Fascinator

A fascinator is a headpiece, a style of millinery. Fascinators were originally a type of lightweight knitted head-covering. Since the 1990s the term refers to a form of formal headwear worn as an alternative to the hat; it is usually a large decorative design attached to a band or clip, sometimes incorporating a base to resemble a miniature hat, in which case it may be called a hatinator.

History

In the 19th century, a fascinator was a lightweight hood or scarf worn about the head and tied under the chin, typically knitted or crocheted. It was made from soft, lightweight yarns and may originally have been called a "cloud." The "cloud" is described in 1870 as being "a light scarf of fine knitting over the head and round the neck, [worn] instead of an opera hood when going out at night." The fascinator went out of fashion in the 1930s, by which time it described a lacy hood similar to a "fussy balaclava."

The use of the term "fascinator" to describe a particular form of late 20th- and early 21st-century millinery emerged towards the end of the late 20th century, possibly as a term for 1990s designs inspired by the small 1960s cocktail hats designed to perch upon the highly coiffed hairstyles of the period. Although they did not give the style its name, the milliners Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy are credited with having popularised and established fascinators.

FASCINATOR

FASCINATOR is a series of Type 1 encryption modules designed in the late-1980s to be installed in Motorola digital-capable voice radios. These radios were originally built to accept a DES-based encryption module that was not approved by NSA for classified communications. The FASCINATOR modules replaced the DES units and can be used for classified conversations at all levels when used with appropriately classified keys. FASCINATOR operates at 12 kbit/s for encryption and decryption. It is not compatible with DES-based voice systems.

NSA originally supplied keys for FASCINATOR on paper tape for loading using KOI-18 or KYK-13 fill devices and a special adaptor box and cable. The standard cryptoperiod was 7 days, i.e. keys had to be changed weekly.

FASCINATOR was adopted by the U.S government as Federal Standard 1023, which establishes interoperability requirements regarding the analog to digital conversion, encryption (with related synchronization), and modulation of encrypted voice associated with frequency modulation (FM) radio systems employing 25 kHz channels and operating above 30 MHz. Voice is digitized using 12 kbit/s continuously variable slope delta modulation (CVSD) and then encrypted using a National Security Agency (NSA) Commercial COMSEC Endorsement Program (CCEP) Type 1 encryption algorithm based on the KY-57/58.

Kickin' (Rick James album)

Kickin' is a Rick James album from 1989. Officially shelved at the time, the album was released as a series of promotional copies in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records.

After James' death in 2004, Kickin' became available to download via torrent websites. In July 2014, in celebration of the release of his autobiography "Glow," the James' Estate released the album digitally, along with the rest of his discography.

Track listing

References