Takara

Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd.

The company motto was 「遊びは文化」 (asobi wa bunka), which means "playing is culture."

Products

Toys

Takara is perhaps best known for producing the transforming Diaclone and Microman's Micro Change toylines, known as "The First Transformers". These lines, created initially in 1975, were collectively re-branded as "Transformers" for the western market by Hasbro in 1984. Takara is also the originator of the hit toylines Battle Beasts (BeastFormers in Japan), E-kara karaoke microphone, Battle B-Daman and Beyblade (toy), all of which were sold or distributed internationally by Hasbro. Takara continues to sell Microman – the basis for the popular toyline "Micronauts" – which was first sold internationally by the now-defunct Mego in the 1970s, and Choro-Q, a mini pullback car, production of which has been running since 1978 and which has often been marketed in Western countries as Penny Racers.

List of captive orcas

This article gives a list of captive orcas, or killer whales, large predatory marine mammals that were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s, or were subsequently born in captivity. They soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size. As of September 2015, 58 orcas are held captive at facilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia, providing entertainment for theme park visitors.

The first North Eastern Pacific orca, Wanda, was captured in November 1961 by a collecting crew from Marineland of the Pacific, and over the next 15 years, around 60 or 70 Killer Whales were taken from Pacific waters for this purpose. When the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 effectively stopped the capture of Pacific orcas, captures were made in Icelandic waters. Since 2010, captures have been made in Russian waters.

The majority of orcas on display in the West (USA, Canada, Argentina, Spain, and France), 29 of 38, were born in captivity. In the East, 6 of the 7 displayed in Japan are captive-born. An additional 13 orcas reported in China and Russia were evidently captured in Russian waters.

Takara (band)

Takara is an American rock band, formed in 1987 in Los Angeles, California. Since 1992, Takara has recorded 6 studio albums for several different record labels in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Founding member and lead guitarist Neal Grusky, and bassist Carl Demarco have remained permanent fixtures in the band since its early days.

Biography

1980s - Early days

Takara was formed in August 1987. After a few months of rehearsals the band made their debut in October with a show in Hollywood, California. The band proceeded to play many more shows throughout 1987-88. In November 1988, Takara went into the studio to record their first demo with producer Jeff Scott Soto. As they entered the studio it became apparent that the singer was not ready to record. In order to finish the new Takara demo, Soto was asked to help out by providing vocals for the demo. This was the beginning of a long relationship between the band and Jeff Scott Soto.

1990s - The Soto era

In 1990, Takara went back into the studio to record what would eventually become their debut album, Eternal Faith. In 1992 Takara regrouped and added new members who would perform in Eternal Faith. The line-up was ultimately completed with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Neal Grusky on guitar, Gary Schutt on bass and Bob Duda on drums. In August 1993, Zero Corporation (Japan) and Now and Then records (Europe) offered Takara a deal to release Eternal Faith in December 1993.

Lies, Hautes-Pyrénées

Lies is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.

See also

References

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

Breathe In. Breathe Out. is the fifth studio album by American singer Hilary Duff. It was released on June 12, 2015, by RCA Records. It is the first studio album released by Duff in eight years, since 2007's Dignity. Duff began work on the album in January 2012, but after scrapping the songs she recorded, she resumed the sessions on September 2013, continuing throughout 2014 and 2015. After being signed to RCA Records in 2014, she released the singles, "Chasing the Sun" and "All About You". She later recorded more songs in Sweden in February 2015, and released the single, "Sparks". The resulting album from the various recording sessions has combined Duff's dance-pop sound with EDM and folk-pop elements.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, praising the album's production quality and the mix of genres on the record. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 Chart, making it her fifth top-five entry. It also achieved top 5 positions in Australia and Canada. It also marked a few milestones in Duff's comeback to music with the single "All About You" being her first top 20 hit in Australia in nearly ten years, and the single "Sparks" which became her first top ten hit on the Billboard's Dance Chart since 2008's "Reach Out", her fourth top ten entry, and her fifth single to chart there overall. It's lead single "Chasing the Sun" was also Duff's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since her single "Stranger", which was released in 2007.

Lies (McFly song)

"Lies" is the fifteenth single from British pop rock band, McFly, released on 15 September 2008. "Lies" did not feature on the promotional 10-track copy of the album Radio:Active which was given away in The Mail on Sunday in July 2008, however it features as one of the four additional tracks on the retail edition of the album, which was released on 22 September 2008. The lead vocals for the song are split between band members Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher, with vocal contributions from bassist Dougie Poynter.

Background

"Lyrically, Lies is definitely the darkest song we've ever written," says Tom Fletcher, who shares vocals on the track with Danny Jones. "It's about a real bitch of a girl who is out for herself and doesn't care who she uses to get what she wants. We did have a girl in mind when we wrote it, but really it's an amalgam of several girls we have met along the way. We hope she burns in hell at the end. A real good time tune then!" On 17 September 2008 the song was added to BBC Radio 1's A-List and BBC Radio 2's A-List.