Ace

An ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades. This embellishment on the Ace of Spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the Ace of Spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax. Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers. In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.

The word "ace" comes from the Old French word as (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one mark, before it was a term for a playing card. Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'. This connotation has seen the word applied to an unreachable tennis serve, a successful fighter pilot and more generally as a person proficient in his or her field, especially a sporting field.

Super Eurobeat

Super Eurobeat (Japanese: スーパー ユーロビート, Abbreviation: SEB) is a CD compilation series of Eurobeat music in Japan. The series itself is one of the longest running in the entire world. It has been running for over twenty years and currently consists of 235 volumes (not counting the many "Super Eurobeat presents" albums). Originally, Time Records, Flea Records and Discomagic were some of the record labels that appeared on the original Super Eurobeat albums. The series began as a Beat Freak release. After eight albums, the series was changed over to Avex and A-Beat C joined in. The first 10 volumes of Super Eurobeat are mostly Italo disco, which is quite different from the modern Eurobeat. The slower beats and serious 80's tone make this music stand out from the rest.

The term "Super Eurobeat" is sometimes misunderstood and misused by people outside Japan as a music genre (which is synonymous to the Eurobeat genre used in Japanese market).

Release information

After Super Eurobeat had transferred to Avex Trax, the CDs themselves were released at a constant rate for the most part, save a few instances where two CDs came out the same day and that Super Eurobeat was not produced for a good portion of a year. In 1994, the original 8 Super Eurobeat albums were also re-released under Avex Trax. The pattern of Super Eurobeat albums were usually 2-3 regular albums, a nonstop album, 2-3 albums, a nonstop album, 2-3 albums, and a large compilation album (usually a request countdown). Since Super Eurobeat Vol. 30, these compilation albums generally fall on every tenth album. Early regular albums contained 13 extended tracks, while starting from Vol. 64, the albums contain 18 CD-edit tracks.

Super

Super may refer to:

Computing

Films

Music

Other uses

Gift

A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment. An item is not a gift, if that item, itself, is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. In many countries, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc. may sustain social relations and contribute to social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy. By extension the term gift can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness. Gifts are also first and foremost presented on occasions - birthdays and Christmas being the main examples.

Presentation

In many cultures gifts are traditionally packaged in some way. For example, in Western cultures, gifts are often wrapped in wrapping paper and accompanied by a gift note which may note the occasion, the recipient's name, and the giver's name. In Chinese culture, red wrapping connotes luck. Although inexpensive gifts are common among colleagues, associates and acquaintances, expensive or intimate gifts are considered more appropriate among close friends, romantic interests or relatives.