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Rita Benton Music Library Blog
SOUNDS FROM THE FIELD – Hearing Hollywood in Iowa's Special Collections: Casting and Composing for the Four Daughters films
Posted on September 24, 2019 September 30, 2019 by Katie Buehner
by Nathan Platte
One of the problems of being a film historian is that you sometimes stumble across movies that require immediate love and attention. Four Daughters is one such film for me.
Falling short of "classic" status, this sentimental family drama fared more than well when it was released in 1938. The film's adamant normalcy—a happy, middle-class family ensconced in a suburb untouched by the Great Depression—appealed to audiences. Its impressive popularity at the box office compelled Warner Bros. to make three more films with the same starring cast: a spinoff, Daughters Courageous (1939), and two sequels titled (spoiler alert) Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941). Fifteen years later, Warner Bros. would revive the Four Daughters story again for Doris Day and Frank Sinatra, retitling it Young at Heart (1955). Four Daughters also launched the screen career of John Garfield, cast in the unlikely role of an orchestrator. (He was, at least, a cynical, embittered orchestrator—more Garfield's style.)
In this advertisement printed in Variety, October 27, 1926, Leota and Lola are billed above Ray Bolger, who in 1939 would be cast as the Scarecrow in MGM's The Wizard of Oz. Courtesy of the open-access Media History Digital Library.
Four Daughters has some interesting connections to Iowa and to special collections within the state. I've learned about these materials in the process of researching the film's music, and I'm happy for the opportunity to share these now. They may interest you in the films and the Hollywood history that is preserved in Iowan collections.
Like Little Women, Four Daughters is about four, close-knit sisters: Emma, Thea, Kay, and Ann. Until they find husbands, the young women live with their father, who teaches music at the local conservatory. Days are filled with music, dad jokes, and friendly sparring for the affections of Felix, a young composer at the conservatory. All is sunny until a cranky orchestrator named Mickey arrives, making everything complicated and interesting. For casting, Warner Bros. landed a novelty: Thea, Kay, and Ann are played by actual sisters: Lola, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. The Lanes hailed from Indianola, Iowa, and Four Daughters was not their first encounter with show business.
The real name of the Lane family was Mullican, and they had not three daughters but five. Starting with the eldest, there was Leotabel (Leota), Martha, Dorothy (Lola), Rosemary, and Priscilla. Of the bunch, all but Martha performed on the stage professionally. The Mullican family took advantage of their proximity to Simpson College. They boarded students, and the sisters took music lessons at Simpson. Martha even eloped with a professor. (Remarkably, all of these events anticipate plot points in Four Daughters and Four Wives. The resemblances are purely coincidental.)
Priscilla and Rosemary Lane are featured here as the singers for Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. This picture was published in Radio Digest, June 1933. Courtesy of the open- access Media History Digital Library.
The older Leota and Lola took to musical theater in the 1920s, playing in revues and shows, where they occasionally sang together as a sister act. Lola eventually went to Hollywood in the late 1920s; Leota soon followed, but struggled to land parts. Meanwhile, Rosemary and Priscilla initiated their own sister act in New York with Fred Waring's band, The Pennsylvanians. When Waring and the band were cast in the Warner Bros. film Varsity Show (1937), Rosemary and Priscilla received major parts. Contracts from Warner Bros. kept the sisters in California, much to the dismay of Waring, whose sojourn to Tinseltown cost him several key members of his band. Rosemary next joined Lola in Hollywood Hotel (1937), with the sisters receiving second and third billing behind the inconceivably cheerful star, Dick Powell.
Given the four sisters' film experience, one might logically expect them to join forces in Four Daughters. Hollywood, however, is neither logical nor kind to families. Warner Bros. evidently tested Leota but selected Gale Page as Emma, the eldest sister, for the film. (To her credit, Page handles her tricky role admirably.) How this setback was felt among the Lanes is anyone's guess, but a brief article from Boxoffice shows Leota didn't let Hollywood break her or her family.
The article reads:
Leota Lane, who has been visiting Sisters Lola, Rosemary, and Priscilla while they have been making Four Wives for Warner Bros., will present a concert in Indianola, the Lane girls' home town, Tuesday, December 5.
Leota, the eldest of the Lane girls, was once a stage name with Sister Lola. During the last year she has been studying voice at the Juilliard School of Music.
After Leota's concert at the Methodist Church, old friends will greet her at a public reception in the Simpson College administration building. (Boxoffice, 2 December 1939)
Tucked in the corner of the regional news section, the article is quietly affecting. I hope her recital went well.
Publicity shot from Four Daughters held in Simpson College's Lane Sisters Collection. From left to right: Thea (Lola Lane), Ann (Priscilla Lane), Emma (Gale Page), father (Claude Rains), and Kay (Rosemary Lane). Image courtesy of Simpson College Archives.
There's a quirky epilogue concerning the sisters: Although Leota was excluded from Four Daughters and the three films that followed, she was cast with her siblings in the Lux Theatre radio adaptations of Four Daughters and Four Wives. On the radio waves, at least, she resumed her regular role as eldest daughter. Today, pictures, papers, and memorabilia from the Lane sisters' careers are preserved in the Mark Felton Collection in the Simpson College Archives.
More Four Daughters material has since made its way to Iowa. The Libraries have two archival scripts from the production. There's a copy of a revised script, dated 12 February 1938, held among the Robert Blees' Papers at the University of Iowa's Special Collections. Robert Blees' career as a screenwriter took off in the 1940s and 1950s (Magnificent Obsession is among his credits), and it's not clear that Blees had any connection with Four Daughters. But his employment in the studio's story department meant he had ready access to scripts, and the version preserved among his papers is a rare transitional document that occasionally diverges from the final shooting script. Comparing Blees' copy of this revised—but not yet final—script with the film is a little like watching deleted film scenes from more recent titles: the differences show the film's story to be more flexible and uncertain of itself. The discrepancies allow alternative perspectives on the characters and story to slip in.
Another copy of the film's script in Special Collections was annotated by a musician directly engaged with the production. Max Rabinowitsch (or "Rabinowitz" or "Rabinowitsh," as it is sometimes spelled) had been hired to assist with the film's many scenes of onscreen musicmaking. A professional pianist, Rabinowitsch was known among Los Angeles concertgoers as an exemplary recital accompanist who performed alongside luminaries like Nathan Milstein, Fyodor Chaliapin, and Joseph Achron. (Later, Jascha Heifetz would help set up Rabinowitsch as a private piano teacher to the young and promising André Previn, who went on to write film scores, perform in jazz combos, compose concert music, and enjoy international renown as a conductor.) Rabinowitsch also belonged to a small group of studio pianists who were called upon to make famous stars sound musical. While an actor pantomimed a virtuosic performance at the piano onscreen, the efforts of an actual pianist surged from the theater's speakers. (Sometimes getting actors to look musical was still a challenge. Hal Wallis, the producer for Four Daughters, complained that the film's bachelor composer looked more like he was digging a ditch than playing piano.)
Excerpt from Max Rabinowitsch's annotated script. When Ann is "struck by the music," Rabinowitsch writes "he starts to play my composition after 'at least smiled.'" (His words are written out of order.) Image courtesy of Special Collections, the University of Iowa Libraries.
Rabinowitsch did more than assist with onscreen music performances. He also wrote an original piece of music. Well, technically, part of a piece. There are two musical works in the film that are "composed" by characters in the story. One piece is by composer Felix, who hires Mickey, the jaded orchestrator, to arrange it. The piece is entered in a competition and, naturally, wins first prize. The other work is by Mickey. He plays a melody on the piano for only one person—Ann, the youngest daughter—and insists that it is not a full composition but "only a middle." Rabinowitsch wrote that "middle," and you can hear him performing his own work as Garfield's arms wander vaguely over the keyboard.
In the film, the orchestrator's inability to complete his composition is another mark of his inadequacy. For Rabinowitsch, however, this was an unexpected and welcome diversion. Rabinowitsch appears not to have published any compositions before or after this, and in Hollywood he was hired to play piano, not compose. But in this case, Max Steiner, the chief composer of Four Daughters' background score, took the unusual step of having Rabinowitsch dream up something for the onscreen orchestrator. Rabinowitsch was clearly proud of his contribution. He dedicated his 21-measure piece to "Hula Boy Max Steiner" (a grinning reference to Steiner's recent Hawaii vacation). And in his annotated copy of the script, for the scene in which Mickey privately shares "his" melody with Ann, Rabinowitsch scrawls "He starts to play my composition."
You won't find Rabinowitsch's name in the screen credits for Four Daughters. Such omissions were common during this era of filmmaking. But another bizarre epilogue rescued Rabinowitsch's authorship from anonymity. In the sequel Four Wives, the screenwriters decided that Mickey's "middle" would be magnanimously finished by Felix—a musical role reversal that would culminate in a lengthy concert hall performance. The arrangement of this fictional symphony was largely managed by Max Steiner, but he was arranging Rabinowitsch's theme, so the film's screen credits include a rare attribution: "Mickey's theme by Max Rabinowitsh." This must be one of the few instances in which a single melody receives its own credit line. Conveniently, the symphony features a lengthy piano solo which was written and performed by Rabinowitsch himself. Rabinowitsch is also the pianist onscreen performing among the ranks of the orchestra—finally seen as well as heard.
The scripts from Four Daughters represent a sliver of an iceberg's worth of film-related material preserved in the Special Collections. There are thousands of documents, including scripts, production materials, correspondences, music, fan ephemera, and (naturally) much more. An overview of these contents is available here. For those interested in watching any of the Four Daughters films or the 1955 Young at Heart remake, DVDs of the titles are held in the library's collection.
Recommended Further Readings
For more on the Lane Sisters, see these profiles from the Des Moines Register:
https://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/leota-lane
https://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/rosemary-lane
https://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/lola-lane
https://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/priscilla-lane
To survey materials from the Lane Sisters Collection at Simpson College, visit: https://simpson.edu/dunn-library/archives-special-collections/joseph-w-walt-research-library-college-archives/lane
For more on Four Daughters, see Catherine Jurca, Hollywood 1938: Motion Pictures' Greatest Year (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012), 139–150; and Jennifer Forrest, "Of `True' Sequels: The Four Daughters Movies, or the Series That Wasn't," in Second Takes: Critical Approaches to the Film Sequel, eds. Carolyn Jess-Cooke and Constantine Verevis (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2010), 31-44.
A special thanks to librarian Cynthia Dyer of Simpson College, the staff of the University of Iowa's Special Collections, and music librarian Katie Buehner, without whom this work would not have been possible.
Nathan Platte is an associate professor of musicology in School of Music with an affiliated appointment in the Department of Cinematic Arts. His most recent book, Making Music in Selznick's Hollywood (Oxford University Press, 2018), explores films like Gone With the Wind, Since You Went Away, and Spellbound. Nathan's research on the Four Daughters films is featured in the forthcoming anthology, Voicing the Cinema (University of Illinois Press).
Posted in Sounds From the Field
EXHIBIT: 95 [YEARS OF] THESES
In 1923, department chair Philip Greeley Clapp established graduate studies in music at the University of Iowa, and in 1924/25, the first students concluded their course of study with the submission of musical compositions and documents as theses. Over the last 95 years, Iowa graduates have submitted musical works, performing and critical editions, historical and theoretical studies, arrangements and transcriptions, bibliographies, and most recently, audio recordings as thesis as the capstone project of their master's or doctoral degree in music at the University of Iowa.
This exhibit invites you to explore the breadth and depth of Iowa music theses, both in substance and style. Objects on display will rotate periodically and will be organized around different themes, such as theses about music in Iowa and the UI School of Music, prize winning projects, compositions, recordings, and more.
Week One: Early Theses
Starbuck, Anna Margaret. "Smoke and steel ; a symphonic poem." Master's thesis, University of Iowa, 1925.
Two compositions were submitted for thesis in the summer of 1925; Pandora by Marian Edman and Smoke and Steel by Anna Margaret Starbuck. The latter was daughter of piano and organ professor, Anna Diller Starbuck, who figures prominently in the correspondence of music department chair, P. G. Clapp.
Clapp wrote in a letter to his wife, "Margaret Starbuck is finding, to her surprise and consternation, that finishing her score is a big job. She is keeping at it – now! – and will, I think, finish her work, especially as I have a notion (which naturally I am not publishing) that I can get her a time extension of about three days at the end, if necessary; but her parents are clearly worried, and are starting a prophylactic rumor that I could excuse her from finishing if I were decent and chose."
In the end, Margaret completed the project on time and graduated as a Master of Music. Her composition, Smoke and Steel, was inspired by the Carl Sandburg poem of the same name.
Early theses compositions were handwritten manuscripts written in ink, so Margaret's struggles to complete her project are understandable. A close look at her score reveals the underlying pencil marks, and in several places, she had to scrape away the paper to remove mistakes.
Camp, Audrey Beryl. "An analysis of cadential progressions in selected compositions of Claude Achille Debussy." Master's thesis, University of Iowa, 1924.
The first written music thesis analyzed Debussy's Arabesque No. 2 and Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, charting the cadences with observance to their function and effect. Camp's project may seem mundane, but consider that Debussy died only six years before the thesis was written and his music still relatively new (though the works studied were more than twenty years old).
The thesis shows the limitations of typewriters in handling musical needs, for Camp found it necessary to write in sharps, flats, and intervals. This may be why Camp included no musical examples in the thesis – only measure numbers. Subsequent thesis writers pasted or taped handwritten examples into their documents.
Following graduation, Camp moved to Arizona, where a census record lists her as a teacher at the state university. She married Cecil Clampitt in 1930 and died at the age of 87 in Tuscon.
Week Two: Award Winning Theses
Lasocki, David Ronald Graham. "Professional recorder players in England, 1540-1740." PhD diss., University of Iowa, 1983.
The D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize was established to recognize excellence in doctoral research. Each year, a winner of the D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize is eligible to become the University of Iowa's nominee in the national competition for the Council of Graduate Schools/University Microfilms International Distinguished Dissertation Award. In 1984, David Lasocki became the first of five Hawkeyes to receive the Spriesterbach and the International Distinguished Dissertation Award.
Lasocki went on to publish numerous performing editions of flute and recorder repertoire. His book, The Recorder: a research and information guide, is in its third edition. He also co-published several performance guides with Iowa's emeritus flute professor Betty Bang Mather.
Lasocki worked as a reference librarian at the William and Gayle Cook Music Library at Indiana University, Bloomington for many years. In retirement, he still researches and writes about historical performance and the recorder.
Snyder, Suzanne Gail. "The Männerchor tradition in the United States : a historical analysis of its contribution to American musical culture." PhD diss., University of Iowa, 1991.
Männerchors, or male singing societies, were active in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century, though most folded following the world wars. While several studies had examined specific männerchor or focused on a defined region, Snyder's thesis endeavored to "explore the Männerchor from both the local and regional view, and much attention…given to the Sängerfests of regional federations…These festivals significantly influenced the musical climate of the times, and let to the establishment of music festivals across the United States, many of which are in still in existence today."
In her acknowledgements, Snyder credits UI musicologist Dr. Fred Crane for "interesting me in a topic that has been fascinating and immensely rewarding." Crane's personal collection of musical Iowana informed sections of Snyder's study [see medallion left].
Snyder's dissertation received the Rita Benton Dissertation Award. She continued writing about männerchor, including a chapter about sängerfests in Indianapolis for the book Music and culture in America, 1861-1918 (Garland, 1998).
Week Three: University of Iowa School of Music Histories
Biggers, Samuel Carter., Jr. "On Iowa! a history of The University of Iowa Marching Band, 1881-2012." DMA diss., University of Iowa, 2012. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2439/.
As the author of this thesis notes, "The Hawkeye Marching Band is the most visible ensemble in the School of Music, and it is one of the largest student groups at the University…" In fact, marching bands at the University pre-date the formation of the School of Music, having started in 1881 with the University Battalion Band (six cornets, two alto horns, two tenor horns, one baritone, two basses, tenor and bass drums, and cymbals), and was part of the Military Department.
Biggers's study is a rich mix of oral and documented history. University yearbooks, other historical studies on musical activities at Iowa, departmental records, local newspapers (including The Daily Iowan), photographs, drill charts, and business papers all served to inform this document.
The appendices are also of note, because Biggers collated lists of drum majors, student leaders, work crews, librarians, twirlers, band announcers, recordings, trophy recipients, and staff.
Posted in Exhibits, School of Music History
Wulfie Parsons Music Library Guide: 2019 Edition
Posted on August 22, 2019 December 13, 2019 by Katie Buehner
In the summer of 2018, the Rita Benton Music Library "adopted" Wülfie Parsons, who belonged previously to Dr. Donna Parsons.
He's always on the prowl near the Service Desk, decked out in his Hawkeye black and gold kerchief, keeping the Music Library in tip-top shape.
Wülfie's seen a lot happen at the Music Library during his first year, and here are some tips he has for new and returning students, faculty and staff at the start of the 2019 academic year.
1. Consult the expertise of our excellent student workers
The Music Library hires 10-15 student workers each year who spend their time processing new items, sewing scores into those blue binders, re-shelving books, scores, and recordings, and answering your questions about how the library works and what to do when something goes awry. They are well-trained by the full-time staff members, and know the stacks inside and out. They can also help when the printers run out of ink, the scanners are acting strangely, and if you need to find a stapler. Wülfie would also like everyone to know they give the best ear scritches.
2. Recycle! Trash and recycling bins are located at the front entrance.
Trying to figure out what to do with scrap paper, empty beverage containers, and other recyclables that need to be disposed of while in the Library? There's a recycling bin right next to the security gates at the entrance to the Library. If you realize you need a regular trash receptacle, you can use the can next to the in-library printer or the one next to the recycling bin.
3. Be respectful of fellow patrons and take voice and video calls outside of the Library.
There are times when you may need to speak to someone on the phone or video chat with them during your time at the Library. Please realize that the Library is viewed as a quiet-ish space, designed to allow students to focus on their work. Loud and even whispered conversations can cause anxiety for others and disrupt their concentration.
We've had a few times in the last year where patrons also found the level of noise coming from the Library workroom to be disruptive. The Library full-time and student staff can sometimes be louder than they realize (including the librarian), so if we are being disruptive, please let us know! We will pipe down. That includes Wülfie, who has a bad habit of practicing his howling techniques at odd hours.
4. Bring snacks! Bring coffee! Eat full or hot meals in other spaces.
Wülfie can tell you, the Music Librarian loves coffee, and every musician knows how important it is to stay hydrated. Bring beverages into the library, but please bring them inside a container with a lid.
Snacks, like granola bars or fruit or cookies, are also welcome. If you plan to eat a hot meal, like a re-heated frozen dinner or pizza or foods that make a fair amount of noise or odor, please find another place in Voxman to eat. The downstairs lounge, which has a fridge, microwave, sink, and is without carpet, makes a far more amenable place for eating meals. Crumbs and spills can damage library items, or attract creatures to the stacks.
If you bring a dog biscuit for Wülfie, that's totally OK, too. In fact, it is encouraged.
5. Follow the University Tobacco-Free Campus Policy. No smoking, including vaping, in the Library.
Wülfie doesn't have much to add to this item, except to say that if you need to review the University's Tobacco-Free Campus policy, it's available here.
SOUNDS FROM THE FIELD – Anthony Burgess in Iowa City: How Clockwork Orange's Author Came to Write a Symphony for the University of Iowa
Posted on April 2, 2019 May 2, 2019 by Katie Buehner
The English novelist Anthony Burgess visited Iowa City in 1975 to teach at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. His course received endorsement in the "Letters to the Editor" section of the Daily Iowan. "I would like to thank the Iowa English Department for arranging such a unique class as Problems of the Modern Novel and for arranging to have Mr. Anthony Burgess teach this subject," wrote Kevin Cookie. "I can honestly say that Anthony Burgess did present in fine form a considerable number of problems."
In a move that distinguished him from other visiting writers, Burgess brought with him a new symphony. He had written it specially for James Dixon and the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra.
Explained Burgess:
I'd had a long-standing invitation to visit the University of Iowa, internationally known for, among other things, its Writers' Workshop, but something always got in the way of acceptance. Then I received a letter from Jim Dixon—not the hero of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim but the conductor of the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra—asking me if I had anything in stock, musical of course not literary, that the orchestra might perform when, if, I came there. This seemed too good to be true. Neglect of my music by the orchestra of the Old World was what mainly turned me into a novelist, but most of this music had by now been blitzed, lost, torn up, and I had nothing in stock. So just before last Christmas I bought myself a half-hundredweight of scoring paper and starting writing a symphony.
Composition of the "Symphony in C" began in Italy, around Christmas of 1974. Burgess conceded that some passages were composed under the influence of "Christmas bibulosity," though "the writing seems sober enough." The rest was penned during a tour of the United States, with Burgess laboring mightily midst airport muzak. "Do the people responsible for this bland abomination," mused Burgess, "realize that there are people around desperately trying to compose music of their own?"
When Mr. Dixon brought the work before the orchestra, Burgess responded with delight: "I attended the first rehearsal and was awed at the large competence of all those delectable kids in blue jeans…I had written over 30 books, but this was the truly great artistic moment." It wasn't all perfect, of course. Some of what Burgess had written needed fixing. Plus, "young people do not take kindly to pianissimo markings: they like to saw or blast away."
Not all the blue-jeaned musicians were exactly kids. The bass section included Laird Addis, who had received his bachelors and Ph.D. degrees from UI and was serving as a philosophy professor. (In addition to his forty-year tenure as a UI faculty member, Laird spent decades playing in the Quad City Symphony and cofounded the Iowa City Community String Orchestra. His passing in 2018 is keenly felt.) The violin section was helped by the presence of Candace Wiebener, another UI alumna who was by then already serving as City High School's Director of Orchestras. (She retired in 2012 and is active in the local music scene; she also plays in the Iowa City Community String Orchestra.) Googling the names of other musicians from the program produces a vivid illustration of what happens to young musicians who train intensively together and then disperse across the country: they teach, perform, and grow musical communities.
Program from the October 22, 1975 UI Symphony Orchestra concert
In A Clockwork Counterpoint, Paul Phillips begins his study of Burgess's music and music-infused writings with the Iowa City premiere of the symphony. His reason is simple: the concert affirmed within Burgess his calling to write music. This was no mere pat on the back; it was a rebalancing of the soul. Phillips notes that "unlike Paul Bowles and Bruce Montgomery, who compartmentalized writing and composing as independent activities, Burgess constantly sought ways to unite both halves of his creative personality." It was not always easy, as demand for Burgess's writings far outstripped interest in his many–over 250–compositions. It is telling, for instance, that Burgess compared his own exasperation over A Clockwork Orange's rampant notoriety to a composer's plight: Rachmaninoff, who came to begrudge audiences' obsession with his Prelude in C# Minor. Upon hearing the UI Symphony Orchestra play his own opus, Burgess realized that Iowa City was that rare space where his talents as writer and composer might be appreciated together, where the problems of the modern novel might coexist peaceably with a new symphony: "how blessed the opportunity, however brief, to communicate without preaching, without being groused at for delivering no or the wrong message—to communicate in pure sound, form, pattern."
Burgess left the manuscript score of his symphony—inscribed affectionately to James Dixon–with the university, where it is kept in the Canter Rare Book Room of the Rita Benton Music Library. Whatever distractions the Christmas celebrations and airport muzak posed, they have left relatively few signs of distress in the score itself, which is written neatly in ink. At one point Burgess lost or emptied his black pen, forcing an abrupt to switch to blue ink in the middle of the first movement. There are also some irreverent remarks printed in Arabic. Evidently proud of these idiosyncratic improprieties, Burgess referenced them in multiple commentaries on the symphony.
As a whole, the symphony exudes an affable eclecticism of styles, somewhat akin to the spirit of Leonard Bernstein's concert works. Also similar to Bernstein, the music's charismatic appeal to listeners is balanced by substantive challenges for players. No one gets off easy. Large swaths of the work flicker with rapid activity, intense contrasts in orchestral color, and rhythmically intricate handoffs. As a result, players must execute challenging passagework under very exposed circumstances. Burgess may have thought he was writing a symphony, but the players are tasked with a concerto for orchestra.
Given the sheer musical interest—and fun—of the symphony, it is surprising the work is not better known. (The symphony remains unpublished.) Dixon's own intention to release a professional recording with the UI Symphony is a plan that remains to be realized by a future director.
Even so, Dixon's invitation to Burgess and the composer's enthusiastic response call us to reassess our own capacity for versatile creativity—as well as our opportunities to elicit such creativity from others. "It follows," wrote Burgess, "that all novelists should also be symphonists and that their works should be performed in Iowa City. Good for their souls as well as for their primary craft. And it might also give them a chance to write gratefully about people like Jim Dixon and orchestras like the one he trains and conducts."
The Story behind the Story
I learned about Burgess's Iowa Symphony from Theodore Ziolkowski's Music Into Fiction: Composers Writing, Compositions Imitated, which music librarian Katie Buehner helpfully displayed on the new book shelf. I checked out the book because I liked the title and then placed it carefully alongside other well-titled books in my office. When I finally got around to opening it, I was surprised to find a reference to the symphony's premiere at UI.
A few searches in the catalog and further correspondences with Katie, Amy McBeth, and Christine Burke led to the printed program for the concert, Burgess's manuscript score, and the university's archival recording of the concert itself. Before seeing the score or hearing the recording, I was already hooked by Burgess's program note, which introduced the symphony to listeners in terms that were alternately engrossing and endearingly self-deprecating. At this point, the story seemed to be taking me by the hand. Being the obliging sort, I followed.
I studied Burgess's manuscript full score at the staff work table tucked behind the patron counter at the music library. This setup was different from my visits to collections with devoted tables for researchers. In those spaces—such as the University's Special Collections–researchers are set up with rare materials at a large table and left to commune with their selected sources. Score study of Burgess's symphony, in contrast, was fit alongside the daily work of student staff. My encounter with Burgess's music happened amidst the inner workings of the library itself, as students Alex, Anastasia, Ramin, and Shelby bound new music scores, loaded book carts, and helped patrons. I liked being close to these familiar rhythms, which reminded me of working as a student employee at the University of Michigan music library. That early experience of being surrounded by music and music scholarship had helped me find my way; UI's music library offers similar opportunities today.
And it is not a stretch to imagine Burgess approving as well, knowing that his music for Dixon and the UI Symphony contributes to the curiosity-driven economy of research, by which music-making sustains and is sustained by the efforts of staff and librarians. Burgess would be pleasantly surprised to know that the recording of the premiere has benefited from the library's care. "The work went on to tape," he noticed, "to be blurred by the magnetic apparatus used in airport security checks, eventually to be snarled up or to wear out or to be accidentally wiped off." While nothing material lasts forever, the university's records of that special Iowa City performance are for now well kept at the Rita Benton Music Library, where ongoing efforts to enliven local history—including historic premieres by our student ensembles—provide current students with means to pursue music studies and designs of their own.
Burgess, Anthony. "A Clockwork Orange Resucked (1986)." In A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1962, 1986.
Burgess, Anthony. "How I Wrote My Symphony." New York Times. 28 December 1975, 73.
Burgess, Anthony. "Symphony in C." Note published in the University Symphony Orchestra program. 22 October 1975.
Cookie, Kevin. "Burgess as Teacher." Daily Iowan. 31 October 1975.
Phillips, Paul. A Clockwork Counterpoint: The Music and Literature of Anthony Burgess. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.
Ziolkowski, Theodore. Music into Fiction: Composers Writing, Compositions Imitated. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2017.
Nathan Platte's research and teaching interests include American film music, opera, collaborative creativity, and musical adaptations across media. He has presented papers at national and international conferences, including the Society for American Music, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, the American Musicological Society, and the British Library. His articles and projects have received recognition from the University of Michigan (Louise E. Cuyler Prize in Musicology), Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (Dissertation Fellowship), the American Musicological Society (Publication Subvention), and Society for American Music (Mark Tucker Award and Wiley Housewright Dissertation Award).
Platte's publications explore film music of Hollywood's studio era from a variety of angles, including the collaborative process of film scoring, the intersection of technology and music, the role of studio orchestras, and soundtrack albums. His articles have appeared in many journals, including The Journal of Musicology, 19th-Century Music, and The Journal of the Society for American Music. Platte's work has also been published in anthologies, including Music in Epic Film: Listening to Spectacle (Routledge, 2017), where he contributed an essay on the Tara theme from Gone With the Wind, and Sound: Dialogue, Music, and Effects (Rutgers University Press, 2015), to which he contributed a chapter on production practices in postwar Hollywood. Platte's books include The Routledge Film Music Sourcebook (Routledge, 2012; coedited with James Wierzbicki and Colin Roust) and Franz Waxman's "Rebecca": A Film Score Guide (Scarecrow Press, 2012; coauthored with David Neumeyer). His most recent book, Making Music in Selznick's Hollywood (Oxford University Press, 2018), investigates the scores for films like Gone With the Wind, Since You Went Away, and Spellbound.
Platte received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where he also completed bachelor's degrees in history and trombone performance. Before joining the faculty at the University of Iowa in 2011, he taught at Michigan and Bowling Green State University.
Posted in School of Music History, Sounds From the Field
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into H. S. Perkins's The Nightingale
Posted on March 26, 2019 by Katie Buehner
William Oscar Perkins and Henry Southwick Perkins, The Nightingale: A Choice Collection of Songs, Chants and Hymns, Designed for the Use of Juvenile Classes, Public Schools, and Seminaries; Containing Also a Complete and Concise System of Elementary Instruction (Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1860)
by C. A. Norling
Title page of Perkins's The Nightingale
Advertised in University catalogues as providing "peculiar advantages to students," the University of Iowa's first music courses utilized a repertoire grounded in larger, nineteenth-century trends in American music education and represent the subject's institutional foundation at the University prior to the establishment of a permanent School of Music.1 The academic sessions, held annually at the local Normal Academy of Music, were created to "give complete courses of instruction" in music performance, "both vocal and instrumental."2 Written in part by the institution's founding principal Henry Southwick Perkins, The Nightingale demonstrates a direct connection to the beginnings of American musical education itself. Originating in the eighteenth century, singing schools flourished throughout the United States with the use of simple songs arranged in three or four parts, a method standardized by eminent music educator Lowell Mason of Boston in the 1840s.3 Perkins himself studied under Mason and operated singing schools nationwide and, as such, prefaced his manual with a course of instruction for music beginners.
Beyond its pedagogical contents, The Nightingale features nearly two hundred pages of part-songs composed by prominent American composers that often reflect nationalistic themes. From the patriotic "Hail Columbia" and "Our Country's Flag" to hymns by Perkins himself, the academy founded its day-to-day music instruction on domestic educational methods and a national repertoire.4 Perkins's own patriotic anthem, "My Native Hills" (shown here), is descriptive of both its American surroundings and democratic ideals when it asserts that "my native hills are thine." In addressing the goals of the volume, Perkins wrote that the selections are "pleasing and practical in character . . . [and] may contribute largely to the pleasure and education of the rising public," a testament to egalitarian impulses of the nation's then-budding public music education.5
Note the penciled annotation in the title of this song from Perkins's Nightingale
1 Catalogue of the State University of Iowa for the Year 1866-67 (Davenport, IA: Lush, Lane & Co., 1866), 47.
2 Henry Southwick Perkins, "The Iowa State Normal Academy of Music at Iowa City," Annals of Iowa 1872, no. 1 (1872): 62.
3 Edward B. Birge, History of Public School Music in the United States (Washington D.C.: Music Educator's National Conference, 1966), 26.
4 Foundational American music historian Oscar Sonneck wrote extensively regarding the origins of "Hail Columbia" and overtly draws ideological associations between the anthem and the "Star Spangled Banner." Oscar Sonneck, "Critical Notes on the origin of 'Hail Columbia,'" Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft 3, no. 1 (1901): 139.
5 William Oscar Perkins and Henry Southwick Perkins, The Nightingale: A Choice Collection of Songs, Chants and Hymns, Designed for the Use of Juvenile Classes, Public Schools, and Seminaries; Containing Also a Complete and Concise System of Elementary Instruction (Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1860), [3].
Cody Norling is a PhD student in historical musicology at the University of Iowa. Apart from his research on American operatic traditions, he maintains research interests Midwestern History and has contributed writing to the Annals of Iowa and a forthcoming volume on nineteenth-century identity formation in the Midwest. Cody is currently the instructor for a course titled "Midwestern Identities" in the University of Iowa's Department of Rhetoric.
Posted in Exhibits, Exploring Our Sounds
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the SUI concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958
Posted on March 19, 2019 April 16, 2019 by Katie Buehner
State University of Iowa Orchestra concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958
Represented by original concert program and picture of Himie Voxman and Aaron Copland from the composers 1958 visit to Iowa City
by Jenna Sehmann
left to right: Philip Bezanson, Aaron Copland, Himie Voxman, and James Dixon
On March 5, 1958, Aaron Copland attended a concert by the State University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra as an honored guest. Copland's visit, culminating in this performance, reflected as much upon Copland's achievements as it did upon the achievements of American Music, and the musical achievements at the University of Iowa.
Copland's visit to the University was well received by students, faculty, and local residents. Attendance was at full capacity for the Symphony Orchestra concert as well as a lecture Copland gave titled "The Emergence of American Music." In this lecture, Copland detailed that the "Emergence School of American Music" was "in the running," implying that American Music could stand up to its European predecessors.1 This emergence that Copland referenced in his lecture is reflected in his own compositions performed by the SUI Symphony.
At this concert, the orchestra performed three works from a wide range of Copland's compositional style and time periods: The Suite from the Ballet Billy The Kid, Copland's Third Symphony, and a concert version of his opera The Tender Land. In a review by Donald Justice, the orchestra was praised for their performance, noting that Billy The Kid and Third Symphony were "two excellent performances."2 The performance of Copland's rarely performed opera The Tender Land was especially suitable for the composer's trip to the Midwest. The opera is set on a Midwest farm, making it particularly reflective of the lives and upbringings of many students and community members.3
State University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra concert program from March 5, 1958 featuring works by visiting composer, Aaron Copland
1 "Emergence School of Music In the Running: Copland," The Daily Iowan, March 4, 1958, http://dailyiowan.lib.uiowa.edu/DI/1958/di1958-03-04.pdf.
2 Justice, Donald, "Chasing Billy- Copland's Music- Pleases Audiences," The Daily Iowan, March 7, 1958, http://dailyiowan.lib.uiowa.edu/DI/1958/di1958-03-07.pdf.
3 Perlis, Vivian, "The Tender Land," Oxford Music Online, Grove Music Online, https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/ omo-9781561592630-e-5000905177. (accessed September 10, 2018).
Oboist Jenna Sehmann is a performer and teacher currently located in Iowa City, IA. Ms. Sehmann serves as the oboe studio teacher at Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA) and Mount Mercy University (Cedar Rapids, IA). She is also the Teaching Assistant for the oboe studio at the University of Iowa, where she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in performance and pedagogy under Dr. Courtney Miller.
She holds a Master of Music degree in oboe performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree in both music performance and music industry from Eastern Kentucky University. Regionally, Jenna has performed with Orchestra Iowa, Dubuque Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, and the Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas. To learn more about Jenna, visit her website jennasehmann.com
Posted in Exhibits, Exploring Our Sounds, School of Music History
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into the Music of Maria Schneider
Posted on March 11, 2019 March 11, 2019 by Katie Buehner
JCL Features the Music of Maria Schneider (2000)
by Toni LeFebvre
Concert Program, Johnson County Landmark, Wednesday April 2000
On April 26, 2000, Johnson County Landmark, the premiere big band of the University of Iowa, featured the music of band leader, John Rapson, and award-winning American jazz composer, Maria Schneider. Programmed were three pieces from Schneider's 1994 debut studio album, "Evanescence" – "Wrigly", "Evanescence", and "Gush".1 Not only does the programming of Maria Schneider's music display the jazz program's commitment to a meaningfully well-rounded education in jazz history for student musicians and audience members alike, but to highlight her compositions is to underscore the diversity of American music and its infinite aesthetic possibilities.
Listen to JCL performing "Wyrgly"
https://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/rbml/files/2019/01/schneider.mp3
Maria Schneider
Since launching her career in the late 1980's, Maria Schneider has been drawn not to the conventional sound of the traditional American big band, but to orchestral colors, classical composition techniques, soloist-improvised bridges, and an emotional subtlety atypical to the accustomed big band sound.2 She has studied with and been mentored by two prominent names in American jazz history, Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer. These studies, combined with a unique vision for musical storytelling, have fostered Schneider's chart-topping masterpieces which defy categorization and alter the notion of what a modern American big band can sound like.3
Maria Schneider remains one of the most prominent pioneers for women in jazz. In a 2016 spotlight interview for JAZZed magazine, Schneider affirmed that she has never seen her gender as being relevant in terms of her music.4 Regardless, one cannot deny that she holds a position as a prominent female role model in a male-dominated genre that jazz performers and listeners of all ages and genders look to as an example of originality of voice and cutting-edge musicianship at its finest. In a professional musical outlet where women are broadly marginalized, Maria Schneider is a true luminary for women composers and for anyone looking to test the boundaries of tradition.
1 Alexander, Peter. "Music by John Rapson and Maria Schneider will be featured by JCL April 26." UI News Iowa City, Iowa), April 14, 2000.
2 Woolfe, Zachary. "Prairie Jazz Companion." New York Times (New York, New York), April 12, 2013.
3 "No boundaries: A daring composer defies categories." Economist (New York, New York), March 8, 2014.
4 "Maria Schneider – Music is About Life." JAZZed (Las Vegas, NV), May 20, 2016.
Toni LeFebvre, originally from Bettendorf, IA, is an active trumpet player and music educator. She completed her undergraduate degree in Music Education at the University of Northern Iowa in 2014. She was most recently the Band Director at Okoboji High School from 2015 to 2017 before moving to Iowa City to pursue a Master's degree in Music Education at the University of Iowa, which she will complete May of 2019. In addition to her graduate studies, Toni has directed the Iowa City New Horizon's concert and jazz ensembles, and is the co-founder and leader of the Iowa Women's Jazz Orchestra, a big band comprised of women from across the state of Iowa which seeks to inspire young female musicians to find their voice in the jazz idiom. Upon completion of her Master's degree, she plans to return to the field of public education as a high school band director in Iowa.
Check out a profile of Toni in The Daily Iowan from March 11, 2019.
STUDENT EXHIBIT: In Our Lives: The Beatles Yesterday and Today
Posted on March 6, 2019 September 12, 2019 by Katie Buehner
IN OUR LIVES was designed in the Fall 2018 offering of Donna's "World of The Beatles" course. Participating students studied her materials–donated in Donna's name to the Rita Benton Music Library–and worked together to flesh out the different themes that now define their multimedia, multidirectional account of the enduring legacy of The Beatles that stretches across each fin. The exhibit design is a tribute to the rich learning experiences Donna created for University of Iowa students, and a preview of the valuable learning experiences her collection will support for years to come.
We invite you to journey through the World of The Beatles in the following ways.
PANELS: "THE MUSICIANS," "THE MUSIC," "BEATLEMANIA!," "THE BEATLES OF TODAY"
Each of the four exhibit panels represent the combined efforts of the corresponding topic subgroups (notated as "Deeper Dives" on the front of each Exhibit Panel).
The Musicians: Band Image/Identity, Working Together, Going Solo, Songwriting
Who were The Beatles as Public Figures? Do details of particular songs speak to their Personal/Public experiences?
The Music: Catalog Overview, Albums Early, Albums Late 1, Albums Late 2
What behind-the-scenes events became factors in the production of their albums?
Beatlemania!: Tours, Magical Mysteries, Yellow Submarines, Theories
What was a Beatles concert tour like? How did other types of Beatles media (e.g., fan newsletters, magazines, films, etc.) sustain mass interest in The Beatles? What does the "Paul is Dead" hoax teach us about Beatles fandom?
The Beatles of Today: Managing, Symbolizing, Celebrating, Recreating?
Who were the "fifth Beatles"? What can we learn from classic Beatles art/imagery about how The Beatles are remembered? What does it mean to pay tribute to a group like The Beatles?
Student Collection Highlights and Blog Posts
As part of their work on the exhibit, participating students familiarized themselves with the vast array of reference books, documentaries, and Beatles memorabilia that Donna's family donated to the library in her name. Visit the Rita Benton Music Library website throughout the semester to read blog posts by the participating students, faculty, and library staff, which will examine the objects and themes of this exhibit in greater depth.
Posted in Exhibits, In Our Lives
Students Investigate: A Deeper Dive into Ernst Krenek
Posted on March 5, 2019 March 6, 2019 by Katie Buehner
The University Orchestra Performs Ernst Krenek, November 17, 1965
by Lisa Mumme
UI Symphony Orchestra program, November 17, 1965
Can works composed in the United States be considered American if they draw on European styles? When does an immigrant – and his art – become American?
Ernst Krenek visit to UCSD (an3_m333_1189_1), Harry Crosby Photographs. MSS 333. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
The November 17, 1965 University Orchestra program offers one opportunity to consider how these questions can be navigated. The program notes for his Symphonic Elegy, In memoriam: Anton Webern (1946) present Austrian-born Czech Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) as an American composer.1 His American citizenship is emphasized, noting that the piece was written in St. Paul, MN, nine years after Krenek's emigration. However, William Pepper, the program notes' author, unifies the four pieces of this program by appealing to European dynasties of composers. Pepper notes that while Mozart and Beethoveen are considered members of the First Viennese School, Webern was part of founding the Second. As Webern's student, Krenek was a direct descendant of the Second Viennese School.2 By framing the program in this way, Pepper emphasizes the way that programming at the University of Iowa during the late sixties involved experimentalists without straying too far from canonical giants.
Krenek's association with the European tradition of art music give his music prestige, but he is still claimed as an American composer. Here, his Americanness is legitimized by subtly emphasizing his flight from oppression in Nazi Germany.3 Pepper notes that Webern was killed in Germany when he exited his house after curfew, further emphasizing the political priorities that loomed large in the American mind of the 1960s. These program notes seek to establish Krenek's piece as both the product of American freedom and the heir of the great Viennese masters.
Correspondence between Krenek and Himie Voxman about scheduling a trip to campus is held in the Rita Benton Music Library Special Collections, but there is no evidence yet whether Krenek was able to visit.4
Ernst Krenek, Krenek to Himie Voxman, undated, in Himie Voxman Papers, Rita Benton Music Library, University of Iowa
1 Charlotte Purkis, "Krenek [Křenek], Ernst." Grove Music (2001) https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O902602.
2 William Pepper, "Program Notes," University Symphony Orchestra, Second Concert, 1965-66 Season.
3 Purkis, "Krenek [Křenek], Ernst."
4 Ernst Krenek, Krenek to Himie Voxman, undated, in Himie Voxman Papers, Rita Benton Music Library, University of Iowa.
Lisa Pollock Mumme will finish her M.A in Musicology at the University of Iowa in Spring 2019. Lisa studies gender and music, specifically in film music, with a secondary interest in the performing bodies of nineteenth-century Latin American opera world. Lisa's work in film music focuses on gender in genre film, with particular attention to dystopian works. Lisa's thesis on the Mad Max franchise located a site of embodied resistance for one disempowered character in her diegetic performance of her own theme, and defined competing musical forces that simultaneously masculinize and feminize subsequent characters. Her secondary area of research concerns the nineteenth-century Mexican opera singer and composer Ángela Peralta. Lisa plans to develop both facets of her research as a PhD student next year.
STUDENT EXHIBIT: Exploring Our Sounds: Traditions of American Music Making at the University of Iowa
Posted on January 10, 2019 December 13, 2019 by Katie Buehner
From left to right: Philip Bezanson, Aaron Copland, Himie Voxman, James Dixon
What is American Music? What does the idea of "American" music making mean for different University of Iowa artists and audiences?
In what ways have University of Iowa musicians, audiences, conductors, critics, and historians contributed to the musical identity of the United States? In what ways might they do so in the future?
The students of the Fall 2018 offering of the graduate musicology seminar in American music invite you to consider these questions as they relate to the place of American music in the past, present, and future of the University of Iowa School of Music.
The "Exploring Our Sounds" exhibit, which is on display throughout the Spring 2019 semester on the first floor of the Voxman Music Building, showcases our responses to these questions. Throughout the semester, we will be posting on the objects and themes of this exhibit in greater depth.
We hope you return to the blog and participate in "exploring our sounds."
Students Investigate: Deeper Dives into American Music Making at the University of Iowa
March 4: A Deeper Dive into Ernst Krenek by Lisa Mumme
March 12: A Deeper Dive into the Music of Maria Schneider by Toni LeFebvre
March 19: A Deeper Dive into the SUI concert of Copland compositions, March 5, 1958 by Jenna Sehmann
March 26: A Deeper Dive into H. S. Perkins's The Nightingale by C. A. Norling
April 2: Sounds from the Field – Anthony Burgess in Iowa City: How Clockwork Orange's Author Came to Write a Symphony for the University of Iowa by Dr. Nathan Platte
Bring headphones and a mobile device so you can hear what you are reading about.
Where possible, we have provided direct access to the different traditions of American music making discussed in the form of a digital music playlist. Examples were selected to further illustrate points in our exhibit text, and to encourage broader enjoyment of the diverse sounds and styles that make up the traditions of American music making at the University of Iowa.
The Exhibit Playlist can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2TAom3t, or by scannable QR code at the exhibit.
Look out for theme clusters: "Curriculums," "Student Musical Life," and "Composers."
Over the semester, we conducted individual studies of the displayed items, drawn from the Rita Benton Music Library collections, and then worked together to put our independent work in dialogue with that of our colleagues. The "Curriculums," "Student Musical Life," and "Composers" areas of the exhibit are the results of these collaborative efforts.
Be ready to explore further.
The dotted lines running throughout the exhibit are representative of the broader thematic connections that crisscross the different areas and aspects of the "Exploring Our Sounds" Exhibit. The expected and unexpected links that are made between "American" sounds, university programming, local community traditions, and more, should leave you thinking about the questions we asked above.
Exploring Our Sounds
In Our Lives
School of Music History
Sounds From the Field
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text:
Pandanus microcarpus é uma magnoliophyta da família Pandanaceae, endémica em Maurícia, seu hábitat natural são os rios e pântanos. Está ameaçada por perda de hábitat.

Pandanaceae
Flora de Maurícia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Disused Shopping Mall Transformed into a Co-Working Hub in China
Article by SA Rogers, filed under Offices & Commercial in the Architecture category
We've seen abandoned malls and shopping centers transformed into some pretty cool things, including affordable micro housing and homeless shelters. In China, as a booming e-commerce market starts to drive many traditional brick-and-mortar markets out of business, architects are finding another new use for the massive structures: as offices for the country's many new startups and entrepreneurs.
One such project is a co-working space called SOHO2 3Q by AIM Architecture. SOHO is a Chinese commercial building developer, and its 3Q brand is a co-working platform that Forbes called "Uber for offices." Catering to a large number of small and medium-sized companies that prefer to rent office space by the week, month or six-year period instead of signing longer-term leases, 3Q has opened about 30 spaces around the country, many of them built for the purpose (including Wangjing SOHO by Zaha Hadid Architects.)
But SOHO realized that with 25,000 square meters of blank space (about 269,000 square feet), a disused shopping mall might be just what they need.
"The first consideration was approach. AIM decided it had to be bold. Strong colours and strong patterns would add life to the often-drab mall (and do double-duty as way finding). The space would be used by ambitious entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies not tied to old models. Bosses looking for more than a corner window in a glass tower. In one way, the project reflected us: it was not conventional. Re-programming a retail space brought up questions of the use of space in our cities, how interaction works and how to foster communities. This generation of workers was not content with a cubicle. A moot point, really, as filling the massive space would have required all of the cubicles in Beijing. AIM would have to turn that thinking on its side."
"From this perspective, the constraints of the existing retail design became opportunities: where a shopping centre would say hallway, AIM could say island, a natural place to meet while using the home-style kitchens or sitting at the communal table. This was a greater challenge with two massive atriums, which carried in daylight but presented their own problems: how to maintain the peace of the open space but make it useful to 3Q's community of companies?"
"The answer was in an oversized oak staircase, spilling down from the entrance into the basement floor. The slope of the stairs frames the space as a venue for lectures or events, transforming an area meant for personal consumption into one meant for community development. A second atrium allowed AIM to re-imagine the built world as a natural community, quite literally. In The Park, the great expanse comes back down to the human scale, with stands of live bamboo and glass meeting rooms that evoke backyard conservatories."
AIM says the project ultimately feels like a "neighborhood" of companies and individual entrepreneurs, relating to each other or retreating to do business within public and private areas and creating organic networks.
An idea like this could work even in malls that are still in use, since the top floor is often the first to be abandoned when tenancy is low. That puts workers up near skylights, away from the bustle of shoppers but still within reach of restaurants and businesses.
See More in Architecture (or: Offices & Commercial)
Book-Shaped Pavilion in Korea Celebrates Historic Birthplace of Printing
14 Apps for Architects, Interior Designers & Homeowners
Gallery-Worthy Gadgetry: 10 Terrific High-Tech Art Projects
Beauty in Destruction: Awesome Post-Apocalyptic Art

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Make sure you have a gpg key installed and uploaded to a keyserver
such as https://sks-keyservers.net/i/

Make sure your sonatype credentials are in your maven settings.xml:

```
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<settings xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0"
     xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/settings-1.0.0.xsd">
   <servers>
     <server>
       <id>sonatype-nexus-staging</id>
       <username>raboof</username>
       <password>*********</password>
     </server>
   </servers>

   <pluginGroups></pluginGroups>
   <proxies></proxies>
   <mirrors></mirrors>
   <profiles></profiles>
</settings>
```

Then:

 * mvn release:prepare
 * mvn release:perform
 * git push --tags
 * finalize the release as described at http://central.sonatype.org/pages/releasing-the-deployment.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


With FO2NickChanger you can change the profile names of Flatout 2 very easily.
Also long and coloured nicknames are possible without the need to use complicated HEX editors.
Chuck Norris trinkt seinen Kaffe für gewöhnlich MIT Tasse.


text:
Shahrak-e Bābak o Shahrak-e Āzādī (farsi شهرك بابك) è una città dello shahrestān di Andimeshk, circoscrizione Centrale, nella provincia del Khūzestān. Aveva, nel 2006, una popolazione di 4.576 abitanti.

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Centri abitati del Khuzestan


As an acute tertiary hospital with over 30 clinical disciplines, SGH has a higher proportion of patients who suffer from high-risk, complex multiple medical conditions, as well as older patients who are more ill and require longer period of stay.
At SGH, we do not turn away any patient, even when we are short of beds. When there are unanticipated surges of patients requiring admission at A&E, patients may have to wait longer for a bed. Notwithstanding any delays in getting a bed, our patient's care and safety are always our priority. We will initiate treatment for patients who are waiting for admission at the A&E and they are cared for by the admitting department's doctors in order to ensure there are no delays and for continuity of care after admission.


text:
Q: jQuery live scroll event on mobile (work around) The age old problem:
Getting the scroll event to fire while a user is scrolling on an element while on a mobile site or app(web view).
All I'm looking for is access to the correct scrollTop() value while a user is scrolling my page on a mobile device instead of getting it when the user stops.
I'm sure there is a workaround somewhere, if I'm correct this limitation is set by iOS and there has been discussion over it for the past few years.
I've tried implementing native scroll emulators but none of them seem to be working how I want and to be honest it seems like overkill if all I really want is a persistent scrollTop() while a user is scrolling.
I'm currently thinking about maybe starting a counter on touchStart and stopping it on touchStop but something tells me I'm wasting my time.
Any help guys?

A: With jQuery:
$('body').bind('touchmove', function(e) {
    console.log($(this).scrollTop()); // Replace this with your code.
});

This should give you a consistent stream of the scrollTop value when the user scrolls, but be careful as it's going to fire even while the user is just holding his finger on the screen.
Note that if you're using jQuery >= 1.7 the preferred binding method is
.on() instead of the .bind() method I've used in my example. In that case my example would be
$('body').on({
    'touchmove': function(e) {
        console.log($(this).scrollTop()); // Replace this with your code.
    }
});

Source: https://github.com/dantipa/pull-to-refresh-js/blob/master/jquery.plugin.pullToRefresh.js

A: maybe you could take a look at how iScroll does it in their _move-method which is bound to the touchmove event: https://github.com/cubiq/iscroll/blob/master/src/core.js#L152
It's a bit complicated but i'm sure you'll figure it out. You could also just use iScroll to begin with and bind to their scrollmove event (I'm not sure how it's called on iScroll 5 but it was onScrollMove in iScroll 4). that.y will then give you the correct value.

A: I had to go the iScroll route to do this. I wrote up my implementation here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/23140322/229315

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Over the past couple of years, we've been exploring programs in NYC that work both within and outside of schools. In this post, we present a few key take-aways about educational program design and improvement from our conversation with Brian Cohen and Danny Kahn, founders of Beam, a program in NYC designed to "build communities of making and learning that enliven student curiosity, bridge the opportunity gap and prepare youth for the way the world works." Beam was originally founded as a building-oriented summer camp and has iterated its approach to collaborative, project-based learning as it expanded into schools. It now operates after-school program, weekend programs, teacher workshops, and in-school electives and FabLabs.
Taking Beam as a case of how an out-of-school program devises strategies for expanding its impact by plugging into the traditional core of schools, Beam shows similarities to other programs in NYC that we have looked at, such as Outward Bound Schools, which has developed modular programs schools can select and add to their offerings, and Right to Play, which has sought to scale its impact through leveraging its niche in early childhood education and designing teacher professional development programs. Internationally, the pattern of developing a promising program outside of schools, that then has the potential to reach more students by "plugging in" to schools resembles the approach of Mehackit in Finland and Tandemic in Malaysia.
Last week, we shared the first part of Beam's story focusing on its origins as a camp in New Hampshire and its move to create an afterschool program and workshop space in Brooklyn. This week, we focus on the development of Beam's approach to integrating project-based instruction and FabLabs into schools.
At the same time that they had worked their way into schools, Brian and Danny also found themselves embedded in a larger movement to support youth development and digital citizenship that has come to be known as connected learning: interest-driven, production-centered, and academically-oriented learning supported by human relationships and technology. Rob suggested that Brian and Danny become members of Hive, a then-two-year-old organization that came out of the MacArthur Foundation's work on digital and media learning and which overlapped with the interests of Digital Ready. Hive sought to create a network of media- and tech-driven youth development opportunities in NYC and offered grant funding and opportunities to learn from and collaborate with other organizations involved in digital learning and youth development. The convergence and buzz around connected learning was felt by Brian in every Hive meeting he went to. As he explained, "I'm the oldest in the room by twenty years, I'm the only one with business experience. So, to me, I was in graduate school. I was, woah, I'm learning all this stuff, this jargon and – I learned what STEM was, what else was going on in the city along these lines, and what I didn't realize, I was also learning something that was very cutting edge, this notion of connected learning. It made total sense to me, because we've been doing it in camp for a long time, so I felt a certain ability to participate in a conversation knowing none of the language but being able to describe what it looks like".
From their work with Digital Ready and Hive and the discovery of convergent interests and goals, Beam uncovered a variety of opportunities that enabled it to expand its offerings both inside and outside schools. In the 2013-2014 school year, Beam became a contracted vendor with the NYC school system (this lowers the barriers for schools in participating with out-of-school partners) and reached 572 students, through its after-school, in school, and camp programs. In schools—at least, at Brooklyn International—Beam collaborated with teachers to create interdisciplinary units. Rob DiRenzo highlighted a solar lamp elective that Beam co-planned with BIHS for grade 9-10, "in which students created their own lamps while learning about electronic sensing systems, soldering, and plastic fabrication using reclaimed materials." Beam launched an Apprenticeship program, an internship-like experience supported by ExpandED Schools, another organization in New York City that worked to create expanded learning opportunities through facilitating partnerships between community-based organizations and schools. This enabled kids who loved their Beam experience in schools to deepen their skills through an after-school Beam program, and be able to go back to school able to assist with Beam courses and take on leadership roles with the in-school programs.
Throughout this evolution—from summer camp, to afterschool and weekend programs, to school electives, to internships and professional development, to—Beam found it was most successful (in terms of serving the most students with a sustainable, high-quality experience) when they can plug their program into the structure of the school day. Working with high schools like Brooklyn International, which had more flexible scheduling and course requirements, helped. However, Brian and Danny found that as a stand-alone elective, the Beam experience didn't really take root in schools. Through a series of projects that meaningfully involved teachers from different disciplines, Brian and Danny found they could integrate a Beam project into the curriculum. One of the stand-out projects of this sort was the production of a Digital Poetry Machine, which involved the collaboration of the English and physics teacher. Brooklyn International students documented their problem-solving strategies and development of skills involved in producing and programming a wall of magnetic laser-cut wood words which could be arranged into short poems and posted to Twitter. These sorts of interdisciplinary projects, integrated into the core curriculum in collaboration with teachers, fostered deeper school partnerships. Brian and Danny also maintained, through interviews with us and conversations with Hive and schools, that they were not educators. They were self-described experts in collaboration, and so fully respected and enlisted educators as the experts in teaching and learning.
By the end of 2015, Beam was expanding their focus to include middle schoolers and their teachers, in addition to enhancing the quality of their other projects. It piloted "Insight Into…."—free weekend workshops for middle schoolers—which was evidence of a budding idea that the Beam experience might be even more valuable if students could access it at earlier ages and then engage with Beam for more time (and, thus building more skills and more leadership opportunities) before college. It also piloted its Connected Teaching Fellows project with an inaugural cohort of 24 "teacher-designers" from NYC public middle and high schools. A year later, with a Hive Digital Media Learning Fund grant of $100,000, Beam partnered with the New York City Men Teach Initiative, which focuses on recruiting men of color to teach in public schools, to develop professional development that prepares these future educators to bring digital media and technology-infused projects into their classroom.
Through these programs, teachers and other educators had a chance to engage with materials and tools in the Beam studio, learn technical and design skills, have the support of a Beam domain specialist, and design a curricular activity. Brian's reasoning is that "we needed to develop a tangible collaboration with the teachers by being part of the school day. The work we do in the classroom becomes the core of a new kind of school community. Instead of the regular stratifications—teachers, students, administrators, high-achieving students, low-achieving students—now you have a blending of roles, an accessible forum for achievement, an incentive for all to be learning and a common aspiration." His reasoning begins to articulate a theory held by organizations like ExpandED Schools and Hive—that elements of informal education, such as mentoring relationships and learning through doing, were valuable within the school day. Out of school learning opportunities like the projects of Beam camp can be hard to transfer into the regular school day because they often run counter to the the age-graded, subject based "core" of conventional schooling, but Brian and Danny continue to look for opportunities to change that core.
As another step in that direction, in 2016, developed its first in-school FabLab at Brooklyn International, "an advanced digital fabrication laboratory with cutting-edge tools and resources." The FabLab's package the tools, resources, and expertise that have gone into Beam's projects in a form that fits current demands and funding opportunities. In 2017, it has plans to build 5 more in-school FabLabs in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Downtown Brooklyn, and Gowanus with funding from Borough President Eric Adams ($100,000/schools, as part of an investment in STEM education). The key, as they put it, is for them to avoid "getting dusty"; rather, they have to makes sure the various initiatives — the projects during the school day,the Connected Teachers training, the FabLabs, and a new Beam Apprenticeship program which trains and pays for students to support and teach their peers in the FabLabs — are means to learning experiences rather than, as Brian puts it, a "shiny end" in itself.
Growing recognition brought with it resources that allowed Beam to expand its offerings further. It moved to its current location in a renovated warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which functions as a space for school and afterschool programs, workshops, professional development, and incubator. With twice the amount of space, and space completely customized to its needs, Beam was able to offer more programming. Danny describes the space as a "hub" and "lab" where instructors design and prototype projects to bring into schools, and where Beam can host programs like professional development with teachers and summer day camps for younger students. It also hosted out of school workshops—making themselves accessible to students who don't happen to attend their partner schools, and making connections to people interested in becoming partner schools in the future; these workshops were often offered in partnership with various schools and organizations in NYC.


What's The Eight-Year-Old reading this week?
Our mostly-weekly survey of the tidbits that cross The Eight-Year-Old's desk. This week, The Eight-Year-Old discovers Harry Potter and Mommyo's laissez faire attitude towards books is sorely tested.
As parents, our attitude toward reading has always been a rather loose one: The more books you read, the less power any one book has over you. So we have typically let The Eight-Year-Old read pretty much whatever she wanted (with obvious exceptions — no adult fiction, unless it's been prescreened).
This typically works well for us because The Eight-Year-Old naturally gravitates towards kids' books and non-fiction magazines about animals, science, and antiques. We had a few attitude bobbles while she was reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and every once in a while I question my choice to allow her to read National Geographic, but overall, The Eight-Year-Old is pretty good at self-censoring her reading choices.
Inevitably, Harry Potter flew into The Eight-Year-Old's life this week. The first two books were no problem. Aside from a scene crawling with giant spiders, there was very little in them that I thought she'd have trouble with.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a different story. The Eight-Year-Old is not ready to deal with maniacal mass-murderers or Dementors. At best, they'd give her nightmares. Knowing my daughter, reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban too soon would turn her off one of the best children's series I've ever read.
After reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in two breathless gulps, The Eight-Year-Old couldn't wait to start Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And if she wanted to read it, our book parenting philosophy demanded that we let her. But knowing she wasn't ready for it (and knowing that the remaining books become ever-more challenging as the series go on), could we in good conscience let her?
Daddyo and I talked through various options: making her wait a year in between books, making her watch the movies as she reads each book (The Eight-Year-Old hates live-action movies, so this would be an effective stalling tactic), or doing nothing and letting her read the books at her own pace, like we would with any other children's series.
In the end, we decided to tell her about our concerns, but let her make her own decision about whether or not to read each book in the Harry Potter series.
Yesterday, when I noticed The Eight-Year-Old rereading The Chamber of Secrets, I asked her how The Prisoner of Azkaban went.
So it's back on our shelf of purple books, ready to be enjoyed when The Eight-Year-Old is ready for it.


The QMA offers its corporate members a directory of members. You can add your logo, a description of your business and an overview of your products and services offered.
Only corporate QMA members have the right to exhibit at the Montreal Boat and Water Sport Show as well as the Montreal & Quebec In-Water Boat Show.
Quebec Marine Association organize events for corporate members including the Symposium, the bi-annuel Gala, the Boat and Water Sports Show, the In-Water Boat Show Montreal and Quebec and the Quebec Nautical Stations Program. The QMA also represents the industry on various advisory committees.
Sales, storage, and dock rental contracts are available to our corporate members at the cost of 50¢ to 75¢ each depending on the type of contract. Contact QMA's offices to place your order.
Each year, the Nautiguide is back with an upgraded presentation and content! This new Guidebook is entirely bilingual and includes all necessary information for boaters.
An essential tool for boaters!
Preferential rates for QMA's members in the Jaro's hotels in the Quebec City area.
Preferential rates offered to members of the QMA at the hotel Pur.
Preferential rates offered to QMA's corporate members.
15% off on the purchase of a pair of prescription glasses. 25% discount on the purchase of another pair of prescription glasses for the same person or a member of his family within 30 days of delivery of the first purchase.
*These offers are valid at all Newlook stores and cannot apply to any other discount or promotion.
**For more information, please contact QMA's team.


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Q: Retrieving URI template used in RestTemplate call from ClientHttpRequestInterceptor I'm using RestTemplate to call an external resource using GET where the URI is https://external.com/resource/{resourceID}.
Accordingly, my RestTemplate calls looks like the following:
restTemplate.getForObject("https://external.com/resource/{resourceID}", String.class, uriMapObject)
Where uriMapObject is a map containing the ID variable.
I have also set a ClientHttpRequestInterceptor for my RestTemplate where the interceptor's function is to create a log item for that call and send it to ElasticSearch for logging.
    @Override
    public ClientHttpResponse intercept(HttpRequest httpRequest, byte[] body, ClientHttpRequestExecution execution) throws IOException {
        Map<String, Object> reqHeaders = new HashMap<>();
        try{
            // getPath() already contains the URI variable
            String uri = httpRequest.getURI().getPath();

        } catch (IllegalStateException e){
            log.warn(e.getMessage());
        }

.....
        return response;
    }

The issue is that within the ClientHttpRequestInterceptor method, I'm unable to access the original URI template used to derive the actual URL to call. I can only access the actual URL from the HttpRequest object which already has a unique identifier in it which in turn makes it impossible to aggregate all calls to https://external.com/resource/{resourceID} as a single pattern in Elastic.
Is there some way where I can get the URI template from within the interceptor?

A: URI template expansion is specified by the RestTemplate's UriTemplateHandler.  You can customize the behavior of this by calling RestTemplate#setUriTemplateHandler, specifying your own implementation.
I would suggest creating a delegate object for a UriTemplateHandler, and wrapping what is set by default on the RestTemplate.
class LoggingUriTemplateHandler implements UriTemplateHandler {
    private UriTemplateHandler delegate;

    LoggingUriTemplateHandler(final UriTemplateHandler delegate) {
        this.delegate = delegate;
    }

    public URI expand(final String template, final Map<String, ?> vars) {
        //log template here
        return this.delegate.expand(template, vars);
    }

    public URI expand(final String template, final Object... vars) {
        //log template here
        return this.delegate.expand(template, vars);
    }
}


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Home › De La Soul "De La Soul Is Dead" LP
De La Soul "De La Soul Is Dead" LP
De La Soul Is Dead is De La Soul's second full-length album, released in 1991. The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five mic rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source.
The album was also selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums in 1998, considered among many, as one of the best albums of the 1990s.


As a Sales Engineer, you will be responsible for Sales and Marketing of the ABB Solar Inverter range and related equipment to the market in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division offers a wide range of products and services including drives, motors, generators, power electronics systems, rectifiers, power quality products, photovoltaic inverters, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and robots. Key applications include energy conversion, data processing, actuation, automation, standardized manufacturing cells for applications such as machine tending, welding, cutting, painting, finishing, palletizing and packing, and engineered systems for the automotive industry.
-Sell and Market the ABB Solar Inverter range and related equipment to the market in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
-Meet and exceed the yearly sales targets.
-Build a strong channel partner network.
-Provide meaningful input for the yearly budgeting process and meet the budget targets.
-Adopt a hands-on approach towards establishing and building excellent relationships with clients. Understand the client's thinking and requirements so as to be aligned with their needs.
-Use forecasting and budgeting tools to capture all business prospects.
-Continuous Market analysis to ensure thorough knowledge and preparation of annual Marketing and Business plans.
-Liaising with colleagues in South Africa and the GPG in order to be able to sell effectively the Solar Inverter range.
-Regular travel to various customer sites in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
Your BSc Degree in Electrical Engineering, preferably including power electronics subjects with minimum of 3 years of experience and exposure to solar inverters market along with good technical understanding of the requirements for solar inverters market will make you an ideal fit for this requirement.
Your excellent customer relation skills with the higher level of analytical capability will be an added advantage.


Cabbage rolls are not trendy, nor instagram-worthy. Some might call them dated, even though their doughy tablemates (peroghies) bask constantly in nostalgic adoration (even by those who did not grow up with Babas making them). I forgot how much I love them until my friend Dorata, who has been doing my hair for something like 20 years, and is one of the best cooks I know, brought me a plate with a few delicate Polish-style cabbage rolls as I sat with my hair under the dryer, and they were some of the best things I ever ate.
I've never actually made them myself, and so I gave it a go for the radio this morning. I don't expect to nail anything straight off the bat, especially not having had relatives telling me how and how not to make them. I texted Dorata, read a bit and went from memory, and came up with something that, in my mind, is a pretty delicious cabbage roll – meat-heavy (I used pork and beef, and a handful of rice), not overly spiced, simmered in plain, slightly sweet tomato sauce. Turns out W loves them too, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that they like vaguely like brains.
The trickiest part was wrestling the leaves off the head of cabbage in one piece – I imagine savoy cabbage would be easier, and someone suggested freezing the whole head, then thawing and peeling off the leaves rather than try to boil the whole thing or snap off fresh leaves without them breaking. Genius. However you do it, they need to soften enough to be pliable.
As for the filling, anything goes. It doesn't really need an egg to bind it, since it's all enclosed by the cabbage leaf – I used chopped green onions from the garden, and a shake of Vegata Dorata recommended. It's easy to squeeze in your palm and roll up in a rubbery leaf, then stack in rows, seam side down (they won't open up) in a baking dish, fitting them snugly together in a bed of tomato sauce and covering them with same.
Some people bake theirs, or do them in the slow cooker – I made mine in an enamel-coated cast iron pot, covered on the stovetop, and they cooked through in about half an hour. W thought they tasted like spaghetti and meatballs, heavy on the meatballs, and I can't disagree.
1Cut the core out of the cabbage and freeze it for at least a few hours; set in warm water to thaw and separate the leaves. (This tip came in this morning during the show!) Otherwise, simmer the head in a pot of boiling water, peeling off the layers of leaves as they become pliable, or remove them while the cabbage is raw and boil for a few minutes in a large pot of water, until they're pliable. Cut out the ribs with a sharp knife, making a long V.
2In a medium bowl, combine the meat, onions, rice, dill, salt and pepper or Vegata and about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce, mixing with your hands just until blended. Stir the sugar into the rest of the tomato sauce.
3Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce over the bottom of a baking dish or enamel coated cast iron pot. To assemble the cabbage rolls, take a handful (about 1/4 cup) of filling and squeeze it into a sort of long oval in your fist. Place in a cabbage leaf, fold in the sides and roll up. Place seam side down in the dish or pot. Continue with the rest of the leaves and filling, fitting them snugly in the baking dish; you can start a second layer if you run out of room. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over top. Cover and bake at 350?F for an hour, or simmer on the stovetop for half an hour, or until the cabbage rolls are firm and cooked through. (They can also be cooked in the slow cooker, set on low for 4-6 hours. Serves 6.
I cook mine is extra-spicy Clamato juice, with some drained, squished up canned tomatoes and they are so much better than just tomato juice! The spice is mellowed by the cooking, but leaves an amazing unami. Try it, you'll love it!
I new a single guy who used watered down ketchup(1/2 & 1/2 ) instead of tomato sauce on his cabbage rolls .His apartment building filled with the delicious aroma when he made them, driving many a single neighbor to knock on his door . Needless to say – he wasn't single very long! They taste fabulous.
I love those yellow plates! Do you mind telling me where you purchased them?
Fun article- I like your blog! I found it while searching how to make sea salt. I married a 3rd generation Hungarian and I have been making stuffed cabbage now for many years. It is a Christmas tradition in our family. Instead of tomato sauce, I cook mine covered with tomato juice. Also, any left over cabbage gets shredded and sprinkled over the rolls, covered with foil and baked. I also use paprika and a little extra spice (red chile flakes, ect) in the filling. Once done, it is served with sour cream and of course, more paprika. My husband swears it tastes just like his gram's recipe. Thanks for sharing this!


Cactimundo is San Jose del Cabo's eclectic botanical garden that is dedicated to the cultivation, promotion, conservation and reproduction of Mexican desert plants, along with the outstanding collection of other exotic species from around the world, but the majority of the plants are cacti. This is Latin America's biggest and most significant collection of cacti and succulents, that include many endangered species that were almost extinct in their former natural habitats, and many that have never been exhibited to the public. This setting is unique in terms of architectural design and plant display, that all add to the beauty and charisma of these hardy plants that offer a marvelous educational experience. Cactimundo, is also a leading company that deals with cacti in Latin America and was started two decades ago to promote, conserve and reproduce these desert plants and other species from around the world along with many endangered species that had almost become extinct in their own environments. Ever since its founding, the company has dedicated itself to the conservation of cacti and succulents, while operating under the strictest ecological guidelines and regulations using the highest ethics. They offer gardening classes for free, and anyone that is looking for that perfect complement to their garden can get the best advice from their professional and experience gardeners.
one of the most favorite tours in the city of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico is the glass-bottom boat tour that takes tourists to the end of the peninsula to see the famous Los Cabos arch that is a natural rock formation that has thrilled thousands of visitors to these beautiful waters, all in a glass bottom boat. This boat provides you with your own window into the water, with millions of marine wildlife and many magnificent sights like, Pelican Rock, Lover's Beach, the Pacific Window, Land's End, the Pacific Side, Neptune's Finger and Divorce Beach. The tours generally run about ninety minutes and usually will have a bilingual tour guide so you shouldn't have much problem understanding them. It is one of the most fascinating tours offered in the region, giving you more sights from a perfectly relaxed and enjoyable position. On some of the glass bottom boat tours, they'll offer you an opportunity to rent snorkeling equipment so you can wander underneath the water, enjoying some of the finest coral reef areas in the world. It is a great way to visit the area, and enjoy the many beautiful scenes below the water that aren't ordinarily seen by the usual tourist guides or routes.


When harassed advertising executive Timothy Westerby hits his head on the morning of his daughter's society wedding, he awakes to find himself in the company of Polly Perkins, a 1920's flapper girl straight out of his current advertising campaign. It soon becomes all too clear that no-one else can see or hear her, and when another bump on the head transports Timothy back to 1926 and the Savoy Hotel, the wedding preparations disintegrate into chaos as friends and family attempt to lead Timothy back to reality and his daughter down the aisle before the newly arrived 'In-Laws' abandon the wedding.
Click on the the pictures to open them up full size in a new window.


The Monsanto company name, which has become synonymous with genetically modified food and as a longstanding target of environmental activists, will disappear after the completion of its $63bn (£47bn) sale to the German company Bayer on Thursday.
Monsanto has long been targeted by environmental activists for its pioneering role in creating GM crops and the deadly herbicide Agent Orange, used by the US in the Vietnam war. The company, which was founded in St Louis, Missouri, in 1901, has been described as an "example of American corporate evil".
Bayer's chairman, Werner Baumann, promised the company would engage with campaigners, who have described the takeover as a "marriage made in hell".
Adrian Bebb, a food and farming campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, said Bayer's decision to ditch the Monsanto name would not alter the company's legacy.
In May, dozens of people demonstrated against the takeover outside Bayer's AGM in Bonn.
Bayer won approval for the takeover from US and European regulators after agreeing to sell $9bn worth of assets to reduce the combined companies' dominance of the global seeds market.


We will hold this meeting via google hangout. The link will be sent to registrants.
This will be a working meeting where we will discuss a theme for this year as well as begin to plan for the event. We will also discuss potential sponsors.


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