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HOW OLD WERE YOU IN 1972?
January 20, 2022 jonman492000	Leave a comment
I was 16.
1972, was a year of variation in cinema, with a number of movies released in that year now being referred to as classics, movies such as The Godfather for example, then we were treated to films such as Deliverance, Straw Dogs, Silent Running, The Last Tango in Paris, Solaris, X,Y and Zee, Play it again Sam, Aguirre-Wrath of God , Jerimiah Johnson, The Getaway, The Offence, Love in the Afternoon, Everything you wanted to Know about Sex but were afraid to ask, Images, and the list goes on it seems forever,
1972 also saw a scattering of Kung Fu movies, or should I say martial arts films, many being from China badly dubbed and heavily edited, such as The One Armed Swordsman but two of the better martial art sagas from that year were Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon, both of which starred Bruce Lee.
There were also a handful of international movies as in foreign language films, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Padroz za jeden usmiech, Wesele, and Poszukiwany, Poszukiwana. It was also the year in which we saw The Poseidon Adventure in cinemas and films such as The Mechanic, The Hot Rock, and Fellini's Roma achieving good returns at the box office. Joe Kidd too was released but to a little less enthusiasm from audiences.
Filmmaker Billy Wilder also entertained via his movie Avanti that starred Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills, and John Huston gave us The life and times of Judge Roy Bean with Paul Newman in the title role. And let's not forget Liza (with a Z) Minelli, who wowed audiences in the screen version of the musical Cabaret.
So, I think you will agree that this was a not only varied year in film but also a greatly entertaining one as well. It is now fifty years since these and other films from that year burst onto our screens, it was a world before disco, and a place where if you needed to know anything you had to buy a set of encyclopedias, go to the library, read books or ask a grown up. There was no internet (no, really there was no world wide web), home computers were not heard of (because I think if you wanted a computer at home you would have to live in a mansion or a castle to house it at that time) and people's needs seemed to be less complex and difficult. The soundtrack market too was somewhat different as many film scores never saw the light of day on a recording unless it was a big movie or deemed to an important one. It was a period when there were some specialist soundtrack outlets such as Soundtrack and Harlequin in London, period but most of the time one had to rely upon the humble record shop and someone behind the counter that had an inkling of what film music was. Many shops stocked those compilations of cover versions of movie themes by Mantovani, Manuel and the Music of the Mountains, (Geoff Love) and the likes of Ron Goodwin etc.
So, it was a surprise to me when I went into the department store in the centre of town and found the LP soundtrack for Silent Running. I had seen the movie and loved it, it had a message, but I think most of the watching audience did not really understand it or get that message. That message I think is even more relevant today, but still, no one listens. I did whilst watching the movie notice the score and had not heard of the composer, but I know I liked the music and the way it worked in the movie. The LP was on the MCA label, and had terrific eye-catching cover art. It was a no brainer for me I had to have it. It is a score that I still listen to today, but I do tend to listen to the digital edition now.
I still have the original LP and the re-issue on Varese Sarabande in green vinyl, and was lucky enough to interview the composer, Peter Schickele a couple of years back. The music for the movie is not just supportive but also via the lyrics and vocals of Joan Baez tells a story and adds atmospherics and varying moods to the unfolding storyline. To say that Silent Running was ahead of its time is I suppose an understatement. The movie was a compelling one and contained many thought-provoking moments. The storyline implies that all plant life as we know it on earth has become extinct,( that could not possibly happen could it?) what has been done is that as many varieties of plants have been rescued and sent into space on great domes which are in effect huge greenhouses that can sustain life and preserve it in the hope that earth will be able one day again allow it to flourish, but until then these domes are attached to a spacecraft which is drifting in space.
The ship Valley Forge is part of a large fleet of container ships which is on the outskirts of the orbit of Saturn. The domes are attended by a crew, one of which is passionate about his work, Freeman Lowell played marvellously by Bruce Dern is one of the four-member crew and he tends the plant life and the animals that are in the domes, in the hope that soon they will return to earth for re-forestation. Things however do not go how Lowell thinks they will, and they receive orders that the domes should be jettisoned and destroyed by blowing them up with nuclear charges.
Lowell is incensed by the decision and after four of the six domes are destroyed, he decides to put a stop to the destruction and rescue the plants and wildlife that he has been caring for. It's a tense storyline at times but also contains but also has the ability to become frustrating for the watching audience, the other crew members are not at all in tune with the plants or the animals and to them it's a job and when they are told to destroy the domes they set about doing this. Lowell kills one of the crew members who attempts to place charges in his favourite dome, in the fight Lowell's leg is injured badly, but he manages to jettison and destroy the fifth dome which is carrying the remaining crew members. He then recruits three drones to help him and names them Huey, Dewey, and Louie and re-programmes them. The impressive movie was helmed by Douglas Trumbull, in his directorial debut.
This is in my opinion a mini classic and a must watch movie. And the score is too an iconic work, that like the movie has gained a cult following. It is a fairly small-scale score although there are a couple of cues that do become grand and symphonic, these being The Space Fleet, and Saturn, in which the composer utilises brass, strings and percussion to create an near anthem like sound, the remainder of the work is essentially low key and although symphonic has to it a more intimate and personal style as in the cues, Drifting, and The Dying Forest, with the composer combining a soft and fragile sounding solo piano with lilting strings to achieve a sense of melancholy in the cue Tending to Huey.
The composers use of solo cello and violin in certain cues is also affecting, purveying a sense of loss, disbelief, and desperation. There is also a sense of drama achieved in the tracks No Turning Back in which the composer employs sinewy sounding strings that ebb and flow at times swelling to create a melodic ambience.
Remember this was Pre-Star Wars. Yes, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were still a twinkle in the minds eye of George Lucas. Silent Running is a film that you should watch and if you already have seen it why not take the time to return to it. I did and was I must admit even more impressed with it and its score.
composer Peter Schickele
From deep space we head back to earth and to rural surroundings of England, in the movie Straw Dogs where astrophysicist David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) and his wife Amy (Susan George) are bullied and taken advantage of by the locals hired to do construction work at their cottage just outside of a remote village in the west country of England. The couple have moved to the village in the hope that they will escape the pace of life that they have been experiencing in America, which is rushed and hectic, and the environment becoming increasingly violent. But they find the same elements and traits in the relatively quiet and laid-back Cornwall village where Amy was born and grew up and it soon transpires, she has history with some of the local males. When David finally takes a stand against the bullies, it escalates quickly into a bloody battle as the locals assault his home.
Jerry Fielding.
The movie directed by Sam Peckinpah contained the now infamous rape scene, Hoffman gives a sold performance in the movie and Jerry Fielding's sparse but affecting music adds tension and generates greater atmospherics to enhance the storyline as it heads towards its violent and graphic conclusion. The music is brooding, menacing, and dark, and although it supports and underlines it never intrudes or overpowers the dialogue or action on screen, Fielding's score punctuated and enhanced but also allowed the movie to breath.
Just to remind you of the year 1972 maybe you recall the likes of Mr squeaky clean David Cassidy who was asking How can I be Sure? or the more shining bright and clean cut example of American wholesomeness The Osmonds, in the charts, or maybe the sweetly smiling New Seekers stand out for you as they were attempting to Teach the world to sing in perfect harmony (good luck with that one) or you could have opted for something a little more risqué in the form of T. Rex with Metal Guru, the 1970's were to be a furtive time in both music and film, and even though the cinematic heights of 1972 were at times brought down to earth by certain movies such as Steptoe and Son or Carry on Abroad and Mutiny on the Buses, they were all entertaining in their own inimitable fashion.
Mutiny on the Buses in fact, was a better box office attraction than Hammer's other big movie that year Dracula AD 1972, which attempted to bring the infamous Count screaming and biting into the 20thCentury with disappointing results, these included dodgy hairstyles, even worse clothing and a script that really was cringeworthy at the time and thinking about it stayed that way even when one revisited the film in the following years. I bet the Count was saying under his breath "I Hate you Buses" or maybe "Hey man groovy far out".
The On the Buses movies were a spin off from the already successful TV series that was on the ITV network, but I do not think that even Hammer had envisaged just how successful the first movie would be and led to the studio producing two sequels Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses which were both very popular with audiences. Hammer studios were during this time at a crossroads, their horror films as in Dracula etc had begun to lose their attraction with audiences, mainly because yes, they were horror but was there enough horror in them for the audience to focus its attention? The time-honoured recipe for success that the studio had employed since the late 1950's with movies such as The Curse of Frankenstein and their first Dracula, picture was waning for Hammer as they attempted to bring the vampire Count into the contemporary world during the 1970's, in films such as Dracula AD 1972 and the slightly better effort The Satanic Rites of Dracula. But some of the old Hammer appeal did raise its head in productions such as Twins of Evil (1971) and the excellent Vampire Circus which was also released in 1972.
So, the studio turned once again to comedy as they had before with movies such as The Ugly Duckling in 1959 which starred Bernard Bresslaw and Up the Creek the year before. In the hope that they could re-create the success of the Carry On Movies, with the On The Buses series it worked, but after this the movies they decided to produced based on TV shows fell a little flat with cinema goers such as Man about the House and Love thy Neighbour losing their appeal on the big screen for some. The central character of all the On the Buses storylines was played by Reg Varney who portrayed the downtrodden Stan Butler who always seemed to be having bad luck. Mutiny on the Buses was scored by well-known Australian born composer Ron Grainer, who of course found a place in music lover's hearts with his theme for Dr Who and had wowed soundtrack fans with his wonderfully atmospheric score to The Omega Man in 1971.
Ron Grainer.
The music that he penned for Mutiny is serviceable and pleasant enough but it's no Oscar winner as far as film music goes. The music is basically a continuous travelogue style of score that runs sporadically throughout the movie, there are some nice themes but these never seem to develop so the music never makes much of an impression or supports the storyline that much. GDI records released a selection of music from Grainer's soundtrack on the Hammer Comedy Collection.
HAMMER FILMS PRODUCTIONS: 'VAMPIRE CIRCUS' (1972) .
So, staying with Hammer from 1972 and Vampire Circus as I have already mentioned. This is in my opinion one of Hammers finest non-Dracula vampire yarns, the story was inventive and original plus it also contained traditional aspects of the vampire legend and the frights, blood, and sex came in the bucket load. It was a gripping movie with many familiar faces from Hammer history and British films. It also contained one of Hammer's best film scores from composer David Whittaker who wrote a powerful and commanding symphonic soundtrack to enhance and bolster the vampiric goings on. The cast included Adrienne Corri, Anthony Higgins, John Moulder Brown, Lalla Ward, Robin Sachs, Thorley Walters, David Prowse (pre-Darth Vader) and a fresh-faced actress Lynne Frederick.
"Your children will die to give me back my life" that's what Count Mitterhaus vows on his death bed after being staked through the heart by the villagers of Stetl in an action packed and impressive pre-credits sequence. A little different from Mutiny on the Buses but a lot classier than Dracula AD 1972 and showing something of the old Hammer style. Sadly, David Whittaker's magnificent score was never released in its entirety, but a suite was recorded by Silva Screen which ran for nearly ten minutes, and then GDI released sections of the score on its Vampire Collection, the music is beguiling and at times frenzied, but also contains hints of romanticism and is filled with menace and foreboding. There is a macabre and somewhat awkward sounding waltz theme which appears at the beginning of the movie during a love scene which proves to be a masterful touch from the composer.
THE BLOODIEST SHOW ON EARTH! HAMMER FILMS PRODUCTIONS: 'VAMPIRE CIRCUS' (1972)
It purveys a sense of romanticism but is at the same time tinged with an air of uncertainty and apprehension becoming sensual and affecting as the couple make love before being interrupted by angry villagers baring stakes and crucifix's. The composer utilises strings in lush and opulent mode that are augmented by cimbalom adding hints of ethnic authenticity to the proceedings and introducing a chilling atmosphere at the same time. Directed by Robert Young and produced by Wilbur Stark and Michael Carreras (uncredited). The movie was shot at Pinewood studios, it was and remains a stylish and thought-provoking tale that kept one's attention focused throughout, its strangely alluring and believable plot I felt was a better storyline than any of the Dracula movies I had seen. For a more in depth look at the film and its score click here. VAMPIRE CIRCUS. | MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . (wordpress.com)
1972 also gave us Lady Sings the Blues the story of American jazz singer Billie Holiday portrayed convincingly by soul diva Diana Ross, produced by Motown films for Paramount Pictures it also starred Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor. As well as the songs of Billie Holiday the soundtrack also featured a romantic sounding theme with hints of melancholy by French composer Michel Legrand. The theme being utilised throughout in varying arrangements, Legrand employing a rich and lavish sounding piece, for strings and piano which created a sense of the luxurious.
Which worked well because it was just the opposite to what the central character was experienceing.
Buck and The Preacher was also released in 1972, the movie which starred Sidney Poitier who also co-directed the movie with Joseph Sargent also starred Harry Belafonte, and Cameron Mitchell. Poitier portrays former slave and Union Army sergeant Buck becomes a self-employed wagon master to wagon trains of freed slaves heading West. Buck knows the region well and he charges fair wages from the wagon trains employing him. He also has a working relationship with the local Indian tribes that charge trespassing fees from the wagon trains heading West across Indian lands. In return, they allow the settlers to move across Indian territory unhindered and to hunt a few buffalo needed to feed the wagon train settlers.
However, not everyone in the region is friendly toward the black settlers traveling West. Owners of Southern plantations, dismayed by the loss of slave manpower that previously worked the plantations for free, hire band of white rogues and outlaws to prevent former black slaves from going West. To achieve this aim, the hired band of rouges attack wagon trains and destroy the wagons, the supplies, and the food resources of the former slaves. They threaten the black settlers and tell them to return to the Southern states where they came from and work the plantations. Wagon master Buck encourages the freed slaves to continue their trek westward and to not give up their dream of settling in the West. Knowing this, the band of rogues led by DeShay plans to capture and kill Buck.
The DeShay gang sets up ambushes and traps, but Buck always manages to avoid capture. The gang resides in the town of Copper Springs where the sheriff, an honest man, doesn't agree with the gang's ruthless tactics against wagon trains of freed slaves. Chased by the DeShay bunch, wagon master Buck and his tired horse arrive at a river where a black preacher, Reverend Willis Oakes Rutherford, (Belafonte) is bathing. A desperate Buck switches horses with the preacher, against the man's will, and rides off to meet his wagon train. The preacher heads to Copper Springs where he bumps into DeShay's gang. Recognising Buck's horse, the gang interrogate the preacher about Buck's whereabouts. DeShay promises a reward to the preacher if he finds Buck and captures or even kills him. DeShay also instructs the preacher to convince all black settlers to turn back east toward the Southern plantations and abandon their trek Westward. The preacher agrees with DeShay and leaves town. Outside town he meets a wagon train formed of freed slaves and led by none other than Buck. After an angry exchange between the preacher and Buck, the preacher joins the wagon train.
During the following days of travel, the preacher notices that all the money of the wagon train is kept in a money belt carried by one of the women around her waist. A few days later, a distrustful Buck orders the preacher to leave the wagon train and he himself rides away to scout the area and to pay a right of passage to the local Indian tribe on behalf of the wagon train who will be seen as trespassers. The preacher follows Buck and he witnesses the payment made by Buck to the Indian chief for safe passage of the settlers. When Buck, followed by the preacher, returns to the wagon train he discovers that DeShay's gang has attacked it, stole the settlers' money, destroyed their food, and supplies and murdered a few settlers. Heartbroken, the surviving settlers want to turn back but Buck encourages them to go on.
Angry at the devastation, Buck and the preacher decide to ride to the town of Copper Springs and exact revenge on DeShay's gang and try to retrieve the money DeShay stole from the black settlers.
Benny Carter.
The music for the movie was the work of saxophonist, songwriter ("Because of You", "Hot Toddy"), conductor, arranger and composer, Benny Carter who was educated at Wilberforce University in theology. He was a saxophonist in Horace Henderson's Wilberforce Collegians, then played in the orchestras of Fletcher Henderson and Chick Webb. He went to Paris in 1935, and joined the Willie Lewis Orchestra, then became the staff arranger for the BBC in England. Returning to the USA, he formed his own orchestras in New York and Hollywood, and began writing for films. He became a member of ASCAP in 1942 and penned a number of other popular-songs such as Dream Lullaby, Blues in My Heart, Everybody Shuffle, and Poor Fool among them. He utilised harmonica within the score that underlined the plight of the black settlers and acted as support for both Buck and his sidekick.
Bad Company was directed by Robert Benton, who also co-wrote the film with David Newman. The western stars Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges as two young men who decide to dodge the draft during the American civil war. They head off to seek their fortune and freedom on the alluring but unforgiving American frontier. After its initial release many critics decided to classify Bad Company as an Acid Western, it has become something of a cult movie and contains an interesting score from Harvey Schmidt. The composer was born on September 12, 1929, in Dallas, Texas, USA as Harvey Lester Schmidt. He was a composer and writer, known for contributions to recent movies such as Captain America Civil War,War (2016), The Fantasticks (2000) and A Texas Romance, 1909 (1964). Schmidt was nominated for three Tony Awards with his long-time collaborator Tom Jones in 1964, as Best Composer and Lyricist for 110 in the Shade, and in 1967, as Best Composer and Lyricist and his music as part of a Best Musical nomination for I Do! I Do! He was also the composer of The Fantasticks which ran for a staggering forty-one years, becoming the longest-running musical in US history. The lyrics and book for this were by Tom Jones, whom Schmidt met at the University of Texas. Although a prolific composer, Schmidt never studied music and was self-taught. He died on February 28, 2018 in Tomball, Texas.
Elmer Bernstein.
Then there was The Amazing Mister Blunden, which was directed by Lionel Jeffries, essentially a charming children's movie but also one filled with ghosts and mysteries. An old solicitor Mr. Blunden visits Mrs. Allen and her young children in their shabby Camden Town flat in London and makes her an offer she cannot possibly refuse. The family become the housekeepers to a run-down country mansion which is in the charge of the solicitors. The children meet the spirits of two other children who died in the mansion nearly a hundred years previously. The children prepare a magic potion that allows them to travel backwards in time to the era of the ghost children. Will the children be able to help their new friends and what will happen to them if they do, well to find out you will have sit and watch the movie. Music for the film was by American composer Elmer Bernstein who produced a melodic and quintessentially English sounding score. The music adds much to the atmosphere of the storyline and punctuates the ghostly goings on to great effect. Bernstein employing a kind of watery sounding music that flows through the plot, underlining and acting as support to the action, conveying melancholy and a accompaniment to the unfolding storyline.
The music was not available on a recording at the time of the film's release although it was much requested by collectors. The score was finally released in 2019 on the intrada label. That concludes my selective and brief look at 1972, there were however many more excellent movies released during that year, how many do you remember?
DOGTANIAN AND THE THREE MUSKEHOUNDS. (2021).
Cast your minds back to the beginning of the 1980's and to an animated series that was a Spanish/Japanese co-production, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds was a successful series of cartoons as they were called at the time, many countries screened these episodes on various channels, but I do not think that they were shown in America, maybe because the American audience might not have got this kind of European vibe that flowed through it? I do know the BBC showed the English adaptation which was basically the same as the original's apart from being dubbed into English the show was broadcast early in the afternoon on a weekday to catch the children as they arrived home from school. The same team also produced The Mysterious cities of Gold and the brilliant Around the World with Willy Fog. I think one of the enduring things about the Dogtanian series was the infectious title song which was the work of Italian composing duo Guido and Maurizio de Angelis, of course the Brother's had already established themselves via their unique styles of composition in Italy working on various genres of movies that included Westerns, Giallo, Cop drama's, comedies, and horror films, most notably the films of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. The title song had to it an instant attraction and appeal and it is one that I believe if one played it now folks from a certain generation would probably recognize straight away. Well, if you loved the original series, you are in for a real treat as the Three Muskehounds and of course Dogtanian are back with a bang and filled with swordplay and daring do, but this time on the big screen. And so too is that theme, well an arrangement of it at least which has been recycled and woven into the fabric of the films score by the talented and ever versatile composer Manel Gil-Inglada. I suppose it would be quite unthinkable to have a movie about the adventures of these intrepid individuals without that familiar theme popping up somewhere, and the composer has not only fashioned a sweeping, swashbuckling, and highly adventurous soundtrack but has also managed to incorporate fragments of the familiar theme into his original writings, providing the listener with a bridge back to their youth or maybe to when they first heard it. I have to say I totally enjoyed listening to the score, it is fully symphonic and its lush and driving musical persona is relentlessly thematic as well as being gloriously entertaining.
The music that the composer has penned for D'Artacán y los Tres Mosqueperros to give the new movie its Spanish title, is a wonderfully melodic work performed by The Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra conducted by Vanessa Garde. The orchestrations are top notch filled with a rich and luxurious sound with the music being so varied, it is a rip-roaring action paced score that also includes lilting and fully romantic sounding pieces, gentle and fragile nuances and also catchy and haunting thematic properties.
All for one and one for all.
The score is not yet available commercially but there is a composer promo, but I am informed it soon will be released for all to hear, so keep an eye on digital platforms etc for announcements, Manel Gli-Inglada has created a musical tour de force, that will entertain and mesmerize well worth checking out when it gets a release. Highly recommended.
DOGTANIAN AND THE THREE MUSEHOUNDSManel Gli-Inglada.
Dara Taylor-scoring The Tender Bar.
Dara Taylor.
Composer Dara Taylor talks to John Mansell of Movie Music International. On scoring George Clooney's latest movie The Tender Bar. Which is now available on Amazon Prime.
Dara Taylor has emerged as a fresh voice in the world of scoring music to picture as evidenced by her score to Amazon Studios film The Tender Bar, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker George Clooney and her co-score to the Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar starring Kristen Wiig and Jamie Dornan. Her credits include the action crime drama Echo Boomers starring Michael Shannon, the Netflix series Bookmarks, the Netflix docuseries Trial By Media, the FX series Pride, and the Karen Allen film Colewell, for which she won a 2019 Hollywood Music in Media award. As a score producer and composer for Chris Lennertz. Dara has contributed to major motion picture films and series including Bad Moms, the action-comedy sequel Shaft, Amazon's highly acclaimed television series The Boys, Netflix's sci-fi series Lost in Space, The Happy time Murders, Ugly dolls, and the long-running CW show Supernatural. In 2015, Dara was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for her score on the short film Undetectable, and in 2016, she participated in the Women in Film's Women Composers in Media concert. In2018, Dara was chosen as a fellow for the Sundance Institute Composers Lab and the following year she was chosen as one of the BMI Conducting for Composers Fellows. In 2021 she was chosen for both the Grammy NEXT program and the coveted Universal Composers Initiative. Dara is a proud Executive Committee member for the Composers Diversity Collective, as well as a member of the Television Academy, Recording Academy.
JM. Can I start by asking was music always something that you wanted to do as a career and were you from a family background where music played a big part of daily life?
DT. Like many, I grew up in music. School bands, choruses, and musicals left a much bigger impression on me than AP Chemistry. My mom was also the director of the church choir so I grew up picking out harmonies by ear in conjunction with my classical education.
You have worked with Christopher Lennertz on scores, what was your role when working with him and at what stage of your career did you decide to become a composer of music for film?
Before setting off on my own, I worked for my amazing mentor and forever friend, Chris Lennertz for 6 years. I assisted, score produced, and contributed additional music which culminated in our first co-score for Lionsgate's Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar.
I knew I wanted to score film and television since college and my time with Chris is an extremely large part of bringing that dream into fruition.
What musical education did you receive?
As far as formal education goes, I studied classical voice under Judith Kellock and contemporary classical composition under Zachary Wadsworth and Steven Stucky at Cornell University. Then I went on to complete a Masters of Music in Scoring for Film and Multimedia at New York University where I studied under Mark Suozzo. But then I learned so much of what I use now on the job working with Chris, and I continue to learn something from everyone I meet.
How did you become involved on the movie The Tender Bar?
I actually scored a Yance Ford-directed episode of an anthology series called Trial by Media on Netflix which was executive produced by Smokehouse Productions (George Clooney and Grant Heslov's production company). So last summer they reached out to my agents and told them that they needed score to accompany some of the emotional beats between the needle drops.
The film is directed by George Clooney, did he have any specific ideas on what style of music he wanted for the movie and where it should be placed?
One thing George requested from the very beginning was a bittersweet melancholy that still felt hopeful. The aim was also to not be too disparate from the vernacular of the songs (using a lot of guitars and pianos with some light strings) but still be its own entity.
It's a sparingly scored picture I think it has about ten minutes of score, and songs/needle drops taking up much of the soundtrack. Was it difficult to work your instrumental score in with the songs/needle drops that are featured on the soundtrack, because the music becomes a kind of a bridge between the vocals and the images adding a delicate and more emotive atmosphere to the storyline?
I think the moments George and Grant chose for score helped bridge that gap and score felt very natural in those moments. And again, since we chose a palette that was not too extremely different from some of the songs, the score's intention was to fold into the narrative, letting the whole musical landscape of the film feel cohesive.
How many musicians did you have for the score and how did you arrive at the decision to utilize the instrumentation that you did for the score?
I had about 25 musicians on the score – a chamber string section in Nashville and a handful of LA soloists playing guitars, bass, percussion, harp, and piano. When it came to strings, I wanted it to feel intimate and wistful, more like the backing track of a record than a huge sweeping orchestral sound. Then the leading melodies were typically played on guitar or piano with the support of the other solo instruments.
Was the film scored during the pandemic, and did the restrictions affect the way in which you worked on it?
Yes, this was another score fully created in the pandemic. This forced certain things like virtual score reviews and spotting sessions and remote recording. However, I'm grateful for all of the technology available that still allows for creative collaboration – a process that now has become second nature.
The Tender Bar is quite a major project for you, was it a little daunting stepping up to work on the movie?
Oh definitely. I put on my brave face, but it was certainly a little daunting at the start. Thankfully George and the entire team were so incredible to work with that they made me feel at home rather quickly in the process. I walked away from this project with a new layer of confidence as well as it's now much harder to be star struck.
Are there any projects on the horizon for you that you can talk about?
The next project I have coming up that I'm able to discuss is the upcoming Netflix film, The Noel Diary, directed by the legendary Charles Shyer and starring Justin Hartley, which has been a lot of fun to score!
JM. Thank you so much.
DARA TAYLOR SCORING THE TENDER BAR.
SOUNDTRACK SUPPLEMENT FIFTY NINE.
January 9, 2022 jonman492000	Leave a comment
Welcome to the first Soundtrack Supplement of 2022. In this edition we have a mixed bag of scores and news of up-and-coming releases as well as a few oldies but goodies. So, let's not waste time and begin, shall we?
SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN AND AGAIN…
But first can I ask What's your Favourite Scary Movie? No I know it's not Halloween, but would it per chance be, Scream or the Scream franchise or series that was so popular, well if it is here is some wonderful news, in fact you might even Scream with delight when I tell you, The new Scream movie is out and so is the atmospheric and highly charged score by Brian Tyler, yes good old Ghostface is back and back with a bang, (well a slash and a lunge actually). When I heard that the Scream storyline was to be resurrected or rebooted, retold whatever? I was really pleased as the movies I always thought were great horror flicks. Yes, they were at times corny and predictable with the audience not really having to think about much apart from who was going to die horribly next.
But still they were entertaining in a twisted sort of fashion, one of the pluses' to the series of movies were the scores by the Master of the Macabre Marco Beltrami, I say Master of the macabre but since he scored the first two Scream films he has certainly come a long way, working on so many high profile movies of all genres, his scores for the original movies I always felt were more than just a run of the mill horror score that was filled with crashes, bangs, jangling percussive elements, booming timpani, and shrieking strings, instead they took on the persona being downright operatic in their sound, style and in the way the composer utilized and placed the music.
Beltrami's scores made the movies to be fair, and supported, punctuated, and accompanied the slashes and the madness that was contained within them. So, as well as Scream 2022, by Brian Tyler, Varese Sarabande have released a Scream box set, which contains so many extras, As the latest instalment of Scream lands in theatres Varèse Sarabande revisits Marco Beltrami's masterful scores from the horror franchise's first four films with Scream: Original Motion Picture Soundtracks. The 4-LP set—pressed on blood-red vinyl with black smoke swirls dedicates a full album to each film and includes two hours of unreleased material. This is a collection that will be available for collectors from June this year, I know it's a way's off now but it's a treasure trove of masterful compositions that you should add to your vinyl collection, and maybe keep it sealed? It's available for pre order now.
The collection is housed in a unique jacket, which folds out into a 3' x 2' Ghostface mask. For fans seeking additional content, the 6-CD set, and digital editions are available now and offer each film's score in its entirety, plus more than four hours of unreleased music, previously unreleased demos, cues, and alternate takes. A total of 171 tracks and over six hours of music.
The CD box set is available exclusively on VareseSarabande.com and Intl.VareseSarabande.com and limited to 1,800 units. Both the CD and vinyl versions feature new, in-depth liner notes from film music journalist and author, Jim Lochner. This is a set that you should not bypass, it is superb and something to Scream about (see what I did there). But to Brian Tyler's powerful soundtrack to Scream 2022, there is something of a Beltrami feel and sound to the work, which I was more than pleased about with Tyler including gentle nods to the original scores at times.
But as we all know Brian Tyler puts his own musical fingerprint on the movies he has scored, and this is no exception, it is a score that encompasses many emotions and covers a variation of senses. And very much like Beltrami's original scores has to it a deep atmospheric content, that too achieves that operatic level. The opening cue New Horizons is a richly thematic and affecting piece for strings and voice and is mesmerizingly beautiful. It lulls one into a false sense of security, creating a restful and even calming aura, which we all know recalling the past Scream scores probably will not last long. Track number two, Rules to Survive, is surprisingly calm as well. With the composer again utilising strings, piano, and a scattering of electronic sounds towards the end of the cue. This is a brooding and apprehensive sounding piece, that has to it a calm outer casing but inside it is all the time building and growing into something that is more threatening and malevolent. But it's not really until cue number three Ring, Ring that any true sense of menace begins to formulate and raise its head which effectively combines synthetic sounds with strings, to create a dark and malignant style. This is an icy and sinister sounding track filled with a formidable and foreboding that is I suppose partly alerting the watching audience or the listening film music collector that something is about to happen, and its not long before musically at least it does, the cue literally erupts into a cacophony of rasping brass, searing, and slicing strings that are underlined and driven via sharp and commanding percussion. To be honest Tyler plays an ace card here rather than going all out from the start he builds the tension with a simmering and tense composition that creates a thick and tantalising atmosphere before letting loose with the full onslaught.
I only listened halfway through to this score before I became engrossed and impressed, it's a work overflowing with mayhem and has to it a harrowing and threatening persona. Recommended.
Armand Amar, is a composer I followed for a number of years, and it amazes me even now that many collectors are not aware of his magnificent body of work for cinema and TV. I do not think that I have ever seen this wonderful composer's name on a list of favourites from any collector, yet when one sits and listens to his scores for films and television, as well as documentaries one cannot fail to be moved emotionally and mesmerised by his obvious talent for melody and his skilful placing of music within any of the mediums. His use of voices and the inclusion of ethnic instrumentation is I think why his music is so attractive, alluring, and interesting.
There is no doubt that his compositions are innovative and emotive, the composer being totally in tune with each project he has worked on. One of most recent scores is for the movie Mystere, and once again the composer delivers a beguiling, inventive, and haunting work, that will I am sure be appreciated by many. It has so many themes within it, all beautifully written and wonderfully performed, purveying a gracious and affecting sound and style.
This is a quality score, overwhelmingly beautiful, serenely sensitive, and totally absorbing. The score also includes additional cues written by Anne Sophie Versnaeyen and Mathieu Coupat. Highly recommended.
Cobra Kai season 4 is now airing on Netflix and the music is also available on digital platforms, composers Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson have again created an upbeat and thematic soundtrack for this hi energy and just as upbeat series. The soundtrack for season 4, is released on two albums vol 1 and 2, each containing some interesting musical styles, upbeat is a little bit of an understatement I feel, as the music for this series is unstoppable and powerfully high octane. The musical onslaught for want of better description is relentless, but it's a good relentless as this is a score that is not only highly supportive of the series but entertaining to listen to away from the images.
Of course, there are also quieter moments, which too are affecting and effective.
The composers combine successfully dramatic symphonic sounding compositions with more contemporary pop/rock infused styles that at times evoke the popular synth music of the 1980,s and 1990,s as in Harold Faltermeyer and to a degree Giorgio Moroder, they also employ inventive percussive elements to great effect that drive and sweep the score along at pace.
Add to these components an ethnic sound for even greater effect and a style that could easily be from any one of the superhero movies that have been released over the past decade and what we have here is an inspiring soundtrack that I know you will love. Recommended.
I would like to mention a score that at this moment in time is not available on a recording, but I am hoping that it will soon be, it is taken from the movie The Tender Bar which is directed by George Clooney,
The music is by composer Dara Taylor, who has provided the picture with a fairly subtle score that weaves in and out of the storyline alongside popular songs that are featured on the soundtrack such as Radar Love by Golden Earring, Good Times by Chic, I Love the Nightlife by Alicia Bridges, Shotgun by Jnr Walker and the All Stars, and so many more.
The movie stars Ben Effleck, Christopher Lloyd, Daniel Ranieri, and Tye Sheridan, and is a coming-of-age film about a young boy who tries to find father figures at his uncle's bar. Dara Taylors sensitive and emotive music adds an intimacy and a fragility to the storyline and its characters, certainly a film to watch out for and hopefully the music too will get a release.
Quartet records have been industrious once again. I am pleased to say that the Spanish label have released for the first time on compact disc the great music of Ed Welch from the movie The Thirty Nine Steps, which was released in 1978 and directed by Don Sharp which starred British actor Robert Powell as Richard Hannay.
The music is in a word gorgeous, and the opening track on the album entitled The Thirty Nine Steps Concerto is written in a similar style to that of The Warsaw Concerto. The music is typically English sounding and filled with lush sounding melodies and lavishly thematic material. Which is something that the composer continues to elaborate and develop upon throughout the remainder of the score, with the piano solos courtesy of the talented Christopher Headington.
I remember getting the LP record and loving the music and often wondering why it was not discussed or applauded more as it is a score that everyone should own, and now you can thanks to Quartet records, who also have released Treasure Island by composer Natale Massara, which is a name that is often linked with Pino Donaggio because he conducted the majority of Donaggio's film scores including The Howling, Piranha, Home Movies and Tourist Trap.
But thanks to Quartet we can at last sample Massara as a composer in his own right, with this rip roaring and sweepingly, raucous, and dramatic sounding score for the Orson Welles movie that was released in 1972. Both The Thirty Nine Steps and Treasure Island are available from Quartet now. Quartet Records – Specializes in the release of soundtracks
EPIC IS A WORD OVER USED NOWADAYS.
Have you ever thought what is an Epic? Or what qualifies as having epic proportions or themes in cinema and TV that is. An Epic as in when talking about cinema and TV productions, is a film or series that is full of spectacle, so I am told. Historical films often fall into the category of Epic and would usually take an important or maybe not so high-profile event and ensure that the settings and the costumes and the content of the production are historically correct. Most times the films unfolding storyline would be accompanied by a grand musical score and to coin an old Hollywood saying, "A Cast of Thousands", which would make them among the most expensive of films to produce. The most common subjects of epic movies are Royal figures such as Queen Victoria, Cleopatra, for example to just select two randomly, and events that took place in their respective reigns. Also, important people from history could also be the subject of these types of movies Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, in El Cid, or Napoleon in films such as Waterloo, Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell, T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, etc. Or they can be about events such as The Battle of Rorke's Drift in Zulu, or the more sprawling and wider effects of the Russian Revolution in Doctor Zhivago and Nicholas and Alexandra (which we will come to in more detail soon) and more recent events such as The Normandy Invasion in The Longest Day.
There are a multitude of examples, with many of them being Biblically slanted, charting the life of Jesus, in movies such as King of Kings and Jesus of Nazareth for example. Or key figures within the Bible such as Moses in The Ten Commandments and later in the Italian made TV series Moses, which starred Burt Lancaster, these Epic productions often charted the rise of Christianity at the time of the Roman Empire, Ben Hur being a prime example. With The Birth of a Nation also qualifying as an epic a long time before any of the other movies I have mentioned. Some, Epics based on historical facts are interesting just as they occurred with the filmmakers relying on the facts and sticking to them to make a movie that will be of interest to audience es, but at other times the script writer has been known to add nuances, tweeks, and even fabricated events that they or the studio that was producing the movie deemed to be essential to spice up proceedings for watching audiences. How the West Was Won for example mixed events that had taken place in American history, such as the Civil War and mixed these with personal stories of individuals and families.
With, these blockbuster productions came impressive cast lists, and the grandiose and quite often lavish symphonic score, with sweeping and lush sounding themes or even in a handful of examples a more delicate and intimate soundtrack depending upon the subject matter and the characters involved. So, that is I suppose the meaning of Epic as related to a movie or small screen production. And so to Russia.
1971 saw the release of Nicholas and Alexandra, it told the story of the inept and out of touch leadership of the Russian Tzar Nicholas, and his eventual fall from power and about how he and his family were imprisoned and executed by the revolutionary forces. Directed by Franklin J Schaffner, the film was scored by British born composer Richard Rodney Bennett, who penned a suitably lush and romantic score, that was tinged with melancholy, vulnerability, and fragility.
It is a score that I personally still hold in high esteem and am of the opinion also that it is to this day one of the composers finest works for cinema. It contains and expresses for most of its duration a highly melodic and haunting sound, with woods and strings acting as the foundation of the work.
The score being influenced mostly by music from 19th century Russia, it is emotional, lyrical, sweeping and filled with an eloquent and imposing expressiveness and sensitivity. The composers approach works so well within the movie adding emotive and poignant tonal verses that purvey hints of helplessness and a sense of longing, melancholy and frustration, the composer also maintaining an air of melodic, mesmerizing, and affecting musicality.
The composer deploys the works central theme throughout in varying arrangements and guises, adding choir, brass and percussive elements on occasion giving it a more lavish and opulent style when required. The haunting eight-note motif perfectly augmenting and underlining the storyline and its central characters, Rodney Bennett's music caressing the images and weaving a rich but subtle background to the events taking place on screen.
The score becoming grander at key points within its development but never overpoweringly so, the brass and timpani employed in a somewhat martial fashion adding a more urgent mood to the proceedings.
The composer was a master at writing music for film and always managed to maintain a fine balance that allowed the score to support without overindulging itself, he is noted for doing this previously in 1967 with his lilting, sensitive and partly folk inspired score for Far from the Madding Crowd. The composer worked on a wide range of genres in cinema as well as writing and performing jazz and providing scores for ballets.
Richard Rodney Bennett was born in Broadstairs in Kent England on March 29th 1936. In an interview with composer James Bernard, he told me that he was at a session for an early Hammer production and John Hollingsworth who was at the time Hammer's MD introduced Bernard to a young composer, who it transpired to be Richard Rodney Bennett. Bernard recalled that even then Hollingsworth could see something special in the young man.
And it would be Richard Rodney Bennett who would provide the music for the Hammer movies, The Witches, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, and The Nanny. But it would be films such as Lady Caroline Lamb, Murder on the Orient Express, Return of the Soldier, and Yanks that he became mostly associated with. His now iconic theme for Murder on the Orient Express being instantly recognisable from the first few notes. At times I feel that maybe Richard Rodney Bennett gets some unfair press as several collectors are still today quite ignorant to the importance of his music in film and TV. He was an influencer and inspired composers such as Christopher Gunning, George Fenton, and Patrick Doyle. Listen to Fenton's scores for Ever After and Shadowlands in which one can clearly hear Rodney Bennet's influence and to a certain degree in Gunning's now iconic theme for the British TV series Poirot in which jazz influences are fused with dramatic scoring. Richard Rodney Bennet, died in 2012, one of his last scoring assignments was for the BBC TV series Gormenghast in 2000.
He was an eclectic composer of serious orchestral works, jazz songs as well as music for stage and screen and aside from his compositions for cinema his most famous compositions include a First Symphony, a piano concerto and four string quartets. Among the latter are scores for operas, such as the dramatic "The Mines of Sulphur" and the more light-hearted and satirical "A Penny for a Song". He was born into an artistic family (his mother was a pianist and composer, his father a writer of children's books), Bennett wrote a cantata, "Put Away the Flutes", before he had reached his twentieth birthday. He was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1953 and graduated from there in 1958. He continued to study music under the guidance of French composer/conductor Pierre Boulez in Paris, eventually becoming skilled at combining jazz and serial techniques, in addition to mastering jazz piano, and it is true to say that many of his better scores for film etc are influenced by jazz, as in Wrong Arm of the Law which was released in 1963. The rest as they say is history, with Sir Richard Rodney Bennett becoming one of the most esteemed and sought-after composers of film music in the world. He died on December 24th 2012.
See you next time.
CROMWELL. A VERY BRITISH EPIC.
Cromwell Soundtrack art.
In 1970 we saw a wide range of motion pictures released, these encompassed many genres, and it was I suppose a testament to filmmaking, writers, and filmmakers during this period that we had such a variety of subject matter showing in cinemas around the globe. Soldier Blue, Five East Pieces, Vampire Lovers, Scrooge etc being just some of the more commercial delights that were being shown in that year. What is interesting is that there were just two pictures that could be called epics because of the scale of the production or indeed the respective periods in which they were set, the epic by this time was losing even more of its appeal and the Biblical epic that had been produced by Hollywood had certainly fallen from grace with audiences, who had already forsaken it for the gadgetry and thrills of James Bond and macho anti heroism of Clint Eastwood as the The Man With No Name in the Dollar movies, to name but two in the mid to late 1960's. Audiences were wanting more action themed films to entertain them, and supervillains and shootouts ruled by the time the 1970's dawned. The movie Waterloo was one epic production that did manage to cause more than a stir of interest with audiences, probably because of the spectacle and the hype that surrounded the movie, then there was Cromwell, which too was a movie that generated ripples of mild reaction with audiences old and young.
The latter attempted to chart the later life of Oliver Cromwell and his involvement in the English civil war when parliamentary forces eventually led by Cromwell fought against King Charles the first and the Royalist forces on the side of the Crown. The war and events leading to it and the aftermath of the conflict eventually led to Cromwell becoming Lord Protector of England from 1653 to 1658.
*King Charles A democracy, Mr. Cromwell, was a Greek drollery based on the foolish notion that there are extraordinary possibilities in very ordinary people.
*Oliver Cromwell: It is the ordinary people, my Lord, who would most readily lay down their lives in defence of your realm. It is simply that being ordinary that they would prefer to be asked and not told.
The film based upon historical facts was written by Ken Hughes, who also directed the picture. The film was produced by movie mogul Irvin Allen, and starred Richard Harris as Cromwell with Sir Alec Guinness portraying marvelously the out of touch and ill-advised Monarch Charles Stuart. The supporting cast too was impressive with Robert Morley, Timothy Dalton, Dorothy Tutin, Patrick Wymark, Frank Finlay, Charles Gray, Michael Jayston, and Nigel Stock all giving solid and believable performances. At the time of its release the film received negative reviews, this was mainly because of the historical inaccuracies that it contained. But at the same time the production was applauded and found favour with the same critics who had panned it, this time praising the performances given by Harris and Guinness.
*Oliver Cromwell: The King is not England, and England is not the King!
The score was by British composer Frank Cordell, who had previously scored the historical epic Khartoum four years previous in 1966. In the same year as Cromwell scored the WWll drama Hell Boats, but Cromwell was totally different, and required a more complex and thought-out score that was in keeping with the period in which it was set. The composer did not keep it a secret that he had several problems creating a score that was deemed to be suitable for the production, but his efforts and finished soundtrack were greeted with positive accolades from critics and cinema goers alike.
Composer Frank Cordell.
It was nominated for an Oscar, and a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA. The composer's stern, somewhat dark, brooding, and robust score lent much to the film's images and storyline, punctuating and underlining the battle and action scenes and also supporting the wordy script without being intrusive. Cordell's music seemed to add weight to the hopeless situation that the common people were being faced with, as in being governed firstly an uncaring and out of touch Monarch who took advice from his wife who herself was not at all in tune with the people of England, mainly because she was French and also a Catholic, and then by a corrupt and manipulative parliament after the King was tried for treason and found guilty and finally beheaded. Cordell fashioned a woeful, and foreboding work, in places which perfectly mirrored the sullen persona of the central character Cromwell and his dedication to his faith, country and ordinary people, Cordell's music also took on the role of being deeply personal, intimate, and spiritual as it accompanied Cromwell.
The opening theme for the movie begins with a God-fearing sounding fanfare performed on horns, that acts as the introduction to a choral work, "Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. He hath put down the mighty from their seat. He hath exalted the humble".
*Oliver Cromwell. "We need men with fire in their bowels who fear the Lord but not the enemy".
The score also contained numerous martial sounding interludes as in The New Army, in which the composer enlists percussion, and timpani, interspersed by brass stabs and flourishes and builds the composition gradually until it reaches its peak and fades for a while then returns with a vengeance with driving timpani, brass and male voices, singing "Rejoice in the Lord", the composer then further enhances these with rasping, driving and daunting brass performances that are bolstered by strings which are further supported by trills from woodwind.
*Oliver Cromwell: O Lord, Thou know Est how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not Thou forget me.
Battle of Naseby too contains this martial musical style and robust sound, with a hint of maybe a hunting type theme with horns and strings calling the roundheads to do battle and charge at the ranks of the Royalists. "Keep your Faith in God, and keep your powder dry", says Cromwell as the battle begins. The cue is the longest on the score, with a duration of almost eight minutes, the becoming the personas of the opposing armies with the composer creating a tense and desperate sounding piece that perfectly supports the desperate fight that is being acted out on screen. The Royalists initially thinking that victory will be an easy task after finding Cromwell's army unsupported by Lord Manchester's army and outnumbering them three to one, but the music also underlines the conviction and determination of Cromwell's newly trained Roundheads as they charge and probe the Royalist's ranks and eventually emerge victorious. The music has a triumphant aura as the cue draws to its conclusion, and then it alters to underline the defeat of the King as he leaves the field of battle.
As the composition comes to its final moments it segues into a heartbreaking yet positive and powerful arrangement of the scores central phrase "Rejoice in the Lord" but this time it is performed by soprano, adding a poignancy and sense of melancholy and desolation as it enhances the scene where Cromwell discovers his eldest son has been killed in the battle. It also closes the first half of the film bringing it to its intermission. This is a score that is supportive to the maximum, at times becoming complex and having moments that are withdrawn. The composer engaging and identifying musically with every character and every scenario, fashioning intimate, gracious, regal, and reverent sounding themes for King Charles after he is defeated. But all the time maintaining a somber side to the proceedings. I would say that Cromwell the score is probably one of my own personal favourites from the 1970's. And one of the last great film scores from what was to be known as the Silver Age, and it's also a British movie. It's a film that I have always been drawn too, but there again I have always been interested in history from any period.
From the music for CROMWELL, to the film itself. Director Ken Hughes originally began working on the script for the movie back in 1961. Richard Harris read it and liked it and showed an interest in portraying Cromwell, but financiers did not consider him a big enough star at the time to finance the film. They wanted American actor Charlton Heston, but Hughes did not think he was appropriate. Heston also recalled in his diaries that he declined the part. Hughes wanted to get Richard Burton on board, but Burton was not interested in even reading the script. It was not until 1967 that Irvin Allen had John Briley re-work and re-write Hughes's original script and he was hoping to have filmmaker Peter Hall direct the proposed movie. Allen was also hopeful that actor Paul Scofiled would take on the role of Charles the first and Albert Finney would agree to play Cromwell. Columbia pictures were going to finance the production and filming was due to begin in the summer of 1968, which was when Ken Hughes was working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The deal with Columbia fell through and it was not until 1969, that Irvin Allen announced that Hughes would direct the movie. Hughes eventually got financial backing from Columbia, who after an initial outlay of just over 600,000 Dollars began to have second thoughts about the movie, but thankfully they revised the decision to withdraw and committed to the picture, the budget for the movie started at six million dollars and eventually reached the total of nine million dollars. A lot of which was spent of set and costume design, a replica of parliament square being constructed at Shepperton studios, most of the movie was filmed in England apart that is from the battle scenes which were shot in Spain.
The original cut of the film ran for three hours and fifteen minutes, but Hughes decided to trim t down resulting in the final cut of the movie running for two hours and twenty minutes, the director said later in interview that he felt Cromwell was the best thing he had done. The film won the Oscar for costume design (Vittorio Nino Novarese) and was nominated in the same category at the BAFTA's in the UK. Cromwell was one of the most popular movies at the British box office in 1970.
Oliver Cromwell was a devout Puritan, a country squire, magistrate and former member of Parliament. The King's policies, including the enclosing of common land for the use of wealthy landowners and the introduction of catholic rituals into the Church of England became increasingly infuriating to many, including Cromwell. In fact, Charles regarded himself as a devout Anglican, permitting his French Queen to practice Roman Catholicism in private but forbidding her to bring up the young Prince of Wales in that faith. Cromwell planned to take his family to the New World, but, on the eve of their departure, he is persuaded by friends to stay and resume a role in politics. That is the initial opening of the movie and the beginning of its plot. What followed was a combination of historical fact and poetic license on behalf of the writer and director. Whatever your opinion of the movie, there is very little doubt that it has remained a firm favourite with cinema goers of that period and has also gained more admirers as it has aged gracefully.
Cromwell was one of the most powerful political figures and military commanders in Britain, and actively continued commanding armies in Ireland, Scotland, and England, and involving himself in government. Although rejecting a suggestion that he should be crowned king (after much deliberation), he was quite willing to take the title of 'Lord Protector' and govern England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales until his death in 1658.
MMI© 2022. * Denotes quote from the film Cromwell. (c)1970.


Governor Chris Christie Pushes To Use Drug Courts | Law Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq.
Governor Chris Christie is pushing to make drug court mandatory for specific offenders. The current probationary program that was introduced in Warren and Hunterdon Counties is an alternative to going to prison for those who are convicted of non violent crimes.
Posted on May 10, 2012, in News and tagged court, drugs, Warren County. Bookmark the permalink.	Comments Off on Governor Chris Christie Pushes To Use Drug Courts.


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Hi I'm Angie Fraser and have several years' experience tutoring small groups of secondary students (including my own daughters) with excellent feedback. While I am not a qualified secondary English teacher, I have a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and ESL tutoring qualifications.
This class is based at an NCEA Level 2 standard for students 15 years and older. (Or competent 14 year old writers!) Classes are 1 ½ hours in length and there is a maximum of six students per class. These classes are ideal for, but not limited to, students enrolled with Te Kura, as I have worked (and continue to work) with Te Kura tutors to meet their requirements.
NCEA Level 2 English is the minimum literacy standard required for University Entrance. This course will equip students to achieve the 5 Reading Credits and the 5 Writing Credits required for UE Literacy either through internal assessments (not exams) or a combination of external exams and internal assessments. It will give a very solid foundation for NCEA Level 3 studies.
The Literature (Term 2) and Film (Term 3) classes will prepare students to sit the NCEA Level 2 external exams in November 2019.
I do appreciate that NCEA requirements are a LOT to figure out when you are starting out. So please don't hesitate to contact me using the CONTACT FORM below.
Classes will be held 9:30 to 11:00am* on Thursdays at YMCA North Shore (5 Akoranga Drive, Northcote), to coincide with the other programmes on offer for home educated children and teens. (*This is a tentative time slot and will be confirmed.) Other options / classes on other days – may be available so please make enquiries.
Please contact Angie for term fees. $5 HASCA member discount available.
To register now, or to find out more about this wonderful learning opportunity, please email Angie Fraser via ninx@xtra.co.nz or use the contact form below. Thank you.
Angie also teaches a NCEA English Level 1 Exam Preparation Course.
In Term One this course will commence on Monday February 18 from 10:30-12pm and run for 8 weeks. Classes are held in Torbay.
– And other stuff too….
While this class will focus on a literature essay for the external exam at NCEA 1 level, the study and exam techniques covered should be relevant for any written examination. So even if you don't intend to take NCEA study any further, it's still a great chance to practice sitting a lower-level exam in a relatively non-threatening way.
To contact Angie Fraser, simply complete the form below and press 'submit', or call 09-444-0758.
HASCA does not directly run this activity but is very happy to recommend, promote, and support this programme. Angie homeschooled her children and was a long-standing HASCA member. Please support Angie through participation as she provides this wonderful learning opportunity for home educated teens navigating NCEA L2 English.


text:
http://www.genocid.lt/centras/en/507/c/
The History of Occupations for Youth programme
The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania launched the History of Occupations for Youth programme in 1999. Objectives and tasks of the programme:
to communicate historical knowledge about the resistance movement and its forms and about the difficult post-war period using instruments that youth understand;
to communicate notions such as the love of the participants in the resistance movement for their native land, justice, a free world, and democracy;
to inculcate civil and patriotic feelings in youth;
to encourage independent thinking and a variety of opinions and ideas among youth;
to encourage youth to develop their creative skills;
to encourage youth to learn about their native land during summer active leisure camps and short hikes;
to help youth to develop an understanding of the importance of every citizen's personal contribution to the creation of a socially-oriented state;
to prove the importance of learning and understanding the historical past for modern society;
to encourage the communication and collaboration of representatives of different generations; and
to involve as many young people from cities and rural areas as possible in the programme and to encourage their self-education.
Activities of the programme:
The annual national competition for pupils, History of Lithuania's Struggles and Losses for Freedom. The competition has been organised on an annual basis for over a decade now, and the number of participants continues to increase. The competition is open to pupils of the 5th–12th forms from Lithuania and Lithuanian schools abroad. Works for the competition may be created using various techniques and forms such as essays, drawings, songs, movies, photographs, performances, poems, projects, handmade artworks, and installations. The competition culminates in an awards ceremony held in Vilnius.
The popularisation of works created by the participants in the competition. The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania publishes the essays of the participants in the competition in books illustrated by pupils' drawings. Tremtis (Exile), a collection of pupils' drawings dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of the Black June of 1941 is one of the publications. The songs composed by participants in the competition were published on a CD entitled O taip norėjosi gyventi... (We wanted so much to live...). Exhibitions of the drawings and handmade artworks of the participants in the competition are held at public entities, organisations and schools during various events and anniversaries.
Educational summer camps for participants in the competition. The camps have been organised since 2000 in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence and the Lithuanian Army. The camps are open to award winners and participants in the competition and are organised in areas where partisan districts operated in the post-war period. The programme is aimed at non-formal youth education: learning about Lithuania's painful historical past and the difficult post-war period and promoting an interest in the native land and active leisure.
To receive further information about the programme, please contact:
The Memorial Department of the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, Remembrance Programmes Unit, Didžioji g. 17/1, Vilnius.
phone +370 5 231 4149,
Senior officer: phone +370 5 275 5261,
e-mail: konkursas@genocid.lt.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Title: The Hero
Series: Sons of Texas #1
THE HERO'S HOMECOMING
Owen Loughman is a highly-decorated Navy SEAL who has a thirst for action. But there's one thing he hasn't been able to forget: his high school sweetheart, Natalie. After more than a decade away, Owen has returned home to the ranch in Texas for a dangerous new mission that puts him face-to-face with Natalie and an outside menace that threatens everything he holds dear. He'll risk it all to keep Natalie safe—and win her heart.
Natalie Dixon has had a lifetime of heartache since Owen was deployed. Fourteen years and one bad marriage later, she finds herself mixed up with the Loughmans again. With her life on the line against an enemy she can't fight alone, it's Owen's strong shoulders, smoldering eyes, and sensuous smile that she turns to. When danger closes in, how much will she risk to stay with the only man she's ever loved?
Amazon's Best of the Month in Romance for December 2016
Up for Goodread's Sexiest Cover for December 2016
Starred Review! "Grant grabs the reader by the throat early on with a plausible and suspenseful plot, characters readers will root for, and snappy prose, and she doesn't let up until the cliff-hanger ending. This first-class thrill ride will leave readers wanting more." – Publishers Weekly
5 Stars! "The Hero never slows down, so many twists and turns that weaves an intoxicating tale of love!" – Girly Girl Book Reviews
4.5 Stars! "THE HERO is as action-packed and gripping…" – Romance Junkies
"Dangerous, steamy, and full of intrigue." – Booklist
"A great kick-off to Grant's hot new Sons of Texas series." – Reader to Reader Reviews
The blades of the chopper cut through the air with a whomp, whomp noise that Owen Loughman had come to find soothing. He sat back with his eyes closed in the seat of the Blackhawk helicopter, trying to figure out why he'd been pulled from his mission with his SEAL team in Afghanistan.
Not surprisingly, he'd been told exactly nothing.
He cracked open an eye and glanced at the cockpit. The two men piloting wore solid black. No military designation. No adornment of any kind. Obviously CIA.
Owen had witnessed—and experienced—his fair share of craziness since becoming a SEAL. CIA agents thought they kept themselves under the radar. It was the biggest load of shit. Everyone recognized them immediately.
It wasn't the fact that he hadn't gotten details of why he and his team had their mission halted after a week in the desert. It wasn't that he'd been shoved onto a plane in the Middle East without explanation. It wasn't even that no one had so much as looked at him since he'd landed in the States and was promptly put on the Blackhawk.
He was a Navy SEAL. He was prepared for anything—any and all surprises. No, the unease had everything to do with the CIA. He didn't trust the government bastards.
The disquiet feeling that saved his life countless times began to stir. He blew out a breath and opened his eyes as he turned his head to look out the open door of the chopper.
Texas.
He would recognize his beloved state anywhere. He hadn't been back in . . . he had to stop and count . . . ten years. He couldn't believe it had been that long. Where had the time gone?
The last time he'd seen Texas was the day he'd graduated from the University of Texas and joined the Navy. From the time he was in junior high, he'd known he would make his life in the military. It was who the Loughmans were, dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War.
He'd been the only one to follow in his father's footsteps and choose the Navy, though. Wyatt, his older brother, chose the Marines, along with Cullen, his younger brother.
He couldn't recall the last time he'd spoken to his brothers. Their family wasn't close. He blamed it on their father, because it was easy. Though in truth, the fault lay with each of them.
The chopper began its descent. His gaze took in the rolling hills and the cattle scattering to get away from the noise. Then he spotted the two-story, white house with black trim that brought back a flood of memories.
He rested his hands on his thighs covered in desert-colored cammies, wishing his gun hadn't been taken from him in Afghanistan. Just what the hell was he doing back home?
The Blackhawk landed a hundred yards from the house. The pilot turned in his seat and looked at Owen through the tinted screen of his helmet. "We've reached your destination, Lieutenant Commander."
He unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his pack before jumping out of the open doors, his gaze perusing the area as memories flooded back. No sooner had his feet hit the ground than the Blackhawk was airborne again.
He glanced up, watching the chopper disappear. Then his gaze slid to the house. It looked . . . empty, desolate. Which couldn't be right since his aunt and uncle lived there.
Owen took a deep breath of the fresh Texas air. And stilled. He smelled death.
He hurried to the side of the house and squatted, flattening his back against the porch railing. Quietly, he lowered his pack to the ground before he cautiously looked around the corner.
Aunt Charlotte's numerous hanging plants that she lovingly cultivated still dotted the wrap-around porch, swinging in the breeze. An empty rocker teetered.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
He silently crept to the front steps. If anybody was there, they were inside the house. He glanced behind him. The open landscape allowed him to see anyone coming. The scattered trees were large enough to hide a foe, but even they were too far away for someone to surprise him.
Except for the oak out back. He would have to tread carefully there.
He hurried up the five steps to the porch and flattened himself against the house beside the front entryway. Slowly, he opened the screen door. Just in time, he recalled the squeak if opened all the way.
Keeping away from the glass inset into the wood, he rested the frame of the screen on his forearm as he put his hand on the knob. Then, with a deep breath, he twisted and gave a slight push.
The heavy door opened noiselessly. When no gunfire erupted, he peeked inside the house. When he saw nothing, he quickly entered, his hand catching the screen to close it without a sound behind him. He moved to the side of the foyer and listened for any noise.
The house remained as soundless and still as before. On silent feet, he walked to his left. He glanced up the stairs but chose to look around the ground floor first. The front room, the one his mother had used as a music room, had been turned into a formal living area by his aunt.
His gaze searched the space. As if pulled to them, he spotted two holes in the wall. Bullet holes. A sinking feeling filled him.
For long seconds, he stared at the marred drywall, hoping it was his mind playing tricks on him. But there was no denying the truth that was before him. Had his father's work once more followed him home? It infuriated him that Orrin hadn't taken precautions to keep his family safe as he'd promised.
Moving to the wall, he touched the holes. The bullets had been removed, but by the size of the openings, he surmised they were 7.62mm. Military grade.
His eyes slid to the next room. He knew what he would find. His mind screamed for him to turn and walk away. The house had seen so much death, and as always, he was the one to find it.
He hadn't run away when he was a boy. He wouldn't do it now. Though his years with the SEALs had shown him unbelievable ways a person could kill—and be killed—nothing could compare to knowing it had struck your family.
Owen swallowed and walked through the doorway to the large living area with the eight-foot-wide stone fireplace. The first thing he saw was the blood. It coated the recliner, which was also riddled with bullet holes.
He clenched his jaw, anger kindling in his gut. His fears were confirmed. Uncle Virgil and Aunt Charlotte were dead. As he stood in the living room where he and his brothers had watched TV, opened Christmas gifts, fought, and played, the primal side of him—the beast the Navy had shaped and trained—demanded justice.
Justice his mother hadn't gotten.
He slowly turned the haze of rage and anguish into cold fury that could be directed with reprisal so horrible the screams of the men who had killed his family would reverberate in Hell.
Pulling his eyes away from the recliner, he slowly moved around the living area. Debris from the gun battle littered the floor, making it so he had to carefully choose where to set his feet so as not to make noise.
He reached the arched double entry into the kitchen and felt his chest squeeze in fury. The shooters had found Aunt Charlotte there. By the dough still on the counter, she'd been making her famous bread. The blood pool on the floor was large, as was the pattern of splatter on the walls.
A floorboard creaked behind him. He whirled around, his arm jerking up and back to hit the intruder. At the last minute, he recognized the dark gold eyes and stopped his assault.
"Wyatt."
His elder brother gave a firm nod in greeting. "Owen."
He frowned as he looked at Wyatt's face covered with a thick beard. His dark hair was unkempt and long. Wyatt stood still as stone, his gaze moving from one place to the next.
Having gone undercover enough times himself, Owen recognized the reason for Wyatt's appearance. His brother had always been quiet. A loner. Only the Loughmans knew the cause.
And no one spoke of it.
Now, Wyatt appeared even more serious, if that were possible. He was leaner than Owen remembered, more lethal and vicious. Wyatt wore black camo with no insignia. So that's where his brother had disappeared to. Delta Force.
Despite Wyatt's icy demeanor, not even he could hide the anger that sizzled in his eyes or the way his hands clenched at his sides.
Men like he and Wyatt knew only one way to seek vengeance—blood. Whoever had done this to their family was about to see just what the Loughman brothers were capable of.
Wyatt stepped around him into the kitchen and stopped next to the pool of blood. His gaze remained on it for a moment before he met Owen's gaze. "There's nothing upstairs."
He opened his mouth to speak when the sound of another chopper filled the air. Both brothers hurried to the front of the house. Sliding against the wall, they peeked out the windows to see another man in green fatigues appear in the doorway of the Blackhawk.
"I'll be damned," he murmured when Cullen jumped from the helicopter before it landed.
Cullen's cap was pulled low over his face as he stood staring at the house. He didn't move even as the chopper took off, the sound fading quickly.
Owen looked at Wyatt to find a frown on his brother's face. Nothing ever changed. He pushed away from the wall and walked out the front of the house. The sight of his younger brother brought a smile. Too bad the reunion was tarnished with death. But that seemed to be the curse of the Loughmans.
Cullen dropped his pack from his shoulder and smiled when he caught sight of him. Owen jumped off the porch and met Cullen halfway, enfolding him in a hug.
They pounded each other on the back in greeting. His then held his younger brother at arm's length and looked into hazel eyes so like their mother's as Cullen removed his hat. If he thought Wyatt had changed, it was nothing compared to Cullen.
Cullen's gaze held a cynical edge, showing suspicion that only someone who had been neck-deep in war would understand. His hair was kept in the typical style of the Marines—high and tight—with the sides shaved close to his head and only a quarter inch spiked on top.
"Damn, it's been a while," Cullen said with a bright smile.
He playfully slapped Cullen on the cheek, but he couldn't hold his smile. Not when he knew what had brought them together. "You've grown up, little brother."
Cullen's laughter died as his gaze moved over Owen's shoulder. The grin was gone, the hardness back in place. "Wyatt."
Owen turned around to find Wyatt on the porch, watching them. Life as a Loughman hadn't been easy for any of them, but particularly Wyatt. Owen still remembered being a young boy, how people used to be envious of their ranch. For a few years, the siblings had lived a life of wonder and joy.
But it all shattered one stormy day.
None of the boys had been the same since. Owen looked between his two brothers, hating that the tension was already back.
"What's going on?" Cullen asked as his sharp gaze looked around. "Where are Uncle Virgil and Aunt Charlotte?"
Wyatt leaned against the post. "Dead."
Cullen's eyes become intense. "How?"
"I'd say at least five men," Owen said.
Wyatt added, "Six." He walked down the steps and pointed to the ground. "Two came in the front. Another two from the back, and I spotted two more sets of footprints around the barns."
Owen scrubbed a hand down his face. This was a hit. Pure and simple. But against his aunt and uncle, who were some of the best human beings he'd ever known? This wasn't about Charlotte and Virgil. This was about something else. He immediately thought of his father. But it could be because of one of them, as well. He and his brothers had enemies of their own.
That soured his stomach. Hadn't he sworn he wouldn't allow such things to touch his family again?
He walked back into the house and to the living area, followed by Cullen and Wyatt. He looked at the recliner where their uncle had been killed to the fireplace where one of the shotguns hung.
"It's untouched," Cullen stated.
Owen glanced around the room. "Virgil never got to it."
"He didn't stand a chance against such firepower," Wyatt stated.
Cullen strode to the kitchen and stood quietly for several minutes. When he spoke, his voice was low and filled with raw fury. "I'll not stop until I find out who did this."
"We feel the same," Owen said, fully understanding how Cullen felt.
Cullen released a breath and faced his brothers. "I was in the middle of a mission when my team was pulled. No way was I picked up and immediately brought here just because they were murdered."
"You weren't the only one, kid," Wyatt said. "I was on a mission, too."
Owen crossed his arms over his chest. "Make that all three of us. I can't think of any of my enemies who would know to track me here."
"Me either," Cullen replied.
Wyatt gave a single shake of his head.
Owen's anger burned brightly. "This involves Dad. It has to."
A muscle ticked in Wyatt's jaw. Owen ignored the telltale sign that Wyatt was furious and frowned when he heard the sound of an automobile approaching. The three instantly fanned out. Cullen took the back door while Owen positioned himself at the front. Wyatt squatted behind the sofa in the formal living room.
The motor shut off, and a moment later, a vehicle door closed. Owen glanced out the window and caught sight of the front of a dark gray BMW 6 Series.
Seconds ticked by without the sound of anyone approaching. Wyatt turned his head toward the back of the house when the front door was thrown open, and someone stepped inside. Owen stilled a second before he grabbed the slim form.
He had the intruder flipped onto their back immediately. In the next moment, Owen found himself on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He jumped to his feet and tried to look beneath the baseball cap of the person, but he couldn't make out anything.
Owen didn't waste any time getting the advantage and slamming the person against the wall. There was a gasp that sounded distinctly feminine as the air in the intruder's lungs was forced out.
That caught his attention. With a shove, he knocked the hat off. A wealth of light brown hair tumbled free.
All the breath left him as he stared into green eyes he feared he'd never see again.
"Natalie?"
"Hi, boys," she said off-handedly.
He frowned, suddenly furious to find her there. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"She's looking for me," came a voice behind them.
"Callie?" Wyatt asked in a strangled voice full of surprise and annoyance as he stood.
Callie Reed glared at each of them as she walked around Owen and nodded to Natalie. He released Natalie, and she moved to stand beside Callie. He exchanged a look with his brothers, though Wyatt couldn't stop staring at Callie.
"Someone please tell us what's going on?" Owen demanded.
Callie shrugged. "I work here."
Green eyes met his. "I came to help."


There can never be enough fonts. Sure, you can do awesome stuff with one or two fonts, but in the end, after 111,111 projects with the same font, it will start to look weary. In this post we have 10 fonts recently released for all genres on this round up. Enjoy !
Egypt 22 is an experimental font that is both geometric and symbolic. The reason the font is named "Egypt 22" is because it explores the concept of symbols in languages. We often forget that the first peoples used simplistic symbols to visualize the language and the world itself; These symbols are still used except they have become unnoticeable and refined to the point of incomplete perfection. This font is a set of visuals and symbols that combines geometric proportions with horizontal, vertical lines and geometric shapes. This hybrid combination offers new perspective of how I words and symbols are looked at. It also opens up new pathways of use, not only as a solid font, but also as creative element in Graphic Design.
Quattrocento Sans is the perfect sans-serfi companion for Quattrocento.
It´s Classic, Elegant & Sober, and it works very good for body copy. Warm, readable and not intrusive.
You can download the regular alternative style demo absolutely for free!
Matilde is friendly thin typeface with extra tall capitals, elegant look combined with decorative elements. This typeface will work well for headings, short paragraphs, magazines, children's books, posters, logos and any type of graphic design.
A new free font has been released by The League of Moveable Type and designed byTyler Finck. The font contains of Dashed (thin), Rounded (medium), Ultra light, Normal, Bold (race track style double lines) and Black.
Exclusive to MediaLoot, bring scalable and flexible graphics to the web with CSS @font-face and the new Signify Lite web font. With this font you have 38 beautiful, hand-crafted icons at your disposal for any use, you can use them in your designs in Photoshop etc. or on the web, and the beauty of icon fonts (besides the scalability and tiny file size) is that you can edit the colour, size, effects and more with CSS.


When attempting to narrow down some odd page speed issues, we noticed that it seems like the first object of a certain size threshold is slow, but all objects of that size or larger afterwards on a page are quick.
The attached code sample shows that when the a array is small, the q array takes ~90ms. When you increase the a array size it then becomes the slow get and the q is fast.
The strangest part is that if first object is just big enough, then they are both fast??
Any help/insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
Expected results is both gets fast in all three cases.


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Home » TV Series » Cake Season 6
Cake Season 6 Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Spoilers and News
FXX Network announced release date of Cake season 6. Next part will be back on May 11, 2023. That's everything to know on the sixth season.
Comedy TV Series Cake premiered on September 25th, 2019 at FXX Network from United States. Television Series has 47 episodes in 5 seasons that aired every Thursday at 10 pm.
Fresh episodes is aired on Thursdays and has duration 30 minutes. Viewers ranking show with average rating 5.7.
Jerome was always very sensitive, sentimental. Unfortunately, people with such mental organization are not held in high esteem, they are ashamed of their soft character traits. It would seem that they have been given an amazing opportunity to feel the world vividly and let it pass through their hearts but they are shy because they cannot be caustic cynics who do not care about others. Jerome is trying to find his love, and it is important for him that she reciprocates. It will be very painful for him to experience rejection, and any strange action can frighten off a sweet admirer. It will also talk about the life of a not-so-young woman who is trying to compare her personal life with a professional career and decide what suits her more. She does not understand where she turned in the wrong direction, what mistakes she made, and for the sake of what all this was started.
Cake Season 6 Release Date
The FXX Network is not yet announced their plans with TV series "Cake". But looking for the last episodes schedule, likely premiere date of Cake 6th season is Thursday, May 11, 2023.
Cake Season 6 Cast
There is no information in our base about cast of this series. Stay tuned for updated data
Schedule for Cake Season 6
6x01 Episode 1 May 11, 2023
6x04 Episode 4 June 1, 2023
6x06 Episode 6 June 15, 2023
6x09 Episode 9 July 13, 2023
6x10 Episode 10 July 20, 2023
TRAILER CAKE BOSS Season 6
← Bunk'd Season 7 Ginny & Georgia Season 2 →
Blood & Treasure Season 3 Lost in Space Season 4 The Owl House Season 4
Home Economics Season 4
FBI: International Season 3
NCIS: Hawai'i Season 3


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El Estadio Nacional de Rugby Arcul de Triumf (en rumano: Stadionul Naţional de Rugby Arcul de Triumf ) es un estadio de usos múltiples ubicado en la ciudad de Bucarest, Rumania. Actualmente se utiliza principalmente para partidos de rugby.

El estadio está lleno de historia de rugby rumano. Se encuentra en el antiguo emplazamiento de los campos de juego de su federación, donde entró el deporte al país en el siglo XX.

Entre 2008 y 2013, el estadio fue renovado y ampliado a 5.500 asientos de capacidad con la ayuda del ayuntamiento del Sector.

El 25 de octubre de 2018 se iniciaron las obras de demolición del viejo estadio. El nuevo estadio se completó en el verano de 2021, con capacidad para 7.500 espectadores.

Véase también
 Selección de rugby de Rumania

Referencias

Estadios de rugby de Rumania
Estadios de Bucarest
Edificios y estructuras terminadas en 1914

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Photo provided by Stephanie Barish.
Stephanie Barish is founder and CEO of IndieCade, what the Los Angeles Times has dubbed "The Sundance of Video Games." IndieCade is dedicated to the discovery, development and recognition of independent artists and developers from around the world. Its mission is to encourage, promote, and cultivate innovation and artistry in interactive media and to champion those efforts. IndieCade 2014 took place in October in Culver City in Los Angeles. IndieCade East happens every February in New York City.
NYFA: Stephanie, just what are indie games?
Stephanie Barish: Indie games are video games that are usually created by individuals or small teams. They come in a variety of flavors and styles, but one key element is that independent games come from a vision or a passion by the creators. They aren't developed by marketing departments, but by people.
From my angle, independent games are probably the most exciting and vibrant thing happening in video games today and they are certainly pushing the rest of the industry in a positive direction.
NYFA: Why is there an indie gaming boom going on today?
SB: The indie boom is due to a number of factors.
Since 2008 the big publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision have been focusing their efforts more and more on their big gaming franchises, leaving room for more and more original games from the indie sector.
We have seen a number of components merge to create a ripe atmosphere for the heyday of independent games. This started with the move towards digital distribution—it is hard to remember back—but back when we launched IndieCade the prime distribution method was physical and digital was secondary.
Independent developers were able to take advantage of that space and it also meant that they were incredibly prepared with the emergence of the mobile and tablet space. These platforms provided the boost indie gamers needed to be able to develop and distribute their own original work and reach hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Simultaneously the tools have become more accessible, easier to use, and less expensive, enabling so many more to actually create games.
NYFA: Are indie games only on smartphones and tablets?
SB: Not at all. The indie games boom can be felt across all platforms; for mobile and tablet devices for sure, but also online, for PC/Mac download on Steam, and for all the consoles like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Indie game creators have a huge following and loyal fan base attracting a wide demographic eager to be in on what's hot and what's next.
NYFA: How important are indie games in the context of the overall video game industry?
NYFA: How many indie game developers are out there?
SB: According to a survey at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), 53% of all game developers now identify themselves as "indie developers." Indie developers dominate the mobile gaming market accounting for 68% of all mobile gaming sessions in 2012 (Flurry Analytics).
NYFA: How do indie gamers get their games out there?
SB: Primarily through digital marketplaces like the AppStore, Google, Microsoft Xbox, etc. Every digital distribution platform has jumped on the bandwagon. For example, in June 2013, Amazon launched Indie Games store and from day one they were featuring 400 games from 100 developers.
NYFA: What's an example of an indie game that became a huge hit?
SB: Independent game Minecraft just sold to Microsoft for over $2 billion. The Angry Birds titles have seen billions of downloads across multiple game platforms. All that should tell you something. But keep in mind, indie games have been doing well for many years. Braid, one of the earliest indie game successes, was the second-largest selling Xbox Live Arcade title in 2008.


We all have attended ineffective meetings in our lifetime. How drained and unproductive you feel after attending an meeting that was a waste of time!
Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment, a new focus, and a drive to accomplish new tasks after an effective meeting? Our topic during this program will help you conduct more effective meetings so that you and your participants feel that it is time well-spent, rather than time wasted.
The audience will learn the preparations necessary to conduct an effective meeting.
The participants will learn the Roles and Responsibilities necessary for an effective meeting.
The participants what activities to perform following an effective meeting.
Sandra has 34 years facilitating and training teams in Problem Solving, Team Building, Interactive Skills, and Effective Meeting Processes.
Sandra has a BS degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Project Management. She currently is a solo entrepreneur in her business, Projects Accomplished! Her business focus is project management, technical writing, training development, and training delivery. Sandra is also the Secretary on the RPCN Board of Directors.
Here is a short video in which Sadra discusses her presentation.