems from a maintenance standpoint. The Blackbird's engines are of a more primitive design than the rest of the fighters. In addition metal is at a premium and was needed for repairs on existing Vipers. Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon suggests that another material be used, and the Blackbird is thus built with a non-reflective black carbon fiber composite skin making the ship very difficult to detect on DRADIS. The craft is named the Laura in honor of President of the Colonies Laura Roslin, but continues to be known as the Blackbird. Its external design and hull configuration show a commonality with the Viper series ships, with clipped wings showing a marked dihedral, deleted vertical stabilizer and much cleaner lines in keeping with its sensor stealthing.

Vada

Vada or Vayda may refer to:

People

Places

Other uses

Vada (food)

Vada [vəɽɑː] is a common term for many different types of savoury fritter-type snacks from South India with a set of common ingredients. Due to their popularity, they have spread throughout the world and are known by various names - for example in South Africa where a large south Indian population is found it is called Vade.

Description

Vada can vary in shape and size, but are usually either doughnut- or disc-shaped and are between 5 and 8 cm across. They are made from black grams and Bengal grams.

Vada is a traditional South Indian food known from ancient times. As well as being commonly prepared at home, vada are popular items in street stalls and in railway stations(including the Indian Railways). They are eaten throughout the day but most commonly as a part of breakfast alongside idlis with sambar. Vada are an indispensable part of the menu in Hindu festivals with garlands of Vada offered to Hanuman on auspicious days in South Indian Temples.

Preparation

Vada are generally prepared from a thick batter of Black gram or coarsely ground Bengal gram which has been fermented. This mixture is then seasoned by mixing with cumin seeds, onion, curry leaves (sometimes previously sauteed), salt, chillies and/or black pepper grains. Often ginger and baking soda are added to the seasoning in shops to increase the fluffy texture and improve fermentation for large batches. Homemade Vada generally do not incorporate baking soda and rely on natural fermentation (relatively easy in South India). The individual vada are then shaped and deep-fried.

Ulmus 'Wanoux' = Vada

Ulmus 'Wanoux' (selling name Vada™) is a Dutch hybrid cultivar arising from the crossing of 'Plantyn' with another selfed (self-pollinated) specimen of 'Plantyn'. Originally identified as clone No. 762, it was selected for assessment by the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), which patented it as 'Wanoux' (Vada) in 2006.

Description

Vada is a narrow tree primarily intended for street planting. The glossy, dark-green leaves, < 11 cm long by 8 cm wide, are coarsely toothed and have conspicuous venation Towards the end of the season however, the leaves suffer from various afflictions so they can appear shabby. Leafing is late, but not quite as late as its stablemate Lutèce. Many minor buds fail to burst, so that young plants are rather sparsely furnished; in combination with the tree’s limited lateral development, this can lead to a skeletal appearance.

Pests and diseases

Tests in France by INRA found the tree to be 'highly resistant' to Dutch elm disease, exhibiting the lowest wilting percentage of all the clones trialled, making it comparable with 'Sapporo Autumn Gold' However, the presence of U. wallichiana in the ancestry of Vada poses the risk of susceptibility to elm yellows (phloem necrosis), which seriously damaged its Dutch stablemate 'Lobel' used as a control in the Italian elm breeding programme.