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.

Lotna

Lotna is a Polish war film released in 1959 and directed by Andrzej Wajda.

Overview

This highly symbolic movie is both the director's tribute to the long and glorious history of the Polish cavalry, as well as a more ambiguous portrait of the passing of an era. Wajda was the son of a Polish Cavalry officer who was murdered by the Soviets during the Katyn massacre.

The horse Lotna represents the entire Romantic tradition in culture, a tradition that had a huge influence in the course of Polish history and the formation of Polish literature. Lotna is Wajda's meditation on the historical breaking point that was 1939, as well as a reflection on the ending of an entire era for literature and culture in Poland and in Europe as a whole. Writing of the film, Wajda states that it "held great hopes for him, perhaps more than any other." Sadly, Wajda came to think of Lotna "a failure as a film."

The film remains highly controversial, as Wajda includes a mythical scene in which Polish horsemen suicidally charge a unit of German tanks, an event that never actually happened.

Speed (Montgomery Gentry song)

"Speed" is a song written by Jeffrey Steele and Chris Wallin, and recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in December 2002 as the second single from their album My Town. The title from the cover of this single borrows its font from Speed Racer.

"She Couldn't Change Me" was included as a B-side.

Music video

The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy. A young man trades his old truck for a car with speed as his truck just brings back memories of his ex-lover. He buys the car, then he drives the car really fast, but as he keeps seeing the memory of his ex-lover on the road, he jumps out of the car, and then he heads out running into the field. The duo is performing the song in the middle of a two-lane road at a night time setting.

Chart positions

"Speed" debuted at #57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs for the week of December 28, 2002.

Year-end charts

References

External links

Speed (ride)

Speed is an amusement ride design produced by the Dutch company KMG.

It is commonly referred to as KMG Booster, due to its similarity with the Fabbri Booster ride.

It has become an extremely common ride on European travelling funfairs, particularly in the UK. This is due to a combination of the ride's spectacular visual impact, and its highly practical operation. The ride can be transported on only one trailer, and requires just three hours to build up.

Design and operation

The ride is primarily a 37-metre arm, connected midway to the main support of the ride. Two sets of two seats are mounted at the end of each arm, back to back. Each four-seat assembly can swing through 360 degrees.

The arm rotates at up to 13 revolutions per minute, producing an acceleration of 3.5 g on the riders.

Incidents