Natsume Sōseki

Natsume Sōseki (夏目 漱石, February 9, 1867 – December 9, 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke (夏目 金之助) was a Japanese novelist. 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, kanshi, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1000 yen note. In Japan, he is often considered the greatest writer in modern Japanese history. He has had a profound effect on almost all important Japanese writers since.

Early years

Born as Natsume Kinnosuke in the town of Babashita in the Edo region of Ushigome (present Kikui, Shinjuku), Sōseki began his life as an unwanted child, born to his mother late in her life, forty years old and his father then fifty-three. 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. In 1868, a childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, adopted him until the age of nine, when the couple divorced. 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.

And Then...

And Then... is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Joe, released through Jive Records on December 2, 2003 in the United States. It features production by Joe's labelmate R. Kelly as well as Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs, Carvin & Ivan, The Underdogs, and others. The album reached number 26 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 121,000 copies in its first week of release. It was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

And Then... is an album that focuses on ballads. Joe states on his web site that he prefers singing ballads to up-tempo tracks. "I prefer to sing on ballads rather than up-tempos. You kind of showcase yourself as an r&b singer a lot better."

The album also features a number of collaborations with prominent r&b writers and producers. Joe worked with labelmate R. Kelly on the lead single "More & More" and "Make You My Baby", these two songs were originally intended for R. Kelly's unreleased album "Loveland". Roy "Royalty" Hamilton worked with Joe on the title track, as well as "Sweeter than Sugar" and "Sweet Dreams". Songwriter Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs wrote the song "Bedroom" that appears late on the album. G-Unit appears on the track "Ride wit U". Produced by Frank Romano, which is one of the up-tempo tracks on the album — Joe returned the favour on their debut album.

Construction Time Again

Construction Time Again is the third studio album by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 22 August 1983 by Mute Records. This was the first Depeche Mode album with Alan Wilder, who wrote the songs "Two Minute Warning" and "The Landscape Is Changing", as well as the B-side "Fools". The title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track "Pipeline". It was supported by the Construction Time Again Tour.

The album was recorded at John Foxx's Garden Studios in London, engineered by Gareth Jones (who had also engineered Foxx's 1980 album Metamatic) and mixed at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin.

Background and themes

In January 1983, shortly before the release of the "Get the Balance Right!" single, songwriter Martin Gore attended an Einstürzende Neubauten concert, giving him the idea to experiment with the sounds of industrial music in the context of pop.

This album introduced a transition in lyrical content for the group. Construction Time Again would include a bevy of political themes, sparked by the poverty Gore had seen on a then-recent trip he had taken to Thailand.

Espionage

Espionage or, casually, spying involves a spy ring, government and company/firm or individual obtaining information considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome and in many cases illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is a subset of "intelligence" gathering, which includes espionage as well as information gathering from public sources.

Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term is generally associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies primarily for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage.

One of the most effective ways to gather data and information about the enemy (or potential enemy) is by infiltrating the enemy's ranks. This is the job of the spy (espionage agent). Spies can bring back all sorts of information concerning the size and strength of enemy forces. They can also find dissidents within the enemy's forces and influence them to defect. In times of crisis, spies can also be used to steal technology and to sabotage the enemy in various ways. Counterintelligence operatives can feed false information to enemy spies, protecting important domestic secrets, and preventing attempts at subversion. Nearly every country has very strict laws concerning espionage, and the penalty for being caught is often severe. However, the benefits that can be gained through espionage are generally great enough that most governments and many large corporations make use of it to varying degrees.

Espionage!

Espionage! is a role-playing game published by Hero Games in 1983.

Description

Espionage! is a system of modern espionage rules that use the Hero System. The rulebook (64 pages) covers character creation, skills, combat (melee and firearms), vehicles and car chases, and a sample espionage organization, the CIA. "Merchants of Terror" (16 pages) is an introductory scenario in which the heroes must track down a stolen atom bomb.

Publication history

Espionage! was designed by George MacDonald and Steve Peterson, and was published in 1983 by Hero Games as a boxed set including a 64-page book, and a 16-page book, and dice.

This system was later updated and republished as Danger International.

References

Espionage (production team)

Espionage is a New York-based Norwegian songwriting and music production team consisting of Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund. Their breakthrough came in 2006 as co-writers of Beyoncé's worldwide smash "Irreplaceable", which was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks and the best selling single in the US in 2007. They are probably best known as the producers and cowriters behind several of Train's major hits after 2009, including "Drive By" and their comeback single "Hey, Soul Sister", which is among the 20 highest selling singles of all time in the US. Espionage has received numerous BMI Awards.

Formation

Lind and Bjørklund started working together on Lind's solo album Red in 1997, which was a major success in Europe and won Lind the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy. In the early 2000s they branched out to the UK market, working with various artists and writing pan-European hits such as Atomic Kitten's "Last Goodbye" and Kym Marsh' "Cry", both of which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.