World record gathering of people with same name and controversial rapper Kanye West changes his name to ¨YE¨ and gets dropped by Adidas

A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing a namesake of his  drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an octogenarian.

Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated at breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were thwarted largely because of the association's insistence on all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a more lenient criterion. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka reflected on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of silliness".

And speaking of changing names, The American rapper Kanye West has changed his name to Ye. Judges in California approved his request for the name change. Kanye Omari West is the name that appeared on his birth certificate. However, the artist now has a new, shorter name. Ye, 45, has no legal middle name or surname. He has wanted to change his name for a long time and finally, his wish is now reality. Three years ago, he announced that he was, "the being formerly known as Kanye West". Ye did not give any reasons for his name change. He said it was for "personal reasons" but did not offer any more explanations. The rapper has had the nickname Ye for a long time. It is even the name of his eighth studio album.

The music website billboard.com reported that one of the requirements for name changes in California is for the person to publish it in a newspaper. This is so anyone who might be harmed by the change can object. Ye did this four different times in September. He put notices that he wished to change his name in the Daily Commerce newspaper. One of the only times Ye has talked about his new name was three years ago. He spoke to a radio host called Big Boy. He said "Ye" was from the Bible and that it means "you". He said: "I believe "ye" is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means "you". So, I'm you, I'm us, it's us."

Kanye Scandal

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZK10Wc_zpg

 The consequences of repeated, brazen antisemitic attacks over the past few weeks have damaged the empire of Ye, the musician and fashion designer better known as Kanye West, and harmed his dealings with financial institutions and celebrity friends.

Ye saw his multibillion-dollar business seperate on Tuesday from its largest backer, sportswear giant Adidas. After weeks of silence and increasing public pressure, the German company — the last major holdout among Ye’s business partners — announced it would immediately “end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.”

Adidas “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other kind of hate speech,” the company said in a statement. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.”

Yeezy generated an estimated $2 billion a year, close to 10 percent of the company’s annual revenue, Morningstar analyst David Swartz said. Adidas said the split will cost the company 250 million euros ($248 million) this year.

Adidas can recover from that short-term impact, but the financial hit to Ye has been instantaneous. Ye once bragged he was “the richest Black man in history,” but Forbes estimates that $1.5 billion of his net worth was tied to the Adidas deal, while $400 million comes from real estate, cash, his music catalogue and a 5 percent stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s clothing brand, Skims.

In recent weeks, several companies — including French fashion house Balenciaga, JP Morgan Chase, talent agency CAA, and Hollywood financier and producer MRC — have ended relationships with the performer. On Monday, Gap, which ended its partnership with Ye last month, announced it was pulling all Yeezy Gap inventory from stores and shutting down the line’s website.

The first sign of an impending financial fallout began earlier this month, when Adidas announced a review of its collaboration with Ye and his Yeezy brand after he sparked outrage by wearing a “WHITE LIVES MATTER” T-shirt at his Paris Fashion Week show.

In the days that followed, he made antisemitic comments on Instagram and Twitter, causing restrictions of his accounts on those platforms and inspiring him to buy Parler, a social media site, for an undisclosed amount.

In the weeks since, he has doubled down on his antisemitic position . Ye, who has said some of his previous erratic behaviors were a result of bipolar disorder, ranted for 10 minutes  on the podcast “Drink Champs,” about Jewish people. In that same interview, he also falsely claimed that George Floyd, a Black man killed by Minneapolis police, had died from a fentanyl injection.

Ye’s commentary presented a particularly sensitive challenge for Adidas, whose founder, Adolf Dassler, joined the Nazi Party and outfitted the Hitler Youth. 

A  skyrocketing amount of fresh outrage and pressure toward Adidas emerged over the weekend, when hate groups appeared to use his celebrity to advance their agendas. On Saturday, an anti-Jewish group displayed a banner over a Los Angeles highway that read, “Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews,” while making Nazi salutes to oncoming traffic. A picture of the incident went viral.

Kardashian, Ye’s ex-wife, tweeted on Monday: “Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric toward them to come to an immediate end.”

 

Ye’s previous outbursts, such as his short-lived run for president and derogatory comments about enslaved Americans, led staffers on Yeezy projects to question their loyalty to the company. His erratic boardroom behavior — he bragged in 2018 that Adidas provided him a private 747 dubbed “Yeezy’s floating office” — made it difficult to get work done, staffers said.

Adidas, like all major retailers, is dealing with overstocked inventory. Its business in China is also rapidly declining, leading the company to announce on Oct. 20 that it had lowered its profitability outlook for 2022. Since Oct. 6, when the Ye scandal began, Adidas’s U.S.-traded shares have fallen nearly 16 percent. In the past Kanye had made Adidas billions. Now he coul cost the company its reputation.

Swartz, the analyst at Morningstar, said he expects Adidas’s business to rebound, noting in his written assessment that the company’s rating “has never been dependent on Yeezy.”Neil Saunders, managing director of analytics company GlobalData, said Adidas’ decision to end the relationship was in part a move to “protect its reputation and show customers it is on the right side of morality.”

 

1.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	convened	a.	A person who is between 80 and 89 years old.
2.	inspiration	b.	A person or thing that has the same name as another.
3.	namesake	c.	Extend across a period of time or a range of subjects.
4.	drafted	d.	Came or brought together for a meeting or activity.
5.	span	e.	All of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively.
6.	generation	f.	The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.
7.	octogenarian	g.	Selected a player for a sports team.

    Paragraph 2

8.	elated	h.	Average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.
9.	thwarted	i.	Prevented someone from achieving or doing something.
10.	insistence	j.	Thought deeply or carefully about.
11.	lenient	k.	Very, very, very happy.
12.	criterion	l.	A principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided.
13.	deemed	m.	The fact or quality of saying that something is definitely the case or should be done.
14.	reflected	n.	Regarded or considered in a specified way.

 

    Paragraph 3

1.	approved	a.	A family name.
2.	request	b.	A thing that is asked for.
3.	appeared	c.	A paper that shows where and when someone was born, and details of who their parents were.
4.	birth certificate	d.	Accepted something as being good or acceptable.
5.	legal	e.	A shorter name that friends call you.
6.	surname	f.	Was written somewhere.
7.	nickname	g.	OK by the law.

    Paragraph 4

8.	requirement	h.	Hurt.
9.	publish	i.	A small piece of information in a newspaper, on a website or on an information board.
10.	notice	j.	The presenter of a television or radio programme.
11.	harmed	k.	Something that is needed to do something.
12.	object	l.	Print something for people to see.
13.	host	m.	Very often; frequently.
14.	commonly	n.	Say you disagree with or dislike something.

 

 Vocavvbbularyccv

Kanye Scandal Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.brazen		a.	resisting
2.holdout		b.	Bold and without shame
3.split		c.	supporter
4.revenue		d.	produce or create
5.backer		e.	occuring right away
6.generated		f.	income
7.instantaneous		g.	break away

   

8.	pulling from	h.	A threatening or significant event about to happen
9.	impending	i.	Strenghten a commitment to a risky strategy or activity.
10.	fallout	j.	Speak or shout passionately and angrily for an uninterrupted amount of time.
11.	undisclosed	k.	Unpredictable
12.	doubled down	l.	Unspecified.
13.	erratic	m.	Negative result of an action
14.	ranted	n.	removing

       15. outfitted                           o.     provide with clothes

       16. outrage                             p.     extreme anger 

2. SYNONYM MATCH A : 

1. gathering
2. attempt
3. established
4. span
5. elated
6. thwarted
7. eligible
8. reflected

       9.ridiculous

      10. convened

1. foiled
2. set up
3. allowed
4. assembly
5. thrilled
6. laughable
7. effort
8. thought about
9. met
10. cross

SYNONYM MATCH B

1. approved
2. request
3. legal
4. wish
5. personal
6. requirements
7. harmed
8. object
9. talked
10. commonly

1. hurt
2. desire
3. conditions
4. spoken
5. ok'd
6. protest
7. private
8. appeal
9. frequently
10. lawful

 

3 .Role play: Controvesial Figures

Role  A – Donald Trump You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial

Role  B – Michael Jackson  You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial

Role  C – Will Smith  You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial

Role  D – Johnny Depp You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial  Role E-Josep Pedrerol You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial  Rol F - Rosalia  You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial  Role G- Colin Kapernick You think this is the most controversial figure. Tell is what you know about this person and why they are considered to be so controversial  Role H - Someone not on the list  Role play 2 Role  A – An Ancestor You think it is best to call a newborn baby after an ancestor. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): Role  B – A Movie Star You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a movie star. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): Role  C – A Flower You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a flower. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): Role  D – A Religious Figure You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a religious figure. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): OR A celestial body A month An inspirational noun-adjective A cartoon character

Discussion - First and Last Name

1. What did you think when you read the headline?
2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'name'?
3. What do you think of your name?
4. What do you think of this record?
5. What do you think of common surnames in your country?
6. Would you like to change your name?
7. Do you have any namesakes?
8. Should men or women change their surname after marriage?
9. What do you think of nicknames?
10. Should we write our surname or given name first?
11. What world record would you like to break?

11. What do you think of middle names?
12. What do you think of double-barrelled (hyphenated) surnames?
13. Do you prefer your surname or given name?
14. Do you think the record is 'an example of silliness'?

What questions would you like to ask one of the Tanaka Hirokazus