text:
Susanne Rust on investigating BPA and other chemicals
by r2_reynoldscenter	June 24, 2010
"Chemical Fallout," a series co-authored by Susanne Rust exposed the presence of chemicals in everyday household materials.
Susanne Rust and her colleagues exposed the presence of chemicals, including bisphenol A, in a wide range of everyday household products for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the series "Chemical Fallout."
It was a piece of journalism that stunned consumers, prompted regulatory change and earned the team a slew of honors.
The series garnered a finalist spot for a 2009 investigative reporting Pulitzer Prize and a George Polk award. Then there was the John B. Oakes award for distinguished environmental reporting, a Scripps Howard National Journalism award, a Grantham award of special merit, a Sigma Delta Chi, a Society of American Business Editors and Writers award, and many more.
We talked with Rust about her experience working with a team to report the groundbreaking series, which was co-authored with Meg Kissinger and Cary Spivak. Here she shares an inside look at collaboratively reporting a document-heavy series, her investigative reporting tips and what she believes are the next big stories in the chemical industry.
How did you collaborate with other reporters and divide the work for this series?
"I pitched about 16 stories I was going to do over three or four months and I realized I couldn't do it all by myself. Part of the reason I couldn't do it is I'm not a business reporter and at the time didn't know anything about industry or business or how to look at tax forms, so I asked if Cary Spivak, who's a business investigative reporter, could join the team so he could help in that area and really speed that up.
"I had never worked on a really long project like this, and Meg Kissinger had been at the paper for 20 years and she's one of the most gifted reporters I've ever come across, so I just knew if she was on the team we'd be able to get this stuff on paper looking great.
"The way we split it up, well, we barely split it up. In the end, and we probably wasted a lot of time, but the three of us would do almost every single phone interview together. Basically, if it was somebody who was antagonistic, we'd clobber them right back because I could come at them from knowing about science and knowing when they were giving the bullshit factor, Meg could sweet talk anybody into giving us information and Cary could call them out if they were being fuzzy about business stuff, so we hit them from all three sides.
"The three of us wrote it together. We sat down at a computer and switched places and the other two would stand behind and we went sentence by sentence. I did more of the paperwork sort of stuff, I did most of the looking at the scientific stuff, reading government and scientific reports, summaries etcetera. Cary did the business side of it, looking at tax forms. Meg sort of filled everything in between.
Susanne Rust co-authored the series "Chemical Fallout"
You went through a lot of studies, documents and legislation. How did you stay organized and make sure you didn't leave out anything important?
"We probably still did leave out important stuff. I put everything into three ring binders. I started making a list to myself. Every day, I would write down what I had done and who I had spoken to. I could go back and check and remember who I spoke to and then make a mental memory of where I had put those notes.
"I used several notebooks for this but kept them all together. On the front cover of every notebook, I would write down the name of somebody I'd spoken to and the date. I'm not super, super organized, in fact I'm completely unorganized, but I found with these stories I had to create a system because it was so easy just to lose a notebook or forget where you had put those phone interview notes. So I just started labeling everything in a really macro sense like notebook, binders, folders and then would find things within."
In your stories, you mention using PubMed and the UW Madison Library. Can you talk about them? What were some of the other resources, programs or tools you used the most during your investigation?
"In the early days we went straight to government agency pages and got a ton of information off of those pages. They have lots of documents online that are freely available, publicly available. Later on, we started doing FOIAs for stuff that wasn't out there. I put this all into Excel spread sheets.
"PubMed is sort of like a warehouse of all scientific papers. Anything on science or health, mostly health, related issues, you can find there. Any peer-reviewed paper that comes out on those topics, PubMed keeps. So you can go to PubMed and you can put in a search term, you can put in an author's name, and it will pull up all the relevant papers.
"The thing about PubMed is that it only gives you the abstract, it doesn't give you the full paper, but it will list out papers for you. For example, I put in Bisphenol A, and it listed out something like 1,700 papers that had either the subject Bisphenol A or Bisphenol A was used as a word in the copy of the study or referred to. Then I had a list I could go to and I could go through every single paper on that list through the UW Library system."
What are your tips on creating and organizing reporting databases through programs like Excel?
"The trick is really again a matter of organization. It's making sure you've organized your entries correctly or in a way that can be useable. That's sort of the hardest part; when you're first sitting down to an investigation, figuring out what should be in the columns and what should be in the rows and setting that matrix up, because if you do it wrong it can become more burdensome and confusing than it should be…it's sort of a thing that you figure out over time after you've failed so many times doing it and making it more difficult on yourself."
What was the most difficult aspect of your investigation and how did you deal with it?
"I think initially the most difficult part was getting anybody to talk to us. Nobody took us seriously initially because we were from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It wasn't like we were The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal calling, so initially it would take weeks to get anybody to speak to us. It took constant nagging.
"I think we really overcame that after we published our first story and people realized that we were serious and that we weren't just a bunch of hay seeds from Wisconsin. I think most people in D.C. and the coasts have absolutely no respect for anybody who lives outside of those areas. I think it was when we published our first story that they realized we really knew what we were talking about and that we were very serious about this reporting, and that it wasn't just a fluff piece or an activist piece. It was really well-researched and we had in a sense become authorities on the subject by the end of our research on it and I think that was apparent.
"But I think even before that, we would have to do several call backs with some of these sources and they'd blow us off for weeks, but they soon realized that by the questions we were asking and through us talking about the subject that we knew what we were talking about and were serious. It took a long time."
A graphic that ran with the series "Chemical Fallout," which details common uses for bisphenol A. Source: the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Do you think more reporters need to look at the methods section of scientific studies and be more critical of who they're funded by?
"I definitely think if you're doing medical reporting, if you're doing scientific reporting or you're doing environmental reporting, you need to know who funded the study, where the money came from.Once you've established that, you definitely should look at the methods.
"It's hard to do, so I would recommend anyone doing that kind of reporting to find a few good sources who can help them go through a methods section and talk about what methods were used and whether they were appropriate or not. Often the story is in the methods section. As reporters, I think we're really averse to looking at a methods section because it's so dry and technical, but again, I think that's where the story is."
Is there anything you'd wished you'd known at the start of your work?
"I wish I'd had more confidence in myself early on. Part of the reason the first set of stories took so long was because initially I wasn't going to sit down and read all these scientific studies and then show what I'd learned from them. I got other scientists to tell me what the research showed. Finally, my editor said 'Susanne, you've been reading this for months now. You know what's going on. Tell everybody what you've seen.'
"I wish I'd had more confidence in myself initially because it could have gone way faster. It wasn't until the third month into it that I started to be very deliberate about examining every single study and showing what I had seen as a reporter looking at these things."
In your reporting process what were some of the things you were glad you did?
"I worked with a really experienced editor on this and he really helped us bring it together. He did things that I wouldn't have done had he not been there, like when we showed our results to the chemical industry before we published, and I was really glad we did because we could get their reaction before it was published and had we had anything glaringly wrong they would have seen it."
If a business reporter wanted to report on the chemical industry, what are some new angles you'd suggest they look into?
"I think there are a lot of policy issues I think are really going to affect the chemical industry. There's a law called the Toxic Substance Control Act and it's been on the books since the 1970s and what it does is puts a very high burden of proof on the government to show that a chemical is dangerous. Legislators are looking to rewrite that law right now, and if that goes through, I think it's really going to affect how chemical companies market and manufacture their chemicals because they're going to have to show they're safe before they put it on the market, which is the direction I think it's going to go and it's going to have an effect on their business. Right now, they don't have to do anything and the government has almost no power to say a chemical is dangerous or to ban it."
What are your top five tips for investigative reporters?
1. Have patience.
2. Everything you hear is important. Things that are seemingly unimportant may rear up to become very important later on, so don't dismiss anything offhand.
3. Know your sources inside and out.
4. Be organized.
5. Don't throw anything away.


A performance report is given when you fail an Exam section.* The report's information, along with your score, provides an assessment of your Exam performance. You should keep in mind that these two items present different views of your performance and are determined separately.
Your score (official result) is obtained using Item Response Theory (IRT). It is calculated as a whole taking into account your responses.
The performance report shows your performance in each of the Exam's content areas and overall performance by item type. You receive the report for informational purposes only as it has no bearing on your official score.
You are given a performance report to help you identify areas in which you should improve in order to pass. Your performance is compared to other candidates who have "just passed" – those who scored between a 75 and 80.
While you may feel the need to study only the areas in which you are weaker, we advise that you study all areas before retaking the Exam. If you only study your weaker areas, you might do better on those but worse on others when you retest.
*Not all jurisdictions provide a candidate performance report. Check with your specific Board of Accountancy for details.


text:
Q: Is kuon a word? What word am I thinking of? I thought kuon was a word that meant any type of small riddle or puzzle.
Eg: I thought that 'When a tree falls in the forest does anyone hear it?' was a kuon.
But my googling finds no evidence for it.
I am not thinking of the word enigma or haiku either.
Is this all in my head or did I invent a new word ...?

A: a koan is defined (M/W) as

a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist
monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into
gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ogwr Karate Association is a Karate Group, under Chief Instructor Colin Medway 5th Dan with 41 years experience.
For every 10000 people that join a Martial Arts class HALF will drop out within 6 months.
Of those remaining students, approximately 1000 will complete 1 year of training then quit.
Around 500 will study for 2 years but only 100 will see their 3rd Anniversary in the sport.
On average only 10 will make it to 1st Dan Black Belt and only 1 or 2 will achieve 2nd Dan status.
1 will go on to teach others what he/she has learned – for them martial arts in a part of their life and they shall go on to share this life with others.


Well, it wasn't Hawaii or Europe, but we had a great time anyway on our long weekend trip to Austin and San Antonio.
A big snowstorm hit the night before. Made things pretty, but it was icy and un-drivable for a while.
Happily, the ice melted by lunchtime and we were able to set out for central Texas.
The State Capitol was quite impressive, as befits a state as grand as Texas.
The Alamo was very cool but crowded with what seemed to be half of Texas. After reading a few signs and legends, we realized that by sheer happenstance, we were there on Battle of the Alamo Day – March 6! No wonder the whole world was there! But we still had fun. And here, in probably the most important historical site in the state, Texas pride was on full display.
The most fun was the next day at Natural Bridges Caverns, and Natural Bridges Wildlife Ranch. Kind of like Lion Country Safari they used to have in Orange County, but without the predators. Had quite a few large gazelles, bison and ostrich eat out of our hands.
The Sicilian donkeys were a hoot.
Just because they were herbivores doesn't mean they were small.
And they had a whole BUNCH of giraffes.
We had brunch at Mi Tierra on the last day and were serenaded by these fun mariachis.
It was a fabulous trip with my wonderful honey!
We had a wonderful time on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Special thanks to Sherry and Dale for providing the great accommodations, up on the hill overlooking Honolulu.
We just found out that the storm wrecked our roof, and we'll be out the couple thousand deductible for replacement. Ugh.
There are a modest 17 photos, 6 of which are from Lisa and Ryan's wedding. I couldn't figure out how to caption the photos, so I made the titles somewhat descriptive.
If you sort them by Title, they will appear in correct chronological order. Enjoy!
Re-posting this from a couple of years ago because it is an actual blog entry, as opposed to my "just news" posts. Enjoy!
I grew up in a family of intelligent, witty people. With them and my neighborhood friends, I became proficient at the jab, the tease, and the put-down (subtle or otherwise).
My college roommates (all Christians) and I used to sit at the dinner table and trade barbs and witticisms. We didn't say REALLY bad things, and we did not mean to hurt each other. It was all in fun.
But it eventually struck me that we were literally training ourselves to speak evil. So my roomies and I decided together to start "taming our tongues" (James 3).
About this time, I noticed something interesting. Every so often, an insult or other negative words would come out of my mouth, but the person didn't hear it, and asked me to repeat.
In that brief moment, I realized that I shouldn't have said it anyway. I figured that God mercifully caused the person not to hear it, like a filter in the air between my mouth and his ears. So I would say, "Never mind — Holy Spirit Filter." My friends soon came to know what that meant.
More time passed, and that filter kept moving, right into my brain. I still slip on occasion, but most of the time those insults and jabs don't even enter my mind. I rarely utter the words "Holy Spirit Filter" any more, and by His grace I am known as an encourager and someone who uses words to heal, not harm. All glory to God!
After living in TX for 4 months, we finally chose a church! I (Dan) had been hoping to find one closer to our neighborhood (to make it easier to invite neighbors). But this one, Providence Church, is 15 minutes away, which is not too bad. The pastor is an Iranian guy who became a Christian at a young age out of a Muslim background. The preaching is really good, the worship is good, and they have plenty of small groups near our house.
So we will look for a group to join and start building those personal relationships that are so important, and also see where and how the Lord would have us serve. Of course, our niche has most recently been worship team (Dan playing instruments, Pat running video from the back), but we are both open to whatever opportunities arise.
Thanks to those who prayed that we would find a church. We're very happy that we'll be settling down after visiting 8 or 9 different churches.
In other "getting settled" news, we installed kind of a fun "coat rack" on our wall. Hopefully our guests will feel even more welcome when they visit. Maybe YOU will be one of them!
Outside our home in early December, it looked like a winter wonderland. But it was ice, not snow. We bundled up for a quick stroll outside, and this is what we saw.
Our house and tree were covered in ice. The driveway was treacherous.
The entire street was covered in several inches of ice. Driving was out of the question.
We were so glad both our cars were in the garage and would not have to be defrosted!
We were greeted by a friendly gator at the Dallas World Aquarium.
Here's our 190-word, bullet-pointed, pithy update on our family, especially for those who haven't kept up with us all year.
We've been in Texas just over a week now. After spending most of last week getting moved in, we reported full-time to the office this week.
Here we are outside the GMO office in Plano, in an area with many office buildings (in sort of an extra downtown, 15 miles north of downtown Dallas). There is a bit of traffic, but it looks like most days the drive in will take about 20 minutes.
Inside the office, Dan works across from Pat and a couple of cubes down. He stands up most of the day and can see the back of Pat's head! Our desks are adjustable, so Dan can lower his desk and sit for a while if he gets tired of standing. About 20 people work here at the GMO office, with a few more coming soon.
And here we are outside our house on Foxwood Lane. We are so glad the houses around here are brick and will not need painting! We'll take some inside photos soon, after we finish unpacking and get rid of all the boxes.
Pray with us that we can make an impact on our neighborhood. We've already met both sets of next-door neighbors and a family across the street. So far everyone is very friendly and welcoming.
We appreciate you so much! Thank you for your friendship and prayers as we continue this transition.


text:
namespace spvtools {
namespace opt {

// See optimizer.hpp for documentation.
class FoldSpecConstantOpAndCompositePass : public Pass {
 public:
  FoldSpecConstantOpAndCompositePass() = default;

  const char* name() const override { return "fold-spec-const-op-composite"; }

  // Iterates through the types-constants-globals section of the given module,
  // finds the Spec Constants defined with OpSpecConstantOp and
  // OpSpecConstantComposite instructions. If the result value of those spec
  // constants can be folded, fold them to their corresponding normal constants.
  Status Process() override;

 private:
  // Processes the OpSpecConstantOp instruction pointed by the given
  // instruction iterator, folds it to normal constants if possible. Returns
  // true if the spec constant is folded to normal constants. New instructions
  // will be inserted before the OpSpecConstantOp instruction pointed by the
  // instruction iterator. The instruction iterator, which is passed by
  // pointer, will still point to the original OpSpecConstantOp instruction. If
  // folding is done successfully, the original OpSpecConstantOp instruction
  // will be changed to Nop and new folded instruction will be inserted before
  // it.
  bool ProcessOpSpecConstantOp(Module::inst_iterator* pos);

  // Returns the result of folding the OpSpecConstantOp instruction
  // |inst_iter_ptr| using the instruction folder.
  Instruction* FoldWithInstructionFolder(Module::inst_iterator* inst_iter_ptr);

  // Try to fold the OpSpecConstantOp <component wise operations> instruction
  // pointed by the given instruction iterator to a normal constant defining
  // instruction. Returns the pointer to the new constant defining instruction
  // if succeeded, otherwise return nullptr.
  Instruction* DoComponentWiseOperation(Module::inst_iterator* inst_iter_ptr);
};

}  // namespace opt
}  // namespace spvtools

#endif  // SOURCE_OPT_FOLD_SPEC_CONSTANT_OP_AND_COMPOSITE_PASS_H_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Thanksgiving | Just Spiff It!
It is comforting to know that there are people out there just like me!! Sometimes I wonder? I just checked out some of my favorite blogs and saw some of the most beautiful Thanksgiving table settings that I would like to share. I am sure there will be millions of beautiful tables tomorrow – not because of the decorations but the people sitting around the table are the most important people to us. Although there will be people missing around your table – they will nevertheless be held in your heart.
Go check out Conspicuous Style – she has posted some beautiful Thanksgiving table settings.
My new favorite blog is StoneGable. Goodness-me-gracious you need to go check out her tablescapes, they are incredible!!
My go to blog is The Collected Table by Kathryn Greeley. She is pure class and her tables are so elegant and welcoming.
Of course there is the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving table – my things have changed over the years haven't they??
I am still finding more Thanksgiving dinnerware – this one is by Spode called Celebration Turkey Thanksgiving and has the same trim on the plate that the Spode Woodland pattern has. The dinnerware is microwave and dishwasher safe earthenware. I really like this one because is simply brown and cream transferware. Dinner Plate – I found these on Amazon at $120.00 for 4 plates. Then I found a better deal on ebay for 134.99 for 8 plates that were listed as brand new. Salad or Desert Plates – Also found on Amazon for 4 for $99.00 and also found some on ebay for $35.99 for four plus shipping. I am seeing half price here, aren't you? Bread and Butter Plates – which I love small little plates. These also were on Amazon for 4 for 79.99 or ebay for $35.99. Rimmed Soup Bowls – on Amazon for 4 for $79.99. Aren't they wonderful? Really could not find a better deal on ebay except 8 for $129.99. Vegetable Serving Bowl – on Amazon for $99.99 and also on ebay for $39.99 plus shipping. Platter – on Amazon for $109.99 and measures 14 X 10.5. The best deal I saw on ebay was a platter for $59.99 and free shipping! Coffee Mug (12 oz)- on Amazon for $89.99 for a set of four and then on ebay for $99.99 for 8!!! Well, I can do the math on this one!! I think this pattern is my favorite so far because it is so simple and classic. Many people have creme dishes and this pattern would mix beautifully if you only wanted to do this patterns salad plates and then stack your dishes on a rattan charger and finish it off with a chocolate brown napkin. Very pretty and simple in my opinion!! Line some potted rosemary or sage down center of the table wrapped in chocolate brown burlap tied with a creme colored satin ribbon and oh-my-gosh……….your guest will swoon!! Of course, don't forget to mix some votive candles in! Thanks for stopping by. Can you believe Thanksgiving is so near??
There is yet more dinnerware for Thanksgiving that is embellished with our friend Tom Turkey. This one is called Queens Mott Thanksgiving by Churchill, unforunately it is discontinued and a bit harder to find. But I still love it and it also has that vintage and "handed down by my Grandmother" look. The colors are wonderful and very "old timey" .
Here is the dinner plate. I love the pinks, greens, golds, browns and the black details of the turkey. I did find a good deal on ebay for 12 for $119.99 and free shipping. I have found that there are reproductions of this pattern also on ebay.
This would look wonderful on a mossy green charger and a natural colored table cloth.
Rimmed Soup Bowls – Oh my gosh ! they are wonderful. I found these at Replacements.com. This particular photo shows off the colors of pattern best.
I would love to see a tureen and other pieces in this pattern but I just could not find them! But all is not lost because accenting this pattern with other dishes you have would make your tablescape more interesting.
Thanks for stopping by – come back because there is more Thanksgiving patterns to show you.
I have been checking out Thanksgiving china the last couple of days, which is crazy because I don't even need Thanksgiving china!! We don't even have Thanksgiving dinner at our own home -we always go to my cousins home for the totally perfect Thanksgiving – they have everything down to an exact science and all of our family brings part of the dinner. But for the record, I have had Thanksgiving at our house twice during the last 36 years.
Spode Woodlands has been a favorite of mine forever – I think this pattern called American Turkery would be wonderful on a Thanksgiving table. I found DinnerwareEtc.com and Amazon to have the best prices.
And your turkey deserves this platter – which comes in 2 sizes, so why not get both? Love this platter!
and when it's time for desert……….
and nothing goes better with desert than coffee……..
and wouldn't this flatware be "over the top"?
I would use this table cloth I found at Crate & Barrel ……..
then take these luminaries and place them on reindeer moss around table – saveoncrafts.com has great decorations that will save you money – which you'll need if you have bought some of the Spode Woodlands China!!
and then scatter some small white pumpkins around – tie the stems with some brown satin ribbon…….beautiful!
There you go! I think all of these lovelies will make a beautiful Thanksgiving table.


text:
What To Do after a Fire
Please enter your slogan here
Pleasant Hill Construction, Inc.
Kingston, IL and Naperville, IL
(Matthew Rhoads)
(Jeremy Busch)
Dependable Professionals
Pleasant Hill Construction, Inc. specializes in fire, storm and water restoration. It is a young company co-owned and operated by Jeremy Busch and Matt Rhoads.
Jeremy Busch, a 2005 graduate from NIU, brings 5 years of fire, storm and water restoration and mitigation to Pleasant Hill Construction, Inc. Since 2008, he has worked for a major restoration company in Chicago. He is experienced and skilled in estimating within the insurance industry, communication with homeowners, working with sub-contractors and project supervision. After graduating in 2005, Jeremy worked as project manager for a large builder in Atlanta, Georgia.
Matt Rhoads, a 2000 Purdue graduate, has 12 years of construction and business experience. His company, Pleasant Hill Homes, a custom homebuilder, has been in operation since 2001. He was co-owner of Gulf Coast Site Prep from 2007 until moving to Illinois in June 2013. Gulf Coast Site Prep, Inc. is a land clearing and site development company. In addition, until moving to Illinois, he was sub-contracted as a project manager for Cole Construction and Development in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. These entities required managing 12-15 million dollars per year in construction projects.
Pleasant Hill Construction, Inc. is an experienced restoration company. We understand the importance of good communication, timeliness and quality of work. We are dedicated and committed to providing quality restoration services and products.
Call our helpline today to discuss your project with us.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Aimed at photographers looking to venture into the realm of video, Photo District News' HDSLR Video Workshop promises to rundown the full process of shooting with HDSLRs and is for those without any experience.
They'll be holding a total of seven workshops in cities such as New York, Chicago, and L.A., each lasting two days. The tour begins in New York City, on May 14th.


my recent obsession with DIY came about when i realized i needed business cards for my senior art show (which was a week away). i started by making a prototype. then i made another prototype. then another. i realized i could make a bunch of cards that were similar enough but change little bits & play with color & composition & so on.
so i hand drew my business cards (there were only 50)(and there was something so wonderful about that too). it was an awakening for me.
doin' it myself forced me to slow down & reconnect with what i enjoy about creating. i'm too anxious of a person to live a fast paced life; i get so caught up in the list of things i need to do that i forget to enjoy whatever i'm currently doing.
doin' it myself meant being in control of all the means of production. i don't have to worry about color issues, weird formatting, and i have time to experiment & change my mind as many times as i want. there's variety in the product, some come out better than others, but it keeps the process engaging.
the photo above is actually of my silkscreened business cards; i had to compromise a little. but silkscreening also produced varied & funky little cards.


text:
Africa Analysis: The continent's bold space policy
Speed read
African science and education ministers have adopted a space policy
The policy and a related document set out big ambitions, but questions remain
The two documents are to be considered by the AU Heads of States in January 2016
By: Linda Nordling
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By Linda Nordling
Linda Nordling asks: Africa has come up with a space policy that is bold but is it workable?
Last month, African science and education ministers adopted a continental space policy and strategy at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It's been a long time coming. Work on an African space policy dates back to 2010, and it has taken it five years to reach this point.
The 14-page policy will act as a 'guiding framework' for African activities in space, while the 20-page strategy provides a 'strategic framework' for operationalising continental projects.
The African Union (AU) Space Working Group, made up of AU and national officials and experts, prepared the two documents.
These are ambitious documents that aim to harness the power of technologies such as earth observation and satellite communications for the benefit of Africa's health and wealth.
"Several questions remain vis-à-vis Africa's space ambitions."
Linda Nordling
But while the scope of the policy and strategy is impressive, some information — such as who will oversee their implementation — remains hazy.
The space policy
The African Space Policy was adopted at the First Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST) of the African Union (AU), which took place last month (27-30 October).
The STC-EST is an amalgamation of two continental ministerial gatherings — the African Ministerial Conference of Science and Technology (AMCOST) and the Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union (COMEDA) — that previously met every two years.
The space policy has two overarching goals: to use space science and technology to improve the quality of life and generate wealth in Africa, and to develop and maintain African infrastructure and capacity to service both African and foreign markets in a responsible way. [1]
It centres around the creation of an African Space Programme, which will bring all African space activities under a common umbrella. Such activities will include the training of space-related experts, making use of continental and regional training networks and partnerships to ensure resources are used optimally.
The policy emphasises the importance of nurturing a strong space industry in Africa. This will include making sure that investments are directed at space technologies that make sense in the African market and can stimulate growth. One example is to develop better warning systems for events such as droughts, floods, tsunamis and cyclones that threaten lives and property on the continent. [1]
However, it adds that the continent also urgently needs to draw up regulatory frameworks for space technologies. African exploitation of space should be framed around peaceful applications that respect international treaties and agreements, it says.
The space strategy
The African Space Strategy, meanwhile, takes the overarching policy goals of the space policy and suggests more concrete ways in which they can be achieved. It identifies the strengths of the continent (including pockets of expertise and strong political will) as well as weaknesses (such as disparities in space expertise across the continent) and threats (over-reliance on technology from abroad and 'brain drain'). [2]
Some of the opportunities can be used to address the weaknesses, it says. For instance, the extensive ongoing rollout across the continent of optical fibre broadband will help offset operational constraints on scientific equipment, data management and sharing.
"Africa has reached for the stars. Now much activity on earth will be required to get there."
The strategy sets out projected outcomes. After one year, governance elements for the space programme should be in place, including regional centres of excellence. After five years, the continental space programme should be fully established. After ten years, Africa's space programme should be ranked among the top ten globally.
The strategy also identifies indicators that can be used to measure whether continental ambitions in space are achieved. These include the number of space-related indigenous patents and academic articles, number of graduates in space-related fields, number of 'orbital slots' obtained for Africa-built or Africa-designed satellite, and the level of long-term funding secured for space applications.
Questions remain
Several questions remain vis-à-vis Africa's space ambitions. Firstly, there is no mention of who, or what, will coordinate the implementation of these activities. Although an African Space Programme is mentioned, where it will be housed is not stated.
A few options can be surmised, based on how the AU and the continent have handled prior pan-African initiatives. A small headquarter could be housed in Addis Ababa, attached to the African Union Commission secretariat. Or AU member states could bid to host a coordinating headquarter, provided they contribute financially to its running costs.
First results from satellite watch over Sudan
African space science initiative gets the nod
It is also possible that implementation be devolved completely to national governments and regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community. Any business that would need continental attention — such as agreeing on Africa-wide regulation — could then be discussed at AU ministerial meetings.
The space policy and strategy will now be forwarded to the annual AU Heads of States Summit that will take place in January 2016 for approval. It is rare for policies to fall at this final hurdle although this has happened in the past.
There are aspects of the documents that at least, seem a bit far-fetched such as, ten years after their adoption, the continent should have a constellation of Africa-designed and Africa-manufactured satellites in orbit providing independent earth observation satellite data to all African countries.
However, although the policy might change in detail or the presidents' approval may take longer than expected, the central tenets of the policy and strategy documents are unlikely to change. Africa has reached for the stars. Now much activity on earth will be required to get there.
Journalist Linda Nordling, based in Cape Town, South Africa, specialises in African science policy, education and development. She was the founding editor of Research Africa and writes for SciDev.Net, Nature and others.
This piece was originally produced by SciDev.Net's Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
This article was originally published on SciDev.Net. Read the original article.
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SXSW 2015: Fall Out Boy, Action Bronson, James Bay, Raury shine at a rainy mtvU Woodie Awards
By Kyle Anderson
Pamela Littky
For all the crow that MTV has had to eat for decades based around the accusation that they don't care about music (which was lobbed at them roughly six hours after they first launched), the annual mtvU Woodie Awards tend to have a pretty good lock on acts who are about to make the move from the fringes to the mainstream. As this year's host Jack Antonoff pointed out during his introduction, last year's day-long celebration not only featured one of the first performances by his band Bleachers, but it also represented the live debut of Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX's chart-topping "Fancy." In fact, ever since the network moved its annual awards show from New York to Austin, their festival has built up quite a reputation for featuring performers right on the cusp of next-level greatness, including A$AP Rocky, Echosmith, Mac Miller, and Odd Future, among many, many others.
The 2015 version of the Woodies brought together another disparate group of performers, all of whom had to go the extra mile in putting their best foot forward since their audience was completely waterlogged by rain. As in the past, the hip-hop performers seemed to both deliver more satisfying performances and also more easily woo the crowd. Rae Sremmurd performed what must have been their 37th set of SXSW on Friday evening, and while they still maintained a pretty major bassline intensity, they did seem slightly fatigued as they shouted out "No Flex Zone" for the umpteenth time. Slim Jimmy and Swae Lee were also rapping along to the edited versions of their tracks, which seemed to throw them off and definitely softened the impact of some of their biggest hooks (most notably "No Type" and "My X").
Action Bronson had similarly low energy, but he really made it work for him. The Queens-bred MC, who announced his height and weight like a prizefighter, ambled onto the Woodies stage just before the start of the awards show's broadcast. Armed with tracks from his about-to-be-released album Mr. Wonderful, Bronson did little more than puff on a blunt and rap his butt off, spitting the multi-layered punchlines that make "Actin Crazy" and "Easy Rider" utterly irresistible. Bronson even brought out Chance the Rapper so they could tag-team on the track "Baby Blue," which gave Chance the opportunity to lay out his phenomenal dis, "I hope you never get off Fridays/ And you work at a Friday's/ That's always busy on Fridays." While the crowd was mildly non-plussed by Bronson's presence, he pointed out why that might have been at the end of his set: "You probably never heard so much motherf—ing rap in 20 minutes." Considering the speed of his delivery and the density of his gags, he was probably right.
The rest of the Woodies Festival was taken up by the likes of Clean Bandit (who are pretty much La Bouche with updated haircuts), MisterWives (a New York band who are basically just Save Ferris, with all their horn breaks and general jauntiness), and Ty Dolla $ign (who was game and beloved by the crowd but probably too laconic for his own good). The only other real standout was Raury, the 18-year-old Atlanta native whose mixtape Indigo Child was one of the buzziest of last year. Raury is a remarkable specimen who trades in rootsy R&B that brushes up against gospel music and claustrophobic down south hip-hop, and he delivers it with poise, energy, and charisma that shouldn't exist in a performer at that age. Raury is what Andre 3000 dreams about at night, and if he can balance his hippy-dippy leanings with an already-evolving sense of songcraft, he'll undoubtedly be a superstar.
The actual Woodie Awards show was a fine turn for Antonoff, who handled hosting duties breezily. The worst band at SXSW kicked off the broadcast, but then things got way, way better: James Bay delivered yet another passionate, polished version of his still-climbing hit "Hold Back The River," and Big Sean wrapped everything up with his trademark tomfoolery via the one-two punch of "Blessings" and "I Don't F— With You." In the middle, a large chunk of the show was given over to Fall Out Boy, who were the inaugural inductees into the newly-established Hall of Wood. A handful of artists paid tribute to them in a video, and the band showed up to run through a rapid-fire medley of some of their biggest hits, including breakout single "Sugar, We're Going Down" and the more recent smash "Centuries." (They also played latest single "Uma Thurman," which deserves to be a chart-topping track if only because it interpolates the theme from The Munsters.)
As for the winners, Childish Gambino took home a pair (he sent a video thanking the fans and also thanking Kanye for not interrupting it), and Taylor Swift, Hoodie Allen, Jack & Jack, Years & Years, and Porter Robinson also got themselves some wood (the origins of which, by the way, were explained by Rita Ora and Charli XCX in a series of genital-pun-filled videos). It's unclear whether or not this Woodies contained a star who will be topping the charts in a few months, though both Bronson and Raury have a leg up on the competition. For yet another year, mtvU justified the existence of the "M" for everybody.
By Kyle Anderson @KyleAEW


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OVERCOMING THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC – MORE NEWS OF EVENTS
14/01/2021 07/12/2020 by AUTHOR
Seen and Heard International hopes for the happiest of outcomes for all those who are ill due to the current coronavirus pandemic. We share the optimism of those experts who hope that all those in otherwise good health will be able to resist its worst effects.
With the worldwide restrictions on travel and gatherings of significant numbers the world of classical music and many other entertainment events are currently subjected to a wave of changes, postponements, or cancellations, and it is unlikely normal recreational life will be resumed in the foreseeable future.
Seen and Heard International will continue to post reviews of concerts, operas, dance, theatre, and broadcasts for a long as we can, but bear with us if our content is not refreshed as often as readers have become used to over recent years.
We are not a listings site so if you are checking for news of whether performances have been postponed, cancelled, or might be restarting, please go direct to the websites of the venues concerned.
Attempts are being made to provide online live music and other performances – live or recorded – during this ongoing situation. Below are a few of the announcements and please also look elsewhere on Seen and Heard for more news. None of this is intended to be comprehensive or regularly updated but might be added to in coming days:
Birmingham Royal Ballet – has taken the difficult decision to move their 2020 adapted version of The Nutcracker online. The magical Christmas production will be streamed live from The Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Friday 18 December at 7.30pm, giving audiences an experience as close to watching it live in the theatre as is possible. Birmingham Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker at The REP will be available to watch as a livestream event at 7.30pm on Friday 18th December. It will then be available to view as a video-on-demand recording from Saturday 19th to Thursday 24th December. Video-on-demand sales close at midnight on 21st December, but can be viewed until midnight on Christmas Eve.
Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet Carlos Acosta said 'I guess you could say we're trying to look on the bright side at the moment! By live streaming this new adapted version of our famous and much-loved production we can proceed with confidence and focus on making the event as special as possible for our wonderful audiences and now, wherever you are in the world, you can be part of it. I can't deny it's disappointing not to see everyone's happy faces in the theatre, but we will plan to end the year on a Christmas high, finding ways of celebrating is important right now.'
In light of the performances being cancelled the Company has again focused on finding solutions and decided to tackle uncertainties by enabling audiences to enjoy the world premiere of this new adaptation from home. After the cancellation of this year's full production at the Royal Albert Hall, this will be the one chance to experience Birmingham Royal Ballet's Christmas classic this year.
The full-length Nutcracker will be shortened to an 80-minute magical experience that will retain all of the most enchanting moments and characters you would expect and hope for and features the cherished Tchaikovsky score performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Paul Murphy. Ticket holders for this pay per view production will also be able to enjoy some extra treats the Company have tied together with a seasonal red bow to make the experience as special as possible.
Two performances featuring two different casts will be captured at The REP. The second film will feature three third year students from The Royal Ballet School performing Trepak, the Russian dance, and students from Elmhurst Ballet School dancing Snowflakes will be available for audiences to watch online in early 2021. Birmingham Royal Ballet is committed to offering performance opportunities for students of the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School, especially at this time when such opportunities are so rare for students starting out in their careers.
Birmingham Royal Ballet and Birmingham Repertory Theatre's social media pages will reflect a celebration of The Nutcracker throughout the run, including exclusive new dance footage, ballet lessons for the very young and behind-the-scenes insights and the premiere of a new animated film inspired by The Nutcracker created with Birmingham Royal Ballet's second company, Freefall, whose exceptionally talented dancers have learning disabilities.
Snape Maltings – Live music-making will resume at Snape Maltings from 11 December with regular concerts for live audiences. Britten Pears Arts will continue to offer short concerts with outstanding performers, some of whom would have performed during this year's Aldeburgh Festival and Snape Proms. The Christmas programme at Snape Maltings also includes Christmas food markets, outdoor visual art, storytelling with Father Christmas, and evenings of pizza and live music in Snape's heated Tipi.
4 – 6 December
Christmas food market on Saturday 5 December
Pizza and live music in the Tipi
Late evening shopping
8 December, 2pm
Virtual Tea Dance: Britten Pears Arts is inviting care homes, community groups and individuals of all ages and abilities to take part in a virtual version of its seasonal tea dance, using music and movement to bring enjoyment to a large number of isolated people.
11 – 13 December
Violinist Nicola Benedetti returns to Snape Maltings to perform solo concerts on Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December.
Stories with Father Christmas
Christmas food market on Saturday 12 December
Concerts from London Gay Men's Chorus in Snape Maltings Concert Hall and The Swingles in the Britten Studio on Friday 18 December
Concerts from Alex Mendham Band in Snape Maltings Concert Hall and The Swingles in the Britten Studio on Saturday 19 December
On Sunday 20 September New London Chamber Choir, directed by Dominic Ellis-Peckham, performs seasonal choral music including Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, while those unable to be at Snape can watch a livestreamed performance by The Swingles
Outdoor visual art by Paul Benney on 18-20 December
Plus Christmas food market on Saturday 19 December, Pizza and live music in the Tipi, Late evening shopping and carol singing
Concerts from Solus Trumpet Ensemble on Monday 21 December and The King's Singers on Tuesday 22 December, plus outdoor family films, including OperaUpCloses's Sammy and the Beanstalk.
The safety of Britten Pears Arts' visitors, artists and staff is its top priority, and this may mean that line-ups, capacity and pricing may change at short notice.
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) – presents the Midwest premiere of the new, feature-length documentary The Bowmakers, debuting Thanksgiving Day for 11 days only, November 26 – December 6, 2020. A live Zoom conversation featuring the film's director Ward Serrill and other filmmakers takes place Friday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m. and is free to the public with advance registration required. Early bird tickets for the film are $15 and are now available for purchase at ipomusic.org. The price increases to $18 on Thanksgiving. Those who wish to elevate their cinematic experience and live in the Chicago Southland region have the option to purchase a dinner delivery package as well. Proceeds for the 'Dinner and a Movie' package provide much needed funds to make future events, broadcasts, and concerts possible.
The Bowmakers follows the journey of the 'Cinderella' of the orchestra, the bow — the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous instrumental partners. The film is an artful exploration of one of the most esoteric corners of the music world, the art of bowmaking, as unknown to the public as it is essential to professional musicians. The Bowmakers made its theatrical release just as the COVID-19 pandemic forced several theaters to close their doors. In response, the filmmakers partnered with dynamic music organizations to present the film nation-wide. This means that Chicago audiences can only experience the Midwest Premiere directly through IPO.
'When Illinois Philharmonic was approached to host the Midwest Premiere of The Bowmakers as part of our reimagined virtual season, the answer was a resounding "yes,"' said Christina Salerno, Executive Director of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. 'Our orchestra can think of no better way to mark Thanksgiving than to provide this heartwarming opportunity for music lovers of all ages to appreciate this artful, untold story of the instrument so crucial to expressing the soul of music, the bow.'
Spitalfields Music – has recently announced that the 2020 festival and programme has been reimagined as a series of digital events which will be broadcast via the Spitalfields Music website CLICK HERE on Saturday 5 December.
Programme highlights include: Dunedin Consort, one of the world's leading Baroque ensembles, will present Lagrime mie: Songs of Prayer and Solitude recorded at Christ Church Spitalfields, East London, the site where the festival originated over 44 years ago. The programme will feature sublime works by early Baroque composers such as Schutz, Monteverdi and his assistant at St. Mark's, Venice, Alessandro Grandi, and works by lesser-known but equally exciting female composers, Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini.
Eight short commissions by contemporary women composers will receive their world premieres as part of Fast Food, Fast Music. Written for and performed by the Miller-Porfiris Duo and Siwan Rhys the programme will feature new works by Victoria Benito, Joy Effiong, Bobbie-Jane Gardner, Millicent James, Sarah Rodgers, Jasmin Rodgman, Susannah Self and Heloise Werner performed alongside Errollyn Wallen's Five Postcards. Fast Food, Fast Music is part of the festival's pledge to Keychange, the international initiative to empower women to transform the future of music.
Author and historian S. I. Martin, a specialist in black British History, has joined forces with the Chineke! Junior Orchestra to reimagine a walking tour of East London which will feature the first ever recording and broadcast of composer Amanda Aldridge's work, Three Arabian Dances. Each stop on this virtual tour will be accompanied by a different performance of music with historic ties to the area, lifting the lid on the Black history of Spitalfields going back 500 years.
English Touring Opera – It is with great sadness that English Touring Opera can confirm that the 13 remaining November performances of our live Autumn tour will be cancelled as a result of the national lockdown. This relates to those performances in London, Greater Manchester, Dorset and Essex. We are proud to have toured three programmes of lyric monodramas to hundreds of enthusiastic audience members in Snape Maltings and Tunbridge Wells and have been overwhelmed by the response and critical acclaim. We will continue to support the season's artists and keep music in our audiences' lives, during the second national lockdown.
We are filming our Autumn season on stage at the Hackney Empire this week and those performances will be broadcast over the Christmas season. We intend to deliver our scheduled performances in December. CLICK HERE for details.
We are extremely grateful to those of you who booked tickets for our tour in November. We hope that you will enjoy our digital programme this Autumn and we look forward to being reunited with you soon. The theatre you booked with will be in touch about refunds. Some audience members have already been in touch to ask whether they can donate the value of their tickets towards English Touring Opera's future work. If you'd like to do so we would be extremely grateful (click here).
You can download our free season programme (click here), in which you can read, listen and watch articles, interviews and performances. If you have little ones in your life, they'll love our opera film of the award winning children's book Shh! We Have A Plan, which can be found if you click here. To receive updates and new content directly please join our mailing list, or follow us on social media.
Scottish Chamber Orchestra – continues its commitment to bringing world-class music to audiences at home throughout the rest of 2020, with ten further streamed concerts as part of its autumn season, including music by composers such as Sally Beamish, Anna Clyne, Jessie Montgomery and Errollyn Wallen. Concerts filmed at The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh will be available for free via the SCO's YouTube and Facebook channels and remain viewable for 30 days after broadcast.
Gavin Reid, Chief Executive, Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) says: 'I am delighted that the SCO is today announcing a further ten, free, online concerts, that will see the outstanding musicians of the Orchestra continue to entertain our ever-growing digital audience. Filmed in several venues around Scotland, these concerts offer a wide variety of wonderful music as we welcome back some truly remarkable talents alongside our own brilliant players, including our Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, SCO regular and friend Pekka Kuusisto and acclaimed tenor, Allan Clayton. We look forward enormously to sharing these musical moments. Further plans for the remainder of this Season will be announced in December.'
In November, players from the SCO will perform a programme including Ravel's Violin Sonata and Milhaud's La Création du Monde (5 November, 7.30pm) followed by a concert of Mozart's Adagio & Fugue, Schumann's Etudes in Canonic Form and Strauss' Metamorphosen (12 November, 7.30pm). In a concert curated by director and violinist Pekka Kuusisto, the orchestra performs Associate Composer Anna Clyne's Within Her Arms and Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Tenor Allan Clayton and former SCO Principal Horn Alec Frank-Gemmill are the soloists (26 November, 7.30pm). The Orchestra start December with a concert including John Adams' John's Book of Alleged Dances and Mozart's Grand Sestetto Concertante (3 December, 7.30pm). SCO Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev conducts a concert curated by him which sees Principal Cello Philip Higham as soloist in Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme and Schubert's Symphony No 5 (10 December, 7.30pm).
Lunchtime concerts also continue during October, November, and December. As part of 'Laidlaw Live,' from the recently-opened Laidlaw Music Centre at the University of St Andrews, where the SCO is Orchestra in Residence, musicians play music by Coleman, Beamish, Thurlow, Martinů and Koshinski (28 October, 1.10pm). They also perform Felicien David, Franchomme, Bottesini and Rossini (18 November, 1.10pm) and Price, Beamish, Clarke, Smyth, Wallen, Dare, Weir, Carreño and Montgomery (9 December, 1.10pm). At the Stevenson Hall, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the SCO Winds perform Janáček's Mládí and are joined by RCS students in a side by side performance of Nick Reader's wind arrangement of Beethoven's Symphony No 7 (20 November, 1.05pm). These lunchtime concerts will be broadcast on the respective University and Conservatoire YouTube and Facebook Channels as well as the SCO's.
For further information CLICK HERE.
Garsington Opera – is delighted to announce that a filmed version of Fidelio in Concert which was performed at Wormsley on 16 September 2020 will be broadcast on the OperaVision channel from 23 October, 6pm UK time / 7pm CEST. The production will be available to view until 22 April 2021. It is free to watch online with no registration required. The premiere streaming will be available CLICK HERE and HERE for programme notes, full cast and creative team, biographies and more OperaVision celebrates World Opera Day (25 October) and the Beethoven anniversary with 3 very different productions of Fidelio: Garsington Opera's, Graham Vick's promenade production for Birmingham Opera Company and an animated version for children by Belgian collective Walpurgis. For an online Q&A featuring artists from all 3 productions including Douglas Boyd and Toby Spence that will take place on 24 October CLICK HERE.
Leeds Lieder – announces first live recitals of the 2020-21 season, and among the first socially distanced song recitals outside of London since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. All concerts will take place at Leeds Town Hall, 6pm start. Tickets on sale now via the Leeds Town Hall box office CLICK HERE / 0113 376 0318. Please note there is currently the option to book tickets to visit the concert in person or alternatively there is a livestream ticket to watch the concert from your home.
Thursday 29th October – Ian Bostridge CBE joins Festival Director Joseph Middleton to perform a work with which he's become synonymous: Schubert's Winterreise. Their recital is preceded by a recital by Harriet Burns, last heard by Yorkshire audiences at the Leeds Lieder Wigmore Hall masterclass given by our President, the great Dutch soprano Elly Ameling. She will perform Schubert's Ellens Gesang I, II & III. Her recital for Leeds Lieder takes place under the auspices of Barbara Hannigan's Momentum Equilibrium initiative.
Friday 30th October – Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton 'two of classical song's brightest artists' (The Guardian) return to Leeds Lieder following the release of their second and much lauded recital CD. Their programme includes Grieg's Six Songs Op.48 and Rachmaninov's Six Songs Op38. The recital will end with Alder giving her first performance of Strauss's transcendental Four Last Songs. Before Alder performs, ENO Harewood Artist Benson Wilson gives a recital of English and Samoan song. His appearance is supported by the Kathleen Ferrier Awards.
Saturday 31st October – Iestyn Davies MBE and Joseph Middleton perform Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin. Iestyn Davies 'reigns supreme among countertenors' (The Independent) and is becoming increasingly well known for his intelligent and considered readings of core Lied repertoire. Rising star, the 'superbly controlled, sensuous soprano' (Opera Today) of Nardus Williams also performs Liszt, Brahms and Wolf.
The City of Derry International Choir Festival – is receiving an online iteration (CLICK HERE) from Wednesday 21 October to Sunday 25 October to help us celebrate all that is good about the art of song – how it brings us together, uplifts us and inspires us. During the festival, Tenebrae will enchant audiences with their 'astonishing beauty and force' in a sparkling evening encompassing choral works by Allegri, Bach, Lassus and Rege. The free-to-view concert will be streamed from London's serene St Stephen Walbrook Church on Sat, 24 October 2020 at 7pm. Audiences can register to watch the free concert if you CLICK HERE. Nigel Short, director of Tenebrae, will also be leading a free workshop via zoom for singers on Saturday 24 October at 10am. Participants will get to work on two spectacular choral works – My soul, there is a country from Songs of Farewell by Hubert Parry, and Versa est in luctum, by Alonso Lobo. Places are strictly limited, so sign up is required CLICK HERE.
Let's Dance International Frontiers – From 24 October – 31 October Serendipity is running a preview week of LIVE performance and ONLINE performances, films, debates, and a book launch. LIVE performances will take place outdoors in Phoenix Square, Leicester and will be performed by dancer/choreographer Jean Abreu in a re-worked version of his critically acclaimed Solo For Two and Leicester-based trio Ana Paz, Helder Delgado, and Stephanie Freeman who will perform their new work Sombre. This year's LDIF – which would have taken place in Leicester in May 2020 – was swiftly re-configured to go online as The Alternative LDIF just after lockdown in a ground-breaking programme of performance, film, discussion and masterclasses featuring a cast of world-renowned dance practitioners. Embracing new technology overnight, LDIF thrust itself confidently into the online spotlight and was, for the first time, able to grab the attention of a global audience.
The dynamic Pawlet Brookes, Artistic Director and CEO of Serendipity: 'The week of live performance and online events in October is designed to continue the development of LDIF's profile and to platform next year's festival. I'm delighted that we'll be able to present live performance during October's programme and we will be focusing our online debates on the reframing of Black British dance.'
LDIF OCTOBER 2020 programme will be available on LDIF's own YOUTUBE channel – all UK times (viewing is free unless otherwise specified). For more information CLICK HERE.
Kings Place – An updated programme for Kings Place until the end of the year has been announced. As well as being available online, almost every concert has a limited number of seats available for the public. Continuing series include the remaining three concerts in Aurora's five-year Mozart's Piano with Imogen Cooper, Louis Schwizgebel and Javier Perianes; the new season of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's Bach, the Universe and Everything; the opening concerts of the 2020/21 Master Series which features Alina Ibragimova and Sheku Kanneh-Mason; The London Guitar Festival; the one day Folk in the Fall: Beethoven 250 with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Brodsky Quartet, Rachel Podger and Christopher Glynn; the remaining concerts of Nature Unwrapped; six concerts as part of EFG London Jazz Festival; London Chamber Music Sundays; and a Gala evening presented by the London Piano Festival. Except when they exceed the numbers currently permitted on stage, Kings Place concerts are largely as originally scheduled. In the event that in-hall performances are no longer possible, Kings Place is set up so that performers will be able to continue to live-stream their concerts. For information CLICK HERE.
The Arts Institute's Musica Viva series – We are excited to announce a new addition to the series (click here) – namely a series of Music Forums: live-streaming musical evenings featuring live performances and informal conversations with Robert Taub and guest artists about composers, musical interpretations, and related topics. Please join us for these exciting evenings so we can continue to enjoy great music together safely, through live streaming, during these unprecedented times.
9th October 2020, 7:30pm: The Arts Institute Director of Music Robert Taub will speak with Hannah Harris, CEO of Plymouth Culture about the profile of the current music season, and preview the Musica Viva Beethoven250 Festival that will be celebrated by The Arts Institute 4-6 March 2021 with performance excerpts and examination of musical scores.
6th November 2020, 7:30pm: British cellist Lionel Hardy will join us to discuss how Covid-19 has affected his normally busy touring and concert schedule. For example, he had been scheduled to perform a cello concerto by the Plymothian composer Stanley Bate in Hong Kong, but of course that event has been cancelled owing to Covid-19. Instead, Lionel will play excerpts from that work for us, and also perform a heroic solo cello work, the transcendent Suite for Solo Cello in C major by JS Bach.
4th December 2020, 7:30pm: London harpist Elizabeth Bass, a young artist presented in this Music Forum in cooperation with the Countess of Munster Trust, will demonstrate how the harp works, and discuss challenges and logistics of traveling with such a large instrument. She will also perform several works from her wide-ranging repertoire that includes transcriptions for harp of Scarlatti Piano Sonatas to 20th century works for solo harp by Benjamin Britten and others.
15th January 2021, 7:30pm: The first Music Forum in 2021 will feature a behind-the-scenes conversation with Mark Forkgen, conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Kokoro ensemble who will be performing in the re-scheduled performances of Some Call It Home at TRP in May 2021. Mark will discuss ways in which he prepares for a world premiere performance – how he learns a new score, how he organises rehearsals, how he deals with the different personalities of demanding musicians. As part of the discussion, we will play musical excerpts of the new score and highlight ways in which it is central to the overall drama.
19th February 2021, 7:30pm: London oboist Katherine Bryer – a young artist presented in cooperation with the Countess of Munster Trust – will show us how her oboe works, how she makes reeds, and perform solo oboe works from her repertoire that spans several centuries: from Bach to contemporary works by Elliot Carter and Giles Silvestrini.
South East London song series welcomes socially-distanced audience – Following months of concert halls lying quiet, Blackheath Halls will open their doors on 19th September to a socially-distanced audience, for the first time since the pandemic struck in March. One of the first indoor concerts to be held in the UK under new government guidelines, it marks the first of three performances programming Schubert's complete cycles here by SongEasel as part of The Wanderlust Series, featuring emerging star baritone, Julien Van Mellaerts alongside pianist and founder-curator of SongEasel, Jocelyn Freeman.
Complete with temperature checks and staggered arrival slots, the performance of Die schöne Müllerin will run for just over an hour with no interval. To compliment this, SongEasel – whose vision is to fill South East London with song – was founded with a passion for audience cultivation and development, and will also host a pre-concert talk with renowned experts Dr Natasha Loges and Natasha Riordan. The evening will be recorded as live and available to watch On Demand during the month of October (via songeasel.eventbrite.com), for those unable to attend in person. This online viewing method was piloted in July for the latest recital in The Wanderlust Series featuring Mark Padmore and Julius Drake, and offers viewing packages for a range of budgets including spoken content, subtitles providing translations of the song texts, and a PDF concert programme.
For socially-distanced tickets, please CLICK HERE, where you can chose your seat.
Bard Music Festival – Joining forces with The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the Bard College Conservatory the Bard Music Festival will present 'Out of the Silence: A Celebration of Music', a series of four free live-streamed concerts for string orchestra, piano and percussion (Sep 5–26), coming to UPSTREAMING, the Fisher Center's virtual stage. All programs are free, reservations requested. Pairing works by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Bartók – all past subjects of the Bard Music Festival – with music by ten prominent Black composers – ranging from Classical pioneer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges to contemporary Americans Alvin Singleton, Adolphus Hailstork and Jessie Montgomery, the series celebrates Bard's commitment to neglected rarities and the unquenchable joy of music-making. All four programs will be performed without an audience and with appropriate safety measures on Bard College's idyllic Hudson Valley campus by its unique graduate training orchestra, TŌN, under the leadership of Music Director Leon Botstein and other members of the TŌN artistic team. Hailed as 'a highlight of the musical year' (Wall Street Journal), the Bard Music Festival is the inspiration for Bard's annual seven-week SummerScape festival, whose devoted fans will no doubt enjoy the chance to experience virtually some of the adventurous Bard music-making they have been missing. Since its founding in 1990, the Bard Music Festival has succeeded in enriching the standard concert repertory with a wealth of important rediscoveries; as the New York Times points out, 'wherever there is an overlooked potential masterpiece, Leon Botstein is not too far behind.' True to this mission, 'Out of the Silence' shines a light on some of the important Black composers so rarely admitted to the canon. Examples of their work will be heard in September alongside music by four composers featured in early seasons of the festival. By celebrating more than three decades of musical exploration at Bard while amplifying some of society's most unjustly neglected artistic voices, the series looks ahead to a more equitable future.
English National Opera – On 17 July tickets for the English National Opera's Drive and Live – the world's first live drive-in opera – will go on sale. This new, modern 90 minute version of the much-loved La bohème is performed live at London's Alexandra Palace with members of the award-winning ENO Orchestra and Chorus. For casting and other details and about how to book tickets CLICK HERE.
Nevill Holt Opera – have announced six outdoor concerts are taking place in the beautiful gardens of the Nevill Holt estate this summer. Two concerts will take place on each of 29 August, 5 and 12 September. Nurturing up-and-coming talent is an essential part of NHO's mission, and each concert will feature at least five NHO Young Artists. An English Country Garden will feature English Folksongs by Elgar and others, Summer Shakespeare will feature John Rutter's Birthday Madrigals and Choral Music from the Renaissance will round out the concert series with Monteverdi, Gabrielli and Palestrina. During each visit, which will last for 2.5 hours, audiences can enjoy the outdoor performance and local food and explore the gardens. Each event will be held with strict social distancing and hygiene measures in place. Tickets are £35, with some held for each concert for those who may not be able to afford it. NHO's 2020 festival with La traviata and Don Giovanni was cancelled in March due to Covid-19 and postponed to 2021. For more information CLICK HERE.
Opera Leipzig – The Oper Leipzig schedule of events for the 2020/21 season will once again allow for performances on the main stage, as part of an ambitious hygiene plan. The Oper Leipzig's Oper Leipzig's modified program for the months of September and October 2020 begins with a season-opening concert is entitled 'Vorhang auf!' and will take place on September 12, 2020. Intendant and general music director Ulf Schirmer will musically direct the program, which will include works by Mozart, Rossini, Carl Maria von Weber, Bizet, and Humperdinck. The very next day on September 13, soprano Gabriele Scherer will take the stage with her husband, superstar baritone Michael Volle, as together they perform selections from the works of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss an 60 Musicians of the Gewandhaus orchestra on stage. In line with health regulations, the Oper Leipzig's theater will offer 238 seats, and the Musikalische Komödie's current venue allows 48 seats. Both venues will offer one-hour performances without an intermission and will observe distancing regulations in the front and back of the house, and on stage. Ulf Schirmer thanks all involved in this complex process of coordination: 'I am very grateful to the artists, and to our planning and technical teams, both on stage and behind the scenes, for their engagement, their patience, and their creativity. Thanks to them, we are able to make resolute and imaginative decisions regarding this autumn's new schedule of events.' Audiences can look forward to one premiere by each of the Oper Leipzig's three divisions: the Oper Leipzig, the Leipzig Ballet, and the Musikalische Komödie. For more information CLICK HERE.
The Maltings Theatre – Hot on the heels of the re-ignition of outdoor performances, The Maltings Theatre will present a two-week open air festival of Shakespeare (and more) at the atmospheric Roman Theatre of St Albans during August. The Maltings Theatre's own productions of Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor will feature throughout the two week run and performances of both plays will bookend the programme opening on Friday August 14th and closing on Monday August 31st. 'It's a really exciting time!' asserts Maltings Artistic Director Adam Nichols. 'Having led the successful campaign to persuade the government to allow live open air performance to restart, we're delighted to be one of the first venues in the country to bring back live theatre to audiences in the historical and beautiful surrounds of the Roman Theatre of St Albans. It is said that Shakespeare himself completed many of his finest works during lockdown, so it seems appropriate for us to be presenting a range of the great man's plays this summer.' The Festival will also host the work of three other critically acclaimed touring theatre companies: The HandleBards will present 'Romeo & Juliet' and 'Gnora the Gnome's Daytime Disco' (children welcome!); Folksy Theatre will present 'The Taming of the Shrew'; Pantaloons Theatre Company's 'Sherlock Holmes' completes the programme. For full programme details CLICK HERE. With strict planning and safety measures in place, the venue will be able to accommodate 220 audience members utilising the full height and all three levels of the atmospheric amphitheatre for the first time in the modern era.
London Concertante – The launch is announced of a socially distanced summer concert series, entitled 'Secret Garden Concerts', in a bid to embrace the recent outdoor performance regulations. A series of five outdoor performances will be hosted in the beautiful surroundings of their newly-formed outdoor garden venue in Streatham Hill throughout August, accompanied by a sparkling wine reception and a stunning menu. The arts have been arguably one of the hardest-hit sectors during the Coronavirus crisis, yet musicians and actors, as well as all those across the arts, have tried to find inventive ways of reaching their audiences, and London Concertante has been no exception. With their Spring/Summer season wiped out, at a loss of nearly half their annual turnover, they've been thinking of new and exciting ways in which they can reach out to their audience before concerts are allowed to resume. The stunning outdoor venue in Streatham Hill will host a series of five intimate concerts throughout August, performed by London Concertante members and friends of the ensemble. Musicians include The David Gordon Trio, The Camarilla Ensemble, London Concertante's Guest Director Jonathan Stone, harpsichordist David Wright and of course London Concertante itself as well as many more. More details can be found if you CLICK HERE.
Maria Marchant's '7 Notes in 7 Days at 7pm' – Maria Marchant's project started in lockdown, giving a live premiere performance each Monday night at 7pm on her professional Facebook page (CLICK HERE), showcasing a different composer each week in a unique call for scores. Now in its 12th week, the project has moved from her sitting room to the stunning Blüthner Piano Centre in Baker Street where she now films the live streams from. On Monday 27th July there was the world premiere of Roderick Williams's 'Chaconne at Five', a super jazzy solo piano piece that Roddy wrote in his student days.
Edinburgh International Festival 2020 – Covid-19 has not dimmed the creativity of artists, nor the enthusiasm of all the people who make Edinburgh's festivals. My Light Shines On is an act of optimism and solidarity: a series of world-class artistic interventions celebrating a spark that still burns bright. For the first time since lockdown began, artists have returned to the venues they love to make theatre together, to play music together, to sing together, to dance together and to light up the skies together. On 8 August, we celebrate what would have been the opening weekend of the 2020 festival season. A specially commissioned film featuring new work from artists across genres airs on our YouTube channel, Facebook Live and BBC Scotland at 9.30pm. The film features famous faces from festivals across the years, as well as collaborations with other Edinburgh festivals. This unique broadcast launches a series of new recorded activity, which will be viewable throughout August on our YouTube channel. For more information CLICK HERE.
Guildhall School of Music & Drama – GSMD has announced its Autumn Season of events, which will all be delivered digitally and free of charge. From late-September 2020, online audiences will be able to enjoy a mixture of live broadcast and pre-recorded content from across all School departments, created, performed and filmed at Guildhall School with the required social distancing. Soprano Julia Bullock will be welcomed as Artist in Residence at Guildhall School for the seasons 2020–2022. Known for her versatile artistry and probing intellect, Bullock will draw on her depth of experience to work with Vocal students in masterclasses and performance projects, guiding them on programming and on developing their own creative processes. Guildhall's Autumn Season music events include the rescheduled Gold Medal final – the School's most prestigious prize, this year celebrating instrumentalists – and the return of Takuo Yuasa to conduct the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra in a programme of Dvořák, Janáček, and Sibelius. Guildhall School's Autumn drama productions include a re-imagining of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Suba Das, and a new devised piece entitled Pod co-created by Jamie Bradley and Vicki Igbokwe, made with the Company. Students on the BA Performance and Creative Enterprise (PACE) programme will also share a series of self-devised works in a three-day online festival called Chapters, complemented by a regular series of conversations with inspiring guest speakers throughout the season. The Opera department presents a triple bill of Italian works directed by Stephen Medcalf and conducted by Head of Opera Dominic Wheeler: Mascagni's Zanetto; Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna (Susanna's Secret); and Donizetti's Two men and a woman (Rita). The Guildhall Jazz department will present the first in a year-long series of concerts charting the history of big band, beginning with the 1920s and 1930s. Masterclasses and curated concerts will take place with artists including pianists Stephen Hough, Imogen Cooper, Iain Burnside and Julius Drake; composers Jonathan Dove and Alison Bauld; and singers Kate Royal and Roderick Williams. The School's Research Works seminars continue in online format throughout the season, in which staff, students and visiting speakers discuss the findings of their ongoing research.
All content will be available to watch online, for free, via Guildhall School's website. To account for social distancing, ground-breaking low-latency technology will be used to enable larger ensembles to perform together in real time from from across different venues at the School. Staged productions will feature the work of the School's Production Arts department, created in collaboration with the Opera and Drama departments in accordance with safety and social distancing guidelines.
Event dates and further information will be announced soon and for more information CLICK HERE.
Glyndebourne Festival Opera – Glyndebourne was forced to cancel its 2020 Festival and close its doors following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic but, in early July, as lockdown eased, the opera house announced a mini-festival of outdoor performances, tickets for which sold out in just 40 minutes.
Now, Glyndebourne has announced that it is extending the season, adding more concerts by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), a recital performance by Glyndebourne's Jerwood Young Artists and additional Open Gardens days.
Each year the Jerwood Young Artists programme supports exceptionally talented young singers from the Glyndebourne Chorus. The new outdoor concert will mark 10 years of the programme and brings together four singers who have been supported through the programme in recent years – soprano Madison Nonoa-Horsefield (2020), mezzo soprano Emma Kerr (2015), tenor John Findon (2017) and tenor Frederick Jones (2019). They will perform a selection of operatic classics, accompanied by pianist Matthew Fletcher, with performances on 29 and 30 August.
The OAE will give six performances of a programme of music by Mozart, Beethoven and Jonathan Dove, conducted by Glyndebourne Chorus Director Aidan Oliver. For more information CLICK HERE.
Categories News and Press Releases, Season Previews Post navigation
Fascinating new Modena staging of Massenet's Werther involves intelligent use of technology
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Live and On Demand – January and March 2021


text:
Q: OpenCart XML feed - display only products from specific category After a few days I gave up on this - I couldn't figure it out.
This is the relevant part of my OpenCart XML feed code:
Code:
     $this->load->model('catalog/category');

     $this->load->model('catalog/product');

     $this->load->model('tool/image');

     $products = $this->model_catalog_product->getProducts();

     foreach ($products as $product) {
        if ($product['description']) {
           $output .= '<PRODUCT>';
           $output .= '<NAME>' . $product['name'] . '</NAME>';
           $output .= '<DESCRIPTION>' . $product['description'] . '</DESCRIPTION>';
           $output .= '</PRODUCT>';

I would like to be able to display only products from certain categories for example by category_id.
Let's say, that I wanted to display products from category (id) 1 and 2, what changes should be made?
I'm using OpenCart 1.5.1.3

A: If you looked at the getProducts() function, you would see that it accepts array as an argument. You can pass filter parameters to it, and get products for specific category, manufacturer etc. Params are:
filter_category_id
filter_sub_category
filter_filter
filter_name
filter_tag
filter_description
filter_manufacturer_id

[EDIT: Based on comment 1: EXAMPLE]
Create an array that you want to pass as an argument, for example (to get all products from category id 10 and it's sub categories)
$data = array(
    'filter_category_id' => '10',
    'filter_sub_category' => 'true'
);

Then call
getProducts($data);

or do it inline
getProducts(array('filter_category_id' => '10'));

If you need more than one category, get them separately then join them:
$set1 = $this->model_catalog_product->getProducts(array('filter_category_id' => '10'));
$set2 = $this->model_catalog_product->getProducts(array('filter_category_id' => '11'));
$products = $set1 + $set2;
...


Buy the June issue of Milwaukee Magazine online here.
It's here! The season we live for in Wisconsin. We've got dozens of events, activities and ideas that will keep you busy from now through Labor Day.
From going by the store to the unvoiced "s" to aina, the Milwaukee dialect is definitely a thing – much of it owing to our city's outsized Germanic ancestry.
The members of the Milwaukee Rowing Club are pulling together to honor our city's diversity.
Escape the heat at these standout shows.
Put the pedal to the metal at one of the metro area's cycling studios.
Classic films and records are just a few of the Milwaukee singer-songwriter's favorite things.
Slip into something more comfortable, like a palazzo pantsuit.
A study confirms that Milwaukee is way too tough on pedestrians.
These two lady-owned bakeries are a sweet – and strong – force in the MKE dessert scene.
The old-school drive-in with the dyn-o-mite burgers is baack. And drawing long lines.


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Oil ETF Ensnared in Crude's Crash Tries to Stave Off Turmoil
Katherine Greifeld &
Catherine Ngai
7:10 PM IST, 21 Apr 2020 1:05 PM IST, 22 Apr 2020 7:10 PM IST, 21 Apr 2020 1:05 PM IST, 22 Apr 2020
(Bloomberg) -- Oil's collapse is leaving the biggest U.S. crude-tracking fund at risk of becoming dislocated from prices, raising the prospect of another casualty in the crisis.
Furious buying by retail investors trying to pick a bottom in crude, along with a rush by short-sellers making the opposite bet, sparked a surge in new share creation that had swelled the United States Oil Fund to its maximum allowed size.
On Monday, the day West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery tumbled into negative territory for the first time in history, the exchange-traded fund asked the U.S. securities regulator for permission to register an additional 4 billion shares.
A day later, it said in aregulatory filing that it was changing the makeup of its portfolio. While it intends to track its benchmark as closely as possible, it warned that "significant" deviations may occur.
Famed oil trader Pierre Andurand said earlier Tuesday that he thinks bourse operator CME Group will have no choice but to close out long-oil ETF positions because of the risk of negative prices. "Anything that invests in the front two months of WTI is a recipe for disaster," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
The USO fund, as it's known, will now hold about 40% of its portfolio in the most-active June futures contract, 55% in July and 5% in August, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. Due to "ongoing extraordinary market conditions," it may invest in any month available or in varying percentages.
USO had accumulated a fifth of all the outstanding contracts in May futures in recent weeks, before rolling over its position into the June one last week. Without the fund, the May contract was abandoned to the forces of physical supply and demand, exacerbating its plunge below zero.
Also read: It's Time to Put USO Out of Its Misery
The fund's move to change its portfolio tightened the premium of July WTI futures over June by as much as $1.53 a barrel as fewer contracts in the active month puts less pressure on that spread when USO has to roll its positions again.
Until the new shares are cleared by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for issuance, the oil ETF will not purchase more WTI futures, according to analysts, potentially adding to pressure on crude prices that have plunged after the coronavirus took a massive toll on global fuel demand.
USO fell 25.1% to close at a record low of $2.81 on Tuesday. June crude oil futures plunged 43%. Trading of USO shares on the NYSE Arca Inc. will not be discontinued as a result of the suspension of sales of Creation Baskets, the company said in the filing.
Disconnecting
In effect, until the new shares are cleared, the oil ETF will have characteristics of a closed-end fund, with no easy way to keep its price aligned with the underlying commodity.
Closed-end funds often trade as sizable discounts or premiums to the market value of their constituents since there's no way to offset buying and selling demand in the secondary market by adjusting the supply of shares. USO closed at a premium of roughly 8.4% to its net-asset value on Friday.
John Love, president of USCF LLC, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The fund held 23.5% of June West Texas Intermediate crude futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of Monday. It also holds some July contracts, a change it implemented earlier this month.
Normally, specialized traders known as authorized participants will sell shares of the rallying ETF and purchase the underlying securities to pocket a virtually risk-free profit. That process usually keeps the ETF's price in lockstep with the fund's net asset value. However, with the authorized participants no longer able to create shares, that arbitrage trade has been disrupted.
Since demand for the ETF has been running high, the secondary market is likely to support its stock. At the same time, with no new shares being created, market makers have less incentive to purchase oil futures to exchange with the fund.
The elimination of those buyers could put downward pressure on the underlying commodity, offsetting some of the upward pressure on the shares.
"The ETF should completely disconnect from fundamentals and could cause a hell of a short squeeze," JonesTrading's Dave Lutz wrote in a note Tuesday.
Investors looking to bet against the ETF may explain some of the demand for new shares, he said. In the "create-to-lend" process, new shares of an ETF are generated in order for traders to borrow and sell short.
Other funds are feeling the stress as well. Horizons ETF Management said on Tuesday that it will not accept new subscriptions for shares of its BetaPro Crude Oil 2x Daily Bull ETF or its twice-leveraged daily bear ETF, while redemptions will continue to be accepted.
Meanwhile, Barclays Bank Plc said late Monday it will suspend further sales and issuance of its iPath Series B S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index ETNs immediately and exercise its issuer call option and redeem in full at the end of the month.
Stay Updated With Stock Market News On BloombergQuint


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Deftones' Chino Moreno Reacts to Stephen Carpenter's Flat Earth + Vaccine Theories
Chad Childers Published: October 19, 2021
Mark Metcalfe, Getty Images (2)
Late last year, Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter made headlines, sharing his belief in a "flat Earth" view and questioning the effectiveness of vaccines during an appearance on the Tin Foil Hat With Sam Tripoli podccast. Carpenter later followed by stating that it his opinions were not meant to "upset or offend in any way," but the commentary definitely elicited plenty of reaction. Now, while appearing on The Peer Pleasure Podcast with host Dewey Halpus (as heard below), Carpenter's bandmate Chino Moreno has shared his thoughts on his bandmate's comments.
Moreno reiterated that he didn't feel Carpenter was sharing his views coming from a negative place, but admits it was a little weird initially seeing the guitarist's theories becoming headlines.
"I'm surprised he's not more of a meme… I think there may be a couple," Moreno stated (as transcribed by ThePrp.com) But, it was actually tough for a minute, because obviously I've been friends with him since I was 10-years-old. And you know he wasn't always this way."
"I will say that the weed probably has a 'lil bit to do with his conspiracies and this and that and whatever, because he just, you know… And then probably sitting at home, just looking on whatever sites he looks at. [It] probably doesn't help being smoked out and all that stuff and whatever," he continued.
Moreno explained, "It's weird though, when we're together it's like we don't even talk about any of that stuff. We play music, we laugh, we have a blast playing music. [We're] still friends the way we were when we were kids. But it's not like I haven't heard him go on his tangents before and it's just like I'll listen for two minutes and then I just can't, you know what I mean? 'Cause he'll just go off into no man's land."
The singer says while he wants to support Carpenter and feels like everyone should have their own opinions on certain things, he has his own beliefs on Carpenter's theories. "I think it's a little outlandish, some of his views on the world, the planet itself… But I mean you know I fucking love him, man," says the singer. "He's really, really sincere… And he's smart—which is crazy—he's very loving. He's probably one of the most generous people that I've ever known in my whole life."
Moreno also spoke about the backlash the guitarist faced after his theories made headlines. "You can have your opinion but you gotta know the consequence once you say it. And the consequence is probably gonna be a lot of people talking shit," says the singer. "Sometimes it's like just keep it to yourself, you can believe in whatever—I'm saying for his own good. I'm not saying that he has to keep it to himself because we don't want to hear it. I'm just saying if you don't want to get ridiculed sometimes just don't say some outlandish shit."
"But I will say that I don't think anything that he says is coming from a negative place either. Because he's like really worried about society," concludes Moreno.
Within the wide-ranging chat, Moreno also spoke about Carpenter and a band assistant being at the Eagles of Death Metal Le Bataclan show but leaving just shortly before the terrorist attack occurred, the status of the long shelved Eros album and more. Check out the interview below.
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