Ken
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Technology
People
See also
Ken (unit)
The ken (間) is a traditional Japanese unit of length, equal to six Japanese feet (shaku). The exact value has varied over time and location but has generally been a little shorter than 2 meters (6 ft 7 in). It is now standardized as 1 9/11meter.
Although mostly supplanted by the metric system, this unit is a common measurement in Japanese architecture, where it is used as a proportion for the intervals between the pillars of traditional-style buildings. In this context, it is commonly translated as "bay". The length also appears in other contexts, such as the standard length of the bō staff in Japanese martial arts and the standard dimensions of the tatami mats. As these are used to cover the floors of most Japanese houses, floor surfaces are still commonly measured not in square meters but in "tatami" which are equivalent to half of a square ken.
Word
Among English loanwords of Japanese origin, both ken and ma are derived from readings of the same character 間.
This kanji graphically combines 門 "door" and 日 "sun". The earlier variant character 閒 was written with 月 "moon" rather than "sun", depicting "A 門 door through the crevice of which the 月 moonshine peeps in".
Ken (musician)
Ken (born November 28, 1968 in Maibara, Shiga, Japan) is a musician and singer-songwriter, best known as guitarist of the Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel. He is also the leader, vocalist and guitarist of Sons of All Pussys (also known as S.O.A.P.) and has released a solo album entitled In Physical. While in L'Arc-en-Ciel his name is stylized as ken.
Biography
L'Arc-en-Ciel
Two months before his graduation in 1992, Ken left the Nagoya Institute of Technology, where he was an architect major, to join L'Arc-en-Ciel at the request of his childhood friend Tetsuya. He has written a breadth of L'Arc-en-Ciel's music ever since his joining, including "As if in a Dream", "Vivid Colors", "Niji", "The Fourth Avenue Cafe", "Shout at the Devil", "Kasou", "Lies and Truth", "Lover Boy", "My Heart Draws a Dream", "Lost Heaven" and "Twinkle Twinkle".
Sons of All Pussys
In 2002 Ken formed his own band, Sons of All Pussys (S.O.A.P.), as a result of a break in L'Arc-en-Ciel's activities, with ex-L'Arc-en-Ciel member Yasunori "Sakura" Sakurazawa as drummer, and Ein as bassist (a half Japanese/German model who appeared in a few L'Arc PVs). Each member contributed songs based on themes; Ken with love, Ein with desire, and Sakura with his experiences in jail, and together they released three albums; Grace, Gimme A Guitar, High! and one single, "Paradise". All S.O.A.P. activities have ceased since 2004.
Mós
Mós may refer to the following places in Portugal:
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S) is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London. It specialises in the selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.
In 1998, the company became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, although subsequently it went into a sudden slump, which took the company, its shareholders, who included hundreds of thousands of small investors, and nearly all retail analysts and business journalists, by surprise. In November 2009, it was announced that Marc Bolland, formerly of Morrisons, would take over as chief executive from executive chairman Stuart Rose in early 2010; Rose remained in the role of non-executive chairman until he was replaced by Robert Swannell in January 2011.
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
Establishment
The company was founded by a partnership between Michael Marks, a Polish Jew from Słonim (Marks was born into a Polish-Jewish family, a Polish refugee living in the Russian Empire, now in Belarus), and Thomas Spencer, a cashier from the English market town of Skipton in North Yorkshire. On his arrival in England, Marks worked for a company in Leeds, called Barran, which employed refugees (see Sir John Barran, 1st Baronet). In 1884 he met Isaac Jowitt Dewhirst while looking for work. Dewhirst lent Marks £5 which he used to establish his Penny Bazaar on Kirkgate Market, in Leeds. Dewhirst also taught him a little English. Dewhirst's cashier was Tom Spencer, an excellent bookkeeper, whose lively and intelligent second wife, Agnes, helped improve Marks' English. In 1894, when Marks acquired a permanent stall in Leeds' covered market, he invited Spencer to become his partner.
Mas
Mas, Más or MAS may refer to:
Arts
Computing
Podcasts:
