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Home > Summer 2010 - Volume 22 - Issue 2 > Applicability and Intrarespondent Reliability of the Pediatr...
Thought you might appreciate this item(s) I saw at Pediatric Physical Therapy.
Applicability and Intrarespondent Reliability of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory in a Random Danish Sample
Stahlhut, Michelle PT, BSc; Christensen, Jette PT, MSc; Aadahl, Mette PT, MPH, PhD
Pediatric Physical Therapy: July 2010 - Volume 22 - Issue 2 - p 161-169
doi: 10.1097/PEP.0b013e3181dbf965
Purpose: To examine the applicability of US reference data from the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) in a random Danish sample and to assess intrarespondent reliability.
Methods: The PEDI was administered as a mailed questionnaire that was completed by the parents. Linear regression models and comparisons of item difficulty were performed in the data analysis. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used in the intrarespondent analysis.
Results: US and Danish children differed on 3 of the 6 subscales of the PEDI. Danish children had significantly lower scores on the caregiver assistance subscales (self-care and mobility) and significantly higher scores on the functional skills subscale (social function). Item difficulty was found to be comparable (r = 0.82–0.97) on all 6 subscales. Intrarespondent reliability was good (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.62–0.97).
Conclusion: The PEDI reference values seem partly applicable in a Danish population. In a Danish rehabilitation setting, interpreting PEDI scores with regard to detecting functional delays must be done cautiously.
The PEDI reference values were found to be partly applicable to Danish children. In Denmark, the interpretation of PEDI scores with regard to detecting functional delays must be done cautiously. SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT IS AVAILABLE IN THE TEXT.
Department of Physical Therapy, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark (Mss Stahlhut and Christensen); and Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark (Dr Aadahl).
Correspondence: Michelle Stahlhut, PT, MSc, Fysioterapien afsnit 236, Hvidovre Hospital, Kettegaard Alle 30, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark (michelle.stahlhut@gmail.com).
Grant Support: The study was supported by the Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, and the Association of Danish Physiotherapists.
Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Web site (www.pedpt.com).
Assessment Instrument
Description of Study Sample
Analysis of Applicability
Analysis of Intrarespondent Reliability
Children with disabilities often experience functional limitations in their motor, cognitive, perceptual, and social development. These limitations influence the child's ability to perform daily and leisure time activities, and the child may be at greater risk of social isolation.1 The consequences of disability during childhood have become evident through epidemiologic studies focusing on the incidence of childhood disability. Newacheck et al2 found that 18% of US children younger than 18 years had a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition, requiring special health care.
In the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, a general goal is to maximize their opportunities to perform daily activities.3 Thus, it is important to assess and evaluate the functional abilities of a child. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) measures functional status in children with disabilities and is frequently used as an assessment instrument within this population.4 In the PEDI, central functional skills (FSs) are described in children aged 6 months to 7½ years.5
The use of a functional assessment instrument such as the PEDI is advantageous because it emphasizes mastery of FSs and independence rather than normality. The PEDI has been found to be consistent with a majority of individual goals made for children with cerebral palsy in the components of activity and participation in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.6 Furthermore, the PEDI supports family-centered practice by involving parents in the evaluation of the child's functional abilities.7
The PEDI was developed and standardized in the United States in 1992, and subsequently, it has been translated into other languages.8–12 Several studies support the validity, reliability, and responsiveness to change of the PEDI.13–16 In 2005, the PEDI was translated into Danish, and the content validity was satisfactory.17 The Danish PEDI is formulated as an extended questionnaire to allow full parent report or for professionals to perform structured interviews. A small Danish pilot study of interrespondent reliability between 14 mothers of children with disabilities and the children's therapists showed low to moderate agreement.18 During a standardization process, it is also necessary to assess the applicability of an instrument in the cultural and practical context in which it is used.19 Applicability and cross-cultural validation studies of the PEDI have been performed in some European countries, which point to possible cultural differences.8,11,20–22 One could hypothesize that the US reference data from the PEDI are applicable in a Danish population because living conditions are somewhat similar. However, culture-specific child care practices could influence the development of skills in children.23,24 Bornstein et al25 have reported a cross-national study of mothers' self-evaluations in 7 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. The authors found significant differences in cultural ideas about parenting, which influenced child-rearing activities and parent-child interactions. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the applicability of the US PEDI reference values in a random Danish sample. Moreover, the intrarespondent reliability of the Danish version of the PEDI was examined.
To obtain a representative population sample, a random sample consisting of 605 children aged 0.8 to 5.8 years was drawn electronically from the Danish Civil Registration System. This age range was chosen to account for any delays in data collection. To be included in the applicability analysis, the children had to be within 1.0 to 5.9 years of age, as children without disabilities master most skills in the PEDI at the age of 5.5 to 6.0 years.26 In the reliability analysis, no age limits were set. Children would be excluded if their parents reported a medically verified disability. Demographic characteristics of the sample were obtained from Statistics Denmark. Nationality, geographic region, and maternal education were chosen as demographic characteristics to resemble the original PEDI sampling procedure.
The PEDI measures capability (what the child can do) and performance (what the child does) in daily activities in the domains of self-care, mobility and social function on FS, caregiver assistance (CA), and modifications scales, respectively. In this study, the FS and CA scales are used, corresponding to 6 subscales given that each domain and each scale constitutes a subscale. The PEDI can be administered through structured interview with parents, parent-completed questionnaire, and/or observations made by professionals.
According to the manual, each scale in the PEDI has different scoring criteria.5 Raw scores for each of the 6 subscales can be summarized and transformed into normative standard scores and scaled scores using the PEDI software. The normative standard scores are age adjusted and allow comparison with the US normative sample comprising 412 children without disabilities. The normative standard scores have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. A normative standard score less than 30 indicates functional delays because children without disabilities generally have scores between 30 and 70 (50 ± 2 standard deviations).5 The scaled scores are distributed along a continuum from 0 to 100, reflecting increasing levels of function and describing the child's performance relative to the maximum scores. The scaled scores are not age adjusted and are useful in the evaluation of the child's progress.
In this study, the Danish PEDI was administered as a parent-completed questionnaire. The reliability of this administration method has not yet been established.5 Thus, a small pilot study was conducted before this study. A convenience sample consisting of 20 children without disabilities aged 1.1 to 5.6 years participated in the pilot study in which the PEDI was administered as a parent-completed questionnaire and a structured interview completed by a physical therapist (PT). The administration method was chosen at random and median time between the 2 administrations was 15 days (range, 6–22 days). The level of agreement between the 2 methods was moderate to high (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.45–0.97). Based on these findings, it was decided to proceed with the parent-completed questionnaire method.
The PEDI questionnaire, a letter of information, and a prepaid envelope were mailed to the parents. Parents were asked to indicate whether they wanted to answer the questionnaire twice within a few weeks. The first questionnaire had to be returned within 14 days. After 3 weeks, a reminder was sent to increase the number of responses. The goal was to obtain at least 15 children in each age group. Based on previous PEDI studies with response rates as low as 17%,27 it was decided to contact approximately 600 families. The Danish Civil Registration System and Statistics Denmark provided information on 605 children. Initially, the questionnaire was mailed to 605 families (see flowchart in Figure 1). Eight questionnaires were returned because of wrong addresses. A total of 260 completed questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 43%.
For the purpose of the applicability analysis, 30 of the returned questionnaires were excluded. Eleven children were excluded because they had a known disability, such as heart disease, neurologic disorder, or psychiatric disorder. Thirteen children were excluded as they fell outside the age limit; however, data from 7 of these children were used in the intrarespondent reliability analysis. Six questionnaires were excluded because the parents had completed less than two-thirds of the questionnaire. Questionnaires with fewer than 5 missing items in total were still included. Accordingly, the random sample of children without disabilities consisted of 230 children aged 1.0 to 5.9 years. In 92% of the cases, the questionnaires were completed by the mother, in 5% of the cases by both parents, and in 3% of the cases by the father.
For the purpose of the reliability analysis, a total of 92 parents returned the questionnaire twice. The PEDI questionnaires were completed by the same respondents twice. As a result, the reliability analysis was performed with data from 92 children without disabilities aged 0.8 to 5.9 years.
The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (J.nr. 2007-41-0958). All participating parents gave informed consent. Participation was voluntary, and the parents were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any stage. All participating parents received a letter outlining the PEDI results for their child. In the case of a child having low normative standard scores (<30) in more than 2 subscales, parents were contacted to clarify whether the results were based on misinterpretations of the questionnaire or whether the child had unknown functional delays. Four parents were contacted, and none of their children were considered to have functional delays.
Differences in sex, nationality, geographic region, and maternal education between children of respondents and nonrespondents were compared using the χ2 test. Independent t tests and analyses of variance were used to compare the PEDI data from included respondents.
In the PEDI manual, means and standard deviations in the US normative sample are available for the scaled scores. Unfortunately, it was not possible to obtain means and standard deviations for the normative standard scores. A linear regression model was used to determine whether there were significant differences between scaled scores in the US normative sample and the Danish study sample. For each score, a second-degree polynomium of age was fitted separately for Danish and US data, weighted by the inverse variances of the means. The 2 curves were tested to determine whether they were equal, assuming parallel curves.
Moreover, an estimate of item difficulty in the Danish study sample was calculated in logit values. Calculations were based on item responses in the Danish sample. Positive logit values represent increasing item difficulty. The Danish logit values were compared with the US logit values using Pearson's correlation analysis. This comparison gave an indication of similarity in item difficulty.
ICCs were calculated by domain for normative standard scores and scaled scores in the intrarespondent analysis. A P value less than .05 was considered statistically significant. The PEDI software was used to store all raw data from the questionnaires and to transform raw scores into normative standard scores and scaled scores. All statistical analyses were conducted using R (version 2.6.2) software package.
Table 1 describes the demographic characteristics among children of nonrespondents and respondents. Significant differences between the 2 groups were found in nationality and maternal education. In the respondent group, the proportion of children with a nationality other than Danish was smaller. Furthermore, there was a larger proportion of mothers with a graduate education in the respondent group. No additional demographic differences were found between the excluded (n = 30) and included (n = 230) children.
Further analysis of the PEDI results in the 230 included children showed no relationship between the results and the nationality of child (Danish versus other nationality) or the educational level of mother (4 educational levels). Overall, the Danish study sample was found to be representative of a general Danish population with respect to sex, nationality, and geographic region. According to Statistics Denmark, 90.5% of the population are of Danish nationality corresponding to the proportion seen in the study sample. A larger proportion of mothers with graduate education was seen in the study sample compared with the 31.7% in all Danish women.28
Descriptive statistics for the study sample in each of the 6 subscales are given in the Appendix (available online at http://links.lww.com/PPT/A9).
Means and standard deviations of the scaled scores in the US normative sample and the Danish study sample were plotted against age separately for the US and Denmark in all 6 subscales. This is seen in Figures 2 through 7. A misfit is seen in 3 subscales: FS (social function) and CA (self-care and mobility) where the analysis showed a significant difference with P values less than .05 (Figures 4–6). Accordingly, Danish children seem more capable in social function skills, whereas US children seem more independent in self-care and mobility. The average difference in scaled scores between the Danish and the US children was 2.3 points in FS (social function), 5.5 points in CA (self-care), and 3.8 points in CA (mobility).
An additional analysis was conducted with an applied correction of age in these 3 subscales. This was done to identify possible systematic age differences between the US and Danish children. The PEDI manual provides data for children at 6-month intervals. Accordingly, US children were scored 6 months older in FS (social function) and 6 months younger in CA (self-care and mobility). Significant differences still persisted in FS (social function) but now in favor of the US children (ie, US children were more capable than Danish children). However, no significant differences were seen in the CA (self-care and mobility) subscales after the age correction, indicating that US children on average are 6 months ahead of Danish peers in these 2 subscales.
The applicability of the PEDI was further examined with comparisons of logit values. Based on the logit values in the Danish study sample and the US normative sample, Pearson correlations were calculated. As seen in Table 2, strong correlations were found both in the FS scales and the CA scales. All correlations were more than 0.8, indicating that the PEDI item difficulty is likely to be comparable in the US and Denmark.
A total of 92 children (42 males, 50 females) aged 0.8–5.9 years were included in the reliability analysis. Median time between questionnaire responses was 21.5 days (range, 13–36 days). Table 3 reports the ICCs for the normative standard scores and scaled scores. The ICCs indicate that the intrarespondent reliability was good to high.
The US PEDI reference values were only partly applicable in a Danish population. Results showed that the PEDI reference values were not applicable in the subscales of FS (social function) and CA (self-care and mobility). According to the results, Danish children were more capable in social FSs, whereas US children were more independent in self-care and mobility activities. In the analysis of the CA subscales of self-care and mobility, significant differences did not persist when US children were regarded as being 6 months younger. Several other studies have found that the PEDI reference values are not directly applicable in Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Norway.11,20,22 In Norway, Berg et al22 used a similar sampling method as in this study. Norwegian children, however, had significantly lower scores in all subscales of the PEDI, especially pronounced in the self-care domain, which highlighted the need for Norwegian norms. In contrast, a Swedish study showed that the US PEDI reference values were applicable in Sweden for children aged 2.0 to 6.9 years.8
Additional analysis of items in the PEDI showed strong correlations (Pearson r > 0.8) between the US and Danish structure of items. This indicates that the item difficulty is comparable between the 2 countries and, thus, supports the applicability of the PEDI in Denmark. Further item validation, however, using Rasch analysis to confirm the hierarchical structure of the items in Denmark is needed.
Various cultural and social factors influencing child-rearing practices could explain the functional differences found between US and Danish children. Pachter and Dworkin23 showed that maternal expectations and beliefs about infant development vary across different ethnic groups in the US. For instance, European American mothers expected children to take first steps and become toilet trained at a later age than African American mothers. This has implications on child-rearing and handling practices that aid the development of skills.24 Studies of child-rearing often compare parents from Western and non-Western cultures. However, differences might exist among different Western cultures. Tulviste et al29 showed that child-rearing values in Swedish and Finnish mothers vary. Similarly, Bornstein et al25 found significant differences in mothers' self-evaluations among several Western cultures. As such, it is possible that cultural differences are evident between the United States and Denmark. Furthermore, the US PEDI reference values were derived almost 20 years ago; thus, habits and views of child independence may have changed.
In the self-care domain, the results showed that US children become independent at an earlier age. This domain focuses on skills such as bladder/bowel control, dressing, and tooth brushing. A recent study reports an increase in age of attainment of bladder and bowel control from 25 to 27 months in the mid-1980s to 35 to 39 months in the mid-1990s to approximately 45 months in 2002.30 A contributing factor to this trend might be the convenience of new and better disposable diapers.31 The extended use of diapers could also increase the children's need for assistance when dressing the lower body. Regarding tooth brushing, Danish dentists recommend that parents take part and supervise their children until the age of 10 years, whereas the PEDI reference values show that children are expected to brush their teeth thoroughly at the of age 6 years.32 In the returned questionnaires, parents often pointed to the recommendation from the dentist. These aforementioned factors could have increased the Danish children's need for CA in self-care activities.
US children also seemed more independent in mobility than Danish children. The mobility domain involves locomotion and transfers (eg, in/out of the car and bathtub). In the past decades, increasing car safety has entailed automatic door locks and child seats with complicated lock systems.33 Thus, activities such as opening/closing car doors and managing a seat belt will be done by parents. Furthermore, Danish children might not have extensive experience with bathtub transfers because most families only have showers.34 Parents of Danish children might therefore assist the child for safety reasons when they occasionally use a bathtub.
In the social function domain, Danish children mastered more skills at an earlier age. This could be due to the fact that the majority of Danish children younger than 5 years (97%) attend daycare centers.28 Danish children might therefore engage in social interaction and peer play at earlier ages.
The results from the applicability analysis have important implications for the interpretation and clinical use of the PEDI in a Danish rehabilitation setting. In a physical therapy setting, normative standard scores are used to determine whether a child demonstrates functional delays. Given the differences between US and Danish children, PTs must be cautious when interpreting the normative standard scores, especially in the subscales CA (self-care and mobility) where Danish children without disabilities are more dependent on assistance. It might be of practical use to allow the Danish child to be scored in a younger age group (6 months younger) in these 2 subscales when the PT needs an indication of the functional status of the child. Still, this will not allow a fully accurate interpretation of functional delays using the normative standard scores. As the scaled scores of the child are not age adjusted, these scores are, however, very useful when PTs evaluate change and plan treatment.
In the intrarespondent analysis, ICCs showed good to high levels of reliability. In some cases, the ICCs fell below 0.80, which could be explained by a test effect because parents might be more conscious of the capability and performance of their child after the first administration.15 Results from this study are comparable with the reliability levels found in an US and Dutch study of test-retest reliability. Nichols and Case-Smith13 examined test-retest reliability in 23 children with disabilities aged 1 to 6 years and found ICCs between 0.70 and 0.98 in normative standard scores and between 0.74 and 0.98 in scaled scores. Correspondingly, Wassenberg-Severijnen et al15 found ICCs between 0.91 and 0.98 in scaled scores in 53 children with disabilities and 63 children without disabilities aged 6 months to 7½ years.
The random sampling method is considered to be a strength of this study, resulting in the response rate of 43%, which corresponds to those rates found in similar studies.22,35 Children were randomly drawn from the Danish Civil Registration System, yielding a representative study population. Demographic analysis between respondents and nonrespondents showed an overrepresentation of mothers with graduate education and an underrepresentation of children with another nationality than Danish. However, factors such as maternal education and nationality did not affect the PEDI results, which correspond to findings in other studies.5,22 A sample bias might have occurred because parents who feel confident about the development of their child tend to be those who participate in studies.36 This study is limited by the data collection method with parent-completed questionnaires. With the use of mailed questionnaires, parents may misinterpret the PEDI items, complete items inadequately, or give socially desirable responses (ie, their child seems to be more skillful with regard to culturally derived standards). Given the similarities and differences found between US and Danish children, the latter seems to be unlikely. The reliability of the PEDI as a parent-completed questionnaire has not been established. However, a previous pilot study examining the agreement between the PEDI data collected through a structured interview or questionnaire supported the questionnaire method with high ICCs except in the subscale CA (social function). Previous studies have also found the social function domain to be less reliable.5,14
Overall, results showed that the US PEDI reference values were partly applicable in a Danish population. The Danish study sample had significantly lower scores in the subscales CA (self-care and mobility), whereas they had significantly higher scores in the FS subscale (social function). The differences between US and Danish children might be due to cultural factors or social development during the past 20 years. Analyses of item difficulty in the United States and Denmark showed high correlations supporting the applicability of the PEDI in Denmark. Further studies of item validation using Rasch analysis are, however, recommended to determine whether cross-cultural differences exist. The PEDI is a useful assessment instrument in the Danish rehabilitation setting; however, PTs must be careful when interpreting functional delays using the PEDI reference values. The use of PEDI as an evaluation tool is still very advantageous. Furthermore, study results supported the intrarespondent reliability of the Danish version of the PEDI.
The authors thank all the parents and children who participated in this study.
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activities of daily living; child/preschool; Denmark; disability evaluation; female; health status indicators; humans; infant; male; reference values; reliability
PPT_22_2_2010_03_03_STAHLHUT_200261_SDC1.doc; [Word] (173 KB)
Pediatric Physical Therapy22(2):161-169, Summer 2010.
child/preschool
health status indicators
reference values
activities of daily living, child/preschool, Denmark, disability evaluation, female, health status indicators, humans, infant, male, reference values, reliability
Articles in PubMed by Michelle Stahlhut, PT, BSc
Articles in Google Scholar by Michelle Stahlhut, PT, BSc
Other articles in this journal by Michelle Stahlhut, PT, BSc
Lessons from Use of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory: Where Do We Go from Here?
The Clinimetric Properties of Performance-Based Gross Motor Tests Used for Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Systematic Review
The Performance of Children Developing Typically on the Pediatric Balance Scale
Commentary on The Performance of Children Developing Typically on the Pediatric Balance Scale
Concurrent Validity and Reliability of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Computer Adaptive Test Mobility Domain

Copyright © 2019 Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association


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Voila Leather launch a new product, a handbag & crossbody bag for classy and charactered women, named Voila Alina Women's Leather Bag. Voila Alina is one of the top-handle handbag combine with crossbody bag made for women using strong and slightly stiff, Dolphine Grey even-colored Hermes Birkin texture full grain cow leather. Voila Alina is a classy, medium sized women's leather bag.
Voila Alina is available in Dolphine Grey color, and come with a detachable sling / crossbody / shoulder strap so you have more option on how you want to carry the bag. Voila Alina has magnetic button lock and zippered opening to its main chamber that is wrapped with soft, smooth, not easily torn velvet suede fabric lining for your valuable handphone/smartphone or gadgets safekeeping and easy access. Voila Alina main chamber also completed with two small pouches and one zippered pocket. Voila Alina also has two large pockets on its outer front and backside.


After Chance Geery, 18, was killed by a distracted driver while walking on the sidewalk by Mullan Road on April 1, grieving family and friends appealed to the city of Missoula and other officials for a change in the speed limit from 45 to 35 miles per hour.
The same change in speed limits was made on Rattlesnake Drive between Cornerstone and Aspen Drive. A news release from the city states that Missoula City Council members discussed the changes following numerous requests. Council members were concerned about heavy pedestrian and bicycle use in the urban core on Mullan Road, and because of inadequate transportation facilities and wildlife hazards on Rattlesnake Drive.
The reductions are temporary pending speed studies to be conducted by city crews under the direction of City Engineer Kevin Slovarp. The Montana Transportation Commission must approve any speed limit changes for streets that are part of the Montana Transportation Department urban roadway system. The city engineer's office hopes to complete the studies in time for the commission meeting in September.


text:
Q: How to display action button as dropdown in Yii2 gridview? I would like to display action button as dropdown in Yii 2 gridview. How can I achieve that without using any extension?
I have added the source code bellow-
<?= GridView::widget([
    'dataProvider' => $dataProvider,
    'filterModel' => $searchModel,
    'columns' => [
                ['class' => 'yii\grid\SerialColumn'],

                'id',
                'name',

                ['class' => 'yii\grid\ActionColumn',
                    'template'=>'{view}{update}{delete}',
                    'buttons' => [
                        'view' => function ($url, $model) {
                            return Html::a('', $url, [
                                'title' => Yii::t('app', 'View'),
                            ]);
                        },
                        'update' => function ($url, $model) {
                            return Html::a('', $url, [
                                'title' => Yii::t('app', 'Update'),
                            ]);
                        },
                    ],

                    'urlCreator' => function ($action, $model, $key, $index) {
                        if ($action === 'view') {
                            $url ='/site/view?id='.$model->id;
                            return $url;
                        }
                        if ($action === 'update') {
                            $url ='/site/update?id='.$model->id;
                            return $url;
                        }
                    }
                ],
    ],
]); ?>

A: Here is how I did it:
use yii\bootstrap\ButtonDropdown;

// ... GridView configuration ...
[
    'class' => 'yii\grid\ActionColumn',
    'template' => '{all}',
    'buttons' => [
        'all' => function ($url, $model, $key) {
            return ButtonDropdown::widget([
                'encodeLabel' => false, // if you're going to use html on the button label
                'label' => 'Options',
                'dropdown' => [
                    'encodeLabels' => false, // if you're going to use html on the items' labels
                    'items' => [
                        [
                            'label' => \Yii::t('yii', 'View'),
                            'url' => ['view', 'id' => $key],
                        ],
                        [
                            'label' => \Yii::t('yii', 'Update'),
                            'url' => ['update', 'id' => $key],
                            'visible' => true,  // if you want to hide an item based on a condition, use this
                        ],
                        [
                            'label' => \Yii::t('yii', 'Delete'),
                            'linkOptions' => [
                                'data' => [
                                    'method' => 'post',
                                    'confirm' => \Yii::t('yii', 'Are you sure you want to delete this item?'),
                                ],
                            ],
                            'url' => ['delete', 'id' => $key],
                            'visible' => true,   // same as above
                        ],
                    ],
                    'options' => [
                        'class' => 'dropdown-menu-right', // right dropdown
                    ],
                ],
                'options' => [
                    'class' => 'btn-default',   // btn-success, btn-info, et cetera
                ],
                'split' => true,    // if you want a split button
            ]);
        },
    ],
],
// ... additional GridView configuration ...

You can check ButtonDropdown documentation here.

A: Google "Bootstrap Dropdowns" and then replace actions in 'template'=>'{view}{update}{delete}' with what you find. Leaving these three actions instead of text.
Regards.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Interview: Flabba Holt in Kingston (Part 3)
https://unitedreggae.com/articles/n2031/010416/interview-flabba-holt-in-kingston-part-3
By Angus Taylor on Monday, January 4, 2016 - Photos by Veronique Skelsey
"Style Scott was like my son"
Read part 2 of this interview here.
In part three of our exclusive interview with Flabba Holt, he describes how he played a crucial role in Gregory Isaacs' Night Nurse because of some disparaging remarks that he took to heart, why Steely left the band and started the computer age, and how he coped with the recent death of Style Scott…
There was a 1984 Linval produced Freddie McKay album, Tribal Inna Yard, that was recently re-issued by Iroko Records. It credits Radics on the reissue but on a recent dub album of the same rhythms released by Hot Milk it credits Revolutionaries.
Yeeees. Well in those days, let me show you something now. Sometimes some war would go on there now. Because Revolutionaries would find they didn't get any work. Sometimes the man would just put their name upon the thing to make it look like they worked. Radics licked the Revolutionaries out of the thing. It no matter still because that's how music goes. Enough times I played on a tune and when I looked I saw another bass man's name on it. Like on most of Gregory Isaacs' songs there.
A man would say "Bwoy, Radics a two chord musician and blah blah blah" but I never paid it no mind. They wanted we to play the tunes with no heap of chords and I didn't want to bust up my brain there. Two chord tunes like on Gunman – because the bass would run from F to F sharp to G to G flat and go out. That's three notes. So we started playing a couple of tunes for Gregory Isaacs and touring for Gregory Isaacs and Gregory Isaacs started putting them out on African Museum when he had a cash and carry upon Orange Street. He used Sly and used Robbie. But then we became resident band now and he used us.
A man would say "Radics a two chord musician" but I never paid it no mind
Now, I don't know who started passing remarks but I have ears boss. I have the wickedest ears in Jamaica and the wickedest ideas because I can do enough things. So we'd hear certain words they talk because if Gregory had an LP it would sell. There was a certain musician there who I won't call his name boss. Saying it was just through how their name was upon the music was why it sold. So they said "Radics a two chord musician" and how we can't play music and blah blah blah.
Hear this now. When Island signed Gregory Isaacs, Gregory got some time up at Tuff Gong Studio, at Bob Marley's place up at 56 Hope Road and we did an LP. So I said "Gregory, what we ago play upon the LP?" Because you see I voiced Gregory Isaacs on a whole heap of tunes boss. I sat down and told him how to sing because I know Gregory's sound. For GG and a whole heap of tunes – too many tunes. So I looked upon him and said "Gregory, you see me, Bingy Bunny, Dwight, Steely, we're going to go up to Tuff Gong, do the LP, all Radics doing the LP".
This was Night Nurse.
The LP he hadn't named it yet. We just did the tracks, no vocals, just empty tracks. I don't think there was any rough voice. We just laid the rhythms at Tuff Gong. One day, I got a call saying they wanted me to go to Compass Point. I said "Which Compass Point?" they said "A foreign" and I said "Mi nah go a foreign because mi nah ago left mi musicians" but they said "You haffi go a Compass Point". I said "Where that then?" and they said "Nassau" and I said "Mi never go Nassau yet" and they said "Alright".
They booked me tickets to fly out to Nassau. I sat down. In Nassau, boss, they have two studios – Studio A upstairs and Studio B downstairs. When I went up to Studio A I heard up there a brother named Stephen Stanley with (sings) "CHILL OUT CHILL OUT CHILL OUT NEW YORK" and he's mixing and mixing. That studio was clean and nice now boss. But I don't know what I'm doing yet. I'm there for one week – nothing to do. I say "Wha Gwaan?" and they say Gregory is supposed to come and do voicing. I say "I never knew, they never told me that". Two weeks – no Gregory Isaacs. I'm there for one month and I say "I go back home" but they say "No man, Gregory a come next week". So I start to listen to the tracks and they dubbed on enough percussion on all the tracks, all eight tracks.
Gregory comes and boss, they had an old time mic, a rock 'n' roll mic, a big mic. At Compass Point that mic caught my eye because my pickney would love that mic there! You know the regular mic – the long one? I said we didn't want to voice with that mic and I said "Gregory, a this mic we ago use" and he said "Alright then Flabba, anything you seh". He voiced eight tunes in seconds – zap zap zap – because he's great here, Gregory. Because Gregory, man, sometimes his mouth was out of key. And boss, enough things I know about the business that people don't know. You're getting an exclusive interview. Gregory Isaacs was often out of key and I made him straight upon key. He was a singer where I'd tell him "Yes, Gregory, go up deh a little more". We have a song that me and Gregory sing that people don't know (sings) "IF YOU WANT TO BE MY NUMBER ONE" Me and Gregory sang that song. And after we voiced eight songs the LP was not named yet.
When he'd done voicing the songs Gregory Isaacs left leaving me in Nassau. I thought "Gregory, what kind of thing that?" I didn't know what to do. I sat down and started talking to myself. They say a man who talks to himself is a madman. I'm a madman now so I started talking to myself. My mind just flashed back to when the man said how because he'd put on certain man's name like Robbie and Sly Dunbar, a Gregory Isaacs LP would sell and I don't know who passed those remarks. I knew what to do. I thought "Radics alone are on this LP so mi ago do my best".
So what happened next?
Then a keyboard man came from England called Wally Badarou. I thought "The keyboard man has come. I have an idea". He said "Wha gwaan Flabba? What we ago do?" I said "Gregory has gone and I don't really know. But tomorrow we'll do something because my head no ready yet". So I went to rest and slept the night and did some thinking. Tomorrow I was ready for him. The first thing upon the tape was Night Nurse and I said "Just cool man. Just play this" (sings iconic keyboard three note motif) and he just dubbed on that. He said "Wicked idea, Flabba" and I just said "No mi just think and it come in my head quick".
Then I thought "We need one more tone to go with it" and I started in my head (whistles, slowly moderating into the iconic three note response) and I said play this now (sings entire phrase). Because enough man have to play that on a stage show and they have to have two different keyboards because they have two tones. Two different tones I used but enough people don't know that boss! It's like with ProTools now, where it's a loop. It's a one finger thing – no drop down. And for Cool Down The Pace I did the (sings descending motif) and he said "Flabba you good. You done the work. Go home". One day that was boss, in one day.
Mixing time came now, boss. That's where I would prove myself. The engineer came and said "Flabba, you ready now?" I said "No, no, tomorrow". It was a Saturday night and I said "I'm going to mix Sunday morning, man". So I came to wake him up at five o'clock in the morning (knocks on table) saying "Come, boss, we ago mix now because I want to go back Jamaica now". We come down at six o'clock. Now, boss, the studio they gave me? I don't know if you know about this, but in Jamaica they have two classes – the A Class if you are a bright boy and the B Class if you are a dunce boy. If you are in the B Class you know nothing – you are a dunce. You have to will yourself to go to the A Class.
That studio was so clean and pretty. It's where I heard (sings) "CHILL OUT CHILL OUT CHILL OUT NEW YORK" and in the booth I saw Grace Jones with her long fingernails and she looked like a man. All muscly and everything. They did their voicing and I didn't want to hear that because she couldn't sing – she was all out of key and everything – so I went to sit down and meditate. Because that's not the studio they gave me to mix the LP. The studio they gave me. The rug in there was dirty man. But I said "Alright, music a music". The engineer came and we started to mix.
Who was the engineer?
Godwin Logie from London.
I know him.
I said "That tune is the first song – where him sing about Night Nurse". We mixed it and he said "Flabba, we ago take a next cut?" and I said "No man, we no do the two cut thing, only one cut". Because it was going complicated for me. Because if we had two cuts they'd have to say "I want this or that?" We mix and mix and mix and it's done. The man listened and he listened and he said "Flabba, where you get your head from? You say no more cuts?" I said "No, no, no".
Monday morning I drop asleep and I hear (knocks on table) on my door. I said "Who dat?" "Chris Blackwell. Flabba – how the LP a come?" I said "We done man". They said "Done? No man it can't done. You take one day to mix all the tunes? We ago listen this". They put on the two track tapes and played the tunes and they played and played and played. They must have played for one whole day. They said "What's the LP name?" and I said "Me a call it Night Nurse". They said "No man". They wanted to call the LP Cool Down The Pace. I said "Nothing like that. We ago name Night Nurse because that's the big tune upon the LP. Cool Down The Pace a good tune but Night Nurse a more catchy." They said "Where the next cut? You know you must mix a spare cut?" I said "That's it boss, every tune a one cut". They looked upon me and said "That's impossible". It took me one day – not even a whole day – half a day to mix eight tunes and it sounded so good.
So did you get any royalties from that?
I got nothing boss. I got no royalties boss. Up till now. Gregory Isaacs died in 2010.
From Channel One days Style Scott was so stubborn
How did you feel when the digital thing came in? Because Steely was a big part of that.
Well, when the digital thing came in it was like Style Scott caused that problem. Because Steely was my little student. Everything I told him, he'd do it. We toured with Bunny Wailer and this brother I knew, a big producer from Miami, Skengdon, came to the soundcheck. I don't know if he knew Steely, I think him and Steely were like family, but he went to Steely and he didn't want to talk to me. Because in those times you could put money on your plane ticket and stay over so he said "Go tell tell Flabba when him done no haffi fly out, come to the hotel and come deal with me because mi want him play some tune".
I don't know if you know that one time me and Gregory were supposed to go to England and do an LP with a brother called Reggie Lock called Freelance. You hear a song (sings) "EVERYTHING YOU SAY EARSAY" where I was talking on the intro and telling Style Scott "That's not the right roll"? I never knew the guy was taping that – everything! I say "Whappen that? The wrong roll that! Bomboclot!" I say a bad word. If you listen to that song it's like Style Scott sometimes was ready to outroll we. I said "No Style, more come with the bass in a particular way" and he went (drums on table) and I said "No man, if you listen again, the wrong roll that, alright now".
Now Bunny Wailer was supposed to pay me. He flew out and left me. Gil Scott Heron was on the show as well. Anyway Skengdon was rich so we were in good hands so I thought "we when we go Jamaica we will deal with Bunny Wailer but we don't know if Bunny Wailer will deal with the thing". Steely called Skengdon up and he came in a pretty car.
The session went nice but Steely was like he wanted to give it a swing like – t-t-t-t-t-t-t – drum machine kind of swing. But Style Scott was so stubborn. From Channel One days Style Scott was so stubborn. Enough songs Style Scott played, sometimes the tempo would drop. I'd say "Watch the tempo Rotodom, what you a deal with?" so he'd play good. But that day there – him and Steely got off! Badman style like him and Steely want to fight or something. I watched my two students and said "Rotodom, Steely was the last man to join the band but if Steely feel a thing – play it now man". "No, no, no" and one bag of talking! They didn't really want to fight but they didn't want to lose face. Steely was stubborn too, "Style Scott, why you nah play the drum that way deh? Swing it!" Style Scott was determined, saying "Nah play it so". So I said "Rotodom" and he play, play, play, play and Steely said "Mi like it" and we played the song but Steely never approved of it. Skengdon said "Rotodom, if Steely says play a lickle thing then try a lickle thing brethren. If Steely feel something – play it now man."
Steely said "Flabba, me nah play no more tune with Style Scott. Mi ago form Steely and Clevie"
Half of it was done when – this is the first time you get this in an interview – my student came to me and said "Flabba, me nah play no more tune with Style Scott. Mi ago form Steely and Clevie". That's how Steely and Clevie formed. When Steely died and went to Dovecot I said "Clevie, how Steely and Clevie form?" and he said because Steely was a 12 Tribes and Clevie was a 12 Tribes. I said "No man, one day I will tell you man". But you are the first man who got this. Up to now he doesn't know. That's how Steely left Radics. I don't tell lies about music. Long time Style Scott had a problem. If you listen to Freelance LP you'll hear me a curse that same drum roll.
But when the thing went digital – what did you do? How did you survive?
Well, when the thing went digital, we said "Rahtid come" and took a stop and Steely started acting up too. Just because he got all the work. He had a little keyboard and my friend Leggo Beast in England gave it to him - a little Yamaha. Because he can play his keyboards he got wicked now. Because I taught him enough things. He started playing bass now. He had a keyboard tone like my old bass. He started going up to Jammys. When he played for Jammys I'd go up there and show him certain little things too and he made the bass sound like my own – my tone. We are friends and I'm not vexed with him because they got the work and Radics got no work now. We did the same, we did the same.
So they started to create something now and I looked upon it and said "Rahtid come, the music business". By this time everybody was gone and it was me and Style Scott. Bingy Bunny was dead. The music business changed upon us now. So I said "What we ago do? Pure Steely everybody a use now". Style Scott had a drum machine but he couldn't play it. I didn't know the drum machine thing. I never liked the sound. Steely and Clevie started to mash up the place and I said "We dead fi hungry now" and they were at Jammys and his tunes were going on with the people.
The music business started to change and so we started to tour
So we said "Alright, then, them a play that". Because in the time when we were done touring with Itals in those days RAS Records said "You have to come and do an LP with Israel Vibration". So that's how we did the first album Strength of My Life. So we started to play and play and play and play. They had gone to some bands in a foreign, Israel Vibration, but it didn't sound so. So they said "Better use Flabba dem". That's how come we started to survive now, boss. The music business started to change and so we started to tour now. Because Steely and them did not tour. They were session men. So we started to tour and spread the name Radics more. That's how come when the computer thing came we knew how to survive – we started to tour with Israel Vibration. Steely and Clevie did not do any tour. We let them build up their little name and we started to tour, tour, tour. Then Steely came to me and said "Gimme a tour now, man" and I said "Gwaan play session".
Because we had musicians – we were bringing a keyboard, bringing T Bird. All of them did not give me any work. Radics ran the place for about 11 years boss – from 1981 to about 91. When Steely and them came they didn't lick us out but the sound changed and the people liked that sound. Then Steely discovered the session thing wasn't going on too good so everybody discovered the touring. He offered and I said "No, you and Clevie have to go tour". They couldn't get a tour. It was just Radics and Israel Vibration on a tour, on a tour, on a tour. Enough times still I would go to play with Steely when they stopped playing with Jammys and they built their own studio. I would come and play bass for him because he came to find the computer bass would get annoying now. He couldn't play the strings so enough heap of tunes I played for him.
Radics ran the place for about 11 years boss
By the 90s you'd been doing your own productions for a while…
It was Dennis Brown you know? Dennis Brown saw me and I said "D Brown I want you come sing some songs yunno". Sometimes I waited till three or four o'clock for him because he was doing his little things. When he came sometimes and he couldn't sing I'd say "D Brown, go back a your yard man. Your throat mash up". Yeah man, we put on the Ras but Ras sold out to RAS Records and they gave me nothing – up to today they did the same thing. You see in the business now boss, I'm clean in music but people take advantage of me. Especially the Radics man. Because none of we got anything boss. You see how everybody's dead. Their pickney should eat food because Radics played so many songs. No man collected any money, boss. I can't collect any money to give the family or anything.
Style Scott died and my money had to bury Style Scott. Because when Style Scott died the last session we did was up at Harry J studio. This guy from France named Irie Ites records, we played some songs for him and one day he called me and said "Flabba I want you come pass the song for me". We went up to Mixing Lab on the Tuesday and I said "Scotty, what you do up town? What you a deal with?" He said man and man gone to the country to Ochi. He was supposed to come to Irie FM that day but I never knew because nobody ever told me. He left his yard and said he'd gone to the country. I said "Scotty, when you and the other man go a country take care of yourself". That's it. They went to the country.
My money had to bury Style Scott
And that was the last you heard from Style?
A little Japanese brethren wanted me to play a song for him so I went down to Tuff Gong and did a wicked bassline. I heard my phone ring and said "Who this?" "Leggo. Anybody call you?" I said "No man, been doing a session". "You hear what happen to Style?" I put down the guitar and said "What happen to him?" Because Style Scott is like my son. Boss, I talk about him and I want to cry. If Style Scott wanted money it was me he'd call. Session? Me he'd call. Nobody knew he'd gone to the country. Sometimes people didn't want to use Style Scott because of the way he'd shark it over money. I'd say "Scotty, ease yourself, when the money a come the money come. That's how we struggle." When the man told me "They chopped him up last night and him dead" I flung my phone and my phone mashed up. I told Mr Chin "Mi nah feel so good". He said "Flabba, what about the session man?" I said "I nah feel good" and the Chinaman knew nothing. I told him nothing man. I said "Style Scott dead. Mi ago dub on the bass for you" but when I dubbed on the bass it was me alone left at Tuff Gong. I sat down. I wondered, because I had a car and said "Style Scott dead? Is it really true?"
So I drove to the country but I couldn't find Style Scott man. I drove outside of Mandeville where he lived and I couldn't find his yard. I never knew Style Scott moved from Williamsfield. I never knew. You know Williamsfield right? It's like when you're going through Porus, that roundabout that carries you to Mandeville. When you go round that way you find Williamsfield Police Station and that left, Style Scott lived on that corner called Russell Place. I drove and drove my car and went back home.
Style Scott's death is a mystery, boss
To me, up to now, Style Scott's death is a mystery, boss. Up till now they don't hold anybody because nothing is solved. Style Scott's death feels like a set up to me. Because Style Scott would kick you know? When he came upon the drum he'd get wicked boss. Up to now, I still don't believe he's dead. (laughs) Trust me, I can't believe the man dead. Like, when Bingy Bunny died I'd just come from Israel. A man told me "Bingy Bunny sick". I said "Sick? Whappen to him?" I went up there (knocks on the table) and knocked on his gate. No Bingy Bunny. The man said "Him in there" and I said "C'mon answer me!" You see I lost all of my students then. I formed the band in 1978. Bingy Bunny died first, then Steely Johnson died, then Sowell Bailey died, Style Scott. I am the last founder member. That's how life is set. That's how life goes sometimes.
You've recently been playing on tunes for Winta James who is the main producer of the current new reggae movement. What do you think of how it has come back round again?
Well, as I said, sometimes the music changes and you have to just go with it. Just go with the flow. Remember ska came in? Ska tunes were the tunes I grew up on. I loved ska. Up until this morning I dance and lick it off like competition. The music business changed when ska came in. It's like when Steely came in with the Poco thing (drums Poco rhythm on the table), Steely's mother and grandmother were Poco women. Because in those days in those long, long times in western Kingston we would play the same drum – the two stick drum. The same Poco (drums rhythm) the same Jonkanu. That style the brethren got was a different style. When I played for Junjo, Junjo got a good style from me. When we played for Jah Thomas he got a different style. When you listen to Jah Thomas and Linval they really got some good tunes out of Radics. Every time we played for a man we tried to create something different.
The music changes and you have to just go with it
Listening to the music today they are making now? I don't know but when we used to record on four and 16 and 24 track tape, every studio we would record at would sound different. Duke Reid and Coxsone wouldn't rent his studio so he just kept his sound as his sound – but you could record at Randy's, Harry J, Channel One and Joe Gibbs studio who would rent their place.
And every song we did sounded different. If Joe Gibbs got his musicians in there his sound was different. If Channel One got the Revolutionaries to play there, his sound was different. Randy's studio was kind of out of date so we would be talking about Joe Gibbs, Channel One and Harry J. Although Harry J's studio wasn't a revolutionary sound. Most of Bob Marley's hits came out of there, not even Tuff Gong, 56 Hope Road, Harry J. And you notice the two studios where most of the hits came out were Joe Gibbs and Channel One. So when people took stock they mostly started to use Channel One only. Joe Gibbs started to not get work. When Radics were playing people lined up outside there, boss. When we did one session, we couldn't come out of there. Next session, Radics. Revolutionaries too. We in we out, they in they out. Sly would go in and we'd wait saying "Why the session take long man?" because sometimes the session would go over. We'd do the same thing too. "Time done deh!" Time done you have to come out.
So brethren, every man got their different sound. But one thing I'd say about the music business right now, and even Errol Brown said to me one time, is that ProTools or whatever they want to call it, it sounds heavy but to me it takes too long, it's a headache. To me, ProTools, I call it "TV Music", it is not music to listen to. It's music for looking on a screen. It's a wave man. One time Steely called me down to play bass for him. You know when you play the bass and in our time you'd watch the needle – it would go in the red but not distort? I would play the bass for Steely, boss, and they'd see the TV screen and the wave and say "It too heavy up here so".
Because of how it looks.
Yes! He told me to play it so the wave is straight! So I play and I look and I play soft and he says "Yeah man, see it deh deh – that's it". The music nowadays is like, to me, everything sounds the same way, boss, because everybody uses the same program. If I listen to music on the radio everything sounds the same way. If a man comes with a bass line it's just set to one way. Every time I hear back on old time Coxsone or an old time Treasure Isle it sounds like it was just made. The tunes they made nowadays everything sounds one way – no man, something's wrong. The music business is wrong - too much of a one way thing.
The tunes they made nowadays everything sounds one way
Is that why you favour a specific bass?
Yeah, man. Most of my songs I use a Fender Jazz. Night Nurse and those songs. But I tone it different. The music nowadays it sounds not nice. Every day they talk about going back to live thing and live this but it's just talk they talk. The first time certain songs were recorded they beat it down "That no fit for airplay". I'm a long, long, long time coming from Idlers Rest in the early 80s – man started doing rude tunes, adult tunes and they didn't want that to play. You see now? They talk about the same thing upon the radio. Those tunes there mashed up the business a long time boss. Before Randy's locked down we told them "We no want them tune fi play".
We suffer in the music business now boss. Some little man would see me and some other people and say "Why the man deh a walk – have no car?" The vanity of the thing, boss. Music we deal with. We don't talk about cars and big life. They're all just very lucky that people come with some little fool thing and people love it. I see some man who walk in ten pairs of shoes and not even sing one tune. We suffered in the 80s to build the thing and now a man comes and mashes it down? I don't love that.
We suffer in the music business now boss
Do you hear any new roots reggae artists you like?
I'll tell you the truth. To me, I hear people boost up some artists. They are not ready yet. The only artist that really came that I really play tunes for is Beres Hammond. I love his tune that goes (sings "EVERY TIME I THINK OF SAYING GOODBYE"). Beres Hammond I tell him, he can't die. He has to keep current every time. Every time Beres Hammond sings upon a rhythm it busts. Because Beres Hammond has some wicked rhythms and when Beres writes I play different from Israel and keep him current because he is my singer and I don't want him to drop off. Because I love him.
To me the only artist that really comes different from Tenor Saw was Garnett Silk. I didn't hear any more artists coming after Garnett Silk. They talk about this and that but they're not ready yet. They may sing a little one tune or two tunes but they need to have a catalogue of tunes. You can't come and sing one tune or two tunes and be a big singer. I won't rate you. Gregory had a catalogue. Garnett Silk had a catalogue. Tenor Saw had a catalogue. Beres Hammond had a catalogue.
So those artists they big up. The whole of them sound one way. Put the whole of them together and they sing nothing. Every one of their melodies sounds the same way. They sing off key. Enough of them use autotune and they don't know about singing. It's just [because] ProTools came that some of them may sound good. Because you can fix up their voice but if they sang upon a tape machine they'd sound like? I haven't heard any youth since Garnett Silk that can sing. Who are born to sing. You have certain man who are born to sing and then they put certain things on their voice like autotune and all those things and sound one way. I don't hear any singers right now. I tell you the truth from my heart.
Decades after you first started singing, you're working on a new vocal solo album. What other things are you working on right now?
Well, I'm just going to write some songs. Because you have a brethren now how I want to really push out there still. He's named Junior Sinclair. He has a little touch like Gregory Isaacs. Because we did some shows with him and the man, boss, trust me, he moves like Gregory Isaacs. I took him up to the place for a stage show and last night I saw him singing on some tape and boss he was singing some foreign song and I said "I want get some show with him". Even Gregory Isaacs' son, Kevin Isaacs, I grew him but he doesn't have it like this man.
PLEASE NOTE: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE ARE THOSE OF FLABBA HOLT AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF ANGUS TAYLOR OR UNITED REGGAE.
Tags: Flabba Holt, Roots Radics, Style Scott
Read comments (4)
Posted by Joakim on 01.05.2016
Great interview. Been like a child before Christmas waiting for the final part to come up. :) Thank you Angus and UR!
Recommend?
Posted by Kimo on 01.05.2016
Fantastic interview! Incredibly insightful. Heavy musings by the Jackie Mittoo of the 80's, Flabba Holt. Big Mahalo to Angus Taylor from Wahiawa, Hawaii!
Posted by rrr on 01.08.2016
Posted by Ernest on 01.08.2016
BIG UP TO THE AXE MAN WELL DONE INTERVIEW. GOT KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE RADICS CAME ABOUT.ONE OF MY FAVORITE GROUP. RESPECT FLABBA HOLT.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


But i need to know if there is really NO way to do this?
It doesn't have to be simple.. But maybe via SSH? Ftpd? or something..
Sorry for my quick post.. I found the answer.... Yes you can!!!
First off, I appologize for resurrecting such an old post, but my hopes are that it will help someone and spare them the frustrasion I had over the last few weeks.
I was hoping to create a more manageble network by moving all my Picostation M2's over to UniFi firmware and have a controller at hand. In theory, it was great, I could see all AP's from a central point and have all the advantages of seeing in real time what happens to each AP. Upgrade them, change settings with ease. Only problem is, my signal quality took a serious knock, including the ability for a veriaty of devices to maintain a stable connection, 90% of them Apple products.
So, I have been looking for a solution to this hoping there was a fix while remaining on UniFi firmware, but sadly none that I could find. While working my way through the forums came accross many threads on how it can be done and/or should be done. In the end the result was clear, return to AirOS.
My problem experienced was that no matter what I did, non of my Pico's would go into TFTP mode as per all the instructions. The lights would flash indicating TFTP mode, but the base IP of 192.168.1.20 would be unreachable and the device couldn't be discovered with the Ubiquiti Discovery tool. So, through trial and error, this here below is my sequence of getting Picostations back from UniFi firmware to AirOS.
1. SSH into the device on the DHCP provided or IP address assigned in the coutroller. Use your Controller Username and Password to log in when requested.
2. Run the following command. "upgrade http://community.ubnt.com/attachments/ubnt/UniFi/41681/1/UniFi2AirOS.bin" The firmware upgrade will commence, AP will reboot and will be in an unreachable state as you are now running firmware 5.3.3.
3. Unplug the power to the AP, hold the reset button and plug power back in. The AP will boot and after 5-8 seconds, the signal LED's will light up one by one. Once all lights are on, release the reset button and the signal LED's will alternately flash indicating TFTP mode. You will now be able to ping the device on Base IP 192.168.1.20.
4. Open a Windows commmand prompt with Admin Rights. navigate to the folder where your latest firmware is, c:\firmware in my case. run the following command from the firmware folder "tftp -i 192.168.1.20 put firmware.bin"
The AP will now flash the latest firmware, reboot itself and thereafter will be reachable on the base IP as it would when it came out of the box.
My apologies for the long post, but I hope this will help someone coming into the same problems I did.


Is there any way to publish a service with two data sources on a single layer?
The problem is: How to display a different geometry data according the scale? The problem is about display a distinct geometry type not about the symbology of the layer.
No. A feature layer can be of only one geometry type. You can't have a feature layer showing multiple types of geometry such as polygons and polylines or points.
what is the exact use case that you are trying to solve?
I'd like to show a different geometry on a different scale in an application. But I would not want to do this within the application source.
It's like changing a symbology on a different scale, but using a scale instead.


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Tag Archives: Fun Music
47th Favorite: Fair Warning, by Van Halen
Fair Warning. Van Halen.
1981, Warner Brothers. Producer: Ted Templeman.
Bootleg Cassette, ca. 1983. Purchased, ca. 1998.
IN A NUTSHELL: A record by a band that I describe in one word: "fun!" Eddie Van Halen's guitar heroics are all over the place on this album, and he always plays with a sense of enjoyment and laughter. David Lee Roth is the clown prince of cock rock, and the band's rhythm section is second to none. This album has all the hallmarks of a VH classic. It might not be for everyone, but if it's you get it, you'll want to get it!
Everyone likes to have fun, right? At least a little bit? I'm sure there are a few people you can think of who seem completely disinclined to have fun. I myself have a relative or two who seem to need a lesson in fun. But I'd venture to say even those dour folks you know who seem to have gone to some weird face gymnasium to build up their Zygomaticus muscles (major and minor) to ensure their lips can never curl into a smile have some little thing in their lives that they consider fun: weather-stripping the house, perhaps, or looking at their Commemorative Spoon collection. Fun means different things to different people, but it's a universal feeling, known across cultures, throughout history.
Popular music has often celebrated fun, as well. Hit songs from the past 60 years that extoll its virtues include those by Cyndi Lauper, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Sly & The Family Stone, Madness, Wang Chung and Tom Tom Club. (Less popular musical artists, such as Bruce Willis and Charles Manson, have also cut tracks about fun). Plenty of other songs describe such fun activities as jumping around, driving around, going on vacation, going to parties, playing basketball, playing baseball, playing cards … even cosplay (sort of). Throw in fun activities like dancing and sex, and it becomes damn difficult to think of a song that isn't about fun. (Songs by 70s-sad-sack-sap-spewers Bread notwithstanding.)
Despite the universal appeal of fun, and despite the fact that it's a standard topic of song, musical artists devoted to fun are not typically held in the same regard by critics as those artists with a more serious worldview. The most-admired rock and roll artists from the Turbulent 60s® had at a bare minimum at least one phase, or important work, that touched on universal human and political themes. Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan did, of course, as did The Beatles, James Brown and Marvin Gaye … even good time party-boys The Rolling Stones had their "Street Fighting Man" era. Through the 70s, gravity reigned: The Who wrote operas; Led Zeppelin wrote serious-sounding songs about serious-sounding subjects; prog rockers like Yes and Genesis and Rush demonstrated a serious devotion to virtuosity and Grand Ideas; and earnest dudes with acoustic guitars became unlikely pop stars. Then punk came – and while its pogo-ing fans were having fun, what The Critics™ responded to was the bands' anger and passion. Fun was certainly a big part of the 70s Disco Movement, but the music itself wasn't taken very seriously.
The 80s were a heyday for fun-themed music, from Madonna and Michael Jackson to the scourge of Hair Metal. MJ was always a critics' favorite, and Madonna eventually got there, but the music of the 80s that The Critics tended to love – more serious artists like Tom Waits, The Smiths and Hüsker Dü – weren't really all that popular in the U.S. in the 80s; they were niche acts. Popular, fun acts like Huey Lewis and The News and Bon Jovi and all the other Hair Metal acts were already starting to sound tiresome to critics (and record buyers) by the time the 90s dawned. The lasting 80s rock bands – U2, R.E.M. – were serious bands with some (at times embarrassing) fun thrown in.
Fun mostly took a backseat in 90s pop music. Sure you had some goofballs out there, and the decade's "Swing Revival" tried to encourage us that fun could be had for a mere 2 years of dance lessons and a few $500 Zoot Suits. But from Gangsta Rap to Grunge to College Music, the 90s were not really an era of much musical fun. Just ask Cher, from Clueless. (Although, to be fair, inter-genre pairings in the decade did produce a pretty fun soundtrack album for Judgment Night.) The music of the 2000s may have had some fun – I was having my own fun with a couple of young kids, so I kind of missed a lot of what happened in that decade. But I'm going to take it for granted that once again, fun was an afterthought for most of what was considered critically-acclaimed music.
I sort of understand why Fun wouldn't be more critically-appreciated as a musical topic. The fact is, nobody experiences fun the same way, and what's Fun for one person probably isn't for another. For example, statutory rape, mass murder and poorly-conceived-and-unsubtly-executed-double-entendres aren't everyone's idea of a good time, so it might be difficult for some folks to just accept "hey, it's fun!" as a reason for finding redeeming qualities about the music. Also, part of what is expected from the arts – any of the arts – is a reflection of the human condition by an artist. The more complete that reflection is, the more deeply a listener will respond to an artist. So, if only the sunny, fun side of life is being reflected by an artist's work, it may make the listener feel like the artist is either disingenuous or lazy.
However … some musical artists have been celebrated for their achievements in Fun. The recent death of Rock and Roll architect and future only-Rock-and-Roll-name-in-Music-History (according to Chuck Klosterman) Chuck Berry elicited heaping mounds of rightfully-deserved praise on the man.
And something that stood out to me in all of the obituaries, memorials and tributes to the man was how much FUN his music was. Of course, there was a lot of talk about his impact on the sound of Rock and Roll, and about his lyrics, which were the first in rock and roll to express stories poetically about people. But the fact is that his music was always FUN, as well!
He wrote about driving around, about school being boring, rock and roll, the USA, and cars – both fast and not so fast. He had a few serious songs, like "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and "Memphis, Tennessee," but even they sounded fun. He had a signature guitar sound and performance style that wowed audiences, and nobody expected him to get very philosophical with his songs. Nobody clamored for "a different side of Chuck Berry," in which he plumbed the depths of his mind and soul for multi-layered reflections on life's true meaning. Listeners wanted Chuck Berry to kick ass, and ass is what he kicked.
It's in this ass-kickin', fun-havin', let's-just-rock-and-roll, Chuck Berry spirit that I love the band Van Halen. They can be as goofy as that duck-walk, and as dumb as a song about playing guitar, but they have a signature sound and performance style I love, and guitarist Eddie Van Halen is an innovator and sound-generator who stands apart even in a crowded field of rock guitar virtuosos. They are my Chuck Berry
I remember hearing and seeing Van Halen as a middle schooler in the late 70s. There was a pair of brothers who lived up the street, the Starrs, and they LOVED Van Halen. I was still in my disco/pop phase, so I thought the band – with its scarves and poofy hair and loud guitars and tight pants – were just silly. (Somehow, grown men dressed as a Cowboy, Indian, Biker, Construction Worker, Cop and Army Man didn't seem all that silly to me. Go figure.) As I moved through high school, Van Halen videos would turn up on MTV, and I sort of shrugged. They weren't really my thing. But that changed when they released their 1984 album in my junior year of high school, and – pop music fan that I was – I bought in. My good friend and high school music guru Rick immediately told me that 1984 was lame, and brought to school the Van Halen Canon to that point, all on cassette tape. I bought in big-time, and was just becoming a super-fan when lead singer David Lee "Diamond Dave" Roth left the band in 1985. Neither his new schtick nor the band's new direction interested me much, so I kept delving into those cassettes.
Being a fan of the "classic" DLR-era Van Halen is a bit like being a fan of The Three Stooges, an act I also greatly enjoy. With both acts, you're just going to have to accept that a) much of the stuff they do is ridiculous; b) some of the stuff they do is going to miss the mark; and c) you'll meet as many people who hate the act, and judge you for your love, as you will those who understand. But fuck them. An interesting thing about being human is that you can't really control what it is that'll make you laugh or tickle your music-receptors. Both tastes, all tastes, evolve, for sure, but I find that certain stimuli abide, and never lose their power to excite. And the opening of the Fair Warning album, the song "Mean Street," excites me every time.
It opens with some weird, fabulous guitar nonsense from Eddie. This album was the band's fourth in four years, and fans were expecting guitar histrionics and brand new sounds from Eddie every time out, and it sounds like he wanted to get some of it out of the way right off the bat. Then its a simple, driving riff that propels the entire song. I'm not going to get into D.L. Roth's lyrics just yet, but I will say that I doubt that this son of a wealthy ophthalmologist, from a long line of wealthy doctors, has really only ever known the Mean Streets, as claimed. One of the finest, and least-appreciated, aspects of Van Halen albums has always been bassist Michael Anthony's harmony vocals. They are perhaps the "Larry Fine" of the band, if we're going with a Three Stooges analogy; always providing a small, key piece to lift group performances to a higher level. At about 2:20, above, Eddie begins a really cool guitar solo that almost sounds Arabic in places. He's known for playing very fast, but it's not just the speed that's amazing: it's the style and the sound, as well. His brother, Alex, pounds a great drum track throughout, especially during the nice little breakdown part, at about 3:15, and then it's on to the end of the song. Just as The Three Stooges were smart enough to make short films, Van Halen knows that it's in their interest to keep songs compact, and I rarely hear a song of their's that I think "Okay, time to end it, boys."
Van Halen appreciation is easiest if – regardless of gender – you are at peace with your inner 13-year-old-boy. You'll need that comfort to fully comprehend the genius of a song like "Dirty Movies," allowing you to either laugh off or fully embrace the song's juvenile reflection on pornography and its performers.
But as with every goddamned song Van Halen ever made, the focus should be squarely on Eddie and what he says with his guitar, instead of what any lyrics might say. (And I'll get into lyrics soon … I swear.) This song opens with a nice, gentle swing beat courtesy of the terrific Alex Van Halen, and cool bass harmonics by Anthony. Eddie's guitar squawks give way to a fluid solo, about 0:40, and the entire thing builds to a very strong intro riff about 0:49. The band often throws interesting little song-structure things into songs, like, for instance, at 1:18, when they end the verse with a little syncopated run, or the syncopation behind the pre-chorus, heard about 1:29. It's things like this that elevate them above other "flashy guitar" bands of the 80s. Anthony's bass line is particularly nice in the chorus, where – once again – his strong harmonies help lift the song. We Van Halen fans awaiting a scorching solo actually have to look elsewhere, as Eddie confines his histrionics to background wails and runs.
I remember reading a quote from David Lee Roth – who, during those wild and woolly early MTV days was always good for a hilarious quote – regarding his lyrics. I scoured the internet looking for it, but I couldn't come up with it. But I recall him stating words to this effect: "nobody comes to Van Halen because of the lyrics. I write them during time-outs watching football on TV." However, this lack of effort hasn't left him as a lyricist without personal style. It's hard to think of anyone else who could pull off such lyrics as "Who's that babe with the fab-oo-lus (sic) shadow?/It's only one scene but to me it don't matter." Just as some people will never find Moe poking Curly in the eyeballs funny, some people will never appreciate the ridiculous humor of Roth's lyrics. But I still find myself laughing when I hear lyrics like those in "Sinner's Swing."
Couplets such as "She looked so fucking good so sexy and so frail/Something's got the bite on me I'm going straight to hell" crack me up. And Roth can perform the lyrics well, too; I won't use the term "sing," as his delivery varies between singing, speaking, barking and laughing. He doesn't try to be earnest about thrown-together lyrics such as "No one is above suspicion, no one's got it wired/I'll eat it with my fingers want my iron in that fire," but unleashes them with an implied wink, as if to say, "come on, we're just having fun!" Alex again shows he's one of the more inventive drummers in rock, even in the first few seconds as he doubles the main guitar riff on drums. It's one of my favorite songs on the album, even though – once again – Eddie's role is mostly left to background runs, although at 1:40 he unleashes a seemingly Galaga-inspired solo that is both impressive and typical. The signature vocal harmonies on the chorus's "G- g- g- g- g-/Get out and push!" (I do believe Roth when he says he doesn't spend much time refining the lyrics) are also terrific.
But goofiness aside, just as you'll find that The Three Stooges are actually far more clever in their wordplay than one would expect given all the slapstick, Van Halen songs are often more interesting musically than expected. A great example of that is the song "Hear About It Later," a piece that begins with a cool, subtle build-up to a Dave scream. But at the end of the verse, at about 1:18, the band throws in some nifty triplets as Roth sings "tried and convicted, it's winner take all." It's little things like this that elevate their songs beyond the standard hard-rock, guitar-wanking BS.
Similarly, about 2:25, the song smoothly transitions to a nice minor chord in the bridge – again unexpectedly. Then there's a breakdown at 2:40, and Eddie begins his solo, which sounds like it could be part of a different song. But that's not a knock – it's a fantastic bit of playing, and it makes the song interesting, especially when he leaves the solo and the band enters the bridge again. Also, for all I've said about Roth and singing and lyrics, he really does have a knack for writing catchy melodies. The song's got a really great ending, with Eddie playing quintuplets as it draws to a close. Look, it's not The Brandenburg Concerto, but it is a step or two beyond what one expects from a Guitar God band. And I love it.
Another song I love is the (sort-of) "hit" from the album, the fun, propulsive "Unchained." It's classic VH, with excellent guitar, cool harmonies, great drumming, unexpected musical nuggets, and silly-terrific lyrics by Diamond Dave.
This is a song that I think I could listen to just as the isolated Eddie Van Halen guitar track, and I'd be happy. The entire time he's making simple stuff sound cool with squawks and flanges and other inventive sounds. Musically, the syncopated rhythms during the pre-chorus – about 0:40 to the descending syncopation around 0:53 – once again show there's more to the songs than just "4/4, play chords." At 1:49, Eddie unleashes a weird, noisy solo. Lyrics such as "blue-eyed murder in a satisfied dress" are classics. Plus – as with the entire album – there's a depth of sound on this (and every DLR-era) Van Halen album. My high school chorus director loved the sound of Van Halen albums, and credited their richness to producer Ted Templeman, who gets a vocal credit on this song during the breakdown section, beginning about 2:15. Whatever the case, the entire production is perfectly suited to hold and feature Eddie's guitar heroics.
The band does a few other things on the album. "Push Comes to Shove" is a subtle, nifty guitar feature, with a disco beat and DL Roth's crooning about the vagaries of love, while Eddie creates some excellent, angular, reggae-inflected gems and blasts off a terrific, guitar-hero solo. "So This Is Love?" is a shuffling, good-time boogie with – you guessed it – phenomenal guitar. "Sunday Afternoon In The Park/One Foot Out the Door" is a punk song (the latter) with a weird, blobby, guitar-generated introduction (the former). Alex kicks some double-bass drum ass on it, but overall it's a pretty weak song on which to end a great album.
So, anyway, listen: these are some pretty scary, lousy times in the USA. Your life could use a little more fun, so why not get some from the music you're listening to? I find it fun being impressed by Eddie's guitar and Alex's drums, and enjoying Michael's harmony vocals and "Diamond" Dave's ridiculousness … Maybe you'll find fun somewhere else. But try to make a place for it in your music listening: life's really too short not to!! In the immortal words of Diamond Dave: "Don't waste time/g-g-g-g-g get out and push!"
"Mean Street"
"Dirty Movies"
"Sinner's Swing"
"Hear About It Later"
"Push Comes To Shove"
"So This Is Love?"
"Sunday Afternoon In The Park"
Tagged 1981, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Fair Warning, Fun Music, Guitar Hero, Guitar Virtuoso, Michael Anthony, Van Halen


The Planets is a collection of decks representing the planets in our solar system, starting closest to the sun and moving outwards into the surrounding universe. The third deck of this series is Earth, featuring our version of standard human courts. Designed by Srdjan Vidakovic, this is the second project created for the Vanda Artists Series.


text:
Prime Minister Calls Trump's Idea to Buy Greenland "Absurd"
Published on August 19, 2019 by Athena Pallas
"Thankfully, the time where you buy and sell other countries and populations is over," said Denmark's prime minister regarding President Trump's idea to buy Greenland from Denmark, an idea which Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also called "absurd", according to The Hill. Frederiksen, who became Denmark's prime minister in June of this year and has been the country's Leader of the Social Democrats party since 2015, was reacting to Trump's comments that he would be interested in having the United States buy Greenland from Denmark.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark – it was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979 and has been moving toward handling all of its own affairs, although some aspects of its government, including foreign affairs and defense, are currently still handled by Denmark. Frederiksen also remarked on Greenland's autonomy in her remarks, saying, according to The Hill, "Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic," while also expressing the hope that Trump's comments are not meant seriously, but are instead some sort of joke, saying "I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant." Trump certainly did not seem to be joking, and has also made the comments more than once, but thankfully Greenland is not for sale. According to The Hill:
Denmark's prime minister said Sunday that the idea recently floated by President Trump to buy Greenland is "absurd." During a visit to Greenland, a Danish territory, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed the notion that the world's largest island is up for sale, according to The Associated Press. …Trump on Sunday told reporters that buying Greenland is a "strategically" interesting idea and compared the proposition to a "large real estate deal." "Strategically, it's interesting and we'd be interested, but we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that," Trump said.
Image of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from June, 2019, by News Oresund – 20190614 Folkemodet Bornholm Mette Frederiksen 0040 via Wikimedia Commons.
Greenland has extensive natural resources, which likely account for the appeal to President Trump. Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark early next month, at which point we will see if he still is still talking about wanting to buy a country that is not for sale. More and more of the Arctic has become available for the exploitation of natural resources as a consequence of climate change. Greenland's thick ice sheet still makes large areas of its interior difficult to access for mining and drilling, but as the ice sheet melts, more areas will become accessible. According to AP News:
Frederiksen said Sunday that the Arctic, with resources that Russia and others could exploit for commercial gain, "is becoming increasingly important to the entire world community."…Retreating ice could uncover potential oil and mineral resources in Greenland which, if successfully tapped, could dramatically change the island's fortunes. However, no oil has yet been found in Greenlandic waters and 80% of the island is covered by an ice sheet that is up to 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) thick, which means exploration is only possible in coastal regions. Even there, conditions are far from ideal, due to the long winter with frozen ports, 24-hour darkness and temperatures regularly dropping below minus 20 Fahrenheit (minus 30 Celsius) in the northern parts.
It certainly is odd that President Trump makes these sorts of comments publicly, without checking first to see if it would even be possible to buy Greenland. It is not possible – Greenland is not for sale to the United States or to anyone. Trump seems again to have succeeded only in making himself look uninformed and foolish – or perhaps he intentionally said this foolish thing just for the attention, or to divert attention away from other news he doesn't like, such as the stock market tumble amid fears that there may be a recession starting soon, possibly before the 2020 election, which would certainly dim Trump's reelection prospects further.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons.
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