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Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium
Published: August 25, 2010 -- 14:06 GMT (07:06 PDT)
Caption by: Sandra Vogel
Two years ago we reviewed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred. We concluded that speech-to-text software is an acquired taste, but when proficient with it you can beat your normal typing speed. Developer Nuance clearly thinks there's room for improvement, so now we have NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium to take for a spin.
The software is available in several versions: for £149.99 (inc. VAT) you can download or get a physical shipment complete with a wired headset; £199.99 gets you the software plus a Philips voice recorder or a Plantronics Calisto Bluetooth headset; upgrading from an earlier version costs £99.99.
There are other versions of NaturallySpeaking too: Home (£79.99) has fewer features, while Professional is an enterprise ready version that's only available through partners. There's also a version for Mac OS called MacSpeech Dictate.
The first task with Dragon Naturally Speaking 11 is to create a user profile. The software will import a profile from an earlier version, but you can also simply start from scratch.
Creating a profile in Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 — the program supports multiple user profiles
The latter process is straightforward. First you give NaturallySpeaking 11 a few bits of general information, such as your geographic region, any accent you may have, and your age bracket —all of which help with personalisation, as these features can affect voice characteristics.
Next you're instructed on how to wear the provided headset that comes with the software and complete a couple of audio checks for microphone volume and audio quality. Finally there's a small dictation exercise — you can choose from several different texts. The whole process, including a pause while the software processes the data from the sample dictation, takes less than fifteen minutes.
A further step is allowing NaturallySpeaking 11 to look at emails and the contents of the My Documents folder to learn more about your writing style, vocabulary and contact names you may use — for example, to help it when creating new emails. The duration of this process depends on how much data you have stored, of course, but the software estimates between 5 and 30 minutes.
We skipped this part of the proceedings — the My Documents folder contains a huge number of files, not all of which are self-produced, and we didn't want to confuse the software by giving it a cacophony of 'voices' to analyse. We also wanted to see how it fared with minimal information to go on.
In use & performance
Nuance says Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Preferred offers improved speed and accuracy, an enhanced user interface, improved correcting and editing, and time-saving voice commands.
According to Nuance, version 11 delivers a 15 percent accuracy improvement over its predecessor — which isn't actually saying much, as version 10 launched with a claim of 99 percent accuracy.
More importantly, Nuance says that NaturallySpeaking 11 is more accurate out of the box, making setup and configuration quicker. We certainly agree with that, finding the software more accurate in the early stages of use than was the case with version 10.
Speech recognition in action with NaturallySpeaking 11 — the word-by-word recognition box of previous versions is now gone
In fact, we found NaturallySpeaking 11 to be startlingly accurate. After the initial training period we read a selection of text from Chapter 10 of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit, which includes the relatively uncommon word 'circumlocution' several times. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Preferred got it right every time. There were errors, probably due to our somewhat rushed speech and generally garbled talking style — we deliberately kept our tone conversational and natural, in order to get a 'worst case' result.
The new sidebar on the right-hand side of the workspace provides a reference to commands and offers tips, but could be better organised
One of the most significant improvements to NaturallySpeaking 11, particularly for newcomers, is the sidebar offering tips and commands. We've spent a long time with the standard quick-reference card (also available with version 11), looking up and trying to memorise commands. The sidebar can potentially do away with this system, but we found it a little disappointing in practice. It doesn't offer context-sensitive help, instead simply providing a scrollable list of key commands and clickable headings that access a fuller help window. The idea is sound, but it needs more work in order to deliver 'at a glance' assistance.
As with previous versions, NaturallySpeaking 11 supports multiple user profiles, aloowing more than one person to use the software on the same computer.
A range of commonly used applications — including Word, Outlook and Excel, Internet Explorer and Firefox — are supported. You can also use NaturallySpeaking 11 with Gmail, Google Docs, Facebook, Twitter, OpenOffice and a whole host of other Windows applications that accept keyboard-based input. The package even provides its own (very basic) word processor, called DragonPad.
There are plenty of more general commands too. 'Start WordPad' opens WordPad, 'Search the web for ZDNet' opens your default web browser and completes the search, and there are plenty more like that. You can open menus and action commands. There are commands for going to the desktop, managing windows, using the Control Panel and so on. You can also create your own commands, and record macros that let you complete complex actions with a single command.
Mouse movement is managed using the same grid system as in version 10. It remains tricky, but seems quicker in version 11. After issuing the command 'mouse grid' the entire screen is divided into a 3 x 3 grid. Say the number of the grid cell you want and that subdivides into a 3 x 3 grid. You continue until the cursor is where you want it to be, and then say 'click' or 'double click'. Dragging with the mouse is easier — you just say 'drag mouse down', 'drag mouse left', 'drag mouse up left' (for diagonal movement), 'drag mouse up faster', 'faster' and so on.
A new feature in NaturallySpeaking 11 is that corrections made with the keyboard are added to the knowledge base, which helps the software learn about your writing style and improve its accuracy. We didn't use the program for long enough during the review period to gauge how well this works, but it should prove a boon over time.
A feature we initially missed from version 10 is the results box that shows the software recognising your speech word by word — we found it comforting to see that the was working away in the background. In version 11, words simply appear in a document when the software is happy with its recognition process. After a while, we found this actually helped us speak more naturally as we no longer constantly glanced at the recognition box.
One thing NaturallySpeaking 11 still can't do is transcribe random voice recordings. Every user has to work to their own profile, which is set up at startup and constantly tweaked. One day, maybe Nuance will add a 'profile-free' speech-to-text feature. We'd like to see this, even though it would inevitably be less accurate than a profile-based transcription.
There could be more help for some of the more advanced features, such as setting up personalised commands. You can find out how to do this easily enough, but a larger quick-reference card going into a little more depth would help the average user make the most of the software from the outset.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Preferred is a significant improvement on its predecessor on several fronts. Speech recognition is more accurate right out of the box, which means that new users should become productive quicker. The user interface is generally slicker too. The sidebar needs attention, though. We'd like it to deliver context-sensitive help rather than the generic mish-mash it does at present. Too often, we found ourselves reverting to the printed quick-reference card and would actually have preferred more printed reference material.
By Sandra Vogel | August 25, 2010 -- 14:06 GMT (07:06 PDT) | Topic: Developer
Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 Premium is a significant improvement on its predecessor: speech recognition is more accurate out of the box, and the user interface is generally slicker. The new command reference sidebar needs attention, though.
Developer Enterprise Software Open Source Mobile OS
Linux turns 29: The biggest events in its history so far
A year by year summary of the most significant events in Linux's history to date.
Programming languages, 5G connections, remote-working strategies, tech spending, and more: ZDNet's research round-up
From popular programming langauges to a long-term rise in 5G connections and short-term concerns over IT spending, here's the facts and figures from the past month in tech news. ...
Programming languages, IT spending, security incidents, and more: ZDNet's research round-up
From assessments on the impact of COVID-19 on the IT industry to patent registrations and a boom in cloud computing, here's the data that matters from the past month in technology news. ...
Top programming languages, 5G worries, cloud computing, and more: Research round-up
All the facts and figures that matter to you and your business from the past month in technology news.
Python skills boom, in-demand jobs, self-driving cars, and more: Tech research round-up
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Best-paid tech jobs, malware warnings and shadow IT: Research round-up


It feels really bad when you cannot express your feelings in the right way. In this lesson, you can find some expressions that can help you express anger.
Here are some English Phrases to help you express your anger.
1. I don't believe it!
4. I could really do without it.
5. It really gets on my nerves.
8. I'm fed up with it.
9. Please, I'm so mad right now I can't talk to you.
13. Get out of my way!
14. That's the last straw!
15. Mind your own business!
18. I don't think that's very clever!
19. I get so irritated by Tom I can't be around her.
20. I can't stand it any longer!
21. It is none of your business.
23. Damn that stupid salesman!
24. Stop shouting your head off.


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Home /TV
'It's Okay to Not Be Okay': K-Drama Nominated for 2021 International Emmy
by Gabriela Silva twitter | More Articles: TV
Korean drama fans rejoice as a popular drama gets a nomination for the 2021 International Emmy Awards. On Sept.23, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its nominees. Included this year is the 2020 K-drama, It's Okay to Not Be Okay, in the mini-series category. As previously known, a K-drama is often ineligible for an Emmy unless created in conjunction with an American company. This rule does not apply to the International Emmys that focus on foreign content.
Korean actors Kim Soo-Hyun, Seo Ye-Ji, Oh Jung-Se, and Park Gyu-Young starred in It's Okay to Not Be Okay. It told the story of a romance between a psych ward nurse and an antisocial children's book writer. The drama became sensational and received many praises from critics and fans. The K-drama and a Korean reality television series will have a chance at winning an Emmy.
Actors Kim Soo-Hyun and Seo Yea-Ji for 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' | Chun Young-San via Netflix.
'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' was the most popular K-drama on Netflix in the romance genre in 2020
TvN and Netflix hit gold with It's Okay to Not Be Okay. The K-drama had everything from tantalizing romance, a badass female lead, and an underlying thriller storyline. Even The New York Times called the K-drama "The Best International Shows of 2020" and received eight nominations and two awards at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Hotel Del Luna and One Ordinary Day actor Kim Soo-Hyun played the role of Moon Gang-Tae.
Gang-Tae (Kim) becomes his autistic older brother's caretaker when his mother is murdered. Into adulthood, Gang-Tae works as a caretaker at a psychiatric hospital and soon crosses paths with a famous children's book. Ko Moon-Young, played by Seo Yea-Ji, is famous for her work but is straightforward and cold-hearted. Moon-Young has a dark and troubling past that made her the closed-off person she is.
Moon-Young and Gang-Tae develop a uniquely hot and cold romance. Underlying their romance is a chilling mystery of both their pasts coming back to haunt them in a way they never saw coming. Along with Gang-Tae's brother, the three characters create an inseparable bond and help heal each other's wounds.
'It's Okay to Not Be Okay' is nominated as a Mini-series with 'The I-Land' in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category
South Korea will be represented at the International Emmys in two categories, according to Soompi. The 2021 International Emmy Awards announced 44 nominees from around the world. Included are It's Okay to Not Be Okay and the survival reality series, The I-Land. CJ ENM entertainment company produced both series and owns well-recognized Korean broadcast channels, tvN, Mnet, OCN, and more.
It's Okay to Not Be Okay is nominated in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category. The K-drama premiered from June to August 2020 and met the Emmy requirements of eligibility based on its debut date. Seeing as the K-drama only has one season and 16 episodes, it is categorized as a mini-series. But, there are a select few K-dramas that surpass one season or have shorter than 16-episodes.
The I-Land is notorious amongst K-pop fans. The survival reality series allows aspiring singers, dancers, and rappers to hit it big in a K-Pop group as idols. Twenty-three individuals entered, with only seven making it to the end and debuting as the group ENHYPEN. The I-Land premiered from June 26 to Sept. 18, 2020.
How is a K-drama's eligible for an Emmy or International Emmy?
4 Must-Watch K-Dramas to Get New Fans Started
The Emmys have set rules on what series can be eligible for a nomination. According to the rules, a foreign series is eligible when developed and created with an American company. The television series must also debut on an American network. The two guidelines alone make K-dramas ineligible. While K-dramas now debut on Netflix, they also air on Korean cable television.
For the International Emmys, the rules no longer apply. Foreign series must abide by an eligible time frame. Series eligible at the Emmys must debut within the set dates, but for the International Emmys, the dates differ. A television series is eligible if it premiered between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020. It's Okay to Not Be Okay and The I-Land landed within the time frame.
The 49th International Emmy Awards will premiere on Nov. 22, 2021.
Tags:Emmy Awards K-drama tv shows

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


EXE Software offers technical resources that are easy to integrate with your company's teams and can take over various responsibilities on support tasks in development areas. Our teams work using Agile and Waterfall methodologies, in environments using Microsoft, IBM and mobile technologies.
Externalize your software solution development responsibilities to a team of professionals situated in a nearby country, with minimal cultural differences in work style, focus on quality, language and professional capabilities.
You can focus exclusively on your business development and strategies, while EXE Software takes over your software needs, be it development, support or maintenance.
You may experience fluctuating resource needs during transformational projects, which require additional workforce or you may need to supplement your know how in key areas during a technology refocus. EXE Software can help you handle these spikes with ease.
EXE Software has extensive experience in various projects based on Microsoft technologies and can be the trusted partner you need to complement your own teams' knowledge.
We can scale up and scale down teams depending on your business needs, giving you the control over your costs and ability to deliver.
EXE Software already has people with experience and knowledge in various technologies and areas of business and this helps you reduce costs involved by specialized training.
EXE Software has dedicated teams that ensure support for JTI's applications in business areas such as finance, production and many others. We deliver services to JTI across the globe in numerous countries.
Professional teams work to support smooth service delivery for Diangi's clients on their day-to-day operational tasks.
The ERP system developed by EXE Software is dedicated to streamlining stock management operations and improving supply, acquisition and sales processes.


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Underwater Archeology
Swedish archaeologists push for shipwreck excavation
In Underwater Archeology
From Ice News
Swedish archaeologists are keen to secure funding to excavate an 800-year-old shipwreck that was discovered off the country's south coast.
The long, narrow vessel, which was found close to Sturkö, is almost completely buried, meaning excavation will be difficult.
"When the divers recovered fragments for dating, they were literally 'looking' with their hands," underwater archaeologist for the Kalmar County Museum, Lars Einarsson, told The Local.
"The sediment is so easily disturbed that it makes it almost impossible to see what you're doing. In some ways, it would be easier if the ship was 10 times deeper."
"This is an extraordinary medieval wreck. We've found that the wood was cut down between 1250 and 1300," Einarsson said, adding that the 14 by two metre vessel would have been very fast and therefore probably used for looting.
The Kalmar County Council must now decide whether or not to fund the enormous task of excavating the ship, but Einarsson feels the investment could be very worthwhile.
"We really want to determine why the ship was abandoned. We want to know if it was dramatic, or whether it was just left because the ship became too old-fashioned," he told The Local.
"If it was left under dramatic circumstances, who knows what treasures the insides of the ship may hold ?
The contents would be tremendously helpful in making a connection to the cultural and historical context of the ship."
800-year-old shipwreck Lars Einarsson Kalmar County museum Swedish archaeologists


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About Torah
Inspiration and Authority of Scripture Verbal Inspiration Plenary Inspiration
The Jewishness of the "New Testament" Antisemitism in the "New Testament"
Torah Keeping Why Obey Torah? Is Obedience to Torah for Today? Torah and "Legalism"
Takanot: The Tradition of the Elders
Hebrew Apostolic Scriptures? Was the "New Testament" Written in Hebrew or Greek?
Scholars Who Support a Hebrew Origin of the Apostolic Writings
King James Version The Church and Torah Talmud
Is Obedience to Torah for Today?
[My response to a question received via email]
See also Torah-Keeping in Messianic Judaism
Q. My boss and I have been having some discussions. We have been discussing the Messianic movement and why they are continuing in Torah observance. We discussed the fact that Jesus and His disciples were Jewish and continued in their Jewishness even after accepting Him as Messiah, and that a natural-born Jew should continue in their Jewishness — which I don't think he agreed at all. Acts 21:15-25, I believe, shows that the Jews are to remain Torah-observant Jews, and that Paul was a Torah-observant Jew, and that he did not tell fellow Jews to turn away from Torah. What was the other verse where it talks about the same rules for Gentiles but it adds "because the Torah is taught every Shabbat"? He keeps going back to people believing works gets them to heaven; I told him that is not what being a Torah- observant Messianic is about.
A. The reason that those in the Messianic Movement continue in Torah observance is that God requires it. The only portions of the Torah that have been temporarily "set aside" are those which it is not possible to obey today — those that deal with the ceremonial aspects of temple worship and those that require residence in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) under a theocratic government. They are impossible to follow now because there is no Temple and no theocratic government; but in the future Kingdom under Yeshua's theocratic government ...? That is an area wide open to speculation. For me, this is the simplest line of reasoning to support Torah observance:
1. When the two divisions of Systematic Theology known as Theology Proper (the Doctrine of God) and Christology (the Doctrine of Christ, the Messiah) are correctly understood, the conclusion is reached that God the Father has never appeared to man at any time, and that all appearances of God to man at any time, whether recorded in the Apostolic Writings (so-called "New Testament") or the Tanakh (so-called "Old Testament"), are the Person of God the Son (also known as Theophanies or Christophanies).
2. The Apostolic Writings teach, without any fear of contradiction, that Yeshua is God the Son.
3. Therefore, all appearances of God to man at any time are in fact appearances of Yeshua, whether before or after His incarnation (physical birth).
Having determined logically that all appearances of God in the Bible are appearances of Yeshua, we now turn to the Torah.
1. The One Who called Himself "I AM" — the One Who appeared to Moshe (Moses) on Mt. Sinai — the "I AM" who gave Moshe "the two tablets of the testimony" written in stone with His own finger, was Yeshua. (Exod 31:18)
2. The Torah, in which Moshe wrote down all the words of ADONAI (Exodus 24:4) is therefore the written record of "the commandments" (mitzvot) of Yeshua.
3. Yeshua said, "If you love Me, keep My mitzvot (commands)" (John 14:15) and "If you keep my commands (mitzvot), you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father's commands (mitzvot) and stay in his love." (John 15:10).
4. Since Yeshua's mitzvot were given to Moshe at Sinai and recorded as the Torah, then Yeshua instructed us to keep the Torah if we love Him, just as He kept the Torah and is loved by the Father.
Yeshua also said:
17"Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud [the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet] or a stroke [decorative embellishments on some Hebrew letters] will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened." (Matt 5:17-18)
"But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the Torah to become void." (Luke 16:17)
If the above line of reasoning is correct, then the Torah consists of the words of Yeshua, about which He said:
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away." (Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33)
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26, NAS)
"Everyone who comes to Me, hears My words and acts on them, I will show you what he is like:" (Luke 6:47)
"Now He said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" (Luke 24:44)
"But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" (John 5:47)
"He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14:24)
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7)
Since Yeshua used the phrase "My words" to indicate His teaching (the Hebrew word for teaching or instruction is torah), then we can replace the phrase "My words" with "My Torah" in all of the above quotations, and still be accurate both logically and theologically.
I agree with your interpretation of Acts 21:15-21: Jews who come into a relationship with Yeshua HaMashiach are to remain Torah-observant Jews; Rav Sha'ul (Paul) lived and died a Torah-observant Jew, as did all of those who Jews who followed Yeshua during the first and second centuries; and Rav Sha'ul never instructed fellow Jews to turn away from Torah.
The word "Jew" applies not only to religious preference; it also denotes an ethnicity. Any physical descendant of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is born ethnically (biologically) as a Jew, but may abandon the religious practices of Judaism. A person who is born a Jew is always ethnically a Jew, regardless of what he/she believes or does not believe, or what he/she does or does not practice. A Jew doesn't become a Gentile (non-Jew) by embracing Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah any more than a Chinese person who embraces Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah becomes Caucasian (non-Chinese). But that brings us to the sticky question of who is to be Torah observant.
At the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) it was decided that Gentiles who embraced the Jewish Messiah were not required to be circumcised, nor were they required to convert to Judaism in order to be "saved" — but they could [and I believe they were expected to] learn how to follow Torah over time as they participated in the Holy Community, the Synagogue, and the "teaching of Moshe" on every Shabbat. [GO HERE for more information about the Jerusalem Council.] So the question is not whether or not Messianic Jews are required to continue observing Torah (or are exempted from observing Torah). The question is rather whether or not all believers (both Jewish and non-Jewish) are obligated to observe Torah (Biblical Torah, not Rabbinic "Torah").
1. The Torah is the Word of God.
2. All Believers are obligated to believe, observe, and obey the Word of God.
3. Therefore: All Believers are obligated to observe and follow the Torah of God.
Is obedience to Torah a condition of salvation? No. Disobedience to Torah of any kind or to any degree is sin (1John 3:4),[1] which can be forgiven (Matt. 12:31) by God's grace!
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. [Most Christians stop reading at the end of verse 9.] 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them [that is, walk in—perform—the good works, obey the Torah]. (Eph. 2:8-10, NAS)
Do we then obey the Torah of God in order to be saved? No! Rather, we obey the Torah of God because we have been saved. When we enter into a relationship with Messiah, we are created as a "new creature" (2Cor. 5:17) — a saint. The word "saint" is derived from the word "sanctified," which means to be set apart for a specific purpose. (I have a special pan that I have "sanctified" for cooking only eggs; nothing else gets cooked in it for any reason.) Eph. 2:10 (above) says that we are created in Yeshua HaMashiach as a "saint" and set aside for the specific purpose of walking in the good works of Torah! We obey His mitzvot [instruction, commandments, or Torah] because He asked us to, because He created us and sanctified us for that specific purpose, and because we love Him.
One additional thought on the subject: we are to be His disciples (talmidim).
"Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim [disciples], immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, …" (Matt. 28:19)
The Hebrew word that Yeshua used in this context was "talmidim," or talmid in the singular form. A talmid, or disciple, is not a person who wishes to know that the teacher knows. Rather, a true talmid is a person who wants to be what the teacher is, and to do what the teacher does. Yeshua was obedient to Torah every moment of His life, not because He had to be, but because He chose to be. As talmidim of Yeshua, we should strive to live our lives the way he lived His life, not because we have to, but because we choose to — because that should be the desire of our hearts.
Click here for more information on the phrase "because the Torah is taught every Shabbat."
1. How can we best understand 1John 3:4? By simply reading it for what it actually says, not for what we want it to say.
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness [Torah-less-ness; without Torah]; and sin is lawlessness. (NAS)
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (ESV)
The word translated as "lawlessness" in most modern English versions is the Greek word ἀνομία (anomia). Anomia is a compound word made from two Greek words: a (without) and nomia (law) and means contempt for and/or violation of the law. Nomia is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word תּוֹרָה (Torah), and is consistently used in the Septuagint to translate the word Torah. The Septuagint (or LXX) is the Greek translation of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) that was begun in the third century BCE and completed approximately 132 BCE, and the quotations from the Tanakh that appear in the Greek versions of the Apostolic Scriptures are almost all taken from the LXX. So we can easily see that the literal meaning of anomia is "without Torah" and the actual intention of what the Shliach Yohannan (the Apostle John) wrote is accurately rendered in the Complete Jewish Bible:
Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah - indeed, sin is violation of Torah. (CJB)
The very definition of "sin," according to 1John 3:4, is "violating Torah." Does God then simply turn His head and look the other way when a Christian says that "Jesus nailed the Law to His cross"? That teaching simply does not appear anywhere in Scripture, and is just plain heresy. [RETURN]
Originally posted (in this form) on Shabbat, 11 December 2021


Young astronomers explore the solar system and construct their own paper-craft model of NASAs Mars rover. Snap together the light-up model of the solar system, label the planets, and use the fact-filled poster to discover unique features of each planet. Then punch out and assemble a rolling replica of NASAs Mars rover Curiosity. Bonusthe light-up sun can even be used as a night-light!


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Some people have only two lives, but this bus has had the chance to be reborn four times.
Each time the bus has gained a feature and so by today the model is called TA 6-1.
It is a very cultured bus – TA 6-1 is first and foremost a symbol of Estonian technological culture and during acceleration, the unsynchronised third gear sounds like something Arvo Pärt himself has created.
The first time this bus rolled out from the car repair test shop in Tartu in 1957, it looked somewhat different. It had smaller from windows and the model was called TA 6. Later the bus underwent thorough repairs in the same shop in 1985 and 1992. The last complete rebirth took place in 2014, of course, in Tartu.
If you are a person who fancies carrying a brown portfolio and you find the pretzel crumbs between your terry socks and sandals tickling, then you are definitely one of those who have been riding this bus over the past fifty years. TA 6-1 was a proper bus for those who did not care for big city lights and fancy carrot-orange Ladas. Although, the big city had nice things to offer too, like plays at the Drama Theatre, but only the departments' best workers got to wear a tie and take the bus to the city.
And when the students came from the city to pick potatoes, this very bus dropped them off right at the edge of the field. They were, of course, driven back also. Often someone from the local cultural centre called to ask if the bus was riding – the best folk dancers of the sovkhoz wanted to visit the neighbouring village's dancers and perhaps even compete.
The bus has non-adjustable seats for 25 people whose only baggage is a sandwich in the pocket and a kissel tin with a plastic wrap and a rubber seal handmade from bicycle's inner tube to keep the lid on tight.
The latter is necessary to keep the product from spilling – other passengers want to reach their destination in clean clothes, too.
The bus has extremely uncomfortable seats for someone who is used to riding in a luxurious SUV. But for a person in rubber boots carrying a rake, who uses the bus to get to the parish centre quicker after a long workday, the seats seems like cosy armchairs.
The bus has two windows which can be opened, but for this purpose it is advisable to ask the bus driver's help. He will stop the bus and try and open the windows in the cabin over the sweating passengers. If it should get chilly again then the bus driver can stop the bus once more to close the windows. The main thing is not to pull the glasses too hard. Someone with more experience might remember how these windows open and they can help out.
There is no use in taking luggage with you to this bus. You can put your bag next to the bus driver, on the other side of the engine. At the office, you can rent rakes and watering cans so you do not have to take these along either.
You cannot stand up in the bus, because during breaking the passenger standing up might accidentally suffocate another passenger with their chest. You have to sit properly like you would in any culture centre while enjoying the show – because the show will not last long.
Next retro ZIS 127


We are "Arun Agro Industries"; a leading manufacturer and producer of export quality pulses. Based in Akola, Maharashtra, India, we are a group that owns 2 Bulher Sortex plants apart from the 2 traditional dal mills in MIDC, Akola.
Our product range goes from Tuar, Moong, Chana (Cheakpea), Urad in whole and split forms. The modernized plants and the state of the art infrastructure that we have deployed is coupled with our decade old expertise is the backbone of our organization that has been successful over the years in producing export quality pulses.
Apart from producing pulses, we focus on procuring the best quality seeds, using great quality storage facilities, employing highly skilled labours and supplying the products timely and in a desired manner.


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Jenny Smith, Affil.AIRAH
Jenny Smith, Affil.AIRAH, has spent a generous amount of time in the HVAC&R industry. Over the course of her almost 40-year career and in running her own company, About Airconditioning, she has championed diversity and the importance of women in the sector.
With her time working in vocational education, she has helped inject women into Australia's non-traditional trades. This effort is also evident in her involvement in our Women of AIRAH Special Technical Group.
It culminated in recognition from the industry (including at the 2019 HVACR Leadership Awards) and from the United Nations, too.
Smith was included in the UN Environment Programme's Women in Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Industry: Personal Experiences and Achievements publication – available to download here.
She also sits on AIRAH's Northern Territory division committee.
Smith truly loves what she does, and, with her team at About Airconditioning, says she has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to design, manage, build and commission customised systems with almost unlimited budgets.
What brought you to the HVAC&R industry?
I applied for a federal Australian apprenticeship in HVAC&R, and I was the first woman to be employed by the federal government as a test case in the Northern Territory. I loved the trade, and I pioneered my own career path and success.
I had genuinely gifted tradesmen who saw my love for it – taking me under their wings and taught me well. I have had several apprentices in my time and have enjoyed sharing my love of refrigeration and air conditioning with them.
I have been a member of AIRAH for five years, and I'm on the Women of AIRAH committee.
When I was a young tradesperson working on the Royal Australian Air Force base in Darwin, I got a callout on a Saturday morning. It was for an air conditioning failure in the main central communications centre. I responded immediately – dressed in bicycle pants and a singlet on my push bike, as I was a mad fit cyclist.
I was known by sight on the base. I rode across, entered the plant room and was checking out the safety controls when a high ranking officer approached me and asked: "Where's your daddy?"
I responded with: "He can't help you, as he's an engineer. But I, however, have worked out the problem." He was so embarrassed, and I always smile when I recall his blunder. It has not been the only time this has happened, though.
Very few women work on the frontline of the HVAC&R industry. But it is a rewarding choice.
It's an area where women can excel, and there are many exciting career paths that can lead to business ownership, management, project management and engineering roles. These are positions that are in need of women and what we bring to the table. If you can imagine it, you can do it.
How have you seen the industry change in your time?
I came from the era of ammonia and R502 systems. I watched them get phased out, and then saw some freons – like ammonia – make their return.
Safety standards have risen, but bacteria and mould still need to be further addressed. From step controllers, staging compressors and fans, to the age of digital system controls and sensors recording usage and measuring detail … it has allowed efficiency control we couldn't have dreamed of.
I've also seen buildings being controlled by our mobile phones; split systems flooding the domestic markets and becoming mass produced; and women being encouraged to enter the trades.
The future will see us developing better freons that are not as dangerous to the users.
Sensors will continue to measure and provide more data on systems. This will allow for minute control for maximum capacity and outcomes.
Bacteria and moulds will be properly addressed to create spaces that they cannot thrive in. They will continue to be collected and neutralised.
Tradespeople will become more IT-based and less like a mechanic. Workplaces will change, with dial-in applications being a requirement.
For more on Jenny Smith, visit her LinkedIn.


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Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Fine art animation wins Portrait Gallery prize
Portraits that bend the rules of portraiture, in 'The Outwin 2019' [in print as The new face of artistic portraiture]
By Mark Jenkins
Washington Post Dec. 13, 2019 , p. Weekend 24-25
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/museums/portraits-that-bend-the-rules-of-portraiture-in-the-outwin-2019/2019/12/11/db924a86-1619-11ea-9110-3b34ce1d92b1_story.html
Posted by Mike Rhode at 8:27 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: animation, National Portrait Gallery
Xavier Riddle at Library of Congress part 2
Melissa Lindberg and Adam Silvia have curated a little exhibit for Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos appearance at the Library of Congress.
Labels: animation, Brad Meltzer, Chris Eliopoulos
This is an original drawing from the Dumbo cartoon.
Little Brad Meltzer from the new Xavier Riddle cartoon.
Melissa Lindberg and Adam Silvia have curated a little exhibit for Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos appearance at the Library of Congress. More to come in the next post.
Labels: animation, Brad Meltzer, Chris Eliopoulos, Dumbo, Walt Disney
The Post reviews Secret Life of Pets 2
'The Secret Life of Pets 2': Not a good dog, but an okay one [in print as This animated sequel isn't a dog, but it does have some fleas]
By Kristen Page-Kirby
Washington Post June 7 2019, p. Weekend 23
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-secret-life-of-pets-2-not-a-good-dog-but-an-okay-one/2019/06/05/83fdede4-8496-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html
Posted by Mike Rhode at 9:58 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: animation
Disney animator Frank Armitage featured on National Library of Medicine blog
Informative Beauty
By Oliver Gaycken, PhD (University of Maryland) and Ethan Parnass
Medicine on Screen: Films and Essays from NLM January 23, 2019
https://medicineonscreen.nlm.nih.gov/2019/01/23/informative-beauty-anatomical-animation/
Posted by Mike Rhode at 10:44 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: animation, National Library of Medicine
How to see Rebecca Sugar at SPX 2018
Rebecca Sugar at Small Press Expo 2018
SPX is VERY excited to have Rebecca Sugar at this years show. Given her stature in the world of TV animation, to accommodate the expected interest in her panel at this years show, admission to The Universes of Rebecca Sugar panel on Saturday at 3pm in the White Oak Room will require a pink wristband for entry.
Wristbands are free with admission and available first come, first served when picking up your admission badge on Saturday morning, until they are gone
When picking up your admission badge, you must ask for a pink wristband
Wristbands are limited to one per person
You must be present to get a wristband, someone else cannot get a pink wristband for you.
Lines for admission badges will form in the exhibit hall foyer beginning at 10:00AM Saturday morning. This applies to both e-ticket admission redemption or admission purchased at the door; you must be in the admissions line to request a wristband.
E-ticket holders who do not want a pink wristband will have the opportunity to be checked in from their place in line by floating volunteers to avoid long wait times for admission.
Exhibitors/volunteers/VIPs and members of the Press that have already registered may queue in the admissions line beginning at 10:00AM to pick up a wristband.
The line to enter the panel will form downstairs outside of the Linden Oak Room beginning at 2pm. Volunteers with signs will guide you into the line.
All panels are recorded and available on the SPX youtube channel a few days following the show.
Rebecca will also be doing two books signings, Saturday from 1:00PM-2:00PM and Sunday from 1:00PM-2:00PM. The signings will be at table W85, with a line forming outside the doors to the ballroom closest to her tables.
Visit the SPX 2018 Website for More Info About This Years Show
Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.
The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.
As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com.
Small Press Expo
www.smallpressexpo.com
Email: press@smallpressexpo.com
Small Press Expo | P.O. Box 5704, Bethesda, MD
Labels: animation, Small Press Expo
The Post's Cavna on Disenchantment.
Matt Groening's 'Disenchantment' gets a smart start. Just don't expect 'The Simpsons.'
Washington Post Comic Riffs blog August 17 2018
[also in print as Gathering the knights of Groening's roundtable, Washington Post August 18, 2018, p. C1, 4 and A fantasy to indulge in, Express, August 20 2018, p. 19]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2018/08/16/matt-groenings-disenchantment-gets-a-smart-start-just-dont-expect-the-simpsons/
Labels: animation, Matt Groening, Michael Cavna, Simpsons
How do you deal with a problem like Apu?
He loved 'The Simpsons.' But Hari Kondabolu has a problem with Apu. [in print as Apu and cultural inappropriation].
By Lavanya Ramanathan
Washington Post November 12 2017, P. E1, 18.
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/he-loved-the-simpsons-but-hari-kondabolu-has-a-problem-with-apu/2017/11/08/b37c2426-bdac-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html
Labels: animation, political correctness, Simpsons
Catching up with graphic artist Marty Baumann
by Mike Rhode
We're checking in with Arlington's Marty Baumann again on the publication of Toybox Time Machine, his new book from IDW, . We've featured his work in passing a couple of times in the past, and it's been six years since I interviewed him for the Washington City Paper (which sadly is currently for sale in case anyone reading this can afford to buy a newspaper). He's answered my usual questions again, but in new ways, as well as discussing his recent work so I'm running the whole interview here. Honestly, both Marty and I forgot about that interview (an occupational hazard when you know people personally and socially. I've seen him at the Baltimore Comic Con in September and at a flea market last weekend when he bought some Kirby and Kubert comic books). I highly recommend his new book; Marty is one of the cleverest illustrators I know -- as this interview shows.
Marty has provided the following biographic information:
Marty Baumann is an illustrator, graphic artist and production designer. He has contributed to some of the most popular, Oscar-winning animated films of all time.
Marty has worked as an artist at Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios as an illustrator, graphic artist and production designer on such films as "Toy Story 3," "Big Hero 6," "Zootopia," "Cars 2," "Planes," "Wreck-It Ralph 2" and many others. He also helped develop theme park installations, toy packaging and Pixar corporate branding.
Marty has rendered illustrations and developed characters for toy manufacturers, magazines and newspapers, illustrated children's books, created logos, info-graphics, broadcast promotions and presentation art for Hasbro, Universal Studios, National Geographic, Scholastic Books, Nickelodeon and many others.
Recent projects include his role as concept artist for the new "Mystery Science Theater 3000," and the visual development of Sir Paul McCartney's feature film, "High in the Clouds."
Marty's dog Summer
Marty has been a rhythm and blues singer/guitarist for more than 40 years. He's shared the stage with Hound Dog Taylor's Houserockers, Danny Gatton, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jr. Walker and the All Stars, Fenton Robinson, John Hammond, Johnny Winter and others. Marty's sold-out CD "Let's Buzz Awhile" features 13 original blues tunes.
He encourages everyone to adopt at least one dog.
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
As far as personal projects: My influences are primarily of mid-century vintage; the logos, designs, signage and draftsmanship, often combining limited color palettes, stylized figures and crazy type treatments. They communicate fun and excitement in a way we don't see today. I tried hard to emulate that aesthetic in my book, "Toybox Time Machine."
As far as film work goes: Logos, title card design, billboards and signage, magazine covers, posters and general production design and just about anything you see in the background or applied to the body of a character.
How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?
I do some pencil roughs, scan them and use primarily Illustrator and a bit of Photoshop. If I'm doing a commission or a personal piece for someone I might print what I've done digitally and finish it with touches of ink.
When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?
I was born in Maryland the same year "Invasion of the Saucer Men" hit theaters. Is that specific enough?
What is your training and/or education in cartooning?
Jack Kirby comics. He's one of my heroes. It might not show in my style but I started drawing because of him. I've had no formal training.
The first books I actually recall buying were Joe Kubert's Sgt. Rock comics. Starting in grade school it was Kirby. Then a friend said, "If you like Kirby, get a load of Steranko -- and I got a load. Then I discovered Ditko, Toth, Meskin. As time went on I became aware of the great magazine, paperback and movie poster illustrators -- James Bingham, Robert McGinnis, James Bama. And then the groundbreaking design work of the UPA cartoons and the logo and title designs of Saul Bass and Paul Julian. Not to mention the great children's book artists, a particular favorite being the great Mel Crawford -- who also worked in comics and fine art.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
Nearly everything! I tell aspiring artists to look at my career path and do the opposite. I wish I'd taken art classes, studied life drawing, studied painting, tried oils, charcoal, etc. I fell under the sway of rhythm and blues and began playing in clubs as a teenager. I was trying to focus on two creative areas. Maybe I should have focused on just one -- but I couldn't! In the end I think they complimented one another.
What work are you best-known for?
I didn't know that I was KNOWN! So I'd have to say my Disney/Pixar work.
What work are you most proud of?
I'll cite this example: I did a TON of work on "Zootopia." My wife and I saw it in a theater packed with kids and they LOVED it. I was kinda proud that I helped in some small way to make those kids happy.
How did you come up with the idea of Toybox Time Machine?
Well, after having one children's book idea after another rejected, I decided to draw whatever the heck I wanted. I love old toys. I have a small collection of old favorites. And I think my real artistic strengths are design, typography and color. I tried to channel the artistic influences mentioned previously and I never had more fun working on a project.
What's the process of conceptualizing and then drawing a toy that never existed?
My wife and I go to lots of estate sales. I buy the stuff nobody else wants: stacks of old magazines, postcards, travel literature. I snap pictures of anything with nifty retro packaging. It seems that in the 1940s and 50s every advertiser employed an illustrator in lieu of using a photo. With inspiration like this the ideas flow.
How did IDW come to publish this?
At the risk of sounding like a name-dropper, Jim Steranko has been something of a mentor since I was a teenager. (When he critiques your work, you KNOW you've been critiqued, and HOW!) He mentioned to IDW that they might want to look at my work, and, as Bogart would say, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
What's your favorite non-existent toy?
That's the one question I'm going to side-step -- because I just don't know! The sci-fi and monster related toys would be near the top of the list. And I love cowboys!
How did you end up working for Pixar?
I had always loved what Pixar was doing. That retro sensibility seemed to be present in everything they turned out. Quite by accident I discovered that they were looking for a Graphic Artist and I sent them some stuff. They called me a couple weeks later, flew me out there, apparently liked me, and within a few weeks, we were living in San Francisco! I know that makes it sound easy, but let me be clear, I paid my dues for years working for newspapers, magazines, ad agencies, toy companies...
How has the experience been?
It's been great -- and also tough. Every artist working there was better than me! So I really had to up my game.
What have you worked on for them?
"Big Hero 6," "Zootopia," "Toy Story 3," "Cars 2," so many shorts that I can't remember them all -- "Hawaiian Vacation," "Small Fry," "Partysaurus Rex". I also worked on installation pieces for Disney resorts and contributed to the development of Cars Land at Disneyland.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
Well, I worked on the visual development of a film with Paul McCartney. It would be cool to work with Ringo one day!
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
Writer's block? Let me see. I, um, er -- sorry…gimme a minute...I just can't think of anything to write at the moment…
When did you start collecting comics?
Maybe 1961 or 1962, when I first discovered Sgt. Rock and the Kirby monster books. I wouldn't call it "collecting" in the modern sense of the word, i.e. as if a comic book were a precious object to be preserved for posterity to accrue in value. I traded them, rolled them up and stuck 'em in my back pocket to read again later, and sat down with pencil and paper and tried to copy them. I read my favorite ones until the covers came off. Isn't that how they were meant to be used? Then -- a familiar story -- my mom threw a ton of them away.
What do you focus on? Who are your favorite comic book artists?
I guess my big four are Kirby, Kubert, Toth and Steranko. But there are so many -- the great Jack Davis, Ditko, Mort Meskin, Fred Kida, Wally Wood, and the incredibly underrated and versatile Bob Fujitani. The "Hangman" stories he did for MLJ in the mid-1940s are some of my favorites. I love the books Hillman put out in the 40s, ("Air Fighters," "Clue") and the stuff ME (Magazine Enterprises) published in the late 40s and early 50s ("Jet," "The Avenger"). I've often been asked what, in my opinion, are the best comics of all time. Without hesitation I say choose any issue of Fantastic Four from numbers 30-90. Any one of them is better than anything produced since.
How large is your collection?
It's quite modest. I'm no big-time collector. I buy comics I think I can learn from. I have dealers who save their coverless, moldy, brittle, flaking old books for me because they know I love the obscurities, learning the forgotten history of comics and discovering great cartoonists who have been unjustly overlooked. Mike Roy is a favorite, and Tony DiPrieta, and John Cassone, and Mike Suchorsky, etc. etc.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
Do you mean animation or comics-related material? In either case I don't know. What used to be marginal pop-culture interests are big, BIG business now and it's all too complicated for me to understand.
How was your Baltimore Comic Con experience this year? How often have you attended it?
I always have a great time at Baltimore. I was at the very first one! I believe I've been a guest at all of them except for those that I missed when I lived in the Bay Area.
Do you have a website or blog?
www.martybaumann.com
What's your favorite thing about DC?
That I don't have to commute there.
Least favorite?
The times I DO have had to commute there.
What monument or museum do you like?
Without a doubt Arlington Cemetery. Not only do we have relatives buried there, but it's brimming with history and trivia. For instance: My wife's uncle is buried just a few tombstones away from Lee Marvin -- who is buried right next to Joe Louis! Dashiell Hammett is resting there, and cartoonist Bill Mauldin.
How about a favorite local restaurant?
Caribbean Grill in Arlington, hands down.
Posted by Mike Rhode at 12:05 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: animation, Disneyland, Jack Kirby, Marty Baumann, mid-century modern, nostalgia, Pixar, toys, Walt Disney
A Long Talk with Jim Toomey of Sherman's Lagoon
Jim Toomey at American University
Jim Toomey was in Washington recently to speak to the students of American University's Center for Environmental Filmmaking. Toomey is the cartoonist behind Sherman's Lagoon, a fanciful look at sharks and undersea life which appears locally in the Washington Post. He's also done animated cartoon shorts on ocean conservation. His evening talk was open to the public, and afterwards Jim agreed to do an interview. We spoke by telephone a few days later on September 29th.
MR: How long have you been drawing Sherman's Lagoon?
JT: Over twenty-five years. Well, let's see… 1991. So twenty-six years now.
MR: How did you come up with the idea?
JT: I had always loved the ocean and was a big fan of Jacques Cousteau. I got my diver's license by lying about my age to get my scuba certificate when I was eleven. I was a real fanatic about the ocean and all things ocean-related. I was also a big fan of comic strips. I was a paperboy, so I got into the newspaper business pretty young. I particularly liked the strip "Peanuts." I read other strips as well, but "Peanuts" was really my favorite. I loved to draw, but I didn't have the discipline to become a very practiced artist. I didn't do figure sketching or still lives. I didn't have that kind of discipline. I loved a combination of things: I enjoy telling stories and making people laugh, I love the ocean, and I love to draw in a loose not-so-serious way. Some of those things pointed towards being a cartoonist. The theme of the ocean came along mostly because I was looking for something different. I wanted to get syndicated and I looked in the comics pages and saw a lot of the same thing over and over again. I wanted to try to create something that was totally different. And that's why I came up with the undersea stuff. My lead character Sherman is a character I've had in mind my whole life. I've always been fascinated with sharks. I've always been drawing sharks.
MR: You were born in Alexandria, VA. Did you grow up there as well?
JT: Yes, I was there until I went away to college at eighteen.
MR: So were you boating on the Potomac River as a kid, or visit the Atlantic shore?
JT: I didn't do a lot of boating on the Potomac. My family was not a boat family. We did go to the beach quite a bit, off to Rehoboth Beach. I think one of the formative moments of my life was being at Rehoboth, or Dewey, or wherever it was, and seeing the lifeguards shooting at sharks. They had sharks out there and they actually got out a high-power rifle. I remember the image of them shooting at sharks vividly. I was a little shocked by that, I guess; what good would it do? I also saw a fisherman land a good-sized shark – not a dogfish, it was probably four feet long laying on the pier there. I got to look at it and touch it and I was just amazed.
MR: You're living in Annapolis, MD now, so still not on the ocean?
JT: [laughs] No, but it's on the water… we spent the last two years on a sailboat on the ocean so I've definitely gotten my fill of the ocean. I think the allure of the ocean as a boy was the same drivers that come with being fascinated by outer space, or dinosaurs... it's just that unknown that I loved. All the crazy creatures that I saw in Jacques Cousteau documentaries, and in National Geographic, and science books, really made my imagination soar.
Most of us see only the blue surface, and some of us can strap on scuba tanks and swim around down there, but the reality is that we've know more about the moon than we know about the ocean, the deep ocean especially. It's a still a very unexplored place. It's mind-boggling to me that we've got Google Earth that's photographed every square inch of dry land, but there's still over 70% of the planet that we haven't looked at very closely.
MR: Pushing back in time a little, the other night I was introduced to you by Mike Jenkins who was an editorial cartoonist with you at the Journal newspapers. I was wondering how you got into editorial cartooning, presumably after college?
JT: During college, I started drawing political cartoons, maybe my second year of college. I was at Duke University so I drew for the Duke Chronicle. I really enjoyed it. Back then, I was a little bit more of an … I guess nihilist is the best word… I was a little bit more political, a little bit more cynical and I wanted to disrupt with my cartoons. I cared less about making a living and having a steady job at it. I enjoyed the rabble-rousing role that a political cartoonist plays. I wrote and drew a political cartoon twice a week for the college paper through most of my college career.
MR: And the Journal was a small chain around the Washington area, with one for each county?
Page down to see more of Toomey's editorial cartoons, courtesy of Mike Jenkins
JT: Correct. I actually jumped over to the Journal. The first paper I cartooned for was the Alexandria Gazette because they boasted about being the oldest daily newspaper in America. While I was there, it went out of business. Not a very auspicious start to my cartooning career, but I just took my portfolio over to the Journal. They already had Mike there as a full-time guy drawing political cartoons, but I said, "Hey, I'll do it for twenty-five bucks," so they found room for me. I think I did them twice a week for the Journal as well.
MR: Did they just run twice as many cartoons then?
JT: I don't know if Mike was doing one every day. He might have been doing it less than every day and I filled in when he wasn't doing it.
MR: Presumably you had another job at the time, because you weren't going to live on $50 a week?
JT: Right. I graduated from college with a pretty marketable degree. I was a mechanical engineer. I had a cubicle job. I was a project manager and I hated it, but I wasn't in danger of starving.
First Sunday strip
MR: Was Sherman's Lagoon the first idea you pitched to the syndicate?
JT: No, it was the second or third. The first one was when I got involved with the estate of Percy Crosby and they wanted to resurrect "Skippy." I was talking to them, but the syndicates or the family didn't like it. That was my first attempt. The second attempt was something called "Ivory Towers;" I tried doing a comic strip that was based in college. I was right out of college, and I thought maybe it would run in college newspapers. It was probably immature. Then I did another comic strip that I think was about a boy and a dog, but I forget the name of that one. I tried a panel strip… so Sherman's Lagoon was the fourth or fifth attempt. "Sherman's" was my first syndicated success.
MR: So was King Features your first choice for a syndicate? How did you sell it? Did you send it to each of the syndicates and King Features bought it?
First week of the strips
JT: No, I self-syndicated actually. When they rejected it, I just kept going. This is when the Apple computer first came out, so I bought myself a computer and Lotus Notes and then I bought a database of newspapers called "Working Press of the Nation." I transcribed the names and addresses of the top 200 hundred newspapers and I created my own syndicate called Pacific Press Features. I made my cartoon self-syndicated, but I made it look like it was coming from a real small syndicate in California. I sent a cover letter to those newspapers with a sample of the comic strip, and after about six months, I had about fifteen clients including the Denver Post and the Dallas Morning News. Ultimately, the syndicates came to me. Creators Syndicate came to me. They lost a sale to me and that got their attention. They called me and I signed a contract with them.
MR: I notice that your books are published by Andrews McMeel, although you're syndicated by King. It's a little weird how the industry has collapsed in on itself.
JT: Yeah, there really aren't many places you can go to publish a cartoon book. Andrews McMeel is probably the only one, but in the past there was Little, Brown and a couple of others. Nobody does them anymore. I moved to King Features after my first Creators contract was up. I think it was a seven year contract.
MR: Since you were a mechanical engineer, were you generally self-taught as a cartoonist?
JT: Yeah. I was a big fan of comic strips so I was familiar with the art form. What I wasn't familiar with was storytelling and the actual mechanics of writing. I wasn't very good at writing dialogue and writing it well, and fundamental stuff like grammar and punctuation. So I had to get good at that, but the drawing part came easily enough.
MR: Most cartoonists I've ever talked to have been drawing their entire life.
JT: Yeah, the drawing is certainly a more natural exercise for me than writing. I'm not one of these people who can just sit in a café and write for fun. For me it's always been hard work.
MR: You mentioned being influenced by "Peanuts" and Charles Schulz – is there anyone else you'd care to mention?
JT: Gary Larson. I loved "Bloom County" – it was very different. The strip that heavily influenced "Bloom County" was "Doonesbury" and I liked what Trudeau did with his strip. All the usual suspects… of course, "Calvin & Hobbes" – it was a great mix of art and writing; not a new idea, but doing an old idea in a very brilliant way. I think television influenced my sense of humor and writing as much as the comic strips. I was a child of "Get Smart," "Hogan's Heroes," "Gilligan's Island," and all those stupid sitcoms that developed my sense of humor.
MR: Is there anything in your career, you would do over or change?
JT: I probably wouldn't have signed that syndicate contract so quickly. I probably would have taken more chances with characters. I think now the strip is so in a groove that it's hard to do that. I probably would have changed up my formula and been a little more experimental. I should have had a lot more courage with the strip.
MR: Well, on your fourth or fifth try when you finally get syndicated, it's hard to suddenly say, "I should throw in a murder mystery or a manta ray…"
JT: Yes, when you get syndicated, or at least back then, you feel like you have good thing going and you don't want to disrupt it, so you tend to get staid. That's probably my one big regret.
MR: What's the maximum numbers of papers you hit?
JT: I was probably in 250-300. The industry likes to count Sundays separately. If you don't do that and just count individual newspapers, I'm still in about 200.
MR: You were drawing the strip digitally when I saw you recently, but you showed a photograph of yourself drawing with pen and ink. I assume originally you did it on paper, but now you do it digitally. Why did you decide to change, and how was the learning curve?
JT: I moved overseas. I married a French woman and we moved to Europe. I didn't want to go through the expense of FedExing original comic strips every week to New York from Paris. That was going to get expensive, so I was compelled to experiment with a digital tablet. At first actually I got a scanner and I drew the strip and I scanned it and email it. I was probably one of the first cartoonists to email a strip in. Then I embraced the Wacom tablet, because I liked the way you could draw with it, enlarge the drawing, experiment with it, draw something and hit the undo button, resize, reshape, edit… it just gave me a lot more flexibility. I experimented with it for a little while and I think I made the jump in 1999 or 2000, and if you look at my last pen and ink strip and my first digital strip, it's hard to tell the difference. I really obsessed with maintaining the look.
MR: Since you switched not even a decade into your career, I imagine you didn't have a significant income stream from selling the pen and ink cartoons then?
JT: No, I didn't.
MR: Can you give us an overview of your conservation work and how you got started in it?
JT: I was contacted by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to help them with an outreach piece. I was living in California, but I happened to be travelling in Washington that month, so I went to a meeting with them. When I showed up at the meeting, there were like a dozen people there and they were really excited about the power of this comic strip. I really had no idea. I just thought I was meeting with one guy that was going to last fifteen minutes and be done with it. I think it was in that meeting that I realized having a couple of million readers in a couple of hundred papers actually was kind of powerful. I helped them with their outreach piece, and then I reached out to a couple of non-profits to help them. Then I started putting some messages into the comic strip – simple ocean conservation stuff like Fillmore the turtle picks up a piece of trash, takes it up to the beach and throws it in a trash can, trash can gets picked up and dumped in a barge, and the barge dumps the entire load of trash right on Fillmore… that giant circle. I enjoyed it. I was back to my political cartooning days. I enjoyed the purpose that the cartoon had – rather than little more than a chuckle a day, I was trying to change the world a little bit. I enjoy that. I wasn't really doing it, but in my head I was trying. That's what made me become more and more addicted to putting ocean conservation themes into the strip. I started doing public talks, got asked to be on boards, and it grew into a kind of a fun side… I was going to say side job, but it wasn't a job. I didn't get a penny for it. It was a fun sidelight hobby of mine.
(See the other strips in this story line at http://jimtoomey.com/comic_samples/comic_01.html
MR: You taught yourself a type of animation then to make animated shorts then?
JT: I did animation for the United Nations. I did a series of videos for them that are a combination of me hosting and some animation. I've also worked with Pew Environment Group and World Resources Group, and a few other folks. I've been doing a fair amount of screen-based education for these outreach groups. If you go to http://jimtoomey.com/ there's a bunch of those videos there.
MR: After getting involved in ocean conservation, at some point your family decided to go live on a sailboat for about a year and a half?
JT: Probably closer to two years. For me, it was 22 months, but they went over a little earlier. We started in the summer of 2015 and just ended this summer.
MR: What was the genesis of that?
First King Features' Sunday
JT: We always wanted to do this. My wife is a big sailor as well. We missed our chance before having kids. There's really a sweet spot in time with kids that you can do this sort of thing, and it's when the kids are old enough to appreciate it, but not so old that you can't pull them out of their social fabric (which is starting around 14 or 15). Once they hit high school, they get a little unpredictable. I think the education and socialization in a high school full of people is more important than in a crew.
MR: Was it just the four of you?
JT: Yes, it was just the four of us and we hit that sweet spot in time. The kids were ten and twelve, so we went until they were twelve and fourteen during the cruise. Now the girl is a freshman in high school, and we couldn't do it any longer.
MR: You started in Europe and went around the Mediterranean?
JT: We started on the Atlantic coast of France, and we went around through Gibraltar, so we did the Atlantic coast of Europe. We started at La Rochelle, France, went south to Spain and Portugal, through the strait of Gibraltar, and then we went to the European side of the Mediterranean. We didn't touch much of Africa; the insurance company wouldn't let us do it. We did take a ferry to Morocco for about a week and that was one of the highlights of the trip, but we left the boat in Gibraltar for that one.
MR: Did you buy a boat, or do they rent them?
JT: We bought the boat. It was brand-new. It took about nine months to build. We flew to France and picked it up at the factory and commissioned it. It took about three weeks to trick it out with all the ocean-going stuff. We sailed a new boat. I didn't want to be constantly repairing a used boat; I wanted this cruise to go smoothly.
MR: When you say it's a factory-made boat, is that a modern plastic hull then?
JT: Yes, it was a 45-foot catamaran with a fiberglass hull. The boat was called "Sacre Bleu" which is French for "gosh-darnit." It was a tribute to two things: one is my propensity to use foul language when I'm on boats. This is a curse that you can use in front of grand-children. It's also a tribute to our love of the ocean; if you translate it, it means Sacred Blue. It was a double-meaning for us.
MR: Does your wife come from a boating family?
JT: No, she didn't. She just likes it. She's fearless and just really liked being on the boat. More so than me; I was ready to quit after a year, and she wanted to go two.
MR: And you would draw the strip digitally, and just upload it to the Internet for the syndicate?
JT: Right, exactly.
MR: Did you use some of the locales?
JT: I sent them to the Med a couple of times, but a lot of my cartooning inspiration really comes from people-to-people contact. Being in that intimate family situation was more inspiration for the comic strip than the travel was. It was a little more family-oriented, a little more spouse-oriented than usual. You don't really disconnect anymore; we read all the same headlines on the same pages that we read when we were home. The news is the same. It's not like it was decades ago when you jumped in a schooner and disappeared off the face of the earth. It felt more like camping.
MR: Back to basic questions – what do you do when you're in a rut, or have writer's block? Do your characters talk you out of it, or do you have to gout out and get a cup of coffee and talk to other human beings? Or something else?
JT: I have a variety of techniques. Oftentimes I will just get up and take a walk and come back. Sometimes, I'll sit down and read the headlines and see if there's something in there. Sometimes I'll take on something else because I'm not a strict deadline so I'll work on animation until my state of mind passes. It always happens. Oftentimes I just pound my head on my desk, until I give birth to something. It's especially true with the Sunday strips because they're longer format and they're standalone. I think the burden of having a standalone funny Sunday strip is a lot heavier. It's easier in a daily to start with an established storyline and advance it a few inches, and get a chuckle out of it while you're doing that.
An ongoing animation project that Toomey showed at American University
MR: And you do it all yourself?
JT: Yes, I do it all myself. Advancing a story line in a daily strip is relatively easy. The Sundays have a bigger audience and for me, they're the showpiece of the strip, so I can't spend all day trying to write a Sunday and not succeed. In the end, if I have something I don't like… I have a couple of rules: if it's not a great joke, keep it simple. The worst joke in the world is a complicated bad joke. I have a little matrix: the best joke is a simple funny joke; the second best joke is a tie between a complicated funny joke and a simple not-so-funny joke; the absolute worst is a complicated, not-funny joke. So if I get in a rut, I just revert to a simple not-so-funny joke and then move on.
MR: How far in advance do you have the strip done?
JT: About five or six weeks.
MR: So here's the standard "what do you think will be the future of newspaper comics?" question…
JT: Hah. The question really is, "what's the future of newspapers?" and I think newspapers are probably going to continue to provide news in a digital form, probably shedding a lot of the things we associate with them, like the features I draw, the advice columns, the crossword puzzle, obituaries, real-estate ads, are all going to dedicated websites. Newspapers are just going to provide local news. Comics will probably either just go to long-form books like we're doing with Andrews McMeel or shorter subscriptions where you pay a fixed amount. But I think our association with newspapers is limited.
MR: You mentioned Andrews McMeel – a few of your colleagues have had stunning success with chapter books like Stephan Pastis and Lincoln Pierce. Have you considered moving your characters into that type of work?
JT: No, I haven't. I don't really take the books very seriously. Books have always just been a product of the comic strip and I don't pay much attention to book publishing.
MR: The last question – while you were overseas, did you follow any foreign comics, or did your wife get you hooked on any French comics?
JT: I saw a lot that I liked. I think my comment on European approach to cartoons is that the spectrum of topic and character is a lot broader than it is here in the US. Here you have the syndicated newspaper comic strips which all follow a formula, you have the DC/Marvel comic book, you have the "New Yorker" gag cartoon, but the variety in Europe is much broader with serious comics for political cartoons, manga, historic comics like "Asterix" – tons of those historical comic books, works like "Tintin" by Herge… so the Europeans have a much wider net in terms of inspiration and artistic style that I really envy. I think it's a much broader market and a much bigger community, and not just syndicated cartoonists.
MR: I was listening to a French cartoonist the other day, Penelope Bagieu, who says while she's famous as a French cartoonist, there's not really much to that. I think it's a broad, but shallow market, from her point of view. She's also done an ocean campaign opposed to the bottom trawler nets the French use. Did you ever run across her work?
JT: No, but I'll look it up.
MR: Do you go to any conventions or book festivals?
JT: No, I used to go to the National Cartoonists Society gatherings, but I'm not a member any more. I don't really make time for it any more. With kids in school, and drawing the strip and doing the video work and animation, which takes a lot of my time, means that I don't make time to network within the cartooning industry. If I'm invited to speak, I'll go, but when I had the cubicle job I went to plenty of conventions so I don't need to go to many more. I've never been to Comic-Con. When I get invited to a fun one, like over in Europe, I'll go. I've probably been to more in Europe than the U.S.
MR: Do you have a favorite thing about Washington, having grown up around here?
JT: When I was kid I would always go to the museums since they were free. As a kid growing up, having access to that and not having to fork over my allowance money was great. As an adult – it's an easy city to live in. It's a family-friendly city. A lot of smart people live here, obviously politically active, but with that political activity comes activity in areas that I'm interested in like the environment and non-profits. There's a very strong media presence of course. There's only a very few cities I would be welcome to live in and Washington is one of them.
Here's a gallery of Toomey's editorial cartoons from the Journal newspapers, provided by Mike Jenkins:
Labels: animation, comic strips, conservation, environmentalism, Jim Toomey, oceans, Sherman's Lagoon
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text:
Wiley Research Fellowships: Catherine Oliver and Karen Rann
Catherine Oliver
Karen Rann
As part of our mission to undertake research on the Society's Collections and to make them more accessible, we have awarded 10 Wiley Research Fellowships for 2020-21.
Every month we are speaking to two of our Research Fellows to find out more about their projects.
Catherine Oliver (University of Cambridge) is taking a critical look at animals in the Society's archives. Meanwhile, Karen Rann (University of Belfast) is exploring the early uses of isobaths and contour lines on maps. We caught up with them to discuss their research, why they applied for the Fellowship and what they're hoping to find in the digital archives.
How did you come to be interested in your current research?
Catherine Oliver (CO): I have always had a strong affinity with animals of other species; for as long as I can remember, both domesticated and wild animals have been my friends and confidantes. During my undergraduate degree in human geography, I became a vegan, and this ultimately set me on a path to studying vegan geographies for my PhD. Now, in my postdoc, my research focus has shifted more widely to critical animal studies and beyond-human geographies.
My current research is with chickens who live in urban spaces, specifically in London. In this research, I am exploring the histories of chickens and humans in and beyond the city, as well as working with domestic chicken-keepers and ex-commercial chicken rehomers to explore the surge in urban chicken-keeping. I am thinking about what this means both for chickens and for the city, especially as entangled with crises of housing, the environment, health and food.
Chickens occupy a space very close to my heart – they have unique personalities, social relationships, and place-making behaviours that make them not only excellent companions, but interesting geographical actors. In 2017, my mum rehomed six ex-commercial hens and I became interested in my current research through getting to know Lacey, Bluebell, Winnie, Cleo, Primrose and Olive. They invited me into what novelist and feminist Alice Walker described in her 2012 memoir as "falling headlong into a mystery … pulled into the parallel universe that all other animals exist in, simultaneous with us."
It is these parallel universes that I more often find myself drawn into in both my professional and personal life: my walk interrupted by a muntjac deer, writing accompanied by the song of robins, or the presence of parakeets in an English city forcing me to think about place differently. This beyond-human ethic and attentiveness to animals is central to my research and is something that I am really enjoying pursuing in different forms, contexts, and places across my research projects.
Karen Rann (KR): On an artist residency in Arran, Scotland in 2014, I was looking at maps of the island when I came up against the question: how and when did contour lines become the convention to depict elevation on maps? Since then, I have been captivated by the convoluted, and contentious, history of the 'appearance' of contour lines on maps. You can find out more on my blog.
What made you apply for a WDA Research Fellowship?
CO: A few years ago, during a research trip to Hastings, a friend shared with me the story of a statue outside of London Euston station. The statue is of English navigator and cartographer Captain Matthew Flinders and his cat, Trim. Trim the cat is depicted between Flinders legs, accompanying a journey that is usually portrayed as a solely human endeavour. This statue and what it signals about the history of geography as more-than-human, and specifically animal, has captured my imagination ever since. The previous year, I had walked past this statue multiple times a week for months as I commuted to the British Library, yet I had never noticed the memorial of Trim and his human.
When Wiley and the Society announced these fellowships, I immediately thought of Trim's role in the history of geography. I applied because I was interested in finding out more about the animals who were supporting and resisting human geographical actors. Animal histories is a growing field, engaging with the past from non-human perspectives, which is revealing exciting and novel insights. Animal geographies has, on the other hand, long had a place in the geographical discipline, but has largely conceptualised animals as part of the landscape, rather than as geographical actors and interlocutors. I applied for the WDA Research Fellowship to bring these insights together and approach the Society's archives from this beyond-human perspective.
KR: I had already visited the Society's Collections (pre-Covid) to see versions of Dupain-Triel's early contour maps. I was aware there were potentially other early maps that would prove useful to my research but was short of time on that occasion. When I heard about the Fellowship, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to continue the research from home.
How does your project sit within your wider research interests?
CO: This project builds upon some of my wider research interests in animal histories and geographies, as well as my ongoing interest in the different forms that human—animal relationships take. For most people, as sociologists Nik Taylor and Tania Signal argue, animals fit for the most part into the category of pets (such as dogs or cats), pests (such as foxes or rats) or profit (such as cows and chickens). It is widely acknowledged that these human relationships with animals are culturally, socially, and geographically influenced. Furthermore, a close positive relationship with a particular individual animal does not always translate to the wider species, a phenomenon evidenced in the popularity of 'celebrity animals' such as Esther the Wonder Pig or Juniper the Fox having little effect on societal-level attitudes towards those species.
I am interested in the kinds of spaces that humans and animals are co-creating to learn to live well together. For example, my research on veganism explores this through individual and collective ethical-political shifts that imagine less violent futures for both humans and animals. Similarly, my research with chickens in London explores how bringing chickens into the urban space changes the fabric of the city, but it also focuses on how people's actual and imagined relationships with chickens change once they live together. This leads to physical spatial redesigns of urban gardens for and with chickens.
My research on the animals in the Society's archives applies this lens to the histories of geography. In sharing the stories of animals as companions to and challengers of geographical knowledge, this project is complementary to the wider ethical, political, and geographical aims of my research portfolio.
KR: As a visual artist all my work is in response to place. For years I have grappled with the puzzle that is the rendering flat of three-dimensional objects onto paper. The residency on Arran led to an abiding interest in the history of a drawing convention (the depiction of elevation on maps). In 2018, I began an AHRC funded PhD project that enables me to draw together visual arts, cartography, historical and cultural geography, plus interdisciplinary approaches to creative making and research.
What are you hoping to find in the digital archives?
CO: I am excited to be finding lots of fascinating stories of human-animal relationships in the archives. I have particularly been seeking out animals in the geographical archives across four themes: the use of animal labour in supporting expeditions; historical friendships and collaborations between geographers and their companion animals; interspecies conflict in encounters with animals along the way; and geographers in mapping discovered species, expanding our knowledge of the other-than-human world.
Each of these human-animal histories offers interesting new ways of thinking about multispecies histories, but also in understanding geography and space as always more-than-human. Currently, I am writing about my findings in the archives by species on my blog. I hope that I will be able to construct a multispecies or more-than-human history of geography based upon the stories of individual animals and species in the geographical archive, while at the same time showcasing the Society's Collections and the WDA platform.
KR: Through initial searches I was aware that the digital archives hold a copy of Jean Nicolas Buache's 1757 Atlas. In this he used isobaths to graphically explore the connection between underwater mountain chains and mountainous regions on land. The historical 'journey' from submarine contour lines to those used to depict land, is complex. I hope further online sleuthing will elicit other early examples of proto-contours, contour precursors and other initial uses of contour lines on maps.
Find out more about our Wiley Digital Archive Research Fellowships.
Find out more about research on our Collections.
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Pride in the Field: Learning lessons from LGBTQ+ researchers
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The Society has published a briefing report summarising the actions needed by national and local policymakers, planners, designers and developers, and local communities, to achieve the widespread benefits of blue-green infrastructure (BGI).
Policy,


Every four years, around the time of the greatest show on this planet, football songs waft out of the radio in increasing frequency, comforting reminders of decades of elusive victory. The whole point of a football song is to serve as a collective call to arms, a sports national anthem meant to propel a nation into glory. It absolutely must make you believe that winning the World Cup is possible. Before the world cup begins the host country would usually get its biggest named composers and producers to do the song which will then be performed by an internationally famous pop star. Well it all began in 1962 in Chile when they released the Spanish number "El Rock del Mundial". Since then, a lot has changed over the years. Football has evolved as a sport and continues to rule millions of hearts across the planet. The FIFA Anthem songs earlier were solely related to football and depicted the popularity of the sport, but now it is not the same. A lot more thinking is being shovelled into the lyrics and it does not restrict itself only to the love of the sport. It is more about the countries, bringing them together, uniting them. So let us delve into some of the FIFA Anthem songs which along with signifying the love of the sport, also depicts all the aspects around it and how it impacts millions across this planet.
The song became an International Anthem after its powerful words of hope crossed generations and borders, and made K'NAAN an international star. The Canadian-Somalian hip hop singer, K'NAAN made headlines just before the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa. The Anthem gripped the nation and countries worldwide, with many humming the lyrics all throughout the world cup season. Through the lyrics he tells a story about his struggle, his life through violence and provides a brief history of the Somalian conflict. When the Somali Civil War began in 1991, K'NAAN was just thirteen. His mother made the difficult decision to move her family so that they could grow up in safety. First in New York and then in Toronto, K'NAAN had to face many challenges. So, how did it become the FIFA Anthem? The third single which was released off his Troubadour album of 2009, not only brought the Toronto singer-songwriter Juno recognition as Artist of the Year, but it also morphed into an anthem for both Haiti and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The original was an evocative "rap-meets-reggae-meets-R & B", a memoir of K'naan's childhood in the streets of Mogadishu during the Somali civil war. "Wavin' Flag" got rearranged by K'naan, FIFA and Coca Cola for the dancey "Celebration Mix," a South African drum-thumping, fist-pumping, everybody-jumping version with a video co-starring K'naan and Spanish pop singer David Bisbal. Now if we dig deeper into the lyrics, they're more about the world coming together than a land coming apart. Many do not know that a third version was made, the one to benefit victims of the devastating January earthquake in Haiti, the one recorded in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympic Games. The Young Artists for Haiti performance brought together some of the hottest Canadian acts in the business, including Drake, Hedley, Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Jully Black and, last but not least, the latest pop-ups Justin Bieber and Nikki Yanofsky. So, a world coming together for a land falling apart. The song evoked an emotional response all throughout the globe. The lyrics was about getting stronger and attaining a freedom and it came across in the melody.
Now let us talk about the "We Are One" Pitbull song.
The marketers are grappling with this song as they try to engineer a "pan latin" global mega-hit, hoping to repeat the raging success of past World Cup songs like Shakira's impossibly catchy "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" and Ricky Martin's "The Cup of Life." With the ongoing protests in Brazil against the hosting of the mega event, this year's FIFA anthem seems to have been constructed which demands unity against all that is prevalent in the recent World Cup. It is a well-produced danceable tune that is not bad at all. But users of social media say otherwise. In a strange campaign that has now spread all over the world, the song has been condemned as not Brazilian enough and not good enough for the World Cup.
One of the most famous and popular World Cup songs ever to be created was "La Copa de la Vida" or "The Cup of Life" which was the theme of the games held in France in 1998. The song was written and produced by Desmond Child and former Menudo, Robi Rosa. It was performed by another ex-Menudo, Ricky Martin. It was all about the beautiful game of football and the love it spreads.
Shakira's "Waka Waka (This time for Africa)", which broke all records on youtube, represented the vitality and energy of the host country, South Africa four years ago. The original song, "Zangalewa" from which the catchy number was adopted by Shakira, was more inclined towards the glory of Cameroonian military.
The synergies between football and music could hardly be more apparent or harmonious, with both stirring human emotions across the globe like almost nothing else. As world-renowned Colombian star Juanes describes it, "You throw yourself into it, and it moves something within people. You need your feet for football and you need words for music, but fundamentally they arouse one and the same thing: passion." When the whole aspect of the game is changing it will be interesting to note the Anthems which are yet to be written. Let us wait for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Russia.