Gaia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Gaia, (GAY-ə or GAH-yə; from Ancient Greek Γαῖα, a poetical form of Γῆ Gē, Ge, "land" or "earth";) also spelled Gaea, was the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia was the great mother of all: the primal Greek Mother Goddess; creator and giver of birth to the Earth and all the Universe; the heavenly gods, the Titans, and the Giants were born to her. The gods reigning over their classical pantheon were born from her union with Uranus (the sky), while the sea-gods were born from her union with Pontus (the sea). Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.

Etymology

The Greek word γαῖα (transliterated as gaia) is a collateral form of γῆ (gē, Doric γᾶ ga and probably δᾶ da) meaning Earth, a word of uncertain origin.R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. It, however, could be related to the Avestan word gaiia 'life;' cf. Av. gaēθā '(material) world, totality of creatures' and gaēθiia 'belonging to/residing in the worldly/material sphere, material'; and probably even Av, gairi 'mountain'.

Gaia: One Woman's Journey

Gaia: One Woman's Journey is an album released by Olivia Newton-John in 1994. For the first time in her career; the album was entirely written by Newton-John herself. In addition to songwriting duties; Newton-John also co-produced the album.

Production and reception

The album was the first since Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer on 1992; and as such, many of the songs were influenced by her experiences - especially in the tracks "Why Me" and "Not Gonna Give into It". Newton-John's passion for environmental and conservation issues also served as a major influence.

The album was recorded in Australia during 1993 and 1994 and released via several independent labels internationally; except in Australia where Newton-John was still signed to Festival Records.

One of the most critically acclaimed of Newton-John's career, the album is a firm favourite among fans. Allmusic hails the album as "the most honest and inviting album of her career." One single was lifted from the album; "No Matter What You Do" which was an Australian Top 40 hit

Kasakela Chimpanzee Community

The Kasakela chimpanzee community is a habituated community of wild eastern chimpanzees that lives in Gombe National Park near Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. The community was the subject of Dr Jane Goodall's pioneering study that began in 1960, and studies have continued ever since. As a result, the community has been instrumental in the study of chimpanzees, and has been popularized in several books and documentaries. The community's popularity was enhanced by Dr Goodall's practice of giving names to the chimpanzees she was observing, in contrast to the typical scientific practice of identifying the subjects by number. Dr Goodall generally used a naming convention in which infants were given names starting with the same letter as their mother, allowing the recognition of matrilineal lines.

Fiction Records

Fiction Records is a British major label record and music publishing company founded by Chris Parry in 1978 that is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. Fiction became a standalone label (still owned by Universal, but no longer affiliated to Polydor Ltd) in January 2014. Fiction repertoire is now released internationally through Caroline International (ex-North America).

History

Fiction (The Comsat Angels album)

Fiction, released in 1982 on Polydor Records, was The Comsat Angels' third album. The album was reissued on CD twice, in 1995 by RPM Records and in 2006 by Renascent Records, with different track listings (see below). The album peaked at No. 94 in the UK charts in September 1982.

Fiction was less gloomy than the Comsats' previous album, Sleep No More. Frontman Stephen Fellows said of the change: "I certainly didn't want to make another record as intense as Sleep No More — at least not immediately. Sleep No More was so dark that I felt it skewed things a bit — possibly even mentally for me. I just felt if we carried on in that direction it'd lead to madness or maybe even something worse."

Fellows was satisfied with many of the songs on Fiction, including "What Else!?," "Pictures," and "After the Rain", but felt that the album as a whole could have been better. "We were a bit short of tunes when we recorded it," he said. "We were touring quite a bit after Sleep No More and there wasn't as much time to write as I would have liked."

Fiction (magazine)

Fiction is a literary magazine founded in 1972 by Mark Jay Mirsky, Donald Barthelme, and Max Frisch. It is published by the City College of New York. This is not the same as the French science fiction magazine Fiction, published from 1953-1990.

In its early years, Fiction was published in tabloid format and featured experimental work by such writers as John Barth, Jerome Charyn, Italo Calvino, Ronald Sukenick, Steve Katz, Russell Banks, Samuel Beckett, and J.G. Ballard. It later took the form of a more traditional paperback literary magazine, publishing short works by Reinaldo Arenas, Isaac Babel, Donald Barthelme, Mei Chin, Julio Cortázar, Marguerite Duras, Natalia Ginzburg, Clarice Lispector, Robie Macauley, Robert Musil, Joyce Carol Oates, Manuel Puig, and John Yau..

Though the magazine ostensibly focuses on publishing fiction, as its name implies, it has recently also featured excerpts from Robert Musil's diaries and letters, as well as various writings with an autobiographical slant.