Dash

A dash is a punctuation mark that is similar to a hyphen or minus sign, but differs from both of these symbols primarily in length and function. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash (–) and the em dash (—), named for the length of a typeface's lower-case n and upper-case M respectively.

Usage varies both within English and in other languages, but the usual convention in printed English text is:

Dash (disambiguation)

A dash is a punctuation mark. Dash may also refer to:

Animals

People

Given name

Surname

Nickname or stage name

Art, entertainment, and media

Fictional characters

Cooking weights and measures

In recipes, quantities of ingredients may be specified by mass (commonly called weight), by volume, or by count.

For most of history, most cookbooks did not specify quantities precisely, instead talking of "a nice leg of spring lamb", a "cupful" of lentils, a piece of butter "the size of a walnut", and "sufficient" salt. Informal measurements such as a "pinch", a "drop", or a "hint" (soupçon) continue to be used from time to time. In the US, Fannie Farmer introduced the more exact specification of quantities by volume in her 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.

Today, most of the world prefers metric measurement by weight, though the preference for volume measurements continues in the United States ("almost exclusively"), North America, and Australia. Different ingredients are measured in different ways:

Liquid ingredients are generally measured by volume worldwide.

Dry bulk ingredients, such as sugar and flour, are measured by weight in most of the world ("250 g flour"), and by volume in North America and Australia ("1/2 cup flour"). Small quantities of salt and spices are generally measured by volume worldwide, as few households have sufficiently precise balances to measure by weight.

Introduction

Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:

Ready to Die

Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.; it was released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records. The label's first release, the album features production by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier and Lord Finesse, among others. Recording for the album took place during 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory and D&D Studios in New York City. The partly autobiographical album tells the story of B.I.G.'s experiences as a young criminal. Ready to Die is his only studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered just days prior to the release of his second album, Life After Death (1997).

Ready to Die was released to critical acclaim and became a commercial success, achieving gold certification. In 1995, after the release, the album became a certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the album has reached a certified quadruple platinum with sales. It was significant for revitalizing the east coast hip hop scene, amid West Coast hip hop's commercial dominance. The album's second single, "Big Poppa", was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Ready to Die has been regarded by many music critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. In 2003, it was ranked number 133 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, making it the third highest hip hop album on the list after It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Raising Hell. In 2006, Time included it on their list of the 100 greatest albums of all time.

Headstrong (Ashley Tisdale album)

Headstrong is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Ashley Tisdale, released on February 6, 2007, by Warner Bros. Records. Tisdale began working on the project after the first installment of High School Musical (2006), and after she had achieved the feat of being the first female artist to debut with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The singer worked with a variety of established writers and producers on the album, including Diane Warren, J.R. Rotem, Ryan Tedder, Evan "Kidd" Bogart, and Kara DioGuardi, among others. Commenting that the album garnered its title from her personality, Tisdale said she wanted to use her first album to formally introduce herself personally, and as not one of the characters she portrays.

Headstrong's music derives mainly from the genres of dance-pop and R&B, provided by electronica. Meanwhile, it incorporates hip hop beats and some tracks infuse dancehall and other world music. The album also lyrically explores themes in teen pop. Many critics compared her first effort to the first works of fellow Disney-alums Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Carrying primarily an urban tone, the "hip pop" of Gwen Stefani is also said to be an influence on the album. Headstrong itself was given mixed reviews by critics, who while complimenting it overall, called it ordinary and panned the ballads. Critics were also ambivalent towards Tisdale's vocal performance. Whereas, the album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, selling over 64,000 copies in its opening week, it also charted in numerous international markets. It was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and Irish Recorded Music Association.