♫ Highway to Hell ♫'s definitions

Bhangra

Bhangra is a lively form of folk music and dance that originates from Punjab. People traditionally performed Bhangra when celebrating the harvest. During Bhangra, people sing Punjabi Boliyaan lyrics, at least one person plays the the dhol drum, and other people may play the flute, dholak drum, or other musical instruments. While Bhangra began as a part of harvest festival celebrations, it eventually became a part of such diverse occasions as weddings and New Year celebrations. Moreover, during the last thirty years, Bhangra has enjoyed a surge in popularity worldwide, both in traditional form and as a fusion with genres such as hip-hop, house, and reggae. As Bhangra continues to move into mainstream culture, an understanding of its history and tradition helps to appreciate it. Many people believe that Bhangra originated in the 1400s, however, it may be even older. Primarily men performed Bhangra, while the ladies performed their own fierce, yet elegent, dance called Giddha. The men wore the turbin, lungi (long cloth wrapped around the waist), and kurta (traditional Indian shirt), while the women, when performing Giddha, wore the salvar kameez (a long colorful shirt accompanied with a baggy style bottom piece) accompanied by their bright colored duppattas (cloth wrapped around the neck).

Nowadays, because of Punjabi influence worldwide, people perform Bhangra in all parts of the world at occasions such as weddings, receptions, and parties. Bhangra has evolved from a dance and music only performed in the Punjab region, to a popular style of music and dance that people perform throughout South Asia and many parts of the world.

Bhangra: Jazzy B, Panjabi MC, Gurdas Maan, Miss Pooja, Surjit Bindrakhia, DJ Vix, Daler Mehndi, Sukhshinder Shinda, Lehmber Hussainpuri, Sahotas, Babbu Maan, Bally Sagoo, Amrita Virk, Hans Raj Hans, Gubi Sandhu, Aman Hayer, Kulwinder Dhillon, Hunterz, Indy Sagu, B21, RDB Aka Rhythm Dhol Bass, K.S. Makhan, Bhinda Jatt, Sukhdev Sukha, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Inderjit Nikku, Jasbir Jassi, Heera Group, Sardool Sikander, Kuldip Manak, Harbhajan Shera, Apna Sangeet, Gursewak Mann, Amar Singh Chamkila, Jassi Sidhu, A.S. Kang, Amar Arshi, Parminder Sandhu, Yamla Jatt, and Sukhbir.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ April 1, 2010

Aeolus

King of the winds

Aeolus was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ August 4, 2010

Mobile Suit Gundam

In the year Universial Century 0079, humanity lives in space colonies called Sides. Side 3, the Principality of Zeon, has declared war on the Earth Federation. After the intial fighting, an 8-month stalemate occured. However that stalemate breaks when Amuro Ray stumbles into the Gundam, the Earth Federation's secret weapon. Now Amuro and the crew of White Base must stand up to Zeon in order to end the war.

Mobile Suit Gundam aired in the U.S. on Toonami in 2001. There are a total of 43 episodes.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ August 27, 2010

Tokugawa Ieyasu

One of the most significant figures in Japanese history, Ieyasu was a warrior, statesman and founder of the Tokugawa dynasty of shoguns. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born Matsudaira Takechiyo in 1542, son of the lord of the province of Mikawa. At the time of his birth, Japan was convulsed by civil war, with violent feuds between territorial lords which had lasted for nearly a century. When he was four Ieyasu was sent as a hostage to secure an alliance between his clan and the neighbouring Imagawa clan. He was raised at their court and given the education suitable for a nobleman. In 1567 Ieyasu, whose father's death had left him as leader of the Matsudaira, allied with Oda Nobunaga, a powerful neighbour. It was at this time that he changed his name from Matsudaira to Tokugawa, which was the name of the area from which his family originated. He also changed his personal name to Ieyasu, so he was now known as Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu spent the next decade-and-a-half campaigning with Nobunaga while expanding his own influence and wealth. He had by now gained a considerable military reputation.

When Nobunaga was assassinated in 1582, Tokugawa Ieyasu acquired more territory, and allied with Nobunaga's successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi sent Ieyasu to govern lands in the east of Japan, attempting to contain his growing independence. Ieyasu made his headquarters at the small port of Edo (where Tokyo now stands). When Hideyoshi died campaigning in Korea, Ieyasu became one of the guardians of his young son. The leading military figures in Japan now began to scheme against each other and civil war again broke out. Another of the advisers appointed by Hideyoshi was Ishisa Mitsunari, and it was he who formed the Western Army against Ieyasu. In 1600 Ieyasu defeated the Western Army in the decisive battle of Sekigahara, thereby achieving supremacy in Japan. In 1603 Emperor Go-Yozei, ruler only in name, gave Ieyasu the historic title of shogun (military governor) to confirm his pre-eminence. Japan was now united under Ieyasu's control. He worked hard to restore stability to Japan and encouraged foreign trade, which included the exchange of gifts with James I of England and other European rulers. It was only later, under Ieyasu's successors, that Japan effectively isolated itself from foreign contact. Ieyasu died on 17 April 1616. He was later deified and his mausoleum at Nikko became one of the most important shrines in Japan.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ July 24, 2011

Mariachi

Bands from Jalisco, in western Mexico, have been providing a unique form of relaxed, romantic accompaniment to weddings since before the Mexican Revolution. Some say the French word for "marriage" may have given their ensembles and their music its name: Mariachi. Now popular at restaurants, bars, and receptions on both sides of the border, Mariachi bands include guitars, the low, thrumming guitarron, violins, a trumpet, and a high-pitched singer. They also come equipped with a repertoire of ballads, polkas, waltzes, and cumbias. Mariachi bands are known for their stylized, sombrero-and-bolero-coat uniforms, and for wandering from bar to street corner to bar, playing their traditional music.

Mariachi: Miguel Aceves Mejía, Pepe Aguilar, Mariachi Silvestre Vargas, Mariachi Mexico De Pepe Villa, Mariachi Casino, Mariachi Los Caporales, Lupillo Rivera, Amalia Mendoza, Raul Sandoval, Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlan, Cuco Sanchez, Jorge Negrete, Alejandro Fernandez, Mariachi Cobre, Mariachi Alas De Mexico, Mariachi Los Toritos, and Mariachi El Bronx.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ February 4, 2010

Inuyasha

Kagome Higurashi, after being pulled down a well by a demon, finds herself in Feudal Japan, where she learns that a powerful jewel has been reborn inside her body. After the sacred jewel shatters in an attempt to retrieve it from one of the many demons who was after its power, Kagome must join forces with the half-demon Inuyasha (also after the jewel's power) to track down the shards of the jewel before its power falls into the wrong hands.

Half-human, half-demon, Inuyasha desires the Shikon Jewel for his own questionable purposes. He possesses his father's sword, Tetsusaiga, which enables him to defeat powerful opponents.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ August 22, 2010

Contagious Magic

A form of sympathetic magic based on the view that things once conjoined continue to influence each other when separated; thus magic performed on a lock of hair may affect the person from whom it came.

Contagious Magic is magic that attempts to affect a person through something once connected with him or her, as a shirt once worn by the person or a footprint left in the sand; a branch of sympathetic magic based on the belief that things once in contact are in some way permanently so, however separated physically they may subsequently become.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ August 4, 2010