Rake. was an art rock/noise rock musical ensemble from Northern Virginia (near Washington, DC), founded in 1989. Not aligned with the post-punk/hardcore bands more commonly associated with the local underground music scene, Rake. took a more experimental route and were more closely associated with fellow Virginia-based bands Pelt and Wingtip Sloat. Throughout the 1990s, a relationship cemented via their principal label, VHF Records.
Band members Vinnie Van Go-Go (a.k.a. VVGG, a.k.a. OASTEM! Jim), Bill Kellum, and C-Man (Carl Moller) released their first record in 1989, a 7” 45 rpm single called "Cow Song" and the follow-up EP "Motorcycle Shoes" in 1990. The punkish leanings on these recordings were soon superseded by more experimental offerings such as the cassette "The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice" and the LP Rake Is My Co-Pilot, the latter featuring a sidelong extemporization on the lead song from the "Motorcycle Shoes" EP. The band's early recordings featured (mostly shouted) vocals, but the band's later work was generally instrumental in nature. Although Rake.'s main instruments were electric guitar, bass and drums, they made liberal use of tape loops, synthesizers, static, and anything else they saw fit. The band's sound reached a highbrow, minimalistic/ambient peak on 1998 album Resume The Cosmos, which was released by Australian label Camera Obscura but their aesthetic is best summed up by their double CD release The Art Ensemble of Rake/The Tell-Tale Moog which combined lengthy improvisations with found sounds, field recordings and harsh edits. The second disc was largely indexed at 60-second intervals, regardless of the musical content, although one 5-second section was simply a recording of a male voice saying, "Look out: rattlesnake!".
Lock picking is the craft of unlocking a lock by analyzing and manipulating the components of the lock device without the original key. In addition, ideal lock picking should not damage the lock itself, allowing it to be rekeyed for later use, which is especially important with antique locks that would be impossible to replace if destructive entry methods were used. Although lock picking can be associated with criminal intent, it is an essential skill for the legal profession of locksmithing, and is often pursued by law abiding citizens as a useful skill to learn or simply a hobby. The move towards combination locks for high security items such as safes was intended to remove the weakest part of the lock: its keyhole.
In normal situations, it is almost always easier to gain access by some means other than lock picking. Most common locks can be quickly and easily opened using a drill, bolt cutters, padlock shim, a bump key, or a hydraulic jack. The hasp, door, or fixture they are attached to can be cut, broken, unscrewed or otherwise removed, windows can be broken, etc. Therefore, a lock that offers high resistance to picking does not necessarily make unauthorized access more difficult, but will make surreptitious unauthorized access more difficult. Locks are often used in combination with alarms to provide layered security.
In structural geology, rake (or pitch) is formally defined as "the angle between a line [or a feature] and the strike line of the plane in which it is found", measured on the plane. The three-dimensional orientation of a line can be described with just a plunge and trend. The rake is a useful description of a line because often (in geology) features (lines) follow along a planar surface. In these cases the rake can be used to describe the line's orientation in three dimensions relative to that planar surface. One might also expect to see this used when the particular line is hard to measure directly (possibly due to outcrops impeding measurement). The rake always sweeps down from the horizontal plane.
Rake is used to describe the direction of fault motion with respect to the strike (measured anticlockwise from the horizontal, up is positive; values between −180° and 180°):
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (the only categories for ethnicity).
The racial categories represent a social-political construct for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country." OMB defines the concept of race as outlined for the U.S. Census as not "scientific or anthropological" and takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry", using "appropriate scientific methodologies" that are not "primarily biological or genetic in reference." The race categories include both racial and national-origin groups.
Race and ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are categorized by membership in one of two ethnic categories, which are "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino". However, the practice of separating "race" and "ethnicity" as different categories has been criticized both by the American Anthropological Association and members of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Chaos may refer to any state of confusion or disorder, it may also refer to:
Chaos is a 2008 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by Herman Yau and starring Gordon Lam, Andrew Lin, Kristal Tin and Charmaine Fong.
In the Walled City, the inhabitants are either cornered or have a shady past. They commit prostitution, gambling, drugs and other lawless acts. They have their own order and law. The Walled City is akin to a "limbo" zone. One day, Cheung Tai-hoi (Andrew Lin), while escorting criminal Mickey Szeto (Gordon Lam), accidentally loses control of the police van and breaks into the Walled City and is detained by its inhabitants. Walled City's overlord Crow (Alexander Chan) hate the police and believes one of them is a cop and prepares to execute one of them. At this time, a brothel owner in Walled City, Ling, (Kristal Tin) falsely accuses Mickey to be the cop. Therefore, Hoi was released while Mickey was continued to be detained. It turns out that Mickey is Ling's long lost lover and she wants him to suffer since she believes he abandoned her and her daughter, Yan (Charmaine Fong), years ago. At the same time, she also wants Mickey to help her leave Walled City because Crow has been eyeing for Yan. Yan then sees the detained Mickey, while she does not know he is her father, she had a feeling which prompt her to decide to help him escape. At the same time, a fatal plague was discovered in Walled City and the government uses this as an excuse to start a massacre that would prevent the spreading of the plague. Will Mickey, Tai-hoi, Ling and Yan survive the massacre? Will Mickey and Yan be reunited as father and daughter?
The British space rock group Hawkwind have been active since 1969, but their earliest video release is Night Of The Hawk from their Earth Ritual Tour recorded at Ipswich on 9 March 1984. Since then, there have been numerous video releases covering the evolution of the band; some are professional broadcast shoots, others commercial, and a few are amateur.
There have also been some live video shoots of the band during the 1970s, although none have seen a commercial release. These include an early 12 April 1970 The Roundhouse, London performance and a Hawklords performance at Brunel University, Uxbridge on 24 November 1978.
The Hawkestra event, a reunion featuring appearances from all past and present members on 21 October 2000 at the Brixton Academy, was professionally filmed but disputes between band members would indicate any forthcoming release unlikely.