Paradise

Paradise (Persian: پردیس, Paradise garden) is the term for a place of timeless harmony. The Abrahamic faiths associate paradise with the Garden of Eden, that is, the perfect state of the world prior to the fall from grace, and the perfect state that will be restored in the World to Come.

Paradisaical notions are cross-cultural, often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury and idleness. Paradise is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, in contrast to this world, or underworlds such as Hell. In eschatological contexts, paradise is imagined as an abode of the virtuous dead. In Christian and Islamic understanding, Heaven is a paradisaical relief. In old Egyptian beliefs, the otherworld is Aaru, the reed-fields of ideal hunting and fishing grounds where the dead lived after judgment. For the Celts, it was the Fortunate Isle of Mag Mell. For the classical Greeks, the Elysian fields was a paradisaical land of plenty where the heroic and righteous dead hoped to spend eternity. The Vedic Indians held that the physical body was destroyed by fire but recreated and reunited in the Third Heaven in a state of bliss. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the "Best Existence" and the "House of Song" are places of the righteous dead. On the other hand, in cosmological contexts 'paradise' describes the world before it was tainted by evil.

Paradise (Cody Simpson album)

Paradise is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Cody Simpson, released on 28 September 2012 by Atlantic Records.

Background

On 12 June 2012, Simpson released Preview to Paradise, a four song teaser EP. The EP featured the songs "Got Me Good", "So Listen", "Wish U Were Here", and "Gentleman". All of the songs, besides "So Listen" were released as a part of Paradise. Simpson stated the reason behind only having a few collaborations on the album is because "I wanted my debut full length album to be a representation of me." It is rumored that Simpson could perform a one off song with JLS star Aston Merrygold once Surfers Paradise has been released.

Singles

On 25 May 2012, the lead single, "Got Me Good" was released as a teaser on Simpson's official website and radio. The accompanying music video was released on 5 June.

"Wish U Were Here", which features American YouTube singer Becky G, was the second official single off the album, released on 12 June 2012. The music video debuted on 7 August 2012. Four days later, three remixes of the song were released.

Paradise (Abdulrazak Gurnah)

Paradise is a historical novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah. The novel was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Fiction.

Plot

The novel follows the story of Yusuf, a boy born in the fictional town of Kawa in Tanzania at the turn of the Twentieth century. Yusuf's father is a hotelier and is in debt to a rich and powerful Arab merchant named Aziz. Early in the story Yusuf is pawned in exchange for his father's owed debt to Aziz and must work as an unpaid servant for the merchant. Yusuf joins Aziz's caravan as they travel into parts of Central Africa and the Congo Basin that have hitherto not been traded with for many generations. Here, Aziz's caravan of traders meets hostility from local tribes, wild animals and difficult terrain. As the caravan returns to East Africa, World War I begins and Aziz encounters the German Army as they sweep Tanzania, forcibly conscripting African men as soldiers.

Major themes

African literary scholar J U Jacobs writes that Gurnah is writing back to Joseph Conrad's famous 1902 novel Heart Of Darkness. In Aziz's easterly journey to the Congo, Jacobs says that Gurnah is challenging the dominant Western images of the Congo at the turn of the twentieth century that continue to pervade the popular imagination.

Transform

Transform may refer to:

Mathematics

Science

Media and music

Computer graphics

Geology

Organizations

Transform (Powerman 5000 album)

Transform is the fourth album by American band Powerman 5000, released May 20, 2003. It is an enhanced CD that includes the videos for "Free" and "Action," the album's two singles.

Musical and visual style

Transform marked, both musically and visually, an obvious change from Powerman 5000's previous science fiction theme. The band composed songs in a simpler, more straightforward manner with less emphasis on industrial elements and heaviness. The video for its lead single, "Free," also demonstrated the band's visual stylistic detour; rather than space costumes, the majority of band members are dressed in denim while performing in a red room covered in graffiti, creating a colorful, Punk influenced edge.

The album artwork contains symbols reminiscent of the Amphisbaena. Adorning the CD artwork are four two-headed arrows wrapped back pointing at each other, the outermost one sprouting two extra arrows for a total of six on the right, and underneath the CD are two worm like creatures face to face forming a circle.

Transform (EP)

Transform is the second single album by the South Korean boy band Teen Top. It was released in January 11, 2011 with the song "Supa Luv" as the title track. A remix version of the song was released in February 18, 2011.

History

The K-pop world has been buzzing over the group's hot new looks, including their eye-catching, silver-haired cyborg concept. This time Teen Top's album photography is done by renowned photographer Hong Jang Hyun, who previously worked with Big Bang, 2NE1, and Lee Hyo Ri. It also helps to have Shinhwa's Eric around to feature in the teaser for the title song Supa Luv, a stylish dance pop number produced by Shin Hyuk (the producer of Justin Bieber's One Less Lonely Girl).

Track listing

Charts

Album chart

Single chart

Sales and certifications

References

External links