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Fatty Gets A Stylist: interview with Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall (2011)
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
Fatty Gets A Stylist masterminds, Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall are taking tea on a rare sunny June day at a South Melbourne café, discussing the finer points of what constitutes taking a risk in music these days. For one, both agree calling a band Fatty Gets A Stylist earns a big tick, but the most intriguing development in the risk department is, the brand new release – a co-write with hubby/long-time collaborator Keir – is Kate giving a big middle finger to her the sound that made her a star. The self-titled album - which claims XTC, Goldfrapp and Kraftwerk as reference points – started life on-tour as a between shows muck-around project for the couple, before blossoming into a throbbing multi-layered extravaganza. Fatty takes the listener through trash-spiritualism, cartoon theme-song terrain and post-punk with out a hint of Heidke's sober pop artistry to be found. It seems as if Kate is flexing some newly developed muscle, all while snuffing out her 'fluffy balladeer' label in the process.
Being a Heidke album though, albeit one with zero relevance to her former work, that voice is, on one occasion, heard carrying a record-breaking sustained note that's sure to leave even the listener out of breath. "I'm so glad someone picked up on that; it was done in one take you know." She says of the track The Plane Went Down, "I can't wait to do that live, but then I might possibly faint at the end if I have to do that night after night." Kate's classically trained voice – the one that has served her so well up til now – is the first of many surprise elements on Fatty Gets A Stylist. For a start, Heidke has been discovering the joys of using a much lower octave range than ever before. "I think we shocked ourselves a lot of the time making this album." She remarks. "But you know, it started out as a passion project, just us two, and the thought of anyone else hearing it didn't really cross our minds." Kate adds, "I was singing a lot in the shower and getting comfortable with a lower range to what I'm used to, which is why I don't really sound like 'me' on the record," she laughs, "and I said to Keir 'what do you think of my funny voice?' and that kind of got us thinking about having this album be a completely anonymous thing without our names attached to it at all."
The projects name chosen to keep an air anonymity could be read as nod towards the overabundance of surface-obsessed reality TV dirge currently on offer, but Keir explains, it's less about the 'make-over myth' but rather an imagined tabloid headline. "The idea was to use a name that tells a story; ala Frankie Goes To Hollywood, who got their name from a newspaper headline, but I think ours is more in line with current obsessions with weight and appearance." While Frankie suggested we all should relax, Fatty Gets A Stylist go one further with references to Zen Buddhism and pre-religious spirituality. Kate picks up the thread, "Even though some of the songs are very silly, I guess there's also some obvious spiritual references like on The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child, which has to with the Buddhist belief that you only really grow through letting go completely of your past systems." In Wiccan lore, it's taught that people possess power animals which they have to get to grips with - the intention being, it makes you awesome. After discovering this, Keir shares some concerns over what his animal might be.
"I dream about dogs a lot, but not cool ones like wolves or dingos, its always garden variety spaniels." Kate, cracking up, adds, "Maybe you'll graduate to a poodle." While Keir contemplates his K9 dilemma, Kate maintains that the dream animal concept in songs has become an indie band staple; therefore best avoided. "I've got a natural resistance to this dream strength-animal thing, but I do relate to the inner child as a way of helping me creatively. You have to sort of get to that place I your head which is unaffected by just day-to-day crap and allow yourself to be playful and fearless." Keir adds, "The tiger is more the self-conscious side of your mind – like the battle between the left and right brain that happens when you write or create music." Although much of Fatty Gets A Stylist was written on a lap-top while Kate and Keir were on tour, it's liner notes boast a long, impressive guest list of session players. The album was still in its demo form when, while supporting Ben Folds, Kate played him the album who then persuaded her to record it with a full band and release it. With the Folds tick of approval, all was left was to find the right artists for the job. Keir explains.
"Ben Folds called it 'lower chakra music', which basically meant it was more rhythmic, or more animal so we wanted players who came from that side of the spectrum." He adds, "We ended up going with Pete McNeal (ex-Cake drummer) who plays in a band called Z-Trip, who has this strong, crazy improv style. Then you have Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who played bass with Beck, Air and Nine Inch Nails, bringing this really huge range of experience." He adds, "I think those guys are what Ben was talking about when he said lower chakra music." Kate then simplifies, "It's about listening with your hips and not our head!" When Heidke's solo albums, Curiouser and Little Eve, established the her as a spirited and clearly gifted singer/songwriter, she was probably seen as a safe bet in the industry - especially once the awards began rolling in. To drop the psychedelic bubblegum pop of Fatty Gets A Stylist on the heels of such plaudits, would surely have had a few men in grey towers pulling out their hair. Kate responds.
"Our management were really supportive of us putting it out, but there is a slight scary element to how fans will react to me doing something so different, for sure. I expect some people will think I'm putting on this strange voice, and already I've heard people say they don't like the name and that they think its offensive, but as I said before, we went into this with no fear and I accept that not everyone is going to get into it, or see why I'm doing this now, but as I get older, I feel I'm gradually taking more and more control creatively of what I want to do." Keir adds, "The reaction has been really interesting so far. I mean before anyone knew we were doing this, I played some of the songs to our band (Transport), and they didn't spot it was Kate – I just told them it was this new band I'd met in London." He laughs, "Usually whenever you play something new to friends, it's a pretty loaded atmosphere and you know they don't want to hurt your feelings, so this was the best way to get a completely honest reaction from them." Kate recalls, "They didn't think it was me, so I said 'what do you think of her voice?' and one of them said, 'oh she's nowhere near as good a singer as you, so after that, I didn't want to let anyone know it was me!"
Posted by lEIGh5 at 12:52 AM No comments:
Wendy Matthews interview: 2011
STRONG ENOUGH
Wendy Matthews was about as far removed from the meat-pie and beer Aussie rock landscape as her Canadian roots, but persistence in a realm way outside of her initial comfort zone, resulted in the willowy former session vocalist appearing on nearly every notable Oz rock album in the '80s. Finally stepping into her very own spotlight, from 1990 onward Matthews' true passion for poetic tear-jerkers reminiscent of her idol Joni Mitchell's work was at last successfully indulged. Now, 21 years on from her against-the-grain solo debut, Émigré, the Australian (officially since 2005) vocalist, is celebrating the anniversary in a retrospective tour she's calling Standing Strong, yet this landmark, I discover, is barely half of her remarkable story.
"I guess now is a good time to celebrate what I've been doing for two decade before my next album comes out." She says in an accent equal parts Canadian and Australian. Work on Matthews' new album of originals is already underway, following on from two covers sets (She and Café Naturale). Her anniversary tour will help fund its completion as, although despite multiple-ARIA wins and serious chart success in the '90s, Wendy found herself out of contract in 2007 and so began her own independent label, Barking Bear to release her music on. "I'm so glad I have this label as a resource, but I am crap at the business side of things. I wish I kind of cared more about how the whole thing works, but I am singer and a songwriter, not a business woman." She adds, "I've moved into the category of singers who don't sell so many records these days, but I'm also part of this world of artists who make great music in their kitchens or whatever and with no record company judging what your musical life-span is." A passion for singing since very early childhood, Wendy claims, was the only guide in what direction her life was to take.
"I've been a bit of a freak for most of my life, frighteningly enough. I've never had a real job!" She laughs, "This is all I've ever done and it did determine quite a lot how my life would turn out back when I was 15 and having huge doubts about what I was going to be." Matthew's continues, "I realise now that I was setting myself up for something that would last and was satisfying for me. I mean if I had've been making dance beats, as a lot of people were, it would never have driven me like say a Joni Mitchell record does." She adds, "Don't get me wrong, I think music should fulfill many functions – I can get up and vacuum the house to dance music in my undies and its great – but that's never gonna stimulate me like Joni, you know."
Her future direction became a little clearer when, while living in LA in 1983, Matthews - who was getting casual work as a backing vocalist - by chance met legendary Australian music mogul Glenn Shorrock, who convinced her to sing backing vocals on his album and fly to Sydney to tour in his band. "Glenn, almost to his detriment, was always passionate about music above and beyond the industry. He was the sort of guy that would come off stage after a gig and still want to sit around the piano and play music just for fun, so we had no problems connecting." Wendy recalls. Her motivation to start a new life in Australia however was hampered at first by a fear of rejection by what she perceived as an unforgiving pub rock scene. "My first experience of a female singer who'd made it in Australia was Chrissie Amphlett of Divinyls and it kind of scared me a little, because she had this machismo - which I guess she'd developed because it was a very male oriented rock scene - and I thought I was never going to be accepted into that kind of world." Matthews, in reality was not only accepted into the Australian live music world, but was in hot demand as a session singer with many of the top rock acts at the time.
"There are a lot of years of my life that have gone into making music and sometimes I glimpse back to those times and I'm so grateful to those bands." Wendy says. For the rest of the 1980s, her singer/songwriter roots were largely put on hold while Matthews bumped shoulders with the crème of Aussie rock – Icehouse, Models, Richard Clapton, Barnes to name a few, were demanding her services – and even found time to dabble in advertising jingles to keep the land lord off her case; "I was the 'L.J. Hooker… you're the best' girl for quite some time." She laughs, "But you know not everything I did back then I'm proud of!" Her rise to top billing artist was still a way off, but during the late '80s, Matthews performed on three of the biggest Australian albums - Models, Out Of Mind Out Of Sight, The Rockmelons, Tales Of The City and Kate Ceberano's You've Always Got The Blues - helping to shrug of any self-doubt she may have been harboring. The turning point came when her Models' band mates split the group into two halves in 1989, resulting in the James Freud-led Beatfish and, importantly for Matthews, her then partner Sean Kelly's project, Absent Friends. At last the Canadian chanteuse was on lead vocal for the 1990 single, I Don't Want To Be With Nobody But You - a cover of an Eddie Floyd song – which was so far as most Australian's were aware, Wendy's debut – and they liked what they heard. The single beat huge competition from a Skyhooks come-back, award-magnets Midnight Oil, INXS, Barnsey AND Farnsey to take home ARIA single of the year, cementing Matthews' Midas-touch run.
"Things come in waves, and I guess that was my time for things to work out, but I know now that it's impossible to keep the vibration going at such a high level for very long!" Wendy laughs. "I mean the thing about being independent is that you don't get that level of marketing now, which is what labels are so good at, and so I see that time as wonderful, but also impossible to repeat." Absent Friends only saw out the year before Sean Kelly went off to form The Dukes, while Matthews - still on her first wave of glory - went on to record Émigré – her solo debut. Nobody But You's success was equalled by Wendy's Token Angels single, and again she was picked as the industry's favourite. Matthews was by now 30 years old, and having spent half of her life performing, acknowledges the weirdness of her bestowed 'best new-comer' status. "I've debuted more times than I can count!" She exclaims. But, discounting any uncatalogued nappy commercials, technically Wendy's public debut as a vocalist, was at the age of four, witnessed by half of the Western world's pre-schoolers… or so a large yellow bird informs me.
"Oh, god." Matthews' moans, "I got to do Sesame Street because I think they realised I was kinda able to hold a note." This debut – which came about through family friends' involvement on the show's production - although undeniably glamorous, was hardly a sign of things to come. "All I remember is it was an alphabet song, and I just did the letter 'O' part, to which they put an animation of a goat with all letter 'O's coming out of its mouth." She laughs heavily, "So, I guess my debut was as a singing goat on Sesame Street, yeah." It's hard not to get side-tracked by Matthews' Sesame Street connection, but the 'wow moments' in her career keep piling up as our discussion continues. During a brief stint singing with The Rockmelons in 1988, a support slot on James Brown's Australian tour led to Matthews sharing the stage with the Godfather for a couple of songs. "I hear myself talking about that, and it almost doesn't feel real." Wendy acknowledges, "It's like I'm talking about somebody else's experience, but you know, although it was amazing and everything, really I'm just glad I can say I've got a good James Brown story!" Many great music moments have come and gone for Wendy, but her finest hour was less a personal experience, but a song that most of Australia it seemed, claimed as their own.
Wendy's award-winning The Day You Went Away video
"I was honestly terrified of releasing The Day You Went Away into the climate of what was on the radio at the time. I mean it was just a piano and heartbeat and I thought I was gonna be eaten alive, but that song proved to me that your average radio listener out there was wanting different stuff to what was being offered." Released around Christmas 1992, The Day You Went Away - from Matthews' second album, Lily - was arguably given gravitas by the fact Australian's were still serving in the first Gulf War. Coupled with a video depicting a couple separated by war, the single outsold every other local release that year, which finally dissolved Matthews' old fear of being seen as an outcast in the 'hedonistic Aussie rock scene.' "I'm somebody who loves to be moved my music, and the success of that song proved I was in good company." She says, "It was a huge compliment to me that so many people responded to it in the way they did, but you know, reactions to it have been so, so varied, I mean I have had women say to me, 'nothing helps my baby get to sleep like your voice in that song'!" She laughs, "So for a while I thought, 'Oh my god, I'm going become known as the baby whisperer!'"
Posted by lEIGh5 at 2:07 AM 3 comments:
Lou Rhodes (Lamb) interview: 2011
FRIENDLY WITH FIVE
Manchester duo, Lamb were written off by just about everyone – including themselves – come the middle of the last decade. Following a short-lived peek into world-wide success at the end of the '90s, vocalist Lou Rhodes and musician Andy Barlow, began to fall out of love with the music once it became a pressure game of commerce and repetition. However, a core of devoted fans had the foresight to not give up on the pair and this year, their devotion has finally paid off – although at a price. Lamb, embracing a little numerology, not to mention some grass roots marketing, announced their long awaited fifth album, 5, funded entirely by fan pre-orders. It may seem a long way from the runaway success of 1997 single Gorecki, but as Lou Rhodes points out, with fans like theirs, who needs labels?
"The scary bit was selling something that we hadn't even made, so you're asking for quite a leap of faith from people, you know." Rhodes begins. "But then, I think it's a great basis for a creative endeavor. That desire to make something that we felt truly proud of was stronger than ever." Lou explains, "We were making an album for the first time ever with absolutely no funding from some nervous corporation looking for big hits, as was our experience in the past, which definitely had an effect on the music." After what began as a four-date tour in early 2010, which then grew into months of advance bookings, Lamb were approached to do a short Australian tour in February his year. It was at these shows that for the first time in seven years, their set included brand new music.
"When we were asked to do those shows in Australia, we panicked a bit because we hadn't even finished the record, but actually it turned out to be a good opportunity to see how well the new tracks worked along side our older stuff. We ended up premiering only four new songs, but that really was the acid test we needed to say what was working and what needed to change." She continues, "The songs do metamorphose whenever you play them live, so it was important to let the new ones begin their journey of tweak and change." Rhodes laughs gently. "The process of playing new songs live is like a game of Chinese whispers. You have a blueprint, and you think you know what the outcome will be, but little surprises always emerge in the actual telling." She adds, "I'd really like to do that a lot more, because the problem with being in the studio, is you usually finish an album and then go on tour and that's when this kind of growth happens within the songs, but by then it's too late." Already 5's mini road test has Rhodes rethinking the band's future performances.
"In the past we had always kept in mind what we were going to play live and how, and it was never more than half the record, but with 5, we found that we couldn't decide what not to play. At this stage we're doing eight out of the ten songs and we'd like to work in the other two at some point because it works so well in its complete form." Rhodes adds that she has always struggled with the concept albums judged only by the singles – no doubt a concern that has sprung from personal experience. Lamb's mammoth hit, Gorecki from their self-titled debut, although rewarding the band with obscene levels of exposure, also bought with it 'unreasonable expectations'. While recording their second album, Fear Of Fours, the inevitable pressure of matching that song's success was applied to the duo by their label, causing Rhodes to remark following their split in 2004, Lamb had long felt restricted by what was expected of them. "It was always tough for me to see Lamb as a singles band, because I don't really listen to very much commercial music or even claim to know how to make 'hit singles' on command." Lou retorts. "In the old days we had to endure conversations that went like, 'can you sound a bit more like Bis, because they're selling a lot of records at the moment', which was quite soul destroying for us." Lamb released three more albums over the next seven years before acrimoniously splitting. It wasn't until Lou Rhodes was recording her third solo album One Good Thing in 2009 that she and Andy's reunion occurred. "I was looking for somebody to produce my album and Andy just said, why not him!" At their rather organic reunion, creative sparks soon began to fly and Lamb's future was decided on – only with a few clear changes to be made.
"When we decided we were going to make another record, Andy and I had a very honest conversation about what Lamb should and should not be about." Rhodes explains, "I felt that I had compromised quite a lot on some of our albums and we kind of lost something along the way, but this time we agreed to keep it raw and just gently add to the songs as they needed, like we did on our first record. Also it was really important for us to not overproduce this album. I mean all up it only took five months to make which was very, very quick for Lamb." Rhodes' words are suggestive of somebody running from their past mistakes, but Lamb were always spared the often harsh criticisms of the UK press usually reserved for non three-chord rock bands. One doesn't have to dig very far to then to see Lamb are in fact their own strongest critics, and although many band's have long lulls following initial peaks, few return with their shit so fully together as they have. Lou reflects on what the refreshed Lamb we hear on 5 was bringing to the come-back party, and some of what was quite cheerfully thrown out.
"I'm a great believer in your first idea is probably your best before the ego kicks in and says oh but why not add this and add that, but simplicity was definitely the key in this case." She points out, "Also I think for me as a vocalist, too many times on previous albums, my voice had been extremely processed, or rather I was affecting it in certain ways, feeling that I needed to be something that I wasn't. But having that time off and doing my acoustic albums gave me a chance to let my voice grow and I allowed myself to get comfortable again as a singer." Rhodes naturally understates her sensational talent as a singer, but evidenced particularly by the tracks She Walks and Wise Enough, is an artist shaking off self-doubt and indulging her love of singing. Lamb's new-found confidence doesn't end there, either. Album closer, Existential Itch is a brilliantly executed reminder that in today's self-absorbed world, we can easily forget that the human experience is a shared one. Lou divulges,
"That song kind of sums up a lot of the record and going through this period of questioning everything I had once believed in. Not just with music, but life in general which I think most of us go through at some point." She adds, "With the title, I thought existential crisis seemed too strong a word because what I was going through seemed quite natural in a way. I think the word crisis carries the wrong implication, or at least I didn't see it as a crisis personally, I recognised that it was a much needed time of learning."
Ah, the gorgeous Lou and Andy... You know, I never made the Little Britain connection until I transcribed the interview... !!
EPK on Lamb recording their beautiful new album, "5".
Lou Barlow (Sebadoh) interview: 2011
LO-FI WAY
Lou Barlow's musically formative years were spent not only avoiding the synthetic sounds of the first new wave, but rather languishing in the potential of low-fi analogue recording before it became the must-have sound of a whole scene. His grasp of what would one day be known as the 'slacker sound' and love of chunky, distorted bass was eventually put to good use in indie monsters, Dinosaur Jr. – the band he formed with high school mate Joe (later sheered down to simply 'J') Mascis in 1984. But it was Barlow's home recordings side-project Sebadoh which has reigned consistently in the artist's life. Now with sackings, bickering and ego-clashes behind him, Lou is back working with both Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh; the latter of whom are currently celebrating the reissue of 1994 breakthrough album Bakesale.
Giving his side of the story of two bands, that never really split up but rather went from functioning to malfunctioning in ongoing cycles until their fractured fairytale finally gained its long overdue happy outcome, Lou Barlow begins from the rarely known comfort of his home. "I've been home in LA for almost two months, which is so weird. I haven't been at home for this long… ever in my life!" Barlow's chosen path – two active bands and a solo career – has of course meant that the road is always calling. Although a self-confessed DIY junkie preferring to work alone, Barlow couldn't be more removed from loner-dom, but not as begrudgingly as one might expect. The re-formed 'classic line-up' of Dinosaur Jr. have been regularly touring since 2005, while Sebadoh continue to have reunion tours every couple of years. But for Barlow, this duality is just the card he's been dealt.
"The two bands occupy different parts of my brain; they both have their own very distinct musical identities. I play different songs with different people in the two bands and that separation has ruled my existence for most of my life now, so it's not something I really think about anymore." He continues, "Dinosaur are touring the US in about a week before I bring Sebadoh out to Australia, so the two are almost overlapping at this stage." Most fans are in agreement (and Lou himself), that Dinosaur Jr. produced their best work with Barlow in the line-up. Their first three albums, Your Living All Over Me, Dinosaur and Bug - for the most part - defined the growing, underground indie scene in America which culminated in the grunge explosion. Now that the original line-up are touring and recording again after many 'lost years' - during which time Dinosaur Jr. produced albums Lou is only too happy to offer his opinion on - Barlow concedes it was an inevitable reunion.
"In hindsight I think, how could Dinosaur not get back together." He shrugs, "In Sebadoh, we never had the kinds of problems that I did working in Dinosaur, I mean, I've never felt the need to split Sebadoh up. We never had a falling out or anything, it was more of sigh than a shout," he says of their regular hiatuses, "We were like, ah, this isn't going so well at the moment let's just go do something else for a while. But Dinosaur felt like a very definite end… for me at least." Lou laughs, recalling his unceremonious booting out by Mascis in 1988, "I really didn't know if it would be possible for us to work together again until J (Mascis) was actually right there asking me, you know. It was wonderfully natural when it did happen and I didn't even have to think about how I was going to respond. The bottom line is, I love the music we made together way more than I disliked anyone in the band or any of the personal bullshit that went down between us." At the start, Lou and J Mascis bonded well as both were singers, writers and fans of weird, musical cross-pollinations, but Mascis soon began throwing his weight around as leader in Dinosaur Jr. Lou's contributions to the albums became lesser as Mascis's in-band domination grew until there was no room left for anybody else. Barlow continues,
Dinosaur Jr; "Going somewhere, Lou?"
"Music makes it all better for me, but looking back I am really glad I was kicked out of Dinosaur. It was an amazing gift awarded to my mental health." Lou laughs, "Murph (Emmett Murphy – drummer) and I talked about this - he stayed on longer in Dinosaur than me - but we were both having these panic attacks and neither one knew at the time about the other. When I got kicked out of the band, my panic attacks stopped and the same happened to Murph." He adds, "When we both rejoined the band (in 2005), thankfully they didn't return, but the difference was I knew what I was getting myself into rejoining that band. I wasn't going like 'yay, it's gonna be all different now', it was more like I felt I could take it." When Barlow found himself out of Dinosaur Jr., he already had his own back catalogue of music – some of which had been released independently – to continue adding to. The name Sebadoh was given to all his home-done tape albums, which had up until the late '80s, all been solo recordings. Although free to do as he pleased, Barlow didn't automatically jump at the chance to launch Sebadoh – the band – onto the world.
"Well I never really wanted to be in another band after Dinosaur. I kinda just wanted to be on my own and play my ukulele," He jokes, "But Eric Gaffney (Sebadoh co-founder) convinced me to make it into a proper band, and so we got Jason (Lowenstein) in to play drums and I decided that after Dinosaur, if I was going to be in a band again, it was going to have to be fun." Lou suddenly had the resources to make his own mark alongside Dinosaur Jr. with Sebadoh - only in his band, Barlow insisted on an even, split-three-ways approach that Dinosaur Jr. had completely lacked. "Just the way in which Sebadoh formed, and the fact that we all wrote and were equally responsible for the output of the band, meant a natural democracy kind of happened anyway. Dinosaur was J's deal – he was The Man and that was that as far as anyone was concerned." J Mascis, carried on with Dinosaur Jr., replacing Lou and Murph with Mike Johnson and George Berz, having some post-Barlow successes with the albums Where You Been and Without A Sound. But the momentum - and any shred of a recognisable 'Dinosaur-sound' - had dried up completely by 1997 and the band ended with a whimper.
"Yeah I thought the records J made after I left were just awful." Lou recalls of this time, "They were kind of like this weird hair metal version of Neil Young." He dead-pans, "It just sounded like a bloated half-assed, crap version of Dinosaur Jr. and so I was glad to be off doing Sebadoh and not making shit records." Lou finally cracks up after his onslaught, taking the edge of his harsh words. "But J totally needed me back in the band. I don't think either of us realised how much better we worked together until we completely fell out and went our own ways." After signing to Sub-Pop in 1992, Sebadoh gained moderate popularity with their wistful, unpolished rock albums before making their breakthrough record; 1994's Bakesale. Having dropped a lot of the more experimental sounds found on previous Sebadoh albums, Bakesale felt like a push towards a broader audience which, if in fact true, worked for them. Now as its fully tricked-out reissue is set for release, and a Don't Look Back-style tour is to follow, I press Lou for his honest opinion of Bakesale, and if it at all matches the general consensus that it was Sebadoh's finest hour.
"I liked the record when it came out." He pauses before adding, "I remember it being a really happy time in my life and there's a good spirit on that album, but I guess as time went by I found I didn't think it sounded very good. Then when we had to go back and listen to it for the tweaking and remastering, I think I finally - for the first time - got why people think it's our best album. I mean I don't personally think it is our best, I like our earlier, fucked up shit more, but I do think it is our most consistent record." What has always driven Barlow from the time spent making his strange and murky home demo tapes to his clashes with J Mascis over Dinosaur Jr.'s direction, may well be the belief, as he was quoted as saying in an interview, that all music is mired in clichés. Lou, no doubt thankful our time is nearly up, takes the opportunity to explain his possibly off-hand observation.
"The reality is, whatever you do is gonna be clichéd once you're aware of avoiding clichés." He sniffs, "The way I make music is with an economy of sound in mind, if you know what I mean. Instead of adding layers and guitar solos or any of that, I like to strip it back and to sing in the purest, most unaffected voice I can find. If there's any clichés I'm avoiding, it's just in having nothing where the guitar solo should be, and clipping off extended intros and outros, I guess, and there's your economy of sound." Lou adds, brightening up, "You know, I just thought of that expression today and I decided I needed to use it in a sentence. I hope that 'economy of sound' comes across better than 'music is mired in clichés' as a quote - I think that sounds a bit fatuous now. I actually love clichés; I love pop music, and none of my pleasures are guilty ones, but I guess when I'm writing my own music I just try to side-step all that is what I'm saying."
Posted by lEIGh5 at 3:07 AM 1 comment:
David Bridie (My Friend The Chocolate Cake) interview: 2011
In 2005, Melbourne musician David Bridie toured in support of his second solo album, Hotel Radio, playing to small pub crowds around Australia. When the night of his Hobart gig rolled around, I found myself in a state of barely suppressed excitement to finally see an artist who I'd revered - albeit from some distance - for a time, without really knowing what to expect. Ahead of his set, I overhear a pre-show conversation in which Bridie was surprisingly referred to as 'the guy who used to be in The Reels'. While David Mason's ears where hundreds of miles away, burning, it saddened me to think an artist like David Bridie should face such indifference after 20 years of creating so much beautiful music. He went on that night and performed one of the most astounding concerts I have ever seen, despite playing a set devoid of songs I previously knew, and no doubt confounded those mistaken Reels fans in the process.
Bridie was however wearing a very different musical hat that night, perhaps making him harder to spot for the more casual fan. This was, in a way, the start of a new era in his long career. Not Drowning Waving – his former full-time band – had recently split after 20 years while My Friend The Chocolate Cake – his stop and start second band - were on one of their regular hiatuses. Bridie had started living between Melbourne and Papua New Guinea, which was having a notable effect on his music, but while Hotel Radio reflected his island life, Bridie, back fronting My Friend The Chocolate Cake, has released a new, fully localised album. Location aside for now, Bridie, on the eve of My Friend The Chocolate Cake's latest release, Fiasco, is the first to admit he is a man hard to pin down, especially when drawing from his broad musical interests.
"I have a low boredom threshold, but also being a musician in Australia, I think you have to multitask a little bit." He begins, "Doing my soundtrack and production stuff is really important to me, seeing as My Friend The Chocolate Cake is an all acoustic outfit. Those other things mean I get to play around with the resonator button and synthesisers a bit which can be just as much fun." David had long worked world music into Not Drowning Waving's records, can talk for hours equally about programmable synths and folky acoustic pop. He continues, proudly. "I've got pretty diverse tastes is all. I can spend a day just listening to string music from Papua New Guinea and then the next getting out my old punk records or some Nick Drake, so I think keeping in touch with the broadest range of music I can helps me become a more interesting musician." MFTCC began in 1989 while David and co-founder, cellist Helen Mountfort, were on holiday in New Zealand and having a break from commitments to Not Drowning Waving. There they wrote a set of acoustic-based songs, clearly in oppose to all previous NDW material which would ultimately form the start a steady side-project, ultimately outlasting NDW.
"Not Drowning Waving was my first passion and they were a great bunch of musicians, but we had a much different agenda in what we were trying to do with that band than we do in 'Cake." David surmises, "Also NDW was an expensive outfit to operate. It was a large group with a lot of equipment and so it would've had to get a lot bigger than it did to really pay for itself in the long run. But with my solo records I get to satisfy a lot of the urges I had doing NDW, but with MFTCC I get to have that collaborative, social urge fed as well." Not Drowning Waving, you could argue, fitted awkwardly within the Australian music landscape of the mid-to-late '80s. Their lean towards world music and sparse instrumentals probably kept them from reaching the broader audience MFTCC has. Indeed by the time MFTCC had released their second album, Brood in 1995, they were gathering ARIA's and landing on radio playlists.
"MFTCC was a priority for me from very early on." David adds on transitioning between bands the first time, "Working with somebody like Helen in Not Drowning and then us both shifting into MFTCC was great because she has always had such a different ear to mine in arranging and producing and so forth, so it was always going to be fascinating to see where we could take this little idea of an acoustic chamber band with our kind of opposing views on music but also with respect for the way we each did our thing." Wearing their boffin hats, production on the band's sixth studio album, Fiasco was down to David and Helen - as has been the case on all MFTCC albums - with mixing by Tim Cole. David describes his relief as the final piece was added to the long-awaited new 'Cake album.
Bridie with Helen Mountfort - The core of 'Cake
"I remember on the last night (of mixing) sitting with Tim Cole and realising with some satisfaction we really had done the best album we could. I think over time we have developed a kind of 'Cake sound' if you like, and when I hear that, I know it is a good indication that we're clicking." So in sync they appear to be, that even violinist Hope Csutoros's baby arrived right at the start of the band's usual extended between album break, meaning her band commitment wasn't compromised. "Hope happily was able to come back on board in time for this album after some time off for motherhood duties and that was obviously special to Helen because of how they work so closely together in the studio on the string arrangements." David confirms, "Also it helps to have the same band in the studio as you play with on tour." Aside from the predominant dueling strings, another constant in MFTCC is the suburban landscape oil paintings and collages that adorn most of their CD sleeves. Fiasco's cover at first glance feels a little familiar, and then it dawns that this street scenario had graced the cover of Brood – only now the developer's have been through.
The "Brood" sleeve-art
"Warwick Jolly's done most of our album artwork so far and I think, like the music, the more you look at his collages the more you find." Indeed you'll see a train track tearing up the middle of the image, surrounded by cut-outs of Melbourne buildings and people past and present. In the centre, sits the unmistakable red brick overpass on the way to East Richmond station – an often by-passed location for metro travelers - which forms a tidy subtext for an album concerned mostly with journeys big and small and those who get left behind. "I guess the metaphor is fairly obvious isn't it?" David laughs. As for the title, Fiasco, Bridie claims he was forced to compromise. "I wanted to call it Somewhere Between The Sacred and the Bleeding Ordinary but was somewhat dissuaded because of how long the band's name is – like it wouldn't all fit along the spine of the CD - so I was a bit disappointed about that. But Fiasco in this instance is more a bun fight in a bakery than a tragedy. Despite it being an Italian word, I think a lot of Aussies happily use it to add gravitas when describing something like a failed relationship." It seems a natural choice of words considering the album's centrepiece, Madang Panic Attack. This uncharacteristic, somewhat guttural release from the band – written by Bridie in Papua New Guinea - is one of the few tracks David will admit to being a very personal one.
"Fiasco"
"Madang Panic Attack was me going through a break-up and being in a different country with a bottle of duty-free whiskey." David recalls, "Some of the locals had set fire to the store and the church in the village so the air was just hot and sweaty." He adds sighing, "Anyway my troubles got on top of me one night and I just spewed forth all these lyrics trying to make sense of everything." Madang Panic Attack stands as MFTCC's darkest song thus far, both lyrically and musically. David describes, "It's pretty edgy stuff for us and after we had it down in the studio, Andrew (Richardson – guitars) put a load of electric guitar on it, but Helen rightfully said, 'look we've stuck to this acoustic thing all along, there's no point in breaking from that now' so it was redone for the album, but at some point I wanna put out that other version. I think people who have followed us for a long time might get a bit of a shock with Madang... but then I sometimes think being in a band, surprising your audience is one of the things you're supposed to do." Further hints of personal loss lurk throughout the album, but none is more startling than on Black Ice with its eerie refrain; 'Black ice took her away from me'. David responds.
"I'm really using Black Ice as a metaphor here. There was no real car crash I was describing." He reveals, "It was more to do with childhood memories of being driven on these winding mountain roads and seeing black ice warning signs. To me they always seemed to imply life's greatest dangers are the ones unseen, which is just one of those things that has stayed with me through my own life." Changing tact, David adds, "I'm actually really pissed off AC/DC called their last tour Black Ice because now we can't use it for ours." He laughs, "They kind of pre-emptively stole our thunder there… those bastards!"
Posted by lEIGh5 at 11:57 PM No comments:
Kate Bush: Director's Cut (album review)
(Fish People)
Kate Bush fans desperate for new material from the reclusive star have been awarded an intriguing prize in the form of Director's Cut. Calling this new however is misleading as all songs are entirely updated versions, culled from roughly two halves of previously released albums. The track list is compiled from 1989's The Sensual World and 1993's The Red Shoes, with only the former's title track receiving a completely new set of lyrics. Re-named Flower Of The Mountain, The Sensual World could largely be seen as the catalyst for Bush's latest move. At the song's conception, Kate intended to use part of poet James Joyce's novel Ulysses in the lyric but was at the time denied rights. Last year, with full access finally granted to Joyce's words, Kate re-made the song as she had always intended and so began work on 'correcting' more and more of the songs that have dogged her over time. The fact that the entire album is comprised of music from those two particular albums won't surprise many long-term fans of Kate.
The artist has been casually critical of the two records in question, just as the media had been upon their respective releases. Now that Kate has put right what she had long seen as errors in her last two pre-millennium albums, I can't help thinking that the same things that will please many long-time fans are the very same that will disappoint others. As a hopeless devotee, I can't help but feel heavily critical of the re-workings in both positive and negative ways. Whereas I totally respect Kate's decision to remake a few songs that she has long felt uncomfortable with, there are mixed results with no noticeable consideration for what her fans may have loved about these tracks in the first place.
My first criticism would be that the vastly different albums (in their original state) The Sensual World and The Red Shoes don't mesh particularly when assembled as the one piece. The Sensual World – always the black sheep in Kate's catalogue - had a distinctly down-tempo, almost grim prevailing mood, whereas The Red Shoes was a spiky pagan romp through tales of black magic and mythology. Bush herself always claimed she felt a deep disappointment over how The Red Shoes was received, and in many cases the criticisms were unusually severe for a Kate Bush album. The fact that she disappeared from the public eye completely after, it's been suggested, was partly down to being so brutally scorned over the album and its accompanying film - The Line, The Cross and The Curve – which leads me to wonder if re-recording that album alone would have sufficed. The Sensual World tracks after all are the least altered by far among this collection.
This Woman's Work (from The Sensual World) for example, is thankfully only slightly tweaked here with the most notable change being Kate's cleaner vocal. She exercises further welcome restraint on Song Of Solomon and Lily – both of which retain all of the magic of their parent versions, and Top Of The City also remains glorious, if not a little less starry-eyed than its 1993 counterpart.. However, the Red Shoes most powerful six minutes – Moments Of Pleasure – has been sheered down to its bare bones, omitting everything from its beautiful, climactic refrain to its strings and all the original's dynamics. This simple piano and choir version does however carry greater melancholy suited to the song's meaning, but less is definitely not more in this case.
But all the nit-picking so far aside, let me be totally clear, Director's Cut is by no means a hatchet job done on some old songs in a vain effort to drag them into modern, shiny perfection. Instead Bush has re-done her vocals - in nearly every case - to simply suit her matured, lower octave range and swept away a lot of the layered post-production in favour of some raw jam-style live band mixes. These versions are essentially concert-ready performances which, considering a snowball's chance of a full world tour, is a really a massive tease. The biggest tease of all however, is the actual possibilities here not realised on some of these tracks. The brassy rumba of Rubberband Girl (from The Red Shoes) has been reduced – and not improved upon at all – to a vocal, electric guitar, drum and harmonica plod. I find it mind-boggling that Kate would seriously envision this track as needing such a lacklustre makeover.
Far more satisfying is the album's single, Deeper Understanding, which is unusual here in that it works perfectly in its updated form because of its lyric – written in 1989 – about computers taking the place of meaningful, inter-personal exchanges. However Bush's own reliance on current technology in making this record is limited to that song with its jarring auto-tune refrain being the only in-organic sound throughout. As the project's initial purpose was to strip away the slightly saccharine production of these song's originals, all bar Deeper Understanding have been recorded entirely using analogue equipment which, for the most part, provides warmth to the overall sound. Although the kind of warmth that comes from non-digital recordings is pleasing, especially when it is a rare commodity in music nowadays, it seems odd that Kate should now shy away from these advances considering her ground-breaking use of digital techniques and effects on early albums, The Dreaming and Hounds Of Love. In fact, there's evidence-a-plenty in Kate's back catalogue of an artist who could always comfortably marry the timeless with the very latest when making music.
The perfectionist that is Kate Bush coupled with the amount of time passed since these songs were written in theory should really have produced outstanding results rather than a sizable percentage of confounding ones. Perhaps the long-gestating gripe Kate had with the too-many-cooks sound on The Red Shoes and the occasionally flat-lining Sensual World should have been addressed sooner rather than later. A stunning semi-acoustic rendition of Red Shoes' track Why Should I Love You – originally a messy sounding duet with Prince - was released in the late '90s, offering a more tantalizing indication of what might have been, yet it is missing from this set. The best news surrounding Director's Cut for fans is probably the fact that Kate, when re-imagining these songs, was inspired to write an entirely new album in the process due out later this year. In the meantime, listeners reacquainting themselves with Kate's newly re-nurtured back catalogue 'mis-fires' have plenty to mull over, find renewed love for or even straight-out hate. Which ever her unwavering disciples choose, one thing that is for sure, having Kate Bush back in any form at all is still a delight worth indulging in.
Fatty Gets A Stylist: interview with Kate Miller-H...
David Bridie (My Friend The Chocolate Cake) interv...


Sir Philip Green is said to have offered Topshop's flagship Oxford Circus store as security to the Arcadia pension fund.
Oops! Can You Spot the Candid Slip-Up in the New Photo of Prince Louis?
Prince Louis' Royal First Birthday Portraits Are the Cutest Thing You'll See All Week!


2. See: Pump and dump.
In addition, DigiDrive's networking capabilities will provide an attractive alternative to "point of use" management of pumps and pumping systems.
Flowtronex's multi-phase pumping systems will allow offshore and onshore wells to transport crude oil, natural gas, sand and water in a single pipeline without resorting to separation.
These pumps are developed with the help of superior water pumping technology and quality approved components.
The contract is for the provision of services related to the maintenance of full technical efficiency and service 118 pieces of drainage pumping stations.
Port Orange, FL, is now celebrating its 40th year of providing pumps and pumping solutions.
In one of its projects it supplied pumps for a water supply pumping station serving a distance of 140 km.
In addition to lubing the vane-to-bore contact surface, the light oil film also seals better, which improves pumping efficiency.
Pack-and-Foam pour equipment for foam packaging features air-purge gun, 20-ft heated hoses, and direct pumping from drums.
SO SOME SOLDIERS FORGET TO LOOK PUMP HANDLE, NSN 5340-00-217-3101, INTO THE RECEPTACLE BEFORE PUMPING.
They're constantly pumping out the stuff the cell doesn't want inside," Daughton says.
These new pumps are capable of maintaining 12% consistency or higher at a pumping efficiency > 60%, with rebuild cycles of 3 years or higher, far superior to earlier designs discussed.


The Tiger Institute is a leader in providing education to physicians and their staff on a variety of topics. Our intimate, interactive training courses and workshops offer a personalized training approach to help improve your office's performance.
At the end of this course, you will be certified or re-certified in CPR and AED operation. Instructional materials are provided, and a 15-minute test closes the session.
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A two day course with optional extended onsite training and discussion that cover all aspects of improving patient flow and revenue management. This course with provide you with the tools you need to create a shared vision and effectively lead your team successfully.


text:
Protesters mark anniversary of Luis Gongora's death by SFPD
Photo: Andre Torrez
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)-- To mark the one-year anniversary since an allegedly knife-wielding
homeless man was shot and killed by San Francisco police officers, activist held a march from the site of his death in the city's Mission District to City Hall this morning.
Luis Gongora Pat, 45, was shot and killed moments after police arrived near the intersection of 19th and Shotwell streets on April 7, 2016.
He later died in San Francisco General Hospital.
Protesters gathered today at about 10 a.m. -- the same time Gongora was shot -- and marched to City Hall, stopping along the way at the Mission District police station and a building where Gongora lived before he
became homeless.
They carried signs adorned with other people shot by San Francisco police, such as Alex Nieto, and some danced in costumes.
Gongora was an indigenous Mayan man who had emigrated to the U.S.from the Mexican state of Yucatan more than a decade ago and spoke little English or Spanish. He had become homeless and was living at an encampment near where he was killed.
Homeless outreach workers there had called police after allegedly seeing Gongora swinging a large kitchen knife, according to police. The officers found him seated on the sidewalk with the knife in his hand.
After ordering him in both English and Spanish to put the knife down, they fired beanbag rounds at him, but police said he then stood up and ran at the officers with the knife in his hand. Sgt. Nate Steger and Officer
Michael Mellone both shot him.
A lawsuit filed by the family contends that Gongora never got up and the officers shot him while he was still seated on the sidewalk, never giving him a chance to comply.
In addition to the police, a frequent target of criticism by the activists has been District Attorney George Gascon, who has been a strong advocate for police reforms but slow to make decisions in officer-involved shootings.
Gongora's cousin, Luís Poot Pat, had strong words for Gascon as he stood outside the Mission police station today.
"If you cannot do your job, resign," he said to Gascon.
"I would not wish this tragedy on anyone," he said, remembering the days when he first learned Gongora had died. "Unfortunately in those days, the most difficult of my life, I became aware of all the other people
killed by the police."
Of 12 fatal shootings by San Francisco police officers in the last three years, Gascon has only made a decision about whether to charge the officers in Nieto's case, when he cleared the four involved officers on Feb.12, 2015. He has not reached a charging decision in a fatal officer-involved shooting in more than two years.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: org.springframework.beans.factory.wiring.BeanWiringInfo.BeanWiringInfo is initialized with null name I'm trying to re-wire an @Autowired field after a session serialization to  Redis using Spring Session and Aspectj.
This is the bean:
@UIScope()
@SpringComponent(value = AboutView.VIEW_NAME)
@SpringView(name = AboutView.VIEW_NAME)
//
@Configurable(autowire = Autowire.BY_NAME, value = AboutView.VIEW_NAME, dependencyCheck = false, preConstruction = true)
public class AboutView extends AbstractView {

    public static final String VIEW_NAME = "butterfly-effect-frontend-system:about";

    private Table tableFrontEndInformation;

    private GridLayout backendLayout;

    private GridLayout frontendLayout;

    @Autowired
    private transient DiscoveryClient discoveryClient;

This bean is using @Configurable and the name of the bean definition (value). Unfortunately the aspect is creating a BeanWiringInfo with null bean name, that will raise an error as the name is required.
@Configurable(autowire = Autowire.BY_NAME, value = AboutView.VIEW_NAME, dependencyCheck = false, preConstruction = true)

The error happens due the following constructor which is called by AnnotationBeanWiringInfoResolver
/**
     * Create a new BeanWiringInfo that points to the given bean name.
     * @param beanName the name of the bean definition to take the property values from
     * @param isDefaultBeanName whether the given bean name is a suggested
     * default bean name, not necessarily matching an actual bean definition
     * @throws IllegalArgumentException if the supplied beanName is {@code null},
     * is empty, or consists wholly of whitespace
     */
    public BeanWiringInfo(String beanName, boolean isDefaultBeanName) {
        Assert.hasText(beanName, "'beanName' must not be empty");
        this.beanName = beanName;
        this.isDefaultBeanName = isDefaultBeanName;
    }

The AnnotationBeanWiringInfoResolver instantiates the BeanWiringInfo from this code:
protected BeanWiringInfo buildWiringInfo(Object beanInstance, Configurable annotation) {
        if (!Autowire.NO.equals(annotation.autowire())) {
            return new BeanWiringInfo(annotation.autowire().value(), annotation.dependencyCheck());
        }
        else {
            if (!"".equals(annotation.value())) {
                // explicitly specified bean name
                return new BeanWiringInfo(annotation.value(), false);
            }
            else {
                // default bean name
                return new BeanWiringInfo(getDefaultBeanName(beanInstance), true);
            }
        }
    }

This is the error:
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: 'name' must not be null
    at org.springframework.util.Assert.notNull(Assert.java:115) ~[spring-core-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactoryUtils.transformedBeanName(BeanFactoryUtils.java:72) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.transformedBeanName(AbstractBeanFactory.java:1109) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getMergedBeanDefinition(AbstractBeanFactory.java:970) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at com.vaadin.spring.internal.SpringViewDisplayPostProcessor.postProcessAfterInitialization(SpringViewDisplayPostProcessor.java:66) ~[classes/:na]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.applyBeanPostProcessorsAfterInitialization(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:423) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1594) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:400) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.wiring.BeanConfigurerSupport.configureBean(BeanConfigurerSupport.java:142) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.aspectj.AnnotationBeanConfigurerAspect.configureBean(AnnotationBeanConfigurerAspect.aj:63) ~[spring-aspects-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.aspectj.AbstractDependencyInjectionAspect.ajc$before$org_springframework_beans_factory_aspectj_AbstractDependencyInjectionAspect$1$e854fa65(AbstractDependencyInjectionAspect.aj:79) ~[spring-aspects-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    at com.scipionyx.butterflyeffect.frontend.configuration.ui.view.AboutView.<init>(AboutView.java:72) ~[classes/:na]
    at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method) ~[na:1.8.0_45]
    at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:62) ~[na:1.8.0_45]
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45) ~[na:1.8.0_45]
    at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:422) ~[na:1.8.0_45]
    at org.springframework.beans.BeanUtils.instantiateClass(BeanUtils.java:142) ~[spring-beans-4.3.5.RELEASE.jar:4.3.5.RELEASE]
    ... 107 common frames omitted

Does anyone knows what can be wrong on this configuration ?
Your help us much appreciated.

A: I'm still trying to understand why, but it seems that removing the autowire = Autowire.BY_NAME from the @Configuration seems to solve the problem.
Now the Class looks like this:
@UIScope()
@SpringComponent(value = AboutView.VIEW_NAME)
@SpringView(name = AboutView.VIEW_NAME)

//
@Configurable(value = AboutView.VIEW_NAME)
public class AboutView extends AbstractView {

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Numbers, big and small, are connected to one another by proportion. Thinking proportionally means understanding the arithmetic relationship between numbers.
Check out this video to brush up on your proportional thinking math skills so you can follow along and test your knowledge during next week's episode!


text:
A Remembrance: Russ McDonald
Shakespeare lost one of his most eloquent teachers and writers when Russ McDonald died unexpectedly in London last week, and our lights at the OCS are a little dimmer as we've lost one of our finest friends.
A Professor of English at Goldsmith's College in London, Russ McDonald was one of the most pre-eminent Shakespeare scholars whose written work appeals equally to the beginner and the expert. For the beginner, his writings give a solid understanding of what makes the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries so admirable and important. For scholars, his books help us organize the work we do and remind us of the ways in which our Shakespeare enterprises are interconnected, serving as models for both clarity and prose.
But, like the great Early Modern authors he celebrated, he had a remarkable range of interests, as reflected in a bibliography of his works: Russ's The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare is, in my view, the most lucid introduction to the writer and his works; Shakespeare and the Arts of Language is a comprehensive look at Shakespeare's literary tools; Shakespeare's Late Style makes clear both the manner and the meaning of the challenging language in the later plays; Look to the Lady is a study of Sarah Siddons, Ellen Terry, and Judi Dench, each the great actress of her century; and his first book Shakespeare and Jonson, Jonson and Shakespeare is a comprehensive comparison of the yin and yang of early modern playwrights.
His work as an editor includes a handy edition of the most-read plays (The Bedford Shakespeare, with co-editor Lena Orlin) as well as two of the most helpful collections of essays. Shakespeare: An Anthology of Criticism 1945-2000 provides not only the most seminal essays in that volcanic period of Shakespeare studies but also the most helpful explanation of each approach. His most recent book Shakespeare up Close contains dozens of short pieces that model the kind of close reading championed by his friend (and ours) Stephen Booth.
Alongside the extensive list of his works (which he wrote and researched with such apparent ease) Russ made room in his life for other interests and hobbies: from serving as president of the Shakespeare Association of America to working as the opera critic for Opera Magazine, a job in which he took childlike delight ("I get the best seats at the Royal Opera, and I get paid for it!"). Music, architecture, plays, Duke basketball, food – Russ knew and savored them all.
Russ was an early fan of the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, bringing our troupe to UNC Greensboro in the early 1990's before he moved on to teach at Goldsmith's College in London. He was one of the first keynote speakers for our Blackfriars Conference, reprising his role in 2013 when we honored his professor George Walton Williams. The last time he spoke on the Blackfriars stage was in March at the celebration of the life of founding OCS Board member Tom Berger, one of Russ's dearest friends. Together Russ and Tom provided a latter-day version of the apocryphal "wit combats" of Shakespeare and Jonson, demonstrating more of a clever ballet of words than an aggressive fight. It was my great fortune to have heard them so many times at play.
Now, so unexpectedly to lose Russ in the same year as Tom is a great sadness for me; but, beyond my personal loss, his going has dimmed a joyous and generous light in the world of Shakespeare. He's left behind a certain and twinkling sense of how lucky we are to have such a beautiful and, as Russ would say, delicious thing as his words. Russ's great talent was sharing that delight with us all.
We send our condolences to his wife and colleague Gail and to their son Jack.
–Ralph Alan Cohen
Posted by sarah5173 in Blog Post
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3 thoughts on "A Remembrance: Russ McDonald"
Virginia Mason Vaughan says:
Ralph has captured the many dimensions of Russ's wonderful personality. What I will remember most is his laugh and his smile. More than many others, he was a happy man and he shared that happiness with his friends. I will always be grateful for his friendship.
I was fortunate enough to have studied with him. Russ was brilliant and the reason why I became a professor. I will miss him.
Bealial says:
I was also incredibly lucky to be a student of Russ McDonald. I was at the performance of Knight of the Burning Pestle when he brought the SSE to UNCG in the 90s. I remember sitting in front of him with other classmates and laughing along with him uproariously. I am heartbroken over his passing.
Was't not at Hallowmas?
Director of Mission Response to the Globe Decision Regarding its Artistic Director
Education Retreat 2016
"And, be assured, you'll find a difference…" (HV): OCS Education's work with teachers
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Today Stockton calendars mark the first day of spring: the vernal equinox. The onset of astronomical spring doesn't quite coincide with Stockton's real estate spring selling season, which most agree should be considered to start 12 days later, at the start of April.
Families with children are captives of the school year calendar. They want to get their sale or purchase out of the way so that moving won't disrupt next semester's activities.
Nicer weather moves people to get out to investigate. That may sound like a trivial reason, but when you add in the unarguable appeal of springtime gardens, the atmospherics alone would be enough to quicken sales.
Tax refund checks are headed for 83% of filers. With average amounts in the thousands of dollars, it's no wonder they give buyers a feeling of well-being. This year, 2018 federal tax reductions have also improved many a paycheck's bottom line.
Springtime provides a natural rebound from the typical Stockton winter real estate doldrums.
This year especially, there's a 'tick-tock' factor: economy-minded homebuyers are incented to lock in Stockton properties before prices and interest rates rise.
There are always reasonable arguments for Stockton buyers and sellers to choose some other season, but over the long haul, the single point that's hardest to dispute is in the numbers. Nearly 40% of U.S. home sales occur between April and July.
If you've been thinking that springtime might be the right time to create your own Stockton selling season, it's not too late to make it happen! Give me a call to discuss how quickly we can turn that idea into action.


Craig Rose, part of a team of archaeologists from Longwood University in western Virginia, slogged along the shores of the Little Wicomico River one recent morning, complaining that "most of the shorelines we've encountered are either covered in rip rap or basically inaccessible."
The team wasn't having much luck trying to map artifacts along the river on Virginia's Northern Neck, he said. They only found "one or two sites" they could look at that day.
And it's not just archaeologists having a hard time with rising tide, increasing erosion and efforts to stop it.
John Nance, a paleontologist from the Calvert Marine Museum, says rip rap, the large rocks used to protect shorelines, makes it more difficult for him to find fossils.
"People put piers in, erosion control, rip rap is the big one, all of that changes the dynamics of the beach," he said while leading a group of interns on a search along the banks of the Potomac just downstream from Virginia's Stratford Hall Cliffs.
"Along a number of the sections where we used to be able to collect where they've rip rapped, there's virtually no beach there unless it's a very low tide," he said. "It's one of the things we run into more and more frequently now."
Today rip rap, bulk-heading and other hard scaping are temporary fixes that will eventually give way to rising waters.
In Maryland, coastal waters are estimated to rise by about two feet by 2050 and by nearly four feet or more by this century's end. Annapolis and Baltimore are among the top ten places in the U.S. that will experience an increase in what's called nuisance flooding, where roads are closed and storm drains overflow.
Sites mapped by Longwood archeologists will be compared to aerial photographs from the 1930s to help the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and National Park Service determine archeological sites most threatened by rising sea-levels.
They want some idea of how much longer those sites are going to be around, Rose says.
"Some might be gone in five years and some might be gone in 200 years. So they're able to prioritize any future funding that they get to focus on the most threatened archeological sites."
The team plans to use data collected from researchers around the bay who are doing similar work.


text:
The molecular formula C22H30O5 (molar mass: 374.47 g/mol, exact mass: 374.2093 u) may refer to:

 Etiprednol
 Guanacastepene A
 Jasmolin II
 Methylprednisolone
 Nandrolone hydrogen succinate, or nandrolone hemisuccinate

Molecular formulas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


M.O.T.U. Power Token at SDCC 2016!
Skeletor will once again take over Super7 San Diego as his lair, but his diabolical plans remain a mystery! Perhaps he will use the space to plan his evil agenda for the week.. or perhaps he will release some amazing He-Man and Masters of the Universe San Diego Comic-Con exclusives!
Warning: It will be no small task to gain access to Skeletor's Lair! One must venture to the Super7 Booth #4945 and obtain a Power Token. You will then take this coin to 701 8th Avenue (corner of G Street) and present it to gain entry into the Skeletor's Lair Pop-Up Shop (Yes, you will keep your token!).


Nigella sativa has been used as traditional medicine for centuries. The crude oil and thymoquinone (TQ) extracted from its seeds and oil are effective against many diseases like cancer, cardiovascular complications, diabetes, asthma, kidney disease etc. It is effective against cancer in blood system, lung, kidney, liver, prostate, breast, cervix, skin with much safety. The molecular mechanisms behind its anticancer role is still not clearly understood, however, some studies showed that TQ has antioxidant role and improves body's defense system, induces apoptosis and controls Akt pathway. Although the anti-cancer activity of N. sativa components was recognized thousands of years ago but proper scientific research with this important traditional medicine is a history of last 2∼3 decades. There are not so many research works done with this important traditional medicine and very few reports exist in the scientific database. In this article, we have summarized the actions of TQ and crude oil of N. sativa against different cancers with their molecular mechanisms.
Cancer is one of the major threats of modern life, which is considered as the second cause of death after myocardial infarction (Grundy, 1991). Millions of people die every year in different types of cancer despite tremendous efforts to find methods of control and cure. In the last century, great advances were made in modern medical science to control disease. But many diseases like cancers are not yet curable fully. To find out new and authentic therapies, scientists are working with traditional or folk medicines in parallel of modern medicine. Nigella sativa has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. It originated from Southeastern Asia and also used in ancient Egypt, Greece, Middle East and Africa. In Islam, it is regarded as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine available (Nigella-sativa-research.com, 2010; Wikipedia, 2010). It is a flowering plant, of which seed is used as a spice. The seed is called black cumin in English, while in old Latin it was called 'Panacea' meaning 'cure all'; in Arabic it is termed as 'Habbah Sawda' or 'Habbat el Baraka' translated as 'Seeds of blessing'. It is also known as 'Kalo jeera' (in Bangladesh), 'Kalonji' (in India) and 'Hak Jung Chou' in (China) (Aggarwal et al., 2008). Both seeds and oil extracted from this plant are used in medicinal purposes.
Many active ingredients have been found in the seeds of N. sativa. The seeds contain both fixed and essential oils, proteins, alkaloids and saponin (Ali and Blunden, 2003). Ghosheh et al. (1999) described the quantification of four pharmacologically important components: thymoquinone (TQ), dithymoquinone (DTQ), thymohydroquinone (THQ), and thymol (THY), in the oil of N. sativa seed by HPLC. Much of the biological activities of the seeds have been shown to be due to thymoquinone, the major component of the essential oil, which is also present in the fixed oil (Ali and Blunden, 2003). TQ is considered as potent anti-oxidant (Badary et al., 2003), anti-carcinogenic and anti-mutagenic agent (Bourgou et al., 2008; Khader et al., 2010) (structure of thymoquinone is shown in Figure 1a). Moreover, TQ is a relatively safe compound, particularly when given orally to experimental animals (Al-Ali et al., 2008). Alpha (α)-hederin, a pentacyclic triterpene saponin (structure: Figure 1b) isolated from the seeds of N. sativa, was also reported to have potent in vivo antitumor activity (Swamy and Huat, 2003).
Error: Error validating access token: Session has expired on Friday, 19-Apr-19 10:36:26 PDT. The current time is Thursday, 25-Apr-19 01:03:49 PDT.


The Polish Dream of Electric Cars | Squire Patton Boggs | O-I-CEE!
Certain changes in regulations, somewhat challenging for the renewable energy sector, and the government's declarations of support to the coal industry might suggest that Poland is not much interested in "going green". Still, it turns out that electric cars may fit in its energy strategy just well.
Surely, the electric cars are as "green" as the energy powering them. In the case of Poland though, the energy is still sourced mainly from the coal-fired power plants. Nevertheless, Poland is notorious for its air pollution, and in the cities in particular, this is to a great extent caused by exhaust emissions. Expansion of electric vehicles may thus be a relief to the lungs of many people now suffering from the poor air quality.
The Plan for Development of E-Mobility in Poland, announced by the Ministry of Energy in September 2016, and revised after consultations in November 2016, assumes that by 2025 there will be 1 million electric vehicles on the Polish roads. Reaching this target requires a drop in the prices of such vehicles, and further development of the energy grid and recharging infrastructure. Car-pooling and car-sharing are also taken into account as possible support to the transition, since these models allow the costs to be shared among many individuals, making the electric vehicles more affordable.
The government welcomes the expansion of electric vehicles not only as means of reducing the air pollution, but also as a way of decreasing the import of oil; and on the other hand, increasing the demand for electric energy, which may be produced domestically. Another important aspect is the potential for development of new technologies in Poland; for example, those connected with the storage batteries and other components for the e-vehicles. Industry demand is expected to boost scientific research in this field.
According to the Plan, the first stage ending in 2018 will entail the popularization of the idea of electromobility, adoption of necessary regulations and creation of prototypes. Short production series and development of the recharging infrastructure are expected in the second stage, planned for the years 2019-2020. The third stage (years 2020-2025) assumes production of electric vehicles and/or its components in Poland, and at that time, the recharging infrastructure is expected to be able to service 1 million electric vehicles.
The detailed regulations are still in preparation; although, one draft provides for establishment of a fund that would support the building of recharging infrastructure, the electric vehicles producers and the public transport using such vehicles. A more comprehensive draft is expected in the first quarter of 2017, way past the deadline of 18 November 2016 for transposition of the Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.
The Plan was hailed as too ambitious by some, and the authors declared that analysis in the first quarter of 2017 may result in revisions to the same. Nevertheless, it also incited some enthusiasm on part of the early birds of the Polish e-mobility sector, and the renowned Warsaw University of Technology is already involved in the creation of so-called "Electromobility Centre", along with several energy producers. Moreover, there are public funds available for research and development of innovative vehicles; for example, a program under the name of Innomoto (applications can be filed by 20 January 2017).
Even if the "one million electric vehicles" goal is reached later than by 2025, the Plan is a clear sign for the investors, producers and scientists that the Polish government intends to support the projects connected with electromobility.
Stay tuned for further information on regulatory developments in this field.


text:
Mom's diet may influence baby's sex, study says
April 23, 2008, 1:33 PM UTC
By JoNel Aleccia
In the quest to select a baby's sex, success could depend on breakfast cereal and better nutrition, according to a new study that may offer some women another reason to eat their Wheaties.
Mothers-to-be who skip breakfast and eat less are more likely to give birth to girls, while moms who consume more calories and a wider range of nutrients — including, specifically, those from breakfast cereal — are more likely to deliver sons.
That's according to new research by British scientists that provides what they say is the first-ever evidence that a mother's diet at conception may determine her baby's sex.
Researchers from the universities of Exeter and Oxford in England asked 740 first-time moms in the United Kingdom to keep food diaries before and during early pregnancy. The women didn't know the sex of their babies, but when researchers reviewed their food plans, they found that moms who consumed more calories of higher quality before conceiving were about 24 percent more likely to give birth to boys than moms who ate less.
"The overall sex ratio in our population was close to 50:50, but individual mothers had a greater chance of bearing male offspring if their nutrient intake was high prior to conception," wrote Fiona Mathews, the study's lead author and a research fellow at the University of Exeter. "The consumption of breakfast cereal was also strongly associated with having a male infant."
Fifty-six percent of women in the group with the highest energy intake gave birth to boys, compared to 45 percent in the group with the lowest energy consumption, according to the study.
Mothers of boys consumed an average of 2,413 calories a day before conception and higher amounts of foods containing potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12, the researchers said. Women who had girls logged 2,283 calories a day and less protein, vitamins and minerals.
Odds of having a boy were much higher for women who ate at least one bowl of breakfast cereal a day compared to women who ate less than one bowl a week, the study said. Breakfast cereals are usually fortified by vitamins and minerals.
Critics wary of claims
Critics, however, said the new research contradicts basic facts of human genetics. A father's sperm determines a child's sex, and there's no evidence that maternal nutrition has anything to do with it, said Dr. Paul Magarelli, vice president of the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society.
"A correlation does not make the truth," said Magarelli, who is also director of the Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. "I think it's a spurious correlation, that's all I can say."
The British scientists said that although fathers do determine sex, their research indicates that mothers' may be able to favor the development of one sex over another, perhaps in the way that high-glucose environments in in-vitro fertilization appear to favor male embryos and inhibit female embryos.
The research is also supported by an evolutionary drive to produce more offspring in times of plenty. In many animals — including horses, cows and some species of deer — more males are produced when a mother has more resources, the scientists noted.
Skipping breakfast, for instance, extends overnight fasting and depresses glucose levels, which could be interpreted by the body as a poor environment, researchers said.
Their argument deserves further study, said Dr. Tarun Jain, an assistant professor of reproductive endocrinology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Jain said his initial response to the study topic was skeptical, but that it changed after he read a draft of the report to be published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, a British journal.
"It's not showing far and away that if women eat a certain diet they'll have a boy or a girl, but it certainly is giving us some information," Jain said. "Could there be dietary factors that influence conception?"
Diet trends may explain fewer boys
In addition to suggesting that breakfast cereal may produce more boys, the researchers said that nutrition and diet trends may account for an incremental decline in male births in developing nations. Over the last 40 years, births of boys have also dropped by about 1 per 1000 births annually in the United States, the U.K. and Canada, they said.
At the same time, many young women in those developed nations have begun skipping breakfast and eating poorer-quality diets.
"This research may help explain why, in developed countries, where many young women choose to have low-calorie diets, the proportion of boys born is falling," Mathews said.
That's counter to the trend in countries such as India, Vietnam and China, where births of boys now outpace girls because parents selective sex techniques, including abortion, to obtain highly prized sons.
The new study may influence mothers to try to use nutrition to select sex, which worries ethicists such as Nigel Cameron, president of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future at the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
"It adds to the manipulative tool box whose purpose is designer babies," said Cameron, adding: "We need a lot more social debate about the fact that children should be received as-is."
Whether the research deserves further study or not, at least one mother said it supports teachings women in her family have followed for generations.
If a woman wants to conceive a boy, everyone knows she should eat more meat and other high-protein foods, as well as foods rich in potassium, vitamins and salt, said Jessica McCurdy Crooks, a freelance writer and records manager who divides her time between Jamaica and Florida.
When Crooks, 43, decided to become pregnant, she adapted her vegetarian diet to include more beans, peas and salty foods in hopes of conceiving her son, Jalen, now 3.
"I ended up having a soft spot for boys," said Crooks, who raised four brothers. "And I had a boy."
JoNel Aleccia


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Complementary, high protein fish food with egg yolk.
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cereal and fish products, vegatable protein concentrate, animal hemoglobin, fodder yeast, fish oil, lecithol, astaxanthin, minerals and feed additives approved in the UE.


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text:
EHBC Spring Break 2017
Spring break is coming! Here are our picks for everyone in the family!
See You in the Cosmos
By Jack Cheng
Narrated by Kivlighan de Montebello, Brittany Pressley, Graham Halstead, Michael Crouch, Jason Culp, Therese Plummer, Susan Bennett, Dan Bittner, Pete Larkin & Courtney Shaw / 6 hours 10 minutes
A space-obsessed boy and his dog, Carl Sagan, take a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe in this funny and moving novel for fans of Counting by 7s and Walk Two Moons.
11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his... Read More »
Arf: A Bowser and Birdie Novel
Narrated by James Frangione / 6 hours 38 minutes
New York Times bestselling author and King of Canines Spencer Quinn is back with the next Woof book.
BOWSER IS BACK!
Bowser the dog is doing great. He's been adopted by Birdie, the greatest girl in the world, and he gets lots of love, lots of walks, and sometimes even bacon!
But -- why is Birdie looking so worried? Who broke into their house? Why... Read More »
The Cat Who Came In Off the Roof
By Annie M. G. Schmidt & David Colmer
Narrated by Katherine Kellgren / 4 hours 1 minute
A charming Dutch classic that withstands the test of time worldwide and will appeal to readers young and old—and dog and cat lovers alike!
"A charming, refreshing, and funny treat." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
Shy reporter Mr. Tibble is close to losing his job because he only writes about cats. But when an act of kindness brings him into contact... Read More »
The League of Beastly Dreadfuls Book 2: The Dastardly Deed
League of Beastly Dreadfuls: Book #2
By Holly Grant
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor / 7 hours 25 minutes
"WONDERFULLY WITTY." —Chris Grabenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and coauthor with James Patterson of House of Robots and Treasure Hunters
Take one part Roald Dahl, a pinch of Mysterious Benedict Society, and a dash of Lemony Snicket, then add a league of adventurous children, a little magic,... Read More »
Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln?
Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume Three
Tales from Deckawoo Drive: Book #3
By Kate DiCamillo
Narrated by Lorna Raver / 58 minutes
What if timid Baby Lincoln broke free of her bossy sister and set off on an unexpected journey? Kate DiCamillo presents a touching new adventure set in Mercy Watson's world.
Baby Lincoln's older sister, Eugenia, is very fond of telling Baby what to do, and Baby usually responds by saying "Yes, Sister." But one day Baby has had enough. She decides... Read More »
By Lauren Wolk
Narrated by Emily Rankin / 6 hours 54 minutes
A Newbery Honor Book
A young girl's kindness, compassion, and honesty overcome bullying in 1940s America.
Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals... Read More »
By Angie Thomas
Narrated by Bahni Turpin / 11 hours 40 minutes
#5 in Bestselling Young Adult Audiobooks
"This bestselling, powerful young adult novel about social justice and one teen girl's effort to fight for what is right, will leave you breathless. The narration by Bahni Turpin is hands down the best I've ever heard. This is such an important book it should be required reading for life in general. Or listening. Definitely listening."
Kristen, Tattered Cover
Goodbye Days
By Jeff Zentner
Narrated by Michael Crouch / 10 hours 38 minutes
"Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming," says Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star, of this novel about finding strength and hope after tragedy. Perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Looking for Alaska.
Carver Briggs never thought a simple text... Read More »
You Know Me Well
By David Levithan & Nina LaCour
Narrated by Emma Galvin & Matthew Brown / 6 hours 36 minutes
"	I listened to this while on a road trip so it was all in one go. My 13 year old daughter absolutely loved it! I enjoyed it a lot as well and LaCour and Levithan compliment each other well with their styles and characters. As always their characters really stood out and had very strong personalities."
Candace, Vintage Books
To the Bright Edge of the World
By Eowyn Ivey
Narrated by John Glouchevitch / 13 hours 26 minutes
An atmospheric, transporting tale of adventure, love, and survival from the bestselling author of The Snow Child, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Washington Post Notable Book
A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
A Library Journal Top 10 Book of the Year
A BookPage Best Book of the Year
In the winter of 1885,... Read More »
By George Saunders
Narrated by George Saunders, Nick Offerman, David Sedaris & Various / 7 hours 24 minutes
#43 in Bestselling Audiobooks #8 in Bestselling Historical Fiction Audiobooks
"Saunders' first novel has a steep entry curve. It's not a novel that reveals itself quickly and easily, but if you give it your attention, if you burrow deep into the book, you'll be eminently rewarded. There is a richness and depth of humanity here. There is the strange and wonderful. There is love and grief and mystery all brought together in the story of Abraham Lincoln's dead son, the Civil War, and what may happen to us all after we leave the mortal coil. It's a beautiful and moving book that will stay with you for a long, long while."
Jason Vanhee, University Book Store
The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club)
By Colson Whitehead
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, the #1 New York Times bestseller from Colson Whitehead, a magnificent tour de force chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially... Read More »
Before the Fall
Booktrack Edition
By Noah Hawley
Narrated by Robert Petkoff / 12 hours 55 minutes
"When a private plane plunges into the ocean off Martha's Vineyard, the media and the government want answers. The two survivors -- a middle-aged artist along for the ride and the 4-year-old son of a prominent and powerful family - have little to say. Before the Fall takes the reader on a thrilling ride through the past lives of the other passengers and the aftermath of the crash. As the deepest secrets of the wealthy and those who surround them surface, no one is safe. A brilliant and relentless thriller."
Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books
A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
By Sy Montgomery
Narrated by Sy Montgomery / 9 hours 10 minutes
In this astonishing book from the author of the best selling memoir The Good Good Pig, Sy Montgomery explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. Read More »


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Call us at 360.682.5998 for more information and schedule your tour today. Our staff can help highlight our services and answer your questions. From helping a loved one with dementia to understanding the costs of transitioning into assisted living. Making that move is a process and we are here to help.


text:
El Pont del Cubilar és una obra de Mas de Barberans (Montsià) inclosa a l'Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya.

Descripció
Pont de pedra en sec construït amb volta adovellada. Les piles del pont estan construïdes amb dos marges de pedra en sec, amb les carades enforntades i separades 1,70 m, de 16 m de llargada, i una alçada de fins a 0,70 m, on comença la volta.

Per cobrició hi ha una volta de canó seguit formada per lloses de pedra disposades a plec de llibre. Així, les lloses de la volta estan col·locades en filades paral·leles al marge i tanquen amb lloses a mode de clau a 1,50 m. de terra. Als extrems de la volta, dos marges fan de contenció del pedraplenat. Donada la seva alçada, per fer còmode el trànsit són marges amb relleixos.

Referències

Enllaços externs

Patrimoni monumental de Mas de Barberans
Edificis de Mas de Barberans
Ponts del Montsià