Abracadabra

Abracadabra is an incantation used as a magic word in stage magic tricks, and historically was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet.

Etymology

The word may have its origin in the Aramaic language, but numerous conflicting folk etymologies are associated with it.

The word Abracadabra may derive from an Aramaic phrase meaning "I create as I speak." or from the Greek "Αύρα κατ' αύρα" meaning "from Αura to Aura". This etymology is dubious, however, as אברא כדברא in Aramaic is more reasonably translated "I create like the word." In the Hebrew language, אברא translates as "I will create" and כדברא "as spoken". The second lexeme in this supposedly Aramaic phrase might be a noun given the presence of the definite article on the end of the word (it cannot be an infinitive construct, as the infinitive cannot take the definite article). Regardless, this phrase would actually be pronounced ebra kidbara, which is clearly different from abracadabra.

"[A]bracadabra may comprise the abbreviated forms of the Hebrew words Ab (Father), Ben (Son) and Ruach A Cadsch (Holy Spirit), though an alternative derivation relates the word to Abraxas, a god with snakes for feet who was worshipped in Alexandria in pre-Christian times." David Pickering's description of the word as an abbreviation from Hebrew is also a false etymology—as he apparently here means Aramaic (בר is Aramaic for "son", it is בן in Hebrew, although בר is an honorific form), nor does he account for the final five letters (i.e., -dabra) in the lexeme.

Elena Siegman

Elena Siegman is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Los Angeles. She moved to Boston, and is the former lead guitarist and one of the founders of an all-girl punk band named Vagiant, now known as Tijuana Sweetheart. As of January 2012, she sings in the Boston-based rock band BrownBoot. (Metal Bands)

In work for the video game developer Treyarch, she provided vocals for the soundtrack to the Nazi Zombies, or simply Zombies, game mode in the video games Call of Duty: World at War (2008), Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) and Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012). In 2011, her music was released on the Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies Soundtrack as part of the Rezurrection DLC pack, the fourth downloadable content pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Some remastered versions of songs from previous games and a new track from Call of Duty: Black Ops II were released in 2013 on the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies - Origins Soundtrack along with the Origins map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The tracks featuring her vocals are (in chronological order): Lullaby of a Dead Man, The One and Beauty of Annihilation from Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops; 115, Abracadavre, Pareidolia and Coming Home from Call of Duty: Black Ops; Archangel from Call of Duty: Black Ops II; Dead Again from Call of Duty: Black Ops III. All songs were written and produced by Kevin Sherwood, sound designer and composer at Treyarch. She also provided vocals for the jingle of an item in the Zombies game mode called Juggernog Perk-a-Cola.

Black operation

A black operation or black op is a covert operation by a government, a government agency, or a military organization. This can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it is secret and it is not attributable to the organization carrying it out. The main difference between a black operation and one that is merely secret is that a black operation involves a significant degree of deception, to conceal who is behind it or to make it appear that some other entity is responsible ("false flag" operations).

A single such activity may be called a "black bag operation"; that term is primarily used for covert or clandestine surreptitious entries into structures to obtain information for human intelligence operations. Such operations are known to have been carried out by the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency,Mossad, MI6, ISI (Pakistan), RAW, MSS, and the intelligence services of other nations.

Etymology

"Black" may be used as a generic term for any government activity that is hidden or secret. For example, some activities by military and intel agencies are funded by a classified "black budget," of which the details, and sometimes even the total, are hidden from the public and from most congressional oversight.

Magic Box

Magic Box may refer to:

Call of Duty

Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise. The series began on Microsoft Windows, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds. Several spin-off games have been released. The earlier games in the series are set primarily in World War II, including Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty 3. Beginning with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is set in modern times, the series has shifted focus away from World War II. Modern Warfare, released November 2007, was followed by World at War and Modern Warfare 2. Black Ops, released November 2010, takes place in the Cold War, while Modern Warfare 3, released November 2011, takes place in a near-future setting. Black Ops II, released November 2012, takes place mainly in the year 2025. Call of Duty: Ghosts was released in November 2013. In May 2014, Advanced Warfare was announced. On April 9, 2015, Treyarch announced Black Ops III.

The Call of Duty games are published and owned by Activision. While Infinity Ward is still a developer, Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games also develop several of the titles with the release of the studios' games alternating with each other. Some games have been developed by Gray Matter Interactive, Nokia, Exakt Entertainment, Spark Unlimited, Amaze Entertainment, n-Space, Aspyr, Rebellion Developments, Ideaworks Game Studio, and nStigate Games. The games use a variety of engines, including the id Tech 3, the Treyarch NGL, and the IW engine.