Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any of the passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
Resemblances between swifts and swallows are due to convergent evolution, reflecting similar life styles based on catching insects in flight.
The family name, Apodidae, is derived from the Greek ἄπους (ápous), meaning "footless", a reference to the small, weak legs of these most aerial of birds. The tradition of depicting swifts without feet continued into the Middle Ages, as seen in the heraldic martlet.
Some species of swifts are among the fastest animals on the planet, with some of the fastest measured flight speeds of any bird.
Taxonomy
Taxonomists have long classified swifts and treeswifts as relatives of the hummingbirds, a judgement corroborated by the discovery of the Jungornithidae (apparently swift-like hummingbird-relatives) and of primitive hummingbirds such as Eurotrochilus. Traditional taxonomies place the hummingbird family (Trochilidae) in the same order as the swifts and treeswifts (and no other birds); the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy treated this group as a superorder in which the swift order was called Trochiliformes.
D12
D12, an initialism for The Dirty Dozen, is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. D12 was formed in 1996, and achieved mainstream success after Eminem rose to international fame. D12 released the album Devil's Night in 2001 and D12 World in 2004, spawning numerous hits such as "Fight Music", "Purple Pills", "My Band", "How Come" and "Shit on You" throughout that period. Since 2006, Eminem's hiatus and the death of the member Proof resulted in them being less active in subsequent years.
History
Early career (1996–98)
In order to make up the dozen, it was decided the six members at the time would each create an alter-ego. Proof's was Dirty Harry, Bizarre's was Peter S. Bizarre, Kuniva's was Hannz G. (which later became Rondell Beene), Kon Artis's was Mr. Porter, Bugz' was Robert Beck and Eminem created the famous character Slim Shady.
In 1997, they released their debut album, The Underground EP, which was recorded between 1996 and 1997. In 1997 and through 1998, its members began establishing reputations locally. Bizarre was named Inner City Entertainment's "Flava of the Week" and went on to release an album called Attack of the Weirdos. Along with Eminem, Rah Digga and Young Zee, he became an honorary member of The Outsidaz. Proof won a freestyling competition run by The Source. In 1999, Bugz released an EP called These Streets EP, and made several appearances on other rapper's songs.
Volkswagen Scirocco
The Volkswagen Scirocco is a sport compact coupe produced by the German manufacturer Volkswagen, undergoing two generations of development between 1974 and 1992 and reintroduced in a third generation in August 2008.
Nameplate etymology
The Scirocco shares its name with the Mediterranean wind Sirocco. Volkswagen makes numerous references in marketing literature to this. As an example, their 1975 print advertisement states: "Scirocco. A hot new car from Volkswagen. As fast and powerful as the desert wind it's named after." A Volkswagen brochure for the second generation Scirocco states: "Named after a fierce desert wind, the Scirocco's front wheel drive and transverse engine contribute to its tracking ability at all speeds."
First generation (1974–1981)
Volkswagen began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Typ 53 internally. The platform of the Golf (Rabbit) and Jetta was used to underpin the new Scirocco, although almost every part of the car was re-engineered in favour of a sportier new styling, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was sleeker and sportier than that of either the Golf or Jetta.
Scirocco (film)
Scirocco, also known as Amantide - Scirocco and with the international title Sahara Heat, is a 1987 French drama film directed by Aldo Lado and starring Fiona Gélin.
Plot
Léa (Gélin) is married to engineer Alfredo (Enzo De Caro) who works at oil wells in the Maghreb. She visits her husband and finds that their marriage is deteriorating. She seeks relief in the exoticism the country offers and she is soon attracted to a local thug nicknamed Le Serpent (Yves Collignon) she meets in the kasbah. However, her relationship with him starts to become increasingly exploitative.
Cast
External links
List of City of Heroes characters
This is a list of central characters from the massively multiplayer online role-playing game City of Heroes.
Freedom Phalanx
The Freedom Phalanx is a coalition led by the Statesman that protects Paragon City. They fight the evil group Arachnos led by the Statesman's once good friend and ally, Stefan Richter, also known as Lord Recluse.
The Freedom Phalanx was founded in the wake of World War I and the Great Depression to fight the Arachnos organization and the villain known as Nemesis, the Prussian Prince of Automatons. The original group consisted of the superhuman Marcus Cole (the Statesman), his superpowered wife Monica Richter (Maiden Justice), magically empowered young Devon Wilcox (the Dark Watcher), weather manipulator Raymond George Washington (Elementar), and the high-tech-suit-wearing Brandon Warfield and wheelchair-bound suit controller James St. John-Smythe (collectively known as Vambrace). This group gathered to defeat Nemesis on July 11, 1932, a day known as "Brass Monday".
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