Gate

A gate or gateway is a point of entry to a space enclosed by walls, or a moderately sized opening in some sort of fence. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, or they may be merely decorative. Other terms for gate include yett and port. The word derives from the old Norse "gata", meaning road or path, and originally referred to the gap in the wall or fence, rather than the barrier which closed it. The moving part or parts of a gateway may be called "doors", but used for the whole point of entry door usually refers to the entry to a building, or an internal opening between different rooms.

A gate may have a latch to keep it from swinging and a lock for security. Larger gates can be used for a whole building, such as a castle or fortified town, or the actual doors that block entry through the gatehouse. Today, many gate doors are opened by an automated gate operator.

Types

Types of gates include:

Lock (water navigation)

A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself (usually then called a caisson) that rises and falls.

Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to take a reasonably direct line across land that is not level.

Pound lock

A pound lock is a type of lock that is used almost exclusively nowadays on canals and rivers. A pound lock has a chamber (the pound) with gates at both ends that control the level of water in the pound. In contrast, an earlier design with a single gate was known as a flash lock.

Pound locks were first used in medieval China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), having been pioneered by the government official and engineer Qiao Weiyue in 984. They replaced earlier double slipways that had caused trouble and are mentioned by the Chinese polymath Shen Kuo (1031–1095) in his book Dream Pool Essays (published in 1088), and fully described in the Chinese historical text Song Shi (compiled in 1345):

Mega Man X6

Mega Man X6, known as Rockman X6 (ロックマンX6) in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the Mega Man X series. The game was first released on the PlayStation in Japan on November 29, 2001 and was later made available in both North America and Europe.

The plot of Mega Man X6 takes place during the 22nd century where humans and intelligent robots called "Reploids" live together. The game follows shortly after the events of Mega Man X5 in which planet Earth was devastated by an attack by the "Maverick" leader Sigma and the protagonist Zero sacrificed his own life to save it. As the world recovers, a Maverick known only as the "Zero Nightmare" has begun spreading chaos. Zero's comrade Mega Man X, curious of its name, seeks out this new threat. Like past games in the series, Mega Man X6 is an action-platformer in which the player tackles a series of stages and adds the unique weapon of each boss to X's arsenal.

Prominent series artist and producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the game's production, as he had intended the fifth installment in the series to be the last with Zero's death. Critically, Mega Man X6 has received mixed to positive reviews. The game was released for the PC in different parts of Asia in 2002 and 2003. It was also re-released in 2006 as part of the North American Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. Mega Man X6 was made available on the PlayStation Network as part of the PSOne Classics line on July 8, 2015 in Japan.

Star (heraldry)

In heraldry, the term star may refer to any star-shaped charge with any number of rays, which may appear straight or wavy, and may or may not be pierced. While there has been much confusion between the two due to their similar shape, a star with straight-sided rays is usually called a mullet while one with wavy rays is usually called an estoile.

While a mullet may have any number of points, it is presumed to have five unless otherwise specified in the blazon, and pierced mullets are common; estoiles, however, are presumed to have six rays and (as of 1909) had not been found pierced. In Scottish heraldry, an estoile is the same as in English heraldry, but it has been said that mullet refers only to a mullet pierced (also called a spur revel), while one that is not pierced is called a star.

Terminology

The use of the word star in blazons, and how that charge appears in coat armory, varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots heraldry, both star and mullet interchangeably mean a star with five straight rays; the official record from 1673 gives Murray of Ochtertyre azur three Starrs argent ... (Public Register, vol 1 p 188), while the Ordinary of Arms produced by a late 19th century Lyon King of Arms 'modernizes' the original as Az. three mullets arg. .... In Canadian heraldry the usual term is mullet, but there is also the occasional six-pointed star (e.g. in Vol. IV, at p. 274 and in online version of the Canadian Public Register), which is what others would blazon as a six-pointed mullet. The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, the official heraldic authority in the United States, uses the term mullet in its blazons, but elsewhere, as in US government documents describing the flag of the United States and the Great Seal of the United States, the term star is constantly used, and these nearly always appear with five straight-sided points.

Celebrity

Celebrity is fame and public attention in the media, usually applied to a person, or group of people (celebrity couple, family etc.), or occasionally, to animals or fictional entities. Celebrity status is often associated with wealth (commonly referred to as fame and fortune) and fame can often provide opportunities to make money.

Successful careers in sports and entertainment are commonly associated with celebrity status; political leaders often become celebrities. People may also become celebrities due to media attention for their lifestyle, wealth, or controversial actions, or for their connection to a famous person.

History

Throughout recorded history there are accounts of people who attracted the trappings of celebrity which would be recognized today.

Athletes in Ancient Greece were welcomed home as heroes, had songs and poems written in their honour and received free food and gifts from those seeking celebrity endorsement.Ancient Rome similarly lauded actors and notorious gladiators and Julius Caesar appeared on a coin in his own lifetime (a departure from the usual depiction of battles and divine lineage).

Star (702 album)

Star is the third and final studio album from American R&B group 702, released March 25, 2003 by Motown.

The album peaked at number forty-five on the Billboard 200 chart. and is mostly remembered for its cult classic single "I Still Love You".

Release and reception

The album peaked at forty-five on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the twenty-second spot on the R&B Albums chart.

Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the work a rather dismissive review, stating that "it continues in the group's tradition of being able to deliver a couple of solid singles surrounded by middling to fair album tracks."

Track listing

Chart history

Album

Singles

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.

Pets (TV series)

Pets is an adult British puppet sitcom, produced by Fit2Fill Productions Limited. It was originally aired on Channel 4 and ran for two series, the first being broadcast in 2001, and the second in 2002. It was also sold to Fox in Australia, MTV in Italy, and the Middle East.

The series was created and written by Andrew Barclay and Brian West (pen name Brian Luff), who had previously worked together at the Edinburgh Festival, winning an award for an advert for The Jerry Springer Show, and on the sketch show We Know Where You Live.

A total of 26 episodes of Pets were aired, all approximately 11 minutes long. They were shown in the early hours of the morning, and as a result, the series was fairly unknown, although it did gain a significant cult following. There was a demand on the official website for Pets to be released on DVD. Eventually a limited edition DVD was made available to purchase via the official website. As well as the two series, the DVD included two unbroadcast episodes, a clip show named "The Trials Of Hamish", and a behind-the-scenes special named "The Making Of Pets".