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From the author: Kaul — a boy on the brink of manhood — is torn in two when his alternately loving and abusive father is turned into a crippled beggar. Can a wizard who deals with demons help Kaul bring his father home to the healing country of Leal?
A squall brought early dusk to the harbor at Discort. Merchant schooners and fishing boats lay at anchor within the breakwater, buffeted by the sharp gusts, rigging singing. Fish guts and salt scented the spray whipped against the docks. On the quay, warehouses and sailors' pubs were shuttered against the rain.
Kaul hunched his back to the wind and wound his way up a mud lane to a crisscross of alleys lined with shanties. Rain drenched his worn sweater and plastered his hair and beard to his face. A bit of warmth out of the rain would be welcome, and a bowl of gruel. Even his father to talk to, if he wasn't too drunk. By the demons, Kaul wished there was a way to keep Dagh from counting the poor coins in his purse.
Home. He ducked into the hovel huddled in the lee of a stone wall. Within, a fire sputtered on the grate, spilling spasms of light and warmth onto the furnishings; two straw mats, a table and two chairs, and Dagh's old sea chest from Leal.
Kaul tossed his purse on the table. "I got wages." He dipped his finger into the hot gruel.
"Not so fast!" Dagh's stump pinned his fingers.
Kaul withdrew, a sick feeling creeping into his stomach.
Kaul stepped through the flap they used as a door and dipped a cup into the rain barrel. He wasn't a fool. The shells had been against him, was all.
"She liked me." Kaul drank his water and spooned gruel into a bowl.
Kaul ducked his head. "No." His shoulders ached and bed beckoned.
Dagh's black-dyed hat and sweater lay on his pallet.
Kaul fixed his eyes on the table just beyond his gruel.
"You think you're smarter than me? Huh?" Dagh slammed his pot on the table.
Kaul waited, motionless, knuckles white.
Rain beat on the roof and dripped onto the cobbled floor.
Dagh plopped down and poured the last of his rum into his cup. The smell of it reeked from his pores, sickly sweet.
"You?" Dagh spooned porridge into his mouth.
"You let me come last time." Someone had to watch out. Dagh didn't run as fast, wasn't as alert, after the rum.
"I gave you a leg-up over the wall." Maybe Kaul could earn the money he should've brought home in wages.
"Hmmmph." Dagh drained his mug.
"I could be a lookout." Kaul flicked his gaze up hopefully.
Kaul hunched over his supper.
"Ahh! You daft boy!" He grabbed Kaul around the neck and jabbed him in the gut. Kaul laughed and blocked the stump with his forearm, grappling his father around the waist. He was taller than Dagh now, but his father outweighed him and in a moment Kaul was tripped onto his back.
Kaul grabbed his wet sweater and pulled it on.
Kaul pulled on his hat and they made their way through the deserted streets. Rain, slowed now to a steady thrum, kept even the King's Men behind shutters. They made their way by back streets up the escarpment to the district where larger houses stood looking out over walls of stone, to the sea. Here, they took more care, watching for private guards as well as the King's Men.
Dagh led the way to a servants' lane beneath sodden trees, to where the courtyard wall of a large house had fallen into disrepair. With Kaul's help, Dagh scrambled over the wall. Kaul cast about for large stones from the ruin and, climbing into the garden, created a step for Dagh to use on his return. Then he scrambled over the wall and waited on the lower limb of a tree.
He listened. There was no light. The wall and house were merely lesser darknesses in the inky night. He strained his ears, but the patter of rain on stone, on gravel, on leaves, masked any sound that might signal a guard's approach. In his mind, he followed Dagh's progress. Climbing to a balcony or shuttered window? Finding a room darkened and empty, or pregnant with a sleeping form? And where in such a huge house would he look for gold? Would he tread open corridors to reach a more likely room?
Running feet caught Kaul's attention before he saw the black bulk appear out of the gloom. He scrambled from his perch and boosted himself onto the wall, reaching a hand down to Dagh. Dagh grasped him firmly and he pulled, catapulting both of them into the bushes. Dagh shoved something long and hard into his hand and Kaul pushed it beneath the cord that held his breeches. "Run," Dagh said. "Split up." Dagh disappeared down the servant's lane and Kaul ran in the opposite direction. In a moment he heard shouts and the sounds of many feet in pursuit.
He ran up the alley. He crossed a street to another servants' road. He dodged, twisting through the maze of streets and lanes, exhilarated with the chase. The sound of his own footsteps, soft and sure on the cobbles, gravel and hard-packed dirt, filled his ears and he ran on, unknowing if others followed.
By a torrent of rainwater gushing from a sewer, he crawled beneath a clump of bushes. He sat in the mud, listened, tried to hear the sound of hunters over the noise of the water, the rasping of his breath, the beating of his heart.
He imagined sudden arms pulling him roughly to his feet, his own wild struggles, grasping at—a branch—anything to use for a weapon. There was the thing Dagh had given him, digging into his belly. He pulled it from his belt and caressed its smooth surface. A candlestick. Gold, perhaps? Or silver? Even brass would fetch more than a month's wages, if Dagh had its mate. They could eat meat, even buy one of the limes he had hauled today from the foreign schooner.
He pushed the candlestick back beneath his drawstring of his breeches and listened. Nothing but raindrops pattering on leaves. Carefully, he withdrew himself from his hiding place and looked up the street. No sound, no motion. He made his way back down the escarpment, back to the hovel.
The fire was out. Kaul did not need to light the candle to know that the place was empty. He wrapped the candlestick in a shirt and pushed it under the straw of his pallet. He returned to the lane. A drunken beggar was making his way up from one of the pubs by the sea. Kaul reckoned it was not yet midnight.
He peered through the rain, up the hill toward the wealthy district, down the hill toward the harbor. The faint sounds of merrymaking drifted from the quay. Kaul turned his footsteps downhill.
The noise of the crowd grew as he approached the docks; calls and cheering. He rounded a corner and saw a group of twenty or so gathered outside the King's Men's post. Onlookers from the nearby pubs drifted out of the warmth of their common rooms to see what was going on. Kaul's stomach heaved as he made his way through the throng.
The King's Men had Dagh. One brandished a silver candlestick, while two others held the old man's arms as he wrenched himself this way and that, shrieking for mercy. The pronouncements of the captain were drowned by the goading of the crowd, but his actions were clear. It took three men to hold Dagh's left arm on the block. One soldier brought out a broad-bladed axe and Dagh's struggles renewed. The axe-man bent over him, giving instructions, but Dagh's eyes rolled and he screamed. The axe-man seemed to shrug; then, raising his weapon, he brought it down, once, with a sickening crunch. Dagh's hand came free and bounced to the ground. Dagh shrieked again, then collapsed, the other two guards falling on him in surprise. Blood spurted over the onlookers.
The men lifted Dagh and carried him into the guard post. The throng surged forward to see, blocking Kaul's view. Kaul heard the sizzle, smelled the stench of burning flesh. The scream of pain rose over the shouts of the crowd.
Afterward, Kaul felt a strange lightness, as though he were not standing in the street, not looking down on his father's broken body, not the recipient of smirks and looks of pity as the others brushed past him, returning to taverns or inns or their own dry beds, relieved it was not them; not them, this time.
As from a distance, he saw himself bend down, look at the half-closed eyes, slide his hands carefully beneath his father's shoulders and hips, look into that terrible face for permission and, finding nothing, heave him up like a sack of grain to his shoulder, and stagger to his feet. The street flowed past him, smeared into a blur of rain. The only reality was the warmth of that great weight on his shoulder.
Kaul brought Dagh home and laid him on his pallet. Dagh cradled his left arm, the fresh stump leaking slightly where rawness showed in cracks between patches of blackened skin. The blood and vomit on Dagh's clothes had hardened, and he was shivering.
Kaul built a fire. He stripped away Dagh's clothes, cringing when a clumsy movement brought a recoil of pain from his father. He wrapped him in blankets and watched him. Dagh lay unmoving, unspeaking, unseeing.
In the following days, Kaul lowered his head whenever he spotted a King's Man in the street, but they seemed no more suspicious of him than any of the nameless rabble. Thieves and pickpockets sank into the shantytowns like stones in quicksand, and plunder did not resurface.
He counted out the coppers and bought rum for the pain, and watched as his father became agitated, and ranted, and made great plans, and wept. His heart clung to his father's grief through every change of mood, waiting for the tussling matches to return. But it was as though Dagh had forgotten. And when the rum ran out, Kaul bought more, and stayed by his father's side through the grief again; and again.
He worked until he was sick of the smell of fish. He brought home money to have it flung from his hands. He cleaned the vomit and the filth. Each day, Dagh sat in the street with his two stumps laid out in front of him and a hat at his feet, raving on about Leal and the good life and Hauken's farm. The rains of winter turned cold and flurries of snow came. Dagh began to cough and become thin like so many who lived in the alleys behind the quay.
One morning before the sun rose, Kaul lay on his mat, the incessant, circular logic of his thoughts in abeyance. His eyes rested on Dagh, asleep at last, face drawn and gray in the light of the fire. There was something different about him. A repose. A peacefulness Kaul had never seen.
The warmth of his blankets, the silence of the snow, the languor of sleep—Kaul clung to the moment, held the chaos and belittling at bay for just a few minutes. If only Dagh could rest as other men did; as he did now, in sleep.
Dagh needed to go home. To Leal.
Kaul ate his breakfast, his mind racing. He'd always known that the wounded arms were not the problem; healing them would never be enough. It was his father's spirit that sickened here, in the city. His father had been dying ever since he left Leal. Now, Kaul was drawn to that face, its frown for the time being erased. Kaul would bring his father home. There was a way.
The arrangements did not take long. The silver candlestick brought Kaul more money than he'd ever seen in one place, though he knew it was a scrap of the thing's worth. It was enough. He found a wizard and booked passage on a schooner bound down the coast.
The wizard, Gallinule, arrived at the appointed hour.
It had been snowing for two days and flakes swirled in the dark as the wizard entered the hovel. Dagh sat at the table, having drunk enough rum to be incoherent. Kaul rose from his pallet, his hands cold now that the moment had come.
"He can't give me back my hands!" He looked at the stumps and began to weep. "Fool! Fool of a boy! Why did I ever take you with me?" His lip trembled and the tears coursed down his cheeks.
Dagh looked as though he would protest, but the wizard's gaze commanded him to obey and he swallowed the potion.
Gallinule pulled a rooster from his sack. "We begin." He slit the rooster's throat and, within the confines of the small space, painted a circle of blood on the floor around the candle and around Dagh's chair. "You will be safe as long as you remain outside the circle," he said to Kaul.
Kaul listened as Gallinule wove his spell, chanting the ancient words to bring forth the power of the demon from its place among the stars. The wizard worked his way around the circle, his hands threading together the symbols of the seven spheres of the universe, opening the doors between earth and the chosen demon's realm. He coaxed the creature with words and promises in a language Kaul had never heard.
A cloud formed above the candle; a nebulous sphere that shifted and darkened as Gallinule chanted. Within the orb, a being appeared which gained in substance and grew until it filled the protective circle, rearing its head to the ceiling of the hovel. The creature coalesced into the form of a misshapen man. A huge phallus hung beneath its round belly; its body was clothed in boils and long hair, and horns sprouted from its forehead. Eyes like embers gloated fiercely over the small room and hesitated on Kaul, filling him with terror.
Kaul watched as the creature's eyes rolled cunningly around the room. The eyes came to rest at last on Dagh, and it growled assent.
Gozhob's form swirled within its sphere and its eyes burned. It reached out toward Dagh, and the old man lifted a little from his seat, clutched useless wrists to his chest and slumped forward into Gallinule's steadying hand. The demon swelled and darkened, then dissolved into nothingness. The candle spluttered and went out.
Kaul repeated the words silently, and nodded.
Kaul touched his father's limp arm. His intellect told him that Gallinule spoke the truth, that this was their agreement, but his heart pounded and his eyes burned, unbelieving.
Kaul groped for the bag of coins and paid the wizard.
"And when does your ship sail?" he asked gently.
Kaul pulled himself to his feet and with great weariness, brought the coffin into the hovel. Gallinule helped him lay the body within, packing straw from the second pallet for cushioning. Kaul winced with each blow as Gallinule nailed the lid shut.
At the wharf, Gallinule bid Kaul goodbye. The clouds dispersed like a blanket rolling away, exposing the harbor to the sharp cold. Frost edged the ship in the moonlight and silvered the ropes. "May you sail on to good fortune," the wizard said.
It was still dark when the tide turned and the schooner lifted her sails to glide from the calm waters of the harbor into the winter chop of the sea. Wind and waves tossed the vessel like a cork, and rain and sleet drove Kaul below where he hung in a hammock and retched into a bucket. Yet it was not sea sickness alone that caused his stomach to churn. Like a moth circling a candle, his mind returned again and again to images of his father wakening inside the coffin in confusion and terror, of the deck hands prying the lid away and discovering the deception, of a noose lowering around his neck.
Day passed, and night, and still the schooner sailed through the storms. The second day dawned. Gray waves and gray sky passed with stubborn sameness until he could no longer see them in the dark.
The third day. At mid-afternoon, the schooner dropped anchor in a bay near a village nestled into the arms of a low hill. The crew lowered a longboat from the ship with the boxes and crates that were to end their voyage in Leal. Kaul sat next to the coffin with his back against the old sea chest. A feeling of emptiness, of hollowness pressed on his stomach.
Two of the King's Men strolled down the beach as the longboat approached. "You coming to Leal?" one shouted into the wind, wading into the waves to pull the boat up onto the sand. He wore a good-natured smile that reminded Kaul of someone he'd seen before.
Kaul fumbled out of the boat. "Yes." The word croaked out from a dry throat. "Yes," he said again.
The knots in Kaul's stomach tightened. He kept his eyes at the King's Man's feet. "I've come to find my uncle. My father died. I'm bringing him home." He bent and opened the chest for the King's Man to inspect, then stood back meekly.
"Yes—please don't open it. He's been dead... three days on the ship, and two before that." He couldn't let the King's Man see Dagh's stumps.
Kaul nodded, his eyes firmly directed to the sand.
The older soldier handed the manifest to the mate. "Not plague, now—" He marched up the beach as the grocer and the ironmonger hurriedly tugged at their supplies, alarm written on their faces.
Kaul's breath burned in his throat. "Please," he whispered.
"He's dead," the older soldier said.
The mate brought a crowbar. Kaul shoved his hands under his armpits as the two bent over the box. His breath came in short puffs that misted the air.
The nails were pulled from their sockets with a rending sound.
The younger King's Man studied Dagh's face in puzzlement.
"Who's your uncle, then?" the younger King's Man asked.
"Hauken!" The King's Man said in surprise.
Kaul's hand froze in mid-gesture.
"I'm...." Kaul took in the village all over again—the beach, the ocean, the rocky headland. This was his family's home.
Airn's gaze moved from Kaul to the coffin. The silence of gulls and breakers and the men pushing the longboat into the surf hung between them. Thief.
The older King's Man nodded. "I'll find you a horse and cart." He walked up the beach toward the village.
Circumstances, yes! Life in Discort was hard. Kaul knew that. Dagh wasn't bad. He wasn't. Anyone in those circumstances would have done what Dagh had done. Survive, any way he could.
The King's Man brought the horse and cart, and they loaded the chest and coffin. As they bumped over the frozen ruts, Airn recounted his family's story, but Kaul couldn't fix on the words.
This wasn't the plan. He was supposed to find a quiet spot in the forest and summon Gozhob to restore Dagh's soul before anyone discovered them. He hadn't intended to look for Hauken at all.
Now, his cousin—his cousin the King's Man—knew Dagh was a thief. And, thought he was dead. How could Kaul explain Dagh's return to life now? And what would happen to Dagh, after all, if Kaul brought him back now? A life in prison? The gallows? And what would Airn say when he found out that Kaul had lied to him?
It had all gone wrong when Airn met him on the beach.
But... a cousin. The offer of a home. Kaul shook his head. A cousin!
Airn turned the horse through a gap in the hedgerow into a snowy lane. Fields, cut into odd shapes by fences of stone, fell away over rolling hills to the forest in the distance. Just ahead, a group of buildings on the edge of an orchard clustered around a well. Smoke rose from the chimney of a comfortably rambling house.
Kaul slid across the wagon seat and let himself down. A woman hastily pulling a thick shawl over her shoulders hurried from the house, followed by the boy and four wide-eyed girls.
Kaul hung back, looking to Airn for a sign.
Hauken's eyes brightened and his throat worked. "I had a letter. Once. Remember, Airn? We got the priest to read it to us?" He fixed his gaze on Kaul's, drinking in his every feature. "Dagh said he had a son." He nodded in confirmation. "Boy, you look so like your mother." His lips pressed closed and trembled, eyes fierce with remembrance.
Kaul pricked with hot shivers. His uncle's frame was small, like Dagh's, with short legs and powerful shoulders and arms, and his skin had the same leathery look from sun and wind. But his face was fuller, his hair thick and fair, his nose straighter.
Moisture glistened in his eyes as he smiled in a way that made Kaul want to curl in his arms and feel strong hands on his back. Kaul ducked his head, inviting forgiveness, and was rewarded with another close hug.
"Now, now," the woman said, prying Hauken's arms from him to give her own hug. "Another son of the family! Such a blessing!" The girls and little boy crowded around in excitement.
"My father. He's...." Kaul hung his head. How could he keep repeating the lie?
"My father—" Kaul stopped, and all eyes were on him, open, expectant. "My father had a hard life," he said.
Airn nodded again, a prompt.
There. It was out. Kaul hung his head in the shocked silence.
The late afternoon wind chilled.
Hauken nodded and put an arm around Kaul's shoulder, leading him to the house. "Forgive me." His voice strained to speak against his grief.
Forgive Hauken? After all the lies Kaul had told?
Kaul shook with the responsibility.
The girls crowded him inside, giggling until Mother set them to supper chores. The smell of savory meat and the warmth of cook fire and candle light surrounded him.
"I'll hang your coat on the peg," a little girl said.
Through the window, Kaul watched as Airn and Hauken pulled the coffin from the wagon. The sun touched the horizon.
"Here's a basin of hot water." The oldest girl dimpled a smile and set the steaming bowl before him.
Minutes remained. Airn and Hauken strained under the coffin's weight. Gozhob awaited the consummation of the soul he carried. Nur tyem, setaf tiris. He only had to run from the house, open the lid, and cry out the words and his father would be alive.
The sun was a burning semi-circle resting on the hill.
He was a thief, already, for using the money from the candlestick. He was a liar for saying Dagh was dead. If the sun set without the words spoken, he would be a murderer as well.
Kaul could not move his feet.
The sun disappeared behind the hill.
The sounds of plates clinking, chairs pulled out. A giggle.
If he ran to the top of the hill, now, just now, would the sun still be shining over the sea? Kaul stared through the window at the empty farmyard.
Kaul pounded his fist into his chest. Tears of fear and relief and betrayal and grief streamed down his face. Dagh was saved from the gallows, wasn't he? Saved from prison? From the censure of the village and the disappointment of his family?
Yes. Safe. In the fiery belly of a demon.
This story originally appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
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text:
Carl A. Zimring
sustainability | history | environment | consumption | waste
Last Blast
Tonight is New Year's Eve, and the 50th and final celebration of a Brooklyn tradition:
"Many years ago, I bought a whistle from the Lackawanna Railroad, so I wanted to hear what it sounded like and thought the only time I could make noise was New Year's Eve," says Conrad Milster, chief engineer at Pratt Institute Power Plant.
Being discontinued mutually by Pratt Institute & Conrad Milster mainly for lack of appropriate staffing during Christmas break, the 50th and final year of this New Year's celebration will sound more fun than ever with as many as 15 whistles blowing off steam.
"It just degenerates into the most God-awful shrieking and howling and hooting and clouds of steam and everyone is blowing whistles and having an absolutely grand time," says Milster.
Conrad has been Chief Engineer at Pratt since 1958. In that position, he oversees the Pratt Institute's historic power plant, a visually striking American Society of Municipal Engineers landmark. Built to serve the Institute in 1887, the boilers transitioned from coal to oil apparently some time in September of 1888. Modifications and improvements happened over the years, and this plant has served the school for over 127 years.
In 1977, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated the plant a landmark, an intact example of how we have harnessed fossil fuel to power a school since the nineteenth century. Conrad has been generous with his time and the plant he runs, leading guided tours of the plant for my SUST 401 students, and he has also used the plant to entertain onlookers. My first experience with his steam whistles was not New Year's Eve, but a mid-afternoon performance in the fall of 2012 to celebration Pratt's 125 anniversary. It is indeed a tremendous din, a cacophony worthy of ringing in a new year.
It all started roughly 50 years ago, when he bought an old steam whistle and kicked off the New Year's custom.
"I thought, I'd like to hear what this whistle sounds like," Milster recalled. "When can I make noise? New Year's Eve."
He and a half-dozen buddies hooked up the piping and let it scream at midnight. They liked it so much, they did it again the next year and again, the year after. Crowds came. Old gearheads started offering their own whistles for the chorus.
More than 1,000 people showed up last year, and big crowds are expected for the swan song.
Milster declined to say exactly why the tradition is ending, saying only that "it was decided the whistles will end this year."
"I'm 79," he said. "I've been working all my life, so maybe it will be nice to take it a little easy on New Year's Eve."
And he isn't sad — not yet, anyway.
"Maybe after we blow the last whistle on New Year's morning, I'll get a little nostalgic," he said.
The calliope, a steam-powered instrument, is a fan favorite at Pratt Institute's annual New Year's Eve celebration. Doyle Murphy The calliope, a steam-powered instrument, is a fan favorite at Pratt Institute's annual New Year's Eve celebration.
This year's nine-whistle arrangement includes a siren rescued from the SS Normandie, a doomed French vessel that was the fastest ocean liner in the world until the Queen Mary's debut in 1936.
The Normandie apparatus, a three-pronged whistle in the center of the arrangement, uncorked a baritone blast on Tuesday as Milster and his crew tinkered with the fittings and valves.
They'll use a steam-powered organ called a calliope to warm up the crowd starting at 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and the whistle will sound an opening blast at 11:30 p.m. But the real show will begin at midnight exactly.
That's when Milster will pull the ropes on the valves for the last time, filling the night with sound and clouds of steam.
Pratt is lucky to have Conrad, and I am hoping for good weather so his last blast can be celebrated in style. Here's to that and to a happy and healthy 2015 for all reading this.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on December 31, 2014 by Carl Zimring.
The Best Music of 2014
Here are the best records I heard from the past twelve months.
My favorite record of the year is Dama/Libra's Claw (Northern Spy). Joel RL Phelps (whose GALA was my favorite album of last year) lends his voice and lyrics to Stuart Dahlquist's elegiac drones. The gorgeous result sounds like the two have been collaborating for decades. "Stravinsky" and "Thine" suggest a natural merger of their individual strengths to create soundscapes as deep as oceans. Much of Claw is built upon droning organs, making the break into steel drums midway through "Been to the Water" all the more effective.
Dama/Libra's brief tour this autumn proved that the remote collaboration (Phelps and Dahlquist traded tracks back and forth between their home bases in Seattle and Vancouver) translated wonderfully to a live setting with an expanded band. Wake, shine, always, rise: here's hoping the collaboration results in more music in the coming years. Hear "Only Medicine" or buy Claw from Northern Spy's website.
The Heavy Eights, End Times Undone (Merge)
The first record to hint that there is going to be a Kiwi flavor to this list (as is often the case with me). End Times Undone is exhibit A for why I've had a soft spot for music from New Zealand. As he's done since starting the Clean more than thirty years ago, David Kilgour leads his quartet in making beautifully, slippery, chiming music. Whether he's in the Clean, the Great Unwashed, the Heavy Eights or guesting on one of Robert Scott's projects, his melodic sensibilities are always welcome. See a couple of videos from End Times Undone at Merge's website.
Wussy, Attica! (Shake It)
The best record Chuck Cleaver's made since the Ass Ponys' brilliant 2001 album Lohio, Attica! brings some of the grand country sounds and melancholy imagery of late-period Ass Ponys to the dual vocal approach of Wussy. The other touchstone I hear is fellow midwestern roots-rockers the Mary Janes in some of the epic arrangements and the timbre of Lisa Walker's voice. Gorgeous. Preview or purchase Attica! from Wussy's Bandcamp page.
The Gary, Farewell Foolish Objects (Sick Room)
This Texas trio made my list last year with the pummeling Remains. Farewell Foolish Objects is a recognizable continuation of that approach (including following having one track with a cello on the earlier album with one track featuring violin here), but is also a more melancholy, moody set of songs. This is the best music out of Texas I've heard this decade, in any genre. Preview or purchase Farewell Foolish Objects from the Gary's Bandcamp page.
Paul Kelly Presents, The Merri Soul Sessions (Pledge Music AUS)
Paul Kelly has been among my favorite songwriters for about a quarter century; 1989's So Much Water So Close to Home saw him giving in to the inevitable Raymond Carver comparisons with his astonishing economy and attention to narrative detail. On this record, Kelly goes for a Brill Building approach, writing and producing a handful of 60s-soul-themed singles for a handful of Australian singers, first released as a series of singles, then as an album. He sings lead on one as well, with the result being his best-sounding album this century. Preview a couple tracks from the album from Pledge Music's website.
The Gotobeds, Poor People Are Revolting (12XU)
The term "pop-rock" gets thrown around a lot, but rarely does it fit the sound of a band as much as it does with the Gotobeds. I dare you to listen to this snarky, taut, high-energy album once and not come away humming one of its songs. Fun; preview or purchase downloads of Poor People Are Revolting from the Gotobeds' Bandcamp page.
Motherfucker, Tae Kwon Do EP (self-released)
Like the Gotobeds, there's not a second or note wasted on Tae Kwon Do. This rocks harder. Taut, hooky hard rock from an Athens, Georgia trio of women who waste no time. Two minutes and change of heavy riffing, then they're out. Repeat the formula a few times, and the EP ends with you wanting more. I want to see a 20-minute set from them as I bet they are excellent live. The EP is available from Motherfucker's Bandcamp page.
Fake Limbs, The Power of Patrician Upbringing (BLVD)
Fake Limbs are, I can confirm, excellent live, as I saw them before the release of their debut Man Feelings and then again this year promoting their second album. The crushing onslaught of this Chicago quartet continues on its second album. Fans of the Jesus Lizard will appreciate this, and everyone should appreciate frontman Stephen Sowley (who is one of the few humans to make David Yow seem shy by comparison). Preview or purchase the album at Fake Limbs' Bandcamp page.
Thumbscrew, Thumbscrew (Cuneform)
This NYC instrumental trio featuring guitarist Mary Halvorsen, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and bassist Michael Formanek alternate between improve and composed music that falls somewhere between free jazz and 70s prog. You can preview the album via the track "Cheap Knock Off" on the band's Bandcamp page, and also check out the three members' various projects via the JazzRightNow website (written by my friend and colleague Cisco Bradley).
The Chills, BBC Sessions (Fire)
So…that inclination I have for the rock of New Zealand means I am the target demographic to lap up this issue of recordings made by the Chills at the peak of their powers c. 1985-88 in the BBC's studios. Yes, I've heard and memorized these songs since well before this century started, but I've heard few of these tracks. A terrific document as we wait for the followup to 2004's excellent Stand By ep. Listen to the wonderful version of "Rolling Moon" or purchase the album at Fire's website.
Amanda X, amnesia (Siltbreeze)
My Kiwiphilia may also explain the presence of this album here, even though it was made in Philadelphia and not Aotearoa. Amanda X is not The Magick Heads, but fans of that band may enjoy the harmonies and delicious guitar tones. Decide for yourself; amnesia is available to preview or buy at Amanda X's Bandcamp page.
A few of these records may also be found at a new resource: Jon Solomon's Comedy Minus One records began the "PRF Distro" shop this year to feature some of the impressive musicians affiliated with the Electrical Audio discussion forum. Should some of the titles I listed above appeal to you, see if there's more music you'd like to hear from the link.
This entry was posted in consumption on December 14, 2014 by Carl Zimring.
Tenure-Track Interdisciplinary Environmental Positions at Two Schools
Two of my erstwhile academic departments have tenure-track positions available. I can vouch for both places having great colleagues. They are distinctly different campuses (one in Chicago's South Loop, the other in the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula), but both are excellent places to research and teach environmental social sciences.
Before I moved to Pratt in 2012, I helped found the Sustainability Studies program at Roosevelt University in Chicago. RU is looking for a sustainability scholar with a social science background (sustainability, urban planning, environmental studies, or a related field in the social sciences). The deadline for applying is January 5, 2015. You can see full details about the position at the link; here is an extended description of the job:
Roosevelt University is seeking an Assistant Professor of Sustainability Studies for a tenure-track position beginning 15 August 2015. Applicants should have the ability to teach multiple courses in the Sustainability Studies (SUST) undergraduate curriculum as well as general education, honors, and/or special topic courses related to their areas of expertise. Teaching load is six courses per year. Courses are offered at Roosevelt's Chicago campus as well as online.
Duties: (1) Teaching courses within the SUST major as well as one or two courses per year in an appropriate academic department within the College of Arts and Sciences. (2) Assisting with SUST program development through curriculum enhancement and assessment, service learning project development, community outreach, and online social media writing. (3) Maintaining an active scholarly research program within one's primary academic discipline(s) and/or the emerging field of sustainability studies. (4) Advising undergraduate students. (5) Performing departmental, college, university, and professional service.
My first job out of grad school was a one-year position in Michigan Technological University's Department of Social Sciences. Although there's been natural turnover in the department since I left over ten years ago, it continues to attract some of the best scholars in STS, environmental history, and industrial archaeology. The campus is located in Houghton, a short drive from the northernmost point in the Upper Peninsula. It is an excellent location for cross-country skiing, hiking (including on nearby Isle Royale), and wildlife sighting. In our third month at Michigan Tech, Jen and I saw a black bear cross the road in front of us. (The bear was not in Houghton, but on the road to Marquette. Wildlife in town is considerably less intimidating. You should, however, be prepared for snow.)
Michigan Tech is searching for an assistant professor "specializing in environmental justice, industrial communities/deindustrialization, health, food systems, or gender." Click the link for the full job description. Review of applications begins January 15, 2015.
Clicking through the links will give prospective candidates an idea of the people, courses, and projects of these two programs. I encourage qualified people to apply.
This entry was posted in history, sustainability, teaching on December 1, 2014 by Carl Zimring.
America Recycles Day Roundup
The Loma Prieta Earthquake Thirty Years Later
2019 NYC Climate Strike Actions
Aluminum Upcycled
Cash for Your Trash
Clean and White
Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste
environmental racism

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World release date announced
Today fans of KOEI TECMO and the Atelier series got an early gift as KOEI TECMO America revealed the highly-anticipated release date for Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World.
Not only was the release date announced there were also a variety of gameplay features introduced and announced as well as early screen shots.
The latest entry in the Atelier series is slated for physical and digital release on March 26 of 2019 for the PlayStation®4 Computer Entertainment System, Nintendo Switch™, and digital-only on Windows PC via Steam®.
In Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World players assume the role of young noblewoman, Nelke von Lestamm who is tasked with building up the quaint village of Westwald into a prosperous city. For her to develop buildings and extend the size of Westwald, she will need to earn money from the businesses she runs or sell synthesized items for cash.
Exploring the areas outside of Westwald with alchemists allows Nelke to collect raw materials that are perfect for synthesis. Though she is inexperienced in the art of alchemy, she'll have to entrust one of the many alchemists in town to synthesize the resources into sellable goods.
Each alchemist has their own specialties which allow them to offer improved item creation – players will have to carefully decide what would be the most effective alchemist for which items.
A Weekly Report is prepared at the end of each week which shows the current town population, the amount of income made, number of properties, and the number of synthesized items. Using this report, players can decide how they will spend their time in Westwald, perhaps they will tackle quests and town development during the weekday and develop relationships with residents on the weekend.
As Nelke spends time with people in Westwald she'll deepen her bonds with them leading to not only exciting events between characters but new town facilities and alchemist skills which aid in both synthesis and battle.
Fans of the Atelier series will be able to get their hands on a delightful Collector's Edition of Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, exclusively available through NIS America's online store.
This must-have version of the game contains a hardcover art book, the game's official soundtrack, a deluxe cloth poster, and an acrylic standee featuring the main character Nelke, all packaged into a beautiful collector's box featuring artwork of the famous alchemists which appear in the game.
More information for Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World is set to be revealed in the coming weeks from KOEI TECMO, but the official website has been unveiled already. Check back later for a link.
ABOUT KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP.
KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Burlingame, California. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. KOEI is best known for its Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® franchises. TECMO is best known for the Dead or Alive®, Ninja Gaiden®, Tecmo Bowl®, and Fatal Frame® series.
"PS" Family logo, "PlayStation" and "PS4" logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
© Valve Corporation. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
© 2018 Nintendo. Nintendo Switch and Joy-Con are trademarks of Nintendo.
Tagged with:Game News, KOEI, KOEI TECMO, Nelke, Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, Steam, Switch, TECMO
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Sonic Lost World
Platform Roundup
Nintendo 3DS 29 57%
PC 55 61%
Wii U 86 61%
All 172 60%
Sort By Score
KiSparks
PC - 70%
Nice to finally play on steam, the game is ok. The controls and level designs leave me feeling mixed as I'm not sure I like it. The bosses are lame but it's a kids game so whatever. All in all decent.
knalb
Wii U - 40%
Frustrating is probably the best word to describe this game.
The game basically ends up being a poor man's super mario galaxy built upon mostly trial and error. The controls i found were surprisingly clunky for a sonic game and found myself getting frustrated each time i lost a life due to beign slighty of the area which the game is wanting me to be.
There are still some good things though. The starting levels are really good mixing both the 2d and 3d modes with the speed of which a sonic is meant to played with. Unfortnately i cannot say the same about later levels where things come out of nowhere so that you can't properly react.
The story is nothing to write home about. although it's not the main thing which will draw people towards this game anyway.
DamienInnit
I am usually a man that likes everything I play. If I don't like a game, that means it's really bad, or too repetitive. Although I had fun, all sonic games are fun, but I didn't really like the game. I got it because I saw the 3ds version and thought "man, it's cool that, that is the first handheld 3d sonic game". But whatever, I got it during the Sega 60th anniversary sale, so it didn't cost that much.
MetallicFever316
I didn't like this game. However, I will admit that there are some good parts. The graphics are colorful and gorgeous and the game runs at a fluid 60fps the whole time. The music is also really good and the Windy Hill zone theme is still stuck in my head. However, the story and the gameplay is where Sonic Lost World pissed me off.
Let's start with the story. It's terrible. I had a tough time even following it because the cutscenes were disjointed from the levels. It's also full of stupid moments, like the plot twists, and unlikable characters. For example, Sonic is a dumbass and a bully that fucks everything up. The main villains of the game, the Deadly Six, are all annoying and hateable, aside from the emo one Zor (I couldn't even remember any of their names and had to look it up), who has some funny dialogue. These villains aren't hateable in that "they're so good at being bad and I want to kill them," but rather "they're annoying so just go away."
The gameplay is also pretty frustrating. First of all, Sonic has a run button now, which is an absolute nightmare to learn and get used to. I don't think I ever mastered it, so I only used it when I had to get red coins or to progress. Even though Sonic moves much slower without holding the run button, there's way more control. This game has 3D levels, 2D levels, and other types of levels. The first half of the game is actually pretty good. Most of the 3D levels and 2D levels are fun and I enjoyed playing them, even though I was moving slower than I'm used to in a Sonic game. The other levels, however, are never fun. These consist of on-rails levels, which devolve to trial and error, flying levels, which have terrible controls, playing as a snowball, and other random stuff. The 2nd half of the game is when shit hits the fan. There's a huge difficulty spike because the level design gets worse and exposes how annoying the controls are. Sonic has the same movement in 3D levels and 2D levels so it's hard to plan out jumps in 2D sections, especially near the end of the game when the platforming becomes super difficult. There are also wisps from Sonic Colors again for no reason other than to serve as a gamepad gimmick.
Overall, because of the story and the gameplay, I didn't like this game. Again, the first half is actually pretty good, but the rest completely soured my whole experience. I'm glad they never brought back the run button.
The big red dude's kind of thicc but the game is garbage
GFrom
I like the concept of this game, but god damn why are the controls so weird? I never really got used to sonics movement. Turning is weird and the hit detections sucks at times. I like the music though and some levels are really fun.
plasmis29ml8
Nintendo 3DS - 20%
Sonic Lost World is a very uninspired Sonic title. At the time of playing this game, I despise it very much. I own the 3DS version, and I think this game may have been a better experience on other platforms. With its lackluster plot and level design. terrible controls, and glitches, this game defines the terms, frustration and disappointment.
With a franchise like Sonic, you would think there would be some QA. However, this is not the case, and to me, this is one of their worst titles.
Singis111
My opinion on this game has changed drastically since it first came out. Originally, I thought this was more Super Mario Galaxy than anything. Sure, there's similarities but it's not like Galaxy at all except for the occasional level that can rotate and like 1 level
As for the main gameplay there's a few decent ideas here, like the parkour system which is a bit wonky but once you get the hang of it, running on walls can be kind of fun. The run button should've been a parkour button instead, but at least you get a cool animation when standing still and holding it in.
Even with the run button, Sonic moves kind of slow. I want speed, platforming and momentum not a slightly brisk walk through the park.
The level design could use way more parkour parts and no god damn wisps, which serve no purpose except being gimmicks. Sonic Lost World is filled with weird game designs, like the homing attack being changed completely, auto run sections and scrolling levels.
As always, there's a great soundtrack at least - a bit less memorable than other titles however I love that final boss song and the Deadly Six theme.
Speaking of the Deadly Six, they easily one of the worst things of the game and the same goes for the story. Yet again, the best part of the Deadly Six is their theme song.
Sonic Lost World is okay. It's not great, and it's not as awful as I once thought but it's far from a game I would replay again anytime soon.
Sonic Lost World on 3DS is in my opinion the worst version of the two. Not only are there so many questionable design choices, but it's also very glitchy.
- Some levels are fun to play, mostly Windy Hill and 2D ones.
- This version have ranks at the end of levels, which the Wii U/PC version only have in time attack.
- That fucking gyroscope is unbearable. It's the only way to control Sonic in the special stages, where you get the Chaos Emeralds. You have to spin around 360 degrees while standing up, which sucks if you are prone to motion sickness (I know I am). I got the first one and ignored the rest. Later on there's forced gyroscope in the main story, which makes things much much harder than they already are.
- Questionable level design all over. Doesn't help that the controls are floaty while jumping.
- Glitchy. On several occasions I found myself somehow flipping around completely for no reason and falling to my death.
Sonic Lost World on 3DS will be enjoyable if you love stupidly hard platforming and god damn gyro controls.
TheQuillWarrior
First time I played Sonic Lost World, I thought it was decent. Even though it was the first game I got for my Wii U (and was the reason I bought the console), I certainly wouldn't describe it as a system seller. At the time, I enjoyed it despite its many flaws. But after playing it again however, I'm surprised; I somehow enjoyed it more.
It may be due to me playing lots more platformers since then, but I can't think of anything that this game does significantly worse than them. Sure the controls could be a lot better, but I've played worse. If anything, I appreciate Lost World's layered level design and its many varied game mechanics. The worlds themselves may be stock, but they even put thought into how each world looks uniquely in terms of visuals and strange mechanics. For instance, the tropical beach level has you guiding giant apples to fan blade to create juice geysers which you can get into to proceed further into the level.
Furthermore, collecting Red Rings in this game is actually kind of enjoyable. For the most part. The game is pretty challenging as it goes further along, and admittedly it can sometimes be for the worse; but as long as you stock up on lives (which is very easy to do), it's not terribly strenuous.
That being said, the game's warts are still apparent for all to see. The Wisps in this game control very badly. They are individually controlled via the GamePad, which is not only gimmicky, but they just simply don't work. At least that's how they are at first. You CAN get around them; it just takes some time to understand them.
The parkour on the other hand somehow controls even worse. It's amazingly finicky, and even if you can figure out how it works, it's not designed in the way that caters to your instincts. While the game wisely builds level in a way that makes so that you can largely avoid both Wisps and parkour; it is nevertheless incredibly frustrating to get the hang of them.
Sonic Lost World has been described as a Mario Galaxy rip-off. And... yeah it is. That was the POINT. Because of this collaboration contract deal they made with Nintendo, Sonic Team saw this as an opportunity to implement Mario-esque mechanics in a Sonic game to see what works and what doesn't; while still supplanting enough to make it its own unique Sonic title. While they may have taken the worst aspects of Mario (the bland level theming and unnecessary time limits), the personality of Sonic shines through for me.
It again may not be a system seller, but I do recommend you try this game out at some point. Preferably on Steam if it works better.
BEST PART: Frozen Factory
WORST PART: Lava Mountain
throwmeplsboi
Have to go slow
luminantAegis
Boost Formula, the game. An enjoyable experience, but felt more like an interactive movie than a video game.
Arceusrox
This game is what Sonic should strive to be. A perfect mixture of platforming and boosting, with a story that doesn't take itself too seriously. The playful banter between Sonic, Tails, and Eggman was great. Each member of the Deadly Six had their own personalities, and Zavok made for a great villain. I would really enjoy playing another Sonic game just like this.
Sonic Team tried something different with this game, for better or worse. Some elements are nice introductions, if somewhat flawed, like the parkour system, but others aren't so much (changes in homing attack and having a run button). Still, worth trying if you have any interest in it.
Perifferal
I just find it not fun.
Mattyraz
Wonky controls and a bad camera marred an interesting concept with beautiful graphics, great sound design and music; overall a short romp. Diehards will probably enjoy this entry, non-fans won't get past the first couple of worlds. Get it cheap (10 USD or lower, if possible.).
Mrsonicisawesome
Pretty good, definitely not as "bad" as a lot of other people said it was :).
Ritchstorm
Generations is so good how have they managed to ruin it again with this?! Some levels are quite fun but the controls are awful. Bad physics and some really dodgy level design later in the game. I would advise you to give this a miss.
Athruntalan
Fun and frustrating in equal measures. The bosses for the first half of the game were easy, then both the level difficulty and boss difficulty ramped up. Final boss pretty easy though.
Beautiful and fast game, with lots of Experimentation and interesting ideas. The homing attack is mapped to the same button as double jump though, which led to some unnecessary deaths. Bringing the Wisps back seemed a bit unnecessary too, they didn't really add anything.
Probably the best Sonic game I've played recently, and sits up there with Colours and Generations.
HyperMetal
The game takes a lot of getting used to, but once you do it actually has some pretty cool mechanics that make for a fun experience. The difficulty level also starts off very easy but then suddenly gets very difficult towards the end. The new characters were also okay and the story seemed interesting, but like recent games was pretty shallow overall. My particular favorite part about this game was being able to run along walls after a jump making it possible to reach those once ledges you missed on your jump. There were also a number of various styles of levels that were also enjoyable including rail levels, air levels, and other new intuitive level designs. There was also a lot more content than I was expecting. Although overall a fun experience, there were some negative and frustrating aspects to it too. Enough that I would hesitate replaying it again. It was fun the first time through though. I'd give it more of an 85% if I could.
Farleysama
Overall Sonic: Lost World was pretty damn good; best Sonic game since Sonic Adventures 2.
I had allot of fun with this quick game, however there were a few problems. The game needed way more control tips. There were a few movement features that were not used more than 2 or 3 times in the whole game. Control tips for attacks were told way to late in the game. The items were just annoying being able to only carry 5 and consider how often you got a item; I tossed away so many items as I forgot to use them most of the times. There was a weird difficulty curve some levels would be a snap and other levels you wanted to break your controller.
The DLC was excellent, a bit to short, and needed more control tips.
The music was good, never too distracting or out of place.
The gameplay was great, so what if it took from Mario Galaxy allot it was still fun and exciting. The little capsule monster transformation thing were accelerating.
The controls could have been a bit better.
Graphics were great for the type of game nothing lagged and everything seem to fit the world.
As for cost per hour is game comes in way over a dollar per hour; $5.25 per hour. So if your looking a buying this game wait until it is around $15.
I'm really glad I decided not to listen to the critics on this one. It seems as if Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 was so bad that it forever turned fans and critics off of 3D Sonic games. I think the blend of 3D and 2D sequences in Lost World is pretty seamless, where the 3D parts steal the show, and are just absolutely stunning to look at. This game rewards precise gameplay, but is not unfair or needlessly punishing like some other Sonic titles, such as Sonic Unleashed (which I also really liked). Lost World also slows Sonic down a bit, to put more emphasis on controlled platforming and enemies. For me, this was a great move, as I've always posited that Sonic games play best when they are slowed down a bit. Sure, there's nothing quite like speeding across a course in record time, but as far as rewarding gameplay, I prefer this slower style. I've also heard a lot of people say that this game borrows too heavily from the Super Mario Galaxy series. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. My only criticism is that the boss battles could serve to last a bit longer, and provide a bit more challenge.
This is up there with Sonic Generations as the greatest Sonic game released since the original three. A stunningly gorgeous and colorful game.
jbeard90
Occasionally brilliant, but mostly mediocre; Sonic Lost World finally tries stealing direct from the Mario franchise by copying the format and style of Super Mario Galaxy. That may sound like a complaint, but it's a good thing. When the controls are working properly, the spherical planets and suspended platforms work wonderfully with Sonic's speed. Many of the robot enemies are styled after ones from Sonic and Knuckles, which I think is a step in the right direction; enemy designs in Sonic games haven't been very notable since the 16-bit era. You still see Mario fighting against Goombas and Boos. I'm not sure why Sega insists on trying out new enemies each new go-around.
There's quite a bit to like in Sonic Lost World, but the controls really ruin the whole experience. There are three different attack buttons which do essentially the same thing, but use the wrong one on an enemy, and you'll lose your rings. Wall-jumping is a frequently used, but is hard to pull off. During on-rail levels, if Sonic hits a wall, he automatically dies. I like games to be challenging, but this one is inconsistent and unfair.
Sonic Lost World is available at some Redbox kiosks, so if you really *must* play it, I'd recommend renting it.
extremo113
The majority of the levels are fun.
KerfMerf
This game is probably the biggest disappointment of the year. While the sound and art design are excellent, the game suffers from packing too much content in some areas and too little in others.
For example, there are too many mechanics to keep track of--two aerial attacks, a bounce attack, a (mostly useless) spindash, a double-jump, and two run speeds that can completely change all the rules on the spot depending on which one you use. Combined with the unmanageable gravitational physics and lack of any proper tutorial, it's just a pain to keep track of anything other than the most basic elements.
But other areas suffer from hardly being developed at all. The level design is unique, but it's inconsistent and boring--most 3D stages are just a series of cylinders with obstacles scattered around them. Boss levels unlock only once you've saved enough animals, but once you have 7000, there's no more incentive to collect them. Similarly, if you're only going for main story completion, there's little reason to collect red rings. They unlock circus stages which can earn you more animals--which, again, are useless after you get 7000.
The cutscenes that play between levels may be enjoyable for the young age group this game targets, but other than that they're pretty predictable and not very funny either. However, this is one of the few games that portrays Sonic as a total fuck-up from beginning to end. It's almost worthwhile just to see him interpreted that way.
Difficulty is a problem. I died more times than I care to admit, but most of them were due to unwieldy controls or sudden changes in physics that could not be accounted for ahead of time. Navigating obstacles is never all that challenging--a flat stretch of land with nothing on it is often more dangerous. One spin attack can send you hurtling into space. One homing attack that fails to lock on (which happens more often than you might think) can drop you into a bottomless pit. The various controls are tuned well for more precise platforming, which makes the 2D segments the most successful parts of the game. But the level design in the 3D levels is more vast, and doesn't mesh well with the control scheme.
It's unfortunate that Sonic's first big exclusive with Nintendo started on such a sour note. 3D Sonic was at its best with the Adventure games, and 2D Sonic was at its best with Sonic 2 and 3. The developers need to stop sacrificing one design philosophy for another and just split 2D and 3D Sonic back into two franchises, each with consistent--but separate--mechanics.
JacksUsername
Some good, fun levels can be found at the beginning of the game, but the camera and controls of the later levels completely outweigh the good here. A really frustrating experience at times, and shouldn't be considered by anyone except die hard Sonic fans.


A relatively new addition to the 'Super-Food' category, coconut oil is made up of a unique combination of fatty acids that can be hugely beneficial to your health. If the hype has left you a little sceptical, here some of the main benefits that have proven to be derived from coconut oil. Time to pop some in your shopping basket?
Historically, coconut oil has suffered a bad press because of its high saturated fat content – almost 90% of the fats it contains are of this type. Recent studies, however, have been revealing that certain saturated fats are not as harmful as we thought, with some experts going as far as to suggest they are harmless and that the artery-clogging associated with them is a myth.
The saturated fats falling into this category (and those contained in coconut oil) are comprised of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These are metabolised more easily than the Long-Chain types found in red meat and cheese. This unique combination makes them beneficial to our health, rather than problematic.
There are many cultures around the world where coconut is consumed as a major part of the diet. The Tokelauans of the South Pacific, for example, derive in excess of 60% of their calories from coconut and enjoy good health with little evidence of heart disease among their people.
Various recent studies have shown that the type of calories you consume have a direct impact on the efficiency of the body in using energy. The consumption of MCTs such as those in coconut oil increases energy expenditure when compared with that delivered by Long-Chain fats. This basically means that if you eat MCTs in favour of other types of saturated fats your body will use more calories for the same amount of effort from you. This, I like the sound of!
Experts are not yet quite sure how this works, but research has proved that people who eat more MCTs (as found in coconut oil) tend to feel less hungry throughout the day and, consequently, consume fewer calories overall. The impact on this over a long period of time could be a positive impact on your body weight.
The benefits of coconut oil are not confined to the internal workings of the body. Its cosmetic benefits have been well documented too. Studies on individuals with dry skin showed that moisture and lipid content can be improved by applying coconut oil, helping the skin to appear fresher and more elastic. It can also help to protect the hair from sun damage, with one study suggesting that it acts very effectively as a sunscreen, blocking some 20% of the sun's harmful UV rays.
Coconut oil's apparent ability to suppress the appetite and stimulate the burning of fat makes it a prime product for helping to reduce weight. An excess of abdominal fat is known to have a detrimental impact of the health and increase the risk of developing medical problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Several studies have shown that adding 30ml of coconut oil per day to the diet in both men and women can lead to a reduction in BMI and your waist measurement over time. And this was without any other dietary modifications or exercise programme. What's not to like?
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Walking into a beautifully designed room, you instantly feel the warmth and personality of the homeowner. You should feel at ease and comfortable sitting down. However capturing this on film is a completely different story, no matter how wonderful the design is. This takes many years of experience, knowledge, and talent. After several failed attempts to photograph my own designs, I needed help and was introduced to Muffy. She has since photographed many of my designs, some of which have appeared in Sunset Magazine Books. I've learned quite a bit about photography from Muffy and hope that you will pick up a few tips here as well.
I always took pictures as a child. My dad really liked photography, he had a Hasselblad in WW2 and taught his sister how to photograph. My dad always had a darkroom. Although I never learned from him.
I went to Art School and did photo printmaking originally, then photo-litho where you transfer the image on to a plate. I then realized I was ruining my pictures. I really liked the original photographs. I got my masters and started as a photo assistant in the 80's in SF. I saw it as an educational opportunity; learn the commercial side and go out on my own. I had not yet picked what kind of photography I wanted to do. I started as a car photographer (using the compass to learn where the light was going to be ) then it was fun being a fashion photographer but I wasn't that interested in fashion. I liked the intensity of food photography but you need a really nice studio (which is a lot of overhead). My grandmother had a house designed by William Wurster, and her Interior Designer was the infamous Michael Taylor. Paige Rense (the editor of Architectural Digest) asked Michael Taylor what he wanted to shoot for the magazine and he wanted to shoot his first job which was my mother's house! My sister and I were there when they were photographing and I realized that was what I wanted to do. This is perfect. I don't need a studio, I like going into peoples houses and learning their story, it's like being inserted into their lives. You learn so much about people when you see how they live in their house. The room that you are photographing this drama in is the container that holds the story. You have to pay attention to the container. It changes the way the story unfolds.
Just because the room looks fabulous doesn't mean you can take a great picture of it. What makes it work for a photo?
When you take a photo of a room you are flattening out several different planes that are stacking up in the photo, which is different then walking into a home and experiencing them while walking through the three dimensions. Photos tend to look more cluttered as well. You really need large accessories. A small bowl with a few lemons in it does not work. You need a huge bowl with a grocery bag full of lemons in it. Better to have a few large items and eliminate the small accessories which make things look cluttered. You don't want too many horizontal accessories, you also need vertical accessories because everything flattens out into horizontal stripes. Also, photography can see less contrast then your eye can. When you take a picture, those shadows that you can normally see into, and are interesting live, look like a giant black blob in a photo.
You submit work to magazines…do homeowners hire you just to take pictures for themselves?
Do you photograph homes where they do not spend much on furnishings?
The time has past when I go in to homes and see millions spent on furnishings and art. I feel like the idea of smarter design and how we make what we have work is, and should be, happening much more. It's a challenge to make that work as well because people need to understand, and need help with, playing up the strength of the design. It's great when people make the most of what they have in their house and make it work. In some cases I just bring cushions off my own couch and jam them into the couch on the set. Once I used a tablecloth to look like a duvet cover, it was fabulous. They wondered where I got this beautiful cover. Once I went out and bought some great, very inexpensive towels to use in the house I was photographing and the homeowners bought them they loved them so much. It's also good to get some nice color in your accessories. I was going through my pictures preparing for the AIA show that's coming up and I realized I had two colors in my pictures, cream and brown. So I think that it is really important to look at adding color with accessories.
Use a regular point and shoot but look at the numbers 35mm equivalent you want it to be between 24-28, a good wide angle lens, and for telephotos the bigger number the better for doing close-ups. Wide angle for house, 24-25/ 105. I would suggest you look at the B and H website in NY. They are very helpful. They have specs for every camera and use the same specs for reviewing every camera. I've called them as well when I've needed advice. I have a Lumix which is very wide, also a Canon G12 I like because all the controls are knobs that you change right on top, instead of having to go in to a menu. I also like it because it shoots raw if you want it to. They are a bit more expensive, about $500.
-Consider using a tripod (good way of doing things).
-Turn the ISO up really high because the flash is too strong and you lose the character of the light.
-Whatever the camera is reading off of, the center of the focus, it trys to turn in to mid-value grey, then the rest of the room turns black.
-Angle of incidence = angle of reflection. If you are facing right into a mirror or window, the flash will bounce right back into the camera. If you move aside and angle the camera toward the window, the reflection will also move away from the camera.
Muffy currently teaches photography at The Art Institute in SF. The founder of the photography department was Ansel Addams. She is now teaching an Art in Commerce class, which is more about how to do a job and what kind of jobs are out there. She also has a new book coming out with author Michael Litchfield titled "In Laws, Out Laws and Grannyflats". You can find more information at his blog, Cozy Digs.
Muffy currently is part of an Architectural Photography Exibition at AIA San Francisco Center for Architecture + Design Gallery. She can be reached at 510-459-7414 and you can also see more of her work on her website.


All good things must come to an end, and sadly that includes Becca's season of The Bachelorette. It feels like just yesterday that she was getting her heart broken in front of millions of strangers, and now she's choosing her husband. So, when is The Bachelorette finale? Fans will finally see if she chooses Blake or Garrett to be her fiancé.
The Bachelorette finale airs on Monday, August 6, along with the After the Final Rose special. If you're wondering why there's a gap week, it's because the Men Tell All special s airing Monday, July 30 instead. Now, I'm actually excited for Men Tell All because it's a chance for Becca to reunite with all her exes (well, except the runner-up — that's what After the Final Rose is for) and get some closure.
Not only will Becca come face-to-face with the more dramatic contestants this year, like Chris R. and Jordan, but contestants like Joe the Grocer will be in attendance, too. Furthermore, Jason will definitely be there, and as the third place finisher, I'm sure he and Becca will have an emotional heart-to-heart on stage.
Because it is about that time in the season, there's a lot of buzz over whether Jason will be The Bachelor. And honestly, he seems very much up for it. According to an interview with People, Jason is open to being the next Bachelor. He said he is "very single" and, "Coming into The Bachelorette, I always led with a calculated mind and not an open heart ... Now, I'm able to start leading with my heart and not my head. And I'm in the best position to find who I'm looking for now."
Well, while Jason would indeed make a great Bachelor, fans have to wait a bit until they find out if he gets the coveted spot — and I'm talking about beyond The Bachelorette finale. Unlike how The Bachelorette is revealed during The Bachelor's After the Final Rose special, fans don't get that instant gratification this time around. Last year, Rachel Lindsay's Bachelorette season ended in August while Arie Luyendyk was announced as Bachelor in September. So, yeah, we're all going to have to wait a little bit even though this season will be over before we now it.
But fans of The Bachelorette can relax, because while they may have to wait until September to find out who the next Bachelor is, the next season of Bachelor in Paradise begins Tuesday, August 7 — yup, the day after The Bachelorette airs. ABC doesn't give Bachelor Nation much of a break between shows and that's one of the reasons I love them. Furthermore, we still have not only Men Tell All to look forward to, but After the Final Rose, which is even juicier because both the winner and runner-up are also in attendance.
As Bachelor Nation knows, Becca did not have a good After the Final Rose last time around. During Arie's finale, fans learned that Arie broke up with Becca because he was still in love with Lauren, his supposed runner-up. Not only that, but Arie proposed to Lauren on After the Final Rose as well. Granted, Becca was announced as The Bachelorette then, so I'm sure she didn't feel 100 percent terrible, but it seemed definitely bittersweet. This time around, I hope she gets the ending she wants to get and that she deserves. This Bachelor and Bachelorette cycle has been historic. I know they say that every year, but this time is true. I'm sad it's coming to an end, but I can't wait to see who Becca picks after all is said and done.


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5 Key Industries to Watch in China in 2023
In response to Beijing's shift to "living with COVID", analysts have raised their forecasts for China's real GDP growth to 5.2 percent in 2023 (from 4.7 percent) and 4.8 percent in 2024 (from 4.5 percent).
TFEX aims to implement new trading system in 2023
NEVs and lithium batteries
E-commerce and livestreaming
Software and high-tech industries
China's economic growth in 2023 will be led by several key industries that are forecast to flourish due to the lifting of COVID restrictions, as well as government support and incentives.
These include tourism, new energy vehicles, online shopping, software development, and healthcare. We discuss five main Chinese industries that will be of considerable interest to foreign investors in 2023.
2022 set the tone for a turning point in China's economy. After several COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the year, which led to a widespread economic slowdown, Beijing has abandoned the most stringent aspects of its Zero-Covid policy to facilitate the resumption of industrial activity and speed up production.
New forecasts for China's real GDP growth set to 5.2 percent in 2023
In response to Beijing's shift to "living with COVID", analysts have raised their forecasts for China's real GDP growth to 5.2 percent in 2023 (from 4.7 percent) and 4.8 percent in 2024 (from 4.5 percent). Analysts at J.P. Morgan increased their estimates of the country's annual growth rate to 4.3 percent from 4 percent.
That said, in coming months, China's economy will still face several internal and external headwinds, such as weak domestic consumption, declining business confidence, and disruptions caused by the surge of COVID-19 infections. This has prompted calls for strong and focused policies to help restore private sector business activity in 2023.
Unsurprisingly, top leaders and policymakers were committed to accelerating policy measures to bolster the faltering economy at the 2022 closed-door Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC). Indeed, as set out in the CEWC, China will double down on economic growth in 2023, with anticipated measures to boost domestic demand, attract and utilize foreign capital, stabilize the housing market, and restructure the technology industry.
Against this background, analysts have predicted that China's economy will be able to see an above-trend sustained rebound starting from the second quarter of 2023, following the country's reopening.
In this article, we look into the Chinese industries that are likely to experience strong growth in 2023.
The tourism and entertainment industry has a positive outlook for 2023, thanks to a more relaxed COVID policy and further opening.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on the tourism sector, and due to stringent quarantine rules for visitors entering China, in the past two years, the majority of Chinese customers have been prevented from traveling abroad. However, the sheer scale of the local customer base, which has been eagerly rediscovering the country and its beautiful landscape, has allowed China's tourism sector to rebound dramatically.
Camping and outdoor activities have become extremely popular since the start of the pandemic, and will likely continue to be so. Indeed, the growing popularity of camping is proof of the Chinese tourism sector's adaptability and durability, as well as the kinds of novel opportunities that may materialize even in the face of severe constraints, proving that the industry will continue to grow.
Moreover, demand for industry services is expected to rebound over the next five years. The hotel sector's structure will continue to change, with a larger portion of industry income coming from three- and four-star hotels. Foreign businesses now control the high-end industry, but they have recently been expanding into the lower star-rated segment to attract a wider range of clients and solidify their market positions.
Looking at China's catering sector, revenue from cafes, bars, and other drinking establishments is anticipated to rise to RMB 6.03 trillion (US$894.36 billion) by the end of 2023. Coffee shops, for example, are expected to grow by 5 percent over the next five years, adding a total of 120,000 stores across the country. Revenue generated by the bar industry is projected to reach US$29.4 billion by 2025, with an impressive CAGR of 18.8 percent. As China continues to open up, people are likely to spend more on these types of activities.
Automotive is a key industry for developing countries like China, as it hosts an array of second and third-tier manufacturers, all supporting the major global manufacturers.
The new energy vehicles (NEVs) and automobile manufacturing industries in China have seen rapid growth. This has mainly been driven by the central government's supportive policies and subsidies, growing environmental concerns, increased number of charging stations, and decreased operating costs for NEVs. Between 2017 and 2022, the industry revenue increased by 48.1 percent annually, and the industrial output grew from 794,000 units to over 5.6 million units in the same period. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) predicted that China's NEV sales in 2023 would grow by 35 percent year-on-year to 9 million units.
The NEV industry segment is expanding at an unprecedented rate, as part of Beijing's conscious efforts to lower its carbon footprint while exploring the multi-billion-dollar market segment. In 2020, the Chinese government first introduced new measures to support the NEV industry – electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles – which had been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It then announced the extension of tax exemption for NEV customers throughout 2023 as part of its plan to achieve 20 percent NEV deployment by 2025. Meanwhile, the question for 2023 remains whether the market can shift toward more stable growth with less government intervention on the production side of the industry or whether Beijing will once again step in to support the sector expansion.
Meanwhile, competition in the sector for 2023 is also expected to grow, as dozens of new models are expected to debut in the new year from tech giants, such as Baidu, and smart NEV manufacturers, such as Xpeng and Nio.
One important consideration is that China is the world's leading lithium-ion battery manufacturer, the batteries that are used in most electric cars. While the bulk of the world's lithium resources is held by other countries, China has acquired the highest number of lithium mines abroad, further indicating that its future will be electric.
China's e-commerce market – the largest in the world – grew by 10.4 percent in 2022 as customers rapidly transitioned from traditional retail to online shopping. The industry is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 percent between 2021 and 2025, eventually reaching RMB 21.4 trillion (US$3.3 trillion). The percentage of e-commerce platform users is expected to reach 83.9 percent over the same period, with an estimated 1,230.4 million active users.
By the end of 2022, China's e-commerce livestreaming market is projected to generate RMB 1.2 trillion (US$180 billion) in total revenue, with a total of 660 million viewers. This figure is anticipated to increase even further in 2023 to reach RMB 4.9 trillion (US$720 billion). Livestreaming functions as a means for boosting sales and brand awareness and has rapidly grown to become an essential tool for businesses that embark on online selling.
Foreign investors who are eying China's enormous domestic market are encouraged to fully leverage its huge online shopping channels in 2023.
Goldman Sachs anticipates that China's software sector will achieve revenue growth of 28 percent year-on-year in 2023, compared to 14 percent in 2022. In terms of the automotive software segment, top picks include Thundersoft, DeSe, and ArcSoft Corp, while in the cyber security software segment, expectations are high for Beijing VenusTech. The smartphone segment, however, is expected to remain flat throughout 2023, while high-tech electronics look very promising.
Generally speaking, the industry is projected to grow by 14.67 percent between 2022 and 2027, reaching a volume of US$50.05 billion. In particular, the application development software segment will grow by 16.17 percent over the same period.
Meanwhile, Beijing is paving the way for its high-tech sectors to thrive. In 2022, the government released the country's first national-level policy document for the development of technologies related to the metaverse (the "Action Plan"), including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). VR is also listed among the "key industries" for the digital economy in the 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP), China's overarching economic and industrial development plan for the period from 2021 to 2025. The Action Plan is a clear signal that the Chinese government is banking on VR technology and the metaverse to become the next big thing in the digital space.
Revenue in the AR and VR sectors is expected to reach US$5.43 billion by the end of 2022, and it is estimated to grow by 14.64 percent annually in the years leading up to 2027, resulting in a total market volume of US$10.75 billion.
China's health industry is expanding at an unprecedented rate. The sector has grown to be the second biggest in the world due to a number of factors, including a longer life expectancy, an aging population, and higher aspirations for quality of life.
In addition, since the Healthy China 2030 project was launched in 2016, there has been considerable investment in local healthcare infrastructure, market reforms, and assistance for innovation. The delivery of healthcare services is becoming increasingly effective thanks to this project. The COVID-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions have also sped up the development and uptake of online medical and pharmaceutical services in China, further contributing to the industry's modernization.
Between 2023 and 2024, the industry is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 39 percent.
Several research firms estimate considerable growth in the biotech and pharmaceutical sector, which will be worth over US$90 million in 2023. This is especially true given the increasing investment in cutting-edge therapies. Nowadays, biotech medications are preferred over conventional ones due to their reduced adverse effects.
The Chinese government's R&D investment in biotech exceeded US$291 billion in 2019, and by 2020, Chinese companies accounted for almost a third of all biotech IPOs worldwide. As a result, biotech has also emerged as a crucial field for Chinese innovation and is supported by several preferential policies, such as interest-free loans and land incentives.
With China officially reopening its borders and abolishing its "zero-COVID" policies, sectors and fields that have been seriously affected by COVID-19 prevention and control will also become those with a larger margin for rebound and expansion in 2023. These include (but are not limited to) services, travel, and entertainment. In addition, promising industries which align with the government's plan for development and innovation are likely to continue to benefit from Beijing's policy support and incentives.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done so since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at [email protected].
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ASEAN Briefing features business news, regulatory updates and extensive data on ASEAN free trade, double tax agreements and foreign direct investment laws in the region. Covering all ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
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Jon now has two different specials schedules for this year. The first is a benefit that he's hosting on November 18 called "Night of Too Many Stars." The other special will be his first stand-up special in the past 20 years.
Casey Bloys, HBO's president of programming spoke out about the news.
"We're excited to bring Jon to the network with this pair of specials. We've all missed his uniquely thoughtful brand of humor."
HBO recently announced that an animated project with Jon had fallen through. He has a four-year production deal with the network.
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Done Gone Wrong
Pickens, Cathy
Living in the small Southern town of her childhood after being fired from her big-city law firm, attorney Avery Andrews is called in by high-profile lawyer Jake Baker to assist in a case in Charleston, South Carolina, but the job becomes serious when a young doctor is found dead, a prostitute vanishes, and a suicidal gunman goes on a shooting rampage. By the author of Southern Fried. Reprint.
McMillan Palgrave
The delightful Avery Andrews of Malice Domestic winner Southern Fried comes out of hiding to face a big-city trial--and finds unpleasant surprises…
TAKE FOUR PILLS A DAY--
A chance to be a part of a headline-grabbing case against a drug company has lured attorney Avery Andrews back to Charleston, South Carolina. She agrees to meet with Mark Tilman, a young doctor from her home town who seems to have something on his mind. When he doesn't show, she figures he stood her up and takes comfort in the stilt restaurant's she-crab soup. But it turns out he had a fatal car accident. Something about the crash isn't right, and Mark's father asks Avery to look into his death. Between that and digging up dirt on the wonder drug Uplift, Avery is coming up with more questions than answers.
AND DIE…
Of course, Avery isn't the only one making headlines. Back in Dacus, her mom is on live television confronting a teenager's dynamite-toting paramour in a hostage crisis at the Burger Hut, Great-Aunt Aletha is mixing it up with the now-toupee-less postman, and the son of a ghost wants vengeance. In short, it's life as usual back in Dacus, while in Charleston, Avery is forced to face demons from her own past…
"[A] richly atmospheric second novel...finely crafted."
"Pickens, a lawyer and teacher with deep roots in the Carolinas, balances the dark and light aspects of the subgenre adeptly, and almost always manages to avoid corn and sentimentality."
--Chicago Tribune
& Taylor
Living in the small Southern town of her childhood after being fired from her big-city law firm, attorney Avery Andrews is called in to assist in a case in Charleston, South Carolina, but the job becomes serious when a young doctor is found dead.
Characteristics: p. ; cm
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