X-Japan Band

X Japan (エックス ジャパン Ekkusu Japan) is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama and Yoshiki Hayashi. Originally named X (エックス), the group achieved their breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood. They started out as a power/speed metal band and later gravitated towards a progressive sound, at all times retaining an emphasis on ballads. Their sound is extremely raw, sometimes countered by the incorporation of classical style piano passages and vocal melodies. They have well-developed percussion parts and often use harmonized guitar riffs and solos.

Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the visual kei movement. They were known in their early years for their excessively large hairstyles resembling fountains, but toned these down in later years. As of 2010, the band has sold over thirty million records and over two million home videos.

After sixteen years, four albums, and selling out the 50,000 seat Tokyo Dome 18 times, X Japan disbanded in 1997. The band did not perform or record any material for another 10 years. However, in 2007, the band reunited and performed live for the first time since their break-up. After performing concerts throughout Asia from 2007 to 2009, the band performed their first North American tour from September 25 to October 10, 2010. They also plan to release their first studio album in more than 14 years in 2011.

History

1977–1992: X

In 1977, Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama and Yoshiki Hayashi formed a band called Dynamite when they were just 11 years old. Dynamite changed its name to Noise in 1978, while they were still in high school. In 1982, Dynamite disbanded and Yoshiki and Toshi formed a new band, they named it X while they tried to think of another name, but the name stuck. X began to actively perform in the Tokyo area in 1985 with a frequently changing lineup. Their first single, "I'll Kill You" was released on Dada Records in June and the band contributed "Break the Darkness" to the sampler Heavy Metal Force III in November, which also featured a song by Saber Tiger. At the end of 1985 bassist Taiji Sawada (ex:Dementia) joins X and plays a few shows before leaving soon after.

X in the 1980's: Toshi, Taiji, Yoshiki, Pata, hide

To ensure a continuous outlet for the band's music, Yoshiki founded the independent label Extasy Records in April 1986, and their second single, "Orgasm", was released on it. Taiji would officially join again in November, after playing support at a few other shows. The songs "Stab Me in the Back" and "No Connexion", for the February 1987 Victor Records sampler Skull Thrash Zone Volume I, were recorded with Tomoaki "Pata" Ishizuka (ex:Judy) as a support guitar player. Soon after these recordings Hideto "hide" Matsumoto (ex:Saver Tiger) joined as guitarist. After Pata once again provided support, this time at a live show, he officially joined completing the group's first steady lineup.

On December 26, 1987, the band participated in an audition held by CBS/Sony which led to a recording contract in August of the following year. In the meantime, the band released its first album, Vanishing Vision through Extasy Records on April 14, 1988 and toured extensively in support of the record. The band also appeared in a cameo in the film Tokyo Pop, starring Carrie Hamilton and Diamond Yukai.

X's second album Blue Blood was released on April 21, 1989 and spawned several singles, such as "Kurenai" and "Endless Rain". The group also released their first home video, a VHS of a live concert titled Blue Blood Tour Bakuhatsu Sunzen Gig. Recording for the follow-up album Jealousy took place in Los Angeles. It was released on July 1, 1991 and was followed by the band's first performance in Japan's largest indoor concert venue, the Tokyo Dome. Footage from most of the band's shows in that stadium would later be released on CD andVHS/DVD.

By 1992 the band's success in Japan made an international breakthrough appear likely enough to warrant the renaming of X to X Japan, in order to distinguish the group from the American punk band X. Around the same time bassist Taiji left the group and was replaced by Hiroshi "Heath" Morie (ex:Media Youth). Taiji went on to work with Loudness and Cloud Nine.

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports and clothing-related goods. The company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after its American rival Nike.

Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf "Adi" Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother, Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma.

The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. The "Three Stripes" were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in the 1951. The company revenue for 2009 was listed at €10.38 billion and the 2008 figure at €10.80 billion.

History

Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik

Adolf "Adi" Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, after his return from World War I. In 1924, his brother Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler joined the business which became Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) and prospered. The pair started the venture in their mother's laundry, but at the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.

By the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria on one of the world's first motorways to the Olympic village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Following Owens's haul of four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and the trainers of other national teams were all interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.

Late in World War II, the shoe factory shifted to production of the Panzerschreck anti-tank weapon.

Company split

Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family. After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in

Converse

Converse (pronounced /ˈkɒnvərs/) is an American shoe company that has been making shoes since the early 20th century.


History

1908–1941: Early days and Chuck Taylor

In his late 30s, Marquis Mill Converse, who was previously a respected manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company (completely unrelated to the Boston Rubber Shoe Company founded by fourth cousin Elisha Converse) in Malden, Massachusetts in 1908. The company was a rubber shoe manufacturer, providing winterized rubber soled footwear for men, women, and children. By 1910, Converse was producing 4,000 shoes daily, but it was not until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes for tennis. The company's main turning point came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Then in 1921, a basketball player named Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job. He worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the United States, and in 1923 his signature was added to the All Star patch. He tirelessly continued this work until shortly before his death in 1969. Converse also customized shoes for the New York Renaissance (the "Rens"), the first all-African American professional basketball team.

1941–present: War, bankruptcy, and new management

When the USA entered World War II in 1941, Converse shifted production to manufacturing rubberized footwear, outerwear, and protective suits for the military. Widely popular during the 1950s and 1960s, Converse promoted a distinctly American image with its Converse Yearbook. Artist Charles Kerins created cover art that celebrated Converse's role in the lives of high school and college athletes. Through its shoes, Converse developed into an iconic brand, and came to be seen as the essential sports shoe. In the 1970s, Converse purchased the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers from B.F. Goodrich

Converse lost much of its apparent near-monopoly from the 1970s onward, with the surge of new competitors, including Puma and Adidas, then Nike, then a decade later Reebok, who introduced radical new designs to the market. Converse found themselves no longer the official shoe of the National Basketball Association, a title they had relished for many years. While being employed at Converse, one of its employees (Jim Labadini {1968-78}), created the chevron and star insignia / logo that still remains on most of the footwear items.

The loss of market share, combined with poor business decisions, forced Converse to file for bankruptcy on January 22, 2001. In April 2001, Footwear Acquisitions, led by Mardsen Cason and Bill Simon, purchased the brand from bankruptcy and added industry partners Jack Boys, Jim Stroesser, Lisa Kempa, and David Maddocks to lead the turnaround of America's Original Sports Company. The new team drove Converse from the 16th largest footwear company to number 7 in three years which led to a buyout by Nike Inc. for $305 million, qualifying as the merger and acquisition of the year in 2003.

On July 9, 2003, the company accepted a US$305 million purchase offer from rival Nike.

Current NBA players wearing Converse include Kirk Hinrich, Kyle Korver, Maurice Evans, Acie Law, Udonis Haslem, Elton Brand, Louis Williams, and Larry Sanders.

Nike

Nike Inc  is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton,Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.

The company was founded in January 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. in 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη pronounced [níːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.

Origins And History

Nike, originally known as "Blue Ribbon Sports", was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.

The company's profits grew quickly, and in 1967, BRS opened its first retail store, located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger was nearing an end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which would bear the newly designed Swoosh by Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike in June 1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974.

The first shoe sold to the public to carry this design was a soccer shoe named Nike, which was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, BRS, Inc. officially renamed itself to Nike, Inc.. Beginning with Ilie Năstase, the first professional athlete to sign with BRS/Nike, the sponsorship of athletes became a key marketing tool for the rapidly growing company.

The company's first self-designed product was based on Bowerman's "waffle" design. After the University of Oregon resurfaced the track at Hayward Field, Bowerman began experimenting with different potential outsoles that would grip the new urethane track more effectively. His efforts were rewarded one Sunday morning when he poured liquid urethane into his wife's waffle iron. Bowerman developed and refined the so-called 'waffle' sole which would evolve into the now-iconic Waffle Trainer in 1974.

By 1980, Nike had reached a 50% market share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in December of that year. Its growth was due largely to 'word-of-foot' advertising (to quote a Nike print ad from the late 1970s), rather than television ads. Nike's first national television commercials ran in October 1982 during the broadcast of the New York Marathon. The ads were created by Portland-based advertising agency Wieden    Kennedy, which had formed several months earlier in April 1982.

Together, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20^th century, and the campaign has been enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. San Franciscan Walt Stack was featured in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement that debuted on July 1, 1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let’s do it", the last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.

Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to include many other sports and regions throughout the world.

Crab Cakes

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
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We started with two 2 lb Dungeness crabs, which were then cleaned and cracked, resulting in about 1 1/4 pounds of lump crab meat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb lump crabmeat, picked through and any bits of shell removed (try not to break up the lumps of crabmeat as you pick through it)
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter (divided, 1 Tbsp and 3 Tbsp)
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp prepared tartar sauce
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• About 4 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into small pieces, yielding 2 cups
• 2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs

METHOD

1 Heat one tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallots and a half teaspoon of salt. Cook until the shallots are translucent, a couple minutes. Do not brown. Let the shallots cool.

2 Whisk together the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, remaining half teaspoon of salt, paprika, freshly ground black pepper, tartar sauce, lemon zest, Tabasco, parsley, and the cooked shallots. Gently fold in the crabmeat and torn bread, taking care again to not break up the lumps of crab meat. The mixture will be very wet. Using your (clean) hands, take a scoop of the crab mixture and gently form it into a patty form about 2 1/4 inches across and 3/4 inches thick. Continue until you've made 12 crab cake patties. Line a rimmed tray with a piece of wax paper just large enough to hold the cakes and sprinkle the bottom of the tray with half of the bread crumbs. Set the crab cakes in one layer on the top of the layer of bread crumbs and sprinkle them with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover the crab cakes loosely with another sheet of wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

3 Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat. The butter will melt and foam up. When the foam subsides, working in batches, place the crab cakes in the pan (do not crowd the pan), and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

Yield: Makes 12 crab cakes.

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

The recipe as presented is fairly basic. Feel free to dress it up a bit with herbs or spices of your choice.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg*
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference, though we got the best results from Mexican farmer's cheese - queso fresco
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

Special equipment recommended:

• One or two mini muffin tins. Mini muffin tins are about half the size of a regular muffin pan. The muffin openings are about 1-inch deep, and 1 3/4 inch wide at the top.

*It helps when baking with eggs to start with eggs at room temperature. If you don't plan ahead (that would be me, usually) you can put the egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to gently take off the chill of the fridge.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.

2 Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes.

Eat while warm or save to reheat later.

Enough batter for 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads.

Note that Brazilian cheese bread is very chewy, a lot like Japanese mochi.

Apple Coffee Cake Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 medium Cortland or other baking apple, peeled and sliced

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with or pie pan with a 4-cup capacity.

2 In a medium bowl, whisk vigorously together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3 In a separate small bowl, mix 1/4 a cup of the sugar with the cinnamon, set aside.

4 Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Beat in the egg until blended. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, beating after each addition until just combined.

5 Pour half of the batter in the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the apple slices on the batter so they just cover the batter (you may have to overlap some slices). Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, reserving a teaspoon or two to sprinkle on top. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar on top.

6 Bake the cake for 25 minutes or until it is golden brown and apples start to bubble at the edges.

Yield: Serves 6.

Garlic Bread Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 13 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

METHOD

Method 1 - Toasted

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

 
 

2 Cut the bread in half, horizontally. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the the two bread halves. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.

3 Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread if you want. Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese (if you are using cheese) bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.

4 Remove from oven, let cool a minute. Remove from pan and make 1-inch thick slices. Serve immediately.

Method 2 - Soft

Preheat oven to 350°F. Make the butter, garlic, parsley mixture as above. Make 1-inch thick slices into the bread, but do not go all the way through, just to the bottom crust. Put a teaspoon or two of the butter mixture between each slice. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and heat for 15 minutes in the oven.

Creamed Corn Recipe

Creamed Corn Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 8 ears corn, husks and silk removed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

 

1 In a large saucepan, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes until translucent.

2 While the onion is cooking, remove the kernels from the corn. Stand a corn cob vertically over a large, shallow pan (like a roasting pan). Using a sharp knife, use long, downward strokes of the knife to remove the kernels from the cob. Use the edge of a spoon to scrape the sides of the cob to remove any remaining pulp.

3 Add the corn to the onions and butter in the saucepan. Add 2/3 a cup of water and the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the corn is tender.

4 Add the sugar, nutmeg, and cream to the corn. Cook, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6.