text:
No longer friends
At the office this morning, maintenance workers were climbing ladders and tweaking knobs, restoring the Muzak to an inescapable volume. The first speakers they turned on were right over my desk, so I put on my headphones, cranked up the volume to drown out the Muzak, and the office will never again see me without headphones.
Next time the building is on fire, when they announce it over the public-address system instead of sounding the fire alarm, I hope a co-worker will tap me on the shoulder and let me know.
It's been only a week since the last lying e-mail from management promised that no layoffs were being considered, and today there was another round of layoffs. There was no announcement to employees. We heard it from the news on the radio, at about noon.
The company is shuttering one of its subsidiary chains of department stores. 13 locations will be closed, and about 2,000 people will be "let go." It won't affect anyone in the building where I work, but it strikes close to home — the largest store in the soon-to-be dead chain is next door to the store where I work, overlooking San Francisco's Union Square.
The announcement didn't even come from my employer, the company that owns the stores that are closing. Nope, according to the news, the announcement came from the company that's buying/merging with my employer. The merger is still "pending before the FTC," but while it's pending, the company that's not legally running things is running things.
The news report said they'd rebuffed a buyout offer for the chain that's being closed. The new management felt it would be "more profitable to liquidate the assets." There's your true meaning of Christmas, Scrooge-America: Two thousand people are out of work, because there's more profit in selling the real estate, than in selling handbags, umbrellas, and ladies' coats, or than selling the company itself.
It's wrong, it's cruel, and it ought to be illegal. And even from a capitalist perspective, it's stupid. I don't have an MBA or a BMW, but check the calendar: It's November. It's moronic to slash prices and have a frenzied going-out-of-business sale now, just as the Christmas shopping season is starting. Until December 24, any store that doesn't physically slap customers in the face will make triple its normal profits.
Even if those stores must be closed (which obviously isn't true — they're not losing money, just not making as much profit as the company wants — and there was a buyer!), wouldn't it make more sense to have a normal Christmas shopping season, and then announce the going-out-of-business sale on December 26?
These are the brilliant minds running the corporation that's buying the bankrupt corporation where, for now, I work.
What with the merger, the fire, and now the announcement of stores closing, the name of the company that employs me must be obvious to anyone who reads a newspaper. Yeah, that's right. We're the huge balloons parading down the streets of Manhattan every Thanksgiving Day.
Here's an object lesson about friendships, and why I don't have many. For months, since Beatrice was transferred out of the department where I work, she and I have chatted via e-mail, trading complaints about the company and whatever else is on our minds — within limits, of course. You always have to be careful at work, not to accidentally reveal an opinion about something that matters, because that could piss people off.
On Wednesday, Beatrice and I were 'chatting' via e-mail, and the newspaper strike came up. I typed to her what I'd said in the zine on Tuesday: "Don't mess with the Teamsters."
Well, that was too political or too subversive or just too much for Beatrice. She wrote back, "The ends never justify the means, Doug, and strikers who vandalize company property ought to be penalized to the full extend of the law. I hope you don't *really* believe violence is ever justified."
I've known Beatrice for a year, we've even had beers together, so I rolled the dice and gave her an honest opinion:
"Yeah, I meant it. I have no sympathy for a company that treats employees so shitty they're forced to strike. You do what you have to do. If a Teamster took a sledgehammer to one of the paper's printing presses, I understand it and forgive it."
She replied, "Right is right and wrong is wrong, and vandalism or breaking the law is wrong."
Having rolled the dice and lost, I went double or nothing. The whole friendship, riding on this next bet:
"If we had a union and walked out, I'd throw a brick through the window here. It wouldn't bother my conscience. 'Right' and 'wrong' depends on how strongly you believe what you believe. No worries, though — we don't have a union, and I don't have a brick handy. So tell me, Beatrice, is all this getting too political for friendly interoffice chit-chat?"
It was two hours before she replied, and she said, "Yes, it's too political," and changed the subject to the fire. She hasn't replied to the two e-mails I sent since then, one yesterday and one this morning, so it seems that with a few words of honesty, I have one less friend.
Que sera sera. If we can't be honest, if she can't handle a difference of opinion, or isn't able to discuss it, then we weren't friends anyway.
I wasted six bucks at the Castro tonight, not even including the popcorn, for what sounded like an intriguing noir double feature. Checking my old movie guidebooks, The Spiral Staircase (1946) was supposed to be a "superb Hitchcock-like thriller," but there were no thrills. From the opening logo to The End, you'd need strong, black coffee to stay awake.
Then came Gaslight (1944), starring the incandescent Ingrid Bergman, but even she's not enough to salvage this paint-by-numbers drama. Half an hour into it, with plot points the rest of the way laid out plain as a AAA map, I grabbed my backpack and came home. Both these movies combined aren't as interesting as my job, which ain't interesting at all.
Or, maybe they're both masterpieces, pinnacle achievements of cinema. Between the fire, and the fire alarm that didn't sound, and today's layoffs, and getting scolded by Darla and Babs, and losing my friendship with Beatrice, maybe my mindset wasn't right for a night at the movies.
From Pathetic Life #6
This is an entry retyped from an on-paper zine I wrote many years ago, called Pathetic Life. The opinions stated were my opinions then, but might not be my opinions now. Also, I said and did some disgusting things, so parental guidance is advised.
Addendum, 2021: I Magnin (pronounced Eye Magnin) was the chain of department stores that was ended with a wimpy press release on this day in 1994, and I can't let it pass, even in retrospect, without a moment of remembrance.
I Magnin was unlike any other store I've seen. I couldn't afford to shop there and never worked there, but I'd been inside their flagship store in San Francisco, sometimes delivering paperwork or reports, since my employer owned the place. Sometimes I walked in just to gawk.
Nicknamed the White Marble Lady, I Magnin was almost literally a shrine to capitalism and opulence. The exterior walls were marble — genuine marble, not a facade. Inside, the first floor shopping area was what I'd call the sanctuary — it was two stories tall, perhaps three, with handmade display cases, beautiful murals behind glass on the walls, and enormous crystal chandeliers hanging from the gold-plated (or solid gold, for all I know) ceilings.
If you're lucky enough to know what an old-style movie palace was like, I Magnin was like that. Their San Francisco store was designed by Timothy Pflueger, who also built the Castro Theater, and the Paramount in Oakland, and many of the area's most physically beautiful buildings — the Pacific Telephone Building, the San Francisco Stock Exchange, the Mayan mansion called simply 450 Sutter Street, and the world's swankiest bar, the Top of the Mark.
I would conservatively estimate that I've stood to urinate at least half a million times in my life, and I Magnin was the finest place I ever peed. The restrooms had art deco pedestal sinks and other extravagant features, and everything was maintained in its original decadence. The urinal might have been mere porcelain, but it was fancy porcelain, older than me but pristine and unstained, and a sheet of marble protected my penis from view and my neighbor from my splatters. Even the tile on the floor was shiny, green, and clean. All the facilities had the same splendor as the day it was built.
I Magnin was the store where Scrooge McDuck would've shopped. It was undoubtedly evil and a phenomenon we wouldn't want to bring back. It was the opposite of egalitarian — an awe-inspiring structure where the world's wealthiest people were given (literally) white glove treatment, and people like you and me were tolerated at best — but damn, it was a beautiful place.
Trivia: I Magnin was founded by Mary Ann Magnin in 1876, selling upscale baby clothes she made by hand. She also sold wood carvings made by her husband, Isaac, and named the store after him because shoppers and suppliers felt more comfortable when she said she was working for her husband.
I Magnin was sold to Bullock's Department Stores in 1944, and Bullocks was sold to Federated Department Stores in 1964, and to Macy's in 1988. Federated Department Stores bought Macy's in 1994, and I Magnin was closed on January 8, 1995.
In a final indignity, Macy's, located next door, knocked door-holes through the marble walls, dismantled and removed whatever architectural features could be unbolted and sold, and expanded its mundane store into the former I Magnin space.
Macy's has since moved out, retreating to its older building next door. The former I Magnin building was sold in 2019, and in its next life it'll be a bunch of lawyer's offices underneath overpriced condominiums.
Pathetic Life
Roxanna September 20, 2021 at 10:07 AM
I like your stories!
Doug Holland September 20, 2021 at 3:01 PM
Well, thanks. Stop by any time.


text:
Dwayne Johnson honored with a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Dwayne Johnson speaks at his Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony in Los Angeles, the United States, Dec. 13, 2017. Dwayne Johnson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
KEY WORDS: Hollywood
Nick Nolte honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Late George A. Romero honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Bob Marley's Walk of Fame star in Hollywood vandalized
Debra Messing honored with Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
BiH Basketball Championship: Spars defeat Kakanj 81-77
Wuhan Fashion Week in photos
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" premieres in Dubrovnik, Croatia
China prepares to build 5th Antarctic research station
Amazing scenery of Hukou Waterfall on Yellow River
Take closer look at beautiful world of nature in Yangon, Myanmar
Fork-tailed sunbird gathering honey in SE China
Baby boom makes postnatal confinement centers popular in E China
Xi'an-Chengdu high-speed train service offers new choice for tourists
Chinese aircraft conduct drills in Yellow Sea, East China Sea
Infrared camera captures wild leopard in China's Qinghai

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
A representative of the Hồ Chí Minh Youth Union receives a flag to start the volunteer campaign. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Dự
HCM CITY — Nearly 60,000 students in HCM City have registered to participate in the 2019 Green Summer voluntary campaign launched by the municipal committee of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union (HCM CYU) at a ceremony on Sunday.
At the ceremony, Vice Secretary of the HCM CYU municipal committee Ngô Minh Hải said the 26th edition of the annual campaign this year will be implemented in 319 wards, communes and towns of HCM City, 15 Vietnamese provinces and Laos.
Seven goals have been set for the campaign, which will last until August 4, including building and repairing 50 houses for the poor, repairing home electrical wiring for 500 families and building 100 playgrounds for children. The volunteers will hold classes on social skills for at least 15,000 children, teach IT and foreign languages to at least 5,000 others, and recruit 10,000 new members for the Vietnam Youth Union and the Vietnam Students' Association.
In the city, teams will be set up to build and repair 10 bridges in rural areas, dredge seven canals and build new toilets for three schools.
Immediately after the launch ceremony, volunteers took part in communication activities to promote the reduction of plastic waste and littering, along with cleaning up several canals in the city. — VNS
Study finds high rate of obesity among primary school students
A lack of physical activity and inappropriate diets are to blame for the high rate of obesity among primary school students, according to a new study by the National Institute of Nutrition.
Đắk Nông policies attract and retain more doctors
The Central Highlands province of Đắk Nông has spent more than VNĐ26 billion (US$1.12 million) to attract and retain doctors at local public medical facilities.
Educational leaders discuss various models of higher education management
Leaders, academics, researchers, and professionals from around the world discussed the diversity of practices and models of leadership and management in higher education at an international conference that ended yesterday (July 5) in HCM City.
Nearly $2 billion to be invested in Hà Nội's third metro line
Hà Nội is set to invest more than VNĐ40 trillion (US$1.72 billion) in a third metro line connecting Hà Nội Railway Station with the outlying district of Hoàng Mai from 2021 to 2025.


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Q: VB6 reading registry entry but no data returned newly signed up desperate user here.
I left the programming business quite a while ago but now and then get asked to make some enhancements etc.
I want to use the registry to store some file locations so the user doesn't have to specify them all the time. I want to store them under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE because there are multiple users.
I have got the key created using RegCreateKeyEx, and a value has been entered into the key, with RegSetValueExString, so there is a key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE called SUPPLIERFILE and it has the value "C:\Documents and Settings.." etc.
However when I use RegQueryValueExString it doesn't work: the lpValue string is empty, although the cbdata does contain the length of the string I was expecting to find there. The error retured is 234, ERROR_MORE_DATA.
I have tried using RegGetValue, because I thought maybe a non-null terminated string was the problem, but I haven't got RegGetValue in the api dll.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received, even along the lines of how to terminate a string with a null.
Thanks,
Steve

A: Your error indicates you have not initialized a large enough string buffer for the API function to use, but without your code, ??? I pulled the code below from a registry utility class I use. I think I have included all the API declarations, and constants used, as well as a method to translate returned errors to something helpful.
Public Enum RegRootKey
    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT = &H80000000
    HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG = &H80000005
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER = &H80000001
    HKEY_DYN_DATA = &H80000006
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
    HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA = &H80000004
    HKEY_USERS = &H80000003
End Enum

'the following declare is used to return windows error descriptions
Private Declare Function FormatMessage Lib "Kernel32" Alias "FormatMessageA" (ByVal dwFlags As Long, lpSource As Any, ByVal dwMessageId As Long, ByVal dwLanguageId As Long, ByVal lpBuffer As String, ByVal nSize As Long, Arguments As Long) As Long
Private Const FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM = &H1000
Private Const FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS = &H200

'key constants
Private Const ERROR_NO_MORE_ITEMS = 259&
Private Const ERROR_MORE_DATA = 234
Private Const ERROR_SUCCESS = 0&
Private Const SYNCHRONIZE = &H100000
Private Const READ_CONTROL = &H20000
Private Const READ_WRITE = 2
Private Const READAPI = 0
Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_ALL = &H1F0000
Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED = &HF0000
Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_EXECUTE = (READ_CONTROL)
Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ = (READ_CONTROL)
Private Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE = (READ_CONTROL)
Private Const KEY_NOTIFY = &H10
Private Const KEY_QUERY_VALUE = &H1
Private Const KEY_CREATE_LINK = &H20
Private Const KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY = &H4
Private Const KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS = &H8
Private Const KEY_EVENT = &H1
Private Const KEY_SET_VALUE = &H2
Private Const KEY_ALL_ACCESS = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_ALL Or KEY_QUERY_VALUE Or KEY_SET_VALUE Or KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY Or KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS Or KEY_NOTIFY Or KEY_CREATE_LINK) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
Private Const KEY_READ = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ Or KEY_QUERY_VALUE Or KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS Or KEY_NOTIFY) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
Private Const KEY_EXECUTE = ((KEY_READ) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
Private Const KEY_WRITE = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE Or KEY_SET_VALUE Or KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
Private Const REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE = 0
Private Const REG_SZ = 1                         ' Unicode nul terminated string
Private Const REG_BINARY = 3
Private Const REG_DWORD = 4
Private Const REG_MULTI_SZ = 7                   ' Multiple Unicode strings
Private Const REG_NONE = 0                       ' No value type
Private Const KEY_WOW64_64KEY As Long = &H100& '32 bit app to access 64 bit hive
Private Const KEY_WOW64_32KEY As Long = &H200& '64 bit app to access 32 bit hive

'API declarations
Private Declare Function RegCloseKey Lib "advapi32.dll" (ByVal hKey As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function RegQueryValueEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegQueryValueExA" (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpValueName As String, ByVal lpReserved As Long, lpType As Long, lpData As Any, lpcbData As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function RegOpenKeyEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegOpenKeyExA" (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpSubKey As String, ByVal ulOptions As Long, ByVal samDesired As Long, phkResult As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function RootKeyName Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RootKeyNameA" (ByVal lphKey As RegRootKey) As String

Public Function GetStringValue(ByVal hKeyRoot As RegRootKey, ByVal hKeySubKey As String, ByVal ValueName As String, Optional ByVal Default As String) As String
    Dim strReturn As String
    Dim strBuffer As String
    Dim lngType As Long
    Dim lngBufLen As Long
    Dim lngRst As Long
    Dim hKeyHandle As Long

    On Error GoTo errGetStringValue

   'just to avoid any errors in calling functions using a ubound to check the contents
   strBuffer = String(255, vbNullChar)
   lngBufLen = Len(strBuffer)

   lngRst = RegOpenKeyEx(hKeyRoot, hKeySubKey, 0, KEY_READ Or KEY_WOW64_64KEY, hKeyHandle)
   If hKeyHandle <> 0 Then
       If StrComp(ValueName, "default", vbTextCompare) = 0 Then
           lngRst = RegQueryValueEx(hKeyHandle, "", ByVal 0&, lngType, ByVal strBuffer, lngBufLen)
       Else
           lngRst = RegQueryValueEx(hKeyHandle, ValueName, ByVal 0&, lngType, ByVal strBuffer, lngBufLen)
       End If
   End If

   If lngRst = 0 Then
       If lngType = REG_SZ Then
           If lngBufLen > 0 Then
               strReturn = Left$(strBuffer, lngBufLen - 1)
           Else
               strReturn = Default
           End If
       Else
           Err.Raise 1, App.EXEName, FormatClassError(1)
       End If
    ElseIf lngRst = 2 Then     'the key does not exists so return the default
        strReturn = Default
    Else  'if the return is non-zero there was an error
        Err.Raise lngRst, App.EXEName, "There was an error reading the " & RootKeyName(hKeyRoot) & "\" & _
           hKeySubKey & " registry key, " & LCase$(FormatClassError(lngRst))
    End If

    If hKeyHandle <> 0 Then
        lngRst = RegCloseKey(hKeyHandle)
        hKeyHandle = 0
    End If

    GetStringValue = strReturn

    Exit Function

errGetStringValue:
    If hKeyHandle <> 0 Then
        lngRst = RegCloseKey(hKeyHandle)
        hKeyHandle = 0
    End If
    Err.Raise Err.Number, Err.Source & ":GetStringValue", Err.Description

End Function

Private Function FormatClassError(ByVal ErrorNumber As Long) As String
    Dim strReturn As String
    Dim strBuffer As String
    Dim lngBufLen As Long
    Dim lngRst As Long

    On Error Resume Next

    'initialize the buffer to to API function
    strBuffer = String(1024, vbNullChar)
    lngBufLen = Len(strBuffer)

    'make the call to the API function
    lngRst = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM Or FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS, ByVal 0&, ErrorNumber, ByVal 0&, strBuffer, lngBufLen, ByVal 0&)

    'if the return value is <> 0 then we have a valid message
    If lngRst <> 0 Then
        strReturn = Left$(strBuffer, lngRst)
    Else
       'make another call to the API function with the last dll error
       lngRst = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM Or FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS, ByVal 0&, Err.LastDllError, ByVal 0&, strBuffer, lngBufLen, ByVal 0&)
       If lngRst <> 0 Then
           strReturn = Left$(strBuffer, lngRst)
       Else
           strReturn = "Unable to retrieve error description."
       End If
    End If

    'return the result
    FormatClassError = strReturn

End Function

A: Quick answer: try the GetRegStringValue$ code here
In case you (or others) want to know more
When you call that API, as with many windows APIs you are supposed to provide a buffer (string) to hold the registry value, and you are supposed to pass in the maximum size of your buffer.
MSDN explains

If the buffer specified by lpData parameter is not large enough to hold the data, the function returns ERROR_MORE_DATA and stores the required buffer size in the variable pointed to by lpcbData. In this case, the contents of the lpData buffer are undefined.

You need to allocate a buffer (probably fill your string with spaces) and pass in the size in lpData.

A: you should check first, if the Registry is really do exist or not. By error handling, we can check for the Registry key Entry.
Private Function RegOSInfo(RegPath As String, RegKey As String) As String
On Error GoTo ErrHandler

   Dim osName As String
   Dim Reg As Object
   Set Reg = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
   RegOSInfo = Reg.RegRead(RegPath & "\" & RegKey)

ErrHandler:
  RegOSInfo = "-555"  'custom Error Code, Registry key doesn't exist
End Function

you can handle the Custom error code according to your need.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Hayley completed 10 years retail banking experience with the Halifax, starting as a cashier she quickly progressed her career to a managerial position. Hayley decided she wanted a change in career and studied CeMAP in 2016; she is passionate about mortgages and providing her clients with excellent customer service and meeting their individual needs through mortgage, insurance and protection products.
Hayley is married and enjoys family time, she is kept very busy by her young son and enjoys travelling to new destinations and experiencing new cultures in her spare time.
Hayley Broad covers Dagenham, Rainham, Havering and Hornchurch for mortgage broker and adviser roles.


text:
Anatomy of a display
A display has many purposes and many variations. But in today's automation and control environment, it is, essentially, a core ingredient in a human-machine interface (HMI), the dynamic device through which information is entered and presented, as text or images. Not too many years ago, the CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor—large, heavy, and bulky—was the common display device.
By Jeanine Katzel, Control Engineering October 1, 2005
A display has many purposes and many variations. But in today's automation and control environment, it is, essentially, a core ingredient in a human-machine interface (HMI), the dynamic device through which information is entered and presented, as text or images.
Not too many years ago, the CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor—large, heavy, and bulky—was the common display device. Today, however, the flat panel LCD (liquid crystal display) is more popular and becoming increasingly so. Slender and lightweight, it fits where few CRTs have fit before and presents images with more clarity and precision. It consumes less power, generates less heat, and offers longer life and more functionality. But what goes on behind the screen; what elements make up a typical display?
Common components
A display consists of three primary components: display assembly, controller, and backlight.
The display assembly is a liquid crystal structure, sandwiched between layers of glass. Individual display elements are called pixels, each one addressable in a row-and-column format. In simple terms, pixel response provides flexibility—the amount depending on display type—to create graphics and text in combination, in monochrome or color.
A controller , either built-in to the assembly or external, guides the operation of the display assembly. In most cases, the controller is integrated into the display. When external to the device, it may take the form of a separate card or be a built-in function of a single board computer (SBC). The latest cost-space-power saving controller methodology is low voltage differential signaling, or LVDS. Some SBCs offer LVDS interfaces, and more LCDs are available with them. With this capability, the computing element directly controls the display.
The most common add-on to an LCD is a touchpanel. In this four-wire resistive technology example, a glass panel is uniformly coated with electrically conductive and resistive layers. A polyester cover sheet is suspended over the top of the glass and separated from it by small, transparent insulating separators. During operation, an electrical current moves through the touchscreen. When activated by a touch, the conductive coating makes contact with the coating on the glass and a touch point is registered. (Courtesy of Elo TouchSystems Inc.)
Images are brought to the display surface by a backlight , typically CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamps) powered by a high-voltage power supply called an inverter. Most large-sized displays include a thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD equipped with a CCFL backlight. Less common types such as STN (super twisted nematic) or CSTN (color-super twisted nematic) may be frontlighted or sidelighted, using alternatives to the typical CCFL backlight.
As light-emitting diode (LED) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technologies advance in power consumption and lumen output, they are increasingly popular. A logic-powered light source, the LED requires no inverter. While CCFL is still the backlight of choice in large displays and laptops, LEDs are found in smaller displays (5-in. diagonal and less), cellphones, and a variety of other devices, such as intelligent thermostats. OLED displays embody low voltage, 3x self-illumination, and high brightness. With improving life, future OLED use will escalate.
Variations, enhancements
Primary display components may be enhanced in many ways to provide more display capability, boosted light output, greater clarity, and easier operation. Frequent options include the addition of touch panels; use of EMI shields; transmissivity modifications, and enclosures and construction to achieve IP and NEMA ratings for dust and corrosion resistance and to withstand washdown. Enhancements do not come without cost, however, and in some cases may double the cost of the display.
Additions may include overlaying the display surface with any of a number of types of touchscreens (resistive, capacitive) to simplify data entry and operator interaction (see illustration), and/or incorporating films to enhance image presentation. Films incorporated into the LCD assembly—commonly referred to as AR (anti-reflective) or more accurately IM (index-matching) films—improve a panel's optical characteristics. Adding touch capability to an LCD creates added internal reflection. Including treatments to the touchpanel to reduce reflection and increase transmissivity helps achieve an optimum image.
Reviewing options and enhancements to primary components helps create a total solution package optically matched to the user environment so all application requirements are met.
Jeanine Katzel, Control Engineering, with input from Bruce DeVisser, product marketing manager, input devices, Fujitsu Components America Inc. ( www.fujitsu.com/us/services/edevices/components ), and Elo TouchSystems ( www.elotouch.com ).


NEW ORLEANS (AP) - After months of laboratory work, scientists say they can definitively finger oil from BP's blown-out well as the culprit for the slow death of a once brightly colored deep-sea coral community in the Gulf of Mexico that is now brown and dull.
In a study published Monday, scientists say meticulous chemical analysis of samples taken in late 2010 proves that oil from BP PLC's out-of-control Macondo well devastated corals living about 7 miles southwest of the well. The coral community is located over an area roughly the size of half a football field nearly a mile below the Gulf's surface.
The damaged corals were discovered in October 2010 by academic and government scientists, but it's taken until now for them to declare a definite link to the oil spill.
Most of the Gulf's bottom is muddy, but coral colonies that pop up every once in a while are vital oases for marine life in the chilly ocean depths. The injured and dying coral today has bare skeleton, loose tissue and is covered in heavy mucous and brown fluffy material, the paper said.
"It was like a graveyard of corals," said Erik Cordes, a biologist at Temple University who went down to the site in the Alvin research submarine.
So far, this has been the only deep-sea coral site found to be seriously damaged by the spill.
On April 20, 2010, the well blew out about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, leading to the death of 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and the nation's largest offshore spill. More than 200 million gallons of oil were released.
"They figured (the coral damage) was the result of the spill, now we can say definitely it was connected to the spill," said Helen White, a chemical oceanographer with Haverford College and the lead researcher.
She said pinpointing the BP well as the source of the contamination required sampling sediment on the sea floor and figuring out what was oil from natural seeps in the Gulf and what was from the Macondo well. Finally, the researchers matched the oil found on the corals with oil that came out of the BP well.
Also, the researchers concluded that the damage was caused by the spill because an underwater plume of oil was tracked passing by the site in June 2010. The paper also noted that a decade of deep-sea coral research in the Gulf had not found coral dying in this manner. The coral was documented for the first time when researchers went looking for oil damage in 2010.
The scientists said that they have gone back to the dying corals by submarine since 2010, but that they are not ready to talk about what they've seen at the site.
However, Charles Fisher, a biologist with Penn State University who's led the coral expeditions, said recovery of the damaged site would be slow.
"Things happen very slowly in the deep sea; the temperatures are low, currents are low, those animals live hundreds of years and they die slowly," he said. "It will take a while to know the final outcome of this exposure."
BP did not immediately comment on the study.
The researchers said the troubled spot consists of 54 coral colonies. The researchers were able to fully photograph and assess 43 of those colonies, and of those, 86 percent were damaged. They said 10 coral colonies showed signs of severe stress on 90 percent of the coral.
White, the lead researcher, said that this coral site was the only one found southwest of the Macondo well so far, but that others may exist. The researchers also wrote in the paper that it was too early to rule out serious damage at other coral sites that may have seemed healthy during previous examinations after the April 2010 spill.
Jerald Ault, a fish and coral reef specialist at the University of Miami who was not part of the study, said the findings were cause for concern because deep-sea corals are important habitat. He said there are many links between animals that live at the surface, such as tarpon and menhaden, and life at the bottom of the Gulf. Ecosystem problems can play out over many years, he said.
"It's kind of a tangled web of impact," he said.


text:
Opera Oz's Modern Day MeetUp: "Real" Barber and "Singing" Barber of Seville
Jose Carbo and Sean Pendry with real Barber of Seville owner Michael Romeo (Photo: Manuela Cifra)
We're all about cross promoting opera, as long it exposes new people to the art form and it maintains a reasonable degree of integrity. One of our favorite cross promotions that we've seen lately is Opera Australia joining forces with the owner of a local hair salon aptly named the "Barber of Seville." We'll let you figure out which opera the company is performing.
Michael Romeo is the owner of the salon in Richmond, Australia and the photo op with the singing barber, Jose Carbo, was great publicity for his new salon in Moonee Ponds, Australia. We also love his slogan, "Come get chopped at the Barber of Seville." If he ever opens a salon called "Sweeney Todd," he can keep his tagline.
Michael Romeo's fun banner for his operatically inspired hair salon
The Opera Australia production of Rossini's opera is moving the action forward to the Roaring 20's with some amazing costumes and fun "Keystone Kops" action scenes. We last saw Carbo as the Barber at the Seattle Opera where he was sharing the role with fellow barihunk David Adam Moore and making his belated U.S. debut. Carbo, who is of Italian and Spanish heritage, was raised in Australia since childhood, so this performance is a return to his "hometown stage."
Jose Carbo and Maria Bayo sing "Dunque io son" from the Barber of Seville in Madrid:
The opera also features barihunk Sam Dundas, who we recently showcased in some sexy, shirtless shots when he was performing Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. He'll be singing three small roles in the Barber: Fiorello, Ambrogio and the notary. [You don't want to miss those photos!].
There are six performances from May 4-17. Visit the Opera Australia website for additional information and production photos.
Contact us at Barihunks@gmail.com
Labels: barber of seville, cosi fan tutte, jose carbo, maria bayo, michael romeo, opera australia, sam dundas, shirtless
Ft. Opera Star Michael Mayes Featured in 360 West
Michael Mayes in 360 West magazine
When we recently featured Michael Mayes and his self-described transformation from Bari-Chunk to Bari-Hunk, it almost doubled our internet traffic for a week. Michael Mayes is one of our favorite people in opera. His Texapolitan Opera podcast is one of the most entertaining sites in all of classical music. He's also known as a great colleague, who works hard and is supportive of others. He's also become a fan favorite at the Ft. Worth Opera Festival, where he will return this season to sing Kinesias in Mark Adamo's comedy Lysistrata.
We've been unabashed in our support of the Ft. Worth Opera Festival, which we believe is a mandatory stop on any opera lover's list of festivals. This year they're also performing Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Puccini's Tosca. We encourage you to check out their website and learn more about this company.
Mayes is one of the feature stories in the May 2012 issue of 360 West magazine, where he talks about the special place that the Festival holds in his heart. It's an absolute must read and can be accessed HERE beginning on page 104.
Ted Federle sings Kinesias' aria from Adamo's "Lysistrata"in the 2007 non-professional premiere of the opera at the Seagle Music Colony:
Labels: 360 west magazine, barihunk, ft worth opera, lysistrata, marriage of figaro, michael mayes, seagle music colony, three decembers, tosca
Christian Van Horn takes on more Villains, Victims and Bearded, Unhappy Old Men
Christian Van Horn headed off to another role debut
The last time we featured American barihunk Christian Van Horn, he was all the buzz in Opera News. The running joke about Van Horn, is that despite his barihunk looks, he gets cast in roles that don't show off his assets. That's not changing any this summer, as he makes his role debut as Banquo at the Grand Theatre du Geneve opposite the unhappy and ambitious duo of Jennifer Larmore as Lady Macbeth and Davide Damiani as Macbeth.
Performances of the new Christof Loy production will run from June 13-26. Additional cast and ticket information is available on the company's website.
James Morris sings Banquo's aria "Come dal ciel precipita" from Macbeth:
After Geneva, Van Horn will be singing with two of our favorite companies, the San Francisco Opera and the Dallas Opera. In San Francisco, he continues to show off his sinister side as he takes on the four villains in Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann" - Coppélius, Dapertutto, Dr. Miracle and Lindorf. The dream cast also includes Natalie Dessay as the four heroines Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, Stella; Alice Coote as Nicklausse; and, Matthew Polenazni as Hoffmann. We have a feeling that this is a performance that should be added to any opera lover's travel calendar. Also, don't miss the San Francisco Opera's amazing summer season that includes Adam's Nixon in China, Verdi's Attila and Mozarts Magic Flute with Nathan Gunn.
In Dallas, he continues the trend of playing unattractive old men, as he takes on Timur in Puccini's Turandot. The production opens April 5, 2013 with the amazing Lise Lindstrom as Princess Turandot. The ubiquitous Nathan Gunn will also feature in the Dallas Opera season, as he is cast in Dominick Argento's "The Aspern Papers" in another all-star cast that features Susan Graham, Carol Vaness and the stunning young tenor Joseph Kaiser.
If you want to see and hear Van Horn out of make-up, you'll have to head to Los Angeles, where he's joining the L.A. Philharmonic as the bass soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The performance is on July 10, 2012 at the famed Hollywood Bowl and will be conducted by Leonard Slatkin.
Labels: aspern papers, beethoven 9th symphony, christian van horn, dallas opera, leonard slatkin, los angeles philharmonic, san francisco opera, turandot, verdi macbeth
David Adam Moore takes on Carmina Burana and Silvio at New Orleans Opera
David Adam Moore as he appeared in the Barihunks Calendar
We've always found Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" a somewhat sexy piece of music with its songs about the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust. With that in mind, having sexy barihunk David Adam Moore sing the baritone part seems like dream casting. Moore will be performing a fully-staged version of Carmina Burana, as well as Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with the New Orleans Opera opening tonight.
This is the first time that the New Orleans Opera is producing Carmina Burana and they are going all out. They will be joined by the New Orleans Ballet Theatre along with the combined choral forces of the New Orleans Opera Chorus, Loyola University Chorus and the New Orleans Vocal Arts Chorale in what promises to be a spectacular show. There will be a second performance on Sunday, April 29, so if you're anywhere in the area, click HERE for a ticket.
Bernd Weikl sings Estuans Interius from Carmina Burana:
Moore will play the "other man" in Pagliacci opposite the Russian-born, American-raised soprano Inna Dukach. Here is an interview with Moore conducted by New Orleans Opera Executive Director Timothy Todd Simmons. You can hear about his "other career" in the visual arts, his country music roots and his upcoming recording of "Soldier Songs," which we've featured on the site:
Labels: carmina burana, david adam moore, new orleans opera, pagliacci, soldier songs, timothy todd simmons
Stéphane Degout Strips Hamlet Bare
Add Stéphane Degout to the growing list of barihunks who have appeared nude on stage. The amazing French singer bares all in the Theater an der Wien's production of Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet." His dispair and self-mutilation manifests itself in stunning scene in Act 3 when he is bathed by Gertrude.
The production is by Olivier Py who transformed the stage into a cavern of human debauchery and misery.
Degout last appeared on this site when he appeared in a dreamy cast of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with fellow barihunk Jérôme Varnier. The two are reunited in this production, as Varnier appears the ghost. Stéphane Degout has become the leading lyric baritone in the French style since Francois Le Roux and Gerard Souzay, both of whom have appeared on this site.
The always intense and musically incisive Christine Schäfer portrays Ophelia, Phillip Ens is Claudius and Frédéric Antoun is Laërtein in this co-production with the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Now let's hope that someone brings it to the United States.
Labels: ambroise thomas, christine schafer, full frontal, hamlet, jerome varnier, naked, nude, Stéphane Degout, Théâtre de la Monnaie, theatre wien
BREAKING NEWS: Justin Hopkins wins 2nd Place in Lotte Lenya Competition
Justin Hopkins
Barihunk Justin Hopkins, who first impressed us in Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox with the Fort Worth Opera Festival, has won second prize in the prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition. He shared 2nd place with tenor Jacob Keith Watson. Eastman School of Music master's degree student Matthew Grills, who was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions last month, was awarded 1st place.
The Lotte Lenya Competition is an international theater singing contest that recognizes talented young singer-actors, ages 19 to 30, who are dramatically and musically convincing in a wide range of repertoire, and emphasizes the acting of songs within a dramatic context. It was founded in 1998 by foundation President Kim H. Kowalke, who is the Richard L. Turner Professor in Humanities at the University of Rochester and professor of musicology at the Eastman School.
Justin Hopkins sings "The Impossible Dream":
Justin Hopkins burst onto the international opera scene in 2010, performing the combined roles of Il Servo, Il Medico and Heraldo in Macbeth with Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in a production that was awarded "Production of the Year" by Opernwelt. In the same season he performed the roles of Colline in La Boheme with the Verbier Festival Academy and Cappadocian in Richard Strauss' Salome under the direction of Valery Gergiev with the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland.
Hopkins was a semi-finalist in the Competizione dell' Opera at The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow as well as a finalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Hopkins began singing at the age of eight with the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Men's Chorale.
Labels: barihunk, Barihunks calendar, ft worth opera, hydrogen jukebox, justin hopkins, lotte lenya competition
Live Webcast of Barihunks Luca Pisaroni & Thomas Hampson Together
On Sunday, April 29, the father-in-law/son-in-law barihunk duo of Luca Pisaroni and Thomas Hampson will appear in a Gala Concert at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival. The West German Radio Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Massimo Zanetti for an evening of arias and duets by Giuseppe Verdi, Gioacchino Rossini and Wolfgang Mozart.
Since not everyone can be there, we're pleased to announce that there will be a live webcast beginning at 6 PM CEST (Noon EST, 9 AM PST), which you can access HERE.
Labels: American baritone, gala concert, heidelberg, luca pisaroni, thomas hampson, webcast
Happy Birthday, Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911-March 4, 1960)
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest American baritones ever, Leonard Warren (born Warenoff). The family Americanized the name when his Russian father settled in the United States.
Warren's first job was working in his father's fur business in New York In 1935. He studied voice with Sidney Dietch and the great Giuseppe De Luca and joined the chorus of Radio City Music Hall. In 1938 he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and was granted a stipend to study in Italy.
Leonard Warren & Astrid Varnay sing "Favella il Doge" from Simon Boccanegra:
Warren made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in excerpts from Verdi's La Traviata and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in November 1938. His formal operatic debut took place in New York in January 1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. He quickly became one of the most popular baritones of his time. He also sang in San Francisco, Chicago, Canada, and South America. He appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953. In 1958, he made a highly successful tour of the Soviet Union. His last complete performance at the Metropolitan Opera was as Simon Boccanegra on March 1, 1960. Three days later he collapsed while singing the aria "Urna fatale dal mio destino;" as Don Carlo during a performance of Verdi's La forza del destino. He had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died backstage.
Leonard Warren sings "Urna fatale...È salvo, o gioia":
Leonard Warren was particularly acclaimed as one of the foremost interpreters of the great Verdi baritone roles; he also sang the parts of Tonio in Pagliacci, Escamillo in Carmen, and Scarpia in Tosca. He was reputed to be a person of an intractable character, who always tried to impose his will on stage designers, managers, and even conductors, in matters of production, direction, and tempi. He caused pain, a colleague said, but he had a great voice.
Labels: American baritone, astrid varnay, la forza del destino, leonard warren, metropolitan opera, pagliacci, urna fatale, verdi baritone
Barihunk Discount for Sidney Outlaw Recital
Sidney Outlaw
If you haven't heard Sidney Outlaw perform yet, do we have a deal for you. We attended his recital in San Francisco and it was one of the most amazing performances by a young artist that we'd seen in some time. If you're in New York this weekend, you can hear him as part of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation Recital series. Tickets are $15, but if you mention Barihunks, you'll get the student/senior rate of $10. Trust us, this is a talent that you won't want to miss.
Outlaw will be joined by soprano Adrienne Danrich and accompanist Thomas Bagwell on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 3:00pm at Christ & St. Stephen's Church, 120 West 69th Street in New York City. The program will feature music by Brahms, Duparc, Rachmaninov and a rare performance of Francis Poulenc's La Dame de Monte Carlo.
The North Carolina native was the 2010 Grand Prize winner of the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballé and recently made his debut with the English National Opera as Rambo in John Adams's Death of Klinghoffer. He was a member of the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco where he stole the show as Dr.Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore.
Outlaw's other awards include Second Prize in the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation Awards, national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, semi-finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, finalist for both the Concours International Musical de Montréal and the George London Competition, and grand prize at the Florida Grand Opera/YPO Vocal Competition. Mr. Outlaw holds a master's degree in vocal performance from The Juilliard School and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Upcoming engagements include Telemann's Orpheus with New York City Opera and the role of Don Giovanni at Aix-en-Provence.
You can listen to Sidney Outlaw HERE.
Labels: african-american baritone, Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, lotte lehman foundation, merola opera, recital, sidney outlaw
CCM Student Mark Wesley Brax Dies in Car Crash
Mark Wesley Brax
We hate to deliver sad news, but we just learned that University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) student Mark Wesley Brax, age 23, was killed in a two-vehicle crash in southeastern Indiana over the weekend.
Brax had spent the summer at the Tanglewood Festival before coming to CCM to receive his master's degree. Since arriving at the College-Conservatory of Music, Brax had performed as soloist in J.S. Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," participated in the undergraduate production of Handel's "Serse" and sang with the CCM Chamber Choir and the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati.
Robin Guarino, chair of the opera department at CCM, said the aspiring opera singer was "an exceptional artist and an inspiration to all. We are heartbroken at this loss, and send our love to his family and all those who knew him."
The school held an informal memorial on Monday for students, faculty and staff.
Labels: American baritone, car accident, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Mark Wesley Brax, obituary
Move Over Tony Romo, Papageno Is In The House
Patrick Carfizzi as Papageno
The Dallas Cowboys were a pretty mediocre 8-8 last year, causing many fans to grumble that a better team needed to be assembled at Cowboys Stadium. That has happened, as the Dallas Opera has put together a winning team for the April 28 live simulcast of Mozart's The Magic Flute starring the always entertaining Patrick Carfizzi as Papageno. Devotees of low voices will also be treated to the resonant low notes of Raymond Aceto as Sarastro.
The opera will be simulcast on the massive high-definition video-screens at Cowboys Stadium beginning at 7:30 PM with doors opening at 6 PM. Over 30,000 tickets have been requested, leaving about 1,500 for the performance. You can reserve your tickets by clicking HERE.
The show will be seen on four viewing screens (the largest is 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide) above the stadium's playing field. The opera also stars soprano Ava Pine as Pamina, L'ubica Vargicova as the Queen of the Night, Angela Mannino as Papageno and tenor Shawn Mathey as Tamino. Listen to Raymond Aceto below (don't miss this voice!).
If you'd rather see the opera at the Winspear Opera House, it opens on Friday, April 20 and runs through May 6. Visit the Dallas Opera website for tickets and additional information.
Labels: American baritone, cowboys stadium, dallas opera, magic flute, mozart, opera simulcast, patrick carfizzi, raymond aceto, zauberflote
Watch "Nixon in China" online from Théâtre du Châtelet
Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon
Watch John Adams' masterpiece "Nixon in China" live from the Théâtre du Châtelet beginning at 1 PM EST/11 AM PST. It stars barihunk Franco Pomponi as Richard Nixon, Kyung Chun Kim as Chairman Mao, Sumi Jo as Madame Mao and June Anderson as Pat Nixon. The video is supposed to remain available for three months.
Labels: American baritone, american opera, john adams, june anderson, kyung chun kim, nixon in china, sumi jo, theater du chatelet
Free Barihunk Concerts in Iowa & New York
Cedar Rapids, Iowa is probably best known for corn, Quaker Oats and for being the home of actor Ashton Kutcher and NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. It's also a surprisingly cultural city, with a thriving arts scene deeply rooted in Eastern European immigration. So we weren't surprised when we learned that two Iowa natives were coming to Mount Mercy University for a free concert.
On Sunday, April 29, at 3:30 p.m. soprano Katharine Goeldner will join emerging barihunk Chris Carr for the program "A Path to the Future: Music of Discovery" in the University Center Commons. The performance is free and open to the public. The duo will perform Gustav Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer and Rückert Lieder, and arias by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Korngold, Barber, and more. The concert is the first musical performance held in Mount Mercy's new University Center.
Carr will be appearing next season with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Yamadori in Butterfly and Pish-Tush in Mikado!
In October, he will take on the daunting baritone role in the Carmina Burana with the Kansas City Ballet.
Matthew Morris
We adore the multi-talented Matthew Morris, who seems destined for an amazing career. If you're near the bucolic Hudson River valley, don't miss the chance to see Morris in his graduate vocal recital on Saturday, April 21, 2012, 3:00 pm at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. Tickets are free and can be obtained by calling (845) 758-7196.
Morris will be accompanied on the piano by Milena Gligic in a program that includes Charles Ives'
Down East, Charlie Rutlage and General William Booth Enters into Heaven; Franz Schubert's Fischerweise and Des Fischers Liebesglück; Peter Warlock's My Own Country; Claude Debussy's
Troi Ballades de François Villon; Tom Cipullo's "A Death in the Family" (from The Land of Nod); Irving Gifford Fine's "Lenny the Leopard" (from Childhood Fables for Grownups); and, Gabriel Fauré's En Sourdine.
Labels: American baritone, bard college, barihunk, chris carr, Katharine Goeldner, matthew morris, milena gligic, mount mercy, shirtless
Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" wins Pulitzer Prize
Barihunk Ben Wager and a scene from Silent Night
Last November, we posted about Kevin Puts' new opera "Silent Night," which was being premiered at the Minnesota Opera. We were all atwitter, because not only did it seem like an amazing new American opera, but it featured a cast with more sexy men than a college water polo team. The cast included Gabriel Preisser, Liam Bonner, Mike Nyby, Andrew Wilkowske and Ben Wager and was named as our "Best Barihunk Feast of 2011" in our year-end wrap up.
Apparently, some other pretty impressive musical minds agreed that the opera was worthy of recognition, as the Pulitzer Prize for "Distinguished Musical Composition by an American" was awarded to composer Kevin Puts for "Silent Night." The opera was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis on November 12, 2011, a company that we have long praised for its heartfelt commitment to premiering new works, especially those by American composers. We would like to add ourselves to the chorus of congratulatory messages from the music world.
The opera. with a libretto by Mark Campbell, recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. The story was based on the 2005 film "Joyeux Noël."
Composer Kevin Puts
Also nominated as finalists in this category were Tod Machover for "Death and the Powers," premiered by the Boston Modern Opera Project in Massachusetts on March 18, 2011 and Andrew Norman for "The Companion Guide to Rome," premiered on November 13, 2011 in Salt Lake City.
Labels: andrew norman, Andrew Wilkowske, barihunk, ben wager, best of 2011, gabriel preisser, liam bonner, Mike Nyby, minnesota opera, pulitzer prize, shirtless baritone, Silent Night, tod machover
Barihunk Stuff You Don't Want to Miss
Jonathan Estabrooks
Our favorite vlogger Jonathan Estabrooks keeps a busy schedule. This Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. he'll be part of a concert that includes Gian Carlo Menotti's The Telephone and a collection of opera arias and duets with soprano Emily Duncan-Brown. The concert is at the SWCC King Community Center in Richlands, Virginia and includes selections from Verdi, Puccini and Rossini.
Christopher Dylan Herbert in Central City
Just a reminder that you can hear Christopher Dylan Herbert live on WWFM singing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56 "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen." The concert is free, so if you're in New York go check out this talented member of New York Polyphony. The concert will performed on Monday, April 16 at 1pm EST at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Broadcast time is 10 AM for those on the West Coast.
Herbert's ensemble New York Polyphony is currently performing on the East Coast as part of the Five Boroughs Music Festival's Gabrieli @ 400 and these concerts are not to be missed. On April 27 they perform at St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, on April 28 they are at St. Ignatius of Antioch in New York City and then on April 29 they perform at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Quirijn de Lang sings Hugo Wolf
One of the most popular singers on this site is Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang, who appears to have quite an international fan club. He's just released a CD of songs by Hugo Wolf based on work by Ibsen & other poets. He is joined by soprano Mary Bevan and accompanist Sholto Kynoch. For lovers of Wolf lieder, the recording includes twelve previously unrecorded songs. You can purchase the CD at Stone Records.
Labels: christopher dylan herbert, five boroughs music festival, hugo wolf, Jesse Blumberg, jonathan estabrooks, new york polyphony, quirijn de lang, shirtless
Tom Corbeil Lurches Onto Broadway Tour
Tom Corbeil
We've posted some pretty hot pictures of barihunk Tom Corbeil over the years, especially the shirtless ones from Joseph Haydn's "L'isola disabitata." He's currently put his opera career on hold to join the traveling cast of the Addams Family musical touring the country. Anyone who saw him shirtless in L'Isola disabitata would barely recognize him as the morticianly looking Lurch.
The Addams Family was created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama Desk Award winner Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with production supervision by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks.
The Road Cast of the Addams Family
The show is currently in Cleveland through April 22nd. It then travels to Memphis, Madison, St. Paul, Grand Rapids, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City and Washington D.C. Check HERE to see if the show is coming to your town.
Labels: addams family, broadway, jersey boys, joseph haydn, l'isola disabitata, merola opera, sexy, shirtless, tom corbeil
Say Cheese! Three Barihunks to Perform Together in Brookfield, Wisconsin
Anthony Reed, Michael Roemer & Tim Rebers (L-R)
There are a number of shows being put together that feature barihunks, including "Barihunks on Tour." This site has nothing (directly) to do with any of them, but we have been surprised that no one has copied the overused "Three Tenors," "Three Sopranos," "Three Countertenors" format to produce a "Three Barihunks" show. If you're in Wisconsin on Sunday, April 15th, you can get a brief preview of what that might look like.
Barihunks Anthony Reed, Michael Roemer and Tim Rebers will be part of a concert that features singers from the Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Joining the "Three Barihunks" will be guest tenor Scott Ramsay and sopranos Lindsay Sessing and Meagan Seubert. The performance will begin at 2 PM at the Dawes Studio Theatre at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield, Wisconsin. For tickets call the Wilson Center Box office at (262) 781-9520.
The singers worked with coach Jamie Johns over the last six months to refine their performance techniques. The monthly coaching sessions focused on operatic repertoire and culminated in this joint recital.
Michael Roemer and Adam Shelton in the duet from the Elixir of Love:
The Vocal Coaching Program was founded by Patricia Crump, a former member of the CMA Board of Directors and president of Supporters of Opera Singers, an organization established to administer funds donated to assist young Milwaukee area singers. She is also Director Emerita of the Wisconsin District Auditions of the Metropolitan Opera National Council.
Labels: anthony reed, free recital, jamie johns, lindsay sessing, meagan seubert, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Michael Roemer, three barihunks, Tim Rebers
Reader Submissions: Nate Jones and Kyle Albertson
There are few things that we enjoy more than our "Reader Submission" feature. Over the years, we've been introduced to some of the most amazing talent and absolute eye candy from across the globe. We've had submissions come from as far away as Belarus and Indonesia, from boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, ex-lovers, men and women ranging from teenagers to people who reminisce about having seen Gina Cigna (look her up!) and even a number of proud moms. Gotta love those proud moms!
Our latest reader submissions are Nate Jones and Kyle Albertson.
Nate Jones is a 25-year-old lyric baritone who is a third-year student at Duke Divinity School. He's graduating in May with a Masters Degree. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Duke in 2009 and has been studying voice primarily with Elizabeth Linnartz.
Below are two videos from Nate Jones' Graduate Recital from 3/24/12 at Duke University
In 2009, he won the Schloss-Mirabell competition in Salzburg, where he performed a concert of Schumann and Mozart in the Mozart Festival, while also playing Figaro. He also has won the National Association for the Teaching of Singing (NATS) competition at the state and regional levels. He won a full scholarship to the American Singers Opera Project, where he played Don Alfonso in "Cosi fan Tutte," and studied voice with Sherrill Milnes' ex-wife, Nancy Stokes-Milnes.
Jones originally planned on going into doctoral work in theology/philosophy but has recently decided to go into opera full-time and plans on auditioning for some young artist programs.
Jones has been active with Long Leaf Opera in North Carolina, most recently singing Clay in Chandler Carter's "Strange Fruit" and Valentine in Joel Feigin's "The Twelfth Night." He also played the title role in "Sweeney Todd" at Duke.
When we recently posted about the winners at the Gerda Lissner International Singing Competition we sure heard about the prize winners who we omitted (including one of our longtime favorites Dan Kempson). One singer who is new to us and who took a second place cash award is Kyle Albertson.
Albertson is a former participant in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program. He has gone on to sing Leporello in Don Giovanni, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China. Blitch in Susannah, Mephistopheles in Faust, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffman.
Current and upcoming engagements include covering the roles of Bretigny in Manon, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and the Jailer in Dialogues des carmélites at the Metropolitan Opera.
Labels: duke divinity school, Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, kyle albertson, mozart, nate jones, santa fe apprentice, shirtless
Adrian Kramer, Paul LaRosa & Matt Boehler in Chicago Opera Theater's "Moscow, Cheryomushki"
Adrian Kramer (Sasha) and Emily Fons (Masha)
We have a particular soft spot for many of the smaller opera companies and the Chicago Opera Theater has long been one of our favorite companies..Not only do they take greater risks, but they often feature barihunks in the early stages of their careers. We loved Matt Worth there in their productions of Owen Wingrave Three Decembes and now they have Adrian Kramer in an orginal take on Shostakovich called "Moscow, Cheryomushki." The cast also includes two other barihunks who have appeared on this site, Paul LaRosa as Boris and Matt Boehler as Drebednev.
The Chicago Opera Theater is producing its own unique twist to Shostakovich's musical satire that takes a political poke at the Soviet Union's chronic housing shortages. Renowned Shostakovich scholar Gerard McBurney produced a musical score that captures this operetta's lighter mood. The new production marks the 21st Chicago premiere since the innovative Brian Dickie arrived in 1999 to run the company. The opera will be sung in English with English supertitles.
If you're in Chicago, you can preview the music at an event at LOKaL tonight from 6-8pm. The cost is $25 ($35 at the door) and includes hors d'oeveres, the Moscow martini and music from the show. Performances of the opera run from April 14-25. Visit the COT website for additional details.
Paul LaRosa
Labels: adrian kramer, brian dickie, chicago opera theater, matt boehler, moscow cheryomushki, paul la rosa, Shostakovich
Dmitri Hvorostovsky Live Worldwide this Saturday
Dmitri Hvorostovsky continues to establish himself as one of the leading Verdi baritones of our age. It's a little odd to see someone who is aging as beautifully as Carey Grant or George Clooney begin playing fathers onstage, but that's exactly what he'll be doing in the Live in HD broadcast of Verdi's La traviata from the Met on Saturday, April 14th. His elegantly phrased Giorgio Germont will be transmitted to cinemas worldwide with a U.S. encore transmission on May 2 and Canadian encores on May 26 and June 24. The event will also feature exclusive backstage footage and interviews with cast members.
Live performances of La traviata run through May 2nd. He then begins his recital tour in Minsk on May 14.
Hvorostovsky sings "Di Provenza il mar, il suol" from La traviata:
Labels: barihunk, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, giorgio germont, la traviata, live in HD, russian baritone
Guardian's Stuart Jeffries asks: "Don Giovanni – hero or villain?"
Randal Turner as Don Giovanni
In the Don Giovanni that has just opened in Paris, the eponymous hero has become an irredeemable sex pest of a businessman. Too much power and sex has corroded his soul. Perhaps you work with him. Perhaps you are him. At the end, in his nocturnal office, Giovanni is stabbed through the heart by the co-worker he sexually assaulted in act one, thrown through a window by a crowd of downtrodden cleaners, at least one of whom he tried to grope, and then accompanied to hell by the rotting corpse of the CEO he murdered at the outset. Twenty-first century moral? Don't stay late at the office.
Markus Werba as Don Giovanni
The desperate Don's comeuppance, though, strikes me as unfair. As Kierkegaard noted in Either/Or, Don Giovanni is the opera's erotically animating presence. "His passion resonates everywhere; it resonates in and supports the Commendatore's earnestness, Elvira's wrath, Anna's hate, Ottavio's pomposity, Zerlina's anxiety, Mazetto's indignation, Leporello's confusion. As the hero in the opera, Don Giovanni is the denominator of the piece." Take him away and you're left with the bourgeois moralising of the opera's epilogue – an epilogue that any director worth their salt would cut were it not for Mozart's music.
Duncan Rock & Richard Crichton talk to Gaydar's Neil Sexton and Debbie Ryan
In Carlos Saura's 2009 film Io, Don Giovanni about the life of Mozart's librettist Da Ponte, the hero becomes a projection of the librettist's desire. In Claus Guth's 2008 succès de scandale in Salzburg, the mortally wounded heroin user – Giovanni – is imagined as the creation of the desires of all three women (Zerlina, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira) he usually spends the opera mistreating. Women want him, men want to be like him. In Guth's treatment, the usually pious Donna Anna kills herself because she can't have him. No matter that he killed her dad. [Read entire article HERE]
Labels: barihunk, debbie ryan, Don Giovanni, duncan rock, gaydar, heaven london, markus werba, neil sexton, stuart jeffries
John Relyea in COC's Tales of Hoffmann
John Relyea
We somehow forgot to mention that the great John Relyea opened on Tuesday night in "The Tales of Hoffmann" at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. We've seen video of the rehearsals and the production and singing are magical. See for yourself in the trailer below. Relyea plays all four villains in the opera, in a cast that also features fellow barihunks Philippe Sly and Gregory Dahl.
Performances will run through May 14 and additional information can be found on the Canadian Opera Company's website.
John Relyea in The Tales of Hoffmann in Munich:
Labels: canadian opera company, gregory dahl, john relyea, philippe sly, tales of hoffmann
Breaking News: Barihunks win 1st, 2nd and 3rd at Lissner Competition
Scott Conner & Ricardo Rivera
Barihunks continue to take top prizes at international vocal competition, as Scott Conner, Steven LaBrie and Ricardo Rivera won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place at the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. We hope that this string of victories lays to rest the internet chatter that barihunks are all looks and no voice.
Steven LaBrie
Two of the singers have links to the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Conner is a third year resident artist and LaBrie is a fourth year resident artist. Rivera is a young artist with the Mannes Opera program
The Gerda Lissner Foundation was created by Mrs. Lissner, a Metropolitan Opera subscriber for 77 years, to provide young opera singers with the financial support they need to pursue their craft and excel in the world of Opera. The three winners were awarded $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000. Barihunks would like to wish them continued success with their careers.
The Grand Prize of $15,000 was won by tenor Paul Appleby.
Labels: Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, ricardo rivera, scott conner, steven labrie
Upcoming FREE Barihunk Concerts of Interest
Southern Heat: Tennessee native John Brandon
Barihunk John Brandon will be part of a free afternoon of opera at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Hall.
An Afternoon of Opera sponsored by the Connor Society will be held on , UTC Fine Arts Center, located at the intersection of Vine and Palmetto Streets. He will be joined by soprano Cherry Brendel, tenor Ron Brendel and mezzo Rosella Ewing in selections from Carmen, Rigoletto, La traviata, Lakme, The Pearl Fishers, Samson & Delilah, The Elixir of Love, and The Magic Flute.
For more information, call 425-4627 or email verbie-prevost@utc.edu.
Apple of our eye: Christopher Dylan Herbert
Christopher Dylan Herbert is breaking away from his role as the baritone/bass member of New York Polyphony to perform a free concert on Monday, April 16 at 1pm at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Herbert will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen," one of only two solo cantatas for baritone written by the German baroque master.
Also on the program is mezzo Luthen Brackett performing Bach's Cantata 54, and organist Renée Louprette performing Bach's Fugue in Eb Major (BWV 551b). Click HERE for additional information. The concert will be broadcast live on WWFM.
Seattle's Best: Joseph Lattanzi & David Krohn
Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is generally not a barihunk opera, but the Seattle Opera is featuring two of its hottest young artists in a free simulcast on Saturday, May 5th. David Krohn will sing Prince Yamadori and Joseph Lattanzi will sing the Registrar in the opening night performance that includes the Cio-Cio-San of Patricia Racette.
The live HD simulcast from McCaw Hall will be broadcast onto a 50' x 80' screen at KeyArena. Tickets are free, but are expected to go fast, so reserve your tickets by clicking HERE. Door will open at 6:00 PM and the broadcast will begin at 7:30 PM.
Labels: American baritone, bach cantata 56, barihunk, christopher dylan herbert, david krohn, john brandon, joseph lattanzi, madame butterfly, new york polyphony, patricia racette, seattle opera, university of tennessee
Philip Cutlip Returns to Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Philip Cutlip
San Francisco Bay area residents are in for a treat as the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is once again teaming up barihunk Philip Cutlip with early music conductor extraordinaire Nicholas McGegan. The two have performed together in highly acclaimed performances of Haydn's The Creation, Handel's Messiah, Handel's Atalanta and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Anyone who has heard these two perform together knows it's always a special evening of music making. Cutlip and McGegan are now teaming up for Handel's Alexander Feast with a cast that includes soprano Dominique Labelle and tenor Dann Coakwell. Visit the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra website for additional information.
William Berger sings "Revenge, Timotheus cries" from Alexander's Feast:
Cutlip has been a regular on this site in repertoire ranging from the Handel, Mozart and Donizetti to Britten, Heggie and Philip Glass. We're eagerly looking forward to his Eugene Onegin with the Edmonton Opera in May 2013. His recording of Joseph De Rocher in Heggie's Dead Man Walking will be released on Virgin Classics on April 24th.
Philip Cutlip as Joseph De Rocher
Frequently heard in performances with New York Festival of Song, Cutlip gave the world premiere of American Love Songs - a set of 10 commissioned pieces for vocal quartet - at the Tisch Center for the Arts and at the 92nd Street Y; appeared in a program of commissioned works at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; and also toured with NYFOS to Louisville for Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen.
Labels: alexander's feast, American baritone, barihunk, dead man walking, handel, nicholas mcgegan, philharmonia baroque, philip cutlip, william berger
Christopher Job Makes Role Debut as Escamillo
Christopher Job
Somehow Southern California barihunk Christopher Job has fallen off our radar for four years. Since our last post in January 2008, he's performed at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, where he performed in Janacek's From the House of the Dead, Shostakovich's The Nose and The Enchanted Island with fellow barihunk Luca Pisaroni.
He's about to make his role debut at Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Lyric Opera Virginia. The opera opens on May 4th in Newport News and then moves on to Charlottesville, Richmond and Virginia Beach. Visit the Lyric Opera website for additional information.
Last summer, he was seen as Caronte in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo ed Euridice as well as the Poet in Philip Glass' Orphee at Glimmerglass Opera,. This summer he returns to Glimmerglass to sing Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
Labels: American baritone, barihunk, christopher job, escamillo, glimmerglass, lyric opera virginia, metropolitan opera
Reader Submission: Ed Ballard
Ed Ballard
Ed Ballard, our latest reader submission, is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The London born singer is a former chorister who went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and later received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Philosphy in History from Clare College, Cambridge.
He has performed numerous choral works throughout the U.K. including Bach's St Matthew Passion, Handel's Messiah, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Fauré's Reqiuem, Duruflé's Reqiuem and Howells Reqiuem, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Theresiennemesse, Finzi's In Terra Pax and Stainer's Crucifixion.
His operatic roles include Demetrius in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Edinburgh and Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte in Cambridge, Death in Holst's Savitri and Louis in The Wandering Scholar at the Grimeborn Opera Festival, Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Dartington International Summer School and Mother/Brother in Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins in Cambridge with the Carmen Elektra Underground Opera.
Labels: cambridge, ed ballard, english barihunk, guildhall, royal academy of music, shirtless
Barihunk Paulo Szot Live in Theaters Worldwide Tomorrow
Paulo Szot as Don Giovanni at the Dallas Opera
The Metropolitan Opera's new production of Massenet's Manon will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world on Saturday, April 7 as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Barihunk Paulo Szot sings Manon's cousin Lescaut in the performance.
Anna Netrebko will make her Met role debut as the tragic heroine Manon in the production directed by Laurent Pelly. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi will conduct the opera for the first time at the Met, and tenor Piotr Beczala makes his role debut as the ardent Chevalier des Grieux. The Met: Live in HD presentation of Manon will be hosted by soprano Natalie Dessay.
Visit the Met's website for more information on The Met: Live in HD series, now seen in more than 1,700 movie theaters in 54 countries around the world..
Szot starred as Kovalyov in the 2010 Met premiere of Shostakovich's The Nose and returned last season as a sexy Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen. He won a 2008 Tony Award for his portrayal of Emile de Becque in Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific.
Labels: barihunk, brazilian baritone, live in HD, manon, metropolitan opera, Paulo Szot
Peter Brathwaite signs recording deal as part of Amore
Peter Brathwaite as he appears as the April feature in the Barihunks calendar
British barihunk Peter Brathwaite is one of our featured singers for the month of April in our 2012 Barihunks charity calendar, so it seems appropriate to announce his latest success.
Brathwaite is part of a new opera quartet called Amore, which has signed up with Warner Brothers Records. Their debut album entitled "Stand Together" is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on May 28 and is available for pre-order on Amazon. Tracks include Abide With Me, Nella Fantasia, Ave Maria, the Flower duet, Cantique De Jean Racine, Amazing Grace, Here's To The Heroes, the Bacarolle, Jerusalem, Nimrod (We Will Stand Together) and the Brindisi (which you can sample below).
The group goes on tour this summer, with a concert on June 29 at Russell Watson's Jubilee Proms in Buckinghamshire. In August, they will be in Scarborough and Saffron Walden. Check out their website for additional information. You can also follow the quartet on Twitter at @weareamore or on Facebook.
Labels: amore, brindisi, concert tour, flower duet, peter brathwaite, stand together
Reader Submission: Dmitry Zuev
Dmitry Zuev
We don't get many emails from Russia, so we perked up when we saw an email suggesting we check out the guy singing the title role in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre in Moscow.
Zuev was born in Russia and studied at the famous Moscow State Conservatory. His repertoire includes Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Gryaznoi in The Tsar's Bride (Rimsky-Korsakov), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Marcello in La boheme (Puccini), the title role in Yevgeny Onegin (Tchaikovsky) and others. He has performed in Israel, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Estonia and Azerbaijan.
The next performance of Eugene Onegin is on Thursday, April 5th.
We'll keep an eye on this singer as his career progresses. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any video, but here is another famous Russian, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, singing Eugene Onegin.
Labels: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, dmitry zuev, eugene onegin, russian baritone, stanislovsky academy
Breaking News: Michael Weyandt wins Trueman Art Song Competition
Michael Weyandt
Barihunks continue to leave the competition in the dust at vocal competitions around the world. The two top winners at the Mary Trueman Art Song Vocal Competition in New York City were both barihunks.
Michael Weyandt won top honors and Malcolm Merriweather won an encouragement award (along with mezzo Rosalie Sullivan). As winner, Weyandt will be featured in his own recital with accompanist Thomas Muraco in 2013. The talented singer can next be seen performing Handel's "Almira" with operamission from May 26-31.
Weyandt performs Peter Maxwell Davis' Eight Songs for a Mad King, with the
Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble:
Weyandt performed Bellini's "Ma rendi pur contento," Schubert's "Das Zugenglocklein," Brahms' "Unbewegte laue Luft," Debussy's "Trois Ballades de Francois Villon, no. 2.," Poulenc's "Sanglots," and Ives' "General William Booth Enters Into Heaven." His accompanist was Jennifer Peterson.
Malcolm Merriweather
Merriweather performed Richard Strauss' "Lob des Leidens," Rossini's "L'ultimo ricordo," Hahn's "A Chloris," Mahler's "Wer hat dies Leidsein erdacht?," Ives' "He is there!" and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "I got me flowers" (from Five Mystical Songs). His accompanist was Alden Gatt.
Malcolm Merriweather singing "Easter" from Five Mystical Songsin 2010:
All finalists who participated will receive free admission into future ASPS workshops and master classes for the next year where each will have the opportunity to work closely with master class guest artist on the ASPS Advisory Board.
The competition is sponsored by the Art Song Preservation Society of New York.
Labels: alden gatt, Art Song Preservation Society of New York, barihunks, jennifer peterson, malcolm merriweather, michael weyandt, Rosalie Sullivan, trueman art song
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Breaking News: Michael Weyandt wins Trueman Art So...
Reader Submission: Waltteri Torikka
Erik Anstine's CAMI site


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14 Important Thoughts I Had While Watching 'Baby Boom' in 2015
by Melissa Kirsch
July 20, 2005 Updated July 27, 2016
It was with no shortage of shame that I recently admitted to my coworkers that I'd never seen the 1987 masterpiece of feminist cinema, Baby Boom.
How on earth could I have missed Diane Keaton as a high-powered New York City management consultant whose inheritance on the death of a distant cousin is not a million dollars as she assumes it will be, but rather an adorable little girl, they wanted to know. I argued that perhaps I could be forgiven for missing Baby Boom as I was quite busy watching the films that actually mattered from that same year, namely Moonstruck, Dirty Dancing and Broadcast News, but I found no sympathy from my colleagues. They gave me the silent treatment until I conceded my cinematic education was sorely lacking and agreed to spend two hours watching the Nancy Meyers-penned flick, in spite of my near certainty that a movie about a woman trying to juggle a career and a baby in the late '80s was not going to hold up in 2015. (It would be four years before single Murphy Brown got pregnant and was accused by Dan Quayle of "ignoring the importance of fathers.")
Well, it turns out we were all right. Yes, Baby Boom is a gem, an amusing workplace-parenting-romantic comedy that I liked well enough and probably would have adored if I'd seen it when I was 13. And it's cringeworthy, too: So much of the movie's depiction of a working mother's tone-deaf treatment by her male co-workers seems sadly still accurate today. Mostly, I found myself laughing at the absurdity of how much things have changed, and how they have changed not at all.
1. The movie starts with scenes of women in power suits and gigantic hair rushing off to work and a voiceover: "Sociologists say the new working woman is the phenomenon of our time."
I laughed out loud at the idea of "the new working woman" being a "phenomenon," and then I cried because the new phenomenon of our time is now revenge porn and that makes me long for a simpler time.
2. Diane Keaton's character, J.C., is nicknamed "The Tiger Lady" at the office. She even proudly refers to herself that way. Why she puts up with a sexist nickname like that is baffling and seems akin to a woman referring to herself as "That Bitch." In other news, Diane Keaton seems to not have aged in the past 28 years.
3. James Spader was hot with hair, just in case The Blacklist obscured the memory.
4. Shoulder pads were not actually so bad. Sure, the silhouette is more linebacker than we might prefer today, but there's something kind of geometrically appealing about this look.
5. Her belted suits, however, were indisputably hot. Why aren't we wearing wide tight belts with our suits today? Michelle Obama told us it was okay to wear belts over cardigans. I'm here to say it's time to start belting your shoulder-padded suit. #trendspotting
6. The scene of J.C. taking a phone call in bed is priceless. Please notice how even her nightgown has the same button front and point collar of a dress shirt, and how she has the ultimate status symbol, a Rolodex, on her bedside table. This is right after her boyfriend tells her she can't leave the city because "you in VT without a speakerphone would not be a pretty sight." Ah, a speakerphone. The pinnacle of technology.
7. J.C. receives the baby in a quick handoff in the TWA arrivals lounge. I found myself wondering first how she got past security to meet the plane, then what happened to TWA, then what kind of will stipulated the baby would be passed off to a distant cousin in an airport. Note to self: update will.
8. She then drops the baby at the coat check in a fancy restaurant. Ha? It's supposed to be a nutty satire, but you just can't imagine this being played for laughs in a modern film.
9. On a guilty shopping trip to FAO Schwarz, the big gift J.C. buys for her new daughter is a Cricket doll. Cricket, the talking doll who famously said, "Are we having fun or what?"
10. The adoption agency where J.C. almost gives up the child looks like a school principal's office. J.C. hands off the kid like she's a set of plastic tumblers at a yard sale—here, take it, one man's trash is another man's treasure. The way this child gets passed around between adults in a spirited game of hot potato with essentially no red tape of paperwork is hilarious and also a little disturbing.
11. J.C.'s bosses take away her demanding account and decline to make her partner because she's a frazzled mom. "I'm not going to turn into Erma Bombeck!" she cries. "I told you you can't have it all," her boss informs her. This was perhaps the most absurd part of the movie, but also the point at which I wryly wondered to myself how many women are being similarly discriminated against, just less overtly, in 2015.
12. These are the friends with whom J.C. hangs on the playground.
Please note the voluminousness of these outfits and hairstyles. The woman on the right is wearing a flannel checked button down and matching pants cuffed at the ankle with slouchy pink socks. I think this might be a spread from the new American Apparel campaign.
13. Her love interest after she moves to Vermont and remakes her life is Sam Shepard. I don't want to objectify him too much, but I did Google "young Sam Shepard" after watching the movie and wondered how we got to the crusty old patriarch in Bloodline.
Sigh. Age comes for us all—actors, hit movies, even the twins who played Baby Elizabeth in Baby Boom, who were recently featured on the best show on TV. Look how normal and still adorable they are!
14. A bonus for the true fans. Baby Boom was indeed made into a one-season-long TV series in 1988 starring Kate Jackson, with Joy Behar and Susie Essman. Yes, colleagues, I missed the show too. But I hope you'll forgive me for my pop cultural blind spot now that I've finally seen the movie.


Videos are everywhere on social media now, and with stats like Facebook videos receive, on average, 135 percent more organic reach than a Facebook photo or that people leave 10x more comments on live videos than regular videos it's no wonder we are starting to see a shift towards this content format. If you want to start using videos in your strategy here are a few best practices to optimize your social video strategy.
Note that if your objective is to get more views on the YouTube video you are sharing to your other networks, then posting your video as a link might be the better option. Test both native uploads and links to see which may work best for you. On another note not all networks allow native uploads (like LinkedIn) but luckily your YouTube links will look like a native upload.
Remember that most people don't have the sound turned on when they watch videos – will your audience be able understand what's going on? Maybe adding a note in the caption or using text within your video can help. When recording videos with sound you may need a mic to drown out background noise or wind.
Extend the life of your longer videos and optimize your social video strategy by creating smaller snippets of your video. I suggest 30-60 seconds to fit the time constraints of all social media networks and make sure your audience watches them all the way through. You can use the smaller snippets to tease your and drive traffic to the longer form videos where ever you may be hosting them.
Live video streaming can be a little scary – but using features like Facebook Live Videos, Instagram Live Videos, and Twitter (or Periscope) can add to your social video strategy. Surprise and delight your followers with spontaneous content or pre-plan and promote a live demonstration or Q & A. For a little live video inspiration read: 4 ways to use live video for your business.
Instagram: With Instagram Stories you can share your day with your fans in real time! Videos can be saved and reposted to your feed right in the app. UPDATE: You can now share live videos with Instagram's new update.
On the networks that allow you to use tags on your videos go ahead and take the time to fill them in. This will help optimize your video strategy because tags will make your videos easier to find.
Video greetings: These are extremely popular on YouTube, but you can easily create a greeting video for any social media channel. Let visitors knows who you are, what you do and what they can expect from you on your channel. Then go ahead an pin that video to the top of your profile or set it as a featured video.
How to's, tips, or product demos: Got a product? Show your customers how to use it in a quick video. If you provide a service share a few tips. Add value to your follower's lives by creating quick videos packed with information they can use.
Behind the scenes: Make your audience feel special by letting them in on behind the scenes action.
Q & A: Have your followers submit questions or use a live stream to answer questions from your audience. This is another great way to add value for your followers.
Regular updates: I work with a restaurant client who launches a new special every week. We've started to integrate live videos into the announcements each week. The videos keep consistency on the account, and have been great at increasing reach for their social media networks!
I hope this post has helped you brainstorm some ideas on how you can start to optimize your social video strategy for more engagement and reach! Before you go click here to learn how you can easily create great video content (without a budget).


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Q: Should I power the merchant room? Powering the merchant room, should I do it? How can it assist me? It's not really clear because I can trade with the merchant even though his room is un-powred.

A: Aslum's answer is incorrect. Powering the Merchant room doesn't generate Dust. It only helps you to build defenses to protect the Merchant.
Regarding Dust generation, after you have researched the Shop (Major Module), build one, at which point the Merchant will be teleported to the Shop. Afterwards, if you select a hero to Operate the Shop, you will gain Dust per turn.
Source

A: When I have no resources to build a shop, I am powering the Merchant room to prevent enemies from spawning there and killing the merchant.

A: Powering the Merchant room generates extra Dust for you. This will allow you to power more rooms, which means you can have more of the other towers going and therefore more of everything in the long run. This does mean if you find the merchant way late on a floor it might not be worth powering the room.