Crying

Crying is the shedding of tears in response to an emotional state. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures". A related medical term is lacrimation, which also refers to non-emotional shedding of tears. Crying is also known as weeping, wailing, whimpering, and bawling.

For crying to be described as sobbing, it usually has to be accompanied by a set of other symptoms, such as slow but erratic inhalation, occasional instances of breath holding and muscular tremor.

A neuronal connection between the lacrimal gland (tear duct) and the areas of the human brain involved with emotion has been established. There is debate among scientists over whether or not humans are the only animals that produce tears in response to emotional states.Charles Darwin wrote in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals that the keepers of Indian elephants in the London Zoo told him that their charges shed tears in sorrow.

Cry (LL Cool J song)

"Cry" is a single by LL Cool J from his twelfth studio album, Exit 13 (2008). The song features guest vocals by R&B singer Lil' Mo and production by Andreas "Raw Uncut" Dombrowski. The song is noted for its sampling of Bunny Sigler's "Half a Man," and Ja Rule's "I Cry," which also happens to feature Lil' Mo. It was digitally released as an individual buzz single in June 17, 2008, and saw a limited international release as a B-side to the accompanying 12" single, "5 Boroughs," in June 24, 2008; alongside a US release in July 8, 2008.

Chart performance

References

External links

Good Girl Gone Bad

Good Girl Gone Bad is the third studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Terius "Dream" Nash, Neo da Matrix, Timbaland, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and StarGate. Inspired by Brandy Norwood's fourth studio album Afrodisiac (2004), Good Girl Gone Bad is a dance-pop, pop and R&B album with 1980s music influences. Described as a turning point in Rihanna's career, it represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous releases, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl like Me (2006). Apart from the sound, she also endorsed a new image for the release going from an innocent girl to an edgier and more sexual look.

Critics gave generally positive reviews of the album, praising its composition and Rihanna's new musical direction, though some criticized the record's lyrics and inconsistency. The album received seven Grammy Award nominations and one win in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category for "Umbrella" at the 2008 ceremony. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 162,000 copies in its first week. Certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it sold more than 2.8 million copies in the United States. The album reached number one in Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it has sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

Vast (novel)

Vast is a science fiction novel by Linda Nagata, part of her loosely connected "Nanotech Succession" sequence.

Background

The main characters of Vast are the crew and passengers of the Null Boundary, who are fleeing from the alien Chenzeme. The Chenzeme, using the "cult virus" and other, more conventional, weapons have destroyed much of human-occupied space, leaving the inhabitants of the Null Boundary to attempt to discover why.

While Vast is a standalone novel, there are links to The Bohr Maker, Tech-Heaven and Deception Well, primarily in the form of two shared technological innovations: advanced nanotechnology and "ghosts", a name given to electronically preserved human memories and personalities.

Literary significance and reception

The SF Site gave the novel a positive review, commenting on the balance between the relatively straightforward plotline and the complex character interaction.

John Clute, in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, described the "Deception Well" sub-sequence (comprising Deception Well and Vast) as "an immensely complex tale," drawing comparisons with the work of Olaf Stapledon and Larry Niven.

VAST (disambiguation)

VAST can mean: as a styling:

VAST as an acronym