Mira

Mira (/ˈmaɪrə/, also known as Omicron Ceti, ο Ceti, ο Cet) is a red giant star estimated 200–400 light years away in the constellation Cetus. Mira is a binary star, consisting of the red giant Mira A along with Mira B. Mira A is also an oscillating variable star and was the first non-supernova variable star discovered, with the possible exception of Algol. Mira is the brightest periodic variable in the sky that is not visible to the naked eye for part of its cycle. Its distance is uncertain; pre-Hipparcos estimates centered on 220 light-years; while Hipparcos data from the 2007 reduction suggest a distance of 299 light-years, with a margin of error of 11%.

Observation history

Evidence that the variability of Mira was known in ancient China, Babylon or Greece is at best only circumstantial. What is certain is that the variability of Mira was recorded by the astronomer David Fabricius beginning on August 3, 1596. Observing what he thought was the planet Mercury (later identified as Jupiter), he needed a reference star for comparing positions and picked a previously unremarked third-magnitude star nearby. By August 21, however, it had increased in brightness by one magnitude, then by October had faded from view. Fabricius assumed it was a nova, but then saw it again on February 16, 1609.

Mira (film)

Mira is a 1971 Dutch-Belgian drama film directed by Fons Rademakers. It was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Dutch entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 44th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

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IBM Mira

Mira is a petascale Blue Gene/Q supercomputer. As of June 2013, it is listed on TOP500 as the fifth-fastest supercomputer in the world. It has a performance of 8.59 petaflops (LINPACK) and consumes 3.9 MW. The supercomputer was constructed by IBM for Argonne National Laboratory's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility with the support of the United States Department of Energy, and partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Mira will be used for scientific research, including studies in the fields of material science, climatology, seismology, and computational chemistry. The supercomputer is being utilized initially for sixteen projects, selected by the Department of Energy.

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, which commissioned the supercomputer, was established by the America COMPETES Act, signed by President Bush in 2007, and President Obama in 2011. The United States' emphasis on supercomputing has been seen as a response to China's progress in the field. China's Tianhe-1A, located at the Tianjin National Supercomputer Center, was ranked the most powerful supercomputer in the world from October 2010 to June 2011. Mira is, along with IBM Sequoia and Blue Waters, one of three American petascale supercomputers deployed in 2012.

Red (band)

Red (also stylized R3D or RED) is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band's lineup consists of singer Michael Barnes, guitarist Anthony Armstrong, and bassist Randy Armstrong. They are known for playing Christian rock music which incorporates other sounds such as alternative rock, alternative metal, hard rock, heavy metal and post-grunge. Jasen Rauch and Andrew Hendrix were the rhythm guitarist and drummer, respectively, at the time of the band's formation. Hendrix was replaced by Hayden Lamb in 2006, who was then replaced by Joe Rickard, who left in 2014. Though Rauch left the band in 2009, he contributed to songwriting until the band's fifth album, Of Beauty and Rage.

To date, Red has released five studio albums: End of Silence (2006), Innocence & Instinct (2009), Until We Have Faces (2011), Release the Panic (2013), and Of Beauty and Rage (2015). The first two albums earned the group Grammy Award Nominations for Best Rock Gospel Album while Until We Have Faces had a No. 2 debut on Billboard 200.

Pieces (video game)

Pieces (known in Japan as Jigsaw Party (ジグソーパ〜ティ〜)) is a 1994 puzzle game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System published by Atlus. In the game, the player has to solve jigsaw puzzles.

Gameplay

The player can either face a computer, or up to five human players. The computer players come at three levels (easy, normal, or hard) and feature a wide array of opponents, such as a crab made out of a rice bowl and a beautiful, laughing mermaid. A few puzzles must be solved before the opponent solves his or her puzzles. If the player is quick enough, items will appear. These can do anything from guiding the puzzle pieces to freezing the opponent.

Reception

GamePro judged the game "an interesting variation on the standard puzzler theme." They praised the solid challenge, easy controls (particularly with the use of the SNES mouse), and the variety of puzzles.Electronic Gaming Monthly similarly described Pieces as "unique" with solid challenge, but singled out the two-player "Versus Mode" as the game's strongest feature. They scored it an 8.2 out of 10 and later ranked it number 14 on their top 50 games from the past year.

Kokia (singer)

Akiko Yoshida (吉田亜紀子, Yoshida Akiko) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, who performs under the stage name Kokia (stylized as KOKIA). Her most well known songs "Arigatō..." (ありがとう..., Thank You) (which reached number 2 in Hong Kong when it was covered by Sammi Cheng) and "The Power of Smile." (the single topped at No. 8 in the singles chart).. She is also recognized for her numerous contributions to anime/game soundtracks, the most notable being "Ai no Melody/Chōwa Oto (With Reflection)" for the film Origin: Spirits of the Past, "Follow the Nightingale" for the game Tales of Innocence, and "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" for the anime Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino.

Kokia often performs in Europe, basing her activities in Paris and releasing music through Wasabi Records, a subsidiary of Kazé.

Biography

Early life, Pony Canyon debut

Kokia was born in 1976, and raised by her mother. She started playing the violin when she was two and a half years old, but preferred the family piano. Often instead of playing with toys, Kokia played with the family piano. Kokia remembers putting picture books on the music stand and creating music that represented the scenes.