Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Although generally reserved for professional space travelers, the terms are sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.

Starting in the 1950s up to 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the suborbital flight of the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut.

Definition

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) are awarded astronaut wings.

Finch (American band)

Finch is an American post-hardcore band from Temecula, California. The band released an EP Falling Into Place and two full-length albums, What It Is to Burn and Say Hello to Sunshine before declaring a hiatus in 2006. Finch reformed in 2007, playing a reunion show on November 23 at the Glasshouse in Pomona, California. They released a self-titled EP a year later, and were in the process of writing their third studio album when they disbanded in late 2010. After playing a group of shows commemorating the ten-year anniversary of What It Is to Burn in 2012, Finch signed with Razor & Tie in 2014 and revealed that they were working on a new studio album. The album was titled Back to Oblivion and released on September 30, 2014.

History

Early history (1999–2001)

Finch began in the late 1990s, originally under the name Numb. It was thought that Numb was a Deftones cover band, though Finch has since denied this claim, referring to the rumor as a "misquote that's haunted us for years." The band soon added guitarist Randy Strohmeyer to their lineup as the band signed to Drive-Thru Records. The group then officially changed their name to Finch and released their first EP Falling into Place in 2001. The EP sold over 6,000 copies within a few months of its release.

Relationship of Command

Relationship of Command is the third and final studio album by the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, and was released in September 2000. The band reached mainstream success through the album, if only for a short time before their break-up in 2001.

The album combines an aggressive hardcore edge with a melodic drive, harmonious and emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. While the album continues in the alternative style of At the Drive-In's previous albums, Relationship of Command is seen as a more well-rounded album than its predecessors. Initially received positively by critics, the album is now seen not only as one of the most influential post-hardcore albums of the decade but also as one of the most accomplished recent works in the wider rock spectrum.Relationship of Command was voted 12th out of 50 in the Albums of the Decade by NME and the 37th most influential album of all time by Kerrang!

Background

Relationship of Command was recorded over a seven-week period starting on January 17, 2000, following a tour supporting Rage Against the Machine. The album was recorded at the Indigo Ranch Studios, in Malibu, California, and was produced by Ross Robinson and mixed by Andy Wallace. Known for his unorthodox production methods, Robinson at one point took bass player Paul Hinojos for a drive in his SUV through the hills of Malibu to get his adrenaline going prior to recording. He also brought Iggy Pop to the studio for a guest appearance; Omar Rodriguez commented: "[Ross] had been talking to Iggy because they were gonna work together. I don’t know if they ever did, but they’d sort of been chatting, so Ross had passed him our previous records and he liked them. So, of course I brought up the idea, “Why not [have Iggy] come and do something on the album?” Ross mentioned it to Iggy, and he was completely open to it. He came down to the studio for a whole day in which he sang [on "Rolodex Propaganda"] and did the ransom note [on "Enfilade"]".

Vice

Vice is a practice, behavior, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhealthy habit (such as an addiction to smoking). Vices are usually associated with a transgression in a person's character or temperament rather than their morality. Synonyms for vice include fault, sin, depravity, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption.

The opposite of vice is virtue.

Etymology

The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice". In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latin word vitium, meaning "failing or defect".

(This meaning is completely separate from the word vice when used as an official title to indicate a deputy, substitute or subordinate, as in vice president, vice-chancellor or viceroy. The etymology of this usage derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of".)

Vice (character)

Vice is a stock character of the medieval morality plays. While the main character of these plays was representative of every human being (and usually named Mankind, Everyman, or some other generalizing of humanity at large), the other characters were representatives of (and usually named after) personified virtues or vices who sought to win control of man's soul. While the virtues in a morality play can be seen as messengers of God, the vices were viewed as messengers of the Devil.

Over time, the morality plays began to include many lesser vices on stage and one chief vice figure, a tempter above all the others, who was called simply the Vice. Originally, the Vice was a serious role, but over time his part became largely comical. Scholar F.P. Wilson notes, “Whatever else the Vice may be, he is always the chief comic character”; this comic portrayal is explained thus: "In theory there is no reason why vice should not be put upon the stage with the same seriousness and sobriety as virtue: in practice, however, dramatists, and many a preacher, knew that men and women will not listen for long to unrelieved gravity”. In his Declaration of Popish Impostures from 1603, Bishop Harsnet wrote that "It was a pretty part in the old church plays, when the nimble Vice would skip up nimbly like a Jacke-an-apes into the Devil's necke, and ride the devil a course, and belabour him with his wooden dagger, till he made him roar, whereat the people would laugh to see the Devil so Vice-haunted.”

Vice (song)

"Vice" is the fifth single released by English rock band Razorlight, taken from their debut album Up All Night. It followed "Golden Touch" into the UK Top 20. The lyrics feature the word "love" spelled out in letters, the outro repeating this several times. Near the end of the song, Johnny Borrell gave out his then mobile phone number, allowing fans to call or text him.

The B-side to one format of the single is a cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya!," recorded with the London Community Gospel Choir (who also appeared on Blur's hit "Tender").

Track listings