Beach

A beach is a landform along the coast of an ocean or sea, or the edge of a lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles, which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobblestones. The particles comprising a beach are occasionally biological in origin, such as mollusc shells or coralline algae.

Some beaches have man-made infrastructure, such as lifeguard posts, changing rooms, and showers. They may also have hospitality venues (such as resorts, camps, hotels, and restaurants) nearby. Wild beaches, also known as undeveloped or undiscovered beaches, are not developed in this manner. Wild beaches can be valued for their untouched beauty and preserved nature.

Beaches typically occur in areas along the coast where wave or current action deposits and reworks sediments.

Overview

Although the seashore is most commonly associated with the word beach, beaches are found by lakes and alongside large rivers.

Beach may refer to:

Beaches (novel)

Beaches is a novel written by Iris Rainer Dart and is about two friends, struggling actress Cee Cee Bloom and the conventional Bertie Barron. The story follows them through their life as young girls until their mid-late 30s.

Film and theater adaptations

External links

Beaches (film)

Beaches (also known as Forever Friends), is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the Iris Rainer Dart novel of the same name. It was directed by Garry Marshall, and stars Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, James Read, Spalding Gray, and Lainie Kazan.

The film's theme song, Hot 100 number one "Wind Beneath My Wings" won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1990. The film was released on VHS in August 1989, with a DVD release on August 13, 2002, followed by a special edition DVD on April 26, 2005.

Plot

The story of two friends from different backgrounds, whose friendship spans more than 30 years through childhood, love, and tragedy: Cecilia Carol "C.C." Bloom (Bette Midler), a New York actress and singer, and Hillary Whitney (Barbara Hershey), a San Francisco heiress and lawyer. The film begins with middle-aged C.C. receiving a note during a rehearsal for her upcoming Los Angeles concert. She leaves the rehearsal in a panic and tries frantically to travel to her friend's side. Unable to get a flight to San Francisco because of fog, she rents a car and drives overnight, reflecting on her life with Hillary.

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by either wind or water flow. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, formed by interaction with the flow of air or water. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind. The valley or trough between dunes is called a slack. A "dune field" is an area covered by extensive sand dunes.

Some coastal areas have one or more sets of dunes running parallel to the shoreline directly inland from the beach. In most cases, the dunes are important in protecting the land against potential ravages by storm waves from the sea. Although the most widely distributed dunes are those associated with coastal regions, the largest complexes of dunes are found inland in dry regions and associated with ancient lake or sea beds.

Dunes can form under the action of water flow (fluvial processes), and on sand or gravel beds of rivers, estuaries and the sea-bed.

The modern word "dune" came into English from French circa 1790.

Arrakis

Arrakis (/əˈrækᵻs/;Arabic: الراقص‎, ar-rāqiṣ, "the dancer") — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is sometimes cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.

In Dune, the planet is the home of the Fremen (Zensunni wanderers), and subsequently is the Imperial Capital of the Atreides Empire. Arrakis is the third planet orbiting the star Canopus, and it in turn is orbited by two moons, one of which has the image of the desert kangaroo mouse, Muad'Dib, on it; the other moon possesses the image of a human hand.

Environment and the spice

A desert planet with no natural precipitation, in Dune it is established that Arrakis had been "His Imperial Majesty's Desert Botanical Testing Station" before the discovery of melange, for which it is the only natural source in the universe. Melange (or, "the spice") is the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe, as it extends life and makes safe interstellar travel possible (among other uses). The planet has no surface water bodies, but open canals called qanats are used "for carrying irrigation water under controlled conditions" through the desert. The Fremen collect water in underground reservoirs to fulfill their dream of someday terraforming the planet, and pay the Spacing Guild exorbitant fees in melange to keep the skies over Arrakis free of any satellites which might observe their efforts. As indicated by its large salt flats, Arrakis once had lakes and oceans; Lady Jessica also notes in Dune that wells drilled in the sinks and basins initially produce a "trickle" of water which soon stops, as if "something plugs it."

Dune (soundtrack)

Dune is an original soundtrack album for the 1984 film Dune. Most of the album was composed by the popular rock band Toto — their first and only film score — but one track was contributed by Brian Eno. The soundtrack album was first released in November, 1984. An extended version with an altered track listing was released in 1997. Both versions are currently out of print on traditional media such as CD but with the increasing popularity of download services have gained improved exposure through such channels as Apple Inc.'s iTunes.

Background

The instrumental soundtrack was recorded by the band (minus lead singer Fergie Frederiksen), accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Volksoper Choir, conducted by Marty Paich, father of Toto keyboardist David Paich. "Prophecy Theme" was composed for the movie by Brian Eno, who is rumored to have written and composed an entire earlier Dune soundtrack, although only "Prophecy Theme" and some incidental background music survived in the final film version.