Opal

Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO₂·nH₂O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Because of its amorphous character, it is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. Opal is the national gemstone of Australia.

The internal structure of precious opal makes it diffract light; depending on the conditions in which it formed, it can take on many colors. Precious opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the black opals are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. It varies in optical density from opaque to semitransparent.

Precious opal

Precious opal shows a variable interplay of internal colors, and though it is a mineraloid, it has an internal structure. At microscopic scales, precious opal is composed of silica spheres some 150 to 300 nm in diameter in a hexagonal or cubic close-packed lattice. It was shown by J. V. Sanders in the mid-1960s, that these ordered silica spheres produce the internal colors by causing the interference and diffraction of light passing through the microstructure of the opal. The regularity of the sizes and the packing of these spheres determines the quality of precious opal. Where the distance between the regularly packed planes of spheres is around half the wavelength of a component of visible light, the light of that wavelength may be subject to diffraction from the grating created by the stacked planes. The colors that are observed are determined by the spacing between the planes and the orientation of planes with respect to the incident light. The process can be described by Bragg's law of diffraction.

List of recurring The Simpsons characters

The Simpsons includes a large array of supporting characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, fictional characters within the show, and even animals. The writers originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and have subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television.

Agnes Skinner

Agnes Skinner (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is the mother of Principal Skinner and first appeared in the first season episode "The Crepes of Wrath" as an old woman who embarrassingly calls her son "Spanky". However, as episodes progressed, the character turned bitter. She is very controlling of her son and often treats him as if he is a child. She hates Edna Krabappel due to her son's feelings for the other woman. Agnes has married four times. Several Springfield residents (including the Simpsons) are afraid of her. When "the real Seymour Skinner" arrives in Springfield, Agnes ends up rejecting him in part because he stands up to her, but also because unlike Skinner/Tamzarian, her biological son is independent and doesn't need her anymore, while Skinner immediately reverts to a good-for-nothing without her.

Year Zero (game)

Year Zero is an alternate reality game (ARG) based on the Nine Inch Nails concept album of the same name, its expected follow-up, and a possible accompanying film or television project. Although the album was released on April 16, 2007 in Europe, and the following day worldwide, the game has been underway since roughly February 12, 2007 and was expected to continue for approximately eighteen months. The game was created by 42 Entertainment, the same group responsible for the Halo 2 promotional alternative reality game I Love Bees.Trent Reznor, frontman and sole member of the band, has called the game "a new entertainment form". In response to criticism regarding the promotion of the album, Reznor stated:

Premise

Reznor said that Year Zero is a concept album, "could be about the end of the world", and marked a "shift in direction" in that it "doesn't sound like With Teeth." The 2006 tour merchandise designs featured overt references to the United States military, which "reflects future directions."

Common (horse)

Common (1888–1912) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from May to September 1891 he ran five times and won four races. He became the fifth, and the most lighty-raced horse to win the English Triple Crown by winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster.

Background

Common was a “big, lathy, sinewy” brown horse, standing just over 16 hands high bred at Crichel in Dorset by Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington who owned him during his racing career in partnership with Sir Frederick Johnstone. The colt was sent into training with John Porter at Kingsclere, and was ridden in all his races by George Barrett. Common’s sire Isonomy was one of the outstanding British racehorses of the 19th Century, winning the Ascot Gold Cup in 1879 and 1880. He went on to become a successful stallion; apart from Common he sired Isinglass, thus being the first of two horses to father two winners of the English Triple Crown. Common’s dam Thistle, who had been a successful racehorse, went on to produce the New Stakes winner Goldfinch and the filly Throstle who won the St Leger in 1894.

Lingua franca

A lingua franca /ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/, also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language or vehicular language, is a language or dialect systematically (as opposed to occasionally, or casually) used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language or dialect, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both native languages.

Lingua francas have developed around the world throughout human history, sometimes for commercial reasons (so-called "trade languages") but also for cultural, religious, diplomatic and administrative convenience, and as a means of exchanging information between scientists and other scholars of different nationalities. The term originates with one such language, Mediterranean Lingua Franca.

Characteristics

Lingua franca is a term defined functionally, independent of the linguistic history or structure of the language: though pidgins and creoles often function as lingua francas, many such languages are neither pidgins nor creoles.

Common (rapper)

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Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense), is an American hip hop recording artist, actor, film producer and poet from Chicago, Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, and, in the past, has released music under various other labels such as Relativity, Geffen and GOOD Music, among others.

Common's first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success. His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life", with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.