Definitions by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫
Zoe Pound
A very ruthless gang that originates with Haitians immigrants. It became an official recognized gang of killers around 1994-1995. They mostly reside in south Florida along with other foreign countries. They carry the symbol of the Haitian flag with them along with their Haitian pride. It is said that some Zoe Pound gang members use Voodoo to take people out. The word Zoe by itself means somebody that is of Haitian decent. A Zoe Pound gangster interviewed on the History Channel’s Gangland stated that there was Haitians with a pound of drugs and that's how the name Zoe Pound came about. Originally Zoe Pound was not a Haitian movement, but a "lick" (way to make easy money). Many Zoe Pound Members do not view themselves as gang members, but view themselves as a group standing up for their Haitian people. Many of them also believe that it is foolish to go around throwing up gang signs, and gang tattoos are not mandatory – most likely to keep their operations as secret as possible. The only colors they represent are the colors of their Haitian flag.
Zoe Pound by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 22, 2009
Pacifism
Pacifism is the principled rejection of war and the ideology that peace should be achieved without the means of violence. It covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved; to calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war; to opposition to any organization of society through governmental force (anarchist or libertarian pacifism); to rejection of the use of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals; to the obliteration of force except in cases where it is absolutely necessary to advance the cause of peace; to opposition to violence under any circumstance, including defense of self and others.
Principled pacifism holds that at some point along the spectrum from war to interpersonal physical violence, such violence becomes morally wrong. Pragmatic pacifism holds that the costs of war and inter-personal violence are so substantial that better ways of resolving disputes must be found. Pacifists in general reject theories of Just War. Pacifists follow principles of nonviolence, believing that nonviolent action is morally superior and/or pragmatically most effective.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a pacifist.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a pacifist.
Pacifism by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 7, 2009
Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer widely regarded as among the greatest of novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina represent in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, the peak of realist fiction. Tolstoy's further talents as essayist, dramatist, and educational reformer made him the most influential member of the aristocratic Tolstoy family. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
"All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do." - Leo Tolstoy
"Boredom: the desire for desires." - Leo Tolstoy
"Boredom: the desire for desires." - Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 6, 2009
Arabic Music
Arabic music is the music of the Arab World, including several genres and styles of music ranging from Arabic classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music. Arabic music, while independent and very alive, has a long history of interaction with many other regional musical styles and genres. It is an amalgam of the music of the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula and the music of all the peoples that make up the Arab World today. It also influenced and has been influenced by Egyptian, Cypriot, Greek, Persian, Kurdish, Assyrian, Turkish, Indian, African (i.e. North African, Berber and Swahili) and European music (i.e. Flamenco). As was the case in other artistic and scientific fields, Arabs translated and developed Greek texts and works of music and mastered the musical theory of the Greeks.
Arabic Music: Ahmed Bukhatir, Marwan Ali, Saber El Robaey, Hussein Al Salman, Hamza El Din, Ammar Hassan, Ehab Tawfik, Diana Haddad, Asala Nasri, Sherine Ahmed, Samira Saeed, Najwa Karam, Nancy Ajram, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Amr Diab, Dolly Chahine, Aseel Omran, Dania El Khatib, Angham, Myriam Fares, Yasmein El Gohary, Yara Shabany, Elias Karam, Fares Karam, Amal Hegazy, Omneya Soliman, Carol Samaha, Yara, Haifa Wehbe, Grace Deab, Ragheb Alamah, Wael Kfouri, DJ Saeed Murad, Tamer Hosny, Mohammad Hamaky, Ahlam, Hossam Habib, Sami Yusuf, Ibtisam Lutfi, Fadel-Shaker, Kazem Al Saher, Ragheb Alama, Asalah, Shereen, Omar Al-Abdillat, Shaam, Aziza Jalal, Rim Banna, Amal Hijazi, Master Musicians Of Jajouka, Rashed Al-Majed, and Ramy Sabry.
Arabic Music by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 3, 2009
Adhan
Adhan is the Islamic ritual call to prayer. It was explained to Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) as "music for God." Stevens said, "I thought, music for God? I’d never heard that before. I’d heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God!" Adhan is called out by the muezzin in the mosque, sometimes from a minaret, five times a day summoning Muslims for mandatory (fard) prayers (salah). There is a second call known as iqama (set up) that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of adhan five times a day in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. Loudspeakers are sometimes installed on minarets for the purpose.
Sunnis state that the adhan was not written or said by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, but by one of his Sahabah (his companions). Shi'a sources state that it is Muhammad who, according to God's command, ordered the adhan as a means of calling Muslims to prayer. Shi'a Islam teaches that no one else contributed, or had any authority to contribute, towards the composition of the adhan.
Adhan by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 3, 2009
Bokuto
A wooden Japanese sword used for training, usually the size and shape of a katana, but sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tanto. Bokken is a term synonymous with bokutō in Japan, but is more widely used in the west.
Traditionally, the character Ken is used at the beginning of a word, for terms having to do with the sword, for example in Kendō (way of the sword) and Kenjutsu (art of the sword). In contrast, tō is used primarily as a suffix, for example, in shōtō (short sword) and daitō (long sword). Thus, in Japan, the word bokuto (wood sword) is more commonly used.
Bokuto by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 3, 2009
Zanbato
A Zanbato (literally "horse-slaying sword" or "horse-chopping saber") is an especially large type of Japanese sword, the historical use of which is disputed. The sword closely resembles the nodachi or odachi, however it differs from the nodachi by having a ricasso of approximately 12 to 18 inches (460 mm). This lends more to the theory of the sword having a practical use in feudal Japan. The increased length of the blade, along with the extra grip, would give it dual use both as a sword and as a polearm for attacking advancing cavalry. This style of zanbato sword can be found for sale in rural tourist shops and stands in Kyoto and Nara prefectures of Japan. This sword may have been inspired by the Chinese zhan ma dao as both were said to have been used for killing the horse and rider in one swing. It is likely that the zanbato is actually a mis-construction of the zhǎn mǎ dāo, poorly drawn or translated by Japanese travellers who witnessed the weapon being used during battle.
Such extremely long and curved zabatao swords did exist, and were solely used for ceremonial purposes. Experienced smiths often took upon themselves to prove their talent by creating these so-called "zanbato" as a way to challenge themselves. This led to the extremely long blades often seen in ancient depictions, some of which were so long (over a dozen feet long) that they could hardly be mistaken for something other than display pieces.
Zanbato by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ December 3, 2009