Hardcourt

A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. They are typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic material to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these are now rare.

Tennis

Tennis hard courts are made of synthetic/acrylic layers on top of a concrete or asphalt foundation and can vary in color. These courts tend to play medium-fast to fast because there is little energy absorption by the court, like in grass courts. The ball tends to bounce high and players are able to apply many types of spin during play. Flat balls are favored on hard courts because of the extremely quick play style. Speed of rebound after tennis balls bounce on hard courts is determined by how much sand is in the synthetic/acrylic layer placed on top of the asphalt foundation. More sand will result in a slower bounce due to more friction.

T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)

"T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" is a song by American rapper will.i.am, featuring vocals from Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez. The song was released via the iTunes Store on November 20, 2011, just hours after its debut at the American Music Awards. The music video for the song was released on December 12, 2011. The song was originally released as part as the lead single of will.i.am's fourth studio album, #willpower, but was not included on the album.

Background

will.i.am first announced the song via his Twitter account, before announcing it via various online media. Links to a demo version of the song were made available via Dipdive and Google+. On November 18, Will released the cover art for the single, using it as his Twitter avatar and background. The song was premiered live on November 20, 2011, live at the 2011 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theater. The performance included will.i.am and Lopez performing live, and Jagger performing via video link. The song was made available on iTunes immediately following the AMA performance. The song was produced by Audiobot, Dallas Austin and will.i.am, as well as Jimmy Iovine. will.i.am originally presented the track to Iovine without the featured artists, as a finished work, and was caught off guard by his request to add performers to the song. In response, he threw out Jagger's name among possible collaborators because he thought it would never happen. Iovine ended up producing Jagger's vocals - it was the first time he had produced in decades. Immediately after the AMA performance, will.i.am thanked Fighting Gravity via Twitter. will.i.am also performed the song live at the American Giving Awards on December 10. Neither Lopez nor Jagger appeared.

Hard (TV series)

Hard is a French television series created and produced by Cathy Verney, airing since 9 May 2008 on Canal+ in France, and later internationally. The series focuses on the pornographic movie industry. It is part of the "New Trilogy" collection on Canal+.

Synopsis

After the sudden death of her husband, Sophie discovers through her mother-in-law, that her late husband did not run a successful software company, but instead produced pornographic films, with Soph'X being the legacy.

Bewildered and dismayed, at discovering a world she couldn't conceive of in a thousand years, she hesitates between taking over the company or selling everything to resume her job as a lawyer. To pay the mortgage held by her husband before his death, she has to decide to modernize Soph'X, until a meeting with porn star and pillar of the company, Roy Lapoutre, forces her hand.

Cast

Bleach (season 14)

The fourteenth season of the Bleach anime series, which is known as the Arrancar: Downfall arc (破面・滅亡篇, Arankaru Metsubō Hen), is directed by Noriyuki Abe and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu, and Studio Pierrot. The story will continue the fight between Soul Society's Soul Reapers and Sōsuke Aizen's arrancar army as the former defends Karakura Town from the latter's invasion, while Ichigo and his group fight the arrancars in Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime Inoue.

The season started airing on April 13, 2010 in Japan on TV Tokyo. Aniplex collected it in eleven DVD volumes between February 23 and December 14, 2011. The English adaptation of the Bleach anime is licensed by Viz Media, and this season started airing on August 11, 2012.

The episodes uses six pieces of theme music: two opening themes and four closing themes. The first opening theme, "chAngE" by Miwa is used for episodes 266 to 291, while the second opening theme, "Ranbu no Melody" (乱舞のメロディ, Ranbu no Merodi, "Melody of the Wild Dance") by Sid is used from episode 292 to 316. The first ending theme, "Stay Beautiful" by Diggy-Mo is used for episodes 266 to 278, the second ending theme, "echoes" by Universe is used from episode 279 to 291, the third ending theme, "Last Moment" by SPYAIR is used from episode 292 to 303, and the fourth ending theme "Song For..." by ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D is used from episode 304 to 316.

Bleach (British band)

Bleach were an indie rock band from Ipswich, England, usually considered part of the shoegazing genre. The band was formed in 1989 by brothers Neil and Nick Singleton (guitar and bass, respectively) together with drummer Steve Scott and vocalist Salli Carson. Their first release was the Eclipse EP in 1990, followed in 1991 by the Snag EP. The tracks from these two EPs were collected on an album in 1991. 1992 saw the release of the full length album Killing Time, and the single "Shotgun", a surprising mixture of shoegazing and rap. In 1993 the band released two separate mini-albums, Hard and Fast. The group disbanded shortly thereafter.

The band will reunite for two live shows in summer 2015; one a private event and one in their original hometown of Ipswich on 27 June, at St Peter's by the Waterfront.

Discography

Singles/EPs

Albums

Bleach (Bleach (Japanese band) album)

Bleach is a 2003 LP by Japanese group Bleach. It was the only CD of theirs to be released in the United States (under the name Bleach03). It showcases the band refining their sound, with more vocals being sung rather than shouted.

Track listing

References