Songbird (Kokia album)

Songbird (stylised as songbird) is Kokia's debut album, released on July 16, 1999 (1999-07-16). It is her only album released under Pony Canyon, the rest being released with Victor Entertainment or Wasabi Records.

The album was re-released in 2008, as Kokia Complete Collection 1998–1999, featuring the album as well bonus tracks from her Pony Canyon singles, "Aishiteiru Kara," "Tears in Love" and "Arigatō..."

Kokia considers the lead single from the album, "Arigatō...," to be one of her favourite songs. She wrote the song in the mid 1990s, about the death of her family's pet dog. She has re-recorded it three times: on her 2006 greatest album, Pearl: The Best Collection, on the 2007 Japanese release of Aigakikoeru: Listen for the Love and on the limited edition of her 2009 second greatest hits album, Coquillage: The Best Collection II.

In 2003, the songs "I Catch a Cold" and "Shiroi Yuki" were used in the soundtrack for the popular Chinese drama At the Dolphin Bay.

Background

Songbird (horse)

Songbird (foaled April 30, 2013) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2015 she was undefeated in four starts including Grade I victories in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes, Chandelier Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Background

Songbird is a large bay filly bred in Kentucky by John Antonelli. She was sired by Medaglia d'Oro, a top-class racehorse whose wins included the Travers Stakes, Whitney Handicap, and Donn Handicap. As a breeding stallion Medaglia d'Oro is best known as the sire of Rachel Alexandra. Songbird's dam Ivanavinalot was a successful racemare whose six wins included the Grade II Bonnie Miss Stakes at Gulfstream Park in March 2003. Ivanavinalot was descended from Flower Bed, the dam of the leading racehorse and broodmare Flower Bowl.

In August 2014 the yearling filly was consigned to the Fasig-Tipton sale at Saratoga and was bought for $400,000 by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms. She was sent into training with the veteran Jerry Hollendorfer and was ridden throughout her first season by Mike Smith.

Songbird (Oasis song)

"Songbird" is a song by English rock band Oasis, from their fifth studio album Heathen Chemistry, and is the first single by Oasis written by vocalist Liam Gallagher.

Composition

Liam has said of the song: "I like beautiful things...It's not all dark in Liam World. I take me shades off every now and again and have a look at the world and see some nice things." Noel Gallagher stated jokingly in an interview with Patrick Kielty that Liam decided to "write a song about his bird", and states the title "Song... bird" in a cave man like manner. The song was written as a tribute to then-fiancée Nicole Appleton. "Songbird" was composed in the key of G major using common time at 132 beats per minute.

Release and other versions

The song was released as the fourth single from the band's Heathen Chemistry album, on 3 February 2003 and peaked at number 3 in the UK charts. It is included on the band's compilation album Stop the Clocks. Being written by lead singer Liam Gallagher, it was the first time the band had released a single not written by his brother Noel. "(You've Got) The Heart of the Star" and "Columbia" are B-sides, the latter of which was recorded live at the Glasgow, in October 2001. The music video was filmed in Hyde Park in London, and featured Liam playing an acoustic guitar under a tree, and alternately chasing and being chased by a dog. The video also has an appearance by Appleton.

Birdy (bicycle)

The Birdy is a folding bicycle designed by Riese und Müller in Germany and produced by Pacific Cycles in Taiwan. As of 2010 over 100,000 had been sold. Three distinct models have been marketed, the third (Mk3) sold from July 2015.

First released in 1995, it was the first fully suspended folding bike. The ride is regarded by some as more sporty than the Brompton, thanks in part to a stiff single-piece aluminium frame with road bike rider geometry and no hinge. Some prefer its stiff suspended ride and rapid acceleration to that of a full-sized bike.

Specifications

Markus Riese had the basic idea for the Birdy in 1992. The first prototype was quickly welded together from two old bicycles in his parent's garage (photos and German article here). After a year, Markus Riese and Heiko Muller built a prototype out of aluminium and won the “Hessian Innovation Prize”. The prototype was shown at two trade shows, Intercycle in Cologne and Eurobike in Friedrichshafen, and caused a stir. The first Birdy bikes were sold in 1995 as a 'de luxe' folder, the first with full suspension. It had a high price tag, usually over US$1,000.

Par (score)

In golf, par is the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch (or 0 handicap) golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the pars of each round). Pars are the central component of stroke play, the most common kind of play in professional golf tournaments. The term is also used in golf-like sports such as disc golf with the same meaning.

The length of each hole from the tee placement to the pin determines par values for each hole primarily but not exclusively. Almost invariably, holes are assigned par values between three and five strokes. For a casual player from the middle tees, a par-three hole will be 100–250 yards (90–230 m) from the tee to the pin. Par-four holes are 250–470 yards (230–430 m), although tournament players will often encounter par-four holes 500 yards (460 m) or more, as it is not uncommon for short par-five holes for normal play to be turned into par-four holes in championship play. Par-five holes are typically 470–600 yards (430–550 m), but in the modern game holes of over 600 yards are becoming more common in championship play. Other relevant factors in setting the par for the hole include the terrain and obstacles (such as trees, water hazards, hills, or buildings) that may require a golfer to take more (or fewer) shots. Some golf courses feature par-sixes and, very rarely, par-sevens, although the latter are not recognised by the United States Golf Association.

Kira Yamato

Kira Yamato (キラ・ヤマト) is a fictional character first introduced as the protagonist from the 2002 Japanese anime television series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, which was produced by Sunrise as part of the Gundam franchise. In the series, Kira is a first-generation Coordinator, a genetically enhanced human being born of normal humans (Naturals). At the beginning of Gundam SEED, Kira lives on the neutral space colony Heliopolis to avoid the war between the Coordinators and the Naturals, but the colony becomes involved in the war shortly thereafter. Kira is the only person within the Earth Alliance—the Naturals' military faction—who is able to effectively pilot their mobile suit—a type of a mecha created by them. He is forced to become a mobile suit pilot and to participate in various battles to protect his friends. Kira has also been featured in Gundam SEED's direct sequel, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, in which he fights to stop a new war between the races' military organizations. He is voiced in the Japanese series by Sōichirō Hoshi and in the English adaptation by Matt Hill.