text:
Sunrise doesn't last all morning, a cloudburst doesn't last all day
From the new EP of George Harrison/Beatles covers by My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James (under the clever, throw-them-off-the-scent moniker of Yim Yames), this song feels like a much-needed salve on my rawness today:
All Things Must Pass (George Harrison cover) – Yim Yames
Sometimes I am glad I don't know the fancy tricks of studio recording, and how they make Jim's voice sound like it is coming to me from somewhere outside time, like it was created to someday record this song about the temporal nature of the evening, a cloudburst, love, our lives.
I'm sure it has something to do with reverb and certain knobby magic on the console, but the golden-red aura of his voice is truly exceptional here, and it feels like some kind of hope breaking through.
All the tracks are thoroughly gorgeous, and the EP is available now for just a handful of dollars.
Tagged with covers, george harrison, jim james, my morning jacket, the beatles.
Summer reading: Best Music Writing series (Da Capo Press)
I have an admittedly short attention span on planes. Usually I zone out with music, taking advantage of the silent hours to explore the inevitable backlog of new tunes on my iPod. If I do read, it's often the guilty indulgence of People magazine that I only buy in airport bookshops or –even better– Reader's Digest. On this latest trip, I found something much better.
Da Capo Music Press is one of the finest purveyors of music books out there. They asked me if there was anything in their (superb) current catalog that I'd be interested in checking out, and the first book I've cracked of the box they sent is the anthology Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006. The seventh year in the series, I found a lot to love here from a variety of sources last year ranging from traditional print media, online journals, and even (yay!) music blogs. The commentary varies from straight up album/song reviews to artist profiles and in-depth theoretical pieces on serious topics loosely related to music as a foundation.
The introduction by editor Mary Gaitskill explains the vibe of the anthology: "I put these pieces together like a mix tape of sounds a person might hear in life — get up in the morning, put on an old T. Rex song, go outside, hear "Gold Digger" coming out of somebody's car, nameless electronica coming out of someone else's. A guy walks through the parking lot whistling an aria from Bizet's Carmen; something high and haunting leaks out of a passing boy's iPod. Go into a store and there's a faux cowgirl on the sound system singing some artifically sweetened blues. All day songs fly past; some get lost in traffic noise, some enter your imagination and take strange dream-shapes that get inside your thoughts and feelings and make them different."
I loved that because she expresses exactly how the world sounds to me. People will ask me "where do you get all your ideas for posting?" And my answer is this: Once you start paying attention to the music around you, you hear it everywhere. There's no shortage of things to listen to, experience, and write about. It's why I love writing this blog, and it's why I enjoy reading collections like this one.
Here are three snippets from the book to give you an idea of why you should pick it up for some good summer readin'. Guaranteed to enrich your brain 437% more than People.
CRAZY IS AS CRAZY DOES
by Ann Powers
What I've noticed about "crazy" rock musicians is that ones whose music offers the most insight into the turmoil of emotion tend to be women, and that these crazies tend to receive less hero worship than their male counterparts. . . [t]heir inner demons are in constant dialogue with a world that already demonizes anything less than neat that emanates from the feminine realm. A male artist getting crazy can come off as threatening, but he's also often greeted as a prophet or, conversely, an endearing holy fool. A woman artist getting crazy is a different kind of mess–one that raises the general discomfort level by raising the specter of uncontrolled sexuality, irresponsible motherhood, violence done to or by the secred "gentler sex" — all elements of our common consciousness that have haunted us since Medea's time and have never been resolved.
Your Ghost – Kristin Hersh (featuring Michael Stipe)
The rest of this interesting piece looks at those who have struggled with demons, like Hersh, Daniel Johnston, Lisa Germano, Nick Drake, or Mary Margaret O'Hara.
THE BEATLES–"Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine"
(Reached No. 1 on 20th August 1966)
by Tom Ewing
Part of a series to write on all UK #1 hit singles
The brisk orchestral arrangement of "Eleanor Rigby" is tense and fussy, with something of Eleanor's spinsterish neatness: the strings bring to mind sewing, or sweeping the steps, one of those little daily things you do unthinkingly, or instead of thinking. They also sound a little like a horror film soundtrack, and Eleanor Rigby is cinematic, and it is about horror. It's Paul McCartney taking one of pop's smooth-rubbed words –"lonely"– thinking it through and recoiling.
"Eleanor Rigby" remains neat to its end, so neat you might forget that this question of the lonely people hasn't remotely been answered. For that you need the other side of the single, "Yellow Submarine."
Intentionally or not, "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yellow Submarine" make a perfect pair. Crushing isolation as the flip of a song that values limitless community — "And my friends are all aboard / Many more of them live next door." The one set in a drably recognizable town, the other in a fantasy utopia. Recital and singalong.
Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
A VERY SPECIAL CONCERT:
The Enduring Bond Between Huey Lewis and the Developmentally Disabled
by Katy St. Clair
. . . The band recently celebrated its 25th anniversary by performing at this year's Marin County Fair on a cool summer night a few weeks back. This was Huey Lewis & the News' stomping ground, where they began two decades earlier, playing around San Rafael and Mill Valley. Suffice it to say, this show was something all my clients were looking forward to.
There are a lot of stereotypes about retarded people and most of them are false . . . [t]here is however one stereotype about retarded people that is true, one broad brushstroke that one can make about them all: Good gosh a'mighty, retarded people love them some Huey Lewis. Part of the reason is that Huey is apparently a sweetheart who does a lot of volunteer work with people who have developmental disabilities. But another big part is the music.
A bunch of people from a group home had set up camp on the opposite side of the stage, laying out blankets and picnic food. Bobbi recognized some of her friends and waved. "Huuuuueyyyy!" they all yelled back. It was just like people who yell "Bruuuce!" at a Springsteen concert, only more retarded. In fact, Huey Lewis is a retarded version of Bruce Springsteen. Think about it.
[Please read the full and wonderful article here]
Back In Time – Huey Lewis
Tagged with book review, huey lewis, kristin hersh, the beatles.
Guest post: George Harrison demos
Since I'm on vacation, it's a fine time to let someone else take the wheel for a bit, as one of you recently commented. So today we've got a special treat to the Fuel/Friends blog with a guest blog on a nice little set of demos from Beatle George Harrison.
I'd been entirely unfamiliar with any of Harrison's solo work before I was recently challenged to unearth this set of demos from Harrison's All Things Must Pass album (1970). I was surprised at the gentle and warm acoustic loveliness, not being at all familiar with Harrison's work aside from The Beatles.
This particular pal is responsible for introducing me to a massive amount of good music, and possesses an encyclopedic library of musical minutae in his head. Not kidding, it's like world-record material. This is his first attempt at blogging: for years now he's just had to try and unload his vast musical knowledge on disinterested friends and poor passersby. Finally, he has a willing audience. He writes:
"Not only are these sessions amazingly historic, but they're just beautiful — like the George Harrison cafe sessions! Art of Dying was written in 1966 and fuck me does it sound like it totally could have been on Revolver — which it would have been considered for?! But I think it probably sounded too much like Eleanor Rigby, and since it was Paul vs. George…ta da.
George sat down on solo guitar with Phil Spector in Abbey Road Studio 2, and ran through the cache of songs he had built up over the repressive last years of the Beatles. Sit back, get a coffee, put on a turtleneck if you feel pretentious enough, make like it's the end of the '60s, and let George play you some of the tunes he's been collecting over the past few years."
GEORGE HARRISON DEMOS (1970)
w/ Phil Spector ("Beware of ABKCO" sessions)
Run of the Mill
Art of Dying
Everybody, Nobody
(sounds to me like a variation of the riff from I've Got A Feelin')
Window, Window
Let It Down
Tell Me What Happened To You
Hear Me Lord
Nowhere to Go (a Harrison/Dylan collaboration)
Cosmic Empire
I Don't Want To Do It (Dylan)
If Not For You (Dylan)
ZIP: HARRISON DEMOS
Note: the title of this boot comes from a changed lyric on the song "Beware of Darkness" to "Beware of ABKCO" (Allan B Klein Company).
Tagged with dylan, george harrison, guest post, the beatles.
Oh, I was so lucky to get to spend Friday night seeing Feist. She is a completely charming and talented performer (not just a musician, as my friend Leora noted –"Are you gonna quote me on your blog?"– after the show). Feist really knows how to engage and enchant the crowd, but she also wields that guitar fearlessly, gets her vocal loops going, dances around in bliss to the crashing drums, and manages to be fashionable all at the same time (brown mini dress, hot pink tights).
The new songs from The Reminder sounded great live (especially "My Moon, My Man" — hot dang that's fantastically thumping in concert) under the twinkling drapery of Christmas lights. The same imaginative, surreal qualitities that Feist brings memorably into her music videos (flying toast in Mushaboom, everyone deciding to dance in unison on 1234) seeps into her live shows too, through the morphing of her busy hands during the songs into butterflies dancing, waves rolling, or little legs walking down the front of the mike stand.
Despite having sung the song "like 4,000 times," Feist forgot the middle verse to Mushaboom. She asked the crowd if someone who knew it would come up and fill in. An absolutely elated girl hopped up on stage, grabbed the mike as the music played, and effortlessly jumped in at exactly the right moment: "I got a man to stick it out…" It was one of those great moments of geeky fandom that just makes you happy to witness.
A very few other pictures (and the story of the snarly security guard that almost threw me out of the show) are included in this album. Remaining Feist tour dates here. I would totally love to be Feist for a week, that's my new rockstar dream.
Here's your new tuneage for this week's enjoyment:
A kind reader recommended this track from former Drive-By-Trucker Jason Isbell's forthcoming solo album Sirens Of The Ditch (July 10, New West Records), saying that it was "hard to get this song out of my head." I absolutely agree, I've listened to it on repeat: a honeyed slowburner that feels like prophecy.
Can't Get It Out Of My Head (ELO cover)
Taking the cake for the band that the STP/G'n'F'n'R hybrid was least likely to cover, Velvet Revolver takes on an ELO cover on their newest one, Libertad, dropping July 3rd. And you know what? It's actually pretty good and I find myself liking it a lot. Although I sometimes question Weiland's jaunty/naughty sailor look in concert, Slash takes away the guitar solo here in sizzling fashion. Speaking of Slash, I've been pondering the plotline of the November Rain video lately. Have you seen this? I don't know why I think about such things.
This Town
Frank Sinatra, on the Ocean's 13 Soundtrack
Obviously a movie about swinging crime in Vegas perpetrated by fashionably-dressed men must, by law, include a Frank Sinatra tune. This one is also excellent for adding to your very own mixtape for midnight desert runs to Sin City. The soundtrack to Ocean's 13 (which I haven't seen yet but probably will because George & Brad told me to) is another atmospheric-cool collection by David Holmes, who also scored Fuel-favorite Out of Sight (among others). Niiice.
When Did Your Heart Go Missing?
I've been curious about hearing this song since Rolling Stone likened it to a lost Wham! track, and yes, I hear the similarities here; it does kind of make me want to wake you up before I go go. But then I read how it is also in the new Nancy Drew movie, and in a totally geeky move I will confess to reading many Nancy Drew books in my youth. I will not see the new Nancy Drew flick (because it would probably be a similar audience to the time I saw Crossroads on opening night and I don't want to talk about it) but I can picture this song also as a theme to daring teenage intrigue, old mine shafts, and moss-covered mansions. From Rooney's new album Calling The World (out July 17). Tour dates here.
Love (unreleased promo track)
This song was, for some reason, dropped off the double disc extravaganza of Lennon covers to save Darfur, Instant Karma (a project of Amnesty International, out now). I could have recommended a few other tracks that could have gotten the boot instead of The Cure, whom I love, even though I can never apply eyeliner as deftly as Robert Smith. Thank God I'm better at the lipstick than he is, though.
Speaking of love and Lennon, today marks 40 years since the first public performance of "All You Need Is Love" on a massive world broadcast. Check out this fascinating post/video. Watching the way Lennon sings makes me really happy here; he just seems . . . pure.
Tagged with concerts, feist, frank sinatra, guns and roses, jason isbell, john lennon, monday music roundup, rooney, the beatles, the cure, velvet revolver.
Dear lord, this site is the funniest thing I've seen in a loooong time.
I was laughing out loud (like, rest-your-head-on-the-desk, hope-no-one-hears-your-stifled-guffaws laughing). It was a thing of beauty. ThingsMyBoyfriendSays.com was new to me, and exactly what it sounds like, a gal documenting random funny things that her boyfriend says — no more, no less. Choice cuts:
"I think I'll ask the dentist to install tusks in my face so I can fully embrace my orcish heritage."
(When I finally made him shave his damn beard:)
"See, this is why I won't let you have nice things. Because you won't let me grow majestic facial hair."
It's voyeurism perfected in hilarious fashion.
Now for your recommended weekly musical allowance:
Big Chair
Here's a radio rip from the BBC of the new one from Scottish rockers Travis – a driving bass line combines with some chattery electronic effects and the smooth vocal delivery of Fran Healy. This'll be on their fifth studio album, Open, due in the Spring. Ben Stiller is rumored to have laid down some cowbell for one of the tracks; if I ever got to do that for a band, I think I'd die happy. Travis is also headed for the scenic Indio desert of Coachella in April, if you're lucky enough to catch that fantastic line-up.
Rhythm & Soul (live)
I've been listening a lot to uber-talented Austin indie/punk/rock/etc band Spoon lately, digging the eclectic combo of often-acoustic guitar, thumping beats, and funky confident vocals. I think this new track (performed live this past August at the lovely Greek Theatre in Berkeley) will sound divine with the full studio treatment. Hooray! [thx Matt]
All My Loving (Beatles cover)
I am still a little unsure as to why this album was actually necessary; it's a complete cover of the seminal Beatles' album Meet The Beatles (1964) by New Jersey rock band The Smithereens. Overall it is interesting to listen to, as the band walks through a series of covers that are largely faithful to the arrangments of the originals but with an edge of their own; The NY Times says, "The album manages to scream Beatles 1964 and Smithereens 2007 all at once." See what you think of this tune — for all the hype, I don't exactly know why anyone would listen to this when the original is available.
Rocking Chair (The Band cover)
DCFC covers familiar ground lyrically ("Oh, to be home again . . .") in their reinterpretation of The Band's
grizzled soulful ballad, from the diverse new album of covers Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band (out mañana) which has some good stuff on it. Jakob Dylan's contribution is interesting to me because The Band first came to prominence in '65-'66 as the backing band for his pops, donchaknow.
Chasing Heather Crazy
I make myself a mix CD for the car every month. This is the first song on the next one. Just to entertain myself.
From GBV's Isolation Drills (2001).
Tagged with covers, death cab, guided by voices, laughs, spoon, the band, the beatles, the smithereens, travis.
An Amoeba Tale of Two Pauls (Weller and . . . Reubens?)
Our friends at the venerable Amoeba Records out in California are hosting two events worth noting in the next few weeks.
First is a chance to win tickets to one of Paul Weller's Hollywood shows. On Monday, February 5th, Weller will close his three-night run at the Avalon Theater with a selection of songs from his years with The Jam, The Style Council, as well as his solo years; a sort of "Best Of Paul Weller" if you will.
You can win tickets here.
Sexy Sadie (Beatles cover) – Paul Weller
The Modern World – The Jam
Walls Come Tumbling Down – The Style Council
And, on a slightly odder note, the Amoeba in San Fran is hosting a meet & greet from Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman. Going down this Saturday, Reubens will be in-store to sign his DVDs. It's 3pm to 5pm at the Amoeba on Haight.
While you wait in what sounds like a long line (they advise arriving early), for your listening pleasure you can enjoy the zany musical stylings of Deejay Panatomic-X. Reubens is in town to be interviewed at Sketchfest on Monday the 22nd, followed by questions from the audience in the Palace of Fine Arts.
I can't even imagine the assortment of fans (and, potentially, costumes) that will turn out for that one. I'd totally be ready to scream real loud. And you? Oh, you know how to dance to this one:
Tequila (The Champs) – Pee Wee's Big Adventure soundtrack
Tagged with covers, paul weller, the beatles.
Before They Were Beatles: The Quarrymen
I've been looking for a relevant reason to post up some demos and rehearsals from the earliest incarnation of what would become The Beatles: The Quarrymen. John Lennon put together the earliest forms of this band in March 1957 with several friends. Paul McCartney joined in October of that year, followed by George Harrison in early 1958. And ever-shifting lineup ensued throughout those years with The Quarrymen playing gigs all around their native Liverpool, changing their name several times, among them The Blackjacks, Johnny and The Moondogs (in late 1959), and The Silver Beetles (in 1960), finally settling on The Beatles in late 1960. And so it goes.
A friend forwarded me an article this weekend with the subject line, Mad cool Beatles history. Reading below, I would have to agree.
Tunes from The Quarrymen are at the end.
Beatles club gains protected status
Fri Sep 15, 4:06 PM ET
LIVERPOOL, England – A suburban basement where The Beatles played some of their earliest gigs was given protected heritage status by the British government Friday. The Casbah Coffee Club, created in the home of original Beatles drummer Pete Best, was given Grade II Listed status on the recommendation of conservation body English Heritage. The designation means the venue, which still contains original artwork and musical equipment, is of "special architectural or historic interest" and cannot be demolished.
Best's mother, Mona, created the club in the basement and coal cellar of her Victorian house on the edge of Liverpool after reading about the "beat" clubs popular with teenagers in London.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison — then billed as The Quarrymen — played at the club's opening in April 1959 as a last-minute replacement for scheduled headliners, the Les Stewart Quartet.
Best later joined the band, renamed The Silver Beatles and then The Beatles. The band played the Casbah many times until the club closed in 1962. The same year, Best was replaced as drummer by Ringo Starr and The Beatles released their first single, "Love Me Do."
The building, still owned by the Best family, features murals and paintings by members of the band and by Lennon's first wife, Cynthia.
Bob Hawkins of English Heritage said the club was "in a remarkably well-preserved condition … with wall and ceiling paintings of spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars by original band members along with 1960s musical equipment, amplifiers and original chairs."
"We know of no other survival like it in Liverpool or indeed anywhere else," he said.
LISTEN: Earliest known recording: Puttin' On The Style (1957)
(From Wiki) On 6 July 1957 the band played at St. Peter's Church garden fête. In the afternoon they played on a temporary stage in a field behind the church. After the set, Ivan Vaughan, an occasional tea chest bass player with the band, introduced Paul McCartney to John Lennon while the band was setting up in the church hall for the second set. McCartney showed the band how to tune a guitar and sang Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" and Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" to his own guitar accompaniment. The evening show started at 8 p.m. and cost two shillings admission. Audience member Bob Molyneux recorded part of the evening performance on a Grundig portable reel-to-reel tape recorder.
In 1994, Molyneux, then a retired policeman, rediscovered the recordings that he had made of the concert in 1957. The scratchy recordings included covers of Lonnie Donegan's "Puttin' On The Style" and Elvis Presley's "Baby, Let's Play House". On 15 September 1994 Molyneux put his tape up for auction at Sotheby's. The tape sold to EMI for £78,500, making it the most expensive recording ever sold at auction, but the recording quality was too poor to issue and the tape remains in the EMI archives.
REHEARSALS & DEMOS, circa 1960
01. That'll Be The Day (Buddy Holly cover)
02. Well Darling
03. Matchbox (Carl Perkins cover)
04. One After 909
05. Cayenne (instumental)
06. Hello Little Girl
07. That's When Your Heartaches Begin
08. Wildcat (Gene Vincent cover)
09. I'll Always Be In Love With You
10. Some Days
11. Hallelujah I Love Her So
12. You'll Be Mine
13. The World Is Waiting For Sunrise
14. I'll Follow The Sun
15. You Must Write Everyday
16. Movin' And Groovin
QUARRYMEN DEMOS IN A ZIP FILE
Tagged with the beatles.
All you need is . . . a bunch of fantastic Beatles covers
I have obsessively been clicking over at the Contrast Podcast site for the last 24 hours or so, waiting for the unveiling of this week's podcast (to which I contributed a track & a spoken intro piece). Our theme this time is really superb, so carve out an hour of your day to spend with your favorite bloggers as we all pick our Favorite Beatles Covers.
Since everyone and their grandma feels the need to record a Beatles cover at some point in their career, we had a lot of fodder to choose from. Beatles = great. Covers = great. An hour of this shizzle? Even better.
Contrast Podcast 15: Beatles Covers (the podcast as one big mp3)
If you prefer to stream it, Tim's got a magic way to do that.
(00:00) Salad – It's For You
Tim from the face of today
(04:11) Low – Nowhere Man
Scleem from Spleendid
(07:16) Sparks – I Want To Hold Your Hand
Paul from They Tell Us That We Lost Our Tails …
(10:59) Elliott Smith – Yer Blues (live)
Chad from Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
(16:24) Nina Simone – Here Comes The Sun
Michael from The Yank Sizzler
(20:09) Laibach – Get Back
FiL from Pogoagogo
(25:12) U2 – Happiness As A Warm Gun
Taylor from Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good
(30:11) Chris Eckman – Yellow Submarine
Merz from Mars Needs Guitars
(36:07) Mich̬le Arnaud РJe Croyais
ZB from So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away
(39:03) Abra Moore – Blackbird (live)
Cindy from Adzuki Bean Stash
(43:55) Al Green – I Want To Hold Your Hand
Chris from Culture Bully
(46:17) LaSalle – While My Guitar Gently Weeps (live)
Bethanne from Clever Titles Are So Last Summer
(51:42) Marilyn Manson – Come Together (live)
Marcos from Mind Booster Noori
(57:27) The Chameleons – Tomorrow Never Knows
Colin from Let's Kiss And Make Up
(01:04:17) Nada Surf – All You Need Is Love
Heather from I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS
(01:08:22) Cornershop – Norwegian Wood
Tom from Other People's Toys
(01:11:37) The Fall – A Day In The Life
Jamie from The Run Out Groove
My thanks go out to Bruce at Some Velvet Blog for unearthing the little gem that I contributed to this bacchanalia.
Tagged with contrast podcast, covers, nada surf, the beatles.
What a wonderful soccer-filled weekend. I love the simplicity, the urgency, the grace & beauty of the sport. The luck of the Irish (or something!) was with me this weekend because I did (mostly) well on my predictions and am tied for first place with a couple other "music lovin' mofos" in our bloggers' World Cup pool. Woo hoo!
Here is a linguistic/soccer-related question that occured to me this weekend during the Angola vs. Portugal game. Perhaps one of my global readers can enlighten my ignorance. I kept hearing the announcer mention the Portuguese team "Benfica." It caught my ear because it sounds like a bit of racy slang in italiano ('fica' means fig, and is also slang for a, uh, certain part of the female anatomy. Ben, short for bene, meaning good). So what gives with the word "benfica"?! I know it must not mean the same thing in Portuguese, but how widespread was the jesting in Italy when ex-Fiorentina coach Trapattoni became the coach in 2004 of benfica? Anyone?
Or is it just my pathetic Italian-as-a-second-language misunderstanding, and I am embarassing myself? Wouldn't be the first time.
Enough of that nonsense, here's some tunes.
"Cemetery Song"
This has got to be the peppiest pop-song-about-a-dead-person ever penned. From former Posies member Jon Auer's fine outing Songs From The Year Of Our Demise (available on eMusic), the harmony-laden Beatles-esque sound fits in among 15 tracks Auer wrote for this themed-album, all written about the loss of a friend and the facets of grief. Despite the subject matter, this low-key album is surprisingly not depressing. Check out the free single ("Six Feet Under") on label Pattern 25′s website, and buy the album on eMusic.
"So Hard To Find My Way"
Jackie Greene
A fantastic upbeat, retro-sounding tune combining piano, banjo, and Memphis horns. From his new CD American Myth, Jackie is delving into more poppy arrangements than the harmonica-folk of his previous efforts, but it sounds good to me. I really like this chap and think we will be hearing a lot more from him.
(PS – Did you download that Esthero/Sean Lennon duet "Everyday Is A Holiday" a few months back? I swear this song is its musical twin).
"Universal Frequencies"
His Name Is Alive
Wow, it must be the summery weather, but this week's music roundup is shaping up to be a string of '60s pop sound tributes. This lovely offering, as will become apparent in about thirty seconds to whomever listens to it, is a complete and straight-up homage to the Beach Boys (notably, Good Vibrations & the whole Pet Sounds album). His Name Is Alive admits to listening to Pet Sounds incessantly during the writing & recording of their 1996 album Stars on ESP, from which this comes. It's fun and kind of trips you out to hear something that could pass so smoothly for the Beach Boys, but with the addition of a female voice to the layered harmonies. Another eMusic find.
"Wait" (Beatles cover)
Ben Kweller
Let's just keep the momentum going with more Beatles. See, all these songs thus far are the perfect accompaniment to some strollin' in the sunshine. No better music for that kind of business than the Fab Four, eh? Ben Kweller was born to sing retro pop confections, and this is a feel-good cover from the Razor & Tie 40th anniversary tribute album to Rubber Soul (This Bird Has Flown, 2005). If you don't have the album, buy it on eMusic — it's also got some sweet tracks by Ben Harper, Ben Lee (it's a Ben bonanza!) The Donnas, Ted Leo, and Sufjan Stevens.
Lisa Germano
And here's the exception to the blissfully happy lineup of songs so far this week. I've heard of Lisa Germano in connection with Eels, but over the years she has also worked with David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Johnny Marr, U2, Sheryl Crow, and John Mellencamp. From her latest solo effort In The Maybe World (July 18, Young God Records), this song is tailor-made for a sleep mix. Lisa's lushly rich vocals fronting the best song Sigur Ros never wrote. Close your eyes and picture; a piano underwater, laying on your back floating on an iceberg, walking through a dark forest at 3am. Sonic bliss.
Off to catch some of the Italy v. Ghana game. Forza azzurri!
Tagged with ben kweller, covers, jackie greene, jon auer, lisa germano, monday music roundup, soccer, the beatles.
A love child between the Beasties and the Beatles
This is a song for rocking your stripey socks this weekend.
I am off to Phoenix for a few days, so may not post, but until then enjoy getting your groove on to this mash-up (thanks to Said The Gramophone).
Beastie Boys vs. The Beatles
Tagged with beastie boys, the beatles.


text:
Q: Can I write the method name without using a String to pass the name of the method? (c#) I have got this class:
class foo
{
   int val;
   public int Val
   {
      set{ val = values; },
      set{ val = values; }
   }
}

I need to pass the property name to a DataBinding:
String propertyName = "Val";
ctrl.DataBindings.Add(propertyName, object, dataMember, true, DataSourceUpdateMode.Never);

I want to do something like this:
propertyName = typeof(foo).methods.Val.toString();

A: If you can use C#6, you have the nameof operator, which does just that.
string propertyName = nameof(foo.Val);

If you use C# 5, you can leverage expression trees:
public static string GetPropertyName<TParent>(Expression<Func<TParent, object>> prop)
{
    var expr = prop.Body;

    if (expr.NodeType == ExpressionType.Convert)
        expr = ((UnaryExpression)expr).Operand;

    if (expr.NodeType == ExpressionType.MemberAccess)
        return ((MemberExpression)expr).Member.Name;

    throw new ArgumentException("Invalid lambda", "prop");
}

Use this helper function like this (assuming it's in a ReflectionHelper class):
string propertyName = ReflectionHelper.GetPropertyName<foo>(x => x.Val);

This way, you can safely use refactorings in your IDE.

A: As of C# 6, you can use the nameof operator:
ctrl.DataBindings.Add(nameof(foo.Val), /* other arguments as before */);

Before C# 6, there's no really simple way to do this at compile-time. One option, however, is to have unit tests which check that all your property names are actual properties (checking with reflection).
Also note that in C# 5 there's CallerMemberNameAttribute which is useful for implementing INotifyPropertyChanged - but isn't as useful for your case.
The approach of using expression trees works, but it feels somewhat clunky to me. Although far lower tech, simple string constants and a unit test feels a bit simpler.

A: If you are not using C# 6, you need to pass around an Expression<Func<T>>.
You can then do this with that object (if you are passing a property):
 private string GetPropertyName(Expression<Func<T>> propertyExpession)
 {
   //the cast will always succeed if properly used
   MemberExpression memberExpression = (MemberExpression)propertyExpression.Body;
   string propertyName = memberExpression.Member.Name;
   return propertyName;
 }

You would use this like:
var propName = GetPropertyName(() => this.Val);

A: I don't know if you're using INotifyPropertyChanged but there's some articles on how to avoid using "magic strings" here which may be of use:
Implementing NotifyPropertyChanged without magic strings
typesafe NotifyPropertyChanged using linq expressions

A: Check out statically typed reflection with LINQ: http://blogs.clariusconsulting.net/kzu/statically-typed-reflection-with-linq/
You can do:
string propertyName = Reflect<foo>.GetProperty(x => x.Val).Name;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


By Nuel Suji – In a dramatic political move, 36 members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have adopted Babajide Sanwo-olu as the candidate for the coming governorship primaries of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A statement by the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, the decision was taken at a Parliamentary meeting of the lawmakers which took place at Lateef Jakande auditorium of the House on Saturday, 29 September, 2019, a day before the governorship primaries of the party.
The meeting was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa. Out of the 40 members of the House, 36 were present at the meeting and all of them endorsed the decision and duly signed the statement announcing the decision.
The lawmakers stated that they were in agreement with the leadership of the party and the Governor's Advisory Council (GAC) which had earlier endorsed Mr. Sanwo-olu for the governorship ticket.


Get yourself certified. The stamp of approval that you are officially a gamer! Stay Classic. You gain respect by not only what you produce between the lines but being a class act on and off the field!
ONE SIZE FITS ALL. SNAPBACK.


text:
// --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="FormattingHelper.cs" company="Kephas Software SRL">
//   Copyright (c) Kephas Software SRL. All rights reserved.
//   Licensed under the MIT license. See LICENSE file in the project root for full license information.
// </copyright>
// <summary>
//   Helper class for formatting.
// </summary>
// --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

namespace Kephas.Composition.Mef.Internals
{
    using System;
    using System.Linq;

    using Kephas.Diagnostics.Contracts;

    /// <summary>
    /// Helper class for formatting.
    /// </summary>
    internal static class FormattingHelper
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Formats the specified type.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="type">The type.</param>
        /// <returns>A string containing the formatted type.</returns>
        public static string Format(Type type)
        {
            Requires.NotNull(type, nameof(type));

            if (type.IsConstructedGenericType)
            {
                return FormatClosedGeneric(type);
            }

            return type.Name;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Formats the closed generic type.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="closedGenericType">The constructed generic type.</param>
        /// <returns>A string containing the formatted type.</returns>
        public static string FormatClosedGeneric(Type closedGenericType)
        {
            Requires.NotNull(closedGenericType, nameof(closedGenericType));
            if (!closedGenericType.IsConstructedGenericType)
            {
                // TODO localization
                throw new ArgumentException("Please provide a constructed generic type.", nameof(closedGenericType));
            }

            // ReSharper disable once StringIndexOfIsCultureSpecific.1
            var name = closedGenericType.Name.Substring(0, closedGenericType.Name.IndexOf("`"));
            var args = closedGenericType.GenericTypeArguments.Select(Format);
            return $"{name}<{string.Join(", ", args)}>";
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Real power is with Centre, which holds the purse-strings in these fiscally-challenging times
Post 2014, two centralisations — of political and economic power — continue to reinforce each other, with profound consequences for the country and potential to define popular narrative in days ahead.
Written by Harish Damodaran |
Updated: December 5, 2020 8:54:18 am
The BJP under Narendra Modi, like Indira Gandhi's Congress in its time, faces no political competition within or outside. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)
The return of single-party dominance and its implications for politics after nearly 25 years of minority/coalition governments at the Centre (December 1989-April 2014) has been widely commented upon. As have concerns over rising corporate market power and their expression, whether in the ongoing protests against the three central farm laws or the grant of bank licences to industrial houses.
The recent Bihar election results — Nitish Kumar is back as chief minister, but of what is, for all practical purposes, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government — have reaffirmed a larger political trend. There are states that are still opposition-ruled — Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. However, as many have noted, chief ministers today have been reduced to satraps. The real power is with the Centre, which has the all-important "agencies" and holds the purse-strings in these fiscally-challenging times.
For all their fulminations at not being compensated for shortfalls in GST revenues, states have had to accept whatever little the Centre offered through a special Option-1 borrowing window. The Maharashtra government couldn't stop the Elgar Parishad case being handed over to the National Investigation Agency, while the Pinarayi Vijayan administration in Kerala has been a mute spectator to the Enforcement Directorate grilling its officials and a minister in connection with alleged money-laundering and gold smuggling probes.
What this analysis — of a single party under an unquestioned leader exercising total control over the nation's polity — misses out, though, is a parallel and related phenomenon. That has to do with the increasingly "conglomerate" nature of Indian capitalism. These two centralisations — of political and economic power — reinforce each other. Its consequences are profound and have the potential to define the popular narrative in the days ahead.
Not too long ago, a significant part of political financing came not from large corporates as much as sugar and textile millers, cooperative barons, liquor and PWD contractors, grain traders/arhtiyas, land sharks, builders and miners. They were mostly regional capitalists who invested in provincial leaders. This translated into a decentralised crony capitalism model, where every party/politician had a chosen set of businessmen for bestowing favours and receiving funding in turn.
Howsoever repugnant, this model had some redeeming features. The mutually-beneficial partnership between the aspiring politician and the small-to-middling capitalist did allow for the emergence of new tycoons, including from diverse regional and social backgrounds. So long as the "cronies" and their political backers didn't remain the same, it ensured a frequent reshuffling in the ranks of capitalists and also a competitive electoral democracy.
Opinion | The power of two: Modi and Shah are the latest in a long line of jugalbandis in BJP
Consider this: The Nineties and Noughties were synonymous with not just coalition governments and regional parties taking centre stage, but also a period of "entrepreneurial capitalism" in India. The latter, one could argue, was more a result of the 1991 economic reforms that opened up new industries for private investment. But the fact that these avenues for capital accumulation were seized during a time of no single-party majority governments or a strong Centre cannot be missed. Nor can the fact that the period after 2014, despite being marked by political stability and the institution of a near-presidential system of governance, has seen more capital destruction than creation or accumulation ('Death of enterprise', IE, June 29, 2019).
Epitomising the above rise and fall are the "Andhrapreneurs" or businessmen from undivided Andhra Pradesh (AP). The promoters of GVK, GMR, Lanco, Madhucon, NCC, Nagarjuna Fertilisers, Navayuga, Soma Enterprise, Progressive Constructions, Sujana, IVRCL, Ramky Infra, SEW Infra, Transstroy, Sri City and Gangavaram Port were all liberalisation's children. The first two post-reform decades was when many of them graduated from piecemeal contracting to constructing full-fledged national highways, airports, ports, power plants, irrigation dams, water supply systems, river bridges, tunnels and metro rail sections.
It is not a coincidence that the fortunes of the "Andhrapreneurs" grew precisely when its politicians were vital to propping up coalition governments at the Centre. The Telugu Desam Party was either part of non-Congress, non-BJP governments (in 1989-90 and 1996-98) or extended critical support to the first BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance from 1998 to 2004. Undivided AP also sent the largest contingent of Congress MPs to enable the formation of the United Progressive Alliance government in 2004 and 2009.
AP and Telangana are now both Opposition-ruled. But their irrelevance, if not deference, to the present dispensation at the Centre is matched by the decline of the "Andhrapreneurs". There are very few survivors from the earlier-mentioned names — most have been consumed by the debts contracted during a not-too-distant past when animal spirits truly reigned. GVK only recently was forced to sell its prized Mumbai International Airport to the Adani Group, which has also acquired Navayuga's Krishnapatnam Port.
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The transition from "entrepreneurial" to "conglomerate" capitalism has obvious repercussions from an economic and business standpoint. In many industries — from telecom, airlines, steel, cement and aluminium to synthetic fibres, polymers, toiletries, tea and biscuits — there are now two, at most three, players holding dominant market position. Some groups have leadership straddling multiple sectors: Reliance (petrochemicals, telecom and retail), Tata (steel, commercial vehicles, salt and IT services), Aditya Birla (cement, aluminium and chlor-alkali) and Adani (ports, private power, branded edible oil and, next, airports).
But no less important are the ramifications for politics. The political scientist Adam Ziegfeld has shown that regional parties thrive when coalition governments are the order of the day. On the other hand, if single-party majority rule becomes the norm, political actors have little incentive to establish or join state-level parties that can share the spoils of power at the Centre. A corollary to this is that the regional capitalist no longer has ministers or MPs through whom he can get things done in New Delhi. They are as powerless as he is.
Opinion | Modi's leadership is evolving, even as his opponents continue to be in a time warp
The absence of intermediation channels for medium-scale or even many large industrialists isn't helped by the party at the Centre not really requiring their money. The BJP under Narendra Modi, like Indira Gandhi's Congress in its time, faces no political competition within or outside. It can afford to operate a centralised funding system overwhelmingly reliant on Big Capital. Not only regional parties, even the once-powerful liquor, contractor, sugar or arhtiya lobby hardly matter in the new business-political oligarchy regime. Their support isn't needed when unlimited large corporate financing is possible through electoral bonds that protect the donor's identity and the contributions are tax-deductible to boot.
If the current agitation against the undermining of the traditional agricultural produce mandi system is any indication, the challenge to the oligarchy will come only from below. The political Opposition can latch on at best.
This article first appeared in the print edition on December 5, 2020 under the title 'The super centre'. Write to the author at harish.damodaran@expressindia.com.
Harish DamodaranThe writer, national rural affairs and agriculture editor for The Indi... read more
In election heat, a hot potato: the Telangana ban on supplies from Uttar Pradesh
Solution to stagnant prices, rising costs: Intercropping
Amid DAP shortages, sales of complex fertilisers soar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I bought some beautiful vintage Louis french chairs on eBay for $40 each. A fabulous price because the guy sold them as Victorian chairs, if he's used the word French they would have gone for a lot more. Yay for bargains! Well I've finished one of them and my little boy has staked a claim on it for his upcoming 5th birthday.
I have to agree with Miss Mustard Seed and say that a staple gun is totally the wrong tool for the job but it's all I had so I made do. There were a couple of points along the way where I really doubted my ability to do this and nearly gave up but I'm so pleased I kept going. That blue upholstery trim hides a multitude of sins!!
Here is the before photo.
I took me ages to remove this tapestry upholstery. I ended up with blisters and sore hands. I then sanded back the chair and painted the first coat in Dulux's Limed White and then second coat with Dulux's Limed White quarter strength. I then lightly distressed it and using a Walnut wood stain and a very fine artist's brush I highlighted the detail of the chair. I was really scared of doing this but figured that I only paid $40 for each chair that I may as well experiment with it. I then gave it all a top coat using a water based polyurethane.
I used the striped material as have made some curtains for my boy's bedroom with this material. The material also has a little bit of grey in it and it nicely matches the paint colour I used. It was really hard doing the upholstery! But I am pleased with the result.
and here is it next to the other chair I still have to do. My daughter wants this second one for her room.
after on left and before on right.
What a difference! I love the new fabric,it looks great. So glad you didn't give up!
I wanted to invite you to link this to my Transformations and Treasures party tomorrow!
What and amazing transformation. This would make a fabulous dining room furniture addition or accent piece.
This is beautiful! It must've been made by the same furniture maker as mine. The flowers at the top and arms are exactly the same.
gorgeous! what i really love is that bit of contrast trim- it really pops!
You did such an amazing job. I just love it. I found you over at the Shabby Chic Cottage. I am your latest follower. I would love for you to come and check out my blog and follow me back at www.diybydesign.blogspot.com. Thanks so much.
Beautiful!! I love the fabric you picked!
Wow, what a transformation. The shape of the chairs is so pretty.
Oooh I love this chair! The shape and style! I love the color paint and the fabric for the chair. It is just perfect!
I'm so glad you linked this up! Again, love this transformation, you did an outstanding job. Have a great weekend!
What a fabulous job you have done! Your chair looks great! Thanks for commenting on my scrabble tile pendants.
Love your chair! It turned out darling! You did such an amazing job!
It sure doesn't look like you had a hard time, it looks gorgeous! I wish I had the nerve to tackle the job, been wanting to forever but unlike you I haven't found the courage!
hi Fiona! Thanks so much for stopping by, you did a fabulous job on your chair! It does get easier as you start to understand how they are put together :0) I think I'm getting addicted to it! ;0) Good luck on your second!
I have two of these exact chairs I need to recover! If you have any helpful tips, I would be grateful!! It's been a year of procrastinating!!
Your chair turned out lovely. I have been keeping an eye out for some on craigslist and kijiji, but that sure sounds like a lot of work prepping them!


On December 1st, the Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments in TetraTech v. DOR, Appeal No. 2015AP2019, DWD v. LIRC (Beres), Appeal No. 2016AP1365, and Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. LIRC, Appeal No. 2016AP355.
Here is a rundown of what happened.
For a description of the issues in this case, see TetraTech: Agency discretion and "process".
The company began with agency deference, taking advantage of the Revenue Department's concession that great weigh deference was no longer valid and that even due weight deference was not provided for under ch.227 except when the agency's technical expertise was in play.
There was some general discussion of the facts in the case: which company did what task as part of the clean-up. TetraTech's main point here was that in practical terms there was no real consumer good being sold, and so the sales tax in question lacked the basic requirement of a consumer good to be valid. Likewise, the cleanup of the polluted river silt did not lead to any new product that could be sold on a market of some kind.
The solicitor general disputed these points, claiming that the tax in question was valid because of: (1) the company's role in processing the polluted silt or (2) its role as a consumer of the silt and water after cleaning by a sub-contractor.
The justices' main concern was with how broadly the Revenue Department was interpreting the "processing" at issue in this case. Several justices indicated that the statutory term in this case — "processing" — was incredibly broad and could be applied to almost anything a company did. Accordingly, on several occasions they asked for guidance from counsel on how to narrow a reading of the term in some structured way. The Revenue Department advocated for a broad reading of "processing" based on the dictionary definition. TetraTech, on the other hand, sought to limit "processing" to a physical change in the raw materials rather than just the separation of materials into distinct parts or the enhancement of personal property in a way that creates commercial value.
In regards to agency deference, the Department of Revenue contended that agency deference only meant that a court could take account of the agency viewpoint and be persuaded by that viewpoint. In light of the amicus brief from the Wisconsin Utilities Association, the solicitor general indicated that courts could acknowledge the technical expertise of utilities when reviewing the rates set by those utilities.
Justice Gableman, however, apparently would go further in limiting court deference to state agencies. He asked specifically whether less deference was due to a state agency that was a party to the case than a neutral party that produces learned treatises (and most likely amicus briefs as well). This concern mirrored what Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce raised in its amicus brief in this case.
For the legislative history, see Beres/absenteeism at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Part 1. For the facts and legal issues, see Beres: Agency discretion to undo a statutory scheme.
Counsel for the Department of Workforce Development began by proclaiming that great weight deference was invalid and even due weight deference was problematic. Prior to the current deference scheme, the solicitor general remarked, early court decisions had usually questioned and doubted the views of administrative agencies. In the current deference scheme, on the other hand, courts had ceded this caution and instead uncritically accepted the viewpoints of state agencies as valid simply because a state agency was behind that viewpoint. By failing to come up with its own interpretation and accepting the proffered rationale of an administrative agency, the Department explained, courts had improperly ceded their own authority and responsibility to determine for themselves what a law should mean.
NOTE: The solicitor general cited Boynton Cab v. Neubeck, 237 Wis. 249 (1941) as an example of the hard work of interpretation a court should always be doing. The problem with this claim is that the court in Boynton Cab relied heavily on and followed numerous reports and decisions of British and federal administrative agencies to determine what the term "misconduct" should mean for unemployment purposes.
As in TetraTech, the solicitor general would only concede that the limited deference due a state agency was the deference due a party for its persuasiveness (similar to the deference a higher court gives to a lower court that provides a persuasive analysis of an issue).
Furthermore, Borgnis was NOT on point, the Department responded when pushed, because the court review then was extremely limited to a jurisdictional question and did not inquire into whether an administrative agency had improperly usurped court authority.
As for the absenteeism provision itself, the Department argued that a plain reading of this statute allowed the employer to set its own misconduct disqualification, and the Commission's arguments to the contrary were neither grammatically sound or in sync with the unemployment statute as a whole.
The Commission's oral argument started with the strange question from Justice Abrahamson about why the Commission could not get along with the Department and somehow resolve these disputes prior to court action. Given that the Commission has statutory responsibility to decide how unemployment law should be interpreted and that the Commissioners themselves are independent of the governor (they have set terms and can only be removed for cause), this question made no sense. If the Department has a valid and strongly held dispute with the Commission over a Commission decision, then the only way to get that dispute resolved is through litigation. In no way should the Commission ever be responsible for getting disputes with the Department resolved through some kind of backroom deal. Such action would call into question the very independence that is condicio sine qua non to the Commission.
To keep matters off kilter, Justice Gableman repeated his concern from TetraTech about a state agency being a party to a dispute and so possibly biased in some improper way whereas a neutral law firm could provide unbiased guidance regarding the legal questions at issue. The response from the Commission about the legislature designating that administrative agency as having shared authority with courts for reviewing administrative law decisions did not seem to convince the justice that his concern over alleged agency bias was statutorily suspect.
Justice Gableman also pushed the Commission to explain what was wrong with the kind of persuasive deference lower courts could have on appellate courts under de novo review. The Commission's response: the Commission is statutorily charged with deciding the legal disputes that come its way and by far most of those decisions are never appealed to court. See, for instance, the Commission's statistics page. To do otherwise would scuttle the precedent Commission decisions provide employees and employers.
For the Commission, the holding in Borgnis was directly on point and reflected the simply reasonable notion that a court defer to a state agency when offering up a reasonable interpretation of the law. Some justices seemed to accept this point, others in addition to Justice Gableman seemed to reject it, and some (notably Chief Justice Roggansack) seemed to be on the fence.
The justices also seemed split on the absenteeism provision and whether the more than two absences in 120 days provision in the first part was a floor that no employer could lower or a default for when the employer lacked its own absenteeism policy. The Commission posited that this provision was a floor, and so the employee in Beres was not disqualified because her absence was not her fault and only a single absence. If this provision was just an option for an employer, then an employer would be free to set its own disqualification standard no matter how severe to its employees.
For a summary of this case, see Making factual findings subject to never-ending review: Wisconsin Bell.
The focus on agency deference in the first two cases allowed the oral argument here to focus almost entirely on the substance of discrimination law. The ensuring discussion, however, was hardly about the intersection of discrimination and disability law. Rather, the questions and answers almost entirely concerned the factual record in this case. As one of the attorneys observed after oral argument was over, it seemed like a motion for summary judgment was being heard. At one point, Justice Abrahamson even asked rhetorically where the discussion of the inference method had gone.
So, the factual record was immediately in play in this matter. Justice Gableman and Chief Justice Roggansack wanted to know what evidence the employer had to support its claims that the employee's disability was illegitimate and nothing more than the shirking of job duties. The employer's theory of the case, however, did not turn on the court re-assessing the credibility of the evidence presented. As a result, Wisconsin Bell could not point to evidence in the record to counter the employee's claims in large part because the employer had never presented such counter evidence at the administrative hearing. Indeed, Chief Justice Roggansack along with Justice Bradley challenged the employer about whether specific findings of fact in the record were clearly erroneous, and Wisconsin Bell had to admit that there WAS evidence in the record to support those findings.
NOTE: Only Justice Kelly seemed ready to agree that court review of the factual record was needed anew when reviewing the case. For him, a new look at the factual record could verify the employer's concerns about the employee's alleged shirking. Justice Gableman also seemed ready for some additional court review of the facts if a reason for such review was presented to him. At several points, he voiced concerns about the employee working disability law to his advantage. In other words, Justice Gableman thought it improper in some way for an employee to exercise his rights in an astute manner.
Rather, the conceit of the employer's case turned on a change in discrimination law that would make the employer's decisions unassailable unless there was a some kind of admission by it of an illicit intent. It did not seem that the justices were ready to adopt that legal position, however (it barely came up at all). Only Justice R. Bradley indicated that she was willing to alter the law in a substantial way when she cited a statutory exception to Wisconsin's discrimination law — Wis. Stat. § 111.34(2)(a) — as allowing any employer to discharge its employees who fail to do their assigned job duties regardless of their disabilities. This provision, however, is simply an affirmative defense available to employers to allow them to discharge permanently disabled employees who can no longer perform necessary job duties — like firefighters having their employment terminated should they become blind — and has nothing to do with employees who have temporary disabilities or illnesses that occasionally limit how they perform their jobs. So, it is unclear how this provision could be transformed in the way J. Bradley indicated.


text:
In Review: Alien vs. Predator: Fire and Stone #3
Recommended for fans of the films or those that like terror in space.
by Patrick Hayes December 6, 2014
The cover: Things have really gone wrong–horribly wrong. A Predator has been infected with a genetic accelerant and, as can be seen, has mutated into something else entirely: its size has doubled, its muscles and head have grown in grotesque fashion, a third arm is growing out of its shoulder, but the most obvious change is with its mouth, which has become an impossible wide maw of teeth. Yet, this creature still retains that it has to kill the xenomorphs. E.M. Gist has captured the power and hideousness of this creature in superb fashion. This is the one cover of this week's books that just screams wrong. Overall grade: A
The story: Last issue ended with synthetic, mutating Elden being attacked by the alien drones that once followed him. He can't understand why this is happening as the creatures tear at his body, and in dramatic fashion tear off his face, revealing he's more Alien looking than he expected. As this is occurring, Francis is being held at knife point by a Predator. Just as it seems this character will kill him, the Predator smells his blood and drops him on the floor. Francis is dying and is not worth pursuing or killing. As the Predator walks away to find better prey, Francis yells at its back, "If you see Elden…Tell him I'm looking for him." The mutating android is trying to keep the xenomorphs off of him, telling them they are on the same side, but they're not having it. As he tries to protect himself, readers see a blue outline appear, showing that Elden's battle is being observed. This penultimate chapter by Christopher Sebela moves at a really quick clip. Elden is fighting the aliens, meets the Predator, face-to-face, and has a confrontation with Francis. The mutated Predator is lurking in the shadows, and its appearance changes the situation instantly. The biggest twist in the book is Francis getting his wish. This book has building to this moment and Sebela in no uncertain terms reminds readers to be careful what you wish for. Lots of action, lots of changes, and a terrific cliffhanger. Only one more issue to go, and don't want this experience to end! Overall grade: A+
The art: Art and colors done by Ariel Olivetti. Gorgeously graphic moments involving all the characters. Elden already had won the award for Most Likely To Have Been a Clive Barker Nightmare, but his look changes in this chapter. It definitely alters how readers thought of this character before and made his dialogue on Pages 15 – 21 unsettling. As the lone human, Francis seems as though he would get boring for an artist to illustrate or an audience to focus on. Not this month, folks. Something happens to him that makes him an individual that draws the eye…in the worst possible way. The unaltered Predator is movie quality perfect and the mutated Predator is nightmare quality perfect. It's so gross, but I just cannot stop looking at it. The xeonmorphs are also perfect, and as they attack and are attacked they make me want to watch one of their films right away. There's quite a bit of action that all the characters go through, with individuals being thrown, beaten, attacked, attacking others, and dying. The motion of the characters is solid, with Elden being the most active in the book, and his scenes against the rebelling aliens look the best. The setting of Kamos is consistent with ships seen in the films, and there's always a dark corner where someone can take pause or something is just waiting to explode from. Excellent visuals. Overall grade: A
The letters: The lettering in this issue is done by Nate Piekos of Blambot, who provides dialogue, sounds, Predator speak, ship transmissions, and special Francis speak. I loved the latter, as it highlighted what Francis was enduring. Overall grade: A
The final line: Evil is shown in many forms and all are amazing to watch. Recommended for fans of the films or those that like terror in space. Overall grade: A
AlienAlien vs. Predator: Fire and StoneAlien vs. Predator: Fire and Stone 3Ariel OlivettiBlambotChristopher SebelaE.M. GistEldenFeatureFrancis LaneNate PiekosPredatorxenomorph
In Review: Angel & Faith: Season 10 #9
by Patrick Hayes - Dec 6, 2014
In Review: Atlantis – The Marriage Of True Minds
by Ian Cullen - Dec 6, 2014