Zodiac (film)

Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by James Vanderbilt is based on the 1986 non-fiction book of the same name by Robert Graysmith. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr., with Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Dermot Mulroney and Chloë Sevigny in supporting roles.

Zodiac tells the story of the manhunt for a notorious serial killer who called himself the "Zodiac" and killed in and around the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, leaving several victims in his wake and taunting police with letters, blood stained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers. The cases remain one of Northern California's most infamous unsolved crimes.

Fincher, Vanderbilt and producer Bradley J. Fischer spent 18 months conducting their own investigation and research into the Zodiac murders. Fincher employed the digital Thomson Viper Filmstream camera to photograph the film. However, Zodiac was not shot entirely digitally; traditional high-speed film cameras were used for slow-motion murder sequences.

Zodiac (novel)

Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller (1988) is a novel by American writer Neal Stephenson. His second novel, it tells the story of an environmentalist, Sangamon Taylor, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrialist polluters in Boston Harbor. The "Zodiac" of the title refers to the brand of inflatable motor boats the hero uses to get around the city efficiently. His opponents attempt to frame him as an ecoterrorist.

The protagonist is inspired by environmental chemist Marco Kaltofen. Taylor is a recreational user of nitrous oxide, justifying his choice of drug by the eponymous Sangamon's principle: "the simpler the molecule, the better the drug".

In the novel, Taylor is a chemist working for GEE, a fictional environmental activism group which stages both protests and direct actions plugging toxic waste pipes. Taylor becomes involved with Basco Industries, a fictional corporation which produced Agent Orange and is a major supplier of organic chlorine compounds. Basco experiments with genetic engineering to develop chemical producing microbes, driving Taylor's efforts to expose their crimes and preserve Boston Harbor.

Zodiac (Electric Six album)

Zodiac is the seventh studio album by electronic rock band Electric Six. It was released in 2010 on Metropolis Records.

According to an official statement by the band, the songs on the album have been arranged to correspond with the signs of the Zodiac. The album contains a cover version of The Spinners 1976 classic "The Rubberband Man".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Tyler Spencer, except "The Rubberband Man" by Thom Bell and Linda Creed. 

N.B. Track 13 is not included on the retail CD, only on the iTunes "Zodiac (Bonus Edition)" download

Production

Animal

Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia (also called Metazoa). All animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently, at some point in their lives. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their lives. All animals are heterotrophs: they must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance.

Most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago. Animals are divided into various sub-groups, some of which are: vertebrates (birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish); molluscs (clams, oysters, octopuses, squid, snails); arthropods (millipedes, centipedes, insects, spiders, scorpions, crabs, lobsters, shrimp); annelids (earthworms, leeches); sponges; and jellyfish.

Etymology

The word "animal" comes from the Latin animalis, meaning having breath, having soul or living being. In everyday non-scientific usage the word excludes humans – that is, "animal" is often used to refer only to non-human members of the kingdom Animalia; often, only closer relatives of humans such as mammals, or mammals and other vertebrates, are meant. The biological definition of the word refers to all members of the kingdom Animalia, encompassing creatures as diverse as sponges, jellyfish, insects, and humans.

Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)

"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" is a song by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., originally intended for their debut self-titled album, but was dropped before the album's release, although it appears as a bonus track on the 1998 reissue. Written by Blackie Lawless, the song was released as the band's first single. Due to his religious beliefs, Blackie Lawless will no longer perform this song live.

In the USA the song was first released in a live version in 1988. The studio version was available in that region only in 1998, on the reissue of W.A.S.P.'s debut album.

History

Recorded in early 1984, the debut single intended for the self-titled album of W.A.S.P. was close to not being released at all after being dropped from the album. Deemed too controversial, Capitol Records did not want to risk the album being banned from major retail chains.

The record company had subsequent plans to release the single only in Europe, in a black plastic bag and with a warning sticker about the explicit lyrics. Capitol backed out at the last minute and the single was shelved until the band was able to strike a one-off publishing deal with the independent label Music For Nations.

Animal (book)

Animal is a non-fiction coffee table book edited by David Burnie, who was the main-editor, and several co-authors. The full title of the book is: Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to The World's WildLife. The 624-page book was published by Dorling Kindersley in 2001. The book is printed in full gloss paper and has numerous, full-color pictures.

The book is divided into several separate sections, each covering either a specific topic or a class of animals such as mammals or reptiles. The introduction deals with how animals are classified. It also touches on animal behaviour and life cycles. Later content delves into the habitats of animals and how they live in them, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, and Invertebrates.