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Tag Archives: joe bailey
"We may be essential workers but we aren't expendable." Theatre Nova's "I'm Streaming of an ALRIGHT Christmas" and The Ringwald's "Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas"
2020. The artifacts of this momentous tire-fire of a year will be fascinating to view years from now. For all of the foolishness afoot in America these days, there has also been incredible ingenuity and anxiety-induced whimsy to spare.
Our Southeast Michigan theatre community rallied to find new ways to entertain, distract, and survive this year, employing ubiquitous Zoom technology to reinvent the much-needed art of storytelling.
Ann Arbor's Theatre Nova has reimagined its annual holiday panto tradition for this new era with sublime results. I'm Streaming of an ALRIGHT Christmas is, intentionally or not, a delightful throwback to children's variety shows of the 1980s like Pee Wee's Playhouse or Pryor's Place.
Written by Carla Milarch and and R MacKenzie Lewis (who serves double duty as music director), the free-wheeling hour (just the right length!) features multi-talented David Moan, Mike Sandusky, Monica Spencer, and Charles the Puppy, with a cameo performance by a famous mystery guest (clue: "fairy ex machina").
The story, borrowing liberally from holiday classics like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, follows the footprint of so many tv-specials of yore, as Santa, Rudolph, Friendly the Elf, Mrs. Claus (Sandusky is a Madea–like, culinarily-challenged scream here), Yukon Cornelius, the Abominable Snowman, and an adorable puppy, yes, try to "save Christmas," this year from the "Rona Monster" (bearing an uncanny resemblance to Philly sports mascot "Gritty"). Spencer's Friendly and Sandusky's Rudolph exclaim early on, "We may be essential workers but we aren't expendable!"
While the "Rona Monster" concept may seem a bit too on-the-nose given what we are all living through, it ends up being just the right parable for these tricky times. The script is loaded with zany references that both adults and children will enjoy, not shying away from a political pot shot or two. And the daffy and delightful musical numbers are plentiful, with nods to The Knack (lead singer of which was none other than Detroit native son and Geoffrey Fieger-sibling Doug Fieger), Les Miserables, Hamilton, and … Buck Owens (!) among others. Moan shines in a "Bring Him Home" moment that not only captures his soaring vocals and incredible musicality but also his deft comic timing.
The show is winsome and sweet and nicely avails itself of the interactivity that the Zoom platform provides. There are many moments for the kids to get involved, kind of a 21st-century version of clapping to bring Tinker Bell back to life. This show is well worth your time not to mention your investment in supporting one of our most creative local theater companies.
And speaking of fab local theater companies that exude cleverness and irreverence, The Ringwald brings us Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas in their inimitable style. Directed by Brandy Joe Plambeck with a smart, economical eye, the production showcases a dynamite Joe Bailey as a Santa whose "biggest fan" Annie Willis (Suzan M. Jacokes aiming for the rafters and nailing Kathy Bates in a brilliant parody performance) cares for him after a sleigh mishap.
Ringwald newcomer Aurora Boarealis Pigdon plays Annie's pet pig and (arguably) steals the entire show
From The Ringwald's website: "Written by Ringwald favorites Vince Kelley and Matthew Arrington … [the show] tells the story of Annie Willis, a lonely (slightly psychotic?) woman who lives in a remote cabin in Colorado. When she discovers a wrecked sleigh during a blizzard, she hauls the sole survivor back to her house to tend to him. When she discovers her patient is none other than St. Nick himself, Annie can't believe her luck and she tries to persuade Santa to rewrite his Naughty and Nice lists to her liking. Will Santa's Number One Fan succeed?"
Dyan Bailey is great boozy fun as Mrs. Claus, and Kelley vamps it up as Lauren Bacall. Production values are top notch, fully embracing The Ringwald's unsung super powers around video design, editing, and execution. The cinematography and scenic design are polished and really add to the enjoyment. Unlike Theatre Nova's offering, this one isn't *quite* for kiddos, although teenagers of a certain satiric bent would adore it.
Bailey and Jacokes
The Ringwald is offering a bonus holiday cabaret, and, at a brisk and breezy 30 minutes, it is well worth a viewing. Again, from their website: "Also included with your ticket is the The Ringwald Holiday Cabaret, a new virtual cabaret with some of your favorite holiday melodies. The cabaret features Ringwald favorites: Kryssy Becker, Alisa Marie Chirco, Jordan Gagnon, Dante Hill, Christopher Kamm, Vince Kelley, Richard Payton, and Matthew Wallace. The cabaret is accompanied by Jeremy St. Martin." Payton, Kamm, Gagnon, and Becker are particular standouts, with engaging delivery, articulating nicely the heartache and pathos underlying the "HAP-happiest time of the year."
Both productions are streaming online. Theatre Nova's performances are scheduled in order to maximize the interactivity, and The Ringwald's show is video-on-demand. Ticket details follow…
I'M STREAMING OF AN ALRIGHT CHRISTMAS
Sun, Dec 20 5pm
Wed, Dec 23 7pm
Thurs, Dec 24 7pm
Sat, Dec 26 11am & 2pm
GET TICKETS HERE. Ticket holders will receive a link to click on to view and maybe even participate in the fun! Tickets are $10 (one viewer), $15 (two people), and $25 (family).
Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas
Tickets for Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas are available at three different giving levels: $20, $50, and $100. Performances stream December 4-31. Purchase here.
Once you purchase your ticket, an email will be sent to you which will include links for Have Yourself a MISERY Little Christmas, a virtual program, and a special bonus video, The Ringwald Holiday Cabaret. All of the videos are hosted on Vimeo. You can watch these on your phone/computer/tablet or, if you have the capability, you can stream them to your smart TV. (You can follow these steps to make it work).
"The Sweetest Sounds" (click title for my rendition) from Richard Rodgers' No Strings (later repurposed for the 1997 ABC/Disney television production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella with Brandy and Whitney Houston) … Want to join me in supporting a good cause? For my birthday this month (December 28 to be exact!), I'm raising money for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor and your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Just click donate on this fundraising page: https://lnkd.in/eQ_NVZD
I'm a proud board member and have seen firsthand how every little bit helps. This little fundraiser is nearing the $3000 mark because of wonderful support from kind and generous friends like you! #keepingfamiliesclose
"The Sweetest Sounds" from No Strings
Charles the Puppy
Moan, Sandusky, Spencer
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)	Category: Home Viewing, Must See, Theatre Review, Uncategorized	Tags: Alisa Marie Chirco, ann arbor, Annie Willis, brandy, buck owens, carla milarch, Christopher Kamm, cinderella, Dante Hill, David Moan, detroit, Doug Fieger, dyan bailey, Geoffrey Fieger, Hamilton, I'm dreaming of an alright christmas, jeremy st martin, joe bailey, jordan gagnon, kathy bates, Kryssy Becker, les miserables, madea, Matthew Arrington, matthew wallace, michigan, Mike Sandusky, Misery, Monica Spencer, no strings, pee wee's playhouse, pryor's place, r mackenzie lewis, reel roy reviews, Richard Payton, richard rodgers, ringwald, rodgers and hammerstein, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor, roy sexton, stephen king, Suzan Jacokes, sweetest sounds, the Abominable Snowman, the knack, theatre, theatre nova, vince kelley, whitney houston, Yukon Cornelius
"America is just one big strip club." Hustlers, IT Chapter Two, and Theatre Nova's latest production Admissions
"… the 'Horatio Alger myth': a teenage boy works hard to escape poverty. Often it is not hard work that rescues the boy from his fate but rather some extraordinary act of bravery or honesty. The boy might return a large sum of lost money or rescue someone from an overturned carriage. This brings the boy—and his plight—to the attention of a wealthy individual." – Wikipedia entry on author Horatio Alger
"America is just one big strip club … You have people tossing the money and people doing the dance." – Jennifer Lopez' "Ramona" in Hustlers
"From one angle … motherhood can be viewed as one long journey of overcoming obstacles. I salute mothers everywhere who overcome obstacles with grace, courage and tenacity. … There was this huge obstacle in the way that needed to be fixed for my daughter's sake." – amalgamation of quotes from scandal-ridden Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman
"Motherhood is a kind of madness." – Jennifer Lopez' "Ramona" in Hustlers
America is a "land of opportunity," that is, if you are on the right side of the carnival game. This fall's cinematic completion of Stephen King's classic novel It, directed again as a labor of love by Andy Muschietti, opens with a grown man defeating a little girl in one such street fair contest and then magnanimously leaning down, whispering in her ear "thank you for letting me win," and handing her the ugly stuffed frog (I think it was a frog?) he receives as a prize. It is as warm a moment as it is pandering, the young man's buddy looking on admiringly. As the two men wander away, they lock in an embrace. Things aren't what they seem. Moments later they are victims of one of the most brutal gay bashings I've seen on screen, the result of malevolent Pennywise the Clown's supernatural influence on an already provincial, ugly, small-minded Maine town. (Truth be told, small-minded small towns are one of King's favorite literary targets, God love him). There's your American dream, folks, in one cynical, tragic, and heartbreaking 15 minute sprawl. [King based the incident in his novel on a real-life hate crime in Bangor, Maine, in 1986, at a time when few people would publicly address such horror.]
Hustlers, written and directed with sizzle and sass by Lorene Scafaria, brings Jennifer Lopez, the actor, back on screen in a fiery mama lion performance, the likes of which we haven't seen from her in years. Lopez is a multi-hyphenate talent and by all accounts a pretty likable human being, but she has not been willing to play anything other than that on screen in a long time. Her stripper den mother Ramona avails herself of the 2008 financial crisis and the ugly stew of capitalistic greed, toxic masculinity, rampant misogyny, female objectification, and weaponized sexuality that seems to be Wall Street's stock-in-trade (if the movies are to be believed … paging Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko). Imagine if Magic Mike were written and produced by the team who put together The Big Short.
Ramona and her pals (a dynamite ensemble that includes Crazy Rich Asians' Constance Wu, Akeelah and the Bee's Keke Palmer, and Riverdale's Lili Reinhart with crackerjack supporting turns by Julia Styles, Trace Lysette, Mercedes Ruehl, and singers Cardi B and Lizzo) gleefully (and illegally) flip the script on predatory men, drugging them, dragging them to strip clubs, draining their corporate credit cards, and leaving them in a heap of deflated machismo, far too embarrassed to press any charges. The women's motivation? A mix of revenge, justice, and primarily a desire to provide better lives for their daughters, grandmothers, and other women in their lives.
[Image Source: Theatre NOVA's Facebook Page]
The third leg of that "American dream"? College education and that carnival game that is the admissions process are addressed with incisive wit, searing criticism, and deft balance in the timely Michigan premiere of Joshua Harmon's play Admissions by Ann Arbor's Theatre NOVA, directed with aplomb by David Wolber. (Note: this show must be a beast to learn and to mount, with its zig-zagging clutch of monologues and whiplash inducing reversals of philosophy. I suspect Wolber and cast must share the kind of brainpower required to complete the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle in record time.)
Hill and Burcon [Image Source: Theatre NOVA's Facebook Page]
In Admissions, a cheerfully smug couple Sherri and Bill, both working in administration at a New England prep school (Diane Hill and Joe Bailey, both at the top of their games here), are faced with the consequences of their own best liberal intentions to create "balanced diversity" at Hillcrest (the setting of the piece) when their own son, a student there, is wait-listed for Yale University. Their boy Charlie – a brilliant whirlwind of well-meaning confusion and privileged petulance in Jeremy Kucharek's thoughtful performance – is passed over by Yale in favor of his best friend at Hillcrest (and the child of his parents' best friends), a young man of color, whom Charlie believes to be "less accomplished than himself." As you can imagine, in the grand tradition of school-based satiric comedies like God of Carnage or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, matters escalate and spiral quickly. Cynthia Szczesny as Sherri's befuddled assistant and Sarah Burcon as Sherri's best pal Ginnie serve as a kind of de facto Greek chorus, highlighting the absurdity of the situation and the dire consequences of good intentions that are as ego-driven as they are divorced from day-to-day reality.
Bailey, Hill, and Kucharek [Image Source: Wikipedia]
I don't want to spoil the twists and turns the narrative takes, but, suffice it to say this is neither a play the MAGA crowd will love nor one any Bernie Bros will embrace. Admissions casts a pretty scathing eye on us all and the mechanisms we craft to make a better world in our own images (whatever we believe those images to be). The title, of course, is a play on words: the literal use of "admissions" in terms of higher education and the figurative in terms of those honest truths we can't bear to say out loud. A special shout out to Daniel C. Walker's brilliant and economical use of Theatre NOVA's warm, inviting, but challenging physical space. The use of a turntable to contrast home and office is smart, efficient, and (perhaps unintentionally) symbolic of the topsy turvy nature of the play itself.
[Admissions runs through October 13 and tickets may be purchased at www.theatrenova.org.]
And now back to It, Chapter Two. The first film nailed the pastoral qualities of youth in America, with that bubbling, malevolent, churning undercurrent of impending adulthood, cultural manipulation, and familial and societal abuse that Stephen King does so very well. The second film – not dissimilar to the second half of the 1990 ABC mini-series – suffers structurally in that the Losers Club are reunited in adulthood, seemingly all amnesiac to the horrifying events of their youths at the hands of ugly townspeople, parents, bullies, and Pennywise himself. It, Chapter Two is at its strongest in flashbacks to the children of the first film, filling in the gaps of the fateful summer depicted in Chapter One.
That said, the adult cast of Chapter Two – including Mama's Jessica Chastain, Trainwreck's Bill Hader, X-Men's James McAvoy, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransome, and Andy Bean – do yeoman's work selling the turmoil of adults, who have successfully "forgotten" the abuses of small town American living to achieve material success (if not emotional happiness) in the "big city." Pennywise, brilliantly played again to maximum creepiness by Bill Skarsgard, is the inversion of the Horatio Alger myth and more likely a corollary to the true American experience. It is not a helping hand magnanimously offered that pulls someone up the corporate ladder, once said individual has demonstrated his or her "heart of gold;" it is fear, it is persecution, and it is one heaping chip on one's shoulder, propelling us onward toward "happiness," the achievement of which may never be all it's cracked up to be. If there's a through-line in the three very disparate entertainments I took in this weekend, it's that.
"The essential and defining characteristic of childhood is not the effortless merging of dream and reality, but only alienation. There are no words for childhood's dark turns and exhalations. A wise child recognizes it and submits to the necessary consequences. A child who counts the cost is a child no longer." – Stephen King, Salem's Lot.
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)	Category: Film Review, Must See, Theatre Review, Thriller, Tragedy	Tags: admissions, akeelah and the bee, America is just one big strip club, andy bean, andy muschietti, bernie bros, bill hader, bill skarsgard, cardi b, constance wu, courage and tenacity There was this huge obstacle in the way that needed to be fixed for my daughter's sake, crazy rich asians, Cynthia Szczesny, daniel c walker, david wolber, Diane Hill, felicity huffman, From one angle motherhood can be viewed as one long journey of overcoming obstacles I salute mothers everywhere who overcome obstacles with grace, god of carnage, horatio alger, hustlers, Isaiah Mustafa, it chapter two, James McAvoy, James Ransome, Jay Ryan, jennifer lopez, Jeremy Kucharek, jessica chastain, joe bailey, Julia Styles, keke palmer, lili reinhart, lizzo, MAGA, magic mike, Mercedes Ruehl, Motherhood is a kind of madness, pennywise, ramona, riverdale, Sarah Burcon, stephen king, the big short, theatre nova, Trace Lysette, who's afraid of virginia woolf?
"True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." The Ringwald Theatre's production of Disney's High School Musical
Collage swiped from The Ringwald's Facebook page
Stick to the stuff you know
If you want to be cool
Follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, no no
No, no, no
It is better by far
To keep things as they are
Stick to the status
Stick to the status quo – "Stick to the Status Quo," High School Musical
Watching The Ringwald Theatre's production of Disney's High School Musical alongside an avowed HSM superfan like my husband was as entertaining as the show itself. He did his best to stifle singing along to his favorite numbers, occasionally verbalizing key lines of dialogue before a character onstage would, frequently noting (dramaturgically) to me differences between the film and the stage version. I suspect this is what it is like attending Stratford's Shakespeare Festival with a lifelong Bard scholar? It was all kinds of adorable.
No doubt John has his own review to offer, but this is my blog. While I don't find the HSM trilogy without its charms (well, the first and third installments at least … the second film is the Voldemort of Disney Channel tee-vee musicals … best never invoked again), I think the movies could stand a bit of tinkering, revising, and revisiting. And, in recent news emanating from last week's D23 convention, it sounds like the Mouse House agrees.
While the HSM franchise gave us the gift that keeps on giving in Zac Efron, it also left a legacy a with a generation of twenty-somethings that it is good to be different, that you must never constrain yourself by the labels teachers/parents/friends slap upon you, and that singing show tunes is good for the soul … even in the middle of a crowded cafeteria. Whether you loved high school or really hated it, the movies speak in a cuddly and antiseptic way to the toxic socioeconomic hothouse that is public education in this country and how all of us are shaped for better or worse by the twelve years we spent there. "True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." – Kurt Vonnegut
Matthew Wallace as Troy and Jordan Gagnon as Gabriella
As metaphor for inclusion and a fun platform for camp, HSM is a pretty genius choice for The Ringwald, whose stock in trade is as much John Waters as it is Stephen Sondheim. When I bought these tickets, I did so as a gift for John but also for myself as I was genuinely curious how they'd approach the show. I'm happy to report that the Ringwald's team pulls it off in their shaggy dog, Mickey-and-Judy-are-putting-on-a-show fashion, with exceptional vocals, high energy, and (mostly) just the right amount of wink-and-nudge.
The plot is paper thin but nonetheless lovely: a science-loving girl ("Gabriella Montez") and a basketball "jock" ("Troy Bolton") discover their mutual love of show tunes on a mid-winter ski trip, and turn their high school "status quo" upside down by auditioning for the spring musical. It's a slight but surprisingly subversive conceit, compounded by the fact that the "villains" of the piece – Sharpay and her doting brother Ryan (think The Carpenters, just as weirdly incestuous, but with blond hair, pink plaid outfits, and body glitter) – are the theatre kids, overly protective of their turf and their small corner of high school performative heaven. Anyone who's worked in theatre in any aspect will view this duo with a knowing smile. The theatre community waves the flag of inclusion and understanding … until you step outside your "lane" or win a role someone else has coveted or challenge the artistic certitude of another.
Kevin Keller as Jack Scott
The Ringwald's production, populated as it is by a cast who, for the most part, would have been in elementary school when High School Musical debuted in 2006, is pleasantly reverential to the material, while not taking any of it too damn seriously. It's a high wire act that I found, quite frankly, refreshing. Playing double duty as director and actor ("Coach Jack Bolton"), Brandy Joe Plambeck takes a breezy, frothy approach to the material, aided and abetted by his real-life husband Joe Bailey in the role of Sharpay. In Bailey's hands, Sharpay is both comic and poignant, never shrill, and just the right side of arch. Bailey knows that a middle-aged man playing a heartbreakingly spoiled high school theatre diva is pretty damn funny in and of itself and that layering on any meta commentary or turning up his nose at the material would sink the show and his performance. It's smart and it's fun, and Bailey alongside his "brother" Ryan (Christopher Ross-Dybash exuding sunshine) are a hoot.
Similarly, frequent Ringwald player Jordan Gagnon brings a nicely grounded whimsy to Gabriella. In her program bio, she writes that she is "excited to be living out [my] childhood fantasies of playing Gabriella." For the young people in this cast, I suspect HSM is to them what Bye Bye Birdie, Grease, or Mamma Mia! are to other generations. Gagnon's affection for the material is evident. The actor knows the enterprise is a bit silly but treats it as the heightened reality it is, and Gagnon strikes just that perfect balance of nodding to the audience while believing in her bones that she is a marginalized high schooler finding her true voice in life and love. She's a delight to watch.
Matthew Wallace as Troy
Gagnon's real-life boyfriend Matthew Wallace (I'm not telling tales … it's in the marketing materials for the production) plays Troy. He is at his best when it is just the two of them onstage. There is an easy comfort to their onstage dynamics that really sells their numbers. I would encourage Wallace to find that same ease in the rest of the production. He has been exceptional in productions like The Dio's Forever Plaid and The Ringwald's own Merrily We Roll Along. Here, however, his physicality and high energy run the risk of commenting upon the material and distancing himself from it, as opposed to immersing himself in the goofy joy of the narrative. Wallace has a fabulous voice, and he and Gagnon are so good together onstage, but Wallace at times seems to be accentuating the stereotype of the thick-headed high school athlete as opposed to realizing the point of the piece is to gently, lovingly undermine those stereotypes.
The ensemble is damn terrific, selling the big group numbers in Ringwald's tiny space, and energizing the audience with their unbridled enthusiasm for the score. Music director Lily Belle Czartorski and choreographer Molly Zaleski have great fun with the "pop" nature of this material, and their cast rises to the challenge. Standouts are Rashna "Rashi" Sarwar as "Taylor McKessie" and Geoffrey Schwerin as "Zeke Baylor," both of whom squeeze every bit of juice from their limited stage moments, crafting memorable, lovable, vibrant characters. Tyler Goethe also deserves a shout out for nailing every bit of the choreography – again, note that I was sitting beside a "superfan" and it was not lost on him (or me) that Tyler was on point with every single move and was utterly present throughout. Wendy Cave plays "Kelsi Nielsen," the resident high school songsmith, awfully big. She lands great laughs, but she also skates on the edge of commentary as opposed to immersion.
Having the time of their lives onstage are the aforementioned Plambeck as "Coach" and Suzan M. Jacokes as drama teacher "Ms. Darbus," two educators whose dreams deferred manifest in ugly rivalries and provincial manipulations, all nobly disguised as wanting "what's best" for their charges. If there was dramatic metaphor for the crises, both large and small, of today, it's this. Jacokes and Plambeck are great fun in their short scenes together.
Costuming by Vince Kelley is just as one would hope, mirroring without shamelessly imitating the iconic garb of the original film. I want to give a special call out to the show's marketing materials, as well, which evoke the look and feel of the original film's poster and set the right tone for what to expect, as does the pre-show music: "Kidz Bop" versions of early-aughts pop music hits. Hysterical! The new lighting array at The Ringwald is a welcome upgrade with Plambeck making great use of gels and specials to maximize the understandably understated set design by Stephen Carpenter, a pitch perfect "Wildcat" logo prominent throughout.
For those wondering: yes, The Ringwald's version of High School Musical is family-friendly, but with plenty of acknowledgment to any adults in the audience that this is all one big lark, albeit one with a really nifty message of inclusion and acceptance. If you aren't tapping your feet or dancing in the aisles during the "We're All In This Together" finale, well, there's just no hope for you!
Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
We're not the same
We're different in a good way
Together's where we belong
Once we know
That we are
We're all stars
And we see that
And it shows
When we stand
Make our dreams come true
Together, together, together everyone
Together, together, come on let's have some fun
Together, we're there for each other every time
Together, together, come on let's do this right – "We're All In This Together," High School Musical
The Ringwald's production of Disney's High School Musical runs through September 16. Purchase tickets here.
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)	Category: Disney, Musical, Must See, Theatre Review	Tags: alisa chirco, andrew reohr, brandy joe plambeck, chelsea bates, christopher ross-dybash, disney, gabriella montez, geoffrey schwerin, hayley pulizzi, high school musical, joe bailey, jordan gagnon, Kevin Kaminski, kevin keller, lily belle czartorski, matthew wallace, Molly Zaleski, phoenix eldridge, rashna sarwar, Review, ringwald, roy sexton, ryan evans, sharpay, stephen carpenter, suzan m jacokes, troy bolton, tyler goethe, vince kelley, wendy cave, zac efron
"We don't grow children like that here." The Ringwald's production of The Laramie Project – plus, quick notes on Crazy Rich Asians, Blaine Fowler's America, and yours truly being interviewed on Freeman Means Business
Laramie Project review originally published by Encore Michigan here.
[Image Source: The Ringwald's Facebook page]
The Ringwald Theatre's 2018-19 season opener The Laramie Project is not a production that needs to be reviewed. It is a production that needs to be viewed. It is a production that essentially illustrates (beyond question) that the most impactful theatre requires very little: words, voice, people, movement. Storytelling in its truest form. As an audience member, I haven't cried like I did opening night of Laramie Project in years (if ever).
At the end of act one, I was a puddle, with two acts to go, and, by the time the performance wrapped, I was red-eyed, gutted, mad-as-hell, and cautiously hopeful. It's that good. I suppose some projection was involved on my part. I was roughly Matthew Shepard's age when he was savagely brutalized and murdered. I grew up and attended college in Indiana, which, as Mike Pence's political ascent will attest, is a state not unlike Wyoming – more Handmaid's Tale than Moulin Rouge.
That notwithstanding, The Ringwald's production of Laramie Project is a slow-burn powerhouse.
The play written by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project assembles first-person narratives from hundreds of interviews with Laramie townspeople, University of Wyoming faculty members, friends of Matthew's, and the Tectonic Theater's actors themselves. The narrative roughly follows this arc: defining Shepard's humanity and upbringing, detailing the incidents of that tragic evening, and assessing its aftermath, all in the words of narrators both reliable and not. It is up to the audience to sort the wheat from the chaff and to make sense of a society where such irrational cruelty can occur. The approach is as journalistic as it is theatrical, and the topic is (sadly) as timely today as it was when the piece was written in 2000.
Director Brandy Joe Plambeck has assembled an empathetic, deep-feeling, yet commanding cast to perform dozens of roles: Joe Bailey, Greg Eldridge, Kelly Komlen, Sydney Lepora, Joel Mitchell, Taylor Morrow, Gretchen Schock, and Mike Suchyta. Rarely does this stellar group miss a beat, and Plambeck wisely eschews distractingly overt theatricality for a stripped down readers' theatre approach. The emphasis is quite literally on the words on the page, and, as the details mount, both performers and audience are swept into a hurricane of emotion, of indignation, and of heartbreak.
As for those tears of mine? Well, Lepora and Bailey are the chief culprits, tasked to deliver some of the more devastating speeches and historical detail. They resist the temptation to indulge their characters' raw emotions in a broad, selfish, "actorly" way. Rather, they quite realistically and subtly show their characters desperately trying (and failing) to stifle and contain their confusion, their anguish, their rage. And that damming of emotion, only to see the floodgates fail, is what cuts an audience to the quick.
Suchyta is quite effective as a series of "Wyoming" alpha men, from a star theatre student to a local bar owner to Shepard's tormentors Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. Mitchell is a sparkplug, breathing bold strokes life into the play's few comic moments as a surprisingly insightful cab driver, and Morrow does a fine job balancing characters both reprehensible (local "mean girls" who basically imply Shepard deserved his fate) and painfully noble (one of the very few out-and-proud lesbian faculty members at the University of Wyoming).
That said, I hate to single out any performances, because this is an ensemble show in the truest sense of the word, and everyone is excellent. Plambeck paces the show in a measured but never ponderous way. The costuming is minimal, stage directions and character names are read by Plambeck, and scene changes/location names are projected on the back wall of the space. This approach results in a production that places the emphasis squarely where it belongs – on the voices of the people who experienced this tragedy and on a nation that both evolved and devolved as a result. Don't miss this production.
Click here for show days, times and ticket details.
Read more about The Laramie Project 09/14–09/17
Read more about The Ringwald Theatre
"I'm so Chinese I'm an economics professor with lactose intolerance." – Crazy Rich Asians
The other week we saw the film Crazy Rich Asians. Somehow life got in the way of me writing anything at length about the film, which is a shame because it is quite exceptional. Let me say this: while it was marketed as a wall-to-wall laugh riot a la Bridesmaids, it shares more with that film's DNA than just riotous shenanigans.
Don't get me wrong, Crazy Rich Asians has its fair share of zaniness, chiefly supplied by sparkling comedienne Awkwafina, but like Bridesmaids, that tomfoolery belies a gentler, sweeter, yet exceptionally subversive core. It's been 20-some years since Hollywood produced a film starring an all-Asian cast (the far inferior Joy Luck Club), and the box office success of Crazy Rich Asians will hopefully inspire a bit of sea change where Asian representation in Tinseltown is concerned. Money matters (sadly).
Crazy Rich Asians is part fair tale fantasy, part light comedy, part soap opera, all heart. Luminous Constance Wu arrives a fully formed movie star as Rachel Wu, a whip-smart economics professor in New York whose life is turned upside down when she learns her longtime boyfriend Nick Young (a dashing Henry Golding) is in actuality Singapore real estate royalty. As Rachel runs the gauntlet of Henry's wackadoo family members – including a sympathetically subtle turn by Michelle Yeoh as Henry's fearful and controlling mother Eleanor – Wu reveals varied layers of heartache and resilience. It's a thoughtful performance, understated and thereby likely to be unfairly overlooked come awards season, but nonetheless an exceptional depiction of female frustration and agency in this maddening modern era.
Catch this film while still in theaters or on home video shortly.
[Yes, a window into my musical taste.]
Blaine Fowler's AmericaMy friend Blaine Fowler is a brilliant, witty, and delightful radio DJ here in metro Detroit on WDVD 96.3 FM. His morning show is a top-rated listen in this market. He and his wife Colleen are also among the kindest people you'll have the chance to meet with two lovely and successful children. But one of his greatest loves is music. I wrote a bit about his last iTunes album 49783 here.
His latest release America was just posted on iTunes and Amazon for download.The whole album is divine. More cohesive sonically and rawer lyrically than the prior one, with an almost "song cycle" effect and an evocative moodiness. I liked it very much. Highlights include "Love Is" (a trippy throwback to Prince at his Minneapolis peak), "Reach," "Oval Beach," and "Best Friend." This is an impressive evolution, which is saying something as I very much enjoyed Blaine's previous effort. Keep it up. And keep experimenting. My two cents.
Freeman Means Business
This week, my friend and fellow legal marketer Susan Freeman interviewed me for her podcast. She writes, "Check out the latest great conversation about the life of a legal marketer from our 'Peer Pod' podcast featuring Roy Sexton, a real dynamo — and a reel dynamo too!" Click here or here.
"Be patient. Listen to those with experience in areas that are new or foreign to you. Don't be afraid to be your authentic self. People WILL respond." Thank you, Susan!
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)	Category: (Dark) Slice-of-Life, Americana, Music Review, Must See, Theatre Review	Tags: "I'm so Chinese I'm an economics professor with lactose intolerance.", 96.3, aaron mckinney, amazon, america, awkwafina, "We don't grow children like that here.", blaine fowler, brandy joe plambeck, bridesmaids, constance wu, crazy rich asians, freeman means business, greg eldridge, Gretchen Schock, Handmaid's Tale, henry golding, itunes, joe bailey, Joel Mitchell, joy luck club, Kelly Komlen, kerr russell, legal marketing, matthew shepard, mike pence, Mike Suchyta, moises kaufman, moulin rouge, nick young, rachel chu, reel roy reviews, Review, ringwald theatre, roy sexton, russell henderson, Susan Freeman, Sydney Lepora, Taylor Morrow, Tectonic Theater Project, the laramie project, wdvd
"Most Friends Fade": The Ringwald Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along
Kaminski, Armstrong, Johnson [Image Source: The Ringwald's Facebook Page]
Originally published by EncoreMichigan
Stephen Sondheim, genius as he may be, is saddled often (fairly or unfairly) with the critique of having a "second act problem." His shows kick off with a high-concept bang but then devolve into misanthropic goo around the 10 o'clock hour. Modern revivals of most of the major works have found clever fixes for these issues, but one could argue Sondheim himself was trying to reverse his troubles with 1981's Merrily We Roll Along.
The musical is based on the play by the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart and works backward in roughly five year increments from the climactic and ugly dissolution of a trio's longstanding friendship in 1976 to its very inception in 1957.
So, rather than a second act problem (the second act is actually quite impactful), Merrily We Roll Along has a "first scene" problem. Unfortunately, I'm not sure The Ringwald's latest production, which is otherwise pretty damn fine, fixes it.
Much like Company, which The Ringwald will be performing next and which is also a Sondheim collaboration with playwright George Furth, Merrily is a show about a man in midlife crisis free-fall, told through a series of episodes and punctuated by the kind of garish and venomous cocktail parties that only seem to exist on Broadway stages and in Bette Davis movies.
And, yes, there is a musical reprise alerting us we are moving from one moment to the next – no "Bobby, baby" this time, but plenty of repetitions of the title song (which you will have in your head for weeks).
The protagonist in question (and likely surrogate for Sondheim himself) is Franklin Shepard, a brilliant composer whose Faustian fixation on the material trappings of success (big house, bigger house, first wife, messy tabloid divorce, affair and subsequent second marriage to his leading lady, money, money, money … and cute plaid suits) takes him further and further away from the hardscrabble joys of his bohemian early days with fellow creative pals Charley Kringas, his lyricist, and Mary Flynn, their novelist buddy.
Schultz [Image Source: The Ringwald's Facebook Page]
As the three leads in Ringwald's production, Kyle Johnson (Franklin), Ashlee Armstrong (Mary), and Kevin Kaminski (Charley) are transfixing, and the show rises and falls on their believable dynamic and the sparkle each bring to their respective roles. And that's why that opening scene is so confounding. We meet this trio at the worst possible moment in their lives, in a shrill and clunky scene that fails to indicate the beautiful story which follows. I don't fault Joe Bailey's otherwise consistent and effective direction, nor the physical space (you go to The Ringwald for talent and heart, not production values), but I do cite the show's gimmicky structure and, to a lesser degree, a fairly heavy-handed performance style in that opening scene that is blessedly absent elsewhere from this cast.
I only belabor this point for one reason – as an audience, don't be discouraged by the opening, because otherwise this production is aces.
The vocal quality of the cast, performing a tricky yet melodic score, is exceptional, and music director CT Hollis is to be commended for bringing such vibrancy and color from the assembled voices. Kudos also to in-house accompanist Ben Villaluz for doing yeoman's work in lieu of a full orchestra.
Johnson, Gagnon [Image Source: The Ringwald's Facebook Page]
The set design by Brian Kessler is minimal, almost to a fault, but there is clever use of small set pieces, décor, and furniture to differentiate locales. Dyan Bailey's video projection is great fun and is aided and abetted by Brandy Joe Plambeck's lighting/sound. (Brandy Joe also plays Frank's sad sack manager Joe to great effect in the show.) Using archival footage, played in reverse, the video snippets, which run during the aforementioned "Merrily We Roll Along" reprises, add a nice visual distraction in the tight space, bring whimsy and poignancy, and offer helpful historical context.
The ensemble (Jerry Haines, Ashley M. Lyle, Anna Morreale, Nicole Pascaretta, Donny Ridel, and standout Matthew Wallace) act as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on the action directly and playing an array of waiters, reporters, partygoers, etc. Notably, at one point, they are referred to in aggregate as "The Blob" – a collective of insipid, shallow socialite hangers-on whose sole purpose, with the help of pushy second wife Gussie (in a tricky but extremely effective love-to-hate performance from Liz Schultz), seems to be to drag Franklin further into mediocrity. The ensemble has a ball (some to the point of distraction, unfortunately) with this highly theatrical function. Think Bells Are Ringing's "Drop That Name" as performed by the Kardashian family.
As for musical numbers, Kaminski's rousing and acerbic ode to being the neglected friend – "Franklin Shepard, Inc." – is the moment where the production really zings to life, set into fizzy motion by Wallace's eye-popping take on a vain talk show host interviewing Kaminski. "Old Friends" – performed by Johnson, Armstrong, and Kaminski – wherein the trio attempts to rekindle their affections through song is a delight, with some sweet nods by choreographer Molly Zaleski to Singin' in the Rain's iconic "Good Mornin'" number. Jordan Gagnon has her strongest moments performing a haunting and heartbreaking "Not a Day Goes By" in the first act as Frank's mistreated ex-wife Beth. And show closer "Our Time" with Johnson, Armstrong, and Kaminski is a lovely sweet-and-sour take on the limitless possibility of new friendship as seen through a sobering retrospective lens.
Over dinner before the show, my friend Lauren and I were discussing the high wire act of balancing one's creative spark within the daunting machinery of commerce. Merrily is very much Sondheim's meditation on that concept, written at a point when he had achieved great success and was likely gobsmacked by the pressures such "golden handcuffs" inflict. He would later write more accessibly about the issue in Sunday in the Park with George, "After all without some recognition, no one's going to give you a commission." Kyle Johnson as Franklin does a remarkable job channeling this tension, offering us a central tragic figure who is as relatable as he is maddening. Johnson smartly resists the people-pleasing trap of making Franklin "likable," with a feral and sweaty inner life that leaps from the stage. Comparably, Armstrong gives us a Mary who is loyal and true, witty and warm and utterly alone. The juxtaposition of the two figures with Kaminski's twitchy, lovable, exasperating Charley makes for great theatre.
Merrily We Roll Along has an almost cult-like following, and I can see why. The score is magical, the structure a problematic puzzle, and the three leading characters (particularly as portrayed here) sublime. Don't miss a rare opportunity to see this unusual show live with such a talented and winsome cast.
Roy and Lauren Crocker at The Ringwald
Click here for show days, times and details.
Read more about Merrily We Roll Along 02/16–03/19
Posted By: Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews)	Category: Musical, Must See, Theatre Review	Tags: After all without some recognition no one's going to give you a commission, Anna Morreale, ashlee armstrong, Ashley M. Lyle, Bells are Ringing, Ben Villaluz, bette davis, brandy joe plambeck, brian kessler, charley kringus, ct hollis, Donny Ridel, drop that name, dyan bailey, encore michigan, faust, ferndale, franklin shepard, franklin shepard inc, george furth, george s kaufman, good mornin, gussie, Jerry Haines, joe bailey, jordan gagnon, kardashian, Kevin Kaminski, Lauren crocker, liz schultz, mary flynn, matthew wallace, merrily we roll along, Molly Zaleski, moss hart, Nicole Pascaretta, not a day goes by, old friends, our time, reel roy reviews, roy sexton, singin' in the rain, stephen sondheim, sunday in the park with george, the blog, The Ringwald
RT @roysexton: Legal Marketing Coffee Talk this week with host Roy Sexton (ME!) and guest, graphic designer Nicole Bagdady Horn - THURSDAY,… 1 hour ago
RT @tcorcoran: I am officially a fan of Amanda Gorman. nytimes.com/2021/01/19/boo… 1 hour ago


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The photo was shot using a SONY SLT-A77V camera at an aperture of f/8, 1/80 sec. shutter speed and ISO 100. Tamron AF 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] Macro or Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM or Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM lens was used to capture the image. Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode. The original image file has a resolution of 1600 x 1072 pixels, or in other words 1.7 megapixels.The photo has a resolution of 240 DPI and occupies a disk space of 0.28 megabytes.
According to the image metadata, the photo was shot on Saturday 1st of November 2014. The local time was 10:53:23. The timezone was Europe / London, which is GMT +01:00. Please note that timezone was guessed using the GPS coordinates and may not be accurate. The EXIF timestamp may also be wrong if the date and time weren't set correctly in the digital camera.
SONY SLT-A77V camera has a built-in GPS receiver and allows geotagging on image files. The coordinates and location where the photo was taken is stored in the EXIF. According to GPS data analysis, the photo was taken at coordinates 51° 30' 17.27" N , 0° 4' 39.04" W. Using reverse geocoding, the address associated with the coordinates is guessed as 1 Tower Bridge, London SE1 2UP, UK. Depending on the GPS receiver and the reception conditions the accuracy may vary and the address should not be regarded as exact location.


text:
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The Society for Education and the Advancement of Research in Connected Health (SEARCH) started in 2016 as a small team of academics, researchers and clinical professionals. SEARCH has developed into a society with a goal to promote connected health programs through the use of evidenced-based research. To read more, click here.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Sikh the Fair Land: Faiths o' the Irish
Sixteen graduate students from Columbia University's School of Journalism traveled to Ireland and found a country of many cultures and religions. ℘℘℘ The Indian Christians in Galway By Betwa Sharma and Zachary Goelman The ground floor entrance of the Westwood House Hotel entices passers-by with rock music and drink specials. It is a popular haunt in Galway and people mill around the bar...
Cover Stories Island of Ireland Religion
The First Word: Seeking the Fair Land
Walter Macken's book Seek the Fair Land came to mind when I chose the cover text to go with the picture of the Sikh man dancing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin. Macken's novel centers around Oliver Cromwell's brutal "ethnic cleansing" of Irish Catholics, who were either killed, or banished "to Hell or to Connaught" (to the barren lands of the West of Ireland or to...
Irish Eye on Hollywood
Irish-American hunk George Clooney recently said that he plans to return to his ancestral home for a summer of motorcycling. "I am doing a motorbike ride in Ireland this summer," he recently told Dublin radio station FM104. "I hear it rains a lot but I've got the perfect outfit!" Clooney's last film Leatherheads was a bit of a dud, but he may soon be back in the Oscar nomination form...
Entertainment Film & Television Irish Eye on Hollywood Tom Deignan
Silicon's Finest Irish at Stanford
SILICON Valley has long been the birthplace of great innovation. Companies such as Google, Apple, Hewlett Packard and Intel all began their journeys to greatness here, and the world was changed forever. Now comes a new Irish organization that could change the way the world sees Irish America and Ireland. With Irish America acting as co-host, The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) held...
Best and Brightest Best of Hibernia Industry Top Irish Americans
Meagher of the Sword Honored in Brooklyn
A gravestone honoring Irish Patriot Thomas Meagher, a Fighting 69th Brigade commander and former acting governor of Montana Territory, was unveiled at the Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York on April 19. The Green-Wood Historic Fund erected the gravestone to Meagher, whose body was never found after he went missing on the Missouri River in 1867, and placed it next to the grave of his wife...
American Civil War Hibernia Memorials


Daily high temperatures increase by 5°F, from 35°F to 40°F, rarely falling below 25°F or exceeding 50°F.
Daily low temperatures increase by 5°F, from 11°F to 16°F, rarely falling below -1°F or exceeding 26°F.
The month of February in Angel Fire experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 37% throughout the month. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 38% on February 10.
The clearest day of the month is February 21, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 64% of the time.
A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Angel Fire, the chance of a wet day over the course of February is increasing, starting the month at 9% and ending it at 13%.
Over the course of February in Angel Fire, the chance of a day with only rain remains an essentially constant 1% throughout, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain remains an essentially constant 2% throughout, and the chance of a day with only snow remains an essentially constant 7% throughout.
The average sliding 31-day rainfall during February in Angel Fire is essentially constant, remaining about 0.1 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 0.3 inches.
The average sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall during February in Angel Fire is essentially constant, remaining about 0.4 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 0.9 inches or falling to 0.0 inches.
Over the course of February in Angel Fire, the length of the day is increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 57 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 2 minutes, 6 seconds, and weekly increase of 14 minutes, 45 seconds.
The shortest day of the month is February 1, with 10 hours, 25 minutes of daylight and the longest day is February 28, with 11 hours, 22 minutes of daylight.
The latest sunrise of the month in Angel Fire is 7:02 AM on February 1 and the earliest sunrise is 29 minutes earlier at 6:33 AM on February 28.
The earliest sunset is 5:27 PM on February 1 and the latest sunset is 27 minutes later at 5:54 PM on February 28.
Daylight saving time is observed in Angel Fire during 2019, but it neither starts nor ends during February, so the entire month is in standard time.
The chance that a given day will be muggy in Angel Fire is essentially constant during February, remaining around 0% throughout.
The average hourly wind speed in Angel Fire is gradually increasing during February, increasing from 8.2 miles per hour to 8.8 miles per hour over the course of the month.
The hourly average wind direction in Angel Fire throughout February is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 69% on February 23.
The month of February in Angel Fire is reliably fully outside of the growing season.
The average accumulated growing degree days in Angel Fire are essentially constant during February, remaining around 0°F throughout.
The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Angel Fire is increasing during February, rising by 1.1 kWh, from 3.8 kWh to 4.9 kWh, over the course of the month.


text:
Q: The context cannot be used while the model is being created I'm getting a problem with my entity framework usage and think it could be because I'm using my DB context incorrectly.
Every now and then I'm seeing error messages in my log stating: "The context cannot be used while the model is being created."
The error doesn't always occur and seems to be on a fresh application load or if I compile my project and refresh a browser tab whilst it's compiling.
The function below is the one that is error'ing and is called from my master page.
public static class UserFunctions
{
    private static peopleSwimmingContext _db = new peopleSwimming.Models.peopleSwimmingContext();

    public static String GetUserRole(Int32 UserID) {

        String returnedRole = String.Empty;

        var foundUser = _db.Users.Where(w => w.UserId == UserID).FirstOrDefault();
        if (foundUser != null)
        {
            returnedRole = foundUser.Role.Name;
        }
        return returnedRole;
    }
}

Any tips would be massively appreciated!
Oh and here is my innerstack trace:
Inner Stack Trace:
at System.Data.Entity.Internal.LazyInternalContext.InitializeContext() at System.Data.Entity.Internal.InternalContext.Initialize() at System.Data.Entity.Internal.InternalContext.GetEntitySetAndBaseTypeForType(Type entityType) at System.Data.Entity.Internal.Linq.InternalSet1.Initialize() at System.Data.Entity.Internal.Linq.InternalSet1.get_InternalContext() at System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.DbQuery1.System.Linq.IQueryable.get_Provider() at System.Linq.Queryable.Where[TSource](IQueryable1 source, Expression`1 predicate) at peopleSwimming.Logic.UserFunctions.GetUserRole(Int32 UserID) in c:\svn\peopleSwim\peopleSwimming\Logic\UserFunctions.cs:line 18 at peopleSwimming._Home.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) in c:\svn\peopleSwim\peopleSwimming\Home.aspx.cs:line 25 at System.Web.Util.CalliEventHandlerDelegateProxy.Callback(Object sender, EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)

A: Try wrapping your code in a using statement that initializes and disposes of the data context so it's only available from right before you need it to just afterwards. This will also ensure it's disposed of.
Also, you don't need the Where method, you can just use FirstOrDefault.
public static class UserFunctions
{
    public static String GetUserRole(Int32 UserID)
    {
        using (peopleSwimmingContext _db = new peopleSwimming.Models.peopleSwimmingContext())
        {
            String returnedRole = String.Empty;

            var foundUser = _db.Users.FirstOrDefault(w => w.UserId == UserID);

            if (foundUser != null)
            {
                returnedRole = foundUser.Role.Name;
            }

            return returnedRole;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
const char* const kStrRgaVersion = GEN_kStrRgaVersion(RGA_VERSION_MAJOR_MINOR);

#ifdef RGA_BUILD_NUMBER
#define STR_HELPER(x) #x
#define STR(x) STR_HELPER(x)
const char* const kStrRgaBuildNum = STR(RGA_BUILD_NUMBER);
#else
#define RGA_BUILD_NUMBER 0
const char* const kStrRgaBuildNum = "0";
#endif
const char* const kStrRgaOutputMdDataModel = "1.0";

const char* const kStrRgaBuildDateDev = "Development build";

#ifdef RGA_BUILD_DATE
const char* const kStrRgaBuildDate = STR(RGA_BUILD_DATE);
#else
const char* const kStrRgaBuildDate = kStrRgaBuildDateDev;
#endif

#ifdef _DEBUG
const char* const kStrRgaUpdatecheckUrl = ".";
#else
const char* const kStrRgaUpdatecheckUrl = "https://api.github.com/repos/GPUOpen-Tools/RGA/releases/latest";
#endif

const char* const kStrRgaUpdatecheckAssetName = "RGA-Updates.json";

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
SOFTLAB NORWAY
Department of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Associate Professor (adjunct)
Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Norway
Visiting Researcher (adjunct)
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Photo: Kristin Ellefsen (UiO)
Ph.D. in Chemistry
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Disputation Date: 22-02-2013
Title: The Self-Spreading Double Bilayer- Advances in Lipid Membrane Nanotechnology
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Supervisor: Prof. Owe Orwar
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (United States), and
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences/Applied Physics, U.S.A.
Principal Investigator: Prof. Vinothan N. Manoharan
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences/Applied Mathematics, U.S.A.
Principal Investigator: Prof. Katia Bertoldi
Department of Environmental Engineering, Carleton University, Canada
Higher Education Degrees
B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics (Double Major Program)
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics,
İstanbul Technical University, Turkey
B.Eng. in Environmental Engineering (Double Major Program)
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering,
Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
The French-Swedish Prize for Young Researchers: Green Chemistry in Service of Human Health/Institut français de Suède and the French-Swedish Association for Research
Gözen Group Gaustadalléen 21 Forskningsparken 0349 Oslo
Lab: E-Wing, 2nd floor
Irep's office: E-Wing, 3rd floor, #52118
Lab: +4722840522
Irep's office: +4722840596
irep@uio.no
Copyright © 2020 GözenLab


MTV Networks will deploy usage measurement technology from Visible Measures across its more than 340 destination Internet video sites.
Greg Clayman, executive vice president, content distribution and marketing, MTV Networks, said video is core to the group's online portfolio. Therefore, it's important that MTV understand not only where and when consumers watch video online, but how and why they view on the Internet.
As part of the multi-year agreement, MTVN Global Digital Media and MTV Digital Media Research will use the Visible Measures technology to build a detailed, end-to-end online video performance metrics.
Brian Shin, founder and CEO of Visible Measures said his company is seeing "compelling results" from the initial technology deployments on MTVN.


The electrical engineering services that we offer are immaculate and perfect. When you are looking to build the right set of electrical systems, make the right designs and get it installed, it is our services that will make all the difference.
We are thoroughly skilled at the work we do and our expertise lies in a lot of different fields. We have been working in the area of electrical engineering since a long time and we have been consistently offering the best output that has pleased our customers to the fullest.
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We offer electrical design services for all business sectors to help them increase their design productivity.
We can make different engineering and technical drawings that helps us in excelling at the work we do.
The electrical engineering team at IndiaCADworks provide digital/analog electronic circuit designs, PCB layouts, and circuit simulations. We also reverse engineer existing products to provide exact and accurate circuit designs.
Installing, calibrating and using the different high end electrical equipments require careful consideration of various aspects. We are skilled in operation and installation of all the equipments.
We offer the right location, diagrams, wires and plans to make the best design that can help you attain the right rate of success. We study the needs thoroughly and then design the befitting mechanism that can reap right results for you.
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We are thoroughly skilled as far as power distribution is concerned. We will distribute the power line in the right manner making the distribution efficient.
Even when it comes to instrumentation, we offer the finest architecture and electrical engineering services.
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If you are looking to find the right deliverables that we offer, here is a list.
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We also make the site construction manual document with flawless precision.
We have a skilled team on board and our staffs are thorough and well versed in the field of electrical engineering services. You can check our portfolio to measure the quality of services we have been offering. Our skill set is phenomenally wonderful and the work speaks of the quality we offer.
The software that we use is sure to serve our purpose meticulously. We make the best use of AutoCAD® software along with ETAP software as well. We are also skilled in use of Instru calc and MicroStation® too.
When you are choosing our reliable services, you can be sure that you are going to get the best work. We offer you a guarantee that our quality of electrical engineering services is the best you can get. We do not believe in offering anything that does not adheres to our quality standards. We have been guaranteeing flawless services since a long time.
Why Choose IndiaCADworks For Electrical Engineering Services?
When you choose our reliable services, you can get the following benefits.
We are skilled in the work we do and the perfection with which we have been working has been praised on numerous occasions.
By choosing our services, you can enjoy the right level of difference and it will take your business to great heights.


Stefan Molyneux recently did an interview you, allowing you to further explain your negative comments regarding bitcoin. Peter, it seems you don't fully understand what bitcoin is, and/or what the current value & future potential holds. I hope that your rehearsed argument for bitcoin, is not solely because your financial brokerage business, needs to maintain the monetary status quo in order for it to flourish, as most of your recommendations are a hedge on poor monetary policy. Full disclosure, as I and family members are/have been clients of Euro Pacific.
Bitcoin was front and center at the Senate hearings this week in Washington DC. Where several people testified about bitcoin, and the implications is has for the government, and consumers. This seemed to spark a new round of interest in bitcoin, as it promptly rose to $900. Thus, triggering the same talk about price volatility, and the alleged bitcoin bubble. The mysterious nature of bitcoin has placed some of the most engrained financial pundits, and economists in a quandary of sorts. Many of them are still blithefully ignorant of what bitcoin is, and continue to remain firmly entrenched in the highly regulated & centralized financial system, they so wrongly call the "Free market".


It can be really scary to have an aggressive dog. Your friends might not want to come over, your neighbors might judge you, and you might even feel betrayed or threatened by your own dog.
Getting help for your aggressive dog is a must-do for the safety of everyone around you. Our aggressive dog training tips are meant to be a start, but not an ending point. Hiring a professional animal behavior consultant through the IAABC or other professional certification group is your best bet for getting help.
What Sort of Aggressive Dog Do I have?
The source and type of aggressive dog you have will influence the best aggressive dog training tips for you. Let's go through some of the types of aggressive dogs.
When I say "aggression," I generally mean a behavior such as lunging, growling, snarling, snapping, or biting. I generally don't call a dog aggressive, though that dog can have aggressive behaviors. Thinking this way helps keep us from limiting our expectations of dogs because of a label!
This is by far the most common type of dog aggression. Dogs that are undersocialized or improperly socialized are very likely to exhibit fear aggression. These dogs have learned that aggression helps keep "the scary stuff" away from them.
Barrier aggression (or leash reactivity).
This is one of the most common types of aggression in cities. These dogs may be overly excited about seeing a "friend," frightened of strangers on walks, or something else. The result is the same – a dog that lunges, snarls, screams, or otherwise loses his head when he sees a dog, person, bike, car, or other trigger on a leash or behind a fence.
Dogs that growl, snarl, snap, or bite around food, toys, resting spots, and more likely fall into the category of "resource aggression." Resource aggression can be relatively easy to manage – but not always.
Less common, territorial aggression is when your dog's aggression is based on protecting his territory. These dogs might be perfectly friendly in all situations, until a visitor comes onto your property. This trait is slightly more common in guardian-type breeds.
There are other sorts of aggression, but these are the most common. Some dogs will also become aggressive during grooming, when they have puppies, or in a truly forward attempt to hurt something.
As a professional animal behavior consultant, I'm often called to help with aggressive animals. Helping dogs and owners deal with aggression is no small task, but there are several relatively simple steps to take to help deal with your aggressive dog. Here are my favorite practical aggressive dog training tips.
Get Help. If you're dealing with an aggressive dog, your first step should be to speak to a certified dog behavior consultant. If there isn't one in your area from the IAABC, check other organizations or reach out to Kennel Trainer – we can help you find a good trainer!
Ask your trainer if they adhere to the Humane Hierarchy and Least Intrusive Method Available before hiring them. If they don't, or don't know what that is, move on.
Your trainer will help you create a personalized plan for training your aggressive dog. She'll also help you learn how to read your dog's body language and give you specific feedback as you train your dog.
Damage Control. Trainers call this step "management." Essentially, this is figuring out how to set up your life so that your dog is less likely to be aggressive again. If your dog bites people when they touch her food bowl, feed her alone in a room to prevent bites. If your dog growls at strangers in hats, don't let strangers in hats approach her on walks.
Damage control may include crate training, muzzle training, walking your dog at odd hours, avoiding certain types of people or dogs, or skipping the dog park. Avoiding further incident is imperative to successfully changing your dog's behavior.
Part of good damage control will also involve learning more about your dog's body language and predictors.
Management shouldn't be your only solution for training an aggressive dog, but it's an important start. Without proper management, the rest of your training is likely to fail!
Assess Your Situation. Clearly, not all aggressive dogs are the same. There are a huge number of factors that come into play when deciding on the best course of action for your family and your dog. Again, this is where a trainer can help. Depending on your dog's issues, you might be able to simply manage the situation, or you might need to consider serious training, rehoming, or even humane euthanasia in severe cases.
How many times has your dog escalated to aggression? A single bite is very different from a dog that has bitten 20 people.
How bad were these incidents? A small tooth scrape is not the same as a full-depth bite that crushed small bones in your hand.
How big is your dog? Unfortunately for us big-dog lovers, the danger from an aggressive St. Bernard is much more serious than the danger from a pug.
Are you logistically able to deal with this behavior concern?
Is the situation controllable? A dog that is aggressive towards other dogs might not be a big problem if you live out in the country and don't have other pets – or it could be a serious issue if you're in a crowded dog-friendly apartment building.
Can you predict your dog's aggression? Unpredictable dogs are much scarier.
What is your emotional bank account like with your dog? If you're terrified of your dog and already considering rehoming her, you may also be less likely to succeed with training because you are less dedicated. Be honest with yourself.
What is your financial bank account like? Dealing with aggression isn't generally cheap.
How risky is this situation for my family, my neighbors, and others?
How likely is it that my "damage control" measures fail?
What's the consequence if my dog acts aggressively again?
Am I going to be able to help my dog and my family through this?
There are endless factors involved with predicting the outcome of any aggressive dog. A chaotic household with children, a large dog, a dog with many triggers and a dog with serious bites on her record is a very dangerous situation indeed. On the flip side, a single person with a small dog that only growls in controllable and predictable situations is far less severe.
Nitty-gritty training. The actual training of an aggressive dog, at its base, isn't necessarily very complex. But that doesn't mean it's easy to train an aggressive dog! When training an aggressive dog to be calm, you will need to focus on three main training tasks.
The first two aim to help teach your dog that something that used to be "bad" is now a no big deal that makes bacon rain from the sky! The third step teaches your dog how to react to overwhelming things without aggressing.
This simply means slowly introducing your dog to incredibly small versions of the thing that "sets her off." For example, you might expose a dog who is leash reactive towards other dogs to simply the far-away jingle of another dog's collar. Slowly increase the intensity of the trigger, until your dog is able to watch as other dogs jog by!
If your dog barks, growls, or lifts her lips, you've clearly pushed too hard in training. Go back a few steps.
Desensitization is almost always paired with counterconditioning. As you're exposing your leash reactive dog to the sound of another dog's collar jingling, you'll pair that collar jingle with treats. It's very important that the trigger (the collar jingle) comes before the tasty treat. Otherwise, your dog learns that treats make scary things happen next!
The nice thing about using treats in training is that you'll be able to gauge your dog's stress level even more precisely. If your dog is too stressed to eat, you need to take a break.
Desensitization and counterconditioning is only half the battle. Many people will teach their dog to look at them or sit when they're overwhelmed.
So if we're playing the "collar-jingle-makes-bacon-rain" game, we'll switch from the first sequence (collar jingle = bacon) to a more complex one (collar jingle = eye contact = treat). This is important – study after study shows that teaching the dog something to do instead is far more successful than just teaching the dog that something isn't so bad after all. Additionally, a dog that's looking at you for direction is easier to direct and control than a dog that's off in la-la land!
Easy enough when you read through it, maybe. But this can be really tricky – that's why we recommend hiring a trainer to help with your aggressive dog ASAP!
Want to see this in action? I put together a short video showing an example of teaching a dog to look at me for direction when he hears the sound of another dog coming.
Double-check with the vet. Aggression often shows up because of underlying issues. Dogs that suffer from a painful tooth might be more likely to bite during grooming, and dogs with thyroid issues may suddenly develop unpredictable aggression. If your dog's aggression doesn't seem to have a clear behavioral origin (such as dog aggression that develops after a dog fight), get a thorough check up from your vet. Ideally, ask your vet about bloodwork and panels to rule out any hormonal causes for your dog's aggression.
Don't punish the aggression. It's tempting to want to squash out your dog's behavior with scolding, yelling, or a good swat on the rump. However, aggressive training techniques from the human are actually quite risky. Your aggressive response to your dog might make your dog's aggression even worse. Focusing on the training steps from above will be far more helpful.
I hope that you're able to improve your situation using these aggressive dog training tips. We're here to help if you have any further questions!


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In which nothing is set in stone…except maybe some hearts.
Part 2 (of 4) of the storyline 'Stone Cold'. 22 pages. Available as a DRM-free PDF or a good old fashioned floppy comic (just pick your fancy from the drop-down box).