A gong (Chinese: 鑼; pinyin: luó; Indonesian or Javanese: gong; Malay: gong ) is an African, East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat, circular metal disc which is hit with a mallet. It originated in China and later spread to Southeast Asia, and it can also be used in the percussion section of Western symphony orchestra.
Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top rim. Bossed or nipple gongs have a raised centre boss and are often suspended and played horizontally. Bowl gongs are bowl-shaped, and rest on cushions and belong more to bells than gongs. Gongs are made mainly from bronze or brass but there are many other alloys in use.
Gongs produce two distinct types of sound. A gong with a substantially flat surface vibrates in multiple modes, giving a "crash" rather than a tuned note. This category of gong is sometimes called a tam-tam to distinguish it from the bossed gongs that give a tuned note. In Indonesian gamelan ensembles, some bossed gongs are deliberately made to generate in addition a beat note in the range from about 1 to 5 Hz. The use of the term "gong" for both these types of instrument is common.
Kong (孔) is a Chinese, Korean, and Cambodian surname. It can also be written as Kung in Taiwan, Hung in Hong Kong, Khổng in Vietnam, and Gong in Korea. There are around 2.1 million people with this surname in China in 2002, representing 0.23% of the population.
This surname Kong is most notable as the surname of Confucius and his descendants. The family tree of Confucius and his descendants is generally considered to be the world longest, covering over 2,500 years with more than 80 generations recorded, and has two million entries according to its last update in 2009. The main line of descent traditionally held the title of Duke Yansheng, which was changed to the title of the first Sacrificial Official to Confucius in the 20th century. This title is currently held by Kung Tsui-chang.
Kong may also be the English transliteration of a rare Chinese surname 空, or a less common form of the Gong surnames such as 龔, 貢 and 弓.
The character for the Kong surname was derived from the Zi (子) family name. The founder of the Shang Dynasty, Tang of Shang whose family name was Zi, had the courtesy name of Taiyi (太乙). His descendants fused the character Zi (子) to Yi (乙), forming the character Kong (孔) which eventually became a surname. It first appeared during the Zhou Dynasty as the courtesy name Kongfu (孔父) of a noble in the State of Song named Jia (嘉), said to be a descendant of the Tang of Shang. Kongfu Jia was murdered, and his son escaped to the State of Lu where he adopted Kong as the name of his clan. His family settled in Qufu and Confucius was one of his descendants.
Carl Winckow known in Spain, where he spent most of his working life, as Carlos Winkow (6 February 1882 – 16 January 1952) was a German type designer who worked primarily for the Naçional Typefoundry.
Tuff (from the Italian tufo) is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is compacted into a solid rock in a process called consolidation. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered tuffaceous.
Tuff is a relatively soft rock, so it has been used for construction since ancient times. Since it is common in Italy the Romans used it often for construction. The Rapa Nui people used it to make most of the moai statues in Easter Island.
Tuff can be classified as either sedimentary or igneous rocks. They are usually studied in the context of igneous petrology, although they are sometimes described using sedimentological terms.
The material that is expelled in a volcanic eruption can be classified into three types:
This is a list of fictional characters in the Kirby video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo.
Kirby (カービィ, Kābī) is a pink "puffball" who has been the star of a number of namesake games developed by HAL Laboratory. Kirby has appeared in over twenty games since 1992 and has starred in his own animated series. The Kirby series has sold over 33 million units worldwide. The core games of the series are platformers. The villains he encounters typically threaten his home of Dream Land (プププランド, Pupupu Rando, "Pupupu Land") on the planet Pop Star, most often the greedy King Dedede or the mysterious Meta Knight. The main games always have Kirby with the same basic abilities; he can walk, run, jump, float, and inhale and spit out or swallow his enemies. Following Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby was able to gain the abilities of the enemies he swallowed, such as Fire, Sword, Fighter, and Cutter. Kirby also can spit water out of his mouth while underwater. Kirby also has had his own anime.
Tuff is an American glam metal band formed in 1985 in Phoenix, Arizona, by guitarist Jorge DeSaint, drummer Gary Huckaby, and bassist Todd Chase. After drummer Gary Huckaby left the group in 1985 to work with another local project, the band enlisted drummer Michael Lean and vocalist Terry Fox, who left the band shortly afterwards to pursue an ice skating career. With replacement vocalist Jim Gillette, the band recorded a four-track EP entitled Knock Yourself Out (1986). However, Gillette soon departed to form Nitro and was replaced by Stevie Rachelle.
The band with its classic line-up consisted of Stevie Rachelle on vocals, Jorge DeSaint on guitars, Todd Chase on bass and drummer Michael "Lean" Raimondo. The band played all over the West Coast and eventually was doing cross country tours headlining clubs. Yet had no record deal. After becoming the biggest unsigned band in the world (in their own mind), after years of hard work, it finally paid off.
Tuff was first signed in 1990 by Atlantic Records and released their debut album What Comes Around Goes Around in May 1991, which included the band's successful power ballad "I Hate Kissing You Goodbye". The video reached #3 on Dial MTV behind Guns N' Roses & Metallica. In 1994, Tuff independently released Fist First which was eventually reissued by another major label BMG as Religious Fix, in 1995 with the addition of three bonus tracks.
Lomhlaba unzima, lomhlaba
[this world is a harsh place, this world]
Picture the end of a cycle
Here's the fire from heaven
There's a tired planeet closing down
No more news at eleven
Somewhere the last of a species has died
Somewhere a child is born
When I hold you, I tremble inside
Can we ride out the storm?
Are you tough enough -- can you take the strain?
Are you tough enough -- to walk in the burning rain
Are you tough enough -- can you take the change?
Are you tough enough -- baby just say!
Chorus:
Into the heart of the human dream
Into a strange new world
Remember me under the tree of man
Where I first heard your words
Gonna make it through, I can feel it
What we need is a miracle
What we need is some time
What we need is an angel of mercy
In this life
Are you tough enough -- can you take the heat?
Are you tough enough -- to walk in the burning street
Are you tough enough -- can you take the change
Are you tough enough -- baby just say!
Chorus...
There's your mama and your papa
Waving good-bye in the cold moonlight
In their eyes the confusion of a world gone by
And you hold me tightly as we step out
Into the morning light
And I know you are thinking that for something to be born
Somthing has to die.
Chorus...
Vele vele we mama kunjalo