Photos of Paradise Kiss

Forever X Japan!

How it started
Yoshiki was the bandleader and founder of X Japan. It is not an overstatement to call X Japan a legend. With their radical style they were one of the first Visual bands in Japan. With their unique music style covering a wide spectrum from heavy metal to ballads, from alternative rock to symphonic sounds, they created something new and they inspired many other bands and still do. Of course the tremendous success of X Japan didn't come over night:
It all started when Yoshiki asked his friend Toshi if he wants to form a rock band, back then they were kids at school. Influenced by the american hardrock bands like Kiss, they played their first gigs at the culture festivals of their Chiba secondary school. Because they were not able to find the "right" name for their band they decided on "X" as temporary solution.

Indie Years
They released their first demo tape called "I'll Kill You" in 1984, followed by their first EP "I'll Kill You" in 1985. X had problems with getting signed to a record label because their image and sound was too aggressive and outstanding. There was only one way: Yoshiki founded his own record label, Extasy Records. A few months later, in April 1986 he released the Orgasm EP on Extasy Records, combined with a tour to get more recognition. The lineup back then was Toshi, Yoshiki & Taiji. Pata first only helped the band out, because their guitarist had an accident, before becoming an official member.
1987 Pata became an official member and hide joined the band. They finally were able to release their first album “Vanishing Vision” in 1988 which had to be repressed because it sold out. X were able to gain standing with the success of “Vanishing Vision” and signed contract with a major label, Sony Records, for their upcoming album, which was released only a year later.

Albums as X
1988 Blue Blood was released as second album, again followed by a tour (the Blue Blood Tour), which was so successful that by the time they finished it, the band was really popular. Many TV shows, interviews, cover stories, etc followed. Due to their increasing popularity they started another tour (Rose & Blood tour) after the release of the single Kurenai (X won the 'New Artist of the Year Award' this year).
In 1991, after a seven month lasting recording session in Los Angeles, Jealousy was released as their third album and went straight to number one in the charts. Again a tour (Violence in Jealousy tour) followed the release of the album. In August X Japan played their first concert in the Tokyo Dome. In January of 1992, X became the first band to sell out the Tokyo Dome on all 3 days, an astonishing success! The live shows of X Japan were always very spectacular, with a lot of drama sometimes and a great atmosphere full of energy. Their live shows, were also partly a reason why the band became so popular. Those 3 days at the Tokyo Dome were the last concerts with Taiji. Differences with the band made Taiji decide to leave the band in January. X had to change their name into “X Japan” to avoid confusion with another band called “X” in America.

A new name: X Japan
Becoming more and more popular, X had to change their name into “X Japan” to avoid confusion with another band called “X” in America.
It took some time to find the right replacement for Taiji, but a couple of months later Heath joined the band. By the time Heath joined, Yoshiki had a song ready... called "Art Of Life". To call "Art Of Life" a song would be a huge understatement. This musical masterpiece is nearly 30 minutes long and covers Yoshiki's wide musical spectrum.
Yoshiki was not only the founder, but also the mastermind of the band and his musical style influenced the music the most, he never stopped improving and changing the music, every album sounds different. X Japan was sort of a musical evolution.
1993, X Japan released the astonishing 29 minute long opus “Art Of Life” as a self titled mini-album, which was again a bis success for the band. Art Of Life was only performed twice live, on the 30th and 31st December 1993.
After that, X Japan took a well-deserved break and the members used their time to concentrate on their solo projects. They played their traditional New Year's Eve concerts in Tokyo Dome on December 30th and 31st in 1993 and 1994 though.

Disbanding
After various maxi singles, the 5th album Dahlia was finally released in 1996. X Japan were at the peak of their succes, just then Toshi announced that he was leaving the band. Yoshiki decided that he won't continue the band without Toshi, and on the 22nd September 1997 X Japan held a press conference without Toshi to announce their disbanding and - at the same time - the date of their “Last Live” concert on 31st December 1997.

The aftermath
After the disbanding, hide had a very successful career with his solo project "hide with spread beaver", were Pata joined in also. Yoshiki continued to produce various artists. Toshi joined a sect and never was able to reach the same success level as he had with X Japan.
X Japan released their last single “The Last Song” in 1998. Yoshiki still had plans to form a “2nd X” with the remaining members. In 1998 a tragedy happened, hide died. And with him of course the plans to form a "2nd X" too.
All the members of X Japan joined together for one last time at hide’s memorial and performed “Scars” and “Forever

From: www.yoshikinet.com

A sentence I like

Nothing is ever reborn, but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been, will always reappear in a new form.
From Alvar Aalto

Twilight book missing after parent complains

Stephenie Meyer's popular Twilight series chronicling the romance of a vampire and teenage girl is notoriously all build-up, no bite.
But a parent's complaint over sexual content in the Mormon author's fourth novel, Breaking Dawn, coincided with the book's temporary absence from the library at Brockbank Junior High.
Officials at the Magna school purchased copies of the book some time ago, but as of Wednesday hadn't placed them on library shelves. Principal Terri Van Winkle would not say whether the delay stemmed from a parent's complaint about a honeymoon scene in which sex is implied between the central characters Bella and Edward. But Granite School District officials confirm a complaint was voiced.
Meanwhile, the school has ignored repeated complaints from another parent "appalled" by the "censorship" of a book she says promotes chastity and tolerance.
"Those are values I want my children to be taught," said Kris Jensen of Magna. "My 15-year-old has read the book. I've read the book and there isn't anything inappropriate."
Granite district spokesman Ben Horsley downplayed the book ban as fiction.
A parent phoned the school in summer to complain about the book's content, but "the principal didn't think much of it, because the book wasn't on the shelves to begin with," said Horsley. "The book is available at the local library and this mom can buy the book. No one has banned it."
Horsley said school librarians make decisions about their collections based on what's educationally appropriate. He acknowledged that other books in the Twilight saga are available at Brockbank. And he said that, after prodding from the district, the school agreed to add Breaking Dawn .
Jensen didn't care why the book was snubbed. She objected on principle, saying book bans serve only to shame children and heighten their curiosity.
"It's the parent's job to monitor their children and decide what they can and can't read, not the schools,' " said Jensen.
Book censorship at schools has been an issue for decades.
Two years ago, at a school library in Georgia parents singled out Harry Potter books for their promotion of witchcraft. Topping the American Library Association's list of most frequently banned books is a children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby chick together, And Tango Makes Three .
Officials at Jordan, Davis and Salt Lake districts say they aren't aware of any school bans of the Twilight books.
"I know some of the elementary school librarians keep it behind the counter. That way, they can ensure that the parent approves of the child checking it out," said Bonnie Flint at the Davis district.
Meyer is often hailed as the next J.K. Rowling. Breaking Dawn , the fourth and final book in Twilight saga, was released in August and sold 1.3 million copies on the first day. The author, a mother of three living in Arizona, describes herself as a devout Mormon on her official Web site.
Though classed as paranormal fantasy, the Twilight books read more like a tale of two star-crossed lovers. The series begins with 17-year-old Bella Swan moving from her mother's sunny home in Phoenix to a rain-soaked town in Washington where she encounters Cullen Edward, the brooding adopted son of a local doctor. The Cullens are vampires, but they're the "good kind," drinking only animal blood.
The implied sex scene in Breaking Dawn starts with newlyweds Bella and Edward at the beach. The two kiss and caress before he pulls her into the water. The next scene has Bella waking the next morning to torn feathered pillows, bruises and a sore jaw.
The books are filled with erotic tension. But the consensus among reviewers is that the sexual themes are tender and tasteful. The two lovers remain chaste until married. Wildly popular among teenage girls, the first book was made into a major motion-picture movie and will be released on DVD .

(From The Salt Lake Tribune)

White House says economy is sound despite 'mess'

WASHINGTON – The economy is fundamentally sound despite the temporary "mess" it's in, the White House said Sunday in the kind of upbeat assessment that Barack Obama had mocked as a presidential candidate.
Obama's Democratic allies pleaded for patience with an administration hitting the two-month mark this week, while Republicans said the White House's plans ignore small business and the immediate need to fix what ails the economy. After weeks projecting a dismal outlook on the economy, administration officials — led by the president himself in recent days — swung their rhetoric toward optimism in what became Wall Street's best stretch since November.
During the fall campaign, Obama relentlessly criticized his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, for declaring, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." Obama's team painted the veteran senator as out of touch and failing to grasp the challenges facing the country.
But on Sunday, that optimistic message came from economic adviser Christina Romer. When asked during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" if the fundamentals of the economy were sound, she replied: "Of course they are sound."
"The fundamentals are sound in the sense that the American workers are sound, we have a good capital stock, we have good technology," she said. "We know that — that temporarily we're in a mess, right? We've seen huge job loss, we've seen very large falls in GDP. So certainly in the short run we're in a — in a bad situation."
Just a week ago, White House Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag declared that "fundamentally, the economy is weak." Days later, Obama told reporters he was confident in the economy.
"If we are keeping focused on all the fundamentally sound aspects of our economy, all the outstanding companies, workers, all the innovation and dynamism in this economy, then we're going to get through this," Obama said, striking a tone that his top aides mimicked.
Despite the new enthusiasm at the White House and on Wall Street, there was little solid evidence to suggest an end was in sight to the severe recession that has already cost 4 million American jobs, driven down home values and sent foreclosures soaring. Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he was concerned about the safety of the estimated $1 trillion his country has invested in U.S. government debt.
Obama sought to downplay the worries.
"There's a reason why even in the midst of this economic crisis you've seen actual increases in investment flows here into the United States," Obama said Saturday in the Oval Office. "I think it's a recognition that the stability not only of our economic system, but also our political system, is extraordinary."
The seesaw message from the new administration drew sharp criticism from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who said Obama's team was exploiting the economic situation for political gain.
"They're taking advantage of a crisis in order to do things that had nothing to do with getting us into the crisis in the first place," McConnell said.
Democratic lawmakers promoted a potential plan to help move so-called toxic assets off bank ledgers. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said discussions were under way, but would not be rushed.
"If they wait a week or two more, no one ought to get all in a twitter about that. It's very important to do it right," he said.
Also Sunday, the president's team largely rejected suggestions that officials were considering taxing employees' health benefits. As a candidate Obama had called such a proposal a "multitrillion-dollar tax hike."
"I'm not leaving the door open," said Austan Goolsbee, a senior White House economist with a broad portfolio and a personal friendship with Obama, responding to a report in Sunday's New York Times. "The president has laid out a series of clear principles on the health plan that we will do whatever it takes to get affordable quality coverage to all Americans."
Romer said she wouldn't take the idea off the table, but she added that Obama hasn't supported it. Larry Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, said it wasn't part of Obama's principles but left open the possibility of such a move from Congress, where Democrats control both chambers.
Even so, Obama's political allies are not taking chances. Organizing for America, whose almost 14 million-person e-mail list is drawn from voters who supported Obama last November, plans to mobilize them this week to build grass-roots support for the budget on the Internet and on phone lines.
"We didn't fight to shy away from the tough long-term decisions Washington has ducked for far too long," Obama political adviser David Plouffe wrote this weekend to members of the group, which is overseen by the Democratic National Committee.
Republicans refused to accept Democrats' plans. McConnell said the GOP would work to amend the proposal in the Senate, but not put forward a wholesale plan.
Rep. Eric Cantor, the GOP's No. 2 leader in the House, promised an alternative budget, in part to counter Democratic attacks that his party provided only "no" but not other ideas and in part to help small businesses, whom Cantor said Obama ignores.
In contrast to Cantor's charge, Obama planned to provide billions of dollars in federal lending aid aimed at struggling small business owners.
The broad package of measures to be announced Monday includes $730 million from the stimulus plan that will immediately reduce small-business lending fees and increase the government guarantee on some Small Business Administration loans to 90 percent, according to officials briefed on the plan who demanded anonymity because the announcement had not been made.
McConnell appeared on ABC's "This Week." Summers appeared on ABC and on CBS's "Face the Nation." Romer and Cantor appeared on NBC. Goolsbee and Frank appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

Go shopping

Nowadays, shopping has become an important part in people's life, especially in women's.
However, I don't like shopping that much. I think shopping is boring and it's just a waste of time, because many people go shopping without the wills to buy things.
Whenever we go out, we can always see a crowded street. It is hard to tell how many people are there. When you want to buy a jacket, you have to go to several different stores because you always think there is a better choice in other stores.
I always go shopping when I really need and I have to. I like stores with well-trained conductors,beautiful environment and comfortable atmosphere. I think the apparence is important for a store, as it decides the first depression on customers. There is a chain store called Watsons,which I like very much. It's brand color is bright green and it has a bright and clean environment which makes customers feel comfortable.

EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS

The pyramids on the Giza Plateau near Cairo. At far right is the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), in the middle and closer is the pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), and on left is the smallest of the three major Giza pyramids - that of Menkaure (Mycerinus). Three small subsidiary pyramids are at the extreme left. The photograph is a montage by Mark Rigby taken from a rocky outcrop to the southeast.
There are about 110 pyramids currently known in Egypt, many in a state of great disrepair and almost unrecognisable. Some were built as burial places for kings and others for queens. A pyramid also may have represented a stairway for the king to ascend to the heavens. Another possibility is that it was symbolic of the primeval mound on which the sun god/creator was born.
How the Egyptians managed the complex organisation of labour and the physical movement of large stone blocks is still a matter for debate. Pyramid construction may have involved ramps being erected around the pyramid. Blocks of stone would have been pulled up on sledges and the ramps dismantled later. It is believed that most of the labour for the construction of the pyramids would have come from farmers who were available during the inundation season when the Nile River flooded and farmland was underwater. It would also have been an ideal time for the transportation by boat of large stone blocks from their quarries to the pyramid sites.
The earliest pyramid was the Step Pyramid of king Djoser of the Old Kingdom's 3rd Dynasty over 4,600 years ago. The pyramid (at right) was the largest structure ever erected at Saqqara, the necropolis that overlooked the ancient capital of Memphis. Its construction was initially in the form of a low mastaba tomb upon which extra levels were gradually added to give it a step-like appearance.
Underneath Djoser's pyramid was a complex system of corridors with a burial chamber lined with Aswan pink granite about 28 metres underground. The entrance was sealed with a three-tonne granite plug. The pyramid's outside would have been cased with fine limestone, but this was removed long ago. Nearby were the Mortuary Temple, a Great Court and various other structures.
The first true pyramid (at right) was developed for King Sneferu during the 4th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is referred to as the Red Pyramid, because of its colour, or the North Pyramid because of its position at Dashur south of Cairo. It was about 105 metres high with its sides measuring 220 metres.
The largest pyramid ever built was the Great Pyramid at Giza southwest of modern Cairo (see Giza and the Pyramids). Built for king Khufu, this pyramid was completed around 2550 BC.
It is estimated that the pyramid contains approximately 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tonnes each and some up to 15 tonnes. Its sides measure 230 metres in length. The structure would have towered about 146.6 metres high, but it is now a little shorter owing to the outer casing having been removed to build many of Cairo's buildings during the Middle Ages. The interior design was changed during the pyramid's construction and the burial chamber was relocated.
One of its most spectacular features is the enormous sloping Grand Gallery. At the Gallery's top is a low corridor which leads into the King's Chamber, the walls of which are made of polished granite. A large granite sarcophagus is open and no burial goods have ever been found.
To the east of the pyramid, some of the smooth basalt paving of the mortuary temple remains and the causeway which led to the river temple is now buried with the valley temple being under modern buildings. Small pyramids for queens are adjacent to the Great Pyramid, as are boat pits.
In 1954, a large cedar boat (pictured at left) was uncovered in one of the pits and then reassembled. It is now on display next to the pyramid. A second boat remains in pieces in another covered pit. The boats may have been provided for the deceased king to travel through the underworld.
The Giza Plateau also is home to two other large pyramids for the subsequent kings, Chephren and Menkaura. As with the Great Pyramid, both of these pyramids have valley temples and mortuary temples connected by causeways. However, next to Chephren's valley temple is the famous 73-metre long Sphinx and its associated temple.
Despite controversy over its age, most Egyptologists believe that the Sphinx was carved from a rocky outcrop at the same time as Chephren's pyramid.
The resources for building enormous pyramids during the rest of the Old Kingdom could not be mustered and the pyramids were both smaller and less well built. The 5th Dynasty pyramid of Unas at Saqqara is famous for its Pyramid Texts - the first funerary texts carved into the walls of any pyramid. The pyramid is located just south of the walled enclosure of the pyramid of Djoser.
During the Middle Kingdom, kings again built themselves pyramids, but being largely of mud-brick, they have not survived very well. Elaborate interior designs failed to stop ancient tomb robbers from breaking in and stealing the burial goods.
The time of large pyramids had passed, although small pyramids were used in some New Kingdom private burials as superstructures for funerary chapels. Restored examples exist at Deir el-Medina, the village of the workmen who constructed the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Pyramids were also built south of Egypt in ancient Nubia (the northern part of today's Sudan), where there are actually more than in Egypt. Although being influenced by the Egyptian pyramids, the pyramids in Nubia had their own style and were built on a smaller scale and with steeper sides. In the case of the Nubian pyramids, the tombs of owners were usually underground with the pyramid built on top. The last pyramid was built in Nubia in the 4th century AD.

Love and Time

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.
Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.
When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.
Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"
Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.
Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."