Siamese cat

The Siamese cat (Thai: วิเชียรมาศ,  [wí.tɕʰīan.mâːt], rtgs: Wichianmat, meaning "moon diamond") is one of the first distinctly recognized breeds of Oriental cat. One of several breeds native to Thailand (formerly known as Siam), the Siamese cat became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 20th century. The modern Siamese is characterized by blue almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head shape, large ears, an elongated, slender, and muscular body, and point coloration. TICA describes the breed as social, intelligent, and playful into adulthood, often enjoying a game of fetch. Siamese tend to seek human interaction and also like companionship from other cats. The Oriental cat was developed in order to expand the range of coat patterns, while the Thai preserves a moderate head and body type.

History

The pointed cat known in the West as "Siamese", recognized for its distinctive markings, is one of several breeds of cats from Siam described and illustrated in manuscripts called "Tamra Maew" (Cat Poems), estimated to have been written from the 14th to the 18th century. In 1878, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes received the first documented Siamese to reach the United States, a cat named "Siam" sent by the American Consul in Bangkok. In 1884, the British Consul-General in Bangkok, Edward Blencowe Gould (1847–1916), brought a breeding pair of the cats, Pho and Mia, back to Britain as a gift for his sister, Lilian Jane Gould (who, married in 1895 as Lilian Jane Veley, went on to co-found the Siamese Cat Club in 1901). In 1885, Gould's UK cats Pho and Mia produced three Siamese kittens—Duen Ngai, Kalohom, and Khromata—who were shown with their parents that same year at London's Crystal Palace Show. Their unique appearance and distinct behaviour attracted attention but all three of the kittens died soon after the show, their cause of death not documented.

Hat

A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against the elements, ceremonial reasons, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status. In the military, hats may denote nationality, branch of service, rank and/or regiment.Police typically wear distinctive hats such as peaked caps or brimmed hats, such as those worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Some hats have a protective function. As examples, the hard hat protects construction workers' heads from injury by falling objects and a British police Custodian helmet protects the officer's head, a sun hat shades the face and shoulders from the sun, a cowboy hat protects against sun and rain and a Ushanka fur hat with fold-down ear-flaps keeps the head and ears warm. Some hats are worn for ceremonial purposes, such as the mortarboard, which is worn (or carried) during university graduation ceremonies. Some hats are worn by members of a certain profession, such as the Toque worn by chefs. Some hats have a religious functions, such as the Mitres worn by Bishops and the turban worn by Sikhs.

Music (Madonna album)

Music is the eighth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on September 18, 2000 by Maverick Records. Following the success of her previous album Ray of Light (1998), she intended to embark on a tour. However, her record company encouraged her to return to the studio and record new music before going on the road. Her collaboration with producers Mirwais Ahmadzaï and William Orbit resulted a more experimental direction for the album. Music has an overall dance-pop and electronica vibe, with influnces from rock, country and folk. The album was mostly recorded at Sarm West and East Studios in London, England. Elaborating country theme for the album, Madonna reinvented her image as a cowgirl.

Music received positive reviews from most critics and earned Madonna five Grammy Award nominations, ultimately winning one for Best Recording Package. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 452 on the magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The record was also a commercial success, debuting at number one in over 23 countries across the world and selling four million copies in its first ten days of release. In the United States, Music debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 420,000 units, making it her first album to top the chart in more than a decade since Like a Prayer (1989). It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for three million units shipped in the United States and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, becoming in one of the best-selling albums during the 2000s century.

Music archaeology

Music archaeology is an interdisciplinary study field that combines musicology and archaeology. As it includes music from numerous cultures, it is often seen as being a part of ethnomusicology, and indeed a study group looking into music archaeology first emerged from ethnomusicological group the ICTM, not from within archaeology.

Definitions

"In its broadest sense, music archaeology is the study of the phenomenon of past musical behaviours and sounds", as music archaeologist Adje Both connects several definitions. Music archaeologists use methods of both musicology and archaeology. A theoretical and methodological basic work is still missing and one of the desiderata of the international community of researchers.

Music (Erick Sermon and Marvin Gaye song)

"Music" is a 2001 hit single by Erick Sermon featuring archived vocals from Marvin Gaye.

The song was thought of by Sermon after buying a copy of Gaye's Midnight Love and the Sexual Healing Sessions album, which overlook some of the original album's earlier mixes. After listening to an outtake of Gaye's 1982 album track, "Turn On Some Music" (titled "I've Got My Music" in its initial version), Sermon decided to mix the vocals (done in a cappella) and add it into his own song. The result was similar to Natalie Cole's interpolation of her father, jazz great Nat "King" Cole's hit, "Unforgettable" revisioned as a duet. The hip hop and soul duet featuring the two veteran performers was released as the leading song of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence & Danny DeVito comedy, "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" The song became a runaway success rising to #2 on Billboard's R&B chart and was #1 on the rap charts. It also registered at #21 pop giving Sermon his highest-charted single on the pop charts as a solo artist and giving Gaye his first posthumous hit in 10 years following 1991's R&B-charted single, "My Last Chance" also bringing Gaye his 41st top 40 pop hit. There is also a version that's played on Adult R&B stations that removes Erick Sermon's rap verses. The song was featured in the 2011 Matthew McConaughey film The Lincoln Lawyer.

Content-addressable memory

Content-addressable memory (CAM) is a special type of computer memory used in certain very-high-speed searching applications. It is also known as associative memory, associative storage, or associative array, although the last term is more often used for a programming data structure. It compares input search data (tag) against a table of stored data, and returns the address of matching data (or in the case of associative memory, the matching data). Several custom computers, like the Goodyear STARAN, were built to implement CAM, and were designated associative computers.

Hardware associative array

Unlike standard computer memory (random access memory or RAM) in which the user supplies a memory address and the RAM returns the data word stored at that address, a CAM is designed such that the user supplies a data word and the CAM searches its entire memory to see if that data word is stored anywhere in it. If the data word is found, the CAM returns a list of one or more storage addresses where the word was found (and in some architectures, it also returns the contents of that storage address, or other associated pieces of data). Thus, a CAM is the hardware embodiment of what in software terms would be called an associative array. The data word recognition unit was proposed by Dudley Allen Buck in 1955.