Franchise (short story)
Franchise is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the August 1955 issue of the magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the collections Earth Is Room Enough (1957) and Robot Dreams (1986). It is one of a loosely connected series of stories concerning a fictional computer called Multivac. It is the first story in which Asimov dealt with computers as computers and not as immobile robots.
Plot summary
In the future, the United States has converted to an "electronic democracy" where the computer Multivac selects a single person to answer a number of questions. Multivac will then use the answers and other data to determine what the results of an election would be, avoiding the need for an actual election to be held.
The story centers around Norman Muller, the man chosen as "Voter of the Year" in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Although the law requires him to accept the dubious honour, he is not sure that he wants the responsibility of representing the entire electorate, worrying that the result will be unfavorable and he will be blamed.
Spriggan (manga)
Spriggan (Japanese: スプリガン, Hepburn: Supurigan) is a manga series written by Hiroshi Takashige and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa. It was initially released as Striker in the North American English translation, as it is the English translation of the word "Spriggan" from Cornish.
Spriggan takes places in the last years of the Cold War where mysterious and unknown artifacts called out-of-place artifacts (OOPArt) are discovered in various parts of the world, leading to a secret war between various forces against the ARCAM Corporation, an organization that placed itself the guardians of the OOPArts in order to prevent them from being used as weapons.
Spriggan was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazines Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Shōnen Sunday Super from 1988-1996. The manga was adapted into an anime film by Studio 4°C in 1998. A PlayStation game called Spriggan: Lunar Verse was also based on the manga with some material created for the game.
Plot
Many years ago, an ancient civilization known for their advanced technology once ruled Earth, but were destroyed in the end by their misuse. So, they left messages for later generations in the form of indestructible message plates written in ancient Hebrew, informing them that if they could not find a good use for their creations, they should be destroyed.
Motivation (Sum 41 song)
"Motivation" is a song recorded by Canadian pop punk band Sum 41. It was released in January 2002 as the third single from the album All Killer No Filler. Greig Nori appears on backing vocals.
Content
The song is about being self-centered, demotivated and being too lazy to look for motivation to do anything.
In popular culture
The song has been used in the Smallville episode "Hothead", the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Hal Coaches" and The Challenge episode "Battle of the Seasons: Slam Dunk". The Detroit Red Wings chose Motivation to be their opening song each home game in 2003. It has been used in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
Music video
The music video is of the band playing in Steve Jocz' attic located in Ajax Ontario. The room is piled with garbage and other various items.
Track listing
Single version
Motivation (EP)
Motivation EP is the first EP released by Sum 41 on March 12, 2002. It was released after the launch of the single "Motivation" to the public mainly to push the popularity of their single and to include the song "What We're All About" into the discography of the band.
Track listing
Motivation (Moti Special album)
Motivation is the first studio album of Moti Special, released in 1985 by Teldec label. The band members were: Danish guitarist Nils Tuxen, Romanian keyboardist Michael Cretu, bassist and vocalist Manfred "Thissy" Thiers, and drummer Reinhard "Dickie" Tarrach. The album reached # 20 in the Germany charts.
Track listing
Side One
Side Two
Album Information
Credits
Human back
The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column (commonly referred to as the spine or backbone) and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders. The spinal canal runs through the spine and provides nerves to the rest of the body.
Structure
The central feature of the human back is the vertebral column, specifically the length from the top of the thoracic vertebrae to the bottom of the lumbar vertebrae, which houses the spinal cord in its spinal canal, and which generally has some curvature that gives shape to the back. The ribcage extends from the spine at the top of the back (with the top of the ribcage corresponding to the T1 vertebra), more than halfway down the length of the back, leaving an area with less protection between the bottom of the ribcage and the hips. The width of the back at the top is defined by the scapula, the broad, flat bones of the shoulders.
Defender (association football)
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals.
There are four types of defenders: centre-back, sweeper, full-back, and wing-back. The centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations.
Centre-back
A centre-back (also known as a central defender or centre-half) defends in the area directly in front of the goal, and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers and marking forwards to discourage the opposing team from passing to them.
With the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make short and simple passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defender's goal.
