Brother Industries

Brother Industries, Ltd. (Japanese: ブラザー工業株式会社, Hepburn: Burazā Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment company headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Its products include printers, multifunction printers, desktop computers, sewing machines, large machine tools, label printers, typewriters, fax machines, and other computer-related electronics. Brother distributes its products both under its own name and under OEM agreements with other companies.

History

Brother's history began in 1908 when the Yasui Sewing Machine Co. was established in Nagoya, Japan. In 1954, Brother International Corporation (US) was established as their first overseas sales affiliate. In 1958 a European regional sales company was established in Dublin. The corporate name was finally changed to Brother Industries, Ltd. in 1962. Brother entered the printer market during its long association with Centronics.

In 1968 the company moved its UK headquarters to Audenshaw, Manchester, after acquiring the Jones Sewing Machine Company, a long established British sewing machine maker.

Cry of Love (band)

Cry Of Love was an American rock band, formed in 1989 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The group released their debut album in 1993 (Brother), produced by John Custer before hitting the road for the next 17 months. After completing their '93-'94 touring cycle frontman Kelly Holland quit the band, saying he could no longer handle the rigors of the road. They scored a number-one hit on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart with "Peace Pipe" in 1993.

Ex-Lynch Mob and current Warrant singer Robert Mason was recruited as Holland's replacement some three years later. Together they recorded a new album in 1997 (Diamonds & Debris), but the band split shortly afterwards.

Former band member Audley Freed was recruited to the Black Crowes in 1998, and he played with the band until October 2001. He also played on Crowes' lead singer Chris Robinson's second solo album in 2004, and on the subsequent tour.

Their former bassist Robert Kearns later played with Lynyrd Skynyrd, after the death of Ean Evans, until early 2012. Freed and Kearns formed a band named Big Hat that also includes Keith Gattis - vocals/guitar; Peter Stroud - guitars; Fred Eltringham - drums; Ike Stubblefield - keyboards. These days, Freed and Kearns (along with Freed's multi-talented wife, Jen, and Stroud, are part of Sheryl Crowe's touring band).

Viva Brother

Viva Brother were an indie rock band from Slough, England. Previously known as Brother, they signed to Geffen Records in October and EMI Publishing in November 2010. Their debut album, Famous First Words, was released on August 1, 2011, and reached #34 on the UK Albums Chart. It was confirmed on 1 April 2012 that Viva Brother had split up. In June 2012, the band members launched a new band, the synthpop group Lovelife.

History

Formation and debut album: 2010-2012

Previously known as Kill the Arcade and Wolf Am I, the band was renamed Brother in 2010. The previous incarnation of the group wrote, recorded and performed music primarily in the pop-punk emo genre. Describing their latest sound as Gritpop, and citing bands such as Blur, The Smiths, and Morrissey as influences, the band began playing shows around the local community centres. In an interview for drowned in sound, Leonard Newell stated that his musical interest began to change after he started going to a club night called We love the 90's. A demo of the song "Darling Buds of May" was played by radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1. Lowe also picked up on the band's blog. The site featured a video of the band setting up and playing an unannounced gig in front of Slough railway station, along with a promo video they had shot using money they had earned playing local gigs. In October they signed a deal with Geffen Records and EMI Publishing the following November.

Birdy (bicycle)

The Birdy is a folding bicycle designed by Riese und Müller in Germany and produced by Pacific Cycles in Taiwan. As of 2010 over 100,000 had been sold. Three distinct models have been marketed, the third (Mk3) sold from July 2015.

First released in 1995, it was the first fully suspended folding bike. The ride is regarded by some as more sporty than the Brompton, thanks in part to a stiff single-piece aluminium frame with road bike rider geometry and no hinge. Some prefer its stiff suspended ride and rapid acceleration to that of a full-sized bike.

Specifications

Markus Riese had the basic idea for the Birdy in 1992. The first prototype was quickly welded together from two old bicycles in his parent's garage (photos and German article here). After a year, Markus Riese and Heiko Muller built a prototype out of aluminium and won the “Hessian Innovation Prize”. The prototype was shown at two trade shows, Intercycle in Cologne and Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, and caused a stir. The first Birdy bikes were sold in 1995 as a 'de luxe' folder, the first with full suspension. It had a high price tag, usually over US$1,000.

Par (score)

In golf, par is the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch (or 0 handicap) golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the pars of each round). Pars are the central component of stroke play, the most common kind of play in professional golf tournaments. The term is also used in golf-like sports such as disc golf with the same meaning.

The length of each hole from the tee placement to the pin determines par values for each hole primarily but not exclusively. Almost invariably, holes are assigned par values between three and five strokes. For a casual player from the middle tees, a par-three hole will be 100–250 yards (90–230 m) from the tee to the pin. Par-four holes are 250–470 yards (230–430 m), although tournament players will often encounter par-four holes 500 yards (460 m) or more, as it is not uncommon for short par-five holes for normal play to be turned into par-four holes in championship play. Par-five holes are typically 470–600 yards (430–550 m), but in the modern game holes of over 600 yards are becoming more common in championship play. Other relevant factors in setting the par for the hole include the terrain and obstacles (such as trees, water hazards, hills, or buildings) that may require a golfer to take more (or fewer) shots. Some golf courses feature par-sixes and, very rarely, par-sevens, although the latter are not recognised by the United States Golf Association.

Kira Yamato

Kira Yamato (キラ・ヤマト) is a fictional character first introduced as the protagonist from the 2002 Japanese anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which was produced by Sunrise as part of the Gundam franchise. In the series, Kira is a first-generation Coordinator, a genetically enhanced human being born of normal humans (Naturals). At the beginning of Gundam SEED, Kira lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis to avoid the war between the Coordinators and the Naturals, but the colony becomes involved in the war shortly thereafter. Kira is the only person within the Earth Alliance—the Naturals' military faction—who is able to effectively pilot their mobile suit—a type of a mecha created by them. He is forced to become a mobile suit pilot and to participate in various battles to protect his friends. Kira has also been featured in Gundam SEED's direct sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, in which he fights to stop a new war between the races' military organizations. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Sōichirō Hoshi and in the English adaptation by Matt Hill.