Brian Daly is an Irish news journalist currently working for TV3 News. He spent time working as Ireland Correspondent for Sky News in Dublin. He was one of the Sky News Ireland's two anchors for its twice-weeknightly programmes alongside colleague Ray Kennedy, following the departure of previous Sky News Ireland anchor Gráinne Seoige.

Daly joined Sky News from Irish channel TV3, where he had worked since the channel's launch in 1998 and anchored the breakfast show Ireland AM. Prior to presenting on TV3, he worked on different radio stations within the Republic of Ireland.

He rejoined TV3 in 2008 after four years with Sky.^[1][2][3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile on TV3
• Profile on Sky News

Natsume Sōseki
Natsume Sōseki in 1912
Born	(1867-02-09)9 February 1867 Tokyo, Japan
Died	9 December 1916(1916-12-09) (aged 49) Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Writer
Genres	novels, short stories, poetry
Notable work(s)	Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat
Influenced virtually all subsequent Japanese novelists, Karatani Kōjin

Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石^?, February 9, 1867 – December 9, 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke (夏目 金之助^?), is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period (1868–1912). He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1000 yen note.

Early years[link]

Born as Natsume Kinnosuke in the town of Babashita in the Edo region of Ushigome (present Kikui, Shinjuku), Natsume began his life as an unwanted child, born to his mother late in her life, forty years old and his father then fifty-three.^[1] When he was born, he already had five siblings. Having five children and a toddler had created family insecurity and was in some ways a disgrace to the Natsume family.^[1] In 1868, a childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, adopted him until the age of nine, when the couple divorced.^[1] He returned to his family and was welcomed by his mother although regarded as a nuisance by his father. His mother died when he was fourteen, and his two eldest brothers died in 1887, intensifying his sense of insecurity.^{[citation needed]}

Natsume attended the First Tokyo Middle School (now Hibiya High School),^[2] where he became enamored with Chinese literature, and fancied that he might someday become a writer. His desire to become an author arose when he was about fifteen when he told his older brother about his interest in literature.^[1] However, his family disapproved strongly of this course of action, and when Natsume entered the Tokyo Imperial University in September 1884, it was with the intention of becoming an architect. Although he preferred Chinese classics, he began studying English at that time, feeling that it might prove useful to him in his future career, as English was a necessity in Japanese college.^[1]

In 1887, Natsume met Masaoka Shiki, a friend who would give him encouragement on the path to becoming a writer, which would ultimately be his career. Shiki tutored him in the art of composing haiku. From this point on, he began signing his poems with the name Sōseki, which is a Chinese idiom meaning "stubborn". In 1890, he entered the English Literature department, and quickly mastered the English language. Natsume graduated in 1893, and enrolled for some time as a graduate student and part-time teacher at the Tokyo Normal School.^{[citation needed]}

In 1895, Natsume began teaching at Matsuyama Middle School in Shikoku, which became the setting of his novel Botchan. Along with fulfilling his teaching duties, Natsume published haiku and Chinese poetry in a number of newspapers and periodicals. He resigned his post in 1896, and began teaching at the Fifth High School in Kumamoto. On June 10 of that year, he married Nakane Kyoko.^{[citation needed]}

Natsume Sōseki's lodgings in Clapham, South London

In the United Kingdom, 1901–1903[link]

In 1900, the Japanese government sent Natsume to study in Great Britain as "Japan's first Japanese English literary scholar".^[3] He visited Cambridge and stayed a night there, but gave up the idea of studying at the university because he could not afford it on his government scholarship.^[4] He studied instead at University College, London (UCL). He had a miserable time of it in London, spending most of his days indoors buried in books, and his friends feared that he might be losing his mind.^[5] He also visited Pitlochry in Scotland.

He lived in four different lodgings, only the last of which, lodging with Priscilla and her sister Elizabeth Leale in Clapham (see the photograph), proved satisfactory. Five years later, in his preface to Bungakuron (The Criticism of Literature), he wrote about the period:

The two years I spent in London were the most unpleasant years in my life. Among English gentlemen I lived in misery, like a poor dog that had strayed among a pack of wolves.^[6]

He got along well with the one Leale sister, who shared his love of literature (notably Shakespeare—his tutor at UCL was the Shakespeare scholar W. J. Craig^[7]—and Milton) and spoke fluent French, much to his admiration. The Leales were a Channel Island family, and Priscilla had been born in France. The sisters worried about Natsume's incipient paranoia and successfully urged him to get out more and take up cycling.

Despite his poverty, loneliness, and mental problems, he solidified his knowledge of English literature during this period and returned to Japan in 1903.

After his return to the Empire of Japan, he replaced Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) at the First Higher School, and subsequently became a professor of English literature at Tokyo Imperial University, where he taught literary theory and literary criticism.^{[citation needed]}

Literary career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Natsume's literary career began in 1903, when he began to contribute haiku, renku (haiku-style linked verse), haitaishi (linked verse on a set theme) and literary sketches to literary magazines, such as the prominent Hototogisu, edited by his former mentor Masaoka Shiki, and later by Takahama Kyoshi. However, it was the public success of his satirical novel I Am a Cat in 1905 that won him wide public admiration as well as critical acclaim.^[8]

He followed on this success with short stories, such as Rondon tō ("Tower of London") in 1905 and the novels Botchan ("Little Master"), and Kusamakura ("Grass Pillow") in 1906, which established his reputation, and which enabled him to leave his post at the university for a position with Asahi Shimbun in 1907, and to begin writing full-time. Much of his work deals with the relation between Japanese culture and Western culture. Especially his early works are influenced by his studies in London; his novel Kairo-kō was the earliest and only major prose treatment of the Arthurian legend in Japanese.^[9] He began writing one novel a year until his death from a stomach ulcer in 1916.

Obverse of a 1984 series 1000 Japanese yen banknote

Major themes in Natsume's works include ordinary people fighting against economic hardship, the conflict between duty and desire (a traditional Japanese theme; see giri), loyalty and group mentality versus freedom and individuality, personal isolation and estrangement, the rapid industrialization of Japan and its social consequences, contempt of Japan's aping of Western culture, and a pessimistic view of human nature. Natsume took a strong interest in the writers of the Shirakaba (White Birch) literary group. In his final years, authors such as Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and Kume Masao became close followers of his literary style.^{[citation needed]}

Major works[link]

Natsume's major works include:

See also[link]

• Anglo-Japanese relations
• Japanese literature
• List of Japanese authors
• Fusanosuke Natsume – Natsume's grandson
• Minae Mizumura – finished Natsume's last, unfinished novel, Light and Darkness

Sources[link]

• Bargen, Doris D. Suicidal Honor: General Nogi and the Writings of Mori Ogai and Natsume Sōseki. University of Hawaii Press (2006). ISBN 0-8248-2998-0
• Brodey, I. S. and S. I. Tsunematsu, Rediscovering Natsume Sōseki, (Kent: Global Oriental, 2000)
• Doi, Takeo, trans. by W. J. Tyler, The Psychological World of Natsume Sōseki. Harvard University Asia Center (1976). ISBN 0-674-72116-0
• Gessel, Van C. Three Modern Novelists: Soseki, Tanizaki, Kawabata. Kodansha International, 1993
• Keene, Donald. Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature of the Modern Era: Fiction, Chapter 12. 2nd Revised Edition, Columbia University Press, 1998.
• Milward, Peter. The Heart of Natsume Sōseki: First Impressions of His Novels. Azuma Shobo (1981). ASIN: B000IK2690
• Olson, Lawrence. Ambivalent Moderns: Portraits of Japanese Cultural Identity. Savage, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield (1992). ISBN 0-8476-7739-7
• Ridgeway, William N. A Critical Study of The Novels of Natsume Sōseki, 1867–1916. Edwin Mellen Press (January 28, 2005). ISBN 0-7734-6230-9
• Yu, Beongchoeon. Natsume Sōseki. Macmillan Publishing Company (1984). ISBN 0-8057-2850-3

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Natsume Sōseki

	Novels portal
	Japan portal

• natsumesoseki.com
• Natsume Sōseki at かまくら GreenNet, the website of Kamakura City
• Natsume Souseki at Meisaku Live
• Video: House of Ogai Mori & Soseki Natsume
• Natsume Souseki at Amazon Kindle Store
• Works by Natsume Sōseki at Project Gutenberg
• Sōseki page including links to the entire text of Kokoro
• Natsume Sōseki on aozora.gr.jp (complete texts with furigana)
• Tohoku University: Natsume Soseki Library
• Natsume Sōseki's grave

The Pierces are an American New York-based band consisting of sisters Allison Margaret Pierce (born July 23, 1975) and Catherine Eleanor Pierce (born September 11, 1977).

Biography[link]

Childhood[link]

The Pierce sisters were born three years apart in Birmingham, Alabama. They traveled frequently and received home-schooling from their self-described hippie parents. Their father played the guitar in various bands, while their mother was a painter. Exposed to music and arts at an early age, the Pierce sisters grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel. As children, they were encouraged to explore their creative side and would perform at parties, weddings and churches. Allison started dancing at age three, and both sisters are accomplished ballerinas.

Musical career[link]

It was while they attended Auburn University that a friend sent a tape to a record company in Nashville. This eventually resulted in their debut album The Pierces (2000). It featured folk harmonies and adult alternative songs. In a 2004 interview, Allison Pierce commented that the album "sort of got lost in the shuffle".^[1] Allmusic attributes the poor reception to "no label support".^[2]

On August 10, 2005, their second album Light of the Moon was released through Universal. The album was produced by Brian Sperber and featured 11 tracks that the girls either wrote or co-wrote.^[3]

On March 20, 2007, their third album Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge was released in the U.S. Produced by Roger Greenawalt (Nils Lofgren, Radish, Ben Kweller), the album has been well-reviewed, particularly for the single "Boring", which parodies celebrity socialites. The album has a darker, edgier style, at times using such diverse instruments as an accordion, a calliope, bassoons, a sitar, violins, an autoharp, and a Hawaiian lap steel. It marks a definitive change in the direction of the band, which hitherto had been known as a folk rock band.^[4]

In an interview with Rolling Stone, after they were featured as a Rolling Stone Breaking Artist, they revealed that this album "felt like [their] last chance". As a result, they "just went for it, had fun".^[5]

On December 5, 2007, The Pierces appeared on the CW television series Gossip Girl, playing their songs "Secret" and "Three Wishes".

On August 21, 2008, "Secret" by The Pierces appeared in a promo for Showtime show Dexter.^[6] In May 2009, Dutch TV channel NET 5 used "Secret" in a promo for their fantasy shows Charmed and Ghost Whisperer. It also appears as the theme song for the ABC Family's original TV series, based upon the series of books by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars. Secret was also played over the closing credits in the movie "ExTerminators."

The duo appeared in The All-American Rejects' third album, When The World Comes Down, in the track, "Another Heart Calls". They performed the song live with The All-American Rejects in July 2009 at MySpace's The List in Dallas, Texas.

The single "Secret", is the theme song of the tv-series Pretty Little Liars, it was suggested by one of the stars of the show, Ashley Benson.

On October 23, 2010, the group appeared on Later... with Jools Holland. In December 2010, the sisters and their band toured with Lissie as her support act. They also performed live on ITV1 show Lorraine in March 2011 whilst promoting their new single "Glorious".

On May 30, 2011, their fourth and latest album You & I was released featuring their new singles "Love You More", "You'll Be Mine", "Glorious" and "It Will Not Be Forgotten" produced by darktones and released by Polydor Records. However, The Pierces only have a label currently in the UK and are therefore focusing on widening their popularity there, later working on their homeland the US.

They went on their first ever official tour through June 2011, with Delta Maid and Alice Gold as support: 7th June-The Pleasance (Edinburgh), 8th June-Rescue Rooms (Nottingham), 9th June-The Cockpit (Leeds), 11th June-The Ruby Lounge (Manchester), 12th June-HMV Institute (Birmingham), 13th June-Thekla (Bristol), 14th June-Bush Hall (London).

The Pierces played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2011.

The Pierces supported Coldplay at the iTunes Festival in July 2011, which happened to be on Alison's 36th Birthday.

A second, much larger UK tour took place through October 2011, with Marcus Foster as support: 7th October-Leadmill (Sheffield), 8th October-02 ABC (Glasgow)(changed from the smaller venue Oran Mor due to high demand), 9th October-Academy 3 (Manchester), 11th October-Condorde 2 (Brighton), 12th October-Glee Club (Birmingham), 13th October-02 Shepherds Bush Empire (London), 15th October-Junction (Cambridge), 16th October-Waterfront (Norwich), 17th October-Glee Club (Cardiff), 19th October-02 Academy2 (Oxford), 20th October-Anson Rooms (Bristol), 21st October-Stanley Theatre (Liverpool).

On 11 September, 2011, the duo announced via Twitter that their next UK single from You & I will be "Kissing You Goodbye", due 23 October.

The Pierces will be supporting Coldplay once again for their upcoming North American tour in April-May 2012. They will be appearing at the Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, San Jose and Los Angeles shows.

Members[link]

• Allison Pierce: Vocals and acoustic guitar
• Catherine Pierce: Vocals and percussion

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended Plays[link]

• Love You More EP (Released: October 25, 2010)
• You'll Be Mine EP (Released March 7, 2011)
• iTunes Festival London 2011 (Released July 20, 2011)

Singles[link]

Music Videos[link]

• "A Way to Us"
• "Boring"
• "Sticks and Stones"
• "Secret (Slideshow)"
• "Turn On Billie"
• "Secret"
• "Love You More"
• "You'll Be Mine"
• "We Are Stars"
• "Glorious"
• "It Will Not Be Forgotten"
• "Kissing You Goodbye"
• "I Put Your Records On" (Released 05 March 2012 on Youtube)

References[link]

1. ^ "Who to know". Portico Birmingham. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20070701171742/http://porticomag.com/dec04/whotoknow.html. Retrieved 2007-07-07. 
2. ^ "The Pierces Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p442746. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
3. ^ "Pop Matters Short Takes". Pop Matters. http://www.popmatters.com/shorttakes/2005_03_06_archive.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
4. ^ "The Pierces: Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge - PopMatters Music Review". Pop Matters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/43771/the-pierces-thirteen-tales-of-love-and-revenge/. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
5. ^ "VIDEO: Meet Rolling Stone’s New Breaking Artist, the Pierces". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/05/16/video-meet-rolling-stones-new-breaking-artist-the-pierces/. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
6. ^ Promo
7. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Pierces

• Official site
• MySpace URL
• Rolling Stone feature article

Mark Feehily
Mark Feehily at The Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2009 (Photo: Harry Wad)
Background information
Birth name	Markus Michael Patrick Verdon Feehily
Born	(1980-05-28) 28 May 1980 (age 32) Sligo, Ireland
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano, tin-whistle
Years active	1998–present
Associated acts	Westlife
Website	www.westlife.com

Markus Michael Patrick Verdon Feehily (born 28 May 1980) is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.

Early life[link]

Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry (born 1985) and Colin (born 1989).

Career[link]

Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband Westlife. He shares lead vocals with Shane Filan. Before Westlife, Feehily, Filan and Kian Egan came from the band IOYOU, which released the single "Together Girl Forever".^[1] Louis Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy-band Boyzone, was contacted by Filan's mother and came to know about the group. The group was established on 3 July 1998 with the addition of two more members, Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. Feehily has also co-written songs, some with the other band members.

Feehily has sung completely solo on songs for the band in some instances: a song the band wrote called "Imaginary Diva" of World of Our Own album and externally written "Talk Me Down" of Where We Are album and also "Before It's Too Late" of Gravity. At live performances, he also sang completely solo for the songs "Oh Holy Night" and "Il Adore". Feehily has also co-written songs, some with the other band members.

Feehily is banned for life from the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles following an incident during which he got drunk and threw some items from a window of the hotel.^[2]

Feehily has spoken to The Boston Globe of his embarrassment about Westlife's Rat Pack-tribute album, Allow Us to Be Frank, and blamed their label for forcing them to record it after Robbie Williams had success with this type of music, dismissing the instance a "a weird time" in Westlife's career.^[3]

Feehily intends to have a solo career after Westlife and wishes to write a book and a musical.^[4]

Personal life[link]

In August 2005, Feehily publicly revealed he was gay during an interview with the British tabloid The Sun.^[5] Feehily had recognized his sexual orientation when he was 14- or 15-years old.^[6] His family, band mates and close friends knew his sexual orientation.^[2][5] Westlife's manager Louis Walsh, however, was unaware of Feehily's sexual orientation when he began managing the group.^[7] As the only gay member in Westlife, Feehily kept his sexual orientation private and never had a boyfriend.^[1] Unlike his band mates, Feehily did not discuss his private life in interviews, although he had dated women prior to his coming out.^[1][8] He was shown with girlfriends in the press, but "in order to avoid speculation".^[1] In yet another interview, Feehily told The Sydney Morning Herald that despite the fact that the majority of Westlife's fans are female, there had really been no negative reaction.^[9]

During the interview with The Sun, Feehily also announced his romantic relationship with British fashion photographer Kevin McDaid, a member of the now-defunct British boy band V.^[5] The pair, who live together,^[1] had been dating since January 2005 after having met at a Cheerios Childline Concert in Ireland. Feehily said that while he did not intend on getting married right away, he was happy to know he could form a civil partnership in Britain with the recent passing of the Civil Partnership Act.^[9] In December 2007, Feehily and McDaid appeared on the cover of Attitude. After five years together, the couple was engaged in February 2010, which was confirmed by Feehily himself via the social networking website Twitter.^[10] In 2011, Feehily discussed the couple's plans concerning having children together and discussed their marriage plans.^[6] On 31 December 2011, Mark announced via his Twitter account that he and Kevin had split up.^{[citation needed]}

Feehily supports the charity group Aware. He was shortlisted in 2011 as one of the top 50 most influential gays in United Kingdom.^[11] He congratulated his local football club Sligo Rovers on their victory in the 2011 FAI Cup Final.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Feehily on Twitter
• Mark Feehily at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website of Westlife

v t e Westlife Nicky Byrne Kian Egan Mark Feehily Shane Filan Brian McFadden Albums Studio albums Westlife Coast to Coast World of Our Own Turnaround Allow Us to Be Frank Face to Face The Love Album Back Home Where We Are Gravity Compilations No. 1 Hits and Rare Tracks Grandes Éxitos Golden Hits Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 Released Greatest Hits Extended Plays Swear It Again World of Our Own Box Sets Coast To Coast / World Of Our Own Westlife / Turnaround Videos Music videos Flying Without Wings Karaoke Coast To Coast: Up Close and Personal Uptown Girl World Of Our Own Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 Back Home The Karaoke Collection Concerts DVD Where Dreams Come True: Live in Dublin The Greatest Hits: Live from M.E.N. Arena Turnaround Tour: Live in Stockholm The Number Ones Tour: Live in Sheffield Face to Face: Live at Wembley 10 Years of Westlife: Live at Croke Park Stadium Where We Are Tour: Live from The O2 Documentary The Westlife Story Westlife: The Complete Story Concert tours East Meets Westlife Tour Where Dreams Come True Tour World of Our Own Tour Unbreakable Tour Turnaround Tour No. 1's Tour Face to Face Tour The Love Tour Back Home Tour Where We Are Tour Gravity Tour Greatest Hits Tour Products Westlife: Our Story X With Love Related Articles Discography Videography Filmography Songs Originals Covers Remixes Miscellaneous Tours Awards Records Timeline Simon Cowell Louis Walsh Ronan Keating Sony Music RCA Records Syco Music Georgina Ahern Jodi Albert Kevin McDaid Gillian Walsh Wonderland Westlife