Dirge (novel)

Dirge (2000) is a science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. The full title is sometimes shown as Dirge: Book Two of The Founding of the Commonwealth.

Plot summary

It has been twenty years since the chance meeting of street thug Cheelo Montoya and thranx poet Desvendapur revealed the insectoid alien colony hidden deep within the Amazon Basin, and not much has changed.

Humanity has recently discovered the planet Argus V, better known as Treetrunk, with the intention of colonizing the planet when their survey team is visited by a new alien race, the Pitar. At first the humans worry that the Pitar will want to lay claim to the planet, but the instead of wanting to claim territory, the aliens instead simply want to observe the humans.

The Pitar are a close human analog to humans, appearing to be perfectly human except for a wider variety of hair and eye colors (including blue and violet among them) along with nearly god-like physiques. Most humans almost immediately view the Pitar as perfect. This complicated matters for the insectoid Thranx who wish to form a closer alliance with the humans. Some xenophobic humans go so far as to invade the small Thranx colony in the Amazon, killing many of the insect colonists. While this causes a political nightmare for both humans and Thranx, it also brings together the human chaplain and Thranx spiritual advisor who form the United Church.

Dirge (album)

Dirge is the second studio album by Singaporean grindcore band Wormrot. It was released on 3 May 2011 by Earache Records. The digital version of the album was released for free download in prior due to an online leak.

Musical style

On Dirge, Wormrot downplays their death metal influences in favor of a punk rock- and crust punk-indebted sound while staying firm in their metallic roots. According to Allmusic, the album features 25 songs, "every one a relentless assault of grinding guitar (doubled in the studio to give extra heft), anarchic yet complex drumming, and hoarse, agitated vocals." The shortest track on the record, ""You Suffer But Why Is It My Problem," is a four-second nod to English grindcore pioneers Napalm Death. The track "Deceased Occupation" is driven by a sludgy riff reminiscent of Eyehategod's style while the track "Principle of Puppet Warfare" was described as "a pure punk rock slam-fuel."

In an interview with Exclaim!, guitarist Rasyid stated:

Critical reception

Inferno

Inferno may refer to:

Literature

Music

Albums

Inferno (horse)

Inferno (1902–1919) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. He has been called "Canada's first great racehorse" by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Background

He was owned and bred by distilling magnate Joseph E. Seagram, who in 1906 was voted president of the Ontario Jockey Club.

Inferno was out of the mare Bon Ino, who was owned and raced by Seagram and had won the 1898 Queen's Plate. Inferno's sire was Havoc, a stallion who ended his career as the sire of four King's Plate winners. Havoc was a son of Himyar, the Champion Sire in North America in 1893 who notably also produced U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Domino. Inferno was a very raucous horse and was a danger to his handlers.

Racing career

He was conditioned for racing by New Jersey-born trainer Barry Littlefield. In 1905, the three-year-old Inferno won Canada's most prestigious race, the King's Plate. That year, he also finished second in both the Toronto Autumn Cup and the King Edward Gold Cup. In 1906, he was again second in the Toronto Autumn Cup but won the Durham Cup Handicap and the first of three consecutive King Edward Gold Cups. The following year, Inferno won his second King Edward Cup plus the Toronto Autumn Cup, and in 1908 he won his second Durham Cup and made it three wins in a row in the King Edward Gold Cup. In addition, his owner joined the Whitney family and other wealthy American elite in bringing horses to compete during the fashionable summer racing season at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inferno raced until age six and was part of Joseph Seagram's stable to race at Saratoga, where he won two important handicaps.

Inferno (1999 film)

Inferno (released in the United Kingdom as Desert Heat) is a 1999 American action film directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Danny Trejo and Pat Morita.

Eddie Lomax (Van Damme) is a veteran soldier sick of life, wandering the desert looking for a reason to die. An incident with a few thugs from the nearby town who steal Eddie's motorbike and beat him almost to death, starts in Eddie a flame for revenge. Helped by Mr. Early, and some other good fellows, Eddie is out for vengeance.

This film is a remake of and a self-conscious tribute to Yojimbo (1961) by Akira Kurosawa.

Plot

The film opens as Eddie Lomax (Jean-Claude Van Damme) drives an Indian motorcycle in an open desert plain (referred to as the Dry Lake). Soon enough, the motorcycle breaks down and Eddie dismounts, carrying nothing but his jacket, his .45 pistol, and a bottle of tequilla. As he lies in the desert drinking, he eventually sees his friend Johnny Sixtoes (Danny Trejo), a Mexican Indian, whom he had sent a postcard notifying him of his arrival.

Spin (Darren Hayes album)

Spin is the first solo album released by ex-Savage Garden member Darren Hayes. The album was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge and produced by Walter Afanasieff. It was released in Australia in March 2002 and reached the rest of the world later that year. The album has sold over two million copies as of 2011.

Background

Hayes, continuing the trend from his years as Savage Garden's frontman, addresses romance on almost every track on the album. Walter Afanasieff, who had already worked on Savage Garden's Affirmation, oversaw the production of the majority of the album, with help from co-producers Greg Bieck, Rick Nowels and Robert Conley. Afanasieff produced five of the twelve tracks on the original release: "Insatiable", "Heart Attack", "Dirty", "Good Enough" and the title track, "Spin"; Bieck produced "Strange Relationship" and "I Miss You"; Nowels produced "Creepin' Up on You", "I Can't Ever Get Enough of You", "Like It or Not" and "What You Like"; and Conley solely produced the track "Crush (1980 Me)". Afanasieff also produced the Australian only bonus track, "The Heart Wants What It Wants", and the UK Collector's Edition bonus tracks, "I Wish U Heaven" and "Can't Help Falling in Love". Till 2006,the album sold 118,000 in United States.

Spin (Lifehouse song)

"Spin" is a song by American alternative rock band Lifehouse from their 2002 album, Stanley Climbfall. It was written by Jason Wade and produced by Ron Aniello. The song received positive reviews from music critics and peaked at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

"Spin" is four minutes and 52 seconds long. It was produced by Ron Aniello. Jason Wade, the band's vocalist, wrote the song when he was 16.

Release

"Spin" was the first track on Lifehouse's album Stanley Climbfall, which was released on August 17, 2002. It was also the first single from the album.

Critical reception

The song received positive critical reviews. Gene Stout of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer described it as "an anthemic tune with a strong hook and a big guitar sound."Billboard's Chuck Taylor wrote that "'Spin' is a wonderfully constructed rock song with a number of different musical subsections, all of which showcase the potent pipes and song-writing skills of lead singer/guitarist Jason Wade ... Lifehouse has managed to drum up a keen balance between pure, guitar-fueled rock and hook-sodden, creatively executed pop – and this song deserves a lengthy stay on the playlists of both formats."