Mario

Mario (Japanese: マリオ, Hepburn: Mario, [ma.ɽi.o]) (English /ˈmɑːrioʊ/; Italian: [ˈmaːrjo]) is a fictional character in the Mario video game franchise, created by Nintendo's Japanese video game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as the company's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. Depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom, his adventures generally center upon rescuing Princess Peach from the Koopa villain Bowser. His younger brother is Luigi.

The Mario franchise is the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Over 210 million units of the overall Mario series of games have been sold. Outside of the Super Mario platform series, other Mario genres include the Mario Kart racing series, sports games such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, role-playing games such as Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, and educational games such as Mario Is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine. The franchise has branched into several mediums, including television shows, film, comics and licensed merchandise. Since 1995, Mario has been voiced by Charles Martinet.

Grains of Sand

Grains of Sand is the fourth studio album issued by gothic rock band The Mission, released in October 1990. It includes a number of tracks that were originally recorded for their previous album, Carved in Sand, but not included. Added are a number of acoustic versions and the Andy Partridge co-produced single 'Hands Across the Ocean'.

The album was expanded with the Metal Guru's material and included in the two disc reissue of "Carved in Sand, released in 2008.

Track listing

References

Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. It is defined by size, being finer than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e. a soil containing more than 85% sand-sized particles (by mass).

The composition of sand varies, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO₂), usually in the form of quartz. The second most common type of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, which has mostly been created, over the past half billion years, by various forms of life, like coral and shellfish. It is, for example, the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean.

Composition

In terms of particle size as used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 mm (or ¹⁄₁₆ mm) to 2 mm. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain. Sand grains are between gravel (with particles ranging from 2 mm up to 64 mm) and silt (particles smaller than 0.0625 mm down to 0.004 mm). The size specification between sand and gravel has remained constant for more than a century, but particle diameters as small as 0.02 mm were considered sand under the Albert Atterberg standard in use during the early 20th century. A 1953 engineering standard published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials set the minimum sand size at 0.074 mm. A 1938 specification of the United States Department of Agriculture was 0.05 mm. Sand feels gritty when rubbed between the fingers (silt, by comparison, feels like flour).

North (disambiguation)

North is a cardinal direction.

North or The North may also refer to:

Geography

Music

Like Grains of Sand

Like Grains of Sand is a Japanese drama film released on December 16, 1995 by Toho Company Ltd. The Japanese title for the film is Nagisa no Shindobaddo (渚のシンドバッド, Sinbad of the Seashore). The film was directed and written by Ryosuke Hashiguchi and features a lead role played by Japan's highest selling female musician Ayumi Hamasaki. It won three major awards in 1996 and 1997 including an award for best screenplay and two international awards. It was featured in the 1996 Toronto Film Festival in Canada as well as the 1997 International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Turin, Italy.

Cast

Primary Cast

Synopsis

A psychological drama about love, longing, homosexual desire and psychological turmoil—i.e., the perils of puberty. Ito is a shy boy in the top class at secondary school. He feels attracted to his classmate and best friend Yoshida, who is not aware of Ito's intimate feelings. They spend much time with Kanbara, whose comic actions hide his sensitive nature. Aihara (Ayumi Hamasaki) is new at school and remains aloof with her cool attitude. No one knows that at her previous school she was raped and is now in therapy. Meanwhile, Yoshida, who is currently involved with the insecure Shimizu, is interested in Aihara, the mysterious new girl. It is obvious that each teen is hiding behind a wall which they must break through during this tough process of maturation.