Narcissus

Narcissus may refer to:

Biology

People

Film

Music

Literature

Narcissus (band)

Narcissus was an influential American hardcore band formed by John LaRussa and John Pope in 1998 in Canton, Ohio. Not counting John Pope (Vocals, Keyboards) and John LaRussa (Guitar), who were in the band from start to finish, members included, at various times, Justin Carroll (bass), Ray Taylor (rhythm guitar), Derek Carter (percussion), Stephen Cushman (percussion) and Josh King (bass). The band was on the now-defunct label Takehold Records before joining Century Media. A few albums were re-released through Tooth and Nail. Before breaking up the band were featured on The Vans Warped tour and were getting ready to hit Europe for their international release of Crave and Collapse, which was received well over seas. The band has been considered highly influential for their progressive and inventive style of hardcore and rock. When the band broke up in 2003, John LaRussa went on to form Inhale Exhale with Brian Pittman, a former member of Relient K. John Pope joined Symphony In Peril briefly in 2003, and six months after he joined they disbanded. There has been rumors of a reunion that's surfaced from time to time, but nothing official. Mostly due to John LaRussa's busy schedule at times and refusal to play with the band again. The band has toured with many bands including MewithoutYou, Silverstein, Bayside, Further Seems Forever, Zao, Embodyment,Shelter, and Tantrum of the Muse,Few Left Standing, and Underoath.

Narcissus (plant)

Narcissus /nɑːrˈsɪsəs/ is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names including daffodil,daffadowndilly, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus' in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridization. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

Speeder (motor vessel)

Speeder was a motor launch built in 1908 which served on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. From 1908 to 1922 this vessel was named Bainbridge.

Design and construction

Speeder was built in 1908 at Seattle, Washington for the Eagle Harbor Transportation Company The original name of the vessel was Bainbridge.

As originally built, the vessel was 79 feet (24 m) long, 12.5 feet (3.8 m) beam, and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in depth of hold. Overall size was 39 gross and 26 registered tons. Only two crew were required according to the 1911 merchant vessel registry. As of 1911, the vessel was powered with a gasoline engine that generated 80 indicated horsepower. The vessel's U.S. Registry number was 205199.

Bainbridge was built to run on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route and was the fastest vessel of the type yet constructed when built.

Career

In 1910 Bainbridge was purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company. PSN was then engaged in a strong competition with the Kitsap County Transportation Company, which had deployed a similar vessel, the gasoline launch Doncella to run against Bainbridge. There was a near-collision between the two vessels off Duwamish Head, in which, it was reported at the time that “'women fainted in fright.'” As a result of this incident, charges were brought against Capt. Carl Freese of the Bainbridge and Capt. George W. Keeney of Doncella.

Landspeeder

Landspeeders are fictional anti-gravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars expanded universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.

Origin and design

Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Two of them—Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) X-34 and a V-35—were designed by noted special effects artist John Stears and were fitted around cars. Skywalker's landspeeder was designed and built by Ogle Design around the chassis of a Bond Bug. One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create the illusion that the craft was hovering. For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape).Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and a broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust.Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope.Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Doug Chiang design the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns."

Speedrun

A speedrun is a play-through (or a recording thereof) of a video game performed with the intention of completing a goal as fast as possible, most often to complete the game. Speedruns may cover a whole game or a selected part (such as a single level) and may impose additional requirements beyond quick completion. They are mainly attempted for the purposes of entertainment and competition.

Commonly, speedruns are recorded by the players who make them. Players use these recordings for entertainment and to verify the completion time (or to spot opportunities to improve it). The use of speedruns as entertainment stems from their conception by game enthusiasts, who would often compare each other's playing skills via videos exchanged over the Internet. As speedruns grew more competitive, however, enthusiasts often demanded more proper speedrun recordings, so that anyone could verify that a play-through went by the implicit or specific speedrun rules it claimed to follow. This verifiability is needed to count a speedrun as an official attempt to beat any previous records.