Opus (play)
Opus is a 2006 play written by Michael Hollinger.
Plot
The play involves the Lazara Quartet, a foursome at the top of their field but with a sudden need to replace violist Dorian, who was just fired. Dorian is a mix of an emotionally unstable man who needs medication and a musical genius who demands the best of the other three. Dorian and his lover Elliot, the first violinist of the quartet, have frequent outbursts, which have slowed the quartet’s progress to the point that Dorian is fired because he "steals" an expensive Lazara violin that was given to the group and is played by Elliot. The three remaining members recruit Grace, a talented, younger musician who is unsure of her career path. The four work to perfect their skills as a team preparing for a special White House performance. We also find out that Carl has cancer and is probably dying.
The play culminates after the White House performance with the abrupt reappearance of Dorian. Behind the scenes, Dorian proposed to Carl that the group fire Elliot, rehire Dorian, and keep Grace. Carl, Alan, Grace, and Dorian unite as a bloc and fire Elliot. An argument over possession of the Lazara violin explodes, and Carl takes the instrument from Elliot and smashes it to pieces, saying that the quartet must have "perspective". In the final words of the play, Alan says, "Elliot, Dorian, Carl and me, all of us in our nineties… playing the Adagio from Opus fifty-nine… And we come to a rest in the middle of the movement and stop, just...stop."
Opus (manga)
Opus is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Satoshi Kon. The story is about a manga artist who is pulled into the world of the manga he is concluding and forced to confront his characters. The manga was serialized in the manga magazine Comic Guys from October 1995 until the magazine's cancellation in June 1996. It was collected into two volumes by Tokuma Shoten on December 13, 2010 and included a missing ending found after Kon's death. Dark Horse Comics licensed the manga in North America and released it in an omnibus edition on December 9, 2014. The french edition of the manga won the 2013 Asia Critics Prize from the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée and was nominated for the Sélection Officiele at the 2014 Angoulême International Comics Festival. Opus was Kon's final manga before he debuted in the anime industry with Perfect Blue.
Plot
OPUS card
OPUS is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card using the Calypso Standard and is used by most of the public transit operators in the province of Quebec, Canada.
Fares
An advantage to the smart card compared to the previous system is the seamless integration with other transit networks of neighbouring cities. Another advantage relates to the speed at which users can access the system. As opposed to the magnetic stripe cards previously in use, the contactless smart card is more user-friendly in that not only will the card not risk becoming demagnetized and rendered useless, but it also does not require patrons to slide the card in a particular way — proximity to the contactless reader will suffice.
One card can contain up to four different kinds of fares. (An OPUS card can contain, for example, 1 STM monthly pass, 10 STL tickets, 6 CIT Laurentides tickets and 2 train tickets for AMT zone 5.) One transit fare simply overrides the other 3 when paying at any machine in a similar fashion to PayPass. The main goal behind the creation of this card is to reduce the amount of fare evasion that takes place in the province's transit systems.
Jīva (Jainism)
The Jīva or Atman (/ˈɑːtmən/; Sanskrit: आत्मन्) is a philosophical term used within Jainism to identify the soul. It is one's true self (hence generally translated into English as 'Self') beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence. As per the Jain cosmology, jīva or soul is also the principle of sentience and is one of the tattvas or one of the fundamental substances forming part of the universe. According to The Theosophist, "some religionists hold that Atman (Spirit) and Paramatman (God) are one, while others assert that they are distinct ; but a Jain will say that Atman and Paramatman are one as well as distinct." In Jainism, spiritual disciplines, such as abstinence, aid in freeing the jīva "from the body by diminishing and finally extinguishing the functions of the body." Jain philosophy is essentially dualistic. It differentiates two substances, the self and the non-self.
Real Self
According to the Jain text, Samayasāra (The Nature of the Self):-
Life (manga)
Life (Japanese: ライフ, Hepburn: Raifu) is a shōjo manga series created by Keiko Suenobu, a manga creator well known for her work on Vitamin and Happy Tomorrow. Life was serialized in Bessatsu Friend, a publication of Kodansha, and deals with many controversial topics such as self-mutilation, bullying, rape, suicide, and manipulation. In 2006, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.
The English language version of the manga, published by Tokyopop, was originally rated OT (Older Teen; 16+), but starting with the release of Volume 6 and carrying back over to future reprintings of the previous five, the rating was changed to M (Mature; 18+) for extremely explicit content in that volume. As of June 2008, nine volumes have been released in the United States; Volume 10 was scheduled for a September 2008 release, but on August 31, 2009, Kodansha (original Japanese publisher of the series) announced that they would drop their manga licensing contract with Tokyopop, leaving Life and other well-known series such as Rave Master unfinished, whether permanently or until picked up by other manga publishing companies (Dark Horse Manga and Del Rey Manga have already picked up certain titles). Kodansha also did not offer an explanation for their decision. The future of the English version of the manga is unknown, as Tokyopop itself shut down in May 2011 after they were faced with bankruptcy.
Life (Sly and the Family Stone album)
Life is the third studio album by funk/soul band Sly and the Family Stone, released in September 1968 on Epic/CBS Records.
Music
Unlike its predecessor, Dance to the Music, Life was not a commercial success, although it has received mostly positive reviews from music critics over the years. Many of its songs, including "M'Lady", "Fun", "Love City", as well as the title track, became popular staples in the Family Stone's live show. A middle ground between the fiery A Whole New Thing and the more commercial Dance to the Music, Life features very little use of studio effects, and is instead more driven by frontman Sly Stone's compositions. Topics for the album's songs include the dating scene ("Dynamite!", "Chicken", "M'Lady"), groupies ("Jane is a Groupee"), and "plastic" (or "fake") people (the Beatlesque "Plastic Jim"). Of particular note is that the Family Stone's main themes of unity and integration are explored here in several songs ("Fun", "Harmony", "Life", and "Love City"). The next Family Stone LP, Stand!, would focus almost exclusively on these topics.
