A hardcourt (or hard court) is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. They are typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic material to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these are now rare.

Tennis

Tennis hard courts are made of synthetic/acrylic layers on top of a concrete or asphalt foundation and can vary in color. These courts tend to play medium-fast to fast because there is little energy absorption by the court, like in grass courts. The ball tends to bounce high and players are able to apply many types of spin during play. Flat balls are favored on hard courts because of the extremely quick play style. Speed of rebound after tennis balls bounce on hard courts is determined by how much sand is in the synthetic/acrylic layer placed on top of the asphalt foundation. More sand will result in a slower bounce due to more friction.

Hard is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge, released on October 14, 2003 (see 2003 in music). The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 178,000 copies in the US. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA and has currently sold 871,000 copies in the US.

The album also spawned two singles, the top ten single "Walked Outta Heaven" and the song "What's It Like."

The album track "Visions," includes background vocals from former Anjel member, Tiffany Beaudoin. In addition, the song has an interpolation from the song, "You Are My Starship", a 1976 song released by Norman Connors.

Track listing

References

Life is a characteristic distinguishing physical entities having biological processes (such as signaling and self-sustaining processes) from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate. Various forms of life exist such as plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria. The criteria can at times be ambiguous and may or may not define viruses, viroids or potential artificial life as living. Biology is the primary science concerned with the study of life, although many other sciences are involved.

Throughout history there have been many theories about life including materialism, hylomorphism and vitalism. Even today it is a challenge for scientists and philosophers to define life. The smallest contiguous unit of life is called an organism. Organisms are composed of one or more cells, undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, can grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce (either sexually or asexually) and, through evolution, adapt to their environment in successive generations. A diverse array of living organisms can be found in the biosphere of Earth, and the properties common to these organisms are a carbon- and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information.

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 (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.

A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain is a 1992 collection of short stories by Robert Olen Butler. It received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1993.

Each story in the collection is narrated by a different Vietnamese immigrant living in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The stories are largely character-driven, with cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States as an important theme. Many of the stories were first published in journals such as The Hudson Review, The Southern Review, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. The collection was re-released in 2001 with two additional stories, "Salem" and "Missing".

Synopsis

Open Arms

The opening story is set during the Vietnam War. The narrator, a translator for the Australian forces, recounts the story of a North Vietnamese communist named Thập who joins the Australian forces as a spy, after the communists massacre his family. When the Australian soldiers bring him to a screening of pornographic films, Thập seems overwhelmed and disgusted. The narrator speculates that, as a former Communist, he considers pornography immoral, and that it simultaneously reminds him of his longing for his dead wife. Thập later kills an Australian soldier and himself.

Snow cream can be one of two distinct desserts.

The cream-based dessert

The cream-based variety of Snow "Cream" is an old English recipe. It is known in continental Europe at least as early as the late 15th or early 16th century where it can be found in the Dutch recipe collection now known as KANTL Gent 15. It has been suggested that "Snow" may be even older than that.

The common ingredients for early recipes are cream, rosewater and sugar, whipped until stiff. Other flavouring agents, e.g., cloves or ginger, are also known from various recipes. It is the process of whipping cream until stiff that is often likened to snow as can be seen in passages such as "Beat your cream with a stick until the Snow rises ...". It was often draped over another item to give the appearance of snow having fallen over the item.