Firebird

Firebird and fire bird may refer to:

Automobiles

Birds

In print

Films

Firebird (Pirotta picture book)

Firebird is a 2010 award winning picture book written by Saviour Pirotta illustrated by Catherine Hyde. It was published by Templar Publishing in the United Kingdom and by Candlewick Press in the United States. Firebird won an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society and a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

History

Hyde, an artist based in Cornwall, had already illustrated a first book for Templar Publishing called The Princess' Blankets and written by poet Carol Ann Duffy. 2010 was the centenary of Stravinsky's Firebird Ballet and the publishers wanted to celebrate with a picture book retelling of the story. Hyde was asked to produce some sketches which served as the inspiration for Pirotta's version. The story is based on Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf, a famous Russian folktale that was one of the inspirations for the ballet. Pirotta's version is shortened and has a different ending from the original. Pirotta sets the firebird free, in tribute to activists in his country of origin who were canvassing the government to stop recreational hunting and bird trapping.

Firebird (trumpet)

The Firebird is a type of trumpet with the standard three valves and the addition of a trombone-style slide. It was invented by Maynard Ferguson and Larry Ramirez and remains an exceptionally rare, specialist instrument. They are occasionally produced by Holton.

History

Instruments equipped with both a slide and valves have been in existence since the early 20th century. One popular model was created by C.G. Conn.

Jazz trumpet player Maynard Ferguson and Holton (now a division of C.G. Conn) worked together to develop Ferguson's first trumpet, Model ST302. The designer of that trumpet, Larry Ramirez, spoke to Ferguson about a valve/slide trombone that he had designed some 12 years earlier, and this eventually led to Ramirez designing a new valve/slide trombone for Ferguson, called the Superbone, in October 1974.

After touring with the Superbone, Ferguson spoke to Ramirez about making a trumpet with the same valve/slide capabilities. In order to preserve the length of tubing required to make a B♭ trumpet, the hand slide could only be made with four positions instead of the standard seven on a trombone. In addition, the bell was bent up approximately 20 degrees so that the hand slide could be extended and clear the bell. This instrument was dubbed the “Firebird”, and went into production on or around May 28, 1983. The Firebird is Model ST303.
(Recommended correction) Limited production started in 1978.

Firebird (Marvel Comics)

Firebird (Bonita Juarez), is a fictional pyrokinetic character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A former member of the Avengers and a member of the Rangers, she exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. Firebird is a notable Latina superhero.

Publication history

In the story "You Get What You Need!" published in Incredible Hulk vol.1 #265 (November 1981), writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Sal Buscema created the superhero team the Rangers. The team consists of western characters Bonita Juarez / Firebird, Victoria Starvin / Shooting Star, Drew Daniels / Texas Twister, Hamilton Slade / Phantom Rider then called Night Rider, and William Talltrees, the contemporary Red Wolf. The two women of the team had not previously appeared in comics.

Not long after her first appearance, Firebird appeared several times in the West Coast Avengers title. She has appeared in several Avengers-related storylines since then.

Fictional character biography

Telecomsoft

Telecomsoft was the computer software division of British telecommunications company British Telecom (now BT). It was the owner of the Firebird and Rainbird labels, under which it sold video games.

Overview

Telecomsoft was founded in 1984 when computer games were the fastest growing sector within the computer software market at the time.

Three publishing labels were initially established within Telecomsoft, each with its own specific marketing strategy, although some of them would later fragment to form a number of sub-labels. The Firebird label would be Telecomsoft's primary identity. Although initially set up to publish a range of budget titles, Firebird later evolved into a full price label. As a consequence the Silverbird label was formed to continue publishing the budget range. As the Atari ST and Amiga home computers grew in popularity, the Rainbird label was established to give the more complex 16-bit titles a unique brand identity, although it was also used to publish a number of high-profile 8-bit games and application software. In 1985 Telecomsoft opened the US operation which published product under a license scenario on IBM PC. Apple II and IIe, C64 as well as Atari and Amiga titles. The US operation was opened and led by Marten Davies who published the first UK product 'Elite' to the No1 spot on the Billboard charts in May 1986.

Pontiac Firebird

The Pontiac Firebird is an automobile that was built by Pontiac from the 1967 to the 2002 model years. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro. This coincided with the release of the 1967 Mercury Cougar, which shared its platform with another pony car, the Ford Mustang.

The name "Firebird" was also previously used by Pontiac's parent company General Motors for the General Motors Firebird 1950s and early-1960s concept cars.

First generation (1967–1969)

The first generation Firebirds had a characteristic Coke bottle styling. Unlike its cousin the Chevrolet Camaro, the Firebird's bumpers were integrated into the design of the front end. The Firebird's rear "slit" taillights were inspired by the Pontiac GTO. Both a two-door hardtop and a convertible were offered through the 1969 model year. Originally, the car was a "consolation prize" for Pontiac, who had wished to produce a two-seat sports car of its own design, based on the original Banshee concept car. However, GM feared such a vehicle would directly compete with Chevrolet's Corvette, and the decision was made to give Pontiac a piece of the pony car market by having them share the F-body platform with Chevrolet.